Can You Believe This?

Yesterday, some patriotic person decided to pull down our flag complete with pole, screws, the lot. They laid it neatly on the ground and left these beautiful holes which we now have to repair. I just can't understand some people.
I'm sincerely hoping it's nothing to do with the Home Owner's Association as their ripping down our Beware Of The Dog sign is fresh in my memory. They didn't like it being black and red, stating it should have been in colors more matching to the paintwork of the house. Well if it had been the same color as the walls of the house or the gate, it wouldn't be very visible, would it, and therefore not much of a warning. Maybe it was the nice neighbor who kept reporting us to the police for parking our cars outside our home, even though the police told us we were perfectly legal.
I'm just sad that the flag is no longer flying, but July 4th is coming up.

Memorial Day

What does it take these days to show pride and patriotism? I remember after 9/11 there was hardly a house that didn't have the flag flying high and proud to signify the unity we all felt in protecting the freedom we all cherished.
Today is Memorial Day when we remember and honor those who have given their lives to give us that very freedom. As you can see, my flag is flying outside my house, the only one down the entire street...and I'm British.

Sleepover

Katelynn wanted to sleepover in Grandma and Grandad's room last night so we got her Sponge Bob bed all lined up and ready to go. When we went to bed she was in it and the night looked promising. It didn't last long.
She decided she wanted to get up and busy about. She put lots of lotion on her hands and my legs (mmmm, nice), had Grandad read her a book (Grandma was already reading her own), played with the cushions that I'd taken off the bed and anything else that she could think of to keep her up and about.
Finally, it was time for sleep and we told her to get in her Sponge Bob bed as we were going to be turning off the lights. "Nooooooo" she wailed. "Yes" we replied. Brent switched out his light and put on his CPAP mask and that's when the trouble began.
She came into our bed and just sat there wailing and looking over at Grandad. Finally, enough was enough and she decided she wanted Mammy and off she went to find her. A few minutes later she came back in Mammy's arms and in the cutest little voice said, "It was very scary". Aaaah, she was frightened of Grandad in his CPAP mask. I can't say I was disappointed in the whole thing. When it comes to having little ones sleeping in my room or bed, I can honestly say I've been there, done that and definitely got the T-shirts.
I did ask Brent if he'd let me take a picture of him wearing his CPAP so that I could put it on my blog, but he declined (very unreasonable I thought), and so I found this picture on the Internet to illustrate what "very scary" is to a 2 year old.

Facebook

I finally relented and joined Facebook today. It's definitely different and will take some getting used to.
It kept suggesting people who I knew to add as friends, so I did, but now it won't let me add any more as it says my behavior might be annoying or abusive! Not sure if there's a daily/weekly limit or not, but I found that very weird, so if you know me, add me!

Get to Know Brent and Me

Dara did this little get to know you quiz for Jim, so I thought I'd add a new twist and do it for both Brent and myself. His answers are first, then mine.

1. What time did you get up this morning?
0800am
0730am
2. Diamonds or pearls?
Diamonds
Diamonds are a girls best friend
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Can't remember. The last DVD was "Last Chance Harvey"
Some action one that Brent wanted to watch
4. What is your favorite TV show?
Stuff off the Science or History Channel
Dancing With The Stars
5. What do you usually have for breakfast?
Nothing
Cereal
6. What is your middle name?
Clifford
Don't have one
7. What food do you dislike?
Lychee's
Fish
8. CD you are listening to right now?
None
None
9. What kind of car do you drive?
Nissan Armada
Nissan Armada
10. Favorite sandwich?
Subway Chicken Teriyaki
Chicken or turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce
11. What characteristic do you despise?
Anyone who's "smirky"
Rudeness and arrogance
12. Favorite item of clothing?
Jeans
Pajamas
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
China
Hawaii or Tahiti
14. Favorite brand of clothing?
Polo
I'm not a brand kind of girl
15. Where would you retire to?
Colorado
Summer in Utah, winter in Arizona
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday?
Can't remember
I don't make too much of birthdays
17. Favorite sport to watch?
Tennis
Tennis
18. When is your birthday?
24 December
23 February
21. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Night
Middle of the day
22. What is your shoe size?
10 1/2
American 9
23. Pets?
Dogs, Max and Sophie
Same
24. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share with us?
Nothing for you
Not really
25. What did you want to be when you were little?
Soldier
A mother
26. How are you today?
Okay
Very tired
27. What is your favorite candy?
Rolos
Black licorice
28. What is your favorite flower?
All of them
Tulips
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?
Weekends
July 4
30. What is your full name?
Brent Clifford Gwynn
Janet Gwynn
31. What are you listening to right now?
Music on the TV
Same
32. What was the last thing you ate?
Spaghetti Bolognese
Pancake
33. Do you wish on stars?
No
No
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Blue
Purple
35. How is the weather right now?
Cloudy and humid
Same
36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today?
Janet
Brent
37. Favorite soft drink?
Monster
Lemonade
38. Favorite restaurant?
Cheesecake Factory and Macaroni Grill
Hard to choose
39. Real hair color?
Brown
Yikes, white now, I think. Used to be brown
40. What was your favorite toy as a child?
Action Man
Dolls
41. Summer or winter?
Winter
Summer
42. Hugs or kisses?
Both
Hugs
43. Chocolate or Vanilla?
Chocolate
Chocolate
44. Coffee or tea?
Neither
45. When was the last time you cried?
Long, long time ago
Today
46. What is under your bed?
Carpet
Probably a dusty carpet
47. What did you do last night?
Slept
Read then slept
48. What are you afraid of?
I'm not
Snakes and deep water
49. Salty or sweet?
In between
Sweet
50. How many keys on your key ring?
7
Not sure, probably 2 or 3
51. Favorite day of the week?
Friday or Saturday
Any day that I'm at home
52. How many towns have you lived in?
6, Newton Aycliffe UK, Gilling West UK, Darlington UK, Scunthorpe UK, Phoenix AZ, Gilbert AZ
6, Howsham UK, Scunthorpe UK, Gilling West UK, Darlington UK, Phoenix AZ, Gilbert AZ
53. Do you make friends easily?
Yes
No

Danielle's Walk

It was a little overcast this afternoon at about 5pm, so we thought we'd take Danielle out for a walk to the Riparian Reserve. It was actually in the 90's and very humid, but we survived. We found this little rippling river which I know has always been there, but today for some reason, the water was running really well. We stopped off under the trees and had a photo opportunity. Danielle was straight for the water and actually got in up to her knees. She loved it.

Catch Up

I've been a bad blogger the last couple of weeks, but honestly, I haven't done anything worth blogging about. I'll try and sum up my time though with just a few photos.
Firstly, I made this cover for our patio swing. It doesn't look much in this photo, all crinkled from being sat on, but it's completely waterproof and actually doesn't look too bad in real life. Better than the previous cover that had got all old and holy, anyway. It was a devil to manipulate all that fabric through the sewing machine though.
We took Katelynn to the store and it was funny because both me and her had on blue jeans and a blue T shirt, so we took a photo to celebrate.

Had to get one of Christopher falling asleep in his high chair. Every child gets one of these photos, right?

Yikes, this one is pretty scary. I found it on my camera. It's Jordan in the garage, no doubt making use of the 10 second timer. I'm not sure of the significance of him warding people off with the lawn rake, but the hat he's wearing used to belong to his great grandad, so the photo is worth saving just for that alone.

Christopher's Birthday

Yesterday Christopher turned one year old.Olivia bought a cake for us all to share. It was yummy.
He even had a small cake all to himself. This is the before picture.

And this is the after picture! He thoroughly enjoyed his cake, and what you don't see on the tray was on the floor. Thank heaven for tile!

This is Grandad pushing him in the swing we bought him for his birthday. He loves it and so does Danielle and Katelynn, although she was a little unsure at first.

Here's a close up shot of the birthday boy himself.

Computer Crash

I found out this morning that my computer has crashed. I can't even start Windows at all, I just get that dreaded blue screen. I am devastated! I have tons of stuff on there that I don't want to lose. Wouldn't you just know that the warranty ran out in December?
The Geek Squad will probably be able to help me restore the data, but I'll need to buy an external hard drive and then find out where I can get a Windows XP recovery disk from. I estimate about $300 in repairs.
I'll try to keep going with Olivia's computer, but I miss mine. :(

May Chicken of the Month

I normally try to be a kind person and not say mean or nasty things about anyone or anything, but I'm afraid I'm about to break my own rule. This Silkie Non-Bearded Splash must be one of the ugliest chickens I have ever seen. He looks like his brains are on the top of his head! I sincerely hope his mother loves him!