Conner Clan

I'm a little behind on blogging, but any way here are our 4th of July pics! Every year that we've lived here we've celebrated the 4th with Debi and her family. It's now kind-of a tradition! ;) The only difference this year, is her husband Rick was actually home and not deployed!

Cute Debi

She makes me laugh!!!

Rick and Ada

David and his mom came too! Our kids adore him, probably because he's just a big kid himself that plays with them and entertains them! No complaints here! ;)

David and his Mom Jackie

Ada

Rick and Tyce

Ethan enjoying "Virginia fireworks"! Yep, poppers. That's all that is allowed here! Booooo!

And I may or may not have been tempted to sneak the border to buy "real" fireworks, but since we now have a sheriff living in our "court" I didn't feel that would be a wise choice!

Lily having fun

Jake not sure what to think......

David helping Jake pull the popper

Darren shooting one at me

Debi and Me!

Me throwing a handful of 'pops' at Darren

The cake David baked and brought! He's a good cook!

Hope you all had a great 4th!

Here is one of the only pics I got of poor Ashton. If any of you know him at all, you'll know that the sound of thunder sends him running for cover! It started to storm when we went outside and he was missing in action! Where did we find him? Under the kitchen table under a blanket. Poor kido!

The firework show for the city was canceled due to the storm! :( The kids were bummed, but we still had fun!

32 short years ago, I was born! Getting old! ;)

Today was a typical 'mom' day, but I still had a great day! Woke up early, fed the kids breakfast, drove Ethan and 2 other boys to scout camp, ran some errands, went grocery shopping, baked my birthday cake (angel food, had to attempt to stay healthy), fixed lunch, picked up Ethan from scout camp, yadi yadi yada. In between all that I had pleasant birthday happenings. My mom called me first thing this morning to wish me happy birthday and to remind me of how much I mean to her like she does every year. She is so sweet to me. (she had lost a baby girl a few years prior to my birth, so she says she treasures me and my existence). I'm just glad I was born! ;) Love you mom!

Then speedily going through email with the mouse button on 'delete' as usual, I had a gift certificate from Debi for Victoria Secrets! I almost deleted it! Thank goodness I didn't!! Thank you Debi! Then I got a birthday text from Sherrie who is visiting her family in Utah. She'll be gone way too long, but it's for good reasons. I got an awesome cell phone video from my hubby proclaiming his un-dieing love for me and wishing me happy birthday! ;) Then Brooke just popped by with some 'healthy' hummus and pita bread and some 'not healthy' mini peanut butter cups. Thank you! So yummy! Then I got called by my brother Stewart, always a pleasure to talk with him. Then Kate came over with an AMAZING dinner and homemade cupcakes (pictures to follow), Then UPS delivered a package from my other brother Jerry. This package weighed like 60lbs! He ordered me some weights I had on my wish list on Amazon! When I talked to him, I asked him as kindly as possible to please tell me he didn't pay for shipping the weights!!!! He assured me it was free from Amazon! Thank goodness!!! ha ha! Then I got a special letter from my hubby. And a promise of some 'shopping' tomorrow! ;) I enjoyed the night with my family eating WAY TOO MUCH good food, playing outside and just being happy to be me!

Here is what Kate shows up to my house with! After I had made an angel food cake trying to be healthy. How could I resist these adorable cupcakes? And isn't she adorable too?

Aren't these the cutest cupcakes you've ever seen? They are called Banana split cupcakes. 'cough, clear throat....ready begin....' Okay, you have a banana cupcake base, then inside after it's baked it is filled with chopped strawberries and pineapple, then it's topped with a healthy dollop of cream cheese butter cream frosting, then chocolate ganache, sprinkles, and of course a cherry on top!!! Seriously???? This girl is CRAZY! But they were so stinkin' good! Worth every CALORIE!! and I may have ate 1, or 2 or 3. Yep, 3! It's my birthday I'm allowed!

Jealous much?

Okay, Kate is going to kill me for not doing this salad justice. But frankly I was so hungry to dig in, I only took one pic and then devoured it! So, I will tell you what is in this bad boy!!! It's the best salad I've eaten!!!! Okay....... Salad part..... Greens, cherry tomatoes, corn, black beans, jicama, scallions.....I think that's it? Here's how it all goes together: You toss your salad with ranch or this awesome cilantro dressing she brought me, or mix the two together, that rocks too. Then put that on your plate. Now the fun part. You place sliced avocado, shredded chicken that has been bathed in bbq sauce, shredded cheese, and yummy crispy tortilla strips. Then try and walk your plate to the kitchen table without dumping all your saliva on your plate! Dig in. Seriously the yummiest salad to date! This poor picture below does not do it justice. But man it was good!

Now, enjoy the next few pics of me and Kate. It's quite comedic actually! Couldn't resist!

So Darren (the photographer moves us outdoors for 'better light')

Then of course I have to be silly. Poor Kate was a good sport

Things are going well. We're laughing etc...

Super cute...... Then......

BOOM! Oops! I told her she was so light I could do squats holding her. Well, I did a squat, but didn't quite get up! Poor Kate's booty! She landed right on the bottom of the tree stump. She assured me she was fine, but I really think she'll have a bruise on her booty the size of Texas in the morning! :( Poor girl! But still funny pics!

This magnet was on the card Kate gave me. How cool is a card that comes with a magnet?

Now this is extra special to Kate and I. The bottom says: "Good friends are like fat thighs-they always keep in touch" Kate and I are both booty girls. We have junk in our trunks and in the legs of our trunks! That's where we're always trying to work out at the gym! So this is extra funny to us well endowed hipster girls! ;)