Blue's Clues

For those of you who don't have children & have not had the pleasure of watching & hanging out with Blue of (hand motion here:) "Blue's Clues"...you just don't know what you're missing:). Bishop is in the living room just having a fit because he, "can't find the side table drawer with his handy dandy notebook in it." And, "where is that first clue?" well the reason he can't find the side table drawer is because WE DON'T HAVE ONE!! My child has developed quite an imagination. This show drives me crazy...it is educational so that is nice but it just isn't my favorite...I prefer Dora to Blues Clues....Lyndon & Mandy, Scott & Amelia...get ready...you guys are about to be introduced to a WHOLE new world:)!! Bishop loves tv which is not a good thing but so do Brad & I (I more than Brad) so I guess that is to be expected. He usually doesn't watch all that closely...he just plays with it on. He is all into Blue again...& the Wiggles & Veggie Tales & just about anything on PBS kids. Who has time for tv with our schedule lately??!!?!? Bette run!
TGIF friends...a THREE DAY WEEKEND!!! WITH FIREWORKS!!!! YEAH!!!

Shaggy watching Bishop VERY closely...I honestly think he just wants Bishop to get off his chew toy (yes that is how big he is...that is HIS bone:)

Shelah Faith...our husky who wouldn't even stand up to have her picture taken...she is our LAZY dog! 

Shaggy...our guard dog! He is a HOSS!! 

How the other half live:)

Okay...so Summer invited Bish & I to come over & go swimming at her aunt's house while she was out of town. Now I knew that it was at Tour 18 so it was probably a very nice home...well, it is a FABULOUS home:)! She told us to go around to the gate because they were already outside so we did & WOW! I walked onto the patio & it was a scene straight off of the O.C. (my fav show...laugh now, it's okay:)! Beautiful patio furniture with better decorations than my living room, a tall table with a fire pit built into it, a 6 FOOT DEEP pool with a sundeck for sunbathing. All I can say is WOW! Summer then took us on a tour of the house...I can't even describe it...the decorations are probably worth more than my whole house:)!! It was beautiful to say he least but more importantly we had a good time! We swam for a couple of hours & then Bish & I had to go work (I don't know why I include Bish in that as if he is slaving away w/me...but he tags along...please don't call CPS...he is not slave labor:)! Then Brad & Terry met us back over there for dinner....I felt like us rednecks had invaded the subdivision:)! I kept waiting for Ryan (from the OC) to come running through the doors to sweep me off my feet but he did not:) Just kidding honey:)!! I guess that it must be nice to live like this...& rest assured that if we win the lotto...we will try to see to it that we ALL do...but I love my cheap home with all my goober animals & sad decorations:) ! It was nice however to see what it would be like to have a maid & a groundskeeper & a KOI pond...did I mention that they had a pond?!?!? You know what the ironic part is...I got a horrible sunburn...God's way of saying...you don't need it...be happy with the many things I have already given you:)! *sigh* I am....:0)

Sleep (I'll probably complain about this a lot...)

Okay...LaShawn...I fully understand where you are coming from. I feel like if I could just get one FULL night of sleep I would be on the right track. Bishop got me up, not once, not twice but THREE times last night. That combined with the fact that I was having very un-restful dreams....it was a LONG night. And I wonder why I always wake-up tired. Bishop is doing so good at going to sleep on his own now....why can't he sleep through the night?!?!?! Okay...I'll stop complining...I need to go find some serious caffiene.

Just another weekend

Well, as I am sure all of you have noticed...another weekend has come & gone. Ours was very layed back with not much going on but we have come to appreciate that. Half of our friends had big weekends...everyone we know has new car fever. Congrats Jodi & Donald:)!!! They had big weekends...shopping & negotiating for the best deal. We however went to mom & dad's even thought they didn't get in until late Saturday. Bishop & I went swimming at their neighborhood pool on Friday night while Brad did homework...that kid is going to grow fins. He LOVES the water. I love it too but am really cautious. It's fun but it always makes me nervous. Saturday we went to the mall & for those who keep up w/my blog, we took my purse back to the store. And it will be six weeks before I hear from them. So much for a summer purse, I guess. (More on that in my blog...) We did a little shopping...not much fun...do you ever have those days when EVERYTHING you try on is Yuck? I had that day Saturday which was really uncool because Brad was actually allowing me TO shop. Oh well. Mom & Dad got back from their cruise that night & we got to hear all about it. I want to go on a crusie:)!?!?!?! Then we ALL went swimming & Bishop just loved that. His new favorite thing is to be tossed back & forth between to people...& by tossed, I mean TOSSED!! He goes high in the air & then crashes into the water & goes under. Made me a little nervous but he did have his floaties on so he coudn't sink & their were 4 adults so...it was fine. HE LOVED IT! He begged for it. We stayed at the pool for over an hour...& he went to sleep before we could even get dinner in him...I love swimming!!! Today we went to church & it was fabulous! I absolutely love our preacher!! He is not afraid to tell us like it is. After that we got mom & dad's cruise pictures back...oh my gosh! Maybe I can convince her to post some. Then we just hung out doing nothing...it was GREAT!!!! I hope that everyone had GREAT weekends...more tomorrow...you know we must go hit our poker site now...:)!! (I'm up $30,000...good night all!!!)

"This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one & only Son into the world that we might live through Him." 1 John 4:9

The Bish & I  

Brad & Bishop @ the Lake 

Spiders

Bishop has become fascinated with spiders & I don't know why. He loves the "Suuny Patch Kids" which is about "Miss Spider" & he also LOVES "Charlette's Web." HE LOVES CHARLETTE!!! And this is all very disturbing to his mother who is terrified of the little 8 legged mongrels. Yes, Tammy...I know that some of them are good & eat other bugs...but I still don't like them. Everytime I see one, I get chills down my spine. Bishop got bit by one a while back & I almost had a nervous breakdown....it was not poisonous or anything, but a spider crawling on MY child was about more than I can take. I don't even know where this irrational fear came from. To the best of my knowledge, I have never had a horrible experience with one. I just don't like them. I don't even think that Charlette is cute...I think she is kind of...testy:). But I would be to & I had to live hanging from a string in a barn & dine on the blood of other innocent insects. It doesn't help that Brad comes home to look up spiders on the internet (he is in an exterminator) & show me all the pictures. Last night we were looking up the brown recluse. THOSE pictures didn't help me any...do you know what those spiders can do to your legs??!?!? Now I find myself checking the sheets & my clothes before I get it them....that is where they like to hide. And someone forwarded me pictures of these GIANT spiders from Iraq...I looked it up people...those things ARE REAL!!! Okay...I must go now...I have a million and one things to accomplish today. I hope that EVERYONE has a FANTABULOUS DAY!!!!!!

Buggy

You all thought I was kidding, didn't you?! Well, here is what is lovingly referred to as a Lake Kemp "Buggy." I love them....Rick's has a dead battery so we didn't get to go cruising this weekend. They are carseat friendly, by the way:)!! Does it remind anyone else of the Beverly Hillbillies:)!?

Lake Kemp Buggy 

The Lake

Well, the fam is going to the lake this weekend and seeing as how the lake is in the middle of nowhere & we can't even use our cellphones, much less our computer, there will be no blogs for the next couple of days. The lake is an interesting place for those of you that have never had the pleasure of visiting Lake Kemp, Texas. It is a nice size lake & we do have a boat...but it is a one of a kind place. It is very "down home" shall we say? It is life at a slower pace...a more simple lifestyle, that I rather enjoy but there are some very interesteing things that go on there. For instance, my father-in-law & other members of his family have built themselves homemade vehicles that they lovingly refer to as"buggys." These are old pickup trucks with the body removed & welded pieces of metal holding the engines & seats in place....I'll try to post a picture when I get back...it is just something you must see to believe. They also like to drink a few & just cruise around for hours just chatting & going nowhere...& you can get away w/this because it is private property & no one bothers you. They like to get out & harrass the black bulls that roam around(the lake is on Waggoner Ranch & the bulls stay @ the lake), they like to dance on the hoods of their buggies & they like to go around & spy on people & see what everyone else is up to. They are all a little nuts...nut a FUN nuts! It is a different lifestyle but one that they love just the same. We love to go visit & relax & play cards (for money, of course:) & get away from the city. I'll try to take some pics & post them...hope that everyone has a good weekend & a GREAT Father's Day!!! Hope your having a good time on your cruise mom & dad!!!

Sleep

BISHOP WENT TO SLEEP ALL BY HIMSELF for the first time last night!!! For those of you who remember how well he used to sleep in his crib, you know that this is a BIG deal. He has not gone to sleep on his own since we moved him to the big boy bed over a year ago. YES, we have broken all of the parenting rules, but for those with children who have dealt with this, you understand how hard it is to let a 1.5 year old scream "mommy" for 2 hours. I failed...sue me. (Can you tell I am not bitter about all the "advive" I recieve:)?!?!? Hopefully this is the turning point & I can finally get things done after nine. Now if someone can just tell me how to get him to sleep through the night so I can get a good night's sleep....?!

Garage Sale

Well, we survived the annual Kirk Family Garage Sale! Let me start out by telling you a little about this blessed event. Our garage sales should be featured in a garage sale handbook. We have the most organized, thought out garage sales on the planet. My grandma spends countless hours over at our garage apartment marking & organizing items. Then my mom & I get to town & along with my aunt we seperate things by sizes & put them in boxes & set the whole thing up. And then on Saturday morning, my ENTIRE family gathers at the apartment to open the doors & bring in the dough. Usually it is a profitable event, but not this trip. We all worked very hard to market & sell but do you want to know our GROSS total? A whopping $164. That's not a bad total, right? Well, now divide that number by the SEVEN families that had stuff in it & we only made about $23 a family. We sat out in the sun for 6 hours to make enough money to go buy the lunch:)!! The whole thing is just comical. The most amusing thing about this story is the things that sale for a nickel. Now it almost seems like a waste of a little round sticker if you are going to sell the item for a nickel. I addressed this with my grandmother & she told me that I should stop encouraging my grandpa's threats to stop holding the annual event. The other thing is that people are so funny at garage sales. I had small children come up & ask me if I would take less for an item...now should I really take less than a quarter for ANYTHING?!?!?! And I love that people will go pay $50 for something new at a department store but $2.00 is too much to pay for a POLO shirt with tags still on it at a garage sale. Now don't get me wrong...I LOVE going to garage sales....but having them is another issue. After all of this venting...I have to add that I had a great time. If this wonderful thing we call a garage sale is what it takes to get us all together than it is worth every minute it takes to put it together. We had 10 adults & 8 children gathered together to run this thing (& I guess we didn't do a very good job:). We got to visit, eat & laugh at each others choice in clothing & see the kids play together. So, next time you are in Altus, Oklahoma, check the paper & see if you can stop by our apartment on Elm street for a good time & a GREAT deal:)!!!

BRAD, My spelling isn't that bad

you konw terhe hvae been smoe inretsing stidues taht sohw taht Splelnig deosnt mtater taht mcuh. Tehse stdueis cmae out of Harvrad. The hmuan barin dsonet raed all the leretts in a pragarph aynawys.

I just thought that I would show you what this high dollar education is really worth.
But besides all that everything is going great. we had a good weekend in oklahoma this past weekend. To top it all off Bishop went to bed by himself (wow). Well I guess that I am going to go to bed, but I just wanted to show everyone thta it doesn't matter that I can't spell. I'm smart enough to know how your mind works. =)

Blogging by Brad

Okay...you may or may not have noticed that it says "Shana" makes all the posts. This is not necessarily true...we just can't figure out how to get Brad's name on the ones he posts. We are working on this however. I've told him to start identifying his blogs...but here is a big clue: if there are lost of typo's & misspelled words, then it is probably his:). This is only because he waits until late in the evening to blog & has already done writing homework & does not care if his blogs are APA correct:)!!! Okay...sorry, honey...I didn't want everyone to think we were terribly uneducated:)!! Gotta run...I have to pack to got to Altus to see the fam!!! I'm sure I'll have lots to say after that;)!!!

Poker

I think Brad & I have reached an all time low:)! Our new nightly hobby is not even close to what we used to think is fun to do in the evenings:). Instead of spending "alone" time on the couch...We now like to get in separate rooms on separate computers & play poker online against each other & other people from around the world. We do this & we LOVE it!!! I'm not sure if this is healthy or sad?! We still chat through the communication bar (we can't yell thru the house....This is usually played while Bish is trying to go to sleep) & we share our funds, but we are hanging out in the same house but seeing each other on a computer screen. It is definitely the 21st century:)!! I must go now...I need to win back some of the 10,000 dollars I lost to Brad a while ago:)! If anyone is interested...Our favorite site is Pokerstars.com. My screenname is barbiegirl79 & his is bbaker05. Look us up...We'll be together:)!!

Just Another Day

Well, this is my first blog...

Well as I sit here getting ready for bed at the end of yet another long day I find myself listening to my wIfe once again... she is telling me that I need to take the time to post a blog so here goes. It is the end of another day and I still didn't get everything done that needed to be done. I did however get some of my homework done, and I did spend some quality time with my wife and son. Man I am tired I haven't been able to get caught up on sleep since my mom was in town. She sure does keep me up late. All and all it was a good day here it is hot and I think that takes it toll on me. but I just keep telling myself that with each passing day I am one day closer to the end of the week, that is when the work really starts, thanks Neal. well Things are good and this seems to be fun. I like to vent in a fun manner where eveyone gets to hear it, I look forward to complaining to all of you on a frequent basis. GOODNIGHT

Storms

Brad & I are such chickens. A storm woke us up around 2 this morning & we both got up because we are scared of storms. Now what kind of parents are we? Our kid slept right through it & we were huddled in the living room around the t.v. making sure we weren't going to blow away:).