Summer is officially over :(

How do you know summer is over? Well, that little note on your calendar that says "Start of Fall" on Sept. 21st is helpful, but I always rely on the flier sent from our "home away from home" in the non-school days: Kings Dominion. Yes, that bad-ass pic is me and Timmy slaying ghosts in the Scooby Doo Haunted Mansion, but I digress. The flier we received stated that we could already buy our season passes for next year...for the low-low price of....$75 per person. Last time I checked, the passes I already own are still good til November, so no thanks, Kings Dominion, I will wait for April's paycheck before I buy said passes that can't be used until 2010!
Note to Kings Dominion: It's not your Halloween Haunt event that scares the pants off me...it's your steadily-rising prices, $8 sodas, lack of free parking, and oil slick in the wave pool. Eeeeee-gads!

Yardwork is our Friend

After an exhausting first week at school, what better way to spend the weekend than yard work? I used to have stumps in the front bed that had once resembled "shrubs" (I use the term loosely), so those got pulled out and I put in some new shrubs that have white flowers in spring, red leaves in fall, and stay green the rest of the year. Some snazzy black edging and red mulch and I was in business! The mums have come back with a vengeance and added some much-needed color to the otherwise green yard. And yes, I do have several welcome flags in my front yard, thank you very much. And yes, the one on the left does have bumblebees and says "Bee Happy!" And no, I am not one step away from holiday teacher vests and a bumper sticker that says "My 3 reasons for teaching: June, July, and August!" Gag me now, Lord.
And Timmy has been working like a slave (oh, sorry, not very politically correct--he's been working like a mexican) on the back yard retaining walls. He is valiantly trying to keep the side yard from falling into the walkout basement area, and for now, the score is Timmy 1, Yard 0. These walls are spectacular! Mortar and everything; a girl feels so lucky sometimes. :)

My Partner in Crime

Just in case you didn't know, Baby Girl White turned the big "7" in June! Caroline (or "Weenie" or "Carolina", as we've taken to calling her) is going to be in second grade! Can I just repeat that sentence, please?! I am 30 thirty years old and the parent of a 4th grader and 2nd grader. Heaven help me!
They are growing like weeds, but I gotta tell ya, I'm loving the independence! Now, I get to sleep in on Saturdays because I have children who have been taught (aka "trained") how to get their own Pop Tart and find a decent cartoon on the tv. When I send them out to play in the backyard, I don't have to worry that one or the both will think it's a "creative idea" to play Frogger with Rt. 206 traffic. If I don't hear them in the backyard for a few minutes, it's just because they are busy thinking of something to fight over.
Caroline has lost her two front top teeth, so now she has an adorable gap that makes her lisp all the more noticeable. If fact, it's like a little letter slot--> we had some M&M's the other day, and I told her "Hold your teeth shut and smile!" Then I slid a candy through the slot and she chewed it up, all the while with Timmy and Garrett laughing like loons. My house ain't normal, dammit.