UPPER SC STATE FAIR

Brianna and I went to the fair yesterday. Robbie and Tammy were going and asked if we wanted to tag along. After paying $12 to get in the door, we then had to pay $25 more for an armband that entitled you to unlimited rides all day/night. I got one for Brianna and bought $10 worth of ride tickets for myself. Brianna enjoyed herself tremendously. She went "fishing" for sharks and dolphins to win prizes, rode a pony, visited the petting zoo and rode many rides including her very first roller coaster. But the thing she wanted to do most was to have her face painted. We walked all over the fairgrounds trying to find the place to have it done. When we finally found it, no one was working at the booth. It took us about 4 walk thrus before the girl was finally there. Brianna decided to have her face painted like a butterfly. The cost was $5 but seeing her face light up as she looked into the mirror was worth it. As we walked through the fairgrounds, everyone approached us to comment on how pretty she looked and wanted to know where to get it done at. I told them and wished them luck! Brianna and I had tons of fun together and she kept saying "Thank you Mommy for bringing me here." Precious, I know. At 8:30, the crowds were coming in and we were exhausted so we headed for home. Here are some of the pictures:

BRIANNA VISITS THE SCHOOL LIBRARY

Today when I picked up Brianna, she was so excited! She had visited her library and got to check out a book. She met the school librarian, Mrs. Grubbs. She keeps reminding me to make sure she takes her book back to school tomorrow because she has to return it back to the library. Too cute!

I'M HAVING A PARTY

While I was in NY this summer, my mother in law introduced me to food products by Tastefully Simple. I have got to tell you, that these items are EXCELLENT. If you enjoy cooking or even eating, this is definitely the thing for you. Everything tastes wonderful and it is so EASY to prepare. The spices are great. I bought the "Seasoning Salt" and I use it on just about everything I cook. If you have parties or get togethers, there are items that you can purchase that taste so good but require no time to make! Go to the Tastefully Simple site and look around. If you are interested, I would love for you to order something. Leave me a comment and I will let you know how we can get your order sent in.

* I know that this may seem a little "cheesy" to put this on the blog. But how many candle parties, jewelry parties, etc do you go to and you think to yourself "I'm buying this crap and I won't ever use it." Well, I can attest....This is something you will use and will definitely be worth your money.

SPENDING TIME WITH BRIAN'S MOM

It has been great to spend time with my mother in law this week. I have tried to keep her occupied while the guys worked. I know it can get boring just sitting around a house. While I have been at work, she has kept my house picked up for me and kept the dishes clean. I really appreciate that, seeing as how the back rooms in the house are such a disaster. Last night, she even treated me to my very first pedicure. I should have treated her, for all the good things she did this week.

THIS IS WHAT BRIAN AND HIS DAD HAVE BEEN DOING ALL WEEK

Brian and his Dad have been working very hard in Brianna's room all week. They start in the morning and work until evening. They have put in 2 new windows, cut out some of the old wall and installed some really good installation, put new drywall up and have spackled. Except for some last minute touch up things, her room will be ready to paint next weekend. In addition to working on Brianna's bedroom, Brian and his Dad also installed 2 outside outlets on our house. Brian is really excited about that--no more running an extension cord through the house. I am so thankful that his dad was able to assist him in getting this big project done. Lord knows they worked hard and have the muscle and back aches to prove it.

If you notice in the pictures, there is hardly nothing in Brianna's room. Guess where all that stuff is----IN MY BEDROOM!!!! So needless to say, I am very anxious to get this project completed.

FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

The alarm clock went off bright and early this morning at 6:30. Brianna had no trouble getting up. She watched cartoons for a little bit then had a waffle for breakfast. When I asked her to get dressed, she hopped right off the couch and put her clothes on. I sure hope I get that lucky every morning. Brian and I took her to school this morning. I was just going to drop her off, but then I saw everyone else being walked in by their parents, so I followed suit. While walking her down the hall to her class room Brianna said,"I feel a little nervous." I told her not to be nervous, she would be just fine. We got to her class, I helped her put her things in her cubby and gave her a hug bye. That was that. And no I didn't cry. I think probably because she had went to preschool for 2 years already. I did however feel a little sad. I really can't believe that Brianna is officially a "school girl". All day today I would find myself wondering what she would be doing at that very moment. I could not wait to go pick her up to find out how her day went. So after sitting in school traffic for 30 minutes, she hopped into my backseat and I tell you it was like looking at someone else's child. I swear she looked all grown up, like she had aged since I dropped her off earlier this morning. She told me about taking a field trip around her school to learn where everything was, meeting the school nurse, playing drums in music class and eating her WHOLE LUNCH! She said she had a chicken sandwich and she even got to put mayonaisse on it all by herself. She had that and carrots and cucumbers, greenbeans, a banana, and chocolate milk. I asked her if she had a good day and she said yes. I'm so very glad. But by the time 6:00 rolled around, she was dead tired. After spending time with Nana and Poppa and getting a bath, she decided it was time for bed. She went into my room and made a tent out of pillows and was out like a light in about 5 seconds.

NANA AND POPPA COME FOR A VISIT

Nana and Poppa drove into town Saturday afternoon. We all are enjoying spending time with them. Brianna has been busy playing Wii and I have been busy getting things ready for school to start tomorrow morning. Yesterday, Brianna and I took Nana to Reedy Falls and then to lunch at Mellow Mushroom. We then went to Kohls to get Brianna the last of her school clothes. After that we came home to grab some socks and went bowling. It was alot of fun. Nana said she hadn't bowled in 10 years. She really enjoyed herself. And Brianna is too funny. Everytime I would get up to bowl, she would have to smack me on my hiney. Funny, but embarrasing. We bowled 2 games each and then came home to rest. Today we had another girls day out. We took Brianna to the Greenville Zoo and had a picnic lunch. After that we stopped by Best Buy to get an extra Wii controller, then spent some money at the Yankee Candle store. We ended our day out at Dobsons Gifts where Nana bought Brianna some clothes for her Webkinz.

CLIPBOARD

Brianna is not allowed to carry a backpack to school this year. She has a canvas sack, in which she is to carry a clipboard and a folder. Since Heather and I worked on "jazzing up" clipboards for gifts last Christmas, I knew I had to make Brianna one. Here are some pictures:

MEET THE TEACHER

Brianna is going to Meet her Kindergarten

Teacher, Mrs. Rita Danner.

Doesn't she look so Excited!

Brianna takes a picture with Mrs. Danner.

Mrs Danner gave Brianna a big kiss and hug

to welcome her to her class room.

Brianna explores all the learning centers in

her new classroom.I am so very excited about Brianna starting Kindergarten. I think that first impressions say a lot, and Mrs. Danner made a very positive impression on me this evening. I feel very confident that Brianna will be in excellent hands while in her class. I think Brianna is most excited about getting to eat school lunch in the cafeteria. I'm sure that will change as she grows older. :)

BRIANNA'S NEW FISH TANK

After 2 visits to the flea market, and selling Brianna's playkitchen and train table, Brianna was finally able to obtain her 10 gallon fish tank. Of course as expected her Daddy didn't make her pay for the whole thing. She used the money from the playkitchen she had made, $40, to pay for the aquarium stand. Her Daddy bought the new tank set up and I bought the first fish that went in there. Like I mentioned just a minute ago, we also sold her train table thanks to Craig's List. We made a whopping $75 on it. I think that was pretty fair. So $25 of that she got to keep to by herself a dancing dress and the other $50 we put toward the purchase of a Wii. All the other money we had made from the flea market, I used it to purchase her school clothes and shoes. So I would say all in all, this was a pretty successful venture. Now if I can get mine and Brian's things out of the attic for a yard sale, I would be doing excellent. That may take a while. It is just so hot up in the attic, I may wait till it cools off a little before I start that "project".

FRANKIE'S FUN PARK

Brian and Brianna headed out to another trip to Frankie's Fun Park. We are so different. When I take Brianna, I spend $20 and we are there for an hour. When the money is gone we leave. I do believe she has more fun with her Daddy. They left that Wednesday morning and were still there at 4:30. Brianna ended up with over 1800 tickets. Which she used to get several prices including a new Webkinz. It is a lizard that she named Sarafina. For the amount of money her Daddy spent, he could have taken her and bought 10 Webkinz, but it probably wouldn't have been as much fun. Here is a picture of the new addition to Brianna's Webkinz Family:

BRIANNA MELTED MY HEART TONIGHT

After work tonight, I took Brianna to get her hair cut followed by a trip to PetSmart. While we were out, I asked her if she wanted to go get icecream. While she was sitting there eating her Cotton Candy Icecream Cone with Sprinkles, she looked up at me and said the following:

"Mommy, you do such fun things with me. I love you now more than ever."



Told you! My heart just melted right away.

IT'S BEEN AWHILE

I know. But I've got to tell ya that I guess I am suffering from "Blogger Burnout". I just haven't had to much to say or talk about lately. So I don't even bother. So let's see.....

Well school is going to start on August 19th. Brianna will be attending Crestview Elementary and is very excited. Her teacher, Mrs. Rita Danner, called the other night to welcome Brianna to her class. We have meet the teacher this coming Friday. I have done all the school shopping I think I need to do. She has summer clothes, so I picked up some outfits for the fall. We went yesterday and got a pair of sneakers and a pair of black mary janes. So I guess she's pretty much set. She isn't allowed to carry a backpack in kindergarten. They ask that she carry a clipboard with her name on it. I plan on fixing that up real pretty for her. Other than that, I took her to Discovery Island WaterPark in Simpsonville yesterday. She really enjoyed it and so did I, but boy was it sure crowded when we left. We went shopping for her shoes afterward, then had lunch at Burger King and ended the day with a trip to Dillards Peach Shed for icecream. Today we went to church, then had lunch at Wendy's, then went by Granny's for a visit and then we went bowling. Boy, I can't wait till we get a Wii. Bowling is alot easier that way. I had hoped that Brianna and I would get a chance to see Heather and Carson today, but he was playing outside and Heather had errands to do. I haven't seen her in forever and Brianna is missing Carson. Heather, we have really got to get together.


Brian's Mom and Dad are coming next weekend to visit with us. His dad is going to help him put new windows in Brianna's room. Brian has also informed me that her outside walls have basically no insulation, so he plans on knocking down the old walls to put in new insulation and redo the walls. Yes, the walls that I just painted a few months ago. :( However, I won't complain because this house needs all the improvements that it could get. Not to mention, it should save us some moolah on the electric bill.


Well like I said earlier, not too much going on around here to talk about so I will leave you with pictures taken today of Brianna and Oreo.