To Whom It May Concern:

Oh Dear Minnesotan summer road construction,

I cannot express how much joy I am going to feel when I am able to drive on newly tarred, smooth country roads.  Even though you have made me late this week, I do not hate you.  I am looking forward to the day when I don't have to see your bright orange diamond-shaped sign staring me in the face at every turn I take.  As do all the other vehicles that aren't quick enough to read your quickly approaching Road Closed Ahead signs...and thus have to pull a U-ey and head back where they just came from.  Oh, I will relish in the day when I can drive where and when I need to, on those newly, oh-so-smooth roads...just to have them beaten up this winter...

I will wait...patiently......

G'Nite ;)

Thoughts of the Day

My totally random splash of thoughts....

Road Construction.    So everyone always says that in Minnesota there are 2 seasons, winter and road construction, and with the exception of the 2 years that I drove in the metro area, I would've said that was SO untrue...until now.  I'm a small town Mama and the neighboring towns are not that large either, but MAN, can we get a break with roads closed?!  And what's with detouring traffic from the road that is closed onto the worst, and I mean worst, road in town?  Really...

Sidewalk Chalk.    We're lettin it all loose this summer with the outdoor entertainment.  I was the mom that said 'don't get dirty' as my kids were about to get into the newly rained in sandbox.  Like that would ever happen!?  Ok, so there is still some of that mom in me, but who cares if we all go out without shoes at 8 in the morning when there's still dew on the grass and then walk right into the sand and mud, resulting in sand-between-the-toes toes for the rest of the day...leaving trails throughout the house.  It beats me trying to find 3 pairs of shoes in our yard the next time we need to go somewhere.  And who cares if Maia eats more sidewalk chalk that she used to draw faint little baby lines with?  Really, who cares.

Summer Storms.    I have a love-hate relationship with storms.  I am very much scared-to-death when the sirens sound and there is a possibility of something near.  Yet I LOVE the thrill of a storm and watching, from a great distance, what's going on.  I chalk it up to being a mom now, yet still being young, and also the last bad storm that hit our town was when I was gone to a meeting and had my daycare sub filing in for me and watching my 6 kids, plus Bella...talk about scared-to-death mama experience.  And you can't beat the beautiful skies after a storm like this.

Playdates.    My girls have lots of friends.  And we love to have them over, any chance we can.  Our last consisted of SEVEN little princesses and 3 talkative mamas, playing and relaxing over juice and munchies.  Daddy and I rate the girls' playdate fun on what the yard looks like when it's over...and man can 7 little girls do a whopper on a backyard!  We hope to have Miss E and her lil baby sis and Miss L & Miss N over real soon again. 

Farms.    OK, I know...we're really small town people.  The girls, especially Bella and Kira, love farms and everything to do with them.  The excitement that pours out of them from seeing an irrigater on, is downright beautiful, and hysterical, on a drive home.  Bella already knows dozens of names of farm equipment and the brand of tractors...and I'm sure Kira's not far behind.  I think Daddy is a wanna-be-farmer, or maybe was one in a previous life :)

My Girls.    They have me in awe lately.  The things they say.  What they remember.  Their willingness to do anything.  What they plan out to do.  The lovin they do on one another and their Mama and Daddy.  Their super polite manners (thank you Barney - I know, thought I would never be that mom!).  Their creativity and craftiness.  Their individualism.  And especially their love for all things, big and small, in this world.

Christmas in July Sale

It's Christmas in the shop!  Now through July 25th, snatch up these amazing deals...

  * FREE US SHIPPING
      * 50 CENT SHIPPING TO CANADA
      * $1 INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING
  * $2 OFF ALL IN-STOCK HATS
  * LOTS OF CLEARANCE AND SALE ITEMS ADDED JUST FOR THIS SALE

***ALL DISCOUNTS HAVE ALREADY BEEN APPLIED TO ALL LISTINGS - NO NEED TO WAIT FOR YOUR REFUNDS***

JM Weekend and Winner

Well, you're all going to think I'm crazy and 'messin' with the results.  But I do not lie...and Tarah is one lucky girl on this blog.  Tarah won my last giveaway and guess who this weeks winner is...

#7

Tarah - who said this...This year, the only fun thing we were able to squeeze in was the annual parade in Gladstone, MI. After that, we pretty much got rained out. It literally didn't stop raining until today! But my son (who just turned 3) really loved it, and was joined by a friend's 4yo daughter Emma :)  and  Our July 4th traditions have always included a late morning parade at my grandmother's house (who just happens to live on the road that the parade travels down!), a big cookout at my parents while the kids play in the sprinkler, and then we do sparklers and get packed up to spend the evening at the city park waiting for the fireworks show :) This year, they have been postponed until AUGUST!!! (Too much rain in our forecast)

Thank you everyone for playing with me...hope you enjoyed reading what others do for fun on the 4th!

I plan to do lots of sharing this week, and for weeks and months to come, on my past weekend at our Joy Gathering through our church.  I just have to say that we LOVE our church and I LOVED spending time with our Lord and about 35 other women from our community this past weekend.  We attended the Joyce Meyer Ministries Conference and if you've never watched Joyce Meyer speak in person or on TV before...you HAVE TO.  Browse around here and you'll see what I mean; the women speaks from the Word and is so down to earth and personable, you can't help but feel like she's talking directly to you when she speaks.  Check it out and let me know what you think!

And I hope you'll all forgive me for not having an awesome giveaway for you all this week.  I've been a little pre-occupied lately and forgot to line up some Etsians.  But don't fret!  This week my Christmas in July SALE is going up in my Etsy store and you're not going to want to miss the sweet deals I have for you all!  Hope you come back and take a peak :)

McIntyreGirl Winner!

Announcing the lucky, sorry to leave you all hangin for a day or two...winner...

#11

Tarah from Heitman Photography

Congrats Tarah!!  Email me within 48 hours to claim your winnings!!

Happy Independence Day America!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday weekend, as we did, and had some time to spend with loved ones and remember those who are fighting, and have fought for the independence we have today!

We started off with a bang on Friday night.  We had some family and friends over for what was supposed to be a bonfire (and was sadly...with huge tears...missed by Bella).  The wind was outrageous.  Knock you over, can't hear the person next to you, but keeping the humidity at a bay windy.  So we had our grill going vs. cookin the wienies over the fire, and we all had a great time anyway.  My brother was home from Devil's Lake this weekend, so we wanted to take in as many things with him as we could.  The girls miss the other half of their uncle-duo (I have twin brothers), so any chance they get to hang out with both of them, and try to figure out which-is-which, promises good laughter and fun.

Little girls and 'older' girls, what's the deal.  My girls idolize my brothers' girlfriends and other girl friends.  And by idolize I mean hang-on-their-every-word, follow-them-around-annoyingly, sitting-practically-on-their-lap-at-every-function idolizing.  Was I like this as a little girl?  OK, I admit, I had to roll, pin and pull the socks over my jeans...just like my older cousins.  (ugh...I can't believe I just admitted this)  But was I this clingy?  Not sure that clingy is just the right word I'm looking for, but I just feel down right bad for these girls that my girls are 'attacking'!

OK, caught me again, I'm glad that I don't have to watch them like hawks when we're around our friends, because frankly, I enjoy a little break once and again.  I cherish these girls, more like women...just not wanting to admit to myself that I'm older than them and a mom to THREE!  They are my heaven.  They take my girls to movies.  And to Old McDonalds, like they like to call it 'round here.  And I love them for that.  I know that my girls are in great hands and I can't, nor will I ever be able to thank them enough for what they mean to me and my girls.

Now on to the next day of our exciting holiday weekend.  The only day that I had my camera with me, and the day that I filled my card up forgetting to unload it before Sunday...oops!

Horseraces!!!

It's not too often that I'm willing to take my girls, all of them, to a crowded place on a humid and hot day in the middle of summer...but with this group of people, I'd do just about anything.  So we headed off to Canterbury, in the middle of naptime I will add, to watch some horses run around a track and bet on names that sound cool and hope that we come out with more money that we came in with. 

I'm pretty sure this is Daddy's favorite part of the whole horse race experience...all he talked about last year!

Well we had fun, let's just keep it at that.  The girls love...screaming, yelling, whooping...love watching the horseraces.  And Maia did too.  After trying, and succeeding, to keep a one year old contained in a stroller for 4 hours, I was pretty proud of myself and our super fun day.  And it didn't end there...

We left Canterbury, a good hour from our house, early to swing home quick, refill coolers and pack up some blankets and lawn chairs and leave again, heading in the opposite direction for some 4th of July fireworks. 

And. They. Were. Awesome.

Bella and Kira sat, of course, in the midst of my brothers and the 'girls'...not to be seen hangin' with the 'rents.  Really, this is happening already?!  And Maia could have cared less.  She's not one for loud noises, and although they didn't seem to bother her, she just laid her head down and passed herself down the row of grown-ups till she landed on a comfy shoulder to rest her head on.

Rain rang in the 4th of July here on Sunday.  We were headed to our usual parade when it started down pouring...so we turned around and headed to my parents and decided to go bowling instead.  Who goes bowling on the 4th of July?!  We do!  We had a blast and the girls are definitely realizing it's just a bit harder to bowl in real life than it is on the Wii.  They'll learn, their daddy's in a bowling league...I'm sure they'll have no problem.

After that we just went back to my parents house and vegged out for the rest of the day.  Grilled out for supper, in true Independence Day style and tryed to survive, or bear at least, the sweltering heat and humidity.  They said it was supposed to leave last night...well it's still here today and it's not cool (literally).

Ah, and what does a family do on their 'day off' because of yesterday's holiday...yard work.  I know, we're real outgoing today, huh?!  To be honest, I've never been so beat and wiped out from a long weekend before.  The weekend, unusually, went by slow and that was just right for us.  We had a blast and hopefully the girls did too.  It didn't take them much to fall asleep tonight after going to bed LATE for 3 nights in a row and not sleeping in for a single morning this weekend.  Oh well, maybe when they get older...

Happy Independence Day to all of you!!!  And for this weeks special...up for grab is a $25 gift certificate for bekima knits!!!  All you have to do is comment here on one thing you (your family) did fun this past holiday weekend...and you're entered for your chance to win!  Get an extra entry for letting me know what your holiday 'traditions' are for the 4th of July (must be a separate entry)  Runs through Friday, July 9th at Midnight (CST) and winner will be chosen via random.org.

Have a fabulous week this week!  I'm looking forward to hanging with some fab girls this weekend at our Joy Gathering!!!

Silence for Cohen

Sending love and prayers to Cohen's family...see his whole story here.