Madness and Mayhem, it MUST be Monday!

Auntie Karen...don't look! David is giving Derek a ride on the dirt bike while Dan slaves over the dune buggy

Greetings from HOT and sunny New Mexico! It is really hot here...seems like it's been over a hundred for about 10 days...phew! So in addition to roasting each day, here's a brief (OK, so maybe NOT so brief) overview of what we've been doing for the last week or so.

• Dan and 'Shua have still been working in Hurley M-Th and really enjoying their 3 day weekends
  
• David and Derek went to the church's day camp program this week and loved it! They made new friends, played outside, made crafts, learned about creation and LOVED water day!



• Pat is still with Dad and Mom in IL, and this week is actually in Ohio, visiting my Grandmother. He is getting spoiled by all the Great Aunties and Great Uncles, with whom he seems to have repoire. He survived a McCracken Family Reunion, which if you've ever been to one, is a pretty good trick! He insisted that Mom NOT introduce him to anyone and let him make his own friends...and Mom said that he did great. He calls almost everyday to tell us about some new adventure or something Mom is letting him do that I don't...he's never going to want to come home...LOL! We sure do miss him a lot!



• Dan put shocks on the dune buggy this week...and fabricated everything but the actual shocks himself. How he can see things like that in his mind blows me away...I can barely figure out what he's doing even when I can see it with my own eyes. Anywho, it's almost ready to go and he will come home Thursday night and try to wrap it up as he was MOST disappointed that he didn't finish in time to take it for a test run on Sunday.



• 'Shua spent his weekend shopping for plane tickets to get 'home' for the wedding, hanging out with the boys, and teasing Jodi. He also spent several hours each day helping Dan on the dune buggy project. Dan likes having a helper that can actually help...LOL!


• Jodi and I are still on our de~cluttering mission and have already filled the car for Good Will once this week and plan on doing it again before the week is out. SIMPLICITY and ease of use are the goals. We are trying to get the school area set up so that we can start using it when school starts. This area also houses the play area so the toys need to be collected, sorted and culled a bit. The boys won't like that part, but it needs to be done!


• Me? I'm still me...baking and crafting, cleaning and chasing babies, laundry and dishes, working and playing, and enjoying my family! And as an added bonus, I got permission to play the piano at church whenever I want so on Thursday after I dropped the boys off at day camp, I sat and played the piano for almost 2 hours...and the glory rolled! It was AWESOME!


• We are getting excited about our upcoming trip to IL...Dans' ticket is bought and paid for, I am making road trip plans, (anyone want overnight guests??) budgeting for rising gas costs, looking at motels and making play dates for myself and the boys.


• David managed to find his good buddy Jesse last week at the Walmart and set up a play date that turned into a sleepover and he was SOOOOOO happy and now wants to do that every week. He also spent the night with Auntie Karen this week and they had a "Back to the Future" marathon. Ty (now that he's home again) has invited David for this Thursday and Derek has a date with Auntie Karen on Saturday or Sunday.
  
  
• Titus' first birthday was this past week and we enjoyed a party in the park on Saturday, complete with Bug hats and a cake covered in rubber bugs. : )



• Game Night was small this week as Mike, Krissy and boys were missing, Ty was out of town and Robert and Tracy were sick. Plus Karen and David left early to get started on their movies...so it was just us, Charlie, Devin and Kelly...but we had fun and laughed lots and told silly stories. Dan got the giggles and Devin about popped his eyes out laughing at Dan with the giggles. ; )

So, all of that to say that we are happy, healthy, busy and having fun together! Thanks for reading and I'll add a few pics and be done.

Blessings to you this week,

Kristy and the Man Crew

PS...Lost Boys, I miss you all and am praying for you!