To my own dad, to my husband and daughter's dad, and to my husband's dad - Happy Father's Day! And truly to all you dads out there - I hope you had a fabulous day doing what makes you happy.
1. We had a fantastic day - weekend, actually. We were able to celebrate Father's Day with the above-mentioned dads. Yep, our family, plus my parents, plus the hubby's parents were all together this weekend at my parent's house down at the lake. We had so much fun together! We actually took a group picture but I haven't received it yet. But here's proof that the hubby's parents, indeed, drove down to Arkansas:

Yesterday the weather was great. Not a chance of rain and in the 80s.
Grandma Rori got in on the action and rode the tube with the girls! The girls thought it was so fun to get Grandma in the water with them.

And of course my dad got in on the fun as well. I'm not sure who enjoys this more: my dad or the girls?!

My mom and Grandpa Jerry decided to keep the boat safe and avoid the lake water. I can't say I blame them. The water was decent but a bit chilly at first.
Last night the girls decided to play with mustaches they had purchased that morning at the Moustache shop in downtown Bentonville:

The best part? They left them on as we sat down to dinner. I looked up while we were saying grace and they all had their mustaches on - while praying. Too funny.
Today was iffy - it got down to 64* about 10am this morning. Luckily it warmed up and by 1pm it was in the mid-70s which is otherwise known as "warm enough to ski and wakeboard". We all headed back down to the lake but the grandparents (and myself) avoided the water today. The girls still had a blast so it was all good!
2. Do you know what else today was? It was #2's 11th birthday! Yes, she was actually born ON Father's day and the dates didn't coincide again until this year - 11 years later. Cool, huh? It was really special to be able to celebrate Father's Day and her birthday all together and with all 10 of us.
#2 is such a great kid. Her personality is just awesome - she is so funny and dorky and we love it! Plus, she's very kind and considerate and just all around awesome. She has a serious side that can come out from time to time - especially when it involves something new. But she has gotten so much better about just facing the unknown and giving it a try. I'm so proud of her and love her to pieces!
Her birthday party with her friends was last Wednesday night. She had five of her friends over for pizza at the pool followed by a sleepover. And yes, she's done this party the last few years but she just loves it so we keep repeating it. Why mess with success, you know? 
Yes, there are 7 girls in the picture because of course her little sisters were there and #3 is on the far left.
We had an ice cream cake after swimming and it was a hit!

Happy birthday my dear, sweet girl!
3. #1 spent the week at camp this past week. It was her last year being able to attend Youthfront West. (Next year she would have to go to a different location if she wanted to go to camp again.) Of course she had a great time and loved every minute of it. I love that she is able to make these memories with her friends because they will stick with her forever!

And yes, she is officially the exact same height as me. In fact, the hubby thinks she may be taller - but I think we are identical. For now.
4. We had two doctor's appointments this week - for #2 and #4. I needed a doctor's note so #2 can attend camp and #4 needed her kindergarten shots.
I have to say, I loved our doctor! You see, we had the same doctor since moving down to Overland Park in 1997 and she delivered all four of the girls and then became their doctor, too. (I love Family Practice medicine because it's totally one-stop-shopping!) However, she moved back to Wisconsin last year to be near her family after her husband passed away. And so this was the first time seeing Dr. Baker. LOVED HER! If you need a recommendation, let me know and I'll give you her 411. She was seriously awesome.

#2 needed to get two shots but because she was four DAYS away from turning 11, I had to wait. Oy! But #4 got three shots. She did great. She cried a little but no real tears. Once she had her sucker she stopped. The best part, though? When she walked out of the office you would have thought they about amputated her legs. She walked all slow and hunched down and sort of on her tippy toes like she was practically dying. It was so over the top that I about died laughing! Seriously funny. I just wish I had taken a video!
5. I had the house all to myself on Friday night. And you know what? I got bored. I was too tired to work on any projects and the house was SO QUIET! So finally at about 8:30 I drove to Target and bought this: (well, the wine was already mine)

Yes, I bought The Heat. I love that movie and could watch it over and over! And of course I couldn't pass up a shelter magazine. So my night ended up working out well! (I was home alone because the hubby, kids, and grandparents headed down to Arkansas Friday afternoon. I stuck around because I needed to pick up #1 from camp Saturday morning. Then we drove down straight from camp.)
6. I bought trout on a whim last week while grocery shopping. I had no idea how to cook it so I looked up recipes on allrecipes.com. And I have to tell you - I found a winner! This trout was SO GOOD! I substituted honey for the sugar and used sesame oil rather than EVOO. If you like fish you should try this!

The stuff on the bottom left is cauliflower "rice". It's OK. I think it could be better so I keep experimenting. I'm determined to get it right.
7. I absolutely love running on the trails between Bella Vista and Bentonville. The scenery is simply gorgeous. Of course I ran this morning - fueld by red wine, beer, pulled pork, and salads from the night before. (Said another way - I needed to get my ass out there and burn off some calories!)
The first five miles were nice. It was about 74* with some humidity. But it was cloudy so it wasn't too hot. Well, about 4.5 miles in it got really, really dark. Just as I hit the 5 mile mark to turn around it started raining. Since I was sheltered (on the trails behind Crystal Bridges) I checked my phone. Lightning was 20 miles away so I was safe. But I was also caught - surrounded by rain. I figured what the heck and started running back. Well, about a mile into my run back it started POURING! By this time I had no way to describe where I was located for an emergency pick up. (My sense of direction is VERY LACKING!) Plus, I was already wet. I hid out for a few minutes when I decided I just needed to go for it! This was my view:

It did not let up AT ALL for the remaining four miles. Therefore, my pace picked up substantially. These are my splits and they totally tell the story!
Mile 1 = 10:06 (nice warm up)
Mile 2 = 9:53
Mile 3 = 9:59 (Finally warmed up - took 3 miles for some reason)
Mile 4 = 9:50
Mile 5 = 10:35 (the hill called el Diablo de Arkansas is here - it's crazy steep! P.S. I named it.)
Mile 6 = 9:32 (down the hill - raining but ok)
Mile 7 = 8:30 (POURING)
Mile 8 = 8:10 (still POURING)
Mile 9 = 9:10 (by now I'm not even skirting the puddles I'm so wet - I run right through them)
Mile 10 = 8:51 (my shoes are squeaking and I'm deliriously singing along to my music. out loud.)
Average pace = 9:28
Thank goodness I wore a hat today.
8. I forgot to tell you this last week - I got a Roomba! I love it! Is it perfect? Heck, no. Is it better than no Roomba? Heck, yes!
My one serious complaint is that it is loud. Like really loud. However, it's really only an issue during the summer when the girls are home. It's kind of hard to run it when there are a lot of people around. And I've found that it works best if you pick up your chairs and hang them upside down from the table - like in a restaurant - when it's going. That way it gets under my table, too. And it does get stuck on my rug in front of the kitchen sink but that is because the corners stick up pretty badly.
After it's run, my hardwood floors look so good. Not perfect but really, really good! And I love that it docks itself when it's finished running. So then it is charged up and ready to go the next day. We're still trying to learn when it's best to run it but so far I'm really glad we bought it. For reals.
OK. Phew! I was long-winded tonight. Have a great week!