I love the sewer man, my baby boy starts school, my baby girl turns 7, celebrating a criminal and a monumental day for my 2nd favorite Logan

First of all, the Big Stink Disaster was fixed last Monday after a very kind sewer man checked his work phone on Sunday evening and felt badly for us.  He called many times that night, walking us through figuring out what was wrong, then was on our doorstep early in the morning to reassure us that all was well now.  Come to find out, we have a sewer breaker which had been tripped a few weeks ago when we kept having "brown outs" for a couple days.  Since the breaker was tripped, the sewer was not pumping, and we ended up with a . . .mess . . .on the side lawn.  I have to admit it's pretty comical now!  Could life get any more gross than having your family's poop all over your yard?  At least the grass should grow really nicely in that "fertilized" area, right?

Next up, my baby started preschool on Tuesday.  I can't say how happy I am that I pulled him out of his expensive preschool and decided to do a co-op preschool with some of his best buddies.  He is loving the familiarity of having school at his friend's houses, and the small group of kids doesn't overwhelm him.  This week I get to teach the 5 little cuties, so I've been busy planning some fun activities and lessons for the kids.  It actually borders on pathetic how excited I am! 

Honestly, this kid is spoiled rotten because he has the sweetest little face and voice ever.  How can I not just give in to his every demand?

 My Lindseybell turned 7 this week!  She enjoyed every minute of being the star of the day!  I took treats to her class at school, and it was so funny to see her in that environment.  She soaked up every bit of the extra attention!  I had to laugh out loud when I was walking in the hallway with her and she giggled at a kindergartner walking next to her.  She then turned to me and said, "oh my gosh, Mom!  Look how cute and little the kindergartners are!"  Apparently she became much older and wiser in the few months since she was a "cute little kindergartner!"

When Keri was here a few weeks ago, Lindsey informed her that she wanted a new bracelet, and half demanded that Keri get it for her.  Every time Lindsey would see Keri in a room, she would put her fingers in a circle and mouth the word "bracelet."  This girl is a hoot.  She was very happy to get a new bracelet and necklace from us for her birthday, along with the girly slippers and the Just Dance Wii game.

This is Lindsey's look of pure joy as she realized Grandma Springer had sent her just what she wanted . . .a new umbrella!  Let's see if she can make it at least a week before breaking this one.

I love the gap in her bottom row of teeth.  I love how her hair is a mess because she doesn't stop doing cartwheels and flips all day long.  I  love that she got a  kick out of the trick sparkler candles I put on her cake.  I love that she was thrilled I got her a store-bought cake with flowers and words on the top.  I love that the back of her shirt says "Sunshine."  I love that she was so excited for her birthday that we had to celebrate it a day early.  I love that she had a million and two friends she wanted to invite to her party that will be next Friday (we settled on 9 friends).  I love this sweet and energetic girl so much!

Lindsey's actual birthday was yesterday, and boy was it a busy day.  We woke up early to get ready for the Jesse James parade, where both the girls rode on a float with their choir group.  We Kearney-Liberty folk like to celebrate the famous criminal because he was born here.  Any excuse for a party and parade, I guess.  The girls are both loving choir again this year!  My camera has been acting funny lately, so none of the pictures turned out exactly how I wanted, and the date is stamped on many of them. 

We had been so worried that the parade would be ruined due to the forecast of rainshowers, but the rain held off until literally the minute we finished the parade route, and we all ran to our cars as fast as we could!

After the parade, Lindsey wanted to eat lunch at The Olive Garden as a birthday celebration.  3 plates of spaghetti, 1 plate of macaroni and cheese, some mediocre dishes that Ryan and I ordered, and a whole lot of money later, we will not be making the mistake of taking the kids there again anytime soon.  I could have made them huge plates of spaghetti and mac&cheese for about a tenth of the price.

While on the way to the restaurant, Logan fell asleep sitting next to Ryan in the front seat of the truck.  Logan likes to rub things while falling asleep, and this time it was Ryan's thumb, since Ryan had his hand over Logan's knee.  It was one of the cutest sights I've ever seen.

Lindsey begged and begged and BEGGED to have the waitresses sing "Happy Birthday" to her, then she acted all shy when they actually did.  Whatever, kid.  We all know it was a show because there isn't a shy bone in her body.

On the evening of Lindsey's birthday, we attended Logan Simmon's baptism.  Brynlie, Madelyn and Jillian sang "Nephi's Courage" as one of the musical numbers, and Lindsey, Jorja and Chloe sang "We'll Bring the World His Truth" as the second musical number.  Needless to say, both groups of pretty girls were adorable and did a fabulous job.

"My" Brenda with her proud boy!

It's embarrassing to be a Cougar fan after last night's game against Utah.  I was so upset I dreamed about it all night long.  What an absolute waste of three hours.  It was like watching a peewee football team play a college team.

In other pointless news, I've decided it's super fun to wear heals, so I've bought a couple pair lately.  I still twist my ankles and fall at least once a day and have actual blisters on both feet, but it's worth it for the new additions to the wardrobe.  My friend Jill went shopping with me last weekend and helped me pick out some very classy outfits.  Who would have ever thought I'd enjoy being girly in my old age?

Party planning is going well and taking most of the available space in my brain.  I sure hope I can pull off the big party for my better half without him finding out.  I underestimated how hard it would be to make everything a surprise!

I'd better head upstairs where there are 4 dirty faces waiting for kisses so they can drift off to sleep.  As much as I love Sunday, it's depressing to think about the next day being Monday.  Here we go again with all the fun craziness a new week brings!