IT IS A GREAT DAY TO BE ALIVE YA'LL

It has been too long, I know. I am ashamed right now that a full 17 days have passed since my last post. However, I am working towards a goal right now of at least one post..say every 17 days. (way to keep it random) :) Now that we are past the embarrassment of being a slacking blogger I will share some exciting news.

Josh is officially enrolled in Police Academy! He starts his training on August 16th. I am so proud of him because it really is a long process that sometimes ends in denial. However, Josh is determined and has been working his resources for a while and while he thought he would have to wait until early next year, a door opened swiftly and the opportunity for him to attend in Wharton, Tx became available. Of course, he stayed up until midnight on Tuesday night to make sure that he had his seat. 12:01 Wednesday morning final enrollment began and when he was interviewed by the Director, he was told to make sure he did that if he wanted a secure chair. Next comes all the physicals, and blood tests, and lie detector tests, and psych evals...and paperwork, and my personal favorite- school supply shopping!!

Um.. and in case you didn't know, school supplies for the police force is slightly different than the boxes of pencils and highlighters we as parents are used to!

I am talking Blackhawk all the way, who doesn't want a closet full of tactical armor and a Legacy XHR7 Flashlight with top mounted button? Um..pick me! It is the patrolman from my Navy days coming to the surface to play and I just know that Josh is going to fit the billet like none other!

Let's see, what else happened over the last 17 days? Well, we went to Longview and spent the weekend with Mema and Papa eating pounds of delicious peanut butter cookies. As a matter of fact, she gave me the recipe and I have baked 3 dozen! Yes, gone are the days when I hear "that's not how Mema does it" because my friends, I've made Mema's cookies and the two biggest critics (Joshua Kyle and Jacob) of them all ate them up like Champions of the JIF jar!! It was a beautiful day! While at Mema and Papa's house this time, Ella really loved on Papa, she read him stories, and blew bubbles for him and sat by him while he took naps during the day. It was really adorable! :) I am sure since she is the product of me, that I am now Papa's favorite..no way my sisters and cousin could beat me out of that! Just sayin'! :)

Mema must have blown about a gazillion bubbles until Caleb figured out we could put the wands in front of the fan on the porch! That was fun and there were hundreds of bubbles!
Ella picked out a cute purple purse and some jewelry to accessorize when we made our trip to the dollar store. Something the kids love to do when we go there. Caleb spent his 8 dollars that he got from the tooth fairy! Yes..two teeth in the same week.. pics to follow!!
Sweet Papa, even at 87 he is keeping up with Caleb ...at least for a couple pitches! :)
This is what I refer to as a redneck water park! Nothing stops Caleb from playing full out and breaking in the pool with his infamous cannonball! Ella was about to fallout she was laughing so hard..And I saved the best for last.. the feast of Mema's mashed potatoes!! God Bless Mema. Nuff said.

So, 4th of July weekend was a hit, just in case you didn't get the hint and Josh and I did get out to see the A-Team also while we were there. Nice little late night dating action! :)

On top of all that, I am still running of course and much of my lack of writing is because I have been reading so much.. Reading running blogs, and training plans, and nutrition plans, and all that fun stuff, plus keeping up with school. I am about done for the month and get an entire month off! I just found this out recently and will embrace my fantastic news as I travel over to Phoenix to see my brother and his bride for a long weekend! He is getting married on Friday, a little sooner than expected (December in Orlando) and at the JOP, but the party awaits me and I am super excited. :) YAY ME!! I mean.. Yay Bubby!! I will have the chance to see the rest of my family as well..

In August I will embark on my official training plan via Nike..thank you Nike..for the Seawall 1/2 Marathon November 20th!

Last but not least, Monday night I am going to sing Kareoke with some FANTASTIC friends and just in case I didn't mention it.. It IS A GREAT DAY TO BE ALIVE!!

Until next time..over and out!

xoxo