911 WHAT'S YOUR EMERGENCY

My emergency is that it's 12:30 a.m. and the fire alarm is going off and there is no fire. For those of you that don't know Johnny is in Chicago for a sales conference and my Mom is in town for the weekend. Last night we all went to bed pretty early but only to be woken by the fire alarm around 12:30. The first thing Mom said was I don't smell smoke which was very comforting. I totally panicked and did not know what to do. I called Johnny and he told us to take the batteries out of the alarms to get it to go off. By this time Tucker is screaming and Jacob is still sleeping. The alarm finally stopped but then went off again, and again and again. We got all the batteries out of the alarms and what do you know it keep going off. I did not know what to do so I called 911. The nice lady on the phone had no idea why the alarm was going off and told me the only option would be to have the Fairfax County Fire Department come out to the house and investigate the situation. By this time it is after 1:00 a.m. I am in tears at this point and tell her ok but that I am soo embarrassed to have the fire department come out when there is no fire. She tells me this kind of stuff happens all the time. The fire department arrives very quickly and as they are pulling up to the house they can hear the fire alarm going off. Three fireman come into the house and start to investigate the situation. They can not figure out what is going on. The only option is to disable all the alarms in the house. Tucker is really enjoying all this excitement especially the fire truck in front of the house. Jacob is still sleeping. The fireman come to a conclusion that they have no idea what is going on and tell me to call the electrician to come out and check the wiring. They told us to be careful and get some sleep. Jacob sleeps thru all this and wakes as they are driving away. I can honestly say it is never a dull moment in this household.

Brotherly Love

This morning Tucker was playing with his sticker book and decided that Jacob needed some stickers. Jacob was playing in the floor and Tucker put the stickers on Jacob's face. Jacob didn't seem to mind and just smiled as Tucker put them on him. The older Jacob gets the more fun it is to watch them try to play with each other. Jacob watches every move his big brother makes and Tucker is actually starting to like Jacob. Tucker is still a little too rough with him but we are working on that. Whenever we are about to go somewhere Tucker will say can Jacob go? I truly hope and pray that they grow to love each other and be the best of friends.

Plantation Iced Tea

7 tea bags
12 mint leaves (optional)
1/2 cup sugar
One 6-ounce can frozen lemonade concentrate
One 12- ounce can pineapple juice

Pour 4 cups boiling water over the tea bags, mint, and sugar in a pitcher. Steep for 30 minutes. Remove the tea bags, squeezing out the excess liquid. Remove the mint. Prepare the lemonade according to the instructions and add to the tea. Add the pineapple juice and stir. Serve over ice.

This is such a fun summer drink and so easy to make. Enjoy! Thanks Paula Deen.

Blue Eyed Boy

Check out my new seat

I don't think these were out when Tucker was a baby but I just saw it at the store and decided to get Jacob one. It is called a Bumbo seat and it is awesome. You can put a baby in it as soon as they can hold up there head. Jacob seems to like it for a while but then Tucker starts to push him around the kitchen and then Jacob screams.

Dad Update

A lot of people have emailed me about my Dad and I just wanted to let everyone know that he had his gallbladder removed on Tuesday and was able to go home Wednesday morning. He is home resting and feeling much much better. Thanks to all those that called and emailed me concerning him.

We are back from our summer vacation and boy did we have a blast! This has to be the best 4th of July we have had since we got married. This year we did something different, instead of going to Florida we went to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. We all agreed that traveling by plane to hot and humid Florida with 4 kids was a little much this year. Papa John was nice enough to take us to the Outer Banks and it was awesome. It only took us about 5 hours to drive down and the kids did fine in the car. Jacob slept most of the time and Tucker was so excited he never got fussy. Tucker had so much fun playing in the sand and swimming in the pool. Papa John and Granny Lou helped out everyday taking care of Brooks and Jacob for us. They were so sweet with the kids and we really appreciate all there help. Papa John turned 60 this year so we planned a little party for him at a local seafood restaurant. I think we all enjoyed the birthday cake, especially Tucker and Mary Raines. Jane Lou's daughter Katie and her three kids joined us this year. Tucker really enjoyed playing with Kameryn and Blaine. The boys really enjoyed riding in the bumper cars. Probably the most fun we had was going off roading on the beach and getting to see the wild horses. We drove around for about 2 hours and finally saw a family of horses eating grass in the sand dunes. It was really a neat experience. I think we all a great time being together and look forward to next year.