What, wait it's been almost a year??

I can't believe it has been almost a year since I have posted.  I guess because I am pressed for time I'm going to list ten things for ten months:

1.  I'm still working outside the home and still loving it.
2.  Sydnee graduates from college in December and is currently applying to Graduate School.  Keep your fingers crossed she gets into a physician assistant program in Florida, it will just kill this Momma if she goes out of state.
3. Natalie graduates from High School on Tuesday and will join her sister at UCF as soon as we get back from England.  Two of my little birds out of the nest, I can't stand it.
4.  Yes, I said England.  We leave next week to visit Dave's family and we are also heading to France to visit our exchange student Chloe's family.
5.  McKenlee will be driving by herself this September so we will be car shopping again. Ugh!!
6.  McKenlee got a job as a lifeguard this summer at our local pool.  So proud of her, she loves it.
7.  Dave started a new route with UPS and is working some crazy hours.  The money is great but he's exhausted, I hope something changes for him soon.
8.  We are having a graduation open house for Natalie on Saturday.  We are really looking forward to it.  We haven't had a get together in awhile. It will be nice to catch up with friends and family.
9.  Our cat Tuesday passed away 5 months ago, I still miss him constantly.  The hardest part I think is losing a pet that has watched your kids grow up.  I don't like to think about when Jesse goes, but I know it's coming she will be 13 this July.
10.  I'm going to blog again.  I decided.  Lol.

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Surprise Sydnee...

We surprised Sydnee today and drove to Orlando to have lunch at her new Restaurant. Since it's been so long since I blogged I probably didn't share the story of Sydnee quitting her job at the Tilted Kilt.

It went like this:
Her GM called her into his office and told her what a fantastic job she was doing and how lucky they were to have her. He then proceeded to ask her if she would mind training the new waitresses starting  because she was so good at what she did.
My girl very flattered told him that would be no problem as she enjoyed getting to know the new girls.
 He then dropped the bomb and told her that there was one more thing.
If she gained any more weight they would have to cut her shifts. She was no longer fitting into the uniform appropriately.
Holding back tears my girl excused herself and went out to her car. She called me at work crying her eyes out.
She was hysterical and I was furious!!! I begged her to let me call them and give them a piece of my mind. She told me no way, she was an adult and she would handle this herself.
So she went home called her store manager and promptly gave her notice.
She also shared with him that she had NOT GAINED even a single pound since she had started the job back in August.
Her store manager was flabbergasted and and told her that what the GM said to her was completely ridiculous.  It didn't matter though, it was to late. What that inconsiderate imbecile had done was just too much for my girl. Her confidence was shattered and there was no way she was staying at the Kilt.
She had made plans to come home for that weekend and I was so glad she did.
I say this because my poor girl cried all weekend. At one point on Saturday night she came into our room at 2 AM crying she said that she just couldn't sleep, she couldn't stop thinking about it.
My anger just escalated. I will NEVER set foot in a Tilted Kilt restaurant again nor will anyone else who knows and loves my daughter.
I am posting a picture of Sydnee and two of the young girls that she works with. This photo was taken about a week before her GM had that conversation with her. You tell me, is my girl "too big" for the uniform???

Right before she left for the Dominican Republic she was hired at The East Coast Bar and Grill.

    They were opening a new location in a very busy part of town. Getting the news that she got another job was a great way to start off her medical mission trip. The restaurant has been open two weeks now and my girl has been making great money. (The Tilted Kilt had not been doing well the last few weeks she had been there. I wonder if it had anything to do with their FANTASTIC General Manager.) 

 We decided we would drive over to Orlando to visit her today and have lunch in her restaurant. We decided to surprise her and I think she was shocked when she saw us walking toward her section.

 It was SOOO good to see her. We loved the new restaurant. It had a great menu with a ton of variety. After she got off work we went next door and had frozen yogurt. This visit worked out really well because she is moving into a new apartment at the end of this week and she needed her Dad's truck. She thought we were going to meet her half way next weekend but now she gets the truck early and can begin moving in sooner. It was a win, win!! I am also so thrilled that she is now working at a restaurant that appreciates her for her work ethic and customer service skills instead of how she looks in a very skimpy uniform.   

Just in case you were wondering.  Natalie was babysitting today and couldn't join us.  :(

My Softball Girl...

McKenlee had a really great softball season this spring. While they didn't win a whole lot of games. (The beginning of the season was awful but then at the end they had huge improvements and won several games.) McKenlee was the primary pitcher for her team and she did really well. Dave and I were very proud of her. The best part of this season by far though were the great group of girls she played with. They really bonded and enjoyed playing together. I hope she wants to play next year too.

Andy Grammer...

Tonight McKenlee and I went to see Andy Grammer in concert.  It was a fantastic evening.  We went with McKenlee's English teacher and her daughter.  McKenlee was in class one day and her teacher Mrs. O'Connell was talking about how her daughter was a huge fan and they both bought tickets for the concert without realizing the other had done so also.  So needless to say they had two extra tixs.  McKenlee loves Andy Grammer so she asked if we could buy the extra two tickets and go with them.  I love any opportunity to have a little one on one with each of my girls so I said absolutely.  It was a really neat concert because the venue was so small.  I have never been to a concert in that type of setting.  I loved it.  Mrs. O'Connell graciously gave up her ticket which was much closer to the stage and also her pass for the meet and greet after the show to McKenlee.  McKenlee was beyond excited and we had such a good time.  Mrs. O'Connell and I forgot we were Moms and danced and sang just like we were groupies.  The best part of course was the meet and greet afterwards when McKenlee got to have her picture taken with Andy Grammer.  You can tell by the look on her face she was in heaven.  I must say Andy Grammer was fabulous with his fans and I just thought he was adorable.  I jokingly posted on my FB page next to the picture "Here is McKenlee with my future son in law"  LOL

Let's play catch up II...

So in May Natalie had her Junior Prom with her then boyfriend Chris. (they have since broken up) McKenlee went to dinner with Natalie and Chris and their friends and took pictures for me.  I think they turned out beautiful.  School is out now and the girls are keeping busy,  Natalie is doing a summer course at our local college.  I love the option of doing college classes while you are still in high school.  When students take the classes while still in high school it is completely free. LOVE THIS...  I sure wish we would of taken advantage of this when Sydnee was in high school but this is a relatively new option for students and when Syd was in high school they really pushed the whole AP thing.  Now this seems to be the more popular route because you are guaranteed college credit, and as long as you pass the class it is not dependent on an exam at the end. McKenlee is doing summer swim team and Junior Guard in hopes of getting a job guarding once she turns 16.  Natalie is looking for a part time job. We bought her a car back in May and we've told her we would like her to take over the car payment as soon as she can.  We are not good used car buyers (the Jetta has been a nightmare) and basically I just wanted her in a safe, reliable car.  So we traded her Jetta in for a 2014 Dodge Avenger.  She is thrilled and I am thankful I don't have to worry about her being stranded.  Here are some pictures from Natalie's prom.

Let's play Catch Up!!!

Back at the end of March we headed to Hilton Head, SC for spring break. It was wonderful. This is definitely somewhere that we would like to go back. We rented bikes and bike rode all over the island. One day Dave took us on an eight mile ride because he didn't know we couldn't bring bikes to this certain area so we ended up going much further than we anticipated. We rode the beach the entire way back and it was beautiful. We even saw a school of Dolphin's swimming along the break line. The only downfall with the kids spring break being so early is that it's usually still little cold when we travel north. So while we were not swimming in the water we were enjoying wearing our sweaters and making smores with the indoor fire place.

Where did March go???

I didn't write not even one single post in March.  That's bad, I hate when that happens.  Especially because I know when I go back and read my blog I'll be mad at myself.  But let me just list a few March happenings.

1. Recreational softball for McKenlee is in full swing, her team has yet to win a game yet but I am hopeful.

2.  I got my hair cut and asked myself WHY??? I waited so long.  I guess part of it was that it was longer than it had been in years and when I took the time to curl it all out I loved it.  However, curling it all out was A LOT of work so I hardly ever did it. Thus, I ran around looking scraggly to much of the time.  It is now shoulder length and looks really nice, and is so easy to do.

3. We went on vacation to Hilton Head Island, SC.  We loved it and want to go back.  This event deserves it's own blog post along with pictures so coming soon, I promise.

4. I played golf two times and I'm getting better.  Not Tiger Woods better, but better none the less.  LOL  I'm not sure if I like it yet but I am sure I love how happy it makes my husband that we are out there playing together, so I'm going to try really hard to fall in love with it.

5. We spent a day in Orlando with Sydnee and her soon to be new room mate Ashley.  It was a nice time.

6. We saw the movie Divergent.  The girls and I loved it, Dave not so much.  Now I want to read the books,  not sure when I will fit that in.  I currently have 4 books downloaded on my Kindle that I haven't gotten to yet.

7.  We spent our annual day down in Englewood, Florida with my Aunt and Uncle visiting from Michigan.  We took the Kayak with us and McKenlee and I got lucky and had an up close and personal experience with a Sea Turtle, it was amazing.

8. McKenlee went to see Demi Lovato in concert and had a blast.

9. Lap top battery is dying so nine is all I got today.  Enjoy your Sunday.  :)