My awesome gardening friends and neighbors have been generously giving me their goods this week. I love garden fresh veggies, mostly because I haven't taken up the challenge of growing my own yet. Anyway, I have this big bag of red, ripe, juicy tomatoes which is great but....no one in my family likes tomatoes! But we love salsa..so I thought I would try and put the tomatoes to use and make some. I went to the internet, googled salsa and was amazed at the thousands of recipes. There were some I couldn't even pronounce, much less make. I am asking my blog friends...is there a recipe for salsa that doesn't involve 5 kinds of peppers that I've never heard of and spices that I know I couldn't find in our town. I am searching for that easy to make salsa, that not only we will love to eat but so these gorgeous tomatoes won't go to waste.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions!

This is a crazy thing that happened a couple of weeks ago...it's been on my mind, kind of like I'm supposed to tell this story. Although I don't have a picture, I'll do my best to describe it with words.

I was running along the bluffs, my kids on their bikes in front of me. My mind was not thinking of anything, just watching my kiddos and wondering how they got so big so fast and listening to my ipod music. We came around a curve and there it was...a rainbow in the sky...starting at a point from behind the bluffs and ending in a cloud above us. It was probably the neatest thing I had ever seen simply because it's completely dry. Like most of you, it hasn't rained in weeks. And yet here was this rainbow making an appearance. Wow. What was even more cool? The song that came up the minute I noticed the rainbow was "Open The Eyes Of My Heart".

No one can tell me that wasn't a God thing because it had God written all over it. And I'm so glad we were there for it.

This is my girl sporting her SDSU attire which we will need to get out again once football season starts up. It's been 14 years since my bh and I graduated from the coolest school in SD and we are excited to become a part of the campus again. Only in a different way. A couple of SDSU alumni in town wanted to start a Yankton tailgate group, where we would have our own spot, our own tent and grill at all home football games. Since me, my bh and my son love football games, we decided to join the group. Not only is it a great way to be with people from Yankton that also went to State, it's a great way to meet even more people and their families, support SDSU and have some fun. So it's official. We paid the dues and we are now part of the 25 (and growing) families called the YJTG (Yankton Jackrabbit Tailgating Group). I'm excited to be in the college action again, even though I'm quite a bit older now. So, fellow Staters, we'll see you at the game. We'll be the ones stuffing down hot dogs and trying to act like grown-ups!!

A few snapshots of our favorite things to do when we just get to hang out and have some FUN! Of course we make it to the lake quite often but the sand does not do well with my camera! These are the times that are treasured the most. I wish the summer days would go a little slower...

This one's for Karen....thank you for the tips to make our 4th of July a huge success! We did the burgers, your awesome salad and ice cream for dessert. Everything was so fun and was really easy to do. We ended up having about 30 people for the festivities. Now I'm ready for more! So, Karen will you be available in a couple of months when we host a football party?! Thanks, you are wonderful!

Here she is...goodbye van-ster, hello jeep-ster!

This is a tree in our backyard. Not just any tree mind you, it's the biggest, oldest tree in the area. It's huge. My bh on the other hand quite frequently calls it "that blasted cottonwood", especially during wind storms. Last year, a giant piece of this tree fell to its demise, leaving us with plenty of firewood for our backyard fire pit. I personally like the tree. Imagine this thing being around for 60+ years. How can you just get rid of it? So we put up with the mess it makes in the fall and the pacing it makes my bh do during those summer storms. It's that big, old tree that has become a part of our backyard activities. I'm glad it's there. At least for now.

Some photos from the race this past Saturday. It was called the Challenger and a challenge it was! Beautiful scenery but oh the hills! Once you got up and down one, there was another one. These pictures are at the beginning, before we got on the trails and at the end, thankfully getting off them! So no photos from the "inside" It's a tough course for only 3 1/2 miles but it really is exhilerating. I finished six minutes faster than last year. Considering the terrain we were on, I was pleased. And it was a perfect morning, no wind, no humidity in the air, my family at the finish line. Great race for a good cause...bringing our own Sgt. Corey Briest back home this weekend. That's really what it's all about.

My son is getting into this photography thing. Hmmm, wonder why?! :) My bh and I celebrated our 13th aniversary a few weeks back and my son, bless his heart, thought it would be neat to take our picture. So he posed us and snapped away. He did a really good job! I was smiling but deep down all I kept thinking was "please be careful with that camera, please be careful with camera..." So here's the photo my son got. He even tried to get my bh to smile but no luck. His dad just can't smile for a camera, never could. Wow. 13 years. 13 great years with a great man. I'm glad my son wanted to do this photo. It will bring back lots of memories when we are celebrating all those future anniversaries. Love ya, sweetie!

Just an update, Wednesday was MUCH better than Tuesday. Darn Tuesday. Messed up what could have been a pretty good week! The kids and I got the list done and then went on a bike ride through the campgrounds when daddy got home. The plumber's coming a week from Monday, the carpenter after that, the chair's fixed and that overwhelming feeling has diminished. Shewww, that was a close one. Now it's back to fun stuff for awhile, just pray I don't get all spacy again! Life goes on and it all works out, good days along with the not so good ones!

This is my son on his last day of golf lessons. They played in a little tournament and he did really well. I can't believe how much he has improved from last year. And he really loves it. Grandpa got him a new golf bag this year, one of those fancy ones that has it's own legs and of course, Packer wood covers. Anyway, I told him once he was done with lessons, I would take him out for a round. So the tee time is set... a date night for me and Brody.

It's been a bad day. I don't even have a cute picture that I can post because nothing is relating to what I'm blogging about. So no picture on this one. Just some venting, spilling my guts and even a little whining in hopes it will make me feel better. I could blame it on PMS or maybe I could chalk it up to just one of those days. Either way, I'm glad it's over and I can start fresh tomorrow. Actually, when I read what I'm writing, my day could have been worse. My kids are healthly, I'm healthy, hubby's healthy, dog' healthy...so what could be so bad? I won't go into any boring details, but getting into a summer routine is really hard. I can't seem to get an anything done. Once I start a project, something else comes up, then I get totally distracted and at the end of the day, nothing gets completely done. I know I've blogged about this problem I have before. I wish there was a pill I could take to cure this crazy siyndrome. So the list keeps piling up. I'm just not good at this balancing thing. Never have been, never will be. That's all there is to it. My hubby on the other hand, is the opposite. Must be why he's a supervisor and has been forever. He gets things done. So why can't I? He tells me I need to prioritize my day. Priorities? Let's see, kids...kids...kids. Then hubby, dog, house stuff, food, bills, then me. To top off the endless lists, my patience is wearing thin on people I'm waiting for. Remember that plumber I contracted for our new bathroom??? Still not here. My Jeep??? Still not here. Someone to come fix our week-old massaging chair??? Still not here. The cable guy to check our signal??? Still not here. Ugh. In cases like today, I am reminded of what my pastor said to do when I'm stressed. Pray and have a Jack Daniels. He was kidding about the JD but the prayer thing comes in handy on a day like today. I envy those of you who can come up with a great Bible passage. I can't come up with one that speaks to me. So I have prayed and just hope for the best tomorrow. There. I vented, spilled my guts to blog friends and probably some complete strangers but I feel better already. Thanks for listening. Bring on Wednesday!

That's me and my running partner and friend, taking the scenic route on our long runs. She is such a great friend, we met 11 years ago when we first moved here. They have 3 kids...1 boy 2 girls, same ages as our kids and our husbands hunt and fish together. So it was an automatic chemistry for us and our families. I have to say, not only is she a great friend but one of the best running partners I could have. You see, she can talk your ear off with stories from the school (she's a teacher), kids, just life in general. Running with her is almost like therapy! Listening to the stories can totally make me forget about that fact that I am, well, running! We really bond during training and I look forward to meeting up, pounding the pavement together and get caught up with some quality girl time. Before I know it, we will have been running for an 1 1/2 hours. Time just flies. I'm grateful to her for being who she is because I think if it weren't for her, I wouldn't have nearly as much fun. I hope we can keep this running gig up together for a long, long time.

This may look like a simple rose but it's mine! And I grew it! Yes, me the one with no sense of a green thumb has suddenly become interested in the art of floral landscaping. I love roses, they are my favorite flower and I decided last year mid-summer I was going to plant a bunch this growing season. And it was actually so much fun...picking them out with the kids, planting them in a spot where the greenhouse lady told me and hoping they would sprout. And here she is...my first rose, so to speak. Now that the bug has bitten me, I planted 5 new perinnials and other flowers. I followed the directions to a tee and I tell you what...I love looking out at my new flowers. I think I can do this, I really think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

"Here, deer, here pretty deer..." He ran right after I lured him in just long enough to take his picture. Won't my hunter of a husband be so proud...

He was.

I'M BACK! Has it really been that long since my last post?! In a nutshell, between soccer league pictures, my own son's soccer games and practices, my daughter's upcoming dance recital and their rehearsals, preschool graduation, my computer nearly crashing and having to get a new hard drive, and just the usual regular day to day house stuff. So it's been a little crazy. Whew! It's been good but it sure makes the time go twice as fast. So here's some photos of the kiddos...Brody with the 2001 Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Nebraska and the girls' dance rehearsals. So now that my life is caught up again and looking forward to school ending next week, I can post a little more often. It's been good keeping up with all of you though and trust me, when I thought I would pull my hair out at 2 in the morning trying to get my photos to upload, my relief came by reading your blogs...so THANK YOU!

In the last 4 days I have taken over 350 pictures.

Saturday morning was the annual spring soccer team photos. Me and another photographer got the bid, the teams were split and we were off. I hired my bh to help me with the paperwork, keeping track of frames and the money. It was a 3 1/2 hours of non-stop teams. But it was so fun. Then it was off to my son's soccer games. Now the more tedious job begins of sorting through each form, hoping they match up and ordering.

Then there was the fundraiser of one of the elementary schools which they asked me to be a part of. I was more than happy to donate my time to this event. Eric Crouch was the guest of honor. For those of you who don't know him, he was the 2001 Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Nebraska and went into the NFL after that for a short time. Now he plays for the Canadian football league. Being in a town where the majority are Husker fans, I knew it would be a hit. So I was official photograher, taking photos of Eric and his fans. Most of them were kids all decked out in their Husker gear. My son got a picture and a football signed by him. Of course, he wore his Packer shirt which got a laugh from Eric. He even threw a pass to my son. That was pretty cool. So now that fun is over and I have to sort through those and get 5x7 ordered for each. Whew!

By the way, when I asked my girls if they wanted their picture taken with Crouch, they politely said, "No thanks, we'll wait for the cheerleaders."

By the way, this minivan driving momma is going to be somewhat more hip in about a month...yep, got the SUV on standby. It's a white Jeep, as close to "cool" as I can get (or is that "kewl") As soon as it pulls up into my garage to replace that forbidden minivan, I'll send some photos.

Wasn't it only awhile ago I was making fun of my bh for treating his truck like his own child?! And here I am, excited to post photos of mine. Sorry, bh. I can relate to your giddiness.

Karen, stay strong. Don't let the minivan monster get ya!

Well, I have signed up for my races for the year...2 5K's, a 10K and the half marathon. These are all races around here but one day, I'd love to go to a completely new state for a race. There are so many to choose from. My running buddy and I were scanning over all the possibilities. I stopped at a race scheduled in the Cayman Islands. So if I signed up, we would just HAVE to go. I wouldn't want to lose my entry fee, right?! I put that thought in the back of my head and one day I'll surprise my bh with a trip to Mexico, all because I have to run a road race there.

Hmmmm, wonder how that would go over?!

It's funny how women form groups of friends, depending on the activity or event. I realized this when my son told me I know too many people. On a recent trip to HyVee, he stated now we can't stop and talk to anyone, we are just here for food... So I started thinking about my circles of friends...

*The Runner's Club, including my great friend and running partner. These ladies are the ones I run with, stratigize about upcoming races and talk about which shoes are the best.

*School yard moms...we all met while waiting for the school bell to ring everyday about 4 years ago. Our kids are all friends too.

*MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) moms...these are the ladies I can talk to about kid worries, problems and meet twice a month for play dates.

*Church moms...these are the ladies whom I feel safe talking about spirituality with.

*Soccer, football, basketball and dance moms...we are there for each other for carpooling when needed and schedules, which get crazy at times.

*College moms...now this group I have known most of my life. These are the ladies I see once a year and when we get together, it's like no time has passed. These are the ladies that make me feel young, we laugh, we stay up late and we share beds (no rumors now) This is the group that knows my wilder side...just don't tell my kids.

*High school moms...we still keep in touch, mostly email, xmas cards...but it's fun to see how we've grown and changed through all the years.

*Couple moms...these are the ladies where our husbands are also friends and our kids are friends. We get together for grill outs, the annual 4th of July parties and hang out the lake. We take trips together and have family and couple times together.

It's great to have so many circles of friends. Even though my son doesn't like the chatting we have to do, it's part of being a woman! I'm glad to know so many of these ladies and they are a part of every chapter in my life. Girl Power!