What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas

See how Reed's not saying a word...Nah, nothing happened, we just had fun withOUT kids, what a dream! I love my kiddos, of course, but HELLLLLOOO, I needed a break if they all wanted to survive summer! So they stayed at Grandma's and off we went! We stayed in south of France, right next to New York, not far from Paris and Venice...it's a small world after all.

I don't like walking with my camera, so the only shots we got are from our hotel room...that makes it look like we didn't leave our room much :))))

I lost $4.50 in the Penny Slot machines, I played for 1h1/2 with $1.50, I should've cashed out and get a milkshake at McDonald's, but what can I say, I have a gambling problem!

Our Boogie Bug

Elly Bug had her very first dance recital today. She's always wanted to do dance, but frankly, the prices of dance studios with all their recital gowns and such are a bit too much for my budget! The Town of Queen Creek offers a combo class, right behind the new library (I really love living in Queen Creek, we've got it all, seriously!). They do Tap, Ballet, Jazz and Tumbling. I know Elly is my daughter, so I'm biased, but I think she did really well. She seems to have a good aptitude for dance and I'm glad that she can finally do it! And she's so dang cute too!

What do I see

On Friday, I got new eyes! My vision has never been that bad, I had 20/30 for my left eye and 20/60 for my right, I could still barely pass the driver test without glasses, but I didn't try. I wore my horrible, terrible glasses and I hated them. I tried contacts, but I couldn't stand them. Plus, since I have astigmatism and the contacts weren't correcting that, it pretty much sucked for me. Soooo, glasses it was. Then I broke my sunglasses when I was prego with Tomtom, so I just bought those glasses you attach to your regular glasses, like my grandpa had. Then Tomtom broke my regular glasses, so I pulled out my 10 year old glasses... and still attached my dorky half sunglasses to it, which had a square shape while my old glasses were oval. Needless to say I made sur NO ONE ever saw me like that! It was time to make a decision. I went to LasikPlus and got their free examination. I went home and did all my research. I called around, read and read and read. I had more questions and the surgeon called to talk to me. That helped a lot, and I trusted him. So this Friday, I went in. I had the Wave-front Intralase Lasik (or Custom Vue). It was a little bit painful, but so fast. I was in the surgery room for 10 minutes top. The right eye took 6 seconds under the laser and 4 seconds for the left. It just take time to put your under the laser and adjust things. The give you drops to put your eye asleep.

My eye and Dr. Perry.

Under the Intralase machine. That's the one that makes the flap, the bladeless cut, with a "little" pressure! Helllllo, a little???? Maybe to some people, but to me, it was a LOT of pressure. But about 20 seconds per eye, so I could take it.

The more they tell you not to move your eye, the more your brain is wanting to move that eye!

Check out my flap! See it hanging there....freeeeeeakkkky!

So now, I have to sleep with goggles for 7 days, put drops in my eyes 4 times/day for 7 days. I still feel like my eyes are verry irritated. I went in on Saturday morning and had 20/20. It should get even better. I still have a bit of a halo around anything bright and it's a little fuzzy. Some time, one eye sees better than the other. But when I put my glasses on, I see like I used to without glasses, and let me tell ya, life if much better!

PS: did you know that there are leaves on the trees?

Join the Registry - Be The Match Bone Marrow Registry

Join the Registry - Be The Match Bone Marrow Registry

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It is free to join until June 22nd. Think about it.

I'm proud to be an American!

American Woman...but I'm wearing my Great Grandma's necklace, to keep my birth country close to my heart!

The Court House

American Baby

Very proud of his moma

Happy American/Belgian Family!!! Now that I think of it, Reed is the only ones who is not Belgian in that photo, should I kick him out?Taking the oath. The speaker wasn't loud enough, so I'm not sure I said everything correctly, I kinda mumbled a bit, but my heart was in it!

The Judge

Alex took the pictures...hope you take Dramamine because they will make you feel nauseous, not straight at all!

They asked for 2 volunteers to share a few words...I couldn't resist being in the spotlight for long! I just figured I'd make it more personal for me that way...and people clapped for me, who wouldn't want over 200 people clapping for ya?

When I was 7 or 8, my family and I went to Florida on vacation, to Disneyworld and all the fun spots there. After I went home to Belgium, I told my mom and dad that" when I grow up, I want to live in America."..and here I am! ( My brother had told them he wanted to be a pilot: he flew F16 for 12 years and now flies the VIPs of Belgium...I'd say that trip was pretty much a life changing experience for our family...my poor parents, if they had known, they would have gone to Spain!)

Oath of Allegiance for Naturalized Citizens

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."

PS: on the way home, the radio played Leni Kravitz's song : American Woman! How cool was that!!!!

Now I need to plan an apple pie/hot dog party!!!! Invitations coming soon

George Bush was right!

Do you recall our former President Bush making a comment on how he didn't like broccoli? It had made a big'ol splash all over the news, as if the man wasn't allowed to dislike some veggetables. Anyway, I might have found out why he dislikes the green-flowery vegetable so much. This is what I found on mine! I was steaming the END of a big bag, so that I can freeze the broccolis. When I pulled them out of the water to put them in a ziploc bag, I saw I had won an extra little friend. I re-read the serving suggestions, but nowhere did I find to add protein in a form of a caterpillar!

Notice how I said it was the "end" of the big bag...meaning that yes, we've eaten a lot of it before I got to that end!!!! Would you blame Bush for not wanting broccoli? I think I might join him on this opinion (and that's the only one I'll agree to)!

My mother's day gift from Reed

This year, all I wanted for Mom's day was a letter from Reed. I don't need jewelery, pots or pans and negligees for sure. So he out-did himself, some of the subtleties are only known to us, but if you know my parents were teachers and my brother was an F-16 pilot, it might help a little. Here he is ...

Once upon a time…

…in a land far, far away, there lived a beautiful young maiden named Murielle. She lived in a small cottage with her parents and older brother in a wee little village in the depths of the forest. Her parents tried for years to educate the villagers in the ways of language, mathematics and physical fitness. Her brother dreamed of soaring through the skies like a falcon defending its territory. But Murielle had a dream of her own. Even though she loved growing up in this quaint little village, she longed to see the world beyond the mighty Meuse. She desired to travel to a far away land in search of something better. Little did she know, how much better things could really be.

One day, Murielle received an invitation to visit a foe near a land known as bountiful. After a long journey over the great pond, she arrived at her destination and was greeted by her friends. Her time in the land was absolutely wonderful. She fell in love with her new found language, culture and religion. But much to her dismay, she would not stay long, and returned to her cottage and her family. Life continued for the young maiden. She continued to seek out higher education and indulge herself in her new religion.

As Murielle matured to young womanhood, she courted many of the local peasant boys but none were worthy of her constant companionship. This was an honor to be reserved for someone special…for her prince charming. She found amusement in dancing all night at the ball with the other damsels, but there was something missing in her young life. As the seasons passed, she often thought of her journey to the far away land and dreamed of returning again someday.

Winter was approaching and Murielle received word of a young man named Reed who was on a religious quest and recently arrived in a nearby township. The man was from the same far away land that she had once visited and adored. Intrigued, she decided that she would find the man and would engage in conversation. The day came…Reed was the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on. He was equally drawn to her beauty. The two conversed and shared much laughter for days thereafter. But as all good things must come to an end…the young man had to part, for his religious quest was not over. The damsel was in distress.

Time passed and Murielle soon realized that a flame had been kindled within her heart. The more she thought of the time spent with Reed, the more she realized that he indeed was her prince charming. She was determined to be with him again. She sent him letters to inspire him on his journey and longed to receive word from him. And her parents saw their daughter radiate every time she received a letter…clearly she was in love.

The day came when her prince charming, upon completing his religious quest, departed for his home land. The two made arrangements for her to visit not long after, and after a wonderful courtship, they decided to be married. It was a beautiful ceremony with family and foe. Murielle looked as though she was a princess, and Reed was her knight in shining armor. The happy young couple started their new found life in an arid land. Soon they would experience the joy and happiness of raising a fine lad. Others would follow.

Throughout their life together, Reed and Murielle endured many hardships, but those were overshadowed by the many blessings that came their way. The young couple grew older, but the flame that once kindled within their hearts, now roared with eternal love.

The End


Happy Mothers Day Muche
I love you!!!
Reed

My Reed

I have known this guy longer than I have not. The first time I ever saw him, he was walking with his companion in my hometown Liege, in Belgium. He had just arrived and I had never seen him with that companion before. He didn't see me...I saw him first :)
I thought for the longest time that his birthday was on May 22nd, I don't know why, even after being married, I'd have to force myself to realize it's the 12th.
He steals Mother's Day once every few years and we have to share "who gets to sleep in" on that day!

I think that he is so sexy, especially when I see him taking care of all those kids we keep making.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY REEDEEEEEE!!!!

while the boys went to their annual Father and Son Camp out this Fridaywe girls (and Tomtom) had our own fun... chocolate strawberries...

hair bows...

and Crocs to kill!

Maddy's Locks ofr Love

I was threatened not to take this picture of Melanie, and my head will roll for posting it!

The locks of love need 10 inches to be able to use the hair. It takes 8 pony tails to make one wigg, and they cost between $3.000 and $4.000. They donate them to needy children who suffer from tempory or permanent hairloss. http://www.locksoflove.org/

Chop chop

The end result. A D O R A B L E !!!!!!