it's good to be home

 

post-trip pedicure 

brazilian pedicure = good
brazilian wax = bad

 

doing what I do best! 

 

at a mexican restaurant

Yet I still go out to eat with these guys.

At least it's better than when the Pastor starts making "art" out of tortillas. 

 

my little kingdom 

Queen of the Castle?

  

 

One of our last minute hotel switches was done so we could stay here. Surrounded by nature. 

blonde & blonder

 

me and Loretta on a ride 

Santa's Church

 

North Pole City, Colorado

What does Santa pray about? 

Coloratoes

  

 

family

Had to post this one in black and white, since the Pastor and I were wearing red, and the kids wearing green. Ewwwwww! 

 

in front of the Helen Hunt waterfall 

Note to self: on vacation, on a day when you are going to be in lots lots lots of pictures, make sure you look really pretty. I swear I put on makeup that day! Ugh!

 

the van 

 

the Pastor saying something amazingly sweet to me on the top of Pike's Peak 

 

Look, I found a Starbucks AND had pretty nails on the top of Pike's Peak! 

 

Nate, still a cute kid at 14,000+ feet 

 

we really didn't plan to both wear red shirts that day 

 

It's really fun to travel with the family. 

 

me & Nate 

ridin' in the car

 

You can tell this pic was taken the first day of our road trip. I'm still smiling. 

  

  

Crazy Pastor made me re-post these pics. I wasn't going to, but he said I looked thinner in the cropped pics.

He knows how to get to me.

My favorite! Since it's from England, I guess I should say my favourite!

  

I love this dress.

The psychotic Pastor made me re-post after he edited the picture.

“I have sworn... eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man” (Thomas Jefferson) (and Loretta)

There are some things I wish the Pastor wouldn't point out to me.

Everytime Loretta gets in the car, she buckles her seatbelt, but I have to remind her to put her shoulder strap on. She will automatically put it behind her back. One time, I told her to do it and she said "When I'm with my Pa Pa HE lets me ride like this!" to which I replied "well you are not with your Pa Pa, you are with me, and when you are with me you ride with your shoulder belt on!!!"

Yesterday the step-daughters left. Through the window blinds, I watch Loretta walk out to the car and get in the front seat. I don't think I would have noticed, but the Pastor said there goes the shoulder strap! Her shoulder strap immediately goes behind her. I cannot imagine anyone letting there 7 year old ride in the front seat without their shoulder strap on. Hellllooooo!

It sucks to have these kids with this every other week stuff. You work all week on something, and you'd like to think it will stick with them, but it quite literally goes right out the door with them. I've had slight fantasies that their mother should send me a thank you card, for when she receives these children back every other week, and they have nice manners and say yes ma'am and wipe their bottoms and bathe and stuff! That's what I'd like to think, but apparently the truth is once they leave our house the kids are probably rejoicing that they don't have to live under my tyrannical rule anymore!

Sigh.

 

at some rest stop, somewhere on vacation 

proof

 

of the hoochie nails on the nine year old 

only 428 vacation pictures

Slightly disappointed. I was going to post some more va-ca pics, but we only have 428 to pick from.

I couldn't sleep, so I've been up goofing around on the computer, wearing the Pastor's bathrobe. He smells nice. I'm going to go crawl into bed with him now.

nice family picture

 

this is from the beginning of the "vacation", when everyone was still fresh and happy