The Best DATE NIGHT EV-ER!!!

Last night I had the BEST DATE NIGHT EV-ER!! Mark and I saw Rick Springfield at the fair. Now...let me take you back....27 years ago (you do the math?).....I saw him in concert at the Universal Amphitheatre! Rick Springfield is MY Steve Garvey!!! LOL I was singing and dancing to Rick songs before we even left the house. Can you say "EXCITED!"

It was an incredible and very memorable night for me. Rick played for an hour and a half and I felt 14 again! He can still ROCK!

He sang old songs like Jesse's Girl, Gotta Love Somebody.....I sang right along with him! Would you believe that this man is 60??? Had my best guy at my side and enjoyed every moment!

For his encore, Rick sang the song "Human Touch"! He walked into the audience. WOW! We were sitting on the side, 3rd row, on the bleachers! I couldn't believe it when he walked right over to us! Mark hopped down off the bleachers to take pictures and Rick sang right in front of me. See the pic!! That is me behind him! No, this was NOT photoshopped in! LOL It felt like he stood there for the longest time! I literally fell into him and he held me up! LOL It was so great!

After the concert was over, Mark and I walked over to the booth where they were selling t-shirts and cd's. I read to Mark.....buy this guitar and meet Rick Springfield backstage. The next thing I knew, Mark was walking over to that side of the booth! He bought the guitar for me, they put wristbands on both of us. We waited with about 8 other people to go backstage to meet him. We visted with some of the band members and then Rick came out of the dressing room.

Here are the pics of me meeting Rick Springfield. He signed the guitar: Mary-With Love Rick Springfield!

He is a great guy! Very down to earth. I told him that he was my first concert that I ever saw. He asked me where I saw him? I told him. He said 1981 or 1982. I said yes! He laughed and smiled. He said he remembers playing there. I thanked him for a great concert!

Thank you to my wonderful husband for making a fantastic night for me!

After the excitement, Mark and I realized that we rode the motorcycle over to the fair. How were we going to get this guitar home in one piece???? LOL Now there is a picture that should have been taken. The guitar rode home between Mark and me!! LOL

Does God exist?

Briggor's Vocab

Briggor is enjoying the Dr. Seuss book - The Cat in the Hat. After reading them to him SEVERAL times, I let him watch the movie with the other kids. The part that he recites over and over again is when The Cat looks into the camera while holding a garden tool........ "Dirty Hoe"!! LOL......he thinks that is SOOOO funny! :) OOPS....bad parenting!!!

Also, we were watching the XMEN: Wolverine Origins and Briggor walks by at the time someone says "BULLSH*T!" Briggor looks at us and says, "That guy said BULLSH*T!" OMG.......is that all kids remember???? LOL sorry...bad parenting AGAIN!! :)

Just a thought....

"When I stand before my Lord,

I hope he will say of me that I have loved too many,

rather then too few!"

Ryan's Birthday

Today was Ryan's 15th birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RYAN!

Kern County Fair

Wednesday night the Kern County fair opened! We rushed to get to the fair between 3pm - 5pm to get the free admission. The line of cars was so long! We kicked the kids out and told them to run for the gates. :) It was almost 5pm. 6 out of 8 kids made it.....Megan and Briggs stayed back with us! 6 admission free baby! Saved us 50 dollars! LOL

It was crowded but we had fun. Mark bought the kids unlimited ride wrist bands that the kids just loved.

Mark is on a mission to win me a prize every time there is a prize to be won!! He won me the donkey that Briggs is riding on the basketball game! Way to go, hubby!

It was really hot when we arrived but cooled down a bit. I mean a bit because it was still quite warm. I fed my face with the fair food. YUMMO!

The kids rode rides til it was time to go......another Mendenhall Family memory!

Update - input from Mark and Me!

Well, here we go....Just more stupid stuff. The algae in our pool is still there. It goes away for a few days then it is back for a few days. Mary hired a pool guy to come out once a week to try and get it under control. He hasn't been able to. Finally, he said that it is our water. He described the water here in Bakersfield as being really HARD WATER. If you don't use the correct chemicals and start up procedure when you first fill the pool the water remains hard. So, yesterday, he says we have to drain the pool and start over. :( He shows up with a submersable pump. Now the hose from this pump is a big blue soft hose. Not like a garden hose. But because our property is so long the blue hose won't reach the street from the backyard. He decided to just go over the side of our property and run the blue hose over the block wall onto the street. This seemed like a good idea at the time. But, we live down the street from a Jr High. The school let out early yesterday. The kids walking home saw the blue hose coming up and over the wall and decided to play with it and broke it. Nobody noticed it for quite some time. It eventually flooded the whole back yard, side yard and front yard! We got the hose reconnected and continued with draining the pool!

Andrew has been sick for days with allergies/cold. He stayed home from school yesterday. Bud had a stomache last night. The heat will not let up around here. We are all ready for Fall to arrive. I love that it is getting darker sooner at night. I know the temperature will change someday just wish it was sooner than later!

We have moved our shop and joined with the shop next door to us. It has been rough moving everything and trying to get organized. It is a BIG adjustment but in the long run it will definetely pay off.

Mark took Briggor for his first haircut yesterday. He has had his hair cut before but not at a hair salon. He did really well. Mark told him what we were doing and he screamed "I DON"T WANT A HAIR CUT!" but when we arrived he behaved himself. He sat in the chair on a booster seat like a big boy. He now can see because the hair is not in his eyes. LOL Mark was so happy to be apart of his first haircut experience and mom FORGOT her camera!! DOH!

I colored my hair last week and I am not real happy with the color. I try and change it up a little and this time I went a little more darker and a deeper red color. I love my hair dark but when I am out in the sun it reflects red/purple in my hair. I'm not too thrilled with the red/purple color. Mark likes it. Andrew has spoken up and says he DOESN'T like it!! LOL

Mark surprised me with little shopping spree yesterday.....clothes at Kohl's, lunch and we went to Sam's Club. I love spending time with my hubby! He treats me like a princess!

Megan, Jade, Bud and Tasha all got out of school at 1pm yestereay. When the school changes the schedule...it throws my whole day off!!

I woke up this morning to find that my fridge and freezer in the garage was off. Must have tripped the breaker from the pump in the pool that was running all night long. Don't know how long it has been off. Mark came to the rescue and fixed it.

The pool guys returned today to take the pump out of the pool and has started to refill the pool. Should be full by tomorrow and we will start all over again!!

In between all of this chaos, I am trying to get homework done. Yes, I said homework. Not sure if I wrote about this or not. I picked up my Algebra course that I didn't finish last semester. I have only 2 classes to finish and get my AA degree. I am pushing forward. The Algebra class is online and consists of 6 chapters. The semester ends in December. At the moment, I am finishing Chapter 3 homework and then on to the test. What's great about the online classes is that you can go at your own pace - just meet the deadlines!! A lot like homeschooling. Perfect for my crazy schedule. My plan is to finish this Algebra class early and pick up one more class in mid-October and finish my credits by December. Mission Complete! That's the plan anyways...don't know what will happen between then and now! Time will tell......

Today the Kern County Fair opens here in Bakersfield. The plan is to take the kids over there tonight and let them eat food and ride the rides.....I will take my camera!! LOL

Ryan Skateboarding

This is Ryan and the skateboard that is attached to his feet MOST of the time. You can always find him down at our church (where there is a rather LARGE piece of concrete) where Ryan and his buddies skateboard for hours. He is getting better and better at his craft. He attempts harder and harder stunts and often comes home with bumps, bruises and sore muscles. No broken bones as of yet! :)

I forgot to mention a few weeks back that Ryan and buddy decided to go to the local skate park. We have warned Ryan that there is a "HELMET LAW" but as a typical teen thinks it is only a suggestion! LOL Ryan wasn't at the skate park more than 20 min when the police showed up and lined everyone up for an equipment check! Guess what? No helmet! Yes, ticket! LOL He came home all upset and couldn't believe that he got a ticket!

Laboring on Labor Day

On Labor Day, I woke up and was looking out our bedroom slider door. I was enjoying the morning when I noticed a big puddle of water in our neighbors backyard. I figured they left something running but then I noticed that we had a lake in our backyard too. :)

This is the neighbors backyard! The water went from our fence to their front fence.

I walked downstairs and to the back fence and saw that we had a major pipe leak. I called for Mark and when he got to me we started digging....and then more digging. We found that the main pipe had a leak! :( Mark and the boys dug the hole, cut the pipes, refitted the pipes and put it back together. Turned on the water and drip, drip, drip......there was still a little water coming out of the pipe. UGH! Frustration! Mark has redone the pipe 2 more times and it still drips. Today, Wednesday, Mark is going to have to redo the whole pipe up to the spikot! Oh, the joy of being a homeowner! LOL

Mommy and Briggs

Just messing around with the camera!! I love my baby boy! But if you call him a baby he will quickly remind you....."I'm a kid NOT a baby!" :( What is happening???

Daddy and Briggor

Daddy and Briggor spending time together. Does it look like Briggor wanted to take a nap? LOL