Kristie came in town today-Yeah!  We had to have a Sunday dinner to celebrate her company.  We bbq’d here and let every fly from Queen Creek in my door (that’s what happens when the weather is so great and you leave your arcadia door open).  We set up Blong Ball, ate and then spent the next million hours making a plan for the next day. 

If you don’t know the Kirby family, I will let you in on one small thing… actually it is not so small-it is huge!  We cannot plan something lickety split!  It takes hours, sometimes days to put a plan together.  We get distracted, out of focus and it can frustrate the non-Kirby attendees.  Tonight was no different.  We sat on the couch wondering what sounded fun for Monday.  Swim, shop, eat, sleep, run, gym, eat more, etc.?????  The ideas, the options are endless and there in lies the problem for us.  We want everyone to join, everyone to be happy and excited…

The plan came to fruition several hours and several topics of conversation later.  Everyone had left except for mom.  She was ok to stay but DAD…. he kept begging to leave.  He was tired and probably was done

hearing how many times we had to say, “so, OK… what time tomorrow and where are we going.”  The plan: be lazy after our morning run.  Lindsey, bring your kids over sometime in the am.  At quiet time, put kids down and adults lay by the pool so Kristie can thaw and begin her summer tan.  Meet at mom’s at 5:00pm to grab dinner at Cheesecake Factory and then go see Yes, Man.

Now that the day has happened, I can report-

The actual happenings: start our run at 10:00am, Lindsey showed up while Kristie and I were out and the babysitter had everything under control.  Kids want to swim, eat breakfast at 11:00am.  No quiet time, everyone out by the pool.  Now, we are too hot to sit out there any longer-we are watching Toy Story.  : ) 

It is so funny how much time and effort goes into making a plan.  We rarely stick to the plan.  I try to imagine families that are larger than mine and wonder how they ever get out the door. 

The picture of my dad’s backside… it was his attempt to distract the other team.  You know my dad…

I am grateful for my family.  I am grateful for a very fun game of Blong Ball. I am grateful for AZ and the ability to spend hours outside in this weather.  I am grateful for spring break.  I love hanging by the pool and having Zoe home to antagonize her brother.  I am grateful and so excited about headshots.  I am really having fun with them.  I am so grateful for my new helicopter, the one I just put together today for my kids.  I think I was more excited about it than my kids!  I am grateful for my Wacom thingee.  Now, that is cool.  I am grateful for the ability to return.  I got $112 richer today when I returned some stuff to Costco (Tim, don’t cringe).  I am grateful for a good surprise and I have one to share on Friday with Zoe.  I am grateful for a sharpened pencil.  Nothing is quite as frustrating as going to grab a pencil and then another and another and they are all unsharpened!  I am grateful for those little random calls or text messages from a friend.  I am grateful that Kristie could come and thaw in AZ.  It is always so hard to send her back to IN.  I am grateful for sleepy kids who don’t argue when it is bedtime.  I am grateful for the pyramid of exercise.  I am grateful for the coolest thing on my phone… the alarm.  I am grateful for my Dave Matthews tickets.  AWESOME!  I am grateful for my clean car-thanks Tim!  I am grateful for Pandora radio, the music makes me think it is still early but really it is not early.  I am grateful for my gardening gloves-they are cute and I am putting my garden boxes together next week when Zoe is back in school.