sunshine and puppy dogs...

I hope my blog doesn't make my life seem like rainbows and sparkles...but some days, well some days are just special. Today, for example...my sister-in-law Kim and I had planned to go on a field trip with our younger kids, our homeschoolers. We were going to a park...the lake, or the other lake, or perhaps even the other lake. Then we talked about maybe just staying here at my house, and letting them play. The girls have a nifty fort they have been working on, out back across the creek. (Their walls are made of an old desk, and they have a blue tarp draped over it, it looks quite lovely.)

Anyway, my niece texted me, wondered if she could bring her four year old twins over for a bit while she took Will to the doctor...of course we LOVE Sebastian and Linnea, so, after confirming with Kim that we would be just staying here, I said YES.

Davian came over, and that boy, when he saw those twins skipping happily up the driveway, he put his hands on his hips and said, "I am NOT ready for this." Oh funniness. So with Kim's kids, and the three four year olds, and my three, we had quite the party. They went on the swings and the trampoline (yeah, we still have it...), and explored along the creek. We had a picnic lunch in the yard, and best of all, Kim and I had lots of time to sit in the sun and talk. And have coffee.

When the twins went home, the little girls decided they were hot, so they filled a plastic storage bin, and three coolers with water....filled pitchers in the kitchen sink and carried them out to the deck, not dripping a bit, Mom. Yeah, right. Anyway, they put bathing suits on and cooled off in those coolers and bins, Davian didn't have a suit here so he went in his undies.

Kim made strawberry ice cream cones for the kids, then she had to get going. I painted the trim on the front door, then relaxed for a bit before our next adventure...

The movies! Four dollars for 3D StarWars The Force Awakens. I am not a huge fan, so Sonja and I decided to go shopping while they watched the movies. Suzanne, Jon, Char, and Cam went to the theater, with plenty of money for one large popcorn, and a large drink to share. (I told Jon to make sure he got the free refill, ha.)

Sonja and I went to Kmart, where there was 40% off the clearance clothes...she got one shirt, I got one shirt...we also got stuffed bunnies for the three youngest kids, for 99 cents each, as they were 90% off.

Then to BigLots, as she was searching for a birthday present for one of her best friends. We found a really cute lunchbox/cooler, and got her some lunchie snacks to put in it, along with some nail polish. Not a bad gift for a girl turning 14.

Then, we parked in the theater parking lot and waited for the kids...and ordered pizza from Pizza Hut. The kids had a few free pan pizza coupons from the homeschool reading program...

Home...ah, home. Pizza and Phinneas and Ferb.

Yes, it was a good day. The dog got mud on my clean kitchen floor, and kids dripped popsicles, and I was busy at times, but it was a good day. The sun shone all day, not a cloud in the brilliant blue sky. It was 60-something degrees, and it was lovely. Tomorrow it's going to be 65, and sunny again. Yay! The older kids are all busy, working at the churchgrounds, doing landscaping and general maintenence, so I will be here with just the two little princesses...in the afternoon, we go to the airport to pick up Kathryn and Evelyn from California, and then Paul from France...