the corn needs a drink...

 Who am I to wish it didn't get it?  Today though, ugh!  A rainy start to our church summer conference!  I've been busy sorting and cleaning the dollhouse stuff.  I bring it out every year for the kids to play with, and every year a few more pieces get broken, and a few more things go missing.  I don't like that, but:  it's getting used, and enjoyed.  I could just keep it all here, and in ten years, when I'm even older, I'll still have it.  And SO WHAT?  I'll have it.  But if I keep bringing it out to be used and enjoyed, in ten years maybe I'll have a pile of rubble left.  SO WHAT?  

It's hard because you can't just go buy more, it's all discontinued.  You can still get it on Ebay and Marketplace, but it's usually pricey.  I could sell it all, but that ain't happening.  

The pop up camper...

The driving camper...

Some minivans...

A broken chair!  Maybe Goldilocks has been to visit.

Anyway, that's been keeping me busy, cleaning it all up.  

Paul and I brought the doggies to the vet last evening.  Sunny just needed a check up and some vaccines (you can't go camping without that Rabies certificate!, and her lump looked at.  It's a fatty tumor, on her side...she has a few other ones too.  There's nothing you can do for them.  Suri went to, for some bloodwork for pain management, and to set up a surgery date to remove a skin tag which has appeared and grown, on her backside.  They were super good, although Sunny was shy.  As soon as her exam was done, she hid under the chairs.  Suri was panting and nervous, but still super friendly.  

Abigail is here for the weekend!  She came in so late last night, drove from Delaware after work, shh, I was asleep.  I know, but I was so tired!  

Ah well....have a really good weekend...I'll be back to check in, we have lots of fun planned for the fourth!

don't you just love a good before and after?!

 

This old girl was marked down at the thrift store, from $59.99 to $29.99.  Unloved, unwanted, dusty, scratched...just what we were looking for!  

We would have liked to scrape and restain, but the wood veneer was badly damaged in some places, so we decided to sand...prime...

...and, paint!

The paint we chose was Sherwin Williams' Marshmallow.  Not exactly white, just a little creamy.  I helped Cam sand and prime, but she painted it herself.  She removed the drawer pulls and soaked them in vinegar, water, and Dawn, then scrubbed with a toothbrush.  They are really old, each one is a tiny bit different, they are so lovely.  

Okay, I zoomed in, because I'm too lazy to go take another picture.  

This fine day was a run-around day.  I'll spare the boring details, but I've only been home an hour, and have to leave to pick the girls up from work in half hour or so.  I cleaned the guest room, vacuumed the stairs, and puttered around...time flies!

Ah well...I have more to do before I leave, so bye for now, just wanted to check in and say hello, and show you Camille's new vanity...:)

out came the sun, and dried up all the rain...

 ...but when you're in a camper, the rain isn't so bad.  

When we got to the campground on Saturday, the ground was soggy, with lots of standing water here and there.  Some of the campsites weren't even usable.  Ours wasn't too bad.  The campground was sparsely populated, which was kind of nice.

These two love the lake, fetching the stick.  Suri is much slower than in past years.

The water is so clear and nice.

You can see the rain coming in!  

Yesterday, it started out rainy but then:

 

Emily and Camille came up on Saturday and went for a nice swim.  We made a yummy dinner of grilled chicken and salads.  Then Jonathan came, and the rain started...what a cozy time in the camper!  I got a kick out of Em and Cam hanging out, my oldest and my youngest, they're further apart in age than Emily and I are.  But they get along just fine.  

They all had to get going on Sunday, then the sun came back out and we had some beach time. We grilled burgers and sausages, then tried to have a campfire, but it was so windy.   We went for a drive instead, with the pups.

Waking up and making that morning coffee in the cozy camper is my favorite.  Packing up and folding in the bunk ends seems so easy compared to emptying a tent then taking it down.  We did have a scare though, the back bunk was very wet!  Oh no!  Both corners soaked...we worried about leaking, Paul assuring me we can glue up the seams, fix things, and me feeling...almost devastated.  

We got home, opened the ends to dry things out, emptied the refrigerator, brought in our clothes and bedding and the food...put things away, started some laundry, tended to the pool, vacuumed out the camper...then talked to Camille.  She said they had the windows unzipped on their end bunk, then it rained, so rain might have come in.  Well, I certainly hope it did, because that is way better than a leak, and it makes sense.  

(You know, I looked at campers for YEARS before finally buying one.  I thought this was such a good camper for us, and I like it so much, the thought of it being leaky or problematic, ugh!)

Anyway.  Camping was really fun, just as nice or nicer than I had envisioned.

Camille is refinishing the vanity we brought at the thrift store.  We sanded and primed it, she sanded it some more and did a second coat of primer.  It's sitting there all ready to paint.  She asked me this afternoon if we can get paint soon.  I know the feeling, she wants to move on this project!  We were all ready to go, then I talked to Kathryn.  She was going out and about too, so we went along with her.  Lowes with little kids:  you can each pick ONE paint sample....and they're happy.  Camille chose Sherwin-Williams Marshmallow color in satin finish. 

Then to Walmart for some things Kathryn had to get...then for a nice afternoon iced Americano, then home....ahh, home.  I put chicken breast in the instant pot, for some simple fajitas for dinner.  

Tomorrow is warm and sunny.  I'm looking forward to puttering around in barefoot, and getting the guest room ready, Abigail is coming to visit soon!  Then in the afternoon, maybe a trip to the thrift store and to get a few things Char needs for her year in Germany.   

Ah well....Camille soaked the drawer pulls from her vanity in soapy vinegar water, (the vanity was made by Johnson Carper of Roanoke Virginia, and might have been worth something if it wasn't damaged, but oh well...it's lovely, and the pulls look so pretty and vintage)

I'll post before and after pics soon!

Have a good evening!  

on to bigger and better things...

 

With Miss Charlotte Claire after the ceremony, which I obviously survived.  Yes, Paul wore shoes, but I guess he couldn't resist that nice green grass.

Camille, Paul, me, Char, and Sonja's fiance Oscar. (Sonja was taking the picture)

Sonja, Char, Camille

So it was very hot, but there was an inconsistent breeze.  Miss Char was the loveliest girl there, does every mama think that?  Shh, it also seemed like a big trick, she cannot be that old already, she was just dressing up in a graduation gown...

I'm glad I bought that graduation cake.  We came home, made some nachos, and they got into the cake.  (I tasted it, super yummy, but I had low sugar yogurt with some mini chocolate chips)(Aldi brand Greek yogurt with 2 grams of sugar).  

This fine morning, I shouldn't be sitting here blogging on and on.  No, I should be getting ready, we're going camping very soon.  Of course the weather is changing, cooling down, rain coming in, dang.  But at least we'll be able to be in the camper.  Sleeping in a camper in the rain is a fine thing.  

The dogs are coming with us, sleeping in a camper in the rain with wet dogs taking up every last inch of floor space is not so charming.  We considered leaving Suri, aka Tubby the Tubster, home.  (not alone, a few kids will be here).  But she knows we're going.  She heaves herself up to follow us around when we're packing, she just KNOWS.  She loves loves loves going bye-bye.  Paul has to lift her rear haunches up into the truck, and help her out when we get there.  She limps along, last time we went she definitely overdid it and had a rough night.  She pants and whines when she's overdone it.  We do have some doggy pain meds for her, but she's old and fat and has arthritis. Sounds familiar.  I do feel her pain.

Sunny can be a Royal Pain when we're camping.  They have to be tied up, she'll just lie there all chill...then a nice unassuming couple will stroll by with a little yappy dog, and Sunny will just BOLT to the end of her line, ROWF ROWF ROWF, scaring the little dog half to death, sounding so big and mean.  She really doesn't mind other people, or other dogs, she's actually kind of shy, but for some reason she sees fit to do this, randomly.   Just to keep us on our toes.  But, she's gotten so much better than she used to be, Labs are pretty adjustable.  If we went all the time, she'd be fine.

Ah well, these floors need vacuuming, I have laundry in the washer, there's refrigerator stuff that needs to go into the camper refrigerator.  Camper refrigerator, how fine is that?  Mmm hmmm.  It's hands down better than the cooler.  Oh the little luxuries in life.  Also, we did snag a fully electric site for this little trip, so if it gets warm and sticky, we can turn on the camper air conditioning!   

It's a small camper, but oh I love it.

All right...time to get moving.  You all have a nice day!

melting?

 

The pool is almost too warm, but I'm not complaining...I just wish I could stay in there all day.  

This fine morning, I went to my water aerobics class.  I skipped on Wednesday for the beach, and while I was active, it's not the same as getting that workout.  I was feeling a bit achy, so I went, and ahhh, it was nice.  Then, all by myself, to the thrift store, as I wanted a book...I found a 99 cent Anne Tyler with four novels in one book, not sure if I read two of them.  

Then to Aldi, for strawberries, hot dogs and brats, and chicken, and some salad kits for camping.  Then to BJ's for a graduation cake...the girls just keep talking about graduation cake, so I got one...the nice lady there even wrote Congrats Char.  

Home...ahh, home.  I put some things away in the camper, then in the house, then the pool...but not for long, because I have to pick the girls up from work, Char has to get ready for graduation tonight.

The elementary walk, Miss Charlotte Claire...all grown up, with her kindergarten pic around her neck...how did it happen so quickly?  

It's 88 and super humid here, and graduation is in three and a half hours, outside...I am going to melt.  I am going to sweat through my dress and stick to my chair.  If I drink too much, I'll have go find the bathroom, and I'll faint.  

See how my thoughts go?  

The poor graduates with those stupid hot gowns on.  Oh dear, the abuse we subject ourselves to for absolutely no good reason.  If I were king, they would not wear them, and we would not do this...one thing the Covid Era did right was drive-by graduations...and oh, the speeches....those who love the sound of their own voices, droning on and on...

Okay, I'll stop it now and behave myself.  After all, this is the last one...and I won't make Char feel bad...a few of our kids chose not to "walk", and we were fine with that, but a lot of them did, and ugh, I've never been to a graduation ceremony that was amazing, with the exception of the nursing school ones, and the Army ones.  Even those could have been much, much shorter.

Ah well....time to go out the door again, somebody slap me and get me to behave myself ha...have a good day, and don't melt like I am going to....

doing what makes you happy...

 ...or being happy in what you do...the latter makes more sense, right?  People spend their entire lives trying to do what makes them happy.  But most of life is made up of mundane details, like going to the DMV, housework, filling out forms, waiting in waiting rooms, in store lines, in traffic.   

I went with Aaron to an appointment when I was in Phoenix, he said, "You must have spent so much of your life in waiting rooms...."  Very true.  

You can pile up treasures in heaven while muddling through, faithfulness in the small things brings great joy.  

This fine morning, I vacuumed the stairs, the living room, and the kitchen in the sticky humidity...windows open, birds singing, no AC.  It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either.  I figured I'd get it done in the morning, before it gets really hot.  Camille wants to start work on her vanity project, but other than that, I don't have plans for today.  

Tomorrow, the beach!  Margaret has the day off of work, so some of us are going up to Lake Ontario.  :)

Thursday, Charlotte Claire has a senior breakfast and graduation rehearsal, then I'm bringing her to open a bank account.  Friday is graduation, then we're going camping on Saturday.  

So, I do have to pack at some point.  Meal plans for the week?  ha.  I do have some chicken to marinate, maybe I'll grill in my bathing suit.  

Life is good but not without trials.  I would hope no one would read this and think, well that's easy for HER to say, her life is so easy!  Kids grow up, follow their own paths, and sometimes make bad decisions, or in any case, they make their own decisions.  My soul, seeing them suffer!  As a parent, you want your kids to always choose a Godly path, but sometimes they veer this way and that, and it doesn't go well.   You can feel helpless, but I've found that prayer works wonders, and that God sees the big picture, and we only see what we see.   Then we have to trust in Him, and pray to be at rest.

We also have friends and family who are going through different things, my sister has cancer, and my entire soul can churn with despair.  But I know that the hairs of our heads are numbered, and that God causes all things to work together for the good for those who love Him.  We also have a dear friend who isn't doing well, cancer is spreading...it hurts.  Our hearts hurt for their families. 

On a better note, my Suzanne Eleanor has set a wedding date, this fall there will be another wedding in the family, and I'll have a wonderful new son-in-law!  

Have a really good day, and be happy in what you do!!!
 

steaming and boiling and baking...

 It's actually quite pleasant out right now, but our forecast is quite hellish.  Heat advisories, with the humidity, it'll feel like a million degrees.  

Yesterday's graduation party was so much fun.  I bought donuts instead of attempting to bake in the iffy oven, plus it was waaaaay easier.  Mariel made gluten free cupcakes with homemade strawberry frosting, and Margaret made yellow cupcakes with chocolate buttercream.  The meal itself was amazing, the salads were delightful, and Emily simply aced the chicken.  Her secret:  remove from grill at 145 degrees, let set under foil before cutting, ten minutes at least.  It was tender and juicy, and soooo good...teryaki, for the Asian salad, and pesto chicken for the Greek salad.

Mariel with Blythe...

Paul and Blythe...

Why I didn't take more pictures is beyond me, but sometimes you just need to enjoy the moments, I guess.

This fine morning, I went to the pool.  I needed to, woke up with really sore hips at 5:30.  5:30.  I must be getting old.  I didn't have to get up, but oh ho, I was awake.  

After the pool, I sat on the deck with Camille and had a coffee, the after-pool coffee is always so good!  Then to the store with Kathryn, to stock up so we won't have to go again in the heat...ha.  

They are so cute, Jamison and Rhys, and Achilles in the back...

I saw my dear friend, sister-in-law Kim, and my brother Tom in the store!  It was quite nice.  Then our friend Karen came walking up, what fun!  

Home again...put things away, and pool time for Camille and I.  We spent almost two hours out there, then decided very suddenly to go to the library.  Spontaneity is wonderful.  We got out, got dressed, and voila, were heading toward the library to return a book she had out for way too long.  We decided to go to Home Depot to get the wood filler and primer for the vanity she's going to refinish.  

Then heck, may as well go in Target, it's right there.  I got a few things for Miss Sonja's bridal shower, and Camille found a bra.  I got some grandchildren clothes, and some shredded lettuce for Camille, she loves it on wraps.  I think it's a waste of money, it's hard to eat it all before it goes bad. 

After a quick dinner (leftover steak tortillas, leftover salt potatoes fried up in olive oil), we had to go to cleaning at church.  Now, home again, for the final time today, I hope, ha.

And...this weekend is Charlotte's graduation from high school, then on Saturday, we're going camping again, for two nights.  We reserved a site at the same park we went to last week, not a beach site, as they're hard to get.  But we did manage to get an electric site!  So, maybe we'll even use the air conditioning!  

Ah well.  The days are going by too fast.  I need to have a day where I just stay home and putter and think about things.  But whenever anyone wants to do anything or come over, I'm game...because life goes by too fast to say no.  

Ha I just remembered that Camille is at music practice, I might have to leave again after all....have a good night, everyone....:)

summertime, so sweet....

 

Happy birthday to my granddaughter, Rhys Harper, she's three years old. 

Cousins Blythe and Maeve

Wulf and cousin Rhys

A princess dress!

I gave Achilles my phone and asked him to take some pictures...he got this of Margaret...

And me...

Aunt Evelyn with baby Blythe

His shadow....

Ruth pulling her cousins Rhys and Tennyson...

Oh, what a day!  I started with going out and about all by myself, to BJ's, for some steak, a bag of salt potatoes, and some fresh broccoli for dinner.  I also got baguette for tomorrow's graduation party.  Then to the bakery, for two dozen beautiful donuts for tomorrow. ( Mariel also made cupcakes and gluten free cupcakes, and Margaret made some too.)

Home...ahh, home.  Ben stopped over with some lumber, he ran into Paul at Lowe's and brought home stuff for him, Paul is redoing the swing set.  It's been there for 30+ years, and some of the lumber was rotting.  

Grant and Ruth keeping Paul busy while he works...

After the birthday celebration, I went home for a bit, took a quick swim, ahhh so nice, then went over to Emily's to help get ready for the party.  Charlotte mowed the lawn while Camille and I put up some decorations...then home, Sam and Grace were over, I had invited them for dinner.  Char and Cam went out and about with cousins Grace and Linnea.  Sonja went to work...Paul ended up going fishing.  I made dinner for the rest of us, and it was so good.

The kids were tired, and Sam was surprising them with a sleepover in a tent in their backyard, so they didn't stay long after dinner.  I had to marinate the chicken, half in pesto, to serve grilled with the Greek salad, and half in Teriyaki to grill and serve with the Asian salad.  

I washed up the dishes, watered all the flowers on the deck, and ahh, my chair is wonderful.  It was a busy, beautiful day.  An amazing day.  A barefoot day.  

I am actually home all alone.  The dogs are snoring and the birds are singing, otherwise very quiet.  I don't mind at all....:)

going backwards...

 ...the kids were little, they grew up, now there are grandchildren.  Six of them were here today, and we went in the pool.  The girls set up the pack and play on the pool deck, and the umbrella.  We put the little pool up there too, with just a little bit of water in it.  Evelyn was here, and Sonja, so with Margaret and Kathryn, and me, the kids only outnumbered us by one.  The boys, especially Wulf and Tennyson, like to spray me with the squirt guns.  I don't mind, I just spray them back.  It's too much fun.  

We started out the day by going to Target.  I had wanted to get a picture of Margaret, Kathryn, Evelyn, and Sonja together, but it didn't happen.  I had to get a package of chicken breast, some seltzers, some cleaning spray (I had 20% off, and Mrs. Meyer's smells so good!).  I went through line then realized I had a the package of chicken down below, oops, had to pay for it at the service desk.

Did anything exciting happen today?  Well, Jamie is repeating things now.  He pulled the steering wheel out of the Little Tikes car several times, I said "fix it", then put it back in, then he yanked it out and said, "Fix it!"  Rhys told Sonja to wear a pink dress to her birthday party, Achilles pushed my hand off his float in the pool (he was perched up there and I thought he was going to tumble in...he had a puddle jumper on, but still...he said, "you aren't my anchor."  I explained that I wanted to make sure he didn't fall in, but okay, I took my hand away.  He reached for it, and said, "Be my anchor."  :). Wulf told me I wasn't any fun, I told him that compared to other grandmothers, I actually am.  I have no idea if this is true, but he said it in the middle of a squirt gun war.  Tennyson offered me a piece of his bubble gum, which I kindly declined.  Baby Blythe loves the doggies, they tolerate her, very patiently.  

I grilled some hot dogs in my bathing suit, I love grilling in my bathing suit.  

Dinner was taco salad, with all the good things.  Dessert:  crumbl cookies.  Margaret and Sonja stopped there on the way home from Target.  Of course they cut them all up so we could taste them all...the peanut butter was #1.  

Adrian came over after work, he's a chemical engineer now, and a manager, so it's interesting to talk to him about his job.  They all packed up and got those tired grandchildren all buckled in and headed to their homes to get ready for bed.   I cleaned up the kitchen, picked up some toys, wrapped some birthday presents for Rhys, and ahh, sat down to put my feet up.

There are good reasons to have the grandchildren over, namely that they are so extremely rewarding to be with, but also it keeps life in the house.  It keeps me busy, and it sure makes down time sweet, ha.  But they are very special.

Our pool party was fantastic last night.  The kids liked their prize pails.  

Cousins, Ophelia and Achilles

Cousins, Ruth and Rhys

Heatwave?  I know, some of you have these temps all the time in the summer.  But here we have humidity too.  We also don't have air conditioning.  :). Shh, maybe we should put one in the bedroom window...

Ah well...it's my favorite time of the year...when the sun doesn't set until it's almost bedtime, and the fireflies are flickering, there are flowers all over the deck, and my pool is clean and refreshing.  Slow down, time...Billie Jo put it well:  the merry-go-round just keeps picking up speed.  The days pass by so fast, I cannot even fathom.  

Have a really good evening, and a nice weekend...:)

when you KNOW! And, some past blasts...

 Have you seen the memes about how quickly children grow up, you brushed their hair, tucked them in, washed their faces, for the last time but didn't know it was the last time, then next thing you know they're grown up?  Well, sometimes you KNOW something is the last time, but what can you do?  You cannot stop progress.

This is Miss Char, Charlotte Claire.  Today is her last day of school, senior year.  The absolute last day.  I made sure to be up, so that little Yeti cup in her hand had hot coffee in it.  She can do it herself, and she has, but I try to help her out the door in the mornings...(she made cookies for her French class).  Yes, one child going out the door to school, a far cry from a few years ago.  

When September rolls around, the school bus won't be coming here to pick anyone up, for the first time in 34 years.  So today was truly a last.  The last time the bus came to our house to pick anyone up, and this afternoon, Char will get off that bus, and a chapter will close.

She, of course, is just getting started in life.  Germany for a year, then college...

And Camille is still here, finishing up her homeschooling, maybe headed to college next year.  

I wanted to get a pic of Char getting on the bus, but I didn't want her to kill me, ha, and also, Suri pooped in the hallway, Char informed me as I made her coffee.  ugh.  A 12 year old Lab, can't really be mad at her, you just glance in her direction, she looks at you with those eyes and her tail thumps.  So my day started out wonderfully, ha.

Yesterday, my friend Janette and I went out and about to buy prize bucket items for the end of the year pool party for our Activity Club.  We went to the dollar store, Big Lots, Walmart, BJ's, then the other dollar store, where we finally found the buckets...we thought to put the goodies into sand pails, Walmart only had one left, the other stores none...but Dollar Tree for the win!  28 pails!

They'll have a water bottle, bubbles, cookies, a ring pop, a drink, and a squirt gun in them.

After bringing Janette home, I went to Margaret's house.  She had an afternoon appointment for baby Blythe, so I hung out with Wulf and Tennyson for a bit.  We went to the playground, and what an adventure!

Yesterday, I wrote some of this post, then out the door for water aerobics, then to our monthly water aerobics breakfast at a local diner.  I don't always make it to the breakfasts, but these older people are my friends now, and they're a good group.  One guy was a dairy farmer, grew up on a dairy farm, and was also a bus driver, always so nice to my kids.  So it's a pleasant outing.  

When I got home, I had plans of things to do, but I didn't get to them all because one of the girls needed a ride to an appointment.  Then we tried to go strawberry picking at the Mennonite farm, but their berries didn't look too good this year, according to the 10 or 12 year old girl who was working there.  So we bought some flowers...so I repotted them when I got home...the hanging baskets in the front no longer have last year's dead vines hanging from them.  Begonias and some other pink flowers that like partial shade, and some new vines.  

Bacon and eggs for dinner, then I watched a show with Char and Cam...a rarity, that we were home with free time.  Sonja was at a meeting about her wedding plans.:)

This fine day, is the day of the End of the Year Party, the pool party, for Activity Club.  Tomorrow our plans are up in the air, we were thinking of a beach day because Margaret has the day off from work...but the forecast looks iffy.  So we might go shopping, then come here for a picnic day...a day where the grandkids can just come and run around and have fun.  

Saturday is Rhys birthday party, then Sunday is Char's graduation party.  I have to get some food for the grad party, that maybe should happen today...

Claire, my sister's 4th child (she has seven daughters), and Benjamin, our oldest son, 3rd child...they were besties growing up, crazy cousins.

Miss Suzanne Eleanor...

I was 30 years old with eight children...newborn baby Samuel...Paul was holding Aaron...Emily and Abigail with Joseph and Mariel in front, Benjamin on the end with Molly

When we lived in the mobile home, before we build our house, my dad with Abigail, Ben, Emily, Mariel

Samuel and Margaret...

Emily, Abigail, and Benjamin

Camping at the same place we were this past weekend, Sam, Aaron, Abigail, and Molly

Emily, Abigail, Benjamin, Mariel, Joseph, Aaron, Molly Rose, Samuel, Margaret...what baffles me is that we would go on to have SEVEN MORE!  Eight really, counting Robert.

This was a camping trip a month after losing Robert...Margaret was six, Kathryn 5, Evelyn 3 almost 4, Suzanne 2, and Sonja had turned one in May....this was in July.  

Paul, way back when....

Aaron and Molly, and our dog Champ

...building our house

12 kids and all the Little Tikes stuff...

Abigail with Jonny...he was so cute!

Suzanne...at the 4th of July symphony...little Jon in the wagon in the background...

Yesterday, I also sorted through pictures and strolled down memory lane.  I think I function better when it's a three ring circus.  But also, I wasn't cut out for this job, no sir.  People say, "Oh, you must be so organized."  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  God gave grace, and had mercy on me, gave me patience and wisdom when I needed it and prayed for it.  It took me years to finally decide on one place in the cupboard to keep the peanut butter.  I kept the floors clean and the kids clean, and they went out of the house looking nice and neat and matching, but the laundry room was a nightmare.  (I always hung up the clothes so they weren't wrinkled though...). I couldn't keep up with the kids bedrooms, after eight kids I gave up, it was enough to keep the rest of the house.   

If time travel were possible, I'd go back and do it all again...I'd still have every one of them, and I'd enjoy the heck out of it, again.  Of course, knowing now how fast it flew by, I'd savor those bedtime stories more and not try as hard to get them to bed quickly for a little down time.  I'd savor a lot more about those years, if I could go back.  I'd tell them more how much I loved them, and how amazing they were, and how rich we were, how blessed to have the fun and the chaos and the busy days.  

Ah well.  I need to put the towels in the dryer, and want to drag the vacuum cleaner out and vacuum the camper, and and and...I love puttering...I was outside in my bare feet this morning, cleaning the pool filter, and I remembered yesterday Paul was out there and he did a jump-yell, there was a snake!  I do not like them, not one little bit.  It ruined my bliss, made me wary, tip-toed back across the grass, ugh.  They do eat mice though.  

Summer breezes by way too fast....have a really good day, and if you still have little ones, hug them and tell them how much you love them...:)