does summer smell amazing?

 I'm telling you, it does.  I'm counting my blessings this fine morning, windows open, that fragrance that belongs to a summer morning just wafting through the window, ahhh.  

This fine morning, I emptied the dehumidifier, turned on the pool filter, cleaned up some dog pee...and had a talk with Paul about Miss Suri...I'm not saying she's ready for the long walk down the short pier quite yet, but it's something that's on the radar.  She's limpy, she's pant-y, and she can barely get up and down the stairs...sometimes she stumbles and falls down a step or two.  Wintertimes here can be brutal, and the steps get so icy.  We let her out the front door, half a flight of stairs, but she's programmed to come in the other way, so that's what she does.  I just don't want her to fall down and get hurt and suffer.  The peeing in the house thing is not something I'd put her down for, of course, but it is annoying.  

Anyways, I cleaned a few windows, polished the coffee table, did some dusting, put in a load of towels, then made a second cup of coffee and here I am, in my comfy chair.

Yesterday, we went out and about to Costco and Walmart.  Costco has a very suspect math thing going on, you only buy what you really want and need, it has to be a good price, you pass up so many things you really want but don't actually need (like the Hunter raincoat for $49.99, I tried one on and LOVED it, but alas, don't really NEED it...).  Then you get to the register, and what the heck?  Over two hundred dollars for THIS?  The carts are really huge-0, so you don't even fill up the cart...

Has anyone else noticed how expensive aluminum foil has gotten?  I bought the Costco brand, it was $29.99 for a big roll...it'll last forever and a day, but ouch!  Yes, I NEED it, because we have a smoker and we need to wrap up those ribs!

The burger price jumped up at Costco too, not just ten cents a pound, but sixty!  ouch there too, it was thirty dollars for a package, and we grilled them all...

Anyway, we were looking at old pictures again...here's what a family of nine looks like...Miss Margaret was the baby, the tie breaker, as we had four boys/four girls...Emily, Abigail, Ben, then Mariel, Joseph, Aaron, then Molly Rose, Samuel, and baby Margaret....the three older girls had on homemade dresses...:)

Cam found this pic of my sister-in-law and I, when I was newly pregnant for Emily...I told her to hold it up next to her so we could see if we looked alike...

I was expecting baby #5 in this one, that's Emily, Ben in the high chair, Abigail in the glasses, me holding Mariel...

Oh, I used to be young, and I used to read the newspaper....that's Emily, first child, oh little did we know what life had in store for us!

Here she is on her first birthday!  (Paul was so young...what happened to us?!)

Oh the fun we had though....Evelyn, Suzanne, Kathryn, Sonja...

Abigail and her baby brother Jonathan...Jonny was just so cute and squishy.

This pic was taken before a school event...eleven kids, so the baby is Evelyn...

Our wedding was a Friday night affair in his mom's living room, no photographer, no nothing ha...but we still like each other AND love each other, so there's that.  

Back in the day, before we were married...

Ten kids in this one, because that baby is Kathryn...

I made a triple batch of chocolate chip cookies yesterday, only baked four dozen though.  

Ah well....so much to do and so little time to do it in...the wedding countdown:  ugh!  Dread mixed with elation, also, I don't want her to get married and move out....!  Have a good day!