Saying Goodbye again...

I have to pause on the fun summer postings to let you know how our Tuesday went this week. Our sweet 14 year old yellow lab, Millie, has not been doing well for the last year. We have been putting off the inevitable because while she has been pretty much staying in the garage for the last year and a half, she seemed to still have some spirit left in her. When we arrived home Saturday, T said it was time. She was not doing well.

So after calling the vet on Monday and crying on and off all day (that was me doing the crying, Millie was always more mine than T's), we told J about it on Tuesday afternoon so he could decide if he wanted to be outside or not with us. The vet came that evening and J wanted to be out there with us. We were so proud of him because while you know it's for the best, it's still hard to do. He loved on Millie before the vet and T got her ready, then he and I stood back and watched. I have now been present for 3 animals who have been put to sleep and while I hate that we have to lose our pets, I can attest to the fact that it is the most peaceful and humane thing to do. They simply fall asleep and the vet checks to make sure all is done correctly.
He and T both petted Millie after she was gone, then T put her in a grave next to Max. Since she was never a ball-chaser like Max (we buried a tennis ball with him last year), J decided to bury a piece of cheese with Millie. Perfect. Course then we all had a giggle thinking about how that piece of cheese (still in a plastic wrapper) would probably still be found perfectly in tact in 100 years along with a tennis ball and dog bones, giving the person digging quite an interesting find :-)
We miss her and while we still have 2 dogs (ok...4...counting the 2 we are still "babysitting" and YES I still call it that b/c I am in denial that they quite possibly are permanent residents right now!), Millie's death marks kind of the end of an era. Max and Millie were the 2 puppies we purchased soon after getting married and before J was born, they had been through so much with us. They were incredible pets.

1st Day of Day Camp!!

As most of you know (from our real life or from posts last summer), J spends 3 days every summer at the camp which I spent 6 summers of my life from 1990-1995. This place changed my life, helped me choose my graduate work and of course, was my initial "training" for raising a child with a disability. God is funny that way, huh?

I love, love, love that I get to share this huge part of my past with my son. T even worked there in 1995, I wanted him to see what had been so important to me for so many years. Again...that creative God, preparing us both for a child with disabilities!

I also love that when I take J down to camp each summer, I get to hang out with my "old" (NOT meaning in age...camp counselors don't ever get old!) camp friends who live in that area (and some who now work at camp) while he's busy during the days :) We also get to spend time with my wonderful brother, sister-in-law, nieces (and now my new nephew!) who are blessed to live in town there.

Ok, ok...on with the pictures...I know you're tired of my yappin'! ;-)

Dropping J off for his first day :)

"Catch, Kiss, Release" is the motto. J caught 3 fish and therefore...kissed 3 fish...yuck!

Goofy boy, course now he wants us to build a pool with an underwater ramp...wouldn't that be nice?

One of his usual summer camp self-photos

After picking J up from camp, we invited Uncle P and his family and Batgirl and her family to join us at the hotel for pizza and swimming. My friend Janette, whose son also attends camp every summer, joined us with her girls too :)

My sweet baby nephew :)

Something is Plaguing Me...

As we arrived at our destination Tuesday night, I thought I must have taken a wrong turn and ended up in EGYPT...yep, Egypt. Why you ask? Because we were bombarded by these:
Which is why the 2 pound donut was the highlight of our trip down (well, that and was a 2 POUND DONUT!)...it only went downhill from there. (Apparently because of the weather in this area, this was quite a problem all over) Suffice it to say, we arrived at our first hotel (yea, first hotel), which I thought was new...SO NOT NEW. After finding ourselves in a room T would maybe get on a hunting trip, (interpret that to mean...a room I would NEVER plan on staying in by myself! Door didn't close completely, bathroom even J didn't want to use...for the price we paid I did not expect this), the wonderful lady at the front desk gave us a second room. This room was no better, although I tried to stick it out and it wasn't just the crickets (I only lasted 1 hour). I assure you I'm not usually a hotel diva, but I was overwhelmed by this point. Tired, hungry, wanting some 2 pound donut, having argued twice with travelocity (which I will never use again), I killed not only 18 crickets in the second room (and one fell on my head) but there seemed to be only men walking by our room (did I mention outside doors? I know, not usually a big deal when I'm with T, but on my own...not so much).

So, we checked out (and again I must say, Peggy at the front desk was wonderful, almost made me feel bad for leaving...almost). On to a normal, indoor entry hotel. We walk into our room and see maybe 4 crickets. No big deal seeing as how I killed 18 at the previous stop, right? By this time it was 7:45pm, J took a bath and I continued to kill crickets (because I kept finding them...was getting curious, as this was a 2nd floor room). Finally got J to bed and tried to work on my computer...getting up every 15 minutes to kill more crickets. Yep, more. I was beginning to think it was just me. Other guests couldn't be having this problem because the few I had seen looked content. Or was I the only person who was wasting the time trying to kill the little buggers?

Around 12:15am, I finally looked under the air conditioner because that appeared to be the gathering place. A hole. There was a hole under the AC (or portal of hell, as I prefer to think) from which the crickets were streaming in. I killed 32 crickets before going to bed. The next morning, as we got ready for camp and breakfast, I counted 18 on the walls and floor. I. am. not. kidding.

So, 2 hotels and 4 rooms later, we were moved into a suite (which I didn't ask for but didn't complain about :) !) and after 3 more nights only killed 3 crickets. Now that was more like it. Finally had some time to enjoy that donut (well, what was left of it after J ate some!) We could sleep, no chirping, no black spots on the walls.

2 Pounds!

My boys were watching Man V. Food about a month ago (I'm finding this is a very popular show with kids and their dads!) and when I saw the wide eyes and the saliva dripping from the sides of their mouths I knew I had to research a bit.

Round Rock Donuts. They have been around since 1926, I had never heard of it. Their yeast-risen, yellow donuts (due to the fresh eggs used) are amazing. Whether plain or chocolate glazed, you will absolutely NOT be disappointed.

And oh yea...we definitely went for the 2 pounder, how could we resist??


This was the highlight of our drive down to camp this summer...always food with us...there is something wrong with that isn't it? ha!

Ok, already!

So, while out of town this last week, I was told with no hidden messages, that I am slacking on the blog (you know who you all are!). I know it, I have no good excuse. So I am going to attempt to catch you all up on our July around here :)

In a nutshell: work, wedding, Odessa, Lions Camp, Cats, work, North Carolina, curriculum, Houston, crickets, hotels, 2lb donut, Krispy Kreme, zip line, black widows, and the list could go on.

We'll start with Odessa and a wedding (the work part is pretty self-explanatory...it's one of the reasons I'm behind on blogging. I am VERY thankful for the summer work but it's all on the computer so I tend to slow down on other computer stuff during work weeks!). I have never been to Odessa, but T's step-dad and step-brothers/sisters all live in Odessa and Abilene. Pop and Nana are able to visit there 2 or 3 times a year to catch up, but T & I have never made the trip and I was excited to see it finally! (I know...bad family members. We know that and we embrace it because it's just who we are ;-) )



T's sweet niece Kaete was heading down the aisle with her adorable man John and we wanted to be there in person to witness the first of this group tying the knot. We headed out early Sat. morning and enjoyed our first adult murder/mystery audiobook together in a long time in the car (we left J w/my parents). We had almost forgotten how nice it is to travel together, just the 2 of us. And since we just happened to drive through Ft. Worth on the way, my wonderful, wonderful hubby consented to a stop at the TCU bookstore so I could purchase a few new t-shirts :)

Once we arrived in Odessa, we dressed and headed with T's brother and his family to the wedding. The family had planned a small surprise birthday gathering for Tricia (sister-in-law, aunt to Kaete) so we were able to enjoy the look on her face as a cake was brought out before the wedding guests started arriving :)We took our seats around 7:30 and sat through a very sweet outdoor ceremony. Set in the gorgeous backyard of a family friend, it was a perfect summer night (complete with 2 camels on their land behind the fence...pretty cool!).
The bridesmaids, parents, grandparents, adorable flower girl and ring bearer, then the beautiful bride (lead by her handsome brother Jason) (with her train held by my oh so cute niece B!)walked down the side of a pool to the wedding area.

It was a nice 2 days together, just T & me. Now I'm ready for another trip alone with my man, kind of spoils ya!

Scrap Happy

It seems once you start designing, it's hard to find time to scrap your own stuff! I am thankful for Hummie's World, though, (the forum I'm a member of), because by joining her template and themed challenges, I am reminded weekly to get something scrapped! Granted, I might not get it done but once a month...but at least I get some done :) And sorry if I've posted this first one before, I can't remember and I can't find it so I'm hoping it's new for ya!

Template from Hummie's World, Paper from Mason Creek Creations

Papers from Nikki Scott

Happy Independence Day!

If not for the rebellious act of a handful of men over 200 years ago, we would not be celebrating this day. From our family...we thank all of you who have, are or will be serving our country and fighting for our freedom.
God Bless America.

And the conversation...

...goes a little like this:

J - Mom! your hair!
Me - What?
J - Bend over again, let me see....it's white!
Me - yep, it is.
J - but you're not old. (he earned brownie points for that comment!)
Me - I know, but a lot of my friends have gray or white hair, you just don't see it.
J - They do?
Me - yep, but they color it to cover it. I usually do that too but I'm tired of paying for it, remember the lunch lady hat you so love riding home with?
J - Oh yea. Mom, you need to color it...again...soon.

So, thanks to my dear dear friend and business partner Shannon, we did just that. And it only cost $10 (we used the good stuff from Sally's). Now I am usually one who insists on salon coloring, especially after my only attempt to home color was AWFUL (back in 2002...it turned out dark auburn...yea...on my white as can be face, not good)...so I trusted Shannon basically w/my life. Choosing a person to cut, color and style your hair is as important as choosing a good gynecologist and a good dentist is my book. And I love my salon here, and the fact that they do Color To Go for $20 (hence the driving home in a "lunch lady" shower cap as J calls it) but I was hoping for something cheaper this time because the whites come back so fast it's just not worth it to me sometimes to color it! (and yes, they are WHITE, not gray...started when I was 20)

Well, she did good! really good! Granted it took us 20 minutes to choose the color we thought matched my normal color the best. (and it's a self-portrait so it's not the best, I know!) And best of all, the final outcome was J approved ;)

Webcam Central

This week we've been fortunate enough to have a 9 year old computer engineer in our home. He's a genius this boy is. While Indiana D's mom and sister have been away and youth camp and his dad's been at work, he's been teaching us some of the fun things we've been missing on our computer. Here's a taste of that fun...



Scary thing is...J sounds so much like my brother w/this deep voice distortion!

Here's another one that cracks me up...Indiana D made it just for me...



And this one is just funny looking...(this was before we figured out the sound...lol!)



Hope you all have a good weekend...I'm pretty sure I won't have the use of my computer as much as usual now that J is hooked on webcam!