Monday

I Need A Vacation From My Vacation…Not Really, But It Sounded Good…


The last three weeks have been a whirlwind…Andy our youngest gran turned one and Auntie Christie and this Grammy made a trip south for a birthday party.  Dave stayed behind to tend to the dogs and sort through more junk before the “KIDS” came up the following weekend for a week’s stay.  

We had a wonderful time at the party on Saturday, however my shingles were still acting up and staying in the house was almost a must for me.  Andy had a bouncy ball party. 
Birthday Boy in the pool, just chillin!
I swear that child, actually both boys, have such creative parents and his grandmother on his dad’s side of the family is so talented in making cakes.  I wish I had a tenth of her talent in cake baking and decorating.  She made both the wedding and groom’s cakes for Heather and J’s wedding.

Andy's cake!
Grooms Cake with Chocolate Leaves and Strawberries
Heather and J's Wedding Cake







While taking a group picture we all got sprayed with silly string, needless to say it was a complete surprise.
J's face was the target as his face was covered with Silly String!
Tigers
Lions
On that Sunday we all packed up and headed to Tyler, TX  to the Caldwell Zoo.  What a wonderful place.  It was very humid outside but overcast which made it bearable. 
Blue and Gold Macaws



And Bears
Emerald Boa Constrictor
Noah sang the Sheep song the whole time he was at the zoo. Back story…his Auntie Christie was showing J the Taylor Swift song, Trouble with the cut-ins of screaming goats (he calls them sheep pronounced seep).  Noah saw it and it scared him, poor baby, but daddy helped him to understand that it was only a song and nothing to be afraid of, so instead of crying when he saw it he starting singing the song constantly, it was hilarious.  

We came home and had 5 days to get the house ship shape before the grans arrived.  Having a three year old and a one year old running around, you had to get down to their level and see what dangers might be lurking, thank goodness for door gates.  
This last week was chaotic, Heather and J tried to cram so many things into one week that we were running from one event to another.  With concerts, movies, zoo trips, wedding anniversaries, pedicures, children’s museum visits, haircuts, meeting up with friends…it was dizzying to say the least.


To catch it all you will have to read Part Deux.

To Be Continued…

Sunday

The Grans are Coming...The Grans are Coming...



Late this July the Grans will be coming to visit us for a week.  As you can imagine we are excited as we have not seen the boys since Christmas.  However that entails some major cleaning as everything needs to be put up high or boxed up and put away as little hands get in trouble. 

If I were thinking logically I would sort through stuff and keep what I want for the trailer and put the rest out in a garage sale or give it to the church for their country fair this fall, but at this time I don’t have enough time to do that. Oh well later…
The 4th of July was lovely here.  The weather was perfect and when watching the fireworks there was a lovely breeze to wisk away the smoke and cool us off. We sat behind the museum of Natural History and had a wonderful view of the night sky.

And the Rockets Red Glare


 
The Bombs Bursting in air
Gave proof to the night that our Flag was still there.

Shingles dew rag!
 
I have been suffering from shingles, in of all places, on the edge of my hairline on my forehead, sometimes I will get them on the crown of my scalp. What a pain!  I have been making compresses with paper towels and apple cider vinegar and using a dew rag to keep it in place, had to go to work like that on Friday. I looked like the biker mama from down under and felt it too.  The only other way to knock out the pain is prescription pain pills which I hate taking but if it works so much the better… darn chickenpox when I was five!


Noah painting while little brother gets in trouble
Birthday invite that daddy the artist designed
Our gran Noah turned 3 last weekend. He had a superhero birthday party.  Parents were included in costume, everyone had a wonderful time.  We got him an art easel.  He decided that his face should be the canvas and started coloring his face. 
A canvas face and a birthday cone!
The next masterpiece was on the tile floor. What a goober (His dad’s words, not mine).  So I guess the dot paints have been put up for now. 

In doing some calculations this evening, we have 530 days before I retire.  It sounds so far away but it will be here in no time.  The days and months are flying by faster that what I anticipated, so there is no time to waste.  There are times when I wish I could slow time down but time waits for no man or woman. 

I have been taking extra time off to give me a 4 day weekend here recently and let me tell you it is NICE!  Wish I could keep it up, but work calls for just a bit longer.  I dread the day I give my notice as it will be very emotional. This is the only job I have ever had outside of my home that lasted longer than one year. I have been at the University for 15 years and all I can say is the time has flown, guess it does when you're having fun. I plan to give them plenty of notice so they can hire someone and I can train them and leave on a positive note. 

We are looking forward to this new chapter and I can hardly wait, but wait I must so I don’t have to pay as much on my Medicare benefits.
I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July.  Just a thought here, Freedom isn’t free, you have to work hard to protect that freedom and keep it free and your voice heard.

Happy trails all, and to all a good night!