Before I forget…

Yeah, I know.  Two blogs in one day?  Outrageous!  I just couldn’t resist sharing these get well cards that the girls created for Papa.  Hope’s is at the top.  Her picture is sweet.  Her sisters’ card, on the other hand, is slightly more disgusting.  I think I’ll just let you figure it out.  There are really some things that do not need to be described.  You’ll have to look very closely to read the speech bubbles, but it’s totally worth the trouble.  Obviously their mama does not do these kinds of drawings…but Papa can certainly appreciate it! :)

 

October? Wow!

I’m a poor excuse for a blogger.  Please forgive me…  I’ll do better.

Now that I have that out of the way, the fun can begin.  We’ve actually had a pretty good couple of months.  Gary has been to several KSU football games.  And yes, I’m expecting an impressive birthday gift for tolerating all this single-parenting! :)  I’ve even been taken to a couple of them, so I’m not totally left out!  The girlies have started their fall piano lessons again.  Monday they played their first “recital” for their piano teacher and me on the grand piano (I was jealous – I’d love to sit at that piano and play for hours!).  They did a great job and are going to play for their class at school next week.  They’re actually pretty excited about that, so I’m thrilled!  They’re surviving school, and even enjoying it to some degree (although they’d never admit it!). 

And now, the make-you-smile moment!  Hope came home yesterday and said, “Mama, there was a huge praying mammoth on the window at school today!”  I had her repeat herself just so I knew I heard her correctly.  I did.  Made me chuckle and left me with a fantastic mental image!  She and Addie also had a conversation last night as they tried to determine whether I was a girl or a woman.  Addie says I’m a woman, but not a granny.  (Thanks for that one, Add!)  Hope says I’m still a girl.  Clearly she’s the chosen one… :)

NOT Ready!

I’d like to say that I’m excited about the school year starting.  I can’t.  I’m doing a fine job of pretending to be excited so the little ladies won’t dread it, but I am so over it.  Summer has been so much fun.  They were healthy, and that alone is worth a happy dance.  And now begins the 9 months of the year when we can’t make weekend plans because somebody is ALWAYS sick.  The receptionists at the doctor’s office honestly expect to see us weekly.  I’m not even kidding here.  When I took Hope in yesterday, there was discussion about our need to have them on speed dial or just to have a standing appointment each week.  Do you think we spend a little time there the last couple years?!  There’s been way too much money spent on doctor bills & prescriptions…  So I’m not ready for this whole (un)fun time of year to begin again. 

Today, in honor of our last day of summer, we are making a trip to the Pomona Library and meeting their teacher this evening.  But the big event will take place this afternoon.  We’re having “Brownie Wars” – totally the girls’ idea!  We watched an episode of “Cupcake Wars” recently, so we’re going to split into teams and creatively decorate a couple pans of brownies.  They’re excited about it.  It should be fun!

Little Things

I consider myself very fortunate to have figured out, relatively early in life, the importance of the (supposedly) little things of life.  Some of my best memories of childhood are those little moments that weren’t notable for any particular reason.  I remember a fishing trip with my mom’s side of the family that wasn’t eventful, I don’t think, but I can still see everyone scattered around the pond.  I remember having puzzle races with Mom in the evenings.  I remember standing (yes, standing) in the seat of the pick-up next to Dad on our way to check cows while he sang “You Are My Sunshine,” “A Bushel & a Peck,” and, his original “She’s Daddy’s Little Cowgirl” from the house to the pastures.  I remember putting rocks in my metal sand bucket (I still remember it having a picture of a boy and a girl building sand castles on it) and walking across the pasture to gather up the cows.  I had seen Dad put rocks in his bucket to get the cows to come – they thought they were cubes and would come running – and I tried it.  I remember being in the middle of the pasture, in the middle of those cows and not being even slightly afraid.  I was two. 
My point is, in the grand scheme of things, it’s not the big productions that make memories.  It’s the little stuff that happens in the day to day life that matters.  It’s laughing over an episode of America’s Funniest Home Videos.  It’s playing games of Guess Who.  It’s making cookie pizzas before the first day of school.   It’s doing the right thing, whether or not anyone else is watching.  It’s being kind to others, whether or not you stand to gain something from it.  It’s the person you really are, not the person you pretend to be.  It’s the little things.

Shopping Trips…

I am getting SO bad at this blogging thing.  There will, undoubtedly, be time very soon (after school starts) for me to get things up to date, but until then, you'll just have to put up with the disjointed blog updates.  Yes, we went to band camp the last week of July, but you're not going to hear about that just yet.  Someday...  And, oh, are there stories to tell...

The girlies have been having shopping trips into each others' rooms lately.  Tonight is just another grand opening event, with the advertisements of "Everything is a Penny!" being hurled around like water balloons.  Since both of the girly bedrooms have stores, Dad and I were the only ones truly eligible for the initial shopping trips.  While Dad shopped the Hannah store, I shopped the twinks' store.  I got a special treat, one for which I paid a few extra pennies, in this little beauty:

Now, for those of you who aren’t living amongst our chaos, this is a drawing of the movie “Up.”  If you are familiar with it, you can appreciate Dug (the dog), Kevin (the bird), Carl (the glasses-wearing man), and Russell (the boy with the many Wilderness badges).  Ahh…  The fun never ends! :)

One Time, At Band Camp...

It's official.  I'm back to the pre-kiddos summer staple of a week of band camp.  Well, for one year anyway.  I'll go to Pitt and chaperone, but I'm not going to Hays.  Not happening.  I've given the man in charge a year's notice, which means he'll be after me for the next year to go.  Anyway...  A week of 201 (preliminary total) high school kids.  A week of dorm life. A week of seeing midnight and 6 AM in the same day.  A week of dorm food.  Don't want to go with me yet?  Well, I will admit, it doesn't necessarily sound like fun yet.  But add to that the hilariously fun group of chaperones we have, the great kids we get to work with (who totally outnumber the ones who get in trouble for behavior/attitude problems - although I haven't forgotten about those...), and the day of the parade and pre-game/half-time performance, and it is a pretty amazing week.  I always end up in tears during the pre-game show.  It could be that I'm so utterly exhausted by Saturday evening, but by the end of the week they turn into a phenomenal band. 

So, if you happen to be in the Pittsburg area on July 31, check out the band.  Yeah, the Shrine Bowl is there too, but really,  the band is SO much better! :)

Ahhh...SUMMER!

By the looks of this blog, particularly the lack of new posts, we are enjoying our summer.  It's true.  We've had so much fun thus far and are not looking forward to the prospect of school starting soon.  It has been a busy summer with several "firsts" for all of us.  But I'll take the time to go through those in a later post.  For now, it's just the big picture. 

We have spent time in Branson, at the farm, shopping, taking piano lessons, attending meetings, and reading...lots and lots of reading.  It has been a great summer. 

So...Branson.  We had a great time.  Stayed in a condo and spent a LOT of time in the pool.  We surprised the girls on the Monday night that we were down there when we went to see The Duttons and had Meme & Papa standing inside waiting for us. The girls had no idea and were totally shocked.  We met  an old friend of Gary's (not old as in OLD, just old as in he knew Gary several years ago!) and his family and had supper with them.  Gary then took all day Monday and went golfing with Matt.  He had a great time, and the girls and I did as well.  We took out on our own and went to the fish hatchery, swam and did oodles and oodles of shopping.  We didn't buy a lot, but it was a fun day for all of us.  It was really nice to be able to get away for a couple days and just have fun. 

And the rest will just have to wait a little longer.  I have to get ready to go to piano lessons...