What do you do in the summertime?

So what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Well, this seems to be my summertime:

Get up around 5:45. Check Alyssa's blog to see if there are any updates. (Hey, she's 8 hours ahead of me, I can wonder...) If there are no updates, go to FB and check her status to see if anything has changed since before I went to bed. If no change in status, get to the gym so I can be home by 7:10 to wake up kids for swim team.

At 7:10, wake up Lindsay and Payton. Check Lyss' blog and FB status. Run kids to swim team practice.

At 7:50 hike 1 1/2 miles up Table Rock with 2 girlfriends, then run the 1 1/2 miles down. Get back to the swimming pool to pick up kids.

At 9:00 start oatmeal on the stove while checking Lyss' blog and FB status on laptop on kitchen table. Eat oatmeal and check a few other favorite blogs for new posts.

At 10:00 get in the shower - well most days it is 10:00 - today it was 2:00!!! I love summer.

Putter around the house after shower making sure kids are doing their jobs. Do my jobs. Try to get my piles of stuff organized. This may take the entire summer - blech.

Around 1:00 eat lunch while checking Lyss' blog and FB status. Nothing new on either site. *sigh*

Do whatever the kids want to do - provided I don't have to take a loan out to do it - for the afternoon.

Around 5:00 check Lyss' blog and FB status. If I'm lucky I may hit the jackpot and she will have posted something to let us know that she is ok, or that she has a drunk naked man as a roommate in her hostel (don't worry, she has 3 "men" with her to protect her... ahem. I hope they are doing their "job"...), or that she had to pay an extra 50 or so American dollars to the train police in Italy, or that she has a touch of heatstroke since she didn't eat or drink anything during the day. Whew! It's always a relief to be able to read something she has actually written that day! What would I do without the internet to connect me with my daughter who's halfway around the world.

Around 6:00 think about cooking dinner. Wonder what to cook. Check several cooking blogs to see if there is anything that is quick, won't make my pants too tight, is appetizing, and that I have the ingredients for.

Around 7:00 clean up the dinner that will probably make my pants too tight, and solicit help from the kids (if there are any around - sheesh) to get kitchen cleaned up.

Around 8:00 think about going on a walk with Bill for our decompression/nightly date/hand holding time.

Around 9:30 return from nightly walk with Bill. Check Lyss' FB status to see if anything has changed since the last time I checked it. Watch the last of any TV show that might be on. Watch the news. Get ready for bed so we can start it all over again tomorrow.

Oh, the joys of summer.

SIDENOTE: Lest you think I am obsessive about checking up on my daughter: well, I'm not. I consider myself very curious as to her whereabouts and travelings and I will continue to be a little curious until she safely arrives back on US soil next Wednesday. There. She'll be back next Wednesday - wow! I think Alyssa's blog will get a lot less hits from me, and my little laptop may or may not collect a little more dust once she is safely home.

That's what I do in the summertime - at least for the next week.

The many uses of duck tape

Well, summer is here. Kids need something to do. Something fun. Something economical. Something that won't make the mom (who is helping the kids out) go ballistic. That really narrows it down, huh?

We checked our calendar, invited a few friends, and headed out to the craft store for a "free" duck tape wallet demo.

Here are the numbers we had to endure:

There was one small table.

One employee who had to keep looking at the directions to see how to make these things. Seven kids crowded around the small table.

Four kids I brought with me waiting to make a lovely (free) Father's Day gift.

One mother (me) who had about had it with 2 of the 4 children she brought (they were not my own children either...).

Fifteen minutes of torture and impatience that passed before I wised up and decided I was getting out of there before heads were going to roll.

I marched back to the duck tape aisle. Commanded the children to choose 3 colors and 3 colors only. Marched up to the front of the store. Paid for 3 colors and 3 colors only. Drove home and made our own duck tape wallets. Whew.

After I had regained my composure, I took some pictures that I thought I'd share.

Three colors and three colors only..

.

Measure, cut, fold, repeat...

Concentrate...

Help out a friend...

Put on your finishing touches...

Display your work of art...

Now I expect all those wallets to be used every.single.day.

Anyone interested in a free lesson on duck tape wallets???

I promise I won't go ballistic.

Well, maybe.

Spring happenings

Wow, where has the time gone? It was spring, now it's summer vacation. I've blogged next to nothing, took a million pictures, posted some of them on Facebook, but have so many more to share. Unfortunately, due to my lack of patience, Blogger's "problems" loading my pictures, and fat fingers on a laptop, there are not as many pictures as I had hoped to share. Sigh. Oh, well, here are some photos showing what has been going on in and around our house and family. Enjoy the pictures.

DISCLAIMER:

(Lori, I am totally copying you on this, and I want to thank you for YOUR inspiration. You get all the credit for this update!!!)

This spring was a:

First place time of 13.22 seconds in the 90m for Payton in the city track meet taking,

Lindsay triple jump leaping,

Blue ribbon showing,

12th birthday celebrating,

Kiss stealing,

Air soft war preparing,

Baby chick feeding,

Race for the cure walking,

New coop making,

Griffey exploring,

Table rock hiking,

Payton, Seth, and Ben posing,

New baby Brock holding,

Cemetary visiting,

Kourtni 9th grade photo student award winning,

6th grade tie-dye graduating!

Farewell to Freshman Dance attending,

Crappie fish catching,

Kind of spring.

Wow. Sort of summarizes everything up. Until next time...