Happy 3rd Birthday Pics::July 17

Amber, a friend of mine, asked if I could take her daughter's 3 year old pictures. Excitedly, I said yes!

We fed the ducks, blew bubbles & caught them, played "peek a boo" by the tree - peeking out at mommy, and did the regular "sit right here and say cheese" pics. "J" stayed cheerful and cooperative throughout the whole photoshoot; what a gem she is!

Take a look at how adorable she is:
Thanks so much for letting me be a part of her 3 year old celebrations, Amber!

pics of the evening::July 11

Last night, after all of us getting home from our respective daily "stuff", we sat down and watched tv together. Mostly it was Steve and me, and from time to time Michael, Matt &/or Bill would pop in.

It is a different life from when we banned tv years ago when all of our children were little, but it is good in a different way. Sometimes it is nice just to sit and share entertainment; to laugh and see your loved one laughing too. It is nice to go through life together and share the little moments.

I haven't been taking pictures as much as I have in the past. I need to be. It is just difficult sometimes, when you don't want to go anywhere, and you have already photographed everything that you can think of photographing in the house and taking another pic would just be redundant.... but it is exactly what I did last night.
A pic of Steve. Of Michael. (with popcorn of course! :) and an updated pic of the porcelain dolls from my mom - I put Amber's up with Emily and mine. I need to get them all in the curio cabinet to keep them from getting too dusty. but I'll save that for another day. (why yes, I am a procrastinator, why do you ask? ;)

Yesterday it was the neurologist for Michael. Today it is a follow up with the liver/kidney transplant surgeon for Bill - I'm not sure who the doc de jour will be, but they will be looking at Bill's labs to see how his liver and kidney are hanging in there, and they will need to take a look at his drain tube. Oh how I hate drain tubes! Constant clotting. Bah humbug!!

I hope that you enjoy your day and live it to the fullest! (even if part of it is just watching tv & enjoying it immensely! :)

Our Independence Day::July 5

Since Steve took Emily and Matt to Martin's Cove for the 4th of July, Jared, Michael and I were on our own to have some Independence Day fun.

So we drove to the city, 'cause their ain't nothin' happenin' in our little town. We went and looked in all of the tents at the Freedom Festival, then we went on over to the carnival. It seems that the only ride that was Michael's size and speed was the merry go round.... so we rode that...twice. :) Jared rode a couple of rides too; I can't remember the name of the one, but he rode the ferris wheel once.


Afterward, Michael still really wanted to go swimming, just like he had all day, so we drove up to our favorite pool, but they were closed. :( I promised we'd go back soon.

After buying some treats at the store, we headed down to get our spot to watch fireworks. Steve hates going to the fireworks, so I thought I'd do what he hated, since I never get to go when he is around.

We got to the park about 9:00, laid out our blanket, and sat down with our snacks to wait. And wait. And wait. I was hoping that the fireworks would start at 9:30, but nope. We could see smaller fireworks going off in every direction that we looked. Jared and I watched those... Michael really liked watching the street lights go on. What a funny kid! Fireworks popping all around us, and he watches the street lights. Someday I hope to understand how his mind works!

So we sat there and ate a few chips, a banana or two, Jared bought a bag of cherries a guy was selling, so he ate those. And we waited some more.

Then a toddler that belonged to the family on the blanket in front of us had a melt down. She'd gain control of herself just in time to lose it again. Over, and over, and over. And her parents were just as annoying as she was. (Who shoots snapshots at fireworks?? The flash on that sucker was SO bright! But they got some cute family photos in the middle of the night, I suppose. grrrr.)

Meanwhile, the people behind us were talking in their absolute loudest voice to communicate with the person just next to them... to be honest, I didn't mind that his wife and the other women left to go to the bathroom at Shaun's and might not make it back in time for fireworks.... but he seemed bugged.

And then, the grand finale! A car horn, a safety feature to protect from car theft, went off..... and fifteen minutes later, I realized I was done. The "real" fireworks hadn't even started....but I'd had it. I looked at my cell phone: 10:00 p.m. and I realized that no matter where I am and no matter what I'm doing, 10:00 is my limit. I can't even stand my own flesh and blood after 10... what made me think that I could stand obnoxious people?? So we left, came home, and went right to bed. I'm feeling like myself again; my claws are retracted and my snarl has become a smile again.

Today, I was supposed to take Tilly the cat to get his claws removed.... but I backed out. I need to rethink it.

I might be getting together with my great friend from Minnesota today, we'll just have to see what her schedule is like.

Other than that, I have plans to sit and watched hours of "The Big Bang Theory". It is terrible with crude humor. But it is hilarious. So, hilarious wins. ;)

Have a terrific day!