You Don't See That Every Day

A week has passed since our spring break ended and I am finally getting to this. It went by too fast! We kept busy enough to feel it, but no so busy that we didn't sleep in. Oh, that felt good. And yes, Monday morning of back-to-school was very painful for all of us. We started the break with a wedding - friends' children who we've known since our kids were little. We all enjoyed the wedding .. it was simple and beautiful. Our Boy got a chance to serve - scooping ice cream at the reception.  We all enjoyed the dancing - The Boy and I joined in on the Mom and Son dance; The girls showed us their moves to songs we had no clue on; and The Mr had some great tango moves. It made me miss our ballroom dancing days. That evening we picked up The Cousins. What a giggle-filled three days those were! We took them to a local children's museum one day. There was an exhibit there for streams - and just like an engineer's grandchildren would do, they each start...

Dear Grandma ,  I wish I knew what you thought of your great-granddaughter's wedding this summer. We sure had fun! But let me back up. September has come roaring in with all its 'back-to-school' glory. Our girls went to the first football game on Sept 1st. I was just so tired to go with them. We had been gone all day, first at the farm picking the produce, and then selling all afternoon. It felt good for me to just sit and read a book. I've gotten hooked on some more novels by L.M. Montgomery; you know, the one who wrote Anne of Green Gables. This one is called Pat of Silver Bush . I can't believe I have never read them before, not with the way I haunted the library as a child waiting for the next book to be turned in so I could read it. I re-read Anne of Green Gables just about every year. This July in preparation for our road trip, we went to the bookstore where I discovered a bunch of books by this beloved author. So I've been slowly buying them and bin...

One of my nieces got married this past weekend. It just so happened that my youngest daughter was in the wedding party. It was finally her turn to be the flower girl. All of her older sisters had had their turns in cousins' weddings and now her turn in the spotlight. We were a little trepidatious about her ability to get through it without breaking down, but she did a great job. Earlier she had told me she was scared, but after going over it, practicing, talking it through, she took charge of her little cousin the ring bearer, and she did her job like a pro. Of course having a fancy new dress and shoes and hair pretty also helped. The wedding was held in a gorgeous log-cabin-esque chapel with plenty of seating for our large extended family, and friends. The bride picked copper and turquoise to be her colors, and they were beautiful together. My Mr and the kids helped decorate the reception venue the morning before the wedding. It sure is handy having a tall fella around...

It isn't often that I get to go anywhere without a child or two. And leaving the city we live in without children? Doesn't happen. Well maybe once a year. This time I actually left the state I live in - with only one child along for the ride. Miss Squiggles and I took a nice airplane ride down to San Diego.Here she is at the airport, waiting. She did a lot of that, waiting. And she was so good about it! Usually she has a lot to say, and a lot of wiggles. But this weekend or ours was mainly grown-ups and plenty of waiting, and she was pretty quiet and patient. She did great! San Diego was almost like another country for us. It was warm and beautiful on the harbor. The palm trees were cool to look at, so different from the fir and pine around our home. And all the ships! Wow! We saw the USS Midway - that thing is huge! We also saw this cool ship - someone said it was used in the Pirates movie.  We had a day to explore before we had to be at the rehearsal and dinner. ...

So among all the birthdays we have in April, we now have another anniversary to celebrate My nephew married a very sweet girl on Saturday, and we went to the wedding. The church was way out in the country, so it was a beautiful drive (once we got out of the city!) on a beautiful day. We got to see relatives we haven't seen in awhile, and eat some terrific food, and cake. Oh my! the Cake! This girl knows cake! Not just one wedding cake - oh, there were choices! And so yummy. But really this isn't just about the cake.  The wedding was beautiful, not just because it was family, but I liked the music - how could you not like Princess Bride?! And the flowers were gorgeous, and the bride was stunning. And the groom was awesome (how many other overused terrific adjectives can I use?!) We also had a lot of fun with the twist on the popular 'photo booth' that many wedding receptions use these days. They had a board with different relatives wedding photos on them. Th...