Big Water Slide

Yep, that's a BIG water slide.  So big it's going to be in the Guiness Book of World Records!!  And it's right here in our own backyard.

And today was the long anticipated day of finally getting to try it out.  That's Benny sliding down the slide.

Sam was right in there, too, of course.

That's him, running around to the back to run up the stairs again.

And what long stairs they are......

Anyway, fun was had.  And the boys wore themselves out sliding, running, climbing, and silding some more.  The only thing that stopped them, ninety minutes later, was a thunderstorm that ruined the fun for the rest of the day.  But we'll be back!

Summer Starts

We're two days into summer vacation, with about 85 or so more to go.  So far we have spent a fair amount of time riding in the car.......

because the need for running errands doesn't stop when school does, unfortunately.

We saw a movie yesterday.  (Shrek 4.)  Today we played video games at the bowling alley, the boys sprawled listlessly on couches while I worked out at the gym, then I took everyone to the rec center for some "shootin' hoops," as Sam says.

And of course, our mainstay of summer, the thing we spend ninety percent of our time doing from May to August; swimming.

If Sammy comes along and is willing to drag the boys around and be jumped on, all the better.

Now we're off for an end of the year soccer pizza party.

The lazy days have begun!

Pizza Night

I wanted to do something different for dinner tonight, so the boys and I picked up some groceries on the way home, and included ingredients for "make your own pizza" night.

I sure live with a group of carnivores.  The boys (and Marty) piled ham, pepperoni, and bacon bits onto their pizzas.  (Although Sam and Sammy did have a few mushrooms.)

I asked, "how is it?" while the kids were eating, and got three thumnbs up.

But nobody would smile for a photo.  Oh well.

Yum!

Flower Time

It must be summer.  Because the start of summer around here means two things.  School lets out (yep, today.) And I plant my window boxes.

Marty built them for me when we first got married.  I take pride and pleasure in filling them up each year.  I like to mix it up and try new flowers each time.  Last year I found one plant that butterflies loved, so I got it again.  I have a nifty tiny hummingbird feeder that hangs from a small stand, perfect for sticking in among the flowers.  Last year it was very popular with the hummers.  But with the bear back in town, I am holding off feeders of any kind, particuarly on the porch.

Aren't the boxes well made?  And they look like they were built in with the house.  Marty did a good job!  It's so nice to pull up in the driveway and see colors and blooms.

Our little Dutch horse, which was a wedding gift from a friend.  We sure like him, but he sure falls off the hanger a lot.

By the end of summer, the window boxes are tired, leggy, overgrown, and faded.  It beomes therapeutic to finally tear the flowers out and empty the boxes entirely, where they wait all through winter for spring to come again.  But for now?  For now, it's the very beginning of summer, and everything is fresh, small, hopeful, and new. 

Happy Summer!

Snack Night

Soccer is winding down.  Last games are this week....Sam will have his Allstar Games soon after that, then we will be done for another year.   This year has been quite a change for Benny--he's beenp laying goalie!  And let me tell you, he is GOOD.  Fearless.  He really dives after that ball, jumping down on it, despite flailing legs and kicking shoes aimed straight for his face.

As a side note, there is one particularly nasty mother on the opposite team who screams the entire game.  Let me repeat.  Screams.  No exaggeration.  The entire game.  No exaggeration.  She has two kids on the other team and she never once stops shrieking for them to "GO" and "COME ON" and so forth.  She is out for blood.  She wants annihalation of the opposing ten-year olds.  And she screeches with pure joy whenever Benny misses a shot.

I tell you, it's enough to make me want to get really, really ugly.

But putting that aside........

Tonight, for Benny's second-to-last game, it was his night to bring snacks and drinks.  You shoulda seen the pride when the game was over. Never mind they lost, (by one) that was forgotten entirely as Benny led a full-on charge of delighted, grinning kids pounding across the soccer field towards the bags of snacks and drinks at my feet.

Then he began dispensing them with great generosity.

Punch and peanut butter and crackers!  Yum........

There was a random sibling in the mix with a chair on his head that nobody batted an eye at, because really, this is pretty darn common at soccer games.  (And yep, he got a snack and drink, too.)

Before the game, I took team photos.  Here's Benny's team!

Great job, guys!!!

One more game, then a pizza party, trophies, coach's gifts........and then it's over!

So Much To Say

Last weekend we were in Virginia, sharing Mother's Day with my Gramma Kimble.  It was her 95th birthday and I was lucky enough to share it with her.

We met at Rita's for tons of great food and family time.

Gram had so much to say.  Above all else?  She wanted to say how happy she is, how grateful.  She says nobody has it better than she does, nobody is happier than she is.  She has it made and she is deeply appreciative, she says. 

Gram has not had an easy, cushy life....she has been through some hard times.  Do you hear her looking back on any of that?  Nope. She says she has had a wonderful life.  And she is focused on right now, right here, TODAY, and how great things are at this moment. 

She also talked about how important it is to stay active and busy, doing whatever you can.  She said, "I can't crochet like I used to last year, or five years ago, or ten years ago.  It takes me FOREVER to make one single stitch.  But I can still do it. And I do.  Because what is the alternative?  Just sit there and do nothing?  Why would you live like that?  It's important to keep your mind active and to USE it."

She reads for hours each night.  She still crochets blankets and quilts blankets and she and Rita give most of them away to Project Linus.  She pays attention to the folks in her building and she knows their names and makes friends with them.  She is extremely current and can talk to you about any topic...politics, sports, the economy.

And she makes it clear she doesn't want to live to be a hundred.  She says when people tell her, "you'll live to be a hundred!" she says, "bite your tongue!"  She says she doesn't want to be one of those ancient people who have lost their sense of humour and do nothing but sit and scowl all day.

She really is one in a million and I'm so lucky to have her in my life.

Aside from spending time with Gram, the trip was a lot of fun for many reasons....getting to see Karen, Cole, and Carter.  A visit from Eydie and Mikey and Corey.  A quick visit to Williamsburg and getting some lovely pictures of beautiful gardens. (more of those pictures to come later this week.)  Time with Marty to slow down and relax and be together.  Good food, good weather, and fun.

Happy Birthday, Gram!

Shootin' Hoops

Funny how a small change in routine can cause your whole evening to change, too.   Yesterday Marty came home from work early due to torrential rain in the city.  But out here it was nice and steamy hot and sunny.  Because Marty was home early, that meant we had some time to spend together as a family.  So we went to the rec center.  We played tennis for about ten minutes.

Then moved on to the mini-golf.

Benny got into using the camera for some very low angle shots......

Then he set up my little video camera to take movies of him hitting the ball.

Very creative.

Then we moved on to shooting some hoops.........

Nothing but net!

Big throws!

Mind you, all this activity didn't take nearly as long as you might think.  In no time at all everyone was red-faced and sweaty.  We went home to showers and cooling off--what a hot afternoon it was.  But it was good exercise and a good shakeup from the usual routine.  We'll be doing much more of the same over the next three months!

Pups!

We had another rainy weekend here.  Sunday we drove up to visit Marty's mother.  While there we visited his sister Cindy.  Her great dane has just had ten puppies!

They need a little extra feeding with bottles.

They're pretty small!

Ever wonder what a laundry basket full of puppies looks like?

We visited Granny, and she has some lovely flowering bushes in bloom.

Marty did a little weed-eating.....

We had pizza and called it a day.  At home we grilled chicken for dinner and went to bed just as more storms moved in, making for a very rainy Monday.  No soccer today!

Hope we have better weather tomorrow!