This was one of our days at the beach. I guess I just don't feel like writing much. I can't say enough about how relaxing it was, how my spirit enjoyed visiting with family, how much I love that I'm not at work today, or the next day, or the next. This is a good week of vacation.






Oh, and one tag-a-long pic of Grandma reading to Gert. She (meaning Gertie) was a bit stand-offish much of the time, so this was a sweet moment. And Grandma soaked it up. But she always has. I have many memories of her reading to Grace and Ethan at bedtime, and it would take FOREVER. Marge really enjoys it.

These are some pictures from our South Dakota vacation. We had a great time visiting with family.
John's mom lives right next to a big park with the local public pool. We went a couple times. The kids had a great time, and Aunt Lisa likes to swim even when it's not sweltering hot outside. That makes her a little more fun than mom. That is Cousin Quinn in the picture with them. Ethan and Quinn had a great time getting reacquainted.














I just thought this was a sweet picture of Quinn.













Uncle Dan bought a bunch of fireworks and we drove out into the county to set them off. It was just us and the bugs. I wish I could have captured Ethan's excitement at "blowing stuff up." He had so much fun. Gertie desperately wanted to be part of the fun, and when we let her have a sparkler, this was the look. She kept asking for more and more, but she crunched her shoulders up and always made this same worried expression.










And here is my birthday girl. She's twelve now, and seeming quite grown up. She had a fun day with swimming at the beach, lemon delight cake (thanks, Judy!) and a late-night viewing of "The Princess Bride."

ho hum...

What to say, what to say?...It's been a busy week. Grace had her first summer cello lesson this week. Her teacher just graduated from high school. She hadn't met him before today. She said he is a nice guy. She said she didn't do as well as she could have during her lesson, but I'm sure she'll work on that. She really hasn't practiced since school was let out.

Ethan was hurt pretty badly at the last baseball game. He was playing catcher and as one of the hitters released the bat, he swung it loose to strike EJ in the arm. Ethan loves being catcher, though, and he made a really great play called a collision (I hope that's right) where the runner came at him pretty fast, but he was able to tag him out. Ethan said it hurt, but it was a badge of honor. This guy came and took pictures, and these are some of them...I just really like that kid.


My long vacation from work starts this Friday. We are headed back to South Dakota, and John's brother Dan and his family and his sister Barb and her hubby will be there. I am looking forward to seeing everyone and catching up. I am very much looking forward to a week of not having to go to work. And then I just have to finish out this month of July. When I review in my mind that today is only July 1, it is again seeming so far away. I'll make it! As Gertie and the Little Engine that could like to say, "I think I can. I think I can."

A funny little note on Gertie. She must have heard me call Ethan "Ethan James" too many times because she seems to think we're all named _____________ James. The other day I wasn't listening so well, and she said, "Mommy James!" And then tonight I was asking her if she was a princess or a fairy, and she said, "I'm Gertie James!" I know she's called Grace "Gracie James" as well. Funny little kid.

Verena

This is my sister Beth and baby Verena. They look so much alike. I know they're both wearing orange, but really, they look just like each other. I thought these were cute pics...


















































And this is just one nice memory for me. We were taking an evening walk, the whole bunch of us.

Happy Birthday to Me

Once again, it's been too long. I've had some things to blog about, just no time to actually sit down and do it. We'll see how this goes. Gertie is on the loose, so I'm stealing time.

My birthday. I turned 39 this year. My highlights were:

• I woke up at the crack of dawn and got some cleaning done before my sister and her family arrived. I was actually loving getting things done, them staying done, and the look of an organized, clean home.
  
• I took the kids to the park to have a play date with some other kids and see some other moms I miss. It was horribly windy, and a bit rushed, but we had fun catching up. The government has a program going on this summer again where they will provide a sack lunch for any child that shows up to pick one up at a school in our neighborhood. At first, I thought the program was a waste of our tax dollars. ANY child? Some kids don't need a free lunch. But then I started to think that it's my tax money too, and it's so convenient and FREE, so we do that every once in a while. We've been trying to get together on Fridays over lunch and let the kids play. But finally to the birthday highlight: My friend Amy shared her little dill pickles with me. I know that's ridiculous, but I am the only one in my family who likes pickles, I rarely do the shopping, so I rarely get pickles. She just kept them coming, and I just kept eating them. Yummy!
• John asked me what I wanted for dinner, and I said shishkebobs (no idea how to spell that word). He made them for dinner, they were delicious. We had a delicious watermelon to go with them. I loved my birthday dinner.
• My sister brought that sweet little new niece of mine to see me.
• My husband and children gave me chocolate for my birthday. Lots of it. Tons of it.
  

So those are the things that made my day special. It was a good day.

My mom added to our crew on Saturday, and she brought my nephew Tate, whom I rarely actually saw over the whole weekend. He disappeared with Ethan and they barely popped their heads up for air. They had a great time together. My mom gave me a couple of clematis to plant along our fence for my birthday. I can't wait to watch them grow.

I often found my mama wandering out in the yard early in the mornings and at other various times throughout the weekend. I think she's chomping at the bit to get her hands in the dirt. (At least that's the way I like to look at it!) A friend had dropped off some perennials, and she helped get those in the ground, but the major project was trimming the way-overgrown hedge at the front of our house. I've hated the way that looked for so long. I love it now. We just took those huge hedges down to almost nothing. They are kind of artsy looking now, with bare stems and a little green at the top. Maybe I'll have to get a picture to show you, but it looks so much better. It was a very big job, and Beth was in there too. I love this family of mine that sweeps in and tackles these things for me. I'm very grateful.


We finally got to see Grace in South Pacific. She did great. We had front row seats, the production was over-all very nicely done. Beth had thought it was going to be a school production, but it was a community production. The singing was nice and the show was fun. John wasn't able to go with us (on FATHER'S DAY) because I had completely forgotten to try to line up a sitter. I can't believe I did that. Actually, I can. But I knew Mike wasn't going to go, he was going to stay with Verena. It was on my mental to-do list until then it wasn't. But it turned out that he went with Mike the next night, so it all worked out okay.

John and Ethan went to the college world series in Omaha in the middle of the week, with a quick side trip to see John's mom in South Dakota. We didn't hear hide nor hair of him the whole time (can you ever hear hide or hair? I don't think so.) Anyway, I know he had a great time. I wish I
could get him to blog sometime and give you the highlights.

Now we're already to our anniversary. John and I have been married for sixteen years today. I can still relive that wedding day in my mind, and I love the memories. I'm thankful for this man in my life. He's been kissing me today, and he loves me too, I just know it! We've had a good marriage and a good life. I like knowing how he ticks. I like how he takes care of us, cooking for us and shopping for us. I just love him all around. My man...


Pictures will come. I just don't have it in me right now. I've got to go.

Elephants, Chairs, Baseball, phones

I thought i'd share quickly that Gertie has decided that her favorite animal is now an Elephant, without ever seeing one except in pictures, books, or maybe on TV once or twice.

Today Beth, Mike and Verena go home. Mom is working, so i put Gertie down, and it nearly broke my heart. I followed the usual routine, read a few books, put her in bed, sing a few songs. I got through reading the books, and tried to put her in bed, but she didn't want to. She wanted to sit in the chair and snuggle. it's hard for her without mom or dad (dad and Ethan went to the College World Series). i didn't have a heart to refuse. I sang to her and rocked her for about 15 minutes, till she fell asleep. Then I lifted her into her crib. i love her so much.

Just a little about dad and ethan. first they went to go help my grandma, she's moving into an apartment soon. This morning they left for Omaha. Dad called this morning around 10:00. The conversation went like this:
"Hey Grace"
"Hi daddy"
"Is your mom home"
"no, she's at work"
"oh yeah, that's right, can i have you do me a favor"
"yea sure"
"can you look up Bret and Dawn's phone number, i'm going to stay with them and don't have their number"
i gave him the number
"Thanks, bye"
"Love you dad"
"love you too, Grace"

I would've liked to talk to him a little more, after missing him for a day, but no, get the phone number and go. That's my daddy.

FLOOD

Well, I woke up yesterday morning and looked out the bathroom window to see a pond where the street used to be. We had almost four inches of rain overnight, and we were looking at a flood. The neighbors all said, and I knew previously, that our house has never flooded. It is too high up. But when the water is encroaching your space, you start to worry.

This picture is the part of our yard that borders the lake. The little inlet is a staircase that leads down to a lower level of grass that stretches at least 8 feet before we enter the water on our DOCK. Thankfully, among many blessings, the dock is still there. At least the frame is. The boards actually floated away several days ago. John saw the metal poles coming up out of the water as it has receded quite a bit since this morning. You can see a couple boards of our swing on the left there. That used to be on the right side of the yard. Again, I'm thankful we didn't lose it.


This is the view I woke up to, minus the dump truck. There is usually a big grassy lot on the right of the street that the city maintains where many people come to fish and enjoy the nice summer days. That was completely under, and it spilled out into the street. The city employees worked very hard yesterday morning building up a berm with lots and lots and lots of dirt. The Creek that feeds our lake crested at around 10 a.m., so we felt we were going to be okay. And we were. Praise the Lord.

I have to say, it was a very unsettling feeling. I mean, we started trying to haul things from our basement just in case, and it is a very defeating feeling. What do you grab? It's just very overwhelming.

Austin had a huge flood like this just a few years back. Much of downtown was under water yesterday, and I'm sure they still are today. I know that some businesses had moved after the last big flood, and I'm sure they are thankful today. The ones that didn't were deep under water. One gas station was really buried. If I were a gas tank (and thankfully, I am not), the water would have been up to my neck. And that was around noon. The river flooding that area wasn't supposed to crest until 10 p.m. last night. Very sad situation.


Now on a funnier (definitely not happier) note, I wanted to share this picture of my youngest. Here is how the story goes: It was a laundry day, and we were folding up the laundry and putting it into piles on the couch. We were having a good time and working together, in the way that I had to pick up and fold everything Gertie folded. Andyway, when it came time to carry it upstairs, Gertie wanted to carry her own pile. It had severel things in it, but she is small, and her clothes are small, so I agreed. On the way up the steps she dropped a pair of panties. AND I PICKED THEM UP! That was the beginning of a major meltdown that lasted a good screaming twenty minutes. She finally got to the top of the steps and laid her head down on her pile of laundry, refusing to move--or do anything for that matter.

Well, I know from personal experience that nothing cheers you up more when you are furious than having your picture taken. So I obliged...
And I'm anxious to get my little ball player on the blog as well, but I need to work on some good pictures. He's been doing a great job this year. He is hitting with a bit more power and makes some smart plays out there. I'll get something going here soon.