The last week of June

Here we are at the end of June, heading into the final weekend of the month.  June is pretty much my favorite month of the year.  There is no school this month, and at no point are we "weeks" away from the next school year either.  July has no school either, but it often feels just around the corner.

Our sweet pup is doing better.  There has been significant improvement, although we know that her healing will be measured in weeks and not days.  While there is still limping, she is moving around better and just feeling like herself again.  It's wonderful, and we are so grateful!

We've also made a point to "live" this week and enjoy our summer together.  Monday was an icky day, but we paid a family game of euchre in the afternoon and another game of Uno after swim practice that evening.  Tuesday afternoon I took the kids to visit my mother and grandmother, and there was more euchre that day.  Wednesday Andrew took the kids to the pool while I stayed home with the pup, and more euchre!  We are trying to keep at it so the kids don't forget how to play.  Yesterday Andrew and I decided to visit a nearby antique mall, and Thomas wanted to go along.  He had a blast looking at everything, and I wasn't sure we were ever going to get him out of there!  We found a couple of small things to bring home, hit a farmer's market on the way home, and then the kids had a swim meet last night.  We allowed ourselves to sleep in this morning, and then we are headed to the pool again this afternoon.

I am more grateful for these days than I can put into words!

Prayers needed for our sweet pup

Starting Sunday afternoon, our sweet Abby began to show some signs of distress.  By Monday morning we decided to take her to the vet.  It turns out that Beagles are prone to disk issues.  We received an anti-inflammatory and some pain med, and were told to keep her down for two weeks.  Andrew explained that the situation could become serious, but the vet felt it had been caught early enough and she would be fine.  She clearly felt better yesterday morning, and attempted to scratch.  Something happened that caused her to yelp, and she disintegrated throughout the day.  Andrew took her in this morning, and honestly, it could be better.  It could be worse, but it could be better.  She was given a cortisone shot, and sent home with some prednisone.  They hadn't done this initially because of side effects, and she just wasn't as serious Monday.  If she isn't better by Friday, she is in serious trouble.  We would appreciate some prayers for our sweet girl.  She has been the best dog ever.  She doesn't jump on people and she doesn't lick people.  She doesn't bark, and she loves, and loves unconditionally.  She snuggles with us and is so good with our cats...even helping our fat cat clean himself.  We've had her less than two years and that just isn't long enough.  I know that there are far greater problems out there, but if anyone has a prayer or two to spare we would appreciate it!

Rethinking life

Sounds a little dramatic, doesn't it?  Honestly though, the three days we spent on that island in the middle of Lake Champlain has changed our perspective.  Granted, we were there to relax, and since it was a short trip, our hosts joined us in doing so.  When we aren't there though, there is yard work and other general maintenance that is required at times.  There was also nothing but absolutely gorgeous blue skies and calm waters while we were there...not always the case!

Life can't be like that all year, or even all summer.  We know that.  Life has schedules.  We are very blessed to have our eleven weeks in the summer that do not have serious job and school responsibilities.  And Andrew and I have decided to really be mindful of how we are spending this time.  It's always been so easy to be staring at a screen of some kind...the TV, a computer (sometimes necessary), a phone.  We want to read more.  Just last week I finished reading my May magazines that arrived at the end of April.  I'm now onto June, but July is already arriving.  I miss out on things because I am so behind!  We've decided to spend more time reading, playing, or just being...but less in front of a screen.

We are off to a decent start.  Sunday evening Andrew and I sat outside and read on our back patio.  I couldn't remember the last time we did that.  I remember the first year we lived here and how I would just sit and stare at our backyard.  I couldn't believe we had a yard that size.  Then time passed and I began to take things for granted.  While reading I began to really look at our back yard again, and be grateful for it.

Our family has always had a "no electronics" rule during summer afternoons.  However, what were we doing with that time?  Nothing necessarily.  Yesterday we played a family game of euchre, and today I am taking the kids to visit my mother and grandmother.  Tomorrow we plan to hit the town pool.  After swim practice last evening, we played a game of Uno.  We are having a blast, and the kids are enjoying it too!  I am so grateful for these days!

Baseball Hall of Fame

This is the next part in our vacation trip...

We left the island Wednesday morning.  The waters were the choppiest they had been during our entire trip, and we had been told that at higher winds we wouldn't be able to leave.  I was concerned when I saw some white caps on the lake when we first awoke, but was told it would be no problem.  It was a rough ride off the island, and I'll be honest, I prayed almost continuously.  The kids didn't mind getting wet though!

We loaded our vehicle and drove to his aunt's house.  She was on the island with us and Andrew offered to drive her vehicle to her house.  I drove our vehicle and picked up Andrew at her house.  We were then on our way south, and driving through Vermont was absolutely lovely.  It is all rural driving, but the weather was awesome.  We stopped at a small country store and did a bit of shopping, and we just really enjoyed the trip...until we hit a glitch.  We had basically just crossed into New York when Andrew realized he still had his aunt's keys!  Ugh!  He called her right away and fortunately she had another set so we were able to express mail her keys back to her.  The post office was right around the corner from where we stopped for lunch, then we were on our way again.

We arrived at our motel late afternoon.  The thing we were all most excited about was a shower!  We hadn't showered at all while on the island, and while Thomas didn't seem to mind one bit, Catherine was practically desperate for a shower.  We drove into Cooperstown (about 5 miles) and enjoyed dinner at Doubleday's Cafe.  The food was awesome!  We checked out some of the cute little shops and had some ice cream for dessert of course!  Why does ice cream always taste better on vacation? 😁

The next morning we hit the Hall of Fame mid-morning (after breakfast and re-loading the car).  The kids really enjoyed getting to see the displays.  I was somewhat disappointed that there was definitely less Reds stuff there then last time (we were there 15 years ago), but we suspect that has something to do with the fact that the Reds have their own team Hall of Fame.  My favorite part of the hall is always the plaques of the inductees, and the Reds have no shortage of representation!  Because Thomas received his late uncle's baseball card collection, he was also excited to see players from other teams.  We checked out the shop, then decided to walk around and visit other shops.  We had a very late lunch, and Andrew and I were especially pleased to eat at the same restaurant we had 15 years ago.  A couple of more shopping stops led to some purchases, specifically a Griffey jersey for Thomas and a Larkin jersey for Catherine, as well as some other memorabilia.  We left late afternoon.  Originally the plan had been to spend two nights in Cooperstown and drive the ten hours home on Friday, but it didn't work out that way.  Lodging was ridiculously expensive there, so Andrew and I decided that we would begin the drive home that evening.  We didn't care how late we left town, because each minute that we drove was one closer to being home.  If it was only an hour, so be it.

We ended up driving a little over three hours before stopping.  We grabbed a quick dinner and turned in fairly early.  We were all tired.  The next morning we set a 7:00 alarm because we were all anxious to get on the road to our sweet Abby pup.  We ended up arriving back at our house in the middle of the afternoon.  Our sweet pup was so excited to see us.  She had a housesitter while we were gone who adores her, but it just isn't the same.

We really, really loved this trip.  We couldn't believe how well Thomas and Catherine got along during the entire trip, and how laidback everything seemed to be.  I am so grateful that we had our vehicle that was so reliable and surprisingly spacious.  It was very much a special trip for our family!

Three days on an island

I have to backup a little...almost an entire year.  When Andrew's brother passed away, only one of the northeast cousins was able to come down for the funeral.  He is the youngest of Andrew's four cousins, and therefore the one closest in age to Andrew.  I've only seen him three times in the last 15 years, including almost exactly 15 years to the day when Andrew and I visited them in Boston with their then four-month-old twins.  They visited my in-laws over ten years ago and we made the trip over, but the twins didn't come along.  So their kids had never met our kids.  However, when we saw Tom at the funeral, there was much discussion and we learned how much Ryan and Thomas had in common, and they are only six weeks apart.  They began to communicate over text, then eventually conversations, and we knew we had to get them together.  Tom and his wife Stephanie invited us to their family's island in the middle of Lake Champlain.  The other twin is a girl and much in common with Catherine, and we decided we needed to make it happen!

We arrived Sunday afternoon and were picked up by boat (the only way to access the island).  It was only a ten minute boat ride, and then as soon as we stepped onto the island, the stress of everything began to just lift away.  It was amazing how the kids interacted as though they had known each other forever.  Tom and his wife could not have been more gracious hosts.  They took care of all the food for the days, and honestly, most of the time we just sat and enjoyed the gorgeous view.  The kids did some reading, played some volleyball, worked on some projects, helped out some neighbors, went kayaking, had a boat ride, sat around the campfire, helped get the boat up and down on the lift...it just goes on and on.  The shelter we were in was very tiny.  It had a functioning kitchen and room for all of us to sleep.  It has a bathroom and shower, but they don't really use it.  Their septic system is fragile and they prefer the outhouse.  I have to say, it was pretty impressive in terms of design, functionality, and not too icky!  The weather while we were there was beyond ideal.  In fact, it was chilly enough that pants and even sweatshirts were necessary.  They owned a half acre on this island, and we could all spread out while relaxing outside.  There were times I would just sit there and take in the view.  One time I was so relaxed I actually fell asleep.  Andrew and I loved the fact that there were games to play and books to read, and just visiting with each other.

Three days was exactly the right amount of time.  We were ready to move on when it was time to leave, but we loved our time there.  Andrew and I admitted to each other that we were both hesitant and apprehensive about certain aspects of this trip...not the least of which was the isolated time spent with family we didn't really know very well, with no TV or internet.  It really was awesome though.  I don't know how we will ever be able to repay their generosity!

Fear in the night

Last evening our family was in bed by 11:00.  Catherine had to work today and the rest of us had church this morning.  We were tired and ready for bed.

I had just begun to drift off when Catherine came into our room and was very upset.  She told us she had heard knocking on her window and had seen a white light in the yard.  She was also convinced she had heard walking.  Andrew grabbed a bat.  I grabbed another and followed behind.  Andrew determined no one was in the house, and didn't see anyone looking in anywhere else.  I grabbed some flashlights, and we went outside to check out the back yard.  I had noticed the yard was full of lightning bugs, and I'm sure that is what she saw as the white light.  Even I was confused by it when I first saw it.  There was absolutely no indication of anyone having been in the yard.  There was mud underneath her window, but no footprints or indentations of any kind.  I am fairly confident that what she heard was a raccoon or skunk going after the cat shelter and knocked the food bowl off, and that the white lights were the lightning bugs.  I offered to sleep with Catherine in the family room, or even to sleep in her room if she wanted.  Andrew offered to let her sleep with me and he would sleep in her bed.  She was content to go back to her own room and sleep.  I also went back to bed, but Andrew decided to stay up in the family room for a while.  Of course it was an uneventful rest of the night, but there sure were some scary moments.

We are home after a wonderful vacation

We arrived home yesterday late afternoon from this year's vacation.  It's all too much to write about with one post, but I'll start with a few things and then hit more later.  We had six absolutely wonderful days away, and I never failed to be grateful for how much time we had together, and how blessed our lives are!

We left Saturday morning, and we all really enjoyed the trip in our new (to us) vehicle.  I was concerned it would be too small to travel comfortably, but that was not the case at all!  We were also thrilled with the gas mileage we were able to get.  The first day we made it to the upstate New York.  Most of the drive was cloudy, and it rained the later it got in the day.  We had no intention of arriving in Vermont to visit family until Sunday, so we knew we were staying over.  We didn't make any reservations because we weren't certain when we would want to stop.  I began to become a little concerned because rural New York is VERY rural.  We came to a college town and I felt very grateful that we were able to find a motel room.  It was nearly 9:00 before we ate pizza for dinner that night, but we ate our full, and everyone tumbled into bed for a good night sleep.  We took advantage of the motel breakfast in the morning before finishing our drive to family.  It was about another three hours, and in bright sunshine, rural upstate New York was absolutely picturesque.  We arrived at our family early afternoon, and they took us to their island.  Yep, we spent three days on an island in the middle of Lake Champlain, and it could not have been more relaxing!  That however, will be another post!

It was a frigid swim meet

Yesterday was the first swim meet of the summer season.  Originally our plan was to be out of town, but instead it will be next week and we'll miss the first home swim meet.  I hate to do that, but it couldn't be avoided.  I'm not a fan of traveling to this particular pool as it is about a 45 minute drive.  The last time we were there for a regular meet was the very first meet ever for our family, and the weather stunk.  It was wet, chilly, and delay after delay resulted in not even completing the final events.

Yesterday was a very wet and very chilly day.  An hour before we even left to drive to the meet (so about 4:00 in the afternoon) it was 60 degrees with a windchill of 57, and the rain (yet, that too!) was coming down sideways because it was so windy.  You really gotta love that.  Fortunately, the rain did stop and it was a nearly cloudless evening.  Which of course meant the temps (such as they were!) could really drop once the sun went down.

Catherine held up better than I expected her to, but overall, it really broke my heart.  My sweet babies were so cold after each race, and Thomas was literally shivering uncontrollably.  I was begging him to put on his sweatshirt, and I thought I might start to cry if I had to watch him shiver one second more.  It didn't help my feelings that they've both been sick and that we are leaving for vacation tomorrow.  The kids did fine overall, and I'm glad we got it in.  And I'm grateful it's done and we could get in the vehicle and get warm!

It seems there are only two

I've written before about the cats we began caring for from our neighborhood.  I've also written about finding Abraham deceased back in January.  It seems as though we are down another.  I remember seeing Pearl after we returned from our spring break trip, but only about a week after.  Because we don't interact with the cats each day, we don't necessarily see each one each day.  They eat when they are hungry, and aren't necessarily around each evening or morning.  This was especially true this spring.  There were several days when only Andrew was around in the evening.  He would sit on the wood pile along the back of our lot and I always felt like he was looking into the woods wondering where the others were.  It broke my heart.

As the days went on, I began to realize that the days were turning into weeks since I had seen Pearl.  It's now been at least five weeks since I know I saw her.  The other two are spending a great deal of time around our place.  It makes me sad that she is gone.  She was the tiniest (which probably drew her to me) and yet the most daring.  She would often sit on our outside window sills and look into our house.  It tended to drive our indoor cats absolutely crazy.  I definitely miss having her around, and I hate to think about the little outdoor family growing smaller.

Almost the middle of June

I am trying very hard not to think about the fact that nine weeks from today will be the last day of summer break.  I mean, come on!!!!  That is longer than most women have for maternity leave.  There is still plenty of summer to be enjoyed.

And that is good, because I don't feel that we've done much enjoying.  I was sick the first week.  Thomas was sick this week.  Catherine has had the same thing this week, although to a much lesser extent.  And all three weeks have been filled with Thomas's summer health class (which is much more difficult and time consuming than we had realized).  We've had the joy of purchasing a vehicle (while it is fun to drive, the purchase part is not necessarily fun), and Andrew made a quick trip to his parents with Thomas.  Catherine took the ACT and was studying for that, and of course had a work schedule.  I am still pining for that day when there is nothing on our calendar, but I don't really think we are going to get that.  I suppose I should be grateful for that...these are all mostly things of opportunity!

Today, the weather is absolutely, gorgeous.  Stunningly fabulous.  No a/c is needed, and if you happen to be sitting right in front of the fan you might even be chilly.  I have an appointment this evening, but I am hoping Andrew and I can hang out on the porch/patio for a bit this evening and soak up the wonderful weather!

Saturday morning shopping and saving

I think we all know that I am not really a shopper, and certainly not on a Saturday!  However, Catherine took the ACT and had to be in the neighboring school district by 8:00 this morning.  I decided I could run a few errands after dropping her off since I was sort of half way to some of them anyway.  Since it was so early, I was fairly confident I could beat most of the crowds. 

Last evening, I actually went through some of my craft ideas.  Every year I find fun things that could be made as gifts, but by the time I think about it the season has come and gone.  And not to mention, I never have the specific supplies I need on hand.  So I actually made a list last evening of things I wanted to purchase.

It turned out to be a great day of saving as well!  My first stop was Target, where I wanted to buy some cat litter.  The cat litter itself was not on sale, but if two were purchase, a free gift card was received.  And since I use my Target credit card, I save 5%.  So even at regular price, it is cheaper than purchasing them at my regular grocery store. 

My next stop was Kohl's.  As luck would have it, I had a 30% off code.  I found some athletic shorts Catherine could wear, a few t-shirts for everyone, and a new swim suit for myself.  I found a new sun hat and sunglasses also, so I am ready for the season!  The best part was that I found a couple of items on clearance and they still take 30% off of those prices.

The last stop was Hobby Lobby.  I had spent yesterday afternoon working on my scrapbooking.  I wanted to restock a few supplies, as well as purchase some supplies for the crafts I had looked up last evening.  The scrapbooking supplies ended up being 50% off, so I really made out there!  I am so excited to be able to get to this project after I pick Catherine up this afternoon.

I really enjoyed my shopping this morning, and I'm especially thrilled with all of my savings!

A great night for front porch sitting

Today was a really lovely weather day.  I was able to get two loads of laundry hung out to dry, and I'm always grateful for that.  It wasn't overly warm and humid, and there was a good breeze.  In fact, it is a lovely evening for Andrew and I to sit outside and enjoy a beverage.  Unfortunately, he is at his parents' house tonight and won't be back until Sunday.  I have encouraged him to make whatever trips he feels are necessary this summer.  He was originally planning to leave yesterday, but with Thomas not feeling well and the water issue out front he decided to wait until today.  I never love him being gone, but I completely understand.  I've done some scrapbooking and Catherine and I are just hanging out.  This evening though, I really miss him not being here so we could enjoy the beautiful weather together!

Two weeks into our summer

It really is hard to believe that school has been out for two weeks.  We have done absolutely nothing fun and exciting as a family.  After being sick for a week, I finally began to really feel better on Sunday...just in time for Thomas to start to cough and hack.  With today being a solid day 4 of that, Andrew took him to the doctor.  He has a sinus infection, which I suspected.  However, I am not one that rushes to the doctor for such a thing these days because I am not in a huge rush for antibiotics that may not be necessary.  His cough was getting to be such though, that I thought it wouldn't hurt.  Andrew and I both had clear lungs through our entire illness, but not Thomas!  They are on their way home with antibiotics and steroids.  That child always manages to get it good!

We also had an interesting moment earlier today.  Andrew had been out on a bike ride and came home to tell us about the water in the street.  Sure enough, a water pipe had burst and was gushing everywhere.  It started out about four feet high, and quickly grew to gush around 30 feet high.  I have no idea how, but they managed to fix it without creating a huge mess or turning off the water altogether.

Andrew was supposed to be on his way to his parents today for a quick visit.  However, we weren't sure what was happening with the water, and Thomas was supposed to go along but obviously didn't feel well enough.  Not sure if he will feel well enough tomorrow or not, but Andrew decided it would just be better at this point to head out tomorrow.

Hopefully we get to start doing fun things soon!

We are no longer a mini-van family

Andrew and I finally had time to do some real car shopping this afternoon!  Although I prefer being able to haul more people with a third row and have extra cargo space, with Robert being in the Navy I knew that was no longer really necessary in our house on a daily basis.  We also recognized that the prices on vans are higher and gas mileage is lower, causing even more expense.  However, as my aunt pointed out, a family never really outgrows the need to haul things, so just getting a car didn't seem to be the best thing either.  We had also come to realize how much we love having a Honda in the family, and the CR-V seemed to be the best choice for our family.  And after three hours at the car lot, that is exactly what we have!  We didn't get a great deal, but we did get a fair deal and maybe even closer to a good deal, and most importantly, we really, really love the vehicle.  It is absolutely wonderful to have this behind us!

The tornadoes that hit a week ago

I haven't really talked about this except briefly.  Last Monday I went to bed very early because I was so sick.  When I got up Tuesday, Andrew mentioned I should call my mom.  She said everyone there was fine.  We turned on the TV, in other areas things most certainly were NOT fine.  As the week unfolded we learned that the region had been hit by 15 tornadoes that night, two rated EF-3 and one reached EF-4.  It's real people.  We are now that area people talk about on the news.  We are now that area where it will take months and years to rebuild, not just days.  In fact, it was this past weekend before many people had power restored, and that is still not completed.  In some places it is just completely impossible to restore power until other infrastructure is re-established and debris is hauled away.  The impact of this devastation is wide-spread.  Not only are there impacts to those directly hit, but in some cases people no longer have jobs (at least currently) because of buildings that were destroyed.  We can't forget this next week or the week after or the week after that.

After we left my grandmother's birthday celebration on Saturday, we wanted to swing by our former town and attend a graduation party.  I knew we would be near some destruction, but didn't realize we would be "in" the destruction on the drive there.  I was completely unprepared for what we witnessed, and we weren't even in anything that was particularly hard hit.  Everyone is right...the pictures really don't do it justice.  Honestly, it is terrifying and astonishing.  And again, it wasn't the worst. 

G.G. turned 90

Yesterday my maternal grandmother turned 90.  My cousins hosted a lovely afternoon that was shared by all three of my grandmother's children, five of her six grandchildren, and nine of her ten great-grandchildren.  Of course Robert wasn't able to be there, and one of my cousins had a family emergency with her father (no longer married to my aunt) and couldn't be there either.  Some of my cousins put together a "trivia" game about G.G.'s life, and we all shared lots of laughs.  It was truly a lovely afternoon, and we all enjoyed getting to spend the time together!