Embarassing Moment of the Day

We went to the Honda dealer to have our van serviced this morning. After an unusually long wait in the 'play' area we (me and the three girls) were getting a bit silly. I tried to teach Becky and Katie the 'wax on, wax off' technique from the Karate Kid. They weren't impressed. We played 'Kick Katie's flip-flop off and watch it go flying out into the hallway' but that got old too. We even started to read a book about using the potty. The book was very graphic in its descriptions of the potty process. For example, one page title was "Where do Poop and Pee come from?" Gross. We put that down in a hurry. Finally we were ready to go. I got my wallet out to pay and became slightly alarmed when I couldn't find my credit card. Relief washed over me as I remembered where I'd put it. I tapped my rear to confirm that it was in my pocket while I said, "I forgot, I got gas." This made the man chuckle and Katie about busted a gut laughing. He left to run the card and Katie said, "Mom, you just smacked your butt and said, 'I got gas!'" We both roared with laughter after that! Speaking of gas, I filled up for $3.97 a gallon this morning - YAY! compared to $4.09 a week ago!

Hey!

Hey. Long time no see. Summer is my absolute favorite time of year. My girls are home. We lounge in our jammies til 10 if we want. Summer camp and park days are happening and Sebago is just around the corner! Last week was camp week for Katie and Becky. Katie and her friend Alicia went to Word of Life in Schroon Lake, NY. Alicia got sick (along with upwards of about 100 other people over the course of the week) but they both had nothing but rave reviews for the camp and are making plans for next year! Becky and her friend (Alicia's sister) Rachel went to a local camp and had a blast! These two girls and my girls are still the best of friends even though we live hundreds of miles away from them. It's so neat to see how they just pick up where they left off. It's like they've never been apart. And Allison just adores the two of them. I'm so thankful that my girls have friends like Alicia and Rachel - they'll be friends for life.

My friend Katie e-mailed me this today. Please check it out. It's called Cardboard Testimonies. I thought of my friends in Blogger land when I watched it and I immediately wanted to share with you. I hope it will mean something to you.

My dainty little miss has developed quite a love of insects - much to the horror of her mother!! The other day she was digging with her Dora the Explorer shovel and found herself a little worm. The worm actually turned out to be a GRUB. Now I'm pretty sure that grubs aren't insects since they don't really have the three body sections and six legs common to insects but they do qualify as NASTY and CREEPY which are also bug qualities! She has also been known lately to save ladybugs and moths from the swimming pool. Butterflies are a favorite too and at the butterfly conservatory she was beside herself trying to get one to land on her! The other night she was in love with a tiny grasshopper. This is new territory for me. I do a pretty good job of encouraging this new interest of hers without making creeped out faces but inside I'm squirming with the willies!! Here's a couple of pics of Allie and her insect friends.

We are still in hopes of selling our home and we're still looking for the perfect house to buy. I'm so drawn to the older homes and the character they have. It's difficult to find an older home that has some of the same conveniences a newer home has like a garage or a half way usable kitchen. I'm looking forward to finding something we can update and improve while still maintaining the integrity of the home's oldness. We are excited about a place we are going to see tomorrow. While finding a home has been tricky - selling our home has been far more tricky. I'm trying to trust that God has this all worked out according to His perfect plan.

Next week is Sebago Lake!! We are hoping for another beautiful weather week and warm lake water! I think Lucy is dreaming about long swims and naps in the sand...

Shop Talk: My first published article "My Dog Survived Hurricane Katrina" will be in Stories For Children Magazine coming right up in August!! Be on the lookout for a link here when the August issue is available! I also recently mailed my baseball history article to Highlights. It will be weeks before I hear from them. My instructor seemed to really like the piece and she and my critique group had lots of great suggestions for making it stronger. Hopefully I made the most of their input and produced a sellable article! This week I'm getting to work on another new article about Whoopie Pies! Why are they called Whoopie Pies anyway?! Stay tuned to find out!

My blogger friend Heather tagged me to do an ABC's of me post and I fully intend to play along - just not today. Soon. Promise.

A Great Visit to Maine

I hope everyone had a great Fourth! We returned home after a nice long weekend in Maine. What a nice trip we had. Thursday morning I met some old friends for brunch, including Katie from Ohio. It was nice to catch up with everyone and to enjoy a morning out among adults! Friday, the Fourth, we watched the Bath parade from our favorite spot across from the Puffin Stop. More of our friends and family gathered to watch with us. My kids had their cousins and grandparents too! It was a great time! Friday afternoon we had a surprise 60th birthday party for my Dad at Reid State Park. We found this fairly private little spot with fantastic rocks to sit on, a little sandy beach, beautiful driftwood that I wanted to take home, and rocks to climb on and explore. The weather was perfect! We all had a blast! Allison must've said a hundred times how much fun she had at the beach! More friends and family made the day wonderful! That evening we all headed to Freeport for fireworks. They put on an awesome show! There must've been about 25 of us in our group watching together. It was great! Saturday morning I got to visit with my dear friend Liza and her family. That was such a special time and I'm so glad I got to see them! I hope to visit with them again sometime soon! We had a cookout at my in laws that afternoon, and Saturday night we went to a friend's house for another cookout. All of our kids had known each other at church and it was neat to see how they all interact now. They ranged in age from 14 to 3 and they got along great! They played hide and seek and kick ball while us adults got reacquainted. Sunday we went to our old church which I love because it's so nice to see our 'family' there. The afternoon was filled with more visiting and Monday we left early to come home. As you can imagine we were pretty tuckered out when we got back. I was in bed by 8:30 last night!

At 8:00 this morning our water got turned off. Apparently this was a planned thing and I missed the memo! Fortunately, I'd already taken my shower. However, I was completely unprepared. We had no water to drink, wash or hands with, or flush the toilet with. Had I known I would've filled the tub with water for flushing at least! So off we went after tennis to the grocery store for gallons of water.

Here's a few pictures from the Fourth at the beach. Enjoy.

No Good News

No good news today. Apparently the world didn't have anything good happen in it. I searched high and low - and got depressed in the process. Do you realize how much BAD stuff you have to read to find anything REMOTELY positive? I'll spare you the gory details. Apparently though, if you live in Denmark you are happier than most people in the world. If you live in Zimbabwe you are sad, sad, sad. The U.S. ranks 16th on the list of the world's happiest countries. That's because Americans tend to be sniffling, whiny pants who take everything for granted and then want more, more, MORE! Sorry, I couldn't help it. Anyway, here's the closest thing I could find to good news.
In other news, Allison had her first tennis lesson this morning. She LOVED it. I've tried like crazy to get my other two to do it and they won't! Too bad for them. Their little sister will soon be kicking their butts at tennis in real life - not just on the Wii!
We'll be leaving for Maine in the morning. I dread the drive but I am looking forward to seeing everyone. My dear friend Katie will be in Maine visiting from Ohio. I especially can't wait to see her. It's been too long since we've seen each other! I always think of that Girl Scout song, "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other's gold." Old friends really are the best, aren't they?
I hear squabbling among my troops. Must go. If I don't blog before then - Happy Fourth!