Summertime

Ah, the joy of summer! I am on a countdown to the holiday weekend. It is extra special to me, because I also celebrate my birthday tomorrow! I have always liked the number 3, because I was born on the 3rd...and this year I will be 33! I know, it is old...but it sounds good :)

Enjoy your weekend, and thank God for America!

Cinderella's Last day of school

Not the best photo...

But, this was on the last morning of preschool for my baby girl.

What a bittersweet day!

My great grandfather

I recently was given this photo of my great grandfather.

This was taken when he was a young man...I am not sure what year.
He was born in 1896 and died in 1989.
I was able to enjoy him for the first part of my life. He spoiled me rotten.
He used to drive around with me sitting out the window of his car. (I know, not good).
He encouraged me to act crazy.
He saved me from many, many spankings.
His old house (purchased and built in the early 1900's) is still in the family, and I go there sometimes, even though no one lives there.
He used to cook me breakfast when I slipped out of the house before my mom woke up.
He let me play with his hair (what little was left) while he watched wrasselin'.
I always read his farmers' almanacs.
I think this picture is pretty cool. It gave my grandma (his daughter) and I a good reason to remember out loud.

Meow

This is Max. He's a happy outside cat now.

A day at the beach

We ran away to the beach yesterday afternoon...just because.

The weather was nice, so we just went for a walk after my work day was done. We found a washed up jellyfish, some shells, and lots of tire tracks from the lifeguard patrols. Cinderella is still terrified to even walk near the water, just like last year. Princess Leia is ready to get in the water, and saw one of her pals from surf camp last year. She is signed up again this year...maybe she will learn some better technique. I'm thinking she may get a starter surfboard for her birthday this year. She's been asking for one for quite a while...shhhh don't tell her :) Jedi boy enjoyed a jog back to the parking lot.

Then we went home and invited one of the grandmothers over for a simple dinner & board games. It turned out to be a nice time. I'm practicing that hospitality thing.

Mr. Snippity's Birthday Treat

Mr. Snippity has had a birthday! He got to go bowling, which is a one of his favorite things. And to top that all off, his amazing wife (...ahem...) made him a spectacular treat.

This is triple chocolate layer cake with peanut butter cream cheese icing and chocolate peanut butter glaze. I got the recipe from the SmittenKitchen blog. (I think she calls it chocolate peanut butter cake).This was a big hit...Mr. Snippity said it was so good he would think I didn't make it, except he saw me making it. I think that was supposed to be a compliment. I asked him if he meant that he would think I bought it out of the freezer case? After a chuckle or two, he clarified his statement to mean that it was better than that! Anyway, birthday fun is always good.

Softball woes

Softball has gotten the best of Princess Leia! While attempting to perform a maneuver similar to that of the last photo (aka...a slide into home plate), she had her hand in the wrong position, and caught it behind her in the fall. It is broken. It is not a terribly serious fracture, but it is in a cast for at least 4 weeks. Which means she *might* get the cast removed just before the last two games. Or she might not...I'm going for optimistic!The cast is now covered in grafitti...not nearly as nice looking as it is in the photo!

And for you sports enthusiasts...you'll be happy to know she was safe, her run counted and her team won!