Brazil-Bound !

Anticipation was high as tonight approached since word of this fundraiser first began circulating. Olivet Baptist Church in Herndon is sending a contingent of folks to Brazil the last week of September and first week of October for a mission trip. A fish fry was decided upon, the date set and plans set in motion. The funeral home where I work bought 10 tickets so I was fortunate enough to go and take Mother with me. My best friend Gwen and her mother rode with us when I got off work and we met two more friends when we arrived.

Even though the event was held in the Fellowship Hall, the smell of fish wafted outside to the parking lot. For a carload of hungry gals that was a heavenly scent from a heavenly place and we were NOT disappointed!

We saw lots of old friends and made some new ones. It was really fun catching up with folks and hearing about the upcoming trip!

It's a well-known fact that some of the best cooks in the county are members of that church, so in addition to dinner, they held a silent auction for desserts. Yes, I was fortunate enough to be able to buy 2 pans of Ann's famous cinnamon rolls (which freeze well, by the way) and at the same time, help the folks out with their Mission Trip.

As an aside, poor Frank (who is a member at Olivet) walked in the door and got a death call :( Of course, in our business, that is when it usually happens. So he missed his own church's event but I heard that his Mother prepared a plate for him to enjoy later.

Hoping you all had a great Saturday and that Sunday will be even better!

With a full tummy and a happy frame of mind, I am off.......

Sweet, Sweet Saturday

Sometimes families who are well-served are thankful in in the "sweetest" ways! Okay, if you HAVE to work on weekends, you might as well include doughnuts !

Go Straight to Jail

Of course I've seen the inside of a jail before, but only on TV and in the movies. So I was naturally WAYYY curious and excited when a planning committee I serve on was scheduled for a meeting at our local facility. My excitement was short-lived as I didn't get a tour and only got as far as the general waiting area where a table with chairs was set up for the meeting. I did get to see the visiting area, though. It was really nice, I mean REALLY nice. The inmates must have been forewarned as I saw not one, no, not one. Oh well, maybe they were busy studying for their law degrees or something ???

Stormy Summer Night

Generally, I love a good storm, be it summer, winter, spring or fall. But tonight is a little bit different as I did NOT have my yard prepared for it evidently. No furniture has landed in the pool (yet) but the old grill that was standing on its' last legs is standing no longer. I tried to get a picture of the hot tub cover HALF off and quickly filling with water, but alas, the lightning and torrential downpours kept me standing in the kitchen and trying to get a picture of said cover. About five minutes ago, I could stand it no longer and raced out with an umbrella to affix the cover. I was surprised that the hot tub wasn't FULL of water, but it's not! Sometimes I have a little good fortune along with life's unpleasant surprises.
Today was a much better day than yesterday all around. Yesterday I had to return to work after having been off for several days with the little ones. After doing payroll and a few other necessary things at work, I raced out to get Mom to an eye Dr.'s appointment at 10:00. They finally called us back at 11:30! That is a real pet peeve of mine as I feel that my time is at least as valuable as the Dr.'s. I will just remember to show up at that particular Dr. an hour later than the appointed time and perhaps the wait will be shorter. Then back to work and it turned out to be a rather busy day there.

Wiped out, I got home with a pizza from Little Caesar's and devoured half of it before my best friend Gwen called to tell me her niece Alicia and her husband Nathan were here and asked if I would meet them for dessert. Where? My FAVORITE place in the world to eat, El Bracero's!

Alicia

Nathan

Alas, I had just eaten the pizza and was SOOOO full! Off I went to meet Alicia and Nathan. I had met Alicia before, but wasn't able to get to the wedding last October because of a prior commitment, and was anxious to meet him.

I didn't remember to grab my camera, so all I got were cell phone photos and they're not very good, but it was really nice to get to visit with them for a while. Evidently Alicia had been here on Saturday visiting her grandmother and found a piece of furniture she REALLY wanted. So after work on Monday Nathan drove her the two hours to pick it up. Must be a really nice husband to do that!

They seem really happy and I am so glad for them. Alicia is really a fine young woman and they are both Christians. Besides that, Gwen LOVES her very much! I'm glad they are close friends in addition to being related. I had several aunts that I was fortunate enough to love very much and be close to. As I am getter older their health is failing and some of them have died, but the memories of those relationships will be with me always.

Goin' Home

Their parents might not have approved of a Three Musketeers or a pudding cup for breakfast, but hey, those are the things that memories are made of. And their last morning at Mimi's should be just the way they want it, and it was! While their laundry was being dried, folded and carefully packed for their return trip, they fired up their imaginations in the garage. Tristin made a basket for his "bike" from a cardboard box and managed to get it affixed with some cord he found in the garage while Sydney used the pet carrier for her stuffed animals. Yes, she finally allowed Tristin to take them for a ride.

Kristin and Jake were glad to see Tristin when he got home, but I think that lasted about 10 minutes and they were back to their old selves!

Sydney's little brother Hayden was sure glad to see her, too! He is a character for sure and will be starting pre-school in another week or so. Miss Kim will have her hands full with this one!

Granny (my Mom) made the ride with me and it is a long one if you do it in one day. 2 1/2 hours each way makes 5 in the car, but she wanted to go. The kids were all going to the last night of the county fair so we didn't stay long. Tristin entered the "mini" pedal pull. They put a sled behind a pedal tractor and based on the child's weight (for the class), they see who can pull it the farthest. Don't you just know he came in second place! I am so proud of him.

Sydney was right there to cheer him on (of course). I am happy and surprised that after all their "together" time they never argued and remain best friends.

I have to share this with you all. One of the funniest things I heard this week went like this....."Mimi, when you get really old and you die, don't you want to give your house to me and Sydney?"

Then just last night when Tristin was getting out of the tub, he proclaimed that he had decided just to stay at my house forever. We could take Sydney home if she HAD to go, but he was going to live with me. Isn't that sweet?

After the big tractor pull, they all went off to happily take in a few rides at the amusement park section of the fair. Sydney is riding with Hayden in the picture below.

It was a great week, just full of laughter and love and fun. My body is exhausted but my heart if full. I will remember this time always. I am missing them a lot tonight. We already had a little routine of getting "tucked in" and prayer time with all the "God blesses". Tonight, a SPECIAL "God Bless Tristin and Sydney".

Pool Day With A New Friend!

The rain FINALLY stopped long enough for us to enjoy a pool day! The kiddos have been waiting and waiting to have a day to play all day in the pool. I was thankful to arise to a sunny day today! Tristin got up not long after I did, but I finally let him wake Sydney up around noon. These kids play hard and sleep hard. After another pound of bacon for breakfast they headed out to the deck and made a "tent" with an old blanket and played for a while with that while I put in a load of laundry and cleaned up breakfast. Then it was swimsuit time!
A friend of mine was gracious enough to bring her 5, almost 6 year old, C.J., over to play this afternoon and they had a great time with their new friend! C.J.'s mom, Rebecca, brought a watermelon and the kids even "created" a slip 'n slide with the float. They would go from the hot tub to the pool to the hot tub and back again.

C.J. is such a friendly little guy and makes friends easily wherever he goes.

My friend Gail stopped by and visited for a bit. I hadn't seen her in several days and it's always nice to catch up. Sophie adores her while (s)he only tolerates me. Gwen joined us for a while and brought a beautiful raincoat she thought I should buy from Buck's 75% off sale that starts tomorrow. It's MINE....

The kids had a great day playing hard and I enjoyed catching up with friends. I'm afraid I let them play too long. The sunscreen worked wonders as no one has a sunburn at all. The chlorine burns are a tell-tale sign that I let them stay too long, though. Hopefully they will be better by morning as I have to return them to their parents tomorrow. I am already missing them.

May The "G" Force Be With You !

Another dreary, rainy day helped us decide on our fun activity for the day and it was off to the movies to see "G-Force". We went to the first showing at 12:20 p.m. to give us time for the much-despised shopping for school shoes trip that would follow. But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself here. I was absolutely shocked to find when we got to the ticket window that because this movie was in 3-D, all ticket prices were $8.50! Even children, even the matinee. It's not the money as much as heck, the money! That's ridiculous! But we did go as promised and the kids enjoyed the movie. (I thought Ice Age was FAR better.)

AND for the first time in my absent-minded grandparenting, I was so tired last night that I failed to put the card back into my camera, soooo, all those cute pictures I took today shopping, wearing 3-D glasses at the movies and playing in the hot tub are non-existent. I am truly losing it here, lol. We did go to the grocery today with shopping lists in hand and only bought about 20 things that weren't on the list. Oh, Sydney and Tristin both got the new tennis shoes and an extra pair of flip-flops at the 70% off rack, new underwear, socks and COOL pj's that they are wearing in the picture above.

We brought Granny over who watched them play in the hot tub and the pool until the rain began again in earnest. I made a fabulous Hummingbird Cake, smoked pork chops, baked mac and cheese, corn on the cob and fried squash. I'm stuffed.
And then, just when I think I can't walk another step or cook another thing, my precious neighbor Charlie brought me a LOT of corn. It will have to be cut off the cob, cooked, cooled and bagged before sleep comes again. YIKES! Can I do this? Sure. The kids are watching a movie and this computer break is bringing my sanity back to me again.
Tomorrow will be another fun day with lots of hugs and giggles. I wish for all of you the same kind of love I get from these adorable six year olds....