August 30th - 47th Anniversary

Today is our 47th wedding anniversary, which we are obviously celebrating separately!  Bill did remember to call, so he gets credit for that.

Our day here has been quiet.  We ran into North Liberty to buy some gourmet popcorn to eat while we watched the Iowa football game.  It was really good - caramel, butter, and cheese.  I was pretty tired in the afternoon, so I took a nap for a couple of hours.

We went over to Willie's again in the evening - a nightly ritual I try hard to endure with a smile!

August 29th - Made it!

I got up and on my way at a good time this morning.  There isn't much to say about traveling - just on the road.  I made it to Dad's about 4:00, so I made really good time - and I did not speed.  I am just not willing to take that chance.

We ordered a pizza from Casey's for our dinner and ate it at the Garage Mahal.  Willie and Kalee got there a little later and we spent a couple of hours visiting.  Then we were back to Dad's and just watched TV and talked.

August 28th - On my way!

I finished up the packing this morning and Bill got the car cleaned and loaded for me.  Meanwhile, Ashby came for her art class.  Today we did clay sculpture.  Our project was a cat, but she used the extra time to make a girl.  She was really excited.  Next time we get together, we will paint them.

I finally got away about 12:30 and was about an hour and a half on my way when Bill called to say that he couldn't find his cell phone and it was probably in my car.  Sure enough, so then I had to pull over and wait for him to drive to me and get his phone.  It set me back a good bit, but I made great time the rest of the afternoon and made it almost to Paducah, KY. 

August 27th - Family History Wednesday

I am in my rut - Wednesday means family history center!  My friend went with me today, but she was the only patron we had.  That meant I did some work on my own things.  I didn't have much luck, other than ruling out some things.  Oh, well.  That is the way it goes with genealogy!

We went out to lunch after we finished at the center and then headed home.  I had to finish up the laundry, so I could get my suitcases packed.  I started that this evening while Bill was at the Gwinnett Braves game with the former bishopric.  I will throw the rest of the things together in the morning.

August 26th - A Whirlwind Day!

This seems to be turning into a very busy week.  It may only be Tuesday, but it was non-stop!

Lisa dropped the kids off about 8:30, as she had a dental appointment.  She had to get a tooth extracted and a bone graft in preparation for getting an implant.  It turned out that it was a bit more complicated that had been expected, as there was a cyst that had to be removed, as well.  Anyway, we kept the kids while she was undergoing her torture.

Bill took off today, so he was here, too.  They wanted to play outside, so we found the little hole in the plastic pool, taped it up, and then they played and had a ball.  Bill sat out at the table, making calls and doing a few things while he watched them.  He said they were a delight to listen to.

Meanwhile, my companion picked me up and we went to visit one of our sisters.  We had a really good visit with her.  She and her husband are just getting back into activity after a couple of years of not coming.  She has been a good friend for a long time, so it is always a pleasure to have a good visit with her.

By the time I got back home, Lisa was back and sitting on the couch with her mouth all full of gauze.  Bill was starting some mac and cheese for lunch.  I finished that up and the kids ate.  They were hungry after their wild play - they had just gotten out of the pool shortly before I got home.  They all hung around until it was time for Ashby to go to science class at the Heritage Center.

It was rather quiet when everyone left!  But, our day was not over.  We had appointments at the dermatologist's office at 2:00.  Bill has had some spots on his face that I have been concerned about and he finally decided they needed to be looked at.  The doctor froze a few spots and took biopsies of a couple more.  The one on his nose does not look good.  The other one the doctor couldn't make a guess.  I had one small mole on the back of my leg that was biopsied, as well.  We will get all the results in a couple of weeks.

We were both tired by the time we got home again, so we just had a relaxed rest of the day.  The biggest problem with getting older is that we run out of energy too quickly!

August 25th - Busy Day

I started the morning with the usual routine, including getting the sheets changed and laundered.  Then I met my companion and one of the sisters we visit for lunch.  We had a great visit and were able to talk lots of fun things, as well as some serious things. 

I then had a list of errands to run, including a trip to the library, a hair cut, and picking up a few things at the grocery store.  Back home, I made a cheese roll for Empty Nesters this evening.  My day flew by!

This evening we went to Empty Nesters and had a lot of fun.  We did a pioneer trek activity and not all of us died on the way!  Last time we did it, everyone died.  I guess we are getting wiser in our choices of what to pack - or we are learning the tricks of the game!

August 24th - Back to Sunday Again!

The weeks are rolling around way too fast these days.  Here it is Sunday again!  And, as usual, it was a good day.  We had our usual quiet Sunday morning routine.  Bill had to speak at church, so he was working on his talk all morning.  He did a good job, by the way.

I had a couple of people come in for help with family history during Sunday School, so that was good.  This is the last week I will be doing that.  I will be gone the next two weeks and then will start the next class when I get back.

The kids didn't come over today, since they had been invited for Sunday dinner with some friends from their ward.  We had some chicken left over from last night, so I boiled a few potatoes and cooked up some carrots to go with it for our dinner.  Yes, I cooked! 

Our home teachers came over a little after 6 and we visited with them for quite a while.  We enjoy their visits, as they are both great friends as well as home teachers. 

So, although we missed the kids, it was still a great Sunday.  And I can safely say it is still my favorite day of the week!

August 23rd - Cook out

This started as pretty much a normal Saturday - laundry, cleaning, etc.  Bill had to go help with an Eagle Scout project and then had to go out to do an estimate.  I had the place looking pretty good, laundry all done, and was just relaxing a bit watching an episode of "Lark Rise to Candleford" when Lisa called.  They have been invited to a friend's house for Sunday dinner, so she was letting me know that they wouldn't be coming over.  Since David was working all day, she suggested that maybe she and the kids could just come over for a change of scene.  I thought it was a great idea.

They came a little later and we enjoyed just relaxing, talking, watching the kids play.  I suggested we cook up what I had planned for Sunday dinner, so we did.  It was an easy one - chicken thighs on the grill, fried okra, and boiled potatoes.  We sat around the table for quite a while and the kids were so involved, too.  Very funny!

Then they went outside to play in the backyard.  It is fun to see them enjoying the fort and the slide.  They also just love to run, kick the balls, and whatever.  When it was time for them to leave, they were so dirty that they took a bath before going home.  More laughter!

It turned out to be a great day.  House got cleaned and then we had some fun.

August 22nd - Friday errands

I mostly did things around the house today - finished up the laundry from yesterday, dusted, etc.  I also ran out to do some errands.  I needed to get some supplies for the next art class.  We will doing some clay sculpture and I don't have a kiln, so I got some air dry clay, plus a few other things.  Then I went to the grocery store and picked up what we needed - a little bigger shopping than I have done lately.  Of course, that means unloading it all when I got home and putting it away.  But, all was accomplished and now we are resupplied!  Bill will probably go again tomorrow - there is always something that he wants that I didn't get.  We are still the "I buy what we need, he buys the goodies" couple - just as we always have been.

I spent the rest of the day mostly at the computer doing a few odds and ends.  I didn't get much time to work on family history, though.  I did take a rest late in the afternoon and watched a couple of episodes of "Lark Rise to Candleford." 

August 20th - Family History Wednesday

Today was Genealogy Study Group, so I had to get there early to set up.  We had a guest speaker, the president of the Georgia Genealogical Society.  She spoke on genealogical proof standards.  It was a really good meeting.

Afterwards, Jan and I went to Zaxby's for lunch and then we headed on home.  I had a couple of stops on the way, including a little shopping.  I found a couple of tops that I like. I did some more family history stuff at home.

For the rest of the day, I was pretty laid back.

PS - Looks like this one didn't post like it was supposed to, so now they are all out of order!  Oh, well.

August 21st - Art Class

Lisa had a meeting with the group of mothers are doing Joy School, so she dropped Ashby off early for art class.  Our project today was to study a little bit about Claude Monet and then to copy one of his paintings.  She did a great job on the Japanese Bridge picture.

Lisa called when they were on their way back and suggested that we meet for lunch, so we met up at Del Rio and had some Mexican.  It was a fun morning.

My afternoon was a little more laid back - doing the usual things that didn't get done in the morning.  I also spent some time researching what we will do for next art class.

August 19th - Doctor's Appointment

I got my usual morning things done and then had to head to the doctor for my prescription renewal appointment.  No problems.  I do like my doctor as he is very personable and asks the right questions and then listens to my answers.  Should that be so hard?  Why doesn't every doctor do that?  Anyway, I passed the mini-exam and am good for another six months. 

At home I fixed some lunch and then found a new series from BBC that Lisa had told me about.  I finally found it on Amazon Prime.  It is called "Larkspur to Candlesford", I think.  Anyway, I watched the first episode while eating and it is my kind of show.

Bill got home just after that, but turned around and ran an errand or two.  Meanwhile, I was back at the family history, pulling up more on the family I had been working on yesterday.

This evening, while he was at YM activity, I watched another episode of the series and then curled up in bed with my book. 

Not a bad day!

August 18th - Family History Monday - What?!

The day started (and ended, I might add) cloudy, rainy, and dark.  The perfect kind of day for just curling up with a book, a pot of soup on the stove, and doing absolutely nothing!  Well, I did put some soup on the stove - creamy cheese potato - but I decided not to curl up with the book.

Instead, I worked on family history.  Now that is a big surprise!  Since the kids weren't over yesterday, there wasn't much straightening to do around the house and the laundry was all caught up from Saturday, so I pretty much had an open day.  I thought about doing some shopping - I really need some new things before I go to Iowa - but who wants to go out in the rain?  So, I had a very nice day.  I worked on little pieces for a couple of different people.  I ended up with Bill's great-great-grandfather.  I have a lot on him already, but I found some more.  He was a wealthy plantation owner in Georgia before the civil war (and after, actually, but probably not as wealthy).  He and his wife could not have children, so they adopted a son.  He apparently knew that the fertility problem was her not him, as it is believed that he was probably the father of several of his mulatto slaves (he had 9 slaves in 1850 and 13 in 1860).  When his wife died, he remarried a short time later.  This is where the story gets creepy.  His new wife was a niece of his first wife (the family probably wanted to keep the money in the family - Ha!).  However, at the time they married he was 64 and she was about 16!  They had three children, before he died.  In his will, he left almost everything to the 2nd wife and the 3 children.  His adopted son had died of measles after being wounded in the civil war and his two children were given a token inheritance, probably to prevent them from challenging the will.  Very interesting!

So that was how I buried myself away during this rainy day.  It was an interesting day, to say the least!

August 17th - Sunday Again - Already!

Boy, the weeks sure fly by.  It seems like I just wrote a Sunday post and here it is again!  The thing about Sunday posts is that they are all pretty much the same.  So, here goes again - but wait, is there something different today?

Morning was usual - resting, getting ready for church, etc.  Sacrament meeting was really good.  Our elder's quorum president gave a fabulous talk, followed by the stake president, who has been visiting every ward in the stake.  His talk was also very good.

During Sunday School, I set up even though there wasn't a class today.  And I was excited that someone came in for help!  She is a young girl who joined the church about a year ago and then married the young man who introduced her to the gospel.  They both had just graduated from high school, and he is deaf, but they seem to be doing well.  She is really cute and very sharp.  In fact, they will be moving out to Utah in a couple of weeks to start school at UVU.  Sure hope they do well!  She has been trying to start her family history, but she had some questions.  She had not set up an LDS account, so we went to the clerk and got her membership number and that is set up.  She had already entered through her grandparents, who are all still living.  We were able to address some of the other things that she wondered about, so hopefully she is on her way.

The kids didn't come over for dinner today, as we had a farewell to go to for a family that is moving.  They just put their only child into UGA and they are moving back to Charleston, where they both grew up.  They have been close friends and we will miss them.  She was the Relief President that I recently served with.  It was a nice get together and we enjoyed chatting with them and with the others that were there.

So - there was something different today, after all!

It is also Billy's birthday, but we couldn't get him on the phone to wish him happy birthday.  Sure hope he knew we thought of him!

August 16th - Quiet Saturday

I should have cleaned house and all today, but I didn't feel like it.  I did do laundry and straighten, but no cleaning!  Instead, I spent the day working on some family history.  The more I worked on what I found yesterday, the more confused the line got, so after a while, I just put it aside and picked up some other things.  It seemed to be my day for finding the confusing things rather than solving problems.  Well, now I have a stack of things that need to be solved!  One thing about family history - it is never boring!

We really didn't do much else.  Bill had an estimate in the morning which didn't take long.  He did get the grass cut, but I don't think he did much else either.  We are getting to be a couple of lazy, old people!

I did finish another book today, too.  So, I guess I didn't just do family history.  Ha!

August 15th - Supposed to be a Stay at Home Day

Today was supposed to be my stay-at-home-and-work-on-genealogy day.  Well, it was for the most part.  With one slight interruption, that is.  Lisa called late in the morning and said they were going to go to Kids Up for a bit so the kids could jump and run and expend some serious energy.  So, we met up just after lunch and had a fun time for a while.  It didn't take long until they were both pretty tired, though, so it was a rather short trip.  Brooks had an "accident" so Ashby and I stayed while Lisa and Brooks ran home to clean up.  Ashby decided to dance on the dance floor and she spent the rest of her time doing some rather spectacular dance moves - kind of a mix between ballet and ballroom.  It was quite fun.  Then I ran her home and headed back to the house.

The rest of the day was family history, although it doesn't seem like I actually got much done.  Well, that is often the case with family history - work, work, work, and nothing to show for it.  I spent part of the time just checking hints from Ancestry and that sometimes feels like busy work.  Although, I did find some things to work on tomorrow about one of my female ancestors who had almost nothing.  I just have to make sure this is actually her before I start adding the information.

August 14th - First Art Class

Today was Ashby's first art class.  We were both so excited.  Lisa dropped her off at 10 and then she and Brooks took off to go to Target and the mall for an hour.  For class, we read a book called The Dot.  It is a book about art and how a little girl who thought she couldn't draw was able to create great pictures just using dots.  We then made a dot picture.  Ashby chose the paper and the medium - in this case some markers that look like animals. 

 When she finished, we put the picture in the frame.  I like how confident her signature looks.  She is proud of her picture.

 

She then was free to choose what she wanted to do, so we got out the paint and brushes and she started working on a painting.  She didn't get it finished, but she will be able to work on it next week, if we have time.  The look on her face seems to say that she knows she is a serious painter.

 We both had a lot of fun.

I had two phone calls from high school classmates today.  First was Judson who had heard we were looking for a new venue and wanted to share some ideas.  I then sent an email to Paula with his ideas and she called back to talk about some of our options.

Later, I had to actually cook dinner since the missionaries were coming.   I fixed boneless pork chops cooked in the oven with stewed tomatoes and tomato sauce, cantonelle pasta, green beans, and bread.  There were 8 chops and they all got eaten!  Both of these missionaries are big guys.  One is Samoan so he is massive.  I think he ate 4 of the chops by himself.  They are both really great young men and we enjoyed having them in our home for dinner.

August 13th - Family History Wednesday - Again!

I had a much better day today.  It was the day to work at the Family History Center.  As I walked in, I was greeted in the hall by one of the leaders for the genealogy group and the director of the Center.  They had been having a planning meeting about the upcoming Family History Fair in September.  They asked me to do a presentation, but I told them that I would probably not be back in town yet, so not to count on it.  I am considering whether we will make it back by then or not.  I would love to do the presentation, but I am not sure I want to hurry back for it - plus I would have to get it prepared before I leave and I am not sure I want that pressure.

Other than that, we had a nice morning.  We had two patrons.  The first thought it was the day of the genealogy group meeting, so he just stayed and visited a bit.  The second came a bit late, but wanted some help reserving names for the temple, so we stayed a little past closing time to help him out. 

Back home, I had lunch and was watching the end of the Law & Order episode when Bill got home.  I spent the rest of the afternoon mostly at the computer, a little with family history and a few other things that had piled up again.  He went to the grocery store and picked up the things we will need for dinner for the missionaries tomorrow.

And that was pretty much it!  Back in the good rut.

August 12th - Kind of a Blah Day

I had a headache this morning, so had a little trouble getting in to a good groove.  I decided that I would spend the day on family history, since I didn't feel like doing anything else.  I even worked on my own stuff.  I found a couple of things that I have been looking for, but I spent way too much time trying to find Bill's parents in the 1940 census - still without success.  I can only figure that they either got missed or the name got indexed so wrong that soundex can't find it!  Oh well, on to other things!

I did get the art room finished up.  Actually, all that was left was for Bill to get the table carried up there.  I realized later that I will need a couple of folding chairs, too, but I can handle that whenever.

So that was about it for me today - fortunately the headache eventually went away!

August 11th - Monday Errands

This was the usual Monday - straightening the house after the weekend, dishwasher, etc.  Fortunately, it all doesn't take long and the house is back in good order.  I spent some time in the art room putting away the scrapbook and art supplies, so it is beginning to look pretty good. 

I also made a run to the library to return some books and also to pick up a book about Claude Monet.  He will be our art project starting next week.  I already had a children's book about him, but I wanted something with pictures of his paintings.  We will be copying a couple of his pictures after we learn a little about him.  This week, though, we will be reading the book The Dot and then making our own dot pictures.

While I was out, I also ran to Hobby Lobby to pick up some supplies.  I needed paper, particularly, including a roll of paper to use on the new easel.  I also picked up some tempera paint and a few other things.  I think we are pretty much set for now.  I have three more things for Bill to do and it will be finished - like carrying the table up, changing the light bulb that is burned out, and carrying out one more load of trash!

I even cooked dinner this evening - surprise!  Actually, I just fixed the leftovers from yesterday.  It was just enough to make a nice barbecue sandwich with fried potatoes and corn for the two of us. 

August 10th - Another Fun day Sunday!

This was pretty much a normal Sunday for us.  I spent the morning getting the prep work done for dinner and then mostly working on the computer.  Yes, mostly family history!

Church meetings were good.  I do not have my class right now, but I am still setting up to help anyone who wants to take that time during Sunday School.  Today I had two people who wanted some help.  One was having trouble getting into FS - he couldn't remember his password, but we got him fixed up.  The other had not been in FS for quite a while and things are always changing, so she just needed a little help getting familiar with things again.

The kids weren't at the house yet when we got home, so we got busy and got dinner finishing.  I had left a pork loin cooking in the oven on a low temp while we were gone, so it was about done.  I had prepared some potatoes and I got them into the oven as quickly as possible.  Instead of baked potatoes, I had cut them in half, put them cut side down in the pan with lots of butter and sprinkled Tony's on them.  So good!  They get a little crispy and have that spicy flavor.  We also had fresh zucchini, stir fried with onion, corn on the cob, fresh butter beans, and some biscuits from a Red Lobster biscuit mix.  It all turned out really good.

We enjoyed hanging out with the kids, too.  They spent some time outside.  It seems that going to the ballgame the other night has inspired them to be ballplayers and they were out there playing with the balls, etc.  Ashby is so excited because she will start school tomorrow - home school, that is.  She was also excited to see how the art room is coming here.  She will come on Thursdays for art and she was so cute when they left.  Her comment was, "See you every Thursday!"  I think she is ready to start school!

It has been a normal, great Sunday.  I even finished the book I was reading - Orphan Train by Christina Bakre Kline.  It was very good.

August 9th - Just Another Saturday

Not much to write about today.  It was just another Saturday, with cleaning, laundry, planning dinner for Sunday, etc.  Bill ran some errands while I just fiddled with family history.  I was so tired - didn't sleep the best last night - so I actually took a rather long nap this afternoon.

I guess it was just one of those days that go by and I can't really come up with much to write about! 

August 8th - Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Bill didn't have any work scheduled today, so he was around home.  Of course, I had a list of things for him to do:  take down all the trash from the art room; take a couple of boxes to Goodwill; put the last two shelves together, etc.  I don't often ask for things, but I seem to go a little overboard when I do!  He will be so glad when I get finished with the room.

It is actually starting to look pretty good, too.  I just need to go through the art/scrapbooking stuff now and get it organized on the new shelves.  Then I will ready to invest in a table.  I think I will also get some new bedding for the bed.  I have a couple of things to hang on the wall, but with the slanted ceiling, there isn't a lot of space for decorating the walls.  Most of what I hope to put up will be the work that Ashby does, which she will eventually take home, of course.  The end is in sight!  I think art class for Ashby will start next Thursday, if things go as planned with Lisa.

I spent the rest of my day doing some family history.  I am pulling at straws with this brick wall now and have just about run out of ideas.  I may have to go back to her and suggest a couple of things that involve a little money!

This evening was supposed to be the family at the Gwinnett Braves baseball game, but most of the crew jumped ship.  We had a pretty good storm in the late afternoon and were worried about getting the game in, but it was a beautiful evening.  The storm dropped the temperature about 15 degrees, so it was really nice to be out.  By the end of the 8th inning, a few drops of rain started misting, but they got the game in and then it let up so we were also able to enjoy a fabulous fireworks display.  Lisa and family were the only ones who made it, but we had a ball.  They have a children's play area which the kids loved - jumping house, slides, and other things.  And the fireworks was a perfect ending.  It is also nice that it only takes 10 or 15 minutes to get back home!  This is a Triple-A minor league team for the Braves, so they are really good players, but the whole atmosphere is so much more relaxed.  I don't "do" sports, but I love being with the kids and we had a ball.

August 7th - Hot Day!

My main goal for the day was to get some work done in the bonus/art room.  Of course, I did my usual routine stuff, like a load of laundry and checking the computer, before I went up.  Well, I decided to quickly check the email from Family Search about changes people had made to the ancestors that I have on my watch list.  I always check the changes, because sometimes there is new information and sometimes there is wrong information.  Either way, I get into checking everything about that person.  Today, I discovered that there were some good sources I had that had not been added to FS, and one thing led to another, and a couple of hours later, I remembered that I was supposed to be working on the art room.  Oops!

I immediately headed upstairs.  The bonus room is air conditioned, but it is the only upstairs room and is always hot.  We have a tower fan to put in front of the vent, trying to spread the cool air a little, but it does not really cool the place.  The problem, of course, is the open stairway, which is a funnel for the cool air to drop down.  But, with the fan, it is tolerable.  I got to work putting stuff on the shelves that are now up and in place.  I had been working an hour or so when Lisa texted that they were on the way over.  There are a couple of boxes that belong to her and I wanted her to go through them, hoping some would go with her and the rest into the trash.  We had a good time going through all this old stuff, including pictures, trinkets that she got as a teacher, books, and plenty of old school stuff.  She was excited to find a few things that she had been looking for - like the scissors that cut all the decorative edges and her other glue gun.

When we finally finished, there was some good progress.  Now I have a pile of boxes and trash to go out, a couple of boxes to take to Goodwill, and enough space to put the last two shelving units, whenever we get them put together.  Mostly what is still left is all the scrapbooking and art supply stuff.  I have gone through it a little, but there is a lot to do there, since much of that stuff will go on the last two shelves.  At least I can see an end!

After all that hard and sweaty work, I didn't feel like doing much else.  I ended up finishing my FS stuff and then just relaxing.

August 6th - Family History Center

Boring Wednesday, I know, just spent at the Family History Center.  We didn't have any patrons today, which is a shame, but it does allow us to work on our own stuff!  I am still working on a brick wall for one of the ward members and did not make any progress.

On my way home, I made a stop at the library, which has also almost become a routine.  Bill was already home when I got there, as his job was rescheduled, so we had a chance to chat before someone called with a request for some help.  Our dear friends who were in the terrible auto accident a couple of months ago are still in need of a lot of help.  She has come home, in a wheelchair, but he is still inn the hospital and will be moved to long term acute care, probably next week.  Bill went over to help water their plants and do a few little things outside.

When he got back, we went up to the bonus room and moved a few things around.  The twin bed is now on the other side of the room and the shelves we put together are on the opposite wall.  It is much better this way.  We also put together the last of the tall shelves.  That just leaves the two shorter ones to do, which will wait until I get a few boxes out of there.  I seem to work very slowly these days - just one little step at a time, but I will finally get there!

We ordered some Chinese for dinner, which we rarely do.  It was good though.  We only ordered one meal and a couple of appetizers and we still had leftovers.

So, my boring Wednesday was actually quite busy!

August 5th - Lunch with the Kiddos!

Usual morning stuff, with me finally just sitting at the computer doing some things, when Lisa called and said they were on their way to lunch at a Mexican place near my house.  So, I joined them and we had a great lunch.  Brooks wanted to sit outside on their patio, which we did.  It was warm, but with the fans, it was actually quite pleasant.  We were the only ones out there, so the kids got to run around a little once they finished eating.  That does make for a much more pleasant meal!

I came back home after lunch and worked some more on my little odds and ends projects.  I talked to my friend Paula on the phone for quite a while.  We are supposed to be in charge of our 50th high school reunion next year and the place we had reserved has changed hands and we are looking for some place else.  That may not be a big deal most places, but when your home town only has 3500 people, there are not a lot of venues!  We have some leads, though.

Bill got home a little earlier this evening, so after a little relaxing time, we tackled the shelves that we bought at IKEA last week.  We got two of them put together and they are really nice.  I will work on emptying some boxes and filling up the shelves before we put the other three together.  Little by little we are making progress on the new art room!

And that was pretty much my day!

August 4th - Day of Recovery!

As much as I love having the kids here, it does wear me out.  I suppose it is just a sign of old age - can't be true, can it?

Even so, I got quite a bit done today - in between sitting and resting breaks.  That would include changing the sheets, 3 loads of laundry, straightening the house, emptying the dishwasher and getting the kitchen back into shape, etc.  I also spent quite a bit of time cleaning off my desk.  It was beginning to look a little cluttered, so I was able to file and organize things so at least it looks better.  Along the way, I even did a few of the things that were needing done - which is why the stuff was stacked on the desk in the first place!

Other than that, it was a quiet day.  I went in to read in bed a little early and finished my book - The Hurricane Sisters.  It was a pretty good book, although I have a few complaints about it.  It must be the book of the summer since the waiting list at the library runs to well over 100 people.

So, all in all, it has been a good day.  It is always nice to check off things from the to-do list and to have the house back in order.  We will see if I have any more energy tomorrow!

August 3rd - Sunday with the Grandkids!

We had a fun day with Ashby and Brooks.  They both slept well.  Ashby has a habit of waking up during the night and coming in to bed with us (she does the same thing at home with her daddy), but she managed to make it until around 5:00, so that wasn't bad.  Then she just snuggled and eventually fell back to sleep.  Brooks slept until about 7:30.

We fixed french toast for breakfast and then they just played.  By mid-morning, though, Brooks was getting grouchy - a sure sign that he is tired.  They were up late last night and he had not napped, so it was no surprise.  I finally had to put him in the crib and told him he would have to stay there until the cranky boy was all gone.  He lay in there for probably an hour, or close to it, not making much noise.  About the time that I wondered if he had fallen asleep, he was ready to get up.  He was all smiles and good nature by then.

However, we decided not to take them to church, since I was pretty sure the good mood would be short-lived.  We are not quite as willing to deal with misbehaving children at church as we were when we were young!  I did not have to teach a class, so I stayed home with them.

They played well for quite a while, but around 2:00, I asked Brooks if he was ready for a nap and he said he was.  I think he was asleep within minutes of my putting him back in the crib.  Ashby then played by herself for a long time.  She was glad for the quiet, I think.  She finally came and said she wanted to snuggle - code for "I am tired."  She wanted to do the cuddling in our bed, so we climbed in and cuddled, made up a story, giggled a little, and then she was asleep, too.

David and Lisa had gone home after church, so they got over here around 4:00 or so.  I already had just about everything ready for taco salad, so we finished it up and got it on the table.  Bill made it home just about then, so we had our dinner.  Ashby had gotten up after about an hour of napping, but Brooks slept on through.  He ended up taking a 3 1/2 hour nap.  I am rather glad that I didn't try dealing with him during church!

Because the kids were rested, they were able to stay a little later than they sometimes can.  It was a great evening for them to play outside - as long as we used bug spray.  David and Bill went over to look at a friend's house that got flooded with a broken water pipe (ice maker).  He had wanted David's opinion about some things, although the insurance company will probably not let him do any of the work. 

It has been a fun weekend with the children and with the family.  I miss church when I don't make it, but I thoroughly enjoyed my day anyway. 

August 2nd - Grandkids for the weekend!

We hustled around this morning, trying to get chores done before the kiddos arrived for the weekend.  They were so excited when they got here, rolling their overnight bags behind them.  So cute!

We spent the rest of the afternoon just playing.  Brooks tried to nap, but he just couldn't do it, so we settled for some quiet time on the couch watching Zip and Sharko.  Then they played outside for quite a while.  Ashby got on her swimming suit and put the hose on the slide so she could play water slide.  Brooks was more interested in playing in the dirt with his mighty machines.

We also had a wedding reception to attend this evening, so we had to get everyone bathed and dressed.  The kids looked cute and were really good.  It was a dinner and fortunately they served burritos, which is one of the favorites of both of the kids.  They ate well!  Then we discovered that the nursery had been left for children to play and they played in there while the dancing stuff was happening.When we decided it was time to go, Brooks didn't want to leave because he hadn't had cake yet!  Fortunately, that was just when they cut the cake, so we were able to have cake before we left.

Back home, first order of business was to get into jammies.  Then it took a while to get everyone calmed down again.  Brooks was really tired, so we read a couple of books.  They both had a dish of ice cream (like they hadn't had enough already?) and then he was ready for bed and asleep within minutes.  Then Ashby and I took her stack of books into my bed and we got through about three of them before she was ready to sleep, too.  She slept in the big bed in the same room with Brooks.  She likes to have someone "cuddle" while she goes to sleep, but it only took about five minutes and she was out, too!

It has been a fun day, but I am exhausted!

August 1st - Sealing at the Temple

We were invited to attend the sealing of a young couple at the temple today.  She is the daughter of the bishop that Bill served with for several years.  There was a good group and we were flattered to be included.  Temple sealings are always special, and this one was no exception.

Once we finished at the temple, we stopped for a quick lunch and then drove down to IKEA to pick up the shelves that I want for the bonus room.  They were in stock as of this morning, so I had my fingers crossed, as the two-shelf units kept selling out.  After negotiating our way through ridiculous traffic - never did figure out why it was such a mess everywhere on a Friday mid-day - we managed to get to IKEA, find what I wanted, and luckily we were able to get what we wanted.  There was only one of the two-shelf units left when we finished, but we were able to get what I wanted.  The problem with IKEA, even when you just go straight to the self-serve area, is that they have so many interesting things.  Of course, we ended up picking up a couple of other little things as we walked to the cashier.  It is a good thing we didn't go through the store!

Now the boxes are up in the bonus room, ready to be put together.  Hopefully, Bill will get one or two of the tall units done tomorrow, so I can start emptying boxes.  I really don't want him to do more than that at a time anyway, as I don't want to move boxes other than when I empty them.  As I empty them, the wall space where the shelves go will open up.  And I don't want to be moving the shelves other than when I put them in place either.  Anyway, I have a big project to tackle during the next week.

Needless to say, that pretty much wore us out.  I am into that "one thing a day" mode and today there were two!

July 31st - Our to Brunch!

My main activity for today was going out for brunch with one of the sisters I visit teach.  We have had trouble connecting and this seemed like a fun way to get together.  There is a new place open near us that is strictly breakfast, brunch and lunch.  It is actually a chain - J Christopher's.  Anyway we went there mid-morning and had a great brunch.  We also had a lot of fun chatting.  When we finally finished eating, we went over to a gift shop in the same shopping center - Duck, Duck, Goose - so she could get a gift for her sister.  It was all very fun!

Back home, I did as little as possible!  Ha!  I did do a few things that needed to be addressed, but I spent most of the time at the computer.  I am trying to finish up the outline for my classes and got quite a lot done on that.  Plus, a few other, rather uninteresting tidbits.