A sweet treat

This has been a rough week.  I am currently in the process of trying to get school started back.  There are so many decisions that must be made.  I've lost several staff members and have been working hard to hire new ones.  Yesterday, just when I thought I had everything figured out, another staff member quit.  Totally understandable but nontheless, it was hard to accept.  I had a few things that I needed to take to my momma.  So the girls and I loaded up and off we went.  It was good to ride in the car, listen to good music and see my momma.  She was extremely appreciative of our efforts.  She gave each of us $5 to do something fun.  At that moment, I started tearing up and explained what was going on.  My momma knew what I needed without me even asking.  The girls and I said goodbye and were on our way.  We stopped at a yummy ice cream shop and got some delicious ice cream.  We each had $5 to spend.  Maggie and I opted to purchase the homemade waffle cone with our ice cream.  We each tipped the server the change we had left.  Caroline, being the wise spender, she opted for the cup and saved her extra dollar.  The ice cream was delicious and just for a quick minute, everything was better!

Monday Night Dinners

COVID has messed up a lot of our plans this summer...but one of the sweetest things that has come from it is time with Tomi Jean and her family.  We swim almost daily...Monday night dinners have become a tradition.  What started as an occasional 'let's eat lots of yummy fresh veggies" turned into what will we have next Monday night. We are so thankful for time with the kids before they head off to college.  Sadly our next Monday night meal will be a party of 7 instead of 8...Grace moves in to college next Tuesday.  While we are super happy for her, we just aren't ready to see her go!

The Campers Clean and READY!

We have our first camping trip coming up and we are so excited.  Sadly several of our camping trips have been cancelled this spring/summer, thanks to COVID. :-(  However, we are excited that we still have several fun spots on our list for the remainder of the year.  This morning we got out early to clean the camper and get it ready for the season.  It was a group effort and didn't take near as long as we thought it would.  (Maggie wasn't near as eager or excited to help but she did help!)  Super thankful for our camper!  Even more thankful/excited to enjoy some family time away in our camper!

Game of War with Water

Y'all I typically LOVE DOWN time at home.  However, after 4 months of quarantine, we are running out of things to do.  We have played board games, card games, used sidewalk chalk, blown bubbles, gone for bike rides, watched movies and ate popcorn, played in sprinklers, etc.  Today I decided to do a Pinterest search for water games for summer.  I came across War with Water.  You play a game of war (2 people flip over a card and the person with the highest card wins) and the person who wins gets to pour cold water on the person who lost.  The girls loved it!  We went through 3 gallons of water.  After playing, I ordered some waterproof cards for our next game. 

Video Recording

Our local school district released it's plan for returning to school last week.  That meant it was time to release our plan.  The church that I work for has gotten REALLY good at recording stuff to send out.  So I asked the guys if they would help me look a little more professional than my typical recording on the front porch.  I had NO clue their actual set up.  I felt like I was in show biz or something.  I'm thankful that it went really well and it will be published early next week.  One more thing to mark off my list. :-)

Spontaneous Beach Trip

For those that know me well, you know I am not a spontaneous person...I like structure, routine and a plan.  When events happen without structure, routine or a plan, my hairs get a little crossed, I tend to get overwhelmed and often shut down my thinking process.  (No it isn't right and yes I need to work on it.)  One of our local beaches has had an abundance of starfish wash up on the shore.  It was after our time at the beach.  I have wanted to get down there but life seemed to happen and it didn't work out.  I randomly mentioned it to Andy when he got off work today.  He said "Let's go!"  My head started spinning...like right now, do we have time, it will be dinner time by the time we get there, what will we do for dinner, etc?  We told the girls to put on their bathing suits and pack a change of clothes.  We loaded a few chairs and buckets in the van and off we went.  (I'd love to say it went off without a hitch but it didn't.  We realized we didn't have cash for the state park, we sort of heatidly discussed which way was the best way to go, what we should do for dinner, etc.  However, I am thankful we were able to work through our 'discussions' and enjoy the time with our family at our favorite place on Earth-the BEACH!)

It was a beautiful afternoon on the beach.  There were still a lot of people on the beach at 5:30 in the afternoon but we were able to find a great spot to enjoy.  Sadly we didn't see the starfish BUT the girls had a great afternoon in the sand and the waves.  It reminded me of what Jesus says about being like little children...they adjust, adapt and find joy in all things, most of the time.  I was disappointed we didn't get to see the starfish, they were thankful and excited that they got to play at the beach.  Oh we can learn so much from our children...

Mags, a frog and a sad realization

We have a set routine when we go swimming at Tomi Jean's.  The girls put their sunscreen on and then check the drains while their sunscreen dries.  They typically find at least one frog or toad each check, more like 3 or 4.  However, it is the highlight of the trip I believe.  They LOVE it!  (Me, not so much!)  Today, Maggie thought it was especially fun to put the frog on her shoulder while she stood in the water.  It actually stayed there long enough for me to grab my phone for a picture.

Tonight as I was working on policies and procedures for school, I realized this sweet and spunky girl will have to walk into her new school all by herself thanks to COVID!  What?  I think this momma needs it more that she does...I also think it could send her for a loop or she will be totally fine...it could go either way.  My heart hurts for all the yuck that COVID has brought and this is just another example.  Yes, we are healthy and yes we have everything we need, but there is a longing for all that we are missing...

Oh baby girl, I pray that we can both be brave on your first day!!  Keep your spunk, it's what makes you YOU!

A sweet gift from my Daddy

Many  years ago, I remember sitting in my Daddy's hospital room complaining about my weight.  I don't remember exactly how the conversation went but somewhere along the way I mentioned that if I had a bike, I think it would help.  I could exercise in our neighborhood.  Without saying anything, Daddy looked at Momma and said "Hand me my checkbook."  Right then and there he wrote me a check and in the memo line wrote "Rita's bike."  I was shocked...a few weeks later, he wrote another check and in the memo line wrote "Andy's bike" because he didn't want me complaining saying I didn't have anyone to ride with me! :-)

Fast forward, the bike seemed to complicated for me...it was fancy, had gears, etc.  I was given a beach cruiser and realized biking is hard regardless of the bike! :-)  However, the beach cruiser was a better fit for me.  I couldn't get rid of my original bike because I was a gift from my Daddy.

Since quarantine, Caroline has been using my beach cruiser when I'm not.  Bless her heart, she has grown so much that her purple bike, that is less than 2 years old, just doesn't fit her comfortably.  Last week I thought 'wonder if my old bike would work?'  So we got it out of the garage, pumped the tires and off she went.  Well it took about a day for her to figure out the gears and tell me what I should do when! ha!  She is loving her new bike and I am loving the fact that she gets to enjoy something that was a gift from Pappa George!

Update on Fit B4 4o

Thought I would take a minute to update.  Still hanging at 20 pounds gone...no more, no less.  The one area that I KNOW I have to work on is daily exercise.  Like at least a solid 30 minutes not just the leisure walk around the neighborhood (which I am doing 4 mornings a week) or swimming in the pool.  However, I am truly grateful that I have continued to maintain what I lost the first 3 months.  That for me is huge...typically anytime I lost weight, I immediately put it back on. 

I'm guessing I don't dress up enough these days because Maggie was completely shocked when I walked out of the bedroom today ready to go.  She was like "WoW Mom!  You look fancy! And pretty!"

Mom's Shower

Today some of the sweet ladies in Mom's Sunday School class hosted a shower for her and Archie.  It was a lovely shower, with delicious food and fellowship.  Thanks to COVID, the fellowship required a mask.  (which we removed for a few quick pictures)  Mom and Archie don't need anything, as combining 2 households is enough, so they received gift cards to restaurants, home improvement stores and other local shops.  Hard to believe we are less than 4 weeks away... 

Fun with Mrs. Robin

This summer has been affected by COVID in so many ways.  My work load this summer didn't want to be left out.  Unfortunately the things I would normally be working on were put on hold...we weren't even sure if we would be going back to school.  Last night our local school board announced their plan and that meant that I needed to prepare my plan.  It's an extremely overwhelming process because very little is black and white right now...most of the information about rules and procedures are gray. In trying to plan, there are so many 'plans' to follow.  I found a plan that I believe is right for our school.  However, as I worked to finalize details I needed someone to listen and work through them with me.  Robin graciously agreed to help with that.  She also prepared a sweet morning for my girls.  She made us muffins and fresh fruit to be served tea party style.  Then she sat out several activities for them to enjoy.  They had an absolute blast.  We all left feeling SO much better!

Fun with Grace

Today we enjoyed a fun day by the pool.  The girls and I had been there about 20 minutes when Grace came to say hello.  After sweating for a little bit, we convinced her to get her suit on and join us.  We enjoyed several hours with her in the pool.  The pool immediately became more fun with Grace!  We are so thankful for this extra time with her before she heads off to college soon...can't believe how quickly it's coming!

Maggie's 6 year well visit

Today we had Maggie's 6 year well visit.  She did really well.  It's the longest she has had to constantly wear a mask. She did great!  While her wait has always been 'above average' it's consistent.  Thankfully this year the curve was a little smaller which is great news.  We continue to offer healthy choices and try to limit the junk food brought into our house.  Pretty sure baby girl will always struggle with her weight, just like her momma.  But one thing we are super thankful for is that her height and weight go hand in hand...

• Weight: 85 pounds (97%)
• Height: 48 1/2 inches (95%)

Some funnies from today:

• Dr. E: Maggie do you snore?  M: NOPE but my daddy does!
• Dr. E: Do you play sports?  M:  Well my mom thought about signing me up for soccer at the Y but I don't really like soccer.
• Dr. E:  Do you cook or make your lunch?  M:  Nope, Caroline does all that.
• Dr. E:  Do you help around the house.  M: Oh YES!  WE have CHORES!  Like I empty the trash cans, I have to fold the little towels, sort the clothes and empty the dishwasher of silverware.  We have LOTS of CHORES!

We played UNO while we waited.  We waited almost 45 minutes and I only won 2 games!  (And y'all I don't "LET" my kids win...I had losing! And I think it builds character to lose!) She thought it was hilarious!

Not quite there...

Friday afternoon, Andy called me with a dead battery and he needed a jump.  Saturday morning, he woke up early and went to NAPA to change out the battery.  We thought all was well until Sunday afternoon when Andy was on his way home from the grocery store and the truck started acting wonky!  So I took him to work Monday morning and we had a plan to take it to a local mechanic to look at the alternator.  Well we didn't quite make it...it completely died at the red light.  I was very thankful that I was following him.  We had a police officer helping with traffic while we waited for a tow truck.  It's been a series of things the last few weeks so I had to laugh today to keep from crying...it was 95 degrees out, pouring rain and we were stuck at a pretty busy intersection.  Still so much to be thankful for.  Vehicles that normally get us to and from places...quick tow truck drivers, nice police officers and the fact that we have each other to help us during moments like this. :-)

Sunday Funday

Today we enjoyed a fun evening outside.  Thankfully it was a little cloudy so it wasn't sooooo hot.  The girls used their family day kits from the museum to entertain themselves.  This month included playdough, black sketch art and bubble painting.  Charlie also enjoyed his time outside. :-)

Be creative...

Me to the girls: Be creative, use your imagination!

Also me to the girls: Do you have to make such a mess???