The Confession

I am giving "The Confession" by John Grisham 4 stars.  Finally, a 4 star book after too many 2 star books!  This book is vintage Grisham at his best.  The story centers around a man coming forward to confess to a crime that another man was convicted of.  The convicted man is on death row and 48 hours away from being put to death.  Enter the dynamic lawyer and a Luthern minister to save the day.  Do they do it?  You'll have to read the book to find out.  One of the things I love about Grisham is how he ties up all the loose ends.  You are never left wondering, "What about....?"  GREAT READ!

Waldo Canyon Fire Photos

My parents have friends who live in Colorado Springs.  They were evacuated the other day and took these photos as they were leaving.  No word yet on if they lost their house.  So heart-breaking.

Recital Photos

We aren't allowed to take photos at the dance recitals, but this year the princess' studio let the woman who does the year-end dance photos take photos during the recital.  She was generous and shared them with us on Facebook where we were allowed to take them.  I'd like to give her credit though.  These photos are compliments of Stacy Benner.  Thanks Stacy!  (Click on the photos to enlarge them so you can see the detail on their faces.)

"Fancy Footwork"

"West Side Story"

"Pearl Harbor"

For MB

"The Orange Tree"

I gave "The Orange Tree" by Mildred Walker 2 stars.  It is set in the Boston area and features the interaction between a middle-aged couple and a young couple over about 3 years.  I liked some things about this book a lot, but it did drag on in parts.  I read "Winter Wheat" by Walker a few years ago.  That book was set in Montana (Walker lived in MT for much of her life), and it seems to me that "Winter Wheat" also dragged along.  I did like this book better than "Winter Wheat". 

Great Advice

I should probably tell the complete stories behind these words of wisdom someday, but for today, you just get the advice.

My grandparents each impacted my life in various ways, and today I keep thinking of the support they gave me.  I don't know why.  So here is what I was told:

Grandpa Darrell:  "Girls (women) can do anything men can do."  Clearly he was a very wise man.  He told me this often as I was growing up, and he really wanted me to become a lawyer.  Oops.

Papa John:  (Not the pizza guy.)  "Girls are as capable of doing well in math as boys."  He was a math teacher and figured out, long before it was politically correct, that assuming girls couldn't excel in math and science was wrong.  He was also a very wise man.   He also believed that, while boys had no trouble jumping between algebra and geometry, girls usually excelled in one over the other.  I don't know if that's true today, but that was his observation in teaching high school math in the 1940's and 50's.

Grandma Dot:  "Of course you can be Miss America."  She meant it.  She might have been delusional, but how often do you have someone that supportive in your corner?

Grandma Edith:  (Perhaps the best advice of all.)  "That rock 'n roll music is pretty good when you turn it down a little." 

Best. Grandparents. Ever.

Mama's got a TAT!

That's right, Baby. 

Shooting star---just like me!

A Learner's Permit!

Yippee!  The princess has her permit and promptly drove me to the grocery store!

ME!!!

Outstanding!

On Saturday Lynelle and Amanda rode their horses 22 miles as a fund raiser for Relay for Live--cancer research.  They had a great ride and could both walk afterward.  We're very proud of them!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads in our lives!  We are lucky to have been raised by all of you!  

 DADDY-O!

 Grandpa Rick

(Nice hat, Prince!)

 Grandpa Bob

 Grandpa Chuck

I couldn't find a picture of Grandpa w/both kids (though I know they are out there), so he's featured twice!  He looks a little afraid of the princess right here!

Death Glare

Becky posted this cute photo on facebook the other day.  When Grandma commented on how cute the princess' pout was, Becky responded that it was more like a "Death Glare".  She's right!  And what's up with poor Jared?  He looks exhausted...probably from fending off all those death glares!  Guessing this was taken in about 2000ish.

Silly Blogger

How many times have I done a post with that title?  Although I love the ease of Blogger most of the time, right now it's acting oddly for me.  The font has changed and is quite small, and I've not done anything to change the settings.  In fact, I went in and made the font bigger in the settings, but it doesn't change the final product.  Odd.  Anyway, I'll try to remember to make the font bigger on the post end until they fix the problem.  Sorry if you need your magnifying glass to read this!

First Cheer Gig

The princess has been going to cheer practice for a week, and today she had her first function:  cheering on runner in the 10K portion of a local race.  It took about an hour to cheer them all on, and the weather was PERFECT!  Welcome to cheer.  (The prince had to work today so didn't have to participate at this one.)

The Big Move

I don't know what he did to convince her that it was a good idea, but the prince talked the princess into trading bedrooms.  Hmmm...give up the big, cool (it's summer) bedroom for the smaller, hotter one?  But she agreed.  I laid down the ground rules (they would do all the work and to my specifications), they agreed, and Thursday they moved, and moved, and moved.  Trading bedrooms also meant trading bathrooms.  It was a big job, but it's mostly done now.  I did end up dusting the baseboards and vacuuming each room as my contribution, but that was mostly all I did.  Oh, and I changed out the shower curtains.  I will maybe post photos of the completed rooms once they get new bedding and their stuff back up on the walls.  But I might be too tired. 

My other rules included not moving the bed or the dressers (since they have the same dresser and could just swap drawers).  It does mean they'll get new bedding (which might be why the princess agreed so readily), since the beds are different sizes.  But they have a budget they have to stick to with the new bedding so we'll see how that goes. 

 The princess' empty room.

 All the princess' worldly possessions in the  livingroom.

 The prince's nearly empty room.

All of the prince's worldly possessions.

Happy Birthday Tom

Happy Birthday Tom!

Here's hoping you have a great day and year.

An Invitation

I invite you to come visit.  Quickly.  I am currently cob-web free!  I cleaned all the window trim, curtain rods, tops of cabinets and light fixtures yesterday.  The problem with this, though, is two-fold: 

1.  After doing this task (that should be done every few months in a perfect world but only gets done every 3-5 years in my world), there is a lot of dust to clean up on the counters, furniture, and appliances afterward.  It becomes a big job.

2.  Some gunk doesn't clean up--like in the bathrooms where moisture and hair products make the dust a paste instead.  Gonna have to work on those some other day.

Still, for a few days there are no cobwebs in my house so you should come visit.  But you'd better hurry.  It won't last long!

By the way, you clean freaks out there who are going to respond about how this never happens at your house need not comment!!!  Allow me my moment of victory.

The Perfect Dive

Yesterday Sparky did a perfect dive at swimming lessons.  Sure wish I had been there to see it!

About "Stolen Lives"

I am giving "Stolen Lives: Twenty Years In A Desert Jail" by Malika Oufkir two stars.  I almost gave it three.  It's probably a 2.5.  It's a pretty good book, but not really good.  This book follows the true story of the author and several family members who are put in jail in Morocco after her father (a high ranking military member) tried to overthrow King Hassan II.  Her father was killed, and she and her family spent 20 years in various prisons, each in worsening conditions, before they finally escaped and were eventually given their passports and the ability to leave the country.  The book is long on details...lots and lots of details.  They aren't necessarily boring, but they are many.  The escape is fascinating.  It was what almost gave the book 3 stars, but of course, it comes at the end of the book of many, many details.  Thus I'm giving it 2 stars.  It's a good read.

Cool Shots

I got to play with my camera while Sparky and Cupcake were at swim lessons.  I figured out how to get action shots that aren't blurry.  I cropped them below in case you wanted it a little closer!  They were jumping off the diving board.  I love the look on Sparky's face when Cupcake jumps--sitting next to the ladder.  And yes, Sparky ended up doing a bellyflop in this one, complete with a red belly.  He didn't make that mistake again in his next jumps!  

Chicken Man!

Here are the king and the princess with a big chicken!  The king came home a few weeks ago and said he'd seen one 3 times as big that was for rent.  Since many of our neighbors have LIVE chickens, the king thought he'd rent the large chicken and put it in our driveway for a weekend, in an attempt to feel like he belongs.  :)  So far he hasn't done it, but he was ready to get his picture taken with this guy yesterday.

Also yesterday we had eggs from one of our neighbor's chickens for breakfast.  He did say that he thinks they do taste a "little" better than store bought eggs.  Uh-oh.  It's only a matter of time before he wants his own chickens!  Yikes!

Colorado Trip

I had a great time in Colorado, and I thank the Jones' for the hospitality.  I got to see all the kids--Jajuan was at a camp when I arrived, but he got back mid-week--and we did what we seem to do best whenever I'm around:  sit around!  I'm so good at that!  Sparky and Cupcake promise to come visit us next summer.  Meanwhile I'll see them again at the reunion in July!  Good times!  By the way, I left the Springs around 8:30 and was home by 6:15.  That's not too bad considering I had to go through Denver.

Swimming Lessons

Isaiah and Ariana are still taking swimming lessons and swimming like little fish.  At their pool they are on level 4.  I got to go to lessons with them 3 times, and I could see improvement each time.

By the way, Isaiah still prefers to be called "Sparky", but he's fine with Sparktastic," "Sparkalicious," or "Sir Sparkious."  Ariana no longer wants to be called "Princess" so her new name is "Cupcake".  She's good with that one!

They were invited to come see us this summer, but they declined.  Their mom put them in swimming lessons instead.  As soon as I arrived they decided they wanted to go home with me.  :(  Too late!  Maybe next summer.

Loving this camera more and more!

Chinese Buffet

No trip to Colorado Springs would be complete without a trip to the Chinese Buffet,  but these people take their seafood WAY TOO SERIOUSLY!  Even in the photo of Mariah, everything on her plate is seafood.  NASTY!

The Spray Park

I'm not sure why the photo of Lib is not centered.  Maybe it will be in it's proper place when I post it.  Silly blogger. 

We spent some time at the spray park one afternoon.  Sparky had a great time.  Cupcake chose to eat chips and catch some rays.  I couldn't find fault in that!

I am learning more about my camera.  I LOVE the last photo of Zaya with all the clear water droplets.  So cool!

Da Boyz

 Ty, Zaya, and J...the three amigos!

How Many Teens Does It Take To Set Up A Tent?

Four?

And it's not looking good.

Strawberry Festival

It rained last night but cleared up enough that the princess was able to dance this morning at the Strawberry Festival.  Her group, minus 2 members, did Fancy Footwork (first 2 photos), and their improv piece (last 2 photos), and she also did her solo (middle photo).  It was a nice way to spend the morning!