Overnight Camping at Lake Mineral Wells

Putting up the tent....


















Going on a hike...
















Doing some fishing...


Percolator coffee, s'mores, girls being silly... overall, I think it was a successful experiment!

Last Game of the Season...

D'backs are down 7 to 9 against the Astros. 2 outs, bases loaded. Up steps boy #1 to the plate. Don't know the count but after a couple of pitches (maybe 2 balls and strike) he hits a line drive past short out to left field. Maybe it was past the second baseman to right field, I really don't remember. One RBI and starts the rally that wins the game for us, 9-8. Second win of the season! The best part was the grin on his face as he searched for someone, anyone to high five, and the happy dance at first base.

Prince Caspian

Loved it! Boy #1 loved it too!

Changes

I don't like changes. This time of year brings way too many changes - most of the changes are the kind that emphasize the passage of time...

Today was #1 son's last day of 3rd grade. According to him, today he is officially a fourth grader. In a few short weeks, he will be 9 years old. (*sigh*). Pine Cove is a month away, and after that baseball camp, basketball camp, perhaps some golf lessons... Hopefully some impromptu trips to see the State Capital (I've been lead to believe that UT now owns a copy of one of the Gutenberg Bibles!) and to San Antonio (The Alamo, Sea World)... We will go to New Roads for the 4th of July, and maybe to Nashville to see Grandpa Lester. I will try to establish a reading routine for both of us, and maybe some science projects.

When August rolls around however, some people we love will have moved on, and we will be sad and miss them greatly. Jamie's best friend from school is leaving to live in another country, far away. Daughter #3 is leaving to start college in another state, not so far away, but still not here... We are dreading August already!

Breakfast Date

During a class recently, one woman made the comment that men have a hard time building relationships, and that whenever her husband had an opportunity to go do something with the guys, she encouraged him to go. She also said that women usually have a lot of friends - and make friends more easily and have that support network that men don't have with each other.

I agree with this, and didn't think about it much after that. Recently however it occurred to me... I have several women that I consider close friends, but how close are they? When I need to talk to someone, I talk to my husband. When I need advice? Husband. In times of crisis or stress? Husband. I guess my point is, that although I have more "friends" than my husband does, these relationships are pretty 2 dimensional. There's the school moms, the baseball moms, the neighborhood moms, the church moms. These moms are friends, but not really "let's go get a cup of coffee and just talk" friends.

So, I emailed a school mom who I consider to be closer than most, and invited her to get coffee. I think her fear at first was "Uh-oh. Something is wrong." Happily, she agreed to take the time to meet me! We wound up having breakfast in Bartonville at Andrews (yummy !) and as an added bonus, discovered the Bartonville Farmers Market. I scored some homemade pasta, fresh tomatoes and onions. But truly the best part, was just spending time together intentionally rather than just chatting in the car line.

My life easily slips into a habit of insignificant words, actions, activities. Living intentionally is something I need to work on - not just in friendships, but as a parent, in my marriage, with my health, with my work...

Scarborough Faire

Today, some of the third grade kids and moms went to Scarborough Fair. This was kind of a wrap up to the Middle Ages/Renaissance history topic we have been doing this year.

The jousting was cool, the wooden swords were affordable, and the buxom wenches were nowhere to be seen. The rain held off for the most part and a good time was had by all.

Reunion...

In a few weeks, I head north for my 25th reunion. College. I went to my 5th reunion and came to the conclusion that the 4 years I spent at Bucknell were some of the lonliest, unhappiest days of my life. I came home and vowed never to go back.

Nostaligia has set in I guess, and I have made plans to go back for our 25th reunion, and I have officially started the worrying process. Anyone who goes to reunions may know this translates into "Mentally Comparing Myself to My Old Friends and Falling Far Short".

I'm not going to be able to loose that 40 lbs in the next 4 weeks, so I settled for having my toenails polished.

Next weekend, I'll tackle the gray roots.

Today's Adventure in Biking : The Bank

In my effort to exercise my heart and my independence from foreign oil, I decided to ride my bike to the bank. (4.8 miles there, 12 minutes by car according to Google Earth). I check my route, lighten up my backpack (get rid of the books I don't need), check the time (12:22), hop on my bike and set out. Despite a pretty good head wind, I made it there in about 30 minutes, with about 20 of those on bike trails away from the road. The path goes through "The Valley" section of Lewisville, which means that getting there (and coming back) I coast the first half of the ride, and pedal the second half. So, when I get to the bank, I'm a little sweaty and breathing, but that's ok. This is do-able! I go into the bank, open my backpack, and - yup. Left the stuff for the bank at home with the books! So, jumped back on the bike, and headed for home. Got home, checked the watch - 1:22. I'm ok with that... But of course, now I have to go to the bank.