A Glorious Day

The kids and I had a pretty nice weekend. Although I have been battling really bad ear pain and severe headaches, we still managed to have a pleasant time thanks to some "magic pills" (prescribed, of course) Saturday Emi and I did a tiny bit of shopping. I saw a commercial for Ross and they were having a shoe sale. Now, I really don't need any more shoes, but it appeared they had some sandals that I would really like, so... as you'd expect, the ones on tv were not in the store. I did find one pair, however, that I had been looking for all last spring and into the summer. There was a specific style I wanted to wear with my wedding dress - and I could not find them ANYWHERE. Just my luck, Ross had the exact type I had been looking for last year! CRAZY!! I went ahead and bought them, because I hope I'll get to wear my dress again some time :) They also had another pair in a style that I have loved and worn for many, many, many years. I did not want to spend a ton of money, so I just bought the 2 pairs of sandals and a birthday gift for my niece - something that Emi noticed on our way to the check stand. I know she'll LOVE it. I'm not gonna' say what it is, just in case she reads this, so... ha ha - she'll have to wait!

After Ross, it was off to the grocery store then back home. Darren's brothers came over with their boys, so Emi and I were pretty much left out of the rest of the after noon. We did a little laundry and painted her doggy piggy bank that she got quite some time ago. Then she helped me make a snack-type dinner for everyone. I made some chicken for the "big boys" and they must have really like it because Reed asked for the recipe and they ate every last piece!

Sunday was a warm and beautiful day. The kids were excited to have such a nice day and decided they did not want to go to church. I relented and we skipped. I told them, though, that if we weren't going to go to church, we were going to enjoy the beatiful day that God gave us and get the yard cleaned up. So, that's what we did. I wanted to get to the grocery store to buy dinner for the week before the crowds, so I had them clean up all their toys inside and put away all the laundry they didn't get put away yesterday, while I was gone. When I came back home, we got to work in the yard. I am wishing I'd have taken some "before" pictures so you could better appreciate how much we got done. I will post some "after" pictures later today. ( I don't have any and I'm at work right now )

We had a great day working together! The kids started to get bored with it around 4, so we all took a break. I made some yummy dinner and then, later after it started cooling off, we went back out and finished up the main part of what we were working on. I don't know that they appreciated how hard they worked and what a difference it made, but I think they will notice it when they come home from school this afternoon and see how nice it really looks. We still have a LOT to do, and we'll probably work on it a little bit each afternoon while it is still nice out. I know they will moan about it now - but when they are older I know they will remember, fondly, working together. I know, for myself, that I remember and miss and am so thankful for those times like that I was able to spend with my mom...

Josh has been cleaning and fixing up the loft. It was such a nice day, once he got done with some insulating and other stuff, he came out and joined in the yard work. He didn't actually help us in our yard area, but around the burn barrel and burn pile. The "friends" that were staying with us over the winter left a pretty terrible mess that has blown all over the place. The kids and I spent several hours cleaning up their mess a few weeks ago when the weather cleared for a bit, but there was still much to do. The wind had also sent a bunch of campaign signs around the yard that needed to be picked up and re-stacked. Anyway, Josh worked on that area a bit and got the burnables all piled up again. After the kids went to bed he lit it up and the 3 of us (Josh, Darren and I) sat around the "bon fire" and enjoyed the evening for an hour or so. It was a nice relaxing ending to a long hard day.

So - it's back to the grind. My break is over. Now it's time to get lunch set up for the students and do my recess duty for the next 2 hours. fun, fun, fun.... not!