Great Aunts in Texas

My Grandmother's sister and 2 of my Grandfather's sisters at his funeral in May. I really enjoyed them....................why don't we listen to the wisdom of our elderly more? Like I would like my kids to listen to mine!!!

Solitude

Today T. attends the Nike Elite Lacrosse Camp at UVA. J. is at camp all day and E. is still in Mississippi. I am taking the day off and staying home alone.............doing whatever I want. The picture above is the state of mind I plan to be in all day.......ha! This picture is of the garden pavilion on the grounds of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. In reality, I have to call an 18 year old boy today and tell him why he can't live with us this year, ugh, and then I have to plan for Tuesday as we have an invited visit to Virginia Military Institute by the lacrosse coach for T............this process is a bit unnerving.....as we have to make a decision by Saturday as to whether or not he goes to St. Anne's or his own public high school next year...not to even mention J.'s school situation.........and the next 2 days are tax free in Virginia for buying school supplies and such..........I don't want to think about school yet........let us have our last 3 weeks of summer please....school free.....and then I still haven't gotten much yard work done that I wanted to this summer........I was hoping for T.'s help, but with lacrosse and now football starting, he isn't much help. ALSO, his girlfriend and friends all leave this next week for college......he is going to be SUCH a joy to live with......but for today, I am going to be peaceful......I'll let you know how it goes.

Tomatoes are ready

Today for lunch I ate one of my own cherokee purple tomatoes............from my own plants... I had a BLT for dinner tonight......so I had another. I was worried they weren't going to turn as they stayed green and some even rotted.............and then I had this horrible caterpillar eating the leaves.......but today, all effort was worth it. I also am officially old , as I am excited about tomatoes, gardens, and having quiet in my house. I think these things make you mentally healthy.....teenagers make you mentally ill.........I do miss E. though.... She can't call us and I am wondering how her mission trip is going. I don't miss driving her around though....and with J. at camp, life is sweetly quiet....but then T. was here today with a house full of teenagers eating, swimming, eating, being loud, eating...........I tried to remain calm and remember he has a lacrosse camp tomorrow so the quiet will be back............

Camp

J. started camp this week. I take him every morning to the camp bus that takes him out to the country to an old fashioned summer camp where he swims, rides horses, plays capture the flag and so much more. When I picked him up yesterday evening he said it was the best camp ever. When I asked him what was so great about it, he said he got to run around all day!

Company

Nobody loves people more than J. The more people around, the better it is for him. Last night a friend from Oklahoma and her family came to dinner. Debbie was a sorority sister in college and we were in each others weddings..........she has 3 kids and they were visiting D.C. They were barely in the door and J. had taken over the kids............When they left 4 hours later, he cried. He was so depressed they were gone and kept telling me how much he missed them. When I put him to bed he said, "Mom, they were so nice...........and healthy".......Ha! One of the kids liked salad and had some with dinner.............oh, the mind of an 8 year old.

Do You See This?

This guy is jumping up in the air behind the net to dunk the ball.....................T. would LOVE to be able to do that. The UVA camp ends today and the play was quite amazing.

Mission Trip

Today E. left on our Church's mission trip to Mississippi. I am so excited for her and think she will have a life changing week, but she took her camera with her..............the one I have been using since mine broke...........so I will be showing some older pics till she gets back............she would be so happy that I showed this pic. (note sarcasm) with her braces, especially since they were taken off this year. She rarely lets me take her picture without her hand over her face, so in looking for a picture of her, this was the best I could do....

UVA Team Camp

T. started his team camp at UVA tonight. It was weird to see the coaches from North Carolina, Navy, UVA, Duke.........all the big ones taking notes on kids.............it's a big week for him.

The Melting Pot

When you are a 17 year old boy and your girlfriend wants you to take her on a real date to a nice place before she goes off to college............you ask your mom where to take her. Your mom tells you that she thinks you would have fun at the Melting Pot, which is a fondue restaurant. You then tell your mom you have 30 dollars and ask her to pay you back the 40 dollars you spent yourself on new football gloves.........she does...............After you get to the restaurant and see the prices on the menu you sneak outside to call your mom and ask to borrow 40 more dollars............your mom calls your dad who is at the restaurant next door to you and he steps outside to see you talking on the phone to your mom outside too. Your dad then tells you he had called ahead and left his credit card number with the restaurant to pay for your whole meal...........what a relief and what a story that you will appreciate telling years from now.

Summer in Oklahoma

My friend sent this today and since you can't tell who it is I thought it was ok to share.......This is the perfect summer picture. Look at the sunlight up in the left hand corner. She is enjoying the summer evening, you can almost here the cicada, and is completely engrossed in her swing and playing in the water hose............I love it!!! My friend said this went on for half an hour. This reminds me of me at this age........and what I wish for my kids.......no tv, video games or ipods.............just enjoying her own thoughts.....priceless.

Changes

I have been thinking about this little guy quite a bit lately and am wondering if we need to make some school changes for him. I have a call in to his new Principal, but haven't heard back yet. I hate these kind of decisions and worried about them with the other two when they were his age............these SOL tests make life boring and harder than when I was in school.....of course it was a little boring then too...

Reality

http://www.nbc29.com/global/story.asp?s=8707895


See the link above? The 1st and 3rd pictures are of some of my kids I have worked with...........so is the kid they murdered. These kids were born into trouble and all the supports we try to give them can't compete with the streets.............

The View From My Hotel Window

Baltimore Weekend

Virginia Elite Lacrosse
E. helping T. stretch
Baltimore's Inner Harbor

T. had a lacrosse tournament in Baltimore so the two E.s and I went with him as Chris is in Milwaukee and J. went to the beach with a friend.............which is a whole other story.............
Anyway, it was a nice weekend, but to say it was hot is an understatement. There was shade during the 2 games at St. Paul's, but the 3 games at the fairgrounds were brutal..........we were saved by great food everywhere we went and I was surprised at how friendly the people were..........I came away a bigger lacrosse fan and even a fan of Baltimore.

VBS-Again

I sent J. to First Baptist Church's VBS this week and he had a ball. He went to preschool there and plays Upward basketball so he knows several of the kids. Also, the old Southern Baptist in me wanted him to get some good Bible this week and he did. I was amazed at the production this thing was. I can't imagine it took less than 300 people to run it everyday. From the old men directing traffic, to the ladies inside directing what looked like a million kids...........what a gift to our community. Can you see the "palm" trees in the sanctuary in my pictures? They were amazing and huge!! The energy was just electric and J. got to see that church and God can be just as exciting as his video games at home.

Little Things

As I get older I realize it is the little things that sometimes bring every day joy and for me this morning it was cutting flowers in my own garden. I put them in my mother's old pitcher that I love and am hoping that they last for as long as possible.

Swimming

Ok, I told him I would swim with him today..........and I really meant to, but the day got busy and with driving people here and there, trying to work, vacuum, and get a hotel room for the weekend.............and other things, it got too late...........by the time supper was done the pool had no sun on it and was too cold for me to swim... J. is not happy with me because I "lied".....................Here is the thing..........I don't like to get in very much. I always say, "I am going to swim more this year" and then I just don't.........and even if I get in it is never enough for the kids..........because then its, "why don't you ever get your hair wet?".........cuz I don't want to!

Ferns

Every year I buy new ferns........sometimes they look great, sometimes not..........I won't pay over $10.00 a fern...........this year a few have grown like crazy. I love them and then tell myself that this year I will try to winter them over to use again. I have only made it as far as February and then in a messy fit I throw them out. They look great now and love this spot. Oh! I love my zinnias too....

Monday Madness

Wildflowers in Sugar Hollow with the Blue Ridge behind

Today I was going to vacuum, organize, get my head together, get everything planned for our trip to Baltimore, and run and cook dinner........................I ran and cooked dinner...and ran kids to VBS and the pool.....and visited with neighbors who were out when I came back from my run.........worried about a couple of things, talked on the phone about 4 kids in our newspaper today who are wanted for a "mob" beating......(they are 4 of the kids I have worked with, of course) emailed a kid's coach about something..........took pics of one of Chris' condos for him that he wants to sell............and have anticipated the season premier tonight of The Closer and Saving Grace..................oh!! I did 4 loads of laundry and watered...........for some reason I don't count those things in what I have to do each day, but they sure take a heck of a lot of time from getting my head together.........

Family

Between my Mom's family in Arkansas and Oklahoma and my Dad's family in Texas.............I have a ton of family. My Grandparents all came from big families, one 14 kids.........and most everybody lives in these 3 states........I don't get to see everybody very much, but I keep up with them through my Mother, Grandmother and various cousins, etc..... I have 3 people who faithfully read my blog..........and then some sorority sisters that I trust and they drop in from time to time as well as my own sister......I mean, I really am just a boring little blog that details the mundaneness of our lives...........but to my Mother and Mother in Law it is GREAT reading......yes, they are 2 of my 3 faithfuls of course. The third, and the reason I am posting this, is my Mom's first cousin. She is my first cousin once removed............(I love that stuff)....her son, my second cousin, and I remember him as a little boy with red hair, cute and full of spunk...........died this past week. He was 38.......My first thought was that he is with his Grandfather, my Great Uncle Doyle, now in heaven....So to my cousin, out in Oklahoma, my prayers and thoughts are with you all day long. As you have read of my everyday happenings this year, I will be praying for yours and your families every day. Peace be with you.

Anthropologie

Today we drove home from Va. Beach and of course we go through Richmond so we had to stop at the Anthropologie store........................E. introduced this store to me in Austin in May and we love it...........we being E and I...............T and J had no use for it and again today, J's feeling didn't change. The layout of this store is so enjoyable to shop in and the smells, clothing, home decor and even chest of drawer knobs are just charming.....We don't go to Richmond as much as I would like to, but the clerk told us they are opening one up in Va. Beach, so now when we go see Grandma we will take her with us to Anthroplogie.

Family Reunion

Chris' parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this weekend with a big dinner celebration that brought 2 of my Father in law's brothers to the beach. J. also got to hang with his cousins all week and is worn out. I would have taken better pictures, but didn't find the camera till the end of the night..........but it was loads of food, loads of laughs and a great night to remember.

New Joisey

T. leaves today for a 3 day lacrosse tournament in New Jersey...........where tons of college coaches will see him play..........he is so excited......hope he comes home happy........he is always fiddling with his cleats...

Fussing at your Mother..........

...........is not nice.........it'll get your picture on her blog.

Virginia Plantations for Sale

Montebello, not to be confused with Jefferson's Monticello, is for sale. It is the birth place of President Zachary Taylor. For a mere 3.6 million you can own an historical plantation!! There are many old plantations here in Virginia and today T. went to work on one..... It would be so very great if he could do that every summer and maybe some off weekends. He went with a friend who has been doing it for years. The farm has 100's of vegetable and flower gardens and has been in Thomas Jefferson's wife's family, well forever...............can't wait to hear what his experience was like when he gets home.

Gardening Expert

http://awaytogarden.com/

The site above is my new favorite blog.......I have already learned so much from her about gardening.. J. went to spend the week at the beach with Grandparents and cousins, so I have more time to check it out.

Passing Through

One of my sorority sister's from OSU who lives in Tulsa has a son T.'s age that is looking to play college soccer. He flew into Cville yesterday to go to JMU to a soccer camp today so T. and Em. picked him up at the airport. They had fun showing him around and talking sports and such.......It was such fun to have him here and to think that Jo Ann and I met when we were not much older than they are many years ago....

Dairy Queen Sunday

A cone on a Sunday afternoon from Dairy Queen is a very important summer ritual.........especially if you sat still during Church.

Farmer's Market

This is where I spend my saturday mornings in the summer............

July 4th

Happy July 4th! For some reason it is taking longer and longer for my pictures to upload to blogger........20 minutes last night for just 2 pictures. Just haven't had that kind of time today. We all went to yoga as a family this morning..........very interesting. My boys are more stiff than I am. The instructor spent extra time with T. afterwards showing him some hip strengthening exercises. We spent the 4th at a friends house who had multiple fireworks going on from a neighbor and a nearby country club. We watched them as we sat on her back porch eating. It was lovely....the best way to watch fireworks.............no crowds. E. and J. and I tried to sing all the "America" songs we could think of............E. was actually great coming up with them. I think we had 5.....Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, God Bless America, This Land is My Land, and My Country tis of Thee...............I made deviled eggs and a brownie torte to take.............but today, Saturday, we are still celebrating and will cook the brisket I have been marinating for 3 days...........can't wait!

Lazy Day

Just doing nothing with J. today...............he watered the flowers and asked if I had more bushes he could pull out.......

My Boys Again......

I can't tell you how big these bushes originally were, you should see the 7 ft. pile of limbs I chopped off, or how long they have been in this yard..........possibly 38 years.. T. is amazing getting them out...........and J. watched every bit of the way..........he broke 2 shovels on this job and had to go buy a new one.........T. left to have lunch with a friend and J. was determined that HE would get the last bush out and collect the money himself...........after all, he had watched his brother do it 5 times. At 7:00 tonight, the little dickens had gotten that bush out..........He had 7 tools down there, took several breaks, but he actually did it...........we were shocked.. He couldn't wait for T. to get home to show him.

These Boys

These boys are working so hard in my yard today. Of course, I am paying them.