Hey Boo-Boo...

...is that a pik-a-nik basket I see?

Heading off for 'Jellystone' with a few stops along the way.

Gotta go pack my pik-a-nik basket!!!

Essence of Lilac!

I love it when our lilac trees bloom.  Some people don't like the scent of lilac.  I love it because it reminds me of my childhood.  I remember Grandma and Grandpa Larson's back yard was surrounded by lilac trees.  I remember Erik and I playing in them, basking in their shade.  I also remember the sound of bees humming as I took in the perfume of the blossoms.  I hear the bees again, but now it's in my own yard, where I can enjoy their wonderful bouquet - both visually and by essence.

Lovely, lovely Lilacs!

And what did Winston find at the Grandma Shop that he just had to bring home with him?

A bowling trophy... just what we need.

Look Mom - I'm a NINJA!

Keaton... fighting with himself.

Summer vacation is finally here!!!!  So I'm thinking a little relaxing is in order.  My husband doesn't share that same objective.  I'll relax on Monday.

Keaton took his first road trip this week.  He loaded up his Geo Metro and headed for Emmett to visit with Mark & Carrie and kids.  He got to go up to the Lusks' Cabin with them for the weekend.  It sounds like he's enjoying his time there.  I'm glad he made it okay - now he has to make it back home okay.  (Can't help it - I'm a Mom).

Preston is off visiting a friend for the day.  Tom is also visiting a friend - one who knows a lot about cars and is helping him replace a belt in the Oldsmobile.  So it's just Winston and I and a long list of things that I need to get done today.  One of our fun things will be going to the Grandma Shop.  Winston LOVES the Grandma shop!  The last time we went there together, this is what he ended up with...

It's kind of a funny story:  On the way there he asked me if it would be okay if he picked out a toy.  I said yes.

Then he asked, "Can it be any toy I want?"

 

I thought about how almost all of the toys are about 10 or 15 cents, so I said "Yes" again.

When we got there, Winston found a little wind-up boat that he could play with in the bathtub.  It was 10 cents.  I had noticed tucked away at the front of the store this enormous Hummer truck that was 2 dollars.  I thought 'Wow, if Winston sees that, he's going to want it.'  I quietly kept shopping.  Winston followed me around talking about how great this little boat was, and how much fun he was going to have with it.  He's really into the Titanic right now - so he had lots of plans for that little boat.

When it was time to go, we went up to the counter.  The Hummer was behind us, kind of under a shelf-thing.  Winston turned around and spied it.  He went over and looked at it.  Then he stood straight up and promptly said "I think I change my mind!"(Yes, he said "change" not "changed" - it's a hearing deficit thing.  He drops the '-ed' and '-ing' every once and a while.)

He put the little boat back and came up and grabbed that huge truck and hauled it up to the check-out counter.

He said "I decided I want this instead."

I said "Yeah, I thought that was going to happen." 

When I explained to the Grandmas there that I told him he could buy whatever toy he wanted today, they all got grins on their faces.  The man in line next to me cracked up laughing.

So now I wonder what we'll be dragging home today.  After Grandma shop we have some grocery shopping to do.  I think I'll buy something for our anniversary dinner - since I don't think we'll have time for anything on our actual anniversary next week.  We'll be too busy visiting! (wink-wink).  Can't wait to see you all!

CHIVES, BAY-BEEE!!!

Summer Bucket List...

Last Summer

Winston with his cousins, Ani and Jack.

(I don't know about Ani, but the boys were pretending to be dogs.)

Even though my summer vacation hasn't officially started yet... waiting for Friday!... I thought I'd come up with some things I'd like to do before this Summer kicks-the-bucket.  So here's my list...

1.  Finish reading the Old Testament - really taking my time and

     study it.  This shouldn't be hard since I'm already in Ezekiel.

2.  Have a couple of playdates for Winston and some of his

     friends.

3.  Finish 3 T-shirt quilts.

4.  Learn to speak French.

5.  Continue with de-clutter and simplify mode on the house.

6.  Lose 20 pounds.

7.  Help Winston read for 30 minutes a day.

8.  Make another stained glass window panel.

9.  Travel to visit family

10.  In the evenings record five positive thoughts about the day

       in a journal.

That's it.  I think getting Winston to read every day and losing the 20 pounds will be the hardest.  Learning French might be a challenge too.  It's good to have a challenge.

In my last post I wrote about the lions and mosquitos.  Well, already I've had a couple of lions turn up, and the mosquitos are out in full force.  It really doesn't take satan long to find our weaknesses after a very spiritually uplifting weekend.  Thank goodness prayer is a most powerful spiritual bugspray.  I just need to make sure I apply it every morning, every night - and as needed throughout the day!

Walla Walla Convention 2011

We got to go back to Walla Walla Convention this year.  It was so nice to be there again.  It's a small convention, and we love the homey - family feel of it.  We heard many wonderful messages - many things to take to heart.  The kids enjoyed getting to see friends there, too.  (The panoramic view looks like the road curves - but it doesn't).

The Moores

The Moore Boys

King of the Camp Trailer - surveying his domain.

Marcia and Keaton hanging in the trailer between meetings.

Winston and his best friend Caleb.  They were pretty inseparable.  Here Caleb is playing with his rings, and Winston is squishing gnats.  From day one they tried to wear clothes that looked similar - and they were running around telling everyone they were twins.  One man asked how old they were - well, they're twins with a two-year difference!  Twins at heart.

The boys on their benches.  With a two-hour meeting in the morning, two-hour meeting in the afternoon and a one-hour meeting in the evening, these boys got quite acquainted with these benches.  They did great.  Notice Preston and Keaton got to sit on their own bench this year - they're growing up.  Winston had a lot of bouncies through some of the meetings - which is to be expected - but he was good about being quiet so we all could listen.

Keaton in meditation pose - what a goof!

Best Buddies!

The boys with their good friend Evan.

Our very good friends Rob and Janelle,

who happen to be Evan and Caleb's parents.

One of the messages that I appreciated this year was shared by Jay Wicks.  He spoke about time in Africa, and how many people are afraid of 'being eaten' by lions.  But what they really need to be afraid of is the mosquitos - which seem small and unthreatening, but in reality kill many, many more people, with malaria, than the lions do.  He likened this to how we often get caught up in being so worried and fearing of great disasters and war (things we really have no control over), but we don't fear the little things (that we do have control over) that eat at our spirit - bad thoughts, bad habits etc.  We have way more to worry about dying spiritually because of those things than we have to worry about dying naturally.  We can ask for help for those things that we can control - and what we can't control we can leave in Jesus hands.

There were so many wonderful messages - I could fill the whole blog up.  Can't wait to go again!

Some kids...

Some kids just put away their toys...

...Winston puts away his chickens.

A little update:  The school year is draaaaaaging out.  One more week!  Yay!  I don't know who's happier, the kids or the teachers.  I am so ready for Summer vacation.  It looks like I've been RIF'ed for the coming school year.  I guess it will be back to subbing again for me.  Maybe something will open up when all the budget mess settles down.  I'm not really complaining - whatever will be, will be.

Keaton got his summer job working for a grain elevator/mill demolition crew.  He's going to have some hot long work days.  I think  he's happy about it because he'll be working with one of his friends.  He's also looking forward to getting a paycheck.  He has an opportunity for a job when school starts up again.  His senior project is in digital design, and he found a mentor at Cougar Graphics, the local printshop.  They will help him with his senior project and it will possibly work into a job for him there.  He's happy about that, because Graphic Design is what he's interested in as a career choice after college.

Preston has been working hard at the greenhouses.  It sounds like a nice crew that he works with.  His boss was nice enough to let him have time to come with us to Idaho this summer - and then on to Yellowstone.  He's excited to get to do that.  He has been wanting to go to Yellowstone for a while now.

Winston is doing well in school.  I can tell the school year is about over because he's just as hyped up as the rest of the kids.  He's looking forward to seeing his friends and cousins this summer.  I'm hoping to keep him up with his reading.  He's improved so much this year, I don't want him to slip back in his reading fluency over the summer.  We also need to keep working on practical math.  He does great with the complicated stuff - it's the simple stuff he struggles with.

Tom's keeping the grass mowed around here.  With all the rain we've been getting, it grows like crazy.  He's looking forward to a vacation too - and getting to see his family down in the Boise area.  That's all for now!