Memorial Day Memories...One Day Later

What a nice weekend...Ed and I spent it together, just doing this and that.  Changed car oil, hung up the flag that is so torn because it never came down the whole while Alison was deployed to Iraq (we need a new one!), cleaned out gardens (between rain bursts), used the BBQ, went to church, went for a 75 mile motorcycle ride (hello, hot tub!), took Sophie for a walk/run, had AECG over for Memorial Day Brunch (We like this! Maybe a new tradition), got a new bird feeder, listened to M's games (winning streak-o-rama!! Who are these guys!?), napped (Grace and Grandpa), played the keyboard (Charlie), played Kray Cro (see pix below),  and enjoyed visiting each other.  Also talked with our own personal veteran, Alison.  (Love you!!)

We miss those of you we couldn't visit with.  And thank you, US soldiers, for what you have done and do for this country.

Official Memorial Day visit from our state bird...
American Goldfinch (along with a Pine Siskin)

I got Charlie a little cement mixer truck, and he said he wanted to write me a thank you card.  He did that, then drew me a picture of the band he and his parents and Grace had heard the night before...although he renamed his band the Bender Band.  In case you need some interpretation: Left to Right - keyboard player, with stool ("those things they sit on") behind him; drummer, with stool behind him; guitar player, with no stool because, of course, they stand up to play!  When Charlie was putting the hair on the heads of the band members, Ed asked if those were hats.  NO! It's hair!  Then we realized that we are of the age group which mostly watches bands with players who are bald.  :) And, to interpret the abstract quality of this piece, the arms are the outer lines, the legs are the inner lines, they have no bodies.  Who needs bodies to play an instrument?
(I am especially in love with the drummer...in his MC Hammer pants.)

A little down time with Grandpa and Gracie

In memory of CS Lewis...a snacking Dufflepud.
(Voyage of the Dawn Treader - read the book, SKIP the new movie!  Ick.)

It's...it's...it's Baby Gap!

Oh my goodness...this is the coolest thing I have ever seen!

And I WANT IT RIGHT NOW!!!  (She's yelling at Charlie...she's good at it. :)

Charlie: "And then you need to give the hammers a rest, because every time you hit the ball, the air goes out of them...then they have a rest and get more air.  But if they are just still, the air stays in.  Only when you hit the ball, it goes out."  Ed: "Whaaa???"

Kisses for Standing Girl

Getting ready for Cro Kray...um, Kray Cro...um, Cro Kay??

Hitting the stick

Happy Memorial Day!  We love you.

What a Nice Day!

Yesterday, starting out the day by getting down to ZERO owed was a great way to begin.

Then it just got better...the weather was absolutely gorgeous, so I painted the four benches on our two decks.  They look so nice and clean now.  Two more of my beans popped up.  My nice neighbor gave me some Walla Walla onions which I planted.  I also took some irises off her hands and used them to fill in empty garden areas.

Later Erin and Charlie and Grace came by for a little visit and a walk down to Forest Park, where Grace swung in the swing, and Charlie played all over the play area.  Ed had a nice cigar, and Sophie wore herself out running UP and DOWN the huge sledding hill at the park.  She's still asleep this morning.  :)  Aaron met us there, riding his bike - did you know yesterday was Ride Your Bike to Work Day?  (So Ed rode his motorcycle...great exercise.  :)

Then we all piled back home for some snacks...Erin made Kettle Corn, which was yummy.  Grace practiced taking steps with me holding the back of her shirt.  And...the kids settled down with Grandpa for some Richard Scarry time...

...And never ever chase a ball into the street...and never ever bring home a baby alligator!

Let me see, too!

Then Ed and I jumped into the hot tub for awhile, and went to bed.  What a Nice Day!

AND THEN THIS HAPPENED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, for the past 16 months, Ed and I have been on what we call
The Mother Of All Debt Retirement Programs.

Guess what happened today?????

We paid off the very last outstanding line of credit we had...NO credit cards (haven't had them for over a year), NO Lines of Credit at the bank, NO credit ANYWHERE.

All we owe now is what is on our house...but...

OH MY GOODNESS...this is our current balance on ALL credit other than the house:

$000000000000000


I just want to run down the street screaming and yelling and dancing.

Maybe I will!

This Happened...And Then This Happened...

Today was Ed's BBQ for Distribution and Engineering, the group he manages.  Twenty people came over to the house for a lunch BBQ and staff meeting.  Ed could not have picked a more gorgeous day to have a staff meeting outside in the sunny air!

Ready for the hungry crowd.

Just sittin'.

Some of the crew.

And then, this evening, this happened!  My first bean of the year!

Good Day, Sunshine!

This has been a lovely week of sunshine and warmth...warm enough to wear just a t-shirt and jeans outside.  Since it has been so lovely, here's what we have been up to...

The first lovely day, I did all this...then took a bath and crashed into bed!

I set up my fountain in the front garden...it took me AGES to find the tiny connector part for the hose...which led to...

...going down to tear the shed apart looking for the connector, seeing the compost bin and realizing I needed to turn the compost...see the nice stuff in the red bucket?...which led to...

...finding and hanging up my main garden tools (and making sure my baby Meyer Lemon tree is in the warm sunshine)...which led to...

...taking a very small break and making sure the back covered deck, our Parthenon, was ready for the big BBQ for Ed's work group on Thursday( today!)...which led to...

A cleaned out and organized shed...finally...

...and getting the umbrella and BBQ ready for the day.  Whew!

The second lovely day...yesterday... I did this, and then crashed into bed.

...Was visited by the Cutest Girl In The World...

...who read me a story, quite loudly and with hand motions...

...Still reading...and wondering whether she should stand up on her own...which she did one time, but I didn't have the camera ready...

...Then we ventured outside in the front yard, to get some sun...and Grace is NOT a fan of the hat.  We had a little contest of the wills, and even though these pictures say otherwise, I won, and she kept the hat on most of the time...

...I really do NOT want to wear the hat...I need some time to think about it...Oh, okay then!  Have it your way, Grandma.
And I did.

Two good days...with sunshine!
Enjoy the warmth...I hope you have some good day, sunshine, too.

Mother's Day After

Today is Monday, the day after Mother's Day.  It's so cool to read all the Happy Mom's Day blogs and see pictures of my adorable extended families out there.

Mom's Day here began with a late phone call the night before, from Alison, telling us that Ray was moving back home with them.  What a nice Mom's Day present for her.  And for Eric, too.

Our day started out normally...getting up, having coffee and some healthy sort of breakfast, then getting ready for church.  Ed always goes 3 hours early to help set up, so I get ready with just Sophie for company.  So far a normal Sunday at our house.

At church, waiting for the service to begin and just chatting with others, someone came up to me and said "Hi there.  Happy Mother's Day!"  And it was Erin and Grace!  They had tried to go to their church, got caught in a big marathon race, knew they'd be too late, and came to our church instead.  Aaron and Charlie were there, too, of course.  What a sweet surprise on Mother's Day!  It made my day!

Then, later they all piled over to our house for one of those lunches where you all dig around in your fridge and eat what you find there.  Grace ate lunch, got so covered with food she had to have a bath, then napped, Ed sort of napped, Charlie dug in the dirt and played with his ''diggers" in one of my big pots, Aaron & Erin and Sophie took a walk, we all enjoyed some sun!! (amazingly).  Alison called and caught us up on what's going on at her house.  A perfect Mother's Day.

Charlie was playing in the dirt and had a runny nose.  Ed said, "Hey, you have something coming down out of your nose."  Charlie looked at him, gave a big sniff, and said, "There.  It went back up."  :)

Love to all of you, the best moms and aunts and grandmoms in the world.
Get a nap today.  You deserve one.