Dog Days of Summer. .

My goodness. .

Time has flown!

I intended to be posting more regularly. .

but the summer just flew by. .And I guess I spent more time living it than writing about it.

Let me run down where we are in our lives. .

These two have flown the coop. .Tristan won't be back to live again. .Only to visit. Wow! He finished his carpentry classes in May. .worked all summer for our local contractor. .even getting to do some projects on his own. .

He has moved now to Topeka where he is focusing on learning cabinetry and millwork. I did get some use out of him replacing some yucky doors and trim in my laundry room. .and I am loving that. .a nice reminder of him since he is gone. He called yesterday and told me he got a part time job at Lowes. That will help him out a lot--both giving him something to keep him out of trouble. .and helping him pay for his apartment expenses.

This guy will also not likely be coming back to live either. He intended to study diesel mechanics for 2 years in Topeka. .but over the summer, they revamped their courses and program, and so he will learn most of what he needs to know in a year. At which point. .he too, will be ready to get a job and be his own person!

He and Tristan are living in the same apartment with another buddy, and that will make the whole transition from high school to college easier. He is loving the classes, even after a week. .and is also putting out applications for a part time job. Seems, as they have talked, that there is no shortage of part time opportunities available. .so that is great!!

This past weekend. .we cleaned out the rest of Grant's basement abode. .repaired and repainted the walls and shampooed the carpet before we let Devin move down there. It is much cooler than their upstairs bedroom. .so he was excited. It also made the loss of the oldest two a little more acute though for this mama! 18 years goes incredibly fast!!

You can see that we made it to the lake again.

We weren't going to go at all this summer. .

But WHO can pass up amazing opportunities like this one??

Skiing at sunset? Unbeatable!

We did have a wonderful long weekend away to relax and play before everyone had to get back to reality and to our schedules!

This guy is trying to adjust to being the big man on campus now!

Not only is he the biggest kid at our house. .

He has officially started 8th grade!

He had a super busy summer working for his dad. .mowing granddad's lawn. .a week of church camp. .and a week of a community oriented  mission trip service work right here in our county. Oh. .and some pool time in between! He has started football. .and is committed to working his hiney off to earn a position on his team.

He got 2nd place in his cooking division at the fair and earned the opportunity to sell his amazing German Chocolate layer cake at the premium auction! He and Cami will continue with 4-H this year. .and I will admit great fulfillment in graduating from helping with 4 record books--to only 2 record books!! And the little girl already seems much more patient to write and take care of business than any of her brothers ever were!!

Speaking of little girls. .This one is growing up fast!! She is in 3rd grade. .She is quite social-and on a brother/sister status with nearly every lifeguard at the pool. She is becoming really helpful around the house. .and has had to step up her game since her older brothers left.

These two are attempting to learn new skills to help our church with worship music. Cami is still trying to learn the guitar--we have been lazy about it. .but she has new motivation now to try some more! Devin is learning how to play a Cahon--a wooden box with snare drum stuff on the inside. We saw it used during the mission week here. .and fell in love with the sound and potential!!

So then, that just leaves us!

What an adjustment!

Granny took the kids to a rodeo last weekend. .

And we enjoyed supper out and a trip to the movie to watch Jason Bourne. .

We can still have a good time with just the two of us. .so that is in our favor :-)

He's been helping me with a lot of honey-do's lately. .but we are about to get them all caught up.

His boat driver left. .but Devin is learning to drive it--however, since the kids have been in school, it just leaves him hot and bothered. After 18 years in that hot metal shop--he finally consigned to getting a huge water cooler which drops the temperature about 20 degrees. .so it is really helping on those 100 degree days!!

And his temperament improves too!

Still work for me. .plus youth group, Sunday School and our online women's bible study. I was hopeful that moving another kid out this year would be easier than last year. .but it wasn't. I just knew what to expect. .and so did Jeremy!! (Last year he thought I was going C-R-A-Z-Y!)

BUT. .one of the perks of growing up. .

Is that I graduated to this AWESOME and sporty little mustang to drive to work.

The first time that Cami rode in it with me, she looked in the back seat and said "Mom, I don't think I can fit back there." I just smiled and said "Exactly!"

Mid life crisis??
Maybe!

Thanks for stopping by!

Boston's Flora and Fauna. .

Congratulations. .

You made it to the end of my Boston camera roll!

Of course. .

Being a gardener at heart. .

The vegetation in the area ALWAYS gets my attention!!

And. .

Since many of ya'll readers ALSO like gardening stuff. .

I knew you would LOVE to see!

It TOTALLY fascinates me. .

That people plant gardens on the roofs and patios of their large apartment buildings!

Check it. .

These are TREES. .

Like real trees. .

Not little shrubby trees. .

But they look like some Bradford Pear trees to me. .

Along with maybe some crabapple trees. .

Around here. .

Those get WAY bigger than I would think would be possible on a roof!

Crazy, eh?

I know this is neither flora nor fauna. .

But I hadn't posted this photo yet. .

And it has an interesting story. .

Because the architecture is soooo old. .

That when a building gets to a certain point, they can no longer do any type of structural changes to it. .

SO, in the case of this fire department. .

They have to purchase fire trucks that will fit in the preexisting SMALL holes.

Cool!

I took this photo out of the bus window on the way to Kennebunkport. I LOVED the tiny blue door with the flowers. Cozy and inviting!!

The Boston Common is kind of like the Central Park of New York City. .

It's like this little spot of solitude in the big, bustling city!!

These guys guard Frog Pond. .

A little wading pool in the summer that turns ice skating rink in the winter.

Boston Public Garden is the oldest garden in the United States. .

being established as you can see. .

in 1837.

There were a few floral displays like this one. .

But overall, it is mostly a huge patch of green grass and some nice trees.

There are Swan Boats at this little lake in the garden. .

And those are a big deal in the tourist arena. .

We didn't ride because it was earlier in the morning and wasn't open.

There are cool sculptures all throughout the city. .

And this one was a neat one in memory of the fallen.

Here's a photo of Arlington Church in the background. .

I think that one was my favorite. .

I loved the dark brown stone it was constructed out of !

Someone famous is buried in that big tomb in the center. .

For the life of me I can't remember who. .

But it was another example of the neat cemeteries, which you might notice. .

like the parks. .

are tucked into a little place in the middle of the city.

When you step inside the gates. .

The world seems to slow down just a little.

Boston is also proud (as they should be) about their green belt that runs through the center of the city. The Belt includes 12 miles (consecutive) of green grass, trees, sculptures and water features. The Belt stops where the street goes through, but starts again immediately on the other side of the street.

There were always lots of people utilizing them. .

Well. .

That is about it for our vacation.

It seems far away in the past now. .

And life creeps back in at an alarming pace.

But one slower paced day. .

We will enjoy looking back through the memories. .

Thanks for letting me share them with you!

Enjoy the rest of your week!!

Us. .A Survival Story!

It's so hard for me to believe that we are now winding down another month!!

The kids had a good week at the fair. .

Some good markings. .

And advice on things that they can do better. .

or differently. .

And lots was learned about themselves. .

and their projects. .

The memorable quote of the week for me was this. .

Me. .Devin, what did you learn from the poultry judge?

Dev (without even thinking first) blurts. .

Well, I learned how to feel a chicken's butt to see if they are ready to lay an egg!!

How ARE you supposed to respond to that??

Here is the photo I promised of Tristan's finished sofa table. .

I will admit. .

I think it looks fabulous in my new room behind the table!!

There a few areas that I think we will try and fix with some antiquing glaze or something. .

The contrast is a little sharp for my taste. .

Overall though. .

I love it. .

And he is proud of it too!!

Character built. .

and lessons learned!!

The kids worked hard at the carnival to help raise money for our youth group leader that just lost his wife. .

as well as to go on a mission trip this fall. .

They learned and practiced giving to their community. .

And making people smile. .

Whether it benefits them personally. .

or not!

What a dedicated and great group of kids the Lord has sent me!

We have enjoyed some BLESSEDLY cooler temperatures. .

As well as several little rain showers. .

We have had a little over an inch in the last week. .

And that is fairly rare in our area for July!

The flowers are LOVING it. .

And so is the gardener!!

Cami shot this photo herself!!

Miss Thing went to her pediatric dentist yesterday. .

NO cavities. .

Not even ONE. .

The first great visit since we were referred there 1 1/2 years ago!!

BUT. .

Look what happened!!

She thinks she still looks cute without the tooth. .

But I may not be looking for that to happen in about a month. .

When we have to go back. .

Gas her up. .

remove the top two teeth. .

And slice through her palate to retrieve an extra tooth that is situated right between her 2 permanent teeth!!

As an answer to prayer. .

we are hoping that the permanent tooth that is turned wrong (to make room for the extra tooth). .

Will turn itself back to a more normal position before it erupts through into its spot in the front of her mouth!

But for now. .

we celebrate no cavities. .

and a visit from the tooth fairy!!

So, while we have been busy. .

Not a lot to talk about!

BUT. .

I WILL leave you with our "You might be a redneck story" of the week!

I'll bet you will find yourself chuckling!!

When they did our room addition. .

The house had a ginormous hole in the side of it for nearly a week. .

APPARENTLY, unbeknownst to me. .

There has been an invasion of mice. .

Everyone knew EXCEPT for me. .

which is great, cause they have been in the basement or the attic. .

And not in my kitchen or bedroom!!

Jeremy cornered one and fisted it to death a week ago. .

And Grant caught one in his room in a trap while his friend was staying the night Thursday night. .

But Tristan. .

Comes to my bedroom door around 11:00 or 11:30 last week. .

and whispers. .

Mom. .Mom!!

What Tristan (in a worn out mom voice)!

"I just shot a mouse in my bedroom with my blow gun (you know, the little tubes that you blow a needle-like dart out of with your mouth. .they are used by the jungle amazons and cave men and are still for sale today for teenagers to enjoy)!!"

It was another hour before I could stop laughing!!

You might be a redneck. .

If your son shoots and kills a mouse in his BEDROOM. .

With a blow gun!!

Now. .

Get back to work!!

Enjoy your week!!

Ours will go fast!

I have some awesome fair recipes to share soon. .

So don't stay away too long!

An Adventure. .

We LOVE adventures at our house. .

After much craziness and sickness Memorial weekend. .

And on a glorious evening with NO wind. .

We decided to do a little "pasture trip."

With our new trusty little golf cart. .

Explained to me as "a HECK of a deal!"

We found that the hillsides of our little grass pasture were more FULL of blooms than they had been a few weeks ago. .

Yellows, oranges, blues, pinks, white, and purples. .

And this year. .

lots and lots of GREEN!

The golf cart is such a quiet ride. .

so the peacefulness of the trip was maintained. .

UNTIL. .

the cart wouldn't restart after we stopped to take pictures. .

Guess who drew the straw to walk BACK to the house to get the 4-wheeler and jumper cables??

Yup. .

ME!

Can you see the golf cart way back there. .

NO??

Let me zoom in my 30x optical camera lens. .

There they are. .

waiting patiently. .

While I continued to take pictures and walk. .

I was totally ECSTATIC to find this. .

Wild blue indigo growing in our pasture. .

I have NEVER seen it in our part of the country. .

And so I ordered a few of them from High Country gardens. .

2 of which are still surviving, but not blooming yet!

There were a good number of plants blooming down in the bottoms of the hills. .

but none that I could see from the driveway!

They were my favorite wildflower from childhood. .

I recall picking bouquets with them in it with my mom. .

and they lasted a long time!!

Since I rarely wear anything around the house but flip flops. .

I was SURE glad I spied THIS little guy before I found him with my toes!!

It's amazing that cactus AND wildflowers can thrive in the same acreage of vegetation!!

But they do!

Aren't God's creations magnificent!!

Hope you have a BLESSED Monday. .

And be sure and stop back by this week. .

The remodel is DONE. .

And the proof. .

is in the pictures!!