The week in pictures - July 24th - August 5th

I'm doubling up because I didn't take a lot of pictures the last few weeks, and I can just get caught up all at once. 

The girl kid and I lay in the driveway and looked at clouds one afternoon. The concrete was warm on our backs and there was a sooting breeze. If I could have summed up summer in one moment, this was it. 

Looked up from reading to reach for my coffee and found this. 

Thank you, middle child. 

The baby kid decided he wanted to learn to do laundry. All on his own. He loves it. 

New driver's license. Those were four hard years. I think it shows. 

I tried to show this to my friend the other night, and she said, "I'm not talking about that picture anymore."

Really? I think a true friend would have discussed this at length with me again. 

I may need some new friends. 

These are my love language. I hide them from my family and get pretty weird and crazy if I find someone using one. 

This may be a problem.

We were supposed to start school last week. My friend had a "back to school celebration" swimming and pizza party. 

They actually started like they were supposed to. 

We didn't actually start school, but we partied anyway.

Hey, it's early. We're still good.

We'll start... soon.

*ahem*

So this is the outside mama cat that got fixed. She has to live in our house for a week to heal before she heads back outside. This was not okay with her or with me.

She paced this house meowing for hours when we first got home from the vet. If I didn't want to deal with the health ramifications I would have just let her back outside immediately.

This is when she finally settled down for a nap.

And probably just before she used the bathroom in a very unfortunate place.

I'm doing this out of love for my Lord and His creation.

The middle kid has enjoyed her being in here. 

So that's good. 

Back yard baseball with Daddy is a favorite thing.

Hubs had to get into some old keepsake boxes we had stored away and found this. 

It started early. 

This is me in third grade. I showed it to the about to start third grade middle kid and he said, "Wow, you had crazy hair."

Says the kid who also has the crazy hair. 

I haven't been exercising as much lately and I really miss the worship and the fellowship as much as I miss the exercise. 

And I miss the exercise a lot. 

Sweet play date with friends we don't get to see nearly enough.

I stay thankful for my friends. 

Found these in the keepsake boxes, along with old diaries and tons of memorabilia. I threw a lot of it away. I have no desire to keep documentation of those years. I didn't have time to go through  all of it, but there were a few things I decided I might keep. 

The kids did enjoy making fun of these old school pictures.

I took it well.

{that is a lot of hair...}

I think I'll save these. 

Happy 6th Birthday, Zane!

The 6th birthday weekend of fun started on Saturday with the first round of arrivals of birthday cards.

Someone else loves her too. 

(And no, I don't think she reciprocates the love exactly)

Aunt Emily came over to bring him his present since she was going on her first anniversary vacation and couldn't come to his birthday lunch. 

We really love Uncle Chris.

Lego motorcycle?

Good choice.

Daddy took the boys bowling for a little pre-birthday fun.

The girls stayed home and let the boys have boy time. 

We aren't great bowlers.

Sunday after church, we went to get breakfast after church with Mimi and Daddy's family.

Cousin Brandon

Opening presents.

Aunt Sandy

Papa and Daddy

We were missing some family members, but that's one problem with a summer birthday. People are sort of scattered during July. But that was okay! He was fine with it.

A mystery package had come in the mail earlier in the week.

I did the right thing and made him wait to open it.

Even though I didn't really want to make him wait.

I'm not good with surprises.

 I don't like giving them or getting them. 

I like instant gratification. 

But he waited. 

Our sweet friend got him ready to play baseball.

I don't know whether to be happy or very very sad.

He is very very happy. 

I guess that means I need to be happy too. 

Daddy took the kids swimming for more birthday fun.

I think I took a nap.

That was my birthday present. 

Oh wait...

He spent the rest of the day after swimming putting together his new Legos.

He and Daddy love doing that. 

Monday was his actual birthday, and all he wanted was for his best friends to go with us to the jump place. 

So we did. 

They played and jumped...

And slid. They had a blast. 

We went and had lunch at Moe's after that, which was the birthday boy's choice. 

That made all the kids very happy.

(and me too)

Sister wanted to light the candles for him.

One motorcycle cake for the birthday boy, which he requested. 

Sister's present to him.

We spent the rest of the day playing with Legos and playing Wii, also the birthday boy's choice. 

It was such a great day. 

He went to bed one happy kid. 

It was a great birthday. I can't believe he's six. He's still the baby, but he's not a little kid anymore. 

The week in pictures - July 16th - July 22nd

This week was vacation bible school week. My sweet friend took all my kids to her church, which is our former church, for VBS all week. 

I was without kids each morning for an entire week. 

Day one was an "all my favorite things" morning. I ran at a lake I had been wanting to run at, I went to the thrift store, I got coffee and I went to Target. 

And I did not feel guilty about it. At all. 

This was the first year that all my kids could go to VBS. It occurred to me that I really slacked on my job as an obsessive photo taker because I didn't take a picture of them all leaving. 

So I took a picture of them coming back. 

I'm only a partial slacker. 

One benefit of going to the grocery store alone is you have time to slow down and pick some new things.

This is my new favorite thing. 

It's sort of hard to do Bible study this way.

Someone doesn't love cats. Or the fact that the cat snuggles with me while I do Bible study. 

Someone has gotten a tad possessive. 

 

The middle kid really misses "his" cat. He wanted me to have some pictures developed of Muzzy, and so I surprised him one day when he came home from VBS with a kitten folder full of kitten pictures. 

Yes, the folder is pink. There are no girl colors in this house. And boys can like pink kitten folders.

Yep. 

We got these silly toys from Sonic one night, and the kids and I had way too much fun with them.  It was just a sweet lazy summer night, and why are they so grown up?

They made these rockin' bandanas at VBS. 

I think they loved that they looked like Willie from "Duck Dynasty" too. 

I met a friend downtown for coffee. We passed this store on the way to the coffee shop, and she told me we had to save a few minutes to run in on the way back to our cars. 

I cannot tell you how much I loved this store. 

I am going back.

I mean, don't we all need a vintage Jesus holding a pigeon?

Okay, so maybe not, but this store was full of cool antique stuff, and I really can't wait to go back.

You know why I got to meet this friend downtown at a cool coffee shop and go to this really super amazing vintage store?

My kids were at VBS.

Not only did she take my kids to VBS everyday, she make her famous chocolate chip coconut cookies. 

We don't call her the Paula Dean of Alabaster for nothing. 

I won't lie and tell you I haven't been thinking about these cookies since she made them. 

I mean really, who wants to fit into their old jeans?

Anyway.

I grabbed this at Publix because the name cracked me up and they didn't have anything horrible in them and because the middle kid asked me if I would make them for him for dinner one night. And they were on clearance.

They were the best darn pancakes I have ever had. Better than Cracker Barrel. I need to go back and see if they have anymore. 

Don't let the "As Seen on TV" sticker fool you. Those suckers were delicious. 

Grab me some boxes if you see them. 

I have decided that this is my dream house. It's on a farm. I'm not exactly crazy about the green roof, but other than that, this pretty much makes me really happy.

It's from a television show, and I'm not saying which one so I won't be judged harshly. So I'm not crediting the picture. But if anyone gets cranky about that, I have the info...

We ended the week with a very long Sunday nap, this kitten and I. 

I may love her.