Funday

At Anthony and Lori's house they coined a new name for a day of the week - Funday.  Funday is actually Saturday, but named that because no one goes to work or preschool and they get to do fun things.  Well, today Austin spent Funday with us.   We weren't so sure about it when he woke us up at 6:15!  Why don't 3-year-olds think that sleeping in is fun???   So there was plenty of time for carousing on the floor.

The big plan was for Grandpa to take him to a brand new playground just a few miles from here.  It's AWESOME and has an airport theme!  They practically had it to themselves.

After that we headed to Hoss's for an early lunch.  We actually got there too early - they only open at 11.  But there are always games to be played on the iPhone!

   

"Grandmaaaaa!  You're always trying to take my picture."

Oh joy!  Big fat noodles to suck in!

And the great white shark joke to play on Grandma.

When I saw this picture that Dick had snapped, it reminded me of one taken four years ago of Sophie and me.  

They are both three years old on these pictures!

Now I'm going to tell a story on Dick.  When were walking out of Hoss's he remembered that there had been a sign in the entryway about signing up for text messages about special deals at Hoss's.  He wanted to take a better look at the sign.  Se we went back into the entryway - just a small area between the outside door and the door leading into the restaurant.  We were the only ones in there.  As we stood there reading the sign, Dick passed gas.  I exclaimed, "Oh DICK!!" and walked out.  Well, Austin could not forget that.  He kept asking,  "Why did  you say, 'Oh DICK?'"   I told him why and that that was Grandpa's name. 

He did fall asleep on the way home and took a nap for a couple of hours, but true to form (he never forgets anything while he's asleep) he proceeded to exclaim, "Oh, DICK!" constantly as he and Grandpa were playing together!!  He thought it was so funny!  It just cracked me up.  I wonder how long he'll remember that!  What a guy!

We had a really hard storm and a lot of rain and wind later this afternoon.  Dick had gone to Lowe's before it started.  I turned the TV on to be sure we weren't having any tornado warnings.  As I tried to read the ticker going across the bottom of the screen,  I must have looked concerned.  Austin kept watching my face and asked, "Why is your face like this, Grandma?"  and he scrunched up his forehead.  Hahahaha!  He doesn't miss ANYTHING!!  

Another thing he's had fun with this week is popping balloons.  This afternoon Dick showed him something else that's fun to do with balloons.  Over and over and over and over again, of course!

Lori and Anthony got here around 5:30 this evening.  They were exhausted from a very long day of travel.  Unfortunately, Austin's energy went into overdrive when they arrived!  Now I'm glad he woke up so early this morning.  Hopefully, he'll be ready to settle early for their sake!  

Tomorrow after church we'll be heading to Lancaster County for some time with family until Monday evening. We're SO thankful that Dick once again has a job with paid holidays.

Mostly Pictures, hoping to write more soon

Life is BUSY!!!  So just a few pics, which, if you are a FB friend, you have already seen.  I just don't have time to write much.  Hopefully, I will at some point.  I do have things to write about.

Anthony and Lori are celebrating their 9th wedding anniversary this week with a trip to "Austin", Texas, so "Austin" is staying here.  That was such a happy day on May 24, 2003.  Wonderful memories.

Austin declared the first evening he was here that he's going to have a square beard like Grandpa's!

Yesterday morning I had an episode of Thomas the Train on the TV.  He came out to the kitchen to show me that this is the mean face that James (one of the engines, I suppose) was making!

He's looking forward to this evening, because finally we will be staying home and he can play with Grandpa in his shed.  He just loves that shed!

Yesterday when I arrived at the Houserville church to give piano lessons, my student Sabrina wanted me to look at the big butterfly out front.  Any butterfly experts out there?  I don't think I've ever seen one like this before. 

One evening this week I was reading some old blog posts and came across one that made me just crack up laughing.  I can't believe I had the time to write about it in the midst of such hectic-ness.  I guess I did better without sleep than I do now. Here's the link to the story of My Terrible, Horrible, No-good, Very Bad Night.  Read it if you need a good laugh at someone else's dilemma!

Grandchildren, roses, and boys

Just a few pics so you know I'm alive and well.  Earlier this week I decided it was time to update our grandchildren collage for my side bar.  Here they are.  Aren't they a good-looking bunch?  

I've been thoroughly enjoying this beautiful knock-out rose bush that Sam and Jenn gave me last weekend for Mother's Day.  We planted it right out front where it will get plenty of sunshine, and it cheers me up every time I drive into the driveway.

Our pastor's 16-year-old son Wesley has been staying with us this week.  He's an easy guy - mostly he loves all things techie, he loves to EAT (he's 6'1" and growing!), and he loves to sleep, especially in the mornings.  But we've had a bit of experience with teenage boys, hahaha!   Last night he was in a concert at the high school.  There's a rock ensemble class they can take, and the entire evening was groups of kids mixed and matched from the various classes, performing covers of popular groups.  I was impressed.  There was some absolutely incredible talent.  The whole time I was wishing Anthony would be sitting beside me so I would have someone to exclaim to!   Wes is the guy on the far left. 

Next week we'll trade the sixteen-year-old for a three-year-old.  Anthony and Lori are going away for a few days and Austin will be here with us.  You know there will be pictures!

I love being a mom and a grandma

Well, there was more excitement around here than a new toaster oven this weekend, haha!  Sam, Jenn, and Sammy and Destiny came for the weekend.  Sammy is like a ball of sunshine!  I'm more in love with him than ever.  He clearly just adores me, and you know how that wins a grandma's heart!

On Friday evening Dick took Destiny to the Y to do some more rock wall climbing.

Saturday morning we hung out at the house.

Oh, sorry, Grandma, you missed my bath.

I was just getting ready to climb out!

We spent the afternoon at the Spring Lawn Fete that was held at Houserville House of Hope.

Sammy and Destiny had fun with the rhythm instruments under the big tent.

It was perfect weather for a cookout later in the day.

Jammie time.

We went to Hoss's for our Mother's Day lunch.  Anthony joined us.  Lori had already made plans to take her friend Sherrie (mother of Austin's little twin girlfriends) out for a special Mother's Day lunch at Nittany Lion Inn, so she and Austin weren't with us for lunch.  

You wanted my cute face in the picture, didn't you, Grandma?

I miss him already.  He just has the sweetest, happiest personality and he's so tremendously squeezable and kissable.  

I took a good Mother's Day nap after they left.  And then my next dose of sunshine came to visit!  That smile of Austin's is like a 100 watt light bulb!

He still loves his hulahoops.

But even more, he loves Grandpa's shed.  He was pretending it was an elevator. 

Lori had to fly to Wisconsin this evening to speak at a conference tomorrow, so Anthony and Austin hung out with us this evening.  Austin knows the way into my heart too.  When we said goodby this evening and I told him I love him, he answered, "I love you too," as he went out the door.   

I also had a loud, "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!" from Sophie as Lisa and I talked on the phone this evening.  I said,  "Thank you, Sophie," to which I heard a loud, "YOU'RE WELCOME!!"  She sounded like she was in a crazy mood.  I think they were in the pool.  

And on another level of affection, I got a handwritten card from  Destiny that she bought at the Spring Lawn Fete yesterday.  It said,  "Thank you so much for being in my life from the minute I was born. Love, Destiny"  Wow, I can't even write that without tears. 

I LOVE BEING A MOM AND A GRANDMA!!

New toaster oven, woohoo!

I just got off the phone with my sister Mary Ellen.  Today is a significant birthday for her, and I wish I could have spent it with her.  But we had a long, chatty phone call instead.  

She reminded me that I haven't blogged much lately.  I guess I definitely am busier now since I have the church secretary job, but certainly not busier than I was when I was teaching.  How did I used to blog every day?  Oh, that's right!  There weren't very many people on Facebook at that point, haha!  Besides, there just haven't been that many things that are interesting enough to write about just now.  You know things are pretty low-key when the most exciting thing is that you finally got a new toaster oven (because your old one didn't have a handle on its door anymore and you risked burning your fingers every time you opened it!) and your new one matches your other appliances, hahahaha!  Actually, it's a little convection oven and I love it. 

This is the view from the sliding glass door at the church office.  Tomorrow I'll be sitting there as I fold 200 church bulletins and put all the inserts into them.  I put whatever I'm in the mood for on Pandora radio and I often talk to the Lord.  Some pretty down-to-business talking.

  

I had a great time at the homeschool book sale last Saturday and met lots of people.  The woman at the table next to me looked SO familiar.  I looked familiar to her also.  We kept trying to figure out where we had ever met before and at long last realized that she was at a funeral where I played the piano a few months ago.  We had talked to each other that day.  At the book sale on Saturday she was extremely helpful in giving me suggestions for contacts, introducing me to people whose names I had seen on websites, but had never actually met. 

Sorry, no grandchildren pics this time.  I know they are much more interesting than my regular life.  But I think I will have some pics after this weekend.  So please come back!

A clean kitchen; homeschool book sale

I have no idea how it got to be Friday evening already.  I'm keeping busy enough with all the different things I have going now - work at the Fillmore church office, piano lessons, Houserville praise team, Filmore choir, Music@Home,.  An extra thing this week was the Houserville kitchen.  Because it gets used for making and selling food, it needs to be inspected.  Someone was coming on Thursday, so Tuesday and Wednesday evenings were CLEAN THE KITCHEN parties.  Remember when it looked like this on our baking day?



By Wednesday night every inch of every drawer, cupboard, stove, fridge, window, counter top, and floor had been thoroughly cleaned out, re-organized, scrubbed, and disinfected.  Dawn finished last with the big bucket and mop.  That kitchen gleamed and smelled good.  Then we all went home to our own kitchens that wanted some of that kind of attention too, hahaha!

Today I picked Austin up from preschool.  It was so sweet when he looked up and saw me at the door.  He yelled, "Grandma!!" and came running.  Ahhh. Melt my heart!  We took him with us to the spaghetti supper at Fillmore.  It was the first time most of our friends there had ever met him.  He loved sucking those spaghetti noodles through his lips and made quite a mess.  But he loved even more the Hershey kisses that were scattered on the tables.   Then we took him home.  Dick helped him to build a tower to knock down.

Tomorrow there is a home school book sale in this area.  I am having a table for my Music@Home DVDs.   I don't know one home schooler in this area, so I'm feeling a bit like an outsider.  Hopefully that will change after tomorrow.