Anticipation!.......

Yes, our long awaited puppy finally comes tomorrow.   We are getting her two days ahead of schedule since we are headed to the lake for the 4th of July.  

Sara totally cannot wait a minute longer.  She even petitioned to go into work earlier so she could get off early to head to Tyler with her dad.

Dallas is a pretty big place.  I am not sure why we have to travel so far for an animal but it seems no one in the metroplex breeds cocker spaniels.

 Before our puppy takes over the dog cage, Matthew and Brooklynn gave it a try.  

Brooklynn wants to get her scent all over it so the dog will like her the best.

Logical thinking I guess.

 Matthew liked it so well that Mandy might need to invest in one.  

He kept shoving Brookynn out so he could get in.

I personally think it is a good fit!

I wonder how he will fell about sharing it with a dog?

Love the 4th of July!!!.....

 I don't know what it is about the 4th of July that I love so much, but I think much of it has to do with the red, white and blue!

 Yes, the celebration of the birthday of America is awesome.  Despite the chaos that seems to exist in our world to today, I am still glad to be an American.  I have traveled.  Not so much extensively but enough to know I always want to come home.  

Somehow we will get past no more Obamacare, establishing new health care, Donald Trump's bad hair, and all of the other crazy things that plague us in the USA.

Seriously...I think what I love is the red, white, and blue!

Flags, food, swimsuits, door decorations, yard decor, and everything else.

I took a look at the colors of other countries and there just aren't any others that speak to me like ours does.  

So, this week I am cooking and everything on the agenda will be colorful...

red, white, and blue colorful!

Swim Buddies!!!....

I love when my grand babies run through the backdoor with their swimsuits on ready to jump in the water.  I am an outside girl and when I was young I would have lived in the pool all day if we had one.  

Ours was the kind you filled in the morning and emptied every night but that was okay if it was all you had.

These kids all love water...and better than that they love each other!

Matthew thinks Adeline is his best buddy.

He hugs her, holds her hand, and he is trying to teach her to swim!

These kids are my greatest joy!

Loving them is so easy.  They are fun and spirited and never fail to entertain me.

I am grateful.

Our Special Group........

It has been a long time in the planning stages but it happened and my heart is full.

Our first gathering of the Special and Awesome Disability Ministry went bowling and it was the perfect night.

The kids bonded, the parents visited, and the bowling balls flew....literally everywhere.  

The joy in the faces of these kids who do not have a real social life was something that was worth every second of the year it took to get it off the ground.

We will grow and have more outings...because the kids deserve it and so do the parents!

Coming Soon!......

I have no reasonable explanation why I think having another dog is a good idea.

I fought replacing our pet after Max died.  We are too old, it just means extra clutter, potty training again, fur to vacuum up, ect.  I broke down and we got Harley.

I like the dog but he has not really formed any attachment to anyone but Jimmy and that makes Sara a bit sad.

What to do.....on impulse one Monday morning just research the internet and decide you need to buy a cocker spaniel.

So I did.

In three weeks this precious puppy will be calling our house her new home.

We are prepared.  We have read the Cocker Spaniel manual and we think she is just the dog we need.

We have cleaned our puppy cage, bought new bedding, and discussed names until I am at a major level of stress over it.

I think we have locked in on the winner.

MILDRED ROSE

After all a pedigree puppy needs a fancy name.  

She will go by Millie of course.

We can't wait to get her home!

A Different Fruitful Day!....

 Well, what happens when you go to the Ham Orchards and buy all of that fruit?

You have to do something with it.

I had to revert to my Home Ec teacher roots and dig out the cookbooks.

Then I had to make a run to Kroger for new and improved jelly jars because I am not sure that those shelved in my garage would have been safe for any food product.

 Ten jars of blackberry jelly later and more sticky mess in the kitchen than you can even imagine, I am off to deal with the peaches.  

Think I will pass on more jelly and go to a pie or cobbler.  

Just as a side note, I accomplished all of this while corralling four grandchildren.

Yes, I earned the right to be exhausted after this.

I am patting myself on the back and putting my cookbook back on the shelf.  

Back into retirement I go!

Fruitful Day!......

It is officially summer.  Well I know the calendar says that summer is not official until June 21 but who waits that long to start celebrating?  

I always loved summer when my kids were little.  No official bedtime, sleeping late, lunch whenever we felt like it and those great Wet and Wild passes.

My goal the summer?  Just to enjoy every minute wth my grandkids!

Today we headed to Terrell, Texas to enjoy Ham Orchards.  I have never been and since it is in Terrell I had to have a driver....thank heavens for Mandy.

What a great place to visit!

Rows and rows of blueberries and big buckets so you can pick your own.

So who knew blackberries started out looking like raspberries?

And who enjoyed it as much as I did...these kids did.  

They had full buckets and blue fingers and thought it was great.

Lunch was peach pulled pork followed by peach ice cream of course and my was it all yummy!

With full bellies we enjoyed rocking on the back porch before we headed back to Dallas with bags of fruit and full tummies.
Another field trip in the books!!

Welcome Summer!.....