Playdate!!!!!......

 What do you do when you have a houseful of grandkids and nothing special to do?  You arrange a playdate!  You pack up 7 kids under the age of 7 and start out at McDonalds.  Yes, I admit to the crime.  I did drag my grandchildren to the dreadful golden arches but I am blaming it on my first born grandchild!  The original plan was Chuck E Cheese, but a fear of anything that dresses up in a costume that makes you 7 feet high and greets you at the door sends Brooklynn into a tizzy! So we broke a few rules...and ordered the HAPPY MEAL with juice!

 We ate, we played, and then we came home to swim.  What fun!

It was a day like our summer days used to be when my kids were small.
We slathered on the sunscreen a directed them to the water!
A pool full of kids that had never even met before and creative play was unlimited. 

The grandmas sat under an umbrella and did a constant head count.  

 Sometimes we had to look underwater for little fish!  

It was perfect!
The Grandmother's had just as much fun as the kids.

Sometimes just a good old fashioned playdate is just what we need on a hot summer day!

June 21st.......

Here are the FACTS Folks!!!!

It is the first day of summer.

I know we all consider Memorial Day weekend the start of summer, but those that dictate the official calendar say this is it....summer has begun.  I can attest to the fact that this is true!!!  I am suffering from "it is almost too hot to go outside syndrome" already.

It is also the longest day of the year.  It is the day with the most daylight.  From here on out the days will gradually get shorter.  According to the local weatherman, tonight is the night the moon will be the brightest moon of the year since it is a full moon and closer to the earth than any other one of the 365 days in the year.  Be on watch for erratic and unusual behavior, the norm around here daily!

It is National Flip Flop Day.  That is a day that I celebrate most everyday, but it is only official today.  It is a day that encourages everyone to "free your feet".  Just go ahead and let your toes loose.  I stood in my closet this morning totally jubilant because not only are flip flops the mainstay of my wardrobe, I also have boxes of Yellow Box sandals to pick from.  I do not ever want anyone to think my heart is not in the right place when it comes to celebrating a great American holiday.

I love summer in spite of the heat and because of flip flops. 

 I loved summer when I was a kid.  It meant bike rides to the pool and playing in the backyard.  There were not a million scheduled activities...it was just freedom to do whatever you wanted. 

 I loved summer when my kids were growing up.  The neighborhood was safe and it was okay to ride your big wheels up and down the street with a half a dozen kids who only reported in at lunch time.  It was legos on the patio, plastic pools in the yard, and creative play.  

I loved summer when I worked.  I was a teacher...enough said!

Summer should be a celebration of just being lazy...just being whatever you want, whenever you want.

What I will not be celebrating this summer is birds.  I had a fascination with them last summer.  I watched a nest of finches hatch on my patio.  I became personal friends with the cardinals that fed every night in my bird feeder.  NO MORE!  Sorry birds.  After the bout of West Nile virus that you brought my way last summer you will just have to dine somewhere else.  I know you were not directly responsible but sadly the water in all of the birdbaths attracted the mosquitoes and so for that reason "I am out"!  (Thanks Shark Tank!)

So as the day closes on the first day of summer, I am off to sit on the patio, have a glass of wine (really) with friends and celebrate the fact that IT IS summertime and the livin' is easy!!!

"I DO"............

No words....just pictures!

It was nothing but awesome!!!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Shubzda!!!

It Took A Village.......

 I seriously mean....it took a village!  There was no one who was exempt from wedding day preparations!  If you were of able body, you had an assignment.  The preacher buried the arbor...or directed the burial of the arbor.

 An aunt and niece stuffed silverware bags.

 The hefty groomsman who patrols one of the roughest areas of Dallas by night, unwrapped and cleaned crystal candlesticks by day.

The father of the bride set tables.

 And the maid-of-honor climbed the ladder to wrap the arbor.  

 Seats arranged, flowers in place....

 Beverage glasses ready.....

 Tables set.....

  It was a family (and extended family) affair and it worked.  

Months of planning and putting it on paper and now it is done.  

Time for showers, hair and makeup.

Bring on the Bride and Groom!!!!

Rehearsal....Already??.......

It is hard to believe that the time has arrived to rehearse.  How did we get here so quickly?  Seems like two weeks ago we were praying for just a little longer to tie up all of those loose ends and put finishing details together.  Well, like Christmas it comes whether you are ready or not!  

 We all seemed to be minus any pre-wedding jitters.  It was all relax and have fun...for tomorrow we "MARRY"!  

A cold beer and unusually wonderful weather....what more could the groom-to-be ask for?

No words for this.....