Digi Scrap That

Life sure does have a way of keeping us busier than we ever dreamed possible, doesn’t it?  I’ve been so neglectful of all of you!  Summer came, yet it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. Or so it seemed…   How on earth did I survive with 3 wild, rambunctious kids indoors, whining “I’m boooooooooooooored”.  Please tell me why we bother to buy them toys for birthdays and Christmas?  Why is it that Tyler has three thousand, two hundred and twenty eight Matchbox cars but doesn’t feel like playing with them?  Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration…  But why do the girls have a huge BOX full of Barbie dolls, yet they’re stuffed under the  coffee table?  There’s princesses, rock stars, Ariel, Jasmine, Beauty and the Beast, Tinkerbell, Ken and so many more.  Every once in awhile it looks like the box has moved… The dolls must be dancing together in the wee hours of the morning…    So to ward of insanity on those rainy days, we did crafts; paper flowers,  crocheting, macrame (does anyone still do macrame???), sewing, painting and lots of drawing. 

We did escape to Maine for 4 days  in July and it only rained on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th days…  Lots of shopping!  Layouts of the kids are below.

My brother came up from North Carolina to visit in August for 10 days though and we had great weather. We went to Maine again for 5 days (best kind of vacation…. stayed at my FIL’s so we could spend all our money on food, shopping, amusement parks, and fun stuff rather than hotels!)  Went to Yorks Wild Animal Kingdom and saw all kinds of neat animals, went on paddle boats in a pond filled with ducks and then spent hours at the amusement park section going on rides. Well, I watched and took pictures.  I’m not much for rides anymore. At least my stomach isn’t.   I have a million and a half photos to scrap, so you’ll be seeing some of them.  It was wonderful to spend time with my brother, reminiscing about our childhoods. It’s funny how I remember some stories, yet have no recollection of others and the same with my brother. 

We do have new neighbors who have 3 kids that my 3 get along famously with.  And best of all???? They have a beautiful pool!  Yipppeeee!  Hot days were spent in the pool and Mommy was happy because she didn’t hear “I’m boooored”….  But the days in between, when it was raining or unseasonably cold were rough. “I want to go swiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiming!!!!”  Sorry kiddos. You weren’t invited and it’s too cold.  “But I won’t be cold, I promise!”  Another big sigh…….

Getting ready to go back to school is always such a wonderfully fun, happy experience, filled with joy and laughter.  NOT!  Trying on all the old school clothes to see if they still fit and trying to convince the girls that their favorite dress doesn’t fit anymore. “Honey, you can’t wear that anymore”  “NOOOOO! It’s my favorite dress!” “But it’s too small. We can give it away to some poor little girl who has never had a beautiful dress before” (Okay, sometimes you have to pray on their sympathies)  “NOOOO! I can still get it on!” “Yes you can sweetie, but the fact that the bottom of your undies are peaking out from underneath the back of the dress concerns me…” sigh….    “Girls, this one has to go in the Goodwill bag” “Noooo! We love that dress!”  “Yes, but it has a big stain here on the front”  “Well, I’ll hold my hands over it and no one will see it!”  Oh Lord, what do the teenage years have in store for me in just 4 or 5 years….   Thank God Tyler still doesn’t argue with me (much) about what he is going to wear to school….  Till winter comes and he has to wear long sleeve shirts again and his sensory issues kick into high gear.

Okay, so now you must understand just how AMAZINGLY happy and relieved I was when it was time to go back to school…  But that day was bittersweet.  I can’t believe my little girls are now 3rd graders. Their classrooms are “upstairs” with the big kids, which they’re very proud of.  And my baby boy.. My beautiful, cuddly, snuggly, loveable Tyler.  He was just 16 mos old when he came home from Korea, and although it seems like only a year ago, he is now a big First Grader….  Where has the time gone???

Well, if you are still reading this, I thank you.  Short and sweet has never been my forte!