I remember thinking in March and April that I surely could not wait until summer, because it had to get less busy than those months were. I am still waiting for a time when there are not 20 things hanging out there on my "to do" list. It has been an exceptionally busy year for us, and I am craving that snow storm that isolates us from all society for about a week.
When last I blogged, we just got back from a week-long trip to Texas. Tim had to go there on business, and I decided at the last moment to go with him...mainly because they told him to get a rental car, and we had the room to go. The drive out there took somewhere around 20 hours total, I think. You have to consider that two little girls with bladders the size of a pecan were in the back seat. I thought they would sleep like I used to on road trips, but NOOOOOOOOO! We did fire up the video players, and they had a good time watching dvd's back there. We discovered the Redbox thing at McDonald's--where you can rent a movie for a night for $1 and turn it in anywhere they have a Redbox. We picked a few kids movies up along the way and turned them back in when they finished them. It surely is a lot cheaper than the conventional way of renting movies.
One of the highlights of our trip was a stop at a barbecue place where they had a river out back. We got some cute pictures of the girls feeding the turtles. You can see them here:
When we got back, it seemed like we moved straight into 4th of July celebrations. Since the 4th fell on a Wednesday, it seemed like everyone picked a different day of the week in the days leading up to the 4th to celebrate.
We celebrated with the family on Saturday night. Mom and Dad live just behind the stadium where the fireworks are shot in their city, so we usually just pull chairs up in the yard and watch from home. They told us the show was set to start at 9:30, so we were still doing dishes when we heard the bangs start at 9 p.m. In all the chaos to move the entire family out into the yard before we missed the whole thing, Mom's dog got out, and ran straight for the busy road (probably to get away from the noise of the fireworks.) She got hit by a car, but fortunately, the damage was not too severe. She mostly got scrapes on her legs. She has been staying with my brother and sister-in-law, because Mom has been trying to get rid of her dogs for a while now so that she is not so burdened with their care. Well, when my brother's kids heard the dog had been hit, they just started sobbing. It was pretty much downhill from there. I did not really get to see the rest of the fireworks, though a few stayed out there and took some pictures. Sissy, the dog, turned out to be o.k., and she stayed a couple of days with Mom until she could go home.
Tuesday night, we went to the home of some people we worship with for the annual potluck and fireworks show. It was really great! The food and the fireworks were spectacular, and the candles they put out seemed to keep the mosquitoes at bay. The fireworks were wonderful for a backyard show, and the kids were deeply impressed!
Wednesday, the 4th was my ninth anniversary and, of course, Independence Day! We had a leisurely day at home with the kids, resting from the night before and readying ourselves for our classes at church. After church, I urged Tim to drive me into Nashville to see the "big show" up there. We were not sure we could make it by the time it started, but we decided to try. There was no place to park on the streets, and lots of the streets were blocked, so travel was just about at an impasse.
Finally, we found a parking garage that was charging the outrageous price of $10 to park, and we ended up having to go four levels down to find a spot. That turned out to be a huge mistake, for when we came out of there, we could not get to the top. We sat there for about an hour waiting for the line of traffic to move. Then, we spent another 2 hours just trying to get back on the interstate to Gravyville!
On the positive side, the fireworks were splendid and memorable in Nashville! We took lots of pictures, and although the lights are somewhat distorted, I thought it made for some interesting pictures!
Now, we are back to reality-land again, with the usual doctors' and dentists' appointments that everyone has scheduled. The ENT guy is wanting to roto-rooter my nasal passage so that I can breathe better, and I just cannot decide if I want another surgery now or what. Yes, I need to breathe better, but no, I do not want to go through the surgery. I don't do well with surgeries. They are always worse for me for some reason, and my poor kids are left to fend for themselves while I recover! So I have a lot to think and pray about.
Well, that is the update for now, dear three readers! I hope you are having as pleasant a summer weather-wise as we are having. Usually, Tennessee is hot and humid to the point of getting unbearable this time of the year, but for some reason, it has been a bearable summer. We have had lots of cool, overcast days. We need some rain, but on the positive side, we have not had to pay to have the yard mowed as often! :)
Stay well and happy until next time....
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