Wednesday

It's 8am and the boys are off to school, I've done my bible study (Esther...wow!) and I have a list of things to do today.

Matthew's trumpet needs to be repaired, so that needs to be dropped off. I need to buy some compost for a section of my garden and get that worked in, we are out of cat litter, and I have a 10am appointment with my very much needed chiropractor, who can hopefully realign my falling apart body.

Oh, and my car is disgusting.

I mean, REALLY disgusting.

So, she is going to have a bath.

Last night, after driving all the way to basketball and then learning it was cancelled, again, Alex and I made tuna casserole.

It's a family heirloom recipe from my mom, who I think it got it from my Aunt. So it is an OLD family recipe.

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Now before you judge how disgusting this looks, and trust me, it looks worse in person...it is really good, though M wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole unless God himself commanded him to. BUT he is eating schnitzel and drinking beer in Germany, so the rest of us are feasting, too.

When we 1st married, I could cook 2 things...this tuna casserole and hot dogs.

Sometimes, I would combine them for a truly tasty treat.

I, personally, think I was pretty well rounded.

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After our lovely lo-cal supper, I made a cookie dough cheesecake because, well...I was bored.

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I actually haven't tasted it, but it sure looks good!

Back to Wednesday. M and Matthew have landed and are in Erfurt. M got bumped up and actually had leg room on his flight, so he's a happy camper. Oh, and he bumped his son up, too.

Text messaging oceans apart is an amazing, amazing thing.

Well, I am off to shower and head out for the day. Brian has an early release day and will most likely bring a crowd home with him. No sports tonight, which means no driving, but Alex has been begging for Souplantation...another daddy favorite. Not.

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Far and Away

Passports in hand, my boys are off.

And I miss them so much already...

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The house seems so still and quiet, even though this is how it normally is during the day. I am used to M traveling...but this time he has one of MY people with him. I kept telling him last night not to lose MY son, which Matthew...this is his 3rd trip to Europe in the last 8 years, thought was hilarious.

sigh.

So, the rest of us have grand plans for the next 2 weeks.

Grand.

I'll fill you all in as soon as I make them.

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Tonight is a basketball night, but other than that, we'll be home. There is a fridge full of food, so tonight we'll have CORN...clean out refrigerator night. I'll probably bake cookies, too....just because.

Just because.

Rainy Day

I so needed a cold, rainy day today...laundry is caught up and the house is somewhat put together. I made a trial batch of amaretti and oh my....YUM!

Notice the one that is missing?

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The backyard loved the teeny tiny amount of rain...especially the hydrangeas.

And last, but NOT least...cute toes!

My boys are packing, packing, packing...tomorrow is the day!

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Mom's Day

Last night...Sideshow.

Which is, I personally think, a very strange musical to choose for a high school to do. But they did...and they did it well.

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Matthew and his 'pit' crew. These guys should be labeled trouble1, trouble2, and trouble3!

Imagine my surprise when I awoke this morning in my houseful of boys to discover that I was queen for the day.

Gotta love Mother's Day!

We went to church and then lunched at the In n Out drive thru...a cheeseburger with spread only, please. Home to change and then...and then...my houseful worked in my garden! Them boys smelled a little like cow manure when they were done, but thanks to them, I am ready to plant this week.

After, Miss Sophie and the rest of her family came for supper. Kinda nice having all those men man the kitchen!

And yes, she is a keeper!

Logan ate spaghetti...

...and played the drums.

Cousins cuddled...

...and Maddie drove a car.

It was just one of those laid back, really relaxing days. Hmmmm....can we repeat that tomorrow?

A Disney Day

Yesterday, Brian ditched school (shhhh!) and he and I met up with Holly, Emily, Ryan, and Billy at Disneyland.

And this is what we spent our time doing....taking pictures of each other taking pictures. Crazy!

Ryan...who FINALLY rode the haunted mansion with me. We've been waiting to do it for like forever!

Emily and I got to shop...the joys of girls! The best part about Disneyland is their amazing caramel apples....mmmm!
Emily and Brian are SUPER SILLY!!!

We had a blast hanging out...we're going to try and hook up on Sunday night if we can squeeze it in! M was jealous that he couldn't be there!

We only stayed until 3pm...Brian had a birthday party last night, Alex had practice and then a group of his friends came over to watch the Laker game, Matthew had a performance, M was at back to back graduations and then we had a party here.

Whew!

Today is errand day...gotta get these boys ready for their trip, plus I need to put my house back together after last night. My eyeballs are soooo sleepy, but the sun is shining...so I am going to have a little espresso doppio to help me make it through the day. We are going to see Matthew's musical tonight and I am seriously hoping it is loud and action filled.

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Supper tonight will be american food...burgers on the grill. I've got a few wanting cookies, so I am going to make some this afternoon, though I haven't decided what kind yet. M is out back watering, Alex is playing basketball, Matthew is at the movies and Brian is outside with his friends. It's a beautiful spring day...perfect for lounging by the pool with a book, but alas...I need to get some things done. Let's hope that caffeine kicks in soon!

Party

Last night we went to a party.

A retirement party at the college for Pat. My husband made it through without weeping and a great time was had by all. It was so fun to catch up with former students...and their children!


I took one whole picture the whole entire evening...and here it is!

Hard to believe, but I was too busy talking to take pictures. Best of all I got to see my long lost sister-in-law, who lives like 15 miles from me, for the 1st time in a long, long time.

My sister-in-law wasn't always my sister-in-law. She once was the girl who came with the house we bought.

Kind of like a built in dishwasher; we had a built in nanny.

We decided we liked her and it was time to marry her into the family, but the pickings were slim. There was only one unmarried male in the family, M's younger brother, so rather than auction her off to the highest bidder, we just arranged everything for them and told them to marry.

And produce offspring.

Quickly.

OK, it didn't go THAT smoothly, but God knew we had to keep her around and our house was too tiny for her to live with us forever.

And the offspring, by the way, are GORGEOUS.

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Words To Live By

"Seize the moment. Think of all those women on the 'Titanic' who waved off the dessert cart."

-Erma Bombeck