Silly animals

Our dog Jessie would not get near the pool all summer, but only for a quick drink. Now that it is empty, he finds it quite fun.

Our cat loves Ruth's book bag and kept rubbing against it and I finally found out why. She loves the scent of peppermint and Ruth had some peppermint gun in the outter pocket!

V-Ball Tournament

Today was the first volleyball tournament. Of course we were up at the crack of dawn to head out. The team won the first 3 of 3, so they went to the playoff and came in second. The last game had some very questionable calls, but oh well. It was a full day of playing and they really did great~~~except for the first game after lunch which they lost, but it was the best of 3/3. Us parents decided that maybe next time, we will not let the girls eat and if so, only lots of sugar because obviously the"eat only healthy snacks" wasn't working. After all, what 12 year old thrives on "healthy" foods....I'm just sayin'.

WEATHER

...remains from Hermine has come and knocked on our door.....bring 8 inches of rain for us, and 3-4 tornadoes for just north and east of us......Ready for this to end. Needless to say, no soccer practice today, especially since THE PRACTICE FIELD IS FEET UNDER THE CREEK that is next to it!!!!!

Volleyball

Today Ruth made the final cut and she is on the 7th grade volleyball team. Volleyball is a very popular sport at the school and over 100 girls tried out, but only 20 made the cut. WAY TO GO RUTH!`

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So I drug Sara to the game. SILLY me I thought they would play one 30 minute game, whoever won , won. BUT>>>it was the best 2 of 3! First the B team played and Ruth was on this team. She was on the starting string. They won the 2 games. Then onto the A team and they played 3 and won the needed 2! Yea teams!!!!

SCHOOL BEGINS

This summer flew by with so many trips, visitors, and a church mission trip, but today is the first day of school.....eventhough it is 110 and they should not be outside!!!

Ruth~7th grade is now at the same school as Sara~8th grade. The carpool is full with 5 girls and a ton of books, binders, athletic gear.....

I can not wait until they get home today with all their stories!

AREN'T THEY CUTE!!

last baby tooth

Today my baby Ruth lost her last baby tooth and it sounds crazy, but I cried! I mean hugely! It is a symbol to me of the last of her baby days and now she's that much more all grown up. She is fairly sure the tooth fairy will be generous on this the last time....and I am sure she will be. She lost her first tooth at thanksgiving time in "04 when her best friend at the time turned around and hit her head against Ruth's mouth....that was also the way she lost her second tooth too.

School schedules

Today was schedule pick up for 7&8th grade....now I have on in both of these! We had a hitch with Ruth because apparently one of the shots was very recently changed from once every 10 to every 5 years, so tomorrow morning we will head back to school for the shot drive and we will then receive her schedule......they are so excited to see who is on their teams and see if they have "good" meaning nice teachers.

family

The house I grew up in, and my grandmother's house . It was nice to see the old places again, though they have changed some.

The next day we connected with my mom's side of the family. It has been 3 years since I saw anyone on my mom's side and I really enjoyed them...

WEDDING BELLS

We are back from up north for my cousin Jill and her new husband Jerry's wedding. It was held at a botanical garden. . . outside. We were a little nervous when it rained during the rehersal the day before, but the day of was perfect. The sun was setting and there was a gentle breeze. It was so VERY beautiful. The reception followed at the gardens, indoors, and we ate like royalty and had fun dancing too.

We enjoyed seeing many relatives we seldom see....and hope we do better staying in touch. Note the photo of the cousins that were able to attend....I was the youngest hehehe

We spent a day at the cemetary which is VERY old and beautiful. We spent an evening with my aunt Frances, her granddaughter and new great grandson....and to be honest, there was not enough time in the day to catch up....I must make this trip again and maybe next year.

School begins...for athletes

This is the second week into the conditioning training for the kids in athletics at school. It is 3 weeks for 1 1/2 hrs in the am....optional. Of course, it is in the best choice to attend to get into favor with the coaches. This is something new this year and I am seeing that sports is getting moves further ahead in importance each year. Ruth will begin tomorrow because I had not gotten her physical yet. Of course, I am doing the carpool for this....all my kids are in athletics and such good girls too.

Mission trip

This week the girls went to the church mission trip. There were about 1500 youths from central Texas in many small towns, then all coming together on the last Friday for worship. Jeff and I both shed a few tears as we said good by. They worked really hard and Sara come home with a huge bruise and scratches, and Ruth still has paint under her fingernails, but they had a great time and are already talking about the trip next year. They also met some new friends from our own church, even a boy or two.....oh my gosh!

HANDS

Thought we would get a look at these beauties another way....their hands. It is funny that you can tell the Marshall Island girls by their deeper tans....Baby V, Little S, Sara and Ruth....what beauties!

visiting friends from afar

My dear friend Erin and family drove from "the north" for a visit with us and her extended family and friends. We got to meet her new daughter also from the Marshall Islands. She is almost 9 months. She is so cute and loves to smile. Favorite toy>>>empty 2 liter soda bottle so those of you spending so much money on toys.....go simple!

We spent the first day at Hawaiian Falls water park and came out tired and burnt. The girls came home and fell asleep!!!!

Erin's older daughter, also from China, had her first sleep over with the girls, sharing a bed with Sara. They did crafts in the evening first. In the morning, I found that Little one is not a morning person.

Of course we went to the Chinese market and had to get some goodies. That also goes for our favorite restaurant China King.....yummy!

July 4th....hurricane

I decided to go to houston to visit my parents for a week over the July 4th timeframe......of course it is the only free time we have this summer and of course a hurricane was coming onshore just south......can you say cabin fever! Of course whenever we are at my parent's we eat well. On the 4th we had a get together with the family that was local and stayed up for the usual Nertz card game. I think Sara's team won.....AGAIN.

Jessie's anniversary

Today is the one year anniversary of adding Jessie to our family. He came to us from the local pound and is a great dog.

He has not grown much, but is now comfortable ~~ stealing Cooper's toy all the time and taking over Sara's pink blanket.

Summertime fun

This spring/summer we tried growing onions. The girls were so faithful to make sure they were watered. Today they pulled them, pealed and chopped some and created a wonderful recipe. At first they had eye protection for the splattering grease, but then the onion smell was making Ruth cry a lot, so she stuffed tissue into her mask to help with this. We had so much fun, and the dish was really good. Next year we will grow onions again.

Sara attended soccer camp again. Ruth attended volleyball camp. The crepe myrtle bushes are in full bloom in the yard.

We are really chowing down on watermelon. Sara created this watermelon bowl.

This is our huge pool....complete with our own alligator. It is small, but it is cool!

This is Daisy and she did not make it into the pool. She has become Sara's personal lounge chair.

Father's Day

Today was a great day for us. I made Jeff breakfast. We had a lot of family game playing time. Due to the heat, we blew up the pool and swam (sat) in it~~anything to cool off. The girls took Jeff out to Starbucks for drinks. We also took Jeff out to Chili's for dinner. How lucky that he found a gift card for there while cleaning out his wallet.....

I called my dad and he had a good time with my sisters living near him. This included a bbq dinner and my BIL makes some great grilled meat....really wish I was there.

Jeff's father also had a great day.

Getting home

This morning we wanted to get an early start, but the girls were not cooperating, but they were very funny!

NOAH...we need your ARK!

We are off for the long trip home. We decided to divide the trip in half. The first day was going well until we were almost to the hotel, then the sky opened up and the deluge began, literally. We were suddenly driving 10 mph, wipers on full, flasher on, not being able to see the car in front of us.....literally! Luckily our exit was 1 1/2 miles and we got off, only to pull into the nearest parking lot and watched it flood. Then it slowed and we thought we would drive the remaining 3 miles to the hotel, but that took a full hour........the road was flooded and blocked with stalled out cars. I drove over the medium into a closeby shopping center that did not have a flooding problem, we ate, and WAITED.

We finally made it to the hotel and it was very nice. Sara insisted on the top floor because she wanted to be far away from the flood. We were very careful where we parked, on the highest spot and no where near a drain. Luckily there was no further rain.