Rain drops keep falling on my head

is what Hannah must have been saying to Lauren last Saturday when we were trying to camp at Rocky Fork Lake.

It rained and rained and rained. We spent most of Saturday huddled under awnings trying to dodge the spraying water. By 2:00 we decided to pack it up and head for home.

But, it didn't start out bad.

As soon as we got there Friday night, the girls got on their bikes and headed off for a bike ride.

I heard one of them say, "This is better than at home!"

And later that evening we roasted marshamallows and made smores by the campfire.

It was their very first time sleeping in a tent. I thought they were going to be scared, but they fell fast asleep (that is, after they both spent time bouncing around on the rafts we were sleeping on!). They both talked randomly during the night, but for the most part, it was an uneventful night. That is, until it started raining.

It was around 7:00 a.m. when it began to rain accompanied by a little thunder. Hannah was wide-eyed and told me she was scared. I was annoyed. It wasn't like it was a serious storm or anything. After about an hour, it stopped, so the girls ran out of the tent and Uncle Ed fed them Lucky Charms. (The picture is the view from our tent opening)

They also squeezed in another bike ride. And also a brief fishing expedition with Jo Ann and Brian.

I thought the rain was over, but soon enough, it started again with very few breaks. It was one very soggy day, and I was missing Ray (remember, I still operate with my irrational side).

But here's the funny part. I was actually sad to leave. Me--the person who didn't even really want to go in the first place. Despite how soggy I was and how crappy I was beginning to feel, I wanted to stay. I rather enjoyed being together with my siblings. We don't do trips together and this was nice; at least being with them was nice--the weather, not so much.

I know this will come as a shock to those who know me well, but I think I'm up for another camping trip sometime soon! We did make lasting memories despite the rain.

Kinda nervous...

Here's wishing me luck that camping goes well this weekend...Not that I hate camping, I just don't want to do it, but I think it will be good for the girls, and I am looking forward to spending time with my siblings (hopefully we all get along!)

Believe it or not (because I'm still irrational), I will miss Ray.

So, I'll see you on Sunday with all the details!

Finally

my dang Day Lillies bloomed. I have been waiting all summer for these puppies to let loose. I've watched all the other Day Lillies everywhere bloom but not mine. They finally made their appearance on the 15th. Of course, in true Karen fashion, I had to take a bazillion pictures of them. Here are some of my favorites:

I don't think any of these are super-impressive, but they will suffice. Not one picture I took really captured their beauty. The sun was shining on them and it was just awesome. I did journal on one of the pictures and will make it into a scrapbook page soon:

I think I still need to play around with the positioning of the text, but I like the idea.

Anyway, I am excited I got to see them finally bloom. Now, if I can just figure out what's eating some of my other plants...I'd be one happy camper!

Babysitting

As my 3 loyal followers know, Mya spent the night at my house last Thursday. I was excited as well as leary about having her stay because it's been 7 years since I had a baby sleeping over night in my house. Luckily for me, Mya was a piece of cake. Man, she was the easiest baby to watch! She woke up at 4 a.m. but after a quick (and I mean quick) feeding and a change of diaper, she was right back to sleep.

She got up again at 8 a.m. when the Beesten girls arrived (the two I watch on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays). All four of them were so excited to see her again (the Beesten girls were here when Sue and Patrick dropped Mya off). They begged and begged and bugged and bugged me to let them hold her.

I told Emily how Mya has her chubby rolls.

I showed them how I used to make them laugh by grabbing their legs and making them "run." Mya laughed too.

Mya thought Emily was so funny that she spontaneously laughed when she looked at Emily.

All four of them found it hilarious that she shook her head no, so they started asking her questions and then laughing hysterically when she would shake her head. "Do you like my mom?" followed by peals of laughter followed by "Mom, she doesn't like you!" or "Did you fart?" followed by "HA HA HA she didn't fart!" and so on and so on.

They would deliberately put their hands within Mya's reach and then squeal when she would "grab them."

Mya was more of a babysitter for me than I was for her.

I had intended to take some cute pictures of her, but by the time I got her to myself, she was already rubbing her eyes and ready for her nap.

It was nice having a baby in the house again. I forgot what it's like to have simple things like shaking your head or pretending to run be so funny or so enjoyable. Everything with Mya is new and exciting and refreshing. It was nice to have that again even for just one night.

2 Mile Stones

occurred this week:

1) My blog had it's one year birthday on Monday,

2) I had my 14th wedding anniversary today.

Both ended up disappointing. I wanted to post on Monday, but didn't. I wanted to spend time with Ray today, but didn't. He didn't want to. He said taking me out for dinner with the kids on Saturday counted. He bought me a card TODAY and I didn't receive a gift (for the 13th year in a row).

He doesn't get that all I want sometimes is just some of his time. Without the kids. Or, maybe he gets it, but doesn't want the same thing. I don't know. The logical side of my brain told me that today would just be a normal day for him--just a blip on his radar. But, the irrational side, the side that is always hopeful, optimistic, and romantic, thought maybe there was a chance he would do something special--flowers or dinner or a dog. I hate being irrational. It always leads to disappointment.

You'd think by now I would have learned my lesson...I guess I'll need to be hit on the head a 15th time...

But, I did spend tonight with Jo Ann. We went furniture shopping. I'm looking for some new stuff for the basement. It was fun (for the most part--the kids weren't the best) but frustrating since I can't really find anything I want or find anything I think might work.

Oh well, what more can I ask for on a rainy, 70 degree day in July?!

Sitting down for a change

I know...most families actually sit down when they eat dinner. We used to do that as well when we lived in our previous house, but when we moved here, it was just too cumbersome to eat in the dining room every night. So, the kids would sit on the stools and eat at the counter, and Ray and I would stand on the other side. I'd stand all day at work, stand while making dinner, and then stand some more while eating. It was exhausting, I tell ya!

But no more! I bring you our new "eating area"...

Isn't it cute??? (I included two shots; I like the "composition" of the first one, but the shadows make it hard to really see the table) I've been stalking Craig's list all summer looking for just the right table and chairs, and I finally found one for $100. Not bad, huh? I do wish it was just a tad bit rounder, but it'll suffice. In fact, it made dinner rather enjoyable for once...

I know we don't look overly enthused here, but I put the camera on a timer so it would just randomly go off. Right at this moment, Hannah and I had food in our mouths, and we were listening to Emily talk (can't remember about what).

It wasn't easy for me to make the decision to spend $100, especially on a table, but I am glad I did. We can now sit down and actually enjoy dinner!

2 Little Devils Jumping at the Mall

The girls have been begging to go to the mall to do the "jumpy thing." Jo Ann had Monday off so we decided to eat lunch and head to the mall.

The first thing they had to do was weigh in (I guess you can't be too light) and the funny thing is they both weighed exactly the same...66.6 pounds! I'm not kidding. Both of them. Considering their behavior lately, the number doesn't exactly surprise me ;-)

Before jumping, Emily bragged and bragged how she was going to go real high and even do flips.

But once she got on it, there was no flipping--just straight up and down! She admitted she was scared.

Hannah never bragged before hand (go figure).

She did seem to enjoy herself,though.

After they finished, we walked around the mall and found Hannah's art from school in one of the display cases.

They made me pretty tired shopping (Hannah had money to burn), but I found the afternoon very enjoyable!

Fizzled

Emily's face says it all...4th of July this year was a bust. No fireworks. No swimming. No picnic. Just rain.

We sat under a tarp at Ray's Mom and Dad's house all afternoon and watched the kids try to make the best of a sappy, gray day.

Not to mention the night ended with me having a spat with Ray's brother Mike (a family get-together just wouldn't be complete without one).

Oh well. At least we still have the rest of the summer to relax and enjoy ourselves!

What I've been doing

Monday night my "office" finally came together (although I still have lots of painting to do to tie everything together--I'll share pictures when I am finished) and I started scrapbooking to see if I arranged everything correctly--so that it is conducive to my creative process ;-) --and guess what? I haven't stopped makin' stuff since then! My room is awesome (and will be even more so once I am finished color-cooridnating everything). I just love coming into it every day, especially in the morning with my coffee and computer. It's funny, but since the day I started making things again, I have started to feel better. Each day has been a small step toward finally feeling like myself again and I am lovin' it.

So, there are a lot of pictures here of the things I've been doin'; I just can't help but share...that's how excited I am!

First is a layout I did of the girls playing on Ray's mom and dad's swingset on Mother's Day (I tried to scan it in, but the colors were ugly):

Then, I made a quick one of Aaron playing on the beach at East Fork Lake:

Next is another one of the girls playing together on Mother's Day (I did both Mother's Day layouts in one night--that's a record for me!).

I took a close-up of the letters because I cut them out of paper and then made them shiny:

I got ambitious and made a mini-album. It's called "This Week" and I intend to take pictures each day for a week and then put them in this mini-album. I'll probably start tomorrow since I should have interesting pictures from the 4th.

Then, I'm still in the middle of this one; I can't figure out how to do the title. I want it to say "Frog in the Bottle", but I don't have any letters I really like at the moment, so I'll have to keep pondering.... (and of course, I need to add the journaling)

And then finally, I made a 12 x 12 page. I haven't made one of these in a long time because for some reason, I find the blank 12 x 12 page daunting...I never really know how to "fill it up". But, Brian gave me a 12 x 12 scrapbook album for Christmas, so I need put some pages in it. This is from Hannah playing on Mother's Day as well.

So, that's that! I just can't reiterate how much I love my room--MY ROOM--and how much I love all the scrapbooking I've been doing. It really is a therapeutic release for me and when that release is stifled, like it is during the school year, I don't feel so well. Maybe scrapbooking is just what the doctor ordered.