Mr. DeeJay

Dear Sir Rod Stewart.
I have been in love with  you and your music since I was about 12 years-old.  A neighbor gave me a stack of records for my brand new little record player in 1976.  One of those small records was "Maggie May" and as you said in the show it was played and here you are.  Well I played it and was forever in love.
So you are on tour and I had the opportunity to buy tickets and could afford the ones in the grass.  And while I would much more enjoy the show from the seating area...I will take being able to see my all time favorite performer from the grass.  Thank goodness for those screens we could watch from.
Ms. Cyndi Lauper came on and did her show.  When she just started "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", my granddaughter (who is 8 years-old), who I had brought with, figured out who she was and got excited. We so enjoyed her performance and I considered it a bonus.
And then you were on stage.  And I loved it.  My heart was happy.  I loved the stories, like you being knighted and your nod to your little brother.  I fell in love with your music first, but I remember when I discovered that you had a grand sense of humor and made me wish I knew you in person....just to laugh.
After the show on the drive home I asked my granddaughter who she liked better, already knowing the answer.  Naturally she said Cyndi Lauper and what a great role model she is for a young girl.  But then she said she really really liked when you sang Mr. DJ.  She may have missed the title of the song but she got it.  And so you are still gaining young fans.
Thank you for sharing all your passion, your music and of yourself to us in the audience.  I loved the show and am more than appreciative of being able to see you in concert. Sing on.
Light and love.

Procrastination

I have gotten better over the years.  But sometimes I am still a procrastinator.  So when we camped at Cape Disappointment back in May, we made smores.  The little woman was using her sleeping bag as a blanket and she dropped a smore on it.  She didn't say anything, she just took her sleeping bag to bed.  Well that smore got all over my sleeping bag also that night. 
The little woman has had a couple of sleepover type things with the girl scouts this summer and needed her sleeping bag.  Her bag is small and I was able to just wash it in our machine.  Mine, on the other hand, is a big one and needs to go to the laundromat and put in one of the big machines.  My next camp out was Fourth of July at the island and I had procrastinated long enough that it wasn't usable for that trip.  We used blankets.  We were a little cold.
So tomorrow is camping again at the island and the weather is moving more towards fall.  So I really needed to go to the laundromat.  I have only procrastinated for three months.  Well the machine took $6.25.  I had brought enough small bills to get enough quarters.  And we did that.  But the machines now take credit cards also, so I must remember that in the future. 
My bag is clean and ready for camping on the island and again at Grayland State Park. 

An Abscess

The second trip to the vet actually got us to a vet.  She told us she would have done the exact same things we did.  It looked better and we would opt not to go to the vet.  It would look worse and we would wait and see and it would look better. Well when we got home yesterday the lump was much bigger and bleeding.  I couldn't figure out where the blood came from.
And so we went.  They shaved her face and poked her with a needle to see if it was an abscess.  And it was.  So she is on antibiotics.  That will work or the abscess will rupture in time.  So now she has a oozing face.  The little woman keeps trying to take care of her and keep her clean.  I'm just making sure she gets her meds.  Antibiotics and pain pills.  It looks pretty bad. 
We were excited to have a woman vet.  I pointed that fact out to the little woman.  She loves animals and I want her to see strong woman doing great jobs. 

Running Start Open House

I worked the Running Start Open House today.  I worked one other time and it was slow.  There was another event scheduled for the same time that day.  Well today was not slow.  We helped a lot of people learn about the bookstore and find books.  Some were buying and some were just looking and then going home to see if they could get them cheaper.  We gave them all of our tips.
I would call it a huge success.

Side note.  Our teachers are striking.  My littles were so excited to be going back to school.  I'm sure there are older kids who are ecstatic to have more days added to their summer vacation.  Mine are just ready to go back.  And so they are disappointed.  Here is hoping the strike doesn't last long.

Welcome Back Night

Welcome back to school night got bumped to this week.  They are installing new floors at the school.  Not done yet, but enough that we could still come for the activities.  The littles received fudge bars when we got there.  We were in a long line to find out their teachers when someone pointed out the little line for our place in the alphabet.  Once we had the names and classroom numbers we went in search of them. 
The little man knows many kids in his class.  He seemed perfectly fine with his class assignment. He saw Sasha.  Sasha's mom did not know that Sasha had/has a big crush on my little man.  And the teacher sat them right next to each other.  Bet that changes soon.
The little woman knows kids in her class.  She was disappointed that one girl was not in her class.  She heard Angelique moved, but I thought I heard she was in a different class.  Time will tell.  If she is still there they will see each other at lunch.  She has a couple of girl scouts in her class.  She told her teacher she is going to try really hard to be good.  Here is hoping she has a fabulous third grade.  It's going to be harder and more work.  She can do it. 
We picked up a couple math challenge papers.  The little man and I already did one, but we will do it again so that he can see how we figured it out.  If they take the challenges back on the first day of school they will receive a prize. 

She's Home

The little woman had so much fun.  I think it took her almost as long to tell me about it as it did to do it.  There were so many activities packed into her girl scout camp out.  They worked on a science badge. So they made slime, ice cream, studied density, made film container rockets, etc.  They helped clean up the beach and studied sea anemones.  They worked on kindness and cooking. 
I had noticed her off by herself in some of the pictures.  I asked her about it and she said sometimes she just needed a little time by herself.  Ohhhh I have an introvert.  One of those people who need to be by themselves once in awhile to recharge.  She keeps showing how she is more like Papa and me all the time.  I don't know if that is good or bad, but it is what it is. 
I missed her and I am so glad she had a really good time. 

Our Day

The little man commented the other day about it being a long time since we rode MAX.  May of last year to be accurate.  So we made a plan that when Sissy was on her girl scout camp out we would ride MAX to downtown Portland and poke around a bit. 
Today was the day and he woke me up telling me it was ride the MAX day. We got up and had some coffee/breakfast.  The little man has been all about NIKE lately.  And so spur of the moment I asked him if he wanted to also hit the NIKE store while we were down there.  It is about 13 blocks from the fountain and The Saturday Market.  We looked it up and we could ride MAX there from the fountain. He was all for it.
We got to the park and ride and rode MAX downtown.  We poked around in the Saturday Market a bit.  He found a snake he just loved so we got it.  He played in the fountain and loved it.  We saw a man with a NIKE bag and it was so cool.  It had neon yellow handles.  We had lunch watching boats on the river and neither of us was in any hurry.  We listened to street performers and passed out some of the gold dollars I got back in change from MAX.  And then he asked if it was time to go to the NIKE store.
We walked in the NIKE store and it is very nice and modern and upbeat.  They had activities going on for back to school.  The little man ended up getting a caricature done.  We first looked at the shoes.  Um.  No.  I won't say never, but I don't intend to buy shoes at the NIKE store ever.  They are expensive.  Now granted there were a few I had not seen elsewhere and they were pretty cool.  But I'm not spending $100 on a pair of shoes for a six year-old.  Then we tried to find some hats.  They were out of youth baseball hats.  The person helping us suggested we check the hat store across the street.  We didn't.  We found a cool t-shirt that he liked for $20.  Now normally I don't spend $20 for a t-shirt, but I understand.  It is a NIKE one and we did buy it at the NIKE store.  And we had to buy something to get that cool bag.  Well when we went up to pay because we bought something out of the youth section we got a goody bag.  It was a pencil bag with pencils, eraser, Nike patches for backpacks and a key ring.  Now how cool was that.  So while the frugal side of me was cringing at the price of the shoes, the frugal side of me says we got more than $20 worth of enjoyment out of our experience at the NIKE store. 
Then we walked a block and hopped MAX back to the car.  He fell asleep on the way home.  I got a nap once we were home and he went to play with a friend.  And now we are eating Thai food.  A superb "our day".

Friday

The little woman is off on her adventure.  Turns out this weekend is also Hood to Coast so Seaside is packed.  I'm sure they will still have a great time.
We did go to the vet.  We were told walk-ins are 3-5.  So we got there a little before three and were the second walk ins.  We were the third walk in taken back but by the time we were taken back a whole new slew of appointments arrived.  So after waiting for two and a half hours we had to go.  The little woman needed to be at the leader's house by 6 and she needed food first.  Poor dog did not get seen. 
I can say that her bump/lump/mump seems smaller today.  So maybe it will just heal on it's own.  I don't know.  I just know that by the time we would have gotten back the vet's office would be closed.
The little man and I came home and are now just vegging.  Getting ready for our big day tomorrow.

Week's End

Yes I know, most weeks don't end on Thursday.  But this is my last one.  Next week the bookstore goes back to being open five days a week.  No more guaranteed three day weekends until next summer.
So Liz and I ended the day being all caught up.  Booklist comes out on Monday so it was our goal to have everything out of the warehouse.  And we succeeded.
Picked up the kids from daycare and was informed again that they have lice.  Sigh.  And of course I can't find any on them.  I was told the little woman wasn't even really checked.  They lifted up her ponytail and saw lice.  I don't know.  We will treat again.  Beyond frustrated.
Phoebe needs to go to the vet.  Something wrong with her head or eye or something.  The little woman said something to the neighbor and of course the neighbor then told her the dog needs to go to the vet and it got the little woman very very worried.  It's already on my list for tomorrow.  It was getting better and I thought we were going to be able to skip the ordeal.  And then it didn't.  So tomorrow.
The little woman has her girl scout campout so we need to round up her supplies.  She is going to have a great time.  And that leaves the little man and I alone for our day.  I'm looking forward to it.  His only other thing this weekend is his standing appointment with the therapist.  I'm glad he likes her and I hope he is processing whatever she is helping him with.

Lice Stories

Oh my gosh.  I had so much fun last year trying to get rid of lice.  Ended up at Picky Pick to be successful.  The lady who owns it did tell me I was so close last year all on my own. 
Jump forward to this summer.  All freaking summer long.  I think I have it and we have no signs for two to three weeks and bam. 
Monday I get a call from daycare to come get the kids.  Okay.  So we try to get in to Picky Pick.  I'm too busy at work to spend much time on no daycare.  Well she had no openings.  So we worked all afternoon.  At some point we had it but we continued anyway.  I took them back to daycare and had the worker who has wonderful eyes look.  She found two.  We are good.  Took them back yesterday and they got a pretty thorough check and they were good. 
Today I get a call at work.  Come get the little woman.  She has lice.  How?!  I'm completely exasperated.  Little man is fine.  So we go buy the electric comb.  Did her hair and I found zero nits, nymphs or bugs.  I did not see any.  Did his head just because and it was good.  So here is hoping that tomorrow morning she is good again. 
The good news is he got his school haircut.....pretty short.  She got her school haircut....pretty cute and much easier to work with when looking for bugs.  Now if only I could figure out where she keeps picking them up from. 

Busy Busy

And fall build up begins.  Pallets galore.  I'm so glad we got so much of the merchandise in earlier.  There have been years when it all comes in at once and it gets a bit overwhelming.  This year like last it is spread out a bit. 
This week we are concentrating on the books.  We have to keep the pallets moving because we have to make sure we have room for any more coming in.  Liz added hours this week and then posted next week's schedule.  Long days all week.  Just not super early.  ;p

It's All Good

I'm finding that I have less and less to say behind my life.  The drama has settled down mostly.  Our life is in a routine.  I'm glad to be over a lot of that angst that I had.  Now I just have a broken heart.  And I'm pretty sure that will remain forever, and I will just learn to live with it.  I'm blessed with what I still have.  The family I still have, mine and Dave's.  And even though that is now very small here, it is what it is.  We get by. 
I think that good nights sleep Saturday night did me a lot of good.  I'm still tired, but not so exhausted.

Whew

So Google finally did away with Picasa for the photo storage.  My blog uses their storage and I pay for it.  So I went on today to look at the pictures and Picasa is gone.  So I went to Google Photo which is what I was told to do and my pictures would be there.  Ha.  Nope.  Not blog photos.
The next thing was to check the album archive.  Well I could not find it on the google photo page.  And I still haven't.  I went back to the nonexistent Picasa page and it gave me a link.
So I clicked it and there were my photos.  Whew.  A big sigh of relief.  This blog is just a couple months over three years old and I have 1375 photos stored from it.  That is a lot of pictures in that time frame.  The first blog, The Journey of My Life had 1451 photos.  It's life was just a bit over seven years.  It is an amazing amount of history of our family. It shows so many of the friends and family that have come and gone. 

Lazy Day

I haven't done much today.  Picked up the littles this morning.  The little man went to the neighbor's since they were finally home.  He was so happy.
After getting home late and going to bed so late kind of makes me lack motivation.  I slept great though. 

So the little man and I are making plans. Sissy has a girl scout camp out next weekend for both nights.  So the little man and I are going to ride Max to Portland and go play near the fountain....that means he will be in the fountain.  We may check out the Saturday Market.  We get to just hang.  Just the two of us.  I'm sure food will be gotten and interesting things seen.  He is really looking forward to it.
Mike called this morning.  Asked that we really consider coming for another visit to Connell.  He is hoping for his birthday,.  We shall see.  I never did buy the webcam and maybe it is time for that.  Or we actually do consider that trip.  I just don't like it.  It is a long drive in two directions.  We have time to think about it. 

Concert

And the day was here.  The little man went to my brother's.  The little woman went to spend the night at the old neighbor's.  And I went to Eugene with my friend Doug and his neighbor Darren.  We had tickets to see Halestorm.  I would call them a hard rock band.  And apparently I would be wrong.  I guess they are in the metal genre.
Metal is not on my long list of music I like.  I like to hear the music and the words.  I don't need to bang my head or shake my head and brain.  Screaming mostly just doesn't do it for me.  I did enjoy Halestorm though....she didn't really scream a lot.
The opening opening band played for half an hour.  They were just a group on stage and the singer's hair had the most presence.
The opening band, I'm sure was fine for the genre.  For me.....they literally made me sick.  I don't know what was different but the music totally messed with the equilibrium in my head and made me carsick.  Dizzy sitting down.  It helped if I plugged my ears, and boy was I kicking myself for forgetting ear plugs.  I was at a point of almost having to move away from where we were sitting.  We had great seats, but not if I was dizzy.  I did not understand any singing words as their music was way too loud.  They used theatrics a lot.  Doug and Darren liked them a lot.  Darren was teasing me about coming to a concert and not standing and plugging my ears.  Well I don't like to stand at a concert.  I like to enjoy it sitting down.  But I do like to see it also and I did find some holes in the people standing to be able to see.
Finally Halestorm takes the stage and you know why they are the band.  They are not an opening band.  They have their own big light show.  They have their own big stage presence without extra theatrics.  They rock.  I stood, I sat, I was not dizzy in the least.  On the scale of bands they should be further up the line than they are.  And odds are they will get there as long as they stick together.  I loved their new stuff and they played one of my old favorites. 
I loved the venue.  The concert was at the Cuthbert Ampitheater.  Lovely small outdoor venue.  Parking was easy.  Seating was easy. 
It was a great experience.  Thanks Doug for inviting me along.  Next time I invite you, make sure you come along. 

Progress

Making progress on all those August things.  Daycare is taken care of.  Did the paperwork for TANF and the phone call.  Still have to supply a couple more things, that I never have had to before.  Making progress on all the school supplies.  The little man and I are shopping next weekend for his backpack and getting his haircut.  The little woman is going on a girl scout campout so it will be just him and me. 
And I suspect I'm going to need to buy more new shoes for school.  Neither little seemed to be able to wait to wear theirs.  Both pairs still look fine, but school is still a week and a half out.  A lot can happen to shoes in that timeframe.  ;p

On a side note.  The little man had a great day today.  He tried to push a little bit and then seemed to change his mind.  No fits.  Was in a good mood most of the day.  Wish every day could be like this. 

August

August seems like the busiest month for us.  I work a lot in August first. So that takes a big chunk out of the month.  Then we have to get ready for school.  Supplies, clothes, snacks, etc.  August is also when we renew at daycare and have a nice sheaf of papers to fill out.  August is renewal month for the kids TANF with a sheaf of papers to fill out (even doing it online takes a bit of time).  Since the littles receive TANF, they also receive free lunches.  So I have to follow through with that to make sure it is there. There are shoes and haircuts to get.
On top of that and just every day life, this month I have two concerts and we have a campout at the end of the month.  The little man has had his standing Friday appointment with the therapist and the little woman has girl scout activities.
Almost glad for Sept.  But I'm really looking forward to October.  Work slows down and we are in a routine for school and all those activities.  :)

Dust Bunnies

We started a project at the end of the work day.  All of the bottom shelves on the sales floor have to be pulled up.  Seems there is quite a bit of merchandise under the shelves.  So we did one row today and pulled out numerous pencils, lids, pens and dust bunnies.  So tomorrow the rest await me.  I won't have to lift the shelves that hold the spiral notebooks. Get to use a yardstick for those.  But all the rest will be picked up.  Joy.  Obviously it is a job that needs to be done and maybe done on a more regular basis. 

Ha

When I hit the end of Liz's vacation I was excited.  No more long early days until Sept.  And I was looking forward to it.  I did manage to not share that excitement with the littles.  So next week's schedule came out and I have two long early days.  Poor Liz has trainings which means I'm manning the warehouse.  We are expecting freight to start in earnest.  That meaning books.

Done

The contractors finished up their work.  The trim is all nice and green.  The new shutters are up.  The railing looks beautiful again.  Then she asks me about the front door.  Well it is going to wait.  Once you start projects, you keep seeing other projects that need to be done.  And the front door definitely needs a new coat of paint. 
I'm going to miss Janie and Mike.  They were good company when we were all here at the same time.  But they are on to bigger and better things.  And I am on to the next project.  Time to think about the inside. 

No Shooting Stars

We were not very sneaky.  But it worked out all right.  The neighbors did not turn on their back porchlight.  Instead the littles had to get a flashlight and look around.  Yeah.  And again they were loud.  We finally had to call it at 10 and go to bed.
We saw no shooting stars whatsoever.  I was worried about the smoke cover, but it didn't affect us.  We could see the stars.  So we watched planes and planes and planes and one satelite.  So while we enjoyed that part....the meteor shower part was a bust.  I was disappointed.

Perfect Morning

It was cloudy and cool.  Perfect morning for a trip to the Farmers Market.  We found some peaches and plums.  We went for plums.  The little man discovered that he really likes plums, but not the ones from the grocery store so much.  Found a couple more things and then they played on the playground.  They had hoped to go to the fountain but the rest of the park was blocked off due to the beer thing going on. 
Amazingly enough neither the park nor the market were overly packed.  Maybe the threat of rain had kept people away.  Whatever it was, it made it more enjoyable for us.  We did have one little sprinkle for a few minutes. 
Love the market. 

Sneaky Plans

The meteor shower is coming up.  Well I guess technically it is already going on but the best night for watching will be Sunday night.  It is to be a sliver moon and no clouds.  Perfect conditions for watching shooting stars. 
The littles and I have come up with a plan.  The past couple of times we have tried to watch the stars the neighbors behind us turn on their back porch light.  Simply because we are in our back yard.  No one is in their back yard.  And we are not going in their back yard.  But they must think we might.  So our vision gets a bit obscured with the light to see the stars. 
We intend to set out our stuff early in the day and then when dusk comes we will sneak into our back yard and be very very quiet.  And that way maybe they won't know we are there and make it harder for us to enjoy nature. 

I'm going to a concert with my friend Doug (or the good Doug as the littles call him).  Aunt Traci moved back to Yelm and while she would willingly drive down to babysit, I feel funny asking.  So the little man is going to go spend that night with Uncle Pat.  And then the little woman is going to our old neighbors.  The sneaky part is the little man does not know what the little woman is doing.  He would feel very left out and throw a big fit about it.  So we are sneaky when we have to be.  And I get an afternoon and evening with adult company.  That almost never happens.  ;p

Baby Visit

Third time was the charm.  We walked over to Ericka's house twice this week and both times no one was home.  So we made a plan today that we would just drive there from daycare.  If they were home we would visit, otherwise we would try walking over again later.
Well they were home and we got to meet the baby.  She is so tiny.  I held her for quite awhile.  Funny how quick you forget that babies make your arm tired.  I don't know how when they only weight just a little bit. 
The girls were being super silly with a horse mask.  The little man amused himself playing a game by himself.  Not sure why his buddy didn't want to play today, but he didn't.  The littles both got to try out their hoverboard.  They both liked it.  They both fell down.  They both did get the gist of how it works and could make it go.  I watched and could only think of myself falling if I ever tried.   

And They Are Back

My contractors showed back up this week.  They are replacing a bit of the siding on the front.  Then pressure washing and painting the front and the back so it is all done.  So today was paint the body of the house work.  And it looks so crisp and clean.  Tomorrow they come back to start work on the trim. 
I never thought I was going to have to make so many decisions.  No, don't paint the garage door.  Yes, leave the new shutters white.  I don't care about the gutters in the back, do what is easiest.  Janie did tell me she found eight wasps nests in the old shutters.  Ew. 
Soon the outside is done and then it is time to move to the inside.  Joy. 

A Gesture

Ericka and family moved into a house in the neighborhood next to ours. So we went and visited one day.  Our conversation was about how neighborhood living is so different than apartment living and not in all good ways.  I'm sure every neighborhood has its own nuance, but mine is one where most people are gone during the day and hers also.
In our apartment building we spent a lot of time together outside.  We would watch kids play and visit and share.  That is how I became friends with them in the first place.  Naturally though apartment living isn't very private.  And it is transient.  People coming and going all the time.
In my neighborhood I have met quite a few of the neighbors and that has increased as the littles have ventured further around the neighborhood.  But mostly there isn't a lot of "visiting".  Every one is busy doing their own thing.  I have a couple of neighbors that I talk to once in awhile because of proximity and kid things.  But I don't have friends in this neighborhood.
In this neighborhood I have a neighbor who thinks children like mine are rotten because they aren't supervised enough.  Oh joy.  She hasn't ever called mine rotten, but the case can be made when I compare mine to the ones she did call rotten.  Children brought into two parent loving families are very blessed and here is hoping that neighbor never experiences what some of the rest of us have gone through to get where we are. The neighbors with the "rotten" kids is the only ones who ever helped me when the little man was having one of his fits.
In this neighborhood I have had the cops come twice because of neighbor calls.  The first time was because one of the neighbors heard the little woman yelling at the little man and the neighbor decided I was abusing the kids.  I was mortified.  The only one abused in my house is me and yet a neighbor thinks I beat the kids.  The second time was on the little man for being threatening.....and that neighbor called after he threatened to ruin the little man's bike.....talk about escalation and maturity.  Yes, the little man was completely in the wrong.....it's one of the reasons we are in counseling.  I have a neighbor who has made rude comments to me.  I'm not sure what her point is or was....I just ignore her now.
Honestly I don't go out of my way to make friends either.  I'm really shy and don't put myself out there much.  And so this morning when Renee's oldest son actually stopped his car and rolled down his window to say "Hi, how are you doing?", I was a bit flabbergasted.  No neighbor has ever done that.  The last time someone from here checked on me was right after the gun incident Dec. '16 when neighbors from the other side came to make sure the littles and I were still alive.  A few of the neighbors driving by might wave if they see us.  But nobody goes out of their way here...until Todd.  Friendly for no reason.  What a powerful gesture.

Best $2.15 Spent

I like pens.  A lot.  But I have learned that living with children (and I've done that since I was 21) I'm never going to keep a pen around.  So I tend not to buy ones I really like because they won't be around next week.  I buy ones under a dollar or a package for three or four dollars. 
Somehow at work we ended up with one of our Schneider pens on our workstation.  And it is the nicest dang pen for one that is $2.15. I've been using it for over a month and still just like it. So I ended up splurging and bought two of them.  A blue one and a purple one.  I then stashed them away.  I was going to work on a project at Pat's house yesterday and brought the pens with me. 
I told Mom all about them after I picked her up.  Once we got to Pat's, I got out the blue pen and let her try it.  Well that was that.  That pen got clipped onto her shirt and she claimed it as hers.  Okay.  Then later she showed Rebecca how cool that pen is.  And it immediately went back on her shirt.
I have a happy Mama and it only costed me $2.15.  And when you think about it....it's just like having a kid take my pen.  ;p

Family Dinner

Pat wanted to cook some fish. So we all went to his house and ate halibut.  We had a nice visit.  Rebecca came home and spent time with us.  The little man was happy that he got to play the computer game again this weekend with Uncle Pat.  The little woman and Grammy had ice cream cones on the way home. 

Celebrated at the Fair

Today is the anniversary of my wedding to my best friend.  This year it is 34 years since we got married.  And yes, I still celebrate it.  It is mine and worth it. 
The littles and I spent the day at the fair.  The weather was the best we have had in a few years, even if we did get a bit warm.  At least it wasn't upper 90's or a hundred like the last few years. 
We did a few things different this year.  They actually got to do the pony ride.  We planned it.  They got their faces painted.  The woman said she had worked at Disney for 30 some odd years as a face painter.  She was very good and very quick.
Again I bought them bracelets in advance.  They went on so many rides.  I quit keeping track when they hit 11 each.  Then they decided to split up and I lost them both for a bit.  I wasn't panicking.  More like getting frustrated that it happened, but I found them. 
They both went on rides they never had before.  He was tall enough this year to do most rides and of course so was she.  She was very brave and tried some of the higher end rides.  The first one took her upside down and she said it was horrifying.  She did not ask to do it twice.  She tried a couple others and liked them.  Then at the end she tried one that goes straight up and then a fast decline.  She got a panic attack just as it started and the operator actually stopped the ride, brought it back down and let her off.  But at least she tried it. 
As soon as the little man got on the swing, I immediately remembered his first swing ride.  He was too little for the ride, but he fibbed to the operator.  He rode the ride and was terrified the whole way, but he did it and was fine.  Now it is old hat to him. 
We ran into Joe and Judy.  The kids saw one of the kids from the neighborhood.  The little woman ran into Brooklyn on that ride she couldn't handle.  We talked to her dad and stepmom for a minute afterwards. We were heading for one more ride when the little man fell down and that took the winds out of his sails.  We got a bandaid at the first aid station and called it a day.
A good way to celebrate my day.  Happy Anniversary Dave.  Light and love always. 

Girl Day

The little man spent the day with Uncle Pat.  That left us with girl day.  The little woman spent the whole afternoon playing with friends in the neighborhood in peace.  No little brother bossing her around.  After she got done with all that we went shopping.  She picked out these super cool shoes for school.  We found a few other things also.  She has really great taste. 

Another Longer Day

I was scheduled for a 10-3 shift today.  Before I left yesterday Liz asked if I would work an 8-3 instead.  Brenda and I both worked that and we got a lot caught up on.  I'm almost done with returns.  Just waiting on the last permissions.  We got almost everything received that had been waiting this week while we worked on returns. 
And now on to our three day weekend.  Yay!

Movie

Yesterday was tightwad Tuesday.  So movies at a few theaters are cheaper.  We really like Cinetopia but the movie we wanted to see wasn't playing according to Fandango.com.
The deal was the littles had to have an easy peasy morning and go to daycare with no struggles.  They accomplished this easily.  I picked them up and we hit the drive thru for dinner and went and saw "Hotel Transylvania 3; Summer Vacation".  It was very cute.  The littles both loved it and wanted to know why the old witches were so interested in Drac's dad.  I could not explain. 
Afterwards we hit Dairy Queen for a cone and it was a good outing.  I think that is the end of the movies for us for the summer though.