Hmmmm ....

Things that make you want to go hmmmm ....

-Sometimes figuring out a title for a post is harder than the post itself. I mean, look at the title for this post. It took me days to figure out. And, I am not kidding. At all.

-Torrey and her friend Marissa went to Linda's to swim. Linda has a ridiculously huge spa connected to her pool. (There is a table in there for crying out loud!) The girls came up with the great idea to make a whirlpool. And, then just like every great idea it turned into a not so good idea in a minute. All because they tried to stop. Torrey is tiny. So is Marissa. And, now neither girl can sit properly or walk after sitting for a long time. Why? Because they scraped up their muffle, muffle, muffle. Is it wrong that I have a fit of giggles seeing Torrey walking like a little old lady at 13? I would like to clarify that I gave them the 5 minute warning (to get out of the pool) 30 minutes earlier. They should have listened to me. It is time Torrey learned this lesson ... her mother knows best.

-On Wednesday night Torrey's youth group had a night of remembering camp fun and a commissioning service for the youth mission groups that start to head out this weekend. Two middle school students were asked to share what they learned at camp ... Torrey was one of them. Except when the voice mail came she was asked to give her testimony. And, then she found out she had to share about camp. As she was walking up. And she went first. I was sick to my stomach. For nothing. Little girl totally rocked. Do I need to say she is amazing? Well, she is one amazing girl who is in love with Jesus. Doesn't get much better than that! (And, she shared her testimony and used it as a segue into how one thing she committed herself to at camp was sharing her faith more.)

-We left Torrey at church to complete "base camp" for the mission trip. All the kids spent the night at the church. They have done this before. Evidently the floors at church are exceptionally hard. Torrey asked to bring the air mattress. I told her she couldn't because she was going to "Mission Training Camp" not "Princess Training Camp." Maybe Mom doesn't always know best ... they told them they could bring them to San Antonio!

-We are now the proud owners of a gun. A BB gun. Dean has hit a few ducks. When he came in to announce he hit his first duck I asked him if he killed it. He didn't ... but the duck flew away. Evidently he forgot to tell his friends (or he is one dumb duck) because there have been a few more ducks hit. I'm thinking Dean could use his new found skill to win me some awesome stuffed animals when the next carnival comes to town!

-Torrey, Linda and I went to see "My Sister's Keeper" on Monday. If you read the book, don't see the movie ... you will be disappointed. Jodi Piccoult, how could you let them completely change the ending? I love an ending I don't see coming. That was not the case for this movie. And, if I just ruined the movie for you ... sorry. It was ruined for me.

-And, also on Monday ... Torrey and I spotted a thermometer that said "104." As in degrees outside. I have been saying for years that Texas is hotter than Florida in the summer and colder than Florida in the winter. I have my proof. The heat just won't give up. They are predicting temperatures of 100 on the 4th ... we will be living in Linda & Paul's pool.

-And, finally (stop cheering!), it is July. Which means the mourning period has officially begun. What mourning period? The "It Is Almost Time To Go Back To School" mourning period. Although, I figured out that mornings at Target aren't what I remembered them to be. Evidently our Target uses that time to stock shelves and it is hard to get around.

And, that ends this week's edition of "Hmmmm." I will be using that title again ... it is too original to waste.

Jon OR Kate Plus 8

First, I admit I am an avid watcher of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" ... I recommended the show to my friends and hooked Torrey on the fun. And, then came Monday's announcement. They were done. Not with the show. That would have been the right thing to do. No. They are done with the marriage. Ten years. Eight kids. I guess they didn't think there was reason enough to stay and fight.

And, the funny thing is, I knew it was coming. Blogs have been commenting. It has been on the news. Late night talk shows have been discussing it for weeks. You can't even check out at the grocery store because it is there. They have been everywhere. Except where they need to be. Fighting for their marriage.

It hasn't gotten past me that this was announced the week of our anniversary. Dean and I celebrate 17 years this Saturday. 17. It felt like not so much on Sunday. On Monday it felt like a big deal. On Monday it became something to be extremely proud of. On Monday it became something to brag about.

I told Dean last night I felt responsible for Jon & Kate splitting because I have watched the show. Maybe if we all stopped they would have taken out the cameras and they wouldn't be where they are today. Maybe 8 kiddos that we have come to love wouldn't be another statistic. Maybe.

Sometimes the price for having the latest and greatest or going on fantastic vacations is higher than you should have to pay. Jon and Kate kept saying they do everything for their kids (um, maybe that is the problem ... you need to do everything for each other first), but I am sure if you ask the kids they wouldn't have wanted this or anything else. They didn't need the Hawaii vacation, the big house, the toys, the cute clothes, the dogs, the play houses, the nannies ... all they needed were their parents. In love. Together. That is what they need. That is all they need.

And, so Jon and Kate, I say farewell. I can not watch anymore. I am done. I will enjoy my own life with my own family doing our same old same old boring things ... but, truly loving each other in the same old same old.

It may be a boring life, but it's our life. (I had to update to add that ... I woke up in the middle of the night with that on the tip of my tongue. I, of course, did not rush to the computer to write that down. Because sleep is important. And, my sleep is very important. Just ask my sisters.)

Wordless Wednesday

Do Not Take Torrey Shopping With You!

Because this is what will find its way in your cart ... Sour Patch Kids, Charleston Chews and tubes of balloony things that I used when I was a kid. Maybe I will leave her at home next time!

Why I Need a Gun ... Seriously

Our dogs have gotten it into their heads that they are "guard dogs" ... and their only job is to guard the house and backyard. Especially the backyard. We often joke that Zack even patrols the air space above the backyard ... nothing ... and I do mean nothing ... is allowed in "his" backyard.

I say that, but it goes without saying that they wouldn't know what to do with an intruder if they should happen upon one. Oh, yes they do. They would wag their tail and run over and wait for said intruder to pet them. Well, not Zoey ... she is shy. But, definitely Zack.

All that to say that we have been having a bit of a problem in our backyard. And, that problem started about two weeks ago with the arrival of one pesky duck. He seems to enjoy sitting on top of our fence. Our 8-foot fence. Which causes the dogs to completely lose it and bark like fools. We are good neighbors and really, really try to keep our dogs from barking, so we of course run outside to stop them ... and we do because we shoo away the duck. We are at our wit's end. Um, so are our neighbors.

Well, you can imagine our annoyance when we discovered this on top of our roof tonight ... Can you guess what they are? And, just as a hint .... they aren't chimney sweeps from "Mary Poppins" ... need a closer look?
Four. Four ducks. Four. Can you believe it? Dean said they were fine. But, I beg to differ. They are not sitting up there for a duck convention. They are up to no good. They know full well we can't get them down. Which is the reason why we need the gun. Because getting them would be easy because they are ...

"sitting ducks"! (I so wish I could do the drum thing you do when you say a really funny joke. You must know that I totally cracked myself up. It doesn't take much!)

Memorial Day 2009

I am aware that Memorial Day was almost a month ago. In a normal world I would have gotten these on my blog before the end of May. But, truthfully, I am just glad I got them up before the end of 2009!

Linda and Paul have the "summer holidays" (we get the winter ones ... you know the ones that require tons of cooking ... hmmm ... maybe we should invest in a pool after all! Seriously, I do love the winter holidays and all the cooking that comes with them and would probably fight Linda to the death to keep Thanksgiving and Christmas!) ... so we headed up to Pinehurst to spend the day.Paul was playing golf, so we spent the first part of the day waiting for him to get there because we were starving ... we thought about just cooking the burgers and hot dogs ourselves, but thought better of it.

While we waited, there were quite a few chips consumed and several pictures taken ... and, Torrey got in the pool.
Here is a cute picture of Torrey and Gram. Our girl is growing up ... sad but true.
Torrey and her new "cousin", Hattie. Hattie is a sheepdog and she probably weighs more than Torrey in this picture. She is cute ... but such a puppy!
Torrey has been waiting (not so patiently) to be able to swim with Hattie. Hattie has a big sister, Gussi, who does not like to swim at all. We have tried to throw her in one time too many and now Gussi steers clear of the pool! Hattie is quite the swimmer though.
Torrey enjoyed the pool. She made the mistake of proclaiming it was cold when she first got in ... which meant I was not getting in the water. I am a 90 degree water girl! Torrey did look pretty relaxed ... I became her pool boy and had to bring her a drink and snacks. She has water in one cup holder and carrot sticks in the other!
Just when we thought we would starve to death, Paul appeared! I don't even think we said "Hi" to him when he walked in, but rather, "start cooking!" No one can crunch a bun like Paul! Paul and Linda were in charge of most of the food ...
and I was in charge of the corn on the cob. I bought it from the farm stand with a little window cut out of each ear so you could see what was inside. Not a kernel was harmed in the cutting of the window. How in the world did they do that?!
Dean enjoyed playing with Linda's bug swatter for most of the day. It is electrified ... it was kind of gross to hear him get a little fly because it went "zzzzap"! And, just so you know, the bug swatter does not know if it is hitting a bug or a person ... I tried it with a cup to see if it would still zap even if it wasn't a bug (I almost smacked my leg ... good thing I used my brain!) and it gave the cup a pretty good zap. Maybe it would also work on intruders .... hmmm.
Guess who had a blast in pool? Not just Torrey ....
Dean did too! Thanks Linda and Paul for another great summer holiday! Can't wait until the 4th of July!

Success!

Do I really need to say more? She loves it! (And, thinks her parents are the best ... bonus!)