How do you spell RELIEF???? RAIN....sweet, sweet rain.

Didn't get to the convention yesterday morning - stomach not good - started Friday night and since we got all but about 15 minutes of the program in VA, I decided to "pamper" myself a little.  If you look at the picture below, you will notice three roses - yep - these are left over from the bunch of roses I bought quite awhile ago at WalMarts!  I'm very, very pleased when flowers I purchase last longer than a week.

Also notice the bright sunlight coming through the windows. Well if you look real hard at the other pictures, you will see that we had a nice BIG RAIN yesterday afternoon. Even had some good thunder - I do so love a summer thunderstorm - especially when it has been hot for such a long time.

And yes - today we did make it to the convention. We grabbed our water bottles, my coffee and headed out this morning under cloudy skies. Got a great parking spot and wonderful seats with a nice brother and sister. I only saw one family I knew across the way but thoroughly enjoyed the symposium. That was the only part I missed at the one I attended so about half-way through the next talk we had already heard - nature called to both me and Page and we headed back home. Well - as soon as we got on the road - the bottom dropped out and it poured again. It stopped right as we pulled into the driveway and the air smells so good. Hope everyone enjoys the drama today and all the new releases.

I "snatched" this picture of Gail and her hubby from her sister-in-law just because it was good of both of them. BigD fixed my printer cable - Miya keeps chewing my cables until he has to splice the wires and put tape around them - BAD Miya. GG came by to tell BigD her AC on the van wasn't working but he got it going - something pretty simple. To show you how he is everyone's hero - he also climbed into the trash can to "salvage" the Sunday funnies (he threw them away) for me to read. Yep - I'm a newspaper funnies junkie - just like my Mom before me. My sister Ann was one too and like Mom and me - she worked the crossword puzzles. Miss them both so much.

She's back.......

I held out as long as I could but finally broke and drove out to pick up Page from Boy's.  Dixie was so sweet - wish I had gotten a better picture of her - such a pretty dog.  Biscuit found a play camera and had me and Ann doing all kinds of "poses" for her - then she would count to 10 and say - "say cheese"!   Or we had to hold our hands up and she would count to 10 and then we would all go woo hoo! What a lovey she is!

From all reports, once Boy and Page found their special connection again - everything went pretty smooth. Page didn't sleep very well - she gets scared at night these days. Hope this phase will pass soon - hate for her to have that kind of "fear". Remember experiencing it from time to time as a child myself. They had fun swimming - she used flippers for the first time so we plan to purchase some and a snorkle mask after the convention tomorrow.

Ann baked some home made chocolate chip cookies, Page hugged Boy good-bye and we were on our way home. BigD came in this afternoon and took a good nap. It was still 104 degrees when I left Ann'saround 5pm - this heat is really wearing thin. So hope it isn't this hot at the beach!

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Feeling QUITE Lonely tonight....

Page and Boy are finally together.  Ann, Biscuit and Boy came by this morning to pick her up.  They are going to see the movie Cars, spend the night and go swimming tomorrow.  I can't believe how much I MISS her.

Kurt called this evening on his way home from work and I told him I have realized I am still his and Page1's Mom!  I was having a hard time NOT calling to see that everything was okay.  I really miss her so much.  He laughed.  Then Leah called (I think she is having the same problem I'm having) and I told her the same thing.  I finally broke later this evening and called.  Ann said it was obvious that Page had been with older children when they first got together but after they went to the movies; everything fell into place.  Of course they are trying to avoid sweet little Biscuit as much as possible. Believe me - "sweet little" Biscuit is a force to be reckoned with and I LOVE IT!  She is the cutest little thing in the world and hopefully that will save her as she gets older. LOLOL  I'm glad Page and Boy still have that "special" connection and we are ALL hoping it will stay that way for a long time to come.  We are calling them cousins because if we all remember, we fell right back into playing with our cousins no matter what our age differences were.  I can't wait to see the pictures Ann gets of their little adventure.  BigD will be home tomorrow and I may not go meet them to swim - I'm sure Page is in very good hands.  I may just wait until BigD gets home and we can pick her up together.  I've gotten some things done today and have decided that since I got all but about 15 minutes of tomorrow's program, I'll continue to get things done tomorrow and wait until Page is with me to make up the Saturday and Sunday morning talks we missed.  Can't believe she has been with me almost three weeks - it has gone by so fast.

Already Wednesday???

Where has the time gone?  We have had a very busy week so far this week.  In service half day on Monday and ALL DAY on Tuesday and Wednesday.  I can't tell you how proud I am of  Page - she has been such a trooper hanging in with Grandmommie and the other pioneers with absolutely no complaints!

Yesterday was very busy. After service we went out to the Big Mall to buy Page some clothes and a nice watch. We got the clothes first at a store Leah really likes because a lot of the skirts and pants have a waist band that can be adjusted. I found a really nice sales clerk who has children of her own. She was really great! I forgot how much fun it is to buy clothes for a little girl. I loved buying clothes for both of my kids and they both enjoyed it when I took them to do just that! We also had some time to walk through two of my favorite stores - Pottery Barn and Anthropologie. Brings back memories of when I was working and had plenty of money. Oh well - I'm doing what I have always wanted to do so no complaints here. BigD called earlier yesterday to say he was on the way down East to go fishing so we stopped in at a place I've never eaten at on our way out - California Pizza Kitchen. Page said she wanted a tall glass of cold milk - well she sucked that milk down and really wasn't very hungry after drinking it. It became apparent that she was very tired so after I finished my salad, I got her pizza boxed up and we headed home. Ahhh - another long day...That brings us up to today ...another long day in service and then we came home, changed clothes and went swimming.

I LOVE the pool my friend's have given us access to. Rie and her boys came over after she picked them up from school and we were off. These two little boys are both so sweet and they all played so well together. Rie and I totally enjoyed our time in the pool and with the kids. I haven't heard from her yet whether she liked the meat sauce I sent home with her that BigD made for their pasta - hopefully they liked it okay.  Can't believe it took me so long to finish this one entry. 

Few more pictures and good memories of long ago.....

Overslept this morning so decided to let Page sleep in.  Poor baby is "worn slap dab out"! I have been getting some things done around here and plan to go out after lunch.  Deb posted some of the pictures she took at lunch yesterday and I thought I would share them too. Yep - the glass of KJ is MINE!  I did share it with Jami though so don't get over-excited. 

I promise to try and keep my posts shorter - Leah said it took her thirty minutes to read the last one!  Of course most of them are all about her baby girl so it was worth it - right Leah?  I had a memory when looking at another blog and wanted to share it.

This is The Angus Barn - a restaurant that is right across the county line from us. It was one of two steak houses (the other one was Hartman's Steak House and my favorite of the two) people went to when they wanted a really good steak and nice atmosphere. I've only eaten at The Angus Barn a several times but want to share my first memory. BigD and I were at the end of our Senior year in high school. We both were in a program where we went the school half a day and worked the other half. His cousin and the sister of my best friend had just gotten married and they wanted us to go to the Barn and have dinner with them! So BigD and I rushed downtown and bought ourselves something to wear. We didn't have time to really "shop" so just bought the first suits we tried on. Neither one of us wore those suits again - didn't like them that much! So off we went and boy did I find out the ins and outs of eating out in a "nice" restaurant. They brought cheeses and crackers, veggies and dips, bread and butter and by the time the main meal arrived - I was already stuffed!

This is Hartman's Steak House which no longer exists.  It started out as a small white building run by a family and was around for many years. Their main dining room looked out over a pond with white ducks in it and had a big fireplace. They were famous for their Hartman Salad made with their homemade Bleu Cheese Dressing. BigD has copied that recipe and even made it better.  I.T. and his friend owned a wonderful steak house across another county line called Country Squire and it ROCKED!  Some nights it really did rock when UNC students had their parties there. I worked there on an "as needed" basis doing everything from seating people, to bringing cheese and appetizer trays, pouring tea, water and coffee.  One time there was a college party going on and some of us slipped into the room and danced right along with the kids. Their main dining room had a big fireplace too.  We would all have steak at the end of the night and my feet would hurt so bad I would walk bare foot to my car.  I still have my name tag from when I worked there.

I was on my way back to KH the other day and this beautiful car was in front of me. I took a picture of it with my phone and asked BigD what it was. He said it was a 1958 Chevy Impala - isn't it beautiful??? The two guys in it were totally enjoying their ride and I wanted to drive it so bad. The first car BigD and I dated in was a 1955 Desoto.

This picture is the closest we could get to the color - we both loved that car. He owned it with his older brother until he bought his 1955 Chevrolet. When he bought it, it had an automatic transmission and the engine was out of it.

The guy who owned it had taken the engine out and labeled every piece of it as to where it came from. BigD changed it from an automatic transmission to three in the floor and then he took the engine parts down to his cousin's basement and put it together. After he had re-built the engine, he and his brother got it into a wheelbarrow and pushed it back up the street and put it in the car. In our Senior year of high school, BigD put the car in my name so the insurance would be cheaper. I loved driving that car for the most part - until the gear stick would come off in my hand and I would have to put my fingers down into the floor to change gears. All of my high school friends still laugh about how many times we would push that car off and I would jump in it and pop the clutch to start it. BigD had it all primed and was planning to get it painted when we had a small wreck in the late summer of 1965.

He decided it would cost too much and bought a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air with three in the floor and that is the car we had when we got married. My side of the seat would slide back and forth whenever we stopped and took off again. :) Hey - we were in love - what can I say! We kept the 1956 Chevy until BigD knew he would be leaving (Navy) at which time he bought me a 1965 Volkswagen.

It had been repossessed by the bank and he paid $1900.00 for it. That was in the late fall of 1966. Wow - we bought a car that was only a little over a year old for $1900.00. We put over 100,000 miles on that little car. It required very little work, zipped in and out of traffic, was my first pioneer car and the engine sounded like a sewing machine. We have always felt like it was one of the best cars we ever had. During this time,

BigD drove a 1962 Chevelle Station Wagon. He put another engine in it and drove it for several years. When I got pregnant with Page, he sold the VW for $600 and bought me a nice, 2 door hardtop Plymouth that had a brand new paint job (Marshmallow White) with red interior, and mag wheels. We have been trying to figure out what year it was and we think it was older than the VW but it was in such good shape, the price was good and we had worn the VW out. It was so nice having such a pretty and clean car to drive but that didn't last for long at all. Not long after we bought it, my brother-in-law borrowed it for a date and a young policeman ran into him and tore the right front fender off of it. The good news is the insurance company paid for it, the bad news is we used that money to pay for Page since we didn't have health insurance.  So I drove a car without a front fender for quite awhile. I also couldn't turn the car to the right so I had to plan my routes. When Page was still a baby, BigD bought me a 1970 Camaro for $1900.

Oh Yeah! It was HOT! I got my first speeding ticket in that car. Page would not take naps so I would put her on the front seat (we didn't have to have car seats or seat belts in those days) and I would drive her around with the windows open listening to the radio while she slept. I worried about her if I knew she was driving any distance when she first started driving since riding in a car was like a pacifier to her! :) BigD decided to drive it one night when he was going out with some of his friends and blew the engine up. It sat in the yard for quite awhile until he re-built the engine, had it painted silver and sold it. He bought me an old station wagon for a bit and then we got a 1969 Buick. After that we got a nice Cadillac which we loved followed by two other cars we didn't keep but a few weeks each - we didn't like either one of them. SO - I bought a 1971 Gold Volvo. It had a front end that looked like a Mercedes, a big steering wheel and I LOVED it. I went on to buy two other Volvo's after that. We kept the Gold Volvo in the back yard until Page got her license after which BigD had a new transmission put in it, had it painted dark gray and she drove it back and forth to school until her Senior year. We sold that Volvo to a young man for $600 and BigD ran into him about a year or so later and asked him if he still had the car.  The young man said he had sold it for $900.

I helped Page buy a nice Honda Accord in her Senior year. I made a down payment and paid for her insurance but she made her own car payments on the balance owed.  BigD all but forbid me to buy anymore Volvo's so I bought a Jeep Cherokee. I loved it but he didn't like driving that either so I bought an Acura Legend which we both loved.  After Page got married, my company bought me a company car - 1992 Toyota Camry - which Page took over and paid the balance on when that lease ran out.  We let Kurt decide whether he wanted to drive the Acura to school or his Dad's old truck.  He chose the Acura so we sold the old truck. One day he was on his way to the Grove for breakfast before going to school and a lady backed out of her driveway into him.  The car was totalled (he wasn't hurt) so we bought him a

a Volkswagen Cabriolet Convertible. My company bought me a 1996 Toyota Avalon for my next company car and I kept it until just a few months ago when we bought my Cadillac. BigD has been in trucks ever since he started his company in 1979 - all Chevrolet Silverados. I am sorry - I guess this wasn't such a short entry after all but we have had fun with it. I started this post this morning and am just finishing it.  BigD has had me looking up pictures of cars and we have been walking down memory lane together. It is amazing the details he remembers about every car. We did have us some fun in cars in those days.  If some of those cars could only talk. Night.

Occupied, bustling, full of activity----definitions of BUSY!

Yeah - that has been me these past few days.  We had our CO this past week and that is always a busy week - especially for the pioneers!  Our regular CO was called away to teach a school so a young couple who fill in as substitutes served us and we were delighted to have them. Page has been such a big help this week in so many ways - and no complaining at all (unless you count not wanting to wake up real early)! :) We had a full day of service on Monday, stayed home to clean the living room, kitchen, hallway and bathroom - Yep - I am finally getting the hang of this - how to entertain without killing yourself.  Got up early Wednesday and cut up all the veggies for the roasted vegetables, prepared greens for fresh garden salad, cut up fruit for dessert, set the table, got me and Page dressed, (Dwight sliced the roasted chicken and put it on the serving platter) and put my favorite Greek yogurt in a bowl to go with the fruit.  I had invited Keith to join us so he picked them up from the KH  and drove up as I was taking the fresh sauteed salmon out of the pan.  Keith picked up some sweet tea on his way over, filled the glasses with ice and made sure everyone had beverages.  I made everyone an individual salad (they way they wanted it) and thankfully, I had picked the "perfect" dressing - one of their favorites! I decided to serve everything family style - all the food setting on the table - so everyone could help themselves.  They seemed to like everything (took seconds) and I wrapped up all the leftovers for them to take with them.  I knew things were good when Dave mentioned that he couldn't believe they were through eating and there was time to sit in the living room to relax for a bit. Keith took them back to the hall and Page and I met them there a few minutes later for an afternoon of service.

So here we are on Thursday with Kerri and Rie - I love both of these young women in their pretty summery white skirts.  These pictures show how there is beauty all around us - no matter how much people neglect cleaning up around their homes, you can look away a few feet and wow - there are beautiful young bamboo trees and some lovely horses.  Even the dog turned out to be sweet and friendly.  We felt so bad for leaving him outside like that since we didn't see any water anywhere nearby.  The temperatures this past week (including today) have been in upper, upper 90's all the way to mid 100's with heat index included.  I am filling the gas tank almost twice a week because of having to leave the air conditioning running so we can take turns and stay cool.  We are being careful to not get too overheated so we can fully accomplish the invitation work.

Page enjoyed working with Jon and family Friday morning (got picture of that beautiful tree and of the lake - we drove down to the marina to see if it was busy and use the rest room but we didn't see anyone on the water) and on Friday afternoon, Rose joined us for the afternoon. I mentioned in front of Kerri that we were going to the Butterfly House at the Museum (Thank You Jami) and she said she would love to go. She and Page really hit it off so we all met back at the KH at 3pm but by the time we got to the museum, we only had about an hour to do anything so we went on to the Butterfly House. I have tons of pictures (including some incredibly ugly bugs) to share with Page1, Leah and Kurt. What kind of bird is that with the red head?  They were so cute.  I also forgot to go upstairs at the Butterfly House as recommended by Jami so will definitely do that next time. We drove Kerri home and it turned out she lives right around the corner from my sister so Rose, Page and I "dropped" in for just a few minutes. They were getting ready to leave for dinner with friends but I watched her put together her 2 minute fudge that I'll have to say isn't bad at all...Not sure that is a good thing to know.

Yesterday was very, very busy! Cam asked me if Page could work with her and her family in service Saturday morning at which time I told her I was taking Page and two other friends swimming and would love for her to join us. So we all met back at the KH at noon at which time I picked up Abs and JoJo, rushed to Wendy's to pick up some lunch for me and the girls and rushed home to eat. BigD kept the girls for me to rush back the to KH for the pioneer meeting with the CO. When I asked Abs how he did as a baby-sitter, she said - "fine, he slept". LOL I rushed in and put on my suit and a shirt, grabbed towels and the girls, picked up Cam and off we went to the pool! Woo Hoo! Thanks J and R. The pool was large and the deepest part was only 5 feet so it was great. The water was so warm it was like being in a bathtub but it still felt great. I took tons of pictures of the girls holding hands while jumping in the pool with my phone and NONE of them saved - NONE of them! We rinsed off in a shower (no curtain so I'm sure the girls are scarred for life) and changed clothes in a little unlit, un-air-conditioned bathroom and headed for the MALL! Of course the girls were STARVING! I remember when I was younger and we would go to the community pool and when we got out would be so hungry. I bought a pizza at the food court in the mall, picked up a new hair product I've been wanting to try from Aveda, and took the girls to Claire's (otherwise known as bling-bling Gehenna). They were having a sale (of course they were).

It was hot and crowded with tons of little girls crammed into a tiny little space full of "stuff". I did purchase the earrings all the girls wanted but the two favorite things I bought for Page are the darling little leather purse (I would love to have one a little bigger just like it) and the sleep mask. She was so excited (as was I since she keeps sneaking mine). And yes Fran - she is still wearing her "favorite" pajamas - I took the straps up in back. THEN we went to every store that sold children's shoes in that mall and found Cam some white shoes for the convention in the last one we went into. About the time we left the mall, BigD called to say he had made spaghetti and was getting ready to put the noodles in. It was getting late and I had promised the girls ice cream so I took them back home with me and they all ate spaghetti.  It was funny - looking at all four of them sitting at the table facing BigD - he looked like a deer caught in the headlights.  After they ate, I piled them back in the car, we bought ice cream cones and I took them home.  When we got to Lin's, Page found and put on the Bat Man costume.  I LOVE IT!  How do I tell you how tired I was but you know what?  I would do it again - maybe not tomorrow - but again.  Sadly, we came home without the little earrings I really wanted for Page as well as a pair I bought for myself to make the sale work. The girls were taking everything out of the big bag and separating them but I'm almost sure we put them in Page's bag. I asked the other two mothers to look for them but am not holding out much hope. If they can't find them, I guess they were thrown away with the bag.

So this all brings us up to date. Today an old friend was at our meeting with two of her sons and one of them's family.  Her sister goes to our KH and they also brought their brother.  They invited me to go out to eat after the meeting so Page and I said YES!  We had a room of our own and the table got so long it covered the whole room.  It was so nice getting caught up with an old friend who is doing so well.  We talked about how we met when we were teenagers the first time.  They got some much better pictures of Page than I did so I'm hoping they will share.  After lunch, we came home to CRASH!  We both put our PJ's on and have just been snacking off and on the rest of the evening.  We will have full days of service Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday but hopefully will be able to take Rie and the boys swimming one afternoon and I still want us to get back to the Museum to go upstairs.  Since we won't have a meeting Thursday, I'm planning to take Page out to Boy's to play in the creek or whatever they want to do.  I wish I were ahead with my time but alas - I have to get full hours these last two months.  Since I'll be at the coast, that means I'll be out the first week of August also so I can enjoy my time with my family the following week at the BEACH!  Spoke with Page1 for a bit today - she sounded good.  Told her about seeing my friend's youngest son (they went to school together).  I'll try to do a little better so posts aren't so long....wanted to make sure family & friends see a few of the pictures.
So - one of the funniest things to happen this week ---- when I told the girls yesterday that BigD was going to watch them while I was at the pioneer meeting, Page said- Yeah - they call Granddaddie the "whipper" and he "growls" when he gets mad!  I'm sure that made all of them feel warm and fuzzy.  He loved it when I told him.  I also told him what Abs said about his baby-sitting skills - sleeping!  He laughed.  When I told Leah, she told me Page growls too when she is taking her guitar lesson and messes up. Hmmmm - life goes on. Be sure to click on the collages and then click again to see the pictures up close if you want to.....

Where to begin with Page's long visit with her Grandmommie.....

Where to begin.....Page has been with us for almost two weeks now and what a delight. Memories of my children being this age come flooding back every day I spend with this delightful little girl. What a sweetie patootie! So sweet, talented, interesting, interested, engaged, smart, and did I mention sweet? I know - I'm the Grandmommie so I'm prejudiced....NOT. Anyone who knows me knows I'm pretty honest when it comes to children - even my own.

Page has done so well with her "new" schedule - long days in service rewarded by a nice visit to a friend's pool. I'll have to admit, I enjoyed getting into this little pool myself. Makes me wish I had one just like it. Really - it is in the perfect place. Ami said that after 2pm - it is in the shade the rest of the day - what could be better than that. It is 4 feet deep - who needs it to be deeper than that I ask? I don't know who enjoyed it more - the girls or me and Ami. What am I saying - of course the girls! Page has had a busy, busy time of it - skating (you can see her little skating badge on her knee above, finally finding some little curlers that actually put curls in her straight hair that last almost all day and swimming!!!!

This past Sunday Page and I went to Dumont to hear Pat give his talk. We all kept waiting for him to make a mistake and speak French but alas - he was too good. After the meeting, we all went over to Em's for lunch and it was so nice being with old friends while watching Page make new friends. I can't wait to show Page1 pictures of Em's house since it was once owned by one of Page1's friends. They have turned it and their backyard into a precious little place to raise a family. That was last week and we are almost through with this week! Wow - time really does fly by when you are having fun. I know Page1 will also enjoy seeing some pictures of her old friends.  More to come but for now, we have to say goodnight.

Comments just not working for me.....

I just noticed that one of my favorite bloggers has evidently decided she doesn't want comments any longer. I actually appreciate the comments I have gotten - especially from those whose blogs I follow. I really wanted to comment on Keith's blog - he has finished his chicken coop and now has three pretty girls. Lately, I have been having a lot of difficulty in commenting on people's blogs - including Keith's. I know it must just be me because I saw a comment on his last entry. Some will let me use my "name" but others just will not accept anything I put there. It used to be I could put my email address and it would take the comment but no longer. Anyone else having these problems?

On a side note, Princess Miya Chula Yum-Yum has been doing so well taking her medication at night now. We give her the whole dose at one time and for the most part, it is like she is resigned to it now. Hope it will stay that way. She went to the Vet last week and got her nails trimmed, her flea treatment and they checked her heart rate and said it was good to go! Good girl Miya!!!!

Lunch last Saturday with old friends....

Rose called several months ago to see if I would like to meet with her and some of our older friends of many years for lunch. Of course I am all about catching up with old friends so we set a date, time and location. Last Saturday we all met at Tripps and had a grand time eating, laughing and just enjoying seeing each other.

I hope we can do this again sooner than later since none of us are getting any younger. The funny thing is I was back at this restaurant the very next day at lunch with our speaker - Keith! Had the same salad too. Thanks Rose for thinking of this and putting it together. You did a great job.

Few pictures of the Grand Adventure with Gma and Papa.....

As mentioned in my previous post, Page went on a Grand Adventure with Leah's parents in June. They hit the Zoo and Smithsonian in DC, NYC, Brooklyn, Wallkill and Patterson, NY. There are tons of pictures and videos but I snatched just a few to highlight a tiny bit of their Grand Adventure.

Leah's Mom said the captain of the Circle Tours boat took a liking to Page and sat with her for quite awhile answering her many questions. Leah and Kurt were so happy to hear so many good comments about how people took to Page and how well mannered she was. Makes us all very proud of her. There are SO many pictures so this will just have to do for now.

District Convention with Family -

Roseanne and I decided we wanted to attend the convention with some of our children this year so we drove North to do just that! We left on Thursday afternoon and I got to see Lauren's lovely home when I dropped Roseanne off. It was also nice to see all but one of her children during the weekend. The convention was overwhelmingly wonderful.  They are always exactly what we need at the proper time but having Anthony Morris from the GB speak all three days was over the top good. Since it was July 4th weekend, most everyone had Monday off so it seemed to help everyone stay pretty relaxed the whole three days.

If you look real close, you will see Ash's little baby bump for her twin boys.  One evening we went over to Leah's Mom and Dad's to watch the video of their big trip. Page2 took some great pictures too and had a wonderful adventure with her Grandma and Papa.

I always enjoy being with Leah's Dad. Sometime Page reminds me so much of him when she is telling me something. She also laughs like him when she thinks something is very funny. A very special man this is. We were planning to go over to the Lake on Monday to meet everyone there but Roseanne let me know it would be okay with her if I left her to come home with her son and his family. I really needed to get home early and Kurt was trying to get ready to start his new job so it worked out well. On the way home, I ran into a heavy rain that forced almost everyone to come to a stop for several minutes. It rained awhile and then became beautiful for the remainder of my trip. I promised everyone I wouldn't spoil our upcoming convention for them and can't wait to see how the talks might differ a little. I always enjoy spending time with Kurt, Leah and Page - wonderful hosts they are.

Family Reunion .....

It has been a very busy time since my last post so I'm just going to hit the highlights as I remember them. It was hot, hot, hot for our family reunion June 26th.  We did have it at the new place provided for us by our wonderful cousins Dwayne and Barry.  Aunt Eunice has been hosting this reunion at her home for so many years and they have access to this lovely "air conditioned" building on their own little lake with a fishing dock and it was lovely.

All of my Mom's brother's and sister's families were represented but one. It was nice to have our oldest male and oldest female cousin with us this year. My sister Ann would have enjoyed seeing everyone. I did too much and got overheated so came home a little earlier than the kids. Some of my family and Ann's family weren't there for the pictures - they had gone to get fishing rods for the kids. Turns out Michael caught the biggest fish! It was so nice being with Ann's family for a little while. Lolo said they will come back but want to just be with Mama's family next year and that will be good. I was sad to see them leave but at my age, I have found that next year will be here before you know it.