4th of July

Dawson and most of his stuff got home safely from Boy Scout camp this afternoon.  He also brought home two new additions to our family ... two geckos.  This is now 6 new pets we have acquired in a week.  Last week it was four water turtles (that Kyndal and I have been taking care of while he was gone.)  ALL of the animals have to go to WIndsor with us so that they don't die while we are gone ... SORRY Mom!  We are looking forward to a fun week this week!  Tomorrow after church the kids and I head to Windsor to see my family for a week.  Yes, we did just get back from there.  Tim and Shawna will be here from Portland for a few days so we are really looking forward to seeing them!  It will be a week full of swimming and fun and the usual 4th of July festivities.  I just scrapbooked 2007's July 4th pictures last night ... 16 pages!!  I'm going to try to be a little more choosy about my photos this year. But they make such great pictures!  And it's the one tradition that we really never miss with my family.  It's always a lot of fun!  Rick will come and join us Thursday night.

Everyone have a fun and safe 4th holiday!  Posting will continue when we get back ....

Drug Problem

If the image isn't coming up below, I have e-mailed most of you this "article".  If I haven't e-mailed it to you, and you are curious about what I'm talking about, let me know and I'll e-mail it to you.

A Drug Problem I Desire ...

Got to go!

Okay, I've got to go get us ready to go to Big Splash.  Tonight I'll finish out our time in Bermuda! Have a great day!

More Bermuda, cont.

After the lighthouse we took the bus to Horseshoe Bay Beach ... FABULOUS!  We paid $20 to put our stuff on two chairs, but otherwise it was so beautiful!  Truly pink, powder beach with crystal blue (COLD) water!  We hung out on the right hand side of the beach that had a little lagoon surrounded by rock formations.  We climbed right up for some pics.  Since the beach was about a 1/2 mile straight downhill from the road, we paid a shuttle $5 to take us back up the hill when we left.

More Bermuda

Let me get back to Bermuda.  We were in Bermuda for the better part of a day and a half. You know me, I had done TONS of research before we left. So, I had figured out what I wanted us to get done in that time frame.  We got off the ship, which was docked at the Royal Navy Dockyard in King's Wharf.  It was a really cool view with forts and stuff.  We had purchased unlimited 2-day bus and ferry passes.  So, we jumped right in the deep end and got on the bus. In Bermuda, that's the transportation that everybody uses, unless they are on a scooter (more on that later.)  The bus system is great, but crazy!  There are little poles every 1/2 to one mile or so, and they are literally in the middle of the most dangerous streets sometimes.  We kindof knew where we were headed, but there really aren't many signs or anything.  So, with our map we decided to get off at a certain point.  We wanted to go to Gibb's Hill Lighthouse. We got of the bus and could see the lighthouse a few blocks to our right.  But the road up to it was curvy and treacherous and since we wanted to live to see the rest of Bermuda we decide to take a more visible road.  About 15 miles later, ALL UPHILL, we finally arrived at the base.  I should scan the map and show you the tiny route straight to the lighthouse we decided not to take versus the curvy, uphill, LONG route we did take!  But, the road less travelled ... !!  We saw some beautiful sights we would have missed otherwise!  And it definitely got our feet wet so that all other bus rides and walking commutes were a snap! 

doing the right thing

Here in Owasso we have a summer movie program at our movie theatre where they play 8 family movies, that are now on video, for $10 total.  It's all moms and kids so it's easy to take even your rambunctious little ones.  It's also a nice break in the day, once a week.  We went to see Charlotte's Web yesterday.  We all know that it's a movie about doing all you can for someone else, to form a lasting relationship.  It's very touching, and very good!  Last night, as we were turning in for the night, we had the pleasure of showing Eli and Brynne a real spider weaving her web in the corner of our garage.  They were fascinated!  Kyndal said she would never kill a spider again ... at least a cool one spinning a web.

You know, forgiveness is a hard thing.  I tend to have a very rebellious spirit.  I don't like to be told what to do.  And, when told, I typically will "refuse" in my spirit.  I do this with God too.  He'll be calling me to do something and I'll be defiant!  He normally doesn't outright punish me, but He lets the natural consequences of my actions take care of it.  And that's not pleasant.  But calling on someone, admitting your anger toward them, forgiving them, and releasing them (and yourself) from further burden, is one of the most humble actions to take. This being true, especially, since most of us would call the other person out for what a horrible person they are, and lay out the list of things they have done to offend you.  But yesterday someone taught me a continued lesson that holding onto anger does no one any good and releasing it and openly forgiving someone opens back up the line between you and God so that He can flow continued blessings on you, and it's just the right thing to do.  You do whatever it takes for another person, to form a lasting relationship.

Spa night

Kyndal was inspired from an episode of Max and Ruby to provide me with some organic spa treatments last night.  She got on the internet and found a grape mask and sugar exfoliating scrub. This is the mask.  She had to improvise on the ingredients (white flour instead of almond flour, etc.), but it seemed to do the trick.  She made me a pallet upstairs and played the music from my blog. I would like to say it was totally relaxing, but she kept dropping big globs on my face and some would run down my neck.  And Brynne was running around naked.   It was really funny!  We laughed a lot!  Afterwards she had me do a foot soak and then gave me a foot massage. MMMMmmmm that felt nice!  But it was what she said that meant the most ... As I said yesterday, I wasn't feeling good.  I had a really bad headache and a bladder infection and just felt bad.  But she told me that 'I deserved the spa treatment.'  She said, "You had a really bad headache today, but you did all of our laundry.  And, you have a bladder infection, but you cleaned the bathrooms."  It was just nice to hear a, typically, self-involved 13 year old acknowledge that I do a lot, even when I really don't feel like it.  It was a really nice treat, all the way around.  Thank you, Kyndal!

Cozy Coupe

I don't know about you, but my kids are like most, I think.  We have many toys that we thought would be a hit that haven't been played with at all.  But there are two big toys that have been played with to death.  The first one is the Playskool talking house.  It is really sturdy and stands up.  One side looks like the inside of a house and the other side looks like an outside front stoop.  It has a swinging door they can crawl through, windows that open, doorbells that ring, lights that turn on and off.  And it talks and plays music.  It's very educational and fun! We got it for Eli when he was a baby and him and Brynne still play with it.  The other one is the Cozy Coupe car and truck that are in the picture.  I bought them at the last JBF sale for $40 for the pair. They ride them EVERY day!  Brynne has ridden them in the rain, with no panties on, in the dark, you name it!  Eli is kindof big for it, but he still rides it everyday too! Well worth the money ... I highly recommend them!  They have provided hours of entertainment!  And check out the thing Brynne is holding.  It's a popcicle/ice cream cone holder.  I bought it at Hobby Lobby.  It catches drips and allows them to put their frozen treat down without getting them dirty ... BRILLIANT!!

Is 4th of July next week?

My goodness summer has gone by fast already!  We had been planning to go to my parents' for the week before the 4th holiday.  I didn't realize until yesterday afternoon ... THAT'S THIS WEEKEND!  Dawson is at scout camp and won't be back until Saturday afternoon.  We are planning to leave right after church on Sunday and stay until the Saturday after the 4th holiday. Rick will join us for the 4th festivities in Windsor.  I have so much to do to get us ready to go.  We just got back, didn't we?

On top of all of that, I have a bladder infection so I don't feel very good today.  I went to the doctor today and got an antibiotic, but it hasn't started working yet.  And I have some kind of fungus on my back that I am now taking antibiotics for.  

I am hoping my Dawson is doing okay.  I also hope he gets home with even a portion of what he took!

Kyndal is planning to stay in Windsor for the better part of July.  It will be strange without her here for that long.  I am afraid I have really come to rely on her to help me with Eli and Brynne.