Black and white...

I guess a lot of you haven't heard, last October I got a new (to me) car:  a 1992 VW Cabriolet:

It was time to replace the old mini van that made me look like a soccer grandmother. Mark and the boys had tons of suggestions for practical and useful cars.  This may sound selfish but I wanted a car that was MINE, not one that the guys would grab when they wanted to carry bikes or 2x4s or dogs.

With Mark's blessing, I went on a (5 minute) car hunt.  It was love at first sight.  I named her Bre.

Normally I drive 3 to 4 thousand miles a year.  Between October '10 and April '11, I drove 2000, most with the top down.  Sometimes Mark acted as my co-pilot, but almost every sunny day with temps above freezing, I bundled up in winter coat, scarves, mittens and took a topless ride.

Everyone that saw her said she was the perfect car for me.

The other day one of the boys' friends, Tom, sent me a text asking if I would be home, that he was bringing his new (to him) car up for me to see:

 Road trip anyone?

Ye ol' swimming hole...

Yesterday I had a rare treat:  A visit to my brother at his house!  Usually they are busy, our schedules don't mesh that often and we see each other at my mom's house more often than in each other's homes.

Visiting Dan and Leslie's house in the summer is always special.  Leslie works in a green house and loves anything green or growing.  All spring and summer, she works on her flowers and  garden, it's always changing.

They also live on a (usually peaceful and quiet) creek...

that has a great swimming hole.  Add to that two big dogs that love to swim and a young lady who is more fish than human and you have an old fashioned summer afternoon!!!

 

 After the dogs wore Katlyn out swimming, they came up on the bank so Dan could play with them.

They have kittens too!

 

What a wonderful visit.  I love my brother and his family...wish we could visit more often!  See ya soon, Dan, Leslie and the Kat!!

Just Chilling at the river!

Father's day 2011 was certainly a different one.  Vicky planned to spend the day with her father and father-in-law, Michael was working, so the guys, Morgan, Mark and I headed for the river!

Andy bought his dad four huge steaks.

They were so big they decided to cook two and save the other two for another time.

Tony and Morgan came with two cases of unusual beer.  Sorry, the only photos of the beer are as it is being consumed.

After dinner, I got out the camera for the 'annual photo of  Dad and the boys' and of course, they got silly.  You can count on it!

Rarely do we have a photo with the four of us, but Morgan offered to take the pictures...

Andy's dog, Helga Jean, came to sit right beside Andy, as usual.  She follows him everywhere.  They are inseparable!

I just can't help it, Andy is so darn cute!

Come to think of it...so is Mark...

And Tony!

~sigh~  I love my guys!   Morgan, thank you so much for taking the pictures. 

Happy Father's Day!

Every Father's Day I post a picture of my late father, a copy of his memorial service and miss him like crazy.  I still do.  Today, as with any Fathers Day, I have such bitter sweet memories.  He was the greatest.  I really miss him.

This year, I thought I'd shake things up a bit.  Instead of reminding you of what a great guy my father was, I thought I'd show you what a great dad my kids have.

From the second second he became a father (the first second he was still in shock) until today, he's been there, a hands on dad, and I'm so proud to call him my partner.  Here's a few photos of him in his starring role, Andy and Tony's Dad:

He's loved, appreciated and well respected by his family...most of the time.

Mark, before we were married your mom told me she thought you'd make a wonderful father.  I'm sure Andy and Tony would agree.  We love you.  Happy Father's Day!

McDonalds invasion!

My father's family was huge...12 kids all with families.  Only four of the 12 kids are still with us; my dad's four sisters.  We still have a family reunion every other year, but smaller, impromptu reunions happen all the time.

A few weeks ago, my cousin Susan, her daughter and granddaughter were in town for a few days.  She called to get as many of us together as she could.  Where?

Where would you take a dozen or so crazy relatives at 10 AM on a Saturday morning?

McDonalds, of course!

 There's me and my mom in the middle of this photo?  Doesn't she look great?  She'll be 80 in October.  My cousin Ed says she would make a great biker chick.  Can't you just see her on the back of a bike?

 If you were at Mickey D's that Saturday morning (and I did run into old friends), I apologize for the noise, but I'd do it again, every Saturday morning, in a heart beat!

PS, Thanks, Stacy for the wonderful photographs!

Home, home on the...river!

Here in Schenley,

We live in travel trailers all summer, but it's the custom to build out buildings that can hold all kinds of stuff...water skis, life jackets, bunk beds, and if you have a larger than life husband who has a tough time fitting in the trailer shower, a full size bathroom!  Yes, they are occasionally  usually normally pretty much bigger than some of the trailers and twice as nice...but we are in Schenley!

The first year we were here, we gathered materials, saved money and drew up plans.  Last year Mark took off the week after July 4th to build our out building.

Before you start feeling sorry for him, he loves it!  He loves building things, he loves being on the river and most of all, he loves getting all dirty and sweaty and then jumping in the river to cool off.

When the boys had a break in their work schedule, they came to help.  The day Andy was here, the heat was oppressive.  I brought out cool wash cloths for them to use.  Mark seemed to enjoy his!

It was hard work in the heat, but it seemed (to me who showed up to take photos every few days) to go quickly.

Tony came out too!

Part of the plans for the interior included a bathroom.  Arranging it took much discussion.

Finally!  It turned out so cute!  One of our friends calls it our Taj Mahal. 

Mark did such a great job, not only finding the materials (you can't see the green metal roof in these photos), but the work he did was first class.  Now we're like regular Schenleyites!