Last weekend!

Last weekend, all available family headed to the river...

 

Not all of us, Ashley had to work, Vicky and Jamie, Michael and Catherine were busy...

 

So it was just Andy and Locklan,

Tony and Mindy,

And of course, Mr. K and I.

 

Locklan tells us all the time that he wants to go to camp.

 

He loves it there!

 

First thing last week was Mindy washing her car...

 

 

 

Of course, Locklan had to help...

 

 

He couldn't quite figure out how to get rid of the bubbles!

 

 

Uncle Tony likes to throw rocks as much as Locklan

so they headed for the docks...

 

 

 

 

 

When they finally came back,

Mindy and Locklan played catch...

 

 

Mindy loves to cook and entertain.  She usually prepares the menu for camp...

 

This week it was pizza!

 

 

No one went into the water...but

"Grandma's Duck" is as much fun on land as it is on the water...

 

You can tow it...

 

 

And hug it...

 

 

And just look at it...

 

 

You can lay beside it...

Even talk to the dogs...

 

 

 

And if you get bored, you can take pictures!

 

 

Locklan was trying very hard to explain how to do it to me...

 

 

 

Later on, Steve, our neighbor/landlord/friend

came over for a few golf pointers from Tony...

 

 

 

Soon, way too soon, it was time to clean up and go home...

 

For every one but me!  Mr. K hitched a ride home with Andy

and I spent the night.

 

The next morning, I had coffee on the deck...

 

 

 

~sigh~

 

Yeppers, I love it out there!

 

 

 

 

 

Last week...

Last week, Locklan and I packed a lunch...

Including his favorite...

And headed for the local county park.

Alameda Park has two sections...

On top of the hill is what the kids call the Purple Park...

and an amazing pool...

But at the bottom of the hill...

is the site of a former amusement park...

 

 

Complete with a lake!

 

 

The dam is gone, and so is the lake...

but what we have left is a great creek where families come to play...

 

My friend, Deb, commented that as many rocks that are thrown into that creek,

 it's a wonder water can pass through!

 

 

Locklan and I ate our lunch...

 

 

 

And then the rock throwing began!

 

 

 

 

That building in the background is the carousel,

One of the few features left of the original park.

 

 

Pretty soon, someone looked pretty tired...

 

 

 

So we buckled our seat belts and headed home...

 

 

But first, we made one stop...

 

 

The car wash!

 

I thought Locklan would be asleep by then...

 

But when we got home, he was ready to play again!

 

 

 

What a stinker!

 

We are so blessed to have such a smart, happy boy to love on!

 

And we do!

 

 

 

 

 

my guys...

Of course, last weekend we headed for the river...

 

We had lots of fun,

I'll tell you about it later...

 

But best of all,

I got to spend time with my guys...

 

 

~sigh~

 

Am I blessed or what???

Return of the River Rats!

This past weekend, the Red Sock River Rats were out in full force!

We haven't spent as much time there this year as we have in the past...

We had that huge tree fall and destroying much of our dock...

 

Requiring heavy equipment to remove...

 

And the flood this past winter/spring...

The boys' busy schedule...

Me getting to spend so much time with Locklan...

There is much work to be done, and to be honest, some of it will not happen this year,

we haven't even put the boat in the water yet.

But last weekend...we were ready to play!

Mr. K and I were the first to get there...

Well, not the very first, someone (who likes corn) got there first...

 

If you look carefully, you can see the handprint of the culprit!

 

 

Yes, someone with  thumbs!

 

Tony and Mindy came with their dogs...

 

 

 

Since we didn't have the boat in the water,

Tony and Mindy have been floating on rafts and kayaking.

 

I wanted to join in, so I ordered a raft of my own.

 

Mindy helped me

did all the work and got it blown up!

Of course, she had help...

 

It was pretty heavy...

 

And BIG!

 

As in VERY BIG!

I couldn't wait to try it out!

 

 

Yes, the river was ugly, the water was high...

But we still had a great time!

On Sunday, everyone headed back to the river, but Mr. K and I had tickets to see Mama Mia, and Ashley had to work.

 but Andy and Locklan, Tony and Mindy, and My brother-in-law, Mike and his son Tyler were there.

Locklan and Mindy enjoyed 'Grandma's Duck' ...

But he didn't last long...

 

Nap time!

 

But floating on the water does that to me too!

 

Tyler pitched in and cut the grass...

 

Which earned him the right to a float on the swan.

He declined, but did test it out on land...

He also brought his drone and took these dynamite photos of camp...

 

 

You can see that our dock (short dock in center of photo) isn't all done...

 

But we'll take what we can get!  I love our camp on the river!

 

Ahhhhhhhhhhh!

 

 

Heavenly celebrations...

Do they celebrate birthdays in heaven?

 

Probably not since we're all promised eternal life...

 

So I'll continue to celebrate, in my own way, depending on the year...

 

Happy birthday, Mark!

 

Today you would have celebrated your 59th birthday.

 

 

 

 

We never got to say good bye to you...

 

Most of the time I think it's just as well...

 

What would we say?

 

Just what I hope you already knew...

 

You are loved...

 

We miss you!

 

 

 

Jan, Andy, Tony...and now there is Ashley, Mindy and Locklan!

 

 

How to find your camera charger...

😌😖😖😖I have this darling point-and-shoot camera that I like to throw in my purse...

It takes great enough pictures for blogging or just helping jog my memory...

One thing I really liked about it was that it had a rechargeable battery and a charger...

It was a win-win situation until last Sunday...

When I realized that the battery was dead and the charger was nowhere to be seen!

 

I looked EVERYWHERE!

 

Then I remembered my best friend...

 

Amazon Prime!

 

I ordered a new charger!

 

It came today!

 

I opened the package, took out the new charger, plugged it in and started to charge the battery.

 

I cleaned up the wrapping,

Threw it away...

 

Walked up the stairs,

Opened my desk drawer...

 

Guess I don't have to tell you what I found...

Driving Miss Norma...

Have you read this book?

 

If not...

You should!

 

I have.  Twice.

 

On July 11, I had the opportunity

to not only hear Tim Bauerschmidt and Ramie Liddle

Talk about their book,

their journey with Miss Norma

(who was Tim's mother).

 

 

But I got to talk to them...

to give them hugs,

 

and to pet Ringo...

 

 

and to take two photos and then my phone battery died...

 

It was such a moving experience...

 

The book made me laugh and cry...

 

Hearing them talk,

seeing them open their lives and hearts to us...

 

It was a book that SEEMED to be about their relationship with

Miss Norma, Tim's mother...

 

But when you get down to it...

It was about Miss Norma's relationship with herself!

 

About grabbing life by the ass...

and shaking it as hard as you can!

 

 

It's all about the relationship you have with yourself!

 

Read it!

And that's an order!