July 28 - 30

July 28
It seems every time we have the slightest rain storm, we lose branches all over the yard. Some can be pretty big and fall into the street. One day I'm afraid one will crash through the roof.


July 29
Katy, modeling her new school jeans...that she just couldn't wait until school to wear.


July 30
Katy bought herself a car this week. It is a 1994 Chevy Camaro with a T-top. It only cost $550, but it runs well and Katy is in love with it. She is putting new tires on, it needs a new bumper and will eventually need a new paint job, but the look on her face pretty much says it all.

Pretty snazzy, eh?


The reason for the paint job: a replacement door that didn't quite match in color.

Ah, young love. You never forget your first car.

July 27

July 27
A giant bust that sits in front of the municipal building downtown. I have no idea who the man is. If the historical society nearby were ever open on a day I could go in and investigate, I might find out. Still, it's an interesting thing to find.

Ice Age 3 was pretty darn funny. I had my doubts since it is the third installment, but we all got a laugh out of it. John was fine through the movie, then started feeling poorly again afterward. Today he is heading to the doctor.

Sunday

July 26
Of course, when you read the first two, you must read the third. It was probably the most enjoyable for me. The plot and writing were both pretty good.

It is a lazy Sunday here. John is finally feeling better and we had a visit from my sister this morning. On a whim, she and her husband drove two hours to eat at a certain restaurant they enjoy. There was a two hour wait to be seated, and by the time they ate and left, it was too late to drive home without fear of falling asleep. They got a room for the night and had to buy toiletries. This morning, as they drove home, they stopped in to visit for a few minutes but had to leave because they hadn't even grabbed medication before they left. I told her she was getting too old for this whim stuff...planning is better! :)

We are going to see Ice Age 3 today. Well, three of us are. Katy works tonight from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m., so she is resting.

Me again

Why do I always think summer will be a time of relaxation, with oodles of down time for doing absolutely nothing? It never is. It's always filled with things I've been putting off during the school year and the madness of preparing for the next school year. But enough of my whining and on with the 365 project. I had to take some fillers because life has been crazy. See above paragraph.


June 30
My little rebel.


July 1
It's not a princess tower, but a window will do.


Aaaaaand skipping ahead to July 11
The railroad tracks run straight through town here. We can hear trains from our house, although not loudly enough to disrupt anything we might be doing. Downtown traffic is often stopped due to passing trains. It's fun to watch, unless you're in a hurry.


July 12
My roses are wilting and it isn't even dreadfully hot. Time to deadhead a few.


July 13
This interesting metal "sculpture" is outside the public works building in town. I always smile when I pass that thing.



July 14
Just a shot of one of the water towers in town.


July 15
I love the architecture of many downtown buildings. The post office is one of my favorites.


July 16
Suddenly, with no warning, Goodwill boxes popped up all over town. I like to have a place for used clothing because I am not up to a yard sale this year.


July 17
Our new neighbors across the street put up a street sign for their business.


July 18
We spent a couple of hours at the state park, and even let Shona fish. It's amazing how calm and relaxed she can be for several hours during fishing. She didn't catch anything, but she enjoyed the process.


July 19
Happy birthday to DH! We kept it low key at his request.


July 20
I picked up the book Twilight for a few bucks just to annoy Katy. All I've heard from her is a long whine about how stupid the series is, how lame the kids at school are who read it, and how she wishes it would just go away. So I decided to read it. The writing was pretty bad, but the plot was good. I'm not a fan of the whole vampire genre, but I managed to enjoy the book. It just about killed Katy that I did.


July 21
The Photo Pass CD arrived. Wahoo!!


July 22
It's school supply buying time again. Shona is just a little bit excited and I can't believe she will be in the 4th grade.


July 23
Katy's mismatched shoes strike again. This time with '80's style ripped pants to match.


July 24
Katy was so annoyed that I enjoyed Twilight, I decided to buy the next book in the series. I didn't enjoy the plot as much, but at least the writing improved.


July 25
They have been working on the road at the end of my street forever, or so it seems. Today they put up traffic lights. The things aren't working yet, but they are up. I am excited because I won't have to fight highway traffic or go the back way anymore!

Just wondering

I am just not sure Shona was into meeting Tigger at the Disney park. What do you think? He was definitely the most fun of all the characters, playing and jumping with the kids. It takes someone very high energy to keep jumping constantly in 90* heat.


Nah, Shona didn't like him one bit.



These special edits were worth the price of the Disney photo CD. I'm glad I splurged on it, it was well worth the money.
Off to order more pics.

Indulge me

Vacation was wonderful. It was tiring, but wonderful all the same. I didn't get around to taking pictures right before we left, so I'll just plug those in with something when I fill up the book. For now, here's a catch up/look at my wonderful vacation photos. I just had 269 printed to scrap, so this is just a few of my favorite ones...


June 28
The hard work was worth it with all that power washing and staining. The deck looks amazing!


June 29
Katy's hair grows so fast I am completely jealous. She straightened it, and Shona kept saying "ooooo, it's so silky!" I guess I'm not the only jealous one.

Skipping June 30 and July 1. Deal with it. :P


July 2
Day one of our summer vacation. We stopped in Mammoth Springs state park just across the Arkansas border. What a beautiful place.


July 3
All that driving was worth it. We made it to Florida!!


July 4
St. Augustine, FL. The girls got to dip their toes in the water and play on the beach for a few minutes before we headed out to play.

Downtown old St. Augustine, where the girls met a pirate.


We climbed the St. Augustine lighthouse...or at least most of us did. Shona wimped out, but that was just the start of her wimping out. Apparently, she has a lot of fears.


The old fort at St. Augstine, one of my favorite places. I hadn't been there in 25 years, so don't you think it was time?


July 5
Day one of Disney found us at Epcot. John was falling all over himself when he met Mary Poppins. It was almost embarrassing.


The big ball. Had to have a shot of that. It was the only ride Shona really enjoyed and asked to go on again.



What Shona did enjoy was meeting the characters. This Kim Possible team was one of her favorites. The Disney people get very enthusiastic applause from me. They were one of the best parts of the trip.


July 6
This was the day of meeting friends. This is me with my friend Julie, outside the McDonald's at Disney.

This is us close up so you can see how stunningly lovely Julie is and how....I am not.

And this is Meg with Shona. Two instant BFF's, at least for the day.


And this is Janet with me and Shona, waiting to get in to the Animal Kingdom park.


Oh yeah, we also went to the park. Our favorite of the three we visited. This is the best photo. :)


July 7
Know how to have fun on your birthday? Go to Disney, I don't care how old you are. You will feel five years old again. I loved every minute of it. Even little kids saw my button and told me happy birthday.


Hollywood Studios was a blast. I loved that place, although I am an old movie buff. :)


Mandy didn't appreciate the snow. I can't blame her. I have had enough of that to last a lifetime.


I did appreciate the girls' pictures. They acted sillier than Shona with the photo ops. :)


July 8
Disney World is NOT the happiest place on Earth. My beach in Pensacola is. Can't you tell?


I'm not the only one who took to the sea.


July 9
The next day, we were back for more fun in the sun. We also went to the Naval Air Museum and the lighthouse, but that's for another day.

This was the look on all our faces when it was time to leave the beach. I've created monsters. Sea monsters. My evil plan has worked. They want to go back to Pensacola next year for a graduation present. Go on, twist my arm.


July 10
This was the only picture we took during the long trip home. Never again will I do 720 miles in one day with two teens in the car. Talk about drama!

I'll catch the rest up later. That's all my fingers can handle for one day.