Spashing good time

It's hot, really hot. I can't tell you the last time I jumped into the van and the temperature reading was less than 100. In fact the only time we go outside before 6 or 7 at night is when we go to the pool. Well today was a little different.

Today the kids got to play in the backyard on a borrowed blow up waterslide. They had a great time!

Camera in the hands of a 5 yr old

Olivia loves cameras. We have to hide our real cameras to protect them from the quick, painful death suffered by our first digital camera. So she plays pretend "camera" with most any box shaped toy. We are constantly having to "say cheese" at a crayon box or barbie suitcase. Well, Olivia is in camera heaven now. Beshy got her a real camera.

Now if we can only get her some "how-to-use-a-camera lessons :)

her first pic... "how does this work again?"

proof that it really does rain sometimes

is this room a little less that level?ooh, I love that show

love that floor

my cousins

my Memaw

this is what I-40 looks like as my mommy drives


the view in the back of the van

Summer Reading

Summer Reading...a concept I was not introduced to in middle or high school. I don't ever remember having to scour libraries or bookstores to find obscure or classic titles. But today is a different story. For the last few years, Alex has had required summer reading. He never jumps at the chance to read but he is pretty good at getting it done. So this year he is reading away on Shane and The adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I am so glad he is being challenged to be more open to reading and the knowledge that comes from books.

Now, having sung the praises of school reading lists and summer challenges...here is my summer reading choices.... The Inspired Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln, Quiet Hero and Spoken from the Heart. Never heard of them? Well that is probably because they are all works of Non-fiction... some of my friends just gasped in dismay :). That's right, I do not read fiction. I choose non-fiction titles to expand my horizons, challenge my thoughts and comfort my soul. My opinion is that there is so much real life to explore, why should I waste time in someone else's made up stories. My sister in law and most of my friends feel the exact opposite...life is so real why shouldn't we escape to a make believe world. That makes perfect sense but I just can't get into fiction. I have a policy that if someone really pushes me I will begin reading a work of fiction. That particular book has one chapter to capture my attention and draw me in. At the end of that chapter if I am not completely smitten and intrigued, I am out. I was recently reminded that one chapter is not enough to fully develop characters and plot lines. Be that as it may, my policy remains unchanged :)

I am reminded of a great line from my favorite movie, Steel Magnolias... "I don't go to plays cause I can nap at home and I don't read books cause if they are any good they'll make em into a mini series" You know you can't live life as a southern women without seeing the women in that movie and hearing their lines in your everyday world. But anyway, I digress....

The books I have been reading this summer are not sending masses of people to read about vampires or imagine worlds of boy wizards but they are incredible works. The Inspired Words of Abraham Lincoln details the biblical base for most of his speeches and essays. You can follow his career and thought processes that led him up to and through the most tumultuous era in our history. Yeah, it is not exactly the quintessential beach read but it is a wonderful glimpse into the man who held our country together.

Quiet Hero is written by Rita Cosby, former FoxNews anchor. Only after her mother's death did she uncover the truth about her father. He had long before abandoned their family. She discovered the secrets of his past in an old suitcase hidden in storage among her mother's boxes. This book will draw you into a world which few of us can even imagine...Warsaw in the late 1930's. Her father had been a young teen at the time of the invasion. He would later join the resistance and fight in the Warsaw Uprising. From hiding in bombed out buildings to escaping in sewers to life in a Nazi prison camp, his story is riveting. And to accompany his story is the story of this daughter rediscovering her father. This is a GREAT read!

The last of my summer reading choices is the one I have been dying to read since it was released. Spoken from the Heart is Laura Bush's memoir. You know I love the Bushes so I couldn't wait to read it. I borrowed it from my mother in law and headed to the beach... yes, I read biographies at the beach :) LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book. In fact, reading it only grew my respect and admiration for our former First Lady. Want to know the inside world of the White House? Read this book. I was captured by the intense security risks they faced each day after 9-11. Her grace and dignity are matched only be her devotion to her family.

I hope you have been reading this summer. I would love to hear what you are reading. Leave me a comment and we can follow each other's reads....

My pitiful baby girl

A couple of years ago Olivia was stung by a wasp. It swelled, turned red and was really hot. The spot where the stinger went in turned brown. In the end she had a small hollowed out scar at that spot. We suspected she was allergic based on that sting and reaction. Well now we know for sure she is allergic.

On Monday night she was stung again by a wasp on her forearm. It immediately turned a bloody, bruise-like color at the stinger site. That night the swelling was minimal with very little warmth or redness. I assumed the quick dose of benedryl had done the trick...not so much. Yesterday it gradually worsened...large amounts of swelling, redness and heat. Last night she did not sleep well at all and this morning blisters began to appear. After a hasty call to the doctor, a "get right over here" appointment and lots of meds, we hope she is on the upswing. Right now she looks a little like Popeye with a massive forearm :) She has steroids and antihistamines and we now will carry an epi-pen for her as well (wouldn't you think at least one of my kids would not have to have one?) Anyway, she is a little pitiful in that she feels like she wants to jump and be her normal bubbly self but as soon as she stretches or bends or bumps her arm she just falls down and starts sucking her thumb. Yes, I know she is too old to suck her thumb and we are working on that, but right now I am not going to fight that battle. Her little body has a battle of it's own to fight.

And of course, I had to take some pics. She wasn't real thrilled about that :)

More Fun on Vacation

We spent one morning at Table Rock Lake. It is a beautiful lake created by the Army Corp of Engineers. David and Alex swam to the boundry and back. The little kids loved putting their heads underwater and watching for fish to swim by. I was busy watching for poisonous snakes and counting my children....(no there are not poisonous snakes there but I am a little paranoid plus when I was a little girl my Grandmother always told me that lakes were the most dangerous place to be because they dropped off into depths of100 feet without warning and people were always drowning there). So... my family had a great time, me? not so much.
The kids continue to love the pool...

And of course...exhaustion came in the afternoon :)

For Joshua's day he wanted to ride go carts. He and Lucas were too little to ride, so they played arcade games...

Alex rode go carts and loved it.

The little boys were reduced to watching their big brother take on the track.