if you give a mouse a cookie

Remember the story? If you give a mouse a cookie? . . .

I think we're living smack dab in the middle of that book.

If you give the kids a bathtub, you need to add some tile. If you put up some new tile, you need to put in a matching sink. If your sink is on order for weeks on end, you might as well tear into your kitchen while you're waiting. If you get well into that venture then realize there are some mistakes in your project, you might need to put it on hold for several weeks while you find a resolution. If you're two months into your project and have to pull out all your brand new cabinetry and start again, you may now have paid for more than one full set of cabinets. If you now have more cabinets than your kitchen can hold, you may want to install some in your laundry room. If your laundry room has been grossly neglected for many many years, you will need a fresh coat of paint before proceeding. If you plan to paint, you may need to patch a few unfortunate holes in the sheetrock. If the walls are now looking nice, you might as well put in a new floor. If you have to install a floor all by yourself, you may badly need some baseboard molding to cover some not so exact edges. If you still have a couple extra cabinets, you may realize they would fit perfectly in the loft at the top of the stairs. If you want to install cabinets in the loft, you may have to find a new place to put all your kitchen items, bathroom items and laundry room items that have been boxed and piled there. If your business office now holds every single thing that used to belong in your whole entire house and you have to get some invoicing and business letters done, you may want to consider curling up on the couch in a fetal position and have a mental breakdown because you can't . . . even. . . find. . . a single . . . postage stamp. . . . in the jumbled up piles. . . . of what used to be . . . the entire contents of your home!

--OR--

you could just leave and go to the lake with your friends !!

all good things must end

We spent the week wearing cutoffs, t-shirts, flip-flops, baseball caps and slathered up with sun screen. Except for Roxanne. She looked like a princess everywhere we went. (I tell you, that girl was switched at birth.)

Heading out to Catalina:

Heading home from Catalina:

Oh well, all good things must end .

still hurting

The hotel we stayed in was just as beautiful as the brochure said it would be. The rooms were so-so, but the gardens were gorgeous. There was patio seating and several barbeque grills. It was wonderful to sit out on the porch in the evenings. One of the best features is that is was just a block and a half from the main street and the beach so we could all come and go as we pleased.There was one major negative issue, though. I think there should have been some truth in advertising. What they neglected to say in their beautiful brochure was that the block and a half was on a 45 degree incline up a road like this,

and the rooms would be at the top of an endless flight of stairs.

My legs are still hurting.

island life

Monday morning we started our week in sunny California! A long drive across the desert and a short jaunt across the sea and we found ourselves on Catalina Island. We were only there for three days, but they were so jam-packed that we came home exhausted.

We did a little sightseeing around the hills of the island.Did you know even though it's only a golf cart, when you put a kamikaze driver behind the wheel, it is a death defying ride?

The glass bottom boat creeped everyone out and almost kept a few kids from wanting to go snorkeling.

We did a day full of this:

Plenty of time for some shopping:Of course, a lot of this:Some star gazing. There was a television movie being filmed. Melanie kept trying to get in the background crowd. (By the way, that is John Schneider from the Dukes of Hazzard and Smallville.)Some late night walks on the beach:

A little bit of lounging and movies.

There was a little bit of cold sea air:

Some ocean winds:

And there was a bit of sunburn too:

Lots and lots of sillyness: And we said goodbye to tons and tons of this:

It was a great week.


I'd go again in a heartbeat! Well, after we save up a few more of these:

plowing asphalt

We had a rushed Father's day celebration on Sunday. It lasted about 4 1/2 minutes before we had to get in the car and leave town. Dave opened a few gifts, we snapped a few pictures and called it a party. Rick from "Organized Doodles" provided a great gift for us. He did an illustration of Dave scooting around town on his beloved tractor. I love the souped up engine and flames. (I think in his mind, Dave thinks he is really zooming along.)Isn't that cool? Check out Rick's blog here ! He does a lot of fun artwork.
Thanks Rick, Dave loves it and shows your picture to everyone that walks in our door.
and Happy Father's Day Dave!!

melanie-isms II

Note passed in church:
Mel - I'm bored and Roxanne ditched me, so who am I supposed to pass notes to?
Mom - Sister Majors right there in front of you, of course.
Mel - I don't think she wants to pass notes.
Mom - How can you tell? Try it.
Mel - What do I say? But I'm sure she wants to pay attention to the talks, not pass notes back and forth with a 13 year old.
Mom - ok, . . . I guess you'll just have to be bored. Oh, I know! Why don't you pay attention to the talks???!!
Mel - No way hozay!

Melanie: (said to a boy who sits next to her at school) "You smell like Disneyland!"
Boy: Is that a bad thing?
Melanie: No, it's perfect! Rachel: I'm going to see the play 'Hello, Dolly'.
Melanie: Wasn't that the sheep that was cloned?
Mom: Yes, Melanie. There was a sheep named Dolly that was cloned, but no, they didn't make a stage musical out of it. (Yes, she sewed her hair in the sewing maching. No, I don't know why.) "Look what Lexi did! She chewed up my shoe in the night! Get out of here Lexi, I'm mad at you. No! Get away - I'm giving you the silent treatment!! Don't you cuddle up to me, Lexi! I mean it!! . . . . . . . oh, you are so cute. . . ok, I forgive you!!" "Good Night, my fellow family members!"

first mondays

Our friend, Kirk, had an art thing last night (a 'thing' -- I don't really know what to call it). He was showing some of his paintings, gave a lecture and had some slides of his work over the years. The word "lecture" conjures up "boring" to me, so I hate to call it that because it was anything but boring, quite the opposite. It was a very pleasant evening, lots of friends there. The Burton Barr Library features a different artist on the first Monday each month. The program is called (surprisingly) "First Mondays".

My favorite painting by far was this one: