Memory Tag

I got this off my friends blog and thought it might be fun, plus it gives me a chance to find out how many people actually read my blog :)

1. As a comment on this post, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember! (um, maybe I should say within reason...)

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

What adventures does the day hold?

This is it, again. The last day off before the big beast leaves. It's been delayed for more than a couple of weeks, so we have been taking advantage of each moment we can together. Finally the day has come, it's the last day off. You ask what you want to get done before he leaves for an extended period of time, what last minute house things you need to go over and have help with. What yard things you can't do on your own, what the car needs, and most of all what goods and products he still needs to be gone somewhere without access to a store for the rest of the summer. Then you have to ask, What adventures does the day hold?

While there is a long long to-do list, it's also our last chance as a family to have some fun together. It's our last chance to connect, take pictures, get a little video for the baby and just hang out together. Our last chance to play Monopoly, jump on the trampoline, go over first day of school stuff and have the "talks" we always have to have before he leaves. It will probably make for a very, very long day. We will look for the fun, the adventure and the opportunity to laugh today more than other days.

Just for fun, here's some of the Ta-Do list:
finish up the rock and edging placement in the yard, build some more steps in the back, shop for last minute items for the sea bag, get a load of bark and a load of rock, check the oil leak in the car, hem the uniform pants, finish up the laundry so the rest of his clothes can be packed, re-load the MP3 player, put together some new pictures for him to take, pack a pic-nic lunch so we can have some fun at the park for a while, take a video, go over the "patrol what-if" list again and don't forget to laugh and have fun! Good thing we can multi-task! Wish us luck!

Landscape Update

We are making progress, slowly but surely. Justin leaves very soon, so we are trying to get as much done as possible in the next couple of days. I have learned to set a flagstone path, something I never thought I would be doing. It looks nice and we are glad we settled on that. The rest of the plants will have to wait a while as money and time become available again. So far, so good. We have one more major pathway to put in that will go around the house and one more planting area and then the grass. I think the grass planting may have to wait until Sept, when it's not so hot and has a chance to grow a little better. For the most part though, it's just nice not having a big orange machine parked in my front yard.

Keeping the Baby Busy

We have been busy scrambling to get the front yard in some kind of order after the big septic system thing. The challenge is keeping the kids busy and out of harms way while trying to make real progress on restoring our yard. Fortunately, Meg found something to keep her busy and happy. She is having a grand time playing in the rock pile. She plays there for as long as we will let her, digging and throwing and not eating the rocks. We have found them in her shoes, in her onsie and in her diaper, but that was only because she put them there, not because she swallowed them. The joys of childhood. She's having a blast playing in these rocks and I am cursing the ones I am finding where I want to plant grass... Go figure.

Partners in Crime

For the past couple of days we have had an extra baby around in the mornings. It's been fun to watch the two girls play together. For the most part Meg wants whatever her friend has, including mom's lap and her friend's binky (even though she hasn't taken a binky for months). Today they decided they had a common goal, something both girls could enjoy and participate in. Emptying out the contents of the diaper bag, over and over again. It's fun to watch mom put everything back and then empty it all out again, together. They played that way for the better part of an hour, emptying the bag about 5 times. It's good to have a friend and do something you both enjoy, don't you think? Today it's diaper bags, tomorrow it's shopping at the mall, or worse yet, dating....

Am I really a photographer?

I have had several photo shoots in the past few weeks. It's been fun to get some new experience and I am always thrilled to show people their photos. I am gaining in confidence and have even started charging now. That's good, we need to make up some money lately. I am humbled people will actually pay for something I can do. One of my favorite parts is getting to know the families and getting what they want on film. Anyway, I have had enough people ask in the past few days, I made up a business card. I have an online gallery by permission at islandalli.winkflash.com. Email me for the password.

A Great Weekend

We had a great weekend. One of our favorite people came to visit and we enjoyed every second, well almost. Except for the part where Meg was running a fever and had to take a little ER trip. Other than that, it was marvelous. The Bremerton Stake Patriotic concert was Sunday night. I had been practicing for almost 6 months with them and the performance was great. Several people commented that they really enjoyed it. We went to Port Orchard and picked out more rock for our yard. It was good to have another opinion. It was really good to have help with the dishes at night and getting ready for church on Sunday. We went to the fun park here and played in the water and enjoyed the sunshine. Before she left Justin just had to ask why she couldn't stay another 2 weeks. Now that's love. We love our Grandma Ellen. Thanks for the visit!