Summer Days Slipping Away - Make that Melting Away!

With 110 degree heat indices for south-central Arkansas, it really does seem like we are melting here. A friend posted on Facebook that she was going to try putting herself in the dryer to see if she shrank, but another friend pointed out that all that would do was fluff her up!

So how long was your "I've got to get this done over the summer list"??? Mine was pretty long and I certainly have more items than time to do them. Here are a few:

*Paint boy #2 bedroom - he is 12 and still has a magnolia flower border from when we moved into the house. I'm not sure he even knows it is there. Some friend is sure to point it out one of these days.

*Switch out ceiling fans in 2 of the bedrooms.

*Finished! Have a garage sale and get rid of stuff!

*Paint master bedroom - this involves sanding an entire room of paneling first. Then priming and painting.

*Paint master bath.

*Re-paint kitchen cabinets (don't like the first color I picked).

*Go thru all Christmas items and see what can be culled out. I have way too much for one family.

*This one finished! Clean office and organize including filing of 3 years worth of paperwork.

*Find or spray paint frames to hang a collection of old family photos in the staircase area going downstairs.

*This one in progress now! List homeschool items on eBay.

I won't continue, but you get the idea. I bet I am not alone - some of you are closet "summer list makers" and you haven't gotten very far either, have you!!!

Adorable!

Even if you don't like cats, I can't imagine anyone seeing this photo and not saying, "ahhhhh, cute!" This is one of our 5 little kitties that are now 6 weeks old. I stuck her in my planter box that sits on the deck and waited for the right moment...and what a catch!

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Pray that we find the 4 girl kitties good homes. George, the boy, gets to stay with us. We are hoping a male will be more interested in catching the moles we have in our yard every year. Dazzle, the mother, is not a hunter at all.

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George has been my favorite of the bunch so I am glad he was a boy! He got his name George from Curious George...into everything and he always runs out to see me as soon as I come out the door. The kids all had their favorites, but George stays on account of his gender.

Hitch-hiking lizard-y thing

I can't think of what these things are called - it's not a salamander, it's the critter that loses it's tail when you grab it. I don't think it's a gecko. Anyway, this little guy was hitch-hiking on our vehicles for a couple of days and riding with us to and from Wal-Mart, the grocery store, etc.
It actually was on my van first, then the Jeep, then back to the van. I was kind of scared it would somehow leap into the cabin of the van. It was always hiding out in the crack at the front of the driver door. I was scared that it would get into the van when I opened the door. Not that a little lizard-y thing is that scary - but I don't want him in my lap in the van!

Arthur being friendly with the hitch-hiker!

Hydrangea Plant

Last summer I planted 2 hydrangeas. I have always loved hydrangeas. They are so gorgeous and I am fascinated by the big beautiful blue ball of flowers! If you need inspiriation for color combinations, just look to what God created in nature and you can't go wrong.

This hydrangea had flower balls in blue, purple and pink. I always understood that the color of the flower ball was determined by the type of soil the plant was in, either acidic or alkaline. This soil must be a combination!

The 2nd hydrangea got hit by a late freeze, so I'll have to wait for flowers on that one til next year. Hydrangeas must like the climate here because they are in lots of landscapes and yards and do very well.

Teachers, Friends and MOPS

This is Ethan with his 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Knowles. What a sweet lady she is. We are so blessed that so many of the teachers in our schools are born-again Christians. I have gotten to know her over the course of the year helping out in the classroom. I don't think there was a day that I was in the classroom that I didn't see her exhibiting love and kindness to "her" kids. There were often hugs and motherly love. She has been teaching for 28 years and is an absolute gem.

Hannah took a picture of her friend Alaina. What a sweet girl! She is our only other comrade in homeschooling at our church. Alaina is one year younger than Hannah. Talk about a sweet spirit - can you see it on her face! Her Momma and I are getting to know each other and develop a friendship. I am so thankful they joined our church!

This is Hannah with one of the little girls we had in our MOPS class in May. MOPS is Mothers of Preschoolers. They meet once a month at our church. A wonderful ministry to Moms with young children. The Mom gets to come and be ministered to with fun and informative meetings and of course food! The children go to classes and do fun stuff, hear stories, a Bible lesson, play outside, etc. This little cute sweetie pie is so adorable I wanted to take her home!

A couple more of our MOPS children. We had all girls in May. They built themselves a boat of cardboard building blocks. It was good practice for Hannah as she would like to do some babysitting.

Kittens!

Our cat Dazzle had kittens 3 weeks ago. I was downstairs working most of the time during the deliveries. Hannah kept coming downstairs to tell me, "Dazzle had another one". Thankfully she stopped coming down to tell me after the 5th time!

Hannah with the kitties at 2 weeks.

By the way, if anyone needs a cute little kitty in about 4 weeks, we can probably make that happen for you!

FIELD TRIP TO THE BALLPARK

Monday Ethan and I went on a school field trip to the Arkansas Travellers ballgame. Last year when the 2nd graders toured the intermediate school (which houses the 3rd-5th grades) the principal told them he would take them to a ballgame when they were 3rd graders. Ethan has been waiting all year for this!

Each adult had several children assigned to them. Jonathan (in the yellow shirt), one of Ethan's favorite classmates, got to hang out with us for the day. The boys took full advantage of all the goodies offered at a ball park, hot dogs, cotton candy, lemonade! A couple of real silly boys with real silly faces!

The ball park, Dickey-Stephens Park, is brand new this year. It is very nice, however, all the seats are pretty much in the open - not a bit of shade to be had. That is why you see all those empty seats - everyone is hiding under the roof in the middle section where the food and stores are. It was almost 90 degrees (on May 1st!).

The Arkansas Travellers ball team is a farm team for the Texas Rangers. It was fun to spend the day with Ethan and his classmates!