Friday Snapshot

Tonight was a blue moon.

2 full moons in one calendar month.

We enjoyed watching the moon rise over a local vineyard.

Wonderful time spent with friends R & her hubby S.  Friend K joined us later in the evening.

The weather was beautiful on this late summer evening.

Just perfect.

potd #242.  Picture of E taken this morning.  Specifically for her time capsule which they are doing in class.  Mission accomplished.  Picture sent into class.

Getting To Know You

I just love beginning of the year enthusiasm.

Hubby and I are lucky that both girls really love school.

They enjoy going.  They have fun with their classmates.  They love learning.

I love the little things that teachers do in the beginning of the year.

Those small little activities they have the kids do so that they can get to know each other.

Yesterday they both came home with a sheet that they had filled out.

It was titled "Who Am I?"

Here are Ds' answers:

My favorite color is: violet(purple)
My favorite food is: spaghetti and meatballs
When I grow up, I would like a job as a: music teacher
In my spare time I like to: play piano
My favorite animal is: a giraffe

This is her.  Absolutely, positively, her.

Here are Es' answers:

My favorite color is: blue
My favorite food is: lobster
When I grow up, I would like a job as a: cook
In my spare time I like to: draw
My favorite animal is: dolphins

This, too, is E.  Absolutely, positively, E.

These sheets will be dated and put in the box that I have of my favorite pieces of schoolwork.

They also each brought home an activity called "Brown Bag It'.

By next Wednesday, they each have to fill a small brown bag with something to represent the following:

a hobby or free time activity they enjoy, 
one of their favorite things(food, color), 
a talent or special ability they have, 
something they really dislike, 
the best part of summer vacation, 
a place they would like to visit, 
something they would like to do better, and 
something that reminds them of a special time or event in their life.

E has already decided that she is going to bring in a potato.  She really dislikes mashed potatoes.  She isn't even a huge fan of french fries.

It will be fun to watch what they put together to bring to school.

I will keep you posted.

So, one more day and our 1st week of school is over.

Getting back into the groove.

Back to life, back to reality.

potd #241.  E working on her written piano homework.  Note reading doesn't come as naturally to E as it does to D.  This is definitely helping.  A lot.  I can see her confidence gaining.  Like I said, back into the groove.

1 Down, 179 To Go

But who's counting??

Today was the 1st day of school for D&E.

I honestly can't believe that they are in 4th grade.

This is the 1st day of Kindergarten.

Feels like yesterday.

Boo hoo.

And here they are today.

D on the left.  E on the right.

Uncanny how in the Kindergarten picture above D is on left & E is on right.

They do that in so many pictures I take.  Seriously, sooooooo many.  As in too many to count.

That is a blog post in and of itself.

Note to self:  do blog post with all pictures where they place themselves this way.  Really Uncanny.

Sweet D.  She was so ready to go to school this morning.

I had my alarm set for 6:30.

She popped into my room about 6:45.

She was funny.  She said to me, "Mom, my body just told me it was time to get up!"

It was a great start to 4th grade for her.

Her quote coming home today was, "Mom, I love Mrs. B!  She is the nicest teacher ever!"

Can't wait to see the year unfold.  I think D is right, she is going to have a great year.

Silly E.  She was a bit sleepy this morning.

I had to wake her up after my shower.  But, she got up fairly quickly.

Some left over nerves were with her during breakfast.  Not many, but some.

While we were waiting for the bus, she was being a little silly.

Making goofy poses for me while I was snapping pictures.

I think it helped her work off some of her 1st day jitters.

Es' quote of the day after getting off the bus this afternoon, "Mom, I love all my classmates!"

Her worry going to school was whether her classmates would like her.  Sweet E.

She had a great day.  And she was non-stop talking for the 1st ten minutes she was off the bus.

Another fantastic start to 4th grade.

Phew.

Can't wait to hear how the 2nd day goes tomorrow.

potd #240.  My 4th graders.  Oh my.  Love these girls.  So much.  Guess I can't freeze them.  So, I am going to enjoy every moment.  Because as I am learning, time really does fly.

Penny For Her Thoughts

My E.

She was a wee bit stressed this afternoon about school.

She was fine all yesterday at the meet and greet.

She was fine all day today while we ran some errands and went to the movies with some friends.

And then we went to the grocery store after the movies.

We ran into some people that we knew.

Of course the talk was all about school starting tomorrow.

E asked to go to the bathroom while I was talking and we were waiting at the deli.

She was gone for a bit.  I started to wonder what was taking her so long.

Then she came back.

We finished at the deli and ran into a couple more people that we knew.

After that she told me that her stomach was hurting.

The "1st day of school" nerves had hit her.  Hard.

I encouraged her.  Told her all was ok and would be fine tomorrow.

We finished at the store and headed home.

Even in the car she was not doing well.

I had to use a little tough love on her too.

I let her know that she was nervous, which was normal.  But, no matter how much she complained that her stomach hurt, she was still starting school tomorrow.

Tonight after dinner I watched her go outside on the deck while I washed dishes.  D was practicing piano.

I was sneaking this picture through a crack in the screen slider.

I didn't want her to catch me taking her picture.

What I wouldn't give to know what she was thinking about.

I just love how she is laying on the little couch.  Thinking.  Watching.

Penny for your thoughts, E.

It wasn't long after this picture, she realized I had come out on the deck.

My E.  From the smile on her face, I think some of the stress/nerves have left her. Maybe.

I just love this smile of hers.  My E.  I love you.  And I want to freeze these moments.

This picture just makes my heart happy.  This is my E.  Happy and smiley.

And that's why it is hard to see her nervous about school.

Unfortunately I know just how she feels.

As a child I would get terrible back to school jitters.  Would hardly sleep the night before the 1st day.

But, she has so much more self-confidence than I did at her age.

And that's how I know that she will be just fine tomorrow.

I know that she will get off the bus just beaming at what a great day she had with her teacher and classmates.

potd #239.  E, lost in thought on the deck.  I loved watching her lay on the couch while I was washing dishes.

Meet and Greet

Fall is just around the corner.

School starts in 2 days.

Just in time, I would say.

D&E seem to be getting a bit on each others' nerves the last week or so.

They are definitely ready for some separation.

Because while they are the best of friends and love each other, they surely know how to push each others' buttons.

Today we headed to school to meet their teachers.

It was the official "meet and greet" at their school.

It's a great way to get acquainted with their teachers and new classroom.

I believe it takes away much of the "1st day of school" anxiety that kids experience.

And they get to bring all of their school supplies into school.

They also got to see who was in their class.

Now that they are in 4th grade, they also had the experience of having a locker with a combination lock on it.

Both of them did great with practicing their combinations and getting their lockers open.

Phew!  It could have gone either way with the locks and the combinations.

I am just glad it went well for both of them.

And both girls have great classes.  Good kids in both classes.

It's fun to see the overlapping of classmates.

With D&E being twins, there is always a classmate in each others' class from the previous school year.

D has 2 classmates this year that were in Es' class last year.

And vice versa.  E has a couple classmates that were in Ds' class last year.

Also this year, their classes are right next to each other.  They were very excited about that.

It's fun for me to see them get excited to start school.  There are a few nerves from both of them, but for the most part they are so excited to start a new school year.

Hard to believe tomorrow is their last day of summer vacation.

potd #238.  Football oreos.  Love them.

A Tangled Web

Ok, it's not really a tangled web.

Just a web.

A spider web.

It is truly amazing at the speed in which a spider can weave a web.

Especially with all the intricacies that are in webs.

Truly amazing.

I spotted a web this morning out on the deck.

It is attached to one of the umbrellas and deck chairs.

Attached by only a couple thin strands.

Amazing strength those strands have.

potd #237.  While I really dislike spiders, the webs they make are just incredible.

Saturday Snapshots

Tonight we went to my friend Ks' house for a bbq.

It was a bbq in celebration of her youngests' birthday.

W, aka Hot Ketchup, turned 6 about a week ago.

It was a good time. 

There were lots of kids at the house.  All ages.  

And lots of boys.

I have decided that it's good to be friends with the moms of the girls' friends.

And it is almost better to be friends with the moms of the boys that are around the girls age.

Can't hurt for in the future when all these kids are in high school.

I am a forward thinker.

I made white chocolate popcorn to bring as a snack.

It is delicious.  

And so addicting.

potd #236.  Another round of arm wrestling.  Even though it's blurry, I love the look of this picture.  All the kids had fun tonight.  Big and little.

Summer Concert

Went to my first country music concert tonight.

Tim McGraw & Kenny Chesney.

It was lots of fun.

And I think I am a country music fan now.

I was lucky enough to go with my friends J, R, & S.  Rs' hubby and Ss' hubby also came.

Ticket purchasing was done by our friend C.

Earlier in the day we went to the outlet stores to shop.

It was a great day.

I even tried to blog from the concert, but the blogger app was not cooperating.

So, blogging now at way past my bedtime.

Yucky traffic getting out of the stadium parking lot.

Way yucky.

Like took us 90 minutes to get out of the parking lot yucky.

Blech.

Home now.

Phone died, so picture for today will be added in the morning.

Off to bed.

*edited:

Here are some pics from last night.

Tim McGraw

My friend J and me.  She's the best.

potd #235.  J, me, R, and S.  We have decided that next year we need cowboy hats.

Snapshots

The end of summer vacation is rapidly approaching.

Trying to enjoy every last bit of it.

Ready!

Set!

Jump!

E jumped too soon.  Oh well!

I love Lucy.  Ok, had to do that.  

I had just switched my camera lens.  This was a test shot.  

I love that I caught her mid-step.

She is a great dog.  

#234.  Got tomatoes?  We have lots of tomatoes right now.  It makes me happy.  I just love having a garden.  And I love it when D wants to go pick tomatoes on her own.  That makes me very happy.  And I love when E wants to walk through the garden with me.  That too makes me very happy.  Gardening.  Good for the soul.

Nana Banana

There is nothing like spending time with Nana.

Today Sissy, the girls, & I took Nana out for lunch.

Then we took a little drive to the local state university where there is a dairy bar.

We had yummy ice cream.

And we had lots of fun.

As I've said before, Nana is sharp as a tack, funny as anything, and ever so sarcastic.

Love her.

Here are some things I think of when I think of my Nana:

Bingo.  She has always loved to play.

Cards.  She was always willing to play.  And still is.

Bread stuffing.  There is nothing like my Nanas' bread stuffing for a turkey.  And she got the recipe from her mother.

Fritters.  Fried dough for breakfast.  The best.

Late night swims.  When we visited as kids, it was so much fun to wait up for her & my mom to come home from playing bingo.  Then we would go swimming.  Loved it.

Wedding dress.  I wore her wedding dress when I married Hubby.  I hope one day either D or E will want to wear it too.

Ciara perfume.  This was the scent she wore when I was little.  I know that if I smelled it today, I would  instantly feel 7 and visiting Nana.

The Price is Right.  She loves to watch and has watched it for years.  Probably since it 1st came on tv.

I Love Lucy.  This is one of her favorite shows.

Johnny Carson.  She faithfully watched "Johnny", as she called his show, every night when he was on tv.

Potato chips.  When I was young, she has always loved to snack on chips.  I remember sitting at her kitchen table with the tupperware of chips on the table.  Her & my mother would talk for hours.

Pickles.  She loves 'em.

Lemon.  She loves anything lemon.  Lemon donuts, lemon pie, lemon squares, lemon cookies.  You get  picture.

Freckles.  She has always had lots of freckles.  I love all my freckles mostly because I know they are like Nanas'.

Chinese food.  When we were kids, we would go shopping, on Saturday, downtown with Nana & Aunt N in the city where they lived.  On the way home we would stop for dinner at a Chinese restaurant.  Even as adults, Sissy & I would visit and we would go out for Chinese with Nana & Aunt N.

I really could go on and on.

I just love her to bits.

Stay tuned for more Nana stories.

potd #233.  Nana.  Happily eating her vanilla ice cream.  She is so much fun.

Back To School Shopping

Today the girls & I did some back to school shopping.

It was a good day.

Clothes were tried on.  Lots of clothes were tried on.

And clothes were purchased.  Thankfully not as many as were tried on.

D trying on an outfit today.

She just loved this shirt.  It comes with a feather necklace.

Oh my.

I kept reminding myself today that even my own mother, I am sure, bought things for me that she wasn't so sure about.

I actually do like the shirt.  It's a cute lime green/blue stripe.

It's just the feather necklace I am not sure about.

Well, at least it is removable.

E chose a similar top.  Hers has pink/blue stripes that are a bit thinner than Ds'.

Here is E, checking herself out in the dressing room mirror.

E liked to twist and turn while looking in the mirror.

I couldn't help but chuckle when I was watching her.  Very funny.

She chose this top because she really liked the top and she knew that D really liked the scarf.

Sweet sissies.

It was a good day shopping.

And we enjoyed a delicious lunch at Panera.  Yum.

At one point in the day E said, "I love clothes shopping!"

D said another time, "This is the best day ever!"

And at many points they both said, "Back to school shopping is fun!"

It was fun.

And we even found new sneakers for both.

I think by the end of the day we were all exhausted.

potd #232.  Two girls who like to clothes shop.  I am in trouble.  Big trouble.

Ice Cream Lunch

Sissy & I headed out today to go peach picking with the girls.

Unfortunately the farm wasn't open for picking today.

See, they periodically close for ripening.

Today was one of those days.  Tomorrow too.

We were told that they should be open by the middle-end of the week for picking.

That didn't help us today.

We wanted peaches.

Luckily, the peach picking entrance is right by the farm stand.

So we bought our peaches instead of picking them today.

And we bought corn for dinner.  Yum.

Then it was lunch time.

What are 4 girls to do?

We decided that we should have ice cream for lunch.

Off we headed to a local ice cream stand.

Where there just happened to be a petting zoo as well.

We ate our ice cream and then decided to check out the animals.

This donkey was cute.  And perhaps a little heavy.  Me thinks he gets fed a lot.

These 2 goats were so cute.  They definitely knew that when people come to the fence, that means they get a little something to eat.

The girl stuck her head through the fence at one point and tried to get Es' flip flop.

She got a pretty good grip with her mouth.  Good thing E was stronger, or else she would have been going home with one less flip flop than she came with to the ice cream stand.

This was about the time I told the girls the story of the goat that Hubbys' mom had when Hubby was a kid.

That goat liked to eat the shingles off of the house.

Apparently goats have tough stomachs.

Even D didn't leave untouched.

One of the goats(can't remember if it was the boy or girl) tried to bite onto her shorts. And this was after she had already fed the goats.  Apparently he/she didn't think D had given him/her enough food.

We had a wonderful time.

And the ice cream was scrumptious.

We will definitely have to go back soon.

potd #231.  Well, hello there.  Boy, this guy is cute.

A Few Treasures

Today was the day we headed up to Nanas' house to get a few things.

See, her house is in the process of being cleaned out and sold.

Boy is it hard to clean out Nanas' house.

There are just so many memories in her house.

In every single room.

And even in the basement.

And in the backyard.

Everywhere.  Good, happy memories everywhere.

Backyard cookouts.  Christmas Eve parties.  Christmas Day dinner.  New Years' Eve parties. Thanksgiving.  Easter. 

So much time spent at Nanas' house during my childhood.

Never mind the weekends spent visiting Nana & Aunt N. as an adult.

So, today was a bit hard going through the house.

But, as always, treasures are found at Nanas' house.

Today I brought back a few treasures.

Just looking around my house at the things I have brought home, I am so happy.

It is so nice to have a bit of Nanas' house now in my own house.

One of the items we brought home was Nanas' stereo.

Hubby is trying to figure out how to get it working.

It took us a few minutes to figure out that we had to switch on the light switch for power.

Oops.

Once we flipped the switch, voila!  Music from the radio.

Hubby had trouble with the record needle, but thinks he may be able to do something with it to get it working.

Here is the front of the stereo.  

I just love the look of it.  Classic 1960's.

We took a few more treasures home today.

Just too tired to take any more pictures.

I will have to take some more pictures tomorrow.

My favorite treasure that I brought home was my Nanas' telephone table.

Yes, a telephone table.

From back in the day way before wall phones.  From the time when telephones needed a table to sit upon.

Hence, the telephone table.

I have always loved this piece of furniture.

My mom would use the chair to sit on at the kitchen table for meals whenever we were at Nanas' house.

potd #230.  The telephone table.  This makes me happy.

Back Home

Peaceful day today.

Hubby got home late from a trip last night.

Hadn't seen him since last Sunday when he left the Cape.

We all missed him.

Lucy all cozy up on Ds' bed.

potd #229.  Two of my favorite people.  Hubby and D.  The girls were very happy to have him home.

Tired

Fun day today.

Went to the beach with a friend and her 3 kids.

The weather was perfect.

Now, I am tired.

Yawn.  Time for bed.

potd #228.  D, friend M, and E enjoying a beach snack of Oreos.  Can't got to the beach with out Oreos.

Snapshot

It was a good first day home.

Laundry is done.

House getting pulled back together.

Staving off reality as much as I can.

And squeezing every drop of fun out of these last days of summer vacation.

potd #227.  This was Lucys' chosen position when she got up on the couch with me tonight.  Head right on my laptop.  Love her nose.  Love her eyes. 

Home

The girls & I got back home this afternoon.

And it feels good to be home.

There is truth to the expression, "there's no place like home".

No matter how enjoyable it is to get away from home, it is always so nice to be back home.

We had a wonderful time at the Cape.

It was so very nice to spend time with my Nana.

She is sharp as a tack and funny.

And sweet.  And sarcastic.

Today when we were getting ready to leave, she gave each of the girls $5.

And she did it when she thought I wasn't around.  So, add sneaky to the list too.

When I saw her giving the money to the girls, I tried giving her a look of "what are you doing giving them money?!?"

Well, my look didn't work.  She just gave me her own look and said to me, "You just keep moving along".

Let's just say I decided it was in my best interest not to argue with my 95 year old grandmother.

There was no chance of winning that argument.

Many memories made the last 5 days.  And it just brings home to me the title of my blog, "what happens matters."

Truly the last five days the girls & I spent with my family matter a great deal.

Four generations spending time together also matters a great deal.

So yes, I am happy to be home.

But, I look forward to another chance of spending time like we just did with my family.

What happens matters.  Remember that.

Lucy with sad ears.

She was very happy to see us when we got home today.

She was not so very happy for me to put some ear drops in her ear.

potd #226.  Glad to have my couch buddy back.  There's no place like home.

Beach Bums

Yup, we have definitely settled into the beach bum lifestyle.

Just in time to go home tomorrow.

Boo.

I am so in denial about getting back to reality tomorrow.

It's been a good 5 days at the beach.

Today brought mini golf and lunch at Arnold's.

Sissy had fried scallops.  D had clam chowder.  E got the fried whole belly clams. And I had the lobster roll.

Yummy lunch.

And fun mini golf.  Little bit hot.  But lots of fun.

D&E tied for 1st place.  Then came Sissy.  And then came me.  Dead last.

At least our scores were close.  56, 56, 57, 58.

Then our late afternoon was spent on the beach.

Cape Sissy and niece M came up for a short visit.  It was nice to hang on the beach with them for a while.

Because the tide was so late, Sissy and I decided we would head up about 5:30.

Then we would eat dinner with my dad, nana, and Uncle T.  Uncle T was making spaghetti & meatballs for dinner.  It was yummy.

After dinner, we would go back down to the beach to swim.

We thought the water would be warm.  And it was.  But it didn't feel like it at first.

Once we were in though, it was very nice.  And the air was cold.  Which made it hard to get out of the water.

Our towels felt very good wrapped around ourselves when we came out of the water.

Yet another stellar day here at the Cape.

Now to head home tomorrow.  Which we are all looking forward to.

But we will miss the beach too.

We'll just have to come back for another visit this fall.

Fall is beautiful on the Cape.

Looking forward to our return trip already.

potd #225.  D with the crab she caught today.  This is huge.  Way huge.  She is really scared of crabs.  But today, for reasons I am not sure of, she decided to go crab hunting with E.  And catch crabs.  E was so sweet with her.  Teaching D how to find them.  What to look for in the sand to find the crabs.  And she did it.  All of it.  So very proud of her.  Way to go D!

Beach Blanket Bingo

We are really enjoying our trip to the Cape.

Lots of family time.

Lots of beach time.

Such a fantastic combination.

Going to sleep tonight E said to me, "I love this house, Mom."

Me too, E.  Me too.

It's not a trip to the Cape if you don't get some saltwater taffy.  Yum.

Girls favorite flavor this year:  cotton candy.  Can't blame them.  Tastes just like it.

Here is a minnow E caught today.

The minnows get big this time of year.

We headed down to the beach this afternoon when the tide was still coming into shore.

Which means there were lots of tidal pools.

One particular tidal pool had a few crab(blue claw) carcasses.  We noticed that the minnows were surrounding them to clean out the meat that the seagulls hadn't been able to get.

So, D&E decided to use a couple of the crab carcasses as bait to catch the minnows. Especially the big minnows.  They're smart & fast.

It worked like a charm.

E caught lots of minnows.   And a few large minnows.  Happy girl.

Ah, this picture makes my heart happy.

E reading on the beach.  We were out on a sandbar waiting for the tide to come in further.  So we could swim.

D in the background, happy as a clam(pun intended!), just playing in the shallow water.

It makes me so happy to see my girls enjoying the same beach that I did at their age.

Sissys together at the beach.  Absolutely love this.

And absolutely love seeing them together like this.

Makes up for all the times they were bickering over the last week or so.

potd #214.  Happy card players.  D & Nana.  Such great, fun memories being made.  And Nana is always ready with a smile for the camera.

Card Shark

This morning E played cards with my Dad & Nana.

D played for a bit, but it was E who hung in there for awhile.

They were playing an old card game from not only my youth or my fathers' youth, but from my nanas' youth.

It was "Steal the Pack".

Here is a description of how to play.

It's great fun.

And let's just say, things can get crazy when people are starting to steal another players' pack of cards.

Nana is a great card player.

And she's competitive.

At 95, practically 96.

Sissy and I decided after watching her play this morning, that we wouldn't want to meet her in a dark alley.

Ruthless.

Such great memories are being made this vacation to the Cape.

I am so happy my girls will have not only memories, but such good memories with my Nana.

She truly is the best.  And she loves the girls to bits.  Loves all of us to bits.

potd #223.  This is such a fantastic picture.  It just screams FUN!  No doubt about it, these 3 were having loads of fun playing cards today.

Beachy Afternoon

Well, today could have been a complete wash out at the beach.

The weather really did not look that great.

Cloudy.  Little bit of rain this morning.

Yuck.

And then, amazingly, the sun started to peek out from behind the clouds.

And it did that throughout the day.

At some points it was downright hot.

At all points it was downright humid.

Thank goodness Uncle T recently put in central air.

It is surely saving us this weekend.

Anyhoo.

We had a great day.

The girls went to play tennis with Hubby, my bil D, and my nephew J.

Sissy, niece K, and I hit a couple of thrift shops.

Then we stopped to grab some stuff for dinner.

And we called the guys and asked them to stop and get the steaks for dinner.

Yum.

This afternoon was quite pleasant.

Cape Sissy and niece M came up for a visit.

We all went over to a nearby park with walking trails along the beach.

We really weren't there for the walking trails.

We were there for the annual "picture by the whale bones" picture.

There is an old house on the property that used to belong to one of the old whaling captains.

And at the entrance of one end of the property are two "whale" bones.

I believe that long ago the whale bones were real.

Unfortunately, the ones there are no longer there.

Time and vandals have a way of taking care of that.

But it's fun to get a picture of the kids by the whale bones.

Sissy has been doing it with her kids since they were 5 & 2.  It's fun to look back at the pictures from year after year.

D&E by the whale bones.  Behind them is the house.

It is a wonderful property.

Here are all 5 cousins.  Such a fun picture to take.  

I was not ambitious enough to take my pictures off my camera tonight.

I am sure the ones on there are much better.  But these are fun to look at too.

After getting all of our pictures taken, we headed back to the house to go to the beach.

It was a wonderful afternoon.

Just the right amount of sunshine mixed in with clouds so we weren't too hot.

And the water was gorgeous.

Hoping the weather continues to get better and better.

Too bad Hubby has to go home tomorrow.  K, J, and bil D are heading home too.

Well it's tough to stay, but I guess Sissy and I will manage.

And we get some extra time to spend with Uncle T, Nana, and my dad.

potd #222.  Such a great picture of E and J.  They were doing some serious minnow catching/hunting.  This picture makes me want to never go home.  I truly do love the beach.