Downfall

All I have today is a snapshot of a downfall of mine.

Bought this bag today at Target.

They are yummy.

All of us like them.

Which is good.

This way I won't be guilty of eating the whole bag by myself.

And look, they're fat free.

How wonderful.  Now I can eat more.

potd #198.  A big bag of Swedish Fish.  Yum.

Perfect Summer Supper

Today was another hot summer day.

The girls had tennis this morning.

And it was about 85 degrees at 9:30 this morning when their lessons started.

After lessons, we decided to fish again.

Both K & I had about an hour before we each needed to be other places.

The girls really do love to fish.

And their mama really just likes to watch them fish.

Another win/win for all of us.

Today they caught a few small fish.

The big deal was the small painted turtle that E caught.

E was pretty brave and was able to get the hook out of its mouth.

We kept him in the bucket for a while, then let him go when we were going home.

D also caught a small turtle.

It was another good time fishing.

And I love that I don't have to be involved.

It is also helpful to have Ks' 11 year old, J,  there too.

Like I said, it was hot today.

Very hot.

And when it's hot, I am really not wanting to cook.

So on nights like this, we usually have BLTs.

Yum.

potd #197.  A BLT.  The perfect hot summer night dinner.

Lovin' Summer

I just love summer.

We have really hit a good groove.

One bump today.

I was convinced by my very good friend, J to attend a bootcamp exercise class our gym.

It was Js' first time as well.

Our friend A also goes to this class on a regular basis.  She was there today.

Oh boy.

The class just about killed me.

We did a lot of planking.  And working on our cores.

Clearly I have no core.  Because it all hurt.  A lot.

Thankfully it all hurt J a lot too.

We made it through the class.  Even though we both thought we weren't going to make it.

Of course, we're both pretty sure we are not going to be able to move tomorrow.

Hoping the pain reliever I plan on taking at bedtime will help my cause.

After class, J & I decided we should spend the afternoon floating in her pool.

That was an excellent idea.

It was a very relaxing afternoon spent in the pool and chatting with J.

The girls and Js' daughter K(and Ks' friend B) all had fun swimming.

It was a win/win for all of us.

Tonight D decided that we should have grilled pizza for dinner.

That too was an excellent idea.

These are 2 of our favorite kinds of grilled pizza.

The one on the left is tomato/basil/mozzarella.  It is delicious.

The one of the right is a traditional red pizza with sausage and mushrooms.

Hubby grills the sausage and cooks the mushrooms on foil on the grill before making the pizza.

Both are so, so very good.

And the crust is just amazing.

I always eat way too much.

Here is the pizza cooked, cut, and ready to eat.

Yum.

All in all it was a great day.

Swimming, good friends, good food, perfect summer weather.

Yup, we've got the summer thing going for us.

Looking forward to another great day tomorrow.

potd #196.  Swimming handstands.  The girls had lots of fun practicing.  J & I were the judges.  From left to right we have K, D, and E.  Great handstands girls!

Snapshot

Quiet day.  For the most part.

Relaxing morning after our neighborhood bbq.

Hubby helped pick up at the hosts' house this morning.

The girls & I relaxed.

I had my coffee on the deck.

It was lovely.

The girls came out to sit with me.

The weather was perfect.

We were happy to put our feet up.

It was a great afternoon to go see Ice Age 3.  It was cute.

Tonight we went over to Rs' house in the neighborhood.

We had lots of fun.

Love my neighbors.

They are the best.  Truly.

Lots of fun and lots of laughs.

 potd #195.  Love my morning coffee.  Especially when I can relax on my deck.  That was extra special.

Being Neighborly

Today is our annual neighborhood golf tournament and bbq.

This is the 23rd year.

Pretty impressive.

There is a golf tournament during the day.  It is a scramble.

This is the first year I have ever golfed in the tournament.

I agreed to it somewhat under duress.

I didn't really want to golf.  At all.

But I did.

And much to my surprise, I had a really good time.

Dare I say, it was fun.

It certainly helped that in my foursome was one of my favorite people in the neighborhood.

Tonight is the bbq.

It is held at someones' house and we grill hamburgs, hot dogs, and bbq chicken.

The whole event is very well organized.

Looking forward to a good time spent with fun neighbors.

potd #194.  Enjoyed the neighborhood golf tournament.  Looking forward to a good time at the bbq.

Fishing!

The girls had tennis this morning.

My girlfriend K, who is also teaching D&E tennis, asked if we wanted to stay at the park to do a little fishing after lessons.

She was bringing her boys(and a couple of her oldests' friends) to lessons and they would fish during lessons.  Then we would catch up with them.

We had some time, so I happily said yes.

After I made sure she knew I don't do anything when it comes to fishing.

Luckily, she doesn't really do anything either.  Phew.  Knew I liked her for a reason.

Fast forward to this morning when I am on my way to lessons.

Well, on my way back to the park for lessons.  See we had arrived at the park when E informed me she didn't have her racket.

Her exact words were, "Mom did you remember to grab my racket?"

What!!!!!

Let's just say I may have yelled a bit.  Mostly that I am not responsible for remembering their stuff.

I let them know that no longer was I responsible for remembering their stuff when we leave the house.

And I won't be turning around anymore.

So, we were on our way back to lessons.

K calls me and says she has a favor to ask, if I am not busy during lessons.

I told her all I needed to do was run to the local grocery store to get soda for our neighborhood picnic that is tomorrow.

She then asks if I can go to the 7-Eleven and buy another container of night crawlers. The container her son J went in to buy yesterday was full of dead worms.

What????  She wants me to buy worms!

Good thing I like her.  So I said I would be happy to go buy worms for the kids.

Blech.  I survived buying night crawlers.  But I didn't like it.

Especially when the refrigerator also had containers of other yucky looking worms.

And especially after I was shaking the containers to make sure I was getting live worms.

And some kind of liquid got on my hand.  I am going with the idea that is was just condensation.  Hoping it was just condensation.

Double blech.

Yes, I can be a girlie girl about some things.  Apparently buying night crawlers is one of those things.

Anyhoo.

After lessons, off we go to fish.

The boys were fishing on a bridge that goes over the pond.  K's youngest son, W aka hot ketchup, had caught a catfish.

That was exciting.

The girls went fishing just around the pond up the path.

They were having fun.  Getting a few bites but not getting anything.

D, E, & M all had a fish on the line at some point, but it kept getting away.

Finally A was able to hook it.

And then it became a group effort to bring in this fish.

A has it hooked.  Letting it run a bit.  Tire it out.  E & M are looking on, cheering.

Reeling the fish in.  M is helping with the line.  Making sure it doesn't get caught in the weeds.

This shot makes me laugh.

D is posing for K.  So is A.

M & E are busily trying to get the hook out of the fishs' mouth.

They are not posing.  And I love Ms' face.  Lots of concentrating going on there.

Love this.  A posing for me.  A had no interest in holding the fish at all.

D just watching M & E.

M & E still working on getting the hook out.

It took a bit.

K was hollering for her oldest, her son J, to come and help the girls.

I, not knowing fishing at all, was yelling to J to bring the pliers.

I am sure that pliers is not the technical fishing term for the tool Hubby uses to get hooks out.

It was the closest I could think of at the time.

Basically K & I were useless.

Good thing we had M & E.

By the time the boys, J and As' brother-H,  showed up they had removed the hook.

Go girls!

It was a good time fishing.

We decided we need to do it again when we have more time.

Looking forward to it.

M just relaxing on the rock, fishing.  Perfect way to spend time on a warm summer day.

potd #193.  Such a fun picture of all the girls and their catch.  I love that E is pointing to A, making sure we know that it was A that reeled the fish in.  M, E, & D all have hands on the fish.  A was definitely not touching it.  Happy fishing girls.

Swim Dog

We have a golden retriever.

We are all pretty partial to her.  We think she's the cutest golden retriever ever.

And the sweetest.  And the prettiest.  You get the picture.

Well, this golden loves to swim.

Really loves to swim.

We have a two level deck.  The lower part abuts our above ground pool.

We can't even let Lucy down on the lower deck in the summer unless we are prepared for her to swim.

So, usually we keep her up on the top deck.  And she watches us sadly.  And cries.

She's quite pathetic.

Tonight, Hubby was going for a swim with the girls and decided to let Lucy swim too.

She loved it.  She was a happy swimming dog.

E throwing the ball for Lucy.

Airborne!  I love the splash that is made by the tennis ball.

Now it's Ds's turn to throw the ball.  I love how Lucy is so intent on watching what D is doing with the ball.

There goes the ball.

And Lucy leaps off the deck.  Crazy ears!

Splash!

Happy Lucy.  She has a ball.  She's swimming.  And she's with Hubby.

Now that's a wet dog.

I love so many things about this picture.

Her tongue hanging out.  Definitely happy.

She's smiling.

And I just love that she is holding onto Hubby with her paw.  Too darn cute.

Yes, I love my dog.

After she swam, we kept her up on the top deck to dry out.

She was so funny.

While I was up there she was fine.  Hubby and the girls were still swimming.

As soon as I went down onto the lower deck, she started to cry a bit and whine some.

Poor Lucy.  Such a rough life you have.

Here she is on the upper deck.  Watching Hubby and the girls swim.  And have fun.

It was killing her.

I took pity on her and kept her company.

potd #192.  Happy wet dog.  Swimming.  It's a good thing for all.