The Usual

Not the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

OMG!

I am going to miss the ease of the summer.

Really,

I am.

I know not all mothers share this view.

As The Petal Turns

We are getting ready to purchase our school supplies.
For some reason,
the girls LOVE doing this.
They like to go to choose their stuff for the next year.
Me, not so much.
Buying clothes is way more fun.
Shoes can be a challenge,
but this year it was pretty painless.
I only hope the next school year will be as painless.
Who knows,
we attended 8th grade registration and Miss Brunette is all set.
I paid all my fees, ordered pictures and her yearbook.
So we are good to go.

Must Love Dogs

Our good friend LOVES dogs.



He loves our dogs and likes visiting them.

I am friends with his mom and his sister is friends with Miss Brunette and Blonde Girl.

We love him.





When he completed high school,

the girls wanted to know when he would leave for college.

I said, "you have to know that he won't be going to college because he is special."

The girls were stunned, "yes, we know he is special,

but we didn't know he was that kind of special."





He loves dogs and currently wants to trade his dog, Elsa,

for Sam and Love Man.

Love Man has since been down-graded.

Now, he wants Sadie and Sam for Elsa.

Poor Love Man.





He has four years left of school to learn life-skills.

I can think of a lot of people who could use some classes in life-skills.

I guess we are all special.

Finally

After an entire summer of waking up at 5:00 am or the latest 6:15 a.m. ,
this week I have slept until nearly 8 a.m.
Of course,
I don't have that much time to do so.
And,
it will be an adjustment to waking up early again.
Help me!
School for the girls begins August 9.

Limes Galore

We are going to have hundreds of limes.

Some of them are clustered together like grapes.

OMG.

A Reprieve

Love Man's high school/college friend and family spent the day with us.
The weather was fabulous.
It had rained on Thursday and it really cooled things down.

Friday was gorgeous.
The kids swam all day and had a great time.
We were even able to eat outside on the patio.
I don't think they think we live in hell now.

We served beer can chicken, oven roasted potatoes, salad and bread.
Miss Brunette made vanilla ice cream and Love Man made a wacky cake.
I would have,
but I had to pick up my friend's husband at the airport.
Love Man is good that way.
If you give him a recipe,
he will follow the directions and make it.
We also had a big container of lemonade, iced tea and beer.

It was the usual nutty day.
We had all of this stuff going on.
I had to run to the airport and back.
I had to take Miss B to a birthday gathering and pick her up.
We also had three extra people for dinner.
You know how it is.

I was driving to the airport and Love Man called.
"Umm, do you think two chickens will be enough if we have three extra people for dinner."
"Ahh, no."
So, I schelped back to the store and bought another chicken and another loaf of French bread.
What can you do?
And,
it all worked out just fine.

I am Beat

We had a wild week of doctors appointments, school shopping and friends in from Montana.
I am glad to get in some R & R.
Love Man's college friend and family thought we lived in hell.
I said, "you wouldn't visit International Falls, Minnesota the second week of January."
I rest my case.

Tried and True

We are DONE, DONE, DONE school shopping.

We don't have the classroom supplies,

but I am sure a list will arrive via mail.

I am dreading it.

The girls are pleased.

I am too.

We didn't fight over anything,

except that Blonde Girl thought she needed another bathing suit.

I swear she has at least 8.

We all do,

it is part of living in a warm climate.

And, we are cement pond people.

Okay, Love Man has one.

But he is an enigma.
Bathing suits are currently her favorite things to shop for.

It used to be shoes.

P.S. I don't know why he is holding his breath.

Maybe he submerged the trio after the photo was taken.

I Stand Corrected

Okay, okay, I pointed Blonde Girl out indicating the wrong direction twice.
I also said that the team the girls were on was no match for the other teams,
when,
in fact, they won.
I am sorry.
You need to re-read the previous post.
I have been a tad busy and am having technical difficulties.

Happy Birthday Mom!

"Special" Olympics

When they marched by in the parade of athletes,
I yelled "hi girls, hi".
They loved that.
One said, "Please don't take my picture and go away."
I won't say who.








Blonde Girl is on the far right getting ready to swim and retrieve something.
I think it was a life jacket or a brick.
Who knows?
Blonde Girl was thinking, "I am a warrior."






Miss Brunette is wearing the orange life jacket.
Blonde Girl is on the far right in the purple goggles.
They are swimming to a raft.
We could have chanted , "swim sister, swim."
But we didn't.
We don't like to brag.





Once there, they had to get in and paddle back to the other side.
Their team got to the raft before the rest of the teams.
They made it back and won the competition.
We heard, "ugghs" all around.






Those girls spend most of their days swimming and getting onto rafts and noodles.
The other teams were no match for ours.
BG is in the turquoise bottoms, MB is in the back with the orange life jacket.





They really did rock.

It's So Random

Okay, I did promise to post the riveting photos from the Lifeguard Discovery Olympics.
I will,
I really mean it.
Today, though, we shopped for school clothes.
We hit our regular spots -
TJ Maxx, Ross and the Old Navy.
It was good.
I can report the girls have NEW underwear.
I am sorry.
I just had to put that in.
Let's see if they truly read this blog.
We have shorts, tops, socks, underwear, hair brushes and new hair ties.
Each child still needs to get two more shirts.
I set a limit.
We purchase shoes last!!!
That is an entire day in itself.
Help me!
Here is how we roll in Phoenix,
we do not buy jeans until November.
We buy shorts.
By the time the girls can WEAR the jeans,
they could be in a different size.
They start school wearing shorts and wear them daily until about November.
Then, they move on to jeans and shorts.
That is the rule and we live by it.
I have friends whose children have NEVER worn pants to school.
It is sort of a badge of honor.
Maybe they should start a club?
TTYL.

She's A Super Freak

See this freak.

Her fave thing this summer is to swim.

She jumps right in.

One time she even got on the raft with me.

After she swims,

her next favorite thing is to roll around on dried leaves or sand.

Or, both.

We have to watch her and rinse her off before she comes in the house.

Then,

we have to let her dry a bit.

Somehow,

we missed her and didn't realize it until it was way late.

Love Man and I slept in a sandy bed.

I kept brushing the sand out all night.

"You like the beach," was Love Man's only comment.

Our floor is super sandy.

Blonde Girl reports that somehow the sand made it into her bed.

"You freak," she said to Sadie.

"You are really crazy."

I never said otherwise.

Back on Schedule

Yesterday we attended the Olympics for the Lifeguard Discovery class.

It was fun.

Super hot.

The girls did great.

I will post pictures tomorrow.

Then,

Love Man and I ran errands.

That was even fun.

Love Man did a bit of yard work.

I swam with the girls.

I took Miss B to church,

as she has to get 10 services in.

The church was super cold,

like the movies.

Good thing I brought my cropped denim jacket.

Then the church was super hot.

They must have turned in air way UP.

We sat there fanning ourselves.

We have been going to church that much.

We have been slacking off and we have been gone a lot.

We don't have SS or Confirmation Classes during the summer,

as MANY people are not here.

We need to improve,

though.

I can report her minimum service hours for church and NCL are done.

We do have moments of greatness.

Homemade Ranch Dip Recipe

You know I LOVE A & E Dips.
I found this one on the Internet and I may never go back.

RANCH DIP

5 T. Minced Onion
7 t. Dried Parsley Flakes
1/2 t. Salt
1 t. Garlic Powder

Mix it up and add to two cups of sour cream. Chill.
Eat with potato chips, as God intended!

In the Heat of the Moment

Today is supposed to be 116 degrees.
Now, before you freak out - let me say a few words.
It is very dry here.
There is hardly any humidity.
Sometimes as low as 2 - 4 %.
Seriously.
Yesterday was 106 degrees.
It was fine.
Today, where Love Man works, it is going to be 101.
However, you add humidity and high altitude to that and it is HOT.
People are always telling me how hot Phoenix is.
I never said otherwise.
The dogs wanted out this morning at 5:00.
They normally wake up around 6:15,
almost on the dot.
This morning they wanted out early.
They know.
It was hot at 5:00 when I opened the door for them.
I have come to the conclusion that is it hot in the summer,
no matter where you live.
And, it is cold in the winter,
no matter where you live.

Enough is Enough

This is what remains from our experience with the electrical line breaking.
I wondered if and when the contracted crew would be coming back.
The day before,
when the work was done,
we were gone all day.
If possible,
I stay here when jazz like this is going down.
We had a previous commitment and you know how that goes.





I finally decided to call.
It took several attempts to get the right person.
The supervisor phoned me back.
He seemed surprised that there was still a hole in our yard.
If you lift up the tarp,
you could tunnel to our neighbor's yard.
They sent a crew over and the supervisor arrived later.
They fixed the problem.
It was a hole that had been forgotten.
I knew it!
The head guy even offered to send someone out to replace plants if they don't make it.
I think they will recover.
They have had a lot of dirt on them.
OMG,
they were SOOOOO nice to me.
I may have mentioned before,
repairmen fear me.
You can add construction workers to that list.





All that remains is all of the painted markings.





They are everywhere.






Love Man hates them.






But,
he is an excellent raker.

Update

The guards and wires are gone.

All that remains is the tarp covered hole in the backyard.

Hopefully,

they will come and finish today.

We were all happy to see them go.

"My darling, precious Love Man did you set the alarm?"

Okay,

I didn't say it like that but it sounds good.

It was more or less, "hey, did you set the alarm?'

"Oh, I knew it would come to this.

You are used to a guard sitting outside our front door AND an alarm."

I am spoiled.

The Big Dig

A company contracted by APS dug up three major spots in our yard today.
They are running the new electrical line or conduit or whatever you want to call it.





What a mess.
We spend a lot of time trying to keep the yard looking nice.
Okay,
Love Man spends a lot of time keeping the yard nice.





The three holes were pretty deep.





Nice.






This made a lot of noise.
The dogs enjoyed it.






The big hole is right by our pool slide.







They were done for the day and they are leaving this big hole that opens to the neighbor's
yard on the other side of the fence.
"Ummm, you can't leave that hole," said I.
"We have three small dogs, the neighbor's have three small dogs. This is not going to work.
Some dog is going to fall into the hole."
Plus,
I didn't want our dogs and the neighbor's fraternizing.
But,
this is the thing. . . .
You know workers love it when you tell them this on their way out.
One of the guys called his supervisor.







This is what we ended up with.
We still had to take the dogs out and supervise them.
But, it was way better.

Back into the Thick of Things

I am back.
I am so tired.
We didn't do much on our retreat.
Talked, ate and shopped.
I also hiked with one of the girls.
All of that talking has made me tired.
Don't get me wrong,
I was definitely one of the talkers.
Nine women are chatty.

Lost in Transit

I am back later today.

TTYL.

Still Crazy

I am leaving these children to go to Flagstaff for what is called the bunco retreat.
I don't know what all we are retreating from.
Husbands, children, the heat and God only knows.
It is usually good for a laugh or two.

Ready and Waiting

As soon as Miss B returns from babysitting,

this is where we will dwell.

The Bomb!

We made this Monday.
It is the bomb!
You have to try it.

Oven Roasted Potatoes Recipe - Allrecipes.com:

Ingredients
1/8 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large potatoes, coursely cut
Directions
Preheat oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C).
In a large bowl, combine oil, garlic, basil, marjoram, dill weed, thyme, oregano, parsley, red pepper flakes, and salt. Stir in potatoes until evenly coated. Place potatoes in a single layer on a roasting pan or baking sheet.
Roast for 20 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, turning occasionally to brown on all sides.

Who Knows??

I don't know what that guard uses her tent for.

I have a few ideas,

but I don't know for sure.

I know she is probably not using it to develop film.

Or, change into her super-hero costume.

Seriously

This is what is in front of our house.

Nice.

Monday is the Official Holiday

That may be true,

but the girls have Life Guard Discovery.

Miss B had an othodontist appointment,

but I moved it.

Doesn't seem like the HOLIDAY to me.

Happy Fourth of July

We are still in the presence of 24 hour guards.

We are friends with about 1/2 of them.

LOL.

The Tangled Mess That We Weave

This is what is by my mail box.
This is what is so dangerous.

This is our guard.

He likes to sit by our door,

so he is not so hot.

I let him.

I mean wouldn't you?

It was 114 degrees on Thursday.

His wife sends him with a trunk full of frozen water.

Our Very Own Personal Guard

Our electricity went out on Wednesday.
Pop and it was gone.
I called my neighbor, Meggan, and she answered the phone saying,
"do you have electricity?"
She called the company and they told her it would be on by 7:00 p.m.
I later learned that they give you the worst case scenario,
so they don't get yelled at by irate powerless people.
It turns out that our neighbor's line (under ground as we don't have poles and lines in the sky).
They had to run a cable from their house across our driveway and then across neighbor John's yard.
We have a guard 24 hours a day because the cluster of wires is about 50,000 volts.
The guard told me, "it would cremate you."
Nice.
The guard thing is getting a bit old.
It may be this way for a week or so.
Some of the guards sit in front of our house and others sit by our door.
They don't want anyone touching the cord.
I can drive over it.
One big mess of wires is by the mail box.
I have visions of me tripping and falling into it.
I am lucky that way.

We are On Our Way

We have to hurry up and get to "Eclipse" before the girls go crazy.
They are totally Team Edward.
Vampires are cooler than werewolves any day.