a total ADD post

A few observances ...

Squirrel!!! 

• Vacation is fun, but returning from vacation is not.

• I think I'd like to open a photography business. And an Etsy shop. And a quilt shop. And finish writing my book. 

Can you say focus?

• Oh, and did I mention I'm thinking of taking Violin lessons beginning next year? You know. Just because I don't have enough to do. 

It's the pits being a grown up with ADD.

• Things I need to do are: Shampoo my carpets ..... 

Oh, never mind. You don't want to hear about all that.

Squirrel!! 

So if you live in my area, and would like some pictures taken of your kids, and are willing to risk dealing with an ADD photographer, email me at the address in my About Me section at the upper right hand corner. 

For now, I've got to go make dinner, fold the laundry, go to small group, run to the store ... 

Focus ...

Focus ... 

Focus ...  

Squirrel!!!! 

Want to see a few more pics from our vacation?

Andrew got his first buck (and his first snake!) while we were gone, just as every 14 year old should. :-) And yes, those antlers are legal. Barely ... but barely is good enough.

The rest of these were taken in my Grandma's backyard, where we stayed. You'll see at the end that Summer was hanging on for dear life!

 And in conclusion of this ADD, politically incorrect post ... I'd like to say ....

Good riddance, Nancy Pelosi!!! 

Ritalin, anyone?

welcome back, me

Hey, hey, hey! Guess who's back home from vacation?

Me! That's who!

Don't have a lot of time to write now, but I promise to later this week. In the meantime, here's a few pics from the trip. I did a photo shoot with my nieces and nephews at my Grandma's house. Beautiful fall colors, beautiful kids!

Enjoy!

 

home from vacation

We just returned from a last ditch attempt to have some fun before school starts. And guess what? It worked! :)

The number one reason we went? Family reunion. Family reunions are big news in my family, because ... well, because we all like to talk, and our family is huge. My grandmother was the oldest of nine children, and that makes for a lot of cousins, second cousins, aunts, uncles, and lots of people I've never seen before but am related to. Weird, I know.

In addition to the family reunion, we mainly just visited close family. I loved seeing my brothers and mom again. It's been about eight months since we were all able to sit down and have a real visit. A real visit, to me, consists of talking about serious issues, laughing, being goofy, and then taking a nap! I did all of the afore mentioned activities ... and I'm not sorry!

I have many really good pictures, but my computer screen is being funky with me, so I'll have to wait to post them for you. But you have my word that I will.

For now, my laundry is 90% done, I'm unpacked, my house is clean enough to be livable, and my groceries are bought, sorted, and put away. Now if I can just figure out how to get rid of the ants in my pants pantry, I'll be good! Lots of them ... baby ones, crawling around, mostly in my cracker boxes (of which I've thrown out or removed). I thought they were all gone once I did that, but every time I go back, there's more. I'm hoping someone out there sells ant traps!

Seriously ... is there such a thing?

Please say yes!

top summer faves

I'm in the slums today. I'm tired, and discouraged and I want to go back to bed. But when it's summer, I have a hard time staying there. It's warm out, even in the evenings. My schedule is less hectic. It's just a great time of year. So to cheer myself (and maybe you!) up today, I decided to create a list of things I appreciate about summer:

1. I've already said it, but warm weather has to be on the top of my list. I love the beauty of snow, but the cold temperatures nearly do me in. Sitting in the warm sunshine with a good book is surely something I will do in Heaven. A lot! I call it therapeutic thawing.
2. Baseball! No summer is complete until you've watched as many baseball games as you can cram in. These include Rockies games and Andrew's games. I'm a bit partial to Andrew's, because I get a front row seat, and I'm the pitcher's mom. I sometimes pretend that we're at a Rockies game, and Andrew is the next Ubaldo Jimenez, pitching a no hitter. But don't tell anyone. I'd be embarassed if people knew that.
3. Trips to the library. I'm taking one this afternoon, to find books for Andrew and I to read together for our summer reading program. Not that it's really a program, but the point is to keep reading, learning, and exploring. The fun part is that we won't have a fixed, rigid schedule like we do during the school year. Have I mentioned I loathe restraint of any kind?
4. With Peter away to boot camp, I am priveleged to to be spending a lot of time with Jessie. So far, we're watching favorite shows together, doing a little shopping, and projects like dressing her up and letting me practice my photography. She's a good sport, and thankfully, a photogenic good sport. And she keeps me company at Andrew's game, while Shaun mainly stays with Andrew to coach.
5. Road trips! So far, we've gone to Colorado Springs/Woodland Park for a baseball tournament. I'm hoping to make it over to the western slope also, to see my family and hometown.
6. Flowers, and all things living. Nothing better than looking out the window and seeing green life, birds soaring, and colorful flowers blowing in the breeze.
7. Time to regroup. This mainly has to do with homeschool, and reflecting on what worked and what didn't work, and figuring out how to best deal with those challenges. It also tends to be a time to rethink other aspects and goals. Normally, this is what New Years is all about. But for me, it happens in the summer.

I know I have more, but that library trip is calling my name, and I can't think of anything else at the moment. Instead, how about you tell me about your summers, and what it is that you enjoy most? I'd love to hear what you enjoy doing with your family, your spare time, and your .... spare money!!!

Fort Pulaski

I officially loathe Blogger upload. These are not going to be in the order I would like, but we'll deal with it. :)

These are pics of Fort Pulaski. I do have lots of other pics from the trip, but I thought I'd just cover a "few" today. I think I took about 250 pictures, so this really is just a few!

I had never heard of Fort Pulaski before, but when I researched Civil War sites in Savannah, Georgia, this is what I came up with. I was not sorry I went!! It's an awesome, well preserved, Civil and Revolutionary War site. I could be obsessed with Civil War anything, so when I found out this was located in Savannah (and we were planning a trip there), I was elated.

While I could have spent all day there, we only had a couple of hours. If I ever go back to Savannah, I'm going to take a full day to tour.

Anyway, I'll explain along the way as you scroll through the pics. Enjoy!!

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We're on top of the fort here. The seemingly out of place board was interesting to me, and when asked what it was for, we were told that the soldiers used it all along the outside for extra protection. Makes perfect sense. :)






A bit of damage from the enemy ....

This is overlooking the fort. It was an incredibly gorgeous day. Clear skies, as you can see, and about 65 degrees. A slight change from our negative temps!

This is the door after we entered via the drawbridge. I felt like I was entering a castle!

Bringin' out the big guns!!! There were a lot of these placed all along the outside (top) of the fort. These guys were well armed ... or so it seemed to me. What do I know about warfare?

The only two surviving soldiers. Heehee. Just kidding.

This is a cannon inside the fort (they had a lot of those too!), aimed right at the drawbridge. Would you want to be an unwelcome guest there???

Ashlee and Daniel. The real purpose of the trip was to move her down there. She'll be living there until the wedding, on April 24th.

Daniel, me, and Andrew on the drawbridge.

View while standing on the drawbridge. Like I said ... gorgeous day!

Outside the fort.

A bit of history. Click to enlarge.

And then we visited Narnia, where Prince Caspian swept me off my feet ....

Ok, ok ... this is just one of the entrances. But you have to admit, it's rather Narnia-ish.

This has absolutely nothing to do with Fort Pulaski. It's just a big, beautiful church that I snapped a picture of on my way to Fort Pulaski.

The sword of surrender!!! Way. Cool.

Awesome quote.

Ashlee and Daniel outside the fort.

Bedee, bedee ... that's all folks!!! Well, for now anyway. There's more! Lots more!! But that's all I have time for today.

Hope you enjoyed your tour of Fort Pulaski. And if you're ever in Savannah, do go! You won't be sorry. It's more than incredible to see where actual battles took place, to step on the same ground that Civil War soldiers once did, to see their living quarters, their place of worship, and their medical facilities.

The two hours I toured seemed like about a half hour. Time flies when you're havin' fun!!!

Mo' later,

~Brenda