Georgia Southern University

 

  Last, but not least, we have Dave going back to school for his junior year at Georgia Southern.  It was great having him home for the summer and I am missing him since he went back to school.  My food bill should go way down now since I'm not feeding him and all his friends!  Although, yesterday he called and asked me if I would please send some homemade cookies to him!  lol
We went on this pontoon ride the day before he left for college for some fun in the sun, picnic, swimming  and tubing.  It was such a nice day.  Now it's back to the books for him and he seems to be doing great.  Hang in there Dave, your halfway done!   

Kayak

I'm very pleased with each advancing year. It stems back to when I was forty. I was a bit upset about reaching that milestone, but an older friend consoled me. 'Don't complain about growing old - many, many people do not have that privilege.'
            -- Earl Warren, Chief Justice
 
At different times of my life while out in my canoe, I had thought of owning a kayak.  The past year and especially the last few months,  I have been actively looking for one that would suit me well.  I had finally found one that I wanted and last week I received it for my birthday.   
 It is a Current Design Squall, 16 1/2 ft., 22 inches wide and 58 lbs.  I've already had it on the water a few times since last week and it glides so smoothly.  Being 10 minutes from the lake is tempting enough to go every spare chance I get and I hope to do just that!   
One is never too old to start something new.  :)

Brian -10th grade this year

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All I said was "put the kabobs on the grill! "  

 It never surprises me how life can bring on funny moments without even expecting it.  I found these pictures on my camera as I was downloading yesterday.  Apparently my kids were having a little fun with our dinner AND my camera!  In the midst of emotions the evening before his sister was moving out, he opted to have a little fun.  It's 10th grade for Brian this year and he definitely keeps me laughing with stunts like this. 

College

  Here's Kelly,  ready to start her college experience by entering her dorm room for the first time.    She moved in today at Emory University.  She was excited and happy, but also said she felt overwhelmed.  The years ahead of her as a pre-med student will keep her extremely busy as she follows a dream that she's had since she was 8 years old.
It was hard leaving her there when it was time to go.  I held onto her and found myself unable to release her from my arms.  As the tears rolled down my cheeks, I couldn't help but think that it seemed like yesterday that I put her on that first school bus to Kindergarten. 
Yes, I am proud of her and her accomplishments.   I am excited for her in what she is going to experience and learn and I am happy that she is going to the school of her choice.  Now, if I could only stop crying!
Good Luck Kelly ....I love you!  :)

Not your typical Wednesday

The effects of today has left me with a rash of emotions.  Not sure where to start or if I even should!  lol   Some of the highlights were the police holding my painters hostage while our security alarm was going off because they tripped it while painting the windows.  Needless to say, I was on the tennis courts playing a match in the 3rd set and the score 5-4 in our favor.  After noticing my phone vibrating in my bag and a message from ADT security, I found out what was going on.  I Ok 'd the release of the painters and pondered  whether to finish out the match, or go home and shut the alarm off.  Thinking that it had been blaring for a half hour anyway,  I chose to just finish the match.  :)
Racing home, cutting the alarm, changing out of my drenched clothes,  (in between letting some lady interested in buying our car, take one of our vehicles to get it checked out by a mechanic at a car dealer)  and then rushing to the lake for an appointment to demo a kayak, I thought my day would be topped off by flipping the boat and getting wet. To my surprised I stayed dry.  :) 
Bottom line is, they finished the painting today without the police breathing down their necks,  we won our tennis match with a wide grin on my face, the lady wanted the car but at a much lower price, AND I ended up a new owner of a kayak.  :)
A day indeed!

6th Grade

 

 

 It's sixth grade this year for Daniel.  This picture was taken at  6:30am on August 1st, his first day of school.  He was up early and eager to leave.  After 3 weeks, he seems to be back into the swing of things  and doing well.  Our county started earlier this year than ever before, but we will have weeks off during the year.  Our first being the end of September.   This is Daniel's last year at the elementary school and it's off to middle school next year.  How time flies!

Desperate of change...with nothing to prove, it lingers in my thoughts...and stirs my emotions...am I closer to where I started...or just nearing the end? This feeling that I have is sketched in between the actual and here and now.....as complex as it is, the love sustains...

The end result of kindness is that it draws people to you.
            -- Anita Roddick, A Revolution in Kindness, 2003

In all the craziness of the past few days when I was desperately trying to find some peace, something caught my attention.  I was walking around the house with the painter who would be working here and saw something flutter past me.  I found this beauty of a butterfly prancing around in my flower garden.  I kindly told the man I would be back and ran to get my camera.  As I captured a dozen pictures of this butterfly, I noticed the painter standing there wondering why I would bother taking pictures when his time was money.  After a while, I noticed his expressions soften as I talked to him that we all need to notice at times the beauty that is around us.  He proceeded later in the day to talk of my roses that adorned my bushes as he painted away.  I smiled as I remembered our conversation earlier.   This one little butterfly that caught my attention flew by at the right moment.  :)

 "If you are right-handed, you sweat more under your left arm. If you are left-handed, you sweat more under your right arm."

Daniel and I went to Fernbank Museum to view the traveling exhibit "Grossology".  It's everything you ever wanted to know about the body, but were too polite to ask!  lol

 

This is a larger than life biology lesson that had 17 hands on interactive ways to discover why things happen as they do.

We had a fun time laughing at the facts and learning things that were quite interesting.

 

 

Yes, this is a gigantic nose that Dan is walking into!

We also went to the IMax viewing of "The Living Sea" while at the museum.  I always try to see one of them when we visit.  This one was narrated by Meryl Streep and set to the music of Sting. The ocean life is such an important part of life on earth and this film captured that significance.  It was added to one of my favorites and I now want to live by the ocean!