ICK!

So Adie got into poison ivy last week, somehow, somewhere. Her face is quite decorated.

Congratulations, Daniel!

Daniel graduated with a Masters of Accounting on Tuesday. The program, which is normally a two year degree, was condensed into one year with more than a full time class schedule. He accomplished this while working full time and assisting a professor part time, and graduating with a 4.0. He was one of four out of sixty Masters of Accounting to graduate with with a 4.0, and one of two to receive the Internal Auditors Association scholarship.

It was a tough year: classes three nights a week and studying the other four; group projects with classmates who left him to do all the work; and two days off work just to get caught up.

Now that he has graduated, he will be co-authoring with the professor he assisted during the year, learning to play the upright bass, and passing the Internal Audit exam. In a few more years he hopes to get a doctorate and become a professor.

Coming Up: Another Garage Sale

The girls and I have been working very hard all week to set up another garage sale, starting tomorrow. This time we really do have a crazy amount of stuff to sell.

My goal is to be able to keep both cars in the garage. That means that one entire wall of shelving - and all the stuff stored on it - had to go. The girls have been purging every room of their apartments, and a friend who moved donated most of the furniture shown here to our sale.

In addition to all that, a friend and I spent most of yesterday cleaning out the toddler nursery at church. We eliminated almost half the toys in there, and still plenty remain. I added those extra toys to our sale too.

  My van was stuffed with toys from the toddler room.

 Our biggest problem now is finding space to set up tables. All the floor space is taken but not everything is out yet. I'm thinking we might have to have a pre-sale tonight just to make a little room.

We can't rely on clear weather and using the driveway for the weekend since we have had thunderstorms for two nights now.

July 4th, Again and Again

We celebrated the 4th three times this year: it seems to be an entrenched tradition with our family now. 

Celebration #1 - A picnic and fireworks on the university green, with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performing good, old-time American music. This year the thermometer hit 108* before night fell and cooler temps returned, down to something like 90* by 11:00 pm. 

There was a mister available for those who needed cooling; it was very refreshing. 

This was a good time to learn how to show respect for our national anthem.

And as the concert began, Luke and Patrick loved our front row seats, because they had easy access to the wide grassy buffer between the audience and the stage. 

The two of them kicked up some fun and put on a show for the audience as they performed a few ad lib dances to the music.

Celebration #2 - A picnic and fireworks at a mega church nearby. Sitting on the grass (or parking lot, your preference) as the hot afternoon turns to evening, listening to the concert piped outdoors.

A brief rain shower soon after we arrived didn't dampen our fun. We just put up the "brolly" and snuggled together!

Patrick and Luke wore very special hats for the occasion - and so did Jared.

Celebration #3 - A picnic and fireworks on the highway in Roswell, the next town over. We stake out our favorite berm in front of Burger King every year. There are a few trees and lots of grass, so it's a comfortable place to play and wait.

It rained as we waited this afternoon too, but we had the car just a few feet away, so we snuggled in the back hatch. 

David even joined us this evening. 

Sometimes it's hard to be patient for the fireworks to begin...

So a boy just might have to lie down and accidentally fall asleep. 

For our picnics we all contributed elements each night and our food seemed to feature fresh-picked tomatoes and cucumbers. We had other yummies too and they varied from shrimp and wraps, to burgers and watermelon, to guacamole and potato salad.

 

There were a few patriotic goodies thrown in too.

Those fireworks sure are pretty! And loud!

Mom and Max Visit

Mom and Max flew in for a quick visit last week. Some of the family had never met Max, and Mom hadn't seen the great-grands for almost two years. After getting acquainted and touring all the kids' apartments, we all enjoyed fun outside...

an exclusive tour through space via The Professor's telescope, for the Venus Transit...

a cook-out on the patio, with s'mores afterwards...

 and catching fireflies at dusk. 

Apartment Update

Hey there. I'm still around, believe it or not. If you're not friends with me on Facebook you might have thought I had disappeared or something. At any rate, now that my apartment is mostly put together (I still need to get two more dining chairs, three or four bar stools, an arm char, and a nightstand), I thought I'd put some pictures up. You'll have to forgive the picture quality - I took all of the pictures on my phone.

I also did not clean up specifically for these pictures. I've apparently turned into a neat-freak.

Dining Room - view when you walk in the door.

The Living Room - the couch in the bottom of the frame

is in the left of the frame of the first picture. The bookcases

are new as of tonight.

Arguably the most important part of the entire apartment.

Kitchen - this picture is from opposite the first picture.

Bedroom - Just a bed. What else did you expect? The door to

the bedroom is off to the left of the picture right above this.

I guess some decorations on the walls might go a long way, too. I'll get around to that once I figure out what all the light switches are for. I was hoping some would be tied to some outlets, but so far the only light switch that I have figured out that doesn't control a ceiling light was tied to the A/C compressor. Odd, you say? I would agree.

Happy Mother's Day!

Our house was party-central to celebrate Mother's Day yesterday. The men all got together and made lunch for the moms: grilled burgers and dogs and assorted sides. 

Jared stood in the pouring rain to grill, while Luke and Patrick couldn't resist a perfectly good rainstorm to get soggy-wet and do a little puddle splashing. After all, they did wear their wellies to church in the morning.

I enjoyed having my family with me on this special day. I also enjoyed the greens and whites of the gardenias gracing the center of the table. I'm so glad that gardenias bloom in May!

A few days after Mother's Day I got a special Mother's Day card from Luke and Patrick. They had given their answers to the following fill-in-the-blank statements:
My Nana is 22 years old.
My Nana weighs 2,000 pounds.
My Nana's favorite color is green (P); orange (L).
My Nana's favorite food is cake.
My Nana always says "Do a project".
My Nana cooks the best cake.
My Nana's job is to unload the dishwasher and work at church.
My Nana and I like to ride in Nana's car (P); play hide in secret (L).
I LOVE my Nana because she does fun stuff. 

And I LOVE my two grandsons because they are the sweetest, best boys in the world!