Summertime and the livin' is easy....

Summer is flying by so quickly! We've had baseball tournaments, three hour long weekly swim meets and theater...oh yes, and driver's education every day at 7:30 a.m.! I guess it will all officially end tomorrow with the conclusion of swim and drivers ed. That means we get to sleep in each day, then trek off to the pool at noon for second degree burns. WooHoo!
Alex did a fantastic job in Shakespeare's The Twelfth Night at the Putnam County Playhouse. Donovan and MK will start their theater workshop in two weeks. Donovan is hoping to play Maldovia. You can visit putnamcountyplayhouse.com to see the kids photos in their summer plays.

Phillip is still searching for a job. He was downsized almost two months ago, and has been sending out at least 20 resumes a week! It puts into perspective how poor our economy is when you have an award-winning rep, who can't get a job in his industry! It makes me really sad for him, because I know it's difficult on his esteem. He has done lots of soul-searching and re-thinking what he wants to do. I know it will all work out.
Thank God for Dave Ramsey! We went through the program several years ago, and eliminated all debt, except for the mortgage. I am really thankful we did that. I just hope for all of us that he is able to find a job soon!
On a bright note, we have been picking cherries and black raspberries the month of June and am happy to say we have canned pints and pints of jam! I decided since cherry jam is almost $5.00 at Kroger, I'll make my own! The kids have had fun helping out with it all and it makes me feel so good inside to make something homemade for my family. Thank you mom and dad for the cherries!
I bought a bread machine at a yard sale for $5.00 a couple weeks ago, and have been making french bread almost every day. The kids toast the bread and eat it with our jams. They go through a loaf a day! It's the simple things in life that are so nice.
On another note our new kiddie pool has become a frog habitat. Yes, on the second day the sparkingling blue water of our pool was infiltrated by hundreds of frog eggs. The kids begged Phillip to let them grow, so now we have hundreds of tadpoles in a murky, brown, frog-infested "swamp pool". I have, however enjoyed watching the kids enthusiasm as they catch them each day. Even Quinny has begun catching and playing with them.
Lastly, MK took her friend Anastasia to the pool yesterday. (Not our frog pool, but a decent, clean one!) They are living in England but have come home for the month. Anyway, we went to pick her up and her sister ran out to the car with a little kitten. She said she had found it by the Dairy Castle and named it "Milkshake". She also informed me that her family is allergic to cats and they couldn't keep it. I swear to you I could almost feel the "sucker" stamp protruding from my head. This is what happens next: "Can we keep it!" "Can we keep it!" "Can we keep it!"
Every ounce of me wanted to say no, but I was genuinely surprised when the words "yes" rolled off my tongue like hot butter! I had to look around to make sure it wasn't somebody else saying it!
So, now we have a little "milkshake" running around our house. She's black...just like every other stray cat in our neighborhood. That mother cat is one "hootchie mamma."
Till next time...