update

Anna was here the weekend before last so... I had big plans. Big plans.
I think I may have run everyone into the ground with them.
You know, she won't be able to come back for a while with her big move and all, and I wanted to make sure she had as much fun as humanely possible.

We went to Lost in the Fifties.

The king from Cars was there.

Went to Silverwood. That's an amusement park for those of you who aren't from around here.

We only had a couple of hours and I knew we wouldn't have time to do a lot. I was thinking maaaaybe two rides.
So we got in line for the aftershock.
We'd only been standing there for about twenty minutes when it broke down and half the people standing in line walked away. It would be thirty more minutes before they'd have it going again.
Now, being the geniuses that we are, we thought for sure we'd be standing there longer than that anyway. So we stuck it out.
There was some sort of school music fest in town and there were so many people.
It took every last minute we had to get to the front of that one line, but we made it.
It was very exciting.

Then the ride broke down again.

We stood in the gate... next in line. Our seats were right there taunting us.
So close and yet so far away.
I checked the time on my phone about every thirty seconds.
Finally, we left. Without having ridden a. single. solitary. ride.
It was a real blast.

In all seriousness though, we recovered pretty fast.

We went to a birthday party.
The children flock to Anna like seagulls to a french fry.
Also. The children were eaten alive by mosquito's.
Drew ear was swollen to the point that he looked like a MMA fighter.

We thrifted, we made bracelets, and we dyed hair.
Then she left.

It was very sad.
I cried and then when someone asked me if I'd cried I cried some more.

Then the following weekend (last weekend) we had a bridal shower and a wedding.

Aw. What a cute couple.
Oh wait that's us.

Anyway. AJ's little brother is the one that got married and I have about a bazillion awesome pictures to share from that celebration. But I have to wait til they've seen them.
So maybe next time.

learning things

I went to the homeschool conference this weekend with some other ladies and I loved it. It was encouraging and I would go again.

I learned some things there. And not there. 

This weekend was a learning one for sure.

1. I realized that I spend waaay to much time "plugged in".

Because I would never let my children spend the time that I spend using electronic entertainment. Ever. Of whatever sort.

You know, my thing is the computer. What a time waster. Pinterest. Blogging. Blog reading. 

And I do learn lots of things doing it. I'm inspired to make things and try things and cook and sew and paint.

But it still sucks my time down to nothing.

Here's the thing. My children are growing. Fast.

They get bigger and smarter and funnier every day and at the end of the year... it's just a blur with a few good memories. 

So. I love you, but don't be expecting more than one post a week. Sorry.

I'm busy doing very important things with very important people.

2. " The 'what ifs' and 'if onlys' are the devil's workshop. They will rob you of your joy and purpose in the present"  

Mike Smith said that at the conference. It's not verbatim and he was talking about homeschooling, but it sunk.in for elsewhere. I needed that. 

3. I need to stop comparing myself to others. 

This ties in with #1 and #4. It turns everything into a competition. 

It eats away at my joy and encourages the fear of man. A fear that has already been conquered once.

It. is. stupid. 

I am me. I only care what God thinks of that. 

4. I sleep too much. 

It's my drug.

I'm not lazy once I'm up, but I'm too lazy to get up when I should.

I need to get over that.

I will get over that.

5. Speaking of sleep.

NyQuil and I aren't friends. It's effect lasts way longer than needed.

I had to sit still and listen to speakers for hours. All I wanted was a pillow and a blankie.

I had to plan ahead and make good purchases. My head was full of cobwebs.

I couldn't even see straight.

6. My husband can clean the house. I mean, clean. 

Like clean clean. 

I was gone most of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I walked into the house at 5:00 Saturday evening... fully expecting it to be a natural disaster area. It wasn't.

It was spotless.

It was perfect. 

I almost cried.