Tubing the Ichetucknee

I am leaving for Minnesota in 30 minutes and am not taking the Lovely Loretta with me, so I am just posting these pictures really fast. Our church youth group went tubing on the Ichetucknee yesterday. What a great activity for these kids. The state park is about 80 miles away and it is a relatively cheap activity. The river is a natural spring and is crystal clear. It stays at a temp of 72 year round. It felt really good! It is also nice because the kids are out in nature and just having fun. It was a wonderful day. Two of the adults stayed with the cars and grilled lunch so when we got out at the midpoint, we had burgers and dogs awaiting!! Perfect day.

Out by the concession stand was this motorcycle. It is owned by the guy who runs the stand. It is parked proudly where everyone can see you. You can imagine how proud he is of his creation. I added some detail pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Maddie knit this scarf for a friend and finished it just in time for her birthday. She even did the fringe all by herself!

Licky being a bad, bad cat.

Well, that is it!! Hope you enjoyed. I love comments, so feel free to write back to me!!

So We Think We can Dance

Every year, after the recital, we take pictures outside the theater. This year, the Florida Theater became "Flori La." Good think no one was visiting where were REALLY wanted a "Florida" picture. And, as always, it rained!!



The recital was one of the shorter ones. We were done by 9PM. The girls danced in 4 dances: jazz, modern, hip hop, and tap. They did a great job. I always work backstage and enjoy watching from the side. But it is a long day with dress rehearsal in the morning. So, without any further typing, here are some pictures:
Jazz - they loved the hats and the fact that this was a Miley Cyrus song - Fly on the Wall.

(I actually like this next picture of me even though it looks like I have a yellow flower in my hair that does not match my outfit. It is part of Rozzie's costume.)

Here are the girls with Degas and Bridgette who are dear friends and in the Tap class.

Here is Maddie doing a jump in Jazz.

The girls loved dancing their Modern dance - Mahna Mahna. It is a tune that can easily get stuck in your head!!

Maddie is tapping her heart out!

Here is Rozzie tap tap tapping.

So there it is, another year passed. Now we have a 6 week break before it starts again for another year!!

Missie Pie's Missifortunes

This has been a rough few months for Maddie, so I thought I'd tell you all her woes. She sat with Trav the other night crying and wondering why all the bad stuff happens to her.

We'll start with the tragedy that was her bed room. You remember the previous post detailing the disaster in her room. Well, she was very disappointed and saddened at the destruction. The very forces of nature had combined against her. Now it is remedied and painted. I am waiting for the cat paw stencil to arrive to finish up her room and then I'll take some pictures.

Next, she survived the lice - we are still combing and making sure. What a nightmare. She felt like a leper.

Then, a couple nights ago she bonked her head on her desk. It bled a lot. She cried and cried. She sat in the tub while I washed out her hair. It produced a nice bump and it has been very sore.

Why me? she asks us. We don't have any answers. But here she is preparing for her dance pictures. Things can be good. She is growing up nicely. We hope the rest of the summer is better for her!!

Last Year's Project, This Year!!

Last year I had all sorts of things I wanted to do over summer break. And I did many of those things. But a few were left undone and during the course of the school year, I did not get to them. that it not saying I did nothing for those of you who know, know that I was rather busy with teacher certification garbage that I did nothing else. Now I'm certified and it is once again summer. I did my vacationing and now it is time to get down to the nitty gritty. I was not going to let another summer pass by without changing up the girl's bathroom. I know, it is not a life necessity, but i wanted to do it. So, I did!! Lani came over and helped me pick a paint. I was going to go with blue, but she talked me into the coral. Of course, orange is one of my new passions in life so i was all over that. The room is quite bright, but I love it, the girls love it, and it is DONE!!

Both Rozzie and Morgan went off the Girl's Camp Round 2 this week so I have been spending quality time with Maddie. She has been on her own for 3 weeks so this quality time has been needed by both of us. We went grocery shopping together. I treated her for the lice that I found upon my return. And I took her to a knitting lesson today (she is nit free!!). She is knitting a bunny (Matt did the same one) and she is doing well. I'll post pictures when it is done. She was knitting left handed and we couldn't figure out the purl, so Kathe (pronounced Kay-duh) taught her to knit right handed. Kathe is a lefty and she told Maddie that it is good to be able to knit from both sides - on short stockinette stitch, she won't have to turn the project, just knit backwards!! LUCKY!!

No, we don't know where she got lice - I've been gone for three weeks!! She was pretty horrified and spent quite a bit of time crying. Rozzie was checked before camp and showed no signs. It is so icky. I don't recommend it. After 16 years of child-rearing, I couldn't believe it. We survived and I continue to check her hair EVERY day!!