A conversation between my daughter, Joanna, and my granddaughter Hope (borrowed from Joanna's FB page)
Hope: Was I alive when Michael Jackson was alive? Joanna: Yes, he only died a year or two ago. Hope: Sweet! When I grow up I can tell my kids that I lived in the days of Michael Jackson!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These little feet are about to be walking feet. My grandson, Beck, who will be 1 in September is taking a few steps. So far he can get to where he wants to go faster by crawling, so after a few steps he is back on his hands and knees.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dodger could choose to take a nap here...
or here....
or even here, in his own comfy bed.
I don't know why he chooses here....in the garage, on the concrete floor, by the trash cans, when it is 95 degrees outside.
As usual, I can ask all I want but he's not talking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Image from Google Images
I'm going to London to visit the Queen. Well, the invitation to tea at the palace has not actually arrived in my mail box yet, but there's time. I'm going to London next month for a week so I will be available if she wants me to stop by. I know she has been very busy lately with weddings and queen stuff and such, so I'll understand if she doesn't have time to find a stamp and put the invitation in the mail. I'm very excited and looking forward to my trip anyway and I'm sure I can have tea some place near the palace at least.
My oldest granddaughter, Hope, started school today, the 4th grade. Her family moved over the summer so she started 4th grade in a new school as The New Kid.
She has been nervous but started the day with a positive attitude.
I'm sure it must have been a little hard walking in that door as The New Kid.
I talked to her after school while they were going for their traditional 1st day of school ice cream. She told me she had a great day, that she liked the school and that the kids were friendly.
After she got home, the brave 4th grade mask came off and the tears started.
I'm sure she will go back tomorrow with a smile on her face and her fears tucked deep in her backpack. I know from where I sit that it will get a little better each day and that soon it will be as "awesome" as she tried to pretend it was today.
In the meantime, I know it is not much fun for a 9 year old girl to be The New Kid.
Were you ever the new kid? How long did it take you to feel like you belonged?
Whew! Put some wine in that cup instead of coffee and this guy looks sort of like I feel tonight. It has been a crazy day.
First, I work in a brokerage and I am by myself in the office this week. The market volatility has not made it a fun place to be. Of course, nobody is blaming me for anything, but it is no fun talking to people who are in a bit of a panic.
Second, my daughter-in-law, Leah, took her kids for an outing in the mountains today. When they were leaving the place where they had stopped the car right beside them pulled out and hit a lady on a motorcycle. My almost 6 year old grandson, Wil, saw the whole thing . Thankfully, 3 year old Anna didn't see as much from her side of the car. Leah got out and sat with the woman, who was conscious and knew her name, while they waited for the ambulance. The woman had at least one broken leg but will hopefully be okay. Will has been telling his mom all day that he will never ride a motorcycle.
My son-in-law, Brandon, had back surgery today. He is now out of surgery and out of the recovery room and awake (sort of) in his hospital room. It seems to have all gone well and he should be fine after six weeks in a back brace with no bending or lifting. That will be hard when his two youngest kids are 3 yrs and 11 months old, both in the "hold me Daddy" stage.
And, of course, when I started to write this post Blogger was "unavailable" due to maintenance. Sigh!
Oh well, on the whole all is good and tomorrow is a new day and I'm sure it will be a wonderful one.
From what I have seen this summer both blue and black nail polish have become an increasingly popular fashion trend. There are blue and black fingers and toes everywhere.
Image from Bing Images
I am not above following a fashion trend here or there, but I think this is one I had better avoid. At my age blue finger nails or toe nails would probably look more like oxygen deprivation than trendiness. And black, well, let's just say that women of a certain age should probably avoid that look.
As much as I hate to seem behind the times I think that at my age, to avoid looking like I might be gasping for air, or worse, I will have to stick with red or pink polish, or maybe orange if I'm feeling really daring.
I am always a little sporadic about doing blog posts, but lately I've been downright negligent. I was called out on it by a couple of blog friends e-mailing me this weekend asking if everything is okay. Everything is fine. I have been a little busy, but mostly I have just been lazy. This is a little of what has been keeping me busy.
Sunday we had a family barbecue at Big Pappy and GT's (Keith and Terry). They are my son-in-law, Brandon's, dad and step-mom. They have recently moved from New Mexico to Colorado and it is great to have them here. The kids had a great time with water balloons and a Slip and Slide and I had a great time eating Big Pappy's barbecue.
Beck and Big Pappy
Speaking of Big Pappy, he is not only a great host and a wonderful cook, he is a very brave man. Today is the first day of the 3rd annual Big Pappy's Boot Camp. It should be called Big Pappy's Fun Camp. For this week he will have his 2 boys (he is a full time stay at home dad) along with my granddaughter, Hope, and another grandson, all 8-10 years old, for a week of fun. They will go to an amusement park, a Rockies Game, a water park and other activities that they will vote on. I haven't been invited but I may have to crash a day or two.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The kid's Granddad and Gammy from Oklahoma were here this week and I got to get in on some of the fun of that visit. On Tuesday night we went to White Fence Farm, a fun family style restaurant with lots of activities for the kids on the grounds. Except for a few minutes of panic when EJ was lost briefly it was a very fun time.
EJ got lost when she stayed behind to close all the doors on these animal faces after this picture. She is a very tidy girl.
All's well that ends well, especially if you get cool glasses from the treasure chest.
EJ and Anna
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My son, Rob, has a fairly complex job. He is working on Maven, a project to build a satellite that will orbit Mars. This very short infographic explains what he does at a level I can understand....sort of.