*sniff*

Hello!

It is officially one week until school starts and I am having a hard time this year and can’t really put my finger on why. Maybe it’s because Jack is in 7th grade and Sam is a junior. Maybe because I know my days of taking Jack to get his schedule are probably down to one more year. Maybe it’s because Sam is looking at colleges. UGH!!

Jack and I headed up to school for him to pick up his schedule. He found friends when we got there and off he went. I think it hit me that he is getting more and more independent, which is exactly what I want him to be, but it still pulls at my heart strings.

At least he let me take his picture by his locker…one more time. 🙂

 

An Adventure…

Welcome Back!

Jack and I went on another adventure last week. This adventure took us 30 minutes south to The Blank Park Zoo! It was a nice cool day and the animals were out and about!

We started out watching the Red Panda.

We worked our way through the birds and the Australian animals and then we found the goats and llamas. We were in love! We spent the next half hour with llamas and goats!

Look at those eyes!

This little guy was my favorite! He was taking a nap, with a smile on his face! Who doesn’t smile during nap time!!

Dolly, the llama, (get it) hung out with Jack!

She then lowered herself so they could have a conversation.

I think she might have gone in for a little smooch!

We finally left the llamas and goats and went on to see..

otters

tortisees

lemers

giraffes

an ostrich

A peacock

Jack balanced a penguin on his finger!

and crowd favorites…

turkey vultures

and cockroaches!

I must say the zoo is a great day adventure…we spent over 4 hours there! It’s been updated the past few years and very family friendly. I would definitely recommend it for all ages!

Just Finished…

Welcome Back, Fellow Readers!

I just finished the book
Ghosted by Rosie Walsh
Image result for ghosted book

Sarah falls in love with Eddie over seven perfect days that they spend together, before he has to leave on a vacation. He promises to call her and that he will see her when he gets back, and Sarah knows that she has finally found The One.

Until he doesn’t call. Or return her messages. He has disappeared entirely, and Sarah is determined to understand why. She starts receiving text messages warning her off. Someone starts following her. Her friends think she’s losing her mind.

So I must say, I didn’t love this book, then I did, then I didn’t, then I did. I really couldn’t put my finger on it, until I read other reviews and thought “THAT’S IT!”

The beginning is a love story between Eddie and Sarah, then Eddie disappears and Sarah can’t stop looking for him. (Why??) The first half drags on a bit…I kept thinking, “Sarah. Give it up! He’s just not that into you!” But she keeps looking…(eye roll)

I must say, the second half of the book is really good. There are a couple of twists that I guarantee you won’t see coming which make up for the first half of the book.

So the first half of the book would get 3 stars, but the end part would get a strong 4 stars!

 

School Supplies!

       Hello!

Back to school is coming up quickly and we all know what that means…shopping for back to school supplies! One of my favorite days!

But, there’s a little change this time. Jack and I were on our own. Sam has been so busy with work, football and social life that he didn’t make out Target trip. Also, Jack likes to get what he needs and he is done. No wandering the wonderful aisles full of school supplies.

Jack really didn’t want his picture taken either. (sniff) Such a teenager!

Jack found what he needed: pencils, notebooks and folders. I scored some notebooks, three ring binders, markers, pencils, dividers, graph paper…oh, how I love school supplies! Maybe it’s a good thing that I will need to make TWO trips for supplies!!

Getting Brave…

Welcome Back!

Charlie has been trying out her swimming legs (much to Jason’s horror) and is getting a bit more brave each time she “sneaks” a dip in the pool.

The boys were swimming and Charlie slowly got in the pool and swam out to Jack, grunting and drinking water all the way out to him.

She then gave him a little kiss (so sweet), and headed back to the safety of the steps.

We are trying to keep her out of the pool because we are afraid her toenails will rip the pool lining. But, I must admit, it is so hard to keep her out when we are in!

Wait! What?

Hello!

Well, it finally happened.
Charlie got in the pool.

She started by putting one foot carefully in the water. Testing the waters…I really thought she wouldn’t go in by herself.

Then she put both feet in the water.
Is she really going to do this?

Yep. She did it.
She pushed off the step, started to grunt (?) and immediately headed back to the top step.

She then ran hot laps around the pool. So proud of her huge accomplishment! She is such a little kid!

Looking Good!

Hello!

While we were in Hilton Head, we enjoyed lots of time in the sun (with Loads of sunscreen) at the beach and at the pool.

As you can see, Jack and Jason worked on their healthy tans!

Sam and I, too, worked on our healthy tans!

Yes, the picture was taken at the same place at the same time AND Sam and I do have lots of color. You must remember, we started out as transparent!

An Outing…

Welcome Back!

Jack and I went on another adventure. This time we did GeoCaching!

GeoCaching is an outdoor activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called “geocaches” or “caches”, at specific locations marked by coordinates. That’s the “official” definition.

What jack did was upload the Geo Caching app, which shows all the hidden caches in our town. The greens represent a geo-cache and yellow smiley faces are the caches we have found!

We easily located our first Cache! It was a small cache (cash) that contained a few trinkets and a log book to sign with your geo-cache name. Jack and I were instantly hooked (doesn’t take much!)

After a few geo-fails, ones we couldn’t locate due to not being kept up or others ruin them, we came across a large Cache. So exciting and easy to find because it was large!

While trying to find the next cache on a trail, Jack spotted a deer walking along the trail! Wonder if she was Geo-Caching!  After two hours and an incoming storm, we called it quits and decided we would hunt another day.

On this afternoon when we headed out and it was HOT! BIG mistake! Heat makes me tired and cranky. Not a good mix when you have to have some patients when looking for hidden trinkets.  AND, we couldn’t find any caches which quickly becomes frustrating.

About an hour later, Jack finally found a micro-cache. It was located near a development sign with the clue “S marks the spot.” I looked and looked and finally started to head back to the car when Jack yelled, “I found it! It’s above the “S” in the sign!” Yea…that little blue spot is the cache.

The only item in the cache was a folded up piece of paper to sign. It was that small.

Needless to say, Jack signed the paper, we got into the air conditioning car and headed home. Geo-Caching is not for hot humid days due to the amount of walking you end up doing, but if it’s a cooler day, I would highly recommend going on a Geo-cache hunt!