Thursday, June 28, 2007

Summertime!! (sisterhood Challenge)

Summer time is such an awesome time... for both young and old alike!

Do you remember how exciting it was to get home on that last day of school?
What are your favorite summer memories of your childhood?
Is it something you did every summer, or perhaps one summer that stands out in your mind?

Blog Prompt by Tina M.

I do! I do remember the feeling on the very last day of school! We almost always had field day or a picnic or a yearbook signing day as our last day of school. The anticipation of that last bell ring was exciting! When the doors open, we all poured out into the school yard, some staying behind to finish signing yearbooks and t-shirts and getting phone numbers to 'keep in touch' over the summer. Truth is, we rarely kept in touch because we were ALWAYS SO BUSY!!
Some childhood summer memories include, but are not limited to:
1. Spending every moment I possibly could at Aunt Donna's with my cousin Kristen
2. Swimming in Aunti's pool
3. Making 'couch forts' and sleeping in them
4. SLUMMING! (playing in the woods by the river and getting dirty!)
5. Watching taped re-runs of Simon & Simon
6. Going to Maine with my dad's side of the family for 2 weeks.
7. The Ice Cream truck!
8. Having dinner out on the patio
9. Being in bed, listening to my parents chatting out on the back patio and the smell of the oil torches and sounds of the cicadas and night bugs.
10. Horseback riding camp with Chris and Kim!

One summer that stands out in my mind was the summer of my sophmore year. I was allowed to bring a friend up to Maine that year and we were wading, picking up shells. The water was right below our knees. We were finding lots of sand dollars. It was great............UNTIL I stepped on a small ray which struck my on the bottom of my foot with such a sharp barb!!! It was the first time I EVER said a curse word in front of my father and it just so happened to be the "F" word!








Saturday, June 16, 2007

Landscape/Hardscape Progress! Day 1

Here are some progress photos to show day 1 of the work we're having done out front. In one day, they've take out the old pavers and dug out the area for the new walkway and landscaping beds!!

This is the side of the house where they put all the dirt and grass they dug out!

These photos were taken from my driveway and show the view of the dug out area for the new walkway.


Here's a view from the front yard. In this photo, below, you can see the flower bed is dug out, that's where the girls are standing


Below is shown the side of the house. They dug out a nice flower bed there for a few bushes and flowers to hide the air conditioners! I love the way all of the flower beds have been dug. They aren't just basic lines. I love the curves!


I can hardly wait until Monday when I can take more pictures!



Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Busy Busy!

It's going to be a fun-filled, jam-packed summer! Today was the last day of school here, though it doesn't feel like Summer at all! It's 70 degrees and overcast.
We're looking forward to many day-trips, car shows, concerts on the lawn at the town center and of course, let's not forget 6-Flags!~ WOOO!!
This morning the 4/5 year old classes had their 'graduation' ceremony. Although it was brief, it was cute! They sang a few songs, recited a little bit of this and a little bit of that and then all involved retired to the multipurpose room for refreshments.

The landscaper came today. He marked off the areas they are going to be working in and it looks like a sports field out there with white lines all over the place. They are doing a walkway out front, flower beds/gardens, some shrubs/bushes and a few small trees. The design looks really nice and they did it on the computer so we actually got a glimpse of what it's going to look like, before they even broke ground. They will start in 4 - 5 days with the front and then the back patio and landscaping will start about a week or so later. I'm PSYCHED! WOOOO!!

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Hawaii ~ Chapter 2

The International Market Place in Honolulu is such a fun, festive place. Along the way there are various signs and statues. This one tells a bit about Queen Emma Kaleleonilani. The girls loved to stop at each one while we read the details and took pictures.

The girls loved hanging out in the courtyard at the hotel. There was a big Koi pond full of brightly coloured, BIG Koi fish for them to look at. I got a couple of good pictures of the girls 'posing' on the rocks in front of the pond.

This is a Banyon Tree . The roots grow down from the branches, resembling a waterfall effect. VERY HUGE and VERY cool to hang out and play under this beautiful tree! Ellie looks like a toy standing beneath just ONE branch of this enormous tree right outside of the Honolulu Zoo.
Mackie always walked ahead of us, just about everywhere we went, she was leading the way!

If you do visit Oahu, you MUST visit Waimea Falls! It's a little bit of a hike up to the falls but once you get there you're rewarded with a swim in the pond at the base of the falls! Here's Ellie, pretending to do a back-flip off the patio area near the Waimea Falls pond.


On our 1st day, we did the Circle Island driving tour. What a gorgeous circle! This was one of our 1st stops. This is Chinaman's Hat. There were very few people there that day. It was well into the 90s and the humidity was sooo bad! The girls didn't seem to mind. They ran right to the shoreline, plopped down and started playing in the sand!

I will have more pictures uploaded tomorrow.

Aloha Oe!!

Ahh...Oahu, Hawaii.. the unspoiled sea air, the black sand beaches, majestic volcanoes, music and frolic!! We were on Oahu for 10 days. Hawaii is gorgeous.... sooooo beautiful!!
The island you see below is called "Chinaman's Hat"

The scenery of Oahu is breath taking. You can go from Tropical beach to Rain Forest in about 2 hours driving time and from City to deserted beach in about 30 minutes driving time. It's phenominal!
The next photo is of a small Island called "Turtle Island"

Yes.. the sunsets over Oahu really DO look like this!!
The island is lush and green due to the daily rain showers. Usually they are either very early in the AM or very late at Night.

There's a lot more......... I need to upload more so I can post them!