Happy Friday!

My sister in-law has been doing a letter a day on her blog. I have enjoyed it - and it's inspired me to think of all the letters I would like to write.

Dear Mother Nature,
Seriously. No, really - seriously!!! Cut us a little bit of slack here. My kids just finished their extended school days to make up for snow days. Yesterday was their first day back to a normal schedule. Today they have a late start due to the rain. Sounds silly but after the horrendous winter we had, followed by the deluge of rain - the gravel roads are not faring well. And we have flash flood warnings. So, please Ms. Mother Nature - we could all go for a bit o' calm.


Dear Lady who Moved in with our Neighbor,
Please supervise your kids. They are two and four. That's not old enough to be running free and driving their motorized cars in the street. We live in a small town, but it's not that small. You're the parent - act like it.


Dear Fellow Motorists,
I think we need to create a universal hand signal for "hang up your phone and drive you freakin idiot!" I know we're all busy, but people being stupid and not paying attention while they're driving isn't helping anyone get things done faster.


Dear Bagger Boy at the Grocery Store,
Don't squish my bread. Don't throw my produce around. I carefully chose my goodies and don't want to have them bruised or smooshed before they get home.


Dear Worker Lady at the Nursing Home,
Thank you for your dedicatoin and your personality. You always have a smile on your face and a laugh waiting to happen. You always welcome us when we come to visit, and it's apparent that you really care for all of the residents. Last night you even brought your little niece and nephew in with you when you weren't working - you know how much the residents enjoy seeing kids. Thank you for the way you care!


Dear Stacey (My Web Developer),
Thanks for making my job so easy!! I love working with the website because you've created such great tools for me to manage the content with. When people compliment our website, www.waverlyhealthcenter.org - I always make sure to pass the credit to you. You're a genius!!!


Dear Preschool Program,
Thank you for being great! Having my daughter skipping down the hall, anxious to start her day makes a world of difference. She's learning all sorts of good stuff and having fun doing it.


Okay - I think that's all of the letters I've had rambling around in my head - at least for now. It's kind of funny how the running commentary in my head started shifting to... Dear something or other, .... Could be addictive!!!

Early birthday dinner - delicious!

Mother and son :)

A man almost done with a bathroom remodel - doesn't he look relieved?

Upside down girl!!!

Happy Birthday to you both!!!

Happy Birthday Daddy - enjoy the carrot cake!!!

Look at the fabulous R2D2 cake that Grandma Diane made for Christopher!!

Presents too?

Look at the seal balance the ball on his nose.

Walker is a really great strongman - look at his muscles!

Those trampoline jumpers really rocked!

That's it folks!

She's a band leader! The hat's about as big as she is!

Look at the bareback riders!!!

Bears on bikes!!

It's been a week for my superstars to shine!! Olivia's class performed a play, the Turnip Turnabout on Thursday, and Elliott's class performed a circus on Thursday and Friday. Here are some pictures of the play. Circus pictures will follow shortly - thanks to Roger and Diane - I forgot my camera yesterday!

It's been a full weekend! We had company on Friday night. The Minkels joined us for cards and a few games of dice. I got seriously whupped - but we had a great time. We were up until midnight - seriously late for us old timers. It brought back a few memories.

Memories of my friend Carol. Jackie, Carol and I spent a lot of time in college (of course no more than we spent studying... :) playing cards. One of Carol's "rules" was not to pick up your hand before all of the cards were dealt - it was bad luck. I follow her logic to this day - and I still miss her and think of her often.

Memories of playing hearts in Jackie's apartment over the Humane Society. We talk a lot of smack when playing cards, and Will - bless his heart - when we announced that someone was shooting the moon - always believed us and sacrificed himself.

Memories of my parents having card club. It was always fun to partake in the special snacks and watch the adults. Now we are the adults. Still strange to me.

Saturday was a work day. We were blessed to have Roger and Randy - Chris's friend from work here to help us. Olivia was the lucky ducky - she was invited to her friend Morgan's house to play. I tried to slip into the truck when they stopped to pick her up, but it didn't work. I spent the day working on the porch steps and railing. I chipped paint, and then took the grinder to do some smoothing. I found out that you need to keep a firm grip on the grinder. I have quite the bruise on my knee to prove it. It only got away from me once! It was a full day. The siding is up and the porch steps and railing are primed.

Today we plan to visit Great-Grandma, and go to Menards and Target. We still need to pick out new exterior lights and a few odds and ends. I think I'll be glad to go back to work on Monday!

Check out the siding - my husband has done a great job!!!