What a busy week...

Wow, last week was just plain crazy! I'm glad it's over! lol! However, this week doesn't look like it's going to be much better...

Last week was majorette camp for Jillian. She left on Sunday and finished Wednesday night. She ended up hurting her ankle on Monday during one of the morning practices but didn't want to miss anything, so she continued to perform on it the rest of the time she was there. By the time we picked her up Wednesday night, she was hurting pretty bad. After a trip to the doctors for an xray, they finally determined (but not until late Friday!) that it was not broken, thank you God! It is severely sprained and she pulled and tore a couple ligaments. So she'll be on crutches for a few more days until the swelling finally goes down and it doesn't hurt to walk so much...

So, that meant she didn't get to go to church camp with Becca on Saturday! Her dorm is on the second floor and they do a LOT of walking at church camp. She decided that it just was going to be too much. So instead, she headed to Corry with me. Frank and Ray had gone to Clearfield to our camp to put a new roof on the camp and I was heading to Corry to preach Sunday morning. We had a nice visit with the inlaws and even got to see my nephew Denton perform in Fiddler on the Roof for the community theatre! He did a great job!

After church Sunday, we went to lunch with "the Grands" as Jilli calls them, then headed for Clearfield. We spent the afternoon with Ray and Frank... Jilli lounged with her ankle in the air while I actually helped the guys with the roof! I started a fire and we made pie iron pizzas, then Jilli and I headed home.

Becca will be home for a short while on Tuesday to work... she couldn't get anyone to cover for her. She'll head back to church camp Wednesday morning and be home on Sunday. Frank will be home Tuesday in time for me to wash his clothes and get the rest of the stuff packed up for us to head out Wednesday morning too. We'll be dropping Jilli off at The Grands for a couple days, while he and I head to Kelleys Island for our anniversary! We'll be staying till Friday morning, then will go to the inlaws to spend the weekend.

I'm looking forward to a few days away... I should have pictures when I get back!

Bath Note

Dear Kids,

Don't be alarmed, the world isn't coming to an end. I am simply taking a bath. It will take about thirty minutes and will involve soap and water. Yes, I know how to swim. Even if I didn't, forcing myself to drown in a half-inch of lukewarm water is more work than I've got energy for. (Which reminds me, I'm all for science projects, but the next time you want to see if Play-Doh floats, use cold water.)

Don't panic if I'm not out right on time. I've heard that people
don't dissolve in water and I'd like to test the theory. While I'm in
the tub, I'd like you to remember a few things. The large slab of
wood between us is called a door. Do not bang to hear my voice. I
promise that even though you can't see me, I *am* on the other side.
I'm not digging an escape tunnel and running for the border,no matter
what I said a while ago. I didn't mean it. Honest. There will be
plenty of time later to tell me about your day.

"Later" means at a time when I am no longer naked, wet, and
contemplating bubble gum in the blow dryer. I know you have important
things to tell me. Please let one of them be that you have invented a
new way to blow bubbles, not a new way to add gum to your hair.

Believe it or not, shouting, "TELEPHONE!" through the closed bathroom
door will *not* make the phone stop ringing. Answer it and take a
message. Since Amazing Mind-Reading Mom has the day off, you'll need
to write that message down. Use paper and a pencil. Do not use your
brother and the laundry marker. We can't send him to school with
telephone number tattoos.

Water makes me wet, not deaf. I can still tell the difference between
the sound of "nothing" and the sound of a child playing the piano
with a basketball. I can also hear you tattling at the top of your
lungs. I'm *choosing* NOT to answer you.

Don't call your dad at work and tell him I am unconscious in the
bathroom. He didn't appreciate it last time. He won't appreciate it
more this time. Trust me.

No matter how much I would like it, water does not make me forgetful.
I remember who you are and why you are grounded. No, you can't go to
Shelby's house to play. No, you can't go to Shelby's house to use the
bathroom. If someone is in our other bathroom, you will just have to
think dry thoughts and wait. Unless you have four feet and a tail, do
not think of going outside to "water" the lawn. I know the dog does
it. The neighbors don't feel the need to call me when the dog does it.

Unless the house catches on fire, stay inside and keep the doors
locked. Do not go outside and throw rocks at the bathroom window to
get my attention. I know it works in the movies. This is reality, the
place where people don't like to sit in a tub while rocks and broken
glass rain in on them. Do not set the house on fire. Call me if there
is an emergency.

Emergencies ARE:
1. Dad has fallen off the roof.
2. Your brother and/or sister is bleeding.
3. There's a red fire truck in front of our house.
Emergencies are NOT:
1. Dad has fallen asleep.
2. Someone on TV is bleeding.
3. There's a red pickup truck in front of our house.

One other thing: Being forced to use the last roll of toilet paper
for a towel does not make me happy. In the future, when the tub
overflows, use a mop to clean up the water instead of every towel in
the house. For my sanity's sake, let's pretend it was the tub, Okay?
No, I don't want to hear the real story. Ever. Especially not while
I'm standing in the pool of water you missed.

By the way, all Play-Doh experiments are hereby canceled.

Be good. Entertain yourselves. Yes, you can do both at the same time.
Try coloring, playing a game, or paying that stack of bills on the
coffee table.

I'll be out soon. Maybe.

Love,
Your Mom

Getting ready for camp...

Yep, it's that time of year again... The girls are getting ready to head to Church camp on Saturday. What does that mean? That means that my washing machine gets a workout, big time! I have washed every piece of laundry that the girls own, and everything Frank and I own too! I'm almost done, I only have one more load to do so that the girls can pack everything Friday. They leave Saturday afternoon and I don't want them waiting until Saturday morning to pack everything.

One of the biggest drawbacks with washing machines is that they only take half the time that a dryer does! Okay so the problem is more that the dryer can't dry as fast as the washing machines do, but I've sometimes thought that I'd love to have a second dryer so that I could always have one ready with a new load of laundry to dry! lol! It would be great to have them both done at the same time so that you can always put in a new load!

One of my good friends has two dryers, but she also has two boys who seem to dirty more than their share of clothes every day.... Once again, I thank God for giving me girls! lol!

Massage Therapist and Chiropractors...

Well... Becca has been going to a massage therapist for some back pain for about a year now. Unfortunately, the therapist is very busy, so it's hard to get in to see her. It's been a while since Becca has been there, and she's been having a lot of pain lately, so I called to try to get her in... Two weeks at the earliest :(

So, we got a flier in the mail last week for a new place in town, and the guy and his wife who run it went to high school with me. I figured that a massage is a massage, so I might at well give them a call. I called yesterday and they got her in today.

It's actually a Chiropractors office, but they also offer massages. They were running a special for $27 for an hour massage. Pretty darn good price! So she's supposed to go in at 3:00 today. She comes to my office and we are swamped... my boss is out of the office, finishing up a funeral, the computer at work is on the blink so the computer guy is there working on it, and it's time for her appointment.... Becca is 18 now, so she doesn't really need me to go with her... so I call them and tell them she'll be there by herself and I'll come when I can. I had already given them a bit of Becca's history with the migraines and the cancer, so they suggested that she have an alignment too. That's fine with me.

When I get there, she's already had xrays and a scan and been adjusted and is in the back having her massage. This isn't the first time we've tried chiropractic for Becca's headaches and pains. She went consistently for quite some time at another place, but it didn't help so that's why we went with the massage, which has been helping her back pain, but not the headaches.

I truly do believe that chiropractors can help you. Don't get me wrong. But I hate it when they go on and on about "knowing that they can cure all your problems!" They start telling me that they've had many, many clients who have been helped with adjustments for their migraines. I know that! That's why we went in the first place! And I tried to explain to them that it's not as simple as that. Becca has had a headache every single day for the past 3 1/2 years! YEARS!!! We've tried everything!!! We've been to every doctor imaginable, including the top neurologist in Pittsburgh who runs a headache clinic!

If she can be helped, wonderful... but I'm not holding my breath. Becca has learned to live with the pain and still carries on like a normal teenager. But, she said the massage was wonderful and she definitely wants to go back to him. Her back feels much better.

So she'll go back... and for $27, I think I'll schedule a massage for me as well ;)

More trip ideas...

Well, we finally decided where we going for our trip in a couple weeks. Looks like we're going to end up going to Kelleys Island which is an island in Lake Erie that is just north of Sandusky Ohio... where Cedar Point is!

We're really getting excited about it... It's not too far away from home, yet it will be a nice drive for us to take. We have to take a ferry to the island, which should be fun! I'm anxious to do some more looking to see what activities there are for us to do while we're there...

It's funny, but when I was talking with Becca about where we should go, she suggested that we go to New York City! While that would be a lot of fun, neither of us have ever been there... and I'd be scared to death to actually drive into the city! lol!

I actually did little searching and found a hotel called the Hotel 373 Fifth Avenue that is just steps from the Empire State Building! Wow, I can't even imagine that! I'd love to take in a show on Broadway... maybe someday!

Frank is talking about going to a conference for work in Chicago in the fall and he'd like me to go with him. I could do quite a bit of sightseeing while he's in meetings! But I'd rather not go once it starts getting cold though... I want to go when it's still nice out!

Oh well, for now, we'll settle for a little island off of Ohio.

Went to the Ag Fair last night!

I love fairs! I really do. There's just something about it that draws me in. So when a friend asked if I wanted to go to the little Ag Fair in a neighboring town, I was in!

I watched a tractor pull, which I had never seen before, and got to see one of the boys from Jillian's class compete. He did pretty well! All the other participants were much older so it was nice to see a 14-15 year old boy do as well as some men!

I had a pulled pork sandwich and then an apple dumpling with ice cream and caramel... oh yummm, was it good! We walked all around the booths and then saw all the animals. They had adorable rabbits, pigs, horses, cows, goats, and all your typical farm animals.

We had a very nice time. It's nice to just get out with friends once in a while.

Tonight is my Girls Night Out bonfire at my house! I have about 8 friends coming over to spend the evening and sit around and gab. I'm looking forward to it!

More pictures...

Okay, this scrapbook site is getting very addicting! And it's so easy!

Here's a card I made for my mom with all the grandchildren. She is going to love it!



Then I made a Thank You card for my cousin Deb who helped us out so much in Ft. Lauderdale when we were on our cruise. I sent this card and a box of cookies through Send Out Cards. I can't wait to hear that she got them!

Anniversary Trip!

Our 22nd Anniversary is coming up August 2nd. Frank and I have been trying to get away for a couple of days every year on our Anniversary and luckily, it always seems to fall the week that the girls are at church camp! Yeah!

So, we've been trying to come up with ideas on where to go. Because of the high price of gas, we weren't sure we wanted to go very far this year. Two years ago, for our 20th, we went to Gatlinburg, TN. We rented a cabin for the whole week and did a lot of sightseeing in the area. We loved it! It was a great trip. Last year, we just went up to our camp in Titusville for a few extra days. But this year, I'd like to go someplace special...

I found a great site called hotelscombined.com that allows you to type in the dates of your trip and where you'd like to go and they will come up with a huge list of hotels with pictures and prices! I typed in Orlando, just to see what would come up, and they had 42 pages of hotels!

Since we want to be closer to home, I thought I'd check out Pittsburgh. I was able to refine my search to our price range and it still came up with 4 pages of choices!

We're also thinking of staying in a Bed and Breakfast instead of a hotel. I found a great site, called BedandBreakfast.com that offers the exact same service! This sure makes things a lot easier! They offered about 20 options for Bed and Breakfasts in Pittsburgh.

I also went to 10best.com to look up the best sightseeing spots in Pittsburgh. They suggested the Carnegie Science Center, Mt. Washington, Pittsburgh Zoo and the Aviary as well as others. We travel into Pittsburgh frequently for Becca's doctor appointments, and Frank goes in for work, but we very rarely actually just spend time sightseeing! This is a definite possibility.

I still have more searching to do. I'll post when I'm sure where we're going!

Happy Birthday Ang!

It's my friend Angela's birthday today!!! A bunch of us met at the coffee shop this morning and when she walked in the door, we sang Happy Birthday to her! I hate that I have to be at work at 8... they all get to stay and gossip, while I have to head off to work :(

So, another friend turns 45... wow! How the heck did we get to be THAT old? lol! I don't really feel that old. I still can't believe I have an 18 year old daughter who is going off to college in 6 short weeks. It seems like just yesterday she was getting ready for Kindergarten, and now she's a beautiful young lady, ready to head off on her own. I keep teasing her that I'm turning her bedroom into a sewing room as soon as she leaves! Little does she know, but I'm serious! lol! Well, at least a small corner of it anyway. She can spare that much! I'm tired of moving my sewing machine to the dining room table every time I want to work on something! If I had it set up all the time, I know I'd do more.

This weekend should be nice. Looks like the weather is going to cooperate and give us a good one. I'm having a Girls Night Out at my house Saturday night... We're going to have a bonfire and eat! What more could you ask for? lol! I don't have anything planned for the day on Saturday, so hopefully I can get some work done around the house and maybe even get in a little sewing. I'm still working on Jillian's quilt... I'll have to post pictures later. And Becca wants me to make her one before she leaves for college! *gulp* Don't think I'll get it done in time! lol!

Busy day at work today. Gotta run!

Ohiopyle Camping Trip!

Ray, Lisa and Hunter



The Gavitts


The Manchesters