POOL PARTY 2

As I promised, here are more pictures from the pool party on Saturday. When we got ready to go outside and eat on the patio, the drizzle of rain came. We still sat out under the umbrella on the table. We were planning on getting wet anyway and it wasn't cold, so we stayed and ate there. The rain continued, but we made the best of it.

Really, Audrey was the only one that didn't get wet. She sat in her holder and Jay put a big umbrella over her. She never even knew it was raining. She just went right to sleep while the rest of us played in the pool and the rain.
We had many goofy things going on in the pool. Jennifer and Gage were trying to push each other under or see who could splash who. I took pictures with lots of rain spots on the camera. DD did a lot of floating and teasing whenever he could. Emma made a train with the noodles. Angie was the cabbose and Emma was the engine. Adrian said he was Thomas. I didn't get that until he said: Thomas The Train! Silly Grandma!!!
After lots of pool time we came in and played games. Oliver, the cat, thought this was great. He made himself right at home on Adrian's towel. He fell asleep while Adrian checked out the rules of the game.

At last everyone was awake and ready for the ice cream cookies. Now it was Grandma's turn to hold Audrey. We had lots of fun just sitting and watching the lights on the ceiling and anything else that caught our eye!

What a Wonderful Time at The Pool With Family!

HOW I SPEND MY TIME

I have had a few days to just stay home, read and enjoy the pool. That is my ideal summer past time. Many times I am just too busy to do it. This week has been a dream for me. Not only did I have the time, but also the weather was awesome. Here are some pictures of where I spend my time.

Here is the deck where I sit for lunch, take time to read or just watch the birds. The flowers at the bottom of the deck are doing great this year.

I just got two new shepherd's hooks for some hanging baskets. This was just the touch the south end of the pool needed.

Most of my time, however, is spent right here. I am either on the deck chair, reading away or in the pool floating around with a pop in the holder and a book in my hand. This is really my favorite spot when I am home in the summer. Just wish our summers were longer!

SUMMERTIME FOR TEACHERS

As long as I have been a teacher, every summer I have heard--"It must be nice to get paid and not have to work for a whole summer." These non-teachers always think we are getting paid for our summers. In actuality we get paid, but it is for hours we've already worked--they just save it for the summer.

This afternoon, though, I saw another side to that comment. The idea that teachers don't work in the summer. Barb and I met with two teachers. Both of them were organizing their rooms for next year. One teacher had been reading and planning for a long time. Today we helped him move furniture out, rearrange others and even move his desk to a corner in the back of the room. What fun we had and what a great new look! Can't wait to see the finished project.

The other teacher was in the middle of reorganizing her books. They were all over the floor. Three of her kiddos are coming in next week to help put their library together--an advantage of looping.

She had the best idea of a "teacher-sized" desk in one corner with cubby holes all around it for all sorts of writerly stuff. That is their writer's corner!

So, the next time you hear someone say teachers are lucky because they get their summers off---send them to me and I'll show them what teachers REALLY do in the summer!

A Favorite Aunt

Tonight I got a surprise call. It was from my aunt who now lives in Arizona. She had planned on making her "every-other-year" trip back to Indiana. The call was to inform me that due to cost of gas and airlines the trip was not going to happen this year. I was disappointed. Aunt Reita is my only relative of that generation left. Her visit is always full of laughter and stories.

We talked for a long time tonight catching up on all the family news. After hearing about her husband's health, what her children (my cousins) were doing, I gave her the updates of the relatives in our area. We talked about the reunions we used to have at her place and the reunions we had at my cousin Dale's house.

When the call was over and we promised to write or call soon, I started to remember. I remembered why she was my favorite aunt. She used to babysit for me when my mom had to work. It was great visiting their house. They had every animal you can imagine. We could eat raw hot dogs for lunch and not have to sneak around to do it. Then we would sit around and tell stories. Not the usual kind of stories. They were made up stories. Aunt Reita would start them, then she would stop and the next person had to continue. It went all around the circle of the four of us, my sister, my cousin and the two of us. What imaginations we all had. I now make sure all the kids I work with tell me their "stories" first before they begin to write. Maybe the reason I do that is because way before you write...you have to be able to "tell" your story. Aunt Reita taught me how to do that.

So, until next summer, I will just have to continue to tell my stories and wait for hers next year!

Summer Goals

I have been tagged by my friend Jen to make a list of goals I have for the summer. What a good way to get me motivated! Here goes:

1. Read, Read, Read anything and everything.
2. Go to the All Write Summer Institute and hear loads of authors, share with friends and have a blast!
3. Start running again so I can finish the Peachtree 10K on July 4th in Atlanta with 55,000 other runners.
4. Walk four miles a day with Sarah L. and catch up on all the town's gossip. She knows everything!
5. Get through two of our kid's weddings which are only one week apart.
6. Start lifting weights again so I can wear the dresses I bought for the weddings and not have flabby arms.
7. Write in my writers notebook and readers notebook.
8. Blog, blog and blog!

Sunday Moments

May 20, 2007
Today was our first day to sit by the pool. Granted, it really isn't ready for swimming yet. We did take the cover off and clean it, somewhat, yesterday. That in itself is a rather amazing accomplishment. We were still cleaning the pool cover at 7:30 last night, along with eating pizza from Pizza Hut.
But, back to today's events. We did get to sit by the pool, read, nap and just enjoy the outdoors. Our favorite thing to do in the summer is to lay on the deck chairs and listen to the birds and hear the water lap beside us. There was no water lapping today, but the birds were in rare form. Their silly spring chirping was loud and clear.
As we packed away our books, Cokes and chair pads to take an evening walk, I had to smile and think: "This is the first day of enjoying the pool and just sitting out here all day." I love doing that and can't wait for Sundays just to relax and be alone by the pool.
Summer can't be far behind, can it?