Father's Day & Brandon's Birthday

FAMILY

In spirit of the World Cup, our family held their own soccer game.

My niece loves her cousin, Brandon.

She was happy he played her favorite sport, even if they were on opposing teams.

 FATHERS DAY

 We celebrated Father's day with a picnic at our house.

Todd is pictured with his Dad and Brother. 

Our friend, Chad is considered a part of the family too!

 I am thankful that these wonderful guys.

They are good men who make our lives better and bless their children by actions and examples.

I say, Thank You!!

BRANDON'S BIRTHDAY

My BFF made Brandon's cake.

As always, it was very good!

 I forgot to buy candles. Brandon had to blow out a lighter.

The next day, some of my day care kids sang Happy Birthday to Brandon.

This time I remembered the candles.

being Kind or being Creepy?

What would you do if a stranger asked you to join them for a meal?  Would you say yes?
Or would you be bold enough to ask someone to join you?

**did I hear you gasp?**   

Do you agree that some acts of kindness 15 or 20 years ago could now be considered taboo? A couple of generations ago a 'random act of kindness' was just what you did. You complimented people in the street, you helped strangers who needed it, you did nice things for your friends and you were basically just a kind person.  It's a shame that today's society turns a good deeds into something that makes you feel uneasy and afraid.  It is a sad reflection on society that people think "What does he/she want in return from me?".

Where am I going with this??

When the boys were young (yes, around 15 years ago) I took them to Friendly's restaurant for lunch.  There was an elderly man in line behind us.  We got to chatting while we were waiting for the hostess.  He was very nice and reminded me of my grandfather.   I asked him if someone was joining him for lunch and he said no, he was eating alone.  I asked if he would like to join us.  He said yes!

We talked about his children, my children, my husband, his wife (who had passed away that year).  He told me many happy stories from his life that have stayed with me over the years.

When the check came, this generous man paid for our entire meal.  I told him that was not why I invited him to join us and insisted he did not have to pay for us but he said: "Not only are you a wonderful mother to these boys, but a wonderful woman for making an old man feel special."

It's not every day a stranger will ask you to sit down and join them for a meal.  Nor is it every day that a stranger will say yes.

I challenge you: Go do a random act of kindness!

Maggie {8 weeks old}

Last weekend we brought home a chocolate lab puppy.  My eldest son wanted to name her: 

"Lady Regina T. Wigglebottom the 7th, Countess of the great divide, Queen of the land of Minth, Seducer of the fallen kings, Baroness of the red crusted dough, and Princess to the sovereign nations".

I called her Maggie.
She weighs 9.5 lbs.

Maggie got stuck under our island.....

 (My husband had to lift it up so I could pull her out).

she fell into the pond....

her favorite toy is a ball that is too large to fit in her mouth...

 she loves the outdoors....

and she has already figured out I am a sucker.

Falling down is a part of life

Brandon was taking a Photo and Design class his High School Junior year.

While taking photos for the class, we happened upon an old stone farm house that has been long forgotten and left in rumbles.

I wonder who lived here? What was the family like?

What did the home look like in its glory days?

I suppose falling down is a part of life, but I couldn't help but feel sad for this old stone house.

Todd's birthday bash

 Memorial Day weekend we celebrated Todd's 44th birthday 

with this awesome cake my friend, Heather made.

Todd LOVES to golf. 

 I was impressed how the cake looked like a golf ball was on the greens of a golf course.

One brand of golf balls is called Titleist.

Heather changed the name to Toddlesit.

Very creative!

 The guys had a Bocci Ball competition.

 We also had a family party at Todd's brothers house.

My nephew loves to blow out birthday candles.

We, however, do not care for the Toddler spit.  

The kids had fun with fireworks too.

I've never seen fireworks on a long stick like this.

 It was safe, that is until one little girl swatted another one on the head.

 Happy Birthday Todd!

Conversations with Zach {How do I spell my name?}

Beware to readers: This is an actual text message conversation I had with my son.

Zachary:  Hey Mom. So that package you sent. Got a email saying ima get it today. And how do you spell my full name? ZachAry or ZachEry?

 (Did he seriously just ask me how to spell his name???)

ME: Z-a-c-h-a-r-y.

Zachary: Oh, okay. The shipping label says ZachEry.

ME: Whoever typed the label didn't type your name right. 

The package will be delivered to the rental office.

Zachary: Noo Mom. They don't like that.  I will be home.  I coulda got my boy to get it if I wasn't.  Now I don't know when to get ittttttt.

 (Nice grammar.)

ME: I thought you were in class all day and I didn't want to leave the package outside.

Zachary: Nooooo. Only 3-5 today.  I could have told my dude to pick it up who lives across the street or my neighbor.

My dude?? That sounds reassuring.

ME: I didn't know any of this.

Zachary: How do I know when it gets there?

Me: You will get an email saying it's been delivered.  

Zachary: The email said 12am today.

ME: 12am is midnight, sure it wasn't 12pm?

Zachary: (silence).

Zachary: The email was at 6am doe.

Did  the slang words I used sound this stupid to my parents?

Brandon's High School Junior Prom

Brandon, Paul and Dylan

with their gorgeous prom dates.

Courtney (right) and Paige (middle) along with their brother, Paul (white tux) are triplets.

Courtney wanted Brandon to wear a white suit.  

I told Brandon it wasn't a good idea because he is a fair skin person with blonde hair. 

 He'd look like an albino!

The girls are gorgeous!