all good things....

well you know the rest....eventually summer had to come to and end.  And once again, I was sad to see the kids go back to school.

A few more pics from the glorious freedom of summer. 

Sadie courtesy of Sierra's photo shoot (the girl is getting really good).

Jade and Lilly

 Girls camp

photo credit Diana Waite

Beach time with the girls

and zoo time with the kids.

Thank you summer, you've been a delight.

number nineteen

Sadie's Birthday. Her cake request? My Grandma Scott's fudge cake.  Also known by my kids as "Texas sheet cake".  

Texas.  Sadie's new home in October. For eighteen months.

 I think Gentry said it best in her birthday card to Sadie, "It will take a piece out of me you leave!"

 The parents are feeling kind of the same way.

Birthday girl.

Make a wish.

class reunion

Last Saturday my graduating high school class celebrated our 25th reunion. It's always like stepping into a time warp for me each time I visit my small hometown of Janesville.  In my mind, I'm seventeen again.  It's always a strange experience for me as I'm flooded with memories from my teenage years, both good and bad.  Most people, I think, have strong emotions attached to the years they spent in high school. For the most part, I loved high school. To this day, I have a lot of love and respect for many of the people that I shared that time with. Would I want to repeat that time in my life? Maybe.  Some of it.  Some of it I wish I could change. I'm grateful to be who I am today.  I'm grateful, that through introspection all these years later, that I've realized a couple of things.  First, because I was seventeen, insecure on a lot of levels, and focused mostly on myself, I probably missed out on getting to know some really good, interesting people. Second, I'm happy with who I am now.  As I talked with different people at our reunion, I was struck by one common theme. Maturity.This really great maturity that can only come through lots of years of trials, joys, sorrows, accomplishments, and reflection. I am so impressed, not so much with who we were as a graduating class, but with who we've become.

And where we're going.

going home

Congratulations Les Johnson!  You are the winner of the august third friday giveaway. Break out your cake pans!

This is my childhood home. A gothic revival built over a hundred years ago.  A home that my mom and dad restored to its original beauty with no help, no contractors, and without a huge bank roll.  A home that  they cleaned, patched, sanded, and painted over a thirty year period.  A house that kept me safe and warm and happy. A yard to run, and play, and imagine. A place that is forever a part of me.

Of the many rooms in this house, there is only one whose wall remain white.  I'm sure my dad will remedy that eventually.

This very small room is one of my favorites....I don't know what purpose it served in the early nineteen hundreds, but today, it is simply a room with a view. 

Gentry requested a portrait of her bear.

 He was a very good subject.

 We had fun cousin time....

 and family time.

Home.