And in a much better state of mind.
Thankfulness oozing out of every pore.
Ready to hit the ground running.
As soon as I recover from all that blasted driving.
And read everyone's posts.
And comment and reply.
And generally procrastinate all the things I should be doing.
Then I'll be on the ground and running.
On to the thankful...
1. I am thankful for those soccer friends I mentioned yesterday. All weekend long we have been getting texts, emails, calls, and stops in the parking lot from people showing their support and voicing their outrage over Thursday's turn of events. Even if it doesn't change the situation, we are grateful that so many people care about and respect Phoenix.
2. I am thankful for the map app on my phone. Even after 23 years living away from home and having to make that 6 hour drive, I can still miss my turn-off and not realize it until 10 miles later. When I couldn't get ahold of my dad to give me alternative directions, I quickly typed "Canton" into my phone. It took a bit longer, but I finally did get there.
3. I am thankful for new coloring books and crayons. The little boys were occupied for hours, and I got to drive in peace.
4. I am thankful for Coke and the 80's station. Six (which I managed to make into 8) hours in the car is a long time when you didn't get much sleep the night before. Caffeine keeps me alert, while Prince, Huey Lewis and the News, Michael Jackson, Madonna, and friends keep me company. Can't get sleepy when you're singing Karma Chameleon at the top of your voice. (Doesn't matter in the least that I don't know many more words than "red, gold, and green".)
5. I am thankful for my dad and step-mom being willing to throw our 4th of July party. It is not easy to feed all those people, but it's even harder to have them tramping all over and messing up your yard and house. The party is always so much fun, and I appreciate their willingness to put in so much work to make it happen. (Especially when it's a month later than it's supposed to be.)
 |
| Muuuuuch better than that sad, sad photo of my dad's selfie on the actual 4th. Dad's the happy guy in the blue shirt smack, dab in the middle. His mom/my grandma is the short lady next to him. |
6. I am thankful for the longevity of my extended family. My grandma is 88 years old, and all but one of her siblings is still alive. She, two of her sisters and a brother are in the photo above. They are all healthy, living in their own houses, fun and fully a part of the festivities. I am so grateful to still have them around. I'm grateful that my kids get to know them. One of these great-aunts is my Scrabble buddy. Every chance I get, I head to her house, she makes me breakfast or lunch, and the two of us play some good games of Scrabble.
7. I am thankful for my brothers and their sense of humor. I get along with my brothers very, very well. They are both hilarious people and always enjoy a good prank. At one point, I saw one brother filling up a water gun with water out of the cooler (freezing cold, melted ice). It only took one look and we had a plan. I grabbed my phone, told Phoenix and my cousin who is 10 days younger than Phoenix (They are great friends.) to get together so I could take their photo. As they stood there smiling for me, my brothers came from the sides.
One with a distracting water balloon...
and the other with the ice cold water.
Operation Initiation into High School has begun.
8. I am thankful for my mother-in-law's graciousness. With everyone coming into town, my grandma's and my dad's houses were filled to the brim. That meant we needed to stay with COW's mom. I was way rude and didn't call her until 10:00 on Thursday night to let her know we'd be there by 5:30 on Friday. Not only was she happy to have us, dinner was on the table when we arrived (after missing the turn, etc, etc,) late, at 6:45.
9. I am thankful that all of my family is back home together again. While I was in Ohio, COW had Buttercup, Star, and Giant in Kentucky for a soccer tournament. It was a lovely reunion, with everyone sharing stories, sometimes talking all over each other.
10. I am thankful for the great fun all my kids had this weekend. I knew the ones going to Ohio would have a blast, but I was a bit worried about the soccer players. They all have drastically different teams than they had last year. During all the stories I heard, there were a few downers, but I also heard all about fun and inclusion and friends. All in all, it was a good start to the season.
I feel much better now. Glad I could get this in before the link closed. I hate leaving the weekend on a not-so-happy, could-there-be-any-more-sarcasm? post.
Have a lovely day! (or night. You know who you are...)
Oooh, will I win the prize for last poster this week?
Your hosts
A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Considerings, Finding Ninee, I can say mama, Steps into Parenthood, Thankful Me, The Wakefield Doctrine
I'VE MISSED YOUUUUUUUU!!!
ReplyDeleteGlad you have a great 4th of July on August 10 weekend. The family picture is great, and I particularly love shirtless Cuckoo.
Also happy to see that you are in better spirits than you were on Thursday when you wrote your first TToT post.
I've missed you, tooooooo!!! :)
DeleteShirtless Cuckoo is adorable, isn't he? :)
Me, too. So much better.
I was reading your post and I thought I was in a freakin' time warp. Thank you for explaining that your 4th of July party was a month late. Whew, you 'bout gave this old broad a heart attack!!! It's great you have such an extended family. Keep on rockin' to those 80's tunes!! It's good for the soul.
ReplyDeleteHa! Sorry about that. ;) The 80s had the best music ever played. I will always rock to them.
DeleteLove Love Love the new 4th of July picture! I love family time! Glad yours was enjoyable and that the boys were duly soaked with ice water!
ReplyDeleteFamily time really is special. And hilarious.
DeleteWay to end it on a positive. Love the initiation into High school...too fun. And not surprising.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear soccer stuff went well at the tournament. :)
Sounds like a lovely time with family...so glad your dad was willing to host it, even a month late. :) Can I be part of your family? No one will know that we aren't sisters...I mean come on! Look at me! We could be twins! LOL
You mean I actually look like a pranker?
DeleteIt did. *wiping my brow*
While we may not look like twins (or relatives of any kind) that doesn't really matter to my family. Every year new people show up claiming to be relatives. No one is turned away. (Paternity tests come later. Ha!)
You are sneaky... but you didn't win the prize as Kristi felt the need to crush and dominate us all!
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad you made a second day posting (though internally I groan at more to catch up on!), because Saturdays was so sour. So I feel I have unspoken permission to poke fun... like...
Ah... music of the 80's... nothing beats remembering the good times of your 50's...
Or... it's amazingly lucky your gene pool has such longevity as you are creeping on up.
I assume the long since past (yet not) teasing of relations to children at the pool isn't lost on you ;-)
I'm SO glad you all made it out to the "4th" party! That picture was so sad. It feels as though a "wrong" has been righted! Like a weight lifted from Mankind. Looks like you all had a ton of fun! You know I like pranks and shenanigans so kudos on your participation. For some reason the cousin in the first picture looks like a young "actor's name I don't know" who plays The Mentalist.
Not sure why in other replies I've used C.O.W. instead of COW... maybe I just felt it was a code for something... and not just calling your husband a cow (in a yelling fashion)!
I don't have those nifty phone apps, but once I get a smartphone I will! But I never go anywhere so hopefully it will be able to navigate me between my kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom, because that would be pretty sweet.
Glad you "perked"* up at the tail-end!
I was beginning to maybe possible becoming a slightly tad bit concerned!
*Boob joke**
**Sideboob joke
Jak at The Cryton Chronicles & Dreams in the Shade of Ink
Blasted Kristi! I don't know if she's a slacker or really that competitive. :)
DeleteYou are allowed to poke fun, as long as it is funny. You can do better than those "old lady" jokes!
There was no way we could let the summer go by without a party at Dad's. That was such a sad photo. I'm kinda surprised people who read the blog didn't show up to make him feel better.
You write C.O.W. because I did at first. It's too much hassle to use the periods. The dashes in my blog name are more than enough hassle for me.
Perhaps with a map app you will feel more comfortable venturing out. It can even find the nearest gas station for you!
You aren't the only one who was concerned. Even Lizzi's WonderAunty was sending me messages via Lizzi, making sure I was OK. I'm doing much better. As my brother always says, "If everyone was as smart as me, my life would be a whole lot easier." :)
Oh, the sideboobs...She's out of control.
Aww I am so glad you are feeling better and are back up an runnin'. Looks like you had a great time!! Spending time with family is the BEST. :D
ReplyDeleteBack into it, for sure! But this week I have a much better attitude going in. The trip home did me a world of good in many ways.
DeleteI can't wait to see you and actually spend time with you...hopefully soon! We so need to catch up:)
ReplyDeleteNo joke! It has been WAY too long! Friday?
DeleteWhat a great 4th of July party you all did in August. I was wondering how that went. Way cool. A great time had by all.
ReplyDeleteHave a terrific day and rest from all that driving. :)
A great time was had by almost all. :)
DeleteVery glad to be done with the driving. Well, driving far away. Still plenty of driving the kids around town. :)
My kids are always the first ones to get pranked. They have a very good sense of humor about it all.
ReplyDeleteWe did have a ball.
What a fun time you must have had! I'm currently in the middle of our great big family get-together, so my posts have been pre-scheduled, and my comments have been sporadic, but your post certainly hit home for me. There's nothing quite like family!
ReplyDelete