Doing this life

Sometimes, a picture about does me in.
Just an ordinary picture.
Today, it was one of me holding two little boys.
Cousins, Gavin and Tyrel.
I don't have the solid silver hair that I have 12 years later.
I don't have the sorrow that has become part of my face.
The cares and worries and losses hadn't begun their haunt.
It reminded me of another picture of me, holding two little boys.
Those little boys are grown, one is gone. The other watching as time trickles by while he watches from a cage of his own failures.

Today, this life I'm in has me wishing for a do-over button.
Where would the do-over start?
That's one thing I can never decide.
Make your choices today out of love. Make them out of care and kindness to others.
Those babies grow up.
Those babies grow up.

Another day in Coderville

Nickole is working on her lessons. Handwriting has been an issue, so we have backed up to beginning cursive. Which means learning to hold the pencil properly, and sit correctly as well as to form the letters properly. We aren't moving as quickly as I would like, but we are moving forward!

In digging through my old curriculum, I came across the math book I used from Ben through the twins. An old fashioned Arithmetic book. I am getting Nickole started on that today, to ensure I don't create any gaps in what she should be doing in math. We still are doing daily drills on simple addition and subtraction, and only getting 75-90% correct. I am hoping that one day it will lodge in her brain that the math facts do not change, 13-7= 6 will become as automatic as breathing.

I have purchased 3rd grade "PACE" in Language Arts, Sequential Spelling Book 1, Daily Science Grade 4, and Horizons Health grade 5. We continue with Atlas Adventures. We go to a cooking class series on Wednesdays, and a Homeschool group on Thursdays, both at the Library. She has both assigned and free reading, we do exercises and take walks. She runs and bikes.

We have the Taylor Family reunion coming up October 5th! Becky and I plan to meet and camp on Friday night, and probably Saturday night as well. I am considering that planning what to take should be incorporated into a lesson. Work on our reasoning and thinking skills. I am certainly planning this to be as minimalist camping as possible- not a great deal of campfire cooking and such. (Yeah, I will probably do hot dogs and smores if the grands are all together! Maybe even cocoa at night.) (Mr C has football to watch, so probably will not come with us!)

Our Autumn plans are coming together!
Hope your day is blessed!

Almost Autumn (Someone tell the Weather!)

I saw a meme the other day.
"Moms! Pick your Battles!
Nope. That is too many battles.
Put a few battles back on the shelf!"

I need to learn something from that.
We started today, Friday the 13th (with a full moon!) with Much. Grouchiness.
MUCH. Moodiness.
Everything has been an argument or attempted regression.
"What's for breakfast?"
"Your usual choices: Cereal, oatmeal, or eggs."
"But I wanted leftover pancakes!"
"There aren't any, they are not an option today."
Much glaring.

"WHAT THE (garbled muttering)?!! WHERE are ALL the BOWLS? We HAD a whole STACK of BOWLS yesterday MORNING!"
More glaring, as if I have personally hidden all the bowls.

"We had guests yesterday, remember? And our supper last night used bowls as well. But I bet you they are CLEAN now- in the dishwasher until YOU get a chance to put them up."

"WHAT THE (garbled muttering)?!!! Is THIS the only kind of CEREAL we have left?"
(Pumpkin Spice Millville O's, or cornflakes, or Vitality Cereal with dehydrated strawberries.)

I was really getting annoyed with the attitude.
She picked the Pumpkin Spice O's- griping loudly, "I don't even KNOW if I'm going to LIKE this kind!"
(She got to eat them anyway.)

Then, we had to get dressed. So she wanted to wear a dressy dress.  With heavy duty shorts rolled up under it. Fine. Not even arguing. She was giving me the "I dare you to make me change" look.
I really don't recall Becky having this much attitude.
The minute Tom or Sam walk in- it's cutesy widdle gur-ow (little girl) talk.

Onward to lessons. I cut a couple short, and we never even went to the online lessons today. "Atlas Adventures" was trying to find out more about salmon. If you aren't needing a salmon recipe, or looking for reasons why the wild sockeye salmon populations are decreasing- there wasn't much to find in the first two or three pages of You Tube searching, nor even Google searching. Watched a bit and decided we aren't EVEN going to attempt a paragraph about them today.
Just, NOPE.

I read a little bit of an article about "tapping" to reset ones brain. I figure head banging on the wall or my desk should do the trick.

So long to Summertime

It's the end of August.
Last night brought a cool front, along with some severe storms. We didn't have any real damage with the high winds and inch+ rainfall. The rest of the 10 day forecast has us in the low 80's... so just MAYBE we are past summer's heat.

Over the weekend, Mr C and I took Nickole to visit Glynna in OKC. I think they enjoyed getting to see one another. Tom had not wanted me to fill out an approval form for him for visitation, so he waited in the car.

Today was the (second) day of a new school week. I am trying so hard to keep things rolling along. I get frustrated when the simplest worksheets are viewed as a dissertation for a Doctorate degree. (By this, I mean that the worksheet is so hard it is just asking TOO MUCH of a 10 year old to write five sentences, or do a 12 word Word Search. TWO pages of math, with 20 problems on a page? I'm talking addition and subtraction under 100) "BUT WHY! WHY? WHY! Do I have to spell the words correctly?"

 The drama wears me out.
This week, I am (once again) trying a new approach. I choose videos and documentaries of subjects that need to be covered. Then I give her a related,  "close reading" short worksheet . Swap subjects before frustration sets in.

I ordered the 3rd grade level "Pace" workbooks for English. They will cover quite a bit of our missing materials/ learning gaps. It goes over correctly forming cursive letters, consonants and vowels, names of parts of speech. Maybe we can get through them quickly. They are supposed to arrive next week.

For math, I am still using free worksheets and drills, but going to start her on Khan Academy soon.
Hope your day is blessed.

Ho Gung

I was Gung-ho with all my ideas for Home School with Nickole. Since some relatives are 'uncomfortable' with the whole idea of home education, I had thought that something like Alpha &Omega 's Monarch Academy would be just wonderful. The work is assigned and, for the most part graded by computer. You can log in anywhere, no excess stacks of workbooks. Most kids LOVE being on the computer. The learning segments have bona fide teachers who present the material. I could show that Nickole really is enrolled in a school.

As it turned out, Monarch Academy is NOT a good fit for us at this time. Monarch Academy starts on a third grade level. Third grade assumes you have learned the basics you need to add and subtract, to read and at least print. I enjoyed our one-month free trial, but I have to find something that will work on Nickole's levels.

We have to go back and cover some basic necessities. We almost have basic addition conquered, and subtraction is coming right along. Yesterday, I discovered we need to cover Roman Numerals, consonants & vowels. Since we haven't entered into the payment portion of Monarch, I am OK with letting Monarch Academy go for now.

I hate to think of it as 'flying by the seat of my pants', but that is kind of where I am at. I hate to purchase a curriculum that's going to be gone through at a rapid pace. I'm sure that she will quickly assimilate the missing blocks of information once it is presented to her.

So, I am outlining a plan. I am using free and low cost options from a number of sources. We have Khan Academy available for math and a few other subjects. I have access to Scholastic "Teachables" through our public library. I have free "Common Core" worksheet generators I can use in Geography, spelling, and Math. I have YouTube! (Is there ANYTHING you can't learn from watching a video online?)

We will be going back and laying the basic foundation stones in math, and the mechanics of language. We will learn what cardinal and ordinal numbers are. We will learn about Roman Numerals, as well as Hindi-Arabic numerals.

We have begun "Atlas Adventures", based off a sticker book kids atlas from Aldi. (3.99). I decided we will start at the beginning of the sticker book. Nickole chooses one sticker from the shadowed outlines in the book, and puts it into place. Then, we come to the computer and look up more information about the item depicted by the sticker. So far, we have learned about Día de los Muertos, The Day of The Dead celebration; and The Golden Gate Bridge.
I choose several videos about the subject, as well as a basic search engine information spread. We watch the videos and read about the subject.
Next, Nickole goes into a blank Word document, and summarizes what she has learned about the topic. EDIT: I realized we need to print the original, unedited draft. This is attached to the final copy. This proves her progress. I follow up with checking her spelling, punctuation, and paragraph structure. I highlight words that need to be corrected, suggest edits, and mark punctuation points. Using the Word program eases the frustration of having to recopy the paper repeatedly as we edit.
Once the paragraph corrections are made, we print out a copy, and Nickole draws a picture to go with it. (It just occurred to me, I need to be printing out the raw documents as well, not just the finished product, so we can demonstrate progress.)
We look at the globe, and at the atlas to get the idea of where on the planet our topic is located.

This has been more of  theme of study than any particular "subject". Nickole is not only learning about the topic of the sticker, and where it is geographically located, but also grasping the main ideas of the materials, organizing thoughts into sentences, and sentences into a paragraph. She is learning computer skills. She will be gaining research skills. She will learn to spell correctly and soon move from paragraphs to essays.
In my opinion, learning HOW to learn is a vital step she needs to take in gaining an education. That hasn't been happening for her in the school system.

So maybe I'm not quite as gung-ho as I was a few weeks back. I have been frustrated and upset. This new direction has taken me from trying to force a quick paced catch-up, to more of a "start completely over" with the basics.
As advised by many, I am documenting, documenting, documenting. From the failures to the fantastics, the good, bad, and ugly all along the way. We are documenting the books Nickole has read, and the curriculum sources we have tapped as we struggle along.

Please pray for us in this journey.

Adventures in the Country

We had a number of beautiful, cool nights in July. We watched for meteors almost nightly. The windows were opened at night to let in a breeze much cooler than the AC could achieve.
During one night, I was awakened by our Guinea Fowl Alarm. The rooster joined in. There was much squawking and crowing, clucking and screeching. I got on my muck boots, grabbed a flashlight, and went to investigate. I found a raccoon inside the chicken pen. I ran back to the window of the bedroom and awakened Tom. He brought out the .22 and soon dispatched the offending 'coon.
My Little Red Hen was already dead. The Guinea was minus a good handful of feathers, and several of the other hens were off their roost.
Had the window not been open, I could of lost my entire flock.

The 'invisible fence' is still working! We have gotten okra and green beans! The tomatoes have given us all we can eat, plus several batches of tomato sauce and canned tomatoes. The peppers are starting to 'come on'.  The flowerbeds are hosting dozens and dozens of butterflies.
Between  the garden produce, getting Nickole started in school (and the daily work that entails), trying to stay on top of the house- I am absolutely exhausted.
Last night was no help.
Jaffa and I were returning from a walk. It was already rather dark when he found his very first black and white striped kitty in the driveway. Here is my Facebook account of that adventure:

Last night, I went out for my walk just before it was dark. Down my lane where it meets the road, I met a neighbor couple I hadn't met before. I joined them on their walk up the road. As we returned, it was getting fairly dark. Jaffa (our elderly beagle mix) was with me, and we headed up our lane.
Just ahead, I could see a smallish creature ambling along. It was too dark to make out what it was. At first, I though it was a bunny, or a cat. It had a bouncy trotting gait, not quite as big as our cat. Jaffa ran several yards ahead of me to trade backside sniffs/ chase off this intruder to our lane.
The critter very quickly identified itself.
I was yelling at Jaffa, "NO! NO! NO!"
He's 13 years old and this was his first nose to tail encounter with a striped "kitty".
As Jaffa rubbed his face and eyes in the grass and dirt, the little Stinker headed towards me. I backed up, and it kept coming.
*Not a threat, not a threat not a threat! please please please don't spray me!*
It didn't spray me. but there was enough spray in the air that I didn't miss out on my share.
I walked the rest of the way to the house, Jaffa trailing behind.
As I walked inside, I asked Tom to guess what animal Jaffa and I encountered in the lane?
He had no trouble guessing at all.
I went outside, and Tom gathered washing material. Peroxide, Dawn, baking soda, dog shampoo.
I got to give Jaffa a scrubbing. (Several times) before stripping to my skivvies and heading to the shower myself.
After the second shampooing, I had the idea to use coconut oil. I used that liberally, then shampooed twice more.
Jaffa was banished from the house. His bed and bedding, water and kibble all set out on the porch.
It has been YEARS since he has had to sleep outside.
He would alternate front and back doors, barking, barking, scratching, barking, barking to be let in.
I called him down a number of times. He seemed to settle in, and I went to bed.
Back to the barking, barking, barking.
(Good thing we live so far away from our neighbors!)
I knew Tom and Sam both had to be up to work early this morning.
I went and carried all Jaffa's stuff to the wellhouse. It has a window and screened door. I left the light on and latched the screen door from outside.
I called him off barking and tearing at the door.
I went to bed.
By midnight, the incessant barking had me up again.
I stood outside, and called him down every time he started. About 40 minutes later, he settled into whimpering and shaking.
Poor doggy. But he was still not coming inside. He had all the comforts of the house, except his people.
I went to bed, sometime after 1.
Little Miss Sunshine and Sleep til 9 decided that TODAY is the day to get up early.
She was out chatting up Umpaw and Sam by 5:30.
Granny is a grouch this morning.
Jaffa destroyed the wellhouse screen door, but didn't get out.
I have all day to test methods of removing skunky odor.
The coconut oil seems to have worked for me, I may start with that.
***********
And what has Jaffa been doing all day?
The cotton picking mutt has slept all day.
(Barking ALL NIGHT is hard work!)

This is what we are up to this week!

Over the weekend, Nickole BEGGED Sam to help her build a clubhouse.
Sam has been watching a lot of survival videos. Together, they started building a wigwam. Sam has, of course, carried the bulk of the work, but has kept Nickole involved as well. This was funny, when at one point, having gathered a pile of slim, supple "weed" trees to the site of the wigwam- Nickole came in and announced she "just needs to relax- Sam can keep working" without her! Hahaha! Nope. This was her project. They worked until dark Sunday night, and have the basic framework of the walls. They ran out of zip-ties, and were at a standstill, when Sam remembered the roll of wire he and Daniel had for making chain mail. Last night after work, Sam sharpened his machete, axe, and hatchet, to be ready for another day's work.
Nickole asked me if she would be allowed to paint the inside of the wigwam. Even after MANY explanations and pictures of what a wigwam looks like, she still can't picture the end result. I told her NO, there isn't going to be anything paintable inside.
************

We have gone out on a couple of beautiful, clear nights with the twins' telescope. The first night, we saw Jupiter. We could SEE the wide stripes, and several of Jupiter's moons. A couple of nights ago, despite a blinding bright full moon, we got to see Saturn and her rings. I love "star time"- just sitting outside and looking at the night sky. It makes any problems feel so insignificant.
**************

Tom and I re-planted green beans and okra for the 4th and 3rd time, respectively. The "invisible fence" I mentioned seems to actually be WORKING! The surviving plants that had been grazed off nightly are trying to make a comeback, without a sign of deer in the garden all week.
We had our first batch of garden salsa. SO GOOD!
I have been trying to center our meals around what we are getting from the garden. I haven't canned anything as of yet.
**********
Today is the next-to-last day of the Summer Reading Program at the library. The only day we have missed has been when we went to Texas for Camp CowGranny. (Oh and part of the day I got my time wrong!) The drawing for the small telescope is next Tuesday. There are many prizes besides the telescope.
Nickole discovered a book series she absolutely has devoured- The "Stranded" series by Jeff Probst. She has asked me to order the next 3 books in the series, but I am considering I may look at a used book store first. She also loves graphic novels- the sort of book that tells a story in comic book style. The library had a few of these. Nickole asked for more- and they ordered more! Their first of the new ones came in last week, and the librarian put it back for Nickole. She was the first to get to check it out. (Nancy Drew series.)
**********
I am resorting to a pretty desperate measure on learning the addition/ subtraction facts. As of yesterday, there will be NO use of electronics until such a time as Nickole can complete five worksheet "drills" in a row, PERFECTLY. No mistakes. No little deception attempts (such as writing a number so poorly that it could be either a 13 or a 15.
 "Well CowGranny, what did you think that number WAS? a 13 or a 15?" when she saw I marked it wrong. I explained it didn't matter which of those numbers it was supposed to be- the correct answer was 14.)
I KNOW she has a wonderful memory. She can catalogue every scrape, scratch, bump, and bruise she's had since she was 3 years old, and recount the circumstances of getting them, and how long each took to heal. Sam showed her keyboard notes, with their names ONCE. She can tell him what they are still.
She CAN memorize math facts. The stakes just have to be high enough.
**************
This past week, I had hoped for a couple of days at home. As it was, we were (and still are) battling the insurance company to get Nickole added. One of their required documents is a Federal Income Tax Return listing Nickole as a dependent. We won't have that until next year. They want it by July 31st, or they won't add her. We have explained (repeatedly) the situation. One person asked for a State ID card, with our address and her name and photo. So Thursday I went and got that. Then I went back to the Social Security office, and was able to get a copy of her Social Security card sent to us. So I have successfully proven to both my State and Federal Government that Nickole is our dependent! I don't know how we can satisfy the Insurance Company if these documents don't work.
Friday was supposed to be the Guardianship hearing. Our lawyer lacked some document, so the hearing is postponed until August 23rd. If you are so inclined, say a prayer for us!

This week is stacking up to be almost as busy as last week. Our grocery shopping / errand day is on Mondays. Yesterday, this included a blood donation from Sam and I. Today is Library, plus picking up missed grocery items. (Being out of peanut butter is enough to start Mr C's day off wrong. He has eaten a piece of peanut butter toast every morning for as long as I have known him.)
Tomorrow afternoon, we are meeting some friends from the Library and Homeschool group, and going to the Amazeum in Bentonville. Once again, I have made no plans for Thursday and Friday!

Give me Grace

There are some things that just HAVE to be done. As much as I want to throw up my hands, smack something, or just scream until I am hoarse... I have to persevere.
One thing is educating a reluctant learner. For the second summer, we are working on simple math facts.
We have worked these past 10 days on 7+6=13 . 6+7=13.
Flash cards. Drills. Physical exercise/ riding a bike and reciting with each push of the pedal :Seven. Plus. Six. Equals. Thirteen.
We have done sitting on our hands while using flash cards. Allowing to finger count.
Today I did several timed drills. Marked the spot where the timer went off, and then had her finish the sheet.  ALL the mistakes are after the timer went off, or on untimed drills. She misses 6+7 / 7+6 as often as she gets it right. (And several others, but we have concentrated on 6+7 for more than a week.)
I am having her copy the sums down 25X each when she misses one.
There is wailing and gnashing of teeth.
(Hers too.)
We need to move on with other items to bring her up to grade level. But we are staying with the sums until she gets them down.
I need ideas. How do we overcome this... mental block.... or whatever it is.
There are some things she can be shown once, and remember forever.
And then there is 6+7=13.
We are not heading into 5th grade unable to do first grade math. We just are not.

Foraging for Jelly, and other canning adventures

This year's blackberry crop has been amazing! Nickole and I have walked and driven the back roads around us, and gathered not only wild raspberries and blackberries, but discovered wild black cherries.
I have made a batch of plain blackberry jelly, one of blackberry basil, one of blackberry + wild black cherry. I bought Bing cherries on markdown, and spent a fun couple of hours pitting them. Then I made a "foolproof" Bing Cherry jam recipe. Apparently, I am a better grade of fool... because I followed the recipe exactly, and made a fabulous cherry sauce. It is fabulous, even if it didn't jell.
Peaches were also on sale... and I put up three quarts of gingered peaches.

The batch of Blackberry Basil jelly was an accident. I had intended to make Blackberry Sage jelly. At the fatal moment of stirring the herb into the jelly, I realized I'd gathered basil and not sage! However, it was wonderful as a glaze on grilled pork chops.

As for the regular garden, the deer have been eating quite well. We have replanted green beans three times already, with nary a single bean to reward our efforts. The okra and cucumbers are eaten to nubs as quickly as they can put up shoots.

Sam and Mr C saw an idea of an "invisible fence", and we are trying it. It is relatively inexpensive. We surrounded the garden perimeter with fence posts, then strung 30 lb. test fishing line between them. Our roll had enough line to make three strands. The premise is, the deer are sensitive to the touch of the fishing line, but unable to see it. They cannot tell how high this barrier goes, so don't try to jump over it. They don't realize how easily it breaks.

At least that is the idea.

We already had the fence posts, and a spool of line was less than $3. We shall see how this works out!

Shopping is sooo fu-uh-uh-uhn

It's a well know fact of Tammy- I hate shoe shopping. Probably surprising to people who know that I detest bare feet- and 'flip flops' are the same as bare feet.
Over the weekend, Mr C needed new shoes. While he was shopping at a store that sells well made (PRICEY) shoes, I used their measuring tool on Nickole. It said she needs a 3.5 or 4 in "big kid" shoes. Her beloved rain boots were a 13, and the "galaxy" sneakers she has been wearing were 11.5. She does have a size 2.5 that are her 'least favorite'... but nothing larger.
We can't be spending $120+ on a pair of shoes she's going to out grow before they get broke in. So I took her shoe shopping today. This was the pair she begged for:




Her second choice:
Neither pair good for running and playing. Neither good for every day, nor even dressy occasions. Maybe for PLAYING DRESS UP?
But, no. I am not paying more than $40 for clown shoes.
She tried to throw a fit in the store.  Same store Alana tried the same tactic in about 8 years ago! Same result.

I said put your old shoes back on and let's go.

I don't think she believed that I would leave without buying her what she wanted.

"SERIOUSLY? SERIOUSLY? But we came here to buy me SHOES! YOU said I need shoes."
The whining and shouting got louder as I said "Seriously. You can pick a more practical pair of shoes that we can BOTH agree on, or we can go home."
I headed to the exit.
She suddenly decided she would rather look at other shoes than leave without any.

This is what she finally settled on, after a hard fought debate with herself on "Memory Foam Vs. light Up".

I'm still twitching.

Adventures at Camp CowGranny, Part 2

On Wednesday, a friend of Becky's came out to visit, with her 3 kids. The kids all swam until they were cold, then we made lunch. Mostly, the kids just all played together.
Once the friends had to go home, we went over and visited Nola for a bit. The kids all free- ranged, in the most literal sense.
They played in the tree fort/ clubhouse that Becky's kids had built themselves. Roamed the property. Kitties and puppies, ducklings and small hooved critters.
Ben and Paula stayed to supper, with a great bonus of Paula's fresh grown squash.
Althea decided to stay the night, as she was afraid we would be having too much fun without her!
A movie was rented, and the crew settled in to watch "How To Train Your Dragon 3".
Afterwards, the littles slept on the couches, while the biggers retired upstairs to continue listening to Bill Wallace's "Journey Into Terror" before it was lights out.

Thursday, the kids all pitched in with a huge "Community Service" project. We all worked together to clean out Becky's big walk in refrigerator. The kids worked together in hauling out and scraping out dishes that had sat forgotten for too long. They carried out bags of trash, and scrubbed doors and shelves, and swept the floor. Becky scrubbed dishes and jars.
Afterwards, we all rode to Eden, where two cartons of ice cream were obtained, and we went to the park. The kids had cups of ice cream and played until they were played out. Then, we took a scenic route home. There was swimming, and supper. The littles were read to downstairs, and the bigger kids got a few more chapters of their book. This was the day we almost lost a kid. The problem with taking more than one vehicle is the head count.
As we were leaving the ranch, Becky stopped to count. Nickole was missing! She'd been sent upstairs to put on a shirt without bare shoulders... and picked up a book. Got lost in reading instead of loading up! (She is VERY fair complexioned, and was already slightly pink, we were trying to prevent a bad burn.)

Friday, we swam early,  did crafts, then met Uncle Daniel at a park by the river in San Angelo. We took a picnic lunch, and scooter, bikes, and roller skates. Ben and Paula arrived, and we spent several hours as the kids played. Then it was back to Becky's for roasted hot dogs and jalapeno poppers. The kids that wanted to help, got to help make the poppers. Becky was saying she was concerned that 48 wasn't enough. I thought it was overkill. Wanna guess who was right?

 (Hint: It wasn't me)

Kids played outside later than we had been allowing, then all came in. Daniel finished off the last few chapters of our book upstairs, then we came down to visit. It was nearing midnight when we turned in. Grace woke with a stuffed nose/ breathing problems, so we were up and down with her the remainder of the night.

Saturday saw us on the road by 7:30, returning all the borrowed grands to their destinations.
It was a fun, exhausting week.
Link to lots of pics

Adventures at Camp CowGranny, Part 1

Nickole (2.1) and I left for Camp CowGranny on Saturday, June 8th. We picked up Alana (1.2), and headed to my folks homes in East Texas. (Mom and Dad live about a mile apart, with their respective spouses. The four are good friends, so there is no strife in hanging out together for our visits.)
Gavin (1.3) was supposed to meet us at my Mom's (GG) house. She lives just over halfway to where Gavin lives, from my house.
Due to car problems, Gavin's Mom didn't make our meeting. We had the choice of waiting until the next day to meet, or going on without Gavin.
Now that would be pretty sad- Gavin is Alana's little brother, and the only boy cousin anywhere close to Tyrel (3.1) in age. So we waited until Sunday... only to have more scheduling conflicts. When your car is broke down, you are at the pleasure of other people's timing when needing a ride. The girls and I drove farther south as Gavin and his Mom rode north. We met at a gas station, and were soon both on our way. It was well after 9 PM by the time we got back to my Mom's house.
Camp CowGranny was delayed by a day.

Sunday morning, Alana and Nickole baked cupcakes with GG Rose.

1.2 and 2.1 with GG Rose

1.3 with GG Rose

1.3, 5.0, 2.1, and 1.2 in Dallas

We missed a Feast of Shavuot celebration at Benjamin's house. It is a Jewish celebration commemorating the anniversary of the day God gave the Israelites the Torah. But we did have a very good extra day with the Great Grands at both houses.
Monday saw us traveling to Becky's house in West Texas. We had several stops along the way, since I try to stop and say hello to my kids every chance I get, even if it is only for a few minutes.
Arriving at Becky's late Monday afternoon, we were greeted with the rest of the cousins. Ben and Paula were there, and we all had a great supper.

Tuesday was our Zoo trip. A picnic lunch was packed. We planned to go to a splash pad after the zoo, but it was closed for maintenance. We played at a park instead.
Here are some pictures of the first couple of days.

4.0(s), 4.1, 4.2

3.0, 3.1, 4.0, 3.5, & 3.4

1.3

Front to back, 3.3, 3.1, 1.3

Front row: 2.1, 4.1, 3.3, 3.4, 4.2
Middle/ Top row: 3.1, 3.5. 1.2, 4.3, 3.2, 1.3 (corner top)

3.5

1.3

Picnic at the Abilene Zoo

For those unfamiliar with our shorthand system, my kids have a numerical designation based on birth order. The grandkids numerical designations are based on their parents designation, then their own.

1. Christopher, my eldest is 1.0
   His children are Connor (1.1), Alana (1.2) and Gavin (1.3)
2.  Bill was 2.0
   His child is Nickole (2.1)
3. Becky is 3.0 , her spouse Stephen is 3.0(s)
   Their children are Tyrel (3.1), Kimber (3.2), Dakota (3.3), Grace (3.4) and Katie (3.5)
4. Benjamin is 4.0. Paula is 4.0(s)
   Their children are Jasher (4.1), Althea (4.2) , and Milo (4.3)
5. Stephen (Tommy) is 5.0
6. Daniel is 6.0
7. Samuel is 7.0

It is our fun way of keeping the grandkids straight with family members who don't get to see everyone often. Saves them asking "And who does (Grace) belong to?"

I will try to post more pictures and CCG posts as I have time. Thank you for reading.

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It may take me a few days to get my Camp CowGranny post(s?) and photos done.
But TODAY!
Today is the 23rd anniversary of Daniel and Samuel's births.
Happy Birthday, guys.

Dan and Sam are remarkable young men. Both are patient and kind. Neither is afraid to stand up for the weak, or to lend a helping hand, or to give generous gifts.

I'm not in Texas to make Dan a special birthday dinner. Mr C has gone to town to get stuff for Sam's requested meal. He asked for BBQ Beef Ribs.
Once again, our weekly routine is a bit off kilter. I got home from my travels for Camp CowGranny yesterday afternoon. Alana and Kimber both came home with Nickole and I. Today, we returned Alana so that she can get ready for her next camp. Her entire summer is scheduled and organized, but she squeezed in a night to visit her Umpaw.
I have laundry going, while Nickole and Kimber play together. Or argue. None of us much felt like yet another car ride!
Tomorrow is Summer Reading at the Library. Afterwards, we will go get the groceries we missed today. The blackberries are ripe and begging to be picked... we need to try to do that one morning this week. We got another 2.5 inches (and still falling) of rain over the last 3 days.

Have a blessed day, and please remember the Z family in your prayers today and tomorrow.