Book Recommendation

Today I finished reading "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith. If you haven't read this novel, you need to. Put it on your list right now.

I can't begin to describe the beauty of this book. All I can say is that it's one of the best books I've ever read - it will forever hold a place in my heart.

Oatmeal Squares and Love

My mother informed me yesterday that a local grocery store had a "buy one get one free" special on my favorite cereal of all time. I told Mitch he should stop by and get me some after he was done working.

This morning when my dear husband got home, he made no mention of the cereal and I assumed he had forgotten. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the cupboard to see that not only had he not forgotten to buy the cereal, but he had bought me six boxes!

Now that's what I call love.

Evening Walks

I love evening walks with my husband and puppy.

The First Half

So, it's already the middle of the month and I have only posted once. This poor blog - it's going to fire me soon. Here's how the first half of July went. I'm going to stay on top of things for the second half!

July 4th
Mitch and I spent the afternoon with his family and my parents. Dinner was delicious and the conversation and games were entertaining. I'm so blessed to have such fun people in my life. That evening we watched the fireworks show put on by the city. I get so caught up in the magic that I forget to try and get photos of the colorful displays. Next year!

Mitch and his mom

My mom and brother-in-law

The dads

A tired Rockie

A tired Crickett

July 6th
My parents celebrated their 36th wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary!
When he's not working, Mitch spends Monday evenings playing softball. He's doing really well this year and I love going to watch his games.
July 11th
Amber's bridal shower! Amber is such a sweet girl and it was fun hanging out with her friends and family for the afternoon. Unfortunately, my camera's battery was dead, but she has a great photo here.

July 4th to Present
The work on the fence is going well. Mitch and the dads have been working very hard on it. The north side is complete and a good portion of the west side is finished as well. Crickett can't wait until the fence is done so she can go outside by herself!

Not Quite Yet

While organizing our office this morning I came upon a couple of my old coloring books and a pack of crayons.

My first thought was to throw the coloring books away and put the crayons with my scrapbooking supplies. Then I opened the box of crayons and my nose was filled with the sweet wax scent of childhood. Before I knew it, I was flipping through the books looking for the perfect image for my markings.

For half an hour I was a kid again. I was transported to another world where all I thought about was the colors to use on my drawing and the names I would give crayons if it were my job.
I'm not throwing the coloring books away. No, I'm not ready to give them up quite yet.

Looking Back at June

I cannot believe that today is the last day of June. This summer is sure flying by. I haven't really documented too many events this month so I thought I would finish off with a review of things I have yet to talk about.

June 6th - My family helped my maternal grandparents celebrate their 60th Anniversary. I can't imagine being 60 years old, let alone married for that long. Congrats to them!

June 12th - Mitch and I made Bob Barker proud and had Crickett spayed. It was sad seeing her drugged up the afternoon we brought her home but the next day she was back to her rambunctious self.

June 19th - I rode along with Mitch for the first time. He was working the night shift so I got to see a bit of what happens on a Friday night/Saturday morning from 10:00 pm until 2:00 am. It was interesting and surprisingly fun. I'm looking forward to going again.

June 23rd - Mitch and I used our new grill for the first time. The hamburgers and hot dogs were delicious.

June 26th - Mitch and I bought the the lumber for our fence, which will (hopefully) be started next week. The evening was supposed to be a date night with dinner and a movie but it ended up being just dinner. About 20 minutes into the movie, the tornado sirens went off and we headed back home. We've had some pretty intense storms this month.

June 27th - My father's side of the family got together for my aunt's wedding. The ceremony was short (three minutes!) and sweet and the karaoke that night was very entertaining. It's always a lot of fun spending time with my family, especially the girls!

Happy Father's Day

We're Not Football Girls

Apparently Crickett hates football as much as I do.

Substandard Slope

The first real storms of the summer season rolled through last night. Reports stated that the area got between five and seven inches in about four hours. No travel was advised throughout the city due to flooded streets, some residents were evacuated from their homes, and the bowling alley's roof caved in. We definitely got a lot of water. Some of that water even managed to find its way into our basement.

Our lot is nothing but a dirt patch that has yet to be landscaped or seeded. I learned last night that our lot is sloped directly toward the house on the west side. I never would have thought to check the basement for water until Mitch called me from work and it's a good thing he did. Water was pouring into our window well from the yard (if you look at the window in the photo, the dark area is water) and quickly trickling into the house. While I moved our things to dry areas, one of the neighbors was nice enough to come over and help me by scooping all the water out of the window well. A short time later my parents and father-in-law arrived with sand bags and the problem has been temporarily solved.

It was an eventful evening. I hope the storms that are predicted for the next couple of days produce less excitement.

My Special Library

Apparently I organize my books in a ridiculous manner.

My shelves of fiction books are arranged based on number of pages; they are ordered from smallest number of pages to largest number of pages. While explaining this to my husband, sister, and cousins yesterday I saw nothing but baffled faces and heard nothing but doubtful questions. I couldn't convince a single one of them that it was a good system. They seem to think libraries have the right idea with the whole "last names in alphabetical order." I guess you're going to have to be a special person to view my collection.

How do you have your books organized?