We're all tuckered out from a week of dance competition. Finally all the rehearsing is over (until September) and we're all looking forward to a month of DO NOTHING summer.

After the wedding of my bf's daughter on Saturday, that is.

17

L turned 17 on Tuesday. She hated this picture because she'd been dancing all day and looked like it.

We had a Coldstone cake and a few token presents. Her big present is a weekend trip in August on the Bolt bus to NYC. She's going alone (WHAT was I thinking?) and staying with her biggest brother. They'll be going to a show and hanging out. He says if she's going to be a dancer, she needs to get the feel of NYC and I need to get the feel of her going there by herself.

He cracks me up.

Coney Island

J says that there is debate in NYC over Coney Island.

There is a possibility that it'll close.

So, on our visit last weekend we decided to go see Coney Island while we still had the opportunity. It was not what I expected-so much beach! The kids were bummed that we didn't bring swim suits. They did get to ride the ferris wheel (I stayed on the ground) and we ate a Nathan's hotdog. I LOVE hotdogs and these were tasty.

mother thought

My little nephew is turning 7. He has twin big sisters who turned 11 last month. It's my SIL's family and they live in California. We don't see them very often. In fact, the last time I saw them was for my oldest's graduation from high school. We were chatting on the phone and she said that you yearn for this concept of family, not realizing that it isn't a static thing that you can hold onto. You imagine a house full of perpetual preschoolers and suddenly you have a house full of pre-teens. And I said suddenly you have a house that isn't full at all.
I read the blogs of younger moms with younger kids and the joy of motherhood explodes off the pages. They are giddy at their good fortune; most are hitting their stride. The most difficult part of mothering is hovering in the distant future: the letting go. We must decrease in the lives of our offspring so they can live fully on their own. I suspect we mothers all say we know that our children are only borrowed but somewhere along the way our hearts don't process the message. Somehow it always is shocking when moving day arrives and they are off on their own.
I would be content to park in phase one of mothering and live forever but God is always pushing me on into the current of life. Enjoy the view but don't put up a tent.

vacation

Back from one of our best vacations in a long while. Great weather, friends, food and games. Read a couple of good mystery novels, visited the spa, napped and just yakked with the ladies.

Vacation rambling

We are leaving tomorrow for this place: http://www.caponsprings.net/. It is the most relaxing vacation I've ever been on. Our good friends, who are actually surrogate family, have gone there all their lives and their children's lives but we are new to the place. It's not easy to describe why it's so great; you have to go to Capon to discover if you're a Capon person or not.
Today I'm packing and getting some good books to read. We're all just fiddling around until we can get there.

Summer morning

I can tell that summer is finally here because I am unable to leap up in the morning and get going. Every summer I say I'm going to leap up early and get going and every summer I hit snooze and just lay there, knowing that the house will be quiet until midday when the girls roll out of bed.
Yesterday morn I went out onto the front porch to water the three potted plants I'm trying not to kill and locked myself out of the house. It's easier to do than you might think. I was in my pajamas so even though it was a beautiful summer morning, I was eager to get back in. I rang the doorbell nonstop and knocked on the door at the same time for about, I don't know, a really long time. My mind kept going to that scripture where Jesus says "Knock and the door will be opened." Scripture can actually help you keep your cool in most situations.
At long last L stumbled bleary-eyed down the stairs exclaiming "I'm so sorry! How long have you been out there?"
"A while." I coolly replied.
The youngest followed her down the stairs and began snickering uncontrollably and when I asked her what was so dang funny, she replied that she heard me out there and thought I was the clothes dryer gone berserk.
I ain't buying it.