It's gonna be a long one folks...

Summer is delightful, but have you ever noticed that the combination of summer lounging and family vacations increases the intake of goodies dramatically?

I recently told my sister that I love her, but she needs to go back to AZ or else I am never going to be healthy again.

We have been partying it up since May - going here, there, and everywhere - to visit our long lost loved ones.

And aren't you lucky? You get to hear all about it!

(This picture really has nothing to do with anything - he's just too cute to leave out)

Oh yes, the vacations are kind of backward in order - well not kind of - they are. I thought I had everything organized perfectly - but twas not the case.

This last weekend we attended my great aunt and uncle's 80th birthday party. The sad thing is, I think they have more energy than I do. At this point in my life I am quite sure I can predict how incredibly boring I will be when I hit 80. So, I am letting everybody off the hook - don't worry about visiting me - But, my relatives are quite the opposite and we enjoyed them immensely.

This is the Baby with his Great Great Uncle Blaine.The Papa Macho being pushed on a swing by his little brother... I am sorry if my family looks funner than yours... we have a hard time hiding it from others. Go Daddy Go!

Sandy Point

Doesn't he make chubby look good? I couldn't stop taking pictures...
Our cousins from AZ... don't trust the smiles my friends... it's a decoy
This little cousin excelled at the art of sand eating.
My sisters... come back! I didn't mean what I said about never being able to eat healthy again! I have three older sisters - the blond is #2 and the brunette is #3. I'm the lucky duck who got to be the baby. The eldest sister missed out on all the chaos this summer... but next summer we are counting on her! Little C had it made. His cousins would row him all around the lake while he just threw his arms back and chilled.
"No, look at my finger, I am counting 1,2,3,4,5 rolls..." :)Isn't it fun to watch your siblings become parents? All of my sisters receive an A+ - what good mothers they are! And here is the Buckabu!
You can tell she's a grandma huh? She has the magic touch.


WE ARE MISSING PICTURES FROM OUR 4TH OF JULY FAMILY REUNION - I FORGOT MY CAMERA!

UTAH

In June we headed for Utah to meet up with this terrific side of the family. I officially became part of the family after learning CANASTA - now I am addicted! This is the Beloved Spouse's sister and her husband - what great hosts!
Grandma helping the grand kids in the swimming pool. Wipe Out!

She has the Grandma touch too! Our children are so blessed to have two terrific grandmas!

Our sister-in-law got us all tickets to go to the Bee's game! Little C and his cousin weren't quite sure what to do with the mascot. See they really are attractive individuals. This is the brother and sister-in-law whose faces we decorated earlier in the month. Oh yeah, sorry about that.
Little C's uncle helped run him around the bases after the game -
This is the Beloved Spouse with his baby brother. No, we didn't decorate his face - he is just thrilled to be in the picture!
Looks like we have a Bee's fan for life.

Against the grandma's approval - Little C was about to embark on the Mohawk haircut extraordinaire.
Oh he's so BAD!
Being proud of his creation - We'll still keep him I guess :)

...and it just wouldn't be a trip to Utah without visiting the Chiropractor...

Grandpa even worked on Little C's favorite puppy Sparky.
The Baby, being an excellent patient, didn't even cry. But with those two cute faces smiling down, who could?
Thanks Grandpa - we love you!
( don't look at the background patient - what is that face? Can we say Ug?)


The Big WA

Some of these photos are repeats - but we had such a fun time here that we just had to give ya more.

This trip was too short and didn't allow a whole lot of photo taking opportunities. But the company was supreme! Plus, these are great relatives to visit because they help you stay in excellent physical condition. We went running every night - up hills... yeah crazy... but wonderful! And in case you didn't know... my husband's still got it! He beat us all in an uphill race extravaganza. - I am not sure what that means - but it was a ball!

What a comfy home!

I would have taken more pictures of the kids but they always seemed to be dressed like this - and I am not sure why.

ARIZONA

I don't know about you, but my baggage is top of the line.

Little C loves vacations because he can play and play and play with his cousins.
This is the #3 sister holding our 1 yr old niece - what a darling pair!
The Papa Macho and the Buckster (oh she'll shoot me) joined us on this adventure. The grand kids were decorating Papa with flowers while he sang us some lovely tunes.
This one said she'd be my daughter and come live with us - but her parents declined -how rude!

We traveled to IKEA and Buckabu came prepared with candy necklaces for the car ride.

Oh, if it could always be this peaceful...
You'll notice the white dot on my niece's hair where she got clobbered by her brother's ice cream cone.
These two youngsters were exhausted by the end of the day.

Water Slide Time! But the baby was not amused.

And here's the little hostess herself! She's been doing this pose since 1982 -

Thanks everyone for all the summer fun thus far. We love you and miss you already!

My Talented Beloved Spouse

So, I am totally one of those people whose talents aren't quite so obvious to the outside world - or to myself at times - but since I am here to develop them I am always curious to discover what they may be... it takes work my friends.
But, then there are those "other obnoxious folk" whose talents just jump out of them like there's no tomorrow... and gosh wouldn't you know, I am married to one of them. The Beloved Spouse just created a blog to display some of his artwork -just go to pattonartist.blogspot.com to see this lovely obnoxious fellow at his best.
Love Ya!

*** No hard feelings Beloved Spouse. You truly are a blessing and I am counting on my encouragement of your talents to compensate for my lack thereof. Thanks! ***

Explanation...

The post below needs a little explanation - the truth is, the Beloved Spouse and I were up a little too late last night- Practically unheard of, I know- Anyway, we had decided that we wanted to post something together, but were having issues with our camera/computer connection. So, the Beloved Spouse started fooling around with some of our vacation pictures from last summer. We came across some lovely clips of the Beloved Spouse's brother and his new little wife - Somehow when we clicked on the picture it opened in the Paint Program - What would you do? Could you resist the temptation? Have you ever painted on your relatives? Don't knock it until you try it - It is quite an enjoyable experience, especially at one o'clock in the morning...
Oh yes, by the way, don't be offended Beloved Spouse's brother or his new little wife. - you just happened to be the random victims that popped up on our screen.

Proof that there is a person out there for everyone.

We're not sure how these people found each other, but we are glad they have someone to love...
We just hope they don't reproduce!!!

Budding Photographer

This goes to show...
That practice...
makes perfect! (Thank goodness for digital cameras)
Copywrite Little C.

Coming from a family of all girls, and then being the mother of only boys, sometimes can leave me in the dark. Please see below....

I had no idea the girl to boy ratio in a dance class would be so enormous. It wasn't just that he was the only boy in his class - ...at his dance recital we realized that he was the only boy in the whole studio!

Afterward, Little C gave me a talking to, but he couldn't get too upset because he's not one to diss on the attention from the ladies. We are talking about the kid, who when traveling on a airplane with Papa and I, leaned over and gave Papa the thumbs up stating, "Wow, check out Papa! That girl next to him is HOT!"

So, now I am aware of trying to add more manly things into our day. And I guess being a pirate is perfectly acceptable ... When I was younger I had been raised to believe that Halloween costumes were only worn on Halloween. This rule is completely incorrect - ...and what's with this? What a Ham my friends, what a Ham!

And we really get down to business when tool time begins -
I can definitely get used to these little sweethearts - but -
I still have no clue what goes on in that shower -

Papa and Buckabu are a Ball!

Look at those three little cuties!

We have acrobats in the family

Whose smile is bigger?