Jessie's Birthday Week

Jessie turned 17 yesterday (Sunday, August 11th).  It is hard to believe!  I really shouldn't make this about me, but gosh that really makes me feel old.  I was just a baby when she was born.  And, now she is 17.  It just doesn't seem right.

Jess believes in celebrating her birthday, let me tell ya.  Her Grandma and PawPaw Larry came in to town on Thursday night.  They were just staying one night to drop their dog off and get some sleep before heading to California.  I had planned to fix dinner for them, but we ended up with a birthday celebration at Chili's (Jess likes their black bean burger).

We went out again on Saturday to Giovanni's.  It is a hole-in-the-wall kind of place in Frisco.  I'm pretty sure that it has been here as long as we have. They serve Italian food and Jess loves their house dressing.  We enjoyed a simple dinner with good friends and sweet cousins.  We missed our dear friends, the Garstka's, but we were so glad that Ally was there.  I had my camera, but forgot to take pictures.  I have gotten so bad about that lately!

Last night, was her actual birthday, so we celebrated with a small dinner after church.  We had my parents over and a sweet family from Jessie's school.  We grilled burgers and hot dogs (a tofu burger for the birthday girl - yuck).  I told you that she can celebrate!

Jess enjoyed her Dr. Who birthday presents and a fun Mickey Mouse watch from Patrick.  And, of course, she loved all the money.  As her Great Grandma would say, it is her favorite color.

We were so glad that Patrick and his family could join us for dinner.  Patrick graduated in May and I know that Jess is going to miss him at St. Anthony's.  They live in Frisco, so we are going to try to make sure that they can hang out.

We want to thank everyone for making Jess feel so special.  I'm sorry for not being a better picture taker.  We love you all and I will vow to do better next year!

Roy Orbison

My eyesight is poor, it is true.  I am super near-sighted.  It has been said that my prescription is probably the worst at my office (-9.75 in one eye and a -9.50 in the other + I have an astigmatism).  It makes picking out frames hard, because the bigger the frame the thicker the lens.  We have really cute sunglasses that are Rxable... for everyone, but me.  They just won't hold my prescription.  So, I have to buy regular frames and put a sun lens in it.  And, it is always hard to envision a regular frame as my sunglasses.  Also, I have a hard face to fit with frames.  One of the girls in our product department helped me pick out this boy's wayfarer frame for my sunglasses.  I think it makes me look like Roy Orbison.  It isn't very girly, but it looks as close to sunglasses as I'm ever going to get.  All of you people who get to where real sunglasses, be thankful and enjoy your cute sunglasses.  Otherwise, you could be walking down the street looking like Roy Oribson with people expecting you to break into "Pretty Woman!"

Backside of 40

I remember being 22 and thinking that I was never going to be old!  Now, I'm on the backside of 40 (that is code for 41) and feeling almost every one of those 41 years.  I have swollen ankles, migraines, some sort of planters wart or callous thing on the bottom of my foot and all sorts of other other issues that need to be medically treated.

I recently went to my doctor and he told me that I should come back in for a follow-up visit.  Not wanting to go on medicine, I researched my ailment.  I decided that I should eat healthier, exercise and get more sleep.  I keep asking Fred to walk with with me at night, but he keeps saying that it is too hot.  So, I walk alone. Adding more blisters and callouses to my old lady feet.

By the way, did I mention that I'm fairly certain that I'm getting that extra padding that old women get around their middle!

To Market We Go

Our Saturday adventure included a trip to the Frisco Farmers Market, Trader Joe's and Walmart's produce section.  If you haven't been to Trader Joe's, it is worth the trip.  Jess found lots of vegetarian goodness and Fred and I bought lots of non-vegetarian food.  All for a great price.

We have enjoyed peach cobbler, freshly squeezed lemonade, summer squash, cucumber and tomato salad, guacamole and fresh corn (my children love corn-on-the-cob).

We weren't impressed with the farmer's market.  It was mostly peddler's selling their wares rather than fresh fruits and vegetables.  I did buy locally grown squash and cucumbers.  I made sure to support farmers from Nevada (Texas).  Fred laughed at me, but I thought I should help out my hometown peeps.

I don't recommend making your own lemonade. It was delicious, but took a bazillion lemons.  We bought them at Walmart where they were 40 cents each.  They were 19 cents at Trader Joe's, but I didn't think to buy them there.  It took a lot of lemons to make 2 cups of lemon juice.  I'm just saying.  It was so good and we drank it so fast.

I love the summer... summer activities and summer foods.  Can it always be summer?

Adventure

Dear Weekend,

Thank you so much for finally showing yourself!  I really need to clean my house.  But, I'm secretly hoping you will bring fun and adventure.  Whatever you bring, thank you for finally getting here.

Yours truly,
Donna

Arkansas Weekend

Last weekend we made a quick trip to Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas to see Fred's family.  We headed that way for a memorial service for Fred's Grandpa.  We left Frisco at 5:00 a.m. on Friday and rolled into Horseshoe Bend just in time to drop the dog off and change for the service.  We cut it just as close as you can.  I was scared we were going to miss it, but we said a prayer before we left and Heavenly Father watched over us the entire trip.  There was some rain, but no severe weather or traffic issues.  Thank goodness.

The memorial service was beautiful and we had a wonderful time visiting with family.

We were excited to visit with Dawn, Cody and Matthew for just a short time before they left for Branson.  They were kind enough to rearrange their morning and leave later on their trip, so that we could have breakfast together.  We hadn't expected that and we were grateful.  The kids enjoy each other and we love Dawn.

We had a great time at Grandma and PawPaw Larry's.  I had technical difficulties with my camera and didn't take any pictures - other than a few with my phone.  The kids fed the miniature horses.  We bowled in a tournament that benefited an animal shelter.  We went for a boat ride and fished.  So much fun and I didn't capture any of it.  That is so unlike me!

Allen Freedom Fest

Every year we hang out with the Garstka's, Turner's and DiSpigno's and enjoy the Allen fireworks.  This year was no different.  The Garstka's are such great hosts.  We enjoyed great food.  Jessica brought homemade cookies and cupcakes.  She is so creative.  She had 4th of July themed icing and sprinkles and let the kids decorate their own cupcakes.  They had so much fun and they were delicious!  I love having a baker in the family... too bad she is a messy baker.  I have to say, she is getting better about cleaning up after herself, though.

It was fun to see Jessie and Jonathan hanging out together during the fireworks.  They've come a long way as brother and sister.  For the most part, they no longer feel the need to kill each other... only bicker back forth once and awhile.

I made everyone dress patriotic.  Fred and Jonathan's scout camp shirt had a flag on the back - I'll have to pick a better shirt for them next year.  I sure do miss those matching Old Navy shirts we used to wear when the kids were little!  I haven't had any takers on those in years!

I hope everyone had a great Independence Day weekend and is enjoying what is left of your summer!