Today is Thursday and every Thursday at our home, the house gets cleaned. It's been this way for many years. When Mike and I first got married I used to clean on Friday. But then Hadassah was born and I joined a diet group that met on Friday mornings to weigh and go over the next week of diet rules. I hated to be out of the house by 8 AM and then come home to start cleaning. So, I switched it Thursday!!! This has worked swell for me because that means the inside gets cleaned on Thursday and the outside work gets done on Friday!!!
Anyway, the only thing planned in my head this morning was clean and get Hadassah over to Mom Lapps to mow her meadow. Ever since Dad Lapp passed away, we still take turns mowing Mom's meadow. Mike took our mower over last evening and so it was all ready for Hadassah to jump on there this forenoon and mow! She loved it and even got paid $20 from Mom. :) Meanwhile, Bethany and I were back home cleaning. I told the kids that if the sun at all shines around lunch time, we will head for the pool!!! Austin woke up requesting "Nickle Mines"!
Like I said, the weather has been so stormy the past few weeks and today looked like it was going to be the same thing. Matthew is tired of swimming without a friend and so he decided to stay back home. (Listen up Matthew's friends! Come swim with us at Nickle Mines!!!) He would rather jump and jump and flip and flop on the trampoline than swim alone. Hadassah is at the stage where she wants to just lay out and not swim. Ashlyn and Austin both love to swim but are mostly in the kiddie pool. I like to sit pool side and every now and then dip my feet or take a quick swim in the pool. So, the rest of us packed up a lunch and grabbed our towels and out the door we went! The sun was hot when it was out but it was so spotty! There wasn't hardly anyone at the pool giving us lots of extra space to spread out and the little ones had the kiddie pool all to themselves!!! Won't complain about that luxury!
Hadassah stuck in her ear buds but sat beside me and painted her nails.
I propped up my feet and was happy to open up my new Magnolia Magazine and read it!!!
Ashlyn and Austin swam and then sat beside me eating their snacks. We were all wishing it was hot and warm but the clouds kept rolling in. Every now and then it would sprinkle and rain drops made us wet. About an hour and a half into this relaxation, Ashlyn was cold and wet and ready to leave. So, we packed it up and went for our daily hour drive.
Hadassah needs to drive an hour each day to meet her driving requirements for her license appointment. We are determined to get this done! At first, I thought driving for an hour every day would be a pain and not enjoyable but the time does go fast! Usually, we have a few stops to make and the gas station is becoming one frequent stopping place with all this extra driving. But it's good practice for Hadassah to get to know how to do these things. Soon it will be her and her car out there on those roads, without me beside her panicking and telling her what not to do!!! :///
Because of the rains later this afternoon, it got me to my dining room table and I pulled out that school package of papers that need to be filled out and completed before the first days of school. School is coming up fast and I could have a slight panic attack thinking that then summer will be over, but instead I will take a deep breath, say a prayer for sunny days ahead, and enjoy the days we have left of summer vacation!!! Don't be fooled because I also love, love, love fall season! I love the smell, tastes, colors and briskness of fall but I'm never quite ready to have summer be behind us!!!
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Because of all the rains … we've been seeing lots of rainbows too!!!
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Last Sunday, we decided to take Ashlyn down to my parents farm and let her finally get on a horse or pony. She begs every day for a pony but mostly because she loves watching the episodes of "Spirit" right now!!! Riding a horse looks like so much fun for her! She's a lot opposite in this area with her mom!!!
My dad was kind and went down to the meadow and brought Hazel up for Ashlyn to ride. Hazel is Addison's (my niece) pony.
Mike is also not a horse lover and so if this girl ever does get a pony, it will be because of her wishes, not ours! :)
Oh, how she loved it!!!
And somehow, Austin got to touch a baby barn swallow bird.
And hunt the eggs with my dad!!!
And talk about freshness, here's what was picked from the garden this week. I almost forgot to check on the garden because with so many showers here and there, I didn't think much was growing. But, boy was I wrong!!!
Another rainy night this week brought me to making these!!! Mike loves, loves these!!!
And Austin has a major desire to have graham crackers, peanut butter and milk every single night. It's his favorite snack and we all know it!!! How cute that he shares his love for this with his mom!!!
It's time I get to joining the kids and hubby in the basement!!! Family time is important!
Have a great weekend!
