Up and Down

Like any weeks, our week has been filled with a few ups and a few downs.

It seems like I have been  surrounded by sickness lately-of friends and family members.
All of them being severe and scary health issues.
And, like most sickness or disease, does not come with many answers-just long waits and a lot of "maybes".
It doesn't make it better that all of these loved ones are so far away that I feel like I can't help out that much.
Jason has asked me several times this week what has got me down -
Just worry-that's all-and we all know that worrying never does a lick of good.
But sometimes telling someone I'm praying for them doesn't feel like I am doing enough.

Hollis has been full  of boundless energy this week.
And I have not.
I don't know if it is school or the baby or what but she seems to be highly excitable these days.
Her new favorite word is STINKY.
She can incorporate it into almost any situation, pretty impressively.
She had church camp yesterday and I was so excited not to hear the word stinky for 6 hours.
I cannot tell you how happy I was.
She also starts 50% of her sentences these days with,"Mama, by ACCIDENT I...."
Sometimes it's "Mama by accident I put my elbow on the computer." (She is not supposed to touch the computer.)
I can handle that "accident"
And sometimes it's ,"Mama,  by accident, I was playing in my room and got gum in my hair and my carpet."
She woke me up from my nap yesterday to tell me that one.
Good times.

Jason came home Wed. and told me someone had stolen from the golf shop.
A random man came up to the club and somehow managed to swipe 3 members clubs while distracting the golf staff.
The sheriff told Jason that this guy was probably a "professional" of some sort and probably armed.
Lovely.
Unfortunately, Jason has to deal with this type of nonsense more frequently than he should.
What is wrong with people?
The sheriff's last words to Jason were, "Trust NO ONE."
That's a  pretty sad commentary on the human condition, isn't it?

Last but not least, we  attended to a surprise birthday party last night.
It was a "Dress for the Decades" party.
Hollis and I had our outfits picked out the second we got the invite.
Jason picked his out five minutes before we left for the party..
Hence, there are no pictures of his outfit.

Let me tell you, this girl LOVES to dance.
She is going to be my date at the next wedding.
No more sitting in a dark corner wistfully tapping my foot along to "The Hustle."
No siree.

There you have it.
The ups and downs of the week.
More downs than ups this week  but that's life, isn't it?
It will make me appreciate next week's  "ups" that much more.
At least that's what I'm telling myself.

Michigan

Where has this week gone?
I just realized it has been a week since my last post.
Hollis and I visited Grandma and Grandpa LePage this past weekend.
It was a very low key visit-because they are very low key people and Grandma wasn't feeling herself.
We still managed to hit a bookstore, an ice cream parlor and some of our favorite Grand Blanc restaurants.
And Hollis and Grandpa fished and managed to catch some crabs in the creek.
I didn't know crabs lived in creeks, did you?

I was sayin' my prayers when these two hopped on a ladder together!

It was a good visit.
Hollis loves hearing stories about her Daddy when he was a boy.
And sleeping in his old room and playing with some of his old toys.
Fishing in the same creek with his old tackle box.
For some reason, these simple things are comforting to me too.
It makes me appreciate his folks-all the love and goodness and faith they poured into him to mold him into the amazing Daddy and husband he is today.
It is a priceless gift.
I hate having our families 10 hours and 5 hours away.
It can make me feel so desolate and orphan-like ( Is that a word?). And sad.
Maybe I should stop complaining about Indiana so people would move closer.
Any takers? :)

Our visitors

Leslie and the kids stopped by for a couple of hours yesterday.
They were on their way to Decatur.

It was soooo good to have them back in Zionsville.
My only complaint is that they didn't stay long enough.

Leslie and I were thinking this would make a good engagement picture of these two-in twenty years.
Hollis must be scared Luke is going to run away...she has the death grip going on.

Speaking of boyfriends, I still love mine as much as I ever did.
He climbed right onto my lap and let me cover his little mug in kisses.
That made my heart happy.

The next pictures are evidence of why you NEVER let a five, six or seven year old take a picture of you..

 

I must be yelling at Hollis in this picture. Leslie looks as cute as ever though.One out of two ain't bad.

And I'm so not going to win skinniest pregnant lady award in this dress -but I might win happiest. OH MY.

Maybe I don't need to wear that dress again.

Leslie still looks cute. What is her secret?:)

These last two pics are my favorites-simply because of the background objects...

Who are those random kids and where are their Mamas?
 I'm sure they were baffled that they weren't asked to be in the picture.
They had both of us cracking up!!
Leslie,thank you for stopping by yesterday-I'm sure it took much effort and energy.
Your visit only made us miss you more! 
Your friendship is one of life's lovely gifts.
Thank you for being my friend.
Next time, stay longer..and maybe we can hire a professional photographer.

Our Tuesday Outing

With storms in the forecast, we thought we might head eastward on antique alley instead of the State Park hike that was planned.
We didn't discover any noteworthy antiques, but we did stumble upon  this:

If you liked the movie Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, you would LOVE this store.
It had every kind of game, puzzle, gadget you could imagine.And I'm not talking about  lights and noises and toys that think for you..I'm talking about toys that force kids to use their imaginations.
I just realized I sound like a Grandma.

I know I am dating myself, but these were my favorites a looooong time ago.
It was so fun to feel like a little kid again-even if it was for only 30 minutes.
I am beginning to think Peter Pan had it right this whole time.
So was my Mom when she used to tell me not to be in a hurry to grow up.
Sometimes being a grown-up isn't all it's cracked up to be, is it?

Tempting. But I didn't cave.

I daresay this was the BEST toystore I have ever been in.
Too bad it's two hours away.
Or maybe that's a good thing for the budget.
Just when the day couldn't get any more whimsical..
We discovered a bakery...

Just looking at those cookies makes me happy. I had a hard time choosing just one.

This was my treasure for the day.

Every old town has a used bookstore.
And these golf books made Jason's heart go pitter patter.Those were his treasures for the day.
So there you have it. Our day off together in a nutshell.
I wish I could be more creative with this post, but I am one tired Mama.
Sorry.
I think it's off to bed I go..to get rested for some mighty special visitors we've been waiting too long to see.
Time for this grown up to say, "Good Night."

Arbuckle Art Fair

Yesterday we attended the Arbuckle Art Fair at Arbuckle Park.
I love art fairs.
I am always amazed at the creativity and talent when I go.
And I'm always a little bit jealous too- since creativity and artistic talent were clearly left out of my gene pool.

I'm sure the candle-making lady appreciated Hollis sticking her sniffer into all her candle samples.
We may not be creative, but we have an awesome sense of smell!

They had a little booth where children could make "Get Well" cards for hospitalized children.
Isn't that a great idea??
Hollis was actually excited to participate-and that made me really happy!
And I confirmed something I have suspected about Hollis for a long time.

The girl can shop.

And she likes it when I shop too. She doesn't bug me when she thinks I am taking too long.
And because of this enduring trait we walked away with some trinkets for our hair, some homemade pennants to hang in her playroom and room, and an "I am big Sis" necklace she loved.
I think Jason might be in trouble. It is only the beginning.

And we capped off our shopping spree with a peach smoothie.
Shopping makes one very thirsty.
 It was HOT.
When the ambulance and medics started showing up due to heat related issues, this Mama turned the wagons homeward....
With our new baubles shining in our hair the whole way.

The Dunes

I am starting to panic.
About time.
The lack of.
This summer is flying by way too fast for my taste.
Hollis starts school in one month. I know in my heart things will really change around here.
Gulp.
So we packed a car on Monday morning and set out for Indiana Dunes in Chesterton, IN.
Bathing suits, animal crackers and a geriatric dog included.

This was the sand hill we climbed to get to the top of the dunes...in 85 degree heat.

 I'd be lyin' to you if I said I sprinted up it.

 I was forcing myself to smile in this picture.
And thinking to myself, the view sure is pretty but this might be one of the most stupidest things I've done in a long time. And for the record, that is saying a lot.
The hike even wore out my hyperactive dog-who you will never see lying down for a picture again.
And my 5 year old who, when I told her we had to go back DOWN the hill, declared

"Oh the humanity of it all."

(Where did she learn that??) 
And then Jason dropped my camera in the sand.
So if there are no more blogs for awhile, well, you know why.

 We promised Hollis we'd take her swimming in Lake Michigan.
Which meant I sat in the car with Wrigley(who, I quickly discovered,  has a strong dislike for seagulls)
while Hollis and Jason swam for an hour .
Thank you for taking one for the team, J.

 But all was not lost.
We were able to stop at Indiana's first and oldest diner on the way home. The XXX diner.

It was even featured on the Food Network awhile back.They are known for their root beer and delish burgers.I need to clear that up with a name like Triple XXX and all.

 I was NOT faking a smile in this picture..but Jason was. He was so embarrassed when the sweet owner took our picture.
That's ok. He'll thank me for it in 20 years.
Right J?? Right?

And any day that is ended with a root beer float is a winner in my book.

On Sat,  Hollis attended a birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese.
After helping chaperon 18 kids and listening to a rat sing over and over for 2 1/2 hours, I was more than ready to go home and put my feet up for the rest of the day.
I avoid Chuck-E-Cheese like the plague even when I'm not preggers.
The noise, the lights, the overstimulated kids begging for more tokens...
Yuck.
But there was a club fitting for children  that day at the club so over to Broadmoor we skedaddled.
Naptime would have to wait for another day.

Large and in charge on the golf cart.
I was afraid she was going to to throw me off more than once.
I roll pretty easily these days, you know.

She was so HAPPY to be spending time with her Dad.
She was so HAPPY to be playing golf.
We had to bribe her to leave.

I think I might need to brush up on my game pretty darn soon.