Sisters

She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink. Some days, she's the reason you wish you were an only child.

~Barbara Alpert~

A Summer Day

I don't know why I only get pictures of Drake when a project is being done. Maybe It's because he loves to help and actually would rather be busy working on something than sitting around talking, which is what the rest of us love to do over-much. But Drake is a man of few words and loves a job using anything with a motor or special tools. It's a guy thing, right?

Therefore, when Ilex and Drake spent a couple of days with us,
a task was tackled by Drake and Poppy, that has needed to be done for a long time. Errant cherry and maple trees and blackberry vines, that had sprung up in a long rose hedge bordering the front of the property, were sawed, hacked and chopped out and hauled away. It was a huge job, took two days, but actually required only one trip to Home Depot. ;) How did that happen??

Later on we were joined by Holly and Ivy to finish off the evening listening to a great concert in the park.





Ivy, looking adorable, in her brand-new hair cut.

I Heart Faces-Sports & Pets

This photo will be my entry for *i heart faces* contest this week. The theme is sports in action .

Here's Leif learning to climb this wall.He ended up doing it many times and loved the challenge.
I don't know if wall climbing is a *sport* but I love the effort and slightly goofy capture in this photo.

Check out all of the fun entries in the sports edition this week.




And here is a sweet (but old- I know it doesn't have great quality) photo for my pet entry. Our granddaughter, years ago, clutching one of our cats- and I do mean clutching.

Things got a little confusing here when I decided to remove another photo but still had my name in the pet catagory-sorry. :)

Great Grandma Time

When Mom was here she wanted to spent a little time one-on- one with Levi and Luke. The boys each read to her. She loves that, and not just because she can be knitting at the same time. ( No photos of that unfortunately.) I did manage to get some cute pictures of them together though, and of Luke and her having some rousing games of UNO.

I think they played it over and over about 10 times. He reads well and loves the game with all it's twists and turns, draw 4s, and bright color changes. UNO is the perfect game for him.

Butterflies, Poets & Children

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.
~Maya Angelou~

I saw a poet chase a butterfly in a meadow. He put his net on a bench where a boy sat reading a book. It's a misfortune that it is usually the other way round.
~Karl Kraus~


We must remain as close to the flowers, the grass, and the butterflies as the child is who is not yet so much taller than they are. We adults, on the other hand, have outgrown them and have to lower ourselves to stoop down to them. Whoever would partake of all good things must understand how to be small at times.
~Friedrich Nietzsche~

Grown-ups love figures. When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you, "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?" Instead, they demand: "How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?" Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.
~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince,
1943, translated from French~

Married For 62 Years!

Today is my parent's anniversary. They have been married a whopping 62 years!! We honor and love them for their commitment to each other and for being an example to our entire family.

We enjoyed their recent visit to our neck of the woods. Lots of dinners, and visiting about their trip to Luxembourg, time with great-grandchildren, and outings. Even a Civil War reenactment in 90* heat. And Mom says she really relaxes when she comes here!? Well at home she has a huge garden and there is always something that needs doing. I know how that goes. ( Only I just don't do it ;)
They are driving home today after being gone for a month, so will see this tonight or in the morning.

Love you Mom and Dad!

Heroes

Thanks To The Heroes,
Freedom Survives

Although he's always just been Daddy to me, (hero of his only daughter) my own Father is in that ever dwindling group of heroes, the WWII vets.

This past weekend was spent with him and my Mom, on their way home from visiting the country of Luxembourg, where they are honored each year as the heroes who saved that country from the Nazis 65 years ago.

Along with all the family activities of picnics and such we decided to have a photo session with a uniform borrowed from my husband's extensive collection of WWII items, since my dad's original one no longer quite fits :).

(And, yes, Shawn Connery looks quite a bit like my Dad!!)



We also took him to see the brick purchased in honor of him at our local veterans memorial.

Here's To The Heroes !

This post will appear on i heart faces this week in their patriotic addition.