Kaitlyn got a new pair of glass' to start the year off with. Now I need to get everyone in for their yearly eye exams. I promise I'll call shortly after school starts... August 17th!
Our weather is so different this year. Rainy, warm/hot mornings and cool evenings. But today we'll be lucky if we hit 77*. Thursday is supposed to be no warmer than 72*. This is so strange for this time of year. This is July, right?
One pair of socks completed and I'm working on the other of the cashmere pair. I guess the knee-highs will be the last to get done. Oh well. There's still lots of time before fall gets here. Getting the "burr" and warm/fuzzy feeling just thinking about it.
We've been so lucky this year. I think we've used the air conditioner twice all summer. But, today I'm keeping the air on all day and actually for the next couple of days. We're supposed to have temps in the low to mid 90's. I can do without the excessive heat with the humidity. We're back to afternoon storms which guarantee us quick noisy moments and then beautiful rainbows.
Max and Jake accompanied me on my walk this a.m. Jake screamed when Jen's, Morgan (Golden Lab) tried to make friends. I just cracked up, considering this is the pup who tries to bully every other dog that comes to this house. So that will be a slow getting to know you process. Max didn't fair well the last 1/2 mile of the walk. I don't know if I'll be taking him again for the a.m. walk. I ended up carrying him up the last hill and most of the rest of the way home. My p.m. walk is basically for David and the kids to go with me. So my a.m.'s are 2 miles or more and the p.m.'s are a bit under a mile. Though the other day the kids did do a 2 mile walk with me, it just took a bit longer constantly have to prod them on or having to round them up. At any rate we had fun!
Kids have a guest over today. We have a good Chinese restaurant down the hill from us and one of the ladies who works there is from the Fujian Province (Fuzhou to be exact). Olivia is from this province. We've become friends and her son, Jason, plays over here about once a week. Lots of fun to be had if your in the neighborhood. 
Well you can certainly see why we draw lots of attention when we go for our family walks. Today our walk started out with a thunderstorm building over our heads and finally ended up turning us back because of lightening.
Our pups even enjoyed the walk and Max with all his coughing did quite well. So maybe I'll be taking the dogs with me when I walk in the future.
Two weeks ago I started walking with a friend of mine, Jen. To date I've logged in a total of 11.6 miles. I've been walking every other day, 2 miles, except for one day when I tried a different route to only discover after I had walked it that I was 4/10ths of a mile short. So, I don't know when, but I'll make up that distance at another time. 
Ever see a Birthday donut? Kristina loved it!
Blowing out the candles on her "Birthday donut"!
Yesterday I cleaned and rearranged the tank. Today found "Mona" our Golden Moray Eel enjoying a new spot in the tank and in an upright position. She's so funny. Eels are known for their hiding and rarely being seen. So much for that... 
My splurge. Cashmere socks. Of course there is only one for the time being, but I'm working on the other. Should be done for the fall and some cute shoes.
This is called "Panda Cotton" by Crystal Palace Yarns. 59% Bamboo, 25% cotton and 16% Elastic nylon. The color is: Chocolate Almonds
My first (1/2) pair of knee highs. I can't wait to wear these this fall also. Going to be warm this year!
This is a much better representation of the color in the kitchen and breakfast room. Though I know its not a color for everyone, I just love it.
This picture I'm throwing in, just because. We've had such a variety of beautiful cloud formations as of late and even though we're not getting the afternoon storms any longer the clouds are gorgeous.
I'd say Kristina had a good birthday. She decided that she wanted her birthday to include shopping, a haircut and pedicure with Mom. Far be it from me to turn down a pedicure... After her birthday dinner out at La Baguette, Kaitlyn surprised Kristina with a movie. "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince". They loved it! We've still got to do her birthday cake. She wants to make dinner for the family and I think that it would be a good time for her cake then. So we'll be doing her party tomorrow night.
Today found us having more thunderstorms in the afternoon. We're getting some really tremendously active storms. Lots of lightening that is striking close to the house and sends everyone scampering for cover. I took this picture prior to the lightening starting. Looks like a turtle head coming out of the clouds.
With the storm today I decided that it was time to paint the kitchen. I've been threatening this paint job for about 2 years now. The kitchen is now just about done and the breakfast room is still left to do, but I'll get it done in the next couple of days for sure.
As usual my pictures don't show the true color. This color is called: Valspar's "Golden Straw".
I actually used this color on one of the walls in the entry hallway. I love it. A beautiful gold. It also coordinates nicely with the border paper that I have.
Finally it stops for a while only to really start pouring later and move our entire 4th celebration into the garage like previous years.
Kristina is thoroughly enjoying Horseback Riding camp and learning so much about horses.
