Here are some cute little drawings of Star Wars things by Spencer. I'm not sure what each thing is, but I know R2D2 is in the middle of the lower section and there are many lightsabers. I think that may be Chewbaca upper left and Darth Vader next to him.
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Today was a sad day for me as I said goodbye to a co-worker who is moving away after more than 8 years with our company. Co-employees come and go, but Leroy was (is) a prince among men and will be missed more than we can say. Our staff had lunch together today and when we said goodbye, nearly all of us were crying.

With Leroy's departure, my work responsibilities will be increasing, too. I've been getting away with very little work for quite awhile now, so it is time for me to step up to the plate. In just 6 weeks, both of my children will be in school all day long. (Ach, I get teary just thinking about it!) I suppose it will be good to be busy while they're in school. It will also help pay for school!

But for now, I'm just dragging about the house feeling down.

I bet you haven't seen anything quite like this before (unless, of course, you've seen this)!

James just returned home from Cour d'Alene, Idaho where he was doing market research at the Ironman Triathlon. Of course, now he wants to compete in an Ironman. We actually found him in the spectator photo, which was taken this morning and posted on the Ironman website.
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I got a few photos back from VBS today! We finished last night and then slept in LATE this morning! It was a great VBS. If you want a closer look at the photos (and who wouldn't?), just click on the photo. May the Spirit be with you. (Oh yeah, this was the lobby).
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Han Solo!
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Colin had fun in the music room.
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This is the craft room my crew decorated.
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Goliath was one mean and stinky giant! Thankfully David (played by James) had the Spirit with him!
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Jar jar was there!
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Each class has a row of seats and a cool name. Spencer was a C3PO.
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Closing time on the Falcon Millenium.
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um....I don't know who that is....someone must have borrowed my camera.
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Camp ended Friday night and I'm still not fully recovered. These are a few mementos...beads earned, a feather for Colin's walking stick, a friendship bracelet, a little fence (it came off the napkin holder), some tooled leather, a giant seed pod, and the ever-useful bandana!

Speaking of bandanas, you should never camp without 'em! You can get them wet and tie them around your neck to cool down, you can wrap up your lunch or your crafts and tie them to your walking stick, you can use them for a placemat and then a napkin, you can cover your mouth when the wind comes sweeping down the dusty plain...they are just invaluable!

So, anyway, camp was great. Our group (the Lumberjacks) won the spirit award, which was the only award given to the scouts. I think we may have won because we had a great cheer for roll call. It was: "We are the lumberjacks, the mighty, mighty lumberjacks, and we....LOVE....CAMP!!!!" The boys each earned 5 belt loops and completed about 10 electives.

Colin woke up Saturday morning and put on his Scout uniform for the day. Too cute. He then proceeded to conduct camp for Spencer so Spencer could earn beads and become a "pre-Scout." Also, Colin wanted to see what it was like to be a camp leader. Colin and Spencer have been playing camp all weekend and Spencer has learned a good amount of beads!

If you have a Scout, I would highly recommend going to camp. It was fun and an incredible motivator!
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Happy Fathers Day to James, who would be this guy if he ever needed to be.

Three days of camp down, two to go! We're having fun! Colin has earned two special silver beads for hitting the target in archery and he's trying his best to earn a gold bead in BB guns. We've made western fence napkin holders, crazy patriotic hats, styrofoam boats for the gutter races, food chain posters and gopher guts (putty). We've planned a skit for Friday night, learned a group chant for roll call, played volleyball, run obstacle courses, learned about drugs from the Bureau of Narcotics, learned how to carry a person on a stretcher and fed the birds. Today our pack will lead the opening ceremony and raise the flag. By the end of the week, the boys will have earned several belt loop awards, a camp patch, more than 30 beads and a wealth of knowledge. For $45, you can't beat it.

I AM: happy

I WANT: a clean house

I WISH: I could move all my favorite people into one, smaller town

I HATE: creepy crawly things

I MISS: Meg

I HEAR: motorized lawn equipment and little boys

I REGRET: not travelling when I was single

I AM NOT: a morning person

I DANCE: with my children

I CRY: when others hurt

I AM NOT ALWAYS: cute

I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: scrapbooks, cards, crafts, blogs and comforted children

I WRITE: because I'm narcissistic

I CONFUSE: real affection and polished niceties

I NEED: a maid

I SHOULD: call people more often

I START: lots of projects before finishing others (sorry James)

I FINISH: what I started from time to time

(Meme compliments of Fresh Cut Flowers)

Colin and I have survived the first day of Boy Scout camp. Actually, it was quite fun! We'll be at camp all week from 2:00 - 8:30 and, boy, do they pack in the activities! Yesterday we played badminton, learned archery, shot BB guns, talked to the Sherriff's canine unit, made a den flag, crafted our own leather-tooled name tags, made hackysacks, went on a nature hike and learned some camp songs! Thankfully yesterday was a cool 92 degrees and we had a lot of shade.

Before camp I made Colin a walking stick. We wove some leather strips around the top, with four strips hanging down. We attached two feathers to one strip. The other three are for beads he's earning at camp. Each boy gets a bead for completing an activity, and special beads are awarded throughout the day for excellent work and enthusiasm. Some of the older boys who have been to camp before have long strands of beads on their walking sticks. It is a surprisingly good motivator for Colin.

Although I'm not made for the heat, I do love camp. I love the camp songs, the great outdoors and the activities. I especially enjoyed the leather tooling (much to my surprise!). My badge is round and it looks like a little western flower.

Paleolithic Drama by Spencer
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We're still collecting Box Tops around here (just as a reminder). You may be surprised at some of the products that have the label. Here's a list of some of the non-food items that carry the labels:

KLEENEX® Brand Facial Tissue: Anti-Viral, Lotion, Ultra Soft, Family

KLEENEX® Moist Cloth

KLEENEX® Dinner Napkins

SCOTT® Bathroom Tissue: Regular and Extra Soft

SCOTT® Napkins

VIVA® Paper Towels

COTTONELLE FRESH® Moist Wipes

COTTONELLE® Toilet Paper: Ripple®, Aloe and E, Ultra Ziploc® Brand Freezer Bags Ziploc® Brand Storage Bags Ziploc® Brand Easy Zipper Freezer Bags Ziploc® Brand Easy Zipper Storage Bags Ziploc® Brand Sandwich Bags Ziploc® Brand DoubleGuardTM Freezer Bags Ziploc® Brand Snap'n Seal Containers Ziploc® Brand Twist'n LockTM Containers Ziploc® Brand Big Bags Ziploc® Brand Snack Bags

Five by five

via Charles, who wanted to tag me but was just too polite to say so.

5 things in my fridge:

• 2 gallons of 1 percent milk
  
• Red seedless grapes
  
• Tomato and Red Pepper Chutney
  
• Head Country Barbecue Sauce
  
• Rum Caramel (for ice cream!)
  

5 things in my closet:

• 3-ring binders filled with my children's art
  
• shoes, glorious shoes
  
• portable Singer sewing machine
  
• my grandfather's camera
• baby books (mine and my sons')
  

5 things in my briefcase:

• 50 spf sunscreen
  
• hair clip
  
• colorful rings to retreive from the bottom of the pool
  
• $5.00
  
• aloe vera
  

5 things in my car:

• stack of beach towels
  
• 2 bags of little boy clothes
  
• Cord to recharge cell phone
  
• Stampin' Up catalogs
  
• 1 inch of dust
  

5 things I did this week.

• made paper mache planets
  
• read 3 books by Beverly Lewis
  
• visited the Oklahoma Bombing Memorial
  
• watched two t-ball games
  
• made pork tenderloin with mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans and bread

Consider yourself tagged.

James completed his first Olympic-distance triathlon yesterday (swim, bike, run) in 3 hours and 30 minutes! Congratulations, James!
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Here's what I picked up today for our Star Wars VBS. Cute, huh?
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What a week! We've made paper mache planets and acquired an R2-D2 for VBS, we've visited friends, gone swimming (three times), signed up for library cards, read books, made a teepee for the back yard, stamped, cleaned out the potting shed, pruned bushes, gone to a few garage sales, shopped for VBS supplies, gone to work AND we went to the Red Earth parade! Whew! One week of summer down, nine more to go! I think next week we'll go for slow and easy.
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Looking for: good refrigerator, cheap (or free).

Love Story
Okay, so I may be the last person on Earth who hasn't seen this, but just in case, I've gotta be sure YOU don't miss it: The Stock Photo Saga. (Thanks to Charles!)