Summer is Here!

After a quick but long school year (yes, these two things can happen at the same time--it went by fast but felt very long) summer vacation has finally arrived.  The girls were done on Tuesday, but I finally got all of my stuff done by Friday morning, so it still felt like school for the rest of the week.  Now that I'm sitting here on Saturday night, I keep thinking, "OK.  Tomorrow I need to clean and do laundry so we have clothes for the school week..."  WAIT!!  I don't have to do that!  Woohoo!  Days of staying home, playing with the girls, working on the house,swinging on the back porch, getting ready for next year and, the most important of all, sleeping in, have begun.  I love the anticipation of it and the feeling of having to remind myself that I don't have to rush.  I love the slower pace of summer.  It's so good!  I look forward to staying home and being with my family.

Ahhh...Summer.

Vera Bradley

As most of you know, I am a purse fiend.  I love them, always have, and probably always will.  I really don't go for expensive purses, but something cute and fun.  A couple years ago I picked out a pair of frames that had a Vera Bradley design on them.  Now I am enamored with her products!  I bought a purse around the beginning of the year, and it makes me smile every time I see it!  At the same time I purchased a lanyard and a little wallet and I love them both.  Then I caught a sale!  I got a hipster for a fraction of the cost.  I really like her things and I hope I don't get too addicted to the bright colors, quilty softness, and the overall fun of it all...oh wait!  Too late.

But you know what I like almost more than her purses and stuff is the presentation of the packaging.  I get a normal brown box in the mail.  When I open it, I see this white box with Vera Bradley's name emblazoned on the top.  It's a sturdy box too--not something flimsy that can get messed up in shipping.  Then I open it to find tissue paper, neatly wrapped around my purchase with a sticker on it to keep it in place.  Presentation of anything, whether it good or bad, can make anything so much better! 

When I check out the invoice, it is in a sleeve and on the back it says:

They won't even let you take care of business first.  How fun is that??

Our Backyard

Since we bought our new house, it has been an ongoing surprise.  When we moved in, everything inside and out was worn out, filthy, overgrown, or broken.  We have spent lots of time cleaning, trimming, fixing, and painting (of which I'm still not done).  It needs lots of love, and we are slowly giving it.  Our backyard is no exception.

The girls love the backyard.  It is big and has lots of potential for greatness.  It also has LOTS of plants in it!  I am sure that when the previous owners were taking care of it, it was beautiful.  We find traces and hints of what used to be flower beds, planters, and rabbit huts.  The girls have found many things in the yard itself, some of it kinda scary.  I'm glad that my girls are responsible and careful.  They come and show us everything they find.  Lauren is a little scavenger!  We are very careful when we go into the overgrown parts of the yard.

One of the good things about the backyard (and the front too) is that it holds surprises.  Nothing was blooming when we got here because it was so overgrown.  I have been trimming things on beautiful days and trying to get things cleaned up.  This has brought treasures!  We found three rose bushes, two patches of irises (they are beautiful!), a cactus (the hard way--I stepped on it), and this morning I realized that two of the bushes (both of which I was going to tear out) are honeysuckle.  I LOVE honeysuckle!!  My parents had it in our backyard in Moore, and that is one of my favorite childhood memories.  Opening the windows on a spring day and the smell of honeysuckle floating in...Divine!!  Needless to say, I won't be taking those bushes out. I wonder what else I am going to find.

Motherly Love

I am blessed to have many "Moms" in my life.  There is my sweet Momma that taught me everything she could with grace and love.  When she left us, I had three more Moms to take her place--my Mother in law, Pat, and my Mom's best friends, Paulette and Margo.  I know that it is a little late, but these lovely ladies deserve a shout out and how wonderful they are for Mother's day.  I wouldn't be who I am today without them, and they have given me so much in their own special ways.  I love you all!

Mom and I

Allen's Mom

Margo and Paulette