Have you been on a "CHICK-A-TION?"

I have!!! Therese and Abby and Lizzie came for an overnight visit and we had a lot of pink around here! Dancing, singing, good music, good food and fun friends. We also did some great collage paintings inspired by Claudine Helmuth. Check out her blog here. Thanks for the new coffee travel mug, the coffee, the flowers AND the big tub of Trader Joe's dunker cookies that I found hidden in the pantry! You two are little dickins! We have to do this again next summer!

My garden is a growing

It has been hot and we just got a nice bit of rain. The garden is loving it! Here is how the front of the house looks in the summer!

Watchin the weather in Buffalo

Modern technology is amazing... Here is the Doppler 7000 (or whatever it is called in your neck of the woods). The first image is the storm cloud that I pulled up on our local station's website. One of the little blobs (they call them cells on the news!) is right on top of Buffalo (and me!)...you can also see the cell behind it is starting to curve around...(the news guys call that a hook) and that is not good news...that is where the tornadoes come from. Get in the basement!

Will at the Hennessey Paddle

Nothing says summer like the Hennessey Paddle. Jack, Will, Alex and Chloe were ready to go early in the morning!

Jack at the Hennessey Paddle

Number 201 in the B group! GO JACK
Coming in 6th place! Whohoo!

Jack gets his medal.

Los Angeles Sparks

OK...now I am in LA and Tara gave us some tickets to go see the Sparks at the Staples Center...I am not a big basketball fan, but I have to say that I was very impressed with the game. First of all, the staples center is a spectacular venue. We had seats on the floor with the big people of the world (Thanks Tara!) and the game/team were very entertaining. We loved watching the new kids on the block: especially Candace Parker. She is just an unbelievable athlete. Of course Lisa Leslie was there too. Just amazing!

Leaving on a jet plane (in a diesel truck?)

The boys left this morning to drive to California. Will has his permit now, so he will try and drive a little in each state...for the experience. They are excited to get back in the ocean to swim and surf. They said this will be the last summer they do JG's (junior guards)...I'll bet you a dollar that they'll go again next year...it is part of their identity...who they are and what they do. Even if they live in Minnesota now, they can still be Cali boys for a month in the summer! Have a good safe trip! They'll be in Redondo Beach in 4 days!

Sparklers

Uncle Mike and I have been playing around with sparklers and taking some photos with a long exposure. I still have a lot to learn to get these crisp, but is sure is fun.

Kaposia Days BINGO

Don't cha just love a good game of BINGO? I hardly ever win, but the people watching is always good! Plus, these handy dandy bingo cards with the sliding window sure make it easy! The plan was to split the profits of the winnings... Only one card won and the kid got to keep the $4!