Free Association

What happened to summer? It was going along, warm as could be, I had a tan, wanted to spend time outside, and then POOF! Gone. It has been so cold (relatively speaking -- 64 in April seems a whole lot nicer than 64 in July!) and blecky lately. I went up to St. Cloud last week to see Chris and the weather just did not cooperate. However, it was icky enough to not feel guilty about sitting on the couch most of the day doing absolutely nothing!

I had a great couple days there, then we had "Dinner with the Amys." That's what Chris calls it, and since Amy and I don't have a better name for it, that's what it shall be called henceforth! This time, we thought we'd only do appetizers, since we usually have a ton of apps and then are too full to really eat. Seems like a good idea, until we had 400 appetizers! Oh my lord it was a lot of food, and we put a pretty good dent in it. Then we played 2 games of Trivial Pursuit. I won both times (or at least, I was on the winning team). Love it!

Now I'm back home for a few days. I will be in EC on Thursday -- going to Grease with Ang and the fam. Lunch (?) with Lisa, and then hopefully something with Jen & Mikki on Friday. Then back home because Jan is headed this way. We are going to Amana, IA, on Sunday to check it out. I was there this spring for a class with Gail, and knew my mom would love it.

It's hard to believe that it's nearly the end of July. I am so busy on weekends coming up and it seems like school is right around the corner!!!!! Oh NO!!!

A new Wii addiction?

Yesterday, I finally got Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 for my Wii. I played this for the first time about a week and a half ago with Kala at Gail's. I loved it! I went to wallyworld that night (I had to buy cat food) but their price was $49.99. Kala got her copy at Best Buy for $39.99. I was all about saving $10. And, I looked online, and it was the same price, with free shipping! Plus I still had an old gift card worth about $5, so I got it even cheaper! But, I had to wait for it to come by mail.

I didn't play yesterday, since I actually went golfing, and played 18. Today, though, was a different story. After I watched the Tour de France, I put in the new game. I set up my golfer (she's got HUGE jugs and a skinny waist, just like me! ha ha ha) and started to play. Of course, I have it set on the easiest settings, so I ROCK! :) I played a few courses and won two tournaments before I decided to try playing with the regular settings. I am not nearly as dominant without the nice cheats. I haven't decided if I will try and play real, or if I will still play with the help. I do like to win....

A little of this, a little of that

I was up in EC over the 4th. My mom and I went to Rock Falls for a parade -- a pretty nice one, too, considering RF is unincorporated and about 3 blocks long! Then we hung out in the beer tent for a bit and watched the kickball tournament. For grownups! It was funny. We watched fireworks from the deck with Lois. I think we can see 3 towns' shows from there, plus lots of other random people shooting off much bigger fireworks than my mom ever let me have. I usually got sparklers, smoke bombs, and snakes (you know, they looked like black pellets and when you lit them, they grew a long ash that curled around). Nothing that really made noise or was too flashy. :)

Today, I have lots on my agenda. Ha! Just kidding. I do need to go to the library and get more books, and then I'm going to paint some sample paints in my bedroom and the little room. I know in my head the colors I want; now it's a matter of finding them in paint! So, that's my agenda. I'm pretty sure I might sneak in a nap...

Home again

Thor has finally come home from Grandma's. He'd been there since June 11! He doesn't like the car ride TO Grandma's, but once he's there, he really loves it. It helps that Jan takes him outside everyday, too, and always has toys, milk, and time to play. I think he got to play outside every day that he was there this year! And, he is getting better about just being outside, too. Now he will sit in one place and just hang, instead of traipsing all over the dang yard. He still wants to go out into the cornfields, because that looks like SO MUCH FUN, but he has started to realize that he has to stay closer. When I was around, he would even just sit and relax in my lap on the porch. We will try doing that now that he's home.

On another note, I had a great time at Jen & Bobber's bonfire Saturday night! It was great to see everyone, and I didn't spend ALL my money on Lia Sophia. :)

Oh, and I've started peeling from my sunburn. Cool, in a gross kind of way.

Summer vacation is BUSY!

So, my summer is going great, but these past few weeks have been busy. I went to Black River Falls on Saturday for my Sons of Norway picnic. I'm the youngest member in my lodge by about 35 years. The other members are so cute! :) Anyway, we had a great potluck, and then we played bingo for stupid prizes. It was a nice afternoon, and my mom and I got to spend some time with Lillian, too. Then I headed to EC to pick up Thor.

Except that my friend Gail called and invited me to her cabin in Elcho. I haven't been there in about 3 years, so I thought it sounded fun. So, I stayed in EC til Monday (no use driving back down to Viroqua to turn around and go north) and headed over. It is about 2:45 to get there, and Monday was a great day for a drive.

I stayed at the cabin til Thursday. We had a good time -- we played cribbage, went fishing, went mopeding, had a campfire, and generally just relaxed. This year, I won big in cribbage -- usually Gail only plays til she loses, and then we have to be done. But this year, she was a better sport, even though I beat her 13 games to 3, including two skunks! Ha ha! I also caught more fish than her: my 4 to her 2. I caught 4 northerns, ranging from 15-24 inches. I was just happy to catch anything! We don't keep them, anyway.

Yesterday I drove back to EC to get the cat. My mom said, "why don't you just leave him here til you come back this weekend?" So, I came home empty handed. And I have one day to not really go anywhere, before I head up to EC Saturday. BUSY, but having fun.

Summer vacation is FUN!

I just got back this afternoon from visiting April & fam for a few days. I love being able to just get in the car and go! It helps that Thor is at Grandma's... But I had a super fun time with April, Stro, Myles & Shay. Spending time with kids I like is fun, but it still reminds me why I have a cat and not kids of my own. :) We also played an awesome new game -- well, it's new to me -- Rummikub! If you haven't played it, I highly recommend it. It was fun (although a bit long at times, when some of the players are "SURE" they can go out...) and easy to learn.

April and I also went to see "The Hangover." Sweet Jesus I laughed a lot. And was still giggling about parts of it the next day! Parts were definitely stupid, but dang it, sometimes you just need to watch a movie like that! The next night we went to Myles' baseball game (he pitched pretty well, but the team got smoked) and then April & I hit the casino. We'd never been to that one before, and it was HUGE! It was not, however, conducive to winning. They did not have any penny slots, and the 2-centers were not helping us make money. We were there for an hour or so, though, and neither of us have to get a 2nd job.

Finished!

Yesterday was the last day of school, which means, TODAY STARTS SUMMER VACATION!!! Hooray! Today I slept til 9:30. It was awesome. And, I have no plans. Even better! I do have some plans for this week, though. The boys baseball team won their regional (1st time in 19 years!) so they play at Potosi for sectionals on Tuesday. So exciting! So, I"m going to that game. Then I'm headed to EC on Thursday. I'm getting new tires on Friday, along with having my car detailed. A clean car for the first time since softball started... I can't wait! On Saturday I'll head to the Cities to see Chris, Amy & Brian. What a great week! I love summer!!