Time Flies...

when you're having fun. That's for sure. I have no idea where this week has gone and now it's half over. It has been filled with lots of last minute summer fun which we are trying to squeeze in and still a few more in the works before school starts on Monday.

Little Ann had one more little getaway planned from Sunday until Tuesday with her Meemaw S. I told you here that they live about 2 hours away from us and we don't see them very often. Little Ann says they live on a ranch, but really it's just a small farm. They live near a lake at a State Park, a trout river, and have lots of animals and things to keep her occupied. She loves to ride the mules and horses and this time 2 of her cousins were also there to keep Meemaw S. and Papaw J. on their toes!! When I arrived to pick her up yesterday, my mother in law gave me this picture she had taken. Make sure you get a good look at the cheesing mule...this is hilarious!

And as I made my way 2 hours from home on Tuesday to retrieve my daughter, the plan was I would drive another 2 hours taking a little overnight stay in a town where one of my very best friends is now living. Her husband was our pastor for 7 years and she became more than just a pastor's wife to me. As I've said before, sometimes our plans are not God's plans and He moved them away from me this past February. It was hard at first, but thank goodness for email, blogs and facebook to keep us connected...and at least she is still in the same state!

Anyway, they just moved into a new home. I wanted to try to spend a little time with her and see the house before things got so hectic with the fall. It was so pretty. I took pictures and want to share some more about her house, her family, and our friendship with you soon.

I never really did give you any one particular post defining my children. Telling you all about them, who they are, what they like, and so on. I guess I just figured after reading for awhile, you would eventually figure all of those things out on your own. One thing that has always struck me as interesting about Little Ann is that her best friends are boys. They always have been. She has a couple of really good girl friends, but the ones she will always refer to as her best buds have always been the boys especially this one:

He is our former pastor's son. Same age as Little Ann and he is a gem. Kind hearted, soft spoken, and an all around great kid...and Little Ann loves the heck out of him. I think it was harder on her when they left than any of us. She absolutely loved playing the ps2 with him during our stay.

Big Dan went along for the ride, although he had girlfriend withdrawals the entire time. It didn't help much that Saturday his strep came back bigger and fiercer than ever!!! I got him started on his antibiotic again, but this time the fever has lasted longer and his throat has hurt so bad it's brought tears to his eyes (just briefly, but enough to make my heart ache). I hate it when my kids are sick. I feel so helpless. Much of what he did was lounge on the couch or in a bed covered with as many blankets as he could find. As far as the rest of us..we did a few recreational things like swim and shop, but the best was just catching up and being in each other's presence. (and Big Dan didn't mind, because he had a telephone attached to his ear so he wouldn't have been able to participate in those activities anyway!)

The rest of my week is still filled with things such as elementary open house, Big Dan's senior portrait session, getting all the laundry caught up for next week, a little cleaning and a family get together. It will be crazy.