WHEW!

I have just been spinning in a whirlwind over the past few weeks, especially the last one! Now that I've finally got a few minutes to breath I thought I'd get back on the blog, just to let you know I'm still here! Did ya miss me?!

I thought I'd just sum up some of the events that have taken place since Friday, June 6th and hopefully the next couple days I can expound on some of the more memorable happenings. (considering I started writing this post on Sat. and it is now Thurs., my "expoundings" may need to take place after vacation next week!)

Friday: Darlin' graduated from 6th grade! It was a beautiful night with the spring concert and a special program for the Sixth grade class. MomMom & PopPop joined us for the celebration. Look for pictures soon!

Friday night: We headed out of town about 11 p.m. for Pittsburgh. I drove 2 hours while Hubby tried to locate a hotel - apparently a car show in Carlisle had things booked for a 30 mile radius. . .yikes!

Saturday Morning: We drove the remaining hours to Pittsburgh for a wedding. About an hour out, our car started making very loud noises. We arrived at the church, turning heads with our obnoxiously loud vehicle.

Saturday Afternoon: A glorious time witnessing the marriage of Beth and John! Beth was one of the girls in our youth group and is very special to our family. She was a most stunning bride!

Saturday Evening: The reception was at the groom's family farm and it was beautiful! Despite the heat, everyone had a blast til we sent off the happy couple through a canopy of sparklers (the highlight for my kids!)

Saturday Night: We had a 1/2 hour drive back to our hotel from the reception, so we had another car follow us so we wouldn't be stranded on the side of the highway with the cubs late at night. The car knocked loudly the whole way and a few yards from the hotel stopped making all the noise. I remarked, "Oh, you fixed it!" Five seconds later, billows of white smoke came from the car and we barely made it into the parking lot into the first parking space (that was providentially free!) The people behind us said that all they could see was smoke and that they were just praying we'd make it to the hotel and by God's grace we did.

Sunday Morning: Hubby left early to head down to the Pittsburgh airport to rent a van. Being Sunday, that was the only place to go. The kids and I got to enjoy breakfast and swim, before packing up and unloading all the stuff from our now junked van.

Sunday Afternoon: The tow truck finally arrived and we said good bye to our faithful van, Harvey. The rental had a GPS with a female voice, so we named her Beth in honor of the bride and enjoyed toying with the technology for the trip home!

Sunday Evening: We arrived in town about 5:30 pm and hit one graduation party. At 6:15 we visited the second graduation party, where most were shocked to see us and wondered how we had gotten home without our van! We pulled in to the third party around 7 pm to celebrate Darlin's graduation with her classmates. The cubs and I finally got to relax a bit til 9:30 p.m. while Hubby ran home to lovingly put in the air conditioner! Once we got home, unpacked and showered we all collapsed from the weekend.

Monday Morning: The kids and I had to leave early because Darlin' and I were headed to Dorney Park amusement park for a final hoorah with her class. Hubby pulled me aside to tell me that Peanut, our once wonderfully 20 plus pounder fat cat - now a mere 13lbs, was not looking good. He'd been sick the past few months, loosing weight and over the weekend had been out in the extreme heat. We all went out on the porch to say our good byes and pet him for the last time. He was laying in the shade of a tree right off the deck near our back door. He lifted his head and meowed at me for the last time that morning when I came out to say good bye. After about 15 min. all he could muster was a flick of his handsome tail every time I called his name. I'm teary eyed just recalling our good bye. Hubby set some water in front of him, Darlin' gave him a flower and when we left he had his paw in the water bowl and gave one more flick of his tail when I said, "Good bye Peanut, you are a great cat and we love you!"

Monday: Darlin' and I had a blast at Dorney Park. Despite the extreme heat that zapped one's energy, we all managed to enjoy ourselves. In the morning the girls did as many roller coasters as they could manage and I called them all crazy people for doing so, while I held the bags (uh, just like high school - I watched my friends do the crazy stunts then. I always said I would have to be gagged and tied to get on one of those contraptions. Thankfully, although threatened by some Handyguys, that was never followed through!) After lunch, we enjoyed the water park. That was so much more delightful than carrying bags around in the heat! We stayed for hours in the wave pool before adventuring off to the slides, which I did go on!

Monday Evening: We arrived home to find that Daddy had been digging a grave for Peanut, on the hottest day of the year. (He's also been suffering from a bad bout of poison ivy ever since!) Our neighbors came over to join us as we all said a little something about how much we adored Peanut. They loved him like their own cat - they had a little bed for him and he would have sleep overs! It was a sad time, but it was kinda nice to be able to bury one of our pets and let the kids say good bye. In the past we've spent so much money on a cat and it would die at the vet. So thanks Peanut, for being the cheapest dead cat we ever had, (aside from the possible callousness of that sentence this fact was greatly appreciated. He was the easiest cat to care for in life and in death.) I hope to do a little tribute to Peanut when I have the chance, because his life was just full of crazy antics that are worth remembering and bringing a smile to my day and hopefully yours. So look for that in the next couple weeks!

Monday Night: I had to run to the grocery store, since I hadn't been home since our return and would be without a car the next day. I cried the whole way home over Peanut and sobbed in the driveway when he wasn't there to greet me at the car!

Tuesday: The kids and I chilled at home in the air. It's a complete blur. I believe we napped and watched movies.

Wednesday: Darlin', her friend, Rachel, MomMom and I headed to NYC for the day to celebrate the girl's graduation in a special way. . .at the American Girl Doll Place! Pictures and stories to come. This little blurb cannot do it justice!

Thursday: The kids played and I recovered from my battle with the yellow cars in NYC the previous day! How does anyone stand to drive in that city for more than a few hours in a lifetime, I'll never understand!

Thursday Evening: Hubby and I went out car shopping. After looking at a few vehicles and finding myself quite depressed over the options in our price range, we headed out for another place. I mean, c'mon, a 2002 Ford Wind Star with no vents in the back, no cruise control, and NO CD PLAYER - that's a deal breaker for me! On our way to the other place the dealer gave us a call with a couple more things to look at, down the road at a different center. We headed there and were blessed to find a 2004 Ford Free Star, fully loaded and in our price range. . .what a blessing! Not only did it include cruise control, backseat vents with rear control and a CD player, but also, automatic pedals to adjust for the 1 foot height difference between hubby and I, automatic on/off passenger air bag, power seats, split third bench that folds into the floor, automatic dimmer on the rear view mirror and the piece de resistance. . .a fold down ceiling DVD Player! Wahooo! We never imagined we'd be able to get all that - what a blessing!(Naturally, we named this van BJ in honor of Beth & John - plus it's also a silvery blue jay color!)

Friday, Saturday and Sunday: We celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary with dinner out and a movie On Demand! Hubby opened the pool, so we all went swimming! Celebrated Father's Day at church followed by our annual Father's Day hike. Pictures and stories to come!

WHEW! I'm exhausted just writing about everything that's been going on and that didn't even include everything from this weekend and the past few days (let alone the last few weeks of school filled with parties and field trips!) I've got many errands to run now for the next few days before we head to Virginia Beach for vacation. I do hope I'll be able to post some updates from there or at least fill you in on some more details of the special events above. Keep an eye out for pictures and posts over the next couple weeks!