R. I. P. Tyson

 Tyson was put down yesterday; a very difficult day for all of us.

He was the best dog, always happy to see you, he didn't know a stranger, while he was barking at you his tail was going a mile a minute; bring you his nyla bone so you could try to get it from him. When he was at grandma's house he was allowed on the couch (don't tell mom) and of course he took over the bed. We will all miss him, especially his mom, dad and his kids!

fun with the grands

 Another fun idea from pinterest. Take craft foam, cut into various shapes, dip in water, shake off excess water and put on window.

 this kept d and d busy for a couple of hours

 d likes bugs so his were mostly bugs.

this foam stayed on the windows for a really long time, considering the temps were in the 100's

cardboard boat race

our city's swimming pool had a cardboard  boat race last weekend. They are pretty popular lately as a way to raise money for charties. The participants build a boat out of cardboard and the ever popular duct tape. Then you have to race a certain distance without sinking.

 This father/son team made it to the finals. I didn't stay for the finals because it was 105 degrees and looked like it was going to storm.

this team didn't make it back to the finish line

babysitting

 The grands and I had a game day the last time I babysat them. I'm laid off from work for the whole month of July, so I try to watch the kids to give the other daily babysitters a break. Since I'm a fan of pinterest I got some ideas for a game day. Above is rolling a ball to hit a target.

 This one is a "lazer challenge" I taped ribbon to the the walls in the hall to make a course that you had to crawl under or step over. I think it would have worked better with a thick ribbon or crepe paper, but I was working with what I had on hand.

And of course we had to have a fashion moment!

My neighbor's garden

 my new neighbors have a great garden that is thriving! The have corn, beans, tomatoes, squash, peppers and herbs in containers. Haven't seen any ripe tomatoes, but they have said I can help my self which is really nice of them. They also have a very busy bird feeder.

I think this is a squash blossom

Much ado

 Another beautiful summer evening, watching a performance of the Bard's play "Much ado about nothing"

The pre show entertainment was by the Monkey Tales Theatre performing "King Botany's Garden" about how we all are unique and can find our own place in the world; a autism awareness play.

 Much Ado was interesting, it's much easier to understand Shakespeare when watching a performance rather that reading it.

The evening was beautiful, cool enough to be comfortable, the Riverside Shakespeare Company had a big crowd and did a great job. I'm amazed that anyone could remember all the dialog!

M and M's wedding

junior members of the wedding party

the bride and her dad

Mr and Mrs

getting silly!

a beautiful day