Scattered Thoughts . . .

L ukey and Kenzie were staying with us when we went on the cruise with the whole family so, a fter our cruise on Lake Champlain, we spent the evening in the backyard with Lukey and Kenzie.  Sheila and I haven't really had any time enjoying the backyard this summer due to the weather so it was nice to have suitable weather while Lukey and Kenzie were staying with us.  While Lukey started a fire in the firepit, Kenzie and Gee moved Kenzie's dollhouses to the deck so she could play... Since we had eaten well on the cruise and then stopped at The Longhorn for another meal on our way home, we weren't all that hungry for a full dinner so we opted for a weenie roast over the fire in the backyard.  I'm just about always up for a few hot dogs over a fire! After some hot dogs, the kids and Gee had a few S'mores too! As always, the sailboat got some attention... Playing soccer in the road...  not ideal footwear but she is a far better soccer player than she realizes... I'm

W e had a really nice birthday barbeque celebration in the backyard this past weekend.  Although it was a bit smoky from the Canadian wildfires, the weather was actually quite nice for a change! The company was good.  The food was good.  The drinks were cold.  There were plenty of games to play.  The rain stopped just long enough for us to set up the yard on Friday, have a great time together on Saturday and then clean up before it started raining again.   Looking at these photos, it seems to me that everyone had a good time! As always, the kids congregated on the sailboat most of the day.  At one point, four of the grandchildren were on the sailboat at the same time (photo above).  I have no idea how they all fit in that rather small cockpit!  In hindsight, when I saw that the four of them were on the sailboat together, I should have had Liza place 10 day old Sophia into Lukey or Kenzie's arms too so I could get a photo of all the grandchildren on the sailboat at the same time.  

W e always have our first barbeque of the season on the weekend that falls around July 1st which happens to be my birthday.  This year, we had this barbeque on July 1st.  If anyone is wondering, I turned 61 years old this year.  Unfortunately, most days, I feel like I'm 81 and I have difficulty and a lot of pain trying to get around and I even look the part due to being hunched over and having difficulty standing.  Contrary to how I feel on these days, my birth certificate claims I am 61 years old this year.   We had a very dry spring to the point where everything in the yard was dying and turning brown but the past two weeks were filled with day after day of solid rain until the day before our scheduled barbeque.  The rain stopped just in time for me to mow the lawn, do some much needed landscaping and set up the backyard for our barbeque.  It was sunny, hot and humid with a bit of smoke from Canadian wildfires hanging in the air.  My health didn't fare so well and I ended up