Welcome to a new month everyone!! I am sure I am not alone when I say I have been extremely busy!! I am trying to learn one thing after another on top of regular everyday life and there is just not enough time in one day. On top of it kids are almost out of school for the summer, with this week being their last...
Which is going to make everyday more hectic. At least they have outside.. Other than that I am kind of looking forward to summer being here. The weather has been great lately. Too bad i always feel the need to be in the house. Anyone have any special plans coming up to start their summers off or any exciting vacations coming up?

no nothing really new plans here. my hubby has been working alot lately. and now i am working part time, the kids have been swimming a couple of times already this year. i would like to go to cedar point this summer but dont know if we can find the time and the energy. we have been so tired lately. my kids are out on the 14th of this month. my youngest son just had a birthday and he got a ferret. he is really awesome. so now we have a rat, coon dog, oscar and a ferret. the coon dog is a house dog by the way. not a good idea. love him but man he is really something else. they have been digging all around my house-- alot of noise. but other than that not really nothing much else going on.
what going on with everyone else
Lori

We have our florida vacation coming up in 5 days we are going to Estreo Island off the golf .....so I will not be joining in on any challenges until we get back but I will be able to post once a day while I am gone

Wow Kim, I hope you huys have tons of fun. I am busy this summer with just babysitting and my children. I am hoping though that with hubs work being transferred to another city that we can do the vehicle switch so that the kids and I aren't cooped up in the house all summer. I would like to buy a state park pass so that we can go and do different things there and I can take along my camera and sketch stuff. Get some outside drawing in. Other than that I will be lucky if we can squeeze Cedar Point in as well. We try to go every year too. Either that or I have been dying to go to Giagua Lake. Ohh and on top of working part time on weekends. Which I am not too sure of being as how lately it really hasn't been worth my time to go and work for the amount of money I make. 20% off of total sales and 10 hour days doesn't add up sometimes...Just depends on how many people they have working. My kids are the only ones I know of that their last day is Thursday this week. The school cut down on alot of their breaks and half days so that they could start their summers earlier and also save on bus transportation because of gas prices. I think its a good thing just 5 kids in one day I think I will be bald before September!!!!!

I just had my last final today. So I am having lunch and spending part of my celebratory afternoon here with you guys!

Lets see, I will be taking an animation class this summer. My siblings and I are trying to plan on taking a vacation just us. I want to replace my glasses with contacts. I want to get my drivers license.

Thats pretty much my plans for the summer.

Sounds great Aviation...just don't do like I did after I got my driver's license and get a ticket 2 weeks later.. I went out crusing around with friends and got pulled over for failing to come to a complete stop at a blinking red light. I was turning left and figured there were no other cars in site I could do the really slow rolling still stop, but nope the cop saw me and ticketed me. He was a jerk anyways. Sounds great that you and your siblings are planning a vacation. I can't stand being around mine longer than a day let alone for a longer period. I hope you did well on your finals. I remember those days. Glad they are over. WOW, I sound old. Just turned 31 not to long ago and seems like forever ago since I was in High School. Ok I'ma shut up now cause I feel my age and depressed now.....

Wish I was 31 again. Man, that'd be sweet!

31 might be alright again, 16 again....NEVER!!! I am a teacher assistant in the 1st grade and e are working on our last days of school, but the real bummer is our school is being switched from traditional to year-round, so my last day at school is June 12th, then I am back in school on July 2nd! And, my oldest daughter graduates from high school on Friday!! I don't think I was this excited when I graduated, but this has been a rough school year for her so I am extremely glad she's getting out. So, that's about all we're up to...oh-my cat had 4 kittens almost 3 weeks ago; we are down to the last one, the rest developed some respiratory thing and were just too little to fight it, so we're keeping our fingers crossed for this last one!

Aviation, please be careful after you get your license, I used to tell my daughter when she got hers, it's not so much your driving I worry about it's the rest of the nuts that don't know how to drive or don't pay attention when they're driving that will hurt you, so please, have fun, but be extra careful. Elizabeth

Woohoo! I'm graduating from high school in a few weeks... just got my cap and gown today! Right now I have about 4 final projects going on simultaneously. But I can already see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Aviation, some tips for getting your driver's license... Before you go take the road test, ask other people who've taken the test at that DMV and get to know the route that the test giver takes you on. Then on the day of the test there won't be any surprises.

Ewall, that sounds really tough... 1st graders can be really cute and heinous at the same time. Good luck!

Ewall, well that sucks for teachers that school is going year round but great for parents. I actually agree with the year round and shorter break summers. I think with the children having the 3 months off they do tend to lose their learning concentration and its better for them to have the shorter breaks. They haven't changed that here in Michigan though. I am sure it will probably come sooner or later though. I know alot of states are starting to try it that way. Congradulations to your daughter on her upcoming graduation!! I remember how excited I was when I finally graduated from school. It was an exciting time for me as I am sure it will be for her as well. Is she planning on going to college in the fall? Sorry about your kittens that aweful!! I had a cat a few years ago that had kittens and it was her first litter and she only had two. One of the kittens was born to where the rib cage surrounding the lungs didn't develpoe right and when the kitten started growing I think he was around 4 weeks old at the time the ribs sqeezed his lungs to where he wasn't getting enough oxygen and he was in pain and miserable. All the poor thing did was scream and we finally took him to the vet and let him go peacefully there. There was nothing they could do. I was heartbroken. I kind of knew when he was born that there was something wrong with him because the Momma has pushed him aside and wouldn't nurse him at all but we had kind of made her do it. So she then took to him and started feeding him and we though all was good again until he started getting older. His brother was fine. We ended up keeping him and then letting him become an outside cat which he ended up disappearing and thank god I never found out what happened to him. I cried for a week after he disappeared. So basically I haven't had any luck with my kitties so I am glad I no longer have any. Its too heartbreaking.

Muffintop...Congradulations to you too on your up coming graduation!! I hope you have alot of fun. Plus, you may not realize it now but you are going to really miss high school in another 5-10 years!!

Hey Venus, my daughter is graduating, with any luck, on Friday. She got married last month on the 22nd and will have my first granddaughter on the 9th of October. Hopefully when she settles down some after the baby, she can attend some classes at the local community college. She wanted to take some core classes and then transfer to a 4 yr for a degree in Elementary Education. We'll see, it's hard after having a baby to get back into school, but I do hope she will pursue it. We'll help her any way we can if that's what she chooses. By the way, after this last litter of kittens, we're out of the cat business too!!! Everything in my house that doesn't move is getting spayed!! Elizabeth

Ha, I didn't expect so many people comment on the fact that I am getting my license! No need to worry, I get enough of that from my grandpa. He gives me so much advice, some on driving because he used to be a driving teacher. So many sophmores have already gotten their license while I, an incoming senior, haven't because I took the class last summer and I am slow with my driving hours. Also Illinois changed the hours to 50 right after I got my permit so hopefull I still only need 25.

I am not desperate to get my licesnse because I don't have places to go but I want to get it over with. And muffin top I will try that, asking somebody what the test is like.

Wow a lot of kittens!

I am only a year away from HS graduation! I feel like I was just a freshie! I am ready for college...except for the fact that I don't know where I want to go and I am still ruminating the question of if I want to be an art teacher or go into advertising or something.

Aviation it sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders ...my daughter is 16 and with her permit .. she is a very safe driver .. takes her time and I have a good feeling she will be a good driver when sent out to drive alone ...also does your school offer any out of school training to get you ready for a job ?....My daughter was excepted for the LAMP program through General Motors ...its a very nice program and the get you ready for the working world I think she wants to study Engineering ...if your school offers it .. maybe you should try that

Yeah, I am more careful than other people without overdoing it and freaking out. My mom is always the one to be in the car with me while practicing and she freaks out about the smallest things.

What kind of out of school training? Are they classes or what? My school probably offers it but I don't know.

What a week of ups and downs. My daughter's been a nightmare , my son's been an angel. Getting behind at work but one of my books went above 10,000 at Amazon for the first time in a year or so . I donated a portrait session as a prize at my son's daycare's silent auction, and they lumped it in with some other stuff and sold it, but I think the winner just wanted the other stuff but this week a famous artist (who shall remain nameless) called one of my drawings "Amazing!"

I know, I know, all small stuff. So I guess I can't complain.

Wow, I'm going to say congrats on the good stuff and tell you the other stuff will pass soon enough.
Paulette

Wow, ernest I didn't know you had published books! Are they art books! That's a fantastic achievement
High praise from a famous author, wow, you must be chuffed, although we all knew you are a fab artist anyway . The other stuff, well that's just life isn't it and the good stuff certainly out weighs it!
Well done!

In real life I am a computer guy. I have written two computer books.

Real life really gets in the way of our aspiring art lives, doesn't it! Unfortunately I'm starting work again in 3 weeks, so will try and squeeze some art in when I can
My OH is a Java Architect.

Andrea

Wow Ernest, congrats on the famous artist praise. Some people just aren't into art like other and think its a complete waste of time. Some just aren't open minded and expressive like others. Though you do have me curious about who the famous artist was and is???? LOL

Actually, it should be stunningly obvious. I just didn't want to use her name

Ok sue me today is the kids first day of summer break and I just woke up...Thats my story and I am sticking to it. Ohh and they are already giving me a headache, plus I am blond...need I say more??

Venus, you better invest in a lot of Tylenol, it's going to be a long summer!!!

LOL Ewall, thanks for reminding me how long summer actually is...good thing there is a dollar store up the road I can hit when I do run out of tylenol!!! How's that last kitty? Ohhh and speaking of kids, why is it when they have to get up for school they are hard to get up before 8 am and when there is no school they wanna be up by 7am?? I swear, I can't win!!!!

lol, they are like the kids who wake up at 6 am down the block from me. I can hear them playing tag and singing "Rock Around the Clock" as the garbage truck crashes down the alley.

I never want to get up before 9 am regardless of what I am getting up for. If I don't have school I can be in bed past 1.

Venus, my kids are just like that!!! My last little kitty is still here!! Although I have some doubts as to whether or not he can see. He doesn't follow anything and is very uncoordinated, guess time will tell.


Aviation, I was like you and would sleep until noon or after, but something changed. Now, regardless of what time I go to bed, I'm usually up between 4:30-5:00AM!! Enjoy your sleep!!!

We are going to a cookout today for my son's baseball team. The season is over and it's time to hand out trophies. He is 7yrs old - this age is so cute playing ball because they don't quite know what they're doing yet!!! We had one little boy on our team running for home plate and decides he'll slide because they are throwing the ball home. He did a wonderful slide, he just stopped about 3feet away from home plate!!
Enjoy your day all, Elizabeth

I just ran across this photo of my son feeding the cat. It was taken a few years ago and the cat has since passed away. He thought being able to feed her was an awesome job, and one afternoon after he put out her food (on top of his picnic table!) he started saying the blessing for her! Elizabeth

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Ewall, how sweet. Kids are just so adorable at times.

Oh, that picture looks so sweet and your cat looks rather alert!

My cat seems to be getting quite old. She'll be 16 this summer and she gets these unusually weak coughs when trying spit out a hairball. Today she was coughing for unusually long and no hairball ended up coming out. And sometimes for no reason she'll throw up her food.

All well cats are wonderful, aren't they?