Do I hear school bells?

      It's time again.  School starts next week which means that soon all the controlled chaos that I live with in my life will soon become "uncontrolled chaos".  It begins right off the bat, all the things that I become so relaxed and scheduled about during the summer months off go straight to hell in about a weeks time.

     During the summer I get in good exercise, great eating habits, some gardening and yard work, I see the kids or at least speak with them on the phone regularly without much interruption, I make fabulous meals and leisurely shop, and take naps.....
  

Harris Ranch weekend

Pizza on the BBQ

  
      Going back to work means unscheduled eating, exercise and time that just flys by - but fun beyond words.  I love working with the kids.  I love how they think, the stories they tell, the laughter they produce and the views of the future that they are excited to share.  I love my "job" just as much as I love having summer off because it seems that in a blink of an eye each year summer will be back before I know it.  In the mean time, I work at a school where I learn more from the kids than I could ever teach them - I love their spirit and enthusiasm, they way they smile and enjoy one another and still have some innocence - they are amazing little people and they make "working" a wonderful treat each day.  It means spending less time on the maintenance part of my life but it does my heart wonders.

Ahhhhhhhh, my vacation is in full swing

     I am loving being off for the entire summer.  Long ago when I made the decision to work in a school district, any school district, because the time off would be the same as my kids - it was one of the best decisions I could have ever made.  Now that my kids are all grown and on their own, the decision gets better every summer when I wake up on that first day of summer vacation to a quiet house - no body home - just me and nothin but time.

     The bummer is, (well, maybe) that the farmers busiest time is summer, so he is gone watching the lettuce grow and I am puttering around the house just doing my thing, waiting for him to come home at night to eat whatever I have watched them make on the food channel that day :)

     I love summer!

Gypsy ran off with a lover... that's my story and I'm stickin with it

Sun bathing on the Mesa

     Our Gypsy dog, Christine's mini pin puppy got out of the house in Phoenix and is lost.  Needless to say, Christine is beyond consolation at this point and it's hard to say anything to her.  Jeff was at home, Christine was in San Diego and somehow the Gypster as we refer to her, got out and did not return.  I choose to say that she is happy and ran off with her lover - it's the best I can do for poor Christine.  I wish I could do better, that dog was sooooo cute and such a part of our lives, she will be missed and we can only be thankful that we had her in our life at all.  Bye, bye little girl, we sure loved you!

She is a cute dog

Nap time on the Mesa

A dip in the pool in Phoenix