a busy week....

Koren called late Tuesday nite, she'd been in an accident coming home from work, she was ok, she wasn't so sure about the car. Wednesday Kevin rounded up a car trailer & a vehicle (Grandma Marie's Explorer, since we still had a car in the shop), we headed to St Joe as soon as I got off work & took Koren & Cody out to supper @ 54th Street Bar & Grill. Kevin had planned on loading up her car & bringing it back to have it worked on, but Cody said he'd take care of it.
Thursday nite Katie & I went to Grandma Janet's & Grandpa Bernard's to visit Lisa, Max, & Logan.
Friday nite ditto.
KJ has been fighting a bad cold all week, he went to a friends to spend the nite last nite, came home with barely a voice. Drs. office was closed.....he's being a brave little soldier.
My vacation officially starts Monday (it's my weekend off...). a total of 7 days off! Yeah, me!

a new day to dance...

today was the 1st day of summer dance class...2 of katie's very very good friends are taking the jazz class now, she was laughing & smiling & shaking her butt like no one's business! it's a brand new song, a brand new dance...
katie has meanwhile made up the annual girl scout dance for the mercer homecoming variety show...george thorogoods Bad To The Bone. All by herself! And it is amazing! wow.

the ghost cat

long long ago at some point in my childhood, I had a cat named either Tommy or George. There were 2 big orange tiger Toms, don't remember now which was mine (maybe neither was?). They were there, they'd leave forever, then they'd come back.
Recently Katie pointed out a huge orange tiger tom to me in the yard. she wondered whose cat it was.
I told her maybe it was the ghost cat of Tommy/George. We went with that for awhile, making up stories of why he came back after all this time. (We're big into ghosts & make believe...it doesn't hurt that I'm somewhat crazy....)
Then she asked our neighbor Morgan if it was her cat. It was. His name is Jinxy.
So much for my ghost cat...
but it did bring back something from the past that I'd forgotten. Tommy/George lives on.

dancin' queen

today Katie had 2 fabulous performances at the Princeton Alumni Banquet, complete with costume change! Kelsie was still here, so went along as our guest. I was proud as ever, taking a good spot to video tape since Kevin was trying to get some sleep (he picked up an extra day for the holiday week.)
I had never been to an alumni dinner before, I didn't even know it was an annual event (this was the 27th). I parked & hiked, figuring the good places would be gone. Princeton school has changed 100% since I went there, all new buildings, a new football field, & the parking is somewhat better, but there is never enough good parking. There were a lot of empty spots at the tables, & most of the alumni was rather elderly....they asked for graduates to raise hands when they called your year...there were just a handful for the 80s & 90s. Lucy Hall was there, she is 99. Class of 1927. Kim Hertzog told us to eat for free after the kids danced (1 mom/instructor, 1 mom/fan club, 3 mega talented dancing kids.) The food was good. Of course the meal featured pork loin...every major meal in Mercer County seems to these days.
Katie starts her new dance class tomorrow nite---just jazz this go-round. She has 1 friend joining her, & another who might.
She & Zane will tap dance at the Mercer County Fair Talent Show July 17th. I think she's on break till then.
This weekend wore me out. Trying to get her ready with friends here when she has much more interesting, important things to do...hurrying up to get there, then waiting, lugging around the bag of clothes, fighting for my taping spot...
Kelsie kept asking to go swimming, I kept telling her I was too tired. She kept giving me that look.

dancin'

dancing the nite away

Katie & Zane tap danced at the Princeton 4th of July (held on the 5th of July). It was their biggest audience to date! Mom, Grandma Janet, Grandpa Bernard, & Uncle John were there. Grandma sang in the Sweet Adelines. The girls opted to leave early & go play at the park. It was easy to keep track of them with their glow-in-the-dark necklaces & bracelets!
She had a full day of friends, Kelsie was already invited to stay the nite, Mackenzie ended up coming over for awhile, too, we set the tent up in the yard.

4th of July

I worked all day, Kevin had to work all nite. Kate was rarin' to go to the park for the 4th festivities as soon as I got home. It was HOT. her best friend Justin was there,+ Moriah, Christina, Kristina, Dominique, Morrisa, & Philip. She had a blast. I made two treks home, once to find the missing hotdogs KJ was wanting to make his guests Corey & Josh for supper/put my hair up/get a chair & blanket & my camera to lug back to the park. I found my friend Ruth there. As the evening slowly drug on (they had a supper, homemade ice cream, a few drawings), I had spent the $ I'd taken, so walked home to get some more because then they were selling 3-D glasses to watch the fireworks with & I needed a water. Katie & friends made a zillion laps around the park, played with the kittens Moriah & Christina had brought to the park, posed for pictures with their 3-D glasses on, & went off by themselves to watch fireworks on blankets away from their moms. She declared it "the most fun ever."
I booked our room at Great Wolf Lodge for vacation. We'll go down the nite before, then spend the next day at WOF & come home, since Katie will have a talent show to dance in the next day.