It has rained and rained and rained. There seems to be no end in sight. Jacob and Rachel are going “crazy” because they have to be inside more than they would like. Cassidy of course likes having the time to spend chatting with her friends. The garden is a mud trap, but the rain is much needed. I am happy to report that I have been able to catch up on some reading and now begun ‘Pride and Prejudice’.

When we returned home yesterday we were greeted by some new arrivals! This was a very big surprise since our cats have been spayed and neutered. How did this happen? It seems that a stray found our barn and deemed it the perfect place to have her kittens. Once the kittens are old enough we will find them homes and if the mom wants to stick around, we will have her fixed. In the meantime, the children are in love and have promised to take care of the new family for as long as it takes.

I was sitting on the sand with Rachel and Jacob as the sun was spilling over the ocean waves this morning when Rachel stops building her sand castle and was almost in a trance. I watched her and followed her gaze and tried to see what had caught her attention. Just to the right of the sun were some birds fishing. They would circle, then dive and the fly straight up into the sky. Jacob started watching and we all sat transfixed for several moments. Then Jacob made the comment of how beautiful EVERYTHING was. Not just the birds or the ocean or the sun rise; everything. Even sparce grass on the dunes and the broken seashells. Have you looked at the beautiful everything today?

We talked about it last night and we are leaving for the beach tomorrow morning. Time for a vacation! We are going to head down to the Gulf and stay for a little over a week. The kids are all excited and I am as well. I have to finish making all the animal care arrangements and get to packing.

I can not believe how busy we have all been. I know why people take vacations in the summer, it’s because we NEED one to get away from all the things that happen. We have the horse back riding lessons, taking care of the animals, taking Cassidy to visit friends, taking Jacob and Rachel to the park… It’s much easier during the school year! Now I have to get ready for our little vacation to the mountains.

We finally have made it home. I think I will be unpacking all day. Ha-ha! So I have some tips on the return packing. Have you ever noticed that there is always more in your suitcases when you get home than when you left? I have found that if I unpack in the laundry room things go much smoothly. I sort the clothes as I unpack and that makes washing easier. Unless of course we stayed someplace that had a washer and dryer in the room, then I only unpack the dirty clothes suitcases in the laundry room. I also make sure that when we pack to return home things like the hair dryer, curling iron, deodorants and such all are packed separate from clothes. We have a special bag for medications including vitamins and that always goes straight to my bedroom where I have a special dresser drawer with a lock. Better get going!

It has been such a busy week; I did not even spend any time online. The show went wonderfully and Jacob won the blue ribbon. Cassidy finished second in a class of twenty. Not bad at al in my book. We have been hiking, swimming and visited several historical sites. Once we get back home I will fill you in on more details. Whew!!