IN AND OUT SUMMER

I love summer.

I love the no agenda days, giving the alarm a break.

Don't be fooled though. We hardly sit still around here.

I am not one that does well on idle. Just ask the girls. If I sit still for too long I will find a drawer to clean out or some other task that needs to be done.

Summer to me is doing the things we can't do when homework, soccer and other things become the priority. We love to sew, paint, scrapbook, garden, shop, cook, bake and play board games around here.  So summer is the time we do those things and have fun.

This summer has been a bit different.  Since the two older girls started college, I looked forward to them coming home and filling the house with noise, chaos, laundry and even their messes.

Brittany and Brooke did come home again this summer, they came home to stay... for a while.  The rhythm  of house has changed.

What was once in is now out and what once was so out is now so in.

Yes, the two older girls are back IN.....sort of.

The leases ran out on their apartments and they and ALL OF THEIR STUFF CAME HOME. Since Brooke graduated from college and is now officially in charge of her finances (for the most part) she decided that staying at home was not so bad.  (I am a pretty cool mom after all.) Brittany has one more semester left at UNC and will only have to be in Chapel HIll two days a week.  We could not justify paying for an apartment since we live just 30 minutes from CH.  So she came home with her stuff too.....but....there is no describing the amount of STUFF she had accumulated over the four years in college.

I kid you not, I believe we could stock a drug store.  We will not need to buy chapstick, Q tips, body wash, nail polish remover, anti aging creams or sunscreen for a long long time.  I also believe I could open up a spot in a spice market with what she brought home.   I had no idea what to do with everything.  Our pantry and cabinets are full.

If you need an extension cord, TV, decorative pillow, pack of index cards, pencil, soap or a pair of socks, let me know. I've got you covered!!!

I just wish I had taken pictures....especially of all of the stuff we donated to the veterans.  We have two double garages and one of them was wall to wall of big green plastic bags.  When the guy came to get everything he even said, "Please tell me you are going to help me."

So Brittany is IN the house.  She is so excited!

"Mom, I am gonna cook dinner two or three times a week."
"So when Barrett goes to school in a week, it is just gonna be me and you most of the time!"
"I am signing up for a Boot Camp that meets at 6 Am three days a week. Will you do it with me?"
"Mom, have you done laundry yet?"
"There is no food in this house."

I am excited too!  woo hoo!

I really am just kidding.



Brooke, #2.

Well, she was IN and now sort of OUT.

She graduated and went straight into a full-time job as a 9-5er as a graphic designer for a jewelry designer/company in Raleigh.  On a whim, she applied online for a job as a flight attendant for a major airline. The desk was holding her back and tying her down. She was called the very next day for a phone interview, flown for a face to face interview the next week, hired that day and is now in Arizona for five weeks training.

She will find out in a week what airport and area of the country she will work out of. We are a little anxious about that.  We are praying she will be IN North Carolina at least.

BF2 is OUT.

He made his exit in July. I do not have much to say about that. I don't really talk about their personal lives too much. I will say I know God is in charge and so does #2, but life is hard sometimes.  And sometimes it stinks.

I was planning on making a photo book online this fall of our Napa trip we took earlier this summer, but BF2  is in so many of the pictures it will be very awkward.   I should have paid more attention to the pictures I was taking and not included a nonfamily member in so many of them.  Another lesson learned by me I guess.

Gardening is IN at our house this summer!! We battle the deer non stop, but this year we have won a small battle.  We fenced our garden in little squares and apparently the deer won't jump into a little space. We have a been enjoying cucumbers, bell peppers and squash all summer long.


 Looking cute when you go pick the cucumbers is also IN!

We also planted some zinnias. They are my favorite summer flower and I love to cut them and keep them in the house during the summer.  We did have sunflowers just about ready to bloom but the deer were able to reach them and cleared them out in one night.

Speaking of deer....

twins are IN........

(babies following their mama down our driveway)

Cooking during the summer is OUT here at our house.  We've been eating a lot of dinners like this....

This is a horseradish mayo, roast beef, blue cheese and homemade balsamic onion jam opened faced sandwich.  So YUMMY! 

Day trips to Busch Gardens on rainy days are IN this summer! 

Boat loads of sushi are IN!

We took Brooke to her favorite restaurant before she left for training and it was wonderful!


Stitches are IN.  Barrett had to have a little minor surgery to have two cysts removed on her cheek.  We have been dealing with this since March and she has had cortisone injections all summer long and has been on antibiotics since April.  One started getting larger even after the last injection and so we finally decided to have them removed.  A very good plastic surgeon did it on Wednesday and it looks like the scarring is going to be very minimal.  The only bad part is that Barrett will have to start school on Monday with stitches on her cheek.  Bummer.

I haven't really taken a lot of pictures this summer. I do have my camera battery plugged IN right now and charging.  I've got to start making a little more effort.

We were supposed to go to the beach for the last time this summer, but the forecast is for several inches of rain this weekend and we just decided to stay home.  Barrett is pretty bummed that she isn't spending her last little bit of summer sitting in the sun on the beach.  We do have plans to go next weekend though.

This weekend we now have plans to spoil #3 a little.  We will let her pick a restaurant and movie tonight.  Can't wait!

Stay tuned for a whole summer's worth of beach pictures!