Blue moon

L captured this photo of tonight's blue moon.

It's a standoff

On his way

Andy had a hard time waking B up this morning (at 3 a.m.!) so they got to the airport a few minutes after 4 a.m. and his classmates were already in line to check their bags. That's still pretty good considering they got a couple of blocks away from the house when B realized he didn't have his ID with him (even though I put a reminder Post-It on the back door ... oh well). Looks like he's ready for an interesting week.

I like these web sites that let you track a flight. About an hour and a half after he took off and they're already over Georgia.

B's days

B just got back from the mission trip Saturday and leaves tomorrow for the biology trip to Florida. He's been spending the last few days working at the high school and being with his friends. I've made his favorite dinners for the last three nights - mostaccioli

(more "fun" than spaghetti) with meatballs, garlic chicken and wild rice, and homemade pizza. I somehow convinced him to pack this afternoon. When he left for the mission trip, we were waiting in the car to head to church while he was in his room throwing things in his bag.

And, of course, he had to say goodbye to the cats. He has to be at the airport tomorrow at 4 a.m. and he was debating just staying up all night and sleeping on the flight. I suggested he get some sleep since the flight is only a couple of hours. A few hours to sleep would be better than none.

Cats

Budding filmmaker

L scraped together her birthday money and money from walking a neighbor's dog to buy herself a Go-Pro camera for her birthday. She also bought her first accessory - a headstrap for the camera.

Birthday dinner

E and B arrived home this afternoon from their mission trip in Atlanta, just in time to go to L's birthday dinner at Fuddrucker's. She brought along a lot of quarters to play their arcade games and she ended up winning a digital camera for $1.50.

Look closely

Can you see August sitting in the basement window?

Post-party morning

Two of L's friends couldn't stay for the sleepover, but we woke up this morning to find five girls sleeping (and Muffles keeping watch) in the living room. Not sure when they went to sleep. I predict they'll be sleeping in this morning. (Oops. J3 in the photo should be her friend, G).

Scenes from Atlanta

They've been keeping the kids busy in Atlanta. Can't wait to hear all about it when they get home Saturday.

L's party

The house has been quiet all week and that all changed this afternoon when six of L's friends showed up for her birthday party. They had pizza and sat at the dining room table for over two hours, talking over each other until I made them cut the cake and go downstairs. I could still hear them, but if I turn the volume up on the TV, they don't seem as loud. B and his friends are super quiet, by comparison.

L made her own birthday cake yesterday. She saw a YouTube video for a zebra cake and followed the directions.

This was how it looked before it went into the oven. For some reason, it didn't rise much. She really didn't care.

She decorated it herself ...

... and served it to her friends who were pretty amazed by the colorful inside:

Another album done

The house is quiet with everyone but L gone and while she's watching Disney Channel I had to have something to do, so I finished another scrapbook album. This one is mine and Andy's and I did 12 single pages, from May 2014 to January 2015. It's been a busy time - Austin's graduation from high school, a Door County vacation, E's Japan trip, the summer birthdays we have, beginning of school, E's last golf season, Tower Hill camping, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Ruri's visit here from Japan. Now I get to clean off the dining room table and put all my supplies away.

Lake Tahoe

Andy's been gone on a "business" trip to Lake Tahoe since Saturday morning. He took his golf clubs and sent me this photo of the lake yesterday. He wanted me and L to go with him but I didn't want to be across the country when B and E were in Atlanta. Maybe next time.

Butterfly

I was trying to get a picture of the Monarch that was fluttering around our garden, but he was much too quick for me. Instead, I was able to get a picture of this butterfly - a Red Admiral, maybe?

And I snapped a picture of the neighbor's daisies because I thought it might make a pretty screensaver photo and noticed that I got the butterfly in that photo too (at the right), without even trying.

Atlanta or bust!

I took B and L to church at 1:30 this afternoon to pack them up for the youth group's mission trip to Atlanta.

Pastor Sally had everyone gather in a circle while she handed out parting gifts to all the participants.

E and B managed to be in the van they wanted to be in for the departure, sitting with their chosen friends. They were told there could be seat- and van-shifting along the route so the kids rotate who is sitting with whom. They'll stay at a church in Kentucky tonight and be in Atlanta by tomorrow, returning home Saturday.

That's one way

L is watering the neighbor's flowers this week while they're away on vacation. She found an interesting, though definitely not easy, way to get back into our yard.

That's a big check

E had a golf tournament today in Deerfield. She didn't win the tournament, but she did win a $1,500 scholarship for college and got to pose for pictures with a really big check. She even got to bring the check home as a souvenir. The actual check will be sent to U of I and credited to her tuition bill.

And while she was golfing, L and I had a leisurely lunch and did some shopping.

Intruder

I think I found the furry friend who's been digging in our garden.

Modeling debut

L's friend, G, slept over last night and this afternoon, G's mom came over to make up the girls and take them a photo shoot. G's mom is a makeup artist and knows a photographer and the two of them decided to submit an entry into a contest of L being a tree and G picking an apple off the tree. G is made up as the witch in "Snow White." It was pretty amazing watching the transformation of the girls. L's hair is teased to the max, though some of it (the green part in front) is extensions. When they get to the wooded destination for the photo shoot, G's mom is adding the finishing touch to L - leaves! I hope I get to see the finished product.

They were joking that after the photo shoot they wanted to walk into a McDonald's and order something just to see people's reactions.

Messy bun

I like to pull my hair into a low bun in summer and stumbled upon some YouTube videos this morning of how to make it look better. When L got up I asked her if my hair looked any better than it usually does. "No," she said. Really? Then I told her I watched some videos so it should look a little different.

This was the conversation that ensured:

"Well, what kind of bun did you want?" she asked.
"A messy bun," I replied.
"Oh, then you nailed it." That one is a sweetheart.

Massage chair

Andy took a break from shopping today in a massage chair - $1 for three minutes - and that was enough for him.

Craft show & a 'catfish'

This morning, L, Allison and I went to a nearby craft show. I was looking for garden things, but didn't really find anything new and exciting. L, though, saw a woman carrying a fleece "catfish" and knew she had to find it because our cats would love it. They had all kinds of patterns and pictures of cats actually sitting inside them.

After contemplating it during lunch (and a few texts back and forth with Andy) we went back and bought a giraffe-printed one.

August and Muffles have both checked it out but neither has gone inside on his own ... yet.

Pretty bird

When I got home from driving B to the high school this morning for work, I saw this cardinal in the yard. We see them quite often. I think they like the neighbor's tree. It's rare, though, that I'm able to get a picture.

Homemade chicken tenders

When L asked what we were having for dinner last night, I said, "some kind of chicken." She said she would make dinner because she had found a recipe for fried chicken tenders. I never fry food, unless it's bacon, but she went ahead and it turned out really well.

She also set the table and made mashed potatoes. She usually will only eat mashed potatoes from a box because I don't peel potatoes when I mash them, but she peeled her potatoes and ate them up. Even E and B joined us at dinner. B, who ate four tenders, said they needed a little more seasoning. L said she'd take a note of that for next time.

Looks pretty good, eh?

Birthday shopping

L and I went out today on a mission to spend my birthday money and we succeeded with a few summer shirts and some sparkly accessories. L was starving by time we stopped to have lunch. The fries revived her.

New cat tree

The cats have torn the scratching post at the left to shreds so it was time to get them a new one. I found this small cat tree with four scratching posts. Hopefully it will last them a while.

Our garden

It's been a month since our landscaping was completed. The sod looks great, thanks to an unusually rainy June. The flowers are started to bloom. They're all perennials so they should come back bigger and better each year. It certainly looks better than it did.