Oh Drizzle!

Declaring Groundskeeping Week serves one grand purpose, and that is to invite the rain. It's kind of like getting the car washed. I have trays of impatients patiently waiting for an opportunity to take root under a magnolia tree. Begonias beckon to be planted by the front door. I had to post this photo as proof that there is at least some progress being made out there. A few cheerful posies made it into beds that weren't too muddy. We have had many projects to keep us busy inside the past few days, but the weather has cleared now, so hopefully by this weekend more grounds will get kept.

Every year I give my kids the Stanford Achievement Test. We get together with several other families and try to keep it light and fun. We divide the test out over two days and always plan a small celebration for the end of the second day. So this afternoon, upon completion of our test, we went to see Prince Caspian. Focus on the Family says, that despite the PG rating, they really recommend the movie for older kids. I must agree. A few scenes were quite intense for my boys and there was one period of eye covering. But WOW! What an awesome film. The Christian symbolism was extremely obvious, and there were some great lessons about loyalty and trust. We loved it! The boys were especially captivated by the sword fighting scenes, which were perfectly executed. They spent the entire evening defending Narnia using swords they fashioned out of a vacuum cleaner attachment and the wing from a playmobil airplane. Hayden concocted a sword holder for his belt, and Max drew an elaborate battle scene from the movie.

How 'bout those summer haircuts? I took the boys to the barber this week because they convinced me that they were too old for their chili bowl haircuts. It was painful to watch all that silky white hair fall in clumps to the ground, but the boys look older and I think the change is fun.

We are going to a graduation reception for one of Hannah's friends tomorrow. I offered to take a cookie tray, so my Mom came over tonight and we baked six kinds of cookies. Look who kept peeking at me while I was working...Six kinds of cookies take a long time to make when you have to keep stopping to smooch on baby cheeks!

Today is my Dad's birthday. He lives out of state, so I can' t bake him a cake, but if I could it would be a three layer red velvet with white cream cheese frosting. Dad, if you're reading, I'm sending blessed birthday wishes to you today! I love you!