or perhaps coffee chronicles...

No one has to know me for long to know I love my coffee. :) I've never made any secret of the fact. And apparently the coffee addiction is just as genetic as the guacamole addiction is...

Last night, after purchasing a part Nelson needed to repair his car, we made a stop at Starbucks for a special treat. We enjoyed our drinks, and as we were on our way out the door we were offered a free venti-sized Mocha Frappuccino. Apparently they had made one by mistake and needed to get rid of it. I didn't need any more coffee last night, but I'm not one to turn down a freebie, so I accepted. I figured I could enjoy it today. :)

I didn't count on Sarah though. I've gotten about half of my lovely treat down. Guess where the other half has gone? Yep, you got it. Sarah LOVES it.

Good thing she's already had a nap today!

a few more pictures...

Sarah has been keeping busy this summer, so I thought I'd post a few pictures of our activities. :)

Kindermusik continues to be one of Sarah's favorite things. The summer class has included a weekly craft. Here is a picture of the monkey mask Sarah made:

The take home materials also included some story board pieces to use for imaginative play (especially storytelling). The teacher suggested gluing flannel to the back of the pieces and attaching to a flannel board. Sarah and I attached adhesive magnets to the back instead, and she creates her tales on the refrigerator instead.

And finally, we have added a new dress up outfit to our collection. Believe it or not, it's not a princess costume! :) Check it out...

fun with painting

Today has been kind of wet and rainy. Has Sarah minded? No, not at all. She has had too much fun with her newest toy! A trip to the toy store with her Mike yesterday netted her this fun paint-your-own-tea set...

The new item in question...


The various pieces and parts, just begging to be painted...


Since I didn't have a shower curtain or old bed sheet to donate to the cause, I taped grocery bags together to form a plastic sheet to protect the floor. Clever, huh? My years teaching preschool have come in handy! ;)


Sarah, posing before she begins her big project (I didn't have a paint smock either, so we protected her clothing by not wearing them!).


The artist, hard at work (sorry, I should have rotated the picture. Oops!).



The finished products...






All in all, a fun way to spend a rainy, dreary day! :) Thanks, Dad!

the cure for all ills

Since Sarah has been taking Zantac daily for over 3 years now, we are quite familiar with upset tummies and unpleasant noises. Yesterday afternoon, her stomach was in particularly bad shape, so I gave her a supplemental dose of Mylanta. She felt better after that and went on about her day.

Nelson's car is acting up, and he had to leave it in a parking lot nearby and drive my car to work. Upon hearing that the red shiny car was having trouble, Sarah proposed a solution that she though might help: "Daddy's car needs some Mylanta!" I guess she figures it can cure anything! ;)

Stay tuned--pictures to come later! :)

guacamole chronicles?

Yeah, I think this blog may be mis-named. After all, most of the posts here are about Sarah. And Sarah loves guacamole more than she does pancakes!

Case in point: my dad treated us to supper out last night. So we headed to Salsarita's for some tacos and quesadillas. I chose chips and guacamole for my side item (of course). I offered to share my guac (is that love or what?) with Sarah. Her response? "No, I want my OWN guacamole!" (Or as she pronounces it "glock-a-mole"). The people behind the counter give you somewhat strange looks when you order a kid's meal, but ask for guacamole instead of cheese dip! :) My little budding gourmet!

Happy (belated) 4th of July!

I hope everyone had a good day yesterday! We enjoyed our day. We traveled to Greeneville for a cookout with my parents, grandmother, and aunt and uncle. Nelson did the grilling, and Mom made her famous baked beans (even modifying them so I could eat them! Thanks, Mom!). Sarah, Dad, and Gary (my uncle) bonded over Pink Panther cartoons. And Sarah enjoyed her first Dr. Enuf! Check out www.drenuf.com if you have NO idea what that is!). ;)

After our time with my family, we drove home via Johnson City so that we could watch the fireworks there. Johnson City coordinates their fireworks with one of the local radio stations. So if you tune your car radio to the right station you can listen to patriotic music that is synchronized with the fireworks going off. The grand finale is usually paired with John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever." :)

Last year, Sarah didn't really enjoy the fireworks very much. She didn't like the noise. We weren't as close this time, so it wasn't as loud. Plus she's a year older. She really liked watching the brilliant colors flashing and listening to the music this time around. :)

Nelson read an article about how to get good pictures of fireworks. There are several "tweaks" you can do so that your pictures turn out. Reading this article did us no good, because we didn't have a camera with us and didn't take pictures of the fireworks at all. :-p So you'll just have to use your imaginations! Tara's website did have a couple of pictures, so check out The Butterworth Family Times link. And Fun Fest is coming up in a couple of weeks, so maybe we can try out Nelson's camera tips for the fireworks then. :)

Have a great weekend!

per Tara's request...

I posted two new pictures to my Spark People page, and when Tara saw them she requested I post them here as well. For some reason, she seemed to think that everyone would want to see them. ;) I honestly don't remember the story behind either of these photos; they are just in my recent documents folder because I was using them for gifts. But here they are nevertheless. Send Tara a thank-you! ;)

(I actually think the second pic shows her mischievous personality pretty well). :)