Sand Cake

 Playing in the sand is a favorite activity & 

one of our best playgrounds

 is in the shade.

The grand-girls like to play outside the box much more than inside it!

Their favorite thing to make is sand cake. 

The "carrot cake" was delicious. 

I was thrilled that the afternoon temperature was only 90 degrees 

and

we enjoyed a breeze too. 

They made sand cakes, climbed on jungle gyms,

slid on the slide, and went on a bear hunt.

We always take big water bottles along.

"I don't want to leave!" "Wahhhhh!"

That's music to my ears, 

knowing they'll be so happy to go back to play again.

 I used CTMH's "Cherry-O" papers that coordinated
with B's cherry summer sundress.
I inked the Irresistable Letters in Garden Green and Tulip
for the layout's title.

The photo on the left side is 8 x 10 inches,
and I gave all the sandbox photos a vintage effect
by using PhotoShop.
Photos on the right side are 4 x 6 inches.

StickEase makes embellishing a layout so super easy and pretty!

I put Liquid Glass on the StickEase and also on the cherries 

in the printed paper.

It can't get any easier or more fun.

Using Flip Flaps on top of the Memory Protector 

(right side, vertical photos)

is a great way to add extra photos and tell the story too--

I always include a journaled section to tell about the activity.

Happy memory-making!

In the Garden

These are just a few of the flowers and tomatoes struggling to survive our Midwest summer heat.

This morning we got five minutes of light rain -- a "dry drizzle" as my mom describes it. The gardens and yards in St Louis desperately need the water from heaven. Despite the rivers being way out of their banks, we're in a drought.

And so are my eyes. My chronic dry eye syndrome has been compounded these past couple of weeks with a viral conjunctivitis. Seems it started with the sore throat and swollen glands during VBS week. During the holiday weekend, I had to get help at Urgent Care Center with both eyes swollen closed.

The prednisone causes me to be super wired. Every closet is cleaned! The counteracting Benadryl for the hot, itching rash causes me to be in a fog and sleep more than usual. So I take it only before bedtime. My friends and family don't want to be anywhere near me and I don't blame them! Yesterday the doctor declared me non-contagious. Now I hope to be on the upswing. I miss seeing the grandgirls!

My mind wants to accomplish so much. I miss paper crafting and being at the lake with the family.

But my eyes and rest of my body just need to heal. And so does DH's body. Yesterday he had to begin meds for phlebitis in his leg. Thankfully this new clot is superficial.

We may have ripe grape tomatoes in a week. They're coming along with these hot, sunny days. A friend started these plants from seeds. It's so fun to watch them grow and produce. I'm so glad we have the gardens to enjoy, and so thankful this kind of dumb stuff is temporary!

Lazy Days of Summer

When we bought our lake property 30 years ago, we never dreamed about bringing our grandchildren to enjoy it with us -- and now that's a reality!

The 87 degree water feels just right on these hot and humid summer days.

We need to buy some stock in sunscreen and start our own worm beds too. We go through both of those so fast!