Garage Sales

Garage Sales! Some smile in delight and can't wait to be up early pedaling their wares. Then there are those that eagerly jump out of bed at the crack of dawn to be the first to get the good deals. I am really neither of the two, but today found me up at the crack of dawn (really 6:45 on an already sunny morning) setting up for the big sale. The village of Stirling holds its now annual town garage sale day on the May long weekend. For you in the States thats a week before you. I believe they hold it then to celebrate my birthday each year as it is such a huge occasion (do you believe that?). I have sworn how many times now that I will never hold another garage sale but here I was again. The weather was beautiful (That is a plus). We had record crowds (I really don't know what the record is but we had lots.) Not quite enough to clear out all the junk (I mean treasures!) But it is hard to clear it out when your children are wandering up the street and returning with treasures of their own all in the guise of birthday presents for mom (a fondue pot from the 1800's, a set of 4 brandy glasses with the olympic torch on them, and a very cudly teddy bear) I love them all. Well, the sale is over and we made out not to0 bad for 5 hours of sitting in the sun getting a farmer tan. My car is loaded (literally) with the remaining treasures that will be dropped off at good will (or is that the dump?), and we still have most of the day to maybe accomplish something. Not bad for the beginning of our long weekend, and I am still saying that is the LAST GARAGE SALE I will ever have. (I'm sticking to it this time. REALLY!)

Everyday Life

It is crazy how busy life gets just with the day to day things that need to be done. Getting kids up and dressed and trying to get them to eat breakfast (it is the most important meal of the day don't you know) then out the door on time.

Now that I work I have to take into consideration I only have a limited time to get the kitchen clean and laundry done (it seems like it never gets done, but wait, it felt the same way when I wasn't working so how can I complain). Then there are the sports. Soccer almost everyday and T-ball for Kaitlin. The nice thing for me is that most of the time it is right here in Stirling and I don't have to drive the kids. They can make it to the soccer field by themselves. Then it just falls to me to make the time to be there to watch. Thursdays are the only rough day there. Kaitlin has T-ball at the park a whopping 3 blocks from the Soccer field that lies behind the school, but Maddi's soccer game overlaps by 1/2 an hour. Good thing she is a good sport and can play for that amount of time without mom's eyes on her. Kaitlin on the other hand can't. She has to make sure mom will be there to watch anxiously as she wacks the ball from the stand. I am lucky that the boys just seem to handle most things on their own, most of the time (I wish the same were true where school work was concerned). I love watching them all and they are all great at what they do. I love seeing them try new things and realizing they have a talent they didn't know about. Even Cassin is getting into soccer and likes it (most of his sports are of the individual nature, skateboarding, biking, snowboarding, dirt biking, It is nice to see him in a team sport and playing nice with others)(just kidding) I feel like I'm rambling here and running out of time. Wait that was what I was complaining about at first, Not enough time! We all have the same 24 hours, and we probably all feel the same stress of it not being enough. I don't think any more would really make a difference it would just mean one more load of laundry and who wants that. I really do love my life. I'll just have to squeeze a little time here and there for updates on this blog.

Cassins Graduation

We attended Cassin's Graduation last night. It started with the banquet at 6:00. All the graduates looked fabulous in their suits, tuxes, and evening gowns. Graduation in Stirling is a lot different from what most schools have. It is a very personal evening all about the graduates. In this case all 16 of them.(You can see why it can be more personal) After the banquet we had time for photos with dates and family members. At 8:00 was the program. There is a tribute to the grads. A tribute to parents. The valedictorian address. The guest speaker (Shaun Nelson). The class history, which is a funny remembrance of each grad. They then had a video presentation that each grad had done of themselves with pictures throughout their life. It was a really nice evening. Now they have to wait till the end of June to really finish their high school career.