Work, work, work, and a little play

We are up to our ears in work. We're either working on the house, working on the yard or working at our jobs. Tanner has started to side the house while I am texturing and painting the girls' room. We both have been sharing yard duty. That duty includes mowing the lawn, weed whacking, edging, bug spraying, weeding, tree trimming, fire-ant hunting and trash throwing. We're lucky that the city takes any "extra" trash every Tuesday. No extra charge. They take mattresses, dressers, yard debris, washers, computers, old T.V.'s.

I try to take the girls outside in the evenings when it has cooled down, and either we draw on the front porch with chalk, or we have a bubble party on the front lawn. Why the front of the house? Because the front is in shade at 8:00pm, and, yes, at 8:00pm you still need to seek shade or you will get a sun burn. Once in a while, Tanner will fill the kiddie-pool in the backyard. This week, he lined the slide up so that the girls could slide into the pool. You can imagine the big hit. Georgie could talk of nothing else for several days.

We are trying to enjoy this lull in our schedule because we know what is coming in the fall. Tanner will start school full time, and begin his first engineering classes at A&M. We are beginning to feel the pinch of tuition, and just hope that we can make enough so that we don't have to quit school for a term. Part of the reason why I attend school as well is because I qualify for extra grants that Tanner can't get. Yay, for being a woman! I'm not looking forward to balancing school with work, but I know that I must.

So, life is progressing, and soon we will be finishing up year two in Texas. I can hardly believe that we have made it 1 1/2 years. Not much, but time has gone by so quickly, and we have had so much fun, made so many new friends, and been showered with countless acquaintances. I am now beginning to look for a voice coach for Reagan. So far, finding a classically minded teacher is proving fruitless, but I will endeavor and contrive. I'm looking for a bigger violin for Kate and Reagan now plays the small violin. I think we will put Kate into soccer this year since ballet is so expensive, and I just can't imagine being able to afford all the recital fees.

The lazy days of summer are hardly that, but we are still finding ample time to rest and relax.