It's been a fun and varied weekend. Well actually, I suppose any house with twelve people living in it is bound to have some variety, but this weekend was especially so. Set-building for the musical, a tea party, a trip to a water park, homemade cookies and other treats, cleaning, reorganizing, movies, work, job-hunting, potty-training (ok, that's our grandson, but it was happening at our house!) and who knows what else...at least it's never boring.

On Wednesday my sweet cousin and best friend from California will arrive for a twelve-day visit. It's her vacation from work, and getting this far away is about the only way we can keep her days off from becoming just another work day. During Lyric's time here, she and I will get away for a girls' fun trip to a Hawaiian/Texas-themed bed and breakfast in the Hill Country, where we will be deliciously stranded for two days of reading, sleeping, watching movies, and ordering room service. We THINK we can handle it :-)

And then...when that's over I will have to admit that summer is over despite how short it seemed. We'll get down to business with school, jobs, meal plans and chore charts...in short, to routine. It's something I think I don't like until I've been without it for three months; at some point I begin to long for the predictability of the days and the welcome rest of the nights. But since I don't remember half of this summer it doesn't feel like I'm ready for it to be over!

I haven't read nearly as much this summer as you'd think I would with so little else to do. But I am still savoring John Piper's The Pleasures of God. It's one to read slowly...

For six weeks now, Anne and family have been with us and we're still having a great time. No jobs have come through for them yet, so we don't know how much longer the situation will last, but we're enjoying every day. Sure, things are crowded with twelve people in one house, but life has been surprisingly smooth and the only casualty so far has been one dishwasher :-)

It's fun to have a 12-year-old who still loves to build with Legos.

I'm not one for much reality television, but I do enjoy the "Next Food Network Star" and HGTV's "Design Star"...maybe because they're pretty clean and don't involve fake romances and break-ups LOL. I was tickled to see Melissa D'Arabian win the Food Network Star competition and look forward to seeing her show. Nobody yet beats Guy Fieri in this category but we'll see what Melissa can do. And I'll have to admit I'll enjoy Design Star much more when most of the men guys are eliminated (though the two girls they kicked off were pretty bad).

I'll be back, hopefully later today, with pics from the fancy tea party that my kids and I threw for my three youngest granddaughters on Friday. It's funny how quickly a fancy dress, china teacups and bonbons can create genuine princesses!

Happy Sunday!

Labels: Books, Family, Friendship, Summer, Sundays, TV