Back from vacation...kind of

We haven't really been on vacation for the past month. I just took an unplanned vacation from blogging. I've missed it, and thought several times about blogging, but it just didn't happen. Things have been pretty busy around here. We enjoyed a couple of weeks just hanging out after school ended, and then it got crazy. Keith and I have both traveled some, me just to Chicago, and Keith to Dallas for a week. It was a guard trip, plus he's had a few extra guard days locally. The week after his Dallas trip all of us except for Chloe went to church camp. I could have taken her, but I don't think I would have been much help, plus she would have been worn out. She went to Granny and Pops' for the week, and I'm sure she enjoyed being there without the boys. The rest of us had a great week at camp. The weather was perfect, and being with the kids was great. I didn't get to see the boys very much, but I liked being there with them. The Friday that camp ended, we headed down to Dothan for the 4th. (I came home Thursday night to wash clothes, or this wouldn't have been possible!) Keith's aunt and uncle live there, and they had a big reunion/party. We had a fun weekend, and then all three kids headed back to Florida with Keith's parents. It was funny just seeing Chloe for the weekend. I wondered if she would be ready to go home with us, but she didn't even hesitate. She was quite clingy all weekend, but I guess she got her fill! Keith and I had a nice week just the two of us. He wasn't able to take off from work because he was out for two weeks, but that's ok because I enjoyed some time to myself during the day. :) We went out on several dates, and got quite a bit of cleaning done around the house. I know that doesn't sound very exciting, but it really feels good to get rid of stuff. We're planning on having a yard sale soon, so I'm hoping to clean the house out. I'm so tired of having so much stuff that we can't even enjoy any of it. I'm ready to have less, and enjoy it. So, that's the past month around here. Keith is on his way back right know with the kids. Fortunately the rain we really need is finally here, but unfortunately he's driving in it. There are storms popping up everywhere, and it's making his drive slow and frustrating. Hopefully they'll be home soon, and we'll all head to VBS.

I don't have many pictures to share, but I just have to share this of our garden. We don't have much, but what we have is doing well. The kids got some seeds from my mom recently, and we started them inside. That's pretty much the whole reason for the garden, but we're hooked now, so next year it will be much bigger! We have pumkins, watermelons and sunflowers. They're all getting huge. The pumpkin and watermelon plants are growing out of the garden! And last night when we were watering, Keith discovered that we actually have a watermelon!! We were so excited! We actually have several, but only one that's recognizable. So, here's our watermelon. I know it looks like we really need to weed, but it's actually where the plant is growing into our yard.