SAMMY our CAT

Mertz playing video games

Alina with Amy's kids at the same Pool I once swam in

Alina and Kealeigh her best friend downstairs

Alina proudly on her Bike!
This summer has been going well. I'm working, and the kids are enjoying almost daily trips to the pool only 7min away with a waterslide and lots of fun! I don't miss going to the ocean, okay I guess I do, but it beats sand in my shorts and all the endless sea of bathing suits that I would wish to cover my kids' eyes over!! The kids are enjoying the cat, our neighbors and all the visitors that come by! It has been a joy and not much of a boring summer after all! I'm glad that we get along with the neighbors and their friends cause it sure beats all the negative energy if we didn't get along (as was the case in our old apartment). And of course the kids love the neighbor's cat who comes up to enjoy our company on our porch. We bought our cat a scratch pad with catnip in it and he's not at all crazy for it, but our neighbor's cat comes up and gets crazy with it!
Wednesday night was hanging out and talking of all sorts of things, and having a great time! I thoroughly enjoy having a spot out of the house to sit at and have long conversations and there are no bugs, well, except for a beetle that joined Logan and I the night before the size of the roundness of the larger sized spoon, the thing was huge!!! And it crackled when it flew to the nearest light bulb! It was the largest beetle I have ever seen in my entire life!! The kids were out with us talking of just ordinary things and goings on, but as the conversation got more deeper in nature, it was time for bed for the kids, 11pm is a good time on summer nights for bed! They were off to bed and we were up a few more hours. The great thing about not having to get up in the morning for work....I think I slept in till 9:30am the next morning...I don't remember the last time I slept in so late without waking up any earlier! I was glad the kids weren't impatient with me for breakfast as they figured they could serve themselves a bowl of cereal or even salad (?) as Alina chose! LOL!
I'm glad that Logan may be picking up some more students and keeping ones over into the school year, that started new in the summer. Trying to find 'extra' work outside of teaching has been a very difficult road since everyone else is trying to do the same! Soooo many businesses are cutting back, as it turns out the population of job seekers has been flooding the job hunt and making it almost and very close to impossible to get a full-time job as many are only hiring part-time and even they tell him he's overqualified. Beggars can't be choosers but they are in the case of jobs. So things are tight and are still managing to do some things on the 'wish list' before summer ends. We've been to the Currier Museum of Art, the SEE Center, and I had my yard sale to name just a few; making it almost everyday to Livingson Park has been making all the difference as that is all they want to do, but when it rains we've been keeping them entertained with other adventures! It is disappointing that Logan had to deny his trip to go to England this summer, which would have happened in just about a week from now....we are deeply saddddddd. My vent; One roadblock is and has been our curse. I get so frustrated, here, I have a very talented husband, very intelligent, many love him and his presence and yet we are unable to move in ways where we should be able to. Oh yes, and I'm the "queen" the woman who puts up with all the 'Gabriel Man' stuff. (That, by the way is a very real and intimate joke between us women married to them Gabriel men, its like they are a certain kind of breed) In addition, there is a certain 'kind' and 'patient' woman, a woman with great strength who ultimately reach many levels of courage she never had before being beside a Gabriel, either that or we morph into an ugly beast who didn't know what reared such an ugly head! That is too friggen funny, I love that, hopefully I don't fall into that category!
I have not fully decided but I'm kicking around the idea of getting a tattoo. I love watching the tv show LA Ink. I love Kat who runs the shop, she is so strong-headed and yet so sweet. I am limited to where to get one because of my profession...to be continued...as I won't make any decisions final until summer is over and I've got some extra moolah to play with.