A GRAND Weekend and a Halloween Tree for my Tuesday Treasure.....

We had such a wonderful weekend!!

Saturday morning I was up early and the house smelled like a cozy coffee shop!

Louis Dean had cooked pancakes and bacon and made the coffee....oh, my!

I asked him what time he woke up and he said he had not gone to sleep!

He finally just got up around 4:30 and started 'doing stuff.'

Bless his heart! He knew we had a big day in store for us and here he was without rest!

He's such a good sport! We got ready and headed to Dallas to watch Harrison play his basketball game.

He's a natural at it and was so much fun to watch.

He's 7 and that's such an entertaining age.

He's been known to do some dance moves out there and really gets into the game.

But his heart belongs to his mommy and twice he was racing over to the bleachers to tell her something when the coach called out that he was IN the game!!!

We kept our eyes on Harrison .......

but Granddad kept his Kailey Girl close by his side.

Harrison's team won (He really is the best player!) and we all met back up at their house to gather their overnight bags, stuffed animals, books and such.

We switched out vehicles and loaded up in their Suburban!

Our first stop was to Sam's and that was a hoot.

Louis Dean took two with him and I took two with me.

Then we switched when we met in the middle.

Trystan has the cutest expression for the people handing out tiny servings of the different things they are promoting. She asked, "Do they give you examples here like they do at Costco?"

Indeed, they did!!

We started reading the first in J.H. Reynolds MonsterStreet series......

Uncle Dean gave them the books - he is the author's Karate teacher.

They took turns reading out loud on the way home!

As soon as we put up the groceries, the kids were off exploring the house and yard.

It has been quite awhile since they have been here to spend the weekend.

This actually may have been the first time THIS YEAR!

We have been gone a lot and the back yard had been off limits the few times they were here visiting.

When they were little (before school!) we kept their toys in a big brown garden storage thing on the patio out by our bedroom back door. I heard Logan tell the others, "There's tubs on top! Help me get them off!" The others helped and they opened it  up to see - most of their play things were GONE!!

Only the Legos and toy cars remained. 

I had to explain to them that they had outgrown all the other 'baby toys'....even the play dough was no good. Growing up is hard! For ALL of us!

The girls went in our bedroom and found earrings to wear. And I had a huge new supply of pretty papers, stickers and all sorts of scrap booking supplies given to me by my daughter in law, Leigh Ann.

They LOVED them  and set to work writing notes, letters and making books as presents!

They had eaten a bite at home before we went to Sam's and then all those 'examples' so I decided a tea party would be perfect for the late afternoon.

I have been doing tea parties with them since they were babies and it made my heart happy that they still love them. However, it was duly brought to my attention that I did NOT have tea cakes! (Little Debbie snack cakes.) I bet that never happens again!

It was a Tea Party kind of day!

7 years olds are so good at entertaining themselves.

Granddad put himself to bed for a good nap and Harrison found a job that needed doing and the girls all stayed busy with one thing or another.

The afternoon sped into evening so fast my head was swimming.

I had planned simple meals and the one for Saturday night I just KNEW they would love!

Trystan was my special helper making the Chicken Alfredo, salad and garlic toast using the spread we bought at Sam's. Those samples pay off!

Here's Logan reading the MonsterStreet book out loud and Kailey is writing while Harrison is finishing up his 21 Rules of the House. I bought four binders and they each collected all the 21 Rules of the House that we started when they were just 4 years old. They were surprised at how different their drawing and coloring was and I told them they did really good since they were just babies when they did the first dozen or so.

Dinner was as much a success as I thought it would be and by that time we were winding down the day. We have the bunk beds my Sister Deanie gave us so two slept on the double bottom and one slept on top and Harrison slept on a little cot I had bought over the summer. It worked out great!

I have a tradition of leaving them snacks and drinks for when they wake up because they know the rule - You do NOT wake up MeeMaw!!

I put water bottles for each with their initial on the lid, and a big bowl of snacks packaged up in these small vertical zip lock bags that Sherry gave me. I put small bags of Bugles, Peanut Butter and chocolate Cheerios, homemade mini banana muffins, and a two pack of Halloween packaged Oreo cookies. It was 8:30 when I heard them scurrying around!

The girls all love having coffee with MeeMaw and Harrison and Granddad were in the den watching some football shows.

Cafe Au Lait......and they get to pour their own coffee and milk and also get a single serving of sugar in a little paper tube. I was out of the sugar cubes they love....I will have them next time!

Harrison came out to join us and he drank straight milk in his coffee cup.

Logan stitched on the sequined Trick or Treat banner while we took turns reading.

The kids were fascinated and wanted to keep going in the book!

Since we had such hearty snacks with our coffee, we made breakfast for lunch......

While the side decks are usable - we are still in the middle of getting some things done out here.

I used the cart that Louis Dean carries his music in at the nursing home as a buffet.

Earlier Harrison had loaded up a big container of heavy peat moss and hauled it on that cart out to the back where Louis Dean should have put it in the first place. But I'm glad he didn't because Harrison felt so good at getting it moved all by himself!

The kids wiled away the afternoon doing all sorts of things.

They played school underneath the dining room table.

And they all sewed.

My sewing machine has been a favorite place for them to gather even when they were little. They would use the end as a desk and would draw on the denim squares they found stacked up.

Sunday they each had a stuffed animal that had a split seam or a hole somewhere. I taught them how to mend them their self with a needle and thread. Then they each got a turn using the sewing machine to help me mend an old quilt I use at the ranch. They have always been fascinated by my pin cushions and the straight pins. They take all the pins out and put them back in according to colors or make a pattern with them. 

Our last activity was painting the side of the Christmas storage house.

It is the base for them to do their own art work - next time!

The older grands (Sam, Faith and Levi) did the other side back in 2012.

Alas, the wood needs to be replaced and I hate to see their art work go.....

now they are practically grown!

The kids had asked if they could stay until dark so we had just finished eating supper when Amber and Mike came to get them.

And just like that - they were gone!

I had all their stuff gathered up on the porch and they didn't forget and leave anything......

still......I love walking through the house after they are gone and seeing tell tale signs that they were here. And I left them where I found them. The pair of cameo earrings Trystan had worn and taken off and left on a table. The note Kailey wrote saying I was the best MeeMaw in the world.....written on a denim quilt square. The pin cushions all lined up in a row.

I went to bed Sunday night a very happy and contented MeeMaw.

However, when I woke up Monday morning I was sick with allergies.

The beautiful COOL fall weather of the weekend was gone and something bad must have blown in because I stayed in bed all day long. I'd get up and empty the dishwasher and go back to bed.

Then I would change out the laundry - and go back to bed.

I take Zyrtec every morning and Benadryl every night - and still I got sick.

Netti pot, nose spray, Vick's, essential oils..... I stayed down all of Monday and by this morning I was feeling somewhat better.

Being sick isn't something we look forward to but I have to say it is such a blessing to be sick and have a beautiful bedroom, a comfy bed, needed medicine and the luxury of time to rest and heal.

My siblings and I keep a message thread going on Facebook and Nita said when Summer and Jesse, Jr. were young - and I would be sick as I often was back then - that I would say, "Okay, I'm going to be sick for 10 more minutes and then I will get up."

As mothers and caretakers, we all know how we use every bit of our willpower to just keep on going.

I have been there and done that so many many times and so have you.

There are blessings of every decade we live......Nita told me to pace myself and rest reminding me that I am not 50 years old anymore. I said, "I am not even 70 years old anymore!"

One of the blessings for me is the luxury of spending a day in bed reading good books, sipping herbal teas and listening to classical music. No regards to time or needs of anyone else.

That being said, I am glad to be back to my more normal life today!

I decided this morning to get up and act like I was well.

If that didn't work - I could always go back to bed. And I did go back to bed a time or two to rest.

But I had this real urge to go to the thrift stores. Maybe just getting out would be good for me and I asked Louis Dean if he would like to go with me. He did. We each found a few treasures. His were manly things like an outdoor electric light thingy....and a zippered notebook for his music.

We also got a nice big heavy lamp for the gazebo. I found two nice blouses for Lillian and a cute warm cream colored cape for me - perfect to wear if the fall weather returns any time soon!

But my one truly big treasure was.......

A black Halloween tree in the shape of a witch!

I waited too late to get good pics so I will take more tomorrow.

It's like the tree is her skirt and I am in love with this. 

I spied it the second I walked into Goodwill on Beltline.

It was $19 but I got 30% off being Senior Citizens discount day.

I waltzed right up to her and asked a sales lady if she would keep her at the register because I did not want to lose her!

I say this because last week I came up to this Goodwill to unload my trunk of all the things I had put back there to donate. Once the truck is full, I deliver it to Goodwill.

Well, when I drove up, there were two police cars in front and two officers with a lady between them.

I drove on around to the back to unload and I asked the girl what was going on.

She said the customer up between the policemen started cussing and screaming at another customer for getting something SHE was wanting. Apparently the screaming lady was a frequent customer and a problem from time to time.  I must say I shop here often and have never ever seen anything like this happen while I was here. Thank goodness!

Alright, folks!

I think I am caught up and Louis Dean is sitting right behind me waiting for me to read this journal entry to him. I usually catch a lot of mistakes when I do this. No telling what slips past me when I don't!