Lazy photographer

I have always been a fan of photos, and love to take photos of most of the outings we enjoy, but lately I'm constantly forgetting my camera. Must be all the change, and barrage of things on my mind with all of the activities coming up this summer.

We've had Chuck's son, Alex, and his wife Cass here for several weekends in a row. It's great to have them in town. They moved here from San Diego and we hope to get to spend a lot of time with them while they are here. I haven't gotten any good pictures yet.

Last weekend Lilly was in a pageant and I forgot my camera. Sean got some pics with my iphone.

We hosted a big family gathering here on Sunday, and I didn't think of pictures until everyone was already gone. It was quite a crowd of Chuck's family, and even a couple of my family members and one of our crew members from the business. Chuck enjoys cooking for these big events. I am the assistant, and glad to be in that role. I enjoy cooking, but I'm not very good at planning for a large crowd and am happy to hand that responsibility off to him. The party was a pre-planning party for the huge family reunion that we will host this year. There is a lot to do, and we're having a work party soon to finish the tree house and get the kid area ready for the summer.

Our weather has been a little cooler than what I would like, but I'm thankful for the moderate temperatures. On Sunday we had a clear afternoon with warm sunshine, but as the party was starting to wind down the clouds arrived. I keep a sweater nearby year-round.

The kids are out of school now, and I'm hoping we can do some fun things this summer. Yesterday I treated them to a day of thrift store shopping. They both enjoy it, though Lilly enjoys it more. She found some shoes and some hair care items like a hair straightener. Sean is content to just stay home all the time and play. But he found some great deals on a couple of toys, and a belt that looks new. He tried it on in the store and I didn't think any more about it, and after we got to the car he cried out, "Oh no! I forgot to pay for the belt." He ran back in and I was really proud of him for doing the right thing. It didn't even occur to him not to go back inside to pay for it.

The kids brought out the tent and have enjoyed camping in the back yard. It's so nice that they get along so well. Sean loves it when Lilly is here. The camping is quite comical. They have a power cord snaked through the door of the tent, and we positioned it on the gazebo in case of rain. They love sleeping out there, and I think the dogs are enjoying it, too.

I am going for my camera now to get a picture of the tent setup.