Shore was Fun!

 We went to the shore in NJ where Grandma has a house on an island. We had a good time. I hadn't been to the shore since 3 years ago when I was a freshman in college, so it was kind of a big deal for me.

One of Great-grandma Clearwater's paintings. 

Lydia being boring.

Bethany being cool. Lydia actually looked cool, too.

Another of Great-grandma's paintings.

The gray ocean

My feet were happy about this situation.

You know that old blessing or saying that says, "May the wind be at your back" or something? Well, I for one, kind of like when the wind is in my face; otherwise, my hair gets all in my face, and that's bad. 

This is a very calm picture.

My favorite houses on the island are the old cute ones. I do not like the new, monstrous ugly ones. 

That's our uncle's house.

I missed the sunrise, but it was still pretty. 

Boats and birds

I really liked those two pictures 

The path of the sun

I think it's cool how you can see that spot of light out there in the ocean.

A common sight on the beach.

A less common sight. Haha! Most people don't get their vehicles stuck in the sand, but these guys were among the unlucky number. 

The road back home.

👀

✌

Card Business

 I really wanted to say "monkey business," but maybe that's because I have watched too much of "Little House" in the last several months. Anyhow, I had to make a bunch of cards in about 2 days. Fun stuff. It was fun.

Lydia's famous messy desk.

These are decent...

But then I began to lose my creativity. Oh, well. 

Also, a super random picture of my doing one of my very weird things. 

And some cookies. Did I tell you about these? They were pretty good, but they kind of reminded me of horse feed. 

I only made enough cards to sell 4 packs, but I feel proud of myself. 

✌

Boys

 Ethan side-glanced at Nathan, and Nathan side-glanced at Ethan. They were in small group, and one of the members was from New Jersey. He had been saying something to the group when the word "water" popped out. Both of the 10 year-old boys had noticed. 

As soon as their eyes met, the corners of Ethan's mouth went up. Then Nathan knew all was lost. Hold it together, he said to himself. He couldn't lose it in the middle of the meeting. But, for Ethan, all was already lost.

His scrawny little body began to shake. His belly pumped vigorously. He was already thinking about quietly leaving the room when the laughter burst from his lips. He fled from the group toward the kitchen. Mrs. Slater rolled her eyes. "Oh, to be ten again, and a boy." The group chuckled.

Nathan also began to shake. He also knew his mother would not be as lenient with him as Ethan's mom was with her own son. So, he quietly and quickly left the room in the opposite direction toward the bathroom. Once safely inside the closed room, he let it all out and calmly returned some minutes later.

After the meeting ended, the two boys nibbled on cookies on their way to the back porch. 

"Oh, boy! That was bad," Ethan laughed. 

"Yeah, so glad it's over. We should know better by now that we do NOT look at each other in funny situations," Nathan added. 

"Haha! But, how did he say it again?" Ethan asked through his ongoing chuckles. 

"Woiter or woter, I don't know. It was too funny." Obviously, these two young men didn't know too many northerners. 

The rest of the night was spent in laughing at all sorts of silly, nonsensical jokes.

~~~~~~~~~

Fast forward 20 years. 

The two dads stood in Nathan's yard while their kids played a vicious game of something. Suddenly, Ethan thought of some stupid joke and obviously had to share it with his friend. Soon the two men were laughing and joking and completely unaware of their wives, the children, or the burning burgers on the grill. 

Amy looked at Christy and said, "Oh, to be a man."

"And to be ten," Christy added. 

~~~~~~~~~

I'm not personally sure boys ever grow up. 

"The LORD'S"

 

"And another will write on his hand, 'The LORD'S.'"

Happy

 

Ah, to feel happy about who He's made you to be.

Pictures I Thought Were Cool

 The title says it all. 

Who doesn't like a good feet picture?

The little smiley face Lydia gave me. 

That was back when there were leaves on the trees, earlier this week. 

I like green in fall. 

Wow! I like this picture.

I like when the sun shines on the couch. It's randomly welcoming.

This old comb has been such a friend. 

✌