My nest is empty

We took the kids to my parent's house on Saturday and then we came back on Monday. They were supposed to bring them back on the 23rd but Joshua had a meltdown on Sunday night and said he couldn't live without me for that long and if he did he wanted to come back home with me. We came to an agreement and I'm going back after them on Friday. Apparently he could live without me until Friday but not any longer.

On Sunday Mike and my brother went whitewater rafting again. I nearly missed them but we got down to the river just in time for us to see them and catch a couple of pics. They saw us too. They were feverishly waving until they had to start paddling like all get out because they were just fixing to head through some rapids when I took this pic. Mike's the second from the front on the left and my brother's right beside him. We also enjoyed some time rock hopping and splashing around in the water with my mom and dad. That water is clear, it just looks green in the pic. Thank goodness for water shoes!

That was SO much fun! I'm thinking of taking them back down there this weekend. I'm thinking I need to get life jackets first though. Here's a pic of my mom when she realizes that she has to hop back over all the rocks she already did in order to get back to the car LOL!

Yesterday morning I woke up and got the brilliant idea to paint Cassie's room. It's still not finished but there's not much left. The color I picked is called Lavish Lavender and it's SO pretty! She's gonna love it when she sees it. That took most of the day. I was out again most of today so haven't had a chance to work on it. I went to the movies with a friend to see Sex and the City. I know it's gotten some bad reviews but I liked it. That is if you like that sort of thing. After that I stopped by Homespun Elegance to pick something up that I forgot to get on Saturday. Sandra had her first "Saturday Gathering" last Saturday so I went before we went to my parent's house. I had a really great time! They were giving away lots of door prizes and had some goodies that were only available in the shop that I picked up. I can't post most of what I got because I bought them for gifts and the recipients read my blog :). I can tell you that I was thrilled to find the 1999 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament issue tucked away in a basket for $3.00! Now if I can only find 1997 and 1998. Sandra collects antiques and had some of those for sale as well. I found this really neat little case in a drawer for $2.00. It looks really old. Someone had used it for a needle case, it had needles inside. Really old looking needles. I found a few little treasures like this in her shop.

I haven't done a whole lot of stitching lately but I did finally finish something for myself. This piece is called summer Song and is from Blackbird Designs Souvenirs of Summer book. I was feeling 4th of Julyish when I started it a few days ago. I'm thinking now I should get started on some Christmas ornaments because if I don't I'll be wondering the first of December where the time went.