Wow! Life got busy on me! I really meant to post more often, but....time just got away from me. The kids have both started school. AJ is going to the same school as the last two years (and should for the rest this and the next four years). Alli switched schools this year - not by choice but because the school districts "repositioned" themselves about their special ed kids.

I haven't been to Alli's class yet. I spoke with the teacher before school started, and she has a fairly small classroom, with 12 kids - grades K-8! What a range! Alli is right in the middle in grade 4, but will probably match even any of the 8th grade kid for size. Eight of the kids have their own one-on-one aide, so the class will be full of people!

AJ is getting back into the swing of things at his school. Soccer try-outs are next week, and he will probably make the team. They rarely have to cut kids because the school is so small, but he is a good player anyway, and enjoys playing. Boy Scouts will start ramping up too. They are dark during August, but he is off on a "Fall Fellowship" for Order of the Arrow this week-end, which means a drive down and past Chico for me! I hope to stop by Paradise on Sunday after picking him up and visit a friend there, so it should be fun.

Spending my vacation in Susanville means picking potatoes for my Dad. This year, he got more help than just my kids. My girlfriend Cindy and her little girl came to visit, and got put to work too! Good thing they weren't picking tomatoes! We came home with a big bag of red potatoes fresh from the garden.

Here is my first DAL (Doily-a-long) that I have ever finished. I got instructions a few rounds at a time, and a surprise at the end! (No picture up front) This turned out quite nice, but I have no idea where I can use a square doily. I guess I need to find a new home for this one!

More finished projects! I did get more done on vacation than I thought I would. I (finally!) finished my "Rose Delight" doily. I made some major mistakes in it and thought I would never get it to look right. Thanks to Mom for her suggestions! It is quite large - 18" X 22". Now I just have to figure out what to do with it. It needs to find a new home - and to someone who doesn't mind a few errors in a doily!

So much for resting on my vacation! I "hurried" out of work on Friday and went on the Family camp-out - a lot of fun, but Alli is a very bad camper. No rest and relaxation for me! The camping site was beautiful, and the kids all seemed to be having a great time! It was nice to get all of the "grandkids" together for once. It has been a while, and as they are all growing up (Kody will be a senior next year, and is working) it may not happen very often again!

AJ's dog had a blast at the lake. She loved the water, and spent as much time as we would let her in the water or playing fetch. Then, of course, she came back to camp wet and lay down in the dirt. What a mess!

One more project done (and it wasn't even on my list until Saturday!) This patterns was the Free Pattern of the Day from Annie's Attic on Saturday, and since I am going to see my girlfriend and her little girl in a couple of weeks, I thought I would make up a little doll for her little girl. She came out quite cute! Back to my doily now. I like doing doilies, but there is a time in the life of each doily that I would rather not work on it, and I have hit that point now. Repetitive shells! Not too much longer, and I will be working the points out, so it won't be so repetitive, and I may actually get it finished (but there are 20 points to work out, so I still have a long way to go!)! I also have the next Thread project to do, but I haven't started it yet - it is pretty large for a thread project - a Christmas Wreath. That will be very nice when it is done, but it may take me a while to do that one too! I need to work on my snowflakes so I have a quick project to complete.