Happy First Day of Summer!

Did anyone really need a calendar to tell you that summer officially started today? If so, you are spending WAY too much time in your air-conditioned cocoon! Get to the pool! Which is precisely where we spent most of this day. I don't even think it got all the way to 100* today, though, so a fairly mild beginning to a west Texas summer.

Yesterday was Ashley's first day of softball camp. Do you remember the first moment in your life when you figured out that something that you believed yourself to be REALLY good at, there were other people better than you? Hard jolt of reality, no? Ashley is actually a beginner at softball and, according to her, the only one at her camp. There were lots of tears yesterday THEN she ended up dehydrated and sick last night after she spent all morning at camp and all afternoon at the pool. I confess to not being a stellar mother at that moment, after the 4 hours in the sun with no sunscreen fiasco of last week.

Today was a much better day. We all drank plenty of water, Ashley enjoyed her camp, I started a new set of private swim lessons with 2 precious little gals that are going to be so fun. I visited with friends at the pool (missed you, Tammy and Denise! :-( ) got dinner for the fam, then went to a dinner meeting. That was the most frustrating part of the day, but meetings are a necessary evil.

It's late and I will be working out EARLY tomorrow, but soon I need to tell you about our trip to Arlington last weekend to see the Rangers game. For me, the best part of the whole evening was sitting with Slade and Davalyn (sp?) Sullivan. Wonderfully nice people that I only see about twice a year at ACU functions. (It was an ACU Alumni gathering at the ballpark). And I have some precious pictures of their little guys that I need to share with you.

However, my travels did leave me with a new travel philosophy -- TRAVEL CHEAP! We stayed at the Whitten Inn -- they have one in Abilene and one in Arlington. They gave us the "Big Country Friends" discount of $55/ night (I love being a Big Country Friend!) So I have basically no expectations of this place other than hopefully a clean place to lay my head. Hoping there was at least a pool for the kids, we took our suits. Nice little pool in the shade. Wonder if there's a continental breakfast? Only about the best continental breakfast I've ever seen with lots of fresh fruit and healthy choices for me, and lots of waffles and syrup and junk for the kids! If we had stayed at a hotel for $200/night, we wouldn't have been able to get a plate of fruit for cheaper than $8. If you just need a place to put your head, go way cheap, have no expectations, and be pleasantly surprised!