Where has the summer gone?

Wow, the summer has really flown by. Where did all the time go? We start back to work officially next Tuesday, July 29th to get ready for all the camps/2-a-days and the beginning of the school year. I can't believe it is already here. Working camps really makes the time fly. I have definitely gotten a wide variety of sports watching in this summer. I've worked volleyball, gymnastics, wrestling, baseball & softball camps this summer. For any of you who have never worked camps (in any capacity), they are definitely an experience. You get a wide range of children with all types of personalities and each wanting special attention. At times I think parents just send their kids to the camps for us to babysit rather than having to hire a babysitter or keep them at home themselves. Working camps can also be a joyous and rewarding experience though. You meet a lot of neat kids and come to love some that you spend so much time with and feel a sense of accomplishment when they finally master the task at hand. Although, I am glad to say I only have 5 more days of working camp left. I have three days of softball this week, an All-Star baseball camp on the 28th and a Father-Son baseball camp on August 3rd.

Last week I had a much needed week off and Emily & I spent it in Texas. I have been home several times over the past few months, but Emily hasn't been home since her short visit at Christmas, so we saw as many people as possible in a short amount of time. Tuesday we headed to my PawPaw's house to see him. He took us out to eat at Ken's and it was great as always. Wednesday after lunch we headed to Abilene to see all of my dad's family. Thankfully, most of my of family lives close to each other so we can see them all in our short trips home. We ate supper at Abuelo's and it was amazing. You truly appreciate Tex-Mex food more after living in the Midwest. The people up here just don't understand the great food they are missing out on. I laugh when we go eat Mexican food here, because on most of the menus there is a little box that defines what each dish is. Thursday I got to babysit Robert and Mom & I took him shopping in Amarillo. He is getting so big so quick and is a ton of fun to play with. I can't believe he is already 18 months old and in 2 months he is going to have a baby sister! I am so excited! Friday I got to eat lunch with Katie and then headed to Lubbock with Mom, Emily & Valinda to run some errands. That night I ended up hanging out with all of Emily's classmates at a small informal 5-year reunion get together at the country club. I felt like the old kid, but it was good to see all of them, because it was a lot of her good friends that were always around....as well as some of my old roommates from college. Saturday was the big Picnic Day in Tulia. As always I went to the parade and then headed down to the park to see everyone at the bar-b-que. It was great to catch up with friends I hadn't seen in a while. Mikey & Jill were there with their little ones, so it was great to finally get to see Camdon and see how much Mecailin has grown. Elaine was there as well as her girls. Presley is as cute as ever and Townli is precious. Of course the day isn't complete without attending the Ranch Rodeo. I had several friends competing on one team, as well as others on a few other teams. Sadly, Diamond A Cattle Company (Ewell, Allen, Brian, Justin & Seth) didn't win the whole thing, but they were fun to watch.

That about wrapped up my trip home. I know I didn't mention everyone that I got to catch up with, but I decided not to bore you with all of that information. One funny thing was that everyone kept calling Emily a Yankee all week because they say she has lost her Texas accent and has adopted the words you guys instead of y'all and soda instead of coke. Don't worry, I am staying true to my roots and keeping my Texas accent as well as my Texas words. It doesn't matter how mcuh people make fun of me, I am a loyal Texan. Well I gotta go get ready for softball camp. I am guessing we will be stuck inside all day because it's been raining (shocking I know) since about midnight and doesn't look to be letting up for a while.