Is it really the end of July?

Well, Esther has been looking forward to her time at Twin Lakes Camp for months now. I really can't believe tomorrow is the day she will go. The end of July seemed so far away . . . She has such a tender heart, and I know she will learn a lot (and have lots of fun,of course).
Yesterday we drove four hours to Six Flags Great America. The kids earned free tickets from a reading program they have, and I got a free ticket because I am their teacher. Of course, by the time one adds the gas, $9 in tolls, $15 in parking, $55 ticket for Steve, $30 in food and drinks in the park (only enough to keep us hydrated and my belly full enough so I didn't pass out), and a rather LARGE meal at McDonalds coming home, it was a very expensive day. Which is why I usually don't mess with those "free" things for our family anymore. But the kids sure had a great day. Priceless I guess they would say, I'm just too cheap to call memories priceless. :)
At the end of the day, my ever so wise and spiritually deep daughter, Esther, told me that the day was just like God's grace. It wasn't something we deserved, we just got it anyway. I guess that made it all worth while.
It really was a neat park, and we could have spent several days there. Hannah didn't get to ride all the coasters, but she got to ride most of them. Esther even rode on everthing she was tall enough to ride. Hannah and Esther are the coaster lovers. Sarah and Nathan or more the coaster endurers! The little boys enjoyed shooting the water guns in the pirate boats the most. Ruth just went with the flow, as always. I was especially grateful for airconditioned nursing areas! We didn't get home until after 2 am, so I don't feel like doing much today, and I'm looking forward to a good night of sleep tonight.

Today I went to consult with another dentist about my tooth. He took one look at the x-ray and asked who did my rootcanal. I guess I should explain that when I had the original rootcanal done, the numbing drugs wore off while they were doing the procedure (long story there), which caused me to get sick (I guess I didn't realize it shouldn't be hurting so much, and I'm too tough to mention the pain). They had to rip the files out and redo the whole thing. So, I guess it really isn't a big surprise that the tooth looks terrible now. He said I could have surgery on the tooth at a periodontist, but it might not even work. I decided to just have the thing pulled. I'm all for using God's perfect design of our teeth as long as one can, but I think this ones life has expired.

Today a friend from church took the girls shopping for me. They were so excited to show me their purchases! They really hate to shop with their brothers in tow (which is almost always), so I needed a little help. I needed someone frugal, modest and cool. I so appreciated Audrey Ann spending some of her time with my girls. We are getting really close to having them ready for their New York trip in a few weeks.