Dear Diary

If this was my journal and I was making a monthly entry I would perhaps write....

Dear Diary,

I am sorry for not writing in such a long time. I know I always say that, but really I am going to do better. It has been super busy around here lately. William has had a lot of time home because the weather has been so lovely and we just play, play, play. It's difficult to get any work done when he is around because we are always off to somewhere.

Last week, William's sisters Karin and Sally came to town with their families for the big Jarvis family reunion. It was hotter than blazes, but thank goodness we were in the air conditioned community center. I think there were over 200 people there. Maybe not, but it was definitely over 100. It was fun to meet new people (relatives) and visit with familiar faces too.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we all went to Branson and stayed in a lodge. It was nice because each family had their own bedroom and bathroom. We went to Silver Dollar City three days in a row and rode all the roller coasters, saw some fun shows and enjoyed a tour of the cave. Too bad I forgot the stroller and had to pay $15 a day to rent one. It was so worth it though.

Saturday we celbrated the 4th of July by entering in the costume contest....Hank won a year of free sports at the rec center! I have mixed feeling about that one. I am happy for him though. Later, we watched the parade where the kids got way too much candy. I think I prefer the end of the parade route where we can visit with friends and go home with less candy. Next year.

That night, I took Jane, Mary, Kate and Walter to the city fireworks. I loved sitting right under the fireworks and being able to feel them when they went off. Walter loved them too and was unfazed by all of it. He truly seemed to enjoy them.

Today we made Marty Party Puddin Pie's best cookie ever and took them over to B and Papa's for our treat to share. Thankfully everyone ate them all up and I don't have to polish them off late at night. Ross and Julie made it in with their kiddos, so it was a big party. Scott and Merilee even showed up. We sat around and visited until almost 11pm! Thankfully, Walter only got one shiner from the sidewalk on his sweet little head, there were only a few tiffs between ALL the girls and like I said earlier, all the cookies vanished.

Tomorrow I must make final preparations for girl's camp before we head off to the lake for some fun on Uncle Ross' boat. He wants us to buy it from him since he has moved away. Should we do it? It sounds like fun, but at the same time I wonder if it would be a headache and a money pit. I guess I'll talk it over with Willy.

Thankfully I got a good nap in this afternoon. We've been playing so much and summer is slipping away too fast! Wish me luck tomorrow!

Love, Marie

Is that what your journal entries are like? Pretty boring I know, but hey it gets all the facts in and documents my fun-filled days so my grandchildren will be able to read about my adventurous life one day.