Taco the Turtle was not a turtle. Or Taco.

 We were in our garage one day and I looked down and saw a lawn ornament!  I had not purchased such a thing (being somewhat leery of lawn ornaments...) and then, the thing moved!  A turtle had somehow found its way into our garage!  I was so excited!  The family gathered around to stare at it.

 It is sincerely one of the coolest animals I have ever watched!  We were so curious as to its origin and ownership.  In the meantime, we named it Taco and played with it for a little while.  I posted pictures on facebook and learned that the owner was from across the street, and that it was actually a really old tortoise named Herkimer.

 We babysat the little guy overnight until we could get a hold of our neighbors. 

 When my neighbor Sally came over to pick up her cute pet, she told me that Herkimer is 70 years old and will probably live to be over 100!  Herkimer was a class pet in her aunt's elementary school classroom.  Her aunt left Sally the tortoise to raise.  Only a few years ago, Sally learned that Herkimer is actually a girl (female tortoises have flat tummies and males have concave ones). 

So, that was our adventure with Herkimer, the female, old, beautiful tortoise.

A day at the creek...

A day at the pool...

Some cool things about this day:

There weren't many people at Downata Hot Springs.
The weather was perfect.
I laughed and laughed with my kids as we went down the water slides.
I ran into an old friend.
I ran into my aunt Carol, and we had a good sit and chat while my children played with her grandchildren.
There was a little kiddie pool which Levi thought he owned enjoyed.
I didn't spend any money on special snacks; just packed what I had around the kitchen and pantry, and we were fine.  Apples, crackers, peanut butter, string cheese, and a 6 pack of Sprite which I had found for 99 cents at a convenience store!

Baseball and the watching thereof...

Welcome, Scarlett

 My new neice, Scarlett Sue, was blessed on this day.  Don't you love the name Scarlett?  And the two t's at the end make it funn.  Here she is, wearing the headband I helped make.  Doesn't she look fabulous?  Granted, my project took a miniscule amount of time to make, when compared with the hours my mom spent crocheting that heirloom dress!  Isn't is to die for?  Or rather, to be born for?  Ha ha.

 Girl Cousins.  My Ellie made a killer potato salad for this shin-dig.  I was proud.

 Boy cousins.  My sons being the most hammy.

 I'm a proud auntie.  She loves me already. 

 My beautiful sister with her sweet daughter and husband.  I wish everyone could know these two.  They are the salt of the earth!

And here is my cool-and-funny-and-smart brother, with his birthday cake.  He flies all over representing big companies, like facebook.  What a guy.  He isn't always making that face.  Just when I goad him.

Blue and Gold Banquet... Yee haw!

 The annual Blue and Gold Cub Scout banquet was a HUGE hit.  I wish I would have taken pictures of their darling western decorations and great food.  Personally, I love it just because someone else feeds my lil' outlaws.  So they made these fun wanted posters of each boy to bring home, and had them hanging on a rope along the wall.

My handsome Webelo scout!  I loved seeing him help bring the flag in. 

A day at the pool....

 Can't beat pictures of little kids in goggles...

 This talented man was painting a mural!  Cute!