A sure-fire solution to the drudgery of life

Sometimes, life is far too serious.  Sometimes, I'm grumpy in my soul.  Sometimes? I'm just plain bored.

You can imagine my gratitude, then, 

when this phenomenon entered my life:

The Horse Lover's Camera.

I have never thought of myself as a horse lover. I'm pretty take it or leave it about most things, horses included. 

But one day,

Sara happened to venture into my room as I was taking some down time to explore my new iPod.

The next thing I knew, Katycalled us from Brazil,

and the rest was history.

It turns out--

the Horse Lover's Camera makes me giggle, 

rather uncontrollably.

I think it is HILARIOUS.

I don't really know why.

What I do know is that my life has been a lot more fun ever since, and a lot less lonely.

[Katy & Sara's too, since I tend to text them evidence every time a horse shows up in my day.]

For instance,

 these guys love to be outside, and so do I!

They also love my plants:

[A little too much, as it turns out...]

But really, they love to do all of the things that I love to do, so it works out well for all of us.

For instance,

Cooking?

They're all over it!

 And they can barely contain their excitement for apple-y desserts, so that always warms my heart right up.

 Besides, they're always beyond excited to spend some time at my piano with me,

 and they're very encouraging in their assessment of my skills.

It turns out,

there's really nothing too big or too small for them to partake in,

and they're very helpful in tasks that are not very fun.

 [Hello, my newly organized closet!]  

Well, ok, I'm a nerd, so organizing closets doesn't fall into my 'un-fun' category...BUT,

they're even very helpful at work!  

They sure do make the day go quick.

Sometimes they can get a little exuberant at inappropriate times,

but who can blame them for making the most of every opportunity?

On the rare occasion,

I suppose you do need to keep your eye on them,

but really?

They're just being true to themselves, so I try to be understanding.

Plus, 

 they're very willing to spend time with my friends,

 which I appreciate.

 Things can get out of hand so quickly you know,

and a little peaceful support is always nice.

The best thing of all, however, is something that I have been looking for for a long time:

Someone willing to take over my dissertation for me!

I tell you what people:
A sure-fire solution, to all sorts of drudgery. 

Camp Lauren, the Third

Two years ago, Kate & Sarah & I had our first Camp Lauren experience, when Heather and Ash left us for a weekend conference.  Last year, we did it again.  This year?  We started talking about it weeks in advance: We can't wait!

That's because it's always a weekend of treats, where each moment is a special event.  Plus, we laugh.  A lot.

It starts off with school, and all that's involved in that.

But then, Friday night hits, and we go wild.

This year, we got ourselves cookie treats from Wegman's, 

and cuddled up for some movie watching. 

We followed it with some necessary 

'gots to get out all our energy before we have to sleep'.

Then, we rolled out of bed on Saturday morning,

 ready to relax,

and to just enjoy each other's company.

I drowned myself in coffee while these two created masterpieces,

[and a bit of absolute mess].

When we were ready to venture out for the day,

we headed to our local Fruit Farm, 

 where this cuteness had a bit of a moment...

...with my camera.

When she was finished,

 we settled in 

 for the yummiest lunch,

and a bit of weight lifting.

After all the fun we could absorb, 

we were ready for an afternoon at home.

 Kate amused herself making pictures that involved 'the situation of my hair' [the child has seen me at my finest...]

 and Sarah spent time with my computer.

When we were tired of being amused, we got busy.

 There was homework;

 there was piano.

[There was edifying reading from the supervisor's chair.]

Our time went fast, 

and was full of all of the things we have come to expect.

There were, however, some things that were new this year.

Things that demonstrated these are not the babies they were when Camp Lauren first began.

Things like this, our worship leader in training:

And, where before there was dependence,

 now there are demands for the handing over of responsibility.

 [She is, after all, a poop scooping master.]

This girl, on the other hand?

I'll let you know next year!

Camp Lauren III, In Preview