so last night wasn't bad. it wasn't great but it wasn't terrible. we spent most of it moving Casey's stuff into the now empty bedroom. the girls don't have to share a room anymore, which makes them both very happy. I think they could tell that I was a little sad because they were extra sweet and funny yesterday. so was Brian. he called me at work today on his lunch hour, just to see how I was doing, which was completely unexpected and wonderful.

I wanted to post about our holiday weekend yesterday because, except for that one thing, it was awesome. and I have some lovely pictures to post too, if I can get some time on the internet at home tonight.

we spent part of Friday and most of Saturday helping my youngest sister move from her current upstairs apartment to the one directly below it. and since they weren't moving far, they didn't bother to pack. anything. which sucked for those of us (me and Brian) that were "helping" them move. she had to work, plus she's pregnant, so she didn't really do much. but her husband was home and asked us to come over at 12:15. when we got there, he was giving some guy a tattoo. so we just started moving stuff without him until everything but the big stuff was done. then he and Brian moved the furniture, we straightened up what we could and left.

Saturday night we met most of the family for dinner at a steakhouse in our little town to celebrate my bro-in-law's 23rd birthday. dinner was yummy and they had a band playing outside on the patio. the weather was beautiful and we had a great time. after dinner, we all went back to the new apartment (hence the straightening up) for cake, etc. we finished up the night by meeting my other sister for a couple of drinks at a bar that was ridiculously cold. I spent the entire time shivering. no joke.

Sunday we went to a cookout at my sister's in-laws with Casey. her in-laws are a great bunch of people. I love hanging out with them and I love the way we all treat each other like family. my sister and her husband have been married for sixteen years so we've all known each other forever. our parents were there too, which was a nice surprise. there was tons of food and cute little boys running around making us laugh. it was a beautiful sunny evening and again, we had a great time. we made plans with my brother-in-law and his brother to take the kids to Buck Creek the next day.

I don't swim, for those people who don't know me. and I'm not really fond of water (read as: I'm too embarassed to admit that I'm afraid of water). and I'm incredibly not tan. so, I wasn't really looking forward to spending the day by the water but I didn't complain. instead I loaded up on sunblock and bottled water and turkey sandwiches and a big old blanket and off we went.

the kids (Casey, my niece and nephew) had so much fun. the water was cold, apparently, but that didn't stop them. I sat by the edge of the water and took tons of pictures. when they needed a break from swimming, they came back up near the blankets and took turns burying each other in the sand. it was super hot out but there was a nice breeze blowing so it wasn't terrible.

that night we got together with my sisters, their husbands and kids for fireworks. again, I took a ton of pictures, about five of them turned out decently. one of them is spectacular! no lie, you'll agree when you see it. or not.

anyway, there were a lot more good things than bad this weekend. I need to try to focus on that instead of letting a few bad things ruin my whole day/week. having a lot of good things going on is new for me though, so it might take some time.