The scrapbooky thing on Saturday went very well; I got eleven pages done, which is more than I'd been expecting to do. I think I'm about five pages from the summer goal, whahoo!

But I shan't bore you with details.

I was contentedly sorting coins to be rolled last night (our change cup was full to overflowing) when the phone rang. Matt answered it and then brought it to me. It was my mother.

"I was just wondering if y'all were coming over tonight for Sam's birthday dinner," she said.

Oops. I'd completely forgotten about it. So we scrambled around and got shoes on and ran out to get a present and then went over to my parents' for what turned out to be a lovely evening.

But I hate when I do that.

My parents let Penny watch Bambi and gave her a bowl of berries and grapes so big that I knew she wouldn't want to eat dinner. So when we sat down to dinner, we just left her watching her movie. It actually worked out fairly well for us. She ran in and out a few times to make sure we knew she was still there, but mostly stayed in the living room.

We did lure her into the dining room for dessert, of course. She "helped" my mom carry in the cake for Sam, and then "helped" Sam blow out the candles. She was a bit disappointed with the cake when she got her piece, since it was glazed rather than truly iced. But she got ice cream, so that made up for it.

She hadn't even taken three bites of her ice cream when she looked at my dad and said, "Grandpa? I get all your ice cream?"

And then she tried to beg Oreos from my mom. Who probably would have given them to her if she'd had any.

(Grand)parents. Sheesh.

Matt helped me finish rolling the coins after we got home. We ended up with just a bit over $80. Not counting the stuff that went back into the cup because there wasn't enough of it to roll.

Penny was fascinated by the process. She helped me drop the coins into the tubes once we'd counted out enough of them. The next time the cup fills up (it usually takes a couple of years), she should be old enough to help sort the coins and count out the stacks.

In the meantime, I guess I should call the bank and find out what information I have to write on the rolls before we take them in. Not that we've decided what to do with the money... A drop in the bucket of Penny's college fund? New sheets to replace the ones that are torn? The world's biggest ice cream sundae?

--Liz