Home again, Home again

I'm taking a break from unloading to cool in the a/c. It was a hot weekend. Not completely unmanageable,but quite muggy. We had fairly shady spots, lots to drink, and a really great swimming pool to retreat to in the afternoons when the humidity became oppressive.

Meredith is sleeping in her crib. Lou and Ben are relaxing on the couches in the basement watching the '60s version of Spiderman shows. And Charlie is on the couch in the living room watching Tom and Jerry. With a big gash in his head. No, this didn't happen when we were camping, just minutes after we got home.

I carried him in the house because he had fallen asleep on the way home. But he had other ideas than sleeping. He wanted to watch Grandma and I unload the van of Grandma's things and he pulled the blind down out of the wall, on top of his head. We have a pretty big window and the blinds that cover them are also very big.

I was outside when it happened and I heard the crash, saw that the blinds were no longer hanging, and I heard the screaming. But I didn't rush inside. Terrible, I know, especially knowing what I know now! However, this was a "Charlie cried wolf" story in that he complains or cries about everything, and most of the time the hurts aren't as serious as the screams are making them out to be. This was not the case here.

There was quite a bit of blood but I think that's common with head injuries. I got him to slow the tears by having him suck on a popsicle while I took a look at the cut. I couldn't find it, partly because he didn't want me touching his head and partly because there was already blood drying in his hair. I called my mom, knowing that she wasn't far away and she came because I was not sure how serious it was going to be.

Grandma saved the day in helping Mommy clean up the cut, put ice on the big growing bump, and put on a movie to calm down poor Charlie. The bleeding pretty much stopped when he stopped crying, so we figured that even though we can't see the cut it mustn't be that bad.

Charlie is resting comfortably, has finished his popsicle, and is trying to talk me into taking a shower tomorrow as opposed to when I'm finished unpacking. That's not going to happen, but I better get out there and finish unloading the second vehicle before I decide that a shower sounds better than a car full of camping stuff.

Oh, and not one picture was taken this weekend. I feel bad for that. It was such a lovely weekend, despite the heat, and we had a wonderful time. We must have enjoyed it too much to stop and take get out cameras. The only thing missing was our favorite camper: Daddy.

Today

Today the kids are home.
Today we're getting ready to go camping.
Today the high will be 97 degrees with a heat index of over 100 (this will continue through the weekend!).
Today we found out that Kevin probably won't be home until next Thursday.
Today I will go to the grocery for the first time in almost two weeks.
Today the boys will be going with Grandma and Grandpa to our campsite while Meredith and I finish packing up for the trip.
Today there are 25 days until the first day of school.

Mysterious Garden

So the kids have been gone with Kevin's parents for almost a week. Kevin has been gone to China for two weeks. I have had a lot of time on my hands!

This has also been the hottest time of the year thus far, so one of my main duties has been keeping the garden watered. I love our garden, and I love gardening even though I know almost nothing about it and am probably making many mistakes in it all.

But we do get some produce from it and this morning I was pleasantly surprised to find beans on the vines! I did not get to water yesterday because I had a yard sale with my brother and his fiance, but luckily the rain took care of that (and our yard sale!), so maybe they were already there then. For breakfast I had some right off the vine and it was delicious!

I am continually amazed at all the miracles occurring in the garden, and too often I am rushing to get the watering and weeding done that I don't get to notice it all. I am thankful for this time without the kids and with Kevin being gone to appreciate some of the things that have gone unnoticed. Although, I'd rather have them here and be able to enjoy these little mysteries!

My poor radishes have failed again this year. Or, I should say, I have failed the radishes once again. The squash are growing wildly but no fruit just yet. The corn is doing amazingly well. Who know about the carrots; they may just be all green and no root. The tomatoes are so-so. They are growing well and there are quite a few tomatoes (I had one yesterday!), but half of the plants have bugs (aphids and white flies), so I'm trying to correct that. I'd like to not use a chemical, but I may have to turn to that. No more eating off the vine!

I know that I could be a better gardener, but I feel like I am laying the groundwork for when I have more time. Like, after my days aren't filled with the kids. I am making mistakes now so I will be a veteran gardener later. (That's what I'm telling myself!)

Sandy Baby

I play sand volleyball in the summer and the kids usually go to the game, not to watch, but to play at the park. Kevin is normally the one who supervises, but this past week Uncle Josh and Uncle Billy got the honors.

Mere is going through some crazy attachment thing and does not like it when I leave her, even when it is with someone she loves. Fortunately, while Uncle Billy threw batting practice for the boys, Uncle Josh took over and used that magic only uncles have to put a smile on Meredith's face.

By the end of the game she was having a blast and didn't want to leave.

When we got home I asked her if she had fun with Uncle Josh. She said, "Yeah! He's cute!" Apparently she has found someone else to wrap around her finger :)

What We've Been Up To

We are entering in to the final weeks of July and I haven't posted since the beginning of June. You can see what's happening to our summer! Below I'll post some of the highlights of our summer so far. The boys made a list of things they wanted to do in these months and we're doing a pretty good job of knocking them off.

Kevin has been in China for just about two weeks now and when he gets home (hopefully soon!) I'm hoping we'll be able to do some of our Summer List '11 activities with him!

The posts below are mainly photos so that I don't overwhelm myself with trying update the kids' lives :)

Slip 'N Slide Time

We've had some hot-hot days and the boys have been enjoying the different backyard water toys we have. Notice, this picture was taken from the inside of our house...

Family Wedding

On June 18th, we had Kevin's cousin's wedding and we all were invited. The kids were mainly shy through the reception, even though there were more than enough kids their ages to run around with.

Meredith and Aunt Jill

The kids, being goofy as long as their parents were around

She is very possessive of her Mona, and would not share with the sweet little girl who wanted to play!

Although Benny and Charlie said that they would rather hang out in a chair, the music was too much for Louie and Meredith and they decided to bust a move.