What I See

I'm starting to forget what Jake looks like.

I'm not ready for this.

A conversation with Jake. Not sure where the subject came from. We were talking about choosing books at the library when...

Jake: "I hope I marry a girl named Kaitlin or Emily."
Me: "Oh. Because you like those names?"
Jake: "Yes."
Me: "So do you like those names because of the girls you know?"
Jake: "I only know a girl named Emily. I'm not going to marry her."

And the subject seemed closed. Fine with me! But then...

Jake: "Mom, you know I only like one girl."
Me: "Huh?"
Jake: "You know, Jillian!"
Me: (no words...)

Uh oh! Oh well, I guess we can be confident that this little crush won't progress too far since she's got the wrong name!

The Tastiest Part of Summer

Camden and I inspected the garden this afternoon.  And we came in with - drumroll please - our FIRST TOMATO!  We were pretty excited.  It was all I could do to catch a picture of it before Cam took a big bite.  Mmmm, yummy!  At least that's what he told me, since he didn't choose to share. I guess I'll be waiting for the next one.  I may not tell him when that one ripens!  Luckily, we're looking forward to many, many tomatoes this summer.  Currently, we have 46 more ripening on the vines!

P.S. We also brought in our second harvest of zucchinis and cucumbers (they're growing like weeds - hooray!).  But, come on, it's really not official until the tomatoes turn red!

Again

My dad left this morning for Afghanistan.  Again.

Be safe and remember we love you, Della!

Yoda

One day, many moons ago (when I was still a bratty pre-teen girl), my cousin Jeff showed up at our house with a very small kitten with very large ears.  His name was Yoda (due to the big ears) and he would be staying with us for a few days.  Just until Jeff's landlord stopped checking for cats...

Well, as I said, that was many moons ago.  As in, a long time.  And Yoda has been a member of the family ever since.  We love that cat more than you can imagine - and yesterday he left us.  It was his time, and we are all so grateful that we had a chance to be together as a family - with Yoda - for a holiday weekend and to say goodbye.

And now, for a few little thoughts on Yo...

Yoda was the runt of the litter.  He even had to be helped into the world.  But he made up for his tiny beginning by eating.  He definitely earned the nickname, Chubs.

When he was young - and skinny - Yoda would walk along the one-inch ledge by our very large and very high picture window.  Spooky-looking from outside... especially on Halloween!

Yoda didn't know he was a cat.  He greeted people at the door like a dog.  He was a good dog.

Yoda taught Sam, our other cat (who adopted Yoda and truly believed she had given birth to the little runt), how to purr.  He was a master at the art.

Yoda couldn't catch a bug to save his life.  He would try for hours, only to wear himself out and finally give up.  Then Sam would reach up and get that bug in one try.  Poor Yoda.

Yoda was very creative when he wanted attention - or food.  His latest trick was playing the piano, always the same tune, to wake up the household at breakfast time!

Yoda loved the movie "Jurassic Park," and truly believed he was a raptor.  You'd believe it, too, if you knew that cat!

Finally, because this could go on for a really long time, I'll sum it all up with Jake's words.  "Yoda was a nise cat."

Yep, that about sums it all up.  We'll miss you Yo-Yo.  You were a sweet boy cat.

Happy Independence Day!

I have a confession to make: Whichever holiday we are about to celebrate, are celebrating, or have just celebrated, is my FAVORITE holiday.

So, right now...

The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday! I love it. I love the parades, the food, and the bright colors.  I love decorating bikes and dogs and watching fireworks.  I love that we celebrate outside with family and friends. I love that whole communities come together to celebrate our country and our freedom.

So, without further ado, here are just a few snapshots from our Fourth in Buena Vista:

She's beautiful.  And very patriotic.

Ready for the parade through downtown Lexington!

Bob.

Nothing better on a hot day than a firecracker pop.

Mayo discovered a love for lemonade.

Cousins.  Amy, Jen and Natasha.  We're pretty cute.

It's not over until somebody throws a fit.

Batty in BV

We just got home from a weekend in Buena Vista.  We had lots of fun celebrating the Fourth of July and hanging out with family.  But before I go into details of the holiday, I'd like to first share with you a little story.  A true story...

The other night, after putting the boys to bed, I heard Jake call, "Mom!  I need you!"  Well, since I hear Jake call this same thing every single night, I kind of ignored him.  After the second call, I replied,"I'll be there in a minute!"  And after the third, "Go to sleep, Jake!"  Finally, after Jake's, "Mom!  You need to come here right now!" I went to see what was going on (actually, I went to tell him, face-to-face that he needed to be quiet and go to sleep).

But before I could get the reprimand out of my mouth, I saw the bat.  Circling my boys. Swooping down towards the bed.  The bed where Camden was sound asleep and Jake was calmly watching the bat go round and round.

So I left the boys with the bat.  Before you go thinking I'm a horrible mother who leaves her children to the mercy of a bat (for too long) let me tell you where I went.  I went to get my dad. But my dad didn't wake up, so my mom came instead.  We got the boys and the dog (who never noticed the bat) out of the room and closed the door.  Good solution.

So the next night, since we never did find and remove the bat, the boys and I moved upstairs to another bedroom.  After putting the boys to bed, I walked out of the room and who should I meet in the hall?  You guessed it.  A bat.  A different bat.  I caught it under a trash can and waited for my mom and dad to come take care of the problem.  I know, I'm really brave.

And that's the story of our weekend in BV.

The End.

It's Summertime and School is OUT!

It's summer.

We spend all our time at the pool.

Life is GOOD!