We now return to our usual programming

Mom and Dad headed home on Saturday night and Hannah has been handling the separation pretty well. For all intents and purposes she was with them for over a month because we were all in Iowa together for a few days before she went off with them for three weeks and then they spent another week with us out here in Massachusetts. I think Mom and Dad are also having a little trouble adjusting.

This is our final full week before school starts next Wednesday but it is also the beginning of our crazy schedule that usually comes back full force in the autumn. Yesterday was a busy day at work, today Hannah has her annual physical in the morning and I have a work event in the evening, tomorrow morning Lincoln and I have a business appointment in Waltham. Somewhere in all of this we have to get all of our new curtains hung since they only have a 7 day return policy if something is wrong with any of them. This weekend is Hannah's 24-hour birthday party (a girls day plus sleepover) and Lincoln and Jake's campout over at a neighbor's house. Before we know it school will start with the usual homework to be done and forms to fill out and field trips to attend. Add in the PTO commitments I have made and life is back to being crazy. Oh wait, I don't think it ever stopped.

As some of you may have noticed I didn't post anything yesterday. I try to post at least a little something every day but yesterday I was absolutely exhausted. I didn't sleep well on Sunday night and then yesterday was one of those days at work where you ask yourself "why am I here? What purpose does my job have and do I really need to continue doing it five days a week for the rest of my foreseeable future?" I think it was just a result of being overly tired but I was so apathetic about everything yesterday I didn't even have it in me to post about my apathy. But today is another story. I got over 10 hours of sleep last night plus a great snuggle session in bed this morning with the kids. My job still isn't going to cure cancer or end wars but it's a job I enjoy (most days). I also get to end my work day today down on the waterfront helping my boss with a reception he is hosting this evening. It sounds like the weather should be nice so what's not to like about a fancy waterfront reception?

Here's to a great summer day!

Summer is finally here!

Summertime fun (and a new haircut)

This morning Hannah decided that she wanted a new "summer" haircut. I may have led her to that decision because she won't ever let me pull her hair back and it's way to hot to wear it down all summer, but she had the final say on how it would be cut. She LOVES it and has been preening all day. It probably won't ever look like this again since she will never let me blow it out the way Maryanne did today but I think it will still be cute even when it air dries.

Here are some fun summer pics from our afternoon outside. Please don't notice the meadow length grass/weeds that constitute our yard. That is, in the few areas we actually have something green and not brown on the ground.

Hannah's new haircut:

Jake and his bubble blower:

Hannah with the bubbles.  Such a serious face:

Another serious face.  Who knew bubbles were such a serious business.

Showing off the hairdo:

Doesn't he look like he's plotting something and I caught him at it?  That's a big stick he's got there.

I love this picture.  Such a perfect summer picture (minus the dead grass and the high weeds):

My lilacs.  I have the blackest thumb ever but I've actually managed to keep these alive.  It took five years for them to bloom but ever since they did they've gotten better and better each year.

If you're wondering why our grass is as bad as it is, I will give you two reasons.  One, when we built the house we didn't have them truck in much top soil when we hydroseeded it and a lot of the soil is clay and sand so it doesn't grow well.  Two, we've never treated it with anything but we certainly should have.  Most of it is crab grass on the hill and the lower part is all moss.  And finally, all the dead grass and bare dirt at the top of the yard is courtesy of the wild turkeys that come traipsing through on a near-daily basis.  They peck at the ground digging up grubs, I believe.  I know they peck at the ground, I'm just not sure what they're looking for.  As for the high grass, that is a result of a lot of rain and no time to mow the lawn and then the one sunny weekend day Lincoln gets sick and I don't know how to run the mower.  As I told Lincoln, thank God we live at the end of a dead end road and no one ever sees out lawn.