Summer

With vacation over, we're settling into summer.  The kids are thrilled to be back at Camp Zone, spending every weekday playing and playing and playing with friends.  I'm trying to get used to Monday and Wednesday baseball and not eating dinner until 8 on those nights.  It's high season at work which is always crazy and fun.  Gene's two main coworkers are both out of work with health concerns, so he is having to pick up some major slack.  We've spent the past two weeks adjusting to the craziness that summer brings and now we're settling in to enjoy it.

The kids and I have been watching a red-tailed hawk nest in the golf course for several weeks.  A few days ago, Logan ran into the house and yelled at me to get my shoes because there were three hawks on the telephone pole up the street.  I quickly went with him and realized that the two hawks sitting together on the pole were juveniles and that it was probably mama hawk repeatedly screaming her objections to our presence from a nearby tree.  We watched for a while and I snapped some pictures.  We've had daily encounters with our young hawks ever since.  It's been amazing to watch them attempting to hunt and failing ridiculously.  They are so stinking cute when they awkwardly dive onto prey, miss completely and then hop around confused.  The young hawks make an adorable "meep" sound, but you can only hear it if you are close and then mom's screaming drowns it out.  I'm sure that in no time our hawks will be expert hunters and on their own.  We are definitely cherishing every moment spent with them!

Gage the terrier is settling in nicely with the family.  I am head-over-heels in love with this dog and so glad we got him.  Gage and Scout are finally starting to become buddies.  I still worry about them fighting over food and toys, but we all try to be careful with food and they have different interests in toys (Scout likes plush and squeaky, Gage likes balls and hard chew toys.)  Both dogs love tearing around the back yard and barking at the neighbor dogs.  Gage isn't nearly as high energy as one would expect from a terrier and the usual backyard running and some in-house fetch are enough exercise.

My serious, rule-following, straight and narrow son is morphing into a silly tween.  He's cracking me up with the dumb things he's doing that he never would have considered a year ago.  At camp last Friday, Logan held a bunch of Pepsi in his mouth while a friend tried to make him laugh.  The goal was to shoot the Pepsi out his nose.  What actually happened was he laughed and inhaled the Pepsi.  He choked until he puked all over the bus seat (yeah, they were on a bus.)  Fortunately, he had a damp beach towel and used it to clean up the vomit.  Unfortunately, he then shoved the disgusting towel into his backpack.  Mmmmm.  Good plan.  The towel was old so we left it in a garbage can at the park.  I made him clean everything else out of the backpack, but I washed it all.  Yuck.  Another yuck occurred a few days earlier when on the way to camp Logan was fidgeting and acting worried and I asked what was wrong?  "Mom, I did something really gross this morning."  What?  What did you do?!  He kept stalling and not wanting to answer.  I went from mild interest to close to freaking out about what on earth he did!  Finally, he said "I'll whisper it... I used Dad's toothbrush."  Kaylin and I about died laughing.  It was a total accident and he didn't realize it until he was done and putting the toothbrush away.  That's why I don't keep my toothbrush in the family cup.  Blech!

I better get off the computer and on the exercise bike.  I'm usually off on Fridays, but I have to work today since I had Sunday off.  I am a little excited because I get to work my old Africa string with the lions, zebras and pigs.  I haven't worked it since I left it nearly a year and a half ago, so it should be an interesting day!  I had a follow-up foot appointment this week and my doctor was happy with my progress, even with the recent setback following my long swamp hike in Crocs.  He didn't fully release me from his care, but I don't have another appointment for three months.  That's a pretty nice change since around a year ago I was seeing him every week to two weeks!