back to the little pool

We went to the little pool for the first time today.   When we're there it is as if only summer has ever existed at all.

I remember driving by this pool when it was full of snow a few months ago.

But sitting there today, it was never winter, was it? Nah.

She doesn't remember this pool.  See her serious little face, taking it all in.

She wasn't that interested in being in the pool.  She more liked to dangle around on the edges.

The people--she was fascinated by them.   She met them at the gate, walked with them and watched while they ditched their sandals and  beach cover ups, watched them jump into the pool.

Then she tried on their shoes and wanted to dig through their beach bags.

She said, "Hi," to their babies over and over.

That is a bottle of water her mother sent.

After a couple hours we headed home again and it said 99 degrees on the dash of the car. It seemed pretty hot, but who knew it was that warm?

Storms are forecast for tonight and I gotta say, the 2012 little pool season is looking pretty fine. love, Val

where is he??

He wasn't actually lost at all. We just thought he was--Lydia had followed along with him and taken him on a walk back to the field.

We were all working--Alicia was nursing her baby. I was cleaning and packing inside. The men were putting the trailer away. The older kids were in the yard putting away lawn chairs and hanging around.

And then Alicia realized he was gone. 

Gone.

We fanned out searching.  I ran through the house yelling his name, knowing he probably wouldn't answer anyway, would just stand quietly. 

I raced up the stairs and scanned the bedrooms, looked between the beds and in the closets. 

Outside, below the windows, I saw Alicia in the road, baby in her arms, searching up and down, scanning the resort next door, and John racing along the shore and docks.

Horrifying.  Terrible.

He was fine.  Never lost at all, not in danger.

Whee. I've been through this before.  Once upon a time we couldn't find Kirsten. We searched and hollered.  The big boys and uncles were searching in the shallow water, terrified.   I ran through the cabin looking one more time and spotted a trail of blonde hair sticking out of a sleeping bag.

She'd fallen asleep on a day bed in the side room.   GAWD.

This happened too with James.  He was hiding between the wall and a bed because he had some hit clips toy he wasn't supposed to have.  Bullshit on hit clips.  Who cares. I was so angry I felt like assaulting every person in the cabin.

They all stared at me.  Obviously I'm the one who is freaking out, and they are all are not.  I went for a walk.

My sister thought they should send someone after me, lest I be kidnapped.

Who would kidnap a nine months pregnant woman, angrily marching along a dirt road beside a lake?

Jay said no.  Let her be.

Oh. My. God.

At work, all the time, people tell me how calm I seem.

Really?

I chew gum when I'm nervous. Some nights I drive home with jaws that actually ache.  I teased the others that maybe I should take up smoking.

Alicia would be this.  Calm appearing.

She thanked Kari. (THANKED HER)  Thanked her for keeping him safe.

"Nice if we'd have known that, however," I added.

The child is fine.  Always was.   Praise God.  

Good thing your hair is blonde, Alicia. Then when it turns bright white, it'll seem more subtle.

b.g., we are so glad you're safe.

love, Grandma and Grandpa and everybody

going for a ride

John dragged us off the beaten track a little yesterday, first to go to my parents' place in Wisconsin to pick up this old Power Wheels truck he and Dan gave to James for his third birthday.  (James is 15 now, and the thing was stored in my parents' barn.)

 Then he made us stop at the Walmart in Rice Lake to pick up a new battery.

 I would say it was worth it. The kids had a great time, even though many things were crashed into and b.g. was run over on the leg.  (Unharmed.)

Oh my, you kids.  We love you so much, Grandpa and Grandma.

father's day weekend, 2012

There's the father, the dad of this gang.

Here is part of that gang.

They went to the sand bar, and Sam followed along.

 And swam back with them, supervising.

This is Lydia, aka Kari, having a conversation with her littlest nephew.  (He's cooing to us now.)

 Dan and b.g.'s little brother, t.g.

Okay, John told me to get a picture of this, but whee.  They argue. Here he's being chastised for argumentativeness.   That's his mad face, not his usual face.  Kids argue. It's life.

That's a mad kid.

She's got a fish!

Here they are with the bug deflector machine attached to the pouch.

 My Sweetie:

 t.c. = That Character.

 Awww, p.j. and her mother:

 Okay, here they are eating cereal. John is eating the Cocoa Krispies the child claimed were his very, very FAVORITE.

Then he didn't like them.

He's telling John now that Fruit Loops are his very, very FAVORITE. 

Yeah, yeah. I fetched a bowl and the milk.  Those he did eat.  (Ceral fun packs by Heidi.)

This is a creature we found on the underside of the deck bench.  Joe used the Moth Identifer Website to find out this is a Hebrew moth, rare in Wisconsin.  It's Hebrew because the markings look like Hebrew letters.  Very nice.

 Here he is fishing.

And here's a morning crowd today, heading out into the sun.

 See the fish in the water?

He's listening for the ocean in this snail shell. First he told Dan and me he couldn't see the ocean. Dan said, "It's not seeing, it's hearing."  He listened. He heard.

 Oh, and this final picture is one we normally don't have any of:  cleaning up.

Every weekend is subject to this fine hour or two ending--laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming, changing beds, emptying wastebaskets, gathering up recyclables and trash.   Yah.

love, Val

john's birthday

They're practicing dribbling and passing here because we have no hoop at the moment.  James saved up to buy a new one and so the old one has been removed and the cement must dry for three days before they can put the taller pole on the portion that gets buried in concrete.

There were problems with the placement of the base of the basketball pole, and the first time they set it too deep. Well, these are tall boys and nobody wanted a short hoop. 

So.

They had to start over.

Jay's comment on this was, "Well, green concrete jackhammers pretty easy."

I watched the process and easy is obviously a relative term.

Plus it was about 95 degrees that day.   After the job was done, in an overheated fit of frustration at his moppy hair, Jay took the buzzer to his own head.  "Just like Brittany Spears," James said.

It okay--it's summer, and hair grows.

 We haven't seen this guy in a couple weeks and wow has he grown!   I love the toes.

t.g. loves sleeping in that pouch of Alicia's.

He was there, and he and Julia were trying to arrange a sleep over any which way they could.  The problems is he goes to bed early and gets up early.  She is the opposite.

We told them they'll see each other plenty at the lake in a couple days.  They were unimpressed.

Here's John opening gifts.  b.g. was so interested in his gifts he kept trying to sneak into the dining room and open them while we were still eating.

For some reason a bowl of cereal was way more appealing to this child than the meal was.

Like that crazy hair?

I don't know what they're discussing here.

 Time for cake, and we were short one candle, so John grabbed one from the candle holder on the table.  It worked.

And one stubborn candle would not blow out.

Then it was the end of the evening, and everyone took their dogs and their kids and went home, and it got very, very quiet.

Happy Birthday again John.   We love you so, Mom and Dad