Counting Down.

We are down to 2--only TWO!!--weeks until our due date for this baby girl. Which really means we should be ready at any moment. 

We are getting there. Ever a list maker, I have my trusty list of things to get done before the baby comes: Food prep, Deep  cleaning, Errands. A few here, a few there they are getting done. I'd love to think she'll hold off until it is all done, but I can't count on it.

We've also been trying to continue our days of fun. We pulled off Sturbridge Village, a visit with cousins, and a handful of playground visits and ice cream cones. An unexpected stomach bug for Ezra slowed us down a bit, but we're feeling good again. 

Marty finished summer school today, so tomorrow we head to the beach again! And then....

I'll let you know if anything happens!

Corny.

We had such a quintessential summer meal the othe night, I couldn't resist snapping a picture.

Burgers, fresh corn on the cob, and watermelon. Perfect.

But the best part was when Marty and Ezra decided to share the last ear of corn--Lady and the Tramp style...

Dorothy couldn't contain herself. It's easy entertainment around these parts:)

Feasting AND the word

With Marty's regular school schedule, we found it best to do our family scripture study at bedtime. However, now that his calling has him away at bedtime more often than not, we have gone to reading scriptures at dinner time--the only time of day daddy is usually home. So now we not only feast on the word, but we feast while hearing the word! Those busy chomping mouths helps to keep things quiet:)

What do you do in the summertime?

We go to the beach,

And ride carousels, 

And eat seafood at Flo's clamshack.

Delicious summer days. 

Take two.

After two days of rain and ridiculous humidity, I couldn't help but make plans to get out of the house when I saw the sun shining this morning. I was brave and decided we would attempt berry picking again--with mandatory potty attempts before entering the van!!

I am so glad that we went! The day was beautiful. We had redboxed the Lego movie yesterday to pass our second rainy afternoon in a row. I hadn't seen it yet--another thing I'm glad we did. I laughed more than I thought I would! Anyway, I let the kids watch it one more time on the drive and found myself singing the "everything is awesome!" song all day. Picking berries in the sun? Awesome. Delicious farm cafe snacks? Awesome. Making a blueberry pie? Totally awesome. 

Life. It's awesome!

Breakfast!

Last night was a doozy of a storm. Torrential downpours, thunder, lightning crashing seemingly right overhead. I woke up around midnight and just sat at the window watching, a bit in awe at how powerful it all was. 

When we woke up just before 6 we could see that our garden was a bit swampy, but otherwise we had weathered the storm well. Then just as we were getting to 6, we heard a transformer blow right across the main road and everything went down. 

I started thinking about hauling water out of the basement and manually lighting the stove to put together some sort of breakfast. I then started thinking about all the food in the fridge and freezer and how I didn't want to chance losing any of it by opening the doors. And to complicate things further, we had just over an hour to get Marty fed and out the door for summer school. 

So, out to breakfast it was! I was grateful I hadn't wimped out on cooking dinner recently, begging my husband to have pity on his tired pregnant wife (which he of course, would:). Instead we were able to use our fun money for French toast, egg and cheese sandwiches, home fries, pancakes, bacon, and juice. Oh, let's not forget the joy of continuing the morning with no dishes in the sink! With that bit of extra energy I started a few other chores I've been putting off. And the best part is that the power was coming back on just as we got home.

So, thank you, random power outtage. You started this Wednesday off right!

Home at last!

This Bishop (aka daddy) loves nothing more than coming home Sunday night after a LONG day of meetings and home visits. And we're pretty excited to see him, too!!

Even better.

Have you ever read Oh, the Places You'll Go, by Dr. Seuss? Ezra has been on a Seuss kick lately, so I've been reading that one almost daily. At one point it talks about "the waiting place." I have to admit that the last stretch of this pregnancy has taken me to the waiting place. I'm worn out a lot of the time, so we just don't seem to get out and do all that much. We're just waiting. Ugh. It's not a great place. And then it seems everyone else is out making summer memories. As they should be. As WE should be too!!! 

I decided this morning that the waiting place was no longer a place for us! We were going berry picking and we were going to eat ice cream and this day was going to ooze with summer goodness!! After double checking that everyone had shoes, mostly clean faces, and had gone potty, we buckled into the van. We were literally 7 minutes down the road when the cry came from the back, "I have to go potty!!!" It was not a good place to try and stop, so I told my little one to hold it. We kept driving, missed a turn, got back to where we needed to be, moved up a few more exits, and the cry came again--this time accompanied by bouncing up and down in her seat. I told her to hold tight. We would get off at the next exit. Well, the next exit was not promising. Over a mile down the road, I finally spied a Cumberland Farms and packed all the littles out of the van and into the store. I looked desperately at every corner. NO bathrooms. WHAT? Okay. I'm not feeling so good about leaving the waiting place at this point. We're about 15 minutes from our destination, so I buckle everyone back into the van and plead with my little one to hold it just a bit longer. 

We make it about 5 more minutes down the road when I turn to see how things are going. "Are you still dry?" I get a "no" head nod. "Did you have an accident?" I get a "yes" head nod. I take a deep breath. I turn the van around and announce that we are going to have to change our plans. Moans and groans fill the van, and I am trying not to feel like a total failure. 25 minutes later, we pull into our driveway with a grumpy load of people. My little girly hops out with no apparent wetness on her dress or seat. We go inside to finally resolve this potty issue. Guess what? Her undies are still dry. Yup. All that ridiculousness and there was really no accident after all! 

After some lunch the blood sugar levels are raising and we're all feeling a little better. I really don't want this day to defeat us, so I start scheming. As soon as Marty walks in the door, I announce that I think it is a good time to go to the beach. Within 10 minutes we are ready to go. 

It was meant to be. The weather was beautiful, the water was warm, they were letting people in for free today, the girls were fishes the entire time, and Ezra loved the sand and seaweed. I don't think there was even complaining when we said it was time to wrap it up. We got nearly two hours in at the beach as a family, and we still made it home in time to cook zucchini fritters and Cobb salad for dinner. Finally, we broke out of that stinky old waiting place! And it really felt wonderful! With a victory under my belt, I'm coming up with a whole list of little summer goodies to do with the kids. We'll wait for our baby girl by not just sitting around, waiting. As it should be!

Beauties

Aren't they just lovely? These girls of mine are growing up too quickly. 

At least if they have to grow up, they still know how to be silly!

And they are passing it on:)

Summer Hike

We have relatively few days this season with our papa bear off from work. He starts back in teaching summer school next week. We decided that even with the heat we were going to get out today. After throwing around many ideas, our plan came together: lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant, then off to hike in the shade of the woods.

This afternoon is a movie and glasses of blueberry iced tea or resting under fans. Lazy summer days. Good stuff.