Hike--ish

I'll admit it. I'm antsy to meet this baby girl. For the past week I have woken up every morning thinking, "maybe today!" I have several contractions every day now, but they never become regular and fizzle out through the night.

To try and keep some contractions moving along (and to wear out the monkeys), we decided to try a hike the other day. Now, keep in mind that our pace is pretty much set by the 2 year old legs of Ezra, so we're not looking at anything too strenuous:) 

It was a beautiful day, and Marty and Dorothy had found a beautiful new trail for us. Everything seemed pretty magical at first. The trail was wide and inviting. There was a pony on the other side of a farm fence the kids were visiting with as we entered the path. We had our pack filled with water and snacks, and we were ready to go! 

But pretty soon that path narrowed down to nothingness and out came the bugs. Oh, the Bugs!! They were horrible! I was getting bites left and right and had them flying into me constantly. I was waving my arms around like a crazy woman to try and keep some of them away. About a half mile in we had to stop to consult our trusty map, and that's when the bugs really attacked. Our brief pause was way too inviting. We quickly made the decision to turn it around and practically run back to the van. 

We were all smiles again after our escape. We decided on a plan B: the playground. I sat in the shade eating our hiking snacks, watching the kids play. So the day didn't do much for my contractions, but we still enjoyed it!

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!