Awww...shoot!

I totally forgot the mention 4th of July!

I don't know where my mind is sometimes. So we had a crazy hot fourth. The day started out as a blazer and stayed that way for most of the afternoon. We ran some errands and visited Gena's mom and then on our way home, we stopped to get some buns for hotdogs and hamburgers for a little get-together that our friends were having.

The sky turned very dark while were at Kroger, so we headed home and waited to see what was going to happen. Of course we got a huge rain storm on the day of the year you are supposed to have all sorts of dangerous fun outside. But this was no ordinary rainstorm. I think that because it hadn't rained in so long, the air and the clouds were just overloaded because it rained harder than I have ever seen it rain. But that was just the beginning...

Soon after the rain started, I noticed something bouncing off the sidewalks. I couldn't be sure at first, since it was SOOO hot still, but I thought it was hail. I got my answer within minutes because the first few bits melted almost instantly and then it got bigger...and bigger...and BIGGER. Here is a picture of the last couple we risked our lives to collect:

From At Home With Little Ones

Never in my life have I seen hail half the size of a golf ball. This was amazing. Of course, it was probably better in Lincoln's eyes since my mind immediately turned to "Will my windshields crack? How will my garden fare? Is my siding going to get destroyed? Glad I have a new roof...etc." Being an adult sure takes a lot of the wonder and magic out of life.

P.S. There was no serious damage from the hail. The high winds blew my tomatoes over, but the plants are still alive and fruiting. There are some serious holes in my cucumber leaves, but even they are starting to come back. The worst thing to happen was the multiple indentations left in the car hoods and roofs, but that is only minor superficial stuff that doesn't really matter. Thank goodness.

Another whole month...GONE!

I cannot believe that Lenore will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. It doesn't seem possible. Of course, her actual 2 month birthdate is the 18th, but it is still pretty unbelievable that it has been so long since we brought her home.

Our routine seems to be pretty stable now, although Lincoln still has several micro-meltdowns anytime mommy leaves. Yesterday I told him that I would play with him in the yard with the squirt guns and he said "I don't want to play with you. I'll play with mommy when she comes home." Ouch...

We got a pool from Gena's mom and Rodger and we set it up in place of the one we bought. I spent about 3 hours yesterday cleaning it and filling it. The nice part about the new one is that it is large enough to have a filter and pump system attached which means I can chlorinate the water as well. I'm originally from an area where city water was an option to having a well, so there was never any discussion about water bills and how to keep them from breaking the bank. Now that I own a home in a metro area, I feel a bit anxious anytime the faucet is running! With the smaller pool, we would be putting about 50-60 gallons in, letting Lincoln play for a few hours and then dumping it. The new pool probably holds more like 150-160 gallons, but it will stay up until mid-September. Now the only thing that is bugging me is the non-eco-friendliness of simply draining that water instead of repurposing it for plants or grass. I'll have to look up ways to make it work out.

I'm not sure that there is much more to be said as of now. I am working whenever I can to get the kid's toy room set up. We picked up a very large train table from one of my coworkers and once everything is painted and finished, it will go into the room for Lincoln to play trains. I'll take pictures and post them when it's complete.

I'll also put any new images up on the slideshow gallery in the right sidebar. Enjoy!