I took the kids back to Oregon for about a week to be with my Mom following my Stepfather's passing from leukemia on June 5th. There was so much to do, and we are all still recovering from all of that, here and in Oregon. You learn things after people are gone, and what I learned about Oscar was that he was an incredible artist. I knew he could draw, but I had no idea the talent he possessed. His Dad, a full-blooded Cherokee Indian, painted and/or sketched around 600 pieces (mostly Native American portraits), and while I don't think Oscar's collection was that extensive, it is impressive, and he had a style all his own. I'm grateful I had the opportunity to learn that about him.
I can't muster up a graceful transition from the above to the rest of this post, so will just dive in.
I flew back to Richmond with the kids, alone, had a day to rest, and then we went to DC to be with friends. It was nice to see them even though the weather was miserably hot, and it was very humid. I started having mild contractions while walking for what seemed like forever in the awful heat. I look forward to visiting again when I am not pregnant, and when the temps are humane. My midwife told me to take it easy the rest of the summer, especially given the fact it is supposed to be 103 out tomorrow, with a heat index of 110!! I'll admit I had quite a little scare in DC, and put the skids on our fun, but nothing rest and hydration didn't fix.
The day after DC we had a crazy storm that blew through Richmond, causing extensive damage to the trees on our street (and throughout the city). I'm talking about a crazy-violent storm that made me take the kids down to the lowest point in the house, if not to be "safer" from a potential tornado, but to keep us "safer" from a massive tree falling on the house. We have had storms off and on since then, and two weeks later our neighbors finally have their electricity (although some people still don't), and the tree in front of our house has 2 large, dry, and brittle branches hanging from it. The only inconvenience we experienced was no internet, land line or TV for over a week. Turns out you do a lot of talking when that happens, and come to find out Sam and I really do like each other. :)
Pics of the storm are at the bottom of this post.
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| Quentin rarely sits still for anything, but the City came out to clean up the tree damage, and Q was in awe of the "big" "trucks" lining our street. I am not fibbing when I tell you he watched for 1 whole hour. The only other thing I've noticed recently that made him stand still for a moment was when he caught a glimpse of The Empire Strikes Back on TV - stopped him dead in his tracks and he started grunting and pointing like a wild animal. I see my future flashing before me. |
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| We are tickled that Ada got into the preschool program we were hoping for. She will be a Linwood-Holton Lion this next year. She spelled CAT for the first time on her own today, without any coaching from us (or really any knowledge that she was writing it). Her Dad was mighty impressed...Mom was not surprised in the slightest. :) |
Last weekend we decided to get out of dodge and play together as a family. We went to Lake Anna and had a blast together in the water. I think it's the most fun the kids have ever had to be honest. Mixed in all of this has been "Mad Science" camp for Ada, library trips, prenatal/eye doctor/dental appointments, and the 4th of July. Richmond celebrates Independence Day all week, and I am not joking. There are firework shows just about every night...in fact, I hear the fireworks going off in the city now! The poor dogs...
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| We are having fun listening to his unfolding and expanding verbal skills. The sweet sound of him saying butterfly cancels out the not-so-sweet sound of him saying "No!" Other words include: Baby, Kitty, Dog, Bird, among several others. |
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| Attempting to force feed me an Oreo, which would have been fine if it weren't covered in spit, dirt, and grass. |
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| Ada gives everyone that comes to the house something from the yard. A flower, weed, or leaf. You come over, you're leaving with something from the yard. At Lake Anna it was some sort of weed that was a gift for me. |
We look forward to a neighborhood BBQ tomorrow - especially the sprinklers, and kiddie-pool.
We also really look forward to going back to Oregon for our vacation in 2 weeks to see family, and to let the kids play with their cousins.
Until then, I am going to pretend I have some semblance of control over life (ha!), and attempt to get organized...wait, I just realized I never called my mother-in-law back.
Argh!
Forgive me, Maribeth!
Pics from our storm:
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| Moments after the storm...this branch was right in the middle of the street. Notice the other branch hanging over the front yard of our neighbor's house (there is another one hanging above it). |
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| Directly across the street from our house - there was a little car sitting underneath this mess, and our neighbor drove it away without a mark on it...now their fence was a different story. See the tree branch to your left between his house and the white house. Took out the fence gate, and that was the only property damage!! Amazing. |
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| Close up |
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| Swept clean by yours truly just 6 hours prior to the storm, of course. |
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| Sam helping our neighbor clean up the mess over their fence. |
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| View from our front stoop |
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| The number 2 reason I love our neighborhood -- everyone pitches in to help. The number 1 reason is the community these people have built for all of our kids. Good people, I tell you! |
