ahhhh....summertime...

Did I get to sleep in a bit? ha. I had to bring Samuel over to the school for his first day of work at his summer job, doing school maintenance. He worked there last year and they liked him so much they hired him again. He had to be there by 7:00...so I had to get up at 6:30. Now, that wouldn't be bad if I hadn't woken up at 3:30 to use the bathroom then struggled for a few hours to fall back to sleep. I hate when that happens. My brain won't shut off, and I toss and turn. Last night, for example, I thought of writing a book...and realized that my biggest fear, which is that it would end up in the dollar store, wouldn't be the end of the world. I could actually make it a goal, then if it happened I would be happy. Yeah, stupid things like that.

My younger kids are saving up their money. Camille was sitting with me yesterday, doing some thinking. She suggested to Charlotte Claire that they pool their money. She said, "With your $88 and my $14 and the dollar Mom owes me and the $2 she owes you, we would have one hundred five dollars!" When I asked her how she figured that out, she said, "I used all my fingers and toes." (Char said NO WAY, btw.)

The four youngest have had two sleepover nights in a row, where they all sleep on the floor in Sonja's room. They stay up too late being too silly, then get up too early and start being silly again.

I promised Evelyn a trip to the library today, and I have to remember to pick Sam up at 3:00. He has a bike that works well, but I thought I would drive him for the first few days. He knows how to drive, and is ready to get his license, but then he will have to have a vehicle to drive. So getting rides from mom and biking are good for now. It is only five-ish miles.

Did I mention that I took my suit and towel and swam for half an hour after I dropped Sam off this morning? It was lovely.

Yesterday my mother-in-law had a picnic at her house and invited us over. We brought Suri, who pooped in her driveway first thing. After that she was good though:) She stuck around, and was friendly enough although she thought it was her job to bark at everyone when they got there. Anyway, it was nice to see Paul's sister and brothers and their spouses. And a few of the cousins. 12 of my kids made it over. They pretty much took up the whole living room (it was raining out.)

The lil' kids are playing with stuffed animals and the real kitten right now. They made a pile of bears and put the kitty on it, he just snuggled up and went to sleep. He is a nice sort of kitty, always purring and when I sit down, he comes walking across the living room with that intent look, purring, ready to jump up and snuggle under my chin. I didn't even really want a kitten, but he sure is nice to have around. He has us laughing with his antics, the way he runs and leaps up and attacks Suri, who just puts her head on her paws and sighs. Sometimes Suri holds kitty down and washes him, just like a mama.

Replacing our pool is not fun. It is one foot smaller than the old one, so we have had to clear up the sand and move the bricks that the posts will rest on. When I say, "we", I mean "Paul", of course. I helped clear the sand, but he has done most of the hard work. And it has been so hot out there! The older boys are supposed to do the remaining bricks today, then we will be ready to unroll that pool and put it in the track. Sounds easy, ha, I know it won't be.

We do have plans for the summer. On July 4th, Benjamin Paul will be coming home on leave! We can't wait to see him, and to see Ashley and her baby bump! We have to have that pool set up and filled by then!

I am also planning to take the kids to see the new Monster's Inc. movie, and take them to the children's museum, and to the nice beach on Lake Ontario, and camping.

The shifting demographics in our home still puzzle me. It's like we have all these adults and big people, big kids, and then just a few little ones. Little ones are game for anything, they are all happy just to go Bye-Bye. The older ones, not so much. So summer is different than it used to be. Smaller groups with different interests go here and there. Emily is taking Kathryn 15, Evelyn 13, and Suzanne 12, camping this week, up to the Adirondacks. Joseph, Aaron, and Samuel are going camping this weekend up there. Paul and I have to be home this weekend as we are working at the ballgame on Friday night.

Oh great, the stuffed animals need to be in doll strollers. These guys transform this living room into the biggest mess so fast.

Camille is now playing, "Hot Cross Buns" on the little keyboard and changing the words. Kitty is beating up Suri. Nope, never a dull moment.