stormy and cozy....

Emily went waterfalling with a few of the younger kids...this is Camille and Emily...my youngest and oldest, ten years old and 33 years old.

It's a dark and stormy night, the rainy and thundery kind of storm. We had a hot day, 90+ degrees, and SO muggy and humid, the sweaty kind of day. Our pool is crystal clear, and still refreshingly chillyish. So yeah, we spent some time in there today. Now we are having a changing weather pattern, this storm is bringing in a cold front, so tomorrow will be a delicious sunny and seventy something.

Evelyn and I went out and about this morning for a bit, first to visit with Grandma. We went to one thrift store, where we bought a nice coloring book for the grandkids, and a few outfits, for the grandkids. Then to Walmart where Evelyn found a few cute plants (mums!) for a dollar, a rug for $9, and some torilla chips and cilantro for our taco salad dinner.

Home...ah, home and into that pool. Lydia is here now, she is in the middle of potty training, and keeps asking to put a diaper on, which means one thing: she has to poop. Suzanne brought her to the bathroom and played a kids' show on her phone for her, but she still didn't go. I totes thought I was done with this stuff, ha.

Evelyn and I took a ride, half hour away, to pick up Mariel's car from the shop, as Mariel works late on Wednesdays and her car was all fixed. I drove her car home, all by myself, and shh, it was quiet and nice.

The power blinked a few times, so I filled some pitchers with water, we have a well and when the power goes out, no water. My friends who live in town do not understand how lucky they are when they lose power, they can still drink, wash, and flush. I have also located the matches, and there are some candles lit on the table.

So, it's cozy in here. Dark and rainy, rain just pelting down. I love a good summer storm, as long as it behaves.

Tomorrow, we are going to the New York state fair! We decided to drive to town and take the bus, so we won't have to walk so far when we get there. Mali took Lyd to the fair the other day, and said her favorite part was the bus ride, so she'll be happy. It'll be fun taking a stroller again, ha. We have some snacks packed, and will bring extra drinks and water, but...do we resort to putting a pull-up on Lydia? The lines for the bathrooms are extra long at the fair. I think we'll have to.

We don't plan to go on the rides, too pricey, but to visit the cows and bunnies and piglets, and go to the horticulture building and see the sand sculpture, and the flowers, and the honeybees. We'll visit the dairy building for chocolate milk, and ice cream. Did you know that New York is the fourth leading state in producing milk? One of the leading producers of yogurt, cream cheese, sour cream, and cottage cheese? Some people think New York = Tall buildings, but upstate NY is farm land.

Anyway, we're going to the fair...summer is almost over.

Here's a totally random thing: I got bonked on the head with the awning while we were camping. We have one of those pop-up awnings, wasn't staked down, the wind picked up, it flipped over, came right towards me, I put my hands up to stop it but they only hit the fabric and didn't even slow it down...clunk, the metal corner hit me square on the top of my head. I heard the sound, and it hurt SO TERRIBLY bad. Oh dear, I couldn't believe how badly it hurt. Emily-the-nurse-practitioner, Mariel-the-registered-nurse, and Mali-the-registered-nurse were all there, and basically said since I didn't pass out, and wasn't dizzy, I was probably okay. I have a nice big bump on my head, and was kind of surprised there wasn't any blood, but wah. I know I am a huge baby, but wait, I had several babies without even a hint of painkillers, so I am not THAT big of a baby.

Tonight, we are going to watch a movie, Toy Story or something...there is lots going on here, Suzanne is tucking Lydia in, and some girls are making smoothies, and they're also making cheese fries...never dull around here.