No Whole World Flood

A lovely promise, especially for those in the mid-west. We had a quick thunder shower, followed by the sun setting. The rainbow was full, double and vivid. By the time I got home, this was all that was left--still there, but only half as vivid.



At one point, the bypass where I was driving lined up with the end of the arc. I felt like Dorothy about to travel over the rainbow, and kept wondering why nobody else was leaning forward over their steering wheel to take in more of the beauty. Is the car such a public place that everyone has to put on the New York indiference look? I mean, that rainbow was spectacular! It deserved a reaction--at least a second glance. People pick their noses in cars--can't they stare in awe at rainbows? Well, I didn't let the cool factor get to me. I kept gawking until I could pull to the side of the road in my neighborhood and snap a few shots and a movie. Even there some neighbors walked by and literally laughed at me.

What can I say--I'm just not cool when it comes to natural wonders.

C-5's ?

Over the last few days, we've seen military planes flying in and out of our civilian airport. The first day they started coming I knew what were before I went outside to confirm. The whine of a C-5 is so distinct that even I can pick it out of the crowd.



I felt so very civilian as I rushed my kids out to check out the gigantic plane that was flying by. I lived 5 years with the things whining in my ears. You would think that I would be used to it, but no. I still pick up the camera and deem it blog worthy.

I know the whole wing/lift thing really works, but on a chunk of metal that large it just seems like it shouldn't be able to get off the ground--like a hippo doing ballet.

My hunch is that they're helping with flood relief and our airport is a stop along the way.

A Popsicle Day

The only requirement about popsicles in our home is that they are not eaten in our home. Here are the kids on the back porch enjoying wonderful popsicles--except Sinatra--they pawned off the green watermelon flavor that no one likes on Toddler Man. He seemed happy though.

The Spot

There is a spot to the left of our front door that has been an eyesore since the first spring that we lived in this house. The alcove originally had a lovely crepe myrtle in it, but it had grossly outgrown the space so we chopped it to the ground. When we went back to remove the stump we feared that it was wrapped around the waste water drainage pipe, so we didn't rip it out that day.



Fast forward one year: the stump sprouted new shoots that looked ridiculous. I trimmed them throughout the summer and thought about what might look nice there.

Three years: this is getting downright embarrassing. The scrubby spot greets visitors with a friendly, "Hey, neighbor, would you like to add a rusty washer or a car on blocks to complete the look?" Jon pulls out the other shrubs that are growing in our front bed, but resists the urge to yank the myrtle stump because we don't want thousands of dollars in drainage repairs.

Four years: Jon took a shovel and ax and ripped the thing out. The drainage pipe clean out is there, but thank God that the pipe is buried far below Jon's circumference of destruction.

Now we have a beautiful pencil holly that will grow 8'tall and 3'wide--perfect for the spot. Now perhaps people won't look at my front entry and fear seeing the rest of the house.



Pretend that the hose reel isn't broken. That happened the day that we put in the holly. The spot must have been grieving it's Kentucky back woods feel and decided to rebel.

First Day of Summer

A few days ago was the first day of summer. We try to celebrate the turning of the seasons. For fall we bake a pumpkin pie. For winter we have hot chocolate and a movie. We're still working on spring. But for summer we go out for ice cream!!! (or a slushie).



This year we went to Cook Out for fantastic shakes. I got Heath/toffee, two kids picked chocolate cherry, another chose peanut butter cup, and Jon's was the best--peanut butter fudge.

But we couldn't stop there. Next door was Krispy Kreme. The boys came out with 2 dozen donuts--because who can resist the deal when you get the second dozen so much cheaper?!

So after we sugared ourselves up we ordered pizza to top off our healthful day. So goes the first day of summer.

Tomato, Tomahto

Growing up as a military brat with parents from the Midwest, I often wondered what accent I ended up with. (Mom, I tried to resist, but I just had to end that sentence with a preposition). This very quick quiz told me what I'd always suspected: I have a midland accent.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland   "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
Boston
North Central
The South
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

We, Wee, Oui, Wee-wee, Wii

Gem would tell you it's a homonym (sounds the same, means something different): a group referred to in first person, small, "yes" in French, liquid waste, a video game system. Guess which one is new to our house?

We have a wee Wii (not to be confused with wee-wee: which we also have). Jon came home yesterday with the Wii game system!!! We played bowling and the kids played boxing last night. So much fun. If we connect it to our wi-fi, we can download the original Mario games for free!!! Yea!!! Next we'll have to buy steering wheels and get Mario Cart.

A Miracle

I know that it isn't really a miracle, but the breakthrough feels just as dramatic: Shakespeare is actually picking up books to read them!!! I'm so thrilled that I have a hard time making him stop and do other things--like math, or chores.



Here he is reading a chapter about Joseph in his children's Bible. Earlier he read a book about dragons and (with me) a chapter in a book about Benjamin Franklin.

Reading has been such a struggle for him. A friend advised me to back off rather than push harder. His attitude changed from, "I hate reading." to "I can do this." Now he wants to pick up the books that challenge him.

I knew that he wouldn't still be sounding out words on his wedding day, but part of me had started doubting.

Hitchcock's, "The Dirds"

According to Sinatra . . .

Ice Cream and Swimming

Summer has definitely arrived. We let the kids buy ice cream from the ice cream man and the next day we went to a pool party.


Shakespeare at the water wheels. He spent most of his day on the diving boards.


Sinatra splashing his little friend.


Gem in front of the mushroom/umbrella thing. She also spent most of the day on the diving boards. It's so nice to have two swimming. I don't have to keep up with them all the time.


This was a major breakthrough for Popcorn. He normally balks at getting in the water. The 0-entry pool was just the thing for him. At first, he just got wet up to his knees, but after I took him down the kiddie slide once he was in the water. He even started playing with a group of other boys, doing an obsticle course down the slide and under the mushroom thing and then letting a bucket dump on his head then repeating. What a wonderful pool!!!