country mice

We love the city, but we definitely live in the country.

Last night Mr. Dub had been home from work just long enough to change his clothes and squirt the hose on the patch of new grass before he came to dinner.  At the table he noticed a tick crawling up his arm.

Driving home from ballet Mesquite narrowly missed hitting a skunk in the middle of the road. (and WOW! does that stench linger no matter how far and fast you drive)  Then she turned the corner and passed the newly fertilized corn field at which point she exclaimed "Well I MUCH prefer the smell of manure to the smell of skunk."

We came home to the sound of peepers in the backyard pool which has not been opened yet.  Rooney went out to find a frog and instead started issuing a may day call from the yard.  I ran to the door to find out what the problem was, and she was bringing in the cat, scolding him for catching a baby bunny.  THAT was traumatic.

Next thing I knew, she was playing with a frog in the kitchen. And encouraging the cat NOT on probation to make friends.

I'm glad the good weather is back.  The city comes alive no matter the weather, but when the leaves come back, the country wakes up and it's a happy reunion.

in motion

Sunday snapshots

Sunday morning came EARLY.

I had to be out of the house for an early morning meeting, but realized that getting the crew to church was going to require some planning. (not enough seats in one vehicle to accommodate everyone for the later trip) I asked Leeli if she wanted to come along; she was a good sport.

When we arrived to an empty parking lot, I knew I had missed a memo.

(How could I miss a meeting cancellation email?!?)

Church is a 30 minute drive from home, so we had an extra 90 minutes of quality time together in the car.

Maybe that was her quiet time quota for the day, because there wasn't a lot of concentrating in church:

We bid a bittersweet farewell to Enrique in the same parking lot. He went back to Amherst in the afternoon, where he'll spend his summer working as a New Student Orientation guide.

 We accepted a spontaneous invitation for lunch and games, and then went home to feed the missionaries, entertain an eight-year-old

 and turned the dining room into the campaign headquarters for Rooney's political debut. We listened to her speech and practiced cheering at the appropriate parts.  We also put together some personalized campaign favors:

 Sticks of gum taped to shipping tags that say

"CHEWS Roonie for Vice President!"

from the vaults

I'm peanut butter

and you are jelly

and we're so HAPPY

on our little piece of bread!

love this.

what he loves

a gate of togetherness

The week has gone racing past.
With one of our college boys home for a quick week-long break, the dynamics of the household have changed again.  I love how the kids rally around each other and long to just "be" as a complete entity in as many moments as possible.  Dinner time together, a quick game of Yahtzee, a spontaneous trip to the High School musical... I take none of it for granted.  Some of my favorite moments so far this month:

Watching Mesquite redeem a "One Dance-Off!" coupon she got from her sister for her birthday.

Discovering you CAN make a delicious meal out of JUST vegetables.

Feeling separate, somehow, from the kids at an activity we attended together, and then enjoying a well-timed embrace from Mr. Dub.  The kids will eventually fly the nest...  harbingers of this process of independence stare me in the face at every turn.  I feel thankful EVERY day that I have an anchor in Dub-who-I-love.

Driving to seminary at 6:00 am and spotting Tommy Lee Jones out walking his dog.  We made eye contact, and somehow he knew he'd been discovered.  I swear!  Who knew TLJ lived in OUR quiet little town?

The greenhouse is alive!  Bursting with little sprouts that can't wait to get their feet planted on terra firma... it's all I can do to wait until Memorial Day weekend.  But I must. It's the unwritten law of the sowing season in New England.

Chalked up another book to the finished list:  The Zookeeper's Wife A War Story by Diane Ackerman.  A World War II memoir that takes place in Warsaw kept me captivated with Antonina Zabinski's impenetrable need to survive and desire to help others.  She and her husband are keepers of the Warsaw Zoo.  When Germany  invades, the zoo is bombed and most of the animals are killed or taken away by the Nazi regime.  The Zabinskis smuggle hundreds of Jews into animal cages, an underground tunnel and their own home.  What I loved about this book was the fascinating way the author writes in a way that seems to point out the human tendencies of the animals loved by Antonina, and the way many humans seemed animalistic in wartime Poland.  A fascinating (and horrifying) glimpse from an angle I hadn't yet discovered; this book (like the war) seemed to go on forever.  I laughed out loud at many of the adventures with animals (badger was my favorite), but groaned as page after page of war time dreadfulness spread out before me.  Will this war never end? I felt guilty thinking it, when so many lived the horror and wondered the same.

We're enjoying a gate of togetherness (minus one) and there are exciting things pulling us through to the other side. 
There's a reason to celebrate every day.

where all the old riding horse toys go

Saturday on the way home from the girls' soccer game we took the scenic route. (I'm sure I've mentioned here before that I truly am married to Back-road Bob) If you're not in a hurry, it's really the most therapeutic way to drive home from a loss.  We saw some really pretty flowers, 

an awesome brick house

(I'm thankful for a husband and kids who tolerate my need to brake for photos)

and apparently the place where all discarded riding horse toys go when they are no longer loved.  Such a weird sight!  A perfectly rural neighborhood of rolling hills, manicured yards

and this: