Lucky Ducks...

Well Lady luck has finally paid us a visit! As a matter of pure chance I happened upon a "free trampoline with safety enclosure" on craigslist last weekend and replied to it. As she later told me, I was the closest and sounded nice so we were chosen. We took it down and they even helped deliver it to our house--talk about nice! Anyway, we finally got it set up and the kids are in HEAVEN! Just in time for a summer of jumping!

A lot of Nothing

After falling into bed at 11, 12, dare I admit 1 o'clock in the morning, my DS often asks what I have done that day. It is then that the wheels in my head begin to crank and churn as my brain struggles to sum up my day, to no avail. It is then that I realize that my time is filled with a lot and yet Nothing. Each day is spent run, run, running, and yet when asked what I do all day? Hmmmmmm. Does he really want to hear about the meals fixed, errands run, laundry done, carpools driven, noses wiped, "owies" bandaged, kisses administered, spills cleaned up, snatches of "between" time spent working, play-dates arranged, flower-beds weeded, etc? Not really...I don't blame him so much of it just fits under the category of "Oh, Nothing...".

I don't feel bad about the way I occupy my day...I genuinely work hard, but I must admit my Nothing sometimes weighs me down and at times even seems trivial. Deep down I know my Nothing is priceless and sometimes I even have so much Nothing that it actually amounts to Something and then I share. So when he comes home tonight after a week in which he has been home exactly 17.5 hours (yes, that includes time spent sleeping) and he asks what I have been up to I will probably snuggle up to him and think about all the Nothing I have done and figure out which Somethings I should share....

The Perfect Storm

NASCAR Race at the Poconos...

Yankees Game at Home...

Construction on I-80...

The Puerto Rican Day Parade in Midtown...

Thunderstorms...

Dan working a 14 hour day...

Seemingly unrelated and yet....Isn't it funny how you watch things come and go, come and go, each thing moving in its own time and space...Every once in a while they all collide at the same point in time? You will see how 6 seemingly unrelated events turned a 165 mile, 3 hour trip to Danville, Pa to visit friends, into an almost 11 hour drive!

My dear friends from Idaho were on a little trip East to visit DC and decided to drive up to visit another dear friend living in Danville...We were all going to meet up at her house for a little catch-up and some lunch/dinner...Fun!

I piled the kids in the car...Dad had been called into work and would therefore be unable to make it and unable to help drive...undeterred we headed out. Beautiful day, happy children, friends ahead!

HALT!!!!!

We came to a complete stop heading toward the George Washington Bridge (GWB) less that 15 miles into our journey. Unfazed I tune the radio and listen for possible causes...Yes, that would do it...Puerto Rican Day Parade in Midtown... Oh well, it is NYC and these things do happen.

1 Hour later...

Yay! On our way again...with nothing but blue skies and open road ahead! We enter the Poconos Mountains on our way and pass a sign reading "Welcome NASCAR! Race Today!" Well it didn't seem to be hampering my drive and on we go...

We arrive only 1 hour late - not bad! We ate, the kids played, and we gabbed to our hearts content! Everything I hoped it would be, including much too short.

Around 6:30ish we head out hoping the trip home would be a little less busy (the parade was over hours ago!) Again we hit the open road...

HALT!!!

Another 1 hour wait...this time we were shuffled into a single file line for non-existent "construction" that was going on. (First hint at frustration...I mean it is a school day tomorrow)

Just as we picked up speed to a nice 40 mile an hour pace we hit dead on with a RAGING rain/thunderstorm. You know, the kind in which your windshield wipers are completely impotent! We were forced to stop on the freeway and wait for a break in the weather....finally we are able to creep along at a 20 mile an hour pace.

Traffic seemed to be building at an incredible speed...why? Well we were just entering the Poconos again and the rain cancelled the remainder of the race. There were now 100,000 crazy NASCAR fans exiting the raceway and entering I-80.

At this point my car is now running low on gas...normally a trip of this type would not require a fill-up...stop for a bathroom break and some much needed fuel.

Finally...a little movement on I-80. We were able to travel for about an hour at semi-normal freeway speeds when I again tuned the radio for the upcoming GWB update.

HALT!!!!!

Traffic was backed up an hour inbound...no wait on the outbound--of course. (VERY FRUSTRATED) Why so crazy? The parade, the Yankees game, the crazy NASCAR fans...who knows!!!!

At approximately 12am we arrive home and spill out of our care, exhausted, just before as Dan pulls up from a LONG day at work...

The question is...

Was it worth it? YES!!!



Does it get any better than this? (Only if Merr was there...)



Brie and Travis



The kids with their "mean" faces!



They had a fabulous time getting to know each other.

Backyard Bliss

To add insult to injury, we decided the inside of our house hasn't been punishment enough so we let the outside take a turn. To begin with, our neighbors informed us that prior to our purchase our backyard was a graveyard for old vehicles...cars, vans, boats, etc. This would explain the springs, parts, and random oil cans we found. It also must have been party central because we have more broken beer bottles and bottle tops back there than a you'd find at a redneck firing range! It was as if the backyard had been booby-trapped! Because of the total neglect, a small forest had sprung up as well and had to be whacked back. We took down 6-7 major trees--we meaning Dan and I to begin with and a professional Tree company once we wised up! The below pics are of the yard after Dan and I had cut down four big trees and after the tree company had taken down 2 of the 4 they were working on. (Note: We have yet to tackle the garage...that is a renovation that will have to wait!)




After we took down the trees we still had to "clear" the land. We fearlessly waded in and began weeding, digging, and raking. The "forest" we took down seemed to have a firmer grip on the ground than we anticipated and I am still having nightmares about all the roots we dug up! We have to a lot of work to put in the lawn, so in the meantime we decided to plant a garden in the freshly tilled dirt patch we had. Dan and I both love gardens and we planted with a vengeance--peas, carrots, green beans, green peppers, corn, cucumbers, potatoes, and several kinds of tomatoes. We also did a little bit of planning and planted two varieties of raspberries and 4 trees--peach, apricot, honeycrisp apple, and a golden delicious apple. We won't have anything from them til next year...



Dan in his attempt to conquer the tangle and maze of roots and vines that had run rampant for the twenty years prior to our occupancy! As you can see in from the pile in the next picture...although the trees were down the roots will take us years to excavate completely.





The grand finale! The kids are posing in front of the "Feldman Family Farm" as our backyard neighbor, Dave, calls it. You also get a great view of our neighbor's garden. She is first generation immigrant from Italy and has mob connections (seriously!)....but her Spaghetti and Meatballs are fabulous!

Overheard...

Carson's Friend: Why don't you guys have any more kids?

Carson: Because my Mom told my Dad she was ALL DONE having babies.

Carson's Friend: Oh.

Carson: Yah, I have to be the baby forever....