The month of August has been one of the busiest months I can remember in a long time. It seems that we've been going full tilt since the first of the month and it hasn't stopped. This is okay in one respect...after all, what is life if it isn't full? It's unfortunate, in another, because it has just sped us at warp speed to a time that I will be mourning for awhile, known as The End of Summer.
(Yes, I know that the month of September is technically summer for the first 21 days, and that October is often a beautiful month as well. I love fall, I love sweater-and-jeans weather, foliage, fall frolic, Halloween, and the whole feeling of "back to school football weather"...but not as much as I love summer! And we all know I despise winter, and fall is just leading us there, like a wolf in sheep's clothing...)
Anyhow, what have we been so busy with these past few weeks? I have essentially had three "free" days in the last few weeks, and two of them were yesterday and the day before. It has been a culmination of many things...
End of Summer Stuff...
Well, honestly we'd be doing this stuff anyhow even if it was June, but doing summery things in August has a feel of nostagia. To be specific, the two things we did this past weekend were to go swimming and hit up Knobels Amusement Resort. We decided to take a trek to Berwick in search of the public pool, since the lovely Hazleton Area does not have a public pool. We discovered a gigantic, inexpensive public pool...only 15 minutes away!!!! The ironic thing was that we discovered it three days before they closed for the season. And, we were rained out after about 45 minutes. And, there was literally no one else there (perhaps because of the rain forcast?) In any event, we'll know for next year!
Knobel's was the following day, and we attended with several of Gabe's long lost high school friends and their families. Six adults and 5 children aged 7 to 3 months (all boys!) We had a great day with some fantastic weather. Gabey is finally big enough to both enjoy the kiddie rides as well as understand that when the ride is over, you have to get off, not throw yourself kicking and screaming on the ground (well, he sort of understands that.) Our day culminated with Gabe riding the Luge and getting completely soaked, the customary train-ride for our little train-obsessed kiddo, and wandering the massive parking lot for about a half hour in search of our lost car...
Dad Update
My dad is home and about 2 weeks post-op. He is doing really well, although the first week and a half were pretty rough, dare I say moreso for my mom than him. First there was the tornado-esque storm that relocated pond furniture, ripped up the barn roof, demolished the canoe, threw down a few branches, and left water pouring through the brand new kitchen ceiling. My mom texted me ominously stating she was "sitting in the dark, drinking wine...its all too much"...fortunately she made it over the hump (I think this was day two of being home) and didn't go all Kathy Bates in "Misery" on my dad. Life is slowly starting to gain a bit of semblence for them, or rather, a new bit of normal. There is still a long road to go, and Gabey and I are going to visit (aka babysit) Grandad today while my mom goes in to work. The biggest challenge will be keeping my Dad from doing the things he is not supposed to be doing!! See Exhibit A:
Moments before, G3 was found sitting on Grandad's lap. According to Grandad, he had "no idea" how he got up there. (!!)
Otherwise...
Otherwise, we've just been really busy with typical everyday things, like friends visiting, working on my photography venture (check it out), and of course...yardwork!!! We have had an insane bounty this year, particularly of tomatos from the garden at Pinto-Bay. Testing untouched waters, we decided to can them and make salsa. Having never done this, we started this little project after work one day, thinking we'd first make the salsa, then can the tomatoes, then have dinner and proceed with our evening. HA! The salsa alone took several hours, and yeilded 5 quarts...didn't really seem like a lot for how much work was involved!! I'm sure we'll embark on the canning oddessey again...but not until next year!
Tomato, anyone?
The final product...
Four Years and Counting...
One final note...today is Gabe and I's 4th wedding anniversary. We've never been one of those couples to go crazy celebrating (mostly because we're usually too busy to remember it until a few days before!!!!!) but its still a noteworthy day. Happy Anniversary:)
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