starting the recap...

I like writing every day because all the wonderful words and thoughts I had get lost so fast. I missed a week of writing because I lived so huge this week. Basil and Kristen and their two sweet babies were here for 7 days. It was a carousel of coordinating and a carnival of fun. We really do not have the room in this house for 2 extra kids that need their own rooms to sleep in so the sleeping coordinating was a fiasco at first. I was mortified that the only solution we could conjure up was to have her baby sleep in the storage room and Rhoda sleep in the laundry room. That didn't end up working so on the second night I set up an extra play yard in my room and put Rhoda in Teig's room. That did not work because Teig kept me up all night. So the next night I figured out that I could set up the play yard in the shower of our upstairs bathroom. It was not ideal, but it was how we got through the week. The second catastrophe of the week happened the day after they arrived. We had enjoyed a rich 5 days of luscious rain and then the day after they arrived the weather took a turn and hit 95 degrees with tons of humidity. We've never had so much water in our basement where they were sleeping. It was seeping through all the walls and soaking boxes and guess what?! We discovered that day that the AC did not work! We were miserable. I thought Basil was going to book a ticket home. Luckily Gayle rushed to our aid the next day and it was cool as a cornfield by 5:00.
Rhoda took to Tor in a way that amazed and delighted me. She loves him like Paul hoped our boys would love him. She followed him around and let him in every time she could. She gave him treats and teased him and played in his water and never once was scared of him. She was so sweet with him. Paul commented that she has not been taught to fear and hate him like our boys have been. I felt bad because I have not been able to teach the boys to adore that sweet dog like I should. Basil admitted that he thought Tor should be an outside dog, and Kit tended to agree, which made me secretly glad and sad a bit. All my friends think he should be an outside dog or they say, "you're a better woman than I am." I have not had any of my friends understand why we have him inside which I think makes me have a harder time feeling right about it and it feels like everyone gangs up on Paul about it. At least in my mind. If it was just the thing everyone does, I think I would be more cool about it. Anyway, Rhoda was great. She is adorable and mischievous. Kit kept saying that Joren and Rhoda are two peas in a pod and she was right. They both are following their own curious compass. It's hard to tell them no to anything and you have to watch them like a hawk. (which definitely added to the drama of the week.) I felt like I was running all week long. I think I made 8 meals that I cooked, put on the table and had to run to do stuff before eating. I lost 7 lbs. I am still hungry. :)

We stayed very busy. We threw a party for baby Lindyl who turned 1. Kit had it all preplanned and it was darling. We made our own party hats and Lindyl got her first cake.



We played in the sprinklers and ate pop cycles.






We went to the carnival and rode ponies. I took Kit to my favorite thrift store and she lucked out on some awesome finds (and I did too). We saw a Parade and Eirik and I walked in it with the preschool. They came to Eirik's soccer game, we ate at 5 Guys and Fries, we bbq'd and ate on the back deck.

We went on a few great walks. As I tucked Joren into bed we were talking about all the wonderful things we did that day and he said, "I wove wife." (I love life.) So cute.

One of the best parts of the week was seeing Kristen climb our tree. She said she was going to do it, but to be honest I could not even imagine it really being done so I did not take her seriously at all. When I ran back out with rope, there she was 20 feet in the air. How did she do it?? I don't know. She strung up our fairy mobile and the coolest chandelier that she found at a garage sale for us for $3! Isn't it wonderful!? I love it!