Hello Summer!

I was up early, especially given that it was a holiday and another day off work. I was up and downstairs by 6am. The sky was mostly clear with temperatures still in the mid 60s. I exercised, made coffee, and took Frankie out back. And just like I had done both Saturday & Sunday mornings, I headed out to the deck to relax and read. While reading, a stiff wind kicked up from behind (west). Turning to see why and what, I was surprised to find dark storm clouds moving in quite fast from the NW. I picked up Frankie and headed inside. Not five minute later all hell broke loose. A big thunderstorm rumble through complete with wind, lightning, thunder and heavy rain. I snuggled up in the family room chair to continue my reading all the while the storm played itself out. It rained for a good hour or more. Mindy finally got up around 10am. And a little bit later I headed out for a run, but only after the rain stopped. It was incredibly humid and warm. I don’t think that I encountered another soul out and about. After my run I decided it a good time to put down new fertilizer, since the stuff with weed killer is best applied to a wet lawn for better adhesion. I had two kinds, some with weed killer and some without. I planned to apply the Scott’s with weed killer to the large area I reseeded fall of ’08 that has its share of broadleaf weeds and clover scattered in amongst the thick new grass. However, except for a few other small problem areas, the rest of the lawn remains largely weed free. No sense polluting it with weed killer. Because of the heavy rain, there wasn’t any need to water flowers. A day off so to speak. We made plans to have the boys for the afternoon. We said around 1pm. Mindy headed off to run some errands and eventually to the grocery around noon. I planned to fetch the boys after a shower and some food. Because it was the last day of May, I wanted to redeem my $.50 per gallon savings at the Kroger pumps before heading to pick-up the boys. To that end I left the house around 1245pm and headed to the Georgesville Rd Kroger with gas pumps. I filled the Trooper for $1.92 per gallon. I pulled up to fetch the boys around 110pm. As I came barreling down the street, I noticed Courtney’s van (formerly Mindy’s) in Kelly’s driveway. Off to the side were both Kelly and Courtney hanging out in the front yard. That's my first Courtney sighting since she pulled away from our house angry last September/October. Unfortunately, she’s harboring some bitterness, but for exactly what, we’re still not sure. Both she and Kelly scurried away just out of my sight like school girls. Lindsey came out immediately to handoff the boys with a sheepish grin on her face the entire time. She glanced towards the side of the house a couple of times, as if to indicate that both Kelly and Courtney were just around the corner. I laughed off their childish act. But that's Kelly, always setting a poor example for how to handle problems. Hide from them! The boys were quickly loaded and buckled in. We headed towards home. It rained a time or two along our brief drive. The boys were a little wild in the door, and since I was the only one home to try and manage them, it seemed a struggle. They got me a little flustered in a hurry asking for this, needing that, and running somewhat amuck. I had to raise my voice a time or two to reel them in. I felt bad, but it worked. Thankfully, things calmed down fairly quickly. Soon Mindy was home from the grocery, and having her there helped immensely. I helped carry in the groceries. The kids wanted some of the goodies they spotted right away. Mindy made a rule, no goodies until everything was put away. Jimaken dropped Bella and Jacob at home a short while later. Mindy called our neighbors to ask if they were interested in cooking out later at our place. They were. Lucky for us, the weather was showing signs of clearing out, and every time the sun came out it got really warm and sticky in a hurry. Mindy bought more of those Kroger gourmet burgers that were a big hit a couple weeks ago. That’s what we were grillin’. I started the grill around 5pm. Mindy whipped up some baked beans and bought some mustard potato salad as sides. I sipped a honey raspberry ale while grilling. The ale was good and the weather steamy! Enjoyed the food. The kids ate outside on the deck. The boys hardly touched their food. One gets the distinct impression that they eat nothin’ but hand-to-mouth junk food at home. After dinner Jacob pressed Kenny and I to play kick ball. Kenny declined. I eventually agreed to play. We played for almost an hour, enough time to work up a big ol’ sweat. Mindy clarified that I’d be running the boys home. Yes. I loaded the boys into Honda around 730pm. During my drive back home it rained ridiculously hard. Almost pulled over along Hague ave. Thankfully, it didn’t last long. Looking at the weather forecast, it appeared that we were in for much of the same for the next several days. We got the kids ready for bed over the next 30-60 minutes and had them tucked in by 9pm. Mindy & I headed to bed by 10pm.