Today in Ava

On the front porch with Brian...

"Really, dude? You're really gonna drive down our street that fast?"

Tight Quarters

If you've ever wondered why parents of young children don't travel very often, this should clear things up for you.

Rabold Garden (Work) Party

Gary and Layne joined us in August for a week-long visit. Though we don't plan it this way (honestly, we don't) we, again, happened to have a rather large project on our hands while they were visiting. This time it was laying sod in our backyard and we gladly put both of our visitors to work right away either moving the sod into place or running around after our little rascals so that they didn't inadvertently "help" us lay the sod. And that was just their first day.

The rest of the trip was nice and relaxing, oh, except for that playhouse we began building in the backyard. With Rod as our contractor, Brian and Gary assisted in building the base of the structure, while Helen planted plants in the beds surrounding the new grass, and Layne took care of our mischievous duo.

Okay, then it was nice and relaxing with some walks and a visit to the park. We even got a date night--but I suppose that was only really relaxing for us. Thanks for all your help, Layne and Gary!

July 2013

We have been dreading the month of July since last year when, horrified by the sound of fireworks, Ava spent the night in our bed (not so bad) and then the next SIX MONTHS asking to sleep in our bed in case the fireworks started up again. We had completely forgotten that she misunderstood the concept last year and believed that fireworkers (firemen) were making the noise up in the sky, until she brought it up this year and we had to explain the concept all over again.  This year, we prepared Ava well in advance by watching videos of fireworks online. She was the picture of confidence until the first yahoos started setting off fireworks a week before July the 4th ("It's not EVEN July 4th!" as she pointed out).  Then it was a good three weeks of quietly cursing fireworks everywhere as our child trembled in fear, wearing a knit hat to protect her from the fireworks.

At the end of July we fit in a quick camping trip. After our last somewhat-failed attempt we decided to again only go for one night. This time there was less puking, fewer gunshots, and more sleeping. Success all around. Ava tried her first s'more, said "Mmmm...I LOVE it!", kept the whole thing (minus a nibble) in her hands for a few hours, and then asked if we had any Tupperware so she could save it for later. We dutifully placed it in a protective dish until the morning when Brian decided it was just time to eat it on her behalf.