Happy Fourth!

Chelsey, Jordan, Lucy & me in our holiday gear.

I think we manages the long weekend beautifully. Saturday we gardened, dug up the dead marigolds in our front garden, mixed better dirt into the soil and then planted petunias and little blue plants. The "soil" left for us by our builder is nothing short of a sandy, rocky nightmare. The mulch they laid down two years ago has added some variety to the garden beds but the only plants that want to live are the ones they planted 3 years ago. We haven't been able to keep anything alive in that bed since we moved in. Thankfully, when we planted the rose up front we incorporated enough potting soil to give it a chance. It worked, became it is blooming for the second year in a row.

Sunday we were up a Lucy's schedule, which was a fabulous 7 am and were off to Anacortes to spend the day with Jason's cousins. It is a long drive, but their waterfront home is a great place to spend the day. They were serving a "punch" that packed a wallop. I think the recipe was:

1 can pink lemon aid concentrate
1 bottle cheap white wine
2 cans sprite (not diet)
1 cup vodka -preferably citrus. (this recipe was told to me AFTER a few generous glasses of this refreshing drink and I think if the vodka quantity is correct then it's no wonder I wanted a nap in the afternoon. If I were to make it myself I might start out with 2-3 shots of vodka per batch. No one needs that much "kick" in their punch.

Lucy was delightful for the most of the day. Knowing her signals for "I need a nap" and "get out of my face you nice, well meaning stranger" goes a long way towards keeping the Peanut happy. She took two VERY good naps in addition to the nap on the drive up. She even responded well to the going to bed in Anacortes, waking up for a car ride home and waking up for the final transfer to her own bed. She sleep u til 7 again today. If this is her new weekend timeline I'm in love!

Today, the Fourth our plan is a quiet day at home. We started our day with pecan pancakes, a swim in the tub for Lucy (to remove layers of baby sunscreen) and now at 11:30 a nap. Later we will run some errands and have our own back yard BBQ. Lucy can't stay awake until dark for fireworks so we will skip it this year. I may blow up the mini pool and let it warm in the sun for some outdoor fun later. We'll see.

Right now, Jason is watering the plants, I'm in the front in my lawn chair (blogging) and Lucy is happily upstairs. The garbage truck is going by and picking up under Lucy's window so this nap may be over soon. Last night the infrequent but loud booms from the darned neighbors illegal fireworks were causing her to stir. I hope we are far enough away to not be a bother.

The only bummer about our weekend is that 'The Doug' is with his family in New Zealand rather than with us. His mom is ill and he flew home to be with her. It's hard to see someone go through the serious illness of a parent, but to be so far away is rough. I feel for him, and his whole family. And hope that his mom is comforted by these moments with all her boys. We missed him a lot yesterday and hope for a safe journey home ( for both Doug and his mom).

Ok, the baby is starting to make noise so off I go to be a mom. This sitting in the sun has been great, but responsibility beacons.