sweet home

Dear Lewis,

It is uncool to leave an opened Rice Milk container laying on its side in the refrigerator. Uncool. In the future if you could please leave them standing up after you open them it would be greatly appreciated.

Also, it was 70 degrees when I picked the kids up from school today and on the way home they were talking with each other and their friends about how freezing cold it was out there!! (In their defense it has been 90 or above every day except 2 since the 4th of July and our air conditioning has been on since Easter.) And then when I got home Jackie called and they were on their way to the park because it was so warm and sunny and 42 degrees!!!!!
How crazy is that.

Come home soon, we miss you!

xoxoxo

JJ

PS Brooks just told me he "likes the aroma of this dinner".
PPS Remember these chubby little munchkins? Christmastime 2005 Raymond Rd.

Jackie asked me the other day if I had gotten new glasses yet.
I completely forgot to tell the world about my Warby Parkers and my love for them.
If you wear glasses I HIGHLY recommend them.
They are the best quality glasses I have ever had. (and I even had some Britney Spears Oops glasses once so you know I insist on quality).
And, they are green. Which is awesome.
When I got them Lewis said "why did you get green again? your last glasses were green!" But they totally weren't! They were purple. And the other ones were dark blue.
And they stay on when I bend down to pick something up. Which I do a lot. Like all day long.
One more thing about Warby Parkers-- they are only $95 (free shipping both ways if you don't me gusta) and they give a pair to someone in need every time you buy-- like Toms.
So if you are a glasses wearer, what are you waiting for?
Let me know what you think.
(I got Crandall in green)

A couple of Brooks' friends are taking karate this year. When he found out, B asked if he could take it too. It is on Mondays and Wednesdays after school. For several weeks we've been trying to go, but things keep coming up. So, last Wednesday we were determined to get there. As we started to unload from the car when we got there I saw a few red dots on Brooks' face. And his neck. I said "lift up your shirt" and sure enough-- more spots! He was literally covered from head to toe. Since I don't remember what chicken pox look like, I called the pediatrician and we ran right over to his office. They made us go in the side door and take the room farthest from all the other rooms "just to be safe". Remember when chicken pox was something everyone just got? As soon as the doctor came in he knew it wasn't chicken pox. Maybe a virus, maybe a reaction from a virus he had earlier, maybe a drug reaction (penicillin), maybe an allergy? But certainly not chicken pox!
He actually felt great, only a little bit itchy. However, he was so embarrassed about the way he looked that he decided to stay home Thursday and Friday. So no one would look at him weird. Or say anything about it.
This is what he looked like on Thursday after the spots started to get bigger. I wish I had a picture of him on Wednesday, but the only one I took is on my phone and not very good.
And Friday:
PS don't you adore his "outie"?

Labor Day weekend the weather was amazing AND Lewis had Saturday off so we decided to take the kids for a little hike to Peavine Falls which actually ended up being completely dried up but that's not the point, right?
I know it's been a while since we've been outside (what? it's been flaming hot for about 8 months and when I sweat my skin slash eczema gets suuuuuper itchy), but our kids honestly acted like they had never been outside before. "ooh, a rock!! trees!! blue sky!!!"
Brooks was armed with our old point and shoot camera and it was like a whole new world was opened up to him. He wanted to "MAKE" a picture of everything. This kind of language only solidifies our resolve to get out of the south as soon as possible. (aka the day after Lewis finishes his residency)
Here are some of Brooks' pictures:

I took the kids to a high school football game on Friday night. It has probably been somewhere around 15 years since I went to a high school football game. Honestly, I'm not sure how that is possible. Can it really have been that long? Wow.
Anyway, the local elementary school girls had a chance to do a cheerleading clinic and they were going to be cheering during the second quarter and my kids were BEGGING me to go so they could watch their friends cheer. Of course, as we were headed out the door and leaving Brooks behind because he wasn't ready to go, he was saying " I didn't know it was TODAY". It was high school football in all it's loud, sweaty (because it was still at least 90 degrees at 7pm), smelly glory. We found a spot to sit thanks to a friend from church who we ran into as we were getting there (thanks Bonnie!), sat down and watched those little girls cheer their hearts out. We also saw Brooks' teacher who is a coach, Aiden's teacher who was there with his wife and son, a preschool teacher, and other teachers/parents that we know. Brooks just kept waving his guts out at his friend "G" who was down cheering. She never saw him but let's not tell him that, ok?
Although our team was getting wasted, my children were beginning to unravel, and I was questioning my sanity for bringing my 3 little tired children out to the sweaty football game by myself, we were determined to stay until halftime for the halftime show.
It did not disappoint.
Our high school marching band is apparently nationally ranked.
There are over 300 band members and they are in the Macy's Thanksgiving parade as well as the Rose Bowl parade.
They were so AMAZING. But Aiden couldn't get over the dancers in their red glittery outfits. Or the flag girls with the beautiful colorful flags waving all over the place.
It was really fun and wore my little ones out.
I'm sure glad we went.
(And I'll send you ten bucks if you can finish the rest of "our dear old park high" without cheating--because I can!)

A played her first "Saturday game" this week and even though it was the first time they had goalies and she has no idea what a goalie is, she was thrilled to give it a try.
There are only 3 teams of girls in her age group, so most of her games will be against boys this season.
I'm not thrilled about that.
Most of the girls on her team don't look like they have ever even seen a soccer ball before.
Also, her "coach" didn't know what to do with the ball after a goal.
Or after it went out of bounds.
It was all I could do to keep my little mouth shut.
Luckily, Cate and Bubby were keeping me busy.

In other news:
This afternoon my neighbor was introducing me to her mom and she said about me: "her son is in kindergarten and her husband is in dental school."
Ouch.
Not quite sure how to respond to that but I just said "actually he's a resident"
And she said "oh yeah, he's going to be a..." as she drew an imaginary circle around her face.
Yes, that.
Then she said something about "knowing about what professional school is like" and then it was really all I could do to keep my little mouth shut.
Her husband is a pharmacist and the last time I checked pharmacy students don't do six year residencies or work 7 days a week 4 of which they are taking call (in house which means at the hospital 24 hours on those days). ((*****Pharmacists are, however, terrific, incredible, wonderful people******))

I'm really not bitter, I just wish there was a way to explain to people, in easy to understand terms, what Lewis does.
And how many insane hours a week he does it.
But there isn't. So instead, I just use my little corner of the world here to blab about it.
And because you love me you get to read about it. :)
Thanks.
The end.