I am absolutely shocked that it is already the end of September. I am also shocked that I survived the summer- it was iffy there for a while. I guess the mere fact that it took me this long to write about our summer is an indication of how much we had going on. It turns out running a law firm with your husband and having 3 kids home for the summer is hard. True, I had a nanny here in the mornings (who was great by the way), but working at home with little ones downstairs can be challenging. One bonus- summer school! I know that every mother's dream is to have her children in summer school...well, that is probably not true, but I am not "every mother." It really was a good way for them to stay in the school routine though. However because of budget cuts (did you know we are in a recession?), summer school was only in the month of July and only Monday-Thursday from 9-12. As a funny side note, Timothy went Mon-Thur, but Madeline only went on Tuesdays and Thursdays. When I found out that Madeline was only going two days a week I mistakenly thought she would be thrilled, oh but no, Madeline was totally ticked that Timothy got to go more than her. She definitely let her teachers and bus driver (and really anyone else who would halfway listen) know that it was not fair that she only could go two days. Oh Madeline...I guess it is a good thing that she still wants to go to school at all.
Anyway, we were able to go camping on two weekends. My friend Karen and I took the girls and her son once and Josh took the girls along with my cousin another weekend. To say that Madeline and Sadie love camping would be an understatement. I really can not adequately describe just how dirty Sadie was able to get. The girl is a dirt magnet to begin with, but to bring her to a campsite complete with dirt, mud, sticks, a river and marshmallows is asking for it. She was in heaven! It, of course, would not be a Pond camping trip without a little drama (and I do mean a little for once). When I took them, Sadie got into something and starting breaking out in hives, so I got to make a trip to the nearest Walgreens (oh, the benefits of camping nearby- hardcore campers please do not scoff). However, when Josh took them we forgot to pack a pacifier for Sadie (yes, I know she is 2 1/2, but she only uses them to sleep and I will do anything to get that child to sleep- ANYTHING). Josh kept her up late and thought it would probably not be a big deal. He hoped that she would pass out after having played all day in the river and such, but not so. She kept telling him that she just needed to call me and ask me to bring it to her (she is a bit of a momma's girl). Finally, he broke down and ventured out to buy one. Apparently when he made it back and went into the tent to give it to her she said, "See Papa, you had my paci" and went immediately to sleep.
We also made it to the coast a few times, which is fun (most of the time). Again, another opportunity for Sadie to get dirty. Timothy also has a fondness for stuffing as much sand in his mouth as possible. I really can not overstate how much sand he consumes. You may be thinking that we should just keep a better eye on him (hey, I would if I were you), but he is able to feast on the sand while literally strapped to us. He just randomly drops to his knees and buries his face while you are using all your might to pull him up. Heaven forbid you actually look the other way to gaze at the beauty of the coast or watch one of the girls playing- you are really asking for it then. Let's just say that beach diapers are in a category all of their own. Despite the drama, it was still nice to change it up a bit. Plus I seriously love the Oregon coast. You very rarely go without a fleece on and the water is so cold that you don't want to get in. This may sound strange, but I am so pale and so scarred by swimming in the muddy, murky, tar-filled, jellyfish infested Texas Gulf Coast (I am sure all of it is not that way, but it is where I grew up) that the beach has never been my favorite place to be. Just thinking of the beech growing up sends shivers down my spine. I still pray daily that I do not get skin cancer from all the sunburns I got as a child. That is a whole different story though.
So far, the summer is sounding pretty good, and don't get me wrong, there were some good times tucked in there. I guess the tough part was August. Pretty much the whole month. You see, while already having to make some pretty hard decisions concerning Timothy we were hit with the possibility of him having cancer or some other blood disease. Thankfully, all is well and the blood tests that showed all of the bad stuff was later negated by further testing. Nevertheless, it was quite overwhelming. Then, there was the whole someone suing me thing. Another event that was dropped because of it being completely ridiculous and unfounded (I have a few opinions on how easy it is to actually sue someone for no real reason and just how much Americans like to get something for nothing. This could go on, so I will just save that for another time). Even though it was crazy, I still liked seeing Josh in action for me. Luckily, I usually just get to help him work for other people, but this was a whole new experience. It turns out he is a really good attorney! So, if you need someone to represent you just give us a call. His main focus is DUI's, but he does other fun stuff as well (wills, trusts, personal injury- that kind of thing). You should check out our website- www.joshuapondlaw.com Well, enough shameless self-promotion (well spousal promotion) for today (seriously though, he is a good lawyer). :-)
So, there you go. That was our summer. I am still trying to recover. Here are a few more random pics from the summer. Warning- they are mostly of Sadie. Timothy rarely stands still and Madeline is SO over having her picture taken (most of the time- you never know what each day brings).
Madeline on a hiking trip in the gorge.
Do I really need to explain?
More hiking pics- it was gorgeous.
My friend Karen asked Sadie to smile at the camera. This was her pose, complete with a loud grunt.
Josh and Sadie on Mt. Hood- they stopped by on their way home from camping.
Sadie at a lavender farm- a fun spot we stopped by with my in-laws.
This was at our neighborhood 4th of July Parade.
She really loves sticks!
Just a cute pic- Timothy was actually still (I am sure he was in his high chair or something).
