Weekend Without Mommy

Angela is in Nashville this weekend with Debbie antiquing. It is a much deserved break for her and time for her to spend with her mother. It also gives Kate and Daddy time together before the baby comes. I think it will be the first time that just Kate and Daddy have been alone for several nights. We will see how Daddy survives.

So, I am going to make my first post in Angela's absence. Today, we went to the "water park" at one of the county parks here in Knoxville that is on the lake. Kate loves to go there and get completely soaked even though she still does not like to get her face wet in the bath (kind of strange). I think today though she may have been more excited getting ready to go than she actually was once we got there, although she did have a grand time playing in the water and then going to see the boats on the lake. While we were getting her bathing suit on she told me she had to have her water shirt so she would not get cold (this was a problem during swim lessons at the YMCA apparently). She also had to make sure we had a towel, her hat, and her sun glasses. She has really taken to wearing these in the car, much to the amusement of the people in the cars that pull up beside us. Hope you enjoy Kate in her get-up to go the the "water park" as much as I did.

Last week's excitement

This picture was taken from our front porch last Thursday morning. No, thankfully, it's not one of our cars but our neighbor probably has one pretty bummed friend! James and I both woke up at 3AM Thursday morning to the sound of a constant car horn. James looked out the front windows and saw a fire inside the car. He called 911 while I went and got Kate (whose bedroom windows face the street straight out from this car). I didn't know if a car could explode if a fire were to go on long enough, but I didn't want to find out with my child 30 feet away! James tried to inform the neighbor, but he and some friends were partying in the basement and didn't hear the doorbell (or door James' pounding!). They finally realized what was happening and ran out to try to extinguish the fire (which was now raging through the roof and a window) with a garden hose. They quickly saw the futility in this attempt and the fire department arrived on the scene. They put out the fire, but could never get the hood open to check the engine compartment. Note the banged up hood where they pounded it with a sledge hammer and pried with a crowbar for about 10 minutes. After the fire was out and everything had died down, James took Kate out to see the fire truck and we had to watch it out her window for a while before going back to bed. James' comment the next morning about all the excitement was "I think it's time to move."

More pictures

James and I have gotten into Sushi lately. I know most of you are turning up your noses, but it's good - yes, even that made with raw fish (though raw fish is off limits to pregnant women). James has even tried to make it a few times, and it's turned out pretty good. Anyway, our grocery store now carries fresh sushi, so we have it at home a little more often. Kate likes to play with the accoutrements. (No, she's not really eating Sushi - she tried it but didn't like it).


I've mentioned how Kate likes to help out - her latest favorite chore is dishes (though I try to avoid her help with this one). The other day James was hammering nails in the deck and Kate decided she needed a hammer to help Daddy hammer the nails.


James decided a few weeks ago that we need to compost. He researched on the internet how to go about it and dug a hole in the corner of the yard where he placed a bucket for our compost-able items. I'm all for recycling and I'll save scraps in a jar, but I don't touch the bucket - there are supposed to be worms in there! Anyway, Kate's second favorite chore is helping James stir the compost in the bucket. She's always wanting to go check on the bucket.