Saturday, September 15, 2012

Labor Day, Power Outages and Soccer Saturdays

A couple weekends ago we were fortunate enough to be included in a last-minute Labor Day get-together.  After our fire station visit, we really didn't the weekend could get any better.  But we had a blast.  Of course, I could not get the kids to take my picture-taking seriously-- so this is the best I could get:


We had a great time eating, chatting with friends, and swimming.  It's been a warm, warm September, so we were especially grateful for the invitation.

This week (and weekend) has seen what assume are record-breaking temperatures.  We have an almost-30-year old air conditioner, and it needs to be replaced.  We try not to use it at all because of the expense, but when it's 90 degrees at night, it's awfully difficult to sleep.  And in a one-story house, we can't really keep the windows open (not that there is much relief from the outside anyway.  But this Friday we decided for maybe the second time this year to leave the A/C on.  It had hit around 107 during the day- soccer had been cancelled* for the evening, rec soccer was canceled* for today, and we knew the kids would have a hard time sleeping.

Of course, our plans were foiled by a power outage.  It wasn't our whole area.  It wasn't even our whole block-- we could see the street lights on at the end of the streets.  So we gathered the kids into the family room, so they could feel safe.  The power came back on just a couple hours later, and we went the kids to their rooms.  Then it kicked off again about an hour later and kicked back on around 3:30am.  Every time it went off or on, it woke us up.  By morning, the temperature had dropped to around 76, so we grabbed the kids and headed to the park for an interval run.

By noon-time, the temperatures were heading toward triple digits.  We were surprised that Casey's soccer game was not canceled, and we were contemplating not letting him play.  In the middle of the day.  In the heat.  But there seemed to be a breeze, and so play he did.  I even remembered my camera today.  Here are some shots:



 I just love how graceful he looks in the first two pictures (he is number four), and I love the look of concentration on his face in that last one.  Someone must have gotten the camera when I wasn't looking, because here is what else I found:


Luckily, Casey is swimming now at an impromptu soccer gathering, and Marcie is headed off soon to a sleepover with someone who has a pool and functioning air conditioning.  Casey's game tomorrow is at 8:30am, so it should be cooler to start with.  Supposedly, temperatures should start falling this week.  I guess we're just getting a "late" summer this year.

By the way, I love my new job.  Even though I have a lot of papers to comment on each week, I love that I can sit through an entire soccer game and never once check my email.  For now, life is good.

*P.S. I spelled cancelled (canceled) two different ways and figured spell-check would catch it.  When it didn't correct either version, I looked it up.  Apparently both spellings are correct!

Sunday, September 02, 2012

Fire Station Visit!

A few years ago, when Marcie was just a little thing- not even walking yet, we visited Uncle Bobby at the fire station.  Now that Tate is active, he is obsessed with what Uncle Bobby does.  At night, he asks where Uncle Bobby is and if Uncle Bobby is sleeping and then asks again, specifically, if Uncle Bobby is at the fire station.

The last time we were visiting with Uncle Bobby, Tate brazenly asked when he could visit Uncle Bobby at the fire station.  And this weekend, Uncle Bobby was able to accommodate us. 

We all had a blast-- we met up with Uncle Bobby's wife, Aunt Tiffany (Jason's sister) and their two boys.  One of their boys and Tate just absolutely love each other and play, usually, pretty well.  So the gang of us headed to the fire station:

 Tate and then Casey got to try on the uniforms.  We were amazed at how heavy they are-- and how hot it must be to wear them, even for work other than fires.


A few years ago, Casey took a similar picture when we visited Uncle Bobby.  It's pretty amazing how quickly they grow up!




The kids all got to try out the water hose (not at full force, of course).  The little ones thought this was hilarious and stomped through the puddles after we sprayed.

We also got to climb on the ladder truck and see what it was like inside.  The first picture is of Marcie and Casey talking to the rear driver of the ladder truck.  Jason looks a little nervous.
Tate's cousin Kai and Tate enjoyed visiting the back of the ladder truck, too.  Below are Kai and Tate posing, and then you can see Tate "driving" the ladder truck with his uncle.


Marcie did not climb as much, but she still had fun hanging out with one of her favorite aunts (who am I kidding?  Marcie adores all her aunts!). 
And this picture is my favorite of them all-- we are so lucky that Uncle Bobby invited us to visit him-- what a special day!