Forget Dad, we've got a new kitten!
Last Thursday was Luke's 2nd birthday.....
We actually celebrated w/Jeannie before she left, and Emma had made his cake while we were gone--I love it! Anything that will simplify my life.....

We snapped couple of quick pics before leaving for the airport Sunday morning. Normally it takes a good 2 doz pics or so before getting one where everyone's looking at the camera, no bunny ears, and smiles, but it must have been meant to be, because Adam was a little stressed about leaving and only giving us 3 shots, and 2 out of 3 turned out!

Adam spent several hours on Saturday fixing our dishwasher--a mouse had chewed through ALL of the hoses. Glenda (our cat) is doing a great job earning her stay, she's always leaving mice or rats on the grass to show us, she just can't keep up on it on her own. So, I decided we needed another cat. The kids found one that was free and near the airport. I thought it was a perfect plan, I am a firm believer in distraction. It worked great, they were sad to say goodbye to Adam, but they were thrilled to get a new kitten!

Still working on a name, we can't all seem to agree on one.

The night before Adam left we went blackberry picking. We actually went to pick raspberries at a secret spot we found last year, but we were about a week too late on the raz's, but there were a ton of blackberries ripe! I had a few blueberries and raspberries in the fridge, threw them all together and yesterday I made Jumbleberry Jam (remember Jumbleberry pie?). I also have too many cucumbers to eat in my garden, so decided to try to pickle a few. I think it worked.....we'll see how they taste later....

Monday morning we woke to the sound of tractors and trucks. We are getting a new septic system put in this week, so our yard is a mess.

Look closely at the left side, that is my treehouse!!! The treehouse tree had to go. Boo hoo. I worked so hard on it! Oh well, better that than septic backed up in the house I guess.

If only I could keep the kids and dog out of the mud....hopefully I will have some sod down by the end of the week, I can't take much more!

This week Adam's in San Diego, and Georgia next week. So far the reality hasn't really set in since I can talk to him on my cell pretty much whenever I want. He's doing well, just getting all his medical things out of the way this week. He got his 1st out of 6 Anthrax shots on Tuesday--he said it was a fun one. He also was told on Monday that he was going to be wearing an army uniform for the next 7 months---he put up a pretty good fight though until they finally agreed to let him drive to another base and get the Marine cami's he needed. Other than that he's doing well, just ready to get going.