I'm not sure why but I've ALWAYS wanted one of these shirts.  Yesterday we finally got the opportunity to do service and get one (too bad they only came in humongous sizes!)

Church only lasted an hour and then we got to go home and get ready to help out. We went to Delta- a neighboring community- to help with tornado clean up. Thank you a zillion times over, beth, for watching our kiddos! 
 We mostly moved and hauled debris and trees from yards and fields- but we got to talk to a lot of really amazing and grateful people in the area.

We started out here and helped these people clear their property.  This dirt plot is where their mobile home USED to be. It was ripped to pieces and dumped on top of their car (below). They had gotten out- but a dog, three ducks, and two chickens were found inside part of the trailer after everything settled. All were still alive and fine.

 The lady that lived by these trees said that the thunder woke her up (the sirens must be spread out because she said they didn't wake her up) and she got up to go to the bathroom.  While she was in there she said she heard a loud sound and then she said that "God told her to get in the bath tub"- even though she had a safer crawl space on the other side of the house.  She said just a few seconds later the big missing piece of this tree landed on the back and side of the house where the crawl space was.

 We also got to drive around and just see some of the damage. This picture just creeps me out.  The ragged half trees and half house are so scary.  You'll have to enlarge it to get a better look.

here's the house closer up. There is still stuff hanging on the walls!

And this picture feels like it's from a movie.  The great little walkway lined with flowers and nicely trimmed hedges- that lead to NOTHING.  The house is GONE. Totally obliterated.

 The upper right window just looks out to sky now. Half of the back of the house was ripped off.

 Besides helping clean up- it was also just really nice to spend some time without kids. They fed us all lunch and the weather wasn't nearly as bad as anticipated.

I vote for a do over week!   while it wasn't that bad- it's been incredibly long and full of grumpiness.  Luckily I've got this little munchkin to cheer me up. It's the other monkey that's been at my nerves.  I am very excited for our mini vacation to Utah in a few weeks. 

 things are already on the up for the weekend, though.  My ankle is almost back to normal size even though you still can't see my lateral malleolus (bony prominence on the outside of my ankle) and I worked out on it just fine this morning. I know you all don't really care to see my bruises and strange body parts- but I like to document things.  A day of ice and ibuprofen did it wonders.

 

 I think the week felt so long partially because I've felt like this since Tuesday- only without the smiling faces. 

There are piles of dirty laundry in every room of our apartment! I'm shocked how much laundry we piled up in just three short days!! we are swimming in it. I usually only do one or two loads a day- but apparently we are dirty dirty people.  Summer days at the park mean dirt covered clothes, though.  Luckily the part we ordered arrived and Kent got our washer back up and running late last night.  Now at least our piles are clean piles.  And it seems that we are good at fixing both washers and dryers!  Just give Kent a call if you're in need and we'll only charge half the usual service fee.

when it rains, it pours.

It's been one of those weeks when I feel like EVERY thing has run amuck!

1.  car repairs.  I don't even know how much it cost because I refused to pick up the car from the shop and I ask Kent to NOT tell me anything. Car worries gives me such anxiety. 

2. electronic woes.  Cell phone in the pool.  Point and shoot TOTALLY dies and won't even turn on.

3. lost dental insurance without realizing it- and, of course, now I have a toothache.

4. washing machine stops working (with all of my workout clothes in it mid cycle).

5.  my two favorite shirts are no more. One is lost. The other is irreparably stained.

6. I struck out twice last night in our softball game

7. and check THIS out.  One of these things is not like the other (and I'm NOT talking about my mismatched socks). 

I'm a klutz and rolled my ankle during my workout this morning.  It popped. It kills. and it's swollen.  Looks like I'm going to have to sit on the couch with my feet up all day.  Too bad the house can't get clean :)  I had better be fine within a few days, though! 

And really- life isn't that bad.  I think (after two 24 hour periods drying in rice) my cell phone may have returned to full functioning status! AND the handy hubby is pretty sure he can fix the washing machine!  I did some online research- and he did some washing machine disassembly and we came up with the most likely scenario for the stopped machine. We ordered the $8.49 cent part from our favorite appliancezone.com and we should be back to washing in a few days :) Plus- I found a dentist office that does FREE x-rays and exam and it turns out I just have a small cavity that I'm going to get fixed in Utah.  I can handle the price of a small cavity.

And check out this monkey in his toledo zoo penguin pjs.  I got them for FIVE cents at a yard sale.  The lady told me I could get baby boy clothes for ONE dollar a bag.  I stuffed two bags FULL.  yard sales always make my day.

the craziness of living on the outer edges of tornado alley.

"An estimated 7-mile path of destruction about 100 yards wide struck early Sunday morning and fell over an area of farm fields and light industry, narrowly missing the heavily populated suburbs on the southern edge of Toledo.  Tornadoes and thunderstorms swept through the Midwest overnight, destroying dozens of homes and upending school buses and police cars in one miles-long trail of destruction in Ohio. At least seven people died in Ohio, including a child, authorities said". AP

 WE are the southern edge of Toledo! I do love adventure and chaos -and tornado sirens for that matter- but last night got a little crazy. And I feel terrible for those that lost their lives.  Here's a picture of the worst hit area- lake township- about 12 miles from our house.

Kent dragged the kiddos and me into the bathroom at around 12:00 and then again at 3:00 this morning after the sirens started going off and the news stated that the lives of those living "in South Toledo and Maumee near 1-80" were in danger.  At first I thought Kent was being paranoid- but it turns out he wasn't.  I-80 is the freeway that we can hear AND see from our deck and that's where the radar was showing the highest potential of tornadoes touching down. Unfortunately it was pitch black and the weather people had NO way of knowing exactly what was happening.

I haven't felt thunder and lightning like that ever! the little rascals slept through the entire thing.  We didn't place them in the tub on top of each other- but somehow this is how they ended up. Initially they were on opposite ends facing opposite directions.

 We stayed up and watched the weather coverage for a bit longer after the storm passed and today we are exhasuted- but happy to be safe.

summer has officially arrived.

This week was one of those weeks that FLEW by. I canNOT believe that it's Friday already.  All of our events have been very 'summery'.
 
We went to our first summer parade! Don't these kids just look hot and muggy?! They've all got rosy little cheeks and sweaty heads.  It was pretty darn humid. I ran to the parade from our house and I was DRIPPING in sweat by the time I arrived.  It (I) was disgusting.

and I already blogged all about it - but Zeb turned three! His birthday will always signify summer to me. I was due with him two days before school got out the last year I was teaching high school.  Luckily I kept him inside long enough to finish off the last day of school and start summer break. I went into labor that night. 

Half of our friends moved out (so, I'm being dramatic- but a lot of great people are leaving and we're devastated)! Every year at the beginning of summer- there's a bit of an exodus from toledo. People finish residencies, graduate school, or just pick up and move! and it's terrible.

Here's a pic of Zeb with Sam and Matthew being "very scary". I watched a bunch of the kiddos while everybody helped move out our across the hall neighbors.  Zeb is going to miss Sam like crazy- and we'll miss having the best neighbors ever!!  We'll also miss the other great people exiting toledo. I hate saying goodbye to friends!!

and tonight we saw our FIRST fireflies!!! Kent and I walked down to lock up the pool at our complex- and suddenly they were EVERY where.  I don't know how we went from zero to hundreds in one night- but I love them. Fireflies still amaze me every time that I see them. 

Oh and in other exciting news -Ike threw my phone in the pool.  He may look all sweet and innocent sleeping, but this kid is as sly as they come. He climbed up on the bench- got the phone out of my bag- and then chucked it into the pool. The worst was that I saw him with the phone in hand. I tried to remain calm and distract him but he just looked at me with this little smirk and let it loose.  It was so deliberate. The little rascal.

our fisherman

A few months ago Zeb starting pretending that everything was a fishing rod- and he told us all he wanted for his birthday was a "fishing rod". And he wanted a fish cake. He's not even really that into fish- he just likes ropes and sticks and "coupling" things together.  Lucky for him I'm all about cakes- and I found the PERFECT fishing rod at a yard sale for seventy-five cents :)

Here's his Rainbow Fish (he really likes that book) that I made in less than an hour! It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be- but the tail really needs some work. I think I used a nine inch round instead of an eight inch so the tail was much much too big and nearly ripped off.

Our day yesterday was nearly perfect.  We went running and released "tagpole" into the wild and played at the park with friends. Then we went to meijer for a free cookie.  Then we came home and painted, watched Diego, and went swimming!  Kent even made it home to swim with us :)  And finally we opened his fishing rod and then had cake! 

And even better- to finish off the night we went to our first baseball game of the season! Kent and I are on a city league team with friends from our church and had our first game last night.  It was a lot of fun and we even WON!  It was a good opener for us. I need lots of practice :) and Kent played pretty darn well. He had me thinking he was terrible and then he never even got out!

Here's Z playing with his new toy.  He hasn't put it down since last night. Who knew 75 cents could bring such happiness to a three year old?  It is a really cool toy, though.  It came with an assortment of sea creatures with little rings that he can "catch" with his line.  Plus- the reel even works and he can wind up the fish!

happy birthday to the COOLest three year old in the world.

Today is Zeb's BIRTHDAY. Happy third little munchkin.

He got some new sunglasses from a friend and won't take them off.  I asked him to give me a "thumbs up" and this is what he did.  Looks like we still need to work on body parts.  He's known where his liver and kidneys are since he was two- but he's still struggling with thumbs.

 

 Last week we found a puddle with THOUSANDS of polliwogs (tadpoles as they are known back west) and I couldn't resist bringing one home for us to watch!  Zeb refused to name him so we just called him "tagpole".

I'm shocked at how fast he's grown!  two days later he looked like this!

and then yesterday after a day full of memorial day festivities, we returned home to THIS!!  He had completely eaten off his tail and was out of the water breathing AIR and perched on his bowl! We're lucky he didn't just jump out and hide.

I think we are going to return him to the wild today when we go running!  There was a TON of rain yesterday so we may be able to find some more new tadpoles this week!