Wednesday

Well, I promised I'd write more today and Grandpa is here playng with Parker so it's my perfect chance, but I forgot what I wanted to write...The weekend went fast of course. But it was pretty good. Perfect weather. Unusual for July, but I'm not complaining. Monday we spent in Ames which of course I loved. I was needing a cup of real espresso in a real cup in a real coffee shop. :) Don't worry, I made sure it was skim with no whip. I was so proud of my 16 month old too. He got a cup of milk which he sat in the booth and sucked right down and then proceeded to study his alphabet book all with the air of one completely accustomed to spending time in a coffee shop. We'll sure have him ready for college...The other highlight of the day was a stop at the Story City Carousel. I'm always a fan of that ride and it was Parker's first so it made for a memorable moment. I had some pictures to post but I forgot the cord for my camera...Our last purchase of the day was a half bushel box of Missouri Peaches. As of today they are perfect and ready for eating. Yum! Fresh peach pie, fresh peach ice cream, peaches in the freezer for winter,peach smoothies, and just peach in a bowl. And me on a diet. Hm...trying to figure out a good time to fit a piece of peach pie into the calorie count because I don't think I can let this whole box go by without at least one pie. Anyway, I'm excited about my peaches and the fact that I can enjoy them for the most part without blowing the diet. Another weekend find that I'm excited about are the mini Quaker Rice Cakes called "Quakes" and coming in cheese flavor. I think they taste like cheetos. They just hit the spot when you're in need of a munchie snack and only 50 calories per bag! And camp can get a case of them for .98! So that's what Parker and I eat when we go to camp.

In other not as exciting news, Mike's bi-annual trip to Canada with his dad is coming up. I'm excited for him to get to have a break and enjoy this time, but I hate the fact that this trip takes precedence over any family vacation and that it's very exclusively for the men. What if I want to take a vacation with my husband? If we could do both, that would be one thing...but with Mike's busy schedule and the cost of this trip, it means that that is the only trip Mike can afford this year and so we take a summer vacation separately. If he can't take time off to spend with his family then why is it just assumed that he's going to make time and budget space for this trip? Another thing is that is always falls on or just after our anniversary and his dad acts like it's an annoyance that we should have to plan around something like a wedding anniversary. :P And that is my final bone of contention with this trip: I think I would be more for it if it was a trip where Mike could go and get good accountability and teaching and encouragement for being a man of God. However his chances are about 2 out of 3 that he'll get bad advice and examples if any and those aren't exactly the type of men that I want my husband finding his example in. So those are the reasons that I don't look forward to this trip. This year I'm trying to focus on the good break it will be for Mike and the enjoyment I know he gets from it and pray for the time he'll have with his dad that maybe some healing of all the old relational hurts they have between them. And in the meantime I'm going to stay with my Mom so that I have less of a chance to sit home and brood. :P That's always dangerous...