Liv Leigh has shingles.

Here she is sleeping before swim class because I gave her Benadryl for her "rash."  We went to my mom's to have her look at it, and three minutes later here is Livea sleeping:

So Liv's ER experience was not so bad.  They are so nice at Mendy's Place.  I love them.  Here she is waiting for the doctor to come in (watching television!):

She enjoyed her hospital bracelet and gown.  She wanted to take the gown home.

The rash is actually hard to capture quite right on camera, and it is pretty mean looking today, and she had trouble sleeping last night because it was hurting her.  She took some Advil before bed.  All the kids wanted to sleep in my bedroom last night on blankets, but she moved into her own bed sometime during the night.  She said her back was hurting her.  She also is saying that her underarm on that side is burning - no rash there (yet), but maybe it will come? I don't know.

It starts at the center of her ribcage, and extends all the way around and stops just before her spine.

Kids have two more days of swim.  I have a pile of pictures and videos of them swimming and diving to post for you.  Hopefully, I'll get to it this weekend.  Miss you tons, and love you tons more.

Maybe you should call ME, baby?

Hey, baby. Sorry I haven't gotten up the videos of the kids diving yet.  Still working on it for you.  So here is something to sideline ya.

I have no idea if you even know this song since it's fairly, newly popular.  So if you don't, listen to this:

Call Me Maybe

There are a ton of remakes.  Julie, the kids and I stumbled upon them last weekend while on YouTube.  Here are our favorites, so I hope you have a few minutes.

Obama sings it

Cookie monster sings it

So, all this to say that today your cousin (Melanie) posted a remake that some guy did with the Marines that are currently in Afghanistan.  It's really not as good as Obama, or Cookie Monster (in my unprofessional opinion), but it is entertaining to me because the guys are deployed, and it had to have been pretty funny to take the time to do such a silly thing.  Miss you, love you more. <3

Marines sing it

4th

Tried getting good fireworks shots, but none turned out great.

We made tasty cookies.

Happy 4th!  I'm late about it, I know.  It was a happy 4th, as happy as it could be without you here of course.  Downtown fireworks were a.maz.ing, as usual.  Julie, Davis and I were together.  None of us had spouses with us.  Kind of funny.  Just us and our kids.  I made a giant amount of boy scout popcorn, with salt and plenty of artery-clogging butter.  I bought cupcakes too, but those didn't make it out of the house - we ate them before we left, and I decided that was a better idea when even I had to wash up after eating it.  The kids had swim lesson, and it rained during their entire lesson.  Lessons were never canceled, though.  It was beautiful, all day.  From hot as Hades, to almost chilly - and then today - back to hot.hot.hot.  Or maybe just hot.hot.  It wasn't as warm today as it has been.  Still yuck though.  I missed being with the Webers.  They missed us too.  They said to tell you to hurry up and be done.  No. Not really.

I tried taking pictures, but it was pretty dark.  I don't know why there aren't any pictures of Julie's kids.  I should have done a group shot with all of us.  I'm bad about pictures in my old age.  I figured out that my phone actually has a flash on it though, what a concept, eh.  Kind of causes problems when I'm trying to take a photo of myself since my arms are only so long - which is why that last picture is very bright looking.

He's making this face on purpose.

She probably won't want to know this picture is online, but I like.

I tried taking this picture three times.  This is the best one.  Livea had her eyes closed in all three.

This is the third or fourth I tried to take of us.  This was also the best one.  Adam kept making faces on purpose, and when Liv figured it out she decided to help.  I was laughing at them both.

I miss you when you can't skype me.  Stop making your wife lonely over here. ;o)  Love you.

bathing beauty

Liv after swim lessons - she lays out every day.  Who'da thunk.

lets get it started, in here

Do you think I should clean this up?  It is getting a little crowded.
Lamp. After sun lotion (Liv had a slight sunburn two weeks ago).  Blue lego.  Pencil. $20 bill. Pony tail (two). Remote. Wine bottle (working on finishing that tonight).  Glass of wine (working on that too).  Water (working on).  Les Mis (work in long progress).  Lavender oil.  Bracelet with earrings attached.  Pass the Pigs game.  Random Parchesi token.  The Abhorsen Trilogy (borrowed from Julie, but haven't even started it yet).  Did I miss anything?  This is too much stuff.  My phone is usually there too, but it's on the bed right now, with me.

ohh, Liv.

Livea: Mommy, I think I know the very bad "F" word.
Me: You do? Who told you that?
Livea: I don't know.
Me: Well how do you know it's so bad?
Livea: I don't know. It just know it is.
Me: Okay, well whisper it in my ear.
Livea: Are you sure?
Me: Yes, go ahead.
Livea, whispering in my ear: "Freak."
Me: Oh, yes, that is very bad. Don't say that.


whew.

bird fruit vampires

I had that second palm trimmed yesterday.  So yesterday evening I was sitting out at the pool with the kids, reading, while they swam.  It was pretty hot, so I sat down and put my legs in - so refreshing.  I was sitting there reading, at the deep end, with my legs in, and I kept sort of seeing something out of the corner of my eye, while I read.  I kept looking up, toward that spare bedroom, but didn't really know why or what I was looking for.  Finally, after three or four times of doing that I put my book down, and just stared for a minute.  And finally, it moved again, and I saw it:

A totally ugly baby pigeon.  It was in the direct sunlight, and panting and the ugly thing broke my heart.  I'm sure it fell out of its nest when the palm was trimmed in the morning.  This thing is giant, and looks like a baby turkey to me.  But I looked up images for baby pigeons and am pretty sure it's just a pigeon.  We moved it into the shade.  Jenna built a little nest for it with grass, and the paper towel, and gave it a bowl of water, which it actually drank some of.  I am afraid to go out there and look right now because I am sure it is either dead because of no food, or because it was catfood.

Veggie co-op today was amazing, however.  Look at all this!  How ever will we eat it all??  Come here and eat some of this food, will you please?!

I could make an amazing mexican soup, like tortilla soup or something, but it is SO hot right now.  The simple thought of soup right now is enough to make me sweat a bucket or two.

I went with your sisters last night to see Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  Yes, I'm serious.  It was a little bit hilarious.  I think you should watch it just for a good laugh.  Your sisters and I were trying hard to stifle our loud hilarity, and you know what made me laugh even more?  No one else in the theatre was even laughing!!  So because I am finding it the most hilarious thing since that Adam Sandler Zohan movie, and everyone else is quiet and serious, I just laugh even more.  So I decide to just stop laughing, because once I start I can't stop.  Then Jeanette starts laughing, and it all starts again.  I am still not sure if it was supposed to be funny or not.  I think probably: not.

There is a great quote repeated in the movie a few times though, that I really liked: "History prefers legends to men. It prefers nobility to brutality; soaring speeches to quiet deeds. History remembers the battle, but forgets the blood. However history remembers me before I was a President, it shall only remember a fraction of the truth..."  Miss you much, love you more.

1:00pm Update:
I looked up "how to save a baby pigeon," and found a list of Wildlife Rescue people.  Called up a place, the guy said "Jeannie would be closer for you" and gave me her number.  She was at 36th street and Cactus, and now the ugly baby is too.  That woman had a junk load of birds, let me tell you.  I have no idea how someone could ever have the patience for that, but she must.  And now I don't have to feel bad about trimming the tree and killing a baby.