Grains of Gratitude

Well I guess it's officially summer here as school is out! Kayla's last day of school was Tuesday; thank goodness we're going on vacation because this child is BUSY and full of energy!

Things I'm grateful for from this past week:

1. On Wednesday there was an Entertainment and Travel Expo on base with over 60 vendors from all around the local area. They set up their booths to give you information on things to, places to see, places to stay etc around here. Jennifer and I took the girls and had a fun time just walking around collecting all the freebies they were handing out too! Then the girls jumped in the jumpy house for awhile. Jennifer and Kaitlyn came over for lunch afterwards, so it was a nice start for summer vacation!

2. Kayla had a follow-up ENT appt. If you remember from her last one, one of the tests wasn't reading right so he wanted to check her again in a month. This time he said everything was perfect! And the best part- I was completely amazed at how EASY Kayla was during this appointment! What a complete difference from when we first started going there. She used to fight so much when they would try and stick the sensors in her ears. Guess she finally realized all the fighting and squirming wasn't doing her any good and she finally relented! I didn't even have to promise/bribe her with a trip to the zoo this time! She sat perfectly still on my lap. Before we even left the house I kept asking her if she wanted to go to the doctor and she would reply "yes!" and then say "ah ear" - guess that is how frequently she goes to the ENT -she anticipated they were going to be looking in her ears!

3. Joe had Friday off as part of "Family Day" to coincide with the holiday on Monday for a 4-day weekend. It's always nice to get an extra day home with him. Although this is really more than a 4-day weekend for him as he starts his leave on Tuesday and we're going on vacation!

4. We had a nice BBQ out with 3 other families on Friday. They just bought a large inflatable pool and the kids of course had a blast. But the evening wouldn't have been complete without some antics by Kayla, of course! She had been in the pool for a little while, got out and dried off, then got back in. Then she told me she had to go "p*oo p*oo" so I took her inside. After she finished I saw the younger kids were changed out of their bathing suits so I went ahead and grabbed Kayla's bag to change her as well. Only problem was I couldn't find her underwear and I was sure I had packed them. Nope, not in the bag. We live really close (our backyards are diagonal from each other) so I ran home to grab a pair for her. Got her changed, managed to keep her distracted enough from wanting to go back in the pool until dinner was done. She finished eating and I finally sat down to fix myself a plate and Joe came in to also get his dinner. Then everything happened in slow motion. Joe saw her heading for the back door to go outside and just had a feeling she was going to the pool. He tried to call her back (think she listened?!) and then he tried calling to Timmy (older boy in the pool) not to let Kayla in the pool. Too late, Timmy had just put his head under water and didn't hear Joe yelling at him and in went Kayla into the pool - clothes and all.

So...Joe brings a soaking wet Kayla inside and I'm drying her off and trying to keep her relatively warm while he runs home to get her another change of clothes. When he gets back I start getting her dressed. She's pulling up her underwear when she says "p*oo p*oo" and I tell her "you don't have to go, you just went an hour ago!" So she says "p*ee p*ee!" and realizing she just jumped in water it probably did make her need to go, so I said, "ok let's go!" and grabbed her up to run to the bathroom. Too late, I could already feel a little damp on my hand, she didn't go all the way, she held it and finished going in the bathroom, but her underwear were a little too wet to put back on. So yes, Joe needed to run home again, for another change of underwear. I just felt like giving up and going home at that point! Instead I said, "pass the wine!"

5. We had another nice BBQ dinner out with friends last night. They wanted to have us over before we left for our vacation. It was a nice time (as it always is with them) and we even managed to play a couple rounds of Rummikub.

Thanks go Christine for starting Grains of Gratitude!

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone - please remember our service men/women who aren't home with their families and keep them in your prayers.