Update: Summer Fun!

Life has been fairly typical, so not many new pictures to share. But as much as we have been relaxed, we have managed to start having some summer fun. Here is a bit of what we've been doing:

Gabriela: one week of VBS, two weeks of swim lessons (has moved on to level 2... can go under the water now and is more comfortable in the water), and one week of gymnastics camp (she's jumping all over the place now trying to repeat what she did there). She also got all her booster shots so she's ready for kindergarten. Poor thing had 4 shots in her thighs... ouch! She did really great, and at least she won't have to do anymore for a very long time...

July 3: we went to a theater production of "Alice in Wonderland" with a friend, and took Gabriela. It was really well done, with only 5 or 6 actors! It was quite fast paced, and only an hour, but it was fun to watch. The end was the best because the queen was played by a bald guy! Very entertaining! Afterwards we were able to view the fireworks from "our" backyard which several other friends joined us for. We stayed out til about midnight chatting and drinking coffee. And yes, this town celebrates the day before the 4th... backwards, yes.

The rest of that weekend was very lazy. I was able to do a few things which I usually don't get to indulge myself in, so it was nice to feel extra productive (something besides work and the usual dishes, meals and laundry and cleaning). I did a little bit of sewing, archived papers (may not be "fun", but it feels good to get it done), and spent some good hours on the couch reading a novel! Yeah! I love to read, but it's hard to fit in most of the time. I read "Snow Falling on Cedars" I think there is a movie, which always looked interesting. The book was more of a murder mystery (I was expecting romance, though it did have a love story in it) but it also touched on racism after WWII against the Japanese. It was good. It was even better just to sit and read fiction.

We've seen a couple movies too:
27 Dresses - very predictable, "chic flic" but it was a new twist and cute.

Home Alone 3 - same sort of plot as the first two, but not at all related. It was fun to watch with Gabriela and laugh out loud!

Beautiful People - a British movie, so very different stylistically, showing racism toward the Bosnians in England, but it all worked out in the end. Very different, but interesting message. The most interesting story line (there were several) was a skinhead that got high on heroin and wound up on a pallet that the UN dropped over Bosnia... then he got hooked up with the UN and helped out with the victims of war. It changed him.

Dh update: Summer class is over and he has his first time off in over 2 years! He is doing a few small things but so far is relaxing. He has about another month which should be good for him.

Thursday: The university hosted a really cool movie night. They had a big theater size blow up movie screen in a field and they showed "Shrek" once it got dark (10pm). Even nicer they even had popcorn, cookies and pop - for free! It was a perfect night for such an outdoor excursion.

Friday: We had a pizza night for dinner, then my dh and I went out for ice cream ... ALONE! We don't get a lot of dates, so it was nice. Hopefully with family living close by now we can repeat this a little more frequently. [I have to add a side note on the ice cream. At my college, there was an ice cream fund; we had ice cream available at all meals. The best was when they had chocolate with peanut butter (my favorite combo). This was the best, truly... very rich chocolate ice cream with lots of ribbons of good peanut butter. Baskin Robbins has the identical ice cream! Double yum!]

Saturday: Slept in. Pancakes and waffles with fresh blueberries and pineapple juice. yum. Then we went to a nearby park, walked around a bit, then played in the lake and sand for the rest of the afternoon. Had indoor (good thing as it rained cats and dogs when we got home) grilled turkey burgers and hot dogs and homemade, baked french fries.

Sunday: We are spending the day trying to prep the apartment for the bug man to come tomorrow and spray to hopefully kill BED BUGS! Yuck. There has been an infestation in the building next to ours, and apparently a few have gotten into Gabriela's room. They (she and her uncle) are okay (not bitten) if they do not sleep in her room, so I think we are lucky so far that it is contained strictly to her room. But we are going to treat everything to be as thorough as possible. Fortunately there is no risk of any disease with these pests, but they cause big mosquito-like bites so it's not fun for those who get eaten up. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Hope you are having some summer fun! We plan on more the rest of the month!