A summer week-end...

The look of delight on my little man having the hose in his hands!








Sitting like a little king in his chair eating Daddy's sandwich while waiting for his little pool to be filled up! And, this was the best seat to watch Liz and Daddy enjoy the slip and slide!

Don't you all think Matthew needs a sister? He sure loves our neighbor, Liz...

Nothing better than ice cream for lunch on a hot day....

Just where oh where did my butterfly get to?

Getting ready for the butterfly release...it was so beautiful!

It's hard to believe that the week-end is over already, and in some ways it feels like forever since Friday night....where does the time go? After a very busy week, we were very much looking forward to being at home and getting things done around the house. Chris had the mulch delivered on Thursday so we went flower shopping after work Thursday and Chris had them all planted by Friday evening. All I had to do was show him where to plant them and keep Matthew busy :) A lot of people in our neighborhood were out and about on Friday evening and Matthew even got to have his first ice cream off of the ice cream truck. Everyone heard the truck coming and made a mad dash for money. Matthew, of course, had no idea what was going on, but when I handed him a couple of dollars he knew something good was coming :) The music on the ice cream truck is pretty loud, but we aren't quite sure if Matthew heard it or not. We tried to make a big deal out of it, but it was still hard to tell.

After the ice cream mess, Matthew and some of the kids played together getting wheelbarrow rides from Chris and Matthew actually got DIRTY! He is usually so funny about messes and getting dirty, but all bets were off Friday night as he was filthy by the end of the night, it was great and he was ALL BOY! His little face looked like a tiger from where he had smeared dirt all over it. It was a delightful evening. I am going to try and upload some pictures from my phone of the dirty boy later.

As it started to get dark, it was time for "tubby time." I signed that to Matthew and he was so upset about having to go in but he was so very tired. We had been outside with our dear friend(note-they have become more like family, not "neighbors") Peg and heard sirens and whistles and thought, wow that sounds close. I went up and started bathing Matthew, then I heard Chris yell up to me, "Meliss - it's B**, come quick!" Chris and I traded places, and off I went. Peg's husband and son were in an accident and were hit by a motorcycle who crossed over into their lane. Thankfully, they were OK but what a crazy amount of chaos that was. Whenever anything like that happens, you certainly know how quickly life can be taken away from you. We spent a long time with them Friday night, and God love Matthew, he wanted to sit in the car seat in Chris's truck just hanging out which was a blessing:) He didn't give in and go to sleep until 1230 Friday night!!!

Saturday was a delightful day as we started it with a family breakfast and some homemade chocolate chip muffins. I am not sure whether the bacon or the muffins were the bigger hit with Chris and Matthew! Then, I got some chores done, paid some bills and Chris was crazy doing yard work outside. Matthew, Liz, and I then went to an Alex's Lemonade Stand. One of my former patients' families hosts one of the "grand stands" and it 's a big event raising money for childhood cancer patients. We got there in time for the butterfly release at noon, which was beautiful. All of the kids got a little butterfly wrapped in an envelope and they were all opened and released at the same time. Matthew didn't quite know what to do, so his butterfly got a little squished and ended up in the grass but he was able to fly away still after we picked him up:) The kids then had lemonade, ice cream, made crafts, played little games, and just had a great time. I got to see some of my other patients and some old friends which was so nice. It was VERY hot and Matthew (and Mommy) don't do real well in the heat, so we didn't last too long.

We then stopped at our local orchard for some fresh fruits and veggies, did some grocery shopping, baked a belated b-day cake for Liz's Mom....and then it was backyard water time when Daddy was done all of the yardwork!!!

We got out the slip and slide, hose, and baby pool and the fun began!!! Can you imagine Chris on the slip and side??? Yep, he definitely did it and I have video of him and Liz competing, so yes it DID happen! Matthew loved watching them and squealed with delight every time one of them ran and slid. He didn't like the slip and slide and preferred being in the pool, smart little guy. I enjoyed working the video camera from the deck, sipping on iced tea, and taking it all in!

We were all pretty exhausted come Saturday night but it was a wonderful kind of tired. Sunday was a day for cleaning, organizing, and homework for Chris...but then, we finished off the week-end over at our neighbors in their beautiful pool and it was perfect. Mr. Bob LOVES to spoil Matthew and he loves to grill so Matthew was eating scallops off the grill, steak, and halibut...what taste he has, and what a far cry from our typical hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken :) He was too funny eating at the table, like a big boy who fit right in.

So, the week-end was wonderful. And we are looking forward to many more wonderful week-ends coming up. And yes, we are cramming a lot of things into these next few week-ends as I am scheduled to have surgery July 1st and I don't know what kind of recovery time I am looking at at this point. So, in between all the fun stuff, I have a lot to do to be sure the house is organized, etc. I can't even stop to think about the surgery right now because this is SO different going through this as a Mom. I am already worried about my little guy and how I will be able to take care of him and how we will be able to communicate to him what's going on. That's another whole post....for now, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the simple things we get to do together. It's amazing how trips to the grocery store, rides in the wheelbarrow, baking a cake, SKYPING with Mom-Mom(almost forgot that!), having a "helper" as you are trying to clean, and a little water in the backyard can bring so much joy and happy moments to your life. Yes, I LOVE being a Mom and our lives together. We are immeasureable blessed, and will always focus on that every day even in the toughest of times!