26 Miles!!!

Catalina here we come!!!

Rooms!!!

Fireworks!

Well...as Patrick and I agreed later, aside from breaking our camera and losing Jack, we had a very nice 4th of July. Sorry we don't have much in the way of pictures. Hopefully we'll be able to borrow some from friends, but in the meantime, everyone rest assured that Jack is fine. He decided to wander back to our camp on his own from the park. Patrick and I were searching the bushes with the police when Grandma Kathi and Peepa Petur brought him back to us - phew! After that, everyone enjoyed their cake and, of course, the fireworks show.

My favorite part of the evening was listening to all of the kids' reactions. Jack and Lorelei were fascinated by the physics of the whole thing. "I get it mom, they're rockets that self-destruct!" - Lorelei. "Hey Momma, is the earth turning us now?" - Jack (about the whispy smoke trails.) Scarlett, Summer and Felix were all a little scared. Scarlett clutched Julie so hard she left marks, but yelled, "MORE!" as soon as the firworks were done. Poor Felix hid under a blanket the whole time, but apparently he was also ready for more soon afterwards. Finn and Hana just studied the show silently, like little scientists.

We hope everyone had a happy 4th!

Tate!!!

Never Again The Same

by James Tate

Speaking of sunsets,
last night’s was shocking.
I mean, sunsets aren’t supposed to frighten you, are they?
Well, this one was terrifying.
People were screaming in the streets.
Sure, it was beautiful, but far too beautiful.
It wasn’t natural.
One climax followed another and then another
until your knees went weak
and you couldn’t breathe.
The colors were definitely not of this world,
peaches dripping opium,
pandemonium of tangerines,
inferno of irises,
Plutonian emeralds,
all swirling and churning, swabbing,
like it was playing with us,
like we were nothing,
as if our whole lives were a preparation for this,
this for which nothing could have prepared us
and for which we could not have been less prepared.
The mockery of it all stung us bitterly.
And when it was finally over
we whimpered and cried and howled.
And then the streetlights came on as always
and we looked into one another’s eyes --
ancient caves with still pools
and those little transparent fish
who have never seen even one ray of light.
And the calm that returned to us
was not even our own.

Lucy!!!

Seen today in Atwater: "Psyciatric (sic) help 5 cents. The doctor is {out}."

Cooler!!!

July!!!

Some summer music for the beginning of July!!!