Waiting for Toto to Run in My Front Door at Any Moment...

Thinking back through my life all the way to my early childhood, I can only remember it hailing maybe 2 or 3 times and it always felt strange--kind of wrong--seeing ice fall from the sky during such hot days. Since the weather started warming up this year, I think it has hailed pretty much every time we've had a thunder storm!

These are a couple of pictures Landon and I took of the hail that crashed down on our house this afternoon. It still freaks me out a little every time it happens (and I wince while the windows get blasted), but Landon is so used to it now that he celebrates every little chunk of ice he sees on the lawn the way most kids cheer for snow. Something tells me we're not in Kansas anymore!

Muddy Waters

Landon has been completely exhausted from braving the fast-paced last quarter of the school year and Andy is dragging from long hours spent at work running two different bank branches (& I am tired just THINKING about all of it!) so we decided to just kick back today. We spent a lazy Sunday here at the Pfaffl House, just the four of us. The kids alternated between running in the sprinkler and digging in the mud, all while soaking up the hot South Carolina sun. Sounds innocent enough, doesn't it? Yeah, maybe in theory! It did start off relaxing--lounging on the back patio, giving the dog a cool bath with the garden hose, just my boys and me...but things never stay that way around here. (You know what they say about best laid plans)...Baylor was having such a good time being "big" with Daddy and Brother. He even got to man the hose (see? BIG). Baylor sprayed and Landon shampooed until Jackson was squeaky clean (hard work, especially in today's record heat). It didn't surprise me that it only took about 30 seconds after we sent the dog back into the house for the boys to jump into the tub of dirty-dog-water (shoes, clothes and all). "Oh well!" I said to Andy! Carpe Diem! Let boys be boys, right? They splashed happily for probably an hour, pouring water all over each other and laughing, both trying to squish into the dog's tiny little tub together as Andy watched proudly and I snapped pictures. After a while I noticed something strange...No matter how long they sprayed new, fresh water into the tub (and they were spraying constantly), the water never seemed quite clear. Hmmmmmm....After that revelation, I acted quickly (Parenting 101). "Andy! Check Baylor's diaper!" (I give him the fun jobs.) He looked. He grimaced. I gagged & ran for supplies with the speed of a jungle cat. Baylor had picked his relaxing soak in the tub to completely overfill his diaper and I had picked his relaxing soak in the tub to throw caution to the wind (Parenting 101?). Live and learn. Needless to say, our quiet afternoon in the backyard ended abruptly. Both of my boys are now being scrubbed inside in the real bath tub and I am trying hard not to think about the (above) picture of the lovely hair style Landon gave Baylor with poop water. *sigh* Never a dull moment!