No Mockingjay Yet

Yes, it's true. We preordered Mockingjay on Amazon in June and July for the book and then the audio book and even though it was released on Tuesday and promised to be her on Monday...tracking predicts it will come by the second of September...Never again Amazon! I could have found them for a similar price and picked them up myself at Costco.

Work Swim Party

Where am I?

Oh, it's Dad!

Bathing Beauties

Jonathan finds a friend (Brooke)

Judging

Diving for Toothpicks

Ginny holding little Lindsey

Bethany holding twin brother Luke.

Sillies after a shower and ready to fall asleep on the way home. (I know, wishful thinking on my part--one can always dream)

Tonight was the Work Department Annual Family Swim Party. Thank you again Mark and Chris for letting us swim at your pool. The sky was beautiful as we drove north on the freeway. Of course it would storm on the evening swim party night (Murphey's Law). At times, baby did NOT care for the drum acoustics of the severe rain storm. Once we walked to the pool, she settled down. We ate pizza, drank soda or lemonade, ate Lemonade Pie, Zucchini Chocolate Cake, and M & M Cookies for energy to swim (or in my case sit and talk with the mommies of young babies). Bethany brought four week old twins Luke and Lindsey. Ginny and Dave helped hold them betimes and perhaps remembered their twins (now four years old). We were jealous of Macey's copy of Mockingjay and were sore tempted to sneek a peek at it. A fun time had by all and a gorgeous double rainbow (that I was too slow to snap a picture of ).

Back to School (All Ready)!

Back to school has come and I feel like I am missing several weeks of summer and I cannot truly believe that school has started up again.

The Littlies all snug for the walk to school. (Eva is sporting a brand new Champion Baby Supporter Joe installed last night so she can feel like a big girl next to sister Susie).

The Grade Schoolers!

Ahh, baby thinks this new stroller is as good as the swing for putting her to sleep.

Right after using the potty before meeting the children at school for the Meet Your Teacher Time this afternoon, Susie came out and said, "Mom, I found my favorite chapstick!" Thanks older girls. Nice. This is Zinka from an old makeup container (up high) that I used to put on my lips when skiing. Mostly permanent. Susie wore a Joker smile ALL day. The morning was chilly and Rebekah had on full pants and a wool sweater before I assured her that it would be hot in the afternoon. It was 30 degrees cooler than normal and a great taste of Fall like weather.

Just Can't Wait!

Once in a great while there comes along a book that resonates with me (us) and Suzanne Collins has done that with the release of her series of books, Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and soon-to-be-released Mockingjay. The older girls, Joe and I can't wait for the release for the final book in the series on Tuesday, August 24--the same day the children go back to school. We have ordered the book and audio book from Amazon and so we will end up waiting on the books, sigh. Guess we will just have to keep busy until then. To give you some background on the stories, I borrow these reviews from Amazon.com. From School Library Journal Grade 7 In a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss' young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining districts female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker who seems to have all the fighting skills of a lump of bread dough, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives. Collinss characters are completely realistic and sympathetic as they form alliances and friendships in the face of overwhelming odds; the plot is tense, dramatic, and engrossing.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* This is a grand-opening salvo in a new series by the author of the Underland Chronicles. Sixteen-year-old Katniss poaches food for her widowed mother and little sister from the forest outside the legal perimeter of District 12, the poorest of the dozen districts constituting Panem, the North American dystopic state that has replaced the U.S. in the not-too-distant future. Her hunting and tracking skills serve her well when she is then cast into the nation’s annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death where contestants must battle harsh terrain, artificially concocted weather conditions, and two teenaged contestants from each of Panem’s districts. District 12’s second “tribute” is Peeta, the baker’s son, who has been in love with Katniss since he was five. Each new plot twist ratchets up the tension, moving the story forward and keeping the reader on edge. Although Katniss may be skilled with a bow and arrow and adept at analyzing her opponents’ next moves, she has much to learn about personal sentiments, especially her own. Populated by three-dimensional characters, this is a superb tale of physical adventure, political suspense, and romance. Grades 9-12. --Francisca Goldsmith

Amazon's teaser for the final book, Mockingjay, is as follows:

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

Thinking Before I Heal

Thinking...as I continue to heal from the emergency c-section at Eva's birth. Knowing...I can no longer "pretend" or hide from acknowledging the pain while embracing the joyful outcome of a surgical ending to my labor and birth. Healing...with a physical scar that still has random phantom pain, a foot that still has issues of Plantar Fasciitis, bilateral numbness down my hips since the surgery, and emotional bittersweet feelings of deep gratitude conflicting with feelings of failure, incompetency, and helplessness. Soon...I will face my fears and blog about the uncomfortable place of the uncontrollable, hapless journey of my last birth so that I can stop thinking, cease knowing, and start healing inside again.

Sunday Dinner, Birthdays and Stiches

Princess Sonya

Cora growing so fast!

Fairy Queen Lucy (with an iced rice krispy "cake")

Boys will be boys (and Callie). Note the bat and various swords.

This evening we had ALL of Julie's family to dinner. Normally, we would gather for Sunday dinner at my parents home near by but there is only one working potty and no A/C there and so we volunteered our place. Hmm...maybe we should have rethought that one! It was a day to celebrate cousin Sonya and Lucy's birthdays. We ate dinner and showed the crew through the remodel. (It is in the drywall stage.) After, we opened presents, we sang and ate cake (thanks to Lisa for the rice crispy cake and Melissa for darling Cookies and Creme Cupcakes. We used one to celebrate Sonya's third birthday). While I was taking pictures of the birthday gals, my second daughter came in and whispered that Hannah had cut her foot on the front lawn and that it was "pretty bad." Hannah, our oldest daughter, and her cousin Jackson had been throwing knives (plastic). Hannah got a heavier butter knife from the utensil drawer and they were playing a "stick the knife into the lawn" game when Hannah's heavier knife rebounded and stabbed her in the foot. Is this only my children who do random things? Thankfully, Uncle Matt was here and said, "I think I may have a 'stich kit' in my car." What a good pediatrician and Boy Scout...Ever prepared. They preformed rudementary sutures at the dinning room table. Thanks doctor Matt! Hopefully, Hannah has learned a lesson from this (butter knives are better on rolls than grass?). Whew--peaceful sleeping house.

Susie Strikes Again!

Finding Joy today.... After Joe and I took a walk in the twilight, I played Peek-a-Boo with Eva and she began to spontaneously giggle. She is mostly giggled out at the stage of the video...Enjoy!