Now with More Bullets!

• We went to the splash park with Cousin N and her 4 children on Thursday. We had such a great time! Her youngest is eight(ish) months old and just sat in the shallows and splashed. He is such a happy little guy! Both of my chillies are SO in love with him! Her oldest son is a natural babysitter and played very sweetly with his younger sister and Z (who are about the same age). Cousin N left first - something about feeding her kids? My kids would rather swim than eat ANY day! Which is saying something because both of my kids are total chow hounds. We stayed until Q's lips turned an alarming shade of blue. I am super mom.

• On Friday, I pulled a total Rae Ann stunt and thought the Chez Ami party I had been invited to started at the time that it ended. Luckily, I thought to check the time before the party was completely over. Turns out it was kind of a come-and-go party, so I didn't commit any terrible faux pas! I did buy Z some adorable way too spendy adorable outfits: The red one is kind of Christmas-y. I love the lime green with the red! The purple one will have the purses embroidered on it, so she can wear it with the green leggings, too. I got everything a little roomy so we can get several seasons out of them like those Hannah Anderson enthusiasts do. I hope they hold up!
• Friday night I got a call from a friend I hadn't talked to in five years. When I saw her name on the caller ID, I thought that it must be some other person with her name, but it really was my friend from my teaching days! She and a couple of other pals were (finally) planning a road trip to Small Town to visit me. Imagine her surprise to find that I was all the way out in Wester! Even so, it was a lot of fun to talk to her. Hopefully, the next time I am in Ginormousville I can manage to get together with all of my teaching buds.
  
• Today I planted 100+ variegated liriope plants. I bought them from Classy Groundcovers. I was SO impressed with everything about them. I ordered bare roots plants, so I expected the plants to be a little sad looking. They were gorgeous! I got many more than the 100 I paid for! They even sent me a gift of a ball cap and a bulb-planting-trowel. Love! I had forgotten how much I like to dig in the dirt! The last time I really enjoyed gardening was before I had children. Now, they are old enough to play near-me-but-not-with-me or even (gasp!) help out. Even though it was hot out, it was very pleasant under our shade trees. Z helped me dig the holes with a dandelion fork until the siren call of the neighbor's son pulled her away.
• It was so nice out today that even after I finished planting I hung out on the front porch swing and read a book while the children played. I am really enjoying Wester! In Small Town, we would have been swimming in our own sweat while trying to beat off the giant mosquitoes, but Wester is so dry and breezy that as long as you are shaded you can be comfortable. Yay! Outdoor time that doesn't feel like punishment!
• Chica stopped by on her way through town this evening. It was awesome to see her and get her take on my home improvement plans. You know someone is truly your friend if you can have them over without any straightening up at all. The house was a wreck (and I was, too), but all Chica noticed was the clean slate and the non-hideousness of the former owner's wallpaper selections. Love that! As always, she was an excellent sounding board and full of good ideas and laughter. I am so glad she has family in Wester so that maybe I can see her here from time to time.