Holiday Surprise

It is Memorial Day, and I have resolved that three day weekends are THE BEST.

Friday evening we spent a most relaxing time celebrating with the Whitakers and others at a perfect summer picnic. Vance has finished his PhD! We all left exhausted, but rejuvenated by the fellowship.

We were busy, busy, busy on Saturday planting annuals and moving perennials. Eric filled the beds with a new layer of black dirt and moved around some rocks. Shrubs trimmed, and everything watered to satisfaction.

Sunday we hung around home for the afternoon taking much needed naps, but in the late afternoon we headed over to Lake Nokomis to join some friends for another picnic. We had a perfect spot by the lake with nice shade trees and a quiet section of sandy beach. We grilled delicious veggies (and meats), played bocce ball, threw the Frisbee, and lounged around. We were all certain that we could spend every day like this!

Kristy, Anna, and Leah played lifeguard...

Hazel lived it up in the sand and water.

We brought along Eva's bat and ball, and Leah was kind enough to pitch for her.

After spending a considerable amount of time splashing around in the water, Hope requested to warm up in this stylish sarong.

As the sun sunk low in the sky, we hurried home for baths and a late bedtime with two pooped out little girls. Some of our friends decided to join us for a movie or board games, which ended up being a very late night. We fell asleep around 2 am and mercifully were not awoken until 9:30 this morning! Amazingly, we felt well rested and happy, something we attributed to a busy weekend of socialization (Eric is the epitome of "extrovert").

While Eric made waffles and orange juice for breakfast, the girls and I wandered out to the front stoop to enjoy the morning sunshine. And who should we find outside our door??? A well mannered, petite feline was baking in the warm sunlight!

This surprise reminded me a little of the last time a stray cat wandered into our lives. I think it must've been four years ago when I found a charming calico kitty curled up under my Christmas tree after a cookie exchange party. Oddly enough, these cats always seem to appear after we've hosted a particular collection of our friends. I'm just not sure what to make of it....

The girls LOVE pets, and except for Hope's cat allergy and our tiny house, we'd love to get one. So I let the girls cuddle and love on this kitty all morning. Happily, Hope had absolutely no adverse reaction to the cat!We are always thankful for the active imaginations these girls possess, and the next series of photos proves that as John Lennon said, "Reality leaves a lot to the imagination."

If you were a fly on our wall, you'd be hearing things like, "Soft kitty!" or "Mommy get it kitty. Heavy." or "My turn hold kitty!"or "I think this kitty is named Spooky." and "It is my cat, you know." (As an aside, isn't Eva's summer romper, the cutest thing you've ever seen?!?)"Hi (s)pooky." and "Where (s)pooky go?""Nice kitty!" and "I'll just hold Spooky. She is a little afraid of younger children." Spooky was even serenaded with the complete rendition of, "Skiddamarink a dink a dink, Skiddamarink a doo, I love you...""Is the kitty cozy in your blanket?" "Be gentle with Spooky."I got to "babysit" our furry companion while the girls took a quick trip to the "fountain lake."All in all, this is an incredibly kid-tolerant cat, who seems content to clean it's paws just about anywhere she sprawls out. I can't complain about that!

Leah, Leah, Jason, Anna, Aaron, and Kristy: I'm not exactly sure to whom we owe this pleasure, but your gift is being enjoyed immensely, and there is no telling when we'll be able to give her up into your loving arms!