Is July over yet?

We've had a rough July over here. Here is a list of just some of the misadventures:

• We started July off by taking Lucy to the ER for nursemaid's elbow. Google it. It basically means she dislocated something in her elbow, and couldn't move it... even when we offered her my cell phone. Of course, I had not yet found a pediatrician in the area, and we didn't even know where the nearest hospital was. Quite the adventure...
• Our car failed inspection (for new license plates) and we had to buy new tires.
• We have spent upwards of 4 hours at the DMV trying to attain new licenses and license plates. Only I (Jane) has acquired a license. James is working on his today. I'm beginning to think the license plates are a lost cause...
• Our toilet backed up, making all kinds of yucky stuff come up the drain pipes. It had to be snaked.
  
• We were headed out to do some yardsale-ing on a Saturday morning to find that our car battery died. Our neighbors didn't have jumper cables.
• And (I hope) the grand finale: Our power has gone out twice. Once for a couple hours. Once for 68 hours. After a large storm on Sunday, it went out and was not turned back on until Wednesday. We lived on $5 footlongs for those days, and tried not to think about how hot it was. I had just finished stocking the freezer with meals, and they all had to be thrown out.
  

And I even feel like I missed a couple of things in there...

Now, I will follow this list of misfortunes up by saying that we are very thankful for the many blessings we have. I only share the list because it is kind of ridiculously funny to me. Also, some good things happened in July. James was offered a job and started it a few weeks ago. It's a great job at a hospital center near his school, where he is an assistant to an assistant. He basically does office work and other random tasks, and will have some time to study during work hours. In my job search, I have talked to many people, gone on some interviews, and recently met a family I would really like to work for. If you think of it, send up a little prayer for me that I am offered the job.

Or at least that we all leave July behind in one piece : ) James just texted me saying he has acquired his license. I will take that as a preview of August...

Spaghetti

Or at least the aftermath...

The wonders of our neighborhood

We love our neighborhood. It's just far away enough from the craziness, but not too far. We have all the things nearby that we like and need (libraries, thrift stores, a wide array of grocery stores including lots of exciting ethnic food shops). And it has some great little places to be explored. A few weeks after we arrived here, someone told us about some trails near us. We thought that sounded like fun, but didn't know where they were. One night we simply happened upon them and were amazed. The parking lot for the trails is next to a very busy street, and I actually drove past it frequently without even realizing that it was an entrance to some trails.

You have to walk along the intersection for a while...


and then the trees open up to this entrance where there is a creek with stepping stones...


Walk a little farther, and you can't even hear the traffic or the city noises anymore. Just the occasional bird or frog...

Or maybe the whining of a little one who would rather be walking on her own and eating rocks than riding in this backpack thing.

But even she will soon calm down and enjoy the peaceful walk. She started laying her head down on me and rubbing my shoulder. Very sweet.


Lots of beautiful sights (even two deer), nice hills, and mostly just an escape from the everyday.

It's quickly becoming one of our favorite things to do with a free evening.

At the park

I'm not sure who out of the three of us has been enjoying James working from home this summer. It's been quite a treat for all of us. One of the many benefits is that James takes Lucy to the park almost everyday (sadly this is becoming far less frequent as James started his not-from-home job recently, but it was nice while it lasted!). Lucy and James get some wonderful quality time together, and I get a nice little break in the middle of the day. Here are some pictures from a typical outing. I realized afterward that there are no pictures of the actual playground itself because Lucy often just wanders around after birds or digs in the dirt. But, she always has to go down the slide at least five times.

Just a Friday night...