Summer Part 2

Summer part 2 has been as busy as summer part 1.  The first thing didn't affect Sidney and I so much but confused Kirk more than he is already (which, bless his heart is hard to do).  His foster home moved to Boerne.  It is a really good fit for the care giver and the guys who live there.  They like to go to the lake near Boerne and it is a quieter life.  It's a newer house with a bit more room outside.  Mary Ann has Kirk and another client right now and will be getting a third.  I am not sure he ever knew where his room was before.  I am not sure he does now.  The house layout is easier but one night apparently he got tired and went to bed.  Mary Ann was outside and Kirk went to sleep in her bed.  First bed he came across I guess.  Freaked her out because she didn't know he was in there and she couldn't tell who was in her bed.  The other Kirk news is that he has been very calm of late.  He also lost a crown so that had to get fixed.  

Searching for bugs

Sidney has been swimming 4 days a week.  We had the shortest yet longest swim meet ever a few weeks ago.  It was only Sunday morning but it was still long.  The pool was hot both in the water temperature and the temperature in the building.  And there were many mix ups that delayed the meet when heat sheets and timer sheets didn't match and there were puzzled kids every where.  Oh well. 

She loves anything alive

We had a friend come over for a visit.  It was really nice.  She and I alternated taking Sidney to swimming.  The person who stayed home had to cook dinner.  It was really great to have help that week because that was the first week the Olympic team was practicing at our normal pool and we had to drive to a farther pool again for 4 weeks.  That is finally over but it was not fun to go back to driving a longer distance to get to the pool.  

One of my staff members resigned a couple of weeks ago.  I was very sad to see her leave and wish her all the best.  It has made me more busy when I was already pretty over loaded.  I am working hard to try to keep my head above water.  

I sometimes go to Friedrich Wilderness Park to run or hike.  They have nice trails and its only 10 minutes from home.  I get their early and I am not the first car in the lot but I seem to be the first person on the longest of the trails.  I always get all the spider webs.  A couple of weeks ago I got another surprise, a scary one.  Something large ran across the trail in front of me.  I thought it might be a deer but it wasn't tall enough.  I also heard some of its friends crashing around in the brush.  It came back and stopped in the middle of the trail.  It was a wild boar.  I saw him and his three friends and freaked.  I don't thin I have been that scared in a while.  There was not another human anywhere. Fortunately they left me alone but I moved pretty fast for a while.  

Peacock feather from a friend

After that adventure Sidney and I went up to New Braunfels for the company picnic.  It was pretty fun.  It was nice to meet peoples spouses and children.  Several of us with kids rode the train at the park and then our kids played in the spring fed waiting pool for a while.  The kids all said the water was cold but Sidney could not care less about cold water.  I had to drag her out.  We really did have fun.

The cat has been entertaining of late.  She likes to sit on the bathroom counter and play in the water in the sink if I turn it on to just a drip.  Pretty funny for an animal that doesn't like to get wet.  She also spends lots of time sitting on the back porch dreaming of catching a bird.  I went out one time and she had caught a lizard.  I made her drop it but then she caught it again.  He did get away and I hope he lived.

I have been putting good meals on the table.  I have been able to cook the last few weekends.  Pot roast, fish, shrimp, chicken and lots of grilled yumminess.  And I am hanging to get veggies in too. 

Stormy trying to fit in the cat bed

Sidney has been busy with camps the last couple of weeks.  She had bug camp where they learned about bugs, spiders, reptiles, etc.  They dissected crawfish, caught and mounted bugs, and made maggot art.  I had to ask what maggot art was.  You put a few drops of paint on paper and then put a maggot in the paint.  It crawls around through the paint making art.  I was so glad I asked.....

This week she had fencing camp.  She was there 7 hours each day and then swam for almost two hours.  She has been sleeping well and eating tons and then some more.  Fencing is pretty technical.  There is a lot of protective gear and a lot of rules.  She had fun.  The fencers are also wired for lack of a better term.  The jacket is connected to a box that counts hits from the opponent.  It was pretty cool to watch.  

Fencing

We have a new neighbor.  She moved in across the street and I am really happy to have her there.  We have chatted some and look forward to getting together after we get back from Peru.  Sidney and I also went over to a friends to help with her horses.  We helped get her tack room in order and then washed the two horse.  They are appaloosas named Domino and Arapahoe and are 38 and 39 years old.  Sweet old boys who can't chew grass or be ridden but like attention.  Sidney was all for that.  She got paid and mostly hugged the horses.  I didn't and did the washing.  We loved it. 

We also have been trying to work some more volunteering into our lives.  Sidney has been going with some friends ever few months and we have signed up for a regular visit to the SA Food Bank.  But on Sunday we went downtown with our church to serve a meal to the homeless.  It was replay awesome. It was a good reminder of what blessings we have.  

We are off to Peru tomorrow.  We are looking forward to getting back to the church over there and seeing our friends.  There will be some new members to our team and some repeats.  Sidney can wait to see Michael, known for his pocket bread.  He eats large amounts of food and then takes any bread left over for later.  Hence the pocket bread....

I promise to take lots of pictures and good notes.