We spent yesterday morning in the yard mowing and weed eating. The heat is so extreme for this time of year that it wiped me out for the day. We had to surrender this past week and actually turn on the a.c. 3 weeks earlier than usual! We don't keep it very cool- 78 in the daytime- but when you come in from the outdoors it sure does feel good. I may actually get in a pool before mid-July this year. #2 hosted a party Friday evening. He wanted to have a party and invite friends. I kept asking what he was going to do and how much would it cost me. It ended up costing me 4 boxes of jello, some sodas, and a cake mix. I didn't think that was too bad. He wanted to play board games and make gum drops out of the jello. They didn't do either, but he said he had a great time. The kids played outside having sword fights and other fun. They came in around 8:45 to watch a movie, and everyone was gone by 9:30. I was mowing the yard while they "partied." I was watching them run around and do as they pleased, and I thought how much I love living here. We have plenty of land for them to run as they please. They like playing in the barn and walking back the lane to swing on the neighbor's tire swing and look for sharks' teeth in the dirt pile. They are living as close to the ideal childhood as you can still get. #2 woke up fevered in the middle of the night. I am hoping it is something simple. He had a tick earlier in the week (that ideal childhood in the woods) and I couldn't sleep thinking what if it is Lyme's Disease. I'll keep an eye on him.