SUMMER FOOD AND FUN

Having such a nice time in Omaha. Have left my recent fatigue and stress behind---thank goodness. LE and JA are such fun. We have real discussions and continuing conversations. Today we talked about directions and addresses. JA asked me what state I lived in and said immediately that he knows about states (he's 4, of course) because he lives in Nebraska. We visit Gifford Park (the sand park in their lexicon). After last night's wind and thunder storm, there are branches everywhere so we clear some away and use others for fun and make-believe.

We duck under the tree tunnel, and use branches to clear a puddle from the bottom of the slide. Then, we pile some of the branches in front of each blue big-kid swing so that their toes and feet brush into the leaves and sometimes even lift the branches up in the air. Part of the time we are on a desert island so we need to use only what we have. Good thing we brought water bottles and Pirates Booty.

A Guatamalen family brings their lunch to the small pavilion and we get to admire their month-old baby boy--Benito. LC is exactly the same age, so that's interesting. Benito is so tiny--tinier than LC--and he has lots of thick black hair.

We'd been practicing some Spanish (uno, dos, tres, quattro, cinco...) and the daddy helps us with the Spanish version of our names--Juan, Lucia, Marialena...). They are very nice and the mother is beautiful.

Tonight we cook some summer food--BLT hamburgers, baked beans, fresh tomato salsa and chips. JA and LE's nana and papa brought us tomatoes from their garden yesterday, so I chop some finely along with jalapenos, cilantro, red onion, and lime juice. To-die-for! Absolutely!!! Why do I even consider eating any tomato that's not home grown? No comparison. Divine. Simply divine.

We'd talked about grilling hamburgers one night and also making BLTs while I'm visiting. That segued into BLT burgers, and they are yummy. Soon we're going to make some scrambled egg tacos with fresh salsa, and if I get some basil at the Omaha Old Market farmers' market tomorrow morning we'll have some bruschetta, too.

The end of summer is the sweetest. From July's sweet corn to August's tomatoes... We hate to see summer wind down, but we love the harvest.

The baby holding is going well. LC is so sweet. He seems to be working toward some good sleeping habits, but when he needs it, I'm more than happy to hold, cuddle, and rock this precious little guy. I have a new squishy little guy. Good thing, because my ginger-haired JA is so grown up and he's all big boy. He still giggles uproariously and will sometimes let me cuddle him briefly, but he's all lean arms and legs--constantly jumping, running, climbing, and testing the limits.

LE is all girl, more so every day. She really wanted to wear her new pink and brown Fall dress today, but it's much too hot outside for long sleeves and the the layered look. She takes care of everyone--anticipating your needs, comforting the hurting. She flounces around, pronounces some words in the most delightful way--she's Wucy, she does twicks on the monkey bars, she looks everywhere for her twick monkey (chipmunk!).

Wucy, in her twick monkey pose.

The approved method for eating a Krispy Kreme.

Wucy's twick.