oma is here (and we've been super busy)

oma arrived on sunday (the 4th of july!). it was a super, super hot day (we're in the midst of quite the heat wave right now), and mom and dad and i took the girls to the common for some small town 4th of july goodness. i made them flag t-shirts to wear by sewing the flags that someone handed out to us on memorial day to some white t-shirts. so patriotic.

after some nice cold lemonade, music, and craft-browsing there, we went home for a swim and a nap for both girls. then oma and nick got in, there was general merriment, and we saw the fireworks. again, nina loved them, and maggie kept asking if they were over. but, she liked them. we watched them from the DMR again, only this time it was packed! summer's in full swing.

yesterday it was so hot that we lounged by the pool all day. and THEN we went to the circus! it was so hot i think we might have bailed on the idea if i hadn't bought tickets yesterday at the common ($2 off in advance!). i'm glad we went though, the kids really really liked it. nina was amazed by the clown's magic trick and the tightrope walkers (no safety net! i was nervous and would definitely have preferred one). maggie liked the pigs (one oinked/snorted/grunted at the proper spots during old macdonald. it was funny).

ok, some animal outside was just making some very, very bizarre noises. first i heard a lot of thrashing in the woods, and i had a feeling it was the deer trying to get to my garden (and here, another blog post devolves into gardening... sorry erik, but keep reading, i'm going to get back to the girls soon!). well so nick got the flashlight and we saw a small animal's glowing eyes. probably a raccoon. we tried to scare it off with the flashlight and by whispering angrily (don't want to wake the girls). then nothing for a few minutes. then we heard this god-awful sound, like a goose and a bear going at it or something. with hissing, there was some kind of wild hissing too. we got the flashlight again and didn't see anything. but then, a few minutes later, i head the thrashing again and KNEW it was that damn deer. so we got the flashlight out again and i was right!! it darted between the edge of the lawn and the garden. i yelled at it to stay away from my garden, so hopefully that will take care of that. crap, i really need a fence!!

enough of that then, back to the kids and the busy. so the circus was yesterday, and today it was horribly hot again, so we did the railway village in the morning (too hot!), and then the pool for the rest of the day. the pool has never been this warm i think! soooo nice.

the heat is a lot for dear maggie though. in the car on the way home from the railway village she said "mama, my hair is wet! how did it get wet?" and i tried to explain sweat to her. poor sheltered maine girl! she doesn't care much for sweat.

and nina is just swimming like a fish all day in that pool. it makes her hungry too, the other day she at an entire grilled cheese sandwich for lunch, and then half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. and you know she snacks all morning, so it's not like she hadn't eaten in hours. either a growth spurt, or all that energy she burns up in the pool, or both. whew!