A much faster week

 The week since the girls came home from their trip was so much faster than the previous week!  I appreciate how much help they are, and how nice it is to have another driving person in the household!  We have had a week of ball, ballpark, and more ball and ballpark.  It has eaten this entire week!  It is so much ball that we are not sure how to function when we aren't at the ballpark (like tonight when we were home and I made Harper and Quincy go to bed at 10:00......they thought they were being abused!). 

We did celebrate the 4th of July a bit early at my brother's house with my extended family yesterday.  I was a very bad blogger/mom and forgot my camera though.  I do think that my mom and Madison took a few photos, so hopefully I can steal a few of them in the next few days.  It is always good to see my cousins, aunts and uncles, and welcome a few new babies to the mix!  The kids had a great time and came home exhausted and filthy, just the way one would expect if you are doing the holiday the correct way!  It has been so dry here though, that we started a couple of grass fires accidentially with the fireworks.  The first one, the boys got in a little bit of trouble for.  I ran to Sam's club to get stuff for the concession stand, Jim had a budget meeting.  Colin was watching the little kids because Mallory and Madison can NOT miss the Old Navy $1 flip flop sale!  Cameron apparently let off some sort of a firework and caught the tall grass between our yard and the field behind our house on fire.  It didn't take long for it to scare the heck out of him, and he ran in, got Colin (who was playing a video game) and call the fire department.  Luckily, our neighbor saw what was happening and he and Colin got the fire put out before the fire department even got here (this is the 3rd time this year we have had to call the fire department in case anyone is keeping track!!).  We were upset with the boys because they had been told NO fireworks when we weren't home, and they were also told that the grass is extremely dry, so fireworks have to be kept on the driveway.  Cameron told me he didn't really think the grass was  that dry!  :)  Kids learn lessons the hard way!  I am extremely thankful they weren't hurt, and neither were our neighbors or their houses.  Last night, one of the night fireworks tipped over and caught my brother's neighbor's pasture on fire.  Luckily, the men in the family stopped it , and my cousin happens to have a friend who has a fire truck.  Yea, don't ask!  I love 4th of July, but I admit that all the fires this year and the extreme dry conditions have put me in 'mom mode' and I am not having as much fun watching the kids blow stuff up as I usually do!

We are on a few day break from  the ballpark, which I am extremely thankful for.  I could use the time to get my house cleaned back up a little.  Besides, my desire to live as a hermit is becoming more apparent as the summer goes on.  Jim has started worrying that I really will beat someone over the head with a nacho tray!  :)