Last week was pretty epic – full of highs, lows and strange combo high-lows.

First: we kicked off the week with the lowest of lows.  Late Monday afternoon, it got super dark, windy and then all of a sudden a torrential rain came down.  It was the kind of rain that is always on Grey’s Anatomy, Sleepless in Seattle, etc. so people think that “rainy Seattle” means constant dumping downpours sometimes accompagnied by lightening and rumbling thunder.  It’s not usually like that but last Monday it was.  Anyway, it was raining but somehow over the weather’s din outside, I heard a quiet, peculiar drip, drip, drip coming from inside…from the doorway to the dining room to be exact.  There was a steady little trickle of water and right in the corner of the door frame (from kitchen to dining area) steady drops of water were splashing on to the floor below.  What the?!!  THREE WEEKS in our new house and we’ve already had ceiling-roof leak?  Seriously?! 

 As Mike got his coat on to head outside, I heard several ominous thuds from the stairway…and then the delayed cry.  Kayli had fallen – head over feet tumbled a few times – down the stairs.  Thankfully, she was fine, but I’m pretty sure Mike was scarred for life.  Not to mention the fact hat we were already stressed out by the whole new water feature happening in our home.  Thankfully, Kayli bounced back (literally).

 As for the leakiness, despite climbing up on the roof with a headlamp and investigating, Mike couldn’t see any major issues.  The dripping/trickle died down and quit as soon as the storm did.  So, while he was on the roof he threw some random caulk around for good measure.  We’ve had a few rainstorms since and no more leaky-dripping so hopefully that craziness is done.

 After our evening out on the roof, we finally collapsed into bed shortly before midnight only to have one of the worst nights of sleep in a LONG time: Kayli woke us up THREE times during the night (we’re not sure why) and the CARBON MONOXIDE monitor went off TWICE during the night.  Seriously?!  Where’s the hidden camera ‘cuz you’ve got to be joking me right now. The monitor, we think (‘cuz we’ve continued to you know, wake up in the mornings and be alive), we hope, was a weird wonky battery issue.

 Next big event for the week: finally a HIGH!  The boys had their last ever field day at Hazelwood Elementary School
(sniff sniff).  I was determined to get to it since I couldn’t the last couple of years.  The kids are told to bring a change of clothes if they plan to participate in the “water station games.”  Thankfully, Wednesday was the most gorgeous warm day last week so the kids wouldn’t freeze…until they got soaking wet. 

 One of the stations must’ve been created by a teacher with angst and also mad-genius.  Two kids sit on gym mats stacked on top of a little scooter board, while another kid pushes them down part of the blacktop.  Sounds like fun, right?  Meanwhile two rows of teachers are standing there soaking the kids like CRAZY with water cannons and big supersoakers.  It was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.

At another station, kids stick their swim-goggled faces through the middle of a target-painted tarp while other kids throw soaking sponges at them.  Hi-LARIOUS.

 At the assembly, right before Field Day, the students had been told that there would be a “soaking surprise.”  I was walking around the water-cannon station with Kayli, thinking I’d go to the parking lot up above to capture a photo of the field day madness, when a mom I know yelled, “Jenny, you’re gonna want to move.”  She pointed up to the parking lot where…a FIRE TRUCK had just pulled up.  I – along with everyone there – will NEVER forget the fire truck spraying the ENTIRE school.  Soaking surprise alright. Soaked, squealing, ECSTATIC children stomped and splashed and slipped on the quickly flooded blacktop. I have never heard such loud (and WET) joy in my life.  It was SO cool.  We definintely will miss a lot of things about that school! But what a great memory to end on.

Thursday was the last day of school, so this was our biggest combo high-low.  The boys were so excited for summer but Matthew (and I) were REALLY sad to be done with Hazelwood.  Definitely bittersweet.  He had such a phenomenal teacher this year and has some made some truly great friends.

We spent the afternoon having a super fun, long playdate with our best friends, so that took some of the sting away.  Then on Friday, the boys had a couple more friends here for a playdate and after THAT we all went to our old ‘hood for a big beginning-of-summer party (in the pouring rain). We know how to set a party mood for summer all right!

 Lastly, I will end the week’s rap up with an anecdote of 19 month old Kayliana:

She came into the room and signed “diaper change.”  She took my hand and we went into her room where my – well, now HER – baby doll was lying on the changing pad.  She’d gotten out a diaper and had it resting on top of the doll’s tummy.  I helped her put the diaper on.  Then Kayli signed for “eat” and said “Num nums!”  I followed her downstairs where she proceeded to put the baby doll into the chair, clicked her into the seatbelt and attached the tray.  I got out a bowl and spoon and Kayli began to feed her baby.  Seeing that she was well in control of this baby situation, I left the room for a while.  When I came back to the kitchen, I found Kayli on the floor where she’d obviously gotten the pot out of the cupboard and placed her baby inside...Hmmm.

Tonight, when showing Mike this photo, Kayli saw it and said, pointing to the baby, “I see the num nums!”

The OTHER other white meat??