Back at the Ranch...

Zorak is now the proud owner of a shiny kinda-new motorcycle! Yup, Friday we drove to Philadelphia (yes, 481 miles round trip, in one day, with three small children...) to pick up the bike. We arrived in Philly with a few hours to spare, so we cruised down to the Historic Waterfront district and enjoyed some of the museums and history of the area. Although the wall-to-wall people, the unheard-of traffic, and the absolute level of chaos there reminded us that we would rather have our toenails removed piece by piece sans anesthesia than to live in a large metropolis, the opportunities and experiences available for the occasional weekend trip do abound. We had a lovely time and would like to go back to spend a full weekend there sometime. We picked up the bike and arrived back at home around three Saturday morning.

There is now an incredibly well-maintained 1980 BMW R-something or other motorcycle (with a horizontally opposed twin engine- I do know that much! But that's probably what the "R" is for, huh?) residing in our vehicular family. It isn't exactly what he wanted, but it will serve his purpose, is in phenomenal shape, and with what we saved buying this one we can fix it up quite nicely. Zorak is a happy man. The trip was definitely worth the effort.

Then it was up bright 'n early *yawn* Saturday to return the trailer we'd rented. The boys and I dropped Zorak off for a "dudes only" fishing trip (that's another blog- maybe next week?) and then we went to the Marine Museum to check it out at the boys' pace. That was truly wonderful. We took the marsh walk- a nice boardwalk discovery trail that winds through the marsh grass (eww) and makes a full circle back at the otter tank (wee!). Some truly disgusting things live in the marsh. But like I said, this was for the boys... and they loved it.

Picked up a crib, heard the news of President Reagan, came home and spent the rest of the day crying and sharing stories of the President with the boys.

Zorak returned to base camp a little after midnight and our wonderful neighbor came over to watch the boys while I went to get him.

Today we attended our church's annual church picnic. It was so nice to worship on the beach. It was the first time we've ever been overdressed for church. The BBQ was catered, and the turnout was huge! (This was also the congregation's 50th Anniversary). We all had a nice time, and I was absolutely filled to the gills with happiness at having my four guys sitting there with me in service. Jacob in the sling, John on my lap, James leaning against me, and Zorak's hand resting on my back. *happy sigh* If it wouldn't be so traumatic for the kids, I'd say that's just how I'd like to die. ;-)

Tonight while we played out front, the boys befriended two new neighborhood children. *unhappy sigh* This week we are going to study the importance of choosing friends wisely. We'll see how it goes.

We've been so incredibly blessed with the wonderful neighbors we have in our little corner here, it was quite a shock to get smacked with these two. I guess what makes me so sad and angry about it is that I know these girls started out just as kind and decent and loving as our good friends' girls, but when a girl is left to grow up without her mother's guidance (or if her mother guides her in a less-than-encouraging direction), the results are immediate and sad. I am praying that if we can be a positive influence on the girls, the Lord will show me how to do it. If we cannot exert a positive influence, then I'm praying the backup plan to help me provide a buffer between the girls and my boys.

Schooling is going well. Last week was skewl-lite, as Zorak had only a three-day work week. So this week will be back to the laughingly-named "grindstone" (as if to imply that we ever work our little fingers to the bone!)

Had tons more to blog about, but it will have to wait. I am going to try to finish ROTK tonight before Zorak returns from his Wal-Mart run.

OH- that was it- WALMART! So, we did more research on the place that had the lowest camera price. SCAM ARTIST ALERT on every point. *sigh* We looked and looked the rest of the week, and you know, for all-around value, you just cannot beat Wal-Mart. Even shopping online!

Dy