More Home Improvement

This past weekend, we had a visit from Grandma and Grandpop Mutchler, and a good time was had by all. Grandpop and I spend a good portion of the weekend enjoying the wide world of plumming - we replaced all the 40 year old copper water lines in the basement. OK, maybe "we" is overstating it - Grandpop replaced the lines, and I watched and cut the pipes. He also managed to make our bathroom fan work properly, and to get that very same bathroom sink to drain in less time than it takes a new species to evolve. Its amazing how much gunk was down there. Ick. We also managed to buy some more flowers and Grandma helped Alison plant them by our mailbox.

We also spent some time looking at the holes in our backyard and wondering what exactly we should do about them. For those that haven't been to visit us since the holes began getting deeper, there are two big ones and various small ones. The big ones are at least 1 foot deep. One is collecting water and is now home to a small family of frogs (minus the one I ran over with the lawnmower - oops), and we suspect that the other one is now home to a family of rabbits. We're thinking about having a landscaper come in with a bunch of dirt to try to level things out a bit. Last summer I dumped nearly a ton of topsoil into them, and apparently it didnt' make much difference.

Nathan, of course, had a blast entertaining all of us for the weekend. He really enjoys all of our visitors. I hope that lasts once he realizes that they're coming to see LB (Little Brother) too. We took him to a 4th of July parade on Tuesday, whcih was a big hit. Even before the parade started he was running around a tree where we were watching and yelling "whee!" He was mesmerized once the actual parade started. He pointed out every drum and every firetruck for us. Plus, he was the first person anywhere around us to notice the military jets flying over us. For us adults, the parade was slightly disappointing. The only bands were fife and drum corps, which get to be old after the 4th one. The cynic in me noticed that every veterans group in the parade was followed by a politician running for office in the fall. Also, some Mormons offered to tell me how I can strengthen families. They were nice about it, though. We are going to try taking Nathan to the fireworks tomorrow night. Here in Souteastern CT, the annual "Subfest" at the Submarine Base happens the same week as th 4th, and they always have the fireworks on the last day. They are great ones, too - the Zamboni or Zambini brothers, or whoever that famous fireworks family is.

OK - I think i've written enough for tonight. Stay tuned for updates on teething, dissertations, and motor vehicles.