Highlights

We made it through the week, or should I say month, of an absentee father.
I don't know how he does it. The first two weeks he was commuting to New York. The following two weeks he was working until four in the morning every night in a row to write some opinion(s) or something. It was crazy. I'd stir in bed sometime around one, two in the morning and find him still not home, start to worry about his drive back, then fall asleep. He's a superstar.

But on Friday the case settled, he picked up the kids from school (SURPRISE), and we're a real family, on our way to the beach to use up some of those exclusive suites the firm reserved for the trial that is no more.

We limped through the last week with the normal excitement:


CADE took second place in the pi number contest. I don't know how; I never saw him practice or memorize a thing, but on Friday he recited 43 of the decimal numbers that follow 3.14.....He came home with a candy bar (that Ashton snuck and ate this morning) and a whole lot of pride.


RUBY worked on her to do list (which I secretly found!)
1. Help mom around the house
2. Play with Wyatt
3. Clean my room
4. Be shy
5. Pretend not to like HIM
Explanation: new boy from school, Ruby thinks "shy" is the way to get his attention (?!?What?!?); room is never clean, ambitious plan to help mom around house.



ASHTON has no money to pay back Cade for eaten candy bar.


He steps in wet paint and denies it. After checking everyone's feet we find paint on the bottom of his cowboy boots, and paint everywhere he has walked including climbing into Jeremy's car. Steals Wyatt's blanket and runs. Freaks out during a family card game because he never gets the Rook card...This is only Saturday. Dare I count backwards and reflect on his week?



WYATT ate a bar of soap and taught himself a lesson. Don't think he'll be doing that again. It's hard to cry with so many bubbles coming out of your mouth.