Fall's Here!!

I woke up yesterday morning in utter glee as I looked outside at overcast/blustery conditions! I jumped out of bed and went into my backyard for a while to take in the change of weather. It was in the 60s. This is my very favorite weather (maybe 10-20 degrees cooler, but I'm not complaining!) I immediately went inside and made a loaf of pumpkin coconut bread. The smells, the sights of fall....I'm in heaven!

After I dropped Thomas off at MDO this morning, I ended up spending most of the day with my friend, Ashley. She is due to have her baby anyday now, so it was good for us to just go out and not do chores! We had originally planned to go visit a model home, but wound up looking at several model homes, visiting a friend who had just had surgery (who I baked the bread for), going out to lunch, and getting her tires rotated! She is a dear friend of mine, and it was good to visit for that long without the kids (except our tagalong, little ME Lou!).

Yesterday afternoon, I had a nice visit with the girl I am carpooling with. Two weeks ago, I was talking to a friend at the ball fields and her friend was also in the conversation. We introduced ourselves and it turns out, we went to Baylor together, lived one apartment over from her, are exactly a week apart in age, have our first children going to kindergarten this year, live in the same neighborhood, our houses were built by the same builder and they are the same floorplan, and were desparate to find a carpooling buddy so our younger children could take a long nap at least some of the time! We started this week and I have really enjoyed getting to know her.

We were both commenting on how our friend/acquaintance circle has grown so much as we are slowly being forced out of our homes with little ones and greeting the outside world! I do miss the times where I was home all day with the kids. No schedule, sleeping in, no school to tie us down. I do enjoy getting to know new people and as Matthew and I both have made new friends and new routines.

Last night, I made chicken with herb dumplings. Bryon came home in time for dinner, and the five of us sat around our table, eating Fall food and looking at the overcast sky, and I just smiled! Tomorrow starts my three favorite months of the year and I couldn't be more ready!

My geography whiz

We have had a high pressure system sitting right above our neck of the woods which has made it seem more like August then almost October. Monday, it was actually 108 degrees which was the highest recording of any city in the United States!

Tonight, Matthew was talking to my Dad about how we needed to move to somewhere cooler. He said, "It's easy Deedah. All we need to do is go up 1-35 through Oklahoma, then Kansas, then Nebraska, then South Dakota, and then North Dakota. Then we will be in Canada where it is much cooler!"

I guess it was a good idea buying him the States puzzle!

Parents F.Y.I.

JUST BECAUSE YOUR CHILDREN HAD THE CHICKEN POX VACCINATION DOES NOT MEAN THEY WON'T GET CHICKEN POX!

Strangely enough, Matthew had the chickenpox over the weekend. He had a fever on Saturday and had about 10 little "bites" on his body. He complained that his legs hurt and actually threw up on Saturday night. He plays a lot outside and so I figured that he had gotten into some chiggers. At the most, they looked like little spider bites. It didn't occur to me that it might be chicken pox b/c he had the vaccine!

I kept him home from church on Sunday, but he felt fine on Monday morning so I took him to school. Monday after school, Matthew had a note in his folder that said one of his classmates had chicken pox. I was curious to let the nurse at school see him, so yesterday he went by and the nurse confirmed that he probably had chicken pox. They were scabbed over so he wasn't contagious. I assured her that they were scabbed over on Monday as well!

She said that although all the kids in school had the vaccine, you can still get a light case of them. You are just out for a few days rather than a few weeks. Six cases have already been reported at Matthew's school this year alone! I went by his class this morning and 6 more kids were out. I have a call into the doctor to let me know if ME has had her vaccination. I can't remember!

The funny thing was, was that several weeks ago, Matthew and Thomas decided to put "chicken pops" all over their body with magic marker. I guess they willed it to happen!

Midway Reads

Last night was lots of fun. Every other year or so, our school district holds an event called "Midway Reads". Every student (K-8) in the district is encouraged to buy the chosen book and pick it up at the Mayborn Museum. The museum is one of my very favorite things in Waco. It used to be a small discovery center downtown but has moved into a huge building over by Baylor. It is the best children's museum I have been to and encourage anyone with children to come down (or up) and check it out! The book this year is The Kid Who Named Pluto. It is all about children who made scientific discoveries.

After we picked up the book, Matthew picked up his scavenger hunt list. All the children had grade appropriate lists and were all walking around the museum getting stamped for found items. It was a good chance for all the kids to run around the museum and see all their friends and teachers. Matthew is still amazed when we see one of his teachers (music, p.e., computer lab, librarian) when they aren't in school Shouldn't they always be in school?

At the end of the hunt, the boys got their faces painted by Midway cheerleaders. I glanced up at one of them and recognized her. She was the niece of one of my best friends in high school. She was born the night of one of our high school dances. Now she is a high school cheerleader! Where does the time go?

Rita and Mary Beth

I had a great weekend! I am grateful that Hurricane Rita did not cause extensive damage or loss of life. I was very much looking forward to the thunderstorms that were predicted here and we didn't have so much of a drop of rain! Just lots of wind. I felt like I was back in Abilene. I bet all of those people who stood in line getting water, batteries, bread, and generators feel a little silly.

We had a lot of fun with Mary Beth this weekend. Her little personality is showing itself more and more every day. Here are a few things that make her special to us:

She is happy a majority of the time. Loves to be in the center of the action. Nothing makes her happier than her brothers doting on her. She squeals with delight when they walk in. She happily goes to strangers and never cries when it is time for bible class. Last week in church, she kept leaning over to kiss the amused man sitting next to us!

She HATES being told "no"! Even if it doesn't refer to her, if she hears the word no she balls up her face and says, "Ooooooooooh!" Then we distract her and she is happy again. Methinks we have an emotional female on our hands!

She is a Daddy's girl. The other night, Bryon was holding her and I took her from him. She ball up her fists, then pointed to Bryon, and squealed, "OOOOOOHHHHHH. Dada!" Hey, I can take a hint!

She loves to flirt. She will cock her head to the side and say, "Babababa" in a soft melodic tone and use flirty eyes to get what she wants. She was doing this tonight with Bryon because she wanted his ice cream.

She is very, very, very active! I have caught her climbing up on the upper rim of my tub, climbing up our chairs, crawling over to whoever has the food. My mother says that this aspect of her personality is a lot like mine as a baby. Very happy, interactive with others, and very busy! I guess we could attribute that to us both being Leo's!

She loves her baby dolls. Instinctively, she will hug them, kiss them, and rock them. This is so interesting to me, of course, because my only experience thus far has been with two boys who would just as soon take dolls heads off or throw them up into the ceiling fan! She is affectionate with her dolls but with her family as well. She loves kissing and laying her head on our shoulders.

I love how each of my children are so different. Each has strengths. Each has "thorns in the flesh". I look forward to watching how each of their personalities develop over the years!

Meeting Deana

I enjoyed meeting Deana today. I went to our friend, Carol's house, and we were all able to visit for a while. Turns out, we went to the same girl scout camp in Sweetwater, TX! What a small world! I was happy to hear that the area where she lives was spared the brunt of Rita. It is nice being able to put a blog with a face!

Its his fault

I have just about decided to stop watching the news. I get so angry at the media trying to assign blame for everything. Here is a sampling of what I have heard both three weeks ago and the last few days:

Katrina:
"Why hasn't the federal government been faster in their response?"
"Why did the evacuation order not go out sooner?"
"Why wasn't there more money allocated to the levee system in N.O?"
"If the New Orleans residents weren't mostly black, would Bush have acted sooner?"


Rita:
"Traffic is backed up for miles on I-45. What went wrong?"
"Bush overreacted to the warning signs of Rita. Was it for political gain after the Katrina debacle?"
"FEMA trucks and the Red Cross are standing by to help victims of Rita. Is this because this is a more affluent area?"
"24 elderly people were killed on the highway escaping Rita's wrath as their bus exploded. A full scale investigation is pending."

Can't bad things happen without without rhyme or reason? Must someone be to blame for all the tradegies that come our way?

Several strange events today

It started off by going to my hair stylist and going "back to brown". I have been a highlighted blonde for 3 years and Bryon has begged me for a while to go back to my roots (literally) so after 3 hours of labor, I am officially a brunette again! My hair stylist was amazed at how much darker my hair got with every baby, so I am even darker than I remember. I didn't tell Bryon I was doing it, so he was pleasantly surprised when he got home.

After my beauty salon visit, I went to the grocery store to get some rice for tonight. What I witnessed was something out of an apocolypse movie. Out of mass hysteria, people were flocking to the store stocking up for Hurricane Rita. It doesn't matter that the eye has shifted and we will be lucky if we get a quarter of an inch of rain. No batteries, no water, no bread, no milk, no space in the parking lot. People shouting, "We just went to Wal-Mart and there is no more water!" "I hear Big Lots is getting a shipment later tonight!" Folks, you would think we lived on a barrier island on the Gulf of Mexico. I used to work at our local H-E-B when I was in high school, and it was never as crowded or the shelves as bare, even the night before Thanksgiving as it was today.

Around dinner, I called my friend, Carol, to ask her a question and she said there was someone there that wanted to say hi. Well, it was none other than your blogger friend and mine, Deana! She lives in the projected path of the hurricane and had evacuated to Waco. It was fun talking to her and finding out that she is a real person not just a computer entity. I am probably going over to Carol's tomorrow and meet her face to face. I had been worried about her as she is right in the path of Rita, so we all need to think about her and her poor cats that are braving the storm.

Hurrican Rita

This morning, I was watching the news and saw that remnants of Rita would be hitting Waco on Saturday. This would mean lots of rain. I was excited about this until I was listening to Sean Hannity this afternoon. Rita is now a Cat 5 storm. The 5th most intense storm ever recorded. Sean Hannity even said, "Residents of Austin, Waco, and Dallas be prepared for 90 mile/hour winds." Not so excited about the rain now!

My in-laws live just north of Houston and I called them to offer our house for the weekend. They are not sure if they are going to leave or not.

Matthew was listening to the news and got scared. "You promised me that we would never have a hurricane where we live, Mommy." I had to explain to him that it wouldn't be a hurricane when it came to Waco. Still, I have never had to think about preparing for a big storm. I am concerned about our trees although this seems petty when I think about the people who will be directly hit by the storm.

We need to continue to pray for those in the path of this storm and that it isn't close to as catastrophic as Katrina was several weeks ago.

Tuesday

Today was lots of fun. After I dropped off the younger two, I went to Matthew's class to take pictures of the kids. I did this at Montessori and everyone seemed to enjoy it. I also got to read two books to the class. The kids were so cute. I love 5 year olds!

After this, I went back over to Mother's Day Out to witness the annual Teddy Bear Parade. The kids get to stroll down an aisle of excited parents in the auditorium carrying their bears. Some parents made floats, other children brought bikes, and some pushed strollers. I didn't remember about the parade until yesterday, so I threw something together around 11 o'clock last night!

I then went to the scrapbook store. Some of the proceeds from today's sales went to the P.T.A. of Matthew's school so I was only too happy to "help" Matthew's school! Being in the store got me excited about updating my books.

This afternoon I attended a funeral of a man who had been at my church for as long as I had gone there. He was a wonderful 77 year old man who asked his wife last week to make his funeral upbeat and full of laughter. What a neat end to a wonderful life here on earth. To have lived a good life, loved his family with every ounce of his being, been an incredible example to his family and friends, and left a wonderful legacy for his kids and grandkids. Who could ask for more?

After all the kids were picked up, I drove to the grocery store for a few ingredients for tonights dinner. I really feel like we have turned a corner and I am now able to go to the grocery store with all of my children and not have any meltdowns! When Matthew was 3 and Thomas was 1, you couldn't have paid me to take both of them to the store. Now I can take all three with relative ease. Yeah!

Just another Manic Monday

OK I am laughing that Matthew recieved 3 times as many comments on his blog that I did! Ahhh, such is life.

We had another crazy Monday. The morning and early afternoon were taken up taking Mary Beth's one year pictures. Yes, she is 13 months old, but give me a break she's my third! My photographer friend does an incredible job and took over 200 pics of my little girl. She does wonderful work so I don't know how I am going to pare it down! Half of the pictures were taken outside (yes it was almost 100 degrees today!), and I almost had a heat stroke jumping up and down trying to get ME to smile!

After I picked up Matthew, it was time for piano and soccer. At soccer, Bryon relieved me and I went out to eat with friends. One of my favorite traditions my friends have is to celebrate right before one of us has a baby. We all go out to eat for one last "Girl's Night" before the 6 week exile! My friend, Ashley, is due any day, so we had a great excuse to get together! I ate so much food that I literally can't sit up straight!

Lots to do tomorrow so I better get some sleep. Keep checking Matthew's blog and I will find a way to get my picture off of it!

this weekend

Well, another busy weekend has come and gone. Bryon and I stayed home with the kids on Friday night and cleaned house. I always love starting the weekend with a clean house!

Saturday morning, my sister picked up Matthew and they drove to Dallas. Lauren and her husband were visiting friends and Michael had asked that Matthew come for Jilinda's company picnic.

Bryon coached Matthew's soccer team on Saturday morning without Matthew there. I took ME over to my mother's and had a nice chat and cup of coffee with her. Then, I went to Riverside for a lady's bruch. I had a good time and got to know more of my future neighbors. In the meantime, Bryon picked up ME from my parents and took the kids out to eat. Then it was off to a birthday party. Bryon took the kids and I met them there to relieve Bryon. He took ME home and Thomas and I stayed at the party. Basically, half of our day was doing switch off kid duty!

Bryon and I enjoyed an afternoon of good football. Baylor and Bama are now both 3-0. I am guessing that it is about the end of the road for Baylor, but I have a good feeling about Bama this year!

Saturday night, I made Shrimp Fra Diavolo and Lemon Spaghetti. It was a new recipe that I had been wanting to try and it turn out great. I love new recipes!

Sunday morning, Bryon and I taught Matthew's bible class sans Matthew. I signed up out of duty to teach the class, but I have really loved it. The kids are so cute and I enjoy the curriculum. I think we will teach all of our children in kindergarten.

Matthew came home after lunch. He had a great time with his uncle and future aunt. Michael said that either Matthew had a crush on Jilinda or he was nervous about Michael being "taken away" from him because he was shy around Jilinda. For those of you who know Matthew, this is extremely unusual! He did say that Jilinda called him, "Hey, Gorgeous!" He told me that several times so I am going with the "Crush" theory!

Speaking of Matthew, he has started his own blog. He has been begging me to do it for a while and since he enjoys journaling so much, I thought, why not?

Overall a great weekend and looking forward to another great week!

For all the mothers of boys

I have received this forward a few times and it always makes me laugh! I believe that there is a special place in heaven for mothers of boys!

Raising Boys

The following came from an anonymous Mother in
Austin, Texas...

1.) A king size waterbed holds enough water to
fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.

2.) If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies
and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.

3) A 3-year old boy's voice is louder than 200
adults in a crowded restaurant.

4.) If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling
fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound boy
wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is
strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to
spread paint on four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.

5.) You should not throw baseballs up when the
ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat,
you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a
hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

6.) The glass in windows (even double-pane)
doesn't stop a
baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

7.) When you hear the toilet flush and the
words "uh oh",
it's
already too late.

8.) Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke
-- lots of it.

9.) A six-year old boy can start a fire with a
flint rock even though a 36-year old man says they can only do it in
the movies.

10.) Certain Lego's will pass through the
digestive tract of a 4-year old boy.

11.) Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.

12.) Super glue is forever.

13.) No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.

14.) Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

15.) VCR's do not eject "PB & J" sandwiches
even though TV commercials show they do.

16.) Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

17) Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise
when driving.

18.) You probably DO NOT want to know what
that odor is.

19.) Always look in the oven before you turn
it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.

20.) The fire department in Austin, TX has a
5-minute response time.

21.) The spin cycle on the washing machine
does not make earthworms dizzy.

22) The spin cycle on the washing machine
will, however, make cats dizzy.

23.) Cats throw up twice their body weight
when dizzy.

24.) 80% of men who read this will try mixing
the Clorox and brake fluid.

25.) 80% of women will pass this on to almost
all of their friends, with or without kids.

a) For those with no children - this is
totally hysterical.
b) For those who already have children past
this age, this is
hilarious.
c) For those who have children this age, this
is not funny.
d) For those who have children nearing this
age, this is a
warning.
e) For those who have not yet had children,
this is birth
control

blur of a week

Well, the week is almost over and most of it seems like a blur. My aunt and uncle came in from New Mexico and we have spent quite a bit of time with them this week. Tuesday, I cooked a meal for the family and Lauren hosted it. I can cook or clean for a party during the week, but not both! Wednesday, I took them to our lot and showed them around the area that we will be building. Yesterday, I went shopping with my aunt.

Yesterday was one of the busiest days in recent memory. I dropped the kids at MDO, met my mother at the tire repair shop, dropped off my car, dropped her back at work so I could use her car that morning, went to a party at a new supper club store in town, checked on my car, found out that we needed new tires, picked up my mother who drove me to a local restaurant where I had a room mother meeting, met my aunt and uncle at the restaurant who drove me back to the tire place, paid for my new tires, drove my aunt around local favorite shops, picked up Thomas and ME, went to Starbucks for refreshment, picked up Matthew, drove my aunt back to my grandmother's house, went home and collapsed!

I was supposed to meet everyone for dinner last night but was too tired to go. My superman husband came home and offered to take the kids to dinner to give me time to watch Martha on Tivo and take a bath.

Bryon and I have been watching the first season of Lost on DVD. I don't enjoy watching shows that drag out over the year. We wait until they are release on DVD and watch a months worth of shows in a night. It is a very unusual story and I can't wait to see how it ends.

I am glad that is almost the weekend! Matthew is going to Dallas with my sister and she is dropping him off at my brother's for the day. Matthew adores my brother and his friends (who Matthew calls his "Dallas cousins"). They are going to a picnic at my future sister-in-law's work. Lauren will bring him home on Sunday.

Tomorrow I have a brunch to go to and a birthday party for one of Thomas's friends.

TGIF!

Milk, it does my body bad

I have just about decided to start giving my children calcium supplements rather than milk from now on. Here are just a few examples from the past two day as to why I feel this way.

Yesterday, I went to my car to get ME's bag ready for Mother's Day Out. I noticed that oh so familiar smell of rotting milk. Her cup had leaked out into her bag and all over my brand new Talbots scarf. Ugh.

Tonight, I was getting ready for church and Thomas walked into my bathroom holding a new half gallon container of milk. He wanted to know if he could have some cereal. Just at that moment the bottle dropped and exploded in my bathroom spilling its entire contents on the bathroom floor, ME's walker, and the clothes that had been stacked in her walker. Double Ugh.

At least it wasn't on the carpet!

Monday

Well, I did today yet another thing that I said I would never do as a parent. I loaded Matthew up with a bunch of after-school activities! I always have thought that I would let each child pick two after-school activities and it just so happens that for the next few weeks the two activites are back to back on Mondays.

Matthew had his first piano lesson today. The pedagogy program consists of 12 children who are divided into two groups for a half an hour and then individual lessons for a half an hour. The lessons are taught by Baylor students majoring in music. My dad has offered to pick Matthew up (since he is at Baylor, too) every week in his sports car and drive him home. Dad has a cd that Matthew loves and made sure to tell him that it will be playing the entire way home! Needless to say, Matthew is thrilled to have one on one time with his Deedah.

Matthew's first soccer practice was tonight as well. He and his teammates have improved a lot since last year. No more standing on the sidelines doing cheers! Overall, it was a fun day. I have had to console Thomas on more than one occasion that he will get to start fun activites next year. He also laughed when I told him that only he was able to stay home during the day and play in his underwear!

this weekend

We had a fun football filled Saturday. I finished my book about Bear Bryant and I will blog about that when I have more time. Bryon took the boys to the Baylor game last night and they had a blast. Matthew kept yelling, "Score a goal for you number one fan!" Matthew's favorite friend, Samantha sat next to him and he kept telling her that she was just as pretty as the cheerleaders! That made her day and she ran up to me at church to tell me the story this morning.

I hung out with my mom, sister, and ME for a while and then went home. After putting the baby to bed, I enjoyed a great night of college football by myself flipping back and forth between the Alabama and UT games.

A bit of excitement yesterday, I went to visit one of my friends who just finished building a house. The house is far out into the country, and after the tour, I walked to the car only to realize that my tire was completely flat! This has happened to me a few times and I really do need to learn how to change a tire. Fortunately, her mother was at the house as well, and she let me borrow her car until this afternoon.

Bryon took Thomas to a birthday party this afternoon and I am enjoying some free time. We are gearing up for a busy week this week. Matthew starts piano lessons and soccer practice tomorrow. Poor thing will be worn out! Also, my aunt and uncle are coming in from New Mexico for the week so we will have a few family get togethers. Now off to the important job of reporting to the guys at the birthday party what the score of the Cowboys game is...

Busy end to the week

Well, the pace of my peaceful week picked up quite a bit the last few days. Grandparents Day was today at Matthew's school. Since I am the room mother for his class, I made a big platter of cookies for all of the guests. Also, my P.T.A. position kicks of on Grandparents Day. Birthday Book Club was a huge success today and we made more than $600 thanks to doting grandparents.

Yesterday was filled with cooking and baking all day and getting the house ready for my mother-in-law who spent the night with us last night. Fortunately, my mother in law agreed to come and watch the younger two while I was busy with P.T.A. business today. She was also excited to see Matthew's classroom.
Matthew enjoyed taking Nana and Mimi to his class. He was able to introduce them
and tell what he loves to do with them. Matthew also had Thomas in class with him. He carried him to his classroom and he held him in his lap during the introductions!

Tonight, we went out to eat with my parents, sister, and brother-in-law. We then went to Barnes and Noble (a Friday night tradition) and I couldn't help but buy a few books that I was admiring in my book club display.

On a whim, we decided to drive out to our lot and look around. We managed to run into several families out there who were hanging out in the street and spent over an hour talking and watching the kids play. It seems like every time we go out there this happens. It makes us so excited to finally be settled out there so we can have a block party all the time!

Now everyone is in bed. I am just about to take a bath and read the last few chapters of my book. I love Friday nights!

The good life

The past few days have been great. I really feel like I am enjoying being a mother now more than I ever have before.

I enjoy helping at Matthew's school and seeing how he is thriving in that environment. He loves his teacher, his school, and everything related to school.

I love how big Thomas is acting now and spending lots of time with him. I love that he loves his preschool teacher and he is learning so much right now.

I love that Mary Beth is gaining more independence and that she is a good sleeper. I love how affectionate she is and how she kisses everyone without solicitation.

I love quiet moments in the morning and busy afternoons after I pick up Matthew.

I love taking the children on outings with relative ease.

I love being entranced by a great book. I can't put The Last Coach down!

I love that the weather is getting (a little bit) cooler and that football season is upon us.

I love that my house stays organized and that it is time to start cooking heartier meals.

I love that Matthew and Thomas love to go into their rooms and play together which gives me a break.

I love that we are getting closer to building our house.

I love that my sister is going to have a baby.

I love that my brother is getting married.

I feel truly at peace right now. I know that life is a roller coaster and that there are ups and downs. I am just enjoying the ride right now!

Big Weekend

Don't you just love 3 day weekends? Ours was jam packed full of events and exciting news.

Saturday, I went to our preacher's daughter's wedding. I have known Christine since she was in 5th grade and it is hard to believe that that shy little girl was walking down the aisle as a stunningly beautiful bride. Meanwhile, Bryon took the boys to the Baylor/SMU game in Dallas. They had a wonderful male bonding trip and were excited to report that Baylor won!

Sunday, we woke up early and drove down to Conroe to visit Bryon's parents. Since our last visit less than 2 months ago, Bryon's parents decided to sell their house and have since moved into a new one. We were excited to see the new house and spend some time with them. Bryon and the boys played golf today and Bryon's mother, ME, and I went to the Woodlands to go shopping. We all got to do exactly what we wanted to!


And now for the most exciting news. This afternoon, my brother called me and told me that he got engaged last night! He and Jilinda have been dating all summer and they really are happy together. They knew from the first date that they were meant to be together. We love Jilinda and can't wait for her to join our family! The date is set for this Spring, right around the time that my sister is having her first baby. Lots of fun events coming up!

Well, better get ready for the week. Hope everyones holiday was a blast.