8 Days and Counting...

Yes, there are only 8 official days left in our summer. Let's recap...

Catalina was bliss. I can't think of a better way to describe it. We did see dolphins, going to Catalina and coming home. A great pod of dolphins frolicking through the ocean, jumping our wake. Amazing. We spent four days on the boat, with my cousin very generously taking us up to the beach whenever we asked him. Glee and Thomas were amazed by my young cousins and their bravado, one jumping from the very top of the boat into the ocean, and the other restricted to a lower jump because he possibly had a concussion from skateboarding earlier in the week. My aunt and uncle were very generous hosts... I know I owe them some money, and at least a dinner, but read on reader and you will see why we are sort of strapped... for money... that info to come.

So, yes, we all loved staying on the boat, staying up late playing Scrabble, waking up to the smell of the ocean and the gentle rocking of the waves. We kayaked, we swam (sort of, our children are spoiled with the warm pool across the street, and the ocean is coooooold). They almost swam with scuba gear (flippers and masks, they still don't have the hang of the breathing apparatus, and we have been practicing in the pool). We found shells and talked of mermaids and dolphins and buffalo. Really wonderful.

Then, last week we took the monsters to Sea World. It is the compromise for no birthday parties this year. They decided they would rather go to Sea World than have a party, and I found an amazing deal where we paid for adult tickets and got kid tickets free, saving us $110. Of course, add in parking and then all day food passes (which cost us almost $100, but were well worth it for the four meals we ate being there all day), and it would have been more economical to have birthday parties, but to sit with Glee as she watched the dolphin show, and to walk with Thomas throughout the park, and then to watch them be amazed at the things the sea mammals did, it was totally worth it. They both had a wonderful time and have decided to be the first sister/brother team of dolphin trainers at Sea World.

So... the real cost of the summer came when Snowray got sick. It was fleas, and here is an amazing piece of info for dog owners. Fleas can cause animals to have ear infections and partial paralysis. Yes, paralysis. Who would have know? About $800 in vet bills later we learned a few things. Fleas = bad news all around. The dogs bite, and their skin can get raw (no kidding, right), and that can lead to ear infections (?huh?) of which our dog had both ears infected, one majorly. She was put on a topical antibiotic (squirted in her ears) and an oral antibiotic, as well as super flea fighting pills, and given a steroid shot. Yep, this all happened the 2nd week of August.

And then, this week I go to the take the Mini in for service, and our service agreement expired in July. So, if I want to go ahead, this service would be about $800, and a follow up service next year, about $600, and rear brakes next year probably ($400)... are we up the $1500 yet? Yes, $1495 is how much it was to renew our warranty for three more years. So, we had to pay that. Good thing we bought the kids news shoes a few weeks ago.

So, there we go, our entire summer budget blown out the window. Ah well, it's only money, and we will recover, eventually. We always do. :)

So, now, the next couple of weeks I have to get the website for the school up to snuff, organize a flier for parent volunteers, and start to build the Edison Army. Our schools are in such dire need, our principal is asking for things like copy paper in all sorts of colors, and glue sticks, and white board markers, and ink for the office printers. There is going to be a list, that's for sure.

Hope the end of summer is exactly how you all want it to be. I am looking forward to Halloween (as always). This year we will have one beautiful eight year old mermaid, and Flash Jr., a creation similar to the superhero The Flash, but with a few modifications (I have plenty of yellow fabric and not quite enough red, so we make due...).