We had a lovely time up on the parkway today, we weren’t there all that long, but the kids were ready to go so at least there was no fussing about it being time to go. I also got laundry run through & the house picked up a bit. It’s been a crazy couple of days, this time of year always seems to be.

Thursday night the ex called & left a voice mail while I was at work & then e-mailed Friday morning. Now, instead of pushing for both kids to come spend a couple of weeks he only wants ms 12 to come because it will cost him too much to send them both & also it will cost him for a chaperon for mr 9 because he’s only 9.  Mr 9 was rather hurt by this situation, although the ex said he’d bring mr 9 out either closer to the end of the summer, or over a vacation. None of this is OK with me at all, especially his clod like, unthinking put down of mr 9.  The kids spoke to him & because I talked to them before we called him actually talked to him rather than just saying yup & nope to his questions.

He also was exceptionally antagonistic towards ms 19 in my email stating that I should ask her for him, “what the hell she is doing with her life and what her plans are for school, I think she needs to get the hell out of there and do things on her own. tell her to send me an E-mail and or callme” (that’s verbatim, copy/pasted right from the email) Ms 19 was quite adamant when she read the email that she’s not going to do either & that he should stay out of her life.  She then asked me why he was such a nice guy when she was little & why he’s been such a jerk the last 10-12 years or so. I wish I knew.

Ms 19’s cat also got hit by a car yesterday evening so we had much sighing, weeping & rending of garments here. Mr 9 dug a hole, ms 12 picked flowers, ms 19, who’s cat it was, went to dinner & shopping with her BF, she’s already planning where to get another kitten, I personally feel like ms 12 & mr 9’s cats are more than enough.

Last night we all watched a movie & had popcorn (all means without ms 19 who was out with & then busy with her BF) Mr 9 pushed hard to sleep on the couch, I’m not sure what the allure is there but he & ms 12 argue over it all the time & are more than a little miffed that now I don’t go to bed until 1 or 2 am, I won’t let them sleep on the couch because I’m often on the couch watching tv or reading.

The day started slowly & was more than a little upsetting as at one point, as I was relaxing on the couch eating breakfast & watching a DVR of “House Hunters International (I love the international show when they’re set in Europe or somewhere like that, not in the Islands & not the American one at all.) And one of the two cats walked in from the kitchen with a mouse in it’s mouth, of course I freaked out which started a chase by mr 9 & ms 12 to catch the cat, it promptly disappeared.

Then just before we left for the parkway there was a really horrid mess on my washing machine & beside it on the floor. Partially digested mouse & some other stuff which seemed to be the contents of the cat’s stomach. We cleaned that up & went to the parkway.

It was a beautiful day up there, breezy & sunny, clear so you could see the mountain ranges (although the camera on my cell phone doesn’t do it justice) It was crowded though, we ended up at the saddle location which was the least crowded of the overlooks near our house, the kids ran around a lot, I enjoyed the view, watched hawks, read my book & timed them in races. Mr 9 climbed trees & ms 12 was a goofball as usual, which you can see in this picture. Mr 9 is in the tree behind ms 12’s right hand.

I also took this picture of a tree at ms 12’s request because she’s supposed to be drawing a tree in art class & thought this one looked like a good one to draw.

After about an hour ms 19 & her BF showed up & had a picnic next to us. We all chatted for awhile & then, as I felt like I was ready to go, ms 19 said they were going so that they could have the house to themselves for awhile. So the kids & I went to town first to give the “lovebirds” some privacy, we got some cheese for a snack & a box of lemon square mix which ms 12 made while I was making dinner. All in all, a lovely day off!