It's been a really fun, busy summer. Sorry for letting the blog drop off. My plan is to post something most days, unless we're out of town.

This picture sums up our June:

YOU??

Last night Christopher came down to our room about 10:30 and sneaked in bed with us. He'd had a bad dream, about a plane getting hit by lightning.  We let him stay and just cuddled up for the night.

This morning, I was shocked and saddened to hear about the missing Air France jet, and then freaked out a bit when, a little later, this headline came across the web:

Air France: Missing jet likely hit by lightning

Wow. Just wow.

Our thoughts & prayers are with the travelers and their families.

This morning while I was deadheading a geranium, I noticed a teeny tiny garden spider, so I decided to check out my camera's kit lens close-up abilities.  Wasn't expecting much, and that's what I got.

I had trouble locking the focus on the spider.  Sometimes the autofocus would see the spider, and sometimes it would focus past it to the geranium leaf, rendering the spider invisible to the camera.

now you see it:

and now you don't!

And now I *really* want a close-up lens.

This Sunday, Frank ran the Burlington, Vermont marathon in 3 hours, 9 minutes and change.   It's a fast time, and another Boston qualifying time, but it's also remarkable because it marked the end of his quest to run a marathon in every state (and DC).   It's an amazing achievement - and something only a couple hundred people in the world can say they've done. We're pretty proud of him around here!

Frank just after finishing his 50th state, champagne in hand

But wait, folks, there's more!  This weekend, Frank's sister Michelle ran her first marathon at Burlington, finishing in under 5 hours! Frank met her on the course after he finished, and ran in the last mile or so with her, crossing the finish line with her.

And, lest you think the story is over, both my brother Scott and my dad finished the marathon in record time - my dad grabbed another Boston qualifying time, and Scott knocked 30 minutes off his previous PR!!

Scott's 50th marathon (38th state): 3 hours, 44 minutes!

It was a great trip, and I'm glad we had the whole family there to watch our runners have such a great day.  Here's a pic of the four of them after the race - looking ridiculously good for having run a marathon:

I'm in awe of all four of you. You're amazing!

Lots more pictures & info here.

Yesterday, Christopher had his bad tooth pulled.  I told him all about what they'd be doing: nitrous oxide, novacaine shots, and then the tooth pulling. I told him in a way that explained the steps but minimized the scariness (at least I thought so) but he was still pretty nervous, and so I was nervous about how he'd behave/react while in the chair.

I shouldn't have worried; he was a CHAMP and was bouncing around about 10 minutes after they turned off the gas.  I was amazed by that, and also by how darn quickly the tooth came out! It took about 30 minutes to do the gas and let him get numb from the novacaine, and then I'd guess less than 1 minute to get his tooth out. No exaggeration - I barely had time to avert my eyes before Christopher said, "I think my tooth might be a little bit out" and it was done!

No pain afterward, and his gums look great today. What a relief.