Here and gone

Lots has been happening since The Tri That Wasn't. And Facebook just doesn't offer the same forum for long, drawn-out tales of family, work, etc.
Here's a couple things I know for sure, as a lead off for this entry. First of all, it's been the weirdest summer ever in terms of weather. Blazing, brutal heat for about 2 weeks in June, then going right into fall. It's been so mild/chilly that we are seriously regretting dropping major coin for our Ledges Pool pass this year. The times we've actually gone have been great times, and the girls are more and more becoming great swimmers. But I recall an afternoon when we visited with one of Ann's friends and her daughter in July, and it was warmer in the water than on the pool deck. Brutal. And of all the major things we planned this summer, I think we set a record for the number of events that were severely impacted by crummy weather. (Anyone recall my last post?) We got soaked several times during the Coldplay show on July 25th. We didn't go to the pool at all last weekend, one of the few weekends this summer when we were home ALL weekend and would probably have gone 2-3 times. The first few days of the Solheim Cup week were wet as well. I even took off early from the media center one night because of a storm headed that way and I didn't want to lose power in the midst of transmitting pictures. What I did get that evening was a very wet drive home. And the opening matches that Friday were marked by gloomy grey skies and off/on again rain showers. Lots of fun with all my camera gear as I trekked around the course for the fifth straight day.
We have also had one of the busier summers on record. And we thought that once kids arrived we were going to slow down...
Now we just do even more things, just closer to home. St Louis. Door County. Grand Rapids. Door County again. The Solheim Cup (ate up entire week for me, and then some). 1 trip to parts beyond, that being Florida in early June with the Janeceks and Heilers. The Ledges golf outing/Turtle race weekend. People at work are always commenting on how little we're free, or even at home on weekends. To me it doesn't seem that crazy at first, after all both our families are at least 4 hours away. We have no immediate family close enough to visit for a day trip. Thankfully the other family members are also fond of getting out and visiting us - so it works out. But it literally felt like Sunday night August 23rd I could hear screeching brakes as we slowed down that night just in time for Clare's first day of 1st grade. It's just been nuts.
This past weekend allowed us to both catch our breath and dive into lots of projects around the house, to reclaim our house a bit. Ann busted her butt on the inside cleaning, laundry, etc. i spent most of my time outdoors keeping the woods and lawn at bay, at least until my chainsaw came flying apart. (another brush with death without major injury) Too bad Clare couldn't have avoided a brush with Addie's foot, or her front tooth may still have been hanging on until it was good and ready to come out on its own.
Which leads me to my parting thought for the day.
You can never, NEVER be too cautious around chain saws. Now, where is that Stihl parts catalog?