ok, so the quad bike family from maine story thickens. the dad got a 5 month leave of absence from his job, so this family has 2 more months together on the bike before they go home. they planned for this trip of a lifetime so well that they have no debt and has plenty of money saved- they are staying in hotels when the weather gets too oppressive, and when the kids needs to play in a pool. the father told ernst that the riding has not been as difficult as the 'team dynamics'- 4 people together for that long HAS been difficult- when the team can't stand to be that close for another day- they stop riding for a couple of days and do other things.

today is july 4th- i celebrated my independence from work today by sleeping in til 9:00. i have neglected my garden to the point that the weeds are big enough to have names of their own if they are allowed to stick around much longer. i believe that i might just get dressed and do a little yard work. especially now that we will soon have new neighbors. the house on the corner, next to my mom has been sold to a family with 3 sons. this house has never actually been lived in before- the couple who built it did so on spec- we were surprised that the house sold with the big clods of dirt that surround the house rather than any sort of foundation planting or grass-seeding. i hope that these children are somwhat near in age to cayle- the only other child living near us is an immature 7. i grew up in a neighborhood full of children- my parents had to call me in every summer night well after dark-no one wanted to stop playing because everyone had so much fun together. when andrew and stephan were small there were only retirees on the circle. they weren't even any fun for ernst and me.........