7 Quick Takes

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1) Well....we got an estimate on painting the outside of our house.  To paint the trim and shutters and power wash the shingles would cost $8000.  We are going to get a second estimate and see if we can bring that price down.  But it is a big house, so I'm not sure how much lower we can expect.  It's a tough to decide just how much money you are willing to put into a house you are going to sell.  Will that $8000 spent yield $10,000 more on the sale than if we didn't paint it?  Who knows?

2) Xander's girlfriend, Ava, has pictures of her recent visit to celebrate his birthday.  Here they are sharing their "baby cheetos",  as Phil calls them:

You can see more photos of the adorable couple here.

3) Hopefully by the time you read this, we are on VACATION!!  We are visiting with Phil's family in Maryland, and then going to Williamsburg, VA for a few days.  We are so relieved just to get away from work and give the kids a fun week.

We really want to go to Busch Gardens while we are down there, but have you seen the price of tickets??  $67 for an adult and $57 for a child ages 3-9!  That means that even with Alexander being free, it would cost us $362 to go for one day.  Isn't that insane? 

4) Track Club is over.  The kids are sad, but I have to admit that the tired mom in me is a little excited :)

They really had a great time doing this again this summer, and it's fun to see at which future track events they might excel.  I think John-Paul will do the 100m and javelin, Andrew will be our 200m and 400m sprinter, Eamon could do long-jump and hurdles.  As for Maggie, well, she seems to be more interested in making friends and taking water breaks than the actual running parts :)

Stretching with her boyfriend, Robby

 The boys with their favorite coach, who they nicknamed Mustard.  Don't ask why.

5) The reason this summer's track club has been a little more tiring than usual is because of a certain mischievous one year old:

 Getting into the diaper bag to eat, because he's obviously not well-fed.

His cousin Caitlin, who is 9, basically comes to track to play with him all night (excuse the bruise on his cheek and the wrestler-style pajamas):

Words to date for Mr. Xander B: dada, nuh-nuh (mama), this, that, all done, uh-oh, hot.

6) Dwija wrote about how her fear of mice started, and it reminded me of why I share the same musophobia.  There are two distinct memories I have with mice from my childhood. Both happened around age 10. The first was that I was napping on the couch in the family room, and I heard my brother Brian calling my name, and when I opened my eyes he was dangling a dead mouse in front of my face.  The second time was when I went into my garage to put on my Rollerblades, and when I put my first foot in, there was something squishy inside.  I shook out the squishy lump, and it was a dead mouse.  So gross, and I was scarred for life after that point.  I think the only thing that may surpass my musophobia is my chiroptophobia (fear of bats).  Because really, bats are just mice with wings.  In my adult life, I've had run-ins with bats and mice, and just barely lived to tell the tales. 

7) My parents brought J-P, Andrew, and Eamon to the Patriots Training Camp on Tuesday, and they got to see their favorite Patriots, including Wes Welker (my favorite), Vince Wilfork (my Mom's fave) and the super talented but slightly immoral Tom Brady (my Mom said he was sooooo skinny and tall):

I am so ready for football season!  OK, really I'm just ready for the food at the football parties!!

Have a great weekend everyone!