Normal

The kids are home, therefore everything feels back to normal again. We had to clear a pathway to walk through the living room because Jesse's suitcase exploded about 5 minutes after entering the house.

It was neat to see how excited they both were to see us at the airport. Even Nate was visibly excited, bouncing up and down as we exchanged hugs. Having said that, they were also not ready to leave friends and family in California. Next time we'll have to consider letting them stay longer even though it's difficult for Ron and I.

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On a very sad, unrelated side note: Yesterday Jesse went to check our pool to see how dirty it was (we haven't cleaned it out this summer and it is literally a pond) and she found a dead (what we think is) a red-tailed hawk. Very sad. :( What once was a very beautiful bird is now a bloated, putrid carcass. Last night I finally began the cleaning the pool process that should have started months ago. As I unscrewed the drain, dead bird water sprayed all over my feet and legs. Eeewww!