And we're back!

We apologize for the inconvenience. I guess with Kim posting the last post, I figured she'd have the initiative, the desire, nay the extreme pleasure of wanting to post again when I got busy with work, life, etc. and that I wouldn't need to worry about it for a bit. Needless to say from the lack of posts that that was not the case. So here it is, 6 weeks from the last post that we attempt to catch you up. Unfortunately, my usual verbosity (verboseness?) will probably make that quite the challenge. Hence, I am starting to write this on Friday evening in the hopes that it is written by Sunday to be posted. Fortunately for all of you, you won't have known that there was an additional two day wait besides the 6 weeks so the suspense won't have killed you.

So here it is, Friday night. That means movie night. Being the cultured parents that we are, or maybe because we want them to fall asleep quickly, we've put on Thoroughly Modern Millie. They do like the show though, so it's good for everyone. Of course, Kim has left me tonight to go TP someone's house. I know what you're thinking: isn't that type of riff-raff reserved for, well, riff-raff, as opposed to housewives with four small children that need to be carted off to bed shortly? Well, I would have to agree with you on that. But for some reason, Kim is feeling the need to relive the teenage years she missed out on since she was an angelic homebody that didn't get out too much. I'm calling it "Kim's Kooky Phase". Please everyone, say a silent prayer that she gets it out her system before the kids can really know about it and try to model her behavior. Thanks folks!

So, back to what I said I was going to talk about more than a paragraph ago. It's the end of June and. since we last left you, Kim had her birthday and Mother's Day (thanks everyone for pitching in for the gifts), Aaron had his birthday and Father's Day (again, thanks everyone for the presents, you're all too kind), Gabriela finished off first grade (top of her class, of course), Aaron traveled to Allentown, PA twice for work (all went well, thanks for asking), we got a visit from LeAnne and Dave and took them up to Kettle Falls for the weekend (played a lot of Settlers of Catan and got them hooked), and we're now gearing up for our trip to Utah for the 4th of July for the 2nd Bi-Annual Welling Family Reunion. Those are the major events that have happened. I'll embellish the details on a few just for the sake of embellishment. You're welcome.

Kim is 33 now. That's right, she's a third of a century (though technically she needs to be 33 years, 3 months, 3 days, 3 hours, and 3 minutes old before she's really a third of a century, but fortunately we're not technical around here). And of course, I wasn't around for her birthday. I was in Pennsylvania for a workshop. Thankfully, Kim has fantastic friends that brought her fruit pizza, took her out to PF Chang's for lunch, brought her presents, and toilet-papered the house (apparently that's what friends do?). The two Sundays previous to her birthday was Mother's Day and the kids and I prepared a fantastic dinner of barbecued Hawaiian chicken which was absolutely amazing, minus the burnt parts. She also got her favorite new movie, Enchanted, on DVD. I think she had a great day.

The following month, it was my turn. I turned 34, which I was pretty indifferent about until somebody mentioned that it was just 6 years shy of 40. Talk about a major buzzkill. I don't think I should have to think about being 40 until I am 40, or soon to be 40, not 6 years before. That's all together too depressing, no offense to the sad saps who have the unfortunate responsibility of already being 40 or soon to be 40. My condolences. I've heard that 40 is the new 50 - how's that for even more depressing. Anyway, you'll never guess where I was on my birthday. That's right, back in Pennsylvania for another workshop. The fun never ends. I did get to go to a minor league baseball game that night and sat in the dugout box seats on the field, right behind home plate. That was pretty cool. The following Sunday was Father's Day, and I got cedar planks (it's for cooking, not for fencing, or even for swordplay for that matter) and a 3-disc DVD set - Ben Hur (good), Citizen Kane (bad), and The Maltese Falcon (amazing).

On my birthday, Gabriela finished school. She is officially a second grader now. She also finished Harry Potter Book 3 (finally got back to it after reading every other book in the house) and she's on to The Goblet of Fire. She earned a trip to our local amusement park (if you can call Coeur d'Alene, ID local) so we're planning a trip there later this summer, probably when the price of gasoline gets up to about $6.00 Lucky us.

I am happy to report that we have officially stopped buying diapers. This is a major milestone in the Welling family home. And what are we doing with all this freed up cash? That's right, it's going into good old gasoline. So much for debt reduction. Anyway, we're still having some issues with Everett, as you might have guessed. Clay poop is our evil nemesis. So Everett is now cleaning out his own underwear any time he has an accident, which seems like about 5-6 times each day. He's also not going to get to take swimming lessons unless he's poop-free. We're hoping with enough incentive, it will all get through. Literally.

So the Woods familia came to visit us last week. They are the first of my family (besides Mom and Dad) to come visit us. We showed them all of the Tri-Cities and, after the 15 minute tour was over, we decided to take them to Kim's parents' cabin in Kettle Falls since it at least has two bathrooms, as opposed to our house. We had a great time playing bocce ball, horseshoes, baseball, Settlers of Catan, and going fishing and throwing rocks in the river. We even got Dave and LeAnne to watch Batman Begins, which they both liked (big shocker).

So here we are, preparing to have a fantastic 4th of July and trying to get everything ready so we can make it as enjoyable as possible. If you'd like a visit and you're in the neighborhood, please let us know and we'll try to squeeze you in. No promises though.

Talk to you again soon. And wow, got it all done in one day. Lucky you!