The sultry days of summer were sliding along when we were suddenly slammed with a cold front. The morning promised a heat shattering afternoon, so Tanner got up early and mowed the lawn. Even with the self-propelled mower, it is still very hot work.

The grass grows in spurts in Texas. You can cut it down to 2 inches, and it will gleefully hibernate at that height until the next rain storm. The minute it rains, you can see the grass wake up and decide that now would be a great time to have a growth spurt. In a few short days the grass will double in length, and then it will double again. Pretty soon, you've got the redneck yard with grass waving above the heads of your kids. It buries the bicycles, canvasses the swing set and mists the front door.

Well, our lawn hadn't been mowed for over a week. It took an hour and a half, and those of you that have seen our yard know that it isn't huge. I mean, it's a nice sized yard, but not something that requires anywhere near an hour and a half of mowing. We geared up for a hot day. I got out the bathing suits, sunscreen and beach towels for Tanner so that he could take the girls to the splash park. I packed a light lunch, bottled water and iced coffee.

By the time lunch rolled around, the temperature had dropped, rain was misting the windows and I was longing for a HOT cup of coffee. I consoled myself with the fact that I had worn trousers to work so at least I wasn't miserably cold. Oh, perhaps a definition for my cold-weather friends: miserably cold is anything under 70 degrees. I think Tanner and I have known each other way to long. Just as I was about to take a quick 15 minute break to dash to Starbucks, he waltzed in with a cappuccino.

So, I made it through my first shift and shivered my way out into the open air. I expected to find it warm and worthy of defrosting my frozen limbs. Instead it was wet. Warmer than the wet in Portland, but it was still wet. I drove home and frowned in disgust that I had to turn on the windshield wipers. Of course coming home did wonders for my mood. I got the pleasure of watching my girls, in sun dresses, splash and play in the rain with their umbrellas. I watched Georgie toddle around outside in a diaper in rain boots. Reagan came running inside. She caught her breath when she saw me and then shouted, "Mommy! You're home! We're hungry!"

A couple of peanut butter sandwiches later, I sat out on the porch letting the cool breezes shimmer around my shoulders when Kate found a pink hair clip and asked me to put it into her hair. It's one of those puffy things. When she wears it she looks so grown up and she knows it. All day today she has been acting very mature.

Reagan and Georgie are playing tag. They should be in bed, but after an afternoon of puddle hopping, they both fell into a stupor and slept for almost 3 hours. Tanner finally shook them awake at 5:30 so that they could eat dinner. I've tried to calm them down. I've read them stories, sung Christmas carols and listened to classic hymns. They are awake and promise to be for a little while longer. I think I'll try warm milk next...