My Family Zoo: The Show WILL Go On

We have had the rainiest summer ever. It's amazing to look back on summers not that long ago, when we had to go outside and water our lawn by hand at specified times of the day due to the drought and feared water shortage. And even with the hours spent outside watering, the grass and flowers still died. And yet this summer, we can barely find a dry day to mow the lengthy, flourishing green grass. Not that I will complain. It beats standing out in the heat with a water hose any day! But at the same time, it does tend to put a damper on summer activities.

That's what almost happened yesterday. Bill was going to leave work early and go by the bank on his way home to meet me in the kids. Then we'd take them to my parents and he and I would go watch the latest Harry Potter movie. What we didn't expect was difficulties caused by the rain. First, Bill was stuck at the bank for awhile due to a power outage that occurred as they were sending his drivers license back through the drive through tube thing (for lack of a better description). Then when he finally went to leave the bank, he found all the roads were flooding. He had to continuously back track and take different paths in his attempt to get home. He finally braved the high waters as he drove behind another SUV, keeping a sharp eye on the leading SUV's tailpipe to ensure safe passage through the water. Thankfully, he did make it home and we weren't off schedule by too much. But we were a little worried about the drive to my parents as we had to go back through this same flooded area. Thankfully, the rain had let up and the water had drained by the time we passed through. And Bill and I made it to our movie on time. I say on time. Bill is still laughing at me because I insisted that we get there early (only 45 minutes!) because I just knew there would be a huge crowd and I did not want to get stuck on the front row, destined for a neckache the remainder of the day. But when we got there, on time according to our (okay, my) plans, we were the first ones there. But Bill can't argue - we got the best seats in the house! :)

The rain was also a potential problem for our later plans. We were afraid continued rain would cause more flooding and make it hard, if not impossible, for us to get to the circus. Again, God is gracious, and the way was clear. We had so much fun. My brother's kids had been before and loved it. This was my kids first time to attend the circus. They enjoyed it, though I'd say Amy enjoyed it the most. She watched attentatively the entire time, which was quite a long time. Nathan and Alex were tired, however, and at the intermission halfway through the show, Alex began complaining that he wanted to go home. I think he thought it was over at the break, and he was so tired at this point he really was ready to go home and climb into his cozy bed. But a couple acts into the second half, particularly when the motorcycles were zooming around amazingly in the spherical cage, he perked up a little and watched without complaint. And of course, thanks to an overly gracious Granny, they each came home with a souvenir. Alex and Nathan had new swords to add to their collection (can you ever have enough?) and Amy had her little light up ballerina thing - no idea exactly what it is - that plays music... very loudly. Let's just say you could hear "Music Box Dancer" over the trumpeting sounds of the circus performers and screaming audience. You can imagine how loud it is in our home, without the added noise. Wonder how long those batteries will last...

Circus Events...