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It's been a week since we last posted here, so we hope no one has given up on us. It was a busy week, but we can't use that as an excuse since we were mostly just too lazy to post in the evenings. So here's a nice long (not to be confused with significant) update on life at the Bowersox home to catch you up.

We still have to write our letter of exception for Joshua to go to Marshall Street School, but the woman who helped with our registration paperwork really didn't think it would be a big problem. We learned that our district has gone to all day kindergarten (9am-3:25pm), which we were not prepared for. We're not sure if Joshua is ready to be gone all day, so we'll have to feel things out this summer. We're sure that Mommy isn't prepared to have to entertain Patience and Garty all day, but that's another matter. Joshua was excited to see the school, and we've been talking about it ever since. He actually didn't want to leave the building after we filled out registration paperwork, but then the very loud dismissal bell rang and freaked him out. He ran out the door as fast as he could!

Garty has an appointment at CHOP (Children's Hospital) on Tuesday, July 3 to see what's going on with his kidneys. We weren't able to schedule with the head of the department as hoped, but we're still optimistic that the doctor we see will be able to figure out what's going on. While we wait, Garty continues to amaze us as he becomes more and more expressive and entertaining all the time. Saturday he figured out how to climb all the way up a sliding board by himself, and he did it several times. He was very pleased with his accomplishment, as you can see in the picture below. Yesterday he took 2 steps for Daddy before he realized what he was doing and sat down. He crawls fast, but soon he'll really be moving!

Today while I was putting on a shirt to go out, I turned around to find Patience trying on one of my bras in front of the mirror! Peter ran for the camera and managed to get a few pictures before she got distracted.

Just to keep life from getting dull, I got a flat tire at the supermarket last Tuesday when I ran out for a "quick" trip before they closed. Peter ended up waking Garty who had been in bed for over an hour, dressing Joshua and Patience who were nearly ready for bed, and rescuing me. Tonight the same car completely died on the highway, and we're afraid it might be an expensive repair. I had to call AAA to have it towed to a shop, and Peter and the kids had to postpone dinner to come rescue me again. Watching the big flatbed pick up the car was very exciting for Joshua, who is soon going to think that car problems are a weekly outing instead of a problem. The frightening thing is that these issues have been with our good car!

The most exciting news of all at our house this week is that Mommy got to go out to do something fun without the kids for the first time... and then she did it again... and then again!! Thursday evening after a meeting, my friend Mary Kay asked if I wanted to go out for ice cream, so 3 of us went out for the most exciting ice cream trip of my life! Seriously, I was so excited you would have thought I just won an island vacation. I came home high on life a little before midnight and talked Peter's ear off until he kicked me out of the room so he could sleep. All week, Peter was also encouraging me to do something fun just for myself on Saturday. (Isn't he a great husband?!!) I really didn't know what to do and didn't feel inclined to make plans, but on the way home from the store Saturday morning I suddenly decided that it was a cool enough morning that a carmel macchiato from Starbucks sounded good. I dug out the gift card I got for my birthday and stopped at the only Starbucks around that has outdoor seating. I splurged by getting my carmel macchiato AND a piece of crumb cake. It was a gorgeous morning, so I sat out under an umbrella and did nothing... nothing! How crazy am I? The final and most exciting outing came Sunday when Peter and I actually left all 3 kids with a sitter for the first time and went out to celebrate our 8th anniversary. We didn't think it was a good idea to leave the kids at night yet since that's still a potentially volatile and fear-filled time of day, so we planned a date for the middle of the afternoon. Thanks to Peter's Mom and Bob, we ate a delicious brunch and went to the movies to see Ocean's 13. It was absolutely wonderful. The cell phone never rang in the 4.5 hours we were gone, so we are thrilled! Getting out of the house could easily become addictive!

So that's all the news I can remember from our little corner of the world. More soon!