"Daddy, can I have a horse?"

So I didn't exactly hear that. But I could see it in Kate's eyes.

We went to the county fair tonight. A couple kids in the neighborhood have horses, so after checking out the sheep, goats, cows, pigs, ducks, turkeys, rabbits and other barnyard critters, we gravitated toward the horse barn. We ran into the boy on the next street with his horse, and as we stood chatting, Kate was mesmerized by that horse. The horse kept nuzzling down toward the stroller, then would lift his head and look around. And Kate's eyes followed his every move. It was pretty cool. Claire? She was pretty happy to sit there and make her little squeals. But not like a pig. :)

Then it was off to make a circuit of the rest of the fair, see the Tiger show, cruise the midway, worry about the girls turning into one a teenager. You know the drill. And a cinammon roll. Gotta have one of those.

At least I didn't have to tell them "no" tonight.

Was that it for summer?

Watching the weather forecast this morning, I'm seeing low 70s for the weekend, and mid 70s for next week. And the week after that it will be September. So it looks like we got about one week of summer last week, with the 90 and humidity. Oh, well. I've been too busy to notice much about the short summer anyway:

1. Started the new job. So far, so good!
2. Went to cross country camp last week. Yes, it's true, after four days on the job, I took a week off. But camp went well, and the babies did fine. Sarah will miss some things about coaching, other things not so much.
3. I became an uncle. My sister had her baby early last Friday morning. As we suspected, it's a boy, Brendan Lachlan. She wasn't due until Sept. 18, but mom and baby are doing fine, and she was home by Sunday afternoon. We're still wondering how we ended up the way we did, but all we can say is all's well that ends well.
4. Took the babies to see grandma and grandpa on Sunday, where they got their first dip in the pool! I need to get some pics up on fb of that.

So after all that, we're starting to stare fall in the face. Sarah goes back to work on Aug. 31, with the first day with kids on Sept. 7. 2009 has been anything but business as usual from the beginning, but maybe after that we'll get back into a routine. A guy can hope, right?

A new chapter

Well, that was a short-lived career as a freelance writer.

This morning I was offered a full-time position, and I accepted.

As with all changes in life, there are many things to be excited about, yet at the same time a certain level of sadness, too. It's always easier to maintain the status quo rather than venture out into uncharted territory, but that's just how things worked out. Without my previous job, I never would have met my wife, which means I would never have had my two girls. So it will always be a big part of who I am.

I must admit I did not expect to be gainfully employed again so quickly. Sort of negates the whole original direction of this blog, no? But as life has led me in a new direction, surely this blog will follow along.

It's always an interesting ride.