Summer storms have been rolling through lately. Allison and Mika can't decide if thunderstorms are exciting or scary. Here's a few recent conversations on the matter:

(A few days ago)
Allison: I was talking to thunder!
Me: Really? Did thunder say anything back?
Allison: Yes. Thunder was talking to me!!
Mika: Thunder has big hands! Thunder lives in the sky!
Allison: Yes, thunder lives in the clouds in the sky.

(Today)
Allison: Thunder all gone.
Mika: Bye, bye thunder!
Me: Yes, the thunderstorm is all gone.
Mika: Thunder is all gone to the clouds.
Allison: Thunder is asleep in the clouds.
Daddy: Where does thunder live?
Mika: Delaware!!!

Baking Brownies

More Firsts

Today the twins spent the day with Mom-Mom and Gad. Good fortune was with them. Even as the areas all around them experienced terrible storms, Bear was spared.

They made their first foray to Lums Pond and loved every moment. They went for a long walk through the woods to the pond, where they saw canoes, kayaks, a nice sandy shoreline, and plenty of wildlife. Turtles (Gad's favorite) were out, along with groundhogs and a blue heron.

They found a new playground (maybe not brand new, but certainly new since the days when Mom-Mom and Gad used to take me to Lums as a little girl) and spent a good 45 minutes frolicking amongst the toys. A long walk back to the car wore them out; they nearly fell asleep during the five-minute car ride from Lums to my parents' house.

Gad says he got some great pictures. I'll post them when I get them.

Dinner was interrupted by a hellacious hailstorm, the twins' first. Ice bullets up to one inch in diameter poured down and covered most of our deck. It looked like it had snowed, except that the noise was horrendous. Mika was curious and wanted to watch at the window but Allison was a little nervous. (She's been timid about loud noises lately.) She didn't cry, but had no interest in looking outside. She just wanted to cuddle on the couch with the blinds closed.

After the storm died down we took Allison to the screen door so she could see the torrents of water flowing down the street. She overcame her fear completely when Jason ventured outside and came back with hailstones for the girls to play with. They were fascinated with the little ice cubes: how cold they were; how they melted so fast and became water. We had to replenish the supply of hailstones four times since they kept melting in the girls' hands.

We finally coaxed Allison and Mika away from hailstones and the (very wet) kitchen floor in order to get ready for bed. From our bedroom window, Daddy spotted a partial rainbow in the sky. Mika exclaimed, "Orange and blue in the sky!" Allison was excited to see their first rainbow too. It was a lovely end to such a big day.