If she had the proper words to say,

It's not even completely dark outside yet (still a hint of blue, actually), but I'm so ridiculously tired. I'm only staying up long enough for the dark load of swimsuits and towels to finish washing, and then I'll pop them in the dryer, start the light load to washing, and I'm off to dreamland.

After this morning's early episode, StalkerChick came to my work today for the first time ever. I didn't realize it was her until I turned around from popping a lid on her shake (the only thing she ordered) to hand it out the window. Of course, then the snottiness from her ordering beforehand made perfect sense. Purposely hassling someone at work? How low. Such a fake attitude, it just makes me sick. I can't be fake back, so I just spoke as little as possible and then slammed the window shut as soon as I was done. I immediately advised Brett that if someone called back to complain that I hadn't said "Thank you!" I'd know exactly who it was. Then I continued to be my cheery, chatty self with all the rest of my polite, nice customers. :-)

We had a good playdate out at the sprayground. It was very, very warm, and Wendy and I were amazed that the kids could play so easily in the hot sand rather than running through the water. Jack was in the sand almost the entire 2.5 hours we were there, with only a few quick runs through the sprays - craziness! I tatted and chatted with Wendy and her sis-in-law (who was so fun to meet!), and Wendy's kids proceeded to tell her they were STARVING every two minutes. She'd packed an entire cooler full of snacks though, so she was well-prepared. On the other hand, I came to the rescue with my handy "travel toilet tissue" pack from the first aid kit in my car, as the porta-potty on site was out of paper.

Best quip of the afternoon? Jackie (Wendy's eldest daughter), saying, "Mom! I canNOT be expected to go to the bathroom in a place that has SANDALS in the toilet!" And it was true - when I went, I noticed a lone sandal atop the pile of waste - ewwww.

We arrived back home around six o'clock, and we fed the kitties and had a bite to eat before heading off to swim lessons. We'll be there on Friday morning to sign up for the next session (though I'd much rather be sleeping in on my day off!). I can't believe it's almost July already.

On the way home from the Activity Center, I was thinking to myself about how tired I was. We'd discussed how we were all bathing/showering as soon as we got home, and then it was bedtime (the normal routine, but we still "discuss" most things before we do them). I was just barely turned onto Pease Dr. when I heard sirens and looked up to see Security Forces behind me. Since I was the only one on the road, I figured they meant me, and I pulled over. So did the cops.

*sigh*

I've never, ever been pulled over in my life. It took ages (literally, almost ten minutes) for them to walk to my car and ask me for my license, registration, insurance and military ID. In all the time we were waiting, the boys started to panic. I would have probably panicked myself, except I truly, honestly didn't have a clue what I could have done wrong. I was even driving extra slow at the time I was pulled over - going 15mph in a 20mph housing area. I was stumped, and the fact that I didn't know what to tell the boys I had done made them more anxious. A.J. started crying (he has a sensitive spot with cops, given his prior "history," but that's an entry from long, long ago), which in turn worried Jack. Finally, the police approached my vehicle, asked for my documentation, and then asked me if I knew why I'd been pulled over. I replied that I had no clue, actually. The officer in charge then told me they'd caught me ever-so-slightly rolling through the stop sign at the corner of Pease and Kennedy.

Well, I'm certain I've never done it before, but I was so exhausted that I couldn't be sure that I hadn't tonight. I figured, "they're officers - why would they make this up?" As they returned to the police vehicle to check over my paperwork, I resigned myself to the fact that I probably had done just as they said. There wasn't a car in sight as I'd made the turn, and even in my ten minutes' time of waiting, we had *still* not seen another car. It was just a very quiet evening, and maybe my foggy brain had just turned off for a moment.

Which isn't excusable, of course. I was sad that I was pulled over, sad that I'd done something wrong, and even more sad at the thought that I really couldn't even remember it. The officer returned my things to me after just a few minutes, saying, "Well, we're gonna cut you a break this time. But ma'am? Make sure you obey all traffic signs from now on." And though I tried not to let it fall, even as I thanked him and rolled my window back up, a lone tear slid down my cheek. I was so disappointed in myself. :-(

But we arrived home a minute later, unpacked the car, got baths/showers going, and I checked the mail. We received a free full-size sample of Knorr® Sides Plus Veggies today - 'Roasted Chicken Rice with Harvest Veggies' variety. I put the boys to bed after they were clothed again, and now I'm ready to drop.

Summer wears me out.

An early goodnight. I'm sure I'll be up early too, since I'm going to bed at this hour, but I can't keep my eyes open any longer.

Philip and I took the boys to a sprayground yesterday here in the Omaha area. It was the first time we'd been to such a place, and we were mightily impressed. It was bright and colorful, had tons to do and was FREE!

This particular sprayground was done in an ocean theme, complete with a matching pirate ship playground in the sand next to it (though the boys didn't even head over there once - the waterpark was too fun!). We were so pleased with the experience, and we'll definitely be going back... though we've got three other spraygrounds to try out as well!


Boys sit near the sprinklers and try to block them.

( More brightly-colored fun! )

Philip and I talked while the boys played (neither of us had worn our swimsuits, and we should have), and we discussed "being cool." We've decided that it really doesn't matter whether we're "cool" to other people, so long as we're still "cool" to our kids.

And we were definitely "cool" in the boys' eyes yesterday! :-D