June 30 - July 6

And just like that, my running days may be over.  In the past I've had a bit of knee pain while hiking, mostly caused by descents.  Not sure what the ultimate cause is, but the pain would normally go away in a couple of days.  It seems that running is also bad for my knees.  I had some pain over the weekend but was still able to go running.  On Monday, it was too much.  I had to stop.  As I'm writing this over a week later, I still have knee pain.  [note- I started writing this about a week before I actually got around to finishing and publishing.] I'm torn between trying to run again or just giving up.  My stubborn side doesn't want to give up.  Part of me wonders if new shoes would help, but I'm hesitant to spend the money on them if it doesn't help and I still need to stop running.  Advil and knee braces kind of help, but not completely.  Hopefully I'll be able to get in to see a doctor soon to get some actual medical advice.

In other Monday news, Bennett started watching Peter Pan after school.  We had tacos for dinner, which he normally likes.  Unfortunately he wasn't a fan of the salsa (that he requested) so he took forever and didn't finish eating. 

Tuesday was a no nap day at school.  When we got home Bennett finished watching Peter Pan and then played with his Duplos for a while.  We also finally got around to putting the air conditioners in.


On Wednesday morning there was much excitement as we were driving to school and witnessed an accident.  I was waiting at a green light for the oncoming car to go through the intersection so that I could turn.  However, the car on the cross street ran the red light hitting the car coming towards me.  I'm amazed that my car was spared, because the other cars came to rest just a few inches from my car.  We pulled over and Chris called 911.  Ultimately 3 police cars came (1 to direct traffic, 1 to take statements, and I think the last one might have helped with some translating), a firetruck, an ambulance, and a tow truck.  Ultimately it's probably a good thing that we stuck around because both drivers were claiming that they had a green light.  Bennett was full of so many questions about everything!  Two weeks later and he's still mentioning it.  And I'm also much more cautious going through that intersection now.

On Thursday we decided to head of to Ikea after school.  I wanted to get some shelves for the basement and for the shed.  Since Bennett hadn't napped at school he fell asleep on the way there.

We got home really late (at least by Bennett standards) but unfortunately he didn't sleep in the car.  I also did some purging and organizing of Bennett's toys.  I can't seem to do this when he's around, but he handles it pretty well when he asks where things are and we tell him they got put in the basement, etc.  And hopefully, if he isn't missing them, in a little while I can take them to the second hand store.

For the 4th of July (Friday) we had originally planned on going to Sturbridge but the forecast called for rain.  It was clear in the morning so we went to Tougas Farm and picked strawberries, blueberries, and cherries.  I think we'll have to go back again for more blueberries because we don't have nearly enough.  The rain started just as we were leaving.  After nap we baked cookies, went to Target, and then came home and Bennett put together his very first Lego (not Duplo) set!  Daddy helped him read the book with the instructions.  Bennett loves playing with his little police station.

On Saturday, after a late start, we went to Sturbridge.  We got there around noon and we weren't sure if this would mess things up since we've developed a bit of a routine.  However, after some snacks Bennett did well with a late lunch.  As we were driving we asked what he wanted to see.  His answer?  The fish! Since we had a late start and Bennett was in a good mood (not always the case in the afternoon) we were able to stick around to see the sawmill operating in the afternoon. 

a completely unrelated photo from the blacksmith shop

We also spoke with Victoria and were able to schedule a day for my special activity.  (You may or may not recall me mentioning this back in March.)  We also learned that Victoria requested Bennett's birthday party off as soon as she learned the date.  She will likely be coming to do a special project.

While at the farmhouse Bennett went to work filling the woodbox.

After nap we went food shopping and as we were driving home we were discussing if we would be able to make it to any fireworks.  We found out the Millbury had them at 9:30, so we quickly went home, put the groceries away, cooked some food to eat later, and got back in the car.  We weren't sure how Bennett would do with the fireworks, but he did great.  He even did a pretty good job of not squirming around too much while we waited for them to start, which was our main concern.  And now he keeps asking when it will be the 4th of July again so that we can go see fireworks at Sturbridge.


On Sunday we cleaned out the shed.  I know, not very exciting.  But it was a big jumbled mess and it was hard to get to anything.  So we pulled everything out, set up the new shelves that we got, and put things back in a more cohesive fashion.  We also added a few screws so that Bennett could hang up some of his tools.


While we were doing that Grandpa came over to hang out for a bit, and also to dry out his tent.  He'd been in Maine and got rained on so he needed some space to spread out.  Bennett helped a bit with setting up the tent, sweeping it out, bringing things in and out of the shed, etc.



The rest of the day was spent at home doing not much of anything.  It's not that often that we have a whole day at home!