Something Windy This Way Comes (a true story)

Once upon a time, in a not so small town, known as Meridian, Idaho, there lived a young family. They had just finished a busy day. The children were excited about their first day of school; the father was excited about a job promotion--made the head of the preliminary hearing team; and the mother was exhausted as she and her three year old were having an unsuccessful day of potty training (they were out of underwear, and were washing the five pairs the two year old had soiled earlier that day!). The last spoonfuls of food were being eaten, and the mother and father were busy washing the dishes and cleaning up dinner. The family had been too busy to notice the sky getting darker and darker and the wind blowing harder and harder. As the mother and father were busy with dishes, much to their dismay they noticed the kids' trampoline floating higher and higher in the air. The mother yelled "Holy Crap! (ala Frank Barone) That thing is going to go over the fence giving the neighbors a real reason to sue!" The father, not wasting a second, ran outside and grabbed the trampoline just in time as it was about to hit the neighbors' precious truck!The mother, not wanting to face the storm head on, looked out the window and saw the father holding on with all his might, trying to keep the trampoline from causing serious damage to a house or car. She couldn't help but chuckle as it reminded her of a Superman movie she saw as a child. The children started crying, the mother started panicking, and the father just kept on holding the trampoline, knowing he could not afford a new truck for the neighbor. The mother raced outside to help her poor husband. She held the trampoline with all her might as the father quickly started taking it apart. The potty training toddler knew his superhero muscles could be of assistance, so with no regard for his mother's warning he ran outside to be a part of the action. Of course he left the back door open, letting dust collect throughout the kitchen, though when you are three you don't really think of those things.
The other children, jealous of the toddler's plan to help, ran outside to scream and cry about their broken trampoline that had bent in half and was beyond repair. The eight year old began to worry about other things breaking and began hauling outside toys inside for safe keeping, much to the mother's dismay. The wind kept blowing, but eventually the skies began to lighten and the family knew that the storm was coming to an end.
The little town of Meridian hadn't seen a storm quite that size in a very long time, and, as a result of the storm, the nice family in that town no longer has a trampoline. (This was quite alright by the mother as she was beginning to hate the trampoline because it made her backyard look so ugly, though the children and the father are saddened by the loss. However, the father is very glad that he does not have to buy his neighbor a new fence or a new truck.) The family hopes to live happily ever after........and maybe build a sturdy and wind-proof play house/fort for the kids the next spring. THE END.


This post was supposed to be about the first day of school, but instead the dust storm made headlines. Maddie and Zach are both very excited to be in school again. Their school just opened this year and is absolutely beautiful. They love their teachers and love being back with friends. Zach knows so many of the kids in his kindergarten class, and although Maddie only knows a few kids, she thinks her teacher is "the best!"
In other news, Jackson and I are on day four of potty training. He has been promised a "Build a Bear" if he goes successfully for an entire week. After five mishaps today I finally put a pull-up on him at 6:00 pm and told him we would try again tomorrow. I don't mind the urine, but when it comes to poop-filled underwear (twice today) I'm at my limit. I'm not giving up, but it sure might be a long week!!! And Dan really did get a promotion. He will now be heading the preliminary hearing team in the prosecutor's office. (I guess his desire to be a "peon" and not worry about supervising people only lasted for about six weeks.) Last week he also received a box full of copies of an article he wrote and published in the Texas Tech Law Review. If anyone wants to immerse themselves in 67 pages of discussion about the Sixth Amendment and the Dual Sovereignty Doctrine (whatever that is), we would be more than happy to send you one of his many copies.