Big and Little

The weather here in Ohio has been unusually hot and dry. We planted a bit of a garden but most of it didn't survive. This picture shows Russ reaching up to pick some cherry tomatoes on the four plants of all we planted that did survive and produce. These tomato plants didn't bush out like tomatoes usually do but they sure reached for the sky! We have gotten enough ripe tomatoes to snack occasionally but that's about it. We have watered them every couple of days but I guess they needed more.

We have been delighted by the news that our son's widow has found someone, after 2 years of loneliness, that she is totally excited about. What's even better is that he feels the same way about her- and the instant family of 3 kids that comes with the package! Recently we helped Victoria move up to Toledo to where she will be living as a wife of Kevin. Jeremy, Kadon, and Brooklyn were all incredibly helpful. I had the camera but was so busy all day lugging items, scrubbing the old place they were leaving, and trying to help them get set up enough to sleep for the night in their new place, that I neglected to use the camera. At one point, I really wished I had the camera in my hand. This picture (below) is just after the incident I wish I had gotten a shot of. The step onto the back stoop is a high one; it comes up to about Brooklyn's waist. I can't imagine how well I would have lasted the day if every load I carried in the house required I step up to the level of my waist! Anyway, about two-thirds of the way through unloading, Brooklyn came out of the truck with a heavy backpack on her back. To get up the step into the house she basically laid forward onto the stoop, wriggled the backpack over the edge, rolled onto the stoop, got up on her knees then stood up then managed to get up the final step into the house. So here she is, her load successfully carried into the house.
This next picture is the way nearly all of us felt at this point. Nevertheless, after a few minutes laying on the floor for a break, she was up and at it again. All three kids worked like crazy all day. Russ and I could not be more proud of our grandkids. All of them, in all of our kids' families, are capable of working pretty hard and, for the most part, are willing when the need is there.