April Activities

OK, I have some major catching up to do for our lives in April. Here's a sample:

Dave and I took Jessica to the newly opened area of Riverside Park for a walk one Saturday. It was a nice walk, (although I was a paranoid new parent, and was watching for alligators and running through emergency scenarios in my mind.)

I'm standing next to a huge "treehouse" banyan in the park. Two kids were playing in the middle of all the trunks. We are sooooo impatient for Jessica to grow up so we can play with her in places like these!

We saw several wild turkeys walking around a chimney leftover from Florida pioneer days. I guess there are several old cabin sites in the park.

Dave turned 33 in April. He loves being a dad; although he says he wants her to be 2 now, you should hear him play with her in the tub.

Ilana was my Division 7 tennis partner most of the year, and together we were undefeated. Dave and Jessica came to watch us play the PGA team as substitutes on the Division 5 team. We won that game, and secured enough points to guarantee first place for the team. Ilana is from Isreal, and she had a great Hebrew accent and a fun personality, but she liked to win too which was a good match for me.

Below is part of our Lake Park Division 7 team at our home court next to the Intercoastal waterway. I'm in back, third from the left. On my left is our co-captain Dorothy Alva, whom I owe for persuaded me to start playing tennis 2 years ago. Our tireless and wordy coach Itamar always has his teams place, and he's got his arms around our lovable co-captin Gabby.

And there's all the stuff we do to keep Jessica entertained at home. She likes water, but swimming right before bed made her pretty cranky. All she liked doing was licking my shoulder. Her baby fat body floats like a bouy!

Dave bathes Jessica, which I do most every evening, because it entertains her for 15 minutes, it keeps her from getting baby acne on her cheeks, and because we don't have 6 other kids to mind.

Jessica helps me surf and blog and send emails, but for very short times.

Jessica & "friends" hanging out at the end of April, when she was 2 months old. I put her in the same position at the end of May, and she need lots more animals and music to keep her occupied, and pushes so hard with her legs her head was hanging over the front of the rocker.

I contacted the county for a house to paint, and they had a close one for us to do on our church's Southeast U.S. Day of Service, April 25, 2010. (Seven other wards in Palm Beach County had the same idea, and it was a lot less work for me than organizing last's years clothing drive.) Brother Mike Phillips arranged the day's details and other projects the closer we got to the actual day, which just left me with public affairs stuff--after report & article & pictures & flyers.

The pile of plants and trash was about four feet high, six feet wide, and almost the thirty-foot length of the property. Makes my home feel like a sparkling palace.

Apparently other groups had failed to do this house. It was 2 story stucco (really hard to paint), and that was after one group had already weedwacked a good portion. The house was covered in mold, surrounded by overgrown foliage, rusty yard furniture, a hive of bees, piles of broken glass, a snake, and a dead animal carcass. Below Joanna Aiken, the SWA coordinator, and the homeowner pose with Brother Phillips & I. The 80-yr old lady with a funny wig and "furniture store owner", an alcoholic son, and several mysterious renters gave this project a real special flavor. But they were grateful, and the busy corner looks better, so I feel it was worth it.

Dave found a shady spot to paint. The other adoptive family in our ward watched Jessica the whole morning, so I could take pictures and paint and sort junk.

(Brother Phillips drove by the house last week, and there is a for sale sign in the yard. I think we were hoping the painting would help the homeowner live there, but apparently it will help her move out. Oh well.)