Our busy weekend

It was a fun & busy weekend at the Myers/Cole house. On Friday night, Matt got back from his trip to Japan. It's so nice to have him home. The only bummer is that all of his trip pictures are super boring... Just hotels and train stations. I think that other than conference rooms, that's pretty much all he saw of the country. It looks like his company might be getting some work there, though, so I'm sure he'll be back. Maybe next time he'll take me with him? I'd really love a chance to see Japan, even though he'd probably be so busy that I'd essentially be living out the plot of Lost in Translation. Minus the affair with Bill Murray, of course. Unless I actually run into Bill over there. Then all bets are off. (Kidding, Matt!)

On Saturday, we had some fun family time at Matt's company picnic. It was 100 degrees outside, and brutally hot at the park where the picnic was being held. The playground equipment was virtually unsuable, as the sun had turned all of the surfaces into hibachi grills. The park itself was beautiful, though, and there were tons of other fun things to do. We were all situated inside a huge, shady bandshell type building, so it was easier to stay cool. There was a little water play area right outside our building, and Frankie had a blast running through the sprinklers and fountains. The park also had a gigantic sandbox inside the covered area, so when she got tired of the heat she had a nice shady place to play. Matt's company had also organized some kid's activities for the day, and the face painting was especially a hit. (Frankie got her face painted like an owl.)

On Sunday, we had a really productive house-project day. We woke up early and went to the garden center to buy a bunch of bushes for the perimeter of our yard. When we got home, we worked hard clearing out all of the weeds and general awfulness that's been there since we moved in. It was so hot that we had to attach a mister to the hose to keep us cool as we worked. It was really productive, though. We managed to change this:

To this:

And this:

We still have about six juniper bushes to plant, because the heat eventually got to us and we had to pack it in for the day. But still, great progress.

After hanging out in the a/c for awhile, Matt and Frankie went back outside to assemble our new patio swing. Verdict: I love it! It makes the space so much more shady and comfortable. In fact, I'm thinking of bringing a cup of coffee out there as soon as I post this...

When Frankie was in the bathtub Sunday night, we got quite a surprise:

She lost her front tooth!

It wiggled and waggled and twisted until it was eventually pointing straight out like a Narwhal tusk. Then... pop! It was gone. She was thrilled, and wrote a cute little note for the tooth fairy that night. I'm excited for her, but I'm not quite sure I was ready for that front tooth to come out. I didn't have a chance to say a proper goodbye to her old baby smile. Now, she's such a big girl... Guess I have to face it: She's definitely growing up. The new smile is adorable, though. She looks like a mini hockey player. Or a roller derby girl.