Friends, Family, and Dead Bunnies!

I was adding even more stuff to my calendar this morning and realized that I only have the rest of this week and next week and then it's already time to head back to my classroom to start getting set up for the new school year.  

That's just a little over a week of summer break left...and my calendar is still full of stuff to do.

Tomorrow is the rescheduled day for taking the kids to the new water park.

Monday I'm hosting my 4th grade team at my house for a get-together.

Next Friday I'm having my two besties finally come and see the new house and get together for the first and last time for the entire summer.

Where does the time go?

This summer, I wanted to make it a priority to get some time in with the friends I don't get to see near as often as I'd like.  In fact, since we all three found teaching jobs - we are lucky to see each other once a year.  I was sure that we'd find time to spend together this summer...and I'm managing to get one day with them.  One.  Makes me so sad.

But that's what happens, I suppose, when every day something else is going on and another summer adventure is planned.

Today, my plans involve spending the day with my mom.  Just me and my mom... or my mom and me.

We have been waiting for months to go out and eat Indian food together.  Both my mom and I LOVE Indian food.  Within the past couple of years, Indian restaurants have started popping up in my area... which was totally unheard of before then.

Our Indian food love comes all the way from England.  It's quite a common cuisine over there, and we ate it on a regular basis.  Here?  Not so much.  Unless I decided to cook it myself... which I do on occasion.  My Indian food isn't near as good as authentic Indian food cooked in an Indian restaurant.. but it satisfied the cravings.

Now, I don't have to worry about that because there are a few Indian restaurants close to me to choose from.  Mom and I are going to be trying out the newest one that opened up not so long ago.

She's coming over this morning and bringing my baby girl back to me!  I'm so excited!  I've missed her so much.  

Once we've gone out and had our lunch, Mom is coming back to spend some time swimming with me in the pool.  She doesn't get much time to herself, so a day with me eating and swimming is just what we both need.

Speaking of the pool.  A horrible incident happened last night.  HORRIBLE!

Hubby and I took Payton and her friend to play miniature golf yesterday evening.  We spent a couple of hours playing, and it was loads of fun.  Anywho, when we got home the kids decided they wanted to go swimming.  It was close to 11:30 by this point, but it was still warm outside and the pool was still warm...so I was OK with it.  

I turned on the lights around the pool and did a quick walk around to make sure the pool didn't need any skimming before they got in.  Apart from a few little leaves, everything looked just fine.

The kids got in, started swimming and after a few minutes Peanut started squawking about a huge spider being in the pool.  Her friend quickly scooped it out, and then Peanut noticed something else floating around in the pool.  

I was sitting up on the patio laughing at Peanut's paranoia.  

Her friend assured her it was just a giant leaf.. but then it didn't look so much like a leaf.  They thought it was a turtle.  Hubby and I got up to investigate, and then Peanut's horrified realization about the "turtle" bellowed out.  It was NOT a turtle....it was a BUNNY!  A poor, innocent bunny that had somehow jumped in the pool without anyone noticing...and had drowned.

Hubby quickly scooped it out to see if it had indeed died... and it had.  

My heart was hurt.  I don't like it when innocent animals get hurt, let alone when they take their own lives in my swimming pool!

The mood quickly shifted after that, and the kids couldn't spend much more time in the pool.  

My only guess was that it was in the pool before the lights went on...that it somehow hadn't seen the pool as it hopped through the yard or it came up for a drink and didn't realize the distance between the edge of the pool and the surface, causing it to fall in.  I don't know how I managed to miss it, though, when I did the pool inspection.  But, surely, someone would have noticed a bunny jumping in while they were swimming.  

So, since moving in, we've had a vole, a turtle, several frogs, and now a bunny that have chosen our pool as their playground.  It has been fine for the turtle and the frogs... but the vole and the bunny?  Not so much.

When we were told how careful we had to be having an in-ground pool, I had no idea that meant for the wildlife that lives around us.

I definitely think we'll be doing a much more thorough investigation of the pool before any one goes night swimming again.  

I'm just glad Jelly wasn't here.  It would have broken her little heart.  She's such an animal lover.  She doesn't even like it if bugs die in the pool...she tries to save them all.  With the exception of the wasps that I forbid her to try and save...or any other form of bug that has the potential for stinging and/or biting.

Oh well, enough morbid talk like that.  Right now, I need to start getting ready and cleaning my house a little before my mom arrives.