Quiet summer

Summer has been quietly rolling along. Ben is working in his lab mentoring his two summer students and I am working in the vicinity of my lab writing a review paper. (The facilities crew still has not put our lab back together since the flood on May 27th, and my protocols are still in the hands of the IRB, so I can't do any dissertation work right now.) It is so nice though to have a relaxed schedule; we go in when we want and come home when we want and don't do any schoolwork once we're home. Therefore, we've been spending lots of family time together playing at the park, going out for ice cream, and scouting out the annual inventory sale at A Southern Season, or "Sample Time" as Ally calls it (for obvious reasons). But one of our favorite activities has been going swimming at the free community pool. I can't believe we did not figure out there was a free pool around here until this summer. It has been amazing. We go every Saturday morning with our friend Victoria and her 2-year old daughter (and Ally's best friend) Elaina. It is such an amazing way to beat the heat. I'll bet you're thinking, "Free pool, must be crowded." I was afraid of that too. But it is the opposite, at least in the mornings when we go. There is also a kiddie pool, so the girls can wade around without flotation assistance. And an unexpected but very much welcome bonus after the morning swim: a long nap!