Labor Day plans

Dinner last night with the inlaws. Just Samantha and I - Sean has a 36 hole event in Orlando this weekend, and Montgomery was off on a birthday trip with some classmates. Dinner was a good time, but once the kids started going nuts at 8:30 I scooped up Samantha and headed out. When all my time is spent telling my kid not to do the things other kids aren't getting corrected for (spitting water on the floor; picking kiddie furniture up and swinging it around; dunking toys in their drink and then spreading the liquid joy around the leather furniture) it's time to go. Normally my little angel (!) wouldn't do any of the above; but when her beloved companion gets away with it, she assumes she can as well. Not.

Montgomery had a fantastic time at DisneyQuest. I'd never even heard of it - they call it an "Indoor Interactive Theme Park", which is evidently another way to say video game mecca. The parents who took him must have the patience of a turtle trying to cross I-95 on a holiday weekend; they not only drove 4 boys on the cusp of teenagehood 2 hours down the road, they spend 8 hours in the 'park' (really a 5 story warehouse type building) and then took them all out to dinner. Met them in town at midnight to pick up my son - the other boys all live across town - and was snuggled in my bed by 1. Montgomery says it's "pretty cool" - a glowing recommendation from him. Samantha was so worn out enough from her midnight trip that she slept in until the late, late hour of 8.

Tropical Storm Ernesto this week left me a few limbs down in the yard - one 25 footer - and some leaves in the pool, so there will be yard work and pool cleaning in my immediate future. And then a quiet day at home tomorrow - I'm very happy with the philosophy that living a mile from the ocean means never having to actually go to the beach. Much prefer a swim in the (clean) pool and some chicken and 'dogs on the grill.

Read a few really great books this week - started off with Christina Dodd's "Trouble in High Heels" on Tuesday. Great read, a bit of romance, a bit of suspense. Then on Wednesday, Nora Robert's "Morrigan's Cross". Also fantastic, and the first of a three book series. I love it when she has a trilogy that comes out quickly - three books in three months. I know I've got something great to look forward to. And then Thursday I read Christie Golden's "On Fire's Wings". Golden was a new-to-me author - can't wait to get more of her books. Fantasy with just a bit of romance; she also has written quite a few books in the Star Trek Voyager series, and has a trilogy coming out set in the World of Warcraft universe. I still occasionally play WoW, so I'm hoping those will be good.

Unfortunately the other two Luna books I picked up this week haven't grabbed me yet. I've read the first two chapters of both, and haven't been tempted to go further. This is why I don't usually buy Luna - these were trade paperbacks, so $15 each for books that aren't engaging me makes me cringe.

Lucky for me I've got something to look forward to - JR Ward's "Lover Awakened", the third book in her Black Dagger Brotherhood series, comes out Tuesday. I got turned on to her books (vampires and slayers in New York) in Atlanta and have been looking forward to this one's release. Can't wait!

Happy Sunday - hope your weekend is filled with family, friends, and a good book or two.