This morning after our blue star sprinkle-studded pancakes, Neil took off for the lab.

An hour later (just as I was getting out of my post-workout shower) I heard a loud thud and he walked in again (scaring the daylights out of me, needless to say).

Apparently, since his labs (the only ones to which he has keys) are all in the process of things being moved around and he's working in another temporary lab, he was locked out of everything and nobody else was there. So for the first time in the three 4th of Julys that we've been here...he actually (under duress) took the day off. Crazy, I know.

So we decided to go cash in on some of our summer reading prizes--we went to the teeny tiny local zoo and do the kiddie rides (for free! thank you libraries!) and then go to Chick-Fil-A and use the summer reading coupons. And get some hand-spun milkshakes...oh how I love Chick-Fil-A. If only all fast food could be yummy like that.

So we rode the train...

...and the boats...



...and the helicopter. Notice how Abigail's the only kid on the rides? Pretty sweet.

In other news, the ENT told us yesterday that Juliet will indeed need tubes in her ears, if we want to prevent permanent hearing loss (and probably delayed speech) due to chronic ear infections. Her hearing test yesterday was good, but with a discernable difference between the right and left ear, since the right eardrum is still sucked in and creating negative pressure. So she's scheduled for surgery on her first birthday--poor kid. I'm grateful that we are able to do this though, and I'm really hoping that this helps to relieve some of the misery she's had to experience this past winter.

She's such a cute little chibber-wibber, as Abigail would say.



Speaking of Abigail, we had this gem of a conversation a couple of days ago:

Me: Abigail, do you have hiccups?

Abigail: hiccup. Looking thoughtful. No, I don't have hiccups. I just have one hic.