The ants go marching

     "It goes by many names: The Crisis, The Dark [Days], The Walking Plague, as well as newer and more 'hip' titles such as World War [B] or [B] War One. I personally dislike this last moniker as it implies an inevitable B War Two. For me, it will always be The [Bug] War, and while many may protest the scientific accuracy of the word [bug], they will be hard-pressed to discover a more globally accepted term for the creatures that [invaded my kitchen.]"  - Excerpt from World War [B]

     Maybe I'm overstating the case here, but the discovery that ants had a tidy little provision line set up in our kitchen was an unwelcome discovery when we returned home last week. Since then, there's been constant skirmishes and battles. Alas, winter is nowhere in sight.
     Ants were not the only unhappy surprise. We arrived in the midst of a serious heat wave, which here means "sticky, oppressive mugginess with suffocating temperatures above 95 degrees." Needless to say, the kids and I took advantage of the pool most days and I was thankful for the a/c every day. Although the pool wasn't exactly cool it was at least colder than the hot tub, which strangely had people in it every day that we were present. A little weird, yes?

Other random thoughts from the week:
- Regardless of whether the temperature is +40 C or -40 C, the effect on my life is about the same. We tend to stay inside, although outside activities are not entirely out of the question; the car is a horrid place to climb into; the time required to put on sunscreen versus snow suit is about the same. 
- Traveling back to Denver after our ranch excursion, I could not believe that we were not driving straight to our old house. How could we not be living there? I did not want to leave CO. But having been back in our MD house for a bit, I am in fact happy to be in my own space. I am enjoying "home," wherever that is.
- Simply gorgeous thunderstorms visited us this week. Some with the moon back-lighting the cumulus clouds. Some with constant cloud-to-cloud lightning. Some with impressive streaks to the ground. All eluding my attempts to photograph them.
- We saw our first movie as a family: Despicable Me 2. This was a highly anticipated event in our family, due largely to the minions. The kids love those little guys and we may coordinate our Halloween costumes accordingly. My overall review: 3/5 stars. Held the kids attention more or less, but I was counting the minutes about mid-way through.
I'm more excited about Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. So many puns! And that leek joke gets me every time.
- In my last post, I mentioned that my altitude sickness was pretty bad while we were in the west. In truth, it was really bad and lasted beyond the duration of the trip. So I visited the doctor and had some tests run, and they all came back normal. While good news for my overall health, it also means I can expect to be decimated whenever we go back out west. Perhaps I am showing my age?
- It's cherry season, so my addiction is in full bloom. I suppose someone needs to save me from myself, but I really don't want them to.
- Speaking of food, my mom introduced me to this Yonanas thing. So far, I've managed to avoid going out and buying one myself, but I think I may cave today. It's kind of fantastic. Not as fantastic as cherries, but still pretty good.
- This week my kids neither want to visit the library, nor pick fruit at one of the local orchards. Obviously, we are doing something terribly wrong.
- Lately, my kids love nothing better in the evening than to curl up with a bowl of popcorn and watch Stephen Hawking pontificate on life, the universe, and everything. Obviously, we are doing something terribly right.