This past week has been a hard work week. I intensified my efforts to get the 5th Wheel cleaned. I had to juggle my time spent there with cleaning the house, washing clothes and working in the yard. Most of our plants died in the front yard while we were on our mission due to a clogged sprinkler head that our housesitters didn't bother to clean, so they didn't get any water. Because of that, the weeds had taken over. I took time to spray them with round-up and then I discovered that a bed of ants had made their home in the flower bed. I started digging them out and spraying with insecticide, unearthing the queen bee and many eggs. As I proceeded with my digging, I discovered that their home was huge and went deep into the earth. Two days later, I am still digging and killing what I hope are the last remaining ants. I also discovered that the roots of the wicked morning glory weed go deep within the earth. Roundup may have killed the upper plants, but the roots remain. So, I have to decide whether to try and sterilize the ground and let it sit for a year, or go ahead and put new plants in and hope I can keep the weeds under control.
Ed has also been helping by steam cleaning the 5th Wheel's couch and bench cushions. As he was progressing with that, we our kitchen disposal got a hole in it, and so Ed had to replace it. So, in the past month, we have had to replace the washing machine, the tires on the car, and now the disposal--all unplanned expenses, plus there have been a lot of extra expenses on the truck and fifth wheel that we hadn't planned on. I hope we're to the end of it.
Kimball came over (or rather Kate brought him) about 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. His visit was a welcome change from all the work I have been doing of late. He is actively crawling now, which means that his hand motor skills are also developing and he can clumsily pick up and hold onto objects. He is able to entertain himself if there is something interesting in front of him, and he is good for a few minutes with any one object or thing. I spent the afternoon doting on him and finding new things for him to do.
If we are in the house, I sit and the floor and crawl around with him. He will play with something and then looks over to see if I am watching, which I am, smiles at me, and then goes on with his play. He finds the throw rugs on the tiled floor in the kitchen and hall very interesting. He likes to pick up the edges and turn them over.
I opened up the lower drawer in the kitchen with the tupperware bowls in them. He pulled a couple of them out and then lost interest when he noticed the bottom liner of the drawer. He spent the rest of his trying to pull it out. Of course, he wasn't successful because the rest of the bowls were still in there holding the liner in place.
I put three refridgerator magnets (an orange, lime, and apple, each about 2 inches in diameter) down low on the front of the fridge. He crawled over to them, pulled them off, and was fascinated with them, dropping them on the floor and scooting them across the tile, and of course, tasting them.
I also took him outside and Ed and I put him on the four-wheeler and rode around the block at 5 miles an hour. He didn't like sitting in between us, so we put him in front of Ed and I wrapped my arms around Ed and held onto Kimballs upper arms. Ed placed one arm in front of him, using one arm to steer. Kimball loved it, his wisping hair catching the breeze.
I also took him for a walk in the stroller and later, just before his bedtime, I carried him around the house to inspect all the trees and other plants. In the process, I stepped on something and I got stung through my crocs up by my big toe. I couldn't pull the shoe off while I was being bit because I was holding Kimball. I hobbled into the house and it took a few minutes to get Kimball settled into bed before I could soak it in hot water and epson salts, a trick we learned while swimming in the ocean several years ago and Ed got stung by a fish through his Tevas. It still bothers me a bit, but it isn't as bad as when I first got stung.
Kimball slept from about 8:00 p.m. until 1:15 a.m. and then woke up and I gave him a bottle. I was smart enough to go to bed at 9:00, but now can't go back to sleep and so decided to write this entry (at 5:00 in the morning.) I am so glad to be having these experiences with Kimball. He is pure joy!
Looking from the entrance into the kitchen and bedroom beyond. 
A closer look at the kitchen and dinette.
The bedroom and Hall closet. There are two closets on each side of the bed.
The sink by the hall closet.
Bathroom across from the sink.
Final look at the living room. The TV will sit on the shelf behind the chair. Notice how cute all the curtains look.
The ducks weren't too interested in eating our day-old bread, probably because there were a lot of other children at the park and in all likelihood, they had already eaten. However, Kimball was most interested in them.
Peek-a-boo!