So, um, before I start talking about the Summer Bash. I heard on the radio, on my way in to work, that at least six bombs exploded in central London this morning, right at the height of rush hour. The officials are calling it a "major coordinated terrorist attack."

It's a horrible, horrible thing. My heart goes out to anyone who has friends and family who might have been hurt or killed.

As after the 9/11 attacks, I have little to say beyond that. I can't comprehend why a human being would behave so horrifically toward other human beings. When I encounter people who act this way in books or in movies, it always jogs my suspension of disbelief, because I simply can't fathom a motivation strong enough for behavior so evil.

And so, with no segue at all... on to the Bash! Which was actually quite fun.

Ashby brought his lovely wife and adorable daughter down for the weekend before - he had to work on the 4th, alas, or they'd have stayed for the cookout. But Angie was marvelous and fun, and Samantha was too precious for words. It was wonderful to see Shbee again, too.

Ashby's a daddy now! And obviously, adorably smitten with his darling daughter.

And who could blame him? Look how cute she is!

The cookout turned out very well, too. Colleen turned up with Patrick, so we had three toddlers running around, having the time of their lives. But the high adult-to-baby ratio meant that everyone got to sit back and relax and just watch the fun.

The weather was just about perfect - it was warm enough for the kids to play in the pool, but not so hot that the supervising adults were miserable in the shade of the deck. And we had enough food for twice as many people, all of it quite tasty.

Patrick, just about a year older than Penny and Jess, tried to dominate the play. But Penny didn't seem to mind, and even learned some new tricks from him.

Penny and Patrick were both very excited by the pool.

Jess was not excited by the pool. She folded up like a jacknife when anyone tried to put her in it. She seemed to have fun simply leaning over the side and retrieving toys, though.

And she had plenty of fun playing with Penny's toys.

The grownups had fun watching the kids play and just sitting around talking...

...or sitting inside and talking away from the kids...

...or sitting inside and talking and watching the kids.

All in all, a very successful cookout!

Tuesday, Matt worked a half-day, and he and Jeff and I went to the movies in the afternoon to see Batman Begins, which was a very fun, popcorn-muncher flick. And finally recaptured the dark feel that Batman is supposed to have.

Wednesday we dropped Penny off at daycare again, and went down to Chesapeake to hang out with Karen and the Hickses. We played half a dozen rounds of Fluxx, which was a very fun, silly game, and had hibachi for lunch. Yum!

I was off-diet for most of the last week, and the scale sure shows it. I gained almost a pound a day. I'm hoping that a lot of it is simply water-weight, but I've decided to cut my losses and start the counter over again - I'm back on the wagon today. Alas. But it was totally worth it.

--Liz