My chaotic life raising six kids
I am a member of the Comment on My Cuteness group on Flickr. Each month they have a themed photo contest. Lots enter and they pic a few finalists then have a vote. You don’t win anything except bragging rights. It’s really all just for fun. But, I was so excited to have my picture picked as a finalist!
“Riley, the baby is not a road!”, me.
It’s time to leave to take the girls to hip-hop class. I go out front and find that the kiddie pool the kids were playing in earlier is blocking the path of the van. I frantically work at bailing out all the water with a bucket till it’s light enough for me to pick up and dump out the rest of the water. I pick it up dumping all the water out, walk backwards, run into something and then SPLASH! I fall into the other kiddie pool that was a bit further up on the driveway. I had to run upstairs to change and then drive them to class. We just made it on time.
We rarely get thunderstorms here. So when we do get them, it turns into something of an event. This morning we had a thunderstorm come through. Complete with thunder, lightening and rain! Dan took the boys out in the car and went looking for the rain. They found some south-west of us then headed back home. By the time they got back, it had found us. We had rain and lots of lightening flashes. We all went outside to watch the storm go by. It didn’t last very long, but we enjoyed it while it was here!
We found out later that the storm had knocked out power to Dan’s parent’s house. They still didn’t have power tonight. I hope they get it back by the morning!
Taken this morning – Falyn’s feet with our wedding bands.
I keep toying with the idea of becoming a professional photographer. Dan’s response is “When do you have the time to do that.” I know he is right, but I love taking photographs and I think I’m pretty good at it. I do have a lot to learn before I could open a studio. And would need to buy additional equipment. The more I research it, the more I am convinced I could make money doing it. Perhaps when Falyn is older I’ll be able to really pursue it.
I love summer. It’s my favorite time of the year. I love that I don’t have to get up early and rush around getting everyone ready and out the door. I love that it stays light for so long. I love being able to go the beach and eating dinner outside. I love being outside after dinner till dark with all the neighborhood kids playing while the adults talk. I think most of all I love the relaxed pace of summer. The not having to be some place at a specific time, several times a day. It’s nice to be able to take it easy and go where we want we we want to.
Last night we sat outside to wait for a rocket launch out of Vandenberg Air Force Base. Everyone in out little corner of the neighborhood was outside watching. The launch window as between 7 pm and 9 pm, so we headed out just before 7 pm. They later changed it to between 8:20 and 8:40 and it lifted off at 8:33. We saw the light from the rocket as it streaked across the sky. There was a marine layer moving in the direction the rocket was traveling, so we lost track of it pretty quickly. We did sight it again just before the first stage separation. It was really cool to see the rocket separate! You could see a big flare and then a smaller light continuing to move up. It was really nice outside and the adults had a great time sitting around talking while we were waiting for the lift off. The kids had a blast playing with each other too. You can read all about the launch here.
“The one you have your hand on needs to go to the bathroom.” – Dan
I am not at all a wine connoisseur. I know very little about it, but I do like to drink it. When it comes to picking out a bottle of wine at the grocery store, I usually go with the bottle that has the most attractive label. I recently came across a bottle which had pretty flowers painted all over it. It was gorgeous! It was in my price range (i.e. cheap), so I bought it. It turned out to be a good wine and I enjoyed drinking it and will buy it again. Dan always laughs at me when I bring home a bottle of wine that we have never tried before. “You bought it because of the label, didn’t you?”, he will ask. My answer, of course, is always yes. If you know next to nothing about wine, you have to have a method of choosing new ones to try, right?
We spent most of the day yesterday at the beach. My SIL, Samantha, came with me to help out with the kids. It was a beautiful day to be at the beach! The kids had a blast playing in the water with Samantha. Falyn slept a lot of the time we were there, but did enjoy sitting in her bumbo seat watching the ocean while she was awake. Everyone that walked by commented on how cute she was.
At some point during the day, I was sitting in my beach chair, holding Falyn, eating a cholocate-chip cookie that Samantha made and drinking my Dr. Pepper, when I thought, “This is the life”. Samantha was down at the water with all the kids – I bet she wasn’t thinkintg that! That feeling lasted about a minute or two before one of the boys came running up and had to be taken to the bathroom.