rachel's continued ramblings

monday: saying goodbye to godfather nolan. also monday: happy birthday to me! tuesday: layla and micah got to go blueberry picking with a friend from down  the street. I’m pretty sure they should have weighed micah, not his bucket. blueberries may just be is favorite food, ever. wednesday: look mom! I’m mopping! thursday: don’t you love it when a baked potato explodes all over the inside of your oven less than 1 hour before you are expecting guests, thus causing your whole house to smell like scorched potato? I sure do. friday: she asked if she could build a fort. I said no. this, apparently, is not a fort… it’s a “reading room”… saturday: can you see him? that’s toby, crouched on the second to bottom stair, having a stare-off with the dog. and a couple of extras: the cork-collector is my birthday gift from micah.   

so, a minute ago, I looked out into the hallway from my seat at the computer where I was wasting the day online catching up on some correspondence, to see micah emerging from the bathroom and ‘skating’ along the hall… ? I looked at his feet and noticed that he is wearing two wet washrags as ‘slippers’… “what are you doing?” “I’m mopping!” oh, gotcha… “be careful! don’t slip in the water!”    

monday: the littles and I met a friend and her littles at a local park/splashpad. micah and his betrothed had a blast chasing each other around. also monday: layla, not super interested in the splashpad, wanted to bring her new rollerblades. I wasn’t sure what the setup would be at the park, or if it would be crazy busy or not, but I allowed her to. turns out, it was PERFECT for rollerblading. there was a huge grassy area with a paved path going all the way around it. I could see her the whole way, there were just enough slopes to make it interesting, but not so much to make it scary, and there were not a ton of people using the path. tuesday: just because I keep peeking into his room in the morning while he’s still sleeping and looking so cute. wednesday: joint injection day for layla (and doggie). just before going under for the proceedure. thursday: flowers from aunt mary and uncle joe really cheered her up since she was having to lay low and not be super active on her ankle. f

monday: dear friends were in town visiting and they came for dinner. the weather was lovely, and we spent the whole time outside playing. tuesday: suds-face micah. wednesday: as shane was gone working and we had company coming who would be sleeping in his room, I was required to clean it up. probably just as well, since it’s only really ever been “teenager-approved” clean since we moved in 2 years ago… good think, as I discovered he had an infestation of mice: thursday: layla’s last day to be 8 picture. she dried her tears and put on a ‘happy’ face for this picture, as she was completely convinced that micah’s puke fest that evening was going to completely spoil her birthday. friday: no, this gate isn’t for the kids, it’s for the dog. ever since returning from our trip to california (which totally traumatized him), bonez has seemingly forgotten that he is supposed to go potty outside. it was recommended that we restrict his access to only a small portion of the house for a while. s

so, there are significantly fewer pictures from shane’s birthday than from layla’s. mainly because he doesn’t like a lot of fanfare and avoids the camera like it’s evil or something. at any rate, shane turned 15 on the 12th. birthday breakfast of requested cinnamon rolls from fred meyer. no, he would not smile. or look at the camera. lounging around with the dog while waiting for his friend to arrive so they could go to work. that’s right, shane arranged to spend his birthday working. and by working, I mean digging out old fence posts, replacing them, and fixing the fence in 95* weather at the farm down the road. they were at it all day. he was done in time for dinner, and opened presents while waiting. both layla and micah got him sunflower seeds and candy. plus some sunglasses from micah and an old navy gift card from layla. birthday dinner of dave’s AWESOME ribs and corn on the cob. holy yum! his requested cake was an ice cream cake. and, holy cow, he was actually smiling!

the day before layla turned 9, she got to take a couple of friends with her, downtown, to have lunch at red robin. she loves to do this because then daddy can join us and then just go back to work after lunch. they clapped and sang and brought her the ‘mile high mud pie’ for dessert. holy cow! we did our best, but it was HUGE! then daddy went back to work and I took the girls to ride the great wheel! it was a little freaky, but the view was amazing! hello stadiums, ferries, mt. rainier, puget sound… hello space needle! after all that, we went back to the house and played awhile before we had to take one friend home. the other was spending the night. after dinner, dave took the boys out shopping to get birthday gifts while the girls played some dance central on the xbox and then we walked the dog. and that’s when everything derailed… on the way back from shopping, micah barfed all over the back seat of the car. and so… sleepover guest had to be sent home and layla was devastate