rachel's continued ramblings

… but i just don’t get why the entire world is so torn up about the death of michael jackson. yes, he had an insanely successful career as a singer/entertainer/pop star. yes, he took a lot of that to a whole new level. yes, i remember thriller and doing the moonwalk. yes, i remember wanting one of those red leather jackets, and one of those sparkly white gloves. however… i’m also wondering why everyone else is seeming to forget how he bleached his skin (and then had a big hit stating that it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white… always wondered about that one), underwent so much plastic surgery that he barely looked human anymore, made crotch-grabbing an acceptable dance move, hung his kid over a balcony, showed up for court in his pajamas, and, oh yeah, was accused of child molestation HOW MANY TIMES??? this was a VERY disturbed man. i have never understood why being a celebrity excuses people from upholding the same morals and standards that we expect of normal people. i w...

yesterday, we joined some MOMS club friends for a trip to remlinger farms. we call it “rumbling farms” because that’s what shane used to call it, and now layla has started. it’s pretty funny. and no, it wasn’t loud, and we didn’t hear any rumbling. but we did…             play in the old fire truck and school bus.          go on pony rides. i thought micah would do it too, but when i stuck him onthe pony, he immediately tried to get off. he just wanted to look at them.        ride in canoes and scream “DUCK DUCK!” as loudly as possible.       visit all the farm animals.           the baby goats were really cute and kept trying to eat shane’s shoes.              the flying pumpkins (think dumbo ride at disneyland, only w/ pumpkins).  ...

    i love my daughter. i really do. if i had only 3 words with which to describe her, it would be “full of life”. and she really, really is. she is someone who wants to experience all that life has to offer. i love the age she is too. her excitement about things is always contagious and her ideas hilarious and creative. she’s one of those kids who can’t just paint the paper, and whatever the rules for the game happen to be, they’re too boring and she’s going to play it her own way, darnit!                      there are a few things that come with this fabulous age, however, that i could easily do without. the screaming fit she had today, for example, over a graham cracker. she had the intention of giving it to micah, and broke it in half, even though, the whole time she was doing it, i was telling her NOT to give one to micah because he was having his lunch. i...

last night and tonight were the performances of donald and the dragon , the play that shane has been working on all year.  his drama class (3rd – 6th graders) were the performers in this play, and it was directed by 3 high school students (all part of the homeschool networks program). i have a few pictures that i took tonight. most of them came out blurry, since you can’t use a flash and the theatre was obviously very dark. but i have a sampling. shane had two parts. the first was of a ‘fruit stall holder’. he had a few lines, most of which were funny. and he delivered them all very well, totally audible, and without any hesitation or prompting. i was very proud. discussing the quality of his fruit, followed by insulting the girl w/ the basket, when she questions it and refuses to buy any. everyone taking cover because of the dragon’s roars – except the princess, who has been told that it’s just thunder, so as not to frighten her. his other part was bigger and also pretty fu...

so this post is going to be mostly pictures. on wednesday, i went with my kids and my parents over to the hiram m. chittenden locks – better known as the ballard locks. i hadn’t been since i was a kid, and my mom and i had been talking all year about getting shane over there for a sort of educational field trip. it was a gorgeous day, and there was lots of activity at the locks. in case you’re not inclined to click on the link above and are unaware of the functions of the locks, this is directly from that site: The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks are a complex of locks that sit in the middle of Salmon Bay , part of Seattle 's Lake Washington Ship Canal . They are known locally as the Ballard Locks after the neighborhood to their north. ( Magnolia lies to the south.) The locks and associated facilities serve three purposes: To maintain the water level of the fresh water Lake Washington and Lake Union at 20 to 22 feet above sea level . To prevent the mixing of sea wat...