rachel's continued ramblings

this was apparently a very odd week for picture taking. as in, i didn’t. but i did take one walk with the dog on friday, in which i was struck by the blueness of the sky and the awesome fall colors in my neighborhood, and so i couldn’t take 5 steps without stopping to pull out my phone to photograph some pretty tree. fortunately, when paired up, these pics resulted in exactly the right number i needed for the week. but first: sunday: pack meeting for micah. getting his advancements for the summer/fall from mr. smith. and a visit from the fire department. friday: it was so nice out, and warm even, that the kids decided to take their books to “the rock” to do their reading. i decided to walk the dog. and that’s all she wrote.

sunday: dave took micah and a couple friends to the sounders game (and got him a hat) as an early birthday celebration. monday: these are the school pictures shane brought home. notice the “normal” shots they evidently took… but someone decided that THESE were the ones we wanted. this was the stupid pose he did for his asb card photo… also monday: layla was very excited to make micah’s birthday cake. they had it all planned out. vanilla cake, purple frosting, crushed jolly ranchers sprinkled on the top. also also monday: everyone just chilling. also also also monday: micah’s last day to be 9! tuesday: 10 years old! all the fingers. and birthday breakfast of lucky charms. presents. cake. nerf war. wednesday: layla turned to the internet to find more flute music to play. friday: micah’s party. what he wanted to do for this big 10th birthday more than anything, was to have a sleepover party. and so we did. 14 boys in our house, 9 slept over. so much ice cream, so many video games, so many

sunday: shane and layla are back at it. this time with the flute. also sunday: saturday’s epic water spill forced me to deal with the heinously cluttered counter and TWO junk drawers that had all sorts of crap in them from the last 5 years! also also sunday: the light in our office has a dimmer switch. ever since we took out the chandelier (many years ago) and put in a dome light (it’s supposed to be a formal dining room), it has flickered like crazy and drives everyone nuts. dave bought a regular switch today and swapped it out. no more flickers! also also also sunday: layla made our french toast tonight! thursday: trying REALLY hard to not turn on the furnace. in addition to the hoodie and blanket you can see, there was also fuzzy pajama pants, socks, slippers, a fire in the fire place, and a heating pad under my butt. i caved 2 days later on saturday and turned it on… friday: micah was having a hard time waking up, so i responded with my usual, “want a cup of coffee?”, forgetting th

sunday: not sure what caused it, but for some reason, everyone decided it would be a good time to pile on dad. monday: kept hearing reports on the radio all afternoon that Tom Petty was dead. and then that he wasn’t dead. and then that he was dead. and then that he was almost dead. eventually it was confirmed that he was dead, and we spent the evening listening to his music. wednesday: usually, she practices in her room. for whatever reason, she decided she needed to bring everything downstairs and practice in the family room. bonez didn’t mind either. also wednesday: shane decided he wanted to learn how to play the saxophone. layla was a pretty good teacher, and he didn’t sound too awful! thursday: some nice fall color is starting to show in the neighborhood. friday: they decided to play some soccer in the yard, goals and all. layla had to go dig in the attic to find the last pair of cleats she wore 2 seasons ago… they still sort of fit. saturday: not a happy moment. in an attempt to

sunday: another year of selling popcorn outside of walmart. also sunday: there used to be this guy who lived 2 doors down from my parents who would water his lawn every evening by sitting in a lawn chair with a beer and the hose. layla has always thought that story was hilarious. tuesday: she actually got the basketball stuck up there. wednesday: almost every evening, we watch a show after the kids go to bed. and almost every evening, i fall asleep on the couch. this night, i was determined to stay awake, so i had some tea after dinner… this was dave’s response to that. friday: the trees at the library always have such amazing color. saturday: senior year homecoming! shane and bailey, and their friends, had an interesting time getting pictures taken… it was POURING rain. eventually it let up enough to make getting to the gazebo down the path manageable. everyone was freezing and a little wet! shane borrowed a big fancy truck from one of his bosses for the occasion.