It's like this...

Lighting fireworks at the beach cabin.....

That's a happy Ahhhhhhh, by the way. See? Lance and I took the three girls up to Volunteer Park the other day. I love my girls so much....so much it hurts sometimes. Aren't they cute? Then Lance and Chris and Sam built a fence in the backyard another day this week. See the men. See the burly men. See the burly men work. Work burly men, work! We also went to a birthday party this week for Jordan. She turned five and she's a princess. Aren't all five year old girls princesses? The answer is yes. Yes they are. Many other fun and thrilling things have happened this week but it's late and I'm tired from the big family gathering we had this evening. Did I mention ahhhhhh?

Which is what generally happens to me when the kids are out of school and I'm not on a regulated work schedule. There have been ups and there have been downs. I suppose that's life on this planet. I won't bore you will all of the mundane details. I was feeling the nudge to write yesterday...just a tiny flicker of what I used to feel. It's been a while since I've written too awful much. On Thursday night last week I had two old friends over for dinner. It was Kathy's mom Sally and Kathy's sister, Sherrie. Kathy was my bestest friend when we were fourteen. She was murdered when we were both that age.... Something like that leaves a huge hole in you as an adolescent. I think as you grow older it comes back to you in moments you don't expect. At any rate, the dinner was wonderful. Spending time with Sally and Sherrie was sweet. Sally brought a book when she came--a scrapbook. There were baby pictures of Kathy, toddler pictures, home taken pictures al...

And there was lots of it on Monday night. See? For Family Hone Evening on Monday night we went up to my friend Elise's on Camano Island. They have an Alpaca farm with about sixty of these fuzzy adorable creatures. Plus, there were baby alpacas! This, of course, increases the cute factor by a gazillion percent. See? See? They live on 20 acres and we took a delightful sweat-inducing romp down through the fields. And back again... The rest of my pictures will be in a fun little slide show because there are so many. If you're reading this on FB, you won't be able to see it, you'll have to go directly to my blog. We had a wonderful time, the girls LOVED it and now Lance wants to become an Alpaca farmer. Thanks Elise and Chris!

I've cuddled my baby girl today...as much as she would allow. The time between cuddles is getting few and far between. Eleven year-olds don't take too kindly to cuddle requests. I did manage to cuddle with her while I was sitting on our bed this afternoon, but I knew it wouldn't last long. She doesn't fit in my arms as she once did. It makes me sad. It's the same pattern I've followed with my three older children. Fewer and fewer hugs and cuddles until finally I realize....they've stopped altogether. Sometimes my mommy's heart aches to hold my babies. It's very nearly a physical need. I think back to the newborn and toddler days. There were the constant holdings, changings, wipings, cleanings, feedings, burpings and the sheer joy of being in such close physical contact with sweet angels from heaven. Late night feedings and early morning rockings. I miss that time of life. Today as I held my youngest angel, I found myself gently swaying, rocking ba...

For home schooling that is. Alli will finish up her 8th grade this week and then in September she's moving on to high school. :::whimper::: Naw, just kidding. About the whimpering I mean. I've gone through two high schoolers and lived to tell the tale, so I'm sure this will be smooth sailing for me. ::whimper:: It's been a long time since updates. I've been busy. Ok, I've been lazy. Really, the two things are nearly interchangeable. I think. Or not. Your mileage may vary. School, and my job, is over this Friday. Ashley will suddenly become a sixth grader. She's already got the Sixth Grader 'Tude, so she's set. Speaking of Ashley, a few weeks ago we had some appointments with her pt/ot at Childrens. She got a new hand brace to keep her thumb out of her fist and then another one was ordered that is softer and easier to wear over long periods of time. She actually asked for these braces, so that's a plus. We also discovered that due ...

Back in the dark ages of 8 track tapes and am/fm radios in our 1969 Thunderbird, I was treated to songs my parents enjoyed. When I was little, it was fine. I hadn't yet developed my own musical tastes. As I progressed into the turbulent teens and discovered what I liked and what I didn't, I chafed at being stuck in a car for a long ride listening to The Mills Brothers or Charlie Pride or The Statler Brothers. I spent hours traveling to California or just across the mountains to Chelan with the 8 track blasting through the speakers. I knew where every break in every song was on every tape as the tapes turned over. I complained. I was a teenager, of course I complained. But I also sang along and learned all the words. I still know all the words. It comes in handy knowing all the words because each night our home phone rings and it's my older sister Cheri. She asks me each night, in her own way, to sing those songs to her. And I do. What she likes best is to hear The S...