For the Picture-Hungry...

I hope it fills you up, oh-hungry-readers, cuz pictures are few and far between on this blog!!!

Here's what I've been up to this summer... in pictures.

YARD WORK...

The new fence, mid-building. That whole fence line was a wild jungle (much like the rest of the neighbor's yard you can see behind the fence). And see that dirt that Rohan and my dad are standing on? That was sunk in way deeper before from the Bobcat ripping up the jungleness, and my dad brought about 15,000 pounds of dirt in with his dump-trailer which we could only dump over at the end of the fence that's unfinished. So, we had to shovel and wheelbarrow all that dirt, spread it around, rake it smooth... it was a TON of work but so worth it!

More fence building... isn't Rohan the cutest little helper ever? My husband and my dad rock! (that's not my husband pictured, btw. That's my neighbor, A.J.)

Dad, doin' his fence building thing!

My ginourmous squash. (I've been gardening)

After the fence got finished we wanted to "cute" things up. We got two new trees for a SCREAMING deal and so we had to enlarge our beds to accommodate them! Dustin worked his butt off removing sod. (and then he pitched the tent so the kids could sleep out! What a good daddy!)

The front beds used to go just around the edge of those three tree trunks, but Dustin, my sod-cutting/removing machine, worked really hard and did my bidding of reshaping the bed into something much bigger!

And this just shows the flowers a'bloomin'.

This is the other bed, which we made a little bigger too...


Same bed, a couple weeks later with more blooms.




FURNITURE REFINISHING

I refinished Ella's bed (finally!) and it's hard to see how cute it is, but there you go...

More Ella's bed.
And inside with the dresser I refinished too. (in her BEAUTIFUL new room!)


Closer up of the dresser...




FOURTH OF JULY...

Taylor's girlfriend, Cherryn, is an aritist and she kindly volunteered to face-paint at my mom's house on the fourth. Rohan, my little Tiger. Mac already had his shirt off from playing in the water so he wanted body-paint rather than face-paint.

Cousin Lance, the dog. Cute Rohan and Mac's back dragon.

The artist-in-residence and all the painted children! (Lily the lemur and Ella with various little spot-paintings!)

MAC'S 9th BIRTHDAY!

Part of the outdoor Idaho-birthday-candle experience often consists of all sorts of windbreaks to try to keep your candles lit. Hence, the cooler lid behind the cake. Just after this picture was taken, all the candles went out in the wind. We relit, put up more windbreaks and huddled close around the cake and just as we sang the "TOOOO YOOOUUU!!!!" at the end of the song, Mac prepared to blow out the candles but the wind came up and blasted them all out for him! It was rather hysterical and we all laughed and said, "Oh well!". Maybe next year we should do them inside, huh?

Present rippage....

Some of the party attendees. Aunts, cousins, grandmas... lot's of love!




CAMPING

The only pics I took while camping were atop the GIANT slide that is at this campground. Here is my little family on top of the slide. As you look at these (way too many) pictures, keep in mind that you can't even SEE where we are standing in this lovely family shot in the following pictures. It is a BIG slide!!!

Rohan and his extra-cuteness! (Enlarge the ones of my kids... they're so CUTE!)

Ella with a big grin and wind-blown hair!

Mac lookin' cool on the slide!

My dad laying down for extra speed!!!

My mom looking very cute on the slide!

Me, looking not very cute on the slide...

"Dustin rocks the slide!


Not to mention the teeter-totter!



ADORABLE KIDS HAVING SUMMER FUN!!!

Friday's Fabulous Five

1- My flower beds/backyard are looking so darned cute! They make me happy! (I know, I know... you want to see pictures! I suck at pictures.)

2- We are going camping for a bit today and tomorrow! FUN!

3- It was Mac's birthday on Wednesday. My baby is NINE! I have a post I've been working on about him, but it's not done yet.

4- I've had an organizing bug. Ella and Rohan's closet is SO organized, I almost don't know what to think of myself! I'll choose to think I'm all sorts of awesome!

5- Laser tag rules. But I didn't rule at laser tag. In fact, I fairly sucked, but I sure had fun! (Mac's birthday "party"- sort of. We just went and played laser tag with some good friends of ours. I'm thinkin' we're going to have to go have a big laser tag date with some couples! Maybe for my birthday next month!!! hmmmm....)

THE END

It's No Wonder

Last week my heart metaphor was a washing machine full of water and clothes, but no churning. Still. Silent.

That was last week.

Today, I'm churning. Crying. Aching.

Sometimes there's no visible explanation, but the washing machine load is on heavy and it's churning up crap I don't really want to see.

But it's time.

Time for me to do a rinse cycle. Time for me to pull my head out of the sand and deal with some realities I've been ignoring. Time for me to plan. Time for me to stop being scared of the word "plan".

Time for me to change the load. Dry this one out. Fold it. Put it away.

Mission: Summer Fun

It was said that we could not have picked a day with worse weather... a statement which was arguable, but just because you might argue that the weather could be worse doesn't mean it was good. The sun was sporadic, peeking in and out of clouds moving at high speeds in the Idaho wind. There's nothing quite like Idaho wind that takes already-chilly air and quadruples the chilly-factor into something fairly miserable.

I stood on the deck sporting goose-flesh... even before I submerged my body in chest-deep water. I was reluctant to do it, to take the plunge. The combination of chilly air, twenty mile-an-hour winds and unreliable sunshine was not very appealing to my grown-up self.

My children had no such hesitations. Mac entered the water with a full on *cannon-ball. Ella, with a little more reservation, testing to make sure she could, indeed, touch the bottom and, after her pedi-confirmation, she squealed and splashed like the girly-girl she is. Rohan climbed down the ladder gingerly, feeling insecure even in his life jacket, and, after hanging on the stairs for a minute accompanied by minor coaxing from his brother and his mother, rediscovered how to float, kick, and steer, not to mention grin in an ear-splitting, heart-melting fashion. The most remarkable part was the breakthrough of Rohan's smile absolutely independent of his mother's proximity, close or not.

Upon discovering my children's utter lack of need for their mother in the pool, I wrapped a towel around my shoulders and settled into a chair to observe their watery play. But, a small part of me still wanted to jump in. After all, I had on a new swimming suit that I bought last November that was still awaiting it's first immersion in water. My mind went back and forth for a few minutes, get in or not?, when suddenly Marci, who had been occupied equipping her children with every floating device known to man, stripped to the suit and climbed in the water. I vacillated for only a few seconds more before shedding my own shorts, exposing my bare (and very white) legs to the wind, and following Marci into the water.

It was as cold as I imagined, but screaming about it was half of the fun. Discussions ensued about the wind and how much it adds to the swimming experience, followed shortly by the entrance of "the silliness" that cannot be helped when I'm around Marci. In an attempt to warm ourselves, we became aerobics instructors, calling out moves and trying to do them in the water without getting our hair wet. (not a matter of vanity as much as anti-hypothermia) It was when Marci called out, "Push-Ups!", that I decided to give up the aerobics and trade it for running.

With it's just-above-waist water level, this pool was perfect for leaning forward and digging in for an attempt at water-running, which I did with gusto. It was not long before I was towing several children by a water-noodle as I made my laps around the pool. Did you know that you can sweat in a pool if you don't get your head wet? I didn't, but I do now.

My heart rate reached substantial elevation for warmth to radiate from the core of me and suddenly the wind didn't matter so much.

Fun was had by all, even Mom.

Mission accomplished.


*Artistic license taken. Cannon-balls are so much more exuberant than climbing down the ladder... and he did do the cannon-balls, it was just a little later.

Moving Through

My heart-state always has a metaphor. Always. My mind conjures them like a washing machine churning clothes and if I watch long enough, the one I want will surface. Except lately the water feels still. I can't think of a fitting metaphor. So, would that mean I'm a blank slate? A vacant lot? An empty chair? Or perhaps a stripped bed? No. I think I just pegged it with the washing machine. Full of water and clothes, but no churning. Still. Silent.

Whatever it is, I can't seem to think of much these days. It could be the allergies that I'm battling, making my head feel as though it's stuffed with cotton. It might be that I'm just too tired to care. It's possible that I'm burying my head in the sand so I don't have to do any digging into my own psyche. It may be just me crawling into dormancy, temporary shut down, laying fallow, awaiting the spring when I feel like growing again.

Whatever it is, I'm up for it. Apparently it's my time to stare off into space or at least feel like I am staring blankly, even when I'm busy. It is my time to avoid looking deep into the recesses of my heart. It is my time to learn the routines of keeping a clean house. It is my time to play the guitar every night. It's my time to allow myself to go to bed if I'm sleepy. It's my time to teach my children that there are cycles in life and we need to listen and love.

It's also my time to love myself even when I don't feel like I'm moving forward.

Busy

Yes... I have been.

Rundown:

I can't really remember what I did since I blogged last. (a whole WEEK ago!) Oh... yeah. I was tiling at my duplex. Well, my dad was tiling. I was mostly watching with a bit of helping. And I was cleaning. Sticky floors and dirty walls. Good times!

I was also playing life raft for my friend one day... but I didn't even know that I was until she told me later. I love when I am helpful!

Dustin built our storage room in our basement. He's back in the basement groove. HOORAY! He also wired some more lights yesterday. He's become quite the little wirer. I'm so proud.

I've been doing laundry. Always laundry.

Chore charts rule. It's what I always knew I needed but never knew how much I'd always need it... comprende?

My brother and his wife and my sister and her kids came up from Salt Lake City. It was a weekend of bliss. Especially Sunday. We sat in my parents incredibly pleasant yard the WHOLE day. For D and I, it was from noon until almost ten o'clock! ALL DAY! I had my guitar there and I played a little but mostly watched and listened to my brother play. My favorite. My dream day. Listen to Zandy play guitar and sing with him and talk guitar. Beautiful. Magical.

I also haven't been blogging much because I've been playing guitar a great deal. After my post about speaking the same language I started playing every night. It's amazing how much you can improve with a little practice.

The fourth of July we went to see our local fireworks show. You know what's weird? Our smallish Idaho city's Fireworks show is ranked 17th in the NATION! It is a freakin' AWESOME show!!! And, I just read that it lasted 31 minutes and 15,962 shells were launched. ROCK ON!!! We sit a few hundred yards beneath the launch site. Amazing. The finale is a SERIOUS adrenaline rush! I LOVE IT!!!!

The end.

Metamorphosis

I am a work in progress. I am fully aware that everyone who's currently living and breathing is also such.

BUT.

They are not me. We all have different challenges. I've written before of my housecleaning woes. I've lamented and whined and moaned about how I didn't know how to keep a clean house. I've berated and loathed myself for the lack of skills in this arena.

AND.

I am transforming. I'm growing and changing in this capacity. And suddenly, I'm finding that I WANT to do housework. I like it. I derive a great deal of satisfaction from doing laundry. I love to have a sink free of dirty dishes. I knew I loved that all along, but I didn't know how to keep it that way. Now, I'm learning how. I'm doing well.

SO.

I'm teaching my children.

Friday's Fabulous Five

1- We tore out many things in our backyard last weekend with my dad's Bobcat. We shoveled thousands of pounds of dirt. (my dad has a Dump-trailer and it was so full of dirt that it was too heavy to dump. He's never had that happen before and he once had 12,000 lbs {or was it 10,000?} of concrete in it and it still dumped. My dad guessed that it weighed about 15,000 lbs and we had to shovel it all somewhere else! Go US!) Now, today and tomorrow we get to put in a lovely new fence! And the sweetest part of this deal? We are splitting the cost of the fence with our next-door neighbor so it's turning out quite cheap! YAY!!!!

2- Had a lovely visit with my pal, Maria, yesterday. She was in town. Then in a few minutes we're off to play with her and her kids some more! I love my Maria.

3- Got some new makeup the other day. So silly how a simple little thing can be so fun and make you feel snazzy. I love snazzy.

4- I had a dream the other morning (in the wee hours) and I had to call 911 in the dream. Dustin woke me up because I was saying my phone number out loud as I told it to the 911 operator in the dream. I love the weirdness of dreams and the subconscious mind!

5- Free lunch just for saying no? What a good deal!

Screaming

Sometimes you have so much to say that you can't say anything at all. "Create New Post" stares at you with one big rectangular eye. It screams at you, "FILL ME! MOLD MY WHITE BLANKNESS INTO SOMETHING GREAT!" and you scream back mentally, "I WANT TO, BUT MY EYES ARE BUGGING OUT OF MY HEAD BECAUSE OF YOUR BLANK-RECTANGLE-EYE SCREAMING TO BE FILLED!!!"

And then your shoulders and the new calluses coming on your hands, and your lower back and most of the rest of your body scream at you, "YOU SPENT MOST OF THE DAY SHOVELING SEVERAL THOUSAND POUNDS OF DIRT!!! WHY DON'T YOU GO TO BED!!!!"

And then you stop screaming and you say in reply, "What a good idea." and, "Goodnight."

And your body smiles, every inch.

Manic Monday: Pop

I have to admit, I was drawing a blank on the word Pop for Manic Monday. I thought about describing the pop of roots breaking as you yank out big junglish bushes and weeds with a Bobcat, which is what we did this weekend in our yard, but that didn't appeal to me. I thought about writing how I've sat at this computer for so long that my head might just pop but I didn't want to reveal what a lazy-bone I've been today. (actually, my morning was very busy, but this afternoon has been time-wastey) So, I went to my trusty Google search and entered "pop". I just love the internet. I find such interesting things to waste my time! And they remind me of things...

When I was in college, I had the coolest roommate on the freakin' planet. Her name is Britta and she's still the coolest. (and she's comin' into her power right now, so WATCH OUT world!!!) Back in our roommate days, Britta's little brother flew out from Pennsylvania to visit her for two-ish weeks and I got to know him in that annoying little brother way. He loved to tease and bother me with little things. Things like singing "That Thing You Do" completely off key and the wrong tune to boot. (love ya, Jazzy!) He also liked to make fun of me when I'd say, "Hey, do you want to watch a show?" Does that sound weird to anyone? No, right? Well, he seemed to think that "show" was the wrong word. He informed me each and every time I said it that it was called a MOVIE. Whatever, Jazz.

He couldn't leave it with the annoying song or the show/movie battle, he also had to inform me all the time that it was a SODA and not a POP. It's futile to argue with Jazz. I'm pretty sure he never even heard me when I tried. But, I got to the point where I'd just ignore him when he'd start. Except that freakin' song. I still hear it all wrong every time I think of that song. Silly boy.

Well, in my little Google search I found a website called "The Pop vs. Soda Page". I found it very amusing that someone actually conducted a study and made a statistical map of who says pop and who says soda. Oh yeah, and let's not forget the south where they call all pop "Coke". I got this map from the website... check it out! And if you visit the website, you can participate in the survey! Let your Pop/Soda voice be heard!!!


My mom's from the south and tells me how they always ask, "Hay! What kainda Coke you wawnt?" and then they proceed to list the different flavors like Sprite, Root Beer, Mt. Dew, etc. It doesn't matter how many times she tells me, laugh every time. Seems so silly to me.

And in case you failed to notice, in Idaho the proper term for a carbonated drink is a "Pop", which, in case you wanted some more Clancy-Trivia, I almost never drink.