This is More Like It

 Rain, rain!  Elise and I had decided that we truly missed the rain this summer.  It does get old, especially when you have to be out in it a lot, but I've always enjoyed the sound of rain and the mood it puts me into.  Give me a big clouds rolling in and the anticipation of a good storm, and I'm as happy as can be, especially if there's wind and rain at night when I wake up from sleep.  So I guess I'll enjoy this until I don't!

I'm finally sleeping at night instead of waking up around 3:00, so at 6:00 I had my first cup of coffee on the balcony, wrapped in a quilt, with the only sound the pouring rain.  I think it makes me melancholy a little bit - but only a little bit, just enough.  Elise turned the chairs over last night and moved the higher plants down to the floor in case we have some high winds.  Not TOO high, eough to cause damage, but just enough to feel cozy inside.  Fingers crossed!  

She also seems to have watered all her plants during the night but was nice enough to leave me the faucet for filling my cup.

I've already done a little sewing on the girls' bonnets this morning, and they are sweet.  I hope they fit.  I'm sure they will like them.  I'm not happy about the chin tie being so skinny, so I might make a bigger one or even a wide ribbon.  I'll have to go to Hobby Lobby for that though, so I'll probably put a temporary tie on the for trying on.

Emily is bringing the girls over after school to decide who stays with me and who spends time with Mom - or whether Mom gets a couple of hours free!  Anything is fine with me.  If Graysen stays by herself, we'll start on sewing the aprons.  If Katherine stays by herself, we'll do whatever she wants (except lap-sitting, which is what she really wants).  

If they both stay, I'm going to get out the science experiment box and let them do the volcano.  I was so silly about it when we got it and insisted they start with the smaller experiments first and work out way up to the volcano - when all they really wanted to do was the volcano!  They were polite about it, but who can get very excited about adding drops of stuff to test tubes?  We're going to have to take advantage of our time and have some FUN.  

Looking at last year's pictures, it seems we went to the zoo for my birthday trip.  The year before that, we went to the Washington State Fair, which was fun but a bigger deal than this little zoo just a few miles from us.

This was hard for Emily and the girls.  They like to have howling contests sometimes.  Ryan just bears it, I guess.

My sweet girls.  It was such a fun day.  Who could have imagined the changes just 5 months from then.

In those old pictures, I happened to see this one.  So many good memories.  It was one of those trips to Six Flags that Mama and Daddy got to experience that was just fun all around.  Kids were about the right ages for staying content all day, and Mama and Daddy were young enough to enjoy some of the rides too.  I think that was the day Mama rode the Scream Machine with Gray and never stopped talking about it.  She swore that ride was responsible for any ailments she had the next 30 years!  Good times.