A Day in the Life...

Weird things right now and impacts of COVID in my life: I need to take my girls in for their yearly physicals.  We can do well-child checks in person at our pediatrician's office, but we can't go there if we're actually sick.  If we're sick, we can't go to the doctor.  She's happy to see us by video.  Weird. We can check out as many library books as we want, but not in person.  We have to reserve them online and wait a few days for them to be gathered, then only one parent can go in to pick them up. We can go to the outdoor pool but we have to reserve a slot and there's a cap of 100 people.  Actually, except for when we don't plan ahead, this is okay.  Look at this empty pool and cute kids!  We do have to all have no symptoms and get our temperature taken. We have a basement full of stuff to donate to the DI.  They were closed for awhile, but they're back open.  Donations are only accepted by reservation, and they...

Yesterday Tim and I celebrated 13 years being married.  Cool! We spent three or so hours at the marina; I thought it'd be crowded but we had the place mostly to ourselves most of the day.  Kayaking, playing in the sand, loving the sun, and loving each other- fun times! When we got home we left the girls for themselves and went chicken and yard shopping.  That night, Tim's mom and dad came over and watched the girls while we went to dinner.  They tie-dyed shirts, which they can't wait to wear.   That night we went to my dad's because he bought fireworks to show the neighborhood kids (the ones he likes, haha); we caught the last three of them and went to bed early.  It was a great day! I love being married to Tim.   Sometimes the most simple thing to say about him is that he is good.  He's a good person, a good husband, a good father, a good disciple of Christ, a good neighbor, a good son and s...

We celebrated July with the annual firework show at Ty and Amber's.  Amber's family starting a firework stand was maybe the best thing they've done for us.  🙂  They are AMAZING fireworks- way way better than any city show. Good food, good times, good fireworks.  Click  here  and  here  and  here  to see my favorites, and the girls reacting to the streamer launch! The best picture of Tom I could get (with Taryn and Kyle in the background) My parents and Ryan and Shandee The kiddos having a good time!

Taryn doing a great job at her job! Once when Copper was at a birthday party, we took the twins to try Vampire Penguin; think ice cream meets snow cone... it was obviously a hit... You never know what you'll find in there... Making Red jump on top of the loft bed, and loving it... Candis' mom (who always wanted grandkids but got none) gave the girls a bunch of craft crap.  Copper took some pink denim and sewed herself a skirt; I helped with the hem and the slit, but she did all the rest!  She did a great job! We got Micah some targets and some hay bales for her bow and arrow.  She loves it! The chickens are growing fast! About four months old, so hopefully we start seeing some eggs in the next few months!!  They're our second garbage disposal- they literally eat most of our leftovers and come running when they see a plate of food trash. The black Australorps are my favorite; they're beautiful- black with torquise hin...

A few weekends ago we went camping with Ty and Amber up in Fruitland (where Amber's family owns 15 acres).  We had SO MUCH FUN! Our cute trailer. Late night fires and glow sticks Cousins, hammocks, tether ball, rope swing, and a zipline Playing games and staying up late Loving nature.  God is Everywhere! Homemade slingshots, fires and laughter, time with family Red learned to kyack.  He also learned he could swim.  He had the BEST time with his brother Hoke.  He might have had the best time of his entire life. Searching for horny-toads and lizards; boating on Ty's fishing boat.  Fishing and loving the sun. Fun times at Starvation Reservoir.  We brought the kyacks and Tim rented a jet-ski for a few hours.  It was super windy but he loved it and so did Copper and Micah.  The rest of us loved the sandy beach and warm water. The time Wyatt scrached his eyeball and wouldn't stop touching i...

Today the governor mandated masks be worn in K-12 as they transition back to school this fall. You can't see the tears of laughter streaming down my face right now, right? I see kids in elementary school: Using them as slingshots Using them as an extra pocket Swapping already breathed in masks for "cooler" ones their friends have Whipping others with them Losing them multiple times a day Stretching them out to be unusable Moving them over their eyes or to the backs of their heads Or, the most likely: touching their masked faces (and then everything else) the entire day long. I'm super anti kids wearing masks; I don't think it's good for them.  I obviously don't think it will kill them, but how can it be good for them?  How can it be good for my twins who had respiratory issues that landed them in the hospital every winter for years?  Give them some fresh air to breathe.  I don't want them to get COVID, but they have a less chance of g...

I hate how in the last five months the world and my nation has become so.... (fill in the blank).  If I disagree with certain things, I must be a hater.  If I don't support certain groups, I must be dead to humanity.  If I don't wear want my children to wear a mask, it must mean I am "anti" everything.  If I want the economy to rise, it must mean that I don't care about others' health.  For the love.  I wish the biggest thing on the news right now was a toilet paper shortage.  In five short months, our country has shown that its freedoms can quickly be taken away in less than a breath.  I don't see it getting any better.  Well, I see it getting worse before it gets better. I believe that this nation was founded upon freedom; it is worked for and fought for.  I also believe our founding fathers were led by God.  This is a choice nation- I know it.  I know that the way our nation was founded, the timing of lots of events and hi...

Ms. Dakota, at nine years old. She's funny.  You can't mistake her voice because her mouth is moving all the time.  She and I share a good time every morning.  She's up before 6:00 a.m. every day so if I happen to still be in bed, she comes and gets me and we spend the next while talking about dogs, other pets, plans for the day, and anything else on her mind.  It's a good time together. I'm not sure if it was just a coincidence, but Ms. Kota hasn't thrown a fit in about four or five months.  Really, since I've been home nearly every day with her.  Even when I'm in a lot of meetings, the fact we can see each other most all day has helped our groove together immensely.  Her drama is now used to rile everyone else in the household.  She and Tim together are incredibly cute- they just keep upping each other until Micah leaves the house, Copper can't stop laughing, and I've asked them both, "Don't you know when enough is enough?...

Oh, Micah.  Nine years old! Micah is entertaining by nature but doesn't intend to be.  She's hilarious. She's just quirky sometimes but it's endearing to everyone who knows her.  "That's just Micah" has been said her whole life, and we wouldn't change it. She's the best snuggler in the world.  Her best gifts are her intuition and awareness.  Micah not only can tell what others need and are feeling, she's right there to help.  She's thoughtful in her actions and very selfless that way. It took Micah eight years to sleep alone in her bed, and she gets scared of a lot of things.  But she's the first in line to watch Jurassic Park, Gremlins, and Jaws.   Her sisters greatly disapprove. She's the gal who finds trash-treasures and makes all sorts of inventions.  She's pretty creative and looks at us in disbelief when she finds a good box or container thrown out.  When we clean out her room, it takes us quite a bit of time.  A...