Empty rooms. Echoes. Voices calling back and forth. A truck full, a house empty.

"We need to move to Idaho too, sometime," says my three year old Ijah.

"Bye bye, Bumpa, Marmee," says my two year old Essie.

"Gurgle." says my six month old Haddie.

She won't be a baby next time. Next time we see you. Next time you hold her. Next time we come to Bumpamarmee's.

Time. Moves on. Change.

Oh my children, you don't cry, because you don't understand.

I do. I'll cry for you.

And our blessings, prayers, and hopeful thoughts go with you to Idaho.

Love

We had a great weekend last weekend. A really great weekend. And Friday was a really fun memory making day.

Stephen had been on a business trip from last Monday at 4am to last Thursday night at 10:30ish, so he took Friday off and we got to catch up a bit on family time.
One of our favorite family activities is to go for long walks around our neighborhood, in nearby parks, etc. So we packed up the kids, the dog, the double jogger and the baby carrier, water, snacks, and diaper bag and headed out for a morning at a nearby preserve and nature trail. THis particular trail is special, because after a two mile walk you can end up at a neat little city square with a very large posh expensive hotel, a mexican restaurant and a fun fountain. It's called Galatyn Park. We like walking to there because it give us a destination. And at the very beginning of the trail is a large playground for the kids to wear themselves out on before stroller time.
So we arrive, get set, and play at the playground for a while. There were other kids there and they came over and totally fell in love with Tanner (dog) and he had a following. They hung on him, walked him, kissed him, and made him their buddy. And I was reminded just how much I love that dog. A lot. He's awesome.

So after thirty minutes at the playground we headed off for our two mile each way walk. Beautiful day, just warm enough to work up a sweat from the exercise since I was wearing the baby and to feel like I actually got a bit of a work out from the walk. Also just enough sweat to make me feel yucky. Like need to at least dry off before going anywhere important, maybe even shower.:) Hubby had other plans.:)
We made it to Galatyn and found the smoothie shop we were planning to fefresh ourselves at closed down. Oh blech. But did that stop my husband from wanting to treat his family? Not a bit. He decided to duck into the nice (very posh, very nice, very modern, very jawdropping) hotel and see if they had a coffee shop that he could grab something to go for us...anyway thats what I thought he was doing. He comes back out to us five minutes later with a triumphant smile and an announcment: "Dog's are allowed!" I gave him the non comprehending blank stare. And it wasn't put on. I was in shock. "What?" He had asked the the managers in there and sure enough, dogs were welcome. Great...what about stinky sweaty wives who just finished a two mile walk? And even though I am in love with my dog...he's a rescue that looks like he came out of a sheep field and he doesn't know how to behave in posh places (so I thought). He's not a poodle!!! I nicely asked if we could try just tying Tanner to the railing on the hotel patio (all made of white cement and white wrought iron) and Stephen was fine with trying that. So we set our farm dog up on posh patio with a water bowl and left him to guard the double stroller. And we (sweatyness and all..gulp) entered the domain of well dressed business men and rich ladies on holiday.
We walk in the front door and the childrens eyes become saucers. And they stare. And stare. And stare. The wall across from us has glass elevaters climbing up and down it. Fountains sprinkle and pour through indoor water gardens and there is a since of gentle talking and quietness about the place. Bronze...everything. Skylights. Leather seats, and yup...business suits. Gulp. Gulp. And my sweaty hair is plastered to my forhead because of the visor I was wearing. And my jeans are saggy because the waist band stretches under sweat. And I'm wearing...oh never mind. You get the picture.
We herd our in-awe children through the lobby (and I'm thinking "I am SO glad I didn't bring Tanner in here. It would be SO like him to mark something...like the plants in the ornate planters") Obviously our kids don't get out much. They were literally taking one step every five seconds and turning in circles as they walked still wide eyed obsorbing it all. We made it to the hotel restaurant and dining room and were greeted by a very gracious hostess and shown to our table by her. She made such a warm atmosphere of welcome and excitement about the kids and the dog on the patio that was being (amazingly) perfect! He was laying down very quietly. No barking, no whining, no interest in the people walking by him. He just waited. I started to feel a little more confident about our impression. Our waiter arrived with tall stemmed glasses of ice water and was also very gracious, you'd think WE were the business men and rich ladies on holiday with the treatment we recieved. So fifteen minutes into it I relaxed and laughed and decided to just have fun! My husband is awesome. I would never do things like that...but he does. And I so enjoy them! He's teaching me to relax and enjoy the moment. Anyway, he spent large sums of money on miniscule amounts of food (kids apple juice four dollars? What?) A fruit plate that cost 13? And had about 2 dollars of fruit on it? And spoiled us completely. :) It was great. We both decided that if we were rich we would be thinner...more money, less food! Ingenious! It was a one time experience and we had so much fun! It was like being a kid pretending...and then I realized that no...it's being an unaffected adult. My husband is teaching me well. If you haven't met him...you should. He is strong, confident, quiet, and goes about life LIVING. I love him.

And Tanner ended up making a wonderful impression for the whole time we were there and got treated to the kids ham slices that were served with their french toast. We probably could have brought him in...and next time we just might! (As long as he's been recently groomed and clipped to look like a poodle.)

"Mommy!" Mommy!" I hear happily called from outside the large sliding glass door in the kitchen. The voice is coming from somewhere in the vicinity of the patio. Cheerful, joyful, and endearing, this sweet little boy voice beckons to me. With a smile I leave my facebook moment behind and head toward the door and the sunshine. Joy in my heart, smile on my lips, this is a beautiful day and I have beautiful children to share it with. Ten steps past the door and into the back yard my sunshine boy meets me, large plastic cup of leaves in hand. He smiles, holds it out towards me..."here Mommy, it's for you! It's a present!" Such sweetness. Innocence. He knows that I will find beauty in the gift of a cup of leaves. This warms my heart even more than the sunshine dancing down through the tree above us.
Just as I reach out to accept his thoughtful gift, and just as my eyes again survey his present, two things occur. He points at the cups rim to SOMETHING hanging over it and states "See? It's a lizard!" And my eyes tell my brain that that SOMETHING is not a lizard and is not a leaf. It's a snake. A snakes tail, to be exact, hooked over the edge of the cup. The rest of the snake somewhere buried deep inside the cups contents. Oh eeep.

Your imaginations can take it from there. I will say though that I didn't scream, although I did a jiggly, jumping, shivers-up-my back dance. And to be quite honest, I'm okay with snakes, when I'm not surprised by them. So in the end Mr. Snake is camped out on our patio in a five gallon bucket, much to mylittle boys delight. He's asked that we keep it for a very long time. We'll see.

But, my day is still sunny, and I'm proud of my boy. He's all BOY. Grin. Although his gift wasn't quite as heart warming as an innocent cup of leaves would be....

Then.





Now

Yeah, I'm never going to grow up.

Okay, Mommy is trying to be happy, positive, and productive. So picture this moment:

Just returned home from Costco shopping. Had nursed baby, put dog out to potty, oldest little went to potty himself. Baby needs a diaper. Okay, everyone is accounted for...accept dog. He might chase the chickens while I'm busy with baby, hmmm, I think I'll let him in. He has a yummy chewy from costco so there's something to keep him busy. Good. Everything is under control. I am content. Take baby to change. Lay baby down, change diaper. Turn around to see Tanner peeing on my bedroom carpet and at the same time I hear clunking from the bathroom meaning little sister is trying to HELP by emptying Big Brother's potty. NO!!! ACTION!

Poor Haddie is left half dressed on the bad while I: Yell at dog, chase him out of the room and out to the backyard sternly scolding the whole way. Yelling over my shoulder "Sorry-Haddie-be-right-back-Essie-don't-you-touch-that-potty!" Put the dog out ,spin around, run to the bathroom while hearing Ijah declare "no Essie, I will do it!" To late. She'd done it. Her attempt to help was evidenced in the potties contents all over the floor. Thankfully...just number one. So....dog mess or child mess? Which one first? Oh and that baby who still isn't dressed and needs to go to bed is now crying.

Bathroom floor ranked number one, since it was the most likely to be tracked all over the place. Baby quieted down, so doggy mess ranked number two. Baby was tired, she was next. And finally dressed and tucked in she fell asleep. Tanner was allowed in and put in his crate. Poor dog has been spending a lot of time in there today. Oh well, I don't feel to guilty.

So now everyone is cleaned, fed, and down for naps. And I'm laughing over my crazy life. It's wonderful.:) I hope it makes you smile too.