It Came, It Rained, It Went

Time is flying. Fast! I just am not ready to see summer go. Especially since August was essentially awful. I don't think it's fair to have a crappy summer. We suffer through 9 months of winter, holding onto the bright hope of lovely summer days where we can enjoy our nice surrounding. Instead, our area channeled Seattle and August was truly a wash. With the dismal conditions, I don't feel like we accomplished much or did a whole lot. We did make the most of a few scattered nice days and did our best to fill them with fun. On to the picture update:

 

 

We finally got our landscaping done, and with a month of rain we actually have grass coming up now. Just having pretty dirt was a vast improvement, until the pretty dirt turned into substantial mud.

 

 

Like a day or two after all our landscaping was put in, the heavens opened and it rained, and rained, and rained. Like hard, for days. Of course Mark was out of town so Paige and I had to figure out how to keep our crawlspace from flooding. Fortunately we have great friends who helped us out. Some of our lawn appreciated the rain, our backyard did not. All the fresh grass seed washed out. We just barely had it replanted a few days ago.

 

 

Just to add to all the fun, I had the pleasure of having four permanent teeth pulled. How nasty are they? I was pretty nervous about the whole procedure, but Mark's brother is seriously the best dentist. Coming from someone who has had ALL her baby teeth pulled, had a horrendous 2 hour wisdom tooth removal fiasco, and now 4 permanent teeth gone, that is a big endorsement. The aftermath was far worse than the actual pulling. It was terrible. I ate yogurt and noodles for a good two and half weeks. I got dry socket, and was just all out miserable for a good portion of the month. Nothing makes you feel hotter than having huge gaping holes AND braces in your mouth. Sexy.

 

When I wasn't being tortured on "vacation", I was able to see my brother Sam's family and snuggle his sweet new baby Grayson. My mouth was essentially an oozing, sore mess, but holding a sleeping baby seemed to help me feel better. Kind of. It also re-opened the baby wound and I spent most of the time snuggling this little guy while dropping tears on his head. I feel like I took two steps back and it made for an awfully hard week or two. But it was worth it.

 

 

Paige had swimming lessons, which was rained out most days. They still held it, but on cold, 60 degree days, it was just too hard to make my three year old get into the water. It didn't seem to bother her, but I felt slightly abusive as I watched in coat. The last day was actually nice, and Paige did great! It took her about two weeks to warm up (literally and figuratively) to the idea and then she really excelled.

So  much so that she passed and I ended up signing her up for another session. I figured between two sessions we would have enough nice days to equal one full session. Didn't really pan out that way but we did our best and she definitely improved!

 

I love finding evidence of imaginative play. The girl loves horses. Apparently so does the rabbit.

 

We only hit up the carousel once this year. I was shocked, this is usually a summer staple. My wallet takes a fairly good hit each summer thanks to the carousel. This years budget went to Karie Anne's. It is seriously the nectar of the gods. As a family we were fairly addicted. Paige started to ask for it first thing in the morning. "Mom, I think today might be a good day for Karie Anne's." And she was right, it usually was.

 

 

Karie Anne's. Yum. Don't know what we will do come winter and they close. Withdrawal for sure!

 

 

My good friend Jackie came home from Nebraska for a visit and luck would have it, it was a super nice day. We took the kids to the splash park and then I had to introduce her to KA's. Paige and Logan played pretty well together.

 

 

Paige is at this awful stage where she could really use a nap, but if she takes one, it is like 11 PM before she falls asleep. I've decided to forgo naptime for a decent bedtime, but from 4-8 PM she is a MONSTER. It's like she drinks a 5 hour energy or something. I will never understand why she is hyper when she is tired, but I hate it. By this time of day, I'm wore out, my patience is thin, and she is crazy! On this particular day, Paige had an epic meltdown and I put her in her room for the safety of everyone. She must have wore herself right out, because she proceeded to crash on the couch while I cooked dinner. This has NEVER happened, ever in her whole life. I have never seen her sleep anywhere but her bed, and that includes baby Paige. I had to document it!

 

 

Grandma Norma was nice enough to watch Paige for us on the one nice Saturday so Mark and I could go for a ride. Paige loves to go to Grandma's and was so excited to help her mow the lawn. It was the first ride we have been on alone together since Paige was born. It was long overdue.

 

We had such a great time, and both horses did great. Tucker has since been sore. Who knows why, I tend to think it might be the fact Mark likes to trot rather than walk on trail rides. Or maybe I was just sore after that! How is it that riding can be such a workout for the rider? We have had an issue with Tucker's feet for awhile, and I think it is a combination of a lot of things. Makes me sad to see him sore. He's a good boy!

 

We are so blessed to have a secluded refuge right out our back door. We love to take walks on nice evenings. And since it rained most of the day, the bugs this particular night weren't too bad. Roxy loves to tag a long, and Paige loves to throw things in the river.

 

 

Mark's parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this month. The family put together a fun weekend, which essentially got rained out. After some serious prayers, it was nice just long enough to get family pictures done. It was COLD, don't let the summery look fool you. It rained soon after and didn't stop for days. It's only been 7 years since our last attempt, so we were pretty glad thing panned out. We found a place down in the river bottoms behind the house, and I think they turned out wonderful. The colors looked fantastic. There was some serious stress happening, so to have them turn out well was such a relief.

 

Other than that, not too much has been going on. I get a little stir crazy and anxious when I feel like things get stuck in a rut. We are pretty excited that football season is upon us, but I can already feel doom and gloom knowing winter is much closer than I would like. Why is time going so fast?! Why can't it just be nice.

 

 

Life According to Paige:

 

"Mom, is it awesome and tool? (cool)" There are levels of awesomeness, and this is the highest.

 

She has been on a Land Before Time kick and tells me about Sharp Tooths and the Great Valley all the time. Quite the paleontologist.

 

At 11:30 the other night, we heard a little knock on her bedroom door. She informed Mark that she needed some medicine for her hiccups.

 

Paige is fairly concerned about Tucker. Each morning she asks me if he is feeling better. Since he's the only horse she is allowed to ride, this must concern her quite a bit!

 

The only obsession that ranks as high as Karie Anne's for Paige, is her obsession with Hagen. She asks about him all the time and tells me most nights that she is going to play with Hagen the next day.

 

Kitty Cat is a SERIOUS problem around here. This beanie baby goes with us most places and nighttime doesn't happen without her. Kitty Cat can't talk, but can answer yes and no questions. I am often directed to talk to her, but am reprimanded if I carry the conversation too far. "She can't talk Mom." I am usually confused.

 

Paige likes to tell me things are bad news. "Mom, that would be bad news if we stepped in the mud." The list of things that are "bad news" is endless.

 

The other day, she told me she had made me a beautiful picnic party upstairs. I came up to find a blanket laid out, dishes set, and plastic food on each plate. A stuffed animal was at each spot, the rabbit had a plastic carrot in it's mouth, and there was an empty spot reserved just for me. It was a beautiful picnic indeed.