Rain rain go away

So I was all ready to sit down and blog an "I'm so sorry" letter to the poor lifeguard who had to watch me swim in my old saggy stretched out see through suit today. (it wasn't pretty, believe me) (So, you'll all have to endure that post another day because I just HAVE to write about the older gentleman who "exercises" by moving at a snails pace across the pool and about the other guy who swims with a snorkel.)
But then I was in my room and I could hear it coming. And I realized that lots of people haven't ever been in one of these storms. The storms here are unlike anything I've ever lived through. Yes, it rains a lot in Connecticut and rains and rains and rains and even sometimes rains hard, but this is different. I can remember my first Alabama rain storm. It was the summer that we moved here and I was with my kids at Whole Foods. ( I liked to go there often because it reminds me of WH) Anyway, it started to rain while we were in there and when it storms here it is intense. You can literally hear it coming down the street. It rains hard and fast and the wind blows. We walked out of the store and the parking lot was a huge puddle and the rain drops were the biggest I had ever seen.
Ever since the tree fell on our house last April, (the 11th to be exact) I have hated these storms. The tv weathermen are on all day long, the thunder is angry, and I can't even watch the trees blowing around.
I took this picture less than a minute after the rain started and there were already puddles on the ground.
It is supposed to rain for the rest of the day and through tomorrow and then there is a possiblity of "snow showers" on Sunday.
Now I'm off to "gymnastics" with Brooks and hopefully we can get through the day with no tornado sirens going off!

"Mom mom mom mom......

... I need to tell you about my dream." is what I woke up to this morning. Brooks is always saying the funniest things. Lately the first thing he has to do is to tell us about every dream he had the night before. Usually it involves monsters. Last night he had a dream about me being mean and not letting him have a stick.
(here he is showing off his new fireman slash rain boots)
Today while I was feeding Cate in the car at the YMCA before going in he said a few funny things. First of all he said "MOM! We HAVE to go to the YMCA because after we drop Aiden off at school I am the YMCA guy." Then later we were listening to Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" because he insists on listening to it 100 times a day in the car and he said "Do you bememba that other guy who sang this on American Idol last night didn't sing it good. I bememba because that it wasn't the right song for him." He really gets into AI!!! It cracks me up. We might have the next Simon on our hands. He has turned into little chatterbox which is a surprise to me since he took a good 2 years to start talking at all.

Also, I got a haircut!
Before:

After:( I think it's hard to tell the difference in these pictures, but self-portraits are HARD!!!)

School at home and other crazy things

Aiden was home from school on Thursday and Friday. She had ear infections and pneumonia and actually had the ok from the doctor to go to school, but decided she needed some good rest time at home. I let her stay and in true Aiden form, she had us all regulated. She thinks I am completely incompetent, but that is another post for another time. Friday she got a school class all set up for Brooks. She had all sorts of "stations" set up. Here is Brooks' art. A picture of his special lamby.


Here is sweet Cate just being happy Cate. She is cutting 2 teeth at the moment which is a surprise to me because our other 2 kids had no teeth until a year. AND, she has eyebrows!! I think her hair is going to be darker than the other kids. She is growing up way too fast, she is rolling all over the place now.

Brooks and Jimmy waiting for Lewis to let them in at the top of the deck stairs. Brooks is enthusiastic!!!
Last is a picture of the dogs. They love to snuggle up to each other. Today we were washing Georgia's bed because it smells nasty like her (actually she is starting to smell better, really) and so she crammed into Jimmy's bed with him. It was hilarious. Aren't Georgia's paws enormous?!?!?!?!

Meet Georgia

The newest member of the circus that is our life.
She's a 6 month old Weimaraner and she smells awful. But she's really pretty.

Sunday afternoon naps are the best

Sunday Round-up

Thanks to everyone for your nice comments about Moose. We sure do miss her. {Brooks was wandering around the house this morning looking for her.}

Since Lewis had to work yesterday (and today and tomorrow and the next day--you get the idea) we tried to stay busy. Aiden made us each a really nice Valentine note and card which we loved. Brooks felt badly about not having a card or note or gift for anyone, so he decided to give all the girls a pedicure.
As you can see, Cate's toenails were hard to paint. "She is just so wiggly!!!!!"
It was hard to choose a color.
But Brooks worked really hard.

Today Brooks was spotlighted at church.
Here is what they read about him:
Favorite color: green (he usually says blue and brown but whatever)
ice cream: strawberry
Primary song: "If the Savior stood beside me"
temple: Temple Square
season: spring
book: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
hobbies: swimming, soccer, playing with the dogs
siblings: 2 sisters
where were you born: Hartford, Connecticut
What others might not know about you: At night I turn into Batman.

They read a few of his answers and "where were you born" was about the fourth one. It gave it away and he was GLOWING!!

Next, these are in my yard! Is it really spring already? I guess it is here in "the South"......

And last but CERTAINLY not least is the new part of the fence. I originally wanted to fence the whole backyard, but with Jimmy we needed it done ASAP. It's nice to be able to just let him out. The best part is that it just blends right in with the old fence. You would never notice it if I didn't point it out. It looks like it's been there forever. ;)

Moose

,

Our sweet Moose passed away last night.
We are so grateful to have had her in our lives.
She had a very wonderful life in Park City, Springville, Williamsburg, and here.
She loved to run in the snow and in the woods. She trained for marathons with Jordan once upon a time.
She loved running with Lewis (in better days) and every time he got his running clothes on (even now) she would follow him around panting.
She loved to ride in the car.
She was ALWAYS hungry.
One time she ate an entire Costco sized can of almond roca.
She was known to have eaten entire loaves of bread.
She never bit.
She barked like crazy when anyone would come near the house. (I loved this when Lewis was working lots of nights)
She was sweet and sneaky and always willing to be a pillow for Brooks (or anyone else).
We miss her so much and I can't even bring myself to go clean up the spot in the kids' bathroom where she always hung out (it's all dirty from her playing in the mud yesterday).

We love you Moose!
{But like Aiden said, "that's not a very good Valentine's Day".}