In our family that rhyme is not often said. With the exception of maybe two, all of my family loves the rain.
And so, today was a happy day. We were planning to head into town earlier today, when the rain thundering down outside gave me an idea. Being outside in the rain is one of the best things to do, and being outside in the rain on a trampoline is even better. The only problem was, we were about to leave.
I found my mom and asked her what else needed to be done for us to go. She said that she needed to drink her tea and clean up and then we were going to leave. I asked her if we could go jump on the trampoline, and then, as she groaned out a maybe, I dashed upstairs to change clothes, grabbed a sister, and ran to the trampoline.
As soon as I bounced, I knew that it was going to be fun. Instead of the normal type of bounce, this first one was so much looser, more elastic. My little sister yelled at me to stop jumping while she was getting on, and I stopped. Barely. My other sister got on too, and all three of us jumped like crazy, occasionally slipping, occasionally falling, but having fun
I really love the rain.
22 July 2009
13 July 2009
Don't forget to sign the door!
In our new house, we have started a new tradition in our family. We have a coat closet in our entryway with a plain white door. If you open the door and look inside the closet you will see a neat row of coats, and, to the left of the coats, a hanging row of cubbies holding mittens, gloves, and hats for winter. As far as you can see, it is a normal closet, with nothing special about it.
If you turn to the inside of the door you will see white paint, and a lot of signatures. With the exception of a few people, every single person who has ever slept in our house since we put that door up has signed the door. Some people try to come up with profound words, others try to outdo each other with elaborate drawings, and some simply sign their name. The only bad thing about this is that we, my family, will never get to sign the door, since we live here.
So the next time you look inside someone's coat closet, turn your head and see if maybe, just maybe, someone signed the door.
If you turn to the inside of the door you will see white paint, and a lot of signatures. With the exception of a few people, every single person who has ever slept in our house since we put that door up has signed the door. Some people try to come up with profound words, others try to outdo each other with elaborate drawings, and some simply sign their name. The only bad thing about this is that we, my family, will never get to sign the door, since we live here.
So the next time you look inside someone's coat closet, turn your head and see if maybe, just maybe, someone signed the door.
01 July 2009
What's not to love about moms?
My mom is an amazing person. Not only does she put up with all five of us kids on a daily basis, (as does my dad) she is really supportive of a lot of the things we do.
Earlier today, my parents called us into the family room. The announcement was: the older three of us could get Facebook accounts. Yes! We had been bothering our parents for a few months so we were super excited when they finally said yes. That part was both of my parents decision, so awesomeness points go to both of them!
Later on in the day, i was in the kitchen working on something, when my mother came in and asked me if I wanted her iPod. Hmm, that takes a lot of thought. Of course! I asked her if she was giving it to me, or if I needed to buy it. She said that she would give it to me because a friend of ours had just given us an iPhone! I'm super excited. I've had money to buy a nice iPod for a long time, but there have been things I wanted more, like my laptop. And then, to top it all off, my mom gave me her headphones. Thank God for moms.
Earlier today, my parents called us into the family room. The announcement was: the older three of us could get Facebook accounts. Yes! We had been bothering our parents for a few months so we were super excited when they finally said yes. That part was both of my parents decision, so awesomeness points go to both of them!
Later on in the day, i was in the kitchen working on something, when my mother came in and asked me if I wanted her iPod. Hmm, that takes a lot of thought. Of course! I asked her if she was giving it to me, or if I needed to buy it. She said that she would give it to me because a friend of ours had just given us an iPhone! I'm super excited. I've had money to buy a nice iPod for a long time, but there have been things I wanted more, like my laptop. And then, to top it all off, my mom gave me her headphones. Thank God for moms.
28 June 2009
Wake-boarding is Amazing, and Sunburn is NOT
On last Saturday morning my brother, sister, and I went to spend the week with friends while our parents were gone at a conference in Georgia. For Saturday, Sunday, and Monday we went up to Crooked Lake up by Fort Wayne, IN.
I thought that we would spent the three-day weekend tubing behind our friends' boat, and maybe swimming a little bit. Instead, they purchased three wake-boards over the course of the weekends, and kept two.
On Saturday, we started to try. We didn't have instructions or anything, so we had to figure out how to do it on our own.
We ended up going back to the cottage with only one person successfully getting on top of the water: me!
On my second try, I managed to get on top of the water, even though I squatted the whole time and never actually stood up. But hey, I got on top of the water, and for that I am proud!
The next day the teenage guys looked up instructions for how to wake-board the real way, with much better results than before.
We stayed out on the water for most of the day, coming back in to eat a late lunch at 3:00, then we went back for more wake-boarding. This is where the sunburn comes in.
We thought that we put sunscreen on, we thought that we put it on good, but we didn't. The result being: we got burnt. Badly.
That night when we came in, we kept our legs as stiff and straight as we could, since they looked like lobsters and felt like they were on fire. Getting to sleep that night was NOT fun!
And now, nearly a week later, my sunburn is STILL peeling from when it started two days ago. I'm totally used to my shoulders and back peeling off a few days after I get burnt, but not my ears. Yes, my ears peeled. Gross! At this point, my legs have still not peeled, and are red and itchy.
Now, with my sunburn going away, I can't wait to go back on the wake-board and try to do some tricks!
I thought that we would spent the three-day weekend tubing behind our friends' boat, and maybe swimming a little bit. Instead, they purchased three wake-boards over the course of the weekends, and kept two.
On Saturday, we started to try. We didn't have instructions or anything, so we had to figure out how to do it on our own.
We ended up going back to the cottage with only one person successfully getting on top of the water: me!
On my second try, I managed to get on top of the water, even though I squatted the whole time and never actually stood up. But hey, I got on top of the water, and for that I am proud!
The next day the teenage guys looked up instructions for how to wake-board the real way, with much better results than before.
We stayed out on the water for most of the day, coming back in to eat a late lunch at 3:00, then we went back for more wake-boarding. This is where the sunburn comes in.
We thought that we put sunscreen on, we thought that we put it on good, but we didn't. The result being: we got burnt. Badly.
That night when we came in, we kept our legs as stiff and straight as we could, since they looked like lobsters and felt like they were on fire. Getting to sleep that night was NOT fun!
And now, nearly a week later, my sunburn is STILL peeling from when it started two days ago. I'm totally used to my shoulders and back peeling off a few days after I get burnt, but not my ears. Yes, my ears peeled. Gross! At this point, my legs have still not peeled, and are red and itchy.
Now, with my sunburn going away, I can't wait to go back on the wake-board and try to do some tricks!
12 June 2009
The Tractor and the Turtle
I just spent most of my day at my grandma's house with my dad, doing some of the work that comes with having a gorgeous pond in the spring, including wading into mud a foot deep, chopping off branches from trees, and pumping air into a hose underwater so that we could retrieve a sprinkler pole that was knocked down during an incident with my dad's kayak. All in all it was a good day, especially since I got to be in the water, which was surprisingly warm.
And then, to top it all off, Dad let me drive Grandma's little tractor-thing up to the barn. I love to drive. I love driving the riding mower, although last time I drove it I was this _______ close to hitting our car, I hit a post, I backed up into a bush, and I mowed half the lawn before I realized that the blade was off. I also really like driving my Grandma's little tractor. It goes faster than the mower, and it also stops faster, so there is no fear of backing up into a car with your foot jammed on the brake. Today was only the third time I had driven it, but I enjoyed it. I'm a little scared to drive a car, since I have mostly tried to steer from the passenger seat, and that normally results in me swerving all over the road, trying not to get too close to either edge. But like I said, I enjoy driving.
I was taking the little tractor up to the barn, glad that I had asked Dad about driving it for the third time, when I got up to the barn. Right next to the fake fire hydrant (that I had only just noticed today after going to Grandma's house for years) was a six inch round little painted turtle. I pushed in the brake, then turned the key. I lifted up my foot and the tractor lurched forward. Not a very dignified stop. Plus, I was six feet away from the barn. Dang.
I ran over to the turtle and picked it up. I ran to my dad and yelled, "Dad, look what I found!"
He looked at it and said," It's a little painted turtle! Where did you find it?"
As I opened my mouth to answer, I dropped the turtle. Poor turtle. I picked it up again.
And it peed all over my flip-flopped foot.
Poor me.
I set the turtle down, and went to rinse off my foot.
Never drop a turtle. Ever.
And then, to top it all off, Dad let me drive Grandma's little tractor-thing up to the barn. I love to drive. I love driving the riding mower, although last time I drove it I was this _______ close to hitting our car, I hit a post, I backed up into a bush, and I mowed half the lawn before I realized that the blade was off. I also really like driving my Grandma's little tractor. It goes faster than the mower, and it also stops faster, so there is no fear of backing up into a car with your foot jammed on the brake. Today was only the third time I had driven it, but I enjoyed it. I'm a little scared to drive a car, since I have mostly tried to steer from the passenger seat, and that normally results in me swerving all over the road, trying not to get too close to either edge. But like I said, I enjoy driving.
I was taking the little tractor up to the barn, glad that I had asked Dad about driving it for the third time, when I got up to the barn. Right next to the fake fire hydrant (that I had only just noticed today after going to Grandma's house for years) was a six inch round little painted turtle. I pushed in the brake, then turned the key. I lifted up my foot and the tractor lurched forward. Not a very dignified stop. Plus, I was six feet away from the barn. Dang.
I ran over to the turtle and picked it up. I ran to my dad and yelled, "Dad, look what I found!"
He looked at it and said," It's a little painted turtle! Where did you find it?"
As I opened my mouth to answer, I dropped the turtle. Poor turtle. I picked it up again.
And it peed all over my flip-flopped foot.
Poor me.
I set the turtle down, and went to rinse off my foot.
Never drop a turtle. Ever.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)