Rain Rain Go Away

It's supposed to be summer here. That's what the calendar tells me. So far we've just had lots of rain and cold. As I sit here, we should be getting rid of day 3 of swimming lessons but it's a downpour outside and I just can't bear to make my sweet little girl put a swimsuit on and go out in the that rainy cold world!

We branded yesterday. It was a wee bit late. Some of the calves were GINORMOUS! We managed to get through it without anybody getting severely injured. There were a few interesting moments thanks to Uncle Mike and Tanner - hooray for the Perrys =o). Aunt Crystal did manage to get sunburned. As of last night she said only her face hurt. (Wonder how she's feeling today.... hee hee.) How 'bout closer to Mother's Day next year??

OH YEAH... suppose I should update you on the housing situation! We actually live somewhere! We found a little house to rent right in the bustling metropolis of Fairfield. It is smaller than our other house was but it works. It has three bedrooms, one small bathroom (as La Neige put it "That's the smallest full size bathroom I've ever seen!!") and a large fenced yard. It is really close to church and the school, which will be perfect this fall, and we have been able to walk to the park and post office and library so far. If the weather ever cooperates, we'll be walking everywhere! It is dated but clean. The landlords are very friendly and are very willing to let us make improvements to the place. I've already installed new flooring in the entryway. I hope to do a little painting in the bathroom and maybe in the living room if I can ever figure out what color goes with nasty '70s goldish orangish brown carpet.

We are still ironing out details to break ground on our new house. There is lots of red tape involved. (Are you really that surprised?) If Adam didn't have to work, things would move more quickly but as it is he has to handle everything on his days off amongst all the other million things he always has to do. I'm not complaining. We are making slow progress. At least I don't have to fight red tape with three kids tagging along - that would be sooo fun.

I am an aunt again, officially. Nicole's 4th girl, Kinley, was born May 22. She is the tiniest version of the Leiser girls weighing in at 6lb. 11 oz. So far she looks just like all her sisters did at birth but shows inclinations to be a fairer version like Kayla. She's very sweet. Paige is finally old enough to like babies. She got to hold Kinley and you should have seen the look on her face. She was completely enamored. If you know Paige, you can guess at that shy little look of joy she had! It was so sweet. She just stared and stared and told me about all the tiny little fingers, toes, etc. and how soft her skin was. I have to admit it was a pretty sweet moment for me as a mom too. There are more babies on the way in the next year and that is pretty exciting too - thank goodness none of them are mine though!! I'm very content to enjoy everyone else's right now. =o)

Porter is hilarious as always. He has moved on from Spiderman and Batman. Now he is Ironman. Instead of putting the Bat-suit on, he now tells you he's getting "angry eyes" when he's turning into Ironman. He totally does all the motions - shoots fireballs out of his palms, puts the power source in his chest, bends his wrists and stiffens up to 'fly'. It's pretty sweet. We took the fam to Ironman 2. Paige and Porter hated it. Guess Ironman is only awesome when he's Porter. It's funny to hear Paige and Porter incorporate it into their imaginative play. The other day I overheard the following "Oh thank you Ironman" "You're welcome Restaurant Girl" Porter comes and asks for some fabric scraps because "I need some food for the Restaurant Girl!" It's funny and wonderful that they can play together and still be who they want to be. (Hmm... I think there's a life lesson in there somewhere.)

I still need a maid. I feel like I can never get anything done or caught up. Such is life. I have a mound of laundry waiting to be folded, another mound waiting to be washed, and a sink full of dishes. Quite frankly I'd rather sit on the computer or sew or read or something more fun that my household duties. UGG. Guess I really should go try to get something done. Maybe I'll reward myself with a trip to the fabric store this afternoon =o).