It's Official

We are now officially white trash. The heat has gotten bad enough that I threw all proper decorum and breeding out the window, literally. My windows are now covered in beautiful metallic Mylar blankets (I knew our emergency kit would come in handy some day!). And you know what? I don't think it helped. It's ten o'clock at night and it is still 88 degrees inside my house. I am taking donations to buy a window air conditioner. Feel free to pay the money into my PayPal account.

It's a Miracle

Would you believe, after writing my last post with my various rantings and ravings that three things happened? One, the outside temperature took such a plunge that I'm sitting here in a sweatshirt. Two, we found out that our pool will be opening tomorrow. And three, Anton has gotten two emails about filling out more paperwork for his job. Maybe I need to complain to the world more often!

Letters in my Head

(At the risk of seeming trendy and writing letters for my blog post, it must be done. These things float around in my head and they must be removed before they cause someone (me) to do something unpleasant.)


To the Majority of Home Builders in Washington:

Why? I realize that you feel you live in a temperate zone over here on the west coast of the United States, but why? It has been over 80 degrees for days on end. And do you know what the typical homeowner likes to do when it gets that hot outside? I know what I'd like to do, turn on the AC. However, seeing as you didn't feel it was necessary to put it in any of the homes in the surrounding area, including mine, that is not possible. So when the sun hits the side of our apartment, we just get to sit here and watch the thermometer creep higher and higher. And let me tell you, I have it on good authority that certain moms get crankier and crankier as the temperature gets hotter and hotter. This is a danger to all society. So please, as you set out in the next few months to build new homes, please keep in mind that we will be in the market in a short while, and I would like one with AC. Thanks.

Sincerely,
Hot and Cranky



Dear County Pool Inspector,

I appreciate the fact that you have many, many pools to go around and inspect to make sure they are up to code, but seeing as this is one of the hottest summers on record, it sure would be nice if you could pick up the pace and get around to inspecting our pool so that when our apartment is 80+ degrees in the afternoon, we would have somewhere to cool off. Also, knowing that this immense task was ahead of you, it would have been nice if you had started it sometime before the beginning of summer.

Sincerely,
Considering Buying A Gym Pass Just to Use the Pool



Dear FAA,

I realize that you are a government organization and by that virtue alone are programed to run like molasses on a cold winter day; however, it's getting ridiculous. We've done our hurry up and wait time in the military. We paid our dues. So now that it's a year after Anton applied for a job with you and we are still waiting, it would be nice to see some forward motion. We'd like to be employed before our children leave for college. I hope that's not too much to ask. Also, gainful employment will allow us to move out of the cursed hot closet that we live in.

Sincerely,
Tired of Being the Breadwinner

Conundrum

So part of why I wasn't blogging is because I got to the point where I felt I was taking pictures of things solely to blog about them. I was experiencing family activities through the camera. I was writing blog entries in my head as events were happening, picking out the things that would be funniest to tell about. I was so engrossed in coming up with the next blog post that I was often a bit detached from the actual events going on. I felt I needed to get out from behind the camera and actually start participating. So without pictures, there didn't seem like much to blog about. Then when I did feel like blogging it was usually to rant about someone or something, and who wants to read a blog full of wild ranting?

So that leaves me with my conundrum. I'm trying to figure out what direction I want this blog to go. A place for random musings? A place for daily activity regurgitation? A place to vent to the world? Who knows. It started as a place to show off my creative efforts, but there hasn't been too much creativity of late. And maybe it should be a place for all of the above. After all, it's my blog and I can do what I want, right? So hopefully now that Anton is finally working a regular job (hooray! even if is it just a temporary internship) I will have more time to blog. We'll see how it goes.

Things That We've Been Doing

I've been a camera slacker just as much as I've been a blog slacker. However, Anton has taken over my duties and managed to take a few pictures of some of the things we've been doing. So without further ado, some highlights of the last four months.

Anton ran a marathon.

Easter eggs were dyed.

Fairs were attended.

Ballet was danced.

Tulips were smelled.

Bunnies became babies.

Anton graduated.

Ella had a horse birthday.

What happens when you let a 5 year old dictate the design of the cake.

Can you believe she's 5?!?

A trip to Utah to see all the cousins.

Lots of cousins.

And a new temple.

Strawberry Days.

Hi, Mom!

Cookout with more cousins.

Blessing a new cousin.

Visiting even more cousins.

Hiking tall mountains.

Long road trip home.

Feeding animals at a wild animal park. I even got to feed a zebra!!

Alex wasn't too fond of the animals.

Port Angeles. (And we didn't go to a single Twilight location.)

Another birthday. (Seeing his present for the first time.)

A new bike!

He's 3!!

Fourth of July fun.



The End.