Charlie got a new animal friend--a Bearded Dragon named Soda. Soda used to live next door, but now he lives in Charlie's room where Charlie takes good care of him. I don't know how this boy of mine knows so much about animals--my appreciation for them has increased about 400% just watching him and his love for them. They make him happy and connected and alive. They make me a little crazy, but that's cause I'm a mom, I think.
Also, our first adventure of summer was going to Goblin Valley together as a family. It was a bad night and a good morning. It was so windy when we got to the campsite, that we could barely set the tent up for the three big kids to sleep in. Simon was running around being a crazy little man and red dirt was blowing in Louie's eyes and making him cry. Taylor was trying to get the four big kids to cooperate in setting up the tent in the wind, but they were all a little distracted and excited and feeling really silly. I was holding Louie and chasing Simon around and trying to get out the dinner food we brought and I was feeling so overwhelmed. So I told my whole family that we were never going camping again and then I cried in the trailer because I really don't like camping with six kids. It will probably be a camping trip that will be remembered by my children forever because of this episode. The night was crazy because of the wind. In the tent trailer it was so loud that I couldn't sleep and stayed up almost the whole night wondering if the kids were blowing away, but not daring to move and go outside to check because by some miracle Simon and Louie were sleeping. In the morning we went to see the Goblins and there wasn't wind and the sun was shining. I decided maybe we could go camping again, but ugh. We are looking at trailers now.
Today has been the kind of day I think I would have imagined if I would have had a good imagination about motherhood when I was younger. It's summer. The big boys are trying to figure out how to make a system where they can tap Morse code on their bedroom window from the playhouse with string and a stick and some blue tape. Georgia is at the neighbors in the sprinklers. Anna made cookies and ate many of them. Also, she went on a bike ride with Max and their friends. The little boys spent the morning doing what they do--running around like little tornadoes and then watching movies and eating in their high chairs and now taking naps. I folded laundry and made pizza dough and cleaned off my dirty flip flops so I could feel better about wearing them out in public. Good summer life. I'm ready for more of this.
