A Happy Flag Day!

And you can't celebrate Flag Day without a few flags. Needed to stop by four different stores to get said flags, but we got them! 13 stripes one for each of the original 13 colonies, and 50 stars for the 50 states that we are today. We really do live in an amazing country. There is freedom of speech. Freedom to vote. Freedom of religion. Freedom to have goofy blogs (ie freedom of press). We have so many other freedoms that it is really imposible to list them all. We are free to follow our dreams and achieve them if we but have the will power to do so. Free. We have all those freedoms because our forefathers were willing to lay down their lives for them. And also because we have men and women who put their lives on that line every day to protect those freedoms for us. Many lost their lives, and many still will, to the fight for freedom. We are free. Amazing. All summed up in a flag of 13 red and white stripes with a square of deep blue in the upper left corner behind 50 white stars. What does that fabric mean to you?

Just Because

Because I can't seem to help myself. I love this man! And the camara just swung up and took the picture...all by itself. Really!

This Post Dedicated to the Number 5

There are a lot of 5's in the world. The kids claim our family to be one with five members (if you count four legs into the equation). We have 5 hens in our backyard. The human hands and feet each have five digits. 5 quarters will get you something off the dollar menu. There are also several businesses and bands called 5. Five happens. While we were on the beach (with the nonexistent sun), I happened to look down at just the right moment and spot this rock. Pretty dang cool!

Our Day

I know I know, I've neglected you horribly. Just know that when I'm neglecting you, I'm being as good of a wife and mom as I know how to be...As in, I'm freakin busy with life. The laundry needs done again, the kitchen just received a cleaning last night, and now needs another one. The floor is past the gross level (I just love muddy footprints) and needs mopped badly. I think I'll sic the kids on that. And both Peaches and Mr O's rooms need a deep cleaning (as in mom goes in and throws out all the garbage and vacuums twice). So, I'm still busy, but taking a moment to post something wonderful that happened. We went to the beach. I know what you are thinking. Beach means sand, sun, umbrellas, and SPF 50 right? No. Not here. Beach is pebbles, rocks, and some sand, chilly enough for jackets, and without any hint of sunshine on the horizon. But it was fun anyways. The kiddos laughed and ran. Threw rocks and splashed. Found some makeshift shelters and played house. It was beautiful. Fun. And best of all: we were together. We spent the day with each other. Talking, laughing, just being a family. It was wonderful.

Missing You

I miss sunshine. I miss open fields. I miss the smell of freshly turned dirt and mud. Watching the rain come across the field in sheets, coming quickly and leaving quickly. Not needing to wear shoes. I miss sunsets that are multiple colors, not just another shade of grey. The rarety of rainbows. Being able to take the laundry outside to hang. I miss the feeling of being alone and safe in the middle of a field. Not worrying about stranger danger because there were no strangers. I miss dust. Kicking it up with bare feet and making small dust storms. The wind ripping through and forming dust devils. I miss the sun.

Another Way to Recycle

I'm really not sure why or who came up with the idea of bottle rockets, but I'm pretty sure it was some geeky guy bored stiff from playing on the computer too long and wanted to try something new. So a bucket of water, three pop bottles (not 2 liter), and an air compressor later...presto! Bottle rockets! Mr O and Peaches have been asking to launch rockets for quite some time, and since we are out of engines for the other rocket, this was an excellent solution. The kids would get the pop bottle half full of water and hand it off to Daddy. Then they would run back about 10 feet so they wouldn't get wet. Goofy kids. So Handsome would hook it up to the improvised launch pad and the count down would commence. 3...2...1... And POP! The bottle was air born! Spraying water all over Handsome and the surrounding 5 feet as it ascended into the air (I love the look on his face!). He only managed to launch two into the neighbor's yard... The kids loved it! More more more!! So we continued to launch rockets until Handsome was too wet to want to continue any more, and I had gotten a couple cool pictures of the rockets in flight. Those things move fast!! They really are rockets! Minus the whole blowing up thing.

Thoughts

I know that Memorial Day is most often celebrated by the BBQ, with burgers and baked beans, salad if you feel particularly healthy. But so often between the day off and the (hoped for) sunshine we forget what the day is really for. It is a day to remember not only those who have fallen and given the gift of their lives for our freedom, but also for those who live and continue to fight for our freedoms. Those men and women didn't get a day off. They had to work, on the day that is for them. Our little family drove out to an old Fort by the coast, and I wasn't surprised to see quite a few more police cruisers on the road. Unfortunately they do not get to celebrate a day off on the day that we honor them. The troops don't either. There are armed forces all over the world who put on fatigues, boots, helmet, and picked up their gun just like any other day of the year. They protect our freedoms by putting their lives on the line day after day after day. I am so thankful that we live here. Where we are protected. In visiting the Fort I was reminded of all of this. Standing on the bluff that overlooked the ocean it seemed as if I could hear the sounds of boots marching, voices echoing, and the report of gunfire. Just an echo of the past, but a good reminder for the present. We remember and we are thankful.