July 2019
Until now, it had never crossed my mind that a year could progress as quickly as this one has. Let's face it, we have the same number of days each year, and hours per day. Yet, it feels as if that fact is entirely untrue given that I realized our nation's birthday has come and gone already. David is now 5 months old. Dude...
Last weekend, we took our annual Sea World trip with Paul's parents. Josh and Mariana attended with us since they're visiting on vacation. I don't have many pictures from that day. I didn't take any at all. I'm not sure if anyone else did. It was disappointing as far as the one ride we tried multiple times to get on. The one ride kept getting shut down. Once for ducks. I could've crawled down and picked up the duck in the amount of time it took them to MISS catching the momma and her baby with a net. Sometimes you need someone without the fear of being nipped by a duck bill and wearing the proper bootwear...City slickers. The ride was shut down two more times following that. Reason? Not sure. Regardless, we didn't get to ride. The boys were bummed.
We did take them to the kids' water area in the park. Isaac and Nolan played in the water while Ethan and David slept in the stroller. There was a kid who got too handsy with Isaac who got his butt chewed by yours truly. I'm all about allowing kids to handle their own problems, but after I give an opportunity for the situation to be handled and it isn't, I will surely step in. I let the first shove slide, waiting for Isaac to tell him off. When he didn't do it the second time it happened, that was it. You'd think I killed the kid's goldfish. Newsflash: Your parents may allow you to be a jerk, but I won't. Parents, step up and do your job. Stop raising self entitled brats. That's right, I said it. Now, go to your safe space and think about what a mean Momma I am.
In addition to the intent of shooting off our own fireworks instead of fighting a crowd to view them, we celebrated my 'phew's 2nd birthday a week late in lieu of the occasion. The fact that fireworks are legal make me happy, happy, happy. Independence Day without procuring your own backyard fireworks show after spending several hundred dollars at a fireworks stand, is no bueno. Y'all don't know what you're missing!!!
Y'all know it's illegal for simple folks such as us to put on our own show in Cali, right? There's a huge fire hazard, I get. People gonna be stupid one way or another. And, if the forestry department would do what it needs to and handle the dead brush, thin the trees a bit, maybe replant them elsewhere in an area that needs them instead of allowing dense growth to save a soul sucking mosquito, the fires wouldn't be as bad. Oh, and maybe those on the outskirts could trim their properties back to prevent the spread of wildfires. Give them a tax break to rent the equipment to do so. Oh wait, California likes to tax people to death, not give them tax breaks. I totally forgot! BOOM! A hillbilly just told you how to fix your wildfire problem....Anyway, fireworks shows are nowhere near as good when you have to watch "Professionals" do it.
After picking up the dogs and getting home, we had enough time to unload the car, handle the chickens, let the dogs out again, and load up for a short drive to meet Paul's siblings for supper. We spent a few hours with them at Outback that included 45 seconds in an earthquake. What a blast the latter was. Our party of 11 ended up under our table as a 7.1 earthquake hit Ridgecrest for the 2nd time in a matter of days. We were 140 miles away from the initial shock point. I prefer tornadoes people. You can track those. No arguing with me on that one. *shudders*
Saturday, we hosted the great grands, the grandparents, and my husband's siblings at our home. I had the pleasure of playing with Miss Luna again. That darling is beautiful and curious. I love her. ❤ It was a nice day out for a BBQ. FOOD. Lawd, food was great. Leftovers from the fourth, plus some brats, burgers, and hot dogs fit the bill. I don't remember the last time we had all Paul's siblings under one roof. Josh has a job in Wyoming now. Paul travels for work A LOT. Steven and Robin have their jobs, church functions, and their Florist business to handle as well as Luna. Life is busy for all of us. Our family spent the remainder of the evening relaxing. Early bedtime for the man cubs meant Paul and I enjoyed a little peace.
This morning, we attended another service at one of the churches we've become familiar with in the past months. This was Paul's first Sunday, as he was gone the other two Sunday services the man cubs and I attended. I'm struggling with what I need as an individual from this church. Family wise, it's great. But for my individual needs, I'm at war with my perception of it. This is one of those moments I would prefer the answers to be obvious and fall into my lap. I'm hoping after yet another email to the Sr Pastor, I get the answers I'm seeking.
The multitude of churches nearby is somewhat overwhelming. The entire process of elimination went quickly considering the numerous options. Because we already know what we need as a family, that shortened the list up quite a bit. However, being down to the final choices now leaves us settling either for the church that has the groups and activities we need as a family, with the exceptions of what it is I'm seeking for myself, and a particular piece of beliefs by the elders that I strongly disagree with. Or, the church that feeds us adults, and has fewer options for the man cubs. We could attend both. I see nothing wrong with that given one has the AWANA program we enjoy so much. Paul isn't keen on attending two. I can't entirely disagree with that, but I wonder if that's not what's gonna end up happening depending whether I get the answers I'm looking for. Time will tell. Patience began dwindling on my part a long time ago. And hiding your gifts all the while only lasts a little while. People begin to catch on when you ask a bunch of questions pertaining to the worship aspect of the church.
Speaking of music, thanks to my wonderful musician buddies, there are chord charts to a song I wrote two years ago. I entered the lyrics for copyright in April. A little tweaking for the style, and it'll be ready to record soon. There are several others in the works. Having time to finish them and keeping them within the parameters is proving to be frustrating. I hope to have those finished very soon. Preferably, long before the end of the year. The goal is to have ten songs finished and recorded before next July. It's a lot of work to do through email and around our family schedule. It sounds like Paul's work schedule may slow down a little soon. That will benefit this process immensely.
My seestor has a boyfriend now. I will spare the details and embarrass her in other ways. However, I approve of this one so far. I threatened him earlier today. It felt good to be back in the big seestor position of threatening the boyfriend. I told him he won't get let off easy like her ex husband. Bahaha! I hope he puts the fear of God in that idiot. Strap on a body cam so I can watch.
In conclusion, we've had a busy two weeks. We are looking forward to a trip to Tucson with Paul in the next few weeks. He'll be out there for training for work, but there will be enough downtime for us to do some things together. There's a plan to visit Tombstone while we're there. Maybe an air museum as well. A change of scenery will do us some good.