It's Quiet

My husband just left with six of our kids for an overnight camping adventure. Harmony is taking a nap, Katie is on my lap, and the house is peaceful. I find myself wanting to savor the quiet, to grab the few hours I have to fill myself with something that will sustain me when the noise begins again. But nothing seems just right. I'd love to get a project or two done. Maybe this is the perfect time to touch-up paint the little girls' room -- one of them colored all over the wall (again!) a few months ago. Or perhaps I should clean out something -- the pantry? or the storage area? Or I could work on a computer project, like sorting our pictures and prepping last year's for the book I need to work on soon. Or I could just sit here and blog. Yeah, that's what I'll start with, some random moments from my life. * Katie slept six hours last night, from 11 to 5. She did the same the night before, too. It was glorious. I'm hoping she's turned a corner with her sleep. She's a delight to be with and now that she's smiling, the kids are even more excited to hold her and elicit these lovely things: * Does this next picture look familiar? It should. Harmony adores Katie. * A house with five little girls in it needs a good dress-up bin. * Lillian and Joey are doing a summer day camp Tuesdays and Thursdays for two weeks. This was their first week and I was amazed at how much they had planned. Tuesday was a Bugs and Butterflies theme and they did several art projects, read books, and looked at ladybugs the twins caught before going on their own bug hunt. I was worried that Lillian might get a bit stressed out by it all, but after everyone left, she turned to me and said, "That was SO much fun!" I love that girl. * Eliza still sleeps with a pacifier. We limit it to just at night and she'll be giving it up right after the Daddy trip next month, which means, there won't be too many more pictures like this one: * We spent the day at the zoo. Michael stayed home because, "the zoo just makes me hot," and he wanted to work with DH and earn some work hours. I'm glad he wanted to stay home so I could drive our small van instead of the big monster. It was hot at the zoo. I always feel sorry for the penguins in that kind of heat. If there's one thing they're not born for, it's 90 degree days in Salt Lake City. We met up with our new friends the Robertsons and had a great time there. Their family has seven kids about the ages of ours and we met through blogging (Hi, Diane!).
Diane's son Joseph is adorable.
One of the highlights of the adventure was the bird show. I'm still learning how to get good action shots, but I was pleased at how these ones turned out:
Enjoy your evening. I hope it's as quiet as mine. I'm off to do some touch-up painting.

Comments

Pam said…
Those pictures are priceless! Enjoy the quiet.
John said…
We had fun with you guys. When we asked the kids what their favorite part of the zoo was they unanimously said the friends. I am so glad we could meet.
Rachel Keppner said…
Enjoy the peaceful silence! :-)
Wendy said…
Loved this post!!! Everything about it. You are such a simple person, and are able to state things so simply. (A little redundant I know, but just wanted to let you know you are an inspiration to me!)

I love the binky picture and the bird pictures are Awesome!!
likeschocolate said…
What a gorgeous family you have!
Katie said…
Fantastic pictures. I love the ones of Harmony lovin' on Katie.

We were at the zoo on Friday morning! I wish we'd seen you!
Cute pictures!! I think your actions shots were great. And I am glad you got a few minutes of peace and chose to use it blogging!