… you have three kids 4 and under…

I know I could just stop there.  I can almost hear the “oh yeah” sigh from all of you… but just wait.  

It all started with the 50 degree drop in weather these last two days.  I can’t believe on Tuesday we are melting in 109 degree heat and today, we are digging through our closets for thick winter coats.  (OK… I know it is only 59 degrees, but seriously, we have to get some use out of these cute winter things we always end up buying and NEVER needing in AZ.)

I was up at 5 with Kate just HOPING she would go back to sleep, but finally around 6, just gave up and decided to enjoy the few minutes of quiet before the boys got up.

I took this opportunity to make myself a HOT CHOCOLATE (you know, the justifiable way to count CHOCOLATE as a breakfast food).  I fed Kate, got settled into my office chair to start some editing, and starting thinking about how great the weather was going to be today.  Courtland and Steve are getting married tomorrow, and we have the rehearsal this afternoon.  I couldn’t think of better (and so unexpected) weather for a MAY wedding!  We definitely will take advantage of being outdoors today!

In the background, I start to hear the drops of rain.  LOVE THIS!  (Since we only get a handful of rainy days in AZ, it is so fun when we do!)  Kate starts to fuss… so I take care of her… come back, plug in all my camera gear for the shoot today… and now start to hear the rain really coming down.  Our front porch is all tiled and the rain gutters land right on the entry .  It is really coming down hard now!  But, I look out my office window and can’t see any rain… I walk to the family room to see the pool… no drops in the pool.  WHY IS WATER POUNDING OUT OF THE RAIN GUTTER ON THE FRONT PORCH?  As I walk to the front door and slip on a big puddle of water, I realize that the laundry room sink is overflowing with water… water that has filled the laundry room, rushed down the front hall, and filled about 1 inch of water into the guest bath!  

Yes.  That was me.  I turned the water on to soak some clothes this morning and obviously did not get it turned all the way off!

I would  show you a picture of my flood, but it absolutely grossed me out to see all of the lint, dirt, and “things” that washed up from under the washer and dryer.  I swear we clean, but really, who cleans under these things?  (And if you really do, please don’t tell me.  Let me believe I’m not the only one.)  But if you do, I did find an easy way to clean it out - no moving heavy appliances!

Here are the other two kids that we spent the week in California with!  Mandy and Kelly (their parents) have been good friends of ours since pre-kids days.  My how our vacations have changed over the last 5 years now traveling around with 5 kids in tow!  Mandy has assisted me with several weddings over the years and has quite a good eye for photography.  She photographed our family at the beach and I got a few shots of hers and the kids.  I must say, I love the white at the beach on the overcast days that we had.  The color-tone is just beautiful.  I thought I would love our bright blue, but without the sun… we just didn’t get quite the same effect.  Maybe next year.  Thanks again Mandy for all your help and for a great week!  Your kids are beautiful! These are just priceless.

I love those images above… the best part, is they turned out so dang cute, and NO ONE (except the few of us on the beach) know how hard Grace is crying at that moment.  She did not like the sand and waves at all!  It was pure torture… but look at the memory we re-created!  :)

By the end of the week, she was LOVING the beach.  Either that or she just decided that we weren’t going to give up and she might as well start enjoying it!  :)