mid summer joys and blues

I was just laying down with a sleeping Sloane, reading my old copy of Why the Caged Bird Sings that Mom had around the house while the kids are playing in the living room and here's a little glimpse into our days. I can hear voices escalating until Billie pronounces Jackson "the meanest boy I've ever met! ...in my WHOLE life!!" Running feet through the house searching every room for me (Bill and Boppy are out and Mom's at work). I pull the covers up and stay quiet until they are yanked off my head and Billie is talking at the speed of light. "Mom, i really need you to handle this because Jackson completely just grabbed the circle/thing off of my spinner dinner and that was so MEAN and i really need your help!!" Sloane's eyes open a little and close again. "okay Billie, I'll be there in 2 minutes. Let me just make sure Sloane can sleep" "What?" (Billie has had a pretty serious loss in hearing since getting over a summer cold and we're waiting and hoping that clears up soon.) I repeat in a louder voice. "Thanks Mom." Two minutes later when I walk in the room Jackson, upon seeing me, reaches for the circle thing and hands it straight to his sister. We have a talk about grabbing and now I'm here. Also on my mind at the moment is that warm baby has to be the best feeling ever. When they're in their feety jammies and snuggled up...it's irresistable.
So, it's been a while. Let me see. Bill ALMOST conquered the mountain just after turning 30 but altitude sickness hit and it wasn't to be. Of course, the trip was still a fun one for he and his sister Meg who did make it all the way to the tippy top. There's some amazing pictures looking down on all those other mountains and i think they're both glad they had an idea and actually made it all happen.
Jackson had his pop rock experience today- his choice of the quarter candy sold at the main street soda shop. You can choose any flavor of syrup to be added to your coke and the smallest size is just an old fashioned (pre-starbucks) plain white styrofoam coffee cup for just 20cents. It's SO cute in Minonk.
My cousin Katie and her hubby had a little boy two days ago and I got to see them in the hospital and be here for that- never been around for a family newborn before. Landon is ADORABLE and i'm slowly coming around to this whole new place to be. I am not totally over Okinawa- it's like a high school break-up because i miss all the good things and i can't remember anything bad. Except the kids didn't know what peaches were and we didn't get sweet corn on the cob. I try to console myself with this when I get all slyvia plath.
I keep thinking of things to blog and then when I sit down to write I forget them all and write about nothing.
More soon.

30 is OLD

Just saying Bill Solley, Angie Solley, Angie Davison, Angi Solley so that people can search the blogs and find us.
Here's us going out to eat for Bill's 30th birthday!!!! Mom took care of the big kids at home, Sloane joined us, and we returned to the site of our Wedding rehwrsal dinner. We've also been going to church at our wedding church so it's memories all over. How grown up we are in these last 6 years! Just to show you how grown up we are...here is our new mini-van(eating gyros) . Now if that's not adult i don't know what is. (obviously adultness is a little lame). At least the kids are fun.

Happy Birthday Jackson

Jackson is 4! What big kids i have. We had little monsters all over and we had to destroy them by eating them or hitting them with a lightsaber (monster pinata) and we played monster tag. We were the superheros of the century! Jackson is pictured here in his Kabuto underoos. Kabuto is one of the masked riders...Hibiki's friend.
Bill has accepted a job with AT&T, being computer support for them. After a long process of interviews, emails, calls and thought time with several companies and positions we found one that meets our needs just right! Commute was a super factor. Of course nothing is totally final until it's final but we're all set to move to VA and start work just 13 minutes from our house! Bill rules. And
Nanna Pat arrived just in time to celebrate Jackson's birthday, make a cake and be there for the festivities.
Bill is on his way to climbing the mountain. He got into Seattle last night and we have to hope his sore back doesn't hold him back. (Not that he would ever consider admitting that his back was too sore to climb a mountain!!!) So what i really mean is that we should all just hope that he doesn't do some sort of serious damage to his back!
So much to write...but i'm off to have the fun rather than writing about it: there's bubble blowing going on outside right now!
 

at the zoo

we are recovering (i'm amazed at the healing capacities of kids) well and having SO much fun in Minonk with cousins everywhere. I'm sure we meet more everytime we leave the house- people know you at the grocery store, at the restaurants and even the car salesman we bought our new (new to us) van today had a connection in Minonk. I love this! Bill and i can't help but get sucked into the comfort of it all. here we are at the zoo with my cousin tracy and little cousin 1 yr old zac. the kids are not ones to miss a costume oppertunity and are pictured here as bee keeper and diver. we've also been biking and swimming in the plastic pool in the front yard with cousins Levi and Logan Schmillen. We just had a big family reunion yesterday and got to catch up with a lot of folks we haven't seen in a while. Well, i've got more to write but someone's crying for me!


 

that's what i get!

Just because i was whining that things couldn't get any worse. Yesterday, after the parade and quiet time Bill and Nannou took the kids back to the parade scene to play on bouncys and ride a little half-barrel train ( a tractor pulling a dozen mini carts of horizontal, big, empty barrels with wheels on them behind). Sloane and I stayed home asleep. After 100s of rides all day the train dumped over when Billie and Jackson were on their second ride and kids were scraped up all over the place. Billie had a big-enough knot on her head to warrent a trip to the ER. We declined the ambulance ride (it would just scare her more and she wasn't bleeding too much, she was happy just to be in my arms and being told stories to divert her attention) a couple other kids who needed it more took the ambulance ride, though. She's SUPERFINE and happy as a clam, running around as we watched a super fireworks display from our enormous front yard (it's really the country..folks) last night. She was the BEST little patient at the friendly Emergency Room. Here's when i realize how great our kids are- because we are always (after every restaurant meal and plane ride) getting compliments on how well-behaved our kids are. I do let them choose whatever they want to wear and they can jump on the beds all they want but we are STRICT about politeness and obeying. But sometimes I forget to notice just how really good they are. Billie didn't cry a bit when they cleaned her wounds and tried her best to be strong- she's SUCH a great little girl. Here's her picture. We took her directly to wal-mart after the ER and let her pick out a dozen things I'd never normally let her have. See?!! Even mean old me just caves into good ol' Americana buying happiness sometimes!!!
So, Jackson has a scrape on his cheek and Billie bonked her head, scraped up her arm and face a good bit. We were worried about a concussion but after a good nights sleep- that is technically still happening (12 hours and counting for Bill, Billie, and Jackson) and waking her every 2 hours to check on her coherency...all is well.
Who knew i'd have so much to write about when our travels were finished?
I'll post pictures when Bill wakes up and finds the photocard plugin for the laptop.

that's what i get!

Just because i was whining that things couldn't get any worse. Yesterday, after the parade and quiet time Bill and Nannou took the kids back to the parade scene to play on bouncys and ride a little half-barrel train ( a tractor pulling a dozen mini carts of horizontal, big, empty barrels with wheels on them behind). Sloane and I stayed home asleep. After 100s of rides all day the train dumped over when Billie and Jackson were on their second ride and kids were scraped up all over the place. Billie had a big-enough knot on her head to warrent a trip to the ER. We declined the ambulance ride (it would just scare her more and she wasn't bleeding too much, she was happy just to be in my arms and being told stories to divert her attention) a couple other kids who needed it more took the ambulance ride, though. She's SUPERFINE and happy as a clam, running around as we watched a super fireworks display from our enormous front yard (it's really the country..folks) last night. She was the BEST little patient at the friendly Emergency Room. Here's when i realize how great our kids are- because we are always (after every restaurant meal and plane ride) getting compliments on how well-behaved our kids are. I do let them choose whatever they want to wear and they can jump on the beds all they want but we are STRICT about politeness and obeying. But sometimes I forget to notice just how really good they are. Billie didn't cry a bit when they cleaned her wounds and tried her best to be strong- she's SUCH a great little girl. Here's her picture. We took her directly to wal-mart after the ER and let her pick out a dozen things I'd never normally let her have. See?!! Even mean old me just caves into good ol' Americana buying happiness sometimes!!!
So, Jackson has a scrape on his cheek and Billie bonked her head, scraped up her arm and face a good bit. We were worried about a concussion but after a good nights sleep- that is technically still happening (12 hours and counting for Bill, Billie, and Jackson) and waking her every 2 hours to check on her coherency...all is well.
Who knew i'd have so much to write about when our travels were finished?
Here's Bean at the hospital, Jackson's scratch, Sloane on the piano and our new morning routine...daily presents from Nannou and Boppy after a breakfast that usually involves chocolate...oh man!

sleep...who needs it?

oh my gosh....have i ever felt this bad in my LIFE?! here we are in total comfort with Mom's wonderful homey house all around us and food galore and a completly clear schedule (no getting to karate on time, no friends to meet for lunch, no groceries to buy). I've got nothing but time to sleep while eager grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins occupy the kids. But there's just one little problem and her name is Sloane. ah! She did so great on the plane that she's making up for it now by teething hard, being jet-lagged and deciding to only want mommy now that there's all these people around who want to hold her all the time all at once. poor babe. i'm considering formula feeding more and more each minute. because i've still got this cold, my back hurts, all 5 of us are on totally different schedules so that just as i nod off at 3am Jackson will wake up ravenous and billie will sleep through the night like she was never affected by a time change, happy and playful all day. Then Jackson needs a nap from 7am until 2pm. Bill sleeps all morning. Sloane sleeps never. It's awful. if mom wasn't taking such good care of me i'd whine even more.
but this morning we poked and prodded the kids awake with no breakfast to head directly to the fourth of july Minonk parade where candy was hurled off the tractors by the bucket full. As if the kids needed more sugar than Nannou and Boppy shower them with every day!!! It was so much fun and everything i love about America. Flags everywhere, horses and shriners and Billie and Jackson filling up giant bags with junky candy like gluttens in training. The fire truck even hosed us down as it passed by. SO wonderful and adorable. This is what Minonk is all about- you should have seen all the folks lining the streets of this small town waiting for the big parade. It makes me want to live here. Sloane slept through the whole thing of course, choosing to keep her routine of only sleeping during daylight hours over the excitment of sirens and clowns.
she's seriously the most unscheduled baby- i let her decide when to do everything and now it seems she's set her own schedule just to be impossible. humph.
stay tuned for further complaints in days to come. no, maybe things will get better...they have to, don't they? She can't stay awake from midnight to 7am every night~!

Hello Minonk

Here are some last minutes in Okinawa shots. We went to a great little place with the best view ever for a lunch with friends Nina and Ken. Beach time at Oura wan with Eva McCawley and to the butterfly garden. Now we're here the flight was better than i expected with all 3 kids doing amazingly well and no one really even fussing (even Sloane!)!!! and we're exhausted and this is the first i've looked at the internet in days.
Here's a shot of Sloane, weired out by Boppy's beard puff.