Storms

Elijah's (soaking wet) twilight bike ride Singing in the rain

The storm got scarier at bedtime...but it's always comforting to have someone to sleep with!


We love the storms here. They are dramatic; they get your attention. Lightning flashes every several seconds and the thunder is loud enough to wake anyone who's sleeping. Over the past 48 hours or so, we've had several emergency storm warnings. On our way home this evening we heard one such warning, so we hurried to get home and put the cars in the garage, cover up flower beds, etc. before 8:35 p.m. when the storm was projected to hit our area. Normally this would be exciting. We, and expecially Adam, make a big deal of getting in the rain and letting the kids know that the stuff practically runs through their veins as Oregonians. We even open the windows so the boys can watch the storm and hear the rain from their beds as they go to sleep. But last night they were scared. I think part of it was seeing us scurry around securing everything. Part of this was due to the fact that Samuel heard the emergency broadcast, which mentioned the words "tornado" (this was simply a watch, not an actual tornado) and "hail large enough to cause damage" and "strong winds". I think the other part was due to the new phenomenon of tornado drills at school. This has him thinking about them much more these days. Anyway, Elijah and Samuel were both scared, so they slept together last night. Those two finally fell asleep, but the thunder kept startling Isaac from his sleep.

Pre-storm we had an awesome day. Wednesdays are storytime days at the library, which is always exciting for Elijah. That was followed by a 4-hour nap, which was exciting for Mommy! Then we drove downtown to meet Adam at a new farmer's market that's being launched at The Triangle, which is his main project at work. It was so much fun! We had dinner at an Italian market called Mandola's, played in a fountain, bought fresh fruits and greens from the farmers, ate baklava and shopped for organic plants to supplement my growing garden. Among my purchases were a Celeste fig tree, spanish marigolds, rue, feverfew, Italian oregano and more basil (I think I've overpicked what's in my garden). We had such a good time. I'm can't wait to do this more often now that farmer's market season is officially here.