Rainy Days

We've been getting a TON of rain lately. I have mixed feelings about it. Of course, I love rain. I love how it washes everything and renews everything and how it cools down the hot summer days. But I really, really don't like the humidity it brings. Dallas is humid enough already, but with the rain, even my stick straight hair is starting to curl. But only around my face of course, where I can't really do anything about it. It just looks weird.

Anyway, these two pictures are indicative of Anthon's and Erilyn's personalities. Once it started pouring, they both ran to put their swim suits on (Anthon's idea) to play out in the rain. Anthon jumped outside and got right down to business. Erilyn took one step outside, and ran back in. While Anthon proceeded to race down the wet slide, take a shower (literally--I handed him the soap) in the roof run-off, and make rain/grass soup, Erilyn shouted encouragement to him through the (closed) window and sang and danced around inside.

This is so like both of them. Anthon likes to get right into life. He likes to live in the thick of it, never missing anything. He's a bit of a whirlwind. I said to him once, "Anthon, you are by far the best at making messes. But you are also the best at cleaning up quick." It's true. The whole dynamic of our house changes once Anthon gets home. The house is instantly a mess, but everyone's laughing. And, during the school year, I could tell what he did that day by what was all over his shirt, arms and face. Peanut butter on the cheek meant Dad had made him a PBJ for lunch. Markers and paint on the arms meant that he had art that day. And his clothes were always covered in something.

Erilyn, on the other hand, likes to dance around the edges, sometimes, quite literally. She's calmer. Anthon can sometimes get her to dive in, like on an earlier post where they're both in the big blue bucket of rain water. That took some doing. Anthon had been out there for probably about an hour before Erilyn finally got in with him. But when he's at school, our house is calm, usually clean, and pretty quiet--sometimes too quiet. She likes order, and I can always trust her to be very thorough when cleaning up a spill. She brings beauty and joy wherever she goes, whereas Anthon brings laughter and, let's be honest, craziness. They complement each other perfectly.

I wonder how Tanner will fit into the mix...