Our little theatre...

Merril was out of town last week sometime and I told the kids I would redbox them a movie. I preordered it online and told the kids I was on my way to pick it up. Maxine wanted to come with me but Jack and Juliet asked to stay at the house. The redbox is 2 blocks from our house so I said ok. I came home 3 minutes later and found this:

Juliet told me that they had turned the living room into a theatre and we were now ready to watch a movie.

I thought it was very clever that the kids came up with it on their own and divided the microwave popcorn into 4 separate bowls.

Then I decided to show how big my belly is getting to be. This picture was taken a week ago (17 weeks) and somehow a pregnant belly looks bigger when it's on one's self. I tried different poses and angles but no matter what I did, it just didn't look very big. So instead, I'm showing how not big I am. :)
I had meant to blog all of this a week ago but every time I came downstairs to use the computer, I'd realize that my camera was still upstairs and the thought of dragging myself upstairs again was unappealing. So I apologize for the laziness.

Sand Dunes...

We met my family at some nearby sand dunes for a weekend of camping! I didn't take very many pictures. All the kids were filthy from head to toe from playing in the sand all day.

We had lunch! (Thrilling isn't it?)

Maxine, Juliet and their only girl cousin on my side of the family, JoLyn, made a sand castle city. Which I think looks pretty sweet.

But the star of the weekend was our 3-wheeler, a Honda 110 ATC. I had one like it as a kid and Merril gave me one just like it as a gift a few years back. That machine was running pretty much non-stop. Older cousins would take smaller cousins around camp. It's a great little ride. That's me and Juliet in the picture.

That's all the pictures. Other than that, I've started to feel the baby move this week. That's been exciting for me. I just turned 16 weeks. :)

New/old Tahoe...

We purchased a blue Chevy Tahoe, with seating for 7, air conditioning in the back, brand new tires with eagle alloy wheels and low miles. It was a bit dirty but I've since detailed the interior. Now that the upholstery has been scrubbed, it looks pretty fantastic in there. We got a sweet deal because it's broken, of course. Broken transfer case. See Merril's legs under there?

These are the new Nitto Terra Grapplers. The old Tahoe had Nitto Dune Grapplers with flame tread on the side walls. These, unfortunately, only have lightning bolts down the side wall. (Not that any of you care and can't even tell in this picture but I just wanted it out there.)

The outside of the Tahoe has a couple paint flaws but the body is straight. It needs to be washed so bad! Currently, the Tahoe is on jack stands in my garage without a transfer case. Until the new one gets here Wednesday, I can't wash it. It's not as cherry as my previous Tahoe, but it was also $15,000 less. Besides, a great deal always makes something prettier in my opinion.

Week after the first day of school...

I'm not great getting pictures of the first day of school so this is a week after, when Kindergarten actually started.

Max and Jack are running to pick up neighbor kids for the bus.

Down at the bus stop: Jack always poses with these "I'm looking cool" faces lately. Half smile, no teeth, eyebrows raised a bit. Maxine...did we brush you hair at all?

Juliet brought down her baby doll named Suzie (the doll's name comes from the movie Elf). I have high hopes for her and the new baby. She LOVES babies! I might not have to do anything at all.

Here is Jack getting off the Kindergarten bus so fast that I really didn't get a good shot.

Jack is loving school and tested well during his Kindergarten testing. He's reading and knew most everything except math concepts. Woops, should've worked on those more. He's had his reading tested and is ready to start the reading library at school so I'm pleased.

Juliet and I have been having fun hanging out just the two of us! I'm glad to have these months with her before the baby arrives in February. :)

The Falls...

There's a set of waterfalls that I've wanted to go to since I was around 17. They're in a town next to mine and I've rarely known anyone who knew where they were. A kid from my ward knew and when I asked him for directions he replied, "No one can be told where the falls are, they must be shown." (I think he was trying to get a date but I was dating someone else at the time so it didn't happen.)

Flash forward 14 years: We found out our neighbors across the street know the way to the elusive falls! I was so excited when he agreed to take us. It's probably a 20-25 minute drive on a crappy dirt road but we made it and they were everything I thought they would be!

There's a large pool down at the bottom and Merril and Maxine spent a lot of time swimming under the falls. Unfortunately, we got there as the sun was going down and I was not about to get all wet at 8 p.m. I think this place would be great in the sunshine!

Juliet was saying in a sing-song voice, "We're at the FAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLSSS!"

The kids even found some adorable teeny frogs.

And we sold the Jeep (cue the sad music.) I worked hard on the Jeep. It's been my project for a year and a half. Unfortunately, the Jeep simply won't seat all the people in our family soon. Merril put it on KSL on a whim and it sold almost the next day. We have our eye on a 1999 Tahoe. It's broken, of course, so it's a really great deal. So I'm sad but it had to be. Maxine burst into tears when she found out. I guess we all loved it.

Having another kid...

Okay, I said I was done having kids. And I meant it. I still mean it. However, the powers that be decided that we should have another one. I ignored the prompting for quite some time but let's just say that the Lord has all the time in the world and I flinched first. So we decided to have another baby. I'm not necessarily wanting to have another one, but I have to. Otherwise the voice in my head will be nagging until I die. So it took us a while, 8 months of trying. I had the Mirena and it kept things uninhabitable for months after it was taken out. I've heard the heartbeat and I'm almost 14 weeks along. Feeling pretty good, tired mostly and having to eat constantly but good. I don't think we'll find out if it's a boy or a girl, anticipation is a wonderful thing.

And the voice? Has it gone away? Thankfully yes. I've been so less torn since we decided to have another kid. I feel peace about our decision, something that eluded me every time I wanted to stop at 3 kids. There's going to be a large space, 4 3/4 years between this one and Juliet. That bugs me a little but I'm hoping the Lord will just make it work. And I'm due in February on my birthday. (FYI, I already have a child born on my anniversary and we are NOT having one on my birthday as well. My doctor agrees.) So there it is. I'll be the mother of 4 kids. One day, I'll know why.

The fancy plates...

I have a china set that I received as a graduation gift. My Mom had a set that my Dad had given to her and then a partial set that she received when her Mother died. As a teen, I remember eating on the china almost every Sunday. Fancy cloth napkins were used and folded in neat patterns. (I used to have a thing for folding napkins. I quit because I don't have a set of cloth napkins. Hmmmm....Christmas idea.) Anyways, I have fond memories of spending a really nice Sunday dinner together with my family, something that usually didn't happen so much during the week.

Fast forward**I don't know how my Mom ever let us use her china. I try not to be overly crazy with the kids but I like my china. It was expensive. It can't easily be replaced and I'm always a little afraid that something will get broken. However, every now and again Maxine pleads with me to use the fancy dishes and stemware for a Sunday dinner and I agree. I hold my breath while the kids help me set the table. I try not to faint during dinner while the kids use the utensils. And generally, everything is fine. (One time, the lid to the teapot broke but it was my fault. Go figure.) But what cracks me up is the fact that eating on the plates made in China brings out the British accents.

Happy Sunday to ya!

Okay, now I'm sick of peaches...

So I planted a peach tree 3 springs ago. This was its 3rd summer in the ground and we finally received a decent crop (last year I got 1 peach).

So since I was jealousy guarding my substantial crop from the birds this year, I might have gone a little overboard. I started by putting tin foil in the tree to help frighten the birds. This seemed to help but not enough. Next I covered the whole tree with netting to keep the birds out.

This worked wonderfully but my neighbors might think I'm a little overprotective of my fruit. I had 84 peaches. Glorious, wonderfully sweet, deep red peaches.

We bottled peaches, of course.

I made a peaches and creme tart with vanilla ice cream.

I made peach/jalapeno jam which is wonderful on cream cheese with crackers.

Merril likes it on peanut butter sandwiches but whatever.

And now I'm kind of sick of peaches. We ate a lot of them with lunch or for snacks and with half and half for breakfast. It made me think of pioneers and how they must have gorged themselves when fresh fruits and veggies were plentiful during the summer. How during the bleak winter months, they would dream of fresh melons, fresh corn on the cob, fresh tomatoes, carrots, apples, etc.

I'm hoping that next year I won't be so protective of my fruit because there should be more of it. But this year I wanted it, all of it. I didn't want the birds to nibble one bite of those peaches that took 3 years to grow. Sorry birds. Better luck next year.

Sonic Happy Hour...

We went shopping for new school shoes today and finished right at 3:00 p.m. We climbed into the Jeep and it was mega hot! Jack said he was going to die so I looked at the clock and we were right next to Sonic. They have 1/2 price slushes and drinks from 2-4 p.m., their version of Happy Hour. So we headed over and got 3 small slushes and a small cherry limeade for me. All told, I spent $2.35 for everyone to get their own slush and a drink with a slice of lime and a maraschino cherry in it. Happiness followed us all the way home.

Had ourselves a little family vacation...

So last Wednesday at 2:00 p.m., Merril called and said, "Want to go to Lake Powell for the weekend?" My response, "Uhhhh, sure!" It didn't end up working out so we went this weekend.

By Lake Powell, there's a magnificent slot canyon called Antelope Canyon. Merril's been there a bazillion times with Japanese tourists and arranged for Maxine and I to go for free! It was really a sight and not somewhere I'd want to be during a flash flood. It was crowded but we scored some super awesome amazing pictures. It was really neat!

Our little family decided to camp on a secluded beach. We loaded everything into the boat and took off. We drove around for a while and had a hard time finding a beach because the lake was so high. But we ended up finding a nice place to camp.

The next day we loaded in the boat to head up to Rainbow Bridge. It's took us a while to get there, maybe 2 hours. On the way, we took the boat up Cathedral Canyon. It was a deep canyon, but skinny. Merril was able to reach out and touch the sides as we floated along.

Cathedral Canyon is fairly close to Rainbow Bridge, which is the largest known natural bridge.

We stopped at a marina near Rainbow Bridge for some ice and paid $5.25 a bag. Incidentally, they were selling like hot cakes.

We drove back and fished. Which ended in Maxine catching 2 catfish and general frustration among the crowds. So we had tacos for dinner instead of bass or trout.

We even did the early morning skiing on the way to the floating toilet. (Merril wanted me to point out that only he did the skiing. I drove the boat.)

We lazed around camp.

We played in the water.

We took in too much sun and were ready to come home.

Jack's new/old bike...

Jack learned to ride his bike this summer without training wheels. Quickly, he was ready to move up to the next size and we decided to take one of Maxine's old bikes and give it a makeover. I'm so bummed I don't have a decent before picture. If you look at this old picture of Juliet, you can see the bike in the background.


Basically all you need to know is that it was very pink. Since it was a D.I. special, the tires were done after Maxine so Merril invested in some new tires and black grips. Jack picked the colors for his new bike, decided which part got painted which color and he and Merril took it all apart and painted it. He is supremely proud of his new bike!

Maxine's Musical...

Maxine was in a junior musical this summer. It was Seussical Jr. and she was a who and an offstage voice.


The whole cast was made up of kids, not a single adult, and they did a pretty great job. She had a great time but worked really hard on it. For the entire month of July, she was at rehearsals for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. Frankly, I was exhausted by the end of it but she loved it. (Sorry about the weird blur faces.)

Juliet attended every performance and all the kids still sing the songs a lot, annoyingly. But it was a great thing for her this summer and we'll probably do it again next year. :)

What a rager!!

So Merril came in the house this morning and said, "It looks like we had a rager in the front yard." Eyebrows raised, I ask, "Why?" He says, "Well, the kiddie pool's still out there from yesterday, lawn chairs are tipped over, trash from otter pops, and a bunch empty cups." I reply, "It must have been a good one, I don't remember a thing." :) (Kids make my life messier.)

Sunshine and happiness...

Our fair city opened its first splash pad and my kids have been begging to go! I thought it was going to be super crowded around lunch time but it wasn't too bad. We took lunch and ate and played. Good times were had by everyone, as you can see.

I love this picture of Maxine. The buckets were a big hit.

Jack kept playing in the water but stopping to pose for me.

Fun.
Fun.


And more fun.

Happy Summer!

4th of July Fireworks...

Okay so we saw some fireworks but that's not what this post is about. I got a call Monday afternoon from Merril, who had taken the 2 little kids shooting.

Merril: "Hey babe, um I just rolled the Scout."

Me: "You rolled the Scout? Are you guys okay?"

Merril: "Yeah! The kids had seat belts on but we need the air compressor."

Me: "Is the Scout okay?"

Merril: "It caught on fire after that!"

Me: "Yikes!"

Merril: "I put out the fire with sand."

Me: "All right, I'm on my way!

So Maxine and I loaded up some snacks, cold waters, the air compressor and a whip flag and headed out to the sand dunes. I arrived at the trees at the sand dunes and found my children laughing and playing in the sand but looking like this:

Merril looked like this:

The Scout looked a little worse for the wear. The windshield cracked.

This dent became more dented.

And the hood got squished and smashed the air cleaner.

Here's the 3 of them in front of the rolled Scout. Jack wouldn't smile.

The Rescuers:

More details: So Merril was on the ridge of a dune and turned to go straight down but the front tire sunk in and the whole Scout slid sideways. Juliet said that Merril said, "Here we go!" The Scout rolled twice. Merril, who wasn't wearing a seat belt, held on for one slow revolution and then stepped out of the Scout. Juliet told me she closed her eyes tightly. I asked if it was because it was really scary. She informed me in a matter-of-fact tone that she closed her eyes because there was sand everywhere. Injuries were very minor. Something fell out of the Scout and bonked him on the back of the neck/shoulders. Juliet has one teensy bruise on her hip where the seat belt held her in. Merril's forearm got scratched somehow. Otherwise, everyone escaped just a little shaken.

The Scout landed on its tires so Merril jumped in and drove down the rest of the hill. The Scout started on fire because battery tie down broke loose and the batter cable was contacting the body and sparking. Merril threw sand on it and duct taped the cable and it was all fixed. I arrived with my little air compressor and snacks, we aired up the tires and drove home.

All the kids rode with me, incidentally.

Later Merril asked me, "Are you mad?"

I replied, "No I'm grateful, the kids had seat belts and no one was hurt."

(If he'd rolled the Jeep, instead of the Scout, I would've been mad.)

Kids, be safe.