Sunday July 31

It was a nice Sunday today......

You know, except for the hustle and bustle to get everything in order to go on our trip!!!!

Tomorrow!!!!!

Yay!!!!!

But church was nice.

During Sacrament meeting we had a few girls speak about girls camp and then Melissa Lyons spoke and so did Cindy Peterson and they did such fantastic jobs!

Girls camp really was such an incredible experience!!!!!

But the musical number today about did me in.....everyone was in tears!

Our new little friend Sierra did a musical number with her Dad.

Sierra has CP, and she struggles with getting words out.

But oh my goodness......Her dad sang the first verse, then Sierra sang the second.

And it was just so gosh darn cute hearing her sing that verse herself.....

But then they sang together.

Oh wow.

The spirit flooded that room like I have never felt.

It really was incredible.

I am so grateful to have been a part of feeling that!

I just wish it would have been recorded so ya'all could experience it too!

So then for the 3rd hour they split up for a 5th Sunday meeting.

They asked the Laurels and priests to take the younger primary classes so that the teachers could go to the meeting.

And I was kind of a mediator along with a few other YW leaders to make sure things went good.

Then like I said, after church it was all getting ready to go!

We went to Michelle Burks house to get a bunch of CDs to listen to and she also gave us a bunch of new movies that should last for the whole trip!!!!

Cassi had choir practice too.

But that is pretty much it.

I think we are ready for our big trip.

I think.......

Saturday July 30

Oh it was a rough night with Elsie.

She had a bit of a stuffy nose, but seemed fine today.

Hope it doesn't bother her tonight :(

So I was super tired when I woke up for my run, but still went.

It was smokey out....but I was kind of above it on our little hill :)

It was still hard to breathe....but nice to get out.

So i got home in hopes to just laundry the day away.......but my washer was broken.

I am sure my man can find a way to fix it....but he is not here and we had a ton of laundry to do.

So for a few hours i went back and forth from Vern's house and Bubbles house and Stacia's house and I got 9 loads of laundry done in not too mush time!

Yes, a hassle.....but so grateful for these awesome people we get to live by!

I ran some errands.

I picked up the left over from Kidz Again.

They gave me about $55 bucks for stuff.

I want to take the rest to Kid to Kid to see if they want to take any before I donate them to DI.

Elsie pretty much has her school shopping done from her birthday and all the fun stuff we found in the garage that the big girls used to wear :)

And Port is easy.....so that $ we got for our old stuff should cover him.

Not too shabby!

While there I got a water proof case for my phone....I wanted a water proof camera, but Dad didn't think we needed to spend $150 on that :(

That's okay, this water proof case will be fun too.

So after I took Madi to work and Cassi went babysitting, the little ones and I went for a swim at the Morgans.

They are camping and I got approval before they left to use their pool is needed :)

And I needed to check out the phone case!

Also it was 102 today!

I think I have nailed down why I can't swim.

The camera was being weird about taking pictures under water.

I could video out of water then put it in and it would work, but just taking pictures, I wouldn't do it under the water.....

We will have to play with that.

But i can just take screen shots of the videos anyway, so no biggie.

ANYWAY......

So I wanted to go underwater with the camera to try to take the picture, so I put Port's snorkel mask on that covers my nose and went under.

Well, tried to go under.

I definitely had a small mini panic attack!!!!!!!

I kind of coached myself and was able to briefly go under to assure myself it would be okay.....

But oh man oh man do I hate that feeling!

So maybe I need to work on that!

We swam for a little bit and had some fun then we went home and I cut Port's hair and they both got bathed before we left to pick Madi up from work.

And Cass just got home from babysitting a little before we did.

So it was a full day, and I am exhausted.

And no, we are still not packed.

But everything is clean now :)

 

Friday July 29

Another day gone by.......

We got to work this morning on laundry.

But my washer is giving me a hard time....and it makes me want to cry :(

Port went with the boys and Vern to go sell eggs at the corner of Amity and locust grove.

We had some lunch....I asked Madi to make some microwave mac and cheese for Elsie......

Next thing I know the girls are all screaming cause the kitchen is filled with smoke.

Well, Madi had put the mac and cheese in....but forgot to add water!!!!!!

Oh man, the smell was bad!

Still is :(

Hopefully I can air it out tonight....but with it 102 out today I didn't want the windows all open!

Anyway....but it was kind of funny, now that I look back at it :)

The girls and I loaded up the car with all the clothes they have outgrown, which was about 12 garbage bags full!!!!!

And we took them to Kidz Again......we don't know how much they took yet, because they needed 24 hours to go through it all!

I hope it is enough to pay for school clothes for the little kids :)

Then the girls and I went shopping for some clothes for San Diego (I am hoping to take our family pictures while we are there...) and Madi needed a few things for EFY.

So that was fun.

When we got back I told Vern to send Port home, and she said he left with Billy and the boys to go to the dollar store to spend their egg earnings :)

Cassi got to go babysitting this evening.

Elsie and Madi just hung out with me while I tried to figure out the dumb washer!!!!!!

Then Vern said they were going out to eat and wanted to take Port.....

So I didn't see much of the boy today, but he sure had fun :)

Thursday July 28

I am starting to feel so unprepared for our San Diego trip in a few days!!!!!!!

I am so excited, but still need to get things ready!

It is the drive that I am needing to focus on.......how in the world will we survive that long in the car?!?!?!?!

Together!!!!!!

But then we will have a nice week to relax...before we have to do the drive again ;)

Elsie had speech therapy this morning.

Cassi went with the boys and they sold lemonade at our Mary lane entrance.

They made $10 in about 1 1/2 hours.

Not too bad :)

But then it got too hot, so they came back home.

While they were doing that, I went with Brent to fix up some wire on our neighbors land.

We wanted to move our cows up there because we are worried about the amount of grass we have in our field.

And with Bubbles cows in there the last little while, they just don;t have much to eat.

So Brent has been stressing.

He and Bubbles talked to their neighbor about using their empty field......

But it was also a stressful situation, because we would have to get the cows there.

And that means leading them towards Locust grove, and cars......

Well, I stopped by Billy and Vern's to get some wire, and they said to just put them in their field while we were gone so we wouldn't have to worry.

But Brent felt bad taking food from Billy's cows.....the other neighbor has no animals on his field.....

But we decided that would probably be the best plan, at least for while we are gone on our trip.

We came back home and finished cleaning the garage up.

And guess what?????

Both cars fit in there!!!!

Yay!!!!!

Another big project checked off the list!

Well, no it is not done, 

But it is now usable and we have a lot less to go through when we get time to go through it :)

At about 3:00 we went to the Morgan's house for a swim.

It was SOOOO hot today! 

And it will only get worse the next few days!

Anyway....

We didn't leave there until about 6:30.

I hadn't gone grocery shopping like I have been planning to the last few days.....

There was nothing to eat, so we went and grabbed some burgers.

After I jumped in the shower I went to the store to get some necessities and a whole bunch of treats and junk for the car ride......

When I got home it was time to move the cows.

You never know how it will go.

First, Brent fixed Bubbles fence and we moved Bubbles cows back into her field.

They were easy.

They are a lot smaller and much less intimidating!

Then we moved ours....

First one got away and down the path between the Edwards two properties.

We ignored him and focused on the other one and we got him down there pretty easily.

Then Madi and I jumped on the Mule and had to go the long way around back by the Morgan's house to push the other cow back up the path and into the gate from that side.

It actually worked out pretty well :)

So that stress is gone.

I do have to say though, I am enjoying our neighborhood round ups more and more :)

Wednesday July 27

This morning, Brent and I got up together and he went and mowed a neighbors field while I ran the hill by him.

I do love him on that tractor :)

And it kept me motivated to run the hill so I could see him!

I came home after 5 miles....3 miles of hill.....

He came home a couple hours later.

The kids and I had got to work cleaning out/organizing the garage.

Still SO MUCH to do......

We have some boxes from when we first moved here.

Then there are all the boxes from the stuff we packed up from the remodel.

And I think every one of those boxes has been broken into over the last few years to get stuff out.

It is just a mess!

But it is nice to get started on it!

We worked most of the day in there.

Madi had to leave to work at the snow cone shack at 12:45.

Cassi went and swam with Avery.

The Edwards boys are home....so Port was with them ALL day!

And Elsie hung out with Mom and Dad in the garage.

She was a good helper and also kept Mater company :)

I got a shower before going to activity days with Elsie.

She is in the big girls group now.

They painted fingernails and talked about 'polishing' up our testimony.

It was pretty cute.

And Elsie, who doesn't ever let her sisters paint her nails, was excited about having her nails painted!

And Sierra was there too, so that always makes Elsie happy :)

We had to leave early because I had a Beehive presidency meeting right before our activity.

So I came home and made dinner, then we ate it just before the girls came over.

Then for our activity tonight, we went swimming at the Morgans, combined with the Miamaids.

It was a nice relaxing night and I got to have some grown up talk with the ladies, so that was fun too :)

Elsie (and Kyra and Cannon) got to hang out with us, so that was a lot of fun for her.

That girls needs a pool!

She loves swimming and it is such great exercise for her!!!!!!

Tuesday July 26

Days like today drive me crazy :(

I did get a good run first, so that helped.

But then I got showered and Elsie all ready and we left for PT.

When we got home, Cassi taught her second guitar lesson.

That went well.

Then I left again to take Port to the dentist to get two cavities filled.

He was a champ :)

Back home where I picked Elsie up to take her to her well check up with Dr. Allie.

It is always a treat to see Dr Allie :)

While I was gone, Dad ran Cassi to her voice lessons.

When I got back I cleaned the art room, and then went and got Cassi after her lesson.

I am so excited about these lessons.....for the stuff she is learning, but that she is just spending more time singing :)

Yes, she has been getting in trouble with her siblings for belting out songs all night....but I love it!

While I was gone with all that stuff, the kids helped dad weed, irrigate and they even started cleaning the garage out, thanks to Madi wanting to fit her car in there!

There is still a ton to do.....

BUT....it's a start :)

After dinner I left for RS where we talked about easy healthy meals.

And they talked about an Instant Pot.....why has no one ever told me about this magic!?!?!?!

I need to get me one!

Too bad I missed the sale last week when it was almost half off on Amazon deal day!

Monday July 25

Today was a busy day.....tomorrow will be worse!

But then Wednesday shouldn't be too bad....

I had to get Elsie up early to go to her 8 a.m. eye appointment this morning.

She did pretty good.

Except there was a new helper, and he was quick in his movements.....and just different from the lady Elsie is used to.

So when he put a sticker over her glasses and asked her to read letters, she shut down.

She was being so brave ad trying so hard....and he was a nice guy and everything....

But just too many quick movements that startled her......she was done with him.

But then Dr Lee came in and Elsie is used to her and how she acts and what she does.

So it went just fine.

her prescription did change a bit....but not by much.

I think I will see if the insurance will cover a new pair and then we can have the two to choose form....and have a backup in case one breaks....

After the eye appointment, my VTs came over.

That was a nice visit.

Then we took Madi to work and the rest of us headed over to the Young's for a nice swim.

We were there for a couple hours.

It is always so nice to spend time with them.

And a special thanks goes out to Kara for entertaining Porter the whole time.....he was quite a handful!

We came home from the Young's and then I went and picked Madi up from work.

She had a birthday party to go to.

We picked up Carley too and we took her to Janie's party.

The rest of the Morgan kids came over and hung out.....

I just love these little friendships they have :)

Kyra is such a good friend for Elsie, it makes me smile.

Oh and Cannon and Port......they just crack me up!

I didn't get a picture of Cass and Avery....but they are so much fun.

Such great kiddos!

Madi is still gone at the party.

I swear I feel like that girl is never around!

But I am thankful for the opportunity it is for our 14 (almost 15) year old to have a job!

Sunday July 24

Elsie refused to go to classes again :(

So she went to Sunday school with me and YW too.

Dad will be here the next few Sunday's, so that will be good.

After church I tried to convince Port to take a nap with me.

He didn't last long and I got about 20 minutes.

Cassi got a ride from Sister Burk to choir practice.

While She was gone, we got a visit from Bro and Sis Papa.

They were Port's teachers before the ward split.

They had a cool camp blanket for him for when he got baptized......but then the ward split.

And they wanted to make sure he would get it, so they brought it to him :)

How sweet are they!

I miss these great people!!!!!

There are so many people we don't get to see anymore because of the split :(

But there are some great new people we get to meet too.

At least with Holly, I will get to see her at the school once school starts!

Later on, Madi went to Braden Burk's fireside thing.

We went to HEFY and had a little fireside where he told about it and what he did.

Instead of a conference talk, we pulled up a Youtube video about the Pioneers, since it is Pioneer day :)

We didn't call Gramps until later.....and he probably was already in bed....so we missed talking to him!

But we did get to bed at a pretty good time because I have to get up early and take Elsie to the eye doctor at 8 a.m.!

Hope that goes well :)

Saturday July 23

Today was kind of a laid back day.

I got nothing accomplished.

We all kind of slept in a bit.

Then Emmy got packed up and she headed out about 12.

I left before she did to take Madi to work.

Elsie bug (and everyone else) was sad to see her go.

But it was so much fun to have her here!!!

Cannon came over about noon and he and Port played back and forth between houses all day.

I had a major headache at one point and Cassi and Elsie hung out while I took a nap.

Then Kyra came over and the girls all had a fun tea party.

Stacia texted me and said to bring everyone over for dinner when they got hungry.

So it was really nice not to have to cook anything ;)

I picked Madi up from work at 8:30.

That girls made $25 in tips today!!!!!

Seriously!

After I picked her up, I dropped her off at her friend Abby's house.

She hung out there for a little bit and just got home.

When we got home, I got the kids showered and ready for bed, but then there was an interesting survival story on the TV that the kids talked me into watching with them until after 10!!!!

I finally made them get to bed!

We have to get to church early tomorrow!

Friday July 22

It was such a fun day today......and jam packed with lots of stuff!

Our neighbors, the Nielsen's, are boat sitting while their parents on on their mission.

They invited the Morgan family and our family to go boating.

We left here about 11:30.....grabbed stuff for lunch and went and had a picnic at Black Canyon Dam.

The Nielsen's and the Morgans showed up a little after 1.

The kids played....we took turns on the boat.

It was a fun time.

It was a nice day for it too.

Then we (the Morgans and us) had  to leave about 4ish to get home in time to shower to make it to another activity we had planned for weeks.

Stacia bought a groupon for a Escape room place.

It was us and two other couples and it was just so much fun :)

We went with the Baumgartners and the Harkers.

Definitely a fun group date night!

Then we went to dinner to a Cuban place.

My dinner was awesome....but there were a few that didn't really like what they got.

Then we went to Freddy's for some shakes and ice cream.

Emmy was so great to hang out with the little kids and also Kyra and Cannon.

Madi was gone the entire day babysitting to and she made a good chunk of money too!

I will add more pictures from today, but I need sleep!

good thing I have nothing going on tomorrow......I can make up all these late night blogs!

Thursday July 21

Today was a nice day.

Except it was a really hot day outside!!!!!

Dad went out to the shop and finally got his generators fixed!

That has been an ongoing project and I know he is so happy to have it figured out!

Madi went to work and Port and Cassi went too.

They took the long board and Port's roller blades and had fun for a few hours there.

Here at home we had a special visit from Sister Roll!!!!!!

She came to see Elsie and bring her a sweet birthday gift.

She is such a special lady to us!

So grateful she was put in our path over 6 years ago as Elsie's Sunbeam teacher!

After her visit, we all (except Dad) went and picked up the kids from the park and Madi from work.

And we got some snow cones.

When we got home, I left again to go take some pictures for Elsie's PT's parents family :)

On the way home I picked up a Redbox, 'The Finest Hour' and that's what we watched tonight.

Tomorrow we are going to go boating with the Nielson and Morgan families for a few hours.

So that will be fun!

Wednesday July 20 (more pictures soon)

Happy Birthday sweet Elsie Rose!!!!!

It was such a fun day, but the high light was Emmy coming to our house!!!!!!

She came a little before dinner time.

Earlier in the day we opened gifts and then went and got her new glasses, and found out they didn't order the right color glasses, But Elsie loves the purple....so we are rolling with it!

Then we got out car damage assessed.

(Oh by the way there was a scary moment that happened while I was at girls camp.....and guy driving way too fast up the mountain, hit his mirror on my mirror. It was actually terrifying since we were on the edge of the mountain with a car load of girls camp girl!!!!!!!! Story to follow.......)

Anyway.

Then after lunch we went swimming with the Harkers for a bit.

Mom and Dad got a bit of sun :(

Elsie had so much fun in the shallow end.....but really ripped up her knees and feet!

Poor girlie!

Then we came home and Cassi made her yummy cupcakes for Elsie's party later on.....

Then Emmy came!!!!!!

For dinner, Elsie REALLY wanted to go to Buffalo Wild Wings....so she could have mac and cheese :)

Silly girl!

But it was a fun time.

Then when we got home we had a little neighbor party with Bubble, Morgans, Billy, but Vern and the boys are gone out of town.....and the Neilson family. 

Elsie was so excited to have Sierra over.

We ate Cassi's cupcakes, and the sweet cake Ms. Chris made for Elsie bug.....and ice cream.

And then we just talked and chatted the night away :)

It is so great to have such wonderful people around us!

And our Elsie Bug had a great day.

But she did say the best present ever is having Emmy here!

It will be a fun couple of days with her.