Like Father - Like Son

Sunday naps are the best!

R & R

After a long trip, we were out laying under the stars, I fell asleep, and when I woke up I found this.

Pile-Up

A Long Drive

Caleb got to drive today. He also got to sleep.

Weeding for Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma said she would pay them to pull weeds.

Counter Surfing

Prin loves to try to get food off the table and counter.

McGangBang

Here is Caleb's friends creation. It's called the McGangBang.

1 McChicken + 1 McDouble - 1 bottom bun = McGangBang

Out with the Old

And in with the new.

Yesterday Emily came up and told me the basement was flooding. I had her do an assessment and she told me it was the wall between the family room and the laundry room. WATER HEATER!

I went down and determined there was a leak. I shut off the water, and I thought I drained it. However, we still had water leaking. Brett and I figured out that we had an air lock so we had to open up hot water valves upstairs to drain it, and still this morning, we didn't quite have it totally drained, so we played with the hit water faucets and finally got the whole thing drained. Then we called a plumber.

Because this isn't our house, we had to go through our landlord. They were pretty accommodating, so we called the plumber again. He came out and replaced the heater.

While we were waiting, we had to heat water on the stove so we could wash dishes, and Caleb took a cold shower.

I'm grateful for hot water.

Summer Fun

I'm working on jobs/tasks the children should do everyday. I'm not very good at enforcing chores, so it is a struggle for all of us!

I'm trying to have their list done before other activities. I have met some resistance, but we made it through a week (kind of).

Spot On

We had Chinese food yesterday, and this was Claire's fortune!

Projects

The girls decided to make some projects today.

Magic Helper

Emily got to help at a magic show. It was fun.

Relief Society = Religious Lady

I was using Siri to reply to a friend's text. She asked me if I was going to bring my girls to a Relief Society activity. I told her I had something else to do.

I then tried to tell her that I would rather go to the Relief Society party, but Siri put it in as a Religious Lady Party. I guess that works.

Flat

Brett was ready to go to work, and he pulled out of the garage. He came in and had to trade cars. Caleb and I (but mostly Caleb - I just supervised) changed the tire.

Now we have to go and get it fixed/replaced.

The Forgotten

I opened the microwave to defrost some meat and I found the corn that I was going to serve with dinner last night.

OOPS!

I'm Going There Someday

Brett and I went to the Winter Quarters Temple. We were able to leave the children overnight and go to Omaha. It was a pretty quick trip, and it was a needed trip.

Sidewalk Chalk

We went to the scoutmaster's house to drop Eli off for camp. While we were there his son pulled out the sidewalk chalk. Brett and I started outlining the children in he driveway. Then his son said he wanted to trace me. I laid down on the driveway. He looked at me, said, "Never mind, I don't want to," and then walked away. Fortunately, his daughter decided she would trace me.

Too Much Harry Potter?

For some strange reason Claire decided to hang out in the bathroom closet last night. 

The children have been reading the Harry Potter books and watching the movies. Who knows?

Games

The children bought Super Smash Brothers, and all four if them enjoy playing.

Out! Out Darn Spots

Brett came home with ink spots on his silk tie. I quickly turned to the Internet to see what I should do. I found this we site and http://www.creativehomemaking.com/articles/112803k.shtml and set to work. It didn't take much, and the spot was gone. 

I used rubbing alcohol on a clean, white washcloth, and I dabbed and rubbed the spot until it came out. Then I used my blow dryer to dry it. I think it looks pretty good. 

(The picture of the tie with the ink was taken after I started cleaning it.)

Baking Bug

It's not pretty, but it's good.

Eli has been bitten by the baking bug. He has made soup, pizza, crepes, taco meat, and now chocolate cake (from scratch). He has been busy in the kitchen. His food/cooking class has empowered him.

Last night he decided at 10:30ish that he wanted a treat. He took out the cookbook and found a chocolate cake recipe. He did it by himself (with a little help from me in converting cocoa powder and oil into 4 oz. of unsweetened baking cocoa). Brett and I went to bed, and when we woke up there was chocolate cake. I had to work to get it out of the bundt pan, and it came out mostly in tact.

I have to say that it turned out really well. It is very moist. I am not a big cake fan, but this one is yummy!

Pet Rocks

The girls gathered, cleaned, and painted their own pet rocks!

Dirty Dogs

The puppies come running in to my bedroom in the morning to see Brett. They are not always clean or dry, and I get this mess left for me.

OUCH

The dogs tripped and dragged Caleb on the driveway this morning. He got a little road rash.

Dig In

Our library has a reading program for the youth this summer. The theme is "Dig Into Reading."

I took the girls to sign up today, and of course we had to pose for pictures.

Prin's Broken

We have two dog crates, and the dogs alternate between them. Sometimes they will go in them to nap. Prin chose to nap in the smaller crate. She doesn't quite fit when she stretches out. Her position here makes me think she is broken.

She was pretty funny; she was watching me as I took the picture.

Hanging Out

Emily was afraid she would be bored this summer, and she wanted a hammock so she could read outside. We got online and figured out how to make one.

I guess she was pretty comfortable in it. She fell asleep upside down!

Soup Anyone?

I took a nap and woke up to this. When I asked what they were making, the reply was, "We're making cheese soup!"

Eli took a food class list last quarter, and he came home with a head full of knowledge and a folder full of recipes. I look forward to tasting it.

My Family Wall

The first time I hung these pictures on this wall, Brett came home and told me that it looked like a "grandma wall." It did have very old wall paper, the frames were all mismatched, and I had a crocheted name at the top of he pictures.

I liked the idea of having pictures of our families on the wall, so after I finished taking off the wall paper and painting it, I found another solution. I got inexpensive frames and this is what I came up with.

To Do List

The children are out if school and are anticipating boredom. Claire decided to make a list if things she thought we could do.

...and He's Off

YIKES!

Caleb completed his driver's ed course yesterday, so today I took him to get his license.

I am extremely nervous to let him go. It's the last day of school, so he gets A little bit of freedom today.

The Sacrament

Caleb broke the bread and blessed the sacrament for the first time today. Brett also blessed the sacrament.

Caleb blessed the bread and did it without any problems. It was humbling seeing my boys up there together fulfilling their priesthood responsibilities.

I realized that I don't have much time left with my son at home. He is growing up so fast.

"I'm a Farmer"

We have a borrowed mower, and Brett got on and was excited to be a "farmer."

He didn't get to do much because it ran out if gas.