We have been a little busier lately around here. Michael is still crazy busy at work and planning vehicle repairs with Cam; Cam is super busy with college and work; Jar has been busy with end of the year school work, building LEGO's for competitions, and getting his driving permit; I continue to stay busy keeping these three boys in line...always cooking to keep them fed...doing loads of laundry...keeping the house clean...keeping bills paid...organizing the house...recording memories...planning family time...and much much more. (but these are my favorite things to do--I love being home and being able to take care of the house...love love love love love it!! Thank you, Michael, for working so hard, allowing me to stay home and take care of everything at home and everyone at home. It is my favorite thing!)
Here is what has been happening around here lately:
- lots of organizing (this is the boys closet--it was such a mess before)
- Jar has been building LEGO's, as he is entering more contests (this one is from Lord of the Rings--he built the scene like it was coming out of a book. This boy is genius!) He now builds in our room while he watches a movie (like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, or Doctor Who), and of course, he has a snack.
- Now that we got the basketball hoop base filled with rocks, and the weather has been nicer outside, the boys have been playing a lot more basketball
- Jar washed the truck, and in typical "Michael" fashion, Michael rewashed it. (not really - but he did do all of the detail work) Hey, it looked good. I love this truck.
- I made a delicious chef salad for all of us a few times. As you can see, we love eggs on our salad
- Michael and I went on a date to Starbucks during Sunday School hour at church. It was a lot of fun (too bad my drinks were terrible. I got the first one, and I actually took it back. I think that is the first time I have ever taken any food back. It was awful. The second one was better, but it was still not that great. I love Dutch Bros. coffee)
- I took some photos of the boys on the way home from church
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| what nice smiles...with such beautiful teeth. They look like twins :) |
- Strawberries are showing up around here...they are delicious! I ate them for breakfast for a whole week. I also made strawberry spinach salad. Yummo! Oh yeah! I also made chocolate dipped strawberries. Yummo again!
- The boys and I went to Trader Joe's and Target
- The boys are wanting me to hurry up and finish at Target, so they decide to create their own fun
- Here are the new products that we got
- After Trader Joe's and Target, I took some photos of the boys at the Capitol Building
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| I love these boys so much |
- I got some good books from the Library
- I bought some outdoor furniture and a padded chair for Michael's "office space"
- The boys played more basketball
- Flowers are blooming around here
- Cam and Michael have been planning new rims and tires on Cam's car, so they took off the rims/tires on Michael's car and put them on Cam's car. These boys are crazy!
- Jar went to take his driving permit...and he passed. Yahoo!!
- I cannot believe I have to do this again...teach another kid to drive. I don't know how a parent with 19 kids does it. WOW! Jar is super excited to start driving. He drove right away from the DMV.
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| this is how I feel :) |
- I bought the boys a real official Frisbee (we have always just had the free ones you get at stands--they don't work very well), so they went to the park to try it out this week
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| goofball |
- I had been craving pull-apart cherry licorice, and Michael went to every store in our town but one and even Walmart and could not find it. I went to the one store he did not go to, and I found it. Thanks for trying, Michael.
- I have been organizing like crazy again...even though I just did this two months ago
- The photo below is to say that I hate these kind of cupboards. I only have stuff in the part you can see. The cupboard goes all the way over to the corner of the wall there, but you cannot even get to that stuff unless you remove everything right there that you can see. What a waste! Anyone who knows me knows that I will NOT remove all of that stuff to get to the stuff that I need. It is just way too much work.
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| this used to be full of junk...I cleaned it all out |
- I purchased a brand new sewing machine on Craigslist about 5-6 years ago. I continue to tell myself that I need to get it out and get it all set up. My mom sewed when I was little, and I learned to use the sewing machine, but I have never actually set one up. Today, I got it out, set it up, read the manual and loaded the thread, and sewed up my pants. It was so invigorating. I felt so accomplished. Now I can use this to do most of my sewing. I am tired of hand sewing everything that needs mending.
- After all of that work, I sat down and enjoyed a glass of iced mint green tea while listening to some Podcasts (everything tastes better on a pretty dish or in a pretty glass)
- Another bush is blooming...
- I love making lists...it is the only way I can function
That is already a lot of stuff happening around here, but here are some other things that we did these past two weeks:
- lots and lots of laundry
- I ordered Jar's school for next year
- I got Jar's testing scheduled
- We watched many shows (American Idol - Trent won!!!, The Voice, The Middle, Last Man Standing, Little Big Shots, School of Rock, The Willis family)
- the boys mowed the grass
- I cut Michael's hair
- Michael and Cam went to the junk yard
- Youth Group
- Michael and I had Sunday Night Date Nights with shows and special food
- We celebrated Jar getting his permit with Original Roadhouse food (Tri-tip steak, sirloin steak, baby-back ribs, pulled pork, garlic mashed potatoes, baked beans, and their awesome sourdough sweet rolls)
