Make Me Laugh, Make Me Cry

My kids, like all kids, have the potential to make me a stark raving lunatic at times. When you have tried asking, tried time out, tried yelling and they still keep doing it (or not doing it). Yes, I have those finer parenting moments too. Too often, really.

But luckily for me, my kids also make me laugh. Really hard. And they make me smile those awwwww smiles. And they make my heart swell with pride.

So naturally, they should be documented.

Benson doesn't like to say the prayer and we have a hard time getting him to do it. But we finally convinced him one day at dinner. I was helping but he interjected many of his own concerns. "Please bless the turtles. Keep them safe. Help them be healthy." He would repeat a few of my phrases and then remind me again of the turtles. "Please bless the turtles. Don't let them die." This went on the entire prayer and it was really hard to keep a straight face.

Gardening Lessons

One thing I read about gardening is that you should keep a journal and well, that hasn't happened.  I am a horrible journal keeper.  Last year I started out trying the square foot gardening system.  I don't know if I did it wrong or what but we way over planted our garden last year.  By the time everything was full grown it was overwhelming trying to harvest anything.
This year we slimmed down considerably.  I also bought all heirloom, non-gmo seeds.  I felt like the flavors we had last year were not amazing so we're hoping for something mouth watering this year.  Last year we bought all burpee seeds from Lowes. 
When I started my seeds, I kept them in a bedroom upstairs, away from tiny hands.  I used our photography lights (they have fluorescent bulbs) as grow lights and turned our space heater on until the seeds sprouted.  They had all sprouted within 10 days.  I turned the heater off but kept the lamp on and the plants grew way more than they did last year.  I also used little plastic pots I bought on amazon rather than the seed trays I used the year before.  The extra space made a big difference I think.  When I was ready to plant outside, I stuck them outside for almost an entire afternoon and when I went to get them, they were practically dead.  In fact, one plant did die.  I pulled them back inside in their little bubble for a couple days before taking them outside to the covered patio.  I kept them there a few days.  Then I moved them under a tree for a few days.  Then I moved them out for a couple hours a day for a couple days.  Then I finally planted them.  It sounds like more work than it was.  I hadn't considered needing to harden the plants off to the sun as well as to the range of temperatures and wind.  The full range of UV nearly burned the leaves to bits. 
I have been using random organic fertilizers.  I also started a compost pile that isn't going so hot.  Hehe. 
Our strawberries did well this year except we lost more than half our harvest to bugs and decay.  This year, I tried cutting the strawberries down to their crowns one week after they were done bearing.  We have june bearing strawberries, not ever bearing.  I did this about a week ago and they are already starting to grow back.  We'll see if it does anything for our harvest next year.  I may also try putting up a webbing to keep the strawberries off the ground.  I wish they were a plant that could trellis.
As far as flowers go, we are just beginning to dabble in this area.  The zinnias that we planted seem to be growing well.  They are supposed to be full sun flowers so I almost didn't plant them in our morning sun only spot.  They aren't as tall as they are supposed to be but we do have flower buds.  We bought our Japanese Maples from Lowes for $50.  The other day we were at the nursery and their JMs sell for $100-125 but they were much prettier.  I guess you get what you pay for.  I still like ours just fine though. I also planted some daylily bulbs that I had from Lowes.  Only one grew big enough to produce a flower and it is absolutely breathtaking.  It is under the Japanese maple and it leans almost to the ground to get its needed sun.  I wasn't thinking when I planted it there.  So I'll have to move it to a sunnier spot next year.  I think I decided I'm going to plant azalea in my spot to the right.  The nursery guy told me they have some varieties that stay small.  Perfect.  And in front of my hydrangeas will definitely be daylilies.  Considering how much I love this one flower, I need more of them.  And since they are bulbs, I think I'll throw in some tulips for some spring color.  Pretty sure it will be perfect.  I can't wait to count flowers with Vanessa next year.  Hopefully we'll have lots more!

Summa Summa Time

I feel like 60% of our day someone is like this:

My kids are soooooo bored. I can't and don't want to entertain them 100% of the time but they really want me to do just that. My goal is to do one quality time activity a day, giving them my full attention for at least an hour or more. After that, I would really like to be able to give them activities and then get something done, or even read a book! Some activities we have done lately include going to Jon's softball game and then getting Andy's with friends. Playing mini golf. Story time. Parks. And activities at home like sprinklers. Vanessa's best friend down the street is moving and we're all really sad. It looks like we are going to need to do some friend hunting as well as get Reese over for play dates.

Yard Projects

Here are some updated yard pix.  The front flower bed is a work in progress.  I have given up on the hydrangeas, even though one of the two is growing.  It is going to be an eternity before it is big enough to see.  It is currently surrounded by zinnias that I planted from seed.  I am hoping we get some blooms, but we'll see.  I decided that next year I am going to buy some of the big beautiful vanilla strawberry hydrangeas that I am in love with.  I get excited just thinking about them.  There is also going to be a gap in front of the hydrangeas.  I will need to put something there, I'm thinking maybe daylily.  I planted a clematis that you can't see very well in the picture to grow up the column.  And I still need something to fill the spot to the right.  I think we are done for this year though and we'll wait to add more next spring.  I only want to plant in perennials (other than the zinnias, it was $3 for the seeds though) so I'm just taking my time, trying to plan it out.

 We built a patio off the back patio so now the back entry is completely accessible.  Except that Benson can't open the doors.  But at least his chair can get up and down without any problems.  We plan to build out the patio and do some walkways because we have a major mud problem.  We get a small river just a few feet away from this patio during rainstorms and our house is constantly full of mud.  It will require lots of gravel and tons of work but I think we can remedy it.  This patio was a ton of work because we first used the cement mold you can buy at Lowes and make your own concrete pavers.  I saw it on pinterest and it looked like a great, cheap way to do it.  We had the project completely finished and decided we just didn't like it at all.  So we pulled up all the pavers, moved them to another part of the yard and hauled in sandstone. It really did take forever.  But it's gratifying to finish and think of all the cash you saved my doing it yourself.

 Here is our garden this year.  We have three different varieties of peppers (two each) and three kinds of tomatoes.  Green onions, white onions, garlic, and watermelon.  The strawberries are pretty much done but they were yummy, same with the lettuce.  I also have a pot of basil since it tried to take over the garden last year.  Now that we have pulled the lettuce I think we are going to plant some pumpkins so we can grow our own jack-o-lanterns.

 Opposite side of the back yard from the garden we built a fenced in area for Rocky to try to contain the poop but it isn't working.  He holds it until he can go by the oak tree.  Grrrrr.  And we also put in a fire pit, that we have already used a couple times.  The long term plan involves a patio surrounding the fire pit and being connected with the other patio.

Bradys in Town

It was so fun having Bradys come visit.  They have been planning to come since last October/November and we were counting down the days!  It was SO fun having them, but there were a few disappointments.  The original plan was for everyone to come, but Laura was going to stay with the twins, Simon, and Breann.  The day before departure day, Tommy's family all started coming down with a nasty stomach flu that was taking out their whole ward.  So they decided it would be best not to come.  Matthew ended up driving his Tacoma with Molly and Sam, arriving late Friday night.  Matt and Shauna left Friday evening, planning to drive through the night but hit a deer four hours into the drive.  Luckily, Jenny and Steven were just an hour behind so they picked up Matt and Shauna and finished the drive in Steven's 2 door Dodge Stratus Coupe.  I can't imagine that drive.  They are all such troopers.  We feel so lucky to have such awesome family.

Once they got here, the bad luck didn't end completely because we had rain every day, one day it was all day long.  Most of our activities were outside activities so we were really bummed out by the rain.  But it was still nice to be lazy, eat lots of treats and play lots of games.  We had a pretty crowded house but I was surprised that it wasn't as chaotic as I expected.  Once again, there were less dishes in my sink than when it is just us.  Many hands make work light I suppose.  When we did get out of the house, activities included eating at Lamberts, Chuck-E-Cheese, and Bass Pro.  

We are working on trying to talk one of Jon's brothers into moving out here.  It's wishful thinking for us to have a family member close by.  We'll see ;)

I love that little hand in there sneaking something that looks good. Can you believe the size of this salad?! You never leave this place hungry!

Parents in Town

The week my parents were in town was chill but lots of fun.  The highlights included playing at the park, roasting marshmallows in our new firepit, catching turtles, going to the movie (Rio 2), playing games, and just spending time together.  Brigham is papa's boy and wanted nothing to do with anyone else the entire week.  He loves, loves, loves his Papa.  Vanessa is a Grandma's girl and wanted Grandma to do her hair and pick her clothes and read her books.  It's kind of a nice break for me and fun to see them have a relationship with their grandparents.  It's a very different relationship than what I had with mine, but something I want very much for my kids to enjoy.  I wish we lived closer to them, but we feel lucky that they are able to fly out a few times a year to spend some time with us.  Hopefully one day we'll be closer to them.

Vanessa's Birthday

The night before Vanessa's birthday I picked my parents up from the airport so she woke up to some of her favorite people.  She knew they were coming, so it wasn't a surprise, but she was thrilled to have them.  I had gone all out on making her cake this year.  It was something I have wanted to try for a while and I really enjoyed doing it.  I watched several youtube videos and made the cake and frostings ahead of time.  I went over to a friend's the day before so she could help me a little with the decorating.  I was really happy with how it turned out.  I am pretty sure Vanessa saw it while we were working on it, but she still made a good surprise face for me.  I think she was happy with it.  It tasted good anyway, so that's what counts the most.

I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday and she chose to go to McDonalds.  So thats what we did.  First, we made a stop at Toys R Us and my parents let her pick out any toy she wanted.  She is in a period of indecisiveness and was a little overwhelmed with the decision.  She finally chose a strawberry shortcake and polly pocket.  After we eat at McDonalds and played for awhile, we went home and opened presents.  Jon didn't have the day off but he was off early enough that he was able to meet us for lunch.  After presents, the kids played with her gifts and we had tomato soup for dinner.  It used to be one of Vanessa's favorites but she decided she doesn't really like it anymore.  Benson loved it though.  So at least he like Vanessa's birthday dinner.  We invited Vanessa's two neighbor friends over to have cake with us, Grant and Sofie.  Sofie couldn't come but Grant did.  Even with the extra help eating the cake, we only ate about 1/3 of it.
The rest of the week was filled with fun adventures and lots of attention from Grandma and Grandpa.  I think Vanessa loved all her gifts.  She got lots of books and two new Barbie movies.  Also Hungry Hungry Hippos, a doll, glow in the dark stars, pjs, and a new outfit.
I can hardly believe this girl is five, and starting kindergarten next year.  Vanessa is an amazing girl.  She has a lot of love for her brothers, for the gospel, and for family.  She loves to be with friends and yet never complains about family day on Sunday.  She barely blinked about missing birthday parties because they were on Sunday.  She loves to read the scriptures (or at least hear summaries of the stories).  She is by nature very obedient and is very embarrassed when she gets in trouble.  She likes to be right and to do it right, the first time.  She is learning to be really helpful with the boys.  I love to see her relationship with them grow.  She likes to play with little toys with Benson and likes to jump and be rough with Brig.  She is so good about getting me for Benson, to let me know he wants to be moved, or jump on the tramp, etc.  I hope she never loses that love or tenderness.  It's one of my favorite things about her.  Happy Birthday Sweet Girl.  We love you!

Running Through The Sprinklers

It's easy to take the simple things for granted when your muscles work correctly.  Simple things like running through the sprinklers.  Benson would probably be the last to take that for granted.  We turned on the sprinklers for the first time in May and let em loose.  It was the first time Benson had his chair to go through them so he didn't have to be carried.  I'm pretty sure he was in heaven.

Family Shirts

We went for a walk to take pictures in our "family shirts" as Vanessa has coined them.  It didn't go as planned.  I got these two shots that I love....

 But the family pic ended up something like this.  We had some nice scenery picked out that was down the street but Vanessa fell and that was the end of her happiness.  And then the sidewalk ended and the street suddenly got busy....basically we gave up.  This bench was convenient.  Although someone was crying or grimacing in each shot.  At least they're cute little stinkers.

 And this little stinker is lucky he hasn't been sold to the gypsies.  I tell him as much everyday; every time he steals food from the kids or drinks from the toilet bowl.

Kansas City or Bust

We finally made it.  Being far from a temple and having little kids makes it really really hard to get to the temple.  Let's be honest here.  Who wants to watch your kids for an entire day?  So when it finally worked out for us to go with another family and do a kid swap, we were so excited!  It was crazy, don't get me wrong.  But the blessings of the temple are always worth it.  Jon and I were both head bobbing on the drive home, which is never a good thing.  We had to make a pit stop and load up with some goodies to make that 3 1/2 hour drive.  Three and a half hours feels really long when you're really tired.  We didn't get the temple pictures I was hoping for.  But I am sure we will have more opportunities.  We had to do something fun for the kids so we took them to a special lunch place where a train delivers the food.  And we also went to Kaleidoscope, which is basically a very cutely decorated giant craft room for kids.  We also stopped at the fountains for a few minutes.

 These are the kids sleeping at the hotel.  It must be genetic because they HAVE to be touching someone while they sleep.  And all of them do this.

 Kaleidoscope.

 Fritzs, You can't see how the train delivers the food in the pic, but it has a track around the ceiling and drops it down onto a tray that lowers to your table.  Brig thought it was awesome, that boy never lacks enthusiasm.