palindrome week

Grace and Brynn

 For a family that celebrates pi day palindrome week is exciting.  Every day this week the date is a palindrome. Today 7.11.17, tomorrow 7.12.17 etc.  Hannah was especially excited as her name is also one, and for this week only we wish we had named Steve "tacocat".

It's also 7-11 day and Chickfila cow appreciation day so we had a full agenda.

First this morning Z got her stitches out.  She still has to wear the cone for another day or two, which is hugely disappointing.  Also she is still not using the leg ...which is even more disappointing.  She has not been herself and it's put a little black raincloud over the whole house.

After that we suited up and met the Sherwoods for lunch.  Then drove to 7-11 for free slurpees.  Free food cheers everyone up!

Austin, Travis, Hannah and Ethan

 Grace went home with Brynn to hang out for the afternoon and there goes another summer day.

me and Audrey with the kids

swimming

 I asked the boys to smile and instead they dove at each other and wrestled under the water.  Today is a warm one, and perfect for inviting friends to swim.

 Reagan, Hannah and Sam enjoy each other's company.  Hannah has made some good friends here.

 You can't really tell but in the pool are Brynn and Grace, Ethan, Brody, Zach, Austin and Travis and Noah.  I always cringe and hope no one hits their heads or losses any teeth when E has his friends over.  Seriously it's a worry for me.  Also lots of my photos are from a distance because I usually "lifeguard" from inside :) where it's not 110 degrees.

Our weekend was good, except Rob hurt his back.  We have horrible carpet in our bathroom...it's not that awful but who carpets around the toilet?  So we have wanted to take it out since the moment we moved in.  Also our bathroom is pretty dated and we've wanted to upgrade it.  But there is always something else to put our money on and I think it'll be a couple years before were really get to it.  This weekend, the weekend before 20 people come to stay at our house BTW, Rob decided to start pulling it out.  He got hurt and then we had a huge mess.  So a) I feel really bad for him.  A bad back is the worst. I know very well and sadly still struggle with mine.  b) I "hired" Grace this morning to clean up the glue and mess from his project which she did.  She worked really hard and it took over an hour of constant scrubbing to get it all up.  It still looks like we are ripping up our bathroom but it's something we can live with now.  And c) "splain me this Lucy" what is it about men that makes them want to start projects at such interesting times?  After all these years I am not mad but it's still a mystery.  I do remember one time when I was mad.  We had an ugly sweater party at our house one December.  We invited about 8 couples over and I spent a couple days getting ready, planning games, cleaning, cooking.  The afternoon of the party R decided to clean the garage and install his kayak holder on the ceiling thus making him unavailable for last minute party prep...and when guests arrived he was still in the garage, with the door open, in shorts and a tee shirt because he was hot, installing the thing.  Several men asked if they should go help...and their wives were like "no way! What is he doing out there on the eve of a party?".  He finished shortly, cleaned up and joined us for a fun night but it was frustrating and not an isolated incident.  (early in our marriage his idea of helping to get ready for company was to mow the grass an hour before they came, then to leave the grass clippings on the walkway because he had to run and shower,  EV.ER.Y.Time)  Why do I write this now?  I was remembering it this morning as I was meal planning for our next busy weeks and Grace was scrubbing and he was working from home (because of the back injury) and I was laughing to myself because life is so funny and learning to live together happily with your family is such a journey.  I write my blog for me.  I love to look back.  For our parents, who read and stay caught up on our antics. For my kids, who love to read about themselves and use it for evidence of things in the past.  And also because I think some day my granddaughters, or great granddaughters might read it.  When they read about Grandpa they will be so surprised.  I can picture Penny saying to Tatum "Grandpa is so nice and he and Mimi are so happy I can't image them being frustrated and having silly disagreements" and then when they are frustrated with their own husbands or children they will feel better and know they are not alone, that it's part of the process.  Even Sariah was frustrated with Lehi (although we don't know much about the details we do know it happened).  

disclaimer: I am fully aware that as the story teller the stories I tell are slanted to my perspective so if you want to know some of my annoying quirks you can read his blog...(LOL, oh yay he doesn't have one!)

Anyway, good times.  The hot summer days, the chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven that the kids are inhaling, and the memories and shared growth that show us how far we've come.  (an inch in 10 years...like the stalactites)

Hannah's home

After two long weeks Hannah is home.  We all missed her a lot.  I guess it was good practice for 2 weeks from now when she moves to Idaho to go to school. We all crowded into her room to watch her unpack and hear about her visit with Nana and Abba. 

Now we have a noisy house full of kids, baking cinnamon rolls, getting ready to swim and catching up.  It's much more lively around here when our Hannakin is home.

103 degrees

Grace always tries to hide when I take pictures

 Summer is reaching it's peak.  It is hot today.  Last night Grace got to have Brynn sleep over.  This is a rare occurrence at our house. We used to do sleepovers pretty regularly.  I never loved them and the kids were always asking.  For older teens it wasn't inconvenient for me but also some trouble was gotten into at sleep overs, or using sleep overs as an alibi.  (Of course they weren't all bad but I'm just saying)  Then we decided not to do them and we didn't for years and years.  Occasionally I will allow one though and I am particular about who and when.  I also really like that the kids don't have that as an expectation but think of it more as a huge treat now.

Anyway I like Brynn a lot and she and Grace have become great friends.  I am very happy to see that friendship growing as well.  So she got to come, or Grace got to have her come is more accurate.  Last night they played with the animals, made slime, and we went to the park for awhile when we had to pick up Ethan from soccer and he wasn't done.  Then the girls did a night swim, which they loved.  This morning they woke up and hung out, painted peg people and swam some more.  They were cute and nice and cleaned up their messes.

This afternoon Ethan wanted to invite some boys over to swim.  So Brynn left at 2 and his gang came at 3. He invited Preston, Brody, Noah, Adam and Caps. Noah invited Gabby and Rayanne.  Then Noah couldn't come...which was kind of weird but the girls were nice.  The boys wrestled over the flamingo for a long time, long enough that they were each injured and a few of them bled.  I guess that's the sign of a good time for boys.  

It was pretty funny, I was paying attention from inside but not really wanting to be intrusive...then it got pretty wild so I figured I'd better sit outside so I would know when to call 911.  The boys were all over the place and there was yelling and splashing.  Eventually I heard one of the boys say "lets stop and eat some more mormon snacks".  I then heard Preston laugh and say what's a mormon snack? I did put out a bunch of food and we stocked our mini fridge so I guess that was it.  If you feed them, they will come.

In other news learning Hebrew is super hard, but super fun.  I think I may be able to ask for an apple or say I am tired by November. 

So we are loving summer. Love Love Love. 

 Hannah's having fun in Ohio.  Abba sent these cute pictures.  She comes home Saturday and then we have one week with her home, one week of camping and then she's off.  CrAzY!

Jenna and Sierra both got new jobs.  Sierra is going to be the activities director at a long term nursing facility.  She will get to work with Val and Kenz, which is super fun.  Jenna is still with the same agency but she's going to be training as an adventure therapist.  Which sounds right up her alley!

Independence Day

Wednesday morning, Rob is back to work after 5 days off.  Our last day off was July 4.  We had a fun day.

He went fishing in the a.m. and also went to Wes' to work on his gun.

We all went to the Chronis' for a swim party.  They have an awesome backyard with a trampoline and a pizza oven and a pool.  It was really fun.  We played water volleyball and hung out.  The pizzas turned out great.  Lots of people came and everyone got to visit and hang out.

While R was off we netflixed a new series called "travelers".

Yesterday Z was out of her cone of shame for a few minutes yesterday and she managed to lick out 5 stitches.  This was super upsetting to us.  We called the vet and he said we had two options 1) go to the emergency vet $$$ 2) wrap her leg, treat with polysporin and bring her in in the morning.

 We took her in first thing this morning and she got 3 new staples. 6 more days until the cone is gone and I can't wait.

Also she hates fireworks.

Lots and lots fireworks were shot off last night.  We stood in our backyard and could see them at all sides of us.  Some really close, others far away.

Stuart died yesterday.  We knew he had a high mortality rate but it was still sad.

Tonight the elders come for dinner.  What to make???

4th day off

 Rob has been waking up early to do manly things.  Saturday he and Grace went shooting.  This morning he met Shawn and Jon for some mountain biking. Tomorrow he is going fishing.  This is a little taste of retirement... 20 years from now:)

I've been having fun with my new scripture study journal.  It gives doodle and question prompts  and it's a fun way to study.  I've also been enjoying Hebrew lessons, although I am not sure I have learned anything.

Grace and Mark shooting on Saturday. 

Z continues to recover.  It is a full time effort for me...and for her.  I will be glad when she is well.  Poor baby.  She had her 4th laser treatment today.  Steve is anxious for her to get better too.

This afternoon we had the Roberts over. We swam and ate and talked.  Super fun.  I love Julie and it's always super fun to get together.  Poor Cierra is having a hard time.  She's a trooper but it's sad to see the consequences of peoples choices on innocent people.  She and baby Zane left early, she was tired.  It was kind of weird, Julia and Emmet had Landon with them and we had Bub home (Grace was at Rylin's playing).  Usually when we are together we each have 3-5 kids with us, not just one.  

the weekend

I didn't take any pictures but imagine our pool full of people.  That was yesterday.  We invited several friends to swim.  The Evans, Sherwood's and Boudreaux's came.  We BBQed and everyone brought sides and desserts.  It was a lot of fun.  Everyone swam and visited.

That's the best part of summer, lazy afternoons spent with friends.

Today we went to church.  Audrey taught a lesson in YW about temples.  I talked to Hannah, it's quiet here without her.  This weekend Clayna came down  to Nana's and they are all together having a good time.  They went to an escape room, and to some kind of golf game place.

Marshall caught his first fish.  Greg had a video on instagram that was so cute!

Z is healing well.  She had her 3rd laser treatment yesterday and she is starting to use the leg a little bit.  Dr McEwan was surprised and pleased.

We had a very restful Sabbath. After church Rob and Ethan went home teaching. Then we all napped! After that we made dinner together. Rob grilled. Grace made dessert and Ethan helped me with the mango, black bean, corn salsa dip/salad. This is his year to learn to cook:)

After dinner we watched a movie, played a super long game of phase 10 (Dad won) and then read scriptures and had prayer.  Can't beat that!