Thanksgiving Festivities

Another week, another attempt to play catch up. I left off on Saturday evening, but I don't remember what else we did that night.  Sunday was another great day.  Church went well as far as I can remember.  I decided not to give Amy a nap after church, and that was a mistake.  Not only did she throw a fit at lunch time, she was grumpy the rest of the day.  I think Aaron did some home teaching that afternoon, and we had FHE.  Mostly we planned out December so we could remember everything that we have to do for the month.  It's amazing how many different activities are going on.  David wanted to make mint brownies for dessert, so he helped me make them.  I didn't realize he wanted to have mint chocolate chip ice cream on the side as well.  So I made really small pieces.  I asked Aaron to take half of what was left to work so I wouldn't have a lot to tempt me.

Monday Amy and I went to the city.  We went to several stores, and then came home for lunch.  I think I did a load of laundry.  It's been too long, I don't remember what else we did.  Tuesday, um, still drawing a blank.  I do know that as I was making breakfast I suddenly remembered that I was supposed to make the refreshments for pack meeting that night.  Although if I hadn't remembered, when I checked Facebook about 20 minutes later I had a message from Rebecca reminding me about it.  Oh, I remember that one of those days I had someone else come to look at the furnace for a bid.  I think that was the day we went to get an oil change for the van, and they told us we needed new tires, great, just another thing to add to the ever growing list of thing we have to buy.  What else?  I made some apple muffins for the refreshments.  I had to double the recipe so it made 24.  I was debating whether or not 24 was enough, eventually I decided to make another batch of 12.  As I was mixing it together I realized that I had forgotten to double the eggs the first time around.  Now I realized why the batter was so thick, and why many of them sunk in the middle.  I ended up taking 30 and leaving the ones that looked the worst at home.  I'm trying to remember if Aaron came home before scouts.  He was on call, so I don't think he did.  I brought the kids to pack meeting where David was presented the bowling belt loop, and the next two beads on his progress toward rank.  Timothy gave me a really hard time from the second we got in the van.  He often did the opposite of what I told him to do with a smirk.  Grrr!!!!  I was glad when it was over, and we could all go home, and put the kids to bed.

Wednesday the kids didn't have school, and instead of sleeping in, they got up way too early!  I don't know if we accomplished a whole lot.  I finished the laundry, and we packed clothes.  I cleaned up a bit, but I didn't want to clean and then have to clean it all up again before we left, so I worked on our bedroom, and places where the kids were least likely to make a mess.  We needed to go to a couple of places.  One of them being the auction house - oh yes, a quick back story.  Saturday night Aaron went to the auction house to see about getting mattresses for the bunk beds we bought months ago.  They didn't have any twin size, but he found a piano stool, that would work well for the short bar we have in the kitchen.  They only had one, but they said they could get more, so Aaron bought two.  Monday I went to pick it up, and ask if they could bring one more.  Well, Aaron attempted to put it together Monday evening, but the very important metal piece that holds it together and makes it swivel was missing.  So Wednesday I went to take it back and pick up the one they were supposed to bring back.  It took 10 minutes before I could get anyone to come out and help me.  I even tried calling the office.  Eventually the lady came, and took back the stool with the missing parts, but had misread the note thinking I was going to the warehouse (an hour away) to pick them up.  What it really said was "Customer wants one more.  Pick up in K*"  So we had to wait another week to get them.  Aaron made it home in time for dinner.  We finished packing, and cleaning, and then went to bed.

Thursday morning I first woke up at 5:00 am and realized I had slept the entire night.  I can't remember the last time that happened!  Then I went back to sleep and got up at 6:00.  Aaron woke up feeling achy, and with a little cold.  It was pretty easy to get the kids up, and we were ready to go just after 7:00.  The problem was we were waiting for the paper (with all the ads and coupons) to arrive, and it was late.  I finally called, and found out the route was delayed, so we ended up buying the paper at the gas station on the way out.  The kids were excited to go see their cousins.  It's only about 3 1/2 hours away.  We were on the road about 20 minutes when they were asking to watch a movie.  I reluctantly got out a movie about 10 minutes later.  Amy chose Bambi first, and then David chose Tangled.  I looked over the ads and talked with Aaron. We made one bathroom break, switched drivers, and made it to the B* house by 11:00.  The kids immediately went to play with their cousins.  They got hungry quickly as it was almost lunch time.  Since dinner was planned for about 2:00 we didn't want to feed them too much.  They snacked a bit, and we put the dinner together.  Amy and Abigail didn't get naps.  They got a long for the most part.  David played football with Andrew and Jason outside.  Greg and Aaron played too. Kyle would have loved to join them, but with several stitches on his eyelid he had to opt out.  He spent more time that usual watching football and basketball games. After Aaron came in from playing football he noticed his left hand was swelling.  He was having an allergic reaction to the grass - we think.  Hydrocortisone cream didn't do much, so he settled for some benadryl.  We enjoyed a variety of foods for Thanksgiving dinner.  Uncle Greg asked the kids what they were thankful for as we were getting last minute things done.  The boys didn't eat much.   I guess they wanted to go play on the wii. 

Aaron wasn't feeling well, and the benadryl kicked in so he took a nap. We all helped with the cleaning and storing leftovers.  Then we got to play.  Daralee and I looked over the ads some more, and got to talk.  Then I took a few pictures.

Amy and Abigail playing well

Mallory

Abigail even smiled for me.

Eventually we had some apple pie, pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake.  Delicious!  We watched Home Alone.  Everyone but Abigail enjoyed it.  Then it was time to get the kids in bed.  They protested of course.  After the third time of telling them to lay down I spent 20 minutes laying down with Amy trying to get her to sleep. She and Timothy were sleeping and I left David awake with a threat if he woke them up.  Aaron and I stayed up until 10:00 or so.  He still wasn't feeling well, and we planned to get up early for Black Friday, so we didn't stay up late.

We both woke up at 4:30, and couldn't get back to sleep, so we decided to go shopping.  We went to a lot of stores, spent a lot of money, and had to hide most of it in the van.  We walked through the mall to go from one store to another and found out they were giving out $10 gift cards if you spent $100 in the mall.  Since Sears still had the item we wanted we were able to get the gift card.

When we got back at 9:00 everyone was up and playing.  They had eaten breakfast and gotten dressed except Amy.  She had refused breakfast, using the bathroom, and getting dressed.  Luckily she hadn't had an accident.  So I helped her do all of those things. Then we all went to a tree farm to help them pick out and cut down a tree.  We had a hay ride out to the field.  They had hundreds of great trees to pick from.  It took a while for them to fin just the right one. 

Aaron held it while Greg cut it down

The kids had fun playing with the dogs and sticks they found, until one of the dogs sank its teeth in one of the footballs they brought.  Amy and Abigail has almost matching coats.  Same brand, but Abigail's hood could detach. 

I have the cutest nieces!!!

Then we headed back on the hay ride

Amy and I (don't mind my hair that didn't get washed)

David and Andrew

The kids got some hot chocolate while Greg paid for the tree, and they shook off the needles, and wrapped it.  Timothy spilled his after about 1 minute, and Amy wouldn't drink hers because it was too hot.  She too eventually spilled it.  Then we got the tree on the top of their Yukon, and we went back to their house.  We all enjoyed the Thanksgiving leftovers.  Amy and Abigail were having fun dancing around.

When it was nap time I took Amy in Kyle's room (where Aaron and I were sleeping) and put her on the floor in a sleeping bag while I read my book on the bed.  Getting up at 4:30 caught up to me and I fell asleep for about an hour.  When I got up Daralee and Elise had gone to do some shopping. 

I neglected to mention that Greg, Aaron and the kids had put up the Christmas lights earlier in the day.  They also rearranged the furniture to fit the tree in.  We had a delicious dinner.  We had brought two salmon fillets, and Aaron grilled them while Daralee had several side dishes.  The kids played some more games, we ate leftover pie and ice cream, and eventually it was bed time.  I was surprised when I went downstairs at 9:00 to get a game that all three kids were asleep.  We played Bohnanza with Greg, Daralee, Kyle and Elise.  It was fun.

We had a lazy morning, and eventually we had pancakes and waffles for breakfast.  Daralee was kind enough to take some family pictures for us.  I only wish Amy had been more cooperative.  She didn't smile in a single picture, but we did get a few with her looking at the camera without a scowl, or a hand in front of her face.  I think that's the best we can hope for right now.  We loaded up the van, and attempted a cousins picture before we left.

This was was OK, but you can't see Andrew very well

but that's all we got because Kyle was done.

So was everyone else.

We had used some leftover rolls and turkey to make sandwiches for the trip home.  Amy wanted to eat lunch at 10:30.  We held off until 11:30.  We finished Tangled, and then watched Robin Hood.  We made it home without stopping.  We unloaded quickly and then went to a local tree farm, to get or own tree.  It was really close, and pretty cheap.  The boys really wanted to go up to the mountains to get one, but we wouldn't be able to do that for two weeks, so they settled on getting one in town.  the selection wasn't that great.

David had fun carrying around the pole to signal when we found the tree.

We eventually found one we really liked, and the guy came with a saw to cut it down.  We tied it onto the van and headed home.

I can't remember what else we did that afternoon.  I guess we did some cleaning up, and I barricaded the kids in the boys room while Aaron emptied the rest of the van without prying eyes.  I hope they don't go looking.  We had a simple dinner, and then it was time for baths.  Amy didn't get a nap, and fell asleep during scriptures at 7:15pm.  Aaron and I put lights on the tree after the kids were in bed, but left the rest of the decorating for the next day.  This post is already long enough, and the boys will be home from school soon.  I didn't proofread, so I hope it's OK.  I still have several days to catch up on.

Vocabulary Lessons

I often get comments about how well Amy speaks.  All three of my kids have been early talkers, but I still get a kick out of the things Amy says.  Here are a few examples:

Actually.  "I actually want you to get me a drink of water"  (as opposed to milk).  Or "I actually don't want to take a nap."
Suppose.  Me: Amy can you take your plate to the dishwasher?
Amy:  "I suppose"
Speaking of.  "Speaking of puppies, I like puppies."  We may or may not have been talking about puppies.
Or something.  (While we are driving down the freeway) "Is that a trampoline or something?"
"Is that a horse or something?"
Consequence.  She was mad at me because I couldn't reach something while I was driving.  "You need a consequence now."
Here are a few more from a post I started back in June:
Quite.  "I can't quite reach it"  "I can't quite get in my bed"  "I can't quite pick it up"

After her bath or playing in the water she'll look at her "pruny" hands and say, "They're all scrambled up."

We have several magpies that fly around here. Sometimes Amy can't remember what they are called and she calls them "chicken pies".

I'm sure there are more, but these things make me giggle!

Making Beds and Snowmen

Can you believe it?  I blogged two days in a row?  Well here's why.  First we did or normal Saturday chores.  To my surprise Amy decided to make her bed all by herself.  Not only is that a first, but usually she sleeps on the floor anyway. 

 Then we had a great snow day (morning)

 Building a snow man

Timothy's cheesy grin.  I don't know why he always moves his jaw crooked like that when he smiles.

Amy wanted to roll a big snowball too

 Our house is pretty in the snow!

 David and Amy at the top of the hill

Building two snowmen.  The big one is a little crooked

It didn't last long

Timothy telling David that it fell down

After a while they all came in for some hot chocolate.  Then we had lunch, nap for Amy, computer time for the boys, shower for me.  Aaron got home at 2:30 - much earlier than I expected him :)  Now the sun is shining, the snow is melting.  Amy and David are playing out side with Zakary, and Timothy is helping Aaron setup the tent so it can dry out.  Now I just have to figure out what to make for dinner.

First Snow of the Season

Monday started with a trip to the city.  A few groceries at Fred Meyer, then a stop at the scout office - why do uniforms have to be so expensive????  Then I went to Craft Warehouse to use their die cut machine.  Amy entertained the employees by playing peek a boo with them, and pretending to be a puppy, and giving me a pretend purse while using saying my purse was hers.  She gave me some invisible puppies to put in my invisible purse.  Eventually we left and headed to Target.  I returned something and bought and few more things.  I thought about stopping by Kohl's to return something, but decided to go home so Amy wouldn't fall asleep on the way back.  We got home, had lunch, and Amy took a nap.  I worked on the posters a little bit now that I had all the letters cut out.

I didn't have much finished by the time Amy woke up and the boys came home.  So I stashed them upstairs and took the kids to the library.  I made chicken noodle soup (with homemade noodles) for dinner - mmmm - it was so good!  Unfortunately Aaron didn't get home until after 8:00.  I stayed up pretty late working on the posters.

Tuesday after Aaron took the kids to school, and I took Amy to Hadlie's, we went to the temple.  It was good to be there.  We got there a lot earlier than we usually do.  I think that's because David's schedule is earlier than last year, and Amy doesn't have a hard time with me leaving like she used to.  After the temple I stopped by Winco, and Aaron headed over to the Goodwill.  We got back around 1:00.  I put Amy down for a nap just as we had someone come by to tune up the furnace.  Aaron walked around with him, while I got caught up on the computer.  The furnace guy has been serving this furnace for a long time.  He was friends with the people that owned the place 10 years ago.  We found out that the furnace is as old as the house.  Which means it's working on borrowed time.  The A/C unit is getting hotter than it should be among other things.  So do we wait for it to break?  Or do we replace it now?  That's a huge chunk of change!  We were supposed to have someone come give us a free estimate on replacing windows, but they didn't show.  I guess that's just as well, since we'll be replacing the furnace first.

On to Tuesday night.  Despite having to scramble to find people to work in the nursery, the Relief Society Meeting went well.  Aaron had scouts at 6:30, and I left with the kids soon after him, so I could make some copies and use the paper cutter.  The kids played in the nursery while I finished things up.  It was a fun meeting where we talked more about gratitude, service, and fun Christmas traditions.  We even enjoyed some pumpkin muffins with a fun cream cheese filling and a streusel topping!  It went a little long, and the kids were a bit restless.  I'm looking forward to the day I can just leave the kids at home with David, but he's definitely not ready for that yet.

Wednesday was a full laundry day.  I also spent 35 minutes on the phone trying to make an online purchase (my Kohl's Cash wasn't working, but we figured out how to make it work)!  There was snow in the forecast, but usually the first time they forecast snow it doesn't happen.  The kids were convinced they needed to bring their snow gear to school.  Amy and I were playing downstairs when I came up to see if it was time for lunch.  It wasn't yet, however it was snowing.  I guessed the kids were probably really excited.  I took this picture of the of the front yard.

Then I called Amy up to see the snow.  I pulled out her snow boots a couple of days ago, and ever since then she keeps reminding me that she can wear them when it's snowing.  So of course she wanted to put on her snow boots etc., and go out side in the snow.  I took a few pictures.

 I LOVE this one!

 This is the look she gives after she says something she thinks is silly

 She loved making footprints in the snow with her boots (bootprints?)

She wanted to stay out there much longer than I did.  Perhaps I need some snow boots of my own.  At least it was easy to track her down when I wanted her to come in for lunch.  I just had to follow her tracks.  She took a nap after lunch, and I watched a few shows online while I folded laundry.  When the boys came home from school I wasn't surprised that they wanted to get their snow gear on and play in the snow.  Gabe came over to join them, and Amy wanted to play too when she woke up.  So I ventured out to take a few more pictures.  Until they decided I should be a target for their snow balls.  The camera got hit and I was done.

I sent Gabe home at 4:30 before it got too dark.  We had dinner, and Aaron actually made it home before David left for scouts.  That's probably because he wasn't on call like he usually is on Wednesdays.  So I took David to scouts by myself!  After the other two were done with baths we played a couple rounds of Memory.  David got home around 8:30, and eventually they all fell asleep.  I found my motivation for getting the ironing done on laundry day.  I rarely watch TV in the evenings, but now I watch Criminal Minds while I iron.

Thursday was a normal Thursday.  I went to the boys' classrooms.  I read with a couple of groups in David's class, and then helped in Timothy's class.  He had a sub, which I knew ahead of time.  So I helped them with spelling practice, and then took a small group out to work on a Capitalization worksheet.  I talked with the sub for a bit during recess, and after they came back I said goodbye to Timothy and then left.  I stopped by the store before picking up Amy.  It's the first time in months that I've had to purchase potatoes.  We only had one potato left from our garden, and Aaron was asked to bring potatoes to a clinic wide Thanksgiving lunch on Friday.  After Amy and I got home we played downstairs, I made a bunch of appointments (oil change for the van, dentist appts for he boys, well child check for Amy - what? It's only 3 months late) and ate lunch, and played some more.  I didn't realize how late it was until Crystal came to drop off Cecil.  No nap for Amy I guess.  Although she was pretty grumpy for a while, so I thought about putting her down anyway.  But she settled down and they had fun.  The kids were really ornery after school, and by dinner time Amy was whiny, and I was so done by the time Aaron got home.  I guess it's a good thing I had a meeting at the church that night.  I needed a break.  They weren't much better for Aaron though, and it's a good thing the meeting wasn't very long.  I fully intended to go to bed early but Amy, although she fell asleep early, woke up several times throughout the night.  That's one reason I don't want her to give up naps just yet.

There was no way I was going to be able to get up at 5:30 to exercise this morning.  So I got up at 6:30 instead, and tried to happy when Amy woke up at the same time.  So much for reading scriptures in peace.  Yet I still didn't get anything ready for breakfast, and we ended up with oatmeal and cereal.  After taking the boys to school, Amy watched a show while I get ready for the day.  Eventually I had to peel some (18) potatoes, cook them and mash them.  Amy really wanted to help, but all she really did was get wet.  Then we ran them over to the clinic.  I thought about going to Safeway on the way back home, but Amy and I were hungry for lunch, so we went home.  Soon it was nap time.  I cleaned up the kitchen and then had another company come look at the furnace for an estimate.  The boys got home while he was still here.  Since Aaron is at a scout master training campout, I decided to just do a pizza for dinner.  While I was putting the soda in the fridge I realized Aaron left his food contribution for the campout in the fridge.  I figured he was just about finished with clinic so I texted him to let him know I could bring it over.  So I got everyone in the van and met him at the clinic.  At least the kids got to see him before he headed out there.  I can't imagine how cold it is going to be.  I hope he stays warm enough.  So we got home and put the pizza in the oven.  The kids were playing downstairs when I heard and crash, and then David crying.  He sounded really upset, so I thought he was hurt.  Fortunately he wasn't hurt, but he was really sad because he knocked a picture off the wall, and broke the frame.  Luckily the glass just has a little chip in it.  However it took out a chunk of the molding on the baseboard.  He was sad because he knew he'd be in trouble.  I don't know what possessed him to walk up the stairs inside the tunnel.  I knew I should have put that away before the boys got home!

David went to his room until dinner time, and then we ate pizza and listened to the BYU basketball game.  David loves to watch the game tracker on CSTV.  We pretty much annihilated Longwood 92 - 60.  Still several things that they need to work on though.  The kids went to bed pretty well.  Now I'm caught up once again.  And since I have some time, I am going to turn on the alarm, and curl up with a book.  Good night!

Talking About Gratitude

Guess what happens when your husband is fishing buddies with a counselor in the Bishopric?  You get asked to give a talk on Sunday with only 3 days notice.  I'm just kidding, mostly.  Br. D* called me up Thursday because he found out he needed an "auxiliary leader" to speak along with the high council speaker.  I still don't feel like I'm an "auxiliary leader", but I said "yes" anyway.  The topic was Being Thankful.  Aaron commented that perhaps I was asked because of all of my "thankful" posts on Facebook.  Perhaps...  Anyway I really enjoyed preparing my talk.  Maybe because it made me procrastinate the advertising poster I needed to finish for Tuesday.

So I mentioned a few things that we did on Friday.  It really wasn't an exciting holiday, but we did take notice when it was 11:11 on 11/11/11.  We also flew the flag, until the wind picked up that night.  Aaron texted me to let me know he'd be home around 7:30.  So we ate dinner without him, and then they took baths and showers.  We tried to keep track of the BYU basketball game, and the high school football game.  Neither ended with a good result.  Eventually Aaron came home and we took pictures of his catch.

They went back to the same river he caught 6 last week, however he was only able to keep one this time around.  So he filleted it, and I removed the bones.  Then we read scriptures, and sent the kids to bed.

Saturday we did a lot of clean up around the house. Aaron attempted to winterize the lawn tractor and the rototiller.  However the grease gun we have doesn't fit the joints.  Aaron took Amy to Ace hardware to use our $5 reward and 20% coupon.  Our kitchen light had a bad ballast, so we decided to replace it.  There are 4 ballasts with 2 bulbs on each.  We bought 2 new ones for the middle ones.  The one that still works we plan to install in the the storage room to help seeds grow next February.  The new lights are much brighter and less yellow.  I really like them.  Of course that means soon we'll have to replace the two smaller ballasts and bulbs.  By the time Aaron was done we had finished lunch, and it was time for Amy's nap. 

We also got a new cover (tarp) for the pool.  The old one had a ton of holes in it.  So we took off the old tarp and put on a new one.  The wind decided to pick up about that time, and it made it much more difficult to get it on the pool.  I also spent a fair amount of time working my talk.  Then we got ready for dinner.  We had the missionaries over for dinner.  We grilled up the salmon Aaron had caught the day before.  This time Aaron had smothered it with brown sugar over night as recommended by Br D*.  It was delicious!!!  The 7 of us devoured the entire salmon.

Then we headed over to the high school.  The fall play was "The Somewhat True Tales of Robin Hood".  They did a really good job with it.  It's the first time we've brought them to a live performance that lasted more than an hour.  They really enjoyed it.  Amy was intrigued by everything and asked Aaron questions throughout the first half as she sat on his lap.  During intermission we saw Ali - our former neighbor when we lived in the townhouse. She and her family moved a few months ago to Oregon, but she was visiting a friend that weekend.  It was good to see her.  The second half didn't go quite as smoothly with the kids.  Actually David was fine, but Timothy keep wiggling in his seat, and then had to go to the bathroom.  We left at a scene change, and waited for the next scene to come back in.  Then Amy wanted to sit in my lap, however now she wasn't asking questions.  Now she was tired, and wanted to go home, and go to the bathroom etc.  She wasn't very content.  I ended up taking her as soon as it was over before curtain call.  When I got back they were still doing curtain call, and then because it was closing night they did all of the recognition, and flowers etc.  The kids were pretty tired by the time we got home, but they really did enjoy it.  I was not surprised to find out BYU won their football game when we got home.

Sunday I ended up getting up around 6:00, and I changed a bunch of things in my talk.  I felt like I was reading too much, and not using my own words, so I did some editing.  Amy got up about 45 minutes later.  So we made some breakfast.  But no one else was up, so it sat on the stove for almost an hour.  We finally ate at 8:00.  That makes getting ready for church really rushed.  I guess I need to get everyone up earlier. 

Church went well.  Aaron offered to let me sit on the stand.  I gladly accepted.  Wow, a whole sacrament meeting without having to stop fights, getting poked or climbed on, or having to tell anyone to be quiet.  It sounded great to me! I really enjoyed it.  I was worried that Br. G* was going tot use the same references as I did.  However he used a talk that I only mentioned.  I used an article from the Ensign, not even a Conference Talk, so I figured I was pretty safe.  The talk went well, and then the Relief Society sang a song - it was so beautiful!  Then Br. W* (the high council speaker) got up to give his talk.  He said that he's had times where he's only had 5 minutes to talk, and times where had to fill 45 minutes, but he's never had both speakers use both of his references.  So he spoke about Family History for a few minutes, and then picked through the parts of the article I didn't mention.  Oops!  I did get a lot of compliments on the talk though.

I enjoyed Sunday School, and Relief Society, then we all went home.  After a quick lunch our home teacher came over, and then I put Amy down for a nap.  Then Aaron and David went home teaching, and I worked on my poster.  Amy woke up around 5:00 and was grumpy for a long time.  I think 2:30 is too late to put her down for a nap.  She just might not get naps on Sunday.  We had a good dinner despite Amy complaining for most of it.  We had a quick FHE and then I left for the church. I was invited to attend the Young Women in Excellence Program.  It was so great to see the girls and their displays.  They put together a beautiful program.  I got home just before 9:00.  This week has been busy so far, so I think I'll write another post to sum up the last few days.

Painting, Veteran's Day Assembly, and a Mixed Up Dinner

I was doing so well, at keeping up to date, and then I let another week go by without a post.  So what have we been doing?  Nothing really exciting.  Friday afternoon, I can't even remember what we did.  Aaron was home by dinner time, and we thought about going to the high school football game a little too late.  We were pleased that they won the first round of playoffs.  The next game is tonight, and it sounds like it will be a tough game. 

Saturday Aaron was on call, and went in around 8:00 or so.  The kids and I spent a lot of time just trying to get the house in order, cleaning things that get neglected, like walls and stuff.  We really didn't do anything spectacular.  Aaron came home around 1:00.  I put Amy down for a nap, and finally got to shower. Aaron decided to mow the pasture one last time before the winter.  He was jut about done when the mower quit working.  Apparently some wires were too close to the motor and the casing melted over time.  Saturday they melted enough that the wires crossed and blew a fuse.  Aaron had to go back into work for a bit.  He met us over at the church at 5:00 for a baptism.  Actually two baptisms.  Two of Timothy's friends from church (and school) are now eight, and they were baptized on Saturday.  It was great to attend that.  We got there just a couple minutes early and there wasn't a place for us to sit together.  So I let Amy sit with David in front of Timothy and me.  They were mostly well behaved.  After the baptism Aaron replaced the fuse and finished mowing.  Then he watched a football game with the Elder's Quorum.  They had pushed the activity back because of the baptism.  So thanks to the DVR they were able to start the game 90 minutes late, and watch the whole thing including overtime in 2 1/2 hours.  So Aaron was home by 9:00. 

Sunday was another great day.  Aaron went into to work, and met us just after church started. I love testimony meetings!  I really enjoyed that most of the priest quorum participated.  4 handsome young men sharing their testimonies was wonderful.  Sunday school went well, even though I suddenly remembered that I a training meeting right after church.  I also realized that we hadn't taken Amy to the bathroom.  Relief Society class went well also.  Aaron needed to go back to the hospital and I had my meeting, so the kids were on their own in the nursery.  I didn't hear any screaming kids in the hallway, so I assumed everything was going well.  Apparently David let Amy and Timothy in the nursery and found a keyboard in another classroom, and played with it instead of watching his siblings.  At least they were all safe, and Aaron made it back about 5 minutes before my meeting was over.

We all headed home and gave the kids a quick snack while Aaron and I worked on dinner.  He created a delicious lentil soup using the veggies we had in the fridge (the carrots, tomatoes, onions and peppers came from our garden).  It was about 2:30 when I took Amy to the bathroom and realized it had been 8:30 the last time she went - that's a long time for a girl who had been potty trained less than 2 weeks before.  She's doing really well with that.  Since we got home after 2:00 I didn't see the point of giving Amy a nap.  So she stayed up.  She got really whiny around 6:00 when we were eating dessert.  I was glad she was asleep by 8:45.

Monday um.... David and I worked on his cub scout stuff.  Amy has a new interest.  She loves to paint.  Last Thursday she asked if she could paint.  She did it again on Monday.  I took a few pictures.

I do remember that Aaron got home before 6:00, which doesn't happen very often, especially on Mondays.  So we played some games.  Yahtzee and Blisters.

Tuesday Aaron had the day off. Why can't I remember what we did?  Oh yes, he started the day by helping out in Timothy's classroom.  Aaron also cleaned up in our room.  We had a lot of stuff laying around in neat stacks and piles, but I was so glad to get rid of those piles.  He also had a meeting at work at 11:00.  While Amy napped Aaron prepared the door for the storage room, and put a coat of finish on it.  He moved scouts to 3:30 that afternoon, so they could do a service project in the daylight.  David decided to go with them.  They had fun raking up a lot of leaves.   Nothing else exciting happened that day.

Wednesday we did some laundry, and then I remembered I needed to buy tickets to the play.  I also finally dumped the recycle.  I think it had been over a month.  The sears guy came to fix the mower (I'm glad we have a good warranty).  Shannon called and asked if I wanted to pick through some clothes that had been given to her.  Amy had fun running around with Nathan and Brooklyn while I rummaged through a lot of clothes while Shannon and I chatted.  I got a box full of clothes that my boys won't wear for a few years, but hey, they were free, and I have to space to store them.  After the kids got home I asked the kids to clean up the family room and play room.  It took them a while to get it done.  Timothy spent  about 90 minutes in the play room, and didn't put away a single thing!  It was getting close to dinner time and I told Timothy he couldn't eat until it was clean.  He thought I was bluffing, and said I was the meanest mom ever etc...  He was shocked when we ate without him.  He finally finished about 5 minutes before we had to take David to scouts.  He had to finish when we got back.  Aaron made it home soon after we got back.  When Nikki dropped David off after scouts I got a copy of what achievements he had finished (David lost his book a while back,and I couldn't remember what he already done).  I was pleased to see that he was further along than I thought.  I think he'll get his Bear by December or January!  Aaron had a rough call night.  He was waiting for a phone call, and got was on the phone off and on until 12:30 when he needed to go to the hospital.    Apparently he only got about 2 hours of sleep, and had a crazy experience in the morning, too bad I can't share it.

Thursday I went to help out in David's classroom.  Mrs. I* is now on maternity leave, so the sub was there.  She had some reading for me to do with the kids, but I needed to leave early to go to the assembly at Timothy's school.  Because there is no school today, they had to do the tests they usually do on Fridays.  So I ended up leaving and promising to come back next week.  I was a little early for the assembly.  I got to watch all the kids file in.  Crystal wanted to attend as well so she brought Amy with her, and then I had her after that.  The assembly was great!  After the pledge of allegiance and singing "My Country 'Tis of Thee", a mom of two of the students spoke.  She was in the Navy.  She talked about how Veterans don't all look the same.  There are boys and girls, all different ages, and races, and many of them weren't even born in the United States.  She asked the kids what they thought was the hardest part of being a Veteran.  They thought it was the fighting.  She said even though she didn't like the fighting, the hardest part of being a Veteran was being away from her family.  After she spoke a retired Marine introduced 6 of the Veterans from the local American Legion that were visiting.  He spoke for a bit and had the kids participate in a fun exercise.  He divided the kids into 3 groups and had them do a cheer from one of the divisions of the armed forces.  First the Navy, then the Army then the Marines.  It was fun to hear the kids' cheer when he said, "You guys are the Navy, you are the Army, you are the Marines."   Then he had them shout "Anchors Away", "Hoo Hah" and "Hoo Rah" respectively.  It was fun.  They had planned to show a you tube video of Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA", but there were technical difficulties.  They worked on it throughout the entire assembly, and finally got the video to work, but then the audio wouldn't work.  Oh well. 

Amy and I followed Timothy's class to their room.  We sat with them for a bit, and then I took three students out to read with them.  Two of them are new students that have moved here in the last couple of weeks, the other one was Timothy.  Amy was great for about 10 minutes, and then she got bored, and tried to drag me away.  We eventually finished the story, and then the kids went out to recess.  Amy and I went out as well.  We came back in for snack, and then we needed to go.  Amy and I made a quick trip up to the city, to return something to Lowe's and find a dress for me at Kohl's.  I didn't find a dress, but I did find a lot of things of clearance!  Amy fell asleep on the way back home.  She slept in the van for about 45 minutes.  In the mean time Cecil came over, and was generally in a good mood, but was bored without Amy to play with.  Since Amy's nap was short, and uncomfortable, she was really grumpy when she woke up.  It took a while for her to get over it.  After Cecil left she wanted to play Break the Ice.

I was going to take the kids to the library after school, but I forgot until 5:00.  That was a little too late.  Aaron and I had a date at 6:00.  I picked up Rebecca, and Aaron arrived soon after, and we were on our way.  We had a recruitment dinner.  There was a change in plans when the original restaurant on the itinerary said they didn't have room for us.  So we ended up at a really nice restaurant and waited for our guest.  After about 15 minutes we began to worry.  We tried calling the two people who made the arrangements, but weren't able to come.  Eventually we found the candidate's phone number and Aaron called him.  He was at the other restaurant.  Oops!  Eventually he made it over to the right place.  We really enjoyed the dinner, and made it home just after 9:00. 

After I dropped Rebecca off at home I checked on the kids. Amy apparently had climbed into bed with David, and wouldn't go in her own room.  Whatever.  Eventually David got up to use the bathroom, and Amy decided to go in her own room.  I stayed with her for a bit while I read, and then I helped Aaron get ready for another fishing trip.

So today is Veteran's Day.  Aaron left early to go fishing once again.  We had a lazy morning, and didn't have breakfast until 8:00.  Since then, the kids have played with games, and with play dough, and they are begging me to do something with them.  So I guess I'd better go.  Are you bored yet?

Salmon Fishing Among Other Things

Now I've got a few days to catch up on.  Sunday I got up at 6:30 and had a good 30 minutes to read my scriptures in peace before the kids got up.  Church went well.  Amy learned really quickly that she could get out of sacrament meeting by saying that she had to go potty.  However of the three time we tried, she never went.  I was hesitant to send her to nursery without her going, but  I did have extra panties for her.  So I told the nursery workers to her if she needed to go.  Since it was a the Sunday the Priesthood and Relief Society classes met together, so I didn't have to conduct.  Amy did end up using the potty during nursery.  After church we had a quick lunch, and put Amy down for a nap.

I'm trying to remember what exactly we did that afternoon.  I made some rice to go with our meal at the W*'s.  They invited us and the K*'s over.  It was a full house with 11 kids.  We had a lot of fun.  The kids ate first and then played.  Then the adults ate, and played Bohnanza.  It was a delicious and fun evening. Although Amy didn't eat much.  I think she had an Oreo and that's it.  She was too distracted by all the new toys. 

Monday it was back to school, and work. Amy and I got to play with Cecil.  He came over for a couple of hours in the morning.  They played really well together. We had a laid back afternoon, and an easy dinner so we could go trick-or treating.  The kids weren't on their best behavior, and I seriously considered not taking them at all.  Our neighbors are spread out, so I decided to take them to a few places in town.  After the first house I decided Timothy's costume was not the best for doing a lot of walking.  We got rid of the robot shoes after the first house.  We were heading to the last house when I found out where the rest of the little town goes trick-or-treating.  I imagine it's because 50 % of our little town lives out in the country like we do. That might be what we do next year.  I wanted to visit 3 houses in that neighborhood, but I couldn't hardly get through with all the cars.  Next year we'll park and walk that neighborhood. 

We were trying to meet up with Aaron, but we decided just to meet back at home, and visit  a couple of houses on our street.  We stopped by our next door neighbors first.  The kids got candy, and Bob asked us if we had any apples.  We have a lot of granny smith and red delicious, so I asked what kind.  He had Fujis from the neighbor behind him, and he had a bag to give to us!!!  Yum!

Then we stopped by the C* family.  They didn't have any candy to give out because they didn't get any trick-or-treaters last year.  The little boy actually gave away three pieces of his own candy - wow.  Especially since he and Timothy don't always get along.  We visited for a minute, and then Annie asked if I wanted some pears.  They have 14 acres of pears.  She had some D'anjous and winter pears.  Then her husband gave us a honeydew melon!  Wow - that was really nice.

We made a couple more stops at the end of the road, and them got home at 8:00.  Next year I think we might go trick-or-treating before dinner.

Tuesday it was a cold morning, but Aaron had a fishing trip planned anyway.  He went with Brad and Loren.  Both Aaron and Brad had to back by 6:00.  Amy and I went to the city.  It was our first extended trip since she started wearing panties.  I told her about using the potties at the stores.  She had a bunch of questions. 
Amy: Do all stores have potties? 

Me: Most of them
Amy: which ones have potties?
Me: Fred Meyer, Target and Costco do. 
I was worried she was going to ask to use the bathroom at every store we went to.



While we were at Fred Meyer I was about to buy a Christmas gift for the boys, but realized Amy would notice, and tell them when they got home.  So I didn't get it.  While we were checking out she decided she needed to go potty.  I was pretty sure she could hold it for a bit, so I waited until we finished, and took her to the potty.  She did great.  Then off to Target, and Michael's and then Costco.  I took her to the bathroom before we went through Costco, again she was great.  She really wanted to eat lunch at Costco, but we went home instead.

At around lunchtime Aaron called for a couple minutes.  So far he had gotten 3 silver (coho) salmon.  It was a good afternoon, and I got together something for Aaron for scouts.  Then he called and said they would be getting home later than they expected to, but that he would be bringing home 6 salmon!  He caught his limit.  He was a happy angler!  We dropped his stuff at scouts for him, and then it was time for baths and bedtime.  Aaron got home from scouts just before bedtime.  This kids were all excited to see the fish.

That's a good haul!  They are a little pink because they are getting older

Aaron used his new fillet knife to fillet the salmon.  After I got Amy in bed I spent the rest of the evening removing bones from the 12 fillets.

That's a lot of fish - so worth it!

Wednesday we didn't do anything really exciting, Amy and I just did laundry, I think I made more apple pie filling.  I did cook up one of the salmon fillets.  The rest are in our deep freeze.  David had cubscouts, and that's about it.  Wow, that was a really boring day.

Thursday I was able to go help in the boys' classrooms.  I am feeling more comfortable leaving Amy with people.  She has done really well using the potty in different places.  We are still working on the pooping in the potty part.  She's only done it twice.  I enjoyed spending time with the boys with their classes.  Amy really wanted to paint, so we got out some watercolors, and she painted a lot of pictures.  After Amy took her nap I made some cookies.  When the boys came home we had a snack and went to the library.  We had dinner and then I left to do something for Relief Society.  I got home before bedtime.  Amy was giving me a hard time about going to sleep.  I needed to make some phone calls before it got too late, so Aaron stayed with her while I did that.  When I was done Aaron had fallen asleep, but Amy was still awake.  I got ready for bed, told Aaron to go to bed, and I stayed with Amy until she fell asleep.  At least I finished reading my book.

Now I'm almost caught - how about that?!!!  This morning I decided to go back up to the city and get the gift I wanted to get on Tuesday.  So Amy went to Aleya's, and I got to do some shopping all by myself!  I also wanted to check out the Halloween clearance.  Fred Meyer's was still 50% off.  Some of Target's was 70% off, but there wasn't much.  However Shopko's was 90% off !  I now have plenty of Halloween and fall decorations.  Some I can still use this year!  Nice!  Amy is now napping, and the kids will be home soon.  So I'd better have a plan for this afternoon.