One last summer hurrah-unless the kids can con Steve into another one

Somehow the kids convinced Steve to take them Lego shopping at 9pm last night.  Money in pockets burns mighty hot around here.  Carter and Andrew both had a blazing holes in there pants crying out for new Legos.  Unfortunately, or fortunately (depending how you look at it) Target did not have the sets the boys wanted, but Saylor convinced Steve to buy her her first girl Lego set even when the boys got nothing.  Girls have that kind of power over their dads.  

Then...as they were driving away from Target, my entire crew had a hankering for some Chick-Fil-A.  

Man, Steve is a softy for kids and greasy delicious fried chicken.

The line was even long enough in the drive through for Steve to buy the coveted Lego sets on Amazon while they waited for their nuggets to properly crisp.  

I hope my kids realize how lucky they are to have a dad that is willing to spoil them rotten...icky smelly gooey rotten.

 Saylor and her new Girl Legos.  

She wanted the ninja set...not the pony or doll house one.  Does this girl have three older brothers or what!

 The mooches at their finest.

 Colby just ate fries. 

(so did I, but I won't say who ate more)

Earlier, before the greasy spoiling, I actually weeded my garden.

It was about three weeks overdue and I was starting to feel guilty about the tall weeds going to seed and  threatening to spoil my neighbors perfect lawns. (After I weeded, the garden looked half empty.  The weeds were BAD.)

The garden is composed of zucchini, sweet meat squash and pumpkins this year mixed in with a few tomatoes and sunflowers.  We planned it this way because with a new baby I knew I would not have time to weed constantly and put up food this year. 

I picked my battles this year and the garden was not a battle I wanted.

 While cleaning out weeds I was surprised to see how many good sized squash and pumpkins we are going to have baring any major garden disasters.  Whew...this year wasn't a total waste.

We planted an entire row of sunflowers and only three came up.

I guess we went for quality not quantity this year.  

The Day Before Today...because titling two posts Yesterday would be lame

The day before today was exhausting, yet productive.  It would have been more productive had I gotten out of bed on time, but that is another story. 

My hair went greasy, I was dressed like a homeless person, and my kids ran around unkempt and unloved looking.  Good times.

School is about to start (happiness all around) so my main project was getting school supplies put together.

I, with Saylor's "help" sharpened 72 pencils.  We burned out our sharpener motor last year so this year we gave our new one a break every so often.  

Carter and Colby's backpacks were filled and are now ready for the open house Thursday night.   Carter got a new backpack this year.  His old one had seen better days...such as K-3rd grade.  It was time. 

Here Colby is finishing an art project that he found in his backpack from...um...well...June.

No, I obviously didn't do a very good job of unpacking after the last day of school.

Oh well.

While I was working on backpacks, Carter was at an awesome Nerf gun birthday party for his friend Ben.

Boy Heaven!

We love our neighbors and the little boy mecca that our neighborhood is.

I also worked on laundry yesterday.  Grady helped with that.

It took all day, but I got "all" the laundry done AND put away.  Wonders never cease.

I also broke down and prepared Carter's diabetes kits for school.

I was putting it off until almost the last minute.  I met with Carter's teacher this morning and had to have this finished to hand off to her.

 Colby did a great job making sure the starbursts and other fast acting carbohydrates weren't poisoned.

He's really thoughtful that way.

The rest of the afternoon I was in the car.

Carter had guitar and Andrew had cross country.

After the many drop off and pick up sessions, Grady was fussy and mad he didn't get a real nap in his real bed.

No naps = fussy baby = tired mother.

 By the time Steve got home I was mentally done.

We had grilled sandwiches and other leftovers  for dinner.

It was an "eat what you want and don't bug me" kind of meal.

Carter tried a grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich which comes highly recommended from my nephews.  Carter loved it.  We might have a new staple in our family.

Around 7pm we made an honest effort to have family home evening.  We made a goal as a family this year to talk about temples every week.  I really hope we can get keep it going and help instill a love of the temple with our children.  

We then threw the kids in the van and drove to get homemade Blizzard fixings.

It's a little know fact that Dairy Queen sells their soft serve ice cream by the quart for only a little over 4 dollars.  Cheap Cheap Cheap.

We picked up oreos and butterfingers and headed home.

There is something about ice cream that makes my day seem better...

along with skies that look like this.

Our street has some awesome sunsets.  

Totally unrelated to yesterday-

 Grady is sporting a new "more respectable" hair-do these days.

Not sure if I like this or the mohawk better.

I should label this the "picture of the month."

Carter had his eyes dilated Monday at by brother's office.  Diabetes can be a real killer to the tiny blood vessels in the eyes, so Jared always gives Carter the star treatment.

He got to wear these cool glasses for a few hours after we were home.  The glasses didn't keep him from chores...like cleaning the upstairs bathroom.

He was NOT happy with me for taking his picture.

Favorite part???...the wand sticking out of his pocket.  Love it!

Yesterday

Yesterday was full.

Steve took Carter to his good friend Collin's house where Carter participated in making a "parallel" of Jack Johnson's music video of Wanting Wishing Waiting.  Collins family takes their video making very seriously, and Carter was prepped and expected to know his part.  Steve was also put to work in the prop department.  They had a great morning and Carter came home on cloud nine.  It's fun to have cool friends who do way more exciting things than us!

 Later in the afternoon we went to their house and watched the unveiling of the video.  It's pretty adorable.  

Here  is a link to watch Collin, Andrew and Carter's video.

I think it is a precursor to fame for all three of them!

Here is a link to watch the original.

I think Collin's parents did an amazing job and we appreciate Carter being included in this awesome project!

While Steve and Carter were gone on morning, Saylor was impromptu invited to our neighbors house for a swim party and fun fest, Colby escaped any household responsibility and fled to a neighbor's house, Grady slept, and I worked on a talk that I was assigned to give in 6th ward on conversion to the Savior as part of my calling.  (The talk is over and done...thank goodness!)

Later in the day, Steve and I ran errands returning random purchases that didn't work and spent another wad of money at Costco...on just food.  Our kids are like vacuums when it comes to eating.

After dinner of sandwiches grilled on the panini press, Steve went to the office to work on a few unfinished projects and I stayed home and did what I do best...make cookies.

When Steve got home, I ran with a neighbor friend out to Kimberly to look at her gorgeous new home under constructing.  Seeing her style being very similar to mine and my dream kitchen in the flesh...didn't really help my "lets build a new house" bug.  Her huge 2 1/2 acre lot, however beautiful, helped the squash the bug though.  I got chills just looking at all the work it would entail to lanscape.   I'm thanking my lucky stars for our tiny lot today!  (but I would kill for her mud/laundry room!)

Andrew, above all though, had the best day.  My dad picked him up at 6:30 am, took him to breakfast and then hiking in the South Hills.  They walked around Trout Creek...the same place my dad took me to sit in the car and roast (I mean arrowhead hunt) when I was a kid.  

All joking aside, Andrew loves hiking with my dad and enjoyed his day immensely.

He even came home with a few pictures...

There is no disputing that we live in a beautiful area.

The crowing picture of his hike was this.

EW + PW

This is my grandparent's tree.  

Elma Walker + Paul Walker

I'm not sure when it was carved, but my heart aches just looking at it.

...love that my dad found it and showed it to my son.

...love even more that Dad described a few trees in the same area that my siblings had carved their initials in with high school sweethearts.  None of them ended up together is the funny thing.

...really love that Dad did NOT find the one tree that I carved when I was young.  Steve's initials are not gracing that tree, nor do I think I could find it if I tried.  Looks like Steve and I need to find a new tree and grace it's bark with 

SD +JD

(Any tree-huggers out there that give me a hard time about carving initials being harmful to a tree...be prepared to get kicked in the knee cap.  Just saying.)

According to Carter

Carter asked yesterday "Mom, if magic in Harry Potter was really real...what would you use it for?"

"I'm not sure Carter, I'd have to think about it.  Maybe I would ask for all our debt to be gone or for our house to be magically clean."  

(Such  lame boring adult answers, I know)

"I would use it for doughnuts and a million dollars!"

Spoken like a true nine year old boy...and much more tasty than debt forgiveness.

Not Quite 5 Months

 My darling Grady is 5 months on Friday.

He is growing and changing on a daily basis.

I'm trying to soak him in because I know like all my other babies he will soon be making messes and asking me to do stuff for him...as well as asking where all his junk is.   Babies grow like that.

Almost 5 month tidbits about Grady Paul:

Still sleeps through the night.  He wakes up around 5 and then is down again until 8.  Dream Sleeper Baby.

Super content and smiley.

Will nap anywhere- car seat, bouncy seat, floor (I think it is a coping mechanism that comes with being #5)

Growing like a weed.  I think I need to put him in size 4 diapers...his chub and blowouts can not be contained in size 3.

Super slobbery.

Loves attention from any member of the family.

Loves his feet.

Now rolling from front to back...still needs help or motivation to get from back to front.  

Loves that bath tub...let me repeat that...LOVES the bath tub.

Has had two haircuts and already needs another one.  (Or maybe his mother should just comb his hair!)

Has the biggest killer blue eyes known to mankind. 

 Never to be seen without drool and a binkie.

 Love how his eyes light up even when he is smiling through his binkie.

 Want a taste?

 Is now doing this fancy trick.

It's only for a few seconds...he falls down pretty easily, but he will sit up just the same.

(Please ignore the spit drool stains on his shirt and just ooh and ahh over how talented his is.)

 Loves his toes.

 No really, I'm not joking, he loves his toes.

Totally unrelated to Grady,  here are few haphazard pictures of our life lately.

 I've slowly been cleaning out closets and going through clothing trying desperately to clear our house of unnecessary things.

We officially have WAY TOO MANY hoodies for the boys.

Now the DI has way too many hoodies and I have a few empty hangers.

I guess I didn't realize how big these hanging baskets have grown until Carter took a picture of me with them.  They are huge!  I'm hoping I can keep them alive and healthy through September...by then I might be ready to chuck them.  (Maybe over the bridge...then hopefully Andrew will think I am cool again.  Ha Ha)

 The kids were mesmerised by this spider in our flowers.  If you look closely you can see the entire perfect web. 

 Andrew registered for 8th grade yesterday at Stuart.

He thought I was lame as usual...until I payed for everything.

This poster was hanging in the hallway at Stuart.

I'm trying to not be offended...because heaven knows I would much rather be at the dentist than read a book.  Cough Cough.

 My kids are addicted to screens and are driving me crazy always asking for them.

Maybe they will go flying off the bridge with the flowers..the screens, not the kids.

Pictorial proof that Saylor's hair is FINALLY growing out enough to pull back (and by pulling back I mean slicking down with a gallon of gel and hairspray) in regular pony's again.  Thank goodness!

Bear Lake

I'm still to tired to write anything profound, so here is our bear lake vacation in pictures.

Ok...maybe just a few words will be added, I'm not one to keep my mouth totally shut.

2 1/2 days.

Four families.

Delicious food.

Playground, swimming pools, BBQ's, the beach, water trampoline, jet skis...and more sand filled swimsuits and bathtubs than I could handle.

Thanks so much to the Young family for their hospitality!  We so appreciate their generosity and friendship.