Our Family Project

Last week we hit kind of a road block on Tuesday.  We were all being a little lazy, a little distracted, and a little unmotivated.  So, I packed everyone up and we went to the park!  Maryanne ran off and started playing, while everyone else was told that they needed to get their work finished before they could go play.  Somehow, it worked!  Eliza ran off to a pavilion to do her work in peace, and shortly after, Kate followed.  The boys and I stayed on our blanket and they each took their turn reading to me, then doing their math worksheets. When they were all finished, they ran over to the playground to play for a little bit.  Unfortunately, they didn't last very long.  It's still too hot here to go outside in the middle of the day (by this time, it was almost 12).  So, we packed everything up and headed out for the library ... a spot that has soon become a favorite for our family. In all, I felt that we didn't get much done, b...

Maryanne needed something to wear this week.  She has been having a hard time getting to the bathroom ... which leads to wearing three to four pairs of pants everyday.  On this particular day, she didn't have any "dry" or "clean" pants to wear.  After looking and looking for something ... yes, it was laundry day ... I decided to take on Dana's challenge .  I figured I could make her a skirt in a shorter amount of time than it would take to wash and dry her some pants. So, Maryanne sat on a chair in the sewing room in just her underwear for probably 30-40 minutes while I made her this skirt.  It took me longer than I thought because .... Da da duh! Shorts! I'd been holding onto an old t-shirt with the idea that I'd make Maryanne a cute dress out of it.  I decided after a while that I really didn't want to see Maryanne's underwear every time she put her knees up.  So, I cut into the t-shirt, used the hem of the shirt fo...

This year for the BYU vs. Utah football game, we invited some friends over.  We had lots of yummy food, lots of groaning, and a few cheers (mainly by our UofU friends who came ... boo).  But, before we could have people over, we definitely needed to mop our floors.  One of the worst things about having a large kitchen is the floors.  Takes FOREVER to get them swept and mopped.  Well, unless we get everyone to help!  It's a good thing we have plenty of rags ... because everyone likes to help "foot-mop."  Even if it's only so they can slide around on the wet floor after they've mopped!

On Memorial Day our scout troop had an auction.  They sent around a sign up sheet for donations at least a month in advance.  I signed up to bring reusable sandwich bags.  Then, two Sundays before Memorial Day I crossed my name off because we had just decided to go over to my sister-in-law's house for the holiday.  So, I figured we wouldn't be at the auction, so why contribute, right? Then, we decided the day before Memorial Day to go to the auction.  I felt awful for saying I'd contribute something, then saying I wouldn't, so I said I would again.  But, as I told people that I would be contributing reusable sandwich bags, they all looked at me funny and said, "I have no idea what those are."  So, I decided to contribute something that wouldn't take a lot of time to make, but is easily recognizable: Buttercup Bags.  They went for $20 to a family with two little girls who carried them out.  It was adorable to see them with the bags. ...

Jon got a mysterious package in the mail the other day.  We weren't quite sure what it was.  It came from someone from work, labeled with his company name, but in a Staples box that had been beaten up quite a bit. When Jon opened the box, he started laughing.  To be honest, I wasn't really paying him much attention until he said it was the "Brain Award."  That's when I looked over.  I saw the piece of paper that was his award, but didn't see "The Brain" at first.  That's when he lifted Brain out of the box.  I thought it was brilliant!  He was given this award based on his client's satisfaction of his performance! Unfortunately, he has to pass it on to someone else on his team ... so sad, Brain would be an awesome addition to our family!  :(  I absolutely love The Animaniacs ... and wish it were more accessible for viewing.  But, for now, we get to look at Brain until it is Jon's turn to pass it along.

Last Friday, our friends from Minnesota were driving from Los Angeles to visit family in Arizona.  They were so kind to stop by for a little while to visit with us! When we opened the door, their youngest daughter stepped inside and started removing her shoes.  LOVE THAT!  Reminds me of good old Minnesota common courtesy.  She also looked at us like she wasn't quite sure what to do ... she was the only one of her family actually inside the door (everyone else was still getting out of their van).  I think she remembered us, but because our house is different she was a little disoriented for a while. They were only able to stay for a couple hours, but was so wonderful to see good friends and know that we are able to pick up right where we left off as though we had never moved away!  Love you our Minnesota Friends!

I finished another book in The Queen's Thief  series.  The resolve was so abrupt that I can't wait to get to the library to pick up The King of Attolia. In this book, the three countries that are introduced in The Thief  are in open war against each other.  The thief has to steal both the king's advisor of one country and the queen of the another country to try and bring the countries together before they face an even larger and stronger threat coming across the sea to claim their lands.  There are twists and turns, intrigue and surprises.  Again, a really good book.  Definitely recommend it. I finished the third book in the series as well, and liked it just as much.  There wasn't much of a climax, but it was still enjoyable. It is about the King of Attolia, who only married the queen because he was in love with her ... not because he wanted to rule.  The entire book is about his fight against his wife to take hold of the reins, and...

Last Thursday was Jon's birthday.  Happy Birthday Jon! I was thinking about all of his friends who wished him a happy birthday on Facebook.  That is kind of a trend ... saying happy birthday to friends who you may or may not really care about, but feel obligated to say something just because they are on your friends list.  For the record ... I care deeply about Jon, even though I didn't write anything about his birthday on his Facebook wall (or mine). Instead, I told him several times throughout the day, "Happy Birthday!"  Probably the best time for him though, was when I leaned over and whispered "Happy Birthday" in his ear while we were at a football game. He was fortunate enough to know a guy, who knew a guy, who had tickets for the Cardinals vs. Broncos football game that night.  And, my mom was so wonderful to come and stay with our children while we went to the game.  We got tickets from someone who goes to our church, who was given a plethora o...