Mike's Home!

Mike made it safely back from Georgia! I listened to BYU eek out a victory over Utah State while I went to pick him up. Mike scored 100% on his certification test, so that is pretty awesome. On the way home from the airport I realized that we hadn't read scriptures today! We have been perfect this entire year! So, when we got home, we woke the kids up and read them one verse. I know. Not the best mother moment, but at least we still have our 100% streak.

Speaking of not the best mother moments, I forgot it was short day! How could I forget that? Stockton loves short day. I was able to get an appointment to meet with one of my young women, so I made a mad dash to the store to get a cake mix. I was in such a hurry, that I just plain forgot. Luckily Stockton was able to get in through my bedroom door and he let in Jorja. I also realized that my door had been unlocked the entire time Mike was away. Oopsie.

Maysen and Jorja helped me hurry and make cupcakes for Katie. I couldn't have finished without them. Anyway, I am so glad I am not a single mom. I am glad Mike is back here safe and sound . . . and that he is shaving his beard off even as I type.

Jorja

Out of My Mind

Maysen gave me a book to read called Out of My Mind by Sharon M Draper. I LOVED it. I really, really did. It is awesome reading a book, not really expecting anything - then BAM! it turns out to be wonderful. Jorja is reading it now. I had Stockton read it as well. Stockton has to do mini-book reports every week. He gave this book a 10 out of 10. Now that is really saying something!

Little Caesars

Stockton loves Little Caesars pizza. Loves it. Yesterday he didn't want to eat his dinner. I asked him to eat a small portion and he said he would rather starve. I said, "Okay, well I'm going to set the timer for five minutes. If you have made it into 'leave the table' club I will get Little Caesars pizza tomorrow. He finished before I even made it to the timer. (I was already planning on getting pizza, but I would have changed my plans if he decided to remain stubborn.)

Also, last night when we were reading scriptures, we were on 1 Kings 11. It has 43 verses and I was having trouble getting Stockton to pay attention. I said, "If you follow along, we will only read half the chapter." Worked like a charm. Good thing too because I don't know how Stockton would be able to get along in life without the knowledge that King Solomon had 700 wives.

More Cupcakes

Maysen came home from school and made this awesome cupcake. We made one for Stockton too. Jorja didn't want any marshmallows and Preston wanted to make his own.

Maysen

Stockton

Preston

How can you not love this face?

Preston had so much fun making his cupcake that he forgot to eat it!

In other news . . . I found a website that has free Mario sheet music! www.mariopiano.com Stockton wasn't quite as excited as I thought he would be. That's okay, I was excited enough for us both.

Also, I got eggnog at the store. Pure deliciousness.

Cupcakes

I stayed up WAY too late making cupcakes for some of my beehives. I am going to try to meet with the each of the beehives at their home. It will be quite a bit busy at first, but I think it will be worth it. I get three new beehives in one week around Thanksgiving. Two more in January and then that is it for the year. I found sprinkles representing each of the value colors. I really liked how they turned out.

white=faith, blue=divine nature, red=individual worth,

green=knowledge, orange=choice and accountability,

yellow=good works, purple=integrity, gold=virtue

Technology is Great

Today was the primary program. Stockton's last one and Preston's first. Mike had to miss it. He is in Georgia. I took him to the airport early this morning. Preston got the biggest laugh. He said his part quite loud in the microphone. "Jesus loves us and wants us to repent!" After the program he said, "Did you hear me say my part?" Yes Preston. Everyone heard you say your part.

Stockton is beyond excited today. He has been waiting for this day for weeks! The Amazing Race started its new season today! He loves that show. Mike was able to watch it a few hours before us. After Stockton watched it, he noticed the scrolling sign in the computer room said, "...and don't loose your passport..." Stockton thought that was pretty cool. It's amazing how Mike can leave them messages from across the country. Technology is great.

Scary Clowns

What a busy day! We started off this morning with a primary program practice. The primary provided donuts for breakfast. Preston came home and said, "The microphone was very voicy." I guess he was really loud when he said his part.

We then went to Miah's baptism. She looked and sounded sweet. Miah sang the song When I am Baptized while Tage played for her on the guitar. It was very cute. After we went to their house for lunch. They now have two horses. Mike's body doesn't agree with that. Jorja and Preston love it there and were sad to leave. Preston did have a slight freak out. "Stockton doesn't like me because he wants to take turns on the tramp." What? Crazy baby.

Mike and the kids then dropped me off at home and they were able to go boating! We have been wanting to get together with Steve & Shannon all year, but every time we could go they couldn't and visa versa. Mike said Jorja tried the knee board and really liked it. Maysen also did the knee board and all the kids enjoyed the tube.

I spent the time doing laundry and watching Bubs' kids for a bit. (I didn't stay home for that, but it worked out perfectly that I could help out.) I actually stayed home because I had tickets for Womens Conference today. I was really excited about it and had planned to go with Shannon awhile ago. We had a little trouble finding the parking, so Shannon let me out and I saved her a seat. I was nervous that she wouldn't make it and I would be asked to give up her seat. Luckily she found me okay. This was my first time ever in the conference center. The chairs were really comfortable and it was easy to see. It was crazy how chaotic it is in the background . . . at least for the first part. That is something you never see on the satellite!

Shannon and I went out for salad after the meeting. It reminded me of Salad with the Sisters that they do in Georgia. It was fun to talk to Shannon.

Once we made it home, Mike had the kids in bed and we took off again. We went to a Haunted House that Connor works at. Connor is a mad scientist. It is a scary clown haunted house. We met Sherry, Matt & Tage there along with Lisa, Nathan, Melissa & Derek, Taylor and Michael. I had an enjoyable time. Although Haunted Houses don't scare me, it was still fun to get together. At one point there is a big pretend dog that barks. Mike joked that if it was a real dog chained up that it would freak me out. That is so true. I DO NOT like dogs.

That's about it for today. Mike's ear is still hurting. Can't wait until he is not in pain anymore!

Nerd Fest Part 2

Mike had his work friends over again today. He had a great time. Jorja really liked one of the girls that came. Her name is Kara. They played with frogs. Stockton left to do a camp out for scouts. Mike is with him now. Mike's ear is hurting, hopefully it won't bother him too bad. Mike can't get his ear wet for a long time. Looks like his swimming this year is over. By the time he can get back in the pool, we will have shut it down. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.

Dinner

Today Matt and Sam came over for dinner, along with Sam's mom (Tammy) and her step-dad (Steve). We had a really nice time. Sam looks a lot like her mom. Steve is quite sick. He has a brain tumor. He was told he would only live a few months, but it has now been two years. Steve was worried about offending us because he didn't want to eat. It reminded me so much of my mom. I remember at my wedding shower she whispered to me, "Will you eat my food? Everything looks so good and I don't want them to think I don't like it." That is too bad that their family has to deal with this. Tumors are annoying. I don't like them.

After dinner we played Dominion. Mike stomped everybody. He really enjoyed that game. After Sam and her parents left, we played one more game with the kids. That game Maysen thrashed us. It wasn't even close. The kids were up pretty late. Good thing it is late start for the middle school. I am liking that more than I thought I would. Although I would prefer them to get out earlier instead . . .

Ear Pain

Mike has been in intense pain all day long. He couldn't sleep at all last night. I was able to get him an appointment this morning. He has some kind of infection in his right ear. The doctor prescribed these steroid ear drops and pain medicine. Lortab I think. It seems like the Lortab is just taking the edge off of his pain. He is still gasping and tossing and turning. Hopefully the ear drops will start working on the infection and tomorrow will be better. Man, between doctors and helping kids with homework I don't have time for anything else. I guess that is why I STILL haven't finished the Parry Post . . . from MAY! That's embarrassing. Hopefully I'll get it done soon and be able to send it out with a request for the next post.

Maysen and I went to a Wacky Wednesday thing our church was having. They had all sorts of crafts. Maysen wanted to do a tile that had a big S and said Smith below it. It was easy and turned out really cute. My kind of craft.

While we were working on our tile, we sat next to Allie Evans. She made a comment that she has never met my husband. I told her that he grew up with her husband . . . in the same ward for awhile. Allie's mother-in-law was sitting next to her and started asking me questions. After a few, she said, "Oh, you're Scoop's daughter-in-law. I heard Scoop's selling his house." Ouch. We did not know that. Maysen did not know that. Maysen was not happy about that. I wasn't either. I wish his dad would have at least told Mike what his plans were. It is annoying finding out from other people, plus it is quite awkward. There was a time when we were hoping to one day buy Mike's childhood home. It was filled with such happy memories for us. That was one of the main reasons we went to Georgia. Too bad the stock market crashed and we were not able to be in a position to buy his house. That's okay though. The house now has very bad memories mixed in with the good. I am glad we are able to have a house with no memories associated with it. It will be all ours and we can fill it with memories we will cherish.

Still, change is always hard.

Happy Birthday Utah!

Well, happy birthday to us in Utah. We have now been here for a year. That seems crazy! I feel like we just left, but that we have been here forever. I do miss our house in Georgia. Mostly the kitchen. It is worth it to be here though, we have been so happy. It would be cool if our friends in Georgia could teleport here.

Jorja is doing a lot better now. She was able to go to school today and looked so happy. Mike came home from work sick. His ear has really been bothering him. I tried to get him to go to the doctor, but he wants to suffer through a few more days.

I was looking through Stockton's work he brought home. One of the problems said, "Jason thinks he needs 25 boxes to pack 144 cups. Is Jason correct? Explain." Stockton wrote, "No, because people are never correct in these problems." Oh boy. I don't think that was the type of explanation his teacher was looking for.

Pneumonia

Jorja is still sick. She doesn't have a fever anymore - thank goodness, but her cough is horrible. I was hoping she could go to school today. I'm worried that she will get so far behind in Chinese. I didn't send her. She just looked sick. I decided if she missed this much school, she needed to see a doctor. Of course, I haven't gotten around to finding a doctor here. After frantically searching, I was able to find a doctor close by and get an appointment this afternoon. Jorja has a slight case of pneumonia. Poor little Porgie. Jorja didn't need chest x-rays and the doctor said not to be scared by the name. When she listens to her lungs they sound like the crackle in rice krispies. The doctor prescribed some medicine that will hopefully get her all better. I need to take her back if the fever comes back or her cough gets worse. She gave me the go ahead to send her to school tomorrow. I hope Jorja is ready. She was very tired today.

Yesterday I was so tired when I was writing my blog entry that I forgot something I wanted to tease Mike about. On Sunday, the entire Young Womens program was reorganized. I think only two people remained. We were all in the Bishop's office to get sustained. Mike came with me. When I was walking back to my chair after being sustained I heard Mike zip up his pants! His zipper was down the whole time! Haha! That's got to be embarrassing!

Young Womens

I was given a new calling. I am now the 2nd counselor in the Young Womens' program. I have never been in Young Womens before, so this will be quite a change. I am really excited though. Too bad Maysen will only be in Beehives for a few weeks. I was able to get this a secret from Maysen for about three weeks now. She looked quite surprised when the old presidency was released and surprised again when my name was called. I really like the other women in the presidency. It sounds like a lot of work, but a lot of fun at the same time.

Jorja is still sick. She didn't have a fever at all this morning. I took her temperature about an hour before church. It was back up to 101. Great. Mike stayed with Jorja during sacrament meeting. The kids had the primary program practice today. The General Primary President was there. That was random. Something that definitely doesn't happen in Georgia.

I ran home (literally) after I was set apart to check on Jorja. I needed to be at Young Womens to be introduced, so I just made sure she was okay and then drove back. When the girls separated to their classes I went home. I told Jorja about my new calling. She said, "Hummpf. No one ever gets to be my teacher." I was quite positive this would be her reaction. She has been very jealous that Mike is Stockton's teacher.

I should end this post by mentioning Stockton won Dominion twice. All claims of, "I never win" will no longer be tolerated.

I Love Saturdays

We had Lincoln, Ella and Abbs over today while Ange and Bubs went to the temple. Ella was so cute. She kept saying, "Stephanie, do you want to play with me?" I asked her what she wanted to play. She said, "Books!" The first book she picked out was a chapter book. Miss Daisy is Crazy. I asked her if she wanted to get a shorter book. She didn't. I read the first chapter, then she decided she wanted a shorter book. We picked out a few. She loved the one about rainbows.

Stockton, Lincoln and I played Dominion. Lincoln was doing so well, I thought he was going to win the game. Then he got obsessed with Torturer. He thought that was awesome. He kept buying them, pretty soon they became less awesome. It didn't matter to Lincoln, he still loved shouting out, "Torturer!" Then he would laugh. Pretty impressive that at five he understands how to play the game . . . mostly.

Maysen and I made rolls today. She has been wanting them for awhile. I told her if she made them she could have them. She thought the punching down the dough part was funny. Rolls are yummy.

Bubs and Ange took the kids swimming when they came back. We had the heater on for a couple of hours before they got in, but it was still pretty cold. Man, summer is almost over!

Jorja was pretty sick for most of the day. High temperature again. She slept on the floor for the most part. Good thing we have such comfy carpet. We were able to get her temperature down this evening. Hopefully it stays that way!

I took Stockton to the dive show today. He decided that he liked it enough to do it next year. I think he will enjoy it. I thought the clown diving was pretty funny. The guy with the unicycle went off the seven meter. Crazy.

After the kids were asleep, Mike and I went swimming with Maysen. The water was a lot warmer, but I still was cold. Mike and Maysen enjoyed it a lot. We roasted marshmallows after. The house behind us was having a big BYU/Utah party. There would be random cheering and shouts of TOUCHDOWN! I'm not sure if they are BYU or Utah fans. We recorded the game and are going to start watching it now. Hope it's a good one!

Falling in Love

I was carrying Preston out to the car today when he started slipping out of my hands a bit. He said, "Mom! I'm falling!" Then he put both arms around me, squeezed me tight and said, "I'm falling in love with you." He's awesome.

Jorja was feeling better this morning and was able to go to school. Yay! She came home looking exhausted. By this evening her temperature was back. Boo! I hope she starts feeling better soon. Poor Porgie.

Picture Labelers

We have a gazillion pictures. It has been years since I have taken the time to label them. Mike set up a program so the kids could label the pictures. They earn points. It's a whole complicated system, but whoever has the high score gets their name and score scrawled across the sign in our playroom. Apparently that is sufficient motivation as all the kids were enjoying labeling these pictures. Stockton's were pretty funny. For example, there is a picture of Miah and Jorja in front of this rock pile in our backyard. Stockton named it 'rocks'. He changed his tune once he found out you get a point for every word. The pictures also come up randomly, so you will see a picture of Stockton as a baby and the next one will be him diving. It's quite fun actually . . . for us. I'm sure people who don't know us would have no desire to look at these pictures.

Stockton is not enjoying school right now. Middle School he has no problem with, except maybe the math is too easy. Elementary School is driving him crazy. Especially annoying people. I took Stockton to Zupa's and See's chocolate after school. He needed it. I also had him sit in the front seat so we could talk easier. It was awesome. I loved having him talk to me and I loved not feeling like a chauffeur. I took Maysen shopping this evening and had her sit in the front. Much more enjoyable.

Magic Medicine

I have the hardest time getting my kids to take medicine. When they were little I would have to sit on them and hold their face while I forced it down. It was very pleasant. Now, if they won't take it I don't push it . . unless it is absolutely necessary. Jorja wouldn't take medicine yesterday or this morning. Finally, around lunch time she agreed. Her temperature dropped and she felt almost normal. She said, "I have been feeling better since I had the medicine." You think? Wasn't it worth it? Jorja's quote was much funnier when she said it because I don't think she noticed the cause and effect even as she stated it. Her temperature was up to about 101 degrees again tonight. She took the medicine and is now asleep. I hope she feels better tomorrow.

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Preston gathered rocks, papers and scissors and insisted on playing the game holding up the correct prop. He was on one side of the counter and I was on the other. He LOVED it and was very proud of himself.

Jorja came home sick from school today. She was feeling quite warm, so I wanted to know what her temperature was. None of our thermometers worked. I swear, I have the worst luck with thermometers. I had to get a few things at the store, so I ran out and picked one up while I was gone. Jorja was asleep when I got back. I snuck into her room and tried to take her temperature. She looked at me, but I was able to get her to go back to sleep. When the thermometer started beeping I bolted out of the room to take a look. That's when I realized I had taken her temperature in Celsius. Seriously? Why would I even want to do that? Shouldn't the default be Fahrenheit? She was 39 degrees. Hope she feels better in the morning. I wish I could convince her to take some medicine.

Useless Machine

Mike and Stockton built a useless machine. The whole purpose of the machine is to turn itself off. Stockton loves it. Maysen told Mike today that he should rig it to have annoying music coming from the box, but once you turn it off the box will turn the music back on. She said he should have the box wait a few seconds to lull you into a false sense of security. Oh man. Sounds funny, but I'm not so sure about that.

Matt's Engaged!

Matt and Sam are getting married! Maysen is really excited. So am I. I assume Matt is as well. We really like Sam. Congratulations guys!

Yesterday while we were playing Dominion, Preston was eating a Dum-Dum and poking Stockton constantly. Mike asked him to stop. He didn't. Mike told him he would be sent to time out if he didn't stop. He didn't stop. Mike picked up Preston and was carrying him to timeout. Preston started making gagging sounds. We realized he had swallowed the sucker - stick and all. Preston threw up on the floor and was finally able to get the stick out. That was really scary.

Today I walked to church with Jorja. She wore her roller skates and I wanted to help her change out of them. Mike and the kids were going to walk a few minutes behind us. When I got Jorja out of her skates I saw Maysen coming in the door. She said, "Is Preston here?" I told her I hadn't seen him. She said he was running ahead of them and wouldn't wait. Mike arrived a few minutes later and we had no idea where Preston was. Mike checked one side of the building, I checked the other. I ran outside hoping he wasn't in the parking lot. I figured I was more worried if he was there then if he was inside the church somewhere. Mike and I met up and still hadn't found him. We ran back inside and we were about to start combing the church again when we hear his voice. He was in the back overflow area walking on the chairs. RELIEF! I was so glad to see him. We took him out in the hall and explained he couldn't run ahead, we didn't know where he was. As we went to sit down where the other kids were, Preston was crying, "I was saving the seats!" I was able to get him calmed down and told him he couldn't be the one saving the seats when he ran too far ahead.

I had two different people come and talk to me after sacrament meeting was over. They said things like, "Your little boy is so cute. He made sure everyone knew he was saving six seats for his family. He said over and over 'I need six seats!'" I guess I need to make sure he is the one who gets to pick seats next week. Also, I now see the flaw in our plan to have whoever made it first to church pick the seats. We thought it helped get them out of the door faster.....

On a side note, Mike is now helping with the eleven year old scouts. Stockton was quite excited when he was sustained. Jorja was annoyed that Stockton always gets to have dad as a teacher. (Mike also teaches Stockton's primary class.)

Field of Flags

Maysen wanted to go to this 9-11 field they have. I think they have flags for every victim. They put their names on the flags and a little information about them. I think it would have been really interesting. Mike took Maysen after their fencing class.

Maysen

Today is my dad's 68th birthday. Wow! He's getting old! He also had his 50th high school reunion today. We watched Max for him while he was there.

Steve & Sherry (Mike's brother and sister) and their families came over for tacos and swimming. Jorja and Miah played for a long time. It was really sweet to watch the two of them playing together. I feel bad that they barely know each other. They are the same age and in the same grade at school, Miah is going to be baptized in a few weeks. I am excited for them to become better friends.

We did have fun today. Matt came over for the first time. He picked up Connor and they drove up to Idaho Falls for a mission farewell. When I say they drove, I mean Connor was doing the driving. How in the heck did he get old enough to drive?

Right now I am listening to Max and Preston in the guest room. They are not sleeping. It is almost 11:00, I can't believe Preston hasn't crashed. Hopefully he won't be a monster tomorrow.

Work Friends

Mike had his friends from work over for dinner today. Bear, his wife Angie and their baby Carrston were here along with Nate and his wife Jen. Bear and Nate were the ones that interviewed Mike for the job he now has. Mike made No Names and Fajaitas. I made some Key Lime Tarts. Everything was delicious. We ordered Little Caesars for the kids, so while we were having our yummy dinner they were downstairs watching Rio . . . and they were okay with that.

After dinner, Angie was able to get Carrston to sleep in our crib. Mike then taught everyone how to play Dominion. Angie barely paid attention and stomped everyone. It was funny. Next was night swimming. Mike had a lot of fun today, I just wish I had bought marshmallows so we could have made s'mores. We did have four marshmallows, but more would have been better. I am so tired right now I can't think straight, so hopefully this entry will be coherent.

Oh, just a few funny random things that I wanted to add. A few days ago I was looking at some pictures of Ollie and Drew on facebook. I smiled and Preston wanted to know what I thought was funny. I told him, "Tammi thought the baby was Drew, but it was really Ollie." Preston then kept laughing and repeating the sentence over and over for the next hour . . . while laughing and playing Webkinz.

I always check on the kids before I go to bed. I love looking at their sweet faces, but sometimes I am so painfully aware that they are growing up. I want to freeze this part of my life and have my kids with me, in our house forever. Anyway, when I leaned down to kiss Stockton on his cheek he opened his eyes and stared at me. He also put both hands, palms facing out, in front of his chest. He wasn't awake and his eyes weren't focused on anything. I kept whispering, "It's okay Stockton, it's just mom. I'm just turning off your blanket...." The entire time Stockton kept staring with those eyes....wait, I can't do it. (Stockton sleeps with his mattress pad on high all summer long. It is ridiculously hot, so every night before bed I turn it off.....Jorja does the same thing. Wackos)

This same night when I kissed Jorja's cheek she turned over and really, really loud said, "Puppies". Oh man. Kids are the best.

16 Awesome Years

Today is our anniversary! Sixteen years. I don't know how I was able to con Mike into wanting to marry me, but best con ever! We had such a fun day today. Mike was able to work from home today, so that was great. Mike, Preston and I went to lunch at Kneaders. Preston loves Kneaders. Or as Preston calls it, Meaters. Preston LOVES pumpkin bread. We brought a loaf home as well as a loaf of caramel apple bread. The children's verdict? Everyone loves pumpkin bread, no one loves the apple bread. As a matter of fact the apple bread causes plugging of noses and gagging noises. Accompanied along with tears.

We decided to celebrate our anniversary by going to Airborne Trampoline Arena. Basically it has zillions of trampolines, even on the walls. We went for an hour and the kids were exhausted by the end. There is also a dodge ball area. They had signs saying to ask about the dodgeball league at the front desk. Stockton wanted to know about that. When I asked they said they were planning on a dodgeball league, but didn't have a good response....but we were welcome to come and play dodgeball at any time. I'm thinking - how are we going to find enough people to do that? Stockton's thinking - why don't you take down the sign then? Too bad. Dodge ball would be super fun with trampolines to bounce off of.

Maysen & Stockton

Stockton

Maysen

Jorja

Preston

Maysen & Stockton

Maysen

Maysen & Preston ~ they played together for a long time....so sweet.

Maysen attacking me with a dodgeball

Jorja ~ some random kid kept following her around and hitting her in the face with dodgeballs....I had her come sit with me for awhile.....

Jorja

I thought it was cool how you could see outside through the tramp.

We now enter our rulebreaker series.....

Maysen ~ the sign on the wall says No Diving

In Maysen's defense, she didn't dive once she noticed the sign

Stockton ~ The sign says No Tricks off the Platforms

In Stockton's defense, he views rules more as suggestions

Jorja ~ the sign says Do Not Climb the Walls of the Tramp

In Jorja's defense, she is a very cute Porge

Jorja ~ this is how the kids looked at the end of the hour

I'm guessing they had a great time. Preston said next time we should buy a different color wrist band. He didn't realize that the color was determined when you entered the building..... everyone jumped for an hour......

After I dominated at Dominion and put the exhausted children to bed, Mike and I went out for frozen yogurt. I love my life, I love my family and I love my husband. I don't know what in the world I did to deserve to be so blessed, but I'll take it! Today was a wonderful, wonderful day.

On a side note, thanks Cassie for the anniversary card. It even came today....nice planning. I am not even good at sending thank you notes and birthday cards..... maybe one day I'll work on that. Love you and miss you guys!

The Definition of Cool

Lots of firsts happened today. I volunteered in Jorja's 3rd grade class for the first time. Maysen, Stockton and Jorja had their first piano lesson today. I have always wanted to have them take piano lessons, in Georgia there were really no good options. Utah is a different story. Their teacher is named Ann Marie and she comes to our house. That is awesome.

Mike took Maysen shopping today. They went to a fabric store and DI. I think Maysen is working on a Halloween costume. She loves Halloween. She loves planning her costumes. I don't like thinking about costumes at all. Maysen loves DI. She came home with a tree for her room. Now everyone wants a tree. Mike came home with a singing fish. He said, "You can't have too many singing fish. We could have a wall of singing fish. That is the definition of cool." I wonder what dictionary he is using.

Black and White

Preston is funny. He absolutely loves homeschool. I gave him red and yellow finger paints today. He was excited to discover that they turned to orange. He surprises me all the time with words that he can read. I'll ask him who taught him that word? He will say, "I taught myself." I gave Preston black construction paper and chalk. This is how our conversation went.

Me: Do you think white chalk will show up on this black paper?

Preston: It's just like it's inverted. Did you know white inverted is black and black inverted is white?

Me: Who are you? Stockton?

Preston: (confused) No, I'm Preston.

Man that kid is priceless. I am already dreading next year.

Labor Day

In honor of Matt sleeping over last night, we made a bunch of waffles. They were delicious. Except I made too little, so then I doubled the recipe and now have a ton of batter. Oh well, waffles are delicious. We played a lot of Dominion today. All that matters is I now have the trophy. (Okay, Matt, Maysen, Mike . . . pretty much everyone possessed the trophy today, but I have it now!) Steve & Shannon and their family came over today for swimming and games. Weston loved the pool. Stockton was so excited for them to come over, he spent a lot of time in front of the window . . . and on the grass . . . Stockton and Mike also finished their Useless Machine today. I will need to take a video, because truly there is no explanation.

Weston

Weston, Erica, Preston, Jorja

Dinner

First Sunday of the month = family dinner. I love being able to have dinner with my family once a month. My dad made meatloaf and salad. Jennie brought potatoes. I made rolls from scratch (and didn't blow it!), s'more bars and caramel apple cider. Yummy. My kids loved the rolls. Maysen even asked if she could have them for her birthday. Everyone of my children turned the rolls over and made comments about how the bottoms weren't burnt. Yep, my children have such confidence in my cooking abilities.

Jorja & Ella

(Jorja is wearing a nametag that has her name in Chinese)

We had a major Dominion game today. We played with four versions, used fifteen cards and played until five decks were done. The game went pretty long . . . a little too long for Stockton's taste. At the end, Maysen won. After Sam left and all the kids (and Mike) went to bed we played again. We played past midnight . . . it was worth it because I won.

Sam, the edge of Matt's head, Stockton, Mike, Jorja & Maysen