I Scream You Scream

We had coupons for our favorite see-the-cows-that-made-the-milk-to-make-the-ice-cream treat!
Somehow Suzanna got her elbow in Roxie's ice cream?


True love.

In Case of Emergency

In case of zero time in the morning, here is a raspberry version of Saturday's photo shoot. I always have some back-ups.

First day of school for all my children.

Giggling in the Shade

I am laughing so hard in this photo. When I hold the camera out for a couple photo I tend to point the camera more at John than at me. He was turning it towards me, but that would pull my short fingers off the button, and I couldn't shoot it.

Morning at Meetings

Seminary starts next Wednesday. I spent the morning in Columbia at a training meeting. Thus the late blog for the day...No shoes for John, hot pavement driveway (gritting his teeth in pain. I didn't know he was in pain at the time of this photo); he is being a gentleman bringing in my yard sale finds that I found on the way home.
He calls this my banana skirt.

Good Morning!

It is the last Friday of summer before school starts! Monday we will be waking up early. Actually, we've been practicing going to bed earlier, and waking up earlier. Daily seminary doesn't start until next Wednesday. Back to work!

I Know Why Suzanna Was Sad

A certain third book in a trilogy was just released. Our library is amazing at getting copies, and I am married to a man who can get a book reserved before it is even available. Suzu was at the bookstore with a friend to buy their copies the same day John checked out a copy and graciously gave it to me to read first.

Sometimes book don't end the way you were hoping. Sometimes it is even better! This series took me by surprise (and yes, I think it is better written than Harry Potter. Suzanne Collins writes a tight, well-crafted story. High recommendations for Hunger Games trilogy. Find it at your local library, for free!)
I think today I am especially thankful that we share a love for reading. Well, that and kissing, and being good.

Why I Stay Married

Sobering discussion today with a co-worker whose husband has been out of work for 4 years. They are splitting up. Not just because of the money tension and stress...

I almost told her about blogging a couple photo a day since John lost his full-time work, and how much it has helped me focus on US. This has helped me to NOT become indpendent, angry, or give ultimatiums. This photo/blog project has helped me think in terms of teamwork, sharing the burden, staying together on purpose. I really did not think it would last this long (almost a year...) or have the side benefits that it has.

Over the course of the day as we talked and shared our lives she said, "It is really good how your husband is so involved in your life..." I had a lunch date Monday with him, so he came into the office where I was working, kissed me in front of everyone, whisked me away for an hour. They all think it is really cute how we both work for the census (it is really winding up. Last week, for real.) They wanted to know how we met, what other kinds of dates we go on, what our kids are like. One of the ladies wants to see our wedding photo tomorrow. They sigh, and oohh and ahhh at our romantic life.

I tell them it is hard work. And how amazing he is. And that Church helps cement the similar values and goals. Praying together makes a huge difference in our relationship. Being self-less together. Working together, yes, and playing together. Doing things as a family, and taking time to do fun things as a couple.Fun things like exploring visual themes!

You Are My Hands

Sunday's lesson in relief society quoted President Dieter Uchtdorf's conference talk. The teacher is an elementary school teacher and had great visuals: two hands that form a heart when joined.

Doing It Together

Sam's Primary teacher called sick Sunday morning and asked us to teach. Lesson was on King Solomon. I like teaching with John. I love listening to his questions, and the way he helps the kids apply the scriptures to their lives now.

Peace and Whirlwind

Saturday morning we made our way here. Peaceful. Quiet. Right.
Friday night we celebrated Thanksgiving while Emma and Stewart were still here with us. I spent the whole day cooking turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green beans, rolls, pumpkin mini-pies, and cookies, and a chocolate cake with the wrong frosting for Sam's birthday dinner celebration...delicious, but I was dead tired at the end. Now we can have tacos in November like Johnny has always wanted!
Back to school haircuts! (Same night as Thanksgiving.)
Saying good-bye Saturday morning. Stewart will be a freshman living 3 blocks from Emma.
Good-bye, my blue-eyed son! I think the reality hit me last night during family prayer: we only have 4 kids left at home. FOUR?! Our family has shrunk.

More Beach Family Fun

This makes me laugh--Emma took the picture for us. And I swiveled it around until it looks like we are glued together at the forehead. Silly fun!

This is what I thought I was taking a "couple" shot, but it was zoomed in so far from other shots and just focuses on John's happy smile! No cropping. Shown as is.

Dewey Beach on a Thursday

Emma wanted a sibling photo before they left for school. And we haven't gone to the ocean all summer. Perfect day in the middle of the week. I finished up my work project Wednesday. John was free from work (his starts up again next week for quality control of what I just finished with the census...).

More NY and Sunburned Smiles

This is the quilt from a leaf exchange. I made 4 of the leaves and then put it all together after making more and trading with other Flying Geese quilters.
This is Lu in her big truck!
This is Roger in his Babcock reunion t-shirt, holding the bunk bed while Deb unbolted everything...
This is Deb, unbolting beds. I love seeing my competent sisters weilding tools! Impressive!This is the formal dinning room that I painted snappy orange once upon a time and painted boring but sale-inducing creamy ivory this weekend. Lu helped paint, too!


I am wearing Stewart/Max's shirt from Grandpa John. He used to have a truck that looked like that, and named it "The ATOMIC Buttercup." He painted it bright yellow and you could see it coming a mile off down the road! It made me smile to see bro-by-marriage Roger wearing this same shirt in NY and Owen wearing one of the boys' old ones. Fun to match.

Four Days With Sisters

I drove to Luanna's on Friday. Then we drove together to Deb's Saturday morning. Loaded Grandpa Jack's piano with lots of muscle help. We went to Deb's last Sharing Time in Primary Sunday as visitor's (we dressed up and I was Jairus' wife and Lu was a friend of Mary and Martha and talked about the miracle of Lazarus). Luanna left in the big truck after a rainy picnic. I came home Tuesday before Roxie's piano lessons and Max's wisdom top teeth extraction.

(Quilt top that Luanna is making. I described this pattern to her from a quilt I saw at Hershey and she did a fantastic job putting it together! LOVE her colors!)

Lu & Bob (thank you, Bob, for the best driving mix CDs! They make the miles disappear.)
See those green chairs on this porch? I painted those! And recovered the one seat bright salmon. We put them out with a "Free" sign and they ended up 45 miles away, on the road to Lu's house! I saw them a month ago and couldn't believe it and had to take a picture this time driving by.
Home with Deb's front porch flowers on my back porch! Thank you for a fun weekend. Hope all goes well with house offers tonight!

On the Loveseat

Living Room Chandelier

Squished together.

Reprise

Can you see the sweat dripping off of us? The lookout had stairs, lots of stairs.

It is a lot of work to go on vacation as a family. We had wanted to do something adventurous before Emma and Stewart left for school/missions. This was the last trip for a long time when everyone will be home. Next opportunity will be 4 years (when Stewart/Maxwell home from missions) and we could be grandparents by then, maybe, so the rough white water rafting trip would have to wait.

This was the year for this adventure!

I hope the kids remember the fun we had! They were good sports and kind to each other.

My favorite parts: squished around the picnic table in the cabin singing "Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow" in harmony (yeah, Emma and Max!) and passing around the Book of Mormon that all of us forgot but Ross had in his backpack and taking turns reading a verse. And stopping for gas, giving everyone a $2 budget for a treat in Kroger's grocery store and finding Em and Stewart pooling their $4 by the ice cream choosing Klondike bars--thinking they were only getting 3 to share, and then discovering it was a 6 pack and them bargaining for other treats with "What would you do for a Klondike bar?" Watching Roxie in the Princess Seat at the front of of the boat imitating Suzu's dramatic arm spread. Paddle pops and echoes. The spontaneous back flip show. Our guide Healy telling us what amazing kids we have and how impressed he was with their behavior and cooperation working together. John smiling at finally going to Biscuit World. Our anti-fight and listening/discussion/solution about going to Pints and Pizza next time we are in town. John pontificating for Maxwell, and Maxwell getting it, and learning. Ross's kindness running up all those look-out stairs to find missing Roxie!

My favorite part about vacation: coming home and sleeping in our own bed.

Holiday Post #4

Somehow we managed to both be wearing orange shirts. Photo credit: Emmalyn
This is a picture of the amazing bridge spanning the New River.Suzu likes orange, too! You can see the New River to her right, way down below!


We were all able to ride in one boat with our super-tanned guide, Healy (who will be working out at Alta teaching skiing this winter, if his plans go well). He would warn us which direction to swim if we fell out on each approaching fall, and would tell us when and how to paddle, which side, which direction, and kept us from crashing into the rocks, led us down backwards over a few drops...Wishing I had pictures of the adventure: imagine rocks, lots of BIG ROCKS and fast moving water, waves, falls, better than any roller coaster ride...Nobody fell out of the boat. We did jump overboard to swim in a few places, and everyone jumped off a 30 foot rock (except me. Even Roxie jumped!) I had one early over-my-head dunking at Swimmer's Falls that left me breathless and ragged breathing and more cautious. We all paddled. We toured with "ACE" and I would highly recommend them if you are even thinking about doing this kind of family adventure. Very professional, very organized, great food. They fed us pita bread, broccoli/carrots and dips pb & j sandwiches if people wanted (this was all a snack while they set up lunch for us) and amazing grilled chix or hamburgers on buns with our choice of toppings onions, lettuce, condiments; 2 pasta salads including tortellini and a orzo salad, seafood salad, oreo dirt pudding, chocolate chip cookies, water and lemonade. It was a feast! All on the side of the river on top of one of the rafts turned upside down to be the buffet table spread with plastic tablecloth and guides turned servers wearing plastic gloves. Each raft had a cooler in the center with parts of the lunch. We did stay together as a 3 raft tour, and there were other companies on the river and an earlier ACE tour that we saw. But not amusement park crowded. When I was floating/drowning at one point another guide helped me get to her boat and hold on to a paddle until I could breathe again. It was reassuring in company, but still so wild and natural and breath-taking (haha, for asthmatic me). We were in coal-mining country, and learned a lot from our guide about how it was done.

Serious picture and silly one, after a long, exhausting day and an interesting dinner at "Biscuit World."

We stopped at the overlook on the way out and got home by 1 am. I helped John watch for crossing deer and bears, keeping him company with my silly-half-asleep dreaming memories (I told him I had gone paint balling on a date, before I dated him, then asked if Emma was born then, and then paused and realized I was remembering "10 Things I Hate About You" and no, I didn't date the Joker.)

Driving down hill home felt a lot like floating down the rapids in a half-awake state. I am glad John is a good driver.