Heads Visit, Christmas

Last Thursday and Friday, Rex and Anna visited us. We didn't have tons of time together because they had lots of work, but we had times for games and good food.

Our trip been an adventure so far.

We left Monday morning with no problems, ate lunch, and enjoyed a stop at the Hill Aerospace Museum. Then, we set out on our way, hoping to arrive in Rexburg around 4-5 P.M. Not a mile later, the oil light came on in the car. We pulled into the next gas station and noticed that the car was leaking TONS of oil. A phone call to dad and some diagnostic work revealed a broken line which sprayed oil any time we started the car up. We found a place in Brigham City to tow and fix the car, but they couldn't do it until the next morning since they didn't have the part in stock. James decided to stay the night and drive the car up the next day. Melodie and Joseph drove down to get us. While we waited, we went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner and then to Walmart to hang out. We didn't have to wait too long for our ride, so it wasn't all bad. We finally arrived in Rexburg around 9:45 and James on Christmas Eve at 2 P.M.

We did our normal Christmas Eve: clam chowder for dinner, singing together, and the Christmas story acted out by the kids. (I helped do some of the cooking so I could take my mind off of the broken car.) We even got them to bed on time, which was great because they woke up SO EARLY and had to be sent back to bed.

Christmas Day was really awesome. I love my presents and not traveling in ice and snow. We did go to the Lees' for dinner. I had so much delicious food.

Today, after the gym, the kids and most of the family left to go sledding. Samantha and I had a nice relaxing morning doing nothing. James, Melodie and I went to the temple to do sealings this afternoon, which was great. It was pretty busy, but we got all but 3 cards done. Soon, James and I will leave to go on a dinner date. I'm pretty excited because it's a new place that we haven't eaten at yet. We have a gift card from Christmas.

The next few days should be great too. I can't wait!

Cold, Parties

I've had a cold since Fridayish. Monday was the absolute worst of it. I'm just glad it's getting better and not turning in to a sinus infection like January. That was a truly awful experience that I hope to never repeat.

I can’t say it’s been an easy week. Having a cold has made me very tired and irritable when I would normally be doing some productive Christmas type stuff right now. James and I went to the faculty party for the high school on Monday, and that was fun, but I didn’t feel great while I was there. We went to the very last pack meeting on Tuesday and that was fun too, at least for the first 45 minutes. It was a good reminder of why everyone is glad that there won’t be any pack meetings anymore. Lewis and Samantha were difficult to keep track of, and just when we were starting to socialize with friends during the dinner, the Cub leaders spent 45 minutes on giving out awards. All the same, I am really glad that Joseph had such caring leaders who helped him get his Bear badge, even though he has only been working on it for about six months.

I have no real motivation to do anything right now. I am taking a break from dieting for the last two weeks of the year. I finally broke past my 60 pound mark! I’m really excited about that, but I’m even more excited to be able to eat ice cream over the next few weeks.

Phenix/Blomquist Visit

Dad arrived last Friday, and we had a great time together. Saturday, he and I went to the temple to work on some family names. I forgot how much temple work brings the living closer together. I love getting those emails saying that temple work from my list has been done, and then I look and see that it happened in Raleigh. We also went to D.I. for a few random things and then hung out the rest of the day.

Sunday, everything went well with Church. It was a little extra busy since I was subbing for a class right after music, but it was fun. We kept our tradition of watching the Christmas devotional and eating muddy buddies. The Blomquists arrived Sunday night.

Monday, I did my normal stuff during the day. I took pictures of the Blomquist family. We went to KFC for dinner, after which Dad left for Salt Lake. He even bought us some extra biscuits for breakfast the next day.

Tuesday, Mara and I went to yoga together and then watched a Christmas movie while the guys and Devin played some games.

Wednesday, Mara and Ricky went to the temple in the morning and the guys went shooting in the afternoon. Emma was a perfect angel, even when I had to bundle her for the bus stop. We played some games after dinner. I somehow found time to write our Christmas card.

Today, we're going to the Western Heritage Museum and then grocery shopping. I have some cooking to catch up on this afternoon, just granola bars and actual granola. I love how good the house smells when I make those. After dinner, Mara and Ricky have to leave to go home. We've had a really good time. It's always great to spend time with family. I'm going to be really sad when they move away to NC next year.

More Thanksgiving, Busy Week

We ended up  having a pretty good Thanksgiving. I really liked that we didn't have to travel again on Thanksgiving day since it was such a terrible drive to Rexburg. The drive from Rexburg to Victor is usually the worst, weather-wise, and pretty icy. Aunt Ruth's family joined us, so that was really nice.

Friday, James went shooting while I stayed with the kids. I didn't really feel like Black Friday shopping. It was never a tradition in my family. Ours was to stay home and eat turkey pot pie. We went to the Lees' to eat chili with Aunt Michelle's family. Somehow, we kept Lewis and Samantha from destroying anything. That's the worst part about going to the grandparents' house these day: keeping those two out of trouble. It makes the visit kind of unpleasant, but I know it won't always be that way.

Saturday, Lars and I went to the temple to do some family names for baptisms. It was the perfect time to go: completely empty! He and Carmel joined us for dinner, turkey pot pie that I made earlier in the day.

We left Sunday after Church and made it home safely with completely clear roads. Aside from catching up from the trip, James has had tons to do this week: a training after school, a visit to the dentist, and some errands. That's not even counting the homework from his classes. I feel like we never get to spend time together, so I'm really looking forward to Christmas when he doesn't have any classes!

Our ward Christmas party last night was pretty fun.

I was feeling pretty discouraged for a while that no one seemed to notice my weight loss, but I got 4 compliments in the past week! I can't believe I'm so close to my goal: 15 lbs. or less to go! I say less because I'm not 100% sure that I can weigh what I did on my wedding day since I never have since then. I have been within 5 lbs., though, so I'd be really happy with that. The fact that I'm getting close means that progress is very slow and my desire to put in the effort is greatly diminished compared to what it was. I'm hoping to reach my final goal by my birthday, but we'll see. I hate to keep pushing the date back, but life happens, and I'm not a robot with no feelings.

Thanksgiving, Nidra

Not too much happened this past week except for our trip to Rexburg and getting ready to get here in the first place. We got new winter tires for the car and had something minor repaired on it the day before we left. Nothing like the last minute, right? I somehow found a ride back from the shop since James wasn't even home yet when I had to take it in.

I went to my first yoga nidra class on Tuesday and loved it. I think yin will always be my favorite, but nidra was really great for calming my mind. I'm taking part in a 6 week challenge done by my yoga teacher that will hopefully help me feel calm and collected through the end of the year instead of stressed and angry. So far, so good.

Our trip was far from perfect yesterday. We did have a great lunch at Chick-fil-A with Nash, Mara, and Ricky. However, 2 kids threw up in the car, and the snow slowed us down by probably an hour. It was especially frustrating to be stuck right by Rexburg but not really able to go anywhere. We saw 12 cars either off the road or in accidents on the way. About 6 of those were in a 5-mile stretch in northern Utah. Scary stuff. I'm glad James is such a great driver.

It's Thanksgiving! This year, we are staying at "the barn", for which I am very grateful. It means hanging out and cooking instead of being stuck in the car again. I'm making the green beans. I hope the rest of the break turns out to be peaceful too.

James's Trip, Snow, Dentist

Well, it's been a pretty good week, but it just got a lot harder. James left for Texas this morning and doesn't return until Monday evening. I've done this before, but I'm not excited about being alone for 5 days. The evenings will be especially hard since I won't have anyone to talk to, so I plan on using the TV to keep my mind occupied.

I slept poorly last night and woke up to snow. It's not our first snowfall, but I hate how it makes me feel. People who've had snow all their lives look at me like I'm crazy, but I can't deny that I'm afraid of snow. It makes me feel really claustrophobic. Driving in it is safe 99% of the time, but I hate that 1% where I feel my car slide a little or someone tells me that driving 10 under the speed limit must be because I'm a southerner and too stupid to drive in snow. (Yes, at least one person says that every year, but not in those exact words. It doesn't make me feel any better, especially because I am not bad at driving in snow, just really cautious the first time each season.)

We were waiting for the big expensive medical thing for this time of year. Thankfully, it's a root canal for James and not a trip to the hospital. Having savings makes all the difference. 10 years ago when he needed a root canal, we could barely afford it and ended up moving in with his parents for a year since we ran out of money. This year, it's just an annoyance that will take up some time and savings. I'm really grateful to be financially stable. It took 8 years, but it was worth every sacrifice.

Not Too Busy, Disney+

It has been another low-key week, and I'm glad! We have some crazy weeks coming up with the holidays. The kids didn't have school on Monday since it was a teacher day, but we didn't do anything, really, except talk about Veteran's Day. I added some memories to my family tree.

We got Disney+! So far I'm really liking the variety of kid-friendly stuff. We've missed some old favorites that left Netflix, so it's nice to have them back.

Low Key, Not Christmas, One Nap

I like it when things are boring for a while. Everyone is healthy, nothing is broken, and there's nothing on the calendar for the week. It's a rare occurrence, but I can definitely live with it.

I am one of those people who doesn't believe in celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving. I feel like 2 months of celebrating makes for a disappointing Christmas Day - a lot of buildup for a pretty good day, but not as magical as the songs portray. I know this sounds kind of pessimistic, but I really need for Thanksgiving and Christmas to be separate. In that spirit, I made myself a Thanksgiving playlist on Spotify.

Though I'm not listening to Christmas music or decorating, that doesn't mean I'm not thinking about gifts for my kids. Homemade things especially need to happen earlier so I don't get too stressed right before Christmas Day. I came up with an idea to turn some of those old, string backpacks into scripture bags for my boys. Katie has loved her beaded purse for carrying her scriptures, so I'm hoping the boys feel as excited about theirs.

Samantha and Lewis are both taking one nap now! I love it! This week, I've still been working on family history stuff, like adding memories to my family tree and attaching sources. I need to get working on a photo book for my sister since she's getting married in January. I don't know yet if I'm going to the wedding or reception, which is in March. Hopefully I can decide soon.

Oops, Halloween

I can't believe I forgot to write on Thursday. I guess Halloween threw things off a bit.

We had a bit of a cold snap along with some snow. It was really hard to deal with because it felt just like January, not late October. Still, I made it safely to where I was going without any problems. The street right by my house is always the worst.

Our ward trunk or treat and party was fun, as always. The soups I got were all delicious. I'm all about the creamy, cheesy ones. The kids got a ton of candy, which is now all gone, and I'm not sad about that at all. It makes everyone grouchy.

James and I went on a date yesterday, shooting and lunch. I hurt myself with the slide on the glock and got a cut on my finger. It upset me a bit, so I didn't shoot well the rest of the time. We had lunch at the Asian place, so I got hot and sour soup and sushi, two of my favorite things ever.

We finished the Harry Potter series with the kids last night, fast forwarding through the scariest parts. I forgot how much I LOVE that series, and it was perfect for getting me in the mood for fall and Halloween. I only read books 5-7 because I remember the others so well.

I've been thinking about my progress toward my weight/health goal, and I decided to only focus on my actual progress and not the times I've messed up. I've been dwelling too much on the days where I didn't give 100%, but I shouldn't do that anymore. It just makes me more annoyed that progress takes time. Slow progress is still progress!

I hope this month is a good one. We seem to have an October/November curse, and nothing bad has happened yet. I'm really hoping we can get through these last two months of the year without any mishaps! My pessimism will not get the best of me.

10th Anniversary Trip, Recovery

We had an awesome time on our trip! It was really nice to get away from little people's schedules, fighting, and poop for a few days. We left Friday morning and had no car trouble at all, which was great, considering it was just in the shop the day before.

Friday: IKEA shopping and lunch, thrifting at D.I., dinner at Wallaby's, Evermore Park

Saturday: breakfast at the Bagel Project, Trolley Square, Gilgal Sculpture Garden, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, lunch at Yoko Ramen, outlet stores and ice cream, dinner at Rodizio, Dry Bar Comedy

Sunday: relaxing, Church, games and dinner with the Blomquists, family chat, more relaxing at the hotel. I was wiped out by then because of all the walking and still waking up at my normal time! I'm a little annoyed that I can't actually sleep in.

Monday: breakfast at the hotel, travel home, IKEA furniture assembly

The rest of the week has been all right so far. Tuesday felt like a rude awakening because of all the laundry, dishes, and diapers after a few days of rest. I am really glad we took this trip. I ended up with 4 new shirts, a nice dresser, and a new winter coat. The food was all incredible too, and the activities were really fun. I hope we can do this again soon!

Joseph's Visit, Fall Break So Far

It's been a great week with Uncle Joseph here. He last came for a week about 2 years ago, I think, and he's definitely grown up since then, not that he was difficult then. The days have been sunny and cool, my perfect kind of weather.

Saturday, I had a Relief Society preparedness fair from 10-2, but it ended up taking from 9-3. My class on spiritual self-reliance went well and very quickly. It's really easy to talk for 10 minutes! I enjoyed the other classes too, and we got lots of fun stuff, including a backpack to put it all in. Overall, I'd say the activity was a great success. I went home with an awful headache that wouldn't leave, but I pressed on since we were feeding the missionaries at 5. I almost had James take them a pizza, but I suddenly started feeling well enough to cook dinner. It's a mild cold, and pretty much everyone in the house has it. We really enjoyed having the missionaries over. I remember when they were older than me, and now they're my baby brother's age.

Monday, we decided to take it easy for FHE and watch some stuff instead of going anywhere. We've talked about going swimming but can't ever find the motivation to do so, and that's okay! It's a lot of work to get everyone ready for swimming. Maybe one day we'll be motivated enough. We also didn't want to spread a bunch of germs at the pool.

We've been watching the Harry Potter movies and just finished #4. That's the last one we'll watch with the little kids, and it was a little too scary for Lewis. Oops. I read books #5, 6, and 7 and really enjoyed them. I remember the first 3-4 too well to be able to read them yet. I can almost quote them word for word.

Fall break started yesterday! We took the kids to the dinosaur quarry and even did one of the trails. It actually wasn't so bad, and we even got some good pictures. Today, we're going to a carnival and will hopefully get the G6 back during a convenient time. It had a small thing that needed to be replaced, but hopefully we won't have any trouble with it on the way to Salt Lake tomorrow! I'm really excited to go on a trip with just James. We haven't gone away for more than a night since we got married, and since it's been 10 years (and a few months), we're going away for 3 nights! James's parents get here tonight sometime, so I really hope everything goes well. I've been looking forward to this trip for several months now.

My sister Colbey will be getting married in March! I can hardly believe it. I don't know Micheal very well yet. Colbey sent me a link for the bridesmaid dress, so I ordered one already. I'll make the trip in March, probably meeting up with Mara. It should be great! One trip at a time, though. I'm really looking forward to this weekend. :)

Conference, Anna and Joseph's Visit

James and I changed our plans a couple of times for our date last week, so we ended up going to dinner and doing some fun shopping. I'm glad that some places (mostly chain restaurants) provide nutritional information so I can actually figure out something to eat. We don't eat out very often, and I'm glad, because it makes "dieting" almost impossible. On that note, I put some pictures in an album for my starting weight, -30, and -45. In the next few days, I should be able to add -60! I'm really hoping for -75 (my end goal!) by the end of the year, but I think it will be late January before I get there. I'm doing so much better than I was a year ago, but I'm far from perfect.

We enjoyed Conference on Saturday and Sunday. I listened to the women's session while I did some sewing, so I felt extra productive. Haha. The toffee was not only easy, it turned out delicious! I made some again on Sunday for Anna and Joseph to enjoy. They arrived around lunch time, so we enjoyed the rest of the day eating yummy food, listening to Conference, and playing some games. Anna left Monday morning, but Joseph is here until after James and I go on our anniversary trip, the 18th-21st.

So far, things have gone very smoothly. Though Joseph is my kids' uncle, he's more like a cousin due to his age. I barely notice he's here because he takes care of himself. He and James do games together from 7:30-9:00, and then James and I still hang out after that. I've had parent-teacher conferences this week, but everything else has been pretty routine. I also found the leak to our dishwasher, finally. It is the stupid water inlet valve, which is both cheap and easy to replace, but very annoying since this is a new dishwasher. I don't want to bother with Lowe's doing it, because I bet it will take a lot longer if they'll even do it at all. It feels like things are always breaking. James had to replace our front doorknob during Conference because it finally gave out.

I am so excited for the changes talked about in Conference! There are too many to really talk about here, but right now I'm most intrigued by what's going to happen at Conference in April. I guess we'll have to wait and see!

Fixing Stuff, Projects

One thing I never realized about owning a house and cars is how annoying it would be to keep them all running, clean, and not leaking. We just had one car looked at for the check engine light, and it was just something minor, as I suspected, no fix needed as far as they could tell (possibly just a loose gas cap.) The dishwasher is currently leaking AGAIN. That stupid thing is new (a month or two) and I just spent 2 hours last week making sure it was completely level. Everything was great for a few days, and then it started leaking. It seems like it's getting worse, and if it's not a loose connection, we're going to need to replace the water inlet valve. Ugh.

Tomorrow we completely finish yard work for the season since we've been getting frost the past few days. I'm okay with it, I think, because the afternoons are really pleasant. I got everything cut out for Christmas dresses for the girls. Since I bought too much, I also have enough for a t-shirt for me, an AG doll outfit, a baby doll outfit, and 3 bows! I never buy new fabric, but I'm definitely getting my money's worth! The pattern is one I found online, and it looks super easy.

Family history is going well, too. I sent a whole bunch of names to my family, and I have plenty for James and me for the next year or 2. I forgot how much I like to take my own names.

We invited some friends for dinner and games. It was great except for when the kids started fighting with their daughter. Well, mostly Lewis. He has a hard time getting along with other kids sometimes because he's 2 and still doesn't like to share.

I can't wait for Conference this weekend! I'm going to start a new tradition that I'm calling "Conference Candy". I've made homemade candy a few times and think Christmas is too busy to do it, but standing over a hot stove shouldn't be too bad while I'm listening to talks and music in the background. This weekend, I plan on making toffee.

Embracing the Season

I am not one of those people who automatically loves fall. Sometimes, it feels like a welcome rest from the heat of summer, but other times, it brings a sense of foreboding. The past few years, I've been too occupied with pregnancy to really worry about fall and winter as much, so my feelings of dread this year came as a bit of a surprise.

I read this article a while ago and have thought about it ever since then. I determined that I needed to plan to love fall for all its seasonal goodness, pumpkin spice not included. James and I wrote down a bunch of ideas for fun things we'll do this fall, and I also set some goals. This week, I started working on my family history for the first time in 5 years. We have a tablet that I can use while I watch TV. It's a win-win situation because I get to be entertained and do some very important work at the same time.

Some fun things we're going to do include a Harry Potter movie marathon that will end on Halloween (activities for each book!) and Oktoberfest, which for us means sausage and root beer. It's great to have something to look forward to each week.

We've had a pretty busy week with getting one car fixed and trying to figure out what's wrong with the other. It's not serious, just a check engine light, but it's annoying because the code scanner I bought didn't work, and returning it added another thing to a busy week. We all got flu shots yesterday, so it feels like I got punched in the arm. I did have a really fun yoga party on Tuesday, and there's a Relief Society meeting (getting to know you) tonight. We also invited the Packards over for dinner Monday night. It's so fun to hang out with them! The smoked ribs they brought didn't hurt either. :)

Myles and Dad's Visit, Fear of Change, Weight Loss

We had a great visit with Dad and Myles. They arrived late Saturday night. We all went to Church Sunday, hung out, and played some games. I even took a nap! They are pretty rare these days since I don't really need them much.

Monday, Dad and Myles worked on the car, replacing a couple of belts, the water pump, and the tubing and motors for the windshield washer fluid. Of course the check engine light came on as I was driving it today. I know it's unrelated and probably not serious, but it's annoying to have only had 24 hours of no problems! Myles was also awesome enough to replace the basket drive and clutch in my washing machine. No more squealing!

The mornings are starting to be crisp and dark. Though I love the temperature, I'm not loving the dark. I really feel like I started loving working in the yard, and now I feel that it's being taken away from me too soon. James assured me that I'm going to find a project (or several) for when I can't work outside. I don't feel like winter specifically bothered me the last few years, but I had enough other things to deal with that it probably would have been secondary anyway.

I've officially lost 55 lbs. now, only 20 to go! I fit into all my regular pants now, so no more "size up" pants in my drawer. I'm really excited about that because I've been stuck in between sizes for many months now. Theoretically, I can go down one more size, but I like looser clothing anyway, so I'm not planning on it. We'll see.

Truffles, Myles and Lars's Visit

Saturday, the kids went to a birthday party, James went to work, and the youngest two took naps at the same time. Somehow, I got bored and decided to go online and look at the Lindt website. I've always got spending money that I don't know how to use, but I found at least 1 good use aside from yoga - truffles! I didn't realize that they make over 20 flavors because I can only find about 5 in the store. Since I really like the ones I've tried, I ordered a giant box with 10 different flavors. It should be coming today, and I'm so excited. Though Lindor truffles are my favorite chocolate in the world, I can somehow feel happy eating 2 a day. I don't know why I don't have the same result with chips. While Myles and Lars were here, I ate way too many of them. I've learned my lesson!

My brothers arrived late on Sunday night and left this morning. We did a lot over the past few days!

Fun stuff: playing Fall of Rome, carnival with the kids/neighbors for FHE, hunting X2, hanging out and watching TV, going to the temple, ward party today, Matilda with Joseph! (James won tickets to today's dress rehearsal, and my friend Claire is in it as the Trunchbull.)

Projects: working on the Yukon, installing another (much more convenient) outlet outside, picking tomatoes at my RS president's house and then canning them (20 qts.), painting the holes in the walls that I just finished patching, sorting through clothes I was given for my girls

Myles returns on Saturday night with Dad, but Lars will be in Rexburg for school. Crazy to think how much my life has changed since I started school there 13 years ago!

Labor Day, New Car

The most eventful thing of this past week was definitely my trip to see Mara over Labor Day. I left Sunday morning, and all was well until I got to the summit (around 8,000 feet). A warning light came on, but I thought it was for tire pressure. Since there was absolutely nowhere to stop, I figured I'd drive to the next town, Heber, and get their Walmart to look at my tires.

Well, that didn't happen. As I drove into town, the car wouldn't accelerate well. I had to stop once and barely made it through the light going 20 miles an hour. When I stopped next in the Walmart parking lot, my car wouldn't move at all except for very slowly backward, so I did a really bad parking job and got it out of the way. I first called Dad to see what was wrong, and he said it was the transmission.

To make a long story short, we had James's uncle pick the car up on Monday since he has a towing business. Since it was more expensive to fix than what we'd paid for it, we decided to scrap it and get a new one that costs more than $900. Ricky picked me up, so I missed church, but at least I made it to Mara's house.

We hung out the rest of the day, talked to families, and watched a movie. Monday, we went to the Latin American festival in Provo, which was fun. I got a torta but wished for tacos after the fact. They're hard to beat. Mara drove me to Vernal Monday night after dinner.

Since the kids had Tuesday off, we went to the library for story time and then to the Western Heritage museum next door. I think everyone had a good time. Mara and the kids went on a walk while I crashed on the couch. A couple days of stress really wear me down. Mara went to my yoga class with me, which was great!

Mara left after lunch yesterday, so things are pretty much back to normal. James has been looking at cars for the past few days and will hopefully get one today. I've been tackling my projects list and have one for Dad, Myles, and Lars to work on while they're here. We probably won't get it all done, but that's okay.

Samantha is officially 1! Today I'll find out exactly how big she is.

Konmari, Projects

I am definitely one of those people that loves the Konmari method for decluttering. I love it so much that I do it at least once a year, sometimes more. The "sometimes more" often happens when I'm in need of a project (or a lot of them). Going through every nook and cranny of my house helps me see what I've been forgetting, like gluing a piece of counter back on or going through our 72-hour kit for expired food. (It's been 4 years since I last looked at it. Oops.)

I've realized this summer that I do love working in the yard as long as I have a definite goal to work toward. Today, it was cleaning up the side yard. I have 1 pile of stuff for the dump, 1 for the trash can, and 1 for D.I. I finally cleared off the rocks that were covered in random stuff! I also cleaned out behind the shed and stacked all our project pallets neatly.

Now that I'm almost done going through the house, I have a long list that will hopefully keep me busy for a while. The problem areas are looking so much better now, and that makes me happy.

Kindergarten, Disney

Aside from installing the new dishwasher, not much has happened in the past week. We definitely need to rent/borrow a trailer to get rid of a bunch of junk from the yard. Most of it is from the trailer, which is DONE except for the outside! I don't know when we'll get around to painting it, but the inside is so much better and actually usable as an office.

Katie started Kindergarten yesterday. She was so excited that she wore her backpack all morning. It was weird to have her gone all afternoon. Once I get Samantha down to 1 nap, hopefully around Thanksgiving, I may even get 2 hours alone. Since the trailer is done, I plan to fix a bunch of little things that we've been putting off for a while.

I've been watching some really old Disney movies that my brother shared with me. Holy cow, some of them are weird, like acid trip weird.

The Heads are coming to visit today. I'm exhausted because I went to bed late, mowed the lawn, went grocery shopping, and made bread all before 11:00. I think I need a nap with the little ones. We'll see how that goes.

Better, Weaning, School, Dishwasher

I had a few days where I really felt yucky, but I'm almost all better now. Thank goodness! I can stand having a cold for a week, and it sure beats throwing up any day.

My other 4 kids were really easy to wean, but Samantha is giving me a run for my money. I have successfully gotten her down to 4 feedings a day, but she won't take much from a cup or bottle. I am determined, though, because I have NO desire to breastfeed any longer. 1 year is long enough, and this is my 5th year, so I deserve to be able to get back into shape and not worry about accessible clothes. Whether she likes it or not, I'm taking a 2-day trip at the beginning of September, and I am not taking her with me! Though I might sound optimistic here, the weaning process has caused me a lot of stress and worry so far. Aren't I supposed to be better at this by now? Apparently not.

James started school on Monday and the boys yesterday. I can't believe I'll have 3 in school in a week. Katie goes in for Kindergarten testing today and starts next Wednesday. The past few days have been a little rough. I don't know why I expected things to get so much easier when school started. So far, Katie has been really bored with  no one to play with, so she invents things to fight about with Lewis. Samantha, of course, has been a bit cranky due to the weaning process. Ugh. This will pass, but it's not very fun right now.

I thought I had fixed our dishwasher, which has been giving us trouble for a few weeks now, but I was wrong. The motor died, so we got a new one and will install it in our spare time. (Ha ha.) James still has to do mosquito abatement, so that will take up Friday/Saturday. We'll get it done, though. We have unfortunately done this before.

Parties, The Lair, Sick

Saturday, Joseph and Kenny went to a birthday party. Katie was really bummed about not being able to go since it was at the Rec Center, but she eventually got over it after taking it out on me.

We've been working on our ancient trailer. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but it was 300 bucks, so that probably says a lot for how dilapidated it is. We got a lot done on it this week, though. James and I worked together to prime and paint the cabinets and some of the walls. I put the boys to work on cleaning out the cabinets with disinfectant wipes. I put on another coat of paint today, so it's almost looking nice enough that I don't feel like I'm going to catch some disease by going in there. (Yes, it was that bad.)

James and I have both had nasty colds this week, so he took Tuesday off to take care of me. Because of our illness, we missed the neighborhood party on Monday night. Oh well. I felt really weak and tired all of Tuesday, so I could barely do anything and just wanted to be alone. I'm still on the mend. This cough is keeping me awake at night and annoyed during the day. Still, it's been a while since I really got sick.

Grocery Pickup at Walmart includes school supplies! I'm really excited about not having to go in the store for any of that stuff. The kids find out who their teachers are today and get to meet them on Monday. School starts next Wednesday!  Hopefully, I won't spend the rest of the summer sick.

Belcher Reunion, Guns, Splash Park, Weaning

We spent Saturday in Heber for the Belcher reunion. It was pretty fun, but a tough day. It's always really hot by afternoon, and there's nowhere to sit and cool off. That means I leave feeling kind of crummy, though nothing like last year at 8 months pregnant! The kids really had fun getting candy, bidding on stuff in the auction, and playing in the sand. There is always really good food, too.

James met with people to sell one gun before and one after the reunion. It worked out great, and he was able to buy one better gun from the money he got (and then some).

Since it's the almost last week of summer, I took the kids to the splash park in Naples. They all loved it except for Lewis. He wouldn't get anywhere near the water! I thought he would have changed his mind since last year, but nope. Samantha even crawled out into the water for a little while.

I had a bit of a rough week without having quite enough to do. I decided to start working toward my weight goal and to complete two denim quilts. The quilts will be done by the time school starts, but I won't reach my weight goal for a while, the earliest by the end of this year.

I've just barely started weaning Samantha, and it's really tough so far. I can't tell if she hates the sippy cup or what's in it, but I am determined to get "my body" back. Breastfeeding is great, but I'm done with it after nearly 5 years. I want her weaned by the time she turns 1, so we are on track for that whether she likes it or not. The first few days are always rough.

Staycation, Pioneer Day

The girls and I had a really fun staycation (mostly mermaid-themed). Some things we did:

library activity
reading mermaid books
mermaid art
playing Barbies
bubble bath
"oyster" cookies from Nilla wafers and chocolate pearls
dinner at Denny's
shopping
yard saling
sewing Barbie clothes
making/wearing mermaid shorts and a skirt

It was hard to sleep alone, and I ate way too much ice cream, but it was a fun time. Katie really needed the one-on-one time. She only had one small meltdown the entire time, which was great!

I didn't love Pioneer Day. I never love holidays that are just one day. I somehow forget that I don't really get holidays anyway, so when I have to do all my normal stuff, it feels a lot like drudgery. We tried going on a drive to get some wildlife pictures, but I got a little carsick on the dirt roads. The kids were also whiny and irritating, and at one point I really didn't know where we were. We kept trying to get back to the main road, but none of the shortcuts worked out, which was really frustrating and cost us extra time. Oh well. I got to sort of relax during the afternoon.

A couple things have been really frustrating the past week. All of them together have made me irritable. 1. The stupid duvet cover keeps bunching up, and it's too warm. James wanted to try one instead of a quilt. I hate it. I want my quilt back. In the mean time, my sleep has suffered. 2. One of my eyes is dry, which means I have to wear glasses. I do like glasses, but I like having the choice of contacts, and right now I don't. 3. Lewis and Katie constantly fighting ever since he came home.* 4. Samantha is teething and grouchy. She's also not very gentle with nursing, so she leaves tooth marks on me and IT HURTS. But it takes effort to teach her to use a cup, and I haven't done that yet. 5. It's freaking hot outside. Though that is normal for this time of year, I don't like feeling sticky all the time. 6. I still feel fat and gross, even though my weight has been very stable for the past few months. It just bugs me that not all my clothes fit well yet.

I'll make it, though. Right now I feel like I'm in a rut, but what I really need are some new goals since I have already finished most of my summer projects. August 1st in in 1 week, so I'm going to get there! One more week or being lazy and eating whatever I want. :)

*Joseph and Kenny stayed in Rexburg. We get them back on Saturday at reunion in Heber.

Princess Party, Fishing, Separate Vacations, Weaning

James and I went to see the new Spiderman movie on Thursday. We really enjoyed it.

On Saturday, I took Katie to a princess party. A couple of girls in my ward are starting a business to do princess parties, but this one was free. Katie loved it! We had treats, danced, and did makeup. I mostly talked to the other moms because I'm not much of a princess myself. ;)

James went with Devin to look for crawdads on Saturday night, but no luck. For Scouts on Tuesday, Joseph went fishing, but no luck there either. Oh well. There are some brand new little ponds especially meant for kids right near our house.We might have to visit more when we get the chance.

James and the boys left today for Rexburg. I thought about going but decided against it this time. It will only be the 2nd trip they've done without me. The last time was 4 years ago when I painted and carpeted the house. This time, I'm not alone. The girls and I are doing a mermaid-themed staycation. We're starting today by going to the library activity for some mermaid books. Later, we're going to make a mermaid skirt. The girls already have mermaid shorts from the leftover fabric from the sheet/curtains/pillowcase.

It's time to start weaning Samantha really soon! I've determined that I am going to lose this last 25 lbs. by my next birthday. I've really been "stuck" (or not trying) since my last birthday, so I've stayed the same for almost 4 months now. That is okay! I've realized that getting over my issues is THE most important thing to do before I can really let go of this extra poundage. I don't have any weight left from Samantha; this is all from Lewis. However, Lewis's birth and NICU stay left me traumatized for a while. I'm going to have to completely let go of it before I can let this weight go. It sounds silly, but I know that's what holding me back more than anything.

Did I mention that James is quitting mosquito abatement at the end of the season? I'm so excited! Two-ish more months to go!

So Done With Summer

The title explains it all. We have run out of projects, it's started getting hot, and there is no end to the whining and fighting.

Send help!

On the bright side, this will be James's last year at mosquito abatement. We both thought it through, and we don't need the money. Also, we'd like to spend more time together in the summer. James is hardly ever home because of how much fogging he's had to do. When he is home, he's tired, and I don't blame him.

5 more weeks! We will make it through. Some days are just like that, even in Australia.

Wedding, Baby Blessing, Anniversary, 4th

Everything went smoothly with the wedding on Friday. I don't know if I mentioned that James's cousin married my sister's best friend's sister from NC. It's a small world when you're a member of the Church. We hung out at Aunt Michelle's house before the luncheon, then checked into our Airbnb before the reception. It was a really nice place to stay, even though the AC wasn't working 100%. It was really clean and had an awesome view of Utah Lake.

The reception was really nice. I crashed afterward while James watched TV.

Saturday morning, we went to the Museum of Natural Curiosity in Lehi, then had lunch at a place called Slapfish. It was delicious! Mara, Ricky, and baby Emma were able to join us. Right after, we went to Cabela's, then to Mara's to swim and play in the splash pad. After that, we got some stuff at IKEA and had dinner there. Whew! We definitely crammed a little too much in one day. Lewis and Samantha were extra cranky by this time, but it did make bedtime a lot easier. Mara, Ricky, and Carmel came over to play a game. I loved getting to snuggle Emma since Samantha was already in bed. I never really got the chance with my other nieces because I either already had a baby or they lived far away at the time.

Sunday morning, we went to Mara's and took some pictures. We enjoyed a nice brunch, went to Emma's blessing, and then traveled home. It was mostly without incident, except that Katie threw up in the car. Ugh. We never had an issue with this until about 2 years ago, and now someone always gets sick. I hate it.

We got dinner and dessert for our 10th anniversary last night! I'm sad that our babysitter is going to be leaving soon for a job in another city. She has been really great.

The rest of the week has been spent catching up, mostly. The kids are starting to get bored of summer, and we're only halfway through. I still can't believe we've made it that far. No one can agree if they want to go to the parade or not, but we at least have a few small projects to keep us busy today.

Speaking of projects, I made my own doll dress pattern based on a dress of Katie's that we love. If it works out well, I'm going to post in on my new blog. I'm crossing my fingers, because it took a lot of math and measuring to try to figure it out.

Mosquitoes, The Other Heads Visit

I hate that it's been so busy, but I can't remember why. We are getting eaten alive because of the river being high. I have lots of mosquito bites, and so do the kids. I need to be better at putting bug spray on everyone. Oops.

We had pack meeting Tues. night. It was a little rough trying to keep Lewis from being loud, running away, or throwing sand at other kids. James had to go to an interview for his temple recommend.

The Heads got here last night. James had to fog, even though he didn't really want to. We had dinner together and watched an episode of Speechless. Hopefully, today we'll go to the fair.

I'm hoping that today goes smoothly. I have lots of packing to do for our trip tomorrow, but I still want to take the kids to the library activity. We're going to a wedding and baby blessing. More on that later after it's happened.

1 more week till the blog is public! I'm starting to get really nervous about it. I still worry too much about what people think.

Heads Visit, Fogging, Decorating, Party

Sam and Jesse and their girls came to see us last week! We had a really great time going to the dinosaur museum, playing games (even me!), eating pizza at the park, and playing in the yard with some giant barrels James got from work. It's always fun to hang out with siblings. Our kids are getting to be good friends, too. Lewis and Lizzie need some work, but Katie and Charlotte are self-proclaimed "besties".

James has to fog a lot more since he has his own area that gets lots of complaints. He was exhausted coming home from work yesterday, so I was glad that it was too windy for him to fog. Fogging is what people think mosquito abatement is, but it's actually the last resort. This year is really wet and gross with tons of flooding thanks to our stupid late winter. Oh well.

I made new curtains for the kids' rooms this week. I'm also almost done with a sheer curtain for Katie's loft bed. I put together 3 IKEA tables for a new Lego table for the boys, so that looks nice too. It has taken a ton of work for them so far because Legoes just get everywhere. It's fun to spend a little time rearranging and redecorating. I like that everything gets deep cleaned in the process.

We have a ward party tonight. Hurray! I really hope the weather cooperates.

I have ONE recipe left for the new blog. I am so relieved to take a break from intense cooking and photo-taking. I'm also really looking forward to posting about other topics!

Busy Summer Days

It's been such a crazy week. I'm starting to think that might be my life for the rest of time.

Saturday, we went to a birthday party for a friend's son. It lasted 3 1/2 hours and had 2 pinatas, lunch, 2 bouncy houses, and dessert. It was really fun, though, or we wouldn't have stayed that long. I love it when other parents throw really good parties. It's not something I'm very good at. I gave the boys haircuts, and we somehow got everyone to bed on time.

Monday, we cleaned the Church and got frosties afterward for FHE (with Cherissa and Tayson). James had to go fogging, so he left right from Wendy's.

I didn't go to yoga on Tuesday because of a terrible headache. I did get my temple recommend renewed, which was great. We are going to a wedding later this month, so it's especially important! James filled in for someone who cleans the temple, so he was gone from 9-11.

Wednesday, I tried fixing the leak in our sprinkler box, but no luck. I did stay out in the sun too long and break a screw. I wish I could be better at fixing things, but I'm just not. I don't have a ton of patience for it either. I also tried to put up the pirate ship flag, but our staple gun mysteriously doesn't work. Ugh. James had to fog again, so he was out late for the third night in a row. It does mean overtime, but what good is overtime if you are too tired to spend anything or never home?

Things are going well with the weekly schedule. Today we go to the library and get our pickup order at Walmart. It has seriously been such a lifesaver. We had to get 5 items on Tuesday at Walmart (like underwear and shoes, not available through pickup), and it was really tough to be there with all the kids. I'm so glad our Walmart has pickup! I'm not even stressed about grocery shopping anymore. :)

Joseph is at Cub Scout Day Camp today. I can't believe he's already a Bear!

Head Reunion, Summer Break

Thursday night was actually pretty fun. We went to the nursery to get yard stuff and finally used the gift card my neighbor gave me a year ago. We then got a rock chip fixed on the car with a free promotion and then went to dinner at the buffet. We never go there anymore because the older kids are expensive for how much they eat.

Friday, we left around noon at had a pretty uneventful drive to Albion. It was a pretty fun time at the Head reunion with the usual campfire, meals together, cousins playing and swimming, the candy toss, auction, etc. Of course I got barely any sleep the first night, but everything went pretty smoothly. It was great to see the older kids again after a few days at Grandma's. My favorite part of the reunion is always talking to the relatives while the kids play.

We returned home on Sunday all completely wiped out. It was also uneventful.

This week, aside from doing more laundry than normal, feels like the first real week of summer. The weather is finally hot and dry, and we've settled into a routine.

Every day stuff: working in the yard/garden, reading time for the kids, regular chores, sewing in the afternoon when Samantha sleeps, reading for 1 hour after the kids go to bed before I watch TV.

Weekly stuff by day:

Mon.: bubbles, FHE
Tue.: Scouts, the park, yoga/party
Wed.: cooking class (taught by me!), sand and water
Thu.: library, date night
Fri.: art project, movie night
Sat.: finish yard work for the week, adventure
Sun.: Church, board games

I forgot how good it feels to be outside before it gets really hot. I do really want the yard to look nice this year since I did nothing for the last 2 years. Plus, it's nice for yard work to double as exercise.

There are definitely moments already where I feel like I'm pulling my hair out, but that also happens with only 3 kids at home.

Rex(burg) Reunion, 2 Kids, Emma and Joseph's Birthdays

We had an uneventful drive to Rexburg on Thursday, and it was a busy time the whole time we were there.

Friday, the kids did some superhero activities outside before lunch. We had dinner with the Lees. It was freezing outside, but I think it was worth it for the s'mores at the end.

Saturday, we went to Green Canyon to swim, had lunch, and went to Victor to the Heads'. Then, we went to the location of a future reunion spot to plant trees. After getting back to the barn, we had some pizza for dinner.

Sunday, we went to Church as we normally do. I still really like 9:00 with little kids because it gives plenty of time for lunch afterward and naps. I was really exhausted by this point due to not sleeping well for the previous week, so I took a nap too.

Board games happened every day, and I even participated in some. I really like fast-paced, trivia, word, or team games but not really strategy games.

James and I drove home on Monday so he could work this week. We left the older 3 kids at the barn. Tomorrow we leave to meet up with them. It's been nice not to have fighting going on, but it is oddly quiet and weird without the kids. There's still plenty to clean up and too many diapers.

Projects this week: fixed the sprinkler system, put together a bookcase for the kids, made a doll outfit, went grocery shopping using pickup. (I LOVE PICKUP!)

Mara and Ricky had their baby on Tuesday night! Her name is Emma Mae, and she has bright eyes and very dark hair. I'm not sure when I will see her because I don't want to expose her to my germy kids. I'm certain by the 4th of July, though.

Joseph is 9 today! We will give him his presents when we get back from the Head reunion in Albion, which we leave for tomorrow. James is taking a half day at abatement so we can get there not too late. I'll be glad when travel is over for a while.

Pickup, Packing, Awards, Rain

The boys went to the Fathers and Sons campout on Friday and didn't spend the night. James had a meeting the next morning along with work at mosquito abatement. Since they were gone, I tried Walmart grocery pickup for the first time. Another customer caused a lot of problems for them, which caused me to wait for a while, but I am really glad I did pickup! I got the girls in bed and put everything away without feeling burned out from already having been in the store for 2 hours. Despite the wait, it was still a good experience, and I was really impressed with how easy it was to find everything on the website that I needed. If things are as fast as they say they usually are, doing pickup should save me an hour of time every shopping trip. I can also buy as much stuff as I want without worrying about fitting it in the cart, waiting in the checkout line forever, or trying to do self checkout. Staying with 2-week shopping trips should be pretty easy too. I was worried that I'd have to switch to every week because of how much stuff we have to buy now. It's also been hard to find a time to go without kids, so I think pickup is going to solve all of my grocery shopping stress. :)

Now, if only someone could invent teleportation so I can get rid of my travel stress. I've been packing all day so far, doing laundry, and trying to keep the kids from destroying the rest of the house. I haven't slept well in the past week due to slight illness and more than slight stress. Ugh. Doing one long trip wouldn't be any better than two trips back to back, but I'm still dreading leaving after school today. It means a really late arrival and possibly very grouchy kids tomorrow.

On a happy note, Joseph got two awards this week. He reached all of his goals for 3rd grade and received a gold medal. He also won the quiz bowl for third grade. He was really excited to show off both of his medals and plans to take them to Rexburg with us. What can I say? He is a regular nerd like his parents.

Last year was so hot and dry, but this year has been different so far. We've had nothing but cold and rain over the past week, and it shows no sign of letting up. That's a good thing, because one of our sprinkler zones needs some work, so we haven't starting watering the lawn yet. Sometimes I hate that our neighbor has such a perfect lawn. It makes ours look bad even though it's not that bad. However, we still have the gathering place for all the neighbor kids because of how fun our yard is. I guess I'd take that over perfection any day. I always know where my kids are.

Fighting, Busy

The kids have really been on a roll recently. I don't know if it's the warm weather or James being gone at mosquito abatement twice a week, but they are driving me insane. I'll be glad when James is down to one job, because doing both is stressful for all of us. I try to stay busy so I don't get lonely, and that works for the most part. However, it doesn't help the kids at all. It seems like they are constantly at each other's throats. Kenny and Katie are especially bad, but that's nothing new.

The blog is going well, and so is the sewing. As for my weight loss goal, I've decided to use stickers on my calendar and not weigh myself until Samantha turns one. That's only a few months from now. I'm at a point where the scale is just causing me a ton of stress. Slow progress is still progress, but I am too impatient to be happy with it right now. It's still a struggle not to eat when I'm not hungry, but I keep on going anyway. I guess that's the story of my life. Honestly, my eating habits have been a struggle for my entire life, so I can't expect to change everything in just a few months. It might take years to get to a really good spot where being healthy doesn't take so much thought. I have always envied thin/skinny people, and I don't think that will ever change. It just doesn't come naturally to me.

Baby Shower, A Little Sickness, Sewing

Things worked out perfectly with the date and getting the car. Actually, James was at the dentist practically forever but managed to get there to pay for the car in time. We ended up going to the 8:30 showing for the movie, but I somehow survived the next day!

Things went very smoothly for Mara's baby shower. I left around 8:15 and arrived at 11:45. I took a small stop to feed Samantha in there. Breastfeeding has a lot of perks, but being able to leave the baby all day is not one of them! We had chips, salsa, and cheese, as well as tres leches cake. People came and hung out. We played a couple of games after a while and then Mara opened her presents. Altogether, there were 10 people there (counting family). I think everyone had fun, but it can be difficult to tell. I stayed a little while to help clean up, then drove home. Samantha wasn't quite as happy on the way home, but I don't blame her at all. Being stuck in the car for 6 hours isn't so fun.

I've been working on the blog a lot this week. 8 more weeks to go!

Lewis threw up yesterday morning, but he seems fine now. I hope it stays that way, because there is NEVER time for dealing with an illness.

I've also been working on sewing with the big bag of fabric scraps my mom gave me. I like to cut out a bunch of stuff first, sew a lot, then repeat. When I finish this round of stuff, I'll have made 5 pairs of leggings for Katie, a purse (also for Katie), and 11 American girl doll outfits. They are all new patterns, too! Pinterest is an amazing place. I like sewing at night after the kids have gone to bed. It's so much less stressful than trying to keep Samantha entertained or Lewis from dumping things out.

I have officially reached the 50 lb. mark since I had Samantha! That means I'm currently working on between-pregnancies weight. I still have at least 25 to go, hopefully a little more than that. I don't think I have any chance of a flat belly ever again, though. It's not looking too promising, but that's okay. I just don't want to look flabby.

Head Visit, Crazy Schedule

We did the usual stuff with the Heads while they were here: games, eating dinner out once and once here, swimming at the hotel pool, and shopping. I got some new dishes for my birthday! Maybe that sounds lame, but I love the Pioneer Woman stuff so much. I might just have her come take over my kitchen.

Mosquito abatement makes things so crazy. We were going to work in the yard Monday, but it was snowing. Ugh. James did abatement yesterday, and because we need to drop off the big car to get the window fixed that won't roll up, it meant either going shopping with kids or late at night alone. I chose the latter, and I'm really glad. Getting stuff for the baby shower was hard because of the store being rearranged, but I'm not sure it would have been quick before either. Maybe I'll try the grocery pickup soon...

Anyway, James will do abatement today too, but I at least have what I need to get ready for the baby shower. We'll get the Yukon back tomorrow after our date. It's the only way to really do things since we won't all fit in the other car.

The blog is still going well. 9 more weeks!

Easter, Blomquist Visit

Mara and Ricky arrived late Saturday night while we were sleeping. It had been kind of a rough day for me. James worked mosquito abatement and wasn't around. I started getting a cold on Friday, so all my plans of getting the yard cleaned up just didn't happen. To be honest, I'm still feeling a little crummy due to interrupted sleep. I get random coughing fits that are really bad, but I am on the mend.

Sunday was Easter! I had grand plans for all the boys to match, but Lewis misplaced his bow tie at the last minute. Oh well. I still got a good picture or two. Church was good despite my illness, and we dyed eggs after lunch. We of course enjoyed cheesy potatoes and ham for dinner with hot fudge cake for dessert.

Monday, those were weren't at school went to Fantasy Canyon. We looked around at the cool rocks and had a picnic lunch. Then, we went to the Ouray wildlife refuge to look around. For FHE, we did a little lesson and an egg hunt since we hadn't done it one Saturday.

Tuesday, we went shopping for Mara's baby shower and got lunch at James's favorite Taco Tuesday spot. The adults (not including me) went rabbit hunting. I took Joseph to pack meeting while everyone else stayed home.

Wednesday, we went to the dinosaur museum in the morning and relaxed in the afternoon. I even had time to catch up on my new website. 10 more weeks! Mara and Ricky left after dinner, a treat from Dad (KFC). James did mosquito abatement, so I got everyone to bed and planned the rest of the details for the baby shower. I'm a little stressed by it because planning parties is not my strong suit, but I'm still glad I'm doing it for Mara. I think it will be really fun. Though I'm not the most fun or outgoing person, I am really good at making lists. :)

Today, the Heads are coming to visit. Until then, I'm going to take it easy as much as possible so I don't go crazy.

Sleep Training, Mosquito Abatement, Yard, Corolla

Samantha is now going to bed the same time as the other kids, unswaddled, and without any help! I'm so happy! I feel like I am free now from 7:30-10:30 P.M.

James went to Salt Lake on Saturday for his mosquito abatement training, so today is his first day out in the field. It's not as stressful as it used to be. I have TV shows I like to watch without him, a blogging class to work on, and the actual blog that needs tons of work before I officially publicize it. 11 more weeks!

We worked in the yard some on Saturday. The trash can is overflowing due to all the trash that has blown into our yard over the past few months. My plan is the work on the yard in sections so we can actually keep up with the weeding this year. Looking at it overall is way too overwhelming, but one section at a time should be doable.

We are a 2-car family again! James had the brilliant idea of donating our old car, the Corolla, to the school to be a dummy car for the auto shop class. The teacher was really excited about the idea, so we drove it there yesterday. I'm really glad to have that space on the driveway available again.

Other than those things, it's been a pretty great, sunny few days. I'm so glad it finally feels like spring. The kids have been cooped up for so long, it's not even funny.

Spring Break in NC

It's been a pretty busy 2 weeks, but I'll give the short version as well as I can.

Friday, we traveled to our hotel, stopping along the way for meals and to explore the mall. It was long, but mostly uneventful. We ran into some snow and Kenny got carsick.

Saturday, everything went well with our flight to NC. We hung out for the rest of the day.

Sunday: Church, hanging out with the family. We all had dinner  and scriptures together.

Monday: We took a walk around the lake at Apex Park and Mom and I went birthday shopping. I found 3 shirts that I liked at Kohl's. We saw tons of animals at the lake: a blue heron, turtles, and ducks. James went birthday shopping for Kenny and I updated the family scrapbook I made a few years ago. After all the missions and weddings have happened, it will be complete!

Tuesday: We visited the Museum of History in Raleigh and the Museum of Natural Sciences next door. The rain ruined our plans of visiting the arboretum, which was a bummer. We had Bojangles' on the way back. Dinner was at Christian and Rachel's house.

Wednesday: We drove to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham and got a snack at Cook Out on the way home. We watched some TV after dinner.

Thursday: We went to Jordan Lake and had a picnic lunch. The weather was absolutely gorgeous! I even got a touch of sunburn, not intentionally, but at least I won't be so white anymore. I don't think I'd been to Jordan Lake since high school. The kids had been asking all week when we were going, and I was really surprised they wanted to be in the frigid water, but hey, whatever works. I'm glad they had such a good time in the sand and water. They never even got on the playground. After the lake, James took the older 3 to Brinson's shop while I did laundry and kept an eye on the little ones.

Friday, it was raining again, so we took a chill day at the house with a couple of short errands. After dinner, we celebrated Kenny's birthday with cake, ice cream, and presents.

I tried to be healthy for the first few days, but I failed miserably. It wasn't all my fault. The cereal was really stale and the fruit was freezer burned and sour 2 days in a row. When I cooked grits, they were really gritty and unpleasant and the eggs overcooked while I was waiting for them to be done. There are also so many delicious snacks around, I'm tired because I'm on Mountain Time with my sleep but not with my meals, and I haven't been exercising. Oh well. This month will just not be a super successful one.

Our trip home on Saturday was smooth and again, uneventful. We figured out that Kenny doesn't get carsick if he takes frequent breaks from looking at the phone to play games. I got everything unpacked and finished putting it away on Sunday.

We listened to Conference on Sunday. I didn't get much out of it because I fell asleep. Whoops. I'm glad we can read it after the fact.

Monday, James had his first meeting for mosquito abatement.

I finally got drawers in my kitchen! I'm so excited! I can't remember the last time I had 4 functioning drawers. Everything is finally organized again the way I like it.

I decided to upgrade my blog again after a lot of encouragement from my husband and other family members, so I have my own .com website now. My goal is to roll it out officially around my anniversary since it will be 10 years of marriage and almost 10 since I starting blogging. I should be done updating all the pictures by then. After that point, I will work on adding more content and looking into earning money on it.

Outdoor Expo, 3 Birthdays, Packing

I have been really stressed this week. I think my level of anxiety before travel is unbearable at times, so it's good we only travel to NC every year and a half or so. I haven't slept well and Samantha just got a tooth, so she has been waking up. Thankfully, I know the sleeplessness will be over soon.

We went to the outdoor expo on Saturday to look around. It was really fun and the kids got some free candy. We went to the park for a little while since it's finally turning into spring. In the evening, we went to a birthday party for the kids' third cousin. (Yes, third! We have gotten to know James's dad's first cousin, so it's her daughter's daughter.)

Monday was my birthday. We got sushi and Chinese food, and it was all delicious. I got some treats and dishes for taking pictures of recipes for my new blog. Soon we will have new drawers in the kitchen too. It sounds silly, but it's been a huge inconvenience, not to mention mess, since the last ones fell apart. I made devil's food cake too. By the end of the day, I felt kind of crummy from all the food.

Tuesday was the Blue and Gold banquet for the Scouts. It was really good except for not having a diaper for Lewis. James ran home and came back. Oops. I hate to admit how often I forget diapers.

Now it's packing time. I have all the clothes done and hope to get the rest done soon.

Food Storage, Blogging, One on One Time

James went to the cannery in Roosevelt last Thursday and bought the rest of our basic food storage! I'm so excited to have it all because I've been dreaming of it for about 8 years now. I pulled apart both kids' closets, rebuilt the shelves with boxes of food, and stored the rest of the food under the boys' bed. Not only was it a perfect fit, the boys helped me Konmari their whole closet. We got rid of a ton of stuff. Of course the room is a total mess right now, but that's life no matter how many toys they don't have. Legos are just messy, especially with a toddler sharing the room.

I've really been enjoying blogging. Though I'm still figuring out WordPress, it is coming along. I'm still not anywhere near being done with the blog posts I imported, but I'm really hoping by the end of June that I'll be ready to start adding new content and not just fixing up the old. One day, I hope to earn money with it so James can stay home in the summer instead of working another job.

Ever since Light the World in December, we've been trying to spend one-on-one time with each kid every two weeks. We have too many of them to do it every week with each kid. James took Joseph out for treats at Wendy's on Tuesday and Kenny to get a little treat yesterday. I cheated and took both Katie and Lewis to McDonald's after signing her up for Kindergarten on Tuesday. I can't believe she's already old enough for that or that she's my third child to go to school. It seems like I was just doing this with Joseph.

45, Normal Week

I've now lost 45 lbs! That leaves me another 30 to reach my easy(ish) goal and 38 to reach my super fit goal.

This week has been fairly routine with lots of work on the new blog. I really don't want to roll it out officially until I update everything (especially the pictures). I like Wordpress even though it's not nearly as simple as Blogger. I've really enjoyed putting all my thoughts in one place. It feels like my whole life is getting organized a lot better. Life is good.

Hopefully today I am going to buy the rest of our basic food storage. A trip to Roosevelt is a big thing. We have plenty of space and no more reasons to wait to buy it.

Salt Lake-ation, UCET Conference

We had a really good trip to Salt Lake. Friday, we went to Cabela's, J Dawg's for lunch, and the Museum of Natural Curiosity at Thanksgiving Point. We then got dinner at a hole-in-the-wall Greek place and swam in the hotel pool. Lewis had a hard time going to bed, but he eventually did.

After a terrible night of sleep, we were up early for breakfast. Mara joined us for the day's activities. We went to Temple Square and the Church History Museum. Too bad the kid section is being redone. We then got lunch at Costa Vida and went to the planetarium to look around and do a show.

I love having an ASTC pass! Between the museum and the planetarium, it saved us $105! It has already paid for itself a couple of times already. We still have one more museum we haven't used it for yet in Salt Lake. Maybe we will on our next trip.

The trip home was HORRIBLE. Katie had a meltdown the entire time, and nothing helped.

James was gone Monday through Wednesday at the UCET conference in Provo. We survived okay, but I really missed yoga. I am definitely going today! It helps so much with my stress level.

The blog is going to take a long time. I've redone my to-do list several times, but I think I have a plan that will work. Basically, I have my work cut out for me for the rest of the year. That's definitely not a bad thing! I do like big projects. I wish getting into shape could go faster, but it took a long time to get so out of shape, so it's going to take a long time to get back in. I wish it came more naturally to me.

New Blog, IF

We went grocery shopping together on Saturday, which was a good thing since we ended up with two whole carts. I think it's time for me to admit that I need to go shopping once a week. We didn't do much the rest of the day, but that's okay. Saturdays are supposed to be chill sometimes.

Monday, the kids didn't have school. Otherwise it was a normal day. James still had to go for professional development.

The regular yoga teacher is out of town, so we have a lady filling in who used to teach in Vernal last year. She came around more to do adjustments. I had no idea I was so flexible. Haha.

I went to the temple yesterday even though I didn't feel like it. Right now I'm a little overwhelmed with thinking about our trip to Salt Lake tomorrow and Saturday. Katie and Lewis are fighting a ton and I'm trying to work on my new blog (a Wordpress one) while Samantha is asleep, but all I really want to do it lock myself in my room.

I've started intermittent fasting, which means I'll only eat during an 8-hour window during the day. I've chosen 9-5 as my window to eat, with meals at 9, 1, and 5. It's been a lot easier than I thought it'd be. I usually have lots to do in the morning for the first few hours, so I rehydrate during that time. I've found that I prefer working out before eating anyway. Since I am eating big meals, I don't get hungry for snacks. I never did eat anything healthy for snacks anyway. The hardest part has been the after-dinner part. I love eating junk food during that time, so it's taken more focus not to eat during that time. I'm still aiming for 1/2 lb. of fruits and 1 lb. of nonstarchy veggies. That's not too hard if I eat the fruit for breakfast and the veggies at lunch and dinner. I am seeing results already, but this trip is definitely going to be a challenge.

Heads Visit, Day Off, Massage

The Heads did make it here, but just barely. They said the roads were horrible coming from WY and they easily could have gotten stuck if they'd stopped at all. We're glad they made it! We had heart-shaped pizza on Thursday and hung out.

Friday was great too. The kids all went swimming except for Kenny. He stayed with me and watched a little TV and helped me clean up. We  hung out after eating dinner together.

Saturday, they left around lunchtime. I went shopping at Smith's for sales and discount candy (a mistake), and then we all went out together to McDonald's so the kids could play.

Monday, James took the boys to see the Lego Movie 2 while Katie and I watched Beauty and the Beast at home. Lewis missed out because of his nap. Haha. I even had time to catch up on crafty stuff too. I have enough quilt squares for a twin denim quilt that I'll hopefully make and donate later this year.

Tuesday, James went to the dentist so I got Joseph from Scouts, went to a ministering interview while the kids played in the gym, hurriedly ate dinner, and made it to yoga. Whew.

Wednesday, we went on a date to Jade Lion. We had sushi, miso soup, and Szechuan beef. We might order food like that from now on. It was so tasty. (I also feel good about my miso soup-making abilities, because it tasted just like the one I make at home, and this restaurant has particularly delicious food.)

Today I have a massage (a Valentine's gift) and a Relief Society meeting. We're celebrating international style. I made hummus and bagel chips to take, got decorations from James's classroom, and I'm in charge of the spiritual thought. I'm really glad I get to be on the board for planning these activities this year. I had just been thinking about how I wanted to be more involved in RS when Sis. Hall asked me to help plan for the year.

Winter is still going strong, unfortunately. We keep getting tons of snow, and I'm so sick of it. It melts a little and then snows more. We have never had any accumulation after Valentine's Day. Soon enough it will be spring.

I'm really enjoying this stage of my life. Not having to think about having any more babies is AMAZING. Samantha is at such a sweet, cuddly age and Joseph is still awesome. If I'd taught school, I'd have picked his age group (3rd or 4th grade) to teach. My life isn't perfect, but it is pretty good right now.

Healing, Valentines, Progress

I ended up running into my friend (who is pregnant) after my shopping trip last Thursday, and that was just what I needed. I congratulated her in person and found that all my jealousy just melted away. It is hard sometimes to remember that others seem to have better blessings than I do, but I forget that they also have different trials. When I find out what the trials are, I'm usually not jealous anymore!

Saturday, I went to D.I. in the afternoon to escape. I found 2 pairs of pants and 2 shirts. I'm really trying to wear clothes that bring me joy. That means more shopping is in my future because I don't really own a lot of stuff. When  you are pregnant a lot, the regular clothes last longer since they're not being worn. I've had some things for over 10 years...

The Boyles came for dinner, and that was fun. I had make extra potatoes since there was a funeral in the morning, and true to Utah stereotype, they wanted funeral potatoes for it. It's just as easy to make two pans, and everyone loves them!

We've had a crazy week. We did FHE with Cherissa and Tayson on Monday. Tuesday: Scouts and yoga, and Wednesday: a doctor's appointment for Lewis. He is perfectly healthy, smart, and still tiny. I love that kid so much even though he's so destructive.

It's Valentine's Day! I completely forgot and didn't get James a thing. Oops. Perhaps I can redeem myself with a shopping trip later to get some goodies. The kids have been excited for weeks since they get candy at school.

The Heads are supposed to be coming, but who knows with all the snow. They were stuck in Lander, WY, last night instead of being able to get to Rock Springs. Hopefully they'll be able to come.

I am really pleased with how well weight loss is going. I made a calendar for my exercising so I always have a video ready to go. I have consistently lost 1 lb. per week since my 6-week checkup (not counting December, where I just planned on maintaining). My goal is to achieve 20% bodyfat, which to me seems really ideal based on pictures I've see online. I don't want to look like a bodybuilder, but I do want to be lean enough to wear a bikini if I wanted. (I really don't.) I still have 40ish pounds to go for this goal, so I'm over halfway there! It's going to take all year, really.

Women's Day Out, Conferences, RS Planning

Saturday I went to Women's Day Out. I didn't buy anything, but it was fun to look around. I'm still waiting to lose the rest of the weight before I really commit to new clothes. I have officially passed the 40 lb. mark! Less than 30 to go!

I did yoga on Tuesday again and plan to for the rest of forever. It's so relaxing.

Wednesday I went to parent-teacher conferences for the boys. It's always nice to hear such nice things about my kids. They are both really good students who have really awesome teachers. I also went to a planning meeting for Relief Society activities for the rest of the year. It was fun to get some ideas out there, and they are using my idea for the theme for the RS birthday party! It's going to be international since RS is a worldwide organization.

I thought my dishwasher was broken again, but it was a pipe under the sink. So annoying. It had somehow disconnected from the garbage disposal. Everything is dried out now and clean so it doesn't smell so yucky under the sink. I think under the sink is my least favorite part of this house besides the crawlspace. Both give me the creeps.

One of my friends is pregnant with her 7th child and I have found myself surprisingly jealous despite my sure knowledge that I am not having any more. I did always want 6 kids. I guess I still have this idea in my mind that more = better, but that isn't the truth at all. It's hard to change ideas that have been in my head since childhood.

Konmari, Yoga, Dates, New Car

First, the Konmari method. I do it once a year now to my house (since 2016) since things do accumulate, outlive their usefulness, or get disorganized over time. It took about 10 hours for the whole process. All that remains is to get new drawers for the kitchen so I can put all that stuff where it belongs and, when the snow melts (in March?), the shed. Everything else is looking tidy and nice...as nice as it can be with all these little people running around!

Since most of January was spent sick, we made sure to have a really fun week this week. Monday, we went to a movie with the kids. We saw The Kid Who Would Be King, and it was pretty good. Lewis and Samantha did all right but weren't perfect.

Tuesday, the missionaries came for dinner. I went to my very first yoga class and loved it. James goes to play games with friends every week or two and sometimes goes hunting with them, so I've been looking for my own "thing" for a while now but never knew exactly what to do until James suggested this class. The class is perfect because it's small and not part of a big, noisy gym. I really like the teacher and didn't feel too out of place. Also, it was the kind of yoga that was slow-paced and very relaxing, which is exactly what I was looking for. Relaxing is something I need help with. Haha.

We went to the temple on Wednesday night, and it was also very peaceful.

James got a new car in the school district auction. It's a 2001 Mercury Sable that will replace his Corolla. It's so nice to have keyless entry and automatic locks and windows, as well as door handles that aren't all broken!

We are going on a date tonight too. I'm so excited. It really has been a difficult month, but I'm so glad that everyone is finally healthy.

Finally Getting Better

I'm almost done with the medicine and feeling a lot better. I still have a cough that keeps me up sometimes and some fluid in my ear, but hopefully that will clear up soon. Everyone else is healthy! Knock on wood!

I did start cleaning out some clothes the kids outgrew. I'm caught up on sewing projects for now since I finally got around to tying two quilts I'd been too lazy to do before.

I'm starting to lose weight again after my December break. It's so nice to be able to afford any fruits and veggies we want. I'm particularly fond of frozen mangos. I should be able to fit into my regular clothes at my birthday! Getting back on track has been hard. My only real goal after having Samantha last year was to eat only when hungry but to eat whatever I wanted. Now I am focusing on actually eating enough fruits and veggies for the first time since May of 2016 (the beginning of Lewis's pregnancy.) It is tough at times and I have grieved a little about it. That sounds stupid, but change is hard. I'll never have another baby again, so it really is time to take my health seriously. I'm not going to magically get fit without trying.

Joseph had his first (only?) Pinewood Derby on Tuesday. Our ward rented an awesome track that was all digital. Each boy got to race 16 times (about 16 boys) on each track 4 times, and a computer kept track of all the times. The winner was determined by total time at the end. It was awesome not to have to worry about brackets, and it was completely fair too. I wish all of life could be that easy. Haha.

Ear Infection, Sinus Infection, Projects

Thankfully, Samantha's sleep was not the new normal. She's back to sleeping all night. Phew.

Things have gotten both better and worse. A few kids are done with the pink eye drops, but the rest of us remain. I didn't attend church on Sunday because I woke up with it in both eyes, plus my ear was killing me.

Backing up, James took Lewis to Urgent Care on Thursday. Poor little guy has an ear infection. I went in today and have a sinus infection. I have NEVER felt such severe pain in my face. Basically, I have been sick every single day of 2019 so far, and I now have an antibiotic to take for 10 days.

On the bright side, James took today off (not even realizing I'd be going to Urgent Care) so we are finally going to fix the dishwasher. He also got inspired by Marie Kondo and cleaned out the closet. I'm so happy about that. Once I start feeling better, I am totally going to declutter (again). I started using her method back when I read the book a few years ago.

Things are looking up. We had dinner brought to us on Monday by a friend, and we had fast food on Tuesday. I'm going to cook from here on out. This illness is a good reminder that I haven't paid much attention to my nutrition in the last year, so it's time to get back on track so I can be my best, healthiest self. Having two babies in a row really made it hard (more like impossible) to think about being healthy because I just had to survive.

I finished all the Halloween stuff despite my brain fog and also the YouTube videos for my family. I'm excited to be able to find things. I ended up with 186 videos that range from 1991 to 2007. It was great to reminisce a little while I'm feeling so crummy.

Here's to better health from here on out! (I hope. I do still hang out with a lot of germy little people.)

Pink Eye

We reorganized our living room and took down Christmas decorations on Saturday. It was the perfect project for that day. Reorganizing also means vacuuming every nook and cranny, which I like.

So yeah, pink eye. Katie, James, and I are the only ones who don't have it (yet). Small houses, sharing rooms, and toddlers who spread germs easily make the perfect breeding ground for all kinds of stuff. I do clean my house, I promise. I just need a decontamination room.

I haven't sleep well for the past 5 days. Samantha has woken up for 3 of them. I can't tell if this is the new normal, but I hope not. Her naps have gotten much longer, though, like 2 hours each, so I love having that time to work on things.

The dishwasher is broken, not horribly so, but it needs a new drain hose and I have to wait for that in the mail. People who design appliances are greedy. It's true that they don't make things like they used to. I hate washing dishes by hand. (Paper plates to the rescue till I can get this thing fixed!) It's sad that we've had it less than 2 years and it already needs a repair. Also, that I figured out so easily what was wrong with it because I've done this repair before.

Basically, this week has been really rough and I want it to be over. I'm looking forward to grocery shopping because it means I can get out of the house for a little while.

I've made a lot of progress on the DVD's to YouTube project. I'm done with 6 of the 9 DVD's! It's been fun to rewatch all of my family's old videos.

I've finished 4 of 5 kids' Halloween stuff too. I'm saving Katie's dress for last because I know it will be the hardest and take the longest. Everything looks pretty cute so far. I still can't believe how much I like sewing when I used to hate it so much. I need to apply that energy to all the dishes I have this week!

Mara and Ricky's (Unexpected) Visit

Sun.: We made it to Church on time (even with all the craziness) and played games and rested after lunch.

Mon.: Mara and Ricky went to Salt Lake to look for an apartment. The rest of us played catch up (shopping, laundry). We had subs for our New Year's dinner and watched the first Fantastic Beasts movie while eating snacks.

Tue.: James took Mara and Ricky rabbit hunting, we played games, and relaxed. We had black-eyed peas and cornbread for dinner, our New Year's tradition.

Wed.: Mara and Ricky officially got an apartment! There were lots of issues, so they didn't find out until 6 p.m. I had a pretty normal day. James and the boys went back to school. We played Speak Out and laughed a lot.

Thu.: Pretty normal day again. Mara and Ricky are still waiting to hear if they move in today or tomorrow. (Update: today at 3 p.m.! Hurray! They've been homeless for a week now, so I bet they're grateful!)

Projects for this year:

1. Splitting my family's home videos into smaller clips to put on YouTube. I've done a  year's worth (24 small videos) already. I had to download a program to convert the DVD's to the right format and then learn to cut the long video into clips, but it wasn't too terribly hard. I'm excited to have all these more accessible to everyone.

2. Actually doing Katie's hair every day, even if it's just brushing it, so she will look less disheveled in Kindergarten later this year.

3. Sewing. My mom gave me some Halloween fabric, so I'm starting with dresses/pajamas for the kids.

4. Trying new foods. I'm looking for random ingredients in each aisle of Walmart for inspiration each time I shop.

It should be a much easier year since I'm not dealing with pregnancy. I love being able to sleep all night too. Samantha is the best.

Christmas Break

We left on Friday for Salt Lake, and it's been a really good trip since then, so much better than Thanksgiving.

Fri.: Arrived, explored the Leonardo Museum, checked out Trolley Square, ate dinner (pho) with Grandpa, went to Temple Square to see the lights, went back to the hotel and went to sleep.

Sat.: Went back to Temple Square to see the Christus and the lower floor of the visitor's center, had lunch, drove to Rexburg, hung out for the rest of the day.

Sun.: Church, which went very smoothly.

Mon.: Ate Christmas Eve dinner and did the Nativity play with the Lees, Mara, and Ricky; set out the presents once the kids were in bed.

Tue.: Opened presents, ate scrapple for breakfast, traveled to Victor for dinner. The only real mishap was my siblings getting stuck in the snow near the house, so it took some time to get them bailed out.

Wed.: Went to D.I. and Dairy Queen with Nash, visited the Lees to see the Christmas village and trains, went shopping at Downeast with my gift card with which I bought 3 dresses!, ate dinner and watched a Christmas movie with the girls while the guys played video games.

Thu.: Visited Aunt Pat in the morning with Mara, ate lunch and relaxed, hung out until dinner with Mara and Ricky.

Fri.: Celebrated Jacob's birthday. The older kids went to a movie (Fantastic Beasts) while the rest of us watched a Christmas movie at home. I didn't go because of Samantha. I figured she would be a stinker in the theater.

Sat.: Traveled home. Mara and Ricky came with us because their apartment fell through. We managed to get home in time for a real meal and baths for the kids!