Projects

It's been a really busy, but good week. We've gotten a lot done, even outside of the the normal "catching up" from being gone for 2 weeks.

Friday, James and the kids worked a ton on the yard to get all the weed eating, cleanup, and mowing done. It was a little out of control after 2 weeks.

A couple of us weren't feeling amazing on Sunday, so we watched church from home. It was honestly a pretty boring day, the first of a few where I was just "in a funk."

Monday, we took a huge board from the trailer that was blocking stuff I needed, bought another board, and raised our bed up by stacking the boxes underneath. That gives us storage and a work table for folding laundry. I never did like using the counter or couch. The kids deep-cleaned their rooms, and I helped the little ones go through all their clothes. We then made a list of what was needed for school. I did most of the school shopping online. I only have to get shoes for Katie and Lewis in person.

Tuesday, while James worked, I made peach jam, the first of several recipes from my big box of peaches that James bought for me. (I've had no luck with grocery store peaches, but these local ones from CO are pretty amazing!)

Wednesday, as a family, we painted the trailer! It's a sandy color and though it still looks old, it blends in the the dead grass in the neighbor's lot. Everything went a lot better than expected, and no one got any paint in the house. I also sanded and re-stained the picnic table (just the top and benches where it wore off from last year.)

Today, I put 2 coats of poly on the picnic table and made a batch of peach ice cream. James was working, so I met him for lunch in his new (to him) classroom after a quick run to Smith's for the sales.

Since we got back, I've been working with the kids on their "family history passports" that they got at a Primary activity during the summer. It's been fun to teach them more about our ancestors and how to use Family Search. I don't know how much will stick, but they've already been asking more questions. Visiting the graves of 3rd great-grandparents in Vernal and Johnston County, NC, made an impact on everyone, I think. I'm grateful for the connections I have with my family, even though those relationships are a ton of work.