1st day of school 2011

First day of school, and I didn't get a photo of Bryson. We walked over to school together, and realized I didn't have my camera. We did the welcome back assembly, had a quick kiss on the cheek, and my 6th grader was off.  Then I headed over to my visiting teachers home for a back-to-school-brunch. Made it home at 11, and had to have Leah to school at 11:30. I actually was going to have her miss it since she was throwing up last night, but it was just for an hour, and she was dying to go, so I took her and dropt her off. I guess the parents were supposed to stay, but I had Kayson and Carson at home, and didn't realize they wanted us parents there. I picked her up at 12:30 and could tell she was on a downward spirl of feeling bad again. I'm so glad she doesn't officially start until next week. I hope she feels better by then.

Welcome Home Boys!

My mom called me last week, and asked if I could possibly fly up the older boys to her for a few days before school starts back up. As if we could turn that invitation down. They left Monday morning, and flew back home this afternoon.

My mom told me her plans for activities with the boys.  I decided to follow suit on one of them, and took the little ones to see a dollar movie. Which happened to only cost $.75 a ticket on Monday's - SCORE! They were a joy at the theater, and enjoyed this little outing with just the three of us. We even topped it off with lunch at Arctic Circle.

Carson and Leah were so excited for their return today, that we decided to make a welcome home banner for them. We barely got the thing hung up when they pulled in the driveway. The boys were so thrilled to see that they were missed, and gave out lots of hugs to all of us. We celebrated with a redbox movie and a BBQ for dinner.

Kayson has already asked if he can do this every other week, since he will be home-schooled this next year. Maybe once a month, we will see how his studies go.

Carson can ride a bike!

The wearing of cowboy boots, and shorts make me do a major eye roll, but he loves those stinkin boots! 

Carson my 3 year old, not to be outdone by Leah, has mastered his skill at bike riding this last week. Leah's official day of riding independently was 8/7/2011. Carson was only 3 days behind her, and riding on Wednesday 8/10/2011. We are now a family of bike riders, and have been enjoying family bike rides. Well everyone except me. We are short one bike. So Alen, being the wonderful hands on father that he is, has been taking all who want to attend on an evening bike ride.

The smiles that Leah and Carson can throw my way while leaving on a bike ride are priceless.

Leah can ride a BIKE!

I love it when her skirt billows out behind her on a bike ride!

For the past few weeks Leah has expressed an interest in learning to ride her bike. It enviously started with a cute family that takes bike rides to the school playground across the street from us. She practiced one day a few weeks ago at a friends on their balance bike, and did really good. Since we do not have $100 to spend on a balance bike, Alen went to the DI and bought a small bike, and took the peddles off. It took one Saturday afternoon working on her balance, and Sunday after church she got on her bike and took off. We actually went on our 1 mile neighborhood walk Sunday evening, and she rode the whole time. I am so proud of her. She wanted to learn to ride a bike so bad, and she did it so quickly, and without any major crashes so far. Now, to just keep her riding on the sidewalk instead of the street.

First 4-wheel trip of 2011

Alen purchased (through parts and labor) a 4-wheeler from his brother Earl. It was a great deal since it had been involved in an accident. Two ATV's were actually damaged, which ment Alen got to spend two weeks of precious time trying to fix them up. The yellow one looks like frankenstein because of the way he repaired it, but it worked like a champ. The red one used to be Alen's before we moved to Georgia, then he sold it to his brother. The red one is the one we ended up buying back. So we officially have 2 old 4-wheelers, and 2 motorcycles. Too bad we don't have a trailer large enough to haul them all on.


Today Alen and I took the 2 younger kiddos with us, and went for a ride up in the Centerville foothills. The view was beautiful. We rode past the "V" and the "B" on the mountains. This is the first time I have riden an ATV all summer long.  I had so much fun I want to do another ride again soon with all of the kiddos.


I made Leah carry a nasty bag of old cans next to her on the ride home. I can not stand it when people litter!!!! Maybe we can bring a larger bag next time, and see who can collect the most trash :)

A Clean Dishwasher

When we moved into our home the inside of the dishwasher was white from hard water! We scrubbed with white vinegar and ran a cycle through with 2 cups of vinegar in a measuring cup, which worked wonders. Alen even used some lime-away on the left over build up, but that made me nervous that it would ruin the stainless steel interior.  My Aunt Helen, bless her soul, gave me some advice she got from my cousin Sandra. She told me to buy "Lemi Shine" It removes hard water spots and film.  I LOVE THAT STUFF!!!! They also have Lemi-shine as a rinse aide. I put regular, powdered dishwasher detergent in the prewash side, and 1/2 detergent and 1/2 Lemi-Shine in the main wash container. I have the cleanest dishwasher, and better yet clean dishes without any spots!

I also run the water in the sink until it is hot before I start the dishwasher. I feel that if it starts with hot water the dishes get so much cleaner.

So there you go, my unsolicited advice on how to have a clean dishwasher and cleaner dishes!

Primary

I have been made the Primary President of our new ward. Talk about feeling overwhelmed! I have been in 2 Primary Presidencies before, but that was years ago. I have this nagging feeling that I am always forgetting something of great importance. Which I'm sure I am, but the people I serve with are too nice to tell me. That being said, I am so excited for this opportunity to serve the Lord and all these wonderful children (I really need to learn their names).