Progress

So, now that I'm not babysitting, I've managed to get a few things checked off that to do list!  I got the safety inspection done on the van-- no small feat, since it turns out my van is too big for the lifts of some of the mechanics around here!  That was NOT something I considered when we were trying to decide what car to buy!  I eventually found a mechanic who could help me.  After a little work on the brakes (which explains the weird squeaking noise it was making) everything is peachy on that front.  Yay!

And I painted Bentley's room!  I painted two of the walls a deep, deep red which turned out to be hard to get even.  I had to do three coats before it looked decent, and even then it was giving me fits.  Craig even painted a bit, too (at my request), to make sure I wasn't just doing it wrong.  But no, it was very temperamental paint!  Anyway, I did grey on the two remaining walls, and that color was much more forgiving.  I still made a ton of mistakes-- I cannot seem to paint without getting drips everywhere, despite thinking I'm being so terribly careful.  But it's the best I could do while also trying to keep kids happy and laundry done and dinners made.  (I did point out to Craig that when he's working on projects like this, I do everything else for him so he can give the project his full attention.  I never get that kind of assistance.  But I also don't have a full time job taking up most of my time, so I guess it's not easy for either of us.)

Bentley's birthday was on Tuesday (he's a TEENAGER now!!!), so we managed to get his furniture mostly all moved back in so he could sleep in his bed on his birthday-- what a nice gift!  (Um, we did get him an actual gift, too.  Just for the record.)

We also celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa:

New sweatshirt and new swordfish necklace (since his swim team are the City Swordfish)

For the actual day, he wanted sugar cookies since he doesn't like cake very much:

And he'll have a party with his friends on Friday, so hopefully that will go well.  Apparently we spend an entire week celebrating birthdays around here.  And why not?


I am the mother of a teenager now.  And I will continue to be one for the next SIXTEEN. YEARS.

That makes me feel way older than turning forty did!

Camille Quotes

It's hard to properly explain Camille.  She's a firecracker of energy, brains, and weirdness, almost always happy, but driven to swift tears of wrath if her brothers hurt her tender feelings.  (Fortunately they love her so much this rarely happens.)  She's a ton of fun, and she's frequently hilarious.  Here are a few examples...


Driving past a construction site where they're building a new Starbucks, she asked me, "Do construction workers have wives?"  Why does she want to know???  This is especially worrisome because Camille hasn't met a man yet that she doesn't have a crush on.  Some of her current favorites are her Uncle Jason, Bentley's friends Aaron and Addison (and if Addison isn't around, his little brother Ivan), Br. Snow, an older gentleman at church, and one of the Octonauts (I can't keep them straight, but I think it's Captain Barnacles?  She likes him because, "he's the leader").

She loves her Daddy a lot, too

As we were driving to the library, out of the blue she suddenly asked, "Wouldn't it be funny if Jupiter was called Stupider?"

And when we flew to Seattle, she casually mentioned to me, "If she (the flight attendant) sees me sleeping and she thinks I'm dead, then just tell her that I'm sleeping, okay?"  What???  WHAT???  Who would think that????

She also insisted she needed one of those neck pillows when we were traveling, too.

She's such a nut.

And I have learned from happy experience that there is no better feeling in the world than walking with her and holding her hand as she skips along beside you.  All feels right in the world then.

Another New Calling

It was just a few months ago that I told you all about my new calling in the Stake Relief Society Presidency.  That felt like a big deal to me.

Then they told us they were putting Craig in the bishopric here.

So I guess we're going to be busy!


We found out about this new calling three weeks ago, but it took a while to actually happen.  So poor Craig has sort of been stressing ever since, mostly because he didn't know when it would happen or if he'd have to speak when it finally did.  Also, it meant we had to keep this from the kids for a bit, and we suck at keeping secrets.  (In fact, I'm pretty sure Bentley figured it out.)

So he was sustained in church on Sunday, and then went to sit up on the stand.  He's the second counselor, which means he gets to control the height of the podium-- THAT'S REAL POWER THERE.  😂

As soon as he sat down, Colton leaned over to me and said, "Did Daddy just become a prophet?"  So funny!  And then Ryder chimed in with, "Wait, what just happened?"  When I explained, he asked, "So now he has to sit up there instead of with us?  That's so lame!"  Too true, Ryder.

Also of note, that Sunday we happened to have brought along a neighborhood friend of Kendra's.  And there's a deacon who is attending the Fork Union Military Academy* in our ward, so I'd told him to go ahead and sit with us, also, since his family is in Indiana.  So that left me surrounded by seven kids.  I look like a complete nut.  But, miracle of miracles, they were all remarkably well behaved.

So I guess we'll get through all this somehow!





*When I first heard this I figured he was a totally screwed up kid and this was his parents' last-ditch effort to straighten him out.  BUT it turns out that this was something he wanted to do because apparently they have a great football program that was recommended by a football coach in his hometown.  All this to say, he was better behaved than any of my own kids.  And I'm a terrible person for making snap judgments with very little information.  But you probably already knew that about me!

End of Summer Fun

*I swear, I wrote and published this post over a week ago.  But somehow it disappeared.  So I've recreated it to the best of my abilities.  Technology is weird sometimes!



We did really enjoy our last few weeks of summer vacation.  We finally made it to Carter Mountain for their summer sunsets!

Sometimes, Ryder is snuggly!

A lovely, muted sunset

One of the kids took this panorama shot, and it shows the crowds of people as well as the sunset pretty well!

Then a few days later, Craig's parents took us to a rodeo!  I wasn't sure what to expect of this, but I ended up TOTALLY LOVING it!  My only regret was that the kids got so tired we had to leave before I was ready to go!

Love this shot!

Country girls carrying the flags to start out the show

Craig took a lot of video, but very few still shots, so I don't have much to share on the blog.  But some of the highlights (for me, at least) included the "mutton busters"-- 6-year-olds trying to ride sheep!-- and watching a bull ACTUALLY stamp its feet just like they do in cartoons!  Who knew that was based on reality???  But I also just loved seeing how diverse it was, and watching the crowds go wild for any cowboy-- black, white or hispanic-- who could stay on a bull for 8 seconds!  THIS is the America that I believe in!  And it was fantastic.

And, double bonus, all this inspired Bentley to put on his old cow costume.  From when he was two years old.  And which he could still. squeeze. into...   We are not feeding that boy enough!

18-month-old Bentley, when the costume was too big still!

 I also started babysitting again!  This was pretty busy, because I had both Quinn and Theo all day for several days!  My own kids couldn't understand why they weren't allowed any electronics during the days when we had our extra guests!  But we managed to have fun anyway:

We busted out more costumes

And managed to dress like twins!

And occasionally Theo helped Bentley practice piano!

And of course, we always have a great time at the Manassas Ward Campout in Matthew's Arm at Shenandoah!

Not only were Bentley and Spencer excited to hang out again, I thought it was awesome that they were matching!

Craig took most of the kids hiking while I hung out gabbing with my friends

So, yeah, we had a very full and fun summer.  I'm sad to see it end.  But I'm not sad to see the days starting to cool down a bit...!

Autumn To Do Lists

You know how you can get in the habit of putting stuff off until some other, more convenient time?

I pretty much did that ALL SUMMER.  My car needs an oil change?  I'll do it in the fall!  Safety inspection due?  Save that for when school starts!  I want to paint the kids' rooms?  Definitely a task for after school is back in session.  Same with mopping the kitchen floor, washing go-gurt splatters off the walls, organizing my linen closet, and any number of other unpleasant tasks.

So school has started!  And I feel SO OVERWHELMED with all the stuff I'm supposed to be getting done now!  And to make matters even more complicated, I'm babysitting more than ever, so I really don't have any extra time just yet.  AND, all these awesome women moved into my ward and I want to hang out with them and get to know them and actually have some friends here in my ward.  So how am I supposed to have time for safety inspections or mopping???

Anyway.  My to do list is a mile long.  This is my last week babysitting, though, so I'm hoping to actually tackle all those projects next week.

Really.

I'm going to do it.

In the meantime, yay for school starting!

Look at those two big middle schoolers at the top of the stairs!

Ryder, Owen, and Colton getting on the bus

I DID manage to get my oil changed.  Even with Theo and Camille.  It took like two hours.  It was so awful.  This is one of the ways Camille tried to entertain herself...

And we did rearrange bedrooms!  Bentley is in a different room now, with bunk beds!  And Colton now has Bentley's old room all to himself so that he can stop waking up his siblings at night (now he's back to just waking up me and Craig...)!

Bentley's new set up.  Soon I'm going to paint this room.  Really!

Colton's new digs!

We did have one afternoon where I wasn't babysitting and Camille and I went to the pool, just the two of us, so that was pretty sweet!

Next week.  I'm going to be on FIRE.