A Very Late Hapy Birthday!

Well, I'm only posting this a few weeks late.... :-) In my defense, it's been crazy. Especially when the second we turn our back, this is what Daniel does.



Since William's birthday is on October 4th and my nephew's birthday is on the 3rd, Mark's sister agreed that it would be easier to have a combined little bash while everyone was over for Conference. She provided the cake, we chipped in the ice cream - and everybody had a great time! We may just do this next year too... :-)

William was in no hurry to get all formal at the table, and since his cousin was opening his gifts already, he just grabbed some and hunkered down on the floor to open them. Genius!





Mark's sister had made a larger cake for everyone else to eat, but the two birthday boys each got their own little birthday cake with their name on it, literally, and their own candles to blow out. I don't think either of them ate much of the cake, but they both thought it was pretty cool that they had a cake all to themselves.


I just love the puffy cheeks.

We got William a little tool chest, that had hammer, saw, "wood", nails.... the works. Right down to a tape measure! And now I realize that I haven't seen it in several weeks, so it is probably residing somewhere in Grandma's basement. I hope.

What do you write when you can't think of a title?

I guess life has just been busy. Somehow the days pass by and I find by the end of one that we haven't done much that I would write about. Each one has it's moments, true, but the flow is the same. Days are filled with Oren and his schoolwork. Evenings fly by trying to give my other three attention. Keeping Daniel out of the bathroom and off the piano is a full-time endeavor!

And so I rarely have the energy to gather what thoughts I'd like to write, or go through what few pictures I have taken. This is not to say that we don't do things worthy of note. For instance, Oren's school did a zoo day meet and greet. But Nathan was at school and couldn't go with us. So when the zoo did a free admission day, the boys and I loaded up and went!











Daniel was asleep in the mei tai on my back for most of it. So no cute pictures of him, unfortunately. The boys had a lot of fun in the Egg-xhibit, pretending to be chickens. And outside of there, I had my hands full making sure I knew where they were, with so many people there. So no pictures other than these.

On a seperate note, I had several compliments on the mei tai, and the moms that talked to me wanted to know where I got it. I was super proud to say that my sister had made it! And of course told them that they could find patterns for one on-line. Why spend $30 or more when you can make one yourself? (Thank you Steph!)


Saturday, after the morning session, Mom W. took us to Mesa Falls. This little trip involved some misunderstandings about food, and a not very happy me... but the falls were beautiful and the scenery was amazing. We solved the food problem with a VERY late lunch and Mark and I resolving to insist on the welfare of the boys not matter how anxious others are to get going. And to not assume that others will bring what they implied they would.

Of course, I brought my good camera hoping to get some gorgeous shots of the falls. Maybe some with trees in the background that were turning colors. What happened? I took about 6 shots, and then the batteries died! With no backups because I took them for the little camera and forgot to put new ones in the case! So here is the best of the ones I got. The falls look small, but they were really quite tall. It was the angle from the viewpoint.



There was also William's birthday, which is in the above post. Or will be when I get it posted!

Life as a civilian

is taking some getting used to.

No more showing my ID to get home. No more music going off a 7:30 am to wake you, or at 5 pm when the anthem starts playing and everybody stops driving or walking during the whole song, or at 10:00 pm when apparently we are supposed to be in bed. The clothes people wear have some variety in their colors, and there are shaggy haircuts all over.

There is also a lot of uncertainty over where we'll be living, what sort of job Mark will find and when, what to do if someone gets sick. A lot of things are still scaring me. But I'm trying to find the peace in our situation that I know is there.

Oren is homeschooling this year, which is an adventure. We're still stumbling around, getting used to the new relationship of teacher and student. I can't just sit there all day being depressed though, which is good. I have to get up and teach, be positive, be organized.

And Nathan is going to school here. He rides a bus there and back everyday! My little guy! They sort of lost him the first day though. The school wasn't told which route he was supposed to be on, and then when they got him on the right bus, the bus driver didn't drop him off at his stop. We don't really know why, maybe he was being small and quiet at the back, or what. So we chased the bus to the next stop but didn't make it there fast enough. In the end I called the busing company and said "I'm trying to locate my 6 year old, in first grade, who didn't get off the bus like he was supposed to!" The lady was super nice and radioed the driver, who swung back and dropped him off. Nathan was a little scared, but seems just fine now. The other kids at his stop are really nice and helped him find his classroom the first time he rode to school and helped him the next couple days remember which stop to get off at. So many nice people over here!

We've been busy rearranging our allotted bedrooms to fit all of us, and make it our own space so we feel more at home. Okay, by we I mean me. Cleaning off dressers with conference talk notes from 2004 - that sort of thing. Expired cough syrups in the bathroom.... popsicle sticks on the bookshelf... Mom W is busy working full time and doesn't have energy for de-junking, so she doesn't mind me tossing things like that. (I love his mother!) And even though we're hoping to only be here a short while, it does make me feel more at home, and like we're contributing something to the household. I cook meals too, and help with laundry. Are they going to let us move out? Ooops..... :-)

I guess the bottom line is that even though this is a huge shift in how we thought our lives were going to go, we're doing okay. I don't think life is ever going to be easy, but I am definitely appreciating the blessings of family and church.

Catch-Up Pioneer Day

More playing catch-up. We went down to see Mark's family for pioneer day, and joined in their big stake celebration. Nice and early pancake breakfast, some fun runs that we were too tired for, and a bunch of kids activities that included .......



BUBBLES!


Daniel spent his time crawling over Daddy's legs.



William thought he'd blow bubbles to any monsters living in the drain grate.



Oren spun in dizzy circles, thoroughly enjoying the large rings and equally big bubbles.



And Nathan was fascinated by the possibilities all these holes presented.


I just love my boys and bubbles!

Catch - Up, Nathan's Birthday

These posted backwards for some weird reason.


Nathan turned 6 last month. 6! Has it really been 6 years since he was born? 6 years since his little chubby-cheekedness?



Poor thing. He was out playing in Grandma's back yard, and got about 1/2 dozen wasp stings. Right before his cake and ice cream too. From his toe to his head! The white gunk is baking soda with a little water to make a paste. Draws out the poison, eases swelling, and takes away the red. Helps with the burn too. He was quite a trouper though, just sort of cried a bit while I put the paste on. Nothing like you'd expect from a little guy getting stung so many times.





Of course, the cake sort of took his mind off the ouch. Apperantly I am a professional whose own children get the saddest cakes possible. This car was supposed to be legos. Don't ask.

The important part is that when he saw his "race car cake!" his eyes lit up and his jaw dropped. We just had to eat it really fast before the back end slid off any farther and the frosting dripped completely down the side. He he.


Reminder, never use a clearance boxed carrot cake for anything other than a stay-in-the-pan treat. And don't use real butter in the cream cheese frosting in August.

I promise...

that I do still exist.

that I have taken lots of pictures.

that I do intend to post them at some point.

that I have lots to write about.

that I will try to find the time to write about them.

Big update!

Since we've had plenty going on here lately, I guess I'll do a nice update. There won't be photos because my card reader is MIA, I'll have to find my USB cable for the camera.

Speaking of computers, we found a tech guy based in Mountain Home that is coming to pick up the laptop and the external hard drive. The drive dropped and the case broke open. Now the computer doesn't see it plugged in so I can't get to photos. It'll be nice and pricey, but I have over 2 years of photos on there myself and it'll be worth the money to get some off if possible. Then we tried to do a system recovery on the laptop, which involves formatting the drive and reinstalling the factory settings and programs. Easy enough, right? Except all we get is errors and now it just turns itself off instead of reading the disc. The tech guy thinks the hard drive may be bad. So we're getting that worked on/looked at. If it's the hard drive in the laptop that's bad, we're getting a new one and having him install that - make sure it works. Even with that added to the recovery price, it's cheaper than buying a new laptop!

Word of advice. Don't just store photos on a hard drive. Get an external. And a bunch of flash drives or good quality CD's and copy everything to those. In the words of the tech guy, "If you only copy it to one thing, that's not backup. That's just storage."

...................

Remember in January when I rear-ended that guy? And had to have my car in the shop for a few weeks. And the court dates? The last one I had 2 months ago, the man showed up to the trial to tell me that my insurance hadn't paid his claims. We traded phone numbers and I said I'd call and see what was up with them. Then he called me saying they still hadn't paid a month later and he was considering legal council. (SCARED!) 2 weeks ago my insurance called up and said the case was closed, everything paid, and settlement accepted! Which is good because they couldn't reduce the misdemeaner to an infraction with a fine until everything had been paid.

My court date was yesterday, and as soon as I walked in the public defender came over. Congratulations, the claim was paid, and you've been reduced to the infraction! Signed the paper, went downstairs and paid the $75 ticket for "following too closely" and went home, with a huge sigh of relief. We were worried it would be a lot more for court costs, but we got lucky. So that's all taken care of.

.................

We went househunting last week in Rexburg. Did you know that houses are way pricey there unless you live out in the country? And that renting is as bad if not worse? We are very blessed to have family with room for us so we won't be homeless while we get on our feet.

There was one we loved, but Mark's car couldn't handle the country road in the winter. And another we loved except for the entire 3 acres of waisthigh grasses and thistles and other assorted weeds/ junky outbuilding / who know's what else / unfinished addition that needs tearing down. And the one in town that was doable, but only 1095 sq.ft. Which is teeny!

But now we know, don't trust pictures. Always go see it in person. Agents will drive you anywhere to sell a house. And don't rush into anything.

We'll see what happens, since the list for income based housing may be long, especially for 3 bedrooms.

...............

We only have about 4 weeks left! I'm nervous, and excited all at the same time. Faced with being a civilian, we're realized how constricting the military can be. Show ID just to get home? Even grass height is regulated. Sort of stifling all of a sudden. Still a lot of unknowns, but it feels like sort of a new freedom.

I'm not sure how I'm going to get everything done with the house. And I'm still slowly going through things and downsizing. Someone is picking up the piano Saturday morning. I'm trying to see if I can fit everything onto 1 bookshelf. And we're debating the entertainment center, for size reasons. I can build a new one later... thanks to knock-off-wood.

The boys are getting excited about moving to Grandma's house. They get so spoiled there! And Oren is going to be homeschooled this year, we've enrolled and everything into an online academy - a public school that sends you all the books and even a computer if you need. Plus, they offer electives starting in the 3rd grade, which he's going into, and he has chosen French. Which I learned in high school. So I can help him with those assignments! It'll be hard work, but until we get insurance and meds for him, it's the best option for his natural behaviors and schedule.

That's our last couple weeks in a nutshell, I guess!