Too Social

Sunday we had the missionaries over for dinner. Tyler made an Asian beef and rice dish and it was perfect because it is a fairly cheap meal to make for 9 people. Also it's not too complicated to make, so he was able to finish it on time. I think the Sister missionaries are much less awkward to have over for dinner than the elders we have had in the past. I think they just have better conversational skills. But at the same time they really lingered at the end, like they didn't want to leave. I always find lingering good byes extremely awkward because people should leave when things are over but also, I don't want to be mean. I guess I should take it as a compliment though, that we are people that others want to hang with. 

And a cute picture of Lucy and Ruby from Sunday...

Monday night was craft club and it was a bit of a disaster. I got there maybe 10 minutes late and no one was there- including the host. At first I thought that maybe I had the wrong door because they had gotten a new door but once I was sure I was at right house and that no one was home- I gave Tana a call. She did not answer and I wondered if I should just leave. Then she called me back and said she had forgot but that she would be home in 15 minutes and we did not need to cancel. I, on the other hand, thought we should probably just cancel. It sounded like it was not a good night for her. Then Jean showed up and she did not want to cancel. So when Tana came home, we went in and I was immediately sure that we should have cancelled. She seemed overwhelmed and on top of it, she had her kiddos to take care of. About a half an hour in, her youngest got super fussy and she said she needed to put her down so I took the hint, and coerced Jean into leaving with me. Such an awkward night.

Tuesday morning Ruby and I walked with Grace to the library. I had missed my walks with Grace. I love a good chat while walking. We walked to the library and I went to music and story time with Ruby while Grace hung out getting books. It was another noisy storytime and it just isn't the same without Miss Marissa. We had Miss Jen and she was good but she is new to teaching and has a few things to work out- like how short toddlers attention spans are. Ruby still seemed to enjoy it though. During music and story time I sat next to a nanny that I had met before. I ended up inviting her and the 2 year old she watched to my play group that I am trying to start. I think that was brave of me? Or maybe crazy? She couldn't come this week but maybe we will see her in the future.

Tuesday evening we went out to Farmington Hills for Ben's soccer game with Grams and Ruby. On my way there I had IBS issues and ended up stopping at a nearby park to use the bathroom. It was a wise choice. Once at the game we discovered that it was quite cold. Ruby had on a sweater but refused to wear a jacket. Meanwhile I hid under a blanket. The game ended up being a close one but the coach still let Ben play for the last 10 minutes so that was nice. I am always happy when I get to see him playing out on the field.

Wednesday Penny had an appointment with her orthopedic surgeon. He cleared her for getting back to regular life and she doesn't really have to wear her brace much anymore. He was wanting to get the rods out in January but I managed to have him bump that up to the end of December so we won't have to pay a bazillion dollars on the surgery in the new year. The only issue with that is we were considering the possibility of driving out to Arizona during Christmas break, depending how Tyler's dad is doing. Now it looks like Penny will be getting surgery during that time so that puts a kink in our plans.

Wednesday night I went over to Grace's. She is having troubles with her oldest because her oldest wants to go to ASU but her oldest really just wants to go party and have the "college experience"---without really taking college seriously. Problem is that tuition is $30,000/year for someone out of state. And then you have to factor in another $30,000 for living expenses. That is not a debt to take on just to have the "college experience". It is wild how expensive college is. I am grateful my boys are getting their first 2 years in for free. 

Thursday I had my first playgroup. I spent the morning prepping the house and then no one showed for the first 15 minutes. I was sure it was going to be a complete flop, but it was only a partial flop. Kelly ended up coming with her 2 girls. I had met her at the previous co-op, she is a friend of Tana's. She is really nice and I am grateful she showed up when everyone else flaked out. Jean came about a half an hour later and then tried to stay an hour later than the allotted time. I may have slightly lied and told her I had to leave to pick up my girls at 1:30 (actually I leave to pick them up at 1:50). There is a reason I set the time from 11-1. Jean is as nice as can be and fine to talk to and Ruby loves her daughter, but Jean just has no clue about social etiquette.

Thursday evening Ben had a soccer game. It was not quite as cold as Tuesday nights game but it was still cooler than I liked. Ben did not get to play but the game was pretty epic and made it into the Oakland Press. They won the game 4-3. With just 5 minutes left in the game they were tied 3-3 and with just a couple minutes in the game they brought it to their winning score of 4-3. It really was a great watch. Bishop came to watch it which was super cool of him. He became Ruby's best friend- coloring with her and buying her treats at the concession stand. She will attach herself to anyone who will show her attention and who will also let her boss them around. 

Friday morning Lucy had her lawn mowing gig for Sister Miller. Usually she only takes about 30 minutes to mow so Ruby and took a quick trip to the playground and got back roughly 30 minutes later. Well the grass was much longer this time around and it ended up taking an hour. We ended up just hanging out in the car which was kind of bummer because it was a beautiful playground day. We should have stayed longer. Since it was such a nice day, after lunch I walked the kids to seven eleven for a treat. The only way I can get them to walk with me is if there are treats at the end. I enjoy my walks with them so I guess it's worth the bribery. 

Friday afternoon I went with the RS Presidency to visit a new sister in the ward. She is very chatty but I enjoyed the chat. We got her whole life story but she also reciprocated and asked us about our lives. I did need to get home at some point though so I eventually just had to ask if we could leave her with a prayer and then the message was receieved, lol. I think she is a fun new addition to our ward. 

Saturday morning Grams, Poppy, Tyler, me and Steven went to the temple. Steven was going through for his endowments. We had to get there an hour early so he could do his initiatory first. Grams and I probably should have waited in the car or in the initial waiting area in the temple because we were too early to go back to the endowment room. We ended up standing awkwardly by where you get ready to go in. There was a lady there who was taking a nap and I don't think she was happy that we woke her up. She kind of scurried away and didn't come back for a long while. Steven did not want to do prayer circle but he didn't seem completely overwhelmed or weirded out by things, and I got a hug from him after the session was over- he couldn't run away from me in the temple. Bishop and his wife came for the session and Sister Perriton met us in the celestial room since the session was full. They are good people and I appreciate their support for my kid. After the session we met the rest of our kids at Culver's for lunch. Steven grumbled about going, saying he wasn't even hungry (despite not eating breakfast) but he ended up eating most of his food. It really frustrates me how much he protests spending time with us but then he seemed to enjoy hanging with Ruby in the end.

Doughnuts and Gram's Birthday

Sunday Tyler sang in our sacrament meeting with a small choir. It was one of the new hymns- "What God Calls Us To." We thought the women that spoke before he sang was just going to introduce the hymn, but she gave a full on talk about it and even recited all the lyrics. I'm not sure if she was supposed to do that or not, but she made sure to include how inclusive and loving she is of trans and lesbians so that was nice. After church we didn't have any meetings so it was a restful Sunday. When I went to check the mail that afternoon I discovered a spider had made his home in our mailbox. Last week I had found a spider making a web on my car door. I am beginning to feel like this is a start of some spider horror movie.

Monday morning Kara brought Amelia over for us to watch because she had a colonoscopy. The girls were ecstatic to have Amelia over and did a lot of the baby watching for me. We were all impressed with how much food Amelia ate. She ate 3 small pancakes that I had made and then the oatmeal her mom had made for her. But I guess all that food gave her plenty of poop because the first time we put her down for a nap she cried and we discovered she had pooped. Then after we changed her diaper and did some rocking and gave her a little more milk, we tried to put her down a second time. She cried again and we eventually went in and discovered that she had even more poop. Other than her pooping and not napping, it was an easy gig.

Tuesday Ruby and I went to the library for music and story time. We were excited that it had started again. This time we attended the all ages storytime instead of the toddler storytime but it really wasn't any different in material or audience. The audience was basically toddlers since it is during the school day. However, storytime was much louder than I remember. Not sure if that was just because it was the first storytime of the new season or because of the substitute teacher (the regular teacher was out of town). The only bummer about this storytime is they don't do toys afterwards and that was one of Ruby's favorite parts.

After storytime, Poppy took Ruby and I out to Burger King for lunch. Then we took Grams to Milfords so she could buy the bread she likes from the bakery there (orange cranberry). She was nice and got Ruby a cookie while we were there. 

After I picked up the girls from school, I had to rush to an appointment for an ultrasound on my leg. I ended up feeling like a crazy person because I had  tough time explaining my leg pain. In the end I guess I was a crazy person because there were no signs of muscle tears or injuries. Doctor Google is telling me it might be a sciatic nerve problem so I have been trying some stretches that are supposed to help with that. They do feel good in the moment but I am still struggling with leg pain- especially when driving.

Tuesday night Ben had a soccer game. Thankfully this time Ruby did not suffer any dramatic falls. However, we did have to make 2 trips to the bathroom. Why are the bathrooms always such a long walk from the bleachers? Also, this school had narrow walkways which made the journey even more awkward. Ruby was quite funny (and embarassing) that night. She was enjoying ease dropping on other people's conversations and repeating phrases she heard people say and she would also turn to me and say "What the flip did they say?" She also was entranced by a light in the ground and tried to convince me that she had to go potty (for a third time) so she could walk by it again. When I told her I wanted to watch the game she said, "Oh fine, we'll watch the game." She is a lot all the time and certainly makes our life more entertaining.

Wednesday morning was tough and not because of homeschool but because Ruby was having poop issues. I tried to do my work out but kept having to stop because she needed to sit on the potty- only no poop ever came. On top of that the girls were fighting over silly things. These girls are really wearing me down. To reward them for their awful behavior, we went to Long's Farm for doughnuts. Ben and Grams came too. Penny was upset the whole time because she thought I was going to make her late for a birthday party. She ended up being a whopping 7 minutes late to her party.

On our way home from dropping Penny off, Ruby, Lucy and I stopped by Target to do some shopping. I was working on decking out our mantel and had already spent a ridiculous $40 at Dollar Tree and just needed a couple more things from Target- some orange lights and little trees to go by the haunted house. I should have taken a pic because it turned out pretty good. I also impulse bought a pair of pants that make a nice swishing sound when I walk. They are good lightweight pants for fall and spring but I want be able to sneak around in them. Ruby also tried on this awesome hot dog costume.

Thursday was Grams birthday. After dropping the girls off at school, Ben, Ruby, Grams and I went out to Ann Arbor so we could enjoy some free samples at Cherry Republic (and of course buy some cherry products too). As we were walking out the door Ben showed me a handful of candy samples he had taken- sometimes my older kids are worse than my toddler. 

After dinner that night we sang to Gram and ate some delish strawberry bundt cake that I made. Unfortunately I did not plan ahead well and did not have a 5 candle so she got to turn 74 again. 

Friday evening Tyler, Ruby, Penny and I went to a wedding reception for the Dumont's son. We don't really know him very well but I served in primary with Sandra so I felt we should go and support. I spent too much time trying to figure out what to gift these people. I didn't have enough time to order things off their registery and I didn't really want to just give them cash. I ended up getting them a small lego flower set and after much hunting- a vase that fit the flowers. Apparently a tall shot glass from the Dollar Tree was the best fit for the flowers, lol. The reception itself was nice enough. I had a good visit with some people and the groom's friends gave some really nice speeches about him. I don't even know him that well but I felt touched. After the recpetion I cleaned the house and that's always a joyous task. It is better than cleaning during the day with Ruby but I get very snappy with the older kids when they get in the way. I am not a nice cleaner.

Saturday was a cool and rainy day. I did a little thrift shopping in the morning which always makes me happy. Then after lunch I had a missionary farewell party to attend for someone who used to be in our ward. He had been in Ben's seminary class so Ben came with me as well. I thought it was just a farewell party so I didn't bring a card or anything but it ended up being a grad party too so I felt embarrassed for showing up empty handed. I really didn't know anyone there so it was a bit awkward for a minute but a nice lady sat by me and I got to know her. Ben told me afterwards that even thought I don't love going to these things, I am good at making conversation. While I don't think it's hard to make conversation, I do think that it's draining. 

And with my social battery was already drained...we had one more wedding reception to attend. Another kiddo in the ward that we didn't know super well but we are friends with his parents. This time only Tyler and I attended. The food was Chipotle so that made me happy and we had some good visits with people there. One lady was asking me about my trip to Italy but I'm not sure she would like my itinerary since she is not into architecture and art. I do love to talk about Italy though...

On a negative note, pooping in the potty is not getting any better with Ruby. She only poops in the potty when I notice the signs and get her there. She was also suffering from some constipation this past week so she went 3 whole days without pooping. And today she pooped her pants twice- one of the times was right after she had just peed on the potty. I really wish we could get this figured out.

On a funny note, I forgot to share a story last week- the case of Ben's disappearing shoes. He could not find them and I thought he must of just taken them off in a funny location- they couldn't just disappear. But I was busy and didn't help him hunt for them and he ended up wearing crocs to soccer practice and wearing Tyler's baseball shoes to school the next day. I finally went to help look for his shoes and discovered that the black pair of shoes that I had thought at first were Steven's, were not Steven's because he was not home. I realized they were my dads. So I ran over to my parent's house with my dad's shoes and asked him if he had accidentally taken Ben's shoes. He was, at that moment, wearing Ben's navy shoes. It was a funny mix up.

Fredrick Meijers Gardens

Sunday we got ready with only the help of our generator. It's hard to get ready with minimal light. We also had the new schedule at church- 2nd hour was now half Sunday School and half classes (RS/EQ/YM/YW). Things went slightly over but I am liking the schedule. Shorter classes are better for my short attention span. When we got back from church, we were blessed to find our electricity was finally working. It is funny how much we take electricity for granted in our daily lives. I was so grateful for lights, air conditioning, a way to charge my devices, a stove, a microwave, a dishwasher, a washer and dryer...All those things that I use daily and feel like such a normal but necessary part of my life.

Monday was Labor Day. I ended up driving out to Grand Blanc in the morning to pick up large plastic animals and dinosaurs. It was an amazing deal- the person was selling about 30 of them for only $10 so it was worth the drive. It was nice to have a quiet drive by myself. I ended up stopping at a couple shops on my way home just to further enjoy my solitary quiet time. I didn't really need anything, just browsed the aisles. The plastic animals/dinosaurs I got were to be used as bribery for Ruby to go poop on the potty. She kept going in her pants which is really a miserable thing for all involved. The addition of the bribery really hasn't been as helpful as I had hoped. We have had the toys for almost a week and she has pooped in the potty only twice since then. But I will take the 2 wins and hope for even more wins in the future.

Monday night we had a couples game night at Grace's. Nahoko and Eric were there as well. We played a game called "Bad People" that Eric had bought on a whim. It turns it is probably meant for single men in their 20's. The point of the game was to pull a card and determine who the person who was "it" would think fit what the card said best (I.E. Most likely to launder money). But at lot of the cards were super inappropriate- some sexual, some to do with drinking- and that didn't really work for us. We had to filter out a lot of cards but there were still some funny moments. After that game we played Caution Signs and that was a pretty fun game. You get an adjective and a noun and have 20 seconds to draw it. Then the person who is it has to guess which adjective and noun goes to everyone's drawing. I pretty much love most drawing and creative games like that. All in all it was a good night with friends. 

Tuesday after we dropped the girls off at school, Ruby and I went to Scarlet's Park. Ruby loves the zipline and swings there. We had a pretty good time until it started getting way too peopley so we left.

After the park, I went to the doctor for my ears and leg. I have had such clogged ears and have tried at home products to clean them out to no avail- they usually get worse. The doctor agreed they were very full of wax and commented that my ear tubes were also very small. She had a nurse come and rinse them with a warm hydrogen peroxide mixture. This nurse was not happy about having to clean out my ears and somehow she managed to get that mixture all over my shirt. I was pretty wet. Then the doctor came back in to check and apparently that hadn't done much. She tried as well but said there appears to be a ball of wax stuck in the middle of my tubes and I will probably need a vacuum to get it out. She referred me to an ENT because they would have the proper tools. Unfortunately the ENT can't see me until November so I get clogged and itchy ears for another couple months. 

As for the upper leg pain I have been having in my right leg- the doctor ordered an ultrasound for me. She thinks maybe I injured a muscle when I slid down the stairs and landed on my thigh about a month ago. I am honestly not sure if the pain started with that incident or not. Memory is a slippery thing for me. It could also have happened when lifting weights or maybe I am just getting old? It's just sitting has become pretty painful at times because of this leg pain. The ultrasound is on Tuesday and I am hoping it will show something fixable but I am also not counting on it.

Tuesday night I took Ruby and Penny to the library. Ruby made a friend while she was there- they hit it off immediately. She very quicky asked the boy"Are you my bestie" and he was like "You're my other friend". Toddlers are funny. They went through all the pretend food with him asking "Do you like ____?" And her replying "Yes I do!" And then Ruby and her new friends spent a good amount of time shouting out each new color the light in the ceiling changed to and then dissolving in giggles. I wish I had been brave and asked that mother if she would like to meet up again because they really did play so well together. It was also nice to have watch the sweet easy way that toddlers make friends when I feel so worried about my older girls and all their friend drama.

Wednesday morning, Penny had some emotions towards math. Meanwhile Lucy has been working very hard to stay calm while doing math. She slips momentarily here and there but overall I have been impressed with her control. After homeschool I ran a few errands and of course, while I was gone Ruby pooped herself. I felt so bad that Lucy and Penny had to clean up after her. I hope they don't resent me for all the things they are asked to do for Ruby. 

Ben had an orthodontist appointment that afternoon and Ruby tagged along because I did not want to risk her having any more accidents while I was away. I am grateful that the office is only 2 minutes away and I am grateful for the TV in the waiting room. There is also a really nice office lady who has a similar age gap with her kids that I chatted with for a bit. I love getting to talk to people who have been in similar situations. Especially when they talk positively about it.

Wednesday after dinner we had some fun with sidewalk chalk. Lucy is a really good artist with the chalk.

Thursday after dropping the girls off at school, Ruby and I met Amelia and Kara at a park near the girls' school again. It was a cooler day so it felt good to be out but that conversation wasn't my favorite. Lately when I start to vent about things- like I started to talk about the struggle with potty training Ruby- Kara will cut me off and say that she can't give me advice on that. I don't necessarily need advice but I do want to feel like someone is willing to talk to me about things in my life- even if they can't relate or understand yet. It is just off putting. She is still a nice person and I am grateful for her friendship. I am just learning she won't be the friend I can vent too.

After the park we ran a couple errands and I was able to find some cute sweaters and fancy/fun shoes for Ruby at a thrift shop. Ruby really loves shoes and immediately put on her new "Elsa" shoes in the car. She also got some mini mouse shoes. 

Thursday night Ben had a soccer game nearby so we went (Tyler, Ruby, Penny, Grams and me). They won with a score of 1 to 0 so it was a tight game and he did not get to play. It was not exactly a fun watch either because Ruby was being a total nightmare. She fell at one point and got a scratch on her leg and then spent the rest of the time crying over the scratch because she did not want to see it. She wailed like we were abusing her and I kept having to walk her around behind the bleachers until she calmed herself. But then she would see the cut and the tears would reactivate. It was miserable.

Friday morning Lucy mowed Sister Miller's lawn while Ruby and I went to the park. Ruby spent most of the time on a thing with seats that you sit on while someone pushes it so it goes around (sort of like a merry go round). She made some friends while on it (mostly with the grandma in it, lol) and would sit sometimes and other times help push. 

Friday night we went to Amelia's first birthday party (Tyler, Ruby and me). It just consisted of eating cupcakes and socializing on their driveway. A family that came had brought a scooter and Ruby kept trying to ride it which was causing me to panic inside thanks to Penny's accident. Thankfully no one was injured. The Massey's were there as well and I enjoyed chatting with them. They are good people and I haven't had a chance to visit with them for awhile. 

Saturday Penny, Ben, Ruby, Grams and I went on a road trip to Grand Rapids to go check out the Chihuly Exhibit at Fredrick Meijers Gardens It was a longer drive so I took some pain killers for my leg so it didn't bother me too much. It was warmer than I would have liked but not too bad. I love any outing involving nature and artwork so I really enjoyed seeing all the sculptures and the additional glass art by Chihuly. Ruby was a bit whiney in the beginning and not a fan of the giant horse statue (although she gave the small horse statue a high five) but she eventually came around and seemed to have a good time, We also had the fun of her needing to pee and of course, there wasn't a bathroom super close by, but we did make it. We enjoyed reading plaques and talking about how the titles related to the statues. Ben thought the glass art we saw in the water near the building looked like onions and it turns out he was on point with that- they were modeled after onions. 

Eventually the heat got to us and we ended our exploration of the grounds. Ben was nice and offered to watch Ruby at the play area so us girls could go see the indoor Chihuly exhibit. I am so glad we got to go see it. His work is really beautiful. Penny thought she was funny and kept making me nervous by getting extra close to art pieces. I am sure that we would be in debt for the rest of our lives if she broke anything in there. I swear sometimes my older kids are just as bad as my toddler.

After the indoor exhibit, I went and got a soaking wet Ruby from Ben- he had let her have a little too much fun in the water play area. We changed her and then bought her some cotton candy because she is just like her dad and obsessed with it. Then we headed home. On our way home we stopped at the Horrocks Market in Lansing so everyone could get a treat. We are such a sugar addicted family. Once home, I was quite pooped so that was pretty much the end of my excitement for the day.

School Starts, Crazy Storms

During second hour at church on Sunday they introduced the new youth curriculum. It will be interesting to see how the new change of having sunday school and then RS/EQ/YW/YM will go. I am sure the changing of classes is going to take awhile before everyone actually does that promptly and quietly. 

Monday after Ben got back from school, I took him, Ruby and Penny to Chuck E. We hadn't been for awhile so the kids had a good time. Chuck E came out to do a dance and then jumped on the mini carousel with Ruby and another toddler after. I felt slightly awkward watching a grown up in a mouse suit ride the carousel with my kid, but I think Ruby thought that was cool. When we finished up there we went to Costco for lunch. Penny and Ruby always get smoothies and Ben loves the hot dog and soda combo. 

Tuesday was the girls' first day of school and the boys' first day of college. Lucy got to do PAW Patrol again (even though the lady in charge kept forgetting to email us about it) and meanwhile Penny was worried she would not be able to find her classes because they had re-numbered the classrooms. It is such a small school that Penny could probably walk through it in less than 5 minutes, I wonder how she will feel about high school?

I dropped the girls off and then Ruby and I had a very chill day. I took her to Dollar Tree to get some coloring books and then we did some school- we learned about the letter "A". I really want to teach her but I am not sure the curriculum I bought will work for me. It requires printing and prep and I think I probably need something I can just open up and do. I'm not sure this one is sustainable. Ruby seemed pretty good at entertaining herself that morning so I ended up also finding time to bake some muffins and make some salsa. I wish I had more time to cook. I like eating homemade things.

Tuesday evening Ben had a soccer game. It didn't end up starting until 8pm due to the hot weather. Lucy was nice and offered to watch Ruby so Grams, Tyler and I could all go watch the game. It was a great game to watch. His team ended up with a mercy win 9-1. Ben got to play for about 20 minutes and had some good moments out there.

Wednesday morning we had our first day of homeschool work. It wasn't terrible because their wasn't too much to do. After they finished their work we went to the Back to School Picnic. It was so hot but thankfully I was able to spend most of our time there sitting at a shady bench chatting with Nahoko while Ruby played at the splash pad. I think this was Ruby's first time at a splash pad which is crazy to me. It's hard having older siblings who don't like to do younger kid things. Lucy spent her time hanging with Mila and Penny flitted from friend to friend because I don't think she really has a bestie this year- just lots of friends in different friend circles.

Wednesday night I went to Grace's where I continued to work on my paint by number.I am making slow progress but progress all the same. She has had a bit of a rough week and we are both just in the thick of motherhood with raising teens so that always leads to good conversation. Later on that night, after I was safely back home, we had a crazy lightening storm. Non stop flashes and thundering. That does not soothe me like it might others, so it took me a bit to fall asleep.

Thursday, after I dropped the girls off at school, Ruby and I met Kara at a park near the girl's school. It was soaking wet from the storms the night before, but thankfully we had a towel. Ruby and Amelia spent most of their time swinging. Then we went for a short walk by a river. It was actually a pretty deep and swift river so Ruby had fun throwing sticks in it and watching them float away. In the hour we were there it started warming up pretty good and with high humidity we decided it was time to head out.

After the park we went to the library and as we were driving home from the library, we could hear tornado sirens. That was worrisome but we ended up just getting a downpour and nothing too crazy. Later, after I picked up the girls from school, we were chilling when Tyler called me and told me that he was heading to the basement at work for a tornado warning and he told me I should go get his HAM radio because it seemed like it might head our way. The radio said the effect was for Livingston county and not Oakland so I thought we were fine. Ruby, Lucy and I were outside listening to thunder when suddenly my phone blared a tornado warning. I quickly gathered the kids- everyone was home- and we were heading to the basement when I got a call from the Sister missionaries. They said they were 5 minutes away from us and wondered if they could shelter with us. I said of course, and told them they could shelter with me or my parents. I thought I would shuffle us all over to my parents since they have a nicer basement and then we could have the missionaries go there, but when I opened the door it was pouring and windy and I thought that was probably not a great idea. I sent my kids went to our basement- Penny was crying and all her older siblings were bullying her and we were pretty much a disaster. Meanwhile our power went out and I was waiting for the missionaries to leave their car and come in. 

I went to both doors looking for them and somehow missed them. I thought about leaving the doors open but I could barely open the storm doors against the wind. After much too long they came to our side door and I got them inside. They were drenched. I think what had happened is that they went to our front door when I was at our side door and then they went to my parents door while I was at my front door. I feel awful about the whole thing but thankfully they ended up inside with us and safe in our basement- dripping puddles on the floor because they were so soaked. At least by that time all my kids had chilled out. I was trying to be the grown up and keep everyone calm and find flashlights and listen to Tyler's radio. I don't like being the one in charge- Tyler is better at these things. Eventually we deemed it safe to go upstairs and gratefully our house took no damage but many of our neighbors did not fair so well. Our neighbor's tree fell on their garage and hit a small part of our fence. There was another neighbor who had a tree fall on their house. It looks like a war zone.

We were still out of power that evening. Tyler had gotten the generator on but it just felt like too much of an ordeal to get the oven hooked up and cook dinner so we went out to eat at Culver's. While we were out eating, my parent's power came back on, but not ours. They are lucky!

We still had no power Friday. Gratefully the storms had cooled the temperatures so it wasn't boiling in our house- just dark. I was going to do a day trip to Port Huron with some of the kids after lunch but the weather was iffy so I ended up taking the kids to Target instead. Totally just as exciting, ha. I saw someone from our ward who was also without power. We commiserated. The only other real excitement Friday, was watching the neighbors get the tree removed from their garage roof with a crane.

Saturday we still had no power. Ben, Ruby, my mom and I ended up taking the trip to Lake Huron. We stopped at Chick Fil A on our way there- I think that may have been the only reason Ben and Penny came with us. Then we went to Lakeport State Park Beach. I realized too late that my license plate did not have the state park pass on it which is frustrating because I know we asked for it at the dealership. Thankfully no one ticketed us. Our time at the lake was really nice. At first their was slight drama because a small wave splashed Ruby in the face and that scared her, but then Ben and Penny went out deeper into the lake with her and she was quite happy to let the waves rock her (since Ben was holding her). When Ben got tired to standing in the waves with her, he came back to shore where we learned she was still terrified of the shallow water. Then we built some sand castles and then made some "art" with rocks that we found. After that, they went out one more time in the water and it was time to go home. 

On our way home I was going to stop by the Sanderson Chocolate Factory- since we had passed it on our way there- but somehow I ended up with their office building address instead. We did not get to go to the chocolate factory. I had to make up for that disappointment so we stopped at an ice cream shop instead. All in all it was a fun getaway. The only thing that would have made the day better would have been having our power be back on when we arrived home. Alas it didn't end up coming back on until Sunday, while we were at church.