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.

Renaissance Festival

Monday morning I went to my new dentist to get 2 fillings (both on opposite sides of my mouth). The first shot was fine but the second shot was very painful. The rest of the procedure was probably the smoothest I have had in a bit. The worst part was keeping my mouth open for 2 fillings- I felt like a snake unhinging my jaw. My jaw ached for days after that. The one tooth went back to normal pretty quickly but the other one is still not 100%. I am hopeful that doesn't mean that I will need more dental work. 

With my mouth still numb, I went to old navy with the girls to do some jean shopping. Lucy hates shopping for jeans because she is so tall and thin and it is hard to find something that fits correctly. The jeans she tried on were, of course, too short. I ended up ordering that pair of jeans online for her in tall. Hopefully that will be successful. Penny found some fun cargo jeans that fit- she just needed to have the waistband tightened as far as it goes. She looks very "skater girl".  

Tuesday morning I walked to the library with Grace. She had a lot of drama to share about her oldest and some parenting conflicts with her husband to share too. Motherhood and marriage and all the things are hard. I can't judge her because I have experienced the things she is going through but I don't know, I think I would probably be more likely to parent more like her husband. I would never tell her that though. It wouldn't be helpful.

Tuesday after lunch I went with poppy, Lucy and Ben too see "At the End of Oak Street". I love me a good dinosaur movie but this one was just ok. There was a lot of silly things that didn't quite work- like a dinosaur being more offended by being hit by a bat then shot with a gun. I also didn't love the marriage drama with the parents. But it was still an ok movie to watch. I just don't feel any need to watch it again.

After the movie Ruby and I met Asher at the dog beach. The weather was nice and she had fun chasing Asher and his brothers around and playing in the water. They even found some little toads that Asher refused to let go of. The only set backs were that Ruby's hatred of the porta potty led her to pooping her pants while we were there so that wasn't very fun. Also, the wasps living under the sand are still there and I don't love that. Overall a nice outing. 

Tuesday evening I hosted book club. Sandra, Becky, Marlene, Grace, Mandi, my mom and I attended. We discussed the book "Dandelion Summer". I didn't love that book and was not feeling excited about our meeting but it ended up being a good time. We ate ice cream because they had a lot of ice cream in the book and then I pulled out my power point of questions. We talked about taking care of aging parents and cross generational friendships. After our discussion, some people brought pictures from their childhood and shared family stories. Then I gave everyone a notebook so we could start logging our books that we read. We spent some time decorating the covers of the notebook. Grace was less quiet this time and stayed longer and that was nice.

Wednesday was Ben's first day of his Junior Year of High School. It was weird to just have him starting school. Next week the girls will start and classes at OCC will start for Steven and Ben. I woke up early so I could document his first day and then couldn't get back to sleep.

Wedensday night Tyler, Penny, Ruby, Grams and I went to Ben's Soccer Game. He got out on the field for the last 25 minutes so that was nice. He is really improving and almost got a goal- so close! Ruby and I wandered around for most of the beginning of the game but I was able to get her to sit down at the end so I could watch Ben. She really likes putting these transparent post its on her coloring book. At one point a nice lady was trying to be nice and asked Ruby to help her take a picture but Ruby was not very good at pushing the button so it was kind of awkward. Anyways, in the end Ben's team won, 5-0.

Thursday morning, I dropped Lucy off at Renaissance so she could help with new student orientation (they call the older kids helping the new kids, Paw Patrol). Lucy got grumpy with me when I asked about how her skirt was fitting her (it already looks small). I was just trying to find out if we needed to buy a bigger one but you would have thought I was attacking her. While she was at the school, Penny, Ruby and me went to Target. I was curious about Ruby's size and so we did a little Ruby fashion show. She looked so cute in wide leg jeans and sweatpants. If Target has a sale on toddler clothes, I will be buying these. 

After the fashion show she pronounced she was "done shopping", but unfortunately I still had to get some things and Penny had a giftcard she wanted to spend. The next part of our shopping trip was rough because she did not want to be there. After Target, we still had to do a quick stop at Walmart, and then we were able to pick up Lucy from school and pick up their school books for the year. Ever since Penny befriended the directors granddaughter (during a church camp), she has been friendlier to us, that's kind of nice.

Thursday afternoon I took Ben to OCC to help him pick up a book he needed for a class and to help him find his classes. He has been angry/grumpy lately and he got mad at me before we left because he didn't know what classroom one of his classes was in and he was seemingly incapable of finding out. He has been challenging lately. Thankfully he calmed down by the time we got to OCC and we had a nice time walking around campus and learning what buildings are where. Luckily it seems like all his classes will be pretty close to the parking lot.

On Friday, Elaine hosted a birthday brunch for me, Ranell and Sherstin (we all have birthdays in August). Only 2 other people came- Naoko and Kassie- but I like small group things. She made crepes that were delicious and we chatted while all the kids swam in the pool. Sherstin was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and her story about how she came about the diagnosis is really sad. She found out because of a miscarriage. She had been prompted to have a fifth child and so she thinks maybe that was divine intervention to help her discover the cancer. She is much more faithful than me and admire that about her. 

Friday night we ran to the dollar tree with 4 out of the 5 kids for treats and boy are we a crowd. Then we came home and watched the first Tom Holland Spiderman. It was fun to introduce the girls to Spiderman.

Saturday we headed off bright and early to the Renassiance Festival. We had to take 2 cars and I was anxious about driving-I don't like festival traffic/parking- but it ended up not being stressful. We got there around the time it opened so maybe that helped? We did our usual of bringing canned food donations for BOGO tickets but,  similar to last year, someone gifted us 4 tickets when we were walking to the box office. In the end we only paid for 2 tickets. I am grateful for that good luck.  

I liked the beginning of our outing best. The weather was cloudy and perfect and it wasn't super crowded. Ruby played on the play ground and made a fairy wand. Then I got a henna tattoo. It was overpriced and I think I need to buy my own stuff and try doing it myself instead. Next we attempted to find the mermaids, failed, and ended up back in the kids area where Ruby made a fairy potion. We then went back out to where the mermaids were and ended up getting a merman instead- Penny said he was "zesty". It seemed fitting but I'm not if that's ok to say or no. Everyone is sensitive these days. Ruby was at first frightened of the merman and disappointed not to have a girl, but then he had her twirl and I think all was forgiven. 

Next we ate lunch and watched the birds of prey show from the sidelines (because you can't have food at the performance area). I always like seeing the birds and I think the kids enjoyed it too. 

After the birds of prey show, we saw a snake slithering around. Later, during the jousting, others spotted it, and a woman carried it away from the horses.

Ben and Tyler, after much waiting, got their traditional turkey legs. (Note Ben's fun peasant outfit- a last minute put together)

Next, the girls and I went shopping. Lucy and Ruby ended up getting parasols. Penny got elf ears. 

 

Then we had about 20 minutes of waiting time until the jousting started and of course, the sun decided to come out. Everyone was hot and whiney. The parasols did come in handy but the kids kept putting them away  because they worried about poking people with them and blocking views. I love the jousting but I wish they would do it earlier in the day and not wait until the hottest part of the day. As usual we ended up on the side with the bald father (he jousts against his son) and as usual he won. Ruby did not love the fast horses and the breaking lances. It made her nervous. I wonder what she will think of it next year.

After baking in the sun, everyone was pretty crabby so it was time to head out. We got some cotton candy and Steven, much to my shock, went and bought a $350 dagger with his own money. I feel like that was such a waste of money but Tyler says I just don't understand boys. Steven said it was his last chance to waste money at the Renaissance Festival since he will be on a mission next year. I think he's not dying and will have other opportunities to waste his money. But also, I am glad that he still enjoys going to the festival with us.