Father's Day

For Father's Day Tyler was spoiled. Lucy got him some pretty wild sunglasses, Penny got him a magnet, Ben got him a punny shooting stars tee shirt, Steven got him an American bowtie and I got him a golden tie. The kids also filled out this book I bought on Amazon called "Dad I Wrote a Book About You". I think that was my favorite thing he got. They wrote and drew some pretty great thigs.

For breakfast Lucy made him a peanut butter and banana sandwich but she may have jumped the gun a bit because by the time he woke up, the bananas were a little rotten. It was very thoughtful of her though. At church for the special musical number, Tyler and a few other men sung with the primary. It was nice, they did good.

After church we met with a stake high council member and I got released from seminary. Tyler did not get released. He will be teaching with another member of a Ward and they will both be teaching at someone else's house. It'll be nice to not have my house taken over but I feel bad about this other couple forfeiting their house when they don't even have teens at home anymore. I did a lot of the administrative part of seminary these past couple of years and I have a feeling I still might be doing that stuff for him...we shall see.

When that was all done it was back home, where Tyler took a nap and I made his favorite dinner, spicy chicken chipolte. That evening Mariah and her family came over and we had snowcones and the kids played. It really is nice having family here.

Monday Steven and I had eye appointments. I had them do some scan of my eye and they said it looked like I had fluid behind my eye. It is possible that it is just because of pregnancy but they want me to come back for an eye dilation after pregnancy. With the constant floaters I have, I wouldn't be surprised if there is a genuine problem with my eyes but let's hope it's just pregnancy. I also, after 8 years of the same glasses, finally bought myself some new glasses. The lady said she thinks she can make the lenses slightly thinner- here's hoping! She also was very chatty about babies and such thing and I didn't mind but Steven was obviously bored to tears.

After watching the May kids for 4 days, along with several other friends coming over, it was nice to have a quiet house Tuesday. Lucy and Steven were at friend's houses for the afternoon/evening. Tyler ended up going shooting with some friends that night as well so I took Penny, and Ben to Chick-Fil-A for dinner. Afterwards we went to pick up some frames at Hobby Lobby and ended up in line behind a woman with a cart full of returns. There was only one cashier and it took him a good 5 minutes before he called for back up. It was irking.

Wednesday afternoon the girls went swimming with friends. I wish I had a maternity swimsuit because it's been so warm lately and a swim sounds really nice but I just am having a hard time justifying buying a swimsuit that I will only use for 6 weeks. 

Thursday and Friday we used our Defy passes- only now Defy has been taken over by SkyZone so they have a new name, although everything else is the same. Friday was a little bit busier, I am guessing because of the rain. They also actually looked at our socks and since they were not Defy or Skyzone socks I had to buy new ones. They were much more on top of the rules.

Saturday morning both boys were able to caddie. And the weather cooperated so that Tyler could work on the deck all day. It was a pretty, chill Saturday for me. Just driving the boys to where they needed to be.

Little Mermaid and Things

Tuesday morning I tried out a new breakfast place with Stefanie, it's called Anna's House. I got lemon poppy seed crepes with cream cheese filling and blueberry sauce- they were delicious! We talked about our kids as per usual. One of her kiddos is having problems with a "friend" who is bullying him. Recently I was catching up on messages on the phone from Steven's friends (the kids all know that their is no privacy on the family phone) and realized Steven has a friend who is a bit of a bully too. It's so hard to know when to intervene and how to help. Why are kids so mean?

Tuesday afternoon I took the kids to see "The Little Mermaid." The first half was pretty much the same as the animated but the second half they changed up and they added a few new songs. It was all right but not my favorite. The girls seemed to like it. We took their friends- Geli and Luna. Both of their friends needed bathroom breaks at separate times during the movie. Super fun to have to walk my big pregnant belly pass movie watchers twice. When the movie ended we heard this loud sound and when we got out we realized it was hailing. It sounded so loud in the lobby. I decided to sacrafice myself and pull up the car so the girls didn't have to walk in it. Of course, as soon as I got in the car, it stopped hailing.

In the evening my friend Julie sent me a text to see if I wanted to go for a walk. I decided it would be good for me to get out and walk so I joined her. But when we had got down by the lake, the weather decided to go crazy again and it started to rain on us and then hail. It was a long, soggy walk home. We were both drenched, despite trying to hide out under trees. It was quite an adventure.

Wednesday was Steven's first official day of summer so I had a nice lazy morning since I don't have to take him to school anymore. It feels good to be able to sleep in again. Ben had a fun birthday party with a friend from church. They went bowling and then had pizza at a park. While he was at the party the girls and I ran some errands. We want to frame some pics they painted to put up in their room but boy are frames expensive so we're going to wait for a sale. 

Thursday morning the girls went to a little sports camp that a family in our ward does. They played soccer and Penny came back talking all about it- she had a blast. Lucy just grumbled about getting bug bites. That afternoon I had another baby check up. I have now gained over 30 pounds- yipee. Dr says everything is looking good and dismissed any concerns I have. I also apparently can't meet the person who will be performing my surgery because he is strictly a hospital dr I guess. That makes me nervous. After my appointment Steven had his well visit with a pretty young PA. Our usual dr was sick- again! We had already rescheduled once. This makes me a bit nervous about using her as Ruby's dr since those visits are more frequent and necessary.

Friday morning the girls had their second session of the sports camp- it was water day. We are also watching Lizzie so she came along. I had to pick them all up early though because Lucy had a dentist appt- she chipped one of molars on a Skittle. When I picked her up one mom there called my stomach little- that was nice. This time all the girls were unhappy about having to leave early. At the dentist, they decided just to paint her tooth with some sort of sealant to protect it and hopefully that'll work until it falls out within the next year. 

Friday evening I took Steven, Ben and Andrea to see "The Boogeyman". It was pretty scary and maybe a little too scary for Ben. He ended up in our room for a bit that night. 

Saturday we went to a grad party for Abbie. I mostly hung out with my own kids. However, someone I haven't seen since she moved almost 5 years ago came to the grad party as well. It was a little awkward but nice to see her again. We really didn't start chatting until I had already told my kids we were leaving so we didn't get to chat much. *sigh* It always seems like as I go to leave that people start chatting with me.

That evening Mariah took my maternity pics. My friend Melissa was nice enough to do my hair and the girls' hair- we felt fancy. Mariah made us do awkward poses and it was funny to watch her deal with Tyler's protests- she wouldn't have any of that. It'll be interesting to see how they turn out. Afterwards I took Tyler for a Father's Day dinner at Dick's BBQ.

Soccer, Playdates, Burning HW

On Sunday Ben had his last soccer game and although he typically chooses not to play Sunday games, he decided to play this one. He was a little nervous because of the incident at the last game but he got over the nerves quickly. His team ended up winning 3 to 0. They had a really good season. They lost their first game, tied their second game and then won the next 6 games. I wish he had more play time but he has really excelled at Defense.

Monday the kids officially finished up thier school work. I failed this year and didn't do any last day of school pictures but...they are done! So happy to have a break! When they finished up all their work, we decided to finally use our summer passes to Defy- I had bought them a few weeks ago. I'm so glad I bought them. It was nice to have the kids blow off some energy and I was able to just sit and read a book. When we were checking in, the guy asked if I wanted to jump too. Lol, I'm sure a 7 month pregnant woman jumping would be quite entertaining but probably not so good for the baby. Driving to and from Defy was less than fun though- they decided to do construction on Commerce and it added an extra 10 minutes to a normally few minute drive. 

Tuesday morning we had to go turn in our school books to Renaissance. The neighbors across from our driveway were cutting down all their trees in their front yard and the workers were blocking our driveway, thankfully they moved so we could go. I am a little sad that they cut down all thier trees. I know the trees cause a lot of problems in storms but they sure make our neighborhood look pretty. After we dropped off our school books, the kids met some friends at Heritage Park- Claire, Mimi, Aiden- and we met Mariah's family. The weather was a bit cool but I find in my pregnant state, I am enjoying the cool more. Mimi's mom is nice but she is much more a helicopter mom than me which is more possible when you have only one kid. She made a comment about how some parents just let their kids run around the park without watching them...which is what I do, as long as they have a buddy. I mean I do my best to be able to see them but it is impossible to keep my eyes on all of them at once because they rarely play in the same place.

Wednesday morning the girls met some friends at Defy. I had been planning on having a lazy morning but when they heard their friends wanted to meet up, the lazy morning was no longer an option but at least I ended up with a lazy afternoon... Except they were still cutting trees down across the street from us so it was a little hard to relax with all the chainsawing.

Thursday I finally had my lazy morning. I slept in (after dropping Steven off at school) and then we worked on Father's Day pictures and things. Then that afternoon I took out the kids to find Father's Day gifts. Penny and Ben were pretty good at making decisions on what they thought Tyler would like (a funny magnet, and t-shirt) but Lucy and Steven struggled. Lucy ended up picking out some pretty wild looking sunglasses but Steven still hasn't got anything. That night Tyler and I went out. We got some food at IHOP and strolled Menards. We have such exciting dates ;)

Friday we had some friends over during the day and my new rug for the old seminary room came! It smells a little funny and I don't absolutely love it but I think for $90 it will work. Bad lighting but here it is:

That evening my friends and I met up at Grace's house. We had some yummy snack and chatted. I have been feeling a little off with them lately...not sure if it is the baby or what...Melissa also keeps commenting on my massive weight gain which doesn't make me feel great about myself. Then there's the fact that the teenage daughters hang with us too and it feels weird. Especially with some of the things my friends talk about.

Saturday I ran some errands in the morning, and then we had a full house of kids. 3 of the May kids, one of Lucy's friends, Mariah and her 3 kids and one of Ben's friends from school. In the evening, the kids that were still at our house, burned old school work. This was Ben's idea for celebrating the end of the school year. Him and his friends had a lot of fun making comments on how much they hated the different work and then throwing that work into the fire. Once it was all burnt, they had s'mores- it was quite the celebration.

End of Soccer

 Sunday after church Mariah's family had us over for dinner. They had Hawaiian chicken and it was very good, Jeff is an excellent cook. They also had a pony keg of root beer and even though I usually stay away from soda, I decided to try this soda and it was some really good root beer. The kids had a good time playing with Jeff and Mariah's kids and then fighting Jeff in Smash Brothers- he completely smashed them.

Monday was Memorial Day. I spent a lot of the day organizing some more and cleaning up the house. Steven helped me build a cube storage for the guest room and a cart for the baby's room. It was really nice of him. That afternoon we invited friends and family over to our beach- Bloomfields, Eakins, Mays, and Jones. Everyone just brought their own food and we hung out. It was an ok time. My friends sat under the ramada for a long while and somehow I ended up alone at the beach making sure children didn't drown- as if I would be much help with my fat belly. But near the end Brother Eakins swum out to the dock and challenged all the kids to push him off. It was pretty entertaining to watch. Once David got involved they were finally able to "dethrone" him. Steven was not into it but Lucy and Ben gave some valiant efforts.

Tuesday the girls had friends over. Penny's new friend from school, Mimi, came over with her mom. Her mom insisted on staying. She is from Japan orginally so we talked a lot about things in Japan- everything from how you read a book to health insurance, lol. It was actually really interesting to converse with her. After she left I took Penny, Lucy and Lucy's friend, Claire, to the beach for a short bit. It wasn't too hot in the shade and they all had a good time while I worked on some thank you notes. 

Wednesday Ben went with me to run some errands and pick up a bench to go in the old seminary room. The bench was heavier than I expected so we had a bit of a hard time hefting it into my car and may have broken one of the legs. Thankfully the legs are super short and unnecessary so I will probably just break them all off and it will be fine. That night Ben had a soccer game and I had Tyler take him since it was pretty warm outside. I took the other kids to seminary graduation which was their Wed night activity. While we were there Tyler sent me a text that he was taking Ben to the hospital. This freaked me out so we left the graduation, blame it on pregnancy hormones. Poor Ben got kicked in the groin by someone wearing cleats. He ended up with a cut where his penis meets his body. Talk about a painful and awkward injury. ER said it looked to be ok but to double check with a urologist.

Thursday I went to the dentist and my poor sensitive gums took a beating but the hygienist was very friendly and fun to chat with. She has a high school freshman and a husband who works in the education field so there's plenty to chat about. After getting my teeth cleaned, I went straight to my obgyn appointment. My midwife measured my tummy and listened to Ruby's heartbeat and everything is good. I feel like she has been less helpful lately so I don't bother her with all my aches and pains. She was supposed to give a chiropractor referral and never did. When I got home Penny helped me put together the new cage I got for our birds. It is less wide and on wheels, I really like it. The birds are adjusting, they don't love it yet. That evening the girls had their last soccer practice. I hid out in the library as per usual and when I came back to get the girls, I found out I was the last parent there. Apparently they had let them out early because it was so warm outside. Ugh, I hate when people have to wait on me.  

Friday was another busy day. That morning I took Ben to the urologist to get his bits and pieces checked. The dr took a look and said everything is healing fine and nothing vital was hit. They just recommeneded putting ointment on it and it would be fine. *phew* After that I came home and then Penny went with me to pick up a changing pad for Ruby from someone on FB marketplace. It was a bit of a drive but a good deal. When I got home, Grace came by and gave me some rearranging, decorating help for the old seminary room. She is really good at interior decorating and I love the way she arranged things. She also gave me some good advice on picking an area rug so I think I will get it right this time. When she left, Ashlee dropped off her 2 year old, June. The girls had been so excited to watch her but realized toddlers are a bit of work. Mariah and her kids also came over so it was quite the party at our house. 

That night, the girls and I went to see Abbie's senior showcase (a yw from church). I did not realize it was going to be so long so it was a late night for the girls but a lot of the musical numbers were good listens- although some pepole were more on key than others. Abbie was amazing as per usual though.

Saturday morning the girls had a soccer game and it was soooo hot. Mariah was amazing and came with her 3 kids to watch but her youngest was just so miserable in the heat. I felt so bad. At the very end of the girls' game, 2 goals were scored and the game ended in a tie. The girls got awards for being the most improved. I agree with that award, they have improved!

I was in major need of a shower after that game. That afternoon, Corinne came to see me- she drove all the way from Indiana. She brought her 8 month old, Della. We went to the grocery store, chatted while she made me a banana pie (she said that was one of my baby shower gifts), we had Tyler watch Della while we went to Arby's for dinner and then hung out some more. Della was really fussy most of the time so the girls are starting to wonder how much they really want a baby sister ;)

Face Paint, Art, DQ

 On Monday we did schoolwork in the morning and then my mom was nice and took the girls shopping for some clothes. She felt that since Ruby got so spoiled, they needed a little spoiling too. They both got new swimsuits and a new outfit. That evening my mom came with me to the girls' soccer practice in Milford and we chatted in the car, took a walk to the library to use the restrooms, and then chatted some more in the car. It was nice to have company for once while I waited for the girls.

Tuesday morning we had a belated Mother's Day dinner at Lena's Kitchen. It was me, my mom, Leslie, Mariah, Wesley and Mariah's mother in law, Lynn. The food was sooooo good! My mom and I got a savory crepe and sweet crepe and shared. Mostly the conversation was good, although at one point Leslie, Mariah and Lynn were all talking about someone they knew that my mom and I did not now. But that was a short moment. 

Tuesday evening my mom and I went to Ben's soccer game. It was a good game to watch. They won 1-0. They kept trying to make more goals and failing but the other team never really got close to making any goals. I was glad to have my mom there since the other parents seem to ignore me. It was nice to have company. 

Wednesday morning we had the bishopric come to seminary. They played a game against the whole seminary class. We had NT questions and incorporated our "hooky game" that we have. It was a lot of fun to watch how competitive they all got. In the end the Bishopric won with the last question but the seminary students contested and begged for another question. They insisted on doing a doctorinal mastery as a question which worked in their favor because the Bishopric was not as well aquainted with them.

For lunch on Wednesday, my mom and I took the younger 3 to their end of the year picnic. The weather was really nice and there was some good food being served. My mom and I ended up sitting with Cherish and a new friend, Nahoko, while the kids played. Nahoko is from Japan and it was really interesting conversation learning about how she adjusted to such a change when moving here. Ben initially wanted to go home because he couldn't find any of his friends but then he found friends and we had a hard time getting him to leave. The girls both really enjoyed getting their faces painited- even though I was the worst and accidentaly smeared Penny's face paint. Luckily she was able to get her other cheek painted too and I did not smear that one.

Thursday morning I took my second 1 hour glucose test and this time I did not feel so yucky and this time I passed! I got a 133 and I needed less than 135. I realize that is still pretty close to not passing so I am trying to make better food choices and not gorge out on junk food quite so much. When I got home I did school work with the kids, we went to DQ for lunch (not quite helping my resolve to eat better) and then my mom and I did some painting. It was fun to introduce her to pour art. Even though she wasn't happy with hers, I think it still turned out good. Her's is the blue and orange one and mine is the rainbow one. 

 

That evening Tyler and Steven attended their Robotic's Banquet, which I had to force Steven to go to. Honestly, free dinner and he was complaining. My mom and I took the girl's to soccer while they were at their banquet and this time we hit up the farmer's market. My mom ended up buying this English Toffee that was soooo good (once again testing my resolve to eat good). She also got some cookies for all the kids. 

Friday morning was our last day of seminary. I have loved teaching seminary but I have also struggled massively with the lack of sleep. I have such mixed feelings about being done and not being able to teach that group of teens anymore but also, I am so ready to sleep in. After all I only have about 2 more months to enjoy sleep before a baby is going to be interrupting a good night's rest. I also am excited to reclaim my front living room and spent a good portion of the day deciding how I want to do that and starting the process. After school work was done, me, my mom and Lucy went to run some errands. I was looking for some thank you gifts for my friends that hosted my shower, a housewarming gift for Mariah's family, and a rug for that front room because the carpet has gotten so gross. Ikea ended up being a winner for finding all the things, although in the end, I returned the rug because it just didn't look good. I probably drove my mom and Lucy crazy with being so indecisive while we were shopping.

Friday evening, after the boys got back from a birthday party, we all watched the D&D movie with grandma- it was our 3rd time, her 1st. They really do love that movie,

Saturday morning the boys woke up bright and early for another caddying job. This time they got tipped really well- like $20. Meanwhile I had to take my mom to the airport which was sad, it's always hard to say goodbye. I spent the rest of the day clearing out that front living room, organizing the guest room, organizing diapers I got from the shower...maybe I am nesting? If I am nesting I still have a long way to go before things are up to par but I have made some progress. 

Baby Shower and Rebekka's Visit

Sunday was mother's day and it was a pretty nice day. Tyler made me my traditional crepes in the morning. In sacrament the primary sang some cute songs and then gave all the mom's tissue paper flowers. For RS we got to eat good food and chat with friends. After church I took a nap and then Tyler helped me make dinner. The kids all made me nice notes and I got an awesome Lego minifigure puzzle and a charcuterie board so I can be fancy now. 

Tuesday the boys had a youth temple trip and I decided to take them so I could have some low key temple time. It is always nice to be in the temple, it so quiet and calming. And it's extra nice when I can just sit there and enjoy the peacefulness without having to do anything.

Wednesday morning the girl and I went to see their friends in a play at Renaissance. It was pretty cute for a small production. There friend's mom brought their little sister who was rather noisy and there was this family that kept turning around and giving them nasty looks. I am not looking forward to people who don't have any sympathy for mom's of little ones. 

Thursday morning I went and took my glucose test and I did not pass. I wasn't super surprised because for some reason I was feeling sick when I went in and then just felt even worse with the drink. Surprisingly enough a lady from the ward was a the lab too and we had a good chat while we waited which helped distract me from how yucky I was feeling. I ended up getting a 143 and the dr wanted me to get 135. Thankfully my dr agreed to let me take the 1 hour test one more time before being subjected to the awful 3 hour fasting test.

Late Thursday night my mom flew in so she could be at my baby shower and hang with us a bit. Since I had Seminary the next morning, I did not stay up to greet her but our seminary class woke her up early the next morning, poor thing. They are not good at being quiet.  

I feel bad because not only did I not stay up to welcome my mom here but then while I was doing school work with my kids Friday morning, a migraine decided to hit so I had to hide up in my room and try to sleep it off. The sleep helped, I was still a little light sensitive, but not totally useless which was good because that afternoon my friend Rebekka flew in. I picked her up from the airport and then we went straight to our airbnb. We chatted for a bit, picked up some snacks and breakfast food from a nearby grocery store and then we met my family at the church building for a spaghetti dinner youth fundraiser. The fundraiser was pretty successful, the food was good and the youth all did various performances which was pretty fun. My kids did a little skit involving an invisible bench that had moved. There was also a bagpipe performance, a comedic magician, and a funny make up tutorial. I also managed to get spaghetti sauce spots all over my shirt, I'm a terrible messy spaghetti eater. When it came time for the dessert auction, Rebekka and I headed back to our bnb which had a creepy windowless van in the yard and a downstairs apartment that we could hear weird sounds from. We stayed up late talking about the book she is trying to write and eating our junk food. 

Saturday morning with the long day Rebekka had traveling and the time difference she slept in pretty late. My body, however, would not allow me to sleep in so I had a chill morning getting ready and reading while I waited for her to awake. Once she was up and ready, we decided to go to the John K King Bookstore in Detroit. On the drive there she got to witness the rough patches of Detroit, it always makes me sad to see the burnt out houses. We had a good time strolling the book aisles. She found some books on religion for her husband- they have been on a bit of a faith journey, not leaving the church but not necessarily fully committed anymore. We had a lot of interesting church discussions while she was visiting.  

 

After strolling the book store we went to Belle Isle and did a little walk. It was a bit chilly for a walk and my dress kept blowing up to reveal my shorts underneath which was awkward but Rebekka seemed excited by the prospect that she could see Canada across the river. What's funny is she lives in Washington so she's not so far from Canada either.

After our Belle Isle adventure we went to my house where I gave her a tour. I was a bit embarrassed because lately my house seems to be in a constant messy state. Trying to add baby things into our already cramped space has been tricky and still needs some work. Then it was time for all us ladies to go to my baby shower. My friends did such a good job throwing me a baby shower. The decorations were so cute, the food was yummy, I didn't have to unwrap gifts awkwardly in front of people- they came and set them on a table as I greeted them- and there was just one game and it wasn't an awkward one- just a matching game that involved candy. The only set back is I have no idea who gave me what- by the time the gifts got home, the cards were no longer attached with gifts and I had forgotten who had given me what. It's not a huge deal because those who bought from my registeries, it'll show what they got online, and I can do a generic thank you for the gift for those that came. I am bummed that I didn't get a picture with me and my mom or me and Rebekka at the shower seeing how they flew so far to be here for it. But I got some good photos with my friends that hosted the party (Caroline, Ashlee, Grace and Melissa) and I did get a photo with Corinne who surprised me by driving all the way from Indiana to be at my baby shower. When all was said and done, I really just felt so loved and supported. 

  

After the baby shower I took my presents home and then Rebekka and I went back to the airbnb. We decided to walk into downtown Fenton and ended up at a place that sounded good online but turned out it was geared for the LGBTQ community. We were like the only straight people there and our waitor's name was "Lev" and used the pronouns they/them (although was clearly a "she"). Though the atmosphere was interesting, the food really was yummy. I have been a grilled cheese sandwich kick and their fancy grilled cheese did not disappoint.

After dinner we went back to our airbnb, chatted some more, and then watched some "Schitt's Creek".

Sunday morning Rebekka and I had another slow morning and then cleared out of our airbnb, but not before signing the hallway wall (yes, you are supposed to sign it). Because we found the home slightly eerie in the evening, I decided to write, "Whatever you do, don't fall asleep." I'm sure other people who stay there will appreciate my message ;)

When we left, we decided to go to the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse because Rebekka is also a fan of lighthouses. I also wanted her to get to see a great lake before leaving. We took the tour of the surronding buildings and the lighthouse and the guy was real friendly and nice, I could see my dad being a good tour guide like him. Going up to the top of the lighthouse wasn't as difficult as I had thought it would be in my pregnant condition. There was a different person who took us to the top and I learned that he was born at 28 weeks old. So crazy that he survived being born that early and is a perfectly healthy adult. 

When we finished with the lighthouse,we walked down the beach for a little bit and then it was time to take Rebekka to the airport so she could catch her flight. I am so grateful that she flew all the way to Michigan for me, she is a good friend and it was good catching up with her. I had thought it might be awkward but it was like no time had passed since we last saw each other. We definitely need to do this again. 

After I dropped Rebekka off I came back home and attempted to clean because we had invited Mariah's family, her mother-in-law and my in-laws over for a bbq. Mariah's family had arrived in Michigan Saturday and awesome parents and in-laws had come to help her move. Thankfully I only had to make my bean salsa since Tyler was grilling so I didn't have to rush too much to get everything done. The bbq was nice, my kids love Mariah's kids. We ended the evening with popsicles on our deck, just chatting and enjoying the beautiful weather. It's going to be pretty great having family here permanently I think.

Build-a-Bear

Penny has been cleaning the bird cage for money and on Monday she realized she was pretty close to having enough money to buy a Build-a-Bear. Lucy realized she was close too. They both asked for extra chores so they could earn the rest of their money. Penny ended up vacuuming the car and did a really good job. Lucy helped pick some weeds. It is really nice having kids that are getting old enough to help out with chores. They also have designated rooms to clean each week and though they are not quite as good as me, it still relieves some of my burden. After dinner I took them to Build-a-Bear so they could get their stuffies. Lucy got a fluffy teddy and Penny got a rainbow cat. They now need to save up money to buy clothes for their stuffies.

Tuesday I did "take two" of my green masterpiece for above the mantel. This time I used a more liquidy base and also used lots of it. It worked a lot better and I am mostly happy with my second attempt. I still see all the flaws but it will work for now. I also made a royal mess in my kitchen which was not a great idea because the missionaries were coming for dinner. I had much tidying to do before they came. I wish I had an art studio...

I always stress about the missionaries coming over but it always ends up being nice to have them in our home. They are good examples for our kids. We still have the one missionary from Holbrook, AZ here and Tyler still tells the same missionary stories- I wonder if he is tired of hearing them yet. It was a warm day and I am pretty sure I was sweating as I was bustling around the kitchen- Penny was nice to point out my ears looked a bit red. Super. The missionaries were really nice and complimented my painting so I guess they can come over again. Right after they left I had Bunco. I did the best that I had done in awhile but of course someone had an even more amazing time so I didn't win a top 3 prize (which were Target giftcards). But I did end up getting the most Baby Bunco's and winning a basket of flowers that I have already killed so....

Wednesday I had to take Ben to get some pics for his science fair project and we were near a Culver's so I had to get some pretzel bites and of course, get Ben a treat too. We had a nice hang out, he's always really good at saying "thank you". He's a good kid. The pretzel bites however, did not settle well and as much as I love them, I may have to stop getting them. 

Thursday was a busy day. I did some shopping in the morning- still trying to find maternity clothes and needed some summer clothes for the kids. Then I went on a walk with Grace- it is getting so warm. I feel like we missed that nice in between weather. After our walk Grace and I met up with Melissa and Caroline for lunch. We went to Lena's Kitchen and it was sooooo good. When I got home I had to rush off to get the kids from school and then once home catch up on dishes and laundry that I had missed during the day. Then after dinner, off to soccer with the girls. 

Friday the kids all had friends over in the afternoon. The girls played with water balloons and made brownies (this time no lids were melted) while the boys did lots of video games. We had Costco pizze for dinner (which I had a craving for) and then we bought the new D&D movie on Prime and we watched it again. Still fun the second time around. 

Saturday I was awoken by an obnoxious amount of texts in the group chat for the girl's soccer team. I hate group chats. BUT it was a good thing because apparently I had the time wrong for their game and I needed to get up then if we were going to be ready in time. Their team did not win which was a bummer. The other team had some great goalies and even though the girl's team made many attempts, no goals made it in. I love watching the progress of Lucy and Penny. It's fun to see them get in there and try. 

The boys had some fun Saturday. Steven got to go to Brickfest with Adam- a big Lego event. Then he had an activity to get him ready for FSY. Ben had Andrea's birthday party to attend. They had burgers and went to the Mario movie. Me, I swear that one soccer game had me beat. There was a long walk to the field and then sitting in the sun. I forgot a hat which was a poor choice. I am really lacking in energy these days...just 12 more weeks to go...