Kristen's Room

 We moved Kristen into the basement into her own room in January of 2008. She debated and debated the color and finally decided on light pink. After about 6 months, she regretted it, since her favorite colors were lime green and blue. Especially blue. I didn't want to repaint, so I kept putting her off, but finally decided to re-do it this summer. I did Jenna's room first and promised Kristen I'd do it before school starts, because she'd be displaced for a few nights and I don't want to disrupt her sleep any more than necessary. So...last Wednesday, we moved her furniture, washed walls, taped, and patched. On Thursday, we got the paint done. Then on Friday, we moved her back in. She chose the color and she absolutely LOVES it!!!! I do too!! Now...we need to re-do the green in the kitchen/dining area, touch up the downstairs bathroom, and re-do our room. Jarren's desperately needs it but he is refusing right now. That's okay with me. :)

before

after

Fungus Update

Jenna's sore fell out completely while I was in DC (more to come about that trip later)!!! YAY!!!! The biggest patch didn't even leave a bald spot. Her hair was so matted (for months) that it broke off and is very short in that spot, but her scalp can breathe and we're done and over with that miserable thing! What a relief!!!

What Not To Do With An AirSoft Gun

Kendall and his friend were playing with their air soft guns and Kendall thought his friend emptied his. So...he picked it up and with it pointed to the ground, he pulled the trigger. Unfortunately, it wasn't empty. It shot into our newly refinished kitchen floor (and yes, it left a ding), bounced up and hit Jenna in the cheek, and bounced off her, hitting Kristen (clear across the room) in the arm. Jenna was at close range and started screaming. Kendall said, "I don't know why she's crying--I didn't even  hit her." Then we saw what happened and yes, it did hit her. We are sooooooooo lucky it didn't hit her eye--it was pretty close. He felt soooooooooooo bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lesson: DON'T pull the trigger in the house or anywhere near anyone, even if you think it's empty because it might not be.

Flashback Friday....A Day Late.....

This is how Kristen's been spending a lot of her time this summer--reading. She comes up with some pretty funny positions. What? How can this summer be a flashback? Because....this is how I spent a lot of my summers growing up (I don't have pics of me doing this). She's been reading the Harry Potter series, which is kinda funny. She had NO interest in it until our van's DVD player shorted out. I checked out a bunch of books-on-cd for a road trip in April and one of them happened to be Harry Potter (book 1). I thought Jarren would enjoy it the most. But....Kristen got hooked. The reader was fabulous! We got more than halfway through the book, so she picked up where it left off and the reading began.

Back to the pictureless flashback...I LOVE to read and have for a long, long time. I remember reading when I was little. My mom would give me and my sister a stack and tell us to read them and then switch stacks and then we could go get her up from a rest. I remember not having a library, so going to the book mobile or the school's library and flying through those precious books. I remember in about 6th grade, getting a book and thinking, "I'll just read one chapter on the bus and one at home tonight so it will last me a few days." But then I wasn't able to put it down and it was finished that night. I remember a summer where a friend and I would choose characters and we read the book out loud. I remember going on vacations and spending a lot of time reading. Funny... Even now, I fly through books. Books are my escape and I make time to enjoy them, although it is much easier to do now that my kids are a little older. With this new exercise program I'm doing, it's harder to stay up reading late into the night (which I used to do), so I'm finding myself reading after I get home--while everyone is still asleep. That will all change soon, when school starts though. Maybe I'll spend my 2 1/2 hours of *alone* time (time when all other members of the household are in school or at work) reading. Ha! Too much to do...but maybe for a few minutes....

Scouts, scouts, and more scouts

Jon and I have been together for over 15 years now (not married quite that). He was in the stake Young Men's presidency when we were dating. Then shortly after we were married, he was put in Cubs (Bears and Cub Master). We moved just over 3 years later and he had a break for about 18 months and then it was back into scouting--Venturers (16-17), then regular scouts (12-13), then a short break, Webelos, 11 year olds, and now....he just got called to be the Varsity Coach (14-15). Once a scouter, always a scouter!! All of my "boys" are now in scouting in some form or another. And one of Jenna's greatest wishes is to be a scout when she grows up. Hahaha!!!

Three Days

Three more days until Kristen and I go to Washington DC (and Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia). Am I getting nervous? A little. Excited? Yes! I usually get cold sores when I'm super stressed and I got one a few days ago. Weird, because I'm not stressed...yet. :)

Nostalgia

I start thinking about things and then I get kind of sad. Jenna was born just over 5 years ago--my baby. It seems that we've had her forever, yet it seems like just yesterday she was born. Crazy. So....I was thinking...in 5 years from now, Kendall will be 18 and graduated from high school. I've heard a saying that goes something like this: "The days drag on, but the years fly by." That is sooooo true!!! I really need to take the chance to enjoy every day and make lots of memories because the kids are growing up right before my eyes.

So...I took the kids to Cowabunga Bay (a local water park) this week. They all had a blast, though some were ready to go before others. The next day, we went up North and went to a favorite park from my childhood for a picnic with my grandma, my parents, many of my siblings and nieces and nephew, and even a cousin! The camera is still dead--it died right after our vacation, but we have a new one ordered and it should be here soon. Phew!