Journaling Week of 7-28-13

WALK-A-BOUT
We attended another walk-a-bout this Sunday.  That was a lot of fun, of course.  Our kids absolutely LOVE the walkabout.  I don't know what it is.  They were seriously counting down the minutes til it was time to go!!  It's funny.  I like it too, but I don't know if I'm quite as excited as them.  I do love being forced to socialize though :).  Gets me out there.  I'm such a hermit otherwise.  I talked a lot with Deena this time, so that was fun :).  7-28-13

LATE NIGHT WITH LISA
After the walkabout we sat out on the front lawn and chatted with Lisa til it got dark!  I couldn't believe how late we had stayed up!  I totally had to scramble to get the kids in bed before Nate got home at 10:30.  They were nowhere near asleep :).  I LOVE having a neighbor that I enjoy talking with though!!  SO nice.  7-28-13

THE BACKPACK
This is another one of those Noah-Erika moments.  I love how they are together.  Nate had just brought home the coolest Avengers back pack for Noah and Erika was almost more excited than Noah!  She got all excited, ran outside to give it to him, helped him try it on, then ran back inside to get the scissors so she could cut the tag off for him!!  What a cute little sister!!  She takes such good care of him!  And he loves it of course :) The gentle control :).  SO cute.  7-29-13

FHE
For FHE we decided S'mores were in order so we did the treat down by the creek.  A few minutes before we headed down there Steve and Jauslin showed up!  We were so happy to share our time with them.  Hopefully they didn't mind the lesson on burrying our weapons of war (aka: the mean words and hurtful things we say and do to cause contention in the home).  It was nice to have them with us though.  And who can pass up s'mores anyway!  They are the best!  It is going to be interesting taking Jack camping this year, he is not a bit afraid of fire!!  And he hates being held when we're all sitting around a campfire :).  We'll see how it goes :).  7-29-13

HEIDI
My poor little sister has been suffering from the most severe stomach pains I've ever heard of anyone suffering for the past year or so.  She finally went to the doctor and was tested and sure enough, ulcers and H. Pylori.  Unfortunately, this week, she found out through some pretty horrific symptoms, she is possibly allergic to the antibiotics.  Hopefully she can get things figured out with that.  I just wish I could have been there to help her out.  7-30-13

CTR
Cute little Luke got a CTR ring at church a couple Sundays ago.  The awesome little kid has not taken it off since!!  Green finger and all!!  Well, he did decide to take it off while we were at the Lake so that he didn't lose it, but as soon as we were back in the car, he was looking for it and putting it right back on his finger!!  I love it!  He's such a good boy.  I know it means a lot to him and I know he tries hard to do what's right.  Makes me smile.  7-31-13

JETSKIING
We got to go jetskiing with Grandpa, Dawn, the Hatches (half of the day), and Steve and Jauslin (the other half).  I just love being able to get out of the house and relax at the lake!  It's been such a fun thing to have the jetskiis.  I love that my Dad bought them.  I got to go out quite a bit, taking the kids on the hot dog, riding wiht Charity, and back and forth to the dock for the cleaner bathrooms (unfortunately forgot my shoes one of the times and totally fried the bottoms of my feet!!  It's painful to walk on blisters) with Kelly and Erika.  We got to ride around a little together too.  I love that time with my kids.  Good talking time and just having fun together.  It's fun to watch them play in the water.  I still can't believe how ewird the wind was!!  Luke swam across the little inlet we were on, that was pretty cool, he was proud of himself :).  He doesn't like the jetskiis, so that's the extent of his fun.  Bradley likes to go out with Nate so they can make whirlpools.  Noah had fun with Charlie and then enjoyed the rest of the time "being a shark" with his brothers and sisters.  Good family time.  This is another reason I want to do a month without TV, they have so much fun together!  We met up with Grandpa and Dawn at the Snow Cone Trailer for some much needed refreshment :).  yes, we do eat a lot of snow cones :).  8-1-13

RIBS
Nate smoked the most amazing ribs in his new smoker on Friday.  If this is any indication of how good of an investment that smoker was, then we have already paid for it :).  They were incredible!  Nate knows how to do what he does.  8-2-13

FISHIES, TADPOLES, and "BABY SCORPIONS"
These are the little surprises the kids have been finding in the creek today.  They filled up jars and jars of bugs and water creatures.  SO fun!!  This beats lifting up the rocks for potato bugs and worms at our previous homes :).  8-3-13

EPIC
I took the kids to see Epic tonight.  We had a great time!  I was pleased with how everyone did, and I LOVED sitting by Luke during all the funny parts :).  sidenote: two of my children didn't have shoes on.  8-3-13