What My Son has Been up to

Ian has been a busy little rascal lately, which you already know if you've been reading this blog at all. I gave Ian a haircut about a week ago. We got out the clippers and gave him the usual buzz cut. A couple of days ago I noticed this chunk out of his hair. At first I thought it was the light, but a closer inspection revealed a definite gouge out of his hair. My first reaction was, "Did I do that?" Quickly, however, I realized that this was not my work. So I began, "Ian....did something happen to your hair?" His quick, mischevious smile gave me the answer I already suspected. "What happened?", I asked. And the story of him getting Cory's trimmer and trying it out on his hair unfolded. So, below are pictures of his work. I actually think we got off pretty well, considering.




Obviously, these pictures prove he isn't as devastated over this mishap as he should be. But sometimes we just have to take our lumps.

It's a Conspiracy

Some days I'm convinced of that. This afternoon I came into the kitchen after the kids had eaten apples for snack, only to feel the urge to blow a gasket. It looked like a bushel of apples had exploded all over the floor, the table, and every other open surface. Apparently they finished the apples I'd given them and had gotten more. Since they love apples but don't like the peeling, they had to do something. So they (mainly Ian) bit the peel off the apples and spit it around the kitchen. Just staring at the freshly mopped floor now covered in sticky sweet granny smith peelings was enough to do me in. I called Ian up and together we cleaned up the mess. By the time he was finished he said, "I'm never gonna make that mess again." Unfortunately, I've heard those words before. I know they're well-intentioned, but sometimes the draw of destruction is just too much for a little boy.

In other kid-related events, while unpacking boxes today we came across some pictures of when Ian was a baby. He began looking through them and in utter surprise exclaimed, "Mommy, I was a white baby." Once again, there I stood in stunned silence. I have no idea what kind of baby he thought he was, but today, apparently, he made a discovery. :)

Conversations with the kids

Elise: Did you like to sing when you were a kid?
Me: Yes
Elise: Did you sing a lot?
Me: Yes. I remember singing for my mom and dad. And singing along with the radio.
Elise: Well....then why are you not a rock star right now?
Me: *stunned silence*


Not long ago we had ordered Chinese take-out, and the kids and I went to pick it up. Since you can park right in front of the store, I left the car running, locked the doors and ran inside to pick up the food. I had to wait a little longer than usual, so when I went back out to the car this is the conversation that took place:

Ian: Mommy, you took for a long time!
Me: I know, I had to wait on them this time.
Ian: Mommy, when you took for a long time, we thought you were dead!
Me: *Stunned Silence*

Happy Anniversary

Cory & I celebrated our 8th anniversary this week. It was a fun day to reminisce about where we started, what we've been through, and the road ahead of us.

Cory & I met at EFY when I had just turned 16 and Cory was almost 19. It was my first EFY and his last, before his mission. I met Cory at the first dance, on Monday night. My best friend, Sherri and I were in different groups and it just happened that Cory was in the Scooby-do Company with Sherri. So when Sherri and I took a break from dancing to go get some water, there was Cory, doing the same. He and Sherri said "Hello", and then Sherri introduced the two of us. Cory shook my hand and said, "Save me a dance." And that is what started it all. Cory, weeks away from leaving on his mission, was quite intent on having girls write him while he was away. I, being 16, and finally old enough to date, was quite intent on meeting guys at EFY. We hit it off that week and promised to write after we got home. And we did--even through the two years while he served his mission in Washington. We started actually dating when he came home in the summer of 1998, and got married the next summer.

Looking back, I realize that when we got married I was just a baby, barely 19 and had never lived away from home before. Cory was a newly returned missionary, just starting to make his way in the world. We started out with a lot of blessings, a lot of love, and not much else. Here we are, 8 years, three kids and 5 moves later--still with a lot of blessings and a lot of love. It reminds me of the song that was sung at our receptions, "It's been a long road, a happy road, with detours on the way. Love has brought us to this one perfect day." I feel so fortunate to have had 8 magical years with this fun, crazy, wonderful man and hope that we'll have at least 88 more!

Merry Grace calls Papa on the phone

Merry Grace loves talking on the telephone. Here she's calling Papa. That's a pretty good indication that we're missing you guys. :)

By way of updating

I'm well overdue an update on the ol' blog, here. There has just been so much going on that it's been hard to find a free minute. So here it goes. Almost immediately after the company left a few weeks ago, we decided to move ahead with things and make the move to our new house. Within about 2-3 weeks, we had the entire upstairs painted, (which included stripping wallpaper in some places), new carpet was laid in two rooms and hardwoods refinished in three others. There has been much cleaning, updating/remodling, and of course the unpacking to do. (In addition to our already busy lives...) But fortunately we have really great families who, when we say, "Come! We're going to work your fingers to the bone this weekend, and by the end of things you'll be exhausted and sore. Oh, and you won't get paid for this. Just do it out of the goodness of your heart!", they answer with a resounding, "We'll be there!" How lucky are we? We couldn't have done it without all their help. We've just had so many folks who were willing to pitch in and help make this move much smoother and easier.



And we're finally feeling settled in. We all really love it here. It's an older home with lots of character to it and more space than we had before. The backyard is fenced in and there are lots of trees and greenery around that make it seem really homey. We have really nice neighbors, so all in all we're pleased as punch to be settled in and can start making this a home.



We also had a new addition to the big bunch of us: our niece, Ally, was born on July 20th. What a cutie is she?

Of course the kids have been up to their usual antics throughout the move. When you have kids, I think its just the way of the world, that if you are cleaning up one thing, they will be making a mess somewhere else. During one cleaning episode I came into the living room to find two rolls of paper towels and one roll of toilet paper completely undone and covering a large portion of the living room floor. To my question of "What in the world is this?", Elise responded, "Because the floor was hot lava and we couldn't walk on it." How can you argue with that logic? There have been a few other incidents, such as the time they were helping clean the bathroom. It went well for a little bit, they were cleaning their little hearts out and being entertained all at the same time, until eventually they moved on to the non-traditional cleaning products like hair gel, lotion, and vaseline. And then there was the time I heard Cory, somewhat loudly, asking who had painted the basement floor. He was not happy and I had no idea what had happened. It turns out the kids had decided to paint a piece of pegboard they found, not realizing that the paint was dripping down through the holes. An honest mistake, for sure.

And then there's the part where I lost the diamond out of my engagement ring. I was pretty devastated about it. I'm a very sentimental gal, so I took it pretty hard. I just looked down at my hand during the day and their was my ring--minus the diamond--with the prongs all jutting out in wierd ways. I don't remember doing that. There's no telling what happened and where on earth that diamond is. The whole ring would have been much easier to find, but just the diamond? I just get overwhelmed with the different possibilities of where it could have fallen. Cory was very understanding and sweet about it, but I still hate it--especially with our anniversary coming up this week. Somehow that makes it seem more sad.

So that's our week, in a nutshell. It's been an extremely busy few weeks, but we're still here, still happy, and that's about all you can ask for. :)

And even more pictures

Everyone says that Ian is like a clone of Cory. I guess you can be the judge. I'm pretty sure they have the same mischevious smile. I certainly know where Ian gets his rambunctiousness from. ;) They sure are cute, though.
The pink ladies....this was Sunday afternoon at the photo session. We all look cute in our pink outfits. Jentrie was such a good sport to put up with all of us and we all love her. What a sweetheart she is.
Merry Grace tried to feed me an apple from Grammy & Papa's tree. It was pretty sour, but she thought it was funny.

More Vacationing

Nothing like a Sunday morning picture, just for the record. What a challenge it can be to get everyone dressed and ready like they need to be. Obviously, Merry Grace would rather be somewhere else. We did manage to get 12 people to church with 5 minutes to spare. I think that's a record!
After church on Sunday, we took a few family pictures. Here's our crowd, even the sleeping baby. Aren't we a cute family?
Here's everyone: (l-r) Logan, Grandma, Adam, Mama, Daddy, Me (holding Merry Grace), Cory, Ethan, and Jentrie. Down in front are Ian and Elise.
This is a picture of the cutest, silliest baby ever. Can you even stand how cute she is?
We took a few more pictures on Sunday afternoon. Here is one of the four sibs--being goofy. Imagine that....

Pictures of Family

Ethan and his girlfriend, Jentrie, came out to visit us this past week. They came in on Wednesday morning and we crammed every bit of family time into the next few days. Elise and Ian immediately fell in love with Jentrie and become her instant best friends. We mostly just relaxed and got acquainted on Wednesday, then played games and made fondue that night.


Thursday found us at the lake, enjoying the perfect weather conditions. The water was nice, the temperature was perfect, and the companionship the best. We swam, picnicked, canoed, and paddle boated. That evening we all went up to Mama & Daddy's for the rest of the weekend.

Friday saw us down the river, not so perfect weather, but enjoyable nonetheless. My Uncle Maury and cousin Hannah came along with all of us, as well as Grandma Jarrell and Aunt Verna. It was overcast and cool--even sprinkling a time or two. But it can be marked down in the long list of Jarrell River trips as a success. On Saturday, we went to a nearby park for a picnic and some frisbee/baseball. We also found our way to the river where we waded around and skipped rocks. Each night was spent playing games--Balderdash, Apples to Apples, Mormon Rook, Sequence, or others. We also had our fill of Leatherby's chocolate syrup, provided by Ethan. We could be found with a bowl of ice cream at almost any time of day.

These are a sampling of pictures from the trip. At the top is Elise and her new BFF's. Clockwise is Ian in Jentrie's sunglasses. I'm thinking that's his gangsta pose. ;) Grandma and Jentrie posed as Mormon Rook champions. (I came in dead last, if anyone was wondering....) And lastly, Elise looks ready to fight for her honor. Hi-ya!!!!!

mischeviousness

The other day we went to a nearby lake with some of Cory's family. We had a nice time, and after a few hours, headed home. We'd been on the road about 5 minutes when Ian says, "Hey! Why are my feet yellow?" At first we just kind of ignored it at "kid chatter" and then Elise says, "Ewww, Ian!!! Your feet are yellow. That's gross!" Upon asking a few questions we discovered it was the bottoms of his feet that were yellow, and said, "Well, you must've stepped in something." At this point, Elise goes, "Hey!!! My feet are yellow too!" So we're like, "Maybe it was the sand." And Cory & I start looking at our feet. Nothing. We start getting puzzled and are thinking, "How weird is that? I wonder what it could be?" But with nothing more alarming happening we just let it go. When we got home, though, and looked at their feet, they were, indeed, very yellow. The entire bottoms of their feet were bold yellow. At least a week later, I was driving the kids somewhere and this conversation about yellow feet starts back up. Apparently, Ian and Elise have yellow feet again. I was just starting to think there was some weird fungus or something going around when Ian says, "Yeah, why do my feet have yellow marker on them?" And suddenly all the pieces fit. I asked them if that is what happend to their feet after the lake, and of course it was. I'm not surprised they colored their feet with yellow marker. No matter how many time we say to only draw on paper, it falls on deaf ears. But I was surprised that they pulled it off without giving it away. Aren't they a little young for that? =) But at least now I can breathe easy, knowing that we do not have some strange disease, and that we aren't afflicted with anything worse than mischevious kids.

Food Habits

The other day I bought a cantaloupe from a produce stand down the road. It was so juicy and sweet--one of the best I've ever had. Ian, typically my more adventurous eater, loved it. Merry Grace took a lick and that was it for her, while Elise gamely took a bite, then put the rest on MG's plate. =) I was relating this story to Cory when he got home and in summation said, "Elise is kind of a picky eater, but I used to be, too, when I was little, and I've turned out okay." We had sort of a laugh over that, because while I'm not exactly a picky eater, you might call me a food snob of sorts. I like my food how I like it. =)

I was thinking about this again this morning while I fixed pancakes. As a child, my dad would always eat his pancakes with butter and sugar sprinkled on top. Of course, being the picky eater that I was, thought this was strange and disgusting. (Just keep in mind we are talking about straight sugar. Hard to believe it could have been that bad, isn't it?) So fast forward to my life as an adult. Guess what--I prefer my pancakes with butter and sprinkled with white sugar. Who would've thought? I love the crunch of the sugar and the taste of the butter (slightly salty) and the sweet sugar is so good.

But it just reminded me how funny our food habits are. I think about the many things I hated as a kid--green beans (I thought they were so horrible I had to smother them in ketchup to choke them down), italian salad dressing, squash, cantaloupe, hot dogs (couldn't bear them, and on the rare occasions when I would roast one over the fire and attempt it, I could never eat the last bite. The "end" was so gross to me. =)....and the list goes on. Most of those things and many others are things I love now and eat frequently. Thank goodness our palates develop and change and we grow up and realize those horrible things our parents made us eat, really aren't so horrible after all.

Red Letter Day

I thought this event deserved its own post. I made it through a trip to Wal-Mart without taking any of my children to the bathroom, even once! This is definitely a red-letter day in our family. =)

The Water Buckets

Emmy, Elise, & Kyleigh were standing under the water buckets to see if they could get wet. I think they miscalculated a bit. However, this is the way I would like to do them. They are too cold for me. =)

The Dive

You have to watch this closely, but notice that Ian totally dives headfirst into the pool.

Spoons

Here is the ending of a round of spoons. Cory's cousin Tony ended up across the table going for one. Unfortunately, Neal came out the winner. But as you can see below, the spoon was the loser. =)




Here's the crazy bunch playing spoons. The adults would stay up every night playing spoons. This is actually a fairly mild round.

Jumping off the Dock

Uncle Jacob stood here forever helping Ian get back up on the dock to jump off. I bet Ian jumped off 50 times!

The Water Slide

Cory and Jacob make a run down the water slide. It's killer!!! I tried it last year, but that time was enough. These guys are either braver or crazier. =)

Cheetah Girls

The "Cheetah Girls" thing comes from a disney channel original movie of the same name. The girls love the movie, but they love being the real cheetah girls even more.

We got the Beat

All week the girls did these "hand jives". Who knew there were so many, but they seem to know them all!

Going Home

Going Home is never the fun part. It's always sad to realize that vacation is coming to an end for another year. I'm pretty sure these faces are the proof.

But like any good vacation, there is always the aftermath. A few miles down the road from camp and the kids had crashed. They were so tired. But it also means they had a great time!

Vacation Stuff

Each day, we planned a craft for the kids. Friday was my day and we did tie-dye t-shirts. They turned out really well, even if it was a lot of work.
Each night, those who had the energy stayed up and played spoons. It is violent and vicious and competitive--so players beware!
Here are Cory's parents with all 13 of their granchildren (there is also one on the way next month.)

The Water Park

Here Cory and Elise are taking a break from swimming. It had been chilly and overcast most of the day, but finally warmed up and turned out to be a really nice day for the water park.
Merry Grace tried on my hat. The water really was too cold for her to do much more than wade around in, but she had fun anyway.
Elise enjoys standing under the buckets that fill up with water and spill over on you. BRRRRR!!!!
Cory and Uncle Neal took turns pretending to be "sharks" and chased after the little swimmers. They would swim from the edge to this island, screaming and shrieking, but loving to be chased the whole time.
Ian jumping off the edge. He and Elise were like little fish out there. Thank goodness for water wings. =)

More Vacation

One of the highlights of the week was the sandy soil all around for the kids to play in. They built sand castles, dug holes, and had all sorts of imaginations out there.
This is one cute baby. What more can I say?
Ian liked the handicapped shower stall in the bath house, mainly because he like washing off with the "telephone." =)
Every time Elise wrapped up in a towel after swimming in the lake, she would take off running, yelling, "Superwoman." Here she is with Katie and Emmy.
Because there were so many of us at camp, we didn't have to cook every day. We ended up having to cook one day plus one meal. Here is Cory doing perfectly browned grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for breakfast.

More Vacation

Here is Elise at the lake. You can only imagine what happened next. =)
Here are four of the girls, posing for the camera. =) Kyleigh, Emmy, Katie, & Elise
Vacation was a great time to catch up on some sleep. Lucky for Merry Grace, Cory was willing to put the baby down for a nap. ;)
I brought glow bracelets for the kids each night. It was so cute to see them running around camp, glowing up a storm.
Merry Grace enjoyed everything, too. She really liked digging in the sand, especially since the water was a little chilly.

Vacation

Last week we went on vacation with Cory's family. It's at a campground complete with cabins, bathhouse, and mess hall. We spend the week at the lake, the nearby water park, doing crafts, and just being together. It is lots of fun for everyone. This is Elise walking down the dock. We walked down there our first night at camp. It is so relaxing an peaceful.
Here are most of the kids from camp. After we grown-ups tired of chasing kids down the dock, preventing them from falling in, and a couple of almost heart attacks from a few near-misses, we corralled the kids here for a picture. =)
Sarah, Elise, and Katie--Elise with her cousins from the bayou. Being with family is what this vacation is all about.
What a mess this baby is!!! She's too adorable. She loved the independence of camp and being able to chase after the big kids. She really didn't realize that she was a little bitty thing.
We went to the lake every day. It was beautiful weather, even a little cool for summer. But not too cool for the kids to jump right and and get down to the fun!

From our house

Here are some pictures from around our house this week. This first one is of Ian. This is why boys are great. He helped me with some cleaning around the house--like spraying out the trashcans, cleaning the dustpan off, and other dirty jobs. But he was so helpful and had a blast in the process. After he would clean out one thing he would come back and say, "Mommy, I need something else to wash!"

Here are Elise and Ian with there bargain bubble guns. They work really well and they had soooooo much fun. Merry Grace thought it was pretty neat, too.
This is a new sign Elise has on her bedroom door. She made it all by herself. I'm pretty sure it's directed at either Ian or I, but I'm not sure which. It's so cute and funny. And doesn't she have nice handwriting? =)
Here is my dress-up queen. If she finds an item of clothing around, she must have it on. Here she is in a pair of Elise's panties, over her shorts. And she is so pleased with herself. Yesterday for a while she wore a bathing suit over her entire outfit. It makes her happy and I think she can pull it off. =)

Samuel was a...prophet-ary?

Here is a video of Ian singing the verse from Book of Mormon stories called, "Samuel was a Lamanite." I've included the translation below, since that makes it even cuter. =)



Samuel was a Prophet-ary
with Samuel was a on the city wall.
Arrows could not hit him
For of God was he.
In the God, In the land,
Righteously!