Pumpkin Patch

I know it's been a long time. I was just getting the hang of things when "fall recess" appeared. The girls had two whole days off of school last week, and it's been hard to get back on track ever since. Plus, we've been spending a lot of time on our kitchen floor. It's coming along rather nicely, and I should have pictures to post any day now! But for now you get to see lots of photos of our trip out to the pumpkin patch. This has been on my list of things to get done for a while now, but things just keep popping up. One week till Halloween -- I figured it was about time. I took the girls right after school. There were a few activities for us to do, but we mostly just picked out our pumpkins. After we got home the girls made a grand mess of the bathroom "washing" their pumpkins. They even used really nice smelling soap on them. Bet you wanna come smell our pumpkins!

Happy Birthday To Me

So I had a birthday last Friday. Brandon got up early and made cinnamon rolls (from a can) for breakfast, and made sure we had enough time to open presents before he had to leave for work. I got a lot of photography stuff, which I hope to put to good use. Thank you to everyone for the cards, gifts, phone calls and emails! We went out to dinner (which is pretty much a given anymore), but the girls don't like my tradition of The Olive Garden, so I picked Buca di Beppo. They were excited about that -- only because they knew that meant they'd be getting some yummy cheesecake!

I bought myself a little present. It wasn't exactly a birthday present; it just happened to arrive on my birthday. Brandon and I have been working hard on getting our food storage in order. My laundry room was being overtaken by cases of food that I had no room for, and we also decided we're ready to try to figure out this wheat thing so I've been cleaning like mad trying to clear the clutter and organize our food storage. I've been eyeing these food rotation shelves for quite a while now, and I just stumbled across a really good deal. I bought one of their "scratch and dent" units marked way down, plus I had a coupon for $100 off AND free shipping. I spent my whole birthday trying to find a place to put it. We finally decided on a corner in the basement. It's not the most attractive piece of furniture, but I'm so happy to have a place for my food -- and it's ORGANIZED!



Chloe and Sophie were most excited about the box it came in. They were doing all kinds of crazy things with it. I overheard them talking about sleeping in it, but I did't think it would actually happen. Sure enough, Sophie spent the whole night IN the box. She put it on Chloe's bed, and Chloe ended up just sleeping at the bottom of the bed.



And then I got another fun "present" yesterday. I've always had a bit of luck. I use to win stuff all the time. When we lived in Sheridan sometimes it felt like I was the only person who'd call in to the radio to win stuff. Salt Lake has a bit more competition so I don't try that often. Well, yesterday I was running errands. I had just pulled in to Target's parking lot when I heard them announce they were giving away tickets to Disney on Ice, so I thought, "What the heck, I'll give it a try." So, I sat in my car for a while and I actually won! 4 tickets even, so I can take the whole family. Then I had to sit in my car for a few more minutes, just so I could listen to me on the air. I usually sound pretty stupid, but I have to say I didn't think it was too bad.

Lessons Learned

We love Chloe. She is a sweet girl -- with a very strong will. But I am learning a lot from raising her. Take for example, the second day of school. She tried to put on the same outfit she had worn the first day. I told her you can't wear the same thing two days in a row. Ok, it was more like "YOU CAN'T WEAR THE SAME THING TWO DAYS IN A ROW!!!" I'm sure there's some kind of law regarding it, but the mom in me arose and realized that my daughters need for independence far outweighs any fashion laws that may exist. So, I let her wear whatever she wants. Which has turned out to be one particular dress. There are actually about 3 dresses she will wear, but most often it's just this one. She's had some kids at school who make fun of her for wearing dresses, but she's a strong little girl and doesn't care too much about what others think of her.


But there is one issue that goes beyond playground teasing... P.E. Along with her dress she has to wear flip flops. She can't stand the feel of socks or shoes on her feet. Her P.E. teacher doesn't really care what her feet feel like, she just wants Chloe to wear sneakers. She keeps giving her reminders, but Chloe ignores her. Her P.E. teacher is in our ward, so she stopped me after church one day to "inform" me of what's going on. I tried to tell her that I was well aware of the issue, but she was trying so hard to be polite that I don't think she was listening to me. She kept saying that she was sure Chloe just "forgot." Yeah right, that sweet little girls knows exactly what she's doing.

So, Thursday comes around (P.E. day). I talked Chloe into just putting her sneakers in her backpack and then she could change when it was time to go to P.E. Great idea, but it only works if Chloe remembers to put them on! Next Wednesday rolls around, and her teacher stops us on the school yard to tell Chloe that the next day was a "special day." She made the same suggestion I had, so when I told her we had already tried that she said she would remind Chloe and have her put her sneakers under her chair right when she got to school. It worked!! She wore her sneakers, not only to P.E., but for the rest of the day.

Two days later (Saturday), she was spending some time in her room. When she finally emerged, she came out in PANTS, a SHIRT, and SNEAKERS! Plus her hair all done up. She was a totally different Chloe. She was so cute, but I'm not sure why pants made her any cuter than her dress. It was just so weird. The best part was overhearing her say, "I'm so glad Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Renie made me wear sneakers."

Lesson #2: One day last week I walked Chloe to school, and I hung out with her in line like I always do. I noticed another girl in her class wearing a DRESS. I leaned down and whispered to Chloe, "Look, there's another girl wearing a dress! She must have thought you were so cool for wearing a dress that she wanted to be just like you. Now whenever those kids tease you about wearing a dress you can tell them someone else does too, and you won't feel alone." Chloe rolls her eyes at me, and through gritted teeth she says, "Mom, that's the girl that teases me." Hmmm... can you see the lesson that Chloe was able to learn from that? I hope so, and I hope that Chloe will always remember it.

The Saga Continues...

Yes, there is another hole in our ceiling. I know everyone thinks our home is jinxed. It is. That's one reason why I'm not so sad about having to sell it. It was Thursday night when Brandon heard the "drip, drip, dripping" noise. We ran down and saw the big bubble of water in the ceiling. Chloe had somehow snuck down there and fallen asleep in the guest bed, so I'm thinking she would have told us if she had seen it when she went in, so I don't think it had been leaking for too long. That was good to catch it early. And we're getting to be quite the pros at this, so it wasn't too big of a deal. We just turned off the water, popped the bubble, and then went to bed. The next morning Brandon cut the hole in ceiling to find where the leak was. Unfortunately, it wasn't right where the bubble was, which is why the hole is so big.

After taking the kids to school we decided to head down to Salt Lake to buy some flooring from our last water problem. Yes, the timing is bizarre, but that's what we did. Since we're hoping to sell the house, we decided to just replace the kitchen floor and not do the whole area (dining and living room) like we wanted. Brandon found a store that had a great deal on some solid oak, so we went down to get it and they were all out. So, we ended up getting some red elm that was even cheaper. We now have the wood! Progress. And once it's done acclimating in our dining room we may even install it. I'll keep you posted on that one.

Now back to the ceiling. Once we were content with the flooring purchase, and had rested a bit, we made our journey to The Home Depot. Abe no longer works there, but Ken was around to help us out. He told us to just hang tight while he finished helping another customer. He doesn't know my husband. He came back to find Brandon looking through the bins for the parts we needed. Luckily, Brandon hadn't found exactly what we needed, so Ken was able to help us out. Turns out somebody stole Home Depot's crimper, so we weren't able to rent it. Buying one may be a good option for someone who owns my home (and does this same repair often enough), but we opted for a new option. I had actually gone over and talked to my neighbors who have this same piping (and the same problems) earlier in the morning, and they showed me these new "shark bite" things you can use. Much quicker and they avoid the need for a crimper. Ken hooked us up, but was trying to make sure we had everything just right. He told us he didn't want to see us back in an hour. I said, "Oh, that's ok, we're here often enough as it is." His reply: "I know, I've seen you." So, what does that mean when The Home Depot employees think you're there too much?



So, the leak has been repaired. Water was turned back on with minor discomfort to our family. The hole will be around for awhile. We have to let it dry out for a bit before we patch it up, but I'm so proud of the job Brandon did last time that I have complete faith it will look just as good this time.

Conference Weekend

We just completed another 8 hours of General Conference. Despite having 2 little girls in the same room, I think I did catch a thing or two. My favorite part was President Monson's advice to have pictures taken TWICE a year. That should be good for business :)

Yesterday, in between sessions, we ran over to our neighbors to finish up some work Brandon was doing for them on their computer. Their mom just discovered the Madame Alexander dolls at McDonald's and thought her daughter needs a few, so they treated us to lunch. Sophie got the "Lullaby Munchkin" and Chloe got "The Wizard" -- they're doing the Wizard of Oz series again. That was fun, but the two hour break went awfully fast.

After the second session Brandon decided it was time to make some more grape juice. It went great with breakfast this morning. I had this idea brewing in my head for a couple days to make these apple cinnamon waffles. I have to say, they turned out pretty good, but I was more surprised at the grape juice. This was the best batch yet -- by far. We think it may have something to do with the time of year, and that the grapes were just more ripe. Anyhow, it was yummy.