Regular Life

The summer is starting to wind down. We still have a month before school starts, and there are a bunch of activities still on the summer calendar. However, I am ready for the heat to start tapering-off.

I just start getting itchy for the coming autumn time, and all the glories that the season brings. I love having my kids around, and the relaxing go-at-our-own-pace days we get to enjoy with school out of session. But there is something great about the school year, too. I noticed that as soon as the 4th of July was over, the school supply section was up at the store. It made me a little excited. I don't want to wish days away, not at all.

I just really, really, adore the sight of pumpkins.

And the smell of pumpkin bread... Mmmmmm.

I love the holidays. I think I love them more and more each year.

It is coming!

Sammi told me it was time to post some normal life pictures. She is right. So here we go...

We had another boys choir party at our house. It was a practice, not just a party. The house was filled with the sounds of boys working on their harmony. It was fun to listen to them. Daniel conducted the rehearsal, and Sammi played the piano. My job was to provide the house, and some treats. I decided ice-cream cookie sandwiches would be fun. The boys seemed excited about eating them.

 They got to make their own, and slap on as much ice-cream as they could.

 Henry grabbed one and ran up to my room to eat it.

 My kids love mint chocolate chip ice-cream. It is not my favorite. My favorite is chocolate.

 The kids found some animal hats to play with.

 Henry was a pretty cute lion.

 Roar!

This is what it looks like when the little one grabs the hose, and chases everyone inside.

We love to spend time by the river. We could -- and do -- stay there for hours. It is just so fun. I don't know why finding a rock and throwing it is so therapeutic, it just is!

William loves throwing rocks. He has become good at skipping them. It is a glorious day to learn how to skip a rock.

I took Sammi to the temple. It is so nice to go to the temple with my children. I love that they love to go.

I was out running with Sammi and we saw this rainbow cloud. Rainbows have always been special for me. I have always felt like they mean I am on the right track... that there are good things ahead.

 Sammi loves to read. I find her in some of the strangest positions. She rips through books like crazy!

 We took a walk with our friends. We are all trying to prepare for Trek, and break-in new shoes.

We had a trek-dancing night. The kids loved it. I spent my time walking around with two different cameras trying to capture the moments. We are all super excited, and very ready to just go for it. There is so much build-up to it. The actual Trek is really something special and amazing. I would not want to go back if it was not something I love. Because I love it, my kids are crazy-excited about it too.

 Another river day. We go there, a lot.

I fixed my washer. It was getting so stinky when I would run a load of laundry. I did some research and found that the tubes can get full of buildup and gross stuff. I watched a youtube video on how to remove the tubes from inside the machine, and I learned how to clean them. I followed the instructions and managed to fix the stinky problem. I felt pretty awesome. I was a little worried, I ran a clean cycle without clothes in my washer, and bubbles started coming out the back. I thought I had destroyed the machine. Apparently, that can happen on the clean cycle when there is too much soap. I tried a regular cycle and it worked great, and the smell was gone too. I have done a bunch of laundry and so far, so good.

I am not afraid of trying to fix things in the house, unless it is out of my comfort zone: like plumbing and electrical stuff. One thing I have learned though, I am pretty sure Charles most often had no idea what he was doing, when it came to fixing things he had never fixed before. He would just try to fix things anyway. I have learned to be brave and just go for it, if I can. I still call for help if I am completely lost on a fix-it project. My goal is not to make things worse. But if I watch a youtube video and think I can handle it, I will!

Daniel will be going to Scout camp for a week. He is super excited. He is getting so close to accomplishing his Eagle. Woo!

More fun times to come!