Monday, February 27, 2012

very busy week

I only have 1 photo for this week...which somehow makes it feel that the week almost isn't worth blogging about. But, it was a good and busy week.

Ryan, Michael, Jason, Eric, Elder Chamberlain, Travis, and Hannah
Above is a photo from Sunday the 19th. It was Elder Chamberlain's last day in the mission field, so he came over for picture taking. On a side note...I took about 6 photos and apparently Eric doesn't know how to keep his eyes open, so this was the best I could get. Sorry Eric. I hope Elder Chamberlain got better photos.

We went to Reno on Monday and Hannah got braces. Her mouth has been very sore all week. We went dress/skirt shopping afterward for Hannah...came home with jeans and tops. :P Her first bracket came unglued Monday night. Luckily we don't have to travel to Reno to have it fixed--we just have to wait a few  weeks for the orthodontist to come to Fallon. By the way, Dr. Little has the best staff. I really love them all.

Anyway, I went to the Relief Society meeting this week where we had a great demo and a hands-on session of card making. Tuesday and Wednesday I subbed at the Junior High. In my almost 5 years of subbing, I have never encountered such a group of talkers. But, they were good kids (mostly). But I went through a lot of cough drops trying to keep my throat from hurting.

Thursday I drove to Twin Falls, Idaho for "Intervention" that night at Heidi's house. Terra drove with me, though I returned home on Friday alone since Terra and the others (Jennifer, DonNell, and Cherilee) were continuing on to Rexburg for the swing dancing competition. Heidi took us out to dinner and we stayed up late talking. It all ended too soon, but it was great while it lasted.

Since I was in Idaho, I missed the New Beginnings program on Thursday at church for Hannah and the other Young Women. :(

Glen and his NHS kids had a dodgeball tournament on Friday night. Ryan's team came in second. Travis, Jason, and Eric were also on his team. Way to go.

Saturday was a full day for all. I volunteered at Bountiful Baskets first thing in the morning. I really love the basic baskets (50% fruits and 50% vegetables), though I don't know that I'm as happy with the extra vegetable packs you can order. I hear the bread is wonderful, so I might try that next time.

Glen and Alex drove up to Carroll summit for the Klondike Derby, where the boy scouts camp in the snow. They had all sorts of stations. Glen was in charge of the signal mirror station. Alex gave the experience 2 thumbs up (but of course he didn't have to sleep there).

A little later in the morning, Eric, Ryan, Hannah, and I were picking up trash at the dump for a Grad Night fund raiser. There was a lot of plastic stuck in the thorny bushes. But we survived. And though there was still trash to be picked up, it looked so much better. The dump pays groups to come do this because the EPA levies hefty fines if the trash is blown out of the basic area and into the desert.

I then dropped the kids off to be part of the Holt's moving crew. They will still be close, but not in our church ward anymore. :(

After Glen and Alex came home, we went to clean the church because it was our turn to help. The Oldfields were there too. It didn't take too long.

Saturday night was topped of with me keeping my feet up, and Glen and the teenagers going to the church dance.

Sunday I lost Nicole as my counselor in the Primary and gained Christy. I am so excited to have Christy, but that doesn't lessen the sadness of losing Nicole. What a fabulous example and inspiration she and Rayanne (my other counselor) have been to me. I don't know what I'd do without good counselors.

During the week were also the usuals: swim practice, play practice, piano (though not as much practice in that area as I would like), school, and for me and Glen time for genealogy. Glen continues to work on his recent break through of John Felter Smith.

I continue to hunt down missing ancestors. I found 2 great-great Uncles that were unknown (by me, at any rate) up till now...I'm guessing they were born and died in-between census years, so until the their Ohio birth records were put online, I didn't know about them. Now I need to see if I can find their death records. I like finding missing children. I like "gathering" families. I also found problems...like was Nellie really 55 when she had Antone? It's possible. Sigh. It is such a blessing to have so many genealogical records available online.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

chores, valentine's, snow, 5K run, and not so many projects

Chores:
I have tried a few methods over the years of getting the kids to do their part. A few months ago I tried giving each child one of the 5 FlyLady chores for the week, and I took the 5th chore. That worked for about 2 weeks. I decided that part of the problem was that the chores were constantly changing and it made it harder to accomplish since just about everything needed an explanation of how I wanted it done.

We are now back to a simple 4 job rotation: sweep and dust living areas, sweep and mop (using our new steam shark) dining room and kitchen, vacuuming (with our new Bissell vacuum) the office and hallway, and cleaning the back bathroom. This is week 3, but it's working...maybe mainly just because I'm not planning on giving up and giving in this time. I spent too much time in December and January cleaning and organizing to let the house fall to pot again.

Alex and the Shark

Valentine's:
Glen and I usually don't give gifts or do anything special for our anniversary or for Valentine's day, though the last few years we have been going out to eat for our anniversary. We certainly don't do flowers and gifts. So, in the picture below, can you figure out what Glen did for me for Valentine's Day this year? He cleaned off his side of the dresser (and cleaned off his nightstand) and is planning on keeping it cleaned off. I LOVE it. I'm so excited not to see a pile of papers first thing when I enter my room. Best gift ever. Thanks Hon.



Snow:
We had our first "big" snow early Wednesday morning. It's only the 3rd time snow has stuck this winter and the other 2 times there was still plenty of grass showing through. Of course, this big snow was mostly gone in less than 24 hours. But it was still nice and we are grateful for the blessing of the moisture in our area.



I wasn't in time to get a photo of Eric face-first in the snow, but he made a snow angel

President's Day 5K Run:
Hannah had signed up to run in today's President's Day 5K run/walk weeks ago. This morning it was decided that Ryan and Alex would join her--decided after they should have already been there signing up. It was cold, but not terribly so. I think they had a good time.
Hannah and Alex stretching and getting ready

Ryan ready for the competition with his man eating hat

Ryan, Alex, and Hannah ready to run

Looks like Ryan is having a good time

Our friend and piano teacher Michelle

Alex ran the whole 5K and didn't walk any of it

Hannah and her friend Emma

Nate, Tiffany, Hannah, Emma, Adam, and Ryan

Projects:
Not too many postable projects this week as I spent a lot of my free time working on genealogy...continuing to follow up on the break-through I made last weekend (see here if interested). But Glen did make vegetarian burgers. I know Hannah loved them. I thought they were OK. I love cumin, but apparently not in my black bean and mushroom burgers. It was served on English muffins with sour cream and salsa.

My other project was to make my own body wash. I have dry skin and thought it was worth a try. I grated 1 bar of Dove soap and melted it into 2 cups of water. Looks like milk, doesn't it? When it cools, it thickens. I have to say it's OK, but I prefer Oil of Olay body wash.

finished product

Stamping:
Last night was stamping at Michelle's. Always a highlight of my month. It was my turn to host the party and I wound up with $65 worth of freebies. I mostly ordered supplies like paper and ink pads, but I still can't wait to play with it all. The other 3 ladies used the Big Shot embossing/die cut machine with their projects. I made a Pull Up Treat Sleeve I found on the internet (http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/pull_treats/)
Becky's card

Toni's card
Michelle's card

My pull up treat sleeve
good week