May 22-28, 2017

The new week didn’t start out all that great when I locked my keys in the car at Costco.  Thankfully Lee was able to rescue me.  He had to walk to the high school to get his car (Emma had driven it to school that day), then he drove home to get the extra van key, then he drove to Costco and back all during his lunch.  I was thankful he was working in Canby that day!  I seem to be prone to locking my keys in the car.  I need to figure out how to quit doing that… 

Isaac and Grace were thrilled that the fidget spinners they had ordered and paid for came. 

Emma was subbing as a swim teacher while Isaac and Grace had lessons that night.  I love to watch her at work!

It was super nice outside so I decided it was time to get the lawn furniture and grill ready for the summer.  I washed down the furniture and left it all to dry in the sun.

Then I tackled our nasty grill.

I couldn’t get it completely clean, but it looked much better!  We were ready for the nice weather of summer to stay.

I grabbed  Emma’s jacket one morning when I was walking the twins to school.  I found a happy surprise in one of the pockets.  Lucky me!  ;)

The end of the school year was coming, even though it was going to be super late because of all the snow days we had in the winter.  Mrs. Johnson made the cutest bulletin board display to help the kids hang in there until the very end.

Isaac and Grace were hanging right next to each other.

Each of them got to have a friend over that week.  It was nice to be able to go outside.

We even walked to the park.

I sprawled out under a tree and enjoyed the sun while they played.

Isaac and Grace had been working hard to save up their money to buy a new trampoline for the back yard.  Our beloved little trampoline was dying and was getting too small for our big kids.  They needed just a little more money so on Friday after school they did some extra jobs. 

That night Lee and I went out with good friends to dinner and Top Golf.  We had a great time with the Parker’s, Isom’s, Leptich’s and Pederson’s. 

It was Krystal’s birthday weekend so they sang to her, whether she liked it or not. 

It was a great night out.  We are sure blessed to have these amazing people as friends. 

On Saturday we took the money that Isaac and Grace had saved, added a little of our own, and bought a new trampoline.  We got to work putting it together.

They had one last jump on the little trampoline before we took it to its new home.  That trusty trampoline has been the best addition to our back yard ever since our friend Dave Vitkauskas rescued it from his neighbor's garbage and drove it to our house holding it to the top of his car.  We’ve loved that thing!

Then they started breaking in the new trampoline.

It was even better since they had saved their own money for it.

The trampoline was finished in time for Lee and Emma to go on a date to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie.  Emma had been at a lifeguard class all day, so she was glad to be done and doing something fun.  Especially with her dad.

On Sunday I got to do Primary music again.  I love it.  I really miss that calling.

It was a beautiful day so we ate dinner outside and there might have been more jumping on the trampoline. 

I even jumped!  I’m not posting those pictures though.  ;)

Worker Isaac

Dave Gibb took Isaac out to work with him on New Years Eve day.  They worked on moving some big logs, but they weren’t able to finish the job.  Isaac suggested to Dave that they need to get the excavator to finish it.  Dave had to break it to Isaac that they didn’t have time that day to get a bigger rig and that he would pick him up the next week to finish the job.  Isaac kept insisting that it was light enough and they had enough time, but Dave finally convinced him that they could wait until another day.  A few days later Dave came and picked Isaac up in the dump truck that was pulling a front end loader.  Isaac was beyond excited.  Even better?  Dave had bought Isaac his own set of worker gloves. 

They went and got the job done.  Both Isaac and Dave had a great time!   Dave said that Isaac got right in and worked hard.

I got a text from Ashley saying that Isaac was DRIVING the backhoe.

Then Shannon sent this video.  He really was driving!

Isaac came home totally happy and excited to tell us about his day.  Dave had even paid him for his hard work.  Isaac immediately paid his tithing and then put the rest in his savings for his mission.  Way to be a worker, Isaac!  Thank you Dave for being a good example of hard work for Isaac and for the great pictures for me!

The End of Summer

I always have mixed emotions at the end of summer.  Emma is so easy to have at home, in fact she is helpful.  I love that I can run to the store without the littles every time and I love having her home to chat with.  I also love that we don’t have to have as much structure and we can do fun things that we can’t during the school year.  So when school starts I mourn the loss of more carefree type days, but I also crave the routine that it brings.  Having a set schedule helps me to get more done in a day and I am better able to fit in the things that are important to me (exercise, scripture study, better prayers, etc.).  Whether I like it or not, the summer had come to an end!  It was a busy summer even though we didn’t go on any big trips ourselves.  It went by super fast!  We didn’t set up a summer plan as we have in years past and I was fine with that.  We had enough to keep us busy and doing.  We did institute a new job schedule for Emma that was very similar to what we have been doing, just revamped and with a little monetary motivation included.  It was very simple and worked really well.

My favorite was that she made dinner once a week and she completely did her own laundry each week.  Wahoo!  She made us some good dinners and learned new things.  This particular dinner she grilled the chicken on her own and made the bread from scratch.  Good skillz! (She wanted me to be sure to point out that she didn’t eat that whole plate, we split the chicken…)

Isaac and Grace did their usual job routine over the summer (which will need to be revamped soon as well).  I added a little school work to the morning.  They practiced writing specific letters on their white boards.  We weren’t always consistent with doing it but they loved it when we did.  I have decided that I love those little white boards for all sorts of things! 

Grace’s usually turned into a work of art when we were done with the letters.

That’s a bee in the sky in case you couldn’t tell.  :)

I think we had a good balance this summer.  So although I was a little sad that summer was ending, I felt like it had been a good one.  Bring on the school year!  I was ready for cool, crisp fall days, not to mention soup weather anyway, my favorite! 

This might be Isaac’s feelings about the end of summer (one of many selfies I keep finding on my phone):

Goodbye summer!

Washing Windows with Grandma

How lucky am I that my 88 year old Grandma still comes to help me wash my windows??  She is amazing! 

Isaac, ever the worker, followed her around all morning and helped her with whatever she needed.  She washed all my downstairs outside windows and screens while I worked on the inside windows.  I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t get done nearly as often if it weren’t for my Grandma!

After all that work Grandma was still up for playing with Isaac and Grace.

She was pretty amazed with Polly Pockets, especially their clothes, and it was so fun to see her play them with Grace.  Isaac and Grace sure love her.

Thank you Grandma, I love you too!