Hot Dogs & S'mores!

We entertained ourselves with a backyard cookout last week. The little ones really, really, really wanted to roast marshmallows and hot dogs after they saw Daddy burning some brush. We had to wait for the weekly grocery store adventure, and then voila! See if you can spot the elusive Sariah creature. She was ... elusive.

Apparently, we have all been eating our hot dogs the wrong way. Per Madeline's fine example, we should approach eating our hot dogs as if they are corn on the cob. I was fascinated.

And then there was the Thor incident. Our boys were quite pleased with themselves for recreating a scene from Endgame. Caleb will probably kill me if he sees this published ... but since I'm not on Facebook right now, no one will see it, right?

And more Madeline cuteness. IBC root beer for the win, and yummy s'mores smeared all about! Success!

Jaws

On Sunday, I regaled my children with a childhood trip to Universal Studios.

We were initially discussing superheroes, and how I wasn't really in love with any when I was growing up. I thought Superman was handsome, I said, but after learning how they made him fly at Universal Studios, I was less impressed. Meh.

Then I laughed. Because Jaws, too, was at Universal Studios. And I. Was. Terrified. I distinctly remember feeling utterly panic-stricken. And screaming. And apparently I leapt over all the other people in the boat to get to the middle and away from Jaws after he jumped up right next to me (I swear!!!).

Mom sent me the only pictures she has from this particular adventure, and really, I'm still surprised that she even has this much, given how I reacted.

I have always loved listening to my dad tell this story. His laugh makes my heart smile.

Sariah is sitting next to me right now, laughing at poor Jaws. She says that he looks surprised, not scary, and that his eyes are weird. She may have a point there. Her laugh makes my heart smile, too.

Fort Fun

Some days you have to make messes, forts, and towers. And frowns, too. This is what I awoke to after my Sunday nap. There are much worse ways to wake up, lol.

A Few More Favorites

Some of my other favorites from messing around in the yard with the camera on Saturday. These are my more elusive subjects, lol.

Zooming

Rex and Sariah got to do an online church meeting with some of the other youth and youth leaders from church. I think they enjoyed seeing familiar faces. Not really sure. Between the two of them they maybe said fifteen words the entire time. To answer your questions: yes, this is the beginning of Rex's troublemaking look. I love him. And yes, that last expression is one we see on Sariah's face a lot these days. She is feeling very ... twelve. And I am feeling very old, as in too old for these shenanigans. I love her, too.

Easter 2020 Preparations

Easter happened, and we did indeed prepare the day before. I've just been busying myself with other tasks than the blog. Sad day. But fun times getting reading for the Easter bunny. Check out Madeline's cake -- best decorating job ever!!!

Tuesday Happenings

In an effort to cheer everyone up ... ok, wait, that's a lie. It was totally a bribe for Madeline last night so I could have a little quiet time to myself. I told her if she went to sleep in her own bed all by herself, we would make cookies today. I don't mind resting with her at night IF I'm prepared to put myself to bed because I WILL get sleepy. But. I needed some quiet time inside my own head and --this is the important caveat-- with no one touching me. So bribery. And it worked. So double win because cookie dough and cookies today. 😁 This face!

 Rose made the comment today that this little girl is pure joy, and that's for sure and certain the truth.

She has also been, hands down, the best at entertaining herself in quarantine. It makes my heart so happy to see her pretending because I'm a firm believer that that's the way our brains like to grow. Also, can you believe those legs? She's like a frisky colt these days, all legs and movement! I had to ask her to lie still just so I could get this picture without blurs. On a side note, now we know why the couch cushions are sagging.

Meanwhile, Mel's older sister was happy because she got to play with power tools today. Who knew that in Texas you'd need the blower in the spring and not the fall?! Not me. But apparently ALL the trees in our yard don't shed their leaves until the new ones start growing in. Good news? Spring is here. And we can use some spring.

And because I know you all are dying to know: Caleb's blue hair is in progress. First he bleached it. Blue coming soon.

And one final note: if you are going to race home with one of the kids, don't do it with the bike she pawned off on you so that she could win and because she's afraid of falling. The road rash on my elbow is pretty exciting. But both the bike and I survived, so awesome. And just for laughs? It was the four-year-old's bike so I was jogging and tripped over it. Nothing so glorious as falling off the bike. As always, my ideas are bright and I am grace personified. Haha.

Incoherent Minutiae

I've tried all day to organize my thoughts into something coherent.

I had grand plans for this blog post. Fun picture of the kids, or maybe something about the family history I've been working on.

But nothing has really gelled into place.

I walked 5 miles this morning. The weather was a bit cooler, and I'm just so grateful that my ankle has healed and doesn't give me any pain any more so I can go on an adventure ... the only one I'm allowed outside of my house right now.

We are trying to get into the swing of schooling at home. I've been homeschooling Sam and Madeline, of course, but now Rex and Sariah are home as well. The school district is gearing up to return to grading next week. Should be loads of fun.

Yes, that was a bit sarcastic. I've already been overwhelmed just by adding Madeline's schoolwork (learning numbers and ABCs) to Sam's school work this year. Adding two more kids to the mix is a lot. It'll even out eventually. But right now I feel like all I do is school work in one form or another.

I guess I did have an additional adventure today. I ventured out to the store. I had an order to pick up at HEB and then a prescription to pick up at Target (plus the things that didn't make it into my HEB order because the store shelves still have issues and the HEB curbside order limit can be challenging for a family of 8). It's exhausting to shop these days. There are fewer people, but the emotional toll is greater ... I get anxious about the things I touch and the air I breathe and the things I might be taking home to my family. And as much of an introvert as I am, it's just plain awkward and depressing  to keep so much distance between myself and others.

But, bright side: the store shelves are showing signs of catching up and being fully stocked again. AND this way I'm forced to plan ahead and not fly by the seat of my pants and be at the store eleventy times in one week.

I sat down tonight with my scriptures to prepare for Easter. This was probably the smartest thing I did for myself all day long. Right up there with pumpkin bread from Kneader's that I didn't share with anyone tonight.

I brought Madeline home a new baby doll. She's been loving on one who is at imminent risk of becoming decapitated. She wanted to fix it with tape today. Sadly that's probably a no-go. Seeing her face light up at the new doll was priceless.

Also, Caleb is turning his hair blue even as I type.

Tomorrow should be fun!

Deep Breaths

I'm gonna be honest. Today was a little rough around the edges.

It could really be so much worse in so very many ways.

Sometimes the emotional and mental load of what's going on around us takes some personal adjustment. And sometimes adjustment is uncomfortable.

I was kind of done peopling. Except there are 8 of us here, and there's nowhere to go. I ended up taking a bath and eating some chocolate, and then found myself anxious to get back to the kids. But we are all a little on edge, and so things fall apart quickly. We are a work in progress.

This quarantine is especially difficult for our social butterfly, Sariah. She misses her friends. She misses library books. She misses meeting new people. And the time frame is becoming more of a reality for her. She's cried. And when she's cried, I've cried.

I can't decide what to do about the little device in my hands so much of the time. Social media can be a blessing and a curse. I've appreciated my friends' posts of goodness and humor.

The news articles are unbearable, and once I get started reading them, I have trouble stopping.

I'm not sleeping at night, and that's bad for the body's immune system, which we kinda need at top notch right now.

So.

Deep breaths. Lots of deep breaths.

Unplug for at least a few hours.

Gratitude. For my girls and getting to talk to them through the marvels of modern technology. For Unstable Unicorns. For Epic! and for Prodigy. For sunshine and cool breezes. For long walks. For chats with two of my BFFs. For all of the people working so hard to save lives. For hugs at home. For the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. For Sam's grateful heart. For Madeline's joyful giggles. For Sariah's sensitive heart. For Rex's sneaky humor. For Caleb's full laugh. For daddies who take their little girls for walks, and for husbands who compliment their wife's begrudging meal-making. For my Savior and for my Heavenly Father and Mother.

So.

Get up in the morning, and hug my babies, and be with them, because time is a gift.

And meanwhile....

I taught Sariah to cross-stitch. Two days ago. She's been a freakin' quick learner. She finished her first project today. I assisted her exactly twice: when I taught her to make the crosses, and when I taught her to backstitch. She added the hearts to the design all on her own. I'm impressed. In that amount of time, I did about six lines of 10 stitches in the project I've been working on for 20+ years, lol. She has already started a new beginner project (wait'll you see it; you'll know exactly which decade it was purchased in). Sariah's pretty amazing. I'm grateful she's got a jam for being at home right now. And I'm grateful I thought to pick up some bigger projects for her the last time I was at Walmart.

When her 7 full-time entertainers are hiding from temporarily away from her or otherwise occupied, Madeline entertains herself with the TV. She is really into listening with her headphones, which may not have actually been plugged in since I could hear every word the ponies were saying, but I don't think I could have argued this with her, so I didn't even try (because with the 4-year-old, the mom doesn't win). I love these kids!

Cub Camp Fun: It's Sam's First Year!

So it finally occurred to me tonight that I have posted all of my Cub Scout Day Camp pictures in the private FB group, so nobody near and dear to us has seen very many of the pictures. Voila! Here they are.

Rex taught him to shoot BBs. Looks like they were pretty successful!

This was a fun game that involved lots of water.

And they made Earth Slime, which apparently was great fun to put on your head and face whilst still in its bag...I suppose that's probably a good thing.

Shooting went well, too. He had a great teacher (one of the other boys' dads, who was with us for the day).

Poor Sam! He hit one of the target balloons, but there wasn't quite enough oomph! behind it, so the arrow bounced off of the balloon instead of popping it. He is anxious to try again though!

This is me being corrected very rightfully by a Boy Scout about a third of my age for not keeping my bow aimed down range. Oops.

Our big girl is in the Siblings Den, and gets to do all the things the Cub Scouts do. But she stops to visit with me and hug me every now and again.

She's beautiful. P.S. Boomer Sooner!

Grand Family

Even Hannah was there....

From Grammy's Eye

I totally ripped off all of Grammy's pictures from their visit here, because hello, fun!!