August and a bit of September

Henry really likes eggs, especially when Papa has some.  He doesn't eat them nearly so well when he's the only one eating one. Also, he likes them with ketchup, because he LOVES ketchup, but if you give them to him with ketchup he'll probably only eat the ketchup. Ha ha!

Benji made a little apple pie in the toaster oven.  He said it was sooooo good!

And after this there should be some pictures of us visiting Papa's work, but we're not allowed to share them on social media.  We're not even supposed to take pictures.  Oops!  Well, we visited, and it was neat!  His office is right next to the lab where they test samples.  It was so neat to watch.  They have some huge robots!  And they all move so, so smoothly!  They made quick, deliberate movements, but with no jerkiness or wiggling.  It was cool.

The children in nursery discovered Brother Burk's gap.  They said, "You lost a tooth!"  Then they had to stick their fingers in. Ha ha!

I don't remember what's going on here. XD Jeremy and his dad doing uh... something.

We had a bunch of baby frogs!  They were so cute and tiny!  Jill kept catching them and letting them go.  Now we have lots of big fat frogs.  I hope that means they're controlling the bug population in our backyard. :)

Watching videos

Here's something Bubby drew. :) He's actually trying to draw people!

Bubby at work

For the first week of school Timmy had to put some things in a bag that tell about him.  One of them was his family, so we put in a family picture.  Another was something he likes to play with, so he drew a picture of his Mario doll, complete with the tag on his leg.

Joshua and Henry

Joshua made Buzz hold the gun.  He thought it was so funny. :) It was.

This gun has since moved on to the dump because Henry likes to hit with it and it's kind of broken anyway.

Timmy drew this. :)

Jill tried a free sample class of Tae Kwon Do.  She LOVED it.  I thought she would hate it because she was so far behind everyone else, but she loved it.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to fit it in the budget just yet.  Maybe next time we get paid.  I hope!  We found this uniform that Grandma Badger made for my brothers forever ago, and it fits perfectly!  We just need a white belt.

Benji needed to make a shelter and sleep in it for scouts, so he did it in our backyard.  Good thing it didn't rain. ;)

The other kiddos wanted to sleep in a tent too, so the boys set up our big one.  Timmy was mad that I wouldn't sleep in there.  I got everyone bedded down in there and went up and brushed my teeth, and then when I came out I could hear Timmy crying at the back door.  He was scared of the dark, so he wouldn't come in the house.  I sat by him in the tent for a while, and then he, Bubby, and I went back inside, and I put them to bed in their own beds.

Timmy wanted to wear this tie, so obviously that meant he needed to wear like 6 shirts. XD

Silly boy.

Timmy got a rope in the tree now for playing Emerican Ninja Worrier.  He thinks that's pretty fancy.  And Henry loves our swing set!  He's played out there a lot lately.  The weather has been so comparatively nice, so they can go out without shoes earlier in the day.

This is the eclipse!  I poked a pinhole in a piece of paper and then let the light shine through it onto this paper.  It made a teeny tiny sun, but it did work.  Then we had to go to WIC, and there was a lady there who had a filter we could look through.  Pretty cool. :)

I think hes faking here.  Silly boy.  He loves to wrap up in a blanket and close his eyes.

He also likes to climb up on the piano!  We were watching Ro make an apple strudel.  It looks so yummy!

I finally sold Grandpa Badger's autoharp.  I feel sad about it, but relieved as well.  I was going to sell it years ago, but Jeremy's mom said, "You can't sell that!  That's too sad!  Don't you think you should keep it because it was your grandpa's?"  I thought about it and decided to keep it.  Well, I finally realized that I don't even remember Grandpa playing the autoharp.  When I think of him, the autoharp isn't what I think of.  It's just been collecting dust, and nobody is going to learn to play it.  So I finally listed it on eBay, and I shipped it off on Thursday.  It did make me cry a little, but I'm good now.  It went to a guy in Indiana who, oddly enough, is named Stephen.  (Yes, it's spelled that way!)  He's going to restring it, and I'm happy that someone will enjoy it. :)

This was part of my big project in August.  I cleaned out the garage.  It still has some things we want to move to a shed, like the camping stuff, and we want to build a little shed for the bikes.  But we did get it cleaned up.  What a job!  So then we moved bedrooms all around, and we're still not done with that.  And the beds took up so much more room than I thought they would.  Yikes.  Hyrum, Benji, and Michael moved downstairs, Jill moved into the little bedroom, and Joshua moved in with Henry.  Eventually, Joshua will move down with his brothers, and then we'll play the bedroom shuffle again.  Whee!

Timmy was tired after school.

We took down the red bunk bed and hauled it to the dump, and then we bought a used wooden one that Benji and Michael are now using.  Before we started the bedroom shuffle, but after the red bed was gone we had kind of a short family council in Timmy and Bubby's room.  We discussed what all needed to happen that day, and then we got busy.  But first Papa was getting up and stopped like this, so Henry hopped on. :)

Timmy has wanted us to get a coconut for a long time.  None of us really liked it, but we have the experience now. ;)

Jeremy took me on a date last Tuesday.  We went to Arby's.  I got a French Dip.  I haven't had one in at least 10 years.  Yum!  Jeremy got a regular, which they now call a classic.  After Jeremy paid they asked what they should write on his receipt, and he said, "Oh, just say the good lookin' guy." The cashier laughed, but she did it. :)

 Kimberly and her family came to visit.  It was so nice to see them!  We didn't get to visit way long, but it was still nice.  I took a few pictures, but I think I'll keep them to myself since they don't like their pictures on the internet.  But they did come!  And we even got a picture of Timmy with his Uncle Emmett.  Dream come true! XD

Silly Jill

On Friday we drove to Tucson and picked up our friend Val (Jason Estatico) from the airport.  He is from Pennsylvania and is a good old guild friend.  He's living with us until he can get a job and some money, and then he'll move in with Nate Lyon (our third cousin on the Flake side).  He is very nice and quite quiet.  It's been fun to see him again.

Here's Timmy at Wendy's, where we stopped for lunch.

Aaaaaand we got puppies on Saturday.  Busy week!  We got two of them.  Joe gave them to us.  I can't remember the breed.  Some mix.  But both parents are nice dogs.  (Both parents belong to Joe.)  So far they are cute and happy and sweet.  We have to keep them out of the yellow room because Marshmallow likes to poo in there.  Argh! 

I took my kiddos back to the splash pad on Saturday while Jeremy and Val installed the new dishwasher.  (Hooray for a work bonus!)  Honestly, I think this might be the 4th time we've even gone there.  I hate sitting there baking in the sun while the kiddos run around.  And the adults who dress up and play with their kids in the water are kind of creepy.  I just can't do that.  No thanks.  This time it was a bit cloudy, and I brought a camp chair and sat under the sun shade and read my book for a bit.  It was OK.  Maybe we'll go back sometime.

Here are those cute puppies. Scout is the brown one and Marshmallow is white.

This is how Bubby pronounces Marshmallow (Smashmellow).  Benji was way sad that Papa spelled it like that.  He was also overtired from all the driving and whatnot.  Oh well.

We were doing Saturday night baths.  I put the three little ones in the tub and went to fold some clothes.  Then I heard the sink running and thought, "What the..."  So I went in there, and this is what I found. XD

 

Jill asked me to take this picture. :)

I don't know why Joshua stuck his head in, but OK. :)

Timmy made his bed without being asked on Sunday, and he even arranged Mario and Luigi nicely. I think he likes being on the top bunk.  One nice thing about it is that Mario and Luigi stay in his bed instead of getting lost in the middle of the night. :) It's not like he wakes up missing them, but the next night we have to hunt for them.

Henry in his rightful place (or at least what he thinks is his rightful place)

Henry

Sorry I've not been posting much. I'll try again. So darn busy, and I hardly ever get on my computer lately. Weird!
Anyway, just really quick.
Henry likes his bed. When we go in his room to change his diaper he giggles and points to his bed and says, "A bed a bo!" So cute! Also, we we're doing some cleaning today, and Hyrum found some measuring cups that someone had given him years ago for his birthday. He left them sitting somewhere and Henry discovered them. He played with them pretty much the rest of the day, stacking and unstacking and all that. He just fell asleep with two of them. :)

The Store

I just got back from taking 3 little kiddos to The Store.  (Dun-dun-dunnnnnn!)  Normally, I try to go by myself, but this time the kiddos hadn't been anywhere in like 5 days, so I took pity on them and took them with me.  This time, though, it was payday, and so we were out of like EVERYTHING.  So we were all over the store, and in between Bubby in the cart sitting on everything and Henry in the seat grabbing/biting everything, the bottom of the cart was full of things to keep away from them.  And then the cart got too full, so I had to let Bubby out, which he takes as his cue to explore every inch of the store.

And then I was heading to checkout with my FULL cart, and the lady said, "Why don't you try our new checkout lanes with conveyor belts?  They're open now!"  It was that or wait in line with Henry grabbing things out of the cart and Jill and Bubby running every which way.  So I unloaded everything on the belt, and as I did the lady decided to show Jill and Bubby how to scan things and put them in the bags.  I wondered how many things I'd end up with off the impulse racks that they did not OK with me before scanning.  (Luckily, though they grabbed several things off the racks, I don't think they scanned any of it.)  And with them scanning things they still needed help bagging things, and Bubby was sitting on the bagging area with a bag in his lap trying to shove things in.  And Henry was still sitting there hoping to grab things.  After fifty thousand utterances of "put that back - I'm not buying it today" we were finally done and everything was all loaded in the cart.  We headed out to the car with like the heaviest bag of all in one of my hands because Henry wouldn't hold still and it kept squishing his legs when I put it next to him in the seat.  And then we got to the car and found the back it full of things waiting to go be donated.  Uggggghhhh...  I let out an audible sob and started throwing it all in the backseat.  Not cool.

Well, anyway, we made it home.  I'm just left shaking my head, saying, "Why do I do this to myself?!"  I forgot several things, and it all cost so much.  It's discouraging.  Thank heavens my wonderful hubby just shrugs his shoulders and says, "We have a lot of people."  And thank heavens for bananas because they're pretty much my favorite, especially cold.  And when you get them fresh from Walmart they are cold, and eating them on the way home is like the best thing ever.

Back to School

First day of School 2017-2018

Hyrum walked to Seminary.  Joshua got a ride from his Papa.  I dropped Benji and Michael off at the cafeteria because they wanted breakfast.  But Timmy was just ready to go to his school.  We went to the playground and found his teacher.  And here they are.  She is Mrs. Mack.  She has a hubby and a baby boy and are from like Washington or something, so not related to the Macks here.  (If they were related to the ones here they'd be related to Jeremy.)

Poor Timmy.  I had them facing the sun first for the pictures, and his eyes still didn't want to open after I had them turn.  Ha!  But he was so happy to be there, and so far it's going great.  Yesterday he came home from school and ran around making noise like he does, and then he came and told me that some kids were scared to sit on the balloons at school to pop them because they were afraid it would hurt.  And then he laughed.  I guess they had a balloon-popping game.  He doesn't seem fazed (Did you know that's an actual word?  I always thought phased was the correct way to spell it, but apparently, it's not correct in this case.  I looked it up. ;) ) by the length of the day.  He comes home just as happy/crazy as usual.

Benji and Michael seem to be doing good as well.  Michael is still quite annoyed with going to school, but he did choose to go to public school, so...  I think it's just his preteenness showing.  I think that's why he's annoyed with school.  He has things he enjoys about it too, like being in the same class as some of his best friends.  Also, we've been talking with Michael about his little "girlfriend."  They're not technically boyfriend and girlfriend, but what do you call it when they meet up somewhere?  That's a date.  That makes it awkward.  How is it different if they go hang out at each other's houses?  Hmmmm...  She is his best friend, and I'm glad because she is quite a nice girl.  But hmmmm...  Also, he decided to drop clarinet and learn cello this year.  I don't think he'll regret it.  I wonder if he'll ever decide to do band again.  We'll just roll with it for now.  Cello is awesome.  I learned a bit of cello for my class strings in college, and I loved how the sound just vibrated through me because you're basically hugging it.  So cool.  But now I do need to go in and return the clarinet we've been renting.

Benji is pretty excited to be in 8th grade.  He feels so grown up.  And he is one good-looking fella.  Yesterday he was assigned a slideshow about himself for his computer class.  So he was putting in pictures of himself talking about his "handsomeness that doesn't ever end."  Ha ha!  That's pretty much Benji at this point.  He tells me everyday, "I'm a big boy.  I'm a good boy."  He says those things in a silly voice, but he says them like he needs the validation.  So I validate him on that.  Of course.  He also LOVES it when I ask him to make dinner.

And so far that's about it.

More pictures

School starts in a week!  This year our school district will be doing a Modified 5 schedule.  That means that the primary school and the elementary school will have regular school days Monday-Thursday, and then a half day on Fridays.  The middle school and high school only have school on Friday for kids who are below 70% in a class or who have an extra practice, like, for a play or something.  It'll be interesting.  We'll see how it goes.

I registered Benji and paid his electives fees today.  $60.  Then we have to pay for a T-shirt for drama.  ($12) (Teleysha Hunt Smith teaches choir and drama, and Benji is in drama.)  And then later in the year we'll have to pay for wrestling and do a physical.  Oh, joy!  And next year he'll be a freshman, and I'm not looking forward to paying for that. Sigh.  He's all excited to be the first of our children to go to high school.

Also, I updated the post with the video.  It has a link in it now, and that should work better.

I went out walking one day and found all these mushrooms in the grass behind the college library.  There were bigger ones a week or so earlier, and Jeremy picked one.  I'm not sure what he did with it, but I don't think he ate it.

I was working on something at the table, and Henry climbed up and grabbed my back to school shopping list.  He drew all over the front and back.  I didn't stop him because I figured he'd only draw a bit.  And when he kept going I was surprised!  He never colors for that long!

Jill and I have been working on math.  This particular day I had her count all the money in Papa's coin jar.  I can't remember how much it was.  Somewhere around $6.50.  We need to do it again for more practice.  She really enjoyed that, and I've thrown in more pennies since then.

We had a clothing exchange again in Safford.  I never find everything on my list, but I did find some nice things.  I did find this tie.  I knew Benji would love it, and he did. :)

I needed mostly some shirts because lately all I can wear are pretty much campout shirts.  I found this outfit.  The skirt has lace stripes on it and is so cute!  But the shirt and skirt are both too hot!  And I'm hoping that by winter maybe I'll have to take them in and won't look so lumpy. ;) (I'm trying to get on the treadmill in the mornings before Henry wakes up.  It's hard.  I've been so tired.  But 2 days a week the last two weeks.  That's improvement!)

Cute Henry all ready for church

Timmy helped make this scrapbook at his old school.  I'm sad that he won't go there anymore.  It's such a great, happy place.  I hope he does fine at this school!  Anyway, he loves this scrapbook.  He looks at it every few days or so and tells me about the people in the pictures.  He is always asking me to take pictures of him, and that's why we have this one.  (I think Joshua made chocolate cake that day.)

My reading yesterday.  Verse 21 and on really hit me at that moment.  I've been thinking I need to be better.  I need to not just go through the motions but live the gospel more purposefully.  And scriptures like this and the conference talks I listen to on the treadmill say the same thing!  (I need to stand up on the inside!)

More often than not, this is how my pillows look by morning.  Sometimes I get really tired of it.

Timmy drew this.  I'm not altogether sure what it is, but there you go. :) I love looking at his artwork.  Lately he draws really detailed things like this, and he seems to be really interested in parts of things.  He also likes to draw American Ninja Warrior courses and then "play Emerican Ninja Worrier" and have me video him.  (Betcha can't guess his favorite TV show. ;)  Hooray for Hulu!)