Journal Prompt #2

I'm still working on old blog books.  I'm including photos I put on Shutterfly and those updates I used to write.  Looks like the petered out during the particular book I'm working on.  Anyway, the more I work with Shutterfly the more I feel disgusted that I ever had anything to do with them.  The site will randomly freeze, which means I have to start all over - log in, go to the particular share site, select the pictures tab, select the album, and then find my place in the album.  And then I copy and paste or just retype the caption for each individual picture.  It takes way longer than just copying and pasting the whole thing from Blogger.  And Blogger doesn't freeze on me.  Stupid.  And I've got several more months to get through with pictures on Shutterfly.  I think I went with that site in the first place because it's actually for photos and I was worried about running out of space for photos on my Google account.  Oh, well.  I'll get through it.

Anyway, on to the journal prompt.

2. Describe a time when your life took an unpredictable turn.

I can think of a few times for this one.  One was when we decided to move back to Globe from Utah.  I knew it was the right thing to do, but I was upset about it for a long time.  That was really hard for me.  I loved our house.  I loved my friends.  I loved our ward.  I loved our Temple in St. George.  I loved the aquatic center.  I loved Lin's (the grocery store closest to our house).  I loved the people.  I loved the school my kiddos went to.  I loved the climate.  Leaving all that to go back to hot Globe with a broken house was devastating.  And on top of it, a couple of weeks before we moved, we were in Globe, and we went for a walk, and my allergies flared up so bad my inner ears were itching.  That was the first time that had ever happened to me, though it's happened several times since.  But that was just the moldy cherry on top of the frustration sundae.  It really kind of tore me up to move back.

Another was when I had Hyrum.  It took SO LONG before I was finally pregnant with Hyrum.  (*Cough, cough, 8 or 9 whole months, cough, cough.*)  (Honestly, those 8 or 9 months were really hard for me.  My friends didn't want to hang out anymore because I was old and married.  Jeremy was at work all the time.  I was just so, so lonely.  I wanted a baby so bad, if only to have someone else in the house with me.  In hindsight, I should've just gotten a job, but Jeremy didn't want me to have to do that.  I did try a few places, but only kind of half-heartedly.)  And then Hyrum tried to come 6 weeks early.  I was feeling crampy one morning like I was having a period.  I didn't know that contractions would feel that way.  I called the doctor, and they had me come right to the hospital.  They found I was dilated to a 6, I believe.  That baby was coming!  They gave me a shot to stop contractions, as well as one to help the baby's lungs develop, and then they put me in a helicopter and flew me to Tucson.  Jeremy had to go home and pack some things, buy a car seat, and drive all that way by himself, worried the whole way that he was missing the delivery.

But by the time I got to Tucson, the contractions had slowed way down, and then they stopped.  A day or two later they moved me to a different room, which stunk really badly, especially that time that I dropped my water pitcher on the carpet.  I waited like 2 weeks dilated to about a 6, not in labor anymore.  I did a puzzle and crocheted a blanket and watched TV.  I had at least 2 amniocentesis tests to check his lungs (Ow!) along with other tests.  Finally when he was only 4 weeks early, they let him come.  Poor Jeremy had missed a lot of classes and work trying to be with me the whole time, sleeping on couches in the waiting room at night.  It was rotten for him.  Poor guy.  We were just kids.  

Anyway, so they put me on the medicine to start contractions again, and I got right up to delivery, and no amount of pushing and forceps would get that guy out, and his heart rate dropped every time I pushed.  They had to do an emergency C-section.  Before we went to the OR I had Jeremy give me a quick blessing because I was terrified.  The delivery ended up fine.  2 years later from another doctor we finally found out that the cord had been around his neck twice.  

And then the poor little guy was so jaundiced he had to stay under the bilirubin lights at the hospital for a day or two, alone, naked in a bassinet in a cold room with the lights shining on him.  I was allowed to come every two hours or so to nurse him.  They had glued velcro dots to his temples so they could stick on a fuzzy eye protector that looked like sunglasses.  Poor fella.  I knew he was cold, but the nurse wouldn't believe me.  Finally another nurse found that he was indeed cold, and when I returned she had him snuggled in a warmer.  Poor fella.  I was thankful for that nurse.  It turned out OK, and after not too long we were all headed home.  That was a crazy experience.

Another unpredictable turn was when I was pregnant with Michael.  I remember I had the ultrasound where we found out he was a boy, and the ultrasound lady said out of the blue, "Who's your doctor?"  I told her, and she said, "Well, she doesn't like me to discuss things I see with her patients, but if you promise not to tell I'll tell you."  But she left it at that.  She never told us anything.  I figured something must be wrong, but I just had to wait to find out.  Well, I went to the next doctor appointment a month later and the doctor told me I had placenta previa.  I'd hoped to have a VBAC delivery again, but with rules tightening up around AZ I'd have to find a doctor who could comply with the rules to let me.  But then with placenta previa there was no way I could safely deliver that way.  I'd have to have a C-section.  I remember coming home from the doctor appointment kind of freaked out.  Placenta previa was what Jeremy's mom had with Joe, her last baby.  It had been scary.  She was put on bed rest down in the valley for months, and she ended up having to deliver early anyway.   There was lots of bleeding throughout the pregnancy.  

Anyway, so I got home from the appointment and Jeremy was in the driveway talking to a stinky rotten friend, and I needed him to talk to me because I was freaking out.  I tried to pull him aside and tell him what I'd just learned, but he didn't freak out.  Did he not understand?  Or was he too busy talking?  I don't know.  Anyway, we all know I did end up having to live in the valley for the last 2 months or so.  I did have some bleeding, but I was never put on bed rest.  Eventually, the high risk doctor told me I also had placenta accreta.  He said he was going to recommend that my doctor cut high for the C-section instead of over the scar I already had, because the placenta was right there, and he said we should probably not have any more kids.  I was so scared, and I was so sad because I needed a little girl.  I hadn't had my little girl yet.

Well, anyway, Michael did indeed make it to term, though his weight was low compared to my other babies.  He was still a healthy weight, though.  Dr. Joe, upon hearing the high risk doctor's recommendation said, "Nah, I'll just cut low and be quick."  And he did.  It all came out OK.  And Dr. Joe didn't even ban further babies.  And as we all know, the next one was FINALLY my little girl. :)  And then I had 3 after that. XD

I feel so sad for Jeremy for all the pregnancy troubles I had.  He had to buck up and be a man, but he was also terrified that he'd lose me, and with Michael he was terrified while taking care of three little ones since I was far away.

Another time I can think of was when I met Jeremy.  I was a college freshman, just moving into my dorm, and there was that cute guy sitting there.  I chatted with him now and then as I came and went over the next few months, but I didn't think I was ready for a boyfriend, and I didn't even know his name.  But things just felt so comfortable and natural with him, like we just fit together.  I remember saying to my roommate/best friend as we were walking together one day, "I don't think I'm ready for a boyfriend."  Then within a few weeks I had one.  I was super surprised, but it was wonderful. :) Nothing like being in love.  Gaining Jeremy as a boyfriend was definitely an unpredictable turn for me, but it was a good one. :) He actually liked me, and he was such a good person, and I actually waited those two years.  I'm glad I did.

Life can be surprising, but it's been a good life so far.

Journal Prompts

I just updated the blog layout.  I hope that helps, Mama!  The posts should appear in a less confusing fashion I hope!  I don't know why there were the featured post and popular post gadgets at the bottom before, since really only two of you read this blog.  Ha!  But those are gone now.  Plus, a photo update was long overdue, and I will be updating it again soon, I think.

There are a few times I've thought about writing my life story, and it is just such a daunting task to think about.  I think I could do better with journal prompts, so I googled journal prompts, and now I have a nice long list.  Maybe I'll try to do one of them every so often, and that way I'll not only be writing SOMETHING, but I'll be working on a sort of life story.  Maybe.  Anyway, it ought to be enjoyable. ;)

I have to mention first, though, that last night Jeremy and I finished reading The Count of Monte Cristo.  It was my first time reading it, and Jeremy's second.  It was such a touching story.  *Spoiler alert!*  I love that in his quest for revenge he finds himself compelled to be lenient and/or to save certain innocents.  I love what he learned in the process.  I must admit, though, that I'm sad that he couldn't marry Mercedes in the end.  She was a widow, after all!  She just kind of gave up and gave in to self-pity and self-loathing for her perceived mistakes.  I'm glad for Haydee, though.  What really got me is why in the world did the Count help the guy "kill" himself instead of just showing him that his true love was still alive like he promised she would be?!  What was the point of that?!  (The Count actually gave the guy a potion that makes him look like he's dead momentarily, the same potion he gave to the guy's true love that made her look dead so she could escape her father's house.)  I think it said something about he proved his love and devotion by "killing" himself to be with his love.  I still think it's dumb.  The guy really thought he was killing himself.  And then when he woke up and realized he didn't die he reached for a knife and almost stabbed himself.  What if Valentine hadn't spoken up so quickly and he actually did kill himself then and there?  Stupid.

Phew!  Now, I can be over that.  Really, I'm glad that I read that book.  I can see why it's a classic.  I loved it, and I'm so happy that I experienced it with Jeremy.

So, on to the journal prompts!

1. What lesson in life did you learn the hard way?

I can't think of a particular one.  Lemme see.

I remember as a teenager I was obsessed with Richard Rollins there for a while.  I remember that one time I went to the high school to skate and I had told my parents I'd be there alone, and then one of them drove up to find me later and Richard was there too.  I was so ashamed of myself.  And then Richard turned out to be a jerk face anyway.  What a waste.  But we were all dumb as teenagers, right?  I can think of a million and one dumb things I did as a teenager, but look at me!  I came out all right, didn't I? :) I did learn that parents know a thing or two, and that it's not worth it to deceive them.  

That wasn't particularly a bad one, was it?

I guess the only other thing I can think of was that nonsense with Elizabeth.  We took her in, genuinely wanting to help her.  I learned from the experience that it's not my job to help everyone who is having a hard time.  I learned that some people are so mixed up that they'll take the help that you give and throw it back in your face.  That poor girl was dealing with some serious hardships in her life.  I really regret letting her in, though.  After she moved out she went to the bishop and stake president with some terrible lies about Jeremy, which she probably honestly believed were true, and the stake president wouldn't believe Jeremy when he said those things never happened, and for months we were in limbo.  It was definitely a pretty low point in my life.  

Maybe I'm too trusting, and maybe I care about people too much.  I think both she and Val have convinced me that I don't really want to adopt like I thought I did for lots of years.  Not that we ever considered adopting Val.  Just that inviting people into your home, even when you're trying to help them out, can turn out bad, and I still feel it kind of upset the balance in our home.  People with different backgrounds are harder to mesh with.  I'd like to never do that again, not for anyone.  But then again, I trust people, and I care about them.  I may be a hopeless case.  Ha ha!  Well, I guess I could be worse.  I could be a jerk face.  And our children could have suffered.  

Now, hopefully the next question will be more happy. ;) Really, I'm thankful for my life.  It's a good one.

Timmy

Yesterday most of the kiddos didn't find out until after school that Marshmallow had died.  They were so sad.  Timmy seemed like he was almost sadder than Benji was, and kept bursting into tears at random moments.  (Benji cried for a long while and then exclaimed, "Dumb dog!"  Poor guy.  He loved that silly dog.)  First thing he did when he got home was start drawing.  He'd calm down to draw something and then cry some more.  All of them were random things about dead pets.  I took some pictures.  I'll post those later.  I held him a lot, and we talked about resurrection and how Marshmallow doesn't hurt anymore.  He processes things by talking about them and, I guess, drawing pictures too, because he's talked about it a lot.  Sometimes when he wants to confirm that something he knows to be true is actually true, he asks about it, even though he already knows the answer, and then he seems really comforted to find out that it was true.

Anyway, just now he said, "After Marshmallow is resurrected, if he gets stuck on the fence again, you need to let me know."

I have no words.

R.I.P. Marshmallow

Yesterday morning I was getting ready to take Benji to band, and suddenly there was a horrible howling from the side yard.  Marshmallow had tried to jump through the fence (AGAIN!) and got impaled (AGAIN!).  Benji tried to help him get off, but Marshmallow bit him.  I was super worried.  Dog stuck on the fence, Benji upstairs rolling on the bathroom floor crying with a deep gash in his thumb. Jeremy rushed home from work.  He got the dog off the fence and bandaged Benji, and then we got everyone off to school.  Everything seemed to be going OK.  Marshmallow's gash wasn't as bad as last time, and he was up running around.

Well, I guess he wasn't OK.  A few minutes ago we went out to check on him and he was dead.  I'm so sad for Benji.  He loved that silly dog.  I'm sad for Scout, the other dog.  He's going to be lonely.

I freely admit that I'm not a dog person, and I didn't want dogs.  But man!  You try to do right by your kids and end up caring anyway.

First Half of September

So first of all, I think I'ma whine just a bit.

In the last couple of weeks we've been working on Hyrum's mission papers.  We filled out all the ones we need to and printed the ones for the dentist and doctor, and then Hyrum got those checkups done.  Well, it turned out he's been bad at flossing, so he had a bunch of cavities that had to be taken care of before the dentist papers could be turned in.  And the doctor ordered a TB test.  There was some trouble getting that done, but he got the stuff injected, and now we're waiting the however many days before going in to get it checked.  They also had to wait on a vaccine that he needs because they were all out.  What?!  And he's a bit over the weight limit.  Can't be too easy to get all that done, right?  It's just been a lot of frustrating work, and we're not done.

I don't know what I was expecting.  With the dentist I wasn't expecting any work or maybe one cavity or something.  For pity's sake, we go in for checkups every 3 months, and Hyrum just went in for his a few weeks ago and was fine.  So it definitely took me by surprise to have him needing so much work.  Well, at least after yesterday that's done.  I guess they always have things they're keeping an eye on, but for a mission you just have to take care of it all right away?  I guess.

And with the doctor, if he were one inch taller his weight would be within the limits.  Dang it!  And why didn't they tell me they couldn't do the TB test right then when I called before we went to see if they could.  We drove all the way over there and they said, "Oh, we don't do those right now.  You'll have to come back and such and such a time."  

And on top of all those things, Jeremy's truck broke down, and yesterday, Marshmallow, one of our dogs, tried to jump through the fence (AGAIN) and got impaled (AGAIN), and when Benji tried to save him he bit him on the thumb.  All that was as we were about to leave to get Benji to band.  Benji was rolling around on the floor sobbing.  One of those gashes is kind of deep, and I think it's going to be a scar.  Jeremy had to come home from work to take care of those things while I got the other kiddos off to school.  Benji is doing fine.  I took him to school soon after.  But man!  And with all that has been going on (we got Joshua's wisdom teeth out and paid for all of Hyrum's dental work at stuff) our Health Savings Account is getting pretty low, and after the truck our checking account is too.  It's so frustrating!  

Honestly, this is life.  It's just been extra frustrating lately.  But yesterday I decided that all this that's been frustrating is probably because SOMEBODY doesn't want Hyrum going on his mission.  SOMEBODY wants us to get discouraged and give up.  That makes us all feel a little more determined.  So there.

Anyway, on to pictures.

I took Bubby shopping with me one day, and we bought cheese balls.  He was so happy!

That day Jeremy was actually with his dad up in the Alpine and Nutrioso areas.  It was his dad's birthday, and he wanted to go hiking with his boys for his birthday.  Only Aaron and Jeremy were able to go, but it sounds like it was a really neat trip.  They didn't end up doing a super lot of hiking, but they did do some, and they did go around to a bunch of different sites that are significant for their family history, and they recorded Dad talking about the things that happened there.  That's pretty neat.  I need to steal pictures, but I haven't.  It was so cool and pretty up there, Jeremy was sad to come back to the hot.

Lately in our church programs we've had some word searches and crosswords and things.  I bet the bulletin lady finds them online.  In this one you use the leftover letters to spell out a secret message.  Check out what it is!  Hyrum did this one, and we both about died laughing right in the middle of Sacrament Meeting.

Papa got this little propane burner and the little pot that sits on top for his trip with his dad.  The day after he got home he pulled it out and warmed up water to make one of his MREs that was leftover from camping, and he also made a bunch of people some cocoa.  These two were the most excited I think. :) They've asked him to do that again.

Gotta try on Papa's poncho too.  Here's Henry.

And Bubby

So I need to tell you about this girl!  In Hyrum's back-to-school blessing he was told that somewhere there was a girl getting ready for school who he would one day take to the Temple and marry.  It said she is preparing to be a good wife for him, and that he needs to prepare to be a good husband.  That back-to-school blessing was actually a pretty neat one, and it was relatively long. 

Well, that one thing kept coming back to my mind and Hyrum's as well.  Did that mean she was getting ready for her senior year of high school?  Or was she getting ready for EAC?  Or where was she?!  Either way, we knew he'd find her.

Anyway, fast forward a few weeks.  Hyrum's current best buddy is, I think, a junior in high school.  He and Hyrum were in seminary together for more than a year, and they often ended up walking together afterwards since JD (That's the friend's name.) is homeschooled too.  So college was starting, and JD's cousin Ashlynn Gilmore moved in just really close by JD, right there on Church Street.  Anyway, so JD introduced them, and they really hit it off.  This photo above is from an Institute dance they both went to.  (Hyrum is LOVING Institute, by the way!  He's in Book of Mormon, Devotional, Institute Choir, and the other class they have on Thursdays in the same slot as Devotional.  I can't remember what it's called.)  

They've been hanging out quite a bit, and Ashlynn has even come over to see us a few times.  She's a really nice girl.  She grew up in El Paso, Texas, but her Grandma lives here, so she used to come and visit every summer.  She wants to be an adoption counselor, and right now she's not only going to EAC, but she's a teacher's aide for a second grade class.  She is 17.  She decided she was ready to be done with high school, so she got her stuff done and graduated early.  She turns 18 in January.  And she really, really likes Hyrum.  You can just tell that she would wait for him if he wanted her to.  And Hyrum really, really likes her back.  He's so funny, though, because he doesn't really know what he's doing.  But he's enjoying it.  He knows he has a mission coming up, and he's excited for that.  We've had a few talks about being careful.  I'm sure we'll have more, but so far so good.  

And he's doing well in his classes overall.  They don't see each other every day at this point.  And she feels bad eating at our house, like she's a burden.  (Pshhh!)  We all love her.  She's just so nice and such a good girl.  The little guys climb all over her whenever she comes over (Poor girl!), and Bubby wanted to make sure that "Ash-a-lynn" came to his birthday party.

Here's a photo of Ashlynn that I stole from her Facebook page.  (She friended me, FYI.  I only stalked her a little bit - found out that one of her roommates is a Herring.)  She's cute, huh?  I just have a feeling about this girl.  Who knows if things will work out, and at this point that's just fine.  I do like having her around, though. :)

Michael got new glasses.  His old ones got broken during a dodgeball game during one of those first couple of weeks of school.  I like these ones.  I think they look good on him.  He doesn't like to wear them, though.  I think he says they're uncomfortable.  I'm not sure if it's because it took 3-4 weeks of no glasses before we had them and he just got used to it or if they're just generally uncomfortable.  Darn!  Too bad.

This cracks me up.  Joshua was missing his brothers one day, so he made this picture.  We didn't actually have any chocolate for them to eat.  I love that he misspelled all those words.  Hilarious!  I really should take it down, but I like things that make me laugh. :)

Jill was busy writing a letter to Noel and one to Grandma Badger one evening, so Bubby had me help him write a letter too.  It was for his teacher, Sister Donaldson.  I found her address in the ward directory and hoped it was her mailing address as well, and off it went.  About a week later he got a nice note from her in the mail along with these shark stickers.  He was so excited!

Rachel and Susie sent Bubby some money for his birthday, so Papa took him do Dollar Tree to buy something with it.  He got this pumpkin light just like he asked for months ago for his birthday, and he also got this box of whoppers and a foam sword.  Yea, Dollar Tree!

We went to the Apache County Fair with Grandma and Grandpa Badger.  We've realized that that may be our last time, and that kind of breaks my heart.  But it was a good time.  The little boys are always most excited about pigs and rides, so we always go see the pigs first thing and then make our way back to the BUB, and then we do rides later.  Once again, the pigs did not disappoint. ;)

The day before the fair Joshua got his wisdom teeth out. Poor guy. I tried to just keep him up on his medication, but he's the kind that doesn't complain about hurts. If you asked him if he had any pain he'd say, "I don't know." Typical Joshua. I felt bad going on that trip right then, but we couldn't very well postpone either the trip or the dentist visit. It came out fine in the end, though. He was ok. We brought some good soft foods for him to eat.

Then Grandpa disappeared, and we found him over by the auction with a few of the kiddos.  We heard a story about the auction the next day.  Someone had decided that whatever they made on the sale of their animal would go to help pay someone's medical expenses.  The person who bought it donated it back to be sold again to raise more money.  And then the next person did the same.  One of them paid $1000 for it.  That's so neat.

Then we went to see poultry and rabbits.

Don't you love that face?!

This bunny was SO SOFT!  We all had to pet it through the wires.

We were walking toward the BUB, and I saw the henna tattoo shop.  I told Jeremy, "I've always wanted to do that.  I'll have to someday, but not today."  He said, "Why not?  I'll do it with too."  He went first and got a Celtic knot.  He later went back and got another one on the other arm.  I chose a phoenix.  I just loved the curvy lines.  (They had books of images to choose from, but if you wanted to do something different they were willing to try.  They did that with the second knot Jeremy got.)

So how it works is they squirt this henna goop on to make the design.  Then you let it dry for like 12 hours.  After the first 10 minutes they sprayed it with lemon oil stuff that was to help it absorb better.  It stains your skin, so it's more permanent than the kids' fake tattoos, but still not permanent.  After the 12 hours or so you can just pick all the dried goop off, and the image is kind of orange.  It darkens up after a few days, and then depending on how dry you keep it and how little you scrub it it stays for maybe a couple of weeks or so.  Mine is on my hand.  I was really careful with it for the first week, but it was still kind of fading.  By this past Sunday (a week and a day after I got it) it was pretty spotty but still looked pretty good.  And then I decided I was done with it, so I haven't been avoiding scrubbing or anything, and it'll be all gone in a few more days.  I'm definitely too wishy-washy to ever get a real tattoo, and plus the prophet says not, so that decides that. ;)  I don't think I'll do it again, though.  Taking care of it was kind of a challenge.  That first day was hard because nobody could hold my left hand, and there we were at the fair with lots of kiddos.  Oh, well.  It was fun, and I liked that Jeremy and I did it together. :)

Timmy wanted a henna tattoo too, but I didn't want to pay for it because it'd get smudged in 5 minutes.  Maybe someday.  We did find him this balloon, and we found him a temporary tattoo in the BUB, and he was fine.

It was the last day of the fair, so everyone was trying to get rid of their stuff.  This guy even gave Bubby a second balloon.

This guy has leather scraps for kids to stamp every year at the fair.  In his booth he sells all sorts of leather stuff that he made.  This year he had a few bracelets for kids to stamp for free too, and Bubby got the last one.  He lets the kids pick their stamps, and then he holds the stick while they hammer a few strokes, and then he gives it one big whack or two and moves on.

Here's Bubby wearing his bracelet.  It's kind of a tight fit, but that was fun.

Timmy scratched the lines on this skeleton.

Jill's skeleton didn't work very good.

Here's my tattoo with the henna gunk and the sticky lemon stuff.  Pretty, huh?  Curves and swirls. :)  Jeremy's got rubbed off a little early, just carrying kiddos to the car that evening, but it still worked.

Mine and Jeremy's

Grandpa got out all his toys and then sent a lot of them home with us.

Joshua

Bubby could swing all day if I'd push him that long.  I finally told him we were going in a little while after this picture because I was being eaten alive by mosquitoes.

After dinner we went back for rides.  (Thanks for buying all those tickets, Grandpa!!)

Grandma and Papa

First ride - Bubby and Henry on the bees

Henry wanted to go on these elephants, but was too small to go by himself because the elephants go up and the spin around.  So I went with him. :) He loved it.

Timmy really wanted to ride in the dog.  It's kind of like a tilt-a-whirl.  It has the turntable thing you can use to spin your car.  He and Jill both gave their tickets, and then Timmy got in the one he wanted, but there wasn't room for Jill.  (That's Timmy on the right.) She went with a guy and his daughter.  They both had a good time in the end.  I was a little worried because as soon as Timmy's gate was shut the kids started spinning the dog, and Timmy yelled, "Stop!  Stop!"  But he had fun anyway.

There's Jill going in.

As soon as the 4 little ones were done with their two rides Grandma took them home and gave them a bath.  Yea for that!!  (Thank you so much, Grandma!)  In the meantime, Hyrum, Benji, and Michael had been waiting in line a long time to get on this ride.  Joshua had just gotten his wisdom teeth out the day before, and was unsure whether it would be good for him to go on a ride or not.  When we found these guys they were right here in front of the line, and Hyrum had 4 extra tickets, so he handed them to Joshua.  I'm glad he decided to go.  He was worried, so he held onto his mouth the whole time, just in case.  But he had fun.

Joshua and Hyrum

Benji and Michael

Hyrum decided he didn't want another ride after that first one, and he walked home.  Benji went on the big rocking boat, and Joshua and Michael went on the Ferris wheel.

This knight was just walking around the fair all day with that helmet on.  I think he even had a chain-mail shirt.  You couldn't see his face.  It was kind of cool looking, though.

Michael and Joshua

These guys woke once or twice in the night, but mostly they slept good.  Jill slept on the other couch, and Timmy slept on the cushions.  Benji lay down right in front of the TV and decided he was comfy, so I threw him a pillow and sleeping bag.  Hyrum, Joshua, and Michael took Kelly's old room, and Jeremy and I actually got our own bed in the other room!  Nobody climbed in with us until morning.

Grandma used those foam curlers on Jill after her bath.  It came out pretty.  Unfortunately, the curls were almost gone by the time church was done.  Darn!  Still, it was fun. :)

BLTs for lunch.  Yum!

Benji helped fry the bacon.

Here we are ready to drive home.

Gotta stop in Globe on the way home, though.  And Grandma Burk had a present for Bubby.  Aaron and Kenzie were passing through too, so they were there too.

Here's my tattoo Sunday night.

This was a couple of days later.  I liked how it looked when it was darker.  Pretty!

Bubby turned 5!!  I've been trying to take kiddos out for lunch on their birthday for the last year or so, but I missed one or two last year.  So far this year I've gotten them all except Jill because we went to the Badger campout on her birthday.  Anyway, Bubby picked Burger King, and I let him get a kids' meal because when else would I ever buy one?  He devoured it!

I got him a crown, and he insisted that I needed one too. :)

Bubby has planned on this star cake for months.  Every time I'd ask him what he wanted for his birthday, that was about all he'd tell me.  So we made one.  It was yellow cake with whipped cream frosting.

See that?  Ash-a-lynn did make it to Bubby's birthday! :)

After candles

Jill gave him this microphone.  (Again, yea for Dollar Tree!)

This Donald Duck is about the same size as his Mickey Mouse.  He carries it all around.  Now, if we could just find that Mickey Mouse...

Ninja turtle masks!  Papa even got him a dollar store turtle shell to go with it. ;)

Sunglasses!

Henry

Bubby

Henry with Bubby's new boingy eye glasses

Henry decided we needed ALL the candles.

So Bubby helped.

Timmy's turn

Benji learned about stage makeup in drama club on Friday.  Stinker wouldn't smile for me.  XD

Happy steak!

In the last few weeks I've finished 4 books.  That's pretty fast reading for me.  I've also been working on my blog books again.  I'm about 6 years behind getting them printed.  I have the next one ready to go, though, so yea!  I used to put so much more effort into those things!  I'd read every post and check for errors, and I found a lot that needed changed and adjusted.  But I've decided it's not worth my time to read through every one anymore.  If something catches my eye I'll fix it.  Mostly I'm just pasting in things from the blog, the weekly updates I used to do through email, and pictures from the photo share site (which I don't really do anymore).  Maybe without the weekly updates and the photo share site the next few books will get done quicker.  Who knows?  Anyway, I'm pleased with what I've been able to accomplish.