August Update

The month of August started off with corn. Joel got a whole bunch from the farm and the kids helped me shuck it. The original plan was to have some friends and family help freeze it but Brynlee threw up the night before and Annalyn was complaining that her tummy hurt. I didn't want to risk getting anyone else sick so I did it myself. There was a lot more corn than I realized and it took me all day. Joel came home and helped me finish after we got kids in bed or it would have taken me all night. It sure is nice to have corn in the freezer for the winter. 

Brynlee was feeling better the next day and a few days later Brynlee had a friends over. The girls played well all day and we even got out the paint and the kids painted. Summer even painted a little and loved it. Then her friend invited us to play in the little pond in Kuna. Joel met us over there and the girls had a great time playing in the water. We set up a little pool for Summer and that kept her happy for a while but she really wanted to be in the water with everyone else. We weren't there for long when Brynlee got out where the water was too deep for her to walk and she took her floaty off. I hurried and handed the baby to our friends and ran out and grabbed her. She remained pretty calm and tried to float but right before I got to her she called out for help and realized she was in trouble. I made her keep her life jacket on after that. Annalyn got out in the deep part too and even though she had her jacket on she started panicking so one of our friends had to swim out and save her. Our kids have come a long way in the water but they still have a ways to go. Luckily they are not traumatized by those events and I think they both learned a valuable lesson about water safety.

The first weekend of August was the day we celebrated Kuna days. The next week started off with a trip to the dentist for all three girls. There were no cavities and Brynlee was a trooper and let them put some sealants on her back teeth. After the first side I didn't think she would let them finish because she couldn't stand the stuff but the idea of an extra prize and the chance to stay and watch more of the movie "Boss Baby" convinced her to stay and finish the job. I was proud of her because I know that was not an easy thing for her to do.

Later that week we spent a few days babysitting. We spent a few hours watching three kids from a new family that moved by us. Then later that week we had all five of the Pruitt kids over. They brought water beads with them and everyone had a blast playing with them outside in the little pool. My girls love having friends over so they always get so excited when I babysit. The water beads lasted for days and kind of made a huge mess. I couldn't leave the pool out for more than a day because the kids kept letting Summer outside and she would run out there and sit in the water with her clothes on. I changed her several times that day.

The girls and I all got haircuts at Heather's new in house salon. It turned out so nice. Heather put some color in my hair and gave all the girls a cut. Even Kyla got her first trim and she was pretty excited about it. When everyone else was done Summer climbed up in the chair and sat there so nicely while Heather brushed her hair. She did not want to get out of the chair.

 

Joel spent all day Friday and Saturday going to Utah for a trip with the youth to see the Martin Harris pageant. Joel said the play was excellent, the kids enjoyed playing some fun games, they had good devotionals, and they ended the trip doing baptisms at the Logan Temple. It sounds like Joel had a good weekend. The girls and I spent most of the weekend doing up more corn and helping to can some green beans at grandma's house.

During the next week the kids played lots of pretend and relaxed around the house and we enjoyed our time relaxing before school started up again. I caught the girls all playing in the garage and climbing on our van one day. The all got a talking to about that one. Heather was gone that week so we looked after her plants and we helped grandma with more garden stuff. We got a lot of okra and green beans and corn this year.

Joel's company at work gave him a nice gift card to Texas Roadhouse and the kids got free kids meals from the library so we decided to take them out to dinner. This was the first time most of our kids have been out to eat at a place that wasn't fast food and they did not know how to sit and enjoy the experience. Summer kept trying to climb on the table and Brynlee kept complaining about how long it took to get our food but in the end they enjoyed that experience. I don't know that we will take them out again for a long time. We still have some money left on out card but next time I plan to go alone with Joel.

The next weekend Brynlee got to go with her friend Aveya, the same one we went to the pond with, to the biggest bounce house in the world. Sounds like she had a super great time there. They brought her to our ward party that night where she got to play on a small bounce house and a giant slip and slide. She had a great day. We all had a good time at our ward party. They said there would be cotton candy and they didn't end up having any so Annalyn was super mad about that but she still had a good time. 

On Monday there was a solar eclipse that was almost right in our path. We didn't get complete blackout but pretty close. We were going to go to the library to watch it but saw some friends at the park so we stopped there for a few hours and then went to the library. There were lots of people watching it at the library. We all had solar eclipse glasses and the kids were super excited about the whole thing. They thought it was so cool. Annalyn was the most excited and watched it the most but everyone was pretty into watching the moon cover the sun and seeing how much of it was covered. It was a cool event and great entertainment for the day. That night we went and got ice cream cones for family night and I took Brynlee and Annalyn to back to school night on Tuesday so they could meet their teachers. The kids also played a lot that week and enjoyed as much time in the sandbox as they could.

They day before school started we watched Emma and Carlie while their mom worked. We always enjoy playing with them when they come over. 

The girls have both enjoyed school so far and they are both making new friends and having a good year. They like riding the bus to school and they already seem to be learning new things.

Brynlee earned her date night with dad during the month of August and really wanted to go to Roaring Springs. Joel ended up helping one of my friends that was getting ready to move into her house to put in some new flooring and he had several other things that came up so the first chance he had to take her was on the first day of school. After they drove there they discovered that Roaring Springs was closed that day so they had to wait until Friday to go. It sounds like they had a really great time. They spent a lot of time in the lazy river and went on several of the rides. I am glad they got some time to spend together. Brynlee sure loves her dad.

During the last week of the month Joel finally cut down some of our weeds in our backyard so we could try out our fire pit for family night. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for smores and we all had a great time. Summer kept trying to go right by the fire and the kids were complaining about all the flies and goat heads so after we ate our hot dogs outside we went back in the house to eat smores and Joel roasted all of the marshmallows for us.

We babysat for the Pruitt family again this month while their mom packed up and got ready for them to move to Georgia. I didn't have the baby this time, just the four older kids. We sure do miss their family already. It is always sad to have to say goodbye to friends. We ended up watching them for most of the day and then anther friend texted me and said she had jury duty and asked if I could watch her kids so I ended up with her kids as well for part of the day. I didn't think I would have the Pruitts for as long as I did. It was fine in the end but I think the kids that came over last were a little overwhelmed by how crazy it was. I ended up getting them some toys and they just played by themselves for a while. Later that week I watched Emma and Carlie again. It's a good thing my girls play so well with all of the kids that we have over. They make it so much easier for me to watch them. I enjoy watching extra kids but it is a lot of work. The Pruitt's youngest girl ended up getting into some of my makeup and covered herself with eye make up remover so I had to give her and Kyla a bath and wash her hair. Then one of the boys that was over peed all over our bathroom. As much as I love it I am glad I only do this a few times a month.

On the days when both girls are in school Kyla and Summer and I have gotten to enjoy some nice morning walks. Sometimes we have a friend with us but if not we just enjoy getting to be together. I helped grandma make some spaghetti sauce this month and there was one day we all got together at grandma Verna's house and Alesha had all of the grandkids jump on the trampoline with water balloons which led to a huge water fight. It was a fun time. We are kind of sad that summer is over but we are excited for the routine of school and all of the great things the girls will learn and experience this year.

Days with the Family

Kuna days is the name of the little celebration our town has on the first Saturday of every month. We were out of town last year and missed it so the kids were all pretty adamant that we needed to go this year. We left that morning for the parade and I even convinced Joel to come with us. We had to leave as soon as the parade was over so Joel could go and help his dad some more on the house but it was a fun morning spent with our family. 

Joel brought earplugs for the girls this time since Brynlee was so sensitive to the loud noises at the Melba parade. This parade wasn't as loud so everyone took them out pretty fast and Brynlee didn't complain about the noise once. Everyone got a good amount of candy and had fun watching the parade. I think Annalyn got the most candy and we got toothbrushes and water bottles. The kids got a lot of stuff.

After the parade Joel left to help his dad and the girls and I did some things around the house until 4 when we went to the baptism for one of Brynlee's friends, Athena. Then we went to the park by my brother's house so we could celebrate their little girl turning one. It is hard to believe little Elowyn is already one year old! They had a barbeque and they even had a piñata for the kids. They loved that and came home with even more candy. I had to put all the candy up high so they didn't eat it all right away. The kids were all pretty tired by the end of all that excitement but they really wanted to stay up for the fireworks. I made them lay in bed and went to get them at 10 when we saw the first firework and everyone was asleep and did not wake up. Joel and I sat upstairs in our bonus room and got to have our own private viewing of the fireworks from the window up there. The kids were disappointed that they missed the fireworks but they were just too grouchy to let them stay up.

      Towards the end of August the Western Idaho Fair came to town. It has been several years since we have gone so we decided to go this year. A few weeks before the fair came to town Joel decided he would rather help his dad and skip the Fair. The kids were pretty bummed about that and Joel ended up getting a raise at work the day before we had planed to go so he said we should celebrate and go spend some money. Joel left and did some things that morning but came home after lunch time so we loaded up the kids and headed out. We let the kids go on several rides this year but I think one of their favorite parts was watching the people spin wool into yarn. They each got to take a little piece of yarn home and they were pretty excited about that. We spent quite some time looking at all of the animals and we watched some kids do a tractor pull.

It was really hot on the day we went to the Fair and we didn't want to stay there all day so we just bought a few tickets for some rides. The rides were all like 3 or 4 dollars per rider on each ride so we only went on a few of them. The kids all loved the rides. Summer felt really left out cause she wasn't big enough for any of the rides. The boat ride was a little too crazy for Kyla so after that ride I sent Joel and the older girls off to go on the ferris wheel while Kyla went on the little motorcycle ride. Before we left the fair we stopped by the petting zoo and the kids got to touch the animals. Then we stopped for Chinese food on the way home. It as another fun day spent with the family. Days with my family are my favorite kind.