Trouble

Jameson and his friend Ace have been known to get into a little trouble together.  Last week they dumped out an entire bottle of bubble bath in the back yard water table and were wet and bubbled from head to toe.  On Monday I was making dinner and they were upstairs playing in Jameson's room, or so I thought.  When they came down with color all over their arms I went upstairs to investigate because I had no idea what could have gotten into.  This is what I found:

The pink on the counter and wall is NAIL POLISH and it was everywhere!  They also dumped out a bottle of shampoo in the sink just for good measure.

Well, a couple bottles of nail polish remover and a lot of elbow grease later it is almost back to normal, but the wall will still have to be painted because you can't recover from that much pink nail polish no matter how much you scrub.  Ace'e Mom was at the gym when she got the picture of the crime scene and left immediately only stopping at the store for more more nail polish remover.  Right after she got my text she got one from her husband asking her to text me to see what Ace did since he came home covered from head to toe in nail polish and he knew it couldn't be good. She came over and helped get the last of the polish off as we tried to come with a plan of action to help them stop being so naughty. They have so much fun together, but somehow they are missing that filter that says, "Hmm, maybe we shouldn't do this even though it looks like fun."

 We have owned our mini-van for almost 11 years, but this week was the first time we have ever had a flat tire.

Fortunately it was in the garage when Adam noticed the tire was flat on Wednesday morning so he was able to put the spare tire on before he left for work and then we got it fixed later in the day.  So glad she was around because I would never have known to look under the middle seats in the front of the car for the spare.

Jameson has had a rough month.  It started with hand, foot and mouth disease and then has continued that last 4 weeks with a runny nose that just wouldn't quit. And it wasn't just a little bit runny, it was running a LOT. Sometimes it would take me 2 or 3 tissues to get everything out (TMI, I know) I kept him back from Joy school for 3 weeks because we just couldn't get a handle on it.  This week it FINALLY started to subside a bit which is good because Jameson is extra grumpy and extra defiant when he isn't feeling 100% and his sleep at night isn't quality. After over a month of this I was literally at the end of my rope.

A picture of a typical snot bubble that we have seen way too much of the past month.  We are very glad to be at the tail end of whatever this was.

Adam and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary on Friday.  We still haven't mastered the art of taking a selfie at dinner to mark the occasion, but Adam was wise and sensed that I needed a break after dealing with a sick child for over a month so he arranged for my parents to watch the kids overnight so we could have a quick getaway on Thursday night.  It was perfect and much needed and I don't think the kids even missed us.

Britton had a home soccer game yesterday morning so I braved the rain and wind and cold to watch it.  His team is really good right now and are undefeated this season.  Britton made an amazing goal from well outside the goalie box so it was fun to be there to see it.  Adam usually handles all of the away games since the other kids don't love to sit through the 1 1/2 hour games. Add the fact that Britton has to be there a full hour before the game starts plus travel time and you have a recipe for disaster for anyone who doesn't really want to be there. It is just better for me to stay home and hold down the fort on those away games.

Hopefully this next week brings a little LESS trouble around here. :-)

I Like to Look for Rainbows

A week ago Saturday we were spontaneous and decided to go to the Blue and White spring football game at the University.  Every spring the offense plays the defense and they invite the public to come and watch.

I guess I was kind of surprised at how many people actually showed up.

It's so rare for me to be watching a football game that I decided we should document the moment.

It wasn't planned but we ran into our neighbors there which helped keep Jameson entertained with friends. Korinne was at a 4-H cooking camp so she missed out on our impromptu school spirit activity.

The rest of the day was sunny and 68 degrees which is practically summer weather if you ask the kids.  They were in swimsuits washing cars like it was a 100 degree kind of day.

We know that gorgeous spring days don't stay forever around here.  We always expect a few more cold and rainy/snowy/windy days before the warm weather is ready to stick around. Last week we had a couple of beautiful rainbows right by our house after a rain storm.

Our home teacher, Brother Hales, is about as faithful a home teacher as you get.  He is retired and has Parkinson's disease and other health issues so he can't do a lot of the things he used to do.  He was a musician and spent many years playing the organ but he can no longer play and was looking for a good home for his organ.  Knowing that our kids play the piano he called and asked us if we would be interested in having his organ.

When we first went to look at it I was surprised at how big it was, but of course the kids wanted it so it was moved to our house this week.  We put it in the nook at the bottom of our stairs and the kids are thrilled to have it.  I was happy that it came with headphones so it can still be played without being heard by everyone in the house. It will provide some practice options for the kids, which is always a good thing.  Hopefully our kids will really take the time to become proficient organists.

Journey to the Sun

Our spring break started out a lot like our winter break this year.

I'd say we got a good 6 inches of snow if not more during the 2 day storm. We are hoping that this is the last time we will need to use a snowblower this year. :-)

We delayed our departure to the sunny south a day to miss traveling in the inclement weather. On Wednesday morning we were packed and hit the road just after 10 a.m.

Yep, sunny skies and warmer temperatures greeted us upon arrival.  Adam has 3 sisters (with 15 kids between them), 1 brother and parents in the area so there is never a shortage of action and/or cousins.

Even though Britton has aged out of some of the activities I appreciate the fact that he still plays with the younger cousins and tries to have fun. I recognize this is rare when it comes to 14 year old boys, which makes it that much more remarkable.  Of course the little cousins adore him for it.  

We have kind of hit a familiar routine during our trips to the south.  We usually go to a park, go on a hike, do a little swimming and get together at Bethany's house for a birthday party.  Her birthday is on April 2nd and it seems we are always around when the big day rolls around.

Britton at the swimming pool at the rec center.  

We are sad to lose the ability to swim in G.G.'s HOA pool as the sale of her home was finalized while we were in town.  We really missed not having her around, we always loved to visit her during our spring break

Britton playing soccer with younger cousins.

Adam and his Dad at Bethany's house after the Priesthood session of conference.

The kids had a big dance party upstairs.  Bethany doesn't mess around when it comes to a party, they had the dance ball on hand and a lot of dance music on deck. 

So Uncle Ben has some serious balloon making skills and spoiled the kids with his creations.

Check out Spiderman and a cute little owl he made for Jenna.

Britton and Jameson had balloon swords and even balloon shields.  It was a spectacle and frankly I've never seen anything like it.

We watched conference at Adam's parents house on Saturday.  Our plan was to leave after the first session of conference on Sunday and listen to the last session in the car.  You can imagine I was more than a little excited when on Sunday morning President Monson announced that a temple would be built in Belem Brazil.  It has been 17 years since I served my mission in Belem and the members still have to travel 3 days on a bus to get to the nearest temple.  In some areas they have to add another 3 days on a boat just to get to the bus!  A temple in Belem is huge for these members and is an indication of the growth of the church in the area.  When I left my mission there were 3 stakes in Belem and 5 stakes total in the entire mission, now they have 10 stakes in Belem alone. That is awesome.  Of course my facebook page was on fire with the news all day long. A lot of celebration is going on.

A quick family picture before we got in the car for the trip home.

The snow was all gone when we pulled into our driveway.  Yeah!  On Monday morning it was back to life, back to reality. Always a little tough, but somehow we got through it.