Enjoying family

Wednesday, August 12th cont... I forgot to mention the 2 bald eagles we saw while at the pool. I could sit and watch hummingbirds and eagles for hours!

I read Twilight until 1am.

Random Note: The other day I went to grab the butter out of the fridge to put on Noah's toast, but I couldn't find it. I looked everywhere including the pantry, but I didn't find it. I knew the butter didn't just disappear (it was a big tub of butter and I knew it was only about a quarter gone), but where the heck did it go? Awhile later, Zoe looked in the freezer and there it was. Of course. I hadn't thought to look in the freezer.

Thursday, August 13th: Emily, Eleanor, and Zach had swim lessons. The moms at the pool are not anxious for school to start, but I am counting down. Zoe and Emily have been fighting a lot lately.

I was able to resist my book yesterday, but I read it throughout the day today. The kids watched "Thumbelina", we ate lunch, and then we went swimming at the pool with Aly. Kate fell asleep on her towel toward the end of free swim as she was drying off in the sun.

I have gone from giving out no strikes to skipping the strikes and handing out a chore when the fighting begins...usually between Zoe and Emily. Matt finds it funny that I went from one extreme to the other.

We ate dinner, watched an episode of "Dirty Jobs" with the kids, I worked on my Sunday School lesson, and then I read Twilight until I finished it. I got to bed around midnight...a bit earlier than the previous few nights!

Friday, August 14th: Matt, Zach, and Zoe were up around 3am to go fishing with Don on his boat.

Emily and Eleanor went to their swimming lessons. We saw Mrs. Lalonde (Zoe's 3rd and 4th grade teacher) at the pool, so I got to talk with her for a few minutes. It was a bummer that Zoe wasn't there.

After lessons, we went home to clean up and pack up, we made a quick stop at the grocery store, and then we came over to my parent's house to eat lunch. We went to the pool in the afternoon with Aly and Phil. About 45 minutes before the pool closed, one of the lifeguards noticed something suspicious in the deep end and blew the whistle for everyone to get out. Sure enough, there was poop in the pool, so we left. We came back to my parent's house. I had been reading different parts of Twilight throughout the day, so I was officially done with the book when my dad took it to read it. My mom watched the kids in the evening, so Matt and I could eat dinner at Pizzeria Uno and then we went over to Target. We ate at our favorite table, so that was fun. We picked up Kate and Noah and the older 4 stayed at my parents' for the night. When I went to put Noah in his crib, he caught on to what I was doing and he quickly put his head on my shoulder to cuddle. It was so sweet. We cuddled for awhile and then when he picked his head up, I put him in his crib. He tried to put his head down on my shoulder again when I started to lift him up to put him in the crib, but I laid him down anyway. I did enjoy the cuddles I got since he is usually too busy during the day to stop and cuddle.

Saturday, August 15th: I went to the temple and Matt spent the day with the kids. We had a stake Relief Society temple trip. I rode down with Tiffany and Marilyn. Patti also drove her car with Lucvee, Naomi, and Linda. We met in the cafeteria to listen to Sister Hutchins. She gave a great talk about remembering who we are. She referred to D&C 25, which is a revelation to Emma Smith. Tiffany, Marilyn, Linda, and I then ate lunch and then we went to the 12:00 session. Tiffany and I were able to sit and talk for awhile, which was nice. We left the temple around 3pm. We had fun trying to find a gas station on the way home, but we finally found one before running out of gas. We got back around 7:45pm, which was earlier than expected, so I went to McDonald's for dinner. I didn't want to arrive home as Matt was putting the kids to bed because that just causes chaos. I wanted them to be in bed and asleep, which they were, except for Zoe, when I got home around 8:45pm. Zoe read Harry Potter for awhile and then she went to sleep.

My sister ~ Donna, Donna's husband ~ Doug, Donna's daughter ~ Victoria, and Doug's daughter ~ Harley arrived at my parents' house today!

Sunday, August 16th: We all went to church in Ellsworth. It is so nice when Matt keeps Noah through Priesthood/Relief Society. I found out that Patti's car (the car I was planning on riding in to the temple) didn't get back until midnight because they had to go back to the temple after leaving the temple and driving for an hour to look for a wallet. Yikes! After church, we went home to have yummy Terriyaki chicken and to relax. Zoe and Emily each worked on different Faith in God goals. Emily finished her education jar and Zoe is finishing a craft project that she has had for a few years now.

Monday, August 17th: Emily made up a swim lesson that she missed when she had swimmer's ear. My parents, Donna, Doug, Victoria, Phil, Aly, and Harley met us at the pool to start our adventure to Acadia National Park. Noah warmed up to Doug and Donna very quickly.


We stopped at Thompson's Island first for a picnic. The kids enjoyed feeding the seagulls...even though we repeatedly told them not to. Noah enjoyed chasing the seagulls.


We drove up Cadillac Mountain. Beautiful, beautiful views!


Zach was climbing out of a small hole when he slipped and scraped his cheek. Minor damage, but I put one of the cold water bottles on his cheek until I could give him a piece of ice at the car. The sun was bothering Zach's eyes, so he was pleased when Doug let him wear his sunglasses for a picture.

We went to Sand beach. The water was freezing, but Zoe, Emily, and Eleanor didn't care, they went right in. Kate and Zach were not impressed with the waves, noise, and cold water at first, but they warmed up to it all and enjoyed wading in the water. Noah didn't want anything to do with the water and he was very content playing in the dry sand.








We could have easily stayed at Sand beach all day, but we only stayed for an hour and 15 minutes. It was time for the kids and I to head home for FHE. The rest of my family went on to Thunder Hole. We didn't get home until 6pm and then the kids needed quick baths, then we ate dinner, and started FHE around 7pm...when usually we are getting the kids in bed. So we had a quick FHE and then sent everyone to bed. My new thing is to clean the bathroom when everyone is in bed, so I cleaned the bathroom and did a load of laundry. I need a laundry day soon.

Tuesday, August 18th: Emily and Zach both made up a swim lesson. Zach missed Friday's lesson when he went fishing. We went to Nathan Dauk's birthday party at the Blue Hill park. We went swimming first. It was in the 90's, so the water felt so good! Eleanor got upset when Tiffany told her she would have to ask me if she could jump off the big rock with the bigger kids. Eleanor came around the rock crying and yelling, "I can swim!". I had Zoe keep an eye on Noah and Kate and I went with Eleanor and Zach to check out the spot she wanted to jump from. I got into the water and let her jump into the water beside me and then Zach jumped. I'm glad it worked out that Eleanor could jump because she would have cried about it for a long time. When Eleanor was walking along the rock to the beach, she screamed and was freaked out about a live crab she saw. That prompted a crab search along a different part of the beach. Then we ate lunch and sang Happy Birthday to Nathan and then he opened his presents. Noah loved the chips I let him eat. He is always trying to get his hands on chips, so he was in heaven when I gave him some. Most of the kids went to play on the playground after the party, but I took Noah and Kate down to the water for a dip. Noah was covered in jelly. We left after the kids played on the playground for awhile. We came over to my parents' house to visit with everyone. We sat outside for awhile and Noah and Kate enjoyed playing ball with us. It cracked us up when Doug gently bopped Noah on the head with the ball and then Noah bopped himself on the head with the ball. We also laughed when Noah begged for water by opening his mouth, waiting for a drink. Kate was funny when mom kept asking her questions and Kate kept shaking her head yes. Kate agreed to get Matt's checkbook and car and enjoy a night out on the town...and other things. She was so cute! The only time she shook her head no and said no was when mom asked if she wanted Zach to go to preschool. Eleanor told me yesterday that she wants to go to daycare. If she asks me on a bad day, she just may get her wish! Not really. Zach's new thing is to hit Noah on the back with his fist. Fun! We got home late last night again, so the kids made it to bed around 9pm.

Hooked

Thursday, August 6th: Matt and I watched "Seven Pounds". It took me half the movie to figure out what was going on, but it was good. I want to see the movie again since now I know what is going on.

Friday, August 7th: Eleanor and Zach had swim lessons and then we headed to Blue Hill. Zoe spent the night with Morgan the evening before and then Morgan's Mom dropped them off at Dodie's house for Activity Days this morning. Emily missed most of the activity since she was still feeling pretty miserable from her sore ear. When we got to Dodie's house, they were busy making blueberry muffins and blueberry bread from the blueberries they picked that morning, and they also made fresh squeezed orange juice. Zoe said I better like the juice since she worked hard making it. We both thought it was okay. I enjoyed the fresh blueberries on my plate until I discovered an inch worm on one of them. I was thankful I saw it because how gross would that be to eat it!
We came over to my parents' house after the activity. Zach was drawing pictures when he asked me to draw him a circle. I made the circle, which turned out to be more of an oval and Zach said, "I think you made a mistake." I made another circle, which he approved of. Noah fell down the stairs a couple of times today. He didn't fall though the second time, Kate pushed him. I suspected she did when I saw her at the top of the stairs and Noah was crying at the bottom of the stairs, and I knew she did when later she proudly announced, "I pushed Noah down the stairs!" Noah was unhappy, but fine.
My dad and I made pizza for dinner and then my parents, Phil, Aly, Zoe, Emily, and I played a shortened game of Phase 10. We all advanced to the next phase throughout the game and the winner would be the one with the lowest points. The funny moment of the evening was when Noah came into the kitchen holding his wet diaper in his hand. At first I thought it was Kate's diaper because the tabs keep breaking on her diapers, but her diaper was still on when I checked her, so then I checked Noah and felt his bare bottom under his overalls. It's funny to think that his diaper came off with his overall shorts still on. I bought a package of LUVS diapers and I will never buy that brand again. I don't know if I got a bad batch of diapers or what, but the tabs keep breaking. Not good! The game didn't go as quick as expected. We made it through 7 phases (there are 10 in all) and then it was time to pack up the little ones and head home. Zoe and Emily stayed the night with my parents.
Matt and Don went to the boat show in Rockland and will be back tomorrow night.

Saturday, August 8th: I spent the morning doing laundry and working on my Sunday School lesson. Fort Knox had a pirate day, so my parents, Zoe, Emily, Aly, and Phil went there. A pirate ship was supposed to come in Saturday morning, but when they went to see it come in Saturday morning, it was already here. It mistakenly came in Friday night. The ship was there to see and the pirates were around harrassing the crowd. :-) In the afternoon, I took Zoe and Emily to Brad and Tanja's wedding celebration (they're getting married on the 15th in the Logan temple) while my parents watched the rest of the kids. Eleanor was going to go with me until she realized that she could stay with my parents. I had fun talking with the Boudreaus, Mere Donavan, the Daltons, the Bairds, the Brehms, Julia, and Sunshine. Zoe was expecting Morgan's family to be there, but they didn't make it (while we were there at least), so they were a bit bored.
Matt was home when we all got home around 8pm. :-) He gave the kids their baths and we sent them to bed around 9pm. I finished preparing my lesson.

Sunday, August 9th: Zoe threw up on the bedroom floor around 1am. I'm glad she was sleeping by the door because the thought of her throwing up on one of her siblings is disgusting. I cleaned up her mess and went back to bed. I was wide awake and listened to Matt sleep beside me. I finally fell asleep an hour or so later. In the morning, Matt left for Machias and I started getting ready for church, although I had a feeling we would be staying home. Sure enough, Zoe was still feeling sick when she woke up, so we stayed home. Patti taught my lesson. I am grateful for people who will teach on short notice. My mom was supposed to give a talk during Sacrament meeting, so she sat on the stand, but when the speakers were announced, her name wasn't one of them. What? That would not have sat well with me. When she told me this, I felt bad because she had worked on her talk while watching my kids the day before. I know it was a rough afternoon for her and then to go through the morning thinking she was going to give a talk and then sit on the stand and be totally forgotten and ignored...not good! But being the wonderful, forgiving person that she is, she forgave the mistake and has agreed to talk on the 30th. She is a great example.
We were planning on going over to my parents' house after church for dinner, so my mom brought over one of two pot roasts and some brownies. Yummy! We were grateful for the dinner. She also brought home my diaper bag, which I had left at church the Sunday before. Yay, I have my camera back!
I had the kids act out our scriptures this evening. I have been thinking about doing it for awhile and I finally acted on the thought. The kids are a bit wild during scripture study, so I am trying to make it a bit more interesting. Zach loved being Nephi. Zoe was in a mood, so it was a bit of an ordeal picking her part. They acted out the story of the murder of the chief judge in the Book of Mormon. They were still a bit wild, but at least they were paying attention to the story.

I have house fever. I am determined to get a house frame up in the near future.

Matt came back from his weekend getaway motivated to work and be productive.

Emily is feeling much better. Only a few more days of medicine.

Remember when I was losing weight? Well, I was half a pound away from my goal weight when I started to lose interest in losing weight. I am motivated again, although I am not weighing myself, I am going on how I feel and look, and I am counting points when I am eating alone or just with the kids and eating less when I have meals with the family and others. So far, so good.

Monday, August 10th: The kids and I went to Walmart to pick up Noah's pictures. We did some shopping and headed home. On the way home, I heard Emily say this as the girls were playing Barbies in the car..."I wish the prophet was the President (of the United States)...then he would do good things for everyone...because he would do what the Lord wants him to do." I loved it! She gets it.

We went to Craig Pond for about an hour in the afternoon. We went home for dinner and FHE.

I had 3 goals for the evening. Work on my Sunday School lesson, watch "Grace is gone", and start reading "Twilight". I did all 3. We have Netflix again for the month. Our account has been on hold, but the reactivation date came without realizing it on August 6th and so we have Netflix for the month. Matt brought home "Twilight" last Saturday, but I hadn't started it yet because I was finishing Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" and I am always busy preparing lessons. I read my chapter and knew that I was beginning a great book.

Eleanor finally lost her 1st tooth this evening! She has been waiting so long!


Tuesday, August 12th: I spent the morning doing laundry and puttering around. The kids played and watched a movie. After lunch and more clean up, we headed to the children's museum. We stayed for about an hour and a half. Zoe and Emily made perfume and when Eleanor saw their perfume bottles then she wanted to make one, too, so I had Zoe take Eleanor into the room to make one. Zoe and Emily also made paper while the other kids played with the boats. The museum is always a fun place to be! We left the museum and stopped at my parents' house to see if Aly wanted to go to the park with us. She did, so we went. Terri and Molly were there (Don's wife and daughter), so I got to talk with Terri for awhile. It rained on us a little, but it was still fun. We went back to my parents' house to eat dinner and then I brought Zoe, Aly, Phil, Zach, and Kate to the evening swim, while Emily, Eleanor, and Noah stayed with my mom.

Matt worked late. I read more of "Twilight" after the kids went to bed. I figured I would read until Matt got home. Matt came home around midnight and he read a little, so I kept reading. The book is so good! He was ready for sleep, but I was still wide awake and turning the pages. I finally finished a chapter and made myself put the book down at 1:07am.

Matt got paid today. :-)

Today: I have been resisting the urge to stick my nose in my book and ignore my kids. We went to storytime and I reserved "New Moon", the next book in the Twilight series. I am so happy I am reading this series when all the books are written...they ARE all written, right? We went home to eat lunch, and I went through some clothes with Zoe that we had received awhile ago. We went swimming at the pool...Emily's first day swimming since going to see the doctor. :-) She did try swimming without getting her head wet at the lake on Monday, but I saw her dip her ear in the water, so I made her get out. After swimming, we went home to clean up and we ate dinner when Matt got home. After dinner, Emily and I left for a one on one date, which we are still on. We each got an ice cream at the DairyPort and we walked the entire length of the waterfront. I told Matt that we were going to sit on a bench along the waterfront and read, ha ha, which Emily was fine with, but I was really only kidding...sort of. Here is Emily with her ice cream and Don's boat in the background.

This is the new fountain and waterwheel that are near the walkway.

We saw Marilyn Conary with her 2 granddaughters along our walk. We also saw this beautiful sunset as we were walking back. As Emily said, it looks like the heavens are opening up.

I thought this was a nice spot for a picture. It is so nice to have my camera back!


I debated whether to come blog or not and I decided I better do it since it is on my mind and I haven't written in awhile. Emily is enjoying the tv with Aly. It is way past her bedtime!

Matt paid off the Yukon today!

Matt bought our house plans today!...We have no set date to start building, but it's nice to take a step closer to building. :-)

Matt's parents are coming to visit us in September! We are so excited!

I am off to read.

Just call me crazy

Let me first say that I am writing this post with Zach beside me anxiously waiting for the computer. This is a good reminder of why I come over to my parents' house after the kids are in bed!

Tuesday, August 4th: We went to the pool and enjoyed another hot, summer afternoon. Love it! My dad brought Aly and Phil over to the pool, so that was a fun surprise. Aly stayed over at our house for the night, but before going home, we went to the Dollar Tree. Me and 7 children...and my reply to several curious people was "all but one are mine". Each child (except Noah) was able to pick out one thing to buy. Yes, I am beginning to think I am crazy, too. It takes a long time for 6 children to decide what they want to buy in a big store where they can buy ANYTHING they want...almost anything anyway. They were very good about only picking out one thing, though. They would put what they had found down when they found something better, over and over again. I went through this craziness so we could also pick up a birthday gift for Zoe's friend, Morgan. Matt was having fun fishing with Robert Baird, so I was on my own. We made it home after a quick stop at the grocery store and I fed the kids pancakes for dinner. The kids made their beds in the living room and then they watched "Benji, Off the Leash". I put Noah in his crib, so the kids could eat their treats in peace and I could relax and read in my room. That last part didn't work out so well with Zach and Kate staying awake through the movie and venturing into my room repeatedly, but they did finally fall asleep during the second movie "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". I went to sleep, too. I was exhausted!

Sidenote: Zach is now on the porch watching a movie. I'm glad he's not whining at me anymore. :-)

Wednesday, August 5th: A day the older kids had been waiting for...we went to the Bangor State Fair! Zoe: "This is the BEST day of the summer!" Well, before we made it to the fair, we took a trip to Castine Community Health Services, so Emily could have her ear looked at. The Bucksport office couldn't see her until Friday, but if I was willing to travel to Castine (about 40 minutes away), which I was if they had a morning appointment, then she could be seen today. Emily had been complaining of an earache on and off for about a week, but she woke up in tears this morning and she could barely open her mouth to eat. She has Swimmer's Ear, so she can't go swimming again until next Wednesday and she gets ear drops once a day until next Wednesday. Bummer! There was no way we were keeping Emily away from the fair, but she looked and I'm sure felt miserable the entire time. Matt stayed home with Kate and Noah, so Zoe, Emily, Eleanor, Zach, Aly, Phil, my parents, and I went to the fair. The older kids spent most of the 7 hours we were there riding rides. The Tilt-a-Whirl, Polar Express, Swings, and Sea Dragon were favorites. Zoe is afraid of heights, but she went on the Gondola Wheel and then she got up the courage to go on Freak Out with me. Aly was for it until we started to move up in the line and then she got out of the line. Zoe had second thoughts, too, but I told her that we would stay at the fair longer if she went on with me. I didn't "freak out" until we were going high on the ride. I had fun, but the thought going through my mind while on the ride was "this would be an awful way to die if the ride breaks!" Zoe did very well considering she was a bit scared to begin with. She wanted to go on the ride again later on, but having the experience once was enough for me.
Eleanor and Zach enjoyed the dragon ride, the fun houses, the bounce house, and the merry-go-round, and Eleanor went on the swings and loved it! We enjoyed the tiger show and the motorcycle show, although the motorcycle show was the same one we saw at the circus.

Zach update...Zach just asked me, "Why are you taking so long?"

Eleanor and Zach had swim lessons this morning. Emily couldn't do her class. :-( Emily is still feeling miserable today. She is drinking liquids because it hurts too much to eat. So sad! We dropped Zoe off at the Blue Hill park for Morgan's birthday party and she is spending the night at Morgan'a house. We are hanging out at my parents' house for a few hours, so Emily can be a bit less miserable in front of the tv...and I can play on the computer...and pick up Noah's messes that he keeps making!

Random Notes: On the ride back from Castine yesterday, I thought of my 2 favorite moral voices...Dr. Laura and Glenn Beck and decided that they can never die...or retire for that matter.

Eleanor had a chance to participate in cheering camp this week, but she doesn't like to camp, so she refused to do it. Telling her it was cheering camp was a mistake. I told her it would be just like her cheering class, but she still refused. Matt told her it would be like a cheering school, but she still refused to go. Okay...saves me time and money.

We have eaten 2 tomatoes from our garden. :-) I tolerated one bite, so I could say that I have eaten from our garden. I don't mind tomatoes on a sandwich or in a salad, but I don't like plain tomatoes.

Noah lets me know when he is done eating now by saying, "All done". He also has a disgusted facial expression. So cute!

I think Summer has finally arrived!

Thursday, July 30th: I finally went to visit teach Tasha. She lives on Deer Isle, which is about 45 minutes away from me and usually I don't have enough gas in my vehicle to go see her or our schedules don't match, but the kids and I met her and her 3 kids at her mom's house (Marilyn Conary) in Brooklin. We had a very nice visit and the kids had a great time playing together. The girls found some Barbies that were tucked away, which they loved playing with and the boys played with a big firetruck and other boy toys. Zoe picked some raspberries and then Tasha picked some more for us to take home. Yummy!
After our visit, we went to Walmart to take advantage of the sale on school supplies, backpacks, and sneakers. Our school shopping has officially begun! I think $9 backpacks are a great deal! Zoe didn't find a backpack or sneakers that she liked. She's holding out for an L.L. Bean backpack...we'll see.
After shopping, we went home and ate lunch. Then we headed to Craig Pond to swim. This was our first beach/swimming adventure for the summer. I'm a pool girl. I'd much rather go to the pool, but I was out voted, so we went to the "lake". The kids had a great time swimming and catching frogs.
I think I crammed too much into one day for myself because by night time, I was yelling at the kids for not cleaning up. After much yelling, I had them sit around the table so we could talk...I talked, they listened. Well, they did get some talking in because I learned that they do what Matt tells them to because he gives them the strikes that we instituted way back. So, I am not slacking anymore and I am giving out the strikes, too. When I told them that I was going to give them strikes, Zoe told me that I could go back to yelling instead, but I'm opting for strikes. I don't feel like crap after giving a strike like I do after I yell.

At some point in this day, we were talking about the age difference between Matt and I, which is 10 years. Emily thought I was older than Matt because it says "Mom-60!" on our calendar. Zoe and I laughed and we explained to her that Grammie is turning 60, not me. I know I have a lot of gray hair, but I don't think I look 60!

Friday, July 31st: The kids were still not in a cleaning mood this morning, but I was determined that things would get picked up and Zoe and Emily would get completely unpacked before we did anything for the day. That happened around noon time. We left the house around 1:00 to stop at the grocery store and then head to my parents' house to eat lunch. By the time we left my parents' house to go to the pool, we had about an hour to swim. Aly came swimming with us and she came home with us after swimming to spend the night. My mom babysat the kids after work, so Matt and I could go out. We killed some time at the dollar tree (I had never been to this all for $1 store and wanted to look around...without any children. This will be our new spot for the kids to pick out their sibling gifts in December, although I'm sure it will take FOREVER for them to make a decision of what to buy.) Matt and I then went to see "The Proposal" which was very good. Go see it if you haven't seen it yet. Even Matt liked it a lot.

Saturday, August 1st: We had a family day at Craig Pond. It was quite delightful.
We went home to eat dinner and then Matt, Zoe, Emily, and I started a fast together. I am not pregnant or nursing any more, so I can fast again! Zoe and Emily had attempted to fast every month when they each turned 8, but they skip breakfast and then eat when we get home from church. I never pushed the fasting because I wasn't fasting myself. It was nice to fast together and support each other. Our dinner Sunday night was super delicious and we were so proud of Zoe and Emily for sticking with the fast with us. :-)

Sunday, August 2nd: We went to church and then went home. My mom came over in the afternoon to watch the kids, so Matt and I could go visit the Johnsons.

Monday, August 3rd: We spent a few hours at the pool this afternoon. The past few weeks have felt like summer with the sun shining and the weather has been in the 80's. :-) We had a nice FHE. It ended with a shortened version of Yahtzee and yummy donuts.

Home Again :-)

Friday, July 24th: My parents and I went to see "Grease" at the movie theater. It started at 9pm, so I left after the kids were in bed. Fun! It was supposed to be outside, but it rained (surprise, surprise), so they had the movie inside instead...for FREE!

Saturday, July 25th: Eleanor spent the day with my parents, Aly, and Phil and then she spent the night. The Bucksport Bay Festival was going on, so they went to the parade in the morning and the fireworks in the evening.
Matt took Zach and Kate to the parade and then they hung out on Don's boat.
I took Noah shopping. We went to Walmart first and Noah was asleep when we arrived, so I worked on my Sunday School lesson until he woke up. We went into Walmart and first stopped by the Portrait studio to see if I could get Noah in for an appointment. The lady said she could get him right in, so I went back out to the Yukon to change him and went back in to have his 1 year old picture taken. It came out so cute! He kept standing up on the table, so the lady removed the table and had him stand on the floor. She managed to get a super cute shot even though he kept trying to run away. I did some shopping and finished up just as Noah was getting cranky. I fed him a snack in the car before moving on to Goodwill. Noah didn't last too long in the cart before he wanted to get out. I held him and looked for clothes. He tried to get down, but I held on. I managed to pick out a cart full of clothes, but I knew that Noah would be screaming while I tried them on, so I went out to the Yukon to grab the bag of applejacks I had for Noah and they kept him happy while I tried on clothes. I was happy with several of the church outfits that I had picked out, so I bought them and headed home. Noah and I were both ready to go home. I had to stop by McDonalds first though for a chocolate milkshake. It was quite a delightful ride home...quiet and yummy! Noah was asleep again when we got home, so I worked on my lesson some more. It was nice not having any siblings in the car to wake him up or to complain that they were bored.

Sunday, July 26th: It was a great church day, very uplifting. My lesson went really well. We came over to my parents' house after church for dinner. We are more aware of where Noah roams now since last Sunday he found a broken lightbulb and had a piece of glass in his mouth. I thought he had gotten into someone's juice because his outfit had red patches on the front of it, but we realized it was blood when Matt found glass in his mouth. We didn't think he had eaten any and he wasn't acting hurt or upset, so we decided he was okay, but we would keep an eye on him. He hasn't acted like anything is bothering him since and he seems to be okay. Scary!

Monday, July 27th: I had plans to sign Zach, Eleanor, and Emily up for the next session of swim lessons and then go to Walmart, but Matt came home with a broken exhaust pipe, so he took the Yukon to Portland. Bummer. Eleanor was excited to go shopping since we were going to look for some school supplies, but she took the news well that we weren't going afterall. It was a totally different reaction than what I would have heard from Zoe. Eleanor never mentioned shopping again and she was content to play at home. I had a good day and I was content to be home, too. I found something productive to do while listening to Glenn Beck...mending! Usually what is in the mending pile ends up at Goodwill, but the few things in my mending pile (Zach's blazer, Eleanor's favorite dress, Zoe's Utah shirt, and Zoe's fall coat), I was not ready to part with yet.
We had a nice FHE. Eleanor used the flannel board and we used the food pictures to decide what was good for our bodies and what is not. Zach picked out the Adam and Eve picture from the Gospel Art Kit to use for the scripture. Matt was on the game, so we sang B-i-n-g-o, which was fun. Then we had ice cream for dessert.

Tuesday, July 28th: Matt took the Yukon to work again, so the kids and I were home. It was a beautiful, sunny, perfect pool day, but we enjoyed the sprinkler instead. Eleanor and Zach enjoyed it anyway. Kate and Noah will not go near it. I grumbled to myself while I pushed Kate and Noah on the swing because it is a lot easier to sit by the pool while all the kids are content swimming, but I snapped out of it quickly. We ate lunch outside and then the kids wanted to go back inside. Sounded good to me! I did laundry throughout the day. I was exhausted at the end of the day and I happily sat and read my book when the kids were in bed.

Today: Matt came home in the early afternoon, so I could go pick Zoe and Emily up at the airport. My mom showed up at the airport, so we waited together. It was so nice to see Zoe and Emily! The kids were excited to see them when we got home. It's fun to hear about their trip. They had such a fun time. Thanks Janet & Steve, and all of our Utah family for taking such great care of them!
My mom watched the kids while Matt and I went to pick up the Saab. I have the Yukon back. :-) After dinner and getting the younger kids in bed, I left with Zoe and Emily to come over to my parents' house. Zoe and Emily were excited to see Aly again. This has been a fun summer for them with so many cousins!

Life in the woods

We have a porcupine hanging around during the day. I'm hoping it will be out on Saturday when Matt is around to eliminate it.

I had a well balanced day on Wednesday. The morning was spent doing fun things with the kids, the afternoon was spent cleaning and getting things done on my to-do list, and the evening was spent by myself reading and with Matt watching a movie (New in Town) with Matt. I took the kids to storytime in the morning. Then we walked along the waterfront. Noah fell asleep in his stroller. The kids were ready to relax after the long walk, which was perfect because I picked up some movies for them to watch while I got done what I needed to in the afternoon. Kate saw Eleanor smelling some flowers on our walk, so Kate had to stop and smell all the flower bushes during the rest of our walk.

I talked with Zoe and Emily on Wednesday. They went to the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple Open house. What a neat experience for them! Zoe said her favorite room was the Celestial room. She also told me that she got a bit homesick Tuesday night, which surprised me. Before she left, I told her that she would be ready to come home toward the end of her trip, but she didn't agree with me. I'm happy to know I was right. :-)

Eleanor and Zach had swim lessons yesterday. Eleanor wanted to try her first knee dive (which isn't taught until the next level), so she did one with the help of Jordan and she did a great job! She did 2 more knee dives before the end of class and she even inspired a few other kids in her class to try it. My mom took the day off yesterday, so she watched Kate and Noah while I was at swim lessons. I was able to sit and relax and I even started reading "Glenn Beck's Common Sense".

My mom and I played a few games of Phase 10 before we left to go home. Matt came home at 3:00, so we could go over to the Dauk's home to home teach them and have a barbeque. We had a great time! We played badmitton and the kids had fun playing with Smudge, the dog. Noah ate a slug...GROSS!

It is a rainy day today. I stopped by the pool to pick up Eleanor and Zach's certificates since today was the last day of lessons for this session. Both Eleanor and Zach will advance to the next level next session, so Zach will be in Beginner 1 and Eleanor will be in Beginner 2. We are hanging out at my parents' house today. I'm going to play Phase 10 with Aly and Phil. We'll have dinner here and watch "Wipeout" before going home. At least that's the plan my mom and I came up with. Now I need to call Matt...

2 in Utah, 4 at home

Zoe and Emily are loving life in Utah. Matt was up at 3:30am yesterday and Zoe and Emily were up at 4:00am. I got up to say goodbye before they left. Emily teared up as we hugged, but she was excited for her Utah adventure. I went back to bed after they left and had a dream about Zoe and Emily. In my dream, they had left for Utah, but then I was at a birthday party in Maine with them. They were being rude and obnoxious at the party, which was at a place I wasn't familiar with. Emily was trying to steal a pair of mittens and something else as we were leaving. Zoe and Emily insisted that they were going to Utah, but I was trying to explain to them that they were supposed to be on their way already and they should be getting on their connecting flight, so they were not going to Utah. When I woke up, I was glad that Zoe and Emily were on their way and I hoped that they will be on their best behavior there! Matt and I were talking about their behavior Sunday night, so I think that triggered the rude and obnoxious behavior in the dream. It's weird how my dreams have been so vivid and clear in my mind when I wake up lately.

I took the kids to the pool yesterday afternoon as we enjoyed the sunshine and upper 70's lower 80's weather. :-) Noah played in the water for the first time. He had so much fun! He was so funny bobbing his face in the water and walking around on his hands and feet.

We had FHE in the evening. We had rootbeer floats and Eleanor said, "This treat is awesome!" She was eating a bowl of vanilla ice cream when she commented on the treat. She didn't really like the rootbeer float.

I took the kids to the pool again today. It was a cloudy day, but in the 70's. It rained lightly at times, but we didn't care. When the kids were done swimming, we walked over to the kindergarten playground to play before going home. The kids have been collecting rocks lately, so they picked up some rocks from the playground to take home. Just what we need.

Some dreams are not meant to come true

I woke up this morning with tears in my eyes and I was thankful that I didn't have to give Kate away. In my dream, I was caring for a baby that I had to give up when the baby girl was a year old and when I was kissing the baby girl goodbye and telling the mother what a sweet girl she was, I recognized the baby girl as Kate, but she wasn't mine. I was so sad when I woke up. I'm glad it was just a dream!

Noah has discovered the fun of taking a drink of milk from a cup and then letting it dribble down his chin and onto his shirt. Fun!

Yesterday, my mom and I took Zoe, Emily, Eleanor, and Zach to the Alamo theater to see "Ice Age 3". There was a long line when we arrived and as we got near the ticket counter, there was concern about how many more tickets could be sold. There were a lot of people waiting behind us. When we got to the counter, we were told that there were 4 tickets left...there were 6 of us. I suggested to my mom that she stay for the movie with the 3 older girls and I would find something to do with Zach. My mom bought their tickets and then the guy at the counter said he would look one more time to see if any seats were left. No seats left. I was trying to convince Zach that it would be fun to go buy an ice cream and go for a walk, but he wasn't going anywhere and he sat down on the floor. Most of the people behind us in line had left the theater, so the guy said that he would get Zach and I in to see the movie with our family. There were 2 seats available, but they weren't together. I told him that Zach could sit on my lap and I tried to give him our money, but he waved us into the theater and said not to worry about it. Okay. :-) We enjoyed the movie, although Zach got bored toward the end and wanted to go for that walk that he had rebelled against earlier. We stuck it out in the theater, though and left when the movie was over.

Friday morning, Zach, Eleanor, and Emily had swim lessons. Eleanor has a crush on one of the lifeguards, Jordan who has been helping out with her class. I know this because she told me. Emily took her swim test and didn't pass her class, but she was told by her instructor, Cassie that she could pass in the middle of next session and then Emily would move up to the next level with her same instructor. Here are a few pictures of Emily diving. Her last few dives looked a lot better than her first.



Friday afternoon, Zoe and Emily hiked Blue Hill for Activity Days with Dodie, Kristen, Kayla, Natasha, Natasha's Mom, and Morgan. They enjoyed the views, they ate their lunch at the top of the hill, and they picked blueberries. Eleanor says that if Blue Hill is named Blue Hill because of the blueberries that are on it then it should really be called Blueberry Hill.
I took the younger kids to the park in the town of Blue Hill. We ate lunch, played on the playground, and walked along the beach. The kids loved chasing the eagle (seagull).









Friday evening, we all went to the pool for the evening swim. Noah is now getting closer to the water and he likes to throw the legos into the water. No more legos at the pool. After swimming, we came over to my parents' house to watch "Wipeout".

Emily, Eleanor, and Zach had swimming lessons Thursday morning and then we headed over to the middle school where my Dad works to check out the lost and found items before they get taken to goodwill. I got 2 jackets, Zoe got a jacket, a pair of capri pants, a few sweaters, and a nice duffel bag, Emily got a vest, Zach got a pair of boots to grow into, and we got a few lunch boxes and a small cooler. Eleanor insists that she is going to use her lunchbox next year for school. Sweet! We came over to my parents' house for most of the afternoon. Aly and Phil are with their other grandparents this weekend, so Thursday was the last day for Zoe and Emily to see Aly and Phil until the 29th or 30th. I took Zoe to Sunshine's house in the evening to finish her skirt. It looks really nice, especially with her matching shirt.

We left Sunshine's earlier than expected, so Zoe and I headed to Bucksport to walk along the waterfront. It was a nice walk, very peaceful and beautiful. When we got home around 9pm, Emily was waiting up for us. Matt expected us earlier since he called Sunshine and she said we had left, so he kept Emily up. Emily was barely awake when we got home and she gladly went to bed.

We are now heading home to have family council and get Zoe and Emily packed up for their trip tomorrow. They leave at 6am tomorrow morning. We did laundry yesterday and Zoe and Emily picked out the clothes they want to pack, but we are taking home a suitcase from my parents' house now to pack everything in. Matt is grilling some chicken right now before we head home. We were going to eat it last night, but the wood and ground were too wet to make a fire to cook it. We ate yummy spaghetti instead.

Update and Random Pictures

We tried going swimming today at the pool, but it was TOO COLD! Today is supposed to be the nicest day of the week, reaching the mid-70's, but it has only reached the upper 60's. All of my kids were shivering during the pool break after a few sessions in the water, so I suggested we leave and come over to my parents' house. Eleanor had asked if we could come over to my parents' house a little earlier and I said "We'll see". She replied, "We'll see always means yes." Me: "It does?" Eleanor: "Well, most of the time." It meant yes today. The last two days have been nice out, but we have had appointments in the afternoon, so we haven't made it to the pool. We were counting on today being a fun pool day. Oh well.

Noah had his one year check-up on Monday. He is healthy and growing. He is 30 1/4" long and he weighs 21.35lbs. He was cooperative for the nurse and doctor and he even did well when he got 4 shots. He only cried a tiny bit. I would have cried a lot more than he did!

Emily finished her skirt on Monday! It has been several months since Emily and Zoe started the skirts for Activity Days, so Sunshine made it over to our house on Monday and worked with Zoe and Emily. We're hoping to get Zoe's skirt done tomorrow night. Here is Emily with her finished skirt. Very nice!


Zoe and Eleanor had dentist appointments yesterday afternoon. Matt came home to watch the kids, so I was able to read a bit while I waited for Zoe and Eleanor. :-) Eleanor finally has her first loose tooth! No cavities were found (Zoe thought for sure that Eleanor would have a cavity with the way she brushes), so Eleanor was very relieved about that. Eleanor was also very happy that she didn't have to brush her teeth last night after the flouride treatment she received. What fun to get ready for bed and not have to brush your teeth!

Emily won't be around next week for the last week of swim lessons, so she made up one lesson yesterday and the other lesson on Monday. She'll have her regular lesson tomorrow and then she'll test on Friday. Zoe and Emily are off to Utah on Monday!

On Saturday, Matt took Zoe over to Hailey's house to help out with their yardsale. Emily went with Matt, so they went for a ride on Don's boat after dropping off Zoe and before coming home. In the afternoon, Matt took all of the kids to the pool and I stayed home to read and take a nap. It was so nice! I realized that Matt and Noah matched before they left, so I had to get a picture.


Matt made a grill Saturday evening and cooked some yummy Terriyaki chicken.



Noah has learned to say "Hi". He also says "Mama". I love to hear that one. :-)

Now for some random photos:
Playing Hangman...

Noah being his cute self...

Noah likes to get in the lego box, even if it's filled with legos...


Noah was asleep on my chair yesterday when I got home from the dentist. How cute is this?...


Cousins...

The kids love to help cook...

Zach had a minor accident at the pool last week. He started to run across the blanket that I was picking up and he tripped. His nose and forehead got scraped up and are still healing.

Eleanor's dinosaur artwork...

Zoe's mammoth...

Aly, Phil, and Noah...

Zoe, Emily, Aly, and Eleanor...

Zoe, Aly, and Emily...

My parents...

Me and Matt...

Zoe and My Mom...