Gabbi's Room Remodel

Ben and I have bounced back and forth regarding trying to sale or staying put. We have done little things here and there to spruce up the house and finally decided it was time to give the kids color. So after asking Gabbi what color she liked from her comforter that I bought at Swiss Days, she picked yellow. I went to Lowes with the pillowcase and they were able to match the color perfectly. It was really bright, but that was the color she wanted.

So step one...get the walls ready. They needed to be washed, patched, sanded, wiped down again, and then taped. I couldn't believe how many holes, nicks, and indented lines I had to cover. The walls looked like they had calamine lotion all over them after getting the chicken pox. The work alone took two day to complete.

Step two...start painting. I tried to do most of the work while the kids were at school, sadly I still had one helper who really wanted to help out. He spent the days helping me move the ladder around the room. In between working around him and the time frame of needing to pick up the kids, it took three days to get the painting done. Mind you it was 2 coats as well as a day just to do the floor boards.

Step three...paint and hang up the chair rails. This took even longer then prep and paint. I had no problem painting the chair rails, but I couldn't hang them myself. I had to wait to work around Ben's schedule to finally get this last task complete.

Step four...decorate. I was lucky to come across some fun pink and yellow canvas prints with fun and uplifting messages. I also changed the color of her name letters to pink with yellow dots. It all turned out better then I thought. Best part...Gabbi loved the finished product.

Fun at Walmart

Went to Walmart after dropping the other kids off at school. While we were there William saw the costume heads and really wanted to try one on. So I obliged him and he had a blast with it. He chased me around the box full of heads. It was pretty funny. The dinosaur head wasn't enough though, he had to try on others.

His favorite was the shark. He didn't want to put the head back. He was begging me to let him be a shark for Halloween. Sadly he just wasn't fitting that head, plus it was $20 and I don't spend that much on costumes...ever!

Video Game

Ben invested in a Play Station 4 and with it a few games. He even got a game that the kids could play...a race car game. I was surprised how quickly they picked up on how to play. Even William was able to play with a little bit of guidance.

They had so much fun that at an hour when we told them it was time for bed, they all had a melt down. With a little coaxing and reassurance that they would be able to play again, they were fine and ready to go to bed.

FHE with Grandma

The kids have loved having dinner with Grandma Annie. Sometimes we have taken the opportunity to have a Family Home Evening with her. This particular FHE was prepared by Gabbi. She found a fun story and activity in the Friend and wanted to do it. I helped her get the things ready that she needed and when it was time we let her take over. She planned the whole thing and did a great job too.

Her lesson was on prayer and the purposes of it. We had a good discussion on prayer and then when it was time for the activity she was really excited to explain what we would be doing. Once she was done explaining we went at it. Every one got it done rather quickly and when we were done we finished with a treat.

Lagoon 9-16-2017

We decided that we would hit up the Halloween fun the first weekend it came out. We wanted to get it done so we didn't have to wait in the insane lines come October. It was actually a nice day for it too. 

When we got inside the park we headed straight to the Spook-a-Boo walk through. The kids were happy to be in line, I was happy the line was short. Our plan to beat the crowd worked out nicely this time.

When it was our turn, the kids were so happy to be going in. They were even more excited when the worked asked them what they were going to be for Halloween and the kids gave her so many things that they wanted to be for Halloween. She smiled and told them those were all good ideas and let them in the walk through.

The kids enjoy walking through. Nothing seemed to scare them either. When I'd look at Gabbi she just had a smile on her face saying "this is lame, but I'm doing it for my brother's." Ever once in a while though she actually looked like she was enjoying it. I know she liked getting the treats and toys though.

This year they even had a few different stops from the previous years. They had a Day of the Dead. The kids really liked it because they said it reminded them of Coco. I was impressed that they linked the two together. 

When we were done with the walk through we just walked around the park checking out all the Halloween decorations. My favorite is the pumpkins. The kids tried to see if they could make some faces worthy of being put on a pumpkin. I'm not sure they "hit the nail on the head." 

Are walk aroudn the park to look at decorations led us to Pioneer Village. There was no line, so we walked over and entered the Scary and Crow's straw maze. Many of the characters in this one didn't change either, but they did and a miner this time around.

When we were done with the straw maze, Ben and I decided that that was good for the day. We didn't need to ride any rides, that was never the plan. The kids weren't very happy about not riding any of the rides, but there would be plenty of opportunities to ride the rides.

Ward picnic

We were free in the afternoon, so we decided to go to the ward activity at the park. They were grilling hot dogs and having lunch. They did it at the park so the kids had a place to play. It was kind of sad that not very many people came, but those that did...it was fun to visit and interact with. 

When the activity was done we stayed to help clean up. Ben always offers to stay to help clean up. The perks this time was being able to play with a giant hula hoop. I do mean giant. Gabbi and Ben ended up having a contest to see who could last longer. I couldn't believe how long they lasted. I can't hula hoop at all and they went for at least 5 minutes. That's a great feet with how big those hula hoops were.

When they were finally done with their contest we got to the rest of our day.

Drug Dog Demo

Ben is a part of the scouting program and in charge of the 11 year old boys. For one of their activities they hosted a drug dog demonstration. With this demonstration they invited any family who was interested. So in support of Ben we decided to go.

When we got there there weren't very many people there. They weren't sure if they should get started, but after some deliberation they decided to get started. As things went on a lot more families started showing up. It was a pretty good turn out.

The two officers that came introduced themselves and their dogs. They talked about what type of training they had to do in order to be a K-9 officer and the training that the dogs had to go through. They even gave a few examples of some cases that these dogs had worked on. When it came time for demonstrations they first started with the sniffing box which smelled of drugs and the dog had to find it. When they find it they sit down and bark to alert their officer.

The second set of demonstrations was retrieving an assailant. The partner dressed in the get up and got ready while the other officer talked about different scenarios where a dog may be asked to help retrieve and assailant. The kids were shocked and surprised at the dogs actions and what they were capable of. I was almost afraid that it would make them scared of the dogs, but when they allowed the kids to come up and see the dogs, they jumped up and got in line. 

When the demonstration was over we helped put the chairs away and cleaned up before heading out. We got home before Ben did, he had a few more things he had to do with his scouts. When we got home we gave the kids some ice cream as a treat for the end of out activity.

Math Club

At the beginning of the school year Gabbi asked if she could do Math Club. I didn't see the harm in it, so we signed her up and waited to find out which session she would be in. A few weeks into school she brought home a letter telling her that she was in the first session and it last for 8 weeks. She couldn't wait to see what they would be doing and learning in Math Club.

Each day they met they learned something different in a new and exciting way. This particular week they talked about light and how light bends. As a part of their activity they used glow sticks. She had so much fun that she had to show her brother what she learned. They went downstairs to her bedroom, turned off the light, and shut the door. All I could hear was fun chatter and laughing. They were having a blast. I'm glad we signed her up for the club. Too bad that it only last 8 weeks.

Big feet

We were given a pair of shoes in hopes that they would fit one of the boys. It might have fit Owen, but William claimed them for himself. He was determined to make them his. He tried his best walking around in them despite them being a few sizes to big. I couldn't burst his bubble, he was having a blast wearing them and walking around. He wore them for the rest of the day. Even took a trip to the store in them.

Girl's Night

What happened after a girl's night movie that ended at 12:15 a.m. and no one wants to go home...you go to Walmart and mess around. We probably made a lot of people laugh, but we were having fun. 

So much fun that we walked/messed around in Walmart for almost an hour. To be a kid again.

Weather Club

At school Gabbi's grade has been talked about the weather. She has come home from school many times talking about the many things they have learned, her favorite being the clouds. Every time we drove some where she would tell us what type of clouds were in the sky. I was very impressed who much she is picking up.

The best part about learning about the weather was their special guest once they were done. They had an assistant to the Weatherman from KSL news come and visit their school. He talked to them about meteorology and what it takes to predict and share the weather forecasts. Then they got to have their picture taken with him and were told that they would have a special story on the news just after the weather forecast was given. So that night we watched and sure enough, they were on the news. Gabbi was giggling like crazy when she saw them flash across the screen.  

Admiring himself

Jenny came by to drop some things off and William was being so funny. He came out and noticed his reflection in the side of her SUV. He began to dance around and sing all while staring at his own reflection. It was so funny and so cute all at the same time, I couldn't pass up a photo opportunity.

Accident

It's us, we can't lose teeth normally, we have to do it the hard way.

I got a call from the office saying that Owen had had an accident at school. He and another child were running on the playground and collided. They hit so hard that Owen lost 2 teeth and left one really loose. The other child actually had a goose egg and teeth marks in the middle of it. I couldn't believe it when I heard it. They told me that they gave him a Popsicle for the pain, but the bleeding had stopped and said that he was fine to stay at school if he wanted to. Owen said he wanted to stay, so we let him. There was only an hour left.

Once we picked the kids up from school we headed straight to the dentist. They told him that he was a trooper and surprised that he choose to stay at school. Sadly that didn't mean we were free to go. The dentist told up that the wiggly tooth had to come out. It wasn't completely removed at the roots so we had to have it forcefully removed. Owen was not excited about the shot to numb his mouth, but he was very brave and sat there like a champ when they pulled his tooth. Needless to say when they were done, they told him that he could have two prizes from the prize box. He was also told that he could only have soft food like yogurts and ice cream. He really perked up when he heard ice cream.

So when we left we headed to the store to get him some things that he could eat. He did a great job and despite the swelling and missing teeth he was up and ready to go to school the next morning.

Swiss Days

Swiss days is always a blast every year. One of the best parts of the weekend is the show. We always go to a Musical as the ending note to our weekend. This years show was Forever Plaid.

I had never heard of that production and didn't really know what to expect, but it was actually pretty good. It was a small production, just 4, but it had great songs, funny lines, and overall a great show.

When we were done with the musical we went to dinner and once dinner was done it was time to head home. A sweet weekend away from the kids always ends too quickly, but I'm very grateful for what little time I get to get a way.