Papa's Garden

Sometimes it's hard to get our kids to eat their vegetables. We make sure to have them with every meal and when its a fight almost every meal it gets daunting. The last time we were in Ogden, Dad gave me a whole bunch of veggies from his garden that he had grown. Those are the best, they always taste better than the ones bought form the store whether fresh or frozen. That's also the key to get our kids to eat them. We told them that they were from Papa's Garden and they all said that they loved Papa's veggies and they eat them all up. Gabbi and Owen even asked for seconds. It's too bad we can't have fresh veggie from Papa's garden all year round.

Sleepover

After our girls saw what we had done at our "adult" girls night, they begged to have one of their own. They also wanted a little extra fun and wanted to add a sleepover on top of that. So after debating back and forth, we were able to find a night that worked for everyone and made plans to meet at Christy's the night of the sleepover.

The day of the sleepover Gabbi was so excited. When she heard that the boys were going to go with us, she wasn't very happy. I explained to her why they were coming and she cooled down a little bit. Christy told me to go ahead and bring the boys so that they could stay and entertain her boys. I told her that she was crazy to have that many kids in her house all by herself, but she insisted. She said it would work perfect to have them over because of the fact that having my boys there would help occupy her boys so the girls could be undisturbed.

We got to Christy's house before the actually time that we were supposed to meet. Luckily Christy was okay with that. That gave us some time to visit before having to spend her time having a paint night for the girls. It was nice to sit down and visit despite the noises coming from the kids playing. The girls were upstairs, the younger boys were playing on the WII, and the older boys were downstairs playing with nerf guns. It was a busy and noises house at the moment, but that didn't stop us from having a good time.

When Shantelle and Amy got there, Brooklyn and Gabbi went crazy. It was completely understandable, it had been a while since we saw them last and they were excited to be together. Christy told the boys that they needed to go up or downstairs so that the girls could paint uninterrupted. When they were finally out of the front room, we pulled out all of the items the girls would need for their paintings. Once the girls were set up and ready, Shantelle then headed home. She had a house full of kids without another adult and couldn't leave them for long.

I wasn't sure I was going to stay, but wanted to help out if it was needed, so I stood back and tried to stay out of the way as Christy showed the girls what they would be painting and the step by step instructions. Gabbi asked me a few times what Christy meant and because Christy was outnumbered, I stepped in and helped Gabbi. The girls had a blast painting. They painted a tree with hanging down branches covered in leaves. Gabbi chose her favorites colors and it turned out pretty nice. She couldn't wait to hang it up in her room.

Once the girls were done I helped Christy get things cleaned up. After we were done cleaning it was time to start thinking about dinner. Christy asked if I would watch the kids while she went and got pizza and drinks for dinner. Well she got pizza for the kids and since neither of us wanted pizza she made the Big Mac bowl for us and Hunter (who couldn't have pizza). It was so yummy. I had seen it on Facebook before and have wanted to try it, now that I was, it was well worth the try.

After dinner all the kids went their separate ways to play. The boys went back downstairs to play with the nerf guns as well as outside to play laser tag and the girls went upstairs and gave each other makeovers. Christy and I sat in the front room and just chatted as the time passed. We talked for a while and the I realized what time it was. It was getting late enough that I needed to head out so I wouldn't wake Mom or Dad when I got to their house, so I bowed out gracefully. She offered for me to stay the night at her place, but I didn't want to be in the way and the kids didn't want me there anymore. So I said goodbye and headed to Mom and Dad's for the night. 

I texted Christy in the morning to see how the kids were doing and how the night went. She said that they were great last night and were doing even better this morning. There were no arguments when she asked them to clean up and get ready for bed. There were no arguments when she told them it was time to lay down and go to sleep. There were no arguments when she asked them to clean up their breakfast mess. That made me so happy to hear. 

I then asked her when she wanted me back to pick up the kids. She told me that she currently was at work. She had to go in for two hours this morning to fill in for somebody, but would soon be heading back home. She then told me that she had her regular shift at 2 and she would be taking her kids back to Brandon's between 1 and 1:30, so I needed to pick them up anytime before that. 

With that information, I told her I would be there by 1 and she gave me a thumbs up. Now I just had to wait for the time to pass. With my free morning and early afternoon, I did go to the mall to see if I could find a pair of pants, but sadly was unsuccessful. Being at the mall did take up the time I needed  and now it was time to head back to Christy's. 

The kids were not happy to see me when I got there, which didn't surprise me. They told me to leave and come back later. Despite them not wanting me there, I was surprised to see that they had already cleaned up and were ready to go. Christy said that they had actually had it clean up and ready to go by the time she got back home. I was quite impressed by all of them for all pitching in to get the house clean.

Since they were all done and ready to go, we still had a few minutes before we actually had to take of, so we stayed and chatted a little bit more before heading out. Walking to the van Gabbi told me that the girls had already talked about having another sleepover soon. I smiled, buckled my seatbelt, and hit the road.

Dinner with Beth and Parker

After running into Beth and Parker a few weeks ago and getting together for dinner, we wanted to do it again. The thought of doing a monthly get together sounded really fun and this was the first step to that. It took a few messages back and forth to narrow down a day that worked for both of us, but once we did, food plans and assignments were made and we were looking forward to it. Annie would even be joining us and the kids were really excited about that.

When the day came, we got our side items put together that we were in charge of and headed to their house. Parker was making BBQ meat and we brought sides to go with it. I brought my usual jello salad as well as a pasta salad that Annie, and everyone else, could eat. That was the task, but I'm glad we finally found one that would work for Annie and tasted okay too. 

When we got there we unlocked the lock at the gate and headed inside. Once we were inside we placed all the food out on their island and waited for the meat to get done. While we waited the kids happily said hi to everyone, especially Annie. They were even surprised to see that she brought her dog with her. They love her dog even though he may not like them. Owen was instantly drawn to him and went and laid on the floor next to him hoping that he would let him pet him. 

When Parker was done with the BBQ meat, we finished putting things out on the counter and gathered around so that we said a prayer and dish up our plates. Everything looked and smelled so yummy, I couldn't wait to sit down and eat it.

When the kids were done eating they were off playing. The boys went outside to play in the backyard and the girls bounced back and forth from being inside and outside. As long as they were playing nicely and having fun, I didn't really care where or what they played. The adults gathered around the table, after eating, to play a game of 5 crowns. It's a really fun game and it seems to be a go to game when were there. It's easy and everyone loves to play it.

After we were done playing we went outside to see how the kids were. The boys were on the tramp jumping and the girls were playing hide and seek around the field and the backyard. They looked like they were having a lot of fun and I hated to end it, but I did. I told the kids that it was time to clean up and head home. Once the kids were done, we thanked them for inviting us over and said our goodbyes. It was such a fun night, I hope we can keep up with getting together once a month.

Corn

Tonight with our dinner we had corn on the cob. Our kids love it and we don't get it as often as I'm sure they'd like, but when we do its an extra little treat. William was worried about eating the corn. He thought that because he lost a tooth that he would have a hard time eating the corn. I told him that he would be fine, but I would cut it off the cob if he wanted. He told me that he would try it and see how far he could get. Like nothing he went at the corn and had no problem with it. He was so proud of himself and the fact that he could eat the corn of the cob.

Lego Plane

After we were done taking pictures, the kids ran off to play while I cooled off. An hour or so later Owen came in wanting to show me what he had been working on. He had put together a giant cargo plane. It was big enough to transport some of his animal toys from one side of the room to the other. He said that he had a hard time at first, but once he really sat down and focused on, it came together no problem. He loved it so much that he wanted me to take a picture of it so he could recreate it if it ever were to fall apart.

Groups pictures

After taking the individual pictures, we did a few group ones. They sadly were not as cooperative with the group ones as they were the individual. It made it very frustrating, to the point that I called it quits and started walking away. They kids called me back and told me that they would do better. I took a few more and it just wasn't worth it or working. We called it quits and walked back home. You can tell it wasn't working because I only have two good pictures out of the handful I took where they are actually looking at me and don't have a stupid look on their faces.

Pictures

Every year I take the kids' yearly pictures. They always have one taken for the school, but I've never been interested in purchasing those when I can do them for considerably cheaper and I like how they turn out more than the school ones. I'm not confined to a backdrop.

Since we didn't have any plans today despite it being Pioneer Day, I decided to get them done today. I was of course behind for Gabbi, but I was ahead for both of the boys. I was perfectly okay with that as well because during April and October, you never know what the weather will be like and I like to take them outside.

After getting all the kids dressed and ready, we went outside and went for a walk in search for the best place to take these pictures. We came across a few different spots and the kids were great pointing out some places that they liked as well. They also choose how they wanted to stand in these pictures. It definitely makes for a better experience when I can get them involved in the process. 

After all was said and done, they didn't turn out too bad. I've done better and I'm not 100% sure that I will actually print these off, but since we aren't visiting family right now to even give them pictures, I just may wait and see what else I can do to make these better. Or I just may wait until next year. I love their pictures from last year, I have no problem keeping them up for another year, plus Beth is supposed to take our pictures in a couple weeks while at Bicknell.

Gabriella Sagez, 12 years old, 2020

Owen Sagez, 10 years old, 2020

William Sagez 7 years old, 2020

Dinosaur

The kids love not having anything to do. It summer after all, but this has been a summer of nothing. It truly does surprise me how resilient they are, not letting this crazy time that we live in to get to them. I'm grateful that they can keep themselves entertained so they don't drive me crazy either.

One mode of entertainment today was Lego's. The kids often play with the Lego's but this time around William was just being plain silly. Owen was trying to make a plane and William was making animals to put in the plane. He pulled out all of the Lego dinosaurs and mixed them all up. He even gave them species names which really surprised me. He loved his creations and couldn't wait to put them in Owen's plane. He'd of course have to wait, because I just asked them to get dressed and ready to go and take pictures. He wasn't happy with me, but asked if I wouldn't mind taking pictures of them while he got dressed. It was the least that I could do.