"I am a dalek... EXTERMINATE!!!"

My parents and sister showed me a video last night that my sister had captured on her camera. Somewhere after a TV show that had a model or picture of a dalek from Doctor Who, Dougie began walking around in a stiff robotic manner with his hands out in front of him, moving in choppy up and down arcs, saying, "I am a dalek... EXTERMINATE!!!"He "attacked" my father who played along and screamed as Dougie the dalek touched him. Then Dougie went after my mother in the kitchen with a similar response from her.

I love that my kiddos are as kooky as I am sometimes!

A force field of stink

Sometimes I forget that Audie is a kiddo when he says things like that. Apparently, the skunks were encouraged by the ground hog's prediction of an early spring, but their senses are still a little groggy. I've counted no less than 6 dead along the road. Worse yet, as you drive around them, the stink gets in the car, and the only way to get rid of it is to open the windows for a time. As Audie was describing this, he called it a force field of stink. Tim and I just looked at each other and laughed. Very clever, kiddo!

Chloie had a similar instance with the "fresh air button" on the AC controls. Dougie is, well, DUDE. I have awesome kiddos. Chloie is feeling better, though the cough is still a little harsh. I'm hoping that since her fever broke Saturday night, it'll go away without too much persistence.

Is it Chili's in here?

In a move of total spontaneity, Tim decided that we should go to Chili's in Winchester for dinner. We LOVE Chili's. We were delighted when we discovered they'd brought back the classic nachos. YUM!!! The ones they had in place of them just weren't the same. Tim ate his classic bacon burger, I had honey-chipotle chicken strips, Chloie had a cheese burger, Dougie had pizza, and Audie had a corn dog, 1/2 of Chloie's burger, and a piece of Dougie's pizza. That kid can really pack some food away!

What year is it again?

You know, right when you get used to writing 2010, they go and change it on you. Now I get to spend the next 12 months trying to remember to write 2011.

Tim and I had a good couple days at home together last week. We watched movies, beat each other playing Wii games, cuddled... it was wonderful. No snow, I didn't have to work, and we got to relax. I did have a list of things to do, however, and completed those things while he was working. I typed most of the Primary stuff for music time, learned the songs, did some dishes, caught up on laundry, put a bunch of yarn away, and did some cleaning. Oh, Oh, and I got to try out my new game. You know, the one Tim got me for Christmas? Star Wars: the Force Unleashed is awesome!!! I spent 3 hours playing it Friday night and didn't realize it until Tim got home.

Tim and I didn't celebrate New Years. We decided to go to bed somewhat early so that we'd be well rested for the trip to Knoxville Saturday morning to pick up the kiddos. Thankfully, there was no snow, just rain, and the temperature was kind of nice (if you can contain excitement over a 50° heat wave). We stopped at a Burger King on the way home and let them play in the "complex" they had for a play place. This thing was 3 stories tall!

Chloie kept asking if I'd teach her how to knit since we got her pink yarn, purple yarn, and a set of knitting needles for Christmas. I told her we'd work on it after church on Sunday. She picked up casting on very quickly, though trying to knit the stitches is a little tricky. We'll just have to practice a little more. :) The boys put together their Lego kits - Audie his sea plane, and Dougie his race car. Audie did his all by himself while I helped Dougie. The kiddos even played the Wii some. Chloie seems to like archery like me while Audie liked sword fighting.

We had a good Fast and Testimony meeting Sunday morning. Tim even got up and bore his testimony about fasting. I'm so glad it works because we have a lot to be thankful for due to fasting. I was SO happy he got up there. He laughs at me for it, but I can't help but be happy that he's come so far from when I met him, but then again, so have I.

Well, now that the holidays are over, I guess it is time to return things to "normal" if there really is such a thing. I need to go grocery shopping...

Christmas at the Whitcomb's

I took Thursday off from work so that I could spend it with the kiddos before they went to AR for a week or so. Tim and I ended up going shopping for their gifts during while they visited with my parents. I got to spend 2 hours that evening wrapping everything. :)

Friday the kiddos and I baked some pies and chocolate meatball cookies, then while Tim was at work, we watched some movies and worked on dinner. We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, green beans, Mom's deviant wheat rolls, and Hannah's salad. Then we read the Christmas story from the scriptures and opened gifts (since we were traveling on Christmas day). The kiddos loved their gifts. Audie got the bow and arrows he'd been asking for, Dougie ran around in his SWAT gear "shooting" the rest of us, and Chloie is excited to use the knitting needles and *bright* pink and purple yarn we got her after they get back (she's been asking me to teach her to knit for some time). We finally broke down and got them a Wii, though I must admit I like the archery and bowling in the Sports Resort we got with it. We got enough controllers so that all 3 kiddos could play. Tim and I have already challenged each other several times!

We left at the butt crack of dawn on Saturday morning bound for Knoxville, TN. It flurried a little on the way down, but all in all it wasn't bad. The kiddos were occupied for hours with the Crayola Color Wonder sets my parents got for them. Awesome stuff there, BTW, just sayin'. The only place open to eat on the way down was Waffle House. I will tell you that since VA raised the speed limit to 70, the trip went a lot faster. We met, JD left with the kiddos, and Tim and I ate at IHOP.

We left at 2pm from IHOP fully ready to get home around 10 or so, but the weather had a different idea. At about 5:30, the snow had mucked up the roads enough that we were only going 40 mph. Add to that the darkness, and we decided to spend the night at the Comfort Inn & Suites in Dublin, VA. We had dinner at the Waffle House (yay) and passed out from exhaustion. Those beds are comfy! I'd already called my parents to tell them what happened, and I called my friends in the Primary to let them know I couldn't get home to do singing time on Sunday. It broke my heart, but I didn't want to risk the trip.

We left the hotel at 9am and headed home. By that time, the sun was up and the roads were well cleared. Driving home from then on was a breeze. We watched a movie, washed the road grime off, and went to bed. I'm glad to be home. I think we're going to start looking into trains, buses, or airplanes for future trips.

On a bright note, I finished the blanket for my brother-in-law and his wife. I also had enough yarn in those colors left to do booties and a hat to match. I showed her the unfinished blanket Friday night while they were at dinner, but these are the first pics of the finished set.
Aren't they cute!!! So tiny!I admit that the booties are crocheted while the hat and blanket are knit. I wasn't sure that I could do booties with knitting needles, so I went with what I knew.
This project was a first on many fronts. First time using circular knitting needles, first time cabling (the lines and twisting), first time knitting with 2 colors separately, and the first time using double pointed needles (for the hat). I can't wait to do the next one!

No more lip

Actually he's still got his lip.

Dougie's stitches came out yesterday morning without incident. Tim went with him because I had to work. He said Dougie just sat there and let them remove them without crying or anything (my dude is such a trooper)! I got to see him last night when I got home from work. He's got a thin red line where the scar will be, but it has healed nicely and will continue to do so.

It is simply amazing how quickly kids heal.

Behold the terror... Franken-Dougie!

Here he is 24 hours after his catastrophe...The swelling has gone down nicely, and it looks like his scar won't be much of one. He's having trouble saying his "P" sounds, and brushing teeth is a little painful, but otherwise he's doing well. Thank you all who wished him well.

He's in such good spirits about it, that he spent the evening drawing pictures for Santa... Franken-Dougie's self portrait, Franken-Audie, Franken-Chloie, Franken-Mommy, and Franken-Daddy all have an impressive assortment of stitched scars and neck bolts. All of the pictures are on the wall behind the tree. :)

Are stitches contagious?

I ask because last week a boy in Primary had to get them, and now this...

Last night at home I was working on a project for Primary on Sunday, the kiddos had finished their homework and were playing in the living room and front hall.

I hear a scream.

This wasn't the normal "He hit me and now my feelings and arm hurt" kind of scream. It was the "blood-curdling, stop Mommy's heart because I'm really hurt bad" scream, and Dougie comes into the kitchen holding his mouth with blood on his hands crying. A quick look (and later discussion on the way to the emergency department at City Hospital) revealed he had run into the corner to the hallway and split open his upper lip, which successfully kicked my mode from just Mommy Mode to Panicked Mommy Mode.

The next few minutes were a flurry of activity... Get your shoes on... don't worry about socks right now... help your brother get his coat on... put this on your lip... everyone in the car... who wants to say a prayer? We took turns praying in the car, and when the direness of the situation finally started to upset everyone else in the car, we started singing Primary songs (THANK YOU for my new calling where I learned the songs we sang!!!). I started making phone calls when we reached the top of the mountain - I asked my parents to take Audie and Chloie while I was at the ED with Dougie and left a message for Tim.

My sister, who met us at the hospital to pick up the kiddos, said I sounded different because of the evening's events, and looking back I would have to agree. There's something about a hurt kiddo, I mean beyond the normal bumps and bruises kind of hurt, that puts an edge of panic in one's voice, like you're walking a fine line between trying not to cry and remaining calm.

We sat there for about 45 minutes before we were called into triage. Tim's perfect timing brought him to the ED just as we sat down. Luck for us the split didn't go all of the way through his lip. It did have a bruise line on the inside of his lip, but his teeth were OK. They took us back to the minor injury section to get him stitched up. A physician's assistant and then the doctor came to take a look, talked to us about the injury and what they would do to fix it, and started making preparations. There was some concern about the location, but the doctor was confident that he could fix it with minimal scarring and without the need for later cosmetic correction. He said that the hardest part would be making sure the lip line was straight, but after that it was only closing the wound. He also said that he would use smaller stitches to reduce scarring, but more of them so that they would hold it closed and wouldn't break.

We wrapped Dougie in the papoose to keep him still, and Tim and I took turns covering his eyes when the doctor injected the numbing agent. I kept my eyes closed. I saw the first stitch at the lip line, but couldn't handle the tugging on the skin around the cut, so Tim took over and I sat down. I seem to remember that the head injury last February was a lot easier to handle than this. Tim (a.k.a. the poster boy for the American Quilting Association for the number of stitches he had to get as a kid) was fascinated. Dougie was a little trooper. He only cried when they injected his lip. He'll have a fat lip for a couple days, and the stitches will come out Monday. He'll have to be gentle eating and brushing his teeth for a few weeks, but all in all he will be OK.

I wasn't brave enough to take pictures of the before and after, but Tim did. I'll post pictures later when I get them from him. In the mean time, Dougie is spending the night at my parents' house. The whole excursion from leaving the house to the ED to my parents' house for dinner (we left our house before we had a chance to eat) to getting back home took about 4 hours. I'm glad it is over.

Hokey Happenings

Yep, it's that time again when the kiddos can't make up their minds about what they want to be for Halloween. We finally decided on the following three candidates:

Audie testing out his ninja skills. To his credit, he really is a sneak... especially when he's in costume with mask and all. He was "practicing" all week.Dougie posing as Iron Man. It's hard to see here because it is after the evening's festivities, but his face is painted to look like the mask.Chloie as a water bender. While the other two were store bought, this one was home-made. We're looking at a bathrobe, curtains, and retired ribbon.Of course, the evening wouldn't be complete without cake. This duo was for the trunk-or-treat at the church. Because we forgot what time it started, we got there 1 hour late so it didn't sit on the table long. After I hacked it up for all to eat, it lasted for even less time.

As for my first official day as Primary Music Director... well, lets just say we all survived. I've learned a few things in the last 24 hours.

1. Junior primary are easily entertained.

2. Senior primary not so much, but they will sing for food.

3. 40 minutes of solid singing is tough for the uninitiated. Next time I'm bringing a water bottle.

I got to go upstairs!!!

I've been giddy and grinning from ear to ear all weekend. It was a long Saturday, but worth every minute of it. I decided to forgo walking on the treadmill in favor of getting some extra sleep (I'd been told that it would take a lot out of me). Tim and I got up at 6am and made up our grocery list, and I got ready to go. Amy was there just after 7am, and we were off!

After stopping at Burger.King for a quick breakfast, we got to the temple around 9am and went to the distribution center to purchase the needed items for my first time through. I learned very quickly, however, that the fit is a little different from the measurements and ended up exchanging the bottoms before we left later in the afternoon.

I can't even begin to describe how awesome it was to walk across the bridge and into the temple! We got to sit and enjoy the mural on the second floor. I'm told the painter painted his entire family into both sides (apparently he wasn't sure on some of them). I love how he included people from all different time periods and the expanse of righteous people represented on the right hand of the Savior in light. It was very powerful. There is a girl in a blue dress almost front center helping a small child that looks like JaNae's daughter. I wonder if there is a likeness of me?Most of the rest of my time inside the temple can't and shouldn't be discussed here or anywhere but inside the temple, and I know there are websites out there that lay bare the author's version of those events, but I feel that those entries were penned without the Spirit and prompted by something with less than benevolent intentions in mind. While researching the temple a couple years ago to make it in cake, I found a spectacular picture, but it was attached to one of those sites. Not knowing what I'd found, I read through and couldn't believe what I was reading. The author repeatedly put down the church and its practices and mentioned how "silly" they felt. As time went on and I wanted to go and was preparing to enter the temple, I was worried that I would feel the same way. Thankfully, I didn't. I had a wonderful experience, and aside from some slight issues with the ceremonial clothing, everything was fine. I left feeling empowered and maybe walked a little taller. I wasn't confused, and I didn't feel silly, but I did feel at peace, like I'd accomplished something important. If you haven't gone, I encourage you to do so, so that you can feel for your self. If you've already gone, I encourage you to do so as if it was your first time and recapture the giddy excitement. Sitting in the Celestial room, I couldn't help but think I'm finally here! It was beautiful! Everything in the temple is beautiful. Even the banisters are beautiful. The stained glass was breathtaking, and the details are incredible. I can't wait to go back! I do, however, need to make my own dress for my next visit. And Tim and I have decided that we want to go back often enough to warrant purchasing our own "accessories".

The outpouring of support was phenomenal as well. I couldn't believe how many people showed up just to be there with me. I'm so grateful that my ward family (and my BIL and SIL) were there, and especially my BFF Amy for escorting me. Most of us went to Red.Robin for lunch afterwards. I was good to revel in their friendship and enjoy our time together. We had an excellent lunch, and then start our trek back to WV, pick up the kiddos, pick up pizza, and go to the Elders Quorum activity. Pizza and games... fun! The kiddos really enjoyed playing Twister, musical chairs, and whacking at a pinata! There were pieces of yellow and purple streamers flying everywhere with the swing of the sword they were using. The brethren finally had a go at it after the kids made 2 runs through. Sam whacked it so hard that it came off of the rope and tossed it at Tim; he wasn't expecting it, and it split open when it hit him. :) After everything was cleaned up, we went grocery shopping for our 2 week menu and rented Prince.of.Persia from Red.box. Awesome movie BTW (Tim and I watched it Saturday night).

After completion of Saturday's festivities and a quasi-good night's sleep, were were honored to see the Primary program Sunday morning. Dougie was brave enough to say his line this year, Chloie played shy, Audie did great as always, and everyone sang their songs with gusto! The rest of our Sunday was peaceful, which was a welcome break after such a busy few days. We celebrated my parents' birthdays and Dougie's birthday with cake and icecream and presents for Dougie. On Wednesday we're taking my parents out to chinese for their birthdays. Mmmm, tasty!

Still Counting Down...

That's right, folks! In 24 hours I get to go INSIDE!!! That is all.

Well, actually, it isn't, but it's dramatic, no?

I've decided that laundry day should be banned, and that someone should invent a machine that collects dirty clothes, washes them, folds/hangs them, and puts them away. This machine should be able to work at any given time with no maintenance or malfunction. Wait, I think Someone beat me to it... He created Moms. That explains my sudden desire to scrub rings our of my husband's collars. I think I need to talk to the Designer and suggest some modifications to the design to improve performance.

I started watching Dune last night on Net.flix and stopped half way through so that I could go to bed (kind of happy I was able to exercise self control). I haven't watched it in a long time, and I'd forgotten how... um... interesting some of the imagery is. I was happy to see a younger (?) Patrick.Stewart in the film. I won't be able to watch any tonight because Tim will be home, and I don't think he likes that kind of movie, but also because I have to get an early start to the temple. I understand that it will be an involved process that will take a lot out of me the first time. I'll let you know for sure later. We also have an Elders Quorum activity, and we're going grocery shopping after that. It's going to be a long day.

Yesterday was Dougie's birthday. It's hard to believe that my little dude is 5! We're having cake at my parents' house on Sunday after church to celebrate their birthdays as well. I haven't decided what cake to make, so last night we had ice cream with a candle in it for him. He really liked that. We're also going to give him his gifts then, too.

I weighed in this morning. I'm don't under stand why I can be 272 yesterday and 274 today. I even walked this morning. So much for progress.

I'm awake, I promise...

I finally did it. I woke up at 4:30 and walked for 30 minutes for the first time this week. It felt good to get back on the treadmill.

... wow did I just say that???

I tried watching some streaming video through Net.flix, but the Internet spazzed out. I ended up watching part of the 2-part Warehouse.13 instead. Love that show. :) I know... geek.

Getting across town yesterday was, uh how you say? fun. Note the sarcasm. I must have hit every red light through town, and I was stopped by the train a mile from my parents' house to get Dougie. I had to call the school to let them know that I was running late and ask them to tell the bus driver. Luckily he lives a quarter mile from the bus stop.

The kiddos did an awesome job taking care of things when they got home - putting away their shoes, emptying their lunch boxes, and starting their homework. I've decided that instead of reading our scriptures before bed, we're going to read them after homework is done, and they can do activities and play games afterwards.

Speaking of activities, these are the recent wee nifties we've created using the hamas beads. The princess and fairy godmother are Chloie's the aquatic life belong to Dougie, and the car and trophy are Audie's. They sit down with their board and pattern, I pick out the beads by color they need, and they put them on the board. I get to do the ironing.

You know what, I'm giddy with excitement about this Saturday. In 48 hours I get to go INSIDE!!! I think I might do a little happy dance! :) Every time I think about it I start grinning from ear to ear. Was it like this for everyone else?

I'm beginning to like this new schedule.

It's still a challenge getting up in the morning with no one else awake. I'm still trying to figure out the best route to take to work that early in the morning. We're still working out the kinks, but I think it's worth it.

Yesterday I met Mom and Dougie at our favorite local craft store. She was looking for yarn so that she could also participate in the Bernat mystery crochet-a-long (follow along on Wednesdays here). I'll be posting my progress on here, don't worry. I found a soft, light-weight teal yarn I'm planning on using to knit a sweater after my favorite store-bought one. I'll adjust the pattern as I do it, however, to account for my height and a little more length in the sleeves.

We got to the bus stop to wait for Audie and Chloie, and I let Dougie play with my phone. He received great joy shaking the free "rolling dice" game and adding the numbers together. We got everyone home, homework done, and planners signed. They even washed out their drink containers and cleaned their lunch boxes! Chloie finished her homework first and asked to play her PS3 game, Audie asked to do his Hama beads set from the movie Cars. He made a trophy and an image of Lightening.McQueen. Dougie played with Chloie on the PS3 for a while. We had Mac-n-cheese with hot dogs for dinner, and I taught the kiddos how to rinse their dishes in the sink after meals (something else they're going to take more responsibility for). We left for the church for Scouts on time today; I love how this schedule doesn't make our evening activities so rushed and hectic. I scoured the house for Audie's form, but couldn't find it, so I had to get a new one from Sister Vincent. I was able to work on redoing the visiting teaching routes while Chloie and Dougie played, and JaNae and I sat there for another 45 minutes after Scouts were done going over the results. I plan to go in a little early Sunday to finish up and get everything printed out for the supervisors.

We stopped by Lowe's to see Tim. His boss, Chad, got to meet the whole family finally, and we purchased more 3/4" screws for our dresser project. By the time we got home, it was late. I mean LATE. 9:30 is well past their bed time, and I'm starting to see that it's almost past mine, too. With this new schedule, I can't seem to get up and exercise. I'm planning on going to bed by 9:30 tonight and do my walk tomorrow morning. Luckily, I haven't gained any weight back... I'm still sitting at 273. We'll see how I feel about getting up tomorrow.

Ginger Ale and Crackers

We had a pretty good weekend.

It seems like I could stop there, but so much happened that I don't think it accurately sums it up.

JaNae and I worked Friday evening on reorganizing the visiting teaching routes. I'll enter the changes Tuesday afternoon while Audie is in Scouts. We also discussed ideas for next year's VT Conference. It's going to BEE fun! Tim was away for the evening to take a test in Hagerstown at the jail, but the place was so a"maze"ing that he couldn't find it and missed the test. He's going to try again next month now that he knows where to go.

I got up and walked Saturday morning as I had planned to. After breakfast, we worked as a family on the dressers we started months ago for the boys. Together we assembled the 4 small drawers and 2 of the 6 big drawers. We also used the router to to a half round to the front edge of the drawer faces and used another bit (don't ask me which one) to rabbit(?) the side panels. We glued and screwed it all together, and wow, it looks good! It's nice to see progress happening, and the kiddos really enjoy helping out in the workshop. They shared different sweeping jobs, helped move wood pieces from one place to another, and had screws ready when we needed them.

We had the Galbraiths over for a dinner of steak, oven baked herb potatoes, and corn with pudding clouds with sprinkles for dessert. It was fun to have them over and talk.

Sunday at church we talked about the restored church in sacrament, and work in Gospel Essentials. I miss not having Tim teaching, but Debbie did an awesome job. He decided to go to Gospel Doctrine instead of staying with me in Essentials. I've decided that I'll change over in January when they start the New Testament. I hate trying to start something in the middle of the program.

Amy and I went over our plans for going to the Temple on Saturday, so we left church a little late. As a result, Tim didn't have much time at my parents' house before he changed and went to work. We did have Mom's awesome baked ziti. Mmmm, tasty!

Then the fun started Sunday night. Dougie got sick sometime around midnight. Tim was up watching the Redskins beat the Cowboys when it happened. He was crushed. He let me sleep and took care of it the first time, but Dougie kept throwing up at hour intervals throughout the night. We finally settled his tummy enough to get some sleep, but by that time I'd decided to call in sick to work to take care of him. Tim got some ginger ale and crackers, and Dougie and I worked on sipping and nibbling for the rest of the day. He slept a lot, but in the end was able to eat chicken soup and ice cream for dinner without upsetting his tummy.

All this happened during a particularly nasty blowout Tim and I had over the weekend. I'll admit that we've argued about a lot of things recently, but nothing like this. This was bad. Since then, we've managed to work things out, but feelings will be tender for a while, and we'll both have to get used to the new way of doing things. Luckily, and through the grace of God, we're still together, and perhaps a little stronger for it.

Which brings me to this morning. I didn't walk yesterday because of the fight and Dougie's tummy aches, and Tim and worked things out this morning when he got home for a couple hours, so I skipped walking this morning in favor of getting an extra hour of sleep. Somehow through all of this I still lost weight. Not much, but enough to encourage me to walk tomorrow. I'm on the new schedule now and going in at 6:30am, so I'm still getting used to getting up that early, getting to bed on time, and trying out different routes to get the best one to get me to work. It will be tight running in the afternoons when I have to leave at 3pm, pick up Dougie at my parents' house, and get to the bus stop in time to pick up the kiddos. We'll see how we do today.

One black shoe, one brown shoe

A couple days ago we were in a hurry to get out the door (no surprise there), and to help me, Dougie got me my shoes. I slipped them on without thinking and off we went.

Now to show you exactly how much I pay attention to fashion and how little I get out of my office at work, consider the following:

When I got home, I took my shoes off and went to put them away, but I noticed that instead of two empty holes side by side, there was an empty right hole on shelf one and an empty left hole on shelf two. Why could this be? Perhaps I just put them away wrong? Nope, no such luck. See, I have two pairs of the exact same shoe (one pair in black and one pair in brown), and Dougie, in his sweetness to help me get ready, pulled one of each. I, nor anyone else, noticed the entire day. In defense, however, in the dark they do look the same.

Is there any hope for me?

I can't believe I'm actually saying this...

...but I missed my walk this morning.

My first mistake was tyring out the alarm feature on my new phone and sleeping through the 5:55am ringer (it wasn't up loud enough) so I missed getting up on time, which means I missed walking, and I actually missed it. I've noticed that my attitude/outlook is a little grumpier this morning than it has been the last week or so and that I'm yawning a lot. Who knew? Since I missed getting up on time, I missed leaving with Dougie on time, missed leaving my parents' house on time, missed clocking in by mere minutes. I'm missing a lot of things today, and all because I missed my walk. Wow. O.o

Last night was fun; however, as it was Tim's and Audie's first day Scouting. I also got a crash course in Scouts from JaNae and Annabelle. I have to get to Winchester sometime before Tuesday and get Audie his shirt, patches, scarf thing, etc. There's a book with things on which we need to work with him to help move his progress along. So much stuff. Yikes! Tim spent the night getting to know his scouts and updating progress and paperwork with them. He's planning a trip to the Sheriff's department for a tour to fulfill one of the requirements in their books.

We've decided that for as long as we're doing scouting, we're meeting at the church to eat a picnic lunch and finish homework, then do our activities. I'm going to bring some knitting/crocheting to do while I'm waiting, and there are younger kiddos for Dougie and Chloie to play with while Audie is in his group. I also learned that next year Chloie will go to Activity Night for girls. Wow, they grow so fast!

We did it!!!

That big project I've been working on all week? DONE!!!

Randy looks like we just lifted the weight of the world off of his shoulders. Thanks to His and his help, we've managed to complete all of the templates, imports, and reports and we've also done a successful run on each using live data. So far things are working (knock on wood), and there are no foreseeable issues with the system. Yay!

In another area of progress, I've posted in the side bar. I started Monday at 277.4 lbs. and have lost 3.2 lbs as of this morning. The key here will be to keep it off over the weekend.

And now for a moment of cute...

An original Dougie masterpiece!

I love a good mystery

What do cupcakes, a Primary activity, and yarn have in common?

Me.

We spent a quiet Friday evening at home. Can you believe it? Saturday morning the kiddos and I made peanut butter cup cupcakes for a BBQ at some friends' house. I understand that the left-overs didn't last long at the YSA get-together afterwards.

We got home in time to attempt to watch an episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but the Internet went spastic. Something having to do with the PlayStation network being wonky. I was less than enthused. So we turned around and went to the church to drop the kiddos off for their primary activity and to practice for their primary program near the end of September. I can't wait to see what they've come up with! They received their lines a couple weeks ago and have already memorized them.

While the kiddos were having fun, Tim and I drove through Martinsburg so that I could show him the store fronts I've been eyeing. They're about a block from the center of town (where King and Queen street meet), so they just about scream expensive, but he thinks they're nice. Then we went to dinner at Ledo's.Pizza in the new Commons. I was only able to eat 1/2 of my meat lover's calzone, so I have plenty for breakfast.

We got to listen to the Kemer family speak in church about self reliance. Jayne talked about the physical and Joe spoke on the spiritual. I really enjoyed hearing them speak. I particularly liked the idea of having a "no buy" month every 3 months for a couple reasons. 1. It would help us save money. 2. It would help us see what we could use for our 3 month (short-term) food storage. 3. It should help us gain confidence in our food storage and our ability to use them. We've used our food storage before when Tim lost his job and we didn't have any money. It was a humbling experience, but I'm glad in some small part that it happened. I was grateful that we heeded the counsel of the Prophet and had something on-hand to get us through. It would be nice not to have to use it again, but I'd still like to maintain our reserves.

We also had our combined RS/Priesthood meeting with the Bishop. He taught us the same lesson he heard during Youth Conference - Who are you? I learned that all of the things I call myself (mother, wife, teacher, sister, care-giver, etc) also apply (in the male form of course) to our Heavenly Father, and that through these roles I can also show that I am his daughter. How cool is that?!? The best part is, everyone is His son or daughter, they just don't know it. It's our job as Saints to show them. I think that every little girl at one point or another wishes they were a princess; it's just nice to know in some way that it is true.

And now for a moment of cuteness...

I went to pick Dougie up at my parents' house Friday afternoon. We stopped at 7-Eleven on the way home to get gas. As we were waiting for traffic to clear enough to pull out onto the road and continue home, he asked me what a sign attached to the nearest telephone pole said. "Farmer's Market, Open M-F 12-7"

Dougie: "What do they sell there?"
Me: "Fruits and veggies."
Dougie: "Can we stop there and get some peaches?"
Me: "Sure."

So we turned around and parked at the tent behind us and talked to the nice man behind the tables of rather tasty-looking produce. He had corn, melons, cantaloupe, plums, apples, nectarines, peaches, and much more.

Dougie: "Mommy, can we get some plums?"
Me: "No, we're going to get peaches because everyone likes peaches."
Farmer: "He can have one if he wants to pick it out."
Dougie: (picks one up) "This one!!!"

I was over-ruled by a 5-year-old. We got a basket with 5 peaches for $3.00 and took them home. We cut one up and ate it and WOW! that was a good peach! We cut up the other 4 and the plum and liquefied them Sunday night with some ice and a little vanilla and milk and made peach-plum smoothies. They were very tasty and healthy when you consider they didn't have any extra sugar.

Oh, and a couple of other nifty bits of news:

- I went for my interview with the Bishop for my temple recommend. I'm waiting to hear from the excutive secretary for our Stake President for my interview with him. I'm one step closer!

- I also ordered some yarn today from the Bernat website. I've decided to participate in their mystery crochet-along afghan. I picked for my colors: natural, pumpkin, soft taupe, rogue, and cameo - very neutral and warm colors. I can't wait for the first clue to start on September 22. Each week they will post the next clue on their blog every Wednesday. They will get progressively harder, and at the end will produce a crochet sampler afghan measuring 52" x 68" (about 4'4" x 5'8"). I can't wait to see what it will look like!

I think we survived...

Eyebrows? ... check.

Hair? ... yep still there.

Sanity? ... debatable if it was there to begin with!

Looks like the family survived the weekend! All of the orientations are done; I like the kids' teachers this year, and they seem to be ready to go. Audie and I went grocery shopping Saturday morning while Tim, Chloie, and Dougie cleaned up at the house. It wasn't a long trip (thankfully), and Audie downed an entire 20 oz. bottle of orange soda on the way home. I think he's a camel... who will turn orange... and bounce off of the walls!

The birthday party went well also. We tried a new recipe for BBQ ribs from the crock pot cook book that turned out really well. I'm planning on using the left over BBQ liquids for the pulled BBQ chicken we're doing later this week. Mmmm, yummy! I even made ice cream cake for them. I'm liking it more and more!

We took a short nap after everyone left then headed up to Hagerstown to catch a Suns game as part of an Elders Quorum activity. I couldn't argue with the price! A hat, a complete meal at Chip.oltle, and game admission for $6.25 a person. For the 5 of us at Chip.oltle would have been $50 easy. It was a good game; I loved how they kept you entertained with little games, dancing, etc. while the teams switched. The kiddos liked it, too, and I was surprised at how much I knew about the game while explaining it to them. The Suns lost 6-1, but it was a good time, and President Fugate even caught us on camera dancing to the Cha Cha Slide.

We got to hear about the 10th Article of Faith during sacrament on Sunday, and hearing President Fugate speak is always a treat. :^) Our RS meeting was about helping our children stay in the Gospel or come back to it, and applying those methods to fellowshipping other Saints and non-members. I had a complete blond moment and thought we'd be doing a lesson from the manual and practiced songs on that subject. Luckily JaNae is awesome and picked songs related to the correct topic that I could play. The pop practice hymn would have gone badly very quickly had I attempted it, so she was kind enough to play that for me. Whew!

I'm setting up my appointment with the bishop for my temple recommend, with the appointment with President Grow to follow soon afterward. I'm so excited!!!! Can you tell?!?!?!? Hehe! I'm all giddy about it. I didn't realize that going for the first time was such a bid deal. I mean, I knew it would be for me personally, but people are crawling out of the wood work to go and support me, and I wasn't expecting that. Now I'm also kind of nervous that I'm going to royally mess up, but I'm glad that there will be people I know and love there with me. I'm hoping to go the Saturday after my baptismal anniversary, so I guess that is September 18th. I'm still working on the details. After that I have to work on my temple dress for the sealing. More on that later!

The McIntyre clan (and extended members) was invited to Mrs. B's house for a BBQ. My sisters and I went to school with her daughter Ashley. The food was excellent, and the company was even better! I got to see friends from MHS that I hadn't seen in forever! Some more than 10 years. I didn't realize how much I missed seeing them until we spent the length of the party catching up. Some things were the same, others different, but all around a good time sharing war stories and memories.

I think that's enough for now... I'm looking forward to a semi-quiet weekend this week! I think the only thing on the calendar is a date night while the kiddos work on their Primary Program Saturday night.

Click, click, click... click......click............AAAHHHHHHH!!!

I must say that yesterday was EXCITING!!! The kiddos seemed to have a blast!

We started the 2.5 hour trek to Lakemont Part in Altoona, PA at 9:30am. Once in Altoona, we stopped for lunch at Friendly's which has phenomenal ice cream, BTW. The kiddos each got a balloon, and we headed for the park.

Tim and I have resigned ourselves to the fact that any road trip we take will turn into a GPS adventure (i.e. the Pentagon, 4 left turns/double U, HOV lane to name a few). This time he missed the turn for Lake road that would taken us right to the park, so I (as the naviguessor) had to do some creative finagling to get us there. 4 right turns later, and we're at the park, laughing all the way. Now in my defense, the was a left turn where Hazel Road turned into something else by another name. The best part is, we got to do it twice!

We started the kiddos in "Kiddie Land" with all of the smaller rides. They seemed to really enjoy some of them. The park has a pint-sized roller coaster for the younger adventurists. All 3 got on and were excited and smiling, but after the first small drop, Chloie and Dougie got really serious. The ride makes 3 loops, and on the second and third, Dougie was waving at the attendant begging him to stop and for no more! I felt so bad for him, but I couldn't stop laughing. After that they got to try the mini-Indy. I'm grateful for patient attendants that stood on the back of Dougie's cart and held the throttle because he couldn't figure out that you have to hold the pedal down. They had fun!

We spent some time in the water park during the afternoon. The water was a little cool, but it was fun. They did a lot of sliding on the pirate ship and splashing around before we went over to the big pool so that Audie could show us his underwater skills. We had a slight scare thinking we lost Chloie's pants somewhere at the pool, but we found them and all was well. On the way back over the bridge, we bought some food and let the kiddos feed the catfish. Personally, I think the swirling mass of fish bodies and gaping mouths is gross in a cool kind of way, but the kids liked it.

I took Audie on the Skyliner with me twice. Out of all the kiddos, he's the most adventurous, and I attribute that to his age. While Tim took him on the full-sized go karts, Chloie, Dougie, and I went on the scrambler and the tilt-a-whirl. They did OK with the scrambler, but my poor little dude didn't like the tilt-a-whirl. He screamed the entire time! I think, however, it was because we had a particularly spinney seat.

We took 2 hours in the Altoona Wal-mart shopping for school clothes then headed home. We finally got there at 10:30 and promptly crashed. I think next time we go the the amusement park that we'll limit our exposure to 4 hours... six was entirely too much! Overall it was a good trip, and cheap when you consider that during the summer the park offers admission all day for $3.00 per person on Wednesdays.