Cold weather in Florida

We have had some cold weather lately. The coldest day was the day of Sarah's field trip to Kennedy Space Center.  I was freezing because I thought it would warm up so I was only wearing a sweater.  I was wishing for a hat and gloves!  Sarah should have been dressed warmer, too.  But we've been colder than that in our lives.  It's just been about three years since then.

Here is frost on the roof!  Brrr!  ;)

They have a pretty nice program at the Kennedy Space Center for the area schools.  And it's free!   They say that when the rocket to Mars goes up in 2-3 years, that the folks at Disney World will feel it.  We are an hour closer to the launch pad than that!  We'll have to take our pictures off the wall before that!

Sarah was trying out the astronaut gloves.

She and he friends were trying on an old capsule for size.  I'd say the size isn't quite right.

Yeah.  She could barely see over the edge of the hole!  Haha.

There was a simulator ride there that she was too small to go on.  I think she was the only one in her class that couldn't go.  She was pretty sad, but kept her tears in check because she was in front of her friends.  :(

Random

A few things that have come up lately.

The kids' school has a dress code complete with uniforms.  I don't mind either of those though I do think some things are a little strange.  For instance, they must wear a belt if they have belt loops.  Apparently, cutting the belt loops off is an acceptable way to avoid wearing a belt.  Of course, there are all sorts of enforcement inconsistencies depending on who sees you and how much they like you.  Welcome to the world of politics, children!

The kids say one of the lunch ladies at school is mean and for some reason she squeezes the ice cream sandwiches before she hands them to you.  So anyone buying one is getting it in a distorted shape.  I have a feeling this is the same lady that throws the ice cream at them.

We have been completing science fair projects this week.  This is always an emotionally challenging time for me and my perfectionist self.  But more than my desire to fix everything the girls have been doing is my belief that they have to learn and make their own mistakes.  It's much harder to learn some things in high school or even college!  Even so, repeated runs through experiments really should be dated!  And graphs comparing sets of data are better when the colors aren't too close to each other.  (Green, yellow, and light green?  Come on!)

It has finally gotten cold!  I really enjoyed having the windows open yesterday.  And then I had to close them when the sun went down.  Brr!  We actually turned on the heater in the van on the way to school this morning.  And then Joseph complained it was hot (it must have been an automatic complaint).  Sarah asked why it's cold now.  I explained that it's this temperature in Idaho about the time school starts and I watched her think that over.  Then she said, "I want to move to Idaho!"  Even so, we haven't turned on the furnace at home...yet.

I am typing this on my Kindle while Nathan does physical therapy. The owner of the office is from Minnesota (or somewhere equally cold) and he's not running his furnace, either.  But my toes in my flip flops are cold and my fingers are icy from tapping on my little screen!  It's time to go warm up a bit.

Tree Fort

The last big branch of the tree came down on Saturday.  A portion of the fence came down under it, but this post is not about that.

The kids have really been enjoying the cooler weather combined with the instant fortress created by huge tree limbs resting on the ground.  They have even used the broken boards from the fence to nail benches onto the branches. 

It seems Joseph has claimed this wing of the tree fort as his own.  He went out to read there this evening.  He is nearly in heaven!

Unfortunately, he got a late start out there today because I didn't get home to stay until after 5 pm.  So he didn't really get to do much reading.  They aren't allowed out there if I'm not home.  :(  I want to be around if someone decides to have the first official broken bone in the family!

Tomorrow is a new day for tree forts...as long as it doesn't rain.

Cooler weather is here at last!

We finally dipped way down into the 40's over night.  It has been such a miserable fall.  We were still sweating and turning on the extra AC on Friday. 

The mild winters are supposed to be the reward for living through the nasty summers and I was really feeling cheated!  It's going to be hot again before I'm ready  (which would probably be NEVER)!

Maybe today will actually be a legitimate sock day.  Nah.  It's not that cold!

Easter Egg Hunt #1

The kids were invited to an Easter Egg Hunt at a friend's house this year. They held it on the Friday before Easter. The weather around here has been...unreliable - to say it nicely. But this day was a break in the storm. The sun came out. Unfortunately, the temps didn't really come up. Ahh...Spring in Eastern Idaho!

Chad followed the older kids,

and I followed the younger kids. Sarah quickly got the point.

Joseph was on fire and ready to fill his basket!
Nathan was a very serious contender.

Joseph used his small arms to reach into tight places.

We were very thorough and looked everywhere we could think to look.

(Rebekah)

But like I said, it was cold. And the wind rarely quits around here. Sarah got a little too cold for her liking!

And now the kids were primed and ready for their own Easter Egg Hunt!

Baby, It's TOO cold outside!

It's 1:30 in the afternoon and the temp outside is not quite 8 degrees. Brr!

Last night, we got back from 3 nights in Utah. Chad found that the circuit the light for the chickens was on had tripped. The eggs were frozen. :) We turned the heaters back up and the wimpy one in our room never turned off the whole night. I had an extra blanket on, but Sarah kept waking up, so I had to keep getting out of bed!

I still don't really know why she couldn't sleep, but I turned the heater up in her room in case her cold toes had anything to do with it. Eventually, I took her to the recliner with a blanket and held her. Even under the blanket, my shoulders and arms were cold. I was grateful for a house to keep my babies in on a night like last night!

I have been wanting to get the van washed to get the Utah salt off of my Idaho van. It was too cold for a car wash. The guy said that my doors would freeze shut and I wouldn't be able to get out again. Don't you think that should be left up to me to worry about? I hope a wheel doesn't fall off before I can get the salt washed away.

Rain

It's finally raining. They've been promising it for about a week or so, but all we've had are broken promises. And now I can hear the tiny, hurried, tinkling sounds of rain water dripping from the roof top to the soggy grass below. The air is cool and CLEAN!

We awoke to an orange tint in the air this morning because there is (was?) a fire burning a little less than 100 miles to the south. When we left church this afternoon, I was transported right back to Thailand. They burn a lot there...garbage mostly.

My favorite rain is the kind that comes down in sheets, flashes lightning and bellows thunder. If the house shakes, it's even better. Having the power go out makes me want to cuddle with the kids (as long as I'm not trying to make dinner that is...I'm spoiled that way). Of course, my house has never been flooded or slammed with a mudslide. That might alter my feelings a bit.

Thailand's best season was the rainy season. I'll never forget riding my bike down the main street of Roi-Et with water past the axles of my bike tires. (My gears never quite worked the same after that.) It wasn't so great to have to walk in it. I'll never forget having to remove my shoes and go barefoot in the flooded streets of Thonburi (Bangkok). I was surprised to come out of that without any injuries and I was certain I'd catch some kind of parasite. I must have been given extra blessings then.


The worst rain storm I experienced as a missionary was in my greenie area. Sister Duerichen and I were on our way back from Service (we worked at a plant nursery) and got caught in a storm. Instead of letting up, it got worse and worse, causing motor traffic to pull to the side of the road. We were two sister missionaries and had to show that we were tough! But the lightning worried us a little and we were traveling on a road that was higher than the surrounding countryside...on metal bicycles.

We'd already passed up a chance to wait out the worst of it when we peddled by a covered bus stop. Of course, now that we were humbled enough to stop and take shelter, there were none to be found! Eventually, we came upon some kind of construction materials yard that had some huge cement culverts. We rode our bikes down to them and abandoned them for the circular shelter of the culverts. They were large enough to stoop over in and probably about 5 or 6 feet long. Luckily, we'd just been to Service and were wearing pants!

The thunder crashed, the lightning flashed and the water level rose. Bits and pieces of wood floated by outside our shelter. We could SMELL the burn of the lightning scorched air! We sang some hymns to ward off the feeling of "we're going to get electrocuted any second" and waited out the tempest. It was likely only 15 minutes, but it felt like 30.

When the storm started to let up, we climbed back up the slope to the road and finished our trip home. By the time we got there, it was sunny again!

But most of the rain in Thailand came quickly, without warning and only lasted a few minutes. It was just enough to get you soaked before the sun came back out to increase the humidity! During rainy season, we kept our proselyting bags (strapped to the back of our bikes) wrapped in at least two plastic grocery bags.


I love rain. It's one of the things I still miss from living in Washington. Mold...I don't care for as much!

In a jam.

I have the last of two batches of strawberry/rhubarb jam in the canner and it's only 9:30. Sarah was uncommonly cooperative as she took a nap just long enough for me to get it all cleaned up.

I hope strawberry/rhubarb jam is good...I've never had any and we have almost 4 quarts of it.

Up next for the day, after Sarah eats, is the lawn. I'm going to try to beat the rain and make it look like adults live here. (Anyone who drives by understands that there are children somewhere near.) I'm also hoping for a "cruise of oil" miracle because I don't think there's much gas in the mower and I'm not really in a position to run out and get some.

Day 2 of Summer Vacation - everyone is still alive.

FOOLish

I've been missing! Actually, I've been in Chicago. There will be more on that another day.

But today was April Fools' Day. And what a day it was!

Here was one of the biggest jokes played:


We drove home in a blizzard last night. The snow (magically) stopped at the state border, but it caught up with us today. The kids made several large (3-4 foot diameter) snowballs in only a few seconds. They were in heaven.

Then Daniel got one of his bright ideas and Chad's hand saw.

A snowball wedge anyone? You may notice Daniel's lack of winter gear. That's the foolish in the April Fools' day. I would say it's his age, but I rather think it's just him.

Because we were out of town until late last night, my April Fools' Day (from now on, it will be AFD) planning was poor. Actually, I forgot all about it until earlier this morning, I think. Last year, we were visiting in Utah and I had to resort to pouring chocolate milk on the kids' cereal. There was even less planning then. Two years ago, I went all out. (Read about it here, but scroll down most of the page to find it.) Today I found some good ideas that didn't require much work or planning.


We had cake for dinner and baked potatoes for dessert.
Leah referred to the cake as "healthy cake". She just didn't know exactly what it was...until we cut into it.

It's meatloaf layers and mashed potato frosting with cherry tomato strawberries and ketchup writing. It was very yummy! We also had salad.

Daniel was not enthusiastic about his dinner.

We hinted about dessert enough that he finally choked it down...mostly.

Dessert was vanilla ice cream, shaped and rolled in baking cocoa powder, with a dollop of whipped topping sour cream. It wasn't until the kids actually dug into their potatoes that they realized it was ice cream. :)

This was a lot of ice cream to eat in one sitting! And I think I've had enough cocoa powder to last me a little while.

Here was one of the potatoes before I started peeling. I almost felt sorry for this guy! He looks like he knows what's coming. Those eyes came off nicely under my vegetable peeler. I thought it was a very appropriate potato for the occasion.

Sarah sat in the high chair and played with her tray during dinner. What a cute girl!

Now, Easter is officially the next holiday. I boiled 3 dozen eggs this morning. We'll probably decorate them tomorrow night. I also got out the Easter bin to take a mini inventory. I found another AFD surprise inside:

Somehow, we missed this little fellow in one of the Easter baskets last year. Two peanut M&Ms sat out in the garage for a year. If I was about 30 years younger, I'd probably eat them anyway. They've surely melted and frozen a time or two. Yummy. I threw them out; Joseph cried.

And speaking of Easter...the girls wore their dresses to church on Sunday. Leah's holding her matching purse, but you really can't see it against the dress. Joseph is missing a shoe as a result of a tantrum at picture time. What a great-looking bunch of super kids!

Checking in

I feel like I haven't posted for a while. It's been busy around here. AND COLD!

It's SIX BELOW right now. I have an errand or two I'd like to run, but I have no desire to take 3 small children out in this weather. It's sunny, but frigid. Ugh.

It's also stopping me from running our Christmas gifts around the neighborhood. We got almost half delivered Sunday night and haven't gotten back to it yet. The ward choir is going caroling next Friday. I wonder what the chances of a decent warm-up by then are? Weather plagued us in June when we were trying to have our summer picnic. We must be a cursed choir!

Our tub situation has not really improved. Since Daniel gets to have braces, our tub fund has been hijacked. Now, the only way to fill the bathtub is via the shower head. Why does it seem that the water builds up really fast around your ankles when the drain is plugged, but when you're actually TRYING to fill it, things take forever? We've got the holes covered with a shower curtain liner and the trusty all-purpose board. The plastic is billowing from the cold air currents flowing under the house. It makes me long for a heated toilet seat! Maybe I'll plug some of the holes with washcloths the next time the tape comes off.

I am done with Christmas shopping (except for Chad's stocking). I am not done with Christmas sewing or Christmas cards (though the letter is written). I have to finish Christmas pajamas so that I can get pictures for the cards and my December calendar page. I am looking forward to being able to sit in front of the Christmas tree BEFORE Christmas day and do nothing while soaking up the twinkle of colored lights.

We've started sleeping Sarah in her crib. So the trips to the crib every two hours are starting to take their toll. Ugh. I am tired. I hope she can sleep through the night before too much longer. I can't remember what it feels like to do that.

We were in Hagerman this past Monday for a special FHE. We picked up the boys from school about 2:45 and arrived about 5:30. The kids had fun with their cousins and I was sure they'd be sleepy in the car. This is good and bad. Good because they'll sleep, bad because when they do wake up, they'll be monsters. Between the snow plows and the screaming kids, I nearly crashed the van. I did have to drive onto the median once, but the kids slept through that. Often, there were 3 kids going at it at once. Daniel didn't cry at all...probably because he slept through it all. I was crying; mentally.

Chad and I must have been playing "good cop, bad cop" because while I was making threats and counting to three (I used to be able to count higher than that, before I had kids), he was talking kindly and trying to find things that would make them happy. I was just looking for the biggest telephone pole to wrap the van around. We got home just after midnight.

So while we love visiting family, I'm really DREADING making trips to anywhere over 100 miles away. I think we have to set a ban on driving in the dark. And not at the same time that the murderous snow plows are out. They don't just plow snow, they plow you!

And now you're caught up. :)

Three

That's the temp this morning as the kids climbed onto the bus. Our thermometer says it got down to .3 during the night.

And the kids were all complaining as I forced them into hats.

I wonder if they'll ever realize that I saved their lives today? ;)

No Indian Summer

No Native American Summer, either.

We've barely even had a summer at all (and I am NOT complaining). It rained all of June, got hot for about 5-7 scattered days of July and now we're wearing jackets in the garden... 8 August 2009.

Here are some of us picking (purple)green beans from the garden this morning. At 10 AM it was 52 degrees.

Here is Joseph trying to get through the carrots, peas (already picked), and weeds.
And now it's raining. The lawn mower won't be started today.

I came inside and made hot chocolate for everyone. It was very yummy and really hit the spot on such a cold morning. One of the girls asked if it was almost winter. I'm not sure we can really say. Maybe we're in for a hard one this time. Brrr!

All that's happened - the ultra long version

Well, where have I been? It's not been a spa resort or tucked comfortably into bed, I can tell you that! But that would have been nice. We're about 7 weeks into summer. No one has been sold or murdered yet. I commend myself for great restraint in that regard. I can't claim much patience or kindness. A friend told me yesterday that she told her husband, "I think the devil just yelled at your kids." I'm thinking that the devil is in many places this summer. I may have to visit the dentist to have my jaw checked. I've been gritting my teeth so often that I'm sure I have damaged something. Being 7+ months pregnant in July isn't helping.

But speaking of the summer months, we've been really lucky. It didn't even get hot until last week or so. It rained all of June, including some really great thunderstorms. I really like the rain (as long as I'm not trying to do anything outside). We've had about 4 really uncomfortable days. That's pretty good and I've been thankful. This week is supposed to get near 100 degrees. My gratitude may suffer.

And we've discovered something unexpected from the wet month we just had. We have a lot of these. I wish I was referring to the cups or towels, but it's the little guys hanging out on them that have invaded. We have earwigs EVERYWHERE! It's gotten to the point that I just sweep them to the floor. We were setting the table for dinner earlier this week. I dropped one to the floor, then found another one about 5 minutes later. It went to the floor. The next thing we know, there is one sitting on the top of the milk cap, all the way on top of the milk jug! I showered with two of them yesterday. I came in from the garage yesterday and noticed one getting a free ride on my hand. Last night Chad got one off the ceiling of our room. I didn't even know they could travel across the ceiling. Those alien invasion movies have less creatures than we do! I've been wondering if we could get a diaper on a chicken or two and put those birds to work inside the house. (Obviously, I would rather sweep an earwig to the floor than clean up chicken poop.)

We got a few fireworks from a little stand nearby. The kids had fun throwing the snaps. Joseph didn't quite get it, but he tried anyway. We took two nights to light them all, despite the cool weather and pesky breezes. We only had one dud. I still wonder what it was supposed to do.

































Here is what we had to show for our $9 by the time it was all done.















Of course, we didn't get through the event without tears. Isn't that a sad face?














On Saturday, Chad worked on the gates to the fence. The kids were itching to help. I think they actually did...a little.
















I love this little shot of Joseph. He looks so studious. He must be working on the plans for the gates.

And if Daddy is cutting wood, there must be wood scraps. The kids made
"boats" and painted them. We've not actually tried them in the water, but we're really proud of them anyway.


The rain caused us another problem. Well, I feel part of the problem, too. We were outside on the 4th of July. It was a bit of a crazy weather week and there was rain forecast for the evening, but was supposed to clear up in time for the fireworks. As we finished up our fence work (actually, I shouldn't be taking any credit there), the storm clouds came rolling in and the thunder was repetitive. It was 6 PM. I could only think of sitting a long walk from the car with the chance of still getting rained on. And even if didn't rain, the ground would be wet, right? What do we do with the littlest ones who have waited hours for the show and are now cold and wet at dark?

So I came up with an alternative plan. Why don't we go out to eat, rent a movie and eat our firework snacks in a dry basement? It was bit of job convincing everyone to go along with the plan, but we eventually all agreed. After all, they'd been excited about going to the show ALL WEEK LONG! We couldn't find a restaurant open close by, so we ended up driving into Idaho Falls. We were on our way home at 8 PM. Guess what? The sun was shining. I was starting to feel bad. But Chad and I were both feeling we'd rather not go through the effort (for different reasons). We watched our movie and ate the snacks and were in bed sooner than we would have been otherwise. But I felt bad for causing them to miss the fireworks! And then the next morning Rebekah asks me when we're going to go to the fireworks. Aahhhh! She didn't understand. Major guilt for the mommy. I kept telling myself that they'll be fine. They'll eventually forget that we missed them this year and we'll be able to completely avoid therapy. But I still felt guilty. I'm doing a little better now...nearly 2 weeks later.

At least we got some pictures before the night totally bombed. I think this year may be the last year Daniel lets me dress him like everyone else. That's OK. I knew it wouldn't last forever. I would worry about him if he didn't speak up. But we got some cute pictures anyway. This picture of the back of the kids was actually an outtake. Joseph found Nathan's pocket and distracted everyone. I had to snap a shot and I'm glad I wasn't laughing so hard that the picture was blurred. Check out Joseph's grin in the front facing picture. :)


























My dad was up for a visit this last week. The kids had been looking forward to his visit and then they all went out to play. They still enjoyed showing off for him.














And my dad took a picture of Joseph (who didn't run off to play) next to his new little sister.




Unfortunately, the little sister isn't born yet, so you just get a really ugly side view of my very lumpy front. Sorry about the hairs going up on the back of your neck (but not sorry enough to spare you the pic)!


Daniel has been having some pain around his right ear/jaw. It started the last weekend in June, after the kids slept out in the tent with Chad. It took him until Thursday to agree to go to the doctor. The available doctor said it was TMJ. He said it would go away in about a week and to just give him ibuprofen 3 times a day. I called the dentist the next morning. (We had an appointment for Monday to pull a baby tooth and I was wondering if we should wait or try to be seen.) The dentist was unofficially in the office, but would see him if I could get there soon.


Well, we eventually made it, with some effort. The dentist said it wasn't TMJ, but might be some molars coming in - causing problems. He gave him some antibiotics and said he should be feeling better by fireworks (which were the next night). By the time we returned on Monday, nothing was improved. They did a panoramic x-ray and said whatever the problem was, it wasn't dental. He suggested visiting an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. So on the way home, I called back to the original doctors' office and left a message for our favorite/regular doctor to call.


He made room in his schedule for him the next day. It turns out, it was his neck muscles! All this and it was his neck. We were into day 10 of pain and crying and drugs. He worked on him a bit and said to continue the meds for another day or so and he should be better. Yes, he's better, but still waking up at night and asking for medicine. We've emptied 3 different containers of ibuprofen...two of which were brand new. We've started on the 4th. I tried to call the doctor back on Friday and learned he is out of the office until the 20th. Of course.


My good friend is going to be visiting her family in Pocatello next week. She comes from a family of chiropractors. We're going to combine a visit with a trip to the chiropractor. Daniel isn't thrilled, because he knows it's going to hurt. But I think he understands that a little bit of pain will help him get past the long term trouble. At least, that's what I'm hoping for!


This week I've been keeping busy with cleaning out my sewing room and getting the girls moved up there. We moved the bed up on Saturday and finally got the dresser up this morning. All that is left is Rebekah's side of the closet (dresses). I can't believe how much stuff I had crammed into that room. I don't have enough places to put it all, so Craigslist helped me get rid of a few things. I hang on to too much stuff.


Our bedroom has a lot of the stuff and is now feeling quite crowded. I need to get more organized. Six kids and a really big sewing addiction makes this house feel pretty small!


Well, that's a bit of what's been going on since I fell off the blogging wagon. I should have broken up the news, but was sure that it would take time to get back to the computer again. Thanks for making it to the end!

Acclimated

Summer begins on Sunday. We've had some cooler temps and lots of rain, so it hasn't really felt like summer yet. But it has been warm. I think our thermometer even hit a very low 90 several weeks ago. Yesterday, it stayed below 70.

I think it's great, considering I have my own internal heating system for the next 2+ months. I've stopped sleeping under the covers and only grab the sheet after the sun has started to rise. Yesterday, the kids and I were in the grocery store. Like little turtles, they had pulled their arms inside their shirts to conserve heat. I only shook my head as I was near a sweat.

The only things that feel cold to me lately are ice cubes and...well, only ice cubes.

So this morning at 8 AM, the kids were heading outside to play (timing themselves riding bikes or something). I told them to take Joseph and Leah said it was too cold. Rebekah came in and said she needed a jacket. I told her to try shoes first. She did and still needed a jacket. She couldn't find her jacket and wanted to wear her coat. For crying out loud! I checked the thermometer in the bedroom. It said the outside temp was 65 degrees. There are enough reasons to laugh at our family. Wearing a winter coat outside on a day like today won't be one of them.

I remember when there were still patches of slow-melting snow on the ground, the temp was all the way up to 55 and the wind was blowing. No one needed a coat then. They even took Joseph outside with them (when I didn't tell them to). That was only a couple of months ago. I think they've acclimated. Or maybe they need more work to get the blood pumping.

Reading Contest - Update

Do you recall the reading program we started at the beginning of the summer? I'm sure many of you were dying to know how it's going. Well, suffer no more!

I was quite surprised at how quickly the kids got into the competition. Before two weeks were up, both boys had read over 1000 pages. I was thinking that it would be near Thanksgiving before they reached 5000 points and the end of the chart/rewards. I might have been a little off on my estimation.

As of today, all 4 kids have earned their donut (500 pages). Daniel is about 1600 pages and Nathan is around 1500. Of course, that was before we went to the library this afternoon. They read for a long while after we got back. Remember, I have to read books to Rebekah for her pages and Leah only has a few simple books she reads on her own. So, I'm glad Chad is willing to read and sometimes even Nathan steps in.

This is what the chart looks like right now. The stickers are way too big for the spaces, but the kids wanted to keep using them. It looks kind of silly.

In addition to the chart/rewards, there is the most pages read each month trophy. Daniel earned it for May (all of 6 days that it was). He has a tag on the trophy with his name, the month and amount of pages (733). We are halfway through June and the boys are very close in pages for the month. They've both been leaders at some point, but I think Nathan may be ahead so far. I hope he is. He needs to be able to beat Daniel in some things.

The boys aren't as thrilled about the worksheets. I guess that's the difference between having been in school and not. The girls love them. Of course, the boys' pages are lots harder, too.

I've done a bit more scrapbooking. Here are two of them.

The rain is letting up around here. Now it doesn't rain all day long...just here and there. We ended up postponing the Choir picnic until the 27th. I'm hoping that day will work out beautifully.

Our escape artist doggie is still getting out. She earns a spot on the end of the tie down when she gets out. She must really like that cable!

Chad started his new job yesterday. It's quite a change for him and he's still getting used to following someone else's rules. Hopefully, things will seem less foreign before the week is out.