So things at our house have been really busy, so I haven't taken the time to post anything. But I'll give an update on some of the things that we've been doing.
*The 4th of July was a fun day. As I think I've mentioned we've been getting our yard ready to get sod and sprinklers. That weekend we rented a skidsteer Cat tractor thing to aid in the "flattening out the dirt" process. It was very exciting. So we got that and some guys from our ward came over and it was all but finished by afternoon. That evening we had some friends and family over for burgers. We also lit off a few fireworks. Wyoming is the place to go for fireworks because almost nothing is illegal. That is true for most of the state. But everything is illegal in Natrona County where we live. So a friend drove 30 mins outside of the county and bought a few. Now I like some fireworks, like sparklers and the little fountains, but those that shoot into the air make me a little nervous. So our friend started shooting off these fireworks. Natalie wasn't into it--they were making her nervous--so I went inside with her. But I was watching out the window. Our friend lit one up and it tipped over! Of course this wasn't one of the little fountains that would just spray my car a little.... it was one that shoots into the air. Only instead of shooting into the air it shot into our neighbors' yards. AAHH!! Fortunately nothing caught on fire. But it still scared me. So after that they stopped. About 5 minutes later a highway patrolman drove past. Few..... we'd stopped just in time. It was fun.
*We only have one parade during the summer and its the week after the 4th, along with the Central Wyoming Fair. So the morning of the parade I packed up the kids and went downtown to participate in this great American tradition. It was one of the lamest, longest parades I've ever been to. There were about 125 different entries in the parade. This being an election year, every person with their name on the ballot had to be in the parade. The kids got some candy, and I guess have fun. But I think next year we're gonna skip the parade.
*As a side note, I would just like to say that it drives me CRAZY when people smoke around my children. At parades, at sporting events, wherever, people don't stop to think about how their disgusting habit is affecting those around them... especially the children. Have some consideration people. It really bugs me.
*The kids have started playing T-ball. Caleb is getting the hang of how the game works. Natalie isn't so much. We have to help her remember to run to first base after hitting the ball. And that she has to tag home base when she has run all the way around. Caleb got hit in the face at last night's game. With the ball. He has thread marks on the side of his nose. No black eye, thankfully.
*We have our sprinkler system in. Hooray!! And we are getting sod this weekend. Double Hooray!! I've been taking pictures of the progress. So next week I'll post the before and afters.
*Claire has learned a few new tricks lately. She will drink juice from a bottle. That is so exciting for me because she hasn't taken a bottle until now, and I would love to be able to leave her at home sometimes. So now I finally can. Secondly, she can sit up by herself. She loves it. Also, when she is on her tummy she army crawls! I was not ready for this.... Now she is mobile. That means I have to keep the floors vacuumed and swept and clean. All the time. And I have to put a gate at the top of the stairs. The next 9 months are going to be busy!
*I figured out a trick to help Natalie with potty training.... She loves princesses these days. She has 7 pairs of princess panties. She can put a clean pair on each morning, but if she has an accident she can't have another pair of princess panties until the next morning. This has worked! At least most days. She got a new bike this weekend and would spend all day everyday outside on her bike. She loves riding so much. She has named her bike "Aurora."
*Caleb is so excited to start school. We bought a few school supplies and a new backpack on Saturday and he's organized and re-organized those supplies in that backpack at least once every day. And every day he asks me when school starts. I hope he isn't bored.... I had a teacher-friend test his reading level. He's at the end of second grade with his reading. He seriously reads everything in sight. Its amazing.
*Chad is busy with work and getting the yard ready. He's been getting up early and getting outside in the yard this week getting ready for the sod (did I mention I'm excited about the sod?) This weekend he got a new bike, and after the yard is in he's going to start riding to work. He's pretty excited about that.
*I'm busy. I have so many projects that I need to do, and not enough time to do them all. I went to girl's camp a couple weeks ago, just for an afternoon and evening. It was SO FUN!! I have some really great girls in my ward. I always loved going to camp as a young woman, and I really wanted to go up for the week, but I couldn't with Claire. But it was really fun just for the time I was up there.
Well, thats all for today. I'll post some pictures next week.
