Mom My Ride

Just in case you haven't seen this video yet, take a look. (It is an ad for a product I don't personally endorse, so do your best to overlook that, please?)





Well, apparently we have done a great job of this in our house, because a couple of days ago I had had enough with all the junk in the van and called the family out to help clean it up.

Brian ended up "finding" a stash where "someone" had been stuffing all kinds of nasty junk in a panel that kind of resembles a trash compartment in the backest row. It was pretty terrible, I'm not gonna lie.

Anyway, all three kids were put to work, toxic waste site style. Brian used his headlamp and blue nitrile gloves for the excavation.



When the fun was done, I went back into the house and couldn't seem to find Brian. Turns out, he had triaged himself for shock (way to go, Boy Scout!) and elevated his feet and laid down on the couch. Apparently there was some truly nasty stuff in the compartment that "someone" had stuffed. Brian has a tendency to get queasy easily at unappatizing things, so that seems to have been the case this time, too. Guess who has taken on the role of Vehicle Tidyness Monitor these days???

Purple Potatoes at Sunday Supper

Mom (Grandma Clawson) invited the kids over to help harvest her bumper crop of spuds last weekend. They found Yukon Golds, red potatoes, and a bunch of black ones, too. Usually black potatoes are not the ones you want to pick up, as it means they are rotten and pretty yucky.

These black potatoes were perfectly edible, however, and turned a fantastic purple when boiled and mashed. Here's a closeup I took with my phone on Sunday at supper at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

We get to see Grandma and Grandpa most Sundays when they host us for dinner and a visit. I love this picture of Abby and my mom, both so serious about whatever Abby seems to be whispering to Grandma. We are blessed to have the opportunity to spend time with our family and friends, and love to share our lives with them as often as we can. It makes me happy to have loving people in our lives to enrich our experiences and share in this grand adventure.

Bed into Garden Bench

Last year I found an old headboard and foot board in someone's yard. (I didn't just wander into her yard, to be clear. I had been at her place helping a friend pick up a craigslist purchase.) The wood was old and heavy and quite beat up.

Perfect. Just the kind of furniture I like to take home. (Chris was thrilled, as you can imagine, with another "treasure" making its way into our place.)

Anyway, I cut some of it away for a project, then changed my mind, and ended up thinking that the pieces that remain would make a great garden bench. So, my trusty handyman stepped in to help with the construction. Here's what he had to work with:

And this is what he came up with:

Now it's my turn to do a little something. Paint is on the way... Will post pictures when all done. :)

Just a little snack

Abby is notorious in our family for having such a great appetite. She'll eat darn near anything, and lots of it. It is actually pretty fun having such a daring eater around. (Some day we'll get to tell her husband about the time she ate dog poop, but that's a story for another day.)

Anyway, I picked her up from school last week (kindergarten gets out an hour and a half earlier than the other kids do) and we had some time to kick around before we had another appointment. Abby was hungry, and had already finished the leftovers in her lunch sack, so I offered to buy her a frozen yogurt cone at our local Golden Arches. Once we were there, though, she requested a hamburger instead. (Sorry, Mom! I let her eat fast food!)

So, my little Abby made quick work of a full-sized, $6 burger. Minus pickles and onions, with all the other fixin's.

She was still hungry for dinner a couple of hours later. Apparently kindergarten is very hungry work.

Fall Mantel

This time last year, I was dreaming of all the decorating to be done in our soon-to-be-finished house. This year, I am still looking at lots of blank walls, but little by little getting things up. I am happy with how our corner fireplace mantel is looking these days... Everything here is collected from a thrift store or made by our little family. I am loving the textures and layering and all that. But mostly, I am just happy to be in our cozy little home.

This mantel was fun to build with Chris. Due to space and cost constraints during construction, we ended up with a corner fireplace with no mantel, just white Sheetrock and texture. This summer, Chris and I worked together to design and create a board and batten surround for the fireplace. It is white on white, so subtle and not all that noticeable to anyone but us I'm sure, but I just love it. We are looking forward to hanging stockings this Christmas. :)

Abby and I made the "AUTUMN" banner using stencils we found at the thrift store and some twine and clothespins. Plus a few dollar store leaves for color. It was fun to work on with her.

The dark rectangle behind the whole thing is actually one of those fabulous saloon doors I scored from Bishop's Attic (local thrift) the other day. I just wanted something up there to give some depth the the cavern atop the fireplace.



Chris helped construct this book wreath last year, but I didn't get it hung up until now. I love the texture and shape of the cones, and the subtle colors in the old dictionary pages ($1 at B.A.) are just the thing. We did try to edit the pages we used, just in case someone actually read the wreath someday, to protect eyes from seeing something wacky and too descriptive. I was shocked at a few of the dictionary entries we came across. :)

State Fair

We went to The State Fair. Notice, I capitalized it. State. Fair. Yeah, it is that big. :)

We weren't sure if we were going to make it this year, but ended up throwing a trip together and it was so great! We planned to do it "on the cheap" this year, and (as far as Fair trips go) it was a success. We wanted to ride a couple rides and eat a few yummy things and see the sights. It was a rare sunny evening, there was no school or work the next day, and we ended up staying until 11 P.M. The kids were asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows when we finally made it home. Now, that's a good trip to The Fair.

Brian is not a fan of the rides, so he chose to use his ride allotment of $$$ at the mini golf on the fairgrounds. He was pleased with 4 "hole in one" scores out of the 8 holes they did. Now he considers the shirt he was wearing to be his lucky shirt and insists on wearing it for all events requiring good luck, such as to watch the BYU football game or on test days at school.

Abby, Casey, and I rode the Tilt-a-Whirl and screamed and laughed the whole time. Hilarious. These shots are taken as we were spinning ever faster. Casey kept yelling "Hold on to the camera, Mom!" and we'd laugh and crack ourselves up. I'm sure it was all incredibly dorky to those waiting in line, but we had a great time.

The girls also rode the swings. I'm fairly certain that these are the exact same swings I used to ride when I was their age. The daredevil girls also rode the Gravitron with Chris... Brian and I passed on that one. If I can figure out how to post it, I'll upload the video Chris took right after they rode the Gravitron. Really worth watching, if I do say so myself.

Last weekend it was, of course, rainy. We did go to the Fair parade in downtown Palmer. Couldn't miss out on an opportunity to see more of the old tractors!

Rainy Day Crafting

What to do on a rainy day? A rainy day that follows a month of rainy days? How about gather some super fancy supplies and make some cool crafts! If you look close enough in these photos, you'll see a bunch of fancy art supplies that the kids have grabbed to make some craftastical stuff: Hemp twine, an old cereal box, blue painter's tape, markers, scissors, a white with red polka-dots silk handkerchief, yellow lined paper, markers.

And from only that, the kids created a house for a stuffed hamster, a parachute for an army guy, a birthday crown, a bag of confetti, and a couple of books.

I've gotta tell you, and I hate to admit it, but it is kind of difficult for me to let these kind of projects/messes get made. I have to avert my eyes, take a deep breath, and tell myself that it is just fine if there is a giant hullabaloo going on in the dining room. I am always happy when the kids are creating, as I know the happy feeling I get when I am making stuff. So, we go along with it and everyone has a good time and everyone helps clean up at the end, and its all okay. Just know that if you ever drop by unannounced, there is a good chance that this is what our dining room table will look like.

Also, on a not so happy note, Abby was grumpy at something Casey had done. Not sure what it was. I don't even know if Casey knew of her trespass, but Abby used her crafty skillz to send a message, loud and clear, to Casey.

Here is what I found taped to each of the doors in the house. As in, Abby had made many of these posters, and taped them at eye level on each door. Beware, Casey. Beware.

Air Shows

We went to two air shows this summer. Every other year we are treated to Arctic Thunder, the big event on Elmendorf in Anchorage. We had the Blue Angels performing this year, and it is always a great opportunity to see and appreciate some of what our military men and women do to protect our freedoms every day.

Here's Abby, atop her perch on Chris' shoulders, keeping her ears plugged against the roar of the F-22s.

Brian absolutely loves these shows, as you can imagine.

We also went to the little Palmer air show. I'm pretty sure it was their first year doing it, and it was pretty cool. I think we were one of about 15 families there the whole day, so we got all the personal attention from the folks showing their stuff. Brian brought a friend, and they got their faces painted...a dragon and fighting lion.

Casey's face painting was a fairy. The lady doing the faces is an artist by trade, and the paintings were free, so it was amazing to see the detail and talent she put into it.

Casey in the cockpit of the State Trooper helicopter. The pilot spent quite a bit of time with the kids, showing off all the cool "bells and whistles" used for search and rescue and also locating people who don't want to be found.

Berry Picking

My dear friend, Shannon, has been my berry picking buddy and inspiration this summer. Together, and with tots in towwe wandered around the fantastic Hatcher Pass and collected theseand these

which were then eaten by the handful, turning fingers and mouth blue. Also, baked in a delicious blueberry buckle, whose name I just love repeating: Blueberry Buckle, Blueberry Buckle, Blueberry Buckle.

And. We braved a large moose nearby and picked lots and lots of these

which were then washed and cleaned and cooked and sugared and jarred and are now being enjoyed as sweet, sweet raspberry jam.

I wish I had photos of the jam or the buckle or the kids at Hatcher Pass or the moose that almost ruined the whole thing. But I am happy for the experience. And grateful for the blessing it is to have a true friend nearby, patient and generous, witty and kind, brave and competent.

Last Day of No School

Chris, Brian, and Casey started back to school a week before Abby did. The kindergartners take an extra week of summer as their teachers spend time in the classroom doing "roll in" with the new students. During roll-in, each student (and a parent) comes to an appointment to meet with the teacher and get set for the year ahead. Abby got to spend an hour with Mr. Schaff (awesome teacher!) reading, cutting, visiting, and playing in the room. It was nice.

The day before Abby's school started, I dropped all the "daily chores" and just spent time doing whatever Abby wanted. It was kind of hard for me to see the dishes sitting on the counter and to know that there was laundry to be folded, but guess what? We survived. And, I think Abby really liked spending time with me, and I liked being in her world for a bit.

We rode bike and scooter to the lake. Looked at fish. Pretended we were in a fairy land. I was the queen, she, the princess.
She begged for, and got, a photo shoot in the backyard. Just like Casey's (her words) in her white dress. Apparently Abby had been watching from the upstairs window, because she knew exactly where we had stood and how to get there.

How I love this little darlin'.

And, before I could blink, this is what I found the next morning:Abby is thrilled with school, as are we. But I do miss her. And I treasure the 2:00 hour, when I get to meet her at the pick-up spot and be bowled over with her and her enthusiasm. She talks, pretty much non-stop, for the hour and a half that we share until the others get home. So happy. So Abby.

First Day of School

(Abby, ready to learn!)

(Abby, outside the house, ready to go on the first day of KDG)



(Brian, playing it cool, at his desk)

(Casey at her desk, ready to go!)

(Casey, in front of the school)

(Brian, suffering, in front of the school)

(In the front yard on the way to school, Casey and Brian)

Brian started 4th grade at Sherrod this year. Casey is in 3rd, also at Sherrod. And Abby began her kindergarten adventure at Swanson. (Our elementary schools are next door to each other. Swanson is KDG - 2nd, and Sherrod is 3-5th. Middle school begins in 6th grade.)

As is the tradition (becoming more and more embarrassing each year, Brian informs me) we took photos at home in the first day of school clothes and then in front of the school and then in the classroom. My mom had us make posters when we were kids, noting the year and other important details, so we are carrying on with that, too. More and more embarrassing, huh, Brian? Just wait until High School. Oh, yeah.

(The posters were not so readable in the photographs this year as they have been in the past. Just for posterity's sake, here are the stats: Brian - 4th Grade - Mrs. McPhail - Sherrod. Casey - 3rd Grade - Mrs. Wilson - Sherrod. Abby - Kindergarten - Mr. Schaff - Swanson)

Casey's 8th Birthday

Happy Birthday, Casey Anne!

Thank you, Aunt Stephanie, Uncle Trent, and Lily!

Abby wrapped up her webkins and money bank (minus the money!) and gave them to Casey. She was so excited to have something to give her. It was really sweet.

Thank you, Aunt Debbie!

Casey turned 8 at the beginning of August. For some reason (poor Casey!) I am always surprised when her birthday arrives. It kind of sneaks up on me each year, and I find myself missing opportunities to make the day super-special for her. This year was especially important, as she was baptized just a few days later. Between planning for that service and all the other events of the season, Casey's big party turned out to be more of a simple event. The boys were off on their big adventure, so us girls partied on down.

We were hoping to make a friend's party trip to hike the Butte, but I chickened out of attempting that, given the constant downpour we'd been experiencing. Casey wanted to share the joy of Build-a-Bear with Abby, so we grabbed our super coupons and drove in to Anchorage. Economics being as they are, I was quite pleased with the deal we got, and didn't feel too bad about the experience over-all. It was fun to drive in with the girls, so excited and giggly. Casey is always fun to be around and is kind and generous with her happy spirit.