It's gettin' there

The fireplace project that began shortly before Evan was born is coming along ssllooooowlly but surely:
Tile is next, then tape, texture & paint on the top half, a pretty mantle and it's done!! If we continue on our current timeline, I guess it'll be done around Christmastime. Merry Christmas to me!

8 Things for Emily

Emily tagged me to make a list of 8 things about myself.
Here goes:

1. I always mistype "myself". I type "myslef" instead.

2. Today I didn't get out of bed until 8:45am. Well, for the last time. I actually got up all. night. long. Evan is not my favorite person today. We'll just leave it at that.

3. I really enjoy Primary. It's way more fun than Relief Society.

4. I do not like snakes. If I went to Hogwarts and was sorted into Slytherin House, I would drop out of school.

5. I always have a hidden stash of Peanut M&Ms and/or mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I like treats and Pie doesn't want to know if there are any in the house. If he happens upon my stash, he eats it all and then I have to find a new hiding place. I think I've got a good one this time.

6. I'm a Taurus, zodiacally-speaking.

7. I have no idea how much money is in my checking account right now. For the first 9 years of marriage, I was the money manager of the family. I did a pretty good job, but it drove Pie nuts not to know exactly how much was left, so he took over about a year ago. I'm not interested in details. He'll tell me when it runs out.

8. I used to be smart, but not anymore. Maybe someday I will be again. Until then, I'm used to the little bit of static that always seems to be in my brain.

For Harry Fans

Click here, only if you've finished reading Book 7 and want more details from the Epilogue. It's an interview with the author that ties things up for me better than those last few pages did.

Dress Up

Edie introduced Evan to the wonderful world of dress-ups today. Don't all big sisters do this to their little brothers? I know we did!
He was enjoying it, so, why not??
I'd like to point out Edie's choice of pirate shoes. Very "Argh!"

Weekend Update

Another fun-filled weekend has come and gone. Lots of the Stewarts came to attend Drew's baptism on Saturday, so the house was filled to capacity. Lots of fun, but we really missed the 2 sisters who couldn't come. Next time, OK Emily and Jill?

The baptism went well. Elizabeth and Matt gave the talks, Drew was a ham in the spotlight and the font wouldn't hold water. The drain stopper was broken so Pie and Drew both had to kneel down in the shallow water. It all worked out, and it's something Drew can remember and tell his kids about.

The family left Sunday right after church and took Drew with them. He was so excited to go!
He's spending a week and a half alone at Grandma and Grandpa's just hanging out, swimming and going to Legoland. We'll see him again when everyone meets in Utah for the Bear Lake camping trip in a week and a half. I miss him already. Dean does, too. He had a hard time sleeping alone in his room without him. But Dean thinks being the oldest is cool and he's really stepping up and helping out. Hopefully that will continue once our little family is together again!

I'm back!!

The Internet has returned to the Fardanesh House and truthfully, I'm having mixed feelings about it. While I'm glad to feel connected again (I just spent almost an hour catching up on everybody's posts of the last couple of weeks!) we've already had fights about who gets to play first and fights about what show to watch on TV (TV was gone, too. Did I tell you that?) After the initial shock of our instant entertainment disappearing, the boys got creative with their free time. They played more, Drew tried to make a periscope, among other inventions, and just look what I happened upon in the backyard:
Does that picture remind anyone of anything?!

I guess I can limit TV and computer time even more than I already do? Will that keep the creative play going? It was just so easy when TV and internet weren't an option. Now they know it's there and they know if they whine enough, I'll give in.

The family coming today will help with the entertainment problem. Can't wait!! Drew's big day is tomorrow and we're all excited to see the Stewarts, et al. again.



PS-Here's another cute picture from that same day:

Off line

I'm sitting at the library trying to type up a quick post while Edie helps me keep Evan semi-quiet. The boys are off looking at books and I need to check my email. We haven't had internet access at home for almost a week, and I didn't really realize how much I was online before. No more looking up something really quick. Without email I need to get ahold of my deaf friend by telephone, which is as difficult as you would imagine. Hopefully we'll be back online soon. It's getting annoying.

The Oldest is Even Older Now

The first milestone birthday has come. Drew turned 8 yesterday. He's excited about it for many reasons. First, of course, he gets to be baptized. July 21 at 4:00, you're all invited. I don't have any more beds available, but lots of floor space. Let me know if you're coming!

Second, (although this might be first in Drew's mind, I don't really want to ask) he gets to join Cub Scouts. He's been wanting to go to scouts since I became a den leader a year and a half ago. I hope it meets his expectations, especially since our Wolf Den leader just moved away and we don't have a replacement yet.

Third, Drew is so looking forward to his 8-year-old trip to Grandma and Grandpa Stewart's house in a few weeks. Dean is also excited about it because then he gets to be the oldest kid at home and that has some appeal to him.

Drew's gifts were his scout uniform and scriptures. I think I'll save my rant about the cost of scout stuff for another post. It's crazy.


Drew didn't want a party this year (YAY!) and chose instead to invite a friend to go to Sun Splash with us. We had a fun day on the waterslides and then came home for dinner and cake and ice cream. Fun, fun day.