Morning Walks/Eagle Application returned

I love my walks with my friend every morning... we started out last year in March only kind of knowing each other, preparing to go on a Mormon Pioneer Trek with the church youth group in July (which was fabulous, and we were well conditioned for the trip).

We became GREAT friends and found when we stopped walking we we much more grumpy and unmanageable Mothers and Wives... 6 weeks after she delivered her 8th child this past March. Yes, count them 8! We started back walking again.

One day the crop duster plane flew over spraying pestisides on the fields which surround the area we walk and we got trapped on the other side and couldn't get home... but that's another story for another day.

I am so grateful for my friendship with her. I am so grateful she keeps me accountable to do something healthy and good for myself everyday. We laugh, and we cry, we share, we vent, we trip (oh wait that's just me), we talk, we listen, we teach each other. And this is the beautiful view from the top of the hill we climb every morning. It is so beautiful, it really is a hill even though it doesn't look like it, and even though when our husbands drive up it in their big powerful trucks they laugh at us calling it a hill (one of these days when we are skinny minny's they will be eating those words). But it IS a hill. You can see all the way to Squaw Butte, which is the little mountain you can see in the distance. It isn't my Mount Rainier, but it certainly has it's own beauty, and I love it!!




Super great news!! We finally got 2J's paperwork back from his Eagle Scout Application, and we set a date for his Eagle Court of Honor!! Wahoo!! The guy even gave us the Eagle pack with the metals in it to bring for presentation. 2J's has really been wanting to look at a metal and see what they look like, so we have been telling him he won't even see it until they present it. He wouldn't be able to contain himself or sleep if he knew it was in the house :) So his Dad wanted me to take a picture of him holding it with the date, so he could rub it in later. Those two are constantly harassing each other. Some days I threaten to run away, but they don't listen to me. Did I mention I hate being the only girl in the house!!!! UGGGGggggg!!

1st Day of School...

We have a traditional 1st day of school picture every year, and I am happy to say with a little persuasion I was able to still get one this year. You know as the little foot gets bigger and older (and maybe a little wiser to my schemes) some of the traditions just have to be put in the memory vault.

There's the pictures with Santa... it was pretty easy to stretch that one out until he was 12 with leverage of the gifts and all.

Then there was the Halloween costumes, that went into the vault much earlier, but still have some great pictures for bargaining power to get the grand baby to come visit when that day comes. "Yes I will show everyone how cute you were in your Barney costume with the tail" he he he

There was the kiss goodbye dropping off for school... this was less of a shock to my system because my "cutie" is kind of still weening me off easy and I actually still get hugs at the drop off point most days unless there is a cute girl walking by at the same time. If I maneuver and get the timing just right pulling up to the school, I haven't lost this one completely. And I am hanging on to every little kiss and hug I can get while he still likes me :) Yes, I am aware this one goes away overnight when he starts driving to school... don't remind me.

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Good News today!!!

We are still waiting on the Eagle approved paperwork to arrive back from National, but the good news is... we got word that the approval signature was posted on August 9th and with that information we can go ahead and schedule the Eagle Court of Honor. Yipppppeeeeeee!!

I am so happy not to have to field the daily call from my "strong, not so silent about this issue, mysterious man" everyday to see if it came in the mail. Maybe I can get some work done during that hour now. How is it that he is only adequate at scheduling his own time, but when it comes time to scheduling mine he is a Master? You gotta luv 'em!!

Change in Routines...

Well all the signs are here, the days of summer are slowly coming to a close. The weather is turning cooler here, which a huge blessing. But it means that we are coming to the end of the growing season. I will be sad for watermelons to go away, they have been my staple food this summer and they have kept be from any major food binge frenzies. I will really miss Grandma and Grandpa sharing their tomatoes with us... I had learned to can spaghetti sauce last year and we used up everything I canned. But a couple of friends are sharing their overages from the garden, so I might end up with enough to get some sauce canned for this year. I grew a couple of tomato plants for us, but as it turns out Morgan loves tomatoes so much, she will eat them off the vine. I have only pulled 2 off all season so far. Love that girl, but my patience is running thin. Good thing for Auntie sharing the fruits of her labor with us!

Along with the change in weather we have the buzz of going back to school. But more exciting in our house is Drivers Training!! 2J's started on Monday, and we had given him a grade bar, if his grades were not there during school, he doesn't drive. Well he missed it just barely.... he was good, good, good, and then got cocky and let them slip just below the mark for driving. Well I had already signed him up (you have to get your name in early to get in) so he gets to take the course, but since his grades weren't at the bar, he has to pay for the class. He worked all summer trying to earn enough to pay for it, and he did it. The next step is he can't go get his license without the meeting the grade bar this year. I think normally I would have just given in, since he was so close, but it is such a huge responsibility to drive, we decided to stick real close to the rule. It seems to be paying off, he really seems to be serious about the class and the strict rules the instructor has for them, since it is so expensive. Tough Love, but it works. I hope he comes up with the grades, I think the rule holds until he is 18... that would be a very long time not to drive. It would have killed me at that age. Hopefully it is incentive enough at this point.

The other really good thing that comes along with the change in weather, is the garage is not sooooo hot so my "strong silent mysterious hunk" has gone back to working on the dent in my Z car. He said he could fix it back like new... but he also promised to build me a cradle when 2J's was born, and I am still waiting for that 15 years later. I think he has really good intentions and a huge heart, but he has the attention span of a 2 year old... (no offense to 2 year olds). I love him, I know it will be beautiful and he will get it finished (after all, he likes driving it as much as I do... how is that for incentive). I am just really excited to get this baby back on the road and take the t-tops off before it snows!! Wahoo!!!!!!!

Majestic Bells....

Click To Play

A little while after we moved to Idaho I found some wind chimes I fell in love with, but would never spend the money on something like that just for myself (because trust me... my strong silent mysterious man could care less about them). And I would always forget to put them on my wish list for my birthday or Christmas. Well one Mothers Day I think almost 2 years ago.... my Mother and Sister sent me the money to go buy the chimes I loved so dearly. I had been meaning to do it, but whenever I was in the city, I was usually with hubby and like I said... not so much a priority for him. Well, 2J's and I were in town and I actually remembered to go by the place and buy them. He helped me get them hung up. They make my other little chimes seem pretty wimpy, in size and sound but I left them to hang together because they do seem to compliment each others tones.

It has been a few hot weeks since we hung them, and today it cooled down and we have some nice wind and my Majestic Bells are AWESOME!! They sound so beautiful outside, I can hear them from inside when the boys are gone and I have the rare chance of turning that crazy television OFF!! They kind of sound like church bells ringing and we do have a little church across the field from the back of our house... when hubby got home and figured out the long continuous ringing was not the little church, I did get "the look" but he did not say a word. "Yeah, they get to stay!!!!!!"

I know he is secretly hoping they get swooped off by the wind ~ like my little ones do about 3 or 4 times a year... but I doubt these monsters are going anywhere! If they do, I will just hunt them down and hang them right back up like I always do, I am relentless and determined that way!!

In the meantime I am secretly hoping he will fall in love with them... don't tell him, but 2J's has ~ one man down, one to go!! It's horrible being out numbered by men in the house. My girl, Morgan loves to sit by them and listen while she watches on "guard duty" out the back.

Now I have a little piece of Heaven right on my back porch!