Best Buds

On our way to Clay Co.

Twelve Years Old

Grant and his birthday breakfast

It’s Not Even a Monday but Here’s Music

 

New video to one of my fave songs off I’m With You, filmed just a day or two before they came to St. Lou.  This is a short-version of the song which is too bad because a longer video would have been extra sweet.  Plus, the song’s over so dang fast. 

House in the Works--Not

Oh, boy.  Here’s an update on what’s happening with the house and our grand addition. 

The plans that looked like this:

   

Now look like this:

Rolled and banded and forgotten. 

After meeting after meeting with the architect, four contractors, and who knows how many heating guys, paint guys, etc. over the span of a few months, we realized once the bids came back, this plan was too complicated and too expensive, and despite having to put enough money into it that we could have built a brand new house, we were still going to have a kinda crappy house.  Less crappy maybe, but still not ideal.  We made the decision to scrap this whole plan of adding on the three different sides of the house. 

So now, it’s literally back to the drawing board.

 

Current thinking is to sacrifice the current screen porch and deck and add one big, two-story straight, simple addition off the east side that would be a great room/kitchen/dining room with two new bedrooms and two baths, and add back on a new deck and screen porch.  That’s the thought anyway for now.  

Will it ever even happen?  Maybe because it’s not winter with us all crammed in and maybe because no one is at home much these days because, yeah, I feel like I *live* in a van going down Goshen Road, but we don’t feel so bursting right now.  At least I don’t.  But this kitchen of mine is still enough to make me want to run away.  

I did recently find this site and it is great for designing and planning.  At first look, it seems like something to play around with furniture placement but once you get into it, it has everything you need to make full-out house plans with walls, windows, stairs, all the architectural symbols, measurements.  It has choices for pools (!) and hot tubs (!) and even individual plants and on and on.  So cool and I wish I had a few days to spend just on this! 

Before/During/After

       

No more braces for Jack.  Full-time retainers now for 6-9 months and straight teeth forever (we hope). 

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They look great but now that I see a smiling/non-goofy BEFORE from 2010, don’t the smiles look about the same??  Hmm.  What were they doing for 18-20 months?  All those brackets and rubber bands and appointments for tightenings?  Musta been for some good reason but looking at the pics, it’s not that obvious to me now.

The Phone Call You Don’t Want

Tonight as I was driving Jack into town for 6-9pm band practice (to prepare for end of July band camp, oy!), I made the comment that for all the trips I am making delivering everyone around these days, I’m glad it’s not like it would have been a couple of years ago where I had to strap everyone in for every single trip.  Now the younger two kids are at an age that I can leave them at home with one of the older boys and I don’t worry too much and that is nice!

So I had just said that, of course, jinx!, my cell phone rings.  Jack looks at the phone and says it’s from home and answers for me.  He listens for just a second and passes it to me right away and says “The kitchen is full of smoke!”  I grab the phone and exclaim into the phone, “Who is this?!”and now I don’t even know why I asked that but I did, and it was Grant and he says, “The kitchen is full of smoke and I don’t know where it’s coming from!”  My mind goes immediately to the stove, thinking something was set atop a burner and caught fire.  I asked him if he could go to the stove and see if there was something burning and he said no, there’s nothing.  The stove is not on.  I asked, “Is it from the microwave?”  He says the microwave isn’t on, but yeah, he opened the door and there’s charred black chicken tenders.

Whew.  Sigh of relief and memories of this pop right in my head with an internal “Caroliiine!”  I tell Grant not to yell at her or anything, just go outside for fresh air and I’ll be right home. 

Turns out she tried to heat up her chicken and read the instructions as 5 tenders = 5 minutes when it was actually 5 tenders = 1 minute. 

A lesson learned, and she’s gonna wait to microwave again until she’s ten. 

Moving is Fun!

Catching Up: Tuba Dude

I’m falling behind on keeping up with life again.  Such a busy past week.  Long, long hours for Gary at work and tons of stuff going on involving the kids.  Every day something!  Except today.  Just hanging out with family (Hi Mom, Karen, Joe!), helping Ross move…in general, a big yay day for me!

This wasn’t even from this week, but some day this month when Grant marched in his first parades, three spread across two weekends.  I snapped this shot when they performed at Six Flags. 

Mr. Wit! Who Knew?

Sometimes, very occasionally, Sam does something that reminds me he's not such a little boy anymore.

Tonight he pulled his arms up into his t-shirt sleeves and says, "We're a little short-handed around here."

I am not kidding!

Another Funny

I picked Caroline up from a birthday party-sleepover. 

Me:  Tell me what all you did.

Caroline:  We played out in the sprinkler. We ate pasta.  We watched a movie.  We played with her Magic Meatball.

Me:  Magic Meatball?  What's that?

Caroline:  It's this thing that if you have a question, it will tell you the answer.

Me:  Oh, a Magic 8-Ball?!

Caroline:  I don't know.  I thought it was called a Magic Meatball.

Me:  (Ha ha ha ha)

By 10:30 a.m.

We've watched a turtle lay eggs in our yard and got a farm full of scouts.

Eggdrop Soup on a Wavy Hair Day

Caroline, two days from turning nine years old. 

Crack Up

One thing about having the kids home this summer, I am supplied with endless laughs.  Some I contain inside for my own private amusement; some just explode out of me which can be unfortunate if it makes the kids self-conscious of their conversation.

Caroline:  Scooter's favorite music is pop and rap.

Grant (in disgusted disbelief):  Really?  How do you know that?

Caroline:  He wags his tail when he hears it.

Grant:  He always wags his tail.

I don't know, ok, maybe it seems kinda lame in writing, but it was really funny as it unfolded.  : )

Arizona Vacation—Part 4

The next morning we got up and cleared out of the quiet house on the mountain and headed to Phoenix.  We’ll just say the best things about the Embassy Suites we stayed in were the breakfast buffet and the swimming pool.  I think that’s about all we can say. 

Well, and maybe don’t completely trust someone selling three air mattresses for $2 when they say they hold air. 

    

We met the family at Grandma Ruth’s place and started our two-day celebration in honor of her 90th birthday.  It was a great time!  (Thanks, Ross and Mom and Julia, I’m borrowing your pictures!)

 

 

There was the pre-party the afternoon and night before, and then the real party all the next day into the night. We were some real party people, living it up senior-living style. 

 

  

It’s just amazing to me to think what seems like just a few years ago, she birthed her babies, who then had their own babies…

that then had theirs…

and it’ll just go on and on  --   a true legacy.

   

Sammy slept through the rockin’ karaoke party happening literally right next to his head. 

You would think instead maybe the 90-year-old would tire out, but it seemed to me she was going stronger than the kids through all the days’ excitement!

 

Next morning, we had an early flight and headed back to home. 

 

It was a short but sweet trip!  So glad we went and can’t wait for a reason to go back again.

Arizona Vacation—Part 3

So we took a different route leaving Sedona at the end of a super fun afternoon to get us back to our house near Prescott, and that would be State Route 89A.  It’s known, as we found out later, as one of Arizona’s most scenic drives, if not the most.  We only travelled that Sedona-on south portion of it, but I’d say none of us will ever forget that drive.  I looked back at Caroline and this is what she looked like.  

Two scarves covering her eyes and hugging herself and crying her eyes out and not even letting her head turn toward the view out the window.  I was freaking myself, but had to remain composed for the kids’ sake so I distracted myself by alternating taking pictures between my pink camera and my phone camera. 

Once we started the curvy mountainous climb, I had to put aside my hot fudge sundae we had just bought at a DQ.  I had never disrespected proper ice cream consumption ever before in my life, so this tells you something. I started feeling sick the minute we were into the first of the hairpin curves. 

As a flat Midwest girl all her life who can count the times she’s seen mountains, it was unnerving to look ahead and see a caution sign for a 25 mile an hour curve.  On a highway!  Highways are where I usually prefer speeds like 80 mph, you know, safe speeds.   We could see over the sides and out ahead of us, and it was just open air drops to view, except for the mountain side we were hugging and the road surface itself.  We met a few other pick-up trucks.  I had to ask Gary if these were nut-bat people doing what we were doing or would they be people really driving this road to get to their job or something.  It baffled my mind why anyone ever thought there should be a road here.  Why go over this mountain?  Why not just not go there?

What really bugged me was looking ahead and seeing there was more. 

  

When we stopped in Jerome, which seemed really cool but crazy, this was the view of the valley below.

You can see some buildings of Jerome in the background here, built vertically into this mountain, unreal.  The buildings were right on the road; I mean someone’s porch chair would literally be five feet from us on the road. 

We still had 2000+ feet to climb.

Oh yeah, and views of sheer rock slides that were not comforting to me at all.  And the sun was going down and I did not want to be on this mountain road after dark. 

Gary says if we had known about the “scenic” nature of the drive and how slow it would go, we probably wouldn’t have taken it, so true!, but instead it really gave us a day to remember of our vacation and we would have missed seeing some incredible views. 

We did get off the mountain by sundown and cruised on in to Prescott. 

Arizona Vacation—Part 2

So, Gary made it home alive and that was a nice part of our vacation.   We sat around listening to his adventure, and it kinda reminded me of when Pa Ingalls would come home.  For supper we grilled out some nice pork chops and made potato wedges and green beans and brownies.  It was the first time I ever baked using high-altitude instructions.  I had to add flour to the brownie batter and change the volume of the liquids.  They did turn out great, though.

We were expecting guests that night, but due to flight delays and change in plans, no one came.  And Sam had spent the previous 24 hours throwing up various places throughout the house, so maybe it was better it worked out that way.  This is not anything anyone really wants or needs to know but since it was part of our trip, I have to mention it so it lasts forever but I will keep it minimal and just say it involves Grant slipping and landing full body down on the tile floor.   I think everyone that’d ever set foot in that house got blamed for that, but namely me. Well, and Sam.  And Caroline somehow.

That evening I just went to bed with my big fat History of Saturday Night Live book and called it a day.  For being on vacation, that one wasn’t my best day ever.

But, big but, the next day was fab!  We woke up, headed out to the hot tub and can I say that hot tub was a wonderful thing.  The morning temps at 7000 feet were cool, upper 40’s and then it would warm up to upper 70’s, high of 80 for the day.  The sky was brilliant blue with not a cloud and the light breeze was nonstop and it was perfect and lovely.  The hot tub was situated right in the sun in the morning, facing against this pine forest, with a completely secluded feeling and that was zee best.

Gary would say I am a little temperature-sensitive with a really narrow band of what I find comfortable, just take a car ride with me, and this place on the mountain seemed to fit that band to a T.  So yes, lots of hot tub time and sunning on the deck and a breakfast of chorizo and regular sausage and eggs and oatmeal and butter toast.  I picked up white bread at the grocery store as we came in that first day and it was such a treat!  I hadn’t had toast that good since I was a kid.  Who’d ever thought white bread would become a comfort food, but since we never have it and it is something I associate with being at home growing up, I found now it is for me. 

So between the hot tub and weather and toast, I was altogether a happy girl.  It helped that Sam was perking up some and we had plans to return to civilization and meet up with family in Sedona!  The only glitch was now Caroline wasn’t feeling well.  We stopped in Prescott Valley and got her some pita chips and kid Pepto and ibuprofen and we were going to get her better and have a great day, dang it. 

The drive to Sedona was fun.  At one point I noticed the red in the the rock formations in the distance so I knew that we were almost there.  Even the kids were into the scenery and may I quote Jackson, a boy of few words? “Beautiful.”  Here’s some of my taken-from-the-speeding-Suburban pics.

 

Caught some of the front windshield tint here ---^, the sky was blue but not that blue

       

So we met up with Debra, Karen, and Ross in Sedona and headed to Slide Rock State Park.  Karen suggested it and we had no idea what it entailed but sounded fun.  And it was!  Next time we’ll wear our swimming suit and water shoes.

And Slide Rock definitely fits.  Those rocks were so slick!  Aunt Karen didn’t take a minute to hop in and get wet, shooting the flumes with the kids.

Rooooooossssssssssssssssssssssss!  my favorite part

Trying for a Christmas card pic.

          

          Last year vacation.               This year vacation. 

 

Gary and his favoritist shirt.

 

 

 

Then we drove back into Sedona for some food and this was the view at the restaurant’s outdoor patio. I think Deb took this one of Gary and I and I like it!

 

We said our goodbyes and see-you-soons and headed back to Prescott.  But we took a different route and that turned into a real adventure….