A Minagerie of Events!

August has flown so fast, I don't know if it because we were gone so long for the Cabin Trip or if it was because I came home to a full blown landscaping project and haven't stopped since but I blinked and school had descended upon us! Luckily over the last weekend in July we took a break from landscaping madness and went for a short over nighter to a large city that is about 3.5 hours from where we live. It has some amazing shopping and we got to go to our favorite sports store too. We got our school shopping done and had a little family fun on the side. It was a fun relaxing weekend and when we got home as tradition we had to do a photo-shoot of the "Fall Line" for the grandparents.

We then started the preparation to back to school...I enrolled the Gap Cowboy on an online course by Kaplan to help get him up to speed again for school since his brain had been on vacation all summer long. We also started some fun old time favorite book series reading...like the Burgess books (my all time favorite Teacher Mrs. Murdock use to read to these to me) and Encyclopedia Brown books. He loves Encyclopedia Brown books. He is our little businessman/salesman. This summer when his baseball team had to raise money by selling duck tickets for duck raises The Gap Cowboy had all his sold in 15 minutes. Then he did a couple of lemonade stands and not only did his over priced little cup of lemonade sell, he gave them a "thank you" gift of dumb-dumb suckers. He has made some extra cash. So when he heard of how Encyclopedia Brown would solve cases out of his garage for a quarter he has been trying to figure how he could do the same except charge a DOLLAR! Inflation what can I say! ;)

Finally the day came, the clothes pulled out and readied for school. His school supplies labeled and packed a way in his backpack and it was "Meet the Teacher Night." We dropped off all his supplies met his teacher and found his desk. He was excited and hasn't stopped being a bowl full of excitement since. So cute! What a fun age! It is an age when you are still so excited for school and your teacher can do no wrong! I love he has gotten some great teachers and he loves learning. He tells me his favorite subject is math because then he can keep track of all his money he is going to have...I guess if channeled properly not a bad trait to have!


Here is the album with the school fun! ( Mr. C got some "school clothes" too)!

We also have a new addition to our family which I am soooo pleased to share!



Because I have two little boys in my house I didn't want to go out and buy anything new and spend too much money on it. I knew that in my house cars would probably drive a cross on a daily basis. I knew two little sets of hands would frequent the keys and pound really hard. So I set out looking for a good deal and something used. I found everything from free to $$$$. I have been looking since the early spring because I knew I wanted to start The Gap Cowboy in piano lessons this fall and I knew it would sneak up on me. Finally in July out of exasperation/ desperation I placed an add of exactly what I wanted. I didn't want a fixer, but I didn't want something I would cringe when my kids came within 20 ft of. The next day I had several calls and after viewing the pianos I almost gave up hope. THEN I went to one more house and I knew when I saw it that was EXACTLY (except for the color, wanted it darker wood) but pretty much exact to what I had pictured in my mind. This piano was a steal of a deal and it is barely used! It really pays to hold out and take your time. It has been so far a joy and The Gap Cowboy starts his first lesson on Tuesday.

We are now in the market for a violin....so here I go again. In the winter, January, we will start him on the violin as well. Don't worry, we are not over loading him, we have researched and researched and came up with this game plan because of the research we found. If he or we feel it is too much we will pull the plug on whichever he wants to. We also will not start him in the Winter on the violin if we don't see he is ready yet. It will all be decided as we go.

Next item....

We added a new Young Woman to our Branch. She is such a sweet girl. My 1st Counselor and I had the privlege in taking her school shopping and I FINALLY I got to school shop for a girl! It was so fun! Mandi, my counselor and I had so much fun and she felt like a princess. She deserved this, you see two years ago I was on my way to my brother's house in a nearby state. I got a call from a Branch member that said 4 men, all with families, had died in a construction accident. Each leaving little families. My heart broke and immediately a plan was devise that we would bake items and take to each of these poor widows and children.

Speed ahead almost two years this fall and one of the the daughters pictured below and girlfriend, also pictured below are now baptized. So it is finally her time to have happiness again in her life and for her to feel like a princess that she is. We shopped right before her baptism so we could buy her a new dress and dress shoes. She purchased her first heals which Mandi and I spent sometime teaching her how to walk in. She said to me the next Sunday, that Saturday had been the best day of her life with the baptism and shopping trip. Maybe just maybe she will continue to have more "best days of her life." Maybe things will start looking up for her!



Little "Miss K." dressed in white!! She now wants to take her Dad's name to the temple... it feels so wonderful to be a part of this work!

Next item.... STORMS!

We are talking wicked scary Tornado sirens going off storms! Twice in the month of August we have ended up down stairs! It has been so humid and hot. The weather is usually like that but not with such large storms. It has been pretty unnerving for sure!





The first picture was taken with my not so good camera off my front porch. The second picture was taken by one of my YW as it was headed from where she lived to where I lived (about 20 miles apart) My picture did not capture the wicked clouds and color. It was mesmerizing! I could not stop looking up at the clouds. It was a good thing the sirens went off or I would have been frozen on my front porch looking at them swirl and the brilliant colors I have never seen. It almost looked like there was a ball of fire in the middle of the storm. It was crazy! Luckily we have our 72 hour kits fresh and well stocked and surround sound and our big screen TV hooked up because when we got the basement to take the boys minds off the scary events I just turned on a movie and turned it up loud. I didn't even hear the sirens go off.

And finally but not finally, Happy Birthday Hubby!!!

My husband is my literal best friend, all of you are great friends but no one can top him. He has been a blessing in my life. It seems like in everything we are exact opposites except we are one in goal and purpose but most other things we are opposite. However, we compliment each other and make such a perfect match! I love him and feel he is my greatest blessing! I am proud of all his accomplishments in life. I know no other man that could manage a large grain elevator, go college online, be 1st counselor at church and still have time for me and the kids! He amazes me and I love him so much!

I think I have now caught you all up! Sorry for the LONG post! I hope you get something out of our busy/crazy life this summer and that you can all see why my posts and comments have been few and far between! Thanks for continuing to read and comment I do appreciate it!