Look Who's Back, Back Again! With news...

Howdy!  It hasn't been as long, I know.  I hope this post finds you all well.  

So, we have been busy as usual but loving every second.  Friday, August 5th was my birthday and Eric was gone in Iowa so I celebrated with the kids and Gramps.  Eric is back now, thank God.  I am definitely less anxious when my whole family is together.  

Anyway, we are having ALL THE FUN!  I hope the same for all of you.  

Our weeks have been full of homeschool prep (to continue our current year and prep for the upcoming year), Pre-K sign-ups, playdates, friends, swimming, yard work, yard sale prep, birthday partying, thunderstorms, guests and so much more.  

One thing I need to address right away is that we are NOT back on Facebook.  I had to reactivate our account for just a minute but we are NOT on Facebook.  I am sorry we have been suggested or whatever as a friend.  It was us- but only temporarily.  It's deactivated again and that's great with us!  We love no social media- albeit we miss all of your news, photos, activities, etc.  

August...  We started the month of August off with a dinner invite to the Garcia home and had the BEST time.  This was before Eric left for Iowa.  They cooked us a delicious supper of chicken parmigiana, garden salad and potatoes.  It was so tasty and I can't wait to make it myself.  We chatted, swam (I was a wimp and sat on the side with my feet in the water because it was too cold from all of the storms we have had), sang and ate cake and played.  It was awesome as usual and I can't say enough about how generous and kind Ivann and Andrea are.  They let Nico stay the night and brought him back the next afternoon.  He has his own toothbrush at their house.  Lol.  

All tuckered out from the party...

I think he made it about a mile before passing out... 

All the kids love to pile on Mr. Ivann... 

Swim...  That same week, we had our year-end swim party and it was a lot of fun.  All of the kids got to go and swim and the twins loved it.  Eventually, they were able to take off their puddle-jumpers and swim in the shallow end.  They are becoming such good swimmers.  Both of them jumped off of the diving board a bunch too.  Nolan even did flips off of it.  The big kids all came home with a special award from their coach.  I made cupcakes and they were a big hit. 

Food prep, Menu and Recipes...  I bought a new recipe book when I placed the order with Christianbooks.com and I have to say, I am excited about this one.  It was only around $2 because it was supposedly blemished.  Also, I am determined to look fewer recipes up online and start using my cookbooks more.  We have a small library of them.  I have already planned a menu based on this new book alone.  The recipes are all easy enough to be weeknight meals and they are tasty.  There are lots of "Joe" (sloppy, buffalo, brisket. etc)  recipes and lots of Mexican dish recipes in this book which excited me even more!  I am determined to waste less food (we already really don't waste a bunch) because it is so expensive and I like to use what we buy.  So, when I bought strawberries and melons this time, I cut them up and put them in the fridge all prepped for the kids and Gramps.  He is liking fruit quite a bit right now.  It was so much more successful- we had a whole container and a half of strawberries go bad last month. We have also gotten back to doing our weekly menu and prepping meals again.  I made a ton of coffee muffins with half the sugar and we all loved them.  I have made breakfast scrambles and casseroles and we bought a bunch of meat to freeze.  

Mexican Meatloaf.  This is recipe one (that I have made) from the cookbook...  

We allowed the twins to bring chairs into our room and eat their corndogs while watching a show.  It would have been successful except for the fact that I knocked Harlan's plate out of his hands and spilled ketchup all over the carpet.  

My birthday is at the beginning of the month and was a lot of fun, overall.  As I mentioned, Eric was away in Iowa so I got a little burst of insanity and decided to take the kids to the Tennessee Aquarium for the day in Chattanooga.  The drive there was great, parking was easy and the weather was clear for us to immediately picnic outside the aquarium (after going through a little thunderstorm only a mile from the aquarium).  I was lulled into a false sense of security.  Honestly though, the trip wasn't all bad.  Nolan just kept running off, Tristan was super into educating me on all of the critters and I did NOT have the patience to listen to him since I was trying to keep track of the twins (Nolan specifically) and he kept stepping on my feet; he was walking so close to me, and Lily was a space cadet.  Nico and Harlan did the best and those are the two that I usually have the most trouble with.  Nico is normally my runner and Harlan gets overwhelmed and cries a bunch in crowds.  Also, Tristan and Nico forgot my birthday and hadn't acknowledged it at all so I was a little hurt.  They are old enough to remember, not to mention that Tristan is obsessed with checking the calendar everyday so he has no excuse.  After the aquarium, I let them all play in the man-made "river" outside and they were all soaked and loving life (except Tristan).  Of course, Tristan then asks as we're leaving after a little bit of a rough day, if we can go to the iMAX movies.  Um, yeah, right kid.  I'm all done.  So, we drove home.  I still needed to stop and get my birthday cake and a few things to add to our supper.  I made tacos.  My birthday was not a total bust though.  I heard from basically ALL of my family and friends and really felt the love there and I woke up to a really sweet text from Eric first thing. I'd say, aside form my listed complaints, it was a great day.  Plus, Les sent me some incredible stained glass flower pot decorations and Jess sent me some beautiful flowers.  I am definitely feeling the love. 

These are made from garbage found in the ocean. 

This butterfly was dead.  It was so pretty though!  

School...  We are back to a very "serious" school schedule and really loving it.  We have decided to start each school day at 7:30am and be done by 11:30am (maybe 12:00pm some days).  It really has made a big difference and we are adjusting well.  I also started the prep for the upcoming school year (which we will begin in September).  I am pretty much ready aside from a few little things for Nico's math box and maybe a binder or two.  This year, I am putting each of their lesson and reading books into binders instead of using binder rings to keep the pages a little neater.  Tristan has a lot of trouble not ripping all of his pages.  In addition to our new start and end times, I have switched up our daily schedule for each kid so that way they're not waiting on me to finish with one of the other kids to come to the next.  It's working much better.  They all also seem to finally be remembering their math facts, sight words (Nico) and the rest of the stuff we were stressed over them "forgetting" from taking a small summer break.  

Speaking of school...  We have BIG news.  Big for our family, anyway.  We enrolled the twins in public Pre-Kindergarten and they started on a flex schedule last week!!!!!!!!!!  We feel it is important to have that public school foundation to learn how to behave in the classroom, play with peers and start to read and write.  We will probably have them do public Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten and start homeschooling in first grade.  We don't know what the future will hold but that is our plan for now.  We were VERY apprehensive to start them in school away from home and it was a rough couple of days for us.  Plus, Harlan got a fever on their second day so he couldn't go.  That was the hardest day for me as the mama because Nolan had a lot of anxiety going alone.  Gramps went with me to drop him off so he could see how it all works in the event he needs to drop them off or pick them up and Nolan kept asking if I was dropping off him and grandpa for the day.  It ended up fine except I was five minutes late picking him up and felt like a horrible mom.  I had gone the back way to see if it was any quicker as it bypasses another school zone and all of our town of Kingston, but it was so winding and even I was getting a tad carsick.  It added nearly 15 minutes to my drive!  I won't be doing that again.  When we got in the car, Nolan said "Ah! I just missed you so much today!"  I took him and got him an icee and all was well.  Harlan got to attend the third day because his fever had been brief and was gone for over 24 hours (we think it may be molars).  Their flex schedule was M-T-TH.  The only pre-kindergarten class that had openings is a 25 minute drive from our house.  At first I was reluctant to drive that far twice-a-day but we feel it is very important at this point so we agreed to do it.  We are quickly falling in love with their little school and the teachers are FOR SURE falling in love with the twins.  We got to go about a week before they started school and do a tour and they were hugging and kissing everyone.  It was so cute.  It was lunchtime while we were there and the cafeteria staff were so sweet to offer the boys food.  Of course, they accepted and got to do the whole lunch tray thing and eat at their pre-k table.  It melted my heart to watch them do their lunch trays like big kids.  They have been voted the best huggers in the class and are being "kept forever" by their teachers.  We are on a waitlist to move to the elementary school that is only about eight minutes away from home but I think we will cross that bridge when/if it ever is an option.  We are happy so far, three days in!  One concern the teachers had after meeting the twins is that other kids may teach them bad habits and they were nervous that the twins may not advance a bunch from where they are.  I was stunned because I definitely do not think they are advanced or ahead in any way, we really feel that they are just typical (amazing and incredible) four-year-olds.  I replied with "well, you never know, the twins may also teach a bad habit, God forbid".  They do a YouTube preschool now at home but cannot write their names or read words yet.  But, they will learn and they will do awesome and I am very excited for all of it.  

We got together a little bag of several of their favorites and gave them to the teachers on the first day.  The twins were very excited to give their teachers gifts.  

Schedule...  Since we decided to change up the kids' school schedule, we also made them a new daily schedule for each big kid to follow.  I typed it up to help them keep track until they get used to the changes.  It's been more difficult for Eric and me to keep up with.  It's nice though, because when I am in class with the big kids, Eric takes Harlan and Nolan to school and vice versa.  Eric also has a little more time in the shop now and maybe I can craft more and deep clean the house from time-to-time, work in the yard un-interrupted and grocery shop without my impulse buyers in tow.  See me looking at the positives!?  I should mention that my kids do SO MUCH better on a schedule.  They flounder when they don't know what is "next".  I put positive affirmations on the back and we just hope that this new printed schedule will keep them on track.  

Sunset...  I haven't snapped as many sunset photos because I have been busy- but I have a few.  

Surprises...  Auntie Kelsey and Uncle Martin sent the kids some special gifts in the mail.  They also sent Gramps, Eric and me the most beautiful, special gifts!  It was so sweet and I already hung up my shelf and the Tilford Plate and we both have used our mugs.  Nico got a STEM kit that is super cool.  Eric is going to help him build some of it this weekend.  Lily got a light for her room in the shape of an "L".  Tristan got Kelsey's Canon camera and tripod.  It is such a generous gift and something he has been wanting for the longest time!  The twins got these dinosaurs that they build themselves and they built them immediately and love them.  

The best surprise of all was that they came for a visit from California!!!!!  They got here around 1am on Wednesday morning and the kids had no clue.  They woke up to a strange car in the driveway and they were all trying to figure out who was here.  Then Auntie Kelsey and Uncle Martin came down the stairs and the kids were sooooooooooo excited.  I'd say the most excited was Missy who visited them each morning in their room and cried waiting for them to come down the stairs each morning.  They left yesterday afternoon and I cried saying goodbye.  Martin owns his own business and they have a farm so they can't be gone for long periods.  It was a fantastic visit and we got as much in as possible while also trying to just hang out and enjoy one another and visit with Gramps too.  On Wednesday, we went to the Smoky Mountains to Cades Cove then took a drive on up the river and headed to Gatlinburg.  We stopped in Pigeon Forge for lunch and some game time at an arcade.  We ended the day with ice cream.  On the way home, we bypassed our exit to show them the town past ours and drive into Kingston toward home.  The next day we just hung out at home until Eric went to get the twins from school, I took Gramps to a doctor appointment and Auntie Kelsey and Uncle Martin took the big kids exploring and to mini-golf and an arcade a couple of towns away.  Everyone met back home a few hours later for smoked ribs, steak and salad for supper. The day ended with Auntie Kelsey and Uncle Martin watching a movie with the big kids while I passed out on the couch.  Yesterday was spent just chatting, playing pool, having nerf wars, taking a few photos, exploring the property and anticipating their departure.  They headed to the airport around 2pm and we were sad the rest of the day.  They really managed to make the most of their trip.  They saw our whole property, explored the woods (and came back covered in chigger bites), saw the area, visited, bonded, took the twins to school and we all just loved being together again.  It's been one year since we saw them back in CA and this was their first trip out here.  IT WAS SO GOOD TO SEE THEM and we appreciate them making the trip out here.  We love them both so much.  They are so easy to be around and so dang good to the kids.  Of course, we didn't take enough pictures, as usual.  And, I'd be remiss if I didn't thank Grammy back in CA for holding down their fort while they came for their visit.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  We missed the heck out of you and hope to see you very soon.  

Projects...  Last weekend we decided to switch the big black beastly fridge in the garage for the stainless fridge that was inside the house when we moved here.  There are two reasons we didn't move the black one inside in the first place.  One was because it's huge and has to be completely taken apart to get it through the doorway.  The second is because the ice maker is awful in the black fridge and freezes up constantly.  We haven't had it hooked up since moving here because we have no water run to the garage.  However, after the stainless fridge started freezing all of our produce (continually), we decided to clean them up real good and switch them out.  Now that we have done so, we have decided to run water to the garage AND add a deep sink to the garage as we have had the need for one on many an occasion.  Thankfully we have a bathroom directly on the other side of the wall where the fridge and deep sink will go and it is a relatively easy process.  We also have done this before in CA with the garage fridge.  We had a deep sink in our laundry room in CA and we sure do miss it.  We don't have the sink yet because we ordered it.  It's a double size deep sink and should be here later this next week.  I'll take pictures.  

Movie Night...  Our town set up two movie nights at the lake and we went to the first one.  I plan to go the next one as well.  It was a lot of fun.  I took just the older kids and Eric stayed home and put the twins to bed.  We met Beth and the kids there and they had a lot of fun sitting on blankets and watching a movie with friends.  

Yard Sale...  A few weeks ago we had a three-day yard sale.  It was great!  We had sooooooooooo much to get rid of and met a bunch of people in the process.  We still have a bunch leftover but sold a lot of it and gave a bunch away as well.  Tons of our neighbors stopped by just to get to know us a little and we made a bunch of business connections for lumber, cows and more.  It was really nice and most people are really pleasant. I can tell I have been out more because I knew three people who stopped by.  It was such a weird feeling and made us feel like locals finally.  Lol.  Also, Beth and the kids came by to hang out for a few hours two of the days and one lady asked if we ran a children's home.  Hahaha.  She said she had never seen so many kids before.  It cracked me up.  I said, "nope, these are just our kids!".  It was too funny.  Anyway, a foster mom came by and bought a ton of clothes so I gave her a bunch as well, two ladies came by to buy baby stuff for a friend in need so I gave them a bunch and we sold a bunch after the fact too.  We put Gramps' mower out there and it was the first thing to sell.  He is still ahead of us with earnings, lol.  Lily set up her lemonade stand and made $47 on donations only.  It was a success overall.  

We sold ALL of our big items except the bar stools.  

Since we cleared out all of the yard sale items, our pool table AND ping-pong table were clear!  The ping-pong table is now full again with yard sale leftovers but the kids had fun for three days.  

The next "project" is moving the brown loveseat to the shop after it's finished so we have the space near the pool table again.  

Random...  -Eric did a pizza run one evening after the yard sale so we didn't have to cook and the twins went with him.  It took them approximately four minutes to fall asleep...  -Harlan is in love with Missy and snuggles with her all the time.  Sometimes he's too intense for her but she just gets up and walks away.  

-Nolan has been a tad clingy since starting school so he has been insisting on sleeping in our bed.  On occasion, I have let him fall asleep in our bed then move him to his bed.  One morning he woke up and was furious with Eric for moving him the night before.  -Several of our cats are allergic to the spot flea treatment and they were getting really sick each time after we would put it on them.  Milly, one of the little girl cats was so sick.  She slept a ton and I was getting worried.  We had to buy her special cat food to help clear out her bladder.  The poor thing.  She is MUCH better but thinks she's our permanent bathroom kitty now.  I also found her sleeping in the laundry one day!  Of course, then the twins took that as their green light to play in the washer.  We have since switched to flea collars because they do not have the super harsh chemical in them that the spot treatment has.  -Tristan challenged Eric to a push-up contest with the twins on their backs.  LOL.  It was hilarious.  Nico joined in a few minutes into it and couldn't even move his body.  -We put temporary curtains up in the kitchen to keep the afternoon heat out.  We plan to have them up in summer and winter but down the rest of the time.  -Before Auntie Kelsey and Uncle Martin came, we finally switched all of the compact fluorescent bulbs out for LED bulbs in all of our can fixtures.  One of them on the stairs is difficult to reach so Eric asked Tristan to help him.  Prior to Tristans help, he had recruited Nico and Nico broke the bulb off in the can.   Eric ended up having to get his scaffolding out and use pliers to get the bulb out.  All of them are changed now though, and it is much better not waiting for them to warm up. 

Today is just a chill day.  Eric went to Home Depot this morning to get all of the items we need for the garage project, the twins are swimming, the horses are all grazing the back yard, Scott just came and picked all of the big kids up for a lake day and Lily will sleep-over at Emery's tonight.  Otherwise, we are just hanging out getting ready for the week ahead, missing Auntie and Uncle a bunch already.  I am going to head down to the mudroom to set up a "popcorn" area for watching movies in the TV room.  Gramps gave us his old microwave so I thought we'd use it down there for popcorn.  

Anyway, that's all for now!!  We hope you all are happy, healthy and loving life. 

We don't have a whole lot of upcoming plans except that Eric is planning his next trip to Iowa in the next few weeks.  Also, my cousin is in DC from CA right now and Eric may meet up with him somewhere in the next few days or week or so.  It'd be nice for them to catch up and they're close so I am sure they'll like seeing one another.  I am (possibly) planning a trip to CA later this year but am unsure if it'll happen.  I'd love to go and see my mom and spend time there and see my brother and his family and of course my sister and brother-in-law and so many others (my nephew too).  Next year, however, we have plans to make a big road-trip either in our motorhome (if Eric gets the electrical fixed) or just in our car.  The motorhome would be preferred if we all can get away together.  We'd like to go to Idaho and California and a few stops in between.  We'll see... Best laid plans and all....  

Take care!  We miss you all.  Stay in touch!