Father Son Camp Out And Battle Of The Woods

On September 17th and 18th Kyle and Zachary went on the father/son camp out.  Zachary was really excited to go camping with his dad.  Zachary also loved that he got to take his pocket knife.  Kyle got it for Zachary a couple of years ago but keeps it locked up, only to be used for camping trips.  They cooked hot dogs and made smores.  On the camp out they had a rope bridge set up for the boys to try out.  Zachary was all about that.  I think he gets tired of being around girls all of the time.

This is Zachary's rope bridge adventure.

While the boys were away on that adventure, Savannah and I went to the battle of the woods. There are only two football teams in "the woods" and we played each other.  Every year we have the battle of the woods and I believe the winner takes the trophy to their school for the year.  Our team lost but we had fun and it was beautiful weather.  We also got to cheer on some boys in our ward on the football team as well as some of the girls in band. After the game Savannah and I made a Sonic run.  I should seriously just own my own sonic then every hour could be happy hour.  I know, it sounds crazy ,but a girl can dream.

I love the views from the home side of the stadium.

Painting Complete!

So we hired someone to paint and in four hours it was all done.  Yay!

On a side note, Hannah and I were in Home Depot on Wednesday buying a water filter for the fridge and we passed the paint section.  There was a sign there that said,"Every color has a story".  Hannah said to me," Well mom, I think they are right.  Our colors certainly have a story.  An ugly, funny(no hysterical)  Fool's Rush In kind of story."

Here is our final color Bangkok Rust :

Now I just have to find some curtains I like and some small things to hang on the walls.

Painting Update

So, we went and picked a new color last night.  Milk chocolate to be exact. Sounds yummy doesn't it?   I started painting in the kitchen.  It looks good with the granite, just not the countertops.  Oops!!!  As I was working my way around the kitchen, I realized that painting the kitchen is not in my scope of talents.  Way out of my league!  I can't reach over the cabinets and there are tons of tiny places to paint into, as well as a lot of detail to paint around the cabinets.  We went today and picked out another color. I am hoping this is the one :)  We also found us a painter.  He is coming tomorrow.  I will post a picture once our painting is truly done. Until then, this orange and milk chocolate combo is driving me crazy.


ps. Dad, I should have gotten in the I can paint anything and pick out great paint colors line with you in Heaven.  What was I thinking? I must have seen some shoes I liked?

My Fool's Rush In Moment

Kyle and I finally decided it was time to make our home look like home.  We decided to start by painting the walls.  Saturday we went out and picked out the colors to paint.  We would paint the formal dining room green and the breakfast room and kitchen orange.

Our dining room.  I am liking the green.

Now for the orange breakfast room.

Go ahead and laugh.  I am.  All we need to do is figure out where to hang the chicken and an antique statue of Jesus.  Can you hear the tune?  "Wise men say, only fools rush in"  I can.  It is what Kyle is singing right now.

Now I just have to go pick up the kids, so that I can go back and buy a different paint color to go on the walls. All I am seeing is orange.  I don't want to have orange nightmares.  I think we have taken being University of Tennessee fans to a whole new level.

First Day of School

Today is Savannah's and Zachary's first day of school.  I managed to get both to school on time.  Zachary barely... traffic was  awful.  It took 15 minutes to drive 1/2 mile.  We could have walked, but no sidewalks and no place to walk.  I dropped them both off extremely nervous.  I am hoping they each are having a great day.  


For me on the other hand, the day has been quiet.  I have cleaned out Kyle's closet and mine.  Quite a productive day.  I have some more cleaning to do then off to pick up the kids.  This is a big year for both.  Zachary's first year in middle school and Savannah's first in high school.  


I am already missing the lazy days of summer.

Exhausted... And Gearing up for Back to School

Savannah had Red Letter Days yesterday.  That is the fun where you get to go to the school and stand in line to prove your residency for that school.  Then go to the cafeteria and go to the seven stations to turn in the handful of forms I had to fill out prior to registration and pick up her schedule.  After all of that fun, we get the locker line.  This particular feature was made extra fun because the school is over crowded and there are not enough lockers.  The freshmen get to pick lockers the last day and there is a possibility there will be no locker for your child.  I'll just leave it at this... the my kid is not carrying 40lbs. of books all day, all school year, momma in me was out and in force with the kids who didn't want to notice the mile long line waiting for lockers. It was fun!  Savannah got a locker in the hall where she has two classes.  Success!  We got her books.  One which looked horrible and I will be taking a picture of it and sending that to the book people for documentation so that I am not paying for a beat up book at the end of the year.  We picked up her RHS hoodie order form ( gotta get that Raptor wear!) and out we went.

We got home and had dinner and then it was time for a Young Women sleepover at our house.  Thank you Kyle, Zachary, and Hannah for being good sports.  I know you are sleep deprived because of all of the laughing, screaming, running, etc.  Sorry. :) It has been a long day and it is only 1:00pm.  I am ready for bed already!  The young women were great though and we had a lot of fun. Just tired after 4 hours of sleep.

Summer Fun

This summer has been fun.  We have had the opportunity to get lost in service and the kids have learned quite a bit this summer, while having fun.  


It started out really busy with youth conference and then girls camp.  The week after, Kyle was checking in on scout camp.  Then Savannah had EFY in Bloomington IN.  She loved it.  She got to spend time with three girls from our ward and meet new people as well.


The rest of the summer we have been hanging around doing nothing to exciting.  Definitely enjoying the lazy pace of summer. 

Things we have been up to...


Painting grandma's closet.  The kids loved this!

Hannah was good at hiding while I was taking pictures, but she was helping out as well.

The kids have also been watering plants for grandpa.  It has been wonderful for them.  I am thankful that they had the opportunity to do this.  They learned that veggies don't just appear in the grocery store.  They started watering these plants in the spring and have had the opportunity to see vegetables grow and actually pick them off the vines.  This has been fun for the kids and a great lesson they never would have learned at home.  They were excited to do this for grandpa, for me at home, not so much.

Tomatoes!  Zachary's favorite.

How many tomatoes did you get?

Thanks grandma and grandpa for letting the kids do this.  You have helped them to have a great summer.  One that I don't think they will ever forget.

Other things going on:

-Hannah is working at JNW.  I think she has a couple weeks left.  

She just bought her all season sports pass and is grouped with her friends.  She is looking forward to getting back to school and seeing her friends.  She is ready to go to football games and have fun.  Hopefully there will be some studying in there somewhere. 

 She has decided to take her car this fall.  Yikes!?  There are some crazy drivers around there. :)  

She has a calling in the Nursery and loves it.  It is quite a change from the singles ward.

-Savannah has been working on her Personal Progress and she is coming along pretty well.

She is ready to see her friends at school and is looking forward to high school.  Early mornings?  School work?  Not so much.  

She has freshmen orientation tomorrow and red letter days on Thursday, where she will get her schedule and locker assignment.

She is also studying for her drivers permit.  I don't know how I feel about that one yet.

She is wanting to take dance lessons this fall.  Lyrical and hip hop.

Zachary is working on his Faith in God for primary.  He is working on memorizing his Articles of Faith. Only seven more to go.

He is getting nervous about middle school and not anywhere near ready for summer to end. Me either! 

School starts next week.  He just had Saber Day at school where he got his locker assignment.  I think he likes having a locker.  He is a pro at opening his locker now.

Zachary is also taking golf lessons and loving it.