October 9, 2011

October 9, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

This has been a really fun week.  It has been great having Sho here.  Monday she was at her sisters and in route back to our house.  We spent the day doing our normal routine.  The weather has been beautiful and we all went to soccer practice and then came home to get ready for bed.  Later that night Sho made it back in town.

RM actually climbed inside the cupboard and shut the door on himself.  He was happily playing in the empty space.

Tuesday was a relatively slow day.  We spent most of the time hanging out around the house.  That night M retrieved a bookcase from a friend’s house.  They had been storing it for us while we were gone.  It made for a late night for M, but it is nice to be able to start unpacking books.

Wednesday morning M went into work late.  We used the extra time to go get breakfast at a local place that we like with Sho.  We forgot to put money in the parking meter and were greeted with a ticket.  Yuck.  Once home Sho headed to Delaware to go to the beach and M went to work.  I stayed home with the boys and worked on unpacking and arranging books.  I mostly just made a big mess.  That night M took the B-man to soccer.  I got the J and RM all ready for bed, and then once M got back I rushed off to a Relief Society meeting.  It was basically a review of Conference and I had been asked to share my thoughts on Elder Ballard’s talk.  I got to choose before hand and was excited that I chose Elder Ballard.

Thursday M took another late morning.  I wish it was his normal schedule.  It is so nice to have him around!  We did another fun breakfast and then he was off.  We were all pretty tired and so we had a pretty quiet day around the house.  I hung some pictures and made Sho follow me around the house.  That afternoon we made a run to get some pie from a famous local shop.  It was raspberry peach and it was delicious!  We ate it that night when the kids were asleep. 

Friday morning Sho left to go back home.  We were so sad to see her go, but we are hoping that she will be back soon.  The morning was pretty quiet, and things got busier in the afternoon.  M got home a little early and I used the time to run to a Consignment sale. I didn’t buy anything.  I have a hard time paying consignment prices when I know what I can get things for at garage sales.  Plus they didn’t have the specific things I was looking for.  Right after B-man got home from school we discovered that he had lent his watch to a friend from the bus.  We were a little worried that with the long weekend something might happen to the watch.  Plus we use that watch all the time to tell B-man when he needs to get home, or how many more minutes he can be doing something, etc.   Since B-man knew where he lived we decided to walk there.  It was a long walk but beautiful weather and nothing too difficult.  B-man rode his bike and the younger boys were in the stroller.  We did find the boy and the watch; and after playing at a park we walked home so I could start dinner.  That night for our family party I made calzones, and then we went to pick out our pumpkins.   The first place we went to was closed (it was a nursery with more of a Halloween feel) so we went to a grocery store.  The boys were just as happy.  J loved carrying around the big pumpkins to figure out which he wanted.   As soon as the boys were in bed we started working on spray painting a book case that I had gotten on Craigslist.  It was a dark wood color and I wanted it white.  I had three cans of paint and we quickly realized that we were going to need more.  M ran to the store and got eight more.  By the time we were done with the eleventh can it looked much better.  We thought it might even be done.  But when we inspected it on Saturday morning we realized it probably needs another two cans.  It’s a good thing the cans only cost a dollar!  I should have bought some primer.  That probably would have helped since we were going from dark to light.  I’ll know better for next time.  By the time we were done we were covered in paint.  My hair looked like it was almost completely gray, and we both had white arm hair.  The spray really spreads.  We cleaned up quickly, had a treat and then went to bed very tired.

Saturday morning I went out to some garage sales.  Our neighborhood was having some and I found some fun things for Christmas and filled some gaps in the boys’ wardrobes.  I quit early getting home so that we could go to B-man’s soccer game.  This was only his second game so far because of all the rain.  He ran and ran.  He’s a really fast runner.  We are working on the other stuff.  He did have some great defensive plays in the second half.  J and RM loved being at the game and were so happy to be outside.  The weather was so beautiful that B-man basically played outside most of the day.  He was so happy to be able to ride his bike and play with the neighborhood kids.  M ran an errand with a friend that took most of the afternoon.  Very last minute we went over to a friend’s house to play volleyball.  I fed the kids early, and then as soon as M got home he changed and we headed over.  We started with three on three (boys v. girls) and although the girls had some highlight worthy plays the boys were able to win both games.  Once another couple arrived we played four on four.  The match went to three games and we lost in the end.  Mostly because I was holding RM so he wouldn’t scream.  The kids did really well until the last five minutes and then they were just done.  Even the Cheerios we set out weren’t keeping them happy.  We headed home and put everyone to bed.  Then M’ friend Jared (from Tortola) came over.  We had more delicious pie and some great conversation.  I was SO tired.  I can’t remember the last time I have had that hard of a time staying awake while people are talking.  It wasn’t even late!  It was almost rude how asleep I was.  I hope I didn’t offend him.  I was so happy to finally go to bed.

Today has been a good day.  Nice quiet morning.  M let me sleep in a little and then have a cat nap in the morning. I wasn’t feeling all that hot, but after the nap I was restored and ready to go.  We met with the bishop right before church.  M has a new calling.  After Sacrament meeting I went to Primary and had my first experience leading the music.  I was a little nervous, but I think it went okay.  I have a lot of learning of words to do.  It is so obvious when the leader doesn’t know the words.  After church we made a quick stop at home for M to pick up his suitcase and then we went to the airport.  M is off to Germany for an enormous book fair.  I am trying not to be jealous.  We said our goodbyes and then came home for dinner and a quiet night.

We love you all!

The C Crew