Potty Talk

The family that was living in our future home recently moved out so we were finally able to take the grand tour. Here is what we found in the downstairs bathroom.

Lilli says, "I'm NOT going to use that!"

Brandon's comment back, "Good! And DON'T even try!"

Poor Lilli, her room will be downstairs and this is the only option. Looks like she'll have to come all the way upstairs to go potty. On the other hand, Brandon and Hoss think that it's the coolest thing ever!

I'm trying to figure out why someone would even put one of these in their house. Aren't they normally just for commercial use?

How do you flush it?

How do you clean it?

I wasn't raised with any brothers, so something like this is totally new to me! All I can say is, whomever build this house must have had a lot of boys!

Farm Fun

Harvest Season is underway on the Farm! So far they have finished the Peas and now they are in the middle of Radish Seed and Wheat. Hoss just LOVES being able to go with Brandon and ride in all of the equipment.

Then yesterday after we picked up Lilli from school, we stopped to take Brandon a milkshake and the kids just had to run through the sprinkler.
What a difference of how fast they got wet, or should I say drenched. With the Big Gun, all they had to do was get sprayed once and they were completely soaked! They LOVED it! This is actually at our future house so now I'm thinking who needs a little dinky sprinkler when you can have one of these to run through?
I can see them both spending HOURS out there!

5th Grade

Lilli's a BIG 5th Grader now!! Today was her first day at her new school.

She woke up nervous and not knowing what to expect. So Brandon started the day with a Father's Blessing and by the time I picked her up after school she was beaming from ear to ear. So, of course I had to ask , "How was it?" and she said it was "AWESOME!". Hooray for a great first day!
Hoss fell asleep on the way to pick her up, so I decided to stop for some ice cream so I could hear all about the day.
She mentioned that out of the 12 kids in her class, five of them were gone. So, out of the ones that are Fifth graders, only two of them were there today and she was the only girl. She was very excited that she got to sit next to a 4th grade girl named Kendall, and also, right next to her Teacher, Mrs. Mulvany. She missed breakfast because she forgot that she is suppose to line up in the Cafeteria and not stay in the classroom, like in Vale. Other than that, she said it was a great day.

School Shopping

School is just around the corner, so Lilli and I had a girls day out and went shopping. We started off at 7:30am at the Ontario Wal-Mart for all of her school supplies.. I think I should shop there at that hour all the time. It was empty!! Then we headed for Nampa and Boise for some new clothes.

She fell in love with this outfit (although she ended up getting a grey top) and I had always said that I won't get her the ugly tights and shirt look. I just don't like it. But as we walked in the store, saw this outfit, and she proceeded to talk me into letting her try it on, I was reminded of something.

MYSELF.

You see, when I was in middle school, I wanted to be just like my older sister, DJ, and she wore tights and shirts. (as you can see below in one of her Senior Pictures) I used to steal her tights so I could wear them and she would get so mad when she couldn't find them. So, since I can't be a hypocrite, I let Lilli get the stinkin' outfit!
After we finished clothes shopping, we went and picked up DJ for lunch. Every time we are in Boise, we try to eat lunch with her, or at least stop in at her work for a visit. Lilli was in the mood for Taco Bell, so that's where we ate lunch.
After lunch, we headed to Cabela's to get Brandon a birthday present. On the way home, we stopped in Middleton, Idaho and got some Ice Cream.. There is a little "Burger Den" that has the ice cream cones that have just a blast of flavor added to them. So yummy! Lilli got Green Apple and I picked out Raspberry. It was nice to have a "girls only" day, can't wait for the next one!

Dad's Day

I'm starting to think that maybe I know where Hoss gets his funny picture faces, from his FATHER!! Brandon will not cooperate either, and then he complains when he reads the blog that I use certain pictures. If he would just smile normal then there would be no issues. HA!

Anyway, back to the real reason for this post. Yesterday was Brandon's 31st birthday. We told him that we would bring him a birthday lunch and he requested either KFC or Quiznos. Since KFC was closer, we stopped there.

As we were getting closer to the farm we called to check his location. He had just blown a tire and was waiting for a lift. We pulled into the field and sure enough, it was a major blow out. Lilli was so funny because she said, "Randy (our mechanic) told Dad last week that he needed to do something about that tire!"

We watched him change the tire and then he had some other stuff he needed to fix before we could eat, so we followed him to the shop. On the way there, he found one of his crew members off the side of the road with the Combine Header, and a blown out tire. So, we waited again as he helped with that problem. Hoss was excited because there was a Little Bale Stacker in the field right next to us that he could watch. Brandon knew the food was getting cold, so he called for more manpower so he could eat with us while the food was still warm.

We headed again, toward the shop to eat. We finally made it, but Brandon's phone kept ringing with more and more farm issues. So, he ended up cutting lunch short and headed back to work. When he got home at 11:30pm, he said that his whole day was one problem after another. Sounds like a good day on the farm, right?

However, before we let him leave from lunch, we made him open his gifts. Hoss got him a Garmin, Lilli picked out a BBQ tool set, and I gave him a BBQ cleaning brush, all free from Cabela's with our points that have racked up for years.

We knew he was gonna have a rough day, so when we got home, we figured we would help with some of the home stuff. I got out the weed-eater, and then mowed and started the sprinklers. Lilli picked up all the dog droppings, pulled all the weeds, and then came inside and made Brownies. While we did those odd jobs, Hoss watered the strawberries (that are still alive, believe it or not) and fed the dog.

Brandon did say that it wasn't the best birthday he's had because of how busy he was with breakdowns, but he was glad that we at least took him lunch and remembered his day!

The End of Summer

Picnic in the Park

Playing in the Sprinklers

And just relaxing

This summer has gone by so fast. Lilli starts school Monday and things just won't be the same. It's been a nice summer, stressful with the moving, but once that was done, it's been nice to just hang out. Hopefully we can squeeze in a few more lazy days before Monday.

The Boise River

Saturday was such a beautiful day that we took advantage of the weather and went to float the Boise River. Hoss loved to row, it reminds me of the book, "Smelly Socks" when she tried to go across the river but only spun in circles. Buy it, it's a funny book!

Lilli really wanted to swim, so we let her jump out of the boat and swim around. The river is pretty shallow in places and I think she jumped out at one of them because when she got back in the boat, she was all scratched up from the rocks.

Hoss is such a snuggle bug, well, at times. I'm just glad to get his snuggles when he is willing to share! I love his face in this picture.

This picture is for my Mom. She likes Swans. You should have come with us Mom, they were so pretty!!

It wasn't too cold and it wasn't too hot, it was the perfect day. The clouds covered the sun just enough to cool us off, but not make us freeze. It was also nice to just relax and spend time as a family before school starts up again.

4 Year Pictures

It has been WAY PAST time for Hoss to get his pictures taken, especially now that he turned four. (I totally forgot to get his three year pictures done!). I couldn't decide what to do because he hasn't cooperated for ANY of his pictures since he's been born. He screamed and yelled and was just a pain. Plus, he is in the stage right now where he has to pull a funny face whenever the camera comes out.

For example, we have the buck-tooth beaver face

And the hurry and shove food in my mouth face

Or the I'll just close my eyes at the right time face

Let's not forget the stick out my tongue face

And finally whatever these last two are

However, I finally decided that we just aren't going to wait anymore. So I made an appointment and hoped for the best. When we got there, I told him he had to get out all of his funny faces. (And I may have bribed him with a toy if he was good and did everything that the lady told him to do!)

These are the pictures of him getting all of his sillies out.

And the picture of him with the toy he picked out if he was good.

HE DID IT!! I was so proud of him. I've never liked or even used bribery before, but it worked! I feel kind of evil though. (He ended up choosing a different toy after the session too. Silly boy, couldn't decide!)

Now to decide which pose to get. Suggestions???

They won't load any bigger, so if you want to see the better versions, go here.

Big Sister

It is so nice living a block from the park. It is also nice that I have two kids that get along so great!

Lilli is such a big helper with Hoss and is always willing to play with him. Don't get me wrong, they fight like most siblings, but they get along for the most part.

Even with a six year age difference, they are more like friends than siblings. It's so nice, especially right now.

Small Small Small

Lilli had a big day today. This morning she was able to attend her first Church Activity Days event in our new Ward. There were four girls total in attendance (ages 8-11), all four go to different schools.

When her Leader called to let me know their meeting schedule, she mentioned they had been hoping for more girls. Last month they only had two girls, but with Lilli moving in and another girl just turning eight, they have now doubled their group!

Then, we went to her school's Open House. It is a K-8, way out in the Country, School that just turned into a Charter School last year. Her class is a combination of Third, Fourth, and Fifth Graders. She raised the number to be the 13th kid in her class, the seventh girl, and sixth Fifth Grader.

As we took the tour of the school, here are a few things she noticed:

1. The Cafeteria had just 4 tables
2. There were only 3 Classrooms
3. The selection at the Library had 1/3 of the books
4. She will now be a Bulldog instead of a Viking
5. The Cafeteria is located on the Stage in the Gymnasium
6. The Playground had 6 toy options
7. Her home room Teacher is also her P.E. Teacher and Music Instructor
8. The Gym floor was a big padded Wrestling Mat
9. There were 4 totes of Dress-Up clothes in her Classroom

City Living

We've been living in town now for a little over a week and I have been really happy and not so glad with the life.

Likes:

1. The Internet is FAST!!!
2. We are 1 block from the Hospital (just in case we are here when the baby's born)
3. 1 block from the Park
4. Across the street from the College (Brandon wants to take a Welding Class)
5. 1 block from the Drug Store (we've made many trips already)
6. 3 blocks from the Gas Station
7. 3 blocks from the Grocery Store

Not so Hot items:

1. The Hospital is a Block away (the helicopter is so loud and shakes every window in the house)
2. Friday Nights are sooooo LOUD
3. People knock on your door at ANY given minute
4. We live across the street from the college (Lilli counted 600 cars in 10 minutes driving by the house!)
5. Brandon is still too far away to come home for lunch
6. Our dog is cooped up and can't run and frolic around

While I was checking out our Internet options for this house, the lady tells me that we must really like living in the "Sticks" because the only option for our last house and future house is Satellite. None of the other options are available to people living so far out of town. I was only living five miles out of town in Vale and we will be about ten-fifteen miles out this time. I think she thought we lived like an hour from civilization or something! She was funny.

We thought we would be living in this house in town for a few weeks, but now we are thinking maybe a little longer. August 18th is coming so fast and things just aren't ready yet. We are very blessed to have this house to live in, so we aren't in any hurry to push things faster. We are content and blessed.

My final decision though, is that I am OVERLY EXCITED to get back out to the country where my kids and dog can run free, my husband can come home for lunch, and things are more relaxed and quiet.

Things Found @ the Fair

Yummy Elephant Ears for Mom & Dad

Curly Fries for Hoss
Bumper Cars
Long Slides
And Big Green Tractors!!!
For some reason, Lilli is always gone during our County Fair week and Hoss had never really been excited about rides before. We contemplated even going this year but figured why not, I was craving an elephant ear anyway. Hoss was all about the rides this time around, so it was worth the hour and a half that we spent walking around.