When the power goes out...

I learned a phrase when I lived in New Orleans and a hurricane was potentially heading our way, "hunker down." I had never heard it before, but it became quite commonplace in N.O. Here in AZ we tend to "hunker down' in the heat of the summer, I just never knew there was a name for it until I was 21 years old.

However, when the power goes out in the worst of the summer, you really hunker down and prepare for a brutal day. It was around 2:30 pm when we were sent home from Kino Pool because of no power. Sure enough, no power at home. There was a fire at the power station and there was no electricity in most of Mesa. We promptly headed out to find ice cream, but no such luck. (we didn't know about all the widespread outages)

We made do:

Jake and I played many games of Speed,

We played Memory Annie-style which means all the cards are turned face up (it's the way to go, so much easier),

We drove in our air-conditioned car until we were nearly out of gas,

We shopped in a dark Target and tried on clearance shoes,

then finally after enduring the heat no more, called my parents and they were kind enough to let us hang at their house. They got their power back by about 5:30. We ate hot dogs, burned a black widow in the grill and sent the kids outside to play.

That's when things got interesting. Abby came running in exclaiming about the baby chick she found. Oh boy. I'm not a bird person by any stretch, so I was less than amused. But we all went outside looking for its nest, no luck. A few minutes later, wouldn't ya know it, they found another, then another and finally another. 4 baby birds in all.

They put them in a container to keep them comfortable and out of the kids' greasy hands. That's when Jeremy stepped in and got on the computer to find out how to care for parentless, baby birds. What he found was a "Quail Rehabilitation Specialist". Who knew those even existed!? They instructed him to bring the quail babes to Paradise Valley to save them, we found one of her "wild animal" cronies to come to my parents house instead. He took the birds to their new home where they would get shots, an incubator, and lots of love from the QRS.

I love my family and their big huge hearts. I feel so cold hearted sometimes in comparison. They care and love so fully, from Jeremy all the way down to Annie. Annie nearly cried herself to sleep because she missed those baby birds so much.

Then we came back to reality when Jake poured a cup of ice down Hannah's pants.

That's what we do when the power goes out. Beat that! (that's a Hannah saying)

JDIFM vs. DIY

I am not quite a DIY (do it yourself) kind of a gal, I'm more of a JDIFM (Jeremy do it for me) girl. He's much handier than me. At my sorry attempts at sewing, he's fixed the machine and gotten me sewing straight again. Actually, he just pushes me out of the way and takes over. He's much more careful and deliberate than I am. And it shows in his work.

In my very first real DIY job, I re-covered my dining room chairs. They are not perfect, but they look lightyears better than the old fabric.

Here's the proof:

Sure it took all week and it looks less than professional, but it is better without a doubt. Also, I didn't realize how disgusting we've been living until I saw the new masterpiece sitting next to the old garbage. I picked brown to match the stains we made on the old fabric and even covered the chairs in plastic to protect from any major disasters.

My next project - the pillow I've been promising Hannah for 2 years -ever since I took sewing, then got my grandma's sewing machine and promptly broke it. Or maybe I'll give Mod Podge a shot - baby steps, I suppose.

Here's a funny one

On Friday night, we were pulling up to Pizza Hut after a long day out and Hannah says, "Look, there's a guy on a toilet." We all looked around because that would definitely be a sight to behold and all we could find was this -

I guess it kinda does look like a guy on a toilet.

Our Summer

It's summer for sure. I've not blogged in a while, mainly because I haven't taken any pictures and we've been just trying to survive the summer.

Here's what our summer looks like:

-Jake had basketball camp at Mt. View (he won 2 sodas, one on each of the Soda Fridays- he was so proud. That means he won a competition each week. Way to go Jake)

-Jake and Abby are now in a summer camp at the Ostler's house. They get to do puppet shows, magic, cooking, swim, basketball, foosball... It has been great for them.

-All the kids get to be bossed around by their mama each and every morning. They have a load of chores that I make them do every day. Our house is super clean for about 30 minutes each morning. It's been wonderful.

-School work. I've been making Jake and Abby master their flashcards and math facts this summer. They've been working diligently on them each day as well as reading. Hannah is working on writing and sounding out simple words. Annie just colors.

-Swimming at Stapley Pool. This is the year Hannah loves it! She now likes the white slide, and the diving board. She is a good independent swimmer so I don't have to watch her like a hawk anymore. Jake has sort of out grown the daily trips to Stapley. It's like pulling teeth to get him to go. Abby had developed a gorgeous tan and is happy to be swimming. Annie likes to swim for about15 minutes, then goes to the chair and wraps in her towel for the rest of the time.

-Abby is still taking gym for a few more weeks. She might take the MV volleyball camp this week.

-Sadly, we've been watching a bit too much TV. Every time I turn around the TV is on and I'm after the kids to turn it off. My kids are so fun and inventive and creative when the TV is off. I can honestly tell you I dislike most of the Disney an Nick shows, but I do like Good Luck Charlie. The mom on that show cracks me up. Other than that, those shows are just noise and obnoxious.

-I finally finished the Work and the Glory series. It's taken me about a year to do. They were great books that taught me a lot about church history as well as given me a new appreciation for the pioneers and early Saints and all they endured. I'm a little lost without a book to read now.

-We are getting ready for a few short vacations this summer - Camping, St. Johns and maybe Utah.

And that's all folks. We're in survival mode as the days are getting hotter and longer.

I betcha didn't know...

I betcha didn't know all the U.S. Presidents by the time you were 5 years old. Well Hannah does. She just finished a remarkable year at her pre-school, Discovery Club. It was amazing the things the kids learned. The teachers challenged their little brains and these kids came up big.

Hannah was immersed in varying habitats throughout the year: outer space, oceans, the forest, the arctic and antarctic, the desert, the rainforest and the savannah. They also learned about kids' cultures and traditions from all over the world.

Today was her culminating program and they sang a song from each of the habitats ending with the presidents' song. They learned all the presidents in order and Hannah can tell you a little something about each one. Amazing!

I only wish she was more of a performer. I try to get her to show off her skills, but to no avail. She refuses to sing in front of people. I also hope she never forgets what she's learned.

Thank you to Mrs. Freebairn and Mrs. Fletcher for such an amazing pre-school experience!

Hannah is dressed up as a girl from Switzerland and is doing a Russian dance, I think. It was cute.

Hannah with Mrs. Freebairn, her fantastic teacher! She was a fireball of energy!

Hannah and Mrs. Fletcher, she is such a sweet teacher and so fun.

The sun came up today

A wise man (my dad) used to always say after a tough loss, a bad game, a hard test, trial... "There are two things that are for sure - The sun will always come up and I will always love you."

Well last night I had to give that same difficult pep talk to Jake. His team, the Riverdogs, lost to the Riverbandits in the Four Peaks Little League Minors Division Championship - check that, they got run ruled. It was ugly. Our team threw about 6000 wild pitches and pass balls and that many bases were stolen on us. I think only 2 of their many runs were a result of batted balls. Jake was devastated, heartbroken and emotional. He puts his all in every sport he plays, so it hurts that much more when he loses.

I had to be on the other end of the pep talk. I took Jake in my arms and gave him the biggest hug, which in hindsight wasn' t the smartest thing to do, it got his emotions all worked up again. I told him I was proud of his hard work, his good sportsmanship, his wonderful season. Then I told him the sun will come up tomorrow and that I loved him.

Do you know what? The sun came up this morning. Jake is happy and he has moved on.

And I still love him.

Fashion Update

Sometimes I think my blog is simply to update everyone on my kids' most recent fashion trends. Well this won't disappoint.

Today for church, I came out of my room, asked the kids if they were all ready. They all said yes, then I did a once over on them. This is what I got:

-Jake had really bad deacon's collar and he's only 9. Bless his heart, he wears a real tie now and can tie it himself. Way to go!

-Abby was wearing her old jellies that now fit Annie. Her toes were hanging a good inch off the front.

-Hannah had on ballet slippers.

-Annie was wearing mismatched shoes - one white, one silver.

This is what I deal with daily. Annie is the worst by far! She rolls out of bed and dresses herself immediately. She often wears multiples of everything. She came out of her room the other day with an undershirt, a dress, a tanktop over the dress, a skirt, a pair of zebra print tights and a pair of hot pink tights that have been cut off at the knees over that. Oh and then there were the shoes, a boot with a maryjane. That's pretty typical, but after my haul of laundry last week, I've been cracking down. Only one shirt and one pair of tights (or shorts) at a time. It's been really hard for poor Annie who so likes to express herself through her outfits as the following picture shows:

Yep, she put panties on over her pants. I didn't see it until we got to our destination. Luckily she was asleep and I was able to pull them off without a fight.