Rooster Eggs

I've been blogging so little that I almost couldn't figure out how to log in and start a new post today.  So I'll give a top five of our lives for the past few months.

Dying rooster eggs with Grandma

1. Tristan has been talking a lot about rooster eggs of late.  And dinosaur eggs.  And dinosaurs.  We're not sure if said eggs are laid by roosters, or if they contain roosters.  I couldn't convince him that dinosaurs are all dead, so we keep an eye out for them together.  He often asks who would win in a battle between a dinosaur and a "NOR-oss" (rhino or horned dinosaur).

Notice the potential homeschool-ee trying to photo bomb Elder Mattle, who was previously bitten by Pancho.

2. Something has possessed my soul and I am actually considering homeschooling.  Probably just Hunter, as he would be starting sixth grade in junior high this year and that concerns me, along with a lot of other things about school.  I can't seem to get it off my mind, and he isn't adverse to the idea.  I poll him occasionally about it, and his only negatives are that he would miss the variety available at lunch, and field trips.  I think they've been on two so far this year.  And he would miss being able to jump over his peers.  He did that once apparently and thought it was a load of fun.  He has plenty of people to jump over at home.

A view from a mountain on Orcas Island.  Dean chatted with some Brazilians we ran across up there.

3.  Dean's folks have moved up here fairly close to us and we are all thrilled.  We enjoy having Sunday dinners together and the kids love going on outings with them and sleeping over - even Miss Cambria.  They commandeered the whole tribe on a recent weekend so that Dean and I could take a delightful jaunt to Orcas Island, part of the San Juan Islands.  This was a vacation, as we all know that "family trips" are anything but.

4.  Dean actually started seeing a Naturopathic Doctor, after being told by an MD that he needed to go on a 2 grams-of-fat/day diet, and start taking statins and other dangerous drugs.  After doing some testing and an elimination diet with the ND, it turns out Dean's lifelong, horrific nasal allergies and inflammation are massively compounded by eating wheat.  She explained that the nasal allergy to certain grasses (he's not allergic to all grasses) combined with eating wheat (a grass) has an additive effect on afflicted people, which led to his sinuses being so inflamed for so many years that he had them carved out several years ago where they used to be around his nose, since they had long since filled in from all the inflammation.  So, he has gone wheat free.  He can feel when he has some wheat, as he realized at Costco recently when he accepted a sample and felt ill almost instantly, or when he has regular oats, or buckwheat that is processed on equipment that also processes wheat.  Without the wheat in his diet he isn't using his allergy meds as much and is feeling vastly better in that way, though still flushes his nose out daily.  Spelt appears to be okay.  So he's not gluten intolerant, but wheat intolerant.  We are going to try Einkorn wheat soon.  

Mama Cambria spends time every day caring for her dolls and bears, wiping and changing diapers, dressing, and wrapping in blankets.  She demands help with some of these tasks.  Daddy loves dressing dolls and bears, ha ha.

5.  We would love to buy or build a house and actually feel settled for the first time in, oh, six years.  We should be here in the area for some time because of the business, but because of the business, and Dean being "self employed", we can't get a loan until he's been at it for two years.  Ugh!  We actually got "pre-approved" for a loan and found a house that we wanted to buy, and were under contract for 7 weeks for it, only to be told that the two year rule still stands.  So here we stay for now.

This is what we get when we try the "get along shirt", along with blubbering and injuries.

Mini Squash and Biting Fish

Welp, if you read the last post, all about Hunter, it is gone.  He came across it, and I was currently logged in, so he thought he would edit something, and managed to delete the whole post.  Apparently there was a comment - so I never got to read it :(  That basically describes Hunter Pants in a nutshell.  We went to parent-teacher conferences this week for the boys and Hunter has been getting better at turning in his homework.  He has made a friend, Emma D., who also likes to read.  Kyler is enthusiastic in his class about minding everyone else's business and insisting that they complete their work - more so than he is concerned about his own. 

 I never did post enough about last summer, 2012!  We drove to New Mexico to visit all the family there after two years in Korea.  Dean had to come back up to work in Washington after a couple of weeks, but he flew back down for our birthdays AND for his 20 year class reunion for Manzano High School.  We didn't make it to his 10 year reunion, back in the vet school days.  He actually won a $25 gift card to Lowe's for being one of the people to have traveled the farthest to be there.  The only person with more than four kids (our current number, along with a few other classmates) was an LDS classmate who happened to be his former bishop's daughter.  He didn't know her back in high school, though.  It was fun, and I was glad the Salgados and Knapps made it so I knew some people to chat with.  We toured the ol' school and took the children to the picnic lunch as well. 

Grandma Dee kept the kids while we spent a night at a hotel and had a lovely overnight date for our birthdays, August 3rd and 4th.  For nostalgia's sake we toured the campus of the University of New Mexico, our undergraduate alma mater.  Oh, the memories!  We took the above picture in front of the ugly statue.  We had a yummy dinner across the street at the Frontier Restaurant.  Our college days seem like a lifetime ago.   

 Before we left on our long trip to NM, I pushed a few seeds in pots and cinder blocks and arranged for them to be watered a bit, along with purchased tomato and pepper plants.  We had a small harvest of cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and these tiny squashes - which we still haven't eaten.  I learned once again that gardens must have lots of sun or they won't grow/produce.  

 This picture of the lovely Ronelle is from 2010, but it's always fun to get together and go shopping and sit around chatting.  It was especially fun to shop in America after being gone for so long!

Did I ever mention that soon before we left Korea we went to a Dr. Fish cafe?  These toothy little fish bite the calluses off your feet.  It tickles!  The boys loved it, though they don't get nearly as much action on their tender little feet as Dean and I.

"Nuh" For Nursery

Happy Sunday!  We got a blessing in disguise today, in that we were asked last night to substitute for Hunter's primary class at church.  So we weren't able to hang around the nursery and coddle Cambria, who has been going for a month but cries her wee eyes out if we try to leave her there.  We hoped that today she would stay without us, and that we wouldn't be chased down because of her tears.  She spent time with one of the nursery ladies on Friday night, so that likely helped her, as she cried when I left her there, but later on between classes when I peeked in the window, she was A-OK!  Hooray for small victories!

We are deliriously excited that Dean's mom and stepfather have moved up here close to us - twenty miles away is a whole lot better than 1500.  They have majorly downsized in order to live the retiree lifestyle, as David retired in December, and they can be free as birds now.  Dean took Monday off to help them move in to their new digs, and since Hunter and Kyler were off for MLK day, they got to help as well, and apparently were great workers!  Grandma D took them after school on Friday and kept them until Saturday evening, touring the retired naval destroyer in Bremerton (U.S.S. Turner Joy), eating some of their favorite foods (namely biscuits and gravy) and having all kinds of fun.  She even brought them down here on Saturday morning to attend their swim classes at the YMCA.  They are also enrolled in T/Th sports skills classes at the moment.  So today we had them over for Sunday dinner after church.  It works out nicely that they and we both attend at 9am.  My cousin who lives about midway between them and us was planning to come as well, but fell ill and had to cancel.  Dean managed to sucker his mom into playing Settlers of Catan with us.  She wasn't so sure about it, but did great and even came close to winning - she was ruthless, even against her hubby!  We are thrilled to have them up here.

Dean and I finally saw the Hobbit on Friday, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  It doesn't seem quite as epic as the LOTR trilogy, but it's not far behind, either.  I could have done without the motion-sickness-inducing filming, but survived.  It's been one of my favorite stories for my whole life, and I never even read the books - just loved the cartoon movies. The books are on my "to read" list for sure.

I am three weeks into the HCG diet now, and am getting weary of it.  Mostly because I haven't been losing much weight.  Ten pounds fairly quickly, and almost nothing since.  It would be much more motivating if I could really see results every day like you're supposed to when you are meticulously following it, which most days I do.  It appeared to be stalling for several days around when I would have been ovulating, which is normal, but still just as frustrating!  So, today I lost control and decided to go ahead and eat the real lunch I had prepared for everyone.  And I enjoyed it.  I had ice cream for dessert, too, and dinner.  And more ice cream, and then my crutch of a snack - cold cereal.  If I'm going to blow it, I might as well make it good, right?  I'll probably have gained a few pounds by morning.  We shall see.  It's also frustrating that I've still been quite hungry, and fairly weak.  The ND said to up the dose if that was the case, which was helping with the hunger, but not the fatigue.

And in other news, Dean was recently released from being a cubscout den leader, which he didn't necessarily love doing, and couldn't ever get away from work early enough to get to on time...  I was released as cubscout committee chair then called as a wolf den leader.  I guess I should embrace it, as we'll have cubscouts for years to come.  We had a successful first den meeting, then pack meeting last week.

The missionaries called this evening at about 6 and wondered if they could stop by for a visit, then were over in a couple of minutes.  I asked right away if they had had dinner, and they hadn't.  So I was relieved to have some fresh and hot minestrone (with rice instead of pasta) to serve them.  We have sure enjoyed the missionaries here, and I think it's really good for the boys to see what they do and are all about.  Kyler is so peculiar in that he doesn't seem to have any self confidence - thinks he can't do anything before he even gives it a thought.  He's been saying for a while that he won't be serving a mission, and I finally pinned down that he thinks he can't because he's not yet a prolific reader (in the first grade), so since the missionaries have read things to us (that must sound hard to him) he thinks he can't do it.

It's odd because he is such a clever, intuitive child.  He is street smart, and knows how to do things.  Not to mention how charismatic, social and charming he is.  He is proficient using simple tools such as screwdrivers.  Hunter forever has his nose in a book and doesn't know much what is going on around him, and has no interest in figuring things out, but isn't afraid to try things either.  They are so different.  Grandma D says Hunter is just like Dean was as a child - always reading and quiet otherwise, except when fighting with his brother.  Dean read the dictionary and encyclopedia and books about things, rather than straight fantasy like Hunter.  It's no wonder then that Dean is a walking encyclopedia.  The man seriously knows at least something about virtually everything, and I love him for it! 

Right now Tristan is a roaring surge of testosterone.  He and Cambria play a lot together, even making up games - so cute!  But he also gets frustrated with her when she fells his block creations or whatever.  At the babysitter's the other night, she said he would grab Cambria's cheeks and squeeze and shake them out of anger.  He can also be a sweetie pie.  Cambria is awfully frisky and spends the day dismantling the house.  I can never seem to keep up with her.  She says several words now, including "nuh" for no, as in "do you want to go to bed/nursery?"  "Nuh."  She says "baaaa" for bottle, and "shoes", "sot" for socks, "no" for nose, "eye", "mou" for mouth.  She is pretty good about communicating her desires.  She even came to me first thing in the morning and said "tink" and waved at her backside.  Indeed she did stink, and needed a diaper change.  It will soon be time to teach her the way of the potty.  She is a bit interested at the moment (19 months).  She has said "Mommy" and "Daddy" for some time.  Hands down, though, she most talks about babies.  She watches for them every where and points them out, saying "bebe bebe bebe".  She loves dolls that resemble babies and cute stuffed bears.  She has no interest in dolls that resemble older girls.  She carries around her dolls and babies, and disrobes them, and even wipes their bottoms occasionally.  I love it!         

Merry Christmas

 I had to copy dear Haylee in lining up the kids for a picture, hopefully to be an annual occurence.  Note the suckling and ear holding which has been present with all the kids in one form or another (Hunter sucked a bottle and held an ear until age three - so cute; Kyler sucked his thumb until recently - he may or may not still do it in his sleep; and Tristan loved bottles and ear nuzzles as well). 

 Cambria enjoyed opening presents as much as anyone.  Hunter and Kyler had to wait a few hours to open theirs, as they

 Santa came.  The highlight was a guinea pig that Kyler has been wanting.  He's taking good care of it so far.  Hunter got a special visit in the night.  He rarely wears pjs to bed - for no good reason, so he is a wide open target for antics from Santa.  Kyler is a beginning reader.  He was the first to wake in the morning; we could hear him running up and down the stairs, then going to get Hunter. I really laughed when I heard him say "There's something on your back; it says 'Santa was here'." Hunter quickly dressed and wouldn't ever let me see the graffiti.  He got plenty of pjs for Christmas, and then later used some of his Christmas money from Grandma D and Bro for footed pjs, which he has been wanting. 

 Lady Cambria loves shoes of all kinds as well as bottles, and hates having her hair done.  Dean calls it "crazy lady hair". 

 Tristan loves to play.  The hat is a little small at this point (from last year), but the new mittens will fit for a few years.  His theme for the year was Thomas the Train, as he got a lot of such gifts.  Hunter and Kyler had to wait a few hours to open their presents.  Poor cooperation in the days leading up to Christmas kept pushing the time back, so Hunter got to at 11, and Kyler at noon.  It actually made the (commercial) Christmas Magic last much longer, which was really nice. 

We loved having Bro and Patti with us on Christmas Eve.  We sure love living close enough to them to be able to do that, and someday we'll actually make the three hour drive to them :)  Then on Christmas Day my cousin Bethaney came from Portland, and Josh and Jessica joined us for dinner.

On New Years Eve we let the boys stay up and had fun with them.  At midnight they set off what was left of our July 4 fireworks, as did the neighbors behind us.  Then we all had some sparkling cider and went to bed.  It was fun.

With all the frivolity of the holidays, as well as the Albuquerque food tour from the summer, I put on about 15 pounds since returning from Korea, which was just killing me, especially since I had just lost a few pounds before me moved back here!  I mentioned to Dean some time ago that I wanted to do the HCG diet, and he said he'd do it as well.  So we went to a naturopathic doctor here in town and paid a lot of money... and finally started the diet after the new year.  Ugh!  The idea is that injecting the HCG will burn the "abnormal" fat off, while eliminating hunger since all those calories from fat stores will be circulating and providing energy/nutrition.  Well, after the two loading/gorging days, we've only been allowed 500 very specific calories per day.  I am down about 8 pounds in two weeks, but had hoped for better results.  Because of the nature of how it works, I'm wondering if having used chapstick or shampoo could be the reason it isn't working better, which is super annoying.  Or perhaps it was the tiny bite of potato or egg or chicken I've had of the kids' meals in the last two weeks.  Those small indiscretions could literally be the reason I haven't lost a lot more, which sucks!  To go through this and not lose that much because of such small "cheats" is most upsetting - as it feels like we're starving!  We are using a digital food scale and everything to carefully weigh our food down to the tenth of an ounce.  I haven't had any sweets or treats or anything at all, except a stick of gum once.  That could have stalled my weight loss as well!

Dean is sure he could have lost as much without having to starve, or more so, and has in the past for Army Physical Fitness Tests.  Dean looks great, as the "abnormal" deposits on his tummy are gone.  But I have a long way to go, and he was literally starving.  His metabolism was shutting down - he went from Mr. So Hot I Like To Run The A/C In Winter to being as cold as I am all the time, and not being able to think straight at work, which is not a good thing.  The ND said he could either stop it, or up his dose of the HCG and eat an extra 100 protein calories a day.  He was really only going through the torture to support me, so he upped his dose/protein and finally called it quits today, after two weeks.  I know that most people have great success on it, but if I/we had known what it would be like, I/we probably wouldn't have done it.  We were certainly hungry the first week.  It was like Fast Sunday every day, only without ever getting to be satiated.  It has made me think a lot about food storage and how I really don't want to be hungry if/when we need to use it.  Not to mention all the people who do not ever have enough to eat.

I'll stick it out and finish the product we have - we paid all that money after all - I'm embarrassed to say how much.  It's gotten much better for me, though I still get quite hungry come feeding time.  It's surprising how hungry I'm NOT in the evenings, after dinner, though.  Supposedly it will reset my metabolism and take away all the bad cravings.  Let's hope!  I feel like such a failure, since I have a degree in nutrition/dietetics, after all.  My problems are bad genes, my lifelong hormone imbalances, plus all the little/big things like portion control, too many desserts, and too little activity/exercise.  I do avoid a lot of things like drinking calories - I really only drink water on a regular basis..., and now I only use coconut oil in cooking and avoid gluten generally.  As a teenager I of course thought I was fat, and did watch what I ate much better than I do now.  Now 50-60 pounds later, I am still shocked when I see pictures of myself, or an unexpected sideways view in the mirror.  I really haven't been watching it since having baby #2, and have kept around several reminder pounds from each of the last three babies. We'll see how the rest of it goes.

Ever Behind

I'm so far behind I feel too overwhelmed to try to catch up, so I've continued to neglect the blog. I've been trying to complete this post for months!

The little ones enjoy my Korean chest of drawers as much as I do.

Dean met up with Bro at the SW Washington Fair in August to see Weird Al in concert, with Hunter and Kyler in tow - their first concert.  "It was fine," said Hunter, the ever underwhelmed.  Kyler had a blast, of course.  Dean doesn't take pictures, but he picked up a great concert t-shirt, which he wore with a funky wig to our ward's halloween party, as Weird Al.  

Halloween was fine as always.  I'm not the kind of mom who creates fabulous costumes.  The kids are generally happy enough to go through our box of costume paraphernalia and come up with something satisfactory, perhaps picking up a new thing or two.  I didn't manage any pictures, but we went to the ward party, and trick or treated in downtown Gig Harbor at the homes and businesses as it rained lightly, which it has since mid October.  Dean took them in our neighborhood. 

Speaking of Weird Al, Dean went to karaoke at the watering hole near the clinic on a recent Friday night with some of the staff from the clinic, who are regulars. He sang Weird Al's White and Nerdy and wore his Weird Al concert shirt - we're getting lots of mileage out of it already :)

Tristan took the scissors to his hair for the first time in October.  I didn't buzz the leftovers like I did the older boys - that would look too terrible, especially with the goose egg he's been sporting for two months just above his hairline.

Dean took all the boys camping in August.  Cambria and I held up the home front while they did their thing in the Olympic National Park near Hurricane Ridge, with Tristan being up much of the night and wanting to come home to me (how flattering).

Tristan plugged in the iron on a Sunday in August, then grabbed it and burned his hand badly.  He screamed for hours until I found some Unguentine in the first aid kit, which relieved the pain instantly.  The giant blister popped after a week.  We tended it carefully and his hand is in perfect condition now.  

Dustin and Patti and their canines came up for Independence Day, so we celebrated our wonderful country  with good food on our new grill - compliments of Josh, and softball and frivolity in the back yard.  Dean was stunned that I played ball.  We watched the fireworks that night and did a few of our own at home, and in all had a wonderful day.

Bro and Patti brought a yummy ice cream cake for the birthday boys.

We never did a 1-year birthday party or cake smash with Lady Cambria, so we let her have at the boys' ice cream cake.

Uncle Dusty finally had to beat the pinata to death for Hunter and Kyler's birthday.  The boys went wild with the candy.

Hunter started 5th grade and Kyler started 1st grade in September.

Fly the Dragon

 We had a glorious Saturday.  Once we finally left the house around 11 (we never can seem to get an early start), we headed for the Washington coast.  I commented to Dean about how we should take the kids to a pumpkin patch now that we are back in the states.  I don't think we had been to one since Hunter was in preschool in Albuquerque.  Then lo and behold, there were signs for one along our way, so we detoured just a bit to the farm where they had lots of produce to purchase, a hay bale maze (Tristan was the first to find his way through it), and tractor rides to the pumpkin patch.  Tristan picked out a misshapen green job, Kyler opted for one that Dean had to carry for him, and Hunter was wise enough to listen to his mother and choose a sensible one that will be great for carving.


Next we headed into the rain forest.  It brought back fond memories of hiking in the rain forests of Astoria, OR.  We saw the world's largest sitka spruce, pictured above and left.

And then we finally made it to the beach.  It was Cambria's first time to get out in it.  At one point the tide came in up to her bottom.  The water is awfully cold on the northwest coast, and she didn't care for it at all.  Kyler was nearest to her and plucked her out.  I had a change of clothes for her.  Dean brought the dragon kite and let each of the big boys have a turn flying it.  The wind was perfect.  Last, we had dinner at the lodge where this beach is.  Yeesh!  There really weren't any other options (unless you count a gas station), so we paid a whole lot for tiny portions - and waited for ages!  Just ask Cambria who screamed for 40 minutes until our simple orders came.  330 miles round trip and we were home after 10pm.  I'm amazed that the weather is still sunny and beautiful this late into the season.  It has only rained a time or two since we've been home from our summer travels (two months!).  

On the Road Again

Cambria and Tristan were both pretty good at Disneyland, all things considered.

I began this in early August, but never did finish.

It was nice and overcast one day -  bright and sunny the other two.

We left Gig Harbor for our big trip that we had been planning for many months on Monday July 9th, first picking up Bro (Dean's brother) in Portland, then heading south to Disneyland!  Bro graciously did most of the driving, and helped out enormously with the children while at the Magic Kingdom.  We had three day park hopper passes ($99 each - since we are (for the moment) military folks.  It was a load of fun, and the weather wasn't bad, and three days was quite enough.  It would be so much easier if the younger kids were five years older, but I don't know that we'll be going back that soon!

Hunter was selected for intensive Jedi training, and performed well.  

Tristan's suitcase was never to be found the whole trip, until Dean got back to Gig Harbor and discovered it in the back yard???  Tristan must have wheeled it back there as we were loading up.  Frankly we didn't have room for it anyway, with seven people and all their luggage.  While in the LA area, we visited Bro's in laws, who treated us all to a fabulous dinner in Korea Town.  The boys were (shockingly) on their best behavior, impressing even Dr. Jo.  They graciously had us stay at their home in Malibu for a few days before we left to Korea back in 2010.

Thanks for all the kid wrangling, Bro!

I like the nice 'n easy rides.  The guys like the herky jerky ones that feel like you're in one long car accident.

Next, we headed further south to Sea World San Diego, with our free and discounted military passes, and spent a lovely Saturday afternoon and evening with the sea creatures and seemingly millions of other guests.  Before leaving Gig Harbor, we spent $1200 in maintenance on the van.  We really hadn't done much more than oil changes on it since we bought it 2.5 years ago, but at 80,000 miles it was due for a number of things.  Immediately after getting it from the shop, it was gulping occasionally... and finally seemed to get worse as we got to Phoenix.

Sea World was nice enough.  The adults in our party made the executive decision to do no rides -  I at least was  rode out from Disneyland.  The animals were cool.  The lame dancing and circus-like acrobatics by the trainers was odd.

We stayed with Aunt Carol and Uncle Pat on Sunday, also visiting Uncle Jimmy's family and my dear grandmother Rose Burnham (Cambria's middle-name sake),who is 97 and still uses her computer, quilts, sews, makes rugs, etc. and lives independently.  The boys loved swimming in Carol's pool.  Tristan preferred to play around the pool and not get in much.  At one point when trying to grab a pool toy, he fell in, and I had to run like the devil to pull him out.  After that he started asking for a towel, but I calmly said, "don't you want to play some more?", which he decided he did - though still not much in the water, even with Uncle Dusty.  We lounged around Carol's until after another $600 and most of Monday later, the van was in good shape and we pulled in to Albuquerque and Dean's mother's at 2am Tuesday.

I love turtles!  The Rio Grande Nature Center

Hunter and Isaac getting reacquainted

Kyler and Mo-Nikki

The Ramah pageant was well done

 

We had a lovely time visiting Grandma Dee and David, as well as my sister Nikki and her family, and various friends (the Salgados, Adams, Danika, Darsha).  We made the rounds at a few of our favorite restaurants, visited the Rio Grand Nature Center, and the boys went up into the foothills where Dean and Dustin grew up to hike and watch for horned toads.

The locals often dress up for Pioneer Day 

Then it was off to Ramah on Friday for the beginning of Pioneer Weekend, the biggest event of the year there. They held a lovely pageant that highlighted the history of Ramah, which was settled by members of the Church in order to bring the gospel to the Native Americans in the area.  Saturday's festivities included the annual parade and community dinner provided by the church.  My brother Curtis and family arrived Friday as well, and Nikki and Pepe came on Saturday.  Talk about a full house!  We got there first, so staked out the basement at my folks' for ourselves.

More fun from the parade

Best part of the parade

Hunter, Kyler, and their cousins Isaac and Jaelan slept in a tent in the back yard.  I told them to beware of deer and such, and apparently Isaac (the oldest of the bunch) took that to heart and was indeed concerned.  Grandma instructed them to "mark" the garden if they needed to "go" during the night, as deer really are a problem and eat her best crops.

Here's hoping Cambria survives childhood with three older brothers.  She was not quite walking at 13 months when they would put her on this skateboard on a stick and send her down the sloping sidewalk at Grandma Merrills.

Curtis and Karalee's Nathan is ten days older than Tristan, and their Kaylee is about 5 months older than Cambria, so it was delightful to see them all together, sizing each other up and being silly.  Bro came through from Albuquerque Sunday around noon to pick up Dean so they could get back on the road to the Northwest.  Dean can't have fun and games all summer when there is a business to run and work to do.  Nikki and Pepe had to leave Sunday evening for Pepe to get back to work, but we were able to talk them into leaving Isaac and Jaelan to hang with Hunter and Kyler for the week. We did manage to have a family picture taken while we were all there.  All the boys had a blast all week as Grandpa Merrill kept them supplied with bb's and bb guns, caps and cap guns, toy holsters, straw hats, slingshots, etc.  Kyler was given a bb/pellet gun at one point (not by me!!!), with no supervision and shot the windshield of Grandpa's pickup.  Oops.  Grandma says I'm not responsible for it... so Grandpa will be paying $150 for the repairs.  Grandpa gave them all lessons in geometry, using a compass, history, and much more, and Grandma paid them to weed and work in the yard.

All the surviving children of my grandparents, Bob and Lois Merrill: Gene, Perry,  Sharon and Ed

Ronelle and I went shopping in Gallup with Tristan and Cambria in tow one day, while my mom took the four older boys to El Morro National Monument.  It sure is nice to have American shopping again, and American driving, and so many other things that I have a greater appreciation for.  Ronelle also presented Cambria with a baby blanket she had made; she has made one for each of the children!  I spent a few days trying to help my mom declutter the house, but 35+ years of accumulation, accelerated by 10 years of retirement), meant it was a noble effort (I hope), but only a few drops in the bucket.  If you ever see my mom shopping, don't let her buy any videos or books!

Beth and Perry, Elaine and Ed, Ryan, Sharon, Chris, LaVerne and Gene, the Nortons 

The boys worked cooperatively on a puzzle, and Grandma was  proud of me for making those shorts of Hunter's

Surprise!

I'm so far behind I hardly know where to begin... I guess I'll go backwards.
We are sure excited to be reunited with Pancho again after he spent two years with his "Grandmother". He loves to go into our closet (aka his "lover hole") and nest for Dean (biting holes in my clothes).

On Labor Day the clinic was closed, so we spent a relaxing day at home in the morning, then went to the home of my second cousin that I discovered here, Monica A.  Her dad is Lonnie L., my dad's first cousin.  It's such a small world, especially in the church. They have a wonderful family and it was fun to look through family/Ramah books with our common ancestors. She looks a lot like her dad, and she thinks I look like some of the pioneerish women in the books (hmmm - makeup helps me a lot).

Back at home, Dean gave the boys blessings to start off the school year on Tuesday, Kyler in first grade, and Hunter in fifth.  The schools here are supposed to be excellent, and this one is down the block from the clinic. They get on the bus at 8:39 and return home at 3:50, which suits me great! It's not such a draining disaster trying to get them out the door in the morning on time. Tristan and Cambria enjoy walking them to the bus stop. I decided to let them eat school lunches, which saves Dean a lot of work, since he had taken on the role of preparing them. The lunches are supposed to be pretty healthy at the school, albeit costly. We may rethink it when all the kids are in school.

On Sunday we had the Hildebrands over for games - and they brought dinner, which was especially nice on a Fast Sunday.  It was also Kyler's birthday - he is now 7!  The boys don't have reason to keep up with the date unless perhaps they are in school, so he had no idea it was coming up.  As usual we are not such good birthday party planners, but at least Bro and Patti were coming up, so we got a pinata (which they've always wanted) and said "surprise" - which Hunter has indicated he would love a surprise party.  His birthday is this coming Sunday.  Bro and Patti brought an ice cream cake, and we made more use of our new grill - which is compliments of Josh (Dean's business partner)...

Add caption

Since we never did do a one-year party for Cambria, we gave her a piece of cake and stripped her down so she could have at it.  She didn't like sticking her fingers in cold ice cream, and actually made pretty good use of a fork.  Then we went kayaking with Josh and Jessica.  I had been once before in North Carolina.  That time, with the ladies from church, it felt like we were going against the stream the whole time, and it was very difficult.  This time wasn't nearly so challenging, and it was sure beautiful to be out in Gig Harbor on a beautiful day.  Hunter and Kyler did well paddling.  Patti graciously took care of Tristan and Cambria so that I could go.  We had intended to take Tristan as he is forever demanding to ride in a boat.  Instead, he did a freak out and wanted nothing to do with the kayaks.  He pointed to a yacht and said he wanted to ride in that boat.

On Friday I met up with Joanna Hildebrand and Kara Olmos at the blueberry park in Tacoma, where the berries are free for the picking.  They were very picked over, and with not-so-diligent helpers, I only came away with about one pound six ounces.  When we've been near blueberry u-pick farms before, I've made a point of stock piling 40 pounds in the freezer to use throughout the year.  I may have to break down and buy some already picked, since time is quite running out for the season.  On the drive back here from NM we stopped at a farm near Yakima, WA, and in a couple of hours (with my mom's help, and the boys were better that day) we picked 9.5 pounds.  It is still blackberry season here, and the boys have picked some for us, and Dean often stops to enjoy as many as he can reach.  They are too tart for me, though!

It's good to have a camera handy around here, as you never know what you may find.