We are so Lucky again!

Oh my heck, I think our house is destine to burn down again. With Clint's stove incident and now with what happen last night just a week later. First I will start from the beginning.

Friday after I picked the girls up from school I had a brilliant idea to get a new kitten. We all like them but mostly Hanna. She is so good with animals. So we went over to animal control here in Apache Junction to see if maybe they had any kittens. We were lucky they did and they had the most cutest one. We named her Patches.

Patches & Hanna

Patches has been so loved this whole weekend. Hanna being Hanna and being such a good caretaker for Patches keeps her in her room with all she might need and more. Any way last night we got home from a friends house and Hanna got ready for bed and thought Patches might be cold. She set up a heat lamp for the cat. This heat lamp was set up under her bed. Along with the dress Hanna wore yesterday for a blanket. This morning when Hanna woke up there was an awful smell in her room. She said she was dreaming someone came to visit us and they smelled really bad and she didn't know why. Then when she woke up the smell was the heat lamp which had melted it's plastic shade to the carpet

The heat lamp

Melted lamp shade in the carpet

It had started to melt the carpet. I guess the dress was on top of the lamp. This is what happen to the dress.

Front of dress

Back of dress

When Hanna realized what had happened she started to cry because she thought I was going to be mad about the dress. I wasn't mad. How could I be when she was being so sweet to the cat. I just keep thinking it over and over in my head how dangerous it could have turned out. It makes me want to have an emergency plan if something should happen for FHE tonight. We have been through it before and we all made it out safely before. I think I am being warned we need to have a plan. That is what we will do for FHE tonight for sure. All I could say about today's happenings is we are so lucky again.

I don't know if I like this new stove.

For all of my friends and family who have heard me complain the last six weeks about not having a stove and cooking on the camp stove. We finally got the beast. Clint was so excited he hooked it all up and went to lite it for the first time and it blew up in his face. He burned the hair off of his right arm all the way up to the back of his head. It smelled awful. The thing that I was worried about is the flames got all in his face and burned his beautiful eyelashes completely off and his eyebrows. He was in so much pain I took him to the urgent care just to make sure he was OK. Now his face just looks like a bad sun burn. They told us at the urgent care his eyelashes would grow back. Thank goodness! They were beautiful and long . We had to shave his head to even out his hair. Burned hair smells awful. I am just glad he didn't burn down my house again. I keep saying this stupid stove and Clint keeps saying It is not the stoves fault and that he loves it. Well the thing is such a beast and ugly. I don't know if I like this new stove

It was fun at the Cinders

We finally went to the cinders in Flagstaff for Labor day weekend. It was so cool there but hard to ride. I am use to the sand or trail riding. It was still fun. We have some friends the Brice's that like to ride so we met them up here. They put up with our crazy family and I am always thankful when they invite us back for more fun.

We always have to take both the truck and the van when we go camping or to the dunes because we have so much stuff. I told Clint he could have Katie and Jacob go with him for less problems. It did not work out that way. He took Katie thankfully and Mr. Jacob the big tease came with me and the rest of the girls. I wanted to ring his neck into the first hour. We were calling Clint telling him to pull over to take Jacob. Clint said the next stop which ended up being a gas station in Flagstaff a Sinclair. The kid were excited to see the dinosaur there. They all got on it and we took pictures till my brilliant son decided to push off his sisters during this picture moment.

Katie, Eliza, Ester, Hanna & the pusher Jacob

(Notice Hanna's face the other girls had no idea they were going over. Then of all girls to get hurt it we the two little ones they both hit their heads on the hard ground. I had to pick them both up and carry them to a table and sooth them. This whole time Clint is filling up on gas and water for the camper. I will admit it was so stinking funny I had to laugh while my babies cried.)

So we got to the Cinders and it was so amazing how you will be riding and all the ground is black then it turns red my two favorite colors.

You can kind of see how it changes from black to red

I had Hanna hold up some of the little cinders to show how it is black and red

We were pretty high up. The girls enjoying it.

The Guys

(Jimmy Brice, Clint & Jacob)

You could see the clouds in the back ground it had rained and some mountains higher up had snow on the tips. I thought that was so strange being only September.

This is a picture of the slant we were coming down. I was sitting in the passenger seat. I was scared coming down. It is kind of hard to see but I screamed several times coming down. It was like a roller coaster. Which I do not like .

This is my Katie in the camper being funny with her hot chocolate mustache laying on my bed.

While we were in Flagstaff we went one of the days to the Meteor Crater. It was this big hole in the ground. They charge a butt load of money to go look at this hole. Well Clint paid it and we all went to look at it. When we got there and we were all getting out of the van we realized Katie didn't bring her shoes. I was so annoyed. I told Clint to get shoes on her before we left but Clint listened to me like he always does and the result no shoes. We went as planed. Katie just walked around bear footed the way she likes it best. Anyway so we went and looked at the hole. It was interesting but a little boring. Clint was asking one of the tour guides a bunch of questions and this guy was one of those guys that takes their job very serious he was answering Clint's questions and then Clint said yeah right like you could even know that. I was so embarrassed I walked away.

This is the kids standing in front of the crater.

Katie, Eliza, Ester, Hanna & Jacob

I was happy to leave there because I was nervous the whole time because I am afraid of heights and Katie running all around made me very uneasy.

Jacob doing a jump on this ramp we found

Clint was kidding around with Katie and told her she could ride on top of the camper on the ride home. She really wanted to. She was upset to have to get down.

My cute Eliza she loves to go with daddy and go fast on the Rhino.

Ester is a total daddy's girl. She loves having Clint all to herself and would ride all day & night.

Hanna is my funny little prankster. She likes to stay with mom and is not so much a trill seeker like her younger sisters.

Jacob we like to refer to as the DORK.

He was fine with forgetting his bag of clothes at home and he would have been fine with no shower for the long weekend but I wasn't. I went into town and got him some cheap clothes so he could at least change once. He is funny though. He is so carefree and I hope he always stays that way. I love everything about him and my girls. It was fun at the Cinders.

That's whats new!

I have had such a busy summer. Things are slowing down now that school is back in. I only have one child home with me and I don't know what the heck she is thinking most of the time. She is so mean to me I get called all kinds of poopie head names and she does mean things. I don't know if it is because she misses the kids or that she is three years old or maybe she is the challenge I need at this time in my life. She is loved either way. Here is what happened today.

Monica was coming over. I asked Katie last night are you going to be nice to Grant (Monica's three year old). She said yes. I asked her again this morning. She said yes. Well she wasn't very nice to him once he came over. She loves to ignore him. I wonder who she got that from. Any way then they went downstairs to play.

Jacob got a tortoise on Saturday we named him Franklin. He is really cute.

FRANKLIN

Well Katie was told to leave Franklin alone while Jacob was at school. I don't quite know what part she didn't understand because she went into his room got Franklin put him in the sink and poured hand soap on him. I asked why she did that she answered cause. I am glad to report he is ok. That's whats new.

Fun but CrAzY!

Our first trip of the summer was on the weekend of Memorial Day. We went camping with friends and family on the Rim. I have been asking my sisters for years to go camping with us finally they did. Our toy hauler is good for our family of seven but add two more families to that. CRAZINESS! We survived and had fun. The place we went to was very pretty. It had a little river that ran really close to our camp. The kids and Clint and I caught some crawdads. It was so fun. That night Clint cooked them for everyone. I think they are gross but it was fun to watch the kids catch them. The kids got really dirty. It was fun but Crazy.

Choose the Right.

Jacob is so funny. He will always be my baby boy. Last Wednesday he had his last band concert for the school year. He had to get dressed up. He looked so handsome. He told me he was going to wear the same thing to school the next day. I did not believe him. The next morning he came up ready for school dressed like the night before. I said you were not kidding. He looked so cute. He told me he walked around school like he owned the place. He is so cute he doesn't let things bother him like I would have when I was his age. This weekend he went on his first scout camp out with out my husband. I was so worried. I do not like for my kids to do things with out one of us being there. I will have to learn to let go a little as they grow. I love all my kids the same. Jacob has a special place in my heart he was my first and he is my only son. He was telling me about things that went on in school today. It makes me mad that kids are so darn mean. The kids that were mean when I was younger probably had kids and don't teach them the right way to live. It makes me so mad. Thankfully it doesn't bother Jacob the way it would bother me. I don't know when being a good kid made you gay. When I was in school being the good kid made you a nerd or the teachers pet. So these kids think my son who is all boy is gay because he is a good kid and stays out of trouble. He stays out of trouble because he is being raised to choose the right. I love my son so much. He has such a tender side that he gets from me and a goofy side he gets from my husband. He is so wonderful I am very blessed to be raising such a choice spirit. He will be turning 12 soon and will be given the priesthood. He does all that he is supposed to and I don't have to worry if he can choose the right.

It is DONE and it is BLUE!

This is what it looked like when the pump had done all it could. Gross! The kids said yuck that is what we were swimming in. It is hard to tell in the picture but there was a bunch of caked on yuck on the bottom of the pool. Me being me walked down to get the pump and fell right away. I slipped on the gross green slime and down I went into the gross water. Eliza said what did you do that for mom. Like I meant to fall.

My ever faithful servant/best friend/sister/Monica came to help with with the hard part of scrubbing the bottom of the pool.

We had a lot of little helpers also. They helped scoop the water to get it all out.

We finally had to get the shop vac to get the last of the water out of the pool. The kids were so anxious to start filling the pool. I would not start until I had every bit of the gross water out.

The kid came home from school and could not wait to start in the pool.

It was nice to have it so shallow with the little kids.

We put sunscreen on to late for Monica. She was hurting.

It was getting deeper. We had three hoses in the pool.

All the hard work paid off the kids really enjoyed it while it was filling up.

The next day. We would not let the kids go in until the big ones came home from school. We let them dip their feet in. They were so excited.

It was getting deeper and deeper.

Now it is all filled up and the kids have gone swimming almost every day (never on Sunday though) I am so thankful for all who helped me with my pool project. Clint is gone from our house so much it is nice to know I have my family to help me in my time of need. I love you guys.

Everyone is welcome to come swimming this summer now that it is done and it is BLUE.

My beautiful Hanna

Two weeks ago my Hanna got her braces off. I had forgotten to write about. I think she looks so grown up.

My beautiful Hanna

I will get it BLUE!

For weeks now I have been asking my husband to please get our pool back into good condition for the summer. Our friend Tanner was our pool man but stop doing pools because he was busy also being a fire man. So I thought we could save money and do the pool ourselves. Right! This is how it has been looking.

So today I had the brilliant idea to drain it. Clint did not want to drain it but he is hunting. He also had plenty of time to get it blue not pickle juice green. I borrowed my friend Tanner's pool pump and got started about 2:00 this afternoon. I told my kids they were not to get wet. Right again!

They started with putting their feet in. I kept telling them don't the water has disease in it. You will get sick. That held them off for a little while.

They said they were helping me clean the steps.

Jacob doing one of his dorky dance moves. He was saying this is High Pool Musical. See his jazz hands.

This is how they ended up.

Notice in this picture the only one that listened to me was the 2 year old standing in the back ground not wet.

They just kept getting deeper

and deeper. Until they were swimming in the pickle juice.

They had fun though I don't want to take that away from them. I hope the don't get pool flu.

So here it is 9:00 and the pool is empty. It was all the way full this afternoon. I am surprised it only took a few hours to empty. There will be more to come on my brilliant idea today. I am glad tomorrow is Sunday (a day to rest). Come Monday I will be scrubbing scum from the bottom of the pool. I am very determined to have a nice pool for the summer. I will get it BLUE!