Direction

Somewhere along the way Tyson learned his directions.  He has been stating his Left and Right for a while now.  It's pretty amazing to me since he's still three.  Today I found out just how smart he is at giving direction.
"Mom, remember when we turned left and came on this road?"
"Yes."
"Next (remember how I love this word?) we'll turn right to go to the house we went to last year (yesterday!)."

I hate to admit it, but I still struggle sometimes when I'm giving directions.  I have to literally stop and think which one I write with.  He has no trouble whatsoever!  Again, he's three!  I love witnessing my child's development.  Even if it makes me look like a fool.

Simple Walk

Last night Jamie and I went for a walk after our kids were in bed.  Cameron had made the comment that he was nervous to have us walking in the dark.  We brushed him off, saying we had our flashlights and cell phones and began our walk.  We got right on to the path that is well traveled through Richland.  We were walking at a brisk pace, loving the freedom of walking without strollers, and talking about whatever we wanted.  It was a beautiful night!  Every once in a while I would hear footsteps behind me.  I wasn't really freaking myself out, but I wanted to make sure that we weren't in the way of a runner or biker.  Each of the three times proved to be nothing.  No one was behind us.  So, the next thing I know, someone comes running up on my left- without a sound.  I am a jumpy person- I HATE being scared!  So, without sound I see someone creep (not really, but that's how it felt) up on my left and I let out a blood-curdling, murdered-in-the-back-alley, save-me-from-death kind of scream.  Jamie must not have heard her come up on us either, because when I let out my scream of death, she grabbed onto my right arm with enough force to bust a can of refrigerated biscuits with her bare hands.  Naturally we started laughing!  Hard!  I think she may reconsider my offer of walking the next time.  Who needs that kind of stress?  You never know when I'm going to let one of my infamous "tiger screams" loose!  As a side note, the runner didn't even break stride!!  She didn't even  pause to see if I had had a heart attack.  That's dedication ladies and gentlemen!  Ded-i-ca-tion!   

Landscaping

Flower Garden Before and After

 I never understood why they chose to put the bushes in the way they did.  There was no rhyme-or-reason to their placement.  They weren't symmetrical, they weren't evenly spaced, they were kind of just thrown in there.  So, while my dad was here for Easter, I had him help me pull out the bushes.  It was a big project that involved strapping the base of each one and yanking them out with our Yukon.  Fun for the guys!  My mom and I took each rock out by hand, placing them in a bucket, and dumping them in the strip between the two driveways.  It was a lot of work that I did mostly by myself.  I put bushes around the perimeter that bloom a small Lilly in the Spring.  I also put an Azalea bush and some grasses to kind of hide some of the electrical stuff.  We put down a red mulch and stepped back to admire my work.  Until winds blew the mulch away in patches.  Back to the drawing board for me!

Our neighbor across the street was putting down some curbing and had extra, so they came to our yard and put it around the flower garden.  For FReeEEEE!  I was super giddy!  This prompted me to pile the red mulch around each bush and get those rocks we moved back in there.  Again, bucket and by hand, I felt like I could get more precision this way.  I LOVE the way it turned out!!  No more drawing board for me on this side of the house!  Now it's the backyard that needs some serious TLC.  The previous occupants had three large dogs (as told to us by the postman that was chased by one).  The yard was neglected in a bad way.  I will now give it my undivided love!  Hopefully I can get it looking decent someday.  Enough to maybe invite friends over for a BBQ!

Quilt

Mrs. R sent Shelby home with a 12x12 square of white cardstock and asked her to decorate it to show our family.  She knew exactly what she wanted!  This was ALL her idea.  She asked me to make letters so she could color them in.  Done!  So glad Amber Watts showed me how to do bubble letters in 9th grade.  She is an amazing artist, I was always jealous of her talent.

 She also wanted to show that we were Latter-Day Saints.  We decided on the CTR shield. I love this little Missionary!

Wish this would turn already!  I couldn't get it to turn for the life of me.  Lame!  Anyway, we decided to also put some facts about only her.  She could NOT wait to take it to school.  I love her enthusiasm to learn.  She comes home each day just bursting to tell us how "AWESOME" it was.  She enjoys homework, reading, and just playing with her friends.  I love it when school is not drudgery!

Home Economics

Caden started 7th grade this year, which means...Home Ec!  He is SUPER excited.  They'll have a unit on washing clothes, microwaves, sewing, and baking.  He came home and asked if he could back some cookies.  It just so happened that he was "treat" duty for Family Home Evening, so it worked out perfect for him to choose what we had...and make it!  They turned out good, but not perfect.  He forgot the Brown Sugar!  He was a little disappointed, saying we should separate the "sugars" in the book so you made sure you didn't overlook one.  I concede that that is a good idea, but I showed how to double check each line before scooping.  It's just one of those times I realize how grown up my son is!

Palouse Falls

Saturday, September 14

Palouse Falls

 

Danielle pinned a picture of a waterfall on Pinterest that said it was near Pasco, WA.  I was shocked!  So, we called some friends to come along, packed up our Yukon yesterday, and headed to a great unknown.  We drove an hour and a half through land that reminded us a lot of Wyoming, absolutely nothing to see but lots of farmland plotted miles apart.  It was kind of neat.  It reminded us a lot of Ayers Natural Bridge.  All along that drive you kind of wonder how in the world there could be something so beautiful at the end.

 We were kind of bummed that we couldn't get closer to the actual falls.

 Look at those cliffs, I don't think Ty would be up for that kind of hike.  Please, who am I kidding?  I would not be up for that hike!

 Matt, Tara, Halle, & Paige Beynon. 

This is the friend that Randy met while in training with GSK.  So excited to do more with these guys!

I missed a perfect opportunity to capture the winding road.  This is not nearly as good as the one I wanted.  However, you can see there is NOTHING to see.  And then it opens up to a beautiful canyon and waterfall.  Love those little surprises!

Nap?

Tyson has been more vocal about not taking naps the past few days.  Monday, Randy told him he didn't need to nap because we needed to take him to the airport.  Tyson was all for it and ended up falling asleep in the car between the airport and picking up Caden from his crossing guard duties.  Nice!  Yesterday he said, "Mommy, remember how I don't need a nap anymore?  How I don't have to take a nap when Brennon is at school?  Huh, Remember?"  So, I took him to the library for some Mommy/Tyson fun.  We ended up staying for over 90 minutes.  He started out playing with the blocks, like he always does, and ended the time with me reading books.  We were by the Halloween section, so we read about 15 books all about Halloween.  My favorite part was when he'd ask in a whisper if the "Ghostess" or the "Punkins" were real.  As the time progressed, I found his head on my shoulder more and more, yawns every other word, and eventually some eye rubs.  Again, he fell asleep between the library and picking Caden up.  Today he tried the whole line of questioning again, trying to get me to realize that he just didn't need naps.  I was having none of it, I learned my lesson two days in a row.  He was not happy!  He was super ticked that I was marching him up to his bed.  Then a moment of remembrance came to me in the moment of need!  I remember a time when Shelby was having the same desire to stay up.  So, I came up with a plan to tell her that she "Didn't need to sleep.  Just lay on your pillow until you hear the alarm (which I never set).  Just lay here and listen to the alarm without getting out of bed and you won't have to take a nap."  Sleep inevitably followed every day.  The same held true for Tyson today!  Love those genius moments of enlightenment!  I have also told my kids that they would not have to take naps when they turned 5.  Sad that that is only 13 months away!

Backsplash

I have wanted a Beadboard Backsplash for about 3 years now.  I saw the girl on www.thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com do one in her kitchen and knew I wanted one for my own.  I tried to get Randy to do one for me in Bar Nunn, but we ran out of time before we moved.  In all honesty, I don't think he really wanted to do one.  Here is my before and after party of my very-own Beadboard Backsplash:)

 I posted these same pictures last month after I painted my countertops. 

 (Please excuse the massive Diet Mt. Dew above and below.  This was a very hard time for me during the sickest time of my life.)

 Close-up reminder of what the countertops looked like before we painted them.

 Notice the chintzy backsplash shown in our powder room.  This was the previous backsplash in the kitchen.  Each of the bathrooms have this still.  Still unsure what we'll end up doing to update them, maybe tile.  Anywhooo, onto the "after" photos!

 Just to clarify, we started this right before lunchtime on Friday and worked directly before and after dinner as well.  The sink is full, the "Kitchen Manager" (You like that?) is embarrassed, but I had to take pictures of the process.  Without the trim, caulk, and even paint, I was still giddy!!

 Dishes are done...phew!  The Kitchen Manager has not been fired.  Dang It!!  The caulk has just been applied.  We needed to wait the allotted 30 minutes for it to dry, however, we ended up leaving it until the next morning.  I was completely drained.  Please, I mostly watched while Randy worked and I was done by 8:00;)  Bedtime for the Mommy/House Elf!

 A few different angles.  I love that Beadboard doesn't sit on a laminate backsplash.  It makes it look like my countertops really are faux "granite."

 We used an Oil-based Gel paint to really make it shiny.  I wanted to brighten up this drab little kitchen!  I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.  The true compliment was when Randy told me how much he loved it.  That it turned out better than he thought.  That we really should have done it in Bar Nunn.  That it would have looked awesome in Bar Nunn.  That it brightens up the place.  That he loves looking into our kitchen now.  That he's glad I used my "want" budget and made him do it.  That it was fun to do a project together two months in a row.  That he loves it...

 And just like that, I feel validated for my efforts.  Even though this is just a temporary house for us while we search for the house we want (preferably in the same area for schools and ward but with more land), I still live here right now.  I still love it right now!  I want to make it ours.  I want to spruce it up while I live here.  And maybe, just maybe, Randy will love it as much as I do and opt never to move again! 

It looks even better with the covers over the outlets:)

  I'm not sure what my next month's project will be.  I'm using most of my budget to go to Time Out for Women in Tacoma with Jamie!  However, I'm thinking of maybe saving the rest for a new faucet and sink.  Cause that sink makes breakfast dishes look like we haven't done dishes in days!  Oh wait, you've seen proof of that in above pictures;)

Enlightenment

Last night our dinner included Tuna (well some of theirs did, not mine.)  Brennon said "Tuna Fish" a few times and then stopped mid-sentence, he looked as if he was deep in thought.  Then, as if it was the most amazing thing in the world, he said, "Guys!!  Tuna.  Fish.  Tuna Fish.  Tuna is a Fish!"  He looked so proud of himself for making the connection and sharing his knowledge with us.  I love it when things connect for little kids!  Or me, for that matter. 
We were on our way to Stake Conference- telling our kids that it was going to be a longer "Sacrament" meeting and that there would be no classes after.  They were asking if it was General Conference.  I was explaining that that would be in a few weeks when it dawned on me that I was going to get to use my ideas I put together for April.  When I was making all of my reminders, booklets, and getting the snacks ready for each of my kids, I had only planned on using it once a year.  Sunday I realized that I would get to use it TWICE a year.  I was super giddy the rest of the day.  I'm going to make General Conference a BLAST for my kids.  Again...in one year!!  (Plus, I plan to have the family healthy.  We were SICK in April for G.C.)

Saga

Here is an update of what has been known as "The Saga" in our home.  So, Friday night ended up not being my favorite night.  Saturday was full of turmoil over whether I was really going to fight to get Brennon back in AM Kindergarten.  I was just so up-in-the-air.  Sunday came with no real clear answer until around 3:00.  Tyson had told us around lunchtime that his throat was stinging him.  Sure enough, his throat was full of white puss nodules.  Since I needed to attend the last two hours, I sent Randy with the other kids to Sacrament while I napped with Tyson.  When I woke him at 3:00 I started getting ready for church.  He came into my bathroom with the saddest face asking in the most pathetic little cry, "Mom, where is everyone?  I just want to be with them!"  It was then that I knew I wanted to stay in PM.  This was what I had wanted from the very beginning.  I had changed my mind in the moment of AM bliss, but ended up getting a blessing when I was changed to PM.  I got the other kids off to school and headed to Walmart to get lunchboxes that were insulated.  We went to the park where the boys played with another little boy and ended up giving a group hug when he had to go.  We came home to send Randy off to Oregon and started playing some games when I got a call from the school, Brennon had been marked absent.  WHAT?  I was all sorts of confused.  Was he supposed to be in AM and the other call had been a glitch?  I had gotten a call that morning from the Principal letting us know that the reason he had been changed was because a mother in PM needed her SON (remember how they try to even out gender in the class?) needed to be in AM for it to work with her own work schedule.  So they took another little boy that was more advanced (this was nice to hear!) and switched them.  I was personally asked by the Principal if I would mind staying in PM.  I said I wouldn't mind at all if it made it easier for another mom to get a break.  So this call about absence was confusing.  I didn't get an answer at the school, so I loaded up Brennon, sent Tyson to Jamie's and headed to the school with Brennon's backpack just in case.  I found out that he is registered in PM, so they couldn't figure out why we got the call.  How can you have a child absent for a session that hasn't even started?  We couldn't figure it out.  So, we came home for another hour and then went back.  It was nice to meet his teacher again, see that there was another Brennan K. in his class (have fun with that Mrs. L!) and go home with only one hand to hold.  I put Tyson down for his nap, cleaned and decorated like crazy in my basement, woke Tyson to pick up Caden from his duties as a crossing guard and came home in time for the other kids to get off of the bus.  Pretty much perfect if you ask me!  It was pretty comical to get a call at 2:00 saying my son, Brennon, had been marked absent.  Again!  The office asked me to be patient as they worked out the kinks of the start of school.  I feel I have been pretty darn patient. 

Seeing as this is the second year that my child has been placed in AM only to get booted to PM at the last possible second, ensuring that they don't get bus privileges (which means I have to take Brennon every day) I think I should get to call in a favor from Mr. Mancinelli.  "Since this has happened two years in a row to me, since I have sacrificed my own comfort for others', could you ensure that Tyson gets Mrs. L AM in two years?  Thanks!"

Churros

I can't believe what a small world we live in.  2006 found us moving from Utah to Wyoming for Randy to begin his new career path with GlaxoSmithKline.  While in training, Randy became friends with the only other LDS member of the group, Matt Beynon.  Low and behold, a new family moved into our ward two weeks ago.  Can you guess who?  Yep, the Beynon's.  It's pretty cool to have instant friends from good times remembered.  They invited Shelby over for a play date of swimming and pizza on Friday.  She was super excited to play with her new friend Halle, I was super excited to meet Tara, Randy was just plain (not super) excited to talk shop with Matt.  Although he likes his new field of Law Enforcement Software Sales, I know for a fact that Randy really misses Medical Device Sales.  That night, they brought her back to our house and couldn't wait to tell us their favorite part of the evening.  They live in an apartment while their home purchase goes through, so they were swimming with another family when another child pooped in the pool.  They decide to take this time to go grab their pizza and Churros from Costco.  When they got back to the pool and found it still unavailable, they decided that they would let the girls swim in the hot tub.  Shelby had eaten about half of her pizza, saving it for later.  Halle had finished her pizza and was about halfway done with her Churro, but wanted to go swim.  Tara told Halle to just put the Churro on Shelby's plate and go play.  A little while later Shelby came back to her food.  She called over to Halle saying in a matter of fact tone, "Um...you're going to need to take this off of my plate.  Or else...I'll eat it!"  You can tell we live in a dog-eat-dog world.  Snacks don't last very long at the Dirks' home.  If it's left out, it's free game at our house.  I'm just glad she had the manners to give Halle fair warning:)