Two Weeks

It’s been two weeks since I last wrote.  That’s because it’s been filled with FAMILY!  WAHOO!

During the week of the 9^th, we got the house offer accepted.   So we went out and did inspections and created estimates and decided it was workable.  The heat and AC work, but the ducting needs to be redone under the house and the crawl space is very limited.  Fortunately, I think we have a skinny guy to do it.  We found the septic tank and it seems to be in good condition.  We will need to blow insulation into the attic, do some flooring, electrical, painting and other small stuff that adds up… and up.

I was all excited about running interval training.  Well—I was excited about the results.  But last week when I ran, I hurt my Achilles tendon. I thought it would get better in a few days.  It has not.  One ankle is much more swollen than the other.  I’ve oiled it and tried to not use it a lot.  I did walk one day and hike a short trail with the grandkids once, but have not been able to go back to running.  I’m a bit concerned about being in shape for the pioneer trek on July 17-19.

Wednesday June 11^th Miranda and crew came up.  It’s so nice to see her little ones.  Camden and Ethan were friendly pretty quickly. Alex took a few days to warm up.  But Kera and all her kids but Nathan arrived on Thursday, as did Rebecca and kids.  Since Kera had watched Alex when Miranda and Dan went on a cruise, Alex was happy to go to her.  And she was great at helping out!

It was pandemonium and mayhem with 13 grandchildren here (all 13 and under)—but in the best way!  They were really good playing with one another. Katie and Marian led the crew down to the fishing hole.  They caught some small fish and crawdads in the pond.  Eventually we inflated the raft and they used that on the pond as well.

Aaron and Callie found a turtle—more likely a terrapin.  They built a shelter for it in their hidden fort in the back woods and retired there to play.

Everyone rode the zip line from Katie to Ethan.  All of Kera’s kids were good about taking turns.  Once I showed Charlotte how to get off at the end, she didn’t want any help there. (Although she still needed help getting on.)

The moms planned for activities for the kids.  They went to the lake, the library, the parks, and on a hike. My friend Beth, who was moving, kindly brought over all kinds of toys that were a big hit.  I didn’t know what all they were, but they were greeted with exclamations of joy.  Lala- loopsy dolls.  20 series early chapter books. A doll high chair and cradle.  Sidewalk chalk.  All were well received.

It seems like, with this crowd, you spend a majority of the time in the kitchen!  We ate well.  Good foods, great deserts.  We cooked a ham the day after they arrived.  We had planned a surprise birthday party for Rebecca—the big four-o.  Then she said she hated surprise parties.  Well, we told her we were celebrating father’s day early and had invited some friends over.  They were her friends.  And about the time we brought out the cake (and the pies), we confessed to it being a surprise for her birthday.   Tom had bought these fantastic invitations and table topping.  They said” Vintage Vixen. Perfectly aged. Bold and leggy with a hint of sass.”

Wednesday Tom went up to spend the day and the night at Girls’ Camp.  Everyone there seemed to have a fun time in spite of the very primitive camping conditions. No air conditioned cabins here.  It was a field and tents.  Water was optional—you had to bucket it from the spigot. Bugs were generous—available throughout the grass.

Kera, kindly sewed two pairs of bloomers for my pioneer trek.  I was so grateful!  That isn’t the kind of thing you can get at Walmart.  And she did such a nice job.  She even sewed a quilt square for a quilt the Relief Society is making for one of our families that moved to Vilonia and lost their house in the tornado.

Friday Kera and Miranda spent doing laundry and packing up.  Oh, it was so sad to have them prepare to leave.  Who would play 5 Crowns at night?

The day before everyone left, Miranda bought some fireworks.  I mostly watched from upstairs to prevent spoiling the fun by yelling, “Watch out!”  “Move back!” and other generally unappreciated advice.  No one got an eye poked out, or burned.  And they all seemed to have a great time.  Some of the sparkly-spraying things were fun to watch.

Saturday our grandchild population dropped from 13 to 5.  Sunday Josh left for scout camp and it now rests at 4.  It was fun while it lasted.  And the volume and clutter is reduced…. And the amount of food necessary to cook.  But oh, it was fun!  Thanks for coming!

 Craft times.

 Reading times

 Monster biting times.

Alex crawls well. Now he's pulling himself up and walking along furniture.  He had a fun time watching Camden who was playing outside.  All was happy until Camden opened the door to come in.  Oops.