Homecoming 2011

And so it begins ...

Jenna had her hair and makeup done by a friend, Mariah G.  It was gorgeous!

Jenna with her best friend, Sierra M.  (She just finished having her hair and makeup done ... we needed to run home to finish modest-ifying before her date arrived to pick her up).  Jenna's dress was a tad too short by a couple of inches, so we purchased a skirt to wear under the dress to lengthen it to the knee.  The skirt was pretty hideous, but was perfect under the dress!

She still had to do her toes.  I didn't know purple was her favorite color!  It has been red (pink if red wasn't an option) FORRRR - EEEEV - ERRRRR.

Kerst and Kendall come to the rescue and blew her toes dry.  It was really cute!

 My favorite:

 (I still needed to finish pinning the shrug on .. I finished just as her date was walking down our driveway!)

 Jenna's date, Aaron M, is a real gentleman.  He came over a couple of weeks ago to take her to a movie.  He came in to meet us and survived our 2 million questions.  Smart.  Polite.  Friendly.  Kind. 

When he came last night to pick Jenna up, the first thing he asked was what time he needed to have Jenna home.  I loved hearing that - rather than us asking him.  His parents should be proud.

 They make a cute date!

She had a blast.  He was fun.  He had her home in time.  Thumbs up!

Messages

Growing up I remember playing with my brothers in my childhood home.  It was late.  Over the speakers came my father's voice, "Time to get ready for bed."  We were in awe.  Later I found out he hooked up a microphone of some sort to his sound system.

John loves electronics, computers, etc.  He has all of our home computers networked.  We run our T.V. off of the computer as well.  Three of the T.V.'s can view the same program at the same time or. 

Earlier this week, Kerst was down in the basement hanging out; we were upstairs.  The TV was on.  John typed a message.  "Time to go to bed."

Seconds later we heard, "Awe, man." 

Kerst came up stairs moments later.

Welcome Fall!

It is definitely cooler out.  We actually turned the heater on for the first time two nights ago ... it was 62 degrees in the house before we even went to bed. 

The days are getting shorter.  It is dark at 7:15 p.m. now.

Signs of Fall have been popping up ... leaves are changing colors too!

I thought this picture was a riot

The weather here for the next 3 days will be 80 degrees!  Next week we will be in the 70's.

Field Day Winner

Kendall attended his first field day at his school.  It is a fundraiser too!  He told me that his team won.  He had a great time.

I didn't notice he was limping until someone pointed it out as we were leaving the school.

He said he hurt his foot at the dragon - #6 event.  (Inflatable obstacle course).  He did events 7-10 and didn't tell anyone his foot hurt; he didn't want to miss out on the fun!

This morning he had sausage toes and the top of his foot was very tender.  He walked/waddled/limped only when absolutely necessary to move.

So ... we headed out to have his foot looked at.

To the "hop-sit-al" in Kendall-ese.

He was so small!

 Results?

Inconclusive. 

He still has very young bones - cartilage like.  The x-rays didn't show a fracture, but they are still being very cautious because of his reactions ("Ow, ow ow" while trying to pull his foot away AND smiling his famous double dimple smile) to touch and movement of his foot and toes.

Kendall's options:
1.  Orthopedic Shoe
2.  Splint
3.  Cut off the leg and come back in a week and they will give it back.  (Kendall was a little worried until I prompted him to say "You're teasing".)

They didn't have an orthopedic shoe small enough.  Kendall didn't like the idea of leaving his leg at the hop-sit-al for the week, so we opted for the splint.

Kendall is in a splint with strict orders of no weight on the foot for 3 days.  We are supposed to go back to the doctor on Tuesday.  If he can put weight on his foot without limping, then it is a soft tissue injury (bruising).  If he can't put his normal weight on it, then back for more x-rays to see if there is any calcifying of the bone in the injured area.  That would be the proof they need to put him in a more permanent cast.

So he will be sporting the splint and riding in the jogging stroller until Tuesday afternoon when we head back to see the doctor.

1 down, 25 to go

Julia's "note to self" is a good one.

If "PLAN A" doesn't work out, don't worry... You still have 25 letters left :)

Forgotten

I handed Kendall a pair of Julia's boots to put away in her closet.

Kendall: "Why doesn't she have the boots with her?"

Me: "She forgot to bring them."

Kendall looked at the boots and then back up at me - ".... she forgot to bring me too."

Days in school = me

Kendall proudly informed me that today was day 19 in school ... and that it is the same as my age.  19.

I love that boy!

Ahhhh .... cooler weather

Fortunately we have not been plagued with the heatwave that has hit some of the areas in the country.  We have been blessed with some rain as well. 

We had an air conditioning unit put in late this Spring during our basement finishing project.  We decided to give it a try at the end of June to make sure it was working for my family when they arrived at our home for the family reunion we were hosting.  It didn't work.  The fan motor went out along with something else.  The part wouldn't be in for 2 weeks.  Thankfully it was not unbearable with 39 people in our home (36 sleeping).

The air conditioning unit has been fixed.  We have not turned it on - I haven't felt like we needed it.  Yes, the 3 bedrooms upstairs do get toasty, but they cool off beautifully at night.

Yesterday the high was 68 degrees!  It was so chilly that I closed up the windows last night and woke up to the house at 62 degrees.  It was freezing!  I wore a skirt, sweater, tights and boots to church today.  By late afternoon our home warmed up to70 (after running the oven to make dinner).

I love how nestled down our home is in the trees.  We have a lot of shade and shelter from the wind.

When we get together ...

My family brings me joy.  They make me laugh.  I love how the older we have gotten, the closer we have become.  Can heaven be any better?

Here is a picture that makes me smile.  Makes me laugh.  Just makes my day.  It shows you how fun my sisters are ... and watch out ... when we get together!

This is a picture of my sister Cara gazing upon the Hope Diamond - my other sister Kelly, once again, captures the moment with the camera.  I can just imagine Cara and Kelly cracking up after this masterpiece is captured.

Kelly captured the moment perfectly and added a perfect title.

Um... Security!