A family work project: painting the master bathroom

 Having lived with a master bathroom with peeling wallpaper for over 10 years, it seemed appropriate to finally "labor" and remove the wallpaper and paint a fresh coat. Hunter is here for only one more month before he departs for his 2-year LDS church mission to Forteleza, Brazil. Quite impossible to find paid employment for such a short period of time, Hunter is working for us--for poverty wages, but none-the-less, honest work!

 As we began the process, we quickly discovered 2 layers of wallpaper and it was revealed that the job would not be complete without removing BOTH LAYERS!  

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH----a very messy job, but necessary. Teamwork amongst all Bishops living at home proved successful and we finally applied the FIRST coat of primer on Labor Day Weekend!

Choosing a paint color is a task equivalent to getting ready for a homecoming dance: a lot of second guessing and returning to the store for different options.

Interesting to me was an iPad APP that allowed painters to reveal the interaction of a chosen paint to a pictured wall! After spending too much time experimenting with the Sherwin Williams technology, I determined how useless the tool was to actually choosing the final color.

The paint on the left is actual brush strokes using the "chosen" paint on the right!!!

Yeah!! 

..............Not identical!!...........

I did finally make a choice and even got 30% off gallons of paint purchased on Labor Day!!

Off to a rocky start.....

Jessica has been experiencing some anxiety related to her performance in her new grade and class. Her normal sleep pattern is being interrupted with wakefulness and inability to stay asleep. We are carefully approaching positive solutions including skipping her 4 and a half hour Monday gymnastics and substituting a short nap, chores, and an early bed time.

This combined with Carson's 5:15 AM wake up call and beginning high school schedule is causing one sluggish Mama!!!

When you have been parenting for 21 years with seemingly no end in sight, sleep is not the commodity you afford to lose. 

This moment gave me hope!!!

Road Closed: neighborhood construction

A new sewer is being built underground near my house. It is causing an inconvenience.

These large concrete blocks are four times the size of a human and were brought in on an 18-wheeler!

The ability to get them into their proper place will take weeks and a large amount of equipment!

Therefore, the project blocks the main path getting to and from many of our family's destinations.

We have had to divert our path to a new road. After several attempts of finding a new route, it is working out. Simply following the detour signs would have saved me time and emotional energy.

But the end result of taking a new path will only bring a better neighborhood and a safer system of water removal. 

A road closed only means that another road opens.

As if dealing with this mess doesn't cause stress, take a peek at the environment where I make myself presentable each day:

Hunter is home until Oct. 2 so we are having him assist in home improvement projects to earn $$$ for his mission.

He is a willing worker, however he is prone to distraction!! My plan is to complete the painting of 3 rooms!!!! 

We are off to a good start!!

Meet my soon-to-be daughter-in-law

The weather in Kansas City was a mild 80° with little humidity. Eating outside was a wonderful experience not typically enjoyed in the month of August

Brad was working chronic care at the hospital and missed out on some of the opportunities for family bonding. He was able to delight in this tasty meal eaten on our deck.

One of the main reasons for Allison and Brandon coming to Kansas City was to go to the KC temple for the first time with Hunter. Grandma and grandpa Evans were also able to participate in the endowment session.

This was one of the first times Mom and Dad felt well enough to participate in the temple since its opening in 2012! The spirit was very strong during our session and I am so grateful that we could all participate together!

These two lovebirds are so photogenic!!!

Allison served a Spanish-speaking LDS mission North of Los Angeles, CA and ironically, her and Brandon were in a MTC district together, but somehow never met. 

We toured famous spots in Kansas City in one day which included many fountains!! The weather was comfortable, sunny, and not humid! Allison enjoyed all of the beautiful architecture and water coming from the fountains!!

Jessie is so excited to have a sister!!!

Carson and Hunter had a difficult time enjoying this lovely day, but were excited to eat at the Grand Opening of the buffet at Joy Wok!

Carson and Jess made a game out of chasing these geese and never managed to catch them!

Hunter mocks my picture-taking hobby with "silly" poses!

Crown Center Square on a Saturday is a very entertaining place to be!

A tradition in our family included a run through these fountains on Labor Day. No longer will we be able to follow this tradition as a steel fence was built around these fountains to protect the safety of adults and children!!! BUZZ KILL!

Visiting Brad at the hospital on a Saturday was one of the highlights of our Kansas City tour.

An impromptu visit to kaleidoscope made for hands-on fun for all five kids. 

Although the visit was short, Chris Davis and his girlfriend stopped by to see Brandon and meet Allison.

New Beginnings: Elementary School

What to Learn in 3rd grade:

Third Grade Social Skills

Your 3rd grader will:

• Focus on friends. Friendships become more important, and many 3rd graders look forward to socializing and seeing close friends at school.
• Become more adept at understanding and sharing jokes and riddles with friends.
• Take on more responsibility for themselves (such as making sure they write down homework assignments, packing up their own belongings for dismissal, etc.).
• Work cooperatively on group projects such as science experiments.

Third Grade Reading and Writing

Your 3rd grader will:

• Continue to expand vocabulary.
• Use reference books such as dictionaries and thesauruses to get information.
• Read longer chapter books and be able to articulate the main points of the stories. (Third grade reading is often all about series such as the Lemony Snicket books or The Magic Treehouse series.)
• Write detailed stories and essays with logical sequence of events and discernible plot points and endings.
• Write in paragraphs and learn how to use transtitions.
• Learn and practice cursive writing.

Third Grade Math

Your 3rd grader will:

• Learn multiplication, fractions and decimals.
• Become increasingly more adept at applying math to real-life situations such as making change or adding up allowance money.
• Multiply and divide double- or triple-digit numbers by single-digit numbers.
• Learn how to measure weight, height, volume.

Third Grade Science, Social Studies and Tech

Your 3rd grader will:

• Review the names of states and learn the state capitols.
• Learn about space (the solar system, planets, moon, stars, etc.).
• Learn how to prove or disprove a hypothesis using experiments.
• Become skilled at using maps and globes to find places.
• Learn how to analyze and create graphs and charts.
• Use numbers to apply to real-life situations, such as using a budget.
• Become more skilled at using the computer to do research with supervision.
• Learn keyboarding to type on the computer more efficiently.

Just Imagine!!!

 I probably should have worked a little harder to FORCE/Encourage Jessica to spend time building a tree house on the FIRST day of Summer seeing how creative she was in making her own fun!