29 August 2018

On Sunday the kids and I sang a musical number in sacrament meeting, a medley of 'I'm Trying To Be Like Jesus' and 'Lord, I Would Follow Thee'.  The kids put in a lot of effort and work on it, and although we didn't sound the greatest, I was proud of them for their willingness to practice.  It was so sweet to watch Bobo learn where to come in and be so proud of himself for knowing that he could do it.  The ending was written really, really high, and when we suggested re-writing it so sing a lower, unison line, instead of a high two-part line, Nut Brown resisted because he didn't want to give up the coolest part of the song, the part where he and Ramses got to stand out, in his opinion.  He worked really hard to learn the high notes and practice singing above his natural register.  Rose Pink ended up with a solo line at the end that was really beautiful.  Even Rosebud learned the words and sang with us - 'Love one another as Jesus loves you'.  We improved so much as we practiced, and I was so proud of us!

12 August 2018

I ask Bobo after church: How much peanut butter do you like on your peanut butter sandwiches?

Bobo says, "Nine percent."

10 August 2018

Last night, working in the kitchen, Rosebud comes up to me and says, "Mom!  You're wearing a pink apron!  I have to hug you now!" and then she did.  She loves the color pink.

She just got another haircut last night.  She refuses ponytails and so her hair gets so messy and tangled.  So I asked if she wanted a haircut and she said yes.  After her bath, we turned on the kitty videos and I trimmed a couple inches off.  So it's short and cute again.  She went to bed before Rose Pink and Mr. Brown came home from church so they were surprised to see her this morning.  She was so pleased with her ability to sit quietly and get her hair trimmed successfully.  I love to see her grow.

6 August 2018

We spent our staycation doing fun things and ignoring (mostly) the chores, and eating ice cream.  Monday we made candles and went shopping.  Tuesday we went to the public library downtown, and got the brakes on the minivan fixed.  Wednesday the kids and I went to St. Augustine, and visited the old fort there and went to the beach, which was totally and completely cool.  We took a picnic and didn't have enough time at the beach because the fort was more interesting than I expected.  I definitely want to go back and see some more of the old city and visit the fort again with Mr. Brown.  Thursday we rearranged the furniture.  Mr. Brown said that we should finish moving in since we've been here for a year, so we put the toys in the office closet and changed the kids' beds around and threw some things away.  Friday we mowed the lawn and the kids and I went to the science museum downtown.  It was packed and crazy, but we loved it and so we bought an annual pass so we can go back during the school year when everybody else is in school.  Nut Brown has been asking to return ever since we got home. 

We ate a lot of ice cream and a lot of treats and slept in and did as few chores as possible, and did some adventurous things so we can see more of what there is to see in Florida.  Super fun!

5 August 2018

Doing a puzzle with Rosebud today and as we put each piece in place she'd say with satisfaction, "That's the way to do it!"

4 August 2018

Mr. Brown and Rose Pink were talking about polygamy, and Mr. Brown said, "Besides, what would you do with all those husbands anyway?" and Rose Pink replied, "Boss them around, probably."

3 August 2018

Started the day with two kiddos who came in and curled up in bed with me.  Bobo is always the first one up these days, and today he decided to come in and lay down next to me and snuggle.  Rosebud was next up and wanted to lay on my chest, and Bobo moved over between Mr. Brown and I.  Super sweet cuddles.

2 August 2018

Watching Nut Brown and Bobo work peacefully on a 300 piece puzzle together on the living room floor- my heart is so happy.  Gotta love these moments when they come.

29 July 2018

We have been listening to a Percy Jackson audiobook, from the series by author Rick Riordan, and it has been super fun for all of us.  Nut Brown loves these books - they turned him on to more serious reading, and he loves the author's sense of humor.  He laughs and laughs as he reads them, and he loves listening to the audiobook because it makes him feel like an expert.  I love to see his happiness and joy.  He really lights up from the inside when he's happy.

25 July 2018

We went to the thrift store to do some shopping for Halloween costumes, and Mr. Brown found a realio trulio cosplay costume that fit Rose Pink.  She tried it on and loved it- it's from some video game that we don't play but of course it's super glamorous.

One secondhand cosplay costume: $6

Watching my morose 13 year old light up and be playful: priceless

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We also found a toy cash register for sale for $3 that bings and does real math and wow, that is a priceless toy too.  Bobo and Rosebud have been playing with it nonstop.  I think Rosebud regards it as a computer/laptop.

It was a good day at the thrift store - there was a scooting toy shaped like a turtle which we purchased for $2 (this is why we don't give our kids presents at Christmas...) and Rosebud is riding around our huge open space in the living room on the turtle with her boppy on her head at this very moment.

24 July 2018

Bobo last night sat on my lap and looked at me and said, "I see into your eyes, Mama."  I said, "And what do you see?" and he said, "Smiles... and Papa... and love... and one more thing.  It starts with an 'H'."  I guessed 'Honda' and 'hamburger' and he laughed and said, "No, Mama!  Home!"

23 July 2018

We just returned from a farewell visit up to our friends the Peers in Charleston.  They are moving to Idaho at the beginning of August, which is so far away!  We will miss them very much.  We went to the children's museum downtown, and on TWO double dates for dessert and a walk on the waterfront.  We went swimming in their apartment pool, and took the kids down to the waterfront downtown one morning.  We also watched our kids and their kids play together and have so much fun.  There were card games and video games and imaginary play, and altogether no fighting, in spite of the fact that we were all cramped into a three bedroom apartment for three days together.  They are such good friends.  We're excited for their good fortune to be going to Idaho but we will miss them SO much!

We were supposed to go on to Ohio after this visit in order to attend a family reunion on Mr. Brown's side, but I have an upper respiratory infection (going on 3 weeks now) and Mr. Brown wasn't feeling well either, and Rosebud and Nut Brown have also been coughing pretty badly for a couple weeks.  I throw up when the coughing gets bad, and we didn't feel up to the drive or the reunion or the time away from home, plus we didn't want to get everybody else sick.  So we went home instead.

We got home Saturday evening, and everybody crashed.  Only Mr. Brown and Rose Pink went to church on Sunday, and after all the other kids got up, I went back to bed and slept for two more hours.  Rosebud is experienced with amusing herself next to a sleeping parent and when I came back to full consciousness I found books and drawing papers scattered over the bed next to me with vague memories of her talking to me about what she was doing.  I suggested to her and Bobo that they get out the toy kitchen and toy food and do some cooking, and that occupied them for another hour of delightful sleep, at which point I felt like I could get out of bed without immediately wanting to lay down again.  It has been so nice to be home.

8 July 2018

The other evening, Mr. Brown went out into the backyard to (what else?) shovel mulch while I was putting kids in bed.  Nut Brown eventually made up a glass of ice water and took it out to him, and said, "I thought you might be lonely" and they worked together and talked about Norse mythology.

6 July 2018

We've found a website that matches up gardeners with arborist companies for free loads of mulch, and as a result, we are able to get a lot of mulch now.  My sister's family was here last weekend and spent a good chunk of Saturday helping us clear the mulch pile and get it spread everywhere.  That afternoon, just after we'd finished, another company called asking if we wanted to take a load and we said yes (this is our fifth).  He left it in the backyard for us, and my sister looked at this brand new heaping pile of mulch and said, "Do you ever get discouraged?"  Her question surprised me so much because it felt like asking someone who was running a marathon if they were discouraged after the first hundred yards.  We haven't gotten far enough along in our plans for the yard to get discouraged yet! 

4 July 2016

This morning was the 4th of July breakfast at church and I discovered that the pavilion behind the church is actually quite nice - well built, with nice picnic tables and ceiling fans!  There were a bunch of fun games for the kids that involved catapults and water balloons, a beanbag dunking game, paper rockets fired with an air compressor, and badminton.  Someone also brought facepaint, and Bobo and his best friend got their faces painted the same way- in the same way as Rose Pink as well.  Rosebud got a tiny little rainbow on her cheek that she was very pleased with.  The food was not so great as usual, and I got a chance to talk to some Brasilians (who apologized for not coming to dinner last Sunday, but begged our understanding that it was a Brasil match in the World Cup... we forgave them) and with another Spanish-speaking family also in our ward.  It was cloudy, so not too hot, and we had a good time, although we then came home and lay down for awhile afterwards!

2 July 2018

Our dryer died, and a friend gave us a new one.  Mr. Brown gave the old one to Nut Brown to take apart, which he did and had a great time working on.  He pulled the drum out and had Bobo push him around in it in the backyard.  So he's braced inside it, and Bobo is rolling it over and over and over.  Eventually even Nut Brown got a little seasick.  Then they brought it inside and strapped it to a piano dolly, and have been pushing each other around the living room in it.  Nut Brown used cardboard to make doors for the "coach" and they had a lot of fun with that, too.  Interest has finally waned, however, and now the drum is going to be turned into a planter in the yard.

21 June 2018

Our dryer died, and Mr. Brown encouraged Nut Brown to take it apart before we put it out by the curb.  He had a ton of fun doing it, and thanked Mr. Brown for inviting him (which is kind of a big deal).  Nut Brown took the drum out and had Bobo push him around the backyard inside it, while he was basically doing propelled somersaults.  He got tired of it after awhile, and then he brought it back inside and strapped it on to our piano dolly, so now the kids give each other rides around the living room inside it.

20 June 2018

We're officially out for the summer!  Back to school on October 12.  To celebrate, Mr. Brown and kids went to Wal-Mart and cleaned out the discount bakery rack.  He also gave the kids certificates for finishing their grades.  Bobo was so pleased with his.  When I put him in bed that night, he told me that he wanted a certificate for his birthday for not dying before his seventh birthday.

18 June 2018

Rose Pink went away to girls' camp for a week and had a lovely wonderful time. They were in cabins near a lake and they had classes every day and free time to hang out, and they stayed up late doing crazy silly things.  She had a total blast.

16 June 2018

Bobo tells me a joke:  How do you get in trouble in Star Wars?


Mama: Um, I don't know.  By joining the dark side?


Bobo: No, by trying!


Mama: ????


Bobo: Do, or do not!  There is no try!

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Rosebud tells me a joke:  Knock knock who salad!

Mama: ????

Rosebud: Knock knock who salad!

Mama: (gets it) Salad who?

Rosebud: Ummmm... ummm.... people eating salad!

(this sounds like a four-year-old joke coming out of my two-year-old)