Seasons Change

On Tuesday morning, we were notified that our adopted Grandpa George from Pennsylvania died. Grandpa George and his wife Helen took us on adventures and loved us as their own. We are grateful for the love and respect that they shared with us. We hope the best for Grandma Helen and their family.


Underfoot a week ago came and said, “Look Mama. My fingernail came off.” And it had. A few weeks ago he had slammed his finger in the car door which bled. Gross.... He proceeded to tell me that we needed to go to the doctor to have her take his nail off. When I told him, I would be the doctor he looked at me and said in all sincerity, “Mama you are only a Mommy not at doctor.” Needless to say I wore both hats that day. I amputated the rest of the fingernail off.



We resumed Joy School this week. Underfoot loved going and participating. He apparently isn’t a very messy painter. His style is a minimalist. I think he gets that from his Father. He has started to enjoy coloring more starting this past week. When he doesn’t want to do a job or be helpful, he will say to me that he can’t because he is finishing his work and can’t leave it. Wow! What a retort!

K2 has been trying to cut a molar for about 2 weeks now. This past week he decided that he would eat supper and then he would eat late supper around 10:30 pm. L4 is more kind than I am because L4 would get up and feed K2 and make sure he was doing well. He is a very kind Daddy. K2 also decided audition for the Blue Man Group by painting his body blue before church on Sunday. Luckily the paint was only on his body and the front room floor and was washable. He is quite proficient at opening lids unless they are screwed on extremely tight. I have caught him sucking toothpaste (which I know can be toxic), water bottles, and other random, hopefully non-toxic, items.

On Saturday we had Christmas a little early. Our friends who moved to Alabama asked if we would consider getting some treasures from their home they have on the market. They are the same family that shared their chickens with us. We scored dirt, wiring, a sink, sand boxes, t-posts, and hopefully enough bricks to cover our BBQ/firepit area. It was a fun adventure! We thank them for giving us so much! After we got home from our adventure, we planted our garden in the dark with little boys.

On Sunday was the children’s sacrament meeting presentation. Because L4 and I have responsibilities with the children we got to sit on the stand and participate also. Our boys got to sit with our Tucson adopted Grandparents. They (our boys and the children) did great! In our class we played musical chairs only 10,000 times. To conclude the meeting, I shared one of my talents by playing a duet on my viola. L4 said it sounded good. Thanks to my parents for encouraging me and giving me the opportunity to learn.

Firsts

A list of new experiences this week for each of us: L4 attended his first military
concert. We went and saw the Air Force Academy Band on campus for free. It is paired with a recruiting event for the Air Force Academy. They did a tribute to 1940s Big Band music featuring Glenn Miller. The uniforms were even period. My favorite part of the concert is when they play the different military branches songs and see the current military or retired military. The audience was comprised of mostly octogenarians. I overheard one gentleman say that he was 80 and if he could “up” again he would. His career was 21 years and 17 days. Underfoot and K2 would lead the music or bob along with the beat. Underfoot liked the tuba and trumpet. K2 fell sleep 1/2 way through the concert and stayed asleep. We enjoyed our evening together.

Underfoot had a few firsts this week. He played in his first t-ball game. During his turn at the pitcher mound, he took a line drive to the throat. He said it hurt, and he cried a few tears. When he recounts the experience, he makes the sound of a few fake sobs. He is very happy to wear his uniform. Another first was he went to climb on his bicycle and saw a snake wrapped through the sprocket. He came and told me that there was snake. We called the fire department. It was hilarious to watch Underfoot yell at the firemen as they came to the house, “Firemen come and get this snake!!!” The bull snake they took was about 2 feet long. The bull snake has similar coloring to a rattlesnake and will shake its tail to mimic the sound of rattlesnake. We were proud of him for even recognizing that there was a snake on his bike.

K2 has moved to a big boy bed. We took the crib down. He loves to sleep in a bed. The draw back for me is that he can now get out of his bed at night and walk down the hall to our room. He almost always comes to my side of the bed and sleeps right next to me. He also is a very helpful little boy. He will take all the dishes from the table to the sink after a meal. He likes to pour fluids from one container to the next and back again. It makes quite the mess but he finds all sorts of things to pour.

I organized a meet and greet for the Bountiful Baskets site coordinators with Tanya and Sally, the organizers. The boys and I went to the park and enjoyed the afternoon. My first for the week was that I made caramel popcorn with the recipe I got from my Auntie Kathy. The first batch was enjoyed by neighbors after the HOA meeting. The second batch was enjoyed by Bountiful Baskets get-together-people and L4’s coworkers. I dropped it off at L4’s work as a surprise after the Baskets eeting. We ate enough to have our caramel popcorn fix for a little while.

BYU Homecoming

Happy Anniversary to Dad and Mom! They have been married for 41 years! What a great accomplishment! We wish them many more.

The weather has been cooling off. We had only one day over a 100 degrees this week. The other days have be dipping from mid-90s to high-80s. Last night cooled off to high-50s. It was awesome! Finally it feels a little fall-esque. Yesterday we bought 36 bags of manure to put into our garden so the soil can be enriched again to grow plants.

All of K2’s clothes have been changed because he is growing. For me it is always a sad day when my children become bigger. I hope that I have taught them the lessons they need to know. It is part of the life cycle but do I enjoy the stage of life they are in currently? I really hope so.

As for adventures, we went to the Children’s Museum and co-hosted a local BYU homecoming event. With the Joy School and a neighbor we went and explored the museum. It is the perfect age for Underfoot and K2.
The favorite exhibits were trains and the music room. Underfoot loved getting food in the shopping cart. With two boys going two different directions, the boys were dressed in bright colors so I could find them easily. It helped on a few occasions.

That afternoon we went shopping. I have started to learn about how to coupon shop. It is a whole new world. My favorite part was at the register- the initial total was $94.02 and then the coupons were added into the mix. The final cost $24.77. It was a 73% savings. I keep smiling.

BYU celebrated 50 years in acoustics research this year with the theme “Dare to Discover”, and we really wanted to be at the homecoming events that would highlight that part of the Physics Department for L4 this year. Instead of traveling to Provo, we brought homecoming to us with food, football, and even shirts.
H L and I brainstormed and planned a “banquet” for adults only, a Fun Run and Pancake breakfast, and a tailgate with the game!
L4 and I participated in each event and hope that others enjoyed the festivities as well.
We noticed that we referred a lot to our Penn State experience since that is where our relationship began.
We hope to create more memories for ourselves and our boys.

Pumpkins & Apples

K2 started talking more this week.
He says Lu-ca for Underfoot. He can also say up, down, yo-gurt, and a number of other words. K2 loves to climb up the plastic slide we have in our front room. He slides to the bottom, giggles uncontrollably, and the repeats the process.

On Monday Mama cleaned out three of our garden boxes. She harvested 8 pumpkins as well as a number of watermelons and gourds. After Family Home Evening we stopped at a friend’s house who gave L4 a roll-away toolbox. (L4 was very excited to finally have a full-sized toolbox.)

On Tuesday Mama and the boys were invited to go swimming. They all had a great time. That evening Underfoot participated in his first T-ball practice. It was fun to see him learn how to hit, throw, and catch a ball. On our way home from practice we acquired a used bicycle for Underfoot, training wheels and all. After a little bit of work, Underfoot now has a two-wheeled bike to ride.

Underfoot enjoyed Joy school on Tuesday and Thursday. On Thursday afternoon Mama picked up about 150 pounds of beef and about 80 pounds of pork. On her way home she picked me up from work. When we got home we scrambled to get all the meat packed into our freezer.

On Friday we went to the Temple in the morning. After ward, we went on an adventure. We visited Apple Annie’s- a u-pick orchard and vegetable garden. We also went to an organic apple orchard. Mama bought a 40 pound box of apples for 20 dollars. The apples were fresh and did not have a wax coating on them.

On Saturday we worked and watched General Conference. Mama finished staining the bench that we got from our neighbors who recently moved back East. She also finished painting the bathroom. L4 reorganized the Garage to make room for the new tool box.

Mama picked up a baby rattlesnake while weeding. It was purely by accident. It scarred her (and the snake) quite a bit. We won’t be weeding around that bush any time soon.

Last night while L4 was at Priesthood session Mama hosted a pot-luck dinner. She invited a number of women to come and bring their children to eat and visit. Underfoot had a lot of fun with all of his friends.