Where to Begin?

As I look back over the past 2 weeks, I don't even know where to start. Obviously, I've been neglecting the blog, but that's because I've been neglecting everything that isn't totally essential to the workings of this household. We've just been SOOOOOOO busy!

I am apparently known in our ward for being cheap, so they put me in charge of the kid portion of our "Living Frugal" Enrichment night. We've had birthday parties, free movie days, visits from the teacher from the deaf school, a little mini-vacation, and appointments to get back Jack's hearing aids. Oh, and we BOUGHT A CAR!

So here's a little synopsis of our recent adventures. Ok, not so little, but fun!

We discovered a few weeks ago that one of Jack's hearing aids wasn't working properly (or at all, sometimes). So Dr. Mary, our audiologist, sent it off to get fixed. After a month of waiting, we just got it back last week. And in the meantime, Jack had outgrown his ear molds & we had to have new ones made. His old ones were so small that they were literally falling out of his ears when he was sitting in one spot & not moving! So he couldn't wear the one aid we had. Unfortunately, he went almost 2 weeks without hearing aids, so it's been awful trying to get him used to wearing them again. Basically, we're starting from scratch with a kid that now knows how to take out the aids & either toss them across the room or stick them in his mouth. Ugh!

The ear mold is the part that sits in his ear & funnels the sound into the ear canal. It's clear, so you can barely see it in this picture. We can get any color we want, & I'm contemplating bright green or blue next time. What do you think? Don't you think that would look stellar on an infant? Emma wants some like the girls at Jack's school- glitter pink! The hearing aid is the part that sits behind the ear & amplifies the sound for him.

Daddy got the pool set up for us. I LOVE this picture. Gotta love the dollar store goggles.

Last weekend we took a super-fast, super-last-minute trip to go camping at Roper Lake State Park in Safford. We went with our friends, the Millers, and the kids had a blast. There was lots of swimming...

a little tube fishing....some serious playing.... (trust Frank to plop himself in the dirt & play for hours)and a TON of time spent in the natural hot springs hot tub. There are natural hot springs all over the Safford area, and I spent my share of time in this one as a kid. Don't ask me why, it was 100 degrees outside, but the kids begged to play in the hot tub about every 10 seconds. Emma was like a fish in this thing!Could you just die? I love this kiddo.Jack had a great time with the sleeping arrangements. The older kids were on the couch, and he had his own little crib in the bathtub. He was happy as a clam & slept, well, like a baby! Am I a bad Mommy for making him sleep in the tub?Well, in order to have a tub for your baby to sleep in, you have to have a motorhome, and this is my parent's. They live about a mile from Roper Lake, and Dad dropped off the "bus" for us to borrow. It was AWESOME! The Millers are troopers & slept in a non-air-conditioned trailer, but this is enough camping for me. By the way, the brand new mattress & goose down comforter don't scream "outdoor adventurers", Mom & Dad. Sure was comfy, though. And it was nice to have a cool place for the baby to nap.And lastly, that's the new ride. Nice, huh? Neither Andrew or myself wanted to buy a new car, but we've been feeling for a while that we should. It's awful to feel that way when you're unsure of your husband having a job next week, but we learned a long time ago to follow the promptings of the Spirit. So we prayed, prayed, stalled, & prayed some more. And there it is. We really did get a great deal, and I must say- anyone that is living without rear A/C in Arizona is a fool, and we have been foolish for a long time. It's amazing to have your kids complain about being cold, instead of crying because they're sweaty & roasty.

Basically,

BIGGER CAR + SMALLER PAYMENT = ONE HAPPY FAMILY

So even though we came home to radishes the size of apples (that's a quarter next to it for reference), and zucchinis the size of baseball bats (I told Andy we should pick them before we left), the trip was a success. Not exactly restful, because it was over on Friday & back on Saturday, but it was fun. Thanks to the Millers for going with us & Uncle Scotty for letting us park the motorhome until Dad could come get it. Uncle Scotty is the assistant manager at Roper Lake & his family actually gets to live IN the park. Awesome!!! To recover from the past few weeks of madness, we've been doing a lot of this lately.

And since the kids are now at Nana's house spending a few days, it was wonderful to sit outside tonight & watch this all by myself, in total silence. Pure bliss.

Happy Tuesday, everybody!