Special Visit from Santa Call

We had a pretty fun, relaxed week. I am getting used to my new glasses, it's been a long time since I last had thick frames. I do like that the nose rests are missing, they feel more comfy not digging into my nose bridge. We are following a fun daily theme this summer:

Make Something Monday
Try Something New Tuesday
Wander Wednesday
Thoughtful Thursday
Fabulous Friday

It helps me as a Mom do something a little different each day. The kids really look forward to these little activities. This week the kids made 4th of July art on Monday. Amelia helped me make a new recipe for dinner, ham and cheese noodles. Wednesday we drove to Peetz for Visiting Teaching. Thursday the kids made welcome cards for Grandma and Grandpa Call. Friday we had a fabulous day with our visitors. I have some large plastic sheeting to make a water bubble this week...hopefully.

With the Calls coming for a visit I had the perfect excuse to deep clean the house. Each day I focused on a different area in the house, like bedrooms, bathrooms, basement, kitchen, and living room. I hired a YW in my ward earning money for girl's camp to come help me deep clean the kitchen. She scrubbed all the cabinets, walls, and baseboards. It was so wonderful to have a captive audience that did not argue with me about cleaning! Flicked my wish and she made it come true. I have 6 more hours of cleaning coming my way and I am dreaming up "fun" jobs. As part of the kid's chores they cleaned their room, dusted, and acted as go-fers. The best part was cleaning the front window with the hose and a rag. Evelyn squealed each time the water hit the window.

Wednesday we enjoyed a fun time at the library going through Super Hero Training Camp. The kids made a super mask, saved a baby from a fire, dressed like a hero, lifted a boulder, ferried kryptonite to a bottle, lifted 100 and 1000 pounds, busted down a building wall, and hopped through hoops. The entire set up was quite clever and very entertaining for the kids. The YW finished sewing and pinning their camp quilt. I will bind it somehow at home since that is a one person job. The ladies seemed to enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to square up the quilt, trim it, and keep the layers together.

Friday morning I had a newborn girl come visit us. She was very sweet and one of the sleepiest babies ever. She let me pose and move her over and over. Her mom is a good friend of mine who owns the child consignment store in town. Her two girls were just precious. Most of the time I let the studio stuff hang out in the basement until I find time to clean it up. An hour after the session the basement was pristine (a rarity). I was sweating so much I took a shower. Gross. I looked out the window after my shower to find Phillip holding Evelyn on her lap while they waited for the Calls to arrive. The Calls showed up around 12:30. Justin was gone to Colorado for the day so we got to entertain them for the afternoon. We were ravenous so decided on a lunch at Subway. The boys kept Grandpa highly entertained. It is sort of strange to watch Amelia grow up. She is much quieter now when around folks she does not know. Not quiet shy, but reserved shy, a maturity that will continue to grow...it was like looking at myself! Grandpa's beard was highly entertaining. Grandpa finally lured Evelyn onto his lap for a split second with a piece of candy. The kids worked really hard cleaning house with me so I took the older ones for an hour at the pool. The Calls and Evelyn took a much needed nap. Justin got home around 6:00 pm. He wanted to take his parents out to Dude's steak house so we went out again. Yikes. Everett cracked me up by ordering shrimps bodies for dinner (fried shrimp). He enjoyed figuring out which end contained the tails or heads. After dinner we enjoyed the side yard until the mosquitoes came out.  Grandpa brought a kid motorcycle helmet so Justin can take the kids on motorcycle rides. He also gave the kids kites to play with. The best was watching them play "Go Fish" with the kids. The Calls were gone by 6 am, wanting to visit Martin's Cove before heading down to Utah.

Justin gave the three older kids a ride on his motorcycle. That was quite a fun experience for them all. Thanks Grandpa! Justin and I somehow managed to clean the garage on Saturday. That was totally unplanned but really needed. It ends up acting like a catch all. I hosed down the garage floor, a flood of memories hit me as I remember skating on the garage floor when we lived in Fayetteville. Those were fun times. I vacuumed the van (again, and again) and took out all the clutter than somehow manages to collect in less than a week. I wish we had a waterproof van, you know open the doors and spray it all clean, floors included. A nifty incline function helps the water drain out leaving a spotless vehicle. In my dreams.