Rain and more rain

We had a very rainy week, the rains lowered the temperature down to the low 70s, it felt like spring again. The rain did not just fall, it was accompanied with torrential wind, rain, hail, lightening, and thunder. The Haley family survived the storms by the strength of their boot straps. Alison kept their fireworks tent on the ground with her own arms. She felt like Dorthy off on her adventure to Oz. We had Ella during the worst of the storms. They ended up getting a new tent built for Nebraska weather.

Amelia had another post-op appointment in Denver. The Anderson family watched the middle kids for me. I think they had a good time! Megan was impressed with Evelyn's climbing skills. We arrived at the hospital just in time for our 1 pm appointment. She got an x-ray right away. Dr G measured the new angle of her femur head. She was hoping for a 20 degree angle, ended up with a 15-17 degree angle. Each time she measured the angle changed a bit. She cleared Amelia to start PT again to rebuild her leg strength. She can put 25% of her body weight for 2 weeks, then up to 50% for the next two weeks. By the time we go back in 6 weeks she should be hobbling along pretty well. We were starving after her appointment. Amelia wanted a bonefide girl date so we went to the mall in Aurora. I borrowed a wheelchair to push her around in since the crutches tire her out quickly. We started off our date with a fun visit to the photo booth. We ate Taco Bell at the food court. A strange lady commented on my fine, smooth heels and asked how I got them that way. She then continued to talk and sat down to eat her lunch with us. That rarely happens these days so it felt strange. After talking a bit she revealed she was inactive LDS. When she asked to hold Josie I about freaked out. My crazy radar was on. We finally escaped once Amelia wanted more tacos. That girl can pack in the tacos. We walked around the mall for an hour. I ended up getting Josie's ears pierced. The lady who did the piercing was quite colorful and pierced herself (literally). Amelia walked away with a cute hat. Josie did not even cry when the lady pierced her ears. She was more upset that I held her head still! I've always loved little babies with cute earrings, took me 3 girls to get up the gumption to actually do it. Amelia was quite keen on visiting the Disney store. We caught a great 75% off sale and scored Elsa stuff for Evelyn and a cute Ariel dress/shoes for Mia. She was beaming and shooting me love eyes after all the girl attention. We ended our fun outing with a "browse" through Bath and Body to get more hand sanitizer. The trip home took quite a bit longer because we stopped 3 times so I could nurse Josie. She was hungry after sleeping the entire drive up.

Tuesday we had Ella over to play most of the day. I had to make a huge Walmart trip since we had zero fresh food, no TP, no soap, no laundry detergent, etc. Sister Hill watched the older 4 kids since I needed all the cart space possible. Josie napped in the front carrier. The poor checker who rang me up looked fresh out of cashier training school. I scared him with my two carts of food. Gina told me about the perks of Amazon subscribe and save. I immediately signed up to have TP, dish detergent, protein powder, diapers, and such delivered right to my door. I picked up Ella on my way home from Walmart. The girls had a good time playing the rest of the day. I had a short photo session do-over for an insurance agency, they did not like how the group photo turned out. Sigh. Amelia also got her long locks cut off. Deb cut off 8 inches of length! Amelia looks so sweet and cute with her short hair. She is delighted that her hair is so easy to brush. I had plans to take the kids night swimming, a huge weather system spoiled those plans. Justin went on church visits. Instead I tortured myself by taking all 6 kids to watch the new Finding Dory movie. Amelia forgot her glasses at home because of her hair appointment. I ran home twice to find her misplaced glasses. I got to experience a bit of the torrential rainfall while I played finders keepers. Evelyn is still awful at movies. She lasted long enough for me to get Amelia's glasses (the length of time her drink, popcorn, and lollipop lasted). Phillip and Everett were terrified of the movie. It was not scary in the least, silly boys. I thought the movie was pretty cute.

Wednesday we tried to wander to Lake Bridgeport but that did not work out at all. Instead we spent the afternoon at the pool. Once again several nice ladies helped hold Josie while I chased around my danger prone toddler. Amelia had a PT appointment at 5 so we went to the hospital in our damp swim suits. I was glad the clinic was closed for the day, less people to scare. Justin picked up the boys and took them to help move a family in our ward. The girls waited an hour while Amelia did her PT. We dropped off Ella to Walmart parking lot then went home. The cloud formations were quite impressive.

Thursday the Anderson kids came over from 7:45-5:50 while Megan and Tyson went to his Dr appt down at Ft Collins. All the kids played hard most of the day. When evening rolled around I think all the toys in our house had been touched and played with. In other words our house was a hot mess, evident of a long day of productive kids. I love those messes! We tried to play outside but it rained and turned chilly. Evelyn saw a squirrel scamper across a power line. She yelled: "Mom! Look! A circus kitty!" I am still laughing. She is still making attempts to use the potty. When I try to help her with reminders she wants a diaper on, guess I will let her handle this venture for the time being.

Friday I had intentions to drive to the lake once again BUT the rainy, cold weather said otherwise. We stayed home and recuperated. I tried to start work on switching up all the bedrooms but the task was a bit too overwhelming for me, we did clean up the basement a bit in preparation. The kids played in the rain after dinner. I especially enjoyed Evelyn's outfit of choice: swimsuit, rain boots, and a winter hat. Phillip showed her how to put flowers under the rain spout. That was great fun. Phillip made the flowers stick to his nose with nostril powers. Justin set off a few firecrackers and ground flowers much to the boy's delight. Everett has talked non-stop about fireworks since then. Justin took off from work a bit early. He jokingly asked if I wanted to go somewhere by myself...like to the bathroom. No joke there!

Saturday morning was still dreary, perfect for morning naps and editing our family photos. We stopped by the Haley's firework tent and got some sparklers and such then got fly swatters from Walmart. Amelia got to stay and help out at the tent for the rest of the afternoon. Justin took the boys to Cabela's then to the park. He set up his hammock and watched the boys play from his comfortable perch. I stayed at home with the napping girls to catch up on some work and think about cleaning up. I finally did clean up the living room, on my knees since Josie was sleeping in the Moby wrap.

Amelia is developing some body odors...prepubescence already?! She got her own stick of fresh Suave deodorant, sweet pea and violet scent. Much better than the Cheetos smells she was fermenting. This morning she put on the deodorant and giggled like a silly goose because it tickled. I was cracking up watching her 9-year-old self laugh over deodorant application. Classic 9-year=old humor right there!. Even with her developing body she is the right size to snuggle on my lap with all her long gangly limbs. Gracious, I love all these precious kids. We are blessed beyond measure.

I tried to grab some pics of the kids dressed up in their red, white, and blue configuration after church. That worked out about the same as I expected. Evelyn is a stinker pot. She screeched off an on during Sacrament meeting. She spent a good amount of time in the hall staring at the corner with me helping her stare at the corner. We took a couple pics in front of a shop full of military paraphernalia, the owner was there. He is a retired Army Colonel from Sidney. He is working with retirees to help them tell their stories and get them recorded for the library of Congress. He collects uniforms as a hobby and keeps them at this shop. He lends the uniforms out at various times of the year! We saw the uniforms earlier last year during Amelia's Patriotic School Performance.

Josie can roll from stomach to back. She also learned to make fish lips this week! So stinkin' adorable.