Lance Cousins Visit

 

We had a very relaxed day on the 5th of July, enjoying a day off of work for Justin and getting some odd jobs done around the house. 

Next day I finally tackled the big job of preserving the apricots into jam. I also dehydrated 15 pounds after soaking the apricot halves in sugar syrup...because sugar yum! I was able to get 6 quarts of jam and two quarts of dried apricots. I even sent 3 pounds of fruit to Aunt Nancy. The kids amused themselves in my bedroom (I was not paying attention) for a few hours. I heard reports of crackers, torn paper, dog games, and lots of bedding thrown about. I enjoyed the quiet and didn't have to attend the mess thanks to Justin's intervention. Part of the game included making gross concoctions using concentrated juice stuff, strawberries, water, and goldfish crackers. The other team had to take a sip as part of the game. Josie and Oliver were quite devious as they whipped up their mixture. 

The boys and I started cleaning their bedroom after dinner on Tuesday. The last time I mom cleaned their room was over 6 months ago. Oh my gracious, Everett is a pack rat. That kid pulled out an entire trash bag of candy wrappers, papers, junk, and about 30 books from under his bed. Apparently, he hordes candy and sneaks bites of it at night while reading books. After the book is read he chucks it under the bed to join the trash he was too lazy to put in the proper receptacle. I was quite proud of Phillip for deciding to let go of his baby blankets and some stuffies he is no longer attached to. The boy's closet was a decided hurricane of clothes. Everett let me donate his size 6 shorts to Logan Ostler since the shorts were the equivalent of booty shorts on a boy. Nothing feels much better than a good thorough clean. Phillip helped me clear a space for his school desk along one wall. The desk is now his Lego table. He sorted toys into different drawers and bins for new homes. Their room looked neat and tidy once we finished around 2 pm the next day. I went from the boy's room to cleaning the girl's room (again). Evelyn happily helped to decorate the Barbie mansion. We all worked hard until late Wednesday night cleaning the school room. Sara helped me get the clutter under control in the main spaces. Then I spent another 2 hours sorting toys and supplies back to their proper spots. I need to change the purpose of the loft area now from a school room to a multi-purpose room. Evelyn got a small space as a crafting center for her drawings and art. 

Thursday we worked to clean the downstairs, which was quite easy since we regularly clean those spaces. I had some spare time to clean my bedroom and closet. The Lances rolled into Nampa around 5:00 pm! Partay! Courtenay was the first person to notice AND comment that the downstairs bathroom soap matches the decor (cactus flower). Yes, stroke my ego Mrs Court. I enjoyed the deep clean, felt good to finally check our spring cleaning off a few months late. Ha ha. Evelyn was so excited to play Pioneers with Emmy and Penny. I got her a dress-up Pioneer outfit so Josie could use the set we have. The kids were in the pool soon after arriving. Dinner was yummy white chicken chili, almost the worst meal to eat on a day with 104 temperatures. After our hot soup dinner we balanced the heat out with snow cones at the shack. Josie was very amused with the pop rocks in her snow cone, the bits exploded when the candy hit the frozen ice. 

The kids pulled out the Perler beads as a morning craft. Amelia continued to make cute sets of earrings to sell as a fun summer job. She made about 30 pairs of earrings over a weeks' time. Nampa had a small heat break, something my kids were counting the days for. I told them we would do a Kool-Aid stand when the forecast was under 98. Lucky kids! The forecast was only 96 on Friday. We toted a bunch of kids and all the accoutrements for lemonade stand up to the road next to the elementary school. Amelia had her earrings for sale, Everett was selling some rocks, we had 4 kinds of juice, and even some soda. One kind hearted lady gave the kids $40 for a cup a juice AND let the kids pet her cute dog. After a couple more customers the kids walked away with $56 in earnings after paying for expenses for just an hour of the lemonade stand. Dang! We snagged some lunch at home then packed up the vans for an afternoon at Jump Creek. I felt like we were returning to an old friendly place when we parked! Charlie was not so sure about all the water, rocks, dirt, and adventure...he was a bit grumpy after a much needed nap. The older kids jumped right into the frigid water. Amelia, Phillip, Everett, and Everett tried jumping off the cliff into a circle floatie. Later they took turns rating each other's jumps off the cliff. Courtenay spotted the only crawfish this trip. Phillip made a rock pool for the animal. As soon as we got home Charlie was in the pool, guess he lives his best life in chlorinated, shallow water. I had kabobs nearly ready for the grill before we left so that dinner was easy to get on the table. Josie slept in the loft with Penny and Emmy, for some reason Evelyn wanted to sleep with us. I love that the little girls played American Girl Dolls for several days off and on. Courtenay and I snuck off for a Winco trip solo style. We needed to purchase delicious snacks for our lake day. Yes, I check the bank account this time, no worries. We may have indulged in a box of special Magnum bars and eaten several before arriving back home. Mom win! 

Saturday we enjoyed a lake day at Arrow Rock Reservoir. It's not the prettiest location but somewhat close, not too crowded, and just enough lake for us to enjoy. Justin drove the truck with the kayaks and lake gear. I drove the van with the littler kids and Courtenay. It is a dusty, twisty drive along the reservoir for a couple miles. We made several ventures across the lake to play on the other side. There is not much of a shore but the dropping water levels leave a fine silt that is quite fun to play in. The little girls performed a kayak ballet which was so cute. I had to laugh at the boys crowded around the cooler making sandwiches for lunch, not sure why that scene was so funny. Justin joined in the fun when Amelia discovered a spot of "quick sand." They dug the impression in a sizeable hole filled with lots of goopy mud. Courtenay and I were not sure who the dark man was with out children...it was Justin covered with mud. Charlie let me play with him as long as he could be the bum gun and shoot Phillip. Those two are kindred spirits, they know the art of being boys. Amelia needed to be home in time to get showered and dressed for a Stake Dance. I somehow missed applying sunblock to my shins and thighs, got my knees though. I have lobster legs with nice white dots on my knees, so purdy. Courtenay fixed Amelia's hair in the cutest messy buns for the dance. I drove the lot (including Carson this time) to the church. Courtenay managed to get the little kids washed up and into PJs. We were one tired lot after several days of non-stop fun. 

Sunday was a much needed day of rest. We enjoyed church with our visiting family. The kids played quietly the rest of the day. The adults got naps, mmmmm, yes. We let the older 4 kids stay up to work on their MineCraft pioneer village. When it came time to turn off the game and go to bed Everett C needed another moment to finish something in his world. Everett L attacked him in the game as incentive to be obedient. My Everett rushed upstairs and gut punched Everett L in the stomach. I was not privy to the situation until 10 minutes after when I went to say goodnight to the boys and Everett L was not in their room. My heart fell to my toes and stayed there. My Everett was quite left out by Phillip and Everett L since Thursday. For some reason Everett L does not like my guy so much, he can be annoying and over competitive. The other day Everett L told my Everett he has serious anger issues, which he does. A month ago Everett also punched Carson over some trivial reason. I felt disappointed in Phillip for not including Everett C in their games, he is the big brother and knows how it feels to be left out. This experience triggered many conversations over the last couple days about anger. Everett lost all electronic privileges for 3 days, had to come up with a written plan of action, and had to tell Justin about it. He apologized the next day to which Everett replied, "it's fine, I don't care." Everett only heard the "I don't care" and burst into tears. How do parents teach respect, empathy, and listening? It's crazy hard. 

We all drove to the gas station for one last hurrah, the kids spent some of their Lemonade stand money on expensive treats. Yum. The Lances headed to Twin Falls and I headed to gymnastics! Thank you for the visit. I sincerely apologize for my kids dumb choices. We're a work in progress.