Aunt Jana! Fun at Quinn's Pond

 I made my own sauerkraut...with cabbage from my own garden! I had four heads of cabbage growing, one was completely lost to aphids. The other three were half demolished by other garden pests. I saved enough to make two jars of sauerkraut. The process is simple: wash cabbage, pass through food processor, salt with a TBS of salt, massage until the cabbage releases it's water, pack into jars and let ferment for 5-7 days with a fermenter lid. My garden resembles a jungle with all the random sunflowers growing out of the mulch...a second thanks to Josie's gardening attempt last year. My tomato, green bean, and cucumber plants are cranking out the produce. I planted carrots in the plot where the cabbages and brussels sprouts tried to thrive. 

Sara and Dusty brought home their two new puppy, Millie, and are currently fostering Woody until we decide if he will join our family. Ambree was so excited and surprised! Phillip hosted a tortilla face slapping event, it was mostly a fail because no one could hit his face hard enough with the tortilla so that he would spit out the water in his mouth. It was more entertaining to watch the kids running around slapping each other with tortillas. The girls got back to school haircuts after a summer of swimming and sun damage. Evelyn really wanted to go short but also loves her longer hair. She made the leap and went with a really cute bob just like Josie. Amelia opted for a 2 inch trim. I also got the left side of my hair trimmed shorter to match the right side better. We stopped in at Winco for lake day snacks coming over the weekend. I later spent an hour driving to Caldwell for a couple newborn props I found for cheap on Facebook Boise Photographer's page. I was treated to a vivid, chubby rainbow! 

My debit card stopped working on Monday last week. I thought maybe we ran out of money and so pinched pennies until payday. My card still did not work. I finally called Navy Federal, turns out my card expired 31 July...never really checked the expiration date because I always got a replacement card before it expired. When Justin changed our mailing address two years ago the change did not extend to my account even though we are connected as spouses. The card was returned from our Gilbert address a month ago to NFCU. Living without my debit card was an eye opener. I mostly struggled by using the credit card, hand written checks, and Venmo. All was fine and inconvenient until I needed $45 in cash to buy a used Poileroid (Polaroid) camera for Evelyn's birthday. I went to Walmart to write a check for $45 over my total. Nope. Declined. Went to Customer Service and learned I can only write $10 over per check. So I made 4 separate purchases using 4 checks just to get $40 in cash. I scrounged up $5 in coins from the van to get the rest of the money I needed. Dude...if our banking system ever crashes we will all be screwed! Completely. That was absolutely frustrating, and my fault. 

Tuesday the 9th Phillip and Everett had a Back to School event at East Valley. We went to pick up schedules, get hoodies and a band shirt, sign up Everett for Cross Country, and pay dues. Everett was really bummed he wasn't in the robotics wheel. I suggested he change his schedule. He went right up to a counselor and got his schedule adjusted. He had to drop advanced math in order to make robotics work, he will love his classes! Thursday Amelia went to Roaring Springs with the Palmers before they leave on Saturday. It was raining and thundery but the park stayed open! Yay. I "enjoyed" getting my yearly mammogram. Nothing like getting ones breasts smashed between two plates of glass. That evening Sister Hill hosted one last pool party for the RS. They are moving to a smaller home the end of August. We chatted for a couple hours. That was nice. 

We did a spot of back-to-school shopping right before Jana arrived. The kids got in trouble because before I left for grocery shopping I handed out specific assignments in each child's chores for the day. Justin thought the house was good enough so the kids ignored my assignments. NOPE. I came home to find it 95% the same as before I left. The kids lost all TV and gaming privileges for the day. Everett was especially upset because he kept doing a half-ass job hoping it would be enough to get out of his assignments. He was on kitchen that week, the hardest chore of them all, but he had piles and piles of dishes all day. I helped where I could but also tried to give him a chance to work. Poor kids got a concentrated dose of vitamin L while confined in the van with me. Drives me nuts! The boys needed a few clothing items and Amelia wanted a new outfit for the first day. Everett needed sporty clothes for cross country this year. Once we got home the kids had to finish up their chores while our guests were watching them. 

Rachel came down with a fever and cough just before they were going to come up for a visit. Jana delayed their trip up for a day. I am so happy they came Friday, even with a partially cranky Rachel. Jana and her girls plus Madi and The girls played an epic game of school upstairs. Rachel happily came downstairs to declare my house the most fun house ever. We also had a surprise visit from Madi Call, Wendy Call's oldest daughter. Justin and family knew Wendy from their days in 29 Palms, not sure how they are related. Wendy and family moved to AZ the last year we were in Gilbert. Madi and her friend were on their way home from Oregon after a month long camping road trip. The girls were glad for couches, laundry, and home-cooked food! Amelia coaxed the all girls to join her making perler creations. I needed to get pickles made before the cucumbers spoiled. I made a sudden decision to get it done around 4 pm. It was not hard just time consuming. For dinner we had Alice Springs chicken, which turned out delicious. 

Saturday we left around 9:30 am for a day at Quinn's Pond in Boise. The YM decided on a end of summer activity Monday afternoon. We were all a bit annoyed at the terrible planning. The location changed 3 times between Monday and Thursday. I was excited to try out Quinn's pond because it is the closest lake experience to us (with clean water). It was crazy busy at the park. We located our group and unloaded 5 kayaks and our schtuff. Jana and Justin settled down in the shade for some naps. The youth had a marvelous time with all the kayaks and paddle boards. I took Hannah and Rachel for their first kayak ride. Rachel tripped on some rocks ripping off part of her nail and toe, yuck. She was brave and ripped off the offending skin because "the flapping was bothering her." My favorite part was paddling along with two pool noodles and a paddle, tipping over unsuspecting kids off their boards. Rachel joined me for doggle paddling, yes, doggle paddling. The ward provided pizza and fruit plus some snacks. We stayed until 3 pm. That was plenty of sun for us all. Jana did not sleep well the previous night, she was anxious to turn in early. 

Sunday Sister Hansen had me stay for the duration since we taught a combined lesson on the Psalms and music. That was quite fun. Rachie parked herself on my lap with Josie vying for the extra space. I've enjoyed learning about the Psalms. One intriguing idea is that the Psalms were once parts of a temple play performed in the temple early at the feast of the tabernacles. Using the Book of Mormon as a framework several scriptorians put the Psalms in order. Fascinating!