Miracles and birthday parties.

       My two M's, Mark and McClane had a big week. Mark, after 7 long months, finally got his drivers license back! My chauffeuring days for the 18 year old are finally done! I know he was more excited about it then me, but barely! Let me just say though, bad choices don't come cheap, it cost a whopping $390 to have it reinstated. Before going to the DMV I encouraged Mark to maybe go over the drivers ed. book just in case he might be tested again. Well he did have to take a 25 question test but it was open book and as we were walking out he said, "You were right, I should have studied because I only got a 25 out of 25 and only had to use the book once to look up an answer." What a smart%$#!

Charlie at the DMV, she's tall but not quite tall enough to get her drivers license. 

     McClane and Charlie had fun at the Partyland store shopping for piñatas and driving the safari jeep.

     It was also the wolf walk for the kids elementary school and my neighbor was kind enough to go and take a photo of our two cute girls. The girls were talking on the way home about what 'place' they got and apparently Sarah was in 99th place and Charlie claims she was in 2nd place. Whether these placements are accurate or not is a mystery but neither seemed disappointed with their results.

The school finally put out a t-shirt I actually wouldn't mind wearing myself.

      McClane is two days away from his official 8th birthday but we decided to start celebrating a little early and had a friend party this afternoon. He was over the moon with the idea of having friends come and breaking open a piñata with them. As the party was wrapping up McClane said it was the best day ever, so we'll call the party a success. He still has a few things planned for his official birthday but for now we're going to share the highlights from the friend party.

8 balloons!

A line-up for the piñata fun.

McClane started off the penguin beating.

Brock got in a few good whacks.

McClane even let Charlie in on the fun.

Greg finally had to help distribute all the piñata goodies. (That penguin did not go down easy!)

This party got bigger then planned with about four extra kids from the neighborhood showing up.

Here are the official party guests.

8 candles in a cupcake does the trick.

Lots of cool gifts from some great friends.

    And as you may or may not know, Mark had until today to get his packets done and take some tests to finalize receiving his high school diploma. To say the stress of this has been overwhelming is an understatement. Well with crunch time upon him Mark stepped up and got it done just in the nick of time. To say I was relieved would also be an understatement. I shed a few tears of joy and relief and said a pray of gratitude. I had prayed that he would be able to take his tests and pass them on the first try, because taking them more then once was going to require some finagling and he told me he passed all the test with 70% or better the first time, truly a miracle and an answer to my prayers. I still plan on getting him in a cap and gown for a photo op in the near future even if he doesn't want to. Mark hasn't been making the best choices lately but I know he's still a good kid and has plenty of potential and I'm so glad these two big events (license reinstatement and high school diploma) are finally behind us!

Very little

     Not the most exciting week. I only took a couple photos. Charlie and her two little friends had some fun with the face paints. I'm so glad it washes off so easily, the glitter, however, may linger awhile on my deck.

     And in case you missed the Instagram post, and however else Kayli does social media, Kayli and Tanner bought a 2016 Toyota 4Runner. (I guess it's the summer of new vehicles for our family.) These two are really good with their money and are making pretty good money so they can afford the hefty bill they just added to their budget. There might have been a little anxiety on my part when I first heard the grand total for this 'new' vehicle but I know they can handle it and it got Kayli off our car insurance and out of the co-signed loan she had with Greg, so that's progress!

It doesn't have the turbo like Mark's 'mom' car but it's definitely a better body style in my opinion.

     So that's it for our weekly highlights. Maybe next week we'll have more cool things to share, at least I hope we will! (Pray for Mark to finish his packets so he can get his diploma, he only has a few days left to finish up!)

Hey MOM!

     Mark is just 11 days away from having his license reinstated and in preparation for the big day he decided to pick up a new ride. I never would have guessed he'd go with a Volkswagen, Jetta sports wagon. It's official, he's a soccer MOM! Ha ha! Not the choice I would have gone with and white is not my color for a car but the turbo, yeah, that's cool! And the huge sunroof is also a bonus so I'll allow it to reside on our property. It's also a diesel so it's going to get great gas mileage and he should be able to do any repairs on it if needed.

2013, 43K for mileage, pretty good deal!

    So that's the highlight from our week. We're still surviving school/homework and I'm enjoying the sunshine for as long as it will last!

Summer don't GO!

    We all had some fun adventures over the long weekend. Greg and I went on a motorcycle ride to the top of American Fork Canyon and then went on a cool hike. We came upon a baby moose and her mama, which was a little startling but we did a little bushwhacking around them and avoided a real encounter. Then Greg took the kids to Goblin Valley and Green River Utah with a couple other families from our neighborhood while I stayed home and enjoyed the peace and quiet for the day. It was about the best day ever! It's been a good week. We also sold the GMC, finally, so now I can breathe a little easier about the new tires we purchased for the Nissan. It was a little sad to see our big, black car leave but it's going to a good home and change can be a good thing.

This is pretty much an every day occurrence for these two. (Why can't she stay in her own bed!?)

Mama and baby moose. 

God is good! Our world is amazing!

Such a fun hike and very pretty!

The kids had a blast at Goblin Valley.

They found a cave, the perfect spot to tell ghost stories.

Charlie had the best time.

Fun group of kids! We love our neighborhood!

The 'three amigos' enjoying some lemonade and bugle chips.

Adios you big, black, beast!

     We've done other fun things this week like attended a zero fatality lecture for Isaac's drivers ed course, enjoyed a fresh peach shake with friends, and spent a good amount of time on the porch visiting with the neighbors. Summer weather is my FAVORITE! I'm not ready for summer to end.

Yay! (warning, graphic photo ahead)

      So it's official, Charlie is a kindergartner and she loves it! No tears for her or me! I'm still 13 years  away from having all these kids out of the public school system but the few hours break every day is sure NICE!

Charlie is sure happy to have her best friend, Sarah, with her in kindergarten.

      Today Mark had his four wisdom teeth removed. He was not happy about this procedure, which is why there's the 'graphic' photo below. This was pre-surgery.

I let the 'graphic' attitude slide because I knew he'd be feeling differently once the drugs set in.

    After surgery Mark was feeling pretty good! He was definitely silly and out of it. I'd post the videos but I have a feeling they're not as entertaining to others as they are to us. He definitely was happy about the knock out medication and wanted more, he also talked about going to Lagoon and wanted to go to Costco to get free samples. It was all pretty funny to me. Now that his face is no longer numb he's gone back to cranky but he's got three days to recuperate and I think he'll be fine.

Now we know what he probably looks like drunk/high. Creepy!

They only gave him three teeth because the fourth one was cut into and couldn't be saved.

    So that's the weeks highlights. I've taken up walking twice a day and this week I put about 38 miles on my sneakers. I've also binge watched Netflix more hours then I care to mention. I'm definitely putting my free time to good use. Ha ha! I'm definitely looking forward to our three day weekend!

First week of school

     This first week of school has gone on for a month! It's funny how quickly I can get back into the routine but the kids aren't as quick to readapt. We'll see how week two goes. At least the homework's been minimal for the first week.

Charlie received a late birthday gift and cards from her favorite Australians! Thanks Jovi, Shae, Kirra and Halle, she loves you girls!!

     First day of school for the four boys was exciting! Isaac's in high school now in 10th grade, Carter's 8th, Brock's 5th and McClane's 2nd.

     And of course we can't forget 'the good ol' boys' from the neighborhood! These six rule the middle school!

The whole crazy crew playing a little b-ball before heading out for their first day back to school.

    Charlie got a much needed hair trim to get ready for kindergarten. (I may or may not have cut bangs when we got home and we may be pulling them back for the next month or so while they grow out to an acceptable length! OOOOPS!!)

     We enjoyed a fun and exciting pool party at our friends house. The lightening, thunder and rainstorm was pretty exciting but only paused the swimming fun for the kids for about 15/20 minutes.

It's hard to see in the photos but it was a downpour!

     Greg is the best husband! He's helping make my 'biker chick' dreams come true. We went on a nice ride Thursday and it was awesome!

Got a yummy burger in Kamas.

    We stopped at this cool veteran memorial spot in Midway, Utah that was pretty impressive. Lots of military people remembered and recognized and the view surrounding the area wasn't bad either.

   Midway is a pretty place even with that smokey haze.

      So that's how our first week of the school year went. Greg and Carter are finishing out the week with a scout campout while I binge watch a show on Netflix and let the kids play and veg out on their tablets. Let the weekend fun commence.

Charlie’s FIVE!!

     A few more fun events to finish off our summer break. We ended Alpine Days (or started Charlie's 5th birthday celebration, depending on how you look at it) with some amazing fireworks. Alpine doesn't mess around with the fireworks!

      Charlie was beyond excited about her birthday! She made sure she announced it was her birthday to pretty much anyone she saw all day. 

The rainbow cake she wanted and the rainbow mermaid balloon she didn't know she wanted.

Thanks for the card and cash, G&G Baker!

We loved having our Aussie cousins join us for some of the festivities. (Where's the teleport button on the computer?!)

A few fun Barbie toys and her very own Boo (stuffed dog).

Bonus balloons from the primary birthday celebration we had at church.

     After turning five I guess it's only customary to begin your first experience of getting cavities filled at the dentist.

She did great with her sleepy teeth minus a bite through her tongue on the way home.

     My friend and the kids primary president, Nicole, let us come swim at her awesome pool this week.

Charlie was mildly panicked about being in the deep water so she tripled up on her flotation devices.

McClane was determined to get out on this rope swing.

Long haired 'freak show'!

It didn't take Brock long to make this jump seem easy. This kid LOVES the water!

      So that's the week in photos. Tonight we met the three youngest kid's teachers. McClane gets to do 2nd grade with his 1st grade teacher and I've never been more thrilled about a teacher, she's the best teacher of all time! Charlie's kindergarten teacher is also a repeat from Carter's kindergarten days and she, too, is great. Brock's teacher is a total newby but we're hopeful she'll be great. Isaac had a glimpse of the high school this week and seems ready for his sophomore year and, of course, Carter will be back to middle school as an 8th grader. I guess I've got to accept the inevitable, school is starting again!
       Let the daily lunch making begin again!! (I really should look into the free lunch requirements! Ha Ha)