Look what I made today!

So, I finally gave myself some time to get crafty today. There is still so much to be done around the house, but I found some fabric flower patterns on etsy and I couldn't wait to try them. I had seen these fabric flowers and I had tried to just copy them, but they weren't quite right. So I broke down and bought the patterns. I ended up changing things up a little bit, but I am so glad I forked out the money. The headband Jenna is wearing was my second try. The first try ended up in the garbage. Then I had the idea of letting my sizzix do the cutting and it turned out great, and it was sooooooo much easier than cutting them out myself. I am going to make a smaller one for Kelsey and take their pictures tomorrow after my new camera comes from Amazon! I am soooooo excited for it to get here and I only ordered it yesterday. Hopefully I will love my new camera. It will mean lots more posts on here which I know 2 certain Grandmas will appreciate!

Singin' in the rain...

It's a rainy and much cooler day on the Gulf Coast today. It's in the low 80Fs outside which is actually quite pleasant. The rain has been falling since about 11 this morning. The girls and I went to lunch with Dad today and, afterwards ran to get a few things in Wal-Mart. They had all their kids' rainboots on sale and I couldn't resist. I had also found out, as I headed into the store that my umbrella was all bent up (thanks to my lovely children) so we bought another one, too. When we got home Jenna wanted to try them both out. She had so much fun running around and stomping and jumping. I called her in when the thunder started. I'm not so sure about the umbrella though...she was soaked through by the time she had to come in! Wink! Wink!

Kelsey, by Henry

Henry took this photo of Kelsey this past weekend and asked me to post it on the blog. Of course, I will! The photo marks the occasion of officially being caught-up! Yay! We are finally getting settled in...just a few more boxes in the living room and stuff to hang on the walls. Mississippi is great and we are so happy to be here. Tonight for FHE we're going to hang all our hurricane boards over the windows, label them ( I don't know why they aren't labelled already) and make sure we have all the screws handy. Fun, fun!

Cub Scouts!

On August 13th, Henry went to his first Cub Scout Pack meeting! He was so excited to wear his uniform. That night we received his council patches and troop patches. He's the only boy in the ward his age, but there are about 12 scouts total so there's lots of fun to be had at their combined Den meetings. What's even better is that Dustin has been called into Cub Scouting so he'll get to do it all with Henry. Our first Den meeting is September 1st and Henry has already finished all his Bobcat requirements, his first rank in Scouting! Way to go, Henry!

Moving In

Our household goods showed up on the same day as Tropical Depression 5! What a crazy day. I am so glad there is no carpet in my house or I would already be having the carpets cleaned. The move-in went fairly well, although the men unloading didn't care much about my furniture or my wood floors. We'll be sending in a claim on a few different items. It's nice to not be sleeping on an airmattress after 3 weeks! Now we just have to get it all unpacked, put away, curtains hung, and pictures hung. Once it's all up, hopefully this week, I'll take some photos. We've done a lot in the last month to it! We've painted, fixed the wood floors, repaired the roof, ripped out our closet and replaced the shelves and rods, repaired the ceiling in the bathroom and laundry room, and ordered blinds for the whole house. They are being installed tomorrow. Oh, I can't wait for it to be done, for now at least!

The First Day of School at North Woolmarket Elementary!

Back to school time comes a lot quicker in Mississippi than it does in Montana. The boys went back to school on August 11th. It's been a tough transition for us all. Mississippi isn't ranked 49th out of 50 for nothin'! The boys are settling in, but boy do I have a fight ahead of me. Right now, the children get one recess A WEEK, and that's only if they earn it and it's dry out (not gonna happen). They get 50 minutes of gym class a day, but 0 minutes of unstructured time. Even lunch time is time to eat and get back to class. They also still "paddle" children here, like with a wooden board on their rears. I had to sign a form to say "no way" to that one. The boys come home with their brains fried everyday. They walk in the door and lay on the couch. I have more tears than I thought possible at homework time and I wait until after dinner to even mention it! They also do not have art or music and that's another battle waiting for me. Henry's teacher told me they don't have time for that, end of story. So once, I get my own life in order and get rid of all these boxes once and for all, into the fray I will go. One mom, from across the street already came by to enlist my help in the fight she started last year. Let's see if we can get Mississippi out of 49th place and into 48th!

We ♥ Elder Kelley!

Since we were going to be driving right through Bradly's mission we called and asked the mission home if we could stop in for a quick visit. We didn't know what the answer would be, but considering Elder Kelley would be going back to Montana at the end of his mission, and that we weren't going to be there, we thought we'd ask as see what happened. They said YES, after talking with Bradly. We were so excited. He lives in a tiny little town about 20 minutes from the freeway. We met up with him and his companion for lunch, under the guidelines that our meeting be short and not distracting. We had so much fun! The time went by way too quickly! Right now they are in an area where they are the only Melchizedek priesthood holders in the Branch. A family drives in from a neighboring ward and the father is the Branch President. Bradly's companion's name is Elder Evans and they seem to work really well together. They are serving the people of this small town well and it shows...all over Elder Evan's arms! He recently got poison ivy while pulling weeds at a local church. Elder Kelley dodged that bullet by riding the lawnmower instead. We had such a nice visit with Bradley and wished him the best for the rest of his mission! If any of my Great Falls friends are reading this...please have your families write to Elder Kelley! He would LOVE it!