Birthday Weekend

Last weekend was busy with homecoming at the high school, working on the house (trim), watching the BSU game, and Garrett's birthday! While neither of the boys actually went to the homecoming dance, Garrett did dress up for black out Friday at school. He looked pretty snazzy!

He liked this outfit so much that he wore it to the football game that night when we went to go watch Jack perform with the band. We were sure we would leave early again because our team got creamed at the last home game, BUT our team played very well against Walla Walla, beating them 42-20! The band performed well also, having moved around on the field this time and playing their whole show for the first time for a crowd. They will have their first competition this coming Saturday right here in Kennewick.

The weather was perfect also!

I got a picture this time before the performance.

Not only did our band play well and the football team win, but because it was the homecoming game, they had a fireworks show immediately after. We had no idea they were going to do that. It was a fun night!

A shot of the finale' 

Garrett chose not to go to the homecoming dance on Saturday, but he invited his friend Connor over to hang out for a few hours and Jack hung out with some friends before coming back to watch the BSU game with us. BSU had a great game as well. Then Sunday was Garrett's 18th birthday! I hung up some decorations after the game Saturday night. The next morning I made the kids some waffles and eggs for breakfast. As soon as the boys left for church, the girls and I went out to place a large Happy Birthday sign in the yard so he would be surprised when we got home from church. These worked so much better than the balloon ones we did two years ago. He was definitely surprised and loved it. The boys went to make a ministering visit to some people and I got busy baking Garrett's cake and French bread. He asked for the apple cider donut cake again since he really likes it. And he also requested to have Lasagna for his birthday dinner. I made some French bread to go with it and bought a salad. 

After eating and doing our family scripture reading, we finally did the celebrating. Charlotte and I had the clever idea to hide a few presents in one bigger box so it would seem like he's not getting very much. He only wished for two items for his birthday, and we decided to put both of those items in another box together to go in the bottom of the big box, so he would open it last. He was starting to look worried after he had opened several gifts and none of them were the two items he wanted. I loved his reaction when he discovered the two gifts together (see picture below). It was great!

Getting home from church to a surprise in the yard.

They make some pretty cool candles and candle holders nowadays. The "18" were flashing colors. The big one in the middle opens up after being lit and plays a song and turns. You have to cut the wire for it to stop playing though! LOL

I had to get a shot with some of the decorations that were hung. Charlotte picked out the disco ball balloon.

Opening his card from Grandma Vernie and Grandpa Tony.

Alice made him a card too.

Charlotte picked out this nice soft pillow for his bed.

His reaction when he found the video game under the book. Priceless. 

A new Zelda game and a new Percy Jackson book. Both were just released last week, in time for his birthday.

We're going back in time it seems and got him a small cd player and The Eagles greatest hits cds. He also got the videogame, the book, a phone holder for the card, and of course the Reese's for the snack. 

We had to make him lift his hat up so we could see his eyes.

Enjoying some delicious cake. 

Happy birthday Garrett! He's excited to be in his senior year and almost done with school. He's also excited that he'll get to vote in the upcoming election. I can't believe we have two adult children now!

Apples, Weeds and Bites

Now that that trip to Nampa was over, I could work on apples again! Our neighbors have given us lots of apples and I've been busy making apple chips, applesauce and apple pie filling. I haven't done pie filling in about 15 years I think, when my oldest child was in grade school. It took a little time to get going on figuring it out, but it has been satisfying to get it accomplished!

My set up for making applesauce. Thank goodness for this KitchenAid mixer (thanks Laverne!) and the attachments (thanks Gaya!).

Cooking the apples so they're good and soft.

I got 6 jars of applesauce out of my first batch.

Time for apple pie filling!

I had made 6 jars but one of them broke during processing. I was able to save most of the filling from it and put it in the fridge to eat later.

Yum!

I also got some yard work done. I pulled out a bunch of weeds in the back corner of our yard. I didn't get to do as much as I was hoping because of the sprinklers but I got quite a bit, plus some vines that were growing up into the tree again.

Before

After

Charlotte's wounds are healing very well from her dog bites. The doctor said it took longer than she expected but is happy that they are all scabbing up. We were able to stop wrapping her arm during our weekend to Nampa. It wasn't until last week after her last doctor appointment that Charlotte's fears of dogs seemed to be more prevalent than I had thought. She was afraid to walk near the back fence or near the neighbor's house. She also got scared when we took Milo to the park the other day and saw some other dogs. She's on high alert, and for good reason. It was sad but also relieving that the owners did have their dog euthanized last Friday morning. After attacking Charlotte and then even the mom owner, they decided that was the best course of action. We just wonder what was going on with that dog to make him act that way. The vet said he was healthy. We're just glad we don't have to worry about Hamer attacking anyone else.

This is what they looked like after 3 weeks.

Having Fun in Nampa Again

We had another trip to Nampa two weekends ago and this time our whole family went, so I had to get Milo a dog sitter. Right before our trip though, Milo had started to lick himself down in his private area and kept licking and licking so it was getting red. There was a ball of hair that I cut off, but he kept licking after that. I was worried he might have a bladder infection or something so I went ahead and got him into the vet. We figured out that it was tree sap on his belly from our pine trees in our back yard. They cleaned a lot of it off but not all of it and instructed that we should have him wear the cone so that he wouldn't lick down there and to try to clean him off with Dawn dish soap or rubbing alcohol. They prescribed some antibiotic pills as a precaution. While we were there, they were able to discover that he also had a double ear infection, as his ears were filled with yeast. I had been trying to clean that out with mineral oil but it kept coming back since I didn't know what it was. It was just very dark brown to black in color and disgusting. It did smell a little also. They cleaned out his ears with rubbing alcohol and then put an antibiotic fluid down the tubes. That was all he needed for that, thank goodness. We also got his vaccinations done while we were there so we wouldn't have to come back in December. I wanted to get away from doing that near the holidays so I was happy they suggested it! We made good use of that vet visit, 3 things in one visit. 

Fortunately, the people who watched Milo for us while we went out of town were still happy to watch him even though he had to wear the cone sometimes and take a pill each day. Sometimes we would let him have a break from the cone as long as he would not lick. He is usually pretty good when we say "leave it" when he does try, but if he did it multiple times, then the cone went back on.

I got Milo dropped off on Thursday, the 19th while kids were in school. We were on the road to Nampa around 5pm and we didn't get to my grandma's until 10pm mountain time. The kids had Friday off of school for a teacher work day, so that's why we all went. Garrett's appointment was late Friday morning. It went well but unfortunately for Garrett, he's not done AND he has to wear a rubber band again. It's only one but it stretches from one side of the mouth to the other. They keep saying he's close to being done and I surely hope so, but they have said that for the past year. Ugh. I don't want to drive during the winter and it would be nice to get the braces off so we can do some senior pictures.

I took a picture so we can remember where he needs to place it.

After his appointment it was a good day for kids to hang out with friends. Garrett and the girls hung out at the Wallace's with Lilly and Sydney. I'm glad Garrett hung out with someone this time. Jack got together with friends from FSY at the arcade and then Porter and another friend came over to grandma's to play videogames there. Curtis worked from grandma's office this time, so that was nice that he didn't have to find rides to and from Meridian. I did a little shopping with Garrett and found some earrings for the girls. They had recently discovered some clip-on earrings and were so excited about them that they wanted more. I told them that if they would pay for most of it, then I would help pay for the rest. I found a pack of 6 pairs at Walmart. They are pretty happy and have been wearing them. Charlotte had gotten her ears pierced two years ago but they bothered her ears, so she stopped wearing them and they closed up. I'm happy that they have an alternative so they can wear earrings now. 

She's wearing the earrings the girls had found in a box of stuff that was given to us. That's when we thought to look for clip on earrings for the girls.

Before Jack met up with friends, I took him thrift shopping to try and find a suit jacket because he really wanted one. After striking out at D.I. we were able to find one he likes at Savers for $12. That's a lot better than $60-$100 brand new!

It needs some ironing, but it looks good.

Instead of watching a movie Friday night, Garrett, the girls, grandma and I watched some episodes of Little House on the Prairie. We're anxiously trying to get through season 6 to see Laura and Almanzo get married! My brother Stillman also showed up Friday night. He came to town to attend the BSU game on Saturday night. Saturday afternoon, the adults went out for lunch with mom and dad to Chick-Fil-A. Dad missed the picture though since he went to the restroom. The waitress took the picture, so we didn't want to keep her waiting. 

Our niece Livvie was also going to the temple before leaving on her mission in a couple of weeks, so Curtis and I were able to attend that as well on Saturday with mom, dad, and grandma and all of Melissa's family. It felt good to be there and I'm so glad we were able to make it. After the session, Curtis, grandma and I followed Melissa's family over to a Hawaiian restaurant that had some good meats and rice. It was called Mo' Bettahs. Then we headed back to grandma's house to watch the BSU game. It didn't start until 7:45pm. Another item I bought at the store was a 500-piece BSU puzzle, so we could work on it during the game. Even Stillman got into this puzzle before the game. We finished it after church the next day. BSU won their game and Stillman got back to grandma's house after all of us had gone to bed. One big mistake was that nobody gave him the code to grandma's front door lock, so he was stuck outside for awhile. He had gotten there around 12:30am. Grandma finally heard him pounding the door and ringing the doorbell, and she only has one good ear. Normally I would hear stuff like that easily but because we were using a box fan to help cool us down, I couldn't hear anything and our phones were on vibrate. He tried calling and Michelle did too. I felt so bad the next morning about the situation. We'll make sure that never happens again! He was obviously not happy.

These guys finished off the puzzle even though Dad and I did most of the work. I didn't really care that I wasn't in the picture though. I just wanted a picture of the puzzle and these handsome guys. Dad wasn't there yet.

Playing Golf while waiting for biscuits to bake.

Dad and Laverne had brought over the main dish for our meal after church on Sunday while I cooked some biscuits at grandma's and Curtis's request. They also brought cookies and cake. Well, I knew that Mom's birthday was the next day and Garrett's was in a week, so I told Dad to find a candle and we could sing to both of them. So he did!

Dad found one big fat candle. It worked, lol. Garrett bought himself that fedora hat while we went shopping on Saturday. He loves it. He also bought himself a Michael Jackson cd because he likes his music now.

I think Laverne did most of the work on blowing out the candle, lol. 

We got on the road back home around 2pm. It was another fun weekend in Nampa and I'm sure glad we could all make the trip this time. It makes it worth it to have to drive back and forth for Garrett's appointments! Unfortunately, the next one will just be me and him since we were forced to make his appointment on a Monday. He'll have to miss a day of school for that one. It will be the beginning of November. We'll probably drive down Friday or Saturday for that one.

Injury Update and More

Charlotte and I worked on her puzzle together and got it done in two days. She went back to school after staying home two days from the dog bites. She has been slowly healing and getting better. It's getting easier to bandage her up now that we don't have to do her hands anymore. There's just 4 main bites that we're waiting for to scab over, but they are looking better. 

We did have a little scare this last Monday. Charlotte had gone to school and I picked the girls up and went straight to the church for activity days. By the time we got home around 5:30, she wasn't feeling good and said she felt warm. I took her temperature and it was at 101. The paper they sent home with me said to bring her back in if her temp got to 100.4 or higher, so I rushed her over to the same emergency room. I hadn't looked at the wounds since the morning, but they had looked good then, as far as I could tell. We waited in the waiting room for nearly 3 hours before they got us back there. The ER was busy that night. I didn't know of a quick care option that wasn't ER that didn't require an appointment. While we were waiting, she was coughing and sniffly, so I thought maybe it could be related to that instead of the dog bite wounds. Charlotte had an appointment with her pediatrician the next day and I was very seriously thinking about leaving before they finally called us back. I was correct. The mild fever was because of the upper respiratory issues she was having. Thankfully her wounds still looked good and her lungs were clear. 

The next day Charlotte's doctor was surprised to see that it wasn't healing as quickly as she expected. She prescribed a stronger antibiotic ointment called Mupirocin. One problem we had was that the gauze pads we were using were soft but would stick to the wounds and rip off anything that had started to clot and it would bleed a little. I was able to find some different pads that don't stick to the wounds and it's been doing better.

Placing the last piece in the puzzle.

All done!

Grandma Vernie and Grandpa Tony brought a little gift for Charlotte when Dad drove here to meet Stillman to go to the BSU game in Oregon.

This is what her arms look like today, almost two weeks later.

Aside from Charlotte's injury, I have been working on dehydrating apples that our neighbors have been giving us. They have multiple trees and have lots of apples to give away. They are Criterion apples. I've never had them before but they're good. I'm also hoping to do some apple pie filling and applesauce. Curtis and I also started working on our trim boards in our bedroom. He bought the boards and I painted them. Last Saturday, he hung up what we bought so far.

Boards all set up in the garage, ready to paint. That means I get to park outside for a little while.

Looking good so far! We'll still have caulking and touch up painting to do. Not to mention, the doors and doorways.

Friday morning, Alice's 4th tooth fell out while eating breakfast. That's the 4th out of 5 loose teeth. The last one is not very loose, so it will take a little longer I think. Maybe if she eats some apples, she can get that one out earlier.

Our little toothless girl.

Friday night was Jack's first football game performance for the marching band. They just focused on playing the music and didn't move around during the performance yet. It is "Top Gun" themed. I look forward to seeing the progression. Unfortunately, our football team is not very good. They were getting killed against Kennewick, so we left after halftime. 

Having fun walking to the car after the performance.

While Curtis was working on the trim work on Saturday, the girls and I drove over to Connell to help Bronson Brown and his family with another parade. The girls last minute asked if they could bring their bike and scooter to ride in the parade, so we did. They decorated their helmets while riding in the car. They loved it. This parade was a lot shorter than the other one but the walk back to our car seemed a lot longer. It was a good thing I have google maps, or we probably would have gotten lost. After the parade we drove over to Pasco to use some free pizza tickets for the girls at Shakey's. It was the first time we have ever eaten there, and it turns out it is like the Primo's pizza place they used to have in Nampa. Buffet style with salad bar, pasta, chicken, etc. Unfortunately, they didn't have the chocolate chip cookie dough pizza, like at Primo's. That was my favorite and I miss it. I can't say it was the best pizza, but it was alright.

I gave them some money to play at the arcade while waiting for their pizzas to cook. They won a few tickets and got a couple of small prizes.

Our activity that we did for activity days on Monday was making homemade ice cream in a bag. I think the girls loved it. We had some extra ingredients, so today after church and lunch, Curtis and I made our own ice cream. It was pretty good but melts fast. I think I may want my own ice cream maker now. We used to have one years ago but only used it once or twice, so we got rid of it. I think I would use it more now.

My bowl of ice cream, topped with chocolate syrup, peanuts and Oreos.

Curtis shaking his bag.

Curtis added vanilla flavoring to his and same toppings, except he also had caramel.