Wednesday at the Eastern Idaho State Fair

Wow, what a long day. RJ was up early and I for some stupid reason couldn't sleep very well last night. But I was surprised that I didn't get tired or frustrated today.
Savannah slept in which was good since I figured she wouldn't get a nap since we were headed to the fair. It was cloudy at 7:30 so I was a bit concerned. I checked the weather for Blackfoot. It said it would get to 70 but I still wasn't sure how to dress for the morning. But by the time we took baths and had breakfast and got all packed it was nearly 11 when we left or was that the time we got there. I'm not sure. The GPS was great and I had used the map of the fair on their website. It took me to the back parking lot by the petting zoo which was perfect, saved us a ton of walking! We went in the petting zoo first. The kids loved the goats especially the tiny baby ones. They had donkeys, llamas, rabbits, chickens, and puppies. It's not quite like a normal petting zoo where you actually mingle with the animals. You get to pet and feed them through the fence. It only cost $5 to get in and they had several things for kids that were free which gave us plenty to do for a long time. The science area had shells, magnets, Kinex building blocks, snakes, tree frogs, lizards, and a fun giant bubble maker. We ended up back there at the end of the day to watch a half hour science show.
Next to that was a play area which had bowling, basketball (RJ actually got a basket too!), a sand box with lots of shovels and funnels and other toys. They had spinning boxes that hold paper to use markers on. Savannah was covered in magic marker. They also had a ring toss, bean bag toss and ball toss into a face. They also had giant wood blocks, plastic blocks, and PVC pipe pieces to build with. There was also a chalk board, but the favorite thing of all was a bicycle that was connected to a fan that faced up to the sky. Covering the fan was a grate. On the sides were several bubble bottles and many wands. You would put the wands on top of the grate with bubble solution and then when the person on the bike would pedal the fan would turn causing the wind to make many bubbles. They loved it. We spent forever in there and it was all free.
Then we went down through the tunnel to the carnival side. Of course this side was more expensive. I bought $20 of tickets which only gave RJ 4 rides I think and Savannah 2. She was too small to go on most of them and I couldn't go on all of them. That was the only time besides sitting at the end of the science show that she got upset. I let them both play 2 games that had a prize for sure. They got to pick a ducky out of the pond. RJ got 2 and Savannah got 1 because you got 3 picks for $5. RJ got a small and large toy so he ended up with 2 mediums instead and Savannah got one too. Then we played the fishing game. You had to snag a frog when it opened it's mouth. We got our moneys worth there cuz it took Savannah and I several minutes to manage to snag one. RJ was really quick though, much better than Grandma.
Then we had a thoroughly nutritious lunch, yeah right, this was a carnival! Ok, Grandma forgot to pack the PBJs, but we did have grapes and granola bars. So for lunch we had corn dogs on a stick. Then RJ wanted popcorn so we walked down the food area and lo and behold we found FREE popcorn at the stand that was trying to sell newspaper subscriptions. That was cool! So they each got their own little bag half full which was great.
Then we headed back over to the kids side and played in the play area again until it was almost time for the science show. I was absolutely amazed at how well both of them did today. Savannah was a bit tired of sitting at the show but she was fine when I pulled out the goldfish to eat. Then we headed back to the van, which was so close, how nice. Of course I forgot to stop at the bathroom and as soon as we got in the car RJ had to go, so did I. So on the way out of town we stopped at the Maverick store.
Then we headed to the Mall on the way home. Thank-you for the GPS and the DVD player. How wonderful. And having the movie helped RJ stay awake, so did Savannah. So we picked up the adorable pictures of Savannah and then went to the play area in the mall. I couldn't believe they still had energy but we spent quite awhile there. I wish they had had such great free things when my kids were little. It was getting on to 7pm already! Wow, so we had to get home and to bed so RJ can get up for school.
We stopped at Arbys and took home some dinner. I got the kids chicken nuggets, which I am sick of and I got a roast beef sandwich. We took it home so we could have something nutritious with it, cottage cheese. It turned out they ate the cottage cheese and hardly any chicken but they had just finished off the grapes on the way home from Arby's.
We had books, scriptures (we finished Alma 14), and prayer, brushed our teeth and off to bed. Poor RJ started complaining at dinner that his knees hurt from all the walking. Still they were so good today. I never planned to be there so long.
We had a great day.

Tuesday in Idaho

We went to bed on time since today was a school day for RJ but of course he slept in later today. He has been getting up about 7:15 but today it was about 7:40. I had already had my shower so he got in the tub with just Nemo the washcloth instead of all the toys after having his pancake that I reheated from dinner the other night. He got dressed in some warm clothes cuz the house was really cool today. He probably could have worn short sleeves cuz his teacher's house was warmer when I picked him up.
Savannah ate her pancake while RJ was in the tub and she took her bath after we got back from taking RJ to preschool. Putting her hair in pigtails went much easier today. Yeah! She and I had a good time alone today. We played with the electronic Leap Frog word game that is on the fridge. She doesn't understand it as well as RJ but she liked the ABC song. She pushed her dolly around in the stroller awhile and kept saying "goodbye" and waving. One time she went upstairs and came down fully armed to work in a beauty salon. I got a picture of that. How cute. The time flew today. I only let her watch Strawberry Shortcake for a little while before we played. She wasn't happy about that but got over it.
Sally has been difficult the last 2 days. I changed the battery in her bark collar but it doesn't seem to be working. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong. I keep having to put her in the mudroom for awhile and then let her out again.
RJ had fun at school. He learned about the days of the week and writing from left to right and top to bottom. The schoolroom is really colorful and cute. I got there to pick him up just before they finished for the day. They sang a song and then had a cheer. RJ got to bring home the blue bag (show and tell). He gets to take something to school to talk about. He can give clues to have the other children guess. He chose the smallest toy he has I think, Remy, the rat from the movie Rattatouille. The idea of sharing is for language skills. He was quite excited and told Mom and Dad all about it on the phone later while Savannah was napping.
After lunch of hot dogs, jello, and grapes they ran and played. A few minutes later we sat down to read before Savannah took a nap.
RJ wanted to play a game again and I chose Ribbit. That is a great game for his age. Very cute. After playing according to the rules he wanted to play his own version. He is quite creative and continues to change and make up rules along the way. Before it ended Mom and Dad called. He was anxious to talk to them today. He told them all about school and the toys he got yesterday at the store.
After the game we turned on a movie so I could lay on the couch. I had a headache. RJ really wanted me to watch with him but he was pretty good about letting me rest.
While I was waiting for Savannah to wake up a young woman came to the door carrying a little toddler boy looking for his home. She found him walking down the street. Apparently she is new to the neighborhood and I couldn't find the ward directory. I was going to call Wendy. Just then the woman next door came out with another younger woman. The boy was hers and she hadn't noticed him gone. Very strange.
After Savannah's nap they watched a little more tv while I looked up the info on the internet for the fair and Bear World. Then we headed to the library. RJ was really sad because we couldn't check out any books. Jen and I both didn't think about the library card. At least I couldn't remember talking about it. I couldn't sign up for a card because I had to have a piece of mail with my name on it. Oh well. We went to the park behind the library and had a great time. RJ sang a song he learned in preschool, one I hadn't heard before.
5 little apples on the tree, they look juicy as can be.
Along swooped a crow to have some lunch, and he ate one. crunch, crunch, crunch.
It's something like that, very, very, cute.
I pushed them on the swings and they went down the slide and played with a boy named Spencer. Savannah found a chunk of concrete ( a rock to her) and she and RJ kept taking and hiding it from each other. We were there for over an hour and a half. Then we stopped to pick up the mail. His movie was there and of course Savannah wanted it which turned out ok because low and behold RJ got his OWN mail, a postcard from France from Daddy. He had me read it to him right away. That made his day. Thanks Dad.
Home again and of course they wanted to watch the movie. They were tuckered out from running and playing so that was ok. They layed on the floor and covered up with blankies. It was really cool in the house today, enough that I had a sweatshirt on, even though it was warm outside. It was really nice at the park. So glad the rain is gone. We should have a nice day at the fair tomorrow.
For dinner we had scrambled eggs, jello, and cottage cheese. I am amazed that they will both eat cottage cheese, they even both had seconds.
Then we finished the movie and read books and scriptures. We are reading about Alma and Amulek in prison. Then off to bed. RJ was scared tonight so I left the light on in the toy area so he could go to sleep.
I can't believe how quickly the time is going. It has really been fun.

Monday in Idaho

The plan was to go to the fair today but the forecast was for scattered thunder storms. I was surprised RJ wasn't upset at the change in plans. He woke up at 7:15 and climbed in bed with me. I could have slept another half hour but oh well. A few minutes later he asked if he could play on the computer which I let him do. I laid in bed another half hour and then got up to shower. Savannah woke up just as I was drying off. Good timing. She slept in. She of course wanted to watch Strawberry Shortcake and have her strawberry cereal in front of the tv. She has only eaten in front of the tv once before. RJ had a great time playing on the computer. I cleaned while they entertained themselves. It was cloudy all morning but after lunch it got a bit clearer and the sun came out. I was wondering if we should have gone to the fair. The kids talked to Mom and Dad in Belgium on the phone. RJ wasn't really happy about talking on the phone. When he is involved in something he wants nothing to do with the phone. He and I were playing a clue game. We placed cards around the room and gave each other clues to find them. He is good at making stuff up to play.
The timing wasn't the best but we went to the grocery store after that. I tried to go earlier but the kids were busy having fun. So it was really about Savannah's nap time but we went anyway. Fred Meyer's has a play area where you check in the children and you get to shop for an hour without them. They went right in. I felt hurried though and I even missed being paged twice. Poor RJ had to go potty (I did take him right before) and he had to hold it till I heard the 3rd page. As I was waiting in the checkout line I got paged again. Savannah was tired and crying, well actually screaming. Apparently she wasn't playing nice because she was tired. I tried to go back and get in line but she wasn't about to leave RJ so he had to come out with me too. She calmed down enough to get in line. Of course on the way to the car it was pouring rain again! What fun!
Back home I put Savannah down and let her sleep and hour or so even though it was so late. I got her some new PJs which she wanted to put on immediately but we waited til after her nap. I bought them for winter (the ones with feet in them), but actually they came in handy tonight because it was cool in the house because of the weather. I did buy RJ an outfit too but not jammies. He was so funny today. Several times he kept hopping around saying "It's my lucky day" for no reason at all.
Later he asked me to show him today on the calendar. I had to flip to September and show him today, Monday. Then he asked me to show him what day I am leaving. He was so sad, but I reminded him that he will see Mommy that day and we still have 4 days to go.
We watched his new movie, had dinner, and the usual books, scriptures, and prayer which was Savannah's turn.
RJ was a little scared tonight of the shadows in his room so I showed him how to make some funny shadow animals with his hands. That helped. Savannah was crying so I went back in to her room cuz she kept calling for me. I hugged her and covered her up again and she calmed down. She is so cute. I had to put her in a timeout for the first time tonight. She wanted the real remote and threw a fit on the floor. I left her there and she just kept on screaming. After sitting on the stairs for her timeout she was much better. Whenever you scold her for something afterwards she always says "Sorry Gamma".
I can't believe it's half over already. I haven't been as tired as I expected to be. I do enjoy them a lot and so glad I can do this.

I survived Sacrament meeting with 2 children!!!

Well, I didn't get a very good night's sleep obviously. RJ and I laid in bed awhile and then he got up and played on the computer while I laid there awhile. I got up to take my shower before Savannah got up though. Then I put her and RJ in the bath while I got ready. I had used the hot water, shame on me, so I had to heat up several pitchers of water. Jen's hot water pot came in real handy. I was able to put Savannah's hair in pig tails the other day but today they gave me fits. I must have spent nearly half an hour and in the end the part was still WAY off center. I never had girls. This is a new experience for me. They were crooked but cute all the same. I was hot and sweaty by the end. Should have taken my shower later! I gave the kids a choice in what to wear to church. RJ chose the grey pants and blue shirt. Of course Savannah wanted the pink dress. I do really like her periwinkle dress too. We had lunch before dressing of course. I honestly thought about skipping sacrament because I was so tired from lack of sleep but I know that's where I'm supposed to be and the kids need to go regularly to learn how to act. So off we went.
RJ walked right in and sat in the 3rd pew from the back. I'm sure that the elderly women on the other end of the row weren't too happy. RJ had the fun of the row. It would have been better to have him hemmed in a little more. He complained he was tired the minute we got there. (I know how you felt RJ!). So he was lying on the pew and under the pew. I tried to keep him near me and parallel with the pew but that was hard. I actually had Savannah on my lap the whole time. I was hoping I could rock her to sleep. Nope. She didn't actually try to get down until the last 10 minutes of church. I had to take her out at the end of the sacrament cuz she got loud, which was odd because she did great with the water, it was the bread that she wanted more of. It must have been at the end of sacrament the sister sitting alone right in front of us had moved. I guess she was annoyed. Oh well. It really makes you look at things differently when you have squirmy children. The meeting ran over and the closing prayer WAS really long just as RJ said in a normal tone of voice! Cute. He was right. I am not sure how but I SURVIVED SACRAMENT! I figure that is the hardest part of the whole week.
So off to nursery we went. Savannah went right in and waved goodbye. RJ went to his class and I talked to Wendy, Jennifer's visiting teacher. She noticed I survived sacrament. She was very nice and showed me the way to Sunday School. Two people introduced themselves. It was a nice lesson on the plan of salvation but it was extremely warm in the room. After I went to observe Sharing Time in Primary. It probably wasn't the best idea because twice RJ came back to me. I had to talk to him to get him to go back to his class. The highlight of Primary was the kids got to pop a balloon in singing time. They thought that was great. Primary ran over too so it was 5 after when I got Savannah out of nursery. (I did get pulled out of SS to change her)
The last half hour of Primary the older boys in front of me were totally distracted by the storm brewing outside. It was pouring when we went out to the car. I got disoriented and turned the wrong way (I always have a bad sense of direction.) I ended up on the highway. It was hard to find a way to turn around because the speed limit was 65 and it was raining so hard. I had to go a couple miles before I turned around. I was scared I wouldn't be able to find the right street to turn back onto but I did thankfully. The kids were already sound asleep at that point. RJ was out cold. I put Savannah in her bed and RJ on mine.
A few minutes later I realized I hadn't turned on my phone. Of course with it being 9 hours later in Europe it was late for Jared and Jen. They had just called so I called them back. They said I needed to get RJ up right away. I tried unsuccessfully. It reminded me of Jared when he was small. I really tried but he was out. Savannah woke up a half hour later so I put her on the bed to wake RJ up. She pushed and pulled and pulled until he did wake up. He was upset at first but she got him laughing. It was really cute to see them together.
We had dinner and I decided on a nice quiet evening so we watched The Incredibles which I had never seen. That was nice. We just all sat together and had a relaxing time.
We did our normal bedtime stuff and I watched part of the movie Harvey after talking to Scott on the phone as I have every night.

Saturday in Idaho

According to RJ today is Shooby Dooby's birthday ( his stuffed elephant). So we made him a card but we forgot to have a birthday party for him. Sorry Shooby!
Well, I'm a little behind (today is actually Monday). Guess I've been busy.
All morning we just played. We sould have gone to the zoo in the morning but I was waiting for the young man to come mow the backyard. He didn't come til about 2 or 3 though.
We spent time outside swinging and playing too.
During Savannah's nap RJ and I played concentration and a made up version of a card game. We also played Candyland.
After naptime we drove to the zoo. The kids got to talk to Mom and Dad on the phone on the way there. They have been doing really well. A couple times Savannah has said "Mommy trip". So she does understand that they are gone. I was sure that when she didn't get her way with Grandma that she would ask for Mom or Dad but she hasn't. (Don't feel bad Mom). Poor RJ, he calls me Mom half the time and then he does the opposite when he talks to Mom.
The zoo was fun. We didn't get there til 4pm and I was afraid they wouldn't be closing soon. They do close the gate at 5 but they don't actually close til 6 so we had plenty of time. We never found the zebras but we did find the tortoise. RJ's favorite was the tortoise. I think Savannah's favorite thing was sitting on the fake tiger. She kept leaning over and petting it.
After the zoo we went across the street to the park. Savannah is such a daredevil. She went down the slide her size a few times. RJ was off to climb and slide on the bigger slide. The problem with the bigger children's area is that there are no steps to get up. You have to climb the curved monkey bar like ladder. Savannah went up but when it flattened out at the top she would scare me so I helped her. I was afraid she would fall through. She loved the circular slide.
So off to home. The GPS was great. Kind of went the scenic route to get there and a different way home. I decided we would wait til tomorrow for baths for church. I don't remember what we had to eat each day but we have had hotdogs, chicken nuggets, scrambled eggs and oh yeah tonight we had pancakes at RJ's request. That was a good idea.
After books, scriptures, and prayer was bedtime.
I stayed up and watched Harry Potter for awhile then went to bed and read my scriptures and then a chapter or 2 of New Moon (my second time around).
At 1 in the morning I was awakened by what I thought were footsteps upstairs. I waited for RJ to come down but he never did. A minute or 2 went by and of course normal for me I got scared. I had to force myself to go upstairs. I went to Savannah's room since that was the end of the house where I actually heard the noise. (Just a side note there is no glass over the air conditioner in the window so it is always open.) The door to the new room across from Savannah was now open which it wasn't before. I turned on the light and the window was open but the screen was intact. I went in Savannah's room. All was well, the window was closed. We apparently had a huge gust of wind, but at that moment it seemed quiet and still. That is what bothered me. I couldn't hear a reason for the wind sucking open the door. I still don't understand how it sounded like footsteps. So I headed towards RJ's room and he came out of his room at that moment and said "Grandma, I had a bad dream that there were bad men in my room". My sentiments exactly. So he scared me even more. I have never liked noises at night even as an adult!!! So I had RJ come downstairs to go potty and then I had him get in bed with me. At just that same time the power went out. Brother! It flickered on and off a couple times then it stayed on, thankfully.
Needless to say I was awake for over an hour and a half more. My heart was pounding, I am so pathetic! Of course letting RJ sleep with me wasn't the best idea because he moved and kicked, etc. and then he wanted to sleep with me the next night, but mean ole Gramma said no.

Friday in Idaho

I will post pictures later. Not too sure how to do it on Jen's computer.
RJ and Savannah took a bath while I got ready for the day. I had taken my shower
before they got up. Then we had breakfast. While I did some laundry they colored and played on the computer. RJ had fun printing off the computer "Super Sleuth" stuff, a mask, collar, badge and oath. He is really good at navigating around. Pretty amazing
I couldn't believe Savannah didn't ask to watch Strawberry Shortcake.
Then we went outside to play. I tried to fill in the hole that Sally has been digging. She could easily get in the yard next door. RJ and Savannah really liked writing with chalk on the deck of the playhouse. RJ really likes "twisting" on the swing. Sally really liked the attention.
Then we went in and played a little before lunch. We had tacitos and shared a nectarine. The kids even ate the peel which surprised me. RJ said he really liked the "red part" (the peel). They ate really well at lunch. Then it was off for a nap for Savannah. She was quite unhappy about that! It took a long time. I finally went up and rocked her to sleep. While she napped RJ and I played the game of Life. He played really well. Then he played with the game pieces quietly while I fell asleep on the couch. He kept waking me up though to remind me we were going to Blastoff after Savannah's nap. During Savannah's nap RJ got to talk to Dad. Hopefully I don't have roaming!!
So yes we had planned to go to Blastoff, which they earned by finishing chapter 27 of Mosiah last night. I am amazed at how well they repeat back the words of the scriptures. So despite having a map I turned on the GPS (thank-you Jared and Jen!) and looked up the directions. So off we went. We got there about 4:10 for the 4:00 session. The kids loved it and played really well. Towards the end though I had to remind RJ to play nice with Savannah and not just run away from her. She was getting lonely. Then RJ suggested we go to the dress up area. Savannah loved that. She was delighted with all the purses. Of course she wanted to wear the princess dress, which she did for some time. She cooked in the dress too! She did try on the unicorn outfit for a few seconds and then she decided to be Minnie Mouse. That is a really cute area and what a fun idea for the kids. While we were in there RJ asked if he could play golf. He ended up playing by himself because the child he had been playing with left.
Right at the last minute before we left RJ went down a slide head first and landed on his hand. He hurt his tummy and bent his finger. He had such a sad face.
From there we went to McDonalds. The kids ate so well, in fact they loved the apples with caramel dipping sauce. Savannah even dipped her chicken in it. They both ate every bite. I was also amazed at how well Savannah did drinking her milk out of the bottle they gave them. They played again and had a great time, at least until I had to coax Savannah out. She was not happy.
At home RJ and Savannah played on the WII until 8 and then we had reading time and scripture time before bed. Savannah was quite tired and cranky but we had a fun busy day. Hopefully Mom and Dad are having a great time too.

Thursday in Idaho

Well we got up and had breakfast together. Jen tried to show me as much as she could. We took RJ to preschool just around the corner at 8:30 (we were a little late). The other 13 or 14 children were already gathered around the long table. RJ loves preschool. His teacher seems very enthusiastic. I told him to give Mom a big hug and say goodbye because she would be gone when he got home. I think it surprised both of them. They both did great. Don't know that I would have!
Then back home for Jen to finish packing. I tried to write down directions to get to the shuttle pickup area again hoping I can find it again.
Savannah definitely understood Mommy wasn't coming with us. She screamed for a few minutes. She did calm down though which was helpful since I didn't have a clue where I was. I couldn't get the GPS to find the grocery store Fred Meyer and I couldn't figure out where the "home" button was so I typed in the address for home. It took me right past the grocery store! So Savannah and I had an adventure. She wanted to ride in the car grocery cart. She was a perfect angel, never asking for anything. We made it through and I even found the van again! The GPS got me back home too. (I did figure out where the "home" button is later).
We put away the few groceries and Savannah watched Strawberry Shortcake for a few minutes before we went and picked up RJ from preschool. He told me all about his morning. Back home we had lunch, hot dogs "barbequed" in the toaster oven. They both ate really well, even though Savannah had almost a whole banana a half hour before.
Then while Savannah napped RJ and I played several board games. He plays pretty well and we had a good time. After nap they helped clean up the play area and we also played with the toys. We watered the front lawn too.
For dinner we had chicken nugget pieces and grapes. They enjoyed that. We played on the WII for some time and enjoyed reading time, scripture time and prayer. They both went to bed pretty easily.

Drapes are finished

It took me from April to August to design, pick out fabric, and sew the drapes. I also had to paint the drapery rod to color I wanted it. We also had to customize the length of the rod because it is 12 feet long. To buy one that length would have cost over $500.

They came out a bit more formal than I wanted but I love the fabric. Next time I will pay the money to have them made. It was a ton of work!

Two sweet daughters-in-law, Jennifer and Lisa.

Makale on his horse with Grandma. He's getting sleepy.

This was a surprise, Savannah cried and cried until the ride started. She is usually the daredevil. She was fine on everything after this. Makale was oblivious to the whole scene.

Grandma talked RJ into going on the roller coaster. This was before the ride started. He did NOT like it. He said it was toooooo fast! It went around twice. At the end of the first time he kept saying, stop, stop. I was afraid he would be upset but he seemed ok afterward. He didn't cry, he just had a ghostly face on the first few hills.
Grandma's sorry, RJ!

Part of the group before the train ride. Geniel and I sat behind them.