Summer School Begins!

The boys are both taking summer school this summer and their first day was the 26th. Conrad didn't last summer. So far, they are really enjoying it. It is great for me to not have any teaching responsibilities--what freedom! And, to be home alone all day is not something that happens very often. I have a HUGE list of jobs to get done, and was so behind in many areas that it is a bit overwhelming to think about all that I want to accomplish. Things have been so crazy here this year that many things got left undone. I am using this time for focusing on Homemade Gourmet, some things I am working on for church, my house, and on the school room and curriculum for next year. One thing that I am excited about is some painting I have been doing. I have always been convinced that I wasn't a good painter and therefore, all the painting that really needed to be done here, I left for Chuck, hoping he would get to it. He hasn't had time to do it. I always seem convinced that I can't do things--molding chocolates is something I was sure I couldn't do, but my sister-in-law, Stephanie, convinced me that I could, and I can! Our office has two colors---and the navy on the bottom needed to be re-painted, so I decided to try it. My friend, Patti, had told me that if you get good paint, you can't mess it up. Luckily, they were having a 30% off sale for paint over Mem Day, and so I got a pint and re-did the bottom of the office wall. It looked so good, and I was so happy! I can paint! Then, I have been repainting our interior doors. Most of them were in rough shape, and after having the hallways re-painted, they looked especially bad. I had re-painted some a couple years ago and they ended up kind of streaky---they didn't look better at all (part of my convincing myself I couldn't paint but I think it was the cheaper paint I used!) But, this gallon of paint that I got is making them all look brand new and I think I will be able to do all of them with the same gallon of paint. I started also painting in the laundry room and was telling Chuck that I didn't get any paint on the ceiling as I was afraid I would and he said, "You are excited about your new-found skill, aren't you?" (he is, too, because now it is no longer on his list!)

Finally, an End to the Story

We decided we were going to have to buy another dryer and saw that most places had great Memorial Day sales. On Monday, I called Lowe's to see if they had a gray dryer like the one I had and found out how much it was. They had 10% of all appliances and another 10% off all Whirlpool and Maytag. The guy said they had one in the store, and I paid for it over the phone and had Chuck pick it up on their way home from fishing. I was surprised by the original price because it seemed less than what ours was at regular price, but was excited. I suggested to Chuck that he look at it in the store to be sure it was right before he left the store. They got home, we took out the old dryer--they opened the new box in the garage and Chuck said, "Oh no--this one is white!" Well, of course, I didn't believe him---but he wasn't just teasing! The box was sealed so he hadn't opened it at the store! I called back to Lowe's and discovered that white is all they had in the store and that the guy must not have heard me say 'gray'. The man suggestead I get on-line and see if the silver one available as a special order was like the one I had. Well, I discovered they didn't make that particular model or color anymore, and the brand I had actually had two different models--the white one was a model that wasn't rated nearly as high as the other that included the silver and red ones. However, the price of the better model was way out of our price range. I started looking at consumer reports and prices on-line and saw that Lowe's did have the best prices to start with and with their sale, I knew we needed to get it before they closed at 10pm.

Then, I noticed that there was a blue dryer like the red and silver but it was priced $500 LESS than they were. I called the guy at Lowe's, but he was busy, and he had to call me back. By the time he did, it was 8:45. I asked him about the blue one and he said, "Oh, they are discontinuing that color, and they had given us some at a close-out price and they flew out of here. I am not sure I could even order one." Then I asked if the fact that it was showing up on their website meant it might be available. He went to the website and said, "WHOA! That is an amazing price" and said that it seemed like he could order it, but he wouldn't be sure until the next day. Then, I asked if the 10% off appliances would apply to things he had to order. He said that it did apply to orders, but wasn't sure if this would be considered a clearance item. Then, I asked if the $25 off promo card that I had used to buy the white one that we were returning. He said he would check and call me back. At 9:15 he called back and said, "I have good news and good news and good news!" (I hadn't heard that in awhile!) He said, "Yes, you can get the 10% off, plus an extra 10% off for Whirlpool/Maytag. And, you can use the $25 card, and I FOUND ONE stored in the back!" So, Chuck picked it up (and yes, this time he checked it out before he brought it home!) and it is FABULOUS! I still can't believe what I got for what I paid.

Graduation Chocolates

We invited Sarah Weeks over to help make chocolates for her brother, Timothy's graduation. Caden and I had made some for the party we are having for all the kids at church, and we commented at the time how much Sarah would like making them. So, we had her come over and the kids made over 75, and then I finished up the chocolate and made another 30 or so. We put them in the freezer for Saturday's graduation.

And the Dryer Story Continues..................

Well, I didn't spend all of Memorial Day weekend doing laundry. My dryer man did come and fix the dryer---I was so happy and immediately put in some towels that I had washed. However, Caden was in tears when he left. Every visitor that comes to our house gets asked "Do you want a kitten?" and when he came he didn't commit either way. We asked him again as he was leaving, and he said he would call his wife because he knew his daughter would like them. Well, he picked out one, and then another and then another and took four by the time he was done! The boys had finally talked Chuck into keeping one and the dryer hadn't even asked about their favorite. But, he noticed that Caden looked upset and he said, "I don't have to take this many." and I said, "Oh, please do! We are giving them away." As soon as he was driving away, Caden started sobbing. He had taken his third favorite kitten and I think that his suddenly taking 4 at one time was hard on him, too. He cried for 1/2 hour! (he still has FIVE kittens including his two favorites.)

I became quite sad myself because 20 minutes after he left, my dryer quit! I called him back, and after talking with the company, they decided that a different electronic board was shorting out and causing the one he replaced to also short out. It would cost $800 to fix!! I did have a nice washer and dryer because I had gotten a steal of a deal on them about 4 years ago at a scratch and dent sale. But, we weren't paying $800 to fix it or to buy a new one. The day he fixed it, I was able to get the dryer going off and on during the day and kept it going as much as I could to get caught up. But, by the next day it was totally dead.

Chuck was going to hang me a clothesline, but forgot before he left town the previous weekend, and then I knew the dryer man was coming so didn't have him do it. But, after it wasn't working again, I had him hang it. I found it ironic that 10 minutes after he hung it, storm clouds rolled in and it started to rain!!!

Long Overdue!

We were so long overdue on needing to paint and a bunch of other things around here. It had gotten bad enough that I really hated inviting people over because of how bad it was.

While Chuck was working at UPS management, especially, he mostly just worked (a lot) and slept (a little) so everything in the house just got left undone because neither of us had time. Anyway, we decided we just couldn't wait any longer. We had someone come paint our kitchen and living room and the two connection hallways as well as the guest bath. Because of the vaulted ceilings and very high sections, we were not feeling very confident to do it ourselves, and Chuck just didn't know when he would have time. When we first built the house, Chuck was sure that the boldest color we could do in the kitchen, living room and down the halls was off-white (perfect for showing the dirt and markers and mud and pen marks that his children would bring!) So, this time, I wanted something else, but didn't know what. Since all of those spaces were connected, I didn't really want it all too bold of a color. Then, we thought about doing one contrast wall of another color. When my brother and sister-in-law (Kevin and Trena) were here for a visit, they helped me pick the colors and helped me decide to do the kitchen walls a different color. Kevin picked the kitchen color based on a color in the plate I had on the wall that I had gotten in Cozumel. The colors don't look quite true in the pictures, but they are close. We absolutely love the change! And, it has been great to have people over again. We had Mother's Day here and I am hosting Ladies Bible Class in June. Come visit us!

I Can't Wait To Do Laundry!

13 days ago my dryer broke! I had to wait 5 days until someone could come look at it, and then discovered that it was the 'board' that went out (possibly due to lightning) and would cost $200 and would have to be ordered. TOMORROW is the day that he is to return to fix it and I can't wait. At the moment it broke, I was the most behind on my laundry that I had been in a month! Yikes! My sister has done some laundry for me, and I have been hanging some, but it makes me realize how spoiled we are compared to our grandparents who washed and dried it all by hand (and then had to iron everything!) I will be spending Memorial Day week-end doing laundry and I am so happy about that! :-)

Little Red Riding Hood

The boys tried out for the Missoula play last week. It comes twice a year to St. Joe---try-outs are on a Monday afternoon, and they practice every night that week and then have two performances on Saturday. Kids can only be in one per year. Caden has been in one over the last few years and Conrad in two, but last year we weren't able to do it due to schedule conflicts. This year it was Little Red Riding Hood--they always adapt the plays and add to them and they are always really cute. They take about 60 and this year there were 90 that tried out. Conrad was the only boy from 5th grade on up which is unusual, and I was pretty sure he would get a part. But, there was a very large group in Caden's age group, and the Wolf Gang that came from his age group ended up being all girls. Being in the play has been such a good experience for them in many ways, and I was sad for Caden that he wasn't chosen and wouldn't get the experience. Even though I know that the experience of disappointments is also character-building, it is hard to watch them be disappointed. Conrad ended up being sick at the beginning of the week and we were a bit stressed as to whether he was going to end up getting to perform or not. But, he bounced back and did a great job. He was the Woodsman that all of Red's friends' swooned over (he thought that was pretty great). We enjoyed watching it and Grandma Colleen and Michaela also went to watch. He had a great time.

Mother's Day

On Sunday, we had my parents and Donna's family out for Mother's Day. My mom and I couldn't remember the last time we had been together on Mother's Day--we think it was maybe 10 years ago. The boys planted flowers outside for me for Mother's Day, and then on Sunday surprised me with roses, too.

Mother's Day

Saturday night we celebrated Mother's Day with Chuck's family. We hadn't hosted in a long time and it was fun to have everyone here. Here is a picture of all the grandkids that were here with Grandma.

Piano Recital

Sunday afternoon was piano recital day--this was Conrad's fourth recital and Caden's first. They both did a really good job, and it was fun to listen to all of the students. This is their teacher, Becca. We couldn't get over how much Caden looked like Chuck when he is dressed this way!

Garage Sale

On Friday and Saturday, Stephanie and I did a garage sale at her house. When the kids were little, we and Sara used to do Savannah's city-wide garage sale at Colleen's house. We did it for quite a few years in a row. We hadn't done one in a long time.

The kids had lemonade/cookie/Rice-Krispie/hot chocolate stand. (When I told Caden on Wednesday that he could make chocolate chip/M&M cookies for the garage sale, he was at my bed at 6:45 am telling me it was time to make cookies! By the time I did get up, he had the oven heated up and all of the ingredients out! ) We had a good turn-out and did move quite a bit of junk! There were some things I learned--and here are the top 5:

#5--it can be cold enough in MO in May that hot chocolate sells!

#4--the 'junkier' the junk, the more likely it is to sell!

#3--human nature is funny in that we can be so delighted when a 25 cent items moves--and yet, if we would calculate the time to unpack it, mark it, put it out, and sell it, the wage would be about $1/hour at the most!

#2---Craigslist is THE way to advertise for a garage sale (and everything else, too, it seems)

#1--we are not as young as we were when we used to do garage sales--and Stephanie and I are still recovering!!!