Back to school feast/Family theme

This year I decided to do a back to school feast. It seems like every year the kids head back to school, we do a FHE lesson on goals and get geared up for school.  But this year I just felt like the kids are growing up and I wanted to do more than that.  So we started out with a feast of sliders, cheese fries and onion rings.  After dinner, Garry and I gathered everyone together for FHE. 

I started by telling the kids that as parents we are realizing that they are getting older and we are losing our control over them.  They are growing and developing and becoming their own people.  That is hard for a parent, but it's also exciting to see them become well, them.  I told them that at this point all we can do is hope that we've taught them well and let them govern themselves.  I wanted each of them to know that they were loved for different reason and that I do not have a favorite child, but love each of them.  I then talked about each child and showed them a scrapbook page I had made about each one.

After I was done I introduced a family theme for the year.  I had it made into a poster that we hung above our mantle and I laminated a 4x6 for each one to put in their binders, or rooms or office.

Then each family member got a stained glass star with their name engraved in the middle.  We are hanging the stars in the window to remind us that we are each individuals, but also part of a family.

Garry did an object lesson on Rising up and becoming you.  He used oil and colored water and talked about how the kids are in the world, but rise above it with their gospel knowledge.  He then added the colored water and shook the glass up.  It became mixed up, but as it settled again, the oil rose to the top.  That is how we want them to be.  We want them to realize their potential and rise up and become!

Later that evening before bed, he gave Cynjyn and Taz father's blessings.  Talon had already gotten one before he entered the academy and Tanner wants to wait until closer to when he leaves for school. 

It was a very successful FHE and everyone really liked it.  I think we will make this a yearly tradition.

August is here, summer is almost over!

I got back from the cooler Oregon/Idaho weather and did not enjoy my morning walks anymore. I want my graveyards and 76 degree weather back!  But alas, I can't have it so I continue to walk every morning and come home red faced and sweaty!

Talon found that Taz's friends make the perfect subjects to practice his new work skills on.  They oblige him!  Here is Andrew being a good sport.

I've been obsesses with using straws to drink my water with lately.  This was the first one that I found because I didn't want a flimsy store bought &.99 for 100 straw.  I thought I looked pretty awesome.

Talon and Mikel went to the lake and came home crispy and red!  But I guess they have fun, I know I have less aloe in my yard now because of it.

Tanner was sitting at the table after church one day and I thought he just really looked like Yugio with the hair and all, so I snapped a picture.  I Instagramed it, but I don't think many of my followers know who Yugio is.  Tanner was thrilled that I did!

I've been working on finishing up some projects I just never got to during the school year.  This is a magnet board my friend Carol gave me years ago!!  I'm painting a chalkboard finish on it so I can write and stick things on it.  I finally have wall space to put it up!

Cynjyn and Becca have been inseprable lately making the most of summer before school starts.  Their project for the day was making chocolate chip cookies--they were yummy!  They turned some of the dough into a giant pozookie!!

Talon has been quite sore from his work training and one day he came home and told me he was taking an ice bath in my tub!  His poor muscles thanked me for letting him!

We went to Garry's annual bowling party for work.  It was fun as usual and this time Cynjyn didn't want to bowl, so I bowled in her place.

Tanner and I are loading up getting ready to bowl. Taz is photo bombing!

We bowled two games.

Why is it that the first game

is always better for me than the last?

My wrist started hurting the last half of the last game, so Garry finished my game for me.  We shared shoes!

Cynjyn came home with all the balloon creations!  The silver and blue Arcata colors, her hat and flower bracelet and my purple monkey holding a banana.

 Another project...I bought these Boo letters last fall and finally got them painted modge podged and glittered!  Love them and just in time for fall.
   I came home from my walk and just felt like our house looked like a parking lot.  7 I kid you not 7 cars parked in front of it.  Taz had friends over and we have 6 cars now!  They happened to all be out.  Hope the neighbors don't mind.

 One Saturday, we were bored and we were playing games, but we know that is not Cynjyn's favorite thing to do, so I wanted to do something that she'd enjoy.  We were going to go to the park, but it was just so darn hot.  So I came up with Goon's in the mall.  Tanner helped me figure it out and we set off to the mall.  Tanner, and Cynjyn were one team, me and Talon and then Garry and Taz.  Garry and Taz were it.  They dropped the four of us off at one end of the mall.  They drove down to the other end and texted us that they were ready.  We had to make it to their end of the mall with out them finding us and tagging us.  These were the rules:  you had to stay with your partner.  You couldn't seperate.  You could "hide" for two minutes in a store that had a C in it's name and you couldn't run!  Talon also informed me that if I started laughing hysterically, he'd jump ship and desert me!  Well, Garry and Taz caught me and Talon in Hot Topic and then they caught Tanner and Cynjyn.  So Talon and I were it.  We found and caught Taz and Garry after a hot pursuit that made them turn and go back the way they came from, but we stayed with them and caught up to them.  In the mean time, Tanner and Cynjyn quietly joined a big crowd and went right past us, we were so intent on catching Taz and Garry that we didn't see them and they made it!!  We then went home.  It was fun though!

 We then talked Cynjyn into playing Cranium...she actually really likes that game so not much convincing was needed.  One of the stunts our team had to do was Taz and Talon had to put a game from on their heads and sit back to back and link arms and get up with out unlinking and couldn't let the frog fall off their head!

 They had a time limit and didn't manage to do it because those darn frogs kept falling off!

 Tanner, Cynjyn and Garry always win this game, but we sure have fun trying and usually end up doing best two out of three.

 We were trying to see if it was possible to drink a glass of water with a straw upside down.   So Talon volunteered to try it.  He said it was really hard and makes the water come out your nose if you are not careful.  Good thing he likes to try new things.  He insisted Garry and Tanner help his stay up against the wall.

 Tanner has been earning college money all summer babysitting and dog watching.  He and Sparky have bonded and they get along great.

 Cynjyn is ready for church with her new jeans jacket.

 She likes Sparky too.

 Tanner is trying to get one last Sunday of playing a solo for church in.  We were penciled in to do it the last Sunday in August.  We found an organ/piano duet on the internet and started practicing. 

 Then we realized we are going to be out of town that Sunday, so we have to postpone it to the Sunday after Christmas.  We should probably look for a Christmas duet now.

 I took these two to the mall...they love each other.

 Taz spent a week at BYU volleyball came.  Garry took him up on Sunday and came back that same day.  Then both of us went to pick him up on Thursday leaving at 5:30 am.  We ate at the Cannon Center for lunch and then watched him play all afternoon. 

 This was his team and they won the tournament for that level.  We went to the awards ceremony and then headed home around 3:30.  It was a long day for us, but we had fun.

 I had a vision for a wall hanging that I wanted to make to display my Instagram photos with.  So I told Garry what I wanted to do.  I wanted my square photos all together, but with one here or there elevated so it kind of sticks out.  So he measured and cut out the wood.  He thought it would look cool with two different sizes of elevation, so we went with that.  I told him where I wanted it on the wall, he measured and assembled and spray painted it.  I already had my Instagram photos ordered, so I just needed to decided which ones to put where and believe me that is sooo difficult when each one of my kids is counting how many pictures they are in and did I do more of one child and less of another...who knew?!  We have pictures everywhere in our house and this is what I get in trouble for!  But I planned ahead and divided my pictures up by kids and put the same number of kids on elevated blocks! 

 Anyway, I was really happy with how it turned out!

 Garry hung it on the wall, then I made a saying out of vinyl with my Silhouette and then persuaded Tanner to put up the saying for me.  He did one earlier in the year and he just loves doing it (Hear my sarcasm), but he does a good job and is willing, so I make him.

 Ta Da!!  Love it!

 Talon had to get pepper sprayed at work and so he earned a certificate for his pepper spray training.

Taz turned 16 August 15!  We were really trying to get him a sweet 16 party, but most of the girls he wanted to invite were going to be out of town, so he opted for movie and dinner with the family!  We needed to do that on Saturday because this past week he's had daily doubles for band camp.  8-12 and 5-8.  So we just took him to lunch for his bday at Dairy Queen and got the $5.00 lunch deal.

 On Saturday, he chose to see Hercules.  We had Becca with us because her family is out of town and she's staying with us until Wednesday.  We all liked it!

 We scooted over to Olive Garden after the movie for dinner.

 Yumminess!

 He told his friends he just wanted apple pie for his birthday, so after band camp on Friday, Andrew and Ryan showed up with an apple pie from Von's and vanilla ice cream.  Then I had bought him one for his birthday from Sams.  Courtney brought him a homemade one after church on Sunday, still hot from the oven.  It was to die for delicious and made the other pies taste not so good. 

 So we have to know eat three pies!

 Luckily, Mikel's family is in town for a few days and they came over Sunday after church for dinner and games.  We had lettuce wraps, fried rice and egg rolls.  Then played Jungle Speed, Bubble Talk and Cranium.  Here we are in teams for Cranium.  Cynjyn Garry and Carmen, Mikel's grandma were one team.

 Becca, Talon and Jet (her brother) were another.  Mikel, Tanner and Jessica (her mom) were another team.

 And me, Taz and Mike (her step dad) were the 4th team.

 We all like that game and it was fun.

 Taz and Mike had the challenge of passing the 6 dice over their heads and between their legs with only holding the dice with their two index fingers.

 That was the highlight of the evening.  We topped it off with apple pie and a lemon tart and flourless chocolate cake that Carmen had brought.  We then played Mafia and Couch of Power.  It was fun spending the evening with them.