Kids in the kitchen

I asked (told?) the kids to come help me in the kitchen at 3:00 pm today.  They came, we conquered.  Homemade granola, chocolate chip cookies, and pumpkin chocolate chip muffins all made in one hour.  And it was all delicious!  I GLADLY did the dishes afterwards for all the help the kids gave me!  Love!

We've had a great week off from school and were happy to have Jason home with us for a few days, too.  We camped, slept in, went to the movies (Deepwater Horizon), caught up on recorded shows, did a little shopping, got chores done, and just R-E-S-T-E-D.  Hopefully it will get us through to our next break over Thanksgiving!

Family Camping Trip to Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock Canyon is just a quick 30-minute drive down the road from us.  We'd never camped there before and decided to try it out.  The views and weather were perfect.  Since we were there on a Monday night-Tuesday morning, we practically had the place to ourselves, too.  There wasn't a perfect flat spot for the tent, but we made it work.   We were close to a bathroom and running water, too.  

Menu included:

Dinner--hot dogs, hamburgers, Pringles, carrots, grapes

Dessert--roasted Starburst candies and marshmallows (for s'mores)

Breakfast--pancakes, sausages, oranges  (we skipped the hot cocoa because it wasn't cold outside!)

We played a few rounds of the Great Dalmuti card game that night in the tent and went to bed.  There wasn't a lot of sleeping with the dogs sharing our tent, but all things considered, the dogs did okay, too, haha!  In the morning we ate breakfast, packed up, and went for a little hike in the area.  It was a blast!

We had a great time and enjoyed each other's company.  It was great to relax together and get away for a night!

Wade's middle school band plays James Bond theme!

So happy Jason was there and could record a little bit of Wade's concert band performance!

Wade is to the left of the stage, standing, and playing (very well) on the mallets.  Enjoy!

Broken garage door

I had some "excitement" on Thursday when the spring to our garage door broke.  THAT is an awful, scary sound!  It'll be nice to get it repaired, but we have to wait a few days.  For now, we are sporting the "parking lot" look...

Date night, thanks to a Texas A&M nail-biter and win!

Texas A&M won a game against Tennessee yesterday, but Jason said he felt like he'd had multiple heart attacks during it.  Sounds like typical Aggie football, haha!

The game was tied and going into overtime--I couldn't take it so I left to go to WalMart and drop Rhiannon and Wade off at the Bartels' home.  While I was in the store, Jason sent me a text saying "A&M wins!!!  A&M wins!!!" and then "Where would you like to eat out to celebrate?"

We went to Saigon Flavor, this tiny little place about 2 minutes away.  And let me just say that the stars aligned and Jason and I had the BEST meal there.  It was so delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!  We had chicken egg rolls and this amazing soup and chow mein (Jason got pork, I got chicken).  I was especially happy because the only other time I'd been there, I'd ordered "larb"....and will never order that again anywhere, haha!

Win, win, win!  So good!

A fun high school band video!

Rhiannon was concerned how band was going to roll at the beginning of the year.  Many awesome seniors had graduated, and some of her friends moved or quit.  It's nice to see her having fun, though, even with a smaller band.  They sound great!

Love these kids!

These pictures, set side-by-side, bring on a lot of different emotions for me.  Pride, joy, sadness, hope,  a little bit of mommy worry, lots and lots of happiness, you name it!  Seeing them change through the years takes my breath away a bit, but boy, what a fun ride!  We love these kids and are so grateful to have them in our family!

   

Wade reaches an important goal for the year!

Wade earned his Star in Boy Scouts this month--hurray!  This was a personal goal Wade set at the beginning of the year.  We're very happy for him.   I was also glad to know that after many months of being patrol leader for his troop, he's finally starting to enjoy it, haha!  It has not been easy, trying to "lead" nine or ten of his peers, but he has learned a lot from it.

Over the past few weeks his group finished the geocaching merit badge (many thanks to Spencer Hall on this one!), had a Court of Honor, and went on a stake camp-out for young men.  Keep up the good work, Wade!

September update...and here comes October!

Highlights from the last couple weeks:

--for a "family home evening" night, we met our friends Howard and Sandi for dinner at China Express and enjoyed catching up with them!  Their home here is up for sale and the home in South Dakota is coming along quickly.

--Rhiannon participated in a jazz band activity and played with her small group at a celebration of international culture in Ridgecrest.  She said it was fun and she knew many people there.  (She also played with the band at a football game last Friday and an out-of-town competition last night--busy!)

--Oscar the dog got a MUCH needed haircut.

--Jason put on a golf tournament for work.  He said there were about 24 participants and the weather was great!

--I drove to Bakersfield one Saturday to take a required class for a teacher induction program I'm in.  The class was great, but I HATE that drive.  I drove as slow as the semi-trucks to cope.  That same night Rhiannon and I went to the stake center to see the General Conference Women's Broadcast.  We snuck out afterwards and got dinner at Jack-in-the-Box, just the two of us.  Love spending time with that girl--I need to do it more often.

--Last Sunday we drove up to Bishop, CA, for their ward conference there.  I loved having my family there with me, and we all had a great time seeing old friends and talking after church at their ward potluck.  It was great to test the new car, too--it's definitely a worthy family travel vehicle!

--This week went by quickly.  Orthodontist appointment for both kids, brought pizza to sister missionaries one night (we were supposed to host them, but I was not feeling great and super tired that night).  Band practice, math club, piano, Crossfit for Jason, tests at school, and Board of Review for Wade who earned his Star rank in scouting--yay!

--On Friday night Jason and I had a date night and had a delicious dinner at Olvera's--love their Mexican food there.   

--Jason is my hero for emptying a rodent trap today.  We've seen a few "creatures" in the yard over the past few months and saw droppings out by the woodpile.  I ordered the biggest shock trap I could find on Amazon, and after two weeks we got our first one.  Luckily Jason saw it before I did and disposed of the mouse for me.  I love this man!