New Entertainment

Okay, so this isn't something many people would blog about, but here I am.
As a general rule, we wash approximately 2 loads of laundry every day at our house, when all 8 of us are there. There are days it is less, and to compensate, there are days we wash WAY more.
Lately, we have had a series of break-downs.
The shower in the master bathroom was clogged completely.
The washer started leaking, so we brought in Ryan's old washer and the switch went bad. Ryan ordered a new switch online but taped the existing one together to limp by until the replacement part arrived.
Then, the water heater went out. It was under warranty, but the serviceman couldn't come look at it for 6 days, then once he came, he told us it would be another 10 days before he could be back to replace the part. It wouldn't cost us anything, but still no hot water. The replacement part arrived and Ryan actually fixed it 5 days before the repairman was scheduled to come back. YEAH!
During this whole time, we were watching every load of laundry because our washer was draining faster than the pipes in our house could manage, and the washer had to be turned off about 6 times per cycle, to keep the drain from flooding. So, not too long after the water heater was fixed, the new (old) washer gave out due to being turned off and on so many times.
So, to get the kids ready to go for summer visits to other parents homes, and get ready for fishing trips and family reunions we did laundry at the laundry-mat. Other than getting all the wash done in an hour or so, it was pretty much a pain the rear.


SO, last night we bought a brand-new LG Front-Loader. It is beautiful! It uses less water (so it doesn't flood the kitchen when it drains,) it can wash bigger loads, (Hooray! Less loads!) AND we can watch the clothes as they wash, so I have told the kids we will be getting rid of all the TV's and watching the washer!






Isn't it beautiful?

Chloe is 16!!!!!

Wow! I cannot believe Chloe is 16! It was a good day!
She is not a fan of cake, so we had the traditional (?) Rice Crispy Treat Birthday Cake.

We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner

They embarrassed her sufficiently by having her sit on the saddle and have the whole restaurant yell, " Yee...Haw..."

Random pics

Seeing as I keep claiming we have been so busy, I thought I'd better offer a little evidence.










Darby and Sadie playing the wild-flowers with Grandma Nene.










My parents, brother and sisters all together.











Memorial Day at Red Cliffs

And then it was June!

Whew! The last few weeks have been BUSY! The last 2 weeks of school were exhausting! There was some kind of program or concert almost every day.








May 16th was Darby & Sadie's end of year dance review. This year the review also featured a "Special Guest" performance from about 30 of the Mom's of Pizazz dancers (Brenda & myself included.) Sadie won the "Spark-Plug Award" for the dancer in her age group with the most energy and enthusiasm. (Which was pretty awesome, because earlier in the week she had been diagnosed with mono. - Yes, the kissing disease.)









Last weekend all 8 of us went to Arizona and had a fantastic fishing trip with Dave & Amy's family, Rich & Catherine's family and Papa Max. (But, like total lame sauce, I forgot my camera.) So, subsequently the only pictures I have are on my pathetic camera phone. Everyone in the family caught a fish or two (or ten.) We found a fabulous little fishing hole in Tonto creek and pulled out 32 fish on Friday between everyone there. We went back to the same spot on Saturday after getting only a couple of fish at the lake, and managed enough fish for a great fish fry Saturday night. It is so nice to spend time together as family. It is great to get to know each other better and let the kids have a chance to be kids!
Dave & Amy were great hosts and good sports for letting us all invade their home. Thanks guys!

This week begins the mass exodus for the kids visiting other families. Grant, Hayley & Zack leave Friday to go stay with their Mom and Next week Sadie will head to Salt Lake for a couple of weeks with her Dad. During the month of July, all of the kids will be gone at one time and Ryan & I will be empty nesters.