It was a really good performance and our kids did their best to make it more interesting. During one of the first songs, Tyler decided to join the choir by singing "la la la" at the top of his lungs. Those around us didn't appreciate his musical ability as much as the choir's. During another song, there was a solo that was quite loud. Our kids were plugging their ears because it was so overwhelming. When the solo was done, Chloe yelled very loudly, "That's better!" We're very cultured at our house. I'm pretty sure Tyler visited the bathroom no less than three times and the girls twice. It was only an hour long. Good times.
About a year ago my sister-in-law found out she could get an awesome deal on tickets to Wicked through a friend of hers. I thought it would be fun night out and joined in. On August 9th we were able to go see it. I'd never seen it or heard much about it. We met for dinner then went to Salt Lake for the show. We got there just in time and thanks to my other sister-in-law's handicapped parking pass due to her upcoming knee surgery, we parked really close. The show was fantastic. It was much different then I had imagined, but it was great. It was fun to have some time away with other adults too.
The next morning we left for a quick trip to Montana. We went up to attend a funeral. Since we haven't been up there for about four years, we decided to all go. We stayed with Lance's aunt and uncle. It took about forever to get up there. Lance's mom went with us and it was very nice to have to help with the kids in the back. The kids did pretty good considering the amount of time it was in the car. We went to the city park when we got there. The kids loved being out of the car running around. After that we stopped over at Lance's friends' house for a few minutes. Then we met some friends for dinner.
There were a few arcade-type games there so after everyone ate, I gave the kids a few quarters to keep them occupied while we talked. Mia asked if she could have another quarter, so I gave her one. She came back to show me the awesome tattoo she had gotten. It was a 3"x4" bikini clad fairy. Classy. Of course, as soon as Chloe and Tyler saw it, they had to have one too. Fortunately, Tyler got the dragon one instead of the half-naked fairy. That night when we put them on, I tried to convince them to put them up by their shoulder to try to conceal them, but they would hear nothing of it. They had to have them on their forearms so they could see them. They were very high quality too. They've just finally worn off and it's been almost a month!
The next day after the funeral we headed into Great Falls to go to Giant Springs Park. It has a fish hatchery and is home to the Roe river, which is one of the shortest rivers in the world at a whopping 201 feet. It originates from Giant Springs (hence the name Giant Springs Park) and dumps into the Missouri river. It was fun to see, but quite nerve racking for me. There's walkways right next to the river with no guardrails and I just kept imagining one of my children getting too close to the edge and ending up in the Missouri River. Scary. They really loved feeding the fish though. They have one pond full of really big fish. You can buy food to feed the fish for only 5 cents. That was one of the highlights of the park. I didn't have my camera, but Lance took some pictures on his phone. Those pictures are still on his phone.
We spent some more time at friends' houses and went to church the next morning. We saw lots of people there we hadn't see for a long time. Before we left for Utah, I finally got my camera out and took some pictures. Isaac didn't want to be anywhere near the hay bales.
The other kids were happy to be there.
We stopped back at the park on our way out of town. There was a small part they didn't get to play on that they just had to play on before we left.
I can't say I blame them. There's not many parks with toys like these around here.
The rocking horses were definitley the big hit.
Even Brady had to get into the action.
The drive home took even longer. We didn't stop to get out until Dillon except for a couple of side-of-the-freeway stops for Tyler to pee. We thought that was doing pretty good until we stopped at McDonalds. Unfortunately, we had a couple of kids who ended up with wet pants after falling asleep, Tyler being one of them. Fortunately, we had clothes for them to change into. After Dillon there was a few more stops. In case you're wondering, being in a car for 9+ hours at 8 months pregnant does not do wonders for swelling in your feet. Both of my feet were swollen by time I got home, but the one on the right I was able to keep up for a couple of hours. You can see the imprint my flip flops left on my feet too. I know you're jealous.
Speaking of pregnancy ailments, I have felt pretty good most of this pregnancy. I'm very fortunate in that I don't have too many complaints while I'm pregnant. This time I did have some serious back pain though. The Monday after I got back from spending a couple of nights at Girl's Camp, I had some pretty bad back pain. Walking was extremely painful, especially if I tried to carry Isaac. I could sit and feel fine, but as soon as I got up, it was awful. I even went to a chiropractor that Friday since I was leaving for my sister's the next Monday. I've never been to a chiropractor before, but it wasn't feeling any better at all. He said it was my sacroiliac joint that was being difficult because of pregnancy hormones. Apparently, it's fairly common during pregnancy and not much can be done. Eventually it goes back to normal after having the baby. Not exactly what I wanted to hear. It was really bad for about three weeks, including the time I was at my sister's. That was extra fun since she happens to have a lot of stairs and that was an ordeal. Every morning it would feel better, and gradually get worse by the end of the day.
A friend of mine invited me to a doTerra party a couple of weeks before. I have a few friends who are really into the essential oils so I figured it was worth a try. I'm not too big on all the different medications and other junk we put into our bodies. I'm more middle of the road. I happy to have modern medicine, but if it can be treated naturally, that's worth a try too. Anyway, so I got a kit. One of their oils is called Deep Blue and it's supposed to be for muscles and joints. I used that for about a week after I got back from my sister's on my joint, and I have felt 90% better. There's still times when I first stand up or move my legs in a certain way that it's painful, but nothing like it was. I don't know if it was solely the oil or if taking it easier contributed, (I stopped walking in the mornings, which was sad since I was really enjoying that, carried Isaac less and just generally tried to take it a little easier) but it feels so much better. I had no hope of it getting better after talking to the chiropractor and my OB as well as looking into it online. I'm very grateful it does though. I can't imagine how miserable I would be now. I have too much to do to be in constant pain!
The kids had fun playing in the water one day earlier this month. Even Isaac was getting into the fun. He's completely soaked with a big smile on his face. He really looks liike Lance when he was little in this picture too.
One Saturday, Lance took the four older kids out riding. They were super excited. Although it looks more like Mia is posing to be one of the motocross girls instead of one of the riders. Not sure what was up with that.
Isaac got to ride the bikes from the trailer to the garage.
He was pretty happy with that.
August 21st was the first day of school. They were all ready to go to first grade and eat lunch at school.
Lance stayed around until we left for school. I think I would have been a stress case if he hadn't. He was very helpful especially since Tyler spilled his cereal all over the floor.
Brady had strep throat so he couldn't go. He was disappointed. He even said he'd rather go to school than have strep throat.
I was happy to only have three kids at home. Although Brady did his best to make up for everyone else being gone. He was restless and didn't want to leave Tyler alone.
The first few days of school, when the kids came home I think they were punishing me for enjoying my quiet time with only two boys. As soon as everyone came in the door they were fighting and yelling and being as loud and obnoxious as they could. The second week wasn't as bad, thank goodness, so hopefully they're getting into the routine.
Mia has always been very good at throwing fits when she doesn't get her way. As she has gotten older they've been decreasing in number, unfortunately sometimes they have increassed in ferocity. I got a lunch bag for Chloe one day since she didn't have one yet. When they came home from school, Mia saw it and claimed it. Once I cleared up the confusion, Mia was not happy at all. She was sent to her room until she calmed down. She generally prefers to keep the door open so everyone can hear her tantrum. This was a doozy. One of the highlights- After throwing things on the floor, she said, "I hate you yellow teddy bear. Die, die, die!" as she jumped on it. That repeated a few times with a few different stuffed animals. I didn't realize it at the time, but she was doing it to Chloe's things since she had gotten the lunch box. I just ignored her until she calmed down and came downstairs. We talked it out and thought maybe Chloe would let her use it a once in a while if she asked her nicely. Chloe is generally very willing to share with anyone. Mia went to talk to Chloe. When she came back, she told me "they" decided it would be Mia's lunch bag and Chloe could use it. Not exactly what I had in mind. Fortunately, it hasn't really turned out that way. Chloe claims ownership and they take turns using it. I can't wait until she's a hormonal teenager. That should get really exciting. One of us may need some mood stabalizers.
And here's a picture of Brady I found on my camera. I have no idea what he's doing besides being goofy. That's Tyler's Tron car carrier in case you're wondering.
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