Update on the Family

Well, its been awhile since I have sat at the computer & entered information. I love having my phone be able to send updates, but they usually aren't long or detailed. Not sure how much detail I will get to...Jessica is due at 10am to drop off Jocelyn & Kambria.

Jasmyn started 8th grade yesterday. She came home in such good mood and was so sweet to be around! Which was really nice, she's had headaches for a few months now & we think we finally found the right treatment! Ethan started school on August 17th, so on the 31st (my birthday) we went to Silverwood. He earned a free ticket for his reading minutes and we needed some mother/son time. We had a lot of fun. Grayson is potty training and is doing really well. The only time he goes in his pants is when he gets lazy & doesn't want to stop playing.

Dave started a second job, he's hoping to build up enough clientele so he can quit his current job, cause he is really bored with it. If you have heard of Dave Ramsey & his philosophies - well, he started (before his radio career) at the company Dave is now working for and that's where he got all of the ideas he talks about on the radio. We took the financial peace university class a couple years ago and it really changed our lives. Now, Dave is able to help people set-up budgets & get out of debt. His company also offers Term life insurance (all the other kinds of insurance are scams - see DaveRamsey.com) and for less than what we are paying to get minimal coverage through his work! They also handle Investments and offer Home & Car Insurance. My friend Sheri saved $200 a year and that was with getting Renter's insurance too, which she didn't have before. Dave and I have been so busy we haven't been able to check into that for us - which we need to. Dave has also been busy with being in the Elders Quorum Presidency & now scouts has started up again so we'll be doing that every week too.

I have been very busy this summer. I made raised bed gardens and have produced quite a fine garden, if i do say so for myself! Last saturday I went to Deer Park & dug a half a trunk full of Woolly Thyme from this lady's yard. We are putting it in our garden area & kids play area instead of grass. The only problem is that this stuff has tons of weeds & grass in it that we have to get out before we plant it. Which is VERY tedious and hopefully the plants don't die before we finally get it done. If anyone feels the great desire to help with this project...we'll be working on it this saturday 9am-3pm. :)

I made our own volleyball court. I put 10ft 2inch pvc pipe on the North & south side of the lawn, dug it down a couple feet. Put little hook screws in it at the net height for kids & then for adults. I used Plastic chicken wire for the net. When we aren't using it we just roll up the net & when we want to play just hang it up! The net isn't the greatest and it sags alot, but I will figure that out...maybe next summer.

Our trampoline finally died in July - too many springs tore off the mat. So, I sold it for parts for $25 and then an old classmate of Jasmyn's was selling theirs for $50, with no holes. So, we bought it and Jasmyn & I dug down about a foot & buried the legs (We put it out in our garden play area, cause we were tired of moving it to mow the lawn all the time). Now, with the plastic bench up against it Grayson can climb up & down himself.

I also made a strawberry bed and a blueberry bed out of the bricks that were around our house, so hopefully next summer - lots of yummy berries. We are just now getting some raspberries. The fruit trees we bought last fall did really well. The cherry, plum & macintosh trees produced a little fruit even. Our Fuji is loaded with Apples - most of which have worm holes in them. This winter I will read up on all the things I need to do to keep the bugs away & get good fruit so when spring comes - I'm ready!

I have lots to say but little time to do it...more later