School's Out For Summer!

{Shouldn't they look a little happier for the last day of school??? Hahaha.  Seriously, seriously grumpy this morning.  We have clearly not recovered entirely from our fun Memorial Day weekend.}

The momentous last day of school has come and gone! Everyone was in an exceptionally grumpy mood this morning and therefore unwilling to pose for any real last-day-of-school photos.  As they were scrambling to get breakfast and make their lunches, I managed to capture a few truly lackluster responses to an impromptu questionnaire I created on the spur of the moment, but that was about all they were willing to give me.  After a hasty Scripture Time, I convinced Ethan that the best gift he could give to his teacher would be a fresh and clean presence in the classroom this morning, so he showered in record time while I attempted to photograph the girls and then raced to the bus stop where he arrived just in time.  None of them wanted to take me up on my offer to drive them to school for the last day, so I waved goodbye and told them I'd see them in a few because I would be getting pictures of them with their teachers no matter HOW much they protested about it. Hahaha.  To Sophie's delight and the outward embarrassment of the other two, I soon tracked them down at school and got my obligatory photos.  :) 

So fresh and so clean, clean!  Haha. Isn't he so cute clutching his teacher gift?

Grace refused to turn around, but did make note of the fact that this was the exact outfit she wore for the FIRST day of school when she was our "bright and vibrant" girl.  Haha. I'm not sure if she purposely chose the same outfit or not, but she was definitely aware of the situation. :)

Hahaha. I love how Ethan and Sophie are totally humoring me here.

Sophie -- Last Day of 1st Grade

Biggest thing she learned this year: Fractions

Favorite memory: Field Day

Best friends: Josie, Alex, and Avery

What she's going to miss most about the 1st Grade: "My teacher and my friends."

Grace -- Last Day of 3rd Grade

Biggest thing she learned this year: Multiplication

Favorite memory: Field Day

Best friends: Cameron and Halle 

What she will miss most about the 3rd grade: Her teacher and friends

Ethan -- Last Day of 5th Grade

Biggest thing he learned this year: Fractions

Favorite memory: Wait for it -- "Field Day"

Best friends: "I don't know."

What he'll miss most about the 5th grade: "Nothing."

It has been a great school year for all of them!  We have been so blessed to get teachers who are PERFECT for each child's individual personality and needs.  I am hoping that next year will prove to be just as awesome -- especially since we'll have 4 at the same school!!!  Happy summer vacation everyone! :)

From the Mouths of Babes

{Totally rando old picture that is completely unrelated to the post.}

And now for a brief little snippet to illustrate how the day started and to symbolize how it ended. 

{Overheard this morning before school -- Alex reprimanding Ethan for throwing a temper tantrum and using bad language.}

"You can't say BUTT, Ethan -- that is LANGUAGE!!!"

Hahahaha.  Oh Ethan. So much angst. So much ire.  I really hope we can pull it together here soon.  Hashtag growing pains was more fun as a sitcom. Hashtag will we survive the next 8 years?  Hashtag I really need to go to bed.  Hahahaha.  Goodnight all -- tomorrow marks the last day of the school year!!! I REALLY hope I'm ready for the summer.  :)

Mama Gets it Done

The end of the school year is always a crazy, busy time.  So, really, the PERFECT way to experience this last week is to throw in a bunch of house projects as well.  Haha.  Seriously, though, today was one of those kinds of days where I felt like I was a chicken running around with my head cut off! From painting to parties to pure bedlam, I've run the gamut over the course of the day.  How's this for non-stop action?  Wake up, get the kids breakfast, clean up the breakfast mess {kind of}, paint the banisters I pulled off the wall and primed yesterday, run Jane over to ballet, walk to the playground with Alex and some friends while waiting for Jane to be done, go to the store when dance is over so that I can pick up the Oreos Sophie needs for her class party today, get to the store and discover that I had LEFT MY PURSE AT HOME {aaaaahhhh!!!}, drive home to get purse while calling in the order for Sophie's special pizza for said party, make it back to the store and then race to pick up her pepperoni pizza with no cheese and no garlic butter on the crust from Domino's to bring into school for the party, come home and put little ones down for a nap, finish taping the spindles on the railings {EASILY the most time-consuming and aggravating task of the project}, finish painting all the railings, feed the kids {because it's dinner time at this point}, bathe the little ones, give in to Grace's request for a movie night after Sophie cleans up the family room for her, go running with a friend, and then FINALLY help Scott to calm an out of control firstborn who is VERY upset about being grounded from the iPad for the rest of the week.  Whew!!!!!  Recapping it all is making me even more tired.

Before I close for the night, though, here is a quick review of what I did to paint the railings.  First, I wiped everything down that I planned on painting with a deglosser {also sometimes called a liquid sander}.  I primed the railings with Zinsser brand Cover Stain which is an oil based primer thus necessitating an oil based paint to go on top.  After consulting with my now BFF Sherwin Williams workers, I went with the Surface Enamel that is pictured at the top in a satin finish.  For the record, I was roughly following a tutorial I found on Pinterest which strongly recommended using foam brushes and foam rollers for the application.  All I can say is that my experience priming with the foam brushes was almost as aggravating as taping off the spindles today.  After letting the primer dry overnight, I was ready to tackle the actual painting this morning and let the record show that this paint went on and covered like a dream!  I've never worked with an oil based paint before, but it was magnificent.  I used my high-quality Purdy angled brush this time around and it was SOOO much easier to use. Because it was oil based and a shinier sheen, any brushstrokes that were created in the process of painting just melted away as it dried.  It definitely took a longer time to dry than a latex based paint, but my BFFs assured me that this enamel paint would dry to a durable and chip-free finish that wouldn't even need a top coat or polyurethane.  And it looks awesome!  And only took one coat!! 

 Before

After

{Sherwin Williams "Black Fox"}

And that is that.  Isn't there something so satisfying about a good before and after??  Hahaha.  Until next time, I'm signing off!

Here We Go Loopty Lou

We're back!  And we had a blast!  Highlights of our trip to St. Louis included seeing good friends, roaming our old stomping grounds, and running the Parkway Ward Memorial Day 5K.  :) 

We got to town on Friday night and the first in a slew of late nights was started as all 7 of us shared a single hotel room at the Springhill Suites.  Even WITH melatonin, it was a struggle to get all the kids to fall asleep each night!  Poor Scott had just flown in on a red-eye flight on Thursday and was going on 3 1/2 hours of sleep, so he was slightly out of commission for the first little part of our trip.  Thankfully, he recovered fairly quickly and was a good sport and big help even WITH his weary state.

After our slightly restful first night's sleep, Saturday was a jam-packed day.  Grace and Ethan spent the day with some neighbor friends in the morning while Scott and I took the other kids to the children's museum, and then in the afternoon we all met up to go swimming at the Lodge.  Man have we missed that place!  After a full and happy day, our evening was capped off to perfection with a gathering at the park with some of our good friends from church.  It seriously felt like a time warp being there -- even though it's been almost an entire year since we've seen any of them, it was like no time had passed at all.  There's nothing like "forever friends" with whom you can pick right back up where you left off no matter HOW much time has gone by since you've last seen them!

 

Now that's a porch!

No trip to a children's museum is complete without trying to get inside a giant bubble.  Hahahaha.

Or without trying out a little electromagnetic action. :)

Ethan, Grace, Sophie, Jane, and Alex with Nathan, Meredith, and Patrick.  {Ethan and Nathan have even been pen pals over the last few months!}

Maren, Natalie, Me, Jenn, Gina, Charity, Debbie, Tawny {and cute baby Max}

 Grace stole my phone to capture some selfie action with Haela.

Sunday we enjoyed attending our old ward in the afternoon and then topped the evening off with dinner at my BFF, Natalie's, followed by a general hang-out session with her and her family.  It was so much fun!  Old friends are the best friends.  :)

 

Princesses Sophie and Juliana play dress-up.

Our final day in St. Louis started out bright and early with the Annual Ward 5K and Fun Run.  Natalie and I ran the 5K together and Ethan, Grace, and Sophie all gave the races a go as well.  Poor Ethan started out in the 5K with us, but shot out WAY too fast and in the end dropped out before finishing because he was spent.  Grace and Sophie both ran the 1 mile Fun Run, and Grace knocked it out of the park once again and was the first girl to finish.  I'm kind of impressed with her intermittent need for speed.  Hahahaha.  Sophie, on the other hand, ran with a buddy and chatted it up the whole entire time.  You know, like it was just another Saturday long run for them.  Haha.

Once the race was over, we visited with friends for a bit longer and then decided we should probably head back to the hotel to check out and start back on our way home.  At this point in time, every single child was careening wildly on the Crazy Train Express thanks to lots of late nights, early mornings, and no naps.  Not to mention sun-up to sun-down activity. It was certainly a fun trip, and we will certainly do it again, but it is certainly NEVER fun to deal with the post-vacation fallout. 

I'm so glad we were able to go back, and I was so glad to finally come back home.  Because that was the biggest thing I realized on this trip.  St. Louis was {and still is} awesome and we LOVED our time there, but it's not our home anymore.  It was a really cathartic thing for me to recognize.  When we moved to St. Louis, the first time we drove into our neighborhood, I immediately felt like I was going home.  It was one of the biggest reasons we ended up buying our house there -- it just FELT right.  As we drove up on Saturday morning to bring Ethan and Grace to their friends and to see our old house, I realized that feeling was no longer there.  Obviously it's not our home anymore and we moved almost a year ago, but I think one of my biggest hang-ups and hurdles I've had to overcome since we've moved here is that I haven't felt at home.  A piece of my heart was still hanging back in St. Louis and even though we were no longer there, THERE was where home was.  It was really good to FINALLY come around to seeing that home is HERE.  Where my family is, and where my life is being lived.  I will always love St. Louis and I will always enjoy going back to visit, but it's good to FINALLY be able to say I've moved on and really mean it.

The second biggest thing I realized on this trip is that good bye doesn't mean forever. I think that part of the reason why I was so sad to leave St. Louis was that I had made such wonderful friends there and it seemed as though I was never going to see them again or that things would never be the same if I did.  Of course, things don't ever stay EXACTLY the same, but this trip helped me to see that with GOOD friends, it doesn't matter how much time has gone by, or how frequently {or infrequently} you've been in contact with them since you've been gone -- forever friends will be friends forever.  What a happy thought!  All in all, I can honestly say that I am finally in a good spot with this move of ours that "just" happened almost a year ago.  :)

And that, my friends, is a wrap!  Stay tuned for end-of-the-school-year festivities and more house projects...

 {The boys clearly needed more sleep.  Evidenced by Alex just climbing in bed one morning and giving himself a nap and Ethan promptly conking out as soon as we started our long drive home.}

Flash Forward Friday -- Summer Magic

And now for a brief detour from our regularly scheduled activities.

A few weeks ago, I thought up a BRILLIANT plan.  After originally labeling my idea "The 5000 Pages of Summer Reading," Scott and the kids talked me off that crazy ledge and I have instead settled on "The 3000 Pages of Summer Reading."  In my efforts to keep them reading for part of the day all summer long {and to keep them OFF electronics 24/7}, I decided that a little fun and bribery were in order.  Because nothing is more fun than a contest, right??  Hahaha.  The kids have jumped on the bandwagon for now, and starting June 1 they will begin their journey.  If they have all completed the goal by August 1, we're going to Disney World!  With an added bonus of $100 in spending money for any kid that actually reads a full 5000 pages.

And just because contests really are fun, I came up with another great idea to kick off our summer vacation as well!  I told the kids we could have a T-Shirt design contest to come up with a set of family shirts that we can all wear while we're ON our family vacation.  {Everyone but Ethan was excited about the prospect of designing and then actually WEARING matching family shirts.}   I also told them we'd keep it SUPER impartial and post pictures on the blog for our readers to choose the winning design.  Hahahaha.  I think they ALL kind of liked that idea -- even Ethan.

We actually have planned out pretty much our entire summer at this point, and I find that whenever that happens, it feels as if it's almost over before it's even really started!  In addition to lots of reading, a trip to Disney, and designing T-Shirts, we also have dog-sitting on the docket, scout camp for Ethan, a trip to Cancun for me and Scott, and possibly a few Saturday outings to King's Island for the big kids. Not to mention lots of trips to the pool, obviously!  Haha.  Our summer is going to be JAM-PACKED.  And maybe even a little magical.  :) 

Being a Fun Mom is More Fun

And almost always a heck of a lot easier, too!  Here's how the past 24 hours went down...

When the kids got home from school yesterday, I was JUST finishing up painting the family room.  Ethan was requesting a trip to the store to buy an "Under Armour type shirt" for Field Day today and by the time I finished putting everything away and cleaning up, I realized that it was 4:40, I had nothing in the works for dinner, and since Scott has been out of town all week, I didn't have the energy or desire to wrestle with the kids through the witching hour and then get them to bed on my own.  The solution?  "Load up everyone, we're going to Target!  And you can pick out whatever you want for dinner while we're there!  And I'll buy you your Field Day gear!"  Instant success.  Hahahaha.

Aside from the fact that Ethan was stressing out the whole time we were there because the little ones were SO LOUD due to excitement, we had a marvelous time.  The three older ones each picked out their "Under Armour type shirt" and shorts for the water activities today, and I threw caution to the wind and let Alex and Jane each pick something out, as well.  {Spoiler alert -- Alex's choice was superhero themed.  Hahahahaha.}  An hour and half later, we were safely on our way home with happiness easily bought and surrounding us.  Lunchables were the meal of choice for kids 1-4, and donuts were the Lover Boy's pick.  {Don't judge.} 

{Justice League cars.}

Then, I really kicked things up a notch on the fun-mom-o-meter, when I acquiesced to their pleading for a Movie Night, even though it was the middle of the week.  What can I say? I didn't want the fight and it sounded kind of fun.  After getting home and getting myself something to eat, I made the kids clean up the family room so we could put furniture back in its rightful place and watch the movie in a tidied up environment.  Lover Boy was sent packing up to bed, and after starting up a little Summer Magic {old school Disney movie featuring Hayley Mills -- which I loved as a kid}, I pulled out the new packets of Jamberry Nails that I ordered for the girls from a friend.  Aside from Jane being overly tired and kind of a train wreck, it was actually a really enjoyable evening!  I loved the fact that all the kids really liked the movie, and it was kind of fun doing the girls' nails while Ethan worked on painting another rock.

The biggest reason I caved on a Movie Night was because I knew I would have NO trouble getting the kids up and off to school this morning.  Field Day couldn't get here soon enough for this crew!  We finished our morning routine with plenty of time for a photo shoot and after sending them on their way I started the first of MANY loads of laundry in my efforts to get ready for our trip to St. Louis tomorrow.

 

In addition to laundry, I spent the day going visiting teaching, doing some more painting (dining room this time), and prepping for the painting of our banisters and railings.  {They're going "Black Fox" by Sherwin Williams.  I'm kind of really excited.}  As the kids came home from school today, I found myself in the same position as yesterday and decided, once again, that it's more fun to be fun.  So instead of staying inside and making them clean up the house and have them drive each other (and me) crazy, I told them that we'd go to the pool if everyone simply did their zone and assignment and got their clothes packed for our trip.  I think the clothes were the only thing that happened, but getting out and going to the pool was definitely a worthwhile endeavor.  :)

{Family Room done!}

{Dining Room done!}

 {Railings -- not quite done.}

While Ethan and Grace were at the church tonight for scouts and Activity Days respectively, I got the three exhausted little ones down with hardly any complaint, and then had the luxury of peace and quiet to veg out for a little bit before tackling the messes in the kitchen and the family room.  By the time Thing 1 and Thing 2 were home, the house was clean and they both went to bed without a fuss.  All is well in the world!  Especially since Scott is on his way home and we're heading out for the weekend.  St. Louis here we come!