David's Science Experiment and Other Things

I caught David doing a rather complicated looking science experiment in the kitchen this afternoon.  I'm not sure what it was about.....(the book said something about testing and producing gases) but he was mixing things and looked rather smart.  So I had to post him. *wink*

There was acid....and yeast....and baking soda.....and lit matches....and thankfully, no explosions. :-)   

A very blurry and poor quality picture of just one of the many books I am borrowing from various people at church. This one is from my piano teacher / pastor......it's super worn so I'm hoping that's a sign of how engaging it's going to be.  :-)  Uh, we'll see.  The whole chording-thing and improv stuff is something I'm working on right now....very slowly....kind of hard but it's something I really want to learn so I'm doing my best to wrap my brain around it. 

Speaking of which, there are a lot of things I'm trying to wrap my brain around these days.....Calvinism/reformed theology, SAT study, CPC intake forms....and then just trying to keep up with the simple stuff like reading the entire issue of World Magazine (not just skimming it), getting through books I've borrowed, keeping my check book balanced, trying to follow my budget, coordinating my work/volunteer schedule with the family's.....and then then constant things simmering on the back burner of my mind, like keeping up with the rapidly mounting laundry pile on my floor, jogging as often as I can, taking pictures so this blog can keep going, vacuuming up the lovely dog hair in my room...on and and on it goes. 

Ah, life.  Slow down, won't you?!!

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Some Serious Randomness

Today was super busy for me!  I tried to cram some SAT studying in this morning before heading to piano lessons.....followed by meeting Jonathan for lunch at a Chinese buffet (my favorite food ever), followed by more CPC training, then a quick stop at Saver's for two awesome dresses, and then finally home to watch the first presidential debate! 

The first thing I see (usually hear) every morning is this little guy, Willie.  He hans't made it on the blog in quite a while!  He's still just as cute, but just a little too abnoxious at night.  Because the neighbors complain about our dogs barking, he has to sleep in my room at night.  He usually wakes me up at least once with his whining and exciting "ruffing", trying to get me to let him outside.  Normally I give him a good shove with whatever limb is not currently under the covers and tell him to go lay down. (Sorry, just being honest.  He's annoying at night.)

This picture was taken right after I woke up this morning - no picture of me for very obvious reasons.....you might never read my blog again.....

Is anyone besides me aware of how easy it is to wash out your makeup brushes?!  Call me silly, but this easy little trick excites me.  Seriously.  I used to just go buy another one when my current brush got grungy and caked with powder/foundation.....but Courtney kind of turned on the lightbulb for me before she left for college.  Washing out makeup brushes is so easy!!  It might only save a few dollars, but that's important for me at this slightly broke stage of my life.....lol!  I just put some soap on it, pulse it under some hot water for a few minutes, do one final soap scrub, and then let it dry somewhere where the bristles won't get disturbed.  That's the trick I recently discovered - squeeze the water out of your brush and then don't even touch the bristles; let them dry straight.  Works like a charm!

Sweet boy.  When he gets mad at me though, his main insulte of choice is, "I will not protect you!"  This is probably due to the fact that I tell him all the time that men are there to protect the ladies.  So, when things don't go his way, what's the obvious response?  Stop protecting!  I mean really, if someone told you to stop licking a recently used fly swatter, wouldn't you do the same?  Just let that helpless 19 year old fend for herself!

The boys love this trampoline.  It's finally getting to the time of year where it's semi-cool enough to go jump on it.  The dogs love the shade underneath, too.  :-)

Last bit of randomness?  I can't seem to get the song "Call Me Maybe" out of my head.  And I don't even listen to it.  Or particularly like it.  But I hear it in stores all the time!  Plus it has some humorous Summit conotations that only Summit students of session 7 would get.....(comment if you were one of them lol!!!)

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Brothers

These guys are fast becoming....too old.  Too big.  Too smart.  It's not fair.  No further words are needed for this post - I'll let their good looks overtake you. :-)

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It's (supposed to be) Fall!

I was thinking of titling this post "Autumn-mazing Pumpkin Scones" or something of that nature.  Because it's fall, and these scones are truly amazing.  But somehow (besides the title sounding kind of....er...well, honestly, dumb) I felt that the lack of autumn weather would kind of hinder my writing capabilities. 

Because it's still in the 90's here.

But anyway.

I recently had a pumpkin scone at Starbucks - I have never had any of their pastries, but on this particular day I did indulge - and it was so so good!  I've been wondering if I could authentically re-create them at home, and today I gave it a try.  They turned out really well.....only I didn't find out until after I iced them that they could  have used just a few more minutes in the oven. :-)  But they are still good, nonetheless.

 It made 14 scones; unfortunately in a family of eight they won't last long (except now that we are down to six they'll last a little longer....).   They are so yummy with a cup of coffee, too......

 Joshua, patiently waiting for his scone. 

Since we are on the topic of fall, I want to mention scarves.  I have posted before about how much I love scarves ~ they just add so much to an outfit and are super cute!  I keep thinking that one of these days I'll wake up and we'll actually have chilly weather and I'll be able to pull out some of my long-sleeves.....but so far, nope.  The day I was actually wearing the outift above I ended up getting way too hot. :-)  Oh well. 

Fall is still here and I do love this time of year.  And now stores are beginning to stock up with Christmas decorations.....David and I are already desperate to listen to Christmas music!!  Our family rule is nothing until after Thanksgiving though. :-)  Even if the weather hasn't cooled down much it still feels a bit like fall ~ hot chocolate, pumpkin scones, cozy evenings watching our new favorite show, Mission Impossible, board games, and if nothing else, at least long sleeve pajams. :-) 

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Friends and Family

Yesterday before church, we had our good friends the Camerons over for lunch!  They are moving out to their farm soon and we figured we better snag them for a meal before they leave us lol. :-) 

I had fleeting thoughts of a crisp autumn day and long sleeves and hot chocolate and a cozy grill out.  But being as it was (and always is) we had a nice steamer and a very sweaty eating experience (for those of us who ate outside) and an abundance of flies.  Hannah claimed lacing your plate with onion rings would keep the flies away but she didn't seem to have much luck with that......:-)

Kayla, Hannah, and myself.  I've known these wonderful girls since they were like 6 and 9 maybe?  And now they are these sweet young ladies:-)  I'm gonna miss them when they move....hopefully we'll see them at church most of the time, though!

And as for these munchkins,  life goes on in it's various forms for each of them.  David is really busy with school these days; he is enrolled in the K-12 program now and that keeps him very busy academically. :-)  I think the routine and rigor of tests and assesments are a good learning experience for him - I can testify to the fact that when I was his age I did not take school seriously at all!  So now he has an outsider expecting his lessons turned in ON TIME and done well.  It's definitely different. 

I keep reminding him that even though school can seem so monotonous right now, it really does matter when you're my age and thinking about college, SAT study, and possible scholarships. 

Isaac is learning to READ!  I literally feel like I was just learning how.  I still remember reading those beginner stories in Mom's reading book.  He is also thinking alot.  It's so neat to see his little mind processing things.  Now he asks what big words mean, like yesterday he wanted to know what 'absolutely' meant.  Even though he won't give me kisses anymore, and hugs are a forced display of affection for him, he remains one of the sweetest spots in my life.....:-)

Joshua has been asking some rather.....well, interesting questions recently.  He has this thing for the Easter story; he constantly asks Mom if he is going to be crucified on a cross like Jesus someday.  At first this was a surprising and semi-cute question....but it's gotten a little annoying now!   Last Sunday after church he leaned up against one of the poles outside and said, "Look!  I'm just like Jesus on the cross!"  (said with giggles and smiles....uh, unfortunately....) And then the other day Dad mentioned that his stomach hurt, and Josh immediately piped up (rather cheerfully) "Are you going to die, Daddy?"

Where to even go from there lol!

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