The week was pretty boring; we saved all our doings for the weekend, I guess. On Friday we had a another bonfire/camp-out. There was food aplenty and we didn’t get to bed until at least 12:30/1:00. Good times. The weather here was amazing. It was plenty warm during the day as we were setting up, but it cooled off enough to make the fire enjoyable. We cooked breakfast over the fire in the morning. It was a lot of work – and took three people – but we enjoyed ourselves. We then all suited up and trekked through our woods and hung out in the creek bed. We found out where the mooing is coming from! There is a pasture that borders our property and there are about 15ish cows back there! I’m glad to know we aren’t crazy!

We had leftovers/snacks for lunch and then we cleaned up, packed up, and everyone went home. We were spent! My allergies were terrible all night so we didn’t make it to church on Sunday. We lounged around until after lunch. Then we went to Lowe’s to pick up vermiculite and peat moss. Ben’s mom met us there and took the boys home with her for the evening. Ben and I went home and got to work filling three 6x4x1 beds with equal parts vermiculite, peat moss, and compost. We were dirty and SO exhausted when we were finished….then we had to put away our tools, wash out the truck, clean up, and pick up our boys! I slept pretty well that night!

On Sundaywe served in the two-year-old class at church. For the last time. It was by far the roughest time I’ve *ever* had. We have some real livewires in this current class. I was exhausted. We grabbed some lunch and then the boys and I hung out at Ben’s mom’s house while Ben attended a leadership meeting at church. The meeting ran over so that we found ourselves rushing to the store and then rushing home to try and beat everyone to our house. We had decided, at the last minute, to host a camp out with family. The boys scrounged for wood and set up tents while we ladies prepared and cooked dinner – over the fire, of course. Then we spent the rest of the evening chatting and enjoying the fire. The temperature dropped down to the 50s, but it was perfect camping weather.

The good times continued into Sunday. We had a yummy breakfast of biscuits and gravy, eggs, and (turkey) bacon, with coffee and hot cocoa on the side. Everyone packed up right away, but then we all stayed around chatting and goofing off well into the afternoon. It was decided that this would be an annual Labor Day event. I’m so glad, too, because we’ve NEVER had anything to do on Labor Day and now a new tradition has begun. Yay.

Thursday was my Trader Joe’s shopping day. That may sound lame to those of you lucky enough to have a Trader Joe’s in such close approximation that you can go there at whim, but it’s not super close for us so it’s a once-every-6-weeks type of experience for me. I stock up on organic chicken and grass-fed beef along with a few other things I can only buy there. This time I got to go all by myself – total luxury! We ended the day by taking Luke to his first Scout meeting of the year. Never mind the fact that Ben heard the time wrong and we were there half an hour late….oh well. Luke still had fun and we enjoyed catching up with a friend who’s son is in the same den. Good times.

We marked the one-month passing of Ben’s dad on Friday. Brad’s favorite foods were pizza and ice cream so we all ordered P’zones from Pizza Hut and then had ice cream for dessert. Ben and I gave Karen and album to store all the memorabilia she’s collected regarding the funeral. It was a bittersweet evening.

Saturday was busy, but well worth it. The First Baptist Church of Arnold was hosting the Beth Moore simulcast. I got there just before 9am and was there until almost 5pm. Then I rushed home, helped get the boys packed up, dropped them off at Karen’s for the night, grabbed Tim, bought snacks at the grocery store, and then headed over the our church’s Trivia Night. Our table may have come in 8th place, but I’m positive we had the most fun!

On Sundaywe ate lunch with my dad and grandparents in De Soto. We ate good food and Aunt Helen’s famous cream pies and just enjoyed ourselves. The boys always look forward to going there because they have a playroom full of toys. Good times.

Mondaynight was Book Club. The August pick was Two from Galilee, by Marjorie Holmes. I’ve loved that book since I was a teen. We had some good discussion on not just the love story of Mary and Joseph, but on the ways each character reacted and responded to Christ in their lives. Looking forward to next month!

Luke had Boy Scouts sign-ups on Thursdaynight. Gabe went with them. I worked out and then watched my Netflix movie, Sweet Land. Very good movie. It takes a bit to get started, but once it does…

Friday was busy. Gabe had a drs appointment in the a.m. Because of various reasons, the boys haven’t seen a Pediatrician on a regular basis for a long. Time.
No biggie.
But Gabe had developed a pea-sized lump on the back of his head. I wanted to get that checked out. Plus, it would be good for them to be seen once a year so we can establish a relationship with a dr in case of emergency. So we went. All is well. His lump is nothing. He’s in the 25th percentile and there aren’t any concerns about his growth (or lack thereof). She said he’s great. Duh.

After the appointment we went to Ben’s office. The construction is finally done on the left side so I’ve been going over to get things cleaned up and moved into position. Plus, there was all the IKEA furniture that needed to be assembled. IKEA: a blessing and a curse. I cleaned for a bit and refilled the water cooler.

I made and delivered food for a sweet couple who just had their third child. I made them a Bloomin’ Pizza and a Smore’s Bar. I got to see the baby and chat for a few minutes. Were the boys ever that tiny?

We picked Ben up at his office and headed down to Washington. Dropped the boys off at my mom’s house and met up with my brother, Jacob, and his girlfriend, Natasha, for dinner. Mmmm, good. I had salmon so good that I’m still thinking about it. We walked down to the Bier Deck to listen to a friend play for a bit – until the mosquitoes ran us off. Then we were chased by a horsefly. Then we drove to Paradise to have a little dessert. Ran back to my moms to pick up the kiddos (Luke was burning up) and then headed home.

Today is a lay-around-the-house day. Luke has been running a fever and just isn’t feeling great. Which is fine by me because a little down-time never hurt anybody!

I haven’t done an update for a while. I got off track when I was studying for my final at the beginning of May. It’s hard to believe it’s been a month since my classes ended!

Monday was Memorial Day. Ben’s parents and brother came over. We made homemade ice cream and bar-b-qued. Good stuff. A great way to end the long weekend.

On Tuesday morning I had to go to the periodontist. I’d had a gum graft the week before. I won’t bore you with the details, but it was tedious and not for the faint of heart. She said everything was looking good. Whew!

I had to take Gabe to the dentist on Wednesday. She said he needs sealants, too. He had his first cavity. Both boys have very deep pits and grooves in their teeth. Poor kiddos.

We finally got to see the movie, The Blind Side, on Thursday, with our Life Group.

On Friday, we got to say our goodbyes to a tech coordinator at one of the school’s Ben’s company does business with. She’s very sweet and has always taken such interest in the boys. She’s leaving MO in the next week or so, so we wanted to give her our best wishes. The boys LOVED going to one of “Daddy’s school’s” and thought it was just too cool. We had some friends drop by unexpectedly, which was nice – we got to catch up a little.

Today, Saturday, we went to see Shrek 4. We only take the boys to a handful of movies a year, so it was a real treat. We bought popcorn and everything and really enjoyed ourselves! Then Ben took the boys to his office while I cleaned the house and finished watching an old BBC version of Pride and Prejudice! Good times!

On Tuesday I had Algebra, like usual. Everyone is feeling pretty uptight, knowing that we have a third test and a final looming on the horizon.

Wednesday was the first Book Club meeting! So stinking excited. I’ve wanted to be in a book club for a long time, but simply didn’t have any friends who live nearby AND like to read. We are reading Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. I’ve read this book several times now and it never gets old! It was great to discuss it with other ladies who have read and love this book. Looking forward to next Wednesday already!

I had Algebra again on Thursday, and then I took the boys to the park so they could play with friends. The visit started out fine, but half-way through a couple of busloads of elementary school students crowded us out. Oh well. We had Life Group in the pm and enjoyed a nice discussion time and and some prayer.

Soccer was canceled on Friday, but we met up with some friends and grabbed some shakes and did some shopping.

Saturday started out pretty slow. It was overcast and dreary. Ben was supposed to go camping, but they decided to reschedule so he got together with the guys to play poker. I hung out with the boys, waited out a crazy Spring storm in the basement, and then ended up dragging out a bunch of my scrapbooking stuff and finished off 2009. Great, that means I’m only 4 months behind now!