Randomness running through my head. . .

To be honest, I'm having a hard time being motivated as far as summer updating goes. Time consuming. Lots of words. Boring. So today it's just: what I am thinking.

Oooh yeah.

1. I was thinking about some of my favoritest, happiest, things. Most of them involve me being lazy. Like someone else making dinner. Someone else cleaning my house. Those things don't happen very often. Does that mean I'm not lazy? Anyway. One of my favoritest, happiest things is when I am still sleeping and Joe goes to work. That sounds bad, I know, but hear me out. This also doesn't happen very often because a) the kids are in school most of the year and b) even when they are not in school they get up at 6 a.m. c) I have this thing about us all uniting for a hot breakfast before everyone leaves for the day. Soooo...... on the rare occasions that Joe goes to work before I get up, he stops by the bed to give me a kiss and tell me good bye. And he smells SO GOOD! Think shower gel, shaving cream, toothpaste, mouth wash, mouth rinse, and cologne. There is nothing like waking up to that mixture of clean smelling goodness. And he's a lawyer (I'm married to a LAWYER!!), which means that on most days he's all dressed up in a suit and tie. It's a nice way to wake up, that's all.

2. I said something to a friend about 5 years ago, and it has haunted me ever since. We invited a few friends over and one of the gals said, "Every time we come to your house it is spotless. Is your house ever dirty?" Trying to be honest, I said, "Well.... I hate messes. So yeah, I try really hard to keep it clean." *Don't those people make you so MAD?* That was right before Grant was born. And as we add people we add things. And also there are more people. Did you know that more people = more mess? Also, contrary to popular belief: the older people get the more mess they are capable of making. Funny how that works. So let me tell you right now: My house is not always clean. I still spend more time than I'd like cleaning, but it is rarely ever spotless. And for heaven's sake, do NOT look in the garage. Or the master walk-in closet. I realize I talk about the state of my home on here a lot. I believe it is a sensitive subject for me--one that I am trying to overcome and become comfortable with. Because the truth is: my house is not always organized. And that is ok. There are 6 people growing, playing, living, and learning here--and cleaning should not be my main priority. (Plus, to be honest, I don't really love cleaning toilets. Surprise!) I worry that it takes up too much of my life, but if I don't do it I go crazy. It's just one of those things that has to get done. So as we are preparing to send kids off to school (wah!) and the 50 bags of school supplies are piled up by my front door. Etc. Etc. I am trying to remind myself that I am in the business of raising children. And Melinda, if you somehow read this: please forgive me for my ignorance!


Joe: While I appreciate that Jenny thinks I smell good in the mornings (it's Acqua Di Gio, case you're wondering), I am compelled to set a record straight. The truth is that I teach early morning Seminary each morning, and I can count on one hand the mornings she got up with me. 

Catching Up is So Hard to Do:

*I forgot to mention that the 3 older kids sang "The Army of Helaman" with Brent on his last Sunday before leaving on his mission. I played for them and they sounded so great! Even Grant knew the words, and I don't think any of them really got stage fright.



Week 2 kind of running together and getting all mixed up with week 3, but to the best of my memory:

Monday: ?

Tuesday: we invited Priscilla and her boys over to play and for lunch. Fun, fun! Grandpa also butchered two hens for us to eat for dinner. They were yummy, and I ate them, but it was kind of weird to know that I was eating something that had been running around on the farm a few hours earlier. Then. . . the electricity went out and somehow (coincidentally?) the water pump died. No water pump means no running water anywhere in the house. It was a little stressful. So while Grandma and Grandpa rushed to get water going before all the stores closed, the kids and I went swimming at a friend's house down the road.

*Side story: Grandpa told the the kids that they couldn't flush the toilet because the electricity was out (this is before we knew the pump had died). He was explaining the science behind it--so we didn't notice Grant walk out of the room. A few seconds later he jubilantly runs back into the living room and announces, "You are wrong Grandpa! The toilet still flushes!" SOOOO.... the last flush was all for nothing. :) What could we do but laugh?

Wednesday: we met up with some of my high school friends and went swimming. We stayed much longer than anticipated, but only because we were having so much fun. I was a little worried that it would be awkward because I haven't seen these girls for years and years--and we are at different stages in life. It was fun, though.

Thursday: ?

Friday: we went to McDonald's for lunch and then walked around the mall while Grandma got a perm. I was going to get my hair dyed for the first time ever. . . but chickened out when I found out it would cost $100. This is when Grant had his freak-out moment with the poopy bum in the men's restroom. Anyway, I was checking out the prices of jeans for new school clothes, and the best I could find was $12 at JCPennys. Now, this is not a horrible price but Logan needed new pants, Madi needed new pants, and you'd think I'd be good on pants for everyone else, but Logan started going through pants every 4ish months when he turned 5. Grant happens to need size 5 pants: Grant needed pants. Luckily, we still have hand-me-downs for Ammon. So even if I skimped on pants and just got 5 pairs for 3 kids--that's
  15
x12
------
$180

That's not even thinking about shirts, socks, shoes, dresses, underwear, etc. So I asked Dad if I could leave the kids with him for a bit while I checked out the thrift store. As I was on my way out I saw my mom paying for her hair, so I recruited her to go with me. We ended up with 16 pairs of pants and 1 dress for $28! Every single article of clothing was in great condition, and we are all set on pants for the next year! It was a tender  mercy.

Saturday: We went to a pioneer day celebration at Kinzua Park. I think that is where it was. The kids fished for a while, we ate dinner, there were some games (3-legged races, watermelon seed spitting, Red Rover, and a shoe-hunt where Logan won $5). Then we went over to the beach side of the park and let everyone swim for a few minutes. Our goal that evening was to get the kids in bed by 8:00, and we didn't know if we could make it because of the mandatory showers that needed to take place. What did we do? When we got back to the house I hopped out of the car to grab everyone's stuff, and then we drove up into the woods and all the kids took separate showers at the same time at the girl's camp (that's right--my parent's have a girl's camp up in their woods!). There is nothing quite like taking a warm shower out in the open air! (There are wrap around shower curtains, but when you look up it's all sky and tree branches). They were in bed by 8:09.

Sunday: The McGregor kids made up about 50% of the primary choir that morning, and they sang 2-3 pioneer songs in Sacrament Meeting.

Summary of Characters:

While I'm at it--I wanted to do a quick a summary of people rather than events:

Ammon: can talk. He is especially good at saying, "no," "done," "more," and "mine." But he also says, "please," "cup," and "yes." His names include "momma," "dad," "grandpa," and "Ammon." Other random words include: car, cat, dog, book, uhuh, and animal noises, plus so many more that I can't remember right now. He's brilliant, you know. 

I am pretty sure he is allergic to milk. I am not sure to what extent, and I probably should take him to an allergist to find out, but in the meantime we are dealing with lots of ouchy poopy diapers and lots of bottom medicine. We are grateful to live in a time of Almond milk, electric ice cream makers (with Almond milk), artificial cheese (which is gross), and other alternatives to milk. Unfortunately, milk is in almost everything we eat, so I have started to make Ammon separate food so that we can still have some variety in our diets. 

Grant: Is getting ever-more super hero crazy. He now turns all of his shirts around because he thinks it is more super-heroish. Grandpa bought him a watch and he is learning how to tell time. He knows how to swim--sort of. He gets under the water and kicks but doesn't really go anywhere. He also needs to learn how to wipe his own bottom.

Story: We were walking around the mall a few weeks ago and he announced he needed to go to the bathroom. I sent Logan as his escort while the rest of us waited in the hall. And waited. And waited. I started calling "Grant? Logan?" Finally Logan came out and explained that he had taken the opportunity to go to the bathroom, too. And Grant was going poop. Uh-oh. That took a while, and then I was yelling into the men's bathroom, "It's ok Grant! You can wipe all by yourself! You are a big boy." He wasn't convinced. Logan went in and wiped him. That wasn't good enough. Then I started hearing Grantee sobs, "I have a poopy bottom! I need help! Mom, come wipe me!" I shouted back, "Grant, I can't go in there, it's the men's bathroom!" A man came out and informed me that it was empty and I could go in to help him, but as he was walking away two more men went in. Finally, I called my dad, who was at Home Depot, and asked him to come over and wipe Grant. 

He's been practicing ever since, but I tell ya, it's not pretty. I hope he doesn't need to poop during preschool this year.

Madison: Is no longer terrified of the water! When she saw how everyone was praising Grant for swimming she got her act together and got her head in the water. Now she's a fish, swimming and diving in the water. 

Logan: Asked me today if he could have something to put in his hair. I gave him some Matrix gel-wax that we picked up at mom and dad's, and I have a feeling that we are entering a new tween stage. Yikes. He did look pretty cute handsome, though. He is also a fish in the water. But more on that later. 

Jenny: Oh my gosh, what a summer!! I can't wait to talk about it--but all in due time. I was spoiled rotten this past month, and I loved every moment. I should mention that my sister informed me that my posture is pretty sad, and even though it was sad to hear, it has been confirmed in too many pictures to not be true. So that is what I'm working on. Standing and sitting straight. 

Joe: He's my favorite man ever. Need I say more? Plus he's not telling me what to write about himself. 

Oh Summer!

How do you sum up a month's worth of summer? In 50,000 words? In 400+ pictures (and I didn't take nearly enough)? Over days? Weeks? Bear with me....

Week 1:

We drove 22 hours straight through, took two 20 minute gas/potty stops and arrived at 2:00 am here-- in the northwest corner of beautiful Pennsylvania.

This is the house I grew up in, surrounded by hundreds of acres of fields and forests. Beautiful. 

We did a lot of reading. 

And relaxing. Outside! In 70-80 degree weather. 

We picked raspberries.

And ate them. 

We swung around. 

And we helped out on the farm (in our church clothes, apparently). 

We sent my baby brother, Brent, on his 2-year mission in Brazil. 

And Joe and I celebrated 11 years of marriage by spending 3 days in New York City. Alone. Without kids. !!!!

Joe has all those pictures on his phone, though. Also, it deserves it's own post. 

We finished the week by joining the kids and grandparents at Cayuga Lake and campgrounds. We camped, swam in the lake, kayaked, saw the Hill Cumorah Pageant, toured my Dad's hometown, and took Joe to the airport. 

I don't have pictures of that, either. 

In short, week one was busy, memorable, and fun, fun, fun!