More Plays with Grandma

Meg got to use Aunt Brenda’s ticket to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat! I’m so glad she got to experience this play. It was AMAZING!!  

The following month we saw Bright Star and Katie joined us.  Before we left she took off her jacket to reveal this shirt….  So dang excited to meet her little baby! Our family continues to grow!  👶 💕 

We had a day of cards and then PF Chang for the win with their gluten free Mongolian Beef!!  

Finally!!

It’s that time of year!!  🎃 🍁  Trader Joe’s has Gluten Free Pumpkin Pancake Mix in stock.  I learned the hard way last year that it’s only available for a short time and once it’s gone, it’s gone until the next year.  The day it was in stock I went to Salt Lake and stocked up. 24 boxes 😂

But then the kids all started begging for waffles every morning so I sent Mike back a week later to get 12 more.  I hope it’s enough to last until next year.  Pro tip- substitute the water for milk and add semi sweet mini chocolate chips. THE BEST, and loved by the gluten eaters!  

Will gets a perm

This boy is sick of his straight hair.  Perm time!

I can’t believe the process for gettting a perm hasn’t changed since I got them as a kid 30+ years ago.  Same chemicals, same rollers and same smell.  

LOVE IT! 😍

Cute girls

Ivy & Emmie 🐮🖤🐮 

Overalls 😍😍

Beanie and headphones 😍😍

Dad passing on some tennis tips and skills! 🎾 💜 

Meggie’s Strep Throat

This poor girl always gets slammed that hardest by anything floating around our house.  Miles and Meg both tested positive for strep throat and needed a couple rounds of antibodics to kick it.   

Meg ended up with this terrible itchy rash that covered her head to toe.  It was the worst on her stomach and back.  Here’s a picture when the rash was “cute” before it completely took over her body.  Meg’s always a good sport but I can’t help but think her immune system is like her mamas…. I’m keeping an eye on her.  

Our Stanley Family

One day I said to Morgan, "I need a water cup".  She said “You need a mom cup!”. She opened my eyes to the wonderful world of the 40 Oz Stanley Thirst Quencher with a handle. I had NO idea how that one phrase was going to change our lives!!  I didn't know anything about these tumblers and I didn't know just how hard it is to get your hands on, and I really didn't know they were the hottest item among instagrammers and moms.  By some twist of fate, we came across 2 of them at Whole Foods on Amazon. And they were the cutest colors!!!  We snatched them and immediately became hooked.    

After a day with my new bestie I realized I needed a water Stanley and a soda Stanley…. So I went on the hunt for another one.  I soon found a tan one. Then when Mike wouldn’t stop drinking out of Morgan’s, I decided to surprise him with a coal colored one, even though he told me ABSOLUTELY NOT! He swore he wouldn’t use it and I better not buy him one!  Good thing I know him better than he knows himself.  I got him one anyway. 😂 I filled it with water and had it on the counter when he came home.  He took one sip and was hooked too!  He now takes it to work everyday and in the car when we run errands! 😂 

So our Stanley Family is pretty cute!  We have from left to right: Cyanly Stanley, Manly Stanley, Tanly Stanley, and Beganly Stanley (where it all Began-ly Stanley!).  

Running errands with Manly Stanley and Tanly Stanley!  Why does this make me so happy 😍

Such a happy couple….   

Miles kept drinking out of Mike’s and it was causing some tension, so I had to find Miles one of course.  😂 Luckily I was on the wait list for the new Stanley drop, so I was able to get Miles the black one he wanted.  Only problem was when it came Mike liked the black one better, so he gave Miles the coal one. Is everyone happy now?  

Nope, the little girls and Will wanted one too.  Well twist my arm, I guess I’ll buy some more.  😂 I got the 3 of them the new 30 Oz quinchers. (They all had the pop top Stanleys for their backpacks, but they needed a straw like the rest of us, right? Mike would say wrong, but I say RIGHT!  Morgan also needed a 30 oz to take to campus since her 40 was too big.  And besides, she needed a water Stanley and a soda Stanley like her mom. It’s the right thing to do. 

Now our Stanley family is complete. 😍 

First Family photo: 

Morgan taking a picture of me taking their first family photo. She was making fun of me, but she started this whole obsession. I never heard of them until she told me to get a “mom cup”. (And I haven’t bought as many as Aunt Mindy so it could be worse 😂). 

Miles Hates Braces

What do you do when your family goes to Island Park for 40 hours and you have the house to yourself?  And you hate your braces??  

I’ll give you a hint…

Here’s the full story… We were leaving for a very short time so we decided Miles was mature enough to stay home alone while we left.  When we came back really late at night, the kitchen and house were all picked up and especially tidy.  I was so proud of Miles but I didn’t want to wake him, so I set my alarm to get up before he left so I could go down and hug him before school.  The next morning I went downstairs and Miles was brushing his teeth. I hugged him and thanked him for taking care of the house while we were gone.  He then says, “well I have something to tell you before you find out on your own”.  He then hands me a baggie… I look closely trying to figure out what’s in the baggie. Then he tells me, “it’s my brackets from my braces. I’m happy with my teeth how they are and I decided to take them off”.  I stood there speechless… I think I said “huh?” and “what?” a few times and then it clicked…. He actually took his braces off…. All of them... all by himself… I didn’t realize that was something you could do…. But he did it... and with a pair of pliers... and he only has 6 months left! 🙄 

After I processed what had happened, and freaked out for a second, I handed him the baggie and without any room for questioning me, I told him he was going to the Ortho straight from school to tell him what he did and to see how much it will cost him to get them back on.  

After a short freak out on both our parts, (no details needed), Miles accepted the fact that I wasn’t budging.  We went in after school and had a nice conversation with his Ortho (who was really nice but not amused by the situation). He put some new braces on and after $750 Miles was on his way…. Miles handed over his debit card and painfully paid $500 from his savings that he earned over the summer (he’ll work off the difference that Mike and I paid).  It was a very expensive, hard lesson, but I was actually impressed with how well Miles handled things.  He makes dumb choices sometimes, but he deals with consequences like a champ. 😉  There is something about this boy that makes me want to ring his neck sometimes, but I don’t because he is so likable and is a really great kid. He just does dumb things every now and then. 😂

Miles has been wearing his bands and taking such great care of his teeth. I mentioned how proud I was of him for wearing his bands so well and he said, “Well ya, I paid $500 for these, I’m going to get it done right.”  Oh how I wish he had that attitude when we paid $4000 to put them on to begin with. 🙄 One upside is that he didn't damage his teeth when he pulled them off.  Can you imagine if he would have ruined his enamel or chipped his teeth. I guess it could have been worse.   

Labor Day

We had a day off, so why not head up to Island Park!  It was a quick 30 hour trip, but we made some good use out of it! (And we dropped off the Sequoia so now we don’t have that sitting out in front of our house 🥳)  We had renters at Share Shack, so we stayed with the Nadaulds.   

A great labor day of friends, kids, food, sun and fun! ☀️ 😎 

We picked up our little college student along the way. Miles and Luke didn’t come because they are lame, and Jakes gone on his mission, but we had the rest of the the kids with us.  

Happy Labor Day!!