The Great Excavator: Every Boys Dream

Last Friday and Saturday we rented an excavator to assist in the overwhelming landscaping project. Ben, Delbert, and Jeff leveled areas, moved dirt, moved boulders, scraped out a LOT of gravel, dumped many loads over the hillside, etc. It was quite the project and they got so much done. It was amazing to see how much they could get done with the help of a VERY COOL toy. The three of them were in heaven. It was like they were little boys playing in the sandbox again. Jack LOVED watching the guys and playin' in the truck. I think he even got to ride in the excavator once. I am so grateful for my hard workin' boys!

New Do

Hannah wants to grow her bangs out, so we cut her hair short to let the bangs catch up. I think she is adorable and she is pretty happy with it. Here are her self directed photos. What a ham!

What did you do last night?

We cut, chopped, loaded and unloaded a cord and a half of wood. IN THE DARK!! The rains are coming . . .

You wonder what Jack was doing? Doing his favorite thing, drivin' the truck. He figured out how to work the glove box and found an old forgotten, melted Snickers Bar. He tore it open, ate it, smeared it, wore it, you get the picture.



Jeff loaded the trailer, Hannah operated the splitter lever, Ben loaded the splitter and I made dinner for the crew and then did a little of everything. We were quite the team.



The pile of dumped wood is what we did last night. The stacked stuff was another days work. We are just starting to make a dent in the log pile. Ahhhhh!! I'm just looking forward to those warm fires this winter.

Jack's photo shoot by Hannah

Hannah wanted to do a photo shoot of Baby Jack. She must of watched Aunt Jess. She got a sheet, threw it over a chair, changed Baby Jack into a onesie, and asked for my camera. Jack was in a good mood gratefully. He cooperated for awhile. She had fun until Jeff wanted to take over. She caught a few adorable shots. Here are the results. . .

Mama's Little Helper

Jack is Mom's best friend when the kids leave for school. He follows me around helping with laundry, dishes, making the bed, cleaning the shower, etc. He likes his mommy time, but ditches me like a bad habit when the kids or Dad arrive home. What a cute little dude!

Another day in the life of Wolfe

I was replying to a friend about her week and updated her on ours, so I thought I would share some of our "going ons".

Jeff and Hannah are playing soccer again and we have found the answer to playing soccer without it consuming family life. Some very smart parents started a soccer club at our church. It's free and you pay $3.40 for a t-shirt. Parents attempt to coach, some better than others. It is only Tuesday and Thursday (NO SATURDAYS!!!!)for an hour. It is perfect for those of us who know we are not raising professional soccer players. Jeff and Hannah look great on the field and love the pace. Ben and I love the no Saturday thing. It is so liberating to have a Fall Saturday free. We've been cutting wood and working on our landscaping. Fun, fun!!

Jack is on day 6 of "a sever case of croup". He sounds like Darth Vader and his voice is funny. He coughs a lot and cringes. I feel so bad for him, but in typical Jack fashion, he's smiling from ear to ear.

Ben experienced his first Scout campout. (He was called to Assistant Scout Master a couple months ago.) 15 boys, 3 leaders for the annual wood cut up on Mt. Hood. He got to use his chain saw all morning and got away from the silly boys, so alls well. I guess some of the boys insisted on sleeping "under the stars" (no tent) in 40 degree windy weather. Boys??? What are they thinking????

I burned 3 fingers yesterday making cupcake and spent the rest of the evening trying to make dinner with one hand in a bowl of ice. Frustrating!! Thanks to Ben, the kids, and Linda we finally ate around 7:00pm. It didn't stop hurting until 1:00 am. I don't know if it stop hurting or I was so tired, my exhaustion was stronger than the pain.

Our presentation is next Sunday, so we have our practice on Saturday and then "show time". I'm playing the calm, don't stress counselor. The President is wound up tight and the other counselor is somewhere between us. It will be nice to have this hurdle jumped and we can go back to our routine Sunday activity and new songs!!!

Well, that is life at our house this week/weekend/month. I'm off to play with my new Cricut machine, thanks Jackie!

Happy Birthday to Kenners!! I still can't believe your TWELVE!!! So mature. :) Hope you had a great day.

Signing off, One Crazy Mama!!

Crazy 8's

Jackie, Jackie, Jackie . . . why do you guilt me into these things? What have I done to you????? so, in no particular order...

8 Things I'm Passionate About
1. Work Ethics: You must give this to your children! Thank you Mom and Dad!!
2. The Gospel, again thank you Mom and Dad.
3. Reading, reading, reading.
4. I loath El Caminos . . . still.
5. My marriage!
6. Reading with my kids.
7. Going on vaca.
8. Washing my face, brushing my teeth and taking out my contacts nightly ritual.

8 Things I want to do before I die
1. Try again to visit the Grand Canyon.
2. Summit a few more peaks in the Cascade Range.
3. Learn to like to eat fish.
4. Raise my children to adulthood and see them happily married.
5. Finish that one cross-stitch project.
6. Serve a mission with Ben.
7. Tour Greece and Italy.
8. Have Uncle Dan visit without him freezing to death.

8 Things I say often
1. “Uh, uh, uhhha.”
2. “Clean your room.” (normal voice) “Clean your room.” (louder) “Clean your room!!!” (screaming)
3. “No Jack.”
4. “Don’t waste my brain cells.”
5. “Flush the toilet.”
6. "Did you wash your hands?”
7. "Stop telling your sister what to do! I’m the parent.”
8. "Will you please do _______________?”

8 Books I've recently read
1. "Constant Princess” by Phillapa Gregory
2. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by JK Rowling
3. "Fabelhaven” by Brandon Hull
4. "Fabelhaven: Rise of the Evening Star” by Brandon Hull
5. "The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman
6. “The Essential Mormon Cookbook” by Julie Badger Jensen
7. "Mafia to Mormon: My Conversion Story” by Mario Facione
8. "Orchard, A Memoir” by Adele Crockett Robertson

8 Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over
This would require me to think way to hard. I listen to books on CD or the Primary Presentation music for the kids to learn the songs. (You can call me a geek, it's okay.)I enjoy music, but not engrossed.

8 Things that Attract Me to My Best Friends
1. Sense of Humor
2. “Buck Up Little Camper” attitude
3. Usually the eldest girl in their family. (Odd, but true)
4. Practical
5. Not overly materialistic
6. Confident
7. Will not be offended that I don’t call them back within the week.
8. Tolerant of my “bursts”.

8 Things I've learned in the last year
1. What placenta previa is and that the placenta looks like a roast. Nice . . . .
2. Why people tell you NOT to live in your remodel while in the process of remodeling.
3. How it feels to recover from a c-section. I don’t recommend it.
4. The blessing of anti-depressants.
5. How to accommodate 22 people in 400 square feet of under construction remodel.
6. You can get pregnant even though it has been clinically proven that you can’t.
7. That I do like to cook, if I could only remember to get the ingredients. (Hopefully this will improve once by brain returns after the pregnancy.)
8. I miss my family, a lot.

8 People that I think should do "8"
Only those who have a lot of time and patience. No guilt trips from me!

Alpine Slide Fun!

This is one of our annual summer events, the Alpine Slide!! We love it!! This was Hannah's first solo year, so she LOVED it. Ben and Jeff tried something new, taking their bikes up the lift and riding down the STEEP slope over obstacles, jumps, teeter totters, etc. Jack was not technically allowed on the lift, but we bribed a nice lady. He rode in the baby carrier and loved it. He watched all the riders on the way up and waved at all the lift passengers on the way down. He was a hit. I couldn't ride last year, but I got enough runs in this year to make up for it. We had a blast!!

First Day of School

We're back at it! School is in session!! Jeffery is a big fabulous fourth grader and Ms. Hannah is a sassy second grader. Jeff has Mrs. Raven's who is out on maternity leave until November, so we don't know what to think there. Hannah scored BIG with Mrs. Krueger, who was Jeff's 2nd grade teacher. I love her and think she is the best. Mom and daughter are thrilled!

They both had great first days and were starving when they got home. They were also ready for a bit of freedom. They went right outside and played for the rest of the afternoon.

Jack was a bit lonely with them gone, but enjoyed helping mom around the house.

Jeff's Hard Earned Bike WITH GEARS!!

He is so proud and he worked VERY hard to get this bike. He has been saving for months. Shoveling piles of dirt, sweeping the shops floors, raking gravel, hauling wood, power spraying everything, raking pinecones, etc. He really is an amazingly hard worker and loves to work along side his dad. They are quite the worker bees. But they also love to play. This is them at the top of Ski Bowl on Mt. Hood. Headed back down for another run. Jeff really had fun once he got the hang of going down a steep slope. No fear!!