A Sporty Weekend

We had an amazing weekend.  It was the Shorewood vs. Shorecrest game.  Derek had to work, but Maren and Clark accompanied the rest of us to the game.  We got there WAY too early, and we got a little bit wet at the pre-game BBQ.  But it was fun until about 1/2 time when Ben decided he was ready to go.  We made it through 1/2 time and the large group photo.  I will try to post that picture if I can find it.  Every year they take a picture of the whole stands.  

On the way to cheer on the T-birds.  We have the best Aunts and Uncles!

Saturday morning was a Husky game.  Stanford beat the Huskies, but Ben had a good time cheering with Dad before he left for the game.  

Learning to put his DUBs up!

We picked up the Nortons from the park and ride after the Husky game and then went straight to the Mariners game.  This game actually mattered!  If the As lost and the Mariners won, the Mariner's post season hopes would still be alive.  The game got SUPER intense!  The game was tied in the 9th.  The Mariners had the bases loaded with 0 outs.  Ben was SUPER done (it was 9:30 by this time).  But we had to see them score--it would surely happen.  But it didn't.  The Mariners stranded all 3 runners.  We left as they headed into the 10th.  When we got home we put the kids down with the game on pause.  We finished the game after we got the kids down....and the Mariners WON in the 11th!  It was awesome.  So it is another must win situation today.  And the As must lose.  If both those things happen, the Mariners will have a 1 game playoff with the As on Monday.  I have always loved baseball.  The energy was ELECTRIC!  Some of my fav pics from the game ...

Ben cheering and dancing.  He is a great stadium dancer!  

Mommy and Libby selfie.  You can see our seats were club level.  Pretty great!

Mom and Sarah selfie.  She is holding up her rally towel.  

Ben ate a bunch of Derek's fish and chips.  And wiped his greasy hands on dad.  

Libby and Clark going crazy cheering with their rally towels!

Ben's Bedroom--FINALLY

For those of you who have been following the Ben's Bedroom SAGA...it is finally done.  (Well is any project every really done?)  But it is done enough to blog.  When I get the other magnets made for the lockers, I'll post a pic.  I decided the best way to show you the finished product was a little walking tour.  At the end I will list a few things that I learned (or relearned as the case may be...)

BEFORE...We replaced the gold carpet before we moved in...and I definitely took those curtains down instantly.  But other than that, this is what it looked like until I started work last month.  I started moving him out into the guest room on August 8.  Finished on Sept. 25th.  WAY longer than the 2 weeks I planned.

Here is a video walk through of the finished product.  I am VERY pleased with how it turned out.  Libby said it just  made her jealous that their room was not cool enough.  Ugh.  Please.

What I learned...
1.  The project was much more enjoyable when I brought the iPad along and watched home improvement shows (for motivation) and Law and Order.  Seriously couldn't have made it through without this.
2.  Our house is big, therefore, no project is small.
3.  Having a double long level is very critical (thank you RAY!)
4.  Stenciling isn't as easy as it might look.
5.  Never put the wallpaper steamer directly on the carpet (the damage isn't too bad, but I can tell where it was sitting.)
6.  Going to Home Depot 4 times in one day is perfectly normal, if frustrating.
7.  Spray paint is awesome!  I used it for the alphabet magnets and to update some of the black frames from his old room.
8.  When in need of inspiration, Hobby Lobby.
9.  Electrical work isn't that scary!  I replaced the switches and outlets, and the light fixture all by myself!
10.  I need a break from projects!

Hobby Lobby :)

Hobby Lobby again!

Here is a better pic of the magnets I spray painted.  Gotta teach that kid his letters.  

Quick Week in Review

What I wish I was posting are the before and after pics of Ben's room.  I am SOOOO close.  But not quite there.  I made it to IKEA this week and Derek helped me put the final pieces together.  But of course I can't use them just as they came.  I am putting shelves instead of bins inside one of the things I bought and I still need to put up the light fixture.  So, next week.  I promise.  Maybe even mid-week.  Because I need to start scraping the popcorn ceilings in the living room to make way for the new lighting going in.  (Last project of the summer....or that should have been finished during the summer.)

This week felt like a normal school week is probably going to feel like.  A little busier than I would like it to be, but fun.  And it went really, really fast.

Libby proved she can tie her own shoes!  But she still can't get them tight enough.  This girl likes all shoes SUPER tight.  Which is a problem with Sunday shoes.  Sigh.  

We are having some fun mornings because I have decided not to do anything but workout and read my scriptures before school.  (No cleaning or projecting which tends to leave me frustrated and unsatisfied.)  The only less fun part is when Libby has to do any homework that includes writing.  Especially if her brother and sister are around distracting her.  Ugh.  

Ben had 2 playdates this week. He loved it, but it wore him out!

Yesterday during Sarah's dance class Libby wanted me to take pictures of her with the mannequins at Old Navy.  

Ben didn't want to be left out.

Libby wanted me to post this, to prove that she loves dogs.  She wanted me to post it right then, LOL. 

Sarah tried out for the Nutcracker at our studio for the first time yesterday.  Libby tried out too, but wasn't interested in leaving her number on for a picture.  They will both be Bon Bons this year (pretty sure that everyone who tries out makes it...)

We finished the week with the Husky game yesterday.  A DATE!  (With Clark).  The first half was pretty ugly.  The Huskies went down 0-14 to a team that in its 5 years of existence has only won 1 game.  But the Huskies came out looking much better in the 2nd half.  Whew.  (Derek feels it is because the coaching staff heard him yelling through his improvised megaphone (coke cup) to put in Lindquist (back up quarterback).  Which the coaches immediately did and the team scored!)

Salamander...

We have been having a great time in the car listening to a song that Soren and Emily recorded for our family music CD this last Christmas.  It is called the Salamander song.  

Imagine our surprise and delight when our gardener found a salamander in the garden yesterday!  (Libby assisted her in her work for almost the whole 2 hours).  (And BTW, if it sounds like a luxury to have a gardener, it is...but I think I would give up the money out of my grocery budget if I had to.  It is AMAZING to have someone else do the weeding and yard cleanup for you.  I got Ben's curtains made yesterday while she worked.)

I held the salamander after I watched Ben and Libby both hold it.  It was totally still for them.  As soon as I put it in my hand it started crawling up my arm.  I kind of freaked out.  Okay, I totally freaked out.  I don't like things crawling on me.

We put it down on the back deck.  Libby came in to ask if I could "Look up on the internet what lizards eat so we can feed our new pet."  I helped her look.  When we went back out, Sammy Salamander had wisely found a new place to hide.   But, in honor of our Salamander, we did a recording of the song for Soren and Emily this morning.  

Schoolisms...

We had curriculum night this week (it was always called "Back to School Night" when I was a kid in UT).  We had a chance to chat with Sarah's teachers and then we went to Libby's teacher's presentation.  I am SUPER happy with their teachers.  Libby's teacher is corny, fun, does lots of singing, has fidget toys in the classroom.  It is going to be a good fit.
Sarah's teachers are both chill and they love Sarah (how could you not, she is a model student like her mommy :).
Ben is loving coming with me to do playground duty and volunteer in the classroom on Friday afternoons.
On Monday I asked Libby's teacher how she was doing.  She told me that Libby had a disagreement with another girl during small group time.  It apparently ended with Libby telling the girl that her dad would bring a gun to school and shoot her.  Ugh.  But the teacher told me with a smile (the kind of smile that says I know the other girl deserved some angst.) and she didn't make a big deal out of it.  Whew.  I told the teacher in Libby's defense that her father is a police officer...so he actually does carry a gun.  And I told Libby that she should NEVER say the word gun at school.
Sarah loves school.  She comes out of class every day with a smile so big it is almost bursting her face.  She is so far ahead of what they are doing, but she just loves being there and soaking up the scholastic energy.  I am so happy for her!
Ben is still adjusting to boring life at home with just mom.  He hopes every day that I have clients so he can watch movies.  He also cheerfully made (almost) all 700 trips to Home Depot with me or dad.

This Week in Pictures...

This week is a blur of trips to Home Depot.  Literally, hundreds.  Between putting shelves in the lockers I bought for Ben's room and putting up the shelf on the opposite wall, I felt like every 10 minutes I was either rushing there myself or sending Derek.  Poor guy.  He did get a new drill and a riveter out of the process.  But still, it felt like drudgery.  I am still hesitant to post the official before and after pictures, even though I moved him back in last night.  I still have a few finishing touches in decor, and some furniture to find/create.  So, stay tuned.  Maybe next week?  But the worst (I think) is behind me.  

I have started taking pictures of the things I need at Home depot.  Makes it easier to remember...because I don't have to.  

I had to text this picture to Derek to make sure he got the right bracket.  

Also had to text him a picture of this bin to make sure he got more of the same.  

Ben's finished motto.  The day after he finished it, when my first client got here he rushed her upstairs to see his "motto".  I don't think he knows what the word means, or what this motto even says, but he is excited about it.  For those who might not know, Dan Gable is a very famous wrestling coach.  The round thing in white is a wrestling mat.

This shelf seriously almost killed me.  I am not done with the stuff on the top or underneath (this is where the missing furniture pieces will go.)  But the shelf is basically level and I got the bleacher-ish look that I was going for.  I am stoked to be finished with this.  And thankful to my YW presidency who advised me to go for it.  

Libby and Ben helping me shop for accessories.  I didn't buy these chairs...

Family Pics from Colorado

A Pro photographer came to the Fehlberg Reunion in CO and took pictures for us.  I LOVE the one of Libby and Sarah.  Probably my favorite picture of the two of them OF ALL TIME.  They are both looking at the camera, which is a miracle in and of itself.  

Cheer Camp Performance

One of the best perks of the cheer camp the girls attend is that they get to cheer at an actual football game.  This year we finally got the early game (there are 4 teams that share the stadium) 5 pm start.  Unfortunately the person who designed the stadium was directionally challenged.  They put the fans facing directly into the sun.  Ugh.  It was pretty miserable with the sun shining right into our eyes.  But the girls did their cheering and then we grabbed some quick (and awful) food at Dairy Queen and went to the first 1/2 of the Shorewood football game in a stadium where the sun is behind us.  Whew.

The girls practiced their cheers all week, and Ben practiced right along with them.  He can yell out each and every cheer they learned.  It was hilarious to listen to them.  Sarah does the cheers from memory.  Libby gets so distracted with everything going on around her, even though she knows the cheers, she ends up a step behind and watching everyone around her to remember what to do.

I forgot their poms (the evening got a little hectic).  But they weren't sad because then they got to use the real cheerleaders' poms.

One of the cheerleaders gave Libby a bow for her hair.  She was pretty proud of the bow.

Ben really loves his sissys.  He prays for them every prayer by name.  He totally loves to hug them.  

First Days of School!

This year Libby started school on Wednesday and Sarah on Thursday.  They like to take 1/2 the Kindergarteners on one day and the rest the next.  Sarah didn't mind.  She was happy to have a day to play alone with their toys.  I let them pick out their first day of school outfits.  They both picked this Cheetah dress because the Meridian Park mascot is the Cheetah.  Sarah, of course, paired it with some Cheetah pants.
I am pretty excited about their teachers so far.  And, Libby has her best pals in her class.  Hooray!

I was surprised by how I felt about things this week.  Since I will only have Ben on my walk to and from school that needs to ride in the stroller, I sold the double jogger.  Honestly, this made me feel more sad and like my kids were all grown up MORE than sending Sarah to Kindergarten.  Strange but true.  I loved that stroller.  And as much as it almost killed me to have my kids so close together, it was a time that challenged me like crazy and made me a better person...I hope.

You may be thinking that Libby spelled Grade without an R.  But, you would be mistaken.  It is there.  Just attached to the G.  I decided to let it go.  She was excited to do it that way.  

Sarah wrote this K all by herself too!  No tears were shed on either side as I left Sarah in line with her class.  We were all smiles and excited!

You may wonder what Ben and I are doing at home together?  We read some stories including Green Eggs & Ham.  So we ate green eggs for lunch.  He wasn't too impressed with the finished product (they didn't look like the ones in the book).  But he did help crack a couple of the eggs.  He also played on my phone, watched TV and made a huge mess of his room.  (Which he begged me all week not to clean up.  We finally picked it up last night...UGH!)

After Sarah's first day and Libby's 2nd.  They all look happy, right?

Ben and I are going to help on the playground on Friday afternoons.  He was pretty excited to wear this vest for about 10 seconds.  

Libby reunited with her bestie at school.  Mia was so cute.  She said, Libby, you have grown!  You used to be up to my neck, and now you are up to my chin!

Labor Day Love

On Labor Day we invited some of our friends from our old ward to come hang out.  The kids were so excited to see their friends again.  It is crazy how moving just a few minutes away puts you into a new ward and basically a new universe.
My favorite was the moment when Beau (4) and Ben (3) saw each other again for the first time since probably New  Year's Eve.  Beau said "BBBBEEEEENNNN!"  in this low excited voice.  Ben looked up at him and said, "Beau, you are so BIG!"  It was adorable.  You could feel the love in the air.
Lathen had a crush on Sarah all year last year during preschool.  He really wanted to swing at the park, but only when he could swing next to her.  So, I guess the love has persisted through the long absence.
It was so fun to see our friends that Sarah cried a lot when they left. I remember feeling that way too around her age, especially after my family moved from Kearns to Centerville when I was 10.

Sarah and Lathen swinging together.

Beau and Ben.  Buddies reunited!