maroon and gold

Today was the dreaded day of excitement for Libby.  Today is the day that she got these...

 That's right...braces.  She even chose Gryffindor's house colors of maroon and gold for the  bands. There is more to her braces than just the brackets, bands, and wire...

That's right folks a crank that must be turned daily. What fun for Libby! I had thought that one may be necessary to make room in her mouth for all her teeth.

Libby's impression of her teeth..."they hurt."

new happenings

When Erin and I were filling a few Rx's after the extraction of her spare molar, I get a frantic phone call from Libby...the babysitter, informing me that Penny had cut her bangs.  I was so terrified that she had scalped herself and was relieved when i saw this:

She said that her hair was in her face and she took it upon herself to do something about it.  A simple clip would have worked.

Our Penny with her new style.  I think it turned out darling.

Last winter I realized that Penny didn't have enough warm sweatshirts/ sweaters in her wardrobe.  She got into a Pre-K program starting in September and will need to have a few more warm things to wear. (Around the house the same sweatshirt can be worn for several days.)  Not wanting to be turned into social services for having her wear the same thing over and over again, I knitted her this little sweater. The yarn is wool and since it was clearanced out, the whole sweater costed us less than $4 for me to knit. Of course it took hours to knit.

She says that the sweater is too 'ee-chy', so a turtleneck shirt or a long sleeved shirt will be a must wear in order for her to be comfortable.

Last night was Libby's first night in Young Women's.  They did facials, manicures, & pedicures. Fun time for the Libby Lou.  What's on the docket today??? stay posted!!

spare molar

Erin has had an interesting year with her teeth.  Since getting her braces, she has had to have 5 teeth pulled...the fifth one today.  It was a spare molar.  The picture above doesn't give the size of the tooth any justice. That sucker was huge! We originally took her into her normal pediatric dentist and the dentist said that she wouldn't touch it. They referred us over to an oral surgeon to whom we met up with last week.  He spent all of 30 seconds with us saying that he could get it out - no problem.  We made the appointment for today and out the tooth came. She is happily enjoying the Tylenol with a bit of somethin' somethin' in it.

When we arrived home Sunday we came home to a missing Toto again and this squash the size of Libby's head. How could I have missed this squash for so long?? Toto loves our neighbor and found safety at their house.  We are getting a zipline leash contraption today.

meeting baby Zayda

Saturday, the day of Libby's birthday, we headed westward ho to the city of Maylee and Jared's home to meet our newest family member. The rain was horrible.  We saw 12 or more cars on the side of the road from accidents.  Some accidents that had just happened and others with police and firemen, along with ambulances. crazy.  Thankfully we made it safe and sound and were anxious to meet Zayda Rain...fitting name for the day. We drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway and even picked raspberries. Zayda is adorable.  We loved meeting you!

birthday gifts galore

Libby totally scored on her big day. She got earrings, shoes, make-up and two original art pieces painted by Bubbie.  Libby also got a new bedding set from Grammy and Papa. Oh Happy birthday!

libby lou is 12

Today is Libby's 12th birthday. What a happy day (though gloomy rainy with lightening and thunder)! We took the Wardlings, minus E, plus 1 friend, to the pool for a day in the sun yesterday. Good thing too, because of the weather today. Libby and her friend S, had a Harry Potter marathon.  Who knew that a good 6 hours+ of HP could be so much fun. (I am sad to say that I am nearly HP'd out.) Happy birthday Libby!! You are spectacular!!

carving soap

Josh has a few scouting requirements to pass off this summer. Here he and his buddy, C, are passing off the  scout soap carving requirement. I must admit that giving 9 year olds a pocket knife to carve with is a bit scary.  Thankfully the boys were cautiously watched and careful.

Josh carved a boot and C carved a golf club. The carvings turned out great!

girls camp

Girls camp. What a memorable experience. Since Clyde has the summers off and Erin is old enough to go to camp, I volunteered last year and this year to go to camp. I enjoyed camp as a youth and wanted to be there to be with Erin. She had a fabulous time making friends an enjoying all the activities camp had to offer.

I however had a different role this year opposed to last year. Both years I stayed the entire week. I like staying the whole time. I get to bond with the girls and watch them grow and figure things out. Last year, I was just the adult in the cabin with the girls. I hiked with them, drove them to and fro, braided hair, held hands and sang kumbya. A few months ago I was asked and called to be the stake's certifications specialist for the 1st and 2nd year campers. I still stayed with campers, because I thought that Libby may want to go. She opted to wait, since she isn't quite 12 to be with her friends who weren't old enough to go this year. I didn't want the leaders to be without an adult and thus I stayed in a cabin. I'm glad I did. The girls were so nice to get to know. This year I made fires, cooked 200 chicken legs over said fire, organized bishops nite (fun minute to win it games) and an olympic activity (which sucked btw...dang heat), gave 2 devotionals, built with the help of bro. lewis and jimbo, 6 benches with teenagers. (that took 3 days and hours upon hours of work), braided hair, organized 20 certification classes like knot tying, soap carving, knife sharpening, first aid, recycling, cloud formation, plant ID, etc etc. The heat was so draining. We were able to swim, though the moisture was nearly instantly evaporated from our bodies soon after.

I did get to shoot a bow and arrow. I even wore a protector. However, I didn't wear it high enough and the string smacked my arm leaving one heck of a bruise. I did get a bullseye out of it though. I fell at the pool...classy. I am so glad that I went to spend time with my girl, meeting new ladies, & catching up with old friends. We are so looking forward to camping again...NEXT YEAR!

celebrating the birth of our nation

Clyde is a bit of a pyromaniac.  He loves the 4th of July due to being able to light things on fire.  He runs out to the fireworks tents and buys all sorts of goodies to light. This year he entered a drawing and won this awesome package of fireworks.  This so made his 4th!

the damage!  We had fun watching all the sparkles and most importantly watching the Wardlings celebrate the birth of our nation. We saw the week before the original stars and stripes (the first flag). This 4th was more memorable because of all the history stuff we had seen in DC.

We came home from church on the fourth, to find this note on our door.

Toto the escape artist strikes again!

bad toto

Our newest dog, Toto has been quite the stinker lately.  He is digging out from under the fence in our backyard.  He started doing this when we were on vacation a few weeks ago.  When we drove up in our driveway when arriving home from vacation, our neighbors came running out of their house holding Toto. He got out and they took him in, giving him a bath , pulled off one big tick, and even letting him sleep with them.  We started putting him in the crate when we left and one day, when we came home, we found that he had escaped from the crate and was dangling in the blinds in the garage. Needless to say, we were less than thrilled.

On a happier note, Clyde got a new grill last week. He has been grilling everything. We have all enjoyed it! Grill baby grill!