This Week at Our House #10

1. I can't believe we are already 10 weeks into the new year-- a fifth of the year gone. John had his job interview on Wednesday instead of  Monday because it kept getting postponed. He said it went well and he said they are considering him for 2 different positions. Maybe that is good; I don't know. John and I attended the Temple on Tuesday. It was wonderful to be back there and doing family names and having the quiet time to ponder and consider things. 
2. The weather warmed up quite suddenly this week, so I switched out all of the winter clothes for summer clothes on Saturday. My kids have been a little edgy with my choice to postpone turning on the air conditioner. But they have spent much of everyday outside anyway. I have been taking some good walks with Ruth and Kate. It's great getting exercise that I desperately need and having nice conversations with my teen daughters. I took the 7 youngest kids on a field trip to the beach and to a civil war barracks, Fort Macon, on Friday. I thought we would just move through the barracks quickly and that the kids would tolerate it, but they all loved it. Instead of me dragging them through it, they dragged me through it. They excitedly wanted to see every nook and krannie and dark, dank room. I am glad they loved the day so much. Their excitement made it fun.
3. The youth in the stake had a super Saturday where they went roller skating. Apparently, Ruth, Kate, and another girl who just moved in from Utah too, enjoyed the beautiful drive most of all. I need to help get Ruth applied for jobs and she needs to start studying for the driving exam. We decided to wait until she turned 18 to get her drivers licence because then she is not required to do anything but pass the tests.
4. Kate read Dracula this week. 
5. Johnny has been very helpful this week, and he has been trying hard to concentrate and get an in-depth understanding of his school subjects.
6. Adam loved the guns, cannons, cannon balls, and bullets displayed at the barracks. He was also one of the only kids to swim in the cold ocean water. Adam builds things. He builds with connex, legos, and blocks. He will make several different copies of his things trying to make improvements on them each time. 
7. Rachel loved Fort Macon too. She was down right excited to explore. Rachel has gotten better at getting her school work done quickly.
8. Anya spent as much time as she could outside riding her bike, climbing trees, digging for shells, and looking for frogs.
9. Joseph loved running through the barracks. He was a bit loud and a bit hard to keep track of, but it was a great place for him to get some of that little boy energy out. At the beach he mostly just laid in the sand because it was cold. Adam buried him once and I buried him a second time. The sand helped to keep him warm. 
10. Joshua loved being outside all day. There is a ditch around the whole neighborhood to catch runoff water and the kids were constantly looking for frogs in it. Josh loved the beach and the barracks too and he was really good at staying with me which I greatly appreciated.
11. Arwen loves dresses. For the summer, she has mostly dresses, so she changed her clothes about every 2 hours to wear them all in one day. Actually, Arwen changes her clothes all of the time anyway. 
12. Suzy loved the beach and the barracks and was just as excited as the rest of the kids. There is a porch swing at this house and Suzy loves me to swing with her on it. Suzy loves the outdoors. We have to keep a close eye on her because she will just sneak outside. Last week, if we did not know where Suzy was, it was because she was playing in the toilet. This week it is because she had escaped the house and was exploring the outdoors.

This week's Pictures