Blog Slacker

I’ve just been posting from my phone because I am a blog slacker, but I actually get to use the computer on my own for a few minutes, so I’ll see what kind of Blog Magic I can whip up quickly.

We have been working liking fire ants on this house, especially because we were all very very tired of living in the garage. We moved back into the house on April 2nd, and I am so enormously grateful. We have been working exclusively on the interior this month so that we can do the exterior next month. For too many photos, you can check out the richestpoorman.blogspot.com. BUT, you strangers out there who may have found this blog via Jonah’s sisters or on a list of BEST BLOGS EVER, please don’t go back to Jonah’s sisters’ blogs and post concerns about our lifestyle choices, because Jonah and I read ALL of those comments and we may come in the night and toilet paper your house. Be warned! You know who you are…

Well. April started with some fun spring-themed activities. I hope next year the Easter bunny comes on the First Day of Spring or something, because I feel conflicted about the holiday of Easter. My sister Sonna is a good example to me of dividing up the two celebrations (Easter and Spring) and making some good traditions that cover all the bases, if you know what I mean. Check back with me next year and see if I had the gumption to make it happen in our family.

Anyway, we went along with the pagan-type Easter events around the island mainly because most of them gave out a lot of free candy. Even though Ana and I don’t eat candy (we gave it up as a birthday present to Jonah last year), we still like anything free and we all love a good competitive Egg Hunt.

 

This Egg Hunt was at the Rodeo Fair Grounds near our house. It was pouring rain for most of it, which made it harder because only the die-hard hunters were there. I love the photo above because it fairly sums up Po’s attitude about Elsie.

Po figured out the whole Egg Hunt premise incredibly fast. Ana and Cam had to watch THREE other age groups go before them, so by the time they went, they knew exactly what to look for and Ana ended up with two $15 gift certificates from the bigger eggs. Leave it to Ana to work the system…

After this Egg Hunt which provided the kids with a whole grocery bag of candy EACH, we nearly scratched the rest of the day’s planned events, but I’m glad we stuck it out because the kids got some sweet face paintings at another event (what was not sweet was when Cam insisted on keeping it on his face for the baptism that night).

Sunday morning as nice, especially because we have 1pm church. Someday SOMEDAY I will have a photo of all of my children looking at the camera with normal smiling faces and clean clothes.

Probably my favorite thing about Easter Egg Hunts is that the kids will entertain themselves for two FULL days by just hiding eggs for each other. No parental involvement required! (The Easter Bunny does hide the eggs one time though.)

Po has been making up for her lack of crying as a baby. She did have two big molars come through and has been much nicer since, but man! she is quite the demanding toddler. Anyway, I love the light in this photo.

The kids had a gorgeous morning enjoying the Egg Hunt and the swing. Oh that great swing. Ana and Cam used an old longboard deck I got for free to make a fabulous swing. Elsie is on it about an hour a day. The other seven hours she spends hula hooping.

Ana and Cam and I had a fun evening making their Easter baskets. Ana’s is out of duct tape folded over and Cam’s was out of newspaper. Very fun and not too hard. I highly suggest it. Check Pinterest for some ideas of how to do it, but we basically wove long strips together and then added the handle on at the end. You can use ribbon, banana leaves, grass, fabric strips… the sky’s the limit. I think humans have been doing this since Adam (but not with duct tape), so just go with the genetic memory and it’ll all come together.

 

Ana and Cam are still going strong in Swim Team and really loving it. Ana especially loves swim meets; it might be because she always whips everyone in the butterfly stroke (is she really my daughter?). Cam says he’s had a good race if he doesn’t do a belly flop off the block.

 

I think there are many times in our lives that we all feel so much cooler than we look. I generally feel pretty happy and like I’m doing okay and I feel comfortable socially and financially, and then I look back at my car in the parking lot and wonder if I portray that image at all. It’s not so much that I care what other people think, but it’s just that I need to make sure and adjust my initial social interactions with strangers according to their probable first impressions.

 

We finally had the house tented and gassed for termites. The termites were very excited about the new floors. They are no longer excited.

When they tent your home, you leave everything in there except your food, which you either bag in these special heavy duty bags the exterminators bring you for that purpose, or you take it out of the house. Everything else stays in. We went and stayed with some friends, since you have to be out of the house for 24-30 hours. They tent the house up in about an hour, fill it full of gas, and then let it sit overnight. The next morning they take the tent off and let the house air out. The gas has no smell and it somehow doesn’t kill geckos.

 

The following day was Elsie’s big ballet performance. The studio is right near us, but the performance was held in  Lahaina, which is an hour away, so we made a day of it. It was a huge deal, and I have to say that there were some amazing dancers in the cast and the whole production was incredibly professional. The dress rehearsal (see pics below) was in the morning and the performance in the evening, and we met my high school friend and his family at a hotel pool nearby in between. Elsie was a crack up and total delight. We are so glad her friend Sophie introduced her to an official ballet class. It’s not the cheapest activity, but it might just be the best for Elsie right now. Plus we all get a huge kick out of watching her dance.

They are all supposed to be doing the same thing. I don’t know which one is right.

Speaking of crack ups, Po really has an over-developed sense of humor. She is always trying to get everyone to laugh, and she always laughs with you, even if she has no idea why (i.e. when I’m on the phone with someone and she hears me laughing). Ana took these photos by the front door (I’m almost out of Windex thanks to that darn door).

 

And finally, Ana decided to have a garage sale yesterday. I had a big pile of stuff we didn’t need after we moved out of the garage, plus a huge pile of stuff a friend gave me, plus all the stupid stuff one acquires that they shouldn’t…. Ana was 100% in charge and she did an AMAZING job! The only thing I helped with was painting two of the signs and helping her get the table out. She even got Cam and Elsie to help her. I got to sit inside for the whole six hours and work on the computer and do other things sans children and she would just come in and tell me how much she sold this or that for. I only paid her 15%, so it was a phenomenal deal for me! But, even better, she had a blast. She really loves selling stuff. Takes after Jonah. In fact, she told a guy, “I learned all my negotiation skills from watching my dad.” We love that girl! What would we do without her?! She is such a huge  help all the time. She also does almost all of her homeschool without any prodding from us, willingly takes care of Po whenever she sees a need, and plays with Cam all the time. Just tonight she cleaned and organized the fridge top-to-bottom, did all the dishes, and got into bed by 8:45. She also religiously reads my blog and  always gives me nice compliments about it, so I’m trying my best to repay her. Love you Ana!