Still Summer in AZ

So- I know some places are moving on to Fall, but not here in Phoenix! We've decided to stick with Summer for another month. Why not? And I must say, now that it's down to the low 90's, "Fallmer" is quite enjoyable.

Today I threw Hazel in her stroller and Owen on his bike and we took a little ride/walk that ended at Max's (the convenience store down the street), where we treated ourselves to ICEE's and a 99cent Big Grab of Cheetos Puffs. Mmmm. I made two kids very happy.

In case any of you are noticing the time that I am posting this, yes...Owen IS supposed to be in school. He stayed home "sick" and had a very quick and miraculous recovery. Junk food heals all illnesses.

Zack attack

Owen's little friend Zack was over for lunch yesterday and randomly turned to Owen to say "You always be so handsome for school. Your hair be's all handsome."

Thanks, Zack! :)

My idea of a night well spent...

First off, thanks to my husband for realizing that I have had a big craphole of a day. He took care of the kids tonight while I holed myself up in the family room to watch some

and create two scrapbooking pages:

It isn't as relaxing as a hot bath with candles, or a massage, or SLEEP, but sometimes feeling like I have accomplished something (uninterrupted) is what makes me happiest. :)

Itchy Update

I am going to pull my hair out. I decided that Hazel was not allowed to go outside today. Somehow she still woke up from her nap with fresh bites (the count is up to 68 just on her legs). This is after I washed her bedding & sprayed her room with repellent! I don't get it. Maybe it's chiggers? And last night I coated her with Caladryl and gave her liquid Benadryl. It helped a little bit...she still woke up itching a couple of times, but fell back to sleep much faster. And now Owen has bites all over his legs!

And in response to everyone's loving advice- we put OFF on them every time they step out the door, plus use OFF candles, plus we have used up a couple of cans now of the OFF fogger spray around the yard. WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO DO???!?!?!?

I am calling in a professional.

Itchiness

Lest anyone think I have exaggerated about the mosquitoes in our yard, I tried to take a picture of Hazel's legs this morning. This happened even though she had an OFF candle on either side of her head while she played outside. Can you say infestation?

Seriously- these pictures don't even BEGIN to portray the severity of her condition. Last night her legs were just two red, inflamed, itchy sticks torturing the lower half of her body. I feel so bad for her. I spent the whole night applying medicine repeatedly to her legs and laying with her so that I could hold her arms down to prevent scratching. Needless to say, my eyes were so puffy this morning, I could barely see, and poor Hazel is completely stuffed up from crying all night. It was horrible. Luckily my genius sister told me I should give her Benadryl tonight. Why didn't I think of that?!?! Wish us luck tonight.

On a happy note- this thing bloomed overnight! It really adds a nice touch to our otherwise drab back yard. :)

The park

Nathan and I were talking about how funny it is that we only moved about 5 miles away and everything about our lives changed! In Georgia, if you move five miles, you still shop at all the same places and go to the same ward and probably go to the same schools. Here, we have completely changed all the places we shop, Owen is in a new school district, we are in a new ward...even a new Stake! It's weird, but great. We are LOVING the area and Nathan has already started several sentences with "When we buy this house...." Um- I don't think so! But I have just been letting that go for now. :)


Just another thing to love about the area we moved to. There is this AWESOME park less than 2 miles from our house. It's gorgeous- it has great covered playgrounds, a huge pond, big grassy hills to climb, and lots of trees and grass...and it sits right in the middle of the city. The first couple of pics show the background. It doesn't exactly compete with Central Park (just like Phoenix doesn't compete with NYC), but it has that same contrast. :)

Owen's Chore Chart

We have been talking to the kiddos about their responsibilities in the family. We had a whole FHE about it. Of course, their main reponsibility as the children in the family is to obey, but that one isn't really working out for us on a regular basis. However, Owen has been doing a great job with his two assigned chores. He has to get himself dressed in the morning and make his bed. Sometimes he needs a little reminder, but for the most part, he has been really excited about learning how to make the bed and he has put his own spin on it. Here is what is looks like today. I love how he lined his animals.