Winding Down

 It's hard to believe summer is drawing to an end. Today was Amy's last day working at the hospital, meaning we won't be watching the grandkids while Amy works anymore. Amy is now working days as a home health care worker while going to college. Hailey starts Kindergarten on Wednesday and Makayla will be going to Head Start.

We thought we better try on school clothes and practice our "first day of school" pictures. Just a thought girls- you probably should wear shoes to school.

 Look at Makayla's little face. I'm always touched by how much these girls love each other. When I took Makayla to a speech therapy appointment this week, she insisted on taking two of the goldfish cracker rewards she gets at the end of the session-one for herself and one for Hailey.

 More cute girls in new school clothes. They look a little warm, but this is Montana. In 2 or 3 weeks, we will all be shivering.

Today was also Megan's very last day of working the fair.

She came home and did the happy funky chicken dance. Scary, huh?

She smelled really awful--all rancid cooking oil, mixed with sweat and fair odors. We're going to make sure we pack these unwashed clothes in the middle of the off-to-college clothes pile. One whiff and those pesky college boys will stay miles away from her.

 No summer can completely wind down without some serious trampoline jumping

 and some high-flying Grandpa-powered swinging.

 Here's one more thing that's winding down: our time with Megan.

 But she has thoughtfully been breaking us in by spending every spare moment with friends,

leaving us home alone without a backwards glance.

Thanks, Meg.

Life After Duplex

You probably think that now that our duplex is done, renters are in, and Pearsons have ridden off into the sunset, Stan and I have nothing to do with our time. Nonsense.

We are catching up on all of the very important things we've been missing.

We've been working hard, encouraging Megan to not be so cute. As you can see, we need to work harder at that project.

 We have broken out in a sweat trying to get Hailey to eat less ice cream

and Makayla to eat more ice cream. Makayla! Real people like ice cream!

We've diligently slaved to understand why Hailey is terrified of flies, ants, and tiny bugs, but in love with worms. Still working to figuring that out...

But we've found a more efficient way to give Makayla her bath, wash her clothes, and water the lawn.

Now that we have a little extra time, Stan and I have taken to stalking Megan. She tells us she is working concessions at the fair, and the thought of Megan working was so intriguing we wanted to check it out.

(Just kidding Megan! You are a workhorse!)

Megan told us she was cooking elephant ears. We searched the booth and she wasn't there.  Thank goodness--Megan is so tiny I don't know how she'd wrestle an ear off an elephant.  They told us Megan was flipping burgers. 

Nope, not here. Shelly, Amy, Jessica, and Ashley, do you remember the aroma of deep-fat cooking oil that clung to your hair and clothes for 6 3/4 months after you worked the fair? That odor is still alive and well. Megan has been bringing it home everyday for me to get all nostalgic about.

 Good news: the smell of the cooking oil makes the rest of the fair smells seem pleasant.

 Someone suggested we check for Megan here. Surprisingly, she was nowhere to be seen.

All this looking around is hard work. We took a break.

 That break sharpened my senses and I spotted a familiar ponytail in the "We Deep-fat Fry Everything" booth.

 Ta-da!  There she is, ready to fill her pores with grease vapors!

I think Megan was a little surprised to see us.....

Well, I think you can see the pace of our days post-duplex haven't changed much. We are just as active and busy as ever!

Life Is Rough

You can see how hard our life is. Well, not this part. Brinlee has come to visit us and show us how much she has grown.

 This part isn't hard either--Brinlee brought her mom and dad.

This part just makes me laugh: Hailey dressed up in my hat, Brinlee's bulb, Grandpa's tie, and one shoe each from Megan and Ashley. She looked for something of McKay's, but McKay is better at not leaving things lying around than the rest of us.

This part of our life is, well, filled with good intentions--Makayla carefully smeared the sticky fingerprints she left on the back door around...

...while Hailey helpfully painted the spilled milk onto a bigger section of the kitchen.

Then they moved on to give Aunt Ashley helpful hints on the correct way to change a diaper.

This part isn't the rough part either---McKay and Ashley had tickets for Dirk Bentley,

and Brinlee convinced them to go to the concert and leave her with Grandma.

 And Megan's babysitting skills? Not rough at all. I've learned that Megan has a magic touch with her nieces and nephews. With the exception of Makayla, who doesn't like competing with Megan for my attention, all the grandkids love her. Megan just seems to know how to make children happy.

So there you are--life is rough. Yeah, I guess not.....

Shelly Gets Really, Seriously Old

Shelly was my toughest baby. She frequently walked around covered with bruises, like you see on her head in this picture of Shelly at 14 months. Shelly was always very physically active, and climbing was her specialty. Shelly was walking well at 8 months 3 weeks old, and no fall or injury ever slowed her down.

Shelly was a sweet little girl. She didn't talk in sentences until well past four years old. Just between you and me, I worried that she wasn't that bright. She pretty much spent the rest of her life proving that theory wrong.

 Shelly age 3

I think one of the reasons she was so slow to talk was because she always had her thumb in her mouth. She was also our only "blankie" baby. She became firmly attached to this blanket Aunt Angie made for Scott, with cowboys and Indians on the reverse side.  Finally, after 4 years of Shelly's nonstop thumb-sucking, I promised her a care bear if she gave up her blankie and thumb and she caved.

Shelly, age 4.

Shelly loved dressing up when she was little. I made all of her dresses, and she always asked me to make sure they were "twirl dresses".

Shelly, age 4

 Because Shelly was so slow to talk, and because she has such a late birthday, we made the decision to hold her out of Kindergarten for a year.  I'm not sure she always appreciated being older, but it made things nice for dating, driving, and being tall for basketball.

Shelly, age 5

Shelly is the perfect oldest sister.  No one was more patient with her siblings or more helpful to her busy mom.

Shelly, age 9, Amy, age 5, Jessica, age 2

Shelly was 10 when Ashley was born. Ashley usually preferred Shelly to me. Ashley would call for mom, and when I would respond, she'd say "No, my Other Mommy!' I was okay with letting Shelly be her other mom.

Shelly, 10 and Ashley 6 months 

Shelly came of age during the big bang era of fashion.  Let me apologize now, Shelly, for all of those years of huge bangs on the top of your head.

Shelly, age 10

Shelly often had long, long hair until around high school graduation, when she let someone chop it off at the graduation party. When she went off to college, it wasn't unusual for me to get email updates from Shelly at 1:30 am saying "I got tried of my hair and cut it myself.". I was pretty sure she'd be bald before college was over.

 Shelly, age 11

Shelly loved to play sports. She did sports year round in high school.  She was particularly good at basketball. She was the starting center on Skyview basketball team.

 Shelly, age 13

What can I say? Shelly is a perfect daughter--cute,  high school valedictorian, good at sports, kind to her siblings and friends, never got into trouble, and always very motivated. She really has been a joy to have in our family.

Shelly, age 15

 Shelly, you are easy to love.

Shelly, age 17, Megan age 2 

Have a wonderful 31st birthday!

Shelly, age 18