Favorite Spot & Weird Kids

I spent my Sabbath morning in the mountains again, it was blissful. One of my favorite spots by the creek here below, where I have this little kinda hidden spot by the main trail, tucked behind two fallen logs. 

I could fit a blow up mattress here. I'd love to sleep here by the creek!

I was up here last night too, in another favorite spot in the middle of the techy "Pooh Corner" or Hogum Fork area, it has a lot of different names. I have a little secluded spot by a pine tree. It's nice and soft cause of all the pinecone flakes that the squirrels have dropped. I bring walnuts sometimes as a peace offering for the squirrels.

Fall leaves are here!

The colors starting in the mountains, I love it. So last night Sophi was hanging out with friends, and called me to ask if she could get her ears double pierced. I said not tonight, and that we'd need to have a discussion. Corey got home from work, I told him of our call, he texted Sophi: "No piercings." Today after church we had a talk about it. Corey drew two dots on a paper, which represented her birth and where we are now. The last dot, her death as a righteous woman of God, was across the room on the window. Corey said we're trying to get her over there, so we're calculating, aiming, planning on the next dot along that line, trying to focus on things that will land her at that end point in the distance. And piercings are off the line. We talked about why she wants that and what she's trying to communicate. We also said not while she's living here, and if she wants we can make it part of the $1000 dollar deal, since the kissing one is kinda unnecessary cause we've learned that kids these days don't know how to date, so we can change it to $500 for no kissing before 18 years and $500 for no double piercings before 18 years. When she's 18, then she's an adult and can do what she wants, but while she's here we have rules to keep things in order, cause there are younger siblings watching and we need to run a tight ship. As we were having this discussion on what we want them to do cause we want them to be ready for life and what we're trying to avoid, creative Natalie comes in dressed up as the perfect visual representation of the latter. 

She had given herself a full emo makeover. 

It was perfect comedic timing, and a little disturbing, but we knew she was just playing a part. That was about the end of what I heard of the discussion, and I went to take care of kids and share with the college kids the pics of Natalie. She's been very creative lately, almost dressing up and painting something on herself every other night - 

She might be a little strange? This pic from last Monday...

She looked a bit like Owen in that one. Maybe she's just giving her younger siblings some entertainment? Trying a spiderman look for Peter?

She's just being creative and expressing herself artistically. She's creative but weird too. They're all weird. (It's in our name). Yesterday, as the kids were playing dress up in a big unicorn onesie, they stuffed with pillows and blankets to make it very fat. Topping it off with a batman mask, haha. 

They are strange. I missed the temple this past Tuesday morning, cause Corey was still on his way back from California, so I knew he wasn't going and I thought we could make it up and go together for date night. That didn't happen cause he ended up having a long day Friday and he wasn't up for it, so I went to the temple yesterday evening, just for initiatories. It was good, and had to stop on my way out to take a picture of this BEAUTIFUL rose. 

 

So it was a busy week, today was a busy day. Soccer games, Daniel first at 9 then Owen at 10:15. I didn't get out to exercise in the morning, but I got to the temple and then last night I went out on a hike to read my scriptures in the mountains, by the squirrel walnut tree. 

Tonight Mel and Christian came by, they made some magic with vegetables to top off the potatoes and pork we had prepared. Katharine scolded Sophi for eating potatoes first. "You are eating the wrong order! Vegetables first!" haha.  

I'm glad we're brainwashing her into eating her veggies. Peter tried, then snuck under the table to come alt let me know that the vegetables were gross. 

Then Katharine had something to say too and she whisptered "I love you!" 

I told Peter to go eat his veggies anyway. Just do it with more potatoes. He thought he'd get creative on how the food on the fork reached his mouth. 

Weird kids, am I right?