Day 182 Doggie's Turn

Well, today was Mr. Socks' turn for running an errand.  He's now been tested for heartworm, which was negative, no surprise since I was told there are no cases of heartworm on Prince Edward Island and therefore, they don't usually test for it and the animals don't take preventative, which was a huge savings for us, btw.  And he got his annual shots.  We used the F.A.C.E Clinic downtown Indy where you can get the shots done much cheaper than at a vet.  We did see our vet in Charlottetown earlier this year for an ear infection, so, I'm not that worried that he didn't get a full exam this time.  They will do a quick well check, too.  No appointment necessary, but be prepared to wait a bit.  The big news is that he's lost more weight.  He was 74 lbs when we moved to PEI and now he's 64.  He doesn't eat enough at all, so if my readers have any suggestions, that would be great.  I'll probably switch brands of dog food when he runs out.  We usually only buy the high end stuff and he eats it dry.  I think all of the moving and being in a different place and having extra people in the house might be affecting him.  He's also now 6 years old! And I could definitely tell he was more mellow today while we waited for his shots.  And his buddy, Benaiah, talked and made all kinds of annoying sounds while we waited.  Benaiah needs to say 10,000 words a day apparently.  Anyway, here he is:

Socks, 6 years old, starting to show his age.

Meanwhile, the girls and Justin had a blast today going to the library and seeing a live animal show!  Then Grandma took them to Barnes and Noble to get MORE books for keeps!  They had a hard time deciding what to buy because Grandma said she would only buy books on their reading level, and they had to love it enough to read it more than once.  The girls got some fairy stories and Justin ended up with a book about Minecraft, the game.  And Grandma got them special SCENTED bookmarks that look like sweet treats!  Oh boy!

Grandma had a sample of the one of the books they borrowed from the library on their website, so Nora started reading it!  She is an avid reader.  

This is a video which you can't play, but Nora and Keturah acted out part of the story Nora was reading, BFG.

I don't know the story at all, so I can't tell you what scene this is, but yeah for imaginative play!

They all had a great time at the zoo with the wild animal expert!  The person who came is from an organization that rescues animals that can't be rehabbed and put back into the wild.  The owl seen here, is blind, and you have to put it's food (mice) right near it or it won't see it.

Turtle power!!

A possum!

Whoops!  The girls had to have a lecture about washing their "vehicles" and how water actually rusts their scooters and bikes.  Well, at least they were outside having fun!

Wow, no picture of Abishai today!  That's because I actually DID take some cute pics of him today, but I'm saving them for tomorrow for a certain holiday that is celebrated on July 1st every year!  So, you can look forward to that!

This has a story.  The Family Christian Bookstore on Washington St. is located right next to the Aldi's that we are probably going to use as our main grocery store.  Anyway, Jared worked at the Washington St. location of FCB when he was a teenager many moons ago.  They were in a different location though.  While there, he bought this same exact picture and quote.  Mind you, this is like 20 years ago!  So, I took this picture for him to show him the price (which wasn't as bad as I thought, $150).  It is one of the large pictures we have that Jared is fond of and wanted to keep.  I find it interesting because Benaiah is 14 years old now, and in a few years, he'll be working somewhere.  My teen years seem like they were so long ago, and yet, I remember them well.  But tons of time has passed, seemingly overnight!  We've been to Canada and back.  We have 4 kids.  And we'll celebrate 15 years of marriage this July.  Time really does fly!  And this picture has lasted through several moves now.  What a testament to the lighthouse itself, immovable, like our faith in Jesus.  So very cool. 

Day 181 Beautiful day!

Wow! We had the windows open all day! 82 degrees with a light wind blowing in.  Jared and Benaiah got to run some errands and appointments today, while Justin, Abishai and I hung out at home.  Actually, I took a nap this morning while Abishai napped because he's been getting up so early.  He napped 2 hrs this morning and another 2 1/2 hrs this evening and then went back to bed after only being up for 2 hrs.  I think he's in a growth spurt or something.  He was also clingy to me all day.  It makes it hard to get any other work done when he does that, but I feel like I have time to snuggle now that most things are in place.  We have many other business things to take care of, but they all take 1-2 hrs including driving time in different directions, so it's usually one of those per day.  Licenses, and Abishai's American passport, and the dog needs his shots and a new ID tag.  That kind of stuff.  I wish I could suggest more activities for the kids to do because they tend to play video games all day, or read, or play Lego.  But, with only one car, I can't exactly take off anywhere like to a pool or something.  We will get to go soon enough when these errands are done.  I helped Justin unpack a couple of boxes today, but really, I need to switch some things with our stored things in order to keep going.  That's another errand.  So, one thing a time.

PEI was warmer than Indianapolis this morning!

Downright cold!

A new game Grandma taught him yesterday, hide and seek with the mattress (that needs to go to storage).

Abishai has been lying his head down all day it seems.  And he did this funny scooting with his forward on the rug, while propelling himself forward with his legs.

Abishai's new reading nook.

Ok, this weird fruit tree is growing right beside our garage.  What is it? These are way too small to be apples and it's way too early in the season.  They are very hard, maybe a nut of some sort? Weird!

Abishai learned to ride his bike using his feet on the ground both forwards and backwards today!  He has to stand up to go forwards though.  He kept looking backwards when backing up.  It was so adorable!

A little help from big brother.  We love that we are on a dead end street/square and there's virtually no traffic.  I think only half of the people have cars because I see many get picked up for rides.

Dipping his corn tortilla (which I can eat, thanks Aldi's!) into his salsa.  He wouldn't eat much of the tortilla though.

It was so nice outside, we could have dinner on the porch!

And, our third package to arrive is....a gift and my new memory card!  I upgraded from a 32gig to a 64 gig.  The 32 only lasted me 5 months with the new camera.  So, hopefully this will get me through Christmas.  Yes, we've been in the condo less than two weeks and we've already received 3 packages (we bought ourselves).  We've missed having Amazon Prime shipping and other retailers with little or no shipping costs.

Meanwhile, the girls were up to their own fun on Grandma's deck before and after errands.

Enjoying a treat after errands.

Lots of painting fun!

The three amigos!

Our little artist.

Socks enjoyed the cooler weather,too, and his new found freedom.  He's never been without a chain when he's been outside, and I always felt bad, but we had no choice.  He climbs chain link fencing.  I'm sure he misses us though.

Beautiful doggie.

Day 180 Appointments, but beautiful day.

The weather was a tad cooler today with no clouds in the sky, just pure blue sky!  Then the temperature dropped this evening to 72 degrees so we opened the windows for a bit to let fresh air in.  This was after an appointment and a stop in at the camera store to see what I was doing wrong with the flash.  Super friendly staff and lots of goodies for the professional photographers.  I felt embarrassed that I was coming in with nothing but a little issue because I messed with some settings.

But it's fixed.  Human error.  But that was after we found at the BMV that we have to take the drivers' test in order to get licenses, which we need in order to get health insurance, which is required or you get a fine for not being part of a healthcare system.

I'm very sleepy, so here's the pics.

Mr, Clingy didn't like it when he woke up from his nap and Grandma was here instead of Mommy and Daddy.  Grandma said he kept looking for us.

The guy at Robert's Camera showed me some of the differences when using the flash at different distances.  The flash is only good for 15-20 ft.  It's the built in flash.

A little under exposed.

A little overexposed.

After coming up to watch Abishai and Justin while Jared, Benaiah and I ran errands, the girls went to see a free movie at the library.  Here is their treat afterward.  I think Keturah is enjoying all the girl time because she barely said good bye to me when she left!  Grandma has been taking care of the girls all week because my brother in law and sister in law are busy with a remodeling project at her mom's house.  Girl power!

Day 179 Grumpy Monday - UPDATED

I was the grump today, not sure why.  I woke up with a headache, and that was at 6:30am with the "baby alarm" aka Abishai woke up and stayed up at 6:30. Eek!  I wish we had been a bit more productive, but we did have some fun moments today, including a new Lego set and a trip to the splashpad nearby.  Here you go:

The girls, still reading lots and lots to earn points at the library before Ev and Nora go back to New Orleans in a week (boo!)

After watching a free movie at the library, the girls asked Grandma to take them to Steak and Shake.  So cute!  I love Steak and Shake!

We tried out the new splashpad and everyone loved it!

Mr. "I don't want to go in the splash pad" had a good time.

Abishai was a bit timid at first, but by the end, he didn't want to leave.  He loves the sprinkles of water going everywhere!

Dad helped Abishai to get used to it.

Instead of using his money for camp, Justin bought the biggest Jurassic World set he could find.

12 bags!  Most sets have 2 or 3 at most.  Over 1,100 pieces!

Wow, we thought this might be a catalog because it's so thick, but no, it's the instructions!

A little more than halfway through.  He finished it in 2 1/2 hrs.

Finished!  The scene is when the T-rex look alike breaks out of its cage.

Day 178 The lazy, hazy days of summer.

Usually you associate summer with BBQ's and swimming, which we haven't really done either one yet.  But we did have some grilled kabobs for supper with the Johnson clan! Yum!  We have a splashpad nearby, but just haven't put all the gear together to make it happen with Abishai in tow yet.  I could just take the older kids, too.  Now that most necessary boxes are unpacked and half the house is decorated, I can breathe and play more.  I have some digital work to do to find some homeschooling friends for the school year in this area, as well as purging files, etc. and some misc. projects that are very self contained.  Anyway, today was church, as always, which felt a little better to me than last week.  Still not so sure about being back.  Again, this is only my feelings.  The rest of the family seems to be enjoying it.  So, if you ask if it's good to be back, don't be surprised if you get a mixed response from me.  Honesty is my policy.  Then it was home for lunch and Sunday afternoon naps, as usual! Then back to the Johnsons for supper with the cousins.  It felt great to be our family again, doing the Sunday "dinner" thing again.  I definitely have missed that not only because I don't have to menu plan or cook, but because it became a very big part of our routine for 10 years.  Many a kid nursed and napped in the spare bedroom.  The high chair was always available for mealtime.  We watched football games together.  If there was anything I didn't like about being on PEI was not knowing what to do after church for lunch.  Naps happened, yes, and then part of the day was for me to plan for the week.  But, we didn't have family to get together with.  I've missed that.  So, for now, we'll enjoy each Sunday we get to spend together, just like we did "in yesteryear," lol.

Perfect lighting on this picture.  Just playing with his carrot and his toes.

Look, Mom, I'm too big for the rocking horse now!

Silly Uncle Aaron picking his nose with Abishai's toes. (Not really, of course).

While Grandpa is away (at a meeting), Abishai will play with his buttons! (remote)

Smirk.

Socks really loves me! - Everly

Definitely related, blue eyes, blonde hair.

Also related.  But this picture is proof that once again, Jared will play games!

Uncle Aaron, can you help me ride my sister's bike? 

Sparklers!

Last, but not least, my Grandmother Koski's china in a real china cabinet and ready for use!  Can't wait to host a tea party!