The Hintons: Fall Update

I've been reminded that my blog has been neglected. Sometimes I feel like nothing new or exciting is happening, and I don't want to bore the world with details about our incredibly boring lives. But when I really think about it, I suppose there are some things (however small) that we have been up to. And, of course, kids are always changing and updates on them is always good. So here are a few things that have been happening with us.

Summer seemed to end rather abruptly and suddenly fall was in the air. Fall is one of my favorite times of year, so I have enjoyed the change. We spent an afternoon going to get pumpkins, straw and finding a few Halloween decorations to make our porch a little more exciting. I love how it turned out.

Will and I also had some fun adding a few decorations inside. Thanks to Amber for the fun wood letters and Sharon for the awesome pillow.

Our trees in the backyard have been exploding with apples. It's really nice just to walk out and pick a few whenever I feel like eating an apple. And I eat quite a bit of apples. We didn't have the trees sprayed, but the apples aren't too infested with worms. The yellow/green ones have been super clean with very few problems. Our red ones are a little riskier, and I prefer to cut into them to make sure there aren't major yucky parts inside.

Sharon bought us an awesome food strainer, so a friend of mine brought all of her canning supplies and we spent a day canning some applesauce. We aren't huge applesauce eaters, but I was happy to learn the process and am glad to add it to our food storage.

Our first year of gardening didn't go quite how we were hoping. A lot of things we planted looked like they started well, but then were mini when it was harvest time. And some things just didn't grow at all. Even though it felt like nothing was growing, we ended up with this huge basket of things. Guess our first year wasn't such a failure. We learned a lot and plan on making some much needed changes for next year.

We finally made it out to Antelope Island to look around. The weather was beautiful and we had a small picnic by the beach. It felt awesome to just lay in the sun and relax for a moment while the kids played. We drove around a little looking for animals, but we didn't really see any,

The kids have discovered a love of Slurpees. Will always wants the blue or blacks ones, which unfortunately are always the mountain dew or coke. But once he has it, he enjoys whatever flavor I decide to get him.

I love this next picture. It was just so calm and beautiful. I would love to go out there with a good book and just sit all day long.

I finally buckled down and make some freezer meals. I made some big casserole style ones that we can cook and eat for several days. I also preheated some meals, then portioned them out into individual tupperware containers, so they can be eaten by simply being reheated in the microwave. It makes it nice so Lance can simply grab one to take to work for lunch. I filled a good portion of our deep freezer. There is frozen pizzas, several different kinds of enchiladas, different lasagnas, rice casseroles, taco bowls, chicken casseroles, noodle casseroles, plus several bags of things I could throw into the crock pot.

We had some bad luck when we lost a bunch of stuff. We went to Lowe's and bought several bags worth of stuff to start our next project on our house. We bought a big bag of fertilizer for the yard, and lots of other things. A few days after, we couldn't find anything. Nothing. It's been weeks and we still have no idea where the stuff is. I finally went back to Lowes to see if maybe I had left it there and it simply didn't get put into our car. They were able to pull up video surveillance and it shows us taking the stuff to our car, and returning an empty cart. So apparently we got it and either just put it somewhere we can't remember, or someone decided to steal it. Very frustrated by it.

I also had my credit card information compromised. Luckily, the bank put a hold on it pretty quickly when suspicious things started happening, and thank goodness they didn't get any purchases made. Happy about that, but it's annoying having to update all my information with my bills and such. I keep getting notices that payments aren't being made because that credit card no longer works.

I have joined a couple of indoor soccer leagues. One of them is an over 30 co-ed team (they are ok with me playing) and the other is just a girls team. I play a couple of nights a week. The games are later, so often times I can help put the kids down to bed (or mostly down) and then take off as they are falling asleep. Lance has been super great about it all and is always encouraging me to go play while he stays home with the kids. Sometimes I feel a little guilty, but I truly believe it has helped my mental well-being. I have absolutely loved it and it has been really good for me. I have noticed a big change since I started playing. Some adult interaction, playing a game I love, and getting some great exercise was just the thing I needed. And I love meeting new people and making new friends. Though I am getting a bit beat up...getting hit by the ball and rough guys.

Several weeks ago, I started getting a toothache on my very back molar (which has a root canal and crown on it.) I was hoping that maybe something just got suck in my teeth or wedged up in my gums and that it would go away after a few days. Well, a few days later, I was so uncomfortable and in so much pain that I was simply focusing on not taking too many pain killers. To make matters worse, it was a Saturday and finding a dentist on a Saturday is very difficult. But thank goodness, someone was open and they were able to get me in. The tooth under my crown had decayed (like I was told over a year ago), and it was time to finally get it pulled. It came out in about 15 different pieces. Every time he tried to pull it, the tooth would just break and he would have to dig out the next piece. Fun, right? At least now I don't have to worry about it and it wont bother me. Now I just have a giant hole in the back of my mouth and have to get an implant here pretty soon. And apparently the crown in front of that hole is broken and a bit sharp, but wasn't noticeable until they other tooth was pulled. So looks like it's time to replace that one as well. I may need to set up a donation link to help with dental bills!

About 2 weeks ago, Lance had to travel up to Boise for a couple of days for work training. A few hours after he left, I suddenly started freezing. I had layers upon layers, burning hot rice bags, and couldn't get warm. I sent Lance this picture, and told him it was even difficult to remove my arms from the covers to text him cause it made me too cold. He sent the neighbors over to check on me and make sure I was still alive. Luckily, I felt much better the following morning.

While he was gone, me and the kids headed up to Logan to spend some time with the Hinton's. We had a lot of fun and the kids were devastated when we left.

The day after Lance got back from Boise, he started feeling sick. By Sunday, he was telling me he wanted to go to insta-care to see a doctor. Being the mean person I am, I asked if he could wait until Monday to schedule appointment with normal doctor so we didn't have to worry about high insta-care prices. So at the end of his shift Monday, he went to the doctor. He has pneumonia. The kids have been coughing a lot too. They play hard and are happy, but I've been debating if they need to be seen for the cough.

Lance and I were able to get a night out last week and go on a date. While we were out, we got a new stereo put in our van/car so now our DVD player in the back actually works. Yay! While they were installing that, we had dinner at a place called Jeremiahs in Ogden. Best onion rings I've had in a long time. The kids had fun with Noah, a young man in our ward. He sent us a video while we were gone. They made a giant pile of leaves on the playhouse slide for Will to go down into. The kids love when we get babysitters.

We've had a bit of a rough spell and are trying to get back on our feet. Hopefully we can get some things figure out in the next few weeks and things can improve a little bit.