Finally home for Harvest.

I can't remember the last time I've been home for harvest. It is a very busy/exciting time at home, Plus my sister was in town making a wedding cake all week, so I thought I would just plant myself in the middle of all the chaos and get in the way.  :)  It was fun.

Brother Joey brushing his teeth.  They are long days out there in the field and you never know when a lady visitor is gonna come ride along :)

Joey was Cache's favorite person to ride with.

And that's my dad talking on the CB.

Baby brother Sammy asleep on the job. 

 Just waitin for someone to need a road stubble busted.

Let me just tell you about what happened right as I took this picture below:  I'm in the grain truck riding with Joey on the nice stubble busted road, when suddenly he sees my dad's auger is out on his combine(that means I'm super SUPER full get here NOW.)  So see those nice lines in the field?  Well if you drive WITH them it's pretty smooth.  If you drive straight ACROSS THEM you have to literally push against the ceiling to keep yourself in your seat and to keep your head from hitting the ceiling.  Well  when the auger is out You get there the fastest way, WHO CARES if there's a 8 month pregnant girl in the passenger seat.(i'm referring to ME.)   She's can have the baby but don't let the combine spill any grain!  And that is exactly what my 17 year old brother did. 

as FAST as he could.

I was seriously afraid my water would break.

Seriously.

But it didn't.  

I sent Cache out to the field the following days WITHOUT me.

He loved going out and riding with the his uncles.

 Grandma would pack him a little lunch just like the guys.

Always he would get a pudding or twinkie with his lunch.

He thinks his Uncles are the so super cool. He even often refers to my parents

as his "uncle grandma and grampa."

Cache is a lucky boy.

The guys complain a lot about harvest, but I know they really actually feel so good at the end of a long days work.  I can tell.  Their days start at 5:30am and we would have dinner ready for them around 9:30pm.  My dad never complains.  But it's a long day for a junior high kid, so I'll give Sam a break.

My uncle Tim took this picture of my dad.  I don't ever stay out late enough to see the sun go down.

I'm a baby.

Sunday evening behind our house my dad did his version of family home evening:  Bottle rockets.

SUPER powered bottle rockets that is.

Here is the air compressor that fueled the rockets.

I didn't know they MADE air compressors that big.

Or even WHY you would need one that big.

 Evidently to shoot off bottle rockets. 

 (And occasionaly blow out the grain elevator)

 Cache was a little young (Or too light weight)to shoot a rocket, but he helped Uncle Nick and Uncle Joey look for a long lost rocket in the wheat field.

Below Ash is showing us how excited she is about Family Home evening Dad style.

We tried to think of a good moral/lesson to go along with the activity.

No one could think of one.

Except: Bottle rockets are fun!

And that's how we roll at the Spratling house.

The week ended in Weddings!

I love weddings. 

Below is my sis. Sarah's half done wedding cake.

She is getting Amazingly GOOD at making cakes.

Well I think so.

Devin and I took off for a quick trip to Gresham Oregon for my good high-school friend, 

Chelsie's wedding. This is why I love being close to home!

She was so beautiful. And I got to see about 20 friends from home.

So happy for her. And so happy for me to see how happy she was.

And while at home I took a few pictures of my sis Ashley to turn in
for her mission papers. She turns 21 in September and decided to go!
 Where in the world will this beauty go?
Where do they send pretty missionaries? 
Somewhere safe I hope.

I LOVE being close to home.

something I want to remember...

I had a bad day the other day. 

We all do. I know.

 Well the last straw was burning dinner.  The chicken breasts were SO burnt that they were the size of I don't know a large tootsie roll?  
And some of the pieces were even gone,  burnt to Ash.  This resulted in me sinking down onto the kitchen floor bawling. 

 I know, dramatic. 

Now my kids have seen me mad plenty and even maybe a bit teary, but this may have been a first for them to see me in such a bawling way and it bewildered them. 

Here's what happened:

Cache: Looked at me confused: "What is wrong?" 

 I just cried thinking of all the things that happened that day that I couldn't relay to a 4 year old and said: "I don't know, I guess I just burnt the chicken." And yes I kept bawling.  Then he began pacing back and forth, back and forth in front of me taping his chin. Finally he stopped and looked at me with big eyes and smile and said: "I know MOM! It's okay you burnt the chicken!" 
Me: "I Know"  (as I continue sobbing)

so then Cache repeats himself LOUDER and MORE excited.. trying to pull me out of it with his excitement. 

"MOM it's OKAAAY you burnt the CHICKEN!"

Naomi:  Assesses the situation and takes off.

 She returns with her blankie and puts it on my shoulder.   She then squats down as if I'm smaller  than her, raises her voice to an even higher pitch than normal and while patting my shoulder: "Okay mommy? ya? ya?" She is trying really hard not to cry herself. But as I keep crying she stands up trying to fight back tears, then she squats back down. And again in her high voice:  "A cheese mommy?  Ya cheese?"  

Between the two of them, I start laughing. 

Which  totally scares Naomi and really made her cry.

 So she snatched back her blankie. 

She had a good cry while I laughed and cradled her. 

 The offer of cheese was just too much for me to keep crying.

  I felt bad for scaring them so much.  But it taught a little bit about their personalities 
AND also US as parents since they were both mimicking in their own way things we do to get them to stop crying....  

Anyway here's some pics of our evening walk.

Nay of course picked out her outfit.  

Meh who needs pants anyway?

Nay ONLY likes to hold fingers, NOT hands... I'm not sure why.

Right now....

We have been looking for Cache's gameboy for DAYS.  Every corner, cushion, and car has been searched.  Today (just now) after about the 17th (really it could have been more) time of putting Naomi BACK in her crib, I thought she was finally asleep, until, out she waltzes with something in her onesie.  Walks over to the couch, makes herself comfy, pulls out THE very gameboy from her onesie and starts playing. I gave the "look" but she just says: "Me game" and starts pushing the buttons harder with the screen up to her nose. 

 Where was she hiding it all these days?  She is out yet again, this time making flarting noises on the leather couches...
I didn't know you could do that on leather.
Trying to stay calm, and not clench my teeth.

I'm really close to calling nap time over.  

Bogus Basin

So here we are.

I still feel like I'm going to go home to Missouri next week after 

vacation is over.  But really, we are glad to be here in Boise.

I like the people. 

Sometimes I see people riding their horse on the side of the road in town.

I love NO HUMIDITY.

Less bugs.

Clear beautiful water.

Family.

Our cute neighbor hood and newly carpeted house.

I do miss the charm of St. Louis.

And all the manicured lawns and miles of mowed grass.

friends. 

Right now THERE seems a little more home than here. 

Time will change that though.

Moving back west, Devin and I were most excited for family and Mountains.

So we've gone hiking a few times. 

I was huffin and puffin. Maybe it's the elevation, or that this baby is

using my lungs for a pillow. Or that I haven't worked out in a month, thanks to the move.

It was pretty though. Devin took pictures of flowers for you.  And I made fun of him.

Really I love how he appreciates nature.  Still a liiiitle froofy don't you think?  And mostly Devin is just fun to make fun of, because he has some funny comebacks. 

I really like having this guy around. 

He may be my favorite person in the world.

Okay he most defiantly  is. 

We felt back at home. AND we actually felt a bit chilly!  

SO. WIERD.

Loved it.

Naomi is NOT the best hiker. 

 She loves it, she is just really pokey. 

 And every time we say: "Come on Nay!"  she yells "NO!" and runs BACK the opposite way....

Then if we're lucky she'll lay in the dirt and roll in it and mash it into her hair...

So we have Cache who can't help running WAY up ahead and Nay running opposite back down the trail. I can't keep up with Cache so I end up bring up the rear, who is kicking and throwing dirt.  She'll throw a good punch too. Thus the need to carry her FACING OUT. 

Man we love her.

 Here she is below with a dirt clod she was so happy to find.

she squealed: "Yook daddy,  doggy!"

Not sure I wanted to show everyone this next picture, but it is rare to get a picture of me and 2 babies. 

Actually 2.5 babies in this picture.

I'm feelin very large and in charge these days.

Cache is sitting on the "boys only" rock and banished us to the "girl rock."

Our hike in all reality was like 25 minutes and much on a road like this one...

To get more of their energy out these guys ran circles around me.

I needed  lunch and a nap.

Devin spotted a baby Coyote on the way down the mountain and walked right up to it.

I think it was thinking: "Maybe if I don't look at him he'll go away." 

That's all.

Watch this for a better day.... sure made my day better.

Sunday evening walk. 

Nay dressed herself for our evening walk.  

 Besides the onsie all the other pieces this ensemble were 

a surprise to Devin and I.

We were all standing by the front door holding it open and yelled for Naomi.

"Come on Nay are you ready?"

She comes busting through the house as fast as she can, passed us and out the front door.  

 And in her tiny voice; Nay: " Tink too." (thank you for holding the door.) 
aaah she is so exhaustingly fun.

Cache:  "Mom when I get bigger I want my name to be different."
Me: " OH."  well Okay, what do you want it to be then?"
Cache: "JIM."

Devin has begun calling him Jim all day today after this little conversation.

Moving our life from MO to ID.

welp,
 we are here and semi-settled. 

(us 10 minutes before driving away from our house in Missouri)

Devin and I ran into the house for one more last look around for anything left on or forgotten.

As we did, we kinda had a moment where we both realized we would never be in our home again.

So weird.

Although it had been a source of stress the past 6 months,(selling a home by yourself, blah.)

There were a lot of memories there.  Naomi's only home.

I suddenly saw ghost images of us running around in that house, praying, crying,

laughing, worrying, cooking, talking with friends that became family. Devin studying and struggling, My water breaking,

(I'll never tell the new owner WHERE.) haha. 

Bringing Naomi home, rocking babies, putting on band-aides.  Yelling and apologizing, dancing to music to help us all feel better, family home evenings, kids running in circles while we clap and sing,  recieving heart breaking news, praying some more, hugging, kissing ;) encouraging one another, "It's going to be okay." Missing family, sucking it up and going on, painting, dreaming, hoping and praying some more.

 Oh man what a loaded few  years graduate school was!

We changed a lot as a family and as people in that home.

A lot of our heart did seem to reside in the walls of that house, and I felt it at that moment.  It's the only way I know how to describe it.  We hugged, as if to say good bye to the past.  Started to choke up and so we quickly let go.  

No time for that type of thing. 

 And Devin definitely didn't want to be crying in front of my dad. We raced around found a baby doll in the kitchen cupboard. Set the keys on the counter and slammed the door behind us.

We are still recovering from the stress of selling a home, hoping it all goes through while packing in two weeks.  (We moved the day after closing.)

 Then driving for 3 days with Naomi

in the car.  Poor little girl, she was literally pulling her hair.  

Toys would not entertain her for long, t.v does not interest her, and

she only sleeps in her crib NOT in a car-seat. To say the very least I was SO SO SO glad my dad 

 came out to help drive.


He had his recipe for happiness:  

driving a big truck 

 jerky 
 black licorice 
 Talk Radio
Caffeine. 
Car trips are the one time we can argue that drinking caffeine is better for your body than crashing.  Except of course if your with child as I was. No Dr. Pepper for me. darn.


  Being worried about him all alone for

 so many hours, I called him to make sure he was okay...

"This is awesome, I just listened to the whole 2 hour program on the history of

combines, then after that they had another program on the history of guns!"

welp okay then. 

Plus he has: "Always wanted to drive through Nebraska."

:)

Arriving in Boise, Devin's fam came over including brothers and 

cousin.  Had us unloaded in no time... seriously like 35 minutes. Into the garage mostly.

Our home wasn't ready for us. 

So we took off the next day for La Grande.

All 5 of Devin's siblings were there.

They camped. We did not.

Devin's mom and Dad with All of their grandchildren. 21 right?

Had to include the next one, only because of Klora's smile/laugh.  (3rd in from the top left)

They are all laughing at Uncle Darrin doing, I don't know what, but I think he has found a summer job for when he's not teaching.  Working at a photo booth. Just look at some of these happy kids.

Such fun cousins. Every one of them.

Entire Orton Clan minus Uncle Patrick

Wayne and Janie applauding Uncle Dylan's speech on the constitution at the flag raising...

Dylan thought they were making fun so he tripped Grandpa in a game of soccer afterwards.  

Doc Devin concluded no stitches were needed, but that it looked pretty cool.

Despite our joy of being with family after FOREVER.

 This is just about how we ALL were feeling inside

 after that long trip.

In serious need of a nap.

 But it was so beautiful.

And the kids got good and dirty which is part of the definition of having true fun.

When your a kid.

As in many families with lots of cousins, there are sets of "cousin twins."  Basically same b-day look alike ect...  Makes family get togethers all the more fun.  

There are many sets of cousin twins and triplets in the Orton grandbaby bunch...

Here is Dustin and Klora.

Devin snapped this during the taping of a rap video...

Now we are back in boise,,,figuring things out.

Always something to straighten out it seems....

I've decided to except that things will not ever be perfect. 

That was hard for the perfectionist in me to accept.

I am enjoying life much more now.

Now if I could just find my way to Target without a chauffeur...