Jace Gets In a Big Fight!!!

   Olivia and I went for an early morning walk/jog on one of the flatter streets in Logan. I thought that they all looked pretty flat but they are deceiving. I went on a bike ride the day before and had such a hard time getting home because of the slight uphill incline coming back home.
   Practice today started at 10 and went until 12 and then we had a break til 3. In between that time, we made lunch and then Jace and Sierra rode to the castle park on their bikes. The street they have to cross is pretty busy so we decided that they'll have to use the crosswalk that is a block farther but much safer. Sierra got a splinter in her foot and couldn't ride her bike home, so we put it in the back of the truck and came home. Luckily our new neighbors had a pair of tweezers that we borrowed and she was as good as new in no time at all.
   Today turned out to be Jace's favorite day so far. It was a scene where he gets to beat up the undertaker's employee (Noah) for making fun of his mother. Oliver defends his mother by punching, slapping, and kicking Noah (all choreographed by the way). Jace is all boy and enjoys being tough and wrestling around.
   While Jace was at his long practice, all of us girls went and got a library card and checked out a ton of books. Logan has a very nice library with a comfy reading area for the little kids made out of big floor cushions that look like books. They also have educational computer games for the younger children and Maci and Olivia pretty much stayed glued to those while we were there. (I actually had to kick SIERRA off of one of the computers so that a four year old could play:) They have a large assortment of musical cds and dvds. We checked out The Fantastic Mr. Fox and all of the kids watched it while I started dinner. They pitched in to help while the show was going on. Olivia made some rice-a-roni, Sierra made some grilled chicken and I was in charge of veges and bread. We had to buy a set of pots and pans for cooking while we were here in Logan. I purchased them at Shopko for $50 but when I started cooking on them, the outside red covering (paint?) started melting and smoking up our apartment. It smelled horrible so I took them back tonight and went to the D.I. to see if we could find anything. Olivia spotted a covered skillet in great shape for $2 and we found another pot for $1.50. Combined with the 3 pots they already had in the apartment, I think we'll survive the summer.

 Sierra's summer project for FFA is growing a vege garden. She has to water the plants and take care of them and hopefully we will get some good veges from them. She used some fresh herbs tonight in her chicken recipe so hopefully we'll be using tomatoes and broccoli before too long.
   It was a pretty relaxed evening tonight. I picked up Jace at seven and Amanda's boyfriend Wadi Jones is a dancer on "So You Think You Can Dance" so we watched t.v. and oohed and ahhed over his skills. We all hope he makes it to the finals. After the show, we shared our loaves of bread with our new neighbors and told them all goodnight.
  Because our apartment is so small, it is easy to clean up quickly. The kids don't have nearly the amount of stuff to pick up because we just didn't bring that much. We have a room check each night before bed and everyone grabs their stuff around the apartment to put away. Even Maci is getting good about putting all of her stuff where it belongs because there is a reward involved. Being a minimalist and having less is so much easier than managing large amounts of seldom used stuff. The one toy that Maci really loves is the bug collecting cage that we found at Walgreens. She collected a beetle (and then accidentally stepped on it), 2 spiders (that Jace flushed down the toilet) and a fly (that Sierra refused to let her keep). She keeps her eyes peeled for potato bugs and ants. And we have two dogs in the complex that are just her size. She bugs the owners anytime they're out to see if she can walk their dog. She is an animal and insect lover.
   Tomorrow promises to be another fun and busy day!