Ugh

It's kind of been one of those days weeks.

First off, the good stuff.

Logan is really sweet.  Like really, super sweet.  He still has his stubborn side that comes out occasionally, but this kid is the best cuddler and has so much concern for other people.  He has such a tender heart and we can't wait to see the man he becomes someday.  I have never - EVER - seen a kid that loves babies as much as Logan.  He has been obsessed with babies for years, and can point them out anywhere we go.  He gets teary-eyed and rewinds any diaper commercial, and begs me to watch babies we know so he can take care of them.  He also gives our whole family so many hugs throughout the day and makes sure we know that he loves us. I love that he can be a rough and tumble boy, but still be so tender.  He's going to make one heck of a good husband and daddy someday!

Yesterday after church, I found him on the couch finishing his reading of the first page of the Book of Mormon.  He gave me the sweetest smile when he noticed I was watching him.

Last week Ryan and I were able to attend the temple wedding of the most gorgeous couple alive.  It has been so amazing to see the transformation over the past year in Ammon, who is Ryan's right-hand man at work.  He has been in love with Rachel for many years, but she was waiting for a guy who could take her to the temple.  In the 2 years since Ammon began working for Ryan, they have developed a great friendship.  Ammon hugged Ryan in the temple and thanked him for helping him get to where he is today.  It was pure awesomeness, and these two are going to have the most beautiful babies in history.  Ammon's dad couldn't attend the wedding because he's serving as the Mission President in Greece, but his mom flew home for the occasion.  The families of the bride and groom are both in our ward, so we know them all well.

BREVAN FINISHED HIS ENTIRE EAGLE PROJECT!  So proud of him!!  Pictures coming soon!

Ryan bought a new tube for the boat that is safer and easier for kids to ride.  Brevan isn't a fan because he can't get thrown off as easily, but Logan now feels comfortable going for rides.  We enjoyed a relaxing evening on the lake this past Saturday.

Ryan in his domain as the captain of the boat.

A beautiful sunset right before we got off the water.

I had to go to a jewelry store last week to have my wedding ring cut off my finger.  It's pretty embarrassing to admit that I hadn't taken off my ring since Brynlie was a baby.  After 2 more pregnancies and much more weight, my ring wouldn't budge over my knuckle.  The redness has now started to fade, but I'm sure my finger will always be deformed!  Ryan has been trying to talk me into getting a new ring, but I'm too sentimental and want to wear the one I already have.  I'm having some cushions inserted that will allow me to get it over my knuckle but still fit tightly around my deformed finger.  I also had to get some prongs fixed, so my old ring will look brand-new soon!

I was sent another picture from the Celebration of Fatherhood Ceremony.  This is Ryan and Lindsey on the 84' x 104' scoreboard!  To put it in perspective, you can see people walking around on the very bottom of the left side of the picture.

And now, onto the bad stuff.

More air conditioner curses.  The people renting our house in Kearney called to say the air conditioner isn't working, and they were told by the repairman that it's the compressor.  So tired of this.  We were also informed that the couple living there is getting divorced, and all the locks had to be changed because there's a restraining order on the husband.  Looks like we will have to advertise for new renters soon.

This storm came through our area last week.  It felt like a monsoon.  There's not much I love more than a good Midwest storm, but this one reeked havoc.

This is a HUGE tree that had been completely uprooted on the highway by our house.  It knocked out power lines on it's way down.

We lost this tree in the storm.  Even though it wasn't a large one, it's always sad to lose a tree after babying it for years.

These pictures are from the trees in our backyard area that joins our neighbor's yard.  The winds were so intense that this tree literally split in two pieces.

Branches fell everywhere.  Ryan and I witnessed these huge branches breaking off and falling to the ground.  We had just driven home from a date and looked at the trees while driving into the garage.  We quickly got the kids (and their friends that were over) into the basement to make sure everyone was safe.

Our driveway turned into a lake.  The kids thought it was a blast, but we began to get very concerned about the damage these waters would cause.

As soon as I saw the back of the retaining wall doing this, I knew it would fall soon.  Great.  Our big mess just got bigger.

There it went.  My lovely backyard now looks like a giant block tower that a giant crushed.  Sigh.

After the rest of the wall fell, the waters from the storm came rushing through and created a large waterfall.

Lindsey wanted to pose for all the pictures.  It does help give perspective for the huge project ahead of us.  Missouri storms are serious business!

Lindsey is sitting on the wall on the far left.  The wall that fell is 12 feet tall.

The ground was completely saturated.  This is what happened when I tried to walk through the grass.

Our next-door neighbors had an actual stream going through their yard.  Crazy!

The storm also caused a lot of damage on the inside of our house, although I don't have pictures.  Brevan's bedroom became a soggy, moldy mess. The walls most likely have mold growing behind them due to the moisture, and the carpets are completely ruined.  We have to install a pricey sump-pump on that side of the house, plus get all the damage fixed. The storage room also had to be cleaned up multiple times due to all the water pooled on the ground from a different leak.  The roof above our garage has also been leaking and has black mold growing.

I spent most of the week in a depressed funk.  Life seemed to be taking a big dump on us.  On Saturday, Ryan tried to talk me out of the funk, and we decided to take all the kids to see the Superman movie at the theater.  It was a good distraction, and then the kids talked us into going on the lake with the boat.  After a couple hours of fun, the kids performed their tradition of jumping off the back of the boat, and then we let Brevan drive the boat into the marina.  There were two officers waiting for us, who were not happy with the kids jumping or the fact that an un-licensed teenager was driving the boat.  It wasn't our brightest moment as parents.  Pictured below is Ryan getting into the officer's car while an expensive ticket was written.  What a crappy end to a pretty crappy week.

So here's to another week!  Praying this one is less eventful than the last one.