The day before the first day of school...

Ok, so I'm waay behind and should have written this on their actual first day of school, but that's what you get for having a slacker for a friend.  I must admit I didn't do much of anything that first day of school.  (Unless you count my dear hubby buying me this sweet new laptop, he is THE best!!)  Anywho, I really should start with the day before the first day of school.  

I'm going to start with River, cause this is one of the best stories ever. :)  I totally tried to hold him back a year...but he caught me!  We went in for meet the teacher day, (which again, was the day before school starts) Unfortunately I had lost the paper with their teachers names so we went straight into the office.  We got Canyon's kindergarten teacher, Talon's first grade teacher, and River's fifth grade teacher....ya, about that.  We aren't entirely sure what happened, the office said I must have filled out the paper work wrong.  I say it must have been a typo...but since he has been in fifth grade for a year, maybe I did try to hold him back.  To River's credit, he really kept his cool, he gave me "THE LOOK" of certain doom, and took Bronco in the stroller and sat down, on the other side of the office, staring at me.  Every so often he would calmly walk over and say "fifth grade..." and then wander off.  My poor boy, I think he was in shock!  The worst came when the office lady said she would have to talk to the principal, and we should take a seat so she can help others while we waited for her to come back to the office.  He just sat there for a few minutes, still giving me the look of doom, when he finally spoke, it wasn't much better.  "But...but, MOM!"  Uh Oh, I was in real trouble, you see, he usually gets really mad really fast, I have to send him away, then he comes back and we talk it out.  This time he was building up steam, we were all in for it now!  Thankfully that is when the principal came in, and she had a quick whispered conversation with the receptionist, and then went back to her office.  As cheerfully as I could I said, "See, they are sorting it out right now, you won't have to re-do the fifth grade after all!"  Oops, I should have left that last part out.  "MOM!"  This time my rescue came from non-other then Bronco, "Riber, LET ME OUT!"  Who knew he could say that?!  I must add her that he sounded just like the buggly brothers!  (and the Murdock family know exactly who I'm talking about!)  That was about when the principal came back, and gave us River's new teacher.  :)  Now he is in the 6th grade, and apparently, that makes everything right in the world...for now.  

Well, tha'ts all your going to get out of me tonight, more...well, later. =)

Two-Year-Old

Saturday was simply a brilliant day!  River was at scout camp, (his first one with out Dad tagging along) Rob took Talon with him to fix a friends AC, that left me with only 2 boys!  We loaded up our 'too small' clothes and went to the Stake Clothing Swap.  Can I just say how impressed I was?!  It was a little odd at first as they weren't 'open' yet, and the hall at the Church was lined with Mom's and their kids.  We dropped off our bag, and stood in line.  Ten O'Clock straight up they let us into the gym, the place was filled with tables piled high with clothing!  The stage was stacked 5 deep with shoes, and they were handing out garbage sacks (you know the 13 gallon ones people use in their kitchen) to fill with the clothing they picked out to take home.  I found 2 skirts that fit perfectly, I was worried since they don't exactly have a fitting room! Found River some nice gray dress pants, and a white button up shirt.  Can you believe he jumped from a 12 to nearly a 16!  (aaaahhhhh I won't let my little man grow that fast!)  Canyon found a shirt, a tie, a pair of blue pants, and we found a sweet biker jacket, shoes, and a camo fleece pullover for Bronco.  ALL FREEEEEE!!
Once I got home I threw our hot new duds in the wash, and started dishes.  Have I mentioned that our dishwasher doesn't work?  Well, it doesn't, and I HATE spending hours standing in front of the sink.About then Rob called and said that Jefafa and Brittany were headed our way with their twin boys, and their itty bitty baby girl, I think she's only 8 weeks.  Now there isn't much more I love then hangin one to itty bitty's, especially if they happen to be girls!!  So I put Bronco down for a nap, sent Canyon to a friends house, and began cleaning like mad!  I'm not the cleanest person on the block, and it just so happens that the only carpet in our house is very light and in the dinning room.  (With four boys, that just isn't a pretty sight!.) They show up, we get to catching up soon Rob and Talon make it home and he says that he invited his friend Bryan, his kids and wife.  So now we have an impromptu BBQ!  I just love these kinds of days. :)  About twenty minutes later Bryan gets here with his two-year-old boy, and seven-year-old daughter, but no wife. :(  We have seen him only a few times in the last few years, and never with his wife.  Rob keeps teasing him, saying that we don't even believe he's married.  Next to show up is Ann and Alex with their 12-year-old daughter.  We boiled bratts in beer and onions while Rob threw the hot dogs on the grill for the kids.  Soon however, I realized that in the madness I forgot to buy diapers.  So Brittney and I head off to Reams just down the road on the corner to buy diapers.  Unfortunately when I tried to change the stinky baby, the diapers were size 1.  Like thats going to fit my 2-year-old tank. hehe  So I got the last two diapers out of the diaper bag (which, by the way, I still need to replace) and just gave the bag of diapers to Brittany for her itty bitty.  
Rob was giving the guys a tour of our back yard, with the black berry bushes we are trying to give away, the peach and cherry trees, the choke cherry bushes on the south side, and the 'barn' in the very back.  Behind the barn is Hobble Creek, but because of the field fencing we put up you can not see down to bank to the river.  After words we came inside to play cards, when the dogs threw up on the only carpet, right under the table.  The grown men scattered like leaves in the wind, and I got to cleaning up.  Once done with that clean up, I heard some splashing from the bathroom, I ran in just in time to see Bronco flushing a hand towel.  Quickly I snatched the towel from the drain, but it still wasn't flushing.  Angrily I called to Rob, he rushed in to see the toilet over flowing, as I tossed towels down, and the baby standing in the tub, clothes dripping with toilet water.  Once I got the towels down, and took the baby out to put him in the last diaper, Rob used the plunger, and got one plastic Tonka Truck out.  But it still wasn't flushing.  We shut the door, and began our card game.  When one of the twins said something about going potty, I rushed in to the bathroom just in time to see him pulling up his pants, and a present floating in our unflushable toilet.  Saying nothing of our present, I locked the door and told his mom they both needed the bathroom, it was downstairs on the left.  We returned to the card game, (Apples to Apples love that game!!)  It was around 10:30 before everyone left, and the sink was piled high with dishes, but we had a great time.  Leaving the dishes for the morning, we went to bed.  
Sunday morning I woke up just in time to get everyone dressed and ready for church.  Well, I can't say just in time since we were about 15 minutes late.  I left Bronco home with dad since his runny nose came back again.  However Talon and Canyon totally made up for his absence.  They just couldn't find their quiet voices anywhere!  Soon enough Sacrament was over I was able to put them in Primary and head off to my class.  Until the door was thrown open and Canyon yelled "MOOMMYY"  So off to sit with him in Primary I went.  Unfortunately, that set of Talon.  We made it through the opening exercises, and mostly through singing time before I gave up and we went home.  While I knocked on River's classroom door, Talon and Canyon decided to fight over the Primary door, yelling, slamming, and causing general mayhem. Now I'm done even pretending to be nice, I grabbed them by the ears and stormed home.
Once home, I felt much better, having used all my energy dragging the scared boys home.  Rob had pulled out another plastic Tonka truck, and was attempting to seat the toilet.  LOL the phrase, "seat the toilet" hehe.  But we are Larsen's, and one trip to Home Depot is never enough.  The toilet needs two was rings to seat (hehe) properly.  So we changed clothes, and headed back to Home Depot.  On the way, I remembered that Bronco is wearing his last diaper, so we went to Costco, then to Sportsmans Warehouse, (River got his Totin Chip (some card from Boy Scouts that says he is certified to carry a pocket knife) so Rob had told him he would buy him a knife.  Then we were off to Home Depot.  Can I just add a little side note here?  The boys (Talon and Canyon mostly) had decided that they weren't going to act any better in the store then they had behaved in Primary. :(  Anywho, somehow we ended up home alive, and Rob was able to seat the toilet, and it decided to flush!  Woot woot!  Off to the shower he went, right until he stepped in the water at the bottom of the stairs.  Yup, the basement had flooded.  The toilet downstairs wasn't flushing, and none of the drains were working.  Our little snake wasn't even pretending to work on this one.  We were fortunate enough to have the sewer drain between the toilet and the wall down there, so we decide to open that and run the snake through there.  Yaaaa, its cast iron piping, and it refuses to budge.  Rob is getting angry now, and needs a larger pipe wrench so I tossed the kids in the back yard and ran to the neighbors.  I remembered that a member in our Bishopric had said he has every tool we could ever need, I just don't have any phone numbers, and can't even remember his name.  But I knew that the neighbors would know.  They knew exactly who I was talking about, and even called him for us!  Before I could walk the two houses back home, he pulled up along side me and asked if Rob needed any help.  I simply laughed at him, and said that I have no idea, Rob was frustrated and ornery, therefore he wasn't talking.  Then it was his turn to laugh, "that's exactly what I do" he replied. :D  So he pulled into the drive and went down to check on Rob.  After I threw the dogs out, I went down too, there to my surprise I found him, in his suit, tie, the whole nine yards, in the sewer water helping Rob to open the drain.  I think that made Rob's day.  He wasn't nearly as ornery for the rest of the day.  Even though he had to leave, offered some advice, left the tools with Rob, and told him to call back if he needed anything else.  How cool is that?  Well, the cast iron fitting was not going to come loose for anything less the breaking it open, but then we would most likely end up needing to replace all the plumbing, and that just isn't anything we are ready to tackle yet.  He pulled the toilet down there and tried the snake again, but still no luck.  Off to Home Depot Rob goes again to rent a bigger, stronger snake, and more wax rings just in case.  On his way home he was able to get a hold of his dad.  Here I have to interrupt the narration again and tell you that I am truly blessed with the BEST Father-in-law ever!!  Before Ross could get here, Rob got another dish towel out of the drain, but things still weren't draining right.  Ross and Becky are now on their way over, its after 5pm, and I have no dinner, all my dishes from the night before are still in the sink, and I can't use the water due to the flood downstairs...starving children turn into monsters.  I can't begin to name all they broke in their hunger rages.  With Ross's moral support, Rob and he sorted it all out!  Finally, I whip up some Mac&Cheese, but by the time I get the kids off to bed, its after 9pm. 
Rob is headed downstairs for a shower,again, when the baby wakes up.  I put him back down and sit down to finish the paper I have due by midnight that night.  When the baby wakes up again and again, giving up, I curl up with him in his chair, hoping that Rob will wake me up since I HAVE to finish that paper tonight.
All said and done, the plumbing got fixed, I got my paper done, and the kids are still kicking.  An eventful but successful day!