A Tick, Basketball, & Family Venting Session

 I was FaceTiming Mom & Dad when my belly started to itch all of a sudden. I looked down and saw a TICK on me! Mom freaked out & Dad gave me medical advice on how to remove it. Luckily right then Frank came back from running an errand. He used tweezers & got it out. He said he's used to them from living out in the country in OK. GROSS! I kept saying that I'd better not get lyme disease now!

 We went to Spencer's basketball game today, and they played better as a team since they got to practice together on Thursday evening.

 They still ended up losing, but it was a really good and fast paced game. It's funny to hear all the things Frank yells at the boys from the stands. I think his inner high school basketball star comes out while watching Spencer play.

 I didn't have anything planned for lunch so Frank treated us all to Braum's. It was fun to spend family time together WITHOUT cell phones & video games. We all came home & rested & relaxed.

 I finally got Grant to sit down w/ me so we could file his taxes. Autumn took this picture & he was just pretending to be mad. LOL! I'm glad we got that done & he's happy he's getting a refund.

 After Autumn took a shower, I offered to put foam curler sticks (from the $1 Store) in her hair. We haven't done that in forever b/c her hair was too long. But now that it's shorter it works. We watched Star Wars on TV while I put the curlers in.

We gathered everyone for "scripture, prayer, bed" and this is how they all were during the scriptures & prayer. LOL! They crack me up and I'm glad we got to spend time together as a family today. It's especially nice having Grant home. He usually works in the evenings so we don't get to see too much of him.

After that, Spencer stood up & said he had some things he wanted to say & get off his chest. But, he couldn't look at us while he said them so he turned towards the fireplace. LOL! Basically, it turned into a constructive criticism/venting family council where everyone shared things that were bugging them. Mine was that we shouldn't have to remind the kids to do their chores. There's a reason that it's posted on the fridge each week! Also, that we need to be more considerate of each other. Like if you want some chips, put some in a bowl & leave the bag in the pantry instead of taking the whole bag to your room and then not putting it back.

It ended up being really good & very productive. I'm glad everyone felt they could express their true feelings in a safe environment and that no one got their feelings hurt or got offended. We should probably have these family councils more often.