Maxwell 30: Buying a Vest Debt Free

[Hane]

@PennySycamore, when my cousin and I were little, we got eyeglasses at around the same time, and he got an eye patch for amblyopia. I remember thinking, at the ripe old age of four, that maybe my eye doctor wasn’t being careful enough and that I should probably have gotten an eye patch, too (most likely because my mother was always yelling at me for “letting” my eyes cross—which was completely involuntary).

[usedbicycle]

I almost thought it was Mary in this picture. I've been reading the Bontrager blog for many years now and I don't think I've seen Chelsy in a long denim skirt. Her style has always been knee-length skirts and tight tops, even in winter.

I was hoping that she would she would keep her blog updated and maintain some of her opinionated 'spark' in Maxhell but that doesn't seem very promising..

[Black Aliss]

On 4/27/2019 at 6:27 PM, Hane said:

This is the family who has to have meetings to discuss the outcome of each year’s Christmas caroling and loaf cake giveaway project to determine what to do next year. Normal folks would say, “We baked what, two dozen? Were there any left or did we come up short? OK, two dozen again next year.” (I mean, would a zombie apocalypse happen if they had one extra loaf? How terrifying could it be to wrap it up and chuck it into the freezer?)

Or, y'know, they could just Eat It Themselves!!!!

Is it only Gigi's yard that gets mulched? Or does every other household have to do their own ordering, scheduling, mulching and, because those events are not what some would call a work party, they are not blog-worthy?

[nomoxian]

On 4/28/2019 at 10:28 PM, MamaJunebug said:

Ok, quite off-topic but I feel like I’m losing my Google-fu!  How did you go from identifying the schools to finding the school they infested - er, visited?  I tried looking for two playgrounds but it was nearly impossible to keep all the locations in mind, etc. PM me if you like. I know this sounds invasive as all get-out, but I usually have no problem finding stuff.  

I looked up the school board website for the city the Maxwells live in. There aren't that many schools. Then I looked up the school names on Google Maps and compared the street view to the pictures they posted. The play equipment is distinct, and the building and background match up too.

[MamaJunebug]

30 minutes ago, nomoxian said:

I looked up the school board website for the city the Maxwells live in. There aren't that many schools. Then I looked up the school names on Google Maps and compared the street view to the pictures they posted. The play equipment is distinct, and the building and background match up too.

School board website — of course!! I just googled (town) schools & got a list from which I opened each school’s hit. Ok, then. Thinking my amateur-sleuthing days are well & truly over. 

Mulch Musings:

The day checks off several goals: visit Gigi. Maintain her home & yard. Get all the family together.  Can’t snark on any of those. Are they blog-worthy? The annual posts probably give Maxwanderers reassurance that they’re doing things right if they also annually care for the elderly in a group effort. 

Also gives us beaucoup snark, so, Thanks, Maxies! Here are mine:

* Hussy Mary with one (1!) shirt has a cute little figure. 

* Judgy Chelsy isn’t going into the Maxdarkness without a fight: witness the words writ across her ch*st on that T-shirt! And is she wearing an under t-shirt? Show those last acts of defiance, you wild-eyed, makeup-wearin’ woman!

* Nate is pretty fair on the eyes. Nice arms for a daddy’s boy!

* And where IS Daddy Dominator? I don’t remember seeing his smirking mug and won’t go back to look.

Because:  A day without Steve Maxwell is a good day. 

[kpmom]

14 minutes ago, MamaJunebug said:

* And where IS Daddy Dominator? I don’t remember seeing his smirking mug and won’t go back to look.

Because:  A day without Steve Maxwell is a good day. 

He is there in the background of the picture of Chelsy looking at GiGi holding Baby Ax.  Sorry MJB, Steve isn't going quietly just yet.

Speaking of Ax, he definitely got those eyes that look into your soul.  Yow!

[catlady]

2 hours ago, nomoxian said:

I looked up the school board website for the city the Maxwells live in. There aren't that many schools. Then I looked up the school names on Google Maps and compared the street view to the pictures they posted. The play equipment is distinct, and the building and background match up too.

i saw this as a challenge of sorts, and i too found the school on Google Maps.  that was fun!

[JermajestyDuggar]

6 hours ago, usedbicycle said:

I almost thought it was Mary in this picture. I've been reading the Bontrager blog for many years now and I don't think I've seen Chelsy in a long denim skirt. Her style has always been knee-length skirts and tight tops, even in winter.

I was hoping that she would she would keep her blog updated and maintain some of her opinionated 'spark' in Maxhell but that doesn't seem very promising..

I was also surprised by that skirt. Maybe she wore “work clothes” to Gigi’s house and wasn’t thrilled to be photographed in them. Chelsy wears a lot of maxi skirts usually. 

[johnhugh]

I left a very nice comment on the blog that stated what a blessed thing to do for Gigi and with all the hard work it was a good thing that Chris remembered to pick up the Pizza. For some reason it didn’t get approved....

[lilith]

8 hours ago, usedbicycle said:

I almost thought it was Mary in this picture. I've been reading the Bontrager blog for many years now and I don't think I've seen Chelsy in a long denim skirt. Her style has always been knee-length skirts and tight tops, even in winter.

I was hoping that she would she would keep her blog updated and maintain some of her opinionated 'spark' in Maxhell but that doesn't seem very promising..

Chelsy’s knees disappeared when she entered Maxhell. I really do wonder if John had a word with her, if Allyssa (who also lost her knees) or one of the other SILs mentioned it, if Sarah is designated to get the girls marrying in up to standard on skirt length, double t-shirts and contrasting buttons, if her parents advised her to adopt her husband’s families standards (likely), or if she just saw what her sisters in law were wearing and decided to fit in. If it’s personal conviction it’s new - she almost always wore shorter skirts pre marriage (some maxis, but fashionable ones, not swathes of denim) and she wrote once that she didn’t think wearing pants was immodest and was skirts only under her father’s roof out of respect - there was a clear implication that she would wear pants upon marriage. But that was before her eyes were turned by John Maxwell, the designated hot son of Maxhell.

Does she have a closet full of unworn knee length skirts or did she leave them all behind for Allison and Elizabeth?

1 hour ago, johnhugh said:

I left a very nice comment on the blog that stated what a blessed thing to do for Gigi and with all the hard work it was a good thing that Chris remembered to pick up the Pizza. For some reason it didn’t get approved....

They must get scared when your IP comes up, trying to work out where the snark is on your comment, worrying they won’t be worldly enough to recognise it. 

[LurkerOverThePond]

13 hours ago, catlady said:

(off topic, but have any of those kids ever seen a PEZ dispenser, or is that too much f*n?)  

Definitely too much f*n. Think of all those heathen cartoon characters! (I _loved_ PEZ dispensers as a kid, and I still have my beloved Peppermint Patty dispenser somewhere)

Random thoughts:

I'm not a fan of heavy eyeliner but I hope Chelsy will never ditch it, because it must make Steve's blood pressure go up.

Little Danny is such a cutie!

Gigi has a huge yard. Land must be cheap in Leavenworth.

Teri looks genuinely happy. Since leaving homeschooling behind she has looked a lot happier in pictures. And still, she continues to endorse homeschooling as the only way to educate your kids, even if you are a severely depressed mom of many young children... (and fuck you for that Steve!)

Nice work at the basement gym, Jesse! He continues to seriously defraud me these days...

Edited April 30, 2019 by LurkerOverThePond

[lilith]

I shouldn’t harp on Chelsy’s clothing, but I just looked at the above pic again and between the cut and the pattern on her denim shroud it actually outlines her legs more than the shorter skirts she used to wear did.

[theologygeek]

It's really not a good idea to do yard work in skirts.  For people who seem cautious about everything else, they sure throw caution to the wind when it comes to ticks.  

[lilith]

3 minutes ago, theologygeek said:

It's really not a good idea to do yard work in skirts.  For people who seem cautious about everything else, they sure throw caution to the wind when it comes to ticks.  

They kayak in heavy skirts. Safety first, but not if it flashes a glimpse of feminine ankle:

Edited April 30, 2019 by lilith

[IReallyAmHopewell]

8 hours ago, LurkerOverThePond said:

Gigi has a huge yard. Land must be cheap in Leavenworth. 

 

 

Most of the midwest (outside of major cities/what pass for cities, has cheap land/low property taxes. There are exceptions of course. I assume this is her home from a long-time back?

[HereticHick]

Whew, I hope Christopher had a day off after "obtaining the mulch, ordering the pizza, and figuring out a day people can come." I'm exhausted just reading about it! ?

 

No, seriously, show me a day when we aren't all organizing multiple things!

[JermajestyDuggar]

I think Chelsy makes sure to wear Steve approved clothing when getting together with the Maxwell’s but she has been seen in clothing that Steve wouldn’t approve of in her own home. She was even wearing jeans when friends came over to her house. 

[catlady]

@JermajestyDuggar, that’s what I was thinking. We see relatively little of Chelsy and Elissa, because they live So. Far. Away. And while i’ve mever followed Chelsy’s blog, several people here say she’s posted less since getting married. So we don’t know much of what she’s doing and wearing most of the time, and for all we know, she could be running around Greater Leavenworth in white shorts. (Part of my brain hopes that she is.). Maybe she and Elissa got matching tattoos last summer.  

Edited April 30, 2019 by catlady
Spelling is hard

[JermajestyDuggar]

4 minutes ago, catlady said:

@JermajestyDuggar, that’s what I was thinking. We see relatively little of Chelsy and Elissa, because they live So. Far. Away. And while i’ve mever followed Chelsy’s blog, several people here say she’s posted less since getting married. So we don’t know much of what she’s doing and wearing most of the time, and for all we know, she could be running around Greater Leavenworth in white shorts. (Part of my brain hopes that she is.). Maybe she and Elissa got matching tattoos last summer.  

She posts very little on her blog. And when she does, it’s a big photo dump. In those photo dumps we’ve seen outfits Steve wouldn’t like. But those outfits are worn away from Maxhell central. That way she can keep poor Steve from weeping. 

[SusanAtTheLastBattle]

This picture is captioned, "Lots of little kids running around"

Spoiler

Literally none of the children in that picture are running around. A Natekid and a Josephkid are walking, seemingly sedately, and fully all three Chriskids are sitting down immobilized.

What a Crazy Crew (TM)!

[louannems]

I was just reading from Chelsey's blog.  I was reading quickly through her comments following her birth announcement.

One woman stated her dissatisfaction that even 3 months post birth, Chelsey still was unable to share her birth story. Chelsey responded, saying she was able, but not willing, to share her story. 

She also said the commentor was free to unfollow if she felt disappointed. 

[bluelady]

I don't understand why this needed to be a thing.  My family all got together once to paint my grandmother's house.  It was a large house with wooden shingles and the old paint needed to be scraped off first.  We made a plan and picked a weekend for us all to go and help.  Why?  Because only my aunt was still living near to my grandmother.  The rest of us had to come from away and we used it as an excuse for a family reunion.  But....the Maxwells are literally right. there.  Everyday.  Couldn't they just, I don't know, do it?  Instead of turning everything into a damned party when they can't help but see each other every day since they basically own the block now?

Edited April 30, 2019 by bluelady

[Granwych]

2 hours ago, bluelady said:

I don't understand why this needed to be a thing.  My family all got together once to paint my grandmother's house.  It was a large house with wooden shingles and the old paint needed to be scraped off first.  We made a plan and picked a weekend for us all to go and help.  Why?  Because only my aunt was still living near to my grandmother.  The rest of us had to come from away and we used it as an excuse for a family reunion.  But....the Maxwells are literally right. there.  Everyday.  Couldn't they just, I don't know, do it?  Instead of turning everything into a damned party when they can't help but see each other every day since they basically own the block now?

They need fodder for the blog.  At least there were no pix of them praying, either in small groups or en masse.

[Queen Of Hearts]

I can't snark on the mulch party. It is a nice thing they do for Gigi.

[ViolaSebastian]

On 4/29/2019 at 5:58 PM, kpmom said:

Speaking of Ax, he definitely got those eyes that look into your soul.  Yow!

I'm so relieved he got the hypnotoad eyes we all hoped he would. 

3 hours ago, louannems said:

I was just reading from Chelsey's blog.  I was reading quickly through her comments following her birth announcement.

One woman stated her dissatisfaction that even 3 months post birth, Chelsey still was unable to share her birth story. Chelsey responded, saying she was able, but not willing, to share her story. 

She also said the commentor was free to unfollow if she felt disappointed. 

I can't blame Chelsy here--didn't she imply that things may have been rough for her?* I wouldn't necessarily want to share that information until I was ready, either. 

*Went and looked. She straight up said it was very traumatic. 

Edited May 1, 2019 by ViolaSebastian