We're all together again!

It's Sunday night, Glade's family just left from dinner. It was a fun night of just talking and planning our upcoming travels. The morning went pretty well. I feel like getting ready is always so smooth until we are walking out the door and then something stupid happens and I end up getting all freaky and mad and have to drive to church thinking "settle down!". Why is that? Church was good. The young women talked about s camp. Chelsey sang a song with another . Wow. She has always sung well, but she just keeps getting better and better. It was my turn to teach primary and I had a really cute little thing planned. Only one of our kids showed up. We sent him to another class and we just hung out in our room. Wasted lesson. Maybe I'll combine it with another one or something.

Camp details: It was very fun when they got home. All four kids came in on my bed and were talking a mile a minute. I kept having to say "one second!" "she's talking" "your next". It was really cute. They all had a great time. s camp is so much different than scout camp. They all came back exhausted and dirty. A few little stories: I guess Nick had a little scuffle with some of the boys and got kinda mad, had a tantrum and wouldn't go to dinner. The next day something was said about going home if they didn't all behave better and Nick announced he wanted to go home and "wanted a refund!" The boys paid for camp all themselves, $220. Stephen tried cracking a whip and ended up getting himself on the back, has a welt. They both were told about "jason", a true story ya know!
The s had nothing but gushing spiritual stories. The best part was all the compliments we got from other leaders about how great our s are. I would have to agree, but it's nice to hear it from others. They are very blessed with amazing leaders. Whitley's cabin got picked on a little. They tied their door shut and turned out their power. Chelsey's cabin was listening to a scary story when some s tapped on the window with a stick and accidentally broke it. Scary. No one was allowed to go snipe hunting, bummer.
This week will be busy with packing for camping this weekend and having Bunko the night before we leave. Nothing like a little stress to keep you going! I love 4th of July, it's one of my favorite holidays. I'm excited to camp as well. We have several families all going and that's always more fun. Off to bed, haven't had good sleep in 4 days! Saturday morning, our smoke detectors were going off at 5:30 am. Glade wasn't here so I was trying to figure them out half asleep. I replace 4 with new batteries. One would just not stop beeping randomly. We finally just took it off the wall. Even after we took out the battery it still beeped for awhile! Crazy.

Long Days

Well, it's been some long days lately. My big kids are still gone and now my husband is as well. It hasn't been bad with just the little ones, just long. Yesterday was movie day, we saw Bee Movie. I thought it was cute. We took some extras with us since I was missing so many. The kids enjoyed having friends a long. We got the slip and slide back out and they have spent some time out there. I haven't felt well, that's probably what makes it seem so long. Nothing major, sore throat. I did something to my lower back as well, it's killing me. Yesterday I ate way too much and I can't really get to the gym without my big kids being home. By evening, I just wanted to get moving so I did my Core Workout and then went out and went a mile run/walking. That felt good. I think the ball workout may have tweaked my back worse. Today we all went to get groceries then Bo and I had a good nap. The kids are watching Willy Wonka and just chilling. Kinda nice. I have been doing Sudoku again. I forgot how much I like that. Exercise for the brain!
Glade has called several times since he got to camp. As soon as he got there, he had to turn around and drive a sick kid home. Ended up being in the car about 7 hrs total. I guess one kid was sent home and the others haven't been so well behaved either. I don't know if my boys contributed to that or not. At least now Glade is up there for them to answer to. They all come home tomorrow.
Next week is 4th of July and I'm getting excited about our campout and annual 4th party in Payson. I got my glow sticks in the mail and everything! Oh yeah, I also ordered a swim suit through the mail, brave huh? I love it. It's from KneeShorts.com. Cute, long board shorts and a long tankini top. Finally something I can feel comfortable in, if that's possible. I wanted something decent since we are going to Lagoon next month. Lots to look forward to in July, including school starting!

Sleep

I didn't go to the gym last night. As I was getting ready to change into my workout clothes, I saw my PJs and they looked really inviting. I put them on, locked my door, grabbed the Ensign and climbed into bed. Sometimes perspective can change everything. My problem - no good sleep. My kids all sleep through the night, but not me. I usually only sleep 2 or 3 hours before I wake up. Most the time I can go back to sleep, but lots of times I lay awake for an hour or two. If I look at my crankiness, I can often times go back 3 or 4 days and see that I haven't had much sleep. This was one of those times. I used to nap religiously, but since all my kids are home, it doesn't happen much these days. No wonder I'm so impatient! When I'm tired, I'm irritable, impatient, and I eat like crap. All those things make me frustrated and then I get really cranky. It's a terrible cycle! Last night, I slept for 8 hours straight! I honestly don't remember the last time that happened. 16 years ago maybe? How very exciting! Studies say that people that get more sleep are healthier and weigh less. I totally believe it. Now, I really am off to the gym this time! Oh yeah, Whitley left me this morning. I'm down to 5. Weird.

bright spots

Although I can somewhat define my days as Mundane lately, here are a few bright spots.

Bo thinks he's a rock star!


Katy only likes to sleep on TOP of her blankets


The best part of pulling teeth!



Today I was brave enough to take six of them to Costco with me. It wasn't really too bad. Now the rest of the day....that's another story. So in an effort to NOT strangle any of them, I've decided to go to the gym at a late hour and run off my aggression. It's really not all their fault. I have spent the last hour and a half trying to make my uploader work. Happens to me all the time, very frustrating!

Did you ever have a day?

Did you ever have a day when you felt like you accomplished absolutely nothing? Like a wasted day of your life. That's how I feel today. Then you have to go over it to see if maybe SOMETHING was done. This is what I came up with - I...

-swept the floor
-went to the gym
-caught up with an old friend
-pulled 2 teeth
-had a short nap
-gave a haircut
-dealt with the refridgerator repair man
-played taxi and pizza delivery woman
-gave 2 bubble baths

I guess it's not a totally wasted day, but let's just call it MUNDANE. As Julia's blog says - muddling. So to end a perfectly boring day, I'm going to snuggle in and watch the Batchelorette. Just to state, normally we would be having FHE, but I'm missing most of the F. Stephen and Nick left for scout camp, Whitley is at a friend's for the night and Chelsey is packing and helping a friend finish stuff for tomorrow, when she leaves for camp. Whitley will leave the next day and Glade after that. Sheesh, what will I do with myself?

4th of July tidbit

Just a little tid-bit on celebration supplies. In talking to a friend yesterday, I was reminded about glow jewerly for the 4th. I always provide this for our group and never remember till a few days before. I end up paying about $1 a piece and don't get good colors. She was going to order from Oriental Trading Co. I checked it out and it's not a whole lot cheeper. I did find www.Nicaboyne.com. I was able to order 110 pieces for $50 after shipping. Shipping was a little steep, but was still cheaper. It's not all bulk, same thing either. Mix and match in reasonable amounts. Just an FYI!

Fun in the Sun

After a hard working day, I told the kids I would take them to a pool. I dread this. I had them clean a lot today so I figured I kind of owed them. After Stephen and I went to the gym, which was not so fun today, we packed up and headed out. Side note: They gym stunk cuz yesterday I did my Core Secrets workout at home, with the ball. Today....owwwww! So running was a little uncomfortable. Anyway, we decided to try the Williamsfield HS pool. Now, there were not any real frills here. Diving boards and a few dump buckets. The beautiful part - empty! We were there an hour and a half and no one wanted to leave. Well, Katy and I did. She didn't love it.
The highlight of the day - I always remind my children not to pee in the pool. Bo always drinks gallons of water while he swims and thereafter needs to pee OFTEN. I was over on the bench holding Katy and see Bo jump out of the water, rip his pants down and pee into the gutter of the pool. What's a mom to do?? I turned my head the other way. It's not like I could stop him at this point! I say "way to go, Bo! Thanks for not in the pool!"
The best part of swimming - they are all soooo tired and want nothing more than to lounge in front of the TV. I'm definitely ready for some down time. All in all, a good Saturday.

Date Night

For Glade's birthday, we went out with some good friends from our last ward. Her birthday is in a week or so. We went to a new place called Longhorn Steakhouse. It was really good! A little pricey, but very yummy. I asked the waitress which was the leanest steak and I trusted her. Wrong! When I got home to check the points, it was high...grrrr. Ah well, it won't kill me I guess. After dinner we went to the CGCC perfomance center and watched The Secret Garden. A friend of Glade's was in it. It was really good as well. A little long, but if you're looking for something a little different than "dinner and a movie" this might be just for you! Tickets were $10 per person. We didn't even get ice cream after! I am really glad now that I know my steak was high!

Today is another Saturday. Glade's mowing. I'm puttering, wishing I was scrapbooking. Kids are all staying hidden because they know I will put them to work as soon as I see them. Going to head to the gym in just a little bit. Got some steak to work off!

Friday Weigh In

Another good week, 3 lbs! Now for those of you frustrated with your own progress, it has taken me 5 weeks to lose 5 lbs. That sucks. But I think I'm back on track and headed down. I'm starting to believe so much of it is what you tell yourself. Word to myself - You are gettin' skinny!

Spent a really enjoyable evening at Enrichment last night. It was one of the more fun ones we have done. An interesting thing happened. I don't want to go into too much detail, but one of the women whose name I drew out of the hat a couple of weeks ago approached me. The week I had her name, I bombed. I couldn't think of anything she needed or that I could do for her. Well it turns out I did something for her and I didn't even know it! What a good feeling. When they say God works in mysterious ways, they weren't kidding!

Happy Birthday Glade!!

This is what Glade is doing today. He is officially 37 and can no longer tease me about being old! He is a poop on his birthday and hates any kind of special treatment. Sigh...this has been a problem since I LOVE birthdays and like to make a big deal out of it! So this year we are keeping it low key just like he asked. I bought him underwear. WoooHooo! I love him even if he is a poop! He's MY poop!
(This pictures was taken on a Silly Sunday when we were doing "faces you should never make".)

Happy Birthday MTLF!! (My True Love Forever)

Another Exciting Step!

Ok, no one really likes to admit their faults or weeknesses or embarassing traits. That's no secret. So with that said, I had a really great experience last night. I had to take Chelsey to get a black t-shirt for camp. Since it was just us, and Katy, I decided to try on a pair of capris. I have already posted that all my other pants have gotten too big, no news there. What IS news, is where I got my new capris. I took a couple of pair in of the size I assumed would fit at this point. Nope, still too big. What??? There was only one thing to do. I got to shop on the other side of the wall! It has probably been almost 5 years since I could shop on that side. What a whole new world. I ended up getting two new pair of pants and a shirt that did NOT have a W on it. Now, I certainly do not like to talk about sizes and numbers and all that but this is a very exciting step for me. It's embarassing to admit you have to shop in the "womens" section. The only thing that makes it bareable now is that I have made the decision to change that part of my life. It is what it is. And what it is is really fun to wear a whole outfit not from the "womens" section!

When ye are in the service....

I have really been struggling lately with feeling like I don't have enough to do service wise. Service, to me, is adrenaline. It makes me feel energetic and excited. In a different life, I think I might even have joined the Peace Corp. or the Red Cross or something. Our stake does not do a whole lot humanitarian-ly speaking and I have always relied on that to fulfil my need to serve. For 2 years I have mostly just sat and stewed about not loving this situation and had the attitude of "what am I supposed to do?" I have even gone to the extent of talking to a member of the Stake Relief Society Presidency about the absence of a humanitarian program. I finally made up my mind to find my own opportunities. (Sometimes I'm a little slow.) This is really not easy with a large family. I hear stories of people helping others with their small children in public places, but I always HAVE small children and can't really do that. Excuses, maybe. In frustration, I decided to take it to the Lord. In response to my dilemma and I'm sure with a big sigh, this is what He has provided:

First, a serious "need" within me to do more temple work. I have quite a bit of genealogy work done and barely any of the temple work. I have started that process.

Right before a trip to the temple, I got a call from a good friend who was going a little crazy with a last minute move. As much as they didn't ask for help, we could see they could use some. At that point we decided the living were more in need of our service than the dead. We went and helped them paint.

An opportunity to have a casual conversation with my Relief Society president in which I mentioned my desire to do more. She conveyed this to our compassionate service leader and I have now taken dinners to someone every week.

While taking a dinner, got the tip that a tree needed cutting up. My husband and his teachers are taking care of it for him tonight.

Our Relief Society has started a new thing where every week we draw a sister's name out of a bag and you are asked to pray for and about that sister's needs for the week. Of course, I got a sister I didn't know. I happened to ask another sister who she was and it turned out to be her neighbor. In a move QUITE out of my comfort zone, after FHE, I packed up my whole family with a batch of cookies and a copy of our lesson and drove to her house. She is a little older and widowed. She was really frightened when she saw us pull up outside her house! We told her we just wanted to meet someone in the ward we hadn't met yet. It was a little weird and awkward at first, but turned out to be a really neat visit. My kids were even polite and well behaved. It turns out she has just started to go back to church and is working on going to the temple so she can be sealed to her deceased husband. Ironic, our lesson tonight was on Temples.

After our visit, Glade decided since we were out, we should stop by one of his home teaching family's homes. He has never been, they have become inactive and wouldn't really let anyone visit. Again, way out of my comfort zone. Glade and I and two of our boys, the same ages as her boys, rang the bell. She was quite surprised to see us, but very nice and let us in. The boys ran right off together playing in the other room. We stayed and talked with her for about 15 minutes. Cutest baby ever! Anyway, I feel like she really appreciated the visit. She gave me a big hug and thanked me for stopping by. Glade let her know he would be stopping by more regularly and we agreed to get our boys together soon. We may even pick one up for scouts today. Baby steps...

Lastly, I have had the impression that my service is more needed in my home than out. I have nine children that need to be guided and directed and loved in a way that will make them strong, faithful servants of the Lord. That's not an easy job.

In conclusion, I want to make it clear that I'm not here patting myself on the back or looking for accolades. I want to point out so definitely how the Lord answers our prayers. It took me way to long to go about it the right way and I regret that. However, I'm so grateful to have a continuing testimony of prayer and His love for me personally.

Father's Day

Wow, Heather, we are two peas in a pod! I was so going to do exactly what you did. I searched for old pictures to put up of me and my dad, but my mom took my box of pictures so I have nothing. Wierd though to look at yours and see my idea! Anyway, I have a great dad, just no pictures to go with it! Love You Dad!

On a different note, I found this picture! Sorry Les!

Whoa, don't you just love the high waisted, pleated, pegged pants!?! I would still wear penny loafers today....if it were socially acceptable. Thanks for the tip my braniac friend!

Really Neat Post

I was reading my friend Leslie's blog and she had a short and intriguing post. I finally found the link and went to another blog. It was very to the point and cute. Check it out: http://thegabblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/just-for-record.html

Ugh! No Way!

(Hugest Sigh Ever) So.....the last few days I have spent literally hours trying organize my pictures so I wouldn't have any more scary days. I have sorted, uploaded, downloaded, printed and resaved. It's been no small task. In tying up all the loose ends, guess what I came across? A whole stack of printed pictures. Hmmm, I thought, what could those be? Ugh, NO WAY!! All the pictures I thought I had lost the other day. Already printed. When did I do that???? Whereas I'm happy to have them, what I have gone through this last week!! Not to mention I just reprinted them all! I honestly just don't know how to keep it all straight. I have a box for every kid, CD's with back up's, not to mention their own folder on the computer. I guess I'm just going with: It's better to have too many than not enough! The only thing I have left to say is "MY BRAIN HURTS!"

Glade and I went to the genealogy library last night to get more names to take to the temple. I took the two discs I had and guess what they told me. No Good. We don't use that program any more so we can't even access the information. Again, John to the rescue! When we moved and changed computers, he backed everything up for me and put it in a file somewhere. I found it, and resaved it in the right program and now we can go get our names...woohooo!

Whitley's birthday was last week and she celebrated with her friends on Thursday. It was a wild and crazy night with 16 of her closest friends. Here are a few shots of what they did.


Started with Katy deciding she was tired of waiting so she got up and helped herself to some strawberries.



Lots and lots of pizza!


I have a big table, but not big enough for all of them.


They all brought black shirts and we decorated with neon paints. The plan was to dance and play in the black lights, but their shirts didn't dry in time..bummer!


Whitley made out like a bandit. She has very generous friends! I think she may have ended up with about 30 tubes of lip gloss!


Happy Birthday Whitley!!

Unanimous

Well, the results seem to be unanimous. I guess I can keep blogging with a clean conscience! I just want to say: I have the nicest friends ever. Glade sometimes thinks it's a little sappy or overly nice, but I think it's wonderful! Our lives are all so different and yet the same as Camille reminded me. I love that I can be me and still have friends that will encourage and support the things I do. In case I haven't been clear, I love you all!

Bragging? You decide

Ok, my friend Diana inspired this entry. I was talking to her about running across her sister-in-laws blog and she was saying how she never wanted to have a blog. One of the reasons was that she felt like the blogs she had read were for the main purpose of making yourself or your life look like something it's not. Whereas I agree that much of what you put on your blog has to do with the good or exciting things in your life, would this be considered bragging? I feel like my circle of bloggers are very down to earth and I love reading about all each of you do. I'm sure there are some obnoxious blogs out there, so I am curious about your opinions on this matter. TRUTHFUL ones! Are blogs misleading as to who we really are?

Short and Sweet

I beat Glade! I did a 5k (on the treadmill) in 35:25. I know it's not that fast, but for me....Whew! Very exciting!

Reading Our "Gripshures"

In checking on the kids yesterday, I found Bo and Jake like this. I asked "Whatchya Doin?"



To which they replied "reading our gripshures."

Scary Scary Day

Maybe some might not find this scary, but to me, well, I was sick. I have been trying really hard to get Katy's scrapbook caught up. In thinking about it, I realized I was missing a few events. I got on my computer and started looking for the pictures I hadn't yet printed. Most I found, but one set I did not. Her first birthday. I searched everywhere! When I couldn't find them on my computer, I got out all the CD's I have saved pictures on and went thru them. Nothing. One CD got stuck in the drive so I had to shut down and restart my computer. When I turned it back on, a window telling me I had files to write to CD popped up. That was strange. There were the pictures! A miracle. We have turned our computer on and off so many times, why now? I couldn't believe it. I immediately started sending them to CD. When it was done, I took it out and started writing on it. A message came up and said it didn't get finished. Hmmmm. I stuck it back in and it wouldn't do anything. My CD wouldn't open and all the pictures were gone. What happened? I was frantic. I did every search I knew. Nothing. I called my WONDERFUL brother-in-law and asked for help. After talking for awhile we came to the conclusion that I probably sent them straight from my SD card to CD which means they were never actually on my computer. Chances of finding them anywhere, not likely. I wanted to cry. He ran a recovery program anyway just to see. There they were! He found them. In copying them back to my SD card, not all of them were coming up, some were blank. NOOOO! Katy's were all there! Safe and Sound. My prayer was answered. Again I wanted to cry. Good cry this time! No verbal "thanks" can let John know how truly truly truly I appreciate him spending the time to help me out. Amazing!

I'm officially a contestant on the biggest loser!! Well, the Smith Family Biggest Loser anyway. 9 of us decided to start a biggest loser competition. We are going for 12 weeks starting yesterday. We haven't exactly figured out the prize part. I know some of you have done this before, any suggestions? I will keep you posted on how it's going!

Yesterday went from aww, nice Sunday-to crazy grrr Sunday-to aww yummy fun Sunday! We were literally getting in the van to leave for church when one of the kids noticed a puddle under Bo in the garage. Yup, he peed. Right there, in his church clothes on his church shoes. Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but my boys don't have multiple Sunday clothes. Luckily he is little and I happened to have one extra pair of pants and if he didn't wear shoes, no one would think that was too weird. Still, we walked in during the opening song. Whew! Church went well, came home and cleaned up for Sunday dinner. Thought maybe I could catch a half hour nap "ding-dong". Nope, family has arrived! Scones were delicious! We had tons of fun hanging out together. I got out my new camera out and was taking just silly pictures. I would LOVE to post some of them, but I already promised I wouldn't! I'm glad we have a family who aren't afraid to be silly.
TODAY: Today started early, like 3 am. My baby has slept through the night for 7 months now, but I still don't. I see the 3 o'clock hour every night. Last night was not my doing though. My dang dog woke me up. He wanted to go outside. This happens occasionally, but not too often. So I got out of bed turned the alarm off and went to let him out the front door. This was a little unusual because I usually let him out the back. Soooo glad I did! He had so kindly CRAPPED on my rug in front of the door! I wanted to kill him. Then I decided to be grateful it was on the rug and not my carpet. Guess I'm in the market for a new rug. I'm imagining Jack got a hold of some uneaten scones and they didn't sit very well with him. I left him out for the rest of the night.
We had Emma, Ellie, and Jake spend the night as well. I guess they like to get up with the sun! Anyway, crazy noisy morning, which was totally fine. Katy was so fussy I decided she needed to go back to bed. Since it was so noisy, I held her to sleep in my room and was just laying her in my bed when three kids came screaming and crying into my room. Sigh. Guess who was no longer asleep. I went back to blogging and realized how quiet Katy was being. Hmmmm, NOOO!!! Permanent marker all over her legs. I have never had a kid color on themselves like she does. I don't even know where she gets them. She must have her own stash. I was able to lighten it quite a bit with wipes, but its still there!
The silver lining? My day can only get better, Right???

Weekend Wrap Up

Busy weekend. Friday I was just tired and grouchy and could not get myself moving. We were supposed to have a date night, but I just couldn't get there. Instead, I so boldly invited ourselves over to Joe and Kathy's house to swim. They were kind enough to let us all come invade their home. My kids always have so much fun when we go there! I love that they, Joe and Kathy, are easy going enough to not be overwhelmed by our brood. You guys are the BEST! So here are a few pictures of our adventures that night. Saturday Whitley and I spent most of the day at the mall birthday shopping. We had a good time and she got some really cute outfits. She is very money smart and isn't swept away by the "but it's so cute" bug! That night I still wasn't feeling the best and we were trying to figure out a date night still. Nothing sounded that great. Glade kept saying "let's just stay home". That was really the only thing I DIDN'T want to do! Lucky for us, more family let us invite ourselves over to hang out. While Glade was talking to them on the phone, I broke out into a good cry. After that, I was great! Ahhhhh, I guess I just needed to cry! We went to John and Sherry's and ate dinner and just hung out at the kitchen table and talked. Amy and Tyler came and left and came back, so glad about that. It was really enjoyable to just be adults and not really do anything. Just what I needed. Monday I recommit myself to my weight loss. No more cheating, well you know, and serious work outs. I'm back on the wagon! Should be a good Sunday dinner, having SCONES...mmmmm! Hence the Monday recommittal...LOL!

This is Katy getting into marker AGAIN and then wiping her snot nose..ewww!


Dinner at the Dairman's


Bo was shivering so bad he couldn't even keep food on his spoon!


Bo lovesssss the water


My hot tub gang


Great action shot Dalin!


Rhett is a good big brother to Bo


Katy wouldn't get in the water, she was doing what she loves most...Eating!

Friday weigh in

Ok, 2 lbs, but they are the same two lbs I lost a couple of weeks ago. I can't seem to get out of this 3 lb bracket I keep going up and down in. Very Frustrating. I'm starting to think Shelli was right about that whole "tell your body" thing. When I was losing every week, i kept saying "wow, I'm losing weight like crazy!" Now, I keep saying "I don't want to get on the scale, it's not going to be good." Maybe it really CAN hear what I'm saying!
Yesterday we went to Chuck E. Cheese to play games since the summer movie was TMNT. Yuck! Anyway, I was so excited to take my new camera and get some fun colorful pictures. Nope. I forgot to put my SD card in and these cameras don't have internal memory. Sigh. Oh well, another day. Today has been very productive. I made the mistake of going upstairs. I try not to do that. If I don't, I will never know how messy it is. But when I do....YIKES! So after a mild freak out on my children, we all worked diligently and actually got it cleaned. I spent and hour in Brooklyn and Dalin's room. Lots of growling and 2 garbage bags later, it looks fabulous. The things that were in that room...very scary.
Still trying to figure out what to do for a date night. Not feeling very creative or energetic. I'm going to take a quick nap and head to the gym, hopefully that will energize me!

Buy a new one...

Glade had had a conversation with Bo quite a while ago about his, Glade's, grandparents being dead. This has really stuck with Bo. While laying down for our nap yesterday, we were talking about what we would do tomorrow. I told him we were going to Chuck E. Cheese and we would see Grandma. This is how the rest of the conversation went:

Bo: My grandma died.
Me: No she didn't.
My great one did.
That's right, your great-grandma died.
Now we need to buy a new one.
Then there will be another one.
Then there will be two cars.
Red ones.
I like red.
Why will there be two cars?

I'm not sure he even took a breath there! To explain a little, my mom has a red car. But what was funny was how he realized that there being two cars didn't really make sense. I love him!

The rest of MY day

What a great day! After a very short nap, I got around and made dinner for the kids and headed out to pick up Glade. We had a very quick bite to eat so we could be to the temple in plenty of time. While checking in, they asked us if we would do sealings. We have never done them before, can you believe that? So we said yes, but now we were rushed since they were about to start. It was really neat to be a part of sealing couples and families forever. Another couple in our ward were also doing it. Since we finished earlier than our scheduled session, we went to Nielson's Frozen Custard and hung out for awhile. It was really fun. I hate to say the best part, cuz it was all good, but whatever, was when we walked out of the temple about 8:20. If I had to choose a "weather" to have every day of my life, this would have been it. The temperature was PERFECT, nice breeze, I was in heaven! Perfect ending to a really great day!

I'm on a Hunt

I'm on a hunt. I know this is old school scrapbooking, but it's what I like. Anyone know where I can get sheets of Punchouts? The scrapbook store I went to had just a couple, but I want more! This is just an example of one. I don't want punches, but punch outs. Would love any suggestions!


P.S. I did a search on the company that made the ones I had just bought and found a website that sells them. They were half the price I paid at the store and much bigger selection. If you are at all interested here is the website: www.shopwer.com

It's MY day!

Soooo, today is MY day. Summer has been ok for the two weeks we've been out of school, but I'm certainly lacking of MY time. I've always needed MY time, even when I was young. Today I decided was the day. I have spent most days trying to occupy my children and of course doing normal Mom duties. I hadn't even talked to my own Mom in 3 days! I usually talk to her a couple times a day. When I spoke with her this morning, I was interrupted about every 2 minutes. Very unproductive. So with my recent grouchiness I decided to leave them all behind and go out on my own. I started at the scrapbook store. That wasn't as fun as it used to be. I just can't get into this new phase of scrapbooking. Anyway, I did get some cute stuff to keep going on Katy's book. After that I went and got a pedicure and got my nails filled. That's always refreshing! By then my tummy was growling, so I went to Panda Express. I haven't eaten there in probably 5 months. Not good for the points! I decided to eat a small lunch and not to feel guilty that it wasn't really good for my food budget. Quite enjoyable actually. Then I went to Wal-Mart and leisurely got groceries. My kids only called a few times and when I got home, most of their chores were done and even a few extras! Going to have a little nap and then off to dinner with my husband and a trip to the temple. How good of a day is that?? I'm sure tomorrow I will be refreshed and ready for another week or so of summer fun!

"I'm in love with a McDonald's Girl"

That would be Glade's little dittie for me. Anyone heard that before? The group Inside Out sings it. NOW, Chelsey's future husband can sing it about her! She is officially a McDonald's employee. WooooHooo! Nothing very glamerous, but it's income and that is seriously good.

The truth of all things

You know how you "know" something and then one day out of the blue you realize how amazing what you know is?? That happened to me tonight during family home evening. We were talking about truth and ended with the scripture Moroni 10:4. I know most of you can quote it, but when was the last time you SAID it? Really thought about it? Wow!

And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

Weekend news

Friday night we went to dinner with friends from our last ward. It was really enjoyable. I'm glad we were able to stay in touch with some of them. Was even able to stay in my points range.
Saturday morning the boys worked really hard doing the yard, it looks great!! It's amazing how fast it can grow in such a short time. I did more scrapbooking inside, I know, tough life for me! We did get some cleaning done inside, eventually. I took Chelsey around to put in applications for a job. That was not a fun process, but very necessary. The girls spending is definitely more than her income! We all spent the evening in eating pizza and watching National Treasure 2. Poor Glade, he worked from home all day and got really frustrated. I don't think he came out of the office for almost 8 hours.
Sunday went well. Fast Sunday is always hard with my littler fasters. This my first day with later, 3 hour church. I didn't think it was that bad. The worst was Katy. She just wanted to go to bed. My primary class did pretty well also. I just need to have a watch so I'm not guessing how much longer. The very worst part is that it doesn't leave me much time for a nap when I get home! This Sunday we got to go to the Smith's for dinner. Their kitchen is finally done! It looked really nice. My kids always have fun playing with their cousins and I always love visiting with family. I really did luck out with the in-laws, I got pretty good ones! We stayed a little late and looked at pictures with John and Sherry. I love them! We always have a good laugh when they are around.
Today, we started our new responsibility chart. It's very detailed on what they are supposed to do that day and a sign in sheet to report what and when they did their stuff. This way I know if anyone is trying to cheat the system. Then they can have computer time! By 7:30 this morning, they had all read for 30 min. Amazing! Before I could even get my task at hand done, they had put all the laundry away as well. Double Amazing! Chelsey and Stephen had dentist appointments this morning (no cavities) and then the three of us went to the gym. Chelsey and I worked out and Stephen wandered. He hasn't yet convinced himself that he just needs to do it. I'm not giving up on him though. He has lost 3 lbs already just from eating better. Way to go Stephen.
Oh yea, yesterday McDonald's called Chelsey for an interview! How fun would that be for her to follow in her mother's footsteps?? She called back today but the girl isn't in till tomorrow. Very exciting!

Slip and slide - the real thing!

This is how my kids spent last Friday. The grand daddy of slip and slides - 3 lanes! They were outside for hours - literally. I made them come in for awhile and pretty soon, they were all back out there. Every one of them, big kids and all. A few thought they didn't need sunscreen and now we have a few lobsters living in our home. Katy went out for awhile and first, she HATED it. Wouldn't stop crying. Finally, when she chose, she wandered over and then we couldn't get her off. She kept drinking out of the little sprayers or bending over and drinking the puddles..eww! She cried when we made her come inside. What fun! And the Cherry on top - Glade wasn't even mad on Saturday when they picked it up to do the yard and there was a big dented in brown spot! I love you honey!!