Summer

Summer=Hot=Boredom=Stress=Eating=Weight gain=Grrrrrr! I forgot that this same thing happened last summer. It's been right at a month since school got out and we are still surviving, even doing well actually, however.....boredom is setting in for the kids which means more contention, which stresses me out. When I'm stressed, I eat and get a little irritable. It's now hot pretty much around the clock. I did get up and run at 5 am today and it wasn't too bad, other than 5 am is too freakin early to be out of bed! Anyway, because it's so hot now, my running isn't as consistent. I can still do treadmill, but it's easy to quit on the treadmill *off button*. So between the lack of exercise and the stress eating, not to mention vacations and outings with the kids, my weight has started to creep up. Not bad, but enough. I don't like it. Maybe I'll go have a cookie. See, that's how my brain works.....

So much drama going on around us right now it's very sad. A friend of ours randomly had heart failure and it didn't look good for a while, he is doing better now. I just ached for his family, he is only 44 years old. Then there are some personal family issues going on that I'm not sure I'm allowed to share since they aren't directly mine, but still very sad. It makes me nervous for when it's my number to come up. So far we have been free of anything too serious trial wise, but it seems to get closer and closer. I'm very grateful.

I'm almost done school shopping, I know, it's not even July! Three of my kids go back July 26th so I'm not that too far off. They didn't need a whole lot and I've come across some pretty good deals lately. I went with Stephen and Nick yesterday and it was actually quite fun. They are old enough and big enough to wear "cooler" clothes now, so it was fun to watch them put stuff together. I few things for the younger boys and we will be set.

Still can't figure out what to do over the 4th. Stinks that it's on a Sunday. We were going to camp, but Rhett doesn't get home from Scout camp until that Saturday so we don't know what to do with him and now we have a wedding that weekend as well. What to do, what to do?

Lastly, I started my new book but am having trouble getting into it. Not sure why, but it seems to be slow going. I'm hoping it picks up here soon. Did I ever mention it was Glade's birthday last week? The day before Father's Day. We didn't do much, most of our friends were out of town. One came back early to go out with us which was very sweet. We just went to dinner and I'm sure it's exactly how Glade preferred it to be, he doesn't do birthdays. Chelsey's is in about 2 weeks which will make her an official adult. She still thinks I should be buying her school clothes too. Nope, welcome to reality!

Whitley's Sweet 16

Whitley shared her 16th birthday party with one of her very good friends, Blaire. Because she wasn't sure if she got to go (her grades), they planned everything by themselves. I didn't really know about it till a few days before. They actually did a really good job, made cute invitations, decorations and planned the menu and shopping list. They invited A LOT of people. They held the party at Blaire's house where they swam, BBQ'd and watched a movie. I think they both had a great time. I went to help for awhile, then came home when they all settled in for the movie. The Poulson's have a beautiful home and we were very grateful they shared it with us.

Blaire and Whitley

Silly girls, as you can imagine, they both ended up with cake all over their faces.

Settling down for Sherlock Holmes.

Within the week of her birthday, she had her party, went to Disneyland, got her driving permit, received her patriarchal blessing, and got a job at Subway with Chelsey. Not bad for a couple of weeks! Let's hope she can stay on top of her life now. Happy Birthday Whitley!

The Beach 2010

The day after we went to Disneyland, we went to the beach. We spent most of the morning looking at maps and googling weather to see if there was anywhere along the coastline that wasn't cloudy and 62 degrees. Nope. So we went anyway. The beach was empty and COLD! It was super windy as well. The only warm place was laying on the sand or under a blanket. The littler ones ventured into the water a little, but not for long. Just enough to make them cold while they built sand castles. We brought lunch, but only stayed for a few hours and then it was just too much. We left and went to the hotel and swam in the pool for another hour or so. Not our best beach experience, but it was an experience nonetheless!


Bo and Dalin getting started on their castle.

Rhett and Brooklyn trying out the waves.

Chelsey didn't get off the blanket much of the day, she was very warm.

Whitley doesn't sit well, so she ventured out to help with the castles.

Mom decided to help Katy who was off by herself making her own creation.

Dalin and Bo

Rhett decided to quit for lunch. I forgot to bring the bread so it was uncrustables for everyone!

Brooklyn found a big, long piece of seaweed and decided to put it to use.

It wouldn't be the beach with out some "crack".

Katy would set her little basket out, run away, wait for the water to fill it then go get it. At one point she timed it wrong and it got her good. After that, she didn't mind the water.

The kids each had a bucket and made SEVERAL trips back and forth to the water for their castles.

It was so windy our umbrella was the wrong way.

Brooklyn and Rhett, not sure what they are doing.

Whitley talking on the phone, hey...coverage on the beach...nice!

A New Experience

This is going to sound a little conceited, but most of my life I have been able to do most things that I wanted to. I'm speaking of sports and clubs and whatnot. I have been able to be successful if I really wanted to. Now I want to conquer swimming and it just seems out of my reach. I know I haven't been trying that long, but things usually come easier than this. It's very frustrating. I feel like a complete dork out there flipping and flopping trying to get from one side to the other. Brooklyn can swim better than I can! I'm not going to give up, but it's hard to keep trying when it's hard. I know...welcome to life.

Farewell to the Steed's

I have officially finished the Work and The Glory series. What an amazing experience for me. I understand the times and seasons philosophy, but for me, this was definitely the time and season. I learned so much and gained such a stronger testimony of the early happenings of the church. I planned it to be a summer project, but I couldn't seem to put them down! It's always sad to end a series of books, you become "part of the family". So I give thanks to the Steed family for warming my heart and teaching me things I never knew and better understanding things I thought I knew. It was truly an amazing journey!

Now I'm on to a very interesting set of books on the life of Porter Rockwell. So far I'm not sure what to think, but I'm still plugging along. Next will be the Fire of the Covenant. Yes, I'm very intrigued by pioneer life. I find it simplistically fascinating. I tend to think I missed out on that experience but also am aware that I quite enjoy my comforts of life. I'm sure He knew what He was doing by not sending me during that time! Still, I love to read and learn about that life. Happy Reading.

I don't want to blog

I have so much to still blog about and I just can't seem to get myself to do it. I thought summer would be a lazy, do nothing time, but it hasn't been that way thus far. Just living it has been a little tiring, much less re-living it in words. So, sometime soon I will get to the beach pictures and Whitley's birthday party. The rest has not been too noteworthy, same old stuff...running, pool, library, movies and lots and lots of potatoes! That's a whole other story. Right now I just want to crawl in bed and watch some TV by MYSELF!

Disneyland 2010

Disneyland! The happiest place on earth. Mom and I took seven of the kids to California for a little vacation while Glade had Nick and Stephen on a week long scout trip. Our trip out was happily uneventful. We arrived around 5 pm, checked in to the hotel and headed for some pizza. Mom, Whitley and I went for a walk to see how far it was going to be in the morning to walk to Disneyland. A little farther than anticipated, but totally do-able. I had planned on going for a run, but realized my running shoes were left home. Crap! That means I only had flip flops for the whole trip. After walking close to 3 - 4 miles the first night, my feet were killing me. I decided to find a WalMart close by and go get some cheap shoes to wear the next day. Right next to Wal Mart was Ross and a mall! I went to Ross and scored a really cute pair of shoes, not the cheapest but totally worth it. I went to 3 stores to find Bo a jacket and came up empty. Seriously. Actually one store had ONE jacket, I just didn't want to pay for it. I finally did, realizing the stores were closing and my options were down to none. Got home very late and very tired.

We woke the next morning, had breakfast and went to Disneyland! The little ones were so excited. Unfortunately, that wore off quickly when the first ride had a 30 minute wait. I renamed the park "Disney's land of waiting". Katy was pretty cranky not too far into the day. Walking, waiting, then riding something she didn't like wasn't working so well. Bo went on absolutely everything! Loved Space Mountain. Fairly quickly we separated and Whitley took the bigger kids with her and the rest of us went to Toon Town with Bo and Katy. Katy really wanted to meet Minnie. Normally these things frighten her, but she loved it. Minnie gave her a surprise kiss at the end and she loved it.

As it approached lunch time (1:30) we decided Chelsey, Whitley and I would walk the two little ones back to the hotel and try to convince them of a nap. It worked with Katy, but not Bo. He and I took lunch back to the park and the other girls came a few hours later. Katy was much happier after a nap. By early evening, we were all tired and pretty much ready to go. We voted on a few more things and did them, then were back at the hotel by 8ish. I can't say I had a great time, too much counting and waiting and waiting some more. I think the kids had a really good time though. They were disappointed we didn't stay for fireworks, but other than that, they were happy with the day. I had gotten souvenirs from different places before we even came. During lunch I whipped them out and they were all thrilled to have something. Bo and Katy had stuffed Mickey and Minnie dolls I got from the Disney Store on clearance for $7 a piece. Rhett and Dalin had pirate hats I got at the outlet store for $4 a piece. I got Brooklyn a necklace and bracelet for $3 on clearance at Claire's. They were all very pleased and so was I!

Bo always had to have his map with him.

Katy liked the teacups, the little train and the merry-go-round.

Toon Town was the best for her. Later in the day, she and I went back and I just followed her wherever she wanted to go. Didn't do any rides, just wandering around climbing on things and in and out of the little houses. That's when she was happiest.

Chelsey hung with Katy most of the day. Their time together is limited and it makes me sad.

The very last thing we did was get pictures with Mickey. Perfect ending!

Chelsey's Graduation

Chelsey graduated High School Wednesday night. What a fun night for her! My pictures are all out of order, but I think you get the idea. Before hand, Chelsey, Whitley, Glade, Grandma and I all went to dinner. Both girls sang in the choir that performed at the graduation. We made sure to get good seats to get pictures of Chels coming across the stage, but that put us right behind the choir. All my pictures of her singing were on the JumboTron, not very good quality, but at least we got to see her. Once it was over, she was just beaming, not a single tear, just glowing with happiness. We are so proud of her. The white band says she was in NHS and the rope stands for Distinguished Scholar, which basically means she graduated with 3.8 gpa or higher. Hers was over 4. It truly was a wonderful night to watch all her hard work pay off and to see her so happy. We love you Chelsey!

Another Week Gone By

I guess that's a good thing if the week is over and I haven't had much chance to sit and blog, OR it means it's been so boring, I have nothing to blog! I would say my only real news is that I ran my fastest mile this week. I will have to justify that with the fact that it was a downhill mile. Barely, but still. It was also my third mile, I had already done a mile and a half, walked a bit to catch my breath and then did the mile as fast as I could. I ran it in 9:10. Most of my miles have been just under 10 min lately so that's pretty good.

We went to the summer movies this week as well. Chelsey and Whitley decided to take a little trip with some friends to the Oracle Caves, so they weren't with us and neither were the three biggest boys, they were off working to earn scout money. We took one trip to the library to get out of the house and everyone got a book or two. Today we made it to the pool and stayed too long. I can feel the burn already and it's only been a few hours, tomorrow will suck.

Speaking of tomorrow, Whitley will be having her sweet 16 party combined with a friend of hers. I didn't really even know about it till a few days ago. She was likely going to be grounded and not be able to attend so she hadn't mentioned to me when she had planned it. She was able to bring her grades up barely enough to get ungrounded. Hopefully next year will be a little better for her. I'm glad she gets to go to her own party!

This morning I found my cell phone in the dryer. I had no idea I had washed it. Of course my mind starts racing, what am I going to do?? Well, if you ever wash yours, go ahead and dry it as well, mine worked fine. It has a few "cloudy" spots on the screen, but not bad and works totally fine. So happy!

We leave for Disneyland on Monday morning. Trying to get all that done so we aren't delayed with last minute stuff. Kids are very excited. Haven't figured out what to do with my dog yet, or the chickens. Guess I should get working on that. Busy Busy Busy!

Memorial Day

Our day started with a bang. I woke just after 6 am wondering why Glade hadn't left to take Whitley to school yet. She's the only one with a few more days left. He said she would be down soon. A few minutes later, when she wasn't, he went up to get her. I was worried cuz I knew she had her finals and couldn't miss. Then it dawned on me....Memorial Day. I yelled for Glade but he didn't respond. Finally I could hear him coming down the hall so I yelled again. When he got to the door way, I informed him it was Memorial Day. He retorted with "I know that now!". I guess when he told Whitley they needed to get out of here, she wanted to know where and why. She clued him in so he was coming back to bed. Oops, sorry honey!

Since we were already awake, we decided to go for a run before it got too hot. We did 5 miles in a pretty decent time. At about mile 2 my knee did some weird pop and it hurt pretty good. I walked and stretched it for almost a mile before I was able to run again. It felt mostly fine the rest of the run and we actually made good time. When I reached down to turn off my iPod (which keeps track of my runs), I stopped the program and something weird happened. It shut down and didn't record my run. What?! I was so mad! Five miles I didn't get credit for, crap. We went to the store to get last minute stuff for our BBQ later, then home to head out for haircuts for the boys. Much needed ones may I add. We left for the pool right after and were able to get into the pool after a 40 minute wait, crazy. Since I had big kids to help, I tried lap swimming. I totally suck. I'm gonna need a lot of practice on that one! Very discouraging.

Around four, friends started arriving for the BBQ. I had gotten way too much food, as usual. We ate, the kids played and we had a grand time. Some of the bigger kids left to the movies and we adults played a game. We laughed and giggled and ended the day the same way it started, with a bang. A quick cleanup and everyone was out the door. I think it was a success! Finished the day by finishing my 8th volume of the Work and the Glory series. Only one book left. Not good. Those were supposed to last me all summer!

Another Catchup

Starting way back last Thursday this time. I got in from the Disneyland trip at 5 am, slept for a couple hours, went to Bo's graduation, back home for a little time, then to pick up my kids at lunch time. It was their last day of school. We had pizza for lunch since I was too tired to cook or clean anything up. I had a wonderful 3 hour nap then up again to get around for Bunko. We met at Paradise Bakery for dinner. I love chatting with my friends! We were right around the corner from Kirkland's so I went and grabbed a bunko gift I had had my eye on but never took the time to buy.

Bunko was good, but to be honest, I was just too wiped to enjoy it very much. It seemed louder than normal and I was irritable. We got home around 10:30 and I was more than ready.

Friday was our first day home so I made them get to work. I wanted to start the summer out on a good note. I made a chore chart and let the kids help me make a menu for the next month. I went to Costco to make sure we had plenty of "supplies" for the upcoming weeks. After quiet time, we all headed to the pool for an hour and then home for Taquito Night! I rarely buy them, but I did this time and they were excited. Then Glade and I went to play kickball with a group of friends at the park. We started a little late so it got dark pretty quickly, but it was fun nonetheless. After, we went for ice cream and just sat and chatted.

Saturday morning I woke later than I wanted to, but decided to go for a run anyway. It was too hot by the time I started, but I still went 5 miles. It was not a good run. We had an early date planned with Clint and Alicen so after a shower and a quick nap, we were off to dinner and a movie. We saw Robin Hood. It was OK, not my kind of movie, but I wasn't bored either.

Sunday was good, first time we have had family dinner in a few weeks. The little ones of the family spent some time in my room "entertaining" themselves. While in there, one spilled red juice on my carpet. I thought it came out, but the next day, I realized it hadn't. I put Clorox Clean=up on it and it came right out. I'm so glad we paid for the carpet that we have! Through a random conversation, we found Chelsey a group of room mates to live with at NAU. So happy! I was starting to stress about it. They seem like really nice girls and of the four of them, three have the same major, including Chelsey. How great will that be?

I hate catchup posts, too many activities, not enough details. I'm sure lots more meaningful things happened, but I can't remember those parts so here are the basics I guess. Now that summer if officially starting, maybe I will take the time to do better at my blogging.