i'm goin back to cali

On a last minute whim we were invited to go camping on the beach with some friends. After a stressful couple of days trying to decide if we should go, turned out the spot was taken. Whew! I was feeling like we should go just because we weren't doing anything else, but not really wanting to. Glade wouldn't go so that would mean another trip by myself. I was relieved to have to not make that decision. Later that same day, Glade said he talked to Jake and now he wanted to go and we would just squeeze onto their campsite. Really? Glade's big race is in 3 weeks and training is really hard right now because of the heat. He thought San Diego would be a good place to go have one more big ride and run before the actual event. So now we are going.

We decided to leave on Monday, which was 2 days away. AHHHH! I was able to convince Chelsey to come along and then she wouldn't be alone on her 18th birthday. Everything was going well until we got a call from Amy and Tyler (they borrowed our van to drive to a family reunion and were coming back late Sunday night), the van was not working well. Crap. Now What? We hmmm'd and haw'd and decided we would take two vehicles and still go. Then we got another call saying the van seemed to be fine once they dropped down in altitude. Ok, then it's the van. Now we are off to Cali in our van that seems to be doing fine and excited for some beautiful 70 degree weather.

Once we get back, it's only 10 days till the big kids start school. I guess that mostly takes care of summer! Two days after they start back, Glade and I leave for Napa Valley for his race, when we get back, it's only 10 days till the other kids start back. THEN just three weeks after that, we have our Red Rock Relay in Utah. I really better get running!

Cows and Vampires

Today was pretty fun, first we went to Chick Fil A for free lunch. Dress up like a cow and get free lunch. Nice! That went well, but no one wanted to go home, so we went to the library. I couldn't resist taking this one. We texted it to Whitley and told her she should have come. For some reason, she thinks this is a cardboard statue, what?!?!? Funny.

Giving our best "mooooo!"

Summer so Far

I'm still alive. Kickin? That's a whole other story. Summer is half way over. I'm doing great with my kids but the MESS of summer is about to do me in. Even when it's clean (which is rare) just having all the bodies around makes it feel messy. I'm definitely ready for some quiet time. I'm not ready, however, to start getting up and doing homework and all that stuff yet. My highschoolers start in three weeks. Crazy. I'm mostly done school shopping and they are definitely ready to go back. I guess that's a good thing.

We went camping over the 4th which I will do a separate post about with the very few pics I took. Other than that, it's just been hanging out. I have read a lot, let my laundry pile up (literally), finally mopped my floor last night, and haven't run in a week. How's that for lazy summer? Disclaimer: My apologies to anyone who has stopped by or visited in the last couple of weeks, my house is a wreck! I have no desire to clean it, a desire to have it clean, but not to actually do the work. This morning, after I just cleaned it well, there were already two spills that had occurred. Why bother?? So until they all go back to school, I will keep my eyes focused up high and deal with it.

We have seen a few movies here and there. Of course, we saw Eclipse, twice. My mom and I went to a special showing that was free and got popcorn and soda for nothing to boot. That was fun, then I took the girls and Stephen and that was good too! I'm almost done reading my book, then will have nothing. Gotta start doing some research on what to read next.

I have avoided blogging like the plague. This is definitely a whiny time of year for me, not just the kids home ALL day, but I really really really hate the heat. It makes me a little grouchy. So in the spirit of not being a complainer all the time, I have just decided to keep most of it to myself! I said MOST. Off to Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A. Will have pictures to share of that!

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.