Just What the House Needs

We had a free Saturday. Can you believe that? A free Saturday and with the bad weather no yard work could be done. So what does Damon decide to do? He decides to put another hole in our house. We have had these ugly ceiling fans that we think were put in to cover up the ugly box lighting the house used to have. We are putting in recessed lighting and some hanging lights. This one only lasted a day and after he figured out the wiring the hole disappeared real quick. Of course since my kitchen was destroyed all day long dinner was prepared by Carl's Jr. We are quite happy with the results. (the picture is of Damon up in the attic)

Thanks Damon for working so hard all day.

You did great!

Also, Noah spent the weekend working on a diorama. He doesn't understand why I won't do his work for him when all of his other friends parents do most of the work for them. Well, I believe he should do his own work with very little help from us. Here is what he came up with. It is a scene from one of the Artemis Fowl books. He did a pretty good job all on his own.

Saying Goodbye yet again

Getting out of Dodge!

I am so tired of people I really enjoy being around leaving San Diego. It almost makes me not want to meet anyone new. Then again, one might miss learning something from the someone they met.

My dear friend Wendy is moving to a colder place, Colorado. She was only here while her husband was deployed (for 13 months. I would have never survived Damon being gone for that long). We would walked the lake together, did preschool together with our 3 year olds and over the past year I have gained a good friend. She will be missed.

We had a fun girls night out to Applebee's. We ordered a Mile High cake in here honor as well as sang random John Denver songs. Again, I really hope this is the last farewell party I have to attend. Erika and Dianne, you are not allowed to leave!

Lily's class had a field trip to Cold Stone on Thursday. You know you are in for a great day when you can eat a ton of ice cream before 11am. We stopped by a park first and saw some turtles and ducks. One of the turtles was stuck in this concrete areas and couldn't climb the stairs. After watching it struggle and then flip over on its back I picked it up and carried it over to the grass. I have never seen a turtle move so fast towards water.

Memorial Day Madness

Memorial Day wasn't actually mad, but we had tons of fun. We drove up Sunday after church to Mortensen Manor. My sister made tacos just for Damon. He was so happy. The kids were all excited to see their cousins. We had an enjoyable dinner and dessert followed by a 3 mile walk.

The next morning Damon thought he had died and gone to heaven when he woke up to my sister making crepes. Life can't get better than that. After breakfast Damon headed off to the cemetery and to visit an old friend and the kids and I and their uncle headed off to the park.

After the park and lunch we went swimming. This was our kids first venture back into the water since last summer. Lily has forgotten everything she learned last year and Adam can stay up, but does look an awful lot like he is drowning. We will all be back in swim lessons again soon. The water and weather were nice. We headed over to Aunt Kathy's house to gather with all the Horspool's for more swimming and a BBQ. The food was great the kids loved the water slide and spa and the parents all loved catching up.

On our way home we stopped by a store that we used to shop at in Portland. The chain has been slowly moving South, but hasn't made its way down to San Diego yet. The store's name is Winco. We stopped and bought our most favorite ice cream. The store was laid out exactly how the store in Oregon is laid out so it was so easy to find everything. The prices are still so cheap that I ended up buying a little more than ice cream. I was so excited. It felt like Christmas.

We made it home and the kids slept very soundly. Now if only every day could be this fun

Oh My Ears!

Noah had a recorder concert at school on Wednesday night. I was a bit concerned about our ears after hearing 120 3rd graders play the recorder together. We were all pleasantly surprised when they actually did a really good job. Enjoy listening.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the results of the Idol finale. The show was great and I didn't feel like I wasted 2 hours of my night because I was reading a book most of the time. Yea Kris. We couldn't be happier. I was so happily surprised by the voting. As much as Cara has annoyed me all season as a judge I admired her for getting up and singing. She's pretty good. My favorite Kris song "Heartless."

Adam's last T-ball game was tonight! Yea! We were so proud of the improvement he has made over the season and are happy to be moving on from T-ball forever. Time for machine pitch. Yippie.

The piano recital is looming over my head as well as my arbitration date. Damon's mom is coming in a few weeks to rescue me during that time and I couldn't be more excited about it. The kids are too. They count down every morning the days until Nana comes. It's cute.

Good News! Only 8.5 weeks of school left. Yippie!

Garden update: looks like everything is going to survive except the onions. We will try again next growing season.

Sand and more Sand

I should be doing "chores" right now, or working on preschool lessons for tomorrow, but I don't feel like it.

The boys went camping over the weekend. They came back so sandy. Noah's white socks were sand colored and their shoes weren't any better. They had a good time. I wish I had more pictures from the trip. They were at this place called Fiesta Island which is in Mission Bay, near Sea World.

After a productive Saturday of chores and baseball games Damon's cousin called us and told us that he and his family were down at La Jolla Shores. So we abandoned the rest of our plans and met them down there. It was cloudy and cool (which was completely opposite at our house), but we had a great time. The older boys played paddle ball and football. I didn't put the kids in their suits and I should have. They all ended up really wet. Luckily I had the insight to bring a change of warmer clothes and so they put those on for the ride home. It was a nice break from the normal activities for a Saturday. There is more sand in my car and garage than I care to think about but I guess that is what you get for living in SanD iego.

Just us Girls

The boys left us today to go camping. That's fine. The house is a bit quieter without them. Lily is definitely bored with me. She is with me all the time and I think she thinks I am boring. We started our together time a little early with some Coldstone. Who doesn't enjoy ice cream on a warm day? Then after a quick game of Disney Memory we headed off to get broccoli beef at Panda Express. Lily was so excited. She usually just gets that at home, but this time we stayed and ate there. She gobbled up her dinner and was so happy.

Our fortune cookies couldn't have fit us better. Mine said, "Get away from home awhile to restore your energies." That couldn't be more true with everything that I have on my plate right now. Unfortunately running away from the plate is just being irresponsible. Maybe I will leave when the plate is empty. That should be about June 13th at 6pm. Lily's said, "You are always welcome in any gathering." I explained that to Lily and told her it was because everyone loved her. She said, "I know. I love me too." That was followed by her sweet little giggle. She is so funny. After we came home she took a very long bubble bath and went to bed. I am enjoying my quiet time and just watched the finale of Grey's Anatomy. AAAGH. Now I have to wait until September to find out what happens. Those evil writers.

When all is said and done, even though my morale right now is a little now, and I really feel like the world is out to get me, I have much to be thankful for and that is what keeps me going.

Here we go Again!

This week has had its highs and lows. It seems we are so busy with life right now we don't know if we are coming or going. I think we managed to have two family meals together this week in the dining room. I think I am already looking forward to summer.

The boys went back to school this week. Yippie! That was wonderful. I had to drag Noah out of bed Monday morning, but we all made it on time. I have 3 new piano students so life this week was a little crazy. I went to a baby shower. Watched two of my friends kids and ran lots of errands. Oh and on top of that I had a triathlon on Saturday!

Lily got a surprise on Friday from her Auntie Barb. Barb, who isn't actually an aunt, it's a Polynesian thing, used to come over and hold Lily until she fell asleep when Lily was a tiny baby. Auntie Barb made Lily this beautiful apron. Lily was so excited about it. She wore it all Friday afternoon.

Friday evening we headed up to Mortensen Manor to spend the night. It was only 20 minutes from the race so we felt like that would be easier than driving up from San Diego. I woke up early on Saturday morning and got ready for the race. It wasn't so bad. The first 150 yards of the swim were annoying due to the current. I felt like I wasn't going anywhere. I have always talked to myself in my head when swimming and today's conversation went something like this. "Why are you doing this again? Sure they are fun, but do you really enjoy them? This is the last one. It has to be. Why am I so exhausted already? I haven't really done anything yet?" At this point I look up and realize I haven't even hit the first buoy. The conversation continues. "You better swim harder. You were a life guard and a swimmer for heaven's sake." Then, "Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Swimming Swimming aaaaaah." I finally came out of the water and was so happy to see my sister was behind me. I never beat her at anything. She's ultra competitive when I am only so so. I was also very happy not to see any fish or dead fish.

I got a little stuck in the transition area. My sister left before me. That wasn't fun, but I got out and started on my new bike. That was so nice compared to my old one. I am still not the greatest biker, but it was a nice smooth ride until the end of the 12 miles. Then there is the longest, steepest hill I think I ever want to ride on. I must give credit where credit is due. I would like to thank my spin instructor who has pushed me in class and always makes us work hills. Close to the top I am telling myself, "I think I can. I think I can." My mouth is dry, my throat is dry, but I don't want to reach down and grab my water bottle because I am afraid of falling. Then I see the water station, but that too is on the monster hill and I don't want to stop to grab it.

The next transition was easier. I just had to change shoes and grab my ipod. I was so excited to use it because most races you can't. It really helped me get in to my running rhythm. The run wasn't bad. My sister finished two minutes before me and was waiting at the finish line along with Damon and Noah.

We stuck around for my sister's husband, who was running the Olympic size, to finish. It was nice to finally be the one cheering everyone at the finish. I would like to thank Damon and Noah for coming and enduring endless boredom, for the most part, to support me in my crazy endeavors. I ended up placing 3rd in my division and 13th overall for women. My sister placed 2nd in her division. That was kind of exciting.

Next stop! Camp Pendleton.

Happy Mother's day to all my friends who are mothers or who are future mothers. May you have a wonderful day this Sunday!

Spring Break...week 4

Yea! The last week to survive. It actually wasn't that bad. Here is our week in review.

Monday we drove down from St. George. We stopped at Mortensen Manor and saw the new baby chicks that had hatched the night before. They were very cute. We made it back home in time for piano lessons and Adam's baseball game.

Tuesday was spent recovering. Lily went to preschool and I took the boys for a bike ride around the lake. We did laundry, unpacked and relaxed. Noah had pack meeting that night and he received his wolf badge. We are very proud of him.

Wednesday was spent running errands. Not a very fun day. Noah had a baseball game that night. At dinner we told the kids that we were going to Disneyland for 2 days and they had to help get ready. Adam was so excited he was near tears. We also told them that we were meeting our friends there and that got them even more excited.

Thursday morning I drove the kids down to Anaheim and checked in to our hotel which was right across the street from the park. It was closer than the parking garage. We met up with the Shoff's and spent a great day in Disneyland. The crowds weren't to bad and no one got lost or was abducted. I finally made it to level 5 on the Buzz ride. We had dinner at Rainforest Cafe. We all love that place. When we went back to our hotel and got our room keys we found out that they put us in the 2 room suite. Sweet! I was so happy. Damon drove down later that night.















Friday the whole family went to California Adventure. It was nice to be there all together. I still can't seem to beat Damon on the new Toy Story ride. Adam is now tall enough to go on California Screamin' and Tower of Terror. He loved all the rides and wanted to keep going on them. Lily was happy because she was finally tall enough to go on the bumper cars and Soaring over California. She always feels like she gets left out of all the rides. I went on Mullholland for the first time and I didn't like it at all. We saw the Alladin show and got yummy milkshakes. The crowds weren't to bad so that was nice. Noah said he would try Screamin' next time. We drove home late that night and all the kids crashed.

Saturday was spent at the baseball field and doing chores. Damon had a show up in Pala so he was gone for the evening. I was so tired I couldn't even stay awake to watch 24.

I am so happy the kids are going back to school on Monday. This pig virus better not shut down our school or I am going to start some sort of revolution. I need a good week of school to recover from all the "fun" we have been enjoying. Leave a comment and have a nice day.