Fun with Friends

 We've had a fun, but really busy week - though it's starting to seem like they are all busy...  Monday was the usual.  James and Payton playing together, laundry, school, piano practicing, grocery shopping.  We had the Sister missionaries over for dinner and had a fun family home evening lesson with them about giving your fears and shortcomings over to God and letting him help carry them.

Tuesday, James had preschool.  He got ready and picked two stuffed animals for show-and-tell and then he shoved the stuffed animals in his shirt and said "Look at me mommy - I have BIIIIG BIBS"  (no that's not a typo)  He was so cute and so funny!   He loves preschool!  After, we picked up Payton and then played until we went to get the kids from school.

Wednesday, Dan took Aaron in for his orthodontist appointment - Anna's had to be moved because the appliance hadn't arrived yet.  After dropping the older kids off at school, James and I went home - Tayanna and Nicole couldn't go to the library today and James was not in a great mood.  So he and I just hung out and read stories and took it easy.  After school was the usual and then I had choir, Aaron had cub scouts and Dan had Young Men's in the evening.

Thursday was another fun day of preschool for James.  After, I met with Christina for a bit to talk about some Choir stuff, then I had to rush over to pick up Payton.  After lunch, we had a bit of an adventure involving kid poop in the yard, but I was washed away with a hose with out too much trouble and all was mostly well.  :)   The kids had piano lessons after school and Eileen had an appointment to get her teeth pulled.  She was not happy, but Dan helped her feel better by getting her a new watch and a milk shake after.  She got home just in time for piano lessons.  In the evening, I went to Becca's Gender Reveal Party.  Becky and Natasha were there too which was fun and I got to meet Natasha's sister, just back from a mission in France.  Becca is having a GIRL!!!  And now I'm happily planning girl baby blanket and accessories.  :)  After, I stopped by Becca's house for a bit and said hi to Jeremiah, then headed home.

Friday was school as usual for the kids,  We watched Adeline and I went for my allergy shot, then the kids came home and the insanity ensued.  After doing their post-school stuff, they had to get stuff cleaned up for the pizza party.  Then we made pizza while Dan went with Nate to help out a lady in our ward.  After, Nate and Ally joined us for dinner and the kids ate pizza and watched "Jem and the Holograms"  It was awesome!  :)  Morgan came over in the evening, Her family is going to be moving soon and we are trying to get them some time to hangout together before she moves.

Saturday, Eileen had flute lessons in the morning, then I took her straight to the mall where we met up with the rest of our family and Morgan for Eileen and Anna's concert.  They both sang, and Anna did a trumpet solo with one of the pieces - and she did awesome!!  She was nervous, but she worked hard and she did amazing!  After, we let the younger kids play in the play area for a bit, and I took the older kids and we walked around for a bit - only to find ourselves in Claire's where I got suckered into getting the girls "Best Friend" necklaces along with some other fun little stuff for the kids since they were buy 3 get 3 free.

We have video of this, but it was too long for me to embed - I will have to figure out something else. 

After that, we all met up at Cold Stone for ice cream.  And a dance show by Evie and James....  

The kids all spent most of the rest of the afternoon playing outside with the chicks and helping Dan out with yard work.  Dan put in a lot of hard work taking out a stump, chopping up wood, helping a sweet older neighbor lady with her fence and building us a fire pit.  He had some help from a young man in the ward (and his dad) but he was tired by the end of the day!  I took Anna out shopping for some stuff for the weekend, then to trumpet lessons.  

After dinner, we built a fire in our new fire pit and roasted marshmallows and had s'mores

Sunday was great!  Sacrament meeting was wonderful with wonderful talks, I think my Sunday School lesson went well, and the Relief Society lesson was wonderful.  After was choir, then we went home for dinner and playing outside.  Morgan's mom picked her up and

Adventure Time

This week was an adventure.  Dan got a new bike on Saturday, but I didn't get a picture taken of him on his new bike until Monday - so here it is.  :)  Monday was a bit crazy for us.  The van wouldn't start in the morning, we tried charging the battery and it worked in time to drop Payton off at Preschool and it worked to pick him up, but when I went out to try to go get the kids from school, it wouldn't start.  I called Dan a bit desperate and he came and picked up the kids from school, and Payton's mom came to pick him up after.  We had the missionaries over for dinner that night, we had hamburgers and guacamole and salad.  

Well after that battery trouble, Dan took the car in the next day to get a new battery.  James had preschool in the morning, and then Payton came over to play in the afternoon before we picked up the kids from school.  Eileen and Anna had choir, then in the evening, Anna had her trumpet lessons.

Wednesday morning, Anna and Aaron had an orthodontist visit - Aaron was getting spacers and Anna was getting fitted for a retainer.  She won't actually have to wear braces at all, and Aaron will hopefully get away with only wearing them for a little while.  They were still able to make it in time to school since it was a late start day.  I dropped off Evie and Eileen and then James and I picked up Tayanna and Nicole and headed to the library.  James actually participated some this time and was really sweet about sharing and helping out.  He had a lot of fun after in the kids room playing around and singing for me while I took a video.  After was the usual get kids from school, do piano practicing and homework and such.  The evening was, as usual, packed with Scouts, Cub Scouts, Activity Days, and Choir.

Thursday, James had preschool again and as always had a blast!!  After, we stopped by the park for a little bit before we had to go pick up Payton.  The boys always have so much fun together!  After school was piano lessons and in the evening, I had institute.  I've really been enjoying Institute and taking some extra time in the week to study the scriptures.  I've also been enjoying getting to know our teacher - Sister Ker - better. She's in our ward and I've always thought that we had a lot in common and would get along well together, but she had 5 kids and I have 5 kids and so we haven't had as much time to get to know each other before.

Friday, started out with a Dentist visit and an allergy shot.  James is a social kid and loves having kids to play with or adults to chat with.  After, we took it easy for the day and then got the older kids from school.  Weather was supposed to be getting bad, but it stayed pretty nice until the night when it started raining.

By Saturday it had turned to snow and was falling good and hard.  A lot of the things we had scheduled for Saturday ended up getting cancelled - though the roads never really got that bad.  So in stead of being crazy busy all day Saturday, we just had Eileen's flute lessons, driving Doug to the airport to go visit Julia and then a date night in the evening.  Dan went to help clean the church in the morning and then grabbed some groceries for the weekend.  Other than that we spent the day cleaning the house and getting it presentable.  In the evening, Dan and I went to dinner with the Kers.  We went to Texas de Brazil and ate WAY too much food and had a great time chatting and hanging out together.

The snow continued all Saturday and through Sunday morning, but thankfully the roads weren't too bad, so we still got to go to church - which I was grateful for because the talks in Sacrament meeting were wonderful, the musical number was wonderful and the lessons in R,S, was wonderful.  I hope my lesson was also good and that they learned something that will help them.  After church was choir, then we had the Crocketts over for dinner.  I got to spend a bunch of time holding their new baby and the kids had fun together and the adults had fun playing games together.  Now thankfully the weather is supposed to warm up and melt all this snow!

Don't my kids ever go to school??

So after have all last week off for Spring Break, and two snow days the week before, my kids also had Monday off for a teacher work day - hence the title of the post....  But we had a fun day Monday.  We went to the Wildlife Refuge with a friend who was hanging out with us for the morning.  The Visitor's Center is closed on Mondays, but we drove around and walked around the lake area a bit.  We got to see the buffalo and saw lots of animal tracks and drove past a ton of deer hanging out really close to the road.  The kids loved it and loved getting to see and take pictures of the wildlife.  After, we stopped by the house to grab water and lunches and Koopa and headed to the park.  We all had fun playing and the kids also had fun climbing trees (I skipped that part) All went well and then we came home and played around the house in the afternoon.  I didn't get much laundry done though... :(  

Tuesday morning, James decided that he was going to do the dishes.  He carefully wiped down each one and put them in the dishwasher.  He was so cute and helpful!  And he liked doing it so much that he has wanted to do the dishes every day since...  After that he had preschool and then we picked up Payton.  The boys always have fun together, but on Tuesday they forgot the rule about not taking off clothes.  After we picked up the kids from school and choir, Anna had her trumpet lessons in the evening.  The girls school choir is doing a song that has a trumpet part and Anna is trying hard to learn it in time to play with the choir!  She is so dedicated and hard working when she wants something.

Wednesday, James and I had to go to the library alone, Riley was sick :(  James is so funny because he wants to go to Story Time, but he wants to sit in my lap and read other books during story time, then once it's over, he wants to go play.  After school was the usual craziness and then I had choir, Dan had Young Men, Aaron had cub scouts and Eileen played babysitter for us.

Thursday, James had preschool again.  He loves his preschool friends!!  After, we picked up Payton again - he now gets to come play 3 days a week and James is happy about that.  After school was piano lessons.  The kids did well and had fun.  We let Eileen take some of the chicks outside - the weather was nice and we figure it's about time to start getting them used to being outside.  They are really getting big and getting lots of feathers, it's exciting and the kids love them!

Friday I went over to my friend's house to help out with her son while she took her daughter to surgery.  He hadn't gotten a good night sleep the night before though, so he took a nap most of the time I was there, so James and I played together and ate lunch with her older daughter and mostly got to take it easy.  After, I picked up the kids from school and we headed home for the usual after school stuff.

Saturday was a busy and fun day. We all went to Gateway High School for a 5K (Dan) and Fun Run (all of us - including Dan who ended up doing both) We all got superhero capes, t-shirts and waterbottles along with breakfast.  Plus best of all we got to listen to Gateway's Jazz band play at the finish line.  They were really good and I had a lot of fun listening to them and Aaron was in 7th heaven getting to play on the drums a bit between songs.  Dan did really well - he got 3rd (we think - it's wasn't really well organized) overall and he did awesome!

After, we headed home and I did some yard work - first lawn mow of the season - and he went to go help a friend cut down some trees.  After that, he went with our friend Nate to go get a motorcycle.  It's not huge, but it's good looking and he's really excited about it!
Dan also got Anna a bike.  She had needed a new one for awhile, and he found the perfect bike for her!  Hopefully it will last her a few years!  She was so excited - all she has wanted to do since is ride her bike.
After that crazy Saturday, we were all exhausted and fell asleep quickly!

 Sunday was wonderful!  Church was awesome.  Anna and Evie bore their testimonies.  I talked too much during my lesson and went over - but it was good stuff!!  We had a combined RS/Priesthood meeting during 3rd hour about BSA and fundraising.  We spent our afternoon indexing and playing games and doing some fun craft stuff.  Dan and I had fun playing a game after the kids went to bed, and he was nice enough to let me win.

Spring Break and General Conference

Well the kids had the whole week off and thankfully we had good weather all week so we could have fun playing outside!  We started out Monday going to the DMNS.  I took the kids to the robot exhibit and they had a blast!  It was really pretty cool, but my favorite part was that it was all in one room so I could let the kids check out the whole thing and stay with James while still keeping an eye on all the others.  Eileen's favorite was the vacuum cleaning robot.... :)  

Dan wasn't feeling well that night so I sent him to bed while I did the grocery shopping and finished folding the laundry.  Got to bed a bit late (early) but it was survive-able and Dan felt a lot better the next day.  

Tuesday, we went to the zoo.  The kids had tons of fun.  They forgot the lunches though, so we had a rather expensive zoo lunch.  We ran into the Haight's there and had fun chatting with them for a bit and hung out with them for a little while, but then the kids wanted to go back to the reptiles and fish area and the sea lion show.

In the evening, Julie came over to babysit while Dan and I headed down to the temple.  We did sealings and it was wonderful.  It really felt like the right place to be.  We were able to help some people get a lot of family names done and got some done ourselves.

Wednesday, we took it a bit easy - I was a bit tired out!  And the kids just enjoyed the back yard for the day.  In the evening, the girls had Activity Days, Dan had Young Men and I had choir.

Thursday and Friday, Eileen had her STEM camp at Buckly AFB.  She had a BLAST!  She loved it and really wants to go again next year.  Anna, Aaron and Evie had piano lessons on Thursday in the morning and we tried the library in the afternoon.

Friday the younger kids and I packed lunches and headed to the park on our bikes.  James rode in the bike trailer.  We tried to bring Koopa, but he didn't like the bike trailer, so I ended up carrying him and he didn't much like it.  The kids had a ton of fun at the park and made some friends and got all their wiggles out.  We headed home in time to Eileen to get back and had a fun evening together.

Saturday was the start of General Conference.  We had a great day being uplifted and encouraged and taught.  The kids were great!  Becca came over shortly after Dan left for priesthood and then we hung out and played some games while the guys were gone, then when they got back we had dessert and played another game together.

Sunday was just as wonderful as Saturday.  Evie's primary teacher (and favorite person) came over to watch the morning session with us.  After 8 hours of conference, the kids did amazingly well, then Dan took them all outside for a fun evening of playing in the sun after dinner.  They played catch and it was really funny to watch and listen.  Then since the kids have Monday off, Eileen got to stay up and play a game with us again.  :)  Now we need to go to bed - and I really need this pain in my back to go away!!

Let it Snow... Reprise

This week started off normal enough.  School for the kids, laundry and shopping for groceries, plus some getting ready for Easter.  Aaron had a dentist appointment in the afternoon and did well.  Mostly just a normal day with my sweet wonderful kids and my amazing hubby!  We also had the Elders over for dinner that night and had a great lesson from them for FHE and the kids got to have a cookie for dessert.  

Tuesday was preschool for James and school as normal for the older kids.  Payton came over to play in the afternoon as usual and after school was the normal piano practicing, and homework and such.  Anna was going to have trumpet lessons, but she wasn't feeling good, so we sent her to bed early.  

Wednesday morning, we woke up to snow, lots of snow.  A snow day had already been called and it was projected to snow most of the day - we finally ended up with nearly a foot and a half of snow.  It was enough that even after shoveling the driveway, Dan wasn't able to get past the driveway and get over to the church to help shovel.  We were grateful that we didn't need to go anywhere, because we would have needed 4-wheel drive to get out of our neighborhood.  

Just for reference - in the picture above, that is our picnic table covered in snow. and below is Evie trying to walk through snow that is nearly up to her waist.  The kids had fun trying to walk through snow that was so deep, but otherwise, they didn't spent much time playing in it until the snow stopped.  All activities had been cancelled, so we just snuggled up and home together.  Even Dan didn't have to go in to work.  

Thursday was also a snow day - roads were still too bad the next morning to really be able to get anywhere.  The kids were starting to go a bit stir crazy by the second snow day, and regretting missing school.  They spent a lot more time playing outside and getting wet and cold as the snow melted.  To help mitigate the kids going a bit crazy, we started letting the older kids hold the chicks, and the younger ones got to pet them.  The kids were so excited and the chicks are getting so big!! 

After Dan got home from work, we all headed outside to build a snow man and play in the snow.  The kids had fun having a snowball fight with Daddy and building a huge snowman.  (He has since toppled over and is getting smaller by the Day.)  

Thursday night, I still got to go to Institute and had a great time.
Friday, the kids had to go back to school for one day before starting spring break.  It seemed kinda silly, but the kids enjoyed it and then Anna had Trumpet lessons in the evening, Piano lessons were moved to Friday afternoon, so we were kept busy.

Saturday was our cleaning day.  We spent some time getting the house ready for Easter and playing together.  Eileen wanted to play Killer Bunnies for her hour up and we had an unusual game where so many improbably things happened, it seems unlikely that another game will ever really be like that one.

Sunday was wonderful!  We started off with heading to church early for choir practice.  The choir sang during the program and it was beautiful!  When we got there, I was chatting with Christina for a few minutes and they had just gotten back in town, and since Newell and Becky had cancelled on us for Easter dinner since the kids were all sick, I invited Christina and her family over to join us.  Church was wonderful with some amazing talks and lessons given.  After, Dan and I started getting things ready and then our home teachers stopped by for a bit.  Then everyone started arriving.  The kids had tons of fun playing together and everyone seemed to get along well.  The food was great and we had a great time.  We let Eileen sit at the adult table since the kid table was a bit crowded.  She was so excited by that!  And loved feeling included.  After dinner, we did a little Easter egg hunt before dessert.  After, Becca stayed for a bit to play games with Dan, Eileen and I.  And she creamed us all soundly....twice.  :)

My parents were so smitten with Koopa that they have now gotten their own little Yorkie!  He's a cute little puppy, less than 3 months old and mom is going to bring him with her when she comes out to visit and help out in April!

Cheep Cheep

This week has been fun!  Monday started off with our usual watching Payton, school, and family home evening.  We had fun together and played a game together.  I did the grocery shopping and Dan folded laundry and we went to bed exhausted.  

Tuesday, James had preschool and I got some breakfast and worked on some crafts in the car while he had fun with his friends.  After preschool, we picked up Payton, then we ate lunch and played outside, then headed to the school to drop off Payton and pick up Evie and Aaron.  Then we went back home until it was time to get Eileen and Anna.  Then in the evening, I had a Chorale concert and after, I did a quick work out, then to bed!  

Wednesday, I drove some friends to their appointment, then stayed and helped out a bit at their home when I dropped them off.  Then the usual pick up kids from school followed by some piano practice and homework then we took off for Ortho appointments for Anna and Aaron.  We got appointments set up to get them some actual work done.  Anna will be getting a retainer type thing to help straighten things out a bit and Aaron will be getting a spacer and some braces plus some baby teeth pulled.  It's starting to look like only Eileen so far will need a full set.  Then I headed off for another concert.  It has been a lot of fun to see some friends at the concerts and chat with them.  I've also been carpooling with 2 ladies from choir who are both awesome and I enjoy chatting with.  

Thursday we had preschool here, we had a lot of fun playing games together and the time went quickly.  Then after school, the kids had piano lessons and I had my final concert of the season before collapsing exhausted to bed!  While I was at my concert, Dan took the kids to get chicks.  Eileen texted me a picture (not this one - the heat lamp made all our cell phone pictures turn out red - I took this one later) They got 6 chicks that night.  

Friday, James and I went to do my allergy shot and then headed down to Murdoch's again for more chicks (they hadn't had many the day before) So James and I came home with 12 more, and we now have 18 baby chicks running around our storage room with looking fluffy and adorable!  They are already getting some feathers on their wings and the kids have been loving watching them.  In the evening, we spent the time together for once and rested.  We let Eileen and Anna and Aaron stay up and watch Harry Potter (the first one) and we had a great time, but Daddy got worn out and went to bed after 45 minutes or so.  

Saturday morning, my mom arrived for Uncle Doug's birthday party.  We picked her up from the airport, Eileen had flute lessons at 9, I had a girls camp meeting at 10, Anna had trumpet lessons at 11, then we had lunch before running some errands and getting some stuff ready for the party that night.  Then we headed over to Grandpa's for birthday fun.  After the party, we headed home for bed! I thought this picture of my mom with Koopa was so fun!  Koopa remembered her right away and loved having her visit.  

We've gotten a bit of snow over the weekend and Koopa loves licking it and when he does the snow sticks to his hair and he looks so funny!

This has been a big exciting weekend for Evie.  She finally managed to wiggle her tooth out and was so excited to put her tooth in the tooth box for the tooth fairy to come.  Here she is with her gap-toothed smile!  Evie also finally got to change her earrings for the first time this weekend.  She has had so much fun and has wanted to change them multiple times today.  

Church today was wonderful, but I woke up with a sore throat and so I've been trying to take it easy... but that's easier said than done.  We had some fun cooking adventures and chatted with Dan's parents and played some games.

Tired, but good tired

If life is crazy and busy when Dan is here, it's even more so when he's gone - both because it's just harder to do everything my self, and Dan is such a good husband that he helps a lot around the house and with taking care of the kids, but also because events seem to conspire to make the busiest weeks the ones that he's gone.  Monday was the usual Payton coming over and the boys had tons of fun together.  After school and piano lessons and FHE and getting the kids to bed, I finished up the laundry before heading to bed. 

Tuesday, James had preschool, while he was a preschool, I went and helped my friend's son out with his homeschooling so she could get some other stuff done.  Then I picked up James, picked up Payton.  Picked up Evie and Aaron, dropped Payton off, picked up Eileen and Anna from choir and headed home to try and get all the piano and homework and such done.  

Wednesday was crazy as usual.  The kids had late start, so I dropped them off, picked up Tayanna and Nicole and we went to the library, then I took them home and James and I headed to my doctor for a doctor's appointment to get some anti-biotics for my sinus infection.  Then James and I went to pick up the medicine and headed home for lunch before going to pick the kids up from school.  After getting a rushed Mac N Cheese on the table, I headed out for choir practice - our tech rehearsal at the first venue with orchestra and soloists, running until 9:30.  Then I headed home and tried to get some cleaning done before collapsing for bed.  

Thursday the preschool group went on a field trip to the Zoo.  James had a ton of fun!  The kids each got cute little zoo passports where they could check off the animals that they saw.  James loved it!  The weather was beautiful and it was a great day to be there.  After walking around all morning, James and I were both rather tired out.  We got back just in time to pick the kids up from school.  Then we headed home for the kids to have piano lessons.  Those got done just in time for us to grab a quick dinner and head to Skate City.  

The kids all love going to Skate City. James is so funny - he just shuffles around the rink - sometimes he wants me with him, but other times, he would tell me to go away while he skated on his own.  We had a lot of fun and by the time we got home we were all totally exhausted!

The kids had Friday off school, so Anna had trumpet lessons in the morning, then we came back and packed lunches and headed to the museum of Nature and Science.  I took the kids to an IMAX movie which they loved and we checked out the new Chocolate Exhibit - i thought it was cool, but the kids were disappointed that there were no samples :)  We checked had fun and stayed most of the day, but we had to head home to get me ready for my concert.

After the museum, Nicole came over to watch James and Evie, while I took Eileen, Anna and Aaron to my concert.  Aaron got to meet the percussionist and loved it.  Eileen told me that "She could see that over and over and never get tired of it!"  Then after we got some dinner and dessert at Chili's.
The concert went well, it's such a powerful thing to be a part of!

Saturday morning, we almost overslept through Eileen's flute solo competition time! Thankfully we woke up just in time to throw some clothes on and rush over.  Eileen didn't get much time to warm up or even wake up, but she still did well, and she got a superior ranking (the highest possible) as a 5th grader and the youngest person there.  She got a medal and she has been proudly wearing it ever since!  She did such a good job and I'm so proud of her!

After the kids were so good for all that craziness, I took them to Walmart and let them pick out donuts for dessert and we got some chocolate milk and went home for breakfast.  We spent the day playing and enjoying the wonderful weather and played some games and mostly relaxed at home.  Then in the evening, I took Eileen again to my concert.  We didn't go out for dessert again because we had church the next day and it was late, but she was great and we both got to see some friends there.  I chatted a bit with Bonnie's daughters and when I mentioned that I was in their mom's ward they both said "Ooooo you must be Deanna!"  It really lifts my heart to be valued by such an amazing person!

Today was Stake Conference.  We got up and walked to the church so we could be there on time to practice with the choir.  A sweet sister from our ward and another sweet sister from our stake helped out with the younger kids while Eileen and I sat with the choir.  Dan got there part way though the meeting having come straight from the airport and then I walked home with Eileen and Anna while he drove the other 3 home.  We spent the afternoon playing games and trading off naps.

I'm so glad to have Dan home.  Now, I just need to get through this week - it will be fun, but exhausting!!

Bye Bye Bye :(

This week was crazy as usual.  Monday was the usual laundry and grocery shopping and Family Home Evening.  We had a lesson on how our choices have consequences and when we choose to do something, we have to accept the consequences that go with that choice.  

Tuesday James had preschool, and I took a nap.  I'm still feeling sick - I think I have a sinus infection and it doesn't seem to want to go away.  

Wednesday was the usual craziness.  We had late start day for the kids, library with Nicole and Tayanna and then after school, we met the kids and Brinton and headed into the library for the Dr. Seuss Birthday Party.  The kids had tons of fun reading and eating cake.  It was totally packed, but the kids had fun.  After, we headed home and tried to get all the practicing done and homework done, then in the evening, Aaron had cub scouts, Dan had YM and I had choir.  

Thursday was preschool for James again and then piano lessons after school.  The kids love piano lessons and Evie and James especially love that Rose comes over and plays with them.  After, we put the kids to bed and I went to Institute.  

Friday I spent my morning over at my friends house.  James played with her kids, and I helped out with some stuff around the house since she got injured last weekend and was having a hard time getting some things done.  It was fun to get to sit and chat with her and the kids were great.  After school, we were going to try to get Anna's passport, but realized that we would have to wait the rest of the day and still might not get done.... so we put it off until Saturday with a plan to go an hour early.  Friday afternoon, Anna had her trumpet lessons.  After the kids went to bed, Dan and I watched Star Wars: Episode II.  (Well Eileen and I watched it, Dan watched the first half, then dozed off.)

Saturday was busy, Dan went early to the passport place and got us at the front of the line.  Then Anna and I met up with him and 8:45 and we were done by 9:15.  By the time the place was open, there were at least 50 people in line behind us.  After that, Eileen had flute lessons at 11, and I had a Relief Society activity at 11:30 and got a surprise when we got a lovely fashion show put on by some of the men in the ward... including Dan!  Here he is in his fashionable new outfit with his alligator handbag.  After that, Dan spent some time cleaning the garage with the kids and Eileen and I went to the grocery store to get groceries for next week.  In the evening, we had Becca, Natasha and her boyfriend and the sister missionaries over for dinner.  The food was really yummy and we had lots of fun.  After the sisters left for their next appointment, we watched "The Martian" Then Dan packed up for his trip and we headed to bed.  

Today went pretty well.  James was decently behaved during church, then we went home for a early dinner/late lunch, followed by stake choir and then we all headed over to Stuart and Rebecca's for a birthday party for Grandpa, Rebecca and Sarah Jean.  We had fun, then headed home and now I need sleep... :)

Icky Sickies

James and I have been sick all week.  Mostly it's just made him tired and cranky, well I guess that's mostly what it's done to me too...  He's been coughing alot, Dan's been coughing and a bit congested, Aaron's been a bit coughy and congested and I've been so congested that my whole head is throbbing, my teeth ache and I've got a sinus headache....  Monday morning, I took my friend and her son down for a doctor's appointment in Colorado Springs, her car had broken down and she needed to get to this appointment for her son.  She was really sweet and took us to lunch after.  We got back just in time to drop her and her sweet son off, then head over to pick up Evie and Aaron from school.  Eileen and Anna got picked up after needle arts club, then I had to try and get as much laundry done as possible.  FHE with an awesome lesson by Anna and grocery shopping finished the day off.  

Tuesday was supposed to be preschool, but with 2 sick people here, we cancelled it, and James and I rested most of the morning, I let him play on my tablet to help him rest a bit.  :)  Payton still came over in the afternoon before we picked up the kids from school.  Mostly we just tried to take it easy.  

Wednesday mostly ended up being the same.  James and I just rested and watched Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.  In the evening, Dan didn't have YM again on Wednesday, so he took Aaron to cub scouts and Eileen and Anna to activity days while I went to choir.  I sat out in the pews though, instead of with the choir so I didn't infect everyone.  It was really neat to sit out there and hear from a different perspective.  

Thursday James and I met up with the other preschool kids and their parents for a field trip to Chick-fil-A.  The kids had a blast playing on the kids play area and hanging out with friends.  James was especially happy to get out of the house after being cooped up for 2 days straight.  After we walked over to Hobby Lobby to look around and have fun.  James picked out some fabric for me to make use to make things for him.  After picking the kids up from school, they had piano lessons and then we had to rush over to the school for the 4th and 5th grade music performances for the girls.  Eileen and Anna did well - Eileen played her flute very well, and Anna did an awesome job on her recorder.  They are so talented!  After, we headed home, did scriptures, then I headed to the church building for Institute.  I think the lesson went well.  I love studying the Old Testament!  

Friday we had the twin 2 year olds of some friends over.  They have a new baby and I thought they might like to have a few hours of time with just the new baby.  They were good little kids, mellow and willing to eat anything.  Thankfully weather was nice, because they were happy to roam the back yard all day, I just had to watch them carefully since they were both a bit prone to putting things in their mouth - things like dirt and sand and chalk and dirty snow.... :)  James was so good and helpful and sweet until about 11 at which point he got sent to his room, then fell fast asleep.  He slept until the twins went home and I had to wake him up to get the kids from school.  After school, the kids had to clean up and get everything done so that they could watch a movie with the sitter.  They got a babysitter and Dan and I got to go to the local high school's production of "Ragtime"  The musical was really well done.  The orchestra was almost as good as some professional groups I've sung with, and the actors/singers all did an amazing job.  After, Dan and I stopped at Village Inn for dinner/dessert.  

Sunday was crazy.  The kids and I walked to church in the morning (and home again after) church was wonderful!  After, was ward choir and stake choir, followed by dinner and bedtime.  Dan is so sweet and supportive of all my music insanity.  My sinus headache hit a high point today, I spent most of the day with a pounding headache and sinus pressure so bad that my teeth hurt, now I'm ready for bed!  

Here's a pic of my silly boys wanting a silly picture.  :) 

Keeping Busy

This week I've been running around like crazy just trying to keep up with everything.  Monday was laundry and groceries as usual, James' friend Payton over in the morning and afternoon, and Eileen and Anna starting up with Needle Arts Club.

Tuesday was preschool for James.  It is at our house right now.  The kids were great, we talked about water safety and the kids were great, but it's always rather exhausting!  Then Payton came over, the girls had choir after school and then the usual homework and piano practicing.

Wednesday was crazy.  After dropping the kids off for late start, I headed over to my friend's house to take her and her son to the hospital for his surgery, then James and I headed home.  After picking the kids up from school, I headed home and Crystal came over to practice our musical number.  She sounded wonderful and didn't need extra practice, but it was probably good that she wanted it, because I'm not the best piano player and it was good for Eileen to practice her flute part.  In the evening, Aaron had his Blue and Gold and got some awards!  He just LOVES cub scouts!

I had choir, but Dan didn't have YM since their activity was on Thursday this week.

Thursday was preschool again, then in the afternoon, the kids had piano lessons and Dan went with the Young Men to the Ward Temple Night.  I spent the evening at home with the kids cooking!  I was trying to get as much ready as possible for my Pride and Prejudice Party on Saturday.

Friday I spent more time getting things ready and Dan helped get things set up.  Dan took the day off to help too.  In the afternoon, I went to the Temple with Crystal and then we grabbed some dinner at CPK on the way home.  After I got home, Dan and I had one of his friends from work over with his wife for games.  We had fun playing and chatting with them.

Saturday was totally nuts.  Eileen had a meeting at school in the morning, then Dan went to Brother Braun's viewing for a bit, then I had a girls camp meeting at 10, then Eileen had flute lessons at 11, then I met up with Crystal at 1 to rehearse again for the baptism at 2.  The musical number went well.  I didn't mess up too bad, Crystal sang beautifully, Eileen played well and the only problem was the Eileen was polishing her flute and mouthing the words during the song....  Dan and I had a talk with her after about proper etiquette for that situation, then Dan asked her why she thought she was supposed to look at the singer.  Eileen's response?   "To make them feel uncomfortable?"  Then we headed home and began setting up and finishing food prep for the party!  Dan got the projector ready and helped me get the food out and set up, then took the kids and the puppy and headed for Dwayne and Nicole's house.  We had around 15 people here.  Tina came and Becky and Becca came along with a bunch of friends from the ward.  We had a great spread of food and we all had a blast watching Pride and Prejudice for 6 hours and eating lots of yummy food!  Turns out we had just the right amount of food - not too many left overs, but plenty for everyone!  Now I just need to plan another one!  :)

Sunday was the usual crazy, church, choir, stake choir and fun with kids and then to bed!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This has been a week full of Valentine's Day fun.  Monday when I did the grocery shopping, I got the kids their Valentines for school.  Tuesday, after telling them that they had to do their piano lessons and homework first, they divided up their valentines and got them ready for their school parties.  Anna had trumpet in the evening - she's really doing great!  

Wednesday, James and I went to the library with Tayanna and Nicole.  Storytime was a lot of fun and James even listened to some of it.  I think he mostly likes going so he can sit in my lap and boss me around for an hour....  After, we had our normal after school craziness followed by our even crazier Wednesday evening schedule.  

Thursday, I got a text from my institute teacher that she was sick and was hoping I could sub for her.  Of course, I said yes!  I spent most of the day studying about King David in 2 Samuel and enjoyed really diving into it.  Subbing also gave me a new respect for Sara and what an awesome teacher she is.  The kids had piano lessons in the afternoon.  Evie has been really excited about walking Koopa lately, and with the nice weather I've been willing to let her, but Thursday evening, James and Rose tried to go find Evie, except she wasn't out walking, she was having her lessons.  Thankfully they both made it home safe, but we had some major talks with James after that.  Thursday was also James' preschool Valentine's Day party.  The kids had so much fun exchanging candy and playing together.  

Friday was the Valentine's Day parties for all the school kids.  So they all came home loaded down with junk.  But they had a great time.  Dan and I went out for dinner with Jeremiah and Becca to Outback.  After, we came back to our place and watched Men In Black.  

Saturday we headed to the park, we had hoped to watch one of the youth play in a rugby game, but got mixed up on the time.  Eileen had flute lessons, and we finally managed to get Anna's trumpet mouthpiece pulled out.  In the afternoon, Dan ran a couple errands and I rested (aka - I sat down and dozed off...) 

Sunday morning was our traditional Valentine's breakfast of heart shaped biscuits.  The kids always love this fun tradition and the fun Valentine's candy they get.  Church was wonderful, lessons were wonderful and for once, James stayed in Primary the whole time.  I got to go in and talk to Aaron's class for a few minutes which was fun too.

After church, I got together with a few others to practice for a musical number next week, then headed home to find cinnamon rolls with pink frosting and scrambled eggs and fresh fruit for dinner :)  

I am so blessed to have a wonderful, sweet, humble, kind and thoughtful friend in our ward.   She is our ward choir director and an amazingly dedicated woman.  I have always felt that as a singer, I am responsible to support her and sustain her in her calling as best I can and have often subbed for her when she was out of town and done musical numbers with her and today I got an AMAZING thank you gift.  This incredible book with autographs in the front cover and beautiful music and beautiful artwork along with a sweet note that brought tears to my eyes!  What an amazing gift!

YEY!

Well, it's been a long and crazy week.  Monday was the usual craziness.  Payton and James had tons of fun together and Koopa is mostly getting used to the two of them and figuring out how to stay away from them :)  In the evening, we had the Elder Missionaries over for dinner, and had yummy food followed by a great lesson.  Then we had laundry and grocery shopping.

Tuesday was a snow day - a rather expected one.  After doing their practicing, I conned some clean-up out of the kids, then let them play video games most of the afternoon. I totally messed up dinner though, so after spending another 45 minutes fixing it, we finally ate at nearly 7pm.  Then got the kids to bed.

Wednesday started out with the kids starting late.  And then we were running a bit late getting out of the house, and I was stressed out about it, so I didn't do a head count, and Aaron wasn't in the car, so I had to go back and get him.  Then we headed up to pick up Nicole and Tayanna, but shortly after leaving, we had to turn around and drop them back off.  By the time James and I got to the library, we had totally missed story time.  But we returned our books and picked out a couple of new ones, then we headed home for lunch.  In the evening, Aaron had cub scouts, I had choir and Dan had Young Men's.  We had our first try at Eileen as babysitter.  In order to make sure she could easily contact us, we got her a cell phone.  She has to keep it at the house right now and it's functioning as a home phone while she is in charge, but it will be her's outright when she turns 12.  She is rather excited about it.  She loved getting to carry it around while she was babysitting and feeling like a grown-up.  She did a great job and we felt ok about it since it was only for an hour and a half and Dan was only a 5 minute drive away.

Thursday the kids had off school, so we had a full crazy day.  We started with James and preschool in the morning, then we picked him up from preschool and headed straight to piano lessons, followed by an orthodontist appointment for Anna, then we finally got to go home and start dinner.  After, we put the kids to bed, and I headed to the institute class.

Friday morning, James was supposed to have a doctors appointment and we were running late again ( I really HATE being late...) and were told when we got there that because we were 10 minutes late, they couldn't see us and we had to reschedule.  So feeling rather annoyed, I then dragged them all to my allergy clinic so I could get my allergy shot, then we headed home for lunch and packed up.  When Dan got home we packed up the car and headed up to Wyoming to visit Steve and Claire.  (well actually we ran a couple errands first, but then we headed out)  We got there just in time for dinner, the the kids watched a movie while we chatted.  Elise is very excited about doing hair recently, but since her only sister doesn't have much hair, I was more than happy to play guinea pig!  I love having my hair played with and done!  This was just one of her fancy creations.  After seeing me get my hair done, the girls also wanted theirs done.  After putting the kids to bed, we played games and chatted.

The next morning, the kids wanted to play games too, so we played killer bunnies and dominion, which is a bit of an adventure when you are trying to play with a 6 year old.  :)   In the afternoon, we headed back home to get ready for church.  Eileen had flute lessons, I had some butter to pick up and We had some grocery shopping to do to get through the rest of the weekend.

Today was wonderful.  We are still working on getting James and Evie to sit still during Sacrament meeting, but I do think they are getting better, slowly but surely.  Classes were wonderful and after church, we headed home for an early dinner.  Evie, Anna and Aaron all bore their testimonies today!  After dinner, I took a little nap and Dan and the kids made peach cobbler.  They the kids had some and went to bed and we had some friends over to eat cobbler and play games.  It was a lot of fun!

Koopa is doing well, we are still working on the house breaking and he still has some problems, but as long as we keep him out of certain areas of the house.  He really likes to have accidents in the boys room....

Oh and the title of the post is a yey for the Broncos winning the Superbowl... not that we watched, but still, glad they won.  :)

I need more sleep!

This week has been rather crazy.  Mostly because, I am still more tired that usual, but I don't want to be - I want to be back to normal so I keep trying to do the usual stuff and then find that I'm exhausted.  We had a friend  who ended up in the ER in a lot of pain, so we were watching her little boy while she was there with her husband, but he was feeling a bit under the weather too, so he was kinda tired and really just wanted to be home with his mom and dad.  Otherwise, Monday was the usual crazy.  I told the kids that I would only do their laundry if they put their dirty clothes in their hampers. So I did me and Dan's laundry and the kids attempted to do theirs.  I helped them sort it and showed those that didn't know how to work the machines to start them, so they got the clothes mostly clean, but they didn't get any of them folded, so they spent the whole week complaining about not having clean clothes.

The girls are having fun at choir after school and it's fun to listen to them sing when they get home.  Otherwise, Tuesday was a long exhausting day!

Wednesday was eventful!  We went to the library as usual with Tayanna and Nicole.  After the library, we went home and my friend Debbie and her daughter Brynleigh came over for lunch, it was so nice getting to see her and chat with her again!  Then we picked up the kids from school and got through all the after school stuff.  In the evening, Aaron had cub scouts, Anna had activity days, and Eileen had new beginnings.  Since she will be going in to young women's this year, she was invited to go to new beginnings and they did a cute little get to know you activity with the two new girls for this year.  After, I headed over as fast as I could for the last 45 minutes of choir.

Thursday was crazy.  Preschool was cancelled for James so he and I spent the morning snuggled up on the couch, then the craziness began.  After school, the kids had piano lessons, and then in the evening Anna had trumpet lessons, finally I had institute in the evening.  Institute was wonderful!  I finally finished the fingerless gloves for Anna and she has worn them everyday since.

Friday was fun, but busy.  James and I went to my allergy shot, then stopped by Costco on my way home.  We got the kids from school and went through all the post school craziness.  Dan went to play Dungeons and Dragons with Becca and Jeremiah.  The kids and I had dinner, then I sent the younger kids went to bed while Eileen and I watched Star Wars: Episode VII.  Eileen was so cute!  She loved the Ewoks and loved the ending - she told me after "I'm actually so happy, I'm crying!"  Dan ended up getting home really late, but he had a lot of fun!

Saturday was mostly a cleaning day.  I helped the kids clean up their rooms, and I spent some time cleaning up my craft room.  In the evening, Dan and I played a game together and then took it easy.

Today was great!  Dan didn't have any early morning meetings so he got to be with us before church and during Sacrament meeting!  Which was good, because James and Evie were determined to be a handful today.  Sunday school went well, then I made camp announcements in young women's.  While I was headed to Relief Society, I saw James throwing a fit in the hall way, he was refusing to go to class.  So I took him in and stayed with him for the rest of church.  In the afternoon, Dan taught the older kids to play scrabble before bed time.  After we put the kids to bed, Dan creamed me at Suburbia.

We are still having problems with Koopa and house breaking.  Part of the problem is that it's cold outside and neither the dog nor I really want to be out there, the other part is that I'm supposed to keep a close eye on him and that's kinda difficult when I've also got kids at the house that need my supervision.

Another Birthday Boy

This week was mostly recovery for me.  Tina stayed Monday to help, but had to go Tuesday after dropping the kids off.  Thankfully, I was mostly feeling good by then.  Tired easily, but otherwise good.  I hardly used any of the pain meds they sent me home with, and what I did use was the ibproufin, not the stronger stuff.  I was grateful that James had preschool on Tuesday and Thursday though since that meant I could take a nap during the morning!  The kids were mostly a big help too.  I tried to get laundry done on Monday, but I didn't get all the loads washed and I really didn't get much folding done at all.  

Wednesday was late start (yey for sleeping in a little!)  Then James and I went to the library for a little bit.  The afternoon was filled with the usual busies, then Dwayne came over to baby sit and I went to choir.  It was a great rehearsal, but I spent a lot more time sitting than usual.  

Thursday was a normal school day and preschool day for the kids.  Dan got to come home a day early and got in Thursday afternoon.  The kids had piano lessons and we got some cleaning up done. 

Friday Dan stayed home, and we spent the day trying to get the house in order.  I am still needing to slow down and rest more often than I would like, but it's getting better.  Friday night, Dan and Eileen and I watched Star Wars Episode V.  It's been fun watching them with her and seeing them again - it's been awhile.  

Saturday was more get the house in order fun, followed by get ready for James' birthday fun and then of course, birthday fun!  James was so excited - he spent so much of the day asking when he could have cake and when he could open presents.  He wanted a pizza party for his birthday dinner, so Dan and the kids made pizza and then we all ate downstairs while watching James' choice of movies - Wild Kratts.  After we came up for cupcakes and ice cream and presents.  Anna was so cute helping him - he sat on her lap the whole time he was opening presents.   He was so cute and so excited about his presents.  

And a picture of Koopa just cuz he's cute.  We are still struggling a bit with housebreaking.  Any time the kids leave pieces of paper on the floor, he thinks it's a piddle pad....  We're getting there though, today was better.  Church was wonderful!  Such great talks and lessons!  Dan was released today - he's got a new calling coming up soon.  Dan made sure that Bishop knew that he couldn't release me as girls camp director though!  We spent the afternoon playing and talking on the phone and having fun together.