Saturday, June 27, 2009
My Sister's Keeper
I had been seeing advertisements for the movie My Sister's Keeper on television and I thought it really looked good. The movie was based on the novel by Jodi Picoult (or something close to that). I mentioned on Facebook that I wanted to see the movie and I had several comments telling me to read the book first. So, I did. Thursday I emailed Scott to see if he would pick the book up for me at Barnes and Noble on his way home from the airport. I was happy to see him walk in the house with a B&N sack. :-) I started reading it immediately. I finished the book this morning and I was a MESS! It was a really good book and a serious tear-jerker. I decided that I wanted to see the movie and got online to see if it was playing in Bismarck. It was and I had just missed the first show by 10 minutes when I logged onto the site. I decided I was going to go to the movie by myself and I made it to the 1:45p show this afternoon. The movie was really good, but I think it would have been better if I had seen the movie prior to reading the book. There were some differences in the two and I think seeing the movie first would have made it much better. Then reading the book would also be really good because it would be a totally different ending. If you haven't seen the movie, or read the book, I recommend seeing the movie first, despite everyone telling me to read the book first. Just my opinion. If you decide to do that, I want to hear what you think so we can compare notes to see which, in fact, was the correct order to do it. My eyes are still messed up from all the crying I've done today and I think I need to go to bed. G'night!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Friday
The kids did not have Camp Edventure today because of their all-day field trip last Friday, so it was nice to get the chance to sleep in this morning. However, I nearly freaked out when I woke up to Gage standing over my bed since he had spent the night with a friend last night! My plan was to be up before he and his friend came home this morning, but that didn't happen. I hopped right out of bed to discover that Emma was still sleeping too. I'm not sure if she's ever slept until 9:30am before! We were both exhausted after yesterday's adventure! (Well, I was anyway!)
I really did have a good time at Girl Scout Camp yesterday. I wasn't expecting to. It was going to be super hot and humid and I just hate being out in that kind of weather and I kept remembering how tired and spent I was after Gage's 3 afternoons of Cub Scout Day Camp. Doing one day is so much more tolerable than 3! In fact, the gal that I was unit leaders with had been there the 3 days and I could tell she was fried. She was moving in slow motion and just didn't have the energy to get the girls moving from one station to another. After supper, when it was time to clean-up, things just weren't happening. The Camp Director finally came down to our campsite to help us get things cleaned up and put away. I was doing what I could to get the girls to get their things rounded up and put into their bags and also trying to help get things put away, but it was all just happening in slow motion. The 2 PA's (program aides) that we had were quiet and timid and didn't really do much unless you told them to. They were as nice as they could be and did what they were asked without any problems, but they just didn't know what they were supposed to be doing. Seeing that, and experiencing it, makes me think that maybe it's a good thing to bring a fresh person in on the last day to help keep things moving. That is just ALOT of work to do 3 days in a row for 6 hours straight! Camping is a lot of work and cooking outdoors takes alot of planning and preparation. They had planned to have ham and cheese sandwiches, cheesy potatoes, ticks on a toilet seat and root beer floats for their supper last night. All of these things were pretty easy to do but they didn't necessarily think of how to do this the easiest way. They had the pie-irons (cast-iron sandwich makers that are used over a campfire) out to use and we only had 5 of them. When you're making 17 sandwiches, that isn't really a time-saving thing to do. After we had 5 of them on the grill, and after the other unit leader was denied her request for more pie-irons, I suggested we just wrap them in aluminum foil and put them over the campfire. It was like a light-bulb lit up in her head. LOL! That was much easier to do and MUCH easier to clean up. That scorched cheese is not the easiest thing to clean out of a pie-iron, especially when you have a limited supply of water. The ticks on a toilet seat were fun; however, not necessarily the best idea in 90+ degrees temperatures. To make ticks on a toilet seat, you must core an apple, then slice the apple into rings. You then spread peanut butter over the apple and top it with chocolate chips (ticks). They were very tasty, but quite a MESS to make. The peanut butter was melted, as were the chocolate chips. The girls had rubber spatulas that they were using to get the peanut butter out of the jar and trying to spread it onto the apple slices. They had peanut butter up to their elbows. Another thing that isn't much fun to clean up with a limited supply of water. The PA was putting the melted chocolate chips onto the apple slices with peanut butter and her hand was completely covered in chocolate after attempting to get them all out of the bag in their melted state. What a MESS! The girls ate very well; however. Thankfully the ice cream and root beer weren't brought out to the site until we were ready to make them. :-)
Emma did pretty well with me helping out yesterday. At first she was a little whiney and clingy because it was just so hot. After I showed her how to wet her bandana down and wrap it around her head, she seemed to tolerate the temperatures much better. She did try to get me to carry her bag around, which she wouldn't have done if I hadn't been there, so I did tell her that she was going to have to carry her own bag, as if I weren't there. She didn't necessarily like that, but she did do better after that. I was happy with the way the day played out. I was also ready at 8pm to go home. :-) I was quite impressed with the whole operation of the camp. Mandan Girl Scouts is ran by a different service unit, and I wonder if that's why things went so much better than the events we have attended here? It's something I will be paying more attention to in the future, for sure. I did post tons of pictures on facebook that I'm not going to take the time to do on here. It just takes so much time, and I can get them on Facebook 3 times faster.
Yesterday evening Gage had called me on the cell phone while I was at the Girl Scout Camp to tell me goodnight because he wasn't going to be home when I got there. He informed me that he was going to spend the night at his friend T.J.'s house. He was very excited about that. I think this was the first time he's spent the night away from home without having Scott, me or Emma with him. He attempted once quite awhile back with his friend Grant, but I ended up having to go get him around 11pm. He actually made it through the night without any problems. Well, as far as I know there weren't any problems. :-) He came home at 9:30 this morning and I think he was pretty proud that he had his first sleepover at a friend's house. T.J. stayed here with us this morning and then went back home after his Mom was done teaching at summer school. Last night Scott asked T.J.'s mom if he could go with them to Tuttle this evening to stay the night and he was thrilled to death to get to do that. So around 3:30 this afternoon Scott, Gage and Emma headed over to pick T.J. up and head over to Tuttle for the night. They had plans to meet a friend of Scott's and his 2 daughters for some adventures out on the prairie. Gage and T.J. have become pretty close friends this summer and we have enjoyed having him over. He's a great kid and I enjoy his family. His oldest sister will be a junior in high school in the fall and it has already been convenient to hire her as a "driving" babysitter. She took Gage to practice the other night when I went to Family Night at Girl Scout Camp and it worked out well. She is very active in hockey though, and I'm sure once hockey starts up, her babysitting time will be limited.
We went out to lunch today with our good friend, Jody Jennings, who is in town to perform a wedding for a friend of his. It was good visiting with him. Unfortunately Emily and the gang weren't able to come up with him. Maybe next time. We need to get to planning some type of vacation together in the future.
Scott and the kids left for Tuttle around 3:30 this afternoon. I decided to stay home and get some things done before we head to Iowa. I also didn't think it sounded like much fun staying somewhere where there was no air conditioner! It was a humid, hot day today. The kids and I were sweating and quite uncomfortable just walking a few blocks to China Garden for lunch. Anyway, I am home alone tonight and am anxious to get some more reading in on my new book "My Sister's Keeper" that Scott brought home for me yesterday. I've been seeing previews for this movie and want to see it, but everyone said it would be best to read the book first. Sometimes the movie sucks after reading the book and I don't want for that to happen, but I know the book is always better than the movie. I think I will end up enjoying both of them. I am enjoying the book already and will be through it in no time. Especially because I accidentally took a 2 hour nap after everyone left this afternoon......................I can't sleep at night after taking a nap, so I am quite sure I'll be awake all night reading. :-)
I really did have a good time at Girl Scout Camp yesterday. I wasn't expecting to. It was going to be super hot and humid and I just hate being out in that kind of weather and I kept remembering how tired and spent I was after Gage's 3 afternoons of Cub Scout Day Camp. Doing one day is so much more tolerable than 3! In fact, the gal that I was unit leaders with had been there the 3 days and I could tell she was fried. She was moving in slow motion and just didn't have the energy to get the girls moving from one station to another. After supper, when it was time to clean-up, things just weren't happening. The Camp Director finally came down to our campsite to help us get things cleaned up and put away. I was doing what I could to get the girls to get their things rounded up and put into their bags and also trying to help get things put away, but it was all just happening in slow motion. The 2 PA's (program aides) that we had were quiet and timid and didn't really do much unless you told them to. They were as nice as they could be and did what they were asked without any problems, but they just didn't know what they were supposed to be doing. Seeing that, and experiencing it, makes me think that maybe it's a good thing to bring a fresh person in on the last day to help keep things moving. That is just ALOT of work to do 3 days in a row for 6 hours straight! Camping is a lot of work and cooking outdoors takes alot of planning and preparation. They had planned to have ham and cheese sandwiches, cheesy potatoes, ticks on a toilet seat and root beer floats for their supper last night. All of these things were pretty easy to do but they didn't necessarily think of how to do this the easiest way. They had the pie-irons (cast-iron sandwich makers that are used over a campfire) out to use and we only had 5 of them. When you're making 17 sandwiches, that isn't really a time-saving thing to do. After we had 5 of them on the grill, and after the other unit leader was denied her request for more pie-irons, I suggested we just wrap them in aluminum foil and put them over the campfire. It was like a light-bulb lit up in her head. LOL! That was much easier to do and MUCH easier to clean up. That scorched cheese is not the easiest thing to clean out of a pie-iron, especially when you have a limited supply of water. The ticks on a toilet seat were fun; however, not necessarily the best idea in 90+ degrees temperatures. To make ticks on a toilet seat, you must core an apple, then slice the apple into rings. You then spread peanut butter over the apple and top it with chocolate chips (ticks). They were very tasty, but quite a MESS to make. The peanut butter was melted, as were the chocolate chips. The girls had rubber spatulas that they were using to get the peanut butter out of the jar and trying to spread it onto the apple slices. They had peanut butter up to their elbows. Another thing that isn't much fun to clean up with a limited supply of water. The PA was putting the melted chocolate chips onto the apple slices with peanut butter and her hand was completely covered in chocolate after attempting to get them all out of the bag in their melted state. What a MESS! The girls ate very well; however. Thankfully the ice cream and root beer weren't brought out to the site until we were ready to make them. :-)
Emma did pretty well with me helping out yesterday. At first she was a little whiney and clingy because it was just so hot. After I showed her how to wet her bandana down and wrap it around her head, she seemed to tolerate the temperatures much better. She did try to get me to carry her bag around, which she wouldn't have done if I hadn't been there, so I did tell her that she was going to have to carry her own bag, as if I weren't there. She didn't necessarily like that, but she did do better after that. I was happy with the way the day played out. I was also ready at 8pm to go home. :-) I was quite impressed with the whole operation of the camp. Mandan Girl Scouts is ran by a different service unit, and I wonder if that's why things went so much better than the events we have attended here? It's something I will be paying more attention to in the future, for sure. I did post tons of pictures on facebook that I'm not going to take the time to do on here. It just takes so much time, and I can get them on Facebook 3 times faster.
Yesterday evening Gage had called me on the cell phone while I was at the Girl Scout Camp to tell me goodnight because he wasn't going to be home when I got there. He informed me that he was going to spend the night at his friend T.J.'s house. He was very excited about that. I think this was the first time he's spent the night away from home without having Scott, me or Emma with him. He attempted once quite awhile back with his friend Grant, but I ended up having to go get him around 11pm. He actually made it through the night without any problems. Well, as far as I know there weren't any problems. :-) He came home at 9:30 this morning and I think he was pretty proud that he had his first sleepover at a friend's house. T.J. stayed here with us this morning and then went back home after his Mom was done teaching at summer school. Last night Scott asked T.J.'s mom if he could go with them to Tuttle this evening to stay the night and he was thrilled to death to get to do that. So around 3:30 this afternoon Scott, Gage and Emma headed over to pick T.J. up and head over to Tuttle for the night. They had plans to meet a friend of Scott's and his 2 daughters for some adventures out on the prairie. Gage and T.J. have become pretty close friends this summer and we have enjoyed having him over. He's a great kid and I enjoy his family. His oldest sister will be a junior in high school in the fall and it has already been convenient to hire her as a "driving" babysitter. She took Gage to practice the other night when I went to Family Night at Girl Scout Camp and it worked out well. She is very active in hockey though, and I'm sure once hockey starts up, her babysitting time will be limited.
We went out to lunch today with our good friend, Jody Jennings, who is in town to perform a wedding for a friend of his. It was good visiting with him. Unfortunately Emily and the gang weren't able to come up with him. Maybe next time. We need to get to planning some type of vacation together in the future.
Scott and the kids left for Tuttle around 3:30 this afternoon. I decided to stay home and get some things done before we head to Iowa. I also didn't think it sounded like much fun staying somewhere where there was no air conditioner! It was a humid, hot day today. The kids and I were sweating and quite uncomfortable just walking a few blocks to China Garden for lunch. Anyway, I am home alone tonight and am anxious to get some more reading in on my new book "My Sister's Keeper" that Scott brought home for me yesterday. I've been seeing previews for this movie and want to see it, but everyone said it would be best to read the book first. Sometimes the movie sucks after reading the book and I don't want for that to happen, but I know the book is always better than the movie. I think I will end up enjoying both of them. I am enjoying the book already and will be through it in no time. Especially because I accidentally took a 2 hour nap after everyone left this afternoon......................I can't sleep at night after taking a nap, so I am quite sure I'll be awake all night reading. :-)
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Girl Scout Camp
Emma and I had a great day at Girl Scout Camp despite the 90+ temperatures! I posted tons of pictures on Facebook, so go check them out. I'll write more about our adventure tomorrow, after I'm rested! :-)
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Soggy
I'm hoping that Emma doesn't come home soggy from camp tonight. We had a little rain pass through AGAIN and I pray that no storms go through the area. Neighbor Dave told me that they had to evacuate that campsite the night before last, so I'm hoping that doesn't happen again! After that tragic event with the Boy Scouts at camp in Iowa (it was Iowa, right?) it makes a person think twice about leaving their child when there could potentially be some bad weather. They actually have an ambulance and EMT on site at the camp, so that is a little reassuring to me. I think she seemed to enjoy the camp. She wanted to go back again today anyway. Tonight is Parent Night at camp, so I will be there tonight from 6:30-8pm. Gage has baseball practice at 6:30, of course. I hired a friend's daughter, who can drive, to take Gage to practice and bring him home afterwards. It sure is nice having babysitters who can drive! Especially since Scott is out of town and I'm a single parent for the time being.
Tomorrow I will be a unit leader for Emma's group at camp. I had previously said I could help out more, but that was before I knew Scott was going to be out of town. When the gal called me to see if I could help out, the only thing I could arrange was for the last day of camp. They don't allow siblings to be at the camp (unless they are attending the camp, that is) so I had to find a babysitter for Gage from 12:30-8p. That didn't work out so thankfully Gage is going to a friend's house for the day. He's excited about that. His friend is too, and he'll actually be coming here on Friday so they'll get to spend some more time together. He's a good kid and he and Gage get along very well. Anyway, I'm praying it doesn't rain tomorrow. I think it's going to be a LONG day, and rain will only make it worse. Hopefully all goes well.
Gage and Emma are SO EXCITED that we will be heading to Iowa soon for the 4th of July. I love how much they love it. I need to start my lists of things we need to take with us so I don't forget anything!
Tomorrow I will be a unit leader for Emma's group at camp. I had previously said I could help out more, but that was before I knew Scott was going to be out of town. When the gal called me to see if I could help out, the only thing I could arrange was for the last day of camp. They don't allow siblings to be at the camp (unless they are attending the camp, that is) so I had to find a babysitter for Gage from 12:30-8p. That didn't work out so thankfully Gage is going to a friend's house for the day. He's excited about that. His friend is too, and he'll actually be coming here on Friday so they'll get to spend some more time together. He's a good kid and he and Gage get along very well. Anyway, I'm praying it doesn't rain tomorrow. I think it's going to be a LONG day, and rain will only make it worse. Hopefully all goes well.
Gage and Emma are SO EXCITED that we will be heading to Iowa soon for the 4th of July. I love how much they love it. I need to start my lists of things we need to take with us so I don't forget anything!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Busy day with Scouts
Today was a jam-packed day with Camp Ed and Scout activities. Emma went to Camp Ocankusa in Mandan to start her 3-day Daisy/Brownie Day Camp. It goes from 2-8p T-Th. She was pretty excited about it and I think she had a pretty good time. We didn't have too much time to talk about it tonight because we all got home so late. After I dropped her and her friend, IsaBelle, off at camp Gage and I came home to rest a while before his Family Scout Oath Bike Ride. I have had a migraine headache the past 2 days and needed to lay down awhile before we went on this extended bike ride. It was a 10-mile ride around the biking paths in south Bismarck. They had 4 stations set up where people talked about the different parts of the Scout Oath and what they meant. There were 3 groups of about 50 bikers each. Gage and I were in the first group. Registration and a quick bike check/tune-up at Barry's Bikes started at 4:30 and continued until 6. Then the ride was to last from 6-8p. I was a little worried because I have never ridden 10 miles at one time before and wasn't sure if I could do it. It started out pretty darned slow and I thought if it continued at that pace, I would be okay. I did end up being okay. The pace did pick up a bit, but it wasn't too bad. I had some issues with Gage at first because he wanted to ride with another boy from our den, but this boy is always ill-behaved and I hate for Gage to spend any time with him because he starts acting that way himself. Gage finally discovered that it was probably a better idea to ride with Mom after the 2nd stop. After the 3rd stop it seemed that there was getting to be quite a bit of distance between different groups of riders within our group of 50. At one point the people ahead of us weren't sure which direction to go when the path split into 2 different directions. Then one older lady who I remember from Day Camp whizzed right by and said she knew where to go. I assumed she did and continued to follow her. Well, she apparently didn't get the memo which had the correct bike route. Or else she just followed the people in front of her who also didn't know where they were going. We ended up at a dead end and the group ahead of us was just starting out into a different direction when we reached the same point they had when they discovered they took the wrong trail. We finally made it to the last station and I was starting to panic a little since it was 7:50 and we hadn't even eaten supper yet! The bike ride was to end with the hot dog roast at 8p and Emma was also to get out of camp at 8pm. Thankfully she was riding home with IsaBelle and I had already planned for them to drop Emma off at Dave and Maggie's (our neighbors house), if we weren't home yet. After we left the last station, Gage was right with me and I thought he was behind me and when I looked back, he was WAY BACK THERE. I slowed way down trying to wait for him to catch up with me, but he wasn't gaining on me too much. There were others that he was riding with, so at least he wasn't back there alone. Finally I stopped to wait for him and when he caught up to me he said he had a flat tire. Sure enough, he blew out his back tire. GREAT! Well, everyone that was ahead of us was all out of site and I thought there should be some still coming, but there weren't. Apparently the group I was following got on the wrong trail AGAIN! UGH! We did find where they all were at the park and I was a little irritated with the whole scene. I shouldn't be too surprised that it wasn't completely organized; however. I should be used to that! I am going to make some suggestions for next year though. Like maybe there should be MORE people who know what the heck is going on and know the CORRECT route we were supposed to take. It also might be a wise idea to make t-shirts a part of the registration packet and make everyone who is participating wear it so you know who is in the group and who isn't. We obviously weren't the only people in Bismarck using the bike trails, so it was very easy to mistake people who weren't in the group with people who were and vice versa. We ended up having to walk our bikes the last little bit and discovered that Barry, the owner of Barry's Bikes, was still at the shop and he changed Gage's tire for us. He was the NICEST person! I will certainly go there for all of my future biking needs. He showed Gage and I how to change the tire and how to figure out what caused the hole in the first place. Of course I didn't have any money on me because I had nowhere to carry it and when I asked him how much he said we didn't owe him anything. I of course would not accept that and he said it was $6. I promised him I would stop by tomorrow or mail him a check but he wasn't too worried about it. I will be sending him more than $6 and telling everyone I know to patronize his business. What a nice man. I also mentioned to him that I knew in our Scout book for next year one of the requirements is to learn how to change a bike tire and change one. He said they have Scout groups come in occasionally to do those requirements and I will certainly be calling on him to set up a time for our den to do that. I just love it when I find someone who is passionate about what they are doing and are such terrific people....................................I know that's exactly how all those donors feel about Scott and his passion for waterfowl after they come to those waterfowl workshops. It's just so rare to find people that are so passionate about what they do. Barry is one of those people and you should definitely look him up for all your future biking needs. :-)
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Father's Day
Why is it, that on Mother's Day, the kids had me awake before 6am..............and today, on Father's Day, I had to wake the kids up? Hmmm..........makes me wonder. :-) Actually, I know the answer to that, and it's because the kids weren't awake and still needing a bath at almost 11pm on the evening before Mother's Day.
We had a nice weekend. We spend Friday night in Tuttle and had a good time. Saturday evening we headed out to Coteau Ranch with a photographer who was working pro bono for DU and wanted to take some family shots out on the prairie. Gage learned that photographers like to use the words, "gorgeous", "beautiful" and "stunning" alot. Because the most "stunning" light happened at almost 9:30 pm, we didn't get home and in bed until after 11p. The kids weren't actually that difficult today now that I'm thinking about it. We had to get up for church this morning too!
Today, for Father's Day, we went to the Superslide Amusement Park so the kids could ride the new rollercoaster that opened today. They loved it. Adults can also ride it. We bought $15 worth of tickets and had them used up within 20 minutes.................all on the rollercoaster. The first ride Gage and Emma rode together. I would say that the part I enjoyed the most was watching their smiles and look of surprise coming around the corners. It was priceless. After they rode it together, they wanted to ride it again with Mom and Dad. I tried explaining to them that if Dad and I used up 6 tickets to ride the rollercoaster, that was 1 less time for each of them to ride it. They didn't care. Emma and I rode in the front cart and Dad and Gage were behind us. The kids have to be taller than 48 inches to ride by themselves, otherwise an adult has to ride with them. There were a few more adults on the same time as Scott and I. The cars went around the track 3 times each ride and on our 3rd time around, as we were headed to the arrival/departure deck, we screamed through a little faster than we were supposed to and Emma's and my car went past the deck. As the guy running the ride came up to let everyone off the ride, he said, "Oh, I must have let too many fat people ride this time!", then explained that they were still working on the braking system. Nice. Everyone but Emma and I were able to get off the ride. He said he would have to send us around one more time. I was feeling really good about that time, let me tell you. After we got off the ride, I told Scott that
apparently the fattest person on the ride had to take an extra lap. He was happy that I was able to joke about it. Still, it wasn't very nice. Then, to top it off, Gage was ticked because Emma got an extra lap around the track.
For supper we went to The Wood House. We have never been there before and heard some people at church talking about how great it was and they had Gage and Emma so excited about the fact that instead of waiters or waitresses taking your order at the table, each table was equipped with a phone for you to call your order in. They were pretty excited about that. However, when it actually came down to it, they were both quite nervous about it so we ended up Scott placing his order via the phone so Gage could see how to do it, then Gage did it and handed the phone to me to place my order and then Emma was able to place her order over the phone with a little help from Mom. :-)
After supper we had to head to the sand volleyball lot for our church league volleyball game and then had to depart from there in a hurry in order to make it to Gage's baseball game on time. We had a jam-packed Father's Day. Although we did have time this afternoon for Dad to take a nap, which was one of the things he wanted to do most. We let him nap, uninterrupted, while we played several rounds of the board game "Guess Who".
I feel very fortunate that our kids have such a great Dad. There isn't anything he wouldn't do for either of them and I hope they grow up to be as good of a parent as he is.
I too was very fortunate in that department. I want to end this blog entry with things that I have learned from my Dad.
Perhaps my earliest memory of things my Dad taught me (or the first thing I can think of at the moment) is learning the "There was an old lady from Reeling" song. Here is how it went, "There was an old lady from Reeling. She had a very funny feeling. She laid on her back, tickled her crack, and pissed all over the ceiling." Nice, huh!? :-) I also learned another song. This one was taught by a family friend and Dad to go with the first song. "There was an old lady from Norway. She always sat in the doorway. One day the door flew shut, and now she sits in the hallway." I was probably just learning how to from sentences when I learned these songs. :-) I loved singing them too, because I could sure make Dad and Ivan laugh!
Another thing my Dad taught me, and this perhaps is one of the most important things that I learned and still live by today is that, "Credit cards are BAD!" I did actually learn that they aren't actually BAD if you learn how to use them correctly. Thanks for that Dad. Because of you, we have learned how to manage our money and have no credit card debt to this day.
Here is a list of a few more things I have learned from my Dad.
How to win AND lose graciously.
How to work hard with good work ethics.
How to drive a stick shift. (I learned how NOT to drive a stick shift from Mom. She did, however, make it look good when I was 5 or 6 years old!)
How not to be able to say no. (Yes Dad, I think this came from you. I don't ever remember you telling any farmer, before or after work hours, or on the weekends that you were closed, that you couldn't get them something for them at the Co-op, even if it was something they could have (and should have) gotten when you were open.
How to be witty, although I'm not quite as quick or witty as you are................but I do believe Gage will give you a run for your money one day. :-)
How to be a good person.
I know that there are many many more things that I have learned from my Dad, but these are the things that came to my mind.
Thanks for being such a great Dad! We love you!
We had a nice weekend. We spend Friday night in Tuttle and had a good time. Saturday evening we headed out to Coteau Ranch with a photographer who was working pro bono for DU and wanted to take some family shots out on the prairie. Gage learned that photographers like to use the words, "gorgeous", "beautiful" and "stunning" alot. Because the most "stunning" light happened at almost 9:30 pm, we didn't get home and in bed until after 11p. The kids weren't actually that difficult today now that I'm thinking about it. We had to get up for church this morning too!
Today, for Father's Day, we went to the Superslide Amusement Park so the kids could ride the new rollercoaster that opened today. They loved it. Adults can also ride it. We bought $15 worth of tickets and had them used up within 20 minutes.................all on the rollercoaster. The first ride Gage and Emma rode together. I would say that the part I enjoyed the most was watching their smiles and look of surprise coming around the corners. It was priceless. After they rode it together, they wanted to ride it again with Mom and Dad. I tried explaining to them that if Dad and I used up 6 tickets to ride the rollercoaster, that was 1 less time for each of them to ride it. They didn't care. Emma and I rode in the front cart and Dad and Gage were behind us. The kids have to be taller than 48 inches to ride by themselves, otherwise an adult has to ride with them. There were a few more adults on the same time as Scott and I. The cars went around the track 3 times each ride and on our 3rd time around, as we were headed to the arrival/departure deck, we screamed through a little faster than we were supposed to and Emma's and my car went past the deck. As the guy running the ride came up to let everyone off the ride, he said, "Oh, I must have let too many fat people ride this time!", then explained that they were still working on the braking system. Nice. Everyone but Emma and I were able to get off the ride. He said he would have to send us around one more time. I was feeling really good about that time, let me tell you. After we got off the ride, I told Scott that
apparently the fattest person on the ride had to take an extra lap. He was happy that I was able to joke about it. Still, it wasn't very nice. Then, to top it off, Gage was ticked because Emma got an extra lap around the track.
For supper we went to The Wood House. We have never been there before and heard some people at church talking about how great it was and they had Gage and Emma so excited about the fact that instead of waiters or waitresses taking your order at the table, each table was equipped with a phone for you to call your order in. They were pretty excited about that. However, when it actually came down to it, they were both quite nervous about it so we ended up Scott placing his order via the phone so Gage could see how to do it, then Gage did it and handed the phone to me to place my order and then Emma was able to place her order over the phone with a little help from Mom. :-)
After supper we had to head to the sand volleyball lot for our church league volleyball game and then had to depart from there in a hurry in order to make it to Gage's baseball game on time. We had a jam-packed Father's Day. Although we did have time this afternoon for Dad to take a nap, which was one of the things he wanted to do most. We let him nap, uninterrupted, while we played several rounds of the board game "Guess Who".
I feel very fortunate that our kids have such a great Dad. There isn't anything he wouldn't do for either of them and I hope they grow up to be as good of a parent as he is.
I too was very fortunate in that department. I want to end this blog entry with things that I have learned from my Dad.
Perhaps my earliest memory of things my Dad taught me (or the first thing I can think of at the moment) is learning the "There was an old lady from Reeling" song. Here is how it went, "There was an old lady from Reeling. She had a very funny feeling. She laid on her back, tickled her crack, and pissed all over the ceiling." Nice, huh!? :-) I also learned another song. This one was taught by a family friend and Dad to go with the first song. "There was an old lady from Norway. She always sat in the doorway. One day the door flew shut, and now she sits in the hallway." I was probably just learning how to from sentences when I learned these songs. :-) I loved singing them too, because I could sure make Dad and Ivan laugh!
Another thing my Dad taught me, and this perhaps is one of the most important things that I learned and still live by today is that, "Credit cards are BAD!" I did actually learn that they aren't actually BAD if you learn how to use them correctly. Thanks for that Dad. Because of you, we have learned how to manage our money and have no credit card debt to this day.
Here is a list of a few more things I have learned from my Dad.
How to win AND lose graciously.
How to work hard with good work ethics.
How to drive a stick shift. (I learned how NOT to drive a stick shift from Mom. She did, however, make it look good when I was 5 or 6 years old!)
How not to be able to say no. (Yes Dad, I think this came from you. I don't ever remember you telling any farmer, before or after work hours, or on the weekends that you were closed, that you couldn't get them something for them at the Co-op, even if it was something they could have (and should have) gotten when you were open.
How to be witty, although I'm not quite as quick or witty as you are................but I do believe Gage will give you a run for your money one day. :-)
How to be a good person.
I know that there are many many more things that I have learned from my Dad, but these are the things that came to my mind.
Thanks for being such a great Dad! We love you!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Field Trip
Yesterday the kids went on a field trip to the zoo for Camp Edventure. It was from 8a-4p!!! I wasn't sure what I was going to do all day and I admit, that I was a little bit bored. I didn't accomplish too much either. I think I spent the majority of my time making over Kysa's farm on Farm Town on Facebook. What a time waster that darned thing is! I made myself do a few chores before I could even get on though, because I know that's what's going to happen. I should make myself blog before I can get on too, and I wouldn't be skipping days here and there.
We had some more rain yesterday and we were still spared having water in our basement, thank goodness. This morning on our way to Camp Ed, I saw our neighbors Dr. and Mrs. Ramos out for a walk. I asked them if they got water and they said they didn't. They don't have a sump pump either. Now, if we can just hold off on getting more rain, which is a potential in the forecast, we should be good. I feel so very fortunate.
Scott has been out of town quite a bit lately. He gets home tonight from his Living Lakes trip to Minnesota. He'll be home for a few short days before he's gone again next week. I'm getting wore out on all the travel. The kids are too. They keep asking when Dad will be home and are very excited to see him when he is. I guess this just gets us prepared for the fall, when hunting season rolls around again.
I have been having a lot of neck pain the past few days. It's on the opposite side of my neck this time and it's not quite the same as the tension stuff I get on the other side. I'm not sure what I did. I suppose maybe it happened when I was playing volleyball Monday night. I know I dove for a few balls and maybe that jarred my neck? Thankfully Excedrin is helping with the pain.
Not too much longer and the 4th of July will be here. Gage is just dying to get to Iowa to see his cousins and grandparents. He sure does miss it. I do too. We're looking forward to spending some time with our family.
We had some more rain yesterday and we were still spared having water in our basement, thank goodness. This morning on our way to Camp Ed, I saw our neighbors Dr. and Mrs. Ramos out for a walk. I asked them if they got water and they said they didn't. They don't have a sump pump either. Now, if we can just hold off on getting more rain, which is a potential in the forecast, we should be good. I feel so very fortunate.
Scott has been out of town quite a bit lately. He gets home tonight from his Living Lakes trip to Minnesota. He'll be home for a few short days before he's gone again next week. I'm getting wore out on all the travel. The kids are too. They keep asking when Dad will be home and are very excited to see him when he is. I guess this just gets us prepared for the fall, when hunting season rolls around again.
I have been having a lot of neck pain the past few days. It's on the opposite side of my neck this time and it's not quite the same as the tension stuff I get on the other side. I'm not sure what I did. I suppose maybe it happened when I was playing volleyball Monday night. I know I dove for a few balls and maybe that jarred my neck? Thankfully Excedrin is helping with the pain.
Not too much longer and the 4th of July will be here. Gage is just dying to get to Iowa to see his cousins and grandparents. He sure does miss it. I do too. We're looking forward to spending some time with our family.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Water water everywhere!
There's water everywhere....................except in our basement *knocking on wood*. I'm scared that if it's headed down the street, house by house, that we're next in line. The three houses directly north of us have water in their basements. I don't know about the ones south of us. The house across the street from us, and the houses on either side, also have water. We have lucked out this go-round. It's possible we may get more rain tonight and since Scott is out of town today and the next 2 days, that will be when it happens. Thankfully we don't have carpet in the basement (except for a piece a friend was replacing that we have thrown on the floor) and so if we do get water, I should be able to manage it myself. Let's just pray we don't get anymore rain! My neighbor, Dave, ran to Lowe's for me and picked up some extension tubing to hook onto the downspouts, so hopefully that will help move the rain away from the house. I was wondering if maybe one of the reasons we haven't gotten water yet is because we don't water our lawn, and it was so much drier than everyone else's that it just soaked up the water instead of it seeping up through our floor? Just a thought.
The kids are going on an all-day field trip for Camp Edventure tomorrow. They'll be gone from 8a-4p!!! I'm not sure what I'm going to do all day. That's not saying I don't have tons to do around the house though! They are headed to the Zoo and Superslide Amusement Park for miniature golf and basketball.
My neck is killing me today. I don't know if I slept on it wrong or what? Maybe it's all the terrible dreams I've been having lately? The other night I dreamed that I was trapped in a Nazi concentration camp with someone (not sure who was with me) and I was trying desperately to get out. I've had some other bad ones that I'm not going to talk about.
I had to run a few errands today to get Emma ready for her 3-day Daisy Camp next week. On Tues-Thurs Emma will be at Camp Okankusa in Mandan experiencing the great outdoors. Last night I attended Leader Training because I will be helping at camp on Thursday as a unit leader. I was a bit overwhelmed. I think this will be as close to playing Survivor as I've ever been! I'm praying that everyone will have it all figured out by Thursday, since that is the last day, and it won't be so bad. They have all kinds of fun things planned. There will be 5 groups with 11 girls in each group. They will be planning their own meal for supper and cooking it over a campfire. The camp site is really neat, but I hope they get the mosquito problem under control before Tues. They said that someone was going to come out and spray before Tuesday, so I hope that helps. They were TERRIBLE when I was there last night! Heck, they were terrible outside our house tonight!!! It should be a good camp and I know they will learn ALOT of valuable information. I'm excited for Emma. I've been talking to her about the different things I learned at Leader training and a few of the "tips" they gave out to us. I hope they help!
I believe I just heard some thunder rumbling outside. I hope that doesn't bring water with it! We don't need anymore of it right now!
The kids are going on an all-day field trip for Camp Edventure tomorrow. They'll be gone from 8a-4p!!! I'm not sure what I'm going to do all day. That's not saying I don't have tons to do around the house though! They are headed to the Zoo and Superslide Amusement Park for miniature golf and basketball.
My neck is killing me today. I don't know if I slept on it wrong or what? Maybe it's all the terrible dreams I've been having lately? The other night I dreamed that I was trapped in a Nazi concentration camp with someone (not sure who was with me) and I was trying desperately to get out. I've had some other bad ones that I'm not going to talk about.
I had to run a few errands today to get Emma ready for her 3-day Daisy Camp next week. On Tues-Thurs Emma will be at Camp Okankusa in Mandan experiencing the great outdoors. Last night I attended Leader Training because I will be helping at camp on Thursday as a unit leader. I was a bit overwhelmed. I think this will be as close to playing Survivor as I've ever been! I'm praying that everyone will have it all figured out by Thursday, since that is the last day, and it won't be so bad. They have all kinds of fun things planned. There will be 5 groups with 11 girls in each group. They will be planning their own meal for supper and cooking it over a campfire. The camp site is really neat, but I hope they get the mosquito problem under control before Tues. They said that someone was going to come out and spray before Tuesday, so I hope that helps. They were TERRIBLE when I was there last night! Heck, they were terrible outside our house tonight!!! It should be a good camp and I know they will learn ALOT of valuable information. I'm excited for Emma. I've been talking to her about the different things I learned at Leader training and a few of the "tips" they gave out to us. I hope they help!
I believe I just heard some thunder rumbling outside. I hope that doesn't bring water with it! We don't need anymore of it right now!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Negligent
Once again I have been negligent to my blog. I'm blaming Facebook. It's just more fun. However, I am going to keep trying to get better at blogging. I'm thinking that I may try to change my blogging schedule to be during the morning, when the kids are at Camp Edventure.
We went to Tuttle yesterday to mow the lawn. It was desperately needing it too. I wasn't aware of the fact that there were a houseful of people until we were half way there. Scott lets the Minnesota DU people use the house to tour donors around the prairie and when we drove up to the house, I did a gasp. I have never seen a motorhome as big and as nice as the one that was sitting in our driveway. I have no idea why they were staying at our house, because I'm quite confident the accommodations were much nicer in the motorhome, than in our Tuttle house! I have never seen a semi-truck as the cab/vehicle part of a motorhome before. While that had my jaw hanging open, Scott was drooling all over the duck boat that was hooked on behind. WOW!
We have some new neighbors in Tuttle. I haven't met them yet, but I saw them yesterday as they were driving out of the driveway and they smiled and waved like they are nice people. I would guess they are in their 60's. There's another younger couple with a little boy, about 3 or 4, that has bought the abandoned house at the end of our driveway. All I can say is that is going to be a BIG project! The Mom and little guy came over to borrow our bathroom while they were there mowing their yard. It seems that they mow about as often as we do, so they (or we) fit in nicely. :-)
The kids are on the edge of grouchiness today. They were up LATE Saturday night. I went out to dinner with a group of donors and the DU people who were touring them around the prairies. I attempted at babysitters twice, but they were both busy, so I asked my neighbor, Bonnie, if the kids could come over. I thought I would be home around 9pm, but I was panicked at 9pm because the server was just taking our orders at that time! I snuck into the bathroom with my cell phone to call her and make sure everything was going okay. She said things were fine, but I knew she had mentioned earlier that she wanted to get her kids to bed a little earlier that night, so I was feeling terrible about the whole situation. We ate supper at The Pier. They were not prepared for the group we had, regardless of the fact that we had made reservations. One of the waiters mentioned later, after supper was served and being picked up, that had they knew then what they knew now, they would have closed the entire upstairs off to anyone but the DU group. They just had more people than they could handle. I felt bad for them, but I'm guessing they made out well with the tips they received. Anyway, we didn't get home until about 10:30 and I was feeling terrible about it. I wish I had just been able to find a babysitter and I would have enjoyed myself a little more towards the end of the meal. It was an interesting group of people. I enjoyed them more than I have groups in the past. Not sure why? I would bet that almost EVERY single one of them came up to me to tell me what a treat Scott was for them on this tour. They all fell in love with him and his passion for the ducks. It made it really hard for me to continue being mad at him for being gone all week. (However, I seemed to manage....:-)) It was nice visiting with them and having them all tell me how great my husband is. No one has it quite as good as he does, I'm sure. He has his cake and he's eating it too. I'm thankful that he loves what he does, because it allows me to stay home with Gage and Emma, which in my opinion, is the most important thing for us right now.
Yesterday after we got home from Tuttle we stopped at home long enough for me to take a speed bath and for Gage to get his baseball uniform on so we could make it to him ballgame on time. Unfortunately it was the 7:30 game which put us home after 9......................another late night. That, combined with an early morning today to get ready for Camp Edventure = kids who are driving me insane. I'm hoping Scott can get them to bed early tonight, while I'm out playing volleyball in the cold, dreary..........probably raining by then.............weather.
We went to Tuttle yesterday to mow the lawn. It was desperately needing it too. I wasn't aware of the fact that there were a houseful of people until we were half way there. Scott lets the Minnesota DU people use the house to tour donors around the prairie and when we drove up to the house, I did a gasp. I have never seen a motorhome as big and as nice as the one that was sitting in our driveway. I have no idea why they were staying at our house, because I'm quite confident the accommodations were much nicer in the motorhome, than in our Tuttle house! I have never seen a semi-truck as the cab/vehicle part of a motorhome before. While that had my jaw hanging open, Scott was drooling all over the duck boat that was hooked on behind. WOW!
We have some new neighbors in Tuttle. I haven't met them yet, but I saw them yesterday as they were driving out of the driveway and they smiled and waved like they are nice people. I would guess they are in their 60's. There's another younger couple with a little boy, about 3 or 4, that has bought the abandoned house at the end of our driveway. All I can say is that is going to be a BIG project! The Mom and little guy came over to borrow our bathroom while they were there mowing their yard. It seems that they mow about as often as we do, so they (or we) fit in nicely. :-)
The kids are on the edge of grouchiness today. They were up LATE Saturday night. I went out to dinner with a group of donors and the DU people who were touring them around the prairies. I attempted at babysitters twice, but they were both busy, so I asked my neighbor, Bonnie, if the kids could come over. I thought I would be home around 9pm, but I was panicked at 9pm because the server was just taking our orders at that time! I snuck into the bathroom with my cell phone to call her and make sure everything was going okay. She said things were fine, but I knew she had mentioned earlier that she wanted to get her kids to bed a little earlier that night, so I was feeling terrible about the whole situation. We ate supper at The Pier. They were not prepared for the group we had, regardless of the fact that we had made reservations. One of the waiters mentioned later, after supper was served and being picked up, that had they knew then what they knew now, they would have closed the entire upstairs off to anyone but the DU group. They just had more people than they could handle. I felt bad for them, but I'm guessing they made out well with the tips they received. Anyway, we didn't get home until about 10:30 and I was feeling terrible about it. I wish I had just been able to find a babysitter and I would have enjoyed myself a little more towards the end of the meal. It was an interesting group of people. I enjoyed them more than I have groups in the past. Not sure why? I would bet that almost EVERY single one of them came up to me to tell me what a treat Scott was for them on this tour. They all fell in love with him and his passion for the ducks. It made it really hard for me to continue being mad at him for being gone all week. (However, I seemed to manage....:-)) It was nice visiting with them and having them all tell me how great my husband is. No one has it quite as good as he does, I'm sure. He has his cake and he's eating it too. I'm thankful that he loves what he does, because it allows me to stay home with Gage and Emma, which in my opinion, is the most important thing for us right now.
Yesterday after we got home from Tuttle we stopped at home long enough for me to take a speed bath and for Gage to get his baseball uniform on so we could make it to him ballgame on time. Unfortunately it was the 7:30 game which put us home after 9......................another late night. That, combined with an early morning today to get ready for Camp Edventure = kids who are driving me insane. I'm hoping Scott can get them to bed early tonight, while I'm out playing volleyball in the cold, dreary..........probably raining by then.............weather.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Tired and boring
Last night Emma had a baseball game. She is always excited to go, but last night was extra exciting for her since she had her new hair-do! I'm wondering how many people think I'm crazy! :-) It was also a special game because Kim and Juanita came to watch. I think Emma was surprised to see them. On our drive home, when we were talking about how nice it was for them to come, she asked, "How did they even know I had a game?" :-) It was a 7:30 game, so needless to say, the kids got to bed late. Gage is a bit grumpy today because of it. I'll try for an early bedtime tonight since we don't have any activities going on.
I've been going through the kids' rooms and the basement and packing up toys that they don't play with to either store, or sell at a garage sale. I hate doing garage sales because they are so much work, but the kids seem to be more willing to get rid of some things knowing that they could possibly sell them and make some money on them. We'll see how it goes. We've been doing a little each day and eventually, if I don't get rid of it, it will all be disorganized and back all over the basement and their rooms. I need to use that idea to keep me motivated!
Scott has been working a lot of extra time again this week. There are more people in for tours of the prairie. Inside the Duck Factory II, I think is what it's called. I'll be glad when it's over and I'm praying their isn't a part III!
I suppose I better get started on supper. We're making pizzas tonight. When we were at Cub Scout Day Camp we made pizzas out of flour tortillas by topping them with our favorite toppings and then grilling them on the grill. I'm not the griller in our house, so I am planning to just cook them in my electric skillet. I think the kids will enjoy making them. Gage enjoyed doing it at camp and anytime Emma gets to help fix anything in the kitchen, she is happy.
Sorry for the boring post. I think I'm a bit tired myself and it shows while I'm trying to come up with things to blog about. I had a comment on my previous post of pictures from Rachel, from Louisiana, who is apparently a long-time blog reader of mine. I just wanted to thank you for your kind comment. I hope you are right, and Gage and Emma will be happy, content teenagers. I appreciate you taking the time to post your comment. :-)
I've been going through the kids' rooms and the basement and packing up toys that they don't play with to either store, or sell at a garage sale. I hate doing garage sales because they are so much work, but the kids seem to be more willing to get rid of some things knowing that they could possibly sell them and make some money on them. We'll see how it goes. We've been doing a little each day and eventually, if I don't get rid of it, it will all be disorganized and back all over the basement and their rooms. I need to use that idea to keep me motivated!
Scott has been working a lot of extra time again this week. There are more people in for tours of the prairie. Inside the Duck Factory II, I think is what it's called. I'll be glad when it's over and I'm praying their isn't a part III!
I suppose I better get started on supper. We're making pizzas tonight. When we were at Cub Scout Day Camp we made pizzas out of flour tortillas by topping them with our favorite toppings and then grilling them on the grill. I'm not the griller in our house, so I am planning to just cook them in my electric skillet. I think the kids will enjoy making them. Gage enjoyed doing it at camp and anytime Emma gets to help fix anything in the kitchen, she is happy.
Sorry for the boring post. I think I'm a bit tired myself and it shows while I'm trying to come up with things to blog about. I had a comment on my previous post of pictures from Rachel, from Louisiana, who is apparently a long-time blog reader of mine. I just wanted to thank you for your kind comment. I hope you are right, and Gage and Emma will be happy, content teenagers. I appreciate you taking the time to post your comment. :-)
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Pictures to prove I have gone mad.
Emma was VERY EXCITED to head out to her 1pm appointment!
Here we go!
Emma, before the transformation.
Emma during the transformation. She was quite the wiggle worm and I had to beg Gage to let her play his DS while she was sitting under the hair dryer.
Can you say PURPLE?
YIKES! When she said it would be purple, she wasn't kidding around!
It's a tough job, being beautiful.
I guess we'll have to start calling Emma "Clash". Isn't that what purple and red do, clash?
It actually looks pretty good!
I liked the zig-zag part, but Emma didn't. :-( I haven't quite figured out how to make the zig-zag look as good as Amanda's.
I think I have gone off the deep end!
Here we go!
Emma, before the transformation.
Emma during the transformation. She was quite the wiggle worm and I had to beg Gage to let her play his DS while she was sitting under the hair dryer.
Can you say PURPLE?
YIKES! When she said it would be purple, she wasn't kidding around!
It's a tough job, being beautiful.
I guess we'll have to start calling Emma "Clash". Isn't that what purple and red do, clash?
It actually looks pretty good!
I liked the zig-zag part, but Emma didn't. :-( I haven't quite figured out how to make the zig-zag look as good as Amanda's.
I think I have gone off the deep end!Scott and I are thinking, that when the kids are older and come asking us for piercings and tattoos and we say no, they will say, "But MOM and DAD, you NEVER let us do anything!" We can say, "Oh, do you remember when we let you color your hair green or purple?" Do you think it's going to work?
More time in the day
It's amazing how much more I can get done in a day when I don't sleep until 9 or 9:30 in the morning! It's not even the extra 2 hours that do it, it's just that I feel better and have more energy. I wonder why I will still sleep in if given the chance?
Last night I had a surge of energy hit me at about 8-8:30p. I tore into the kitchen pantry and had everything drug out. I hadn't really emptied it out and cleaned it since we moved in almost 7 years ago, so it was about time. (I have cleaned it before, several times, in the past 7 years........but I just haven't drug everything out and reorganized!) It was certainly due and it looks SO MUCH better. The kids were surprised this morning when they opened the door. Mostly Emma. Gage couldn't care less. I think when Emma gets older, she is going to be very good at cleaning and organizing. She hates the mess and clutter too. In fact, she moved out of her bedroom about 2-3 weeks ago and into the guest room. I didn't really know why, until yesterday. I didn't fight the fact that she wanted to sleep in the guest room. I just wanted her to sleep and I didn't care where. She moved all of her prizely possessions, you would be amazed at some of the little pieces of junk in that group of things, into the guest room and claimed that it was because the covers were "comfier". Whatever! Emma has the most comfy bedding in the house (well, she did until I got my new bed linens a few months ago) so I didn't buy it, but I let her do it anyway, since school was nearly out. Yesterday, when that cleaning/organizing bug hit me in the early afternoon, Emma and I tore into her bedroom. AGAIN! Her bedroom can go from very organized to a pig sty in less than an hour. I threw all the papers and junk she has stashed all over her room away and put her mattress back up in the bed, instead of under the bed where she had wanted it not too long ago. We organized all of her toys and books and last night, at bedtime, she decided to move back into her room. :-) She even slept in her own bed, which was IN the dollhouse bed frame. I was sad this morning to see I lost one of my sleeping partners to Emma. Grus LOVES Emma's bed and I found him curled up with her this morning and he has been sleeping with me, snuggled up against my legs. Traitor! Anyway, I was happy that the clean room made Emma want to move back in, and it's apparent that I need to help her when her room becomes so cluttered she can't stand to be in it. That's typically why I don't do it, because I can't stand to be in it either when it gets like that!
Emma is very excited about today. She is getting something that she is very thrilled about. I'm not going to tell what it is quite yet, because I know she would be upset if I spoiled the surprise. She's been on the countdown for several days now and was very easy to get out of bed this morning when I reminded her about what she has going on today.
They are loving Camp Edventure. Not as much as I am though! However, yesterday Emma told me that she was being teased out on the playground. I got all concerned and started asking her what happened. Apparently her brother is the ring-leader! UGH! Gage started this little saying the other day, which Emma hates, and he said it to her at school and she wasn't very happy about it. He says, "Emma is the fartster.............she laughs when she farts and she farts when she laughs!" I have to admit it was pretty funny. She does fart when she gets to laughing pretty hard, which makes us all laugh even harder, until she gets mad. Anyway, it was inappropriate for Gage to do that to her at school and had his friends joining in. I'm hoping that they don't have any recesses together this fall when school starts back up. Gage got a talking-to though and I told him that he's supposed to be sticking up for his little sister when other people are teasing her, not to be the ring-leader himself! Hopefully he won't do that again.
Emma has a ballgame tonight..........................YIKES!....................that reminds me I need to get her uniform washed! I best get on that. I'm hoping that she has a good game again like the other night so we can see her in action. Thankfully Gage does not have a game, so it will be nice that we can all be there to cheer her on. I have Kysa's taco salad made for supper and I just can't wait to eat it. I LOVE her taco salad recipe and I only make it in the summertime, so it's a treat when we get to start eating it again after a long winter. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. It would be even better with homegrown tomatoes, but there won't be any of those around here for at least another month! It's been too cold!
I best get going. It's almost time to get the kids picked up from Camp Edventure. I sure am enjoying my 4 hours of peace and quiet this week...................and for several weeks to come! :-)
Last night I had a surge of energy hit me at about 8-8:30p. I tore into the kitchen pantry and had everything drug out. I hadn't really emptied it out and cleaned it since we moved in almost 7 years ago, so it was about time. (I have cleaned it before, several times, in the past 7 years........but I just haven't drug everything out and reorganized!) It was certainly due and it looks SO MUCH better. The kids were surprised this morning when they opened the door. Mostly Emma. Gage couldn't care less. I think when Emma gets older, she is going to be very good at cleaning and organizing. She hates the mess and clutter too. In fact, she moved out of her bedroom about 2-3 weeks ago and into the guest room. I didn't really know why, until yesterday. I didn't fight the fact that she wanted to sleep in the guest room. I just wanted her to sleep and I didn't care where. She moved all of her prizely possessions, you would be amazed at some of the little pieces of junk in that group of things, into the guest room and claimed that it was because the covers were "comfier". Whatever! Emma has the most comfy bedding in the house (well, she did until I got my new bed linens a few months ago) so I didn't buy it, but I let her do it anyway, since school was nearly out. Yesterday, when that cleaning/organizing bug hit me in the early afternoon, Emma and I tore into her bedroom. AGAIN! Her bedroom can go from very organized to a pig sty in less than an hour. I threw all the papers and junk she has stashed all over her room away and put her mattress back up in the bed, instead of under the bed where she had wanted it not too long ago. We organized all of her toys and books and last night, at bedtime, she decided to move back into her room. :-) She even slept in her own bed, which was IN the dollhouse bed frame. I was sad this morning to see I lost one of my sleeping partners to Emma. Grus LOVES Emma's bed and I found him curled up with her this morning and he has been sleeping with me, snuggled up against my legs. Traitor! Anyway, I was happy that the clean room made Emma want to move back in, and it's apparent that I need to help her when her room becomes so cluttered she can't stand to be in it. That's typically why I don't do it, because I can't stand to be in it either when it gets like that!
Emma is very excited about today. She is getting something that she is very thrilled about. I'm not going to tell what it is quite yet, because I know she would be upset if I spoiled the surprise. She's been on the countdown for several days now and was very easy to get out of bed this morning when I reminded her about what she has going on today.
They are loving Camp Edventure. Not as much as I am though! However, yesterday Emma told me that she was being teased out on the playground. I got all concerned and started asking her what happened. Apparently her brother is the ring-leader! UGH! Gage started this little saying the other day, which Emma hates, and he said it to her at school and she wasn't very happy about it. He says, "Emma is the fartster.............she laughs when she farts and she farts when she laughs!" I have to admit it was pretty funny. She does fart when she gets to laughing pretty hard, which makes us all laugh even harder, until she gets mad. Anyway, it was inappropriate for Gage to do that to her at school and had his friends joining in. I'm hoping that they don't have any recesses together this fall when school starts back up. Gage got a talking-to though and I told him that he's supposed to be sticking up for his little sister when other people are teasing her, not to be the ring-leader himself! Hopefully he won't do that again.
Emma has a ballgame tonight..........................YIKES!....................that reminds me I need to get her uniform washed! I best get on that. I'm hoping that she has a good game again like the other night so we can see her in action. Thankfully Gage does not have a game, so it will be nice that we can all be there to cheer her on. I have Kysa's taco salad made for supper and I just can't wait to eat it. I LOVE her taco salad recipe and I only make it in the summertime, so it's a treat when we get to start eating it again after a long winter. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. It would be even better with homegrown tomatoes, but there won't be any of those around here for at least another month! It's been too cold!
I best get going. It's almost time to get the kids picked up from Camp Edventure. I sure am enjoying my 4 hours of peace and quiet this week...................and for several weeks to come! :-)
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Routine
I am terrible at blogging if it isn't in my DAILY routine. If I don't do it one day, I'm bound to forget the next! Sorry!
Yesterday was the start of Camp Edventure. YEAH! The kids are at school from 8a-12p. They LOVED it! Gage said he couldn't wait to go back today! I couldn't either! :-) Emma was excited to see some of the kids from her Kindergarten class in her group and she also said she had a good time.
Emma had Daisy Day Camp yesterday from 12p-4p. She had a great time there. One of the girls in our Troop, IsaBelle, isn't in Camp Ed, and lives quite a ways out of town, so she came to town with her Dad and then I brought her home with me so I could take her to camp with Emma. We had a good morning. My plan was to make some Girl Scout SWAPS with her for camp. SWAPS are Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere that the Girls make and trade with each other. Emma and I made some on Sunday for Emma to trade and I didn't want IsaBelle not to have any, so we made some yesterday. They can be anything you want, but the idea is to have a safety pin or pin back on them so they can wear them on hats, or other things like that. Emma and I made little hot fudge sundaes for hers. We got some communion cups from church, then put a white cotton ball in the cup. On top of that I put some brown, yarn-like, kinky doll hair that I had in my craft bucket and then we topped it off with a little red pom pom for a cherry on top. We hot-glued a pin back to the side of the cup and they were pretty cute. For IsaBelle's we made one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eaters. LOL! They were pretty cute. I thought Emma might get upset because IsaBelle's turned out a little cuter than Emma's, AND I had to go to Hobby Lobby to get the supplies for IsaBelle's. I took a few pictures I'll have to post.
The kids both had baseball games at 5:45p last night and Scott wasn't able to help me out since he had some work things he had to do. Thankfully I know a Mom on Emma's baseball team pretty well and her son comes home with us sometimes from school, Camp Ed, etc., so she took Emma with her. They also live just a few blocks away which makes it convenient. Emma seemed excited to get to go with them and also didn't seem to care if she had Scott or me there to watch her. I was a little surprised by that. I guess because we're involved in about everything they do, they enjoy it when we aren't? I was sad that I missed her debut as a catcher and also missed her first hit off the pitcher! It was the second pitch too! Hopefully she'll do something spectacular like that the next time I'm at her game.
I will try to get back into my blogging routine! :-)
Yesterday was the start of Camp Edventure. YEAH! The kids are at school from 8a-12p. They LOVED it! Gage said he couldn't wait to go back today! I couldn't either! :-) Emma was excited to see some of the kids from her Kindergarten class in her group and she also said she had a good time.
Emma had Daisy Day Camp yesterday from 12p-4p. She had a great time there. One of the girls in our Troop, IsaBelle, isn't in Camp Ed, and lives quite a ways out of town, so she came to town with her Dad and then I brought her home with me so I could take her to camp with Emma. We had a good morning. My plan was to make some Girl Scout SWAPS with her for camp. SWAPS are Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere that the Girls make and trade with each other. Emma and I made some on Sunday for Emma to trade and I didn't want IsaBelle not to have any, so we made some yesterday. They can be anything you want, but the idea is to have a safety pin or pin back on them so they can wear them on hats, or other things like that. Emma and I made little hot fudge sundaes for hers. We got some communion cups from church, then put a white cotton ball in the cup. On top of that I put some brown, yarn-like, kinky doll hair that I had in my craft bucket and then we topped it off with a little red pom pom for a cherry on top. We hot-glued a pin back to the side of the cup and they were pretty cute. For IsaBelle's we made one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eaters. LOL! They were pretty cute. I thought Emma might get upset because IsaBelle's turned out a little cuter than Emma's, AND I had to go to Hobby Lobby to get the supplies for IsaBelle's. I took a few pictures I'll have to post.
The kids both had baseball games at 5:45p last night and Scott wasn't able to help me out since he had some work things he had to do. Thankfully I know a Mom on Emma's baseball team pretty well and her son comes home with us sometimes from school, Camp Ed, etc., so she took Emma with her. They also live just a few blocks away which makes it convenient. Emma seemed excited to get to go with them and also didn't seem to care if she had Scott or me there to watch her. I was a little surprised by that. I guess because we're involved in about everything they do, they enjoy it when we aren't? I was sad that I missed her debut as a catcher and also missed her first hit off the pitcher! It was the second pitch too! Hopefully she'll do something spectacular like that the next time I'm at her game.
I will try to get back into my blogging routine! :-)
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Cold
Why is it, in the winter, when it's 40 degrees, it feels like a heatwave...............but when it happens in June, it's freezing cold? I don't think we made it over 40 degrees today and there was ALOT of snow in Dickinson. We saw MAYBE some rain that wanted to turn into snow, or at least Scott did. Wow! It was a cold one out there today. Of course it was the day of our church's annual Turkey Barbeque. It seems to always be nasty weather on that day. It used to be in May, and because of the nasty weather, they have moved it into June, and it didn't matter. Still cold. Maybe it just isn't to be? The turkey was very good regardless. AND, because there weren't many people there, we got to bring some of the leftover turkey home, so I'm excited that I won't have to fix at least one meal tomorrow! :-)
I've had a neckache/headache most of the day and I think I'm going to cut this short tonight. I did get the Day Camp pictures uploaded to Facebook, and I think that's probably where they will stay. It just takes too long to upload them on here........................so if you want to check them out Mom, head over to Facebook! :-) By the way, I tried calling you today and the phone was doing weird things? Don't know if it was on this end, or your end? Love love love ya!
I've had a neckache/headache most of the day and I think I'm going to cut this short tonight. I did get the Day Camp pictures uploaded to Facebook, and I think that's probably where they will stay. It just takes too long to upload them on here........................so if you want to check them out Mom, head over to Facebook! :-) By the way, I tried calling you today and the phone was doing weird things? Don't know if it was on this end, or your end? Love love love ya!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Cub Scout Day Camp - Day 1
I survived Day 1 of Cub Scout Day Camp........................barely! There were a couple boys that I just wanted to knock their heads together, but other than that, it was a pretty good, but long, day. They had all sorts of activities going on and I think they all had fun. It was a beautiful day for it. Although I must admit I wasn't very smart in the sunscreen department. I lathered Gage and Emma up well, but neglected to put any on my face. I thought I had put some on my face, but apparently I didn't. My face is pretty much fried, except for where my sunglasses were. I'll be smarter tomorrow!
Emma actually didn't end up staying at Day Camp today. One of her friends from school has a brother in Cub Scouts as well, and their Mom offered to take Emma home with them. I was very thankful for that. I think Emma would have had fun; however, I sometimes feel bad for Gage that he can never do these things without his little sister tagging along.
I think I'm on the verge of a major headache......................to much sun for 1 day I think..............so I am going to cut this short.
I'll try to post pictures tomorrow.
Emma actually didn't end up staying at Day Camp today. One of her friends from school has a brother in Cub Scouts as well, and their Mom offered to take Emma home with them. I was very thankful for that. I think Emma would have had fun; however, I sometimes feel bad for Gage that he can never do these things without his little sister tagging along.
I think I'm on the verge of a major headache......................to much sun for 1 day I think..............so I am going to cut this short.
I'll try to post pictures tomorrow.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Quickie!
Not much happened today. The kids were fighting over the stupid triceratops again today. I took it and put it up on a high shelf in the basement and I think they have forgotten about it because no one said anything about having it in their room tonight! :-)
Gage and Emma both had baseball games at 7:30 tonight. Gage struck out his 2 times at bat but he was thrilled to death when someone hit a grounder to him at 3rd base and he fielded it, stepped on the bag and got the force out. I was happy that he was so happy. Unfortunately someone had asked me a question at that time and I missed the whole thing. UGH! That's the way it always happens. Scott said Emma did okay. He didn't go into any detail, so that's all I can report.
Tomorrow is the first day of Gage's Day Camp for Cub Scouts. I am a chaperone for his group (our den). It goes from 12:30-5:30 so it will be an entire fun-filled afternoon (NOT!). Hopefully they will all be too tired to be obnoxious. Ha! Wishful thinking, I know. I decided I better go to bed earlier tonight so I don't kill a Cub Scout tomorrow. :-)
Gage and Emma both had baseball games at 7:30 tonight. Gage struck out his 2 times at bat but he was thrilled to death when someone hit a grounder to him at 3rd base and he fielded it, stepped on the bag and got the force out. I was happy that he was so happy. Unfortunately someone had asked me a question at that time and I missed the whole thing. UGH! That's the way it always happens. Scott said Emma did okay. He didn't go into any detail, so that's all I can report.
Tomorrow is the first day of Gage's Day Camp for Cub Scouts. I am a chaperone for his group (our den). It goes from 12:30-5:30 so it will be an entire fun-filled afternoon (NOT!). Hopefully they will all be too tired to be obnoxious. Ha! Wishful thinking, I know. I decided I better go to bed earlier tonight so I don't kill a Cub Scout tomorrow. :-)
Monday, June 1, 2009
Be Creative at Your Library
This year's Summer Reading Program theme is "Be Creative at Your Library". I always thought you were supposed to be quiet at your library. :-) I suppose you can be creative AND quiet at the same time.................at least people other than my children, that is.
The kids and I went a little earlier this morning than we have in the past because it is usually swamped with people. I was surprised as there didn't seem to be as many people this year as in years past? We had a good time. We saw some friends we haven't seen in awhile and that was nice. There was a crossword puzzle and word search put on by the state paleontologists. We were on a scavenger hunt throughout the gallery for answers to the questions. The kids were sidetracked for a short while, but we finally got back to looking for and finding answers. The kids enjoyed searching for the clues with "big Emily" from church. (We've had enough Emily's in our life that we have named them, big Emily and little Emily.) Everyone who turned in an answer sheet was going to be put into a prize drawing to be held at 3:45. The prize was a collectible-like Triceratops. I don't really know how to describe it. I took a picture of the kids with it, but I'm too lazy, and sore, to go get the camera right now. It isn't really for playing with. It's kind of heavy and looks bronze, but it isn't. When we turned in our answer sheets, with Emily, our three were the only 3 that had been turned in by 1:15. I don't know if people didn't know about it, or weren't interested in it? Anyway, Emily told Gage that she didn't really want it if she won it and was going to give it to him. Well, that pretty much shot our odds of winning it right up there! I was pretty sure there would be people doing the activity in the afternoon and really didn't think we would win it. Gage came up to me at 3:30 and said, "Mom, they are going to be doing the drawing for the Triceratops pretty soon!" I told him that he was right, but that I really didn't think we were going to win it because there would have been more people to enter in the afternoon. When the phone rang at 3:45, the kids came running. I couldn't believe it when it was the lady from the Heritage Center calling to tell us Gage won the dinosaur. Both Gage and Emma were wanting to win it, so I decided not to tell them who won, but tell them they both won. Gage thought maybe their entries were folded together. We of course had to go get it right then and they were already fighting over who was going to get to keep it in their room first. Then the one who wasn't going to get it in their room first wanted to hold it on the car ride home. UGH! On our way back to the Heritage Center Gage says, "Mom who really won the dinosaur?" I told him I wasn't telling because I didn't want anyone feeling bad. They assured me they wouldn't feel bad and that they were going to share it. Well, I was stupid and fell for it. I figured Emma would be better about not actually winning it than Gage would be, so I gave in and told them. I knew I shouldn't have and it has turned into a fight this evening. Emma lost her pedometer when we went back to get the dinosaur so she told Gage she would trade him the dinosaur for one week if she could have his pedometer. He agreed. Well, tonight before bed Emma had a meltdown wanting to take the deal back. UGH! I wish someone else would have won that stupid thing! Just one more thing to collect dust and add to the clutter that I won't be able to get rid of.
The kids and I went a little earlier this morning than we have in the past because it is usually swamped with people. I was surprised as there didn't seem to be as many people this year as in years past? We had a good time. We saw some friends we haven't seen in awhile and that was nice. There was a crossword puzzle and word search put on by the state paleontologists. We were on a scavenger hunt throughout the gallery for answers to the questions. The kids were sidetracked for a short while, but we finally got back to looking for and finding answers. The kids enjoyed searching for the clues with "big Emily" from church. (We've had enough Emily's in our life that we have named them, big Emily and little Emily.) Everyone who turned in an answer sheet was going to be put into a prize drawing to be held at 3:45. The prize was a collectible-like Triceratops. I don't really know how to describe it. I took a picture of the kids with it, but I'm too lazy, and sore, to go get the camera right now. It isn't really for playing with. It's kind of heavy and looks bronze, but it isn't. When we turned in our answer sheets, with Emily, our three were the only 3 that had been turned in by 1:15. I don't know if people didn't know about it, or weren't interested in it? Anyway, Emily told Gage that she didn't really want it if she won it and was going to give it to him. Well, that pretty much shot our odds of winning it right up there! I was pretty sure there would be people doing the activity in the afternoon and really didn't think we would win it. Gage came up to me at 3:30 and said, "Mom, they are going to be doing the drawing for the Triceratops pretty soon!" I told him that he was right, but that I really didn't think we were going to win it because there would have been more people to enter in the afternoon. When the phone rang at 3:45, the kids came running. I couldn't believe it when it was the lady from the Heritage Center calling to tell us Gage won the dinosaur. Both Gage and Emma were wanting to win it, so I decided not to tell them who won, but tell them they both won. Gage thought maybe their entries were folded together. We of course had to go get it right then and they were already fighting over who was going to get to keep it in their room first. Then the one who wasn't going to get it in their room first wanted to hold it on the car ride home. UGH! On our way back to the Heritage Center Gage says, "Mom who really won the dinosaur?" I told him I wasn't telling because I didn't want anyone feeling bad. They assured me they wouldn't feel bad and that they were going to share it. Well, I was stupid and fell for it. I figured Emma would be better about not actually winning it than Gage would be, so I gave in and told them. I knew I shouldn't have and it has turned into a fight this evening. Emma lost her pedometer when we went back to get the dinosaur so she told Gage she would trade him the dinosaur for one week if she could have his pedometer. He agreed. Well, tonight before bed Emma had a meltdown wanting to take the deal back. UGH! I wish someone else would have won that stupid thing! Just one more thing to collect dust and add to the clutter that I won't be able to get rid of.
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