What's with all the crazy postings?

I tried to catch up with a bunch of my postings since I finally had pictures put on disks. So, I apologize for all the craziness and the massive amounts of postings all at once. Some of the posts are where they should be regarding the dates and others are not. Ooopsie!

Girl trauma or drama...whatever!

On the second day of middle school, Mikaela gets her first love note from a secret admirer. (He has another kid give her the note.) On the third day of middle school, Mikaela gets asked out on a date! (But the boy doesn't ask for himself, he has another kid ask for him.) On the fourth day of middle school, Mikaela is traumatized because aforementioned boy likes her and looks at her all the time and he doesn't even know her! We have tears and fears and all of that drama...and she's only 12! I think the kid didn't mean go out on an actual date. (That's what happens when you send a messenger to get you girlfriends!) I think he meant that he wanted to "go out with" which only means "go with." Does anyone remember that from our day? You know the meaningless relationship that lasted a couple weeks and everybody gossiped about so and so going with each other. I really don't know what actually happens in a "go with" type of relationship as I was NEVER asked! I just can't believe I wasn't asked. I mean I had already gotten rid of the glasses, headgears (ya, it was plural) and braces by then. I'm pretty sure I am the only kid in the world that didn't get asked to "go with" someone. So, does anyone have any advice for this poor traumatized girl? Her mother is still needing therapy 26 years later for NOT getting asked and she is going to need it because she WAS asked! Girls! (We won't even talk about the fact that no one took me to my Junior Prom - that's for another post!)

What are your memories of "going with" people?

Circa 1982-ish (mom, Summer, me) - this is with the braces on.

Can you believe no one asked that girl to "go with" them? She's hot!

Last day of school...first day of school!

FIRST DAY

Just like everyone else, we have started school. But, unlike everyone else, I never got my last day of school post finished. I suppose that is what happens when they don't get out till July and go back in August! (Plus, I'm always waiting to get my pictures first - we're pretty ghetto here in the computer department!) So, here are the pictures from both the first day of school and the last day.

Hudson was first to start 4th grade on Monday the 18th

Dalton started 1st grade on Tuesday the 19th

Mikaela was the last to start 7th grade on Monday the 25th

LAST DAY

Dalton got out Monday (June 30th) and the other two were out Tuesday (July 1). Mikaela had her LAST day ever being a student at her Elementary school. It was bittersweet for me. Exciting for her to move on to Middle school, but sad to see her growing up so fast!


I told Dalton on Monday that this was his last day of Kindergarten and he wouldn't be a kindergartner again, etc. So, I went to pick him up and he walks out of the doors and says to me, "Mom, it was my last day of Kindergarten and I still can't read!!! I only know like 10 words!!!" I chuckled because he had huge expectations for the last day. Apparently, it would just jump into his head instantly by the last day. I had to reassure him that he would learn a lot more in first grade. For those of you who are worried about his lack of education, don't be. I've got it under control. Hudson was the same way. They both had/have no interest in reading and were slow to pick it up. But, Hudson is on fire now!!! The kid is a total bookworm. He just keeps reading series after series. I am afraid we will run out of stuff for him to read. Any ideas for new books this summer would be appreciated. He is even writing his own novel and already talking about having it published and made into a movie. His highlight this year was going to the Provo library to meet one of his favorite authors, Brandon Mull. Hudson loves his Fablehaven series. He couldn't wait for the new book to come out back in April!

Mikaela's last walk out of the doors as a student!

See the genuine look of sadness. Give that girl an Oscar!

Dalton and Loren - no more kindergarten babies born in the gravy

(do kids still say that crap?)

Hudson received his Rise award (it's hard work) and also an award for student leadership.

(The teacher could only choose one child in each class. I was excited for him).

I am super proud of ALL of them!!!

Good job poopsies!!! Keep up the good work!!!

Tonight I saw...

a man pick his nose while sitting at the public internet computers at the library. It reminded me to pull out my new compact size hand sanitizer and rub it all over my hands. It's apple scented and it smells like vomit! The End!

You were a teenager in the 80's?

This was the question I was asked today by one of my daughter's twenty something middle school teachers. Here is the dialogue...

Me: This part of the school wasn't here when I attended here.
Teacher: You came here?
Me: Yes. I was here in the early 80s.
Teacher: You were a teenager in the 80s?
Me: Yes. I graduated high school in 89.
Teacher: Wow, you hold it well! (said in shock and amazement!)
Me: Thank you my new favorite teacher of Mikaela's!!! I love you! You are my new best friend!
(Just kidding. I didn't say that. That would be creepy.) I simply said "thank you."

And, I walked away feeling pretty happy!

The kids are home!!!

It's been another long week without the kids. They went to San Diego with their dad. They flew on jet blue again and, of course, loved it. They love jet blue's t.v.'s and unlimited variety and supply of snacks. They were quite upset when they realized they had slept through the flight home and missed the snacks and tv. Not to mention, the trip went by too fast. The real bad part was that their flight was delayed 3 hours! Someone (not me) thought it a brilliant idea to put them on the latest flight possible. So, as it was, they were getting in at 10:30 pm. Late enough, but they didn't actually get in until 1:30 am and we didn't get home and to bed till after 2:30 am! I am soooooo tired and I am sure the kids are too. I set the alarm to wake up by 9:30 am so we could make it to swimming lessons. We made it, but we are dragging today. Ugh!

So, it's back to the daily grind for us. Time to enjoy the last week of summer and get ready for school!

Oh, I forgot the best part of my story. Alicia went on a trip and was leaving on the same jet blue plane that the kids were arriving on. So, I planned to take her to the airport at the same time. We found out the flights were all delayed but the ticket counter closed at 11:30 so we had to be there by then. I HAD to get a gate pass to get past security in order to get the kids. So, we planned on that. We arrived at the gate check and the lady told us it wasn't true and they would have to stay open till every flight is finished. We decided to leave the airport and get something to eat. We waited till after midnight so as not to break the sabbath anymore (that works, right?) We go to the Denny's on North Temple praying we don't get capped. Some guy tries to approach our car, but I am on the phone and I hurry to lock the doors and start my engine. He leaves and goes to another couple to bug them for money. Then, he comes back towards us. Alicia waves "no" at him through the front window and he leaves us alone. So, we wait till it's safe to enter the Denny's and go in with some other people. This place is pretty hopping for midnight. The hostess/waitress seats us in a booth next to three girls. Or, so I thought! Two small ones and one amazon one. It just so happens that the amazon one was a large black tranny with a lisp! How awesome is that? I so wish I had a picture for you all but, I don't. Imagine she/he wore red heels! She/he was huge! So, we hurry and eat some high caloric greasy food and dash to the airport. The kids arrived safely but super tired. Hudson had bloodshot eyes and they were all sunburnt and peeling. They looked so exhausted. It all ended up okay and I got to see a tranny!!! How lucky am I?

Mikaela's birthday party!

Yeppers, I'm late posting again. We had Mikaela's birthday party in June. It was a lot of fun. I hope the kids had a good time, but how can you not when you are swimming, right? Here is a quick re-cap of the party. It was a dog theme. The guests gifts were tiny dog bowls with candy dog food and a candy bone. Mikaela chose it all. Super cute!

The girls ready to play

The party group and a party pooper!

The party table. Isn't that an ugly dog?

Dalton jumpin'

The girls throwing Hudson in the pool. He was bugging them throughout the entire party.

I'm thinkin' he was lovin' it, the girls however, not so much!

July 24th with the Bees!!!

We went with my family to the Bees game for the 24th of July with D-rock's work. We really enjoyed it and afterwards some of us went down to the grass and watched the fireworks. It was great, except for all the hot debris that fell into our eyes. We get that at the city 4th of July fireworks too, but these were burning our eyes. It actually hurt. As far as I know only Cham and I got burned. The kids were fine and we made some of them wear their sunglasses.

Now that's wear and tear!

I think someone needs new shoes? Actually, he already got some, but not before I realized his old shoes looked like this! I can't believe I sent him out like that. The holes are all the way through the entire shoe. Check one more mark towards my "Mother of the Year" award!

Swimming lessons...finally

The kids finally got to take their swimming lessons in August. Now, these aren't just any swimming lessons. I have to get over to the sign ups the end of April on a Saturday morning at 5:45 am to get a place in line. Then, I have to guess what their schedules are for the summer and pay a deposit on each kid for each session. (This is not as bad as sign ups in Burbank wherein all mothers slept outside (like a concert) in line to get swimming lessons). So, needless to say, Dalton went in June after school and all three kids had to miss July and that is why I say they finally got some lessons in August. We were just lucky that the boys got the right track so they didn't have to go to school. It was all a big risk, but it worked out. They love it and they're having a lot of fun. Mikaela is in the deep/diving class this year and that is cool. Hudson is in the corner class but, we are moving him up next year to deep/diving. Dalton moved up to the wall class this session. They're doing well.

Dalton

Hudson

Mikaela

Dalton diving

Hudson diving

Mikaela diving through the hoop

B.O.A.T

Break
Out
Another
Thousand

This is what Danielle says boat stands for.

This has been the season for broken watercraft. We took the jet skis out last month only to allow two rides before one ski had to be towed in and the other never even started! That was at our family reunion. Our friends' boat has been broken a couple times this summer as well.

Summer and I were going camping last night with boating today, but the boat broke yesterday before we even got to the lake. So, the entire weekend was cancelled. I have only been out on the jet skis once and boating once this season! Not enough!!!

So, I guess you could say........we missed the boat!!!

What a depressing summer!!!

Understanding women...

(A MAN'S PERSPECTIVE)

I know I'm not going to understand women.
I'll never understand how you can take boiling hot wax,
pour it onto your upper thigh, rip the hair out by the root, and...

still be afraid of a spider.

I'm bugged...

I decided to run errands every morning this week since 1. I needed to and 2. the kids are gone and 3. I can enjoy a little AC in the car! So, I'm out today enjoying the COOL peace and tranquility and my AC goes on the blitz. Now, it's still blowing cool air. It's not like it shut off altogether, but now it smells like butt! Okay, maybe a dead animal or something. But, it's awful. So, I have to turn off the cool to avoid choking on the smell.
Now I ask why? Why is it, I am not allowed to have something work right? I know people have to deal with different things, but I am so sick of nothing working right. I shop at the same stores everyone else does and no matter what, my crap doesn't work. Blow up camping mattresses, doors, DVDs, cameras, you name it! Okay, I am exaggerating a little. But, I am so, so bugged right now. Or, maybe I am just hot. I'm easily irritated when I am hot. Either way, I have to get the AC fixed. What I am afraid of is this...the car's heating system is almost gone and it isn't worth fixing because the car is so old. So, I have to drive the car until I can't handle going without heat and then I will have to get a new car. So, what I really didn't want to happen is for the AC to go out completely before I'm ready to get rid of the car (which will be never). I like my big car that holds lots of kiddies and I will never be able to get another one. See, I have this whole internal dilemma going on. It's too much! Ahhh!

Twins or sisters?

This was the question that Tamra and I were asked the other day at the gym. Are you guys twins or sisters? Wait a minute, if we were twins we would also be sisters! I think a good answer would have been "we're twins, but not sisters." Hmmmmmmm!?! We have been asked if we were sisters on a number of occasions, but never twins! We don't look a thing alike, but there are some funny similarities. We are both 5' 6 1/2" tall. We have a lot of the same likes and dislikes, we think a lot alike, we buy a lot of the same things and we often say the same thing at the same time.

We finally told her we were just friends and she said "you've been friends so long, you've started looking like each other." We did have our gym hats on so you couldn't really tell she's a blonde and I'm a brunette. Sometimes our gym outfits are similar, but other than that, we don't look a think alike. Sorry, T, I hope you aren't morphing into me!

To give the girl some credit...we looked a little like this!

Dinner for one!!!

This has been hard for me to get used to. It has been so long since I have only worried about dinner for myself. It is strange and interesting. Sometimes it's simply a bowl of cereal but most of the time, it's one of these lean cuisines. These are two of my favorites. I only have about 4 that I like (you know the meatless kinds!) I heard Summer on the phone the other day and she was answering the question, "do you have any dinner over there?" She responded with "no, Larissa doesn't have the kids tonight." So, Larissa doesn't have the kids tonight equals Larissa doesn't cook! Maybe that part's not so bad.

Happy 6th Birthday Dalton!

On July 20, 2008, Dalton turned 6. I can't believe my baby is six! I can't believe he is a first grader! I can't believe any of it. Here are some of the things I love about Dalton:

He is cute
He is funny
He isn't too needy
He is fairly easy going
He likes music
He builds awesome bionicles and legos
He draws awesome bionicles and transformers
He gives lots of hugs
He has my dimples
He has my defective upper lip thing

Dalton 2 months-'02

Could someone get me some paper?

He loved corn! One time he ate like six ears!

'04

Halloween '04

Dalton in San Diego '06

First day of preschool '06


Gettin' ready for a gig

Happy 4th birthday '06

Preschool graduation with cousin Loren '07

Bowling '08

Swimming '08

Dalton '08

Soccer Spring '08

Swimming '08