Tuesday, May 31, 2011

May Days

May has been one crazy month, I am glad it is almost over!  It seems like it is always kind of crazy, school is wrapping up, I have 3 birthdays to celebrate...  it just seems to be a bit crazy.

This is how the first week of May went for me. 

Monday:
7:55 Kids missed the bus so I drove them to school
9:00ish, I drove Em and neighbor to school (my week to carpool)
1:45ish, girls come home from bus stop
2:40, I take Lindsey, Lauren, and a friend to choir practice, which is the same time Em needed to be picked up.
2:55ish, I go pick up Emily and neighbor from school, arriving 15-20 minutes late due to choir drop off.
3:45, I go pick up kids from choir practice
4:00, go to the store to get Emily her needed things for school, sunglasses, black pants, flashlight
6:00 try to find something quick for dinner and then do a fast FHE so kids can get to bed

Tuesday:
7:19, I shove the girls out the door to go catch the bus
9:00ish, I drive carpool to Em's school
10:45, go check out Lindsey from school
11:15, arrive at Orthodontists for Lindsey's appointment
12:00ish, check Lindsey back into school
2:35ish, girls walk home from bus stop
3:40 pick up carpool at Em's school
4:45, leave to take Amber to her soccer game
5:45, arrive back home to make dinner quickly
7:00, I go to my Pres. meeting

Wednesday:
7:19, kick kids out the door to catch bus
9:00ish, drive carpool to Em's school
2:35ish, girls walk home from bus stop
3:00 tell Lindsey and Lauren to get ready for their soccer game
3:35 I take twins and friend to choir practice, in their soccer stuff
3:55 pick up carpool at Em's school late because of choir practice drop off
4:30 Pick up twins and friend from choir early, drop off friend and head to Rob's work.
5:00 Arrive at Rob's work, switch cars with him...  I take Em with me, he keeps the rest of the kids.
Emily and I get some dinner,
6:15, arrive at the Marriot Center for Hope of America performance (which is why we needed sunglasses, flashlight, and black pants)
Rob takes Lindsey and Lauren to their soccer game that starts at 6pm.
10pm, Emily and I are leaving Marriot Center to come home.
Note:  Emiliy also was suppose to have Activity Days but missed it due to Hope of America

Thursday:
8:05, I take girls to school because they missed the bus, and I have to check them in to school
9ish, I drive carpool to Em's school
2:35ish, girls walk home from bus stop
3:40 pick up carpool at Em's school
5:20ish, Take Em to her soccer game that starts at 6:00
7:30, figure out something for dinner and send kids to bed late

Friday:
8:10, take twins and their friend to school late and check them in because they missed the bus
9ish, drive carpool to Em's school
2:35ish, girls walk home from bus stop
3:40 pick up carpool at Em's school
Sigh a big relief that the week is over!

Saturday:
8:30 take Emily to soccer game that starts at 9.  Hope Grandma and Grandpa arrive to pick her up.
9:25 arrive at Amber's game that starts at 9:30. 
Luckily Grandma and Grandpa picked up Emily from her game and brought her to Amber's.
10:30 take kids over to Emergency Preparedness fair (where Rob has been since 7am)
1-ish, leave the fair to go get lunch before Lindsey and Lauren's soccer game
2:00 arrive at twin's soccer game that starts at 2. 
3:30 get back home....  phew!  What a week!

Of course the weeks events doesn't include any grocery shopping or getting gas or stopping to pick up dinner fixings after soccer games to try to have a quick and easy dinner. 

That is just about how my whole month has gone.  We have had soccer games each week, normally on Saturdays, but then we have 3 practices during the week.  We've had doctor appointments, and one for me  and one for the dog too.  I had a dentist appointment and I canceled it, I just couldn't do it! 

What a month!  I am glad May is just about over!  I hope for slower days in the month of June. 

Monday, May 23, 2011

Dinosaurs!

Do you ever have those weeks that seem to go by and you feel like you haven't done anything fun, it has been just busy, busy, busy?  That is how Robert and I were feeling.  We decided for FHE or family night we would go to the dinosaur museum.  We have lived near by for 11 years almost and have never once gone there.  We decided to go.


The kids really liked it, I thought it was pretty fun too!  We watched a 3D movie.  Samantha and Amber were sitting on my lap and they jumped a few times. 
Most of my pictures didn't turn out, but here are few that did.  The bigger girls were interested in picture taking.  They were too busy with other things.

 Samantha was all about taking pictures.  She kept asking for more pictures.  Usually that is Amber's role but she was with Robert and he was trying to move their everything quickly so we would be done since it was getting late for a school night.
 Samantha's little expression and body language here cracks me up.  She was a little unsure of getting too close to this giant shark.  He did look pretty intimidating.
That was the end of the night.  We ate at the little resturaunt which wasn't a favorite at all and then went home.  Oh, but before we went home, we decided to get a annual family pass. 

And since we kind of hurried through things we didn't get to let the kids dig in the sand for dinosaur bones at the end.  I brought the two little girls back a few days later to dig. 
It was nice, we had like 40 minutes, so we just went straight to the sand where they played for about 30 minutes until it was time to go home.

And of course since these are my best girls to take pictures of (since they actrually sit and wait for me to take pictures) we took some more pictures too.  I love this picture!
Aren't these girls so cute?  I sure love, love, love them!  I also think we are going to enjoy having this annual pass to the dinosaur musuem and all other things for Thanksgiving Point. 

Note: Visitors that come with me, get 50% off admission I think, so if someone wants to join me there, let me know!

Friday, May 20, 2011

Soccer Season


Soccer season for us has started and is almost over.  The last game is on the 4th of June.  It has been great for the girls to go get out and enjoy the weather (when it hasn't been raining or freezing cold with the wind blowing).  At Emily's practice we play on the park playground, weather permitting of course. 


Samantha is the only one not playing soccer this season.  Amber got a water bottle, and Samantha wanted one too.  I told her she couldn't get one.  Later that night, after the rest of the girls went to bed and after hearing Samantha cry and keep telling me she needed it, I weakend and took her to get her a water bottle too.  She brings it to drink when we go to the various soccer games to watch the girls play. 

Amber started out crying and was not wanting to play at her first game.  Now she has gotten a little more use to the way little preschoolers play, everyone chase the ball and fall over each other.  She has been pretty aggresive some games, even trying to steal the ball from her own team mates.  It is such a fun game to watch those little ones play. 
Samantha is the best cheerleader, or maybe she is just my best shadow.  She wants to go anywhere I go.  She will go to all the soccer games I go to even if some of the girls don't go.  She has fallen asleep in my lap at one game.  Amber is content on not going.  She even decided to stay home when we met my parents for dinner on the night they arrived.  Funny girl.  Samantha, she goes everywhere I go, or she is sad and cries.
Emily's games and Amber's games are at the same time so I haven't been able to get any pictures yet of Emily's games.  Emily did score a goal 2 games ago and last game she assisted with one.  She typically plays mid-field.  She is exhausted at the end of the game.  Their team doesn't have any subs at all, so they all play the whole game.  Emily's team has lost one game, tied one game and won the other games.

Lauren and Lindsey are on the same team.  I love their coach, she is fabulous!  (I don't know Emily's really enough to have an opinion).  Lindsey and Lauren's team have won every game so far.  They are fun to watch.  Lauren played goalie one time and she did fabulous!  She was diving for the ball and didn't let one of the many shots that came toward her by.  I am pleased to see Lindsey and Lauren becoming more and more aggresive when they play.  They still need to step it up a bit, but they are improving. 

I hope to get more soccer pictures before the season is over.  It is tough on Saturdays, we have 2 morning games, that start within a half an our of each other, and then I also in that same time frame am suppose to pick up my Bountiful Baskets.  Saturdays are so busy.  I will be partly glad when soccer is over, so I can have more time on Saturdays.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Confession of a mistake

Have you ever done something with out really thinking?  You make a choice, you think it will all work out and then later you realize you weren't thinking right.  Those decisions that you think are no big deal, it won't really matter anyway, and later you find out they do matter... LOTS! 

Recently I had a choice to make.  I should have known better.  It is true what people say about those thoughts in your heart, they really decide for you.  You think you will be smart, you think you can take a step back and look at it and make the right choice.  In my heart even though I knew it wasn't good, I wanted something so bad.  Yet it wasn't really a good choice, and I logically knew it wasn't good for me, or even my family. 

Many of the choices we make don't just effect us but our families, our friends, and other people around us. I wasn't thinking of others, I was only thinking of myself and my desires.  Sure others would be okay with my choice and some even be grateful for my choice.  I wasn't thinking of how it would effect everyone.  I was again, only thinking in the moment, I wasn't thinking of long term or what this choice really meant.  I was only after that instant gratification,

I knew it was a bad choice.  I knew I would have great consequences for it.  I have heard before that you can choose whatever you want but you can't choose the consequence for it.  I forgot about that until my recent bad choice, until I was dealing with those consequences for my weak moment, for that time when I didn't think things through.  I have seen other do it, they looked so fun and so inviting... seemed so carefree and wonderful.  I never saw any regrets from their choices.

I am now dealing with the consequences of my bad choice, my moment of weakness.  I hope I will be smarter next time, and be able to learn from my mistakes.  We got a puppy!  He is a biting, scratching, chewing machine.  Nothing is safe.  What have I done?  I am now left with regrets.

Easter Week

I was thinking about Easter and how I was dissappointed how I felt when Christmas was over.  It is a major religious holiday and yet I felt like as a family we failed to celebrate it with Christ in the center of things. 

One of my dear friends has a book about having a Christ centered Easter.  She had a post on her blog last year I think about what she does and how she brings and keeps Christ into it all.  I loved it!  I thought for sure we would follow it this year and adjust or add to it as I felt fit our family. 

I also planned on doing those easter cookies, the ones you make and put in your oven until the morning.  I have always thought it would be fun, but when I first heard of it I had just a little baby.  Then each year it seemed like I forgot about it till it was too late. 

I wanted to dedicate our family home evening the week before Easter to talking about Easter and all that, but then I was reminded of Jamie's Easter activities she does.  I thought perfect!

The week before Easter went like this:

Sunday:  I had a huge headache, but managed to talk a bit about Easter and we did the first little lesson.  I explained the the kids that we were going to talk about Easter every night this week.

Monday:  I woke up with a small irriated throat, thought it was maybe just allergies even though they normally effect my eyes and nose more than my throat.  As the day went on, it got worse, I felt aweful called my husband to have him bring dinner home (which I seldom do for being sick).  At about 5 I took lots of mortin and started to feel a bit better, my head ache almost went away.  We did the second day events for the Easter week activities for family home evening.

Tuesday:  I didn't sleep good, I wanted to die, in hopes to end my pain.  I called Robert to come home from work so I could get some help and go to the Dr.  I tested positive for strep.  I came home and went to bed.  We didn't do any Easter related things.

Wednesday:  Didn't sleep good, motrin didn't really dull much pain but knew I was to get better since I was taking my RX.  I slept most the day, the girls watched TV most all day long.  A wonderful neighbor brought us dinner.  All day I was either freezing cold or burning up.  No Easter activity.

Thursday: I slept when the girls watched a movie, and after my older girls got home from school.  I was feeling a bit better.  Was excited to get back on track with the Easter activities. I combined 2 or 3 of the days to get caught up were we should be. 

Friday:  Feeling better, my throat almost wasn't hurting.  I was contemplating running my race for the next day.  I decided against it.  Went shopping to finalize all our Easter stuff.  Luckily I had bought most the stuff weeks ago.  We forgot to do the Easter activity, but I was able to eat so sort of real food.

Saturday:  I was woken up around 4ish by Amber.  I started thinking about running the race again.  I decided I would do it.  I got up a few hours later to get ready for the race.  I was pretty sore from the race.  Robert and I went shopping, and my appetite had returned.  I was HUNGRY and wanted REAL food!  That night I stuffed plastic eggs, and we forgot to do Easter stuff again, well REAL Easter stuff. 

Sunday:  The girls had strings tied to their beds that lead to their Easter baskets.  We went to church, went to Grandma's for Easter egg hunt there and dinner.  I felt like again, this important holiday went by and we didn't focus on it enough. 

I guess there is always next year.  I keep thinking if I wasn't sick or if I had planned better.  I tried, and it was better than last year.  I feel like we didn't ever focus on those major important things about Jesus' life.  I guess it is just those small steps that make you closer.  Hopefully next year I will be a bit closer to where I wanted to be this year.

We didn't even color eggs this year....  I guess there is always next year.