Sunday, October 27, 2013

Vegas for Mama Bear....and the kiddos go to Grandma's

So the past week started out as normal, school, dance, gym, McDonald's, and karate.  I am getting pretty good at this schedule of getting kids where they need to be.  But on Wednesday I headed out to Vegas for the NCTM conference and my mom stepped in to take my place, like literally.  She came over as soon as school got out and got Aspen to gymnastics.  Then the kids headed over to Darcee's house for a little bit.  Thursday and Friday my mom actually substituted for me at school and then took my kids to the different activities that they needed to go to.  She survived the middle school classes and I will find out tomorrow how they liked her but it sounds like things went well.  This might encourage me to go to conferences a little more often if I have my mom here to take my place :)

I had a good time down in Vegas.  A little weird to not have a car to get places but all in all it worked out.  We were staying at a nice hotel with comfy beds that I had no trouble going to sleep at night.  I also for the first time ate at the Cheesecake Factory.  The food was good but nothing that I can't get in St. G.  However, there cheesecake is a different story.  I got the one with macadamia nuts and caramel and white chocolate and it was to die for.  I haven't had that much sugar in a long time so I didn't feel so good after but it was worth it.  The conference was good and I took away some information to try in my classroom.  But after 2 days of classes I was definitely ready to come home.

The kids were excited to see me when I got back on Friday so that was nice.  On Saturday, Colt had a soccer game.  And he freaking killed it.  He had 5 goals out of his teams 7 goals.  And I feel bad because I didn't get any of them on video.  I wasn't fast enough.  But he has grown so much in his soccer talent, I can't wait for the next season and hopefully a good coach that he will continue to grow.  After his game, we headed over to David's house for lunch and then headed to our place to fix the kids' bikes.  Then we headed out to my neighborhood/ward Halloween party.  It turned out to be pretty fun.  They had hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and lots and lots of desserts.  The kids did a cake walk, face painting, had balloon animals made and just had fun with a few friends.  David and I just sat back in our chairs and relaxed.

Then Sunday was a special Sunday.  After our regular meetings we headed over to Darcee and Jay's ward to see Jay receive the Aaronic Priesthood.  After that, we went over to David's to watch the Broncos game and just relax.  All in all, the kids and I had a great week.  And it doesn't look like we shouldn't expect the upcoming week to be any different.   

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Who needs to take life slow...surely not us

Some days I ask myself why I choose to live a busy life but then I see the joy in my kid's eyes and makes it worth it.  Aspen is enjoying both dance and gymnastics.  She is always showing off her dance skills to anyone who will watch.  Colt loves playing soccer.  He has come close to scoring many goals and is a little bummed when he doesn't but he is a good team player.  He is lucky to have a coach who will teach the boys things about soccer.  And his team has progressed so much in the short amount of time.  He only has two games left in the season and I am not sure I want to see how he will handle it.  He is also doing well in karate.  He will randomly show me some of the moves from karate and he really wants his Uncle Jay to come watch him do his karate.  I am so happy that my kids are involved in activities they enjoy.  As they grow older, I am sure those activities will change but as long as they are happy, I will be happy.

I am still busy with school.  The end of 1st quarter came and although stressful, not nearly as bad as at the high school.  I am glad to have a fourth of the school year done and am ready to start a new quarter.  I also try to fit the gym in with the kids schedules, some days it works and some it doesn't.  But I just discovered a sweat it setting on our Just Dance wii game so I have something to do when I can't get to the gym and it is a good work out.  About 3 weeks ago, I started a new medication for my MS.  The first pill medication came out and I got on the financial aid to help pay for the medicine.  I took it for about 2 weeks and then I started to have problems.  Come to find out I was bumped up to the higher dosage, which I had no clue, but I couldn't handle the higher dose.  I tried for about a week mixing in some nausea medicine but I only had one good day without feeling sick.  I am very grateful that I never really had morning sickness with my pregnancies because I hate throwing up.  So now I am waiting for the lower dosage and then ease my way into the higher dosage.  I really want this medication to work for my body because it would mean that I am done with shots.

Let's see.  Some of the things that we have done over the past two weeks.  We have seen Planes and Monsters University.  We have had two picnics and have gone hiking.  Aspen went to a birthday party for a girl in her class at Jumpin' Jacks.  We celebrated Alyssa and Alanah's 12th birthday.  The kids were able to have 2 sleepovers in Grandpa's and Sheila's trailer.  They came down for a few nights during fall break and the kids absolutely loved it.  They went fishing and out in the paddle boat.  And apparently they went out looking for animal tracks as well.  They got some quality one on one time with their grandparents and I got a nice break.

I am loving the weather in St. George.  Today after church, I packed a lunch and took the kids up to Snow Canyon Park.  We ate our lunch before going out on a hike.  Not a fan of the markings for the trail because I know we got off the trail a few times.  At one point, we said a prayer to help us find where we were suppose to go and lo and behold, here comes a group of hikers that could show us where to go.  It was a nice teaching moment with the kids about praying.  All in all, it was a great afternoon.  Already thinking about next Saturday to see if we can squeeze in a hike somewhere.



 We went on a picnic with Grandma and Darcee's kids and then on a little hike.
 Pictures from our hike in Snow Canyon

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Another fabulous week :)

I really can not complain about life right now.  Yeah it might be a busy life but it is still a good.  Monday was normal.  Aspen is still enjoying her dance.  She comes out of class with a big smile on her face.  We went to McDonald's to meet up with Grandma and Grandpa Chris and Great G&G Chris.  The kids really enjoy seeing their grandparents and if we ever don't go to Mickey D's they are mad.  I am glad that we have that time to be with them.

Tuesday was just a normal day for everyone.  Wednesday got a little chaotic.  David's daughter, Alanah, ended up getting her appendix taken out.  So we went down to the hospital to help cheer her up.  Of course, she had some nice drugs to help with that but we did what we could.  Aspen drew her a picture, which I think helped.

Thursday David and I went to see Thoroughly Modern Millie at Tuacahn.  Darcee, Jay and Kayleeya also went.  It was a cooler night but the wind was blowing so it made it really cold.  But we survived and the show was really cute.  I haven't been able to get back to see Mary Poppins, my mom said it is way better now that they made some changes, but I think Millie is my favorite of the year.

Friday, I was busy helping David get ready for the St. George Marathon on Saturday.  The kids were busy playing with David's kids.  This was David's first marathon and so he was a little anxious.  But I helped as much as I could, especially when it came to the kids so he could focus on the run.

Saturday started early for me.  Colt came waltzing into my room a little after 4am asking if he could sleep with me.  I told him no but it still took me a while to get him back in his own bed.  Then David called me an hour later saying that he accidentally locked his running bib inside his car.  So I ran to his house to get the clicker to open the van so he could still catch a bus up to the starting point.  After the early morning, I was not moving so fast.  But we finally got everyone ready and headed out to go try to see David along the way on the marathon.  We were actually able to see him twice before he crossed the finish line.  He did an awesome job and came in under the 5.5 hour goal he set for himself.  It was so fun to see him accomplish his goal.  After the marathon, we headed over to Colt's soccer game.  He is still loves to play it.  He did get pushed to the ground again this week but he stayed strong and kept playing.  Hollee and Jonah were down for the weekend so he was excited to have them at his game.  It was an off day for everyone.  There was only one goal scored by either of the teams, it just so happened to be by Colt's team.  Then when Colt came out at the very end of the game, he got a bloody nose.  I have no idea where it came from but he was so sad that he couldn't finish the game.  I work with his coach and when I told him he wanted to keep playing, the coach and his boys stuck around so when Colt's nose stopped bleeding he could play with them.  After the game, we headed over to Grandma Chris' house.  Hollee had organized a little party so that we could give mom her Christmas present from last Christmas.  Mom was excited to see what we got her and didn't mind the wait, or so she says.  After that party, the kids and I headed over to David's to go out to dinner with his family to celebrate his finishing the marathon.  Then we just went back to David's and relaxed for the night.


Sunday we watched conference and the Broncos game.  Another day of relaxation.  I am so grateful for conference and the opportunity we have to hear from the prophet and apostles.  I did get the kids home and into bed early.  They have had a couple of late nights and needed to catch up on their sleep.