Sami's World

Sunday May 25 was a nice day. We spent the day at church trying to keep our overly exhausted kids semi-happy and reverent. After church we ALL slept (well, except Jaime, she never takes naps). We got up in enough time to get everyone ready to go and head over to Joey and Gayles for a fun bbq. We ate YUMMY food (as always), watched a few VERY fun movies and got home at 1am. While we were there, everyone helped sing Happy Birthday to grandma Ackerman and then everyone took a turn talking to her. I think we kept her on the phone close to two hours!! It was fun though. I hope she enjoyed it as much as we did.

Monday May 26, Milo had an eye dr appointment at 9:30. So it was an early morning. We had to wake him up to get him ready for his appointment. It was nice that it was a holiday, no traffic!! The appointment went really fast. Yes his eyes need protection. No there are no glasses that he can use till his face surgery is done. His eyes have not gotten better but haven’t gotten worse either. He should have his face surgery ASAP so his eyes can get more protection. We were gone in about 10 minutes. We made it home in time for us to help finish up the household chores. Scott was a busy little bee and did 4 things on his “before the baby is born to do list”. The biggest and best one being that he installed a ceiling fan in the dinning room so we can eat dinner in a more comfortable atmosphere during the hot summer evenings. After that we got everyone ready to go and went to Grandpa’s grave. Someone had been there before us and put flowers on his grave, it was very nice. We talked about grandpa and his life and explained Memorial day and it’s importance to the kids. Niah was pretty miffed through the whole experience because she couldn’t actually see grandpa and wanted to dig up the grave to see him. She also thinks Grandpa Thompson is dead. Sorry Grandpa Thompson, I think we will go through this with all the kids. It will be good that she will see you in a week. After that we came home and had left overs and got all the kids to bed early. We even went to bed early!

Tuesday was back to normal. We spent the morning cleaning and getting ready for Jaime and Alix’s teacher to come for the final meeting before the official end of school. It was nice to turn everything in and be done according to the state. After that we did do some more school and then spent the rest of the day relaxing (I really needed a nap!). After dinner, baths and bed, I was pretty wiped out. I was ready to go to bed. But instead I stayed up and tried to finish some primary stuff. I finished a lot, but not all of it.

Wednesday, we went to P.E. in the morning and that was fun. The kids enjoy playing with the other kids and its fun for me to talk with the other moms. After we got home we did some school, chores and then prepared for daddy to come home. It was a very low key night. I like those.

Thursday, May 29 we spent the morning doing all our school and chores. At 2:30 we left and mailed a bunch of stuff at the post office and then went to Jaime’s piano class. I dropped the kids off at a babysitters house then went to a dr appointment. I’m sure you all know how that went. I picked up the kids and made it home in enough time to get dinner on the table before Scott walked in. We had a nice family dinner, then bed time and then I went to a primary meeting. While I was gone, Scott made cookie dough for me so that all I had to do was back the cookies the next day. I came home with a nice long list of things that I needed to get done before Sunday. I went straight to bed and was glad of it!

Friday, was my “busy” day. I woke up sure I either had the flu or I was in labor. That has never happened to me before. Usually when I’m in labor I know that is what it is. This was hard to tell. I spent the first hours of the morning just miserable, but I had to bake the cookies for that evening. Once those were done I sent the kids upstairs to watch a movie while I napped on the couch. I didn’t have much time because I was watching someone else’s kid for them and I didn’t want to have to cancel on her. So after I slept for about an hour, she showed up. I felt a little better but not great. Finally my body decided I needed to go get sick in the bathroom and as soon as I was done with that, I felt GREAT!! I called and told Scott about it and he said, ‘It was probably the two pounds of cherries you ate yesterday.’ I think he was right! I’ve been totally fine every since! I think I’ll stay away from cherries for a while. The afternoon went smooth. The kids all played well together and enjoyed having Maya over. After lunch we had a quiet time and I snuk in another 40 minute nap on the couch. Then Sister Powell came over and I watched her two little kids while she went to an appointment. We played for about another hour, cleaned up and I loaded everyone in the van. We went to the park and enjoyed our usual park play day. Sister Powell picked up her kids from the park and after we were all done, I took Maya home. Scott met me at the park and took Jaime and Alix to Milo’s sports class. I took Niah and Afton with me and we had a quick dinner of cereal and then we went to the church for a going away. Brother Eyre in our ward has been called as a mission president in Canada and they leave in a couple of weeks. It will be sad to see them go, but we are excited for them. We took the cookies I made with us and someone else’s veggie tray and enjoyed seeing the ward members and having the kids play a little more. Scott had to bail on me because there were problems at work and he was going over to a members home to help them finish the inside of the house they were moving into. The Fa’anunu’s are renting a house that needs a lot of work. The owner was willing to rent to them cheap if they did all the work. So anyway, Scott went to help. After all the kids were in bed I watch a movie and then retired myself, for I was VERY tired too.

Saturday, May 31, was suppose to be our super clean day to get ready for the baby’s arrival. Everyone else did really well, but I just don’t last that long anymore. We got everything pretty much cleaned but we didn’t put up the baby’s bed, or get the hospital bag packed. O’well, there is always this week. About 10 am Scott was looking out the window and noticed the back passenger side tire was flat. He went out and realized there was a screw in the tire. Lucky for us we had a spare and he was able to change the tire. Also, lucky for us we paid an extra $15 to have all our tires repaired or replaced for free for the life of the tire. So Monday, I will be taking the tire in and having them fix/replace it. At noon Scott headed over to the Fa’anunu’s once again and this time helped them actually move. They used our van, one other van and a truck. I guess it went well but Scott had to bail by 3 and he said they still weren’t done. We got everyone ready to go and left the house about 4:30. We were suppose to meet Joey and Gayle at a Greek Festival at 3pm. We were running seriously behind. But they were very amiable about it and that made it easier. We called Auntie Sara and sang her happy birthday and then each of the kids talked to her while we drove to the Greek Festival. The festival was fun. Too pricey but we got in for free and that was nice (someone had given Gayle a ton of free tickets). It was fun to watch the dancing and try some of the food. The kids had a great time too. We got home about 8:30 and everyone was in bed by 9. I had to do the rest of my primary duties and didn’t make it up to bed till 11:15pm. It was late but that’s ok, I knew I was done with my primary stuff.

Today, Sunday June 1 we all got up late. Afton has been our alarm clock, up at 6 (or before) no problem. But she did not wake us up today. At 7 Jaime walks in and asks why everyone is still sleeping and are we going to church today. She was so good and got in the shower first while her parents dragged themselves out of bed. We showered everyone and got them all dressed and breakfast eaten and out the door to church by 8:30am! We were so pleased with ourselves. We got all the primary stuff done and my copies made and sitting in Sacrament by 8:50. Church went really smooth today and for that I am grateful. We are all now home having quiet time. The three littlest are sleeping, Jaime and Alix and Scott are reading and I’m tapping away at the computer. How sweet the silence is! The rest of today is low key with nothing scheduled but family time.

We’ve learned this week how children really do associate things to every day life. For instance, Scott shaved earlier in the week. When he came down stairs, Niah snuggled into him and then looked up and said ‘Daddy, you smell good! Is today Sunday?’ We just rolled with laughter.

Jaime saw Dad’s jean jacket on the couch, he had taken it the night before when he was helping fix up the house. She said ‘Did dad go fishing?’ He always takes his jacket with him fishing. It’s the little things like this that the children will remember when they are old and have grandchildren.

In primary today during closing exercises they were talking about Nephi, Lamen and Lemuel going back to get the plates. Sister Bennett was telling them about the three brother’s getting chased out of the city by Lamen. She asked the question, ‘what would you do.’ All the kids just sat there and then Milo shoots up his hand (I’m not sure she was actually looking for an answer). Milo says, ‘You know what I would do? I’d go right back in there and chop his head off.’ It was so funny the way he said it and how true to the story it was. He’s such a good kid and not afraid of anything, especially bad guys!

Other than that, things here are status quo. Just living life and waiting for things to slow down a bit so the baby can be born. The kids are so excited about the baby, about Grandma and Grandpa Thompson coming and about Jaime’s dance recital. So many fun things happening all at once, they are having a hard time containing their excitement. I’m so blessed with such wonderful children. I’m glad they are part of my life and I’m so glad that they are strong in the gospel. I hope and pray that we can always be the loving, patient parents they deserve.

We miss you all. Much love to all of you!

Wednesday May 21 was a fun day. We got up and did some school work and chores. Then we went to P.E. That was fun, especially since it wasn’t has hot as the week before. We got home by 1 and did lunch and naps and then just “chilled out” the rest of the day. It was a fun relaxed day.

Thursday, my busiest day of the week is about to get easier. Alix went to her last Science class. They learned all about butterflies and other insects. They even had snail races. Since Alix’s class is so small and it was the last one, the teacher asked Jaime if she’d like to stay and play too. So it was fun to go to the park with the three little one’s. It was fun to see Niah really latch on to Afton. They played so well together. Milo just road his bike around the park area doing “tricks”. After that we came home and had two hours to do our school work. It worked out to be great timing. We went to Jaime’s piano and Jaime’s last dance class. We got home and the kids were all so tired from no naps that everyone, except Jaime and I were asleep by 6:30pm. Jaime and I had dinner together and enjoyed spending some one on one time together. Scott was not due home till after 10pm. He’ll have to tell you all about that. After I put Jaime to bed I talked with the other primary counselor for a little while (we usually have meetings on Thursday evenings but our president is out of town so we just had a meeting over the phone).

Friday was a dreaded day for me. It’s not easy to explain but I REALLY don’t enjoy going to the doctor. Especially when I am pregnant. It’s just a lot of work for them to tell me exactly what I already know. Anyway, I decided I couldn’t avoid it any longer and that I should go for my appointment (I think it’s only my 5 appointment this pregnancy). Anyway, he did tell me all the same things. I did have some paper work to fill out and turn in and he had to do a test in the exam room and I had to go get blood drawn and and and. Anyway, by the time I was done I was so tired and wore out that I just came home grumpy!! It didn’t make for a very fun night but I got to bed “early” and tried to sleep it off.

Saturday May 24 I woke up with an awful headache but tried really hard to not be grumpy. Scott and Milo went to help a young man in our ward with is Eagle Project (Scott will have to tell you about that). I stayed home with the girls and we cleaned the house. I was going to be all done with my clothing project (finally) but I was two bins short, bummer!! So I neatly put the things in a corner of Afton’s room and I hope to get those bins soon. The rest of the house looked great by the time Scott got home. Jaime had a dance to perform at Fremont’s Kite Festival. Scott took her because she really wanted to spend some time with dad and this was the perfect opportunity So after they left, I put the three little one’s down for naps, let Alix watch a video and I napped. It was super needed. I didn’t get too long of a nap because Alix needed a video change, but it was enough to help the headache and grumpiness. Scott and Jaime got home about 3 and then we went outside to do some playing and car cleaning. Then we loaded the car with all the D.I stuff and then came inside for dinner. After dinner we made arrangements with a guy who was getting rid of all his camping gear (for a great price) to go and look at it. We went to the church where the D.I trailer usually is but it was not there. We proceeded on to this guys place, decided the stuff was worth the price and loaded up our van. We then tried another church building and found the trailer. We even opened it and nothing fell out onto our heads, success!! We got home and got the kids to bed around 9:30pm, VERY late for them. We could tell this morning how very bad it was to have them up so late on a Saturday night!

Guess that is the news. Not much else to report. The girls are officially done with their current grade level and are now doing “maintenance school” so that their brains don’t fall out their ears before September. That makes for less stress around here, yay!! Love you all.

Mother’s day was Fabulous!! We got to church early because I needed to help hand out the mother’s day gifts that the primary children made. All the mom’s with primary children got to wear these paper chain necklace’s. On each of the links the kids of the family wrote their favorite things about their mom. It was fun to wear it all through church. When we got home the kids gave me a compliment book and a book mark they had made at the Stake Primary Activity the day before. Scott gave me an awesome card and then told me I could go take a nap! Three hours later, I reluctantly got up because I knew I’d have a hard time sleeping that night. While I was napping, Scott had taken the time to call my mom and have the kids talk to her too. It was soooo nice of him to do that. After a supper yummy dinner cooked by my husband and a wonderful dessert cooked by Jaime, I called mom to wish her a happy mother’s day. It was nice to talk to her and not have to worry about the kids, since Scott was taking care of them. I also got to talk to Mom Thompson, that was nice too. After the kids were in bed, I was still tired and went to bed. What a great mother’s day. Exactly what I wanted.

Monday, May 12, was an at home day, good thing too, we are trying to get school done early so I don’t have to worry about it, we made great progress that day.

Tuesday we went over to my friend Tiesha’s house. They have a HUGE backyard and had just finished having it landscaped and made kid friendly. The kids enjoyed themselves tremendously and so did the adults, just talking and laughing while the kids kept themselves entertained. We got home in enough time to do chores and dinner and bed.

Wednesday we went to P.E. It was soooo hot. Each day was getting increasingly hotter and this big ole’ pregnant lady was having a time of it. We made it through and came home to a fairly cool house. Cool enough that we didn’t want to go outside. At 4 I had my last dentist appointment and am now the official owner of a fake tooth. Yay for me…..

Thursday, May 15, was our “normal” busy day! We went to Alix’s Science class. They fished for craw dads using bacon and then for the second half of the class they got to hold a snake and watch two HUGE snakes eat mice and then do a couple of snake crafts. She once again had a TON of fun. We came home and crammed in a little school and then were off to piano. So hot. So by the time we got to dance class there was no way I was going to sit outside again so the kids could play. So we sat in Jaime’s dance class. It was fun to watch Jaime but so hard to keep the little one’s off the dance floor. We got home and had dinner and, since it was so hot, just let the kids stay up late. By the time the sun went down it was cool enough to put them to bed.

Friday, Scott was doing an overnight fishing trip and wanted to take Milo. It didn’t make much sense for him to drive all the way back home just to drive to the fishing site. So I volunteered to drop Milo off to him. Since it is park day and the kids really enjoy going I had arranged with my friend to watch the kids at the park while I dropped off Milo. We were running on time, perhaps a little early, when I pulled out of the driveway. Then I got to Warm Springs Blvd and the traffic was at a dead stop! I quickly took the back roads but that only helped to a certain point. As I approached the park I noticed no one was there. Then I got a call and it was Camille. She said it was just too hot to go to the park, she wasn’t kidding, and that I should meet her at her in laws house and the kids could just go swimming. So that is what we did. Anyway, the 2 miles from my house to her in laws house took me 30 minutes! Lucky for me the traffic was only one sided. Once I left there I got to Scott in 15 minutes. But coming home…. Once I got on the 880, it was about 8 miles to the house where the kids were. It took me 50 minutes to get there. It was awful!!! And HOT!!! Why so much traffic? There were 2 major accidents on 680, three on 880 and one on 580. Little accidents all over the place and that basically put traffic at a standstill from South San Jose to North Oakland. Anyway, the kids had a great time swimming. We got home, had sandwich’s for dinner and I put Afton and Niah to bed. Then Jaime and Alix and I got the house cleaned up and got ourselves cleaned up and then waited for Camille to come over here. It was my Friday to pick up bread and so the girls went with me. Camille came over and stayed with the sleeping little ones. By the time I got back there were already a few people waiting for me. We opened up the six bags of bread and box of pastries and everyone had at it. By the time they left, there was only two bags of bread left. It was awesome! Jaime and Alix got to bed sometime after 10:30 and I crashed about midnight.

Scott and Milo got home about 11:30am on Saturday morning. It was so nice to see them. Scott will have to give you the run down of the fishing trip. We cleaned on Saturday but it was just really hot and none of us were motivated to do much but sit in front of a fan!! The kids did go out and play in the sprinklers and a little boat pool we have. I went up stairs and attempted to switch clothes for the kids. It was a bigger task than I had anticipated but I got pretty far, not done, but made good headway. We got all the kids to bed on time, since we were going to have church in the morning. Scott and I diligently worked on our lessons for the next day and retired to bed by 10.

Sunday, May 18, was a cooler day still, which was nice. We went to church and enjoyed it very much. The kids in primary were a little antsy and so that always makes sharing time a little more interesting, but we made it through and the kids seemed to enjoy themselves. We came home and did a bit of light cleaning and then went right into cooking. We were having some families over for dinner. It’s our new tradition. The Toh’s, Bennett’s, Hook’s, Lease’s, Louise and us are trying to get together once a month and have dinner together. It’s very fun and we are bummed that next month there will be no gathering. I suppose we will all survive. Anyway, we did a breakfast theme and we had EVERYTHING!! It was so yummy and since it was a cooler day it was actually pleasant to sit and talk after eating. By the time they left it was bed time. We got all the kids and us to bed at a pretty good hour….

Monday was wipe out day for me. I didn’t get up till 8:30 am (thanks to the kids for entertaining themselves) and then I fell back to sleep at noon till 3. I was pretty wiped out but felt much better after my afternoon nap. When Scott got home we had some dinner and then we did FHE. Our activity was pulling the weeds in the backyard. It was fun and the kids enjoyed the time we all spent together. I’m grateful for my kids and their willingness to help so much around here.

Tuesday, today, was a very low key day. We got all our school work done before 11 and then Li-Li came over and we made egg rolls for lunch, so good! She stayed and chatted for most of the afternoon. When she left I sent the kids outside to play in the water, they loved it and I went upstairs to try and make more sense out of my clothing mess. It’s getting better, not done, but better. After the kids cleaned up from the water fun, we cleaned the house, had dinner and then beds. Here I am now, 9:30pm and typing away. I am so ready for bed, so good night now and we love you all.

Friday was like any other “normal” day, except we got started so late that the afternoon/evening was pushed even later too! Scott ended up coming home in enough time to take Milo to his sports class. Jaime and Niah went along too. Afton and Alix needed to go to bed, they were both exhausted. After Scott got home and all the kids were snug in their beds, I left and went to Wal Mart to do some shopping. I guess I looked pretty helpless because they closed a check stand so that the guy could load my stuff in the cart and walk me out. I have never seen that at a Wal Mart, but I am getting pretty big I guess….. After getting everything in and put away Scott and I crashed. I guess I didn’t realize how hard it can be to push a loaded cart around. I was pretty sore by the time I laid down.

Today, Saturday May 10 was our stake primary activity. It was super fun. The kids had a great time. Jaime invited 3 different non member friends and they all said they couldn’t come. Alix was able to have a friend come, Milo doesn’t have any non member friends and Niah’s friends said they couldn’t come either. But everyone had a great time anyway. I picked up a little girl from church and we picked up Alix’s friend. So we left the house about 8:45am and made it to the church right at 9:30am. I was asked to help with the garden station and had a great time doing that. The kids planted seeds of friendship in “mud” and “dirt” (chocolate pudding and crushed cookies). They even topped it off with a worm. It was fun but again I didn’t realize how tired it made me till I got home and sat down. On the way home from the party I stopped by and got Jaime’s dance recital tickets. I guess we are all ready for that. She got her costume on Thursday, we got her tickets today and now all she has to do is dance! After we got home I did a little more shopping at the regular grocery store and got to go out to lunch with myself. That was nice and quiet and really appreciated, Thanks Scott!! When I was done with that, Scott went out to do a couple more errands and I took a little nap and did some primary stuff. We bbq’d some carne and polo asada. Not as good as Ramey’s but VERY good indeed. After that we started the bed time routines. Now here I am on Saturday night. The house is super quiet, except for the taping of my fingers on the key board. I am about to finish up my sharing time for tomorrow. Not that I should start any rumors or anything, but my president has expressed concern about me continuing in the my current calling with the baby on the way. She has talked to the bishop too and at our last presidency meeting she told the other councilor they are talking about replacing me very soon. So who knows. Once again a very short life in the primary presidency (last time I was in for 5 months). Anyway, I will miss this calling if this actually comes to pass. I love working with the primary kids and I love working with my current presidency. But I also know that it’s important to focus on my family. So we shall see what happens. It’s all just rumor for now.

Afton is progressing well on her journey in life. She is officially out of 12 month clothes. She is wearing her 18 month clothes. She also graduated to size 4 diapers. Almost 2 years old and she is still our smallest baby. She will be petite I think. She has also decided that 6am is the perfect wake up time. She stands in her crib and either yells a persons name over and over again, or she does this high pitched scream that sounds like we are beating her. Thank goodness for the new windows…

My friend Li-Li from church is in the young women’s presidency. She called me last Sunday and told me they were having a lesson about the priesthood and that all the older girls shot up their hands and told them they already know all about the 3 P’s of the priesthood They said that they remembered the lesson/game I had done with them when I was in the primary presidency 5 years ago. It was a very nice compliment and it has given me a greater determination to do better with my sharing times!

Our garden, once deemed as not so healthy, is doing extremely well. We have plants growing for each of the veggies we planted. We are excited to see which ones will ultimately produce a crop.
This last week, I decided that Niah, Milo and Afton needed some of the “fun” play I used to do with Jaime and Alix. So I gave them paper and paint and let them at it. They had a TON of fun and played for almost an hour while Alix and Jaime and I worked in the house on school. The creations didn’t make it up on any walls, mostly because they got left out over night and blown all over the yard. But I got some pictures and that is what will stay the longest anyway, right?

The other night, after having done Jaime’s scrap book on her baptism, I decided I should finish the one I had started for Milo about his first surgery. So I went searching through “the box” to find the pictures. I found so many fun pictures that I got too distracted. One picture I found looked like a chubby Chinese baby. I had to take a double take to remind myself of who it was. It was Niah. After that a flood of memories came back to me. My two good Chinese friends, Li-Li and Louise, used to joke with me about how I ate too much Chinese food while I was pregnant with Niah. She was a big chubby baby. She had rolls and everything, first of my kids to get thigh and arm rolls. She is far from that now. My little light weight just had an appointment and weighed in at 36 pounds and was 39 ½ inches tall. She is too tall for 3T clothes now, but the 4T clothes won’t stay on her waist! Anyway, fun times looking at those old pictures. About 10pm I found the pictures I was looking for but didn’t do the scrap booking I wanted to do. Maybe another night I’ll get to it!

The kids have been enjoying feeling the baby move. They love to push on my tummy and see if the baby will kick back. Sometimes I have to tell them to be more gentle, but for the most part they are very gentle and very excited to be the owners of a new baby. They continue to talk about how cool it would be to have more children so they can all have a baby to take care of. Kids have no worries, do they?

We are having a stake primary party on Saturday morning. The theme of the party is to learn how to be a good friend. They asked all the primary children to invite a friend to the party. Niah insists that she is going to invite Caitlin (her cousin in Washington). No matter how often we tell her that Caitlin won’t be able to attend, she insists that that is her only friend and that is who she wants to invite. It is just so cute, it makes us all laugh!

Love to you all!!

Saturday was the continuation of Friday. I left the house by 7 am and got home at 3. It was worth it though. A lot of good things for primary but even more good things for my family. Scott stayed home and helped the kids do their Saturday chores. When I got home we went into cooking mode and had everything ready for the missionaries by 5. It was a successful dinner followed by a successful going to bed routine. Scott and I then spent the next couple of hours getting ourselves ready for the sabbath day. We retired pretty late, but it was a good day.

Sunday was pretty low key. We did have a family over for dinner. This GREAT family (the Fafita’s) moved in about 5 months ago. They have 5 kids the same ages as ours and the same sex (except remove Milo and let him play with the 10 year old boy). Anyway, they decided to move to Utah (go figure!!). So we had them come over for a good bye dinner. We enjoyed it very much. They are an amazing family and the only one who I have met that can truly sympathize with me in my current station in life. The only one I know with the exact same family dynamics as us. Anyway, to prove my point, Fiana, the mom, walks in and the first thing she says is ‘How do you keep your house so clean?’ For those of you who have ever come to our home, it would not be classified as clean. Well, it is clean but it is cluttered. However, since she understands, to her our house was clean. It was an amazing compliment and I have looked at my house a little differently this week. After they left we took some balls and went to the park and played for about an hour. When we got home I told Scott that I just didn’t feel too well and I needed to go sit up in the comfy chair in our room. I was out in about 3 minutes (it was 7pm) and didn’t move till the next morning! It sure felt good though!

Monday May 5, was low key. I did make enchilada’s for dinner but planned that before I realized it was Cinco De Mayo. Dinner was good, FHE was good and bed time was very good.

Tuesday we had the bug guy come for an extra treatment. The warm weather is bringing the bugs out of the wood works! Anyway, he came at 10 and so we walked over to the park. I was watching a couple of extra little ones for my friend so she could take her new little one in for some blood work. They all seemed to enjoy the park and the mom came just as we were going to walk back home. The rest of the day was spent doing school and chores and playing.

Wednesday, May 7 was pretty low key. We went to P.E. and enjoyed the sunny skies and beautiful weather that is here this time of year. We came home to school and chores and then we had the Sister Missionaries over for dinner. That went well. Scott came home at his usual time but took on the putting to bed routine for me. I was just wiped out. We got to bed a little late, but that’s what happens when you take the time to communicate….

Thursday we went to Alix’s science class again. What a great class!! The first class consisted of learning about the animals and habitats that live at Lake Elizabeth. They made a collage of things they found while on a walk, they let a whole bowl of lady bugs go, they got to touch and play with some frogs…. Anyway, she had a great time, but Thursday topped that! They taught the kids proper fishing techniques and rules and then took them out in a fishing boat to fish in the lake. Alix was soooo excited. They even let each kid take a turn driving the boat. When they got back to the class room, a bird had flown in and so the Ranger caught the bird and the kids got to hold it and pet it. Alix was thrilled! While she was having so much fun the other kids and I went to the play area and watched the boat speed across the water and talked with other moms. It was a fun hour and a half. Once we got home we did a quick lunch, naps and then school and chores. We left by 3:15 and made it to piano right on time. Dance class went well. Jaime got her outfit for the dance recital. She was VERY excited about that. We got home and decided some hamburgers would be fun. So we waited for Scott and we took the kids to Wendy’s. When we got home I had to leave for a primary meeting and so Scott did the bed time routine. I got home “early” around 10:30. Boy was I glad to get to bed!!

So as not to overwhelm you all and keep you coming back for more, I will make this post in segments!

With life being what it is, I have not taken the time to update y’all on our life. Here we go:

Sunday April 27 was just like most Sundays. We got up, got to church, were spiritually uplifted and then came home for quiet time. After just a short quiet time we cleaned up just a bit, not too much since it is the Sabbath, and then we prepared some food. We had some dinner guests coming, 5 families (including us) and the missionaries. It was fun and we have decided to make this a monthly thing. Well, that is till June. Then we’ll pick it back up again later in the year!!

Monday was an “easy” day. I did have a dr appointment in the early evening. I’m sure you all know how that went….. ‘Let’s see, you gained too much weight, you are measuring just right, the heart beat sounds great….Any questions? Ok, see you next time.’ A whole 5 minute conversation but 2 hours of my day!!

Tuesday was easy too.

Wednesday, April 30, the real fun started!! Jaime had to be in Newark for testing by 9:30. The morning was a bit crazy but we got her there on time. I took Alix to her P.E class at 10:30. Left there at 11:30 and went back and picked up Jaime. We got home by 12:30 and I fed everyone. The little ones went for their naps and we did abbreviated school for the day. I had a follow-up dentist appointment at 2. Got back home by 4. Scott got home early at 5. We had dinner and then attempted to take advantage of Basking Robbins 31 cent night. Too crazy so we went to the store and bought ice cream and cones for the same price we would have spent at the ice cream shop. We each had a cone and then we put all the kids to bed. Well, I left in the middle of it to go to my Primary meeting at 7:30pm. I got home at 11:30pm and crashed by midnight.

Thursday was another testing day but also the start of Alix’s science class at Lake Elizabeth. I dropped off Jaime at 9:30. Got Alix to her class at 10:30. Had about 45 minutes of free time. I spent it in the parking lot of the testing site listening to the World Wide leadership training meeting put on by the church. Grabbed Jaime at 11:30, got back to Alix by noon and we rushed home. Scott had spent the morning at home with the little ones because he was going to work till 10 or 11 that night. He left by 12:30 and was to work by 1. I fed the three of us (Scott had already fed the little ones and put them to nap) and then we started into school. By 2:30 we started getting ready again and left by 3:15. Jaime’s piano went well, we then rushed over to dance class. That seemed to go well too. We got home by 6, had a quick dinner and then bed. Since I had a few hours since Scott was going be home I finally put Jaime’s baptism scrap book together. It came out quite nicely and the kids are having fun looking at it.

Friday May 2, I had an 8:30 appointment in Pleasanton. We got out of the house and there on time. Since I was going to be in Pleasanton anyway, I arranged with a lady to sell her bumbo seat for a friend of mine. I met up with her and we left Pleasanton by 10 am. We rushed to Jaime’s testing as fast as we could. She was 1 ½ late, but that didn’t seem to matter much. She is always done so early. The other kids and I played at the park right next to the testing site and waited for Jaime to be done. She was done in an hour and we went home. We at lunch and I put the little ones down for bed. We did a little bit of school and a lot of chores. Scott came home early because I had a Primary meeting that night at 6:30 in Pleasanton. He actually came home very early because he was feeling sick. So while he rested upstairs we did our normal Friday park day. I got home in enough time to put dinner on the table, help Scott get the kids ready to go to Milo’s sports class and then shower and leave. The meeting was AWESOME. I really glad I went. I learned a lot about primary and cub scouts and how they work together, but I learned more about what I could be doing with my own boy and how to make things work better in our family. It was a good experience.

So I realized after my last entry that I never told you anything about the garden we planted.

Monday, April 14, we planted our garden as our family night activity. It was VERY fun. The kids and I went and picked out the plants before dad got home so that we could be ready to plant. We planted a “little” garden this year. We only have a little bit of space that gets enough sunlight to have a successful garden. In the back we planted: peas, corn, crooked neck squash, zucchini squash and spaghetti squash, watermelon, cantaloupe and carrots. In the front we planted a grape tomato and a big tomato. We shall see what comes of it. The peas and spaghetti squash were planted as seeds and have sprouted nicely. The corn is visibly bigger. One zucchini plant is looking good. The other stuff is still trying to take root and grow. We hope it all grows in the end and we can have yummy veggies all summer.

On to this last week:

Wednesday, April 23, was a very fun day. We went to P.E. In the morning. We got rained on a little bit but it cleared up nicely by the afternoon. Scott got home about 4:30pm. We had bought tickets to an A’s game and were very excited to go. The tickets were $2 each and hot dogs were a buck. We left Niah and Afton at the Bennetts and took Toby and Jessie with us. Dave Bennett gave us the idea to use a rope to keep track of all the kids. So when we got to the stadium we got the rope out, explained how it worked and all the kids did great. We walked to our seats then Scott bailed to get some hot dogs. The kids downed them, no problem plus all the snacks we brought before the 3rd inning!! We splurged on some cotton candy and then about the 5th inning went for more hot dogs. The game got over about 9:30 and the kids were awesome!! They cheered and yelled for the A’s. They sat good and when they got antsy they still were easy to control. It was a great evening and worth repeating anytime!

Thursday, April 24, we had a low key morning and then the day really started. Jaime had piano at 3:30, dance at 4:30 and I had a stake primary meeting at 7:30pm. Unfortunately, while I was at the stake meeting I sat wrong, or church chairs are just down right uncomfortable, whatever the reason I was in pain! Half way through the meeting I had to get up and stand in the back. By the time I was going home I could barely walk the pain was so bad. I slept pretty good that night though and woke up thinking all was well.

Friday was a low key day too, good thing! Afton always wakes me up at 6:32 (give or take a minute) but this morning she didn’t wake up till 7 am (that should have been my first clue). When I went to get her she was just lying there half asleep and whining. I picked her up and she was burning up with fever. I brought her down stairs and gave her some medicine and a drink of apple juice. That seemed to make her happy. I made her a little bed on the couch so she could be with the family and made breakfast for the rest of the kids. After eating and getting everyone dressed I noticed Afton was asleep. I told everyone to leave her alone and let her sleep. She slept for a good hour and a half. When she woke up she was a little squirmy (clue number 1, you’d think after all these years I would have picked up on it). I went over and picked her up and started to comfort her. I sat down in a chair and just as I did, she barfed down my shirt. Then lifted her head and barfed in my hair and down my back. It was at this point I was super grateful for my older girls. I asked one of them to please get me a towel. Alix ran to the dryer and grabbed one. Jaime so kindly put it around me and put Afton’s head on it so she would finish the job in the towel. I then (after years of experience) had enough sense to stay in one place till she was all done (in the past I would have tried to run for the bathroom, thus leaving a trail of barf from the living room to the bathroom, I have since learned it’s easier to just clean up one spot and be done with it…). After I was sure she was done I gave Alix and Jaime their instructions and went upstairs to clean the two of us up. After the clean up job I put Afton down for her nap in her crib. She did not throw up the rest of the day but I did ask Scott to come home early so he could take Milo to his sports class. I did not feel that Afton should be taken out in that condition. So we spent the rest of the afternoon with me trying to hold Afton (it’s not too comfy for either one of us). After Scott left with Milo, Jaime and Alix, Niah and Afton and I went upstairs to watch a movie. About 45 minutes later I realized I needed to go make dinner. So I carried Afton back down the stairs. I guess my body had had enough, not only did my bum muscles still hurt from the night before but I tweaked my back somehow and could not move very well. I don’t remember having hurt so bad in the back before. I managed to at least get dinner started and then Scott finished it and ate with the kids while I died on the couch. We let the kids watch a movie before going to bed. I saw a good 10 minutes of it before I was out! I guess I can’t carry Afton up and down the stairs for a while….

Saturday (today) was a good day. I woke up in a good amount of pain. That frustrated me to no end. Saturday is our productive day because there are two adults to manage kids and chores. So I was more on the manage kids end, I didn’t actually get much done. Scott left early this morning to fix someone’s computer problems but was back by 11am. He managed to get all the yard work done. Then I left and went to Wal Mart to get a few things. It was difficult walking around but somehow I made it through. In the end I think it helped the issue. By the time I got back home, most of my kinks seemed bearable and easy to deal with. I was glad about that! At four Jaime, Alix and I went to a baptism. At 6 we all went to a fund raiser for the Y.W. They had a spaghetti feed and it was awesome. We had fun talking and socializing with people we only see on Sundays. We found out that another lady in the ward, Julia Madson, is pregnant. That makes 6 babies that have/will be born in our ward this year. In the last 10 years we have lived here, this is a record! We are now home. All the kids are soundly sleeping. Scott is putting the finishing touches on his lesson for tomorrow and I’m just typing away, grateful for being pain free!!

Today, on our way to Wal Mart Jaime says to me “Mom, it’s a good thing I’m with you, I know how to get to Wal Mart in case you get lost.” “Well Thank You Jaime, you are so thoughtful” I say. Then Jaime continues “Well you know, old people tend to loose their way easily. And with you getting older, you never know when you might get lost.” “Yes, Jaime, Thank you for being so helpful!!” It was sooooo VERY funny.

Later in the afternoon, Scott said to me “I took my shoes off because my feet were getting hot and sweaty.” Niah, sitting right next to him, didn’t miss a beat “And stinky too!”

Afton’s newest cute thing is she will ask, if she has lost something or if a bird flies away, “where go?” and then shrug her shoulders and put her hands out, palm up and say “I dunno”. It’s amazingly cute!!

I guess that is the extent of our news. The kids say so many cute things that I vow I will remember until I get a chance to write them down, but then I forget. I love our babes and are glad that we have such a wonderful family. I love my family and my ability to care for them; physically, mentally, socially, spiritually and every other lly that you can think of!! :0)

Well, I guess I fell short of my weekly goal. Only by two days though…..

Monday, April 14 was a low key school/chore day. It’s nice to have those every once in a while!!

Tuesday, April 15, was low key for us, in the morning anyway! At 3pm 3 friends showed up; Camille, Li-Li and Louise. We had planned on making egg rolls and fried rice together and then having dinner since our spouses come home late anyway. We made some pot stickers first from some filling that had already been made. That kept the 13 kids happy till it was time for the real dinner. We cooked and talked and laughed and had a great time. We were feeding kids by 6. My neighbor and her two kids ended up coming over too. That was fun. So in the end we made 2 HUGE batches of fried rice and 150 egg rolls. We fed 9 adults and 15 kids. We even had enough left overs for my family to have dinner the next night and Camille’s family to have dinner the next night too. The fried rice was gone. It was a VERY fun evening, but I was wiped out!! I just can’t do things like that any more! I’ll have to wait till I get this extra body out of me first. Jaime had activity days and went to that at 7pm. They are learning how to paint. When she brings home the finished product, I’ll have to take a picture and post it. I crashed as soon as Jaime got home.

Wednesday, April 16, we went to P.E. At 10:30 and then came home and I crashed. I still needed some recovery time from the day before!! After chores and dinner I went to bed early. Unfortunately I woke up in the middle of the night with an AWFUL tooth pain. I couldn’t tell the exact location of the ache but I spent two hours in the middle of the night praying and willing the pain to go away so I could get some sleep. Finally I remembered that we had baby orajel in the medicine cabinet and smeard that all over my gums and teeth. I was pretty numb but I was able to relax enough to sleep the rest of the night.

Thursday morning, the pain seemed to have subsided. Then I ate breakfast, bad idea!! We needed to go to Jaime’s piano and I needed to brush my teeth. I was VERY afraid to, but it didn’t hurt at all. Weird! Anyway, by the afternoon I decided I should call the dentist. I don’t like dentists. This has just come about since I’ve become an adult. The last few dentist experiences I’ve had were awful and I just decided I didn’t want to repeat them. So this was my first dentist visit in 6 years. I ended up going to a dentist that is in our ward. His office is just a mile from our house and so it seemed the convenient Scott goes to him all the time and loves it so I thought I’d try it out. I assumed he was going to check out my teeth, tell me they are just sensitive because I’m pregnant and send me on my way (after all, I have been blessed with amazingly healthy teeth). So I called the office and they told me I could come in Friday at 7:20 am. I made the appointment, arranged for a babysitter and didn’t eat or drink the rest of the day!!

Friday morning, April 18, started out EARLY. I got up and showered before 7. Scott had taken the day off since it was his one year anniversary since being hit by the car. He had been planning a fishing trip for months so he was up and and gone by 7. I had the kids in the car and to the babysitter by 7:10 and at my appointment in time. As I sat waiting for Dr. Hansen, I realized how relaxing it was to sit in that chair in quietness and read a magazine. When Matt came in he did some touching and tapping “tests” on my teeth, none of which hurt at all. Then he blew some air on my teeth, now that HURT!! He decided to do a few x-rays and said it would be safe even though I was pregnant. Well, I guess it was more than sensitive teeth, I needed a root canal! I’ve had 2 cavities my whole life and here I am 30 and getting a root canal…..no wonder I’ve been dreading the 30’s!! Whatever, I needed it, it would take me out of pain, I could eat and drink again, it was worth it. He said he could only do a little bit that day and then I’d have to come back because the whole process takes about 2 hours. So he numbed me up and a few minutes later started drilling. It was actually quite relaxing and at one point he asked me if I had fallen asleep. He ended up being able to finish the whole root canal because his next patient was late showing up. He filled the tooth with a temporary patch until I could come back and he could finish the job right. I felt good and was out of the office by 9:30. Full day already if you ask me! When I got back to pick up the kids, the babysitter, Carrie, asked how things went. I told her I had a root canal. She winced in pain and asked if I was alright. I said I felt great. She said ‘wait till the numby stuff wears off!!’. I went home less than optimistic but felt great none the less. I could drink!! Scott got home about 11 and we decided to go out to eat as a family. That was fun. Then we put the kids down for naps. At 3:30 I took the girls with me and we went to the park to meet our friends (Milo was still asleep). He broke poor Toby’s heart. Toby had been waiting for Milo and then we didn’t even bring him. Much to Toby’s relief Milo showed up about an hour later with Scott. At 5:15 we all left for Milo’s sports class. Scott really enjoyed being there with Milo and Milo loved his “cheering” section. The girls are so good with him. They cheer him on and give him hi five’s. He is a lucky boy to have such great sisters. We rushed home and I made a quick spaghetti bake and then kissed the family good bye as I headed off to a “girl” party. Grace Bennett arranged for all the ladies who were interested to come and eat and chat and get a hair cut from a licensed hair stylist for a super cheep price. I was not in the mood for a hair cut, but it was fun to go. Besides the Bennett girls (mom and 3 sisters) I was the only other one there. But it was SUPER fun!! We had a great time watching them all get their hair cut and eating super yummy food that was super healthy for us and just chatting! I got home about midnight and was pretty tired!

Saturday was an early morning. We were assigned to clean the church. So from 8-9:30 we did that. Carrie was there too and asked about my tooth. I told her it felt marvelous and I haven’t felt an ounce of pain since before the procedure. She just laughed and said I must have a high tolerance of pain. Whatever the reason, I love root canals and am no longer ashamed I had to have one. It feels so much better and I’m glad that the pain is gone!! When we got home we started right into chores. We really wanted to get our garage cleaned and organized We still had 5 boxes out there that had never been unpacked. Now we only have 2!! We worked all morning cleaning, had lunch and put the little ones to bed and then cleaned a little more. We got 2 out of the 4 squares done in the garage. But it is SO much nicer now! About 3 we divided and conquered. I went to the store with Milo and Afton and Scott with to the library with Niah, Alix and Jaime. Jaime needs to do a report for school so she needed to go do some research and check out some books. We were suppose to go to an Elder’s quorum party that night, but were just too tired to get everyone ready to go. It would have been more energy to do that, than to just have our own little bbq here at home. So that’s what we did. We had hamburgers and hot dogs and chips. It was easy and yummy. Jaime made lemonade and cool aid Popsicles After dinner we went out in the backyard and played games for an hour. We played a tag game called octopus, a frisby game called 500, basketball, soccer and clean the backyard. It was VERY fun. We came in and had Popsicles and then baths and then bed. The kids were all in bed and happy by 7:30pm, much earlier than if we had gone to the Elder’s quorum party!! Scott and I retired to the bedroom and watch Enchanted. Not to offend anyone, but I did not like that movie. There were a couple of cute parts, but for the most part it was a typical Disney movie……scary, bad ending, and everyone lives happily ever after.

Sunday was church and then I went V.T.’ing the rest of the afternoon. I got home in enough time to put some dinner on the table and for us to eat. We have been doing a bbq every Sunday. We have been doing roasts or ribs, whatever is in the freezer or on sale. On Thursday night I took out a roast. On Sunday afternoon when Scott went to get the roast from the refrigerator it wasn’t there. No big deal, but how did it get back into the freezer. Scott and I racked our brains for a good 5 minutes and then Jaime walks in and asks what’s wrong. We told her the dilemma and she matter of factly told us that she had put it back in the freezer the day before so she would have room for her lemonade! We had to laugh. So, no roast for dinner. That was ok though, we had a good dinner anyway. About 6, two young women showed up to watch our kids so that we could go to a money management fireside. It was a great meeting and we came away with some new insights and new resolutions to be better about saving money and being frugal. We came home to a happy house that had been picked up (I love those kind of babysitters). We got the kids to bed a little late, but that was ok, the fireside was worth it.

Monday, April 21 was an easy school/chore day.

Today was yet another easy school/chore day. I was suppose to have a primary meeting this afternoon but that got canceled I took a nap instead. The kids like it when I nap because they get to have free time. They can do what they want as long as they don’t wake me or any others in the house who are sleeping. They did great today and I’m grateful for their ability to stay quiet while people are sleeping. Jaime had activity days again tonight. She finished her painting and it looks quite good. I’ll have to take a picture tomorrow and post it.

Earlier last week the kids and I were up talking about something and it came out that if they did that particular thing it was against the law. They asked if they would be taken to jail. I said no that mom and dad would be taken to jail. Then, to see which option would be better, asked who would take care of them. Their first choice was Joey and Gayle because they could watch as much T.V. as they wanted and drink soda. When I told them it had to be a family member, Uncle Steve was the choice. Why?? So they could go boating whenever they wanted too. And besides, Uncle Steve is pretty funny!! They assured me that Uncle Steve would take them to Joey and Gayle’s for the annual camping trip and then to Utah for their annual road trip.

Anyway, while the older kids and I were having this conversation I realized that Niah was not with us. We went downstairs to find her and we didn’t find her, at first. But boy did we find her trail. She had gotten herself a bottle of red finger nail polish and had painted her path out the door. She painted a bar stool, a rocking chair, the sliding glass door, our clothes hanger, the shed, the boat, the play house….. I keep finding red all over the place, even today! Oh ya, and herself!!! We were able to clean off all the stuff in the house. I didn’t even worry about the outside stuff. Guess that’s what happens; the more kids you have the harder it is to keep track of them all!!

Guess that is our life in a novel….. The rest of this weeks looks very busy according to the calendar. We shall see what actually gets eliminated. Much love to all. Have a great rest of the week.