Sami's World

Well, another week has come and gone so I need to update ya’ll on our happenings.

Tuesday April 8 was a stay home day. We got all our school work and chores done, yay for us!!

Wednesday we went to P.E. in the morning and then came home for lunch and school and naps. It was another productive day.

Wednesday night Niah was just not feeling well. She was up most of the night with a “barky” cough, almost like croup. So Thursday was an interesting morning with Niah’s sickness. So I called in reinforcements. Scott came home about noon and “rescued” me! It was much needed. Jaime had a late piano lesson and then off to dance class. We had dinner and bedtime as soon as we got home.

Friday was another “easy” day. We did school and chores in the morning/afternoon. Then we met our friends at the park. Because it was such a nice day the kids had TONS of fun. Our friends the Bennett’s brought a kite to the park and everyone took turns playing and having fun. We left the park at 5:30 and headed over to Milo’s first sports class. It is a round robin class. So over the next six weeks they will do soccer, basketball and t-ball. Just a beginner course to see what Milo will be interested in. He did a great job. Size wise, he is taller and bigger than all the other kids. Skill wise, he is better than some and slower than others, so I think he is in the right level for now. I just wish he were with some older kids that he could make friends with. Dad beat us home and already had dinner going. We had a late dinner since Milo’s class is so late but it was fun to sit around as a family and enjoy that time together.

Saturday morning, April 12, I woke up early and went to the temple. Scott and I have given up on going to the temple as a couple. Our time will come. For now we alternate Saturday’s and go by ourselves. Anyway, I got in on a Spanish session (which I already knew that that was going to happen because it happened to Scott last time). It was the first time in a long time that I had so many people try and talk to me in Spanish. I forget sometimes that people think that of me because of my dark hair and skin. I sat next to someone that was as pregnant as I am, too bad I couldn’t communicate with her! When I got home, Scott had motivated the kids to get their chores done. We had lunch and then we went to a birthday party for Sam Bennett. It was at the park and it was soooo fun. They had a lot of silly games and fun snacky foods and really good cup cakes. We stayed for 3 hours. It’s been getting hotter here, so we stopped by the store and grabbed a few things so we could do meat sandwich’s for dinner so we didn’t have to heat up the kitchen with cooking. After the sandwich’s we did baths and bed. Unfortunately, it was soooo hot that the kids didn’t fall asleep till after 9. Scott and I stayed up finishing things for Sunday. We were in bed sleeping by 10:30pm. Great hour to go to sleep!!

Today has been great so far. We got to church on time (which was 30 minutes early because I had to set some stuff up in the primary room). The kids were good during Sacrament meeting and primary was good. I did have to take one little boy to his mom. Toby Bennett, great kid, Milo’s best friend, but he was just having a hard time today. I tried to get him to sit with me and enjoy what was going on, but he just didn’t want to. Finally I asked him if he wanted to go see his mom, he thought that was a great idea and so down we went. I’m grateful for my calling. I love those primary kids and I love how enthusiastic they are and how willing they are to do what we ask them to do. Kids are awesome. Oh ya, I am officially released as the Provident Living leader now. The Bishop told me that if the brethren in Salt Lake knew that I had two callings right now, they would not be happy with him. So they officially released me today. Carolyn Littlejohn now has the calling. What’s ironic about that is that she had the calling many years ago and a lot of what I did was inspired by what she had done when she was in the calling! Too funny. Great lady, I really like her. Now we are home and having quiet time. I’m typing away at this computer, Scott is typing away at his computer, Jaime is writting letters, Alix is reading and the other three are napping. It’s warm here today but the house is cool!! We are going to bbq later and Scott has some H.T.’ing to do.

I don’t have any fun sayings from the kids. I’m sure they said some, I just didn’t take the time to write them down, too bad. I did want to report though that Afton is getting really good with her talking. One cute thing she does is call anything and everything that climbs a tree or flies in the air a duck. A bird, a squirrel anything, it’s a duck.

We have a church building here that we call the Walnut building because it is on Walnut Avenue. On our way to church this morning, Milo asks ‘Mom, do they store walnuts in the walnut building?’ Too funny!

We love you all and hope all is well. Much love.

Once again I’ve let this go too long. There isn’t much to report so you should be able to get through this quickly….

Saturday March 29 was spent doing all of our morning chores. Making it possible for us to have the afternoon and evening as relaxing fun time. Jaime, Alix and I went down to the church in the afternoon so they could practice their song. About a month ago Sister Littlejohn, our music coordinator, asked if our family would sing the 9th article of faith in Sacrament meeting. Since the only real singers in the family are the kids we thought we could get the kids to do it. I figured Jaime could learn how to play it on the piano and then the other kids could sing. I also knew that if I told the kids this, they’d all say no and it would be a struggle from the get go. So instead I asked Jaime ‘Hey, do you think you could play the 9th article of faith?’ She opened the book and, with a little help from Grandma Thompson, plucked out a tune. It didn’t sound too right, but I figured it was well on it’s way. I then talked to her piano teacher and she was a champ. She got Jaime on the right track and in about a week she was playing the top hand like a champ. One more week and she had both hands going. Now I had to get the other kids to sing it. Lucky me I didn’t have to. One day Jaime and Alix decided they wanted to do a performance for FHE and practiced all week, Jaime played and Alix sang. It worked out lovely. So on the Thursday before I broke the news to them. That Sister Littlejohn was looking for someone to perform the 9th article of faith. Jaime was a bit reluctant, she always is, Alix was ecstatic They practiced long and hard the next two days and while we were getting ready to practice at church Jaime declared she would not do it. I told her ‘O.K. But we are still going to the church to practice.’ Of course on Sunday morning they both did marvelous. The funny thing about the whole incident is that the program read ‘9th article of faith by the Thompson Family, piano by Alex Thompson.’ We all just laughed. The bishop even announced it like that. We assured the girls it was just them and that the rest of the family would be sitting and cheering them on. We got A LOT of compliments on their performance and they were recognized in Primary. I think we should do this again. It’s good for them and it’s good for their younger siblings to see them do it.

Sunday, after church, was just a normal easy Sunday. We tried to do dinner outside again but the wind was so windy and cold, we moved our family picnic to inside. It was still fun.

Monday – Wednesday were just stay home days. We did school and chores and playing outside. The kids were awesome and we got lots of work done.

Thursday, April 3, was piano and dance day. Both of those seemed to go well. We played outside during Jaime’s dance class. Since it’s more than obvious that I am pregnant, a few of the moms said something to me. They were very kind about it. But there is this one mom, very kind, that just finds it very interesting that I’d have a big family. She made an awkward scene that I was not quite ready for, but am grateful for so that if it were to happen again, I know exactly how I would respond. I really did have to laugh about the whole thing. At one point one of the moms said ‘So in your religion does this make you perfect?’ I responded with a very firm ‘NO!’ I really wanted to make some sarcastic remark but realized it was not the best time to do it. I just kindly told her that family is very important in our religion and that we have chosen to have a big one.

Friday Alix had a dermatology appointment. I dropped the other kids at my friend Camille’s house and then arranged to meet her at the park. Alix still has toenail fungus after 2 years of fighting it. The doctor just said to keep an eye on it and see if it gets any worse. We left and I went to the park. The kids had a lot of fun running and playing and seeing their friends. We got home a bit late. But that was ok, I was making a quick dinner of Hawaiian haystacks. It should be easy. Except when I got home we were locked out. I had my keys, the door handle had broken and therefore would not turn to let us in. I tried to break the door handle but that did not work. Finally, instead of breaking down the front door, I went around to the side and kicked in the side door (not bad work for being 30 weeks pregnant). I busted the door jam but got inside. It only took 30 minutes to accomplish that. Scott got home shortly after and realized he had quite the project on his hands. We ate a quick dinner and he was off. What a good sport he is for having to deal with such a stubborn wife. He got the front door in working order and decided to save the other door for another night. We still didn’t make it to bed till 2 am though. That’s ok, it’s building memories, right??

Saturday and Sunday were spent at home watching conference over the Internet We had a great time spending time together as a family. On Saturday during sessions we got our front yard a little more under control and on Sunday we just played together as a family. What great and inspiring talks that were given. I’m grateful for the council given and look forward to rereading many of the talks.

Today, Monday April 7, was suppose to be a busy afternoon. Except Alix’s art class she was suppose to start today got canceled This is either the 3 or 4 time this has happened in the last year. I guess everyone wants to do art on Saturday’s. So we looked on line for anther class but couldn’t find one until next month. So Alix will have to go another month with no extra fun class to do. She was pretty broken up about it but pulled through like a champ. I had a doctor’s appointment today. I’m officially 30 weeks and everything is fine. I was in and out in 15 minutes. That’s a record for me. Usually my doctor is anywhere from 20-60 minutes behind. No fun!! But he’s a great old guy and very knowledgeable, so I don’t complain. We got home in enough time to do chores, play with our neighbors and have the sister missionaries over for dinner. It has been a great day.

Some side notes:

Milo is doing really well in his reading. He read a three word sentence today “mad at me”. He was very pleased with himself and so was I. I was hoping to have finished the reading program before the baby was born, but we will only get about half way through it. I’m sure he’ll be fine. It might set him back a little but he’s a trooper.

Milo and Niah were talking about their cousins and how much they love and miss them. Niah asks Milo if Toby is a cousin. Milo said ‘no, you can only be a cousin if you live far away.’

We were having FHE about general conference We asked the kids who we would see during general conference. Milo says ‘Gordon B. Hinkley.’ Not to burst his bubble we asked ‘O.K. Who is Gordon B. Hinkley.’ Milo says ‘He’s an old guy with a cane that died.’

We were sitting at the dinner table talking about something and Jaime made the comment ‘It’s because we have so many children.’ I started giving her a hard time about having so many children. I told her perhaps we should sell one (speaking directly to her). She started laughing and saying ‘no,no’ I explored all the places we could sell her to and finally said ‘We’ll sell you to a farm, I think we can get the most money out of you that way.’ All of a sudden Milo raises both hands in the air and says, very happily, ‘Sell me, Sell me!!’ It was too funny. We still walk around saying ‘sell me, sell me.’

Today while we were driving home from the doctors appointment I told the kids that the missionaries were coming over for dinner. Niah asks, ‘mom, are the mommy missionaries or the daddy missionaries coming?’

That is all for now. I guess this ended up MUCH longer than I thought it would. Thanks for enduring and I hope all is well with all of you. We love you all very much and are so happy to be part of this great family network. Thanks for being so wonderful and supportive. Much love.

First off, my thoughts and impressions of Milo’s birthday.

Milo had a cool birthday. The cakes came out awesome, he and his buddy, Toby, had a great time. But as for me, well, Chucky Cheese has got nothing on an old fashioned family birthday party. I was reminiscing about the parties we used to have at Grandma and Granddads in Blanding. Hanging out on the patio, tons of family around. Cake. Homemade ice cream. Watermelon. Climbing the tree. Racing around the house. That’s my idea of a birthday party. Or a Sunday afternoon. That’s real living.

Friday our tax return was deposited to our account. We thought we would do our part to help jump start the economy by going out to eat at Applebee’s It’s our kids favorite restaurant. Our kids where very well behaved. (as an aside: It’s such a pleasure taking our kids into public because they are so well behaved.) After we got home, and while putting Jaime to bed, we fell to talking. She said there where some boys at Applebee’s who kept looking at her, and when they did, it made her feel weird. I asked her what she meant by “weird” and she she started giggling. I told her that if boys where looking at her, to tell them that if they didn’t stop her Dad would take care of them. I’m not ready for my little girl to start growing up. The other day she walked into the kitchen and I almost didn’t recognize her. I’m going to have to beat the boys off with a bat before too long.

Jaime and Alix performed in sacrament meeting yesterday. Jaime played the piano and Alix sang the 9th article of faith. It was really well done and very cute. We received lots of compliments, and needless to say, this Dad was puffing his chest through the rest of the day. We are very pleased with our children and there talents.

Of course, if our kids end up as decent, well rounded intelligent people, it will be only because Sami is such a great mom.

I guess that’s about it for now. Y’all be good.

Well you’ve made it to the end and it gets pretty boring from here on out!

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (March 25-27) were days filled with school, chores and outdoor play. We didn’t go anywhere or do anything. That’s been fine though. We’ve gotten a lot of work done and the kids have had some fun playing in the backyard and with the toys in the playroom. It’s ok to just be home sometimes. Because this week is spring break for the Fremont School District, all of the kids’ extra curricular activities have been canceled too. Because we knew that this week was so low key, we scheduled maintenance on the van. It’s needed it for a couple of months now, but with my busy schedule there was no week that I was willing to give up my transportation. This week was the best one. We should get it back tomorrow and it should run well for another 30,000 miles, right????

Just some side notes about other fun things that have been going on in March. We have been trying to diligently clean up the backyard and get the garden ready. The kids have been going out and pulling weeds for me everyday and I went out and “trimmed” back the trees so our garden will actually get some sunlight. I sure wish I could do more “trimming” but Scott thinks it will not make for good relations with our neighbors. Hopefully it’ll be good enough to grow a decent garden.

Jaime and Alix were talking about acronyms at the table. They were making some up and Jaime says ‘Hey mom do you know what POS mean’. I tried to hold my cool as best I could. Unfortunately I don’t remember what she said it meant but it fortunately did not mean what I grew up knowing what it meant.

A few Sunday’s ago, I was in the bathroom getting dressed after my shower and Jaime comes walking in. I said ‘Good morning Jaime. How are you?’ I got a very grumpy ‘Fine’ I said ‘would you like to go downstairs for breakfast. Dad is cooking breakfast right now?’ She looks at me and says ‘I can’t go downstairs with my hair looking like THIS!!’ It was so hard not to laugh and question who exactly she wanted to impress.

One night after Milo and Niah got out of the bath, I was dressing Afton and heard them running up the hall screaming ‘Super naked’ (kinda like superman just super naked instead). I went out in the hall and they had put blankets around their necks for capes and were running up and down the hall yelling ‘Super naked’. Had I been more prepared, a video camera would have been appropriate!

Milo’s lower lip and chin have been really chapped lately and so I’ve been putting Vaseline on him. One day I asked him to go get me the Vaseline. He comes running in and says ‘here’s the gasoline mom’. No matter how many times I try to tell him, he still asks for his gasoline.

Scott and Milo are out right now on a “date”. Milo hasn’t had his birthday date yet and so Scott took him tonight. They went to Wal Mart and then they are going for ice cream. How fun to be five and out on a date with your dad. I’m kinda jealous actually!! :0)

Jaime, Niah and Afton are all in bed snoozing. Alix is reading stories on the couch. She ended up taking a 3 hour nap today and so is still awake, not ready for sleep. It’s so quiet in here, I’m not sure what to do with myself. I don’t have anything pressing to do so I’m not sure what to do, maybe I’ll read, or go to sleep……I guess I should clean!

Hope all is well with all of you. I’ll be saying goodbye for now and make a new commitment to write my weakly mono log instead of my monthly one! Ta Ta for now!

Wow, this series of entries are seriously longer than I had originally planned. Good luck, thanks for sticking it out with me!

Friday, March 21, was Milo’s big day and I wanted to make sure it was. So I got up at 6 am to finish his cakes and make sure everything was ready for him to come down and see. I finished up the cakes just in time and I think they came out pretty good. Milo came down all happy it was his big day and enjoyed a breakfast of donuts and milk. Then we cleaned up, said goodbye to dad and started the day. I did have the kids do some minimal chores and school work before the “big” party. We have established this tradition that our kids get a “big” party on their fifth birthday. We asked Milo weeks ago who he wanted at his party. He said ‘Toby’. I asked him if he wanted to invite any of the other kids from his primary class ‘No, just Toby. I don’t want anyone else there, just Toby’. Well, that was easy! So we asked him if he’d like to do his party at Chucky Cheese. He was VERY excited about that. I was too, since I had a coupon and that made it very cheap and I didn’t have to mess up my house with a bunch of 5 year olds running around! Scott planned a long lunch and met us at the house at noon. We did invite Toby’s older sister Jessie so the girls could have a friend too. Milo wasn’t very happy about that. He told me ‘I told you, only Toby!’. I assured him that Jessie was there as Jaime and Alix’s guest. That seemed to calm him! Since we didn’t have enough room in the van for all, Scott filled his car with “the boys” and I filled mine with “the girls”. It was fun. We left Afton at Jessie and Toby’s with their mom. It was her nap time and she wouldn’t have been in any mood to enjoy the festivities anyway. We were a little apprehensive to leave her but she slept the whole time we were gone and after we got to Chucky Cheese we realized it would have taken one of us just to keep an eye on her. Anyway, we picked a good time to go. There were not very many people there at all and we had our table and the surrounding area to ourselves. It was nice. When we showed up the “host” helped us find a table and set up my decorations (we didn’t actually pay for a party package, we just had our party there). Then I went and ordered pizza and got tokens. We let the kids run wild for 30 minutes till the pizza was done then we brought them over to eat. Then we let them run wild again till we reigned them in for cake and presents. Then the time was up. I was super surprised how fast the time went. We scheduled 2 hours, we could have easily been there for 4. The kids didn’t even have enough time to use all their tokens. We have enough left over for a family trip one day. After picking out some cheap toys and candy we headed home. Scott went back to work to finish the day and I went to the park so the kids could run off all the sugar. We stayed at the park for 3 hours. We got home about 6:30pm. The kids were so exhausted. By the time I bathed them and put them to bed, they were thankful to go! When we got home there were two messages for Milo saying happy birthday. After listening to them he asked ‘why does everyone want to talk to me today?’ I told him it was because it was his birthday. It was very cute. Scott got home about 8 and we enjoyed a little quiet time while we ate the sushi he brought home from work, that was super yummy. Then we decided to watch a movie. I also decided that sleeping on the bed just wasn’t working anymore so we moved Scott’s recliner upstairs so I could sleep in the room still. It was pretty comfy and I’ve slept there every night since. I didn’t get too far into the movie before I was out. Saturday was going to come very early!!

Saturday was our Easter celebration. We had planned to meet some of our friends, the Richies, in Brentwood for brunch and an egg hunt. We ended up being late, but they were running behind too. So we got there about 11 and had “brunch” at noon. The kids seemed fine with that. There were enough kids to play with. The Richies have 2 girls and then some cousins came too, they have a boy and a girl. So it was fun to have so many playmates. The boy cousin teamed up with Milo and so he had a buddy too. The rest were little girls!! After playing a ton, eating a ton of food and playing some more, we did the egg hunt. It was very successful for all participants and it was such a beautiful day. After the egg hunt and check’n out the goods, the kids played more. They went to the park for a little while. We had planned to leave at 2 because we had some stuff at home we wanted to do. But we didn’t end up leaving till 4. Everyone was having too much fun! We got home and made dinner. After clean up we made the craft that grandma and grandpa Thompson sent us. The kids had decided they wanted to make the craft and then give it to their primary teachers as an Easter gift. That sounded good to us so that is what we did. Each kid had such a fun time doing the craft. It was awesome. We were suppose to dye eggs but because of getting home late and doing the craft it was already after 8 pm. So we put the kiddo’s to bed. We spent the evening cleaning up a little more just in case the Easter bunny decided to come. I did have to go out to the store for some last minute items to make our Sunday more complete. We actually made it to bed early.

Sunday we were up and going on time. The first Sunday since the time change. We were all showered and Scott was dressed before the kids even got up. We told the kids they had to be showered and dressed before they could see if the Easter Bunny came. We were all ready to go by 8 pm and walking down the stairs. They were very happy to see their plastic cup filled with a bit of candy, an activity book, new pencil and stickers. It was the best thing ever. We made some pancakes for breakfast and were off to church. It was a great Sunday. I was pretty busy. The primary seemed to be doing well without me so I headed downstairs to make some copies for primary and update my provident living bulletin board. By the time I was done with those two things, I went back upstairs and tried to grab a couple more classes to get their class pictures taken for our primary room. As I was coming back down the hall I saw Niah’s primary teacher standing outside the bathroom. I asked her if everything was ok. She said that Niah had to go to the bathroom and that Niah said she could do it all by herself. I went in to check on her. She did get on the toilet but ended up peeing all over herself. Since our little kid numbers are low, I was lucky to remember that one mom is in the process of potty training, so I went down to R.S. to ask her if I could borrow some panties. She was more than willing to share and I had Niah back to class in no time. By the time this was all over it was time for closing exercises and I showed up for that. We had stuff that we needed to return/give to people so we spent a little extra time getting home so we could catch everyone. The Bennett family in our ward wanted to take a family picture and asked me to snap the pictures for them. That was fun too. We got home, got the kids fed, put them down for naps and then started in on our own projects when the Sister Missionaries showed up. That was fun to chat with them for a few minutes and enjoy a spiritual message. At this point it was time for dinner preparations to begin. We bbq’d and I made potato salad. It’s been a while since I’ve done it and it seemed to come out pretty good. It was such a lovely day that we ate outside. Then we let the kids gorge themselves on candy and then we went for a VERY long family walk. Once we got home we put kids to bed and I got ready for my movie night. I left about 8:40 and got home at midnight. We watched Emma by Jane Austen. It was good and we enjoyed a little time of talking and enjoying each other’s friendship. What a great group of ladies I have the opportunity to associate with. I am truly blessed. I was asleep by 1.

Late nights make for early mornings and a grumpy mom! Monday March 24 was suppose to be an easy “fun” day. But since I was a little (ok, a lot) grumpy the morning was a little stressful. Luckily at 10:30, this cute young woman, Leighlani, showed up at my door and said she was on spring break and came to help out. What a blessing! She was a huge help and gave me the rest I needed without feeling like I was neglecting my kids. She stayed through dinner and through part of FHE before her dad came and picked her up. We got the kids to bed a little late. Scott and I got to bed early again, yay!!

Glad to see you are back for the next installment of Sami’s Life…..

After all those late nights, my body went into shut down mode! I got up on Monday morning (March 17), fed and dressed all the kids, got Jaime and Alix doing some independent work and then sat down to read stories to the little kids. Next thing I know it’s two hours later and the kids are waking me up for some lunch. I got up and made them all lunch and we decided to have a picnic outside. I laid down on the blanket for just a minute and two hours later they were waking me up again for a snack. Luckily I was more coherent this time and was able to stay awake the rest of the day! After dad got home we did FHE and then I ran to the store. We needed to get the Science Fair pictures run off so we could put the girls’ posters together. As I was driving to the store I witnessed an accident right in front of me. The guy got side swiped on the other side of the road, went over the median, across the two lanes of traffic on my side and up the sidewalk. He took out a street light on the way. When he finally came to a stop I noticed the other car stopped right in front of the median, good, he didn’t get too much damage. So, I focused on the other guy whose car was VERY mangled. As I walked over to the grass area where the car was, I noticed the other guy back up and drive away! I was shocked, a hit run. This other lady and I helped the guy out of his car and then some other guys who had come on the scene disconnected the battery so the horn would stop honking. After the police showed up they took down my information but I wasn’t much help since I couldn’t give a real description of the other car. I was not expecting it to drive away, so I didn’t take notice of what it looked like or anything else. After a good 30 minutes I drove away thinking ‘that was the second accident in a week. People say things happen in three’s, please don’t let anything happen to my family….’ After I got the pictures printed and back home, it was a bit late to put the posters together so we sent the kids off to bed. After getting all our stuff done and getting to bed, it was once again midnight, good thing I napped!

Tuesday was another full day. We got together with some other ladies from the ward to have a gospel discussion. We thought it would be ok, but was informed that that is not a good thing without a set apart teacher, so we just talked and enjoyed each other’s company. It was fun to just chat (although I almost fell asleep a couple of times during our “chat”). We got home in enough time to get lunch and put the little ones down for naps. We did school and chores and finished our science fair posters. They came out really good and the girls were very excited about them. After the little ones woke up, we did chores, dinner and jammies. We put the kids to bed a little early. About this time Steve called and said he was in San Jose. I was bummed that I didn’t know sooner but we were able to work it out that he would come to Fremont on Wednesday and see Jaime and Alix’s science fair. The girls were VERY excited about that. We had a babysitter (a newly married couple who are always offering to help out families with lots of kids, they are so awesome!!) coming so that Scott and I could attend a recognition night for Jaime at church. She does activity days and the leader decided to have a night of recognition and praise for all the hard work the girls have been doing. It was also nice to get a little more information on the program so I can better help Jaime now (I hope). After some very YUMMY treats and lots of fun we headed home. After the Stovalls left, the babysitters, Scott helped Jaime put the finishing touches on her science fair project. Now we were ready. Jaime was in bed by 10 and Scott and I managed an 11pm bedtime, that’s early!!

Wednesday, March 19, started out “normal”. We got up, got dressed did a little bit of school and then headed out to P.E. It was a VERY cold day compared to the weather we had been having so the kids were all frozen as were the adults. But that didn’t stop us from having fun! We enjoyed seeing our friends and playing outside. We stayed a little bit afterwards to play at the park but headed home quick so we could all thaw! The afternoon was full of chores and school and then we got everyone ready for the Science Fair. We had heard from Uncle Steve that he would arrive just in time to go the Science Fair. We were able to set up Jaime and Alix’s projects. They stayed by their projects for about 20 minutes to tell people about what they did and how they did it and explain stuff if necessary. They both did a great job. Then they had to present their project to their teacher who rated them and took pictures. I had to fill out a rating sheet too. Then, both of those get sent to the main “school” and judged against all the kids in Northern California. It was a great accomplishment for both girls and they both did a great job. Everyone enjoyed seeing Uncle Steve and Afton warmed right up to him. She is normally VERY apprehensive of strangers, especially men, but she went right up to Uncle Steve and “talked” to him and showed off her stupid human tricks and everything. It was very cute. We left the science fair early since we only had a limited time with Uncle Steve. We went out for burgers and shakes and had fun wreaking havoc on In-n-Out. Steve got the chance to really see Niah’s personality come out. It made for some really good laughs. We got home and the kids to bed by 10. Steve talked for a few more minutes but had an hour drive ahead of him, so he left as soon as he could. Scott and I got to bed at midnight, but it was well worth it! Thanks Steve for coming, we really did have a great time.

Thursday was full too. We did the morning stuff, went to P.E., came home for lunch and naps and school. Left again at 2 for a play date. This was a fun play date. While the kids played for a while the mom and I made homemade yogurt, that is always fun. Then the kids came inside and we did a science experiment on Einsteins time space continuum (sp??). It was really fun and the kids enjoyed that. We left from there and went straight to dance class. I dropped Jaime and ran a few errands then came back and the kids played in the car. It was still kinda chilly outside and I didn’t bring jackets for anyone. We used to go and sit and watch Jaime, but lately the kids have been stressing Jaime’s teacher out (she’s 86 years old) so I thought it better, with the warmer weather, to keep the kids out of the class. Usually we just play in the grass, or bring their bikes, but it was just too cold! After Jaime was done we went home, had dinner and did our bedtime stuff. It was at this point that I realized Milo’s birthday was the next day and I hadn’t prepared very well. So I had Scott pick up a few things on his way home and then after putting the kids to bed and making a list (I didn’t want to forget anything) I headed to the store. The first dilemma we were having is what kind of a “boys” cake could we make the night before. We finally came up with the idea of making a basketball and baseball. So I bought all the things I would need and was home by 10. We made the cakes and got them into the oven. Then we decorated so that when Milo came down he would see the decorations (his request). After the cakes were done we put them out to cool. While all this was going on I thought it the perfect time to catch you all up on the news of the family. About 11:30, when all prep was done and I thought I’d post my entry, I lost it! It was a huge let down. Oh, well life seemed to go on! Scott and I got to bed sometime after 12:30.

At this point in my month, my life decided to get VERY BUSY! It’s ok though, it keeps me on my toes and helps the time before pregnancy go by a little faster……

Thursday March 13 started out as any “normal” day would. We got up, did school, went to piano, did more school, did chores, then went to dance class. After dance class I was suppose to be in charge of the berry order for our stake (once a year our stake does a group order for berries from this farm in Oregon. One person usually takes charge and does all the ordering and corresponding with the company. The day the berries were to be delivered, she was not available so she called me and asked me if I’d take over, no problem…..). So I dropped off Jaime at dance class, ran a quick errand to the City of Fremont Recreation offices to sign Jaime, Alix and Milo up for a round of classes, then headed over to Kortnee’s house to pick up the information about “being in charge” of the berries. When I arrived she told me the company just called and the truck would be an hour late. So instead of coming at 6 they wouldn’t be there till 7. Well that was not going to work since everyone who ordered berries was suppose to be at the church at 6 to pick up their order (except for my ward. Since I was in charge of my ward’s order I told everyone I’d just bring the berries back to my house and that would save them a trip across town, since I had to be there anyway). So her and I went into calling mode to make sure that everyone knew to wait another hour before showing up at the church. This also meant that I needed some dinner for the kids. So I picked up Jaime from dance class, we grabbed something to eat and headed over to the church to have a picnic and wait for the truck. When I got there, someone was waiting and had been for 45 minutes. I felt awful, she didn’t get called and I was suppose to be the one that called her. She was very nice about it but couldn’t wait any longer, so I told her I’d just get the berries and drop them off later. We had our picnic and watered the bushes, since the church was locked up, and played for a few minutes. The truck ended up being another 20 minutes late. So by the time I got all the berries sorted, given out to the families and my van loaded, it was almost 8 pm. Scott had worked late but called me and said there were people waiting at our house for me. I told him I’d be there shortly. I made one berry drop off on the way home. We gave out the berries to our ward members and then Scott went and made two more deliveries. By the time we got the kids to bed, Scott got home from deliveries and we went to bed it was midnight. Friday would come early…..

Friday once again started out as a “normal” day. We did school and chores and went to the park. That is always fun for the kids and I. Scott got home and we put all the kids to bed and then I went and did my bread pick up. Every Friday night our Stake picks up bread from a local bakery so that it doesn’t get thrown in the trash. I am in the rotation and I pick up every 6 weeks. Then I open my home to anyone who needs or wants bread. It’s a nice system. The last time I picked up they gave me hard time about our church not picking up the bread on Friday’s. I told them I was just a pick up person and that I would inform the coordinator of the group of the problem. Apparently, there was no problem and all was sorted out. Still, I was a little apprehensive about going, but knew I needed to. When I showed up it looked as if someone else was picking up the bread. So I went up to the front counter and said ‘I’m here to pick up the bread.’ The employee gestured to the guy standing behind me (a 70 year old guy) and said ‘You’ll have to fight him for it’. At which point he comes right up to me and, in a VERY intimidating manner, says ‘Who are you’. I said ‘I’m here to pick up the bread’. ‘Where are you from?’ ‘The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints’ (I was pretty scared at this point that I was going to get a butt whoop’n from an old man). He looks at me a little softer and says ‘Oh, the LDS church? Give her the bread.’ I assured him I would rather he have the bread than cause any contention and he said he just wanted to make sure it was going to a good place, he didn’t want to see the bread get thrown away. And again they gave me the story about no one ever picks up on Friday nights so they told him he could come and pick it up. He was a pasture for a local Christian church. He then left and I loaded up the bread, still a little unnerved. I was driving home, thinking about the experience and wishing I had my cell phone with me when the guy in front of me decides he’s not going to stop for the red light. He acted as if he was going to, but changed his mind at the last second. I almost watched him get creamed by two cars that had the right of way. Not only that but it was an intersection that has traffic camera’s, so all these lights are flashing, tires are squealing, it’s dark every where else and I almost got my butt kicked by a 70 year old man. I was pretty unnerved the rest of the way home. Once I got home I called the “in charge” lady. She said that they only give me a hard time and no one else has ever had problems picking up the bread. I told her I’ve always been picked on, I’m used to it. By the time I got off the phone 7 different families had shown up to pick up bread. It was nice to be relieved of so much so quickly. They all finally left by 10:45pm. After cleaning up and me finally having the chance to tell my story to Scott we made it to bed sometime after 12:30am. Saturday was going to come early……

Saturday, March 15, Scott headed out early for the temple which left me in charge of Saturday chores. They seemed to go well and we got done as dad was coming home. We had three more families come for bread. On the way home, Scott got the rest of the stuff needed for the girls Science fair projects and we planned on working on them as soon as he got home. We did lunch and then plunged right into science. It was fun to work with the girls and get their write ups done and pictures taken. We finished just as the Buchanan kids showed up. We do babysitting exchanges with them and it was our turn to babysit. They have three kids the same age as our three youngest, just different genders. The kids all seemed to have fun playing and enjoying each other’s company. The parents came about 8 pm and picked up the kids. They seemed glad to see their parents. I had been planning that as soon as they left, I would start my sewing project I had volunteered to help with and needed to turn in Sunday morning. It would be early enough to get to still get to bed early. Just as the kids left the phone rang. It was the primary president. She needed me to do a last minute sharing time. Ok, no problem. Oh ya I had to go to the store too. So I went to the store and got what I needed for Sunday. Came back and did my sharing time. Realized I forgotten something at the store and so Scott ran out for me while I finished up my sharing time presentation. Scott ended up coming back empty handed though. O’well that was my own dumb fault! Then I started the sewing project. By now it was 11pm. I was to sew 7 pillow cases. Easy enough. It was an easy project, just time consuming. I put the final stitch on at 2 am. I was asleep by 2:15am. Sunday was going to come early…….

Sunday, March 16, was a good day. My sharing time went really good, I think the kids learned a lot. I ended up using a flannel board story (thanks grandma and grandpa Thompson). Right after church Scott was suppose to have a meeting so I ditched clean up crew and got my kids down to my car fast! Scott ended up not having his meeting and caught us just in time. We got home early enough to have lunch and put all the kids to bed before I went to do my visiting teaching. My partner and I got it all done and it was a good feeling to be done so early in the month. I got home in enough time to do some clean up before our guests arrived. We had 5 families over for dinner. They provided all the food, so it was an easy night for me. I volunteered to provide a chocolate fountain (thanks Steve and Joy) if they provided the stuff to dip in the fountain. It was a great success and fun to use. I’m all excited about trying new and different things in the fountain. Apparently those things are good for more than just chocolate. The guests all left by 8pm and I checked messages. There was a message from my late Sunday night movie group that said they wanted to meet at 9:15pm for a movie. So I cleaned up VERY fast and headed on over. We watched an 80’s flick about young Sherlock Holmes. It was pretty good, probably wouldn’t see it again though. Then we ended up talking. It was 2 am before I knew it and I came home. Monday was going to come early……

Are you all tired yet? I am!! Stayed tuned for more…….

Well this is try number 2!! Yes, once again I wrote a REALLY long entry and just as I was finishing, I lost the whole thing! I’ve been too sad to try again. So here it is 4 days later, more stuff has happened, which means it will be even longer. Lucky you!! :0)

Since it has been so long since entries, I’ll try and make this detailed but short (hahaha!!). I’ll do this in week segments, so check back daily and see if I keep to my goal…..

Thursday March 6 was a normal day of school, piano, school, chores, dance. It was “easy” and that is always a good day.

Friday March 7, Scott had his over night fishing trip. We were suppose to get together with a family whose dad went on the same fishing trip but that didn’t end up working out. That was fine though. We did school and chores and then met friends at the park at 3. We left around 5:30 and got dinner. We ate dinner at home and then watched a movie and ate “junk food” till late hours of the night. The kids really enjoyed it and were a little sad to go to bed, but it was necessary.

Saturday was spent doing chores and getting ready for the park. Since Scott was gone and I didn’t know when he would be home, I took the kids to the park. We met another family there and Jaime invited a friend over to play so she came to the park too. We stayed for a good 2 hours before the kids were just too tired and hungry and Scott was home anyway. Before we went to the park we had spent a good three hours cleaning and getting things “nice” for dad to come home. When Jaime’s friend, Katie, walked in the door the first thing she said was ‘Wow, this house is messy’! We just had to laugh. She is the youngest of four and the oldest is on a mission. She is used to a VERY clean house. Anyway, we had a yummy dinner and some ice cream for dessert. Then the kids made forts and ran around and had fun till Katie had to go home. Then it was off to bed for everyone.

Sunday March 9 was a HARD day for us. The time change really threw us all off and we had a hard time getting up in the morning and getting ready for church. But somehow we made it to church on time and somehow managed to keep our sanity till the end of Sacrament. After church I had a meeting so Scott came home with the kids by himself and got them lunch and down for quiet time. It was a fun and relaxing afternoon. Since it was so nice out, we went on a family walk and then played some family games in the back yard. We had dinner outside with homemade lemonade (Alix did it all by herself. She squeezed the lemons and put in the right amount of sugar and water. We were all really impressed with her ability to make such a yummy drink). We also made thin mint milk shakes out of girl scout cookies. It was a great evening and we really enjoyed the sunshine and late light of the sun.

Monday, March 10, was ‘get as much school work as we could get done’ day. Joy was coming that night and we knew we wouldn’t get much school done on Tuesday. So we got a lot done and did our chores and went to bed all ready for Joy and the kids to show up. They showed up some time very late that night and sneaked in.

In the morning, Tuesday, we ended up waking the Layton family very early, but they seemed ok about that. We had some yummy pancakes and everyone got dressed and ready for the day. We took a walk to the nearest park and the kids seemed to have a TON of fun playing and enjoying their cousins. When we got home we did a mandatory quiet time so that little ones and Joy could catch up on sleep. I even laid down for a little while. The “awake” kids stayed out back and read and played quietly. After quiet time we decided on an “easy” dinner and got take out from Mings (a REALLY yummy Chinese restaurant in town). We enjoyed it very much and there were tons of left overs (THANKS Joy!). We had early bedtimes for the kids so they could have enough energy for the activities of the next day. Niah and Caitlin had become such good friends during the day that they insisted on sleeping together that night. It was so cute and they did pretty good (once they went to sleep). Niah still talks about her “friend” Caitlin and how much she misses her. Joy and I stayed up kinda late talking and enjoying the quiet of the home.

Wednesday morning came too soon. After a late start Joy and the kids were on their way and my kids and I were sad to see them go. We spent the rest of the day cleaning and doing some school. A total let down from the day before!