Waiting for the Bus - February 16, 2012

Thursday - February 16, 2012
I made the kids let me take their pictures on the way out to wait for the bus.  We left a little early so no other kids would be there.  Alissa was embarrassed and worried that the other kids would see me taking her picture.  Here they are walking down the driveway.

 The bus stop is right across the street from our house.  So here they are waiting.  See... We really do live in the middle of nowhere.  There is nothing around.

 After Brinley got home from school, I took her to her friend, Mikenna's house to play.  Then I came home, cleaned the house, washed the dishes, and made Roger's dinner before heading to pick Alissa and Parker up from school.  I picked them up from school today so we could get their friend, Erin, and bring her to our house to play.  When I picked Brinley up from her friends house, we decided to bring her friend over to our house so they could play a little longer.  The kids had a lot of fun playing with their friends today.  Parker was sad because none of his friends could play, but he was still able to have fun with his sisters and their friends.

Roger's at work tonight.  He text a little while ago and said that his back is hurting really bad.  I hope the night will go by fast for him.  Roger got a letter from his work today.  It said that he has worked for the company for 10 years so they would like to give him a gift.  There was a website, listed on the letter, where he could go to look at the different gifts available.  He chose a $150.00 watch.  His work has been so terrible in the past few years.  They keep getting rid of the nice things that they used to do for their employees.  It's good for them to do something nice again.

Alissa's Cute Hair - February 15, 2012

Wednesday - February 15, 2012

Alissa loves the attention that she gets at school with all of her cute hairstyles.  I love that she lets me style her hair.  For the longest time, she insisted that she just wanted to wear her hair down.  It's really nice that I finally get to style her hair.

Valentine's Day 2012

Tuesday - February 14, 2012

We ate cereal for breakfast.  We didn't do much for Valentine's this year.  I styled Alissa and Brinley's hair in cute braid hearts.  The kids had a good day at school.  They loved giving out their valentines to their friends.  They were all excited to show me all the valentines they had gotten at school.

Playing at Pizza plus in Brigham City - February 13, 2012

Monday - February 13, 2012

We went to Brigham City after the kids got out of school.  We needed to talk Uncle Scott.  After meeting with Scott, we were going to do some grocery shopping.  We were tired and weren't really looking forward to our grocery shopping trip.  We headed out to the car and noticed that we were right next to a Pizza Plus.  We decided to get some dinner and do our shopping another time.  Pizza Plus had a fun play area.  We spent most of our time playing air hockey.  Roger and I played 4 or 5 games.  He won all of them.  I have never been able to beat him at that game.  It drives me crazy!  I will win one day.  I'm determined!

 There were some little kids running around in the arcade area.  They were in between the ages of 1 and 3.  I think they had a parent who worked there or something because they were running all over the place, even back in the kitchen area.  When Roger and I went to the change machine to get some more quarters, those little kids came running.  They tried to grab the quarters from the tray, then one of them followed Roger, tugged on his pant leg and asked, "quarter?"  He kept following and begging for a quarter.  It was funny and annoying.  Eventually their mom came and got them.

When our food came, I grabbed the camera.  In the first picture I took Alissa and Roger looked sad. I told them that they looked too sad and reminded them that we are having fun. Then I said, "Show the camera how much fun we're having!"  The pictures after that are a lot funnier.  I love my dorky family!  Roger always makes the funniest faces.  good Times!

Pretty Hair - February 12, 2012

Sunday - February 12, 2012

Alissa let me style her hair all pretty with a hairstyle that we found on Pinterest.  It's a double waterfall braid.

Sick - February 11, 2012

Saturday - February 11, 2012
We are sick!  It is not fun at all.

Alissa has been throwing up all morning.

Brinley's tummy is hurting and she is afraid that she'll throw up.

Parker keeps saying he is sick, but he doesn't act like he is.  I think he is just looking for some extra attention like his sisters are getting.

Roger is not sick, but he is injured.  He's been playing hockey a lot.  He hurt his shoulder during one of his first games, then he hurt the same shoulder again on Thursday night.

I'm not sick, but I might as well be.  I'm feeling depressed.  I am a home body living in a house that I am disliking more and more as each day passes.  I need my comfort back.  I don't like being home in this house.  I don't know how to deal with that.  I'm a home body, so I don't love to be out and about all the time.  I love to be home, but this home is not working for me.  I don't like being here.  I feel like there is no place to go and it is miserable.  I am sooooo....  sick of washing dishes by hand.  Dishes are taking up way too much of my time!  I want to quit!  But I can't, because I love my family too much to make them live in filth.  It's just annoying!  That's all.

I've spent a big chunk of my morning looking for houses on ksl.com.  I'm trying to survive until summer, so we don't have to have the kids switch schools again.  I just don't know if I can make it that long.

Alright!  I'm done venting.  Thanks for listening anybody out there that reads my blog.  I can't imagine that there are very many of you, but thank you.

Playing at the Library Park - February 9, 2012

Thursday - February 9, 2012
Today around 10:00 am, Alissa called me from school.  She was crying, so it was hard to understand her.  She said she was sick, so I hurried over to the school to pick her up.  When I got there, she was feeling much better, but she still wanted to come home.  she said that she was eating a hard candy and she accidentally swallowed it whole.  It was hurting her as it slowly made it's way down her throat.  Kindergarten let out while I was there getting Alissa, so I was able to get Brinley also.

We were invited to lunch at a Anna's house.  Anna is a friend from our old neighborhood.  I was relieved that Alissa wasn't really sick, so we could still go to lunch.  Alissa and Brinley had a lot of fun playing with Anna's kids.  She has 3 boys ages 4 and under.  Lunch was nice.  It was good to get caught up with a friend I hadn't seen in a while.

After lunch and some time visiting, it was time to go pick Parker up from school.  We got Parker, then we headed back to the old neighborhood.  I dropped the kids off at North Park Elementary school (their old school) so they could surprise their friend, Erin.  They waited out in the front of the school and walked home with her.  They used to walk home together all the time.  The kids were able to see a lot of old friends and it was so fun for them.  After we got Erin, the girls went with Erin's mom to Feldman's to make some copies and the boys (Parker and Erin's brother, Ben) came with me to buy a few groceries at Ridleys.  Then we all met at the library.  The kids decided they weren't interested in getting books on this trip to the library.  They would rather play on the playground outside.  It was cold, so I parked the car close to the playground and watched them play.  I took a few pictures from the car, but my phone camera won't zoom in and the kids were too far away for the camera to get a good picture of them.

 Parker walked over to the car to get his sling shot.  So, of course, I took his picture.  He had his sling shot with him, because he had taken it to school for show and tell.

 I realized that we had to hurry home so Roger could go to work.  I got out of the car and took a few pictures while I was telling the kids that we had to leave.   Erin, Brinley, and Alissa were playing on the slide.  Alissa, Brinley, and Parker were not thrilled about leaving.  You can tell from Alissa's face in this picture.

Seat belt Pillows and Fun With Gel - February 8, 2012

Wednesday - February 8, 2012

I call these seat belt pillows.  The kids are so excited about their seat belt pillows.  The kids could hardly wait to go somewhere in the car now that the seat is nice and they have seat belt pillows.  I promised Alissa and Parker that I would pick them up from school today so they could ride in the car.  Brinley couldn't wait to go and pick them up.  She came home from school, ate lunch, then begged me to take her to get Parker and Alissa.  Since school wasn't out for them yet, we went to the store and walked around until it was time to go get them.  They all enjoyed having a pillow to ride with.  Parker was fussy when he got out of school, because he couldn't find his folder.  He calmed down a little when he got out to the car and was able to snuggle with his pillow.   We stopped at the Family dollar on our way home and bought valentines for the kids to give to their classmates.

Here's Brin being a goof and showing us how her pillow works.

  I bought some gel at the store so we could try a little thing I saw on Pinterest.  We put gel in a gallon bag, added food coloring, and taped it to the table to play with it.  I think the most fun was mixing the colors in.  After that was done, Parker and Brinley removed the tape and had fun squishing it in their hands.  Then we decided to add some glitter and beads.  They had fun mixing that in also.  Parker and Brinley added some beads in theirs also.  We had fun.  Parker and Brinley are storing theirs in the refrigerator to use as a cold pack when they get hurt.  Alissa wanted hers to stay out so she can still play with it.

I Made The Car Look Nice - February 7, 2012

Tuesday - February 7, 2012 

Today my big focus was fixing up the car.  We have an old yucky car and I haven't had a chance to clean it and make it comfortable yet, until today.  After the kids left to school, I headed out to start cleaning.  I was surprised when I walked out the door and saw a ton of sheep being herded down the road.  There were so many of them!  So I took some pictures.

 This line of sheep was at least a mile long!

  So here's the before pictures of our yucky car,  The kids hated riding in this.  The first time they got in the car, they asked, "Mommy, do we have to put our heads back?"  They were so grossed out.

 I made a cover for the back seat.  I also made some pillows that fit over the seat belt.  I don't have pictures of them.  I will finish all the car stuff tomorrow.  I spent forever scrubbing every inch of the inside of the car.  It is now a very clean car.  Which is so nice.  After I finished the seat cover, Brinley started begging for me to take her some where.  She said that she really wanted to go for a drive.  Parker and Alissa said the same thing.  They both asked to go for a drive also.  I'm glad that the kids will be comfortable now.  We didn't get to go for a drive because Roger had to take the car to work.

Just a normal Day - February 6, 2012

Monday - February 6, 2012

The kids were excited to go to school. I love when that happens. They aren't usually excited about school. Parker was excited because they were having their 100 day party. Brinley was excited because she's in kindergarten and still loves school. I can't remember why Alissa was excited.

Roger and I spent the morning running errands. We payed some bills then I convinced Roger to look at some houses and townhouses with me. I really want to move somewhere that has a dishwasher and more people around. We didn't find anything. I'm being really choosy because I don't want to have to move again anytime soon after our next move. We plan to rent for 4 - 5 more years and then we'll look for a house to buy. So I'm trying to find a house that is cheap, has a dishwasher, in a nice neighborhood, has a nice yard (Roger prefers a yard that he doesn't have to take care of), is close to the kids' school and possibly a park. I don't know if we'll be able to find what we're looking for. I'm going to keep looking and praying until we do. We want to move out of this house in the summer. That way we'll be all situated before the kids start school next year.

Pretty Hair and Church Playground - February 5, 2012

Sunday - February 5, 2012

On Sunday I tried the weave hairstyle on Alissa. She loved the way it looked and she loved all the attention she got because of it. I styled her hair with the weave again today and on Monday I put a bunch of different size little braids into two bigger braids. She usually just wants to wear her hair down. Tonight she asked me if I would do another cute hairstyle tomorrow. She said that she loves all of the attention she gets when I style her hair.

After church was over, the kids begged me to let them play on the playground. There is a playground at the church and they have not had a chance to play on it yet. So, I gave in. I sat in the car and took pictures while they played for a while.

I told Parker to let me take his picture and he started making funny faces. That's why the weird expression in this picture.

I took some pictures when the kids climbed into the car after they finished playing. I like taking pictures with the tablet.

Hanging Out With The Waite's - February 4, 2012

Saturday - February 4, 2012 - We went ice skating with the Waite family (Roger and Tyson Waite were mission companions). We had a lot of fun. Not so much fun ice skating, but hanging out with the Waites and going to eat pizza afterward. We went to the Ogden ice skating rink. Roger loves skating there. The rental skates were horrible. I had a hard time skating in them, but it didn't matter because Brinley was too afraid to skate without the little walker looking things that help her to not fall. They didn't have any at the Ogden rink. So I spent all of my time with Brinley. We went around 2 times, then we took off our skates and watched everybody skate. Parker also quit skating when Brinley and I did. I think Brinley and Parker had the most fun playing around on the seats while we were watching everybody skate. We had a lot of fun visiting while we ate pizza. It had been three years since we had last seen them, so it was really good to get reacquainted.

Sleeping in the Kitchen - February 3, 2012

Friday - February 3, 2012
We are sleeping in the kitchen tonight!  On the weekends the kids like to sleep in the living room so they can watch TV while they go to sleep.  The living room is small and can only fit two mattresses, so one of the kids has to sleep on the couch.  They don't love that.  The kids wanted to watch 'Wipeout' while they went to sleep tonight.  The only way they could watch 'Wipeout' is if we watch it on our computer.  Since the computer is in the kitchen, we decided to sleep in the kitchen tonight.  The kitchen fits all three of their mattresses!

Here's Brinster.  She is holding her feet up by her face.

 Here's our little 'lissa.

 And our handsome shmandsome Parker.

 And here they all are.  Goofy children having a sleepover in the kitchen.

So I went to the orientation at Steven Henager College.  I expected to hear that their was some kind of a catch.  I didn't really believe that they would be offering classes for free.  But I was wrong!  They really are offering some courses for free!  I had to take a short test, to qualify to be in the class.  I passed the test and my classes start on March 12th.  So, I will be taking the CNA course for free.  They pay for any books or supplies that I will need and they even pay for my certificate from the state at the end.  You don't get to keep the books, you are basically just borrowing them while you take the class.  They said they are offering these free courses as a way to get their name out there.  They want us to tell our friends and family about how great our experience was and what a great school they are.  You are only allowed to take one free course from them.  I'm really excited that I get to take the CNA class for free!  I'm glad I learned about Stevens Henager College before I signed up and paid for the course at Bridgerland.

Parent Teacher Conference - February 2, 2012

Thursday - February 2, 2012
I didn't get a lot of sleep last night.  My friend, Heather, who was having a hard time, called at 3:50am.  She was having a panic attack and didn't know who she could call or what to do.  She came over and we talked for a while.  I don't know if I did any good, but I know it always helps me to have somebody there and someone to talk to.  So, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night.  I spent most of the day trying to get some sleep, but it didn't happen.  I had to get somethings done before I could go back to bed.  Every time, that I had a chance to sleep, something would happen to keep me from sleeping.  Being tired and not being able to sleep gave me a headache.  So, I had a headache when we went to parent teacher conferences.

I was not looking forward to Parent Teacher Conferences.  We did not have very many good experiences at North Park Elementary school.  I always left parent teacher conferences feeling like such a bad parent.  It was so bad that last year, I couldn't bring myself to go to parent teacher conferences at all.  I felt guilty everyday for sending my kids to a place that I refused to go myself.  I don't like confrontation and ugly uncomfortable situations and I avoid them at all cost.  If I went to their school, I would have run in to one or more of the teachers or principal that seemed to enjoy those kind of uncomfortable situations.

The Garland school that the kids are going to now, is completely different.  Parent teacher conference was such a different experience.  I left the school feeling happy and so proud of my smart children.  It is so nice to have a positive experience at the kids' school!  I'm so glad to know that the kids' school experience can be a positive fun experience.  I had been wondering how in the world we were going to survive this whole school experience.  It's really hard as a parent to send your kids out in to the world.  It's even harder when the place you are sending them to is such a miserable place that you can't even stand to go there yourself.  I had started questioning if I was the one making this whole school experience much harder than it had to be.  I had been feeling pretty guilty and frustrated about it.  I didn't know what I could do to make it better and to make it so I felt more comfortable at the school and would be able to help out and be more involved.

Anyway...  I'm just glad to know that it was the school and not me.  Things are so wonderful at this school.  The teachers that I've met and the principal are so wonderful.  Yay!  I can be a good mom and get more involved at the kids' school!  It feels so good to know that this is not a problem anymore.

After parent teacher conferences, Roger had to hurry to work.  He ended up being late.  The kids ran outside to play and I was finally able to take a nap.  I'm looking forward to finding out if the Steven Henager college thing is true.  I really hope that I will be able to take the CNA course for free.

Busy Day - February 1, 2012

Wednesday - February 1, 2012
The kids had their friends over today and they all did a wonderful job of destroying the house.  They usaully spend all of their time outside, but there is so much mud out there that they had to stay in.  They went out for a little bit, but there weren't very many places that they could play without getting in the mud.  This house is pretty small so it takes no time at all to make it a mess.

I guess it wasn't really that busy of a day.  It just feels like it because the end of the day was so hectic.  When you live in the middle of nowhere and your kids invite a friend over, the friend ends up staying at your house much longer than they would if they lived close by, because it is such a long drive to get here, so they have to stay for a long time to make it worth all the driving, I guess.  So, It was about 7:30pm before all the friends had gone home.  Then we had to team work and get the house clean so we could go to bed.

Roger got of off work early this morning.  Instead of getting home around 6:15am  he came home around 1:30 or 2:00am.  That was nice.  Since he came home and went to bed earlier, he was able to wake up earlier.  He woke up at 11:00am.  It was a nice surprise to be able to spend some time with him today.  We usually only get to enjoy eachother's company for 2-3 hours on the days he works.  He usually sleeps until 2:00 or 3:00pm, then leaves to work at 5:00pm.

Alissa had a good day.  One of her friends from her old school, switched schools and is now going to the Garland school also.  Alissa said she was sitting in class and the teacher announced that there was a new student.  She was excited that she wasn't going to be the new kid in class anymore.  Then her friend, chanelle, walked in and Alissa was so excited that she jumped out of her seat and said, "chanelle!"  Then Alissa was felt a little embarrassed and her face went bright red.  The boy sitting next to her said, "Why is your face so red?"  Alissa said, "I don't know, I guess it just does that when I'm excited."  Atleast, that's what Alissa told me they said.  She was so excited and talkative after school today.  It was funny!

Parker was excited that he got to go to computers today.  He said that he got to sit by Gunner, but then the teacher made Gunner move to a different seat.  I asked Parker why and he said, "I just can't stop myself from talking to him."  I thought it was cute.

I had a hard time understanding Brinley when she told me about her day.  She was in such a goofy mood and she was being so funny when she was talking to me, but it made it really hard to understand what she was saying.  She was happy, though, so I know she had a good day.

Today while I folded the laundry, I turned on the TV and there was a comercial for Steven's Henager College and it said that they are offering some of their classes for free.  I've been saving up so I can take a CNA class, but I don't have the money yet.  The CNA class is one of the classes that they were offering for free.  I called to find out if they were offering it at their Logan campus, and they are!  I have a hard time believing that it is really free.  I'm going in for an orientation on Friday.  So, I guess, that's when I'll find out if this is some kind of gimmic or if it is the real deal.  I hope it is.  I'd really like to get my CNA and start working again.  It's been a long time!  Now that all the kids are in school, I have time that I can go to work.  I plan on starting college again in the Fall.  I will be going to Utah State University.  I'm excited!  My plan is to go in to Nursing.