Playing at Bothwell Park - May 24, 2014

Saturday - May 24, 2014

We love this Park!  They added some new playground equipment, which makes an all ready really great park even better.  This park has everything!  It has a really great playground, basketball hoop, Volleyball area, baseball field, area for playing soccer, a bowery with tables, and access to a kitchen if you ask and reserve it.

The kids wanted out of the house and Roger and I needed some time to relax and figure out what we wanted to do for Roger's birthday and Memorial Day.  While they kids played (they played on the playground, played tennis, then baseball with some other kids), Roger and I played basketball.  It was a lot of fun.  I love the basketball hoop there.  The backboard isn't too bouncy, so it makes it easier for me to make baskets.  I actually won a game of seven on the line.  It was so exciting and fun!  Roger and I played until we were too tired then we started planning our weekend.

We had originally planned on going to Lava Hot springs, but we had a few other ideas.  We started looking online and decided that we wanted to go south for Memorial Day.  We decided to go to Capitol Reef and Escalante State Park.  We started looking and planning things out and decided that we would wake up super early and go first thing in the morning.  Roger called and found a place that had a small cabin we could rent.  It took a lot of calling around before he found a place.  He called a bunch of hotels.  Most of them were all booked up and the ones that weren't were close to $200.00 a night.  The place he found was only $50.00 a night.  Since we found a place to stay, we got the kids and headed home, so we could start packing and get some sleep before our vacation tomorrow.
Alissa and Brinley let me try some cute hairstyles on their hair before we left to the park.

The Mile Run - May 21, 2014

Wednesday - May 21, 2014
We are at the high school track watching the kids do the mile run.  Parker and Brinley both qualified, but Parker chose not to participate.  It was really hot sitting out in the sun watching them run.  When I first got there, I sat on the bleachers on the other side of the field.  I was too far away and couldn't tell were Parker and Brinley were sitting.  So, I just snapped a bunch of pictures (zoomed in) knowing that I could find them later.  The two bigger pictures on the right hand side are the pictures that have Parker and Brinley sitting with their classes.

There are a lot of different groups that run.  I think they group them by grade, then I don't know how the divide up the groups within each grade.  There are a lot of races to watch.  The first year I ever watched the mile run, was when Alissa ran it.  We got there at 9:00 am.  Alissa ended up being in one of the last groups that ran.  So, she ran shortly before 12:00 pm.  It was a long day!  I had Parker, Brinley, and a little boy I was babysitting with me.  It was rough trying to entertain them for that long while we waited.
This time was much different.  I was there watching all by myself.  It was a lot less stressful that way, but I wasn't really grateful for that.  I like it better when I have little ones with me.  The thing I was grateful for was that I didn't have to wait as long for Brinley to race.  She got to race around 10:00 am.  So, that was nice.  I left as soon as her race ended.  When I got home, Roger and I went for  long bike ride.  It was a lot of fun.

My Ouchy - May 20, 2014

Tuesday - May 20, 2014

My wrist has been hurting for a while.  I can't pinpoint a certain time that I injured it, but it hurts when I use it a lot.  I kept thinking that I must have sprained it or something.  It would hurt and I would avoid using it for a while until it would start feeling better.  Then, I would forget about it and start using it again and it wouldn't be long until it started to hurt again. This has been going on for about 6 months now.  About a month ago, I noticed that I have an odd bump on my wrist.  I wondered if maybe I had broken it and the bump was a bone out of place or something like that, because the bump is hard.  Anyway.... I finally went to see a doctor about it.  She said that I have a deep tissue cist.  I get to wear a super cool brace and take some medicine for it, then we'll see how it is doing and decide what needs to be done to treat it.

I took this picture at Wal-mart, while Roger and I were waiting for our prescriptions to be filled.

Roger went to the doctor also.  His allergies are getting really bad again and he was hoping to get an allergy shot again.  Those have worked really well for him in the past.  This time the doctor told him, that the shots are really bad for you.  they kill your immune system and they decided the benefits are not worth the risk.  So, they prescribed some allergy medicine and referred him to a specialist to figure out exactly what he is allergic too, so he can get it treated better.

Parker set up his super cool hockey set that Aunt Linda gave him.  He loves it!  It is such a fun toy.

 Alissa competed in a bi-athelon at her school today.  But, since she doesn't have a bike, she only participated in the running portion of the race.  She came in third place!  I'm so proud of her.  She participates and is involved in so many more things than I ever would have done.  I'm glad that she is brave enough to put her self out there and she gets to experience so many fun and exciting things.

Parker's Birthday - May 19, 2014

Monday - May 19, 2014

Parker is 10 years old!  That is so crazy!  Time goes way too fast.  I can hardly believe that it has already been 10 years.

Since Joyce had to go to work in the morning, we decided to let Parker open his presents first thing.  That way Grandma would be there to enjoy the fun.  Parker was so excited and he loved everything he got.

After Parker finished opening his presents, Grandma said her good-byes and headed to work.  The kids played with Parker's new toys, while Roger took a nap and I took a shower.  Then we made some yummy Happy Birthday cupcakes.  We decorated them really simply.

 The kids played outside with some of Parker's new toys, while the cupcakes were baking.

Roger woke up so we went back to celebrating Parker's Birthday.  I realized that I forgot to bring candles, so that was a bummer.  We sang Happy Birthday to Parker then he pretended to blow out the candles and got a little fussy with his sisters for helping him pretend blow out the candles, because he wanted to do it by himself.

We ate the yummy cupcakes then cleaned up the house and got ready to go out and play.  We went to The Hollywood Connection.  Missy VanBibber, Linda, Elizabeth, Kristin, and Mathew all met us there.  It was so much fun.  We practically had the whole place to ourselves when we first got there.  The kids loved all of the rides.

Then we went upstairs and played in the arcade for a little bit.

When we finished playing, the kids used their tickets to buy themselves some treats.  After that, we went downstairs to play miniature golf.  That was my favorite part.  Linda was having bad luck.  A lot of times, the ball came back to her and landed in almost the same spot that she had started from.  That made me laugh a lot.  It was too funny!  Parker, Brinley, and Mathew played their own game of miniature golf.  They were ahead of us and finished much faster than we did.  We ended up getting a hold of Lizzy (who was still up in the arcade) and asking her to come and watch the kids while we finished.  She kept an eye on them while they rode the rides again.  They loved it!

At the end of the miniature golf course, the last whole has a prize for you if you get a hole-in-one.  I went first.  Before I hit the ball, I commented on how impossible it looked.  I was sure that I wouldn't be able to do it, but I went for it anyways...... and...... I won! Woo! Woo!  A ticket machine spits out a ticket telling you what your prize is.  I won a free scrambled dog at the little restaurant that they had in there.  It was really yummy.  I love free food!

After I finished my food and the kids finished riding the rides, we went skating.  Skating comes free with our pass of all passes, but it would have cost $2.00 a person if we roller-bladed.  So we just stuck with the roller-skating.  I'm not a very good roller-skater.  I'm much better at roller-blading.  Parker is also.  He really wished he had his roller-blades.  He still did really well.  He is good at stuff like this.  I had the funnest time watching Mathew try and skate.  He was really funny.  He fell a lot, but he didn't give up or cry once.  He just kept at it.  That was impressive, but it was also very funny to watch.

We were pretty tired after the roller-skating, so we decided to head home.  Linda brought a Birthday gift for Parker, but she left it in her van.  We walked out with Linda and Parker opened his gift.  He loved it!

Then we said good-bye to everyone, piled in the truck, and headed home.  Kids were all asleep by the time we got home.  We managed to get them all inside and in their beds.  It was a long day, but Parker had a really fun Birthday.

At Kari's House - May 18, 2014

Sunday - May 18, 2014

I woke up this morning feeling so happy to not have a headache.  Kari had a lot of breakfast foo for us to choose from.  That was so nice!  It was nice to wake up and have so many different foods being offered to you.  Usually I wake up to my kids telling me they are hungry.  when I start listing the different things they can choose from to eat for breakfast, they start whining that they don't like it and we never have anything good to eat.  It is so frustrating!  So, this morning was nice.  No whiny kids and lots of yummy foods.

We spent the morning relaxing and talking.  Then in the afternoon, Kari went to get some highlights for my hair.  she also, go me a super cool blender, like the one she has.  she made me the yummiest smoothie and I was so jealous.  I asked her where I could get a blender like that.  she told me where to get it and I had planned on buying one, but she is too nice and decided to get one for me.  I love it!

Anyway... I just really wanted to do something different with my hair. So, Kari gave me highlights.  It took really well.  My hair is a lot lighter, which I love, but it doesn't look very natural, which I don't love.  So, I love and hate my hair all at the same time.  It is fun to have something different though.  I was getting really bored with it how it was.  I can't decide what I want to do next.  I either want to cut it shorter or get a perm, or....... do both!  We'll see when I visit Kari again.  I guess it all will depend on my mood at the time of my visit.

Anyways.... We had fun at Kari's.  She gave the girls some really pretty dresses, that they are super excited about, and she gave Parker a Hoodiebuddy for his birthday.  Parker Loves it!

When my hair was done, Roger came to pick us up. As soon as we were all loaded up in the truck, Roger's mom called.  She was just getting home from a Sister's Fling with her sisters.  They were all heading over to drive down the lane by the house I grew up in.  It turns out that they are relatives of the old owner of that property. Some of their relatives are buried back there.  They have rights to the land.  They are supposed to be allowed to go back and visit the backyard where their ancestors are buried anytime.  Roger's mom was so surprised to find out that I grew up in the house right by the lane.  The house I grew up in was built on the property that was owned by her family.  Crazy!  So, they wanted us to come and meet them there, so I could share some stories of my childhood and what I knew about the area. So, that was a lot of fun for me.  We visited for a short while, then they left and we headed to Roger's Mom's house.

We decided to stay the night at her house, so we could celebrate Parker's birthday the next day by going to a fun center that took our pass of all passes.

It was nice to relax for a little while after we got to her house.  Before we went to bed, the kids helped me blow up some balloons and decorate a little for Parker's Birthday.

Nuts night at Kari's House - May 17, 2014

Saturday - May 17, 2014

Kari invited us over for a nuts night.  My sisters and I haven't gotten together to play nuts for a long time, so I was very excited to go.  The bummer is that it was only going to be Linda, Missy, Kari, and I.  Shelley and Kristy both couldn't make it.  Then, Missy ended up getting sick and she had to cancel.  It was still fun to go and see some of my sisters.  we never ended up playing nuts.  We spent all of our time talking.  Missy stopped by to drop something off.  She didn't stay long because she didn't want to get anybody sick.  But we all stood outside and visited for a while, while she was there.

Kari had to work that day, so we couldn't start our nuts night until 6:30pm.  We decided to come early and play a little until it was time to meet at Kari's.  We went on a little hike.

 Our little ones had always wanted to go to a Toys-R-Us.  We don't have one of those stores anywhere near us, but the kids would see commercials for that store and they always thought it would be the coolest store ever.  At Christmas time, I was able to take Alissa and Brinley to Toys-R-Us in Salt Lake, but Parker wasn't with us, so now He and the girls have been wanting to go, so Parker could finally see what it was like.  Alissa and Brinley told him about what an awesome store it is and he's just been dying to go.  Since we had time before we would meet at Kari's, we decided to take the kids to Toys-R-Us.  Parker was so excited!  He had $5.00 that he got from Grandma Mathison for his birthday.  That made his trip to the store even more exciting.  The kids love that store.  There are so many toys!  a lot of them they didn't even know existed.  We spent as long as we could wandering around and looking at all the toys.  Parker bought himself a toy that spins a tire and sends it shooting really far.

We left Toys-R-Us and headed over to Twin Peaks Elementary School (my old stomping grounds) to play on the playground and let Parker try out his new toy, while we waited for it to be time to go to Kari's house.  Parker's new toy was really fun.  He had fun playing with it.  Roger and Parker played basketball for a little while and Brinley and Alissa tried to bury themselves in the rocks.  Kari called when she was almost home, to let us know we could come over.  Roger and Parker were just dropping us off.  They helped us get all our stuff in then they left to go to Roger's friend, Dan's house.  Parker and Roger had a fun night of hanging out with Dan.  They went out to eat and stayed up late playing video games.

Alissa and Brinley had a lot of fun playing with Cousins.  Kari's ex-boyfriend's daughter, Kaylie was there.  So, Alissa had a friend her own age to play with.  Kaylie's step Brother came Also.  He is also the same age as Alissa.  Then Damen and Kiara came home and Linda brought Mathew with her.  Pretty much Alissa played with Kaylie the whole time and Brinley played with her cousin Mathew.  All the kids spent most of the time outside blowing bubbles, playing with the tether ball, or riding bikes, scooters, and skateboards.  They had a lot of fun.  I asked Kiara to help me come up with a new hairstyle.  She thought I should color my hair a darker color.  I'm way too afraid to do that.  I always am wishing my hair was lighter though, so I decided to have Kari add some highlights.  I ended up getting a headache.  That's why we ended up sitting outside.  I was too hot sitting inside and it was making my headache worse.  By the time we were done visiting outside, though, my head was killing me.  

I am so frustrated by my headaches.  I get them almost every time we go to Salt Lake.  I'm pretty sure they are related to my emotions.  I know when I get angry or fussy they get worse really fast and they get so painful that my tummy starts to hurt and I feel like I need to barf.  Since, I discovered that, I can usually keep my headaches from getting too bad.  When I find myself starting to get fussy over something, I quickly talk myself out of it and convince myself that it's okay.  But the headache is still there, it's just not as bad.  I wish I could figure out how to keep the headache away completely.  It is so frustrating that I almost always have a headache when we go to visit friends or family in Salt Lake.

Anyways... I was so relieved to finally go to sleep when we were done talking, since my head was hurting soooo... bad and I knew the best thing to make it go away was sleep.  Kari keeps her house really cold at night, which I love!  So, I slept really well.

 Kari bought these cute dresses for the girls.  Alissa and Kaylie loved their dresses so much that they decided to keep them on and wear them while they played.

A Bubble Party With Brinley's Class - May 16, 2014

Friday - May 16, 2014

Let me just tell you, I do not enjoy being a room mother.  This is not the first time I've made this mistake.  When Alissa was in Kindergarten, I signed up to be a room mom and because my name was on the top of the list, I got to be the head room mom, which means, I'm in charge of calling and organizing things with the other room moms to help plan the activities that we are asked to do.  The first time I did it, I didn't enjoy it because, I still had 2 little ones at home and I was doing daycare, which made it really hard for me to plan and help at these class activities.  It was really stressful, but I fought through it and did it anyways, with the vow that I would never do that again.

At the start of this school year, I thought, well.... it wouldn't kill me to sign up and help in the kids' classes this year.  I don't have any little ones at home all day anymore and I'm only babysitting one little girl and it would be easy to bring her a long with me.  Also, I convinced myself that the kids would love it, so it was the right thing to do.  I had completely forgot how much I disliked it the first time.  So, I signed up.  There were a lot of room mom's in Parker's class, but only me and one other person signed up in Brinley's class.  I just happened to be on the top of the list in Brin's class, so I got stuck being the head room mom.  

As a room mom, we are required to plan 2 class parties a year.  We provide a treat, games, and an activity.  The head room mom in Parker's class was super motivated and decided that we needed to plan a party for every holiday and for the teacher's birthday.  That was definitely more than two parties.  I was not thrilled about that. I was kind of a stinker and avoided helping out at most of the parties.
I was the head room mom's in Brinley's class, so we only did two parties.  We did a Fall party and an end of the school year party.  The end of the school year party was because I realized a little too late that I hadn't planned a second party yet.  The first party I did with Brinley's class, we made a craft that left a big mess in the classroom.  I felt bad about that, so I tried to come up with something that wouldn't leave such a big mess this time.  The idea I came up with was to have a bubble party.  We would be outside blowing bubbles.  That way, the classroom wouldn't be such a mess.
I brought 5 or 6 buckets of homemade bubble solution, a container full of traditional, store bought bubble wands, a bag full of homemade snack bubble wands, and a container full of our big bubble wands that I made last week.  The kids had a lot of fun.  The other room mom wasn't able to make it, so it was just Brin's teacher and I helping the kids.  We spent the majority of our time trying to untangle the big bubble wands.  We'd get them fixed just in time for the kids to bring us more tangled wands.  While we were untangling wands, the kids started putting the bubble solution on each other, then on themselves.  The bubble solution had corn syrup in it, so all the kids were a big sticky mess by the time we finished.  The teacher sent them all inside to wash the bubble solution off, while we cleaned up all of the bubble stuff.  then we went to the classroom, where the kids got to have a cookie before the bell rang and they went home.  The other room mom is Brinley's friend, Onika's mom -Hollie.  She had been planning to help, but ended up getting sick, so she dropped the cookies off at my house before I left.  It was a bummer that she couldn't have been there to help, but such a relief to not have to worry about getting a treat for the kids.
Since, I was at the elementary school at until school got out, I wasn't able to pick Alissa up from school.  She wasn't sad about that, because that meant she'd get to walk home with Erin, who lives right across the street from the elementary school.  So, after school, we waited and played at the playground until Alissa got there.  Her and Erin took an extra long time walking home, but it was okay.  Brinley's friend, Onnika stayed after school and played on the playground with Parker and Brinley while we waited for Alissa.  Erin got permission to come and play with Alissa at our house, so we all piled in the truck to go home.  First we had to drop of Brinley's friend Onnika.  They were sad that Oni couldn't come to our house also, but Brinley was grounded, so it couldn't happen.
Erin got to stay for a late night.  After Roger left to work, their friend Sydney came over and she also got to stay for a late night.  Those were some pretty excited and happy girls.  You should have heard the squealing.  Anyways.... they all a lot of fun.

More Bubbles - May 10, 2014

Saturday - May 10, 2014

The girls spent the morning outside blowing bubbles.

Bubbles - May 9, 2014

Friday - May 9, 2014

I made some really cool bubble wands and some bubble solution that I found on Pinterest.  We had so much fun playing with these bubbles.  The wands make really large bubbles.  I thought it was so funny to hear hear the kids getting so excited about how large the bubbles were.  Each time somebody did one, I heard a lot of, "Wow!" "No way!"  "Oh my gosh!" "That was awesome!" and a lot of excited laughing over how cool they were.  These bubbles were very entertaining.  The kids spent most of the evening outside making these bubbles.

 Brinley got a little upset and frustrated, because her string kept getting tangled and she couldn't figure out how to get the bubbles to work.  That's why she's making the sad face in this picture.

 She didn't give up and was able to figure it out1