Twilight Crazy

Ok, if you can't tell from my new background, I am a complete Twilight fan. I love the movie and I love the books even more. I was bored at work (again) and I found the coolest Twilight backgrounds. So I will be playing with them for the next little while. At least until I find my next new obsession....Mwahhaha! :)

Fun Weekend

This weekend was a blast! We had GNI on Friday at Steph's house and a surprise 30th birthday party for Jason on Saturday night.

Of course, GNI is always fun. We shared some of our favorite things of 2008 with each other. It was great to learn of some new things to try and resources available. I got to take home a spray bottle with olive oil. Steph says if you use it instead of lotion, your skin is prettier and healthier. It must work, because I have noticed lately that her legs look great. Um, not that I am looking or anything, but moving on...

We played Loaded Questions. It is so fun to try and guess what people are thinking. My family really surprises me sometimes. Then of course, there are the obvious ones, like when someone wrote her mood was "polka dotted slap happy pink". We knew immediately who that was. :) I absolutely love hanging out with my sisters and mom. We have so much fun together.

Then on to Jason's party Saturday night. He was totally surprised, because Jenn is such a good liar and had a nice web of fibs woven to trick him. His face when he walked in was priceless. We all brought "gag" gifts to help him age better, such as nose hair trimmers, hair dye, magnifying glasses, and plenty of bathroom paraphernalia. I have to say, Jason has come to have a great sense of humor. I remember a time he would have absolutely died of embarrassment at some of the gifts. But he was the best sport, using them and just laughing along with the rest of us. Josh shocked me too. He wrote Jason a great poem. It was really good. It talked about how Jason scared him growing up and how their relationship has developed over the years.

We played Guitar Hero, Wii Sports, and Mario Kart, along with Family Feud and Pictionary. We found out that dad is really good on the drums! It was his first time playing them, and he did very well. Most everyone had some problems getting the hang of them, but dad stepped in and started rocking right away. He has grown so much in the last few years. I have to thank my wonderful outgoing sister-in-laws for that I think. They have taught him to open up and not be afraid to try new things. However, he did try and leave before his turn on Pictionary. I think his epic "monkey-space-creature" he created on one of our Wolf Creek Weekends a few years ago has left him traumatized. We weren't lucky enough to be graced with another such creation. But it was so fun to see dad (and everyone else for that matter) have such a great time.

I had the kids spend Saturday night with the Inkley's. It was good not to have to worry about coming home early. I picked up Dessa at about 9 am yesterday, and it was just me and her until the other two got home around 9 pm. We had a lot of fun. She watched some movies with me, (including Twilight!!!) we played some cards, and just spent time together. I really need to try and do this with each of the kids more often. It was a lot of fun being just me and her for the day.

I have to say it again, I have the best kids in the world!

Totally Bored

I am at work, and there is nothing to do! I should be grateful because yesterday was very busy, but I hate how slow it is and how it makes the day go by so slow also. It is not even lunch time yet and I feel like I should be going home.

I am getting over the worst cold I have had in a long time. Actually, I have to admit that except for my stomach issues, (which usually only last one day), I have been very healthy. I can't even remember the last time I had a cold. This one had me down and out for 3 1/2 days. I went home early on Thursday, and pretty much didn't get out of bed much until yesterday for work. I really wanted to stay home, as I am still not completely over it. However, I did feel a lot better at the end of the day than at the beginning. I am totally exhausted though. I keep coughing and I sound like a frog. Not too bad though overall.

The kids are off track again. I felt so bad because I had to take away their privilege's yesterday so they couldn't play games at mom's. They earned them back though, so today they were toting a bunch of stuff to play with. I am glad it the weather is so good. They can spend a lot of time outside.

I have a busy weekend coming up. I have GNI on Friday at Steph's. It is going to focus on our favorite things of '08. I am going to have to think about it for awhile though. Most of my favorite things can't be shared easily, and she wants us to share them.

Then I have a get together on Saturday night. I am really looking forward to getting out. The kids are going to spend the night at Olivia and Jake's house, so I can stay out as long as I want to. I really need the break.

Speaking of breaks; the kids and I are going to join mom and dad in helping Steph and Josh move to Illinois in May. Then from there, we are going to Wisconsin to have a memorial service for Aunt Ruth with mom's family. I am so excited to be able to meet them. It is unfortunate circumstances bringing us together, but it will be good all the same. Aunt Linda will fly up, as well as several of mom's brothers I think. The only one I have met other than Ruth and Linda is Uncle Richard. I haven't seen him in years though. (Okay, so I met Grandma Giese when I was 2 or 3, and Rita when I was 5 or so I think. But I can not remember them at all, so it doesn't count.) I think it will be great for the kids to meet the Giese side of the family. I know they forget they have a Giese side, as they very rarely see or hear from them. It will be a great trip. I am a little worried though about all 6 of us fitting in dad's truck for that long drive. I love road trips, but it is going to be a little crowded. It will be a blast though.

I've spent almost 15 minutes on this, and there is still nothing to do. I think it is time to get my book out. I have started bringing a book everyday because of how slow it has been. I hate not doing anything and getting paid for it, but we have done every little project we can think of. I hope yesterday's busyness is a sign of things to come. We really need to get these empty apartments leased!

Dessa's Baptism

Saturday was Dessa's Baptism. It was a great day! Everything went so well. She was so cute in Annee's white dress. The talks were very good, especially Aaron's. He did such a good job at explaining the gift of the Holy Ghost. He used a real gift with items representing what the Holy Ghost does. It really made an impact on Dessa. She said she was a little upset because she thought the gift was for her. I explained that it was; she received the GIFT of the Holy Ghost right after that. Then she understood. It was so cool. The only downside was that Jason and Jenn couldn't make it. I totally understand, but it was a downside nonetheless. Randy came though, so that was good for the kids.

We went to Leatherby's afterwards. Aaron, Wendee, Matthew, Allysa, Steph, Josh, Mom, Dad, Sandie, Jason, Guilee, Amanda, Eldon, Miley, and Corban joined me and the kids. It was a fun group. We had to wait FOREVER because there were 2 large groups (ours and one other) that showed up right at opening. They were very busy. Most everyone did great. However, Guilee did not. Even Matthew did better than her. She was crying, whining, and making everyone, especially her mom, miserable. I can't believe the way that girl acts. I made sure to let Dessa know how happy I was that she did not act like that. She smiled at me and said she would never do that. I am so pleased with how my kids are growing up.

Oh, another thing that happened at Leatherby's; Dessa got her hand burned/scalded very badly in the bathroom. She was waiting for me to finish so I could help her reach the soap. She had the water on and I guess it suddenly turned extremely hot. She screamed and yanked her hand out. It was bright red up to her wrist. It looked painful! I put some ice from the water glasses on it. It helped a lot and by the time we had our ice cream, it looked normal again. I made sure to mention to the staff that something should be done about that before someone else got hurt.

Overall, it was a fabulous day.

Yesterday, of course, Brother Finlayson announced the news about the baptism. He had the 2 girls stand up, and Dessa was tickled to get to stand and have everyone look at her. She is such a ham. She was twirling her dress all day. (Actually, that was another reason Guilee threw a fit on Saturday; she said Dessa was gloating that her dress was prettier. Sheesh!) Dessa made sure to show me how it drapes on the floor around her. She was so funny, so very much Dessa-like. Cutie.

I know I have been saying it a lot lately, but I really do have the best kids. They are so much fun and such a joy to me. I love them more than anything else in the world!

Dessa getting baptized

I can not believe that my baby is 8!! It makes me feel really old. However, I am so excited that she is getting baptized tomorrow. She chose Josh to baptize her, which is way cool since he and Steph are moving soon.

I also just found out last night that Dessa and one other girl in our ward are the only baptisms in the stake this month. So we (the other girl's mom and I) are in charge of the program. Luckily she is taking care of most of it. She asked that I find someone to speak on the Holy Ghost and if I would do a prayer. I asked Aaron if he would speak, and wonderful brother that he is, he agreed. This other mom is also making a special book for her daughter and asked if I would like a copy for Dessa. She is so sweet. Of course, this girl is her only child, and she is married, so she has more time/help than I have. I am grateful for her effort. I have not done anything for my kid's books yet, so at least Dessa will have this.

I asked Annee if Dessa could wear the dress Annee wore to her baptism. I saved it for her, and she still wants it for her kids, but she agreed to let Dessa wear it. Dessa is a lot smaller than Annee was though; the dress goes almost to the floor and is loose around the top. But she looked so cute in it this morning. I just have to figure out how to do her hair now. I don't want it floating up and making a mess of things. :)

Off topic, but I had SEP's for the kids this week (that is the new name for parent-teacher conferences). I am so incredibly proud of all of my children. Annee had straight A's, Tyler's only lower grade was handwriting, (not something I am overly concerned about,) and Dessa had almost straight A's.

Dessa's citizenship was straight 5's, the best there could be. Compare that to last years straight 1-2's, and I think she is doing a fabulous job! She is above level at reading and math. She is reading more and more difficult books. She may be loud, rowdy, and all over the place, but she is one bright kid!

Tyler's teacher went on and on about a special project he and 3 other kids did. She was nervous for him, because it was an oral presentation in front of the whole 4th grade, administration, and family members. She said he didn't stutter once, not once! She was hesitating recommending him for debate, because she didn't want him to feel awkward about his speech, but she found with practice and determination, he was an excellent speaker. I was so happy to hear that. Miss Wilson also stressed with him the importance of being more respectful at home, to me and what I ask of him. I was so impressed that she actually cared enough for Tyler and me to talk to him about it. Very nice of her.

Annee's teacher really wants her to stretch her abilities. She said Annee's minimum effort brings her A's. She now wants to see her go above and beyond that. I totally agree. While it won't show on paper, her best effort will show in the quality of her work, (not that it is bad at all, but it can be so much more enhanced.) She had finished a story in 15 minutes when she forgot it was due. If she had taken the full time to do it, and not left it to the last second, she could have developed the characters and story better. As it was, she still got an A, which is very impressive. She can just do so much more with her talents.

I have to say that I have the 3 best kids ever. They are reasonably well behaved, incredibly intelligent, and so darn cute! They do so much to make my life better. I am very blessed to have the privilege of being their mom.