Wedding Planner

Today was my nephew and new niece's, Austin and Mariluz's, wedding reception in Willard. My sister, Denise, did a lot of last minute planning for this reception because the wedding was in Florida two weeks ago. So, I offered my services to help. I have a friend that has a wedding business and I borrowed a lot of stuff from her to decorate for the reception. I thought it was so much fun doing it. Sarah, my friend, offered the business to me at a very, very discounted rate. I have thought hard about it, but I don't have any storage or a way to haul it, so I am going to have to pass it up. It sure would be exciting though.

The wedding reception and luncheon were so much fun. Roger, my brother-in-law, planned the luncheon program: newlywed game, question and answer, songs, and video. I think he had a great time doing that too--we enjoyed it. My children had a ball running around the church and playing with their cousins. Chris and I had fun chatting with everyone too. It was a nice and happy day.

Getting paid by the doctor!

I have been doing a heartburn clinical advanced research study. I have had heartburn since having Maggie and wanted to know if the acids that come up are causing any damage. So, I had an endoscopy today--a throat, stomach, and upper intestine scope. They found that I only have grade A--being the lowest--esophagitis in the gastroesophageal junction. I love that doctors have such long names for "a sore in the throat." They have to put you out for this procedure, so I was basically wiped out for the rest of the day and couldn't drive. Chris wasn't able to take me, so my dad did. Teresa had the kids for the day, so I just slept and read. It was a nice, relaxing day. I was a little sore and cranky this evening and got a little dizzy coming home from Maggie's SEP conference--which she did awesome at. The best thing about doing this heartburn study is that I wanted to get it done anyway and it isn't costing us a penny and they even pay me $50 a visit!! (Oh, I wanted to post some pictures, but Chris wouldn't let me because he thought they were gross looking.)

Crayons in the dryer--a big No No!

Chris uses the dryer as an iron most mornings. I will iron occasionally. (I have a fear of ironing since my compound fracture while ironing.) Well, this morning he put some slacks and a nice dress shirt in the dryer after spritzing them with the water bottle. A few minutes later, he yelled "Ahhh!! What did you have in the dryer?!" I ran upstairs to look and his khaki dress pants and dark blue dress shirt were covered in black smudges. My first thought was that our dryer was emitting grease. I then sarcastically inquired, "Did you have a crayon in your pocket?" I thought I was being funny. Chris then replied, " I took them out." What was he doing with crayons in his dress pants?! Well, he did not remove the black crayon from his pocket and therefore had melted crayon all over them...and inside the dryer!! (Hopefully I will be able to get it out with oxyclean.) Whoops!!!

The moral of the story: don't dry your pants with black crayons in the pocket.

Dinner Out!

Chris got home before I did last night and I hadn't made dinner yet. He called me as I was headed home from my mom and dad's house and said, "Let's go out to dinner." Whoopee for me. I love cooking, but sometimes it gets a little old, so to go out is a bonus. We went to a Mexican restaurant near our house. When they brought the salsa and chips, the waitress brought green salsa (mild) and some red hot sauce. Cooper, thinking the red sauce was mild, took a big scoop of it, unnoticed by his parents. If his top could have blown off, it would have. All of a sudden he was yelling, "I NEED WATER!!!" It was actually kind of funny. The waitress hadn't brought our drinks yet, so he cooled off with the mild salsa. Later, Allie dropped her drink on the floor and the bottom of the styrofoam cup fell out, spilling her Sprite all over. The mop brigade was brought out. After that she announced to the whole restaurant that she had to poop. Maggie decided I needed a few love taps under the table with her foot on my ultra-sore calf (remember-- from me falling down the stairs at the beginning of the month.) I was in major pain from that. By the way, who seats a family with 3 young kids in the middle of the restaurant?!! Chris and I just had fun with our little family. Never a dull moment!!

Double Winner!

Maggie won last night at the Reflections Awards Night at the region level! She won for both her poem (literature) and sunset picture (photography). We are so proud of her in getting this far. She now goes to the state Reflections contest in April. Fun, Fun, Fun!! (I know I am bragging a bit, but it is so exciting, I had to share with you . I am also posting her picture and poem again. Thanks for indulging the proud momma!!)

MY TRIP TO DISNEYLAND
I went to Disneyland last week.
I had lots of fun.
I saw Ariel and her friends
But I am not done.
My sister skipped through Wonderland
With a girl named Alice.
I stood underneath
Cinderella's Palace.
I went on a very scary ride
with my dad and then my mom.
It was really really bumpy
And the driver's name was Tom.
But now I have told you
What I think is WOW!

So what is going to be my favorite
Out of all this now?
It is telling this to you!

Whoops!

Yesterday was not an unusually busy day, just normal stuff: helping in Maggie's class, a doctor appointment, went to Saver's to find red dresses, went to Costco and bought laundry soap, went and picked up Allie along with Miles and Dayson, went home. Maggie and Grace got home about 3:15. Kim came to pick up some candy I had bought for her. Received a phone call at 3:30 from Cooper's teacher. Whoops!!!! No Cooper!!!! I forgot to pick him up at 3:00. His teacher just laughed when I answered "Oh No!" Cooper told his teacher, "I know my phone number, so we can just call my mom." As I pulled up, Cooper and his teacher were sitting on her fronts steps chatting. He wasn't flustered or upset with me. Cute guy! Cooper later told me, "It's a good thing I know my phone number!" Bad mom day!

Sledding with the Cuzins!

Monday for President's Day, I called Kim to see if they wanted to go to the movie, "Bolt." So we headed to the cheap theater and watched it. I wish I would have taken a picture in the movie theater. Kim was at one end and I was on the other with Allie, Cooper, Maggie, Wakely, and Drew between us. They all enjoyed the movie and then we headed to Kim's house to get ready for sledding. They were all little daredevils in the snow--Allie was a little hesitant. Wakely even got some air. After sledding, it was back to Kim's for playing time. Kim and I had a great chat. We even stayed for some mean Navajo tacos. Great Day!!!

Weddings and Gators and 3 year olds! Oh My!!

Chris surprised me with a gift at Christmas with a plane ticket to go to Florida to see my nephew Austin get married in the Orlando Temple. I was able to go on Feb. 12 for his Friday, Feb. 13th wedding. He married a beautiful girl, Mariluz. She is originally from Cuba and can salsa like none other. I had so much fun hanging out with my mom and dad and my sister's family (Denise, Roger, Austin, Mariluz, Kristen, Kelli, Dave, Travis, Jesse, and Krissy.) We laughed a lot, got the condo security called on us at 2:00 a.m. the night before Austin's wedding, which my mom declared, "We're not drinking!" The security guard probably thought she was drinking. The day of the wedding went without a hitch--except for running 2 hours behind. The reception was supposed to start at 7:00, but did not "really" start until 9:00--with salsa dancing until 1:00 a.m. Mom, Dad, and I took Krissy and Jesse (Denise and Roger's foster kids) back to Orlando with us (the reception was in Jacksonville) a 2 1/2 hr drive. We had extremely late nights and I couldn't drive because I wasn't on the rental agreement. On Saturday, we all went through Tampa to Clearwater Beach on the Gulf of Mexico side. Well, our 1 hour trip took 2 1/2 hours. Chris said we were in a perpetual traffic jam. We laughed about that too. That night we went to Planet Hollywood in Downtown Disney for dinner. Sunday, Denise's family went to Disneyworld and Mom, Dad, and I went Alligator hunting on an airboat. The lake we went to was said to have 3400 gators and we spotted a 12 foot gator. Fun times!!

Back at the fort...Chris took care of the kids with the help of Teresa during the day. They all had fun. Chris even took them out for Valentine's dinner at Chili's and then to ice cream at Arctic Circle after. On Sunday, Chris got them all ready for church and even had Cooper prepare a talk for primary. He did a great job. After church, they all went to Chris's parents house and hung out and the kids played with Drew and Wakely. Drew and Allie decided to go for a swim in Dianne's big jetted tub without anybody knowing. They came out drenched with big grins on their faces.

Happy Princess Friends

Allie asked me today if Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella are friends. I said that I thought they were probably friends. She pondered this some more and then happily stated, "They are friends because they are on my plate together."

Family Togetherness

Chris was reading the newspaper Sunday morning and the kids decided to join him. I heard him say, "We have 4 couches in this house and you all want to sit on me!" It was cute. They frequently fight over who gets to sit on mom or dad.

Sunday's Events

Today we had a lot going on. Maggie gave a wonderful talk: "I came to earth to be a part of a family." She actually talked about Kurt and Jill and how A.J. became a part of their family. Maggie did an outstanding job. I was asked to sing in sacrament meeting--all by myself. A little nerve-racking, but I did it. I sang a song my sister, Lisa, wrote. I got so many compliments on the beautiful song. Lisa is very talented. After church we went to my mom and dad's house for dinner. It was fun to hang out with them. Kevin and Stacy's family came too. We watched "Roman Holiday"--great movie. Our next adventure was to go to FHE at Chris's parent's house. Maggie conducted and Allie had the activity. Grace gave a great lesson on prayer. Allie's activity was the Hokey Pokey. She had everyone stand up and then had everyone sing and dance it. It was way cute. It was a fun day.

Slow Saturdays

It is nice to not have anything pressing on a Saturday. We are just hanging out today and enjoying the day. Chris slept in late and is lounging. Maggie and Allie are working on art projects in their room, and Cooper is watching Nemo. I did go to the store to an early morning sale, but entered the parking lot and turned back around. I didn't want to have to deal with crowds. I think maybe I'll work on dejunking the playroom today, but it is not set in stone. It hasn't been a very eventful week, so you are just getting a few tidbits.

• Maggie had pajama day at school and loved it. She wore her favorite pajama bottoms that Aunt Lisa made.


• I had two book clubs this week--Hope was Here and Garden of Faith were the books.
  
• Chris won big this week: Jazz tickets, Olive Garden gift card, Movie passes, Outback gift card, and a Visa gift card.


• Cooper went to a Weber State basketball game with Chris last Satuday. He came home with a big foam paw with claws and has been carrying it around everywhere.


• Allie and I went to the library--this was a first to go all by herself with Mommy. She loves to go to the library and check out books and play on the computer.
  
• I started a Heartburn research study. They took me off my zantac and put me on something that is not working. I wake up multiple times each night with BAD heartburn.


• Chris and I went on an early Valentine's Date. We went to the movie "He's not that into you" and the Outback with the gift cards Chris received this week. The movie is not that great--very sexually oriented--too much for my taste. We had a great time out though. I love going on dates with my hubby!


• Maggie had 3 play dates with friends. She loves to play with friends.

Super Bowl XLIII and sick kids

We went to our annual Super Bowl party at the Hislop's--10 years and counting. It is not a rowdy party, just a fun family gathering. The majority wanted the Cardinals to win, but, alas, it was not to be. Holmes made that fantastic catch to win it. I didn't watch too much of it, but did see some high points of the game.

During the evening, Cooper complained about his head hurting when he shook it. Well, my thoughts were, "Don't shake it then." He looked quite white later and said his head was really hurting. I had him lay down with me and I just cuddled him. He was warm and had a fever. Today he still has a slight fever, but seems to be feeling a lot better.

Airing your dirty laundry

If you want to keep things private in your family, don't let your 3 year old know about them. Allie gives a play-by-play narrative to her primary teachers and then embellishes with untruths. Her primary teacher told Chris some of her stories--like having holes in your underwear and not liking her sister. Then Allie's other teacher called and told me the stories she had heard...like Allie is going to have a new brother. "No I am not pregnant!!" Once again we will have the talk about telling the truth.

Happy Groundhog's Day--with 6 more MONTHS of winter!

I told Maggie it was Groundhog's Day today. She looked out the window and said it was sunny. Iasked her if the groundhog will see his shadow. She then replied, "He will see his shadow, so we will have six more months of winter!" I hope not!!!

Falling is not Fun when you are Forty

Yesterday, I had a fall to remember. I had made cinnamon rolls for Jinjer because it was her birthday. I dropped them off as we were heading to church. Her daughter let me in and said her mom was downstairs. As I was walking down their pergo steps singing happy birthday, my heel caught the lip of the stair. My feet stayed with my shoes, but my body was still in movement. Well, my birthday song went like this: "Happy Birthday to ... Ahhhhh!" I grabbed the the railing, kind of and held on to those cinnamon rolls. My shins hit the edges of those hard stairs and the rest of my body did a little contortionist move. Now, I did all of this in front of Chad, Jinjer, and their kids. Nothing like watching a chubby girl fall down the stairs! I think they wanted to laugh (but they wouldn't have) but I wanted to cry! I hurt so bad!! Chad came over and gave me a hug and said, "You can cry if you want Sal." I had already wounded my pride, but I didn't want to give in any more. As I walked out to the van, I had tears in my eyes. I told Chris what happened and he asked if I needed to go home. Well, as we sat in church, my legs were throbbing. I gave in and went home...iced my shins, took some ibuprofen, and took a nap. Today I am very sore!