Little bit of this and that...

Just a little update as to what we have been doing this week:

• 3 baseball games instead of 5
• piano practice--where I got to take a 1/2 hour nap while waiting for Maggie, with Cooper and Allie playing with Miles at his house--Nice!
• teaching Maggie's 2nd grade class "How to draw a portrait"--they actually turned out well.
• painting doors
• reupholstering couches--still not done yet
• making cinnamon rolls in an hour time period for a bake sale at Chris' work--they sold each one for $3--so they made $36 off my pan of cinnamon rolls.
• making a graduation cake in an hour time period for my nephew, Jared's, graduation today--cooking, cooling and frosting is quite difficult to do in an hour--it's a little melty.
• Chris had a bbq at our house for his YM activity and I said the propane tank was full--whoops! It wasn't.
• The kids and I went swimming at my parents' pool.
• got new bank cards and credit cards this week--remembering the new PIN number hasn't been too hard--I told Chris that I was back in business now and he is a little worried because I have had spending withdrawals.
• Maggie's school got to go swimming at the aquatic center during the day. She had a lot fun, just a little sunburned.
• I went swimming last night with Mom and Lucy to work out and left my glasses there. Ugh! I hate losing glasses.
• Today is the last day of school for Maggie and she is at Grace's birthday party right now.

"Chris, To the Rescue!"

This week has just been another week, but today I feel exhausted. I had a little mental breakdown a couple hours ago while talking to Chris on the phone. I broke down and started crying, saying I feel so overwhelmed with everything I have to do lately and said the dishes aren't even done. After getting off the phone, Allie, Cooper, and I were watching a cartoon together when I heard someone doing the dishes. I went upstairs and there was my wonderful husband doing dishes. He left work to come do dishes. We worked together and I felt so much better after doing "theraputic dish time" with my loving husband. I feel a lot better now.

Memorial Day

Today, we had a fun morning of card games and just having fun--while I made salads and desserts for 2 picnics. Then we headed up to Huntsville for the annual Hislop gathering at Cemetary Point. They have a nice program where a veteran speaks and then have a 21 gun salute. Allie remembered it from last year. She came up to me and asked, "Are we going to where the men shoot guns and we see graves?" I answered with a "yes" and then asked Chris if he told her about Memorial Day. He hadn't said anything to her. Allie has a very long memory. After Huntsville we headed to the Ogden Cemetary for Dianne's side of the family and then headed to Aunt Linda and Uncle Don's for a KFC lunch--a tradition. We had a great time with the cousins there and then headed to the Davidson's for more family time and dinner. After more cousin time, we headed to the swim pool for an early evening swim--but it was CLOSED! Well, Chris is our problem solver and we headed home for some sprinkler time. The kids were satisfied with a great ending to a great day.

St. George Weekend

Chris and I sent Maggie and Allie off to one set of cousins and Cooper off to another set and off we went with our good friends, Scott and Amie, to St. George. It was actually Scott and Amie's 10th Anniversary. We always have so much fun with them. It was quite the adventure to go on a trip without the use of a credit or debit card, so we did it the old-fashioned way: cash only. What a novel idea?! Amie and I rode in the back and watched "House Boat," a Cary Grant movie. We had fun catching up on each other's lives and Chris and Scott had fun shootin' the bull. They talked most of the trip with some type of accent--mostly Nacho Libre style Spanish. We barbequed both nights because it was so relaxing instead of going out to restaurants. We went to the St George temple Saturday morning. Scott and Amie were married there, so it was especially nice for them to go. (We did have to make a detour to Kmart to buy Chris a white shirt and tie, because I forgot to pack them.) After the temple, Scott and Chris went golfing and Amie and I went shopping--especially for a purse since I didn't have one any more. The problem was: Chris had all of the money and I had to go back and get some from him. I felt like I was getting an allowance. Swimming, ping pong, hot tubbing, movie watching, book reading, basketball watching, and talking were all part of the great weekend. All in all, it was a fantastic and relaxing trip and the kids had a lot of fun with their cousins--like always!

Feeling Violated!!

Don't you hate when people take advantage of you and abuse you!!!!! My purse was stolen out of our van, yes the same day I dented it--great day!! The thief racked up a whopping $2000 shopping at various Wal-marts, buying gas, and renting videos at Red Box. Who knows if he wrote any checks or has used my ID to get any more things?! I talked to one detective in Perry and he told me the thief bought a Playstation 3 with lots of games totaling $610. We don't even own any game systems! It makes me so mad that this person would do this!!! Chris said this should help me in keeping me out of the stores for a while. I am also mad because I loved that purse!

Maggie the Pianist

Maggie did a fantastic job tonight at her piano recital playing "Alexander's Ragtime Band" by Irving Berlin. She had it memorized and it sounded great. We were so proud of her and she just beamed! Grandma and Grandpa Hislop came as well as Grandpa Davidson. It was a fun evening.

Ouch!

I hit a truck after Maggie's piano recital--just backed right into it. It happened to be the delivery truck for The Piano Gallery. I thought I put a big dent into the right fender and went and got the Gallery owner. Well, he came out and said, "I'll have matching dents on both fenders." As it turned out, we were looking at the original dent that I did not make. He told me, "no big deal. I just feel bad for your car." I hadn't even looked at our van. Whoops! I now have a big dent in the tailgate of the van. It closes and everything, so we may just keep the dent and look even more white-trashish with a dent in Chris' car and one in mine.

Graduation Nerves

Isn't it funny to have a preschool graduation?! Last night was Cooper's and he was so darn cute. They sang a lot of songs and then was presented a graduation hat and diploma from Teacher Brenda. His favorite song was a beaver song and doing the impersonation of a Frankenstein beaver. This morning he cuddled up with me and said, "Mom, I was a little nervous last night to be in front of all those people!"

Fishing Fun

Yesterday, Cooper, Allie, and Miles went to a preschool field trip with only 1 mom and 2 other kids--to a Fishing Farm to Fish. Debby, the mom that took them, was such a trooper to do that. All 3 kids had a fabulous fishing adventure. Miles came running in saying, "I know how to catch a fish now. You have to wait until the line is being pulled and then you pull in a fish!" Now every time they go fishing, they'll expect fishing to be that easy. Cooper wanted to eat them for lunch and they all got to cut the heads off before I fried them up in the pan--They were already gutted. Miles didn't want to eat his fish because he said he didn't like fish. I explained to him that a fisherman eats his catch and that is what he did and he enjoyed it. Allie wanted another fish to eat after she devoured hers. It was a great day for them. Thanks to Debby for that adventure.

A new cousin

Kim and Andy added to their cute family on Sunday, May 10, 2009. His name is Henry Matthew Meikle. We went and saw him and Kim on Monday evening. The kids all thought he was cute and small like a doll. I forgot my camera, so I stole a picture from Kim's blog. Congratulations Kim and Andy! Cute baby boy!!

New Entryway

Last week, Andy, my brother-in-law, said he could come help me start the new floor by our front door. I have always hated the linoleum that was there, but I hated the linoleum underneath even more--I found the most dreaded linoleum while I demolitioned. Andy is a very good teacher and all-around-great-guy--we installed a new door into the closet also. Well, I finally finished the project--new floor, door, baseboards in the whole living room, and door casings-- and wanted to post it. I do hate the weird angles you have to cut and made a lot of mistakes, but hey, it was the first time for laying laminate flooring. Now I will finish the other project I started--reupholstering couches--I'll post pictures when they are finished.

Book Club

I have changed my book club from a morning one to an evening one to see if attendance improved. It did. Last month we had 3 people, this month we had 9: 8 women and 1 man. Chris decided he would read my book, "The No. 1 Ladie's Detective Agency," this month and participate in book club. Last night, Chris said, "I'm excited for book club. I hope I can add something to the table." He was half joking/half serious when he said that. The book we discussed didn't have any earth shattering, deep discussion topics, but it did have a lot of fun stories to talk about. The funny thing about book club is that we do get off on different tangents and Chris wanted to talk about soliliquies (sp). Yeah right! He just wanted to act all knowledgeable in the literary sense that had nothing to do with the book. I think Chris did enjoy it.

Happy Mother's Day

Chris took the kids shopping on Friday and they came back from their expedition saying they bought me a new car and house. Allie usually tells people the gifts they are getting and this time, she played along.

Saturday after our soccer games, mowing and fertilizing the lawn, floor scrubbing, floor installing, laundry, straightening bedrooms, etc., we went to Mimi's Cafe for a pre-Mother's Day dinner with our little family and Chris' parents. We had a fun time at dinner and the kids were great.

This morning, the kids and Chris made me a yummy breakfast in bed--breakfast burrito and strawberry smoothie. (I had to go back to bed to eat.) After their delicious breakfast, they all gave me presents: lots of candy, 2 movies, Les Miserables soundtrack, potato peeler, and a lot of hand made presents and pictures--I love being their mother and Chris' wife! Great Day so far--we're off to see our moms soon.

Chris the Brute!

Today in Sacrament meeting, Maggie leaned forward as Chris leaned back. Thinking Maggie was still bent over, Chris brought his elbow back connecting with Maggie's nose. She immediately grabbed her nose with tears brimming. And then the blood started to pour. Being without a diaper bag now, I was not prepared for a nosebleed. The people behind us saw the predicament we were in and handed a handful of tissues to us. We had blood all over our hands trying not to laugh and cry all at the same time. Another family had wet wipes and our mess was cleaned up in a few minutes. The amazing thing about it was, no one got blood on their clothes or carpet...never a dull moment here!

Allie the Anteater!

Allie just came in from outside and declared, "I ate an ant!"
"You did?!" I asked. "You really put an ant in your mouth and ate it?"
"Yes! I really ate it. I put it in my mouth and chewed it up."
Oh the joys of being a 3 year old and the joys of motherhood!

P.S. Now she came in after talking to her 5 year old brother and friend outside and said, "I have to go the doctor and he has to cut my tummy open to get the ant out."

P.S.S. Maggie informed her that it would just come out in her poop. Allie shouted for joy!

P.S.S.S Cooper just came in and informed me that he just ate an ant too. "I chewed it up before I swallowed it and it tasted pretty good!"

The busy schedule begins!

This weeks starts the beginning of our very busy next few weeks. Here goes...

• Cooper will have 2 baseball games, 1 soccer game, and 1 baseball practice per week.
• Maggie will have 2 baseball games, 1 soccer game, 1 soccer practice, 1 baseball practice, 1 piano lesson, and 1 achievement day per week.
• Chris will have 1 softball game and 1 young men's activity per week.
• Allie and I will just attend the 12 activities, plus everything else that falls inbetween!

HELP!!

Fun Saturday

We went to Makayla's, our niece on the Davidson side, baptism today. She was so cute and looked so excited. Maggie was so happy for her too and said, "I am so excited for Makayla to be baptized today!" Maggie also got to say the closing prayer at the baptism program; it was such a sweet, sincere prayer. After she was done, she and Makayla gave each other a great big hug.

After the baptism, we had a dinner at Kevin and Stacy's church. The kids always have soooo much fun playing with their cousins.

"I'm Playin' in the Rain..."

Last Saturday was rainy and the soccer games were cancelled. Today was another rainy Saturday and Cooper's game was not cancelled, but we were prepared. We wore rain ponchos, coats, gloves, and carried umbrellas. Cooper's game was the only one that went as scheduled. All other fields were totally empty. Obviously Cooper could not carry an umbrella, so he wore a garbage bag under his uniform--along with a sweatshirt, gloves, and hat. Teresa brought a hot orange drink for breaks. He had a fun time "playin' in the rain"--he may have been "singin' in the rain" too.

Weber State! Great, Great, Great!

We spent last night and this morning at Weber State honoring my father-in-law, Chick. They gave him an honorary Doctorate of Humanities. Chris and I went to a special reception and program last night accompanied by Maggie. She was great during the reception part, but became a "little" wiggly during the program. Chris said the next time we go somewhere with Mags, he is going to sit between us because I would whisper to her to sit still and she would glare at me. We do butt heads sometimes, but I sure love my mini me!! This morning, we dropped off the kids bright and early at our neighbor, Stephanie's house. Chris and I went to the graduation commencement exercises to see Chick receive his doctorate hood. After the graduation, Chris, Allie, Cooper, and I went to brunch with Mom and Dad Hislop, Kurt, Jill, and AJ, Lance, Kim, and Drew. It has been a good day so far.
(I don't know why the Weber Symbol uploaded red instead of purple!)

Rapunzel, Rapunzel...

Allie and Drew had a playdate today. I heard them up in Allie's room saying, "Now you're Rapunzel in the tower!" They were up on Maggie's bunkbed pretending to be in the tower. I love the imaginations of children!