A GREAT mail day!

Today I had some fun mail come, which is such a nice change over the bills and junk I normally get. First off, Scott had a couple of books from his favorite author he's been trying to find, but they're out of print. Of course I was able to find them (used) at half.com, so I bought them. The second of the three books he wanted arrived today. He's thrilled!
Also with the mail came an order from bidz.com. If you don't know what this is, I'm sorry for introducing you. It's an auction site for jewelry. But unlike sites like ebay or half, it's not random people selling their old stuff, it's brand new jewelry. With a little patience, one can get some amazing deals on this site. And we have. We got a $259 mens titanium ring for $5, a $179 opal necklace for $15, opal earrings for $7, and several other pieces of jewelry, often for 10% or less of the retail value. It is a highly addictive and time consuming site, but to get this delivery today was such a thrill!
Then came the UPS man with my second pair of shoes from zappos.com. Believe it or not, I totally forgot they were going to be delivered today. Like my first pair of shoes, these are even better in person than I thought they would be. And since I'm realizing I never mentioned I got my first pair, let me just say they are fantastic! I couldn't take them off all day! I think the pair I got on Friday are my new all time favorite shoes! And these are promising to be a very close second. It was just so exciting to get so much cool stuff all in one day!

Time to exercise!

Rachel has developed a fondness for exercising lately. With two couch potato parents, I have no idea where she learned this. But on Saturday she asked, several times, if she could walk on the treadmill. After being pestered all morning and into the afternoon about it, we finally relented. We figured she'd be on it for 10 minutes at most then be done. Boy were we wrong. She got herself all set up with a cup of water and the fan blowing on her and went to town. 80 minutes and 3.5 miles later she was finally done! I don't even go 80 minutes on the treadmill ever! I don't know where this girl gets her enthusiasm for exercise, but she makes a point to do it every day, and loves to discover new things and new ways she can get exercise. She is a great example to me!

Producing

I started a little bit of a garden a while back, but I haven't had a whole lot of luck with it. Because of our cold spring, I started most things inside, and everything sprouted well, but very little survived transplanting outside. I have no idea what I did wrong, but almost everything died. I had 4 zucchini plants survive, but Becca pulled up the most promising of them about 3 weeks ago. About half of my cherry tomato plants survived, but they were looking really weak and sad for quite a while. I never got the peas planted, the onion didn't make it at all, and I have no idea if the peppers are going to rebound at all. They haven't totally died, but they haven't grown at all either. But on the good side, my 3 remaining zucchini plants are indeed producing some real vegetables! We actually picked our first one and had it with dinner last night! It was so exciting to eat something we'd grown ourselves. And I'm starting to see the first buds of tomatoes on a few of the cherry tomato plants! They're tiny and green, but there will be real tomatoes there soon! There is something really satisfying about eating something you've grown yourself. Next year I won't bother with indoor planting so I don't kill so much, but I'll definitely be expanding my garden next year. It's uniquely rewarding.

Fizzy joys: fried zucchini (especially out of your own garden), wearing something new for the first time, a good haircut, snuggling with a warm baby.

Long day at the park!

On good weather Thursdays, when my kids are done with their gymnastics classes, we head to a local park. I've blogged on this particular park before. It has a great play area and a nice little lake that my kids love to walk around. We're usually there for 3-4 hours. Yesterday ended up being rather longer. As we were about to start our walk around the "duck pond," as my kids call it, we noticed some people setting up a concessions stand. I thought this was odd as the afternoon rush had come and gone for the day, but when we got back from our walk, we also saw a small stage had been set up next to the bathrooms, not far from the concessions stand. It was about this time that Scott called me. I mentioned it to him, and he knew exactly what was going on. The Concert in the Park series had changed locations! He has a friend, Dan, with a hot dog stand who was then on his way to where we were to set up. I'd never met Dan, though we'd talked a couple of times. We decided we'd stick around long enough to meet him.
It was in a later conversation with Scott that we decided it would be fun if we pulled the blanket out of the car and stuck around to actually watch the concert! We had no idea what was playing, but the kids still didn't want to leave and Scott actually left work in enough time to be able to join us.
To our delight, we found the band was actually one we could all enjoy. They played mostly cover songs from the 70's, so my kids got introduced to music from The Beatles to Lynard Skynard to Jimi Hendrix. There was some softer stuff, as well as some more modern stuff thrown in as well. Poor Rebecca fell asleep sitting up during the second song because she was so exhausted. She had a nice little nap (about 40 minutes) then woke up ready to rock out! Tyler wanted SO BAD to go up on stage and kept telling us he knew how to play the guitar, and since there was one on stage not being used, he thought he should be able to go up there and play it! He finally settled for standing in front of the stage and dancing his little heart out. Rachel did more running around than actual listening, but since there were two little girls near us doing the same thing (girls she'd played with earlier in the day), she had a great time. After Becca woke up, she was content to just sit on my lap and pretend to sing with me.
The kids got treated to hot dogs (from Dan's cart, of course) for dinner, which they loved, and even got to share a Hawaiian shaved ice, with cotton candy flavored syrup, for dessert.
We all had a great time. The kids keep asking when we can go to another show. It means I was at that park for about 8 hours total, and gone from the house for a full 12 hours, but with such fun activities to entertain us, how could I possibly complain? I just wish I'd had my camera there to document it all.

Not quite the way he planned...

Scott decided to play a little joke on Rachel today. When eating cherries this afternoon, she accidentally swallowed a pit. When we talked to Scott, he told her she might have a cherry tree growing inside her because of it. But she might be okay. When we got home tonight (and our activities tonight will have to wait for another blog because I'm tired and want to do them justice), he decided he'd try to freak her out by pulling a cherry from her ear (like pulling a quarter from an ear) to show her she did, in fact, have a cherry tree growing inside her. He went through this big production of finding something, digging it out, and even pounding on the side of her head a little to get it out. When he finally pulled the cherry out, she didn't freak out at all. Her only comment was, "That's cooooool." Not quite the reaction he was expecting. :)

Fizzy Joy: antibacterial foam from Bath and Body Works

Update: Dilemma solved!

After a lot of consideration, Scott has decided to pass on the new job offer. It was more money, and of course we could have used that, but it wasn't a lot more. He decided it just wasn't worth the extra commute time and the hassle that goes along with a job change. He likes his current job very much and decided he just wanted to stay where he was. Truth be told, I'm relieved. I just didn't feel good about him taking the other job. This one seems like a much better fit for him. But it's sure nice to know he's wanted somewhere else!

Happy Anniversary to me!

Scott and I celebrated our 11th anniversary on Saturday. Scott actually started things early when he came home from work on Friday with a beautiful bouquet of roses. Dark yellow with red along the edges. They're gorgeous! (I attempted to post a picture, but it wouldn't load, even though it took my shoe pic just fine. Go figure.)

Saturday morning I woke up to find a new message in my e-mail box from a website called Zappos. If you've never been to zappos.com, I highly recommend it. It's shoes. And not just shoes, hundreds and hundreds of shoes! They have many categories and subcategories of shoes. You can browse by color, style, size, width, heel height, and price. I can spend hours just browsing the site. But I've never actually purchased from them, so I didn't know how or why I had an e-mail from them. It turns out my thoughtful husband purchased a gift certificate for me as an anniversary gift! This from the guy who already says I have way too many shoes! So I spent way too much time on Saturday morning looking at shoes.

We got a babysitter for the afternoon and got to go on a real date! We started with going to see Pirates of the Caribbean. I'd heard it was campy. I thought it was dark. But thoroughly enjoyable. I can't wait for the third one. Then it was off to the mall to find Scott some new shoes. We actually found a pair we BOTH liked that was in our price range. Always a good thing. Then to Red Robin for dinner. In case you didn't know, Scott proposed to me in the Red Robin parking lot in Silverdale, so it's tradition that we go back for our anniversary. We also love the food. :) Then we did something I don't think we'd ever done together. We went bowling! Let me just say, I suck at bowling, but I still had a great time. I think my high score of the night was 91.

We had a really nice anniversary. It was nice to be able to spend so much time with Scott. We have so little time together, and time away from the house is almost nonexistent. It was so great to reconnect with him, to remember how much I love and appreciate him. I'd forgotten just how much fun he is, and how much I love his company. 11 years and counting. And very, very happy.

Fizzy Joy: My fabulous husband of course!
Oh, and Red Robin french fries, ankle socks, movie theater popcorn, stargazing, and 4" stilettos!

B-U-N-C-O

I got a call Friday afternoon from a friend. She attends a monthly Bunco party. Ever heard of it? It's a dice game played with 12 people at 3 tables where you're constantly paired with different people and you rotate tables depending on whether you win or lose. It's kind of hard to describe. She tried 3 times, and I didn't get it until I sat down and played it. Anyway, her group was missing a few people and they needed a sub so she asked me. She warned me ahead of time that it's a group of non LDS women, they drink quite a bit, and they can get rather rowdy. I was a little worried. It turns out they all had wine or beer with their dinner (a very nice potluck dinner comes before the game) but once the game started, it was iced tea or water for almost everyone. It's a pretty simple game once you start playing. It's all a matter of luck. There's no real skill involved. But still I did pretty badly. Not the worst, but still pretty poor. Even though, it was great fun! It can be an exciting game, fast paced, and always changing. But mostly it was really nice for me to get out of the house to do something completely non kid related. I got to spend a few hours with adult women having fun. That is something I don't get the chance to do very often. And given the chance, I'd definitely go back!

A GOOD Dilemma

Scott got a call from someone he used to work with telling him about a job opening at the company he works for. Scott had interviewed with this company once before, but his friend ended up getting the job instead. It seems they are still interested in him though. So they set up an "interview" with Scott on Wednesday. It was unlike any interview Scott has ever known. Instead of having to sell himself to this company, it was two hours of the company trying to sell themselves to Scott! And the very next day they called with a job offer.
Scott is in a job he likes a lot, and he works with his best friend. This new job is a little more money, and he would again work with a good friend. We just have no idea what to do. Which of two good jobs does Scott go with?
Like I said, a good dilemma!

Funny kids

I've decided I have the funniest kids around. People tell me all the time how cute and funny they are. Let me give you two examples:

Tyler wants to go camping. I'm not even sure he knows what it is fully, but he wants to go. I am NOT a camper. I don't own a tent, and the one and only sleeping bag in our house was Scott's from when he was a teenager. But that didn't stop him. He pulled the top off the storage bin I keep under his bed (it's hinged in the middle) and propped it up, making himself a dandy little tent. He slept under it all night. I tried to move him to his bed, but he woke up and demanded I put him back under his tent. He did consent to let me give him a pillow, but that's it.


Then there's Becca. In case you don't know, this girl LOVES to be naked! She's also stubborn, independent, and does what she wants when she wants. Last weekend, she had been told most definitely that she was done playing in the pool and it was time to get dressed. After a while, she finally consented to putting some clothes on. But as soon as our backs were turned, she had them stripped off and was once again playing in the pool, this time naked! She was just so pleased with herself! She is already trouble. I don't know what I'm going to do with her as she gets older!


But she can also be cute and cuddly. And on the rare occasions you can get her to hold still, she is great to nap with. :)

And just so I don't forget Rachel, I don't have any new pictures of her, but she is becoming a great little reader, and in just one gymnastics session she nailed her round off! She'd steadily refused to even try one before last week, and now she's quite a pro!

Treat!

I had another little splurge this weekend, and I'm really excited about it! For years I've been wanting an ice cream maker, and seeing there was one for just $16.66 at Walmart, I bought it! Then I came right home and started making ice cream. Of course I started with a basic vanilla, but my second batch I got to do more. I added in some of my really yummy strawberries and raspberries! The recipe said to make sure the fruit was well pureed, but I wanted nice big chunks, so I put in chunks. It is SO YUMMY!! There really is nothing better than homemade ice cream.

Busy day!

Yesterday was my busy day of the week. It started with 2 of my kids having gymnastics classes. Rebecca and Tyler's classes are back to back, so I only have to go uptown once for two classes. It's nice, but it also means I have 2 1/2 hours I have to keep other kids occupied and out of trouble. But my day wasn't done there. Three of us had doctor's appointments. But we had another 2 1/2 hours to kill between gymnastics and the doctor. I didn't really want to take half an hour to drive home and half an hour to drive back, so we had to kill time. We started with lunch at Wendy's, though even that was a fight. Everyone wanted to eat somewhere different and nobody was willing to compromise. So I got to pick and nobody was happy. After lunch I decided I was sick and tired of Walmart, so I was going to risk my kids wreaking havoc and attempt the mall. They were actually pretty good! Except for Becca dragging a shirt around Old Navy that I attempted to take from her several times (she kept finding it, no matter where I tried to hide it), they actually mostly stayed with me and did as I asked. And I found this skirt that I just fell in love with. I don't usually pay full price for things for myself at Old Navy. I figure it'll all go on sale eventually. But I wasn't willing to risk it on this one. It's pretty and feminine and just the right length. I love the embroidery on it, and the little touch of tulle at the hem. It fits beautifully. It was just so perfect, I splurged! But now I think I'm going to need some new shoes to go with it. :)
So then we went to our doctor's appointments. Mine was first. When I made the appointments, I asked 3 separate times if my appointment was early enough that I could ensure availability for my kids to get to theirs on time. I was assured all three times it would be no problem at all. When I checked in, I was told they would only check me in and I would have to come back to do the kids when I was done (since I can't be two places at once). Right after getting undressed, the nurse knocked on my door and said they didn't realize one of my kids had an appointment so soon after mine, the doctor was running a little late, and all of this was a pretty big problem. I explained, none too patiently, about the conversation when I scheduled the appointments, and they reluctantly agreed that we could make it work. It means my first physical in years was perfunctory at best. They did little more than take my vitals (pulse, bp, height and weight) and the exam itself was as short as I can recall one ever being. The person who came to get information for our life insurance has more information about me than my doctor does. I did get a tetanus booster though. I can't recall ever having had one, so I figured it was time to get that done.
Then came the appointments for my kids. I thought they were scheduled back to back, but apparently I was wrong about that. There was someone in between my kids, so the doctor came in to do Becca's check up (Becca charmed all the nurses, by the way.), then left. Tyler was feeling like he'd been left out since he was promised a check up as well. She did come back about 10 minutes later to do him, but he wasn't too happy about it. Then I had to get my girls Hep A vaccines (there has been a lot of it in surrounding counties lately, so it was highly recommended). Rachel was pretty angry with me because I had told her this appointment wasn't for her at all so she could just relax, but then I made her get a shot! Tyler got his first dose of the vaccine last month with his other immunizations. Then I had to wait in two separate lines to get fluoride for my kids. I totally don't understand their pharmacy. The fluoride was ordered by the doctor, so I didn't have to actually take the Rx to them. They already had it. So I had to wait in one line just to let them know I was ready to pick it up. That person bagged it then sent it over to another window where I had to wait in another line to pay for it before actually getting it into my hands. Why two separate lines? I have no idea.
All told, we were in Group Health for a little over 3 hours, and were gone from the house for almost 9. It was definitely a long and busy day.

Peace

I've had a rather interesting thing happen to me over the last few weeks. Since being put in this new calling of Primary Secretary, I've noticed a definite increase in the peace I feel in life. That is NOT to say my kids are better behaved, that I have fewer problems, that life is any less hectic or difficult, or that anything else has really changed, but internally I feel much more at peace than I have in a long time. I never would have thought this was a calling I could do, and certainly not well, but I'm trying. I know it really is the calling the Lord wants me in. And I'm happy to serve.

Jam

There are times I really love living in Washington. When I can drive 25 minutes and get flats of fresh raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries that were picked from local fields just that morning, I get really happy. Most of my berries I'll be freezing, but I did make a bit of jam yesterday. I was just about out of raspberry jam, so I made more of that; I made some raspberry/blackberry combo, and I experimented combining strawberry and blueberry (YUM!). Later in the summer when I have my peaches and pears, I'll do even more experimenting and mixing of fruits. I'm thinking blackberry/pear, strawberry/peach, and maybe one batch that's just a mix of everything I have on hand! Anyone want to come be my taste tester?

Fizzy joy: fresh berries, especially raspberries!!

Where have I been?

Jenn commented that I've been MIA lately, and I realize she was right! I check her blog (among others) every day, but it's been a while since I posted. I guess it's time to fix that! The only problem is I'm not quite sure what to say! There hasn't been anything interesting going on in my life. It's the same old combination of busy and boring. But I am alive and things are well.
We had a nice Independence Day. We went to a picnic with Scott's family in the afternoon then had friends over in the evening. My kids loved the fireworks!
Scott managed to get the swing set stained (after 4 years!) during his 4 day weekend. It's really nice to have that done, and it looks great.
We ended up enrolling our kids into gymnastics again.
I lightened my hair again, so I'm pretty truly blonde right now (I'll try to get a picture up soon).
I made a new friend who totally gets my sense of humor. We laugh like I've never laughed with anyone before. But she's only 19. What does that say about me?
Even though I don't comment much, I do love reading everyone else's blogs. I go to Jenn's and Jill's every single day. Thank you for being so good at documenting your lives!
Jill, your pictures of Jenn's kids are truly amazing. I loved every single one you took! I don't know how you do it, but if you ever make a trip up to Seattle, you better believe I'll be using your services for my own kids!

That's about all I can think of to say. I will try to be better at blogging. Thanks for the reminder Jenn!

Fizzy joy: taking a big spoonful of peanut butter out of a brand new jar!