59+1: we've got fire

Our outdoor fire hasn't worked in over 9 months. I don't know why it took me so long to call the gas company to check on it, but it did. I finally called and they gave me a service window of 7 a.m.-8 p.m.! Ridiculous!! So I was homebound all day..which actually wasn't that bad. The service guy got there around 2 and within 30 minutes he had cleaned out some gas lines and we had fire! 

59: city council..boring!

Skyler needed to go to a City Council meeting as part of his Citizen in the Community merit badge. It was held in our new City Hall, which is pretty amazing. It was long and it was boring! They talked about obtaining liquor licenses for nearly an hour and a half. Finally, at 9:15, I told the boys we were leaving. 

{top picture..look in the top left corner..it's me, taking the picture. I think the boys entertained themselves by watching themselves on the screen} 

Today was also the talent show auditions at school. Ryder desperately wanted to be in the talent show, but with no true talents..no Ryder, arm farting is not a well received talent..I didn't quite know how to tell him, he couldn't. Until my good friend Jennifer said she could use him in a dance she was putting together for a bunch of girls. He could be a COP! Perfect! A small role..but executed with lots of personality!

58: freezer paper

I volunteered to make the boys' shirts for the talent show. I remembered my sister making Skyler a shirt using freezer paper, so I looked up tutorials and tried it myself. It was surprisingly simple. I may just have to make some more fun shirts.

57: a visit from our friends

Tammy and Jason and family were in Cali for the weekend and stopped by on their way back to Arizona! We just love visiting with them and reminiscing our old Hawaii days! They have a lovely family and our boys love playing with them. I couldn't believe that Kameha was 17!! What an amazing girl. She had a very rare form of cancer diagnosed when she was only 3..they gave her about a 10-20% survival rate! Look at her now!! The Lord answers prayers! It's crazy because Alex was 6 months when they were going through all the Chemo and Tammy had just found out that she was, surprisingly, pregnant with Madeline! It was insanity, but they not only survived, they triumphed! Skyler and Alex had their way with the trampoline..the trampoline lost! {don't worry..no one was hurt in this wreckage}

56: beautiful winter day

We finally had a Saturday with nothing on the agenda..bonus, it was beautiful, sunny weather! Jim and I got up, went for a run, then I walked with my Young Women another 3.6 miles. Afterwards, we decided to pay a little attention to our neglected backyard. We actually spent more time driving around to nurseries and Lowe's then we did in the yard. It's hard when you don't find what you want, but we managed to get a few new plants to fill in where winter death took over. 

55: mishaps of art

I was checking Skyler's grades online the other day and it showed that he had a F in home economics. I was perplexed and a little angry with him. He told me not to freak out because he hadn't turned in his sewing project yet. I emailed the teacher, out of concern, and she assured me it would go up as soon as he turned in his project. He has been complaining about this sewing project for the past 2 weeks. They couldn't bring it home, it had to be done in class {smart teacher..she probably knew the parents would find a way to do it for them.} He went in during lunch and pride period and finally finished. Honestly, I can't be mad at him for not knowing how to sew! Sewing is hard, especially for a boy who has zero desire to learn. It takes time, certainly 2 weeks is not enough time to learn how to thread a machine and use the various stitches. So when he came home with his finished project, I was floored. I thought it was pretty dang good for his first time. He told me he had trouble with the seam tape! What's seam tape? So his stitching is a little crooked, I'm still impressed. She only gave him a B on it, but in my book, I'd give him an A. Why don't they teach him a more practical skill like sewing on a button or hemming something?

Today was also Meet the Masters..the art class I teach for Jayden's class. I was really excited to teach this lesson and do this project, but from the get go, the kids were out of control. It was Friday, right after lunch and compound that with the fact that they had a sub..It's usually a very good class! I was very patient but they were crazy! It was taking them so long to do the most simplest tasks. They were screaming, running around the room, and I just about lost it when someone threw their paint cup at the trash can but instead it splattered all over the wall. I think I turned the lights off 4 times to get their attention. Nothing was working so I told them we were finished! They would not get to continue with the project and they would have to go back to class.

I told them that I don't like to get upset and that I volunteer to do art because it's fun, but they were being downright disrespectful. The sub took them back to the class, I cleaned up and waited in my car for school to be over.  When Jayden got in the car after school, he handed me a big stack of letters. Each one of the students wrote me an apology letter for their behavior. Some of them are quite hysterical. One said, "If I were you, I'd bench us for 3 months". I know they were sorry and I know next time they will be stellar students!

54: most intelligent cake

Ryder woke up this morning and told me his tummy hurt.  This time, unlike last week, I believed him and let him stay home from school. He didn't look that sick, but I didn't need the school nurse to call me again and tell me he was throwing up, so he hung out with me. Because he didn't seem that sick, I made him go to institute with me. He was equipped with his ipod and my ipad. I put a movie on, with headphones, for him to watch.  All of a sudden, during class, we hear a loud, "5,4,3,2,1.." He was watching Real Steel and the robots were in a fighting match. With the headphones on, he didn't even realize how loud he was. It was actually kinda comical. Afterwards, he told me he was hungry so we went to Rubios. While I was filling Ryder's drink, I heard some women laughing next to me saying, "look at the boy out on the car hood", umm, that would be mine. When I walked out there, he told me he didn't want to stand anymore and wanted to be warm. That's my Ryder.

Later that night, Jayden had his Blue & Gold dinner for Cub Scouts. It is tradition to bring a decorated cake. Jayden's request this year: a brain cake! Actually the easiest blue and gold cake I've ever made. He took the prize for "The Most Intelligent Cake".

53: new hardware

I couldn't take the ping of dripping water into a bucket any longer! Our laundry room faucet has leaked since the day we moved into the house..3 1/2 years ago! I made a trip to Home Depot, bought a faucet and thought the famous last words, "How hard could it be?" The directions seemed simple enough! I hoped to have it in before Jim got home {he gets frustrated with me when I take on projects that he is fully capable of doing..I'm just impatient and stubborn and didn't want to wait a minute more}. It was the removal of the old, corroded faucet that gave me issues, particularly the sprayer hose. Apparently, while twisting the faucet to come off, I twisted the sprayer hose pretty badly inside, so much that the entire thing wouldn't budge! After a couple hours of useless trying, I called a friend. I only wanted to know if he had a tool I could borrow, but he insisted he come take a look. He ended up just cutting the old faucet out with giant metal cutters. And since he was there, he just went ahead and finished installing the faucet! I thought I'd have the project done in an hour..didn't work out quite that way, but it's in and silence is music to my ears!

52: we've got it all

Look what sign just went up in Temecula!!! Now we have everything! 

51: playday

No School today!! I had my friend Jenniffer's kids over for the day. We made the most of it with a trip to the movies, Rubios, and  a dip in the spa!

50: two new amazing friends!

Here is the story of Jessica & Amy:

A few weeks ago a few of my girlfriends and I went to a running retreat in St. George: Run Like a Girl. It was an incredible event and we went up to the creators, who were from the Provo area, and said, "You need to bring this to the San Diego area!" They told us it was in their master plan to do it by next year. Two days after getting home, we received an email from Amy telling us that they had bumped up their expectations and wanted to do one this summer and asked for any help we could give them: looking up courses, finding possible venues and sponsors, seeing as they lived so far away. I'm not big in the running world and know very little about what makes a great run but I did offer them my hospitality and told them if they were ever in California for an exploratory mission, they were more than welcome to stay at my house! They quickly responded back and said, "Really? Are you sure, cuz we booked our flights for next week!" Absolutely, I told them. So two strangers were basically coming to stay with us! I was totally fine with it because I got a good vibe from them at the retreat {it didn't hurt either that they were LDS}. They arrived on Thursday and had tons of meetings planned during the days of their stay, but at night, we just talked till the wee hours and laughed and giggled like school girls!

They are kindred spirits. You would never guess that we had just met by the conversations we were having. It was one of those feelings like you'd known them your entire life! They will forever be friends!! They are amazing and talented women {Jessica, the one  with brown hair has 7 BOYS..yes, I said 7! and is a pro runner, and Amy is a fitness fanatic teaching Zumba and boot camps and all other sorts of classes, not to mention, she was the mastermind behind Run Like a Girl.} I'm so excited about the upcoming event they are planning and I look forward to many more fun times with these girls!

My nephew Michael gave his farewell talk today in Glendora! Sadly, I wasn't able to make it up but Jim and the boys did. Jim said it was an amazing talk and he looked so excited to go on his mission! 

49: amazing wedding

Just one of many darling vignettes at my friends' daughters wedding last night. It was a party to rival any party! The food, delish. The decor, amazing. The people, beautiful. Flash mob, sadly I missed {but I'm sure it was fun}.

48: late night giggles

How many tries does it take to take an self-timing photo?  Tonight...it took several! We tried the X-shot with no luck. It was 2:00 a.m. and we were all a little punchy but I needed my potd! We never got a "great" one, but the one on top would have to do..bottom one..I just about broke my giant turquoise glass vase running to get in the photo in time..hence, the laughter!

47: day at the temple

It was Stake Relief Society day at the temple. This is the first time I could attend{seeing as Ryder's in school all day now}. I had so much to do today, but I knew this is where I needed to be and all the other things could wait! Funny story..as we're walking to the chapel session, my friend Kathy {the new stake relief society president} asked me if I could play the opening song. I said sure..will you ever tell someone no in the temple? Then she said, it's on the organ. Umm..I've never touched an organ in my life. You're telling me that in this room full of women there is not ONE who can either play the organ, or play piano better than me? Apparently I was it! I've never been so nervous in all my life. The organ is VERY different from the piano and I did the best I could and got through the song. I'm sure I had some divine guidance to get me through it!

46: wellies

I love any opportunity I get to put on my wellies!

45: happy valentines day

Valentines day and I had to wake up early..had a Dr.'s appointment in Torrey Pines for my kidney! It would have been more appropriate if it were my cardiologist seeing as it was heart day. Things are looking good..creatine a little more elevated than last time, but that's to be expected. While in the overly crowded parking lot, I saw this license plate..which seemed fitting for the day!

For lunch I met up with Mari, who I hadn't seen in months! We had a great visit. The rest of the day was just like any other day, except I got flowers from my boys, and handmade cards! Skyler had soccer tryouts that night so we had to just grab dinner on the go! I guess that's how Valentines goes when it's on a Tuesday!

44: sorry

Ryder was complaining this morning of an upset stomach! I told him he was probably just hungry and that he should eat a little something. He whined some more..in between running after and hitting Jayden, but I made him go to school {I was sure it was just the Monday blues}. After my exercise class I looked down at my phone, 5 missed calls. It was the school nurse informing me that Ryder had thrown up! One of those stellar mom moments..I went to go pick him up at the nurses office and he was jumping all around, throwing his backpack in the air. He didn't look one ounce sick and if the nurse hadn't told me she saw the vomit, I wouldn't believe him! So my busy Monday ended up being a mommy and Ryder day with MANY games of Sorry played..kind of ironic, seeing as I didn't believe him when he said he was sick! But really..it was the shortest sickness ever, for which I'm grateful!

43: innovation

Ryder wanted an uncrustable but he didn't want to wait for it to unthaw. I looked over and saw it sitting in front of the fire. I'll give him one for imagination and innovation! If you can roast a hot dog, why not an uncrustable!

42: heart attack

This was our contribution to the neighborhood heart attacks! Pretzels, chocolate, and carmel..is there anything better?

41: a day at the dr's

Time for the gamete of pokes and prods..all starting with bloodwork.  It was a day of "procedures"!

40: early valentines to me!!

Maybe this speaks to my practical side but this was one of the best presents ever!! Jim was probably just tired of me complaining that we can't even fit a pizza box in our freezer, let alone ice  cream containers! This beauty is the perfect size and fits nicely in my pantry. Not sure if this is going to make us a more healthy family because I have just filled it up with boxes of frozen waffles, several frozen pizzas, frozen egg mcmuffins, loaves of sourdough bread, and as soon as Rite Aid has their 2 for $5, it will be stocked with ice cream!  I LOVE IT!!!

39: craigs list

Call me crazy..It won't hurt my feelings, because I know my weaknesses..one of which is my indecisiveness! Got these custom ordered couches. Love them, but I'm thinking a little too formal for the family room. My boys never want to be down in the family room and that's not the feeling I want from this room. I want cozy and comfortable, not untouchable! I will try my hand at Craig's list. If they sell, great! If not, we will make them work!

38: toilet seat

Who knew there were so many options for toilet seats!

37: missionary package

Be on the look out for a little love coming your way!

36: over already?

Why is it that girls' weekends go so fast! I swear, we were just in the car driving here and now we're driving home! We made a quick pit stop at state line where Theresa and Julie found a reflexology shop! Cassie and I wanted a pedicure instead so we left them to be rubbed! Sadly, there were no nail shops in the entire place! We went back to meet them and were BIG JEALOUS as they were melting into their seats while being massaged! We totally would've joined them, but their were only 2 masseuses and we didn't want to spend another 45 minutes in this place! 

35: run like a girl

 It was a chilly 30 degree morning for these California girls..as we were known throughout the weekend! We were the only ones who had traveled from the sunny state for the retreat! I was running the easy peasy 5K..my peeps, they brought out their big girl panties and ran the 1/2 marathon! Studs..yes, but as I was running mile 1, I couldn't help but think how intelligent I was to only choose the 5K! I placed 7th in my division..30-39 is a huge division! I guess a lot of us semi middle-aged women looking for an adventure! I did it under 30 minutes which was a personal best for me, so I'm happy!

So proud of my girls!! I wussed out on the 1/2 marathon. Actually, I didn't really wuss out, I just had no desire to run 13.1! I know I could have if I wanted to, just didn't want to!

And this is why I'm glad I didn't run 13.1 miles! Their accomplishment is awesome, but it comes with a price! Me..I was feeling great! Not an ache in my entire body!! I could've run the stairs all night if I wanted to..but I'll leave that to the other random occupants of the Comfort Inn who took care of that all on their own. A piece of advice: never get a room right next to the stairwell!! Who knew so many people actually take the stairs!

34: winners!

Todays part of the retreat were some running and health seminars. Sounds boring, but they were actually quite enlightening! I feel like I gained more in a couple hours then a years worth of health education in school. It didn't hurt that there were plenty of raffle prizes..of which, both Julie and I won! I won free yogurt, however, there are no Red Mangos in my neck of the woods {so any of my Utah friends..you want my gift card, it's yours!} Afterwards, we tried the self-timer camera shots again before indulging on pasta..after all, it's all about carb loading before a running a race!!

Happy Birthday Mom!

33: girls trip to st. george

Gorgeous Red Rock mountains of St. George

{julie..theresa..cassie..me}

GIRLS WEEKEND TO ST. GEORGE, UTAH

I was a little hesitant, at first, about this proposed girls trip! A weekend all about running and exercise? That didn't quite sound like a "get-away" to me. I'm use to girls trips based around being lazy and overindulging in 'bad for you foods'! Theresa used her art of persuasion, and I signed up! When all was said and done, I'm so glad I was persuaded because it was a fabulous weekend! And believe it or not, between both Theresa and I, not one of us brought the Xshot..so many timer induced pictures were attempted..few made the cut!

32: back to the valentines..

More recycling! I was cleaning out Ryder's closet and came across his enormous collection of animals. Then the idea, that I saw HERE, came to my head. And now, here it is in real life!

Ryder's class valentines...check!