The Big Day

The big day went off smoothly and was so worth keeping the secret. I got them off to school, which was a half day due to parent teacher conferences, and then verified with Adam what the plan was. He was going to come home and change clothes, do some running around, then go pick Papa up and bring him home. But the tricky part was coming home and changing before the kids got home. Adam didn't know that Austin knew about Papa visiting, so he was trying to sneak into the house and get some clothes and then go change at the gym. But then Austin came out and asked what time the plane came in... As Adam was leaving Austin and I went to go run Betty through the car wash and then came home to meet the bus. I had told the kids that if they came home and finished getting their rooms clean that I would have a treat for them. I knew Adam would be back soon with the "package". I tried stringing out the room cleaning as long as possible and it worked out perfectly. Adam had went and got a new TV for our room, so we moved our old one down to Aydens room. It doesn't have cable hooked up to it, but he has the DVD player and he can hook up his plug-n-play games to it. Right after we finished that, Adam got home. I had the kids up stairs and was trying to distract them with what we were going to order for dinner when Papa came up the stairs asking "yeah, whats for dinner?" The look of shock and happiness was so worth it... it was truly priceless!!! We have a few appointments today so we won't go do much, but we are planning a big day tomorrow. We have the zoo, ice skating, and dinner planned for tomorrow, and I plan on taking the camera... that way I can share with all of you. Don't expect me to be skating though I prefer to sit on the sidelines with a coffee and cheer them on. ;O)

What I want

I would like to see more people responding to this blog. I will help with any questions you have about doing so....but it helps me feel connected to those who I know are reading this.
Thank you
Love and miss you all!!!

The Big Surprise is Coming

Papa Bob is coming up for Halloween and the two little ones are still clueless. he will be here Thursday and I am dying with anticipation to see how they will react. They are still having a hard time with the adjustments of not having family nearby, and I am dreading how the holidays are going to go. We have always gone to my families house and had a big get together Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. We are going to try and make things as normal as possible, but we aren't going to be able do our traditions.... so in short it will be nice to have Papa here. I understand and hope no one takes this and feels guilty. If we could ...we would pay for the tickets and have everyone here, or go home. But that will have to wait until next year.... and it will happen next year. So you may have gotten rid of us for now...but we will be back!!;O)

Drivers Ed

So apparently Alaska does not require or even encourage drivers ed..... they do offer it, but it is around $700 and it doesn't lower your insurance much if you do take it.And it is $20 for his licence... HMMMM I am having mixed feelings on this. I wish Austin could get the lessons from someone else... he does things better for others, but then it is nice that I don't have to worry and get him to lessons at a certain time.
We have decided that we will pay for the insurance until he is 16 and can get a job. Then he will have to pay for half of the increase and all of his gas. I think this is fair... but I will be laughing when he realizing how much things cost!!
On another note, Ayden just received an award for his creative writing. This was a boost that was most needed. I think he was/is really having insecurity issues since we moved. He got a nice certificate and goody bag in front of the whole school. Nice!

Thoughts

So after speaking with my boss.. and her begging to keep me, we are going to try something for a while. I am reducing my hours from 40plus to around 20 a week. I will work 9-2, which is while the kids are in school. Austin is out at 2:00, and this way he can now take drivers ed and/or get a job. AND I will be here when the younger two get home. I can be the homework helper and the dinner maker. Hopefully things will work and I can eventually get more hours down the road.. or maybe I will like this and keep it this way. ;O)

A Tough Choice....

I have been debating with myself over a very tough choice, and I think I have come to a decision. Ayden is having a very rough start to his fifth grade school year,... to be blunt , he is failing. I take this personal and am very concerned. I know we went through something similar with Austin at this age, but I won't take or make excuses. I think I am going to quit working at Target. It is taking up so much time, and I feel that I am cheating all of my kids. I want to be able to help them with their school work, cook their dinner.... just be their MOM. I may take a job subbing again, just to have something, but that it won't be everyday. Austin wants and should be able to take drivers ed... not babysit his siblings. Heck...he needs to go get his own job!!I might see how my Pampered Chef biz will do up here, no one else is in the are... but at this point it is just a thought. I need to do something to correct the course of where things are going. I can always work after the kids are more settled in... or just older. I think I rushed into something and didn't give time for all the adjustments to settle. I really need others input... what are your thoughts?

Happy Birthday Adam

So today Adam hit mid 30's...he is thirty five!! He got to open his gift this morning, which was a challenge in itself, and I didn't think that I was going to get him to work on time. We got him a massager mat (shiatsu?) that has the rotating balls and heat. He is always asking for a back rub, and I can't dig in deep enough. Every time we go out somewhere and they have one out to try... he will sit there the whole time I am in the store. So now comes the question of "will he ever got out of the chair?" Needless to say he likes his gift this year. I had a hard time thinking about what to get him. Normally there is something that he is needing/wanting, but he has been on a spending spree lately and has just about everything he has been wanting. Hopefully there will be something that comes to mind in the next few months before the holidays come.... otherwise Santa won't bring him nothin'!!!
But he wanted me to let everyone know that he says a big "Thank You". Between Autumn's birthday and Adam's we have had a taste of what the holidays will be like. We have been spoiled being close to family, that it now seems foreign to not have anyone around. :O{ So here is our request now... have your web cams ready! That way we can see you all!!

All I Want for Christmas.....

Adam and I came home from the commissary to find Autumn in the bathroom... with her mission almost complete.... she was getting freaked out from the blood. I kept thinking of you BB... even I was woozy for a moment. Adam had to finish the job for her, and now we can really call her "Gappy"!! Thought I'd share a pic of here goofy smile!

Can I go back to bed yet...?

So here is a run down of my Saturday. After getting out of the shower I threw some clothes on, brushed out my hair to put a beanie on. I walked over and picked Autumn up from her sleep over at Madeline's. Adam wanted to take the kids to the zoo and go ice skating. I had gotten him a pair of jeans and a shirt that wasn't going to work, so I figured that I would return them. I rushed and got the kids ready, along with myself...which was not turning out too well because of the beanie on my head...it did a number on my hair. Well to make a long story short, I was feeling rushed to get to the car and all I remember was grabbing my purse and then seeing the ceiling and the excruciating pain in my leg. I fell down the first flight of stairs. Its only nine steps but on my golly... it hurt! Adam came rushing back in from the garage. He said he heard a big boom and then me scream "ouch!!". Don't worry, nothing is broke. I do have a good bruise and I think I may have twisted something, but I will manage just fine. I went along and "walked" the zoo, then I watched as they skated. Ayden and Autumn are both getting better, they can make it around a few times before one of them falls. ;O) At one point Autumn fell as she was standing at the wall talking to me,and as she was standing up laughing a comment got made that she was now acting like me.... hmmm.

Life, Work, and Such

Work has been going better for the last few days. Things have started to slow down and we are all getting a better grip on how to do our job. My pants have went from a size ten to where now my eights are starting to fall down during the day. I am seriously thinking about getting a pedometer to track how much I walk each day. Not to mention the bending, lifting, carrying, and such. My legs and feet are so sore... the other day I was icing my feet before I went to work!! But this too is also getting better... maybe by Thanksgiving my body will be adjusted. ;o)
The kids are so excited about the amount of snow we have. Adam has got himself and the boys ready for snowboarding. Autumn is not ready to partake in their adventures. At this point she has no interest in snowboarding... she has her heart set on ice skating! Ayden got her a pair of skates for her birthday, and Adam took her Saturday. I am thinking that while the boys learn to snowboard, maybe I will put her in ice skating lessons. She has been wanting to go everyday... actually she wanted to do it while we were in Idaho, but the hour drive every week was a hindrance. I'll let you know what the decision is later....
Austin has been going and hanging out with his girlfriend Katy everyday. I haven't got to spend too much time with her yet... so since I have Friday off and the kids are out of school, she gets to come and hang with us for the day. I figure we will head to a mall, that way there isn't too much pressure or anything. She is very cute and seems sweet. Short compared to Austin... but nowadays who isn't.;)
And Ayden is still Ayden... He is going through some growing pains, so maybe he will actually grow some this year. He is actually starting to make comments about his size and having a bit of problem with a bully at school. He got garbage canned today.....and believe me, it WILL be the last!! He has quite a few friends, but the size difference is starting to make a difference... both with the boys and the girls. I just keep reminding him that everybody grows at different speeds. I was the smallest until the summer between sixth and seventh. Then I sprouted to the size I am now....That seems to help his mood.
Well I have rambled long enough...everyone else is sleeping, I guess I should get there too.

What a week...

I had a three day weekend to get ready for this week at work,... and I don;t think it was enough. We had our VIG (Very Important Guest) opening Tuesday Night, and it was stressful, but fun. We had a band playing, and all sort of food catered. A fun night where we each could have one guest come in and see the store, and even shop before the store officially opened. The media was there to cover the night, but then they did the inexcusable. They did a breaking news story to the public that Target has now officially opened. So much for a soft opening!!!:o( We have been so swamped at work... and I really shouldn't be complaining, but I am frustrated by the way have been handling things. We spend all day getting our re shops back out on the floor, and I am unable to do my job. I take this personal because it reflects back to me while all the bigwigs are in the store. And they create a bigger problem... they see empty spots on the floor and want them filled... and instead of getting the things that belong there through re shops (things that have been tried on/returned/ abandoned somewhere else in the store) they want to bring new product out that isn't supposed to be out on the floor yet. And most of these people are the kind of people that has never worked retail before, but have a college degree and think that they know a better way. I'm sure we all have known this type of people....So I go to work in the morning, and do it all again and do it with a smile. I keep telling myself that as long as I am doing my best, that is all I can do. Our grand Opening is Sunday,... I'll let you know how it goes! :o)!!

Austins Scary Creature

After we had gotten up so EARLY on Saturday for Austin to take that test at school, we found out it is next weekend! But it gave me a funny story....I had left Austin at his school because a coach said the test was in the gym. I headed back out to the highway (the gate next to us is closed on the weekends). As I was getting close to the exit, my phone starts ringing. My purse was in the floorboard on the passenger, so I couldn't answer until I had gotten off the highway. So instead I got a voicemail with Austin telling me that it is next weekend followed up with a shocking yelp. He knew he should walk back out to the street so I didn't have to go all the way into the school, his school is down a wooded drive. As he was walking he heard a rustling and saw a big brown something out of the corner of his eye... and let out a surprise yelp. It is the season for bears to be out foraging for the last bit of food before the hibernate... this is what he thought was coming out of the woods at him. I would probably be jumpy too!! Instead, it as a baby moose... which could be just a dangerous. Mommy moose was nowhere to be seen, but that doesn't mean anything. They can be a mile away and still hear their baby! That's a mom for you!! :O)

What a day to have a party.....

We had decided to have Autumns party on Sunday, and the weather decided to test us. My very good friend Kim came up from Ninilchik, which is about a three to four hour drive in good weather. She said she had some rain and some snow on the trip up, but nothing too bad. We had Autumns little friends show up at 1:oo, ate cake and did presents, then headed out to the movies. As we were ready to go, it started sleeting very had, but blew over quickly and nothing really stuck. I think this was our test because as we were coming out of the theater it was starting to snow,.. and snow it did. In twenty minutes we had and inch or two sticking to the ground.We have snow in the forecast for the next two days... so needless to say, I will be spending my day off looking for snow pants. The kids can be sent home if they don't have them, along with winter coats, gloves and hats. They take this very seriously because the kids go out for recess until it is -10 degrees.... as someone who had recess duty, this is freezing!!!

It's Raining, It's Snowing,......

Ok, so the weather I was dreading started earlier than forecasted.My friend Evelyn and I decided to run and grab a lunch yesterday, only to discover that it was half rain and half snow. And this weather continued all day. But I have to describe the difference in rain here vs. back home. It rains hard here, but the rain feels different. At home when it rained hard, the raindrops were hard and heavy. Sometimes it felt as though the rain was beating you down.... here it is like the rain is "finer". It is hard to describe because it is raining just as hard and fast, but it feels more soft and "fine". So even when it was snowing yesterday, it was surprising when we got as wet as we did because it didn't "feel" like it was coming down that much..... even though you can see it really coming down. After work Austin and I ran a few errands and got to see a glimpse of the mountains that surround us, and now they are completely white... I'll try to get a picture today once the sun comes up. (yes, I am up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday) Austin is voluntarily taken a test at school today. It's called the H.S.G.Q.E. It stands for High School Graduation Qualifying Exam,.. I guess they won't graduate until they ace this test, and if he does well on this now, he won't have to come in on the days they administer... so i know this is his motivation of r coming in on a Saturday morning! :o}

It's getting cold

We are now down to the twenties at night and our high is around mid forties. Our friends up in Fairbanks already have snow. It has been snowing there for about a week.... BRRRR! The kids are excited and telling me how much they want it to snow, I'm just not sure I'm ready. We have snow in the forecast for Sunday, so I guess I will have to get ready!! :)
We watched the BSU vs. Louisiana Tech game last night, but unfortunately it made us all homesick. Adam was so upset he left for a while... I really thought he would be the one that loved it here, but he is on a countdown to "going home"! It is just too big city for him. He doesn't like the traffic... you'd never know he was from southern Calif anymore! He wants small, small town.... I want middle size town... so we have agreed on Twin Falls for retirement. : O )