School started for me again this week. I am taking a Marketing class as well as a Management and Operations class. I am officially a student of Washington State University, and should hopefully have my degree in about 3 years.
The older two kids start school on Wednesday. Kylee is in middle school, and is very anxious to grow up. I, on the other hand, am not so ready. We had the 6th grade orientation on Thursday evening, and it was interesting to see her interacting with her friends. And as much as she didn't want to sit with Jason and I, she kept turning around to make sure that we were still there. I guess she isn't quite as ready to grow up as she thought.
Kearstin is in 4th grade this year. That means that she can start after school sport, and patrol. I don't think she is interested in after school sports, but she seems fairly interested in patrol. She gets distracted so easily, though, so I am concerned about whether or not she will be able to keep it up all year. I guess we'll see.
Kameryn is not looking forward to her sisters being gone all day again. I think she likes having them around, even if they argue quite regularly. She is so funny, she has to tell me about her adventures every day. Like today, she played at the neighbors house for a few hours, and when she came home, she was so excited to tell me everything that they did. She likes calling Papa "silly" when he calls her a baby, because she is adamant that she is a big girl now.
Back to writing an essay for school. It's only the first week, how am I ever going to survive????
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Yellowstone part 2
OK, so after driving all night, we pull into Bozeman Montana, and decide that we would be better off meeting our family in the park rather than driving past the park to Cody Wyoming, then turning around to drive back to the park. So we set up the new plans and pull into a rest stop to sleep for a couple of hours and clean up a little.
Jason couldn't sleep, so we talked and maybe rested for a bit, but all too soon it was time to leave again. We drove in the North entrance of the park and headed for the area where we were meeting our family. We all arrived around 12:00, it was so great to see my aunts and uncles. It has been such a long time since I was able to go to a reunion.
We drove through the park and watched for animals, then headed back to the camp around dinner time. I was surprised, Jason was able to stay awake the whole time, even though we all stayed up until 10:00ish.
The next day, we went white water rafting. They had a trip for families, as long as the children were 4 years old or older. Since Kami has been saying that she is 4 for such a long time, we decided that she would be ok. However, when we got there, we were getting everybody into the boat, and she decided that she didn't want to go. I knew she would like it, so I carried her onto the raft, and within a couple of seconds she had stopped crying. She held on to me so tight the whole time, though. Later I found out that she was afraid we were going to go over a waterfall, once I got that out of her, I was able to assure her that we were fine, and we weren't going to go over a waterfall. Goofy girl, she ended up falling asleep by the end of the trip!
The next few days were just spent driving around and looking for/at animals. I have never seen so many bison in my entire life, but they are such amazing animals. We saw black bear, deer, elk, antelope, all the Yellowstone basics.
On the day we went to Old Faithful, we saw some incredible hot springs. All the colors are amazing!!
One of the days we drove to the Tetons and Jackson Hole. We decided to ride the Gondola up the mountain, and Kami again was crying saying she wanted to go home. Once we were in it, though, she was fine. What is with her?
We spent a total of 7 days at Yellowstone (if you count the day we arrived and the day we left). It was definitely nice to see family again, and well worth the trip. If/when we go back, though, I want to find a camping spot closer to the park, or even in the park. Camping an hour outside the park made it really hard getting to and from anything.
Pictures to come.
Jason couldn't sleep, so we talked and maybe rested for a bit, but all too soon it was time to leave again. We drove in the North entrance of the park and headed for the area where we were meeting our family. We all arrived around 12:00, it was so great to see my aunts and uncles. It has been such a long time since I was able to go to a reunion.
We drove through the park and watched for animals, then headed back to the camp around dinner time. I was surprised, Jason was able to stay awake the whole time, even though we all stayed up until 10:00ish.
The next day, we went white water rafting. They had a trip for families, as long as the children were 4 years old or older. Since Kami has been saying that she is 4 for such a long time, we decided that she would be ok. However, when we got there, we were getting everybody into the boat, and she decided that she didn't want to go. I knew she would like it, so I carried her onto the raft, and within a couple of seconds she had stopped crying. She held on to me so tight the whole time, though. Later I found out that she was afraid we were going to go over a waterfall, once I got that out of her, I was able to assure her that we were fine, and we weren't going to go over a waterfall. Goofy girl, she ended up falling asleep by the end of the trip!
The next few days were just spent driving around and looking for/at animals. I have never seen so many bison in my entire life, but they are such amazing animals. We saw black bear, deer, elk, antelope, all the Yellowstone basics.
On the day we went to Old Faithful, we saw some incredible hot springs. All the colors are amazing!!
One of the days we drove to the Tetons and Jackson Hole. We decided to ride the Gondola up the mountain, and Kami again was crying saying she wanted to go home. Once we were in it, though, she was fine. What is with her?
We spent a total of 7 days at Yellowstone (if you count the day we arrived and the day we left). It was definitely nice to see family again, and well worth the trip. If/when we go back, though, I want to find a camping spot closer to the park, or even in the park. Camping an hour outside the park made it really hard getting to and from anything.
Pictures to come.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
What have we been up to?
Haven't been home much the last couple of days, that is why there has been a delay in posting. Wednesday I went to an At-Home-America party, which was OK. The stuff they sell is beautiful, but kinda pricey. I ordered a few things, but most of it I can get cheaper somewhere else.
Friday, I participated in the local "Sand in the City" event. A whole bunch of teams gather and sculpt something amazing out of sand. There were 15 teams this year, and ours took 4th, which was pretty cool. This was the first year I participated, but the second year for my employer (which is the team that I was on). We sculpted Wall-E, and I have to admit, it turned out pretty cool. Then later that night, there was a gala for participants, which I went to, I just didn't stay very long. By the end of the day, I was so exhausted...and Jason had taken the kids to a friends house, so I was excited to have the whole house to myself!
Saturday, I took the kids to see all the sand sculptures, then we walked around downtown for a while. We stopped and watched the salmon from the 5th avenue bridge and saw two seals as well. I think this was the kids favorite part.
Then Saturday night, we had a wedding to go to...
It was the most disorganized wedding that I have ever seen in my entire life!! It was supposed to start at 6:30, but didn't start until after 7:00 (which is kinda normal, I guess). The ceremony was only about 10 minutes long, but it was well after 8:00 before they started bringing food out. By then, the kids were in full meltdown mode due to lack of nourishment, you would have thought I didn't feed them at all that day. Really, we had a large lunch around 2:00, then a snack before we left at 5:30, but I truly was starving them. We stood in line for about 15 minutes, then the smokers (which were everywhere since this was an outdoor wedding) drove us away. We went through a McDonald's drive through instead.
So that catches us up on what we have been doing. I still need to do the rest of the Yellowstone trip, I will work on that in a bit.
Friday, I participated in the local "Sand in the City" event. A whole bunch of teams gather and sculpt something amazing out of sand. There were 15 teams this year, and ours took 4th, which was pretty cool. This was the first year I participated, but the second year for my employer (which is the team that I was on). We sculpted Wall-E, and I have to admit, it turned out pretty cool. Then later that night, there was a gala for participants, which I went to, I just didn't stay very long. By the end of the day, I was so exhausted...and Jason had taken the kids to a friends house, so I was excited to have the whole house to myself!
Saturday, I took the kids to see all the sand sculptures, then we walked around downtown for a while. We stopped and watched the salmon from the 5th avenue bridge and saw two seals as well. I think this was the kids favorite part.
Then Saturday night, we had a wedding to go to...
It was the most disorganized wedding that I have ever seen in my entire life!! It was supposed to start at 6:30, but didn't start until after 7:00 (which is kinda normal, I guess). The ceremony was only about 10 minutes long, but it was well after 8:00 before they started bringing food out. By then, the kids were in full meltdown mode due to lack of nourishment, you would have thought I didn't feed them at all that day. Really, we had a large lunch around 2:00, then a snack before we left at 5:30, but I truly was starving them. We stood in line for about 15 minutes, then the smokers (which were everywhere since this was an outdoor wedding) drove us away. We went through a McDonald's drive through instead.
So that catches us up on what we have been doing. I still need to do the rest of the Yellowstone trip, I will work on that in a bit.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
The Olympics
I have to admit...I am hooked on the Olympics.
I feel like I have a hangover most mornings after dragging myself out of bed, bleary eyed and determined to get to bed earlier. Then the evening comes around, I start watching and it turns into another late night.
I wonder if there are intervention programs available?
I feel like I have a hangover most mornings after dragging myself out of bed, bleary eyed and determined to get to bed earlier. Then the evening comes around, I start watching and it turns into another late night.
I wonder if there are intervention programs available?
Sunday, August 17, 2008
The first few days of our Yellowstone trip.
We just got back from a long trip to Yellowstone. Fun, but very, very, very long.
Day 0 ~~~ It all began on Saturday morning (don't you love the into), when we drove a whole 2 hours to my brother's house. Of course, once we got going, we didn't stop for a whole 10 days, but just bear with me and I'll fill you in on it all. Once we got to his house and dropped off a few things, we left all the kiddos (13, 10, 8, 8, 5, and 3) to do as they pleased (with the neighbor checking in every once in a while), and went to Costco to get snacks for the long drive in front of us. And since it was my birthday the next day, my brother wanted to make me a special dinner, so we had to get all the fixings for that as well. Once we got back to his place, it was time to visit for a while, then cook, then get the kids all settled in for bed. It was a bit early (about 7:30), but since we were getting them up at 4:00 the next morning, we figured it was about perfect. It took them a while to fall asleep (like 3 hours), but by 11:00, everybody was in bed and asleep.
Day 1 ~~ My brother and I agreed to get up at 3:00 and finish packing his car, and try to get on the road by 4:00. As it was, we got going at 5:00, and I thought we were doing pretty well. why so early, you may ask? We were going to spend two days in Silverwood in Idaho before driving to Yellowstone to meet up with the family. Between gas and potty breaks, we rolled into Idaho just before 12:00 and got the water park around 1:00. We had prearranged a cabana, so at least we had someplace to sit, which was really nice. We got all set up and jumped into the wave pool right away!!
Day 0 ~~~ It all began on Saturday morning (don't you love the into), when we drove a whole 2 hours to my brother's house. Of course, once we got going, we didn't stop for a whole 10 days, but just bear with me and I'll fill you in on it all. Once we got to his house and dropped off a few things, we left all the kiddos (13, 10, 8, 8, 5, and 3) to do as they pleased (with the neighbor checking in every once in a while), and went to Costco to get snacks for the long drive in front of us. And since it was my birthday the next day, my brother wanted to make me a special dinner, so we had to get all the fixings for that as well. Once we got back to his place, it was time to visit for a while, then cook, then get the kids all settled in for bed. It was a bit early (about 7:30), but since we were getting them up at 4:00 the next morning, we figured it was about perfect. It took them a while to fall asleep (like 3 hours), but by 11:00, everybody was in bed and asleep.
Day 1 ~~ My brother and I agreed to get up at 3:00 and finish packing his car, and try to get on the road by 4:00. As it was, we got going at 5:00, and I thought we were doing pretty well. why so early, you may ask? We were going to spend two days in Silverwood in Idaho before driving to Yellowstone to meet up with the family. Between gas and potty breaks, we rolled into Idaho just before 12:00 and got the water park around 1:00. We had prearranged a cabana, so at least we had someplace to sit, which was really nice. We got all set up and jumped into the wave pool right away!!
Did some slides...
And had some snacks..
Of course, I have way more pictures, but you get the drift.
After a long day of fun, we headed back to the hotel about 9:00 that night, but after check in and showers and such, I crawled into bed around 12:00. What a long day.
Day 2 ~~ The next morning, we woke around 7:00, had breakfast and checked out of the hotel. You can imagine how fun it was to try to stuff all our luggage, including everything for a week camping in Yellowstone, inside our vehicles. We had the locking canopy, so it wasn't so bad for us, but my brother sure had fun.
After we staked out our spot on the waterpark side, we headed over to the rides:
Then, more waterpark:
Are you tired yet???
After we finished at the waterpark for the day, the other rides were still open, so we all changed and decided to go on the bumper boats. They have water cannons on the side for bystanders to soak those that are foolish enough to get in a boat. So the nice dry clothes that Jason and my brother were wearing for driving all night, yes they got all wet...
Yes, in case you missed that, after we closed out the waterpark, we decided to drive through the night (while the kids were sleeping), and get to Yellowstone the next morning. I agree, we are a little crazy. So the end of day 2 ended us with 2 days of dirty clothes, 6 exhausted children, and 4 zombies just trying to stay on the road driving. And we hadn't even gotten to the actual "vacation" yet...
Don't worry, there will be more to come.
Starting over...
About a year ago, I started a blog, but ended up giving up, since I didn't know if anybody would ever read it. Well, I think I am going to take the plunge again!!!
It seems like we always have something going, and never enough time to really focus on the little things in life, so I am hoping that by blogging, I will slow down enough to focus on what is really important, US!
Here's where we are right now:
Hubby and I have been married for over 12 years, and we were very young when we got married (20 and 18). I love him more every day and am so very grateful that he is part of my life. We have three beautiful girls that make life even more interesting. The oldest, Kylee, is 10 going on 30, and very social. The middle child, Kearstin (9), is much more focused in her desires, and chooses her friends very carefully. The baby of the family, Kameryn (3), is the comic. She keeps us laughing with her silly comments and the way she finds joy in any situation.
I work full time, while at the same time I am trying to finish my degree. It makes for some late nights, but thankfully, I have tons of support from my family.
Hubby works enough hours at work, that he may as well have two jobs, but he is such a hard worker that I really can't complain.
All things considered, I have the perfect life!!!!!
It seems like we always have something going, and never enough time to really focus on the little things in life, so I am hoping that by blogging, I will slow down enough to focus on what is really important, US!
Here's where we are right now:
Hubby and I have been married for over 12 years, and we were very young when we got married (20 and 18). I love him more every day and am so very grateful that he is part of my life. We have three beautiful girls that make life even more interesting. The oldest, Kylee, is 10 going on 30, and very social. The middle child, Kearstin (9), is much more focused in her desires, and chooses her friends very carefully. The baby of the family, Kameryn (3), is the comic. She keeps us laughing with her silly comments and the way she finds joy in any situation.
I work full time, while at the same time I am trying to finish my degree. It makes for some late nights, but thankfully, I have tons of support from my family.
Hubby works enough hours at work, that he may as well have two jobs, but he is such a hard worker that I really can't complain.
All things considered, I have the perfect life!!!!!
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