Random Thoughts about My Vacation Week

Vacation week is over. It was fun while it lasted. I see my sister once a year, so I try to see her as much as I can during the time she is here. I do this with my children complaining that I am ALWAYS GONE and that I am abandoning them when we have adult time. It takes some of the joy out of the time away. Donna and Doug are now hooked on Phase 10 Twist. My parents bought the game for us at Christmastime and it IS a lot of fun to play. Donna went out and bought Phase 10 Twist to bring home and play. During our fun week, we ate yummy food, we talked and laughed, and we joked about how cold it is in my parents' house. We had a fun Girls' Day on Saturday. My Mom, Donna, Victoria, my Grandmother, and I went to the movie theater to see "Just Go With It", which was funny. We ate dinner at the Ground Round and then we went back to my parents' house to watch High School basketball. I did a pretty good job that afternoon/evening of ignoring the fact that I wasn't completely ready for Primary the next day. It all worked out on Sunday, like it always does, but the unfinished planning was nagging at me on Saturday. I hate that! My Mom, Grandmother, and I went to Walmart and Friendly's on Thursday while my Dad watched Kate and Noah. That was fun! I was in charge of my first PTO meeting on Wednesday, so that was nagging at me all day Wednesday as we played Phase 10 Twist and hung out. I also missed out on a dinner to the Weathervane that night. :-( We had a weird 20 minutes or so blizzard early evening on Wednesday. Matt had one of the worst drives home from work ever. It was clear when I left for my PTO meeting, though and it was so beautiful outside!

I could have went to Just Barb's on Thursday night to eat, but I wanted to be home with my family. Partly because I didn't want to hear any comments about me being gone all the time and partly because I just felt like being home. Zoe, Emily, and I were supposed to go bowling Friday night with Donna, Doug, and my parents, but that didn't happen, so I went over to my parents' house to play Phase 10. I owe Zoe and Emily a date at the bowling alley. They love to go at night when the disco ball is on. We haven't been bowling since last year when Donna and Doug were visiting. My Dad took Zoe and Emily to a state championship High School basketball tournament game on Saturday. He convinced them to leave during the half time of the second game by offering them dinner at Pepinos. It was nice this year having my grandmother close by, so she could see Donna more during her visit and we saw my grandmother more. That was nice. We enjoyed a boiled dinner at my parents' house yesterday after church. That was our last day together.


Donna and Doug flew back to North Carolina today.

My Turn for a Vacation

The older kids went back to school yesterday. We stopped at the library after school since we didn't make it to the library during vacation. That was the one complaint the older girls had about vacation last week that they didn't have anything to read when we were home at the end of the week/weekend. So they were happy last night to have new books to read. It was sweet to see Zoe, Emily, and Eleanor reading their books on the couch before they went to bed. They were quiet, content, and engrossed in their books.

My sister, Donna and her husband, Doug arrived today at my parents' house to visit for the week. They will leave on Monday. Doug flew in while Donna drove with Victoria and Victoria's dog, Jack. Donna and Victoria had quite the adventure! They took a few wrong turns and the clutch on Victoria's car went just outside of Augusta, so my Dad and Doug went to get them. That was after my Mom, Dad, grandmother, Noah, Kate, and I went to breakfast at Nicky's with Doug.

Noah warmed up to Doug very quickly.


It took Kate a little longer, but not much longer.


The older kids are bummed that they have to go to school while Kate, Noah, and I have more vacation fun without them. They'll get to join in after school and this weekend, though. :-)

Not our typical Sunday

Noah found a pink marker in the bedroom last night and he decided to color himself before falling asleep.

Thank goodness it was a washable marker. Here he is ready for church.


We have a sickness going through our family that strikes suddenly and strong, but it doesn't last long. Noah felt fine before Sacrament meeting, but he slept through Sacrament meeting and had developed a slight fever and he was acting like he was going to throw up, so I brought him home. Matt was already home because he felt sick right before we left for church. I brought my Mom's car home and my parents' drove our Yukon home after church with the rest of our kids. I met up with my parents and the kids at my parents' house to eat and then we came home. Noah was asleep when I left to go to my parents' house, but he was awake and feeling fine when we got home. Matt is feeling better, too. I felt sick for a few hours yesterday morning, so I know what they went through today. The only one who has thrown up so far is Zach and hopefully it will stay that way.

Tourney Time

February vacation = High School Basketball Tournaments!

My Dad, Zoe, and I went to the Bangor Auditorium this afternoon to watch a few Championship games. During the girls' Class D Game, Zoe was routing for Washburn, but I wanted DeerIsle/Stonington to win. DIS was ahead most of the game, so I was happy most of the game, but then Washburn started to close the lead during the 3rd quarter and they won the game. What a game! Zoe was quite pleased that "her" team won. The Boys' Class D Game wasn't as exciting with a blow out, but it was still fun to be there and watch.

We enjoyed concession food at the games and then my Dad treated us to dinner at "Pepinos"...after deciding that we were not hungry. I guess we just didn't want the fun to end. :-)

Courageous Kate

I took Kate to the doctor today in a snowstorm for her 4 year check-up. She is healthy and doing well. She is one tough, brave girl. I was going to say little girl, but she proved today that she is not so little anymore. She received 4 shots and she didn't tense, flinch, squirm, whine or cry. Before the shots, she went about coloring and stated the fact that the shots were going to hurt. As we were leaving, her comment about the shots was, "That really hurt!" She received 4 stickers for each shot, and she proudly wore those stickers.

Never a Dull Moment

From now on, when one of my children says that his/her stomach hurts, I will make them carry the throw up bucket around with them until they throw up or convince me that they are fine and they are not going to throw up. This morning, I scrambled to get the throw up bucket out as Zach threw up all over the rug. I managed to get the throw up bucket out in time for the last heave, which really wasn't very helpful.

This happened as I was rushing the kids out the door for dentist appointments. Kate had her 1st appointment today and she did very well. :-) As I was driving to the dentist, I thought about how eventful my life is and how I am rarely bored. The quiet, ho-hum moments are quite enjoyable and welcomed!

Zach felt good the rest of the day (he took a nap in the afternoon, though which is not typical). We were going to go to the Bangor Library for a "Be Dog Safe" class, but we stayed home instead. This allowed me to get some laundry done, which was good. We watched a few movies and the kids took turns on the computer. We watched "Secretariat", which I have been wanting to see and I thought it was very good. The kids didn't want to watch it, but they watched it anyway and they ended up liking it.

Matt went out with the missionaries this evening, so it has been a long day at home for me. Zoe, Emily, and I played Phase 10 Twist before dinnertime and before the kids went totally wild. I am grateful for the peace and quiet I am now enjoying!

A Day at the Gym

All this vacation fun is wearing me out! We spent most of the day today playing in the gym at our church. We had Activity Days from 10am-Noon, which included all of the Primary kids, but only my kids were there besides the 8-11 year old girls. We have a lot of families in our Branch who are dealing with illnesses right now. I wasn't supposed to be in charge of the activity today, but I ended up being the only member of the Primary Presidency there, so I was in charge. The older girls made an obstacle course (if you can call it that...it was more like a spooky tunnel) for the younger kids and they helped make no bake cookies for everyone to enjoy. They also played basketball and other games in the gym with the younger kids. The activity ended at Noon, but we didn't leave there until almost 4pm. I watched one of the Activity Day girls while her Dad went to an appointment and a couple of our Primary boys showed up around 2pm to play basketball with their Dad, so we had fun playing with them. I always plan on spending the day at the church gym when we go because the kids have so much fun and it is great exercise for them. Now I am exhausted and ready to crash!

More Vacation Fun

The kids and I went to see "Tangled" at the dollar theater this morning at 9:30. I didn't think there would be a lot of people at the theater that early, but it was pretty packed! Zoe and Eleanor had seen the movie, but the rest of the kids hadn't, so they were excited to see it. We all laughed at the many funny parts. It is a good movie that I didn't mind seeing twice (I went to see it with Zoe a few months ago). Noah and Kate were very good during the movie. Noah was a bit restless toward the end of the movie and at one point Kate wanted to sit on my lap when Noah was on my lap, but they were brief moments of stress. I was more stressed when we got out to the Yukon and I realized that I had left the diaper bag in the lobby where we stopped to get Noah bundled up before heading outside. When I went back inside, I was happy to see my bag right where I had left it!

We stopped at home for lunch after the movie and then we headed out again to go swimming. I was going to do laundry this afternoon, but Zoe asked if we could go swimming. Why not, it's VACATION!

A cute Kate moment...While walking on the icy (covered with sand) path to our door yesterday Kate exclaimed, "Hey! There's pepper on the snow!" It was so cute how her face lit up and how she was so excited about that fact. :-)

Random Pictures

February Vacation

The kids have this week off from school. We have a week full of activities planned to keep everyone busy and happy. We went to the Children's Museum today. The kids played for a half hour on each floor (there are 3 floors) and then we went into the Art Room for finger and feet painting! I love going to the museum for messy art projects. :-) The kids had a great time painting and now their masterpieces hang along the wall of our hall. They also made yarn dolls and ninja dolls.


The kids spent a few hours this afternoon with Matt while I met up with Aimee and Mere for a walk around town and then hot drinks at Dunkin Donuts. The kids had different activities that they were going to take turns doing while I was gone. One of the activities was the wii, but somehow 2 discs got jammed into the wii, so it is now temporarily out of service. I blame Noah. Another activity was playing the keyboard that I just dug out of the closet yesterday.

When the cord to the keyboard stopped working years ago, I put the keyboard away in the closet. I have thought about getting it out and putting batteries in it, but I never did and it continued to sit in the closet. The kids are always expressing interest in learning how to play the piano, so I'm not sure why it took me so long to get the keyboard out. We were all happy when the keyboard turned on and the kids took turns using it. Zoe labeled the keys and we labeled the notes to the song "I Am a Child of God" in the Hymns Made Easy book. Zoe, Emily, and Eleanor are getting pretty good at playing the song. Eleanor played the song for us this evening while we sang it for FHE. It wasn't perfect, but I was impressed at how well she played the beginning of the song. I'm glad the kids are learning a skill that will be used throughout their lives. It's fun to have music in our home that the children are producing. :-)

So Cool

Smart Girl

In the Fall, Emily took the NECAP Test at school and did very well. She scored a 463 out of 480 in Reading, which put her in the top 8% in her school and the highest level for the test. In Math, she scored a 453 out of 480, which was just 2 points below the highest level. Great job, Emily!

Emily loves to read! She knew that during our week of no tv, no wii, no computer that she would get more reading done and she sure did. When we discussed going unplugged, Emily pointed out that she would like to read more at home, but when the tv, wii, and computer are on, she is distracted and then she doesn't read. I'm glad Emily was able to focus more on reading this past week and I'm glad we successfully made it through our unplugged week. We are no longer unplugged, but we will be less plugged in now than we were before.

A Completed Project!

We were promised that we would leave our Relief Society activity last night with a finished project and it actually happened!

I like it, too. I usually don't like craft/art things that I make because I am not a crafts/arts person and my projects end up looking like a little child made them. So, I was pleased with the wall hanging I made for the kids' room. It makes me smile when I see it and I hope the girls enjoy it. I am happy that I came away from the activity with something that will help my girls remember who they are and that they are loved.

Unplugged

We are taking the week off from tv shows, movies, wii games, and computer games. The tv has not been on once today and it feels good. When the kids know that the tv, computer, and wii are not an option, they don't bother to ask about it and they find other things to do (Noah was the only one who insisted that I turn on the wii this morning). They make puzzles, they play with their toys, they read books, and they interact with each other. It is quiet...er and that is good for me. It is more work for me at times with their entertainment gone, but that is okay. Work makes us feel good.

Speaking of work, you can click here to see Matt, Zoe, and Emily harvesting ice at Fields Pond.

Eleanor worked hard at school last week to get ready for her Chinese New Year skit. She was a narrator and she did a great job!



Zach is working on getting over his ear infection. He missed all the Valentine fun at school today to visit the doctor and get on an antibiotic. He didn't seem to mind that fact as much as I did. I dropped off his Valentine cards before school and I picked up the Valentine cards he received after school, along with some yummy treats that his class had at snack time. That made me feel better and Zach enjoyed looking at all his cards this afternoon. :-)

Here are the kids today working at making yummy sugar cookies. YUM! Matt gave me the day off today from our diet game. What a great husband!



Happy Valentine's Day!

A New Friend

Another Diet Game

As of yesterday, Matt and I are competing for what we want. I want an entire day to myself to do what I want. Matt wants me to join him for his March camping. His prize just makes me want to work harder to win. :-) What do we have to do each day to win? Stick to our meal plan (I am doing Weight Watchers and Matt is following Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet, allowing 30 grams or less of carbs), burn 60 calories a day exercising, and drink 2 liters of water. We are playing for 4 weeks, taking Valentine's Day off. We have both been struggling with our diet plans and we are both competitive, so this will keep us on track...at least for 4 weeks. :-)

Miss Kate is 4!

Kate has been sick all week, so I was worried that she would be too sick today to celebrate her birthday, but she started to perk up last night. She had energy and she felt well enough today to have a Happy Birthday!

All of the kids were excited to celebrate Kate's birthday. This could be because they know their birthdays are getting closer. :-)


Matt was the only one to make it to church today. There was only Sacrament meeting because of the snow we got last night. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to knock out some power (not ours) and to keep people at home.

We went over to my parents' house this afternoon to eat an early dinner and to celebrate!


My grandmother is sick, so she missed out on the party. :-( Kate loves her new Tangled doll that her Great Grammie gave to her!

Kate received a new bathing suit, which fits her perfectly. She is excited to wear it to the "Dinosaur Pool"! She had it on this evening with her new tu tu and slippers. I'll post a picture of Kate in her new bathing suit when Matt puts his pictures on the computer.

Kate received a lot of fun toys and gifts!


Happy 4th Birthday, Kate! We had fun celebrating with you. We love you!

Cough, Cough, Cough

Matt and Zach are the only 2 who aren't coughing, stuffed up, wiping runny noses, and feeling run down. Just when I think I am on the mend, I start feeling sick again. I really hope Kate starts to feel better for her birthday tomorrow!

The kids did have a snow day on Wednesday. I thought the day of rest would have Emily and Eleanor back to school, but they ended up staying home Thursday and Friday. Eleanor's teacher said that all of Eleanor's class has been sick and when they come back, they are still coughing and not feeling well, so it hasn't been a productive week for them. Zoe bounced back pretty quick and still hasn't missed a day of school. She isn't 100% healthy, but she feels better than some of us.

Zoe and Zach have spent some time sliding down our snowbank. It's hard to tell, but this picture shows Zoe and Zach standing on top of the snowbank.



I felt pretty good on Thursday, so Matt and I went on our planned datenight. It felt good to get out of the house and have a peaceful dinner at Pizzeria Uno.

Last night, I took Zach and Zoe to the movie night at the school. We watched "The Tale of Desperaux". Families brought sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows to lay on the gym floor. There were mats available, too to lay on. The kids ate popcorn while they watched the first half of the movie and then there was a break for pizza. During the break, I went into the cafeteria to look at 3 different math programs that the school board is considering to replace the existing math program. I missed the end the movie, so now I'll have to get the movie, so I can see how it ends.

When we got home from the movie, Matt was ready to head out for his February winter camping.

The kids like to be told funny stories and they enjoy remembering funny things that have been said in our family. I haven't recorded any funny moments lately, so here is a new moment to remember. After snot came flying out of Eleanor's nose yesterday and landed on the floor she was amazed and said, "And now I know how powerful snot can be!"

Influenza

Eleanor started feeling sick on Sunday. Emily started to feel sick Monday night. Now, I am sick along with Zoe and Kate. Noah has had a slight fever and complained yesterday that his stomach hurt, but it didn't slow him down. One good thing is that we haven't dealt with any vomiting, just aches, coughs, and runny noses. I slept all evening, so now at 1:31 AM, I am wide awake. My head hurts and I feel like crap, but I figured I would do something productive instead of laying in bed wishing that I was asleep. Matt took care of the kids during the evening and due to another snow storm, he will be home tomorrow (which is actually today). I am grateful for his willingness to take over when I am sick! I am hoping for a snow day for the kids, so they can have a day of rest without missing school. This is especially true for Zoe who really wants to achieve perfect attendance this year.

Totally engrossed in "Open Season".
Who says princesses don't wear flip flops?
Zoe did Kate's hair while watching the movie.
It's fun to have a big sister who is so talented!



Eleanor went to a birthday party at the Alamo Movie Theater on Saturday. They ate cake and watched the birthday girl open presents in the lobby. Then they went into the theater to watch "Open Season 3" (which is why we watched the 1st movie the night before). All of the kids received a bag of candy, a bag of popcorn, and a drink. Talk about a fun party! Now I want to see "Open Season 2".

Noah's fashion statement.

His latest idea is to dress up in his snow pants, coat, boots, hat and mittens and wear them around the house. I discourage this, but he insists and doesn't give up until he is fully covered.

Eventful Evenings

We have had something going on every night this week, including Monday. Zoe had her last home game this past Monday after school. I was planning on going with all of the kids, but Emily wasn't feeling well after school, so we didn't make it to the game. Matt, my Mom, my Grandmother, and Victoria made it to the game, though. Mom came over after the game to watch the kids, so I could go to Zoe's banquet with Matt. The girls each received a certificate and a pin and then they were treated to pizza and cake. That was supposed to be the end of the season, but due to snow, they have their last game on the 31st in Old Town.

Tuesday night, my Mom, my Grandmother, Rachael, and I went to the Relief Society activity. It was so much fun! Tiffany, Jessica, Anne, Rachael, Roxanne, my Grandmother, my Mom, Brittain and I played "Would You Rather". What a hoot! We munched on snacks and laughed and laughed and laughed. It was worth the trip to Ellsworth.

I had an interesting experience after the activity when my Mom dropped me off at our local grocery store where my Yukon was parked. I went into the grocery store to pick up a few things before heading home. As I was walking out to the Yukon, I checked my coat pocket for my keys, but didn't feel them. I then had the thought that they were in the diaper bag, in the Yukon, and I was glad that I didn't lock the Yukon because I would have locked my keys in. Then I immediately realized that I had left the diaper bag in my Mom's car. DANG! I had half a minute left on my phone. I sat in the Yukon and watched the plow truck work around me. I saw the driver talking on his cell phone as I thought about what to do. Let me add that it was 5 degrees outside and very cold in the Yukon! The driver of the plow truck signaled for me to roll down my window since I was in the way of his plowing. I got out of the Yukon and he asked if I would move the Yukon. I told him my dilemma and asked him if he had a cell phone that I could use...which I saw him using. He let me use his phone and I was so glad my Dad answered the phone ( I wasn't sure if he would be home from work yet). My Mom was just pulling into their driveway when I called, so they drove back to the grocery store to bring me my bag that I had forgotten when I was getting my stuff out of my Mom's car. I am grateful that the plow guy was there and that he had a phone for me to use and I was grateful that my Dad answered the phone and my parents were able to get back to me quickly. I was also happy when I got the Yukon started and knew I would warm up soon!

Last night, Zoe, Emily, and I went back to Ellsworth for Cub Scouts and Activity Days. Since being asked to help out with Cub Scouts about a month ago, I have yet to plan and carry out an activity with the boys. The weather kept several of the meetings from happening and last night was a field trip to the police station. I didn't make it through the tour last night because the officer got called away and by the time she got back, it was time for me to take Zoe and Emily over to the church for their activity. There were 2 boys in my group there at the police station for the tour and both of them had a parent with them, so I left the parents in charge.

I finally put up our new Primary bulletin board border last night that I printed off last month and meant to have up before the new year. Now I need to come up with something for inside the border.

I was offered a free oreo McFlurry last night when I went through the drive-thru of McDonald's. Zoe and Emily enjoyed that unexpected treat!

Zoe had her band/chorus concert tonight, so we all went. My Mom, Dad, Grandmother, and Victoria went, too.

Zoe is already showing signs of being a gifted musician. She is seriously thinking about being a music teacher when she grows up. We are proud of you, Zoe!