Wednesday, July 30, 2008

July in Bullet Points

July has been a busy, crazy, fun month. Here is what we've been up to:
*Making pioneer skirts and bonnets for Pioneer Trek
*Dinner with girlfriends
*4th of July viewing of Wall-E with family and my parents, dinner, cards, sparklers with both sets of parents, walking up 21st with boys to watch Sugarhouse fireworks
*Flag football for Noah
*Sam's Club shopping with YW for Girls' Camp
*2 days of Girls' Camp with Lucy (she's such a little trooper!)
*Boys sleepover at Nana and Grandpa's house
*Date to see Indiana Jones...stupid, stupid movie
*Flag football for Curtis
*Final Pioneer Trek meetings, sewing and shopping
*Sent all Trekkers off and had a huge sigh of relief (with a little regret mixed in for not being able to go!)
*Flag football for boys
*10-hour scrapbook crop with Em, Nat and Kathi. WITHOUT kids! Sam brought Lucy to me half-way through so I could feed her but other than that half hour, no kids!
*Quick visit to my parents ward to see sis Suzanne for the 2 hours she was in town
*Lucy starting to crawl
*Did I mention flag football?
*Scrap days with Emily
*24th of July dutch oven cookout with Sam's fam
*Raging Waters with all of us plus my dad and my bro Mat who was in town for a wedding
*Resulting sunburns
*BBQ at my parents house with sibs Mat and Amy (delicious bleu cheeseburgers made by chef Mat)
*BBQ in West Pointe with Sam's extended fam
*Trip to the dentist for all of us with NO CAVITIES! Woohoo! I did have to get a mouth guard made though, what am I, 13?

And that's about it, in a nutshell. We have had fun, we are tired!
Two more flag football games...sweet!
Pictures to follow in coming days...

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

My new title

Noah walks up to me with two tp tubes he wants to make into binoculars and says "Mom, can you figure out how to do this since you are the queen craft artist?" How sweet.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Insomnia and friends

Does this happen to you? It seems like whenever I have a big week coming up that I should be well rested for, I just can't sleep. This week is Girls Camp and while I'm not spending the whole week there, tomorrow I will be assisting in all the shopping and last minute details and will go up Tuesday for the whole day with Lucy in tow. Then I'll go again Thursday afternoon/evening.
So, tonight in true Kathleen fashion, I can't sleep! I laid down an hour ago for about 10 minutes and knew that sleep was not going to happen. So here I sit, blogging.
Argh!
I've been thinking about some things lately that I've wanted to blog about so no better time than the present, right?
I have been blessed, especially in the last 9-10 years, to form strong relationships with good women. We have seen each other through good times and bad, and I am forever grateful for their love. Thursday night I had dinner with three of my great girlfriends: Karen, Chassie, and Melissa. At one point all of us lived in the same ward and we became great friends. Then they all moved away and left me here! :( But, we have kept in touch and remained good friends. Melissa is now moving to Arizona and we will miss her but know she and Scott are making a good decision for their family. So Thursday was our final Girls Night Out before she moves.
Some friends I have kept in contact more than others but it doesn't lessen the friendship. Karen mentioned the other night the saying that goes something like, some friends come into your life for a short time, others for a life time but each makes an impression on your life. I know, kind of cliche but I think that its so true. When Sam and I walked into our home for the first time, we knew immediately that it was the one to buy. We didn't know why (especially with all the things that needed (and still need) to be done) but now I can look back at the last 9 and a half years and say it was because of the people who would touch us and make our lives richer.
Thanks, Ladies, for your love and acceptance of me. Love you!
PS Sorry for the late night sappiness but I hope it makes sense!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Bacon and Cheese Chicken

If you haven't checked out the crockpot blog, do it now! Yesterday I made the bacon and cheese chicken and it deserves a YUMMIOSO! My picky kids ate it with nary a complaint. I had cold leftovers on my salad today and it was still so good. For mine, I actually used the rest of the chicken tenders in the bag (6) plus 3 frozen chicken breasts which is more chicken than the recipe calls for. I used turkey bacon and Yoshida's sauce. I cooked it on low for about 6 1/2 hours (my crockpot cooks really hot even on low). It made 6 servings. Again, it was so good! Try it and tell me what you think.

The first month of summer vacay

So far, the summer break has gone fairly quickly with minimal sibling fights and even fewer mom freak-outs. I came up with a schedule for the kids and myself so we would know what we are doing everyday and I could plan accordingly. Here is the rundown:

Monday: Family Outing Day (since it is like Sam's Saturday)
Tuesday: Scrapbook Day with Emily & kids
Wednesday: Fun at home/Free Day (I need to "re-group" and prepare for Mutual Day)
Thursday: Library and Park (or other outing) Day
Friday: Project/Craft Day

Sure, I am flexible and if we decide to go to the Library Wednesday, that's fine. These are the bones of the schedule and we can change our minds if we want! We have had a lot of fun so far and made some cool projects and had fun outings. We went to Ensign Peak one morning with Sam and this past Monday spent a few hours at Liberty Park, riding the sketchy rides and going to the Aviary. (we nixed the boat idea after checking out the conditions of the boats and the filthy, stink of the pond) We have more fun in store for July and should prove to be hectic. I signed up the boys for flag football and they have games every evening except Thursdays. We'll see if we survive!

Lucy is now 7 months old! She is such a good baby and a joy in our lives. She is now sitting up unassisted (although she does have the occasional "timber"), She rolls and scoots everywhere, she is trying to pull herself up in the crib (oh no!) she sleeps through the night most nights, she is loving sweet potatoes, apples, and anything I am eating, still has 2 sharp little teeth with the threat of more at any moment. She babbles lots but her favorite "words" are "nananana" and "dadada". We love our little Luce Goose!