Poor Sierra has been sick for several weeks. First a cough. Then strep. Then a worse cough. Then fatigue and sleeping every possible moment. Now walking pneumonia.
She has had doctors orders to stay home from school this week, and NOT to dance, or do anything too strenuous. "Sleep, relax, take your antibiotics.. and call me next week", she says. If things aren't better we are to take her in for an x-ray and see where things stand. She just cannot stop coughing. And not dancing is absolutely DEATH for her. So I pray that things will clear up quickly.
She is in good spirit though. Hang in there sweetheart!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
The free movie adventure
Last night Justice & I went to redeem our FREE Redbox Movie coupon. We start in to the store and just as we get out of the car, I have my coupon in hand and nothing else. Justice says..."MOM, you should really lock the door, do you want all of your precious things stolen?" We both stood there like deer in the headlights as I heard him lock & shut the door tight in one fail swoop.
Great.
I said thanks buddy...now we are locked out of the car. He started to cry as he realized what he had done. I tried to let him know that it was no big deal...but inside I was thinking of calling the locksmith and how outrageous their prices are! Ugh!!
So we went inside and used the customer service phone @ Smiths to call the police. I was hopeful they could possibly get us in. We grabbed our "FREE" movie and went back out to the car to wait.
A few minutes later the trusty West Valley Police car pulls up. And who gets out....my cousin Chad (Holly's husband). I forget that I have family on the force! He worked on the lock much longer than he should have. He said---"Your dad will kill me if I don't get you in!" haha... So he called in a reinforcement with some other kind of pressure contraption with a hook and we were in within literally one minute! And I didn't have to call a locksmith!! Hallelujah!
I am soooooo thankful for the whole chain of events. From now on I will grab my purse before getting out of the car, Justice will wait for ME to lock the doors, and if I forget he will remind me instead of doing it himself :-), and....I will forever be grateful to the WV cops who still help stranded folks get in their cars!! Thanks a bunch Chad!
Great.
I said thanks buddy...now we are locked out of the car. He started to cry as he realized what he had done. I tried to let him know that it was no big deal...but inside I was thinking of calling the locksmith and how outrageous their prices are! Ugh!!
So we went inside and used the customer service phone @ Smiths to call the police. I was hopeful they could possibly get us in. We grabbed our "FREE" movie and went back out to the car to wait.
A few minutes later the trusty West Valley Police car pulls up. And who gets out....my cousin Chad (Holly's husband). I forget that I have family on the force! He worked on the lock much longer than he should have. He said---"Your dad will kill me if I don't get you in!" haha... So he called in a reinforcement with some other kind of pressure contraption with a hook and we were in within literally one minute! And I didn't have to call a locksmith!! Hallelujah!
I am soooooo thankful for the whole chain of events. From now on I will grab my purse before getting out of the car, Justice will wait for ME to lock the doors, and if I forget he will remind me instead of doing it himself :-), and....I will forever be grateful to the WV cops who still help stranded folks get in their cars!! Thanks a bunch Chad!
Montana's Activity Marathon!
Montana has become so involved in extra-curricular school activities! I love it!
She started playing viola with the school orchestra this month and TOTALLY LOVES it. She practices everyday and is getting a skosh better with each effort. Tightening the bow actually helps the notes sound so much better! haha...would have been good of her teacher to give us that little hint. While practicing yesterday she said , "Mom, I had no idea playing the viola would be so easy! I am really getting it!" :-) Big grin on my face! I wanted to tell her that it will get harder, but I decided to just let her enjoy the moment!
Now the school has started a choir. And the kids are FIRED up about this....especially Montana. Only 4th-6th graders can participate. This did not sit well with Justice as he is only in third grade. They have a new principal who is probably the goofiest guy I have ever met...but he is AWESOME with the kids. Anyhoo, he and Mr. T (Thackeray) have the kids singing the funnest songs. They cannot wait for their concert and they have only met one time. Gotta love that.
Then, Miss Montana decided to join the safety patrol! So she will be directing hall traffic after school, helping at the crosswalk, etc. They have so many that wanted to participate that the kids will be scheduled on an every other month basis.
And lastly, Montana has gone coo-coo with the cookie dough fundraiser they are doing at school. 35 tubs wins you an I-pod shuffle, or a limo ride! They do fundraisers every year, and prizes to boot. I don't know what's got her all excited this year, but her and her friends are out after school everyday knocking on doors. She has sold quite a few already...but 35 is a long way off.
She is finally coming out of her shell. The house was full of her friends yesterday...even girls I was meeting for the first time. I am so proud of her. She is enjoying school, working hard, and doing her best. Wish I would have been more like her when I was her age. You go girl!
She started playing viola with the school orchestra this month and TOTALLY LOVES it. She practices everyday and is getting a skosh better with each effort. Tightening the bow actually helps the notes sound so much better! haha...would have been good of her teacher to give us that little hint. While practicing yesterday she said , "Mom, I had no idea playing the viola would be so easy! I am really getting it!" :-) Big grin on my face! I wanted to tell her that it will get harder, but I decided to just let her enjoy the moment!
Now the school has started a choir. And the kids are FIRED up about this....especially Montana. Only 4th-6th graders can participate. This did not sit well with Justice as he is only in third grade. They have a new principal who is probably the goofiest guy I have ever met...but he is AWESOME with the kids. Anyhoo, he and Mr. T (Thackeray) have the kids singing the funnest songs. They cannot wait for their concert and they have only met one time. Gotta love that.
Then, Miss Montana decided to join the safety patrol! So she will be directing hall traffic after school, helping at the crosswalk, etc. They have so many that wanted to participate that the kids will be scheduled on an every other month basis.
And lastly, Montana has gone coo-coo with the cookie dough fundraiser they are doing at school. 35 tubs wins you an I-pod shuffle, or a limo ride! They do fundraisers every year, and prizes to boot. I don't know what's got her all excited this year, but her and her friends are out after school everyday knocking on doors. She has sold quite a few already...but 35 is a long way off.
She is finally coming out of her shell. The house was full of her friends yesterday...even girls I was meeting for the first time. I am so proud of her. She is enjoying school, working hard, and doing her best. Wish I would have been more like her when I was her age. You go girl!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Awesome Bloggers
As I aspire to become the writer of the year...haha...I realize I don't hold a candle to most of the blogs that I follow. I want to share a few links with you. Some really fantastic, talented, thought provoking writers. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
http://www.thunderpie.net/
http://www.danoah.com/
http://www.thegirlwho.net/
http://www.thunderpie.net/
http://www.danoah.com/
http://www.thegirlwho.net/
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Sierra Homecoming 2010
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| Such a cute couple Sierra & Mark |
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| Pinning on the flowers |
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| The date group |
In my day, Prom Dates were dinner & the dance, with movies or ice cream after. Now it has morphed into an ENTIRE day of events. I know they have a great time, but I feel bad that these guys have to take out a small loan to impress their dates now! Anyhoo---Sierra's date started off with a trip to Jump on It out in Lindon. It's a huge place full of wall to wall trampolines. Then they came home to get dolled up. Pictures were taken by the parents, and then they were off to dinner at Olive Garden (if I remember right?). Then the dance for a few minutes. Apparently there were a lot of scantily clad girls and way too much dirty dancing going on...they were very uncomfortable and didn't stay long for that mess. Then they were off to Kelsea's to do some hot-tubbing. She was exhausted, but of course had a blast. Check out more pics and details of how Mark asked her and she answered him back...totally disgusting!!!...@ her blog http://www.sierrarochellejepson.blogspot.com/
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Summer's Over
Wow! I can't believe the whole summer already flew by. We thoroughly enjoyed NOT rushing around in the mornings and just taking our time getting going. Well...that was mostly thanks to Sierra getting her drivers licence!!! Now she gets to drive herself to drill every morning at 6!!! And everywhere else she needs to go. I must admit it has been soooo nice! But I really miss spending time with my girl. We just don't see each other much anymore.
Justice was involved in a "Robots & Rockets" Camp this summer. He learned all about gears, solar panels, engineering formulas, motors, and the best part was building his own solar powered train and his jet-fueled rocket! The finale was launch day for the rockets! His rocket launched successfully, the parachute deployed perfectly, and descended back where he was able to catch it! Not everyone's did...so he was very happy about that! I've never seen a bigger smile on his face!
Miss Montana turned the big 11!!! I know I say this all the time...but, she has grown up so much in the last 6 months. Seriously she has grown about 4 inches and has totally lost her baby face. She is GORGEOUS!! Sierra got crazy and groomed her eyebrows for her one day. So now she really looks like a woman. It is crazy! We had a fun party for her with all of her friends and our side of the family. She wanted to have an "Eclipse" themed party. Being Team Jacob was a lot of fun! We found all the fun decorations and just ran with it. The best part was the life size Jacob cut out that all the girls took turns kissing ;-) After cake and presents we headed to the drive inn & then the all night "slumber" party! A super fun day!
She tryed out for soccer, but they ended up not having enough girls her age, so that didn't work out. She wanted to take a hip-hop class, but the class they wanted to place her in ended up being on Thursdays...which is the night each week she spends with her dad. So that didn't work out. Now that school has started, she has decided to join the school orchestra! She is going to play the viola!! We got her a rental instrument and the fun has begun! The first couple of days in her orchestra class have been very slow...still learning how to care for the instrument, and then next class they will learn how tune the instruments. Hmmm...perhaps some private lessons will be in order--but we will see. She is soooooo enjoying it! She can even make some notes which is thrilling!
Patrick and I have been working on lots of home improvement projects. He is so good to me. We replaced the baseboards in the kitchen, got the ac repaired, fixed the upstairs toilet, cleaned out the rain gutters, and cut down a "small" chinese elm that was growing in my neighbors yard. It began to push down the fence that we share. I had no idea what kind of tree it was, but I knew it was growing like crazy. I learned that Chinese Elms grow into a monster trees if you let it go. So I am so happy it is gone. My neighbors have agreed to help fix the fence in exchange. So we have sunshine on the grass and my flowerbed again. Patrick is always planning the next project. How did I luck out with this guy?? He is truly a blessing. We are so enjoying the new carpet...and are really looking forward to finishing the rest.
And lastly, we had a really fun outing with the Atencio clan (Patrick's family) up at Jordanelle Reservoir. We had a beautiful sunshiney day to enjoy floating around, soaking up rays, and just enjoying each others company. The kids were able to build sand castles, swim, jump on an inflatable trampoline, row in a raft, and ride on a "donut" pulled by a boat. While riding the donut Tana was screaming loud enough for all to hear miles away :0) It was lots of fun!
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| Hyundai Elantra handed down from her dad! YAY! |
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| Robots & Rockets Camp! |
Miss Montana turned the big 11!!! I know I say this all the time...but, she has grown up so much in the last 6 months. Seriously she has grown about 4 inches and has totally lost her baby face. She is GORGEOUS!! Sierra got crazy and groomed her eyebrows for her one day. So now she really looks like a woman. It is crazy! We had a fun party for her with all of her friends and our side of the family. She wanted to have an "Eclipse" themed party. Being Team Jacob was a lot of fun! We found all the fun decorations and just ran with it. The best part was the life size Jacob cut out that all the girls took turns kissing ;-) After cake and presents we headed to the drive inn & then the all night "slumber" party! A super fun day!
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| The Roxborough Gang: Maddy, Autumn, Hannah, Brianna, & Montana |
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| Happy Birthday to Youuuuuuu! |
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| Team Jacob!! |
She tryed out for soccer, but they ended up not having enough girls her age, so that didn't work out. She wanted to take a hip-hop class, but the class they wanted to place her in ended up being on Thursdays...which is the night each week she spends with her dad. So that didn't work out. Now that school has started, she has decided to join the school orchestra! She is going to play the viola!! We got her a rental instrument and the fun has begun! The first couple of days in her orchestra class have been very slow...still learning how to care for the instrument, and then next class they will learn how tune the instruments. Hmmm...perhaps some private lessons will be in order--but we will see. She is soooooo enjoying it! She can even make some notes which is thrilling!
Patrick and I have been working on lots of home improvement projects. He is so good to me. We replaced the baseboards in the kitchen, got the ac repaired, fixed the upstairs toilet, cleaned out the rain gutters, and cut down a "small" chinese elm that was growing in my neighbors yard. It began to push down the fence that we share. I had no idea what kind of tree it was, but I knew it was growing like crazy. I learned that Chinese Elms grow into a monster trees if you let it go. So I am so happy it is gone. My neighbors have agreed to help fix the fence in exchange. So we have sunshine on the grass and my flowerbed again. Patrick is always planning the next project. How did I luck out with this guy?? He is truly a blessing. We are so enjoying the new carpet...and are really looking forward to finishing the rest.
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| Close up of the new carpet |
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| Wahoo...the carpet going down |
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| Pad going in |
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| The Chinese Elm |
And lastly, we had a really fun outing with the Atencio clan (Patrick's family) up at Jordanelle Reservoir. We had a beautiful sunshiney day to enjoy floating around, soaking up rays, and just enjoying each others company. The kids were able to build sand castles, swim, jump on an inflatable trampoline, row in a raft, and ride on a "donut" pulled by a boat. While riding the donut Tana was screaming loud enough for all to hear miles away :0) It was lots of fun!
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| Lunchtime!! |
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| Justice, Katie, Elijah & Eric |
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| Tana & Elijah |
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| Justice & Isaac |
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| J, M, & S Enjoying the waves |
Kids are back in school and we are trying to get back in the swing of things. They like their teachers for the most part and I'm glad to be able to get back on my normal sleep schedule! Sierra is a Junior in High School and on drill team again this year. Montana is in 5th grade, and Justice is in 3rd grade. Can't believe I'm old enough to say that...but I did just turn 40. Ugh!
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| Chirons (T-ville Drill Team) 2010-2011 |
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| Ready for another year of learnin' |
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| My Big 5th Grader |
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| A rare moment of smiles!! |
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Too many emotions
Most of my posts are about the kids. This one is dedicated to me.
I have been having a really weird/cool/hard week.
My swamp cooler motor burned out on a 97 degree day. Patrick told me to look on KSL.com on the Free section to find a swamp cooler we could use for parts, or in entirety. I found one and was so relieved. We started making arrangements to pick it up, I needed to borrow my dads truck to put it in. We arrive to trade cars, and dad remembered that he has an old swamp cooler motor from 15 years ago that he was going to use in their old house and never did. It is still new in the box. Why does he even still have this?? I was baffled by this chain of events because I was wondering how in the world I would come up with the money to fix it. So all I had to buy was a 6.00 belt and we were in business. Patrick worked his fanny of in the 100 degree heat to get it up and running, and we are living the cool life again! Thanks doesn't begin to cover it!
I was preparing for a pampered chef party I was hosting and everything was coming together...except my yard. Patrick jumps in and mows the lawn and gets everything pretty. He even took Roxy to his house so she wouldn't be barking at everyone. This guy is amazing. He appreciates everything about me that I can't see in myself. He is patient with my children. When they are standoffish with him, he doesn't push. When the kids are ready to talk, play or hang out with him, he is more than happy to spend time with them, include them, and be silly with them. He is kind and loving. He is selfless, he does things without any thought for accolades or payback. He is a true gentleman, opens doors, waits for me to sit before he does, and he stirs up those butterflies in me that I haven't felt for a long time. I am so lucky to have him in my life!
I have been waiting patiently for my new carpet. A friend of Sierra's dad is donating the carpet and labor for free. We have the one room done and last night Chris (Sierra's dad) and the carpet man came to do the complicated stair work. All I had to do was buy the beer for the laborers. Honestly, I don't know why they would do this for me. I was full of emotion the whole time they were sweating away. When the upstairs carpet was going in, one of the guys was asking how Chris and I get along so well. I didn't know what to say..."we just do" was all I could come up with. He told me that Chris has never had one bad word to say about me. I'm sure that hasn't always been true, but it was really nice to hear. I am moved to tears by their charity.
Today I will begin a new drop off/pick up arrangement for my little kids with Eric's new wife Corilynn. This is incredibly emotional for me. They love her and she is really good to them. They all have a great family unit and I am happy for that. I know they are well taken care of when they are with Eric. Corilynn is starting a new job in Salt Lake and will commute back and forth from Mapleton, which is near Spanish Fork. So instead of Eric driving additional miles, Corilynn will pick them up and drop them off. I have been adjusting to this and am trying to just make it a matter of fact situation. But to see them drive away with their "mom away from mom" to go to their "home away from home" to be with their dad will be very difficult. I know I am their mom and nothing will change that...but it's hard to know that they don't need me when they are away from me. Heartbreaking almost.
I have so many blessings and I can't believe how beautiful my life is. The gratitude I have for my parents, kids, my sweetheart, and my "ex" families is overwhelming. I keep vacillating between extreme happiness, tears, fears, and back again. I know this is not the ideal life that I had in mind for myself back when I was 20, but turning 40 this month has made me reflect on how much I have experienced, learned, and enjoyed. Here's to my next 40 years. May they bring me even more happiness than the last!
I have been having a really weird/cool/hard week.
My swamp cooler motor burned out on a 97 degree day. Patrick told me to look on KSL.com on the Free section to find a swamp cooler we could use for parts, or in entirety. I found one and was so relieved. We started making arrangements to pick it up, I needed to borrow my dads truck to put it in. We arrive to trade cars, and dad remembered that he has an old swamp cooler motor from 15 years ago that he was going to use in their old house and never did. It is still new in the box. Why does he even still have this?? I was baffled by this chain of events because I was wondering how in the world I would come up with the money to fix it. So all I had to buy was a 6.00 belt and we were in business. Patrick worked his fanny of in the 100 degree heat to get it up and running, and we are living the cool life again! Thanks doesn't begin to cover it!
I was preparing for a pampered chef party I was hosting and everything was coming together...except my yard. Patrick jumps in and mows the lawn and gets everything pretty. He even took Roxy to his house so she wouldn't be barking at everyone. This guy is amazing. He appreciates everything about me that I can't see in myself. He is patient with my children. When they are standoffish with him, he doesn't push. When the kids are ready to talk, play or hang out with him, he is more than happy to spend time with them, include them, and be silly with them. He is kind and loving. He is selfless, he does things without any thought for accolades or payback. He is a true gentleman, opens doors, waits for me to sit before he does, and he stirs up those butterflies in me that I haven't felt for a long time. I am so lucky to have him in my life!
I have been waiting patiently for my new carpet. A friend of Sierra's dad is donating the carpet and labor for free. We have the one room done and last night Chris (Sierra's dad) and the carpet man came to do the complicated stair work. All I had to do was buy the beer for the laborers. Honestly, I don't know why they would do this for me. I was full of emotion the whole time they were sweating away. When the upstairs carpet was going in, one of the guys was asking how Chris and I get along so well. I didn't know what to say..."we just do" was all I could come up with. He told me that Chris has never had one bad word to say about me. I'm sure that hasn't always been true, but it was really nice to hear. I am moved to tears by their charity.
Today I will begin a new drop off/pick up arrangement for my little kids with Eric's new wife Corilynn. This is incredibly emotional for me. They love her and she is really good to them. They all have a great family unit and I am happy for that. I know they are well taken care of when they are with Eric. Corilynn is starting a new job in Salt Lake and will commute back and forth from Mapleton, which is near Spanish Fork. So instead of Eric driving additional miles, Corilynn will pick them up and drop them off. I have been adjusting to this and am trying to just make it a matter of fact situation. But to see them drive away with their "mom away from mom" to go to their "home away from home" to be with their dad will be very difficult. I know I am their mom and nothing will change that...but it's hard to know that they don't need me when they are away from me. Heartbreaking almost.
I have so many blessings and I can't believe how beautiful my life is. The gratitude I have for my parents, kids, my sweetheart, and my "ex" families is overwhelming. I keep vacillating between extreme happiness, tears, fears, and back again. I know this is not the ideal life that I had in mind for myself back when I was 20, but turning 40 this month has made me reflect on how much I have experienced, learned, and enjoyed. Here's to my next 40 years. May they bring me even more happiness than the last!
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