I HATE Being Sick...

I hate runny noses...feeling like I have been hit by a truck...like my lungs are swimming...headaches...sneezing...in general...JUST BEING SICK! *sigh* Stevie had this creeping crud earlier this week and I guess he took all those childhood lessons of "Share with Others" to heart--and SHARED with his mom???

I was doing fine yesterday morning, but as the day went on...BAM!!! I went to bed at 9 pm (Which if you know me...is unheard of!) and then slept most of today--I didn't even make it to church--Poor Steven had to hand out all my Visiting Teaching Coordinator stuff! What a guy! This on top of only getting a couple hours of sleep! He hooked up my new computer last night--I "only" bought it a month ago--but I HATE changes--so it has been sitting under the kids school desk waiting until the old one could be pried from my hands! I hate learning new things and this one has *gasp* Windows Vista among other new things to learn. So now on top of being sick as a dog--I can't get used to my computer! It's a no-good-very-bad-day! (And I think I will take my nighttime cold medicine and GO TO BED!!) Hopefully tomorrow is a better day!

Wacky Weatherston Olympics!

Our kids have been TOTALLY absobed in the Olympics and were VERY sad that they are over for two more years! Sounds like it's time for ANOTHER "Mom-Mis-Adventure!" For Family Home Evening tonight...the 1st Official Wacky Weatherston Olympics were held!

The first event of the evening was the "Discus Throw" If the wind was good...

you got a GREAT distance *smile*

Gold Medal: KIMMY with a distance of 36'5"

(most of it by made by the paper plate ROLLING down the sidewalk!

Silver Medal: Missy with a distance of 18'5"

Bronze Medal: Stevie with a distance of 14'6" (Look at that determined face!)

Next up...The Javelin...Harder than it looks!

Gold Medal: Stevie with a distance of 24'7"!!

Silver Medal: Kimmy with a distance of 16'9"

Bronze Medal: Missy with a distance of 14'10"

Shotput...Who can throw the big fluffy pom pom the furthest?

Gold Medal: Stevie with a distance of 30'6"

Silver Medal: Kimmy with a distance of 27'6"

Bronze: Missy with a distance of 23'

Our next event was the slow-motion track race---make it down the block in the SLOWEST but yet under 1:00 time!

Kimmy was our Gold Medal winner for making it on time...but Missy was the Gold Medal loser!

Michael Phelps we're NOT! Our next event was Swimming! The object was to fill your mouth with water from your glass, run across the yard and spit it into your glass. The first person's glass filled was the Gold Medalist! Stevie was our winner!



Poor Kimmy was running down the path when her dad made a silly comment and she lost her water and tried to win the gold in the choking category! On her next run past--she made sure HE would win the gold medal in "Dad is soaking wet" category!

Next event? Weightlifting! The object of the event...Hold a 1 pound weight in each hand...who can hold them the longest without lowering the arms?

Look at those muscles! Missy took the silver with a time of 1:45!

He may look strong but he wimped out at 1:07!

Kimmy was the Gold Medalist with a forced ending time of 2:00 (but could have gone on for quite a while!)

Our next portion of the Olympic Games was Rhythmic Gymnastics! When it was your turn, you had to take the ribbon wand and twirl around and around--to see who can spin in circles the longest without getting sick or falling down!

Missy took the Bronze Medal with a time of 55 seconds!

Stevie took Silver with a time of 1:57!

Kimmy was the Gold Medalist with another forced time of 2:00 (What can I say? We didn't have ALL night--it was getting dark!)

The last event of the evening was the soccer tournament! Each person had to dribble the soccer ball around the plaground--easier said than done with the wind we had!

Stevie got the Bronze Medal with a time of 1:30

Missy took the Gold Medal with a time of 1:25 (and a handicap...we let her run the short route since she had a dress on!)

Kimmy took the Silver with a time of 1:29!!

What is an Olympics without Medals??? We took the kids to the grocery store where they could pick out ANY TREAT only if it was ROUND like a MEDAL! The two younger hoodlums chose ice cream and Kimmy picked a miniature German Chocolate Cake! YUMMY!

School Sneak 2008

We have a tradition in our homeschooling family. Every year when the public schoolers have to go back to school...we SNEAK off and play! We have had some GREAT sneaks over the years! Kimberly's 1st sneak was to the beach in Maryland--I got sunburned LOBSTER red and she got almost a whole week off school since I couldn't move. *sigh* We have been to zoos, Chuck E. Cheese, out to eat at various restaurants, shopping and more--but always lots of fun!

Well, Kimberly kind of messed that up for us this year! She starts college on the 1st day of school here in Texas. I guess we could have gone without her--but that wouldn't have been fun! Steven got a 1/2 day today so we decided to sneak a sneak in early! *smile* We surprised the kids and took them to a restaurant they had never been to before called "Buffet Palace" (Just the kind of place Stevie can eat out of business!) It has LOTS of different kinds of food--Korean, Japanese and Chinese (and even pizza!) My oriental-culture-loving-children were in heaven! They even all tried SUSHI!! (NOT mom!!) Missy LOVED it--said it was her favorite! Kimmy tried all the different kinds--brave soul! Stevie wasn't too thrilled with it--he made appropriate gross-out faces after finding out it was wrapped in seaweed. *grin*

We kept our waitress hopping...I think we had a whole dishwasher load all by ourselves! They had lots of fun things to try! She was a super-nice waitress and always had a smile on her face!

After lunch, we surprised the kids and took them to Gamestop. Usually I try to find an activity--but it is just too hot here still for this Idahoan girl! I decided a nice afternoon of gameboy time for the kids was a GREAT SNEAK activity! They each got to pick a new (well, used) gameboy game! Life was GREAT for them! Maybe when it cools down we will find something outdoors to do. I hope it cools down anyways!

All-in-all it was a GREAT day! We had good food, fun time together and now I get to enjoy the quiet that comes with happy kids up playing in their rooms!

This picture is for my sister who didn't know what crawfish was--don't they look yummy NOT! I am sorry--I just cannot make myself eat anything with legs and body parts looking up at me! (Make sure you click on the picture--to see them up CLOSE and personal!!)

This is one of the two statues out front of the restaurant. My kids are used to the "oh-take-a-picture-mom-will-want-to-scrapbook/blog-about-this" moments I put them through! Usually though I am sure Stevie would have been standing on the pedastal trying to have his picture with his finger up the statues nose if he hadn't been so hungry and wanting to get inside! (You can tell I have many pictures like that huh?)

This is Missy with her sushi---I am still having a hard time believing she was in love with it. Obviously she did not inherit my touchy stomach!


Having a hard time choosing what game to get! So many choices, so many decisions! There were a TON of games today at the Gamestop. I think people must have been selling back their games after summer vacation before school starts Monday--I have never seen that many games there before!

Playing With (or is that Tormenting) Her Piggies...

We love our piggies! Nope...not our toes...although those are useful things...but our cute little furry guinea pigs! We had a different pair of guinea pigs when we moved here--but sadly they died (well one died right before we moved here). They just got old and abandoned us. I did learn from them--never name pets when you are hungry--since their names were Butterscotch and Caramel!


When Caramel died this spring, Steven took pity on his crying wife--who got hit with her FAVORITE van having a major problem and having to buy a new car, finding out he was going to Iraq and then the piggy dying--and took her to Petco and bought her not one...but two ADORABLE teeny little guinea pigs. Seriously--you could hold both of them in your hand together and just have a big dustball. Now...zillions of carrots and food bowls and all-you-can-eat-dinner-buffets in the back yard later...I have HUGE piggies. Flower (yep that's his name--watch Bambi and you will understand) is the biggest. He is the black one that looks like my own little pet skunk. So of course my little calico piggy is called Bambi--since Flower needed a sidekick. Luckily I couldn't afford 3 piggies or we probably would have had Thumper too!

Kimmy has made it her own personal mission to get the piggies out to play more. We bought them a GIANT purple hamster ball--but all they do is rock back and forth in it--they don't actually move anywhere and I am worried we are going to have sea-sick piggies after very long. This week she got down on the floor with them--up close and personal! What a funny girl! The piggies kept trying to get away and climb back in their cage--so finally she "caged" them herself in her arms. I kept hearing "no...that is not to chew on...don't eat my hair/finger/shirt/etc." I am not sure the piggies enjoyed their "recess" but I thought it made for good pictures! *smile*

SAY WHAT???

Okay...remind me here...wasn't it just 3 weeks ago my kids were THRILLED that they were on summer break (FINALLY)??? They were so sick of school they wanted to throw all their books away? Hmmmmm???

Today...I admit I am a little scatterbrained lately...was the first day of school according to Idaho (who we are doing our school via Idaho Virtual Academy--since we are Idaho Residents) I am NOT sure what I was thinking--I guess I equated our start date with the start date here in Texas...but we were NOT expecting today to be the DAY! I realized it after the kids went to bed last night.

Fast forward now...I wake the kids up thinking that they will be kicking, screaming, fighting, groaning (add any more words that are applicable here) about school starting. NOPE! I tell them that school starts and Missy is jumping up and down yelling "Goody...goody...goody!" and Stevie is THRILLED! He was "soooooooooo bored"??!! I had to take pictures of their happy faces!!

Me?? Well, I can't say I am THRILLED...but it is nice to get back into a routine. I ended up quickly cleaning up the school area and changing out the books (yes, I procrastinated and hadn't done anything with the old ones yet). I sat through a LONG online lecture from the kids' teachers and still got schoolwork completed with the kids! (Go mommy!)

After school was done for the day, I took the kids out for supper! I decided that *I* needed the treat even more than they did! *grin* We went to "Jack-in-the-Box" which is one of the kids favorites. Now it's DEFINATELY one of Stevie's favorites--they goofed our order and gave us an extra BIG hamburger! (Which they let us keep even after I pointed it out) What a treat for Stevie--that boy can EAT!!

Now we are back to our crazy homeschooling life again! Summer vacation was nice while it lasted *sigh*

Just Say No...

...To Crack!! *grin*

I know...I goofed...I decided to actually USE my food disposal this week. Silly me, I thought you could actually put FOOD down it! *sigh* Needless to say, I stopped the sink up GOOD! I was running the dishwasher thinking it would be okay--and out pours the water from the thingy (yes, that is my technical term for it) up by the faucet--which was pointing NOT in the direction of the sink--but towards the dish drainer and my stove. (Are you picturing an "I Love Lucy" comedy routine yet? It would have been a good one if they had dishwashers back then! ANYWAYS...so now I have a soaked counter--down the stove, a plugged up dish disposal, dirty dishes in the dishwasher and a husband who gets home late to find this mess! Gotta love my handyman!

Not only does my handyman FIX THE SINK and calm down the overwrought wife...when he sees me taking photos for my blog...and all future generations to see...he lets me take a true plumber shot! *grin* Now THAT is a man who loves his wife!

You Can Make Me Sit Here...But I WON'T Have Fun!

We have been going through a bunch of our VHS movies...anyone who knows our family from before we moved here...knows we have a LOT of movies!! (Probably in excess of 500 VHS alone) Well, now everything is going to DVD--so I am trying to sort out our VHS and decide which ones we still want (that ever-on-going-will-it-ever-end sorting I am doing)! We have been watching a kids movie about 3-5 times a week the past couple weeks. For the most part (with the exception of the BORING science ones we hit last week) the kids have been enjoying themselves. That is, UNTIL...we hit the GUMBY movie! They could not fathom why ANYONE would watch this *grin* but I made them sit and watch it! As evidenced below...Stevie came up with his own way of coping with the movie!