Life is back to normal....

Well, life is getting back to normal, I went into work this morning, and then headed out with the kids to Schlitterbahn, the local water park. Kati had a ticket form school, and it expires tomorrow, so what better day than today.

we also took a friend of hers from church who also had a ticket. We played for 4 hours, and it was so much fun to just relax and listen to laughter.

I wish my BFF had been with us, we have some good memories form days gone by blending in at Schlitterbahn.

It was kind of lonely floating around the 'lazy river' by myself, but I had a great afternoon non the less.

I rode a few wild rides with the kids too, but I am not lying when I tell you I am so beat...ready for bed in three....two....one.

Where do I begin...

Last Wednesday, that would be June 24 Th, I received a call saying a friend of mine had died here in Texas, about 4 1/2 hours north of here, so I loaded up the kids and headed out. It was a real trial getting through the next 4 and a half days.

I pretty much organised the whole funeral and service for my friend. The family had no money or any other means have a funeral, so I arranged for the State to take over. It was done very efficiently but very very basic. My main worry was for the 4 children she left behind. The father, being disabled would not be my first choice to care for these kids, but they left Texas and headed back to Utah on Sunday, I know this is not the end to this story, I will be keeping tabs on the kids and more than likely we will have to help out again in the near future.

The biggest thing for me this past week was realising how unprepared I am for when I die. I don't want money, or lack of it be the main focus, so I need to start planning, not just for me but for Folau too.

Other than the time spent with the family, preparing a service, shopping for them, cleaning, attending the funeral home, or visiting the cemetery, I did manage to have some fun with my kids, It was nice to break up the tension and stress with a little 'time out' for just us.

We went shopping a few times and the kids picked out some really unique shoes.

We went out to eat at their favorite restaurants, That would be Dennys for william.

and we even went bowling one night.





We found a great library too, where we hung out.

This was some desperately needed down time for all of us. It was all over and done with and we headed home Sunday morning. It felt so good to be home, and I was so happy to see Folau and let him know that we love and missed him.

Tuesday flew by..

Another day in the vault of my life....The best part by far was going on a date with Kati to see The Proposal..A really good chick flick. It was nice to hear her laugh.

Monday..another week.

what a fabulous past few days. It has gone fast and so I will try and remember the best parts.
First of all , remember Kati's bedroom saga, well, on Thursday night, actually it was 1:30 am, she came in our room and asked if she could sleep in with us because she said she has a frog in her bedroom, and she wasn't talking about Kermit.

This is how she described it.




This is what it actually looked like.






Folau and I laughed so hard, poor little frog was in a strange swamp, and was obviously frightened. Needless to say, Kati has cleaned up her room, and there is absolutely nowhere for a frog to hide.
Saturday the kids and I stayed home all day and worked around the house. I spent a lot of time sorting through and clipping coupons, Then Saturday evening We went to walmart to try out our luck... I felt like a criminal, We bought $132 worth of 'stuff' and only paid $8... no joke...OK, so we have 70 cans of dog food, good thing we have 2 dogs.
enough bragging. But thanks Walmart.




HAPPY FATHERS DAY 2009

Sunday was Fathers day, We were excited to give Folau his presents. William painted a picture of an iguana . It is to match my mothers day painting of the orchid from the rain forest. We sang some fun 'DAD' songs to Folau and spent a nice Sunday afternoon together.

Final day of the Activia challenge...

OK, so William so sweetly opened my last pot of Actvia and stirred it for me and insisted I eat it before work. Not such a good move, but nevertheless it was done.. Luckily we had a few periods of no customers in the store, and I am happy to report I feel as fit and healthy as I had hoped. Thank you William for your loving support.

Our new personalised license plates came today...here is Folau's.

Here is mine.What does that mean I hear you say.

Work went fast, It usually does, but today more so. Then it was off to Walmart to pick up a few items, and then to Walgreens where I used my register rewards and walked out with 10 dozen eggs for free...and yes, they will be all gone before the expiration date of 7/22/09.

William and I then went on a trip around the neighborhood collecting our weekly coupon papers.

He is my little trooper, He roller bladed 2.7 miles picking up the papers and tossing them into the back of my car. I could hear him mumbling 'I'm going to be rich'. He earns 10 cents for every paper. In the past 2 weeks he has earned over $13.

Kati meanwhile, was working on her room again. There isn't much more to say on that subject.

Folau however was at he gym the other night and something popped in his right arm while he was lifting. He says it doesn't hurt but I think it looks a bit different from the other one, uninjured left arm

injured right arm.

What do you think? OK, I know he looks like popeye, but seriously, it does look

a bit different doesn't it?

Another 102 degree day

Another hot one, I talked to Tony and Tricia for a while today and caught up somewhat on the goings on in England. I sometimes stop and think how different life would have been for me had I not been the adventurous type. Would I be married, would I have kids, would I be as happy as I am or would I be a miserable old spinster. Who knows. I do know I have missed all of my nieces and nephews growing up, and spreading their wings. Thanks to modern technology though I have been able to track their progress, and I am happy to say I am proud of all of them.
As for day three of the Activia challenge, well...I seem to have forgotten to eat it, and William didn't remind me before he went to bed, so as the saying goes, never take a sleeping pill and a laxative at the same time..and on that note it's time for bed.....

Day 2...Activia..

Whew...it was a hot one today, up to 102 degrees. That would be about 38 celcius I think. Wouldn't you know it, the pool is closed on mondays for cleaning.

Had a great morning at work, went really fast, then I stopped in at Melissa's to visit with a friend I met in 1972...Holy smokes, that's only 37 years ago.

Anyhow, Steven Foote was a missionary back then in the England Leeds mission and was teaching my dad about the church. My dad was baptized on 19th July 1972. I have fond memories of Elder Foote and his companion, but that was back then. FAST FORWARD Melissa and her family moved into our ward the same time we did in 2007 and became friends, then out of the blue I was looking at one of her photography books and behold there was Steven Loren Foote, so, I posed the obvious question, why do you have a picture of Elder Foote in your book, and she informed me he was her uncle, married to her aunt Barbara. as Disney put it, it's a small world.

Anyhow, so I stopped into visit and it was so good to see him, yes we have all aged, or should I say matured, but he still has the same sweet smile, and grand spirit I remember.He gave me the greatest compliment when he told me I look exactly like my mum. I wish we could have chatted longer but we all had to go our separate ways, I would love to go and visit this summer for a day or two, maybe I will drop a hint on face book.

The rest of my day was spent chasing my tail and rearranging the furniture, still not too sure I like the new layout, but I am going to have to sleep on that.

Today was day 2 of the Activia Challenge. I ate it at 7 pm, and so far all is well. I still weigh the same, and don't feel anymore nimble than any other day, but we still have 2 days to go.

The Activia Challenge.

While William and I were out doing groceries the other day, he mentioned he wanted me to take the Activia Challenge. I don't think he realizes it won't make me as thin as Jamie Lee Curtis, but it will surely help me become more regular according to the package. So I accepted the challenge. Here goes....day one, and we're off.

Today at church, a lot of people were surprised by Kati's new look. I was so happy to see her blend in with the young women, and she received many compliments on her new hair style and pink t.shirt, I finally have daughter..

P.S It's now almost 10 pm, and I can sincerely recommend bifidus regularis( main ingredient for activia) for anyone who might have a problem in the bathroom department. Enough said..

Update ....

Let's start with Williams art camp that finished on Friday...He enjoyed going and being creative, and with the help of my good friend Melissa, he was dropped off and picked up when I was working. One of the assignments he had was to bring a pair of 'old' tennis shoes to sculpt. No problem, we have a few pairs lying around the house, so I told him where to find a pair of Kati's old ones and off he went. Imagine my sheer delight when I showed up at the art exhibition on Friday afternoon to see one of my lovely comfy broken in NIKE's on display.

I was very impressed with the effort he had put in to making my shoe look vibrant.

We enjoyed talking about all the other pieces of art he had created. He really does have an amazing talent. I guess now I can use the excuse that I don't have any tennis shoes , therefore I can't work out...What was my excuse while they were sitting in the closet?

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Moving on....Kati came back from YW camp, and after she got out of the shower I told her I would brush her hair while we chatted about her camp experiences. All was going well until I found a rather large, nay, rather extra large snarl in the back of her noggin....I slipped out into the kitchen for a few seconds and came back, resumed my position and continued combing, then almost as if I had been momentarily possessed, I chopped out the offending nest. I was actually surprised at how calm Kati was through all of this, I credit this to either being too tired or in shock, nevertheless, I tried to level out the disaster which was unfolding in front of me. The next picture you see is damage control at the hairdressers....

OK,so now we are back to the rest of the afternoon/evening. We met our friends at the pool for a

couple of hours. Check out the action.

Folau headed into work at 7 pm for the night, and Melissa and I headed out to do a bit of shopping at KOHL'S. I won some coupons on eBay last night and wanted to try them out. So we spent about 1 and 1/2 hours aimlessly wandering the store, I bought a Tshirt for Kati, a water/ trampoline game for William, a pair of sandals for me, a set of air freshening reed diffusers and a packet of scented markers...total merchandise value was $57. Total I spent $8.24.... Not bad,

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So we are up to date now...All in all, a good day. William had a relatively peaceful day, Kati has a new look, and tshirt. And I, well, I am ready to hit the hay. We start church in 9 hours, and I have yet to look at my Primary lesson...shame on me for procrastinating, but at least it will be fresh in my mind when I sit down to teach....goodnight .

wow, saturday has almost gone again...

Last night I stayed up far too long, on the computer, sad to say. But, I was up early, and managed to get a little bit done around the house, and William helped me sort coupons...Our new hobby. I took a friend of mine out to lunch seeing as her husband is out of town, and I figured a bit of company was in order for her. It was nice just to sit and chit chat. We went to my favorite eatery. TGIFridays... Just love that buy one get one free deal.

I love the broccoli soup and mashed potatoes. Then on the way home stopped by a yard sale and scored a water cooler for the kitchen, just what we need with these long hot summers here in Texas.

Kati got back from camp this afternoon. Folau picked her up at the drop off point, good old CVS. By the time I got home after lunch, she was already in the shower, I know she is really tired and wants a nap, but we have plans for the rest of the day.