First Day Of School (08/18/2008)

Yesterday was Trent and Kaela's first day back to school. Everything seemed to go fine. They both said they like their teachers. Kaela wasn't too happy with the teacher she got at the end of last year only because all her friends got another teacher. She was about the only one in her class to get this teacher. How did that happen you ask? Well, here they let you put in a teacher request. I put one in for Trent, but not for her. I didn't know any of the 2nd grade teachers, so I didn't prefer one over the other. Plus, I had never heard anything bad about any of the teachers, so I figured she would be fine with whoever she got. However, I forgot that every other parent out there would be requesting. So, I just told her to be good like she always is, get good grades and we will request for 3rd grade. There is one teacher I have heard people say you don't want your child in her class. So, I will be sure to get that request in ON TIME!

Trent came home telling us that his teacher told him she is only mean when the kids are unprepared. I had to laugh a little. This was his 4th grade teachers biggest....not really complaint, but at parent teacher conference he would always tell us Trent is unprepared. I told him he better get his act together this year or he is in trouble! It's not really anything I can help him with. He needs to figure it out on his own. He is a little bit of a space case sometimes and will just drift away in class I think. I think he might get it from me. I have a short attention span when it comes to school or people lecturing...stuff like that. I just get bored. In fact, I can count quite a few times when I fell asleep in class....but he doesn't need to know that.

He is now in the double digits....

Trent turned 10 on August 13, 2008. That week was a busy week for us. On the 11th, we went up to Seven Peaks. The kids had a blast and I got a pretty nice tan. I honestly love to go to water parks and just people watch. It is unbelieveable how many people squeeze into their swimsuits. All I ask is please wear a swimsuit that actually fits you...PLEASE! I don't want to see all your junk pouring out of the sides. It's just not attractive. Then there was this odd guy who wasn't the most attractive thing on the planet. In fact, he looked like one of those cavemen guys you see on the commercials. His friend was lying on the ground on his belly and he decides he is going to run over there and jump on top of his friend. Sadly, it doesn't stop there. He then decides his friend is in need of some humping action. OMG! Are people really that stupid? Then, later in the day the humper decided he was going to put his girlfriend?...friends?...bikini top on. I guess she brought a spare swimsuit. Trent just stared at them and then said, "He's an idiot." I just thought, yes he is.

On the 13th we celebrated Trent's birthday. We took him bowling during the day. I swear not a minute went by where he didn't ask, "Can I open my presents?" We had pizza and ice cream that night..no cake. The kid doesn't like cake. He is weird. We put candles in his pizza and he seems to like that. For his birthday he got an IPod, Guitar Hero for his DS, lots of money and a slingshot. The day after his birthday, he was out on the back porch with the slingshot firing away. I told Dalan Bart Simpson was on our back porch in his pajamas..bright and early. Right after we ate our pizza, Dalan and I were headed off to play softball. After the game, I was shivering and freezing cold. The next day, I woke up, went to my orthodontist appointment, came home and crashed on the couch. I have been sick ever since. I swear it's some type of flu, but it's not even flu season.

On the 16th, Trent had a football clinic to go to in the morning. That night was Kaela's mini cheer performance. I drug myself off the couch and went and got ready to go. I made it through the game, but when we got home, back on the couch I went. And, on the couch is where I remain. I really wish this sickness would just go away. I honestly feel like I could die from it. It's horrible.

Co-ed Softball

So, last year and this year Dalan has signed me up for co-ed softball. When I say he signed me up, I mean he filled out the paperwork, paid the money and put my ass on the team even though I said I didn't want to play. I wasn't aware I was literally playing til he would say, okay, it's set and here's the schedule. Last year pretty much sucked because I couldn't play to save my life. Well, I couldn't hit the ball out of the damn infield. I did play 2nd base surprisingly well though. However, there were a couple injuries. I was hit in the ribs with a line drive as I was running to 2nd base. After I was hit and squatting on the ground, I hear Dalan yell, "Run, Run, get up and run!" I was ready to full on kick his ass! I had the imprint of the laces on my side and Dalan was proud. I was also hit in the ankle I think. Some people remember this more than I. Being hit in the ribs stands out for me.

So, this year has started out pretty good. Our first game, which was last week, I did pretty good. I was hitting the ball solid and making some plays on 2nd base. Last night we had two games. The first game I was hitting awesome for me. I was really amazed with myself and pretty proud. Then came the 2nd game. My first up to bat I struck out. I had a plan and everything for my next up to bat as I was taking the field to play 2nd base. Then it hit me...literally! Here comes a grounder right to me. I was so happy and thinking, "Okay, I got this." Oh did I get it. The ball was leisurely rolling on the ground and then all of a sudden decided to jump and hit me right in my left cheekbone/eye. It was huge by the time I got back to the dugout which was probably 2 minutes from the time it happened. So, now I have a huge, swollen, black eye. Oh, and did I mention this all happened on my birthday? Yeah, happy birthday to me. I knew it wasn't a good thing to turn 30. I'm taking the kids school shopping today. This should be interesting. I will be the one wearing my sunglasses INSIDE the store....

Cuz I'm cool like that.

SIGH!

Road Trip 2008

On July 18th we started our road trip. The fifth wheel was stocked with food and hooked up to the trailer. We pulled out of the driveway and hoped the kids would be good during the drive. They had no idea how much driving we were going to do. They just knew where we were going. We spent our first night in Ashton, ID where Dalan decided he needed to order a 7 lb burger. Bun and all, it was actually 10 lbs. When they brought it, I could hardly stand to look at the thing. It was disgusting! He went there saying he wasn't going to eat anything and then order a monstrosity of a burger. He ended up eating about 4 lbs of it. They took his picture and said they were going to put it up on the wall. So, if you are ever in Ashton, ID, stop by Big Jud's and let us know if his picture is up there.

From there we headed to Yellowstone. We stayed there for four days. We had a lot of fun there and did a crap load of walking. Oh the walking was crazy. I think this is what got my butt ready for co ed. We saw a lot of animals and I came away saying, "I don't want to see another buffalo ever! I have seen them perform every action they can possibly perform." Okay, well, not every. I didn't see one give birth, but I sure saw everything else. We didn't see a bear or moose, which was pretty disappointing. We missed seeing two bears by about three minutes. We pulled up, they were gone. Go figure! That's just our luck.

After Yellowstone, we went to Cody, WY....not much to tell about this place. We ate...we bought a few souveniers.....we left.

From there we made a quick stop at Devils Tower and then off to Rapid City, SD we went. While there, we went to Mt. Rushmore, which was amazing! We also drove by Crazy Horse...which hasn't changed since I saw it 15 years ago. Dalan has his theories as to why, but we won't go into that. We visited Sturgis, SD, which wasn't what I expected it to be. We bought shirts from there and left. The rally is this week. We also did a few small things like go to a water park, went black light mini golfing and went through a maze. The maze was crazy! I never finished. It took Dalan 30 minutes and my mom 22 minutes. It took me an hour and I gave up. I was hot, hungry, thirsty and tired. I was done! I partly blame it on me having two kids in tow as I went through the maze. We also went to a place called Roo Ranch where the kids were able to interact with a baby kangaroo. They loved that!

From South Dakota we headed back to Utah. We stayed in Vernal for a day hoping we could go to the dinosaur thing. Well, the main quarry was closed, go figure. So, the next day we rafting on the Green River. That was fun, but I was hoping the rapids would be a little rougher.

Anyway, it was a good trip and the kids had fun. I thought they would be bored to death, but they really showed interest in a lot of the things we did. Trent is very into Teddy Roosevelt, so it helped that we learned a little about him on our trip.

The Dinosaur Museum and Kangaroo Zoo

On Saturday, July 12th, the kids and I went up north with Dalan's family while he was in St. George playing in one of those all night softball tournaments. We went up to the Dinosaur Museum, which was fun until we went to the 3-D movie. Oh, that was the worst 3-D movie I have EVER seen. I was so sick afterwards. Throughout the whole movie, my eyes would not focus. I felt like I was cross-eyed the whole time. So, add a headache to the nausea. Yeah, it wasn't the greatest. The bad thing is that the movie itself was probably somewhat interesting but I couldn't pay attention to it at all. I don't have one memory of what was said during the actual movie.
















Then we went to Kangaroo Zoo. This place was a blast. The kids and adults :oD all had so much fun. There was a game of tag going on until Trent tagged/pushed Kaela and she fell. So, she got me to chase her all over the place trying to find her. We would start out racing to the end of one of the bounces and when I got to the end, she was nowhere to be found. She's a quick one. I think we spent a total of two hours there and the kids are ready to go back. I walked out of there with a few injuries, but I still had a blast.










































All in all, it was a pretty fun day. The kids had a blast and I was beat when I got home. I guess I'm just not as young as I would like to think I am.

Okay, I am the biggest loser......

I totally want to go to the New Kids On The Block concert!!! I'm dead serious! Dalan would think I am sick in the head or something. I haven't found anyone to go with yet. I LOVED them when I was a pre-teen. Oh how I loved baby blue eyed Joey. I find it hilarious they are touring again. They are having a concert in SLC on November 15th. I checked into tickets, and you can get pretty decent seating still. Hmm...wonder why. Could there be a lack of interest? Anyway, everyone I know that would want to go lives outside of Utah, which is a bummer. I just think it would be fun to go up and be stupid girls. Anyway, that's my blurb for now. It's quite a dilemma for me...ha, ha!

4th of July

Kaela on one of the floats.

Her arm is up and ready to throw us candy.

So, lately my days are getting longer and longer it seems. Dalan's family is in town, so we spend a lot of time at the res, which is getting really old really fast. I haven't gotten too much done around this house as far as organization, which is fine. Keri comes to visit once a year and Rick visits twice a year. So, I probably won't get anything done until August, which is fine.

The 4th of July was a pretty good day. Kaela was able to be on one of the floats. Her dance teacher put a float together for the girls to be on. She had a lot of fun doing that. We then headed over to the park and saw a few people from high school. It's the only reason I like going to the park. It's like a big reunion. After that we went out to eat and then home. I crashed! I can't seem to get enough sleep lately. I think I am just worn out. That night we went to the derby. The kids had a good time. I thought it was a pretty good derby. They did a good job on the fireworks, too.

Anyway, that's about all that has been going on. We were going to the res everyday, but I'm done. I needed time away. So, maybe this weekend. We are leaving in a week and four days to go to Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore. That should be a fun trip.