2 months??? Where did you go?

Oh my! I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted last. Sorry to my dedicated readers, however few of you there are. :) I'll try to do better as the year winds down and 2009 begins!

Today has been another typical day at our house.. Serenity stayed home this morning from school because of a stomach ache. About 11:30 she decided she could stand the pain and went to school. (I think she's trying desperately to NOT repeat last year's attendance record which included many missed days of school.)

I decided that since she was a trooper I should probably do the same and brought Alex to preschool. (this is no easy task, with Isaac and Elijah in tow!)

The little boys rested well, after a fun-filled vacuum experience. Isaac has taken to "bakuuming" with me. Thankfully, all my base molding is solid wood, not to be dented or scuffed by my hard working 2 year old. As usual, I found myself doing something unintended as I cleaned the floors.. under the refrigerator.. yuck!

I spent the quiet hours of nap time editing, chatting and talking on the phone. It wasn't overly restful for me, but I was able to make my first sale as an Independent Demonstrator for Uppercase Living. Thanks sis. ;)

Upon the big kids getting home from school, I realized that my darling daughter wasn't feeling any better. She spent the snack time lounging on/near me at which time I discovered her roasting forehead. To my surprise, her temp was 102.5! Poor girl.. Ask-a-nurse reported that there have been several cases of a fever virus going around... I quickly responded with a comment I had made a few days ago.. that we're all seemingly healthy.. As with most of life, it's bound to change!

In an attempt to be a better planner and healthy eater/food preparer, the split pea soup is fragrantly simmering in the crock pot awaiting Ben's arrival home from work.

That's it for now as the rest of the day is a mystery. I hope yours goes well.

Reno/Sparks Trip - Day 3 & 4

Day 3 has been pretty boring. Nothing major to report. One of our favorite parts of the day, mine anyway, is stopping at the Starbucks in the lobby for our daily ration of coffee and pastry. Yum!

Day 4 was nice. After we woke up, we dawdled around and ate a late lunch at the buffet in the casino. We then went on a nice drive in the country.. no plans, just to see what we saw. It's amazing how the countryside can be so rugged and cold looking, even when it's hot out! The temperature was warm here but there always seemed to be a nice breeze, keeping us from roasting. There was a blue haze over the sky during our stay.

Here are some more pictures from our adventure.

Reno/Sparks Trip - Day 2

Elijah and I slept in today.. we were TIRED from the long travel day. Ben had to work so I didn't see anything wrong with being lazy all morning. For a late lunch, the three of us went to The Round Table and had some tasty pizza.

After lunch, we went back to the room for Ben to rest before the big VIP event for Scheels. Not long after that, we put on our pretty clothes and were out the door. It was a great night, tons of people. I'm glad to say that I attended the event.

The mayors of Sparks and Reno, the Nevada Governor, the Scheels CEO Steve D. Scheel, and the President of Scheels Steve M. Scheel, along with a bunch of other important people attended.

Here are some fun pictures from the night.

Reno/Sparks Trip - Day 1

The view is lovely sitting here in Reno at the Grand Sierra Resort and Hotel. Elijah and I have been here since Thursday. We flew in to join Ben at the Grand Opening of the Reno/Sparks Scheels Store. We went to the VIP event last night and it was amazing! The store is HUGE; literally the largest in the world.

Our flight here was uneventful. Elijah did very well up in the air. From the moment we arrived at the airport, he started jabbering and I don't think he has stopped since then. Everywhere we went people stopped to google at him, and he would give the biggest, sweetest smile imaginable. What a lucky mom I am to get to see his sweet face every day.

Here are some pictures of our first day in Reno. Check back soon for more.

Camping 2008

As many of you know, I tend to take A LOT of pictures. Out in the woods, with the bugs and the trees doesn't change that fact. I admit, I may also have a slight obsession with my adorable children too. I can't seem to get enough pictures of them either. And that, mixed with the excitement of seeing my family leaves me with an even bigger challenge in restraining my clicker finger. So, it's taken me a couple weeks to get through the 400 images I took! Sorry!

Anyway, we had a great time camping August 22-24 at Elk Horn Resort and Campground again this year. Tenting was great! The wind was pretty ferocious but it made the first night all the more memorable. We celebrated two birthdays, made new friends, ate, laughed and giggled, blew bubbles, ate, had a silly string fight, swam, made an urgent trip to Detroit Lakes for a bee sting, shivered, ate, ran around, played, and in general just enjoyed each others company.

I had a great time and I hope we can do it again next year! Thanks Mom & Steve!

Old time favorites..

With good intentions of getting groceries every day this week, I still haven't! In an effort to provide a healthy snack for the boys today, I offered them one of my favorite snacks as a kid. My mom would cut up an apple then let me dip it in a little cinnamon and sugar. Yum!

Alex didn't know if he'd like the idea but with much hesitation tried it. To his surprise, he liked it, promptly stating, "mom, sometimes you have good ideas."

Well Alex, I do my best, even if my ideas aren't to your liking. :)

My goal for the day: being a "good mom"

For some reason, I've been very bogged down lately with edits and business related stuff. The kids have been pretty patient with me so I wanted to give them a fun day with mom.

We opted to go to a park to play with friends and have a picnic. It was very nice to get out of the house and play with the kids. We stopped at McD's on the way to grab Happy Meals for each of the kids to eat. It was great to see our friends and catch up a bit.

The kids played tag and ran and screamed, in general, had a fun time! Thanks for sharing the day with us A. people :), hope we can do it again soon!

After a quick stop at the bank, I surprised the kids with a treat at the icecream shop. Isaac zonked while I was in the shop getting them a scoop of yummy icecream. He'll have to eat his later. For now, it's naptime and I'm proud to say that the kids had a nice time today.