The Great Wolf Lodge

We had a fun weekend! We went to Kansas City and stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge. We picked up the kids about a half hour early from school, and drove 3 1/2 hours to get there around 6. Amber, Ben and Sam were very excited, Keaton had never been there before so he wasn't sure what to expect, but was feeding off of the other kids excitement. We checked into our room and quickly changed into our swim suits and headed for the best indoor water park around! As soon as we went through the doors the kids just took off! Ben, Sam and Amber headed for the water slides, and Keaton took off for the biggest jungle gym he'd ever seen with water spaying everywhere and lots of things to climb and water slides to slide down. I wasn't used to not having a little one to take care of in the kiddie pool, so I went to the lazy river and just relaxed for a while. Then Keaton wanted to go down some of the bigger slides and needed a parent. Bret was Sam so I went with him. The child has no fear! He didn't want to stop. The park closed at 9:00 so we had a great time for a couple of hours and, soaking wet, went up stairs to our room. On the way to the elevators, Keaton turned to me and said "Mom, can we stay here forever???" I think he liked it. I told him we could come back and play tomorrow. He was very happy to here that. Up in the room we dried off and changed into jammies and ordered a movie. The kids picked The Princes and the Frog. It was very late when it was over and didn't take much to get the kids in there beds and for the younger ones to fall asleep.
The next morning we got up bright and early and went down to the restaurant to have a great breakfast, then we did some shopping at the gift shop and let the kids get a souvenir. The water park opened at 9, and Bret wanted to go to the Cabellas that was right next door, so I took the boys to the water park, Amber wanted to do the Magic Quest game that they had there, so we split off to do our activities. I would've rather gone shopping at all the outlet stores they have there, but I new Bret would be happy to go to the Cabellas instead of taking the boys swimming. What I sacrifice for that man! We met up for lunch at Cabellas and did some walking around the store, and also went to the Big Nebraska Furniture Mart that is also right next to the lodge. We had to be out of the hotel by four, and I was tired of the water park, so Bret took the boys one last time, Amber finished her magic quest game and I walked around the different gift shops and got a few things for the kids for birthdays that are coming up.
At 4 we packed everything up and headed to our very dear friends and adopted family, the Buells. Were I took a much needed shower, and then we went to Apple bees for dinner. Back at the Buells we just relaxed and visited, while the kids played down stairs. I love having older children, and that my baby days are over. I can relax and visit so much more!
Sunday morning Bret and I were going to church with the Buells, it was their Stake Conference, so I told the kids they didn't have to come. They were a little to happy about that. I really enjoyed the meeting, and was able to listen to all of it and really enjoy the spirit that was there. I haven't been to such a wonderful church meeting in a long time. Or maybe it was the fact that I wasn't trying to keep my kids quiet or from arguing with each other, and was able to really concentrate and listen with out interruption.
We came back to the Buells and had a nice dinner/lunch with them and visited some more, then packed up and said good bye, and drove the 4 hours home. We had great weather and everything was fine when we pulled into our drive way. I wasn't ready to be home yet though. I could have used a few more days away. But the kids have one more week of school to get through, then we'll have summer to look forward to. We have some great plans and hope to make everything we want to do work, and find time to fit everything in.

I'm a dork and didn't take one picture of our mini vacation. Sorry about that. I was having to much fun and wasn't to excited about bringing my camera into a water park. Amber got a couple with hers thought so I'll have to steel them from her.

Face plant!

This is what happens when you run around the family room pushing a big car and you trip and fall over the car and hit the carpet with your face. He had a bloody nose as well. I took this after I cleaned that up. No sense in showing the gore. He went to school and got to show everyone his rug burn. He wasn't really happy with the attention.

But boys with be boys eh? Just in the last month we've used up an entire box of band-aids. School will be out the 28th of May, and they are all very excited. They are tired of going to bed early because they have school. They would rather play outside till dark. Try explaining to your 4 year old about the time change and the sun being up later in the spring and summer months. They just know the sun is still up! So why am I going to bed!

Amber is 16!

What a weekend! Mothers day, Bret's call weekend, soccer games out of town and Amber's 16th birthday. Sunday we just had a party with our family, which was nice after all the business and people of Saturday. Bret was gone all day in the ER so not much of a mothers day for me. I still had to do everything I always have to do on any other Sunday.
Amber opened her presents from us on Sunday when Bret came home for about an hour. She loved her new body pillow. She also got some new bedding and a bunch of new Cd's and some movies, and books. She got a new digital camera, and a hair dryer, so she'd stop taking mine, and some nice jewelry from her friends.

Ben and Sam were goofing off and wrestling on the couch the whole time she was opening her presents, I guess girl presents aren't worth their attention. They have been quite insane lately.

Saturday was the big party! She invited about 20 people, girls and boys both. We had about 10 girls and 2 boys that could come. Which was fine with me because any more and it wouldn't been a bit to much. The two boys Dallon and Preston were friends from church and live here in Harlan. I think they were loving all the girl attention. Dallon, who just turned 14 last month, but physically could pass for 17, was the center of attention. It didn't hurt that he is cute, and very funny. Preston, who's a year younger than Dallon, and is a bit shy, seemed to come out of his shell a bit. He had a great time playing the games and was laughing with everyone else. Never quite seen him like that before. I didn't take many pictures of the party I didn't want to bother them while they were playing games and eating. You know, being that kind of mother. So I just snapped one of her blowing out the candles.

One of Amber's presents was a pedicure here in town, so we did that at 10 in the morning, Ben had to be picked up by his coach at 11 for two soccer games in Logan and Woodbine. So my pedicure was a short one while Amber got the deluxe. She loved it. So with her pretty toes we came home and decorated the house for the party. She had a Hollywood theme, with a red carpet coming up the stairs to the front door, and lots of silver and gold balloons with Hollywood written on them, and we had glitz and bling all over the living room and dining room. I took my boys over to a friends house, Allyson, so they would be out of the way and picked up the pizza. The guests started coming around 5:00. Annette brought her daughter Kelsey, Tashina, and Shya around 7:00, and stayed till the end. That was fun for me! It's always fun to have my best friend around.

I bought a ton of food, 5 large pizzas, and tons of pop, different kinds of chips and dip,and made a punch for them and had lots of tasty treats for the fondue pot filled with yummy chocolate! Of course we had the cake and ice cream, which I wasn't sure they wanted after eating all the other stuff, but they did. They started out playing Catch Phrase, then Apples to Apples, then opened the presents, then we did the cake thing and then they ate and ate and started the movie Avatar in Bret's Trophy room on the big screen. They stopped it about half way through and all went outside to run around and play games in the dark. Being out in the country it was dark. The highlight of the evening was when Dallon went down the curvy tube slide out on our play set and got a very wet and muddy bottom. The rain we've been having had pooled at the bottom and my boys have been throwing dirt in it. He came in and said he needed to call his mom to bring him some clean pants. They girls loved it. So Allyson came over and brought my little boys home, which I quickly put to bed, and she stayed for little bit, so it was really fun for me too, I had my two good friends here as well to talk to and have fun with. Everyone was gone around 11, which was a good time, I cleaned up a bit, then went to bed. It was fun, a lot of work prior to the party, but worth it. Amber had a great time and so did everyone else. A lot of the girls were saying it was the best party they'd been too. Which made my daughter very happy.

So hard to take

Keaton when to Kindergarten activity days, last week, where they go to the grade school and meet some of the Kindergarten teachers, it was two days from 8 to 11, and they have the kids do all sorts of activities and projects and reading time and music time, and see how the kids are developing mentally and socially. Keaton wasn't sure what was happening when I took him to a different school other than his preschool, but he seemed fine with it, and was excited when he saw two of his preschool classmates in the same room as him. After the two days the teacher called me that afternoon and wanted to talk with me about Keaton. I was wondering a bit, what had he done? What was the problem? All those things go through your mind. So when I sat down opposite the two kindergarten teachers that worked with Keaton, one I knew, she had been Sam's teacher, and the other I had just met. They showed me some of the drawings of people that Keaton had done and some of the papers that he worked on, which I thought were pretty good, he's only 4 after all. But they said they had a really hard time getting Keaton to talk to them and to listen to directions and do what he was asked, and he didn't participate in any of the songs or do the hand motions, he mostly just sat there quietly and observed everyone else. And from looking at his people drawings they weren't as good as most of the other kids, meaning he had just drawn a head with eyes and a mouth, with arms and legs coming out of the head. The other kids drawings had heads and body's and legs and some even had hands and feet. Over the many years of going by these drawings they have discovered that it shows a child's maturity level and that Keaton's show, along with the other things they observed about him, that he might not be ready to start kindergarten this fall. I was crushed. I've been so looking forward to the fall where all my kids would be in school and I'd have the house to myself for the day to get things done un-interrupted and maybe start on my art again, and all of that would have to wait another year? Keaton also gets so bored without his brothers around that he's always asking me "Is it time get Ben and Sam yet?" Or "When do I get to go to Sam's school?" So all of this was going on in my mind and I wasn't very happy. I knew I had to do what was best for Keaton. I didn't want him to be the youngest in his class and maybe struggle with school. But I couldn't help but be a little selfish in what I wanted. The teachers sensed my dilemma and suggested a Pre-K class for him in the fall. It's at Sam's school, and it isn't as demanding as the regular kindergarten classes. It is everyday from 8 to 1:30, so it isn't as long and they feel he would do better going that route. I talked to Bret about it and we both feel this would be better for him. I feel this is partly my fault, as I haven't worked with Keaton as much as I did the other kids, just not as much free time, mostly he's driving around with me running all the errands I have to do or picking up the kids and taking them to all there different activities. So I need to get better at spending some learning time with him so he doesn't think life is just a day full of playing!

I'm still training for the marathon at the end of June, and I'm not where I want to be at this point, the weather hasn't been cooperating, rain and wind like you wouldn't believe, and it always seems to fall on the weekends when I need to be getting my long runs in, so the farthest I've gone on a long run in only 10 miles. I'm supposed to be up to 14 by now, and I'm supposed to do a 15 tomorrow, and it's supposed to be rainy! The roads I run on are mostly gravel and dirt, and don't work to well when they are wet. I can run on the highway but that can be scary if I'm on them for to long. Lots of semi's and big trucks going past me at 60 miles an hour with rain spraying in my face or the wind blowing my hat off. I've been having foot problems as well, I got some different shoes to help with my over pronation and they aren't agreeing with me right now. After about 5 miles they really start to hurt and give me blisters. So trying to figure that out. Also time is a factor. The kids always have so much going on and with Bret's schedule the way it is I feel like a single parent sometimes. I asked Bret for a blessing last Sunday just to get a little comfort and help from above, made me feel better. But what I really need help with is for the weather to turn nice for the next 8 weeks, with light winds, and very little rain. The wind today is gusting at 45 mph. Not easy to run in believe me, I've tired it.

Amber was awarded a certificate of outstanding achievement last Tuesday by the Kiwanis club here in Harlan, so we got to attend the dinner and awards ceremony with her, and she got her picture taken for the newspaper. Teachers nominate about 10 students from each class who are worthy of the honor, and then they are interviewed and Amber won it this year. For outstanding achievement in school, church and in the community. I'm so pleased that I have such a wonderful daughter.

Sam and Ben are looking forward to school being over. They're counting down the days. Ben is still in Soccer and I'll be glad when that is over, just so we can have our Saturdays back. Sam is doing so well in school, and is everybodys friend! Everyone loves Sam. At least that what I'm hearing. How can anyone resist those blue eyes.

Bret bought me a bow for Christmas and we've been out in the evenings practicing. I'm getting pretty good at 25 yards and even hit dead on at 40 yards. Bret has high hopes for me, I hope I don't let him down. It's a lot of fun and I really enjoy being out with him. Just one more thing we can do together. These kids are going to be all grown someday and I need to have something to do with Bret when that time comes :) right?