Trampoline Fun

Yesterday, the kids got a trampoline. They jumped on it all day and slept so good last night!

Thanks to G'Pa Poulsen for setting it up with Greg!
OH!! And I got a fancy schmancy camera (thank you to Greg, parents, and in-laws!!) which is why I have pictures to go along with the blog!

2:18 AM

Karma is at it's best tonight. Earlier, my sister-in-law, Jilynn, came over with her family. She was telling me how she was up last night for a couple of hours surfing the net because she couldn't sleep and I teased her about it. I couldn't understand why she didn't just go back to bed! Well, here I am, 2:18 AM...sleepless in Arizona. If I apologize to Jilynn for my lack of sensitivity will my guilt be washed away and will I then sleep like a baby? Sorry Jilynn!!

Part of my problem was that I went to bed at 9:30- I was so exhausted. Greg came in after midnight and proceeded to brush something off the sheets on his side of the bed. The motion and noise of this woke me up and when I asked him what he was doing, he told me that there was sand in the bed. (Joelle took a nap on his side after playing at the park...with sand) As I started drifting back off, he then proceeded to tell me that Joelle had thrown up from coughing and he had also been dealing with that. So, I started listening for any coughs coming from the upstairs area, and sure enough I heard them. I started bargaining with myself that if she coughed one more time, I was going to get up and make her some warm honey, lemon juice, oil home remedy...then I kept putting off the bargain, and would make a new one that if she coughed 2 more times before I counted to 20...you get the idea.

Soooo, now here I am 2:25 AM, home remedy given to Joelle, and she is still coughing...I'm worried that she's gonna throw up and I would rather not be woken up to deal with that, so it seems easier to stay awake. And besides, my mind won't shut off (did I buy so and so a Christmas present? Should I call the family that is coming over to dine with us Sun. night and tell them I have a vomity child? Where did I hide Greg's present? Does Lysol really disinfect doorknobs?)... and to top it all off I have a toothache.

Family Picture

For Thanksgiving we went over to Greg's brother house and his wife, Mark & Maylene. His sister and family also came and his parents...we had such fun playing with the cousins! AND the food was delicious!
The next Saturday the whole clan came over to our house for steak and potatoes. More fun!

Afterwards we went down the street to the park and took some snapshots. With our camera broken, Maylene took the shots. Thanks Maylene!

PS That's the main reason I haven't blogged in a while. No camera makes blogging boring!

Happy Halloween!

Scottie was a punk with cool black hair, Tyler was Superman with cool black hair, and Joelle was the Queen of Hearts with cool black hair!

You Tube

We've all probably heard about youtube.com...well, I couldn't sleep tonight and was surfing the web. And came across this clip from the American Idol Finale. I couldn't stop laughing at this spoof! Tell me what you think!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRwrbJu13Gs

Oh, and I think Gladys Knight is AMAZING. I wish I had the knack for singing so soulful...

Reef Sandals & Vitamins

For any of you that have Reef Sandals, you'll know they are ultra comfortable, very durable, and make you look like a cool surfer chick. Okay, maybe not that last thing, but the other two statements are true. I have had my Reef's for 3 years now and have worn them almost everyday and LOVE them. They conform to my foot shape and yada, yada, yada. Well, this morning Joelle and I went to Costco and on our way in, I stubbed my shoe on an invisible bump on the asphalt and the Reef sandal (that hugs my right foot lovingly, day in and day out) bit the dust. Let's have a moment of silence for my loss....

Has anybody ever tried to walk with one broken flip flop? Do not try this at home. So there I was taking a normal step with my left foot and shuffling my right foot behind....I looked like I had no control over my right leg and was dragging it lifelessly behind me. I only needed to get one thing- vitamins. People kept looking at me and then the vitamins in my hands seemed to get equally odd looks. It was as if people were saying, "those vitamins are not going to cure your lifeless leg." I finally took the sandal off and walked half-barefoot through the store carrying my dead sandal in one hand and a box of vitamins in the other. People seemed to look at me and sum up in their heads the situation at hand.

So, you see, my life is not perfect at all. I fall victim to the whims of fate just like everyone else.

Perfection is OVERRATED!!

Okay, I have a request for all you bloggers and scrapbookers out there. It is this: Don't forget to write/scrapbook about the crappy things going on in your lives. It seems often that I read a blog and feel depressed over how happy and hunky dory that person's life seems to be. So, in my quest to not let anybody feel depressed over my perfect family, I'll let you in on some of our imperfections!!

The Bully is Bullied...

Scottie came home from school today completely dejected, wondering aloud when we were going to move back to California. WHAT?!? On Friday, he was telling me how much he loves Arizona, and today he changes his tune. Is this a sullen pre-teen thing? Are raging hormones overtaking his body and he is feeling anger for no particular reason? No, no, he is being bullied at school by the Alpha Male 5th and 6th graders.
It was bound to happen. What goes around comes around. He is learning the Golden Rule: "Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you." He treats Tyler just like these older boys are treating him. And while I can't say that to him at the moment, since he is just too upset to actually hear anything- I, instead am venting my frustration by blogging!
This is the straw that broke the camels back. I had a great, productive day...only to feel totally irritated tonight instead of feeling proud of my accomplishments. This disappointment I feel is a tool of the adversary, who would have us feel down about ourselves, so that we start to despair. GRRRRRRRRR...Satan is good at what he does.
In the spirit of gratitude, I am grateful that it is almost my bedtime. I am soooo looking forward to going to bed.

Happy Friday

Sooo...Joelle is sleeping, the internet is FINALLY hooked up at the house, and the last service technician should be here sometime today. I feel strangely content to browse the internet...it's amazing the amount of stuff I couldn't look up because I wasn't connected to the NET!! The things we take for granted.
I went to check my email and saw that the weather in Stockton is 80 degrees. It is supposed to be 101 here, but it doesn't feel like it, because it is kind of cloudy. I thought I was going to hate the heat, but so far it hasn't bothered me. I don't go to the park at 2 pm, that's for sure! I'm sure next summer, when I am here during the hottest months and my kids are out of school, I will struggle to find indoor things to do during the immense heat. But for now, we're all good.
The kids started school on Monday and although they were nervous, by the end of the school day, they were beaming. They LOVE it! They have each made friends and look forward to walking to and from school. Scottie told me he feels free when he can walk without me. Hmmm, I'm not sure if that should worry me or not.
Joelle is dying to go to preschool, but I haven't found one as yet. Now that I am connected to the outside world, I may just be able to accomplish that task!

Our Arizona Move

Okay...so like thieves in the night, we left. Friday, August 29th, Greg suggested that we all leave together as a family. Let me back up. He was planning on leaving on Tuesday the 2nd of September, to come and acclimate himself a little, and start his new job the following Monday. So on the Friday before he was gonna leave, he suggests that we all leave together as a family. I started to balk and complain, but deep down, I knew that it was the right thing to do. A U-haul truck was available for Labor Day, and even though our house wasn't rented and we needed the income from that to be able to rent a house ourselves, we felt it was right that we move together regardless of the outcome. We had faith that everything would work out. As it happens, Labor Day, we loaded up with help from our church friends (thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!) And Tuesday, we were at the house finishing the last minute stuff that doesn't take minutes, but hours, when a couple came by to look at the house. They were moving from Phoenix to Stockton, they asked if we were LDS and where the nearest church building was, they said they would take the house. They followed through by going directly to the property management place and paid all of their fees...and the rest is history.

I feel the need to express my gratitude. We feel like we have been guided by the Lord each and every step of the way. And while moving is stressful, there has always been an underlying feeling of peace and contentment in the knowledge that we are doing the right thing and going where the Lord wants us to go.

Now the work of getting our house in order begins!!

The Fence

Greg has been home this week and has been working on staining the fence, since in the five years we've lived here, has never been done. He had to clean it first by spraying the boards down with some chemical and rinsing it off, wait for it to dry, then stain it. Easy, right?

Riiiiiight (said in a unbelieving sarcastic way). The cleaning took two days and my arms and his are both sore. The drying took a day, and today he started staining, but won't be able to finish. Maybe tomorrow!

I have figured out (because I'm a smarty pants) that a home improvement project never is as quick and easy as the Do-It-Yourself Network on TV makes it seem. I always double the amount of time I think it's going to take, then times that number by 3,000 hours and then I'm usually close in my estimation.

This is the before...notice the crusty white hard water stains from the sprinkler

This is during...notice the red tones of the cleaned wood on the right hand side. Can anyone say "sore hamstrings?"

Ahhhh, father- son bonding

Happy Birthday, Tyler

Tyler turns seven today! We are celebrating by having a pancake breakfast before school, then, while b-day boy is occupied learning stuff, I will rush to the store and buy treats to surprise him with in class.

Tonight, we have back-to-school night, so we'll go out to dinner at the restaurant of his choice (which is always an adventure) & won't do much else, but tomorrow the fun starts. Sleep over, pizza, movies, presents, cake, brownies, ice cream....PARTY at the POULSEN"S!!

The waiting game is over

The last few weeks have been a waiting game for us. Greg found out a couple of weeks ago that his job was in jeopardy due to the failing economy. He has been job hunting elsewhere and has been hired by a company named Corbins Electric in Phoenix, AZ!! We are relocating our family within the next few weeks and are looking forward to a fresh start in a place where I just might melt in the parking lot on my way to the grocery store. On the bright side, maybe I'll sweat these last 10 pounds I'm trying to lose...

This is a pic of Greg getting the "You're Hired!" call. He is in his grubby clothes because he's staining our fence (more on that in the next post) and he's sitting in the back of the car because he doesn't get cell reception in our house so the garage becomes his office!


Some interesting tidbits about Phoenix:

1. People living there are called Phoenicians...this sounds like an alien life form.


2. It is the 5th largest city in the US
   
3. The street systems are laid out in a traditional grid (oh no, I need to learn my easts and wests.)


4. The highest temperature ever recorded was only 122 degrees.


5. The highest low temperature in a 24 hour period was 92 degrees.

6. They don't have daylight savings time....

I do want to publicly thank all of those who toiled on their knees and asked the Lord to bless us...it worked! We have felt closer to the spirit and have felt the windows of Heaven opened up to our family.

Just eating bon bons...

Okay, I hate caulking. Removing the old stuff is the hardest thing in the world next to childbirth. It doesn't matter if you have a fancy tool that promises to remove it all in a blink of an eye. It takes good old fashioned elbow grease, and let me tell you, my forearms are totally sore! On a good note, I have finished the toilets and they look mighty clean. No more PPD (post-penile drip...courtesy of boys using the throne) stains around the base. And I'm working on my shower...which might just take me a year to finish.

First Day of School!!!

Yeah!! That's right, this morning I sent Scottie and Tyler off to school with tears in my eyes...of gratitude! Just Kidding! I actually have mixed feelings about the school year. The end of summer means I have to turn into the taskmaster in order for everything to get done. Summer is so lax that I will miss that, but I know the kiddos are ready to go back. They woke up early this morning and were dressed and ready to go by 7:15...school starts at 8:20. Joelle, of course had to get dressed and Greg, Joelle, and I all took the boys. We walked them to the playground, hung out for a while and when it was time to kiss and say goodbye, a certain little female was quite miffed that she didn't get to stay. She is so ready for school!

My life is backwards

First of all, I have had major issues with my camera and the ability to download/upload pictures. That being said, I am browsing all these photos that I have never shared with my family (sorry G'ma Poulsen!!) and will be posting them in random order which goes against every perfectionist inclination that I have. Here goes...

Summer Vacation

School starts tomorrow, so today is officially the last day of summer vacation. Out of the 8 weeks of break, we (the kids and I) have been out of town for 5 1/2 weeks of them. Saturday night we returned from Phoenix where we were visiting Greg's siblings. It was so fun to see everyone in their own element and of course, to spend time with them. I thought the weather would melt me, but was pleasantly surprised at the fact that the heat didn't bother me. I guess Stockton weather at 3 pm is about the same as Phoenix, or at least feels the same. Here, in my world, I don't go out of the house at that time of day and it's the same in AZ.

After we unpacked the car we loaded the kids back in and went back-to-school shopping. Let me say this: I now understand why my mom would take us one at a time, the week before school started. Scottie and Tyler are not a problem to have together in a store. The problem comes in a smaller package...namely, Joelle. She thinks that she is entitled to everything the boys get even though she's not starting Kindergarten until next year. YIKES! Suffice it to say, she weaseled some paint into the shopping cart. Well, that's not entirely accurate, she bugged so much that I finally agreed to get her whatever she was waving in front of my face, since it was about the 30th thing she had asked me to buy!!

Before our AZ trip, the kiddos and I went down to visit my parents in Moreno Valley. The kids loved being there and playing with their cousins, Roman and Mateo. Grandma Grove convinced Joelle that she should call her "Norma" so now that's what Joelle calls her. Shameful. Grandpa had a lot of fun with his grandkids as he acts just like them!

Christmas 2007

For Christmas, we went down south to Moreno Valley to spend the holidays with my parents. A few days before we left, we found out that there had been a fire at their house and that it wasn't habitable. Soooo, we drove down and found a cabin in the mountains to celebrate Christmas. The most important thing was that everyone was safe and we could be together as a family!
We also had a chance to go to Disneyland with my cousin and her children. Mary Poppins was true to her character and was brisk, but kind!