December

So, it has been a while since I have sat down and blogged. Is it because I have been so busy? Partly. Is it because not much has been going on? Well, there was Halloween, Taylors 7th birthday, and Thanksgiving....to name a few, so no that isn't it. Is it because I have been a bit on the lazy side? Partly, that too. Is it because every time I sit down to write the kids have some new trauma that requires my attention? Yeah that sounds more like it. Speaking of which here they come....Okay seriously? Fighting over snow? Ummmm...I think we have more than enough snow to go around. So, once again I guess blogging will have to wait...

Spokane, Washington

Just over a week ago, we had the opportunity to go to Spokane, Washington to see my cousin Emily marry. I hadn't seen her in seven years, and before that even longer. So, this was a great opportunity to reconnect with family members.

We made a road trip out it, and even though at times it felt LONG it was well worth it. We left on Oct. 2 and drove to Idaho Falls and spent the night at my uncle Richards house. It was really nice for them to put all of us up for the night (we hadn't visited their house in many years either).

On Saturday we continued our trek to Spokane. We arrived mid-afternoon/early evening. My Uncle Howard put us all up in a hotel, which we were SO surprised and grateful for. That evening we were able to go have dinner (at the Sawtooth Grill, a must to visit if you are ever in the area)with the happy couple and other family members. It was really nice. Of course I left my camera back at the hotel.

On Sunday, was the big day. Emily and Jack tied the knot. It was a beautiful wedding, although it was very windy and a bit chilly. They provided a yummy luncheon and dancing after. My kids had such a ball.

For more pictures check out my photo album on my Facebook account.

My only regret is that we couldn't have stayed longer. We were hoping to make it our family vacation and go into Seattle then into Oregon and then into the Redwood Forest. Alas, that was not to be. We had van problems before we left and decided it would be better to take the car and didn't think the kids could handle such close quarters for longer than Spokane. So, on Monday we drove straight home, with of course some potty breaks and to eat.

We are keeping our fingers crossed for another attempt at a vacation in November. John still has three vacation days to "burn". We are thinking some place warmer than what it will be here. Maybe San Diego or even just St. George. Will will have to see.

Preschool

On Monday, Ben had his first day of preschool. I was surprised to find it a little hard to leave him, there at school, I have done this with each of my kids but I am finding it harder to leave my littlest

Back up to a few months ago, when I first mentioned to Ben that he would be going to preschool. He flat out and told me that he didn't need preschool because he already knew his ABC's and colors. It was the funniest thing. So to say he didn't want to go is an understatement. A few days after his statement, I took him to meet his teacher. He wouldn't look at her, hid behind me and John, refused to say anything to her and in fact would even talk to us (John and I) while we were there. I knew I had my work cut out for me.

Now after at least a month later and a daily talk about how big boys go to preschool and that he won't just be doing his ABC's bit playing with other kids his age, it was time to take him.

I am PROUD to say that he did great and in fact loved it, and keeps asking what day he goes back.



A nice perk to preschool? I got my kitchen all nice and almost all cleaned. Would have been all done but then I got a call from the elementary school to say that Katie got thorns all in her hair at P.E and wanted permission to cut them out. I told them not to touch her hair and I would be over to see what I could do (apparently the office and her teacher had tried for 20 minutes and couldn't get them out). To say these were thorns is a joke! These were more like burrs that broke up as you literally had to yank them out. After a hour I had them all out, without having to cut her hair. I have pictures on my cell phone to prove how horrible it was, now of course they don't do it justice. I told Katie I had to take pictures because NO one would believe us. When I have a chance I will try and post them.

The first week of school

Today finished the first week of school. In many ways I was really glad that school was starting, no more "mom I'm bored" or "what can we do"s. But as it always proved a new year and a new set of problems. I was really hoping we could go a while without any problems. Ethan is now in sixth grade and really likes his teacher. He has however always had to deal with bulling in one way or another. Day three is when it all started up again. My son is a forever peace maker and unfortunately that seems to make him a target. So, hey all you bullies out there here is a heads up. Apparently if you wait until close to the bell rings to bring you in from recess, that time is fair game. According to the "ground duty" they won't do anything if the bell is about to ring or has rung. Just to make things clear the said ground duty is suppose to be there to help any child with any problem during recess, unless apparently the bell is about to ring. Ummmm...To say I am unimpressed is an understatement. Fingers crossed that it doesn't get worse. Katie is now in fourth grade and absolutely loves her teacher and class. She knows pretty much everyone in class. I really can see her flourishing this year! Taylor is in first grade this year. She is having a bit of an adjustment problem. This is however first year of full day school, that doesn't seem to be the biggest problem. She doesn't know anyone in her class, she is getting pushed (literally) by boys who happen to be in her primary class, at recess. She is eating lunch alone, not finding friends to play with at recess. We have addressed her problems as best as we can, and we are keeping our fingers crossed that will get better. I can't help but wonder which is better, having them at home or at school where I can have some peace for a few hours yet dealing with new found problems..... Monday Ben is set to start preschool. I am not sure what I will do with myself having everyone gone for a few hours three times a week. Maybe my house will finally get organized?

Ethan and Mrs. Robinson

Katie & Mrs. Roundy

Taylor and Mrs. Warburton

Lagoon bounce back

So, with John working SO much lately we hadn't had the time to go to Lagoon again to do our "bounce back" until Sunday Aug.23. We went from opening to close (10a-6p), which was about perfect and it only rained a little bit on us for the first few minutes we were there. Then it was great weather until a half hour before closing and the rain came back. The kids were so excited and rode practically every ride in the place. I sent John and Ethan off to the Wicked, which I had NO interest in going on. Ethan LOVED it to say the least and I think John thought it was pretty good as well. He, John, kept hounding me to try it. Said I would really like it, blah, blah, blah. So like an idiot I got talked in to it. To say I hated it is an understatement (I know most would disagree with my previous statement, especially Ethan). I absolutely hate the feeling of weightlessness, let alone being jerked all over the place. Well, it pulled something in my neck so the remainder of the day I suffered from a major headache that no medicine helped (this was all in the first 45 minutes of arriving mind you). For the rest of the day I tried to take it easy, the best that I could at an amusement park. I tried to focus mostly on Ben and took him to kiddie land where he could ride the rides without anyone else and I took lots of pictures. That was a nice rest for my neck and head. So trying not to be a complete party pooper, I did go on Rattle Snake Rapids with the entire family. Admittedly, I thought that ride was fun, even being in pain, but I couldn't do it a second time with my head pounding. Otherwise I believe I made John do EVERY ride with the kids. Kinda served him right, right?:)

Now Ben keeps asking, everyday mind you, when are we going back to Lagoon.

Kenney Family Reunion 2009

Almost a week ago we had the Kenney family reunion. In theory, we are to have a reunion every year, and each child of my grandparents are to switch off every year. With schedules as they are we haven't had a reunion in a few years, so it was nice to have one this year. This year it was held at West Jordan Park for a picnic and swiming at the community pool. We were to bring our own picnic lunch and a dessert to share. The turn out was so-so as usual but it was extremely nice to see who we did (and hope next year we will be able to have more family able to come). I did take a few pictures and so did Jaynelle,who borrow my camera to take a few more pictures.

It was so nice visiting with everyone! Hopefully we will do this again next year. Maybe we will even see you at Emily's wedding in October in Spokane.

PARKER FAMILY REUNION 2009

I am a bit behind, so please excuse me if I have multiple blogs today. First I will start off with the Parker family reunion almost two weeks ago. As usual the reunion was held at a park, which is great so the little kids have a play ground to play on. This year the reunion was at Riverton City park. It is always on a Sunday and we always have dinner together with some pot luck items. Usually we bring our own dinner with "something" to share. This year, however the meal was taken care of (which I liked better in some ways, I really don't have much imagination for picnics), and we also had a variety of salads and deserts. We had a BINGO game with prizes for adults and prizes for the kids (school supplies). We also had a raffle for a homemade quilt and a silent auction for Grandma Lottie Parkers nativity set she made years ago. The turn out was great, and it was nice seeing everyone and catching up. I only took a few picture (so not like me).

Lagoon

Yesterday we treated the kids to their first ever trip to Lagoon (I know, I know,I am a slacker and most people have a hard time believing my kids hadn't ever been even though I live 15 minutes away, we have found better things to spend our money on). I had been promising Ethan for a couple of years that I would take them, and it was time to keep that promise. I told him, "come Hell or high water we were going August 8th". It was almost Hell. John ended up having to work, Ethan had scout camp the night before in Fairfield, Taylor was invited to a friend birthday party, and to top it all off Ben came down with a fever Friday. So, after everyone was home and "drugging" up Ben with Tylenol we spent the last half of the day at Lagoon. That proved to be long enough for Ben anyway. The kids had a blast and are excitedly planning our bounce back day.

Cliffhanger

Musik Express

Carousel

Carousel

Ethan

Katie

Ben LOVES cotton candy

Train ride

John

Taylor

goofy Ben, showing us his "moves"

Well, It has been a few months since I have posted anything. The reason being, is not much has been going on. School doesn't start until August 24th. I am personally looking forward to it, so the kids have more to do. I am not looking forward to the homework and all the other problems that go hand in hand with school. Enough of that for now.
This past weekend, we celebrated my mother-in-laws 60th birthday. It was nice. Anna, Johns littlest sister brought over her face painting make-up and painted the kids faces. My kids loved it. They actually got very upset when we got home and I told them we had to wash it off. I had to promise that they can have her do it again. Anyway, she is planning on doing this for a part-time second job, so if anyone is looking for a great face painter, let me know and I can give you Anna's number.

This was taken after we got home. For more pictures check out my album on facebook.

San Francisco Vacation day 4

Today we had decided to do our own walking tour. And what a walk it was! We walked all along Fishermans Warf and took in what I believe was ALL the sights it had to offer. The best part of the Warf for me was watching the California Sea Otters. They were so funny. If the wind hadn't been so bad I could have stayed there, watching them for hours.
After we "finished" with the Warf, we went to ride the cable cars. The line was 45 minutes long, but we decided to do it anyway. Finally our turn arrived and we rode it over to China Town. We then walked China Town and Nob Hill. We caught the cable car again and rode to the crookest street. We walked down one side of it and went back up the other, all the while watching people trying to drive down it. It was funny. John and I both were glad NOT to be driving down that street. From there we caught the car car again and rode back down to the Warf.
After eating dinner we walked to Ghiradelli Square, we enjoyed the best icecream sundae's. I had a peanut butter and fudge, John had their midnight revere. YUMMY! Well worth the cost, and once again making me glad we don't live there becasue we would go broke eating all those sundaes. After our sundaes we walked down municipal pier (kinda scary), in hope to see the city lighting up for night. On our walk back we stopped at the little beach and I had to test the water. Brrrrr! It was so cold.
We walked and walked and walked, until we thought we could go no further and we finally went back to our hotel. To say my legs hurt is a huge understatement, but so worth it!

San Fran Day 3 City Tour, Muir Woods and Salsalito

We spent the morning going on a tour of the city. The tour was by bus and we went ALL over the city. It was nice. The only down fall is being on a tour bus you are restricted to their time schedules and stops. I enjoyed the the tour, where John didn't as much. My only complaint is not stopping more often to take in the sights. John's complaints were not enough of the city, stops to short, and not stopping enough. Our tour guy was an Italian man, who was very funny and quite knowledgeable of the city. We went through some of the "neighborhoods" of San Francisco, like China Town, Union Square and of course across the Golden Gate bridge. It was another COLD, windy and foggy day.
In the afternoon, we took another tour bus and went to Muir Woods and Salsalito. Muir Woods was beautiful! The redwood trees were amazing! The tree were at least 250 feet tall. John was in heaven. His dream now is to one day climb one. Our tour guide wasn't as good as our morning guy and only gave us an hour to explore the woods. We felt like we were in such a hurry and this place is so calm and beautiful you just want to leisurely walk through and take you time exploring. From Muir Woods we went to Salsalito. This is a huge tourist trap place. John and I didn't really enjoy it. It was just a lot of shops and not much else. You can pay to take the ferry back over to San Francisco, but the ferry was due for quite a while and decided to take the tour bus back. Tomorrow we are planning on riding the cable cars and do our own walking tour of the city.

San Francisco Day 2 - Alcatraz

Today we visited Alcatraz, a must see for anyone visiting the Bay area. Tickets go fast so ordering online is best (which is what we did,whew!). It started out as a cold and windy day. The boat ride was nice but man we were COLD. The views were amazing though, we were blessed not to have the fog though it was overcast.
When you get to the island you are greeting by a park ranger who goes over the rules of the island. they are plain and simple, like don't go where it is marked close for your safety, etc. From there you can stop in and watch a 10-15 minute movies that goes over a brief history of the island, or you can continue your walk up the the prison (like going up a thirteen story building). We choose to watch the movie first. It was very informative, and there is a lot that we had never heard before.
After the movie, we made are walk up to the prison. It actually isn't as hard as one may think. Once inside you are greeted again and asked what language you speak. You are then given a headset that will take you on an audio tour of the prison. It is very interesting. You can stop and pause the audio at anytime, and can take as much time as you would like on the island and prison building.
One of the best parts was when two little boys, I would venture to say ages 5 and 3, shut themselves in on of the open cells. It was funny. Their mom however, didn't see the humor at that time. Since the boys were "stuck" in there a "manager" and another worker were called to get the boys out. What was neat was to be able to see how the cell doors operate (by remote, the technology was cool to see) and hearing them shut. It was awesome. The boys were released unharmed.There is SO much history that surrounds this island, that it is so hard to sum up here. My recommendation is to check it out yourself. You won't be disappointed. I know we will be back one day, hopefully with our kids (and hopefully they don't lock themselves in a cell too. teehee)I know the history will not be lost on them either.

San Francisco vacation Day 1

John and I decided a while ago that we really needed some "mom and dad" alone time. Other than an occasional overnight-er we have not left then kids and been alone in 12 years. So with that in mind we planned a long getaway weekend alone to San Francisco. Things fell into place rather slowly at first, but in the end everything came together.
Day one was mostly spent getting here to San Francisco. We packed everything the night before and yesterday afternoon we were on our way. I went to drop the kids off at my parents (THANKS MOM & DAD)and found that my car wouldn't start. John was at work, my neighbors gone to work and I thought "Now what"? Suddenly and very unexpectedly my phone rang and it was a good friend and neighbor a few streets over, and even though she was calling me for a favor, I can't help but believe that there was divine inspiration she new I needed her help. With her help we jump started my car and I was on my way. After the kids were all settled and good-bye hugs and kisses were given, I was on my way to pick up John from work, then on to the airport.
Now, John and I haven't flown in 12 years and to say things have changed is an understatement. Still, with all the changes we made it through security pretty quickly. Then was the wait for the plane.
Our plane cabin was SO tiny! I HATED it. Glad it was a smooth ride though. I had a little girl behind me who cried for the last 45 minutes of our trip (and I use little lightly, she was at least 12 years old). From the airport, we took a shuttle to our hotel, the Tuscan Inn.
After we checked in and place our belongings in our room we were off to explore the Warf. where we saw very "interesting" people. We stopped to watch a street performer/comedian/fire eater. He was really funny and was amazing with his torches. From there we went and had a bite to eat at the Wipeout cafe, on pier 39. It was really good. The wind picked up and got really cold so, we had to buy long sleeve shirts and jackets. After we headed back to our hotel, we were pretty tired. Tomorrow we are off to Alcatraz.

Snow in April?

I was going to blog about my beautiful new stove, but that can wait for another day. Instead I am going to complain about the snow. Snow? Really? In mid-April? Are you kidding me? I know it can happen but come on, enough already! At least I am lucky to be able to stay home for the most part (other than taking kids to school and picking them up). The flakes are huge yet coming down fast and sticking to the grass. If it wasn't April, I would be more appreciative of it. It also makes me feel bad for those who have to work outside in it, like my dear sweet hubby who is coming around to check the power lines for trees growing into them. So the furnace is on so we don't freeze, I enjoyed a yummy mug of hot chocolate and I am going to relax here looking out the window and try to let the calm of the snow over take me instead of annoyance of it falling in what should be spring like weather.