Spring! Is not here yet......

Well, Im up this morning getting the kids off to school and guess what? Its snowing! Ugh...March/April are the worst months of the year in my opinion because they tease you with warm weather but wont hesitate to throw a snowstorm in to keep you on your toes....or in your boots! 70 degrees on Saturday, snowing this morning. Oh well..the good news is that the temps today should be warm enough to melt it all away and Spring is truly just around the corner. Even though Fall is really my favorite season, I love Spring too. The smell of fresh cut grass and fertilizer....the new blossoms on the trees and the birds seem to chirp more than in the summer. Its just a renewing of life and that part is so cool. Denver complains about the snow a lot and when we lived in Arizona we both complained about the heat a lot. But you know, I just dont think I could stand living somewhere that you didnt have all 4 seasons. Ok, maybe Monterey, California...but even then I think I would miss the snow. If only the snow season could be a little shorter :)

We are excited at the prospect of going to Reno over Easter weekend to see my parents new house and to celebrate Easter and Addison and Evan's birthdays with them. Addie's actually falls on Easter Sunday this year. We are going to drive and it should take about 7 hours...it will be a fun experience.

Ian is about to start his spring break...2 weeks off school. And just when his ends, Evan's begins! Although his is only 1 week long. Sure would be nice if they were at the same time. Ive got to figure out something for them to do the whole time so we can avoid the "youve been on the Wii for too long" fight. Since I have been off of work I have been trying to organize my files and get our house in better order. So far I have been successful enough to get our taxes filed, sortof...there are some issues. And, file for review of a debt that Denver owes which should save us about $6000! As nice as it has been though, Im going to have to find another job soon. Unemployment is treating me kindly for now but it will run out eventually.

We are bringing Denvers mom out here this summer to stay for a little while...she says 6 weeks and Denver wants 6 months....I am happy to have her for as long as she wants to be here. The kids will love it and hopefully she will enjoy it too. We love her and know that she is going through a lot without Don. Alec may or may not be here also. This changes daily and although Denver has tried to get to the bottom of it, there are no conclusions other than Alec is angry and is under the impression that his dad has never tried to see him all these years. Isnt that crazy! I have the pictures to prove that Alec has been with us every year... sometimes twice a year! He doesnt remember the fact that he spent months at a time with us before he started school...one month at our house one month at his moms... not to mention the summers that he spent at least 2 months with us. He was young of course and so he doesnt remember. You'd think his mom would help him remember and not let him believe such a thing... that his dad didnt try to see him! But I guess that really wasnt her agenda. She seems to spend so much time concentrating on what Denver HASNT done that the stuff he has done is like dust in the wind. All Alec is left with is the impression he gets from her, combined with his desire to see his dad more often and it ends up leaving him feeling empty. But what it doesnt mean is that his dad hasnt wanted to see him! He thought he was doing a good thing by letting Alec live his life...not interfering....letting Alec come when he wanted or leave when he wanted. All it has done is backfire on him. She always made it clear from the beginning that she would never support me as Alec's stepmom and she has certainly held true to her word there but thats really OK. His anger is misdirected right now but he is only 14...teenage hormones and all...one day he will realize whats been going on. I have pulled out all the pictures we have from every visit he has ever made to our house. If he does end up coming this summer, I believe we will have a little history lesson. I wonder what he did with all the pictures I sent him home with year after year.... I was hoping to get him here this year because I wanted a new picture of the kids done. Addie was little the last time and it is time for a new one. Hopefully he will decide to come and work things out with his dad and I. If his mom will stay out of it and let him work things out with Denver on his own that would the best thing. We had to block her email....and drop her blog which does nothing but cut Denver down on almost every post. Alec is old enough now that Denver will just go through him alone from now on.

Well, Im being summoned for dinner...I'll end this long post now. Hope everyone has had a nice Monday in spite of the snow. And if you didnt have snow today, well Lucky You!

Thanksgiving 2008

I have so much to be greatful for.....this time of year always seems to be a great reminder of the good things in my life. It is so easy to focus on negative aspects of anything but it feels more wrong to do it during the holidays. We ate our Thanksgiving dinner at Nathan and Alisa's house. I took the time to watch everyone after we ate....playing games....watching a movie....playing the guitar. The fire was burning in the fireplace, it was so warm and comfortable. I couldnt help but say to myself how lucky I am to be surrounded by people that love me. Lucky that we have the means to buy and prepare the good food that we ate....and enjoyed immensely. How fortunate that we all have jobs, homes, clothing......and most of all LOVE. It was an awesome reflection that choked me up a bit. We were also fortunate enough to have Alec here with us this Thanksgiving. The kids especially enjoyed his visit. The boys really look up to him and want to be around him constantly. Addison was a bit infatuated with him too and called him "Allie" the entire time. She loves him and doesnt even know why yet. He is growing up so fast.....I know how hard it is for Denver to be away from him so much.

Friday we went and got our Christmas tree. It is so beautiful! It is the most perfect tree I think I have ever seen. It almost looks fake it is so perfect.....I love it! I spent most of the day today decorating it and putting up our outdoor christmas lights. It is so much work but this is the first year I actually got it all up before December......Im on a roll. I only have the window lights to put up now but I had to stop so I could prepare my talk for church tomorrow.

We also took some pictures for our Christmas cards since Alec was here with us. They turned out pretty good.....Im not posting them on the slideshow though until after I send the cards out....sorry :) I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday. For those family and friends who follow my blog, I am grateful to have you all in my life, whatever your role may be.

Birthdays and Broken Bones.....

Well, I havent given an update on Alec lately so I will do it now. It seems like we see less and less of him each year as he grows up. He didnt come and stay with us this summer and the boys were a little hurt by that but Im sure one day they will understand when they are 'teenagers' and sports, friends, activities become so important to them. We did see him briefly for the week we were in Kentucky in May and were grateful to have had that time with him. His cousins from France have been staying with him this summer. It was probably good for him to spend some time with them. Here is a picture with them (taken on his bday) and his little sister.

He has started High School this year.....yikes. Denver talked to him on the phone after his first day and Alec told him that someone tried to shove him in a garbage can....some kind of freshman initiation, but they couldnt catch him! He goes to early morning seminary and I hear he doesnt care much for it. I dont know many teens that would be excited to get up that early for church everyday of the week. Its hard enough to get them motivated to go once a week on Sunday! Good job Alec for grinning and bearing it, one day you will be glad you did. I was spoiled I guess and got to have Seminary as part of my regular school day.....thats Utah for you! He is taking choir and we hear that he has been working out with the Basketball team in hopes of trying out. However, the latest news is that during a practice for a play that the choir is putting on, Alec broke his hand.......guess that rules out basketball for now. Here is a picture of Alec and his broken hand.

He also celebrated his 14th birthday last month. We sent him a target gift card which he used to purchase a new Ipod Nano. His mother sent us pictures of his birthday party which was held at Chuck-E-Cheese.....I guess you never grow out of that place. Here he is with his little sister Kiana. Good times.

We wont have Alec for Christmas this year although we are going to try and bring him here for Thanksgiving. We are in the process of trying to get Denver's parents here for a few weeks over the holiday and thought it would be nice to have Alec here as well. If it happens, we will have more pictures of Alec to share with you.

Frustration, Speeches, and other Misc News.......

I think I have been called a few choice titles this week.....but the only ones that actually MATTER to me are, Mom, Honey, and "My Wife". The rest are just names that insecurity creates. Some of you have asked me about Alec's blog and why it has been removed from my list. As you know, I am the one that created the blog for him. You also know that it was made for the express purpose of sharing our lives with Alec as well as for our Kentucky family to do the same. Considering that we all live so far away from Alec we decided it was important for him to at least see us in some respect more than once a year. So I thought the blog was a brilliant idea. Apparently not. Unfortunately, we still have to deal with his mom's bitterness toward Denver and I as well as her continued efforts to keep us out of his life in any way except what the court laid out in visitation. We always thought that eventually she would re-marry and be happy enough in her own life that she would quit interferring and actually interact with us in a way that was conducive to allowing Alec to love 2 families. That is never going to be the case. So, after a week of arguing about the blog, we deleted it. It wasnt worth the struggle and it was becoming something painful for Alec and I never wanted to be a part of that. Obviously we all Love Alec very much and will continue to try and be a part of his life as much as we can. The rest we leave in God's hands and hope that as Alec matures, he will see everything more clearly. Most importantly, he will realize just how much his dad loves him and that he does the best that he can to be involved in his life.

Anyway, on a more positive note, it is warming up......slowly. This weekend we will hit the mid 40's again. I know, it still sounds pretty chilly. But, it feels like Spring when you are used to 20 degree weather. Brrrrrrrr. Ian gave his speech today on The Gulf of Carpentaria. He did a fine job. Actually I think it was his best speech yet. I involved him more in the creation process this time so he was really comfortable with the information. He really made an effort to look up and not just read the paper too. He paused for laughs in a couple of spots and answered questions about the speech afterward like a pro. Very proud of him..... We are getting ready to sign the boys up for baseball. Evan wants to take Karate and Skateboarding too though...he is starting to show a little more independence from Ian this year which is great. Its hard being the middle child and being so close in age to your big brother. But, he is doing great and Im convinced now more than ever that we made the right choice in sending him to our neighborhood school instead of Ian's school. It is a pain in the rear sometimes getting them to 2 different schools in the morning but I think it gives him a sense of having something that Ian doesnt and that makes him feel pretty big. He is reading! This is very exciting because he didnt show a strong ability even just a month ago and then all of a sudden, he reads a book to me! Im so happy about this and feel much more comfortable with his kindergarten experience.

Well, no other news today. Hope you all enjoyed your Valentines Day. Denver and I will hopefully be going to lunch and movie tomorrow (pending the ability to snag a babysitter) so I will give my reviews on that next week. I have to work tonight.... so I'd better get moving on the house now or it will stay messy all week. Arent these pictures of the boys so cute. I tell them all the time how they used to be the best of buddies and were always hugging on each other. Now, it seems Im always breaking up fights. Gotta love boys.

Ciao.

Busy, busy, busy.....

So today I am feeling the crunch of the boys and school, Denver's work and school, my work away and in the home, etc etc etc. I didnt even realize today was Wednesday! I know of course that Im not the only one with busy-ness in their lives but I swear. I just finished the 10th load of laundry in 3 days. I got behind but am feeling proud that I got it all folded. Tomorrow I will work on putting it all away.....then of course I will start over with washing it all again.....I hate laundry but I mentioned that already. Thankfully Ian's teacher has eased up on his homework this first week back. I just know the average first grader doesnt get as much homework as he does. I know it is just the nature of the program he is in but it can be a struggle for me sometimes so Im sure it is stressful for him too. Evan doesnt have as much but still has some. It will be interesting when they get a little older and the homework becomes more intense. I think Denver will definitely have to change to a day shift so he can be home at night to help out! Of course, he is in school too and I know I will be helping him eventually too.....that is if he has papers to write. Im the typist in the family. This semester he is just taking 2 classes: Art and History. Hopefully it wont be too strenuous. He really enjoys History so that should be a breeze for him. Art.....well, its not the kind of art class one would imagine. He is required to create and perform an "expressive piece" at the end of the course.....Dad, can he borrow your tutu? Im happy that he is continuing with school. I know it is a struggle sometimes but the reward will be worth it for him. I will help him as much as I can to get through it. So, lets see, graveyard shift Fri-Sat-Sun, Church, school for kids, piano on Wed (we missed it today...oops) an active 20 month old, babysitting my 4 month old nephew 3 days a week, oh and now I am taking a girl from Ian's class on Fridays after school so she doesnt have to go to the after school program! They get out at 12:30 on Friday's and her dad will pick her up at 3:20. I dont have time for much else really. I think Im going to have to start going to the gym in the early morning. So, here is an update on the kids:

IAN: Is still in the first grade although after Alec visited us he acts like he is in the 6th grade. Kids want to grow up so fast these days. He is doing well in his accelerated program but struggles the most with math....just like his mommy. He is an excellent reader as he likes to point out sometimes and has made a lot of friends. Right now he is in a stage where he claims to hate school. Although I know he secretly loves it. He has done well eating school lunch in spite of his severe peanut allergy and hasnt had any scares with that at all, thank heavens. He still participates in the Chess Club but we are holding off on tournaments this year. Maybe next. He really is so smart and if he can just keep his focus for longer than 5 minutes he is going to be successful at whatever he does.

EVAN: Is still in Kindergarten and has a love/hate relationship with school. Loves his teacher, recess, snacktime, and doing his letters. Hates getting up in the morning, math (which he doesnt really do much of, he just likes to echo Ian) and kids that are mean. His teacher says he makes friends well but I still worry because he is so shy. He has decided that he needs more trophies and wants to play basketball next. He loves loves loves animals of any kind, cuddly, slimy, creepy, doesnt matter....he loves them. He also is a very big flirt and is going to be the ladies man of the family I fear. But, that is a long time off thank heavens.

ADDISON: Is almost 21 months old. She is a such a monkey! She has the brightest, funniest personality and I cant wait to watch her grow. She loves to sing, anytime, anyplace and dancing goes right along with it. Her newest "move" is a spin in which her head spins 180 degrees first and then her body whips around to catch up with it. It is hilarious! She loves dolls and babies and has decided that her cousin Soren is HER baby. She trys to hold him and pick him up whenever she can and screams when I wont let her. She isnt talking a lot of sense just yet but can say important words like "love you", "all done", "brother" and of course....."Spongebob".

ALEC: Is home with his mom in Phoenix. He is in Jr. High and likes that fact but says he doesnt like school.... He wishes he could turn 18 so he can be in his own apartment and drive but then he doesnt want to grow any older (dont we all wish that?). He still likes video games and likes to text his friends on his cell phone. He says he wishes he had a twin so he would have someone at home to play with! Even though he has 3 brothers and 3 sisters, they are all too young to relate to him so he gets kinda bored....one can understand his dilemma. But all 6 of his siblings love him dearly....sometimes more than he can handle! He is growing up fast and will be in High School soon, but not soon enough in his opinion.

Well thats our kids update for the beginning of the year. Im hoping the next one will be that Addison is potty trained. No more diapers! Yay!

Tis the Season....

So, the one thing I hate the most about the Christmas season is shopping. It is sad really because most of the time it would seem like a good time.....actually being able to spend money instead of just window shopping, buying the perfect gift for someone that you care about, the excitement of finding the perfect gift. Unfortunately all of that potential fun gets ruined when you have the share the shopping experience with MANIAC's! I've decided that although the Christmas Season generally brings out the best in people as a whole, the Christmas "Shopping Season" almost always brings out their WORST. Case in point..... yesterday at work I read an ad for ToysRus that stated it was having a "doorbuster" sale that morning at 7am. There was one item on there that I wanted to buy for Ian and it was normally $40 but this Saturday morning at 7am it was only $15. Bargain right!~ So, I figured I would stop by and get one considering that I got off of work at 6:30 and it would be perfect timing to swing by on my way home. I got off early (luckily) and showed up in the parking lot at 6:45 and waited. Suddenly 5, 6, 7 cars start pulling in to the parking lot. I start getting nervous and anxious and as soon as one person got out of their car to stand in front of the door, the rest of us did the same. I was 2nd in line. Turns out they were all there for the same thing I was with the exception of a few who were checking for Nintendo Wii's.....I will get to that story in a minute. So, the door opens and suddenly Im being pushed out of the way by a mob of people literally running to get this toy! Ive never experienced anything like it. Grown adults running like little children for a toy! I am humiliated to admit it, but I ran too....I had to or I wouldnt have gotten one. Ugh.

So, Ninendo Wii. For those that dont know this....because until I tried to buy one I didnt know it either.... this video game system is THE THING to buy this season. So much so that Nintendo cant keep up with demand and people are buying them and selling them on ebay for $200 more than they bought them for. This makes it impossible for the average consumer/parent to purchase one for their kids. My step-son Alec wants one for Christmas....in fact it is ALL he wants. So everyone in the family pooled their money together and sent it to us to help out with the hefty price tag. That was 2 weeks ago and I cannot find one. People are showing up at stores at 4am to stand in line in hopes of getting one but the stores are only getting shipments in of 6-10 machines at a time again making it impossible for the average parent to get a hold of one. I had intended on buying Alec a giftcard and wrapping it with a picutre of the Wii so that he would know that I tried because I refused to participate in the game... We would just have to buy it after Christmas. However, it was rumored that a lot of the stores got large shipments in (by large I mean about 20 of them) and were holding them until Sunday to sell. Ding Ding Ding.....I get off work early on Sunday morning, so I could stop by and wait in line for a little bit right? Something I swore I would never do for a toy......but I did it. I got off work at 4:30 this morning. First I went to Kmart and the people that were already there told me that they only got 6 of them in (one of the people waiting works there) So, then I went to Shopko and the 15 people standing there said Shopko only got 10 (again an employee was there) but they heard Best Buy had the largest shipment. So, I went down to Best Buy and got in line because someone said they heard Best Buy got 80 of them! So, I grabbed my blanket and my extra coat and got in line at 5am...I was number 36 in line and I stood there for 3 hours (they opened at 8am) in 16 degree weather! It was the longest 3 hours of my life but...... I GOT ONE! We are now the proud owners of a Nintendo Wii.....that is until Alec opens it and takes it back to Phoenix with him. It's bittersweet really, although we dont have a "gaming system" at our home and probably wont for a while, I feel like I deserve to at least play with it considering the sacrifice I made to get it. Oh well, Im just glad that Alec will get to open it on Christmas. Im excited to give it to him. Thankfully there were no news reporters there to capture my stupidity on film. Today, now that it is over, I swear never to do it again......never say never.

Merry Christmas

Summers' End

Well, it is Monday. I didnt post yesterday because I had a really bad weekend. Long story short, I wrecked the van. It is rather embarrassing to admit that I hit a fixed object (a cement post) but I guess that was actually a good thing. Much better that, than another car with people in it. Anyway, the whole passenger door has to be replaced so we are currently driving a rental vehicle. I finished the Harry Potter book last Tuesday. Best book of the series! I wont say anything to spoil it, but it was pretty intense. I cried....a lot....and had no idea what was going to happen until the very end. I wont say how it ended but I will say that she made a good decision with the way she finished it. I am going to read it again this weekend. For those still reading or planning to read, make sure you dont listen to the spoilers. It will ruin the intensity of the book.

So, this week was uneventful (besides the wreck). We went and saw a movie on Saturday. It was Ratatouille. Super cute movie focusing on good food. The kids liked it. I have actually been pretty sick all week and lost my voice for a couple of days. Thankfully the worst has passed and I can speak again. We went swimming this afternoon (foggy picture to the left) but it didnt last long due to someones kid pooping in the pool. They made everyone get out and closed it for 2 hours....needless to say we didnt want to wait around so we went and got pizza and a couple of movies. The boys are watching "How to Eat Fried Worms" as I type. What a funny movie!

Well, the end of summer is quickly approaching. It ends in 2 days for Ian as he starts school on August 1st. We spent this past week buying school clothes and supplies for him. He got a letter in the mail the other day from his new 1st grade teacher and was feeling pretty good about that. He is very excited to learn about Australia this year and also that he gets 3 recesses! Makes me miss school...... Evan is very upset that he has to wait 3 more weeks for his school to start. He goes on August 24th. He cant wait to be in Kindergarten and go to his new school- Bonneville Elementary. Im excited for him to experience everything that Ian did last year. I worry about his tenderness sometimes though and am pretty sure there will be a few tears shed during the year. I hate the thought of him getting hurt by his friends but I guess that is part of childhood. I only hope I have the ability as a mom to help him through it without being too protective.... :)

So, Alec returns home on August 1st. It has been a pretty easy going month with him considering he is in the midst of pre-teenage angst. I was pretty nervous at first but other than a few eye rolling incidents and one or two attitude problems, he was pretty mellow. The month passed by really quickly and the boys are going to be pretty sad when he leaves. It is always hard for them and the questions they ask show that they still dont understand the situation completely. Denver was able to spend some time alone with Alec this time which was good for both of them. Alec will be 18 before you know it.....it is hard to believe that I have known Alec and been his step mom since he was only 3 or 4 years old.

Well, I think we had a great summer. We saw alot of movies, went on some picnics, watched the fireworks, went swimming. All in all it was fun. Next year I think we are going to attempt a trip....maybe to San Diego/Disneyland. We'll see........

Ciao for now,

Vanessa