FHE Movie Night

Shauna is here visiting for a couple weeks. It is always nice having her around to chat with. Today was an errand day, bank, drop off library books, shipping, staples, walmart and the DMV. It felt good to get all the errands done cause I have been down for a couple days. My belly button still hurts though. I had some cramps today but I tried to put the aside, all during dinner they bothered me. Mind over matter right?

Today we did a quick lesson about temples, Logan conducted, we sang "I love to see the temple" and then we split up. The boys went to the new star wars clone war movie, and then the girls took all the foamies out, cuddled up with candy and popcorn and we had a girls night watching Nim's Island.

Lessons Learned
Family Home Evening doesn't always need to be a big effort, but I really try to give a big effort to really get it accomplished each week. Just having those little nuggest of spiritual lessons each week however small, grow someday to be the keys and tools they will need and use one day. And those fun silly little games and together times grow to create a strong family...
Some of our fav's: 1. paperplane flying contest off the stairs
2. zucchi boat sailing down the ditch

Go Play!

By the middle of August, the fun craft box is empty, the video games have been defeated, the pool is full of dirt, and we are all kind of tired of everything. So the kids will here me say "Go play!"in exasperation. I know soon we will hit school days and the lazy dazy days will soon be gone. So this particular day they got busy and decided they were going to dig to China. The best part was they really did think they were going to make it somewhere. They had no intentions of stopping until we said...STOP!

Grand Central Station

Our Full House

Our house is grand central station. Most kids go to peoples house to visit for an hour or two, our neighbors may not be an hour or two out of the day. Yesterday one more for lunch and 3 more for supper. Today 4 more for lunch and dinner was a quiet 5 our family. I don't mind, in fact I enjoy the hustle and bustle, the sliding down the stairs, the slam of the screen door of the kids coming in and out. The picture above is when Jessica sneezed right before the blessing of the food and I saw the spit fly across the table onto poor Hayden's plate. He MUST feel comfortable here, he still ate all his dinner.

The kids these days are busy playing pokeyman cards, which make absolute no sense to me, when they talk about the people (if they are people?) and I think they are talking a different language. In fact I think they are. Jessica is busy still playing in the mud daily and spending her time at the girls next door, so I guess it is a trade. I like being ground zero for all the friends because hopefully when they are teens it will still be that way. When I get tired of them all, I yell, "okay! time for everyone to go home!" They then vulture around the house on their bikes checking in every half hour to see if they can come back, after 3 time I usually break.

I have been particularly sore and hurting lately. I am battling with a stupid cyst, which is on off in pain. But it has been going on for about 4 months and to me that is enough to say lets get this thing out. So next Thursday I am scheduled for surgery. Sometimes I can go most the day and not feel anything and then I worry that I am doing the surgery for nothing. Then I have such bad pain I wish I could do it right away. I will just have to wait and see what happens. My back is a royal pain on top of all of this. Sigh.

Matt is gone on a Scout backpacking camping trip. He needs to backpack into camp 4 miles with his gear, and I think part of it is in the snow with cramp ons. Oh dear. We are dealing with a spring chicken anymore. I asked if he made sure he had his inhaler.

Logan had his Kindergarten placement test today. It is a twenty minute one on one test with the teacher to see where he will be placed. All day or half day. We are pulling for half day. We have been working all summer on his letters, numbers, shapes, etc. Which is good, but you can work until you are blue in the face, if they are ready, it is no use. I think he is just entering readiness. Anyway after it was all done I had a chocolate bar for him and a hug. I kept telling him how proud I was of him, I then said "are you proud of you?" he said in his cute matter of fact way. "kindof" So cute.

Business is going well, I had to peel 40 orders yesterday. I love that. Well I don't love the work of it as it hurts my back to mask. But I love how far we have come. We have lots of good things coming up to, like the wedding site myweddingfavors.com is still putting our stuff on. And then our Maui lady just inquired about 4 more designs. She can lead to our product in stores in the east. So that is exciting. Every couple of days we get inquiries for wholesalers. The prob, it is hard peeling and masking in the house, we are trying to save to get into Camilla's little house out back. We want to save about 4 months of rent before we head out there. I want to get to the point we are paying people to mask and peel and I don't have to do it anymore. In the meantime I was lying in bed trying to come up with some sort of contraption to hold my masking so I can pull it. I think it will involve a broom and some chairs.

My worm...my new friend.

Today was a mud day. Sometimes the kids connect with the mud and spend hours in the awesome feelings it brings. In our old house they spent many many hours in the mud. This is where they meet new friends in the dirt that they want to keep and find a home (jar) for. Sometimes they get let free, but not too often, poor things. It is always a big effort to clean up, but the hours of exploratory fun is worth every moment. I know daddy isn't that fond of the waterlogged grass. But as they always say, we are raising children not grass right?

Goodbye Barney, Hello Sisters...

Today was the first day with my new calling as RS 2nd counsellor. I am just tickled to be in Relief Society again. It feels a little weird just walking away from Primary, I have been music leader there for 2 years. It is weird they call you in one week and give you a new calling and boom you don't go back. I was getting a tad burned out though.

I am just very excited to be there with the other sisters and most of all be able to serve. I want to be able to help others, serve others. When I do I feel really good and love to be able to have this avenue to do it through.

I have found primary to be fun, rewarding, exhausting, frustrating and many more emotions. I am happy to now be able to come to church and feel uplifted. Not that primary didn't do that for me. But I did feel a little like Barney. Today was long, with the meetings, but I still came home feeling full and uplifted. Now, it is only day one, but still I feel really good about this. Heavenly Father really knows, I felt really like this is such a blessing.

Wall eeeeeeee

Curtis and Holly came for the weekend to visit. It has been a hoot laughing with Holly, well more "at" Holly as she is like watching a stand up comedien. We did some errands today as the boys went on a ride, and then we watched Curtis and the kids have a water gun fight. They loved that!

We went before dinner to see Wall e. Which the kids have been very anxious to see. Everytime they talk about it they say it like he does on the move, Walll eeeeeee. The best part of going to a movie with the kids is hearing them laugh. Logan's was the loudest tonight as this movie was right up his alley. He loves humor where they get hurt or fall down, or bonk their head. Which was a good part of this movie. So I spent a couple of slow down moments to just look at him with the light of the movie shining on his little face and see how it would light up when he enjoyed the funny parts. Then he would let out the cutest high little 5 year old laugh of complete delight. I love it. It is worth every expensive overpriced penny to have that moment.

To church or not to church?

When Sunday lands on your holiday there are several options. Do you forget going and say it is vacation, from church as well? Should you try to find the church building and the right time and go? Then should you go the whole time or just to sacrament. I prefer if not too difficult, to go to church, but just sacrament. Shell was going for the whole cha-bang... she also had her friend Coleen to visit in the same ward. I took the opportunity when all the kids were cute and dressed up to take some cousins pictures. I love the cousin pictures. I always love the one where they walk backwards, I hope to keep doing it as they grow older.

After sacrament Mom, Shauna, Dad and the kids and I headed to Costco to stock up on food. The ox was definitely in the myer as we had no food. And the resort is a good half hour away so we wanted to grab it while we were in town.

Kelowna Highlights

Logan took an instant liking to being with his little cousin Benjamin. He wanted to be with him when ever he could.

The Matkin Girls

Kelowna was an absolute blast. We were able to sit back, eat, rest, laugh until it hurts, swim and walk up a big hill. I enjoyed it thouroughly. I definitly will come back next year as long as my family comes. I know we have troubles sometimes but this week I tried really hard to put any pet peeves aside and just enjoy the good. It turned out to be a really good idea and we had a blast.

Vacationing in Luxury

Whew, I made it, and what a beautiful place it is. I got there first and it is a huge place. It is one of the newest complexes. Mahogany floors, stainless steel everything, flat screen t.v.'s and all that good stuff. It had three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and 4 t.v.'s. Oh and the kitchen was bigger than mine at home, which isn't hard to do. So we were set up with a game cube room, a wii room, a lounge room watching t.l.c. and a room where the girls could watch the Disney channel. We spent the day on Saturday getting unpacked and then we went exploring. Oh and we set up the computers. We had the six units in the picture. Grandma and Grandpa Fred, Phil and Eileen, All of Kathy's family, All of our Family, Julie and Jeff's family, and Tom and Betty. So it wasn't a huge show this year. I hadn't been to a reunion in 11 years, I have been married 11 years this August so that is a long time. I was glad I had gone already, even though I was really tired and my back and stupid cyst hurt.

Road Trip to Kelowna

Okay, to start, this family Matkin Reunion has always been something I tried to attend but seem to never get to it. The children being babies and practically triplets was one deterrent and then the 12-14 hours drive was another big one. But this year they moved it to Kelowna from Fairmont hoping our side of the family would be able to come. Well AG designs is going so well we haven't exactly been able to just take off very well. But after my mom calling every day for a week I thought it would be best to maybe think about it. She tried bribes, threats, convincing until me until my ear hurt. Well one thing led to another and I ended up driving up there by myself. I was very worried about this whole thing. I am unsure how I got to be 31 and still have never done a major road trip, it was a 5 hour drive and it takes about 6 with stops. I usually get hypnotized from the road and fall asleep. I drank a bit too much "pink juice" my Chrystal light energy drink and ended up having to RUN to the bathroom at rest stops each hour. I was very proud of myself for my big trek. Everything went very smoothly. Ya me! Wooh hoo. Now I may go to Vancouver by myself!

Those Big Kids

It has been very hot these days. I took the kids to Washington park (dinosaur park) where they have a large wading pool that they flood each day. We have gone every year but this year, we realized the kids have gotten to old for this park. They became the "big kids" that splash (by accident of course) the little ones as they thrash around.(See the little one in the background...and the mom standing near by for protection) So I guess we need to move onto bigger pools. So we don't become "those big kids" I used to glare at when my little ones were
doused in water.

When we got home I looked out the window and found the kids entertaining the rest of the afternoon sunbathing on the sidewalk, as a group.

Summer Plans

I am slow going this morning. Yesterday was a very big day with work and kids.
This summer I have pretty well scheduled. Mondays-swim day, Wed- Library Fri- Park. Today we are going to the library. Gas is so outrageous we need to only go in to Wenatchee when we have to and get everything done at once. Today I need to do a little work (peeling and masking) the laundry and then kids learning time. We wrote a big chart of all the things we wanted to accomplish this summer. Mom and Shauna are in Alaska right now on the cruise. So cool. I want to go. Well I need to start my day. We are going camping tomorrow, so the kids are pulling everything out and putting it on the living room floor. It is so neat seeing each year them getting more and more excited to go camping. Logan says this morning, it won’t be that fun to drive there, but when we get there, then it will be LOTS of fun. Ha ha. Matt probably broke his pinky last night at young mens. He was slip and slidding. Too funny.

My ramblings

Today was the garage sale at Camilla's, I sold my fountain and black table that I bought for just the chairs. I originally had them sold and the ladies said they had to go get cash, but then they hosed me and didn’t come back. Dang. Karma maybe? But at the last minute I sold em. Ya. Camilla and I vegged at the sale until one, and then I took the kids to the dollar store. Never a good idea, I don’t know why I don’t remember that the toys break and they end up always just wanting candy. Oh well. Logan bought this candy thing that all fell out on the floor of the van. My back was hurting bad driving back home and ended up crouched over looking for all his bubble gum balls. See, how is my back supposed to ever get a break when I am searching for bubble gum under seats?

It is nice to just have a waste away day, this week has been so busy and go go go. We had some big woo hoo moments though. The first one was a lady who loved our product so much that she wanted to be a sales rep. We scrambled to figure out what that essentially meant. We thought first off that we would have her peel and she could get 50% off but we changed our minds and we decided we need to keep good control about how our product looks when it goes out and we need to control that better. So I have the wonderful job of telling that we changed our minds. Eh. Oh well. Then we found this great wedding site that have vases and things and I called them looking for permission to use their pictures because we wanted to sell them. Well it turns out the owner called back so excited about our product she wants to carry them on her online site. She said she wants us to send her a sample and then she may carry them in her 16 stores across California. So we were very stoked. So we made her a package with a bunch in them and now we pray and cross our fingers.

My house is taking on it’s own life today. I had a peeling frenzy yesterday and all the sticky vinyl is everywhere. I love it when Powder walks around with pink vinyl stuck to his bum. I went to the bathroom and in a bucket is the mechanical fish swimming around. The kitchen has a pile of cereal bowls with puffed honey things half eaten in it. Day in the life...

My back is aching a little....We are going to Whistler for a week. I am excited, I am going to go zip lining. I want to lose these last 5 pounds though. I ate 2 apples today…and two cinnamon rolls. Ying, yang. I could say I am either doing really good today or really bad. I say good.
I think this summer will be really long unless we have some sort of schedule in place. To control crowds I glued two paper plates together used red vinyl for one side and green on the other and created a go/stop sign for the neighbors. I need to show them when is a good time and bad. Mornings we do learning time and afternoons which is now we do chores. It’s the weekend so forget today…
I am sitting on the swing, my swing , outside looking at our plum tree wondering if there was a way to add a swing. I wish. It looks perfect, Matt said it isn’t too weak. I am going to look…maybe, just maybe it could work.

Wake up...work, clean, mother, cook....Repeat.

Well as I sit here in total exhaustion I wonder why is it every day I am sooo very exhausted then I thought I am responsible for a lot. I though one day I am going to write it all down. I am the constant sounding board to little ones cries, complaining, whining, and meltdowns. The lack of to myself time is overwhelming and I naturally think,"okay, I am working my tail end off but for some reason there are still have “piles” of stuff hidden places, and rooms that could bring in the hegine police for how unsanitary they are. We all have them... so why then do we all try to fool one another that we don't. Women are strange.
Anyway here is my list.
1. Pay bills
2. Keep on the budget
3. Create the budget
4. Make most of the meals,
5. Clean the meals
6. Dishwasher emptying and loading 1-2 times a day
7. Making lunch for Hunter at school
8. Making lunch jess and logan home
9. Clean up lunch and breakfast
10. Sweep
11. Mop…everywhere 1 a week
12. Clean toilets 2times a week…boys.
13. Dust 1 a week, maybe.
14. Teach the kids their letters (daily)
15. Teach the kids reading (nightly)
16. Teach the kids math
17. File paperwork
18. Organize school papers, teacher communication
19. Clean our fridge and microwave ( it seems to take over)
20. LAUNDRY (8-10 loads a week)
a. Find
b. Do
c. Fold
d. Put away
21. Take kids to library, weekly
22. Grocery shopping
23. 30 meal cook day
24. Keep cupboards organized
25. Keep kids rooms organized (toys, etc)
26. Discipline/reward chart kids (figure out)
27. Trips (pack everything kids, pack food)
28. Decorate...well try to.
29. Paint….paint…paint
30. Vacume 3times aweek (more when things spill, which happens a lot)
31. Clean up after kids, 1 leftover marble, game pieces, puzzle piece, lego heads….return to rightful place.
32. Bathe kids, wash hair
33. Feed kids breakfast, (did I say that one?)
34. Organize Monday Family Night
35. Wake and get kids going in the morning
36. Do Hunter’s and Jessica’s hair
37. Get kids to brush teeth in morning
38. Sort socks…well Matt has to go back and redo
39. Take kids to soccer (2 x a week)
40. Watch soccer, (cheer as loud as I can... I enjoy this one)
41. Make dinner
42. Find stuff
43. Bandaid body parts ( we go through about 2 boxes a month)
44. Break up fights.
45. Send kids to time out (remember to get them out)
46. Do Jessica's hair each day...(this is a momunimental task each day, earplugs needed)
47. Dry tears.
48. Give hugs and kisses
49. Have "talk time" with Matt each day
50. Love them.

Motherhood is not for wimps.

Another School Year Down

We made it through another year. The kids have worked so hard! I wanted them to know how proud we were of them so I got a cake and created a scavenger hunt that lead to a bunch of fun summer toys. (waterguns, etc) Logan helped me get it all ready, he was very excited for the kids to stay home and play with him now!

Now lets see if we can make it through the summer.

Didn't Go As Planned

Today Jessica thought she would be funny and put a hard cardboard tube on her leg and walk around. Well it was all fun and games until she couldn't get her foot out. Laughing turned into crying quickly. Daddy saved the day and cut the tube off saving her contorted ankle.

Sometimes something that sounds like a good idea in your head, doesn't always pan out that way.

Our Animated Character

Hunter is like watching an animated character. He is VERY animated and keeps us all laughing. Hunters personality make you drawn to everything he says and does. He is fun to watch and listen to. His energy and zeal really pay off on the soccer field. Parents often comment on his amazing energy on the field. You really can't capture his amazing energy in a photo, but I thought these were pretty close.

Our Baby

Powder is so different then Timber. He is our scardy cat, laid back, half polar bear puppy. I just love this dog.

Logan's Birthday...Finally

Logan's birthday always lands during the time when nothing much is going on. Hunter's birthday, Jessica's birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are all bunched together. Logan waits patiently until March when all of a sudden his patience pays off and his long awaited birthday arrives! This year he didn't want a bunch of people over just his favorite one, Hayden, our neighbor. (I feel the same way) And of course his brother and sister who are his best friends. So we thought a sleepover would be fun seeing we don't do sleepovers. It was a nice change.

Finally!

I finally got to sub for the first time this year. I got my teaching degree in the year 2000 when I was pregnant with Hunter. Then I renewed my certification in 2005, but it wasn't until this year that I finally got to use it! I was really nervous my first day. It went great considering, it was for a special ed class. I lost one kid for a bit, and another on had a breakdown on my watch it went well. While I was gone my mom and the kids made me a cake. How sweet and it made me very happy.