The "L" Party

Today was Libby's birthday party and it was an "L" party. The day started with Libby asking, "How much longer till my party???" She was so excited all day. She went to play with her friend Sadie and loved her lunch she ate there: chicken nuggets, French fries, chips, grapes, etc. She had a fun time. While she was gone, I put Ellie down and I had a rare occasion...Ellie was sleeping and so was Hattie. Sheesh! It was soooo nice. I had some "alone" time at home which rarely happens! Let's see...I caught up on some e-mails, frosted the cupcakes for Libby's party and finished writing the program that the YW will be doing in sacrament meeting in a couple of months. I am excited to have it finished and am excited for them to do it!

Libby came home during my quiet time and she helped me put the "L's" on the cupcakes. Soon after Ellie got up, so did Hattie, then it was time to go get Eliza. At 3:30 it was party time! Brian came home early to help out. I couldn't have done it without him with Hattie and Ellie. Ellie was right in the middle of the party--making a mess eating the licorice, doing the craft and eating the cupcakes. For the party, Libby and Eliza helped me make a big "L" that we put on the front door.

After all the girls came, we started off by taking a picture of all the attendees (proved to be a harder task than I imagined!). Then we played the Limbo, Libby says (like Simon Says) and the Laughing game (they took turns making each other laugh). After the games (which didn't take nearly as long as I had figured), the girls enjoyed licorice, lifesavers (gummy) and lemonade. After some sweets, it was craft time. Each girl made her own "letter" journal. I covered the front of composition books with white cardstock and stuck down some 7gypsies gaffer tape to cover the seam. Then I adhered a glittery, chipboard letter to the bottom corner for each girl's name. I had that done ahead of time. So for the craft, I had bought a big pack of Disney princess stickers at Wal-Mart and let the girls go to town, decorating the front. They seemed to be so focused and involved in decorating them! After the craft, we opened gifts and headed out back for a few more pictures and the "L" cupcakes. Then it was time for the moms to come! As each girl left, she got a favor bag that had a lollipop and lip gloss in it (in cellophane bags with LINES on them). I took the "L" theme as far as I could! It was a lot of fun. Libby got some really cute gifts--it was hard to see as there were 6 girls totally crowding around awaiting what was inside! It was fun, but it's a relief it is over!!!

We had dinner, then I had to go a meeting/training for the YW presidents and Brian took Libby to her "meet the teacher" for preschool which starts on Wednesday. Earlier in the day--in true Libby character--she said, "I don't want to go meet the teacher, etc. etc." But when time came, she put on this adorable "laugh" shirt she got at her party and went just fine.


Brian said she did great, read books in her little seat, etc. As they left he asked her, "So, are you excited?" She looked at him and questioningly said, "I think so?" He thought it was cute. After that they went to McDonalds and shared a shake where she talked his ear off. We had gotten a babysitter for the other girls so he could give Libby some time for this new adventure in her life!

Well, tomorrow is Hattie's 6 month well check and Libby's 4 year. I think they are both in for some shots. Hmmmm. That ought to be interesting...especially with Libby.

I leave you with some shots from the "L" party (and a few other cute pictures and some flowers Brian brought home a couple nights ago).

4

Today Libby turned four. Brian and I feel like she has been 3 forever!! It seems like she should have been 4 months ago! She had a good day today. I wasn't sure about this morning though. Today was her first day of her gymnastics class, and she had been excited about it. But this morning she came in and said/whined/cried, "I don't want to do gymnastics. I want to do piano." All morning she whined about going to gymnastics. I was worried that she really would be stubborn and not go when we got there. So all morning I worked on talking her into and getting her excited about it. She finally consented to just going on the balance beam. I was fine with that. Well we got there and she went right in--no problems. And she did everything! She is definitely her own girl! She had a great time and looked like she was really enjoying herself. After her class, we all picked up Brian and went to lunch. We picked up McDonald's for Libby and Ellie, then had them eat it at Paradise Bakery, where Brian and I ate. I am afraid for when the one by us opens up. I am afraid I'll be making too many trips there, eating the yummy muffins (lemon poppy seed), cookies (any and all!), sandwiches, soups, etc. I can't wait. It was fun to share a special lunch with Libby. We dropped Brian back off at work, then went home. Before too long it was time to get Eliza, then drop her off at piano. She had a good lesson her teacher said. Tonight after dinner Libby opened her gifts from us--a new puzzle and the game Operation. Since Libby had cake on Sunday and will have cupcakes at her party on Thursday, she chose popsicles for tonight. The girls had Dora popsicles and the adults had pudding pops.

Here's to a great 4th year for Libby!

I think Libby and Hattie are going to look so much alike. What do you think? (one is Hattie and one is Libby at about the same age.)






The chore charts we started a couple weeks ago are working great. Thanks Rachel for the idea! It's simply a magnetic dry erase board and I printed chores on magnetic printer paper. When Eliza gets home from school, this is what they find on their beds.






I decide what chores I want them to do and that need to be done and I put that under their name and day of the week. It is so nice because if I don't need
something done that day, I don't put it over for them to do. It is working well and the girls do well with it. There are some that stay the same every day, then a couple switch out depending what needs to be done.

Weekend Update

Quickly...
--Friday night we had a babysitter (we tried out a new one and she did a good job). We met my brother and his wife at the movies. Brian and Brian saw Bourne Ultimatum and Kamille and I saw Hairspray. I totally loved it! It was such a great movie and very entertaining. The music was great, too. After the movie, Brian and I were starving so we went to Cheesecake Factory and shared a chicken chipotle pasta. I totally wanted the Godiva brownie sundae after, but we were too stuffed! Maybe next time.
--Saturday morning I went to the temple with the youth. The Relief Society presidency first made breakfast at the church for all the girls, so that was a fun way to start the day. We didn't get back until 3:30, but it was a good time.
--Friday night Libby had her birthday sleepover with my parents. They picked her up and 5 and she and Dallin went to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner and playing. Then Dallin went home and Libby played at my parents' before finally going to bed at 11. She had a great time and even got to help my dad do some laundry. On Saturday morning, Abby joined them and they went out to the carousel at Superstition Springs Mall for a morning of going around and around. Eliza, Brian, Hattie and Ellie hung out in the morning. It was a crazy morning for him--having to run Eliza to the doctor and tyring to get a few other things done. But he managed fine. In the evening we went to the ward party. It was a ward "cruise" and lot of fun. They had "excursions" in the classrooms where you did a game or an activity, then you could hang out on the "ship" (in the cultural hall) doing games, ping pong, or stuffing your face at the dessert bar. Ellie took full advantage of that one. We and the girls had a fun time.








--Sunday I had an early meeting and just like clockwork, Brian showed up on time with all 4 girls in tow. Their hair looked really good, too. He is great.
--After church, we hung out at home, then went to Brian's parents' for dinner. We were in charge of the dessert and I made a Texas sheet cake. After dinner, we lit the candles for Libby's birthday and she was so funny. She had told me earlier that she didn't want to blow her candles out. She got all bashful when we started singing to her and Eliza had to blow the candles out for her.
--Today started another week of school. Eliza did a great job today. And she had a great day at school. This afternoon she told me, "I think I am starting to really like school." Yee-haw!! I am so glad. She told Brian on the way to school that she really enjoys music and looks forward to that class, which she has tomorrow. She has been really excited for it.
--Tonight we took brownies over to our new neighbors, then had family home evening.

Here's to a good week.

I Finally Got My Wish...

of having a cleaning lady. In fact, two came today and cleaned. They were really good. They probably took longer than it would take me, but I welcomed the help. They even fought over who was going to clean the mirrors. I am glad I found someone so ambitious as they were. They were a little shy, but they agreed to having their picture taken while they were working.











OK--so my wish didn't come totally true, but I am lucky that they love to help. Libby would seriously help with cleaning all day. Today is clean the house day. They helped cleaning the mirrors and I showed Libby how to clean the toilets for the first time. She really enjoyed it. Go figure! She cleaned all three and was excited about it. Even after that, she was still excited to go find her chore chart and do those, too!

Here are some pictures of Hattie eating her first bits of cereal. Libby and Eliza were so excited to watch her try it. They couldn't stop giggling. Hattie is growing up sooooo fast. I was going through her clothes and getting some things out to fit her now. It seems like I JUST put them away from being too small for Ellie. Must be time for another one. Ha! Just kidding. I just wanted to give my mom a heart attack. ;)





Tonight is Libby's sleepover for her birthday with my parents. She is so very excited and keeps asking when it's going to be 5 o'clock. This morning she packed all by herself and put it all by the door--all by 10. She said, "I'll just wait by the door until they get here." I think she is just a little excited.




Libby said a funny today. As were folding laundry together, I was telling her that the boy (guy) who sprays for bugs was coming over today to spray. She said, "I don't know why we have bugs anyway." Followed immediately by, "I don't know why we have kids either." Is there a pest company for kids, too? She must think so!

Have a good weekend.

Hi there--

It's me again. My mom probably wonders how I got up to her computer to type. It's simple. Whenever someone leaves a bar stool out, I just climb right up and help myself. It's pretty fun. Today my mom even had to come rescue me from the laundry room sink. If I could only have figured out how to get down.

I can't believe I am almost two. My mom can though. I'm sure it's because of some "special" two year old behaviors I have already started doing. I must be a prodigy or something! I like to yell when I want something or when someone takes something away that I want. I also like to yell, "No!" "Mine!" or "I need that!" Sometimes my mom gets after me for that, but then I'll make a cute face and she can't be mad anymore!

I also can't believe Eliza is in kindergarten. She did great going to school today, but I kept hearing her be excited only because it was only a half day. I like to see her after school and say, "Eliiiiizaaaaa!" She likes to play with me and set up little "kids' camp" full of toys and books. Sometimes I like to play, but when I don't, Eliza tries to carry me in there. I scream until mom comes and rescues me.

I've been playing a lot more with Libby now since Eliza is at school. It's probably because I am only one, but she doesn't always share. Usually after a little while and after some prodding from my mom, she'll share. She does really have a tender heart like that.

Hattie started rice cereal last night. She seemed to like it okay, but she has to get used to eating from a spoon. She is a really cute sister. I like to say "Hattie" a lot and help my mom feed her.

Well, I'd better get down from here before my mom catches me!

Almost 4

Libby is almost 4. I finished her birthday invites last night and Brian mailed them off today. We decided to do an "L" party, so we brainstormed everything "L" that we could eat and do for fun! I think we have some fun things planned!

Libby's friend came over today so her mom could go to the temple. They had a fun time playing house, dolls, Polly's, Life and coloring. They are so silly!

Eliza did great going to school today. No tears at all!! Hopefully this is the trend!

Short post, but that's about all that's going on!

Second Week

We are having a little bit better week. Not totally perfect but much better. Eliza has done okay both mornings up until about 5 minutes before she leaves. Brian has been taking her on his way to work this week and he is good about diverting her attention and taking her. Today her teacher said she did so much better and so great! Eliza even told her she wasn't going to cry anymore. Eliza got a nice note from her teacher because of her day. Yay Eliza!

This morning we did a couple errands. One was to Costco, but when I got there (and everyone unloaded and in the cart) I realized I didn't have my card. Ugh. So we turned around and got back in the car. We went to Wal-Mart to get a few things there, then came home.

Eliza started piano today. I overheard her talking to the girl we carpool with yesterday. She told her she had piano and Eliza said, "Yea, I'm taking piano so I can play High School Musical." She has high aspirations! She enjoyed it. I think as long as she can get through the initial basic part, she'll keep loving it!

Well, I'd better get going... This week started out pretty open, but things keep popping up! There is always so much to do. Libby turns four next week, so I've got to get her invitations done for a little party.

Here is a picture of my latest decorating. This is on a wall by our kitchen table.



And here is Libby and Ellie coloring. I wish they got along like this all the time. I am trying to work with Libby on being more patient and nicer to Ellie. She is difficult a lot of the time.

HSM 2

The much anticipated movie was on last night: High School Musical 2. And you'll never guess what I did. I FEEL ASLEEP!!! I was so mad! It was really good but I was sooooooo tired from the week or something and I zonked on the couch at 9:30. I missed the last half hour. I couldn't believe I did that. I really liked what I saw so far. We have it taped, so I just need to watch the last part. I tried to today, but I didn't get time to watch it and focus on it. But I really liked it! I had heard the songs before and thought they were okay, but after seeing the movie, they make more sense and I like them a lot now. Brian surprised us and bought the CD on iTunes last night, so we've been listening today.

Here's a quick update on the rest of our week.
--Friday morning going to school was a bear. I left Eliza crying with her teacher. It about ripped my heart out. Eliza started crying when we were just about at her school. I stayed in touch with her teacher throughout the day, and she did great. She was fine when I picked her up and had had a good day. I am hoping this adjustment to school gets easier. Soon.
--We saved our date night for tonight since we stayed home for our family HSM 2 party! We had brownies and ice cream. Libby was excited about that part for sure!
--This morning Brian went on a 4x4 drive, then a friend helped him fix our sprinklers. That took a while, but it's done! We also got our trees trimmed today. It looks so bare! Brian took Ellie, Libby and Eliza swimming at a friend in the ward's house while I tried to get some stuff done at home. I got ready for my lesson tomorrow and I got some decorating done. I am trying to finish E & L's room. I also put up a picture in the kitchen. I'll work on posting a picture.
--For our date, we ate dinner at Rumbi with a gift card we got for our anniversary. Thanks Mom & Dad! Then we checked out Hobby Lobby (my first time there), and did some errands at Wal-Mart, Kohl's and Walgreen's.

Better get to bed!

Yummy Dinner

Today started with Eliza giving us a hard time about going to school. "I am NOT going to school!" Nice. After a long time of that (and no other choice!) I took her to school. She is fine once she is there and did great when I dropped her off. After I dropped her oof, I had a presidency meeting at Becky's. All our kids played while we met. It is a little loud, but we get it done! After the meeting we came home, then my visiting teachers came over. It is always fun to visit with them and have them come. Leslie gave a great lesson--it's a good one this month (when is it not good?!). She also gave me a CD from Time Out For Women. I am listening to it right now and love all the songs! I am working on a young women's sacrament program and I think I might use one of the songs for it.

When they left, we did lunch and played a little bit. We stopped at Target before we picked up Eliza. I am trying one last ditch effort (not really) for a chore chart that works. I got the idea from my friend Rachel and I am excited to try it out. It sounds like it might really work! I'll test it out and report on it. So I had to get something at Target for it. After Target, we picked Eliza and friend up from school. She ran to me with a smile on her face. Silly girl. She had a good day. She is so funny--throughout the evening she tells me everything that happens at school. Really everything. I know all that goes on at kindergarten at her school. She internalizes and remembers everything! Eliza takes her lunch and I slip in little notes to her and she is so cute about them. She saves them and loves getting them. She was so sad today because she lost it. The drama!!

After school, the girl we carpool with came over to play. While they played, I made dinner. It was really good and so easy! It's Shredded Beef & Tortilla Casserole.

shredded beef (i used the beef chuncks from the cannery and it was great!)
1 1/2 pints sour cream
1 can diced green chili
1 sm. red onion, finely chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 bag spinach/avacado chips (from Target)
1 to 2 cups shredded cheese

Crush chips and line the bottom of glass baking dish until it's about 2" thick (or so). Combine all other ingredients and pour over tortilla chips. Sprinkle with a little more cheese and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

So easy and my family liked it. Tonight we cleaned up the house, did some laundry, played a little and put the girls to bed. A good night. ...except for more complaining from Eliza. Sheesh. I really hope it wears off soon! I can't handle that every night!

Wednesday

This morning I took Eliza again to school. This time, she played a little on the playground before they blew the whistle. So I showed her where to put her backpack down before she played. I waited until they blew the whistle and showed her how she would then line up. It's all so new to her--I am glad I could be there to help show her learn the ropes. Really--it seems so easy, but to a kindergartner, it's all so new and I am sure can be scary.

After we dropped her off, we went to Target for some milk and a few other items. Then it was back home to play and to keep busy. After lunch I put Hattie and Ellie down for naps, and Libby had a friend come over for a play date. They had such a great time together. They played Polly Pockets, Barbies, dolls, house, etc. We also painted nails and had a snack. So cute! I think Libby enjoyed having her over and it made her feel special. We took her home, then picked up Eliza. It was another good day. After that we went swimming at Becky's house. It was a bit crazy and I didn't get to chat as much with others as I was trying to take care of Hattie and Ellie. But I think Eliza and Libby had a fun time.

Tonight was mutual and boy was it a mess!!!! We had to label the metal chairs at the new ward building with the stake name and building name. We had way too much "help". Some of the girls weren't as concerned as making it look as nice as I was hoping. And some of the less mature ones (beehives) were being silly with the paint...getting their hands ALL dirty. So needless to say, one of the leaders had to clean up a big mess in the bathroom. Nice. We had to touch up a lot of the chairs with alcohol and paint thinner. So annoying! When we finish the job I think just one class will do it and I have an idea to make the stencil better.

Picture info:

1. Eliza giving the a-okay about her first day of school.

2. Hattie posing

3. I had a piece of cardboard--from the inside of Eliza's backpack--Eliza took it, grabbed some scissors and created that girl in no time! Seriously. She has some talent!

4. Eliza LOVES helping my mom make the little hats on the loom. Eliza calls her and asks if she can knit. She wants her to come over and bring her looms.

5. Ellie's new favorite place to play...in the little niches in the family room. Brian moved the speakers into the new room.

6. My big helper!! If you need anything cleaned or organized, she is the one to call!

Have a good day.

Day 2

Today went better. Eliza was in better spirits when I picked her up from school, so that made me happy.

She wanted me to take her and pick her up today again (versus doing a carpool). So this morning, I took her to school and she seemed excited. Then I came back home and filled our day with playing and trying to keep things picked up. My friend Terri came over and she taught me a few things in Photoshop. I am so excited to continue to learn more--I am afraid it's going to be addicting! It is a lot of fun to see the possibilities of what you can do to a photo.

In the afternoon, we packed up and picked up Eliza and our other carpool kindergartner and took her home. Eliza ended up staying at playing at her house, which was fun for her. But when Libby realized Eliza was staying, she cried. It was so heart-wrenching--it made me so sad! My parents came over later, though, and Libby had a play-date with her grandpa, which she totally ate up. She is a definite cruise director when he comes over.

But Eliza said her day went well and that she enjoyed it. She told me that one of the boys who had cried yesterday was playing by himself and just playing in the sand. Eliza said she went up to him and said hi and asked if he wanted to play with them. That made my heart smile. What a sweet and caring girl she is. She said that he said, "Yes," and then came and played with her and some other friends. So sweet.

Another funny story...I asked her about her lunch. She is taking her lunch. School lunch is so expensive! $2.25 a day! Yikes. So we pack her lunch and today she had a PB&honey, a granola bar and a drink. (She didn't want the mandarin oranges again like she had on Monday because she spilled them.) I asked her if she liked the granola bar and she kind of got a look on her face. Turns out she didn't eat it. She said two other girls wanted it, so she gave it to them. I asked her, "What did they say?" (thinking--OK--there better not be bullies in kindergarten!!) They just saw it and innocently thought it looked yummy so they asked if they could have some. Eliza let them split it! So I talked to her about being nice vs. getting enough to eat for lunch! She wants to pack 3 bars tomorrow. Ha ha!

1st Day of Kindergarten

Today was Eliza's first day of school. We got up and got ready. She picked out her own outfit and looked very cute. She seemed somewhat excited and a bit nervous. We got every one ready and headed to her school. Brian and I (and all the girls) went in and dropped Eliza off. She went right in and got to coloring a picture. I did pretty good, too. There really wasn't time to cry as we were just trying to learn where to put her backpack and lunch, etc. My heart got stomped on a bit, thinking of her on her own at school all day, but I survived. After we dropped her off, we came home and played. Libby asked once what time Eliza gets home. She tried to play with Ellie, but that is not always easy. I think as time goes on, they'll become good playing buddies. After lunch, I put Ellie down for a nap (I am trying to figure out a schedule) soon followed by Hattie. During lunch was so lonely! I'm used to having Eliza there eating with us, but not having her there made it sad for me! That was probably the hardest part of the day. While they were both sleeping though, I made dinner and Libby emptied the dishwasher. I think her and I are making a great team. After we did our "chores," we played several games of Uno and one game of Life. After that, I loaded everyone up and went to Office Max (the new one by our house!) to get a few things for mutual on Wednesday. Then it was time to pick up Eliza. She ran to the car and was excited to see us. As were we! She had a good day. She said she missed me and I think it was a long day. She has already asked me, "When is Saturday?" I hope though that once they get into more "learning" instead of housekeeping and learning routine, she will eat it up and have more fun. I hope so!

I think the biggest adjustment is for me and Brian. It's nice that she went to school today, but we have to turn around and do it again tomorrow and for the next 9 months! It will take some getting used to for sure. I hope I am up for the challenge.

Here is to day 2!

I've Been Tagged...

by Kristi.

Jobs I've had:
1. Cold Stone Creamery (yum)
2. receptionist at Barrett/Eastman Property Management
3. high school English teacher
4. English professor at GCC

Movies I could watch over and over again:
1. High School Musical
2. Princess and the Pauper (yes, a Barbie movie, but it's cute)
3. I don't really do movies

Places I've lived:
1. Glendale, AZ
2. Surprise, AZ
3. Peoria, AZ
4.

Favorite TV Shows:
1. American Idol
2. The Apprentice
3. Man vs. Wild
4. Dirty Jobs

Favorite Dishes:
1. Pizza
2. Chicken stuffed tortillas from Cheesecake Factory
3. anything Mexican
4. Steak and Bleu from Babbos

Websites I visit:
1. My friends' blogs
2. Sally Jean
3. photography sites
4. azcentral.com

Places I'd like to be:
1. Disneyland
2. Disneyworld
3. Disney cruise (do you see a trend here?!)
4. shopping or somewhere inside in Park City in the winter sipping hot chocolate

Tagging
1. Kari
2. Terri
3. Emali
4.

Weekend

Yesterday Brian picked up Sarah on his way home from work to babysit. At the beginning of our date I took pictures of a cute little family at Cibola Vista. I tried my new trick I saw on a Photojojo newsletter. Basically you cut a Pez dispenser to fit in the flash hotshoe of your camera. It worked pretty well in the beginning in getting the kids to look and smile. Here is a cute one of one of their little boys. He was definitely the hardest to photograph--he is 15 months old and on the move! He was not interested in having his picture taken at all!

After that we went to Gordon Biersch for dinner. Brian had gotten a gift card from there, so we decided to use it. We had to laugh as we told the waitress after she gave us a run-down on all the beers they had, "I know this sounds a little strange to come here when we don't drink!" The food was great though. We had the garlic fries for an appetizer and shared the fire-roasted chicken and fettuccine. It was so delicious. It had a pesto cream sauce on it. We both really loved it. Then we headed to Target for a gift for one of the ladies I visit teach. We got some Cold Stone and headed home.

Today we did odds and ends around the house and cleaned up a bit and did a few errands. We went and looked at my brother's (and family) new house they are buying. It was fun to finally see that. Then we went to Brian's parents' for a little bit before heading home.

Tomorrow we get to go to church in our new building. Last week was the first week in, but since we were gone, we missed it!

Good night.

On the Homefront

Eliza starts kindergarten on Monday. I can't believe it's finally here. We are excited for her, but I feel so nervous. It's been like a boot camp here the past week as I am trying to think of everything I want to make sure she knows as she is thrown out to the wolves in the real world! Now I can't protect her as much as I would like here at home! It's so weird knowing she'll be out there making choices and hearing and seeing things that I would rather she didn't. I hope we have taught her well so she does make good choices. This whole week I have been trying to think of everything and she just thinks I am weird for always having something to tell or teach her. She is like, "Moooom." It's rather funny. I am reminding her that she'll see other kids wearing things and doing and saying things that we don't allow in our home and hoping she understands that every home has their own rules, etc. etc. I've talked to her about respecting teachers, and being friends with all the kids, integrity and honesty and not cheating, etc. I have taught her those things all along, but with school starting Monday, I've felt the need for a life lessons boot camp! We met her teacher last night and we were very impressed with her. She seems very on the ball and I think will be great for Eliza.

In other home news...Hattie is getting bigger and bigger. Basically I think she is a chunk! So cute though! Ellie is getting closer to two years old, I am afraid. She is still so sweet and fun, but she is wanting to be more and more independent with things like eating. Libby starts preschool the week of labor day. I think she is excited but a little nervous. We went on Tuesday night to get their backpacks. I thought Eliza was just getting one, but Brian wanted Libby to get a new one since she always just gets the hand-me-downs. They picked out matching backpacks...black and pink Hello Kitty ones. They were only $12.50 at Kohl's! Score!

Wednesday night was mutual--a stake opening social for all the wards. It was a service project, followed by a dance. It was fun to dance a little and enjoy the music.

I got copies of my latest book the other day. Designing With Details. I can't believe it's, sheesh, probably my 25th book at least. Hard to believe!

I have a photo shoot tonight I am doing. It's a family of 4 and I am going to do them at Cibola Vista. I have never done pictures there, but they have a lot of great places for pictures. Then Brian and I are headed to dinner. Yum!

OK--some photos from our trip.

1. the pierced lady

2. An amazingly beautiful park in Edinburgh

3. Yummy crepe stand--we got milk chocolate, so they put in these Cadbury "buttons". So good!

4. The castle at the Military Tattoo...they lit it up with different colors throughout the performance

5. Brian and I before our last dinner

6. Our dish from the Indian restaurant

7. From the Military Tattoo

8. Stirling Castle

9. Holyrod Palace

10. From the Military Tattoo

11. in front of Edinburgh Castle

12. a clock made from flora and fauna

13. on the Royal Mile

14. busy Royal Mile b/c of the Edinburgh festival

15. Edinburgh Castle

Rest of the Trip

OK--
So here is the scoop about the rest of our trip. Pictures are still forthcoming. Really. I promise. I am too tired at night to put them up--I know--go figure! It's the jet lag.

August 2, 2007

Today we woke up at 9:30!! We had to be down to breakfast by 10 or we would have missed it! The curtains in our room make the room so dark, I had no idea what time it was. It felt good to sleep in. But we got up and threw some clothes on and had breakfast. Then we came back to our room and got showered and ready. Then we headed out to Edinburgh. We walked around and went to several cathedrals and museums. We saw St. John’s and St. Giles Cathedral and St. Cuthbert’s, too. We went into a couple others, too. They are just totally amazing—the architecture it magnificent and it’s a wonder how anyone ever built them! In Scotland, there are a lot of museums and most of them are free. So we went to a few—an art museum, an art gallery and a place that depicted the people of Scotland from a long time ago. We also walked down to the other end of the Royal Mile and bought some souvenirs. We had a light Mexican food mid day meal at Pancho Villas. It was different Mexican food than we are used to, but it was very good. Then we got some ice cream. It was delicious. I am not sure what made it different, but it was so good. I had 2 scoops—chocolate and nutella. Brian just got chocolate. At 5 o’clock we had reservations at Mary King’s Close for a tour. A close is a very small alleyway in between 2 houses or town houses. But a couple hundred years ago the gov’t wanted to build a city chambers building, so they razed several town homes and built the chambers over the top. But remnants of the homes and the closes were all left behind. So we toured those under the street. It was a fun tour. All along the Royal Mile again were lots of interesting people showing their talents and selling their wares. After our tour, we went back to the hotel, then went with the EJ group to dinner at Mansfield Traquair. It’s an old church that is now used for functions. It was a very beautiful, amazing building with amazing murals. We sat with a couple of great families, so that was fun. And the food was good. There was potatoes, chicken, lasagna, salads, etc. The lasagna was my favorite—just very creamy! Dessert was cream puffs and some delicious ice cream. After dinner we took the bus back and are just hanging out in our room.

August 3, 2007

This morning we got up and ate breakfast by about 9 AM. We both opted for a light breakfast. I had cold cereal. After breakfast we ventured down to the royal mile where we set out to see a play as part of the Fringe Edinburgh Festival. We bought tickets to the 1:05 showing of Roald Dahl’s The Giraffe, the Pelly & Me. Before it started, we ate lunch at Rocco—an Italian food place. Brian got another pizza and I had a roast chicken sandwich. It was good but quite heavy on the mayo. Yikes! I wiped A LOT off! Then we went to a venue called C Too. It was a little theater kind of under a building. The play was cute. It was just a short 45 minute play—aimed at children, but it was fun. After the play we headed back to our room where we took about a 3 hour nap! It felt great to sleep! Then we went down to a little restaurant called Shakespeare’s where we got free access to the Internet so we could check our e-mail. After we did that, we went back down to the Royal Mile because tonight was the Military Tattoo. They didn’t let in until 8:15, so we walked the street—searching for some ice cream. The place we got it last time was closed and so was the fudge shop where I wanted to get some “tablet.” It’s like a cross between fudge and Boston cream that my grandma used to make. So good! We settled on a milkshake at a place called “Wannaburger.” It was probably the best shake we have ever had. It was so chocolate-y and had little bits of chocolate in it. We loved it! After our shake, we made our way up the royal mile to the castle for the Military Tattoo. We were about 7 rows up on the North side right by the castle. Basically it’s a celebration with all sorts of military bands and drill teams. It was fantastic!!! The bands were amazing. There was a drill team from a Taiwan all girls’ school. They twirled rifles and had a band. There was also a team of kids aged 6-16 who rode motorcycles anywhere from 60 CC to 240cc. They did some crazy tricks! (pyramids, riding backwards, crossing between each other really fast, riding on a ladder on the bike, etc.) They projected some images on the castle as they talked about music through the ages. We are glad we went to see it!

Now we are trying to get warm in our room. It was a bit chilly outside and very windy!

August 4, 2007

This morning we got up at 7 AM and got ready and down to breakfast. We had to meet the coach at 8:30 for our tour. We went to the Stirling Castle over in Stirling. We got a little tour by our tour guide, then we got to explore on our own. It was very cool and interesting. The ride there was beautiful. Very green, lots of trees, rolling hills. The castle has some very old and some “new” parts. It’s crazy how they lived back then and how much power the royalty had. They could do whatever they wanted and no one questioned them because they were the king or queen! After we looked around a bit, we ate lunch at the castle at the Unicorn café. We both had sandwiches, chips that were soooo good and dessert. I had “millionaire shortbread” which is a caramel shortbread with chocolate on top. Brian had chocolate cake. After the castle, we got back on the “coach” (what they call big busses) and were taken to Loch Lomand (like the kids’ song). It’s the biggest fresh water lake in the UK. It was beautiful, too. We got to take a boat ride around part of the loch (lake). Beautiful scenery—so green—hills, lots of trees. It was a great time. After our “cruise” we headed back through Glasgow to Edinburgh. For dinner we went to an Indian restaurant called Gandhi’s on recommendation from the concierge. It was so delicious! We have never been to an Indian restaurant before, so we weren’t sure what to expect or what to order. We settled on a chicken Tandoori dish with lots of fresh herbs and spices. Brian was going to order butter chicken, but we decided (with a lot of help from our waiter) that we would get some rice and bread, too, so we split one dish which turned out to be plenty. But we loved it! So many different flavors and tastes going on! The sweet bread was very good, too….almost like a sopapilla with honey. We want to try more Indian places when we get home. After dinner we went to Tesco Express (a small grocery store) and picked up some more chocolates to bring home and share. We came back to our room and headed up to the pool. It was too cold for me, but Brian got in and swam for a little bit. We also called the girls and they are doing well. I am excited to get home to see them on Monday.

Sunday August 5, 2007

This morning we slept in until about 9:20. Then we quickly got ready and headed to breakfast. It was toast and jam for me. Brian likes the chocolate muffins and hash browns, so he had those, too. After breakfast we came back to the room and got showered and ready. We intended to go to church, so we got ready for church and headed down to catch the bus. We waited in the bus stop and the one bus we needed—15—drove right past. It didn’t even stop! I guess what you have to do it flag it down. OK—so we were ready when the next one would come at 11:44 AM. Church started at 12:20. 11:44 came and went and no bus. We waited until about 12 and no bus. In fact, hardly any buses came. Princes street—a main artery—was blocked off for a parade at 2 PM to kick off the Festival and the buses were running. We were bummed because we wanted to go to church and see the building and see what church was like here. We tried though. So we came back to the room and changed clothes. It was very cold and drizzly today. I enjoyed the rain. We went down and grabbed some lunch at Baguette Express across the street from the hotel. I wish we would have found that place earlier! It was so inexpensive and good! You could get a baguette with any fixings you wanted for 1 pound 90. Or you could get a baked potato with anything on it for 2 pounds. That is what I had. I had a potato with butter, cheese and onion. Brian had soup—ham and lentil—and plain baguettes. So good and cheap! Next time we’ll know where to go!

The rest of the afternoon we were lazy and relaxed. I took a nap and Brian started packing things up. He took a little nap, too. Then we got ready for our last dinner. It was a dressy one—I wore my brown polka-dotted dress and Brian wore a suit. The food was okay—we enjoyed the kids’ buffet the most—chicken fingers, fries, noodles and veggies! During dinner they had a couple of Scottish dancers, then a Scottish band came and performed. It was great. We sat by a couple and another couple with their 2 girls. One just graduated from high school and one from college. This was their “gift.” It was fun to think that that might be like two of our girls later! Now we are finishing packing and getting ready for bed. We have to be down in the lobby tomorrow at 6:45 AM!

August 6, 2007

Today we head home from Scotland. We got up this morning at 5 AM. We wanted to get breakfast before we left, but the restaurant didn’t open until 6:30 and we thought that would cut it too close. In the lobby they had muffins, croissants and some drinks for those who had to leave early. We left the hotel at 6:45 and were bussed to the airport. We got there and got all checked in. We only had to wait a little bit before our plane boarded. While we waited I got a muffin and hot chocolate. We wanted to use the last of our pounds so we didn’t come home with any. We ended up with only 20 pence left. Not too bad! Our plane was delayed about 20 minutes, so by about 10 AM Scotland time, we were on our way. It was a 7 hour flight! And boy did it feel like it! I listened to my iPod, read, slept and watched most of 2 movies!!! That is good for me. We watched Are We Done Yet and RV. They were both entertaining but nothing I would watch again. I got pretty bored. We had two good meals though. One was chicken and rice and the other was a warm lunch meat sandwich with cheese. I had a middle seat and Brian was by the window. I had to go to the bathroom and kept trying to hold it because the lady next to me slept a lot! And none of the little noises would wake her up. Finally when our second meal came, she woke up, so I waited until we finished eating, then I got up and went. Boy did that feel good! We got to Newark on time and we have a 4.5 hour layover here. We’ve tried to fill the time by getting ice cream, checking our e-mails, looking at the shops, etc. One of the airport workers here filled us in that if we went in the center of the food court, you could use the internet connection that is upstairs in the president’s club. It worked! Score! I looked for a book in the bookstore to occupy my time on the way home, but everything I wanted was about $15 and more than I wanted to spend. So I decided I would do some editing and writing that I need to get done. I hope that fills my time.

OK--that is our report from our trip. My kids are waking up, so the pictures will come later!

Our Trip So Far...

This will have to be without pictures until we can find someway to upload them. But here is how our trip has gone so far...

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

We got to the airport yesterday at about 8:30 AM and got all checked in. We grabbed a quick bite to eat, then just waited for our plane to board. There was free wireless internet in the airport, so that was nice. We got on the plane and flew almost 5 hours to Liberty Airport in Newark, NJ. It was a pretty uneventful plane ride. I read a couple of magazines and started and nearly finished No Doubt About It by Sheri Dew. I love that book. I don’t remember if I have read it before, but it is great! So many wonderful insights and things that will help me be a better person. I highly recommend that book. Brian read the newest Harry Potter book (number 7) the whole way. We got a cheeseburger on the plane with some suspicious light-colored meat. I passed on eating that and just opted for my salad and kit kat they provided. Brian ate the burger and said it was good. I’ll take his word for it. When we arrived in Newark we had 4 hour lay over, but it gave us plenty of time to walk around, eat and read some more. We ate at a little Portuguese restaurant in the airport. The service was soooooooo slow but the food was pretty good. At about 10:45 PM local time we boarded our plane, taxied for what seemed like forever, then started on our 5 hour and 54 minute flight to Edinburgh. It wasn’t as long as I thought it would be. I did a little sleeping and mostly reading. I finished my book. Brian read a lot, too, and I think he is almost done with it. We got a really yummy beef and potato dinner with some of the good Pepperidge Farm cookies. They also served a light breakfast snack, but we both passed on that. We touched down around 10:45 AM, Edinburgh time, went through customs where I got asked a lot of questions. The lady was like, “What are you doing here? Do you know anyone here? Are you here for the festival? (I said, ‘No.’) Then she said, “Then what brings you here? Who are you here with? Where is your husband? etc…” Yikes! Do I look suspicious?!?!? After that we got our luggage and were met by some travel reps from Edward Jones. She took us outside where the weather was gorgeous and we were picked up by our “chauffeur.” He drove a VW Transporter. It was a nice little mini-van type vehicle. I told Brian that would be a perfect car for us! It seats 6 nicely in the back and it still has a ton of cargo room. It’s weird to see them driving on the opposite side of the car and on the other side of the road. I look at other cars and see the passenger (who in the US would be the driver) and think, “Ahh! Watch where you are going! Look ahead!” It was about a 25 minute ride to our hotel. I really had to focus and concentrate really hard to understand what our driver was saying! I didn’t catch some of it…just nodded and said, “Oh yeah.” or “Cool.”

When we got to the hotel we went to our room. It’s nothing spectacular, but a clean place to sleep and get ready. We were both so hungry, so we went out in search of something to eat. We found a great Italian food place (Bar Italiano). We had a magherita pizza, which was delicious! It is hard trying to convert things to pounds. Our lunch was like 6.75 pounds and they take credit cards, but you have to tip in pounds, too. We tipped 2 pounds, which equals out to a little over 4 dollars.

I was afraid to go to sleep because my friend Rachel said when they went to Rome they went to bed in the afternoon and didn’t wake up until the next day at 1 in the afternoon. But we were both so tired, so we got a wake up call for 5:30 PM. It was a great nap and we both slept like a dream. We got up at 5:30 and we got ready for our dinner. It was our “Welcome to Edinburgh” dinner. When it was time to go in, there was a bagpipe player in all the Scottish dress playing. It sounded really cool. Dinner was scrumptious. I really liked the Mediterranean pasta salad. There were also “tatties” (mashed potatoes), pork, ravioli, and beef. The beef was interesting. It was good, but just different than the “beef” I am used to. It was very light and just totally was so tender. The desserts were tasty, too. There was a rich, delectable Mississippi mud pie, shortbread and a lemon soufflé that was so light and creamy. Yum!

After dinner we just walked around the town for a little bit. We were trying to get to the Royal Mile, but we didn’t find it. One street we went down was a little seedy….bars—of all kinds—lined the streets. We quickly walked past. We did see a lot of cool architecture and buildings. There was an interesting and very pretty cemetery we walked by. We also saw the Edinburgh castle—it’s beautiful and so amazing. We hope to tour that this week. The weather is beautiful! It’s probably in the 60s. Lovely.

It sure is an interesting feeling/experience to be in a different country. I feel like I am going to do something wrong or against custom or something. I told Brian I feel a bit out of place here, but imagine going to like China—where you would really feel out of place.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

We both had a great night sleep last night. This morning we got up at about 7:15 and went down to breakfast. Brian had meetings that started at 8 and mine started at 9:15. In my meeting—the spouses meeting—basically we did introductions, heard about a 30 second firm update, then listened to a tour lady talk about all we could do on our trip.

Both of our meetings got out before 11, so we scheduled some activities, then walked down Princes St. looking at all the cool stuff. We ate a cool looking place called Kenilworth. We both ordered cheeseburgers, but the meat was a weird-looking, light colored meet and it had a strange taste to it. It definitely wasn’t McDonalds or any other American hamburger for that matter. I ate about 1/3 of it. Brian didn’t mind it too much. At least the Ciabatta bread it was on was good. After lunch we came back to the hotel where we met up to take the city tour. We got on a charter bus and got a tour of part of the city. We saw the Queen’s Palace, went down the Royal Mile and stopped at the Edinburgh Castle. We got a little tour there, then we got to explore on our own. It sure is an amazing castle and very pretty. After the castle, we strolled down the Royal Mile and picked up a few souvenirs. For dinner we went to Bella Italia. Yum yum. It was the best meal I’ve had in a while. Brian had a pizza and I order linguine rustica. It was just linguine with a butter and olive oil sauce and some chicken and sun-dried tomatoes. After dinner we headed back to the hotel, stopping at Somerfield’s for some chocolate and at McDonalds. Brian got a Rolo shake (something new they have) and I got a McFlurry with Cadbury Dairy Chocolate in it. It was great. Before we got to our room we called our girls. They are having fun. Eliza is homesick. But they are surviving and hanging in there.

Oh yeah…Right now in Edinburgh is the Edinburgh Festival and the Military Tattoo. Actually it starts on Friday and miraculously we were able to get tickets. They have been sold out since Christmas, but one of the tour people here had some connections. But on the Royal Mile, there are a lot of “artists” and “actors.” Lots of very interesting people, too. At one point, Brian got my attention and kind of motioned toward someone and did like a “Whoa…she is very interesting/weird” look. I looked and immediately said, “Oh my gosh. Take a picture of her right now. Do you know who that is?” It was Elaine Davidson—the lady in the Guinness book of world records for the most body piercings. Freaky and ouch! I couldn’t believe we saw here. So we quickly snapped some picture. We did it nonchalantly although from the pictures it probably looks like we were stalking her!