Interview Time

Michael left this afternoon to head to his interview.  I really wanted to go too but couldn't.  He'll have just over a 7 hour drive to get there.  Tomorrow will be spent in testing and interviewing.  Then he will turn around and head home.  I hope he gets some good sleep so he doesn't get too tired driving home.  I also hope he gets to interview early so he doesn't have to leave too late.  He has to be back Wednesday morning to give a training here at the ranch.  It will be a quick trip, but hopefully a beneficial.

Strides for Students

Saturday we headed to Hendricks (our most favorite place on earth) for their second Strides for Students event. It is a fundraiser for the elementary school.  They had a 1 mile walk/run and a 5k.  Maddi and Makenna ran the 5k with their friends.  I loved seeing them all together again.  The rest of us did the mile.  I ran with Olivia until she got tired and then she got a piggy back ride from Michael.  Then I caught up with Zeke and helped him cross the finish line and then caught up with Susie and helped him cross the finish line.  Zane ran with all his old friends and had a great time.  The weather was a little cool with a breeze but just right when you started running and playing.  It was a great turn out I thought.  Of course I am quite bias with this event.  I, along with two others - Pam and Nancy, started this two years ago.  We did a half marathon at that event along with the shorter races.  So this is my baby :)  It was great to see it go again and to see people still supporting it and the school.  I got pictures of everyone except Zane I think.  I was out running with Olivia when he started so I didn't get any pictures.

After the Strides for Students we went uptown to celebrate Hendrick's Fallfest.  There was pumpkin painting, a petting zoo and a big corn box to play in.  Some of the kids also made scarecrows.  It was a lot of fun.  The kids got to play with their friends for several hours.  Zane got to go home with a friend after the race so he wasn't there for all the festivities but he had a lot of fun playing.  After all the fun we went and had pizza and then went to the Olsens to play some more.  It was a great afternoon.  Michael got to hunt, the kids got to play and I got to visit with some of my most favorite people in the world.    It was good to see everyone and we can't wait to go back and visit again!

Lil' Stangs

Last week Makenna had a cheer camp.  Our school is the Tri-Valley Mustangs so when the elementary kids do something like cheer camp they are called the Lil' Stangs.  Cute huh?  I think so.  Anyways, Makenna loves cheer.  Me, I'm not so fond of it.  No offense to any cheerleaders out there but I think most of the time they just get in the way of the game :)  Plus they can be prissy.  Prissy drives me crazy!  Well, Makenna loves it and she too can be quite prissy.  It doesn't drive me quite as crazy with her.  I think it's kind of cute.  Mostly because she is still developing her coordination so the priss is slightly awkward and exaggerated.  So Makenna chose cheer camp this year.  They do one day of practicing and then one day of performing at a sporting event.  Last year they cheered at a football game.  It ended up being freezing cold with freezing rain turning to snow.  This year they decided to do it indoors between volley ball games.  I preferred that much more.  I've decided I won't sway Makenna from cheering if that's what she wants to do but I will try to convince her to be a boys basketball cheerleader instead of a football cheerleader so I can sit in the warm gym to watch instead of the cold football bleachers!  The girls did a great job.  They did a few cheers and a dance.  They had on cute little pink, black and white shirts with hair bows they had made of the same colors.  Olivia and I went and watched while the other kids were at swim lessons with Michael.  Olivia and I ate popcorn and enjoyed the show!

A Glimmer of Hope

We have finally had a break through!  After so long of sending out applications and resumes and getting nothing but silence in return, we have finally got a reply!  Michael is supposed to head to an interview with the railroad in Nebraska on Tuesday.  It provides a little hope in the whole process.  As convenient as the internet is, it makes it so less personable when it comes to applying for jobs.  I feel talking to a person face to face makes a huge difference in knowing what kind of an employee they will be.  It feels good to finally make it through the screening process and now have the chance to interview.  Of course there will be a lot of competition.  The railroad, it's pay and it's benefits are highly sought after.  We don't know how many people have been asked to come to this interview.  It starts out with an hour long job and benefits description.  Then it will involve a 2 to 3 hour aptitude test followed by a 20 minute interview.  They can't guarantee that it will all happen in the same day but they try to accommodate those that have to travel.  Hopefully it will all work out.  Michael has to work Monday, be to the interview 8 hours away by Tuesday morning at 7 am and then be back to work here Wednesday morning to give a training.  It will be a long few days for him and I will need a lot of ice cream here for me :)  I'm not necessarily holding my breath for this to work out.  Like I said, I know there is a lot of competition, but I am holding on to the hope.  The hope that people are receiving his information, that they are seeing he would be a good employee and that something, somewhere will work out.  I don't know if it will be this or not, but something will.  I, of course, have already checked out the community, schools and distance to family :)  It all seems good and doable.  So cross your fingers and pray that all will go well, Michael will travel safely and do good in his interview process and that what ever is supposed to happen will and that we will be able to accept it when it does!

Caramel Apples

Warning:  There will be a lot of pictures with this post!

Monday we went to the apple orchard and picked apples.  Michael had work off and the older kids had school off.  The weather was beautiful and we had fun together.  Unfortunately I forgot my camera...

Tuesday we made caramel apples with the apples that we picked.  It was our first time making them.  They turned out pretty good and the kids were able to enjoy yummy caramel apples, some of them for the first time.  Olivia helped the whole time but fell asleep before she got to eat one.  I did have my camera for this and I took a lot of pictures.  Enjoy!

Rocks, Blood and Tears

Yesterday afternoon, shortly before supper, I heard crying.  At first I didn't react because I usually hear some kind of crying - someone took someone's ball, someone won't let me play, etc.  The crying however quickly got loud and painful.  Then I heard the kids rushing in with Olivia and Makenna (who slightly overreacts) came running in a told us that Olivia was bleeding really bad.  Right behind her was Olivia with a toe full of blood and a face full of tears.  I picked her up and took her and her dripping foot into the bathroom and sat her on the counter.  She cried and cried while I ran cold water over her toe.  It was pretty nasty looking.  The blood kept coming out from all around her toenail and her toenail had turned purple.  Maddi informed us that she had dropped a big rock on it.  I guess Olivia had put a big rock on top of a flat playground ball and then put a frisbee on top of it.  Then she picked it all up and was carrying it to another spot when the rock fell out from between the ball and the frisbee and landed on her toe.  I could tell from her crying that it hurt.  She finally settled down, we put a band aid on it and ate supper.  After supper she fell alseep on the couch.  It was much needed.  When she woke up I could tell that the band aid needed changed so I began to pull it off.  I started on the underneath side because she was so tender on the top side.  After we got the underside pulled off I let her rest for a minute before I did the rest.  When I started pulling it off the top she started screaming.  I guess the band aid was pulling the skin enough (it was really stuck on there) that it was actually pulling into her toe nail.  It made it start bleeding again.  Makenna held Olivia's hand while I very carefully and slowly pulled the band aid off.  Then we covered it with gauze so that it would be easier to get on and off.  She was in a lot of pain the rest of the evening.   She would be sitting there and then all of the sudden start crying because her toe was hurting.  Around 11pm, she woke up and started crying, her toe hurt, her tummy hurt and she wanted to be with me.  I got her tylenol and let her lay in our bed until she was ready to go back to her own bed.  She went back to sleep and didn't wake again until 3:30am.  I took her to the bathroom, put her gauze back on that had fallen off and took her back to bed.  She slept good the rest of the night.  This morning she is limping pretty good but seems to be doing better.  Her toe looks nasty and she can't wear shoes very well.  We skipped the gym today because she can't wear sandals to the Kids Zone and I knew she wouldn't want to run around and play there today.  Thank goodness it is still relatively warm outside so she can wear sandals and not freeze!  Poor little princess!  It was not a fun day for her yesterday!

A Few Hours into 35

It's only 8am but I have already had a fabulous birthday.  I got some really pretty shirts that my children picked out for me.  Unfortunately (or fortunately :) ) they are not my size so I get to go exchange them.  Maddi picked out a green one because she knows I like green.  The other one was kind of a pinky color because Olivia says I like pink!  Zane picked me out some halloween socks.  They love it when I get them socks so he figured I would love some too.  Dillon picked me out some gum.  He got gum for his birthday that he loved, so he got me the same kind for my birthday because it's the kind he loves!  Olivia picked me out some chocolate too.  She's mad because I haven't opened it yet :)  That's my girl!  I also got homemade gifts from Dillon that I mentioned in the last post.  Maddi also made me a card and gave me a kleenex with an "M" initial on it.  She wrote in her letter that she knew it wasn't a lot but she hoped I would keep it forever!  I will!  Later we are going to pick out some Dora cupcakes because Olivia says that's the kind I want for my birthday.  We will eat our cake on purple and pink princess plates because, once again, Olivia says that's what I want.  Michael is going to make me supper - finger steaks.  I LOVE finger steaks!  The only thing better than Michael making them for me is Joyce making them for me (she makes good food).  Then we are going to go to the movies.  We haven't been to the movies in a long time.   I found some cheap tickets and we are going to see Secretariat, a horse movie, of course.  The kids don't know this yet so it will be a surprise for them.  Also, today I am wearing an outfit that I have not been able to wear for a LONG time!  I reached my goal of losing my first 10 pounds by my birthday.  I am so excited.  I have worked extremely hard for those 10 pounds.  So I am celebrating by wearing these clothes, skipping the gym and having ice cream for lunch!  I probably won't be able to fit into these clothes tomorrow, but today I will celebrate!

My Birthday Picture

In our kitchen we have a chalkboard that we use to write messages on.  Sometimes I try to write a scripture or an uplifting quote, sometimes it has something to do with what we learned in Family Home evening.  On holidays we try to write holiday messages and on birthdays we use it to write birthday messages to the special birthday person.  It usually has a picture (if one of the kids do it) along with a happy birthday wish.  Makenna had done one for me last week but Olivia erased it and colored pink all over the board instead.  Dillon decided to redo it tonight.  I thought it was so cute that I had to take a picture of it.

This is a picture of me, notice my princess crown on my head.  Then he wrote in his cute first grade hand writing, love (heart) Dillon and everyone.  I absolutely love it!  To add to it, he made me a present and wrapped it in a Walmart sack.  It had 3 pictures that he colored, a purple comb that he got on picture day at school, an eraser that says "I love you", a red ink pen and two pieces of candy that he had saved from his birthday bag from church.  Such a sweet little boy who loves his mommy!  These are the things to cherish forever!

Turn the Music Up

On our way home from picking up Zeke the other day from school, Olivia was sleeping and I was listening to the radio.  I decided to turn the music down and talk to Zeke.  After all, we have been taught to use these moments to talk to our children, get to know them better and build our relationships with them.  Here's how it went...

Me:  How was your day Zeke?
Zeke:  Good.
Me:  Did you have fun?
Zeke:  Yes.
Me:  What did you learn?
Zeke:  I can't remember.  (Pause.)  Can you please turn the music up?  I can't hear it.

So much for bonding!  At least I tried :)

Apple Picking

Last Friday I took Zeke and Olivia to the apple orchard just south of Sioux Falls.  We invited some friends to come with us.  It was a beautiful day and we had lots of fun.  The kids got to pet some sheep and donkeys and play on hay bales.  Then we rode on the tractor pulled wagon out to the orchard to pick apples.  The apples were delicious!  After we were done picking apples the kids played on the hay bales a little longer until Olivia had to go to the bathroom.  I didn't want to take her in one of the port-a-potties so we left!  We enjoyed the apples for several days.  This weekend we will go back with the older kids.  They felt kind of ripped off that they  didn't get to go with us so we will make another trip.