It's Friday! Yaaahhhoooo!

Yesterday was the same old same old around here. I finished reading my book by afternoon. It really was an awesome book. Great plot with lots of twists, turns, and mysterious surprises. I have to go back for more books today. :)

I also got a couple of Brandt history books while at the library so yesterday I sat down and indexed all the names so I can put them on the Deuel County website for fellow researches to find and use. It is amazing how many people lived in Brandt in the early 1900's. This was once a thriving town complete with grocery stores, banks, gas stations, car dealerships, and a school. Now all we have is a bar/cafe, post office, and gas station. Main street is a shadow of its former self.

I spent most of the day cleaning and just doing normal household chores. Billy came home at 6:30 and decided to grill for dinner. I sat and typed on the computer while he cooked and the kids played outside. He made hamburgers and hot dogs complete with salad, fruit, and beverages. I went out to eat and about froze my tushie off! Where on earth did our summer go? Whoever took it better just bring it back or I am gonna have to do some butt whoopin! ;)We ate quickly and cleaned up the mess. The kids decided to go for a bike ride so we loaded everyone up and off we went. We took the playground balls so we could stop at the park and play "Horse" at the basketball nets. I spent the time chasing Mr. Bill around and pushing him in the swings. He saw a bunny rabbit at one point and decided he was going to catch it. He ran and ran and ran but the bunny seemed to be one step ahead all the time. :) Max even made an attempt at catching the rabbit but they are just too fast for him.

We finally got home at 9 p.m. so the kids got into jammas and hit the hay. I sat and finished my typing while Billy watched t.v. Mr. Bill harrassed me the entire time until I finally laid him down and told him to stay there. He feel asleep shortly after that. :)

Today we are off to Brookings for Crazy Daze and to do some shopping. I have to get our niece a birthday gift since her party is tomorrow. We are going to Huron on Saturday for the party. All of Billy's family will be there. Heaven help us all.

Have a great day ya'll!

My birthday turned out good and bad. I spent the day answering the phone. I think just about everyone in my family AND Billy's family called to wish me a happy birthday. It was nice to know that many people were thinking about me. I decided to make my own birthday cake since I figured no one else was going too. (Billy has made me two cakes in the 11 years we have been married). I made a Red velvet devil's food 2 layer cake with a three-berry pudding between the layers. It was scrumptious. The kids even all liked it. Except Megan, of course, but the only food she actually likes is PB&J.

I spent the day doing nothing special. The kids and I played and goofed around. I made dinner at 5:30 thinking Billy would be home shortly especially since he actually left for work on time that morning. He should have been home by five but this is my husband we are talking about. I made goulash and garlic toast. The kids and I ate and still no sign of my husband. I decided to go ahead and cut the cake and eat it. The kids and I had a piece and then cleaned up dinner. I sat down to watch some t.v. and the kids went upstairs to play the game they were involved in before dinner. Finally at 7:30 my husband shows up. Now he did have the forsight to stop and get me a rose and a small glass trinket and two balloons. That was nice but he had completely missed my birthday and had ruined any chance of us getting to go anywhere and do anything for it. I am very disappointed that he still doesn't care enough to spend some time with me. We put the kids to bed at 9:30 and then my mom called. I talked to her for about an hour. Billy went in the bedroom to watch t.v. and left Mr. Bill to harass me while I was trying to talk to my mom. Mr. Bill finally feel asleep on my lap so I finished my conversation and came to bed. Billy continued to watch t.v. so I went to sleep. I really dislike having a t.v. in my bedroom.

I don't know what the deal is with my husband. I don't understand why work is so important that he can't come home on time and spend it with his family. In the end, he will retire and his job will be over but his family won't. We are always going to be here and always going to need him. I wish he would put more effort into spending time with us. I am feeling a great divide between us lately. He is either watching t.v., mowing the lawn, or at work. We haven't had any time to sit and talk or connect in any way for several weeks now. It doesn't help that for the last week he hasn't been home until 7:30 every night. The sad thing is he doesn't seem to care one way or the other.

I got the mail yesterday and opened a letter from SDSU addressed to Billy. I assumed it was another letter asking for money but opened it for lack of anything better to do. I was surprised to find a letter not asking for money but a note letting Billy know they were planning an art exhibit for former SDSU visual arts students who were or are Dak employees. They wanted him to participate and show some of the works he has done since working at Dak. I called to tell him about it thinking he would be excited. I was wrong. He said no he didn't want to do it and seemed annoyed that I called to tell him about it. I don't know why I call him at work. He always acts like I am an annoyance to him and half the time doesn't even listen to me. He will start talking to a co-worker without even excusing himself so I realize he is no longer talking to me. Anyway, I hung up and wished I hadn't called.

Yesterday the girls and I headed into Clear Lake to the library. We had never been there before and I have been dying to get in there to see if they have any books about Deuel county that I can use to find ancestors names and get them online. I am looking for McCook county too to add to my website but I may have to make a trip to Salem for that. So we got to the library and found the nicest little library. The kids hit the kids section and there they have a big grey and white rabbit in a cage for the kids to see and play with. My kids were all amazed since they have really been wanting a rabbit anyway. I left them in that area and went to check out the South Dakota History section. I found a centennial book about Brandt and a couple of other books that give town histories for South Dakota. I also got a just for fun book. It is called "Last Act" by Jane Aiken Hodge. I am about halfway through it and it is a really good book. It is sort of a mystery, romance, thriller book all in one. It is really keeping my brain working! I love it! :)

After we got home from the library we sat and read our books. Mr. Bill feel asleep on the way home so I put him in his bed. The neighbor kids came over then and the kids played while I read. At about 6:00 I decided to make dinner. Our neighbor had given us some beets from his garden so I decided to try them. We have not eaten beets before so I found a recipe in my cookbook for harvard beets. It is bascially a sweet and sour sauce that you put cooked chopped beets into. Becca helped me get teh sauce done. I made another new recipe called Potluck pasta from my cookbook. It turned out to be pretty identical to the tuna casserole I usually make. We sat down to eat and the kids each tried the beets. The were not impressed. I tried them too. They were okay but not something I could eat a whole lot of. Billy came home about 6:30 after we had eaten dinner. I sat down after dinner and read some more of my book while the kids played upstairs. The kids got bored and came downstairs so we decided then to go for a bike ride. We drove around Brandt mostly and just played. The kids like to go to the church parking lot and drive around in circles pretending like they are going to crash into each other. We rode by the park and picked some apples from the apple tree. The kids got enough for me to make a pie with. While we were riding around the gas station a baby kitty started meowing at us. The girls stopped and tried to get it to come over to them but it seemed too afraid. We drove off then and the kitten followed us. We decided to ditch the kitten then because, as much as the girls wanted to take it home, I did not. We lost the kitten near the bar and headed off towards home. We ran into our neighbors who were out walking so we stopped and talked to them for a few minutes. We came home and Billy decided he was going to go change his oil in the van. I sat and played with the kids in the yard. At one point Becca was standing by the pool so on a whim I reached over and pushed her. She fell into the pool on her butt. She got up laughing but bent on revenge. I grabbed Marea as I was running away from Becca and plopped her into the pool too. She stood up and cried. She still doesn't get how to PLAY! I tried to throw Megan in too but that little bugger is too fast for me. Her dad finally caught her once he saw what we were doing but he opted not to through her in. Shortly after that Mr. Bill got in the pool. He was standing in the middle of it freezing so much he was shaking but he absolutely refused to get out. Finally I bribed him with a piece of gum and we all went in the house. The girls watched a Jimmy Neutron movie for an hour and I read my book. Then I put the kids to bed and sat down to read my book some more. Billy came in and washed up and went into the bedroom to watch t.v. Mr. Bill sat and played with his cars and bugged me. I finally realized Billy had gone to bed so I went in and got my pajamas on. I sarcastically thanked him for letting me know he was going to bed and sat and read while he watched t.v. I just don't get him!

This morning I awoke at 6 a.m. thanks to Mouse and Mr. Bill. They were playing in my bed. I feel back asleep for a little while and had a horrible dream. I dreamt Marea, Cassie, Billy and I were on a road trip in Minnesota and we were at the Mall of America. Marea had lost control of herself and was throwing a fit in the mall. I tried to put her in time out but ignorant bystanders kept coming over and comforting her and interferring in the time out to the point that Marea would not stop screaming. In the dream I slapped Marea and yelled at the people and told them to go away. I took Marea out to the car and got her and Cassie in their seats. I got in my seat and looked around and couldn't find Billy. He finally came out of the car parked next to us and go in. I asked him what he was doing and he said he needed the air conditioning and he was just waiting for me. In my dream I noticed he smelled like smoke and asked him about it. He said he would never do drugs and to stop bugging him. I woke up then. It was a horrible dream. I hate when I start my day like that because it takes half the day for me to get over the angry feelings that were only a product of a dream. LOL

So, today I am attempting to make myself feel better. I am thinking of heading into Broookings to take the kids to the park. But first we must do showers and clothes. TTFN!

"Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday dear meeeeee, Happy Birthday to me!" Today I am 30! I must say I am pleased with my life, my family, myself, and my world. So today, I will celebrate all I have spent the last 30 years creating!

Thanks go out to Uncle Steve for the great birthday card I received in the mail. Something about sex, I think! LOL Also thanks to Cousin Jason who thoughtfully shot me off an ecard! Your birthday wishes were greatly appreciated gentlemen!

I finally got my van at 4:47 yesterday evening. I called the station myself. Apparently it was done at 10 a.m. but they couldn't remember my last name so they couldn't look up my number to give me a call. That is a small town for ya! So 90 bucks lighter, I have two new rear tires to go with my new front tires! After picking up the van I headed into Brookings. As I turned off the off ramp to head to Dak to pick up Billy I saw a lot of flashing lights (in front of me!) Apparently a truck and a red car had been fighting for the same section of road. The red car was upside down on the highway and was being flipped back over by the towtruck as I approached the intersection. The police stopped us until they got the flattened car back on its wheels. The truck was an older model and was now missing its hood and driver's side headlight. I hope all was okay there. We picked up Billy and headed off to Walmart. I needed to get to the pharmacy. I ran into Uncle Stever there. He was busy working. We chatted for a few minutes and did our shopping. We stopped to get a new lightbulb for the van. The blinker went out on the passenger side a few days ago so I figured we better fix it. We also picked up some dog food and then proceeded to check out the school supplies. The girls were excited by all the "cool" stuff and I was excited by the prices. I got glue for .19, 24 crayons for .33, folders for .15, and notebooks for .10. All totaled I spent 40.00 at Walmart and got all but a few odds and ends I will pick up later for the girls. That is not bad considering I had five kids to buy school supplies for. :)

After playing phone tag with my mom for almost a month, I finally caught her last night. We talked for an hour until my cell phone battery threatened to die. Sounds like the same old stuff over there. A kindly neighbor dropped off two shopping bags full of peas at our door so I sat and shucked them while I chatted with my mom. Our cat, Mousedew, decided to help and kept sitting in the bag with the peas! LOL She was soooo helpful. After that I called it a night and went to bed. I didn't sleep very well last night. About 2 a.m. I woke up for no apparent reason and just could not go back to sleep. I am not sure when I drifted off but it seemed like the alarm went off shortly after that. I got up at 6 this morning and did my usual exercise. I am going to get myself a treadmill for Christmas because I am getting really bored with aerobics. I am ready for some variety. I have showered, dressed, watered our transplanted tree and the garden, had breakfast, and finished the laundry already this morning. So now I am off to find something to do. I hope you all have a peachy day!

Meet our newest cat, MOUSEDEW!

She was formally known as Mouse, but has since changed her name upon finding a new hiding place.

Yesterday was a busy day for us. We spent the entire day outside getting little odd jobs done that we have been meaning to get to.

Billy started mowing the lawn and I moved some bricks from around our playhouse/shed. Billy helped me move the wheelbarrow full of bricks over to the old cistern and dump them in. Once I got that done I decided to it was time to move our tree. We have two small trees, probably 3-5 years old that have been growing next to our playhouse/shed. They are too close together and too close to the evergreens behind them. We decided to move one of them over to the south side of our house near the current driveway as there are no trees there. This is the ONLY side of our house that does not have 80 year old trees on it. I started digging the hole we were going to put the tree into but quickly hit gravel. Billy took over and got the hole dug. Then he went over and dug around the exisiting tree. After digging and digging and sweating and sweating we still could not get the tree to budge. Billy decided to stick the hose under the dirt and see if that would help loosen the tree. The hole quickly turned into mud and a mess! Billy and I both grabbed ahold of the tree and 1, 2, 3 aaaaaaahhhhh! We both almost ended up on our butts as the tree let go of the ground. It did not end up coming with any dirt though. We quickly replanted it in the new hole and watered, watered, watered. I watered it again this morning and it is looking a tad shell shocked. The leaves are all droppy and not looking too happy. I hope after a few days it will perk back up. This is our first attempt at transplanting a tree so for those of you who are laughing at us, :P ! LOL

Here is a pic of the kids after getting a wheelbarrow ride from dad:


We moved the pool onto the driveway and filled it back up. Hopefully now it will stay a tad cleaner without all the grass clippings the girls seem to track into it. It is a nice level spot so the pool should be fun to get into! We also moved the swingset over by the pool and the new tree so now the kids have a "fun area" in the yard where all of their toys are at.

After all that work, we decided to treat ourselves to pizza in Brookings. We got the kids into some clothes (just threw them on over their swimsuits)  and headed into town. I was famished by the time we got to Pizza Hut. I ended up eating four pieces of pizza, two breadsticks, and two glasses of Pepsi! Calorie overload eh? It was yummy though!

Today I had intended to get up and exercise so I could get the van to the garage at 7 a.m. to get the two new tires put on. Apparently, you have to turn on the alarm clock in order for it to work! Who knew! LOL  So, I didn't get up and exercise and the van didn't get to the shop until 9 a.m. They still haven't called to say it is done. Oh well. Tomorrow I will be sure to get up on time. LOL

I got the Shopko flyer in the mail today. School supplies are on sale already! Cripes, it is still a month or more away! The kids were all excited and looking at the stuff they get to buy for school. All except Megan that is. She started crying. For those of you who know Megan, know that this is NOT a normal behavior for her. It is very hard to make her cry. I asked her what was wrong and after a little prodding she mumbled that she didn't want to go to school. I asked her why and she said she just didn't. I know last year she had a lot of trouble socially in school. One girl in her class repeatedly picked on her despite the numerous times I talked to her teacher. She also had spent many days during recess alone with no one to play with. I think the friend aspect of school is really bugging her. She also said she didn't understand math and she didn't want to do it. I told her to ask for help and tell me she is having problems and I would make sure she got help. I told her it was my job as a mom to take care of her but that she needs to tell me something is wrong. She sat in my arms and cried for a good half hour. I finally suggested she give school a try this year and if she didn't like it still I would bring her home and we could do homeschooling. She jumped at the idea of homeschooling. I told her that would only be a second option that I really want her to give school a try first. She was not excited to hear that. I really hope as it gets closer and she finds out who her new teacher is, she will be more excited. If not, I may be in need of a good homeschool curriculum. Good thing I went to college to be a teacher eh? :)

I have spent most of today cleaning up the tornado that goes through my house every weekend. I have done four loads of laundry and still have just as many to be done. I have cleaned my room, the upstairs bathroom, the dining room, the kitchen, the living room and I am working on the entry way and the upstairs. Mr. Bill is taking a nap right now so I can't get much done upstairs. Well, I hear the dryer buzzing which means I have been on here long enough. TTFN!

Here is an pic of the kids on the Fourth of July in the matching shirts Aunt Vonnie sent them:

An unusual weekend post for me. Billy and the kids are crashed on my bed watching cartoons so I took the opportunity to pop in here and see what excitement I could find.

Last night Billy came home from work and we all piled into the van and headed into Brookings. Dak was hosting a picnic for the folks who are going to work at the olympics. There were about 40 or so people there. We got there and ran into Jordon and Allison. We sat and talked to them for a little while as the kids enjoyed the playground equipment. We walked from the playground over to the picnic area a little while later. I realized then that we do look quite the site with five kids swarming around us as we walked the 50 or so feet. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, who was already standing at the picnic area turned and watched us walk over to the tables. Several of the people made comments like, "Did you forget a few?, Your kids seem to be multiplying, etc." Really funny ha ha!

We dined on a meal of hamburgers, hotdogs, beans, chips, and pop. It was a nice time. We let the kids play at the park for an hour or so after we ate and then we packed up the van and came home. As we all piled out of the van, Billy turned to me and said, "The back tire just popped!" Sure enough, as I got closer, I could hear the unmistakable hissssssss of air leaving the tire. Thank heavens we made it home before it decided to pop. So I put a call into our local gas station this morning. They apparently close at noon on Saturday so he told me to bring it in at 7 a.m. on Monday and he would have it done in time for Billy to get to work.

Today's plan's include getting the bathroom sheetrock mudded and done so we can begin painting this week sometime. It is supposed to be a fairly cool weekend so I don't know how much outside time we will get. Until Monday.....

As I was browsing the clearance clothes at Shopko the other day, I came across a couple of girls shirts each with an astrological sign on them. Around the sign were words that describe that particular sign. I found one that was Leo and I read the words around them. It had things like loyal, assertive, fierce, honest, and strong. So today while I was standing in the shower I started thinking about how accurately these signs describe us and how perfectly Leo fits me. Then I started to wonder if this is actually a star-related thing or if it is just a matter of the way I was raised.

I grew up in a rather turmoultous home. My parents seemed to be uneasy with each other from the day I can remember. I was born in Hot Springs, South Dakota and lived there for a year. We moved to Wyoming and my parents built a house in Glenrock. I lived there until I was six. My earliest memories are of my dad coming home from work and finding us playing in the partially finished basement with old checks (the ones the banks send back after they have been processed). We would hear him coming down the stairs yelling because although my mom didn't care if we played in the checks, my dad did. He would turn the corner and start taking off his belt. At that point all I remember is running for my room. Once my dad unbuckled his belt, we knew what was coming if we didn't get lost. I also remember many days we would bring our hotwheeels into the basement and ride around the stud wall on the cement floors. We had a lot of fun doing that. I don't remember my parents fighting with each other at this point in my childhood but if you ask my older sister she has some stories that always enlighten me.

We lived in Glenrock until I was 6 or 7 and then my parents decided to move us to Hawaii. I don't know what spurred that decision or how on earth they could afford it. They packed up what we could fit on the plane and we left. My dad found a job at the local sugar factory in Kekaha on the island of Kauai. I was in 2nd grade in Hawaii. I remember walking around the school grounds at lunch time and seeing the many plates of poi (a grey pudding-like mixture of ground up taro root and water) sitting around. It was left outside for anyone and everyone who wished to have some during the day. I tried it a couple of times but never found it too appetizing. I loved living in Hawaii. It was such a beautiful place. We lived right on the main highway in Kekaha on Nene road. We frequently crossed the highway and walked right onto the beach. Many days we would head over to the beach at sunset to see all the crabs come out. It was amazing to walk onto the beach and see literally hundreds of crabs scuttiling around on the beach. These weren't little crabs either, they were at least the size of my dad's fist. I remember many times my dad would take off his flip-flop and tease the crabs with it. One time in particular, I remember the crab got irritated and got my dad's toe instead of his shoe. We all laughed until we cried. I don't think my dad thought it was nearly as funny. :)  We lived in Hawaii for a year and a half before my dad stopped me in the driveway one day. He asked me what I would think about moving to Alaska. Being 8 years old, it sounded cool to me.

A few short months later, we were packed and on the plane again, headed to Anchorage. My dad had been offered a job by a guy in Hawaii so once we got to Anchorage he at least had employment. I remember the first night we were in Alaska. We got into our motel room at about midnight but you would never know it by looking outside. It was broad daylight. My parents put a blanket over the window in an attempt to get us to sleep. We kept protesting and pulling the blanket off. We didn't understand that it is daylight in Alaska at night. LOL We moved into a 14 story apartment building shortly after that. I have two memories of that building. One is sitting in the windows in the living room listening to Kenny Rogers sing "The Gambler" on my little cassette player and singing along as loud as I could. The other was my first, of many, experiences with earthquakes. I was in my room on the top bunk when I felt the building begin to sway back and forth. It is a very traumatic experience as an 8 year old to feel a 14 story building moving back and forth. It was over in a few short seconds but it seemed much longer at the time. My parents found a house to rent just a few months after we got to Anchorage so we moved into it. This house is the first house where I have vivid memories of my parents fights. My dad had gotten a job where he traveled to Nome or Barrel for 6 weeks and then came home for 6 weeks. Towards the end of our life in Alaska it seemed he worked 6-8 weeks and came home for 1-2 weeks. My parents spent the majority of his time home locked in their bedroom yelling, hitting, screaming, and fighting with each other. My parents had several parties at this house and alcohol was always involved. I remember many times hiding in the closet with my older sister. She was very much my protector through it all. I didn't realize then how much she would save me from. While in Alaska my parents did get so fed up they considered divorce. I remember sitting down to dinner one night and partway into the meal my dad said, "Your mom and I are getting divorced". Of course we all cried and dinner was over. Somehow my parents pulled it together long enough to decide to move again. After two short years in Anchorage my parents decided to head off to California. We sold off most of our stuff and packed up what was left in a uhaul and drove from Anchorage, Alaska to Oregon where we stopped to visit my dad's sister.  My parents decided they liked Oregon so they found a house in Salem and there we were. My dad continued to fly to Alaska and work so it seemed to me at that point that he was not around much. I remember for my birthday that year I asked for a baseball and glove. I think now, in hindsight, in my childish thinking, I believed if I did something my dad liked, he would spend more time with me. Needless to say,  he continued to leave for Alaska.

After living in Salem for a year my parents packed us up again and moved us to Newport, Oregon. We were once again a street away from the Ocean. I have many happy memories of living here but most of them are spending time with my neighbors and my siblings. I remember very little of what my parents were doing then. This is the house I lived in when I had the joy of getting stitches. I was helping my brother make his soap box derby car for Boy Scouts. He and I took the block of wood and a hack saw. Once he had his design drawn on we laid the wood on the floor to start cutting. During one cut I put my hand on the wood to move it over a little bit but my brother kept cutting and got the side of my index finger right when it bends at the first joint. I jumped up and told my mom. She grabbed a towel and tried to stop the bleeding. My mom and dad debated over putting a bandaid on it or taking me to the ER to get stitches. My dad thought since it was right where my finger bent they wouldn't stitch it. In the end, my mom won and we made a trip to the ER. Two stitches and five hours later, I was home. I don't remember every working on my brother's car after that. He must have finished it himself.  After one year in Newport, my parents decided again to move.

We packed up and headed to our original destination of California. We settled in a college town of Chico. I quickly made friends and adjusted well in Chico. My parents continued to fight and my dad continued to fly to Alaska to work 6-8 weeks at a time. I was 11 by the time we got to Chico. I vividly remember my mom starting to get a little odd by then. She was not quite the same person she was when I was little. I couldn't put my finger on it but she had changed. My dad got a job in Chico because my mom wanted him home more. I think it lasted a week and he was back in Alaska. I imagine after years of being gone and coming back to deal with four kids, a wife, and the regular household stuff was a big adjustment for him. After a year and a half in Chico my parents and their marriage had had enough. They packed us up and moved us to Hot Springs, South Dakota where my mom's mom lived. Very shortly after we got a house and moved in my dad left. He never came back.

Cut to my teenage years. My older sister had many issues from the way we were raised and from the divorce. She never fully recovered and my mom couldn't deal with it so at 16 years old, she sent her to live with my dad in Washington. My brother became very angry and violent after the divorce. My mom sent him to the Children's hospital in Denver and then to a group home in South Dakota. I don't remember how long he was gone, many months though. He finally came home a less angry child but a distant adult. Through all of this, I don't have many memories. I struggled to find me and my place in the world. I had a hard time making friends because of the moving, I imagine. I realized somewhere along the way that my parents must have been trying to leave their problems behind each time we moved. I watched my mom become a single parent of four children. She struggled to work, parent, and relax. It seemed each day was a tougher one than the last. She finally landed a job a the V.A. Medical Center in Hot Springs after a few waitressing jobs and other miscellaneous work.

It wasn't long after my dad left that my step-dad Steve entered the picture. I have to give him a lot of credit. He walked into a family with a lot of problems and with four kids and he didn't flinch once. We were not nice to him. I know I felt like he had come to take away my dad's place and I thought if he would go away my dad would come back. In the end, Steve was the one who was there for me. He came to my track meets, he gave me money for school activities, he drove me where I needed to go, he disciplined me when I needed it, he gave me the freedom to make mistakes but was always there to catch me. Basically he became the dad I had just lost, even though I didn't want him. My mom worked, struggled, and did what she could to be a mom. Many times we would get mad at her and threaten to leave and go live with our dad. Eventually she started saying, "Go ahead!" Obviously that was not the reaction we were looking for so that tactic was well used up. I got to visit my dad for two or three summer I believe and then I had jobs, boyfriends, and the usual stuff that seems important to a teenager.  I met Billy my Sophomore year in high school and the rest is history.

I do know I am very thankful for many of the things my parents did for me and very angry for others. I have accepted their faults and look at them as a learning tool for me as a parent. I know what I can do better than my parents did, and I will. My dad popped back into my life when I was 18 and getting married. He walked in the day before my wedding and asked me when I was going to give Billy back the pants in the family. I wasn't angry then or now. My dad doesn't know me. I am agressive and I like to be in control. Billy is just the opposite so we complement each other very well.

One thing my dad did give me is the gift of competition. I strive to do everything better and better. Unfortunatley he also forgot to teach me not to do better while hurting others. That was a lesson I had to learn on my own. He also gave me the best gift in our wedding card. He wrote, "I hope you are both reading this in 30 years." Well dad, "Them's fightin' words!" We will be reading that card in 30, 40, and 50 years. I will do better than my parents and we will have a better marriage. My dad continues to be a missing element in my life. He lives in Oregon now and did come out when Becca was 2 months old. I haven't seen him since. I have talked to him on the phone a few times since then. I still feel a loss there. I wonder what we did to distance him from us. Billy's dad died when Megan was just two months old so the only grandfather they know is my step-dad Steve.

My mom taught me to be a loving individual and not to be a doormat. My mom can be very compassionate and was a great woman before life took it's toll on her. I am saddened to say she is in her fifties now but seems to be 80 by the way she deals with life. I miss the happy, vivacious, loving person I once knew. My mom was my greatest strength as I went off and got married and moved away to college. I never would have made it without the three hour phone calls, the visits home, and the money she supplied when I needed it.

My step-dad taught me to stand up for myself and not to be afraid to do anything. I admire him for his willingness to deal with all of us and staying commited to my mom. He truly is the epitomy of loyalty. He has been there for me no matter what I have been up against. Many times he has rescued me and all without ridicule.

So is it the way I was raised or the stars?   You decide! ;)

Last night we made a run to Watertown to go to Menard's to return the ceramic tile we had bought to put in our bathroom. Now that my brother has graciously provided the new tile we felt the need to get rid of the old stuff. We took all four boxes and the mastik back and got 70.00. That is always a nice surprise. We decided to go out to eat and do a little shopping while we were in town. We ate at Subway and then headed off to Shopko to see what new and interesting things they have on the shelves. We spent a good hour just trying to find a birthday gift for my niece who turns two on Friday. We came out empty handed. Billy also was rather intent on getting me a birthday gift while were there but I couldn't find anything I really wanted. I looked at the treadmills. They are all on sale right now but still more than I want to spend on one. We ended up leaving Shopko with nothing. Then we headed to Walmart to get Billy some Mt. Dew. We wouldn't want him to go through withdrawal. LOL We also got the kids some new toothbrushes and toothpaste. We have been having  a heck of a time getting Mr. Bill to brush his teeth so I thought maybe a new toothbrush would be inspiring. He brushed his teeth in the van on the way home and then again first thing this morning. Maybe, just maybe, we got his interest.
We got home at midnight last night and we all crashed into bed.

I awoke this morning at 8 a.m. to Megan and Marea fighting. What a pleasant way to start the day. I can't wait until they all hit the teen years and sleep until noon! After I broke up the fight, Megan surprised me by setting the table for breakfast. I think she was a tad hungry! LOL By this time Billy had woken up too but Becca and Cassie were still sleeping. I fed the kids who were awake and ate some cereal myself.  Shortly thereafter, everyone was awake so I fed the other kids and threw all of them in the shower. Just as I finished dressing and brushing the girls, the neighbor girl knocked on the door. I let her in and went to take a shower myself. I can't imagine what it is like to be kicked out of your house first thing in the morning and only allowed back in for meals and bedtime. I would feel like a bad parent.

Billy is being very cuddly today. He always wants to be on my lap. Just a few minutes ago he came in and took his plug (pacifier) out of his mouth and said, "Look!" I thought maybe he was eating something. I didn't see anything. Then he pointed to his back tooth. I realized then that his 2 year molars are coming in and they must hurt. He said, "Owie, I need bandaid!" This is the kid who won't let me put a bandaid on anything! I gave him some motrin and he seems to be feeling better now. I guess that would explain why he hasn't been wanting to brush his teeth lately.

Today we don't have anything on the agenda. I am picking up some stray laundry and we will probably go outside and hit the pool today. I love summer weather, keep it coming! TTFN!

Tile, Tile, Tile! Wooohooo! We are almost finished mudding our bathroom walls and yesterday my brother came up from Sioux Falls and brought us tile for our floor. He works at Menards in the floor department. He saw the tile we had bought and informed us that it was crap and he would bring us some better stuff. He was right. The stuff he brought looks like rock and is twice as thick as the stuff we bought. It looks really nice. I can't wait to get it installed.

We spent the day yesterday with my brother and his girlfriend and their daughter. They are preggo and just found out yesterday that it is a girl too. She is due on Thanksgiving! It will be so cool to have another niece! I am going to be a full time Aunt soon.  It was good and hot here yesterday so we all went outside and played in the pool. The kids had a blast and got really wet in the process.

My sister Vonnie called yesterday too. She is only four weeks away from being full-term with her baby. I can't believe it has gone by so fast. We are going out to the hills in August to see her and the baby. One of my friends from online is also going to be in the hills around the same time so we are going to try and catch up to her. It will be nice to meet her for the first time face-to-face.  I will have to remember to bring the camera and take lots of pictures.

Today, I have two sick kids so I imagine we won't be doing much. Becca still is not feeling good and Cassie is complaining that her stomach hurts. I am off to play house. Have a peachy day!

Never fear I am here!
 
It has been a crazy last few days, mostly in my head. I have been dealing with a lot and had no desire to come and dump it all on you. We spent the weekend just being lazy. I started mudding the bathroom walls so hopefully we will have it done soon. We went to Menards on Saturday to pick out paint colors. We seem to gravitate toward the earthy colors. We already have three rooms that are green and one that is blue. Billy kept trying to pick a bright yellow, which I wouldn't mind, but it screams 1970 to me. Maybe I will buy a quart and try it out. But first I must finish mudding and sanding! :)
 
Yesterday I didn't do much. Summer is finally here, for a few days anyway. We enjoyed 90 temps and plenty of sunshine. I even had to turn on the air for the first time all summer. By Friday though it is supposed to be back down to the 70's so this won't last long. I worked on the laundry as usual yesterday. I am finishing it up today. I seem to have lost all desire to clean my house. It is starting to look pretty bad. Yesterday I went for two 20 minute walks with all the kids. It was just too hot for them. Plus, Megan was sick. Sunday afternoon we had been outside playing in the pool. She was swimming and playing for hours. We came in to have dinner and get ready for bed and she said she felt hot on the outside but cold on the inside. I felt her forehead but she didn't feel hot to me. I got out the thermometer and double-checked. Sure enough, she had a 101.7 fever! I gave her some motrin and she had a popscicle. She complained that her tummy hurt. She didn't throw up but she had diarreha that night and well into Monday morning. Last night Becca started complaining that her tummy hurt too. This morning she is running to the bathroom as well. I figure it must be a virus of some sort the kids got. I hope it stops with them.
 
Mr. Bill has become quite a challenge for us lately. He is very agressive and hits, kicks, and swings when he is mad or doesn't get something he wants. When the girls did this at this age we would pretend it really hurt and they would immediately feel bad and give us hugs and that pretty much stopped the behavior. Billy seems to relish the fact that he has the power to hurt us and will do it over and over. I have tried time-out with him but he could care less that he is in time-out. We have told him to apologize to us, and he does, but I am pretty sure he doesn't get it. I am pretty frustrated with it all. My brother was very agressive all of our childhood and as he got older it got worse. I think his anger came from watching my parents fight but now I am wondering if it isn't a genetic thing. I have considered calling him to see if he has any ideas on how to stop this now, before it gets worse. I am not sure he would be willing to share all that with me though. He still seems to be stung by things that happened in our childhood.
 
I am also stressing over my husband going to Greece in September. I am very nervous for him to fly over there. I am mostly worried that something will happen and he won't be able to come home. We also have the financial burden of him going as his work doesn't reimburse him until he comes home. I will be glad when it is all over and I can breathe a sigh of relief.
 
Our new baby kitty is so much fun to watch. She has so much energy and spunk. She seems to sleep at night but is always up at 5 a.m. zipping around on my bed biting our toes, fingers,  and anything else that appears to move under the blanket. When she can't get us to wake and play she goes after Mr. Bill. He always wakes up crying because she gets him. Billy tried locking Mouse and Ghost in a pet crate together to see if Ghost would get over her attitude toward our other animals. The poor kitty hid in the corner of the box and Ghost sat as close to the door as she could get. She must have been tormented by other animals extensively in Baltic because she actually wet herself she was so scared. Never mind that she is five times bigger than Mouse. So we let them out and Ghost has gone back to the great outdoors. She almost never comes in anymore. Kiara doesn't mind the baby kitty anymore and will actually eat next to her now. Max still thinks cats are great dog toys and delights in chasing them around the house. He even goes after Ghost despite all the growling, hissing, and attacking. "Dumb dog" fits him to a T!
 
Yesterday I got the most unusual call on my cell phone. Very few people have my cell number so I let Becca answer it when it rang. I assumed it was Kristina or Billy as they are the only ones who ever call it. She brought me the phone and I said hello. It was a lady claiming to be with Cell One (my cell phone company). Apparently in the attempt to switch over my all-tell account she had lost all of my information in the computer and needed me to give them it all again. Okay, HELLO! I don't have an all-tell account (never even heard of it) and I just watched a friend go through an identity scam after he gave his information through an email. I told her I didn't have  an account with All-tell and I didn't know what she was talking about. She quickly apologized and hung up. I promply called Cell One to see what was up. The lady I talked to said someone had called in on the 13th, claiming to be me, and trying to switch their cell phone from All-tell to Cell One and keeping their phone number. I told her I did not have an account with All-tell and that I didn't want to change my account at all. She said she would note that on my account and that all was fine, nothing had been changed. Whew! But that makes me nervous. I don't give my cell phone number out very often so now I am wondering who has it and how they got it and what they were going to do with my information once they got it. I hope it was just an error and nothing more.
 
I am also dealing with some crap from a lady on the internet. I ran into her while doing my genealogy  three years ago. She and I discovered we were cousins. She sent me her tree so I could add the family I didn't have. I uploaded my information to two websites so that any other family would be able to find me. As I was very new to this whole process, I accidentally put all of her infomation online with mine. She rudely let me know that I had stolen all of her information and that I had better get it offline asap. I apologized profusely and emailed the two places and asked them to remove it as I had put it up in error. They both removed it quickly and I thought it was done with. Now three years later this lady is still seeking out my tree and posting very rude, demeaning, threatening, and angry notes on my tree. I have tried taking my tree offline temporarily but she does this at random so that was fairly ineffective. I have emailed the website that hosts my tree but they said they cannot do much to stop her. I hadn't heard from her since January so I thought she had finally got tired of it all but yesterday I got two new ones that weren't very nice. It always leaves me feeling rather upset. I always go and quickly and quietly delete the notes from my tree in the hopes that she will get tired of posting them and she will go away.
 
I have one week until I hit the big 3-0! I don't really mind turning thirty. I really wish someone in my life gave a rats that I am having a birthday and would make a big deal out of it. My family is all so wrapped up in there own lives that they don't even know it is my birthday, Billy's family doesn't even know when my birthday is, and my husband, well he is my husband. He never makes any attempt to do much for my birthday. He has been getting better over the last few months but I am not getting my hopes up. I liked it better when I was a kid and I got to have parties and presents and people cared that I was a year older. :(
 
Well, there, I ended up dumping it all on you anyway. I don't know that I feel any better but hopefully there won't be so much swirling around in my head now. I hope you all have a great day today. TTFN!

It has been a busy week as I predicted.

Tuesday morning our social worker came and did our annual homestudy so we could be relicensed for foster parenting. She went through the usual, seeing how we are all doing, asking if there were any changes, any unusual events over the year, and then she walked through the house to make sure everything is still safe and kid friendly. She said we will be relicensed for the fourth year now. It is odd that we have been foster parents for so long and only had kids during the first year. There just doesn't seem to be a need for us on this side of the state.

After she left, I got the kids fed and ready to go to Sioux Falls. Becca's tooth had broken off on Sunday night and it was really bothering her. I called the dentist on Monday and they said they could get her in on Tuesday. So Billy took half the day off of work and we all headed down to Sioux Falls. We got to the dentist and checked Becca in. A little while later she came out. Apparently it wasn't her tooth that had come off, it was an old filling (the new white ones) that had come out and so they just cleaned it up and refilled it. I am glad that is all it was. I was starting to think she had the weakest teeth in the world. She already has 3 fillings and she is only 8! I have started giving her tums for the calcium (on the recommendation of her doctor) since she is not a big milk drinker. She does like cheddar cheese and yogurt though so I may just have to start buying them more often. I also buy the margarine that is enriched with calcium so hopefully she has all her bases covered.

Once we left the dentist we decided to go see my brother, Luke, at Menards. He is assistant manager in the floor coverings department. He is in the new Menards that is over by Sycamore. It is a large store. We were in awe as we walked in and saw all the stuff they carry that the Watertown store doesn't. We may be shopping there more often in the future. We ran into Luke and he talked to us for a little while. We took the kids over to the play area they have set up in Menards after that. We stopped and picked up a bucket of drywall mud so we can finish our bathroom.

We left Menards and went to the mall to have dinner. The kids had hotdogs from dairy queen and Billy and I had chinese food. It was yummy! We decided to make a quick run to the habitat store to see if they were still open. By the time we got there they had closed. I guess we will have to make another trip down there. We are still looking for a 32 inch door and a 28 inch door that match our other doors. By the time we got home on Tuesday, we all were tired and we headed for bed.

Wednesday I started the day with an appointment in Clear Lake. Billy took the day off so I didn't have to haul all five kids with me. I left at 9a.m. and got home at 11 a.m. Luke was planning to come up to our house so Billy was busy mowing the lawn when I got home. We decided to run to toronto to exchange our propane tank so that we could grill while Luke was here. While we were gone Luke called to let us know he was coming. We started filling the pool since it was so warm. The kids all got their swimsuits on and got in before it was even full. Luke, Bethany, and Jezzmine showed up at 4 p.m. They brought bbq chicken to grill and we had bought some steaks so that is what we had for dinner. I threw some potatos on the grill too. It was a yummy dinner. Billy and Luke played on the computers after dinner and Bethany and I sat and talked and played with the kids. It was a fun night. They left to head back to Sioux Falls at about midnight. Billy and I crashed in bed. He had to get up and go to work this morning. At least Friday will be here soon!

Today I am cleaning house and just hanging around. I am going to get some more time outside today. I just love the sunshine. I am ready for it to be 90 to 100F! COME ON SUMMER!

Have a great day everyone!

Busy, Busy, Busy! This week promises to be a full one.

We spent the weekend doing fun activities as a family. Friday Billy ended up working late so the kids and I played twister and watched t.v. I put them to bed and got on here and played Pharaoh for awhile. After that I went to bed.

Saturday we got up and went into Brookings for the summer arts festival. We decided to get donuts for breakfast so we were all starving by the time we got into town. We stopped at HyVee and got donuts and juice. We had all eaten our fill by the time we got across town to the festival. We ended up parking on main which is about 3-4 blocks east of the park since there were soooo many cars there. There were several parking lots of local business that finally got wise and started charging people 4-5.00 to park in their lots even though the businesses were closed for the weekend. We meandered around the park for a good hour and a half, checking out the booths of crafts and stopping to watch two shows. The magician we saw was alright but he needed to work up to his acts. He performed them so quickly that the audience was never sure when to clap. The other was a contemporary native american band otherwise known as Brule. They were amazing to listen to. They can really make some good music. They had CD's for sale there but we didn't pick one up. After that show we stopped and got the kids and icee and Billy bought two smoked turkey legs. We sat and ate for a few minutes. The turkey legs did not taste good and were very tough. It still makes me nauseous thinking about it. The kids started getting hot and tired by the time we finished the icee's so we decided to go check out the mall's air conditioned booths.

As we drove up to the mall, we noticed the humane society had animals out so we stopped and looked at all the kittens. They are so cute when they are little. We went into the mall and quickly headed to the bathrooms. Once done using the facilities, we did a once through the mall. It was rather unimpressive. We decided to take our grouchy kids home and come back on Sunday to do our grocery shopping.

We got home and everyone crashed on the couch for a good hour. We got up and Billy took all the kids outside to play for awhile. I sat and played Pharaoh for a hour and then went outside with the kids. My brother Luke called and wanted to come see us on Sunday so we told him to come on up. Billy decided we would all sleep in the tent (which has been up in our yard for the last two weeks) so he and the kids got all the pillows, blankets, and other essentials and went outside. We packed into the tent at 10:00 p.m. and settled in. We attempted to tell ghost stories but neither Billy or I could remember any from our childhood campouts. As we layed down and turn the light off the wind picked up. It was making the tent creak and blow around. It made it difficult for me to fall asleep. Once the wind quit, the thunder, lightening, and rain began. I don't know how long it rained but it sure seemed like it was several hours. I finally fell asleep sometime during the night only to be woken by one of our dumb cats who thought she would get our attention by jumping onto the top of the tent. Billy got up and knocked her off and tried to bring her in the tent. She yelped and jumped back out before he could fully zip the door shut. We decided to leave her out. :) Finally I fell asleep and stayed that way until 7:30 when the kids started waking up. I took them in the house and fed them breakfast and got in the shower. Since Luke was coming we needed to get moving so we could go get groceries and I needed to get my hair cut. We got everyone showered, dressed, and fed by 9:30 so we headed off to brookings. We hit the grocery store first. After that we went to walmart to pick up a couple of prescriptions. Once we finished at walmart we went to Great Clips and I got my hair cut. By 12:30 we had finished all our tasks and we came home.

We spent the remainder of the day outside. It was a beautiful 80+ degree's outside so we filled the pool and let the kids swim. The kids and I washed the van. They had a lot of fun scrubbing off the dead bugs ewwwww. LOL Billy started cutting branches off our great evergreen's that are looking so dead. He got quite a pile down before Mr. Bill learned he could climb the ladder and join his daddy in the tree. He just has no fear. I can't even climb as high as they were. Billy finally brought Mr. Bill down and I held him so Billy could cut some more branches.

Shortly after that a guy in a brown car pulled up in our yard. Billy went over to talk to him. I stayed by the pool and watched the kids. Apparently the guy wanted to buy our camper. Billy told him it was his mom's and he didn't think she wanted to sell it. Billy stood and talked to this guy for quite awhile so I finally took the kids in to make dinner. While I fed the kids, showered, and cleaned the house, Billy stood out there and talked to this guy. I found this somewhat odd since Billy is NOT a talkative guy. Finally at 8:30 Billy comes in the house. Apparently this guy has been living in his car over by the park and told Billy his life story. This guy is related to half of Brandt but none of them like him. He apparently used to babysit for a family in White but they accused him of child-molestation and he spent time in jail for it. He wanted the camper so he would have somewhere warm to live for the winter. Shortly after Billy came in our neighbors called us to tell us NOT to talk to this guy. Well, he is not exactly what I would call family friendly so that probably wasn't going to happen anyway. Needless to say that has sort of set Billy and I on edge. It makes me nervous to think this guy is roaming around Brandt at any given time. I am glad I am a protective parent and don't let my kids outside unless I am there with them.

After the whole mess was over Billy and I sat down and watched Trading Spaces, inside out. It was a 2 hour special about the cast and crew of trading spaces and how the show was made. It was a very interesting show. I really enjoyed it. By then it was midnight so Billy and I called it a night.

I didn't get up to exercise again today. I have literally dropped 3 pounds in the last 2.5 weeks and I haven't exercised once in those 2.5 weeks. I figure my body must have needed a break so I am giving it one. I am going to sneak in 2-3 workouts a week and see how I respond but it may be awhile before I head back to five full days a week. Yesterday I got on the scale and it said 144. I have dropped another pound. Only 9 more to go!

MMMMMmmmmm, warm hot homemade churros! I just finished a batch of these. They are sooo tasty and so easy to make. The kids devoured the whole plate full in just a couple of minutes. Now we have to plan dinner. LOL

What did I do today, you ask? Well I started out the day slowly. I got the kids fed and dressed and then finally at noon I got in the shower. At 1:00 the neighbor kids came over again (for the third day in a row) so I made everyone go outside to play. It is a beautiful SUMMER day outside today. I cleaned up the yard and mowed the back half. I had so much clover to go through I didn't think the lawnmower would be able to handle it. By the time I got done with the mowing I was sweating like crazy. Isn't summer GREAT! I love it!

We all came in to cool off and have a drink after that. The kids all headed upstairs to play and I sat and watched Oprah. Once that was over I started the churros and now here I am. A rather uneventful day at the Sides house. Billy just called to say he is still at work, no surprise there. I doubt my husband will ever come home on time in his life. He is late to work, late to come home, and late just in general. It is a good thing he is not a woman eh? ;)

Tonight I plan to sit and do nothing some more and perhaps play Pharaoh. I am so ready for the weekend and the lack of pressure it creates. Tonight Billy can take over. Not that he does it incredibly well. I keep telling him it is a good thing he is not the stay at home parent because he is usually home about 10 minutes before he starts yelling and is irritated with the kids. I cannot imagine what he would be like after a full 12 hours with him. Of course, I would come home from work on time so it would only be 9 hours for him. LOL

Tomorrow we are heading into town to see the arts and crafts fair and get groceries. Sunday we don't have any plans unless Kristina and Lance come out again. They wanted to go to the fair too so we shall see. See ya all on Monday!

Motivation has struck hard today. I woke up at 9:30 (I know, I have been a sleepy-head the last week or so) and fed the kids. I ate and jumped in the shower while they finished eating. I scrubbed the bathroom while I waited for my hair to dry and the kids to finish eating. I actually did all the little stuff I skip over when I am just sprucing up the bathroom. I scrubbed the shower (floor to ceiling), the toilet, the sink, the mirror, the floor, and I finished up the laundry I had left. Then I showered and dressed all five kids. They brushed their teeth and I brushed their hair. I came downstairs and cleaned, dusted, and washed the living room and dining room. I vacuumed both rooms thoroughly (even vacuumed the cold air return vents in the floors). I did the dishes, scrubbed out the sink, swept and mopped the floor, and cleaned the microwave. By this time I had run out of hot water so I didn't get to wash two pots and pans that are sitting on the counter. I took the vacuum upstairs and vacuumed the hallway, Marea's room, and the bathroom rugs. I changed Marea's sheets and made her bed. I also vacuumed the stairs and the entryway. Then I made lunch and fed the kids. I just finished eating and now I am relaxing for a few minutes while I wait for the dishwasher to finish drying. All-in-all it has been an active day.

Last night I made rice pudding for desert. Yummmy! I haven't had that for so long I forgot how good it tastes. I think I ate three bowls of it myself. After that we all played Clue. I think that game will be more fun once the kids are old enough to understand how to play. LOL

Billy came home with a new propane tank yesterday. We finally got it exchanged at Sears. They didn't fill it, even though the one we returned was full. Oh well, I guess it is only 13.00 to fill one at Walmart, right Steve? At least now we can grill if we want to.

This weekend is the Brookings Arts Festival. I am so excited to go. I never get to buy anything as everything is unbelievably expensive there but I love to go to eat the food (it is very much like carnival food) and just look at all the stuff. I really hope it is warm this weekend. I always look forward to the art festival. It is sort of my birthday celebration. :)

Last night I played Pharaoh again. It is getting progressively harder and harder so it is getting more frustrating. I finally shut it off at 9:30 and spent some much needed time with my hubby. I think he is beginning to think I am married to the computer. The funny thing is, I bought him one so he could play too and he hardly ever touches the thing. Oh well.

My younger sister is due with her first baby in just over a month. We will be going to the hills to see her after he little one makes her debut. (Yes, she knows it is a girl) I am so excited for someone else to have a baby. I get to hold it, love it, and go home! LOL I also love being able to shop for baby things again. I think that is my favorite part of being pregnant.

Well, enough rambling for today. I am off to finish cleaning my house. I may even tackle my yard today. It is looking pretty messy too.

Happy Fourth to all you Americans! Especially our Soldiers, who I hear, did get to celebrate somewhat over there in Iraq!

We spent the weekend playing, relaxing, going, and doing. Billy took Thursday and Friday off so we had an extended holiday. It was so nice to sit and relax on Thursday and Friday. We played on the computers, went for bike rides, and just were lazy.

Our new grill, we discovered is having problems. Whoever turned the gas tank off did so with superman strength and so we could not turn it back on. Once Billy finally got the knob to turn the stupid thing just spun. The tank never opened. Since it came with the grill and the grill is only a week old, we decided to see if we could get it replaced at Sears. They made us play the phone game, calling different departments, people, etc. until finally we called the store in Brookings. They told us to call the store it was purchased at and have them fax or email the receipt to them and they would exchange it. So we called the store and they said they would fax it right away. We drove into Brookings on Sunday and stopped at Sears and they hadn't gotten the receipt yet. We went to Econofoods and waited for Kristina and Lance to show up from Huron. After they got there we went back to Sears and they said they still didn't have it (well can't they CALL the other store to see what the holdup is????) We decided to go to the parade and come back after to see if they had the receipt yet. The parade started at 4:00 and we got back to Sears at 5:04 and they had closed! Talk about crappy customer service. I am not very happy with the way they are handling this. I have done business with this Sears store once before and was not impressed with them then either. They better get it together if they want to stay in business. Anyway, we never did get the tank replaced. Billy is going to try again this week to see if we can get it resolved. If not we are going to have to exchange a brand new, full tank for another brand new, full, operational tank!

The parade on the fourth was okay. I was very disappointed in the lack of bands and the lack of work that went into the floats. The few political floats were nothing more than election signs taped to a trailer or car and people were walking and handing out stickers. There were no bands of any kind. It is also Brookings 125 Anniversary so I expected there to be many local businesses and the chamber in the parade. I was wrong. The kids were bored as well due to the lack of candy. I think each kid walked away with five pieces. I much prefer Hobo day to the fourth parade-wise.

After the parade we all went to the swiftel center for what was advertised as the Uncle Sam Jam. I don't know who was jamming. It seemed to me everyone there was bored. They had an inflatable obstacle course and titanic slide for the kids. The watermelon feed was almost over by the time we got there at 5:30. There was very little food and very few people. There was a band playing but no one was really listening. We decided after a few spins down the slide and a few runs through the obstacle course to go eat at Burger King and take the kids to the park to wait for the fireworks. We had more fun at the park than we did all night. We got back to the swiftel center at 9:00pm and there still wasn't very many people there. We decided to camp out on the grass in front of our van to watch the fireworks. Billy took the older kids over to play in the obstacle course a few more times. Shortly after he got there, they deflated the toys and started putting them away. He came back to where we were and we all sat and talked and played until 10:30 when they started the fireworks. They fireworks were really awesome. During the fireworks, every time they lit off the ones that just go boom the alarm on Kristina and Lance's van would go off. I think he finally gave up and turned the thing off. We could hear a few other cars going off in the back of the parking lot too. They had some really cool fireworks this year and it was quite a display. It was the highlight of our evening.

We loaded the vans then and sat in the parking lot for a good half-hour waiting for the cars to empty from the parking lot (we figured everyone must have come in about 9:45 because the parking lot was overful as we were leaving) We finally got out of town at about 11:30pm. We got home and took the kids outside in the freezing weather to do their fireworks. We decided to do only the ones that had to be done at night and save the rest for the morning. As it was, we didn't get done until 1:00am.

Everybody slept in on Monday except our new baby kitty who thinks 6am is the time to get up. She starts zipping around our bed attacking anything and everything until she has us both completely awake. Billy finally stuck her in the porch and we all slept until 9:30 am. We got up and showered, had breakfast and took the kids outside in the STILL freezing weather to go finish the fireworks. After that we just hung around. Krisina and I sat and talked and Billy and Lance played on the computers. About 5pm Kristina and Lance packed up and headed home.

Billy and I sat and watched t.v. the rest of the night, while the kids played upstairs. I was dying to get in here and play our new computer game but my shoulder is really hurting from playing on it on Thursday, Friday and part of Saturday. I put an icy-hot patch on it on Monday and took some Motrin but it didn't seem to help much. It hurts to raise my arm above shoulder height. I have had this happen twice before so I suspect it is tendonitis (plus my sister had that last time she was here and the symptoms she had were identical to the pain I experience. She gets it from counting pills all day at work) I have considered going to the doctor to see what they can do but really it is just annoying more than anything right now.

Today we are back to the same old life. Billy is off to work, and I am taking care of kids and the house again. I got on the scale this morning and was surprised to see I was down to 145! I haven't exercised since Thursday morning and I ate everything this weekend. That means I have lost 6 pounds since I started trying to lose weight over a year ago but only started losing weight in March when I started watching what I was eating. I have 10 pounds left to lose. I am so excited to see my weight continue to drop. I guess having all this muscle really does help me lose weight faster. The nice part is, once I lose a pound it really does stay gone. I haven't had problems with the weight coming back so I must be doing something right.

Well, I better get back to my kids. They probably think this computer swallowed me up this morning. Have a great day!