The rumor is chores are boring

"But Mom, chores are boring". This is can often be heard from a whining little girl named Paige. I can't really disagree.

Paige can also be heard saying, "If you don't let me do the things I want to do, then I won't do the things you want me to do." Of course that one is pretty easy to turn around on her.

One of things that Paige has decided is not boring is playing on the computer. Now a lot of their time is spent on this website. My Job Chart.

Its been a good resource at our house. They have complete control over marking their job completion and Ashby has even learned how to type his name without any help. They are nearing completion of 1000 points, in which we promised to reward them with a Toy Story 3 outing.

If any of you have been looking for some kind of customizable job chart, I recommend taking a look at this one.

I did it!

I went back to school and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! For the past 9 weeks I've been taking a Physical Science class in the evenings at UVU. I worked really hard at it and every spare minute was set aside to studying. I had to read about 3 or 4 chapters before each class session, be ready to take a quiz, and turn in homework for each chapter. It was hard to cram all of that in to my life. I've never gone to school with kids at home before, and a lot of things fell by the wayside - like cleaning the house. But that was okay. For the most part I felt like I kept things under control.

I loved being back in the classroom setting. My teacher was commenting how his evening section did so much better on tests and contributing intelligent comments in class than his morning section. I think it is because, if you have to take an evening class you've already had to re-prioritize and commit to something that doesn't normally fit into your life - so you are more dedicated. At least that is how I felt.

I had my comprehensive final last Wednesday - the last day of class and I was excited to be done. But I had a conflict because my softball team was playing a game at the same time and they were going to be short some players. I told them I would get there as soon as I was done with my final. I knew I needed to take the test really fast which meant I needed to really know the material. I studied for several hours and felt pretty confident about most things. I took the 100 question final in 8 minutes, handed it in to a bewildered professor and bolted to my softball game, all the while wondering how many stupid mistakes I made going so fast. Turns out my team found enough substitutes and they didn't really need me after all. But the great thing was that I hit a long fly ball over the center fielder's head and scored a home run. After we won the game, I raced back to class to see if the teacher was still there because he said he would be grading exams that night. I sat and watched while he graded my test. I couldn't believe it...he couldn't believe it...100%. He said in five courses he has taught, no one had ever gotten a perfect score. Wow! Maybe going fast is good because you can't second-guess yourself. I was on Cloud Nine. And to celebrate I folded the four loads of laundry waiting in the basket and mowed the lawn. :-)

Rumor is I'm still 29

Well, that's true...actually I'm just barely 29. It was a nice birthday in spite of the whole getting older thing. I told Brian that some things he could get me could include anything to help me feel more attractive (since I have definitely not been feeling very pretty lately)...you know like lipstick or nail polish or some new eye shadow. He called me early in the day and said, "Okay I've set up an appointment for you to get a makeover at the Dillard's Clinique counter". That was a surprise! I felt all dolled up for our date that evening, though I felt a little funny with blush on - I just don't think I can pull off the blush look. The funny coincidence was that the Clinique consultant turned out to be my cousin, Janene. So that was pretty crazy, but nice because I didn't feel so pressured into having to buy something.

I spent the daytime playing on the slip-n-slide in the backyard with the kids. I love the slip-n-slide. I feel like I can still do it well, and it helps me feel like a kid again. I think I impressed the kids with my sliding ability.

In the evening Brian took me out to a new restaurant called Sparks where I enjoyed a delicious Rock Shrimp Risotto, and then we quickly raced around D.I. before they closed so I could find some new clothes (I still want to go there some time when I'm not rushed, I know the perfect things I've been needing are in there somewhere), and then to the dollar theater. It it always so nice to go out on a date with my husband. And thanks to Joel (Brian's brother) and Emily for babysitting for my birthday date.

Tasha visited over the weekend and we did a few things to celebrate our birthday together. It was especially fun to sing in church with her and blow out birthday candles. I still always feel awkward whenever I have to celebrate my birthday by myself - I much prefer sharing it with Tasha.

Summerfest

The rumor is we were visited by a thief

...visited by a hungry and very dirty hunter. Some time last night our garage was broken into. We first noticed that the screen on the garage window was popped out....the side gate was open to the backyard...the shed door latch was open...looking around everything else seemed normal...call the police?....but everything looks fine....Oh, Dad's compound hunting bow is gone....Oh, the large package of paper towels above the freezer is missing....Oh, our freezer is nearly empty...all the Costco bags of chicken, the stacks of Italian sausage (left over from an Elder's Quorum BBQ), the t.v. dinners, the pot roast...Such strange things to steal.