Funk

So I'm not doing too well.
I know you're all very surprized since I seem so organized and 'together' right?
I haven't been right since being back from Utah.
It put me out and now I'm not back 'in' if that's the way to put it.
It's a few things.
*Masaru being at school all day has thrown me for a six.
*Dru only working part time and being home quite a bit has thrown me for a six.
*Being pregnant.
*Not working out as much as I used to
*I haven't heard from my family much since being home hasn't helped.
*A couple of worries about mates that I have that I don't understand or can't figure out how to sort out.
*I've seemed to be quite busy almost everyday and I can't do that.  I need to have days at home with NOTHING on my schedule for me to survive.  This is the reason I'd sink if I had to work, ANY kind've work outside the home.  I'm not good enough to juggle it, I'm just not.
I'm in a funk and I'm not getting outt've it and I'm not quite sure what to do about it to be honest.
I used to read my scriptures daily personally AND with my kids.............that's been out the window the past month.
My kids used to be organized and well rounded in the mornings and we'd all do our chores together and get the house cleaned and sorted.
That's been out the window.
My house has never been this disgusting since I moved in.
The floor is the grossest it's ever been EVER.
My toilet is DISGUSTING.
I did vacume today, however, but still need to finish, but abandoned it to wallow in self pity to the blogging world.
I know, part of the problem right?  Whatever.
Dru being around in the afternoons (this isn't his fault) has stopped me from reading my scriptures at the allotted time that I used to read them.  When he's home I wanna be around him and so I'm not as productive.  Actually both of us haven't been too productive to tell you the truth.  Him a little more than me but still, we could be this ultimate force and be totally dominating the house with our double teaming powers.
It hasn't really happened like that.
Plus we've been busy with things as well.  We've hardly had an afternoon that we've been home together the whole afternoon really.
I've got a couple of worries with mates who don't really seem to be talking to me and I don't know why or what I've done.  They don't ring, don't contact, don't really seem too interested in me and I'm not too sure what's changed, this is the frustrating thing I don't know what's wrong, and as far as I can tell I've done nothing to them, yet I seem to be getting punished by their silence towards me.
Sometimes I find girls hard to be friends with to tell you the truth.
I loath passive aggressiveness, LOATHE it.
If you have a problem DEAL WITH IT by either SORTING IT OUT or LETTING IT GO.
I think I'm pretty approachable if your calm and have a legitimate cause for not liking me.
I dunno I can't be bothered with it all really and are they really good mates if they're being like this?  I thought so but maybe not and maybe I should just let it go and let them go, which while tough, might be the best thing for me at the moment.
I need people on my side, honest people who love me and want to be my mate, make an effort and tell me if they've got worries.  That's friendship not this guessing bullcrap.
I need to work out more.  I've worked out twice this week which is great and will work out 3 more times to make 5 and I need to keep this up.  I know how I get without working out and it's not good.  Just because I'm pregnant is no excuse to get lazy and I've been feeling that lately and am a little worried, not about my weight, but about my endorphins I guess.  I need them, I need them like food and have to push through my 'laziness' and keep going throughout this whole pregnancy in order for me to feel good.  But thinking and doing are two very different things.
I dunno, I just have been feeling crappy lately and don't know what to do about it.
'Pull your socks up Melissa and stop moaning'
Yeah, yeah whatever man, I know, I know, but it's more than that.
I think because my house is a mess, I'm a mess.  How tragic is that?  Does one have to do with the other?  Maybe, maybe not.  Should it?
My guess is it's a combination of lack of scripture study + messy house = lack of spirit in my life.
Does that sound right to you?
Something needs to be done about it.
I almost feel like I need to sit down and work out a daily schedule for me to follow for the next couple of weeks to get me outt've this funk.
I need a new schedule because the old one isn't going to work.
Any ideas?
Has anyone been through a similar thing and can shed some light on all of this for me?
Does anyone just wanna tell me something nice?
If you've read this whole thing and are down to this last sentence then I wanna hear from you.
What do you think?  Am I doomed?

Some Toone Time

 So when I was in Moscow I met many sister missionaries.  Small town, we were able to meet with them, feed them, go on splits with them, a lot more easily.
Hands down and BY FAR this young woman was the best of the best.
She impressed me from the beginning and did a fantastic job with everything and everyone that I saw.
She was the best.
If only the church had more like her, we'd be in a good spot.
So through blogging we kept in touch and when I was in Utah she came to Bountiful to have dinner with Dru and I and the kids, which was SO nice of her so we didn't have to travel with three kids and me feeling like crap in tow.  I really appreciated it.
It was a really nice night and we talked and caught up a ton.
She's doing fantastic in her life and has lots of great goals which she'll achieve and excel in.
I know it's a little out of order and misplaced in the whole 'when Melissa does stuff' area, but I'm posting it now cause I knew this had to get in my blog book so my kids would know about her.
Can't wait to hang out again girlfriend.
I told her since she made the effort to come out and see me she's now in my top 5 list of BFF's.
LOL
Anyone who makes that kinda effort needs to go up in the list, don't you think?
Love you Bree.

Rafting the Boise River

 So the Boise River is about a 2 min car ride away.  It's basically behind our house.  We bike to the river often and love it being so close.
Our mates have rafts and offered to share them with us so we could float the river for a couple of hours.
We jumped at the chance and had a blast.
The river is slow and clean and a whole lotta fun.
Here we are in our awesome raft.
Seriously, if we end up living here, I'm going to purchase at least one of these bad boys so we can do this every couple of weeks, it's free and the kids love it.

 Like how serious I am about my rafting?  I'm pretty much a pro ;)
All the kids got in the water and floated back and forth to our mates raft and ours.  I couldn't believe how clear the river was, it reminded me of home and the rivers we have back there.

 

Our friend is about 30+ weeks pregnant and was told off for even thinking about going but come on man, if you've floated this river, you know, it's not a big deal.  We took Takeshi last year when he was ONE YEARS OLD and he did GREAT.

Some people are worry warts.

I'd be surprised if ANY kids drowned in this river IF they had a life jacket on AND IF their parents weren't drunk.  I mean the chances are so slim it'd surprise me.

Basically if YOU'RE competent, then your kids will be fine.

 Here's our mates.
It looks like Gavin's doing nothing and making his pregnant wife do it all, but this wasn't the case, it's just a bad shot, right Gavin?

 

See, she's happy, but seriously, where's his paddle?

Here we are going down a tiny waterfall.
Love it.

 There are a few, ahem, 'rapids' that we went through.
Half of them our two youngest were with these guys and Gavin had to maneuver the paddle around those two kids.  I didn't think about that till later and got the kids to get back into our raft.
The kids really love these guys though, so it's a tough sell to come back into OUR boring raft with their boring parents, but at least Dru was in the raft so it gave them some incentive since he's these two's favourite at the moment.
Masaru tried to pull these guys along for a while with his awesome Olympic swimming.

Tiffany looks concerned in this picture and I don't know why.
Was Masaru drowning?
Hmmmm maybe, I dunno.
Anyway we got back and were gonna take the shuttle back but turns out it was CLOSED.
LOL
So we called our other mate (thanks Robby) and he came and got the boys who got our cars and we all went back to the house and had hamburgers for dinner.
It was SO.MUCH.FUN.
Another reason to love Boise and especially OUR SIDE OF Boise. Close to all that's important.
Love it.

Side note: We didn't get to bed till late and so this morning when the doorbell rang I thought it was just in my dreams until Dru propped himself up and said 'Melissa that's Masaru's mate ringing to walk to school'
I'm like 'Crap' and got up and woke Masaru up, which woke the other kids up and basically dressed him, gave him a granola bar and sent him on his way.
Poor Masaru.
Hope he has a good day today.
Maybe I'll get a phone call saying he's asleep at his desk and no one can wake him and what's going on?
I'm not answering the phones.

Like mother like son

 Ok so growing up I ALWAYS ate cottage cheese on toast with Vegemite.
Now this isn't a kiwi thing I don't think, cause some kiwi's might think that's even gross, but maybe not.
Any other kiwi's out there who do this?
Anyway I've been eating Vegemite and cottage cheese on toast for longer than I can remember and LOVE IT.
So I obviously still eat it.
I can't do cottage cheese by itself, I think it's semi gross, but with Vegemite added.............oh yeah baby, it's going on.
NZ's cottage cheese is WAY nicer too.  They have different flavours like cottage cheese with chives, man that was always my favourite and the consistency is slightly different and better in my humble opinion.
I guess it's what you've grown up with and used to maybe, but next time you're all in NZ, try their cottage cheese, I bet you'll love it.

 Here it is in all it's glory.
Anyway since cottage cheese is a HEALTHY snack (bonus) and high in protein (double bonus) I have this almost every morning for breakfast after I work out.
Well guess who loves it as well?

You guessed it, this little guy.
He always comes over the scavenge it off of me and a couple of times has asked me just to straight up make it for him.
I'm telling you man if my boys get called to NZ on their church missions they'll be just fine I tell ya, just fine.

Dirty Dash

So Dru and some buddies decided to do this 10km (6.2 mile) run called the 'Dirty Dash'.
I was pretty proud of Dru since he doesn't run and found it to be pretty easy.  TOTALLY NOT FAIR.  Whatever man, I'm over being jealous of Dru's fitness levels DESPITE his efforts.
Here they are at the end of the fun run with each other.  Mud in the mouth and teeth and all, love it.
$50 if you can tell me who Dru looks like with that scarf on his head..............

I obviously got a little camera happy and took a million shots of the same kinda thing.
Oh well.

Here's the other couple that is the rest of the group.
Nat and I were gonna do it but couldn't figure out who to look after our kids for a couple of hours so missed out.  Next year though expect to see pic's of me.

Here's Dru and the gang going down the slide at the end.
He was suppose to wait and just took off which is why I missed the start of his jump.


Here they are jumping in the huge mud pool at the end.
SO FUNNY.

 You like how Dru's holding back a little before the plunge?
I thought this was so funny.

Look at these two laughing like school girls.
They obviously had tons of fun while running and in the end, that's what it's all about, just like the hokey pokey tells us right?

Here they are at the finish of the race together.
There was a huge shower that they could all wash off in and that's what they did.
Dru had a great time and is looking forward to doing it again next year with me.
Here's what will probably happen...........I'll train for months, Dru will do nothing and he'll still be better than me.
LOL
I don't care, I'm gonna do it.
Anyone wanna look after 4 kids next year around this time?

Journal Entry Fortyseven

Tell a little bit about your Aunts and Uncles.

Click HERE to read mine.

'Simon Says' exercises

Play this follow the leader game using exercises sich as touch your toes, somersaults, running and /or jumping in place, hopping on one foot, kneebends, situps.  See how fast you can do them.

Barclay Bay

 So last night my mate Hillary rang me up and put an idea out there to have dinner at sandy point.
I LOVED the idea as I hadn't decided what to do for dinner so jumped at the chance to just make sandwiches and call it good.
We rang around to our other mates, Bleazards and Hillary rang some mates and we said we'd all meet.
Then we found out Sandy Point was high in ecoli and didn't wanna mess with that so went further around to Barclay Bay.
Perfect.
The above picture is trying to capture Dru and I together but I was standing up and he was pulling faces and that's what happened. 

 Bleazard family in all their glory.

 Hillary, who is 30+ weeks pregnant with her second child.  Here's some shots of her first.  I LOVE that picture of her walking towards me like a little model with an attitude. LOL
The kids had tons of fun in the water and sand and the raft.

 A man brought this mini remote boat that the boys were drawn to and he even let Masaru hold it.

 Yuki had a blast in the water and sand and on this purple dragon they had off to the side.  Her eyes look as blue as her jacket don't they?  Amazing.

 Then the old 'get burried in the sand' trick is always a must when at the 'beach' lake front.
It was SO MUCH FUN.

Andy was the only one who fully got into the water. So he dragged the kids around and swam.
What a great guy right?

Great peeps and great fun with great food.
We need to do it at least a couple more times until we get locked up in our houses because of winter.
I don't even wanna think about it.

Last night is another reason I love Boise.
This place only takes like 10 mins to get to.
Priceless.

Sleep, weight, baby........

 So when we first came back from Utah it was a little crazy and one day we found Takeshi like this.
Looks like he's gaining the same skills as his father.
The 'I can sleep anywhere' skills.
It comes in handy.
Plus I'm sure he was rocking and it just kinda happened.

Pretty cute if you ask me. But maybe you're not asking.
It must've been after church.  He kept his shirt on but took his pants off.  LOL
I love it.

I also went to see Chris this morning.  He forgot I was pregnant to which I reminded him before he worked me out, but it was still hard.  When will this man give me a break?  Never..........and it's good for me.
He talked to me today about how I still had at least 5 to 10% body fat to loose before getting pregnant and the quickest way for my body to recover is me to stay fit during this pregnancy which he's going to help me do.
Apparently IF you've been working out BEFORE you got pregnant you can pretty much (apart from food) do the same things you were doing up to the third trimester.  There's a couple of rules in the second trimester but he said not much.
So maybe once I'm huge he'll cut me some slack.
I've gained 3 pounds since a month ago when I saw him.
But in my defense my boobs have DOUBLED in size and now I can't run or jump without 2 bras on.
Remember I was showing off cause I could run without a sports bra cause they were so fantastically small?
Yeah well not anymore.
They're sore and MASSIVE.
There's the three pounds right there mate.
There's only one person who's happy about this.......................

First of our First in First

I'd like to dedicate this title to my mate Sarah Nelson who was my inspiration.
It just sums it up so nicely but I can't take credit, but I can sure use it.........................don't sue Sarah, we're not rich yet.

 Masaru getting ready for school.  He approached me about 4 days ago and told me he wanted to wear this outfit for his first day of school.
I was flawed for a couple of reasons.
#1 I didn't think he cared
#2 I didn't think he cared about clothing
Turns out I was wrong.  He didn't set them out or anything but had determined what he was going to wear and just asked me if it matched, although I'm not the best person to be asking that question to (right Kristin?) he really should talk to his father about matching clothing.
I got up and had a shower and by the time I had come out he was sitting up at the table eating his breakfast that he'd gotten himself.  IS HE THE BEST KID OR WHAT?
I asked him how he was, how he slept, gave him a kiss and asked him if he was ready for today.
He asked me if he should get dressed now to which I told him he should.

It's all messed up now cause of school.
We used to get up, do chores, brush teeth, read scriptures and do some school work and be done by 10.
Now I'm not sure what to do.
I have a new schedule and I'm a little baffled.
I need to figure it out.
How can I get all that stuff in? 
Hmmmmm

You like this face in the above picture?  I'm like 'Smile Masaru' and this is the face he pulled me.  I'm not sure if he wasn't excited about school or just getting his picture taken.
I know his hair's not done but I don't care to tell you the truth, sorry Grandma.
I need to get it trimmed though, Kris Bleazard are you reading this on the sly?  If you are can you trim Masaru's hair?  Email me!!!
We walked to school with the next door neighbour who has he boy in first grade but in another class.
They're gonna walk home together which is PERFECT right?  Plus his little friend two doors down is in kindergarten and they can pick her up after school as well since she's in afternoon.
More safer in packs I always say.
They got to choose where they put their bag and where they wanted to sit.
Masaru sat beside his friend 'Sophie' and she was excited to see him and shared her markers with Masaru cause his mother didn't get him any supplies cause she disorganized and really doesn't care and knew he'd be alright cause there'd be plenty for him.
Poor Masaru.
I love that he's friends with boys and girls and sees no difference.  He reminds me a lot of his father actually in personality which is a fantastic thing.
Who wouldn't like to be more like Dru?  Show of hands? 

His teacher approached me and asked who this was to which I replied 'Masaru'  She asked for me to say that about two more times and repeated it and looked a bit bewildered then smiled and I smiled back.  She'll work it out, it's good for her, everyone else seems to.
I'm sure it'll be the only 'funny' name she'll have, there wasn't much 'colour' in the class.  Is that racist?  I'm not a racist, but was that racist? 
Moving on..........
So I gave Masaru a kiss, told him to meet his mate at the playground after school, told him if his 'free' lunch was gross that I packed him one in his bag to eat instead as well as a drink and he hugged me and we all left.
I didn't cry, yes, yes, hold your applause, but I feel a huge sadness that I can't shake.
I'm pregnant, yes, and hormonal, of course, but I miss him already and don't know what I'm going to do without him.
I have problems and may seek help.
I have a problem with every birthday of myself and a problem with Masaru growing up.
So what's my problem?
I need to work through this, otherwise life is going to be hard man.
Someone slap me.
Get a grip Milz, get a grip.
Masaru helps me out so much I'm not sure what I'm going to do without him.
I know this'll be harder on me than him cause he does and always has done fine without me, which is how I like it and how he's always been and I LOVE it.
But I just miss him and I love him so much, I'm a little outt've my element and so a little fragile, so HANDLE WITH CARE PEOPLE.
I'm a donkey on the edge.
Love you bub, have a great year, and I'll work on doing the same.

17 Miracles

Alright this is a church movie about the pioneer company that came across the plains/planes/plaines?  You know what I mean.
If you don't wanna cry then don't see it.
What's with me and the crying in movies as of late?
Who knows, but all I know is that you should see this movie.
It talks about their journey and tells you 17 miracles that happen along the way.
It's pretty awesome.
If I was by myself I would've been sobbing, but I managed to hold it in to small sobs because I was with the YW and all the leaders.
Such great people, such great courage, such a great movie.
I'm not sure I wanna see it any time soon though, I think I need to rest and re-group.
Being a mother with kids never helps and having an awesome husband doesn't help either since you start relating things to YOU and YOUR OWN family you know.
Alright I'm gonna stop before the water works comes again.
Just see it.

Journal Entry Fortysix

Tell about your spouse.

Click HERE to read mine.

Toothpick picture

Make a toothpick picture.  Glue toothpicks on construction paper; then decorate your picture with crayons.

Behind

I'm behind in postings.
"How can that be?" You ask "You post daily? What are you some kinda freak?"
Maybe, who knows, it's all debatable.
What I do know is I'm slacking off in my Friday journal posts, so I need to catch up on those, sorry to Sarah Nelson especially and my sister in law Kristin who seem to be the only two people who still follow and believe in my journaling, love you guys.
I also need Dru to blog about Japan, cause every day that slips by is a day he might forget something awesome that happened over there.
Plus he's a really good writer and let's face it, if he writes, people read and I know all of you would like to hear about how Japan is doing first hand......right?
I also need to give you more details about my pregnancy.
So let's start with that aye, and get that outt've the way.

Some of my mates are struggling with getting pregnant.
This is very emotional for them as they deserve to get pregnant, I know they'd be or already are great parents.
Sometimes life isn't fair though right?  I think we all know that sting in some form. 
So as my 'trying to get pregnant' mates read this I hope to not offend or hurt you in any form by confessing about this pregnancy and how easy it was for Dru and I.
I'm so sorry.

When I lost my ovary after Yuki I was worried, but I got pregnant with Takeshi, yaaa me.
When we tried for the 4th I was and am 34, I'm no spring chicken.
I never assume that getting pregnant will be easy since I have a strike against me plus I've miscarried before and have felt a small piece of that pain, I know it's a possibility it could happen again.
I know how pregnancy works but with this pregnancy I'm extremely surprised that it happened as fast as it did.
Dru and I were hardly even with each other the month of June.
I usually count the days and assign Dru the nights that it's 'business time' which he's always fine with ;)
I know, I know TMI.
Anywho.......I was talking to my sister on the phone who told me to write down the first day of my last period for May just to see how many days my cycles are and if we're the same.
So I did.
A month goes by and she's talking to me and asks what the day in May was.  I forgot so went and checked.
29th of May.
Well we added it up and it'd been 30 days.  I said 'That's normal right?'  She said 'Sort of, but I think you should take a test'
I'm like 'No way am I pregnant man'
But she insisted, so I went down to the dollar store and bought two tests.
Dru's like 'Where are you going?'
'Just to the dollar store to see if I'm pregnant'
'What?  You think you're pregnant?'
'No, but just incase.  Sarah wants me to do it so I'm just going to'
'Alright'
And off I go.
I zoom home and pee on both of them then wait.
At first there was nothing and I said to Dru 'No, no I'm not pregnant'
Then after another couple of minutes I looked again and there was the faint 'other' line and I'm freaking out.
'Babe, babe, tell me, does this look like another line to you?'
'Yep'
Then I look at the other one and it was as clear as day.
I was totally pregnant and I was stunned and shocked.
Dru was over the moon.  He was happy and laughing and said 'This is awesome Melissa, I'm so happy'
While I sat on the end of the bed in total silence.
Masaru comes in and asks what the funny white things are with the pink lines.
I told him it was a weather thermometer.  I know, I know stupid, but he believed me and so he should.  I don't lie to him, just right now I guess.
The next day he asked if we could measure the weather with the special white things.  I told him I threw them out and he asked for more.
I'm glad he's forgotten cause I'm not sure I could keep pulling that wool over his eyes.

So if you get out a 'due date calendar' and put in 29th of May you'll get March 4th.
That's my due date.
Masaru's birthday is March 2nd.
We like to play with fire, that's how Dru and I roll you know.  If you don't know that by now then you're not really our friends and are just stalking this blog, shame on you.
I was dabling with the idea of giving birth on Masaru's birthday but my brother Haydn put the kybosh on that telling me that was a HORRIBLE idea and every kid needs their OWN DAY and not to even think about it.
So I'll do my best not to let that happen.  And since I have c-sections I think I could have a say in that.
I like to labour though, so maybe the baby will just come on that day?
Who knows.  I'll hit that bump when I get to it I guess.
I've been doing great.
I feel bad at nights, that's about it.
I got a blessing from Dru and have been able to somewhat function and am very happy with how things are going.
I'm still working out and planning on continuing for the pregnancy and eating healthy.  We'll see.
A friend of mine asked if I was worried about putting on weight and told her no.
Cause I really aren't worried and that's the truth.
This is the smallest I've been in years and I guess I should be a little worried but I'm not.
I'm so happy with my body that for the first time in my life I feel at peace with it.
Is that so strange?
I know that no matter what happens in this pregnancy I can loose whatever weight I put on and get my body back.
It's just gonna be hard work and I'm not afraid of hard work, I've proven that to myself and my closest friends.
Nothing good comes easy.
I'm 12 weeks and things are going well.
I'll make an appointment this week with my mates doctor and hope everything is going ok.  I've had a few pains but no blood and so fingers crossed, everythings alright.
I'll let you know.
I love my three kids and feel so good about being a mother of three that I knew it was time to try for four.
We're excited and this was meant to be.
Now whether it's a girl or boy?
We don't mind.
I LOVE boys and it'd be awesome to get another one.
But I feel like I have a girl up there.
Maybe I'm wrong but I've felt it.
Maybe she's the one I lost, I dunno but I know I have another girl.
Now whether it's this one or a fifth?  Who knows.
Let's just take it one baby at a time aye?

Soul Surfer

So it must be the hormones, now I can be honest with all of you (phew) but I cried basically throughout this ENTIRE movie.
Now I'm a wimp anyway, let's just get that out there, but this movie was so good.
Why can't we have more family friendly movies like this?
It makes me so mad that we don't you know.
So motivational, they talk about Christ, it's just amazing.
Well the only fault was Carrie Underwoods HORRENDOUS acting, but the rest of the movie outweighed Carrie's horrible job.
I recommend this movie to all and for families, it's fantastic and I'm glad it got made.
Huge supporter and I'll own it.
I can't believe this girl and how wonderful she is.
I hope one day I can have her strength.
What an inspiration to all.
If you haven't seen it, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Next post, pregnancy details and NO we didn't get pregnant in Hawaii.  That would make me like 3 weeks pregnant and I didn't find out until 4 weeks, can you even find out at 3 weeks?   So turns out I'm a trooper but that's the reason I didn't go on a helicopter ride..........see now it's all making sense right?  If you go back and re-read (yeah right) I lay suttle hints about feeling tired, sick, etc etc..................yeah see now it's all coming together right?  It's like you always knew.  LOL

So in other news..................

I'm totally pregnant.
Not just partially, but totally.

Church movie

So Dru signed up to be a part of this New Testament church movie last October.
They've liked him and told him so.
But they've also been very vague in what they expect out of him as well.
So he's been quietly growing out his beard and hair and hoping for the best.
They cut 11,000 people from the casting and told Dru they still wanted him.
When we were in Hawaii they emailed him and wanted his measurements and told him there was one more cut.
Well it's been 2 and a half weeks since then and we've heard nothing from them.
We figured he was just cut and so GUESS WHAT DRU DID TODAY?
That's right he TOTALLY CUT HIS BEARD OFF.
But it gets more exciting and sad cause GUESS WHO HAPPENED TO EMAIL HIM TODAY TO TELL HIM HE GOT THE PART?
That's right the church casting agency.
Talk about Murphy's law alright.
They want him in the scene where the Wise men come into town searching for the Saviour.
They also want him in the scene where Jesus throws out the money changers in the Temple (that would've been exciting right?)
They wanted him on the 31st and the 1st of September.
Well his beard was AWESOME.
You all saw it in Hawaii.
Well imagine 2 more weeks of growth.
Pure awesomeness.
And now he can't do it.
IS THAT SO SAD OR WHAT?
So he's going to have to email these guys and tell them thanks but no thanks.
I feel so bummed about it you know.
All these months (almost a year) and it's not going to work out.
So the movie won't be as good cause my main man Dru won't be in the background making it a much better looking crowd of people.
I'm so sad.
sniff, sniff

Mountain biking

This morning Dru and I went mountain biking together up a canyon near his house.......Muller park maybe?  I don't remember anyway I was embarrassed how useless I was and told Dru to 'carry on forward' which he didn't so we pushed onwards and upwards.
When we got to top I almost threw up.  I bent over and felt stuff come up my esophagus once and thought 'this is it, I'll never live this down' but nothing came. 
So I officially DIDN'T throw up, which is good.
I LOVED it, but wish I was better.  In my defense though this is only the second time I've been in my LIFE!!
Dru's only been doing it HIS WHOLE LIFE.
So take that Dru, everyone starts SOMEWHERE right?  And I reckon my starting point isn't too shabby.
I could really get into this sport.
I'm glad we went.

Wakeboarding

So Dru took the older two kids wake boarding yesterday with his brother.
Did he take a camera?
Nope.
Usless mate.
So you'll just have to take my word for it BUT Masaru totally got up and wake boarded AND went over the wake.
He's officially better than me.................that's not too hard though I mean let's get serious.
Yuki also went but stood on the board with her father and went.
I didn't think she'd even do that, but she did.
I'm so proud of them.
This is the first time Dru's been out in 2 years.
He didn't go once last year cause we had the BEST SUMMER EVER plus he got his eyes lazered and NO boating when you've had your eyes done.
So since he's been studying so much and it's been so cold YESTERDAY was the first time he ever went.
He said he did ok.
I wish we could go more.
It's a bit hard when you 'share' a boat since we live in Boise and a new boat is outta the question since they're about $170k
I mean WHO CAN AFFORD THAT?
So I'm not sure what to do about it since it's a great family thing to do.
In Boise the water is 10 mins away, talk about perfect.  We could do it numerous times a week now Dru's finished studying.
We'll see what happens I guess.
GOOD JOB MASARU, and GREAT WORK YUKI.
Wish your father could've taken the camera!!!

Wrong message

My kids like to watch this show while being at Grandma's and I don't mind them watching it.
But this morning I had to turn it off and teach my kids that the message on it was wrong, in my opinion.
They were playing musical chairs and the Koala got out first and started crying.
Then they played again and he got out first again and started crying and said how sorry he felt for himself and how he wished he could play with the others.
They tried to tell him to wait and he could play with them in the next game but that didn't matter.
He just kept feeling sorry for himself and bawled his eyes out in the corner.
So what did the rest of them do?
They changed the game to involve him so NO ONE GOT OUT so they could all play together.
I almost threw up a little in my mouth.
I turned it off and had a talk to my kids and told them that that was wrong.
When we play games sometimes we're gonna loose and crying about it ISN'T right, AND we shouldn't expect others to change the game just because we lost.
Masaru said to me 'But mum, maybe the koala didn't know how to play properly and that's why he was getting out all the time'
I go 'Yes that's true, so what should we do?  We should make sure everyone knows how to play properly and then that'll make it fair, but we don't cry and pout when we get out'
The kids were fine with me turning it off and now are doing their chores.
What are we raising people?
A bunch of WIMPS?
A bunch of SORE LOSERS who we have to place cotton ball around if something doesn't go their way?
Give me a break.

I reassured the kids they could still watch it JUST NOT this episode as I felt it was the wrong message.



Side note for Stacey Davis:  Maybe you should add this one to your 'watch' list, just in case.

Ward Camp Out

 {Nice butt Chris}
So Thursday we packed up and went to the ward camp out they have every year at around this time.
Since Dru wasn't around I asked his brother to help me pack my car.  Apparently one time in Moab I said that 'Girls can pack just as good as men, but they won't let us, blah blah' and so he threw that back in my face but still helped me pack the car anyway.
He told me he only would if I blogged about how I couldn't pack my own car and had to ask him for help.
So there you go Ryan, happy?

We went with the Johnsons (Dru's sis family) and go there just after dinner and set up their MASSIVE tent.  I love it.

 {Kate}
We forgot a few things, however, and a camera was one of them.  So we didn't get the camera till today and so have no really evidence that we had as much fun as what we really did.
Thursday night we hung out and put the kids to bed in shifts.
Takeshi screamed bloody murder for what seemed like forever.  Then he FINALLY went to sleep.
Then we hauled the other kids into bed after they had been running around like headless chickens all night with their glow sticks.

 {Ella}
I had a crap sleep and so did Kristin.  I looked like death warmed up when I looked in the mirror.  I really frightened myself to tell you the truth.  I thought I was a lot prettier than what I was that morning, I tell you what.
We then got breakfast and headed out to the 'beach' {sand and rocks with a lake} ALL DAY and the kids LOVED IT.
Man it was AWESOME.
There were only a few families but it was SO MUCH FUN.
There were a couple of rafts and a kayak as well as blow up toys and the kids were in heaven.
I swam a bit and sat on the beach and talked.  Masaru pulled around kids in the raft half of the time and then learned how to maneuver a kayak like no one's business.  This kid is only SIX people!!  Pure awesomeness, that's all I gotta say.
We ate, drank and were quite merry, not in the biblical sense either.

 {Nora}
We then came back for showers (ugh) and some dinner (thanks Kristin) and a little down time.
The ward put on some 'Minute to winit' games that were really fun.  My team didn't win, but people did really well.
Then we cooked some smores and chilled out some more.

 {Page family.  Best cooking ever and they had candy that they shared with all the kids, great neighbours}
We then sat around the campfire for a while chatting while the kids ran around like.............yep, headless chickens with their glowsticks.  It's quite fun to watch them actually and what they're actually doing.
Anyway...............

 {Takeshi}
This one (above) totally fell asleep in my arms which NEVER HAPPENS.  He'd missed out on his nap and it was 8pm and I guess he was tuckered out man.
So I quietly go to change him and get his PJ's on and he wakes up and starts screaming just enough to wake up his cuzzie then goes to sleep AFTER he's woken his cuzzie up good and well.
Yeah I felt stink, but I got pay backs later on in the night when he woke up again and Kristin had to come and bring him to me (thanks Aunty Twistin) and then FINALLY went back to sleep again only to wake up crying at some horrible hour to pee.
Side note:  Takeshi camped with ZERO DIAPERS and was TOTALLY DRY.  Oh yeah your da man Takesh.

 {Yuki}
I head back to the campfire and hang out with mates till around 1am then head into bed and try to get to sleep before my brother in law came in cause he can snore mate.
I had a much better sleep until Takeshi woke me up, but I managed to get to sleep again.
Man if I was a permanent camper I'd have to figure out how to 'freshen' myself up a little better.
Talk about tragic.

 {Tess and Clara}
The ward put on breakfast which was great and we packed up, ate and headed out.
These are where these pictures come from.................us packing up.
I know, pretty awesome right?
Get pic's right at the end of the trip.
Better than just writing though..............admit it.

 {Zeke}
We had such a good time and yes it was worth the two weird nights sleep.
The kids loved it.
I was lucky I was with Kristin cause she basically took care of me (remember how I need Nakaya's in my life?)
I miss Dru.  He's home tomorrow and it's about bloody time mate.  He's never going anywhere again.

{Masaru with mates}
It was fun to catch up with mates and I really did have a good time.  I should've brought a book or my knitting though.  Next time, next time.
Masaru was the best.  I can't believe how I scored having him as a child but he's simply the best.  Responsible, kind, fun, social, caring, good natured, independant, I don't want him starting school, I think I'm more dependant on him than he is on me.
How scary is that?

The Aquarium

Is that how you spell Aquarium? Well there's no red line underneath so I'll have to just take it.
So Dru left for Japan on Sunday to help with the disaster clean up.  So he'll be gone for a week and I'll get him to blog about how it was when he gets back.
Mean time I'm in Utah staying at my in laws house which is good so as to get a little help with the kids while Dru's gone.
Tuesday we went to the Aquarium with the cuzzies and they LOVED it.
Thanks Grandma.

 Zeke.

 Takeshi and the bullfrog.

 Cuzzies having fun.

 Ella and Takesh.

 Lionfish.  Apparently these have gotten outt've control in..................um somewhere and they're killing all the fish.  Strange.

 Petting the stingrays.

 Takeshi just wanted to look.  I tried to get him to touch them but he refused and that's alright.  It's cool how they come up outt've the water like they want you to pat them.

 I followed Takeshi around while he looked at everything.  He loved it.

 You like how these are in no particular order?

Yuki got the chance to pet the stingray for ages.  It happened to be out of the water and she raced over and it sat there, out of the water, for maybe a full minute while she stroked it.  I wish I'd gotten a video of it.  It was amazing.  Maybe Yuki will be a stingray expert.  Can you do that?
We then headed to BK's where the cuzzies all played and ate and had so much fun.
What an adventure.
Loved it.