Month: July 2006 (Page 1 of 2)

Well, It was Harry Potter’s Birthday Party on Friday, and our local (well, Lehi) Library always puts on a big bash. It’s crowded with lots of kids dressed up like witches and wizards, and lots of fun.

I took the kids, but traded John for two of my neighbor’s children, so I had 6 for the morning. They dressed up in various costumes ranging from not at all to full blown costumes, and had a great time going to the different stations. First we got our “quills” (pencils with feathers), then went off to our classes. There was Divination, Herbology, Astrology, Potions, Quidditch, and Care of Magical Creatures. At each “class” the kids got to do a little craft, answer a question, or get a prize of some kind. They got candy at Honeydukes and there were drawings. It was lots of fun!

Here’s Cole “figuring out” how many jelly beans are in the jar. We’ll see if his figuring gets him a better guess than my just guessing.

Here’s a picture of John playing badminton.

Notice it’s getting late in the picture, as we don’t venture outside into the yard until after 8:00 pm. It’s just so dang hot! I know we have nothing to complain about compared to places like California , Arizona, and New York City (where my parents are right now, by the way), but I’m so sick of 100 degree days! I just have no energy, no desire to work in my yard, my weeds are out of control, my house is not in the best shape because my kids can’t go outside and play. What’s a mom to do? I’d just like some nice days in the 90’s if you don’t mind.

How are you dealing with the heat?

Today we’re dressing up in Harry Potter clothing to attend the Harry Potter Birthday party at the Lehi Library. That sounds like a nice cool thing to do, doesn’t it? Hundreds of kids in capes wandering through a tiny library. Hooray!

One of the great things about having a family reunion camp out is learning new songs! My nephew, Brenden, was a wealth of new camp songs that we haven’t heard around here. I’m really thankful that he took the time to teach them ALL to my children. I especially like it when they sing in the car. Loudly. Thanks again.

But there was One song that was particularly amusing. I don’t think I have it in it’s exactness, as I’ve only heard it about 17 times so far, but it goes something like this:

The Rootbeer Song

Do–I need to buy my rootbeer
Ra–The guy who pours my rootbeer, “Thanks, Ray!”
Me–The person who drinks my rootbeer
Fa– A long long way to the bathroom
So–I need another rootbeer
La–I’ll take another rootbeer
Tea–no thanks, I’ve got my rootbeer
And that brings us back to..

Do–I need to buy my rootbeer……
(repeat endlessly)

It’s kind of like the 100 bottles of rootbeer on the wall song, but more clever and less annoying.

So, again, I thank you, Brenden, for teaching us all those fun songs. Especially this one.

I heard this morning just a tiny little blurb about Destiny Norton, something about that she had been found. My heart leapt, because we’ve all been worried about the little 5 year old who’s been missing for a week. I missed the rest of the news blurb, and changed the channel to maybe catch another station’s news broadcast. This time I heard more of the story, and heard the horrific news. She was found, but not alive. My heart fell down in my chest. I am so sad for those parents. I can’t imagine living through something so tragic. I pray for the family that they can be comforted at this terrible time in their lives.

We had our family reunion camping trip this weekend, and I must say it was lots of fun.

We went up to Payson lakes, and spent the afternoon playing in the water at the lake. Although Jenna and John didn’t want to get into the water (John only wanted to go on a boat), they eventually got in and had fun time. I spent the afternoon counting to 5, and making sure none of my kids were drowning or lost.

After swimming, we went back to the camp and we did some crafts. I brought a lot of little things to paint, and after painting we frosted sugar cookies with lots of sprinkles. Always a fun thing for kids and adults as well. And they get to eat the results of their labor (the cookies, not the crafts).
We slept (if you can call it that) in my parents’ tent trailer. It was actually very comfortable and fits us just fine. I forgot my earplugs, however, so I heard every time someone woke up, cried out in their sleep, or turned over in their slippery sleeping bags. Remember the earplugs, silly girl!
Of course the most exciting thing seemed to be playing in the dirt. At least if you’re two and with your cousins, that is.

It was a fun and successful trip, right up until the end when we had to send out search parties for one missing boy. He went to the lake with Cole and another cousin, and when they were going to come back, he said he had to go to the bathroom and would meet them back at the camp. Not a good idea, and since the boys were all 11-12, I guess they didn’t realize what a bad idea that was. When Cole and Bryce came back but Sam did not, the parents began to worry, then several people went back to the last place they saw him, and his dad drove to the lake a different way. It all turned out fine, as Sam knew enough to go back to the open beach of the lake when he couldn’t find the right trail to take back to the camp. They found him there, alone and crying–but safe. His time “lost” wasn’t that long, just enough to make his parents and all family very worried, and we’re very glad he was found safe.

How sweet is it that?

1-Jenna still always includes in her prayers “And bless the people who lost their homes in the floods that they will get a new home. And bless that they will like our stuff and our card.” When Katrina hit, I tried to use that as a teaching moment for my kids, and get them to donate a bunch of clothes and stuffed animals for the misplaced Katrina evacuees. Jenna drew a card to go with the things, and was very concerned that they would like it. She is a sweetie.

2-John came and asked in the cutest, sweetest voice, “Mom, can I have cocoa peddles?”

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Going camping today. I’m taking the kids and all the stuff I can fit into the van up to the family reunion camp as the lone parent, and hoping my DH will come up (and bring the tent trailer) after work. I’m hoping not to forget things. I’ve got all the craft stuff, all the food stuff for the potluck, we need to make lunch stuff, I’m packing for almost all 7 of us, swim stuff, suncreen, forgot the bug spray, so I need to find some of that, and I’m hoping to remember my sense of humor and sanity. It’s only two days of constant dirt and couting my children to make sure not one of them has wandered off with cousins and is lost somewhere. I can get through it. Camping is just not as much fun as it was when I was a kid. I wonder why.

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If certain friends of mine (you KNOW who you are) don’t soon get ON their lazy butts and post something interesting, I’m going to have to take the links off my blog. I know you live very interesting and busy lives, but could you just slow down for a minute or so to blog about it so the rest of us who have nothing to do but blog will have something to read about? Come on!

How hot is it? Too darn hot!

I just finished shopping on Coldwater Creek and used my 50% off coupon code and then signed up for a Coldwater creek credit card to save an additional 20%. Whooo Hoo! The code to save 50% is SALE50. Check it out and buy yourself something pretty ( I say as I’m sitting here in my pajamas).

Wow. The family guests came last Sunday, and left yesterday (Sunday), so they were only here one week, but boy did we make the most of the time we had with them. We:
–Had a family party with every member of my family (except my mom and dad and Scott) here at my house
–Had a picnic in the park
–Went to the utah Children’s museum
–Took LK and the boys downtown to go to the Church History Museum while I went to Bells practice
–Went to the temple
–Went to the Children’s Garden at Thanksgiving Point
–Went to the grocery store. Twice.
–Went to a wedding reception
–Went to church in our brand new building
–Had a neighborhood Sunday night potluck

Yet still the kids had time to be bored, even though they had cousins here, spent the entire time NOT WORKING, played every available board game they could (I think the boys played Risk about 10 times), and even jumped on the trampoline in the few moments a day that it wasn’t too hot.

Today they woke up listless and sad that they don’t have built in playmates, and they know mom’s really going to make them clean up their rooms today since mother has been going just a little bit crazy with all this mess. The good thing is, we’ll see them this week, even though they aren’t staying here. We’ve already got a fieldtrip planned for Tuesday, and Friday we’ll go up to the Coleman family reunion and hang with them again.

While I loved having them here, I realize that there’s a reason I don’t have 9 children. Actually, there’s a whole bunch of reasons! I felt like I was cooking and making food, or cleaning up from the cooking and eating, the whole day. It wasn’t actually the whole day, it just felt like it. I went to paper plates for lunches, just so I wasn’t running the dishwasher three times a day in 100 degree plus weather. And the noise they all generate–oh the noise. Two 2 year old boys alone is more noise than I can handle, and add two 5 year old girls and 3 almost teen-age boys? Yep, it was fun. I sent them all outside Friday night even though the outside temp was probably still in the high 90s–I just couldn’t take all the noise while I was trying to clean up after them.

Today is a recovery day. Or maybe I should say an uncover day. I’d like to uncover my kitchen counter. And the floor in the girls’ room. And the laundry room. No. Not the laundry room.

So, if you were planning on coming to stay at the Erickson family hotel, you’d better not make your reservations this week. This week we’re closed. (would you believe it? I actually was planning to have another friend come and stay sometime between today and Thursday while they were in town, but we just found out on Friday that they AREN’T coming this year–I’m kind of relieved) Check back next week, because even though I sound like a whining complainer, we really did enjoy having guests. We always love having friends or relatives come and stay. It’s kind of like a vacation for us, too, while they are here. We get to visit and play with friends and do fun stuff that we may not do on a regular basis.