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This past Wednesday, Chris' sister Kym came to St Louis with her boys Bailey and Riley B. Obviously they came to visit us :-) but also to enter their two dogs Gwen and Grace in the Border Collie Trials at Purina Farms.
We had previously visited the Williams family in their home in Michigan and our boys were instant friends, so they were really excited to have this opportunity to hang out again.
On Friday night we had a party at Jen's house (Chris' other sister) It had been a while since all four siblings had been in the same room so that was fun. (Of course with two camera queens in the room we didn't manage to get a picture of the occasion) We had four october birthday's to celebrate: Mari, Erica, Melissa and Kym. Mari and Erica couldn't make it leaving a lot more cake for the rest of us. We had a fun celebration especially watching Bailey knocking out Tolga's record on the Wii Fit Hula Hoop challenge.
On Saturday the boys attended the Obama Rally. Yep Riley Jordan, Riley and Bailey Williams, the oldest being nine attended their first political rally and were actually not bored to tears. They are amazing kids.
At bedtime the boys would camp out in the living room and design cars of the future or watch Clone Wars until someone kicked them off the TV. Poor Ciara was slightly dissapointed that she was the only girl but got in the frey every chance she got.
The Williams returned home Sunday morning to many protests from the boys who were begging for them to stay "Just one more day!" They have made plans for a summer swap - where they will visit each other this summer. Young Cousins reunion '09!!!
In an effort to support our children, and to show them that everything they do is important to us, Chris and I try to attend every single school related activity there is.
Riley is a little bit of a math whiz. Always has been. My dad is awesome at math, I'm not so bad, both of Chris's grandpas were engineers. He rarely gets anything less than a hundred on a test and is way ahead of his class on his multiplication and division. He brings home lots of Mathematics Achievement Awards.
One day when Riley was in 1st grade his teacher called me to let me know he had made it into the Math Facts Contest. Basically they hold up flash cards with math problems on it and you have to be the first to answer. So to make it into the contest you have to be one of the best five in your class. Then you compete with the other five per class in your grade. Riley always makes it into Math Facts. So I went to see him a couple of times and he would always be in the top two or three but didn't win. Well, one day I couldn't make it and he won!! He confessed that when I was there watching it made him extra nervous. So we decided together that I wouldn't go watch him anymore. (I have to admit I was tempted to sneak in the back or peak through the window or something.)
I won't say that he has won every single time I wasn't there, but he has on occasion. Today was one of those days. He beat out 9 other fourth graders and won the contest!
So yes, I am bragging but I don't care - it's my right as a mom!!
The company I work for Dog Academy, attended two events this past weekend. I have never seen so many dogs in my life!
Although I had seen a few events like these in the past, having no vested interest at the time, I had never payed much attention to them. These events were basically Dog Academy's debut to the public so it was a little nerve racking. In the end we pulled it all together and I think it turned out really well and we managed to not look like amateurs.
There were dogs of every size and variety. Dogs dressed up, dogs in strollers, dog with little bows in their hair, dogs with sunglasses, the biggest dogs I have ever seen alongside the most itty bitty teacup breed.
I have to admit, I had a lot of fun. We chatted with a lot of people and their furry companions. A psychologist could have had a field day. It was so interesting to see the personality of the human compared to their dog. Mostly we saw wonderful owners with a genuine love for their pets.
So we have another show coming up this weekend - feel free to stop by and see us at Purina Farms!
To see pics of the event go to www.dogacademy.com and click on recent events.
As some of you may know, I am President of the Primary at my church. I am responsible for approximately 35 children between the ages of 3 and 11 and 20 children in our nursery. I of course have teachers to help. I also have two couselors and I am supposed to have a secretary.
My journey thus far in Primary has not been without bumps in the road. I have had to juggle people around, deal with issues, rearrange teachers and manage a lot of different personalities.
What really helped me get through all this was the assistance of my two wonderful counselors. And just when I thought everything was running smoothly and we were getting in to our groove - I get a call saying one of my counselors was getting released!
"WHAT?!" I say. I am flabbergasted. We haven't been together as a presidency for long and we are doing a sacrament meeting presentation with only two sunday's left to practice. Lynzee, my counselor that they released, was in charge of music and those of you that know me, know that I am not musically inclined at all.
But I find out that they are making her President of the Young Women's organization. Although I am said to lose my trusted friend as my counselor (Yes, I am selfish!) I know that they couldn't have picked a better person. The Young Women are lucky to have her.
As I am reeling from this news and wallowing in self pity (I don't feel well while all this is happening and feel like the universe is picking on me) we get a call from the Stake Presidency. They would like to speak to Chris and would like me to come along. Oh - Oh. Now what?
Well I am going to have to leave you in suspense as far as Chris goes because the callings is not official yet. It has not been announced at our church. I'll update on that as soon as I can.
It's funny because we often complain that we are in a rut, but it seems like when change comes we often don't like it. It's like when you go to your favorite restaurant and you order the same meal every time. Every once in a while you order something different and most of the time you wish you had ordered your usual. But sometimes you are surprised and find out that you like something new!
