Backyard Campout by Hallie

Last night, Spencer, Annie, and Me had a campout in 

the backyard. It was a Scout's requirement for Spencer 

and Annie and I wanted to join. So at around 10:00pm, 

Daddy and Spencer set upthe tent. Then we got some 

sleeping bags for Me and Spencer, a blanket for Annie, 

a flashlight, our new yearbooks to look through, and 

Annie brought her stuffed duck, "Aflac", to chew on. 

I'm glad we had Annie to protect us from all the wild 

raccoons and bears and coyotes (just kidding). Annie 

did protect us though. Every once in a while,she went 

out of the tent and looked around the backyard like she was making sure there was nothing that could hurt 

us out there. She's a good girl.

For an hour or so, Spencer and I looked through our 

yearbooks pointing to people and saying who's cute 

or funny and things like that. Then we petted Annie 

while we just talked and told stories and told jokes. 

Then Spencer checked the time on his watch, and it 

was midnight! So we decided to go to sleep.

But then,at about 3:00am Annie started barking like 

crazy.Was there an intruder coming to rob us? Or 

was it the FBI's most wanted? Or was it some insane 

man on roller skates wearing a shoe on his head who 

was planning to just pop up out of nowhere and say,

"Boo!I'm a wizard!"  Turns out she just wanted some 

attention.

After that, things went smoothly....until I got an 

unpleasant wake-up call at 6:00am (remember, I 

went to bed at midnight). First, Annie started 

licking me all over. Then, Dylan came and started 

to jump on me while yelling,"Waaaake Uuuuup 

Haaaaallieee!"  A few minutes later, Emily came 

outside and decided to join in the "fun". So I started 

to get all mad because I only had about 6 hours of 

sleep when I should have about 10.  So I picked 

them up, and took them out of the tent. I least I 

got about 1 more hour of sleep. So it was fun. 

The only thing that could have made it better would 

be a little more sleep, and maybe a campfire with 

marshmallows to roast (hint hint). Maybe next time!

Peace out! Hallie.

Happy Birthday, Mike!

Even though it was yesterday, we have to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Mike/Daddy.  The big 3-6.  He said, "I don't feel old, but I'm closer to 40 now then 30..remember when 40 seemed SO old?".  Yes.  And it doesn't seem old to me now, either.  Kind of funny.  

We celebrated by going to our favorite restaraunt- Mastro's City Hall in Scottsdale.  The BEST steak place EVER.  Our favorite used to be Flemings, and it still is delicious, but Mastro's is better.  We started off with a warm spinach salad 

and yummy freshly baked bread  (a treat, because we usually skip the bread), then we moved on to tender, juicy steak and lobster, and topped it off with warm Butter cake with a scoop of vanilla icecream and a side of whipped cream and fruit.  So good!  We were totally stuffed!

Since we were across street from the Scottsdale mall, we decided to go to Nordstrom and do a little shopping--GASP--another treat (for me at least because Mike HATES shopping).

  I got some fantastic perfume in a cool bottle shaped like an apple.  The sticker on it says "Be Delicious" and I will, Donna, I will....

Anyway, back to the birthday boy,  Mike got a couple awesome looking shirts and some  jeans.  They look SO good on him!  He put the jeans on and said "Wow, these are the most comfortable jeans I've ever put on in my entire life...wow, I really like these!".  I was loving it.  I wish we could do that more often, but SOMEBODY is kind of picky when it comes to clothing (you would never guess it, I know) so his birthday is about the only time Mike buys himself clothes.  I guess  I'll have to wait for next year.  Sigh.

Spencer and Hallie babysat while we were gone, and they only called like 8 times--

"Dylan wants chocolate milk, can he have some?"

"Did you feed the dog before you left?"

"My tooth fell out, what do I do?"

"Emily peed her pants."

"Are you coming home yet?"

You get the picture.  When we got home, Spencer had to set up a tent and have a "camp out" for Scouts.  Hallie and Annie slept outside with him.  We had our bedroom window open so we could hear them and Annie, if she barked at intruders, and we heard them talking and giggling together until pretty late.  They really love each other.  This morning, Dylan was out there at 6am, jumping on them and wanting to be in the tent with the "big kids".  Then Emily joined in a little after that.  Hallie came in the house all annoyed because she was so tired, and not ready to wake up yet.  Welcome to my world, Hallie.  

We'll have to have  family "campout" in the backyard sometime.  The kids would all love it!

Happy Mother's Day!

Since it's Mother's Day today, I thought I'd post an ode to my mom.  I tried to dig up some pictures of us together, but someone (NOT me) is a little camera shy, so I only have oldies but goodies.  Still fun to look at.  I just want my mom to know how much I love her and appreciate her.  It's more and more the older that I get, and experience raising my own children.  My family thinks I'm super fantastic (and they're right) and I only can say that because I learned to be a so great from the example of my own mom. 

 

A week or so ago, Spencer was doing a school project about family history.  One part of it was to write a story about a relative that you are like.  He chose my mom.  It turned out so good!  

He's a good little writer.  I know my mom would love to read it, so here it is:

I have a lot of relatives, but the one I am most like is my grandma on my mom’s side of the family. I call her Grandma Lovstedt.

You just need to see us together to know that me and my grandma are like two peas in a pod. When my grandma and grandpa come to visit, my grandma tells me stories that nobody else wants to hear. A lot of the time, they’re stories about when she was a kid and the silly things she did. I like those stories the best because  I can relate to them.

My Grandma is also very smart, just like me.  She reads alot, and watches alot of educational t.v shows.  We learn lots of interesting information.  We both love science and know lots of facts, which most people consider useless facts...but if you have a question, one of us probably has the answer.

Me and my Grandma have an identical sense of humor.  She knows that she can tell me jokes and funny stories, that I’ll laugh at and enjoy.  It sort of like we have our own form of humor.

Me and my Grandma love to teach each other new things.  My Grandma is Russian, so sometimes she teaches me silly words and insults in Russian.  I think my Grandma is the best.  I love her and I’m glad we’re just like each other.

From all of us,  Happy Mother's Day, Mom!!  We love you!!

Check out that awesome haircut I gave myself!

Annie

Well, it's not official yet, but this is Annie Greding!!  Everyone was shocked/excited that Mike finally said "yes" to all the dog requests.  (I hope he doesn't regret it.)  So far, she's great!

We brought her home yesterday.  She is a rescue dog, and we are "fostering" her for a week or so, to see if she is a good fit for our family.  She is a super well mannered and well behaved dog.  The kids are all absolutely in LOVE with her.  Dylan and Emily especially, won't leave her alone.  She is a beagle/dachsund mix, and they think she is between 1 and 2 years old.  We've only heard her bark once (at the neighbors dog), and she slept in the laundry room all night, alone, and didn't pee until I got up this morning and let her out.  I was wondering if she would have issues being in a new place, but she is such a good dog!   And she is so loving and cuddly.  Whoever had her last I'm sure took good care of her.  I hope some little Mexican family isn't all heart broken their family pet vanished.

  

Que dice?!?  Una familia Mexican??  Por que would you say that?  Well here's a fun fact: Annie is Mexican!  The lady that runs the rescue, has a shelter here and  in Mexico, so she brings dogs back from there every so often.  Annie was found wandering around a grocery store, and someone brought her to the Mexican shelter.  I suspect she might be trained, because she is so well mannered, but probably in Spanish, and based on the above exclamations, we all know how fluent I am in that language.  We'll have to re-train her in English.  

I also took her on a little walk this morning, which I want to do every morning, and I think I'm the one that got walked!  She was so excited! Her little tongue was hanging out the side of her mouth, and she wanted to run and explore.  I jogged a little, and ran, and sprinted in short bursts, but I got tired a lot quicker than she did, and I think she was getting annoyed with me.  She kept pulling the leash to try and make me run again.  I was totally hotand tired when we got back.  I might need to use a bike some days.  I probably would've been ok if I had run at a steady pace.  At least it will force me to get up and going every morning.  Extra bonus to having  a dog.  The kids will take her on her afternoon walk when they get home from school.

I had always thought that when and if we got a dog, it would be a puppy that we could train to our liking, but getting an adult dog, might have been better for us.  We've already passed two major hurdles in the last 18 hours we've had her...she's gone to the bathroom outside and marked her territory, and she slept all night without crying, barking, or pee-ing (yay!).  Two things I KNOW would've taken a lot more time with a puppy.   The next obstacle will be today when we are at church and she's alone for 3 hours. I think we'll put her in the backyard and hope she doesn't get into trouble.  The last hurdle will be to get her to go into a crate, and then I'll feel like everything will be good with her.  She wasn't too thrilled about it last night.  I think she might be scared because it's too much like being at the shelter in "dog jail".  Hopefully today we'll make a little more progress.  I don't think she was ever crate trained, so that might be a big obstacle.

The people that had put house before us had dogs, so we already had a doggie door in the laundry room that leads to the backyard.  Silly goofball Emily was testing it out.  That's Dylan's hand behind her.  He was screaming at her to move because it was his turn.  He loves all the dog stuff.  Last night, he climbed in the dog crate , tasted Annie's dog food, and drank out of the dog water bowl...no hands...just with his tongue,  like he saw Annie doing.  It grosses me out, but it's kind of cute at the same time.  I'm sure Dylan will enjoy all these stories 

when he's older.

Annie came to see what Emily was doing.

Last night, Annie found herself a spot on one of the rugs, and Dylan layed next to her and petted her.  It was really sweet.  Later in the evening, Hallie and Emily were laying with her, and Emily was singing songs to help her go to sleep.  The kids are convinced that it was "destiny" we saw her yesterday, and she's meant to be our dog.  I don't know if I would have the heart to take this dog back, even if I wanted to!

Cancun 09 Part 4-photo shoot

Thursday

Today we decided to enjoy the pool and the beach, which was just fine with everyone.  We were done going places.   In the morning, the kids painted t-shirts. They have shirts from every year. It's fun to see what they paint-it's always right in line with their personality that year.

Spencer painted "Gary" from SpongeBob.  Why? I don't know.  Neither did he.

Lightning McQueen, of course.  I love the handprint.

Emmy LOVES horses.  All her Christmas presents were horse themed, and she still loves 'em.

Two dolphins- on the bottom Hallie wrote in bubble letters "Best Friends Stick Together".  Ok.

In the evening, we had a family photo shoot.  I was again reminded about the mishap with my lens, and saddened.  We got some nice pictures, but nothing great, in my opinion.  And, the cheapy camera did some weird things with the focus and color.  Some pictures are even hazy looking.  Curse you, faulty box and marble floor!  

During our photo shoot there were some people collecting  awesome looking shells the waves had brought in.  Naturally, the kids saw them and wanted to do that instead of pictures, but I wouldn't let them.  Mean Mommy wanted pictures! They managed to quickly gather a few, anyway.   It's just so rare to have everyone clean, presentable, and cooperative, and I couldn't waste the precious time.  Some of my favs:

Cancun 09-Part 3

Wednesday

Today we took a VIP tour to Playa del Carmen and then to a new property that our timeshare company is developing.  First, we stopped in Playa del Carmen, and had breakfast and then got some "free time" to walk around and do some shopping.  The main shopping street is called 5th Avenue.  Kind of funny, just like New York (like I know-someday I want to go to New York).

There were interesting stores, restaurants, and street vendors.  I wish we had more time there.

The only one to buy anything was Hallie.  She got a turquoise necklace.

The new timeshare propery was really nice.  We were SO tempted to buy a unit there for a different time of year, but after a 24 hour deliberation, decided not to do it. 

 

Everything was new and pretty, and there were fun little things all over the place like hammocks, and a kids playground.

 In the rooms there were big flat screens in every room, the second bedroom had a mini kitchen, and the master had a jacuzzi out on the balcony.  

Also, the way it is built, the beach is secluded.  Like your own private island.  It was a very enjoyable day.  Maybe sometime we can trade out the week of the one we own and stay there for Spring Break.  Yeeessss, I think we will.

Cancun 09-Part 2

Tuesday

Today we went to Tulum.  We hired an LDS tour guide that Mike had met last year.  His name was Mosiah.  He told us he was 3rd generation LDS and all of his 8 siblings also had Book of Mormon names.  His youngest brother is named Lemuel (tee hee).

He and his family live in Playa del Carmen. He showed us their church building, and next to it is a "Corona" beer factory.  He told us there are about 400,000 people in Playa del Carmen, and only 70 members in his branch!  He's been the Stake President there 3 times!  He also works at the temple in Chetumal (?) I think that's where it is, can't remember.  I didn't even know there was a temple there.  One more thing he does,  is he takes the missionaries on a tour of all the archaeological sites when they first get there.  It gives them a better sense of where the people are coming from and they get to see a lot of cool places!  It would be totally fun to be called to a mission in Cancun!  That part of it would be fun, anyway.

Mike with Mosiah

We learned a lot of  interesting things from him.  One interesting thing, was that the Mayan people were given that name after the Spaniards invaded.  The Spaniards would ask the people questions in spanish, and they would answer "maya" (pronounced 'maja')"- which means "I don't understand you" and so they Spaniards named them them the "Mayan".  Of course, we know their original name was the "Lamanites", and later the "Itzas".  That's where Chichen Itza gets it's name.  It means "at the mouth of the well of the Itza's".  The "well" part probably because of all the cenotes there.

We also learned that "chicle" is a Mayan word and not Spanish.  In Mayan "chi" means "mouth" and "icle" means "to chew".  Mosiah showed us gum trees all over the jungle.  The people used the sap to chew and clean their teeth, and also like a "glue"when they made things.

Mosiah gave us hibiscus flowers before we went in.  Iguanas eat them.  Hallie fed this one hers.  The people also used the hibiscus flowers for food.  I tasted some hibiscus juice at breakfast one day.  It was ok.  It kind of tasted like sweet watermelon/chamomille tea.

This thing had stairs that went into the ground.  Most tour guides say it was a sort of hot tub the Mayans used for relaxation, but Mosiah told us it is actually a baptismal font.

These are the original handprints of someone.  They are called the  "powerful hands" and represent the laying on of hands or power of the priesthood.

Over looking the ocean on a scary cliff.

The beach in Tulum.  It is much prettier in real life than it looks in this picture.

Tuesday Night

Tonight we ate dinner at a restaurant named "Hacienda Sisal".  There was a Mexican buffet, and entertainment.  First there were mariachis, then a "Caribbean" show with a bunch of different dance numbers.  Everyone loved it!  Emily and Dylan were in a trance at the mariachis, but then fell asleep for the dancing.

 Here's the whole fam right outside the restaurant.

Dylan LOVED the mariachis, he clapped after every song, and hardly ate his dinner.

Hallie and Spencer clapped and cheered till the end.  Spencer was even bouncing and dancing in his chair.  It was SO fun!  It totally made me want to sign up for Latin dancing.  It would be such a good workout!

The outfits were a little PG-13, but that's their culture.  Think sparkly bikini tops and thong bottoms with ruffles, and headpieces.  When we were leaving, I asked Hallie if she would want to do dancing like that, and she says "Ya, if I didn't have to wear those clothes...they were too 'showy'."  It was cute. 

And we all had a favorite dancer.   He was a little femmy blonde latin boy.  He was the best one by far.  I mostly only watched him because he was so entertaining.  He would totally win Mexico Dancing with Stars, if there was such a thing.  We went on stage afterward and got a few pictures with the dancers. 

  That's our fave next to Hallie.

Femmy boy tried to lift me up, but I quickly shot him down since I was wearing a dress-I didn't want to flash my awesome underwear to the whole audience!!