Lucky #7

The Boss celebrated his birthday on Thursday and Friday.  Grandma and Grandpa Bateman took us all out to Pei Wei on Thursday for dinner which was a win-win situation.  It's one of Boston's favorite places and it meant I didn't have to cook.

He has been asking for a longboard but after doing a little research, we settled on a skateboard/longboard.  Boston tried it out right there in the restaurant.

And he wrecked on right away and pretty much every time there after.  These are his knees on Friday night.  He picked Bounce U for his big party with friends.  I thought I was done with these type of parties but they're the easiest kind.  Kids are entertained, the workers play with them, serve us and clean up.  He was a sweaty, happy birthday boy and with friends that seemed to feel the same way.

Boston and Angelo are best buds.  Boston gave Angelo the shirt he is wearing and Angelo just happened to wear his too.  Angelo gave him the cool skater hat so they could match.

We love you Boston and feel lucky to have you.  Happy Birthday!

Sweet dreams...

I Need a Maid!

The words I was murmuring today.  Leighton was sitting at the kitchen table doing homework and said, "You don't want a maid.  That's bad publicity to have a maid."  Curious, I asked why.  He then went on to tell me that people wouldn't like me because they would think I was spoiled.  Hmm... something to think about.

I have started a part-time job since school started.  I love having a job that pays (monetarily) and that keeps me busy on a level different from cleaning toilets and cooking; however, things around the house are slipping.  My hat goes off to full-time working moms, especially the single one's.  A maid is on my dream list with a chef and a personal shopper - probably not going to happen any time soon.

In other news, it's football season which means practices all week and games all day Saturday.  Not sure why I didn't get a good picture of Boston.  Here he is hiking the ball to his buddy Austen.  He reminds me of a giraffe bending down.  Boston also quarterbacks and plays defense and really likes to catch the ball.  

The twins are 2 games into their season and have shut out both teams.  They are a part of a fantastic team.  Both boys received the pancake award for the past games, receiving $5 for 5 pancakes.  Their understanding of the game and enthusiasm are fun to watch.

For about a month the twins have been asking for me to drop them off at the library with $5 so they could buy something in the little cafe inside the library and hang out and read - by themselves.  They were elated when I told them I thought they were responsible enough for that.  I didn't get a phone call from the librarian so they passed the test.  There will definitely be more library drop offs in the near future!

The time has come - they are the same height as Brad.  Brad couldn't be happier for them :)  He's such a good sport.

And one last thing, Boston has taken to noticing girls.  He comments on them all the time.  There was a commercial on TV for a Barbara Streisand concert coming to town.  He saw her on screen and said, "She's hot!"  I asked, "Her?"  He nodded his head in a very mischievous way and said it again, "She's hot!"  I am not only concerned about his taste in girls but the oblivious attention to age.  Maybe he's just trying to be funny... I sure hope so.  He turns 7 on Thursday and has invited girls to his party where last year, girls were not allowed.  He's 7 going on 16.  I have been told it's the hair.  His hair always get the blame.

Time to sign off.  My filthy house awaits me.  Or maybe it can wait till tomorrow, or the next day - the dust isn't going any where.

Labor Day in Utah

With school up and running and sports ruling our life, we took advantage of the last free Saturday we would have for months and headed to Utah.  I cannot tell you how nice it was there.  The weather, friends, hotel, attitudes, etc.  We thoroughly enjoyed  ourselves.  We spent most of Saturday with the Wallis family - Mike, Melinda, Christian, Hogan and Katelyn.  We sure have missed them.

They lived in Henderson years ago and once upon a time, Melinda and I were taken for "partners" because we spent so much time together.  And just for the record, I was the girl.

Katelyn is a couple months older than the twins but her and Boston really hit it off.  They wanted to have a sleep over and I asked Melinda, "Where are they going to sleep?  In her twin bed?"  She insisted all the kids would sleep together in the basement.  We weren't able to have the sleep over but maybe in 15 years they could date?

Katelyn's poor scooter was worked over.  Jackson wore Christian's motor cross helmet and cruised around the neighborhood.

Saturday evening we met up with my sister Shannon and her family at Bucca di Peppa.  It was great to see them and dine together.  Things are served family style here.  We all got to sample a little of every one's favorite dish.  The decorations in this place are very eclectic, like naked statues and The Pope's head in the middle of a table and pictures of chunky woman's behinds in the restroom.  I am not sure what the men's restroom beholds but the boys always come out laughing.

Sunday after church, we knocked on this family's door to see if they were home.  They were.  The day before we were driving around and Eric said to me, "Is Laci pregnant?"  I told him she was.  "That was her in that back yard."  He can spot a deer on the mountain miles away so I figured with his eagle vision he was right.

It was great to visit with the McCune family.  They were just about to sit down to a gourmet meal but insisted we stay for a bit.  Because of our blogs, we are pretty up to date on each others lives however, there's nothing like seeing a friend in person and exchanging big hugs.

The kids found this app on Kari's phone.  When you speak, it follows suit.

Kari and James had us over for dinner Sunday night.  Kari always makes the best food probably because she cooks with love.  She's always trying to feed us.  Michael happened to be home for the weekend from Snow College.  Boston spent lots of time playing baseball with Michael and James. They taught him a few things and analyzed his pitch, telling us what he needs to do to make it to the big leagues :)

Kennedy spent the night with Grace and went shopping with Kari and Grace in Park City.  Kari is the best shopper.  She knows where the sales are and acts like she owns the place.  I think she could be a personal shopper.  Kennedy and Grace picked up right where they left off.  They will always be like sisters.

These two look like they could be related?

The boys are always side-by-side with James. 

Eric and Michael have the same size foot so Eric was trying on Michael's cowboy boots.  There's a side of me that likes a good cowboy.

Monday we hiked to Bridal Veil falls (a paved, easy hike).  The weather and scenery was gorgeous! After the hike, we laid out a blanket and enjoyed a picnic lunch Kari made. I really like having her around.  She takes care of the food.

It took lots of coaxing for Boston to hold this caterpillar he named, Felix. 

That evening we stopped in at "The Slab" for a pizza slice (or 2).  Yummy!

There are about 50 of these pictures on my camera.  Don't worry.  It's not what you think.  It's an arm but the kids are constantly trying to get the best shot and I think this one takes the cake.  This venture kept them occupied in the car for quite a while and cut down on the arguing.  Jackson is the proud owner of this arm.

I headed home Monday evening and Eric headed to Elko for the week.  This work traveling thing is getting a bit old.  We will have to see what we can do about that.

In the mean time, I will continue to make the donuts :)

Down Under

 The month of August Eric happened to find himself in Australia.  He traveled to pretty much every corner of the country, observing and absorbing the mining industry that his company provides power for.  The exact definition of what he does for work, I am not sure but the gist of it is that he sells portable power - generators, chillers, etc., on a huge scale.  The mine sites rent basic power plants while they are mining which normally lasts about 5 years.    He went for work so there was very little play, but he managed to have a great time.  We briefly talked about me going but 3 weeks was a long time to turn our lives over to someone else and mine sites aren't located near anything like these two pictures.  These were taken in Sydney.  Most of the time Eric was either flying to the next city or driving the 6 hours it takes to get to the mine sites.  He said his bum ached.

He attended an Australian football game and a rugby game while he was there.

Always a teddy bear, he warms up quickly to those he meets.  Co-workers from Australia.

This looks like San Diego?

There were kangaroos everywhere!  Just like we have deer, they have kangaroos. This little guy below was in his mother's pocket when found.  It's a law that if you hit and kill a kangaroo you have to check the pouch and retrieve the baby if inside.  They have orphan centers.

These are the big generators that produce the energy to power "Man Camps" and the mine sites.  They set up man camps where the miners live for 2 weeks at a time, then the next shift comes in while those miners go home a couple weeks.  Man camp comes with all the modern conveniences.

A mining pit.  Because Eric came home and left again this week, I didn't get all the details on these pictures.  I am sure they are mining something interesting here.  I just can't remember what.

Eric was in awe of these tree's shape.  They have a name but I can't remember.  Hopefully later I will update this post once I get the details from him.

This truck driver barely survived.  "She" had to be life flighted out.  I can do a lot of thing but drive a truck in a mine site like this is not one of them.

more of Sydney

Eric went along with a co-worker (Steve Smart from Houston) and their last weekend in Sydney they took a water tour to get all these shots.  The fort below was where prisoners were sent years ago.

A seaside village carnival

Eric brought all the boys home a kangaroo scrotum.  They thought that was the funniest and grossest thing.

This was the post card Eric sent to me.  Lucky me.

He sent each of the kids a funny post card but they consisted of Aborigines or a kangaroo.

The night he finally returned home, the kids were thrilled.  They really missed their dear old dad.  Three  weeks is a long time to be gone and distance makes the heart grow fonder in this case.  School started on a Monday and Eric came home on Tuesday.  Boston was very concerned about getting his father's blessing and waited patiently for Eric to come home.  It was a blessing to have him safely home and able to use his priesthood to give each child an individual blessing.