The Rodel Charitable Foundation of Arizona - Improving Education in Arizona

The Rodel Charitable Foundation of Arizona - Improving Education in Arizona

Back With a Blogtastic Attitude!

Oh. My. Goodness.

The last few months have BLOWN by! Between work, school, kids, and life getting in the way I have had absolutely no time to update my blog!

Okay, so truth be told...Facebook kind of got in the way, too.

We are gearing up around here for the Holidays! Ken got the Christmas lights up yesterday and we had an amazing dinner at mom and dads for Thanksgiving. Today I am catching up on homework and loose ends around the house as well as getting ready for a date with my husband! We have not been out on a bona fide date in awhile.

I am excited to report that I have been named a Rodel Promising Teacher for 2011! So exciting. Check out the info about the wonderful Rodel Foundation at www.rodelfoundationaz.org!

We are excited to be able to spend a lot of Holiday time together as a family and look forward to Christmas/Winter break when all the cousins will be at Grandma and Grandpa's. We also can't wait for a visit from Grandpa and Grandma Nichols after Christmas Day!

Black River and Beyond

So, we did finally return from the Black River camping trip. We had a GREAT time! Fishing, swimming, playing, eating, hiking, and every bit was amazing. On the second to last day the monsoon got us. Rain for 4 hours straight. Oh, yeah, had I already mentioned that we needed to cross a wash to get to our coveted campsite? And that we drive a 15 passenger van? Fun times.

But despite needing to drive a van load of kids and crap (and one high maintenance chihuahua) through mud, rocks, and red dirt...we emerged from the Apache Reservation "secret spot" of the Black River intact, if not even a little, dare I say, refreshed.

School started last week for the kiddos. Yay! (Inside my brain is an actual PaRtY, but as to not hurt the kids' feelings, I'm keeping it on the DL) Everyone likes their teachers so far. Good Stuff. Sara came home from the first day of Kindergarten with strep throat, and then puked in music class on Thursday. Dylan got sent home with a fever and strep on Tuesday. So, I had the pleasure of spending 3 of the 5 first days of school at home with sick kids! Good thing I will be working FT starting NEXT YEAR and not this year! Yikes!

Ken and I had our first "kidlett free" weekend since June this weekend!! Although Ken worked everyday, we still managed to visit with Bryce and Becca on Friday, getting our sushi on, and go to a 40th birthday party on Saturday. Today, I am skipping all responsibilities and relaxing at home. Alone. And, you know what? I miss the kids.

Family Trip 2010

The Family Trip was a GREAT Success!! We had such a fun time visiting several different states in our monster van. The kids were great. We saw the Grand Canyon, Utah, Temple Square, Idaho, Colombia River Gorge, Washington, the Oregon Coast, Portland, and then the Bay Area for a final stop before heading home.

Since we have returned home we have all been nonstop. Me with school, Ken with work, and the kids with summer break!

We tried to leave yesterday on a family Black River Camping Trip and got stuck on the side of the road just NE of Globe, AZ. Good times. Made even better by the fact that where we broke down had JUST been re-surfaced, so now we have 12 pair of shoes with black tar covering the bottoms. To be continued...

Pee See Madness

PC's suck. There, I said it. I am not a Mac person, by any means...but, that may change. What a nightmare!! I spent SIX, yes 6, hours today trying to get some lame virus out of my computer. Now my screen is all stretched, and I have an antivirus thingy that I have to read. LAME. Can't these uber smart people with no social skills put their time to better use? I mean, please! Why you gotta go and ruin my day?

Other than that, whoo hoo!!! Eclipse in less than 48 hours!! Yay! Then...loading up the van for our big trip! :)

gOiNg CrAzY!

Family road trip T-minus just a few more days and counting. Blah. I know that my grammar is sucky right now, but it's after 1:15am. I know this to be true because I just heard the train whistle. That's my gauge here in the new hood. To bed "pre-whistle" = good night sleep. "Post-whistle" = grouchy mama.

I have a few days. That is all. I need to start my lists so that I can get all these fools packed and ready to hit the road! This year's family road trip: Grand Canyon, SLC, UT to hit good old Temple Square and the Conference Center, through ID to WA to hang for a few days with friends, then on to Seaside, OR , with a final stop in Livermore, CA on the way home! Yay! Please keep all fingers crossed for a smooth ride for all. (ie. no breakdowns in Weed, CA which would subject me to trailer park mechanics with hairy butt cracks and a night with 10 kids in the Motel 6)

Today we had a GREAT time at the zoo. Tomorrow...AZ Science Center!

Father's Day...Yay!

I am so lucky. I am married to a great dad and have a bunch of great kids. Today was a pretty relaxing day. We had two kids for part of the day, added two more, took two away, and eneded up at 6pm with TEN kids. I'm no math wiz, but how does that work??

6 lbs. of pot roast, 5 lbs. of potatoes, a gallon of milk, and some sauteed carrots later...the kids are watching Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

My homework is still not all finished, but I have until Midnight. That is how I roll.

Phew, glad that is done...

So, I am glad to have created this blog today! I have so many things on my list today. Lot's of homework to do. Chores around the house. House training Gigi, our new Chihuahua. The list goes on. Was creating a blog on the list. No. But I did it! There, a window into the life of a woman with too many things to do. (I am a master procraster)

Now that this task is complete, I am off to do something else of great importance. Is it on the list? No. Will that stop me from doing it? No. **sigh**