KINDERGARTEN!!

Clayton's first day of KINDERGARTEN!!

Clayton has PM Kindergarten which means all morning long he is waiting to get onto that bus. He was really excited to start school and showed no signs of ever being nervous. When the bus came I had to pull him back for him to even say bye to me!The Bus comes right to the stop sign two houses down. Clayton's friends are there ready to take the bus ride too! Only mishap of the day was when he came home he still had his snack in his back pack for Snack time. When I asked him what he had for a snack he said pretzels that the teacher gave him. So on the first day of school his teacher thinks he has a slacker mom who forgets his snack, when he had one along inside his bag!! Oh well there probably will be a day or two in the school year where I might forget his snack! :)

CRAP!!!

I was so optimistic about today and things were going so smoothly. I was up and ready with the three boys each filled with some breakfast and headed out the door to exercise class with the ladies in my ward. But the day started to be slightly off from there. First, totally not in shape! After sets of squats, sit-ups, and sprints I was ready for a nice soak in the tub. I have to head straight home to get Clayton on his bus for afternoon Kindergarten, when I see

BLUE >>>RED>>>BLUE>>>RED>>>ANNOYING WHITE>>>BLUE>>>RED>>>

CRAP!! What did I even do I was barely out of the parking lot of the church building and didn't even make it down a whole street!

Apparently I didn't make an complete stop at the stop sign and my rolling through wasn't going to fly with the old lady cop that was kind enough to give me a citation. Not only one but TWO!! Yes TWO TICKETS UGHHH !! My drivers license reflects an old address so I got slapped with the second citation for need of an updated Drivers license. My explanation that I thought I updated the address online and was actually sent an renewal extension sticker for my drivers license to my current address wasn't helping my situation. I was told " No need to get upset, just contest it all at the courthouse on your court date." I was in no way near being hysterical or anything, but that might be a line she uses alot or something when she hands out crazy citations.

To top it off I got the chance to wave at all the ladies who came to exercise class as they passed by. I don't see anyone when I grocery shop or am out and about but of course over 6 people I knew where really glad they weren't me for the moment. I was told to have a nice day...Yeah Right. I head home only to have Clayton ask lots of questions like:
"Why did you get pulled over by cop? Why are you mad? Mom, why are you sad? What does it matter you get a ticket? Mom, do I have a record?"

Not the time to bug your mom with question that you aren't going to understand the answers to anyway right now.

Get home, shower really fast, get lunch for Clay to eat and walk outside in the rain to send him off to kindergarten. I come back inside to look up the DMV and get the needed documents to prove that I do live where I say I live and where my insurance says and my registration form says, all which were not good enough for miss cop. Get directions and drive to Libertyville. I go inside and immediately get wonderful looks my way when I am pushing a stroller and directing Hayden around all the roped off lanes. I laugh to myself thinking, "Ha little do you people know that I actually have three kids and would bring all of them in here if I had too!"

My number is called and I head to counter #3 where a man with an earring at the top of his ear says, "You know you could have updated your address on-line." I kindly say, "I know but I need a whole new license to reflect the right address. What proofs of residency do you need?"
He replies saying "Ehh your checkbook will do"
"That's it? I am all prepared with over 5 different forms of proof of residency and the checkbook is all you need?"
"Yep. But I have down right here that you updated your address May 2007."

WHAT!??!! The DMV shows in their system that I DID in fact update my address and to them that was all I needed to do?! I asked him just to be funny if he could right me a note to give to Miss Cop to prove that the DMV showed my records to be current and up to date. He laughed, and said he still didn't think I needed to get a new license, but I wanted to get a current one just so this situation doesn't happen again. I really wish all the police stations and employees would get all the same files, I mean it is suppose to be issued by Jesse White Secretary of State Right?

Anyway trying to think positive I figure this will be good I have wanted a new picture on my license for a while now. The old picture is of me 6 years ago with long brown hair (trying something new), and looks nothing like me right now. I wheel the stroller around to the cashiers line, pay my five dollar fee and go to "brown chairs" to wait for my name to be called. I sit there giving Hayden fruit snacks for being good and watch people being told to sit, smile, and wait to be called again to pick up their new licenses. I hear my name, walk passed the distorted, scratched mirror to fix any fly away hairs and was handed my new license. WHAT?!? A brand new license all decked out with my old picture shining at me. Crappy---- I don't even get a updated photo, I get to keep the long, brown headed girl smiling back at me to put back in my wallet UGHHHH!!

I really need a pick me up so the McDonald's sign ahead makes me and Hayden both smile. I go to order and the McD's register man asks how's my day is going.

"Great"
"All except this weather, huh?"
"Yeah the weather."

"You're such a liar!" I scream at myself silently because that would look really weird if I was calling myself names out loud! But really why would the McD's register man care if I had a crappy morning and what could he even do to make it better so there is no use trying to go all into details of the mom who got pulled over info. But having the place oddly empty, clean, and newly remodeled was quite soothing. All the green, brown and orange rust colors with a fireplace in the middle was really calming not to mention the fry, Large coke, and fudge sundae I got to melt all the problems away.

This is the first half of my day. Nathan is downtown for his orientation at the University of Chicago which will last all day today and all day tomorrow, I really hope my McDonald's stop will last all day but that is highly doubtful.

Bubble Snakes

My boys have had extra energy lately and they try to release it by playing superheros, wrestling, or having jumping matches which depending on the jump I really don't like. At times these over zealous boys can drive me bonkers so to lets them blow off some steam (likewise for myself) I had them make their own bubble snakes!! I saw this in Family Fun magazine so credit them but the boys had a great time trying to make the longest snake which lead having a "Bike Wash" with the extra bubbles around.

Nice and quiet for a good half hour AAHHHHHHH That's better!!

Hair Again

I always seem to have an itch to change my hair. Usually it starts because I need to be freshened up with a few more highlights and since I am already there I tend to want the scissors to come out. Knowing I am in the capable hands of the all talented Keli, she starts chopping away! I have had my hair in a short bob like this before and really liked it. Nathan is a typical guy and and says the longer the better, but he thinks I can pull any hair do off. "Just not a short short butch cut or anything K" he says. I promised my sistas I would post of some pictures so in keeping promises,

Thanks again Keli you are the best!! The cut and highlights are perfect. Just what I needed to boost the self esteem button. I might have to kick up the sassiness a bit just to pull it off he he he I love it! You are such a great friend I owe you !!

LAKE POWELL July 2009 Part 2

I can't believe through that whole crazy storm story I forgot to mention what little Mr. Justin was doing!! If you can believe it, he was in a bedroom, on the middle of the bed ASLEEP, the whole time! I kept running down to check on him thinking that maybe the mattress had moved a little or that he was rolling around but no the cute little man was a snoozin away not a worry on his mind!

At Lake Powell the water is so warm and nice that I wanted to get Justin to enjoy it as much as his brothers were. At first he was not happy. He wasn't getting how lucky he was to be forced into the water and play with me. But after 3 minutes and a favorite toy later he loved it! We stay in the water floating around for a long time, he was having a ball.

Clayton became my water boy. With his life jacket on he was unstoppable. He really liked running off the end of the house boat and doing a huge cannon ball. All of the kids went exploring to an island that they ended up calling "Lizard Island" because of the lizards around they all wanted to catch and keep as pets. Most of the time the kids would take the kayak, or have someone drop them off with the sea do, but not Clayton. He would just jump into the water and swim the whole way all by himself

Hayden was a little more cautious than Clay. He didn't like swimming unless someone would let him ride on their back. He would scream when I broke free from him and made him float with his life jacket alone. He wasn't too happy with me about that. I think the lake seemed a bit too big to be floating around without being hooked on to something to him. The crazy thing was that he LOVED TUBING and he went really fast! He was being pulled by my dad who I think gets a small amount of pleasure in flipping people off inner tubes, and after a couple of times around they finally went flying off. I really thought Hayden would start screaming once he was flipped over because he was so scared of swimming alone, but he came back all proud of himself telling me, "Mom, I swam all by myself to Sophie! All by myself!" It was funny. Don't make him swim alone, but he will be your partner on the tube!

Clayton and Hayden had alot of fun with all the cousins. Clayton still won't admit that he fell asleep like this, he says "I was just resting my eyes, then I would open them and then I would rest them again." Would be believable if he didn't have a huge red mark and sleeping lines all over his face after he woke up!

We went on a small hiking tip to see the famous Rainbow Bridge! The canyons all around us were so pretty. They kids thought Rainbow bridge was really cool especially the side that look like a lizard is resting on top.

Such a fun vacation that we were lucky enough to take part in. The only downfall and it was a pretty big one was that Nathan couldn't come with us. He just changed jobs and his first week starting was when we left. He makes so many sacrifices for us and I am really grateful to have a husband that makes taking trips like this possible in the first place. Thanks babe for working so diligently at work, church, home, and taking on the task of even more education soon. We love you and am so lucky that we have you as a Husband and Father. Love ya!

LAKE POWELL 2009

This year our Ellis family Reunion took place in Lake Powell, on a house boat, surrounded by oh so warm water, with random ohhhs and ahhhhs at all the stars, and breath taking scenery!! Lake Powell is so HUGE and around every turn there is a different rocky mountain or inlet to see. The weather was a little unpredicatable at times. For the most part it was hot and sunny, perfect jump in the lake to cool off weather. Then we had our own little Titantic moment. Here's what happened. After lunch our whole crew was basically taking it easy inside the Desert Dream reading, napping or grazing on munchies still. Clayton was in with all his boy cousins having wrestling wars in a one of the bedrooms. I was on the top deck of the boat taking pictures of Hayden playing in the red dirt, and Justin was sleeping away in my bedroom. All of a sudden out of nowhere, huge winds came up. The heavy bar stools next to me flew off the boat and the bedding we were using started flying all around the top deck. At first we thought "Oh no biggie" then the boat started drifting....

The boat is anchored down by 4 four ropes tied to 3 foot long stakes that are pounded into the the rocky ground. All of these stakes were pulled out of the ground with such force that some of them whippped back at us really hard. We are lucky noone was in the path of those stakes. Max(brother) Joe (B-in-law) Layne (Uncle) were trying to make sure the sea dos were out of the way and used them to start pulling the boat away from the rocks. As the stakes came whipping out of the ground I was yelling at Hayden to stay were he was at. He was trying to get back on the boat but I could see our steal plank used to connect the boat to the land was slipping and soon fell into the water. My cousing Mitch heard me yelling and quickly jumped off the boat and picked up Hayden just in time for both of them to turn around and see the rest of us in the boat drifting away! As we are coming really close to a huge rocky mountain I can still hear Hayden screaming on the island. Our engine is not working and Uncle Joe can't get any power to the house boat, one of the ropes we tie off with had wrapped itself around a propler. Everyone is in full on panick now to get anything that can fly off tied down. Pillows, sleeping bags, foam mattresses, floating tubes, even things that had good weight on them like those bar stools had to be secured down. It starts to hail! Yes Hail! And Hayden, Mitch and my Aunt Gail are stuck on that island!! I yell to Max to tell him to go get them! At that same moment our boat crashed into a rock mountain. Max cam back, shelding Hayden from the storm with his own body, to the back of the boat. Hayden was still crying and shaking pretty bad. He thought we were never coming back for him. We had put all kids with life jackets on and I set up a movie for them on my portable DVD Player to take attention off all the craziness and focus on some good ole toons. I have to say after I sat Hayden down to watch Mickey Mouse he was just fine.

The men used the tied ropes to get Desert Drem towed away from the rocks by two sea dos and the ski boat. The hail came and went within a minute and all of this took place over about 5 minutes. After we were a good distance from any bank to crash into Mitch, and dad went diving down to free the propler from the ropes. We towed Desert Dream to a small docking station called The Dangling Rope and had the engine and generator looked at. While we were being towed me, Lacie(s-in-law) and my cousins Lindsay, and Haylee felt a need to do a dance off between the ski boat and house boat. We are so silly.

We had a couple more winds storms and rain sprinkle on us but nothing to worry about, the rest of the time was used up swimming, kakaing, tubing, and a little bribbing and alot of forcing to make Clayton try out skiing.

The promise of $2 whole dollars to take to the dollars store gave Clayton enough reason to humor me in trying to ski. It took five tries and having Mitch dive in to help steady Clay, but then he got up. And stayed up for a long time for his first try! We didn't get a single picture of him looking up, he probably was too focused on holding on the rope to even think to enjoy the scenery pass by!

So much more to say but I will have to do separte posts!