George Greendog

I've always said that I have a special needs dog. This is a picture to prove it. I had just finished mowing the grass and turn around to see the white dog smearing his face along the ground. He then proceeded to roll around like a pig in the mud. There was no stopping him. He is just special. I'll just pretend that he is a punk rock dog and forget about it for now. I also have a fuzzy greenish fish tank to clean out. Joy!

I had a busy weekend cleaning the garage. Gillian was the only one who wanted to help me and she did a really great job. She even washed off dusty screws.

For some reason the girls must always play in the tub. Sometimes they will be there for quite a while playing with barbies in the tub. Whatever it takes to get them clean I guess.

Unfortunately Gavin has inherited my wonderful eyesight. Why couldn't he have gotten Darren's eagle eyes? So we went to the eye doctor today and he is definitely nearsighted. We ordered him 2 pair of glasses and they should arrive next week. He is actually very excited to get them as he will finally be able to read the board at school. The doctor assured him that he won't have to wear them all the time, but he doesn't seem to be too concerned about it at all. Maybe his grades will improve?

Okay, and last but not least.... Here are some "compliments" I have received recently.

-"You've got thunder thighs"-- Norm Smith (he swears he thought that was a good thing.)

-"You're kind of a manly girl"-- Gavin Greenhalgh. This was because I told him to wait for dad to get home to do the barbeque grill because girls don't grill.

Just because I'm capable of doing most things on my own that men can do, and just because I have muscular thighs does NOT mean that these things should be pointed out. I think I need to start wearing dresses and high heels. It would look great with my tool belt.

Thirteen

It happened. I am officially mother to a teen. Wow, how fast thirteen years passes. My life changed forever on April 24, 1996 in Concord California at Mt. Diablo Hospital. I had the good fortune of having an awesome obsetrition, my Uncle Jay. After what seemed like 72 hours of labor I finally gave birth to my first child. When I first saw the little guy I thought he didn't look like I thought he would. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but he sure was cute! First of all there was strawberry blonde hair. I thought it would turn blonde, but as the years have gone by it just gets redder. The first moment I held him I realized that this is what life is all about. Unconditional, crazy love. I still marvel at the way my kids have changed my life for the better. These marvelous little beings that Darren and I created have really enriched our lives. And of course I couldn't ask for a better partner to raise these kiddos with.

Things I love about Gavin:

-He's very creative and will spend hours drawing or building things.

-Gavin still gives me hugs every day and tells me he loves me.

-He is thoughtful and wants to make people happy (except for Gillian)

-He is proud to be a Mormon boy.

-Likes to follow rules.

Happy Birthday Gavie Boy!

Meltdown

I had a hard time getting pictures of this one, but I couldn't resist. It was a 45 minute grand mal fit over pants. Apparently all of Gillian's pants were either too itchy, to cold, or too long. She was inconsolable. I feel kind of bad for taking pictures but it was memorable--something I wanted to document and use against her at a later date. A certain picture of me at age 11 comes to mind. Richard had angered me in some way and I retreated to my room where he continued to pester me from the other side of the door. He had armed himself with a camera and snapped a picture of me just as I came storming furiously through the door wielding an umbrella in a threatening fashion. I don't really remember the whole thing but there is a picture somewhere to prove it. I'm pretty sure that him taking the picture just made me more angry. I wonder where Gillian gets it from?

Easter week

For Easter we went to Grandma & Grandpa G's. Ruthie put on a fun easter basket hunt and of course a big potato bar dinner. Gillian was very excited about her new fluffy easter bunny.
This week Gavin and Drew have been home all week sick. Gavin has a super bad cough, fever and sore throat. So Gavin has been working on his wooden projects that he got for his birthday, (grandma celebrated early.) He really gets focused on certain things, and NOT math homework. But he enjoys watching the history channel, Glenn Beck, and working on his drawings or model tank while watching TV. Drew says her throat hurts but she's not coughing. I think she just doesn't want to be one-upped by Gavin. Although the doctor did say yesterday that both of their throats are pretty red.

Every day after school this week Gillian has brought me a lovely bouquet after school. She gives it to me with such a huge smile on her face and it makes me so happy. And as far as weeds go, I think dandelions are quite lovely.

Spring Break and stuff

Silly Gilli said that her hands were too tired to pick grapes off the vine so she decided it would be better to just eat them off the vine.

So this past week has been spring break. It started off pretty mellow. Lots of blue sky and lots of playing with friends outside. And for me lots of yard work.

I had Joelle's kids all day Tuesday and the girls brought their pillows and blankets into the fort and hung out all day. Gavin slept a lot the first day or two because he didn't feel well.

We went to the Great Wolf Lodge Friday and Saturday with the Peays. The kids had a blast. It's a big hotel with an indoor water park. There are some pretty big rides there and just about everything else you could think of. Gavin spent Friday in the room reading a book, not feeling well. Luckily he perked up the next day and spent the day on the water rides. Every time I went to take a seat to relax Gillian would find me and coerce me into going on rides with her. So cute I couldn't resist! What's even better is that Darren finally got to come with us on a quick trip.