Happy 24th Birthday Nate!

Nate, who now goes by his middle name of Jack celebrated his 24th birthday this week. There are two great things that have happened in his life lately.

He started dating McKell. She is from Brigham City, she is 20 years old. They are cute together and seem to really like each other.

He also was offered a full time job on his birthday. He asked them if they knew it was his birthday when they offered him the job, they didn’t but it was basically his dream job with a salary with the opportunity to advance. It also has medical and dental benefits and retirement. He has worked for the church at the Conference Center since he was sixteen and loves it. He will continue to be able to do what he loves. This really is a blessing! They told him that now that he will be a full time employee he will need to cut his hair. He told them that, that would make his mom happy! For sure, for sure is all I can say!
Sarah and Josh Smith have been dating since October. Josh is starting to come out of his shell and it is fun to interact with him. He is a sweet guy and is crazy about Sarah.

Sarah is cautious and in no hurry to get married. She wants to be sure that she is making the right decisions. No one can fault her for that. Josh is willing to be patient. I think we all, including Sarah, knows how he feels about her.

It has been fun having so much life around the house. Mandy has been dropping in more and we enjoy it when she comes. Nate has been dropping in less because he has been spending all his free time with McKell.

The other day Sarah came home from the “U” and got a blanket, climbed on my bed and went to sleep. About an hour later Mandy dropped by after some meetings she was sent to at the “U”. She grabbed a blanket and went to sleep on my bed next to Sarah. I am kicking myself that I didn’t get a picture of the two adult girls sleeping on our bed in the middle of the day. It was priceless!

We have begun celebrating birthdays. Ken’s, Spencer’s and Nate’s are over. Ones to come...mine in June. Sarah’s in July. Mandy and Avery’s in August, then we will be done with birthdays again until March. Quite the whirlwind.

Baseball fun!

These are pictures from some of Avery’s baseball games. He is on the Astros team. He is at the age where most boys drop out of city recreation ball and go to comp. ball. He is happy playing for fun still and I am all for that. There are only two teams for the kids his age in Centerville City. They play against teams from West Bountiful and Farmington.

His team has not been doing well but the kids don’t seem to mind. They have only won one game so far. Avery himself has really progressed so far this season. He plays in the pitching position, sometimes as the catcher, shortstop and first base. He loves anywhere the coach puts him. He loves baseball.

Hopefully they can start winning games on a regular basis. For me it has just been fun to be able to watch him. Last season was hard for me to enjoy because it was such a burden to get to the game. When I would get there it was hard to enjoy because I never really felt well but I wanted to support him. Now I go to support him but I really enjoy watching, even if they don’t win. Avery has such a positive attitude and doesn’t put himself down or the other boys. His coach asked him to be one of three team captains. He is taking the position very seriously and cheers on his teammates! It is really fun to watch him.

I really would like the weather to shape up though. I am getting tired of wrapping up in blankets, putting on gloves, having a umbrella handy, etc.

Red Baron Pizza Party........

Last Saturday I hosted a Red Baron Pizza Party. Those of you that were there will have to tell me what you thought of it. I signed up for the opportunity to host the party online. They sent me supplies for the party including a pizza cutter for each guest. Closer to the date of the party they sent three deep dish pizzas and two different pasta’s.

I put together little gift bags for each guest and a few prizes. We also had rolls, fruit, vegetables, candy and treats. The hardest part of the evening was figuring out how to have three pizzas and two pasta dishes cooked and ready for the beginning of the party. Since the pastas needed to be cooked in the oven and not the microwave and took 30 min., I was a little thrown off on time.

Avery also had a make-up baseball game that afternoon. I ended up going to watch Avery and then rushing home to get the pasta started. I used the convention oven which cooks food faster but probably dried it out a bit. Once the pastas were done then I put all three pizzas in at once, also on the convection oven setting. Ken hates it when I cook with the convection oven, that’s when I say, “then why did we buy it?” It comes in handy because of the fan, it is a all over cook and I appreciate it, especially when I am in a hurry.

Watching Avery at the baseball game was fun. I got there a little late and he was excited to tell me that in the first inning he got on base and stole all the other bases and made it in home. He was practicing pitching along with another boy when I got there. They had Avery pitch all but the last inning. The fielding was pretty bad. Hits that should have only been singles sometimes turned into triples due to the fielding. They were ahead 4-2 until the last inning and they lost the game. They were supposed to play tonight but the game was cancelled because of the rain.

I went to the foot doctor today to find out why my foot goes numb and then starts aching. Have you noticed that when you go to the doctor to diagnose pain, the pain can’t be reproduced? That happens to me a lot. He wants me to try to reproduce the situations that cause me pain and then self diagnose the pain and report back to him in two weeks. The best part of the appointment was that he shaved off a callous from the same foot. I have been actively working on this callous for a long time, so it is nice to see it gone. The doctor said it will probably grow back but for the time being it is nice to have a normal shaped toe for now. Hope you enjoyed my ramblings of the day! Have a great nights sleep!

Debbie

Happy 50th birthday Kenneth J. Hadlock

The secretaries at Legacy Jr. High went out of their way to help celebrate Ken’s 50th Birthday. They decorated his office. They emailed all the teachers and asked them to dress in black for the day. The officers sang a song for the morning announcements. They posted happy birthday on the marque. They planned a luncheon with funeral potatoes, ham, rolls, etc. They invited me to come today but I was on my way out the door to go subbing at J.P. Elementary. I am so thankful and grateful for all the things they did to make his birthday special!

FHE...

Tonight was family home evening. This was the first family home evening that Ken has been here for the last couple of months. He has been practicing for a play which opened last Saturday night, so no more Monday night practices. He is in the Tues., Thurs., Sat. cast. Sarah, Josh, Amanda, Avery and I saw it on opening night. Ken sure has fun! After the play we went to Yogurt Stop for frozen yogurt. That seems to be a new tradition. We also went there after we went to Ken’s last play.

Avery kind of gave a lesson tonight. Ken and Sarah filled in the holes of the story of Joseph sold as a slave. We sang “popcorn popping on the apricot tree.” Which was a perfect song for the weather today. For activity we played Pass the Pigs. We haven’t played that in a long time. No one fought! In fact they wanted to keep playing until everyone reached the score of 200. It was a rare occasion that Sarah stayed with us through to the end. She gets up so early in the morning in order to take the UTA that she usually slips away early to go to bed. Not tonight.

Thank goodness for a calm family home evening!!! It doesn’t happen often so I am grateful when it does!

A chance for another freebie...

Check out this site for a chance at a freebie: http://mymixofsix.blogspot.com/2010/03/giveaway.html

Home at last......

Zander and Dresden - July 2009
I just got back from the Instacare. No not for me. Not not for one of my kids. One of my nephews, Zander. My sister had an unexpected surgery Sunday morning. My brother-in-law was still at work. My mom called me over to see if I thought he needed stitches. Mom had been there doing laundry and helping De Ann. Mom and De Ann looked exhausted! I offered to take him. De Ann was worried he would put up a fit but he didn’t. When we got to the car he asked me if we were going to my house. He and Dresden have been at my house quite a bit over the last week. I told him no, that we were going to the Doctor so he could look at his head. He fell riding his bike. We watched the Disney channel in the waiting room. Hannah Montana was on. It is okay entertainment. The instacare was full especially since they were closing in an hour, everyone rushed in.

The nurse informed me on the way back that they had run out of numbing cream. That meant he would be numbed with a needle. I remained calm and read him a few books. They cleaned the wound and we waited some more. He giggled the whole time she was cleaning it out. Anytime anyone came in he giggled and pretended to squirt them with his new toy, the syringe they used for the clean out.

I guess today he was obsessed with the idea of a Zuzu pet. My mom said that was all he talked about all day. I have spent enough time with Zander to know that when he wants something he will ask and ask, and ask. I myself have experienced that determined side of him. I told him in the car on the way there that if he was good and didn’t cry and yell that we would buy a zuzu pet on the way home. That was a bribe that was worth the cost.

The doctor almost thought that the nurse had already deadened the spot. They were prepared to hold him down but he didn’t need it. He wined for a moment but that was it. When they stitched the head he giggled. He told them it tickled. Thank goodness. No fit, no crying, happy, nice boy. We went to Walmart immediately after and he picked out a brown hamster. Now it is time for bed so I can get up early to teach tomorrow. I am teaching 5th grade. Sleep tight. Don’t let the bedbugs bite!