Ah, this week...

So if you remember this was going to be a "week off".  HA HA!  So we started off nice and slow with a morning of baby sitting the Jensens, or rather, having play dates with the Jensens, the kids know that their time with them is limited, and it is fun to watch them kind of cherish each other a bit.

Tuesday we were all dressed in our swimsuits and everything, ready to head to the pool when we got a call from Aimee (she is teaching the kids swimming lessons), she was calling to tell us that they'd seen lightning and had closed the the pool.  We made some quick calls around and ended up at Patapsco Valley State Park, trying to find a spot where the river would be low and slow enough that the kids could play in it.  Jeri and I were both armed with cameras in hopes of finding some good light.  
The kids on the other hand were in search of Crawdads, and any other crawly swimming creature they could find.  They actually found a whole "pool" of them down by the river that were surprisingly large (to me anyway).  They scooped them up in buckets and tortured them a bit and then let them go.

Also while they searched for Crawdads, they found lots of bugs and beatles and a pile of worms, and Alex and Wyatt found a water fight.

(jeri, i cropped out his plumber bum, you're welcome :-) )

All in all, we had a good time.  Jeri and I found some good light and the kids found some critters and kept cool in the creek.  Even Simone eventually went to sleep and seemed to have had a nice time out there in the shade next to the creek sounds.  Talia did get bit by some flying beetle thing that actually took a chunk of flesh from her head!  We can't figure that one out!  But anyway, it was a fun day.

Tuesday night I got a hair cut and went to Tara's shower, on the way home I went to the theater to get tickets to the Bee Movie, no such luck, all sold out, so I vowed to go to the mall on Wednesday morning with all the kids in tow and get tickets for this Wednesday's movie with is "Surf's Up".  Only to be informed on Wednesday morning that Liza has seen it and that she said it's just a penguin being interviewed.  :-)  Too bad, you're going anyway!  LOL!  After getting the tickets on wednesday morning we headed to the mall.  I was a bit reluctant to go as sometimes when I take them to the mall,  it is a fine experience and some times I take them and I just want to shoot myself for being so silly and taking them all to a place full of things to ask for.   Fortunately it was a good day to go to the mall.  The kids all behaved beautifully, and we actually had a really nice relaxing stroll about the mall.  We finished off with a few minutes at the play place and headed home.  The kids were hungry at this point but when offered, they chose to head home for free PB &J rather then spend their own earnings on Mc Donalds.  (funny how that is).  

Thursday we again gathered the swim gear to head to the gym.  We had our normal mad dash for the gym, with me hurrying the kids into the gym saying things like "I'm going to be late, please hurry!"  Only to find that the big rain storm the night before had put out 1/2 of the gyms electricity and that the pool was closed.  I checked the kids into the child center and went to check out what I was to do about my job.  Then I got into a discussion with a sister from the ward who is inactive.   She attends my water classes every so often, and she had some issues on her mind.  By the time we were done chatting, the kids were about done staying in the child care that was only 1/2 open.  We called the Jensens and headed to a last Ho-rah at  Chuck E Cheese's.  Wow do they have a TON of new stuff at the Laurel location, you've got to check it out!  All new ski ball, just tons of stuff.  It was a very fun afternoon.  Thursday evening I got a sitter (brent was on call) and I went to Aimee's swim clinic.  It was really good, I learned a TON, and I got to go for a late night dip in the pool.  Although the clinic was terribly informative and it should be my favorite part, I really really liked the frogs.  I am sure that the other women in attendance could see right through my efforts to squelch my excitement over the fact that there were cute little frogs everywhere, "ribbit-ing" REALLY LOUDLY.  They were even jumping in the pool and then you could catch them.  I  love animals so i was so excited, like a little kid. :-)

Friday Liza went over to "help" babysit for the Jensens while I helped the other kids get their jobs done.  Liza was so proud of her first "babysitting" gig.  It was so good for her to have some responsibility and to see that people will pay you for being that way.  She then came home and "tried" to get her jobs done in time to go to her sleep over with Maia.  She messed around, as liza does, and was not ready when Maia came to get her.  Despite the wonderful deals offered and promises of her first born child, she was kept home to finish her jobs and I drove her over an hour later.  I sure hope she learned a lesson from that one.  I came home and picked up Alex, Tori and Katie and took them to Co Op where they were invited to stay overnight this time, to give Brent and I a nice long date.  AND THAT WE HAD!!  It was glorious.  We spent 9 hour together, just he and I!  Wow, how fun was that.  We went to the Body Worlds 2 Exibit @ The Maryland Science Center  It was Fantastic!  I would recommend it to anyone.  However, it may not be for the weaker stomached folk.  I was fine through 99% of it.  There were a couple times where it got a little too real, once when I got a whiff of formaldehyde as I leaned in to take a close look at what Brent was trying to show me.  It was really a cool thing to go and see with a Doctor on hand telling you what everything is and how it works.  The exhibit w/o a doctor is still very informative, you just have to do a bit more reading then I did.  We took a LONG time to go through it, it was VERY big and full of information.  For me, the most shocking part was how tiny an embryo is when it starts to look like a human being.  WOW, I've seen the pictures, but to actually see one!  Man was that cool.  What a testimony builder this trip was, how could anyone after looking that deeply into the human body deny a God?  It was fabulous!   We then went to Cheese Cake Factory, and as always, it was Fabulous.  I highly highly highly recommend 

CHRIS' OUTRAGEOUS CHOCOLATE CAKE
A Cheesecake Factory Original - Layers of Moist Chocolate Cake, Chewy Brownie, Toasted Coconut Pecan Filling and Creamy Chocolate Chip Coconut Cheesecake

We went and picked up Katie and transfered her to her crib from Jeri's house and then we set up a movie and stayed up really late, eating Cheese Cake and watching "21"  it was so FUN!  Thank you Jeri and Lincoln for a great night!  It was WAY fun!

Saturday was my much anticipated trip to Christmas Tree Shop.  My plans got all turned around, and to make it short if I wanted anyone to ride with on the way up there, I had to wait until after 2:00 to go.  I could have gone alone, but that wouldn't have been nearly as much fun, so we decided to pack all the fun into less time.  We hit the outlets for a bit, found some great dresses, and then went to Sonic for Cherry Lime-aid. YUMMMMM!  and headed for a good 2 + hours at Christmas Tree shop.  I had a blast and found some really good stuff for pictures.  I am really excited about it.  I picked up a few things for my kitchen, and some tub toys for the kids.  It was really fun!  We went to chilies after and had dinner, followed by desert shots Yumm again!  Then we rolled ourselves into the car and all the way home.  :-)  It was a really fun trip and the Christmas tree shop, once again, did not disappoint!  Next trip:  Some time in the beginning of October to collect cute Fall decor.  :-)