Mock Interview in MN

Last week I had the mock interviews up in Minneapolis that Holly, my pageant coach, set up and they went great! I learned a lot from the "judges" and they gave some great feedback! I hope to apply what I learned next week at the next mock interviews. Yes, I will be heading up to MN again on Monday, June 2, but this time it will be a "fly in, fly out" type of deal. Louis has to work that day, so I will be taking all the kids with me, instead of just Wyatt (I will go into more detail later). The kids will miss half a day of school, but it is the second to the last day, so I don't think they will miss much. And since I can't really afford to take any more days off work, I have to be back in Iowa the same night, so I can work the next day! It won't be the most enjoyable, but I have more than just the mock interviews to get me up there!
As I was saying, I was up there last week, but I took 2 days off work for it, and spent the night at Mom & Dad's. I actually met up with Mom around 12:30p at the Eden Prairie Mall after I met the current Mrs. Minnesota, Bessie Giannakakis, to get a swimsuit from her that she had at her boutique (more details to follow). Anyway, Mom and I hung out for about an hour and a half, catching up and eating lunch. Then she took Wyatt home with her so I could meet up with Sarah Moses of "The Pageant Shop" to try on gowns! That was on the North end of the cities just north of 694 (if you are familiar with Minneapolis), and Mom and I were on the South end of the Cities by 494. So I had a little jaunt to get there by 3p! I met Holly at Sarah's so she could give her opinion on the gowns. I went there with a budget in mind and Sarah was pretty good at keeping it within my budget, but none of those gowns were making an impression, so she started pulling a few that were above my budget, and, of course, I found the perfect dress out of that group! Sarah and Holly both absolutely LOVED the gown on me. I had reservations at first, because I wasn't sure how the top part was going to fit, but they assured me that they knew an excellent seamstress who would make it fit like a glove! Once they allayed my fears, I knew it was "THE" dress! It's kind of like when you go wedding gown shopping! Like I said, this dress was a bit out of my budget, but Sarah and I worked out a deal we were both comfortable with. But, not only did I get a new gown...I also picked up a cocktail dress and new swimsuit! The cocktail dress has to be white for the opening number on the evening of the competition and Sarah had a white, full-length gown on clearance that would be perfect once it was shortened, so that also went to the seamstress! The swimsuit is a bright orange, one of my favorite colors of the moment (more on this in another blog) and really shows off my legs and butt!.....Which I have been working real hard on at the gym! I am excited about it, because it really "pops" with my hair and skin tone! Holly is adding a few sparkly beads to it to dress it up a little. Once we got the dress situation figured out, Holly and I headed back to her place and she worked a little with another client she had while I sat in and listened. Ok..... so I added a few hints and stories, too! Then it was off to the mock interviews! I did not leave Minneapolis until after 8:30p! I am hoping that I will be able to leave a little sooner next week so I don't get home so late.
Ok....more on the swimsuit I got from Bessie..........It is to replace the costume I wore 2 years ago representing RAGBRAI (Registers Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa...it's world famous!) Two years ago, I just wore a bikers outfit that consisted of a brightly colored, tight fitting shirt, black spandex pants, brightly colored tennis shoes and a pink helmet. Not very flattering or sexy on stage! So Holly came up with an alternate idea, still using the RAGBRAI theme. This is where the swimsuit comes in....It is a sparkly, turquoise one piece and we will be adding a flowing skirt to mimic water. What does water have to do with RAGBRAI you ask?!? Well, the tradition is that when they start the bike ride all the riders have their back bike tire in the Missouri River and when they finish the ride 7 days later, they dip their front bike tire in the Mississippi River, which coincidently border Iowa! In fact, Iowa is the ONLY state that is completely bordered on two sides by major riverways! So we wanted to incorporate that into the costume, which makes me the "river". I will also be carrying a bejeweled bike tire out with me to represent the bike! Caisha loved the idea and so do I! Can't wait for it all to come together! I will be picking up the Gown, cocktail dress, swimsuit, and costume all on June 2! I will update you then!

Mrs. Iowa Pageant

The pageant is coming up REAL fast! I am furiously trying to get my interview skills more polished & to "whip" myself into shape! I think God has sent me a great person to work with, though. It was a little weird because this pageant coach just contacted me out of the blue. Her name is Holly Ernst and she was the commentator for the Beauties of America Pageant the year that I won, and she was Mrs. MN in 2006, the year that I got first runner-up for Mrs. Iowa. I've known her for close to 5 years now, but never real well. Even so, she has been one of my biggest fans and cheerleaders since I started competing in 1999. Anyway, as I said she contacted me by email to see if I was doing the Mrs. Iowa Pageant this year and offered her services to help me prepare! I was a little skeptical, because I know that most pageant coaches charge anywhere from $65 - $100/ hour and we definitely can not afford that right now. So I asked God if He sent her to me and to give me a sign that He had. Well, I talked it over with Louis, about the cost of working with her and the benefits it might afford me in the competition, and he figured I should at least give her a call and see what she charged. So I called her the next day and we worked out an understanding that would benefit both of us. I knew right then that God had sent her to me!
Holly has a mock interview session set up on May 20th in Minneapolis, so I will be taking a day & a half off from work to participate in that. I know it will help me tremendously, especially since Holly video tapes it. I think it will be great to see, as well as hear, myself in "interview mode"! I have come up with my own way of preparing for interview this year by being on some of the radio stations here in Central Iowa. I've been on a country station, a classic rock station ( a little nervous for that one!), a christian station and a news talk station. So they have all been very different, which I think will benefit me a lot! I will be making a repeat appearance on the rock station, country station and the news talk station in the 2 weeks before the pageant. I've always toyed with the idea of being a DJ, but wasn't to crazy about the hours. Maybe it will be something I can do after the kids are older. Anyway, Louis says I sound GREAT on the radio! (translation: great = hot!). I do have a lot of fun doing it, though!
The pageant competition is June 6th & 7th in St. Paul, MN. Interviews are late morning, early afternoon on the 6th and stage competition is the evening of the 7th. Since the MN directors took over both IA and WI, there will be 3 crownings that evening. This year MN has the least amount of contestants around 5-6 ladies, which is VERY usual for them! WI has about 7-8 ladies and IA has about 9-10 ladies! So the competition for Mrs. Iowa should be a good one. I do better when there is competition. Something about it being more of a challenge helps me to do better and stay focused. Please keep me in your prayers that weekend, especially late morning, early afternoon on the 6th (Interviews. Not my strong suit!) If you are interested in going to the competition on the 7th you can contact the Fitzgerald Theatre or Ticketmaster for tickets. They are between $25 & $35. Wish me luck!!

Mrs. Iowa America Pageant

I have decided to compete for Mrs. Iowa America this year. I have taken the last 2 years off from competing in pageants due to my pregnancy and birth of Wyatt. I am now ready again to take on the pageant world and challenge myself! As most of you know I have competed in this pageant a couple times. Two times for Mrs. Minnesota and once for Mrs. Iowa where I was 1st Runner-up all three times! I hope some day to break that streak by finally winning the title and getting the opportunity to compete at the National Pageant in Arizona! My biggest obstacle is getting the funds to cover the entry fee and all the little things that go along with preparing for the competition. If you would like to help me out and sponsor me for the pageant please let me know! I can use any amount you are able to give (and it is tax deductible!) Your name will be listed below my picture in the program book. You can also have an ad put in the pageant book. If that is something you are interested in I can get the prices to you for a quarter, half or full page ad. If I am unable to raise the money needed to cover the entry fee I will not be competing, so please consider being a sponsor, even if it is only $25! It all adds up! Thanks to everybody that has sponsored me in the past. It really means a lot to me!!

www.mrsamerica.com
www.mrsminnesota-america.com

Kidney Stones

Wednesday morning around 6am I woke up in intense pain. I told Louis that it felt like I was in labor all over again! He took me to the Boone ER where they hooked me up to an IV and gave me something for the pain and the naseau. They did a CAT scan and found that I had 2 kidney stones. One was relatively small and didn't concern them too much, but the other was said to be about 5.2mm. The ER Dr. sent me home with some pain meds. and I pretty much slept the rest of the day. At about 12:30am I was in pain again and the meds didn't seem to be helping much so I took another one which kicked in about an hour later. Both Wednesday and Thursday are kind of a blur as I slept most of the time. Thursday evening the ER Dr. called and let me know that their regular radiologist read the CAT scan and said that the stone was not 5.2mm but 8.9mm! I already had an appt. schedule Friday morning with my regular Dr., so she said to mention it to him and see what he suggested. Well, Friday morning we go in and they do an X-Ray. My regular Dr. couldn't see the stones, but said that didn't mean they weren't still there, so he had radiology take a look at it after I had left. He called me later and said that radiology had located the stone. It was "lost" in the pelvic area, but seemed to have reduced in size significantly. It was now about 3.2mm. My Dr. said that once it reached my bladder I probably would not have much pain anymore. That was good news!! It seems that my body has broken up the stones on its own and I am on my way to recovery. I had heard from a friend of mine that having the stone broken up by other means (sound waves) was NOT a pleasant experience. She said her husband had it done twice and he said it was like going 10 rounds with Mike Tyson and taking all the shots in the kidney's! I am glad I did not have to have that done! I am much more diligent about getting plenty of fluids, now, as they say that is a huge factor in developing kidney stones; Along with drinking too much dark cola's. My one craving when I was pregnant was Dr. Pepper and I have been still drinking it, soooo...I guess I will be quitting that right away! Anyway, as I said, I seem to be doing much better and have not needed my pain meds since Friday night. I am back at work today and hope that I will not have this problem again!!

Here's the Additional Pictures of the Carriage House

Louis got the one side to collapse by just pulling out one board on the side! I missed the "show" so only have pictures of it being lopsided.

To get the rest of the building down our wonderful neighbors, Mark and Joelle, lent their van to do the pulling. Louis wrapped a heavy chain around one of the corner support posts and then to the hitch on the van. It worked pretty good to get the rest of the building to collapse. It sent up a pretty good cloud of dust!

In the process of pulling it down.

Now we just had to figure out how to get the roof off the tree so it would be flatter on the ground. We figured the city would not like us to leave it so kids could crawl under it. So, once again we hitched the van to a corner and pulled. It didn't move very far, so Louis actually just split the roof ridge so it would fall to either side of the tree. It worked pretty good.

Before the snow and cold weather, we were able to remove all the shingles. Now we are in the process of slowly burning all the unusable wood of the structure. Since the building had been in a previous fire, most of the wood is badly damaged and not suitable for reusing to build Caisha's club house. Hopefully this spring, we will be the rest of the wood cleaned up and be able to start digging up all the bricks that were used as the foundation for the structure. I will be putting those bricks to good use as a border for my (hopefully newly expanded) garden.

As I am writing this right before Christmas I will wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope to get a few more posts done in the next couple weeks. Check out some of my older posts as I have updated a few of them with corresponding pictures.

Long Ways to Go!

Saturday I found out just how much I have to learn in my riding lessons! I attended a workshop at the riding stables Saturday afternoon where we got to learn a little more about horses, women's connection to horses, and the benefits to riding horses. We got to ride for almost 3 hours in the indoor arena. The horse they assigned to me was not one of their lesson horses. She is a 1st level dressage horse that they have for sale. I learned a lot by riding her, though. She was very sensitive to leg cues and shifting of body weight and tension in the reins. I found out that I tend to sit "heavier" on my right side, which caused Ginger, the horse I was riding, to shift her weight more to that side, making it harder for her to stay walking in a straight line. I also found that I am not very steady or relaxed in my arms and shoulders. Ginger was very sensative to the give and take of the reins. I need to learn to relax more and move my arms forward and back with the natural rhythm of the horses head when they move so I don't put undo pressure on their mouths when their head naturally moves forward. It was a lot to think about! I ended up mostly walking, just trying to get intune with Ginger. I think I needed about another 2 hours! We were doing pretty good towards the end and I trotted with her a little bit. I think I probably frustrated Ginger. *laugh* I also learned that I need some new boots for riding. The ones that I have just aren't flexible enough. I realized how forgiving my lesson horse, Emmitt, really is after riding Ginger. But now I know what I need to concentrate on to get the right cues to Emmitt so he will perform for me. I think I might have to go in and practice on my own every once in a while, too. Maybe while Caisha is taking her lesson...as long as she isn't riding Emmitt for her lessons. That is what Santa is giving her for Christmas this year. Riding lessons! She will be sooo excited! And I found out that for every 10 lessons that you pay for in advance, you get one free! So she will be getting more lessons than originally planned.
I had a great time meeting other women with the same interest in horses as me and maybe I will run into them at some shows down the road!

Riding Lessons

Yesterday I had my first horseback riding lesson. I have wanted to do this for a very long time and have finally decided to just do it! I am learning how to do dressage and event jumping, so it is totally different from any riding I am used to. I grew up riding Western style where you want a lot of slack in the reins and you sit deep in the saddle. Dressage, or English, style requires tension in the reins at all times (always in contact with the horses mouth) and sitting as lightly as possible in saddle. I have always loved to watch the cross-country eventing on TV and thought it looked very exciting! My instructor is younger than me by about 15 years, but she seems to know what she is doing! She has competed in numerous events. She was pleased with how naturally I sat a horse and has great faith in me that I will be able to master this! The hardest thing for me to remember was to keep my heels down and my toes pointed slightly in with the most pressure on my big toes! It was exhilarating to be back on a horse again! I wasn't sure who's heart was beating faster...mine or the horses! If you are familiar at all with English riding, you know that they "post" at the trot. That is where you rise up and down in the saddle in rhythm with the horse. My instructor, Maggie, said that I should be using my calf muscles, not my knees or thighs, to rise up out of the saddle. I must have been doing it right, because my calves were pretty sore afterwards and my knees and thighs didn't bother me at all. Usually it is my knees that hurt after riding for any length of time. Today, the front hip area that connects my legs to my hips is kind of sore. I suppose from the constant rise and fall of posting. I have my lessons in an indoor arena that is heated to about 40 degrees, so it is not bad at all for riding in the winter. I was actually getting warm half way through my lesson.
I will be having a lesson twice a month for 30 minutes each session(can't afford anymore at the moment). I will probably up my lesson time to 45 minutes once my body catches on. Hopefully that way I will keep myself from getting sore after each lesson. I would love to have a lesson every week, but I don't think that will ever happen. It just isn't in our budget. I am hoping to compete in some events this next summer if things go well. I can use one of the lesson horses and they will haul the horse to and from the event for me. I can't wait!!! I am sure I will be competing against little girls, but I have to start somewhere! Maybe some day (hopefully soon) I can actually get my own horse!

On a Sad Note

About a week ago one of our cats, Badger, ate something he shouldn't have. We took him to the vet and they sedated him so he wouldn't have anymore seizures. The vet figured he got into some nuts that are laced with strictnine (rat poison). People put this stuff out to kill moles, rabbits, squirrels, etc. Anyway, I noticed that Badger was having small seizures last Sunday night so we took him into the vet clinic right away Monday morning. He stayed at the clinic until Wednesday afternoon when the vet felt that he was well enough to go home. Badger had eaten some food and was drinking plenty of water on his own. He was still pretty shaky on his feet, but otherwise seemed fine. The vet was optimistic that he would have a full recovery. Louis had to work through Thanksgiving, but the kids and I (and the dog) went up to Milford, IA to visit Grandpa Jack and Grandma Lynne. We had a great extended weekend. Louis called us on Saturday to ask his dad (a vet) about Badger. It seems he had thrown up and now had stopped eating(as well as Simba, our other cat)...who, incidently, avoided Badger and growled and hissed at him when he did come in contact with him. That was the start of Badgers decline. By the time we got home Sunday afternoon at 2pm he had bloody mucus coming out of his nose and mouth and he couldn't control his mouth enough to even drink water. We tried to make him as comfortable as possible. I gave him some aspirin, hoping to get enough into him to help him fall asleep, but he had difficulty swallowing, so I think all I accomplished was to take away any pain he was feeling. Caisha was by his side the rest of the evening until she finally crawled into bed, exhausted, around 11p. Badger would purr whenever we were with him, so I think he was pretty content at the end. Around 4am(Monday) Louis checked on him and was going to take him to the vet college in Ames to have him euthenized, but as he was walking down the stairs, he said Badger looked up at him, meowed one last time and took his last breath. They never made it to the vet college. It has been heartbreaking for all of us to say goodbye, but I think Badger held on long enough so we all could say goodbye. Once he knew everybody had said goodbye, he let himself go. He was only a little over 2 years old, so that makes it very hard to accept. We will all miss him terribly!

Carriage House Update

Here is the latest on the Carriage House. As you can see it is finally on the ground!!! I do have more pictures of the whole process, but can't find them at the moment. When I do find them I will add them to this post. Now it is just the slow process of cutting all the wood down to size and burning it or salvaging pieces for Caisha's "Club House".

New Pictures

Both Caisha and Zach are a huge help with Wyatt! He lights up whenever he sees them and will usually let out a squeal of delight when they walk in the room, especially after a nap!

Here are the kids dressed up for Halloween. Caisha was a vampire, Zach was a bandit cowboy and Wyatt was a bear dressed as a pumpkin( or a pumpkin dressed as a bear?) The weather was beautiful! so the kids didn't have to cover up their costumes this year!

Here's Louis' little drummer! Louis played drums in high school and was hoping that one of his kids would play drums. Nala chose to play tenor saxaphone, which she is very good at. Caisha plays the trombone like her dad, Jim, and her Uncle Tom and Zach is interested in the clarinet (which I play) or saxaphone ( I also played this for pep band & contests).

Yes, Wyatt is a thumb sucker. Notice that it's his left hand?! He does a lot with his left hand, so it will be interesting to see if he will write with his left.

Prayers Needed!

My mom told me some very sad, devastating news yesterday and I would like to enlist your help. Her sister, Sharlet, has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. They believe it started as cervical cancer and has since moved to her utereus, lymph nodes and possibly her lungs. The doctors have told her that none of the options will extend her life, so she has opted not to undergo any surgery or chemo/radiation. She (Sharlet) wants to enjoy what time she has left as well as she can. She is currently taking medicine for the pain and taking herbal supplements to help her body fight as much as it can. She needs your prayers, as well as her family. Her husband, John, is having a hard time, so please pray for him so that he can be there for Sharlet. They also have 3 children and a couple grandchildren. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this. And lastly, please pray for my mom! I can't imagine how I would feel if one of my sisters called me and told me they had terminal cancer and did not know how long they had left with us! As far as I know, this will be the 3rd person that my mom has lost to cancer that she has been real close to. She lost her mother to lung cancer when I was about 7 years old and one of her best friends to breast cancer while I was in high school. I am sure she would appreciate your comforting words and support.
We love you, Sharlet!

Cars!?@!?@!

I am no longer a fan of Saturn! Especially their SUV the Vue. I have had 2 of them now which I bought both brand new. The first one was a 2004. About 1 1/2 years after I purchased it the clutch slave cylinder went out on it so I could no longer shift. It was a 5 speed manual, which is one of the reasons I bought it. The Vue is the only SUV that comes with a stick. Anyway, the factory warranty expired at 30,000 miles. I had close to 60,000 miles on it so it was 100% out of pocket to fix. It was going to cost me over $600 with parts and labor, but I got them to drop the labor charges and ended up paying around $275. Shortly after that we traded the 2004 in on a 2006. Well, now just a mere 1 1/2 years later something major goes wrong with this one!! The Body Control Modular went out! This nifty little (computerized) gadget basically runs the car! It is going to cost us $550 to fix this! And of course, I have too many miles on the car so the warranty no longer covers it!! I now no longer have any money for Christmas, which I had been saving up for a year now! We were lucky that Louis' car had not sold yet so he is able to drive that in the meantime. I give up on buying new! I thought I would avoid costly "fixes" on a new car! Doesn't seem to be working that way. I am just sooo frustrated right now. I really don't want to pay the $550 to fix the Vue, but we still have over $12,000 left to pay on it and I don't think I could even get that much if I sold it private party! The trade-in on it is only about $11,000 which we have no reason to trade it in because we still have Louis' Taurus. I am very disappointed with Saturn. It seems that when something goes wrong it is always something major! Just ask Colette and Nathan!
Anyway, that is my piece. Don't buy an SUV from Saturn!!

Family Updates

Wyatt is now almost 7 months old! How do they grow up soooo fast? He has his first two teeth and he is already wearing 12 month size clothes! He has started to pull himself up on stuff now, so it will only be a matter of time before he is cruising the furniture and then walking. AAAACCCKKKK! I am not ready for that!
Caisha and Zach have auditioned for a couple plays now. Caisha got a role in "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" with one of the local Children's Theatres. It was her first audition ever and she did amazing! I was so proud of her! She was pretty nervous and almost didn't even try, but I convinced her to at least go to the audition and see what it was all about. That way she can't beat herself up later with "Why didn't I just do it?" or "I wish I had done it anyway!" She was offered a non-speaking role as one of Aslan's followers (w/ a chance of a line or two). The other play is a locally written script with our community theatre in Boone. Both Caisha and Zach auditioned. Caisha was much more confident this time and has been offered a speaking part. Zach psyched himself out pretty bad, but still auditioned. He did very well for his first time. He has been offered a non-speaking part. I just found out this morning that they have been offered these roles, so the kids don't know yet. I know Caisha will be thrilled! I am not sure how Zach will feel. He wasn't too sure he wanted to sing and dance, which is what his part would require. He'll have to decide.
Work is REAL slow right now and I keep contemplating going a different route with a career. I am just not sure what it would be. I feel like I am not doing what I absolutely love! I don't know if it is because of the economical slump in the region or if it is because I would rather be home with Wyatt? Or both, I suppose! I've been thinking about being around horses a lot lately and wonder if I shouldn't find a job related to that? I've wanted a horse my entire life and I am starting to feel like I will never have one while I can really enjoy it! I had thought (and hoped) that I would have a horse by now, and I don't see being able to get one any time soon! It is rather depressing. Money is a struggle right now, so I feel a little trapped in my job because without me working we could not make ends meet. But I think the biggest factor in how I am feeling right now is how stressed I am about refinancing our house. It has taken us almost 3 months to get it done....and we still haven't finalized it yet!! I was so excited about being able to paint the house, fix the crawl space, replace our doors with more energy efficient ones and to re-roof the kitchen! Now I am almost ready to just forget it all if it will speed up the refinancing process! Buying a house wasn't stressful for me at all, so I didn't think refinancing would be that big a deal. Now I know that it is a big deal!
Other than the stress factor, we are doing great! Wyatt makes me laugh every day! Caisha and Zach continue to make me proud and Louis is always there to support me. I suppose with all that and God, I will survive and thrive!

Weekly Schedule

Hey Everybody! Now that school has resumed for the last month or so, the kids and I have sort of settled into a weekly routine. Louis still has mixed feelings about all the "running around" that I do each week, but honestly, I don't think it is that much. Especially compared to some of my co-workers and friends! This is a run-down of a typical week at the Johnson household! For the sake of clarity I will start on a Monday.

Ok, Monday morning the kids and I are up around 6:30am. Me....sometimes I am up by 6am if Wyatt decides it's time to rise and shine! I try to be downstairs to eat breakfast by 7am, but that doesn't always happen. There have been many mornings that I don't get breakfast at home. I much prefer the mornings that Wyatt sleeps in. Although, I do miss seeing his smiling face before I leave for work! If Wyatt is awake before the kids and I leave (by 7:20am) then Louis has to wake up. As you know, he works evenings (3pm-11pm), so this is not his favorite time! Caisha has to be to school before 8am which is the start of her first class. So far we have managed to only be late 2 times this year. Zach doesn't have to be in his classroom until 8:15am so most mornings he will choose to eat breakfast at school. Both kids are much better about being organized to head out the door in the morning than they have been in the past. They have also been a big help with Wyatt if he is awake that early. After dropping off the kids, I head to work, many times stopping at the gas station or grocery store on the way. I'm at work by 8:30am. At 2:25p I head out to meet Louis at his work to "exchange" Wyatt as he heads into work. Now the days for that vary depending on when Louis has his days off. Some days, if he is off, I work until 2:45p then pick up the kids, unless it is Friday, in which case, I work until 4p because Zach has soccer practice right after school until 4:30p. Caisha will spend that time with her friend Nancy. If Louis works that day, I meet him to get Wyatt then run errands until I have to pick up the kids at 4:30p. Ok....confused yet? I know, I know, I jumped ahead to Friday! Most weeks, Monday and Wednesday we are home by 3:45p. Tuesdays both Caisha and Zach have soccer practice and Zach has piano lessons. Caisha has soccer at 5p - 6:30p and Zach has piano at 5p -5:30p and then soccer at 5:45p - 7p. Tuesdays are our late day home. Wednesdays are our "free" days. Thursdays Caisha has soccer at 5p-6:30p. I will pick up the kids right after school and head home for about an hour to get something to snack on and a little downtime before we have to head back to Gilbert for Soccer. Zach will usually come with to Gilbert and play at a friends house while Caisha is at practice. Wyatt and I tend to go for walks or just hang out in the car and park. Sometimes I might have and errand or two to run in Ames during that time. Saturday mornings Zach has his soccer games. Then the afternoon and evening are open. Caisha has her soccer games Sunday afternoons. Because her team is one of the better teams in the area her games tend to be near/in Des Moines where the bigger schools are. Louis really doesn't like that I drive her almost an hour to her games! I love to go to her games and I am really starting to enjoy going to Zach's, also. It's fun to see them play and improve each week!
Well, there is our typical week until the end of October......then soccer is done and the only after school activity will be Zach's piano lessons on Tuesdays. Louis will be a little happier then. Neither of the kids have much interest in any of the sports offered in the winter, which is just fine by me. It gives me a couple months of no running around for them until Spring sports start up! Then it's back to busy, busy, busy! I'm enjoying all of it! I'd rather be busy than bored!

Back to work :(

It was back to work for me on July 16th. I cried that morning.......It was sooo hard to leave Wyatt! My boss, Mike, has been great, though. He has allowed me to come back to work 30 hours a week instead of 40 hours. I work 8:30am - 2:30pm. This way Wyatt doesn't have to go to daycare at all! I meet Louis at his work around 2:30p to pick up Wyatt, then go pick up the other kids from school. I am really enjoying these hours. I am able to get the kids to school in the morning & not have to feel rushed to get to work, and then I leave work at about the time I start to feel sleepy. It's amazing how quickly I wake up once I step outside! I'm getting more time with the kids & I have more time to work in my garden now! I know my stress level has gone down, which makes us all happier! You know the saying: "If Mama ain't happy, nobody is happy!" I still don't get as much sleep as I would like. Mostly because of Wyatt, but sometimes, the only time Louis and I can connect is late at night! We are making it work, though. In the long run it is saving us money. If I worked 40 hours/week, Wyatt would have to be in daycare and the other kids would have to go back to Kids Club and I would make around $150 less a year! It just doesn't make sense to me to go back to 40 hours! I really hope things stay pretty slow at work so Mike won't need me to come back full-time. If he requests that I come back 40 hours/week, I will have to tell him it's either a minimum $2/hour raise or I leave. I can't make it make sense otherwise. Another plus at work right now is that Mike has taken on a few residential homes projects. They give me the opportunity to design kitchens again! I'm loving that!

Family Vacation?

June 10th we all headed up to Jack & Lynne's for a month. Louis worked extra hours at his work to be able to take of an entire month of paternity leave. It was a real treat to see him every day! All I had to do was step outside! I even got to work along side him; working on the fencing with Jack. It was a nice change for us. And one that I think we needed! The girls, Caisha and Nala, would watch Wyatt for me so I could go out and help with the fences and general clean-up of the farm. Many times I brought Wyatt out with me. I didn't get much work done, but he was so fascinated with the work Daddy and Grandpa were doing! He watched them VERY closely! It seemed like he wanted to get in on the action!! Zach was a big help as he filled the role of errand boy. He enjoyed running to get supplies, water, etc. Grandpa Jack would "time" him to see how fast he could retrieve the item needed. It really became a game for them and Zach tried real hard to beat his previous time! Caisha and Nala came out and helped quite a few times, too. I think Grandpa Jack really enjoyed having his grandkids working along side him! Nala's favorite new skill was driving the lawn mower with a little wagon hitched behind, to feed the cattle. Her and Caisha made a pretty good team! They literally took over that chore, morning and evening, so Grandma Lynne didn't have to do it. I am sure she enjoyed that little reprieve. Caisha also got to learn how to drive Grandpa Jack's truck! She drove it from the grain shed to the barn. She had a grin from ear to ear! I also got into learning new skills. I became pretty adept at swinging a hammer and driving tractor. I grew up on a farm but never learned how to drive the tractors, so this was a treat for me!

After putting in some long, HOT days, we would all go to Lake Okoboji to swim. We even got Grandpa Jack to go with a few times! Nothing like cowboy boots and swim trunks! :) ! It was so neat to see Jack and Lynne playing in the water like kids! It was an inspiration for marriages. Wyatt had his first experience with the lake. The water was pretty cold the first time we went so he preferred the sand to the water. He enjoyed the water more and more each time we went. He did take a few good naps at the lake. We found that he slept better outside! Wyatt was outside so much that he got a little farmers tan! Louis got REAL dark! We both ended up getting sunburnt on our shoulders & upper back one day. We both even had sunscreen on! There were a few days where it was unbelievably hot!

I hope the kids come away from that month with lots of great memories! Even though we were "working" on the farm most days, I thought it was a great family vacation! Maybe I am the only one who looks at it that way. Most farming is not work to me. It's just something I enjoy!

Neglect

I know I haven't been real good about updating lately! It's been hard to find the time between Wyatt, the kids & school/sports, work and trying to catch up on yard work. When the weather is nice I use all my spare time outside. I hate to sit in front of the computer on a beautiful day, which there have been many! I hope this weekend I will get the chance to catch up. The rest of my week is full. Today (9/25) after work the kids have piano lessons and soccer practice until 7pm. Tomorrow I have a dentist appointment to fill a cavity, Thursday Caisha has soccer until 6:30p and our basement contractor is stopping by after 7pm. Friday Zach has soccer until 4:30p so I will have a little free time, but it is suppose to be real nice weather so I will be planting all my spring bulbs! That leaves Saturday where the only thing going on is Zach's soccer game at 10am. Of course, Scott and Karen may be coming for a visit this weekend, so I may not get it done anyway! I have so many pictures to add and events that have happened to talk about since June! I'll try to keep you posted, but it may take a few days.

Wyatt's Baptism June 24, 2007

Family Photo

Grandpa & Grandma Diers, Mom, Dad, & Wyatt, Grandpa & Grandma Johnson, Great Grandpa & Grandma Leininger

Wyatt's Sponsors are Nick Grossman (L) and Brooks Borrell (R)

All the kids and Sponsors

Nick, Mom, Dad, Brooks

Caisha, Wyatt, Nala, Zach



Pastor Solmonson and Pastor Dahle

Wyatt 2 1/2 months

Wyatt was completely fascinated with Grandma J's phone!

Baby Pictures