Bits & Pieces

We used to have 'Bits & Pieces' for dinners sometimes. We'd pull out cheese and nuts and dried fruit and meat pies and dim sims and leftovers and kabana (which we'd grill...mmmm) and whatever we could find, and eat it. Like our Boxing Day breakfasts, but less yum...

I had a dream the other night in which we had a baby and it was really cute and everybody liked it! I have a complex that we all love my adorable niece so much that nobody will really like my baby when I have one, because how could it compare with Jenna?! This dream was very comforting.

My kids make me laugh, a lot. They are so funny! Especially when they're not trying to be. One of my favourite moments of camp was when one of my students who feels constantly that the world is against him (sometimes for good reason at home I think) refused to come out of his cabin. I went and knocked on his door and asked him to come out. He came out with one of his grumpiest expressions on. I asked him what was wrong, and he explained that he'd really hurt his head (he said it like someone was to blame for it in a BIG way). "Oh no, J", I said "What happened?" "Well," he explained, "I was jumping on the table in the middle of the cabin, but I hadn't realised the fan was on!". I cracked up laughing (a somewhat unintential reaction), he couldn't help smiling, and we went to breakfast.

We are in a cold snap. Bring on hot chocolate! :)

I haven't been well lately, and James has been an angel. Every morning for the past week he's gotten me breakfast in bed!

I have received 3 bunches of flowers in the last couple of weeks, and all are still alive and in vases at home. Tammy bought me some, James bought me some, and my basketball teams at school bought me some today. I inherited a great love of flowers from my Mum. They are so beautiful, what wonderful creations!

Today we ran some sports day heats at school, and I was starting the 200m. At the end we stacked up all of the cones we'd marked the starting positions with, and the pink, white, yellow and green cones ended up in a cute rainbow patten.

Ben and Oliver will probably be ON their missions in 2 years. They've always wanted to go to China, even though it's not open yet. I heard the other week that a new ambassador from the USA to China has been appointed and he's a church member. We've said before that maybe the twins will be in the first group of missionaries sent to China, but at this rate it might be there before they are!

Air fares are soooo cheap! A friend of my mother-in-law just went to England for $400 return! We could hop across to NZ for that price!! Dad saw return tickets to the USA for some insanely small price, and there are $200 2-4-1 tickets to Japan! Global Financial Crisis + Swine Flu?

Yesterday I was waiting in the car as James ran into the shops for something, and there was a lady in the car next to me with two kids. She had a little boy on her lap who was probably 1, and a little girl next to her. The little boy was leaning back funny, and each time the lady and the girl laughed. The boy looked quizzical at first, but soon recognised it as a game, and starting 'playing' - leaning back funny and waiting for the laughter. It was cute :)

My little sister Bethany is studying primary school teaching. She didn't enjoy her first year much, but she just had an awesome prac and 2nd year seems to be going better. I hope she loves it because I do, and hopefully I'll go off and have babies and she can have all of my teaching 'stuff' until she goes off and has babies too! :)

James is doing well at uni, and loving it :) I'm so glad!!!

A principal at another school called me to see if I was interested in teaching at their school for the second semester. I went and checked it out and met the principal yesterday, and spent the whole of today being grateful that I'm at such a wonderful school with such wonderful kids! I don't want to leave. The only thing that really dampens my opinion of our school is the tuckshop. A sandwhich is about $5, and it's not that good. As my teaching partner put it, 'If you want to buy tuckshop, you're pretty generous to donate all that money to the school'. Even at private schools they're much more reasonably priced. I don't know how this tuckshop isn't more infamous.

I've always wanted a pair of black stiletto boots, really nice quality ones. Last year I said to James that if we didn't have a baby by this winter, could I have some? He laughed and agreed. Earlier this winter I bought some. They were obscenely priced and they're beautiful. They're just really hard to walk in. Sometimes I practice. I've only worn them out once, under jeans on a date with James. They don't seem to go with anything in my wardrobe... Maybe I'll spend the rest of my life wearing them around the house. I love them! :)

I recently read 'The Host' by Stephanie Meyer - Twilight author. She has a way of making really messed up things sound perfectly normal and excessively interesting. I like telling James about them and listening to how messed up he thinks they are. It's funny how normal it seems when you're reading it! I really enjoyed it! I am looking forward to reading the Twilight series and The Host again in a few years when I've forgotten them :)

I'm feeling very 'What a Wonderful World'. What a great song that is, too! When you start brainstorming nice things to write about, I guess it's like "Count your Many Blessings" and it will surprise you what the Lord has done! It does every time! :)

James and I are going out to get kebabs and a movie. I love Friday nights!!! :) I love chicken!!! I love everything right now :)

xoxoxoxox

Girls Night Out!

A week or two ago we received a very exciting email from Tammy, inviting all the girls of our family to join her in enjoying a 'Girls Night Out' together at the movies. There was a special preview screening of 'The Proposal' at the movies, and she got us tickets, and made up cute little gift bags for us and everything!

The gift bags were adorable - Beth and Jolea got HSM3 (If you don't know the initials, you are way out of touch with most 13 year olds!) bags, and I got a Barbie bag (yessss!), and I'm actually not sure what mum and dad got, but they were full of tissues and popcorn and chips and chocolates and fruit and little bits and pieces like fun lips and hearts clips and water and ginger beer, etc. It was a treat being at the movies together (on a school night no less :o) and I just wish Tammy hadn't had to ditch at the last minute to fulfill her calling (sigh. In a 'I'm-glad-you-fulfilled-your-calling' kind of way!) - we missed you!!!! (That is why Dad was there, despite not bing a girl...).

Apart from the accidentally naked scene and the very, very scary bartender it was a really cute movie. I enjoyed it a lot!

Thankyou Tammy! We will have to have a girls night out again soon, and you can come, and we'll make you a little gift pack! Love you heaps! :) xoxoxoxox