Snap... Crakle...Pop... *KABOOM*

Stace told me that I should write about my recent experience on the blog, just in case anyone else might be interested.

Well, it had been a dark raining night and I had to get up early the next day to go to work. I woke up about 5:45 and got ready to go to work. Madi had been our room twice that night and so I really didn't get a lot of sleep. The reason I tell you this is that Madz was on our floor when I got up and got ready for work and so she ended up on my side of the bed when I left.

When I left for work the roads were dry and the rain had stopped but the clouds were coming, so I knew that it would be raining soon.

After about five minutes into my ride I was riding my bike down the road and out of the top side of my perferoial vision I saw a lightening bolt come out of the sky and it looked like it was heading right at me! So much so that I flinched and turned so I didn't actually see what it hit. However, before it hit the (I think) telephone pole that was right next to me I felt the static electricity in the air. I felt like I had been running around the house on the carpet rubbig my socks as I moved and I was about ready to stick my finger by an outlet. Then I heard the loudest boom I have ever heard. I almost jumped off my bike!

Needless to say, my heart was beating very fast for the next 10 minutes but it finally calmed down. And it happened so fast that it almost seems like dream now, but I can honestly say that this was the closest I have ever come to being hit by lightening! I can't say that I would wish it on anyone.

When I got home Stace said, "This morning when you were going to work did you hear that loud boom of thunder?" It was so close and so loud that Madz jumped out of bed while she was lieing next to me! When I told her about my experience she said that she actually worried a little about me having been hit! Good to know someone cares about me!!! Ha ha!

WANT A RIDE?

What does it take to make a little baby happy?One empty container with wheels on the bottom,and one sibling to push her around!Sunday afternoon Madi and Cooper put Rylee in this empty container and pushed her around the house for at least and hour. Rylee was so content and happy to be in there having a ride. What a life right?!

On Monday when the kids were at school Rylee found the container again and began playing with it and looking at me. I knew what she wanted so I took a turn pushing her around the house. Then of course I got out my camera and took some pictures - can't resist that!! I can just see the scrapbook page forming in my mind!!! This ride has become a daily occurance - at least once a day if not more. It is so cute!!!

To Our Neices & Nephews...

This next post is directed to all of our Neices and Nephews. We are not sure if anyone is going to be interested or not but we feel like we would like to make the offer.

We would like to extend an invitation for any of you to come and live with us in Australia for a period of time (up to you). The limitation on this is the amount of time that you can get an Australian Tourist Visa for, which happens to be three months. We are more than willing to have you (with some rules - stated below) come and live with us for the full three months if that is what you want. You will just need to pay for your ticket over here and spending money on extras that you want to do. We will take care of the food, but you have to eat what we are having. Don't worry, to Cooper that means PB & J sandwiches almost every meal so you are safe if you like those.

Here are the rules though, just in case you think it would just be an extended vacation.
- We can only accomodate one at a time (If anyone even wants to do it?).
- You must be at least 14 or 15 years old (Realizing what it will take to do this we think there has to be a certain amount of maturity to be able to do this (fly over and back by yourself, take trains by yourself, etc.). Please don't think we are trying to eliminate certain people as we are not. If there are any questions around this the parents are welcome to discuss this with us.).
- You will help out with the housework (cleaning, dishes, lawn, etc. -- the same stuff you are probably doing now).
- I am sure all of you know this but just to state it as a rule, you will be expected to go to church each week (example to our kids).
- You need to realize that you will be living in a four bedroom house with a 6, 4, and <1 yr old. There will be crying, fits, and tantrums, and that's just me -- the kids may cry as well.
- Remember we only have one car and so, if you are 16 or older, you may not be as "free" as you are at home. You will be limited to what we are doing, which you may not feel is that fun. However, we do have an extra bike and the train station is only a 15 minute ride away.
- Your parents must be in full support of your coming over.

We will try and take you to visit as much as we can (beaches, opera house, city, zoo, etc.). We will also try and get you to as many church young adult activities as we can (we have been told that the dances here are amazing!).

There is the offer, if any of you are interested just let us know. Just send us an email and we can discuss.

Love Kev and Stace

"SNAIL MAIL" IS FUN!!

We really weren't expecting anything in the mail and we got two packages and cards for V-day. I know it was a week ago - but I am a bit slow on the update. The cards started showing up for the kids a few days before Valentines Day. Cooper's came first and then Rylee's the next day. They were from Grandma Susan and had a $5 bill (AUD) in them. How nice for the kids to have money they can spend. However, Madi checked the mail box every day after that and no letter for her. I happened to talk to Susan and I mentioned it to her. She said that was odd since she sent them on the same day. (Madi's actually came a few days after Valentines Day - but she did get it!!)

The day before Valentines we got a package from my mom for the kids. There was candy and bubble tape and toys. Rylee got her first Mickey Mouse stuffed animal and has loved playing with it.

We were pleasantly surprised this week to get another package. This time from Brandon and Julie. Apparently, according to the letter inside, they sent it late. Plus it had to go through quarntine and customs. They got more toys, bubble tape (we are set for a while I think), and they sent some good old American candy bars!! (Madi is trying to claim that both teddy bears are hers and Rylee won't even know.)

Seriously, Brandon sent us a bag of fun sized candy bars and it has only been two days and we have almost eaten the whole bag. Kev has actually been craving a Butterfinger and I love the Baby Ruths. We are in heaven. Thanks!!!

I have to say that I understand now how missionaries feel when they get "real" mail. I always thought that e-mail was fine and "snail mail" was for the birds. Now I have had a change of attitude. It is so fun to actually get a letter or package in the mail! Thanks to all of you back home who are thinking of us and take time out of your busy schedules to send us stuff in the mail. The kids love it when something comes with their name on it, and it beats just seeing bills in the mail box!

SICKIE BUGS ANYONE?

Sorry, I haven't been a very diligent blogger as of late. We have been sick around here for a while now. It all started about four weeks ago when Cooper got a small cold. I didn't think much of it - colds come and go. However, about a week later Rylee got it as well and Cooper still wasn't better. Soon after that I came down with it. It wasn't just your average cold either. It was one of those colds that you feel sick and really worn out, but not sick enough to justify laying around all day in your PJs relaxing. So we just kept plugging along. The problem with this cold is that it lasts about two weeks.

Pretty soon Cooper was beginning to yell and not listen. Here we go again. Last time he got a bad cold he did the same thing and we realized that he couldn't hear well. We got his hearing tested and it was caused by fluid behind his ear. It finally resolved itself. So here Cooper is yelling around the house and us yelling at him for not listening and telling him constantly to talk quieter. Finally last week I took both he and Rylee into the doctor. Sure enough Cooper had an ear infection and so did the baby. So thus begins our first round of antibiotics in Australia.

A few days later Kev finally got sick. He had an added cough that the rest of us didn't get to the extent he did. He has actually been sleeping on the couch because he doesn't want to keep me up at night (how thoughtful).

Then on Tuesday I met Madi at the top gate at school just like always. She came up and looked awful. She was running a fever and wasn't feeling well either. When we got home I gave her some medicine to help with the fever and she spent the afternoon watching TV - she didn't mind this at all. That night she seemed fine when I went to Book Club. However, when I returned Kev said that she took a turn for the worse. She was complaining that she had to throw up and her fever was back. He had given her medicine about two hours before, but she wasn't doing well. (She had fallen asleep on the futton with her head in the bowl Kev had given her and he couldn't resist taking a picture.) He had just put her to bed before I got home at 11:00pm. I went to check on her in her room and she was moaning in her sleep and burning up. Kev decided to give her a priesthood blessing and a half hour later her fever broke and she could go back to sleep. At 2 am I was woken up with Madi saying, "Mommy, I threw up and now my tummy feels better." Sure enough in her hand was the bowl I had put by her head while she slept out on the futton in the playroom. Needless to say she missed a day of school and is just starting to feel better. Hopefully we are all on the mend and we can get back to 100% soon.

I HAVE BIG NEWS!!

I am a CT member at ScrapMatters!! I am so excited. This means that I get to do LO for the designers at ScrapMatters! I have to do at least four LOs a month and post them on several sites (if anyone has a good scrap site they like let me know). I can't believe it. I have actually tried a few times before on different CTs and haven't made it. I told Kev that this must mean that I am "good enough!!" If you want to see what I am creating check out my blog or go to the ScrapMatter's gallery. Seriously, you should take a look at ScrapMatters if you haven't yet - it is the best site. I love it!!

SATURDAY IS A SPECIAL DAY, IT'S THE DAY WE GET READY FOR SUNDAY....

Saturday morning always begins the same - it's time to clean the house! I actually love this - after it is all done anyway. I love to walk through the house and see everything picked up and clean and sprakling - at least for about 15 minutes or so.

After cleaning the house, lunch, and a small rest for the kids (I had time to scrap!!!) Cooper and I went for a walk and Madi headed to her friends house. Kev had fun mowing the lawn. I needed to take some pictures for a challenge so we headed over to the little stream by our house where the ducks live. Unfortunately, there were no ducks there, but we found lots of lizards and Cooper had a fabulous time doing his favorite thing - throwing rocks to see the water splash. On our way home we saw two of the ducks waddling on the road and in the grass of one of the houses.

When we got back Kev was painting and Cooper joined in the fun. Kev gave him a few pointers and they had a great time painting together. Kev actually didn't get much done after we returned but Cooper made two masterpieces!!

We then headed off to the Stake Swimming Carnival. Having never gone to a swim carnival before we weren't sure what was going to happen - it was so much fun!! They had races for all age groups starting at 8 and going up to over 35. The younger kids did the 25 m freestyle and breast stroke and everyone else did 50 m. We cheered on everyone in our ward and swam in the kiddie pool. Rylee was in heaven in the pool and Cooper continues to surprise us with his swimming skills. He was jumping in and going under the water - a year ago that never would have happened!

The best part of the night was that Kev entered the 50 m freestyle and breast stroke for the 27-35 year old men. He took first place in both strokes. He actually tied for first place on the freestyle - they couldn't tell who touched the wall first.

I am really mad that my picture of him on the blocks is fuzzy. To my credit I was holding the baby and trying to take a picture as well, plus you only get a split second to take a picture on the blocks and I didn't get out the camera until his second race (the breast stroke).

Kev was about half a pool length ahead of everyone in the brest stroke. He got to the end and the judge was yelling at him. He couldn't understand what he was saying and thought that maybe it had been a false start and he hadn't heard and kept racing (this had happened earlier in the evening on one of the races). He tured around and looked and everyone else was heading his way he was just really far ahead. The guy was yelling at him and asking if he had a motor on his back. When he finally understood what he was saying he laughed and said no - the guy didn't believe him and had him turn around so he could check. We got a good laugh out of that one. The kids and I had a fabulous time cheering him on. Cooper was so excited and after the breast stroke said, "Daddy is really good at that one!!"

The best part was the last race of the night. It was the bishop's push. The bishops of all the wards (or a bishopric member) had to get on something that floats, then all of the kids got to push him to the end. Next year Madi thinks she will be a good enough swimmer to participate. It was fun to see and everyone seemed to have a great time, and our ward took 2nd place. What a fun thing to do.

Really, they should do something like this back home.

HAPPY HEART DAY!

It was hard for me to remember that Valentines Day was coming up. The weather is too warm and it is raining instead of snowing. We have never made a big deal about V-day around here. We have never had much money and it is such a pain to go out to eat with all the other love birds who have decided to celebrate. There was no exception this year. We decided to spend a quiet evening at home - mostly because we are all a little under the weather and because it is a school night.

I was surprised to find out that Kev had gotten a gift for both of us. We don't usually give big gifts on Valentines Day. In fact, the first Valentines Day that we spent together we went to Wal-mart and spent 15 minutes looking at the cards. We then chose one that we would have bought the other person and then showed them to eachother. We then put the cards back, and spent another 20 minutes finding a gift under $10. It was actually pretty fun. We did that for the next two Valentines Days - but the tradition has ended since we had kids. Anyway, back to this years gift. This is going to sound like a dumb gift to some, but I was elated. We got a new wireless router!! Now I can scrapbook in the other room and download papers and upload LO!! There is also the possibility that I will get a new upgraded computer. I need more RAM to meet my scrapping needs. We are still looking into this - it may not happen.

I also made sugar cookies while Madi was at school. I can remember as a kid coming home on Valentines Day and there sat on the kitchen counter a huge heart sugar cookie with my name on it. My mom made one for all of us. As an adult I realized that this was a nice gesture considering it was also her birthday and she was slaving away for us! So I decided this year to continue that tradition and made sugar cookies for my kids. Unfortunately I only had a small heart cookie cutter and not a big one like my mom's but my kids are small they don't care much. We decorated the cookies after dinner - because I thought I had powdered sugar (icing mixture) and didn't so Kev picked it up on his way home. [The one with all the sprinkles is Madi's.] Rylee even had one and was in heaven.

Kev surprised me by coming home a bit early and by bringing some flowers - always a nice gesture!! They were really pretty. Sorry, the picture isn't very good. We had a BBQ of pork chops and potatoes and then enjoyed our sugar cookies for dessert. We did miss Grandma Susan's cheesecake. Every year she makes one for us to eat - can't wait to have that again. I then realized that Kev didn't get his traditional b-day cheesecake either because they don't have Cool-Whip here so I didn't make it for him.

After dinner and our cookie treats we played a game of Sardines. This is like hide-and-seek except instead of everyone hiding and one person seeking one person hides and everyone goes out to find them. You then have to hide with that person until everyone finds them. I introduced this game to the kids Monday night for FHE and Cooper loves it. He wants to play it all the time now. It actually brings back memories of playing this at Ricks (BYU Idaho) in the Snow Building for FHE. This picture is of my favorite place Cooper found to hide.

Hope you had a great Heart Day as well!

DANCING QUEEN

Rylee has been making us laugh so much as of late. She is developing her own personality and it is so fun to see her learn and explore the world around her. The best is when she dances. She has been doing this for a long time, but recently her moves have gotten so big and bold. She seems to have a nack for hearing the beat of any music around here and jamming out.

Recently we found a little piano on the curb during council clean up (more on that at the bottom of the post.....) After some new batteries it works great - well most of the time, sometimes it just seems to need a break and will stop working for a day or two. Rylee loves it. She will sit there and play it for the longest time. She will dance and sing sometimes too. You will have to watch the video to see what I mean. It is so dang cute!!

She also is getting more adventurous and exploring more and more of the house. This means that doors now have to be closed and we have to keep an eye on her always. Her favorite place to go is under the bar stools. It is so funny. She will sit under there and slide the stools around. She will get her feet up in the air to get the most momentum and then fling herself forward to move the stool. It is funny to watch. I took some pictures of a cute moment when Cooper decided to join her one day - what a great big brother!

Council clean up: Syndey is divided into councils - several cities are in one council. Twice a year each council has a clean up. This is much like when we have neighboorhood clean ups in Salt Lake County, except they don't put a big dumpster in the neighborhoods. Instead everyone puts their "junk" out on the curb and a garbage truck comes to collect it. We had our council clean up a few weeks ago. We had been looking forward to this because we needed to get rid of our damaged goods from the move. About a week before the clean up is scheduled to come around people start putting their stuff out on the curbs. Then you can actually go through and take anything that you want! It is so much fun. "One man's trash is another man's treasure" right?! Madi and I love it. We even spent some afternoons just driving around to see what we could find. We got a few treasures! The little piano is one of them - it is in such great condition. We also got some outdoor furniture - it is made of PVC pipe and isn't the best looking, but it will do for the time we are here. We also got a little ride on bike for Rylee when she gets older. Madi's favorite thing we found was a pink boogie board for her. Cooper was excited because we found a skate board for him. We can't wait until next time it is in our area. Each council does their clean up at a different time so we can find other treasures in other parts of the city all year long if we want.

Picture #1 is our stuff - half of which was taken away by treasure hunters. Picture #2 &#3 are some of the stuff we found.

When we were out looking for stuff one day I saw a nice outside dumptruck that Cooper could have. It was in such great shape. I picked it up and took it to the car. Upon arriving at the car I turned it over to show Kev and what was there? A red back spider. The first one we have seen. They are pretty much just like black widows except the red is on their back and not their stomach. I freaked out and threw the truck on the grass. Kev tried to get it out with a stick, but it just went farther and farther up inside the truck. This is the best picture we could get.

My new scrap blog!!!

Thanks so much to Wendy for helping me come up with a name for my new blog. It is up and running and there is a freebie waiting there. Look back often as I will be giving out freebies all of the time!!

http://www.stacysbackdoor.blogspot.com/

CREATING MY OWN SCRAP STUFF!

I have been working hard the past several weeks to learn Photoshop better and learn how to design my own digital scrapbook papers and elements. I have so much to learn, but I am still very proud of myself for what I have accomplished. I want to start another blog - as if I need another one to keep track of - which is devoted just to scrapbooking. I am even going to give away my stuff as freebies.

I need your help on two things. I am not really very creative when it comes to naming things. So I need some ideas:
1. An idea for a new blog and I guess company name to put on my designs.
2. Here is a picture of the kit that I made. I need your help. I want to give it a name, but I am not very good at that sort of thing. Download it by going here: http://www.4shared.com/file/37172971/fe30e1f8/first_kit.html?dirPwdVerified=d6e06388
Look at it and tell me what you think a good name would be. Also, give me any feedback about the quality or look of the design. I want to get better and only can do that if I get a bit of constructive criticism. Thanks!!

Here are some LO that I created using the kit:

credits: font - You are loved

credits: glitter flower - Brittish Designs overlay - Shabby Princess (Vintage Florals)

STANLEY COMES TO VISIT!!

Madi's friend Mylee from Eagle Mountain (although, they live in Lehi now) just read Flat Stanley in school and as an assignment had to send him out to visit people. She asked if he could come to our house and stay for a week. We had fun showing Stanley around and he is going home today. Here are some pictures of Flat Stanley in Sydney, Australia! Thanks Mylee for letting Stanley come visit!

SWIMMING LESSONS

Madi had her first Aussie swimming lesson yesterday. She was so excited. She has been dying to get into the pool since we had to sit and watch Cooper's lesson a few days ago. (Hopefully next term I can get signed up sooner and get their lessons on the same day)

She did well. However, she has a lot to learn. We definatley don't start swimming as early as they do here in Australia. There is another boy in her class and he is so far ahead of her. Oh well! I know she will be a fabulous swimmer by the time we return to the states. She loves it!

They do things a bit differently here. I think I mentioned that when I talked about Cooper swimming. They literally let them learn the hard way. Sometimes that means taking in a gulp of the pool. The instructor will let go of the kids and have them do their best, and step in to help when necessary. I am not sure how I feel about this - I hate swimming after all because a teacher made me jump off the high dive. However, it doesn't seem to phase the kids. They just keep on trying. I guess that is what parents do as well. I am not saying it is a bad idea. I just don't really like the water and have nightmares that my children will drowned. That is why they are taking swimming lessons - so that they can save me if they need to! LOL!!

NEW CALLING

Okay, I have been debating whether to put this on the blog or not, but since it is really my journal of our adventures in Australia I am going to. I got a new calling on Sunday. I should have known I was in trouble when I received an e-mail from Tim (in the bishopric) and he said he would like to meet with us before Church.

[side note: for those of you reading this who are not members of our Church let me tell you what a calling is. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not have paid clergy. Therefore, as members of the Church we are blessed to have opportunities to serve others by helping out. We do unpaid service to those in our ward boundaries and get countless blessings because of it. ]

I knew that they were going to release the Primary President (primary is the classes for the kids 18 months to 12 years) because she is due to have a baby. I kept telling myself that they were just going to release me and that was that. I had a nagging feeling that this wasn't going to be the case, but I kept telling myself that anyway.

So Sunday morning came and we went to Church early - which was harder than I thought it would be considering Church is at 9:00am and we have to drive about 15-20 minutes. I was released from my calling as 2nd counselor in the Primary, but as Tim said reliable people get other callings right away. He then extended the calling of Primary President.

Of course I said yes - you aren't supposed to turn down a calling after all - but I was terrified inside. I told Tim that I would be able to find a way to fulfill this calling and of course Kev supports me 100% which is awesome!! Since we have a week off for Stake Conference I have two weeks to think of counselors. Therefore, I thought that they would also hold off calling me for a few weeks. Nope, not how it is done here. They released the old presidency and called me - so as of right now I am a one woman show.

So how do I feel about this? I am a bit humbled, terrified, and excited.
1. I am humbled because I don't believe that I am that good with kids. Yes, I have three of my own, but that doesn't make me good with kids.
2. Terrified because I am not sure what I am doing. It has helped that I have had the same calling for about three years now - 2nd counselor in Primary. I thought it was funny when they called me to the same calling I had back in Utah - I guess I was just being prepared. I am not scared of doing Sharing Time - this was my biggest fear when I first got put into Primary. I am not scared of interacting with the kids - I think they are the easiest group of people to teach because you teach the basics of the Gospel. I am scared of being the one in charge. I know that I felt this way when I was called to be the Young Women's President so many years ago.
3. However, with all these other feelings I am excited. I am excited to stretch myself and to learn and grown.

Hopefully I don't mess up too badly and I can bring a little of that Northern Hemisphere "charm" to the Normanhurst Ward Primary.

FIRSTS FOR COOPER....

This week has been a week of FIRSTS for Cooper.

1. Yesterday he had his first swimming lesson. I was a bit nervous that we would have a repeat of the one and only time he has ever taken swimming lessons back in Utah a year and a half ago. The lessons ran every day for two weeks and he cried for all but two days I think. He did stay in the pool, but you could hear him crying and I wouldn't get him out. Yesterday was so much better. He had been so excited all day to go to swimming lessons. When it was time to go he happily got his suit on and we headed out in the rain. The pool is outdoors, but has a covering over it, so lessons are held in the rain unless there is lightening associated with the storm. He did so well. He listened, mostly, to his instructor and kicked really well. Here they seem to let go more often and see if they can do it themselves. The teacher let go several times to see if Cooper could make it to the side. He couldn't and went under every time, but the teacher quickly got him above the water and Cooper came up with a smile on his face (after the look of fright went away). He is excited to go back everyweek!!

2. Today was his first day at preschool!!! I have also been wondering how this day would go. Our shy little boy has grown out of that a bit, but it is still present every once in a while. We took Madi to school and then had about 15 minutes to spare (they were staggering the children at the preschool) so we went to the park to take a few "first day of school" pictures. He wasn't too excited about getting his picture taken - nothing new here - but was excited when I told him we could go to school. We got to the school and he remembered where his locker was and put his stuff away. He is excited that he gets to have morning tea and lunch at school. His teacher was very nice and introduced him to another little boy, and he sat down to sculpt with Play-doh. I said good bye and that was that. No tears nothing. I was happy about this, but sad at the same time. My little boy, who used to need me all the time doesn't anymore. He is getting so grown up and wanted to do things on his own. Usually he does things that Madi does or he can't do things because he isn't big enough. Now he is off to meet his own friends and do things that his sisters aren't doing. I am so proud of him!!

Another first worth mentioning has to do with Rylee. She finally has her first tooth. She takes after Madi and is getting them all a bit late - although Madi's all came after she was one and then two and three at a time. I looked yesterday and there was one little bottom tooth sticking out!

Julie Tagged Me...

Rules:
A. The rules are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people by posting their names; then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged.

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Um, let's see. 10 years ago I had just crushed Kev's heart by telling him that I loved him as a friend but nothing else. However, around this time I had changed my mind and didn't know exactly what to do about that. I was attending BYU and playing lots with the friends I had in my ward. I was the student trainer for the BYU Women's Tennis team and had to travel lots with the team to exotic places like Madison, Wisconsin and Las Vegas, Nevada. It was good times!!

Snacks I enjoy:
Baby Ruth (can't get that here)
Swedish Fish (dito)
Almonds
Fruit - I love fruit!!
Chocolate anything

Five things on my to-do list today:
clean the house - didn't really get done
start the laundry - didn't get done either
go to the shops for groceries
get the kids registered for swimming
start reading the book club book for Feb.

Things I would do if I were suddenly made a billionaire:
well first I would have to pay my tithing
buy a house
travel the world to exotic places
travel home whenever I want
update my wardrobe

Three of my bad habits:
I get anxious and frustrated when things don't go the way I think that they should
I grind my teeth when I sleep
I also talk in my sleep sometimes - very interesting conversations I have had in the past.

5 places I have lived:
Idaho Falls, Idaho as a kid (don't remember this though)
Rexburg, Idaho
Provo, Utah
Salt Lake Valley - several cities there
Sydney, Australia

Jobs I have had:
I worked at two different pizza places in high school - I used to be able to throw pizza dough in the air and everything!
An aide at a physical therapy clinic
The front desk lady at a doctor's office
At home medical transcriptionist
Stay at home mother of three children - the hardest of any job I have ever had

Things people don't know about me:
I am a sucker for reality TV
I don't swim very well and am actually a bit scared in the water. I had to dive off the high dive in swimming lessons as a kid and have never been the same since. Now I don't really like heights or the water.
I get motion sick really easily and can't read in the car - not good if your job is to be the navigator in the car.
I am extremely ticklish - but really hate being tickled and have been known to use fists in order to get someone to stop.

I tag...
Amy B
Amy G
LaNae
Carli
Mari
Lisha
Rickie

"...Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day."

Yesterday had to be the worst day on record for me - okay at least for a really long day. I should have known it was going to be a bad day when Cooper woke me up at about 2:00am to sleep by me because he had a bad dream, and then proceeded to kick me, hit me, and roll into me hundreds of times for the next hour before Kev took him back to his room.


It was a hard morning to get the kids out of bed, but we got off to school in time with a few minute to spare!!! Until I got the van parked, Rylee unbuckled, the kids out of the van, and then realized that Madi didn't grab her backpack (which has her lunch and morning tea) or her hat (can't go out to recess and play without that in Australia). Needless to say we had to drive all the way back home and Madi was late for school.


I then went straight from school to the shops to do a few things. Mostly to get my mobile phone (cell phone) working. I have to back up for this story. When we went on our trip to South Australia last month some of my stuff fell out of the diaper bag upon arriving at the Sydney airport. I thought I got it all off of the ground, but apparently didn't because when we got on the airplane and I went to turn off my phone it was nowhere to be found. Therefore, upon our arrival home I bought a new one. Kev had stopped my minutes on my old phone (we do pre-paid here because it is cheaper for us) and they said that it could be transfered to another phone when it was purchased. So we went to the store and bought the phone and everything seemed fine until a couple of days later when I went to use it and I couldn't call out. Kev said he had tried to call me and nothing happened either. So we had to call the customer service line and spent three days getting the run around with no one finding a solution to the problem. Finally, we were told the the SIM card wasn't working and I just needed to go to any Optus store and they would replace it for free.



So on Friday morning I went to the Optus store and told them this. The guy was not happy and had me sit in a chair and call customer service again. I was on hold for at least 30 minutes trying to entertain Cooper and Rylee, yet make them sit quietly in the store. Finally the lady comes on the line and starts asking me all the questions I have already been asked for three days before. I was so frustrated that when she asked what my mobile number was and I drew a blank. By this time Cooper is climbing all over me and asking me questions and Rylee is fussy and starting to whimper. Basically, the lady could do nothing for me because I couldn't remember my number. The other problem being that when we bought the phones in the first place they put both of them in Kevin's name so I can't do much anyway because I have a different name, and they can't seem to fix that either. After hanging up the phone and the frustration level reaching it's max. The guy at the store, who is on the phone setting up someone's account, looks at me as if to say "what do I need to do for you." I had had it and I yelled at him and said that she could do nothing for me and that the customer service of the company was terrible. I told him that because I did what someone told me to do he should honor that, to which he said a bit condenscending "I am sorry, but you were given bad information." So I said, "basically you are telling me that there is nothing you can do!" He told me no and I just left the store.

Upon arriving home I called Kev, at work, who then called Optus and told them he wanted to speak to a manager. The manager took 20 minutes to figure out the problem and fix it over the phone. Why couldn't someone have done that in the first place? He was very nice and called me later to make sure the phone was working and gave me a $30 credit because of the bad service I had received. He was very kind and made me feel much better about the company.

The customer service in Australia is just not up to par with the States. I can't believe how rude they are sometimes and how nothing gets done. I don't think I will take the "customer is always right" slogan for granted anymore. Even Wal-mart is spectacular compared to some of the customer service I have seen here. Anyway, that is another subject for another day.

So there was a little bit of a sun shining moment there in my bleak day - the manager fixing the problem and doing a great job at apologizing. However, then Madi came home from school a few hours later and had the worst attitude ever. She was ornery (whingy) and complaining about not getting a sucker (lollie) that Cooper had gotten when we went to the shops. Finally I yelled at her and told her to go to her room. Apparently this was my day for yelling (I am not usually this bad I promise).

Due to this little exchange we were late to get on the train to meet Kev in the city. This isn't too bad because the next train was only 15 minutes behind so we made that one. However, when we got to the train station the elevator wasn't working. I had to haul the stroller up the stairs - luckily for me a nice lady offered her assistance!!

When we got to the city I went out a different gate than I normally do (I am usually with Kev who knows all) and couldn't figure out how to get out of the train station. Finally upon finding my way around to the Woolworths (which has the only elevator to street level and is where we used to shop when we lived in the city), and remembering how small the store was and how many people were there (anxiety levels went up here a bit). I went to take the elevator, and this one was out of order too. Talk about everything happening in one day. We just went up the escalator - stroller and all.


The day then did get much, much brighter after that (despite the gray and bleak sky). We met Kev in the city to have dinner and walk through the Royal Botanical Gardens and see the Opera House again. We haven't walked through the Gardens since our first day in Sydney and I wanted to go back and see them again. We also had to take Flat Stanley to see places in Sydney - more on him later this week.

Madi, Rylee, and I stayed in Hyde Park while Kevin and Cooper headed to Macca's (McDonalds) to get dinner. We had to relive the old dinner routine while we were living in the city. While waiting the missionaries came by and started talking to me. I let them sweat it out a bit and try to give me their spill before telling them that I was a member of the Church.


This is where I forgot all the bad things and had a great time with my family. I love the Gardens the green open space is so nice, and I can never get enough of seeing the Opera House. Here are a few pics that we took. I wish that it would have been a nice day with blue sky.

We had to find the bats again of course. The first picture is of them sleeping in the tops of the trees. The second picture was the best part of the night for me. We were there long enough that they woke up and began to fly around. It was a little eerie and spooky to have huge bats flying overhead, but it was cool at the same time.

We also had to find the drinking fountain that Cooper had such a fun time playing in the first time we visited the Gardens. He was so excited to see it again and went running to spray the water. The first picture is from the first visit and the second was from last night.

And of course the Opera House!!! From a distance.....

...and up close!!

After walking on the steps of the Opera House we told the kids we would see if the icecream shop was opened (Baskin Robbins here we come!!!) and started our way through Circular Quay. While walking we ran into the Rowberry's again - they were leaving for Utah the next day (today actually). What are the odds - in a city so big! It was fun to say goodbye to them again!

At least the last part of the day was a good one, and to think I almost called Kev and said forget it we will do it another time. Actually, now that I type it all up it doesn't seem so bad. However, in the moment it was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.