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.

MADI'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

This morning Madi was up and dressed before 7:00. She was so excited to go to school!! She was even upset that I wasn't up and making her morning tea and lunch. Every 15 minutes I would hear - "Mommy, are we going to be late?" I told her so many times that she had plenty of time and we would get there before the bell rang. Finally, the time arrived to leave for school (I was glad that Kev worked from home today to watch over Rylee) and Madi and I left for school without the little ones. Of course we had to stop and take first day of school pictures - she didn't really have much patience for those.

They lined up in their old classes and are going to be in those for the first week until they figure out the student enrollment and teachers. I think this is a bit strange - or should I say different. Why can't they do this before school starts?! It is a bit odd!! Since her teachers both retired last year she did get a new teacher today - but it probably won't be her teacher for the year - but the class was the same, except in a different class room (go ahead be confused, I am!).

Anyway, this didn't seem to phase Madi and she had a wonderful first day of school. She even did a book report (which she reported to us at the dinner table - she is actually getting pretty good at oral reports and such). She did some math and her favorite thing, they colored an Aussie flag!!!

I am mostly excited that she finally gets to move on to Year 1 (1st Grade) and we don't have to repeat kindy again - a year and a half is enough I think. I can't believe how grown up she has gotten and how confident she is!

THE BEST WAY TO COOL DOWN ON A HOT SUMMERS DAY?

Find some water of course!!! Yesterday late afternoon/early evening we headed over to the Sydney Olympic Park for some fun. We went to Bicentennial Park and found the fountains that Mari told me about - thanks heaps!! The kids had so much fun. They were literally soaked in seconds. We had a picnic dinner and the kids played for a long time in the water. Luckily I had come prepared and brought another change of clothes for the kids. Right behind where we had our blanket spread was a little opening in a hedge. So we went in there to see where it lead. There was a "secret garden" - as Madi and I began to call it. There was no one there so we had the kids change clothes (Kev held up the blanket for an extra screen). After changing we headed back to the park walking along the lovely trails and spending good quality family time together. Back at the park the kids had a great time playing on the equipment - especially the "spider web" ropes. Madi is our monkey (or spider man this time around) and with no fear was quickly up to the top of the ropes. Sometime we need to actually go see where the Olympic venues are - but there is so much around that we never even made it close. What a lovely place. We are going back again sometime to do more exploring!!

PRESIDENT GORDON B. HINCKLEY PASSES AWAY

As I was talking to my mom on the web cam today my brother called to tell her the sad news. President Gordon B. Hinckley, Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed away Sunday, January 27, 2008 at 7:00pm in his home at the age of 97. (which was Monday, January 28, 2008 at 1:00pm here in Sydney)

I can still remember the particular moment that I gained a strong testimony that President Hinckley was a Prophet of God. I was attending a Tuesday devotional at BYU and he was to be the speaker. Of course the Marriott Center was packed full of students and faculty and I was at the very top. I can still remember the feelings I had when he walked in and we all stood up to honor this great man. Then the student body began to sing "We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet" and I have never felt the Spirit so strong. I knew that he was called of God and that I needed to follow his counsel because he was speaking in the Lord's name.

What a wonderful man!!

He has done so much for the Church. From building so many temples to helping our image in the media. I am so thankful that I was able to have that moment, with so many other students, where I was able to have the Spirit witness to me what a great man he truly was. He will be greatly missed.

"Of all the creations of the Almighty, there is none more beautiful, none more inspiring than a lovely daughter of God who walks in virtue, with an understanding of why she should do so, who honors and respects her body as a thing of sacred and divine, who cultivates her mind and constantly enlarges the horizon of her undertanding, who nurtures her spirit with everlasting truth. "

"The true strength that is America's , the true strength of any nation, lies in those qualities of character that have been acquired for the most part by children taught in the quiet, simple, everyday manner of mothers."

SUNDAY WATER FIGHT

Today was a hot day and the house seemed to soak up most of the heat by the time I had to cook dinner. (which was all American tonight - homemade mac and cheese, lemonade, and Ranch dressing along with veg and bread.) Cooper and I had a little water fight with his water guns while dinner was in the oven, and Madi wanted in on the action when she found out what she missed out on. What started out as a simple squirt gun fight between Cooper and Madi escalated into a full out water fight finding everyone soaked and dripping.

When the water fight started I was giving Rylee a bath and after I finished I took out some cups full of water and Kev took out a squirt bottle. It was the kids against us and it was heaps of fun! After a while the kids ran around to the front yard and I had a brilliant idea. That is where the hose is and today is one of the two days that we are allowed to hand water the lawn and flower beds. By this time Cooper was on my team so we proceeded to spray Madi and Kev just a little bit. Then ran around to the back yard and I continued to water the grass. Madi then came out and said she was on our team against daddy. They were supposed to watch for Kev - but he snuck up on me with two pitchers of water. I was soaked, but I did spray him back pretty good. Once again he left, and the kids were supposed to be on the look out - remember I am watering the lawn and bushes. He came out of the garage, with Cooper oblivious to him approaching, and dowsed me again with two pitchers of water. I got him good with the hose again, but then dropped it and ran as he came up to take it away from me. After this we decided that it was time to quit and get ready for bed.

It was a great way to cool off on a hot day and great family fun!! Cooper had a great time and was laughing as well - usually he hates to be wet, but he has come a long way. We even put on a show for the neighbors who were outside BBQing and laughing at the same time. The second time Kev got me one of our neighbors was walking down the street and was also laughing.

Good times had by all!!

INTRODUCING COOPER

Due to the fact that Cooper has to do everything his sister does, he now has his own blog. I can't guarantee that they will get updated as often as the family one - I only have so much time in the day - but we will try to update at least once a week.

He has also informed us that he needs his own camera - he doesn't want to borrow ours anymore. Does anyone have an old one they want to lend to our cause? Jokes and stuff.

Anyway, enjoy reading - mostly looking at pictures - and leave comments if you want.

P.S. Kev made his title - isn't it cool?!!

http://cis4cooper.blogspot.com/