Love one another and you will be happy. It's as simple and as difficult as that. ~Michael Leunig

I know I have not blogged in quite a while. We have been staying busy with all kinds of stuff like basketball, hockey, work and repeat.

Zoey had her first "in house tournament" which basically means that they scrimmage the whole time versus working only on skills. We get done and get in the car and she says "that's not a tournament mom." "So what would make it a tournament?" "If we play like the purple team or the pink team." You can't hide much from her. A couple of weeks ago there wass some chatter about getting her ears pierced. Chris wanted to know why we have been putting it off for so long, so the next day I took her in. She picked out purple earings. Got both ears done at the same time and didn't even scream! No ear infection so far. She loves them.

We just had parent teacher conferences. While I do have two very distinctly different kids that challege their teachers differently--they are both learning and moving on up. Zoey of course challenges her teachers much more often than Isaac, but we are working on it.

Haven't seen much of the husband lately. He works long hours and I am not home much in the evening with hockey and work. It is the middle of hunting season so he really isn't sleeping much either. Last weekend he got up at 5am to go hunting with Shayne in the mountains got back at midnight. The next day got up at 4am to go hunting with Jason and didn't get back till late and then back to work on Sunday. Of course this week he has training in Denver so he will leave tomorrow, get back Wednesday and then back down to Casper for a meeting--possibly followed by more hunting. However, somehow he did manage to squeeze in some time for pictures in Rapid--he is a good man!!!!

Now on to holidays, family stuff and birthdays. We don't slow down much here for anything! Wouldn't have it any other way:)

And just a quick heads up--School pictures turned out great this year. I'll send them out later.

Boys are beyond the range of anyone's sure understanding, at least when they are between the ages of 18 months and 90 years. ~James Thurber

Our days are finally finding more routine, which is very comforting to me. It has been great to see the kids try new things and enjoy them. We have many late nights with Zoey playing hockey on Mondays and Thursdays and I moved my evening clients to Tuesdays. She is so elated with this hockey. Ike plays basketball on Saturdays with this Saturday being the first game day.

Last weekend was eventful to say the least as my oldest child and youngest baby boy turned 9!! He has been telling everyone he is 9 weeks before his birthday, cuz it was close enough. He opted for a sleep over and apparently I just kept filling out invites without fully realizing that he invited 7 of his closest friends. That is a lot of 9 year olds in my house at one time! We decided to have the sleepover on Saturday the 15th and I really don't think that Isaac could have packed any more activity into that day if he had tried! He got up early and went duck hunting with Chris and our friend Justin. He came home, changed his clothes and went to basketball practice. When he got home it was time to turn 9. I spent my time cleaning the house, ordering pizza and picking up his m&m DQ cake and working the last rugby game of the season. Just barely making it home in time for the party. We had a pinata, played some games and watched movies. The kids were picked up by 10am the next day. While my kids did not do much, but play with new toys they also did not take a nap either. We ate at the Rootbeer place (A&W) and that was all Ike could handle for the weekend--he was sleeping before 7pm! He hit some new milestones this year. We are in the process of ditching the booster (which gets put back in the car when we have extra kids to take to school) and of course he did not order off the kids menu either when we went out to eat. Of course with all this excitement I totally forgot to make his birthday cupcakes for school on Monday so I was baking (not early, but late) at 8am before school and between clients frosted and brought them in. I felt terrible about forgetting, however, when he came home he told me how good they were. Apparently, better than the ones I made for him last year.

Picture day today. Don't know how that will turn out. But tonight is veg night and I can't wait!

I say, if your knees aren't green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life. ~Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes

This weekend has been just as busy as any other, but keeping me on my toes none the less.

I attended my first Ring Wars Mixed Martial Arts fight on Friday and totally lived through the whole thing as I was nervous to go. I took Zoey to watch hockey. It was the Gillette Wild Junior National Teams Opening game. Ike came too and we all had a great time.

I don't know that anything is ready to slow down yet. This weekend also included Zoey's soccer game, Isaac's last football game of the season and rugby (but that was cancelled due to communication conflict). Tuesday marks the end of the fall season with Zoey's last soccer game at 5:30 and Isaac's football banquet at 6. He then promptly starts basketball on Saturday and Zoey with Hockey the following Monday. However, each of these sports has set days and I think that will be easier to work with than the random times for soccer and football.

I took the kids in last week to get their glasses adjusted and the lady cracked Zoey's frames. She ordered new ones and they came in wrong. Zoey looks cute in these pink glasses with black letters on the side, but she wants her old ones back.

Chris went hunting. I don't much like when he is gone, but they had a good time in Pinedale. Weather was good, but everything would have been better if they had a shot a getting an elk. Maybe next year.

So just for good measure it has been in the upper 80's-low 90's the last couple of days. So nice really, just strange. But our tomatoes have not ripened yet so I am hoping this blast of heat will help.

If the light in your life has changed to yellow, I recommend you floor it. It's safer than the alternative. ~Jeb Dickerson, www.howtomatter.com

Well we found one weekend to camp this summer. We went to Cook Lake with LeaAnn and her boys. Just swim, fish, run repeat. I did try to get in some biking and hiking, but the kids complained the whole time cuz they wanted to swim and fish more. It rained the first night we were there giving us an early bedtime. Probably not such a bad thing.

The following week my Mom came to visit for a few days. She was able to take in a soccer game and some football practice while she was here. The rest of the Labor Day Weekend we spent with friends, and even worked. Monday I spent the whole day with my kids and no plans. They slept in, played video games and it was so nice out that we took the camera to Camplex Park, took pictures, played and made a scrapbook.

We have been into school for two weeks now and the kids really like their teachers this year. I have already signed them up for sports next season. Ike wants to try basketball this year. It should be good as they only play on Saturdays and one day a week is good for me:) Zoey is going to try hockey for the first time. With the Junior USA Hockey now in Gillette she should be in good hands. They have to do a certain amount of community service for the team so they will be teaching learn to skate and working with Zoey's hockey team. Isaac has also found some school events he wants to participate in so I will be dropping him off early three days a week.

Thursdays bring long days for me, I worked till 10pm. I worked at the rec center on Friday and ended the day with a fish fry at our friends house. We had a great time and even had some s'mores. Of course this year I was introduced (by teenagers) the art of roasting starburst. Its not bad, but you don't want to over heat them cuz then they get kinda drippy. Saturday I coached Zoey's soccer game. We didn't do so good. Its pretty much all or nothing with the girls. They are either all on defense or offence, but never quite spread out or on our side of the field. But we will work on it. After that I went to Isaac's football game. He played special teams. Our record isn't great, but I think we have one win on our side. After that I spent the rest of the morning/afternoon at the USA Power Lifting competition. I just helped out with paperwork for this event, but it was awesome to see what these people could do. There was a lady there competing because she was over 50 and it was on her bucket list to compete. I always find it inspiring to see people who just want to get it done and have no excuses. Kinda like the MS bikeathon. Those people ride 80 miles the first day and 70 the second and while the ride is beautiful the weather in August tends to be really hot and windy. I think--oh that's tough! but if MS doesn't down them down, then I should be able to do anything!

Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. ~Russel Baker

I so do not want the summer to end. It has gone by so stinkin fast and I want more. But I have to say that I did not waste my summer away--it has been wonderful:)

Last saturday Isaac had his first fooball camp. It was held at the high school practice field and the high school kids had several stations to work on different skills. First Game Saturday the 20th.

Tuesday was Chris's 36th birthday. I asked the kids what they thought we should do for their Dad's birthday. They were set on having a surprise party. I thought it would be fun, but wasn't real sure how to put it together. It would help if he had a regular schedule, but then again Chris and I don't really believe in being regualr. My thought was this: Invite his friends over for supper and whatnot, make sure Chris took Ike to football practice and we would decorate while he was gone. I totally knew better so I told everyone it was a psuedo surprise party. And here's what actually happened. The kids both wanted to help decorate so we decorated early. I was hoping that Chris would get home late since he worked in Sheridan, but he was home by four. The kids hid and jumped out and yelled surprise when he came home. He opened his prensents from us asked if anyone was coming over and Ike replies "Of course! Lots of people." So I send Ike and Chris to football while people arrive here. But our friends didn't want to be left out of the surprise so they yelled surprise also when Chris got back the second time. Note for next time: Don't tell the kids. Apparently, Isaac had a whole conversation that I didn't know about with Chris the night before, because he was just too excited to keep it all a surprise. AND when you live directly behind the boxelder business center--use their parking so that the person being surprised doen't have to drive down the block to find a parking space to get to his own home.

I have been having fun hanging out with the kids. We went swimming yesterday. We had Zoey's first soccer practice. I am now officially the coach and am praying the parents will help me out. Now that it has started I have to admidt that I am much more excited to be coaching, but we will see how it goes. This year we will have refs and goalies--but the girls are not worried as they have all played before and each told me "They already now all about soccer and how to play it." We will be cardinal red this year. Zoey got all new gear this season. Isaac did not tell me that his cleats were tight last spring when he played baseball, but his foot didn't even fit into the shoe for football!! He grew 2 sizes and the lady at the store looked at me like I was crazy asking for a size 5 or 5 1/2 for my second grader. What can I say--he apparently had a growth spurt.

So practice tonight. Chris had to drive to Casper on his day off so he is not here. Working tomorrow. Isaac's first football game is on Saturday with team pictures at 8 am. After the game I will be off to Sundance for the Bike MS event they hold every year. I have volunteered to provide massage to the bikers again this year. That reminds me--I so totally wanted to go to Sturgis this year. I was all geared up--but the week went by before I knew what happened and another year missed. May be next year.

I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once. ~Jennifer Yane

Haven't blogged in a while cuz I haven't had the time. Crazy Hectic is all I have to say. The kids were coming to work with me for a while. A lot of kids swapping which was fun. A huge thank you to the village that it takes to raise your kids! My village is amazing! I finally got Ike and Zoey signed up for kids camp. Which of course is a whole ordeal in itself. Isaac has hated kids camp for three years and Zoey not only has begged me to go for three years, but now that she is old enough to go she thought I was being mean to her not letting her go this summer. So still my kids have been swimming, bowling, playing dodge ball and kickball, making crafts, going to ice cream land and then coming home and playing in the sprinkler, going for walks with Twister and just running to no end.

Zoey has been signed up for soccer and of course they can't find a coach and the rec center has asked me to do it. I have NOT said yes yet, but I guess we will see. Isaac started football this week. Parent meeting and equipment pick up last night. So many things--at his physical the doc asked if we were considering getting him contacts which will make things for sports easier--he's only 8! But his stats are Hight: 4 feet 7 and 3/4 inches tall Weight: 76 pounds. Then, of course, I have never attended a football game as a parent and you mix that with the fact that all of the football games I have been to in the last 15 years I have worked them. So I did let the coach know that I am an athletic trainer, but I don't think he knows what that is as his response was "a lot of the parents have some first aid training through work." He has practices two to three times a week plus a game every week until the end of September. But he gets to go to football camp with the high school kids and a walk out night at one of the home high school football games. Isaac keeps telling Zoey she needs to wear his pads so that he can practice his tackling on her and that way it won't hurt of course. While waiting for the equipment the kids were playing and rough housing as football players should and of course Zoey was in the mix getting tackled by all the boys and when we get home she asks if she can play football too. She is going to be one tough cookie, but she sure is not afraid to hang out with the boys!!!

Work has been busy--super great! We are still trying to cram in a couple weekends of camping before school starts on the 29th. Chris's birthday is in there somewhere and as soon as I get a couple of more scheduling items straightened out I will let you know when I am coming back to MN for a quick trip. I think I am missing the reunion this weekend which really sucks, but may be I can come back for Stacey's wedding or something--who knows--you know me it will be last minute and a whirl wind and we will all just keep our fingers crossed that all works out as best it can.

While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.~Angela Schwindt

It's a good idea to begin at the bottom in everything except in learning to swim. ~Author Unknown

Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

This summer almost seemed to get a slow start. However, now I can't seem to slow it down enough!! We spent a full two weeks in Minnesota. It was so good to see everyone and get together and fish, and boat and swim and jump on the trampoline and of course eat. Perhaps I should have done more jumping on the trampoline than eating--but it was a good time and I thank everyone who put up with us while we were on our trip.

Now that we are back, I am still kinda trying to get back into the groove. Unfortunately, I have lost focus (again) and can't always easily decide which groove I am supposed to be in. I finally worked out yesterday--first time in three weeks!!!! May be that will kick my butt. That is not counting of course taking Twister on her walks. It has been so long since she has been out of the yard and on her leash, that it is insane to go with her. Make sure you have the right shoes on cuz jogging WILL be involved. School supply lists are already out in the stores for my third grader and first grader. Sign ups are going on for Zoey's soccer and Ike registered for football last spring. He needs to get his physical done and equipment pick up is next week.

My friend had her second beautiful baby last night (Aubrey Grace) and so we were able to babysit her toddler last night. Having Ava over was fun and my kids totally take care of her making sure she has everything she needs.

Zoey has been a bit sick lately with a fever. On the good side, it makes her sleep good--and long. On the down side--yesterday it was 102.8 and even though its way down now she hasn't totally kicked it yet. I haven't had to give her any medicine today, but boy is she mad at us for making her take it easy and rest and get better. Crazy girl.

No man needs a vacation so much as the person who has just had one. ~Elbert Hubbard

The first segment of our trip has already passed (actually I already blogged about it but my computer lost it:()

We left Wyoming last Thursday with Zoey and Twister. Twister got a little nervous and threw up in the car shortly after we left. But that was the only hitch on our way here. We headed up north on Saturday and everyone had a blast! There was never a shortage of things to do. It was so fun to watch the kids tube, swim, fish, get minos, take off their fish and even put their own minos on!! We were sun toasted the very first day. I use sunscreen, but always forget to reapply and regret it later. So I was pretty red and then a mosquito bit my eye so that was swollen and purple for a few days. Because my eye was so swollen, I had one eye lid that tanned and one that did not. Fishing was good, but I didn't get a good keeper until the last night. Isaac even learned to drive the boat. He was SO EXCITED. My kids are exhausted but are having the time of their life! All of the cousins were there except for one. 2 one year olds, 1 four year old, 1 six year old, 2 eight year olds and a 10 year old. Hopefully this is the stuff they will talk about when they are my age and say "Remember when..."

Isaac got croup the Sunday before we came to Minnesota. We hoped it would pass before we left, but of course it got worse. We put him on steroids again and a prescription allergy med. He seems to be doing OK, but has a lot of coughing. He gets so sick of Chris and I always asking him about his breathing. But with so much going on all time, like full afternoons of swimming its hard to tell if he is just tired, if he just hasn't been swimming that much recently or if we need to get him to the hospital. Poor kid!

We have some more visiting to do yet

Don't forget to swing hard, in case you hit the ball. ~Woodie Held

And we are at it again:) Last week the kids went to a free summer program and made new friends. Isaac had four baseball games. This week Isaac started Enrichment. He is taking Books and Cooks, Team Sports (a week of football and a week of basketball), design build and sculpt, and my 5 sences. He has been riding the bus (just because he likes to). Chris thinks its strange that Isaac and Zoey spend the day only a few blocks apart from eachother and Isaac takes the bus and Zoey gets a ride from me. It is strange, but makes everyone happy so we just go with it:) Isaac did miss a day due to throwing up on the bus, however. But he is doing great now. Even played baseball in the rain tonight. It is great to watch him! He still needs to work on his skills, but he is so happy to be out there. Most of the time he is ready for the ball and has his glove up and a smile on his face. Its great--even in the rain:)

Pretty sure our trip to Minnesota can't come fast enough. Dates are still not set in stone, as we are still figuring out how and when to get both vehicles to Minnesota. I'll let you know when I know:)

Put your ear down close to your soul and listen hard. ~Anne Sexton

What an amazing weekend!! We were finally busy and hot and social. We had a fabulous thunderstorm last night, but other than that the rain has taken a little rest. Friday I worked at the Rec Center, got my hair done, picked up the kids from their last day of school, sent Zoey to a birthday party in a limo and watched Chris play some softball. Saturday we started a little slow, but went to opening day at the baseball fields, watched Isaac play some baseball, then went to Brad's Grandma's Ranch for a shin dig thingy. There was grilled food, horse shoes, kids playing with horses. We took a tour around the ranch and I totally freaked out on the part I considered to be off roading (the guys of course will tell you that there was a road--I apparently was the only one that couldn't see it:)). We had a bon fire, fireworks and just enjoyed the warm nice night. Sunday the kids both slept until 10am and I let them since summer vacation isn't really a vacation for my kids. But it was nice and hot, so the kids spent some time in the sprinkler. Twister was hilarious!!! She would try to drink out of it, attack it, run through it, drag it around the yard and howl at it. Then in the evening we went to Solem's and enjoyed another perfect evening. The wind wasn't even blowing that night, it was so peaceful. The kids were good and spent their time jumping on the trampoline. It was a little strange--Ike got his glasses stepped on so Monday morning we went to Gillette Optometric and had them fixed. I had four personal training clients and a massage client with no daycare. So the kids came with me in the morning and hung out with the neighbor girls in the afternoon. Anyway, as I am coming home after giving a massage, Chris calls and lets me know that Ike's glasses are broken! I said we already went in this morning and had them fixed. He says no--Twister jumped on Isaac and chewed them or something. So we went back again today. Good thing those glasses are still under warranty!!! But we have a plan of action now for a while anyway. We are working on getting through baseball season. Games this week on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The kids are going to a summer program for the month of June. I do have to say that Gillette does have the best free programs I have ever seen! And there were so many good ones to choose from too. Of course we cannot wait for our Minnesota vacation!!!

If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk. ~Raymond Inmon

New post on Sharecare.

"Just living is not enough," said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower." ~Hans Christian Anderson

So today is the last day of school! I can't believe it. I now have two grade school children in first and third grade. I actually miss the toddlers, which is strange, cuz their messes are usually a little stinkier, messier and gooeyer. Oh well.

So yesterday I was walking the kids to school and got my pic taken. Wasn't ready, so I am sure it is a miserable picture, but it turns out it is for a good cause. Gillette is trying to initiate a walk your kids to school program (along with some other activities since walking them to school NOW seems a little strange). But it is to fight childhood obesity. I was not a good interveiwee either, but I will post a link to the article on Sunday.

Yesterday Zoey had her kindergarden program. They sang nurserary rhym songs and totally cute! But when it was time to leave, Zoey wanted to stay. How crazy it that?

Super glad to report that the rain has taken a break and the sunshine has shown itself for the last couple of days. Its about 60 degrees and the wind is about 40 mph--back to normal:)

Writing comes more easily if you have something to say. ~Sholem Asch

Happy Memorial Day! It was nice having a day with the kids. It has been raining--if I haven't already mentioned that before, but it let up this morning. We took Twister for a walk. She hasn't been on a week in at least three weeks, so she was more than a little excited to get out of the yard. I made the kids play outside all day and the neighbor girls were over to play.

So if any of you have any ideas how to get my creative juices flowing or have suggestions for my sharecare blog--I would love to hear some ideas. I haven't blogged on sharecare for a while cuz I am not really sure what people would like to know about and my creative writing skills are a little blah blah.......So let me know. Leave a comment:)

If you've lost your enthusiasm, there's no better place to find it than on a skipping excursion. And, you might just find your lost youth as well! ~

So today I put on a pair of capris, pretending that it is warm out. It is not raining or snowing or sleeting or hailing at the moment and of course we have not had any of those miserable tornadoes. We are under flood warning until Monday night. I am not usually this concerned about weather but we have had snow and rain everyday since Mother's day and even for the moments that it may have stopped raining, we had no sun. Just dark angry cloud cover. So even though it is in the upper 40's (maybe it will reach the 50's today) we are all telling ourselves that it is great, and people are swarming the streets of Gillette like you can't imagine!

Tuesday was Zoey's last scheduled game of the season. Isaac was also supposed to have a baseball game. His got cancelled, but Zoey played through the thunderstorm warning, the rain, the thunder and even the lightening. She did score a goal or two. She took the ball down the field a couple of times and we weren't always sure who kicked it in. We don't keep score at her level anyway, so all is good. Isaac was supposed to have a game on Wednesday and baseball pictures. It wasn't raining at the moment we needed to leave, so I packed everyone up and went to the fields. But the fields were still under water, so we still couldn't play or have pictures taken. I let the kids play at the park for a while. It did feel good to get outside! But even one of the roads at the fishing lake was underwater. Thursday I worked from 9am to 9pm and Chris had spent the day in Casper for work. I picked up the kids and brought them to the office to watch movies and Chris came to pick them up when he got back to town. Zoey was supposed to have a make up game that day for soccer, but right as her game was to start it totally down poured! and they got rained out.

Friday was a fun day. I saw one client at the Rec Center and then spent the rest of the day with the kids! Chris and I chaperoned Isaac's field trip to the Adventurarium ( just like the Science Museum on a much smaller scale). Isaac was so excited to have us there. One of Isaac's classes this year was computer technology and each child made a slide show of the seasons, so I went to view that with him. I will have to see if I can get that loaded to blogger. After the viewing was field day. Of course my two kids had field day at exactly the same time! Other parents had told me that they had one child participate in the morning and one in the afternoon. Now that would have been easier. It was Zoey's first field day. I didn't see her do the sack race, but Chris took a pic with his phone, meanwhile I was videoing Isaac racing with a ball between his knees. Keep in mind for these races it has been raining for three weeks. Not only were they racing through big mud puddles and wet grass. The spongy balls they were using were wet and muddy and left Brown, wet marks on their pants and knees. A couple kids slid on the mud getting dirty from head to toe. Chris and I switched kids and I watched Zoey do tug of war. As we approached the tug of war field we all started to get wet with big drops of rain that didn't quite feel right. Then some of the parents noticed it was hail. It only lasted a few seconds and some thought it was just large sleet. It passed and the kids did boys against girls--the girls won! So next they did kindergarten against adults and the kindergarten won!! Zoey was on a winning streak. It was a fun day.

So here we are at the holiday weekend. We had no plans, cuz we weren't sure of the weather. We got the garden replanted and fenced. Chris is doing yard work and I planted some flowers. I took a walk too since I could:) It pretty cloudy, but we have plans to grill some chicken for supper. Chris will have his regular schedule this week. The kids on the other hand have no school on Monday. Zoey has a program on Thursday and a half day of school on Friday for both of them. That of course will mark the end of my 2nd grader and kindergartner and on to 3rd and 1st. It really does seem strange.

If a tie is like kissing your sister, losing is like kissing your grandmother with her teeth out. ~George Brett, 1986

Just a quicky note to say HI! It has been raining here for about 2 weeks straight. We finally got Isaac on a baseball team, but the one practice that was scheduled got rained out. We have been so excited as Sunday it did not rain. Not all that sunny, but it was dry. Yesterday, was warm, dry and in the afternoon the sun even peeked out for a minute. At the moment it is not raining, but Zoey has a soccer game at 5:30 and Isaac has a baseball game at 6. What does the forecast say--thunderstorms with hail. The clouds are dark. So we will see what happens. Some sunshine (for a whole day or more) would really feel good right about now!

The kids only have about 8 days of school left! They remind me everyday. I can't believe how fast this year went! My baby will soon be a first grader--craziness.

Map out your future, but do it in pencil. ~Jon Bon Jovi

I so totally cannot believe that the kids only have a few days of school left!! What are we going to do? This just can't be happening quite yet. I did ask the kids what we are going to do. Isaac says we are going to stay home so that he can catch up on his sleep, cuz he has lots of sleep to catch up on! I told him if he just goes to bed earlier, he would have plenty of time to sleep, but it didn't go over very well. I still have so many things to work out--no focus just yet!

Isaac just headed out to his first baseball practice. It quit raining about an hour ago. The one place in the nation where it rains two weeks a year (once in the spring and once in the fall) is having flood warnings!! Zoey has had three of six scheduled games. One played with flurries in the air and one we got drenched in the rain by the end of the game. Of course one was fabulous weather for soccer. Chris's first softball games were cancelled also. So my spring insanity has been quite a let down.

Isaac was recommended for the enrichment program again, so he has registered for two weeks of summer classes. He loves it so much. Never seen so much enthusiasm in him as with this program. So two weeks of that and a week up north fishing. Unfortunately, that is about half the summer right there. I guess we'll have to see how these gas prices fair--I would love to just hang out in MN this summer too.

Well either way, I hope this post finds you all well as tomorrow has been predicted to be the end of the world. Wasn't sure why it was such a big deal so I looked it up. Apparently this guy has predicted the end of the world before in 1994 and when he was wrong he just said that the bible is complex (hello and it also says no one knows but anyway). Not only does this guy think that he can predict the end of the world, but I found it very interesting that he says it will happen at 6:30pm in each time zone. I don't remember where its going to start, but I suppose technically you could travel and squeeze in a couple of more hours. Sometimes the things we worry about aren't really worth the effort. On my last day (if its tomorrow) I will be attending a soccer game and a birthday party--it will be a good day:) Honestly I am more excited to find out about the Mayan calander and if will start over after 2012.

I am woman! I am invincible! I am pooped! ~Author Unknown

Kinda strange that I really don't remember much what happened last week. Pretty uneventful, if I do say so myself. Ike did get his glasses tho and that seems to be going well. He was pretty excited to get them. Zoey was supposed to have soccer practice on Tuesday, but even though the snow stopped by the evening, it was still rescheduled for Wednesday. As we got in the car Wednesday to go, it started sprinkling. Her practice was dry, but chilly and windy!! Kids did not seem to mind a bit, however, we were the ONLY ones there. Her coach said that we are the only family that ever contacts her or responds to her texts. So strange--I paid for her to play and learn to play some soccer so I am going to send her. The wind won't blow her away ( depending on the day, anyway)just make her stronger. She had a game on Saturday at 8am. Kinda early for this fam to be out of the house and out of jammies. We made it on time and I even stopped for some hot spiced chi. It was not warm out and we had flurries of snow flying through the air.

Chris took Isaac to the mule deer banquet last night. Isaac won a tee shirt and got a free hat. No one we knew won a gun this year, but they had a good time.

The rec center will be closed for maintenance for a whole week. I am going to try to provide personal training out of my office during that time. The kids and I went in today to rearrange and clean the office. Should be interesting as my office is pretty small, but I have Internet there now and have totally revamped my website. I finally decided to go with the same company that does my business cards--so now everything matches which is kinda nice. Check it out www.jarasoost.com. If you have any ideas on how to make it better, I am always open to suggestions.

Apparently I was ready to cook today. We had blueberry pancakes with little sizzlers for breakfast. Lasagna and garlic bread for supper with a fresh baked rhubarb pie for dessert. Kids weren't hungry for lunch at all so just sammies then. But we have leftovers. Wanna come eat?!? Your invited:)

Just waiting to see what this week brings. We had sun and wind today. I think sun tomorrow. Thunderstorms on Tuesday, which is not only supposed to be Zoey's soccer day, but RESCHEDULED team pictures. Isaac's registration got overlooked for baseball, so may be he can start that this week. I hope. And of course with me being at my office more than usual this week--may be I'll irritate my neighbors a little too. They don't like me, so in return I kinda don't like them. Its hard to like people who ask you to move out specifically so that they can have your office.

Before I was a MOM

"I never tripped over toys, or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations. Before I was a mom, I had never been puked on. Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. I slept all night. Before I was a mom I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep (or my 7 year old). Before I was a mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew I would love being a mom. Before I was a mom, I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy. Before I was a mom, I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every ten minutes to make sure all was ok. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satifaction of being a mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a MOM."

I am sure most you have read that before, but I kinda like it. Happy Mother's Day to all I the FABULOUS Mom's I know.

PS. We did get the garden planted yesterday. And so far Twister has only eaten one of the plants! Gonna be a long summer!

Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while. ~Kin Hubbard

Well, I'll tell you what happened with all those pictures--cuz there are more of them actually. I was taking pictures with my camera. Chris had gotten it for me as a birthday gift right after Zoey was born. I would just download them right to the computer and upload to blogger. After several years of doing this my computer has slowed way down (such a pain) and I don't like to hang out where our computer is now. About 2 years ago I got a blackberry and it not only is super convienent to take pics with that (not necesarily better pics) that I ended up with a phone full of pictures and really not sure what to do with them. Plugging my phone into anything freaks me out. So all the ones I take from my phone are on fb and the ones I take with my camera usually end up on blogspot. With my new computer I attempted to plug in my phone to see if I could get internet that way ( I can't) but I tried and that was when I ended up taking the pics from my phone and putting them on my new computer. Which I am not really sure I want to do on a regular basis, but now I can do something with them anyway( post them, share them, order a cd) and possibly erase now 3 years of pics from my phone and clean it out!

Zoey finally had her first soccer game. It was a little willy nilly, but the weather was perfect, sunny and not windy! A tough combo to find these days.

Isaac finally made it to the eye doctor! I wanted him to have a regular check up for good measure, but lollygagged until we noticed that he consistantly sits about 2 inches from the TV and can't read the clock until he is about the same distance way. He never complains or says anything and nothing from school. We took him in and the doc says that he won't want to take these off once he gets them. Apparently he has been compensating for so long that his eye muscles have even started to weaken, which of course will correct itself once he gets his glasses. Honestly, I think Isaac will be surprized at how much things will change! If I had known he couldn't see anything I would have taken him in sooner--not sure if my kids could be any more different!! Zoey begs for glasses she barely needs and Ike doesn't say a thing even though he is having trouble.

Well we picked out some veggies for the garden--hopfully we will get it planted this weekend.

Give thanks for what you are now, and keep fighting for what you want to be tomorrow. ~Fernanda Miramontes-Landeros

Random old and new pictures

Here are some old and new pics of us. They were taken with my phone so I don't know their quality and most were probably posted on Facebook so you may have seen them already.

I have been answering more questions on Sharecare. Visit http://www.sharecare.com/ and ask your questions. www.sharecare.com/user/jara-soost/answers

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. ~Henry Ford

Not to sure what to blog about so all I have to say is "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow." Not so much that I really want it to snow that much right now, but it has been snowing often. It has been beautiful, got about 2+ inches the other day, and it seems to be getting in the way of cleaning up the yard, keeping my puppy clean, and Zoey playing soccer. So far she has had three scheduled games, but all have been cancelled due to snow and 30mph winds.

As I type this I had turned the TV to watch some CSI Miami and have come to find out that Osama Bin Laden has been killed. There is some interesting news. As for world news--Did you watch the Royal Wedding? It was so odd--I was not planning to watch it. Figured that whatever pics or may be even video I saw would be more than enough. However, I didn't realize that they got married on a Thursday so I totally felt as though I missed the whole thing. I'm a nut--I know. I did look at the pictures though and I was really impressed. To me it looked very impressive, romantic, but it didn't seem as overdone as I had anticipated it. Who knows may be Princess Kate will someday make a good Queen.

As for my local house news--my kids have been spending a lot of time on the internet. Isaac gets to use the PS3 and we found a website called www.coolmath4kids.com. It has so much for him to do from math facts to mazes to even learning his states. Now Ike is kinda a PS3 HOG so I let Zoey work on my new laptop and she really enjoys www.starfall.com it helps her with reading, spelling, sounds and that kind of stuff. Very helpful and she could sit at that site forever too. Checkem out if you need your kids quiet for a minute:) Assuming they are not going to fight over it (like mine have done).


Call on God, but row away from the rocks.~Indian Proverb

Youth would be an ideal state if it came a little later in life. ~Herbert Asquith

Well this should help my blogging!! My fabulous husband just bought me a computer for my birthday!! A laptop actually so that I can be mobile, visual (with skype) and accessible more often. I just had my first skype experience!! And as Zoey put it--"It was amazing."

We were back to the grind today. No more days off, relaxing, enjoying the sunshine. Today was wet, muddy and snowy. I told the kids to play with Twister before school today. I figure she should run some before we stick her in the kennel. It was just starting to sprinkle and I thought that was fine until I loaded the kids in the car. They were muddy and not just shoes, but their clothes too from Twister jumping on them. Isaac tried to get the mud off his shoes with his hands so I sent him back in to wash his hands. He forgot to take off his shoes and I now have mud on my carpet too. I had a busy morning with errands, a Sharecare meeting and massage clients in the afternoon.

Yesterday I turned 35. We had a pretty relaxed day. The weather was nice and sunny. I only saw one client and not until 11 am and for the most part my kids didn't fight (which is exactly what I asked for my birthday!) When Chris got home from we went to the Great Wall for supper. Unfortunately Chris and I ended the evening by watching The Other Guys. I hadn't been interested in the movie until I saw that the Rock was in it--but even he didn't make losing that amount of time worth it. But it was a good day!

Let the resurrection joy lift us from loneliness and weakness and despair to strength and beauty and happiness. ~Floyd W. Tomkins

I have to be honest. I seriously thought about going to Minnesota for Easter. The kids had five days off of school. But I wienied out--the thought of gas prices, traveling and possibly bringing Twister.

For this reason my massage schedule was a little unusual. Wednesday night I realized that I had been invited to watch a knee surgery, but had blown it off, cuz I wasn't sure if I was going to be here or not. I tried to call the surgery center and the clinic, but it was already after hours by the time I had this brilliant idea. So I decided to get there early cuz the worst that could happen, is that I would piss off the doc and get sent home. Of course the doctor I work for happens to be pretty laid back and easy going. So as it turns out I not only watched my client's surgery, but I watched a total of three surgeries before 9am. Super exciting! Plus on top of that the doc has been happy with my work and was giving complements that day. After my client was out of recovery, he requested that I do his rehab. I haven't worked with any post surgical patients since I moved back to Gillette, so I cleared it with the doctor first. I finished off Thursday giving three massages and was home by 8:30pm. It had been a good day.

Saturday we went for a drive. I was glad the weather cleared up. I don't check the weather anymore cuz I already know that it is either going to be sunny, rainy or snowy and all in the same day for another couple weeks at least. But Saturday was nice. We were mailed a flat Stanly. So we took flat Stanly around Wyoming and Gillette to send pics back to MN so that my nephew's second grade class can learn about Wyoming. When we got back Chris cooked supper, we had Eric over and of course colored some Easter eggs.

Sunday morning came fast and very early. We knew that if Chris wanted to watch the kids find the eggs we would have to be up early. As it turned out Chris had to go to Sheridan for work that day and had to leave by 6:30am. So eggs were all found before then. We made it to son rise service nearly on time and stayed for the pancake breakfast. Just in case you interested (cuz the Pastor really is) my birthday will actually fall on Easter Sunday at some point in time. Not until 2038 and April 25 is the lastest day of the year that Easter can possibly fall on. I guess it will be my 62nd birthday. My kids weren't fighting too much so we stayed for the Easter church service as well. This is the first time EVER I can remember that I have had communion twice in one morning! We came home and the kids played great for the afternoon, but then Ike didn't feel well. Had a headache and tummy ache. He didn't eat supper and was in bed for the night by 7pm!!!

So today I made some Pillsbury Cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Just hanging with my kiddos today. I did go into work for my rehab client. But even the Rec Center's Kids Zone was closed for the day--so no massages or personal training. Just enjoying:)

Anybody who doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog. ~Franklin P. Jones

Spring is not my favorite season. Mud, dirt, crazy weather. Wondering if Zoey is ever going to have an actual soccer game this spring. Her first on was cancelled because it was snowing and raining at the same time. Today it is snowing with 20-30mph winds. May be it will stop before her game, but I am not holding my breath.

Twister is starting to learn some. I think. She doesn't always let us know when she needs to go out but is starting to sit next to the door every once in a while. At which point she gets kicked right out regardless if she needed to or wanted to. Have to say I am a little sad. When we brought her home she had one brown eye and one gray eye. I was hoping the gray eye would turn more blue as she got older. Not the case, it is tuning brown just like the other.

Parenthood: That state of being better chaperoned than you were before marriage. ~Marcelene Cox

Just for good measure and because I miss blogging--I'm doin' it twice. After soccer practice the kids brought Twister over to the neighbor's house to meet their dog Griz. I went over to supervise the kids and help Kellie paint her living room. It turned out to be a fun afternoon. When I came back Chris had made a batch of chili and we watched the latest Harry Potter movie, which I thought was great. Haven't read any of the books yet. We made it to Palm Sunday for church today, but we were later than normal. On the way home we were having a discussion about where they get the palms from. Isaac randomly tells me that the rain forest gets 10 inches of rain a year. I say "How do you know that?" He says, "I was reading informational non-fiction." He says, "Yeah and koala bears only get out of their tree once a week. That was the same genera." I just love when he uses big words! I did all of the cleaning that I totally put off yesterday. Then we were invited to join Justin, Shawna and Ava at the movie theater to watch RIO. While I really dislike taking kids to the theater, since the price totally doesn't make it worth it--I will say that it was a funny movie and my kids did have a good time. Now I am back at the old computer, blogging and sharecareing and emailing and may be a little facebooking and what not pretty much for the rest of the night. But I am so good at putting off what could be done tomorrow!

April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks Go. ~Christopher Morley, John Mistletoe

Once again it has been longer than I thought since my last post and I do apologize. Not even sure where to start cuz I can't remember what we did during the month of March. May be that is why I didn't blog. The kids went to the dentist and had no cavities AND no green stuff on their teeth! But of course they still want to put Isaac in braces so who knows, we'll see. St. Patrick's Day just happens to be one of the most anticipated events of the year for Zoey. Don't know why exactly, but in her eyes its like Christmas. Which is a little strange cuz she doesn't really get anything and she hates green milk and cabbage. But when I was in Elementary school the Leprechauns were pulling schanannigans (ya I have no idea how to spell that). So often times they visit here and switch things up and are just plain silly for a day. At the end of March we FINALLY got a new addition to our family. A beautiful baby girl. Puppy. Her name is Twister Rain Soost. She was about 8 1/2 weeks old when we got her and she is about 11 weeks old now and weighs in at about 19 lbs. She is half Siberian Husky and half Australian Shepard so she's going to be bigger than what we were originally looking for, but she is beautiful!! Its exactly like having another kid. She finds all the lost color crayons and toys on the floor and I have been cleaning up poop, pee and puke ever since. The first night we had her I took her out to potty at midnight, Ike got up not feeling great, pottied the pup at three am and then was up with Zoey cuz Twister's crying woke her up. A lot of work, but very fun to have her around. You should have seen the look on Ike's face the first time I told him to clean up after Twister. It was like he didn't realize they did that! The first week of April, I went to Cheyenne for some continuing education. It was GOOD to get out of my little bubble for a while, plus I got to learn from one of the NFL strength and conditioning coaches that also worked at Anoka High School. The day I was there (April 5th) Zoey was at school and lost her very first baby tooth. This was good thing, I think. As she had been talking forever about getting the treasure chest from the nurse's office to put her tooth in and this way she got it. Now, it came out during class not during lunch and I heard a couple different versions of the story so I am pretty sure she planned it this way as best she could. She was so excited to loose her first tooth! We have been waiting since Isaac lost his first tooth! Last week the circus came to town. Shawna had an extra ticket so we decided to tag along. I think it was the first for my kids and I ended up buying another ticket in case Chris got off early enough to come with us. I was just as excited to bring him to his first circus as I was for the kids. However, that was the same day I brought Twister to the vet for her first shots. We waited 40 minutes for our appointment. She took the shot fine, but refused to eat the wormer even though the pills were wrapped in some yummy dog stuff, so the vet just shoved it down her throat. I still had to stop at the bank. The ATM is inside the door and not drive though so I left Twister in my car for a minute and when I came back she had puked all over my car and those little pills were still left over so I put them in her dog dish and as far as I know they eventually got eaten! But when I made it home I announced to Chris he was going to have to drive. My car just wasn't going to cut it. The circus was fun. I let the kids have snow cones and cotton candy. We watched the lion tamers, the elephants, the jugglers, all different kinds of acrobats and they closed with 5 motorcycles riding around in a metal cage. I (and all of Gillette) automatically thought of the Simpson's (cuz we watched Homer do it first). Ya--we don't get out much. But it was fun and we all had a good time. I was so excited for Chris to go to his first circus ever and asked how he liked it--he was disappointed that it wasn't in a tent. They held it at the Camplex. Crazy man anyway! I was super hoping to make it to Minnesota for Easter, but it looks like we are just going to stay here this time. But I have thought about checking the calendar to see when the kids have the next days off which would be for Memorial Day. We get out of school like on the second of June or something like that. Soccer season has started. We have made it to most of the practices but games have been cancelled due to weather. Isaac will be in baseball again and practices will be starting soon as will be Chris's softball. So my evenings are being spoken for and of course Saturday morning soccer practice.

Winter is the season in which people try to keep the house as warm as it was in the summer, when they complained about the heat. ~Author Unknown

I just looked at how many posts I have done over the years and I didn't post even half as much as I did the first year. Crazy. Actually, somehow, I had more time then. I had like a two hour lunch break everyday with nothing specific to do, so I blogged to ya all. Now I have to use my own computer and sometimes we don't always get along so well. So I try to avoid it. Interestingly enough after that being said, I am waiting for my online meeting to start. I guess I had better make up and be friends with my computer since I decided to take an online job.

No new news to report however, just busy, busy with everyday stuff. Something going on almost every day or night here for about 10 days. I still need to get a sitter for Tuesday, but I think between, work, darts, family it will all be great. Still working about 3 evenings a week and I am packed with 4 massages tomorrow before going to a friends house for game night.



Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk by the fire: it is the time for home.~Edith Sitwell

The family.

We are a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking eachother out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together~ Erma Bombeck


We are not sick, but not healthy either. Zoey got her glasses and seems to be doing well with them. They are not broke yet anyway! I am working 3 nights a week for the time being instead of just one like I promised my husband. But I am still exctied about this sharecare thing. Online virtual training will be available for purchase in feb. but if you have any questions or just want to see how it works send me your email and you get a two week free trial. Well, that's all I have for now.

If I'd known I was going to live so long, I'd have taken better care of myself. ~Leon Eldred

So I attempted to add a sharecare widget to this blog. Right now I think it looks kinda funny or not right anyway. But it does work. Questions are answered and show on this link. Then if you need any health question answered just click on the small white box under Ask your Question and a qualified health care profesional will answer your question.

Yesterday one of my clients says "So I hear you are working with Dr. Oz." To which I said "Yes, I am." It was kinda awesome.

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~Benjamin Franklin

December was busy! But great! We drove to Minnesota with mostly clear roads for Christmas. It seemed that this year was going to feel much different than Christmases in the past with so many family changes, but we had such a good time at all of the Christmas events we went to. I was so excited to see my cousins and hang out with family. I even teamed up with Chris's cousin to win second place at the bean bag toss. We should have won. We were ahead, but they had a sloppy shot that got them the win! We got to see all of the crazy Minnesota snow. On the last day we were there we got a visit from Santa Clause and that was fabulous. This year Isaac did not sit on Santa's lap. But when Santa entered and saw Isaac he immediately said "You must be Isaac." Isaac's eyes were big and happy and in a very big firm voice he said "Yes, I am." and then he received his gifts. It was fun. Isaac got his Minnesota cough on that Sunday morning before we left. I gave him his Advair, Ibuprofen, Delsum and a vitamin and called it good. Chris and I got the flu or something cruddy. Zoey just got a regular cold which I think she may have decided to share with me as something is still lingering.

The day we left for Mn I finished all my requirements to become an online health coach with sharecare.com. I am a little frustrated as I am not patient enough to wait for them to give me my online profile, but it will be here shortly. On Monday Dr. Oz kicked off his 11 week move it and loose it program. If you go to his website( www.doctoroz.com ) and click on the program you will get your online profile as well as all the tools you will need to track your progress, eat well and exercise to be your healthiest in 2011. Sharecare is what has been referred to as facebook with a purpose. It is the only online platform of its kind and the biggest promotion of health across America. I am excited to be part of this movement and hope that it helps to keep my family and friends healthy and happy. Plus its pretty cool to work from home and still be an active part of keeping America moving. Please join--its free!! Also in this process I got a new website for my business, its www.myhfpn.com/activespirit its pretty cool, plus it has an online store so I am going to urge everyone to order a foam roller (my newest favorite equipment) for their home.

The kids are back in school. I don't have them in any extra curricular activities right now. I thought a break would be nice, plus I don't always like to go out and about when its cold and snowy. My plan of course has backfired as I am just working more evenings and weekends instead.

Well, hopeful later today I will get some pics up and change out the Christmas music. But who knows--no promises.

Happy New Year to all:)