Cheerleading, Fumigation & Hotel Living

Here is the Pickle Jar re-cap of fumigation week:

Wednesday - Basketball Tournament & Cheerleading for Heather where mom visited and took pictures even though she was frantically trying to get every last bit of the house packed up.

Thursday - The circus tent went up around 11:00 a.m. and we were officially "homeless".

Friday - Kelly took the day off. We took both cars in for service and drove the truck for the day. Kelly and I both signed in at school and helped with 3rd grade cutting and pasting. This is probably the only time Kelly will ever get to do the classroom help gig. He was very skilled. We had a nice lunch together before picking up the kids.

The Hotel Experience - We checked in to our hotel on Thursday evening. The girls did homework at the kitchen table and desk in the room before getting an evening swim in. We went to Hometown Buffet on both Thursday and Friday evenings which was a real treat. The hotel had complimentary breakfast which was very helpful.

Our friend, Sarah, came with us to change before gymnastics. These girls were so excited to change in the hotel room.

Every chance the girls had, they wanted to swim. The pool was heated and had cool pool lights that changed colors in random intervals. They had the pool and jacuzzi all to themselves every time they went swimming.

This is a shot of the living room. We were at a Residence Inn that caters to long-term stay. It was a studio, but a nice size with a kitchen, living area, king size bed and bathroom. It was very clean and nice, but we kept comparing it to our summer stays at Little America in Flagstaff. Kelly cracked up at our little hotel connoisseurs. All in all, fumigation is no fun to prep for, but it did give us a chance to hang out as a family which was a plus. The girls loved having so much time with their Daddy.

Termites Be Gone

Before our house ends up resembling the one in the photo above, we need to do a little fumigating. That's what's happening in our lives this week...we're preparing to vacate the premises so that the experts can get rid of the pesky critters who are nibbling away at our house. We are feeling content that we will no longer have to worry about the multiple colonies that are currently gnawing through the roof and rafters, but the girls are mostly excited that we get to stay two nights in a hotel with a pool. Woot!

Stay tuned for pictures of the circus tent, hotel adventures and Heather's cheerleading tournament.

Fit To Be Square

Heather and I just sent in our registration. Yikes! I've never done a 5K, but Heather is loving the "Power Walk" at school where she runs for 2 miles. She was happy to enter with me, and the proceeds will go to our elementary school. We'll see how it goes!

Jenna and Joanna at Lunch

There are those things that strike you funny and just have to be blogged about...

Jenna eats lunch.

American Girl Doll, Joanna, eats lunch (prepared by Jenna).

Monday Holiday

While our Super-Dad was at work, the girls were having a holiday.

Sleeping in

Breakfast at Mimi's Cafe

Quick stop at Target for chocolate

Riding the waves at Newport

Giggles and sillies and sand in our toes...

It was a good day.

Random Crazy Hair Day

Don't know why, but Friday was Crazy Hair Day at Moiola so we went with it. My kids hate crazy hair, can you tell? Ha, ha.

My New Resume

While calculating my estimated salary on momsalarywizard.com, I learned that, in theory, I could be earning $189,339 annually. I say, "Show me the money!!!" The salaries are estimated based on the hourly wages of specific job positions if we were to be employed in that field. Because we actually work in several fields of expertise each day, our salaries should be quite high. The list wasn't long enough which means the potential earning is awe-inspiring. It was fun to guesstimate hours worked, but even more fun to run with that and think about all of the experience I will have to list on a future resume. Here are just some of the positions I now have experience in...

nutritionist, sports psychologist, spiritual advisor, plumber, book keeper, preschool teacher, elementary school teacher, nurse, psychologist, mediator, caterer, party planner, interior designer, safety consultant, librarian, maid, law enforcement officer, logistics analyst, bed and breakfast owner, costume designer, groundskeeper, dental hygienist, hair stylist, waste management worker, hazardous materials handler, set designer, project development expert, event planner, pharmacy technician, transportation manager, day care staff worker, writing instructor, facilities manager, baker, executive director, educational tutor, CEO Peterson Inc., professional organizer, time management expert, project manager, executive producer, financial advisor, investment banker, personal chef, short-order cook, activities director, spy, entertainment director, tour guide, trouble shooting analyst, systems analyst...

This list has been really fun to make, and I could go on. I think all moms are super heros. Can that go on a resume??

Queen Heather of Egypt

Queen Heather and her loyal subjects took 1st place in the Mummy Wrap competition. I neglected to mention that this was not a graded project, just a contest. The sarcophagus was extra and not actually required. Outstanding effort for this crew! I am so happy for my girl!!!

Mummy Burial

Sixth grade social studies is so much fun! When I student taught in sixth grade, I was there for the Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt units. This week, Heather's class had a group contest to see who could come up with something that was indicative of ancient Egyptian society. Her group was a bit of a downer since no one really participated, but that did not deter Heather. With our recent water heater purchase, the box became the beginnings of a sarcophagus. Heather and Kelly designed and constructed the box, I painted the base, and Heather drew and painted Osiris, God of the Dead, on the lid along with a message in hieroglyphics.

sarcophagus - a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone; the wealthy had sarcophagi made from solid gold with hieroglyphics and images carved or painted on the surface

canopic jar - used by Ancient Egyptians during the mummification process to store and preserve the viscera of their owner for the afterlife

Loading it in the car...

A close-up of the gold glitter paint which worked better on the neckbandsthan the overall box...

The canopic jar filled with entrails (cotton balls soaked in food coloring/water)...

The artist and designer...

Heather was chosen to be the mummy entombed in the sarcophagus...

In A Word - Year 2

What an adventure filled year 2010 was! I successfully recovered from an appendectomy, hiked in Yosemite, and became the mom of a Middle School child. We expect that 2011 will be just as full of adventures!

At this time last year, I bypassed New Year's Resolution making and went for an idea I had picked up from my friends at BLOOM. It was all about choosing a word for the year that exemplified a concept that was important my life. I chose the word Mindful. That word was a perfect choice as I had spent the better part of 2009 remembering to choose the better part, and then continued in 2010 being conscious and aware of the areas in my life needing improvement. That was just what I needed to be doing.

As this year begins, I find that I need to get moving...on everything. I have refined my decision making and given lots of thought to the good things I need to be doing, however, I have been really lagging in the action part of accomplishment.

The word I've chosen is f o c u s. I am in need of a verb for my year, but because I tend to get overwhelmed as I see everything that needs doing, and I see it all at one time, I need to narrow the field of vision a bit. As I move into this year, my focus will be moving and doing, but I will practice focusing on specific things rather than insanely attempting to multi task. I'd like my days to be filled with single, accomplishable goals. One goal at a time is what I need to begin to see some real progress. I will most likely have more than one goal operating as the year progresses, but as I add each goal, I will give each new goal some serious thought and consideration so that it will get the focus it requires for me to complete the task. For me, focusing on finishing is where it's at. I love the Latin definition, "domestic hearth." What better place to focus my attention than right here at home?

p.s. Scroll down for 25 in 2010

New Year's Day & Weekend

We all got some good rest after our late night party on 12/31. The girls and I went over to the park with Jo, Mike, Kasey and Cole for a few hours while Kelly got in a few games of volleyball at the beach. When we got back, Kelly peppered with the girls. After showers and sending Jo and Mike off to their overnight get-away, we played Wii, made homemade tacos, and then spent the rest of the evening with back-to-back Harry Potters (3 and 4). We all hit the hay at around 10:30 p.m.

Sunday morning found us saying good-byes to the Palmatiers and heading off for 11:00 a.m. church. We are VERY happy about 11:00 a.m. church! We had so much fun with our family and were so glad they decided to spend their New Year celebration with us. Here we go with a new year full of adventure!