Fun with Cousins

In July it was fun having the Bryce's (Dan's sister Kristin, her husband Nathan & family) here from Utah and getting to spend some time with them. We were all able to meet at the Staker's (Dan's other sister Kari, her husband Jon & family) for swimming. With three granddaughters and ten grandsons you can imagine the "chicken fights" that went on in the pool and the "cannon ball" competition that went on to see who could make the biggest splash. I guess I should add that Dan of course was in the middle of these competitions and declared himself the winner. Courtani, Brittani and Emily stayed off to the side having a swimming party of their own that was quite a bit more calm. We don't get to see the Bryce's near enough. It is always fun when they come to visit. Poor Aunt Kristin, my kids love her to death and can't get enough of her attention when she is here. I love my in-laws and it is wonderful to be part of such a great family!

I've been tagged...

So, I didn't know that when I have something I'm working on as a draft and I finally finish and decide to post it, it automatically gets put in chronological order from the date I started the draft. My newest post about being tagged is under the "Family Fun Day" post. So far, I haven't found any way to move it so I guess it's staying there. I've learned something new huh.

Twilight Quiz

You are Bella Swan, the apple of Edward's eye. You are very private, clumsy, sweet, and funny. You have a wonderful ability to accept people (or mythical creatures) for what they are. You have an amazing capacity to love, even though you can be too hard on yourself
Twilight Quiz by QuizRocket.com fun quizzes!
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So, I found this quiz on my cousin Tiffany's blog and decided what the heck, it's almost 3:00 in the morning what else am I gonna do right now? I've just begun the Twilight series. I finished Twilight earlier this week and started reading New Moon. So far from what I've read I'm okay with being most like Bella.

"Family Fun Day"

Yes, I know it's been a while since I last posted. I have been politely reminded that I needed to post something new. It seems we have actually found some fun things to do to help end our boredom and keep us busy for a while. Dan has only been having one day off a week so the kids have decided to call this day "Family Fun Day". The plan is to go for a fun activity on that day. The first week we went to Chuck E. Cheese. This is always a hit. The kids had a blast of course, playing the games and saving up an endless trail of tickets. It's crazy that we walk out of there with a bundle of plastic little toys that are gone and forgotten with in a week or so and tiny little Tootsie Rolls that in reality cost us $5.00 a piece! After Chuck E. Cheese, it was then off to my parents house to meet up with my sister Shelbi and her daughter Nellie to go swimming. While we were there, Dan thinking he was being clever, dared me to jump into the pool with all my clothes on for $200.00 (I hadn't planned on swimming at all). Is this really that daring? Needless to say, Shelbi and I got right up and jumped in. The kids were cracking up at the sight of us swimming around in our clothes. So, I guess we made some fun memories and I am now $200.00 richer! Funny thing is...I'd have done it for $50.00. (shhh Ü)

♥Brittani LOVES to dance. Anytime! Anywhere! Most of her tokens went to this dance game.♥

♥Courtani and Daddy♥

♥Courtani wanted to ride the "jet ski" but wasn't able to do it alone so Dan and Mason climbed on to help her out.♥

♥Most of the time Braden and Trevor are great friends.♥

♥Mason LOVES pizza. He would eat it for every meal if we would let him.♥

♥Braden has always had a soft spot for helping Courtani with anything.♥

♥Trevor's favorite thing to do at Chuck E. Cheese is to ride this jet ski.♥

♥Mason just wanted to be part of the action. Once he found a game he could reach, we spent the rest of our time there.♥

The next week we took the kids to see Kung Fu Panda. It was a cute movie and they LOVED it! We don't take them to the movies very often so this was a real treat. I just can't justify spending the money for seven tickets on a movie we can rent or get on PPV a few months from now for 75% less money! It was actually Trevor's, Courtani's and Mason's first time at the movies so they were really in awe. It's cute to see simple things like going to the movies through the eyes of a child who is going for their first time. We have two weeks left until school starts so we'll have to wait and see what we choose for the next two "Family Fun Day" adventures.

Tagged by JoLynn....

I got tagged by one of my oldest friends JoLynn. Well, she's not my OLDEST friend, she is one of the friends I have known the LONGEST. JoLynn and I met in kindergarten over a box of crayons. On the first day of school, some boy wouldn't share his crayons with me so JoLynn came and sat by me and offered to share hers. I guess as they say, the rest is history. Do you remember that JoLynn? Anyway, here's how this game of tag works: You list: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, and 3 random surprising facts. Tag/list 5 people's names at the end of your post.

JOYS

1. SEEING MY CHILDREN HAPPY. Especially when they are proud of themselves for accomplishing something.

2. SPENDING TIME WITH DAN. I love date night. It's never anything too exciting. Usually going out to dinner and then something REALLY fun and exciting like grocery shopping.

3. ACCOMPLISHING EVERYTHING ON MY "TO-DO" LIST. I am a total list person, I get it from my dad. Sometimes I even make lists of the lists I need to make. I know, a little neurotic and over the top, but it helps me function.

FEARS

1. FAILING MY CHILDREN. I want so badly to be the kind of mother they need. To teach them everything I feel is important, so they can grow up to be the kind of person they want to be.

2. LOOSING A LOVED ONE. I am comforted knowing that I will see them again, I just don't want to try and live without them.

3. IV's. I know this one is stupid but I seriously have a fear of getting an IV. I have had my hand or arm numbed every time I have had an IV except once. It's not so much the needle I'm afraid of as it is the pain they inflict upon my body!! My veins roll and collapse so they usually have a few different doctors try and they all have to DIG and DIG and DIG more than once!! It's not a pleasant experience! The last time it took them 20 minutes just to get the IV in. I'd rather do almost anything else! I have the same experience almost every time I have a blood test. YUCK! Makes me queasy just thinking about it.

GOALS

1. TO HAVE A CLEAN HOUSE FOR MORE THAN TWO DAYS. It seems my entire house is hardly ever completely clean all at once! On the rare occasion it is, I want my friends and family to stop by so they can see that, believe it or not, it CAN happen at the Roberts home too!

2. CONTROL THE SARCASM. I've always been pretty sarcastic and at times I let it go a little too far. I really need to watch that.

3. BE ON TIME. I'd give more detail on this one but I don't have time right now.....I'm running late.

CURRENT OBSESSIONS/COLLECTIONS

1. BLOGGING. I just started this blogging thing and yes, to all of those people who warned me, it IS very addicting. I love to keep in contact with friends and family I don't get to talk to or see often enough.

2. ORGANIZING. Now I'm not claiming to BE organized...just that I'm obsessed with the process of trying to GET organized. My project at hand....getting rid of all the baby stuff and baby/toddler clothes we have stored for SO MANY years! I'm ready for them to be gone through and OUT OF THE HOUSE!

3. I have just started reading THE TWILIGHT SERIES. I have heard so many people talk about how much they loved the books and how excited they are about the upcoming book and movie so I decided I should give it a try. I borrowed the books from my friend Kristy and am currently reading the first one. So far so good!!!

RANDOM SURPRISING FACTS

1. HELLO, MY NAME IS WENDI ROBERTS AND I AM UFC FAN. They say the first step is just admitting you have a problem right? I know it's not a great thing but yes, I am a fan. SURPRISE! I hope not too many of you loose what respect, if any, you had for me. Ü

2. I guess it may be surprising to SOME people that MY FAVORITE HOLIDAY IS APRIL FOOL'S DAY. I LOVE a perfectly executed April Fool's joke. I spend weeks planning ahead and getting things lined up to get Dan. Poor Dan, he is always my target. He is such a good sport about it. Our deal is that he won't get mad as long as I don't let the joke go on past five minutes. I've pulled off some DOOZIES that got him pretty good if I do say so myself.

3. I REMEMBER A BUNCH OF STUPID FACTS. I don't know why. This talent really didn't help me very much in school at all. I can recall crazy little details about things from a long time ago. Phone numbers of my childhood friends, birthdays of random people, really weird details about people, things that happened with friends from A LONG time ago. I even remember all my teachers names and room numbers from my elementary school as well as MOST of the other teachers and their room numbers that I DIDN'T even have. I could go on and on with the useless stuff I remember. I know, very helpful isn't it.

Shelbi, Meredith, Cathy, Nicole, Joni, Kristy, Teanne, Brandon and Tia....Tag, you're it! (I know that's more than five.... Ü)

"Mom, I'm bored!"

I can't believe how fast the summer is flying by. It seems that I am constantly trying to find things for my kiddos to do. I guess it was inevitable that some day I would say that dreaded old phrase I heard when I was a kid and would tell my mom "I'm bored!" My mom would say, "well, if you can't find something to do....I'll find something for you to do." This of course was always some form of house cleaning so I usually found something to do on my own. The other day Courtani came in and told me that she was bored and needed something to do. We sat and chatted about things she could do that would be fun and of course none of them were what she wanted to do at that time. I had some things I needed to get down so I needed her to be occupied for a while. Knowing this, I was giving her suggestions that I knew would be time consuming. I finally came up with one that she surprisingly went for. I told her to go make up a new magic trick she could show dad when he got home from work. She came in about 15 to 20 minutes later so proud of herself wanting to show me her new trick. She had learned how to breath on a spoon and make it stick to her nose. It was cute to see how excited she was. She was so eager to show Dan when he got home. The only downside to this new "past time" is that we are constantly out of clean spoons!

I guess I have finally succumbed to the friendly encouragement I was receiving from my sister Shelbi and my brother Brandon and have joined the "Blog World". Where to start.....where to start.....? I guess I'll start at the beginning, I hear it's a very good place to start. Dan and I have been married for 11 years. Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky! He is so GREAT! I am constantly amazed at how well he juggles church, family and work. He works A LOT and although he comes home exhausted, the kids would never know it. He comes home and spends lots of time with them just hanging out and having TONS-O-FUN. They really eat up the attention from their dad. Once the kids are all in bed he usually either does the dishes, mops the floors, folds laundry or yes, even deep cleans the bathrooms. To top it all off, more often than not, HE then gives ME a foot massage that usually lasts 30 - 45 minutes! I tell ya, I am ONE LUCKY WOMAN!! I doubt that I deserve such a wonderful man, but boy am I grateful for him. He is the love of my life, my total support system, my soft place to fall when things around me are crazy. Dan, I love you more than anything and "I hope you never realize just how far out of my league you are"!