Busy, busy, busy!!

Oh, boy! So school has started amd Hayley joined Katie and Brandon as a Glenmeade Elementary student! All of my kids are very happy with their teachers. Hayley informed me that her teacher calls her "her little darling". Nice way of feeding her already VERY inflated ego, Mrs. Morse!

Here are some pictures from their second day, just cuz they looked so cute again!

Yesterday, my mom and I went to the Sugarland concert at the L.A. County Fair. We had such a wonderful time! They were fantastic!!

And the other big thing we have going on is winterball! Oh, boy, this is going to be so much fun!!! :) I missed Katie's game yesterday because of the concert, so I don't have any pictures. But I'll get a bunch on Saturday. In the meantime, Here's a collection of Hayley's first game--EVER!!

Pictures

Here are those pictures I promised. These are from Shane's company picnic at Knott's Berry Farm. Enjoy!

It was really hot and sunny. Poor Hayley!

Megan & Hayley with Sally

Shane's idea of a dream date--2 silent women

My idea of a dream date--1 silent Shane

There is actually a very funny story behind this picture. We wanted to take the kids to see the "heartbeat" grave, which they thought was very cool. There was another grave covered in rocks that had a fence of sorts around it. I just thought that people had been messing with it, so we didn't pay too much attention. Right next to the grave was this casket. I told Shane to get in so I could take his picture. Hayley was not happy with her daddy pretending to be dead. She kept yelling at him to get out. I asked the other kids to get in so I could take their pictures. I couldn't pay them enough. So I leaned back against Shane in the casket and all of a sudden we heard a rumblingand felt the ground shaking. It got louder and stronger and we realized it was coming from the grave right next to us. Hayley just stood there screaming. It was total chaos. We finally got her out of the cemetary and she calmed down. I guess the recent earthquake that was literally right below us shook her up more than she let on. Shane and I were laughing so hard we almost peed our pants!

Our very own version of "Where's Waldo"--Where's Megan?

They look like they may actually like each other...

Who says Disneyland is the happiest place on earth?

Updates

Well, I just figured it was time to check back in and catch all those who care up with that's going on...


It has been a summer of (mostly) boredom. Katie has spent every other week with James. She's had a blast going to camp, Disneyland and the fair. It's not as much fun here for her. My kids usually spend their days playing outside and getting dirty and smelly.


We had Shane's company picnic at Knott's a couple of weeks ago. It was a lot of fun, but REALLY hot! The next day, my mom and I went to the Greek to see Emerson Drive, Chris Cagle and Dwight Yoakam. We tailgated before the concert. It was great (except for Dwight Yoakam, he was awful).


Softball winter season is upon us again! Katie is moving up to 12U! Hopefully she'll stay at 1st base. CHGS is going to have a new addition! Hayley will be joining 6U this year. My blog will be flooded with pictures, I can assure you.

I guess that's really all that's going on right now. Just getting ready for Kindergarten, 3rd grade and 6th grade now...

I will post new pictures soon, I promise!

Mother's Day, Birthdays and softball

Let me start by saying May sucks!!! Busy, busy, busy!

Since May IS so busy, my mom and I usually celebrate Mother's Day the weekend before. We had lunch at Taps and went shopping. It was just the 2 of us. We had a great day. HOWEVER...Mother's Day is ALWAYS spent with Shane's family. Woo-hoo. We went to Acapulco for brunch. The whole family (minus Shawn) was there. Now, I haven't seen Mary since Christmas, so I knew this would not be fun! And it wasn't. We always celebrate Hayley, Shane and Katie's birthdays at the same time because it's the same week. As soon as Eric got there, he let me know that he forgot to get me a flower because he forgot I would be there. Huh. Sherri handed out my Mother's Day card and Shane's birthday card. I opened mine right away. Shane waited a while. Sherri told Katie and Hayley that they would get their presents NEXT weekend because that was when their birthdays were. What? Shane informed his mother that their birthday are (and always have been) the same week as Mother's Day. We ate. No one really spoke to me. Big effin' deal. After a bit, I told Shane to open his birthday card. His parents usually give him a check for $50. Well, as he opens his card, his eyes get real big and he kind of starts laughing. I asked him why he was laughing and he showed me the check. Mind you, it's Shane's 30th birthday (today as a matter of fact). The check was for $10! Yes I typed that right. 1-0. Ten. Now we are really not materialistic people, but we do happen to believe that the 30th birthday is a bit of a milestone. So by the time we got home, I really needed a nap. Enough of that.

Yesterday was Hayley's 5th birthday. But it was also round 4 in Katie's softball playoffs. We don't usually go during the week because it's just too late for the little girls. This was too big to miss! Saturday, we knocked the 2nd place team out of the playoffs. That was so cool because we CANNOT stand the coach. Her daughter was on Katie's team last year and let me tell you, that whole family ruined the season for quite a few parents. So we played Blue Bombers last night. They were 15-0 in the regular season, won the first 2 games in playoffs, then on Saturday, they were mercied 16-0. Whoever lost last night was out of the playoffs. It was a tough game. I won't give a play by play because I'm no good at that. But the final score was 5-0. Them. Bummer! But on the bright side, the championship game is this Saturday, the same weekend Shane and I are in Vegas for bowling/his birthday. I was going to have a VERY tough choice to make. Now I don't. But we had such a great team. These girls all had their hearts in it. The parents all got along very well. The coaches were fantastic. It was such a great experience. I also found out something funny. James and I were figuring out when he was going to pick up Katie on Friday. Our plan was to leave from O.C. as soon as we dropped off the younger 3. But James wanted to pick her up from her team party on Friday. We weren't planning on sticking around even until the party started (at 6:30). One of the other moms offered to pick up Katie from school. I thought that was very generous, especially since I didn't think anyone on the team went to her school. It turns out that Jaylynn does. She's in 4th grade. But she has 2 sisters who also go the Glenmeade. One is in 1st grade and one is in 2nd grade. Madison is in Brandon's class! We have gone all season without these 2 saying a word about it.

So I guess that's all I've got right now. Hopefully I'll have a totally happy update after Vegas.

New Hair

Okay, so with the big 3-0 approaching, I decided I needed a new hairdo. Well, once I get it in my mind to do something, I can't think of anything else until it's done. It was a 2 part deal because Brianne (my wonderful hairdresser and cousin) didn't have time to do cut, color, highlights AND style. So Saturday was cut, color and style and tonight was highlights and style.

Here's the before:

Here's the Virtual Makeover I took Brianne:

And here's the front and back of my hair as of 9:30 tonight:

(Forgive the smile...I am VERY tired...and I hate when I have a "posed look". It looks stupid. Not that this is any better.)

I love my new hair! It's gonna be fun to play with it.

Picture Update

Okay, so I'm in a much better mood now, so here are some pictures of my babies! Enjoy!

Here's the girlies being silly at bed time

Brandon is not fond of the camera so most of these are not recent

The kids playing at the playground before Katie's game (my camera was acting up, forgive the coloring)

Katie's game

UPDATE!!

Okay, so I have been informed that an update is needed...
I haven't posted because I really didn't think I had a very interesting life. LOL! But I guess there are people that are curious about the outcome of the last post. I promise I'll get to that.
We have been so busy with softball season, which really equals out to me being a singe parent for about 4 months. Shane has once again decided to go against Katie's wishes and be an assistant coach for her team. According to him it doesn't matter what she wants because "she's just a child". Side note--since Shane & I just had THE MOST STUPID argument, there may be a note of hostility regarding all things Oslund. Be prepared.
As far as my wonderful sister-in-law, I choose to believe she doesn't exist. Just the mere mention of her name incites such rage. Currently, I feel the entire family sucks! (Shane is included in that, BTW.) Mary is such an embarrassment not only to mothers, or women, but also to the entire human race. I have never met a person with such little class. But it goes beyond that. She has got to know the damage she's doing to every child she comes across. But the question is, DOES SHE CARE?? I have to think not.
Two of the family's mottoes are 1) It's always someone else's fault and 2) If I ignore it, it doesn't exist. The incident I mentioned back in December falls into both categories.
Dylan, Shawn's 11 year old son, is dealt with using both mottoes also. This kid is gonna be one of those kids who winds up taking a gun to school. If not, he will be in prison (hopefully) by the time he's 18. He is deranged. Because of this kid, I will not allow my kids around Shane's parents unsupervised. (Dylan lives with them.) I cannot stand the sight of him. As intriguing as this sounds I won't go into details because some things have not been resolved. Also, you are judged by the company you keep. And because I am married to the psychopath's uncle, well, you get the point.
Ultimately, because I am married into this crazy, majorly dysfunctional family, I keep totally to myself. I won't answer phone calls, emails, invitations, etc. My idiot husband thought it would be a good idea to throw me a surprise party with my other sister-in-law, Nichole. My God! What was he thinking?? Thank goodness he spilled the beans. I don't want ANY of his family at my house, let alone throwing my a party. I'd rather spend my 30th birthday totally alone...I've had to stop having birthday parties for my kids because the entire family causes a scene wherever they go. AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!
Okay, you asked for it and you got it! LOL!
On a better note, my kids are wonderful and happy and healthy and smart and beautiful and I love them more that life itself. They are the only thing that keep me going through the horror house of an extended family I have.
LOVE YOU ALL AND THANK YOU FOR THE CONCERN AND WELL WISHES I HAVE RECEIVED FROM EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU--DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY. It's good to know that there are caring, compassionate people out there. I appreciate the sanity you bring into my life!

Next up, a photo update--I promise. I just need to be in a less hostile mood for that. LOL!