from July 15th

Saturday We woke up & all had some breakfast, Bruce took Jamieson to the office to get the flyers for the trip & Conner watched TV while I did some washing & cleaning. They got back around lunch time & Bruce started getting things out for his trip. I packed his bags while the boys went out to play for a while. It was a warm day again, I'm starting to get used to the constant heat. Everything here is air conditioned so you don't feel it unless you are outside. We left for the airport around 2.30. Made a couple of stops on the way, petrol station etc & drove through to the airport. Traffic was quite light so we got there in plenty of time. The boys unloaded the luggage ( it was really heavy as it had a lot of his stuff for the trade show in it). I went & parked the car & the boys went inside with Bruce. I got into the terminal & Bruce's flight had been changed so they were arranging a new connect (he was meant to be going through Denver but the flight was cancelled) for when he got to San Francisco etc. Perks of being a Premier Flyer or what ever he is. We had some time to kill, so we grabbed a snack & sat down at the airport. Sac airport is quite small so there is not much to do or see. Bruce's new flight was leaving earlier than his other one so he took off to catch the plane & the boys & I started to make our way home. We made a stop off to get some munchies & sunglasses for the kids. We also ended up getting another couple of things as you do & than made our way home for some dinner. Nothing exciting happened after that, the usual, dinner some TV & then off to bed. Pretty boring night, but that's what happens when Bruce is away. I couldn't chat with anyone as of course he took the laptop with him, not happy!!! Sunday Woke up at the usual time & pottered around, had some breakfast & did the usual more Sunday morning pottering around. Around lunchtime the boys & I made our way to the pool. There wasn't a lot of people there, too hot I would imagine. Millie dropped out for a chat then as she was going Angela arrived. Chatted with her while the kids swam. They were having races up the down the pool, they are getting really good, & their strokes are really improving. Then Tony, Tyler & their girlfriends arrived, so they played with the boys for a while. Around 3.00 I rounded them up, some of their other friends had arrived & were playing but we had been there long enough. We got home & chilled out after a nice cool shower, then had some dinner. The usual bits & pieces you have when not everyone is home. Bruce called & said that he had a good day at the trade show. I went through the mail from Saturday's lot & there was a postcard in it from Jamieson's new teacher. You can imagine the HUGE smile on his face while he was reading it. PRICELESS!!The boys finally went to bed around 10.00, too late. I did the usual up until 12, I guess that's just how it is now. (note from Bruce - I have a GOD BLESS AMERICA moment - I had to go back to Dallas airport on Sunday morning as one of my bags didn't show - I grabbed my bag and was walking back through the terminal to my car - I see a huge sign "TRAVELLERS AID" help for all your needs - there is a guy sitting there looking like he is ready to help! I walk up and ask if he can help me with directions to Waco - his response? "I dont even know how to get you out of the airport - sorry!" HUH? I just walked off laughing... GBA!!!!) Monday Woke up, the boys were up & having breakfast. I got changed & went to the gym for my workout. When I got back the boys did some school work & cleaned up their rooms while I vacuumed. Expected to be a really hot one, 104 today. Jackarie came over so when we got ready to go to the pool, he asked if he could, so off he went to ask his mum. We got to the pool around 12.30 Millie & Lexie were already there. The kids all played & we chatted. It was really hot so we were in & out of the pool. We ended up talking to these young guys that live in the complex, they were nice. Mostly I just listened, Millie & Kaylee did most of the chatting. (Kaylee thought one of them was HOT so that was fun to watch. The flirting was funny, then the inevitable analysis at the end) of which I was no help, apparenly here if you talk with a guy for a long time then they are interested or something. There is nothing innocent about just chatting with people anymore. God I feel old. Thank goodness for Australians being so laidback. Anyway, the kids were having a blast so I lathered them up instead of taking them home. We all just played in & out of the pool for the afternoon. It was after 4.00 before we got home, we are a little red from the fun afternoon but hey, it was worth it. I sat down & checked the mail. It was a great mail day, Jamieson received a postcard from his new teacher, a package from Grandma Ellen for his birthday & I got a letter from Lizzy that she wrote May, post marked May 8th. Go figure!!! We also got our weekly letter from Grandma Hultgren. So it was a great mail day for us!!! Jamieson's face was priceless, reading from his teacher. I just stood there & smiled. We all had showers, the boys watched some TV & I got dinner ready. The boys went to bed early as they had a late night the night before & tomorrow is going to be another late one as we have to go and get Bruce from the airport around 10.30. Paula arrived about 7.30 & we chatted until 11.30. It was fun, & the bonus was that she asked me to help her organise her new office. YEAH!!! She is moving in the next couple of weeks, so there is a lot to do. I've given her a list of stuff that I need & we will go from there. Now I just have to remember it all, I've got a bit of reading & thinking to do. But I'm really looking forward to the work. Great day /night for Belinda!!!! Paula left & off to bed I went, another late one. Tuesday We woke up & started our day like any other. Late morning we went to the supermarket & did the groceries. They were pretty well behaved considering they hate doing stuff like that. We got what we needed, the boys packed the trolley, which was cool that they wanted to help. We made our way home, unpacked the food & had some lunch. The boys went outside to play & I went to the business centre to get some work done. I finished up around 3.30 & then Jamieson & I went down to the pool for a while. Some of the girls were still there so we stayed until around 5.30, as per usual I dragged Jamieson out of the pool & home. We had some dinner without too much fuss & sat around chilling for a while. The boys got to stay up later as we had to go to the airport to pick up Bruce. I rounded up the kids around 10.00 & off we went to pick up Bruce. His plane was getting in around 10.30, we arrived right on time, & there he was waiting with his bags. We piled them into the car & made our way home. The boys went off too sleep on the way home then they jumped into bed & Bruce & I were not far behind. It was a long day, but Bruce is home & we are all happy. Wednesday The week is hotting up. We woke up to a very warm morning. Bruce was off early for a meeting. The boys & I did the regular stuff around the apartment. It was quite warm outside so we just stayed out of the heat of the day. Bruce got home around 1.00, just in time for lunch. We all sat down for lunch together. After lunch I went to the business centre to do some research for Paula's new office, which was fun. Jamieson came running in, "can we go to the pool, all the girls are there, Please???" I finished up what I was doing & Jamieson & I headed past the pool on our way home. We got changed & headed back it was around 4.00. We got there & a couple of the girls had already gone, but Kaylee & Marlene (her friend) were still there. Jamieson played in the pool & we sat around chatting. About 5.30 came & we left for home & dinner. Bruce informs me that we need to have dinner & be gone to basketball training by 6.30. You can imagine my face. I threw some mince in a pan & made a typical US dish (Hamburger Helper, there's about 8 different flavours) It's one of those meal things that you just have to add the meat and the mix & noodles are already in the packet. Well, we've done that & I can say I don't think I will be doing it again. It was eatable but not again. We finished up & the boys headed off for the stadium. I stayed home & cleaned up the dishes & just had some quiet time. I jumped onto the computer for some more research & printed out some stuff, then did some blog just for you guys. They got back around 8.30, Conner was happy as they ended up playing another practice game as part of training. They were tired & went off to bed, fairly quietly. I finished up my work & Bruce jumped on the computer, emails etc. He was really tired so he went off to bed not long after. I did a few things around the place & went off to bed around 11.00, early night by my standards. Thursday Another Thursday came on & started very warmly, although it could have been that it didn't really get that cool the night before. We closed up the apartment & Jamieson & I headed off to the gym (he wanted to come for some reason) & left Conner watching TV & Bruce still sleeping. I did my workout & treadmill, Jamieson had too touch & try every machine, so after about 6 warnings he had to go, it was close to the time that I ws nearly done so he was waiting for me when I was done. He & Christian (his friend) walked with me to the business centre, they grabbed a cookie each & I went into sit on the computer & print a whole bunch of stuff off that I didn't want to use all of our ink on last night. It turned out to be A LOT, which is why I waited until I could get to the business centre. By the time I got home Bruce was up & having some breakfast. He went to work at the desk & the boys went out to play, not for long, too hot!! I tidied up, washing, dishwasher etc. I got into the car & went to Walgreens to try & find some Zinc cream for the boys faces. It had been a warm week & isn't going to be getting cooler until some time next week. No Luck, anyone has any ideas about getting some zinc to me, please let me know, it being winter & a cold one. I'm tipping that getting zinc cream at the moment isn't going to be an easy thing. Anyway, I grabbed some more sunscreen & headed home for some lunch. We had lunch together & then changed for the pool. It was around 1.00 when we got to the pool. Millie & Lexie were there. It was HOT outside. The kids all played together & Millie & I were more in than out of the pool. Bruce got down around 4.30, & we played catch with the ball & lounged around in the pool for a little while. I made my way back around 5.00 & the boys headed back around 5.45. Thank goodness the sunscreen worked, the boys faces were fine, not red noses. We had some dinner & the boys went out to play with thier friends before bed. Bruce called Al & had a catch up which he enjoyed, I was going to call Liz but ofcourse she was out for the day. Sorry Lizzy!! The boys came in & went to bed around 9.00 & Bruce went off for a workout at the gym. He got home around 9.30, we watched some tv and went off too bed. Another Hot day gone, and getting hotter.