From August 26th.....

Saturday……..26th August Happy Birthday Paul for yesterday back home. Our Saturday morning started early, Bruce had to get up EARLY to take a delivery to Stockton (40 mins away). He got a text from Trev around 4.30am with the news of the Supercats WIN YEAYY!!!!!!!!!!! Trev & Mark called around 6.00am, but Bruce had forgotten to take his phone, so they got stuck talking to me. As you could imagine they both sounded UFORIC, to put it mildly. It was so wonderful to hear!!! I tried to call Bruce; finally got through, he wasn’t happy that he missed them. He arrived home around 7.30 & by that time Conner was up & in bed with me. I grabbed my laptop & was online checking email & scores etc when mum signed in. She had just gotten home from Auntie Di’s & was downloading some pics. We ended up chatting for about an hour. So as you could imagine it was around 2am when we said goodbye so she was probably falling off her chair. The boys both got to chat with her so that was nice too. Everything at home sounds like it’s going along as per usual. We got up & Bruce went back to bed for a sleep before he started his day again. I tidied up the apartment, did breakfast, washing etc. The boys went off to basketball around 11.00 and left me to get some real cleaning done. I did the floors & benches, all the really exciting stuff that you should do when you have the place to yourself for the 1st time this week. I know the sarcasm. I can only do certain cleaning when there is no one in the house. The boys got back around 1.00 with a couple extra. John & Dylan came over for a play. Alfie is away for a few days so we kind of gave Kristin a break, she only had Cooper & hopefully he would have a sleep for her. We had pancakes for lunch & the kids played hide’n’seek. Kristin arrived & Paula came over for a chat at the same time, so we sat at the table while the kids chilled out with a movie. Bruce & Conner took off for his game, Ross called to tell Bruce about the game, of course Bruce wasn’t home, but he did get to talk to the boys so the call wasn’t a complete loss. The girls & kids left around 3.00. I was on messenger with Elise a little bit, they were going to watch Rhys’s footy final GOOD LUCK RHYS !!!!! Bruce & Conner got back around 5.00. (lost again!) We sat down to dinner (noodle casserole) and then I headed off to the gym for a while. Paula dropped in for a while, loose ends without the kids. We chatted for a while the boys played UNO then around 10.00 we all settled in the watch Australia play the US at the World Championships. Half time came around, Paula had gone, bored I’m sure, & we all went off to bed. Sunday Our Sunday started like any other, Bruce didn’t know whether he had to go to work, so we’ll see. We got up at a reasonable hour, the boys slept in, probably because of the late night the night before. We all had some breakfast & Paula rang to see what we were up to, I asked if she could have the boys for a couple of hours so Bruce & I could go out & get some stuff done. We spent the rest of the morning just pottering around. We had some lunch then around 1.30 dropped the kids off at Paula’s. Bruce & I went out for the afternoon; we got a mouse & mouse pad & bag for my new laptop. So I’m all set now, woo hoo. We got back around 5.30; I went & picked up the boys and had a quick catch up with Paula. We then went home & I started on dinner. After dinner the boys put a movie on & Bruce went to do some work & I went to the gym. When I got back the boys went to bed not long after & Bruce followed pretty soon after. He had to be at the office at 6am, so it was another early morning. I did some stuff on the computer, none of you were online. I stayed up watching Grey’s Anatomy (favorite show). Catching up on the season that I missed in transit, from there to here. I hit the pillow around midnight. Monday We all woke up a little later than usual, the boys needed to sleep obviously. I went off to the gym, Conner was still asleep. When I got back they were both awake & having breakfast. I started the usual tidying up, & did the bathrooms. The boys did some homework, reluctantly!!!! We had some lunch & they vacuumed the lounge room for me. I got onto the computer (end of month stuff) the boys went outside to play for a while. Bruce got home around 400pm, just in time for us to bring in about 15 boxes for him to deliver tomorrow, have a shower, grab a snack & all 3 of them went off to Jamieson’s basketball practice. I was left for an hour of bliss. No kids picking & yelling & winging. I do love them, just not all day everyday. I made some dinner & when they got home, Bruce got changed & went to present PE Gear to the Stone Lake PTO. It went well, pretty much as long as they can match the lowest price, they get the jobs cause we are Stone Lake parents. I think he also got another school from parents that have kids elsewhere. He got home around 7.oo and they sat down & ate dinner. I went out to the grocery store before it got dark, still creeps me out a little being out at night. I got back at around 8.30 & Bruce had assumed the position except this time, at the dining room table. Change of scenery. Bruce called AL for their catch-up; things are the well with the Bells, which is great. We had a cuppa together, and then he went back to work. I did the same, although cleaning out your inbox is probably not as important as what he was doing. Bruce came in at around 11.00 & I was on messenger with Rhys, then Elise briefly. We have some Hultgren birthday’s coming up this month, so I have to put the present hat on, something cool that you can send home in the post. Not as easy as it sounds. Everything with the kids sounds good, GOOD LUCK Rhys for the Footy Grand Final. Elise, I hope you won basketball. I signed off and finished the inbox stuff after midnight. Bruce was already snoring, these 5.30 starts and no early nights are going to come back to bite him on the bum very soon. Watched a bit of TV to wind the mind down…Will & Grace repeats late at night so you get to see smiling, good show. And that was our Monday. Tuesday We woke up at the usual time, the boys were up too, just. Bruce started to get ready for his delivery & meetings this morning when his computer started to ring, Skype!! It was a friend Phil from home, they started chatting & I knew I had time to get a very quick workout in before he needed me to help him take all the boxes back down to the car. So that’s what it was, I just increased to incline so I didn’t have to be there for as long. Also did a bit on the elliptical machine as well, so my legs are going to feel it tomorrow. My timing was impeccable; he had just gotten off the phone & was putting his shoes on. I didn’t have to go all the way up & down the stairs as I thought so I just got an upper body workout instead, light exercise day for me. All the boxes were packed into the car & off he went. The boys finished off their breakfast, had a game of chess & then did their daily homework. Bruce bought the boys a chess set on the weekend. It’s really good it has little labels with the rules of the piece on each one, so they are learning as they go. It’s not that strategic & doesn’t last long yet, but they are getting the hang of it. Protecting the King isn’t the main priority; it’s more like how many pieces they can get, quickly!!!! I took the time to write some emails, catch up with some people I haven’t heard from in a while. We didn’t do a whole lot for the afternoon, the kids went out to play for a while, we just have to wait until after 2.30, when the other kids get home from school. I went out for a little while to grab a couple of things. Bruce did the usual work on the laptop. He is currently contacting principal’s or PTO’s from all the local schools to try & get new accounts. I got home later in the afternoon, they boys came in telling us about an incident with one of the kids here, (not a nice family), Bruce saw the older one bullying one of the other kids, they saw him & ran off. Well, our kids & others were playing yesterday; this kid had a skitso attack & starting hitting. Apparently his mum came out & got him, but our kids have been told, that if anything happens again to call us (walkie talkie) straight way. This is the same kid that calls Lexie FAT. It sounds awful today, but the only thing I worry about with the punishment of these kids, they start talking Mexican (Spanish) with the parents. So you don’t know if they are actually being told off. Anyway, the kids know that they are not kids to hang out with anymore. We sat down & had a nice dinner together, Jamieson talking non stop, the usual. We cleaned up & the boys played some games etc until bed at about 8.30. Bruce & I did some stuff on the laptops, watched a TV show and went off to bed. Not very interesting but that was our Tuesday. Wednesday Bruce was up & out of the house at the usual time this morning, the boys & I rose at about 7.00. We did the usual, breakfast, gym, tidying, nothing out of the ordinary at all. After all that was done the boys did some writing & reading which I’m trying to do everyday? Jamieson whines through the whole thing, Conner has figured out to just get it done. They got a bit done which was great; Jamieson went outside to see if he could find anyone to play with. No one was out so of course he came home. Jackary came over for a while, then they went out to play. Then I picked up Lexie from school and bought her home while Millie was at her interview. I saw Kristin, Alfie was away for a few days, he got back last night and she did ok with the boys. We will probably catch up with them on Sunday. Lexie & the boys had a snack & Millie arrived, her interview went really well, they talked for an hour, which is always a good sign. Millie hadn’t eaten all day so they left not long after she got back. The boys went back outside to play & I started on dinner prep. Conner chilled out in his room, Bruce called around 5.45 to say he was on his way, talking at the meeting & lost track of time. The boys & I sat down for dinner & not long after Bruce arrived home. They quickly ate dinner & went off to basketball training. I took some time out & put Yoga from TV on, & had a really nice stretch etc. Yoga Rocks!!!!! It’s still warm here; I have the cooling on, so you guys know how warm it must be to have the cooling on. Today was 95F, tomorrow is supposed to be around 98F. I think the boys and I will head down to the pool, Bruce will have the car so there’s nowhere we can go. I might ring Kristin & we might go over there for a visit. We need to get out of the house; we’ll see how we go. Thursday The day started like all the other days, Bruce went off to work & the boys & I got up. Jamieson wasn’t feeling to crash hot, he had a temperature. He was in & out of bed for the morning, it must have come & gone, poor thing. Conner did some homework & reading so that filled up a lot of the morning. No TV for them today. I was on the laptop doing some work, Conner was pottering around, & Jamieson did have a small sleep. Jamieson had a temperature all day, although it didn’t stop him from going out and playing with the kids in the afternoon. Bruce got back from the office & I went out, post office etc. It turned into a really warm day, 98F, by the time I got back it was after 5.oo so we didn’t get to the pool. The were outside & Bruce was working so I relaxed with a cup of tea in front of the inbox & did a bit of cleaning around. Before you knew it it was dinner time, & Conner lost a tooth. Well, it was an old bit from the tooth that had already gone. We had bits & pieces for dinner, no one was really in the mood, everyone had had a late lunch so Bruce made pancakes & I had cereal. The boys went off to bed around 8.30 – not to sleep of course. Bruce finished up his work & was off around 10.00, he gets to sleep in until 7.00 tomorrow, Woo Hoo!!! I stayed up for a little while, no one was online, so off to bed I went around 11.00. Nothing exciting happening as you can tell, accept that the boys & I are BORED!!!!! This apartment is feeling really small, and we still have 2 weeks of holidays to go, pray for us! GOOD LUCK SUPERCATS BOYS – The game is on while we are sleeping, so hopefully we will wake up to some GREAT news. Fingers Crossed!!!! Friday YEAY, THEY WON!!!! Which would be the reason why Bruce is wearing his top today (I’ll put a beat down for the whole weekend!!) No wonder he is downright chipper!!!!! Woke up to another perfectly sunny day in Northern California. Bruce had a meeting at 8.00 then came back home grabbed a cuppa & off to another meeting. We were going to be coming to Stockton with him, do some shopping so the boys could spend birthday money, but they only have the same stuff we have here, so what’s the point. The boys & I stayed here, did the usual, cleaning, homework etc. The day went by pretty much like another day, Bruce got home in the afternoon & went into the bedroom, head down, bum up for the next couple of hours. The boys went outside to play & I spoke to Nic Griffin on Skype for a little while. Paula called to organize the rest of the evening. We packed up and got changed & around 5.45 we jumped into the car & headed down to the town hall. The band was average; they were an 11-piece band, lots of trumpets. Which were REALLY loud, once they figured it out, it was still pretty average. The main guy wasn’t singing in tune. We stuck it out for a while, then about 8.30 we went home. Paula & the kids came over and watched a little TV for an hour or so. Jamieson (not wanting to feel left out) played with his loose tooth, and yes it came out. The boys went off to bed, I tidied up after the hoards had left & we went off to bed as well. Another week has just come to an end, the Supercats are playing while we are sleeping so……………………Good Luck!!!! Kick some Knox BUTT!!!!!! A little note from Bruce - it is Saturday night here - the wonder of the internet - the Supercats are playing and there are live scores. Supercats are up 25-17 with 6 minutes to go in the 2nd Quarter - GO BOYS GO!!!!! I've got the sweaty hands every time I check the scoreboard!!!! (How sad is that?)