From 11th November

Saturday Got up at the usual time, no later even though it was the weekend. It was raining all day. Paula picked me up at around 7.30 and I dropped them off at the airport. I came home and everyone was up, they were all having their breakfast. Around 11.00am Mum and I went out to do some shopping. We checked out some of the stores, not as many as we thought, we spent more time in each store than we thought. We got home around 6.00pm. Bruce and I went to the office to do some printing for the Billy Bounce presentations in New York. We were gone longer than we thought. We finally got home around 8.00 and had some dinner. We chatted to Trudy and the kids on Skype and just chilled out for the evening. Bruce packed for his trip to New York. Sunday Got up far to early, I dropped Bruce off at the airport at 5am. I got back to the house and we spent the rest of the day just chilling out around the house. We went out to get some stuff at the supermarket and dropped into a store and Mum got the kids some runners. It was a very uneventful day really; I was exhausted and was in bed at 8.30. I’m a real party animal hey! Monday We woke to the start of another week, and did the usual. I dropped the boys off at school and went off to work. I spent the first couple of hours of the morning trying to figure out some work forms, dealing with government agencies is just a hoot!! They girls and I had a good day, I worked until later in the afternoon, mum went and picked the boys up from school and they all went home and did homework. I spoke to Bruce and he had a really good day in New York, it sounds like it was a very successful trip. He was making his way from different meetings and was very upbeat. I got home from work told Jamieson to get changed and we went off to basketball practice. They had a good practice. I think they will do ok as a team, and the parents are really nice too, so it should be a good season for all. I made the mistake of telling Conner that I would check his homework in the morning, then we sat down to some dinner. The boys went off to bed and mum and I just chilled out until bedtime around 10.30. Tuesday Another typical Tuesday, woke up too early, Conner and I checked through his homework and he had to try and fix it before school. So of course we were running late. We went off to school to do parent helping. I had to stay for 2.5 hours, which would happen when I wanted to get to work. I couldn’t find the car keys and I got to work around 10.30 and started the day. The rest of the day was fairly typical, I spoke to Bruce and he was making his way to the next part of his trip, next stop, North Carolina. I got home from work around 6.00, having has to stop off and grab a couple of things for dinner, and naturally (sarcastic) I had to go to more than one supermarket to find the stuff that I needed. I arrived home to find that there was no Internet or phone, oh what a day. Bruce was on the phone and I was yelling, Comcast couldn’t help until the next day. You can imagine my mood. For everyone’s safety I ended up going to bed around 9.30, exhausted and not happy. What a day!!! Wednesday Happy Birthday Grandma!!! We woke up and the kids jumped into bed with me. We wrapped the little present that I bought her and started the day. We were all ready to go when she woke up and so we did the school thing. I came back from school and fixed up the internet phone situation and we got organized and jumped into Paula’s car and went to pick them up. It turned out to be a nice sunny morning so I drove mum around Sacramento for a look; we went to Old Sac, Government House and the beautiful old houses. She got some nice pics so she was happy. We picked them up at the airport and were back in Elk Grove at around midday. I took mum out for lunch to Pete’s, had the best tomato bisque soup and could only eat half the turkey sandwiches, so we bought them home. After that we hit a couple of shops for a quick look and to get a couple of things that he needed for a project. We got back and picked the kids up from school, they did their homework and went out for a play. Then around 6.00 we went out for dinner to celebrate the birth of Ellen. Back to Pete’s we went, and had another beautiful meal; the kids had some yummy stuff too. Again, we went home with doggy bags, which mum still can’t believe. We got home and mum got online and birthday chatted with everyone, dad even rang which was a great surprise. I think she had a nice birthday. I went to bed around 10.00 and left her up checking emails etc. Thursday I woke up to lots of fog; it’s getting that way every morning now. We walked to school and I did parent helping in Conner’s class. It was only for an hour cause they had a substitute teacher, which was good for me. I got back to the house at around 9.15 and we got ready and took off for the outlet mall. It’s about a 35 min drive, and mum got to some more of Sacramento on the way. It was raining when we arrived but we made out way through the stores. It turns out we are slow shoppers or thorough shoppers, so we had to get picky about which ones we hit. We had to leave to pick the kids up just after 1.30. We got back to the car with lots of bags, so I guess it was a successful trip. I think everyone got a little something. We got home and had out lunch, the boys had running club so mum went across about 3.00, it was fine and sunny by now so running club was on. They got home; with an extra (Jackari) his mum was on her way back from a funeral in San Francisco. She arrived around 4.00 and they left not long after. We checked over homework and the kids went off to play, then we all piled into the car and went to Ikea. Mum bought us some stuff for the house and the boy’s new doona covers. We were there for a couple of hours but were still home by 7.00pm. All the Christmas decorations are out here and there are some gorgeous ones. It’s going to be hard to restrain myself. We got home and the kids showered while we organized dinner. We all had leftovers from the week, to the kids delight. Go Figure!!! I was off to bed at a reasonable hour, which is nice. Friday The end of another week here, and it started out as usual. Except that, I woke up at 5.00am, which I put down to Bruce doing something. Usually if I wake up at a certain time, it usually means something unusual is happening. Not sure why, but more often than not when I remember to ask him, it’s true. Pretty weird, but it’s nice. The boys went off to school and Paula and the boys came over and she drove me to work. We had a pretty constructive day, I’m trying to organize some stuff for while I’m not in. (The boys are going off track, so no work) I spoke to Bruce throughout the day, he was trying to make his way home, airports, planes etc, etc. Mum picked the boys up from school and they just played, there is no homework on Friday’s or the weekend, which is a nice rest for them. They are just packing up the room and all their stuff anyway. I got home around 4.30 and I started to put together the furniture that we got the night before. We had some dinner and the boys watched a movie and I got onto the computer and chatted with Elise then later Rhys came online. Bruce’s flight from Vegas was delayed so was now not getting home until around 2.00am. I was planning to surprise him at the airport so he didn’t have to catch a cab. I spoke to him in Vegas at 12.00 and he still had a wait so I decided to get at least an hour of sleep. I woke up and was out of the house at 1.20, drove in the fog, hoping that the plane wasn’t diverted due to the fog. He arrived at 2.28, helping a girl on crutches with her son and their carry on bags. We waited around for what seemed like forever, what made it longer was finding her bags, cause they were the last ones. We got home and rolled into bed at 4.00am. What an end to the week. For those who are waiting for my emails, I’m really sorry. I will catch up with all of you over the next week, I promise!!!!! We are looking forward to Thanksgiving, although I think it will be just another day for us, just a big meal. No huge plans. The Charles’ are off to Hawaii for a few days and Paula is coming over but the boys are with their dad. EVERYONE HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!