March....

Hey everyone, well it’s March and half over. It has been and will continue to be a busy month for us here in Elk Grove. It started off just that way, but hey that makes life interesting when you’ve got just too much to do.

Jamieson had his first official baseball practice, he and Bruce went off at 8.30 and I cleaned until around 10.00, Bruce came back and picked us up, then we over for a look. The team is looking good; they still have a lot to learn, so time will tell. Half the team was from last year and there are a couple of new kids that we already knew, one of them is a school friend of Jamieson’s from school so he is really enjoying that. Anyway, Jamieson’s practice finished and I called Darcy (planner from work) to arrange where to meet for our shopping afternoon.

Bruce and the boys drove me down to Stockton (20mins) where Darcy is living at the moment and we spent to afternoon doing some bargain shopping. She’s a shopper like me so we had lots of fun, she’s also a cool chick, so we always have lots of fun together.

The boys went over to Paula’s to play with her boys and were still there when Darcy and I came home so we went over there. Darcy stayed for a drink before her dinner date and then took off. We stayed at Paula’s for dinner and a fun evening at the party house, or at least it will be over summer. The boys ended up staying at Paula’s with Justin and Jeremy and Paula was going to drop them off early before church in the morning.

What a quiet night we had, the boys were home around 8.00 in the morning. I spent most of the day cleaning the house, which isn’t easy to do when there are 3 people, 2 of them being kids. You don’t feel like to can see where you’ve been, it’s nice to see it all clean even if it’s only for 10 mins, that’s my frustration at the moment. While that was happening, Bruce went out and got himself a baseball glove, which he’s been talking about getting since last season.

I spend some time later in the afternoon reading a book that Paula gave me called ‘Five Wishes”, it was a great easy read. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to open his or her mind. A quiet night of reading and chilling out rounded out the week.

The week started on a positive note, Bruce was able to get our Visa appointment with the US Embassy in Vancouver, on the day that he wanted which was fantastic, as we thought we had to go all the way over to Toronto and were planning on it. We had the usual work/school during the day, nothing too much out of the ordinary. We had a new employee start at work, a boy, which is a first for our girly company. Then later in the day Bruce got an unexpected phone call from an old friend he emailed on the weekend.

Mr. Terry Dozier (import player), who Bruce played with at Geelong Supercats called and they had a good chat and catch up, you can image the nice mood that Bruce was in for the rest of the day. It’s always catching up an old friend and I’m sure they will continue the chatting even if it’s over the net. I’m sure they will catch up in person if Bruce is ever in the Carolina area. As you can see, the blossom is out and looking gorgeous!! Yes, the husband too!!

Happy Birthday to my girl Nic Griffin, I’m glad you had a great birthday.

Tuesday was a big day at Stonelake Elementary, they are up for an award and the Validation team was going through the school. Conner’s teacher was the teacher that put the presentation together with the principle so the team was visiting their room. Conner was very excited, she had told them that whoever got the answer to questions right gets a free pass on homework, so Conner was ready to go. I emailed to give my good wishes and Mrs. Kopecky emailed me back later saying he was a star. The school did really well and had a great chance of winning. *** THEY WON!!! Tuesday we had a birthday lunch for Miss Kelly (who’s birthday was last week, but we were all too busy to take the time), which was nice, although Andrea did give Johnathan (new guy) the third degree in the car on the way to the restaurant, it was pretty funny. Jamieson had baseball practice, so Bruce and him went off around 5.00 and got back around 7.00pm, a quick dinner and a quiet night.

Pretty quiet next couple of days, work and school, nothing out of the ordinary, Millie and Lexie came over for their weekly visit which is always fun. The boys got their report cards, they did really well, Jamieson A’s & B’s and Conner got a C, which he isn’t too happy about and said will not get again. Bruce went over to the Rivera’s on Friday night for a beer with Carlos.

On Saturday, Jamieson was supposed to have baseball camp in the morning, but was changed to the afternoon. Bruce went out in the morning, gorgeous day, and did some trimming and yard work. Although he sneezed while trimming and put a whole in the hedge, very funny and yes I do have photographic evidence. Jamieson went off to camp, from what I saw, he wasn’t really interested, he kept looking around to anywhere but where the coach was talking, very frustrating for me to watch.

We got home and he went off to a birthday party at the jump house place for Cameron and boy in his class. The rest of us non-sociable people stayed a home and waited to go and pick him up. Oooo, we are so lucky!!!

The boys went off to the park on Sunday and Bruce was outside mowing etc, I took the opportunity to put on the IPOD and get some serious cleaning done. 4 hours later, with no battery left I finished up, the boys came home for 4 mins to grab bathers to go to Mario’s for quick swim before they went off to Paula’s to go fishing with Bruce, Steve and Paula’s boys.

I made some cupcakes and brownies for after fishing dinner at Paula’s. We got there around 4.00 and the boys all took off and Paula and I cleaned out her closet… I came down 2 hours later, dinner was just about ready and the boys were all back from fishing. Conner actually caught one, which he thought was cool, they did throw it back cause…blah…fish. We had dinner, the boys had a quick play and we went home to bed, school tomorrow.

The next week was a busy one, I think we all had stuff on. Conner had an excursion for school to the museum, which he said was boring because they give them an assignment to do and all he wanted to do was walk around at his own pace and look for himself. I get both sides….

On Tuesday, Paula had a late night meeting that came up at the last minute so I said that I would have the boys for the evening while she was at the meeting. SO after work I picked them up from after school care, and then had to take them to CFF (church school), which was a learning experience for me, something different. Jamieson had baseball practice so I had to leave that and go and get them. Then we all came back to practice and they played with Conner until it was over which was easier for us. We got home and had some dinner, then Paula arrived around 8.00 to pick up the kids.

Thursday night Jamieson was volunteering on the booth at “Wild about learning”, he worked with a couple of classmates and had a ball. 2 hours later we all dragged our butts home for another late dinner, but the boys had a great time doing all the activities. We got home and Carolyn dropped Honey off, she stayed with us for the weekend while the Rivera’s went down to San Diego for Kristie’s sisters wedding. Honey – yeay!!!

Friday night turned out to be a little easier for us, which was a nice way to end the week and help Bruce and I get ready for our Vancouver trip. The boys went off to Youth Group with Mario (Jamieson’s friend) and his family. Poor Mario was really sad that he wasn’t going to see Jamieson for a whole week. So Bruce and I had a couple of hours to us for the evening.

Our Saturday ended up being the start of a busy weekend; jamieson had practice in the morning then that night had a birthday party. So it was a busy day for Jamieson and the rest of us had our hands full for the week ahead. I did end up going out in the afternoon and ended up buying a new white ‘Guess’ handbag for summer.

ON Sunday the boys went over to Paula’s for a play with Justin and Jeremy before we leave and Bruce and I went out to run a couple of errands. We went back and had some lunch with Paula and Steve, and then around 3.30 we left and went home to finish packing. Bruce and I collapsed into bed at around 11.00.

What a week and what a great start to March, and it’s not going to slow down.

See you on the flip side with out Canadian trip and beyond for the rest of the month.

End of February...

Well, February has come to end and this is a little overdue. I left off with a public holiday. As per usual, it was a fairly quiet one, it turned into a nice say. Bruce spent a little time outside in the yard. The boys assumed the position and relaxed in front of the TV for a movie then hit the park for a play in the afternoon.

Conner had (what would be his last game), they won and he played really well. It was a good game, the coach from the other team got a little testy with the ref (Bruce) at the end of the game, but when you don’t supply a ref, then you should shut up. I sat next to and chatted to the school secretary, which was an interesting conversation.

I had a busy week at work, trying to get all the stuff done that I missed with having Monday off. We caught up with Millie and Lexie for a cuppa and play, the weather is getting a little warmer so the kids are spending more time in the garage and outside playing which is nice.

On Wednesday we had an eclipse, which was pretty cool, Bruce got out with the camera and got a couple of shots which was cool, the kids were like, yeah whatever…as expected. Thursday was Millie’s birthday, she had a nice day, which is want you want when it’s someone’s birthday.

Friday was a good day for me, I’d put a lot of hours over the week, but Friday afternoon we all put down tools and had our Monthly social outing; we all went to see the movie, “Definitely Maybe”. Now there is a little back story, which is amusing to me, maybe you should have been there but it made us laugh, so I’m going to share.

Andrea and I had a conversation earlier in the week about her movie habits, she likes to get there early to get an aisle seat, and then she asked me if I was a talker. I said No (which is true) but I do make a comment here or there if I feel like it. So it was established that I would sit down the other end from her and I would take Paula – the talker with me. We got to the movie and all sat down as prearranged, I made a comment about the size of the room compared to the size of the screen, it was a HUGE screen for the room size, the other girls chuckled and I got a SHOOSH from the aisle seat…which made us laugh more.

The rest of the movie, well, it was a comedy, and Paula is a talker and has a VERY LOUD laugh, so between that and the two of us chatting (quietly, as we do) and the girls laughing at us and Paula’s laugh, I don’t think Andrea was too happy when the movie finished. Oh well, we had a fun time she got over it quick. What a relaxing afternoon, the movie, it was a good one, a bit of a girly one, but I’m glad I went and saw it.

I got home and the boys ended up going out to Youth Group at church with their friend’s family. Bruce and I had 2.5 hours without children; we didn’t know what to do…

We ended up going out and having a look around at some stores, which as usual isn’t a good thing financially. We got some presents etc, but still, we have to stop the shopping thing together. It was nice and weird being just the two of us.

The boys got home around 9.00 and off to bed, mum and dad weren’t far behind, it had been a busy and tiring week.

Saturday I finally talked to mum, she is just as busy as us, never home, sometimes I think she has a better social life than us. It was nice to chat with her and dad and catch up on the goings on that we don’t put in the emails, the kids loved talking the grandma and grandpa but getting information out of them (especially Conner) is like pulling teeth. I think it was more about listening to voices, but it was nice. Otherwise our Saturday was a fairly quiet one, for me the usual cleaning, the boys chilling out and Bruce doing a little work not to mention there’s always a basketball game for them all to watch.

Sunday was our busy day, I chatted with Rhys and Jolly on MSN which was nice to get a little home gossip. We found out that Jamieson is a Yankee again, his old coach drafted him 1st round (his father is proud) and he has 4 other Yankees from last season on his team, so it should be a fun spring.

After lunch Jamieson went off to Jenae’s birthday party at a bounce house warehouse place, then later in the day, Conner’s friend David’ came to pick him up and took him down to Some Place fun (kids fun warehouse) for his sister’s birthday. Jamieson got back around 4.00 and Conner arrived around 8.00, it was a fun day for the Hultgren boys, PARTY!!

The last week of February was a really busy one. I did my hours at the end of the week and realized I had nearly worked full time, OOPPSS!! Some of it was because I have been working at night, the good thing about that is that I’m home in the afternoons with the kids most days, then after dinner sitting down and spending some time on the laptop putting marketing literature together. Bruce had lots on; he’s getting our visa stuff done, angel’s orders, and general building of the business, so I think he has less guilt about working at night if I am as well.

The boys are being boys, Conner is enjoying school and playing ball at lunchtime with the grade 6er’s, he’s even starting taking after his mother. He’s starting making lists of things he wants to do, something to make his mother proud, he’s getting his eleven-year-old ducks in a row. He did get upset because he isn’t getting an award this trimester, he got a C, so Bruce and he had a nice talk about doing a little extra work making all the difference, so we’ll see if he was heard.

Jamieson, although he had a crappy week (manners, tantrums and yelling), which makes life at home fun, NOT, is doing well. He doesn’t have a lot of privileges at the moment, which I think has helped him realize that it’s just not going to work, or at least I hope it has. He is having fun with his friends and school is doing fine, I will get a photo of them both, Jamieson had grown again…Conner better get some height pretty quick or Jamieson will be nose to nose. This summer will be an interesting one in the growing race. Jamieson is just all legs…the good thing is that he seems to have gotten used to his size; the clumsiness seems to have stopped.

By the end of the week I had achieved what I wanted to, the company pamphlet is nearly done. We got a crunch on Thursday, (no one had told me, Paula had forgotten to let me know, I found out on Wednesday afternoon) we had to get out our SOQ (which we didn’t have) for a bid package as a part of OLA (office buddy) proposal. So Paula and I sat down and punched it out in about 3 hours, it wasn’t good circumstances, but we do do great work when we have to. It came out really good, I just have to put more project work and add a few things and the document will be done properly. It was push and although it was a nightmare for a couple of hours, it made us just get it done. Now, the pamphlet will be finished in the next week or so, we just have to put the text together and I am coordinating with the website people. Then our Marketing tools will be done (thank goodness)

Add to that we are interviewing for planners, and trying to get all our other stuff done, saying it’s busy is sometimes an understatement.

As you can tell, we are all busy, the boys with their sport and school, with work and the house and trying to keep 3 boys in tact, Bruce is always busy with one thing or another. Life has never and will never be dull…

I hope everyone is well and had a great February.

A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Pete…… good to hear you had a nice day. See you very soon!! YEAY!!!

Thanks to you all who have kept us in the loop with all the gossip and great news that’s happening, keep up the good work and remember to keep me in the loop.

See you back here in a couple of weeks.

XXXX

February Pics

Here is what we saw "The Eclipse"

Lanky, I mean, Jamieson - baseball tryouts

Conner & the FROZEN bird bath (nice face)

You think Honey felt at home

Start Feb....

I can’t believe it’s the second half of February, we are closing the end of the Presidents Day long weekend and it’s going into the second half of the month so that means, here I am trying to make our lives sound a little exciting.

Our February started out with a kind of hectic weekend. I cleaned the house for most of the day, Bruce went out to get out of the house and the boys chilled out as per usual for a weekend. We were ready and out the door to Paula’s at around 4.30pm. They all jumped into the van and made our way up the freeway to the UC Davis campus for our first college basketball game. In usual US fashion we couldn’t bring our own food (like in all public functions etc- NO FOOD!!) So $30 for corn chips and orange cheese sauce and a couple hot dogs later we found our seats and the game started. The experience was very similar to a Supercats game with mostly college kids who are the huge cheer squad. We also saw our first college band in action; it was really cool. The game itself was a little frustrating, but some of the kids (and I say that loosely) were HUGE!! Davis lost but we all had some fun and the kids did pretty well, Jamieson scored a UC Davis t-shirt (Conner didn’t want one) We all ran to the car in the pouring rain, which would have looked pretty funny to those watching, and got home at around 11.00, it was a fun night for all and will do it again.

We got up on the Sunday (Super bowl Sunday) I spent the morning baking for the day. We arrived at Paula’s around 2.00 and settled in for the game. Andrea and Robert came over as well as Carlos and the kids. The game was ok, for a game that stops and starts, which I find frustrating if you haven’t already picked it. We watched and ate and watched more and ate again, it was a fun afternoon and we got home just after dinner so the kids were in bed not too late. What a weekend, but my house was clean so I was happy.

The next week was fairly boring on my account; I spent the week pretty much in bed. I woke up and stayed there. The boys went off to school and Bruce into the office to work. I, along with Honey (the dog) she came in and out from Bruce’s lap to mine. Tuesday I tried to go to work and they sent me home, so that was it for me for the rest of the week. You could say the girls are germ phobic, so by Friday when I was feeling better I just stayed home to save the argument, cause I still sounded yuck!!

Conner had a basketball game, which they won (I think) which he really enjoyed, Bruce has turned into the official ref, but he’s really enjoying it so that’s been some fun for him.

The weather broke from rain to sun at the start of the week so Jamieson finally had baseball tryouts. It was a gorgeous day so we got to spend some time sitting out in the sun with the Rivera’s for a little bit. Jamieson did really well; he caught the fly ball, threw it from 1^st to 3^rd base just fine and hit 2 or the 3 pitches. Much to his old coach (Dave’s) disappointment, he told him to miss them, cause he wants to draft him. Anyway, He did really well and had all the coaches scribbling away feverishly!! We ended up at the Rivera’s after dinner, the kids played and the parents chatted and ended up playing cards which is always fun even though I never win.

On Sunday Kristie picked me up early and we drove to San Fran to pick her mum up from her Sydney trip. We didn’t get home until after 1.00pm. Bruce was sad but Kristie dropped me off and Caroline picked Honey…. we were all sad and it took her a little bit to realize that her mum was home which Bruce loved. Now, you know the boys are asking when we can get a dog? Stay Tuned!!

Last week was a busy one for me, having been away for a week things kind of don’t get done. Then there were also some cracks that have appeared that Paula and I have to deal with, so add that to my list which just when I think it’s getting shorter I have to add more things.

Conner had a bad basketball game, which he didn’t take too well. Let’s just say, his teacher/coach is a screamer, and she lets her feelings be known while they are playing. Now Conner is used to Bruce, who is the opposite, so he’s realized that he doesn’t respond well to being yelled at, so that was a learning experience for him. Which is a good thing, but he said he might not play next year. We’ll see, he loves it I think it was more the bad game, which he just hates.

We had Valentines Day on Thursday, which as you may remember from last year, is COMPLETELY over the top here. Bruce and I have never really done Valentines Day, (you shouldn’t need someone else to tell you when to have a special day) so we just sit back and laugh. The boys as usual took candy for all the kids in their class and came home with a bag FULL.

I had a busy week at work, I worked from home after parent helping on Wednesday, but I don’t get as much done so not sure how long that’s going to last, it means I have to be at work longer the rest of the week, so I am reassessing my work hours. Bruce is still doing his thing, driving the computer; we are finishing up the Navy angels order at the moment, so the sweatshop has been open off and on at night. The boys are going well at school; Conner is really enjoying it at the moment, which makes life easier. Jamieson is being Jamieson, his teacher calls him ‘social’, which is a nice way to put, he just loves talking. Nothing unusual, Bruce thinks it’s pretty funny.

Our week ended up with chilling out and watching a movie on Friday night, I was supposed to go and have a girls night out with Kristie at ceramics, but Carlos did a trip to Hawaii, so that was a bit of a bummer. Saturday we had Justin (Paula’s son) birthday party at laser tag, which was a lot of fun. We got there after lunch and the big boys went in with the kids first then the mum’s had their go. Paula was having so much fun, she literally wasn’t watching where she was going and ran full pelt into the wall. We had a great laugh about that; she has the bruises to prove how hard she hit too. Alfie and John came to the party, Kristin and Dylan were at another laser tag party somewhere else, so we didn’t get to see bubba Cooper. By the time we got home it was early evening, had some dinner and the kids watched the NBA 3 Point Shootout and Slam Dunk Competition – which – if you haven’t seen – check it out on You Tube or something – amazing! I made some spaghetti sauce for dinner the next night and we were all in bed at a reasonable hour.

I was up early on Sunday and in the kitchen, which is usual for me. Sunday is my baking morning. The Rivera’s were coming over in the afternoon to watch the NBA All Star game on the big screen and have dinner. I spent the morning in the kitchen baking etc. Peter’s birthday, Bruce lit his candle and put it on the mantle with his picture. We had a busy day organized which helped I think. (Yep – tough day that one! B)

The Rivera’s arrived around 3.00, the kids went and played and the adults caught up, the big boys sat down with their beers and watched the end of Daytona and the girls hung out in the kitchen getting snacks etc for everyone. We had some spaghetti in front of the big screen; the All Star game was ok. Bruce and Carlos were flicking from the All star game and a college game. The kids obviously didn’t sit still for long, and when the game was done, we sat down and played some cards. We had some dessert and played some cards and the Rivera’s put the kids in the car and were out of here around midnight. Which was ok for a Sunday night, cause Monday was Presidents Day, Public holiday.

There have been special birthdays that we’ve missed.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Bubba Felix – wear the jeans well, you can’t get them in Aus The Godmother - Tracey, Amber Livingston – the big 18! Lisa Cheatley -drop us a line Peter Hultgren – RIP, we think about you always Maureen Hultgren – XXXX, We miss you

That is about it from us so far this month. Hope everyone is doing well.

A note from Bruce – G’day! Yep – we still have our Aussie accents! The Visa renewal process has started in earnest and stage 1 is now complete – which is basically getting advice from an immigration specialist on the best way to renew. Because we have to change sponsors – it is like starting all over again. We are going to have to go to Canada for a week while they process the app within the US consulate.

Vancouver probably – we will keep you posted – it will be good to get up there for a week and not too far away from all the action in the US.

Any excuse for a holiday I reckon!

Although the Angels are about to explode in several niches – I will let you know about those when we are officially going!

BillyBounce is starting up again in several pockets around the US and I am just waiting for the final word on Dubai and India – as to when I am going down there.

As always – lots happening and it all just takes time – lots of time!!!