Here We Go To Idaho!

We're here! We made it to Idaho in one piece. The roads were fabulous except for a stetch out of Knab through Panquich. The toughest and scariest part of the trip was through that stretch when we discovered that our windshield fluid was either out or frozen- not the back, just the front. That meant every car that went by sprayed us with slushy dirt and then our wipers would smear it all over while Cauley kept rying to "unfreeze" the windshield fluid. Once we reached Panquich, we had to stop at two different gas stations before we found a place to clean our windshield that wasn't frozen, and three different gas stations to find more windshield fluid. (Cauley even found some with de-icer since it was a warm 17* outside! The best part of the whole trip was that our kids were absolutely fabulous!!! The only crying we had was from McKade when he woke up right outside of Flagstaff and kept declaring he wanted his "buckle off!" We stopped in Flagg for gas and when Cauley opened the door to let McKade and Dallin get out for a stretch and potty break, McKade decided it was "FREEZING!" and he did NOT want out afterall! (It was 12* outside at that point.) Tyli didn't mind, and actually loved getting out for a minute to eat! A BIG thanks to my friend Esther for letting us borrow her double screen DVD player, as the boys were entertained most of the trip with their movies. (Ty couldn't see anything because she still sits backwards, but could hear it.) I am so thankful that we were blessed to have such great roads and even more fabtastic children!

*A little side note. We have vowed not to ever eat at the McDonalds in Page ever again. Not only did it take about 15-20 minutes for them to make our breakfast, but they no longer have a dollar menu, which means we spent a lot more then we would like AND we got yelled at a few times by a very mean "aged" woman. We recommend either going to Burger King or even better, there is a Walmart right off the side of the road to stop and get whatever you want to eat!

Meet Allin

Hello, everybody. I just wanted to introduce you to my son Allin. His real name is Dallin, but he has decided that his new name is "Allin with a D." He is so funny. Anytime someone says Dallin, he corrects them. He has been so insitant on being called Allin that my mom wrote that on all of his Christmas presants. (She put new tags on all his presants.) Even though Cauley and I are very insistant on calling him Dallin, please don't be surprised if he corrects you the next time you call him Dallin.

'Tis the season to be freezin'!

I can finally say it's cold! YEA! Please don't get me wrong- I don't want it to last. I would love for it to be cold until after we return from our Christmas adventure in Idaho, as this truely feels like "Christmas weather!" Flagstaff even got a bunch of snow the past few days, more than Idaho has, according to my sister. This is my favorite time of year because it's "Snuggling Season!" So grab a mug of hot cocoa, a blanket, and your sweetheart and take advantage of this chilly weather!

Go Mother, Go!

See mother. See mother laugh. Mother is happy.
Mother is happy about Christmas.
Mother has many plans. Mother has many plans for Christmas.
Mother is organized. Mother smiles all the time.
Funny, funny mother!

See mother. See mother smile. Mother is happy.
See the shopping is all done. See the children watch TV.
Watch children, watch.
See the children change their minds.
See them ask Santa for different toys.
Look, look, mother is not smiling.

See mother. See mother sew.
Mother will make dresses.
Mother will make shirts.
Mother will sew the zipper in wrong.
See mother sew the dress on the wrong side.
See mother put the material away until January.
Funny, funny mother.

See mother. See mother buy raisins and nuts.
See mother buy candied pinapple, and powdered sugar, and spices and vanilla.
See mother buy flour, and dates, and pecans, and brown sugar, and bananas.
See the children press out cookies.
See the flour on their elbows.
See the cookies burn. See the cake fall.
See the children pull taffy. See mother pull hair.
See mother clean out the kitchen with a garden hose.
Funny, funny mother.

See mother. See mother wrap presants.
See mother look for the end of the scotch tape roll.
See mother bite her fingernails. See mother go.
See mother go to the store twelve times in one hour.
Go mother, go.
See mother run faster. Run mother, run.
See mother trim the tree. See mother have a party.
See mother make popcorn.
See mother wash the walls. See mother scrub the rug.
See mother tear up the organized plans.
See mother forget the gift for Uncle Harold. See mother get the hives.
Go mother, go. See the faraway look in mother's eyes.
Mother has become disorganized. Mother has become disoriented.
Funny, funny mother.

It is finally Christmas morning. See the happy family.
See father smile. Father is happy. Smile father, smile.
Father loves fruitcake. Father loves Christmas pudding.
Father loves all his neckties. Look. Look. See the happy children.
The children will remember this Christmas.
See mother. Mother is slumped in a chair. Mother is crying uncontrollably.
Mother does not look well. Mother has dark, ugly circles under her bloodshot eyes.
Everyone helps mother to bed.
Mother sleeps quietly under heavy sedation. See mother smile.
Funny, funny mother.

17 days Until Christmas!

"I'll be home for Christmas- you can plan on me!" I am getting so excited to go to Idaho for Christmas! Even my boys won't stop asking when we are going. McKade is so cute, he gets a very concerned look on his face and tells everyone "Santa not come to my house. I go to Idaho! He go there!" Dallin just wants to make snow angles.? I may even get to see some old friends while I'm there this year! It's a good thing I have most of my Christmas shopping done though, because we are working on getting healthy before heading north for the holidays.

We need a vacation!

I am sorry if this post is a little glumy, but I think Cauley and I need a vacation! Our kids have all been sick- with colds and then allergies really bad. I have been worn out because of dealing with my sick children and also getting up 12 times a night with each child. Plus, all the mini enrichments we are doing right now that I am in charge of and also preping for preschool is taking up any and all much needed rest time for me. Cauley has been just as busy, if not more as he's preparing to graduate next Friday which means a huge final-final!!! Plus, wrestling, church stuff, and his helping with Christmas lights. (He has another job helping hang more next weekend on another HUGE house, but I will gladly support him in this as it pays well.) His being busy means that he doesn't get to help out with the kids when they wake up all night long (which they usually don't do except when they're sick) so I think it played it's toll as I woke up feeling aweful! I ache EVERYWHERE and my ears, head, and throat hurt. I am so tired I could just lay down and fall asleep but everytime I do, my wonderful children come in and ask why I am sleeping. (McKade likes to sit directly on top of me and put his face so our noses touch to ask this question! Dallin just doesn't like the fact that he has to be quiet.) I would send them outside, except then when they come in, their allergies are worse then before. So, for now, I will just keep looking forward to the light at the end of the tunnel which is in 3 weeks when we go to Idaho for Christmas!

McKade- Master Cheerleader!

The other day McKade woke up very early, and when Cauley got ready to leave for work, he sent Mckade in to rest on his pillow. McKade lay quiet for a few minutes but then started going "CH, CH, CH. CH, CH, CH." to a steady beat. I was so tired so I told him to be quiet. "No! I sing game song!" came his reply, and I quickly put two and two together to figure out he was singing the "We will, we will stomp you" song. He does funny stuff like this all the time. He usually walks aroung the house yelling "You wish you were a Higley Knight, what? what?" or "Go Big Blue!" Yesterday he was playing with his cars and started chanting "Defense, CH, CH, Defense, CH, CH!" I find it very comical that my strongest, most fearless, and most athletic kid is also my best cheerleader!

Higley's hopes for State washed away

Notre Dame Prep defeated Higley 15-14 Friday night for the chance to play next weekend for the State Title. Aunt LaRee watched my kids so that I could go to the game with Cauley. (Since it has been so rainy, we thought it would be best NOT to take them to the game with McKade's ear infection and all three of them having colds already.) It rained almost nonstop, leaving the field a mud bog and all of us very, very wet. Kathy had brough umbrellas and a rain jacket because I let Mike use my pancho. I kept having to move farther and farther away from Kathy though because our umbrella's kept getting tangled and it was difficult to jump up to yell, so I put the umbrella down by the begining of the first quarter. I had on my winter coat which kept my top half dry and warm, but my jeans were getting wet so I used the other rain jacket to put over my pants. That didn't work because the jacket was like a tent when it gets wet- wherever it touches, it leaks water. By the end of the 1st quarter, you could tell where exactly it was coming into contact with my pants, as they were soaked. It didn't matter too much, though, because after our first touchdown, I missed my cousion that I was sitting on and sat in a big puddle on the bench! I was fine until the 3rd quarter when the wind picked up, because then I got cold. (Not as cold as some of the games I went to in High School!) The game was fun. I enjoyed watching Tito Gonzales (#8) make fantastic runs only to end up each time having to run off the field for a waterbottle bath because his face was covered in mud! (One time I think Coach Adams, one of Cauley's assistant coaches, had to run out there and help him off because he couldn't see where to go!) The game pretty much ended when Trey Gray threw away the ball down around our end zone. Tough loss, but fun memories.

Raindrops keep falling on my head!

It has been raining since yesterday at about 11:00 a.m. I am not talking about just a few drops, either. It does just drizzle at times, but for the most part, it has been the soaking rain, the kind of watering that this desert has needed for a long time now. I LOVE it! All three of my kids and I have spent a good part of the past two days just standing at the windows and watching it. According to the 7:30 a.m. news, most of The Valley has had about 2 inches or more, which is quite a bit for us! Since it's now afternoon, I am sure we've accumulated even more. It is weird having to have lights on in the house at noon, but it's fun. Dallin seems lost not being able to go play outside, but I have kept him pretty busy inside. I would love for it to keep raining, at least for a few more days!