Hogle Zoo

Sorry but the pictures in this post are crazy out of order. Oh well. This first picture is of Tyli and Brooklynn saying goodbye to each other when we left the zoo. They were too cute together!

Cauley and McKade being themselves! The three amigos on board the train. You can't go to Hogle zoo and not ride the train! (oh yah, you see Jeni and Brooklynn too.)
A daddy/daughter moment waiting for the bird show.
Us feeding all our "animals"

This is the souvenir we chose to get Scott, my brother because he couldn't come. Everyone tried it on and we have a picture of everyone in it, but McKade was so funny thinking he had to put his other hat on top.

I told you all the pictures were messed up. Here's the family walking to the entrance gate, all excited for our zoo adventures!

Carson and McKade showing us the tiger sleeping right next to the fence.

Good thing we ride the train last- McKade looks exhausted!

My kids have been begging us to take them to the zoo since we didn't make our annual Spring Break trip to Tuscon. Being the mean mom that I am, I made them earn their way to go. They have worked so hard the past few months earning money by helping me out around the house, and Dallin also contributed by losing 2 more teeth. (No, we didn't use their money they earned to pay their admission, but they don't know that. It all went into their savings.) Anyways, we decided to make a family trip out of it and invited anyone in our families who wanted to join us to do so. It ended up being just my (entire) family, minus my brother who went. We had so much fun!

Finally an update!

Well, I know all of you have been waiting by the edge of your seats to know what we've been up to, so here is a quick recap. First of all, I want you all to know I am typing this using our NEW high-speed Internet, not having to pray that my old dial-up will kick me out at any time and not let me publish. YAY for us! If I had taken any pictures recently, I would post them, but for now, just words.

A week after signing on the house, we FINALLY got our keys! Lets just say I am glad it is officially ours and we are now living here because my patience was definitely tried these past few months! I started cleaning right away and a BIG thanks once again to Stephanie, my sister in law for helping with everything! There were nights we cleaned until very late at night, but all of our hard work paid off! Cauley was a little impatient about moving things in so it ended up being him, me, and Steph moving everything mostly ourselves. Brad and Mike did help a lot too, but we had most of the heaviest, biggest stuff (besides the piano) moved before they were available to help out. I decided after having to carry our king sized bed, and all our bedroom furniture upstairs that I didn't like my stairs so much anymore. (But now that I've stepped on the scale and seen the weight loss along with the slightly thinner thighs and buns, I love them once again!) Anyways, we had to move in super fast because it was such a busy week for Cauley before he headed off to Georgia.

I have to stop and brag about my hard working husband right now. (I know I shouldn't brag, but I just gotta.) He is so awesome, and I am so thankful for him and the way he was raised- to be a hard worker. We got the keys to the house late Thursday evening, but had no power (electricity) to clean with until Friday. He worked hard fixing things and cleaning things after track practice on Friday and again Saturday morning before heading off to the State Tack Meet- which his team (Higley Boys') came in 2nd place in (way to go, Coach!) and also one of his pole vaulters won state as well as other people. Higley just did really well, and they beat Queen Creek for the first time ever! (Go Knights!) Anyways, Sunday was a much needed day of rest before his Monday of finals and moving, Tuesday of finals and finish moving, and then Wednesday was graduation. Thursday he still had school (for teachers it was their last day) and also his Track Banquet, and then Friday was Dallin's Kindergarten graduation followed by the very very last of the moving in. Saturday he got up early and worked hard doing and fixing things for me before he left late in the morning to head to the airport with Brad and Steph to fly to Georgia to help Ryan and Jenn pack, clean, and move back to AZ. He got home very early this morning and spent much of the day helping them unload. I love this man so much! What a great example for our kids!

Anyways, since he was gone, I worked hard getting our house in order. The walls are still white with nail holes and no decorations, but everything but 3 boxes (computer stuff, Cauley's scoll stuff, and one I'm avoiding of just junk) have been gone through and put away. I must say that this house seems very empty! I am used to walking into Tyli's room to see wall-to-wall (and floor to ceiling) storage but now it only contains her bed, dresser, and the changing table. Even her closet is bare! Good thing she has a zillion shoes (she's a shoe-aholic with friends who feed her addiction by passing down all of their small fitting shoes!). The boys' room is much the same as we decided last minute to put all of the toys in the extra room downstairs as a play room, emptying their room too. My bedroom is so big that Cauley and I laughed the first night we slept in it because in our old house, we'd have to pretty much scoot in sideways between the wall and our bed. Our new room is so spacious that we both ended up sleeping toward the middle of the bed because we felt like we were going to fall out. My living room seems empty, but contains all of our furniture. I need some suggestions about decorating everything, so PLEASE come by with an opinion! Maybe for our anniversary we can buy a can of paint to cover our very white walls! (this house feels so big that it may take at least 15 more anniversaries to do away with our white walls!) Anyways, we have a whole week to work on anything that needs done before heading up to Idaho. Cauley starts summer weights on Monday so he'll be gone a few hours in the morning and then a few hours each afternoon Mon-Thurs. for the rest of the summer.

So much fun having Jenn, Ryan, Mike, Brent, and Tye living back here. My kids have been so excited to see them and play with their cousins. We are happy everyone but a coyote and Ryan's bumper on his new car made it back safe and sound! (I'm sure Cauley will write about that soon- check his blog- it's the first one on my sidebar under family.) Anyways, I have tons to write about and so many stories to tell. Hopefully I get out the camera and take pictures so I can post them too! Check back soon!

So glad yesterday is over!

Yesterday, Thursday, was a very hectic day for me. I won't even be able to begin to tell you the amount of stress I felt from around 9:15 a.m. on. It was supposed to be a very fun, relaxing day, but instead I ran around the valley with a HUGE grin on my face. I was really taking it easy in the morning, taking my sweet time getting myself and the kids ready for our outing. I hadn't even begun cleaning anything, but sat on the couch and watched a half hour of tv before taking Dallin to school, slowly ate my breakfast, took a warm, leisurely shower, and then started packing the swimming bag. That's when our Realtor called and asked if we could be in Scottsdale at 2:00 to sign on our new house. I ran like crazy, trying to set up a babysitter, get everyone dressed, get Cauley's schedule in order so he could miss a class and one of his last track practices, an on and on- you get my idea; the stress started to rise. Then I called my realtor back to ask a question and he informed me there was an office in Gilbert that we could sign at instead of going to Scottsdale (saving over 45 minutes at least of driving in one direction!) and that this appointment would be after Cauley's track practice. I took it, then began re-calling everyone I had just set stuff up with, cancelling Cauley needing to find a sub for 5th hour and track, my babysitter who couldn't help out after 3, calling and finalizing plans for swimming, and of course, getting us ready to be gone for the rest of the day. I left the house 15 minutes later, car packed and ready to go, kids excited to go swimming, and an even higher stress level.
I met Stephanie at the Basha High School Pool (I highly recommend if you have little kiddos!) and we let the kids swim for an hour or so. It was a ton of fun, plus it wore them out! We left the pool, ran to get them some pizza, drove to Steph's house to change and throw some pizza in my face, then drove to my new house for my final inspection. (Not that you care, but my new house is still in wonderful condition- just needs some dusting and a vacuum cleaner!) By the way, I need to say THANK YOU!!! to Stephanie for keeping my kids all afternoon, making my running around a lot easier! After the inspection, I ran to the bank to get our down payment, then to pick up Cauley at his track practice, and since we had time, we stopped off to see our wonderful Uncle Kent before heading to the title company. Our signing was, in my opinion, really fun. It seemed to go by really fast, and I laughed about all the stupid (I know- that word is banned from our house, but really, for lack of a better word!...) documents we had to sign. I think we signed over 13 papers that basically just told us nothing more than the fact that we belong to an HOA. Seriously. The lady who was in charge laughed when, at the end, I asked if we belonged to an HOA or if we didn't need to worry about that. Other than being fun, our signing was very low-key. Because we have waited for so long, I almost expected a fanfare or something. But guess what... IT'S DONE!!! WE SIGNED!!! Now if only we had the keys so I can take over my new vacuum...
Well, after we signed, I dropped Cauley back off at his school so he could get his car. He then went to the cell phone store to finally get his Christmas present I gave him- a new cell phone and blue tooth, and then he went to Costco for me. I headed back to Steph's to pick up the kids, then we went to KFC for the free dinner from Oprah. Bad news, our KFC that is less than 1 mile from our house wasn't honoring the coupons yet- I had to fill out a rain check and will receive them within 7 business days. Instead we went over to our new house and walked around the outside, just for fun. The boys are getting so excited (thanks to me talking up the big move!) Tyli had fallen asleep in the car and didn't want to be bothered. Finally, at 7:00 we got home, hungry because we had been denied the only idea I had for dinner. After eating a bowl of cereal, the boys were off to bed, with me so happy yet tired to get them there! Today, not so busy, just starting to pack, cleaning up what didn't get done yesterday, and keeping the kids cool. (This heat is really getting to me already! I don't like it when it doesn't cool down so much at nights!) Now I'm just itching to go vacuum the floors at my new house!

Relay for Life

Some of you may know about my friend Rashelle. She was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma back in November. She has completed chemo and continues to be a positive example for us all. One of her greatest friends, Marie, decided that for Christmas this year she would put together a team for the Queen Creek Relay for Life in honor of Rashelle. (WE were Team R-Bug, Rashelle's nickname.) There were so many of us friends that we almost had to put together 2 teams! This past weekend was our time to relay! We had way too much fun! Many tears were shed, either sad or because we were laughing so hard, but overall, it was an experience none of us will soon forget!

3 friends of mine who participated in the "Survivor's Walk".

Jodi Meadows with her mom, Chrys, a survivor of Breast cancer. Chrys is in my ward and I am so glad she came! I have admired her for many years now, and continue to be amazed at her courage, wisdom, and overall attitude for life.

Jodi, Chrys, Lezlie, and Geoff B. (Lezlie is also one of Chrys's daughters who came to watch and support her mom.)

The Spence Family

Kahmeah, Marie (our team captain), Justin, and Cooper

Check out the shirts- Rashelle designed them and then we sold them for a fundraiser. Aren't they AWESOME!?! (If you're interested, we are placing another order!)

This is Marie and I starting our walk at 4:00 a.m. Nobody had signed up for this time slot so Marie and I fulfilled it. Overall, I walked 7.25 miles! The weather was perfect the entire time. We had so much fun eating, dancing, eating, playing volleyball, eating, walking, chatting like only girlfriends can do, and of course, eating! We started packing up around 5:30 a.m. and left after closing ceremonies which were at 6:00. I definitely want to do this again next year!

I need everyone's help!

Hey friends, family, and all blog stalkers! (Just kidding!) I am currently in the market for a new vacuum. Ours blew up on Saturday and we've been shopping ever since. I need to know what kind of vacuum you have and if you really love, like it with minimal problems, or have one that nobody should ever have to deal with. PLEASE leave me some comments because I need to vacuum my floors once again! (But a big thank you to Steph who came and vacuumed with her vacuum last night!)

And don't you dare answer "because" or it gets worse!

This is what a day living with my 3 year old, McKade is like. I love him to pieces, but seriously, this needs to be stopped!

Why is it morning? (That’s usually the first thing we hear out of him each day.) Why is it still dark? (Why aren’t you still in bed if it’s still dark?) Why isn’t Daddy in bed? Why does Daddy have to go to work? Why do we need money? Why do we eat cereal for breakfast? Why are you still tired, Mommy? Why do cows eat hay? Why does Dallin go to school? Why does he take a backpack? Why are you not putting your socks on with your shoes? Why are we late? Why are you driving so fast? Why are we behind that black truck? Why do we have to come home? Why are you showering? Why do we have to stay out here? Why are you locking the door? Why is there a door on the closet? Why does Tyli smell like poop? (Why don’t you go change her!) Why is your blowdryer so loud? Why do you have to do the dishes? Why are they dirty? Why do you use that towel? Why are you sweeping? (For the second time already today!)Why do we have to pick up Dallin from school? Why are we behind a red car? Why are you driving so slow? (Ever heard of a school zone, kid?) Why do we have to come home? Why can’t we eat lunch yet? Why do we need to eat? (Aren’t you the same kid who’s asked for lunch for the past hour and a half?) Why do I like sandwiches? Why can’t you buy (soda) pop? Why can’t we go to Burger King? (He actually calls it Hamburger King.) Why does Chim Chim (our dog) jump on me? Why is he going pee in the grass? Why are you talking on the phone? Why do you have to talk to her/him? Why does Dallin always play Mario Cart? Why are you getting angry? Why can’t we have candy for a snack? (You can actually insert this about 100 times because it’s actually said all day long!) Why is it quiet time? Why are you needing a 5 minute time-out from me? (5 minutes isn’t long enough!) Why do you want Daddy to come home? Why are you making dinner? Why did you put that in our food? (It’s garlic salt- it’s nearly impossible to make garlic bread without it!) Why is that food smoking? (steaming.) Why isn’t Daddy home yet? (I don’t know- I think he’s avoiding all of the questions!) Why do I have to wash my hands? Why did you give me so much food? Why can’t I have more dinner? Why can’t we have bessert (dessert) yet? (It could be because none of us are finished with dinner or the fact that we only have dessert on very rare occasions!) Why does Daddy always go to the bathroom when he gets home? Why does he take so long? (Sorry Honey, I’m trying to give everyone a real perspective of my day! I think he takes so long because he too is already tired of answering these questions!) Why is it getting dark outside? Why am I tired? Why can’t we go to bed? (Because it’s only 6:30! and I’m not waking up this early again tomorrow!) Why are we not going for a walk? Why do we have to take a bath? Why is the water cold? Why can’t we have more water? Why can’t we splash? Why can’t we drink it? Why do we have to get out? Why is Chimmy hitting the door? Why didn’t you feed him yet? Why do we have to go to bed? Why aren’t we reading scriptures? Why are we reading scriptures now? Why do we have to fold our arms? (really, we have said prayers every night long before he was born, and we say them several times throughout the day too!) Why is it Tyli’s turn? Why are we going to bed? Why is it nighttime?

Really, in all fairness, I have to say this is only about a fourth of his questions he asks in a day. I'll dave his "How..." questions for another time!

I Won!!!

In my life, I have entered many sweepstakes, contests, drawing, so on. I do have to say that it is a very good thing that I don't gamble, as about 99.9% of the time I have not been the "chosen winner." This even includes twice, yes, my friends, two times of going to Round Table, a monthly District adult leader Cub Scout Meeting, and after adding my name for the early bird drawing, been the only one who didn't get chosen for a prize! (TWICE!) How do I know this? Well, because both times they announced that there was only one ticket left, but the prizes were all gone! (they did add a "sorry to whoever you are!" for that, leaving me feeling non the better!) Anyways, the news...

On March 19th Cauley and I went to the Macy's Pre-Grand opening sale at the San Tan Mall. We purchased our tickets through his track team as their fundraiser, entered into the drawing for four different prizes with the biggest being a $500 shopping spree, and shopped the whole store. I won't bore you with the purchases we got for a really good deal that day. Well, yesterday I got a phone call from Macy's telling me I was one of the 4 big winners.
"Is this a joke?" I asked.
The lady on the other end sounded insulted. "NO. Your name was chosen as one of our sweepstakes winners."
Now, before any of you start thinking I won the $500 pot, please be advised that I did not. I did however, win a facial. Yes, I get a FREE 30 minute facial, which, coming from Macy's probably is worth $500! On top of that, I was told that I have won another prize as well, but can't be told what over the phone. I will receive that after my facial. Knowing my luck is only so strong, I am looking forward to collecting my free lipstick or eye cream which I will probably never use after my facial is over!
I cannot begin to tell you how ecstatic I am about my winnings!

Where we're at...currently

Well, things have moved fast for us in this whole buying a new home business, but I guess not quite fast enough for me. We supposedly maybe would be signing to close 2 weeks ago on Wednesday, but no. Instead, because the silly Title company wouldn't provide title (yah, I know, unheard of, right?) they got fired and a new title company was hired. They had to redo most everything so it was all in the new title company's name, so once again we've been given a day possibly to close. I am not holding my breath for Monday to sign though! Plus, after that, we have to give them 3 days to get everything recorded before we get our keys, so once again, I am playing the part of a very impatient mother who is trying to get her home and kids ready to move.

One of the reasons I am so ancy is because everyone has told me NOT to potty train Ty until we move, which we didn't plan on, but she has decided she would do it on her own. Since yesterday she'll announce she has to go, run to the bathroom, strip, and go on the potty. She thinks it's hilarious, I think it's wonderful. However, I don't want to deal with this right now. (I know, I am a very bad mom!) She isn't 100% consistent, which, why should she be, nobody taught her! I am afraid to put her in panties and have to deal with that whole "mess."

Another reason is I need my new washing machine. Ours doesn't wash anymore, just soaks the clothes in dirty water. Gross huh? Yah, I am needing that new washing machine! (I'm also using it as an excuse to not do laundry!)

Ok, so there is a quick update. I'll let you know when and if we actually ever close. Pray for us!

I would cry too!

I spent a portion of my day today with my sweet Ty Ty in the Urgent Care. Don't worry- she's fine, or will be within a few weeks. I basically blame myself, although I DO know that kids are kids and accidents happen. I wasn't paying much attention to her this morning (which once again proves to have bad outcomes!) and was trying to get some contract work scheduled for our new home. Since the kids were being so loud, I deemed it an "important" phone call and locked myself in my room so I could hear and understand my phone call. About 10 minutes later, I heard Tyli fall in the kitchen and start screaming. I immediatly hung up (the conversation wasn't going anywhere!) and ran out to find Tyli clutching her hand in a puddle of water she had dispensed from the fridge. Right next to her I found a 5 lb. weight plate (for lifting weights). I assessed everything and found she was favoring her hand a lot. My first exam turned up nothing- no blood- everything looked almost normal. She continued to scream and asked for a "big bandaid" and her daddy, so after about 5 minutes I looked again and her fingers were all starting to bruise and had swelled. I made the decision to take her in. (*By the way, I have to add here that I am SO grateful to have in-laws that live close by and that took my boys without hesitation. THANKS!!)

Ty and I headed off to Urgent Care where my little darling acted as if nothing was wrong. She was being really cute and VERY cooperative (aka: she was totally doped up on Tylenol!) and had all the nurses and even the doctor wrapped around her crushed fingers! Well, after 3 x-rays which she was PHENOMENAL for, the Dr. came in to show me all the little hairline fractures throughout her 3 middle fingers. They went ahead and splinted 2 of them together but they didn't have a wider splint so they gave me an extra one and a roll of the gauze/tape stuff to splint the other one if needed. Tyli was so excited to have "pink" (flesh colored) tape on. (They almost did blue, but she insisted on "pink!")

Once we were at the Clarks' to pick up my boys, I decided to go ahead and splint the other finger. It was fine, but didn't align all three broken fingers correctly so when we got to Cauley's track meet, I stopped the trainer and asked him if he had a wider splint to get all 3 fingers. He and another trainer came out with a splint that fits all 4 fingers, so that was good news. However, Tyli wouldn't keep it on. It was real easy to just slide off her little hand so after a while I held her down and taped the splint, wrapping it around her whole hand (around the thumb, down by the wrist) and since then it has stayed on! I wasn't home so I didn't have any Tylenol to keep in her system and I could definitely tell it was hurting her. She trys to use it, whimpers, and looks at it so sadly. As soon as I had some dinner in her, I gave her some Tylenol, which I hope is good enough for now. I hate seeing my babies in pain! I sure hope she gets better quickly!

Update.

Hi. I am so behind once again with this blogging thing! I am not going to promise any catching up soon as I have been busy with life and quite frankly don't have time to do it quite yet. I just wanted to give everyone an update on our house. We get to close next Wednesday! YAY!! It is Cauley's (and Dallin's) Spring Break, so aside from the morning Track practices, he'll be home to help clean and fix anything that needs done. We haven't decided for sure when we'll move over there, but I now know it'll be by the end of this month! It feels like everything is going so incredibly fast for us! It's been an emotional roller coaster, but I am now excited to go get things ready, like getting a black fridge to match our other kitchen appliances, clean the house, decorate, and so on!

On a different topic, we still need to find renters for our home here in PC. If anybody knows anyone who is looking to rent a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home for $750/month, PLEASE let me know! We're hoping to have renters starting in April. Thanks!

As Promised...

Many of you are asking where our new house is. Is it in the neighborhood? Sadly, no. It is just south of us- you know, in PC South. (All 45 seconds away!) Anyways, today was our inspection, allowing us to go over and take pics for me to post. My kids had a grand time running all around the house, and Dallin had the best time of all, as I gave him free run of the camera. He found out how to turn it to take videos, and let me tell you, it is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time! The kid rooms have mirrors on their closets and at the end before my camera ran out of memory space, he decided to video himself dancing by using the mirror! I'll try and see if this video will post, but if not, take my word- it's hilarious!

Anyways, this house is twice the size of the one we're in now, and beautiful! I am so much anticipating the end of next month when we're supposed to close! Now if only we could find renters...

My big kitchen area- that is wide open into the family room!

The bay window where my table is going to be! (The door is to my pantry)

Looking up my stairs from the Family room. You can also see the living room and entry way.

Hard to Top!

I love reading every one's Valentine posts- well, usually I do. This time I find myself thinking "nope, not as good as mine!" (how judgemental of me- sorry!) Cauley usually doesn't do big things for Valentine's day, the day he calls the Pagan holiday. This year, however, he topped the cake and bought me a NEW HOUSE!!! (In case you missed it, Cauley got me a new house for Valentine's day!!!) I guess we could actually say I got him a NEW HOUSE!!! for Valentine's Day too because I too looked, prayed, and signed papers. Wow! Can you believe I'll actually have a house to put all our stuff in? (It's twice the size as the one we're in now!) I'll post pictures as soon as I get over and get some taken!
We are now looking for renters for this 3 bedroom home, so if anyone knows anyone who's looking to rent in this area, please give me a call. It looks like we'll close on this house sometime in March. yay for us!

What's up?

Everyone keeps asking me what we have been up to lately and I am so bad for not posting more, but I just wanted to tell everyone we are all doing great!

Tyli is sneaky and into EVERYTHING! She is just so curious. Also, she is so independent it kills me. My boys were never this bad! "TyTy do it!" Also, and I really hate to admit this, but I have a very vain daughter. "TyTy is so pretty. TyTy is beautiful!" Yes, my friends, that is what you hear around this house several times a day! She is so stinking cute though that we love her to death! We are trying to be consistant to break her of some annoying habits, like climbing, getting into things that aren't hers, taking things away from other children- you know, the typical 2 year old stuff. Her binki is now gone! (We always take that away at 2 years and have yet to have a problem with it!) Hurray! The only disadvantage, if you can call it that, is now she won't sleep on her bed for some reason. She pulls everything off the bed to the floor, turns on the light, and sleeps next to the door. Odd- that's the best way to describe her. She just had her 2 year appointment and now she is 38 in. tall, 30 lbs, and her head is still very big as it has been since birth. (I can't remember the measurements- head size doesn't mean anything to me!)

McKade is still himself. Even though he is very much considered a "featherweight," he is eating me out of house and home. Seriously, for those of you who haven't seen him eat, believe me! He eats WAY more than I do. The good part is that he isn't consistent. Last week he went through 2 loafs of bread by himself in 2 days. (Jennifer, I know you've probably got something to say about that, but seriously!) Not only the bread, but a little more than 1/2 jar of pb and jam! At lunch one other day he ate 3 (rally 2 1/2 because there were some on the floor) packages of Ramen noddles. (I was out of bread- go figure!) Then, today, he won't eat hardly anything. This will probably go on for a week. He is so little thought that I sit and watch in wonder as to where all the food goes. He is getting taller, but sheesh! He plays with his trucks, cars, and tractors every day. He loves to talk about them, making up stories as to what they are doing. I guess I could say he has a great imagination- or another odd child.

Dallin is starting to drive us crazy. My parents got my family a Wii for Christmas and that is pretty much all Dallin does lately. Ok, so we don't let him play all the time (not even every day.) but he talks non-stop about playing it. I am about to accidentally "loose" it, but that would be something too obvious to lose. Other than the Wii, he is playing soccer right now. He's had 3 games and is starting to figure it out finally. He has a fun little team and we love yelling and cheering for all the kids. Saturday Dallin scored his first goal of the season. He was so excited he had to run over and ask if that meant he got extra time to play the Wii. The little stinker! He is doing well in school and is really liking the morning class. I don't think he likes to get up that early though. Why is it my kids never slept in until one of them started school?

Cauley is doing good. He is working hard getting ready for this upcoming Track season. He is also working a little extra and taking tickets for the boys home basketball games once a week. Oh yah, he's also taking 2 classes right now too. With his calling, school, and work, he is definitely staying busy!

I am also staying busy. My cub scout calling is starting to drown me (or so it feels like!) but should get better after Pack meeting, our Blue and Gold Banquet in less than a month, and Pine Wood Derby the following week. I just remind myself to take a deep breath every time I think about it. Actually, it really isn't bad. I have wonderful leaders who help a lot, it's just a lot to think about. I had one Saturday training earlier this month and I am so excited for the big POW WOW training this coming Saturday! On top of Cub Scouts, my primary calling has been fun. I feel like I am finally starting to love it. I just really don't like conducting, as I haven't had a very successful time getting through without messing up somehow. I really love serving with the sisters that I do and feel blessed to have this calling and to get to know more people in the ward. We have the most wonderful kids in our primary! Seriously, we had our "8 is great" tonight and I was so impressed with all 16 kids in our ward who turn 8 this year- they're amazing! I feel so blessed to be around them every Sunday.
That's basically what I've been up to. Notice I didn't say "I've been busy doing housework or laundry?" I haven't. Please don't come by my house- it's disgusting! That is my goal for tomorrow- clean this place up and do all 14 loads of laundry!

1-800-222-1222

This is Tyli's Christmas/birthday dress. It's really cute except you can't see the polka dots very well.

Have you ever had one of those moments where a child of yours may be in dire medical attention or possibly in need of an ambulance, or in a "demanding need" of a bandaid? I don't like those situations too well. Last week this happened to me and I panicked- hard core!

Tyli, my climber, was up on our kitchen counter when I walked into the kitchen from folding laundry in my room. I placed her back on the floor, but the paused, as I couldn't figure out how in the world she got up there as no props were around and no cupboard door left open for a boost up on a shelf. After inquiring McKade, I found out that she just "climbed like Spiderman." "Rats!" I thought as I walked back to my room to finish folding the never-ending pile of laundry. "Now she'll always be up there."

A few minutes later I noticed that Tyli's singing had once again stopped. It was too quiet so I went back to the kitchen to investigate. This time she wasn't on the counter. I found her on my kitchen rug, covered in a bottle of Children's Dimatap DM ( which she would have had to climb back up on the counter to get!) as she was pouring what was left of the bottle into a little medicine cup that was oozing over onto her pants and all over my rug. I panicked! How much had she drank? Is she going to die? How did she get into the child-proof bottle? Should I call 911? Is she going to be ok? What is the number to Poison Control? Is she going to die?

While I was panicking my phone rang. Oh, good. It was someone with a sensible head! "Hi, Lisanne? WHAT'S THE NUMBER FOR POISON CONTROL!!!!????" (I sure hope I didn't scare you, Lisanne!) After she very calmly found the number for me, I started to assess the situation a little more clearly. Although her pants and my rug were COVERED in the purple gooey stuff, her shirt had not a drop. Hmmm. This child has yet to drink a cup of the Sacrament water and not drizzle most of it's contents down the front of herself and the person sitting next to her. The bottle she had dumped out was only about 1/3 of the way full, but it looked as if all of it's contents were all over her pants and my rug. Had she even got any into her mouth? And how did she do it without dropping a single droplet on her shirt or face? Hmmm.

I hung up the phone and immediately called poison control. (The number is really easy, for those who don't know it. I really do have it memorized, but being in the moment, I forgot it! 1-800-222-1222) The lady who answered was very nice and listened and calmed me down. She asked how old she was, and when I told her that she just turned 2, she told me to look around her mouth for any signs of the medicine. I told her of my assessment, and she said I was probably correct and that that we'd know more within 30-45 minutes. "If she drank any at all, she'll be asleep within the hour." Good- except bad- her naptime is in 30 minutes. The nice lady told me she'd call back in an hour to check on Tyli, which she did. Poison Control also called 2 more times, making sure Tyli seemed normal. I stayed busy, going to Costco, my mother-in-law's, and feeding her to help her not want a nap. The good news- she never fell asleep. The bad news- she didn't get a nap that day. (For those of you who know my little Ty, she can be REALLY awnry with no nap!) The final conclusion is that she probably didn't drink any (thank goodness!) and that she is a very curious 2 year old! (And a great climber!) (And that my kitchen rug is now purple instead of tan.) My goal this week is to move all medicine probably to a lock box somewhere in the house, as I don't want this to happen again!

"I'll be a Sunbeam for Him!"

This is the best picture I could find of McKade as he is very camera shy and usually won't let us take any pictures of him at all! The best one I got of him today has both hands and arms wrapped around his little face, trying to hide from me.
Today was a big day for my little "monkey" McKade! He is now officially a Sunbeam! We talked it up for about 3 months now (He is NOT a big person who likes to deal with change!) and since the primary activity of "Meeting the Teachers" yesterday, he was so excited to be in primary now. He has a great teacher this year so that will help a lot. I could see the nervousness in his eyes (I conducted in primary today) but he did great. He even sang all of the songs. He probably thinks his mom is the ditsiest person ever as I had no clue what I was doing while conducting today and pretty much messed up everything (backward, out of order, forgetting things) but overall I think he had a good experience. We asked him if he liked primary when we were driving home and his response was this."No! My teacher didn't bring us any food!" I believe that is a typical Clark family answer as that is exactly what Dallin said after his first day and I can guarentee that's what Tyli will say too!

Back to life.....

The drive home went really well. We made excellent time, which made up for our drive to Idaho. McKade didn't feel to well coming home which continued for the next few days. He had a cold. Then Tyli got it. Her fever broke Friday morning, leaving behind a nice rash all over her body. This always happens with her so I'm used to it. Later that day she fell asleep in the car 5 minutes from our home. She woke up being brought into the house and I could tell she wasn't feeling well at all! After a few hours, we cancelled our plans for the night and I took her into the dr. She has another bad ear infection, the "start of" pink eye, and Roseolla- which the dr. explained as the rash that appears after a high fever breaks. (I always thought it was something worse than that, but I guess I am wrong.) She got the disgusting antibiotics that no kids ever will take to get rid of the ear infection and "pink eye", but the next morning she had no symptom of the pink eye, so I am wondering if she just has a goober that was mistaken for pink eye. She has been a gem ever since. (I am being VERY sarcastic!)

My baby turned 2!!

The big birthday girl blowing out her candles

Enjoying her store-bought cupcake's frosting- hey I totally ran out of time with her birthday being the day after Christmas! I made her crown because she always wants one of my preschooler's.

Grandpa Ruth "helping" Tyli bowl

Dallin and Colton showing off their bowling shoes

Brooklynn "posing" for the camera- she wanted me to take somewhere around 25 pictures of her and each time she would run down to me to "see it". I erased every other one except for this one- they all looked exactly the same! (Brooks is 9 days younger than Ty.)

Can you believe Ty is 2? (You would if you've been around her lately, sheesh!) My mom decided that for Tyli's birthday party she would take us all bowling. After dinner we went to the Idaho State SUB to bowl. The older boys, Carson, Dallin, and Colton took on the girls, Tyli and Brooklynn on one lane while Cauley, Jeni, my mom and I went at it one another. My dad "helped" the younger ones out by pushing the ball for them, even though they thought they were doing it by themselves. McKade didn't want to bowl at first, as he sometimes has a hard time trying new things. At the 7th frame, however, he decided it might be fun so he jumped in. We let him do it by himself the first time, but after waiting 15 minutes for the ball the ball to get to the other end, my dad decided that he needed help to get his bowling ball down the lane for the rest of their game. Us adults didn't do too hot, so I won't post our scores.

After our trek out in the snow for bowling, we went back to my parent's house for cake and ice cream- and presents. Ty actually blew out her own candles this year and then enjoyed her frosting off her cupcake and her ice cream. (My daughter won't eat bread in any form! The only exception is my Bishop's wife's cornbread, which she'll eat a ton of! She won't even eat cake!) Then came her presents, which she probably just thought was a hang over from Christmas. She enjoyed everything, which who wouldn't at 2 years of age? She especially loves the new baby stroller Grandma and Grandpa gave her for her new baby Santa brought her (that is pink- you have to say that or she'll say it for you.) I think she had a wonderful birthday- she says no, but that seems to be her choice of word for everything lately!

Lets rewind, shall we?

I know all of my pictures are way out of order, but at least they are there!

I know, long time, no post once again. I didn't even take advantage of my parent's computer and post pictures as promised. Sorry. You have probably guessed by now that we are home- back into the decent temperatures once agin, although I must say, I am still freezing! (The only time I'm not freezing is from June-November when I am in deed roasting!) A lot has happened between last post and now, but I'll only fill you in on a few fun things. First of all, the snow. By now you may know that I don't care too much for it other than looking at it, but holy cow! Cauley and I both agree we got over 2 feet- yes my friends, 2 FEET of snow while we were at my parent's house! That is not official, but it's pretty close to what we (and yes, that means I actually went outside and helped too- pictures and a video to prove it!) shoveled while we were in Idaho. It was lovely, as long as we didn't have to go out in it. (which we did.)

Christmas Eve is always fun for the Ruth family. We always go over to my Grandma's house (Grandma Ruth) and have a BIG party. It may not seem like a lot of people for those reading this, but when you add all the young kids into the mix, it can be hectic. I actually think things went rather smoothly this year! Dallin got to be Joseph for the annual Nativity story reinactment thing, but he wouldn't open his mouth to talk. Afterward, instead of the Christmas elf, who usually leaves new jammies or Christmas socks or slippers for everyone, Santa came and joined us! It was hilarious, and I have to say, this "Santa's Helper" really livened things up! He brought everyone a santa hat and candy. Then it was time to head home to get the little ones ready for bed.

Christmas morning was nice. Cauley and I pretty much had to wake up the kids to open presants. We opened our family stuff up down stairs in my mom's basement where we stay and then headed upstairs for more presants. It's a tradition since we've been married for us to have cinamon rolls, orange rolls, and donuts for breakfast on Christmas. This year my dad bought those huge donuts for Cauley and Luke (Jeni's husband) which were supprising delicious for how big they were!

This is where I am going to end, as Tyli's birthday is the day after Christmas so you will have probably already read about that.

A great reminder!

I stole this from my friend, Kira's blog. What a great reminder!

This Christmas, mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love and then speak it again.Pres. Howard W. Hunter, Dec. 1994

Oh, Baby, I am COLD!!!!!

Well, we made it. It was one of the longest car rides ever- 18 1/2 hours actually, but we are here. Flagstaff had a lot of snow, Knab, UT had even more, but the rodes were ok which was a big blessing. We did have consistent fog from Paige to Knab, but it wasn't horrible. We made excellent time until we got to Provo where we got stuck behind our first wreck. A truck and trailer had jack-knifed up onto the median wall. Then we moved well through the Valley until we came upon what we later found out was multiple wrecks that stretched on for about 6 miles. After spending an hour on the freeway stuck in the traffic, we were diverted off the freeway about 3 miles East for another 2 hours of going 5 miles an hour or less. (Mostly we just sat not moving at all.) No fun- not at all!! However, I do have to say that our children were AWESOME! No, whining, fighting, or crying- the entire ride! We did make an extra "pit stop" in Tremonton, UT once we got moving on the freeway after the big wreck because the kids hadn't been to the bathroom in over 6 hours, but we didn't mind. I think we all needed a break from the car for a few minutes. Anyways, instead of pulling into my parent's house at 5:30. we got here at 8:30.

The coldest we've seen so far is 3 degrees- near Flagstaff. It's a toasty 23 outside right now, and guess what- we woke up to TONS of snow! School has been cancelled in all local areas, and many people are staying inside today. My dad said there was at least 12 inches in the roads- only about 8 inches on top of things. Cauley pulled into my dad's parking spot in the driveway while my dad's at work so when the snow plow comes by we don't get buried.I am so happy to have a white Christmas! It is really beautiful outside. I am even happier that we don't have to stay here forever- I only love to look at the snow! Cauley and my boys went sledding at 8:00 this morning and had a great time. We learned yesterday that Tyli doesn't care for the snow so much so she stayed here with me in the nice, warm, dry house. We have to beg Dallin to come in- he could play in the freezing white stuff for forever. I wonder how much more we'll get before we head home- the forecast is for snow showers through next Sunday!

I will try and post pictures this wee- my parents don't have dial-up internet like us so it will be a lot easier!

Are You Smarter Than a Kindergartener?

My son is a genious! He really is smart. Just like me, he is very interested in Sudoku puzzles. Dallin loves to watch over my shoulder as I work on them, telling me what number he thinks I should put in the next box. He's come a long ways from about a year ago when he would tell me to write a 17 or another number I knew didn't fit. Anyways, I was just about done with another puzzle book the other day and was going through it, making sure I hadn't left any puzzles unsolved when I came across one that Dallin had filled out the top three boxes to. At first glance, I was mad. That was my puzzle book and he had no right to ruin it. After looking at it for a few moments, however, I was intregued. It looked as if he had really answered it correctly- no numbers repeating in each row. Wow, I thought, and quickly set to figuring out the rest of the puzzle. To my utter astonishment, he had indeed filled out the entire top three boxes correctly. Talk about one proud mamma! I called him over as I wanted to see just how his mind went about solving those boxes by himself. "It was easy!" was his reply as he ran off to play before answering my question. I really couldn't believe it! No wonder he is in the gifted program at school! I had to know more so I made him come back and show me how he did it. "Look, Mom. You always do it the hard way. Let me show you a faster way. Do you see this number right here at the top? If you turn to the back of the book, just find that same number. Then, be careful to match each number in the right spot, and you win!" Yep! I have one smart 5 year old!

I'm still here, just taking another break

I am so sorry for those of you who keep asking if everything is ok. I am doing well- just busy. Life seems to get busy really quickly and once I start getting a hand on it, life gets even busier! We have all been well, for the most part. I think my whole family is trying to catch a cold, but so far we've beat it. I thought Dallin had pink eye again when he got home from school yesterday, but either we got the drops in fast enough, or it was just a cold in his eyes because he's got no symptom of it today. Everyone keeps sneezing and coughing sporadically, but you can never tell with my family because we all get allergies really bad about this time of year.

We've had a lot of fun lately as a family. Cauley is done hanging Christmas lights (YAY!!!) and so supposedly he could be getting home before 2:00 p.m., but we haven't seen him till at least 4:00. (which is still a few hours earlier than when he coached football, and about 5-7 hours earlier than when he was hanging lights!) We've been riding bikes, doing crafts, shopping (always nice to have him to help with the kids), playing, and watching Christmas Movies. He even took me out on a date last Saturday for my birthday! (thanks, Steph and Brad for watching our Bambinos!) I have been really busy when he isn't here with laundry, preschool (planning and prepping), dishes, scout stuff, laundry, primary stuff, dishes, trying to get Christmas bought, laundry, getting us ready to go to Idaho, and dishes. I still have TONS to do and probably won't get it all done before I go, but that's ok.

Cub Scouts has kept me really busy lately. I have been planning, planning, and more planning. I helped plan this month's Pack Meeting because our Cub master has been out of town. Then I had to start planning next pack meeting for other reasons. Oh yah, I am also planning the Blue and Gold (banquet) which is in February. Can I just admit in the open that I don't really know what I am doing still! (Help, Susan!) On top of all this we have a bunch of trainings in January that I am trying to get all of the leaders from my ward to get done. I think maybe after February I might be able to breathe again. By the way, didn't I tell you I got released from this calling?:)
Primary has kept me busy too, but not like scouts. I am the counselor over scouts, so that is why I am still doing a lot with the cub scouts. My new calling is just doing little things here and there, which I find is a nice change from being so consumed with scouts!

I never knew that being a mom of older children (ok, mine are still young, but hear me out!) gets more and more tiring! Dallin has me running every which direction right now. I take him to school (for L.E.A.P) at 8 on Wednesdays and Thursdays, pick him up at 9:25, and then he's back at school for afternoon K. until normal time. I feel like I run around all day just for him. That's just for school! I can't even imagine adding an extra curricular activity to that! And, he's just one of my children- what is 4 years going to bring? Lucky for me I was able to get him switched into the morning class next semester so I don't have to go to the school so many times a day.

Tyli is a handful. She's adventurous and has a keen sense of knowing when I haven't had any adventures in a day. She likes to make BIG messes for me to clean up- especially ones that she can eat while making like dumping an entire large package of uncooked spaghetti on my living room floor and jumping on them because they make "crunch" sounds, dumping out a newly opened box of baking soda from Costco (which she LOVES to eat!) all over my kitchen floor and rolling around in it, or climbing onto the bathroom counter so she can get into the medicine cabinet and get the "hidden" toothpaste out to eat. Lucky for me it's beginner toothpaste, but still! Never a dull moment with her around!

McKade is still just as adorable as ever. He has been very bored lately, which leads to whining which I can't stand. He did find exactly what he wants Santa to bring him though- a silver truck with a black trailer carrying a light blue tractor. Why? I think he is a little obsessive about trucks that can pull trailers and he happened to find something with the exact qualifications(colors). He also hasn't stopped talking about this particular truck since he found it. Everytime we go to Walmart, or any store for that matter, he has to go check and make sure they have "his" truck. Today he sat and held onto it for almost 20 minutes- just staring at it! (Like I said- obsessive!)

Well, I hope you understand why I haven't written in forever. I didn't even tell you my schedule for this week alone, how I was gone every night at either a group FHE, presidency meeting, Enrichment, or other, and that my days were even more filled with a dentist appointment, preschool, getting my oil changed in my van, and many more "adventures" that also included the every day stuff like trying to be a good mom and wife. Hopefully when I get to Idaho I can upload some pictures because my parents don't have dial-up like we do and I won't have to wait an hour to publish this post. Maybe... But if you don't hear from me until then, don't worry, we're good.

What a fun birthday!

I have always kinda resented having to share everything my whole life with my identical twin- especially my birthday. It was never sung to just me and for some reason, everyone always had to say Jeni's name first. (probably because she's older? smarter? prettier? WHAT?) Don't get me wrong- I totally love, love, LOVE my sister, but can't a person have a special day for herself? Well, since I moved here almost 5 years ago (In January!), I have always had my birthday as MY day. I must admit, everytime someone sings "Happy Birthday" to me, I still sing Jeni's name in my mind.

Well, yesterday it was my special day again. yay for me! I woke up to the outside of my garage decorated with a sign and balloons (RS people?), ran Dallin to his L.E.A.P. program at school, came home and showered, and went and picked him up. Then I took all the kids to the Q.T. and bought us all a big fountain slushy drink. (an Icee basically) My kids think that they are the best treats ever and that is why we call them Drink Treats. We only get them on real special occasions, so my kids were really loving this! After the Q.T., we ran to the post office (I can't wait until QC gets a new, bigger post office!) and then ran Dallin to Kindergarten. The 2 younger ones and I had fun going shopping at Walmart and they both found presants that they want for Christmas, and then we made some thank-you's we took over to some good friends' houses. Then, for dinner, I took them to Sonic and we got Wacky packs for dinner. (Did you know that every Wednesday night @ Sonic you can get your choice of kids meal which also includes fries or tots, a drink, and a toy for $1.50?) My kids wouldn't stop hugging and kissing me and saying "I love you so much, Mom. Happy Birthday. I am so glad it's your birthday." Cauley even made it home before 8:00 last night which was an added bonus! (He's hanging Christmas lights for people right now- you can read about it on his blog, I think. crazyclarkclan.blogspot.com) Anywyas, I had lots of phone calls from awesome friends, and of course most of the Clark's called and sang to me (Jeff, did you forget? j/k) and that is always fun, and my visiting teachers stopped by with a gift as well as the Relief Society presidency with my birthday sucker. It really was a wonderful day! Saturday we are celebrating more by Cauley hanging more lights on our house and then Steph is watching the kids while we go see Twilight and go out to dinner. I can't wait!

They said it would be a three year calling...

I was so sad last Thursday when Brother Masitis came over and released me as the Cub Scouts Committee Chair. I really asked him to leave so I could cry. When I was called to this position in late July, I was told it would be a three year committment so mentally, I wasn't prepared for his visit. I have really put a lot of time (if you've ever been in cub scouts before, you know what I mean) and effort into that calling, not to meantion I had just got over all the "crazy pshyscho's" who make going to to Roundtable a real treat. It wasn't until our meeting was about over that he extended a new calling as 1st counselor in the Primary to give me an explanation of my release. I may have only said yes because I get to be the counselor over cub scouts, because as crazy as it sounds, I actually love the Cub scout program!

I've lost my voice! (and my mind)

Please don't call me. It's not that I don't want to talk to you, but I can't. I have never lost my voice like this before, and am barely able to whisper out a NO! to my kids. I think it's Heavenly father's way of telling me I need to speak "softer" to them. As for being sick, I am not. I feel great! I haven't accomplished much because at this point, if a child needs something or I need to communicate with them for any reason, I literally have to go over to them, put their face in my hands, and yell (which comes out barely less audible than a whisper) whatever it is I need. This is occupying all the time in my days. Any suggestions? Most of my kids can't read, so writing it down doesn't help. (Dallin can read a few words, so he's no help either.) It doesn't help either that I am teaching Sharing time on Sunday!

My kids say the funniest things!

Tyli keeps us laughing, ok, I can't lie- ALL my kids keep us laughing! (I used Ty's name because she's the first I'm going to write about!) We could really tell what kind of a football season Cauley had when we listened to TyTy watch football on TV on Saturday. She walked into the room and clapped her hands saying, "Yay, bootball (football). Go Knigh(t)s, go! Oh shoot!" The funniest part was that the game hadn't started- they were just warming up so nothing was happening. As we continued to watch the game, she continued to say "Oh shoot!" at the end of each play.

McKade woke up the other day, and after a few minutes, he said "there's a cricket in my nose!" I didn't get it at first, but after trying to listen to what he was really saying, I heard his little whistling boogie too, and yes, it did sound like a cricket!

My kids like to complain that they are either too hot or cold whenever we get in the car. Dallin likes to roast, while the other two would rather freeze. As we were driving to Costco the other day McKade exclaimed that he was "hot, cold, fuzzy, and cozy!" (I wonder what that feels like!)

Now it's Dallin's turn. I realy should write these down in the little journal I started specifically for these moments, but I don't so right now I am drawing a blank except for this one instance the other day. Someone stuck a flyer through our door for Qwest. Dallin ran over and got it, showed it to me and I told him to put it in the garbage. "But Mom, don't you want to 'get in the loop'?" I'm also getting frusterated because he's learning to spell/read everything. Tonight after dinner I asked Cauley if there was anymore j-u-i-c-e left because Ty was asking for more. "Yah, dad, is there anymore juice left?" The little turkey wasn't even in the room when she asked, so I have no idea where he learned that. Do they teach that kind of reading in the 1st semester of Kindergarten?

Hadley isn't one of my children, but she is one of my preschool kids. This month we are talking about healthy bodies and I asked everyone to show me where their body was. Hadley quickly jumped onto her chair, turned around, grabbed her bum, and, while shaking it, yelled "Here it is!"
Later that same preschool day, we were talking about the Word of Wisdom. Toward the end of our class I asked everyone what we were talking about (just to refresh memories) and Becca raised her hand. When I called on her, she said "It's something like the Word of White Gum?" She was clearly confused- good thing 4 year olds don't need to know what it is called, just what it means.
There have been way too many other hilarious moments at our house, so this is my vow to write things down!

How the...

Yesterday, we were all busy around the house doing various things, when I heard a gigantic THUD in the bathroom. I knew that Dallin had gone in a few moments before and was wondering what he was doing when I heard him crying. Cauley and I both reached the bathroom at the same time to find Dallin lying on the floor holding his forehead crying. We found no marks, and told him to "suck it up!" His explanation as to what happened was he was sitting on the toilet and was trying to take off his pants so he could be "more comfortable" and he fell off the toilet and hit his head. He finished up and was told to go back to his room and finish cleaning it. After about 10 minutes of cleaning/playing with the stuff under his bed, he walked into the kitchen and this is what I found! His eye was almost swollen shut (from hanging upside down off his bed) and was really black and purple! I wish I had taken a picture today, as it is REALLY super black today, but thanks to a loving, caring dad who cleaned his room for him while Dallin iced his eye, the swellings gone down a little. Really, people, his eye is not a pretty site and this picture Cauley took does NOT do justice! I am a mean mom, as every time I, looked at him yesterday, I laughed- out loud. How do you fall off a toilet like that? I'm awaiting the phone call from the school- there's no way they'll take him serious about how he got the nice shiner! (I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't been one of the first on the scene!)

WARNING!

Warning: Gross Picture ahead!

I wish I could say that the brown stuff on the wall was pudding, mud, frosting, or even melted chocolate, but no, my friends, it is not.

Is it me, or does Satan try and defer you from attending the temple too? I was literally packing my temple bag when I hear Ty's sweet little voice say, "Poo on my hands! HELP! Poo on my hands! EWWW!" I went running and found minimal damage- just two spots where the walls looked like the above picture and a larger spot on the carpet. Needless to say, it got cleaned up and I even have time to blog about our "adventure" before I need to leave to drop my kids off to be supervised so this doesn't happen again. I must meantion, however, I had a wonderful cheerleader while cleaning up the mess. Tyli was very happy to stand by and point out anything I hadn't yet got to, and then when it was over, she clapped and said, "Yay! Mommy got it ALL cleaned. Good mommy!"

Update

It has been a long time since I've posted again, but I've kinda been out of commission here. Sorry. As I told you before, I had another miscarriage. On Sunday I started cramping and bleeding real bad so Cauley took me to the ER. After an exam and ultrasound, I was once again told to go see my dr. for a follow-up. The next day in his office, I was told what I had is actually called a missed abortion. (I REALLY hate that term!) It is very much like a miscarriage, but the baby never formed. There is no explanation for this, but most people who have miscarriages can have what I had and not even know it. On Wednesday I was hurting a lot and so I tried to ease my pain by taking a shower. I made the mistake of looking down only to see I was losing LARGE amounts of blood down both legs. I got out of the shower, got dressed, and prayed as hard as I could. I knew something wasn't right. I called the dr and he set me up with an emergency D&C for first thing in the morning. (I was NOT to get up until then.) So, Thursday morning at 4:40 a.m., Cauley I were on our way to surgery. I was nervous, of course, but Cauley seemed real calm about everything. The surgery went great, but when I woke up I felt as if something bad had happened to my bladder. The nurse kept asking if I was in pain, and since I was still out of it, I would yell, YAH! She gave me 2 shots of morphine before I could ask if I had a catheter which was killing me. "Oh, it must have scratched you or something." was her reply. When it came time to go home, I found I could barely walk because of the pain from my catheter. It wasn't until later that afternoon/night that I decided I needed to call the Dr about this problem. The next day I drove myself (which I was later told by the pharmacist that I was NOT supposed to do!- in Cauley's defense, I told him I thought I would be fine and for him to stay home with the kids.) to my dr.'s office and they confirmed that I have "a REALLY bad infection in there!" Duh! The bad part is that since I am already on some meds from my surgery, I can't have the nice orange medicine that numbs everything down there and turns your urine orange- just antibiotics. I can't even think straight with all these drugs in me! (You should see how long this is taking me to type!) Anyways, I know this is all jumbled and very straight forward, but for those of you who have called and I haven't called back I hope it is enough explanation as to why I haven't called back yet. I am feeling a little better today so maybe by tomorrow I'll be up running after my kids again. Until then, I think I'll put in another movie and take a nap!

Why?

If you are near my little Tyli, you will probably be hearing the question "why?" after anything you say. It is her newest, and most very annoying saying ever. I know she doesn't really care why, but uses it to sound mature- I think. Maybe it's just easier to say than most other words available. On the other hand, it is a question I am now asking myself.

Some of you may know, others did not, but after my last miscarriage we waited the allotted time of 6 weeks, and then guess what... we got pregnant again! I was so excited and could tell everything was going well, the hormones were SURGING! Plus, my identical twin, (yes, we are identical even if I don't think we look that much alike!) Jeni, discovered she too was pregnant. (A lot further along than I though.) A friend asked me if I was scared, since my miscarriage had happened not too long ago, but my reply was, "No, I am paranoid!" I was so excited as I passed the 6 week mark that i miscarried at last time, and then on past the 7th week mark as well. Then it happened. Last Friday I started "spotting" again, but after being checked out by my Dr. on Wednesday, I was told everything seemed normal, but to call if things got worse. By the next morning, I was sure the spotting was over. Things seemed absolutely fine and regular Thursday night so imagine my horror when I went to the bathroom Friday morning during my Preschool Halloween party only to discover I was indeed miscarrying. Luckily for me, the moms helped out with the end of the party, but things only got worse from there. My Dr. wanted me to go into Labor and Delivery if things got worse, but I know what to expect and look for, and will wait until it is absolutely necessary this time before we go. This all leads me back to Ty's favorite saying; why? I know Heavenly Father wanted me to get pregnant again, but in a lot of ways, I feel as if it is a cruel joke! Why? 2 miscarriages in 3 months? And to have received an answer so clearly. I am emotionless right now, but along with this, I feel faithless. I really don't know if I will ever be able to put my faith in Him and try and have another baby. It is such a hard thing to go through emotionally, especially so close together. I just can't even explain the feelings I have right now, which doesn't help my endless ramblings to try and make myself feel better. All I ask is that you'll pray for me- that I can handle this again. Thanks

A first- and probably a last!

A few weeks ago, I was blessed by the sale at Fry's! I was able to purchase an entire 3-month supply of food for me and my family in just a little over $100! Most of it fit in my huge pantry, and for once, it looked a little full. It didn't last long, as I used a can of cream of chicken soup and it threw off the whole balance! Oh well. I just need to keep building on it, which is my goal for the next few months and then for forever! I was so proud of my full pantry I actually cried. Yah, I'm crazy, but at least we have food!

Our First Field Trip

Hadley, Becca, and Dallin
Parker, Dallin, and McKade saying hello to a fireman all dressed up. I asked them to do this so the children would know what they look and sound like when they come into a fire in case a child is ever trapped. They look and sound scary, so we made sure the children know that they aren't a scary monster- they are our helping friends who are there to save and help us! (Some of the kids still wouldn't go near him though!)

Brad, Parker, Jake, Aiden, Dallin, Becca, Hadley, Ty, me, and McKade with all of our Firemen Friends! The kids thought this was so cool- sitting on the bumper of the fire truck!

October was deemed "Safety Month" by me for my preschool. I thought, why not- we'll be talking about being safe for Halloween anyways. We learned about Stranger Danger, water safety, Fire safety, dangerous things that could be around our houses that we should NOT touch, phone numbers, addresses, and all about 911! The kids had fun, and to top it all off, we went to the Queen Creek Fire Department for a field trip. All the kids were "shell shocked" and didn't ask the million questions we discussed before we left. They were cute, and we were lucky to have my brother-in-law, Brad, who works for the Parks and Rec for the Town of QC and Steph, and their boys join us. I could tell Parker thought it was neat! We got to see everything in and on a fire truck (the kids got to sit inside), we saw their clothing, we saw the inside of the fire station and it was funny listening to the kiddos as they discovered that the firefighters each had a bed to sleep in like they did at home and a kitchen, and a TV. The kids got coloring books and crayons and stickers. (That was the end of the tour for them, as they all sat right down to color- not hearing another word!) It was a great time overall, and I look forward to next year's field trip there. Oh, did I mention that, once again- for the second year in a row, I have the most amazing parents to these preschoolers who are and were so willing to come and help out?

WAYYYY Behind!

I have to appologize to you all, as I have not posted anything in so long. I am still here- barely ticking it feels like. I have MUCH to post about, so look for some upcoming posts. Till then!

I'm an Aunt (again)!!!!!!!!

Yay, He's finally here! Tye Christopher Johnson came into this world early this morning, uping my count of nephews to 7 (nieces 1). I couldn't be happier for Ryan and Jenn, and would like to wish my sister-in-law a speedy reccovery. I am told she did awesome (what doesn't she do that's not?) and am proud of her. I really would like to see a picture though (hint, hint!) but I understand it was a long night with MANY more to follow so I'll cut Ryan some slack. Besides, they live in the Eastern part of our country where they currently have no gas, so a trip home just to send us some pictures might not be feasible. Tye clocked in at 7 .13 lbs and 19 1/2 in. long. I can't wait to meet "TC" and niether can my Ty. (She is excited but soooo confused when we tell her, "no, Ty Ty, not you, but Aunt Jennifer's baby Tye was born today. The look on her face is priceless!) We love you guys and thanks for giving me another nephew, making me an aunt again!

It's here!

Did any of you feel it last night? I sure did! I mean, who could miss it after a very HOT, long, Arizona summer? I am talking about that really cool chill in the air- all night long! We finally were able to sleep with our window open last night, and I couldn't sleep because I was too cold! (YAY!!) Cauley frowned on me as I asked him to get me a blanket while I lay in bed earlier this morning. Autumn is my most favorite time of year. I have been in anticipation for it for about a month now, but finally experienced it these past 12 hours. I am (un)patiently waiting for my Scentsy order to get here with all my fall scents I ordered about a week ago. I love the fall, and here is why:
*The air gets cooler- you know, the chill that starts creeping in, like when we were little and would be waiting at the bus stop with as thin of a jacket as we could find so we didn't sweat to death bringing it home.
*It's football season! I know, girls aren't supposed to like football, but I always have. Plus, it brings back memories from High School, which are fun to remember sometimes. (The football season here would be a lot nicer if I didn't sweat to death at each game early on in the season!)
*The leaves change color- this I don't really get to see here in the Valley, but I can drive about an hour or less and catch the whole experience!
*Halloween- my kids favorite holiday. They have all changed their minds about what they are going to be about 53 times each already, but it's fun to hear all of their interesting choices.
*The smell!!!! This one is my favorite! There are so many smells of autumn that I don't know where to begin. First, there is the smell of the football games. Next, the smell of cooler air. Then there's the heavenly baking smells that accommodate this time of year. Finally, there is the scent of what the cooler air is going to be bringing- the Winter Holidays!

My New Background

A BIG thank you to my awesome husband for helping me make my new background! As most of you know, I can never make up my mind!

This is my husband. This is my husband wearing bling. ( and a really tight under armor shirt.) Any questions?

Preschool is in session!

Jacob, McKade, Hadley, and Becca Missing: Aiden

Preschool has started up again. We started the 3rd week of August, (due to unfortunate circumstances!), and have been going strong ever since! I feel so blessed to have such awesome students and parents who attend my preschool!

Higley's Beat The Heat 5K

My sister-in-law, Stephanie, and I decided to participate in the 2nd annual Higley High Beat The Heat 5K in August. No, we weren't in shape, and no, we didn't train for it, but we anticipated the date with lots of talk about how our goal was to not come in dead last! We arrived just in time to load up the kiddos into our strollers. (McKade and Parker rode in mine and Bryce rode in his Mamma's while Tyli stayed home with Grandma Kathy and Dallin "helped Cauley" out being the "official" time keeper.) It was hot, and we were all sweating very badly just standing there before the race began, but once the gun went off, it started raining real hard, so I was expecting some relief, but it only got worse. We were only about 1/2 mile into the race when it stopped raining, leaving it more humid than I think I've ever experienced in my life! The race was fun, but hot, and after it was over, Cauley showed me that I pushed a stroller with 2 flat tires. I think the theme for the race for Steph and I was "It's building character!" We laughed a lot- almost too much for what we were supposed to be accomplishing. My favorite quote of the night came from Stephanie as we were running over to get ready to start the race (we were still trying to get kids in the stroller when they were trying to start) she said, "Hurry, take a picture! This is the most running you'll see from us tonight!" One lady laughed, but everyone else looked at us like we were crazy. Good times! Oh yah, I almost forgot, I set a new PR- ok, so it was the first time I have ever done a 5K, so that counts, right? And by the way, we did NOT come in last place- by about 30 people!

WAAAYYYYY Behind!

Sorry! I really have been gone from the blogging world for quite a while now. I'm still here, just been busy. I will be doing a lot of catching up, but don't know where to start, so bear with me, K? It also didn't help that my slow speed dial-up Internet (dial-up being the key words, or maybe it should be SLOW for the key term!) wasn't working very well with me for about a week, so that is why I couldn't leave many messages on your blogs. I'm back, or so I hope!

And yet, another trip to the Dr!

When my children say they're sick, I don't pay much attention until the throwing up or anything unpleasant starts happening. Two weeks into Kindergarten, Dallin came home from school one day with his eyes practically glued shut telling me not how his day of Kindergarten was, but how much his eyes really hurt. It only took a few days and lots of drops for all signs/symptoms of his pink eye to disappear. Then, last night he didn't eat very well, and was unusually quiet before bed. He was up a number of times for silly, trivial things like to get a drink but returning to bed without actually getting a drink and so on. When I got up (way too early) this morning, I found him lying on the couch "freezing." After taking his temp., I decided he might not be going to school today. It only took a few minutes before he started saying his ears hurt. I gave him some motrin and he started feeling better, so we went ahead with preschool and I sent him on to Kindergarten. When I picked him up, he started crying as soon as he saw me and told me his ears really hurt. Hmm. Off to the Dr? Yup. (They couldn't take any more patients for the rest of the day, so I had to go to Twilight Pediatrics.) I ended up dropping off the two younger ones to Cauley as he ended his football practice and took Dallin to the Dr. After a 2 hour wait, and YES, it really was a 2 hour wait (we got there a little before 6 and got out about 20 after 8!), we were finally seen. I felt so bad for Dallin as he sat in the waiting room holding his ears and either moaning or just letting the tears fall because he was in so much pain. I think the only thing that got him through was I promised him he could go get whatever he wanted to eat when we were done. The only things he wanted was a Diet Coke and ice cream. (He must be my son, eh?) Anyways, the dr. ended up giving us the "strong and very expensive" stuff, but hopefully it works. I am praying that this isn't a preview of what is to come this cold and flue season!