I am so sad to hear the passing of our beloved Prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley. He is the first prophet I have personally known as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am greatful for his example and for all of the things he taught us. Although I am sad, I know that where he is now is a much better place, and best of all, he is with his beautiful wife, Sister Marjorie Hinckley. I will miss him, but already love and support our new prophet, whoever he will be.

Why didn't Cauley just become a doctor!?

Ok, so that question is silly, but for reals, it would save us bunches on medical bills! After Tyli went to the doctor on Friday, Dallin woke up to go to the bathroom at 11:00 p.m. and ended up throwing up at the same time. We went running in to discover he had made it in the toilet (YEA!!!) but was burning up, so Cauley sat with him in the bathroom (Dallin's choice) for about 20 minutes while I prepared his bed with towels and a bucket "just in case." He was up again about 20 minutes later doing the same thing, but this time didn't want to go back to bed, so I "slept" with him on the couch all night. (He actually slept while I tried deciphering his moaning and wriggling as sleeping or being ready to puke again.) Lucky for me, he was done with the throwing up, but the fever continued. The next day he said he was ok, but that night at dinner he got the shakes real bad because his fever was so high. A Tylonol/Motrin combo knocked it out and Sunday he was fabulous. So far, nobody else shows any signs of getting sick here, but with our luck it won't be long. I am going to be sending a note home with all my preschool parents this week reminding them to NOT bring their child if he or she is running a fever, feeling ill, or has a bad cold. I feel mean about it, but something's gotta give- we have never been this sick and for such a long period of time!

UpDate: As I am writing this update a day later, most of what I said above changed about Dallin. He was up most of Sunday night/Monday morning crying because his ear hurt, so of course, me being the wonderful mom that I am, took him to see Dr. Jones this morning. ANOTHER ear infection! Something good did come out of this dr. visit though, and that is that since we were once again prescribed a heavier dose of antibiotics which cost way more than the $4 amoxocillan at Walmart, I was told to try getting it filled at Costco because it's cheaper. It was too! Ty's cost over $42 for the exact same medicine, smaller dose and we got Dallin's for under $35! Plus, we got another discount for being a Costco member- so it came to $32 and some change! (I guess you don't have to be a member to get your prescriptions there?) PLUS, we only had to wait 20 minutes as opposed to 1 hr., 40 minutes at Walgreens and Walmart! Dallin still has a pretty high fever and is hurting real bad so after FHE tonight (which just happened to be on the Priesthood :) Brother Bunker from down the street came over and helped Cauley give him a blessing. Thanks, Cauley for being such a wonderful example for your kids!

Poor Ty!

Drama, Drama, Drama!Our family has been racking up some serious medical bills lately! When I took Tyli in for her 1 year appointment at the beginning of this month, she had an ear infection, which we treated with antibiotics. Done. Today I took her in for a three week re-check, which I was going to call and cancle because she's fine and frankly, I don't want to pay another Dr. bill this month. Anyhow, we went and the dr. started to look in her ear and she started screaming. Then the next words out of his mouth were "Oh, wow." Which he explained as Tyli not having an outer, inner, or middle ear infection- it's a very bad ALL ear infection. WHAT!?! So they immediatly gave her a big shot of a super antibiotic (no, Mom, not just the penicilian one like we used to get.) and had us wait an additional 30 minutes to make sure there was no side effect to the shot and then sent us with a prescription for the $42 antibiotic which she'll take for 10 more days and then we have to back again in 2 more weeks. I feel aweful for Tyli who has been taking a super long nap so far. I should have seen the signs- fevers (but who's kids haven't had a fever lately!), (heat)rash all over her little body, not eating much of anything, crying while sleeping (which I thought was teething- which she is). I should cut myself some slack, afterall, I'm doing the best I can! But Tyli, Mommy's sorry!

What a day in preschool!

No, it wasn't catastrophic, but it wasn't exactly the best day either! I have prepared this fun day of learning about the 5 senses for a while now, but it started with 2 kids not showing up because they were sick. OK, no big deal. The, Lexie shows up announcing she's sick too- up all night throwing up and a bad, bad cold, but that her mom gave her medicine so she could come to preschool. (Mental note to keep her as far away from my kids as possible and to set everything she touches aside to lysol!) So, we go on as usual- no big deal. We were laughing hysterically at Lexie because when we did "Blast Off" today, I changed things up and had us count in Spanish. Going up was great, but I couldn't count backwards in Spanish and when I got confused, Lexie said, "No, not cinco- it's Blegh!" Yes she was serious! Anyways, while we were laughing at Lexie's Spanish help, I wripped my pants up the backside! Ya- everyone could see everything! (The jeans I was wearing were real old!) Ok- move on. So we had a real laid back day and I let the kids paint which is their favorite thing to do. We had three spilled waters, ruining everyone's pictures 3 times! TRAUMA! (For 4 year olds it is!) Not to meantion every time someone spilled their water it always somehow ended up on Emily who was SOAKED by the time her mom came! Ok, so it wasn't a very bad day in preschool at all. It could have been worse- Lexie could have thrown up every where or worse, but according to Dallin, "What a day in preschool!"

McKade Goes To The Eye Doctor

For those of you who have been thinking McKade has had somewhat of a lazy left eye lately, you're right- well kinda. After waiting for almost a month, we finally got in with the Pediatric Eye Specialist here in the East Valley, Dr. Salevitz. McKade was actually real excited and made all the nurses and doctor laugh with his enthusiasm to have the doctor look at his eyes. The nurse dialeted them and then the doctor checked for cross-eyed and lazy eyes while the dialation drops set in. Then we waited another twenty minutes and with the special drops, the doctor was able to tell exactly what was wrong while McKade sat on my lap. He is VERY far-sighted in his left eye, and only slightly in his right eye, causing the left eye to lose muscle control and not want to work- causing his left eye to turn in-ward. So, treatment for now includes glasses and waiting. We will go back in a month to the Specialist and see if the glasses have allowed his eye to straighten itself out some. If not, we do a patch over his right eye to strengthen the muscles. So, after our trip to the Eye Specialist, I met Cauley at Kathy (my mother-in-law's) house and then we went to the Seville Eye Center to pick out glasses. McKade had had enough by then, so it didn't go as great as the doctor, but we found a cute pair that fit (which is hard for this age and size!) that are mocha colored. (bronz) They looked really cute on and wrap around his ears so he can't just pull them off like usual. We should be getting those within 7-10 days. he says he's not going to wear them, but he'll have to. I am just so greatful we caught it early!

I LOVE BROCCOLI

This is Tyli's first adventure feeding herself broccoli, and, as you can see, she loved it!

OUCH!!

McKade has a hard time not climbing on things. Poor little monkey thinks he can climb anything, including climbing from one couch to the next, which I catch him doing often. Well, hopefully tonight he may have learned his lesson. He slipped and fell while he was directly between the couches and smacked his face on the end table which sits back aways between the two. Cauley and I both saw it happen and immediately ran to his aid. I got there right in the knick of time, catching the first drops of blood in my hands as I coaxed McKade into the kitchen for inspection. It took a while, but we think we found that the only cut is on the inside of his lower lip. He's fine now, but has a giant monster lip that he's excited to show his friends in preschool tomorrow!

Preschool Resumes

And we're back. To me, the two week vacation from preschool didn't seem very long at all, but to all of my students, "it seemed like we didn't have school for 17 years!" (Emily Noel, 4) This semester I have added another student, Emily Alger, making my total 5 4-year olds, 1 2-year old, and a little girl who crawls around trying to eat everyone's shoes and backpacks!

(the photo order goes: McKade, Emily N., Lexie, Emily A., Hunter, and Dallin)

PeanutButter Popcorn

This is a great easy recipe my cousin Heather sent me that was a big hit at our home for our FHE "treat" this week:

1/2 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup Light Karo Syrup
1/2 Cup sugar

Mix all ingredients together in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil just until the sugar melts. Pour immediately over popped popcorn and stir it in. Let it cool and- enjoy!
We used microwave popcorn, but you can use air popped as well. (My sister likes it better with air popped.)
*just a hint- I put my popped popcorn into an old icecream bucket and it was much easier to clean after we were finished eating the PB popcorn.

Stomach Flu at The Clark House

Yep, it got us! Tyli threw up twice last night before bed, Dallin in the middle of the night, and Tyli and I this morning. Uncle Ray came over last night to help give Tyli a blessing and said it is really going around his ward bad, but what's funny is we haven't had any contact with the people in our neighborhood since we've been home. Somehow it found us!

Tyli Turns 1!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TYLI! Tyli celebrated her first birthday in Idaho at Grandma and Grandpa Ruth's house. Aunt Jeni, my twin sister, made her a castle cake that was adorable! (and Ty really enjoyed it!) She was spoiled by getting some My Little Ponies from my parents, a new dress from my sister's family, and new binkis and the hand-me-down bike that all of our kids have gotten for their 1st birthdays. (Except for Dallin- we got it later at a garage sale.) She is our second child to not be walking by the year mark, but has improved a lot this past week by standing up and cruising along things. She's even getting brave enough to walk between things now. No worries- Dallin didn't walk until he was 15 months old and he's perfectly normal. Anyways, she just had her 1 year appointment the other day and she's right up to par- according to Dr. Jones. She is very tall measuring in at 31 1/2 inches; 21 lbs., 1 ounce which puts her right on the 50% mark for weight, and still has a big head at 17 inches-or cm, I don't remember what they measure it in. She does have an ear infection though, so she is on antibiotics for that. (I love Walmarts new $4 perscription plan-I just wish they had more stuff on it!) She has a few words that are a funny combo, like mama and dada, ball, hi, by-by, and touch down! (This she displayed for Dr. Jones, which was funny.) Tyli is a happy (most of the time) 1 year old who loves to torment McKade by taking his toys away, and makes us all laugh a lot of the time!

Pictures will follow later!

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!