Our Digorno Houseparty!

All of the loot that we got sent to us for our party! What you can't see is the coupons for the FREE Digorno pizzas I was sent to feed our guests at the party along with coupons for $4 off a Digorno pizza that we gave to our guests!



Some of the partiers!  (This may be the only shot I have of anyone even eating the main event- PIZZA!) Check out my mini basketball sugar cookies I made.



Tye Christopher was a very tired little guy.

and so was Bryce! Oh wait a second- I DO have another shot of the pizza being eaten! Way to go Brad!

Taylor just had a great time riding the zebra.

If you haven't yet signed up for Houseparty.com, DO SO NOW!!! This was the 2nd party I have hosted for them and it is AMAZING! It is free to sign up, and mostly free to throw a party. (You just provide all filler stuff like extra food and drinks and any decorations or anything else you want to add to your party.) Anyways, once you register, you basically fill out applications to become hosts for the parties that you would be interested in throwing. They'll email you if you are chosen to be a host, and then they send you lots of cool, FREE stuff! My first party I was chosen to host was the Just Dance 2 party and I also received Just Dance for Kids as well in my host package. Basically I had people over for lots of fun and a little yummy food- all for FREE! This time around, I was chosen for the Digorno Hoops Party. (That's how behind I am- this party was in March during March Madness.)

As a host, I received a over-the-door hoop and ball, FREE pizza coupons, plates, hand wipes, a kitchen timer shaped like a basketball, refrigerator magnet, basketball shaped hot pad, pizza cutter, spatula, LOTS of LOUD blow-up noisemakers (which all of the kids quickly turned into swords out in the backyard!), and a tournament sheet thing that we didn't use. We also had chips, pretzels, cookies, wings, bread sticks, and PIZZA! Thanks to everyone who came and partied the night away with us! Now GO and sign up for Houseparty.com! (they have their Ball canning one coming up real soon, and if I'm not chosen as a host, PLEASE invite me if you are!)

My reward

Today is Mother's Day. I don't like Mother's Day. In fact, I really DISlike Mother's Day. I love the quote a friend gave at church today- in her own words she said, "I was once a perfect mother- for about 2 seconds until my first child was born." It's true. That's how I feel every day of my life. I especially dislike going to church on Mother's Day and hearing how perfect every other mother in the world is/has been. (Especially since I just yelled at one of my kids for not having shoes on as we walk out the door after they've just spent the past 5 minutes fighting or throwing a tantrum, or that one of my children usually has their lunch down the front of their church clothes even though they didn't even have their church clothes on when they ate the said lunch, or my daughter's hair, which looked absolutely ADORABLE a few minutes ago now has been taken out and redone to HER specifications, and so on.) Anyways, this Mother's Day was that way. I was happy to head out of the chapel during the prelude for the Sacrament hymn with Halli in arms to find Tyli who was MIA/in the bathroom since BEFORE the meeting even began. I was being overcome with my own doubts and bad feelings about me as a mother. As I stood in the foyer with both girls, these doubts and feelings became overpowering. A reminder of the squirming 1 year old in my arms who doesn't roll over still, doesn't crawl, doesn't pull up or cruise made me feel like I was doing everything in life wrong as a mother. However, right after I leaned forward and whispered for Tyli to fold her arms for the Sacrament prayer which was to be said, I caught a glimpse of this little baby who is delayed- arms folded, head bowed, and a sweet smile on her face. It was then that I KNEW. It was then that I received my best Mother's Day gift ever. My doubts about being a good enough mom flew away as I received confirmation that, although I am not a perfect mommy, I am doing my best, and more importantly, I doing what is expected of me by teaching my children the gospel, sharing with them it's truths. Teaching them things that they need to know and do in this life so we can be together forever. I hope I don't forget this lesson, and I pray I may have more Mother's Day rewards like today.

Check out this Boutique!!!

Hey everyone. I have several friends getting ready for the big day- The Pecan Creek Boutique which will be coming up real quick. Right now they are doing a giveaway so head on over to their website pecancreekboutique.blogspot.com and enter to win some fabulous prizes!!!

Happy Valentines Day!

Halli sure enjoyed her mashed potatoes and her valentine from mommy!


My sister, Jeni, makes her family a special Valentine Dinner every year. I decided to follow suit and make a candlelight dinner for my family this year too! It wasn't anything out of the ordinary food wise, but my kids were excited to have my homemade lit candles on the table (t-light candles inside baby food containers so wax didn't get everywhere and more importantly so the kids wouldn't keep blowing them out during dinner!) as well as lots of candy hearts sprinkled on the table (which was dessert!). We had onion chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn, and purple juice that Cauley and I got to drink out of some plastic goblets we got for our wedding but have never used. It was so fun, and the food was yummy. Oh how I LOVE my family! (And I have the most handsome, hardest working, sweetest, and sexiest Valentine of all!)

One last picture I forgot to put in the soccer posts: the most supportive sisters, Tyli at one of the early games. It was definitely COLD this year and we usually always had a game that started at 8am!

Kid #3, Broken arm #3

I don't know if this is a very good stat- broken arm #3 for our household. (Dallin and McKade broke theirs a few years ago, remember?) Anyways, we were at Cauley's Aunt and Uncle's house for a family get together when Tyli, who was getting off the trampoline in the backyard, fell forward and landed on her arm. There was no absolute scream, just crying, but I could tell she was really hurt. the problem was, I couldn't tell WHERE. I decided we should have her daddy who was at home doing homework take a look at it so we loaded up and went home. After a blessing and Cauley looking at it, we decided I had better take her to the Urgent Care. She cried every time I went over a bump on the way there, but still didn't know exactly where it hurt. It was 8:20 when I arrived at Urgent Care and was told I had a 4 hour wait. RRRRRRR! Well, I occupied my time by making friends with others waiting to be seen. Tyli fell asleep in my arms somewhere around 11:00, and even though she was really heavy and hurting me, I didn't dare wake or move her as she would cry. Sometime around 12:40 I was finally called back to see the dr. (we were somehow the last patients seen, even though there was about 8 people who checked in after us!) We didn't ever see the dr. at first, just the radiologist who needed to know where to x-ray. Tyli was SO out and so we had a hard time finding exactly where to x-ray, but would cry whenever we moved her wrist so we decided to start there. Well, when the radiologist moved her wrist to x-ray it, it woke Tyli up and she started screaming. Hmmm...mystery solved? No. We then go to talk with the dr. who told me her wrist was fine.(?) When the dr. moved her arm though, Tyli again woke up screaming and so we went back to x-ray where they x-rayed her elbow. This time the dr. said there was a "suspicious" part where the fat had been pulled away from the bone with a small streak of blood underneath which usually means a break, but she wanted to just put it in a sling and send us home. I asked about her wrist, and the dr. said "oh yes, Bonnie (I can't really remember her name) said it was very badly sprained." Then she said again that she only needed a sling and that is when I told her no, put it in a splint! As I was saying this, the nurse walked in with everything to make the splint and so the dr told her to put it on and that in the meantime, she was going home. The confused nurse said, "I thought she might have a broken elbow and a badly sprained wrist so why wasn't she going to put it in a splint?" Hahaha! Good question! I was SO ready to scream! Anyways, we got it splinted and then went home, arriving around 2 am. (see the above picture of Tyli) Well, 2 days later, I got a call from the radiologist who read the x-ray saying indeed it was broken, and not even where the dr. thought it was suspicious. So I made an appointment with a Phoenix Children's specialist to get it casted and called to have them transfer records and x-rays from the urgent care. That Friday we drove over to the specialist's office for more x-rays. The dr. again couldn't see a break, just the "suspicious area." I asked about the radiologists finding, and he told me he had no such report and to come back in another week so they could look for bone growth and at that point they would cast it. I was quite frustrated at this point! So, after another week of wearing the splint, we again went back to have more x-rays. This time we saw the nurse practitioner. She looked and at first saw nothing, but went back and re-read our file. Then, she grabbed all x-rays, and showed me where the radiologist found the break- right on the outside of the elbow! It was pretty much healed, and miraculously healed correctly since it was just in a splint! Apparently, they got the radiologist's reading AFTER my first appointment with them and just tucked it into Tyli's file. She got stuff ready to cast it, and me, being cheap like I am, asked her not to. The cast would come off in less than a week, and I didn't want to pay for them to cast it, take it off, and another follow-up appointment after all the frustration of is it broken or not from the past 3 weeks! So, Tyli wore her splint like a good girl for 3 1/2 weeks, not ever getting her pink cast, on her BROKEN arm. But she was such a good sport about it all, even though it hurt her pretty bad for about the first 2 weeks.

McKade Plays soccer!

McKade being a monkey

McKade (5) and cousin Parker (4) (TEAMMATES!)





A throw-in by McKade with instruction from his coach- his Daddy!

Halli enjoying being outside

showing off some of her teeth (and her BEAUTIFUL brown eyes!)

Mom and Tyli hanging out, cheering on our boys. (this one is actually from Dallin's game, but oh well.)

McKade has been SO excited to turn 5 so he could play soccer like Dallin got to. That is wat he asked Santa to bring him this last Christmas- a soccer ball and shin pads. (Of course Santa fulfilled that!) McKade was excited for the fact that Parker, his cousin, would be on his team and that he was coached by 2 men that he knows and loves: his Uncle Brad who was the head coach, and HIS DADDY who was an assistant! (Cauley had to coach so we could get these two boys on the same team.) McKade is VERY left footed- he ALWAYS kicks with his left foot. (and it looks so wrong!) McKade made one really good break away and scored a goal against a really good team. He scored another goal toward the end of the season too.  He learned a lot and had a blast! (and he had suck cute kids on his team this year!) (and great coaches!) GO GOLDEN EAGLES!!!

Dallin Soccer

This was D-Man's 3rd year playing soccer and we really loved watching him play! His team was a lot different from past years as this was most of his teammates first year playing. (lots of room for improvement and improve they did!) Dallin took on a more "offensive" approach this year, but still loves to play the defense part. He only got to play goalie for 1 quarter of 1 game this year, but after he figured out how rewarding it was to score goals, didn't mind. This was a VERY COLD season too! (I almost wanted to go buy snow pants and make my boys wear them like my mom did for us kids!) Go COMETS!

You couldn't lose the members of this team! (tem color: high lighter!)

Go Dallin!

I will catch up....but not today!

Well folks, I'm not gonna lie to ya- I have been 1 busy woman! I spend so much time in meetings, trainings, going on visits, doing other things a Relief Society President does, being a "soccer mom" (literally, and I LOVE it!), playing with my kids, FEEDING those kids (they are bottomless pits that weigh next to nothing!), taking said kids to dr appointments, buying groceries to keep our hungry, growing family appeased, and hanging around with Cauley for a little personal time once the kids are in bed, that my blogging time is severely limited. I may or may not go back and catch up on all the missed Christmas adventures and happenings since then. I will try and blog about soccer and the sadness of my baby growing up WAY too fast! But, as my title says, not today- there is chicken that needs canned and a big shiny new pressure canner that needs to be used.

Birthday Surprise

This year for my birthday my wonderful and amazing hubby decided to surprise me. He told me I needed to be ready and have the kids ready to be gone (and in something to sleep in) by 4:45. He wouldn't tell me anything else other than we needed to eat before hand because he wasn't quite sure when we would be eating next. Well, the time came and we all loaded up and drove toward the 60. (I thought we'd just be dropping off the kids at his parent's, but nope- I was wrong.) FINALLY, after driving for a while, he told me we were indeed dropping off the kids to be with his parents, but we had to meet them first at a T-shirt convention that they were at in Phoenix. (My father-in-law has a business selling screened and embroidered shirts, sweats, hats, etc.) After we dropped off the kids, we headed downtown and I started going crazy not knowing my surprise yet. Finally, after parking and walking a few blocks he gave me the hint of "The only thing your surprise cost me was the $12 for our parking." I had it figured out- he was taking me to a Suns game!

Back Up to August: At Jeff's wedding reception, Tom M., the former athletic trainer for Dobson High School was talking with Cauley and I and we found out that he is now an assistant trainer for the Phoenix Suns and he said that if we ever wanted to go to a game, just to give him a call. Both Cauley and I filed it away in our memory box to be used at a later date, and I guess Cauley decided it was time!

After we found our envelope at Will Call, we were excited to make our way to our seats. We didn't quite know what to do as we not only had amazing seats, but Tom had also given us Guest Pass's. We asked the usher who directed us to an area down on the North side of the court just inside the black curtains. Feeling WAY out of place, we made our way down and through. The media area was right in front of us and so we tried going in there, but we told we had to make our way behind that. So we did. And we felt even MORE so out of place being in the VIP area. It was AWESOME food, but there were people in that room that we both felt we should know, but didn't quite recognize. (It was mainly people's family members who were there.) Can you say AWKWARD!!! After we finished eating, we made our way out, just in time to realize we were right next to the Suns locker room! They had all come out and were doing a pregame huddle/jump/dance thing before running past us, giving high fives as they made their way to the court for their pregame warm ups. We caught Tom as he headed out and talked with him for a minute before we too headed out and to our seats.

The first half of the game was ok. There wasn't many people there, and not many of the fans there were really into the game. Besides, when the buzzer rang, ending the first half of play, the Pacers were winning. Jenn, Tom's wife, found us almost immediately and escorted us down to the VIP area the back way (to avoid everyone in the isles.) We got to talk to her for a bit before the Suns players came out to get ready for the 2nd half. We got to see all of the players and coaches again, and even got to talk with Tom once more before we went in and ate some more food. This time we sat and talked with someone's wife and son who had 2 of his friends there with him. It was fun, but we missed most of the 3rd quarter. We stocked up with cups of Sprite, water bottles, and popcorn before heading back to our seats to watch the end of the game. The 2nd half was so much more fun as most of the fans had finally arrived and it got LOUD! The Suns came back and ended up winning, although my 30 year old brain can't remember the final score.

We decided to head home after the game to relieve our sitters instead of heading back to the VIP area once more. (We were so full anyways, we'd probably look funny just standing around in that room!) Thank you so much Cauley for such a memorable birthday surprise!

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited their doctor's office more than my own doctor's, and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground.

I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmas', since had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt, in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.
Here are my Christmas wishes:
I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.
I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.
If you're hauling big ticket items this year, I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.
On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.
I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother", because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.
If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.
If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely.
It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.
Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back.
Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in to dry off so you don't catch cold.
Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always,

MOM
P.S. One more thing ...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

A Child's Perspective

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"
"It was great, Dad."
"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.
"Oh yeah," said the son.
"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.
The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.
We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.
We buy our food, but they grow theirs.
We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."
The boy's father was speechless.
Then his son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are."
Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

Catch- up! (August)

  We were very excited for August to come this year as it meant Jeff (Cauley's little brother) was getting married to Jaclyn. We all LOVE Jac! (I just don't happen to have ANY pictures of her or Jeff as we were not the ones taking them.:( Oh well, I will get some during the holidays and put them up for everyone to see my new GORGEOUS sister-in-law as well as her handsome hubby!) They got married in Mesa and then had 2 receptions- technically just one and then an open house/reception. I am sad to report that we also don't have any pictures except the 2 of Tyli below that Cauley stole from my sister-in-law. Isn't my 3 year old beautiful? (I am VERY partial!) I made her dress so please don't look too closely! She had SO much fun dancing in it the night of the reception too! (Sadly though, the dress didn't hold up from the dancing. Her cousin decided to join her and one tug on her new dress broke the stitches in the sash that gave me a headache trying to get right.)

Here are the boys on their new bunk beds. They needed more space and Tyli needed a big girl bed.

First Day of School!
Dallin was very blessed to get into Benjamin Franklin Charter School this year. We have loved every school he's attended, but I felt so strongly that this year he needed to switch over to this school. He has another wonderful teacher and many friends he already knew in his class. I'd say his school has about 80% LDS kids, which I really like too. He does have a dress code- but it is very lax except for the pants part. I have never been happier with my child's education! He has come leaps and bounds this year in everything, including his handwriting! (And that is coming from being in the accelerated program here in our local school district!) Dallin has got really awesome grades- except in his handwriting, but he IS improving on that! Way to go, D-MAN!

McKade's birthday falls toward the end of August. This year was his year to have a party, and PARTY we did! He invited lots of friends and family over and we put on a "Minute-to Win-it" party! I have to say, I have the most amazing husband ever! We had about 22 kids here, and he kept their attention the ENTIRE time- including opening presents! (Notice no other kids around the birthday boy- oh wait, who is that little girl?) There were 9 games that we played and there were no losers in any of them! My favorite one was when Cauley, who is a school teacher, taught all the kids how to shoot rubber bands to knock off pop cans from a table. It was incredibly hilarious watching the kids try and shoot the can. They never quite got the cans so Cauley threw up a balloon and had them try and hit that instead. I think every one had a blast, and McKade has never been so spoiled in his entire life! We ended with cupcakes made in ice cream cones (less mess!) A big thank you to all those who came and helped out!

September

September was more laid back. This is my "Spy Kid", aka D-Man. Dallin and McKade really got into being agents, spies, and a whole lot of that kid of stuff this month. Love the gear!

These are some of my favorite cookies- playdough cookies. I love eating them, but making them is a very arduous task! I'll be posting the recipe soon on my food blog!

Pretty much the rest of the month was spent doing the football thing. With Cauley being the head Freshman coach and also helping out during the varsity games, that means 2 games a week that we attend. The kids are troopers! They love to dress up for the games, so I made a onsie for Halli (the one she is wearing) that says I love coach clark on the back and I made her little headband (that she destroyed a couple of games ago!).

A Camping we did go!

This year during Fall break we decided to put the tent we just bought to good use and head out for our first "official" camping trip as a family. (The other 2 times we've gone have been spent sleeping in a cabin, playing pool, and soaking in the hot tub.) This time we "roughed it!"

We don't have too many supplies as of yet (we have only been married for 10 years!) so we borrowed some from Aunt LaRee. (Thank you!) Basically, we took our tent, blow-up mattress, and sleeping bags and clothes, and we used Aunt LaRee's firewood and tarps. We didn't take much at all, but we were LOADED down!

We had SO much fun! I can't wait until our next camping trip!

This picture was taken as we were leaving our neighborhood



We went to Christopher Creek to go camping and here is that famous (not really!) creek! We kept telling all of the kids to stay out of the water, knowing that inevitably someone would fall in. Sure enough, McKade took the plunge- TWICE!

(Evidence of those slippery rocks!)

Daddy and his daughter! After a short hike, we stopped and let the kids play more by the creek. (This was a shallow, slow moving spot.)

Hanging out!

So I went up to the car to get a diaper to change Halli and when I went to come back, I found this tarantula on the top step. Thinking it was fake and that my family was playing a joke, I took another step forward just as it MOVED!!! It climbed down 3 more stairs before Cauley and the kids came running. Cauley calmly grabbed a shovel and picked it up and carried it down the road and up the mountain a long ways. We definitely made sure our tent was zipped up wonderfully after that!

DINNER! We went really easy with roasted hot dogs and chips!

DESSERT!!!

It got pretty chilly! The days were BEAUTIFUL! (around 74 degrees) But once the sun went down, it got cold! Halli had over 4 layers on here!

It was a long night! It got really cold and the kids didn't stay in their sleeping bags at all, which kept us up with them. Halli was up a bunch too, wondering what was going on. I had a rough time- with the whole camping trip that it. My back had been hurting for about 6 days and I could barely move at all without seizing up in pain! Good thing we bought a blow up mattress!

Morning was the chilliest of all! Cauley got up and found us some fire wood so we wouldn't freeze as we ate our poptarts and orange juice! What a hubby- he gave me his sweatshirt as I forgot to grab mine before heading up to the mountains. (Hey- I didn't forget anything else though!)

McKade had the best adventures EVER!

And we succeeded in wearing them ALL out! (about 20 minutes into our drive home)



6 Months old!

Can you believe she's 6 months old already? I can't! My sweet little one may look like a 6 month old, but she sure doesn't act like one! Halli weighed in at her 6 month appointment at a whopping 14 lbs, 6 oz and measured a little over 27 3/4 inches long! (Very normal for my kids- in fact, she is the shortest of all my kids at this age.) The interesting part is that she still won't roll, grab most things, and sit up. The pediatrician isn't concerned at all- he says it's because her siblings do everything for her, which is very true! She CAN roll over, she just really is against it. In fact, the first thing she does when I lay her in her crib is roll to her sides, catching herself from rolling over. She also can grab things, but usually she'll just wait until someone puts in it her hand or her mouth for her. I was starting to wonder if she could do it one day when I turned around to find her with a handful of flour going toward her mouth. (I was making bread and she was sitting in the bumbo next to my baking area.) She is also really good at grabbing and pulling handfuls of Tyli's hair out!) She is almost sitting on her own- just not good enough for me to leave her on the floor sitting just yet.
Halli LOVES food- just like her siblings! She is almost through all of the veggies so far and definitely doesn't like the green ones. She eats more than one jar a meal, and STILL wants to nurse afterwards. Her 2 little teeth are like razors, and it won't be long before she's eating everything we are!
Halli is sleeping mostly through the night- she still thinks 3 a.m. is playtime, but will usually play for awhile and then go back to sleep. Nap times, however, are still very difficult with her- no schedule, usually only half hour naps. GGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
She is starting to say a few things like mama, dada, and well, that's it. I love that she said mama first- my first child to say it before saying dada. Halli still loves to blow raspberries and spit at her siblings! Her shirts are usually always soaked right through.
I love this little monkey more than she'll ever know! I feel blessed to have her in our family!