Christmas 07

Well, we made it. It’s over. Thank goodness. I am not a scrooge in any way, but it just seems like so much energy and effort go into the holidays, that I am so relieved when they are over. I had such a busy weekend, so I will do a quick recap, and then you can watch our little slideshow to see a glimpse of what was going on with our family this weekend.

First, Hallie was in the Nutcracker Friday and Saturday night. She looked so cute, and did such a good job. She informed me that she doesn’t really like to dance; she just likes to get flowers on the night that she performs.lol. Her friend Taylor is in her class. They looked so cute together. Taylor didn’t perform on Saturday night, and after it was over, Hallie said, “Mommy, I searched and searched for Taylor and couldn’t find her, and I have a sick feeling in my tummy and my heart. I hope she’s not sick or hurt.” I just love it when she says cute things.

Anyways moving on- Saturday, Holly, Janice, Mandy, Tari, and I along with our kids had a cute Christmas party. I did a game, Janice the food, Tari the drinks, Holly the cookies that the kids frosted, and of course, crafty Mandy did the craft. It was very cute and very fun. The kids exchanged gifts, and that was great. They enjoyed giving, and of course enjoyed receiving, and the kids who gave to my kids did a great job, and they love their new stuff, so THANKS!

Saturday afternoon, I had a little get to gether with all my friends from high school. Nikki, Heather, Lindsey, Corinne, and Erin all came over for snacks and we just visited, it was fun.

On Sunday, we had our annual family Christmas party with family from my mom’s side. There are no pictures from that, sorry. I really cannot recall in all the years that we have had that party ever seeing a camera there. That is pretty sad. Anyways, it was fun. That night was really special as my family and I went to a Stake Christmas music concert. I sang with our choir and it was really nice.

Christmas Eve was pretty boring actually. The main excitement came when I was helping Mandy find a lost package that was for her little boy for Christmas. This boy who is a DHL driver has a sister that is a mutual friend of me and Mandy’s. Anyways, we were trying to get a hold of Kristen so we could get a hold of her brother who had the package, or so we thought. Mandy tried to call; she had people driving around town looking for him etc. I was going to grab a few groceries at Jubilee, but hadn’t’ had lunch yet so I decided to stop at Smith’s. Just as I sat down with my food at the good ol’ Smith’s deli Kristen walked by, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I ran up to her, explained the details and to make a long story short, the package was found and all is well. Anyways, I told Mandy as cheesy as it may sound, I truly felt prompted to go to Smith’s and I was so glad that I did because it helped make her little boys Christmas complete. Moving on to that evening, we had my Parents and Kris along with my Grandma and Grandpa Bowthorpe over for dinner and all that fun stuff. The kids went to bed easily and were snug in bed….so we thought.

At 11:30 Kayler woke up with a TERRIBLE cough. He could hardly breathe and I knew right away it was croup. He was wheezing and crying and we had him in a steamy shower and gave him medicine and had the vaporizer going full speed. It was not getting any better. I was going to take him to the ER, but I just knew that they would be slow and retarded there as usual, and that I would miss my other kids waking up on Christmas morning, and I was NOT going to miss that chance. So, I stood on the porch with him swaddled in a blanket letting him breathe the cool air and giving him sips of ice water, because that helps him breathe better. Even though it was so terrible, and I was so tired, and I felt so bad for him, a great thing happened. As I was standing on the porch, it was sooooo peaceful. It was snowing, and it was just glowing outside. It was extremely serene, and my mind quickly wandered to the night the savior was born. I couldn’t help but to feel a small fraction of what Mary must have felt that night. Holding her newborn baby boy knowing that his life was going to be full of so much pain. I stood there holding Kayler feeling so helpless and not wanting him to suffer, but realizing that I am so truly lucky to have him.

So, I did get to sleep at 3:30, only to have the neighbor dog bark the rest of the night, so I didn’t get any sleep. The kids were up bright and early at 7:30. They were so excited and cute and played so nicely with each other. Gavin was so cute and so happy and more interested in what Hallie and Kayler got than his own. Kayler was really sad and sick and didn’t even look at his presents. Hallie said, “thanks mommy!” I asked her what for. She said, “well, you know, for like letting me sign that letter to santa.” How cute is that. After we got all cleaned up and ate, my parents came and got the older kids and G.J. and I took Kayler to the ER for a shot for his croup. We were in and out in about an hour, thank goodness. We went to our annual family Stewart party, had a nap, had dinner that night, and came home and crashed. (That was after we took down all the Christmas décor of course….aren’t’ I such a party pooper)

Yesterday I just let the kids play and enjoy all their new stuff. I cleaned house and it felt so good to have everything in order. GJ and I went to a party last night for our friend Becky, who has been battling leukemia for the greater part of this last year. She has gone through SO much. A bone marrow transplant, lots of hospital time, pain, suffering, etc.etc.etc. Yet, she was so upbeat not only last night but through her whole ordeal. She was the same ol’ Becky I remember from High School. It was so nice to eat dinner and reminisce with our friends that we haven’t seen for a long time. It was also a good reminder that even though I do have trials of my kids being sick, there is always someone worse off, and that someone (Becky) has such a great attitude through her trials. It made me realize that I need to have more faith that everything will work out ok.

We had a wonderful weekend. It was filled with all the people I care about most, my husband, kids, friends, and all my family. I hope everyone else had a wonderful time as well. Have a good day!

The day of finishing.

Well, today is a day that I have gotten so much done. First off, I would like to truly thank everyone for their genuine concern and advice about my little Hallie. I did call the principal, and she said that it was definitely not ok for that to happen at school. She said she was going to call Hallie in and tell her that she had every right to stand up for herself, and if it happens again to never hesitate to tell and not to feel like a tattletale. She said she was notifying the little girl and her parents, so we will see how that goes. I am a little nervous because they are a very feisty family, who cause lots of drama. So, hopefully things will get better, and with winter break for the next few weeks, I think that it will help settle things down.
The next thing that I have finished is my Christmas shopping. It seems there are just so many odds and ends that have to be done, but I think that I am done. I have vowed to NOT go to wal-mart for the next week or so, but we will see if I can stay away. There are just so many people in this dang town and they all seem to gravitate towards Wal-Mart, it is crazy.
The next thing I finished is something very special to me. G.J. and I have been reading the Book of Mormon as a couple for the past year. We have read a chapter or two every night. We have missed a few nights here or there, but for the most part we have read every night. I am a very fast reader, so G.J. just read along while I read aloud. I can honestly say that I know the book is true. I was so into it this time for some reason. This is the 4th time I have read it cover to cover. I think that it held so many answers for me this time around. Whenever I had a problem, it just so happened that the chapter we would read that night would help. I am so happy that we finished it at this time of year. It made it very special.
I need to post a big thanks to a friend from long ago. Stephanie was in my ward growing up, and I can honestly say that I haven't seen her for over 10-15 years I'm betting. Anyways, I am really good friends with Janice, who just happens to be Greg's wife, and Greg is Stephanie's brother, you catch all that??? lol. Anyways, she is a very talented crafty girl in lots of ways, but she really excels in digital scrap booking, so she did my new layout for me, and I love it. So- THANKS!!!
So, I am glad that I am ready for Christmas, and that everything else is settled and finished for the time being. Have a great day everyone!.Oh yeah-the pictures are from our ward Christmas party. The kids loved santa, all except for Kayler who did not like him one bit. But what is funny is that he stood right by the stage where Santa was and watched every kid go through the line, just mesmerized by him. He kept saying, "Santa-Ho-ho-ho" and then when the Santa got up and walked down the hall he got his arm waving as fast as it possibly could and he yelled "BYE-BYE" It was so cute.

The day about Hallie's Bully

Well, I need a little advice. Hallie has a bully bothering her at school. I have hesitated to even make anything of it, but I have had enough. I am not going to say her name, but she has bothered Hallie since Kindergarten. She is in our neighborhood, they go to church together, ride the bus together, and go to school together. She is non stop on Hallie's back and I have had it.
In Kindergarten, Hallie would come home and say, "_____was so mean to me today, she wouldnt let me in her club." I would just brush it off and tell her to make other friends, etc. She is the same way with her at church, always excluding Hallie and it makes her feel so bad. Well, what finally got me really really mad was an event last Friday. The kids had written letters to Santa, and then they had received letters back from him. Hallie came home very sad and said, "______took my paper and told me she was ripping it in a million pieces because I don't deserve Christmas." Then Hallie sat there a minute later and said, "mommy, she said something worse- ______took me aside and said, Hallie-I hope you know that you are SO UGLY." Hallie turned to me with big tears in her eyes and asked, "mommy, am I ugly?" I of course replied NO WAY, you are beautiful inside and out, which is so true. She has never went out of her way to be mean or hurt anyones feelings that I know of.
I have taught my kids to turn the other cheek. I have told them that other kids mommies and daddies don't teach them to say nice things to their classmates and friends. I have taught them to not fight back. Now, I am trying to decide if that was such a good idea. I am so fed up with this little girl for so many reasons. #1-She makes Hallie not want to go to school. I have heard Hallie pray at night that ______ will be nice to her at school the next day. #2 She doesn't want to go to church because of her. #3 They are 7 YEARS OLD. That is WAY too early for Hallie to have a negative opinion of herself, and it infuriates me that she actually believed this little girl when she said she didn't deserve Christmas and that she was ugly.
Hallie is not the only one being bothered. I have had several other mothers call and ask me if we were having trouble with this little girl too. She told one little girl that if she didn't bring her one of her toys the next day, she was going to come to her house and kill her horse. I just feel that I am in a hard place. I don't feel comfortable going to her mom to tell her about it, because the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree if you know what I mean, so I wouldn't get anywhere doing that. I have thought about calling the principle at her school, and talking to her primary teacher, but I don't know. I just don't want to be a tattletale, or one of those annoying mothers who fight their children's battles.
So, I need to know what you would all do, and what you think. I won't even care if you tell me I am over-reacting. I just need advice. Have a good day!

The Days leading up to Christmas

Well, the days are here. Our stockings are hung. The tree is lit. The presents are almost bought and wrapped and delivered. The friends and family are stopping by with gifts. The snow is making it seem real “Christmassy”. The kids have sent the letters to Santa and are very excited. I love this last week before Christmas.

We have a VERY and I mean VERY busy week. Monday we are dropping our poor dog off to be neutered. Bless his little doggy heart. We are making 20+ stops delivering gifts to neighbors, family, and friends for FHE. Tuesday we have: dance class, pick dog up, and the ward Christmas party. Wednesday brings 3 things for Hallie. First is a School Choral Concert, and then 2 ballet rehearsals for the Nutcracker which is this weekend. Thursday Hallie has a party at School as well as Gavin. Then we have G.J.’s work Christmas party that night. Friday, we yet again have rehearsal for the Nutcracker, with a performance that night. Saturday morning, my friends and I are throwing a Christmas party for our kids. We let them draw names for gifts. We are having games, lunch, etc. It should be a lot of fun. Hallie has another Nutcracker performance that night, and boy will I be glad for that to be over. She told me, "I don't really love ballet, I only love that you bring me flowers when I perform." Sunday is a busy day as well with a family Christmas Party during the day. The evening will be full of music at the Stake Sing a long. This is where each ward choir performs one number and sings one number with the congregation. There are 9 wards in our stake, so it is quite the event. It will set the tone just right for Monday, which is Christmas Eve, and then the BIG DAY!!! Christmas on Tuesday. So our schedule is PACKED. But it is full of things that I enjoy, other than the dog neuter thing and all.

We had a very nice weekend. Just enjoyed family, friends, etc. I tried and tried to get the wedding pictures on here from Kael's wedding, but it didn't work. My kids are horrible at picture taking, and G.J. and I aren’t very gifted in that area either. So none of them were very good of us, but there were some great ones of Kael and Emily and Rachael. We tried again to get my kids in their cute clothes in front of the Christmas tree this morning, but the sun shone through on most of them, and then we pulled the curtains, but by that time the kids were too ornery to smile and pose anymore, but you can get the idea of how cute they looked. Hallie was so happy today because she got to play the part of Mary at a little skit in primary. I got to watch and it was just precious. Well, I hope everything is going well for all who read. I will just say again how much I have enjoyed this whole blogging thing. My mom thinks I am retarded for doing it, but I don’t care. I don’t even care if nobody at all reads it or leaves me comments. All I care is that I sort my thoughts and events out, and print it out and save as my journal so that I can look back and remember all the tiniest details of my life. Have a good day!!!

The day of parties, weddings, and snowmen.

What a whirlwind week we have had. It all started Monday with Kayler’s Christmas Party for Prime Time 4 Kids. They do a cute little party at the elks lodge each year. Hallie and Gavin were in the program when they were younger as well, so I think this is like the 7^th time we have gone. They serve the same meal each year- hot dog, chips, & Kool-Aid. Pretty yummy, I know G.J. looks forward to it! He did not like Santa one bit. He was pretty ticked off about the whole thing. He did give Kayler a cute little bear that he loved and patted and made a big scene with.

Gavin had a cute little preschool party at the bank here in town. He told everyone that he was going to Santa’s bank. It was so cute, they sang a song, did the pledge, and some other stuff. They got to see Santa, and Gavin was all about that. He told him he wanted a “fish grabber” whatever the heck that is. I may have to show him lots of pictures to see what he means. Of course he was the child who last year all he wanted was keys….so you can never tell with him. The next party came with my monthly Bunco group. It is always the first Wednesday of the month. We have been playing for quite a few years now. It is a good getaway. I rarely win, but all I care about is the dinner, and getting in some adult conversation with my friends.

Thursday we were busy preparing for Kael and Emily’s big day on Friday. Friday morning came with inches upon inches of new snow. It was beautiful and white and nice, which was great except for maybe on a wedding day, but that’s ok. My good wonderful friends helped me out with my kids. Holly took Gavin, and he played well with Spencer, so I am glad of that. Janice took Hallie, and she did her hair for me and Hallie had fun she said. Mandy took Kayler, and I know he wore her ragged, but she assured me he was ok. I hope that’s true because I know 18 month olds are very busy and LOTS of work.

We were at the temple until 11:00. This is a day I never imagined would come for Kael. He hasn’t been to church in almost 14 years. He just fell away. He was not a bad person by any means; he just didn’t feel a need to go I guess. That was until he met Emily and Rachael. She was his very first girlfriend, kiss, all that at the age of almost 30! He is so good to them, and they love him so much too. It was very very special to be in the temple with my WHOLE family. I never thought that would happen. It was a moment I will never forget. The luncheon went well. Then we came home and made a huge snowman and had so much fun in the snow. The reception was beautiful, and my kids looked SO cute. I am kicking myself because I had a camera, but things were so hectic, that we only let the photographer take pictures of them. But I will get some pictures soon I hope. Needless to say, by the end of that day we were so tired.

Saturday was so much fun. It reminded me of the snow days that I used to have when I was little. It just doesn’t seem like it has snowed this much for a very long time. We made a really fun trail on the backside of my parent’s hill. My kids tubed and sledded and did all sorts of fun stuff. Kayler was sleeping, so I had to stay and watch him, but that’s ok with me. I have too many people to take care of to risk getting hurt sledding, but I did go down a couple times. We had everyone there, all my immediate family, and cousins and their spouses and kids. We had hot chocolate and sloppy joes and the funnest Wii Nintendo party EVER. It was absolutely hilarious seeing all the adults so competitive and into it. I haven’t laughed that much in a really long time.

Kael and Emily are in Disneyland. I hope they are having fun. They got SOOOOO many presents, and we get to help them open them when they get back, that should be fun. I am so truly happy for them. If only I could get my other brother married off, that would make our family complete.

Today just same old church and choir. May I just say how truly grateful I am that I am in the choir this time of year. Our ward has a very talented choir and director. I love singing the songs of Christmas. It just helps me feel the true spirit so much more. This week we are going to try to finish up some Christmas shopping, cards, etc. Hope you all have a great day!

The Day starting with a Bang!

Thanks for all the feedback about Gavin. I realized that I am not alone. Along with that, I have read a WONDERFUL article, just out in this months Ensign by President Hinckley. It was exactly what I needed in every way, and I urge you all to read it. It is the titled “These, our little ones.” I read that a few days ago, and it made me feel so blessed to have the kids that I do. I know that I will not always feel so blessed when they are being naughty. I know that there are rough times ahead, but I also know that the times that are worth cherishing make it all worth it.

My weekend started out with a bang….literally. I took a little spill down the stairs. I was holding Kayler at the time. Gavin had left a little tray on the stairs and my foot hit it just right-I slipped back-hit my head-hit my back/hip area-blacked out a little-woke up-was still holding Kayler-wanted to cry-didn’t-and it still hurts today. And that is that. When I asked Gavin about it he said, “Oh mommy, I’m sorry you found my booby trap!”

Anyways, I had a wonderful night out with my gal pals Friday night. It was so wonderful because first off, it was snowing. Second off, we all had pedicures. (I know, its winter…but our toes will look pretty until springtime now hopefully!) Next we had a delicious dinner at Gandolfo’s. Then we headed to the movie “Dan in Real Life.” It was so good. After that, they all headed home. I went and got G.J. and the kids and we went to my moms to enjoy a little Wii. I am getting wicked awesome at Guitar Hero by the way. Hallie and Gavin stayed the night there.

The next morning, I had a church meeting, then we went and got the kids. We stayed there all day just eating and playing and enjoying being out of our house. We went shopping for awhile. Then we came home and tried to make a snowman, but the snow wasn’t packing well. So I got a few pics of the kids and the dog (who is very amazed by the snow by the way) We then took the kids to “Enchanted” with my Mom, Dad, Kael, Emily and Rachel. They liked it. I think my Dad liked it the most though, shedding a few tears here and there. My kids thought that was hilarious. Such a sentimental fellow even at shows when 99% of people would not even consider crying lol.

We had church, choir, and dinner at my moms tonight. Then we topped the weekend off by watching the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. It was wonderful. Just reiterated why I love this season. I have decided that I could do without the snow and ice and all that crap. But I do love this time of year. This week will be so busy because I have my brothers wedding on the 7^th. Have a Good Day!

The day about my naughty Gavin

The pic above is of my sweet Gavin. We went ice skating last night for FHE. I forgot my camera, but I had my cell phone. I took a ton of pictures, only to come home and find that I had not saved them, this is the only one that worked. By the way, our whole family is NOT good at ice skating. Mandy and Brett watched Kayler for me, thank goodness. The rest of us struggled around the rink a few times. I’m not going back anytime soon…lol.

So today I need a little advice on my Gavin. Let me just say, he is the sweetest most precious and adorable little 4 almost 5 year old. But, he had been on a bad streak for lets say….a few years now. He is just the one kid that I constantly have to get after. This is not saying that my other 2 kids don’t have their naughty times, or that they don’t get into trouble. It is just that Gavin does twice as much naughty and definitely lives up to the “middle child” syndrome.

He is always the first one to tell me that I am pretty. He was the first to notice the Christmas lights all around and say how beautiful they were. He is just so sweet. On the other end of the spectrum, he is so darn naughty. He is always been the one that is so sneaky and breaks things, makes huge messes, is very mean to other kids (especially his brother and sister), and who is very hard to discipline.

For example, he loves to trip Kayler. He will just be walking along and he will throw toys or anything at his feet just so he can see him fall and cry. I will try to talk to him, put him on time out, etc. IT DOES NOT WORK. A few weeks ago, he had gone too far, Kayler had cried all day because of him hurting him. So I spanked him (gasp…I know that is against the law now). I felt terrible, and he felt terrible, and it broke his heart. I thought that for sure would do the trick. I was wrong. It wasn’t 15 minutes later and he took a little couch thing and slammed Kayler from behind and sent him flying across the room. I have tried reward charts, like if he is nice for so many days, he gets a trip to he dollar store. My mom has bribed him for every day that he is not mean to Kayler, she gives him a dollar. Well, he has currently earned no trips to the dollar store and no dollars from my mom. This has continued up until now, and he has another bad habit.

He is peeing everywhere. HOW SICK IS THAT. So far, it has been on his bedroom floor, on his bedspread, and in a bathroom trash can. He says he “can’t find the toilet.” I don’t know if he is trying to get attention, or what. It is very hard as a mom of 3 to give all my children the same amount of good attention. When Hallie comes home from school, I try to tell her good job on her papers. I try to teach and praise Kayler, but he is a baby, so he has a lot of needs as well. I go completely out of my way to find things to praise Gavin about, because I know that when he is so naughty all the time, he is getting a lot of negative feed back and he needs to have balance. I make a huge deal about the smallest things, and truly love the smile on his face when he realizes that I love him and I am proud of him, even though I have to get after him so much.

So basically, how can I go about stopping this terrible behavior without breaking his spirit? I personally think that kids this age are so fragile, and the things that I say and do to him will stay with him for a lifetime and shape the kind of adult he is. I don’t want to ruin him. So, give me some advice. I know that I am not alone, and other moms got through this too, but I hope things get better soon.

The day about My Thanksgiving Holiday

Well, we made it through turkey day. What an event. We went to my moms as usual. The guests were me and my family, my parents, my brothers, Emily and Rachel, My Grandma and Grandpa, and my Great Aunt Venna. The day was nice, pretty uneventful. The only out of ordinary thing that happened was when the whole family was seated around the table, and my brothers were bringing good ol’ aunt Venna to the table. Well, as she was walking, her pants fell clear to her ankles. So there she stood in front of us all in her garments and adult diaper. She was oblivious to it all, because she is a slightly mentally handicapped along with being 80+ years old. So I ran over and pulled up her pants, and didn’t know whether to cry for her, or laugh. But, since it obviously didn’t bother her, we all just laughed it off. She enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner SOOO much, it was so cute. My mom had to feed her like a little baby because she is no longer able to feed herself. She really enjoyed her doing that. She loved the kids, the TV shows, and loved to have a nap. It was the funniest scene ever, her and my grandparents (all of whom are 80+ yrs old) watching the discovery channel and then simultaneously falling asleep and snoring. I felt so bad when we had to take her back to the care center, but I was so glad that she was able to come.

The day continued on with a movie and more food. Then we went home and broke out the Christmas décor, which was so fun. I woke up this morning and finished it all. There was a community Holly Days celebration, but the wind was blowing and it was SOOO cold. So, G.J. braved the weather and took Hallie and Gavin to a few things. The picture above is of them at a train ride thing or something. I had a few errands to run and me and Kayler just hung out at home.

We finished the evening off by going to my moms to enjoy her new Wii game thing, with a little Guitar Hero and Mario. I am not so good at it yet, but give me time…lol. Anyways, to keep the kids busy while the adults were playing we became desperate with activities for them to do. My brother Kris gave Kayler his $400+ Blackberry Phone to play with. Well, pretty soon, Kayler was nowhere in sight. I searched and found him in the bathroom, dipping the phone in and out of the toilet. He was soaked in toilet water, and I am sorry to say that I think that phone has heard its last ring. I feel so bad about it. Guess us adults shouldn’t try to be kids again by playing videogames.

Anyways, our thanksgiving was nice, and I am really starting to get into the holidays and am fully enjoying every second, because it just doesn’t last long enough. Hope you all had a good time too. Have a good day!!

The days of Holiday Spirit

So today I broke out the Christmas music. Mandy brought me a Josh Grobin Christmas CD and I was so excited and I listened to it all. It was even sweeter that my little Kayler sat on my lap listening happily as I did my work on the computer. I love this time of year. I love deciding what to give people for Christmas. I love receiving the millions of catalogs in the mail and browsing through to find that perfect gift for the people I care about. I am about 1/3 of the way or so finished with my shopping. I love giving, and I love to think of the person opening the gift and knowing that I put a lot of thought into it.

I received an email a while ago that asked the top 4 things I wanted for Christmas. I honestly could not think of one material type thing that I needed. I tried and tried, but all I really could think of was the things that I wanted to give, and the way I wanted to feel this time of year. I love the true spirit of Christmas to radiate in my home. I love to feel happy, attend lots of Christmas parties, see the lights, hear the wonderful Christmas sounds, and just try to soak it all in during the short Christmas season.

Most of all, I love to see my kids enjoy the whole scene of it all. I have such wonderful memories of my childhood and Christmas. I can see my kids acting the same way that I felt so long ago. It has been really fun this year with Kayler talking a little more. He is seeing all these new things and is very curios. I bought him a tiny stuffed Santa at the dollar store the other day. He carries it around and says so cute, “HO, HO, HO!” Hallie and Gavin of course have to scream at me during every commercial of the toys they want, which is not so much fun, but it is cute in a way.

I hope that this Thanksgiving will be a time to reflect on the great year I have had along with my family. I am truly blessed in every way. Have a good Thanksgiving, and make this the best holiday season ever is my wish for all who may read this. Have a good day!

The day of being Thankful.

Well, I am so glad the weekend is almost here. I just had to post some funny things my kids brought home from school today. They both had to write things they were thankful for. Gavin's paper went a little something like this, "I am grateful for carnivals, I like carnivals. I am grateful for mommy, because she says prayers. I am grateful for daddy because he goes to work." Hallie's was more of a story, and I have to type it how she spelt the words, because it is so cute. "I like to eat pupkin pie and I'm crazy abot cranbarys and I like to pick pupkins and I like to play in the levse the end." Aren't they so cute!!!! I am sure if Kayler could talk he would say he is grateful for his binky, bottle, blanky, binoculars (he has this pretend pair he just loves), candy, dora and spongebob, and his mommy of course. I am truly grateful for so many things, so I will make a list in no particular order: my family, the church, my friends, my home, my cars, my food, my water, my warmth, my health, my children's health, happy days, sunny days, shopping (when I have money), for my brother to be getting married, for the holidays, and most of all-my savior, for which all of the above things are made possible. Have a great weekend!

The days of Cute kids

Well, since I am writing this blog, you will all know that I survived my dreaded day of 11/11. Everything was quite boring. I woke up late, got ready for church, went to church, came home, rested, went to choir, went to my moms for dinner, came home, went to bed....all without an accident.
I decided today to write a few of the funny things my kids have told me, because I really want to remember how cute they are at this age. Hallie and I were driving down the road a couple days ago and we drove past a really big house. This is how the conversation went. Hallie: "I am going to live in a mansion someday when I am 25, and I am going to have a baby when I am 25 too, and my mansion will have 25 rooms." Me: "where will your mansion be?" Hallie: "vernal...or maybe Roosevelt." Me: "ewww. Roosevelt?" Hallie: "well mommy, I wouldn't have to eat the food there or nothing." Then she thought about it for awhile and said, "I think I will have it in Salt Lake because then I can eat at Olive Garden everyday and go to lots of rodeos." (my brother Kris took her to a rodeo last summer...lol must of been a good one). Then she said"I will have a little baby girl first and her name will be Princess, and then I will have another baby girl and her name will be Susan, and then I will have a baby boy and he will be named Jaden after his daddy." Me: "Oh, will your husband be named Jaden?" Hallie: "Yes, mommy, I have a new boyfriend and I am in love. His name is Jaden, and today at recess I asked if I could play with him, and he said, "sure princess!" so that is why I will marry him and why our first daughter will be named Princess!" Isn't she so CUTE, she had really given that a lot of thought.
Gavin is absolutely obsessed with money, quarters, dollar bills, and the dollar store. If he can find quarters, he will close his eyes, put them over his eyes, and fall asleep like that, I need to take a picture. If he has a dollar bill, he will wad it up and sleep with it in his fist and if he wakes up and can't find it he freaks out. The other day he told me, "could we go to the dollar store, the one with the green sign, (meaning dollar tree) and then after that can we go to the three dollar store?" I asked him what the 3 dollar store was and he said it had a red sign, so I thought about it, and G.J.'s mom had taken him to family dollar a few days earlier. He must have noticed that everything there was not just 1 dollar and the toy she had gotten him was 3 dollars, and he remembered that. He is so cute.
I'm very blessed to have such cute kids and I cherish all their little stories and hope they will always be able to tell me anything and that I can be a good listener. Have a good day!

P.S. I promised I would post a pic of my friends, so the pic at the top is one we took Saturday night at Catholic Bingo. I went with Janice, Mandy, Holly, some of Mandy's family, and my mom came for a minute. It was SOOO much fun. I really had a good night.

The days filled with 11:11

Well, I know that after everyone reads this blog, you will officially think I have lost my mind. I have had a weird problem for the past 6 months or so. Every single day at 11:11 a.m. or 11:11 p.m., I just happen to glance at the clock. It doesn’t matter where I am at or what I am doing. I could be dead asleep and just wake up with one of my kids or to go to the bathroom, and the clock will say 11:11. I could be busy running errands and flip my cell phone open to call someone, and bam….11:11. I will even purposefully try to avoid the clock at that time of day. It even started to bother me so bad that I prayed for it to stop, which it did for a few weeks and then it is back with a vengeance. But the VAST majority of the time, I never miss it.

My brother, who thinks I have completely lost it, says that he has always thought if you see the clock when it is 11:11, you are supposed to make a wish. So, I have tried making wishes. I have a good life so I know that I am blessed and whatever wishes I have made have came true in some way. Other people think that something really good is going to happen on today, which just happens to be (duh!) 11/11. Other people say that it is just coincidence, and nothing is going to happen.

I, being slightly pessimistic, have fully persuaded myself that something bad is going to happen today. I decided long ago that I was not going to go anywhere today, and I encouraged all my family and friends to do the same. But, that idea went out the window when my dad and brother decided to go on vacation to Guatemala. Hallie stayed the night at my moms, so she is away from me, and we really need to go to church. G.J. lets me sleep in on weekends (isn’t he so sweet) anyways; usually I wake up by 8:30/9:00. Today, I slept in and when I thought it was about time to be getting up, I glanced at the clock, it was 10:23 (you thought I was going to say 11:11! lol) The first thought that came to my mind was OH GREAT….today is 11/11, and I instantly felt sick inside.. I must have little faith.

So, after today, I will have to update if anything happened in any way. And then, I hope the curse of seeing those numbers will go away. If not, I will have every 11/11 to dread, especially the big date of 11/11/11, which is not so far away. So call me a weirdo, or tell me I need to be in a crazy house….lol. I know it seems like it. But, I hope me and my family and all my friends and people I care about have a wonderful, accident free day.

The day about my pets

After reading Tari's dog trauma today, I decided to write about my pets. I have had several, and although I am NOT a pet person. I decided to write about the great ones I have had.

My first recollection was my dog Mandy….I don’t think I have ever told you Mandy that I had a dog named that. She was the sweetest thing; I don’t even remember what breed. Anyways, when I was 5 or so, she had to be put down and I remember sitting at our front window watching my dad take her away and I just cried and cried.

So, we got another dog named Bucky. He was the best golden lab in the world. He would follow us kids everywhere around the neighborhood. I remember once I took him for a walk all alone, and our neighbor had 2 German Shepards. Well they came after me and good ol' bucky stood in the way and took care of them. They fought so bad and I cried and cried because I thought he was going to die. That was the just the beginning of him getting hurt. He got ran over 4 times…..but to make matters very interesting, it was by the SAME man. He was slightly blind and should NOT have had a driver’s license. Our poor dog had to have surgery after surgery to repair him from being run over. This same man also ran over my cousin’s cat right in front of my eyes. He finally got the best of Bucky, and he died. I remember they took him to the vet to try to save him, but he was gone. Me and my brother Kris prayed and prayed the whole time he was at the vet, but it didn’t do any good. I remember that was the first time I was mad at heavenly father. So, I colored him a headstone and I still know where it is today.

On my first day of kindergarten, my cat Ralph was born. He was a HUGE beautiful cat that was my best friend. He went through his 9 lives and then some. One of the worst times was when our other rotten neighbor caught him in a trap and let his hound dogs chase after him. My brothers were so mad and they snuck into this neighbor’s yard and rescued him. He had to have surgery, stitches, and had 3 toes bitten off. He stayed with me clear until I got married and then he stayed at my mom’s house. Hallie got to play with him even. Then his last day was a terribly tragic one. I was 9 months pregnant with Gavin and due any day. I got a phone call from my brother Kael and he was sobbing. That was rare for him. Well, he had accidentally ran over Ralph, killing him instantly. He was so sad, he wrapped him in the shirt he was wearing and buried him. I was hysterical with grief. I was so sad, and Hallie seen me crying and then she was crying, it was quite the scene. My parent’s were on vacation at the time and so we went up to console Kael. Well, to my horror, there was a HUGE blood stain on the driveway, and it was the middle of the winter and it was frozen there. I made G.J. pour bucket after bucket of hot water there until it was gone, it was a very traumatizing event.

I also had a dog Tucker. He was a Sharpe with all the wrinkles. He was such an idiot of a dog; I think he was a handicapped dog. Once we lost him up at Iron Springs. It took 3 days to find him. It was so sad. Then, the same damn neighbor who captured our cat beat him over the head with a shovel, requiring 200 stitches! No lie- My parents were too nice to be mad at him. They did mention it to him, and he said, “Oh, I didn’t know that was your dog.” Which was a lie. Anyways, he couldn’t see very well, and had to have a few eye surgeries. He also snorted so loud ALL the time and drooled a lot. His life came tragically to an end when I was about 16. We were living in trailers at the time because my parents were building their house. Kael again was the cause of death. He drove into the driveway and tucker didn’t see him and he didn’t see tucker. He ran him over and it was SO awful. Because he had so many wrinkles, he basically got skinned. To make matters even worse, he would not die, and was yelping and I was in hysterics and my mom was too. So poor Kael had to shoot him.

Kael had all sorts of animals that I did not call my own. We had sheep, hound dogs, horses, etc.etc.etc. When I got married, I decided because of the major drama I had experienced with pets as a child, we would NOT have pets. Well, I gave in and got Hallie a cat when she was 3. It was named Polly. It was a good cat. That is until it jumped over our 6 ft. vinyl fence and got tangled in some barb wire on the other side of the fence. Well, it roamed around and didn’t die on its own unfortunately. We found it and took it to the vet and it had a $200 surgery. Then it had to be spayed, and that is when it went crazy. It bit everything in sight, scratched, and hissed. My grandpa wanted to take it to kill the mice on his farm. So everything went nicely until it killed every single one of his prized chickens. So, that was the end of Polly. We will never have another cat, because after we had her, we found out Hallie was very allergic to cats anyways.

In September for Hallie’s birthday, I gave in yet again, and let G.J.’s mom and dad get her a dog. So now we have Dexter. He is so cute, but still a very naughty puppy biting and chewing and peeing and pooping all over the yard. We are going to take him to obedience school, and I hope that works. I like my kids to have pets because it is good for them. I just don’t want them to go through the pain that I did having to watch them die. So, I guess as long as it doesn’t get ran over, or put in a cage, or heaven knows what else, we will just enjoy him while we can.

The day of updates

I feel like I haven't really updated what is going on in our day to day life because I am so busy with all the other topics. Everything is going well, we are having our spurts of busy/boring all the time.
Our stake just split the wards all up and it is just crazy. We will be going to a new chapel clear in Naples....YUCK, but oh well, it is the ward and gospel and all that goods stuff that matters, right? Anyways, I am the visiting teaching coordinator, and I am currently in visiting teaching HELL right now trying to reorganize it all. I am also helping out with the Drill Team here and there. It is fun, makes me want to get into shape again. Which is why I also started up diet class again tonight. I took it a year ago for a total of 20 weeks, and I lost over 30 lbs. I ended in March, and since then, according to my weigh in tonight, I have only gained 5 lbs give or take....lol. So I am proud. My poor dad took it with me last time, and he lost 30 lbs too, and he came again tonight and he gained every pound plus some back. Other than that, I am just trying to keep up with these kids
G.J. is just trying to get adjusted at work. The poor guy comes home and has to help me every second. Our kids are just at very needy ages right now. I don't see an end in sight, and I want them to need us, but it sure gets exhausting sometimes.
Hallie is busy as ever at school. She is so darn smart it freaks me out a little. She is in 2 dance classes and is learning a lot. She is such a dramatic 7 year old and always has a drama type story to tell me about her friends or school. Her top 2 teeth are loose, so she may be asking for some two front teeth for Christmas.
Gavin has finally made a friend at preschool, named Carston. His best buddy is Quayd, and he came over to play today. Quayd jumped up on our Foosball table, and hurt his little "unit" if you know what I mean. We heard him crying and the next thing we knew, Gavin was running up stairs and he said, "I promise I didn't touch him!" This is a big accomplishment because Gavin has been a little violent fart and kinda has a tendency to beat up on kids and make them cry, and then he ends up crying because he is so embarrassed and sad he did it. He is making leaps and bounds in that area though, along with him improving every day at school
Kayler is finally starting to feel better I hope. He is so darn cute, and has a new super cheesy grin that he does and is still giving his mommy lots of loves, and I just soak up every bit of it that I can. He loves Dora and Spongebob still, and what is so funny is that there can be the smallest picture of either of those characters on a box, or TV, or anywhere and he stops in his tracks and says, "doa....spon-bob" He is so cute.
We are busy getting ready for my brother Kael's wedding on Dec. 7th. I cannot believe this day is ever happening. He is 30 years old and Finally found the perfect girl and I am so happy for them. Thanksgiving is also approaching fast. Christmas is already thrown into our faces, I can't believe the commercials already, and the stores are just wild. I was kind of getting annoyed with it all, because I think retailers are just trying to make money. Then I decided to be a nice girl and cherish every single day of the christmas'y like spirit. It is so fun. I was at the dollar store today, and it had a huge sign that said -50 days until Christmas- SO it will be here soon.
Life is good, we are grateful. Hope all is well for everyone who may read this. Have a good day!!

The days of sick kids

I’ve decided not to blog on weekends. My life isn’t interesting enough. What I chose today will be quite boring to most, but I’m having a pity party so I can do what I want to!

My kids get sick. A LOT. And I am so sick of them being sick I could scream. Last week we went through our ELEVENTH hospitalization. Kayler came down with some sort of stomach virus. He threw up at 2 p.m., and by 7 p.m. he couldn’t even hold his head up and he was in the hospital until Tuesday night.

Their illnesses have mainly been intestinal/dehydration. We have had a few croup/pneumonia types too. I am always baffled at how my kids get so sick. I am one of the cleanest people I know. I rarely take my kids into huge public places with lots of germs. I am the annoying mom that meets them off the school bus with a bottle of purel and sprays Lysol on all their stuff. I try so hard to feed them well, let them get rest, keep them clean, give vitamins, etc.etc.etc. Yet, they always seem to catch whatever is going around, and it seems to affect them much worse.

One Dr. suggested a disorder that they could have. It is called neutropenia. It basically means that a person gets sick much more often and much more severe than the average person. There are many forms of it, but he believes they have the kind that gets much better as they get older, and I agree. It seems that the older they get, the less they get sick, but it is the getting there that is hard. He was hesitant to write this disorder in their charts because it does not look good on their medical records. Even with that diagnosis, I still don’t have much comfort sometimes

I know that every person-man, woman, child, baby are going to get sick sometimes. It is just the way things go. I accept that totally. I also know that without a doubt, the small things that my kids have gone through are MUCH less severe than the millions of kids who suffer with life threatening diseases every second of their lives.

The reason I am such a big baby about all of this is because I hate how their being sick messes up my life, how selfish does that sound. I first off and foremost feel so sorry for their tiny little bodies when they just do not feel good. There is nothing worse than watching your sweet little angels suffer poking and prodding and tests and them being scared. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am an over organized anally obsessive person who likes things in order. When my kids get sick, it throws things out of whack so bad and it takes so long to get things back in order. Like it has been a week since Kayler was in the hospital last, and I feel like I am barely catching up. To make matters worse, the money that is spent on medical bills and medicines is just so hard to handle sometimes.

Along with all that, I also have to go through the embarrassment of people thinking I am a bad mom and actually let my kids get sick or even worse, want them to-there is nothing further from the truth. I would need to be in a nut house if I actually felt that way. I am so embarrassed every time they get sick or get put in the hospital and I rarely even tell anybody. I actually live in a constant state of fear that my kids will get sick. I find myself not wanting to go anywhere or do anything with anybody that would get them sick. I have to reassure myself that I can’t live in a bubble, and that everything will be ok. Faith and patience and endurance and long suffering are thing I definitely need help with.

So, I’m sorry to all who read this boring blog, I just needed to vent on this certain topic. And if you can find it in your hearts, please pray for health and strength for my family. I could use all the help I can get! Have a good day!

The day all about my Friends.

I’ve been excited to write this blog ever since I started the whole blogging thing about a week ago…lol. So, I grabbed me a candy bar from my kids Halloween stash, poured me a cherry coke over crushed ice, and here I sit, ready to write about my friends.

I tried to think of a way that I could write about every friend I’ve ever had, but I knew I would leave someone out. So what I decided to do was write about the friends I have had that have been the very closest to me throughout my life, and who remain close to me to this day. I will go in chronological order starting from my first friend, to my most recent additions!

My first friend arrived six weeks after I was born. She is also my cousin and her name is Heather. Our moms were best of friends and we did everything together, and I mean everything. We were in the same dance, stayed the night with each other, went to lunch all the time with our moms, we even got the same things for Christmas. I always thought Santa was so cool that he would buy me and my best friend the same things. Anyways, we have remained close all these years. Sometimes we went through weeks, even months without making contact because of our busy lives, but we always knew we were there for each other.

My next friend arrived in Kindergarten, and her name is Jessica. She was so much fun. I loved going to her house, because her mom let her cook top raman soup all by herself and I thought that was so cool. We have remained very close through the years, no matter how separate of paths each of our lives were taking. She shares my OCD disorder of being a clean, neat, organized freak, so that makes us even closer. She is always there to listen and I am always here to listen to her too.

My next friend was Nikki. She arrived in 5^th grade. We were destined to be friends. Our teacher placed our desks right next to each other on the first day of school, and the rest is history. We have gone through so much with each other. Our funnest times were the rebel years when we would sneak out to “hang out” with the neighborhood boys. We have had a very special bond all these years. We pray for each other, give advice, laugh, and most of all, and just feel comfort knowing that no matter what happens, we will always have each other as friends.

Throughout middle school and junior high, we had a little group that consisted of Me, Heather, Nikki, LaToya, and Steph. LaToya now lives in New Zealand, and I miss her so much. She is a very very strong girl and I admire her in so many ways. Steph is here in town. She is so pretty and nice and thoughtful. I don’t get to see her as often as I would like due to our busy lives. Both Steph and Toya’s houses were the hangout/party houses. We could always guarantee on the weekends to have a great time at either of their houses.

In 9^th grade, after I made Drill Team, my closest friend became Erin. She and I were inseparable, and boy did we have some crazy times driving around in her moms super old car we called the gray ghost. She had her license, but was afraid to drive, and I didn’t have mine but I still always drove. We only hung out with each other and we had so much fun. We always found a pair of boys to be our boyfriends. We would just have them around until we were sick of them, and then we would ditch them and move on. She is the one person who I can almost immediately know what she is thinking without her even telling me and vice/versa. She is moving into my ward within the next year or so, and I am very excited about that. Although we probably won’t have our crazy times like we used to, we can still have lots of fun.

After I got married and had Hallie, I lost contact with lots of my friends. It wasn’t that we didn’t like each other; it was just that we all led very different lives. I was married with a husband and house and baby, and they were all headed off to college. Those were some very lonely times for me. I had Gavin and moved out to where we live now and then came Mandy, who unbeknownst to her, became a lifesaver to me. We were in the YW pres. Together, and she was a happy-go-lucky kind a gal who was so crafty and talented, the type of girl who could add her special touch to any event and make it so much better. She invited me to hang out with her and her Bunco group and to get together and all sorts of stuff. I was so happy that I finally had friends again. She moved out of our ward and I was so worried that I wouldn’t have her anymore, but she stuck it out with me and we have remained close ever since. We had lots of late nights scrap booking, having nacho trips at 7-11, and just talking. We have become even closer over the past year or so too. She has went through a lot, and has allowed me to be her counselor. I love to lend a listening ear, and I am always here, and she has been very good to me as well. She is still very talented, a great cook, mother, wife, cook, aunt, daughter, daughter in law, sister, cousin, granddaughter, sister in law, niece, friend, and downright fun to be with because of her personality. Notice I put cook twice because she is very good at that and you all know how I love to eat.

Through meeting Mandy, I have had opportunities to meet all sorts of people, but one of my favorites is Janice. She is a Hoot! She is this nice Mormon gal, but has a wild streak in her; she loves to PARTY-not like the drunken kind, but always ready to have a good time. She is a marathon runner, something that blows my mind. I can’t even run half a block but she runs 26.2 miles, which is just amazing. About a year ago, she and I and Mandy decided that we were all a little fat…isn’t it amazing how having kids does that. So I took the leap first joining a diet class. Janice was always the first to compliment me and made me feel so good. She and Mandy joined shortly after, and as a group, I lost 30 lbs, I think Janice lost 40 or so, and Mandy lost close to 40 (?) so that is like 110 lbs total. We lost the total weight of what I used to weigh in high school! She is a very good wife to her husband and mother to her kids. She is very involved in her friend’s lives because all her family lives out of town and so she has the time to be very dedicated to all of us. One of the things that is great about Janice is that she isn’t afraid to make new friends. She has a keen eye for people who may be lonely or need a friend. She always invites them to stuff that we might be doing as a group and that is very good of her. I know that it makes a lot of those people so happy. That brings me to my next friend.

Holly is in Janice and Mandy’s ward, and they invited her to be in our little group, which is a huge deal because we are so awesome. Holly is famous because her mom and dad are in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir…lol. j/k but that is a huge deal. She is a great cook as well. I mention my friends being great cooks because I am terrible at it. She is very spiritual and her family has a wonderful set of values that we should all strive for. The great thing is that she still lets loose and has a wonderful time with us. When Janice, Mandy, Holly, and I get together and the mood is right, we can get a little out of hand with our jokes, laughing, stories, etc. She is a very thoughtful person, always giving so willingly of herself. Whenever I have been sick, or my kids, Holly is always there to bring me a wonderfully homemade meal, and that means so much to me. She is good to listen, offer advice, and help.

Just off the top of my head, I am going to name a few more of my close friends which I have had that I don’t talk to near as much as I would like to, and if they read my blog, please don’t feel sad that I didn’t dedicate a whole paragraph to you. I am only putting first names. They include: Dana, Jesenia, Lindsey, Raquel, Corinne, all my drill team friends, all my Bunco friends, card swap members, neighbors, church friends, and all others who have touched my life in some way. I love you all; truly I do and am grateful to have you. As I sat here thinking back on all the years, I have had so many good people to call my friends, I am so lucky and grateful, so thanks to all of you. Have a good day!

p.s. sorry, I don't have any pics of my friends. that is not very nice of me. I will someday though.

The day of Halloween

Our Halloween this year was great! I feel so bad that G.J. was out of town and had to miss it. It was a lot like the Halloween’s that I remember as a kid. I think that the time change being later this year, along with the weather being nice, it helped out a TON. My kids were so cute and excited.

I hate Halloween costume drama, but we still had a little this year. Hallie wanted to be a Chinese girl. So, my brother Kris brought her some Chinese outfit from New York. She wore it once and got it dirty, so I washed it. Well, it fell to shreds. G.J.’s mom worked all day on it getting it back together. By this time, I had borrowed a witch outfit from her cousin. So on Halloween, we decided to bag the Chinese idea, and just go with easy witch since I hadn’t bought anything else for her Chinese costume. I didn’t give Kayler or Gavin a choice this year, because it is just easier that way for now. Gavin was a dragon, and Kayler a lion and they were so warm and cute.

Our day was very nice and boring, just stayed home all day and relaxed. We then went and got some dinner at Wendy’s. Then we found the face painting lady, she does such a good job, and cheap too! The kids thought that was awesome. We then went to my Grandma Stewart’s, my mom’s trunk or treat at her ward, caught up with Grandma and Grandpa Searle, did my ward’s trunk or treat, my Grandma Bowthorpe’s, and finally home, washed up, and in bed by 8:30. It was nice and smooth and free of any problems except for one. As you can see in the pictures, Hallie and Gavin’s faces are completely green. Well, that paint came off ok, but left a definitely noticeable green hue on their faces. I scrubbed for 30 minutes last night and this morning. I had to send Hallie off to school this morning with a green face. But, she didn’t mind. I will work on Gavin’s a little more. Hallie said that next year she would be cat so she would only have to have her nose painted and some whiskers. Such a logical girl.

I think we are in for lots of days of sugar high’s. I brought their candy home and dumped it into my 40 cup Tupperware bowl. It completely filled it and then some. That is just sickening. Oh well, I need a treat or too here and there, or more like every time I pass the bowl! Hope you all had a happy Halloween, have a good day!

The day of being Tagged.

I love an excuse to blog! It is my new favorite activity. Although, I find it hard to really talk and brag about myself. I think I have a pretty average life. Nothing to exciting but not WAY boring. Just Average. So when I got the invite from Mandy to play this "TAG" game, I welcomed the opportunity. Bear with me as I take on the challenge!!

The rules:

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.

B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves. (I chose to do thing that people might not know about me)

C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. I was almost kidnapped as a child. NO JOKE! I don’t think I have told hardly anybody this story. My whole family, cousins, aunts, grandparents and all used to make a yearly trip to Lagoon. We would make a huge deal out of it, because we were just some country bumpkins in the great big city! Anyways, we went to stay at the Chase Hotel and Suites which is in downtown Salt Lake. My mom was in the shower, and she told my dad to watch me. This is in 1985 by the way, when I was 2. So drag racing was on TV, and my dad got a little preoccupied. I somehow managed to get out of the room. Well, I obviously don’t remember the rest, but my mom said that they searched for over 30 minutes for me. She even ran down the street when she seen a stroller and pushed the lady aside to look in the stroller because she thought I was in it. Finally, my cousin Jamie noticed me down a hallway with a woman and she was walking into a room with me. He yelled, “KANDICE!” and she stopped and he grabbed me and she went in the room and hid. It was just terrible from what I hear. My mom was so upset that she didn’t even go to lagoon.
2. I was a really good dancer at one point. I danced and did gymnastics from the time I was 3. I clogged, did jazz/ballet/lyrical, you name it, I did it. I was on drill team in high school, and made the All-State Team my junior year. I still like to dance, but weighing like 40 lbs more than I did back then makes it a little harder.
3. I was valedictorian of my graduating class. I was a FREAK about getting straight A’s. I never accepted less. I worked so hard to do my best. At the time, I think it was a little bit of a control issue I had. But now, I am grateful I did it. My parents had a college fund for me, but since I had a full ride scholarship to Utah State, I got to use that money for a down payment on our first house, and that has been such a blessing.
4. I have a few strange pet peeves. Actually I have a LOT of pet peeves and things that people do to bug the living HELL out of me, but I rarely say anything because I am such a nice gal. The first thing that makes my skin crawl is the feeling of cotton balls. It is all squeaky and gross and sticks to my dry skin, YUCK I had chills just thinking of it. The next is people calling too early in the morning. Just because some people are retarded enough to wake up at 5 a.m. DOES NOT mean that I do. Someone called at 8:10 this morning, and I have had a long week with my sick baby and I was so mad that they woke me up. 9 o’clock is a very nice time to call. The last thing that bothers me is people chewing loudly and grossly and in my ear. We weren’t born in barns people. Gross.
5. I am a good lifelong friend. I feel sort of gay to brag on something like that, but I am glad I can be a good friend. I try to never lose friends, which is partly due to the fact that I rarely let people inside my little shell very often. I have to test the waters for awhile and get a true judge of character before I will let myself become totally involved with a friend. If they don’t meet my standards, then they just remain a friendly acquaintance, instead of someone who I will share my whole life with and then have to not like so much later. My closest friends have remained true and good and will remain so forever I hope. I will blog on each of them separately later. I do have several friends that I gain from church, Bunco, card swap, and just through passing here and there. I try to always be happy and approachable. Although I know everyone does not and will not always like me, I hope I can leave this earth with lots and lots of friends, and no enemies.
6. I hope that my friends know that I have a testimony of the gospel. I believe this church is true with every fiber of my being. I marvel all the time that I was selected to be born in the USA, in Utah, in Vernal, and in a home that was blessed to already know of this church. I am so lucky and grateful. I love having that stability in my life when we live in a world that is so unsteady. I love my savior and what he does for me every day. I love the scriptures and believe whole heartedly that reading them blesses your life and gives you answers and guidance. I am truly a believer in prayer, I feel like a walking prayer person sometimes because that is all I do. But it works! I hope that my friends know, and whoever might read this will know that I am trying my hardest to be a good person. I am FAR from perfect, but I am trying, and I hope that matters.

So, there you go. Some things you may have already known, and maybe some you haven’t. I have only one friend who hasn’t been tagged, and that is Jesenia, so she better continue the trend! Thanks Mandy for the Invite!

The day all about my Georgie

I should have put my husband first on the blogs about my family, because he was the beginning of it all, so sorry G.J.! But, I will end on him today. He is gone right now to training for work for 4 days. He left last night, and won't be home until Thursday. So, I am missing his help and love and support about now, and I still have lots of days left!

G.J. and I first met in 1998 at a Drill Team thing I was in charge of. He was tying to pick up on the ladies by joining the boy’s Drill team, which I just happened to be the coach of. Well, none of the other girls wanted him, so he settled for me. (lol. j/k g.j.) We had our first date soon after, I believe he took me “digging” as he called it. That is where you take a beater 4x4 into the hills and try to go up insane hills, not my idea of romantic or fun, but I think he just wanted to have an excuse for me to grab his hand. After that, we were pretty much inseparable. I was his first kiss……I feel a little bad, yet honored for being the one to break in those virgin lips of his. We continued to date through high school and we got married in May of 2000.

We first lived in G.J’s parent’s home, because they were living at the ranch at the time. They put their house up for sale and so that summer, we found a duplex, and it was so cute. It was right behind K-Mart, and we loved it. We scored at $400 a month rent. I think the rent on it now is like $950. We welcomed Hallie into our family in that little duplex. G.J. worked at the ranch for his parents that whole year until 2001 when he got a job at Coca-Cola.

This brings me to G.J.’s work career. He is a very good worker, very well liked by all who meet him. He is kind, patient, and very smart with what he does. He also does his very best. None of his work is just so-so; it is always the full amount of perfection. He was in college the whole time that he worked at coke. Those hours became terrible. He would go to work from 6-6, school from 6:30-10:30, and then home straight to bed. His college classes were pretty intense. Because he is a smarty pants, he had classes like chemistry and physics and the most advanced math available at the college, it was insane. Later that year, we moved into our house in the same neighborhood. It was so cute and our little family was so happy. I decided to take the leap and go back to school and take advantage of the full tuition/fees scholarship I had at Utah State, so I did. Then, it all got very interesting when I found out I was pregnant with Gavin. G.J. and I were both going to school full time, had a 2 yr. old, a mortgage, bills, stress, and another baby on the way. It was so hard, but as I look back on it, that was truly some of our happiest times together.

After Gavin was born, I graduated with my associate’s degree when Gavin was 3 months old. We stayed in our house until that December when we moved to where we are now. G.J. had gone through a few promotions at Coke, but that fall he had enough. They were under new ownership, and even though he is so patient in every way, he wasn’t taking it any more. So he quit, and had 3 or 4 part time jobs to make ends meet for awhile. He finally got hired full time at the school district. That was really nice. He enjoyed the work, the people, and the kids. It was good for him. He finally graduated college in May of 2005 with a bachelor's in Business Information Systems, or basically computer genius as I call it, something I am definitely not good at. The next year, 2006 he had a great opportunity to work for Moon Lake Electric doing their computers. He started his job the same day that Kayler was born, wow, what a whirlwind that was. They absolutely loved him over there. They were so good to him. He liked his job so well; that we actually even considered moving over there to Roosevelt, how scary is that?! Well, although he loved it there, he finally got tired of the drive, and his opportunity for advancement was pretty small, so we prayed and prayed that something would come up here. It finally did, and he is now working for Vernal City as their IT tech/GIS spec. Manager. Something like that. He is glad to finally have a position that is exactly what he suffered through 5 years of college for.

Through these almost 10 years that I have known G.J., we have gone through SO much. There are so many details that I have left out about our marriage and our life together. But what I need him to know is that he is a wonderful husband and father and all around great person. He is so good to me in every way. I don’t know where he gets his patience, it is amazing. Most important, he loves me no matter what. Whether I am fat/skinny, having an ugly/pretty day, or even when I am downright ornery or emotional. He is so sweet to me, and treats me so well. He is such a help with the kids. They are very lucky to have a daddy that plays with them, and by play I mean he gets on the floor and wrestles and plays ball and games and is right in the middle of all the chaos. I even have to get after him for getting too wild with them. I am so lucky to have a husband who I can be proud of, who so many people think highly of, and who is such a good man. He takes me to church, to the temple, reads scriptures, prays, loves Family Home Evening, and most of all loves us, and we love him. I thank Heavenly Father every day that I have him as the head of our home.

The day all about Kayler

So the last baby to bless my life on this earth is my sweet little Kayler. He is officially the cutest 18 month old little boy in the world as you can see from his pictures. He is so funny and full of life and is a BUSY little boy.
It was a hard decision to have another baby, but as soon as I felt his little body move inside of me, I knew it was right. Even though being pregnant was not too much fun, and it was a rough road to get him here, I was even more sure of that decision when I first held him. I didn't even sleep that night in the hospital because I just held him and cherished every single second and knew this was the last time that I would hold a baby of my own so fresh from heaven.
He was a late walker, and talker, but oh my, now that he does both of those things, watch out!! He loves to eat and is such a little snacking monster. His favorite thing to do is sit on his little dora or spongebob couch, with a snack on one side, a drink on the other, and of course has to be watching either Dora, or Spongebob. And the whole time he is sitting there, he has to say over and over "dora, dora, bap pap (back pack), or else bob-bob (for spongebob).
Along with those things, he loves to play with toys, any kind all day, especially all of Hallie's really small things that he sneaks into his mouth just to make me mad. He loves airplanes and balls. He is so sweet to give loves and kisses, especially to his mommy. And he will lay his little head on my shoulder and pat my back and say "awww" and then look at me and smile and giggle.
Even though he doesn't talk conversations yet, his little eyes are full of wonder and awe. I hope that G.J. and I can be good teachers and parents to him and that Hallie and Gavin will be good examples. I have had so much fun with him just knowing that he is my last baby, I cherish it so much more, I wish I would have been that way with Hallie and Gavin.
So the past 3 days I have dedicated all to my beautiful children. I am sure that my blogs will be filled with stories about them because they are my life. Have a good day!