Cheesy Chongo's Cheap Chat

What a Year It's Been

2012-01-02T22:37:00.005-07:00

We had some close friends and family over to end this year with us. We had a buffet of soups and rolls along with snacks to feed the entire block. The "older" kids had so much fun playing poker and the card game Bang. While the little ones basically did their own thing playing XBOX.

Daesha and Desirae watching TV in their jammies on our bed....

The "older" kids playing Bang.
The girls pretty much killed the guys at poker. Our friend Kaisa ended up winning it all after the last 2 put in all their chips and she won with a straight! Funny thing is she was a bit apprehensive playing poker but because we convinced her that it wasn't actual money we were playing with she decided to play. By her smile and the celebration dance that followed her winnings I think she enjoyed it :)

At 11:30 everyone headed outside for the first annual Christmas tree burning. We have an artificial tree (which I love) but this year we went with our home teachers to a Methodist church and got trees for 30 bucks! Ours was completely dead after 2 weeks. My husband is somewhat of a pyromaniac and was eager to burn the tree. It was engulfed with only one match and took 56 seconds to burn completely. We sang a round of "O Christmas Tree" while it burned. We are sick I know....

The trunk of the tree with it's own natural glowing star at the top....

With 2 minutes to midnight we passed out glow sticks, blow whistles, confetti poppers, and SILLY STRING! We all went in to watch the ball drop in New York City and count down the last 10 seconds.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

It was very noisy and completely out of control for several seconds. Daesha plugged her ears and became the sitting duck...

Keegan cried because he couldn't spray his silly string. He ended up throwing it behind him and shouting "I hate silly string!"

I helped him spray his bottle and let him pull a couple string confetti poppers. He was much happier after that.

We had some mini disco balls to add to the celebration. I thought it was funny that some silly string had wrapped around the base of the spinning ball.

Lizzy was not happy about the noise and commotion. But she stayed right in the room with us.

Because Daesha plugged her ears at the beginning she was the only one at the end to have silly string left. So she went around getting each person and then she would apologize. The girl to the left of the photo just got soaked with the kitchen sink spray nozzle. Some adolescent adult taped the trigger down!

The adolescent adult had to do the clean up as punishment...

It was a great night spent with friends!

Christmas Day

2011-12-26T23:59:00.016-07:00

Ted and I had a few gifts for the kids. But we were blessed with Santa Helpers. The bikes came from our elf Thor! (not from us)
The kids making a game plan....
Keegan decided to do the unthinkable and open his gift from Santa first! He got what he asked Santa for. A monkey Happy Napper.

He was very pleased.

Here is Daesha opening her Santa gift. She also asked for a Happy Napper. She got the Lady Bug. I couldn't get this girl to look at me for 2 seconds. She was far too excited to pause for a picture.

Finally I got them to look at the camera!

All the gifts unwrapped and on display. I love this idea of taking a picture of what they got instead of listing every single item.

Keegans gifts.You can still see the excitement about the Happy Napper. Of all the gifts I wouldn't have thought that one would take the favorite!

I got exactly what I wanted! A camera, Kinect Micheal Jackson dance game, stuff for my new library, bracelets from Daesha, and the green cup is from Keegan ;)

Ted got another Xbox controller, Xbox games, A movie from Keegan, and a football piggy bank from Daesha.
After everything is unwrapped we take a break and have breakfast and get ready for the day. Then it's play all day!!!!

Daesha was really excited to get her friend across the street to play with all her new Monster High dolls.

Daesha's new bike is slightly too tall. She was using the curb to get on but still had a hard time pushing off....

I felt bad and went out to give her a hand. She was so thrilled with her new bike once she was up and going. By this spring I am sure she will have grown enough that she can get on without any help.
Later in the afternoon we had a visit from Ted's Mom and Dad. They wanted to see what the kids got and they also had one last gift for Ted and I. A bullet to mix our healthy chocolate drinks everyday!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-26T17:20:00.019-07:00

First of all I have to say that I am grateful for this time of year. Those who are willing to serve others in celebrating this joyous season and bring those who are a little bit stubborn (me) to humble themselves and enjoy the love of mankind. This Holiday season was yet another year when our family was running on a single income. It was hard not to worry about getting the kids the things they wanted. This time of year gets hard for many parents because we want to get our kids everything on their wish list. Plus seeing their excited faces as they tear open the paper hoping it's what they had been hoping for is pretty much fun for everyone. But I shouldn't be surprised that each year they don't get EVERYTHING on the list and I always feel grateful that under the circumstances we couldn't afford this or that. I feel blessed that my kids always are happy with what they get. I just have to remember as a parent I don't have to get it all.
What I am learning (and it really takes every Christmas to remind me), that getting the kids involved and doing things together as a family is what I hear them talking about to their friends. It's in my children's actions and childlike wonder that brings the true celebration of Christ's birth.
So hopefully next year I can remember this fact and all I need to do is feel the true spirit of Christmas and I am sure we will be guided to make each and every Christmas a memorable one.

First on the list of things to do together were ginger bread houses.

Then visit Santa. We also had Grandma and Grandpa come with us this year.

Daesha wanted to make some earrings from these plastic beads that you melt together with an iron. I thought that she did a really great job. She is planning on wrapping them up and giving them to her friends.
I loved doing these hole punch pictures when I was little. So I got online and printed off a few Christmas coloring pages, taped them to some card stock paper and used a easy grab thumb tack to punch the holes.

Here Deasha is working on the manger scene. Then below they are displayed on our french door. Daesha did the elf with the present and the angel and of course the manger scene. I did the reindeer and Santa. Keegan did a fantastic job on the Christmas tree.
Of course we always participate in a random photo op

Most don't know that this picture above taken at 1 in the afternoon completely describes my kids. Daesha still in her pajamas and enjoying the comforts of home. Keegan in his best dress and eager to go do something with his friends.

Then came one of our favorite family get togethers. The Christiansen Christmas Eve party. Our family new tradition is Navajo tacos and lots of other great things to eat. This year my nephew Josh made the best chicken and white bean chili. I can't wait to try out the recipe myself. It was so good! And for dessert we have a chocolate fountain and everyone brings something to share to eat with the chocolate like strawberries, oranges, bananas, apples, cherries, pineapple, marshmallows, cheese, graham crackers, rice crispies, and cookie dough.
We always do a game were we have to unwrap several boxes to get to the prized small box inside. This year my nieces friend won a coveted quilt my sister-in-law made.

We also play the candy bar game and do a white elephant gift exchange. The kids love playing in all the paper and confetti after the unwrapping is done.

For Daesha's white elephant she got these sweet grills that wouldn't fit in her petite mouth. Daesha was missing in action during this game. Once she came back down I knew exactly were she had been... notice the chocolate all down her shirt? Yup she was doing exactly what she wasn't allowed to do with out an adult helping her. Chocolate fountains and kids do not work well together. Ever.
Keegan got some monster like teeth. But this picture just looks like he has old man yellow teeth and a super huge tongue.

Daesha's cousin Josh tried wrapping her back up in a box.

She almost fit!

After all the games it's time for the real gift exchange. Grandma and Grandpas gift to the kids and grand kids!!! Here are the kids waiting for the mark. get set. GO!

2011-12-25T19:55:00.004-07:00

Thor's night before he leaves wasn't considered going out with a bang. We found him in Keegans room were he decided that he would get out some markers and personalize the Elf on the Shelf book we have. Some may think this is a bad idea because you are possibly telling your kids it's o.k to color in books. For us it wasn't going to be an issue. Because my kids know if they color or rip a book I may rip off one of their arms. I'm just kidding of course the punishment is slightly less severe. But both my kids have been warned about mistreating books. Anyway, here are a couple pictures of what Thor did to the book.

Added his own name to the list of names the kids were thinking of. Also colored the girls hair black and curly like Daesha's and the boys hair like Keegan's.

Personalized the kids and labeled them. Also colored over the cat in black and labeled it our dogs name, Lizzy. Keegan and Daesha decided that the 3rd wheel who didn't belong in the family was actually Megan Adams because she comes over a lot.

Another page that he had fixed the hair and also colored over the cat to look like our dog.

The kids never touched Thor the entire time we had him. Keegan never talked to him because he said he was afraid to. Yet he was always the first to wake up smiling and excited to find him every morning. Daesha seemed a bit more sceptical. I am pretty sure she doesn't believe that Thor is real. But she willingly plays along and seems to really enjoy having him around.
When we got home late from our family Christmas Eve party the kids were VERY tired. It was a battle getting them to change in their jammies, brush their teeth, potty, then say prayers before they literally were snoring 2 steps before they reached their beds that they forgot to say their goodbyes to Thor and they forgot to get out the cookies for Santa. Good thing their Dad had them covered. :)

Last week with Thor

2011-12-23T18:34:00.013-07:00

Seriously I am just as sad as my kids to see our elf Thor go back to the North Pole tomorrow. Our entire family has had so much fun with him at our house.
Here it was a week before Christmas and we still don't have so much as a drift of snow on the ground. We all have been hoping for snow and thanks to our elf he made it snow in our kitchen. Thor cut 2o snowflakes and hung them from the ceiling with fishing line. Daesha was eager to cut her own and added to the wintry wonderland. She did 4 more.

Thor taking a nice time to relax and read a book....
Thor and "dancing Santa" giving hugs....
Familiar scene to our hunting family....
Didn't take long to see the not so camouflage red elf hat. I thought it was funny that he was so heavily armed for such a tiny deer...... I mean elk.
Today Thor helped out by feeding our dog Lizzy. I think he had a bit too much fun driving the Cat back and forth. He got the bowl a little too full....
Lizzy did not like that her food was on the floor. Every time "Thor" spilled a little around the bowl Lizzy would eat it up.

Nice trail of spills all along the way from the pantry to the dog bowl.
The next morning Keegan woke me up early very worried. He could not find Thor anywhere!!! So we all got up and began to search the house together. Once we got down stairs to the kitchen we found a note from Thor. It read.

Dear Daesha and Keegan, I decided to have fun with you today and see if you can find me. I am hiding very well. You won't be able to find me unless you use the clues I wrote on little white pieces of paper. Find all the clues in order and you will find me! Love, Thor

Here is your first clue....
I'm sticky and sweet, and shaped like a hook, on Christmas tree branches is where you must look.

(ANSWER: A Candy Cane)

Before the kids started their search for Thor I got out the video camera and recorded Daesha reading the clues all by herself. The kids loved the game and I couldn't have enjoyed myself more. I got some great video footage of Keegan acting silly and Daesha demanding seriousness from everyone so we could find Thor quickly.

On Christmas Eve as Santa flies by, you might see my antlers if you look to the sky.

(ANSWER: A ReinDEER :)

I keep your toes toasty on a cold winters night, or it can be stuffed full of goodies that bring children delight.

(ANSWER: A Stocking)
They often are silver, on a belt or a sleigh, when they get shaken, it's music they play.

(ANSWER: A Bell)
With a corn-cob pipe. He's cool and he's fun, made from frosty white balls stacked onto one.

(ANSWER: A Snowman)

The inn was too full, and with nowhere to stay, find the place where baby Jesus lay down in the hay.

(ANSWER: A Manger)

He comes from the north with a sack full of toys, and leaves gifts at the homes of good girls and boys.

(ANSWER: Santa Claus)
I can be made when you lay in the snow, move your arms up and down and my wings will soon show.

(ANSWER: An Angel)

Look were Santa sits to go dashing thru the snow, join him on his magic journey, hop in-it's time to go!

(Answer: A Sleigh.) closest thing we had to a sleigh... :S

Made of sugar & spice, find this guy with quick feet, who hopped right off of the cookie sheet.

(ANSWER: gingerbread man.)

The kids went straight to their ginger bread houses were there were gingerbread men. But no clue or Thor... I had to remind them that there were other gingerbread men in the house. They remembered that their Dad had made some a few days ago. And there Thor was eating the rest of the cookies!

Week 2

2011-12-17T12:53:00.008-07:00

Roasting Marshmallows in the fireplace . Thor likes it just the way Daesha likes them... BLACK.

Today our elf decided to make a sled out of 2 candy canes and a graham cracker.....

Sweet sledding hill!!!!!

O NO! Thor has found the ladies! He was very nice to break up his sled and share his treat with Daesha's Barbies and Tinkerbell. (notice one is flirting with Thor by flipping her hair)

Then somebody invited the party crasher and drank all the drinks and ate all the treats!!!!

This poor Barbie had too much to drink and needed some assistance home...

Day 12 Decking the Deer...
Day 13 SNOW BALL FIGHT!!!! If you can't spot Thor he is down for the count. Flash is giving him a noogie. Others amongst the compat: Hulk, Spiderman, Ironman, Transformers, Mike Wazowski, Wolverine, Astro Boy, Ben 10 Aliens, Puss in Boots, R2D2, Mr. Freeze, and few others I don't know their names.

Today Ted had a job interview. Thor helped by polishing his nice shoes....

We knew that sooner or later Thor's antics would get him into trouble. Here he is in a super hero cape stuck on the chandelier with a couple swinging monkeys.

If you look below there are a few pillows and fire engines ready to help. One monkey fell put landed safely on the pillow.
(Promise my light is not that dusty... it's the flash of the camera that makes it look so dusty!)

1 Week With Thor

2011-12-10T21:48:00.009-07:00

Our family has really enjoyed our first week with Santa's helper. Thor the elf! :)

Sliding down a cars track....

Playing the Xbox and eating pretzels...

Putting Christmas lights on the banana tree but accidentally getting tangled in the cord...

Toilet papering the Christmas tree....

The funny thing about the toilet papering was that Daesha was really mad about it. As soon as she saw the tree she immediately ripped the paper off the tree and was seriously grumpy the entire day about it!

Day 6 Thor emptied the candy out of the gumball machine and hid in it...

Making snow angels in powered sugar.... (notice the tiny foot prints he left from the bag)

The powdered sugar was yet another mess that Daesha was NOT happy with. She did not like the fact that Thor was naughty and made messes. She even told me that Thor could not be Santa's elf because Santa's elves are nice. Thor was not nice. So we had to redeem this good name and have him apologize by making the kids breakfast.... Daesha loved eatting the tiny little pancakes he made. Keegan wouldn't touch them. Keegan had his Dad make him some "normal" ones.

The note from Thor reads. I'M SORRY I KEEP MAKING MESSES. I MADE YOU ALL BREAKFAST SO YOU WON'T BE MAD AT ME. MERRY CHRISTMAS! LOVE, THOR

When I got home from work I found this note from Daesha written on the back side of Thor's note...

Day 8. Thor found one of Keegans toy motorcycles and made a ramp out of a pizza box to jump over some brave volunteers.

Elf on a Shelf

2011-12-02T15:43:00.004-07:00

This year we have started a new Christmas tradition that should be lots of fun. If you haven't heard or seen The Elf on the Shelf, here is a brief description. There is a story book about an elf who returns to Santa each night and reports to Santa if you have been naughty or nice. He also reports to Santa what you want for Christmas. Nobody is allowed to touch the elf because he will loose all his magic and cant fly back to Santa. You get online and name your elf so that he will come back every Christmas time. He is assigned to your family and only your family. Keegan picked a great name for our elf. THOR.
So the fun part is that each night the grownups get to put the elf in someplace new so the kids can wake up and find him. I just have to mention how it is pretty much the ugliest elf I have ever seen...
Daesha decided that the elf must be extremely hungry because who knows how long he had been in the box... so she put a plate of crackers and a note that said "For Thor" in front of his closed box. The next morning the kids found out that Daesha was right.

HE WAS HUNGRY!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T22:27:00.006-07:00

Before I get on with Thanksgiving I have to share another Pinterest project DONE! I can't take the credit, completely. This "coffee filter wreath" was a craft a few of us did for my wards Relief Society craft project. There is another I did that night but I haven't taken a picture of it yet. I will post it soon :)

Sadly I don't have actual proof of a wonderfully enjoyable day at Teds parents for Thanksgiving. But memorable highlights were:

-An entire table out back on the porch full of every soda imaginable, and EGG NOG!!

-Teds delicious smoked turkey that inevitably stunk up our house and his parents.

-Daesha eating an entire leg for dinner.

-16 family members all going to the movie to see Adam Sandlers Jack and Jill. Which by the way, in Keegans words. "That was not even funny"

-My niece having 2 dates. One came to dinner then left. The second one came to the movie.

-Eating much more than I should have.

-Going with my sister and nieces to Black Friday shopping at Walmart, Target and Kohl's. Started at 10 pm got done by 2 am.

-Threw up all my Thanksgiving dinner once I got home.
( I should state this was not on purpose.)

THE END

Puss in Boots

2011-11-26T22:19:00.003-07:00

We loved the recently released movie, Puss In Boots! It wasn't long before Keegan was scrambling through our closets for the perfect Puss costume. This is what he came up with... his Dads hunting hat, my boots, and his own ninja sword from Halloween.

Strengthening Our Creative Spirits

2011-11-26T21:23:00.006-07:00

At work the students have to learn the muscles of the face. So for practice they have a day when they get out the plastic skulls and play dough. They have to sculpt the play dough according to what they have learned.
So one day I decided to bring the skulls home for a bit of creative fun. It's simple creations like these that made lots of laughs that night.
P.S. The day was not all fun. Proof is in the no make-up and bad hair due to cleaning the house all morning long.

Family of Honor AND Combat

2011-11-05T19:20:00.008-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

About a month ago I asked the kids what they wanted to be for Halloween. Daesha was first to answer. A NINJA!
Then surprisingly Keegan picked a Ninja too. He had been undecided for weeks. So I was glad that a decision had finally been made and he didn't change his mind. The thing that set the costume in stone for Keegan was that we would get 2 samurai swords.
The Saturday we got back from Snowbird we went to our ward trunk-or-treat.

Family of Gnomes...
Bull ridin' cowboy... :)
The Jacklins...

Daesha and Lizzy...
Giving out candy at our car....

On Halloween night I decided at the last minute to wear my black scrubs and tie some ribbon around my arms and legs to resemble a ninja. We dressed our dog Lizzy in a "dragon" costume to go along with our Asian themed costumes. Daesha informed me that the costume was a dinosaur not a dragon because dragons have wings. Duh. I should have realized this before Halloween night.
At school Keegan was spoiled to the hilt. His teacher gave them lots of toys and a book. Then the kids got to go trick or treating to the parents cars after school was out.Keegan's classmates and teacher Mrs. Johanna in the witch hat....

While Keegan was in school Ted and I went to the elementary school to see the costume parade. My favorite one was of course Daesha. But the second best was a girl in a white apron that said Progressive on it and a name tag that said FLO! She even had a dark wig and blue headband.
After all the activities at school are done we left at 4:30 to trick or treat the businesses on main street. Went to visit Teds parents, then my sister, and back home. This year we were done by 7 o'clock. Ted had a meeting so he stayed home with Keegan while Daesha and I went to visit our family in Harvest Hills. My nephews had a haunted house and we went to check it out. They had done a really good job and scared us both a bit. Thanks Josh, Hunter, and Wyatt for taking it easy on us girls.

Snowbird Resort

2011-11-05T18:41:00.007-07:00

The best thing about October for our family is going up to Snowbird. We left Friday afternoon as soon as Daesha got home from school. We invited our friends the Jacklins to come up and go swimming in the heated outdoor pool. As soon as we got there we blew up our pool floaties and tossed them off our 8th floor balcony to the pool that is directly below. There were 2 boys in the pool that looked pretty bored, so we told them we were headed down soon but they could play with our stuff till we got there. Ted tossed a couple pennies in the pool for them to dive after. After everyone was in their swimsuits we noticed the girls were both wearing black boots. We told them to stand together and we would take a picture. Daesha jumped on the table and this was the result of these 2 showing off their swimsuits and boots. A bit disturbing that such a pose could come from such young girls.

Once we got down to the pool we had a ton of fun playing volleyball in the pool and pretty much scared anybody who thought about going for a dip. We were all a bit loud till the pool closed at 9 o'clock. I couldn't get any pictures to work because it was dark and the heated pool put a cloud of steam in the cold air. So most the pictures were clouds of steam. Getting out of the pool is so so COLD. We all ran quickly to our room and took warm showers and had hot cocoa in our jammies. Around 11 o'clock the Jacklins left and we went right to bed.
The next morning we woke up ready to take the much anticipated tram ride to the summit. After getting yet another hot cocoa at the snack shop we headed to the tram. Only to find out it was closed today because it needed some maintenance. We were all so bummed. So instead of the usual lunch at the Forklift Cafe we had breakfast. Keegan got 2 HUMONGOUS pancakes. Daesha got eggs and bacon. Ted and I got hashbrowns and eggs.

The first few pictures Keegan is sportin' a pretty good pout because the tram was broken.

But once we got into the cafe he was all smiles....

Relaxing at the Bracken cabin

2011-11-05T14:29:00.002-07:00

Do I Have Something In My Eye??

2011-11-05T14:25:00.002-07:00

Daesha playing with a couple sticky Halloween eyeballs.

Brewing Up a Good Time

2011-11-05T12:46:00.011-07:00

This year we won't settle for any excuses. Finances are tight but Witches Night Out at Gardner Village is a must! I wore the same thing as last year. Our hats are the same as last year too but this year I used the left over tulle from our hats to make Daesha a tutu.

My sister Val and her daughter Brittney joined us this year. We enjoyed every minute of the night. From dinner at the Spaghetti Factory, a dance on the dance floor, pictures with amazing witches and decorations, and as the night came to a close a visit to the candy shop for carmel apples and a big sucker for Daesha.

Best thing about the night. It wasn't nearly as crowded as last year!

(Our walls are still unfinished. But once we paint the molding it will look so awesome!)

When we walked out to our car we saw some pretty cute little super hero's keeping the neighborhood safe.

Pinterest Projects

2011-10-19T22:26:00.009-07:00

Daesha and I spent an afternoon wrapping yarn around forks and making little pompoms. Thanks to the creative people on Pinterest I found this cute idea to make an Angry Birds activity. It was fun to make and even a little fun to play with. But the fun quickly died out after building cup towers and throwing a few birds and then throwing a few at each other. Keegan has played with them the most. I'm not sure this was a craft I would suggest making. Sure it's cute but for the amount of time it took to make several pom poms. Well, I just don't think it got the most playing time I was expecting it to get. So this will most likely go into the future white elephant gift.

While my creative juices are flowing from seeing all the fun and creative ideas on Pinterest I realized I needed a better way to store my earrings and necklaces. I was leaning toward something like a picture frame with a screen. Then you just poke the earrings through or hang hooks in it for your necklaces.
One day while I was doing some alone ME time I took a drive to Hobby Lobby. I found the best metal wall decor that would work AWESOME for my jewelery. Seriously this has worked so great for both my necklaces AND earrings!!!! And I just have to brag a bit and say I am practically brilliant!

Thumbs Up or Down??

2011-09-25T21:45:00.006-07:00

This week Daesha had her habit reminder put in. It's complete torture for a child who sucks her thumb constantly. Not just at night but all day long. I know personally the difficulty of trying to stop sucking, only I didn't suck my thumb I sucked my two middle fingers until I was 10 years old. Daesha has always sucked her thumb since she was a baby. But with lots of help from me she stopped when she was 4. Then we moved here and the little girl across the street who is the same age as Daesha sucks her thumb. Slowly Daesha picked up the habit again.
Thumb sucking is pretty controversial. I think It's true that it is a comfort habit. In my experience and others who went through the same thing it has nothing to do with self esteem or emotions. In fact some studies show that thumb suckers are more independent and aren't looking for the attention of others. Due to the fact that they are able to relax and comfort themselves instead of relying on others. I can testify, too, that the people I've known who were thumb-suckers are among the most emotionally solid, emotionally mature, children/people there could be. On the flip side some say that emotional instability can increase thumb sucking. Those who know what our last 2 years have been like may wonder if this has contributed to the habit. I've wondered. Either way in Daesha's case it's been going on for a year and I finally decided that it was time to get serious about getting her to stop. Not because I felt she had to for acceptance of her peers but because I have a career in the dental field. I know the permanent damage thumb sucking brings. Even braces can't correct severe cases. So before this is even an issue I have taken it upon myself to get her to stop. It hasn't been easy for either one of us. Poor girl had a horrible first night and then the next day she had a hard time eating because the food would get lodged on the roof of her mouth and gag her. She has had it in for 3 days and yet I find myself wondering if this is worth all the crying and whining.

Joke Is On Us

2011-09-18T19:13:00.003-07:00

Our neighbors' across the street are big Utah Ute fans! I got glimpses of them throughout the day all dressed in red. I could care less who wins. But I'm partial to BYU just because Ted likes them. I love a good rivalry so I thought it would be fun to take over a little treat before the big BYU vs. Utah game started.. I enlisted Daesha and her friend Abby who was playing at our house to help me.

We made a red brownie cupcake and I let the girls smash it to smithereens. They thought it was so much fun :)
I wish I had taken my camera when we took it over. Classic! Once I got back home we had our friends the Adams come over and watch in total humiliation the pathetic loss... Good thing I'm not in for who wins :)

Happy Helpers!

2011-09-15T17:07:00.005-07:00

It's nice going to get gas when Ted is with me. No matter if I'm driving or not he ALWAYS pumps the gas. This particular day the kids wanted to help also by washing the windows with the ever efficient squeegees.

2011-09-15T16:36:00.006-07:00

My brother-in-law and his family were here in Utah visiting from Washington while Ted was layed up with his back. We spend a couple afternoons visiting but it definitely wasn't as much as we would have liked. I did get a few pictures of the kids playing in the backyard when we had Sunday dinner together at Ted's parents.

I tried getting Daesha and her 2 cousins to take a picture together. Of course the girls were more than willing. The boy was less enthused....

I'm not giving up even if he dies...
Come on girls hold him up!

Gage you can do it! Just look for one second!!!

So one girl pulled up his chin and the other one pulled his hair!

HA! Gotcha!!!!

Note to Gage - Sorry Daesha pulled your hair. That was not nice to have 2 girls gain up on you.

Keegan And Me.. And Other People Too

2011-09-15T00:53:00.016-07:00

I have the best nieces in the world! All I have to do is make one suggestion that I'd like to visit and they are always eager to plan a day with me. I just feel very grateful that they still want to hang out with their aunt instead of what I'm sure is a more youthful, energetic crowd they usually spend their days with.

So while Daesha was at school Keegan and I headed up to Ogden to play at the Treehouse Museum with my 2 nieces and their kids. We all had a great time playing for 3 hours before we decided to head out for Pizza. It was such a fun day! Love you guys to death!!!

In the picture below Keegan has his hand up and is rocking back and forth! He made 8 seconds :)

Keegan spotted R2D2 in the crowd. This wall painting had some other recognizable characters from various Tv shows. I had only been to this museum once before and I didn't even notice the wall. Or maybe I forgot.

Keegan liked the puppet stage. Such a boy to just throw the animals out the window while yelling things like "I can fly! No wait I Can't!.... AHHHHH!

He thought this was the funniest thing in our whole day.

A gaming screen full of educational games. What does Keegan pick? Angry Birds. He played this for 10 minutes before I had to break the Angry Bird hypnosis with an engaging coloring craft.

ARRR! Being pirates with one eye closed. Maddie wasn't sure if she could pull it off..

She gets extra applause for trying and looking so dang cute while doing it!

More puppet throwing fun for Keegan. He kept throwing it up over and over and laughing at how and where it would land.

This picture looks like the puppet is reaching down to pull Keegan up! hahahaha

67 DEGREES!!!!!!

2011-09-11T20:45:00.004-07:00

It was definitely a shock to us to get this cold wind today, I even had the heater on in the car. Some of us are having a harder time acclimating to the colder weather.

Summers Last Hurrah (part 2)

2011-09-08T08:43:00.009-07:00

It's not really a last hurrah if we hurrah more than once is it?
We seem to do alot of repeats at our house in more ways than you know.
Anyway, since my kids weren't fond of the water park I had gotten the pass for, I decided to try out the Lindon City water park. It's much closer and cheaper. And wouldn't you know it. The kids loved it!!! I couldn't get them to leave. I enjoyed myself too because there was a lazy river, a shallow pool that was easy to monitor Keegan, a water slide, and a really cool surf board wave thingy. This looked like alot of fun to Daesha and I so we went and got in line. In the 10 minutes we stood in line we saw 5 girls get in. Every one of them except one ended up showing off more than she may have wanted the entire line of eager riders to see. I decided I didn't want to be one of those girls scrambling for privacy and then running off in humiliation. Daesha agreed she thought my boob would come out for sure! So we left the line with jeers of I'm assuming were motivation (from 13 year old boys. perves) not to chicken out. Im not chickening out! Im coming back with a fully covered body and I will show you I can ride that stupid wave!!!

Summers Last Horrah (part 1)

2011-09-08T08:19:00.007-07:00

Pretty sure I have mentioned I got a pass to Seven Peaks this summer. The kids went 4 times before I was the one begging them to go. The very last day the water park was going to be open I thought for sure this would get them there one last time. Nope. They wanted to go to Trafalga. To sum up our summer pass, it was fun. But if I forget this small fact next summer when its time to renew our passes. Remind me that we never went to 1 single ball game, my kids don't like Seven Peaks, and I loath Trafalga. Thanks.

Keegan Goes To School!

2011-09-07T20:46:00.005-07:00

I have really worried for this day for a long time. Not worried on Keegans behalf, but for his teacher. Heaven help her when she gets to deal with his stubbornness and sudden outbursts. Preschool will be good for him and me. I hope. Keegan was very excited about going. Keegan had gone to meet his teacher 2 weeks ago and got to look around and play with some of the toys. His preschool is out of her home and she happens to live in our neighborhood.

As soon as we walked into the classroom door on his first day he released his grasp on my hand and hung his LARGE back back on his hook with his name. He never looked back for reassurance or to wave goodbye. I guess he is more ready than I thought.

I had to go to work so Ted was the one to pick him up. He said Keegan was beyond happy and loved his first day at school. When he got up from his nap I asked him about his school. He said he was a very good listener and didn't have any friend yet. But Lincoln is the meanest.

It's A Good Time To Visit The Cabin

2011-08-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

As good as a time as any. And what a fun weekend it was! Kim and George invited us a to their family cabin in Fruitland. It was a month ago but Im just now getting around to blogging it. We always have a great time watching videos, riding wheelers, and relaxing. This time we got a HUGE brownie with vanilla ice cream at a restaurant by their cabin. It was delicious!
Keegan and HIS girls. He is turning into some kind of ladies man. All weekend we'd hear him say "Ashlynn you are cute" or "Megan is cute, huh Mom"

Keegan loves to run around with no shirt on. The girls will do just about what ever Keegan is doing. At some point we will have to intervene and not let this happen when they are older.

Lizzy jumping up on Kim's leg. Poor puppy looked like a rat. (Small miscommunication between me and the groomer.)

Ted and George playing the Xbox. Their expressions don't show it, but they are sure they are having a great time.

We also took a drive to Starvation Reservoir. It was my first time there. Kim and I sat on the shore listened to our favorite 90's music on her ipod like Tag Team, Bell Biv Devoe, And MC Hammer. We laughed a lot while watching the smallest 3 (Keegan, Megan, and Ashlynn) play in the sand and water and listening to that music again. The Dad's and bigger kids went cliff jumping. When they got back I could not believe that Daesha actually did it! Ted said that she didn't want to. But it only took her Dad one convincing plea that it was fun and off she went! I asked her if it was fun and she said it was the scariest thing she has ever done, and that it hurt her feet. But after lunch they all went back out and she jumped 5 more times.

Even with a sore back Ted was able to do a Gator..

There goes Daesha!

Back at the shore....

I tied one end of a rope to Torpedo Turtle and the other end to a log. Then I would push Keegan and the turtle out. He liked pulling himself back in only to repeat this a bazillion times.

The boys, Brandon and Colton tryng to tip Daesha over.

Daesha's swam out pretty deep before I asked her to come back. Even with a lifejacket I get nervous.

I thought theses eagles or maybe hawks or falcons were pretty neat. There were 2. One sat on one post while the other sat at the nest. Every so often a chicks head would pop up. Aw... so cute.

Lizzy enjoyed the sand too...

Scuba Steve better watch out! Here come The Goggle Geeks!!!

"Don't Ask For A Light Load, But Rather Ask For A Strong Back"

2011-08-25T10:05:00.012-07:00

An old proverb we are taking literal.

Ted was able to leave the hospital after 5 days. The Dr requested that he be transported to a facility were he could continue being monitored on his IV pain meds and start on physical therapy. Since we don't have insurance and finding space available would be difficult. So we thought we were lucky to get a room at a facility in Provo. But once we got there we realized that the best option for him was to just go home. I won't go into a ton of detail but this particular place felt very dirty and the smell was awful. It seriously smelled like messed diapers. Anyway, we were out of there after sitting in the room for 45 minutes and nobody came to check him in. On Tuesday Ted went to his back Doctor. He did another spinal injection only this time the Dr wanted to do the injection directly into the nerve. Ted sent me a text (I was in the waiting room) after the injection he said it was really painful! And that he didn't feel any better. After 20 minutes the Dr came back to see if Ted was any better. He wasn't. So the Dr wanted to do another injection ! Ted told the Dr he didn't want to do it again but the Dr talked him into it. So long story short it didn't seem to help at all. Infact Ted has been complaining of a headache and stomach ache since. He is now walking around with out the walker but I think it's not because he is feeling better I think it's because he is just sick of his back hurting and is going through a denial stage. Ted goes back on Tuesday to see if there is any change. And what to do next. He doesn't want to do surgery but how long do you give it before you should do the surgery? Ted can't work at all. His boss is willing to let him work in the office were he won't be doing anymore work lifting out in the shop. But right now sitting for long periods of time is too painful. So who knows what will happen.

First day in the hospital... 3 hours in the ER and finally out for the count.

Ted's Mom brought him this huge teddy bear. The kids love it!
Day 3 in the hospital. All of us hanging with Ted and watching the TV show Wipeout.

Keegan wanted to wear Ted's hospital socks

While Ted was in the shower the kids had fun playing on the "monkey bar"

We spent alot of time in the hospital. The kids and I needed some other things to do besides watch TV and listen to periodic snoring from Ted.

The kids love playing with these bubbles. I swear they must be toxic. Don't even try to inhale while this stuff is close to your mouth. You will choke and gasp for air the minute you do.

Once Daesha had blown up a few and Keegan figured out they stick to the wall we started putting them on Teds head while he was in a drug induced slumber.

The Dr came in after I took this picture. Ted woke up as soon as he heard the Dr laugh. We all laughed when at first Ted thought he was imagining the colored shapes around his head. And then when he tried to get them off he couldn't because his depth perception was off from the drugs.

Quickly Becoming An Addiction

2011-08-25T08:44:00.005-07:00

I have seen many people getting cute ideas, crafts, and creative food ideas off a web page called Pinterest. I know I'm a bit behind on this but, I finally joined and I haven't stopped surfing for 2 days! Believe me when I say YOU WILL LOVE IT!!!!!

My sister-in-law Debbi has been telling me about it for months. She is here in Utah visiting and she knows how to get me to check something out that she knows I will love. All she did was get a few supplies and then she came over and we had the first DIY project done in 2 minutes.

Major plus factor: It cost 4 bucks to make! All you have to get for this cute project is a picture frame, Some cute paper, sticker or vinyl letters, and a dry erase marker. (I got lucky and bought sticker letters that had cute paper in the package so I didn't have to buy any paper) Next you stick your letters on the glass put your paper behind the glass and VUALA! A message board the whole family can enjoy. The first day I put a message for Daesha. Then she put one on for me, then Ted put one for me. I have it sitting on the kitchen counter were we all go several times a day. It has been lots of fun!

But we didn't stop there. She also got the supplies to make the cutest candy bowl you have ever seen! It's made from a fish bowl, and a terracotta pot flipped upside down. Total cost.. 5 dollars!

If you click here... Gumball machine
you will get step by step instructions on how to make it. I plan on making 2 more (different sizes) to display together with different choices of candy. Thanks Debbi for doing these project with me. I love them. And I loved spending time with you while we did them. Now all I have to do is get you to stay in Utah FOREVER so I have you to do fun stuff like this with :)

Back to Being a Lehi Lion

2011-08-24T11:51:00.004-07:00

Daesha started school this week. Second grade! On Monday we got to meet her teacher Mrs. Julia Reid. When we walked into her classroom we were greeted by her teacher. Daesha sat and had a little conversation with her teacher. Poor teacher must wonder why Daesha was doing all the questions. They were nothing about the class or school. She wanted to know all about her teacher. She said, "I see you have lots of frogs on the walls. Do you like frogs?" "Do you have Kids? How old are they? Do you have any pets? I finally decided to distract her from the interrogation and we went to look for her desk. Daesha's desk is in the front row. She told me that she was going to be the best student in the class. And she thought her teacher was going to be great! She is always eager to please.

The next morning Daesha was up before her alarm went off because she was so excited. Since Ted is still layed up in bed so he got to see her off. I got Lizzy on her leash and Keegan and I walked Daesha to her bus stop on the corner of our street. I made her kiss me and hug me and I even yelled I Love You as she was stepping on the bus. I don't care if my kids hate it. I will always hug and kiss them and yell I Love You!
Her first day went pretty good except she called me around 1:00 to bring her some different shoes. She loves those purple suede shoes but new shoes are a pain to break in. Especially since she wasn't wearing socks.

This spot has become the first day photo shoot since her Kindergarten picture was taken in this spot. Right now she is going through a purple phase, because Justin Beiber's favorite color is purple. And Daesha has a bit of Beiber fever. She wanted to wear a purple shirt too But it was just too much purple :) When Keegan was getting dressed he grabbed red shorts and a red shirt. He asked me if he could wear too much red.

WARNING

2011-08-21T21:57:00.003-07:00

This is what I get to do when I am working as a nurse at home. I get to catch up on my blog. Sorry theres so much.

You Think Were Just Fishin'

2011-08-21T21:44:00.007-07:00

It's what I call livin'.

VACATION + GIRLFRIENDS = IMMATURITY

2011-08-21T13:49:00.023-07:00

September 7th 9:30 am. I am feeling intense travel bugs. For me it is a real feeling of joy and excitement. I love vacations just like most people. But I LOVE road trips. I love the hours of talking with my road companions, munching treats nonstop, reading road signs, watching the change in landscapes, stopping at gas stations for gas, more snacks, and potty breaks (that's always an experience in itself)

The best part about this particular trip was NO KIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the company of my best friend Kim and her sister-in-law Lorie.

We were headed to a four day trip to St. George Utah. We realize we are going to a desert , more of a desert than we already live in. In August. It was HOT. We didn't care.

We were well on our way to acting much younger than our actual ages by the time we had been on the road for 10 minutes. Most things we were sworn never to tell. But a lot of the pictures we took speak of our immaturity and fun.

Itinerary were as follows:
Shopping..

Then sunbathing and lounging in the pool. Although we were not acting our age our bodies unfortunately reveal all too well just that. So we opted out on taking any pictures of us in our swimsuits. After a day of shopping and relaxing in the pool it was time to get ready for dinner. The girls laughed when I pulled out my little secret to a youthful perkier me. Lorie called them chicken cutlets :)

No one else in this group needed em' but Lorie mentioned she needed them for her butt. Not really what she had hoped for. Especially when the picture looks like I'm giving her a spanking.

Next was our over indulgence of food.... Places to silence our stomach's were Diary Queen, Neilsons Frozen Custard, Pancho & Lefty's, Jimmy Johns, and Samurai 21.

We also saw 2 different movies. The first one we saw was Crazy, Stupid, Love. I didn't have high expectations for this movie. But Ryan Gosling is worth watching no matter how bad the movie is, right? It was pretty good.. found myself laughing a lot.

The other movie we saw was Friends With Benefits. I know I shouldn't have seen this one. I found myself wanting to hide my eyes many times and being horrified thinking, "can you say that in a movie??" But it makes for a giggling good time if you have no morals which I obviously lack.

While we were there I saw the poster for The Hunger Games. I haven't seen a trailer for this yet! I'm totally excited for this movie.

While taking the above picture a lady walked over to us and started telling us all about the Must See Movies out or coming up. She even wrote them out on a paper so we wouldn't forget. :)

Once we were in the theater we decided to take some pictures. It started out with us trying our hardest to keep cute smiles, double chins hidden, shirts straight and so on. One after another they all just looked like crap! So all heck broke loose and we started acting stupid. Kim and Lorie leaned in and kissed my cheeks without my knowledge. Their timing was off and had already pulled away when the flash went off. This is what the camera got.....

Finally we didn't have to hold the camera out in front of us. We got a lady to take a picture. I guess nobody goes to the movies at 2 o'clock in St. George. We thought it was the perfect thing to do when the sun was blazin' hot.

Monday and Tuesday night we went to the Tuacahn theater to see The Little Mermaid and Grease. It was my first time going to this outdoor theater. I LOVED IT!!!! Beautiful place.

We decided to try the buffet before the show. It was Pacific Island style food with The Little Mermaid theme. The menu included Island Style Pork Roast, Grilled Jerk Chicken, Caribbean Rice and Beans, Corn, Triton's BLT Salad, Ariel's Chicken Tenders, French Fries, Key Lime Pie and Tropical Ice Cream Sundae. We thought the Dingle Hoppers were cute.

This was my 3rd plate before I thought to take a picture. I love my fries. Don't they look gourmet? Hahaha

I tried getting Kim back for the cheek smooch. But gosh dang if we can't get the timing right!

The stage before the river got turned on.

The stage once the show was over.

Since we didn't have any kids with us we felt silly standing in line just to get a picture with some of the cast members. So we took some of other peoples' kids :)

The next night was Grease. I am a huge fan of the movie and JOHN TRAVOLTA. He's actually on my bucket list. Anyway, that's beside the point here. We got a bit into it and decided to dress up for the night. We spent the morning making our PINK LADIES shirts. They turned out so cute. Each of us have similar personality traits as some of the characters in the movie so we took on the roles. Kim was naughty girl Rizzo. I was the dumb drop out Frenchy. And we realize that Sandy wasn't actually a pink lady but Lorie had to be sweet, innocent Sandy. Here I am in our hotel before we left... mimicking a particular part in the movie :D

Many Photos of us posing...

You have no idea how many pictures we had to take of Kim acting like she was smoking a cigarette. It was a sucker stick but she couldn't figure out which fingers to hold it between and whether to make the stick hang low in her mouth or pointing up. We thought it was pretty funny. But it only took one picture of her flipping the bird. She's had actual practice at that.

Stretching my gum out. GROSS!!! But for the sake of acting....

One piece of bubble gum was making small bubbles. We needed a BIG bubble. So I put 2 more pieces in and about chocked myself to death!!!

Once we got back to our hotel we needed a slumber party picture. Isn't Kims pajamas the best!

PS My review for The Little Mermaid if you care. It was so fun to watch with bright colors and water running across the stage and water walls being used like a movie screen to similate the feeling of being under water. It was very cute and all the cast members had wonderful voices. Grease was super energetic and funny. All the cast members had awesome voices. But the Danny guy just plain sucked. His voice was really bad. Lets hope he just had an off night.

Teachers In Training

2011-08-20T18:38:00.007-07:00

The Dental Assisting Team: Pam, Judy, Leann, Julie, Me, and Sharilyn

This year I got to go to the Mountainland Applied Technology College Teacher Training Day. It was a really good day. The highlight for me was the first time I have ever used a fire extinguisher. I never get out....

Every Dog Has It's Day

2011-08-20T18:10:00.005-07:00

Our first family dog Molly was the sweetest dog ever. She was calm and sweet and just a perfect dog. Maybe too calm. When we got Lizzy I knew that I wouldn't get her spade. I wanted to see if it would change her personality at all. Like I felt it did with Molly. At 7 months old she started spotting. I know totally not something you care about. So I won't go on with details. But we all thought that the diaper was totally funny. And the fact that she wouldn't walk around in them cracked us up.
Ted still has his doubts about having a dog in the house. But a menstruating one just about has him wanting to shoot the dog.

Parade of Homes

2011-08-20T15:29:00.010-07:00

Every year as the time comes around to buy parade of homes tickets I think to myself. I want to go THIS year. But that year comes and goes and think it's ok I will go NEXT year. NEXT year ended up being THIS year! I didn't buy tickets so I only got to see 2 houses. Thanks to my sister for calling me and inviting me and the kids to come. Some of the houses decorate a room inspired by Make-A-Wish recipients. So I am sure that one of best houses to see on the tour was the one that had a room dedicated to my niece Tiffany. It was full of some pictures of Tiffany and many of her favorite things. On the bed was some popcorn which she loved. A stuffed animal that looks just like their family dog Toby. And of course lady bugs and butterflies were found throughout the room.

On the nightstand was a paper that told Tiffany's story and her wish that Make-A-Wish Foundation granted.

One of Tiffs favorite songs is Dream Big by Ryan Shupe. Tiffany loved it when her cousin Emily sang and played it on her guitar.

Next on our tour was the Pixar's UP house. It was a really fun house. Everything was so much like the movie, right up to the weather vane, and exterior wiring of the front doorbell, and front door. Here we are infront. Scott, Brittany, Alison, and me and the kids. Keegan is hiding behind me.

This cute man loved his role as Carl a bit too much. He was so happy to take pictures and hug the kids.

O My gosh! This room looked just like the movie. With the old record player. And look! The money jar labeled PARADISE FALLS. The whole time we were there we couldn't remember the little boy scouts name. Do you remember it?

I loved the "My Adventures Book" on the table.

The kitchen was so cute! like a doll house. But I would not want a retro kitchen like this. One of the contractors was sitting at the kitchen table. We talked a bit with him and learned that the retro appliances are twice as much as top of the line conventional appliances. I just thought that was dumb.

The nursery. Go on say it................... OOOOAAAAHHHHH. We all did.

Family pictures. It was some ladies fault that the picture is blurry. She was not willing to wait a second while I took a picture she kept nudging forward! sheesh

All the light switches were the old fashion 2 button switches. Daesha thought they were cool. And yes you bet your dollar I took this picture after the pushy woman started nudging me. I even took a little extra more time on this one by giving Daesha a few posing pointers. She lost her patience and finally pushed by.

After you exit the back of the house all the kids got to take a balloon home. Keegan kept saying, "I want to buy this house"

Incase you are wondering total square footage is 2,800 the asking price of this house is 450,000. And the builders will repaint the exterior at no extra cost if you so wish. I tried hard not to drop my jaw at the contractor. Who the heck would buy this????? Keegan would.

Before we left we went to the garage. Of course a purple car.

Who Crapped At Our Door?

2011-08-16T17:49:00.003-07:00

August 14th was starting out like every other Sunday morning. Ted had woken up before me and headed downstairs to watch some TV. I got up and headed to the shower. I heard Ted call for me downstairs so I put on my pink fuzzy robe and headed down stairs to find Ted on his hands and knees on our hard wood floor. He said he was sitting on the couch and started getting a pinch so he tried to adjust his weight. This brought on a full out lock up in his back. He rolled off the couch and that's were he stayed for about 15 minutes before I came down. I tried to help him stand but it hurt him too much. So I brought over our ottoman so he could lay down over that. Soon he was in a lot of pain and rolled off the ottoman and ended up on his stomach on the floor. He stayed there for 6 hours while I applied heat and then ice. Ted wouldn't let me call anyone. He thought that it would work itself loose and he would be fine. Finally, around 2 o'clock he agreed to call his Dad for a blessing. I tried calling Ted's friend Garth to come too but he didn't answer. Just then I got a text from my nephew Randy wanting to come over to visit. I'm sure it wasn't what he had planned but I was grateful he was able to come and help. After Ted got a blessing we decided we needed to roll him over to his back. This took some time and then when Ted's dad and Randy tried to sit him up we realized that he had a really bad injury. Ted was in a lot of pain and it worried Daesha and I alot. Keegan decided that he would remind his Dad that, "Dads don't cry."
With a quick phone call and fire engine sirens in the distance Ted was finally able to relax with a shot of Fentanyl. The firemen got Ted strapped on the back board and out in the emergency transport vehicle. Randy called my sister to come get the kids and I gave Daesha a hug and kiss and tried to comfort her fears. She was holding back big swells of tears. Keegan waved bye with much enthusiasm. Our neighbors were all outside on their sidewalks waiting to get some details. I felt like I was in a parade as I pulled out of the driveway. I refrained from waving like the town's royalty and decided to roll down my window and tell what had happened to my neighbor across the street. That would be sufficient. The rest of the neighbors will have to get the info from them. Once in the ER I learned that the Fentanyl wasn't working. The EMT's had given him 2 more shots while in transport. Even with an IV he was still in pain for another 3 hours. We were waiting to get an MRI result Ted had just done last Thursday that his Dr in Murray ordered. Because it was a Sunday we couldn't get a hold of anyone at that office. So Ted stayed the night. The next day Ted had an epidural and steroid injection between L4 and L5. He was still in alot of pain even with the the constant IV of a drug called Dilaudid. Ted has never had a prescribed pain medication. He hasn't been too convinced of it's results yet. But he sure says funny stuff sometimes when the drugs have an effect on his brain. One thing that I thought was funny was right after his epidural shot. He said, "I was trying to figure out why they had a jar full of sheep, and I watched them spill some on the floor." I said. "that might have been cotton balls" And Ted replies very serious "that is probably what they were" Like someone could easily confuse the two.
Anyway, as of today Ted had to double the pain meds. His Dr. will probably do another spinal injection tomorrow and than wait a couple more days. If this doesn't work than the next step is surgery. It's much to stress about and that doesn't include the future stress we will be experiencing with having no insurance to speak of. But what is really sad is we will miss the bow hunt this weekend! This is so sad that we can't even speak of it.
PS sorry about the bummer post. I plan on catching up on some past HAPPY times very soon. So stay in touch. :)

A Written Emotional Outburst

2011-07-18T15:29:00.003-07:00

Daesha has been fighting a lot with her brother lately. This particular day I was sick and tired of getting after her. So I sent her to her room. When I went to go talk to her this is what I found taped to her bedroom door....

After laughing I must admit I was proud that she had written her words well. And this was a first. Her first impulsive and emotional words on paper. I was also glad that she actually did not want me to leave her alone for the rest of her life. :)

More Summertime Parades

2011-07-15T13:06:00.010-07:00

These nice old timers were having fun doing a little gun fight show in the parade. I was a bit too enthusiastic when they drove up so I was invited to shoot at the other gun slinger.

I have a picture of Keegan in a hat just like this from last years parade. This year Daesha got the cowboy sponge hat.

This year we went to the Provo Freedom Festival Parade. I knew there would be alot of people but this was crazy!!!

This was a really fun float! Then I realized it was an advertisement for the outdoor theater in St George. AND I was going to be there soon with my bestie Kim watching this exact play!

Don't care if you think I'm a nerd. I thought all the Star Wars characters were so COOL!

You can see Daesha in the red shirt plugging her ears as the tank would fire.

It Was Only a Matter of Time

2011-07-03T21:02:00.004-07:00

A pet belonging to a little girl goes through this humiliating experience... Garanteed.

Daesha takes Lizzy's humilating experience a step further and parades the poor dog in the street.

Lehi Rodeo Days

2011-07-03T15:04:00.010-07:00

This year we had lots of fun celebrating our town. We even were able to stay away from the emergency room this year. It was actually one year ago last Tuesday that Daesha was bit by a dog. So to celebrate the day we did the exact same thing we did last year minus the dog bite. :) We went to Wines Park to watch Despicable Me on the big screen with the Jackins. Keegan danced around and wrestled with Kylie and Desirae. We had a great time and found out that we are getting a new grocery store in town. MACEY'S!!!! Sad I get a bit excited about that. But I love shopping at Macey's. And I love their ice cream cones!!! At the movie they were selling 1 hot dog, chips, and a can of soda for 50 cents. All 3 things for 50 cents!!! Too bad we had dinner before we left. They also handed out free full size candy bars.

On Friday the kids participated in the children's parade. Our church group did a float about the man on the moon. And all the kids were aliens. They all wore neon colored shirts and silly pompoms on their heads. We also spray painted their hair. Daesha started out a bit emotional because she wasn't on the float. Then once she voiced her disappointment Keegan followed suit. Soon the whining became full out crying and then tantrums from Keegan. One phone call to their Dad to come pick them up settled them right down and they both walked and waved the entire parade route.

Keegan twisted his PomPoms and wanted me to take a picture.
My kids and the "Jacklin girls" Desirae and Kylie.

Keegan held his star sunglasses up to my camera lens. I just love his goofy expression :)

Right after the parade we headed to the rodeo. The kids love going to the rodeo. We all enjoyed it a lot this year. Some memorable things were the motocross group. They performed at last years rodeo too. Keegan still loved every second. As a family we ate 9 burgers at the rodeo! Mmmm good. Also a freak accident this year was during a bull ride. The rider was bucked off before his 8 seconds but before the bull stopped bucking it kicked the bell rope. The bull rope is what the bull rider grips throughout the ride. It is wrapped around the chest of the bull directly behind the animal's front legs. At the bottom of the rope hangs a metal bell designed to give the rope some weight so that it will fall off the bull as soon as the rider is bucked off or dismounts the animal. I think the bell is also used to piss the bull off. But anyway, this bull kicked the bell and it went flying 30 feet high and landed in the announcers booth. A poor lady in the booth was hit directly between her eyes by the huge metal bell. They bandaged her up and she left to the hospital. No other serious injuries happened during the rodeo. Even a bronc rider who broke 3 ribs the week before still rode. He hobbled away holding his side but alive. I guess.

I loved watching Keegan. Is this not the face of every spectator at the rodeo?

If I had a better camera and the fence wasn't in the way this would have been an amazing picture. The cowboy ended up flipping right under this horse! He did get stomped on but got up and waved that he was fine. But it sure was intense!

After the rodeo the royalty and clowns and motocross riders signed autographs. Daesha wanted everyone of them so we were pretty much the last to leave. One of the girls looked up to say Hi to Daesha and was surprised by her hair. all she could say was "wow, your hair is...interesting"

This guy is a bull fighter and such a gentlemen. He took his hat off to every little girl and then put it back on to only take it off again for the next girl. I thought it was so sweet. He is also the only bull fighter who has the guts to jump over the bull when it charges him.

This clown is the most famous clown in the rodeo curcuit. His name is Cecile. He is the one who cracks jokes and entertains the crowd during the rodeo.

The girls with the Lehi Roundup Royalty.

And then this girl jumped in on the right her job is to carry the sponsers flags around. At least I think thats her job. Who knows....

We literally were the last to leave. So we watched the cowboys roundup the cattle and horses. The kids fed the smaller cattle that are used for roping and steer wrestling.

Mormon Miracle Pageant

2011-07-01T14:50:00.008-07:00

Ted and I decided to take the kids on a 2 hour drive to Manti to see the Mormon Miracle Pageant. Neither one of the kids had seen it, so I wasn't expecting much more than them eating snacks all night and then crashing on the blanket before it was over. This time both kids surprised me, they both sat the entire time and seemed fully interested!
Our evening began with some food on the go from Arby's. And then a long drive to Manti. Once we arrived and found the perfect spot on the Manti temple grounds we went for a walk to see some craft booths and snack vender's. Of course we encountered a street preacher or two. I politely decline their brochures, while Ted takes them to read and says he gets a good laugh. One guy thanked Ted for being open minded. I don't mind people having different opinions about God and other so called spiritual beliefs But I think they choose really strange places to voice this. Really. Do they think they will convert at a place were people gather for conferences, education classes, pageants, etc.? We obviously have a strong belief and WANT to attend. So I don't give a second thought to the protesters and such until we came to a group of teen boys. They were shouting things like "Joseph Smith is not a prophet." "We are 14 and how can we have God's knowledge." And "Mormons are going to hell." And much more things that really offended me. Well it did more than offend. I felt myself feeling mad. Because like the adult protesters they truly did believe what they are doing is right. But the age of the boys was what really bothered me. Keegan didn't catch what was going on because there was a huge group of people and he was more concerned with holding my hand and dodging people who didn't see him. I am pretty sure Daesha didn't understand either because she asks a lot of questions. Neither Ted or I had to answer anything about this disturbing experience. I'm not sure why I share this other than the fact that I want to remember the hate I felt from the voices of those boys. I didn't like that feeling. And then I was reminded that Christ's love was precious, towards everyone. That I was happy and that's what matters. No matter who is in the right or wrong. I felt so much love from my Savior. And even a little bit towards those boys.
And then once on the temple grounds we felt the peace and love of being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We talked with missionaries for a long time and others around us. Found that we were sitting by people from American Fork and they knew my sister. Also met some people who knew us. (Strange meeting people for the first time when they already knew us.)
The kids became restless waiting for the pageant to start so Ted got out their Pillow Pets and started throwing them at them as they ran away. Within minutes 2 other kids came running to play with Ted. They were both carrying a Pillow Pet. Some kids around us were excitedly holding their Pillow Pets and pleading with their parents to let them play. Those were a bit more cautious parents who didn't want their kid to get tripped and break an arm. But I thought it was really funny to see all these Pillow Pets start to appear. Everyone who is anyone owns a Pillow Pet!!! :) We had taken our friend Lisa with us and she mentioned that Ted always attracts kids. And the crazy thing is that most the time he doesn't play soft. And the kids love it! He was tripping the kids with their pillows and whipping the pillows so fast at their heads that you could see little noggins whipped back and drool being flung in the air! It was great entertainment for everyone with a 10 yards radius.
Once the pageant started the kids settled down and watched the entire show. It didn't get over until 11 o'clock. But like I expected they were asleep as soon as the car started to move.

Maybe this is why Keegan did so well. We just gave him some good juice (Coke) and lots of treats!

The Manti temple is one of the oldest Mormon temples. It's was the 3rd operating temple. Building started in 1877. It's made of Limestone and took 1 year to build. The hill that it sits on was once invested with Rattlesnakes. And my favorite thing about this temple is that it has progressive sessions. And has live actors for the presentation. Most of our temples have a video we watch. The Manti temple is only 1 of 7 temples that do this. Currently there are 134 temples.

The kids right in the middle of their Pillow Pet fight when some actors in the pageant walked by.

Elder Nic Searle

2011-06-28T18:42:00.004-07:00

On Sunday Daesha drew a picture for her cousin Nic. He left 3 weeks ago to the MTC. And is now in New Mexico serving a mission. Nic's mission was a big topic for months as he was preparing to go. So I am sure that alot of her illustrations are from some of those conversations. For instance, we guessed that perhaps Nic would be in contact with some Indian reservations. Namely the Navajo Nation, which is actually the largest in the United States. So it was no wonder that to a 7 year old Nic and his companion would be going to actual Teepee's. (One has smoke coming out the top. And in the middle is a tree. Which I thought was some sort of Totem Pole)
If you look closely it seems that Elder Nic is holding up a slice of pizza! It is not. But it is in fact, a Book of Mormon. Nic is also trying to casually fit in by wearing a feather on his head.
But my most favorite part about her drawing is that Nic's sister Tiffany is up on a cloud watching over him!
We are mailing it to him as soon as we get his new address. I'm pretty sure he is going to like it.

DIY at CMH

2011-06-16T13:41:00.008-07:00

(Do It Yourself at Christiansen's Money Hole)

I have always disliked our white cabinets in our kitchen. And I recently realized that 3 of the 4 houses we have owned had dark green walls in the kitchen. Instead of changing the cabinets I thought that a fresh coat of paint, some curtains made by myself and the help of my 1 armed mother-in-law might make the kitchen more bearable. I also made a small change with the glass doors on a few of the cabinets. I got a sticky plastic that gave the glass a frosty look. I love this because I don't have to have cute little nik-naks in my cabinets. I can now but stuff I actually need in my cabinets! What do you think of it all finished?

BEFORE (south end)

AFTER (south end)

BEFORE (north end)

AFTER (north end)

I don't have a before picture of our bay window because it was bare. But here it is with my curtains. I am sure a real designer wouldn't have a huge bannana tree, but my kids love it and can't wait till it actually grows banannas. And the other planted basket is from little Tiffany's funeral. It's still growing great! :)
Lastly I found these really cute canvas prints for only 15 bucks each! I painted 2 very dark brown (looks black) rectangles, and hung the prints over them for a modern frame look!

Cool Change

2011-06-12T22:09:00.009-07:00

Every once in awhile we get to see some of our old friends in PG. The Porters was one of our favorite peoples' there. Ted and I used to watch their kids. It's amazing how fast their kids grew in just the 8 years we have known them. One in particular became my kids favorite babysitter. Lisa would come and watch my kids even after we moved away and living in Saratoga Springs. Lisa is now living in Herriman as a nanny. She still comes by to visit and last week when she came by she invited us to go boating. Of course we were more than excited to go and see the Porters again. We joined Valerie (mom), Luke, Lisa, Jason and his wife and little baby girl and also 2 of Lisa's friends. Ted and I had so much fun. The weather was slightly overcast when we left at 10. Once we got out on Utah Lake I decided I was not going in the water. The water was probably 50 degrees, and I still had a sweater on. By noon the sun was shining and it got very hot. But unfortunately the water didn't warm up as much as I would have liked. Keegan got tired around 1 and started asking to go home. His favorite spot was at the back so he could see all the action. We ended up leaving about 2 oclock because Keegan was really needing a nap and he didn't want to fall asleep on the boat. He did fall asleep in the car on the way home. Daesha did not want to leave the lake. She enjoyed it very much.

TUBE WARS! Lisa, Luke, and their 2 friends. Brother and sister were ruthless! They were very entertaining to watch. Even the other 2 on the tubes with them just rode it out and watched them have their little war.

Ted diving in to join the tube war. Ted felt he had to get Luke off once. And are we surprised that the tube Ted was on got a big hole in it shortly after he got on. He says there is no proof he did it. That it already had a hole. He may have made it bigger is all!

Ted on a wave board? Just a board that looks like a snowboard but doesn't have any foot straps.

Now it was Daesha's turn to go on the tube with her Dad. She had a ton of fun and would have stayed out all day long if her hands didn't get tired holding on. At first we went very slow. But once she started to stand up and mess around we realized we weren't going fast enough! Faster was of course Daesha's idea of fun!!! As we slowed down so that we could pull them in somehow they were both too far to the front of the tube and both Ted and Daesha went in the cold water head first! Daesha came up laughing. Too bad I didn't have a picture of that.

Keegans favorite spot. He didn't want to get on the tube. But he loved crawling out on the back deck and put his feet in the water when we stopped to change tube riders or skiers.

Daesha warming up against Lisa. It was a bit chilly!

So Luke was wearing girl sunglasses and a neon green shirt. I happened to be wearing the same color shirt (only a lot more faded, and had hearts on it) over my swimsuit. And just because Ted loves to tease and provoke, he had me take off my shirt and show everyone just how "sexy" he was. The sight alone was enough to have everyone rolling in laughter. But once he added the sweet lisp and hand motions we couldn't catch our breathe we were laughing so hard. Ted left the shirt on for awhile and did stuff that would have us laughing again. My favorite was when he threw out the rope!!! It was a classic girl throw! And then he leaned over the boat and threw the rope out little by little while making grunts like he was trying his hardest!!!

Stick IT!

2011-06-10T16:57:00.009-07:00

Daesha did a great job at her Gymnastics showcase. Unlike Keegan she loves the spotlight. So Daesha was extremely excited about having us see her routines. They did a Super Hero theme with all the music from various super hero movies and shows.

Her mommy scores are as follows:

On her floor routine she shows great flexibility and coordination but because she forgot her routine and had to get some sign language help from her coach, she gets an 8.

On Bars I think she deserves a 10! Ok, maybe a 9 because her teacher had to stop her from over rotating.

The Pommel Horse is hard to judge. She hasn't advanced to using an actual horse. They just run and jump on the springboard then up onto a giant padded block. Her first run she had great agility and skill. She gets a 9. The second run gets an 8. She was supposed to do a forward roll and for some reason didn't. She must have lost her nerve :) The picture is pretty funny. Because her teacher is standing at the edge of the pad and helping her flip. Her butt went straight up and then she went straight on her head. She laughed and went skipping back to her team line.

The balance beam started off rocky. After her first big skill.. (a simple hop straight up) she lost her balance and jumped off. But no hesitation and she was back on the beam. The rest of her routine she had great balance and grace. I was very proud. A perfect 10 despite the fall. WHAT! I'm her Mother!! I can give her a 10 if I want! I knew she would do well on the beam because she practices this at home on the side of our jet tub.

At the end every student got to get on the podium and receive a ribbon. It was a fun evening. I hardly have to point this out because it's pretty hard to miss. But can you believe the legs on my girl!!!! As we were walking out to our car a lady came up to me and said she was beautiful and was amazed at her long legs!

We Got The Pass!

2011-06-10T16:48:00.005-07:00

THE PASS OF ALL PASSES. $40 dollors each and you get unlimited 7 Peaks, Trafalga, Owls Games, and Utah Flash Games ALL SUMMER LONG!!! I know we will be using this a ton! The first place we used our passes was Trafalga... I wasn't really in the photo mood. I didn't need to take a bunch anyway. We will be back tomorrow :)

Remembering Tiffany

2011-06-10T16:33:00.004-07:00

May 25th was the 1 year anniversary of my nieces passing. When Daesha got out of school we took some flowers to Tiffany's grave site. Daesha also wrote her a story that she thought would make her smile. I should have copied it down before we left it there. I do remember the title was, "How To Scare Your Bear."

If your wondering why Keegan isn't in the picture.... He had fallen asleep on the way there. I don't know how I got 2 heavy sleepers. Once they are asleep there is no use waking them. You can poke, prod, and even stand them up and they will not wake up.

Lagoon Day!

2011-06-10T15:20:00.001-07:00

May 7th we took the kids to Lagoon. It was a huge dance competition and we went to see the Jacklin girls clog. I enjoyed watching the cloggers and I got the warm fuzzies remembering when I clogged. Anyway, it was Keegans 2nd time at Lagoon, but first time he could actually ride any of the rides. He was thrilled to go and very excited to go on the rides. He told us that he was not going on any fast rides. But he didn't really stick with that the entire day. We headed to the giant Farris Wheel first. Keegan liked that. And as we were getting out of the bucket Keegan wanted to jump down. But before he could my nephew Randy helped him out. Keegan threw the biggest fit EVER! He has lungs. His screams pierce the inner most part of your ear. seriously. He screamed and yelled and yelled some more. He was pretty pissed off the whole morning from that little episode. But once he got over that he enjoyed the entire day.
I get motion sickness pretty bad. Usually I call in a prescription for the "patches" you put behind your ear, but my Dr. was out of town all week. So I went and bought some over the counter pills. Shortly after this first ride I found that the pills don't work at all! I thought I was going to die before this ride ended. Keegan loved it though. After this ride Keegan bent over and picked up a leaf. He told me that it would make him brave on the rides because it has the Force.

This was a little mini Tital Wave for kids. Neither one of my kids thought it was a great ride... Keegan still held his little leaf the entire ride.

We were still getting Keegan over his emotional episode from the Ferris Wheel. No expression at all on this ride. The ride was still going and both kids were very bored. I guess it's time to step it up and head over to the bigger rides.... Keegan still has his leaf.

Keegan did not like the big Tital Wave ride! When his end of the ship was up high and his body began to lift off the seat he'd get this look of absolute terror. He never cried or screamed. But once he got off and walked over to were I was sitting he told me he hated that ride. I asked if he still had his leaf. It was a little wrinkled but he still had it!

Rattlesnake Rapids was a lot of fun! Keegan did not want to get wet, but notice the tight hold Keegan has of his Dads leg. And because he still had his leaf he was happy. He dropped it on the ground a couple times as we were walking from ride to ride. We had to stop and weave traffic to retrieve the leaf. This leaf was beginning to be a pain.

I was so scared for Daesha and Keegan to go on this Chinese Dragon ride alone. It went VERY fast and went around in a circle. Keegan couldn't sit up straight and I thought for sure he was freaking out. But when he got off he was laughing! He said, "I was leaning on Daesha and I couldn't sit up!"

Even after all that centrifugal force Keegan still had his leaf!
Only now it was limp and had a hole in it.

Ok. Humor me on this little picture story. I told this little story to the kids as we went through these next pictures. The kids laughed at my Keegan voice and my made up narrations.

Keegans inner thoughts. "Why is my Dad taking my pictures again?
I'm not even doing anything fun?"

Now more verbal... "Hey Dad! Why are you taking my picture!!?"

"I think you better get that camera out of my face, or else"

"You're not so tough! I can take you out man!"

"I will even let you take the first hit, then it's over for you Bub"

"O sorry, you don't wanna fight? OK. we can be friends again."

THE END.

Keegan wanted to take a picture by the height ruler. I asked him to act sad because he isn't tall enough to ride. He wasn't really sad. This was a fast one :)

So now here is Daesha's experience about Lagoon. If you were to ask her if she had fun she would say, "YES! WICKED WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

She was tall enough to ride every single ride. The first one she rode was the Jetstar with me and Randy. It's a rollercoaster that reminds me of Space Mountain at Disneyland. Daesha was all smiles and giddy the entire day. She loves big thrills! Upside down rides didn't even faze her. Even the most scary ride Wicked was Daesha's favorite. She rode it 4 times!!! But I thought that she was going to back out the moment we got to the front of the line. We were standing right at the gate as the next car pulled up. A kid about 14 years old got a bloody nose from the ride. His face was covered in blood. Daesha gasp! "What happened to him?" We told her that this ride is the fastest at the park, and that maybe he gets bloody noses easily." We had to sit and watch the workers disinfect the ride and let it run through without anyone in it ( Im guessing to dry it off) Then as it pulled up again we climbed in. I looked at Daesha and she was fighting back the tears. I asked her if she wanted to get off and she just shook her head. As soon as the ride began moving she let out sobs. I gave her some quick comfort because the ride shoots off in seconds. The ride can be considered extreme due to the fact that the ride is launched, pulling 4.885 g's and shoots straight up and then instantly goes straight down. Daesha cried during the entire launch and on the way up. But as soon as we reached the zero gravity way down she started to laugh and scream. I love the barrel roll and I loved hearing Daesha laugh and squeal. It was so much fun. The cutest thing was when the ride was over and the car rolled to a stop. Everyone waiting in line is above us. They had seen us take off with Daesha balling. Now she was laughing with tear streaks still evident on her face. The entire crowd started to clap and cheer for her. So she raised her arms and cheered. O My Heck! It was so funny!!!!!

I asked her if she closed her eyes. At this point the adrenaline was still pumping through her body so she yelled back, "I COULDN'T! MY EYES WERE WIDE OPEN THE ENTIRE TIME!!!"

Daesha kept us all entertained. But my favorite quote of the day was from Daesha.

"My stomach was up in my eyeballs!!"

I love the following picture!!! We went through a huge waterfall. Daesha and I got up and went to the other side of the boat so we wouldn't get wet. It worked, but poor Randy got drenched!!

Daesha was very happy she didn't get wet in the waterfall! But right after I took this picture we fell into a huge swell and we all got wet.

I love how everyone walks funny when they get off this ride. Daesha was not happy that she got so wet.

Keegans funny walk. And look! He still has the leaf!

Randy, Ted, and Daesha. On the Samerai.

Then at the end of the day my nephew Randy and I went on the Skycoaster. I had done this ride once before Ted and I went on it with my friend Kim before we were even married. It was Randy's first time. It's alot of fun. Randy and I were laughing the whole time. Even before we started going up. There is a moment that you are standing on a platform and they tell you to lean forward and the platform drops from under you and your whipped down in the superman position. It starttled me and I screamed even though we were only a foot off the ground. Then once we were ready to pull the rip cord I involuntarily started screaming. I should have thought of swollwing first because Randy got a nice string of slobber accross his arm. As I wiped the remainder from my own cheek I said I slobbered all over myself. Thats when I learned the remainder had landed on him. I felt so bad but couldn't stop laughing!!!! Especially when he said he thought it was raining!!!

(Randy was acting scared)

Easter 2011

2011-06-10T15:07:00.001-07:00

I realize that the dates are going to be all off if I don't do some serious journaling! so I apologize to all 8 of you who read my blog. This is the last post that will be considered old news. And plus I know that I will forget some details the longer I let this go. So here we are at Easter....

We did the usual and went to my sister in laws in Eagle Mountain on Saturday. We had a great lunch and Easter egg hunt. This year the older nephews who are too old to do any egg hunting went and hid the 100 eggs! Yes at least 100 eggs between 3 kids! Keegan got some help from his cousin Wyatt, while Daesha and Shamae ran around grabbing eggs like mad! I couldn't keep track of both kids on my video because they were running around so fast and in every direction. I was so glad that my sister in law put toys in some of her eggs instead of candy. Even still my kids came home with a grocery bag of candy!!! Thankfully my kids aren't huge candy eaters. They devour the candy for about 2 days and then they have had enough and won't even touch their candy for weeks. So when I finally threw it all in the garbage they didn't even ask about it.

The night before Easter we colored a dozen eggs for the Easter Bunny to hide. Sunday morning The kids got up and found their baskets (with more candy) and also the dozen eggs that the bunny had hidden. Then we quickly got ready for church and let the kids have a handful of candy for breakfast. That should be sufficent for the 3 hours of church. We weren't the only neglectful parents. It was effident that many of the kids were on a sugar high. Church seemed much louder than usual and Keegan was especially more restless than usual. But we got through it, and ended up enjoying a nice Easter Sunday.

Keegan didn't want to walk on the rocks to get this egg. He is calling his cousin over to get it for him.

Wyatt held out Keegans bag while Keegan ran and picked up the eggs and then run back to put it in the bag.

Keegan was more than pleased with his pile of eggs!

Grandma Betty got the kids these really cute bug catchers. She put some edible grass and little bunny confetti in it. The kids thought it was pretty cool. She also put a windup butterfly toy in them. It was super cute!

Coloring eggs... can you believe not one cracked egg! They were both so careful.

Of course we have a Keegan moment with his funny faces.

Ted made the ugly one. Mixed in all the colors.

The kids' baskets came with these camo hats. I thought they looked pretty cute in them.

Keegan Turns 4

2011-06-09T05:46:00.008-07:00

Yesterday was Keegans 4th birthday. He is at the age when it seems every commercial that comes on TV he says "I want that". And every time we go to the store. "I want THAT." For weeks instead of just "No" I would say, "Maybe for your Birthday." On Sunday our church kids group sang Happy Birthday to him. Since then he wakes up everyday and has asked if it was his birthday yet. Yesterday I had to lie to him, because for weeks he has retold his idea of what should happen at his birthday. From the cake and balloons and he wanted a surprise party. Now of course I ignored the first time he told me this. Keegan usually hates to be the center of attention. But he continued to tell me that's what he wanted. I decided to ask more questions about it and to make sure that he knew exactly what he was thinking a surprise party meant. Well, he knew what a surprise party entails. Right up to the part when he will will say "WHOA!" in surprise right after everyone shouts, SURPRISE!

I for warned all of our birthday guests that it was s surprise party. And because all our guests know Keegan well they all wondered what would possess his mother to torture him on his special day. I agreed with every concern that they brought to my attention. That he may run off and hate his birthday forever or he might surprise all of us and be excited.

The entire day went well. I had to make a few diversions. My brother in California called to wish Keegan a happy birthday. I had to turn his request down (at least until tomorrow) And then his church teacher came to give him a gift and a balloon. You should have seen his look of total confusion. After his teacher left I said to Keegan, "Your teacher thought today was your birthday, but it's not till tomorrow." He was still very confused and then he was disappointed. But that quickly changed to excitement when he realized his birthday was soon! Finally, the day was coming to an end. Our friends and family were coming at 7:30. Ted took both kids to McDonalds while my nephew Josh and I went and got the balloons and got all the decorations up. We put a few streamer hanging from the door in the laundry room (that's were they will come in) to give him a clue and maybe the impact of the surprise won't be so bad. At 10 minutes to 8 Daesha came running in the house giggling and jumped behind the couch. This was a cue to get ready! I turned off the lights and turned on the video camera. Keegan didn't notice the streamers as he removed his shoes like a good boy and started walking in the house. He saw the streamers and started to run while shouting, "IS IT MY BIRTHDAY???" Just as he rounded the corner to the room we always gather for birthdays I flipped on the lights and everyone shouted, "SSSSSUUUU...." and somehow that's when I pushed the record button OFF on the video camera!!!!! I didn't get anymore on film!!!!! I didn't get the fact that he jumped 10 feet high then kept walking past the room we were in. I didn't get that I went to get him as he reached the stairs. By then he had a big grin and walked back to his party! I didn't get the high five he gave me and him opening each and every gift with big smiles and said Thank You to each person. I have no proof that he loved his party and actually loved the surprise!!!! Luckily Ted had the other CRAPPY camera and snapped a few pictures of him opening his gifts. Keegan was not his normal self that night. He was giving hugs and saying goodbye and I just couldn't believe how much he was enjoying the attention. It was so much fun to watch that I forgot the picture I always take after everyone leaves of him and all his gifts. Oh well, there will be more birthdays to come and I am happy to see that Keegan really did enjoy this one :)

Water guns, shorts and shirt from the Adams.

Marvel comics magnetic book and Legos from Daesha.

Light Saber from Mom and Dad.

Marvel comic figures and comic book. Which Valerie had to bring to a G rating by coloring in inappropriate cleavage and butt cheeks with a black sharpie.

Transformer Bumblebee car from Mom and Dad.

And more Legos.. he also got some gardening tools from his Grandparents. It was what he told his Grandma he wanted but wouldn't pick them up so we could take a picture.

Keegans Star Wars cake.

Darth Vador and Skywalkers light sabers light up.

Keegans' cousin Brittney calls him "Kee". He calls her "B." When Ted cut the cake a piece said Kee. So we knew it had to be Brittney's piece. Ted likes to point out that Keegans head is bigger than his 12 year old cousins. This is no trick of the camera angle either.

Keegan posing with his light saber.

Once I took one he asked me to take more...

We all stayed up way past our bedtime taking pictures in the dark of the lightsaber.

Things we love and know about Keegan:

- He makes us laugh everyday with his funny faces and silly dance moves.

- His hugs and kisses are not shared regularly. But when they are shared they are truly genuine.

- He talks nonstop when we are in the car. (Sometimes it's not something I love about him.)

- He is always nice to his sister. They never fight. But he always teases her.

- He is super smart. And has an amazing memory. When I need something found I don't ask Daesha to help (she forgets what we are doing after 2 minutes). Keegan will search until whatever it is we are looking for is found.

- He loves Marvel super heroes, Star Wars, and recently Legos.

- His favorite food is waffles. He would eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I let him.

- He always wakes up at 7:30 every morning. He comes in my room and softly taps my pillow until I open my eyes. Once I do he says, "Will you make me some waffles?"

- He prefers taking showers instead of a bath.

- He calls his friends that are boys "His Boys".

- His favorite TV shows are Team Umizoomi and Bubble Guppies.

- He loves playing the XBOX.

Spring Break....

2011-06-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

April 16th was spring break for the school district. We were invited to spend the weekend with the Adam's family. The weather has not been very warm with it being SPRING break and all... So we all headed south in hopes of finding warmer weather and sand to play in. The weather was much better and it felt so good to play outside all day long. The kids played on the sand hills from the moment the sun was up and stayed out well past dusk. I was just about to head out looking for them with a flashlight when they came bounding into camp, wanting to start a campfire and roast marshmallows.
The adults had fun going on rides in the dune buggy. (kids loved it too) I have never been in a buggy at the sand dunes. I know weird since that is initially what they were made for. Well my first time was so dang scary!!!!! George took Kristy and I on a ride that I am sure was meant to scare the pee right out of us! We were jumping off the top of hills, sending my stomach to my chest several times. And then going full speed around the side of these big sand bowls. I felt like we would roll right down the slope!!! Kristy and I screamed the entire time. I actually felt sick after the ride. George loves to torture poor innocent buggy virgins. I learned my lesson to never ride with George when he is driving. On the way back to camp I rode with Kim. That ride was much more enjoyable. :)

I noticed Daesha walking around, looking at the ground alot. After awhile I went to see what she was so interested in on the ground. I should have known my little bug lover was observing sand beatles. I was so amazed as she showed me the little marks along the sand. Sure enough they were the trails from the beatles. She said look Mom you can follow it to here and then it stops.... as she dug her hand in the sand and pulled out a BEATLE! I have never noticed the trails all over the sand and I thought it was so cool to actually see a beatle bury itself in seconds! Daesha collected them in her sand bucket and then dropped them in the "dungeon" she had made to her sand castle.

This bride was getting her bridal pictures taken. I watched her hike up the hill in her dress and bare feet. I bet those pictures will turn out really pretty.

Seriously this to me is like your kid in molasses. SAND in my kids' hair is a nightmare to get out. It is completely comparable to getting sand out of Velcro. It just sticks against their scalp and has to fall out on its own. Baths and showers don't work. I learned this fact when Daesha was little and I literally stuck the vacuum hose to her head to get out all the sand! Since then my kids have just known to stay clear of sand. But when we go to a place like the sand dunes I can't exactly stick to that rule.

I have been to the sand dunes a bunch of times. But we have never camped a Jericho. Can't expect to have trees anywhere in the sand dunes. But the paved parking lot, bathrooms and running water was a nice change.

I told Keegan to run as fast as he could down the hill...

Once he got going....

He kept going..... :)

The wind at the dunes is perfect for kites. Keegan flew his kite for a long time!!!!

Daesha and Owen jumping from the top of the hill and landing in the soft sand halfway down the hill.

Our little puppy did great on her first camping trip. We even buried her in the sand! she was really funny running up the sand hill. It was so deep and she was so little. It was a work out for everyone even for Lizzy. She would stop halfway up the hill and wait till she had more energy to continue. Keegan thought he would help by carrying her up the hill. I was surprised to see her let him take her all the way up and then once they were at the top she would wiggle her way out of his arm and run off to play.

Getting the kids to come in and sit down to have lunch was impossible. They just couldn't stop playing. I got Keegan to agree to a bag of chips. But he did not want go in the trailer.

One of the benefits of Ted working at a trailer shop is we get to take them free of charge for the weekend. The only catch is that we have to take the ones that are trade ins. And while we have it we do a predealer inspection. I thought this was a great deal until the heater didn't work the first night. And the lights didn't work the second night. I didn't find out until we were already there that the trailer had not been cleaned out. We found dirty and stiff socks stuffed along the side of the mattress. And this particular trailer had a bunch or stickers of places they had been. We really liked this pin with a ribbon we found in the trailer. We decided that Ashlynn was the honorary recipient. It says, " First Timer" on the ribbon, and something about a RV rally in Idaho. And I can officially say that I will never buy a pop out tent style. You can hear everything going on outside the trailer and everything inside too!

Things Didn't Work Out As Planned

2011-05-30T18:17:00.011-07:00

Today we had planned a fun filled day! The day ended up being a real hastle.
Ted took the day off and we were going fishing no matter what the weather. We first headed to Cabela's to get both kids their own fishing poles. We have gone enough that they can pretty much handle their own poles. Ted still has to bait them but from there they can cast and reel it in like a pro. Daesha picked a pink Barbie one. Keegan picked a blue Star Wars one.
The day was pretty dreary. Cloudy and windy. About 50 degrees. We headed to our favorite spot at Utah Lake. The road was flooded out because we have gotten go much rain. But as we turned around we saw a spot that might work. It was down a small muddy hill. Ted's famous last words ... "we have 4-wheel drive" After getting down to the spot we decided that it wasn't a good spot so we headed back up the muddy slope. Only to slide back down. Up again. Then we turned sideways and slid back down again!!!! We spent the next 40 minutes trying to get back up the hill. I was so scared. But I kept silent because Ted was getting really mad. Finally he gunned it and BOOM! We heard a huge bang on the underside of the Suburban. No, that didn't stop Ted. He kept going and got us up the hill and kept on driving. So I asked, "Are you going to check what that bang was?" He stopped and saw that the step bar was missing. Lovely. We aren't ones to litter so he walked over to the hill picked up the muddy step bar and threw it in the Suburban. We drove a little further and found a beach picnic area. The lake was so high that waves were splashing up onto the cement pad were the picnic tables were. It was crazy! We started to unload the chairs, poles and all the other fishing gear. The tip of Teds fishing pole snapped in the off road adventure we had. I felt so bad for him. He wasn't having a good morning so far. We were well prepared and bundled up but after being out by the water added with the wind it felt more like 30 degrees. Our hands must have been pretty numb from the cold because as Daesha sent out her first cast I saw something pink flying across the sky. I looked over to see Daesha's brand new pink Barbie fishing pole sink under the surface! Poor Daesha started to cry. It was out way too far to rescue.
We spent 1 hour fishing. Daesha reeled in 2 catfish on Teds broken pole. Keegan cast his out a few times and then got too cold and wanted to go home. On the way home we stopped at Cafe Rio were I have become insanely addicted to the shredded pork soft tacos. Yummmm.
Once home I decided to tell Daesha something she would be excited about. She has been dying to take lunch to school all year. Each time I have told her no. Mainly because we got help from the school this year for lunches because Ted was out of work for so long at the beginning of the year. Another reason is because I try really hard to raise Non-Picky eaters. My kids don't have to like what they are eating but they will eat what they are given. I decided for the last week of school Daesha would be able to take a lunch to school. She was so excited when I told her. We even went to Old Navy and she picked a Smurfette lunchbox.
When we got home she headed off to watch some TV. I headed to do my daily workout on the Kinect. She came down with a wildly crazy story about her glasses needing to be tight. Blah, blah, blah... Then pulled them from behind her back. They were broken in half! BROKE--IN--HALF!!!! I probably wouldn't have been upset if this was her 1st issue with the glasses. But it's not. She pulls the nose pads off every month. And just today I noticed that they were scratched up pretty bad. I shouldn't have said that it was probably time to get in to get new ones. Because apparently she thought that at 6 o'clock we could go and get new ones. And she was telling Ted and I a really sketchy story about how it happened. So to punish for mistreating her glasses as well as telling a lie, she doesn't get to have her lunch box. We now needed to use that money to buy new glasses. I know it's not the whole truth but she doesn't under stand that a lunchbox costs far less than glasses. Its the consequence we were trying to teach here. I did feel bad for the poor girl, she has had a pretty sad day.
A few minutes after we told her she had to return her lunch box she came into my room with a handful of change. All she had left from her Birthday. $2.14 to be exact. I asked her what this was for and she said to buy her lunchbox. Cute. My heart says to let her keep it. But then she may not learn from this little experience. So do I let her keep the lunchbox? I told her that the lunch box cost more money than what she had. But like I said before she hasn't grasps money. What would you do?????

Pictures at the lake.

First catch of the day. The catfish had swallowed the hook and Ted couldn't get it out.

I know its cruel to take a picture of Keegan screaming in fear instead of consoling him.

(I promise I did after I took the picture) Thing is, Ted wasn't even doing anything to provoke such terror. Keegan has always hated the fish. If my intuition is right, Keegan won't be joining his Dad on any hunting trips when he is older.

The missing step bar...

Teds New Job!

2011-05-29T20:20:00.003-07:00

Finally the weight is slowly lifting. Ted had been working horrible hours and really terrible pay. And just as luck would have it Ted got a phone call from a friend about a job opportunity. Ted has been working at Utah Trailer Source since March. He works in the shop repairing camping trailers as well as some sales. They sale used and new camping trailers. Ted really enjoys this job. ALOT. He stays busy all day long, which he loves. And he gets paid well too! The only issue he is having is wiring. He has come home a couple times with a similar story.. "I fried some wires again today. I just can't get it right!" This is just another job. Not at all the kind of job that Ted would have thought of doing. But right now we are just happy to have a job that pays the bills AND groceries. It helps that Ted is really enjoying this job. This job came at a good time for Ted. He was really getting discouraged. He has been much happier and much more enjoyable to live with.

Ted is also trying out a new business adventure with his friend Garth Jacklin. They have been friends for a very long time. I think they have been friends since they were 9 years old. Anyway they decided to start an archery arrow business. They do a bunch of stuff with arrows. But their specialty is custom wraps. They have a little shop in Teds' parents basement. They have been doing some sportsmen shows, showing the product, and handing out their business cards. We all have some really nice sweaters and shirts and even have vinyl advertising on our car windows. The hunting season hasn't even started and they are getting 2 or 3 orders a week! This is even without a website yet. (It's in the works but not running yet) It looks like it could be profitable. The company name is THE ARROW SHOP. Once the website is up and running I will post it. Make sure you tell all your friends!

Lego Star Wars

2011-05-16T12:38:00.004-07:00

One day Keegan decided he wanted to play the XBOX. I was amazed at how fast he caught on and could play all by himself with just a few minute instruction! He started out playing Disneys' Cars. He got bored of that fast and moved on to playing Sonic and then Crash. Then he played Lego Star Wars. If I said he loves this came would be an understatement! He is down right addicted!!! He likes to be Obi -Wan Kenobi. The charactor is dressed in a brown robe that wraps around the front and has a beard. Keegan declared him "Jesus" one day. Obviously there are some similarities...

After weeks of playing the game we soon had to set some rules about yelling at the game in frustration. Yelling, "I HATE YOU JESUS!" also brought about a discussion that the Lego guy is named Obi-Wan. And that Jesus doesn't break people in pieces with a light saber.

This information was taken well. But just as fast as Keegan accepted this he said, "But Jesus DOES have the force". Yes. I guess he does.... or something like it.

Children's Museum

2011-05-13T16:13:00.014-07:00

Just pretend that we are back in March. (this is how far behind I am) I have some pictures of us at the Childrens Museum. Daesha brought her friend, Arissa. She's the little blonde you see in alot of the pictures. We also took Kylie Jackin with us because she wasn't looking forward to spending the day with her Dad and Ted in the arrow shop (details on that in another post) Kylie tripped and fell running in our driveway right before we left. She got some serious road rash to the face and knee. I think I have her in a couple pictures too. Poor thing held a tissue to her bloody scrapes the entire time we were there.

Playing in the ball area.

Working the crane yard....

Keegan loved playing at the water table. But I ended up having to take him away from it because he found it funny to throw balls right infront of other kids so that the water splashed up into their faces. I let him do it a couple times because I found it.... funny.

Daesha working at the deli. This cute little boy followed Daesha around for awhile. He seriously had twinkles in his eyes when he would talk to her. It was pretty cute.

Daesha the cashier... Keegan the bagger... Arissa the shopper.

I could do an entire blog on Keegans silly faces. He pulls a different one everytime the camera is pointed in his direction. I haven't seen the same one twice! Don't know how he comes up with them all....

Aye Captain! I see them there balls! lets hob lob em' at the mother!

Have you ever seen such a sweet smile?... me neither! So glad I got that one on film.

Now THATS a Keegan smile! And the goofyness doesn't stop for the next 4 pictures. This is Keegan having a ton of fun!

Everyone knows that 2 resin bowls can make a realistic sound of horse feet clomping. Keegan thinks they make a realistic set of boobs!

Im not kidding that this is the coolest thing ever! No joke, the kids and I played here for nearly 2 hours!!!! It was just a wall covered in sheet metal and different shapes of pipes with magnets attached. Once you had the pipes connected in a ramp with jumps, drops, and hills you would get a golf ball and see if it would go down your entire ramp. O my heck it was so fun! I told Ted I want one in our toy room. ASAP.

I love these magnetic shapes! I sat at this table all by myself for sometime creating different things. Children started coming and using the pieces I was planning on using to build my expanding city! So reluctantly I gave up my seat. :)

Daesha's model of a temple. Very impressive girly!

Keegans abstract artwork! Brilliant, little buddy!
Daesha and Keegan waiting for their turn to sit in the front and drive the helicopter. It has sounds when it starts up and takes off. The propellers never turn and of course it never actually takes off. Daesha thought it was cool swithing all the switches inside. Keegan got out and said, "That was stupid."

With so much fun we all needed a long drink at the drinking fountain. Keegan has been wearing his Dad's favorite hat alot lately. Yup it fits him perfectly. We still can't believe that Keegan has the same size head as his Dad!!!

Mom! How Do I Look????

2011-05-13T15:38:00.005-07:00

I know it's hard for anyone to believe that Keegan is a real jokester. He doesn't like much of an audience, but loves to make us laugh. At our house he is always saying funny things and loves to act silly. He thought that he was being extra goofy today when he put his clothes on all wrong!

Catching Up Is Hard To DO-OOOO!

2011-05-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

But as you know I have stopped scrapbooking and decided to stick with blogging. And to think this would be quick and easy! I decided to go with Blurb. After I download all of 2008 and 2009. I started a little editing here and there and here alittle more. Before I knew it I was into this dang project for 3 weeks!!!! I was excited to see the result and just recieved it today!!! And wouldn't you know it the dang book had a printing flaw! And also it was dang ugly! I have notified Blurb and I am pretty sure I can redo the book. But really! Do I really want to do it again??? and I still have 2 more years left. Does anybody still get out the pen and paper and just write words down? I did back in junior high. Infact, I wrote in my journal nearly every day back then. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to write stuff like, "I hate gym! Miss Johnson totally made me shower after class! And I swear I think a booger was on my locker today! But the best thing about the day was that Charlie said HI to me. He IS SOOOO DANG CUTE!!!!" (followed by little hearts and X's and O's)
Interesting how back then your day "seemed" so stressful. Now the stress is REAL. But the simple things still turn your day completely around.
For instance... I was having a very busy STRESSFUL day cleaning the house, paying bills, running to several stores, getting groceries, and on and on. I glanced at my phone to check the time. I can make it home right as Daesha gets off the bus. I started driving home and I was about 15 minutes from home when panic struck. It was a Monday! Which means that the kids get out 1 hour early! Daesha got stranded once. Last year when she was a wee Kindergartner. She didn't get on the bus. Daesha has always been pretty independent and usually doesn't over react and can think fast on her feet for her age. But this was pretty traumatic for her. She was crying by the time the school contacted me which was 45 minutes after the buses had left! Anyway, back to the story at hand. I was totally panicking and then I thought she might just go over to a neighbors house. So I called the first one I thought she would go. I was so glad that she was there and I was nearly in tears as her sweet voice cheerfully chimes, "Hello Mommy!" I started my pitiful apologies and told her I would be there very soon to pick her up and I also asked her if she was worried. She said "Not really. I just came right over to Arissa'a when I saw that the door was locked" When I went to pick her up from the neighbors she gave me a big hug and said. "I'm sorry you were worried, Mom. I wasn't even scared at all because we have nice neighbors" We truly do have nice neighbors. We know everyone on our entire street. All 7 of them because we live on a dead end road. I feel lucky to live in the area we live in. The rest of my day was followed by little hearts and X's and O's.

Lets talk PUPPY!!!

2011-05-05T15:06:00.007-07:00

This news is way over due. In fact, I think that this next post will be a compilation of all the things I have neglected lately on my blog.

1st and possibly the cutest news at our house is our new puppy. We got her back in March. The Saturday morning we first saw her was a busy morning. Ted took Keegan to get his hair cut. Daesha and I went to Walmart for groceries. As we pulled into the parking lot there was a slew of people selling puppies. Daesha and I have been conspiring to get a new puppy for some time. While every hint was quickly evaded by Ted. We stopped anyway, and went along the line of puppy owners. Every one at least 400 bucks or more. Last ones was 2 ladies selling Schnauzers. Exactly what I had been searching for! But I'd lost hope because they are so expensive. But there she was a little 4 pound black Schnauzer. I picked her up and could hardly stand the cuteness. Daesha and I were oooing and awing over her. The woman told me that she was the runt and had a small birth defect. Really? What? I hadn't even noticed anything. She was born with only one eye. Looking closer I could see it but I was already hooked. And so was Daesha. We didn't care. Ted was less than a mile away. I told the woman that we wanted this puppy that I only needed 10 minutes to tell my husband and we would be back to pick her up. Daesha and I drove over to the salon were Keegan was loving his hair cut. (Keegan asks' for a haircut every week, he absolutely loves it) I didn't have to do any persuading this time. Daesha took the wheel and batted her eyes and only had to say "pleeeeaasse" once before Ted agreed. He grudgingly agreed. And incase we were not aware of his disapproval he said he was not ever going to feed, bathe, of pick up poop... EVER!
But it should be stated that he is slowly coming around. He has fed her, taken her outside, but only because he doesn't want poop on the carpet. And he really does like her. He has yet to pick up any poop though. This one duty might remain firm.
I almost forgot! Daesha picked her name. LIZZY.
Keegan calls her LIZ and Ted keeps calling her MOLLY by accident. I've caught myself doing that a couple times too. One day Lizzy came running into the kitchen with a big white circle over her missing eye. I picked her up to get it off and realized someone had taped a big googly eye to her! No It wasn't one of the kids. Just the big one... TED. It was pretty funny and the kids wanted to leave it there.

BTW... I have lots more to catch up on. But I will do more tomorrow :)