Belt Bunch

GREECE: Day 1

2011-04-03T17:22:00.000-07:00

So, to be honest, day 1 is the flight from Salt Lake to Paris, then Paris to Athens, then to the hotel. We met our group at the airport at 3pm MDT (11pm Athens time), after saying good-bye to our kids at Dave & Robyn's house. Lyssa was sad, but Trey was too excited to play with cousins to be sad. :) We made it through security and onto the plane to take off at 6pm.

Here is a picture of TJay & Ky at the beginning of a 10 hour plane ride (they didn't look this chipper in Paris). The chicken dinner was pretty tasty, the movies were alright (although my sound system didn't work) and it got dark enough and late enough that we slept - however uncomfortably. At one point, TJay & KY switched seats so T was by the window and Ky was laying on her Daddy.

Kylie got a fantastic photo of the Alps! They are amazing to see from the air! So many mountains so high and so close together. It was a truly magnificent sight. I'm so happy we were by the window so we could look down on the gorgeous snow capped wonder of nature. This is us on our 2nd plane from Paris to Athens. It was a smaller plane and we all were able to sit by each other. Pretty tired at this point, but very excited. We are now officially in Europe!

Then we got off the plane at the Charles DeGaulle airport, ran through the entire airport (got frisked yet again - Ky & I got frisked in each airport) and then walked outside - yes, I walked on French soil and breathed in the air. As far as I'm concerned, I was in France! And we got onto another plane to fly for 3 hours to Athens (this is 11am Paris and noon in Athens - 4 am in Utah).

So, as we flew away from Paris, we got pictures of the Eiffel Tower - it's the tall thing in the background. That is as close as we got to touring Paris on this trip. Bummer. It was pretty cool to see it from the airplane. Some day I'll have to go up close to see it.

Then we got to Athens, met our guide - Christiane and rode to our hotel in Glyfada. We unpacked, ate and went to bed. It was a long & exciting first day.

Quick Check In

2011-02-13T21:40:00.000-08:00

TJay says he hates it when people blog that they should blog more. So, sweetie, don't read any more! It's been almost a year - and what a year! I stopped blogging because I couldn't talk about what was going on with work - and it was stressful & all-consuming. Then I just got out of the habit. So, long story short: Summer was awesome! We went to California & Lake Tahoe and saw family and Mickey Mouse - and the ocean (LOVE IT!). Mom only took 1 three day class this summer and played with the kids. We finished our basement! woo hoo! Now the girls have their own "wing" with bedrooms & a bathroom literally made for a girl (or two). We painted Trey's room & got him a car bed for his "cars" themed room. Happy guy now has his own bathroom (no girlie mess in there).

School began at Odyssey: Ky in 8th, Lyss & I in 5th, Trey in 1st. Dad's company got bought out by Visa, so he switched companies for the 2nd time without moving his desk. :) Crazy ensued and Mom got a new job as a Reading Specialist at another school, so she, Trey & Lyss went to a new school after Thanksgiving. Ky stayed at Odyssey for her final 8th grade year with her friends. Crazy, crazy time.

Dad got a new job in December. He now works for Imagine Learning which produces reading/english programs for kids & schools. He LOVES it there!!

Christmas was spent at home doing fun activities for the entire week after Christmas (Dad had the week off too). We had a great time and got a lot of gifts to prepare to go to Greece (in March - Dad, Mom & KY).

Now it's February and mom & dad both love our jobs. I am now the lead teacher in the language arts department and crazy reigns, but loving it. I am taking a reading class to get my reading endorsement, so I'm back in school. I think school & learning new things is my addiction of choice. The kids are all happy at their respective schools. We are blessed to have kind, happy, smart children!

Tomorrow I sign Ky up for high school, yes, she will be in 9th grade! She begins HS racqetball team practice in April (after we get home from Greece - yes, I'm excited). She played doubles with her dad in the UVU racquetball tournament. The college men were suprised when they found out she was 14. They ended up being impressed after playing her.

There is the update for now. Maybe I'll post more, maybe I won't. Didn't do a Christmas card/letter this year, too crazy. So, consider this blog your card! :)

911

2010-05-10T20:22:00.000-07:00

The kids & I were headed to Orem today when we were suprised by traffic stopped on University Parkway even though the light was green. Several honking cars and slow moving traffic minutes later, we saw the culprit: a brown truck. The driver was driving erratically: changing lanes without signalling, driving down the center in both lanes, stopping & slowing at random times, weaving into other traffic, and weaving into the median. This is at 4:00 pm when it was busy. We were afraid that she would cause an accident involving her, us or others. Kylie called 911 and I told the operator where we were and what was going on. She took all of the pertinent information (where we were, the license and description of the vehicle) and asked us to continue to follow the truck and stay on the line so she could update the police. The woman finally pulled into a center turn lane in front of the mall (we first spotted her down by RC Willey) and just sat there in her truck. We pulled in behind her and sat (upsetting all the cars who wanted to turn into the mall parking lot). We could see her shaking in the side mirror - not major shaking, just slightly, but she seemed confused. The police came and asked her to pull forward, which she didn't do. Then he approached her vehicle, took the keys out of the truck and opened the door and spoke to her. He waved us into the parking lot and asked us to wait. Soon 2 other police officers, an ambulance and a firetruck showed up. They got her out and into the ambulance. When the cop came over he told me that she was a druggie. He had arrested her on 3 previous occasions. Her license was revoked, and she had other things that were supposed to make it so she couldn't drive. I told him it didn't seem to be working (smart mouth). I was shaking out of fear and relief. After we talked and I filled out the incident report, he told me to let my kids know that this is an example of how dangerous drugs and alcohol can be. He said we had possibly helped to save lives today and thanked us for calling 911. Other vehicles had called 911, but no one had stayed behind to help. I told the kids they were heroes for helping the police and helping that lady. Then we had a don't do drugs talk. Treyson ate it up because he loves heroes and wants to be a fireman someday. It was quite the experience! (My cousin had driven past and stopped to see if we were alright - it was fun to see her.) We are glad to be safely back home!

Teeth? What teeth?

2010-05-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

Treyson lost a bottom tooth last week. Then a top, front tooth a few days ago. Today, he pulled out his other top front tooth on the way to Kindergarten. Later this afternoon, he got the other bottom, side tooth out. His only 2 permanent teeth are the bottom center. He looks so cute with hardly any teeth in the front of his mouth. He also sounds funny when he talks! :) He is the cutest little guy! Enjoy the funny pictures!

The latest goings on . . .

2010-04-24T19:54:00.001-07:00

This picture is supposed to be down by the play pictures.

Lyssa has been such a huge helper while Ky has been disabled. We're trying to do special things for her so she knows how appreciated she is. I told her she could have a friend come over after school Friday (yesterday) and have a late night. She has so many good friends that she couldn't decide. She had a list of 10 "best" friends, but we narrowed it down to 6 (1 couldn't make it and 1 had to leave early). They had a great time, and of course had to end it with make-overs, a scarf fashion show and modeling pics! What a bunch of cuties (all are my students).

So cute, I had to put it on here again! (no, but I'm tired and don't want to fix anything). :)

More egg painting. Lyssa looks upset, but really she's just pondering her next artistic endeavor. TJay is suprisingly competitive with his egg coloring. :) jk. You can tell he has artistic talent, even with eggs!

This is our favorite "little baby brother that doesn't live with us". He is getting so big & is so cute! We love it when we get to babysit this boy. Ky misses being able to stand up and hold him, but that time will come again. Aren't they so cute!?

The artists at work!

Easter is always serious business at our house. Each person gets their own dozen eggs to color and they LOVE it!

We had hero day at school (and hat day) and Treyson got to meet a hero: a fireman! Trey loves firemen and wants to be one when he gets big. He was mesmerized by the firetruck and equipment and meeting a real fireman. When I told him his uncle used to be one, he was amazed. :)

This is Kylie getting her cast on her leg . . . she broke her leg on March 16 trying to save her Daddy. His motorcycle fell off the truck (so did he) when the ramp safety latch failed. She saw her Daddy fall and then the motorcycle fall toward him and she ran to help him out (she hadn't been riding, just doing homework). The motorcycle fell on its side, right on her leg. She broke her tibia & fibula - one a bow fracture and the other bone was up her growth plate. She was super close to surgery, but luckily didn't have to have it and ended up healing quite well. (Now she is in an air-cast walking boot).

Kylie decided to go for the crazy pipi-longstocking-esque crazy hair!

Alyssa showing her style with crazy hair day . . . Treyson with his favorite crazy hair: mohawk! (don't ask me why we let his hair get that long, but it is very cute. And his favorite color green is in his hair.)

Treyson starred as "the cutest" (according to me) Spartan warrior in the school play. He loved being in the play and it was so cute to watch him mouth all of the words that every character said in the entire show. He was excited for his family to watch. He was happy that his Grandma & Grandpa & Aunt Robyn could come see him. He was THRILLED that his "baby brother that doesn't live with me" - Justin - was going to watch him. In fact, Justin came to see the show twice!

(This is where the top picture should be)

Kylie decided this year that she'd like to see the "other" side of a performance and was on the costume crew. That's probably a good thing, since she broke her leg the week of the performance and did hair while sitting, crutches always by her side. (Aphrodite is a student in my class.)

Alyssa was in her class play during the midevil festival. She wore her Easter dress and was the loviest narrator in the land!

What's New This Week?

2010-03-06T22:04:00.000-08:00

How come every week is the same and new at the same time? At least I always know it'll be busy. :)

Kylie was the narrator in her drama class play. And, when her friend was sick on performance day, Ky stepped in to take her part in the other play when it was performed. What a pal! Kylie is so at ease with speaking and such a great help she was able to help out at the last minute. Kylie also had to cook a new dish for her final grade in her CTE class. She made yummy cheesy breadsticks that turned out soooo good, that she's making them for dinner on Sunday. yay for us!

Alyssa had a busy week in the friend department. She went to a friend's house to play on Monday, a different friend's house on Wednesday and had her twin friends over for a late night on Thursday! She had so much fun. She also has a lot of really good friends. It's nice to see her enjoying her friendships so much. Lyssa also moved out - of her upstairs room. We made a temporary room in the basement and Lyssa has been sleeping down there - and loving it! We are working on getting the basement finished this spring/summer so we can move both girls down there.

Treyson has been earning money in Kindergarten instead of points for being good (it's their money unit) and on Thursday they had a "store" where they could buy some items. His teacher said he had so much fun watching the movie that was playing in the "theater" that they had to keep asking him to buy some stuff. She said she felt bad that he wouldn't come home with much, but that just helps his room stay neater. He also "broke my neck" on Friday. He came home from playing with some friends and wouldn't put his head up straight. He kept saying how much it hurt, so we took him into the chiropractor and he said that Trey had pinched something in his neck. After a while the doc was able to relieve the pain and Trey was happy to be feeling better.

TJay played doubles and singles in a racquetball tournament this week. So he was busy on a couple of nights, then he also had to work until 2 in the morning a couple of times. Crazy! He wanted to go to a movie - we saw Alice in Wonderland (very good flick). Then he took the girls skiing today and me bowling with the Elders Quorum. He's been a very busy man. Tomorrow (Sunday) he won't slow down with meetings before & after church.

I got a new boss this week. Last week I had parent/teacher conferences one night and did a little introduction of the new principal the next night (in a parent meeting). Change is always a little unsettling, especially when you will be working for the change. But, so far, so good. Utah is kind of running out of money, so the state isn't giving as much money to the schools as they were planning on. So, to make up for it, our school gave 3 furlough days to the teachers (all employees) this spring (among other changes). Friday was one of those days, so we had a day off. It was great! It snowed about 6 inches of thick, heavy, wet snow and we played in the snow all morning with all of the neighbor kids. It was great! Today while Dad & the girls went skiing, I went to the temple in the morning (Trey played with a friend) and then Trey & I went on a date to "pirate island". Picture Chuck-E-Cheese with a pirate theme. My boy was in heaven! He LOVES pirates and thought the whole thing was fabulous. My day ended with a bowling date (see above) and watching fun TV shows with the hubby while waiting for the teenager to return from babysitting.

Tomorrow we rest.

Next week we have school play dress rehersals (T & K), band practice (L), activity days (L), racquetball tournament for 3 (dad & both girls), school board meeting (mom), job shadow for school (ky) and an all day social studies class (mom). Yup, just another week . . .

President's Day at Zions

2010-02-21T21:35:00.000-08:00

Treyson is "bear hunting". Glad he was there to keep us safe!
Emerald pools hike. It was chilly in the mornings, perfect in the afternoons and chilly in the evenings. Worked out quite nicely!

Here is a family picture - it just might be our Christmas card this year - if we end up sending Christmas cards this year. :) (The walking sticks are hand carved from AF Canyon)

This is "Walter's Wiggles" that you have to climb up to get to Angel's Landing. TJay & the girls braved it - as well as slid down it. They did awesome!

Below you'll see our intrepid explorer with his handy binoculars! Trey loves those things.

School is out for a holiday and TJay has the day off too . . . what to do? Go to a national park! We had the best time! We rented a mini-suite 2 miles from the entrance to the park (off season = great rates!). We explored in the car, hiked, read, ate, played! We had the greatest time! Trey did quite a good job hiking around. When TJay & the girls went on the long hike - to Angel's Landing, Trey & I hiked about half way, and then we stopped along the trail. He played Nintendo DS & I read Goose Girl to him. :) People on the hike giggled at that site.

Another favorite hike was to Emerald Pools. There are 3 total and we hiked to 2. They are beautiful! On the lower one you walk underneath a waterfall, which was pretty neat. We also saw the weeping wall. It is amazing to see the water coming off of the rock and it looks like it is raining!

Starting to plan spring break . . . we LOVE family vacations.

Update . . .

2010-02-07T20:38:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been quite a while since I've blogged (so much for every Sunday). But, life is on crazy fast speed ahead! The Director (principal) of our school quit in September and I've been on the search committee to find a new one. The hours in January were crazy! We wanted someone hired by February. It worked! We hired someone last weekend and I think it's going to work out well and all be worth it. :)

Treyson has grown like mad this winter! He is taller & skinnier and looks so much older! He has also really began to be able to read. Something has just clicked in the last month and he is able to read better and write better. In Kindergarten, they journal every day and write stories. His stories are so cute. The last one was about him and his friend, TJay. I think it's adorable that Dad is his best bud! He is one fun kid to be around. He is also in the school play! He plays a Spartan warrior - and is loving it.

Alyssa has toned down the activites: dropped dance, hula & volleyball, and is concentrating on her musical career: piano & band. She loves participating in these activities. She is also becoming quite the little girl friend. She is talking on the phone with her best buddies, planning activities and just all around having fun. She went skiing on Saturday with TJay & Kylie and loved it! She is getting so much better - and tries to keep up with her big sister. Apparently they tried going through the trees and on jumps. This from the girl who wanted to learn to jump her motorcycle. I've never seen anyone practice so much. :) Love her!

Kylie is growing up and I want it to STOP! She is going to parties and texting like a maniac. She loves to babisit and is so good with kids. Too bad we have 60 YW in our ward! :) She is making more friends at school and having a good time. The past couple of months at school, the 7th & 8th graders have been practicing for the cotillion. They've been learning the swing, cha-cha and (ok, I forgot the other dance). They've learned ettiquette and practiced for the big day: Thursday. We went shopping and Kylie got a beautiful dress for the occasion. We are getting her hair done all fancy. It's pretty exciting. Hopefully next week I'll have some fun pictures to post.

TJay has been working hard. He's always busy with something. Besides taking the girls skiing, we've taken the family sledding and built our annual snow thing (this year it was a giant pig!). He's also building a desk and some shelves for a neighbor. Along with working on his volunteer work for a work organization. He also writes presentations and gets paid to travel to Arizona a couple of times a year to give the presentations on-line.

We are currently planning to go to Zion's for Presidents Day weekend. The kids have never been there and it's been a looooong time since TJay or I have been. We are excited. It'll be fun to get away. For spring break we're going to be motorcycling in the desert, as per our tradition.

There is a quick update. Hopefully, I'll post more often. If only to remember how much fun our family is having as we learn and grow! :)

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T21:20:00.000-08:00

We had the BEST Christmas & New Year's Eve Party! We left our cold, snowy home on Dec. 23rd and traveled to San Diego, California to spend Christmas Day with Shamu. It was wonderful! We all loved it (and Trey wants to do it again next Christmas). We spent 8 glorious and WARM days in California and saw dolphins (in captivity and in the wild), beaches, relatives and many, many cool things (mammoth bones included). We sadly and gladly came home and while we were greeted by cold & snow, we were also greeted by awesome friends with whom we've rung the new year in for around 15 years now! We love our annual party!

So, I know I've run through this quickly (but I'm trying hard to fit everything into my real-world life that I need to - laundry is now done). TJay has done a fabulous job documenting our trip - with photos and everything. So, I now direct you to his blog (http://tjay-belt.blogspot.com) to see the details and photos. No sense in reinventing the wheel (especially when the wheel has been beautifully and painstakingly constructed).

Enjoy your weekend and have a healthy and happy 2010!

Santa!

2009-12-20T21:48:00.000-08:00

Trey is so thrilled for Santa to come. He came to Treyson's daycare - with gifts for everyone! Treyson's face was priceless when he first saw Santa, as well as when he opened the gift and showed everyone! He held it up above his head to show everyone and was so excited and proud. I'm sorry I missed getting those pictures. Kids make Christmas great & I'm so excited to spend this Christmas in San Diego with my 3 awesome kiddos!

Kylie has a sleep test

2009-12-20T21:36:00.000-08:00

Kylie has always had crazy sleep habits. She talks, walks, screams, drools, rolls, etc. Sometimes all night long! She is having a hard time waking up in the morning as well as going to sleep at night. I took her to a sleep doctor and a sleep clinic overnighter followed. Ky had to be hooked up to soooo many wires. She was so hooked up that she slept better than she usually sleeps - she was too nervous about moving to move much. I didn't sleep well - and then the tech woke us up at 6 (yes, I grouched at him a little). We will find out in January what the results are, but for now, here are some funny pictures!

Thanksgiving pics

2009-12-20T14:04:00.001-08:00

Here are the Tetons!!

Well, I already told about our great time in Idaho/Jackson Hole for Thanksgiving. Here are some pictures . . . Here is the elk leg we found. gross! Fresh blood (we had to have Trey wipe it off his shoes).This is my favorite park, it has tons of elk antlers that are found out in the hills and brought here for arch entrances to the city park. I think it's way cool.

Some Pictures

2009-12-20T13:58:00.000-08:00

Watching New Moon was so much fun with Aunt Robyn! :)

So, I have some pictures I wanted to add from other updates. The first is from seeing New Moon. We had the best time seeing that with some other family members. My cousin's family throws a big party when they rent the theater and it ends up being tons of fun. We missed the after party due to Treyson throwing up (which began our family round of stomach flu). But, here are some pictures of the girls with Edward & Jacob!

Is it Christmas yet??

2009-12-06T20:56:00.000-08:00

So, we wake up to a dusting of snow this morning, Treyson looks out the window and is thrilled!! He asked me if it was Christmas now. Nope, not Christmas yet, but I'm probably more excited for Christmas this year than he is. We are headed to warmth! San Diego, San Juan Capistrano & Tehachapi, California are all in the plans for a Christmas vacation. We plan to spend Christmas Day with Shaamu, and I couldn't be more thrilled. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-29T20:30:00.000-08:00

Well, we broke with our tradition this year by actually driving to the grandparents home for a "traditional" Thanksgiving. Traditional if you count Friday being Thanksgiving meal day for us as traditional. On Thursday we drove and hour and a half over the top of a mountain to go to Jackson Hole. Nothing was open except for the Bunnery (a yummy place to eat with the awesome slogan, "get your BUNS in here"). We LOVE eating there (we even buy their bread to bring home - have some on the counter). After eating there, we went to the "antler" park to take some pictures. We drove somewhere to look at the Tetons (amazing). When we drove into Jackson, the view was spectacularly non-existent. :) The clouds were below us, so we couldn't see anything below and then when we drove through them there was no visibility. It was awesome! TJay's dad found an elk hoof and lower part of the leg. It was cool to see for the kids (although the blood on Trey's shoe was gross). We also found some money in the parking lot! :)

Friday we ate & played games all day. It was the BEST! I didn't even leave the house (it was so cold). I alos read a lot, and planned out some changes to my language arts class (yay for an English teacher mother in law).

Saturday we went to the temple in Idaho Falls. It was nice, we've never gone before. It's so old & small compared to Mt. Timp where we usually go. It is beautiful with the murals. Afterwards we went over to TJay's brother's house and enjoyed their sweet hospitality. We played games (even the Dad's) and ate and visited. The girls screamed (for some reason when the cousins get together, they run & scream & have a great time). My sis-in-law's brother was there with his family and it was fun to see them (we've known him since he was 10 - fun to see him as a dad). We had a marvelous time and stayed too late, but it was still too early - we didn't want the evening to end.

Sunday we got up and just enjoyed the slow pace of packing and getting ready to go. We left after lunch (they have yummy leftovers) and actually made it home in 3 1/2 hours! (it took us 5 to get up there). Already unpacked, have 4 loads of laundry done (and by done I mean dry - not folded & put away). :)

Now, on to plan Christmas! It's a Southern California Christmas for us this year - hey, we can only take so much "tradition". :)

Baby Justin's blessing

2009-11-15T14:50:00.000-08:00

November 1st was the blessing of our "baby brother who doesn't live with us". :) We were thrilled to go up to Dave & Robyn's and see Justin blessed. We enjoyed visiting with them and Grandma & Grandpa Cash afterwards. We also loved holding little Justin! We think he is awesome!

Weather girls

2009-11-15T14:40:00.000-08:00

I arranged for my class to go on a fieldtrip and do the weather on channel 5 news at noon on November 3. We were able to go to the Children's museum and play around before and after doing the weather report and a static electricity experiment. It was very cool. You can watch it on http://www.ksl.com/ go to weather, weather lab and choose nov. 3. Since it was on November 3 (my Dad's birthday), I asked if they would wish Dad a happy birthday - and the meteorologist did! :) It was pretty cool.

Then we went to the U and the Utah Museum of Natural History. We had a science class on traits and DNA. It was very cool. The kids got to extract split pea DNA and study chipmunk skins, plants and beetles. It was a fabulous trip!

Our family is holier now

2009-11-15T14:29:00.000-08:00

Yes, you heard that right, we are holier. Alyssa got 2 holes in her ear lobes on November 3. Our family rule is 10 years old and she wanted to do it on the anniversary of her baptism. So, as per tradition, we invited best buddies (3) and went off to Claire's at the mall. After looking over the choices, Alyssa picked her birthstone studs and held on tight to Mom's hand. Alyssa was very brave, she didn't shed one tear. She did jerk and we were worried she had jerked too hard and something was misplaced, but it all worked out. Alyssa even asked for both ears to be done at the same time. :) She got a coupon for an earring holder for her birthday, so after being thus beautified, she went off with her friends to pick out just the right one. We picked out best friends necklaces for the 4 girls and they posed for pictures in a photo booth. We shared a cup of pretzel bites and left for home. It was a fabulous day!

My baby is 6!

2009-11-13T19:10:00.000-08:00

Treyson turned 6 a couple of weeks ago. He was so excited. It was hard for Trey to wait thru all of ours. He had been wanting a pirate party for so long! We got him a pirate costume and he even wore it to hand out his invitations. Since his birthday is so close to Halloween, it usually ends up being a costume party - because he loves to dress up. We played games, went on treasure hunts and ate a treasure chest cake. :) It was so much fun and Trey loved that his friends came. He has good friends and loves to have them come over. It was a ton of fun!

6 Reasons why I LOVE my boy:
1. He loves people
2. He is so happy!
3. He is such a hard worker.
4. He likes going places.
5. He loves reading stories.
6. He is my favorite BOY!

The funniest thing, he keeps saying, "pretty soon I'll be 7, then I'll be 8 and get baptized." He is pretty excited about that. I can wait, don't want him to grow up too soon, it's already going too fast.

Double Digits!

2009-10-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

Well, it's happened, the day my lizard has been waiting for: her 10th birthday. She was so thrilled to be "double digits". It was so cute. She was able to have a friend sleepover Friday night and help her get ready for her party Saturday afternoon. Her best buddies came over and we did their hair, make up and glitter nails. They all decorated a frame and we took pictures so they can all have a framed picture of their bffs! It was a lot of fun, and my Lyssa who is so sweet said it was her most memorable birthday ever! Since she is ten she can get her ears pierced. She decided to do it on Nov 3, the anniversary of her baptism. She is taking 3 friends to the mall with her and when we leave Claire's, she will be pierced. She is thrilled!

10 Fabulous things about my 10 year-old:
1. her kind heart
2. her generosity
3. her sense of humor
4. the care she gives to her little brother
5. she loves loves to do kind things for others
6. she is a naturally talented dancer
7. she is a hard worker
8. she is determined
9. she is quick to forgive
10. she came to our family almost perfect, we just have to try not to mess her up

Lyssa is such a fantastic, loving, kind, giving little girl who has already learned the love of service to others. I am so blessed to know her and learn from her. I count myself lucky to be her mom. Thanks, Lys, for being the great girl that you are! I love you so much!!!

OINK< OINK

2009-10-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I had to poke a little fun. H1N1 has hit our home. Kylie & Trey both tested positive this week for that strain of the influenza virus. Things we've learned: the media is all hype! The only difference between this strain and others is that this is a new one, and we've all built up some resistance to the others. H1N1 isn't more dangerous, worse or kill more people than other strains. We also learned that mostly people are kind, but sometimes they're a little stupid. (mainly adults, who I guess just need to learn more - myself too). As far as my experience with the flu goes, H1N1 rocks! No puke, Trey was only sick for about a day. Ky's been down for a week, but only fevered for 4 days. The good news, Ky & Trey don't need an H1N1 vacine! :) More good news: Everyone is going to school tomorrow! A week is a looong time for a 7th grader to miss school. And, 2 days is a looong time for a 5yo to miss school & playing with friends! :)

Other news, it is my birthday tomorrow. I will be closer to 40 than to 30. :( It's ok, though because I really like where I'm at right now. I guess 35 has been great & 36 should be even better! :) (let's hope). So, I will enjoy tomorrow (teaching, chiropractor, dinner out, drive car to airport) and then get on with the party planning for the pirate party and the still undecided party. When you're turning 6 & 10, you need a party! :)

Hello, Teenager!

2009-09-27T21:18:00.000-07:00

This is my super special, awesome daughter holding her newest little cousin. She LOVES him!

Well, it's official, I have a teenager of my very own! (well, I do share her with her Daddy who adores her). Kylie turned 13 yesterday! To celebrate her special day, she wanted a sleepover with her BFF and a day at the mall with her BFF (no parents allowed). She had a super fun time shopping (they even tried on prom dresses!). She made smart decisions and came home with some way cute stuff! She is such a good girl, and so responsible! I love her to pieces!! She is my favorite teenager EVER! Love her!!! Here is a picture of her today:

Treyson made her a special birthday crown. And TJay wanted to make her add up her age in candles, instead of just a "1" and a "3". :)

So, let's go with the lists of 13:
13 reasons why I love Kylie
1. She is an awesome babysitter.
2. She is fun to hang out with.
3. She is sooo very creative.
4. She is good at everything she tries.
5. She is a great nail painter.
6. She has the cutest handwriting (and loves to do cute lettering).
7. She is kind.
8. She is goofy.
9. She is fun to watch play racquetball.
10. She is sweet to her sibs (when she wants to be).
11. She is super smart.
12. She is gorgeous.
13. She is MINE!!! :)

Kylie, I love you so much and am so glad you are my daughter. You are such a cute girl who is so much fun to do things with! You bring so much joy & laughter into our lives! Thanks for doing everything you do to help our family. Thanks for being a great example to Lyssa & Trey. They love you & look up to you so much! You're the best!!!!
love & kisses, your mommy

Yes, we are still here

2009-09-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

ok, so you know it's been waaaay too long since you've blogged if you sign in (to your own blog) and say, "look how cute this background is." um, ya, so I forgot that I had changed it, and it's been sooo long. But, we're still here: alive & kicking, just INCREDIBLY busy! Treyson just finished his first soccer season (loved it) and is enjoying Karate. Since he is learning "fung pu" (as in the movie "fung pu panda") he is a REAL superhero. Nothing is better than that! :)

Alyssa is dancing again this year: tap & ballet. She is in the older class and goes for an hour now with kids older than her (her teacher wanted to move her up). She is also in a city volleyball league now and had her first game Saturday.

Kylie & TJay have racquetball league every Tuesday night - they love it. It's like a weekly date night. The kids & I started a hula class a couple of weeks ago and are really enjoying it. Treyson likes to do it and it's a pretty good workout. When we get finished with the Tahitian practice, our bellies hurt. It's a great way to be active together as a family.

Throw in school (I'm in 5th grade, Kylie in 7th, Lyssa is in 4th & Treyson goes to morning pre-school/daycare and afternoon kindergarten) and work (TJay enjoys being a DBA in AF) it makes for a fairly busy household.

Saturday we went to Trey's soccer game, Lyssa's volleyball game, did homework, yardwork and house work, then went to the lake for our last boating time of the season and followed it up by motorcycling in the desert and a campfire with smores. That was just one day. That may explain why I haven't blogged in a bit. I do need to catch up and add some pictures.

Also, I have a new nephew - the first on the Cash side! Dave & Robyn have a baby boy: Justin David, who we think is the cutest little thing around! We love to hold him and snuggle him and give him kisses. I have to get a picture of Trey holding him, he always has the best, sweetest little look on his face. Trey has been asking us to go to the baby store and get a baby brother (it's closed). So we told him we'd share Justin. Now he calls Justin: "my baby brother who doesn't live with us". It is soooo cute!

Well, I've gotta be done now. Need to finish putting grades in, grab a bowl of cereal and head off to bed. Tomorrow after school we have piano lessons & the gym - guess it'll be a laid back day. :)

Lost Tooth

2009-08-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

Treyson got his teeth two or three at a time when he was a baby. Does it suprise anyone that he is losing them that way too? :) Trey's bottom two front teeth were loose at the same time. He has been wiggling them for weeks every single day. We check them, they are sooo loose. His adult teeth have come through so he's had 4 bottom teeth. Today I noticed something was different and checked, one tooth fell out. We don't know when (besides today) and we don't know where (i'm guessing he swallowed it with lunch). But, one is gone and one is still loose. Here is a picture of Treyson with 3 bottom front teeth instead of 4! Hopefully we can catch the other one when it comes out. (although the tooth fairy will still come - even without the tooth).

School Daze!

2009-08-23T13:18:00.000-07:00

School is back! Yes, I love it. I love the change in season. I love the new schedule. I love the lists (yes, I'm a list person). I love everything about it! I even love working. Teaching is great. The kids are awesome. I just like it (I get stressed too, but I still like it.). I love first day of school pictures and uniforms! The best part: I have the best, smartest, cutest, most wonderful children to take to school! (and I still miss them like crazy during the day. I love that they are all at my school so I can see them during the day - yes, I spy on the kindergarten during my lunch break. Admit it, there are a lot of jealous moms out there. :)).

So, here's the break down: Our school is a K-8 and here are our members: Kylie is in 7th grade. She has 8 classes, 8 teachers, a locker and a BFF in most of her classes. Kylie is a joy and she is loving school.

Alyssa is in 4th grade and still has a lot of friends and loves school, she would love skipping summer break because she misses it so much. She is going to be in my class for math & language arts and she is so excited about that.

Treyson is finally at the girls' school. He is in afternoon Kindergarten and loves it. He also goes to a "house school" in the morning (his words to differentiate the two). House school is a pre-school/daycare. He eats there, has pre-school, field trips and other activities. He loves that too. So, we are all in school (Dad works around the block from us). It's a great time!

Soccer

2009-08-23T13:00:00.001-07:00

Well, Treyson is old enough to play city soccer (and mom remembered to sign him up) and he is loving playing! He is on a team with his buddies: Ethan & Reagan. Treyson loves to play goalie! He is a fast runner and a good kicker, when he's concentrating and not playing around with his friends. :) We often tell him, quit playing and pay attention. Parents are so silly! Here are some pictures (thanks, Jill) of our little soccer star.

Exploring

2009-08-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

Smiley Kylie! I don't remember what we're looking at, but I think I'm stopping Lyssa from doing something crazy (what is a Mom for). I also wanted to include this to show how beautiful the scenery is and also prove that I was there. Sometimes not so many pictures of me participating. :)

Alyssa in a crevice that only she could go in.

Daddy helping Trey get started. Treyson loves his bike.

Next is Daddy jumping "over" Treyson. :)

On August 8 it was too cold to go to the lake - and supposed to rain - which puts the Belt's into a quandry. What do we do? We decided a motorcycle day in the desert was in order. Everyone had a great time! Treyson kept wanting to go for more rides on his motorcycle. He is getting better at steering, slowing and accelerating. TJay lessened the "guardian" switch which gives Trey more power and helps his bike ride better (it also gives him access to more speed, which is why it was turned down). He enjoyed it more, since he could ride easier.

Alyssa wanted to work on learning to jump, so she spent most of the day riding up a tough hill and getting better at that. She also tried her hand at jumping. She is a little go-getter like her Dad. Speaking of, TJay also wanted to work on his jumping and rode up and jumped on a hill. He also shoveled a part so it would be better.

Kylie wasn't feeling very good, so she didn't ride, but she napped and read books with her Mommy who also didn't ride (Mom never rides). In Tjay's travels, he discovered an old mine area with a "cave" (rock crevice) we could climb in. So, we went exploring. It was fun to climb in and around. Alyssa is our crazy climbing monkey/explorer and she found a crevice to climb in that only she could fit in. Everyone climbed up to the top and all over and had a great time! We love going out there.

Mohawk Time

2009-07-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

It was way past time to cut Treyson's hair and I was having a bit of fun. It was so long, and we had decided to shave it so short, that I decided to leave the center long for a few days. It was so fun to do (and a great suprise for TJay)! Treyson loves it. When he got out of the shower he wanted to "make my hair big again". When my Dad was 17 he got a mohawk when his mom sent him for a haircut. She was so mad. I probably would be too. But, it's cute on a five year old! :) Here are the pictures to prove it! ps. if anyone needs a "hawk" of their own, come on by.

Strawberry Days

2009-06-28T20:09:00.000-07:00

Pleasant Grove, at one time, was the ultimate strawberry growing community. Apparently, strawberrys were shipped all over the states from our little pg growing fields. In celebration, we have "strawberry days" each year. You know, a carnival, parade, concerts in the park, strawberries & cream, a rodeo, baby contest, etc. Like every other town, except for the strawberries & cream. The first night of the carnival is family night where every ride is one ticket. The following nights the rides cost 2-5 tickets each. With tickets being $1 (except this year - 50th anniversary was 50cents/ticket) we go on family night or we don't go. This year it rained. We still went. Glad we brought jackets. It was fun to see the kids loving going on rides in the pouring rain, parents encouraging (bribbing) their kids to be done, or I saw a mom tell her kid (who was in tears wanting to go back to the car) that he had to go on another ride & he'd have fun. Our kids had fun in the rain and I have pictures to prove it!

Treyson's Artwork

2009-06-28T15:51:00.000-07:00

This year in the preschool Treyson went to, they made artwork blankets. He has ABC squares, and he painted or drew something on each square that had to do with that letter. The first square has a birthday cake with his birthday listed and the second his name. It is my favorite thing. It is backed in his current favorite color, green. I tied it and they sewed the edges. I love that he has this to remember his year at school. He loves his blanket!

Kylie's 1st Sacrament Talk

2009-06-28T15:41:00.000-07:00

Kylie was outside playing with a new cousin (new, to her -it's her grandma's cousin's granddaughter) and the Bishop pulled over to talk to her. When the conversation was over, Kylie had the assignment of bearing her testimony in sacrament meeting about her experience on the Trek (see previous blog entry). This caused much strife and discord in the home, accompanied at times by tears (we do tears a lot here: one is a tween and one is about to be a tween and 2 are parents of aforementioned girls). Kylie practiced alone, Kylie practiced with Mom and Kylie practiced with Dad. Kylie was honest - with everything.

When Kylie gave her talk, she talked about not wanting to go on the Trek, not wanting to awaken at 5 am, and not wanting to be there. Then Kylie talked about gaining a testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith as she watched the mob take him away. She gained a testimony of the trials of her pioneer ancestors as she walked, had little to eat and was happy to go home to a nice warm bed, instead of having to walk again the next day. Kylie also said she gained confidence in herself as she made it up a hill with the boys & men looking on during the "Women's Walk". She was impressed that all the boys at testimony meeting said how hard it was to watch the girls struggle and not be able to help. In the end, Kylie said, it was a good experience.

There are times when I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my Kylie. Fortunately, most of the time she is a fun, responsible, kind girl to be around. Sometimes, like today, she is outstanding and I am greatful for the opportunity I have to get to know her. I am a very lucky lady to be able to be Kylie's mom!

Thanks, Ky!! I love you!

BEACON TREK

2009-06-25T06:33:00.000-07:00

In case you aren't in the know, Beacon is for Beehive/Deacon. Kylie is a Beehive this year and our stake decided to have a Beacon Trek the week before the regular trek (14 and older 3 days, 2 nights). Tuesday Kylie arose at 5 AM! (We are totally against AM at our house). She dressed in borrowed and sewed pioneer clothing. She gathered sunglasses, lip balm, sunscreen and a tin cup, gulped a few yucky eggs (Dad makes good eggs, Mom not so much) and we headed off to the church to drop her off with the other 199 Beacons in our Stake (yes, we have over 200 12 & 13 year olds in our stake. 200 went on the trek). They were assigned families with a Ma and a Pa and they drove up to This Is The Place State Park. They saw Joseph and Hyrum taken away by a mob, they ate meager pioneer rations, they pushed handcarts up hills (at one point, the boys & men stood to the side and watched the girls and women push by themselves. This is the most difficult part of the day, even for 12 year old boys), they read letters from family back at home delivered by the Pony Express, and they had a testimony meeting. It's amazing. I thank our ward and stake leaders for providing this awesome opportunity for our little Beacon. :)

T-BALL

2009-06-03T07:26:00.000-07:00

Treyson signed up for t-ball this year (mom was on the ball & remembered). :) He loves it! He had a practice last week & came home and told the neighbors (and tells pretty much everyone he sees) that he is "good at t-ball". :) He loves it & gets so excited to go. Last night was his first game and he did great. It is so much fun to watch. Everyone bats then the teams switch. They line up when they're in the field and everyone gets a turn to catch the ball & throw it to 1st base. No outs, everyone scores. In one hour they had time for 2 up to bats, so with 10 on each team, the final was 20-20. :) Love it! Treyson is having the best time. He was suprised last night when he found out everyone was coming to his game. I guess going to watch the girls & dad play racquetball is just something he's always done (and Lyssa dance). He doesn't realize that in our family everyone supports everyone else. Love it! I love t-ball. Most of all, I love my baby boy who is getting so big!

The Last Day of School

2009-05-30T22:34:00.000-07:00

May is so busy & crazy! I think I'll grab a picture, then tell about it. It'll most likely be completely random in order. Kind of matches my brain this month!

This is Alyssa being the narrator in her class' play of "Jason and the Golden Fleece". The third grade studies Rome and Alyssa performed infront of parents and the other 2 3rd grade classes in the play. She was great! She's a great actress and has great stage presence!

The last day of school is free dress day - and the girls LOVE it! It's fun for them to not have to wear a uniform. I let Kylie take the camera and she took about 100 pictures of her friends and teachers. Now she is a 6th grade graduate - she's in Junior High! oh, no! :) She's a fun girl & here she is with her friend, Kim.

Treyson's last day of pre-school was Tuesday, so he got to come to school with me for the rest of the week. He loves coming to our school (and is very excited that he is in kindergarten now and his school is the "same as the girls". :)). Treyson has basically grown up at Odyssey (he was 1 when I began volunteering there. He really knows his way around. He also loves to pose in the pictures! (wonder where he learned that from - sisters).

This is my classroom and some of my sweet 3rd graders! I had the best year this year & they are such great kids. I will miss them (not enough to wish I were still in school). They were great!

As if the last day weren't busy enough, I told the girls they could both have friends over to celebrate school being out (since Lyssa is already missing her friends and going to school). Alyssa had 4 friends come over for sprinklers, popsickles, nail painting & pizza. They had a great time - and so did Treyson (he loved the "wet party")!

Kylie had 2 friends come over & they went to the bowling alley (by themselves, since they are 7th graders now). Then they went to Big Lots (just because it was near the bowling alley). Then one friend went home and Bronwyn (in picture) stayed the night for pizza & games. Kylie & Bronwyn ended up going to the park and meeting up with a lot of other kids from their school (apparently the kids had put up posters at school to meet at Discovery Park). They played games until dark, then came home. It was a very fun, grown up party. (yes, TJay & I are terrified!).

It was a crazy day, but very fun. Also, I got to go out to lunch with the teachers/staff at our "annual last day of school lunch at Chili's - no class for 3 months party". It was a fun bash also! :)

Kylie's New Bike

2009-05-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

Kylie has outgrown her 90 (cc motorcycle) and it is time to move up. So, Dad went shopping online in the classifieds and found some 125's. They are bigger bikes and you have to shift in order to change gears. But, Kylie was ready and last night we found "the one". Tonight Dad took Kylie to buy said masterpiece and teach her how to ride it. While the little kids got to play with some friends (thanks, Jo!), Kylie, TJay, Marcus & Mitchell went to the hills by Saratoga and Kylie learned to ride her new (to her) bike! She loves it! She has the biggest grin when she rides and said, "it goes fast, dad!" It is faster than a 90. What a big girl she's becoming! Love her so much!

Anyone want to buy a 90? ;)

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

2009-05-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

I have had the BEST mothers day weekend, so I figured I'd blog. :) It began on Friday when my Mother's Day gift came in the mail. I have wanted my own little light laptop for quite a while so I can take it to school & to my classes, etc. And my sweet hubby agreed with me that it would make a great mothers day/birthday gift. My birthday is in the middle of our little family's month of birthdays (5 between Aug 16 & Oct 29). During mine we're in the middle of the kids & parties & usually running low on the moolah. So, my big idea is to get a good mother's day gift and let the birthday sorta slide, you know, spread the wealth. So, I got a netbook (a baby notebook) and it's so cute & so light & so much fun! It's an ACER Aspire one - blue (Kylie is jealous). So we played with that on Friday.

Saturday was a fun, fun day! Our school had a carnival which was a lot of fun. Perfect weather. We saw lots of friends & a couple of cousins. We played and had fun and then went to the movies to see XMen: Wolverine. We had so much fun - it was so good! Then we went to Cafe Rio - YUMMY!

Sunday I woke up and showered and when I got out, I was taken downstairs to a yummy breakfast & decorated table. TJay had woken up (huge) and gotten all the kids up (even Kylie). TJay helped them all get ready for church & I had a fabulous day at church learning about Lucy Mack Smith. Alyssa fixed dinner and we ate, then I announced it was time for my nap & I went and napped for 3 lovely hours! :) Then I hung out with mykiddos (the greatest people in the world!) and we went for a lovely evening walk. Now I'm just hanging out with the family until bedtime (which is really soon).

More good news: only 3 weeks of school left!

Wishing all the moms out there a fabulous day today and every day!!

Treyson made this most excellent notebook cover and flower pen for me for mothers day. (The tiger face is from the carnival).

"Spring" Break

2009-04-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

What a crazy week!! Our spring break didn't exactly go as we had imagined, or hoped (weather wise), but we had a great time & the craziness only adds to the experience. :)

MONDAY: Sunny, 69 degrees and we went to the zoo with a neighbor. We had the best time! Treyson was so excited about riding the train & the carosel. I, of course, forgot the camera - so "thanks, Michelle" for the use of yours. :) We bought an annual pass so we can go more often. We really did have a great day!
TUESDAY: It rained ALOT on Tuesday. That's alright, we'd already made plans to go see the Hannah Montanna movie with our friends, the Lyons sleep tonight & the Boyacks. We had a ton of fun and loved the movie! Treyson was dancing, singing & clapping along!

WEDNESDAY: It snowed ALOT and we were packing for our annual camping/motorcycling trip with the Larsens & Richins (missed the Richins until Sat.). In between snow storms, we'd run out food & supplies to the motorhome. We put the motorcycles on the trailer and parked it in the garage overnight. With a forcast of more snow, we decided to go Thursday morning instead of Wednesday night. Before we packed up the truck & trailer, we had to shovel snow out of them.

THURSDAY morning we woke up to around 6-8" of snow on the ground. So, we had to shovel out the truck, again. TJay also shoveled snow off the top of the motorhome while the kids played in the snow and sledded! We ended up going camping at 5 mile (between here & Tooele) and it was COLD. At least we had a nice, warm motorhome with a heater. :)

FRIDAY & SATURDAY we had fun cooking outside, playing with friends & riding the motorcycles. Treyson learned to ride his motorcycle by himself. Previously, we've had a tow rope attached to the back of his motorcycle and we ran behind so we could slow him down. I should post video. It's quite a site. Trey learned how to control his speed and use his brakes. He is so cute! He stands up on the pegs to ride most of the time. Now that he can ride, that's all he wants to do. He asked all the time to go riding. So much fun! Kylie & Alyssa & their friends continued the tradition of gathering junk and making tree houses. Ky even had a tire swing in hers.

Alyssa wrecked on her bike & bent the handle bars & messed up the throttle cable, so we're stopping by Rocky Mountain this week for new bike parts. Luckily, she was fine. TJay had a great time riding "dad" rides with his friends, jumping again, and most of all going on rides with his kids. His wife is too wimpy and goes too slow. :) We went on a family ride and I couldn't keep up. :) Kylie was sick on Saturday and spent most of the day sleeping and finishing up some homework. The moms played a lot of games and spent time reading & relaxing. That's what is great about our camping trips with our friends, everyone does things they enjoy. The plan for next year: celebrat spring break in June when it's much warmer! :) But, not give it up, it's too much fun!

Treyson & his friend Joshua. They have so much fun together - even on cold mornings!

I almost forgot the fires! TJay loves building fires. He loves using lighter fluid to make them bigger. We discovered a new joy this trip. If you put tumble weeds in the fire - it shoots out HUGE flames! (Even bigger if you douse it with lighter fluid). The kids would run & gather tumble weeds (there are a ton out there!) and make huge flames after dinner.

WOW! What a week! We returned home around 10 last night and made it to 9am church this morning, although Lyssa & I were a bit late. :) No wonder I needed a nap today! Wouldn't change a thing - ok, I would've changed the weather. But, we had fun & now back to the real world: school & work. :)

Easter Fun

2009-04-12T17:26:00.000-07:00

We love Easter! Treyson especially was excited this year for the egg hunt at the church park and then at home. Alyssa & Kylie & TJay love decorating eggs & being so creative. We are going to the zoo tomorrow (this week is our Spring Break) and we had a lot of eggs decorated to look like animals! I have the best, most creative family! I'm posting some pictures of egg hunting and painting . . . Treyson also wanted a picture of him eating one of the eggs he painted. (He was loving getting pictures taken.) We have 5 dozen eggs and I don't think it was enough for my painters. I don't think we'll get that many eaten this week! :)

Crazy Hair Day

2009-04-01T15:24:00.000-07:00

We had crazy hair day today at school! Kylie's was way up high, Lyssa had a bone in hers and Mom had 8 ponies. It was fun. Ky even colored a red streak when she got to school. Trey didn't have crazy hair day at his school, he just loves getting his picture taken!

New Suit

2009-03-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

This is one proud boy, who knows when he looks good!

We have a fabulous neighbor whose youngest son is a couple of years older than Trey. We served in YW for a few years together and she is so sweet to give me the clothes her son grows out of. I love it! Last week she brought some over including a suit. It is so cute. Treyson saw it and fell in love! He put the suit coat on and buttoned it (big thing we worked on in OT, you don't know how happy I am that he was able to button it!) and wouldn't take it off. He talked me into letting him wear it to school and it was his show & tell (this was on a warm day, not a snowy one). He told his friends for show and tell, "this is new that I wear to church". :) He was so proud! He didn't even take it off. When he got home, he ran over and showed our neighbors before he took it off to play. Obviously, church day was exciting. He got to wear his suit and asked everyone, "how do I look? do I look handsome?" He was BEAMING! He calls it his "jack suit" because the little boy who gave it to him is named Jaxon. He is so cute about it and loves wearing it. So we had to take pictures to document Treyson's 1st suit!

The girls wanted in on the action too! Alyssa is wearing her wedding dress from Dave & Robyn's wedding. Kylie is showing her fashion style! And Trey, just so proud of how handsome he is! :)

SNOW AGAIN??

2009-03-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

It is March, the end of March, and I know I shouldn't be suprised, but waking up to snow 3 of 4 mornings this week? Come on, I'm tired of snow. Not my boy though! He was thrilled, asked if he could go sledding (on 1/2" of snow? I don't think so). So he dressed in his winter clothes (I'm so happy he can do everything but tying his boots) and got his snow shovel so he could shovel the snow. I told him I didn't think there was anything on the driveway. He said, "that's ok, I will shovel the grass." :) There was a skiff (the official measurement) on the driveway so he shoveled, and was so cute, I took pictures. He smiled and said, "make sure you have chocolate (hot chocolate) when I come in, I will be cold." How cute is that boy??? Love him. I'm glad someone likes the snow!

Hair today, gone tomorrow

2009-03-16T21:20:00.001-07:00

Hair. I'm so bad at it. I don't know why I don't follow the family tradition and just shave my head (seen my dad & brother?) :) But, alas since the Prophet said no tatoos, my previous plan of shaving then tatooing my head is out. So, I got a perm. I have a funny story about perms. My cousin thought my hair was naturally curly, because I pretty much permed it my whole entire youth! :) My totally awesome hair stylist extrodanaire (I would probably say that even if she didn't read my blog & we weren't related) gave me a great perm. (no kidding, it is wavey & cute, just like I wanted it.) Then again, she always does a great job, even when I go to her (which is most of the time) and say, "I don't know what I want. Just do something." ya, no pressure there! But, she makes it work.

Kylie got her hair done also. Blonde highlights and bangs. She looks older (I wish people would stop telling me that - I want her to be younger, not older. Just because she gets older, doesn't mean that I do too. Just FYI). Anyway, Ky looks totally cute! And it just makes her smile to know how cute she is. (oh, to be 12 again). We went shopping for hair accessories, of course. We had a great time together!

And it is always fun to go to Gina's Salon, which the ambiance is much nicer thanks to Julie's Christmas gift! We had a great visit and I get to wash the stink from my hair tomorrow. I wonder if it still permeates Bobby's house. :)

Snow Be Gone

2009-02-18T16:27:00.001-08:00

"AHA!" I have figured out why it keeps snowing (I think, it's the reason). I still have my "snow" blocks up! Duh, it's like I'm welcoming the snow. Dreaming of it, nay even wishing for it.

So, now I have changed, yes updated, my home decor. Now I say "Snow be gone" (and it is now in a box in the basement where it will stay until next November/December when the wish for snow comes again).

Now I say, "Welcome SPRING!" Come, Spring, we are ready and waiting for you to join us in the cold North! So that our grass will again become green. Treyson looked out the window last week and said, "the snow is melting, Mom. OH NO! Our grass died!". The sad thing is, that is the first he's been able to see our grass since last November-ish. So, I told him that the grass would again live, we just needed some sunshine to make it grow. We need sunshine for our cold, dark, inside the house lives! :) So, now the Mantra is "S-P-R-I-N-G!". Next year I'll try to get my sign out in a more timely fashion!

(I am hoping this will work wonders with the weather.)

Braces?!?!

2009-02-06T18:45:00.001-08:00

BEFORE:

DURING:

AFTER! Yes, it is true, my little girl is growing up, and part of that growing includes BRACES! Kylie was so excited to get braces! She had her rubber band colors all picked out - green & blue, her favorite! I took the day off, incase she didn't feel good, and we planned a shopping trip to the mall! We had the best time! It's been a long time since Ky & I have just hung out and shopped together. She got the cutest outfits and shoes! (and purse, and accessories - the girl can SHOP!). Kylie didn't realize how much braces hurt until she tried to eat some lunch. The next day she was in tears because it hurt so much. :( Well, we got ibuprofen and a lot of soup and made it through. Now she can eat just about anything, at least until the end of this month when they get tightened. She will get the bottom set in March. She looks beautiful with braces and so grown up! I love this girl!!

Bend-a-Roos and Grandma

2009-01-25T18:25:00.000-08:00

03Grandma & Grandpa suprised us with a visit on Friday and Grandma brought her Bend-a-Roos/Wikki-Stix. These are waxy sticks that you can cut, bend, repair, stick together, etc to make anything you can dream up. Grandma had some wikki-stix and the kids (and the Grandma) had so much fun playing with them, she ordered a bunch of bend-a-roos (she has hundreds in numerous colors). Well, we all sat down (including Ky's friend, Bronwyn) and played and made things for a couple of hours until it was bedtime and time for Grandma & Grandpa to go to Dave & Robyn's. Ky & Bron began making glasses, and then everyone wanted a pair. They all wrote their names. Lyssa likes to make people and animals. Kylie liked symbols (peace is her favorite right now). Treyson liked the most difficult animals, which required Mom's help (gorilla, dinosaur). In the picture, he ended up with a bone. :) I'll attach the pictures below of our great time!

Sledding Fun

2009-01-13T18:15:00.000-08:00

Let me begin by saying I believe Idaho is the coldest (ok, maybe not THE) place on earth (or at least out of Utah, Idaho and Guatemala). So, the reason we choose to make our annual trip to visit TJay's parents and brother around Christmas? Ya, I don't know either. When they told us it was warm, after all it was almost up to 30 (30 is still BELOW freezing), I knew we were in trouble. Luckily, his parents' new home is very well insulated! :)

However, while we were up there, we were invited to tag along with Jeff and his family (T.Jay's brother who has kids our kids' ages) up to a neighbors "cabin" and go sledding, hot chocolate drinking and chili eating. LOVED IT!! We traveled up to Ashton, Idaho and it was absolutely beautiful! The view of the valley and the river running through it was awesome. Everyone had a great time sledding. I was amazed at how many times Treyson went down and walked back up (except when he could hitch a ride on uncle Jeff's snowmobile - which is the way to go when you go sledding)! The girls got in this big sled and went down an iced trail Jeff carved out with his machine. They jumped! and totally got air so many times! They loved it. Ky was even in the sled when it jumped the road. TJay had a great time going down like crazy. I, of course, screamed the whole time (I am such a wimp sometimes). It was so much fun! Idaho is fun also, we don't love it for the weather, but we love it for the cousins and granparents! We have so much fun!

I can't find the pictures that TJay's mom took. She stood at the bottom of the hill most of the day getting the perfect pictures! Glad she loves to do that so that I can just copy! :) I will just put them up randomly when I discover their where abouts! :)

ummmmmmmmm

2009-01-08T04:21:00.000-08:00

It is 5:21 AM (didn't realize that time still existed). I was awoken around 3:30 to help Ky clean up a bloody nose (tons of blood). Washed the sink, the girl, the sheet and got back into bed around 3:45. Still awake. Too much info flowing through my head. Too much to do on Thursday. So what am I doing? Surfing, drinking hot cocoa, trying to get tired enough to go to sleep. Gotta get up and get the kids moving in a little over an hour. Good times.

I had a very bad and very good day at work. I got some news Tuesday that I knew would skew my life. Bad vibes Wed morning. Way bad during the day. Then way good news, followed by more bad. It's going to be a turbulent time the next week or so, or 5 months. hmmmmmm.

TJay & I are chaperoning the "school ski club" the next two Saturdays. We were scheduled to go to Sundance in December, but there wasn't any snow. They rescheduled us for this & next Saturday. Think there will be enough snow? If not, we can use our cul-de-sac which is apparently on the cities "do not plow" list. Good thing I have 4wd or I'd be stuck every day. Someone asked me why I'd be stuck but TJay is fine. It's because he's a better driver. Let me clarify, he's a better driver when he's in the driver's seat. He's not when he's in the passenger seat. :)

Good news/Bad news. The good news is I'm going to finish all of my classes and have my teaching license by the end of August! Woo Hoo! The bad news? It means for the next 8 months my life will be full of studying. 3 classes this spring (along with teaching part time) and 3 classes this summer. 8 months of pain for a good pay off in the end.

I'm going upstairs to see if I'm tired enough to go to sleep. I may be since I'm rambling so much.

Good night (I hope). :)

Crazy!

2009-01-01T20:23:00.001-08:00

If you think I'm a little crazy, this is my family . . . .

. . . nuff said?!

Loved the party! We've got to do it again soon!

Christmas PJ's

2009-01-01T19:37:00.000-08:00

I think most people have a tradition of Christmas PJ's. I want to hear everyone's tradition of why they get new pajamas at Christmas and how it began.

Here is ours: When I was little, we could open one gift on Christmas Eve. My Grandma & Grandpa Cash always gave us pajamas for Christmas (which I eventually caught on to). I always wanted to open them on Christmas Eve so I could sleep in them and play in them all day the next day (we don't get dressed on Christmas). I also wanted to open 2 gifts Christmas Eve so that I could wear my PJ's & play with something cool. That was a no-go, so I stayed with the pj opening on the 24th.

When Kylie was born I began getting Christmas Jammies for her, TJay & I. I now get them every year for each member of our family (see this year's in the post below). This is the required gift to open on Christmas Eve. So we still open one gift, but no one but MOM chooses. It's not a suprise what the gift will be, just what it will look like. Every Christmas we get to wake up in new, snuggly jammies! The kids love it! They love getting new jammies & always remind me that I need to buy them new Christmas PJ's!

Comment and post your tradition! I think they're fun!

I love Christmas!!

2008-12-26T20:37:00.000-08:00

It's true, I LOVE Christmas. I love it even more now that I'm a mommy! I couldn't sleep all night ( I woke up 5 or 6 times - even earlier than the kids). Let me tell you all about our Christmas experience.

Christmas Eve: We broke with our traditional potato soup dinner (because no one is liking it lately) and had chili & corn bread. Then we drove around to look at Christmas lights and finish handing out our neighbor gifts. After getting stuck in some random cul-de-sac, then luckily unstuck, we went home to feed the reindeer (we have a special recipe of oats & sparkles so the reindeer can find our house and then snack while Santa leaves the gifts) and look for Rudolph. Which we saw, as usual, flying North on the East side of our house. Then we ran inside and sat by the tree for the real story of Christmas, this year told by Kylie with the help of the fisher price nativity (which Trey has been playing with for the past 2 weeks). Then we opened our Christmas jammies (I will later write about how this tradition was begun in our family). So Cute!! And went to bed. Then got up again to put cookies & milk for Santa on our special tray. Then to bed again. Then up for drinks, and to bed; then up for potty and a reminder that Santa won't come if kids aren't asleep.

Christmas morning was great! After the kids finally woke up around 7:45 (Ky was awake earlier). Dave & Robyn braved the snow storm to join us for the festivities. We all went downstairs together (as per tradition) and the kids looked by the fireplace and saw empty stockings. Shock and awe would describe this perfectly as they said in unison, "Santa forgot our stockings!" :) He didn't. He just used the old ones and laid them around the room. The stocking opening commenced, followed by Dad handing out gifts one by one to be opened. Everyone was excited not only for their gifts; but possibly more to see others open the gifts they had so carefully selected for them. That was a huge blessing.

We also started a new tradition this year by sponsoring an 11 year old girl with providing Christmas gifts for her. We had so much fun. Especially the girls being so generous and picking out what they would love, knowing she would love it also! It was awesome.

We had our traditional breakfast of nutbraid (to die for - honestly) and potato/egg casserole. Lunch included ham, cheesy potatoes, veggies, fruit salad and yams w/ marshmellows (to which Treyson said at lunch again today, "this food again?!" - He had mac & cheese, which he would love to eat every meal, but cheesy potatoes he's had enough of?).

Treyson got a DS, which he is taking such good care of, transformers and remote control car, telescope, etc. Alyssa got a Zen (mp3/video player), littlest pet shop stuff, jewelry and girl stuff (smelly bath stuff). Kylie also got a Zen, books, girl stuff and 32 pairs of earrings from Dave & Robyn. Mom got a Twilight CD, and gift cards for Olive Garden, Seagull and massages! Dad got a cap bomb, a nerf gun, paintballs and money. Dad & the girls also got massage gift cards (we got a half price deal on massages - woo hoo!)

The best part about Christmas was staying in our PJ's all day and playing with each other. We got a couple of games that we played and just enjoyed being relaxed and having fun, enjoying each other's company. That is my favorite part about Christmas, just being together. I am greatful for our blessings of health, the gospel of Jesus Christ and our eternal family!

And today, we took down the tree and all of the decorations, so it'll be cleaned up when we return from Idaho, ready to welcome in the New Year.

Traveling with Kids

2008-12-25T13:44:00.000-08:00

I was thinking today, as the kids were unwrapping gifts, how much easier it is now days for kids to travel (or for parents). Today the family got a portable (read car) dvd player because the other one broke. Each girl got a video/mp3 player and Trey got a ds. This joins the girls' ds, the girls' & mom's & dad's mp3 players (4 total) and the nano dad won last month. So, when we go to Idaho tomorrow (weather permitting) we shouldn't have to talk to each other at all. :) Great when you think of the endless "are we there yets" or "she's hitting me". But, maybe not so good when you don't get to play the license plate game. Of course, I always disliked traveling when I was little: no electronics and I get so carsick that reading was out of the question. Of course, those were the days when seatbelts were optional and we'd lay on the floor of the stationwagon and sleep or dream, or ask "are we there yet?"

Let it Snow!

2008-12-23T12:34:00.000-08:00

Treyson, all bundled up. It took about 20 minutes to dress him, after 5 he was ready to come inside & get hot cocoa. Then we found the sled and he went out again for a couple of hours. Alyssa & her friend Jenna.
Jenna, Alyssa, Emily (Kylie's friend), Kylie & Treyson. You can see the big snowflakes a fallin'.

Yes, it is snowing (again). It snowed yesterday (around 5-6" at our house). It has pretty much snowed for the last few days (a week?) here. I look at pictures on my sister in law's blog and they're sitting in their driveway in shorts watching dad wash the car. Ya, I could do that (in a snowsuit if I were nuts or under the age of 10). Our dad would wash the car, except that the water would freeze. (I may be jealous, I'm looking for jobs for TJay in Guatemala - it's warm there. It's my annual quest to move to Guatemala. I'll get over it around April - still 3 more months, maybe a short-term job). My cousin's blog had a picture of them walking in the surf on the beach in So. Cal. Ya, I'm jealous of them too. Envy is one of those things it's ok to have, or not?

Kylie put snow as #8 on her Christmas wish list. So, Santa, mark that one off. :) I am actually liking the snow (as I sit inside on my computer with chocolate milk and a warm lunch in front of me). The kids love it! We went and saw Twilight yesterday with one of Kylie's friends. Then we came home to play in the snow: sled, build forts, make angels. For Treyson, it was just a feat to walk through the snow as it came up to his thighs. Alyssa's friend came over to join in the snow fun and her parents (who are from Michigan) said this is more like Michigan snow than Utah snow. (Great, never wanted to live in Michigan, may not even want to visit).

At least I'm done Christmas shopping (if we don't have it, we ain't gonna get it) and don't have to leave my house (except to go to the gym tonight) again. We are hoping the snow lets up so we can travel to Idaho ( possibly the only place colder and with more snow than us. I don't like cold, why do I always think it'll be fun to go to Idaho in December? I'm nuts or forgetful or both or huh?) I'm going to post a couple of pictures of the kids playing in the snow yesterday.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!! I only mailed about half of our Christmas cards, so if you didn't get one, send me your address, and for the half I didn't get mailed out, enjoy a New Year's Card! :) Love to you all!

FIRST

2008-12-16T21:43:00.000-08:00

I saw this on TJay's blog, and thought it was an interesting idea. I will attempt to answer these personal questions.

My Firsts

1. Who was your FIRST prom date? Matt Meanea.

2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love? No

3. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink? N/A

4. What was your FIRST job? Subway and a pharmacy in San Juan Capistrano, CA.

5. What was your FIRST car? Hyundai Elantra - after I got married.

6. Who was the FIRST person to text you today? No one yet. (I'm not a very capable texter).

7. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning? TJay

8. Who was your FIRST grade teacher? Ms. Silva

9. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane ride? Nevada to visit my Dad.

10. Who was your FIRST best friend and are you still friends with him/her? Nope. Can't remember her name. I think it was Danielle.

11. What will be your FIRST thought when you wake up tomorrow morning? Do i have to really get up? can i snooze a bit more?

12. Where was your FIRST sleep over? It would have to be my cousins house with my parents there. My first on my own sleepover was probably at Sarah Dodson's house.

13. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today? Kylie ( I wake her up in the morning).

14. Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time? My Dad's, with his 3rd wife.

15. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning? snoozed my alarm

16. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to? UB40

17. FIRST tattoo or piercing? ears, around 10 or 12.

18. Who was your FIRST kiss from? Danny Sims (3rd grade, at school, behind the cottonwoods).

19. Who was your FIRST boss? Ken Virgin

20. When was your FIRST detention? Never. I was a good girl.

21. What was the FIRST state you lived in? Nevada

22. Who was the FIRST person to really break your heart? dunno.

23. Who was your FIRST roommate? Dave (my brother).

Vomit and Candles

2008-12-14T17:47:00.000-08:00

Vomit and Candles . . . we've reached a conscensus in our family, that is what our family room smells like. Okay, I know you are jealous. Right now you are thinking, "wow! how do I get my house to smell like vomit & candles?". Well, I'll give you the formula. First start off Saturday evening with a family dinner at JCW's (I LOVE JCW's). Everyone gets a burger, fries & a shake. Fat & happy comes to mind right now. Then you go to a dance recital where, unbeknownst to you, the dancer has a tummy ache. She dances, she visits with Santa, she comes home and lays down to watch a movie with the family. Then she comes to cuddle and says she doesn't feel very good. You say, do you need something? "no" Do you feel like throwing up? "no". Okay, cuddle with said child on dual recliner (note to self: never let a sick child cuddle with you on the new, nice sofa). A little time passes and child sits up and VOMITS. She is a very talented vomiter and a recliner has a LOT of crevices where vomit chunks can get to (you could tell what she had eaten for dinner - GROSS). After spending an hour and a half cleaning the floor, the table, the recliner, remote control, etc. The room still smells like vomit. Of course, it is Saturday night so you can't call a cleaning company to come over. Kylie said the room stinks, so I told her to mop the kitchen floor because the orange or lemon or whatever flavor lysol cleaner we have will possibly over power the vomit smell. It helped.

So today, when we got up and went downstairs, it still smelled like vomit (let me add - just for sympathy- that Lyssa got up and vomitted every hour last night until 6 this morning. At least she made it into the puke bowl or the bathroom). So, it being the Christmas season and Kylie having inherited her father's tendency to be a pyromaniac, There are about 10 candles lit and burning in the family room/kitchen. TJay found a cherry car smeller thing (probably the official name) and set it on the floor by the sofa, so when you're down there it smells like pukey-cherry. YUM! I've cleaned with every product that I have (TJay even sprayed Pledge, thinking it was air-spray) and still we have the puke smell.

Tomorrow, I call carpet cleaners and beg until I can find someone who can come tomorrow and clean the couch and the carpet. Yeah, that will be fun. I guess I'll spend my Christmas bonus on that. Well, if I wasn't expecting it, I can't miss it. Right? Anyway, that is how we have the delicious scent of vomit and candles. To smell for yourself, come on over, but hurry, it's here for a limited engagement (hopefully).

Sunday

2008-12-07T18:01:00.000-08:00

I have had such a great Sunday! It began with fasting, which isn't my favorite - but this week I have a personal purpose. There is a little boy in who was in my nursery class who had cancer this summer, got his liver replaced and they thought it was gone. His hair is growing back, he got his PICKU out (feeding tube thingy) and was looking great. He is 2. His mom had a baby on Sunday, on Thursday they found out the cancer is back in his lung. So, tomorrow treatments begin again. Another girl from our ward had serious medical problems on her mission and is home trying to recover, still it's going to be a long haul. So, the ward was fasting for these two youngsters and their families. The opening prayer in Sacrament meeting was beyond inspirational - with everyone crying. It was too amazing to put into writing. Lyssa bore her testimony today, and sometimes sounds more like a 30 year old than a 9 year old. It was lovely.

Then in primary, Trey gave a talk about Jesus being born and the wise men coming and how we can be like him. Then I got to do my calling, which is singing "with" both the nursery classes. The babies (1 1/2 & 2 year old nursery) are so cute! They are getting to know the songs so well and love to sing the last word in each line. :) The big nursery (11 - 3 year old boys & 1 girl) gets a bit crazy. :) Love it! Since I sing in nursery, I get to go to Relief Society again, and that is always a spiritual treat, but with testimonies, it is always better.

I actually made a really yummy dinner (somehow fast Sunday dinners are always better). We had our hometeachers come - on the 1st Sunday no less. And I've read at least 5 articles in the December Ensign. I'm catching up with old friends & their families now through blog posts while watching the old claymation "Rudolph" show with my family. And, I made my favorite treat: sweet Chex mix. (Ok, so it's my favorite treat today). ;) I feel well-rested (I got a nap in also), well fed (physically & spiritually) and well-loved (played lots of games with Trey this afternoon). What a great way to end a great weekend!

Oh, lest I forget, we had the opportunity to see Jeff & Autumn (TJay's brother) and their kids Friday night and again on Saturday. The cousins don't get to play often since the ones from Idaho don't come down much and we don't go up much. They always have a great time together and are looking forward to seeing each other when we go up after Christmas. :) Love it!

I'm ready to start a new week and happily feeling the Christmas spirit which is the spirit of Christ!

THANKSGIVING

2008-11-30T18:21:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was great! Here's the low-down, or down-low - whatever.

Wednesday we had a visit and lunch with Grandma & Grandpa Cash (on their way to Dave & Robyn's). Then we met up with Obo & Aba (TJay's parents) and drove down to Price where we ate at Grog's (very, very yummy food); then we continued down to Moab where we had rented a house: 3 bedroom, 3 bath, living room, full kitchen - it was very nice (for the same price as a motel room).

Thursday we woke up to rain - it poured all day - but we still went to Arches National Park. It was very cool to see the park in the rain, we didn't hike that day, but could still drive around and see the park. We ate at Denny's (it was open and we didn't need reservations) and went to the movies. The kids & I saw Bolt (Ky & I wanted to see Twilight, but Trey won out); TJay & his parents saw James Bond.

Friday the rain had stopped, but it was still very cloudy. We hiked to some arches and saw the northern part of the park. It was fun to see the park partly covered in clouds, it brought a whole new dimension. We ate pizza at Zax (again, very good food).

Saturday was our final day of vacation and the sun was out & bright! We hiked to the windows, double arch and the others in the lower part of the park. It was outstanding! We had the best time and loved all of the climbing and hiking. We went to Green River and ate at Ray's Tavern (it was then we realized that everywhere we ate - except Denny's - was a bar). Very yummy hamburgers!

We had the most fun and loved our little holiday vacation!

Tagged!

2008-11-30T17:58:00.001-08:00

I got tagged . . . here are the rules:

1. Go to your pictures file.

2. Go to the 4th file.

3. Go to the 4th picture.

4. Post it and tell the story.

I tag: TJay (who has to do the 5th picture in the 5th file, since we share pictures); Nisa, Julie & Gina.

This is a picture of Alyssa (5 years old) and Treyson (1 1/2 years old - notice the beautiful blonde curls!) collecting eggs Easter morning 2005. We love to egg hunt, and after the initial finding of eggs, we take turns re-hiding and re-finding (this can last for hours). We still love doing that. I have to include a second picture of Trey & Kylie (8 years old) looking for eggs.

Aren't they cute?

Tagged!

2008-11-30T17:58:00.000-08:00

I got tagged . . . here are the rules:

1. Go to your pictures file.

2. Go to the 4th file.

3. Go to the 4th picture.

4. Post it and tell the story.

I tag: TJay (who has to do the 5th picture in the

TWILIGHT

2008-11-23T16:39:00.000-08:00

Well, you knew it was coming . . . the Twilight report. It was AWESOME! My cousins wife's sister (ya, follow that one) rented out a theater for the Twilight premier. So a few cousins, Kylie, Robyn Cash & I went along with 160 other people (I actually saw a former neighbor there while we were in line). There was popcorn & soda waiting for us (Kylie heard some lady say, "why do they get special treatment?!"). We had great seats: 3rd row center (the upper 3rd row, not the too close to the screen 3rd row). Gina (cousin's wife) and her sisters made apple cookies for everyone, handed out "party favors": prizes for best dressed (aka: wearing t-shirts) and spa coupons to everyone! They really made a party out of it. They are too cute!

We loved the movie & can't wait to go see it again (Lyssa gets to come with us next time). I loved the actors they chose, the cheesy parts, the not-so cheesy parts, everything. My favorite parts were the vampires running & jumping and when Alice killed James. :) After the movie, Gina's mom had a party at her house with a Twilight cake (we didn't go there because I'd been sick). It was great! If they do it again for New Moon - we are totally there! I can't wait for New Moon to come out! Thanks for the fun, Gina!

This ends the TWILIGHT report.

There is gross info below.

Read at your own Risk!!

Sick: I've been sick for almost a week now! YUCK. I HATE being sick. It began last Tuesday (Nov. 11) with a telltale throat tickle. I tried treating with natural rememdies, then added my prescription decongestant (left over from last spring's sinus infection). By Tuesday (18th) I was sooooooo miserable, I went to the doctor and got an anti-biotic and nose spray (stay on the decongestant). He said I had a sinus infection & ear infection. By Wednesday, it had moved into my chest for a little bronchitis. (Sad that I'm so sick often, I know exactly what I get and when). Luckily Wed & Thurs were half days at school, so I could go there and come home to nap. Friday was no school, but I woke up feeling a bit nauseous. When Trey went to school, I took the girls to the mall to get Twilight shirts (only feeling like vomiting a couple of times), went to see Robyn at work and puked on University Ave in Provo. Picked up Trey, went home, vomitted, napped and woke up to go to Twilight (I'm crazy, but I couldn't NOT go - and I felt better after the last trip to the bowl). I thought it was my amoxicillin that made me sick. So on Saturday, after I was feeling better, I took the amoxicillin with food, so I'd be ok. Well, you guessed it, sick again. So, now that I'm feeling a bit better - and eating again, I'm NOT going to take the meds again. I guess I'll call the doc tomorrow and see if I should take something else since, I'm only half-way through the 10 day kill the bug spree. But, I'm feeling a little better - Finally! :)

Smokin . . .

2008-11-16T20:39:00.000-08:00

Well, I decided to vacuum on Saturday (dang cold weather, I should be at the lake on Saturday), that was my first mistake. I was vacuuming the living room and heard a funny noise. Then I smelled smoke. Then I looked down and saw smoke billowing out of my vacuum cleaner. First I hollered, then I turned the blasted machine off, unplugged it and set it outside. It is now in residence in the garbage can. I went to buy a new one (I was only part way done with the front room), and TJay said he'd come and we'd look at TV's. So, what did we come home with? If you guessed a new vacuum, you'd be wrong. We bought a TV (TJay's story will differ, he'll claim it was all me, he didn't want to buy one, yada-yada). So, I guess I get to go on Monday to purchase a new vacuum, again not finished vacuuming. So, if you come over, don't look at my half vacuumed front room (or, maybe do, but only the vacuumed side not the unvacuumed side. Kind of a glass half full sort of scenerio). If you have any advice on what kind of a vacuum to get (think cheap; not bagless) then please let me know. :)

TWILIGHT!!

2008-11-15T18:29:00.000-08:00

TWILIGHT!!TWILIGHT!! I am soooooooooo excited. I've been reading Midnight Sun online and it's getting me so excited for the movie on Friday! I'm also totally thrilled to be going with my sweet Kylie. She is so excited, especially to see Jacob (a total hottie - according to Ky). She is so excited too. We've been looking forward to this for a long time.

In other exciting news . . . I had a date last night with my sweet Lyssa. We had the most fun. We started out going to the chiropractor for adjustments and a 10 minute massage (Lyssa's first professional massage). We went to Chili's for dinner and ate dessert first - just in case we didn't have room for it after we ate our dinner. Then we took Trey to Dave & Robyn's for his sleepover (we always love to see Dave & Robyn!). Then we went to Roberts and after looking over the entire store for the perfect craft, we found what we wanted to do: paint. So we bought some way cute things, rented a chick flick and went home to watch a movie & do crafts. We made hot cocoa, of course, while we painted and watched. It was great to have some one to one time with Alyssa. Sometimes she feels left out, being the middle child and all, but I want her to remember that she is an important and loved part of our family!

Treyson . . . can't be left out. Friday he had his Adaptive PE test (gross motor skills) and he ROCKED! Last year when he was tested, he scored at 13% (7% is severely delayed; 12% is moderately delayed; 50% is normal). So the district supervisor qualified him for services. After one year: The supervisor thinks Trey's score will be around 60-70%! That is a huge difference in a year. The man testing Trey was so suprised at how far he was getting on the test. Treyson even did things on his own that he needed to be tested on. Treyson is awesome & I'm so proud of him! (Even if he didn't want to come home from Dave & Robyn's and wanted a longer sleepover). :)

TJay . . . this is a longer blog than I'd planned, but I can't leave my sweetie out. He is leaving for Seattle tomorrow. He'll be gone to a PASS conference for SQL for the week. Back on Saturday, we will miss our Daddy! He will have a lot of fun and do a lot of networking and learn a lot, so that is good. And, while he is gone . . . TWILIGHT!! (I had to return to it).

Just Happy

2008-11-11T07:53:00.000-08:00

This is just a happy blog, so if you're grumpy go ahead and skip it. :) I'm just feeling good today (maybe because I don't have to go to the gym until tonight, so I'm having a leisurely computer morning).
Kylie is a BEAR to get up in the morning: it goes like this, "Kylie, get up" (kind of softly spoken by me). "KY, it's time to get up" (hollered a bit more harshly). "Kylie get out of bed NOW! You're going to be late for school! (so, now I'm a WEE bit cranky & harsh). Sometimes it's repeated and lectures and yelling (both ways). Followed by "have a great day at school". (ya, right, like that's going to happen now.) So, after one of these all too harsh mornings (in which I yelled at my sweet hubby for suggesting I was being a bit too mean), TJay (who wakes up the same way Ky does - BAD) suggested I begin the mornings by just laying down with her and hugging her. So, I've tried that, I get up earlier so that I can crawl in bed next to my Ky and just lay there by her giving her hugs. Guess what? It works beautifully! Ky gets up (still not right away, but eventually), I feel good, we always get some time alone together (everyone else s still asleep), and the morning starts off beautifully. So, my mornings go better now. :)
Also, I was so worried last week about parent-teacher conference, it's always a bit nerve-wracking, sometimes parents suprise you with bad vibes. But 24 out of 27 parents showed up (yeah) and it went so well. :) And, it's over!
Wednesday, I get to go to a fireside to listen to one of my favorite authors (not Stephenie Meyer): Rachel Ann Nunes. She wrote the Ariana series which a fun LDS novel series. I'm excited for that.
More good news, we are finalizing our Thanksgiving trip to Moab plans and I'm so excited. We are renting a house with 3 rooms and a kitchen, for about the price of a motel room. We will be going to Canyonlands and Arches and I'm just getting excited for hiking around with the kids. We had such a great time last month, I'm excited to be going again.
Next week, our school has 2 half days and Friday off! woo hoo! I'm excited for that. Friday is my date with Kylie (and Robyn Cash and a bunch of webb cousins) to see Twilight! In Kylie's words, "the guy who plays Jacob Black is a hottie!" (she is right, have you seen pictures of him?) The other two get to play with Uncle Davey, since Daddy will be gone to Seattle all next week (i feel a chocolate pancake dinner coming up).
So, anyway, I'm just happy right now. (knock on wood). And happy I got to sit and get caught up on my friends' blogs and blog a bit this morning. I love lazy, rainy mornings. I don't have to go in to work until 11:30. Perfect! (Gina, thanks for drawing an eye for me - it's up on the bulletin board because it's our eye unit now.) :)

Election Blues

2008-11-07T07:13:00.001-08:00

Well, it's sad but true, Sarah Palin won't be in the white house (I pretended it was her running). Now we have 4 years of Obama. I keep hearing, give him a chance, he may turn more centrist than far left. Pelosi & Reid may not run away with a huge liberal agenda. So, I will wait and see. I will support President Obama until he proves that liberal socialism is what his true identity is. I hope the Democratic rulers will right the economy, better public education and save social security. I also hope they'll take care of the oil crisis and stay in Iraq until it's safe for us to leave - and not have to go back later to finish the job. I hope Obama finds Osama (that's just fun to say) and the major test will be handled better than Biden seems to think it will be. I wonder if Obama will find as he sits in the Oval Office that it's not as cut and dried as he thinks it will be. I hope he doesn't bankrupt coal companies and cause more job loss. So I will pray for my country, for my leaders, and hope for the best.

Halloween

2008-11-02T13:23:00.000-08:00

I don't know how to do those cute collages. :) But I still wanted to post all of our wonderful spooks for this year.

Kylie was a "dead corpse bride". She bought a bride outfit and splattered it with "blood". The funny thing is one of her good friends from school did the exact same thing (same dress even) and they didn't plan it. They had talked about being goth brides, but then didn't plan it out anymore. I guess great minds think alike. :) Her friend came over to trick-or-treat and have a sleepover, so they looked like twins.

Alyssa was a beautiful brunette witch. Our neighbor didn't even recognize her with long, BROWN hair. She loved it and as always is so generous. She loved getting made-up. She even got to wear her costume to her dance class this week and thought that was great!

Treyson is IRON MAN. He was so funny because when people would say, "hey, Iron Man". Trey would lift up his mask and say, "I'm really Treyson. I'm just being Iron Man for Halloween." He is such a funny fellow. We would start walking to a house and he would say, "that's not the house I want to go to", and he'd refuse to go. So, we went to some houses in our neighborhood, and some were skipped.

TJay was dressed up as a horror movie person (Ok, I'm bad at keeping them straight, he had a hockey-type white mask on, green jumpsuit - like prison clothes and a sword). He sat by the candy outside (unseasonably warm that night - NICE!) and would point with his sword to the candy when kids said "trick-or-treat". He hid his blackberry behind his sword and played games all night - and twittered.

I sprayed my hair black in the morning and Ky saw me and said, "mom, you're Bella". So, I was Bella Cullen (read Twilight). I decided I wanted to be Bella Cullen instead of Swan because she was beautiful and not so clumsy. We had lots of fun. We went to TJay's office to do trick-or-treating before heading home to the neighborhood. We have more candy than we should ever eat! :)

We love Halloween!

2008-11-02T13:00:00.001-08:00

Birthday, Birthday, Pumpkin

2008-10-29T15:54:00.000-07:00

Treyson's birthday is TODAY! I won't dwell on how my baby is 5! (who woke daddy up this morning with : "Dad, today is my birfday. Sing to me, dad!"). If I dwell on how old my kids turned this month, I'll turn into a babbling ball of mush. I'll wax poetic about my youth leaving quickly with the onslaught of older children (when the BABY is 5, that is bad!).

So, on with the happy. Trey's party was last Wednesday and we went to Vineyard Pumpkin Land. It was awesome! It's all centered on little kids: corn maze, "light alley" (with halloween, thanksgiving & Christmas lights on display), huge pumpkins (see picture), animals (goats, rabbits & fowl), and blow up toys: slides, jumping pit. It was so much fun and so easy to do. We finished with cupcakes and presents back at the house. Treyson had the most fun! He had a great day today and told everyone he saw that today was his birthday. My 3rd grade class sang to him and he loved it.

Alyssa turned 9 on Saturday. She had a late night Friday night with a few of her closest friends! They had a scavenger hunt, watched a movie, ate pizza & cake, played night games & sardines, then presents and home. It was tons of fun. Alyssa is such a fun girl and she has super sweet friends. They made a "dress" for her out of the gift wrapping crepe paper. She layed on the floor, so it wouldn't fall off. Some of the girls are in my school class & so it was probably kind of weird for them at first. But, after all, it was their buddy "lyssa" and they are such a fun close group of girls that we just had a great time! On Saturday, the kids & I went to see High School Musical 3 with Robyn and her nieces and nephew. We had a great time! We love HSM3.
Kylie got to attend a BYU women soccer game with the ward YW/YM (again we're getting close to the blubbering with a daughter old enough to go to YW). She had a great time!

Now to the pumpkins. Anyone who knows TJay, is aware of his artistic ability. Add pumpkins to that ability and you get a "serious" night of jack-o-lantern creating! This year we invited Dave (party pooper) and Robyn to join us for dinner and carving (I did tell Robyn to bring knives, incase we weren't so good at sharing - each of our kids has their own. I told you we were serious!) Dave ended up being a great helper as he was the picture taker and the knife-weilder for Trey. (It saved me from having to interrupt my pumpkin carving time). We had so much fun and have 5 awesome pumpkins to prove it. We love OCTOBER! It's so exciting at our house.

Fall Vacation to Southern Utah

2008-10-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

Our Moab Vacation

For fall vacation (UEA) we went with our friends the Richins and the Larsons to Southern Utah for 3 fabulous days! We had so much fun. This became one of my favorite vacations. We each rented a small cabin in Green River ($42/night - can't beat it) and cooked outside and had campfires (like camping without the tent and less dirt and actual mattresses). Friday we went to Arches National Park and hiked for 3 hours to see Delicate Arch (above). It was beautiful and totally worth the walk. An older couple from Seattle were there and saw Trey not wanting to walk anymore and they challenged him to see who could get there first. They were great & we saw them quite a bit as both their and Trey's pace were the same. He was excited when "we won".

We even saw some neighbors, the Camp's, there. :) It was also fun to climb into the holes and crevices. After Arches we went up Negro Bill Canyon and played on the sandy beach and watched some river rafters coming home from rafting the Colorado.

Then we went shopping (look for the kids' Moab shirts and hats at slick rock) and had dinner at Zax. Zax is a pizza/pasta place where we had to wait for a little over an hour. It was so delicious that the kids said it was worth the wait! This was after waiting until 7:30 to eat! It was great, if you go to Moab, go to Zax (they should be paying me for the good words!).

On Saturday, we went to Slick Rock. Our friends brought bikes, but we decided not to, so we hiked and climbed and it was great. Josh (5) couldn't ride on slick rock, so Lyssa rode his bike. His was the only bike without gears and she totally kept up and kept going. She is such a little daredevil, but she loved it!

This is us at slick rock with the matching t-shirts and hats. (right)

After slick rock we went to Dead Horse Point (incredible) and Canyonlands where we saw the Mesa Arch (above left). The amazing thing about the Mesa Arch is the sudden, shear drop off directly behind. The arch itself is on the edge and the view behind is amazing! It quickly became my favorite! We're debating on which picture to use for our Christmas cards this year.:)

TJay and Kevin pointing out "horseshoe bend" at Dead Horse Point State Park.

We went to another yummy place to eat and had scones (at Zax we had tried the pizza that had crust, honey, chicken and mozarella - it was amazingly good, but put us in the mood for scones and honey). We went to a fun park for lunch and the kids loved playing on the playground. There were 3 different playgrounds and one had musical instruments that even the big kids loved!

Sunday came, time to check out. We wanted a fun, relaxing Sabbath and drove to Goblin Valley to just play and explore and climb (Trey's favorite - and Lyssa's). Okay, so we all had fun climbing and playing make-believe (we had light sabers, of course). We played hide & seek. We had a great time! Then we took the scenic route home: over the San Rafael Swell, up through Emery county to Price and home. We returned home late and tired, but all of us agreed it was a great vacation!

Trip to the Zoo

2008-10-14T07:28:00.000-07:00

Here is my class - 27 8&9 year olds! They're great and we have a lot of fun!

Our 3rd grade took a field trip to Hogle Zoo last Wednesday. It was so much fun! The weather was perfect. No kidding, it was the last warm day. It wasn't too warm, but we didn't need jackets either. We ran around like crazies - looking for each animal class. We saw the white alligator - not an albino, he had blue eyes. I was lucky to be able to hang out with Lyssa for part of the day. She's not in my class, but she's in 3rd grade so she was there. This was the first field trip I was able to go on with her. So much fun!!

This is a picture of Alyssa with her friends Makenna and Cassidy.

Update

2008-10-14T07:26:00.000-07:00

My friend woke up a bit last night! She was able to answer questions by squeezing her husband's hand and was able to write a note. The note was exactly what I would think she would write. So, she remembers her husband, having a baby, how to write. This morning the sun can shine. She is still so much in our prayers. Prayers are powerful! Happy Day!

Happy & Sad

2008-10-13T09:47:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get online and blog about my awesome birthday yesterday! I had the greatest day. Jewelry from my wonderful family. A 3 hour post-church nap. A little "dancing with the stars" on the DVR (I'm so behind). Thoughtful gifts from friends & neighbors. Dinner and cake at a friend's house with a suprise visit from one of my students and his family. The kids played and had fun. The dads talked. The moms visited. It was a great evening! I loved it!

This morning I was informed that a good friend is in the hospital in ICU after giving birth to her 6th child. It just happened yesterday and no one knows what will happen or when. My heart is breaking for her sweet family. She is the kindest, most thoughtful person I know. She has taught me so much just by being my friend and a great example to me. I will carry a prayer in my heart for her and her family until she can be well again and return home. I love you, EM!

Our YW volleyball player

2008-10-11T15:43:00.000-07:00

Well, Kylie went to a YW volleyball practice on Thursday (her first time ever playing) and a game today. She rocked! She made so many points and saves and she scored points on her serves. She is a natural athlete, she seems to excel at whatever she tries. She definitely didn't get her hand-eye coordination from her Mom! One of the refs even came over and said she should be playing rec volleyball and try out for 7th grade team. So, a little MOM bragging about my beautiful and talented daughter. It was fun for her family to get to watch her play also!

We also helped Dave & Robyn Cash move into their new home this morning. It was fun to see Robyn's family again. Dave & Robyn have a beautiful home and the kids love it. Trey said "it's awesome!" They have rocks in their backyard (rock walls) and Trey loved climbing up. The girls made a "fort" out of all of the moving boxes upstairs in the "girls room" (yes, all of the nieces have a room to share that is thiers). Everyone had a great time and we were happy we could help the newlyweds get settled.

Treyson

2008-10-06T07:49:00.001-07:00

It is amazing how time can "heal wounds", whether they be physical, mental or emotional. I'm sitting here with Trey a couple of feet from me playing Nintendo, his latest obsession. He is able to play it by himself. He knows how to play it. He can hear it. He can move his little fingers to move the joystick controller and press the little buttons. Most amazingly, he can clearly say, "mom, it's time for me to play Nintendo". It makes all of the years (3 so far) and hours (too many to count) of classes and doctors and driving worth it. To have a sweet little boy who just 2 short years ago was labeled "moderately developmentally disabled" in many areas (fine motor, gross motor, speech) with some "autistic tenets"; now he is only "age-appropriate delayed" and no autistic signs. What wonderful words that we had hoped beyond hope to hear. After two girls who raised themselves, taught themselves and were relatively easy; I've decided that actual parenting and teaching is hard! :) I love my boy!!

Hello blog world

2008-10-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit that I'm technologically challenged - that is why I married a techno genius. But, apparently, EVERYONE is online blogging now, and I've had fun reading blogs, so I'll give it a try. I guess it'll sort of be an online diary without all the nitty gritty stuff (if you're lucky, I'll add the nitty gritty. I guess if I figure out nitty-gritty).
So, we are in the midst of "birthday season". Birthday season begins August 16th with TJay's birthday (39 this year, still very YOUNG at heart).
Then we continue to September 26 with Kylie. She turned 12 this year and so it was a HUGE celebration! There was best friends at a sleep-over, Color Me Mine (very fun), glitter nails (thanks, Kath), pizza, ice cream, pop and candy (to help us stay awake), chocolate pancakes ( a sleep-over staple so all the friends wish they were Belts and could have brownies and frosting for breakfast too), bracelet making and then running all over the place to deliver friends to their various homes, soccer games, etc.
Continuing on with birthdays, mine is in a week (October 12 - gifts are welcome). Keri (my cousin) and I have birthdays 2 days apart and decided we would be 22 this year. We pretty much decide on our new age around the time our birthday approaches. We were 29 for quite a few years. That's an enjoyable age.
Then, Alyssa is October 25, and she will turn 9 this year. She wants a skating party, but we'll have to see how ambitious I'm feeling. :) Trey finishes us up on October 29 (because I teased Keri about her daughter being a "spooky baby" because she was born on the 28th, it's my comupance). Treyson may be having an early birthday party this year, because that last week in October is packed! Then birthday season is over for the next 10 months.
I'm going to post this and decorate my page and find other blogs. Look at me go . . .