Such a slacker

Well, Christmas has come and gone and I am such a slacker that I completely forgot to take pictures. We've had a fun year and did a lot of activities, so here is the basic rundown:

• Temple lights, trains, visiting Grandma and Aunt Carol, and dinner with the Seavey family. Lot of fun, but Tyson wanted to go home to play with his train, so we ended doing the mad rush through everything else. Still fun though. :)
• Looking at the lights of the neighborhood. Probably our last year of this activity since none of the kids showed any interest and were most definitely not impressed...the bums.
• Loop of Lights (ok, the kids WERE impressed with this house).
• Christmas Eve dinner with the missionaries and our friends, the Colemans. Super good Mexican food with homemade Pico and salsa...mild for the wimps (like me and the missionary from Michigan) and hot for those with a death wish (like Kevin and Troy).
• Christmas morning mayhem...the kids woke Tyson up at 7 and he most definitely did not want to wake up. We finally got him up, opened presents, endured his crankiness for about 2 minutes and then took him back upstairs at 8 for a lovely 3 1/2 hour nap. After that, he was ready to play and we had a lot of fun.

That's about it for us. We are still recovering from a long day with unlimited soda for the kids (yikes!) along with Christmas candy...when they come back down from their sugar high, it's going to be interesting. :)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas too!

Whew!

Finally....I blogged, I added pictures, I am caught up. Let's just hope I can keep it up. Enjoy!

A little bit of this, a little bit of that...

Annie had to do a 3-D project and report on the Milky Way galaxy. It turned out really cute and she got an "A". (yay!)
The boys chillin' at Annie's Christmas concert...I don't know which is funnier, Troy and Taylor's faces, or Tyson mugging for the camera. :)

Too much time on our hands??? Oh the fun of winter break. :)

Sittin' with Santa. Annie and Taylor got to see Santa this year, but Tyson slept through the whole thing. It worked out though...he doesn't really like Santa up close and personal yet.

Taylor didn't want to see Santa this year, but we talked him into it...he looks thrilled doesn't he?

One more post and I am caught up! Whew!

Baptism Day

What a special day. Taylor was baptized by Troy and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints by his daddy.

I love this picture...which is a good thing, because I totally spaced pictures that day and this is the only one I got. :)
Congrats Taylor...we love you! :)

Happy Birthday Taylor!

I can't believe Taylor turned 8 this year. It seems as though I just had him. :)

Per tradition, we let him have a friend party and his baptism party. Of course, a Star Wars party was the request for his friends, so we googled to our heart's content and came up with a cake idea, a pinata idea, and some fun jedi games.

Here is Taylor with his R2-D2 cake. It wasn't as hard as it looks to make...just took some time and a lot of frosting. Since we were hosting 2 parties, I made one body and 2 identical heads. The friends ate one head, then R2 went into the freezer to wait for the next party. I must say, it's one of the best ideas I've ever had. :)
R2 in all of his glory:

We made Death Star pinatas (one for each party) and boy were they heavy. Thank goodness for day after halloween candy sales. :)

Captain Rex (J.T.), Darth Maul (Taylor), and Darth Vader (Annie), all dressed up and ready for the party.

Blowing out the candles on the cake. These kids had a lot of fun (and boy can they eat a lot of pizza!)

Happy Birthday Taylor...you are a very special boy and we love you!

Halloween 2010

So, I totally forgot to take pictures of Halloween and stuff. Luckily, we had a piano recital the next day that was a dress up, so while we didn't get a picture of Troy, here are the other kids.

Army man Taylor:
Blue Bee Annie:

Buzz Lightyear Tyson:

As always, they got tons of candy and had a lot of fun. :)

The adventures of Tyson and the Gubs

Tyson was outside playing one day when he suddenly started crying and telling Kevin that the gubs (bugs) were getting him. Kevin brought him in and we noticed several welts, so we put some cortizone cream on them and had Tyson stay inside.

The next morning, Tyson came downstairs and started to play. As he was running around, I noticed that his foot had quickly swelled up and was turning a red/purple color. We felt it and it was very hot to the touch, so Kevin called in to take the day off and took Tyson to urgent care. Diagnosis: Cellulitis of the foot. Strong anti-biotics and several days of rest were prescribed.

Here is a picture of his foot after 24 hour of antibiotics...it was twice this size before.
And comparing with the other leg..you can really see the difference.

Since Tyson was supposed to rest and keep his leg elevated, Kevin was given a note to stay home from work and this is how he spent his week:

Jealous? Me too. They watched movies, they played video games and they napped. But, it worked and the swelling got less and less each day.

There were times when Tyson just didn't want to sit. What 3 year old does? In fact, when the doctor gave us the instructions, I was a little put out that he didn't give us some sort of meds to help...but what do you do?

This is Tyson finally bored. He decided to bury daddy in blankets and pillows, which was funny for us to watch and very hot for daddy. :)

It took about 2 weeks for Tyson's foot to return to normal. He got some cool Buzz Lightyear slippers to wear since we couldn't get his shoes on and he got to play with daddy for a week. For us, this was pretty scary...for him, the experience of a lifetime. :)

Visiting

Conference weekend we decided to get out of the heat, away from the stress, and get the heck out of town. The place of choice? My grandmother's home in Show Low. The kids were so excited for a road trip and it was a lot of fun.

Our first stop was in Pinedale to pay our respects for Kevin's folks. His dad has been gone for 13 years now, and his mom for 5. The cemetary is small, but beautiful and rustic, and so completely peaceful.
The kids putting flowers on the graves. They don't remember Grandpa (Troy was only 3 when he died), but Mema was a special woman in their lives.

Eatin' with Grandma-Great. My grandmother, bless her heart, is old school. She believes in 3 hot meals a day and does her best to keep us entertained, fed, and happy. We really enjoyed our time with her, though it was too short. Tyson loved it there so much that he actually let her hug him and told her goodbye, calling her gwandmum. So cute. :)

Of course, when it comes to our family, no roadtrip is complete without several stops for puking, or "cukin" as Tyson refers to it. Here is our stop in the canyon, and yes, Tyson is in his undies...we got tired of changing his clothes and decided to let him go like this. Saved us some laundry.

And, no roadtrip through Globe is complete without a stop at our favorite restaurant...La Casita Downtown. The #5 was calling my name all day and to finally get a taste...heaven!

It was fun to get away, but it's more fun to come home. One of these days though, we are going to do it right and actually get out of town for more than 22 hours. :)

Isn't it interesting???

So, I've been murmuring a lot lately, and I feel down sometimes. It's almost like I'm too tired to care on some days. Thankfully those days don't come too often, but today was a murmur day. I didn't get anything done since Tyson wasn't feeling well this morning and wanted some attention, and one of my daycare kids was sick this afternoon and wanted some attention. The laundry is piled up and unwashed, the kids had pancakes for dinner and one of them is cranky and I didn't feel like dealing with that.

Since the day Kevin and I married, we have struggled with money. It seems as though we are always counting our pennies, with very few to spare, and after 17 years, I've just about had enough. I have no desire to be rich, but it would be nice to count quarters instead of pennies, know what I mean? Kevin and I both work so hard...on days like today I feel like we should have more to show for it.

Anyway, as I'm doing dishes tonight and grumbling about things in my head and getting crankier and crankier, I got a phone call from a good friend. Her husband works for a company that services heavy equipment and they are in desperate need of a new mechanic. She names some numbers that put stars in my eyes, and I immediately think of all the things we could do with that money...build up our savings, buy a new and badly needed couch, take an actual vacation, go to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner, etc.

Then she names the price of those stars. Lots of travel with the possibility of spending some weekends at home, but not all, no benefits, no overtime, no stability. Boy was I humbled quickly. I let her know that I'd pass on her message to my sweetie and we had a nice chat. But, when I hung up I thought about this opportunity a little more, and, as I thought about what my friend had to deal with, I realized just how much I have to be grateful for. I get to see my sweetie for about an hour to an hour and a half a day, plus most of the weekend. That is a good 14 to 15 more hours than she gets. We have health insurance, a 401K, and paid vacation days. Sure, it's been tough to make ends meet, but it's not all bad, and things are looking up.

Now as I look back, that call came at the perfect time, and I don't believe it was an accident. Isn't it interesting how the Lord reminds us of what we need to be grateful for instead of wishing for something we don't need? Definitely more evidence of his loving care, and a perfect lesson to me this Thanksgiving season.

P.S. I have a lot of pictures and stuff to share but I'm waiting until after Taylor's baptism this weekend. Stay tuned for an update! :)

Whoa!

Boy it's been a while since I posted. Things have gone from busy to crazy to insane to a life that there is just no description for. I'm still serving as the ward RS president and I LOVE it, but with end of year stuff and getting ready for next year and all that goes on in a ward, it's been a lot to handle. Thank heavens I have the shoulders of a linebacker. :)

School is hard, but I'm working through it. So far I have 3 A's and a B. The B kinda sucks since its in English (which I thought I wouldn't have trouble with) but I'm working on it. Math isn't too bad, I'm really enjoying Communications, and Sociology has changed my thoughts of majoring in Psychology. We did an entire chapter on deviance and how it relates to us socially. I threw up several times and I've decided that my stomach cannot handle the dark areas of the human mind or the actions it produces. I've had people say, "Oh, you'll get used to it", or, "you'll desensitize", but I don't want to. I like being sensitive to others and being able to empathize. No one should be used to the horrors of the world. So, that leaves me majorless for now. I'm trying to decide if I want to just finish my AGS and then work in a certificate program that will allow me to find a good job, or go for a BA in something else, but I just don't know. Any ideas???? :)

All the kids are doing well. Troy will be ordained a Priest this Sunday and Taylor has asked him to baptize him in November. It's kind of cool having a son that can baptize his brother. Things with the school are busy as ever, and it was nice to have our 2 week break and nicer to send them back to school.

During break we canned peach jam and made pies, painted the laundry room, and remodeled the upstairs bathroom. Since I'm posting this when I'm really supposed to be doing homework, the pictures will have to wait. :)

Let's just hope that it's not another 3 months before I post again. :)

Peace at last? Not really. ☺

Finally, some peace...sort of.

The "Luncheon of our Lives" came off without a hitch (and we didn't even have centerpieces! *gasp* *choke*..I know...we are like unto the cavemen for not doing that. Hmmm do I sense a new Geico commercial? ☺) and turned out really nice. We had lots of good food, the room looked pretty and everything went smoothly. We got cleaned up and out of the church by 9pm...just in time to get drenched in a monsoon storm as I unloaded the truck. Kevin didn't mind (think white blouse) but for me, it was a little cold. After a warm shower, a foot rub by my wonderful hubby, a good night's sleep and several thank you's from the bishop and the family I felt that all was right with the world.

Sunday flew by and Monday morning arrived with mounds of homework and welcome statements and all the stuff that goes with starting school.

Can I just say....I don't really like school. I don't mind learning new things (like how to insult someone in Mexico with certain gestures), but I don't like being a slave to someone else's time frame, I don't like being graded, and I really don't like homework. I may be rethinking the whole Master's degree thing, but I'll definitely finish my AA and then figure out where to go from there. As I thought about the time frame, I realized that Troy's mission will clash with my schooling. I will need to be working to support him and so the rest of my school may go on the backburner but we'll see.

Anyway, things are not calming down, just changing and it's keeping us on our toes. Troy's birthday party was over the weekend and I have pictures that I'll post as soon as I get a chance to download them from my camera. Until then, it's time to do more homework. ☺

Today on...

(*pause and dramatic voice*) "Luncheons of our Lives" our characters were left confused and in the midst of planning a funeral lucheon. Tears were shed, anger was sparked, and hormonal drama ran amuck. But, what will happen to the characters we know and love?

Will the sweet Millicent*, a friend of the family, get her wish for a reception type dinner even though we can't afford it and it's more than a little strange to do that for a funeral luncheon? Will Agnes* be able to work without interruption to get the simple, understated centerpieces completed in time?** Wil the frazzled Relief Society president just get fed up and arrange to have the sources of drama just "disappear"?***

Tune in next week to find out what will happen next on...(dramatic voice again) "Luncheons of our Lives".

*Name have been changed to protect the innocent

**Centerpieces for a funeral luncheon you ask? Don't...it's a long, complicated, quite silly and did I mention LONG story.

***No she really wouldn't do this but she might be tempted. Like a lot. A WHOLE lot.

Perspective

So it's just been a few hours since I posted the sad news of Emma and Taylor's passing. I can't sleep. My eyes won't cooperate and my mind is running all over the place.

Today was Taylor's turn to unload the dishwasher. I had a large glass bowl in there...a cranberry colored bowl. We got it for our wedding and they don't make them anymore. It's the bowl I use for many things....especially when we have company because it's so pretty.

Well, Taylor put it on the counter and climbed up to put it away. In the process, he knocked it right off and it broke.

I was in the den checking email when I heard the crash and Taylor came running to get me, tears in his eyes, and apologizing. When I saw what was broken I was angry and I yelled and made him cry even more. I muttered a few swear words under my breath as I got the broom and crankily cleaned up the mess.

In the meantime, Taylor sat on the floor holding one of the babies and crying as he watched. It broke my heart and I apologized to him and told him that he had learned an important lesson today and not to climb on counters that have glass anything on them.

After we cleaned up the mess I didn't give it another thought until tonight as I lay in bed thinking of Emma and Taylor and how their family is grieving right now. Death can come quickly and unexpectedly and while we have the beautiful promise of eternal families, it doesn't save us from the pain of loss.

What would I do if it was one of my sweet babies or my darling husband that passed away? I look back and I think of things I would change...like keeping better tabs on my temper, playing with them more, being a better mom and wife and having more patience with them. I cry as I think of the things I've said and the things I've done...not because I was trying to be mean, but because I wasn't thinking and failed to act the way I know I should.

It's a painful journey and one I really don't want to keep taking. I want to promise that I will never do anything to hurt them again, but also recognize that I'm human and I'll slip...we all do. But, maybe this little bit of perspective is what I need. Maybe now that I have a clearer idea of things, I can work on thinking before I speak or act and when I don't apologizing quickly, humbly, and sincerely. I love them and I need to tell them more.

Thank you Emma and Taylor for this perspective. Your sweet spirits and happy faces will be sorely missed. ♥

A Beautiful Reminder on a sad day

This is Emma and Taylor Bailey. They are conjoined twins who share a heart. You've probably heard of them...Two Sisters One Heart. Discovery Health did a huge documentary on them and the family and our ward have done a big fundraiser every year to help with medical expenses.
These girls have defied all odds. They weren't supposed to live past birth and yet they did. They learned to sit, walk in their little custom walker and were preparing for separation.

Today, they joined our Heavenly Father after complications from a routine and minor surgery. It's a shock to everyone. We just saw them at church on Sunday and they made me smile and now I can't believe that they are gone.

Sometimes as a Relief Society President you are one of the first to get the bad news...and then you have to tell others. And, when you just want to sit down and have a good cry because your heart hurts for this sweet family, you can't...you have to be thinking about funerals, luncheons, dinners, etc.

Just when I was feeling sorry for myself and wanting to curl up in a corner so I could have my cry, I had a beautiful reminder of the sweetness of Heavenly Father's plan. When I went to visit the family, their dad was just getting home from work and heading into the house to tell his other children that their sisters wouldn't be coming home. I could almost see the weights on his shoulders and then before he went in, he straightened up, smiled and said, "Thank goodness for the Plan of Salvation."

He KNOWS he'll see his sweet girls again and they'll be healthy and strong and perfect. I was so ashamed that I didn't even think of that. I'm so thankful for Tor's testimony and his willingness to live what he knows and I'm thankful for that wonderful reminder. ♥♥

I just thought you should know....

My Taylor is a "special" child. He just says anything that comes to mind whether it's politically incorrect or not...he's extremely honest.

Case in point: we are at a Mexican food restaurant and he orders chicken strips (!!!!). They brought him some ranch dressing for dipping sauce and he asked in his loudest voice..."Is this regular ranch or Mexican ranch?" People stare at you when your child says something like that.

Well today the Taylor struck again and this time he struck me. We are sitting in church singing the opening hymn when he leans over, and whispers, "Mom...your front teeth are a little yellow at the top. I just thought you should know."

My response? "Well gee, thanks for that information" and then I spent the rest of the meeting trying to sing, smile, and talk without showing my yucky old yellow teeth. VERY difficult I must say (and VERY amusing to the child that had insulted me...so amusing in fact that he got the giggles and had to be shushed repeatedly).

While I love my children and I value honesty perhaps Taylor is a little TOO honest. ☺

IDK??????

So, I'm an old fart not in any way "with it". I guess it was inevitable, but it still sucks to come to this realization.

One of my piano students and I "chat" on Facebook and one of her most typed things is IDK. I didn't know what it meant, so I finally asked her about it and this is pretty much how our conversation went:

Me: "Emily...what does IDK mean?"

Emily: "I don't know."

Me: "If you don't know, then why do you type it?"

Emily: "No, I don't know"

Me: "Has your mother talked to you about saying or typing things you don't know about?"

Emily (after staring at me like I was an idiot): "Sister Petersen, IDK means I don't know."

Me: "Oh. Okay then, go ahead and play your songs (this was a last ditch effort to focus her attention away from my very red and embarrassed face)."

So, now I know and I can add it to the other "shortcuts" in language I know like SOL, LOL, ROFL, and LMAO. My only hope is that by the time I figure out how to text I can read what other text back to me. It's going to take some time and tutoring. Where is a teenager when I need one? ☺

Happy 44th Sweetie!!

Yep, my sweetheart, the love of my life, my eternal companion and all around good guy is 44 (in July actually..yes, I'm behind again)! I love this man with all of my heart and I appreciate his love, his willingness to work hard and support our family and his kissing expertise (and then some...but we are keeping it clean ☺).

Before work on the big day:
Feeling a little goofy...I think this should be his new Facebook picture:

Birthday celebration with Pineapple Upside Down Cake...boy that's a lot of candles (we didn't dare put all them on...it would have been scary ☺).

♫♪ Happy Birthday to yyyyyyoooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!!!! ♪♫

And a little help from Taylor and Tyson to get the fire out...so much fun!

Happy Birthday Sweetie...I hope you know just how much you are loved! ♥

July 10

July 10 was one of the crappiest days ever. I won't go into details, but it started rough ended with a tumble in the Circle K parking lot on the way home from the temple (I know...not the best place for the crappy attitude I had).

I was driving and very tired and Kevin wanted a soda, so we pulled into the Circle K on Higley and Warner so he could get a drink and we could switch places. I was walking around the truck when I stepped on a rock with my heel. It twisted my ankle and threw me way off balance and I fell (landing on my shoe...you can see where the heel got me). There I was...in a dress...laying on the pavement...hubby in the store and not where he could see me...and NOT ONE PERSON stopped to help me or see if I was OK!

I picked myself up, grabbed my shoes, kicked the rock as far as I could and hauled my humiliated butt into the truck so I could cry in peace. Of course, when Kevin climbed in, he had no idea what had happened...he just saw me sitting there sobbing. He was so patient. He listened to my diary of a bad day and let me cry it out.

We got home and I could barely walk...my leg had swelled considerably and I had two huge knots...it hurt to walk for a couple of days, but ice made it better. Here is the same day picture:
Couple of days later:

Few more days after that:

It took about 2 1/2 weeks for it to totally disappear and I still have a strange dent in my leg (can you crush fat/muscle?) but for the most part I have healed.

I still need to work through the reasons for my crappy day and come to terms with things that aren't as I thought they were, but that is what my Savior is for...to help me and heal my hurts.

Next time though, I'll be on the lookout for those damn insidious rocks. ☺

The many faces of Tyson

Mr. Tyson is a lovable and always fun little boy. He's mischevious (just like his father...he didn't get it from me ☺), ornery, sweet, affectionate and lots of fun to have around.

As I was downloading pictures from our vacation I found several that I had taken of him that I just had to share.

He looks so much like Taylor in this picture. I think he was taking apart my purse and I caught him. See the look of innocence he tries to portray unsucessfully?
Stop in the name of love! Not really...he was trying to use the force on me. Fortunately, I'm immune to the force which is a good thing since he tries to lightning finger me in Sacrament meeting when I make him sit still.

Oh, and he insisted on putting on Annie's swim coverup. I don't know why but I do know that I'm not above taking blackmail pictures. ☺

"Why yes Mom, you just found me hiding in the pantry and eating oreos. Is there a problem?"

So silly.

"Mmmmm....spaghetti. Now I need a kiss."

There is no way I'm kissing that face until it's clean...but he's sure a little cutie. ☺

Summer Vacation 2010

So, our plan to travel to southern Utah for our vacation this year evaporated when we realized that Tyson's carsickness would make us all miserable (and no, Dramamine does not help...we tried that on the way to Safford). We wanted to find a place to spend our time together as a family and went surfing on the web. Luckily for us, the resorts in the Phoenix area have some awesome summer deals and we were able to take advantage of them.

We checked into the Arizona Grand Resort for a wonderful 4 day, 3 night stay which included passes to the resort water park (and room service...wonderful). We had so much fun!

Here is a picture of the Sedona section where our room was.
We were able to get a two room suite which included a very uncomfortable sofa sleeper, so we put Annie, Taylor and Tyson in a queen bed in the bedroom and Troy got the couch.

Fast asleep...aren't they sweet when they are sleeping?

We played at the water park on Tuesday and on Wednesday hit Arizona Mills Mall for school shopping. We went and we conquered. I love that we can get a ton of stuff on sale there..each kid is ready for school. ☺

After shopping we treated the kids to our one fancy dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. Troy and Kevin ordered big steam pots and Annie ordered the kids steam pot. I wondered if she would be grossed out when her crab came but she wasn't. She broke open the legs like a pro and even played with the claw (I can't even touch the leg with a claw...they are creepy). Taylor tasted some of Troy's crab and really liked it. Kevin and I were sharing between us and I gave Tyson a huge piece of crab meat to taste and he ended up eating all of my crab and some of my fish. Next time we go there, we are just going to get everyone a steam pot and let them have at it. ☺

Thursday was water park day again. Thank goodness we invested in aqua socks and lots of sunscreen because it was worth it. Only Troy and I got mild sunburns..mine on my forehead and Troy on his shoulders. Everyone else stayed white or tanned (actually, Kevin stayed white and the 3 little kids tanned beautifully...a gift from Mema). The kids didn't like the shoes at first but when they noticed people running from shady spot to shady spot and hollering as they ran, they changed their tune real quick.

Tyson loved the lazy river so when the kids went to slide (Tyson wasn't tall enough) he and I would go "ride" and wait for Kevin and the kids to finish. The park had a twisted water slide and two bonsai slides. Troy talked Annie into going down a bonsai slide and she did...once. She screamed all the way down, broke into tears at the bottom and informed me that she "felt death". Personally, I thought it was funny as heck to see her come down but I did my best to comfort her.

Here is Troy coming down the regular water slide:

Taylor's turn (and by the way Taylor loved the Bonsai...go figure):

And Miss Annie:

Kevin caught this one of Troy as he hit the bottom of the Bonsai slide:

Wedgie!!!!

During the last few minutes of play time before the park closed Annie and Taylor came to ride the waves in the wave pool with Tyson and I. So much fun. ☺

If we weren't in the lazy river, we were in the wave pool. We all have scrapes and scratches from it, but it was a lot of fun.

Tyson running through the "surf".

My sweet heart...what a handsome hunk of a man. ♥

Time to go...as you can see, Mr. Tyson just doesn't want to leave. So sad.

Chillin' in the room after dinner:

Annie, Taylor and Tyson in the bedroom watching Disney channel and breaking into their snacks.

We were sad to leave, but it's nice to be home and in our own bed and having 3 showers instead of 1 and eating home cooked meals (room service is nice, but only for a while).

Hopefully when we are ready for another vacation in a couple of years we can go with our southern Utah plan and go visit our family there.