Where's the beard?

Don't kids just say the cutest things sometimes. My kids are getting older so they seem to be making less of these cute statements - dangit! Chase is still able to get a few out occassionally. The other day we were looking at pictures about the birth of Jesus Christ when all of the sudden Chase bursts out, "That can't be Jesus, where's the beard?" I realized then that I have not done a very good job with familiarizing my kids with Christ's birth.

WINTER IS HERE!

Well wouldn't you know. I finished with school on Friday. I don't work this weekend and I am not even on call for the hospital. Just my luck - we get dumped on with snow!! I was stuck inside all day on Saturday. I left the house to shovel the snow, but that was it. The boys enjoyed it though and even got some sledding in. We stayed in and drank hot cocoa until it was coming out our nostrils and pigged out on home made cookies. The snow let up in the evening so me and Justus went and saw The Four Christmases. That was really funny! I recommend it. It says that it is PG but I don't know if I would want my little boys to see it.

Well I have a lot of catching up to do. Life has been really busy with school and work. My life is for the most part very un eventful which I don't mind. The boys just finished up wrestling last week and they did really well. We are now headed into the Christmas season and I am very excited. I have already spent way too much money on Christmas presents. Hopefully when school is finished next week I will have more time to get back to some of the things I enjoy doing.
Tomorrow we are headed over to my cousin Nathan's homecoming. I can't believe it has already been 2 years and I never wrote him or sent him any money like I had planned. Procrastination gets me no where!

What's up with that hair???

This week at school it is Red Ribbon Week. All week long they have something fun to do. Yesterday was crazy hair day. I told them that they didn't even need to do their hair, it always looks crazy!!! They did not find that funny.

Friday was the Moutain Crest Football Game. It was FREEZING!!!! We only stayed until about half time. The boys were so excited to get their hair colored. They are faithful Mountain Crest fans. It kind of makes me laugh how they have such strong ties to a school that they are years away from attending. ?Maybe a little brainwashing on Dad's part??

Funny Story

Today the kids were out of school because of teacher prep day. I however did not have that same luck and had to go. My mother was very willing to come over and babysit. She loves to have the boys brush her hair when she comes over. Today was no different, the boys were brushing her hair and she fell asleep. Now remember that my mom doesn't have a lot of hair since she is on chemo. So the hair that she has is a very precious commodity, and she is anxiously waiting the arrival of more hair. Well Chase took it upon himself to give her a hair cut while she was sleeping. She woke up to her precious hair on her sweatshirt rather than her head!! Needless to say I don't think that she will be having those boys of mine comb her hair anymore!!! You know how incidents like this seem funny after the initial shock has worn off. I hope right now that she is laughing over this - and that she has put Chase back in the will.

Long Time No Blog!

I guess that I took a little vacation from the Blogspot scene. But that has been my only vacation!! My life is pretty boring lately. School, homework, work & EAT (of course!!). The other day I was studying and had to go get the phone. When I came back Chase had put my glasses on and picked up my book. I thought that it was so cute - I had to take a picture.
It is UEA this weekend so the boys didn't have school today nor do they tomorrow. It has been fun being with them. I tried to talk Justus into skipping work - what a geek!! He wouldn't do it!!
I have been reading this book called the Glass Castle. It is definitely a social work book. If you want to read a good non fiction, this is the book! It is unbelievable what some people have to go through in life. It makes me grateful for my parents.
I can't believe that it is already the middle of October and FREEZING in Logan. Last weekend I got stuck in the snow when I went to see a patient on hospice. I was only about 45 minutes North of Logan. Man I live in the North Pole!!

I am kind of sad that summer is coming to an end, but I am happy to be getting into a routine again. School is keeping me very busy. The only time that I am not looking at this dang lap top is when I am driving, sleeping, or in class. It's all good though. Well except for my bathrooms. They are very neglected lately!!! The boys are doing well in school. Caleb seems to be struggling a bit with adjusting to a full day, but that will come - I hope sooner than later!! The boys started Fall Soccer on Tuesday. I enjoy watching them play soccer. This is Chase's first opportunity to play soccer on a team. I was pretty impressed with him. I guess that Iam a little biased though. Caleb and Zach both scored goals tonight. I had to laugh at Chase, he told me, "Mom, I got kicked in the nuts!" OUCH!

Today was a big day at our house. Chase started his new preschool, I returned to the big U on the hill, and Marla started her job at the Hub up on campus. She was so excited. She later told us that it was "hard work." I just had to run up before my classes began and get her picture.
Chase has been counting down the days to when he could go to the ABC School. It is a bigger preschool and he stays there longer since I have gone back to school. I couldn't believe it when we pulled up he said, "Mom, you can stay in the car. You don't need to walk around with me." Good thing that the rules state that I have to bring him in. That little stinker is getting too big! None of my kids want to be seen with their mom in school. I really am a big geek aren't I.

On Saturday some of my friends and I did the Cache Valley Century bike ride. It was a lot of fun and the weather was perfect. We started at 7:30 and got done around 12:30. It was nice to get out and see this beautiful valley that we live in. They had stops about every 15-20 miles with food and drinks. Oh, by the way - I never realized what a doofus I look like with my helmet on. That makes my head look a little "alien".

Back to school

Well today was the day Zach and Caleb have been dreading for the past month. You wouldn't of thought that this morning though. Zach was up at 6 am getting ready and by 7:45 am both of the boys had their back packs on and they were nagging me to go to school. But since school didn't start until 9:05 I had to tell them to "chill out." Caleb was the only one who would let me walk him into class. He even held my hand as we walked into his class. It felt good to be wanted. Zach wouldn't even walk into the school building with me. Maybe he secretly thinks I am a geek!! That's okay - I am a geek.

Later tonight I had a work party at the Logan Pool. The boys had so much fun swimming around. Good thing that Justus is such a fun Dad and would go swimming with them. I didn't want to get my hair wet.

Happy REAL Birthday Chase

I love my family. We had such a fun day today. Justus and I sluffed the last couple of hours of work today and we went and had fun at the Fun Park. We first went bowling - I am HORRIBLE to say the least!!! I got beat by a 5 year old - and I am not kidding!! (In my defense they get to practice on the Wii) We then played Lazer tag. It was so much fun. The boys - including the BIG boy got to play video games and run around on the play ground. We then let Chase go and pick him out a new bike. I am surprised that Kmart didn't kick us out (they just gave us dirty looks) out with Chase riding his bike all over the store. Chase kept saying, "Mom am I 5 yet because I don't feel any different?" Maybe after 5 birthday spankings he will feel different!!

We had to rush home after that for back to school night. The boys all rode their bikes to school. It was so fun to see them all riding together. Now we just need to talk Justus into getting a bike. I have been working on that one for a while. Maybe if I tell him that it has an engine he will get one!

Happy Birthday Chase!!!

Today we celebrated Chase's 5th birthday. His birthday really isn't until Wednesday, but we thought we would get a head start. It is also Grandma Cathy's birthday this week so we had a double birthday party. Chase was so cute, he said that this was his best birthday ever!!! I told him that he can't turn 5, I can't believe that my baby is 5. We are not going to have him start school this year. He is such a big kid - I worry that by holding him back he is going to have facial hair in the 5th grade! School starts on Thursday this week. I can't believe that it is time to go back already. The kids have to cram a summers worth of reading into 4 days!!

And for those of you requesting a picture of the new hair do - this is the best that I can do. Let me know what you think??? Unless you think it totally sucks!! You can keep that comment to yourself! :)

No title today my brain is dead!! :)

Well I can't believe that it is already Thurday!!! It has been busy week, but a good week. Tuesday 3 friends and I went to Park City to shop. I love Park City! If I was rich, or if I ever decide to rob a bank - I would love to live there. Work has been so busy!! The other Social Worker in my office quit at the first of the month. She gave us a whopping 2 day notice. Got to love that!! So if you know of any social workers tell them to give me a call.
Today I cut my hair off to above my shoulders. I have wanted to do it for a while but haven't had the guts. I like it though. It was a good change. The boys are a little indifferent, but they don't think that mom should change at all.

Happy Birthday Justus!!!!

Well today Justus turned the Big 33. The boys were so excited to give him his birthday presents. I think that their motives were more for selfish reasons because they wanted to play with his gifts. Marla got mad because 33 is how old she insists that she is - even though she is really 46. We had a great day. We went on a picnic with Justus' family and the Rutledge's. We then came back and had Volcano cake and ice cream (yum! yum!).

Happy Birthday Honey I love you!!!!!!

T G I F !!!!!

I knew that this week would be a busy week, so I have been looking forward to Friday!!! I took today off. I spend too much money on my days off though. It started off at the dentist - no fun and not cheap!!! Then the boys and I went to soccer sign ups - not cheap either!!! I thought it would be fun to take them up to the USU campus to show them where mom would be going to school. They just wanted Aggie Ice Cream. They had fun running around campus and playing "Cops and Robbers." I feel so official now, I went and got my student ID card. My lip was still dead from the dentist so I had the lady retake my picture 3 times because I looked like I had a stroke! We then went to the DI to drop off 5 garbage bags full of stuff we cleaned out of the boys' room. That felt good to get rid of that junk!! The workers at the DI told me that I could leave the boys there too. The boys were all over that idea (I wonder what kind of tax deduction I could take for that donation??). Well after 3 more stops, dinner at the Olive Garden and grocery shopping the boys were wore out and I am now broke!!! Justus is in Wyoming with the Young men camping. We miss him and hope he returns home safely. It is his birthday on Sunday. Happy Birthday!!!!

Way to go Zach!!!

What a great day! Zach got baptized this afternoon. He was so happy. The smile on his face as he went into the font was so heartwarming. All week long as I thought about this day I would tear up. He looked so handsome. I was so proud to be his mom. We have such good support from family and friends. I feel so blessed. After the baptism we all went to the Blue Bird Resturant for lunch. That was nice because then I didn't have to cook or clean up. I highly recommend going out to eat after your next baptism!

Yesterday I took the boys to Salt Lake. I had to take Marla's hearing aid to be fixed so I thought the boys and I could go have some fun. We played around at the Gateway and went and saw "Journey to the Center of the Earth" in 3D. That was pretty cool, very far fetched but entertaining. We did a lot of shopping, I am training them early to be good husbands!! Caleb told me that I could go to as many stores as I wanted to. I love my boys it was so fun to hang out with them like that. We need to do that again before school starts. Maybe next time we will bring Dad with us - maybe not too!!!

Boys! Boys! Boys!

Today was an exciting day for Zach. He went and had his interview with the Bishop to be baptized and then he had his first day of Cub Scouts. He is so excited to get baptized. He has been counting down the days for quite some time now. At cub scouts they played water kick ball. They were having so much fun. I am such a bore, I did not want to play and get all wet. Zach gets baptized on Saturday at 11 am. I still can't believe that I am old enough to be having a child get baptized. Where has the time gone?? (Oops I guess that I am really old if I am saying that) These boys are growing up and are so much fun. They have had such a fun summer. It seems like almost every night they have cousins or friends stay the night. My house is always swarming with extra boys. I don't know what they are going to do when school starts and they actually have to sleep in their beds instead of sleeping bags. They will die when I put them to bed at 9:00.
Mom seems to be in good spirits. When I talked to her today she said that she felt to good to have cancer! I guess that is good?!

Update on Mom

Well we got the results of my Mom's CT scan today. The cancer is spreading quite aggressively. It is up into her pulmonary cavity and it is covering quite a bit of her bowels. It has not penetrated her bowel yet, but that could be where it goes next. My mom has been off chemo since May but will start again on Friday. She responded very well to the chemo before so I am hopeful that she will do well again. She seems to be coping well with things. We are all so proud of her and are grateful that she has hung in this for as long as she has. We knew at the start of this that her cancer was a fast growing cancer. Hang in their mom!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!

What's Cookin???

Well Caleb and Chase decided that they were going to make Sunday dinner. Caleb took my order and Chase cooked the food. I was so impressed that they even cleaned up their mess. I only had to asked them once. That is a record! It was nice to have a relaxing Sunday. Justus finally got home. He is tired of driving, I don't blame him. It is against my value system to drive that far in a car. We are glad that he is back home with us safe and sound.

I love Saturdays!!

Today my friend Keiko and I went on a 52 mile bike ride around Cache Valley. What a beautiful place to live. It is so nice to get out and enjoy the fresh air and the clean scent of cow manure, dead skunk (very recent might I add!) and fermenting deer. Even though that was part of the sights that we got to take in I think the bathrooms at Benson Marina topped it off! I don't think I need to say any more!! It was a lot of fun and I enjoy getting out on my bike. Tonight I took the kids to the Millville Night Out Against Crime. They had so much fun doing all of the activities. Cousin Shawn came too. I was glad that it ended at 9:00 or I am sure that we would still be there. Justus went to Fargo N.D. this week. What a happening place to vacation to (no offense if you like that place). He and his Dad went up to support a couple of the kids they coach on the high school wrestling team. We are all looking forward to him coming home tomorrow.

Update on Linda Lee

Well mom got her blood test back today. Her Cancer marker was up from 99 on July 2 to 230 today. We will hopefully get the results of her CT scan on Monday which will give us a greater picture of what is going on. Please keep her in your prayers.

This is mom with her youngest grandson Porter.

Momma Mia

Everyone keeps on asking me how my Mom is doing with her Cancer. Today was not a good day for her and we will be meeting with her Oncologist tomorrow. It seems to me like she is slowly feeling worse each day. She feels like she is filling up with fluid and is having a much harder time walking and getting around. I am grateful that her spirits have been high. We have had a lot of fun together lately. Sunday night my Mom, Chase and I just layed on my bed and talked. We laughed a lot and reminisced about the past. It was great!! There has not been many times in my life that we have done that. I cherish the time we have, and the memories that we are making. Hang in there Mom! I am proud of you!

Happy 8th Birthday Zach

Today we celebrate Zach's 8th birthday. I cannot believe it!!! I am so proud of myself for raising such an awesome boy!! Ha! Ha! He is such a great kid. WE LOVE YOU ZACH!! We had a birthday party last night with all the family. Dang! he got spoiled by everyone. Thank you! We had a birthday party with all of his friends today. It was me and 10 boys. Only one kid had to go home for a band aid, some TLC and quite possibly a tetanus shot. We had a pinata that I rigged up on the basketball hoop. These boys are getting stronger than the last time we had a pinata. Only a few kids got a turn to hit it before Zach knocked it to the ground. I felt bad but they were just glad to get the loot inside.

Zach will get baptized on August 2. Everyone is invited.

Shark Tales

We had a fun family reunion this past weekend at Bear Lake. It is so nice to get together with family. They camped at the KOA over the weekend. I went to my cousin Heidi's wedding on Friday instead. That was a beautiful wedding and they both looked so happy, plus it got me out of camping! - Thanks Heidi! When I got to Bear Lake on Saturday we had a fun time at the beach. The boys loved to ride in the boat until they got knocked off the tube. That was quite a traumatic experience for them and me! Chase made me laugh though when he said, "Mom!! I almost got eaten by a shark!" Boy, we really would have had a story to tell if Chase would have gotten eaten by a shark at Bear Lake.

We had some great news this morning. Shanon gave birth to beautiful little girl. Way to go Shanon, we need more girls in this family!!!

Back home again

Well what a fun trip we had.  Caleb, my mom and I returned yesterday.  The weather here is beautiful.  Last night we watched August Rush.  What a great movie that was.  It was so nice to cuddle with my boys on the couch.  They are getting so big, and I am getting so old!!  My life is great and I have my wonderful husband and family to thank for that.  Thanks guys!!!!

Chase got upset because he doesn't have a picture on the Blog.  So this one's for you Bud!!!

Hello Arizona!

Here we are in Arizona. We thought we would leave the heat of Utah to enjoy the heat of Arizona. My sister in law Michelle talked me into starting a blog. So we will see how I do. We have had a lot of fun here and we will be returning home tomorrow. Thanks for the fun time in Arizona Chris and Michelle. I'll be back when the low temp. dips below 95. Love ya!