If only for a little while...

It has been a whirl wind of a couple weeks for this little whanau. Everyone in the house has been sick, including me. It's never a good thing when the Momma gets sick. I've been so blessed with dear friends who take care of us, even when I'm too whiny to do so. Cary stepped in and took care of us too, even with going to school and going to work every day. Man, we're lucky to have him. I was in the bedroom coughing my guts out when I got this text from Cary:


Sbgeddi!                                             


 

He makes my heart so happy.

But, Before the sickness started is when all of the excitement truly happened.
  Last Wednesday, out of the blue, I received a phone call from an RFC (Resource Family Consultant) who finds foster homes for children who come into the system. We had not received a phone call in quite a while so this call came as somewhat of a surprise. He told me that he had a newborn baby girl that was possibly coming into care this afternoon after court and wondered if we would be willing to take her.
Shock. Excitement. Giddiness. Fear. Worry. Sadness.
You name the emotion, and I probably felt it. I told him that I would have to speak to Cary about it before I could give him a definite answer and I would call him soon with an answer.
How fortuitous that I was actually having lunch with Cary at that moment. I was wide-eyed as I explained the situation to him. He had a lot of questions, but mainly "How are the girls going to feel about it?"
I knew that the girls would be excited, but he wasn't as certain. We talked it over, discussed the what ifs, the how longs, the who wills, the everything.
He was on board. It was about 15 minutes until the girls got home from school, so I decided to wait a little while longer to call the RFC back, just to make sure the girls were as excited as I thought they would be. 
I picked them up from school and relayed the story to them. There were squeals of delighted excitement echoing through the van. They were excited to have a baby sister!
We were going to do this.
I called him back and told the RFC that we would be happy to be her foster home and would wait to hear from him.
The waiting was endless.
We finally got a call at about 4:30pm from the caseworker of the little girl. We were told that she would be coming to our home, but had to be taken to the hospital first.
I wept.
I didn't even know this little person yet, but I felt so protective of her already.
She finally came to our home at 9pm that Wednesday night. She was a teeny tiny baby, two months old, and 7 pounds of cuteness. The caseworker took her right out of the carseat and placed her in my arms.
She was beautiful. I instantly felt a love for her, felt protective of her, and yet...I knew she wasn't mine.
I knew she was not meant to be part of our forever family.
The caseworker talked to us for what seemed like hours, telling us the story of the baby, the parents, the bio family. We listened and asked many questions too, finding out as much as we could about the situation. Finally, the caseworker left and it was just us with this new little person.
The girls were sneaking upstairs, so we introduced them to the Baby and they were in love. 
They stroked her hair, held her fingers, rubbed her cheeks, nuzzled her face.
 It was precious.
 They toddled off to bed again as Cary and I took turns feeding and changing the little one.
During a quiet moment, I started crying. Concerned, Cary asked me what was wrong. I told him that I was sad that she didn't feel like she was meant to be ours.
Does that even make sense? Probably not to a sane person.
I shooed the feelings away and decided to just enjoy the time we had with her and enjoy taking care of her.
It was a sleepless night, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. She perked up quite a bit and ate like a little piggie. It was adorable. I loved every second.
That afternoon I got a call from the caseworker. Kin had stepped forward and if they passed the background check and home inspection, the baby girl would be going to them soon. I told the girls and Cary and we were all sad. We did not want to dwell on it, so we pushed it from our minds and continued to enjoy everything about this little one. Later that night, I was called again and told that Baby Girl would be going to a Kinship placement.
I told the family and for a family of 7, it was certainly very quiet.
The caseworker would come at 230pm the next afternoon to pick up her up.
I wanted Cary to be there with me when she would leave, but he had meetings that he thought couldn't be changed.
I had the entire morning to cuddle, love, snuggle, and assure this baby girl that she would be OK. I KNEW she would be. I told her of her strength, of her determination, of her ability to turn hard hearts softer. She smiled and cooed at me as if to  say she understood and thanked me for taking care of her. 
230 came. The caseworker came. My heart sank.
I placed baby girl in her carseat as I helped gather all of her belongings.
My girls came home from school. My heart started breaking as they cried, as they stroked her hair one last time, as they held her finger one last time, as they gave her one last nuzzle.
Then, My Hero came through the door.
His eyes met mine and were filled with more love and concern than I could ever adequately express in writing. He took charge of the situation. Handling the caseworker, the things, the baby, His Girls. All four of us.
We gave a last smooch, a last cuddle, and then she was gone.
I held my girls on the couch as we cried and prayed for our family and the baby we came to love so much so quickly. Cary came and gathered us up and I felt peace.
I do not know why this little one was meant to come to our home for such a little while, but I do know that she was supposed to be here.
She made us all realize that we are missing someone from our family. Our family is not yet complete.  She was not meant to stay with us forever, but our baby is waiting to come to our family, whenever and HOWever that may be.  We are ready and waiting.

I believe that Heavenly Father helped to prepare me for her not staying very long with us. I think she was supposed to come here to show each of us how important a baby is to us and how that baby will affect us. It will be amazing and I can't wait. Our baby will be OUR baby. Not mine, not Cary's, but each of ours.
Yoalli shared this with me: "Mom, I just love her so much. She brought so much happiness to our family."     
And she did.  


I saw this and it made me smile:

           

                                                  

Holy. Bananas.

Life certainly gets in the way of blogging, at least it does for me. Perhaps if it were a career, or I didn't have five of the cutest little mongrels ever needing to go here and there and do this and that, I would be able to write down my thoughts more frequently.

At any rate, here it is almost one year later and things, they are a'changin'. The kids are growing at record speed, I'm convinced of it. We are currently preparing Tonathiu for 9th grade. Seriously. The kid will be 15 this year. Sadly, that means I will be 35. Let's not dwell on that number though, shall we? He and I have gone through some terribly difficult times, and still struggle. I am doing better with it. I even realized that *I* was the adult in this relationship. It took me a while, sadly. There's a song that recently became popular by a fella named Phillip Phillips. It's called "Home" and the verse that touched my heart so deeply was this:

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found

Just know you’re not alone
Cause I’m going to make this place your home

 I had to first realize that they are, in fact, HIS demons. I'll be here for him and I will help him conquer them, but I can't let them become Mine.
Anyway, I digress
 Cuauhtli turns 13 on Friday. I watched him work on the computer the other night and was amazed at how much of a young man he has become. Incredible. His features are changing, his voice is changing ever so slightly, and he is even growing a little fuzz on his top lip. I think he's most self conscious about the latter. Through it all, he's still my little pal and loves a good snuggle on the couch. He can drive me mad, but makes me laugh at the same time. He's been blessed with that gift, hopefully he will surround himself with people who can appreciate that.
Yoalli will be coming into Young Women's with me this year. In August she will be 12. A Beehive. Incredible. Her current obsessions are Harry Potter and all things music. She loves every aspect of music and is amazingly talented on the piano. I love listening to her play and especially love when she makes up her own songs.
GabbaGabba will be 10 in two short months. She's still our little Girl of the Sea. She has developed her Daddy's sense of humor, which is both a good and a bad thing. Her teacher told me that she was voted the "Funniest Person" in their class. The compliment? Her teacher also said that Gabby loves to make people laugh, but never laughs at anyone or makes them feel badly. And she never makes fun of anyone. Oh how i love that little girl.
BuggaBugga will be 8 in April. That little firecracker will be baptized in a couple of months and I can hardly believe it. She is excited and ready and tells me daily that she is "such a big girl". Yeah, Yeah, I'm all to aware. It's been so neat watching her progress. She still rages occasionally, but nothing like that little girl that first came to live with us. I am still unsure how I made it through that first year. Lots of blessings, I reckon.  She is in second grade this year and has discovered a love of reading. It greatly outweighs her love of spelling, which isn't a difficult task. She is in tap and ballet and thinks she's pretty fabulous when she can flit around in her feathery costumes and clicky shoes. She's Amazing.

Cary is old. As am I. He went back to university this January to finish up. Oh my. The Homework. It hasn't  been as difficult as I thought it wold be, but that's probably because he's been able to take internet classes as well as classroom courses. Cuauhtli did announce tonight that he hated college though. The kids miss their Dad and all of his bad jokes.

I'm on this healthy lifestyle kick since September/October. I've lost almost 50 lbs and only have about 3873 more to go. It's hard and kicks my trash, but it is oh so worth it. Perhaps I'll post photos for some motivation? There's nothing like seeing yourself larger than life with no cropping that will scare the chocolates out of your hand.

We hope to be having some exciting news to share this year, so keep clicking.
that's what you call a cliff hanger.
And with that,
Goodnight.


:)

Happy, Happy Birthday, Gabbeee

For some reason the tune of "happy, happy birthday baybeeeee" is running through my mind while I quickly write this post and add some photos of Gabby's 9th birthday.

9? already? really?

 I decided yesterday that time as a parent goes entirely too quickly for my liking. I know most parents have their children from birth and probably seems to go twice as fast as I feel it is going, which is pretty much the speed of light.
 Gabby came to us when she was 5. A teeny little girl with a very, very shy personality. She's still our teeny little girl, but the shy personality has long since left her. Now, she's a brave, bubbly little girl who has an infectious smile and an even more infectious giggle.

We love you, never-ending Gabbalella. We hope all of your wishes come true.

Our Story- His Version

Yesterday in our daily email exchange, I asked Cary to write a part of our history from his point of view. The boy has mad writing skills and occasionally I'm gifted with surprise poem in my inbox or a letter on the table. Usually, I can barely finish them for the tears. 

He asked me how detailed I wanted him to be and I left it up to him. I have to admit, I rather enjoyed reading his snippet and it brought back a few memories I had forgotten.

 

In 1995 I was attending Utah Valley State College and had just learned about the internet and chat rooms.  I've always had a knack for computers, so during the computer science class time, I would finish the assignments quickly and then surf the internet.  After jumping into some random message boards I wound up on RockWeb, a site for discussing music, which had been overrun by people trying to hook up with other people.  I was quickly put off by all the flirting going on, but I ended up talking to someone named "Dilbert" who seemed to share similar interests in music.

It wasn't until a little while later that I found out Dilbert was a girl.  With a bit of trouble I managed to get her phone number, and we both quickly ran up a few thousand dollars in phone bills (I put my car up as collateral to pay it off, if that doesn’t impress a girl, I don’t know what does).  We talked whenever we could.  I saved up enough to make a plane trip out to Arkansas.  She says I wept when I saw her at the airport, but I'm 113% positive that I didn't.  I spent a couple days in Malvern at her grandparents' house.  We did a lot of running around Hot Springs seeing the sites, and getting lost in the rented car.  I still remember our first fight with fondness.  Her grandparents were smokers, and I react pretty badly to cigarette smoke.  She took me to the local grocery store and tried to get me to purchase some asthma medicine.  I resisted because I don't like to take medicine that I hasn't been prescribed to me.  We argued and I 'caved' and bought it, but I put it into my backpack and didn't use it.  So who really won that fight?  Neener!  The fights have only gotten sillier since then.

It was difficult to come back to Utah.  I love my parents, but I decided that I needed to take a chance and set out on my own without a safety net, so at the end of September 1996, I packed up my stuff in a U-Haul trailer.  We dodged a tornado in Malvern by a few minutes and my dad left the next day. 

Amanda and I got married 3.5 years and many, many silly arguments later.  Oh, and I found out she likes country music too, somewhere along the way.  Doesn't matter.  She's still perfect.  Except that one time when she made that chili, and the other time she told us mustard greens was spinach.

Full Disclosure:

The chili is still brought up, some 15 years later. In my defense, It was the very first time I made chili. However,  it was a disgusting mess. I burned it, badly,  and I'm pretty sure that I didn't add all of the ingredients that I should have added.  He ate it. I tried to eat it. Then, I threw it all away and we went and bought something else. 

As far as the mustard greens go, I have no defense. I like for all of us to try new vegetables and fruits, sometimes it is a easier to stretch the truth a bit, or perhaps disguise the new food until AFTER they've had a chance to try it. The mustard greens. What a horrible vegetable. I don't ever remember them being that rancid, perhaps I hadn't had them before as I thought I had. I told everyone it was spinach and I cooked them like I do spinach, sauteed with olive oil and freshly ground black pepper and salt.  I didn't see Cary eat them, but he took a bite, without complaint or pulling a face. He told me last night he just thought it was a horrible batch of spinach at first. Then, Gabby took a bite. She was less in control and pulled a very hilariously disgusted face. At that point, I decided I better try them. I put them in my mouth, chewed once, and spat them out. It was the most bitter, horrid flavor, except for that one time I made the chili....

 

The Story Of Us

I am laying here in bed listening to the rhythmic  sounds of Cary's heavy breathing, a fan whirring in the background, and Disc 3 of Castle Season 2 playing in the DVD player. Three things that I have to have in order to go to sleep. However, pretty much any disc of any season of Castle and any disc of Psych is interchangeable. I have to have the fan, and most importantly, I have to have my Cary.


March 25th marked our 12 year wedding anniversary. The end of August/First part of September of this year will mark the 17th year that we met. June will mark our 16th year of being together, officially, like in the same state and everything.

Ours is not a magically romantic story, and it's one that we don't typically share with others. Now that we're older we care less about what others think, but a few years ago when people would hear that we met on the...wait for it....Internet *insert gasps of horror and frightful looks here*,  we would get many raised eyebrows, shocked looks of horror, sometimes even audible gasps.

No, we didn't meet on a church website. Nor did we  meet at LDS singles, or any other singles site.

 I was in high school, new to the Internet, in an AP Technology class, creating web sites, blogs, and school homepages. On a whim, my friends and I decided to venture into Rockweb.com. I just googled it and it's no longer an active chat client.
It was a pretty full chat room, and my friends and I decided to go with cartoon character "handles" as to avert any unwanted attention from the trollers. There were a group of  folks on the chat that started becoming Internet friends, pals. Cary's handle was Mutt and he was one of them. We had no "interest" in each other and I honestly can't remember how we got started on private chats. But, eventually we did. We hit it off. I thought he was funny and sarcastic, humble and witty; things that I still admire about him.

Private chats turned into emails. Novels, really. I loved them. I couldn't wait each day to get to my AP Tech class so that I could check my email to read his latest letter. They weren't love letters at first, just friendly emails. Emails turned into snail mail....Oh I how LOVED the snail mail letters. They became lovey, mushy-gushy, but not for a long while, after the phone calls.  Very, Very expensive phone calls. Months and thousands of dollars later; phone calls, emails, and snail mail letters turned into a visit.

Cary came to visit me in Arkansas in  June of 1996. I remember clearly the moment he stepped off the plane. I remember what he was wearing, the look on his face, his beautiful, kind eyes, and his accent.
Oh, that thick, delicious New Zealand accent made me swoon! I remember looking into his eyes, and him saying, "Amanda?"
I think I was mute. I just stared into his eyes.  He grabbed me  in the biggest, warmest, love filled hug and I knew.
I knew I would grow old with this one.

So many years have passed since then and so much has changed in our lives from that moment  in which time stopped in the airport that hot, June night in Arkansas.

I now have my Eternal Companion, my very best friend, the love of my life.
 The years are passing, the gray is showing, the love is growing stronger, and we are happy.

Blissfully Happy.


Heavenly Father really does know what he's doing. During my most difficult trials I have had to have complete faith that He does. It's been difficult. Really difficult.
 But, all things happen the way they should.
How else could one explain The Story Of Us?

Bkow! Bkow!

Another uber personal post? Yes, Yes, it is. 
I've had several very spiritual experiences lately. I am pretty much convinced it has to do with my new calling in the Young Women. Hiding out in Primary for 8 years was pretty appealing. Cary and I had taught every age group and I had served as a leader for scouts as well as activity day girls. We were content. We had a routine and it was comfortable. We were comfortable.
That is, until that fateful mild winter day when I was accosted outside my front door and asked to serve as a Young Women's leader. One of the leaders in our ward is a dear friend and I reckon he was designated to talk to me.
Ack!
No way!
Change is not my friend!
I did not want to not have Cary aka my security blanket with me and I sure didn't want to be alone as I muddled through something completely new and foreign to me.

No, Thanks!

Yeah, I was full of a lot of hot air and did, in fact, accept the calling.
 If God asks you to do something, you do it. No?

Have you have had the faith to do something even though you were scared out of your mind?

I wasn't sure that I did. To some it may seem like a minor change, something not worth all the fuss that I was making. Perhaps. Since my baptism in 2002, I have never, before now, held a calling in our church without Cary. We were a pair! A Team! A well-oiled machine!

Also, I'm a big chicken.

But, here I am, 2 months later, a leader for the Beehives, taught 2 solo lessons, AND I've been blessed with these amazingly wonderful spiritual experiences.

I've been able to grow my testimony. I've had so many confirmations that this is were I am supposed to be, that I am somewhat ashamed  I was such a punk about it all in the first place.

What was I thinking?

For the Strength of Youth

In our church we do not have one individual who stands up each week to preach a sermon. Different members of our congregation are asked to speak each week. They are typically given a topic by a member of our Clergy, but where they take the talk is up to them. I'll be honest, sometimes I might catch 2 sentences of the talk. Today was a different experience completely for me.
 Cary and I got a phone call on Wednesday asking if Cuauhtli would be willing to give a talk on Sunday. We gladly accepted for him. *note-if it were us, we would accept albeit not as happily. ;) * 
Cuauhtli was given the topic of Choice and Accountability. I was teaching the Young Women today about Self-Reliance- and Growing and Maturing in it. The two went hand-in-hand. Cary and I allow/encourage/make the kids write their own talks and come up with their own stories to share. After all, they want to hear their words, not ours.
 Cuauhtli spent  a day writing his talk. It was only supposed to be 2 minutes or so, and he had a page or two written. Cary read it and approved and told him to come up with a story to share. We left it alone and made sure he was prepared this morning before church.  He was pretty nervous, but he was prepared.
  We were excited to hear what he had to say.
 We sat down in our usual row in the very back of the chapel. Yep, we take up an entire row of chairs. All seven of us.
We did what we do, and Cuauhtli started walking back toward us to sit down. We shooed him back to the front, and he ran, ever so reverently, back to the front.
 He was first up on the program.
 His name was called.
 It's pretty much a given that the name gets butchered, but the kids are really great sports about it and understand that most people, including their parents, have a very difficult time making our tongues form those sounds.
He stood and they lowered the mic. Then, they lowered it some more. His little head was barely poking above the podium.
  Of course, fate was fighting against us and the speakers weren't turned on/working properly, but we were able to hear most of it. He stood, bravely, reciting the words that he had written a few days earlier. He seemed, to me, unnerved by it all. He finished the written talk and said, "So, now, I'm going to share a story about when I felt the Holy Ghost and made a right choice that was hard for me."
The kid proceeded to tell a story that Cary and I hadn't heard before, and I started crying. He shared with the congregation about being removed from his birth mother and being placed with us the first time, then being removed "from my parents, Cary and Amanda" and was with his birth mom again. The story began when he went back to live with his birth mom for a short while before coming "home" for good. He and Tonathiu were with some older boys, Tonathiu's friends. They were "kinda thugs" and had found a pack of smokes and a lighter. The boys began smoking and gave one each to Cuauhtli and Tonathiu. Cuauhtli took it, but didn't smoke it and threw it away. He said then he went to "pray about it and thank Heavenly Father for helping me". He shared how he remembered coming to church with us and things he learned and knew that it was a bad choice and that it wouldn't make God happy.
Probably one of the proudest moments I've had as a Mom. He knew what he was supposed to do because he learned it from great teachers in Primary, from wonderful examples in our ward, from Friends and Family who show us what it's like to be a true Latter Day Saint. 
I have no doubt in my mind that had he not had those experiences in our home, he would have taken the cigarette and smoked it. Sadly, that's the way the cycle goes.
 He broke the cycle that day.
And, he started a new one.

He ended his talk and came running walking back to us in the back row. He was shaking. We could feel the heat radiating from him. His suit coat was damp with sweat. He hugged his Dad and then came to me and gave me a huge hug. Of course, I was crying, and he looked at me with his sweet face and pointed to his eyes, which were brimming with tears. He sat down next to his Dad and tried to catch his breath. He was still crying and I know the Spirit was in him. Cary was able to help him recognize that Spirit, so  next time he will Know.

The Strength of Youth.
They Are Amazing.

I'm Baaaaaack!

I haven't written in this little gem for ages.
How does time pass by so quickly?



I've decided that I probably can't catch up, largely due to the fact that I probably can't remember it all.  I think I'll start with Cuauhtli's birthday that was just a week or so ago, and start anew.

Sound good? Really, I can't hear you disagree anyway, so Ha! :)

annies home: Double Layer Pumpkin Pie

annies home: Double Layer Pumpkin Pie

Camp Pendleton! And finally, almost, San Degeigo!

This is the sign that you see as you drive into the gates of Camp Pendleton.I had decided that it was important to go there as soon as we chose to make San Diego our vacation destination this year. Two years ago, my Dad and I were talking about taking a trip to San Diego. He was itching to go back. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton while he served in the Marines. He fell in love with it there. He moved back to Arkansas when he was finished with the Marines, but San Diego and Camp Pendleton always held a special place in his heart. He would tell me stories of being in boot camp, the clean ones, and going to the beach, going to the crab shacks, just everything. I loved watching his face and his eyes when he talked about it. He was transported back to that happy time, albeit one of the most physically demanding and brutal times, in his life. We made plans to go. We talked about going to so many places that he remembered, taking the harbor cruise, deep sea fishing.
We had Plans.
But, Heavenly Father had different plans. Still really need some clarity on the "why's" of that.
It was important for me to go.
I had to go.
I was going.
As you pull up to the base, it funnels you into the different groups.
We were in the visitor group and stopped to speak with the on-duty Marine that was in charge of our lane. That pretty much did it.
I was starting on my emotional roller coaster.
Seeing this man in his fatigues, with his buzz cut, and his proper manners, sent my mind's eye to the photo I have of my dad while he was in the Marines.
He was thin, best shape of his life, and sporting his High and Tight. Handsome. I see my eyes when I see that photo. He always said it was like looking in a mirror when he looked at me. Hopefully he wasn't hinting that I, too, had a 5 o'clock shadow. 
 We drove through the gates and started driving through their little Camp Pendleton town. It was amazing. I was seeing things that my dad saw. I could almost feel him with us as we drove. The kids were stone silent. They were watching the Marines, their families, and everything else all around them, but they never asked a question and they never said a word. For whatever reason, the veil felt very thin to me there in the van as we drove. I spoke to my dad in my mind and it helped.
We drove around a bit more and then popped out at Oceanside. My dad hung out there on the beach a lot. We drove down and that was the first time the kids saw the ocean. It was almost magical. They were elated. The long drive had finally paid off!
We. Were. Here!
There weren't very many people on the beach that day, despite the perfect day. The kids ran into the ocean, dove into the sand, and chased the seagulls.
This was my time to sit, watch the ocean, reflect, remember, and speak to my Dad, and my Father in Heaven. What a blessing I had been given! We stayed in Oceanside for the rest of that day exploring, playing, and watching.
I was in awe.

This is the sign you see as you leave. I totally missed the beautiful sign that they had at the entrance because

of my fixation on the Marine.

Not much Laboring on Labor Day

What a day we've had today!  I absolutely love it when Cary is off work and can spend the day with us. It's my favorite thing. I woke up this morning too early for sane people and could not go back to sleep. I was terribly bummed because it was the one day that I could actually sleep in. And, what happens? Ridiculousness, that's what. I was stuffy and achy and knew that I  had the beginnings of what should be classified as class 4 pneumonia, if there were such a thing. I sucked it up and decided that I was not going to let it ruin our fun family day. I know, I know, a selfless trooper, right? Pffft. I just didn't want to be couped up in the bedroom while everyone else was out having fun. :)

We decided to have a family vote as to where we would go. Pretty much everyone wanted to go to a different place, and it was slow pickins at first. Cary and I really wanted to go to 7peaks, alas none of the kidlets really wanted to go. We  decided to go to Lehi Trafalga first. I had some super good deals that I scored a while back and decided to use them today. Free Food! Sweet!
   I completely spaced the camera, so no photos. Boo! We ate, laser tagged, carouseled, airplaned, video-gamed, and rode our hearts silly.
 Then we decided to hit the outdoor pool here in Lehi. It was cloudy, windy, and about 78 degrees, but it was perfect. There were about 3 families there (including ours), so we had the run of the place.
Perfection!
We closed the place down and I was honestly sad to leave. We have had a lot of fun there this summer and I'm always sad when things change. I am not a lover of change. at all.
 We came home and got all showered and changed, but my darling of darlings decided to make us a little canyon cook-out in our back yard. (I was itching to go to the canyon today, but no one else really wanted to go)
He put out the grill,. got out our cooking sticks (really, what are those things called?) and got everything ready. We all went out and cooked our hot dogs and roasted our marshmallows.
It. Was. Perfect.
I love that man.
The kids had a blast and we had a lovely family home evening under the stars, surrounded by giggles, sticky faces, and cuddles.
Best Labor Day Ever.

San Degeigo, Part Deux

So we stayed in Primm for two nights. Seriously, what was I thinking? Oh, that's right! I was thinking a $29 room with a $20 food credit on each room, each night!  It ended up that we paid $40 for both rooms for two nights and received $80 in food credits. *insert raise the roof dance here*
   I should state for the record that I am incredibly frugal. That's what allows this family of 7 to be able to go to San Diego for a week with minimal worries. I think the boys are finally getting it. Budgets are good, people! Before the trip I made each of us a "goody bag" filled with a myriad of treats. There were no rules about how or when you could eat what your bag contained, but once it was gone---it was gone. I was pretty proud of the kids, not one of them snarfed it all down before we hit Orem! Progress! All the rubbish went inside said paper bag, so when we stopped and their bag was empty they simply chucked it in the rubbish bin! I had also filled the coolers with capri suns, waters, drinks for Cary, and milk. I bought cereal when it was super cheap at Smith's, and that is what the kids had for breakfast! Cary and I aren't so much the breakfast eaters. The kids thought it was fabulous because I had the super sugary, chocolate-y, unhealthy cereal that they don't usually get at home. Again, Success!
While in Vegas/Primm we were able to visit with Sarah and do a little sight-seeing. The strip is not a place I wanted to take my kids (day or night), so we stayed away for the most part. Our hotel had roller coasters, games for kids, and other small rides. The next day we were there it was all FREE! An added bonus that I hadn't anticipated! Cary rode with all the big kids, while Bugga and I sat and watched them. I'm not so much a heights person and was perfectly content to watch the others scream like girls as the roller coaster did the loop de' loops. The kids loved it, so they said, after the fact. :)

We left Primm and headed out on the short, comparably, trip to San Diego. We stopped in Baker, California because they have this Alien store, complete with a space shuttle AND Alien Jerky. Yep, we bought some. They have quite the selection of jerky. We bought garlic rosemary and something else. So Yum. We also bought Habanero Pistachios. So flipping hot, but yum!  This is where all of these photos come from.....

This is a thermometer. The largest in the world, so the sign says. It was like 114 that day. Yuck!

I know, I know...What about the San Diego part of the trip?! It's coming up! Promise! :)

Fambly Vacation! Part Un

All of us were looking forward to our family vacation. Holy cow, were we excited. I was more excited than a kid on Christmas Eve, waiting for Santa Claus to bring the holy grail of presents. 
Bug was equally excited and since she can't quite say "San Diego", it was dubbed "The SanDegeigo Trip!"
I was also pretty concerned on how we'd make it all 12 hours to San Diego with all five children, especially since we have a hard time traveling 15 minutes on the interstate to visit the grandparents.
Good Grief.
   We wanted to visit my family in Arkansas, but Cary didn't have the vacation hours to travel all that way. We would have made the 3 day trip to only stay for 2, which seemed a  bit ridiculous. So, we decided to go to Arkansas another time and visit my other home, San Diego, California this time.
Oh, how I love it there. Cary and I went about seven years ago, and I fell in love with it. The people, the temperature, the weather, the beaches, the ocean, not so much the traffic, but everything else.


Cary was even more worried about the drive than I was, so we decided to take a very leisurely trip. We stopped a couple of different places and stayed in Primm, Nevada (about 30 minutes south of Veags) for a night going down to California and coming back to Utah. We were able to score a super sweet deal, but I man do I hav regrets about not going straight to California! The kids were exceptionally well behaved for the majority of the trip, can you believe it? We bought dual DVD players for the van and each person was able to choose a movie to bring. A seriously brilliant moment for us. The kids did not know what to do with all the smoking, drinking, tats, language, etc. going on all around us. It was interesting watching them process everything. Cuauhtli did come away from it saying that he knew he would never smoke or drink. I truly hope that sticks with him.

These photos were taken in Vegas. It was disgustingly hot and I wouldn't live there, even if I was given a free home. Although, I would totally take the home, sell it, and move to San Diego. :)

A little Lag in BlogLand.

Cary and I were perusing the internet together the other day. No, we don't usually do this, but we were uploading videos and photos we had taken in San Diego. He let me know that I had not done any blogging in "quite some time!" I assured him that it had only been a short while, but he did not believe me. He pulled up my blog and sure enough...I was wrong. How could it be? 3 whole months? Oh, yes! Summer happened! Who has time to sit down and blog when you have five adorable, yet quite demanding,  kiddos hovering over you? Not this old gal, anyway. I have missed it, though, I must confess.

So much has happened since that last day of school. It has been a summer full of fun, fits, melt-downs, sunburns, ice cream cones, family picnics, and beaches. The real beach even, complete with rip tides in the Pacific ocean and life-guards that make you want to pull out your parka while sunning yourself on the beautifully warm sand. We met three life guards and spoke with them at length about the tides, the surfers, and the amazing waves that crashed around us. I've never really watched BayWatch, but I assume they could easily hang with the likes of Pamela Anderson and all of those other sun-kissed people who run in slow motion down the beach.


I will be posting some of the cutest videos and photos of my kids that you have ever seen, very soon.
Very. Soon.


Our summer went  by far too quickly for the kids, but they are settling back into routines pretty well. We have passes to the Lehi outdoor pool and the pass of all passes, so we were never hurting for activities. We were also lucky enough to go to Cowabunga Bay. You know, the place with all the brightly colored slides and the cars spouting water that you can plainly see from I-15?  Bugga had only asked me to go about 14593 times, and she was elated when we drove up to the gates.

Tonathiu went to his very first Boy Scout Camp this summer, and he thoroughly enjoyed himself.

Cuauhtli, Yoalli, and Gabby went to a week long camp as well and they were all thoroughly missed by those they left behind. It was completely bizarre only having two stinkles hanging around instead of five.

Cary and I didn't go to camp, but I kind of wish there was a Parent Camp. It might be kind of fun to hang out in the mountains together. Oh, the stories we could share!


I know I'm leaving things out of our summer, but at the moment I am a complete space cadet.

Tonathiu started 7th! grade on Monday. He is not enjoying Jr. High, but I have a feeling that it will start getting better as he gets used to it.
Cuauhtli is in 6th grade and is loving it. He has decided to be on the Science Demo Team and is playing soccer, really really well. He is an amazing player and I absolutely love watching him play.

Yoalli is in 5th grade and, as usual, loves it. She's also playing soccer and thinks that it is the best sport ever! She has quick feet and if she's able to follow the ball she'll be an amazing player as well.
 Gabby started 3rd grade! Unbelievable! She really loves school this year and already has a field trip coming up!
Keeleigh is now in first grade and thinks that school lunch is the best invention in the history of the world. Personally I think she just likes not eating her veggies.
That makes for one quiet house during the day. I'm able to do whatever I want! Sweet Freedom! This past week, I simply caught up on all of the chores that I've neglected.
This next week I think I'll start tackling some bigger jobs. I want to finish our laundry room, and I think I just might see how good I am at applying drywall mud. It sounds exciting.
Does that make me weird?

My birthday is coming up. Far too quickly for my taste. I will be 33 whopping years old. Holy. Crap.
I'm having a hard time with that number. It's far too high and I feel like I should be 26.
26 is a good number.
Old enough to get car insurance discounts, young enough to not be 30.


Betcha didn't think this post was going to be so completely full of randomness, did you?

How was your summer? How was your first days of school? How is your sanity?
I've missed you, my blogland friends.
I'm back!

Dance Festival!

Our school had a dance festival today and it was fabulous. I had a child in each grade, except for two. Oy. The kids did a great job and I was able to snap some great photos of them. I was able to catch Yoalli in action doing her dance. Kung Fu Fighting....loved it!

Keeleigh did the Chicken Dance!

Gabs did the Jungle Book!

Yoalli danced to Kung Fu Fighting! 

Cuauhtli Square Danced!

Tonathiu did the "I'm too cool for 6th grade dance festivals". 

It was fun to watch them and do you notice??? It was actually SUNNY! Huzzah!

Easy Yummyness.

I am part of the Bountiful Baskets Food CoOp. I love it. If you haven't heard of it, seriously go check it out. For $15 you get 6 different types of vegetables and 6 different types of fruits, and not just one or two of each. They also offer breads, tortillas, herbs, DIY decorative cookies, and cakes. Those are available for a bit more money. We've been doing it for about a month now, and I don't know that I'll buy fruits and veggies in the markets anymore. I also bought the bread and tortillas. Love Love Love them. My kids really love seeing what we'll get each week too.
You might be wondering at this point why I named this post Easy Yummyness.

Well, last week we got blueberries.

My kids or cary and I will  not eat just blueberries. I was excited though, because this meant that I was going to be able to make something with them. Today I finally had the time to do just that! I have been searching for a quick, easy, and Delicious recipe for a cake/muffin/bread for blueberries. This morning I struck Gold! Gold, I tell you! I found this little gem on Yummly. Cute name, aye?
Easy Blueberry Cream Cheese Cake- (kinda more like a bread though)

212    cup bisquick (baking mix)
	2	eggs
	12 cup	sugar
	1 tsp	vanilla
	12 cup	milk
	1 cup	blueberries (frozen, thawed and drained)
	2 tbsp	oil
	6 oz	cream cheese (softened)
	2 tbsp	milk
	14 cup	sugar

Method

1	Preheat oven to 350.
2	In a small bowl mix cream cheese 2 TBSP milk and 1/4 cup suagr until smooth. Set aside.
3	In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar milk, oil, and vanilla until smooth.
4	Mix in Bisuick mix then stir in blueberries.
5	Pour half of cake batter into a 9 in loaf pan.
6	Pour half cream cheese mixute straight down middle of pan (do not mix in YET).
7	Pour rest of cake batter over top, then top with remaining cream cheese mixture.
8	Take a knife and gently stir make swirl effect.
9	Bake for 45 minute or until done.

I just realized that I forgot to do the swirling. Dang it! No matter though, it's still good and I dont think my crew will complain that there are no swirlies. Especially if they don't know! :)

I've tried it.
I got the end piece, which is crustier than the rest and that isn't my favorite part. But, I love the taste of the fresh blueberries and the cream cheese kicks it over the top. I'm sure it would even be better if you swirl. :)

How Close?

I miss my Dad. I still think about him every day.
I was having a conversation with a dear friend the other day, whom has also lost her father, about how close our loved ones really are. It was so helpful to talk about it with her so candidly and share our thoughts and feelings. I shared with her a story that I've been hesitant to share with anyone else. But, for fear of forgetting it, I shall write it down so that I can save it and read it later, when I need to feel closer to my Dad.

I was all by myself one afternoon and me being alone does not happen very often. I don't think I had even been thinking of my dad more than usual, but I was missing him heaps.
I walked out to our van and sat down in the driver's seat. Instantly, I smelled cigarette smoke. No one else was around and no one near us really smoke either. But, there it was, as strong as if it had just been snuffed out in the ashtray. It smelled just like my Dad had just put out a cigarette after I had yelled at him that he wasn't going to smoke in the van. I was always after him to not smoke and/or to just quit altogether. It made me smile, faintly, and think of my dad.
   Then, I turned on the van and the radio was on. Which, isn't all that out of the ordinary, however, it was turned up louder than I normally have it, and  the song.....La Grange by ZZ Top. My Dad's song. The song that played every time his phone rang. I could see his phone, see him holding it, and see him answering the phone, all in my mind's eye.

Coincidence? Perhaps.

I don't think so.

I think it was my Dad saying "Hello. I love you. I'm here"

Miss you Daddy.

I made this little bouquet for him from flowers from my flower bed and wrapped it with Easter Ribbon I had.

 

 

 

 

 

I think he loved it. :)

GOOOOOoaaaaaaaaallllllllll!

Cuauhtli started playing soccer this year. Holy cow, is it fun! For him too, I'm sure. No, seriously, he loves, I mean, LOVES the game. He's pretty stinking good at it too. His first game was a couple of weeks ago, and they rawked it. The team works pretty well together and it's so much fun cheering them on to victory!

I was only able to catch a couple of photos because I was a nervous wreck the first time watching him play! I didn't want him to get hurt, but man! I wanted him to get in there and GET that Ball! :)

Cuauhtli is fearless and not afraid to look silly. I love that about him. He gives everything 100%, be it soccer or driving me crazy.
The other day this was part of our conversation:
C: "Mom, am I grounded?"
Me: "What do you think, Cuauhtli?"
C: "Well, I think in your head you are saying yes, for three years, but in your heart you are saying No Son! i love you!"
Me: laughing too hard to speak.

Love that kid.

Easter!

It's been a while since I've posted, man I need to catch up! I hate it when I don't blog for a while. Writing is therapeutic for me, even if it is just the silly, fun stuff. I'll try to remember the past couple of weeks....

We invited our friends and siblings over for some egg coloring fun. I really enjoy seeing the creativity of each of the kids.

Sadly, Tonathiu had a scout camp out and didn't join us for the fun. Bummer.

I was sneaky and put this out for the kids to wake up to:

We don't do the "Easter Bunny", I guess it's more the "Easter Mumma"! :) I like it better that way and the kids don't miss a thing.  please excuse the bananas in the background :)

Saturday morning we woke up and got to watch Cuauhtli in his first ever soccer game. more on that in the next post.
Then, we came home and it was time to munch and hunt eggs and have some fun! Woo! :)
    We asked Itztli and Atlahi to come over and hunt eggs with us.

Clearly, you can tell how excited they were. Just look at those precious faces!

on a mission!

I have no idea what was so funny!

Where da eggs at?

Cheese!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kids really enjoyed the day. That night we did our Easter Story Cookies. I can proudly say that's a Nicholas Whanau Tradition now. :) I love those words. I love the feeling you get when you speak of the traditions that you do with your family. Family. I love it.

This is what our cookies looked like

Yum to the O.

I wish I could show you photos of us eating them, but they went too quickly.
Deeelishush.

How was your Easter?

Bugz Easter Video :D