Living History Farm Run

I ran my first cross country race today. 7 miles through forest and creeks. It was in Iowa, and it was freezing. A perfect opportunity to wear my awesome orange hunting/running cap my husband got me last Christmas. My outfit was horrendous, and I was almost embarrassed, but I was too warm to care. But I looked fab. We stayed in a fun hotel overnight with the fam. and my mom. Just wanted to blog real quick about the race...well my thoughts cause' those are the best part I think.

"I'm not even really cold."-This was before the race. It was freezing, but I had dressed so warm it didn't really even bother me.

"You know that guys cold."-He was dressed as an Indian with only a loin cloth on.

"He's going to be wishing he wasn't carrying that shield and javelin at mile 3." then after the race "How did he get up those ravines with that shield and javelin. If I were him I would have thrown it into the forest."-He was dressed as Spartacus and before the race screamed out that line from the movie. It was funny.

"I really wish someone were running this race with me."-It really does suck having to be by yourself at one of these events. I'm not doing it alone again.

"I better go pee." "Great. There's no toilet paper. If I wanted pee in my pants I would have gone in a bush."

"9 creek crossings?? I thought it was only 3?"-Info being given over the loud speaker before the race.

"Here we go." Jammin out to the Twilight soundtrack.

"Ok...mile 1 at 8:47. Maybe I can keep this pace."

"the hat and gloves have to go because I'm over heating."

"That is a lot of rolling hills. I really need to get this jacket off."

"Great. Horse poop."

"First crossing. I think I'll go over to where those rocks are. Crap. The rocks are iced over. Just don't break your ankle. K. Got over that one with only my right foot getting submerged."

"I can't feel my right foot."

"More rolling hills. I'll be lucky if I finish this race in 1hr20min. My lungs feel like they are caving in there so cold." "Crap that wind is cold, but at least I'm cooling off."

"Great. Cow poop."

"People are yelling and cheering. Another creek crossing. There's no way to keep my feet dry this time. Crap that's cold. When I blog about this I'm going to have to edit my thoughts. And my lips are going numb so I'm not responsible for the words they are mouthing. My feet are numb"



"Have I passed mile 5 yet? I hope I'm landing on my feet right because I can't feel them and I don't want to break my ankle"



"Another creek crossing. I was just beginning to feel my feet again. Ok. There's rocks for this one. Got a clear path...don't fall. Great. Use the roots to get up the side. Holy crap I gotta run up that??? I can barely see sky! Keep going. Grab onto the rope and pull yourself up. Come on girl in front of me...use some muscles. Wow that was steep, and now I get to run up some more rolling hills."

"There are no flat parts of this race so stop wishing for some. It's up and down. Up and down. Just run"

"I really didn't want to see those guys butts. Why are they wearing g-strings??"

"These downward slopes of these ravines are insane. Should I sit down and slide for this one? They are just running down, but I still can't feel my feet"

"Another creek crossing. Knee deep. Just jump in and get to the other side and up the side. Now my knees are frozen, and there is another steep climb out of this ravine. No ropes. Use the roots and the trees to pull yourself out."

"I haven't seen the sign for mile 6 yet. I'm defiantly not keeping a 9min mile pace."

"I have to turn up this steep hill without slipping?"

"Another creek crossing (x5 more times)"

"There are a whole lot of people stuck in that ditch of mud. Where am I going to climb out? That was easy...What is their problems?"

"Mile 6 one more mile...Great. More rolling hills. My times not that bad. I can keep this respectable"

"This is like having a baby. You wonder why you decided to do this, but know you're going to do it again because it's so amazing! But boy does it suck in the moment."

"Thank goodness I have been doing hills on the treadmill"

"I see the end. Wow that last mile went fast. That was a 9 minute mile and I can't feel my feet."

"7 cross country miles in 1 hour and 6 min. Not too bad considering I can't feel my legs"

"Now I have to take that stupid timing chip off my shoe. Why did I lace it through my laces. My freakin shoe laces are frozen over with ice (they seriously were)."

"Better put my jacket and gloves and hat back on."

"No I don't want a doughnut! But I'll take some water."

"Crap that was intense, but I'm impressed with my time."

"I just want a warm shower."

Get in the car and on the way back to the hotel my mom tells me everyone has had their showers and baths. What would be the thought that would come into your head? Here's what came into mine, "There's not going to be any hot water." And there wasn't. But I did get to go to a health spa and soak in the hot tub. That felt nice. I still can't believe how intense that run was. It was so awesome and so much fun!! Check out their web-site to get some pictures

http://www.fitnesssports.com/November_races/LivHistFarms/lhf_index.html

Here's a video of a past race so you can get SOME idea of how it was. Anytime we weren't in the woods it was either uphill or downhill to another hill.
http://www.fitnesssports.com/LHF%20MovieMPEG-1.mpg

I'll be there next year so if this sounds fun to you let me know! I haven't had that much dirty, intense fun since basic training. It was great!!

Now it's time to watch Utah beat BYU, and then after go see Twilight! What a fun day!!!

Visiting Teaching

Oh yea! Changing up my blog background and everything. Maybe that will inspire me to blog a bit more this week...Maybe. Well some of you reading this won't know what visiting teaching is, but that's OK because you might be able to get something out of this anyways. On Monday at our Pres. meeting for RS we made plans for our Visiting Teaching conference we are having in Jan. It was very spiritual and inspired, and I wanted to remember some of the principles we discussed, so I thought I'd write them down here and share. Might be pretty random, but...so.

About 4 weeks ago Sister Beck came to our stake and spoke to the RS presidencies. I love that woman, and her strength. She devoted some time to getting us used to the idea of speaking with her-it was a question/answer type thing. Sis. Beck shared a quote by Pres. Packer from one of her recent leadership meetings: "Revelation is scattered among us." I think that's so true whether it's a leadership meeting, Sacrament meeting, a Sunday school class, in our homes...We all come together to make a whole, drawing on each other's experiences and testimonies to create an environment in which the Spirit of the Lord can touch our hearts and minds, thus inspiring Christ-like thinking, attitudes, love, etc;... That principle was made evident in our meeting. Sister Beck also asked, "How do we really feel about the Lord's work?" By asking the sisters to be visiting teachers we are "inviting them to be part of a sacred work." What makes visiting teaching such a sacred work? We discussed how the Lord loves each of His children, and knows them personally, by name. Being a counselor in the Pres., I have come to have a strong testimony of visiting teaching because it is how the Lord makes sure each of His daughters is taken care. As a Bishopric, and a RS presidency we have a deep love and concern for the sisters in the ward, but there is no way we can make sure all the sisters feel this love without visiting teaching. As visiting teachers we truly are tools in the hands of the Lord in making sure His daughters know of His love for them. Sis. Beck mentioned that we are all some one's daughters who have left home; daughters of a Heavenly Father who have left His presence. Imagine, for those of you who may have daughters, who will be the ones to care for your daughters when they leave home? Hopefully, it will be the Relief Society. Sis. Beck said the purpose of Relief Society is to "Prepare His daughters for the blessings of eternal life." As visiting teachers, who have accepted the call, we truly are engaged in a sacred work. A work, I'm sure, the Lord is counting on us to do. She also said, [speaking of RS teachers, but I think it can apply to VT as well] "These sisters [sisters being taught] are fighting evil day by day. That time they have with you is precious." Share the VT message, pray about your sisters and their needs; you don't have to limit contact to once a month. I, personally, came away from the meeting with Sis. Beck with a strong desire to figure out some way to help the sisters in my ward love each other as much as the Lord, our Bishop, and RS president does. This is the theme we have chosen for our VT conference this year and those were some of the things we discussed during our Pres. meeting. on Monday.

Continued...

From the top: Cora


October is always one of Cora's favorite months because of Halloween, and her daddy's sweet tooth that she inherited. She had to do a report on Eskimos at school, and because of that decided to be an Indian for Halloween. I usually make her buy her own Halloween costume with fundraiser money from some sort of project we do. One year we made jam and sold it to people at Mark's work, and this year we tried to do pot holders, but my fingers began to get blisters and I canned that idea real fast. We ended up buying her costume for her, but got it all for around $10. I wasn't going to buy her anything since she hadn't done anything to raise the money-including chores. So she decided to be a baby and wear her footie pajamas, and was excited about that until some girl at school said that was weird. I asked her what that girl was going to be and she said Hannah Montana. I'm thinking, "Sure. Her and every other little girl in America." Yes, I did refrain from saying what I wanted to about that, and decided we could do Indian for cheap. She looked good, and loved her costume. Her favorite part was the dream catchers and headband with feathers. Her favorite Halloween candy this year was the little M&M packages. Cora had her first swim meet yesterday, and did great. She did 50m freestyle and backstroke and took 2ND in both (one of the first place girls got disqualified so Cora really got 1st place in backstroke). She looked like she had been swimming competitively for years with flip turns and everything. I was helping with the timing so I couldn't get any video, but after the 50 free she looked like she was going to die! She burped like she was going to throw up and everything, and said, "My chest felt like I was going to die!" I was proud because she gave it her all, AND on top of that, did great. She also dreams of being a basketball star some day. School is going well for her, but I know she misses Utah and her friends there. We are all really looking forward to Christmas in Utah this year! Just about every day I get 2 new videos on my camera from Cora playing around. She knows I'm not a big fan of her doing this.

She is such a drama queen! Sometimes she does get some fun video...like on Halloween.



That's what happens when Indians attack Mummies. Garret As you can see he wanted to be a mummy for Halloween because I could "wrap him up in toilet paper and it wouldn't cost any money." He didn't want to do any fundraisers either or spend the money he has on a costume. I was fine with the toilet paper thing until my sister sent me a picture of a little kid wrapped in toilet paper that just looked ridiculous. So I cut strips of white sheet, sewed the ends together, and died them in coffee to turn them antique brownish. After running them through the dryer they frayed and his costume was done. He looked pretty cool. We had a church trunk or treat before Halloween, and Garret spent the whole night picking up his wrappings because I didn't have them pinned on him. It was so funny to watch him waddle around all night with his long underwear showing as his costume was falling off, and I didn't get any pictures because I was by myself with all the kids just trying to survive. He's such a passive kid and it didn't even bother him. I did win an award at the chili cook off that night. That was amazing to ME, but Cora knew I was going to win. There was not a doubt in her mind my chili was going to win an award, and that made me feel special. We had left over chili the next night and I was surprised the kids still wanted to eat it. Cora said, "Of course we want to eat it! It's award winning chili!" I'm such a cool mom. Back to Garret the mummy. So on Halloween I had about 100 tiny safety pins holding Garret's costume on his body, and it worked. Garret's favorite part of his costume was that "it was hot so he didn't get cold, and the face painting." His favorite part of Halloween was "getting to see Jorie in her costume because she looked so cute!" Favorite Halloween candy: Lollipops.


Garret is doing well. He has pre-school 3 times a week with Mrs. Scott, and he just loves it. I am homeschooling him for his K-year because kindergarten here is a full day, and I just wasn't ready for him to be gone all day. We'll just put him into 1st grade next year probably. He really enjoys math, and is doing well with his reading. He is also doing gymnastics, but after watching Cora swim yesterday, he said he "wants to do a real sport." I tried to explain to him that gymnastics was a real sport by telling him they have gymnastics in the Olympics. Of course, he had no idea what I was talking about. How do you convince a 5-year-old gymnastics is a sport when all they do is donkey kicks and walk on the balance beam?? Garret would like the world to know he's "very funny, likes babes, and Pokemon." Cora helped him with that.
Ammon We watched a Book of Mormon stories DVD and now he likes to be called Ammon...Well Ammon and AJ, but sometimes he'll make me call him Ammon. He loves hearing his name in the BOM stories. When I asked AJ what he wanted to be for Halloween, he said Spiderman. Great! Already have the costume. So for the trunk-or-treat he wore the same costume he wears almost every day. I could tell he wasn't too thrilled after seeing his sisters and brother dressing up. So for Halloween I decided he was going to be Clark Kent, and he loved the idea.

He was a stud, and played the part great! He would cover up the S and then pull it apart. It was awesome. Later in the night he decided to be superman so he took off the white shirt. I think he felt better that we did something different like sprayed his hair black, and got him dressed in something he doesn't wear every day. He liked it because it was, "Crazy." His favorite Halloween candy was, "Sugars, and tastebugs, and lollipops" because "the tastebugs eat the sugerbugs." I guess he thinks it's tastebugs instead of taste buds and that they eat the sugerbugs (plaque) off his teeth. wow. His favorite part of Halloween was "everyone getting our candy to us." His favorite thing to say recently is, "Why should I?" He'll say it after we ask him to do things. "Come here please." "Why should I?" "Clean up please." "Why should I?" I'm not sure where he got that from, but it's fun. We just give him explanations and he usually says, "OK." Like he really wants to know why we want him to do things.

As tough as he is, he is actually quite a sensitive kid at times, and doesn't like being confused. While Grandma and Grandpa were here AJ was not so receptive to Grandpa's efforts to get close to him, but when they left AJ wanted to call them every other day and talk to Grandpa. He just didn't understand why mom and dad were gone and got angry with grandpa. We've been working on controlling anger in our house. When the kids get frustrated we have them count to ten and breath. It always makes Garret laugh, but it just ticks AJ off. "I don't want to breath!" I can't blame him. I think he's really missing a good friend like Winnie, Eli, or Simeon (the three he prays for and talks about). I think on a whole, we all miss Utah, and family and friends, but we know this is where we need to be, and we find peace in that. We love serving in the ward here and are making good friends. I'm planning a couples night out next week because I need some fun adult time out. Jorie She is finally fitting into her 12m clothes. She is tiny, but acts like one of the big kids. Very independent, and often times very stubborn, she is beginning to use her words when she wants things. I can't call for AJ without her echoing "AJ" right after me. Right now she is really into singing her ABC's and animal sounds with actions; her horse is the best. I have to get a video soon. Jorie has to be in the middle of everything so we call her Godzilla and try to turn her destruction into a game for the other kids. She loves the dog, and watching our fish swim. There is a certain blankie and pink dog she has to have in bed with her at night, and always gets so happy when both those things are given to her. All-in-all a very happy, fun loving baby. We are so blessed and grateful for such awesome kids, and hope so bad we don't mess them up! We're doing a good job most of the time. Anyways. Jorie was a ladybug for Halloween.

I was really surprised she kept that hood on her head all night because she hates hats. She sat in the wagon for trick-or-treating and I kept feeding her lollipops to keep her there. We walked around the neighborhood with some neighbors, and had a great time.

Here are a few more pictures of the kids from this month.

My How Time Flies

Is it Nov. already? I honestly have no idea where October went. Was there even an Oct. this year? Hum...YES! because I spend most of the day now telling my children they can't have a piece of candy. Actually, they don't anymore because they got into a little fight and so I told them all to bring me their candy, "It's mine now." Cruel I know, but I'm not fighting the candy battle anymore, and we are set with movie theatre candy for the year. So that's how I know October 2008 did, in fact, happen. It was quite a busy month for us. Mark and I both had trips out of state which was exciting. He went to D.C. while I went North Carolina. I was secretly excited about me going away while he stayed home with the kids...for once. But fortunately for him there was some thing he had to go to in D.C. during the time I would be gone. Luckily his parents were already planning on being here to help so at least I didn't have to worry that my kids were going to be taken care of. My in-laws did an amazing job of holding down the fort. Thank you Gary and Marilyn!!! As selfish as it is, I'm still a tiny bit disappointed my husband didn't get to experience being a solo parent. There's always New York 2010 right ladies!!! Would that be ok Marilyn?...2010? Here are a few pictures of my North Carolina trip:

I went with-from the left-my brother Scott, Aunt Teri, Uncle Frank, Dad, and Step Mom. I could dedicate an entire post jut to my NC trip, and that is what I'm planning on doing sometime soon! You'll see... The leaves were beautiful, the mountains amazing, and the only thing we had planned in the 5 days we were there was a trip to Wal-Mart. It was great. "The voice of the mountain speaks to the soul." That was a quote on a T-shirt, and it was/is always so true for me. While we were there (this is really for Trent and Julie) we spent a lot of time driving in the truck. When you are sitting in the front seat of the truck, 25mph doesn't look so fast. So I said, "How much you wanna bet I can run 25mph?" My brother was like, "Yeah right." But I honestly thought I could because it looked really slow. I got a text from my brother the day after I got home informing me the highest speed by a human was 26mph. So I text ed him back: "I didn't say I could run 26mph!" Perhaps I could run 25mph if I had a 1,000 Grand candy bar. Anybody know where I can get one of those? Anyways. That was my big excitement for the month, so I'll move on to the rest of the family where you're sure to hear more about me too!

Mark: Like I mentioned before, he had the opportunity to go to D.C. twice this month. The first time was for a special project thing, and the second was some convention for geeks. Since my husband isn't a geek, he didn't understand 80% of what they were talking about, but feels it will be good for him eventually. My favorite part of him going away this last time was that he brought me home some new perfume from Victoria's Secret; So Sexy Wild Dare or something like that. Nice name. Makes me wonder if naming par fume "So Sexy Wild Dare" actually boosts sales. Who knows, but I LOVE the way it smells, and I smell myself all day. It must work if I'm becoming more attracted to myself right? (It's late) Mark is loving work, trying to get to the gym after work because he says he's gained weight, and he loves me. That's all he wants me to say for him this month. "Let's go to bed," he says. Again-it's late, and it is a few hours past my bedtime now. I am trying to get in bed by 10 so I can get up at 5:15. Tomorrow is Sunday so I should be able to find some time to blog about my kids. Time to go pass out.

What The...?

So tonight we were driving around looking for a place to eat dinner because it was my night off from cooking, and we saw one of those sights that you only see in those funny forwarded e-mails. I just got one the other day with random photos people had taken of crazy things they had seen while driving. Well...tonight we got our own crazy photo.
As Mark and I were "discussing" how he had gone the wrong way if he wanted to find something to eat, we passed this scene:

(You have to click on the picture to make it bigger to fully appreciate it.)

This was a small truck, with wooden sides built up around the edges, and rope protecting the horse AND cow from falling out the back of the truck. You can't really see it, but there is a BIG black cow in the back there with that horse.


I didn't want to stop and take a picture. We drove by twice trying to get a good shot. Weird that they got pulled over for that? I mean we are in Nebraska aren't we? What's the big deal? We ended up at Arby's for dinner. I spilled my drink on the table, changed booths, and allowed the lady who worked there to clean it up. I did apologize, but I was secretly enjoying the fact that someone besides myself was cleaning up MY spill while I sat there and ate the dinner that I didn't cook. I'm ready for a vacation I think.

AJ and His Big Boy Talk

First let me say I am so glad I'm not the only freak that has realistic, ruining the next day, type dreams. Since many people have "those" kind of dreams, I guess that means I'm not a freak. So thank you all for de-freaking me. It means a lot to me! ;) I have been trying really hard to keep track of some of the things AJ says that have Mark and I laughing. They aren't really all that funny because they are fairly normal things to say; it's when they are coming from the mouth of a 3 yr old that they become funny. Regardless, I wanted to remember a little about what AJ was like as a 3 yr old. (because I know my memory is going to fail me) so I'm going to dedicate this post to AJ and his big boy talk.

Last night I was helping the kids clean up the basement, and was in charge of the Jenga game. None of the kids could manage to stack the wooden pieces up high and straight enough to put them back in the box so I said I'd do it. AJ wasn't cleaning up, and I told him that if they wanted me to help them he needed to do his part. He said, "Ok mom...We understand your feelings. We'll clean up." I was like, "FINALLY. ONE OF MY CHILDREN UNDERSTANDS!!" A minute later he walks over to where I'm stacking the Jenga game and kicks it over and walks away. I kinda sat there (before making him clean it up), hurt, with this shocked look on my face and thought, "He doesn't understand my feelings at all!!" Oh yea...he's 3.

First official day of Fall!!! We've had our windows open to let the breeze through the house, and the other day AJ said, "I don't want the wind going through our house because it creeps me out." Creeps me out...ok.

AJ was helping me put laundry in the washing machine, and the lid slammed shut as he was getting ready to put something in. He said, "Mom...You almost killed me!"

Sometimes I get sick of trying to get the kids to do things so I've been trying new tactics. Today AJ was the biggest kid in the house so I told him that Cora and Garret are at school and he was the big kid of the house and I needed his help. He said, "Are you for real mom?" as he walked out of the kitchen. I've decided to go back to beating them. (just kidding. I don't beat my children for real. I just damage their precious little souls by yelling at them. just kidding. I only do that sometimes when it's a week before that most favorite part of any menstruating woman's month and I hardly know who I am. And that is the truth, but I don't yell too much...just a little).

Those are just a few because he practices his "big boy" talk all day so I'm kinda getting used to hearing these things out of his mouth. We love having AJ in our family!

Feelings Buried Alive Never Die...I guess

I don't love dreams about people or things that leave you feeling like your dreams are reality. For example: when you dream about your child drowning so the next time you go to a swimming pool you can't relax because you are scared to death one of your children is going to die. The one where you kiss an ex-boyfriend is always a doosey or when you wake up hating your husband because he cheated on you. Dreaming about other guys besides your husband is NEVER any good. I dream about people I haven't even thought about in YEARS! People I don't want to think about EVER again, but there they are in my dreams; as real as if they were standing in front of me. I can feel emotions I haven't felt in a long time, and wake up still feeling them for the rest of the freakin' day! I've had "Second Coming" dreams where I can't walk outside without feeling like the heavens will part at any second. But last night I had one of those "guy" dreams, and that is the reason for this post. Why post about it? I don't know. Will it help me feel better? Maybe. Probably not. I just want to know what purpose these dreams are supposed to serve?? What am I supposed to do with these real feeling emotions that aren't real??? Or are they...Holy cow how can they be? I'm sure some psychoanalytical dream doctor would tell me they are emotions buried deep down coming through in my dreams. Whatever. All I know is I've spent way to long suppressing these emotions to have them brought back up as I'm trying to get a peaceful nights sleep. What's the name of that stupid book..."Feelings Buried Alive Never Die" (no, I've never read it so I have no idea if it's really stupid. Maybe I should read it) Perhaps that's what's happening to me. I would love to know if the people who plague my dreams have the same thing happen to them with me in their dreams. I sure do hope so because I'm just that vindictive right now. I hate the thought that I am still dreaming crazy dreams about people who could care less if I even exist. But in real life-somewhere I'm obviously not living in at this moment-I don't care at all. How can this even be happening? I know there's got to be someone else that knows exactly what I'm blabbering about right now. Someone. Anyone.

As promised...

Two posts in 3 days. Now that you all have gotten up off the floor, get ready for a visually stimulating post. Your eyeballs just might pop out of your head so be careful. Ok. Here is our house. We love our house, but this is the only thing we don't like about our house; the way it looks from the outside. Neither one of our houses have been very pleasing to look at for that matter. It doesn't look like there is 3700sq.ft. of house in there, but just you wait!!

Come on in! This is the entry way

Let's go upstairs because I only have a few pictures of a few rooms. First the boy's room. It's a good sized room, but we still haven't gotten pictures hung up yet.

The kid's bathroom

Jorie's boring room. She's 1. She doesn't care and neither do I. This is only half the room because the other half is just purple wall and a window.

Now GET OUT OF MY HOUSE BECAUSE YOU SMELL FUNNY, and I don't' have any more pictures right now. I think I'm going to do a walk through video to post because that will be easier and more realistic. But I do have some pictures and video from the park yesterday. This is a picture of AJ with a little Crab apple. To prove to you how much apple stuff I've been canning, he said to me, "Look mom. An apple for you to cook and make applesauce with."

No thanks. I'm done with apples this season. This is the really cool scooter I got at a yard sale for $1.

It cracks me up every time he rides that thing.

Jorie got her hands on a little tiny berry of some sort. She tried it.

Found out they are really sour.

And finished eating it. Gross! Good thing it was eatable.

Jorie wanted to go on the big girl swing. "Ok. But don't expect me to catch you if you fall."

And yes, that swing did come back to knock her down. Good thing Daddy was around.

Weird how I watched her fall, and watched her cry and she still wanted me. The reason we went to the park was so that Garret could practice riding his bike. We are a little late in teaching him, but we think he will catch on fast if he can keep focused on the road in front of him.

More pictures to come!

Today

I posted today, but I started 4 weeks ago. So I have to post this for today so that everyone's little blog roll puts me at the top!!!

Mudd Fight

You know it's been too long since you've blogged when you can't remember your password. Notice I did start this post a few days ago. The thought of all the things that I've already forgotten in the past 3 weeks (now 4) because I didn't write it down makes me sad. Some cute things the kids have said:

"Can I have my applesauce in a bowl because that just makes sense." -AJ

"DAAA DEEE!"-Jorie when Mark gets home from work. Jorie is still such a little peanut. She is always amazing people when they see her running around and saying things. They think she isn't even 1 yet, and she can still wear some 9m clothes. Her favorite thing to say right now is Stinky. I'll get a diaper and she'll look at me and say, "Stinky?" It's cute. Tonight she was trying to push me over so she could jump on me like her brothers and sister do.

Cora said some kid at her school is spreading a rumor about her that she picked her nose and ate her booger. I gave her that "well did you look?", and she frankly said, "Mom...I'm on a diet from picking my nose. I don't do that anymore I swear." So apparently boogers are fattening. Good to know. Cora is having a hard time adjusting in school this time around I think. She just had such amazing friends in Utah, and is not making those connections here. There is one girl across the street that she's gotten close with, but there's been a few times where that girl will just all the sudden do something to really hurt Cora's feelings (nothing she herself hasn't done). I tell Cora to get over it...that's life! Just kidding...I don't say that, but it is hard watching your children try to figure out life. And often times how you react to these situations will determine how the child handles similar situations in the future so you have to keep your own emotions out of it and focus on teaching. I'm glad she's having these experiences. The sooner she learns the better. It's just hard when their hearts are so tender. How do you help preserve that "little child" spoken of in the scriptures while life is happening to them? Cora started competitive swim this last week, and she is good! It is so exciting to see her do so well at something she loves to do. She is so competitive (I don't know where she gets that from? ;) and can't go down one length of the pool without trying to beat anyone who is around her even though it isn't a race. I was worried she didn't have that drive for competition after watching her do cartwheels on the soccer field (which just about killed me), but she does have it in her. Her and I also started piano lessons this past week, and I haven't had to remind her to practice once...yet. I know that will probably change, but she is really wanting to play. I've always wanted to play so this is like a dream come true.

I know there were other things, but I can't think of them. AJ says cute things all the time. He is at that age where he's trying to use all the things he hears in the world around him, but doesn't quite know how to use it correctly. He always has Mark and I laughing with the "big boy" things he does. I know it would be really great to be able to give some specifics right now, but my mind is blank. I need to do better.

My husband was in Utah for almost 2 weeks with the National Guard. We definitely missed him, but as bad as it sounds, I keep to a much better schedule when he isn't here. I think it's just so I can pass the time quicker. I have been a busy woman doing domestic "womanly" things like canning anything I can get my hands on; pears, peaches, applesauce, apple butter, apple cider. I've been able to pick most of the fruit myself. This week alone I have spent around 20 hours in the kitchen not including the regular hours for EVERY day cooking...not that I cook every day, but I feel like I'm in the kitchen all the time. I clean up breakfast and little kids are at my heels whining that they are hungry. I am taking care of a 2 year-old girl during the day now for a little extra mu la. She is a good girl, but now I have a 1, 2, 3, and 5 year old at home. I actually try to go to the store with all of them, and I don't hurt anyone...usually. There was that one time I put my hand on Cora's throat and told her to knock it off because she was being loud and I couldn't find what I was looking for. Needless to say, I don't go to the store all that often with all those kids, but I can do it! This past week I had Kylee (the 2 year old) and her sister stayed with us for 4 days while their parents were gone. 6 kids. I had their stuff packed and waiting at the door on Friday. Holy cow that was a lot. Again, trying to save some extra money for a really nice camera I want. I'm starting to think by the time I have all the money for it, I won't be able to spend it. It is going to take me 4 months of saving, and for an impulsive buyer like myself that is a REALLY, REALLY long time to save. I took some pictures of the kids in a mud fight with the really nice camera that I want. I looked out my back window to the kids smearing each other with mud. I started to get angry, but decided that was a stupid thing to do. So I went and got THE camera that's not mine and had some fun with them.

It was fun. And can you believe those are the only pictures I've taken in the last month! Mark is on a mission to get pictures of the house on the blog so I'm thinking we will have pictures up in the next day or so. In any case, I'll be blogging more tomorrow about some other things, but for now I have to end this so I can read up on what everyone else has been doing in the past month!

First day of school

School has started!! Today Cora came home from school and told me that "Cody in the 4th grade has a crush on me." Great. Older guys already. We always do the "first day" photo with the new back to school outfit. Here is Cora's for this year:

(Kelly, Cora would prefer if Isaac saw this picture and not the goggle one.) Cora's school in Utah was amazing, and I was worried about the transition to this school, but I don't think I am anymore. The school calender for this year is PACKED with things and activities the school puts on for the kids, and the quality of education here is exceptional (and that is why the taxes in Nebraska are so high). Anyways, Cora is excited about learning cursive and multiplication in 3rd grade this year. While I'm highlighting Cora...She wants to be a rock star and made me take a video of her for the blog. She is amazing on the air guitar AND the air drums. Watch.

And I know I have shared those fun moments where potty words slip through my innocent children's lips, and I could never understand exactly how my husband can think it's so funny...until yesterday. I was on the phone with a telemarketer who calls for some Michael M. every stinking day, and I had had enough. Oh yeah. I was a little frustrated. When I hung up the phone Cora seemed really embarrassed and said, "Geez mom. Don't you think that was a little &itchy?" She told me later she said pitchy, but I heard the other word that starts with a b, and I laughed, and it was funny, and then I explained to her what was wrong with the "b" word, and that's when she told me she said pitchy. Why it's so funny...I do not know. But I laughed.

So first days of school went well, everyone is fine and dandy. This week is Air Force week in Nebraska, and so there are a few cool things going on. Like right now some jets are practicing for an air show on Saturday and they are doing crazy fly-bys. Last weekend was the opening ceremony for Air Force Week at Rosenblat Stadium, and I realized something; If I didn't have 4 kids, I would be in the military. I miss it. There are even moments where I think I could join the national guard or something, but that would never work. As a stay-at-home mom I know there are many personal sacrifices I've made, and they are all worth it-all of them. I love being my kid's Mom. But as I watched new Airmen being sworn into the Air Force that day, I was jealous, and a yearning from deep down crept up and brought tears to my eyes, as I realized how much I missed being in the military. But I have no regrets. So all you FemiNazi women out there relax. No matter what, I still feel staying home and raising my children is the greatest work I could ever do for my country. But that's just me, and how I feel.
A few things that drive me crazy. When you have a credit card in your name, and you get a bill with some funky charge on it, so you call to try to figure it out, but you can't because you aren't an "authorized user on the account." Let me get this straight...I can have a credit card, and can max it out if I so choose, but I can't call to ask a question about the bill because Mark Peterson opened the account?? The same thing happened to me the other day when I tried to call Red Box about a movie that wasn't returned properly. Red Box for Pete's sake!!!!! It drives me crazy. Also, when people use "Excuse me" to make a point of you being in their way. Like it should actually be me saying excuse me, but then they say it and walk around me. You know what I mean? Let's say I'm looking at a shirt on a rack, and someone else is searching the rack for a shirt as well. They get to where I'm standing and say "excuse me" and then walk around to the other side of me. Or if I'm at the zoo standing against the railing, looking at the monkeys, and someone is walking along the railing and has to go around me and they say "excuse me." Seriously!! Excuse you for what?? Did you fart or something?? (I actually think that sometimes.) Just walk around me. Don't say excuse me because if anyone should be saying excuse me it should be me, but I'm not going to because I was here first!! Both these things happened to me today and that's why I'm wasting time writing about them I guess.
I really need to start blogging more than once a week because I know there are more important things to write about than the improper use of "excuse me". O well.

Before I get going with this, I just have to say that I am not the world's best commenter on other people's blog. And I know it seems that it is proper blogging etiquette to comment on people's blogs who comment on yours-and I want to-but sometimes I don't have time. Sometimes I get on to post and then I don't get back on for days. Sometimes I read other's blogs but just don't comment because I don't feel like it. Sometimes I just don't know what to say and I don't want to force-comment if you know what I mean. So please know I love reading your comments on my blog even if I don't comment on yours because I do still care and do read when I find the time to!

Save A Grizzly

Love A Werewolf

That was what I was wearing on the back of my shirt on Friday night, at midnight, at Borders. And I came up with it all by my little self. So if you think it's stupid, that's why. If you think it's clever, that's why too. Regardless, that is what I came up with. I finished Breaking Dawn Tuesday, and didn't know what to do with myself. I did LIKE it, but... So now I'm reading Harry Potter starting from book #2. No I haven't read them yet so they better be worth all the hype because I can't take another let down anytime soon. I figured Harry Potter was safe. That's all I'm going to say about Breaking Dawn.

That's the front our shirts. I wanted the book cover on the back, but I didn't want my friend to think I think my ways are always the best ways...Not yet anyways. So I didn't push the matter. We had fun. While we were waiting for the release some jerk screamed out a spoiler and what page it was on in the book before running out the door. I hated that dope and wanted to slap him hard, but it turned out to be a joke and didn't really happen in the book so I don't hate him anymore. He had me thinking throughout the whole book. I just kept waiting for something to happen that never did, though I wish it had, but I'm not Sister Meyer, but she should have asked me what to write because my ways are always the best!!! Anywhoo..we had fun being excited girls for the night!
Other summer happenings in the last few weeks are as follows:
Swim lessons. The following videos are not for your viewing pleasure. They will probably bore most, but I figured someone in my family far away will care about my kids learning how to swim, and might even laugh at how funny my kids are.

I made Cora keep her goggles on for the picture when she tried to take them off. She was worried that I would put them on the blog. Valid concern. Cora LOVES to swim (actually has a beautiful back stroke), and has decided she wants to try to be on a swim team. We'll see how that goes.

Garret is not so natural in the water, but he tries really, really, hard. He is actually swimming now and loves to practice whatever the life guard teaches him how to do. He is like that with most things; you show him how to do something and he will practice and practice until he can do it. I'm really looking forward to kindergarten at home with him this year!

AJ is always so excited to get out of the house and go anywhere. Often times I swear I can hear people's minds as they silently express their belief that my A.J. needs Ritalin. However, I know the truth; he just loves life and gets excited about living it, and is loud about it. He sings to himself all the time, and tells people "Excuse Me!" when they are in his way, and runs around in a Bat Man costume all day...I love it!! I caught a video of what he does when I try to take a picture of him. He says cheese and then breaks in to some form of karate or something. It's funny.

Cora has become really good friends with a girl across the street, and recently came to the conclusion it was time for her to get her ears pierced. She was brave and loves having her ears sparkle! Now I just get to clean her ears 3 times a day for 6 weeks. Ok. Whatever. Try once a day if we're lucky.

There is a burger place here called Kong Burger or something like that, and they have a 2 lb. hamburger. 2 lbs.??? Why would you eat a 2 lb. hamburger?? It makes me want to puke just thinking about it. We ate lunch there, and the kids had fun climbing on the monkeys afterwards.


I got to see my very very good friend from 9 years ago this last week. She was driving through NE on her way to Kentucky with her family. I get to see her every 4 years or so and every time I see her she has a few more kids. They have 6 kids 9&under. I love my dear friend Megan!! Such a strong woman. We have about 6 different ways at least 1 of our kids can marry each other so Meg and I can be eternally bound.


And Lastly, but certainly not leastly:

Happy Anniversary Honey!!!

9 years ago today I married the man of my dreams. As I said before, I was way smarter than mature when I said yes to that poor guy, and I think he was more mature than he was smart when he picked me. It has been quite the ride so far with a many ups, and a few downs, but always someplace new to experience it. Mark, thank you so much for picking me to spend the rest of your existence with. It could have been some other girl with bad habits and a "trucker's" mouth, but you picked me, and helped me see and appreciate who I really am, and you continue to love me for just that. Thank you.

9 Reasons why I love my husband:

1. He is so selfless, and would do anything for me and the kids, always seeking ways to serve us. He is dedicated to this family 100%, and has made us one of his greatest passions.


2.
Such dang cute kids. We do good work don't we?!

3. I have to say being married into such an amazing family has to be one of the reasons I love my husband

Look at us all! The biggest group of amazing people ever assembled for a family picture I'm sure. I love each one of you! Thanks for being such amazing people and loving me. Especially you two girls:


4. He hates confrontation and will apologize for anything just to stop contention. Sometimes I hate that, but most of the time I really appreciate his humility, and have learned a lot from him.

5. He LOVES spending time with his family. I'm pretty positive he would rather spend time with me and the kids than anything else, which is a must if you are to be married to me because I am not so understanding when it comes to sacrificing my time with him. In other words, I'm demanding, and I can't stand to be apart from him if I know he is in the same state as me.

6. He cries in sacrament meeting when he talks about his mom.

7. His dad is still his hero.

8. When I send him to the store for milk, he comes back with 5 cartons of ice-cream, 4 things of cookie dough, 4 bags of chips, and he can always find the good deals on cereal.

9. He still loves me and stands by me after 9 years. I can't help loving a man who can survive being my husband for 9 years, and love me more than the day we were married.

Thank you for 9 amazing years. I love you...always have and always will.

Late night thoughts

Well for anybody out there that thought I was going to be a regular blogger again...you were so wrong. What were you thinking? I don't have time for this-still. But it's late and I can't sleep so I thought I'd post about random things I've been thinking about or am thinking about now. Like the fact that I have no boobs anymore. My milk is gone leaving my boobs deflated bags of skin. Usually I'm still breastfeeding or pregnant again at this point, but since we are actually waiting a little longer for the next child I get to experience saggy boobs. Super. What else is on my mind...hum...The Twlight series baby!!! 5 more days until Breaking Dawn. I hope Mrs. Meyer can find some way to kill off Edward, have Bella end up with Jacob, and still have everyone love it. That is my hope, but I'm sure it won't happen. Sorry ladies, but Edward just isn't good enough for me. I want Bella to end up with someone she can actually have a FAMILY and NORMAL life with. But that's just me I'm sure. My friends and I are actually going to be there at midnight to buy the book wearing T-shirts with girly Twlight fan crap on them-just to be stupid. Any ideas for what my "I love Jacob" shirt should say? Jorie is doing things. She can say "please", "that" while pointing, and understands a few commands like "get me a diaper you stinky kid." When we are all wrestling on the floor Jorie will come over and throw herself on the pile screaming. It's fun. Cora is starting to get really good with her and actually likes doing things with her for me. Jorie loves her big sister now. Well...That's about all I have left for tonight. Pathetic isn't it. I haven't blogged in over 2 weeks and I can think of nothing else. Now you all understand why I don't blog anymore. Just know that life is good, and corn grows really fast in Nebraska.

When we sat down to read scriptures tonight AJ wouldn't let us start until he found just the right page in his Book of Mormon. When he was ready, he just started reading, "And it came to pass that the Lord commanded me, and behold I Nephi. And he said unto me." Then he had to turn the page and start over...5 times. As parents we were beaming with pride. We bought AJ a plastic lawn mower so he can mow the yard with dad. This time he got a little too close to dad, and got a little too frustrated. Watch...

Quote of the day Friday: Cora

Friday is sugar cereal day, so when Mark saw Cora eating regular Cheerios for breakfast he asked her, "Is that what you eat for breakfast every Friday morning?" Cora looked at her cereal and then looked at the ground and said, "Today's Friday? Damn." Mark's theory is that if we just don't make a big deal out of these things they say, then they will just stop saying them. I'm not sure why it's always Mark who hears all these bad things the kids say...Further more, I'm not sure where the kids hear the things they say!! Cora wanted to record a message for Jaxynn today So this one's for you Jax!!

Monday morning Garret told me he had such a silly dream. When I asked him what it was about he told me that angels were all around him just staring at him not moving or anything. He just thought it was so silly...I thought it was pretty special because he NEVER seems to remember his dreams. Speaking of dreams...Garret loves playing Mario party on Nintendo 64, and he says it is his dream is that Yoshi will win once instead of Princess Peach, and this ALMOST happened today, but AJ turned the power off. Garret was devastated and said that his dream was ruined!!

I've finally got Jorie off the boob! Hurray for me! Now she just walks around screaming for food, and she thinks she has to scream for anything else she wants, AND she thinks she can have whatever it is she wants. Thus, she screams all the time these days. It's great. We love her!

And today is my birthday. The big 29...which means 30 next year. Oh joy. Can't wait. The next video is what happens to me when my children wake me up with way too much excitement and expect me to share their same enthusiasm for my birthday. I tried really hard...a little too hard if you ask me. Nobody should ever try to dance to the happy birthday song while half asleep. And that video won't upload so you all are missing out on my birthday dance!! So sorry...

Our summer so far has had some fun like going to the zoo

Don't you just love it when parents let their kids do whatever they want in public places?

The zoo here is amazing with many indoor exhibits so that even in summer you can enjoy it! I've never seen so many different types of animals at a zoo. We had to go back twice to even see anything. They have a butterfly exhibit right now that is so neat. The butterflies fly all over the place as you walk through. The kids just stood there with their arms outstretched hoping a butterfly would land on them. One landed on Cora and she was just thrilled. We went to a fire hydrant party the other day. The fire department came and hooked up this attachment to the hydrant that shot water all over the place.

I forgot to bring anything to cover AJ's cast so he got it really wet...so I took it off because I was sick of dealing with a cast during the summer. He seems fine. We go to the doctor next week for an x-ray, and they can tell me then if I've ruined my kids wrist by removing his cast prematurely. I hope not.

Briefly...

4th of July in a state where fireworks are legal...Pure insanity. The videos below represent the scene for over 2 hours!

At the end of this next video you can hear the 5-8 year-olds arguing about where to throw the fireworks when they are lit. It's ok to let the kiddies light the "not-so-big" fireworks in NE... I swear people here must spend more on the 4th of July than Christmas.

This is what the fireworks table looked like after 2 hours!!!

And for the front yard finale we have... The Pounding Force!!



I couldn't breath the next morning when I woke up because my lungs were so full of that "after-a-firework-explodes" smoke. Probably took at least 2 weeks off the time I have to live.

AJ shared a yogurt covered pretzel with Jorie without asking us first...


While waiting for siblings to be done with gymnastics we had some fun with cones. AJ ran around the gym chanting "I am a temple. I am a temple."


Purple does look good on her don't you think?


Cora is really getting into cooking this last week. We checked out a book from the library that teaches kids to cook and she has made beef stew, cookies, eggs for lunch a few times, and chocolate bread. The other day she wanted to make lunch again, but we didn't have the ingredients for anything in her book. So she said, "I'll let somebody else make ME lunch for once." For once...I love it! 8 years I've been feeding this child lunch, and she makes eggs twice...She thinks she's somethin' else that girl. Anyways...that's some fun we're having here...Miss all you people out there that miss us! If you don't miss us we probably don't miss you. I'm just sayin' is all...
Oh and guess what concert I'm going to see July 22 at the Qwest Center in Omaha...!!!!!???