Im laughing inside...really

random musings

2012-01-22T21:14:00.000-08:00

i'm sure i have pictures around here somewhere, but with no good camera, they are on my phone. it is very frustrating to get them off of there, but once i finally do, i will post them! i guess i have a lot to catch up on, and will try to do it quickly!

first, my sisters and i got to be in the choir for michael mcclean's forgotten carols, for the 3rd year. i love it, and it is the highlight of the season for me and nathan. then i had a few weeks off of singing, and am now back in the swing of things.

i got a part time job, helping my sister in law's mother, who had a stroke a few months ago. i check her blood sugar, give her a shot and meds, and make her lunch. now, i pick her up from rehab as well. it is a good fit for us right now, since i can bring rachel too.

a few weeks ago, nathan came to me and suggested we go to the temple once a week. in the last year, i think we had been twice, so this would definitely be a change!! but we worked it out with his relief driver to cover for him, and i arranged a babysitter for rachel. we have gone the last 3 weeks, and it has been such a blessing!! the first week was good, nothing special happened. the 2nd, i started getting dizzy that morning, but was not going to have anything stand in my way. i toughed it out, then went home to bed the rest of the day. i was better by the next night, which was earlier than in years past, so i am grateful. then this last week, i woke up knowing that we would be the witness couple in the session that day. don't ask me how, or why, but i did. when i went to drop rachel off, my friend wasn't there! i called everyone in my old ward i could think of, but noone was available. when i was ready to give up, my friend walked up, from taking some of the kids she watches to the bus stop. i got there a few minutes later than planned, and we didn't make it to the session. we were the first ones waiting for the next session, and a few minutes later, while reading the book of mormon, the officiator came and asked us to be the witness couple. i wasn't surprised, and said yes. now, nothing super exciting happened in the session, and i don't know why i was told we would do that job. i kinda think it was to show me that i am in tune enough to the spirit to hear a prompting. who knows. but it was meaningful to me, and helped strengthen my testimony, so i guess it was a good thing!!

on a different subject, i am taking online classes again. 4 this semester, but only 2 for each 8 weeks. so they don't overlap, and hopefully i will be able to handle them!! wish me luck!

family pics and concert

2011-12-08T11:14:00.000-08:00

we had our family pictures taken this weekend. they turned out quite well! i was happy!! here are the kiddos
here is me and the boys
dad and the girls
silly and gorgeous girls
our awesome family pic that i enlarged and put on the wall in the living room
our concert was friday and saturday. we got a standing ovation half way through, when the full choir sang together, from the 4 year olds, up to the adults. we don't fit on stage, so the adults were all the way around the hall. it was awesome!! here is tat and i waiting to go on.
gorgeous rebekah, all dolled up and ready to perform.
me and bekah. my good friend rebecca (whose husband is caleb, go figure!!) did our hair, and my makeup. she has been such a blessing!! and her sweet baby doesn't hurt either!!
i'm never happy with pics of myself, but here i am, in all my stage makeup!
i finished my classes yesterday, with a final and a web post. hallelujah!! i've never been so happy to end a semester! now just ten more credits to go.
we put up our christmas tree, and found that half the lights had burned out. same with the outside ones. what is it with lights this year?? so after a quick run to the store, it is looking festive in here. i love christmastime!! nathan doesn't though, it means extra hours away from home, and driving more monotonous routes. we gave ourselves early christmas/anniversary presents, and upgraded our phones to the new iphone 4. we are very excited, and are still figuring them out!!

frustration

2011-11-27T20:59:00.000-08:00

man, this has been an uber frustrating time in my life. i have gotten a huge blessing, and had the dizzy spells associated with my headaches subside. it's been over 2 months now, which is AWESOME!! now, if i could just kick the headaches altogether. i had been doing good for a long time, then last saturday, i got hit with one, and it has just come and gone day and night all week. blah. i woke up with it today, worse than ever. i got a blessing from my awesome hubby and father in law, and was able to rest finally, this morning. i've just been frustrated with the whole, not going away, factor. blah.

i am in online classes, and am doing pretty well. i got my geology grade back up, and am happy with it, and my religions class. but this communications class, that is the accelerated, 8 week course. blah. it is kicking my butt. and not because i am having a hard time with the work. i'm not. it is because my teacher lacks the ability to communicate, then penalizes for it. she gives us super detailed instructions, but not very clear. then, when we ask her to clarify, she says it is all in the info we already have!! aaaaaahhh!!! obviously not, or we wouldn't be asking!! i have been working on a group project with 5 other people. everything has been fine, and we turned in our first portion. we got it back, with a zero, because the heading wasn't right. seriously?!?!? i understand the importance of following her directions, but seriously? i am getting a bad grade because a guy in our group forgot to cc everyone's addresses into the top? does that seem asinine to anyone else?? sorry, i needed to vent, i guess. thankfully, we will be done in 2 weeks. then, blessed winter break!!

our concerts are this weekend, and i am super excited. we sound better with every week that goes by, and i thought we were awesome last year. we have grown in ranks, by leaps and bounds. we were almost to 200 last year, and this year we are pushing 250, and most of that is guys!! hallelujah!! rebekah's group has grown tremendously as well, and i love sharing this with her! it is amazing to be part of such an inspiring, amazing organization. i love it!!

well, we survived the black friday shopping madness, and i finished all of our christmas shopping. i love that. and i didn't break the bank, though the kids won't be getting as much as they are used to. i think it is good for them, right? :)

busy bee

2011-10-26T22:17:00.000-07:00

ok, so i thought that taking online classes would be a fun, albeit challenging, undertaking. i have had the hardest time this semester!! i feel so scatterbrained and unable to figure out and follow deadlines, and the simplest directions look like a foreign language!! at the beginning of the semester, i was hit with a whopping dizzy episode, but since then, i haven't had one. so that is a huge blessing. i am in world religions, which is actually very enjoyable and i am learning a lot. i had to read a very thought provoking book and go talk to my professor about it. (these are online classes, and i hadn't been to campus in a long time! eek!!) i am also taking geology of arizona. now, i thought this was going to be my easy ride class. rocks, what's so hard about that??? ha. a lot!! we don't have a book, so i thought it would be a cake walk. boy was i wrong!! we have a powerpoint with 20-50 slides each week we have to go over, an activity involving 5 or 6 puzzles with questions about the material, a supplemental reading and a quiz for each week. i pretty much had this part under control, but was not doing super well. the part that threw me, was the special activities due every 3 weeks for the first part of the semester. i had the dates wrong in my head, and like i said, can't seem to look at a planner. i missed the first 2 completely!! by the time i realized my mistakes, i had a 43 in the class!! i emailed my professor asking if i should bother continuing with the class or just drop it. he advised me to do better, and not miss any more assignments, and i would be fine with a b or c. that isn't failing, so i agreed. it has been much better since i got my head on straight. now, those 2 classes were for the whole semester, but i thought it would be fun to test my sanity and throw in small group communications for the second 8 weeks. oh my. it has required so much more work and time than i even thought i had!! i am spending an average of 4-6 hours a DAY on the laptop for these classes. i am so behind in my housework it is not even funny. rachel is enjoying all of the tv and computer time, but the older kids are starting to get annoyed when i have done NOTHING but homework all day. sheesh. add in the kids activities, choir, and being ward choir director, and you have a busy bee for a mommy!!

my baby got baptized

2011-10-02T12:16:00.000-07:00

of course, i always post pictures in backwards order. but here is the whole family after rebekah's baptism.
rebekah with her baptism blanket made my grandma gresko

bekah and her daddy
rebekah with mom and dad
rebekah the sweet

so i was unprepared for the experiences we had yesterday. i was expecting a little bit of a hectic day, hard to feel the spirit of what was happening in my baby girl's life. it was so much more than that. we wanted to perform the ordinance when everyone could be there, so we went for in between conference sessions on saturday afternoon. conference ended at 11, and it was an hour to fill the baptismal font. we decided noon would be a good time to hold it. our bishop was scheduled to be on duty, where he is the fire chief in a nearby town. the other counselors were up at conference in salt lake, and working. it was a hard day to get ahold of the necessary people we needed for keys and such. it all came together though, and everything was set. the family were all there on time, and we began. we had talks and songs, and the baptism and confirmation were great. my sister was asked to give the closing prayer, and she said what we were thinking and feeling, but couldn't express. she said that we all feel the presence of our deceased grandmother, and know she is proud of rebekah. after some more sweet things were said, and with tears rolling down my face, because of the confirmation that sandy was indeed there, i hugged my sister, who was crying as well. she said, i don't know what happened, i was supposed to tell you that. then, grandpa gresko gave rebekah the blanket that sandy had made and wrapped a year ago for her. i was unprepared for the card attached to it. she had written a personal note to rebekah, which was so perfect and eloquent. rebekah squealed and wrapped herself up in it. it is beautiful and perfect. then, when we came home, and i was looking at the card again, i noticed that it opened up, and the inside was written in as well. it was filled with more of sandy, and we treasured it. what a day!!!

rebekah

2011-09-29T23:02:00.001-07:00

i can't decide which picture to put on the table at rebekah's baptism on saturday. the 3rd, or 4th? she is so stinking cute, either one is awesome. what do you think? the dress was given to us by a friend who's daughter was 10, so score! it's like a wedding dress, with beading and buttons down the back. couldn't have been more perfect if i had designed it!!
she will be getting baptized at noon, between conference sessions. we will make it all work!! :) a year from the funeral of her grandma. i think it is fitting.

preschool and humble pie

2011-08-18T21:55:00.001-07:00

rachel standing outside of her preschool class. what a big girl!!

putting on her shoes before class. like the cuts on her lip? she totally face planted and had a huge fat lip for school. i thought that was pretty fitting for her!!
yes, this is what the kids do with the hose!!!
rachel and i made muddy buddies a few days ago. she thought she needed to lick the lid after i shook it. it got powdered sugar all over her nose and dress. it was too cute, i had to snap a pic!!
and on a more somber note, on monday, my good friend and cousin saved her daughter's life by not letting an ex boyfriend in the house. for her efforts, she got shot in the head and killed. i was reminded just how precious life is, and wanted to take a minute to express my gratitude. i am thankful for my family and friends. for my kids and hubby. for the knowledge that i have, that this is not the end of our existence. my cousin lives on, and will continue to do so. i am thankful for the health i have, though i complain about it a lot. what i go through is so small in comparison to so many others, who suffer with no complaint. i have been very humbled over the last week, and just want everyone out there in cyberspace to know that.

end of summer

2011-08-13T12:19:00.000-07:00

i didn't get the job, but i am still looking. it was weird, because of the way it happened, i thought it was a sure thing. i was strangely relieved and disappointed at the same time. the kids started school again on wednesday, and i am good with it. i enjoy having my time with just rachel, and i enjoy knowing they are learning and having fun at the same time. caleb has rebekah's student teacher from last year, rebekah has colby's teacher from last year, and colby has the only 4th grade teacher. they all knew who their teacher would be, and were excited to get to know them. they have gotten back into the swing of homework and chores, and of course, playing like mad when they finish. oh to be a kid again!! i am busy cleaning and trying to put the rooms back together after the crazy summer we had. we have gone to the lake twice, and i pulled the ligaments in my knee attempting to waterski. it still hurts, and i was told to get into better shape before i tried it again. ha! i agree!! so now i am just doing all the day to day stuff, waiting for school to start on the 20th. rachel starts preschool next week, and she is more than ready. she wears her backpack and tries to do homework with the kids. she is hilarious!! we love our kiddos, and our family more every day!!

working mom

2011-08-03T14:03:00.000-07:00

i know, it is totally boring without the pictures, but bear with me for a while until i can replace the camera!! this week has been very interesting, to say the least. we have known for a while that nathan's job is going to be cutting pay. (pay, not hours, explain that to me!!) he will now be backtracking 4 times a day, instead of 2. he really hates this job, but it pays the bills, so sshhh!
anyway, i applied to about 30 jobs 2 weeks ago, and hadn't heard much from anyone. a few days ago, i noticed one of my friends posting on facebook about how she had a friend that was trying to find kids to watch, so she didn't have to go back to work. then, out of the blue, yesterday i got a call from a woman i knew a few years ago in a previous ward. she said she noticed my resume on jobing, and wondered if i was still looking for a job. the position she had was for a 7 hr day, still part time. it paid better than anything i was looking at, and she had confidence in me. i set up the interview for this morning, and sent my friend a message about how to get the info on the woman for the child care. i pretty much freaked out after that. i am pretty overwhelmed just doing what i am doing, and now i am considering going to work!! after the kids went to bed, i read my scriptures for the first time in a while. twice, i read a verse about putting your trust in God, and finding peace. so, i took that to heart, and was at peace for the night. i got up this morning, and after getting beautified (trust me, it's rare on a weekday!!), i checked my messages. the friend who was doing the childcare, was actually a friend of mine too! she lives next door to the lady who runs the preschool rachel will attend. it really seems perfect, as that was one of my worries. i didn't think we could get her there. i interviewed this morning, and was impressed by the principal i met with. the job is at sun valley high school, entering transcripts and meeting with parents and students to give them a personalized graduation plan. i think i could actually do this. things seem to be falling into place, now if i can just get the job! i am also registered for 3 online classes, so we will see if i can do it all!! here's to peace!!

no more pictures

2011-07-27T13:04:00.000-07:00

i am so incredibly sad not to have lovely pictures to post on here. we had an awesome vacation, and i had pictures from caleb's bday party to post. sadly, i will never get the chance. i took pictures all week, and was so excited scrolling through them. i didn't bring the camera cord with me, and the card was so old, my laptop wouldn't read it. we had to wait till we got home to upload the pictures. now, i am just kicking myself. let me start at the beginning of the week. i had been having pain in my side for several weeks, but monday it started getting bad. tues, i finally gave up and went to the er. after blood tests, hours and ultrasounds, they said i had a ruptured ovarian cyst. nice. i went home and took some strong stuff, and went to bed. i woke up wed super dizzy and out of it. i still don't know if the drug triggered it, or i was set to have vertigo anyway. i spent the day in bed, and the next morning, the kids packed their own stuff for the stay at ajs house, and nathan did everything else. i went with nate and my sister tat to the airport, getting immensely sick while doing so. i can't say i have ever gotten so ill on a plane before! then we had a 4 hr drive to our hotel from the kansas city airport. thankfully, i started feeling better about half way through the drive, and had a great time while there. we toured all the houses and buildings, and historic sites. we played old time nauvoo games, walked on stilts, learned dances, and pulled sticks (i won!!). we watched the pageant, which was awesome, and spent time with family. i talked to my brother more this trip than i have in my entire life. it was a great time. the pinnacle was going through the temple with my little sister, and seeing the wonder in her eyes. she got sealed to her husband, and did all that was required of her to do so. she has had to change her whole wardrobe, and basically everything about her. she has done it though, and it was so exciting to be with her for it.
the next day, we went to carthage on our way to the airport. there is such a peaceful feeling in the jail, and you can almost see how it would have been for the Prophet Joseph. we took a lot of pictures, then went to return the rental car. somewhere around here, i put down my camera, and will never see it again. i have called everyone i can think of, but have had no luck so far. i can live with the lost camera, if i could only have the pictures on it! they are priceless. we survived waiting in the smallest airport i have ever seen, and the turbulence of landing in a giant thunderstorm (in phx, really??). we are home now, and back with our kids and our own home and beds. grateful to be there!!

family reunions!!

2011-07-05T21:17:00.000-07:00

ok, again, these are in backwards order, so i will start from the end! we were in natalie's backyard and posed the grandkids with their bear blankets, that great grandma nehmer made for each and every one of them. they are well loved, and appreciated!!
what gorgeous kids!!
here is the whole clan, minus heather's 4, who are in the philippines
caleb was mad about something, and went to pout inside. here is where we found him not 5 minutes later!!
lake tahoe was freezing, but here is rebekah and alissa holding rachel
caleb
colby and cousin out on the rock
grandpa with jenna and morgan out on the rock
rachel and caleb playing in the soft sand of the beach at lake tahoe
rebekah and colby were crazy and brave enough to go out in the 53 degree water with most of the cousins and grandpa
here is caleb at the beach in san francisco. much too cold to swim!!
caleb, sam, andrew, and rachel playing on the beach

this is several of my cousins and other awesome family members that we got to see after almost 15 years without them!!
caleb holding a tiny baby chick
colby loved holding the baby chicks
sam and rachel looking a real live cow!
the cousins lined up looking at the pregnant cow
i didn't have my camera on me during some of the most enjoyable days i can remember. my sister kirsten got married, and we had so much dancing at her wedding! the rehearsal dinner and wedding produced a lot of fun pictures and memories, but alas, they were captured by a professional! i will see if i can post some of them later!

week of amazing experiences

2011-06-05T11:09:00.000-07:00

i will add pictures once i get home, i did not bring my camera cord. i have been sitting in the airport again for 4 hours. i got the genius idea several weeks ago to ask one of our drivers who also works at usairways, to get me a buddy pass. it was so cheap, i was ecstatic. turns out there is a reason it is cheap. they overbook by 3 or 4, so the chances of getting on are nill. unless you camp out at the airport and get on the first flight of the day. they had 2 empty seats then. blah. who wants to be on a 715am flight? i was still snuggled in my bed. anyway, i had to buy a ticket on southwest on monday, for 300 dollars. today, i did the same thing. i have wasted many hours for being cheap, and i will not do so again!!! but i digress, the reason for the post is my amazing experience in slc this week. our choir, the evmco, was asked to come to slc and join with our sister choir, the ocmco, and record the messiah in america, the original oratorio written by our director, brett stewart. it was by far the most amazing experience ever!! there were over 400 choir members, and a combined orchestra of over 150. once the kids joined with us on friday, we had over 700 members on stage. it was spectacular!! i took several pictures of our amazing force, but am unable to post them because of copyright laws. we spent tues-thurs in intense, have to be silent, recording sessions. that is stressful. coughing is prohibited, and there are several of us that have coughs lingering for the last few weeks. tues was especially bad, and i was getting vertigo, combined with a severely upset stomach. i knew i couldn't continue like that, so i asked my father in law to give me a blessing before i left on wednesday morning. he did, and i immediately started feeling better. on the hour drive from provo where i was staying, into salt lake, i improved even more. i have never been more grateful for the priesthood in my life, and the knowledge and faith to use it. i was rejuvinated, and able to perform for the rest of the week. also, that day, i went through a live session in the salt lake temple for the first time in my life. it was beyond description. so beautiful, with the murals on the wall, and i loved moving from room to room as you progress. it was so moving, and the live actors they had, made such a difference to me!! i loved it!! i got to spend time with my sister every day, and my friends. i had some of the most spiritual experiences of my life, and was solidified in my testimony regarding so many things. we performed in the tabernacle friday night, to a sold out audience, and the sound was so crisp and clear and perfect in that building!! it was awesome. then saturday, we performed at 2pm in abravanel hall to another sold out audience. the entire organization was so exhausted from all the work of the last several days, that we did not perform to the best of our ability, but i hope our audience was moved despite our flaws. the soloists were stunning, and sounded perfect. i am so grateful i had the opportunity to do this. and that i get to go to choir every week and join in singing praises and being educated by such awesome people. i love it!! and now, i am very much looking forward to going home and seeing my husband and kids again. i had an awesome week, but i am more than ready to be home!!

concert, messes, and sick!!

2011-05-23T17:11:00.000-07:00

again, these are backwards, so i will describe it all backwards!! after rebekah's first concert. she did great, and i loved singing with her onstage!! there are too many people for the adults to be onstage with the kids, but we were down in the audience, so i could see her singing her little heart out!
rebekah in her cute little choir outfit. she is such a doll!! her hair was curled by my friend, and stayed curly even for another day!!
my sister, tat and i. i always seem to look weird in pictures. not sure what it is......
trying to pose on my "skinny" side
my curls from the back.
walking up to the ikeda theater. so excited!!
rachel joined a swim lessons class for tiny kids. she loves it, and even moved up to the next level after 2 weeks. i never knew starting them young was so awesome! she is just thriving in there!!
after sleeping in foam curlers, here is rebekah
both girls from the back
rachel thought she needed some curlers too. i only had hair for about 4, to rebekah's 20. they were very cute though!!
so thursday, i started getting a tickle in my throat, and it didn't take long for my body to decide it was at war. i woke up saturday, the day of our big Collin Raye concert, with a barely audible voice, and really hurting when i did try to talk. i preserved my voice the best i could until the concert, and was able to sing a little bit for the first concert. by the second one, my voice was completely shot, and i snuck cough drops in my folder. i sucked on 5 of them throughout the hour and a half of the concert. i only coughed a few times, then went home and collapsed. sunday i was wasted, and didn't get up in time for church. i slept until almost 11, then took a nap at 2. nathan didn't sleep well either, so he came upstairs to sleep with me, and left colby in charge. normally, he does a great job keeping everyone out of trouble. not so with this day. he got caught up in the imaginary world he was in, and rachel got into some serious mischief. i'm not sure which came first, but she put a roll of tp in the bathroom sink, and left the water on. flooded the floor and outside carpet with inches of water, and little floating bits of tp. also, she got out the comet powder and dumped a lot of it on the kitchen floor. i guess she thought she was cleaning. i swept the whole floor of all the dry powder, but she had sprayed windex and bathroom cleaner on it too, so had to mop several times to get all the residue up. i guess that's what happens with a 9 year old is left in charge of a crazy girl named rachel!!!

Mom and Dad

2011-05-06T22:51:00.000-07:00

After church on Sunday I took the kids over to see my parents. Here is Colby and my momHere is the rest of the kids with her.
and here they are with my Dad. He is always in his office when we come over, so we have to go in there to see him!! With a computer and his own tv, who can blame him? :)
I was trying to get cute pics of the kids, and this is what they gave me! little Toads!!!
My new dress. I got it for Kirsten's wedding, but had to see how comfortable and resilient it was first. And I got new shoes, which I love. Not sure if they go together well though....
Today I went to see a new guy for my headaches and back and everything. I went to his office, way out in Phoenix. Right away, it was different. There weren't six people waiting to get in, and he spent over a half hour with me. He did a minor examination, and listed off some problems I have that I hadn't even told him were bothering me. He gave me explanations for my headaches, back pain, neck and shoulders, all that has ailed me for so long. I was worked on for a while, and left feeling so much better I couldn't believe it. I have had a sharp pain in my low back that no doctor has been able to touch. Chiropractors, massage, anything. When I would sit down to drive, it would just feel like a knife was sitting in my back. Driving home was the first time in over a year that it didn't bother me!! Now all day, I keep waiting for it to come back. It hasn't!! But I do feel like I ran a marathon, all my muscles are SORE!!! Hopefully the exercises he told me to do will help, and I can finally have some relief. That is my deepest wish!!

great fun

2011-04-25T15:48:00.000-07:00

Rachel is constantly asking where Grandpa is, or if she can go to his house. Nearly every day, he comes in our backyard to work on something. At the moment, we have a sea-doo, a boat, and an old pick up truck in there. Not to mention all the yard work he does for us when he can't stand it anymore! Rachel sees him back there, and flips the lock on our sliding glass door, and runs out to see him. Barefoot, through the rocks. She doesn't care. Anything to give her grandpa a hug. She loves him and has such a connection with him!!
The kids dyeing easter eggs. Rachel thought it was the best, to plop her egg in the dye, and splash it all over. Good thing I have a vinyl tablecloth on the table! They had a blast with the eggs this year.
After a few weeks ago's fiasco of getting white nailposlish all over herself, I thought we could soak her and get it to come off. No such luck. Although she really enjoyed splashing everywhere. A little big for the sink? NAH!!

The kids at play

2011-04-04T17:33:00.000-07:00

I did not sleep very well last night, so while I was taking a nap, this is what Rachel did. It may look like lotion, but it white nail polish. The really strong kind that is stubborn and does not want to come off of the couch!!
Or off of Rachel's skin. Her nails are all gorgeous, but her legs and arms, not so much.
Last weekend, we went to Prescott for Mark and Heidi's baby's blessing. Here is Rebekah holding baby Matthias. We all loved to hold him, and marveled at what a beautiful baby he is! They did a good job with him. Makes me want another.....almost!!
When we came back from Vegas, Heather suggested this group to contact and see about the lice removal. She had it for almost 2 months. We could not get rid of the stupid eggs. She didn't like having her hair brushed and examined like it needed to be. So I bit the bullet and made an appointment with Hair Angels. It worked!! After her one treatment, it is gone. Thank the heavens!!!

And here is the wonderful machine. Kind of a glorified hair dryer. It dries out the eggs and the live ones, and you just have to comb them out after. No more hatching eggs!!
We went to the Ethel M Chocolate Factory, but the sun was in the kids eyes. The actual factory wasn't going either, something about the demand not warranting it at all times. It was still cool to see where the magic WOULD happen though!

we went to Heather's for Spring Break this year, and got to go with them to Chuck E. Cheese. The kids loved it. Rachel has her battle scars, as usual.

Heather and Taryn. I can't believe how long that baby girl's hair is!! She is not a baby anymore!!

Snow!!

2011-02-22T09:20:00.000-08:00

These always post in backwards order but here goes. This is Rachel posing on the couch in her oh so cute skirt and shirt. We love her in them!!
and here is Colby riding the scooter in the backyard. He is funny!!
Rachel and Rebekah
Rachel posing with her popsicles. She was very happy to eat them!!
In her dress after church. I had to take a pic of it, because Rebekah wore it not so many years ago!!
We went to Prescott on Saturday to see Mark and Heidi and their new baby. It snowed most of the day! Here is the splatted snowman Nathan made.
And here is Nathan trying really hard to put Mr. Snowman up on our slanted hood!
Heidi and Matthias. Such a sweet boy, almost makes me want another baby! .....almost
Rachel and Daddy hold baby Matty
She really liked holding him, and I did too! Thanks guys for letting us play with you!!

sick of sickies!!

2011-02-18T07:29:00.001-08:00

If you haven't seen much of us lately, it is because we have been sick. Super sick! It started several weeks ago when Nathan had a nasty run in with bronchitis. He was on antibiotics, but it still took several days before the fever, chills, shaking and general crummy feelings went away. He is still coughing up a lung, but at least he doesn't feel as bad, and has an inhaler. Fast forward a few weeks, and you have Rachel getting bronchitis. She ended up on antibiotics, and breathing treatments. Not a week later, she started off the family fun of the stomach bug. She got so sick, and couldn't keep anything down for several days. I was told to take her to the ER by her doc, so after 7 hours in there, and 4 of her getting iv fluids, she was finally able to hold some juice down. She has been slowing getting back her appetite and being her mischievous self again. A week later, I had my first bout of vertigo in several months. I was down for the count for 3 days with the torturous room spinning, nausea and sleeping for hours at a time. If it sounds fun to stay in bed all day, you are wrong. It is alright for the first few hours, but it gets really old, really fast!! I was sending Nathan texts all the time, once I got coherent enough to type. Poor guy got to be super dad for a few days. Then Rebekah got the stomach bug, and was sick Sunday night and all day Monday. She was back to school Tues, and we had a few days of a reprieve. Then Wednesday night, I had a late dinner, and started feeling sick. The feeling lasted all day Thurs, and I hate actually throwing up, so didn't eat anything at all during the day. My wonderful Mother had some chicken noodle soup and ginger ale that she gave to me, and I finally ate that. I had choir rehearsal, and DID NOT want to miss it. I sucked it up and went, despite the fact that I had barely eaten, and still felt icky. But, I managed to survive, and sang what I needed to. Our concert is on March 5, and we now have only 2 weeks left to have an entire program memorized. I just couldn't miss a rehearsal, and with Brett, who wrote the amazing music, nonetheless. We normally have his brother, Brandon, direct us. It was a nice change, and some much-needed comic relief to rehearse with Brett. They are both extremely talented, and I feel so privileged to be a part of their organization. The debut of the Messiah in America-We'll bring the World his Truth- will be something that noone wants to miss. I am so excited to help bring the dream to fruition in this way. It is the story of 3rd Nephi from the Book of Mormon, and is truly spectacular with the full orchestra behind us, and the talented soloists that are going to be joining us. YAY! We are almost there!! Now, if we can all just stay healthy for a while......

scrapbooks and knowledge

2011-02-04T08:06:00.001-08:00

caleb's class made him this card when he had his tonsils out! i love it, but we couldn't keep it up anymore. so we took a picture.

so for those who know me well, you understand what a big deal it is that i finished!! i am about 6 months behind, but i finally finished all 5 books of the pictures i had printed!!! i ordered the rest of the pictures today. it took forever, literally almost a year to finish, but i did it!! i finally had enough extra money to stock up on paper and page protectors and adhesive. that made all the difference. it is really hard to find the motivation to work on them when you know you don't have all the supplies you will need. it's one of those, "why bother?" scenarios. so thank goodness the post office has extra trips during the holiday season, even though nathan hates doing them with a passion. we at least get a little much needed extra money!!
and on a side note, i am back in school, taking 9 credits this semester. they are all online classes, and so far, i have done pretty well. but i find that i have to actually prioritize to get things done, and watching the shows i have recorded, does not always end up at the top of the list like it used to!! GASP!! i know. but i have been feeling pretty good about myself lately, you know, improving my mind and all. and i have tried to make the kids more organized too, with a little chore chart that they can move the stars over when they finish. it was pretty simple, and way cute! now, if i can just get the kids to actually use them.....
and another side note, nathan and i are taking a marriage and family class put on by our stake, and we are really enjoying it. nathan was totally against the idea at first, but agreed it to appease me. he is a really good man, and i find myself even more grateful for him as i learn about other couples, and remember that we have a pretty dang good thing going!! yay!

Grateful

2011-01-12T07:40:00.000-08:00

the girls in their christmas dresses, and the boys with new ties.

here is all of us at sandy's graveside with john. rachel was being a twerp.:) and here is sandy's beautiful headstone. i really like how it turned out.

The past few days i have been filled with an overwhelming sense of my blessings. i was reading on a friends blog about how she is trying to let the house go a little bit, and not stress over every crumb on the floor, and thing out of place. she is trying to enjoy her children being children. i am trying to adopt this attitude, but it is proving difficult. i have serious ocd when it comes to my house, and it is stressful to me to have things cluttered and messy. but i am trying.
i have 4 healthy and beautiful children who are trying beyond imagination, while being hilarious and so much fun. they fill my life with joy and unexpected things every day. i will think that i can't handle one more crazy shinanigan by any of them, and then someone does something so sweet and sincere, it brings tears to my eyes, and makes me forget what i was upset about in the first place. kids are so much more challenging than i ever imagined as a kid and teenager, but also so much more rewarding. they are unspotted from all the craziness of the world, and just see things how they are. they don't have an agenda in what they say and do, and you know they are sincere. if they tell you that you look pretty, they really think so. they don't just give lip service like some of the adults are known to do!! kids will tell you that you look scary when you wake up with eyeliner and mascara running all over the place. or when they don't like the new hairdo you are experimenting with. kids are nothing, if not honest!!
and i am blessed beyond imagining with nathan. he is a true spiritual giant, and we all look to him for guidance. he goes every day to a job he despises, so he can support us well. he loves me even when i am not behaving very well. the last year has been hard for me, but he has stuck by me through all the emotional turmoil i have experienced, and still loves me.
so i have been trying to better myself so that i can become the mother and wife i should have been all along. i am starting classes again at mcc, so hopefully i can get a job in a few years, and boost our income. i have been faithfully reading my scriptures since the new year, which i have been less than perfect at in the past. we are going to attend a marriage and family class for the next couple of months, even though nathan really doesn't want to. he is doing it because he loves me. i know it without a doubt. and i am trying to do better... that is a start, right?

new family pics of all

2010-12-29T19:52:00.000-08:00

rachel with such personality!!

caleb with his blue eyes and dark skin is gonna be a heartbreaker!!

colby is growing up, and so handsome

the whole family posing. can you tell the sun was in our eyes? :)

rebekah had strep throat when we got these taken, i just didn't know it until after. she had her arms folded and said she was cold the whole time, but genius me didn't put it together until the next day when she had a fever. she is still gorgeous, but we retook her individual pics later. here they are.

i love this one of our backs. it is really cool looking!

nathan and i. he really is quite the handsome man, with the clean-shaven look.

and here is the whole fam. caleb his tonsils and adnoids out just a few days earlier, but you can't tell. that kid is tough!!

my beauty girls

handsome boys

winter sing

2010-12-17T11:48:00.000-08:00

last night was the school program, that they call the winter sing. caleb couldn't be in it, because he had his tonsils and adnoids out on wednesday. poor kid! but he is taking it like a trooper, and is barely taking any pain medicine. only when we force him to!

here is rebekah's class getting ready to sing

colby getting his snazzy tie tied by dad

colby posing for the camera after a great performance.

rebekah ready to go sing
and videos of each awesome kid. i am proud of them, and all of their hard work!!

new fun

2010-12-10T16:25:00.000-08:00

i always post the pics in backwards order from the time they actually happened!!

here we are chilling between concerts. we didn't have a whole lot of time to relax, but when we did, we sprawled out on the floor to munch. it was very nice!! our concert was a great success, selling out the hall for both performances. i loved performing again, and it is so fun to be a part of such a cool organization. our next concert is march 5, where we are doing an original oratorio premiered here that is composed by one of our amazing directors, brett stewart.
here is tat and i in the car before our concert
colby got his wolf award for scouts, and had to search for beef jerky all over the room. it was pretty funny to see him wandering around looking clueless!! he found it behind the books though!!
nathan had his birthday on the 28th, but we celebrated early to spend it with family.
rachel still just worships caleb, and was climbing all over him. this is the only shot where you can see both of their faces!!
i can't believe how fast time is flying by. i am actually done with my christmas shopping though, so that is a huge relief. and i am managing to keep the house and kids mostly clean, despite the debilitating dizziness and headaches that seem to follow me everywhere i go!! at least they don't last as long anymore.....here's hoping!!

we moved!

2010-11-21T20:23:00.000-08:00

i don't really have pictures this time, but we have had another big change in our lives. we moved!! we are only about a street away from the old place, but we love it. we now have another almost 1100 sq ft, and all the bedrooms are upstairs. there is even a little room off the living room where i can stash the crafts and sewing projects with my own table!! it is perfect for our family, and i am so very thankful that we were able to find it when we did. my friend was over a few weeks ago, and has an "in" with a realtor they are working with. totally out of the blue, she suggested getting online, and doing a search of the area. now, i had been checking every day for a new place to go up for rent, and hadn't found anything exciting. i was doubtful that she would either. so imagine my surprise when she names the street that the kids school is on!! i run over to look at it, and am floored. it was/is everything we wanted, and had only been up for that day!! i don't believe in coincidences, and this was too perfect to be one anyway. i had just been called as the ward choir director, and here was my answer as to if we were still supposed to be in the area or not. so, jump forward a few weeks, and here we are. moved into our new house, and everything just falling into place. so thank you for answers to prayers.
everyone seems to be making a list of things they are thankful for, so here is mine in no particular order:
1. our new house-room to roam
2. answers to prayers, even silent ones
3. kids, mine and everyone elses
4. friends-enough said, they rock
5. my hubby-he is the greatest man on earth
6.my inlaws-some people don't love them!!
7. parents- they put up with a lot over the years
8. sisters (and brother)
9. brothers and sisters in law
10. modern conveniences -ac is my best friend!!
11. good food-sometimes that i make, and others that i buy
12. fast food- sometimes you just have no desire or time to cook
13. restaurants- dates with hubby, and sometimes the kids
14. tv- i love to sit and watch a good show with the fam
15. dvr- i can never go back to commercials
16. music- i love to sing, and listen to good music too
17. the evmco-it is the highlight of my week
18. the gospel - keeping me in line
19. health- i complain a lot about all the little ailments, but it could be a lot worse
20. chocolate-yummy
21. chiropractors and massage- aaahhhh
22. laughter- the cure for what ails you
23. books- i love to read a good romance!
24. the post office- they are idiots, but they are our employment, so i like them
25. temples- sealings, and knowledge that those who have gone before are not gone
26. school- i love that they kids are old enough to be educated all day!!
27. antibiotics and modern medicine- sick kids and hubby would be a lot worse
28. facebook and blogs- we know what is going on with all sorts of people we couldn't otherwise
29. stars- i love to look at the constellations, even though i don't know most of them!
30. the birth, atonement and death of Jesus Christ- because of Him, life isn't hopeless
ok, now it's your turn everyone!

costumes are fun!!

2010-11-03T08:48:00.000-07:00

we had a really fun time dressing up this year. at the last minute i decided to join in the fun, and dress up too!! i chose to wear nathan's high school football jersey, and do the under eye smudges too. those didn't end up looking like they were supposed to, but hey, i tried! we also had no crown for princess rebekah, so aj made one! i was impressed. who knew what could be done with cardboard, tinfoil, tape and stickers?! colby was superman, caleb was johnny from the fantastic 4, and little rachel was a hula girl. i wasn't sure what to do with her hair, because she doesn't have much of it. but again, aj came to the rescue. we braided as many spots as we could, and while i was pulling pizza out of the oven, she put embellishments on the bottom of each braid. i never would have thought of that!! and it looked great!!

the only drawback of the evening was running over a cat on our way home. they usually dart away at the last second, but this one didn't!! so a very big apology to whoever's pet i killed! wah!

pumpkin fun

2010-10-29T21:56:00.001-07:00

usually nathan is the sole pumpkin carver, but last year i decided to give it a whirl. i did something super simple, and thought i would go for something a little harder this year. nathan decided to do the creepy skull face, in order to try and please colby. i went with the witch stirring her brew over the fire. they both turned out really well!! i am super proud of myself for managing to make something this cool looking, with the paper sliding all over the place in the "goo" as rachel was calling it. then, because i was having so much fun, i decided to go for it, and carve rachel's little one she got at the pumpkin patch. it was a lot harder to clean out!! let me tell you! i cut my hand trying to scrape it out, but i survived. i copied a picture rebekah made at school, for the face. what do you think of our masterpieces? i think we did a pretty dang good job!!

pumpkin

2010-10-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

this is my best friend since junior high, allison, and her son brandon. he was tired, but happy!! such a cutie, almost makes me want another one, but not quite....!

the girls doing the maze. rachel is taking the lead and getting them out of there!!

it was a really fun maze, even tat and i went through it, just to prove that we could do it faster than the kids!!

there were goats and cows the kids got to feed hay to. it was really cool. i had never seen a cow's tongue come out and scoop in the food before.

there were lots of fun places to take pictures of the kids in. the triplets (almost) posed together a lot. such cuties!!

and andrew rounds out the crew while caleb is in school.

rachel got to pick out her own pumpkin, and loved decorating it with stickers. very fun and worth the money spent!!

our kids hanging out with aaron and ajs kids. watching tv in our room.

grandpa gresko made rachel this rocking chair, and she loves to sit in it. especially when no one is watching her do it!! she is such a silly girl.

tree destruction

2010-10-07T15:22:00.000-07:00

the picture order is backwards, sorry!!

for anyone who doesn't live here, the last few days were filled with freak rainstorms almost like hurricanes. for natives of this lovely hot desert, we had no idea what to make of the horizontal rain and hail, crazy high winds, and booming thunder. all we knew was that it was loud, and we should probably stay inside!! when i finally did have to brave the rain, and go pick up the kids from school, i noticed uprooted and broken trees littering the roads, but assumed we got away unscathed. i was wrong. the kids have a music class after school on tuesdays, so i was didn't come back home, but nathan called me and asked if i had seen our tree. i told him i hadn't noticed anything, and he told me to just wait and see it. after class, we came home through flooded streets, and more downed trees, just taking in the destruction, and wondering what awaited us at home. we pulled into the driveway, and saw that half of the huge pine tree in the front of the house had cracked and broken, and was literally resting on our roof. i called our landlord and was assured someone would be here soon. we were afraid to have the kids in the back bedrooms, so the girls were in caleb's room, and the boys on the couch. if that tree fell anymore, it would go through their roofs. luckily, we had an uneventful night, and it wasn't until 3pm the next day that the workmen showed up. we got home, and they were on the roof, chainsawing the limb down piece by piece. they had wrapped heavy duty ropes and straps on to the tree, to lower it down, and scared us by telling us not to go in the main part of the house. according to one guy, if it goes, it is going straight through the roof, no question. it was a nerve-wracking few hours, but they finished around 7pm last night. needless to say, we said many prayers of thanks for our safety and being watched over!!
on a side note, my sister had 2 windows broken by the hail, and my parents had the neighbors tree break and fall over into their side, crushing the block fence, and sitting on their roof as well. thankfully, only property was damaged, and no one was hurt!! but what a storm!!!

my colby

2010-09-27T09:13:00.000-07:00

ok, so it's been a long time since i have been hit with a vertiginous migraine (the doctor's fancy name for all the misery going on!!) and i was not expecting it when i did. thursday was a normal fun day, but that night, i was hit with a migraine. hard. friday morning i woke up still pounding, and now we got to add the dizzy, head spinning nausea to it. not my idea of fun. i slept off and on all day, not getting out of bed. nathan had to work until after 8, so the kids and i were on our own. colby had pack meeting at 6, so around 5 i asked him if he wanted to go, so i could call someone and set up a ride. his answer brought tears to my eyes. he told me it was his job to take care of me and the other kids, and that was way more important than going to pack meeting. he said, what if caleb and rachel did something they weren't supposed to? or you needed something and couldn't get it. i am going to stay here and make sure everything is ok.

i don't know what i did to deserve such a sweet boy, but i am grateful every day that i have him. he is still a silly kid, that acts like a kid much of the time. but when he needs to be, he really steps up and is the man of the family. i was so proud of him and his willingness to serve his family. he is such a tenderhearted and loving boy, i love him so much!! and now he is 9, and moving from wolves to bears in the cub scout program. he is doing so well in everything he does!! we love you colby!!

accomplishments and birthdays

2010-09-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

ok, there have been many accomplishments in the last few days, and i thought i would mention a few of them here. i made this dress yesterday, with minimal mistakes and frustration!! anyone who knows what a hard time i had making rachel's dress, knows that this was HUGE for me! i only had sandy's help once, and that was pinning the zipper in place. i came home and sewed it in, and even did the decorative lace on my own. i am very proud of myself!!

grandma gresko's 60th birthday was on monday, and her being here to share it with us was an accomplishment in and of itself. she has thought her time was coming to an end a few times, but lucky for us, she has been wrong. it was such a blessing to have her still be with us, so we could celebrate her birthday together!! we love you sandy!!!

then we have colby's 9th birthday, and rebekah spinning in her skirt. she likes to twirl.

swimming fun!! rachel and daddy snuggling

rachel, and then caleb.

snuggling mom
and rachel with her hair done and in a cute outfit!!

stitches and school pics

2010-09-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

rachel fell off my sister's bunk bed and bit through her bottom lip and had to get stitches.

here she is trying to show it off, but not doing a very good job!!

then her posing with her new picture for the wall.

and colby with his school pic that i took before he went to school for picture day (i'm too cheap to buy a package! )

and rebekah

and caleb

and monica got a ladder for her birthday to reach the super high places in her new house, but has a fear of heights. here she is trying to overcome it!!

at the restaurant for her dinner with the kiddos

taryn and rachel in a basket being entertained by alissa

school days again

2010-08-16T08:35:00.000-07:00

so my little man caleb started school this year. official school anyway. he is a kindergartener. i had debated many times back and forth if i should start him or not, since his birthday is july 13, he barely makes the cutoff. first, i was thinking, well, he's 5, of course you start him!! then, oh no, he's so little and immature!! then back, and forth a hundred times. well, i finally decided that i would start him. they offer all day kinder, and if he was doing horribly, i would pull him back to half day. seems like a good plan, right? so the big day is coming, and he is not happy about it. you ask him about it, and he hangs his head, talking about the mean teachers, and how he will miss being home and watching tv and all of it. the night before, i get no sleep, but he wakes up happy and energized, and so excited, i am shocked!! he gets dressed early, no arguing that i am making him a "cute" shirt! his backpack is packed and ready to go, and he is asking if it is time to go for an hour!! finally, we take a few pictures, and go. he runs out of the car, without a backward glance! success!!

a few days later, still going strong, i get a phone call from the teacher. oh no, a phone call!! what has he done already to warrant a dreaded phone call?? i don't actually answer it, but listen to the message later. she tells me how great he is doing, and what a joy he is to have in class!! she actually tells me i made the right choice putting him in this year!!! that is music to my ears!! i was just thrilled!

and colby and rebekah are happy with their teachers. they both have friends from the ward in their classes, so they are doing well and making friends. this has been a good year so far for them. and i am very grateful for that. they were all nervous switching to a different school. and i was nervous for them. but now we are less than a mile away from the school, so once it cools off, we can walk!! yahoo!!

birthday fun!!

2010-07-31T08:20:00.000-07:00

fearless rachel waiting for the water to drop on her. but notice the age difference between her and the other kids??

after swim team was over, they had their party. here they are loving every minute of it. rachel isn't afraid of anything!!! colby posing on the bar.

caleb

racel swinging away

caleb turned 5!! he got some really cool stuff for this birthday. we did the birthday party at grandma mcnelly's house, and cousin andrew got to be there for the cake and presents. it was very fun!! colby was a little excited about the presents too, in case you can't tell! :)

swimming

2010-06-30T21:51:00.000-07:00

i don't have pictures of my crazy kids in the pool, because i can't bear the thought of my camera getting wet. if you had seen rachel in water, you would understand. i have to put a swim diaper on her, then her bathing suit (i got her a super cute new one), then immediately the arm floaties. i made the mistake of opening the gate without putting the floaties on once, and she jumped right in the water, thinking she had them on. i won't do that again. this crazy girl jumps straight in the water, head goes under, and she bobs back up. no crying or spluttering. just a happy, kicking, swimming girl. she will jump off the diving board, jump off the side into someone's arms, be dragged around, and sometimes under by an enthusiastic sister, play catch with a ball, climb into her "lotie" as she calls it. she loves the water. everything having to do with the water. when she gets cold, she will lay on the deck on her tummy for a while, then get back in the water. she is the funniest little thing. and the way she splashes and plays, i can't bring my camera out there!!

then there's caleb. he started the swimming season the same way he ended last year, wearing a life jacket, happily swimming and jumping off the side, going underwater. well, a couple weeks ago, nathan thought i was torturing him, but i was in fact teaching him to swim. and it worked. after a few days of blood curdling screaming "I CAN'T DO IT!!!!", he actually DID IT!!! he is now a pro, swimming all over the pool. he doesn't have a stroke down yet, but i am happy he is swimming without a flotation device.

colby and rebekah joined the local swim team, and are working hard on their strokes every day. they are doing better every day at practice, and i drill them at home too. all the kiddos are doing really well this year. yay for swimming!!

gullible

2010-06-19T20:49:00.000-07:00

today i learned (well, relearned really) that i am extremely gullible. i will fall for any sob story, so bring them on. a few years ago, i had listed an organ for sale, the kind you play, not the body parts. anyway, i had a person contact me with one of those, i'll send you a check and you wire me the money deals. this was before it was all over the place as a do not do thing. i had never heard of it before, and it seemed like a good deal. so, the check came, i went and deposited it, then wired the money. i know what you are thinking, wow, what an idiot. now, before you judge me too harshly, just know that i am not a scam artist, and don't think i know anyone else who is. so why would anyone do this to me? it had never happened to me. apparently, there's a first time for everything. i don't remember exact details, but i also bought a dog the same way. wire the money, no dog. in the end, i was taken for something like 6 grand. you would think i had learned my lesson, right? WRONG!!

we have our excursion listed on craigslist, and several people have expressed interest in it, only to quit calling, not show up when they are supposed to, or other such things. last night i got an email from a guy that says he is extremely interested, but needs us to do owner financing. this puts up little red flags. he says he has little kids, and needs a car for them. flags down. aw, a guy with kids can't be bad, right? he says he'll give us a thousand down, and a thousand every month for the next 7 month, which is a grand more than asking price. flags up again. says he has a good paying job, and can show us pay stubs. oh, ok. flags down. he'll get it insured with us as leinholders. he'll have a notorized contract drawn up. all these things sound good to me. but then, my good old father in law says, but what if he just takes the car, and you never hear from him again? all you have is a thousand dollars. dang, i've been taken in again.

now, this could be a legitimate guy, with a legitimate need that we could help. or, he could be a total scam artist with no job, no kids, and is just looking for gullible suckers like me. there is no way to tell, so sadly, with the world in the sad shape it is in, i cannot take the chance. i am so upset tonight. upset that i fall for these things so easily, that i trust that there is a shred of decency left in humanity. upset that i have to feel this way. that you can't just follow the dang golden rule. treat others the way you would want to be treated, dangit!!!! but most of all, i am upset that i almost fell for this kind of thing......again. will i ever learn???

keys

2010-06-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

today i ran to the store for just a few things. like we all say, right? :) well, since we are limited on funds, it really had to be just a few things! rachel and i wandered all around, trying on shoes, looking at swimsuits, and basically coveting things i can't have!

well, rachel got restless, and it was either let her tear apart my purse and wallet, or give her the keys. i opted for the keys. i have dealt with the exploded purse, not fun. i have also had her throw my keys on the floor when i wasn't paying attention. that isn't fun either. so i was paying super close attention to make sure it didn't happen again, but then got sidetracked by something else cool.... we checked out, and went to the car. i unloaded rachel and the groceries, and looked for my keys...... then i remembered that rachel had them in the cart! she is notorious for chucking stuff over the side, so i am constantly putting things back in. if she threw them when i wasn't looking, oh crap!! i had ice cream melting!! and impatient kids at home waiting for it!! i looked through my purse 3 times frantically, praying they would magically appear. that she had stuck them in a random place. but no, they weren't there. on a whim, i picked up the ice cream to see how melted it was..... and lo and behold, the keys were there!!! somehow, they had gotten into the bag, under the ice cream! whether rachel had put them there, or the bagger had accidentally picked them up, i will never know, but i have never been so grateful to see keys in all of my life!!! after last week, i am starting to think i need to staple them to my clothes!!

holy moly

2010-06-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

i knew it, when i woke up, i had the feeling i should have just gotten back in bed. things went from bad to worse all day long yesterday. this post is a little bit of a whiny- woe is me kind of deal, so if you aren't in the mood to read that, move along now!! :)

the day started out ok, i spent an hour or so on the computer looking for swimsuits that i and my darling nathan would like. you know, with straps, not a halter, tankini top long enough to stretch well over the bottoms, and a skirt. i found a few i liked, and had them on the computer for nathan to see later. the dishes were piled in the sink, but i kept saying i would get to them later. i had places to go, but figured i had time to get ready to go. not so. heather came in with the crew, and i was still in my pjs with nothing done!! i raced to get ready, and ran out the door. hehe

i get where i was going, lock the car, throw the keys in my purse, at the last second think to myself, it's too bulky, i don't want to lug it around, and THROW IT ON THE SEAT!!!! yup, locked the keys in the car. i went inside and did my thing, but had to wait almost 45 min for nathan to finish work, go home and get the key, and come and rescue me. thank goodness for knights in shining armor. on the plus side, i did get to wait in an air conditioned building and eat a fresh peach. that was yummy.

i get home, put away all my purchases, and show nathan my swimsuit finds. he says, they're ok, but the skirts make you look frumpy. back to square one. oh well. i have lost some weight, so we'll see.....

then, we do lunch, then i go to the hospital to sit with dear sandy while john is at work. i race there, but get all turned around in the crazy construction and end up calling heather for help. i finally get to sandy's room, and barely give her a hug, when they come in and get her for radiation treatment. i didn't realize what that entailed, and i wasn't invited along, so i just sat down to read my book. it wasn't long before they were back, and i talked with her a little, before she was given more much needed meds that helped her relax and she drifted in and out for the next couple hours. at one point, the nurse gave her the meds in the iv, and sandy winced in pain. the nurse looked at the iv site, and decided to try to a better site on the other arm. now, it took several people several painful tries to get the one they had, and it was way up on the upper arm. she was pretty nervous it was going to be like before, but relented to another try. the nurse kept saying they called her the "sharpshooter" because she gets the first try, every time. so sandy looked at me, closed her eyes, and was ready. before we even prepared ourselves, she was done! she really was the sharpshooter!! thank goodness!! i don't think sandy was geared up for another torture session. thankfully, she was able to rest after that, and i got a good portion of my book read. sadly, when heather was there, it was not so peaceful.

but i went home, and got the kids ready for scouts. we are the webelos leaders. our kids go to the scoutmasters house during meetings, and they love it. nathan stayed home with the sleeping girls, and i took the other 6 kids to her house. then i picked up the boys and got to the church. i realized i didn't have the keys to get in!! nathan has them on his ring! aaaahhh!!! so i rushed back to her house to get her keys, before the other boys and our guest speaker got there. the meeting went well, and we got the kids home.but because rachel had slept for so long, she wasn't ready for bed for a long time. finally at 1030, i gave up, and locked her in her room. at 11, i moved her from rebekah's bed to her own, and went to my bed. but then i couldn't sleep! so sometime around midnight i finally went to sleep. and today we were up bright and early. the kids have no idea what it means to sleep in.
think i should have gone back to bed?????

surgery

2010-05-26T20:54:00.001-07:00

rachel had her surgery on monday the 17th, and it was quite the rough day for us. first, we woke up at 5 to get the hospital by 530. rachel was taken away around 7 to start the fun of ivs and knock out drugs. also at 7, the dealership opened, and in case you hadn't heard, our car wouldn't start and needed to be towed there!! so right after she got taken away, nathan left to go meet the tow truck and unlock the car and get out important stuff in it. meanwhile, rachel came out of surgery and was mad as a hornet!! she is a very strong girl, and no amount of mommy love, rocking, holding or singing was making her one bit happy. she would semi fall asleep, but only for a minute, and was mad again. it took quite a while to calm her down, but once we did, she slept for a good long while. thank goodness! waking up from that sleeping drug is not fun for her, apparently!! poor girl! then we were transferred upstairs to her room. nathan started complaining that he wasn't feeling well, getting a headache and more and more nauseated. i am sorry to say that i wasn't as sympathetic as i could have been. both of us get headaches a lot, so i figured, take your meds, get a nap, and you'll be fine. not so much. it was a rough afternoon for both of us, i was at the hospital with rachel, and he was home with the kiddos, feeling sicker and sicker. neither of us realized he was actually getting the flu, until both he and rebekah were sick in the night!! what a way to spend the night! i had a rough night with rachel, barely getting much sleep between her and the nurses that checked on her. then, the next morning, i started feeling sicker and sicker. the playroom was having a music class and offered to have one of their volunteers take her. i rested for the whole 45 min! it was heaven!!
by that evening, i was miserable, and nathan and rebekah were better, thank goodness. their bug only lasted about a day, while mine lingered on, and even turned into vertigo!! rachel came home tues night, and has been fighting us on taking her meds, even though they make such a difference on how she feels! i will never understand it. well, thursday i was still sick so nathan and his dad picked up our car from the shop, where they insist nothing was wrong with it!! i don't understand that either. but i guess you be grateful it wasn't something major, right?
but it was my mandatory rehearsal for the choir concert the next night, and i couldn't make it. i couldn't stand up, let alone stand and sing. so my sister tat, who is in it with me, asked them to make an exception for me. i was given a blessing, and able to feel well enough to practice and perform on friday. it was one of the hardest weeks of my life!! but an awesome concert! thank goodness we are feeling better around here. it was rough!
oh, and on a lighter note, yesterday at school, my gorgeous rebekah CUT HER HAIR!!!! i guess she was trying to go for some bangs or something, but she looks funny!! i will post pics as soon as camera charges!

days gone by

2010-05-16T09:24:00.000-07:00

rachel finally learned how to put a pot on her head. it is very cute, and difficult for her to fit her head inside!! :)

this is their music class, which is a 3 year lesson plan, at the end of which, they should be able to compose their own music, and play at an intermediate level. i was so proud of caleb for participating, and they all did so great!!

rachel in the doctor's office, who finally decided that she was in fact sick enough to have her tonsils and adnoids out (which will be done tomorrow morning, wish us luck!!) she actually had to have an x-ray done of her sinuses which showed how her chronic sinus infections had done damage, and showed up in her x-rays. poor thing.

Learnings in frustration

2010-04-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

Yet another wonderful post by Nate allowing us all to meander down the dismal path that has become my education/career.
For those who need a recap...
I spent the greater part of the 2000's in that wonderful prison I like to call school. I love learning, I just deplore school, but I digress.... anyway... Here is why I attended school.
I have been running a trucking business that keeps our family alive. I hate the trucking business. Dont get me wrong, its nice to set your hours, be your own boss, blah blah blah.... here is the other side. When you own your own business you are last to get paid, and in trucking that always means underpaid. Trucks run 24/7 which means you are never ever not at work. 1 am calls telling you a truck has broke down are always a special treat.
Continuing, trucking doesnt attract the most intelligent of folks either, and my contracts are with the post office, which seems to be some modern day ambrosia for morons, dingbats, screwups, suckups, and every other detestable scum that never learned to use their brain so they went to the ole government to secure their future at wages they dont deserve for labor they dont provide. I grew tired of this daily rigmarole and wanted to have a better life for me an my family. So, in 2001 decided to try and get my business degree.
In 2007 I finally achieved my goal. I graduated with a degree in business management from the University of Phoenix (the only school I could attend with my schedule), severely in debt from student loans but believing I had finally secured my future......WRONG!!!!!!
Turns out a business degree is worthless without some sort of specialization. How do I know this you might say? Years of interviews with company big wigs who were kind enough, and at the same time complete a@#holes, told me my degree was worthless without more education. What to do, what to do?
Computers my mind said, you love networking (from a brief spell with an IT company that my bro in law was kind enough to arrange...long story), why not get some certifications in something you enjoy, get entry level work somewhere, and earn your way up with your degree and certifications together. Sounds awesome on paper, eh? NOPE!!
I spent another 8 months, and a considerable amount of cash, getting Network+ and CCNA certified. Here is the gist of a conversation I had today with Adecco, a temp placement firm known internationally. This person will now be referred to as dingbat, or db for short.
Me: Im looking to try and find job placement. I have a business degree and a few computer certifications that I have recently earned.
DB: Do you have any experience with either?
Me: Yes I have a trucking company which I have operated since I was 18, and I have a little experience with Novell, a major computer company.
DB: Well, since you dont have any experience we cant help you. Recent certifications are really worthless. Companies want employees with experience, so come back when you get some.
Me: Do you not see the catch 22 here? You want experience, and certifications, but are unwilling to let anyone with certifications try to gain experience. How are you supposed to get "years" of experience.....?
Dingbat didnt have an answer, he just shuffled me off with some remark about leaving my resume with their hr team.
So, a summary is in order I think.
Bachelors degree cost $30,000...yup UOP is a financial blackhole from which there is no return
2 computer Certifications cost $5000
Total value to the rest of the world $0
Having to still drive a mind numbing truck for the rest of your life....priceless

I really hate this world and am going to grab a Dr Pepper and a lawn chair and watch the fireworks with elations of ecstasy and tears of joy in my eyes when it finally goes down in flames.
Have a nice day

scared to absolute death!!

2010-04-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

ok, so i don't know if you can see just how scary these roads are by this picture, but i, who have barely ever driven on a curvy road in my life, was scared to death!! i drove my kids to school like any normal day, then found out that the family wanted me to pull them out, and have them join us for the day of fun and adventure. so i rushed home to put on tennis shoes and pack lunch, and went to the school to grab the kids (where they had been for an hour). they were so excited, and when colby heard that we had to get off on the idaho exit, he thought we were taking a plane to idaho. it was very cute. but no, just driving. i didn't realize what my lovely father in law had in store for me. he told me there would be some windy roads and maybe it would be a turn off of a dirt road for a while. a few weeks ago, we took a camping trip, where we detoured for a few miles of off roading on a dirt road. this is what i envisioned. I WAS WAY OFF!!! basically, i was on the freeway a little past where i know it, then off into lala land for a long time, then the paving drops off, and it is dirt road for what seems like hours. the dirt road i don't mind so much. it is the winding switchbacks up and down mountains and the teeny road hugging the side of the cliff. there were times when a car was coming the opposite direction, and you have to pull over to let them pass!! that is just plain scary!! after an eternity of driving, and perspiring through inches of my shirt, we made it the roosevelt lake dam. we got out, and john reminisced about the mail route, and where he used to drive. when i saw him, i slapped his arm back and forth for what he put me through!! sandy knew my fear though, and gave him a good talking to during the drive, which made me feel better. i complained a lot, but it was a gorgeous drive. i just felt very unprepared, and more than a little ticked at john for not telling me what i was in for!!

here is a picture of the kids standing in front of the ancient cliff dwelling. isn't it cool? i hiked up there, was too winded to stand in the picture! i am way pathetic, i know!! thank goodness the drive home was much faster and on a paved road, much less scary!!

before easter skirts

2010-03-28T21:49:00.001-07:00

thursday my friend marie and i decided it would be a way cheaper and more fun idea to sew our own skirts for our girls this year, and make them match!! we love the cute matching dresses some kids get to wear, but being so many sizes apart, it is hard to find them for rebekah and rachel. i jumped all over this idea. friday i met her at the fabric store, where she immediately found what she was looking for. i took a little more time, but eventually found something i liked too. we started working on our projects after school, and after a few hours, she was done with one skirt, and i was done with my sister's curtains. (did i mention that my sister asked me to do curtains for her condo at the same time?) then i got to start on my skirts. so at the end of the night, she was done with both of her girls main sewing, and i had one thing done. ruffling is NO FUN!!! saturday morning things went much more smoothly, and when marie came over with her finished skirts, she could show me what to do next, and i finished a skirt too! the next one was much easier, and soon we were both done. my sister liked the curtains i had made so much, she ended up going and picking out fabric for another window, and coming over to join in the sewing party! she hasn't sewn in many years, so marie taught her patiently how to pin and sew and she did the whole thing herself. marie made her skirt our of 3 panels of the same material as the girls, but i wanted something more adventurous. i cut out a pattern and tried to put together a skirt that sandy, nathan's mom, gave me the pattern for. it was much more advanced that anything i have ever attempted, and was way over my head. thankfully, right at the point when i was ready to throw in the towel, she came through the door. she said i had been on her mind all day, and she came to see if i needed help. she finished the skirt for me, much faster and easier than i could have dreamed of!! it looks wonderful, and i couldn't thank her enough!! so we went to church today all matching, in our easter skirts that we can't wear next week because of general conference.

what do you think of these?

2010-03-13T15:16:00.000-08:00

here is the finished product!! you can probably scroll through older posts and see us sitting around the old ugly kitchen table. well, i got sick of it, but didn't know what to do. my good friend marie suggested i sand down and paint the table, which took longer than i thought it would to dry! we were out of a table, and sitting on the floor for a few days. we worked it out though, and now we have this masterpiece to use!! it isn't quite perfect, but for a first project, i am quite proud of myself! what do you think?

the pinewood derby

colby's neon orange car

so anyone that knows our family, knows that rebekah has long gorgeous curly hair. so what happened? apparently as you get older, and your hair starts out curly, it gets straighter. at least this is the case with my darling daughter. so, instead of sporting the straggly, almost curly, but not quite, look; i cut it off, and now it is smooth and straight!! who would have thought? and it naturally flips out in the cutest little hairdo. i love it. and she does too. and here's the real kicker.....NATHAN does too!! i thought he would hate it, and hate me for having the nerve to do it (i did it while he was asleep!!), but he came up to me, and exclaimed how gorgeous she looked, and why did we wait so long to do this? i was shocked and speechless!! and proud!! i did this, and nathan liked it! wow!! not to toot my own horn, but wow!!!

then there's rachel, who is just as mischevious and adorable as ever!!

here's the whole crew, all snug like a bug in a rug!! i love them all laying in our bed like this! :)

renting fun

2010-02-05T10:48:00.001-08:00

rebekah at rachel at the walmart playroom. with caleb in the background.

ok, this post is backwards. the pictures are at the top. sorry. we went to the snow over civil rights day, and had a blast with friends. we were the only family with actual snow clothes, so everyone else was freezing. we didn't stay too long, but had a good day anyway. it was nice to be out of the heat for a day!! the boys loved sledding though. they would have stayed out there all day!!

christmas eve jammies. they were so dang cute this year!!

so i was not informed on all the joys of renting before i decided to do this. there are crappy appliances, flooring, and cabinets. you don't get to choose the kind of stuff you want, or if it matches your own stuff. but i have learned that there are some up sides to renting as well. there is a landlord that you can call with your honey do list!! when something breaks, instead of adding it to the million things your hubby has to do, you call a number, and a guy comes to look at it! for free! since we have moved in, we have had 2 ceiling fans go out and get replaced, the water softener under the sink spewing water, so that was taken out. we had the back fence blow over and break in a storm, the dishwasher not work, and the stove knobs were crappy. last night the garage door died. when the landlord came over to look at it, he found the the motor had gone out completely. so just in the last few weeks, he has fixed the fence and stove, had the dishwasher cleaned, and now the garage door. all i can say is......I DON"T HAVE TO PAY FOR IT!!!!!!! that is the upside i have found to renting. on to pictures

Was I wrong to respond?

2010-01-16T07:24:00.000-08:00

Hey all its Nate. As you know we recently lost our home and were forced to move. Towards the end we payed a company a lot of money to assist us with the lender in renegotiating our loan. This loan mod company promised us a 50% reduction in our payment and a loan remodification to current value. Naturally we signed the papers and they took our limited cash and ran. We constantly called to find out what was going on...nothing was usually the response. We eventually received a modification that would have RAISED our payments, naturally we declined, and this angered our rep to no end. In the end, this same rep came to our home, told us his company had done all they could for us, yelled at my wife when she reminded him of his promises (I wasnt there or he wouldnt have a face anymore), then pulled out the papers which we signed which ended up having none of the guarantees he had promised us. He basically took our money and ran. Today I received this email.

Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:20:00 -0800
Subject: Choice Loan Consulting Info
From: freedomteamjason@gmail.com

I am contacting you about your loan modification with Choice Loan Consulting. Here is what is going on. Please respond and let me know what you want to do. If you would like to be contacted by phone please email the best phone number and times to call and I will contact you as soon as possible.

Choice was doing a great job, up until 6 months ago. They were doing their banking with M&I Bank, and M&I was also doing their credit card processing. Choice’s volume went up from 100 deals a month to 1,000 deals a month within a 3-4 month period. M&I got scared of the possibility of future charge backs, so they seized $700,000 from Choice’s savings account, and told them they would release the funds 6 months after the loan modifications were completed.Choice was not able to make payroll and almost all of the sales offices immediately quit turning in new files. Freedom Team Financial was the largest sales organization for Choice, and since they had hundreds of clients in the middle of their modifications, they chose to try to work together with Choice to try to save the company. But for the last 6 months, customer service has been horrible, and since Choice had 2,300 homes in the middle of the modification process, they just couldn’t afford enough staff to keep up. For the last 6 weeks, I and the rest of the negotiating staff have worked without pay to make sure no one lost their home. Finally, last week, Choice shut their doors and is filing for bankruptcy. Freedom Team Financial pulled all of our own files, to modify them for free. They also purchased all of Choice’s data and intellectual properties, and hired me and 10 other top processors and negotiators from Choice to try to clean up this mess. So, at this point, we are trying to help as many Choice clients as we can.

Remind me of these things if you could:

What was the latest status on your modification?
How much is your home worth?
How much do you owe?
Credit card debt?
Lender?
Interest rate?
Monthly payment?
Gross monthly income?

If you don’t want to keep your home there is a short sale option:
Many of our clients that have had their homes decrease in value as much as yours have had Freedom Team Financial negotiate a short sale agreement with their lender in order to get out from under so much debt. Most experts believe that home prices will continue to fall over the next 2 years or so because the foreclosure rate is still increasing. The advantage of short selling is that you avoid having a foreclosure on your credit. A foreclosure can make it impossible to buy a new home for anywhere from 4 to 7 years or more. If you short sale, FTF will negotiate with your lender and they will agree to sell your home for less than what you owe and with the new FHA guidelines you could have perfect credit again in 2 years or less. Would you like to get more information on this option?

OR

Freedom Team Financial is doing the negotiations on their own files for free but they also want to help as many of Choice’s other clients as well so they will be putting on an educational forum that covers the “frequently asked questions “ about loan modifications to try to help people finish their negotiations on their own. Most clients have had a lot of problems with attempting this on their own so FTF is taking on Choice clients for just $500 to finish the negotiation process. They are only taking files on that they are confident that they can finish so if you are interested in that, I will have to dig into your file and call your lender to find out the status and have our underwriting team look it over to decide if the will take it or not. Is that something that you are interested in?

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to call me...

-Jason Schumacher
-650.291.1106

Here is my response
Jason
Well this explains the ineptitude. We lost our home and were forced to move. The promises made to us by your company were fantastic and your negligence on our behalf criminal. Your rep, hiding behind legal jargon at the end, was ridiculously lost and completely incompetent, yelling at my wife and reducing her to tears because he could not keep his promises. We lost our dream house, we put our souls into that home and tried everything we could to keep it. I have no home for you to try and salvage, but if I did, what in the world would make me want to try anything with what is left of your shambled company? Your excuses below do not make up for the misery your company brought into our lives. Unless you plan on giving us our money back for all the "nothing" you did for us please dont send me emails like this again.
Nathan Gresko

Too nice? Too mean? What do you think? Should I have responded at all? I thought I was ready to move on..getting this email REALLY upset me. Opinions ya'll opinions.

way behind

2010-01-02T21:26:00.000-08:00

ok, so i was appalled to realize that i haven't posted for over a month!! wow. i guess i've been busy!! well, here are the kids ready for church the week before christmas. the girls are wearing beautiful hand me downs.

then here is my oldest sister kirsten, who came down to visit for a few days in november.

here is my oldest niece, morgan with the twins on her lap. beautiful girl!!

rebekah pushing all the others. there is rachel, caleb, colby and james. the only ones missing here are james and tat's kids. the others are too old to ride this!!

rebekah pushing rachel in a swing at the park

and here is our picture with santa. surprise surpise, caleb didn't want to. anyone else not too shocked?? :)

then we have the 3 triplets, abby and sammy, and rachel, born 3 months later.

and tattie snuggling with abby on the couch

rachel loves smiling for the camera. say cheese sammy!!

and last but not least, andrew and caleb being silly in matching pjs. boys will definitely be boys!!

we had a wonderful christmas few weeks. nathan's brother, and his family came down on saturday before christmas. the only problem is that i woke up that morning with a really bad case of vertigo. it made the next few days pretty rotten for me. fortunately, the kids had cousins to play with and occupy them. they were lifesavers! then the other brother, and both sisters and their families made it down too, making a hectic and fun filled few days! my younger sister came down too, so we got to juggle both families. it was very fun!! now we are alone again, and the quiet is unusual. here's to having lots of visitors again soon!! our house may be small, but we still love having people crammed in it with us!!

new family pics by dave

2009-11-28T14:18:00.001-08:00

hey everyone, it's that time of year again. time to have our family pictures done and show off our beautiful family to everyone!!! here they are. colby is 8, rebekah 6, caleb 4, and rachel just shy of 18 months. yahoo. where does the time go?? sheesh!!

thanks to dave, for taking our pictures for us, on such short notice, and even doing a little touch up work on them for us. we really appreciate his expertise in this area, and letting us benefit from it!! :)

it has been a great thanksgiving weekend. kris and heather and their families have been down since sunday, and we have been having a very fun time. we haven't done anything super exciting, just enjoying spending time together. and a big thank you goes out to all the crowther girls for entertaining my kids and heathers. thanks to jenna, kellie, alissa, and katie!! we love you, and the kids love you. it has been a good chance to get to know these wonderful girls better. i keep telling kris that she can loan me one every month or so!! it makes such a difference to have older and helpful kids around!!

nathan's birthday is today, so i want to say how grateful i am to have him in my life, and that we can be together as still like each other!! he is truly my other half, and i love him more every day. thanks for being my best friend and love of my life!!

right now we are having a tailgate party watching the byu game. have a good weekend everyone!!

time really flies

2009-11-19T19:33:00.000-08:00

ok, per heather's request, i am officially back to the posting world. although i really don't think that anyone else cares!! for those who don't know, we were asked, not so nicely, to vacate our home, and we had less than a week to do it in. we were told on saturday, found house on tues, and moved sat, mon and tues. we were officially in on wednesday, when the tv was turned on!! :) it's been a crazy, rollercoaster of a month so far. we didn't have enough time to prepare and pack properly, so basically everything was thrown together into the nearest box if we wanted to keep it. this eliminated a lot of clutter, but the stuff i thought we would sell or donate, ultimately ended up in the dump with all the rest of the excess. we were told that the house was fine, but the yard needed to be completely cleaned up. if it wasn't nailed down, it had to go. so another 2 hours and a few meltdowns after we thought we were done, we actually were done.

so now we are in our new house. it is almost half the size of the previous one, but does have a pool and little grass area with a side porch for the kids to run around on. they have a toy room, and were able to bring their beds, which is all they cared about. kids are amazingly resilient!! we are back in my old stomping ground now, my elementary school is literally around the corner. it's a little crazy being back in the old ward, but enough people have moved in and out that it is a very different place. hopefully we will fit in soon. the kids have a hard time not knowing all the neighbors and having many places to run. but they will live, i'm sure. we are all very blessed, and we just keep reminding ourselves all the time of that fact!! nathan's work is less than 3 miles away, and as long as the car runs, the kids school is less than 10. so we are happy.

i just tried to get new pictures with my camera, and it is black!! aah!! i will cry if it is broken!!

lost addresses!!!

2009-10-31T09:13:00.000-07:00

hey everyone, i accidentally deleted my listing of everyone's blogs on the side of the page!! if you don't see yours on here, can you please send me a link to it!! i am sad that i am missing out on so many people's stuff! there are fun pictures and stories out there i'm not getting!! thanks

colby's stuff

2009-10-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

well, this post is kind of about colby today. i posted the pictures backwards, so we'll start with tonight. colby earned his bobcat award for cub scouts, and he's only been a scout for a month!! we are so proud of him! for earning it, dad got to paint his face with different colors and places representing different qualities they want the scouts to possess. it was very cool to see!

he kept his eyes closed, like he was afraid dad would stick the paint in his eye!

then we have colby's baptism. he was baptized on saturday the 17th, and confirmed an official member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was an amazing day. here's the happy parents with him!

he was baptized at the same time as his 2 cousins, logan and katie. here they are with their baptizers (josh is katie's older brother, and was able to baptize her, it was awesome)

dad and colby

the crazy kids, logan, colby and katie, waiting for the big event!!

we are so proud of all of you guys!!

too much!!

2009-09-30T20:52:00.000-07:00

wow, there are a lot of things going on around here!! the older kids both had their birthdays, so we had seperate family parties, and a together, friends party. rebekah got a cabbage patch doll, and rachel loves it. here she is putting on the shorts and undies from the poor doll!!

rachel coloring on the sidewalk with chalk, and rebekah drawing in her new journal

rebekah's new bike, that is a little too big, but she loves anyway!!

rachel and her pony tails that barely have any hair!!

yummy, corn on the cob!!

i was so sick and miserable for colby's birthday, poor kid. here i am trying not to die while he opens presents. thanks everyone!!

such a big girl, eating cereal!!

boogie rachel, boogie

2009-09-30T20:40:00.000-07:00

rachel has learned that when we sit down to watch our new favorite show, the big bang theory, it is her cue to dance! she absolutely loves the opening song, and comes running from wherever she is in the house to come watch it. i've gotten videos of it before, but this is way better than any of those. the quality isn't very good, but you get the gist. this girl can boogie!!

september silliness

2009-09-15T15:11:00.000-07:00

dad and the kids snuggling in bed, watching teen titans, their new favorite show. they get a new show they like, and pretend they are the characters. for the next few days, i was woken up being asked, who is the green guy, what is the girl's name?? thanks dad!!

the kids are in a music class, called let's play music. it is a 3 year program, and to make things easier, they all started this year. they are learning the scale, hand signs for each note, rhythms and lots more. they love it. here is caleb practicing on his bells for class.

and our new favorite pasttime is my new wii game, the american idol karaoki edition. my sisters and i play it, and here, we actually got nathan to join in! he did well, despite telling us repeatedly that he couldn't sing. simon does not agree!! although, i did win most of the rounds..... it is awesome to be critiqued by paula, she loves everything you do!! i will be auditioning for a real person this week, let's hope they like me as much as she does! wish me luck!

dad and the kids

2009-08-31T14:19:00.000-07:00

it's kinda like i only like rachel and caleb, but that's not true, they are just the ones home with me all day. i take lots of pics when i'm bored!! i love this picture with dad and the kids. they are so adorable!!
and rachel in this white tennis dress that aunt kirsten gave abby, and now we have, is so cute!!

the kids in the bath after swimming. we do this a lot just to get the chlorine off of everyone. they are silly kids!!

rachel brought her bike inside and has been riding it a lot. it's very cute!!

getting ready for a nap with daddy. such cuties!!

marne's childhood pics

2009-08-23T09:42:00.000-07:00

this is me ready for church. mom always took pictures of me standing in the entryway when she thought i needed a picture taken. it is a family joke now!! i posted it to show that i can look cute, i think i've just forgotten!!

ok, so some of these are really small!! the first picture is of my uncle jimmy judd, the previous sheriff of cochise county, who was the judge at the time. me and my sisters, monica and tatiana were there to observe him in action for a class we were taking.

then, these are of me and my friend, allison. we were silly teenagers.

tattie took me to see riverdance after graduation, and here we are standing outside of the theater. it was awesome!!

high school graduation after tattie got off her mission. with chelsea, and my parents.

and me, at age 4 and 6. nathan thinks these look like rebekah. i don't see it!!

i had fun sorting and organizing my pictures from my own album this weekend. i am in the process of making my own scrapbook. everyone in the family has one but me, even dad!! it's nothing fancy, but at least explains about all the weird pictures i have!! it's been fun to take a stroll down memory lane. how time flies!!

kids are back

2009-08-16T20:25:00.001-07:00

isn't rebekah full of it? this was after school the first day.
here is rachel loving on grandma after church. she runs up and wraps her arms around grandma's legs begging to be picked up. then she hugs and snuggles. it's awesome.

poor caleb had a toy taken away or something here. he really didn't want his picture taken, but i am a mean mom and did it anyway!!

rachel posing and playing in her cutie outfit

this darling little munchkin has been getting into all sorts of trouble now that the older kids are back in school!! the other day it had been quiet for too long, so i went searching....this is what i found!! little twerp was up on the shelves eating chips!! good thing she is so cute!!

i am a bad mom and forgot to take a picture before the kids left for school. so here is one after they got home!

nathan has decided he has been a trucker for about as long as he can stand, and is going back to school to try to better our lives. he will get his computer networking certifications in 3 months or so, and hopefully get a job soon after.

oh, and NO we did not keep the dog!!

summertime fun

2009-08-05T09:29:00.000-07:00

wow, ok, so i uploaded these backwards, so i guess i'll start here and work back. this morning, this little puppy was following grandpa around in the backyard, and she has made her way into the kids' hearts. we'll see if her owner shows up, or what happens next. the kids have already named her cocoa, and said we are keeping her. we'll see.

rachel sat on the counter while i was doing the dishes yesterday, and found daddy's soda there. she loves soda, and was very happy to sit there and guzzle it for him!!

she had one of my sandals, caleb's shoes, and goggles. could she be cuter?

my birthday was rather a disappointment this year. i had been sick for the whole week before it, and saturday wasn't any better. i was dizzy and weak and nauseated for longer than i ever remember being. it wasn't pretty. thank goodness, sunday i started feeling better! now if i can just keep my strength up. yesterday i might have done too much, and didn't feel well for an hour or so. but thankfully, that didn't last long!

after taking a bath and getting ready for bed, rachel was in the living room playing. i put the boys in the tub, and after a minute, i hear screeching and yelling from the bathroom. when i went in, this is what i found. apparantly rachel decided she wasn't done in the tub!! silly girl.

swimming with cousins and grandpa mcnelly. it's been really fun having the pool up and running again!!

i have 2 portable high chairs, thank goodness. the twins eat dinner here at least once a week, so we started lining all 3 of them up like this. isn't it funny to watch all these tinies eating??

hopping on the trampoline

lake powell

2009-07-19T15:26:00.000-07:00

we took our vacation this year to lake powell, and stayed on the shore with the houseboat just across the way. it is the best of both worlds. you can camp on the shore, and see stars like you will never encounter in the city. but you also have the comforts of having a stove and microwave, electricity, and a toilet (though you are supposed to pee in the lake, so the hold only has to be emptied once!!). we got to play in the sand, wade and swim in the water, and just relax. the more adventurous of us went water skiing, wakeboarding, and tubing. even colby went cliff jumping, which is amazing!! he didn't want to at first, but daddy called him a pansy enough that he just walked off the edge. and loved it!! go figure..
nathan got to drive the speedboat several times. it was second nature to him, and he thoroughly enjoyed sitting high in the seat with the wind blowing past him. i think he looks pretty happy in this picture!!

rebekah absolutely loved anything that was scary or dangerous. what a nut. she is not a daughter after me, but just like nathan!!
and here is travis, he is the coach at kris's kids school, meridian. we needed another man to help anchor the houseboat, and do all the other manly jobs. he graciously agreed to come on vacation with us. who could pass up a week on a houseboat??
there were many interesting experiences, but the one that keeps coming to mind is in the middle of week, when we needed to move the houseboat. nathan, josh, collin, rachel and i took the speedboat out to scout a good spot to bring the houseboat to. we went up and down the coves, dissappointed in what we were finding. we went down one, around twists and turns not seeing another soul the whole time. before we left, dave told nathan there was half a tank of gas, so we didn't really pay attention to the gage. we reached the end of the cove, and turned around to come back out. the boat sputtered, and stopped. we were out of gas completely!! we hadn't passed another person, and were way out of cell phone reception zones, and had no radio on the boat. we were completely at the mercy of the water, and had no way to help ourselves. josh and nathan got out the trusty oars, thinking we could paddle back by morning. the current and the wind made that impossible as well. we just went in a circle. i guess i didn't really understand the dire situation, or i knew something would happen to help us. either way, the others were getting a little nervous, when around the corner came a boat!! and not only another person, but a person with 3 containers filled with gas strapped to the front of the boat!! it was the answer to our unspoken prayers. the man wouldn't accept payment, and just told us to help another if the chance arose. we were so grateful!! now we didn't have to suffer through the night with rachel screaming, and being hungry and thirsty. we zoomed out of there as quickly as the boat would go. we have never been so grateful to see our families and houseboat in our lives!! nor do i think we ever will again.
other than this little experience, we had a wonderful vacation!! we celebrated caleb's 4th birthday, and rachel built sandcastles. it was great.

crazy painful days

2009-07-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

ok, so i don't have pictures, i was too frazzled to get any!! we have had a very fun and enjoyable couple weeks. nathan's brothers and sisters and their families were here, minus 2 hubbys and a son. it was a little crazy at night trying to put 17 kids to sleep in the living room, but i think they all had a blast and made some good memories. everyone had gone home by sunday, except for aaron and his family. we decided we would each get a night out without the kiddos by trading. we stayed home with them on monday night, and they stayed home with ours on tuesday night. everything was going well, with no major injuries so far. until around 530 tues night. that is when we got a phone call from aj asking if we were on our way home yet. we were, so she told us we would need to take rachel in to get stitches. the story was unclear then, but since, we have figured it out. rebekah carries rachel around like a little dolly, and this time, she put her down on the air mattress in the living room. rachel walked across it, and lost her footing, flying headfirst into the corner of the fireplace. so she had a 2 inch long gash that bled a lot, as all head wounds do. it didn't stop her or even slow her down though. after giving her some tylenol, we took her to the er. she ran up and down the hallways, into other rooms, and basically made a nuisance of herself very well. finally, the doctors came in and gave her an iv line to administer concious sedation to do the procedure. if you can imagine our little tiny girl fighting with all she was worth, and 4 of us trying to hold her down enough to get the iv needle in without blowing a vein. it was a little crazy. finally, the doctor came in and did the actual procedure while she was staring at the wall off in lala land. she ended up with 2 sets of stitches, one at the base of the gash, which was a half inch wide, and the other at the top to close it. then steri strips over that, and gauze and a bandaid over that. all because she fell while playing with rebekah!
then, she had been whiney and irritable, but who could blame her after that. the next day, she woke up with a goopy eye and runny nose. i didn't know if it was because of the injury, or something else entirely. i took her to see her doctor yesterday, and he found that she had ear and sinus infections, on top of an eye infection!! no wonder she hasn't been her normal happy self!! so now she is on antibiotics, pain meds, eye drops and cold meds. poor girl. here's to a normal, non-injury, 4th of july weekend!!

we love grandpa and doggies

2009-06-27T16:55:00.000-07:00

rachel was sitting under the table playing with natalie's dog, ruby. when i looked under there, this is what i found. she was grinning and giggling, and playing with the poor dog's nipples!!
she thought it was great fun, but i don't think ruby agreed! she didn't nip at her though, for which i was proud!!

then, grandpa picked up rachel, and snuggled her right up to him. she loves that grandpa so much. when we walk out to their house, she gets so excited and runs over to hug grandpa who is sitting on the floor with his arms outstretched for her. he gives her soda and treats too, she loves him!!

rebekah had picture day for her last day of dance practice. it was very exciting, she looked gorgeous!! tonight is her recital, hopefully she will remember what she worked on, and make us proud!!

and here is rachel munching on an apple. she doesn't like it when you cut it up for her. give her the whole thing, and she will be happy to take bites herself. silly girl!!

zoo fun and silly kids

2009-06-27T16:44:00.000-07:00

we went to the zoo this week. nathan's 2 brothers and 2 sisters and their families were here, so we decided to do something fun. it wasn't too hot, so it was actually bearable. it was overcast, and humid, but now there is a new water attraction that broke it up nicely.
here i am with the giraffes, and nathan walking with rebekah.

before you even enter the actual zoo area, there is a statue of a monkey that nathan likes to sit next to and pose. he is very funny.

and here is rachel sitting in a box lid. she does very silly and cute things.

caleb has finally decided he likes rachel enough to hold her hand. now he'll run up, grab her hand, and say, take a picture mom!! he is a funny kid!!

too much fun!!

2009-06-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

wow, where do i start?? we have had quite the time the last few weeks!

first, it was rachel's 1st birthday!! june 10, can you believe it? i still can't. i feel like this year has gone by in a whirlwind of waiting and uncertainty! it's insane to me that time just keeps on every year. nuts.

then my sister's friend is one of the directors of the phoenix children's museum, and she offered to get us in for free! who could pass that up?? so we went on friday to see what it was all about. can i just say, i had no idea really what to expect, but it was AWESOME!!! there was actually something new and exciting every time you turned around! not even kidding! the kids had a blast. here are some pics. caleb is racing cars in one of the areas, and the boys loved it there.

there was a pretend carwash the kids could ride trikes through, and i got a cool shot of the kiddos with rachel.

caleb's favorite (ok, too many to count!!) was this little display where you roll wheels down and it rocks the little pegs over, and they fall down to the next one. he did that for like 20 minutes, with rachel doing it too. it was so fun to watch!!

and caleb doing his dance of joy at the handkerchief that flew out at him!!
colby popping his head out at me

rebekah with her handkerchief of joy!
anyone need a good 24 foot box truck? we are trying to sell it :)

here is monica holding sleeping rachel when we first got there. aren't they cute??

and the 4 little monkeys in the tub after swimming for the trillionth time today. did i mention we got out pool fixed? it is gorgeous, and so much fun!! yay!!
we have lots of cousins coming at the end of the week, so we are getting the house ready for all the chaos 20 kids brings. bring on the fun!!

bread making fool!!

2009-06-09T14:33:00.000-07:00

ok, there's more here than just the bread making, but i am really proud of those!! :)

rachel is just cute, and i have to take lots of pictures of her doing cute things!!

when we went to costco the other day, and they had their pork products on sale for dirt cheap! we got this 3 foot pork loin, that is about 8 inches thick or so, for 13 bucks!! nathan had fun making inuendos and carrying that around. silly boy!!

and here is my bread masterpiece. marie helped me a little bit, but i did it mostly on my own. i was dang proud of myself!! i doubled the recipe, and it made 7 little loaves and 2 big ones. we made short work of the first 4, but we still have the rest. the kids absolutely love this bread, and come back for 4ths and 5ths. we put honey and butter on it, and it is so delicious!! yahoo for me!! :)

rebekah's day

2009-05-29T22:08:00.000-07:00

i don't have any pictures, i know i'm a bad mom. today was the fathers and sons campout for our ward, and rebekah was feeling very left out and sad. so i told her that today was her day, and we could do anything she wanted, within reason of course! my sister and her kiddos were here around lunch time, so once the boys hit the road, we did too. tattie graciously offered to stay here while all the babies were napping, and rebekah and i went to see the new movie, "up". it was quite a cute and touching little story at first, then gets a little creepier and made the poor girl jump out of her skin. i kept reassuring her, it's just a movie, it will be ok. thankfully, all the other kids were whimpering with her, or i might have been embarrassed at the constant, "mom, i'm scared, what's gonna happen now??" i enjoyed the movie, and at the end she breathed a gigantic sigh of relief. then she told me, "mom, i don't know if we should get that one when it comes out, it was a little scary for the younger kids!" i burst out laughing, and said, you mean YOU?!?! what a character. (don't let that turn you off from seeing it, it really was a good flick!)
then, she wanted a lot of options for dinner, so i thought souper salad sounded like it would have all the choices, and wouldn't break the bank. after trying everyone i could think of, it looked like we were going solo. then tattie, who had just left my house, called to see where we were going, and could she come too. so it was a little crazy to have all the babies at the same table, but it was fun. and rebekah even got ice cream with sprinkles. yummy! then we went to grandma scooter's house, which they lovingly call my mom. we all played and chatted there for a few hours, until i took the exhausted kiddos home to their little beds. tomorrow we are going to pick out some new nailpolish colors and have a little painting party before the boys come home. sound like a good enough time for rebekah's special day?? i hope so!! and here i sit, pondering why i am typing instead of sleeping. hmmm..... i think i'll do that now. night y'all!

changes

2009-05-22T14:28:00.000-07:00

miss rachel decided that she really likes spagettios with meatballs. can you tell? and thank goodness for the long sleeved bibs that actually cover the clothes!! the only part that got it was the cute little sleeve hanging out of the wrist under the bib.

rachel has started giving caleb lots of hugs. she almost knocks him down if he isn't expecting it!! she wraps her arms tight around him, and rests her head on his shoulder. then she pats his back with her tiny little hand. could she be any cuter??

rebekah had her spring sing, and graduation from kindergarten. can you believe the little princess is getting so old?? seeing her walk in with her class, and go up on stage really hit me this time. she started kindergarten early, she technically should be starting next fall. but she was more than ready for school, and actually did better than most in her class! i am so proud of her, and can't wait to see what she does next! she is growing up right before my eyes!

rachel backs up and sits on whoever happens to be behind her. we were waiting for the program to start, and my dad was sitting next to me. instead of sitting on his lap, which she couldn't reach, she backed up and planted herself right here, leaning into leg! it was very funny.

our pool is not functional at the moment, so i got a baby pool, and we put it at the bottom of the slide. that way, you can go down a water slide into a pool, kinda!! here we are spraying each other and being goofy. looks like fun, huh? hey, you do what you can to keep cool!!

lots of kiddos

2009-05-06T20:54:00.000-07:00

so yesterday, i needed to get some of the clothes back from tat that abby has outgrown. i was at the walmart down the street from her house, so i called to see if i could drop in and get them. she told me andrew had been up all night complaining that his ear hurt, so i told her i would watch the babies so she could take him to the doc. after being at her house looking through clothes for a couple hours, the kids were getting rowdy, so i took everyone home. (i babysit, so that made 6 kids!!) we had a crazy fun day, and here are some pics of the kids playing in the backyard. they rode their scooters and cars around in a circle chasing each other down. it was very fun to watch, but i didn't really get a good picture of it.
rachel, climbing out of the dishwasher for the umpteenth time, and this time, i had sam and abby trying to climb in too!!

our pool needs to be resurfaced and repaired, so here is our pool for the time being. and the hose on the trampoline works too!! looks like they are all having fun, right??

spring sing and fun

2009-04-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

the quality of this pic didn't end up so good, but this is rachel today, and rebekah at 6 months. they were in the same outfit, so i thought it would be fun to compare. think they look alike??

colby was in the spring sing at school wednesday night. dad had to help grandpa with a blown tire in phoenix, so i got to bring the kiddos to the concert by myself. it was very entertaining. rachel just wanted to go up and down the stairs next to our seats, and only fell twice. (with bumps to prove it!!) she was so cute though, she had everyone around us oohing and aahing over her. and she milks it too, flashing that grin and baby blues at them!! we are in for it with this one!!

and then, we took some more pics of the kids in their spiffy duds sunday. i can't resist, they are so cute!! aren't the boys handsome??

new easter duds

2009-04-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

i was really into matching outfits this year. it is the first time i have found all the clothes to match the different sizes that the kiddos are. the boys are looking sharp in their black shirts, and cool pinstripe pants and ties. it was very fun to dress them up this year! and the girls were in these fun dresses. rebekah's even came with the cute little purple shrug to match. who could ask for more from walmart??

i think i have some pretty cute little munchkins!!

eggs and silly kids

2009-04-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

these are my silly kids. caleb and rebekah dyeing easter eggs with their cousins, and having a blast.

colby and caleb got the same shirt at disneyland, and here they are sporting them with their matching camo shorts. aren't matching kids so fun??

disney vacation

2009-04-04T14:24:00.000-07:00

so the genius that i am, i brought our camera to disneyland in the car, but never got it out!! so the only pics i have are in the car on the way home. sorry guys. there are some very cool pics to come of the whole crew that was there. we paid a bunch to have the little camera people take our pics together a few times. so those pics will be posted in a while.

ok, back to these. colby and rebekah got very tired after taking dramamine, which keeps them from getting sick. so here they are getting sleepy. and kinda funny looking!!

then there is caleb looking cool in his sunglasses (which he likes to wear upside down!!). he is a cute kid, isn't he? and the biggest thing in our lives right now.....caleb is POTTY TRAINED!! he did not have one accident the whole trip, or since. i am so happy to have one less smelly bum to change!! now it is just no big deal to him. what an awesome kid. and as a reward, he could pick anything he wanted to get at the store. know what he chose?? a blue TOOTHBRUSH!!! yes, my son is a nerd! i tried to get him to pick out a bike too, but he is in between the sizes, so didn't feel comfortable on either. we'll try again later. he had fun playing with tinker toys at our friend's house (thanks marie!!), so i have tried to find them everywhere. not at walmart or target, or at costco where she got hers. (they are a seasonal item, whatever!!) so we are still looking for something really cool to show how proud we are of him.

and then rachel. she stopped eating baby food a few weeks ago, and hasn't quite figured out what she can eat now. so most of the vacation, she was crying or whining. it was very stressful, and wore on us all. she enjoys smooshing up her food too much to actually stop and eat it. it was very frustrating that she wasted all of her good food and it was all over her clothes all the time! and she just wanted to walk around, which wasn't possible with us on the run all the time. as much as we could, we let her down, but it wasn't enough for her to be happy with. we had a wonderful time, but are very glad to be back!!
miss rebekah loved the rides, and cried when she was too short for one of them. she does things i wouldn't dream of, and loves it. colby is more like me, cautious and not too sure about the crazy rides. and caleb really liked the whinnie the pooh and buzz lightyear rides. those were more his speed. i enjoyed space and splash mountain, and grizzly rapids and soaring over california the best. it was a very fun time, but the food is so expensive. even with backpacks of snacks, you still have to buy lunch and dinner. blah!!

and this little darling took my cell phone while i was texting, and started walking away with it. i turned to talk to caleb, and turned back to her and colby looking down at it....off the pier in the water!! we were waiting for everyone to get off a crazy ride, and had to have someone else ask a worker if we could get it. no, they didn't want us to jump in the water and get it, so it is still there. mocking me where i can see it, but not get it. and now it has been long enough in the water, that it is most likely ruined anyway. it makes me very sad, i have only had it for less than 6 weeks!! such rotten phone luck!!

spring break fun

2009-03-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

this doesn't capture it well enough, but we have a crazy girl. she loves to carry around this particular pair of pjs. she gets a grin all the way up to her eyes, and runs away with them clutched in her hot little hand. last week, cousin abby thought that looked like a fun thing to do as well, and they fought tooth and nail over who could drag these around. i was laughing too hard over their antics to even help either one of them. it was hilarious. one would get it and start to run away, but the other would catch up and tug of war would begin. it was great.

and here we have rachel eating a piece of cake. just before i got the camera out, she reached out with both hands to take a big scoop of frosting off the top, and cram it in her mouth. once i was taking pics though, it was just the cake. still cute, but not as funny.

and here is rachel very much enjoying a chocolate cake ball. and for anyone interested, to make them, you make a normal cake (marie added green food coloring for st. patricks day) then smoosh it all up. you press the squashed cake into a ball, like cookie dough, then put it in the fridge to harden a little while. you put them on a stick, and dip them in melted chocolate. very yummy. we kept ours in the freezer for a few hours here as well. i think i liked them more than the kids did, actually. anything with chocolate, right? :)
we had such a fun spring break! thank goodness for our friend marie!! we saw them every other day. one day we went swimming and hung out at her mom's house with a very cool pool and play house for the kids. another, we went to her house to make cake balls (yum!!) and this day, we went swimming at her mom's again, but this time our other friend, chrissy, and her 4 kids were there too. so that made 3 moms, and 12 kids!! it was crazy, but so much fun. after playing at their house for a few hours, we decided to take the whole crew back to our house for dinner and more playing. i made dinner for the ladies (and nathan) and the kids had good old mac and cheese. here they are hamming it up for the camera while they eat their delicious dinner!! :)
colby and hunter
gracie, lucy, and katie
rebekah and her new best friend, isabelle
just having fun and being silly

lady in red

2009-03-13T08:13:00.000-07:00

i got this adorable dress at costco yesterday. i couldn't resist! i found these red shoes last week for just a couple bucks, and now we have the perfect dress for them! i think i'm more excited than rachel is though!! they don't have sturdy soles on them, so she has quite a hard time walking in them!! she slips and slides, which is probably mean to do to a girl just learning to walk! she has to learn to walk in shoes sometime, right? :) here she is just after she fell on her caboose....again.
this was one time she actually stood up and stayed there for a minute! she didn't try to move, just stand and hold her balance! :)
falling again!
"i hate these stupid bows and headbands, mom! quit putting them on me!! "
she takes them off immediately when i try to put them on her. she doesn't realize how cute they are, but she is cute enough without them too!
this is one adorable baby girl, now, my lady in red!

keep walking!!

2009-03-02T20:48:00.000-08:00

this was too cute not to post. she looked a little like santa claus with the mashed potatoes all over her face!! hehe!!

our little angel learned to really get up and walk this weekend. the past few days she has taken a few steps here and there, and today, it must have clicked. she just took off, and is now wandering all over the house. she is slow and careful, and catches herself to keep from falling. it's so amazing that our little teeny 15 lb baby girl is walking!! she is so little, that we don't really think of her as being physically able to do these things. she sat up at 4 months, crawled at 5, and walked at 8!! what next? graduate high school at 10? sheesh!!! the doctors aren't worried that she is so small, so we don't either, even though colby weighed more than this at 2 months! :) she is such a wonderful little girl, and we can't imagine life without her!!

our kids are weirdos

2009-02-24T10:41:00.000-08:00

i turn my back for 2 seconds to put away the bowls, and this is what i see when i look again! this silly girl loves to play in the dishwasher, but this was the first time she actually climbed in! i have a pic of caleb doing this too. silly kids.
"i'm so innocent"
here is miss rachel taking a few steps. how cute is she??? i glued a teeny bow on her head, she can't tell it's there, so doesn't pull it off!!
the girls ready for church. think the bow is too much?? i made it, and kinda went overboard. she pulled it off directly after the pic was taken
this little twerp won't sit down in her chair correctly to eat her food, but is more than happy to eat standing backwards in it!!
colby sharing his ice cream with rachel. she is just like her mommy and LOVES ice cream!!
feed me MORE!!
and on a side note, rachel doesn't have rsv, but definitely has pneumonia. and can i say my plan backfired on me today. caleb wasn't cleaning up the pretzels he dumped all over the living room, so i asked him if i should throw away his toys. he said yes. thinking he wasn't getting it, i asked if i should throw away his new christmas train. he said yes again, and proceeded to go to the front room and get pieces of it, and PUT THEM IN THE TRASH! this was not what i was hoping for, and got them out before they sunk too far into the goo. i put them on a shelf, and tried a different tactic. i guess the moral is that if you threaten to throw something away, it better be something YOU don't mind getting tossed too!!

nathan's tears

2009-02-20T16:34:00.000-08:00

can i say cheesy grin??
don't i look overjoyed? it's hard to take a picture of yourself!! and get the angle right so you don't look like a freak....
i told nathan to please get my hair, not the boobs!!

ok, this is the reason for nathan's tears. i got it into my crazy head a few days ago to cut my hair, and...i actually did it today!! i cut 10 inches off in a ponytail, and am donating it to locks of love. then it was trimmed and styled. i think i lost a foot of hair today! how crazy is that. so, what do you all think?? thinned out and straightened is much better than what it was when i left today!!

pnemonia??

2009-02-17T19:18:00.000-08:00

i don't have any fun pictures to post, but rest assured that it was a picture worthy event. for those of you who haven't figured it out, rachel has been sick with a cough and thick nasty runny nose for over 3 months now. we've done 2 rounds of antibiotics, and nothing has kicked it. yesterday i had had enough, and went to see the doc again. he listens to her, and says she doesn't sound too bad, but orders a chest x-ray just to make sure there isn't anything else going on. he checks her ears and throat, and says she looks ok everywhere but the nose. orders another round of antibiotics, and sends us on our way. (after a 2 hour wait i might add!) so today i call the place to schedule the x-ray, and they say they can't do it, they don't have the needed restraints (?). i say, ok, and we set up another place that can do it. i go down there, and don't have to wait too long before being called back to see the tech. i go in, and they ask if i've seen this contraption before. i say no, and the guy says, sorry, it's a little barbaric. that is very comforting, i must say!! basically, it's a plastic cage that they pull tight around the little body, while she sits of a little seat, and i hold her arms over her head. the minute she sees that she is being lowered to this thing, she starts wailing, and doesn't stop the whole time. they get a picture of her from the back, then rotate the device to get a side shot. thank heaven they only had to do one of each, and she was freed from her prison. i got her out of there, and headed out. i was thinking it would probably be a few days before i heard anything, so imagine my surprise when less than 4 hours later, i get a call from the doc. i think, this can't be good....
it's not. he tells me there are infiltrates on her lower left lobe. thanks to my sister in law, who is well versed in all things medical, it means that there is a cloudy portion on the x-ray where it should just be clear. meaning an infection of some kind. now, it is just a waiting game to see whether the rsv test comes out positive, or if it is pnemonia. either way, she was started on augmentin yesterday, so hopefully the 3rd time's the charm!! keep us in your prayers!!

little warrior

2009-02-10T20:59:00.000-08:00

here she is waving to us in the stands
walking out with the other girls
waiting patiently to go on, what a happy girl!!
i love that big grin she has!!

rebekah is an official "little warrior" now. the girls in the neighborhood all got to participate in a little cheerleading camp this week. saturday they got to learn the routine, and tonight they got to perform the half time show at the basketball game. they had matching shirts and hair ribbons, which she insists on wearing to school tomorrow. it was the cutest thing i have seen in a long time. they had the little girls all lined up in rows across the whole gym floor, with the cheerleaders on the sides and in front to show them what to do. rebekah was a little behind on some of the moves, but she was awesome out there!! i was laughing so hard at the faces she was making, and watching her shake that little body of hers. it was great!! so here's to our new little westwood warrior!!

7th folder 7th picture

2009-02-09T17:09:00.000-08:00

Heather did this on her blog and doesnt feel like tagging is nice. As her brother I quite agree, we all have enough to do without everyone jumping up from the endless concourses of blogger pews and shouting "tag". However, I thought it would be interesting to see what our picture was and this is it. This is when we were in Utah, its so beautiful ther...but I digress....Rebekah absolutely loves to play mom. She walks around with Rachel on her hip all the time, in spite of our shouts to put her down. In this picture, Caleb is being wrangled by Rebekah, he was trying with all his might to escape, she was trying to hold an hug him as much as possible, and Marne just sat there taking pictures. We've got loads of them in this scenerio. I LOVE his eyes. They are huge and so blue it just leaves me in awe. He has this mingled look of "SAVE ME" and "Wow. Whats the flashy thing moms holding?" He's almost cross eyed her.....thats my little dude.

lifesaver

2009-01-30T17:38:00.001-08:00

forgive the quality of this shot, i didn't realize my camera was on a funky setting. this crazy child has been so excited to be outside riding his scooter the last few weeks. and even more excited to learn that colby's nifty bike helmet was too small for colby anymore, so passed down to caleb. (i found rebekah one at a garage sale) he rides the scooter literally all day long, so wears this helmet for hours at a time. and on wednesday, i firmly believe it saved his life. now, i know you must be thinking that he fell outside and got some horrible road rash. you would be mistaken. we got a very nice big pool table last year, and our children use it as a high playing platform for all their coolest toys. they stand on it, dance on it, and most fun, jump off of it. well, i'm not sure exactly how it happened, but this little man was playing on the pool table, and i was in the other room. the next thing i know, he comes running in hysterical telling me he fell down and hit his head. nathan goes to inspect the scene, and the top of the helmet has literally cracked off. he hit his head so hard on the ground, falling backwards off of the pool table, that he cracked the top of the helmet and it split off. i cannot even imagine, nor do i want to, what would have happened to my sweet little boy if he had not been wearing that helmet at that time. brain damage, possibly even death from a head injury that severe. i am so grateful that i have a kooky kid that enjoys wearing his helmet. i think i will make him wear it all the time!!

time of their lives

2009-01-21T19:33:00.000-08:00

ok, i don't think these pics do it justice, but the other day the kids had ramen soup for lunch. after they were all gone, it was just me and rachel home. i decided that since she needed her clothes changed anyway, i would strip her down, and let her try her first taste at ramen. she loved it! she dove in with both hands, grinning the whole time. she knows when the camera is on though, and just gazed intently at it from then on. thus, no smiles for me, sadly. but i think it is safe to say she had the time of her life! (notice the towel the chair is on, that was so i could scoop up the mess and wash it all!! )

and here are the kids running after the ball at their first soccer game of the season. it was very funny to watch. colby and rebekah are giants compared to the 3 and 4 year olds. i think it's safe to say we dominated the game.
caleb got plowed by none other than HIS OWN BROTHER!! after he face planted into the grass, he was done. rebekah was staggering under his weight as she carried him off the field. poor boy. hope this week goes better.
here he is before the game, all psyched and ready to run! then he found out there is only one ball out there, and he isn't big enough to get near it! that put a damper on things for sure! at practice, they all get their own balls, and have a blast. let's hope he gets over it and plays in a game again! :)

my kind of fun

2009-01-11T19:25:00.000-08:00

ok, i still haven't figured out how to post in the right order. everything i do last comes up to the top!! so sorry everyone. you can start at the bottom and work up if you want!! :) at the restaurant for one last family gathering before aaron and steve left to drive home with their families. dave, aaron, caleb
collin, allissa, colby, kellie
katie, trenton, danny, alek, and rebekah

the view down the table of almost everyone. there were 2 kid tables behind this one!!
nathan, kellie and dave
boys enjoying the wii. tell, dallin and logan
standing around waiting to go. aj, natalie, steve and aaron.
some of the girls at the computer. jenna, katie and morgan to be exact.
sitting together on the couch. at one time we had 6 laptops going. what an age we live in!!
one of dad's presents. he likes blue, can you tell?
rebekah the princess.
colby and his batman plane
yes, i got a wii!! i think it is for everyone though. it was here over a week before i got a turn!!
caleb got the coolest train. it is a geotrax set, that santa found on ebay! :) hey, times are tough for him too!
here is our loot from the pinata!!
our tradition for christmas eve was to go to my uncle's house and have a barbecue and pinata. now that we are older, and he has passed away, we continue the fun with our kids here at home. my mom puts candy in for the kidsm and gift cards for the adults. my kind of fun!!
cousins sharing crackers. very cute
this is rachel standing by the bathtub. now, remember, she wasn't even 6 months old here, and pulled herself up! i almost died, and ran to get the camera. i guess she wanted that water!!
wow, what's in there, and how do i get it??

crazy family time

2008-12-31T08:30:00.000-08:00

the day after christmas, we were expecting all of nathan's family to come and stay at our house. one brother, aaron, called christmas morning, and told us he was 30 min from the house, a day early!! so we finished up at my parents house, where we were for the morning, and came home to see them. we were not expecting anyone to come, so we had not cleaned up the presents, and there was a dirty nasty house waiting for us upon arrival! thankfully, they did not mind the chaos, and even helped me clean up before the rest of the clan showed up. it was very fun to play with the one family for a day before the rest of the craziness began! don't get me wrong, we love having the whole family together, it's just a lot of people in a small space!! there were minimal problems, and we thoroughly enjoyed the family together for the first time in over 2 years. it was very laid back, not a lot of rushing around to get to planned activities. when you hae 20 kids, that is the best way to do it!! the cousins had so much fun together, and just ran around like little hoodlums for the weekend. it was very fun for them to see each other again.
some people might think it would be too crazy to cram 32 people into one place, but it actually worked out very well. we had the kids in the 2 back living rooms, one couple in the front room, one in the boys room, and then the rest at the back house. they had a room for each of the other couples, so it worked. we all actually slept, most nights. there were only babies crying and kids coughing for some of the nights. :) i enjoyed my nights in my own bed!! we had family pictures taken, and it was the best experience we have had yet. i think it's because most of the kids are getting a little older. it was only my kids that didn't want to sit still and look cute. 2 families left after lunch on monday, and another yesterday afternoon. the last is here for one more day, and leaves in the morning. we are sad the have the festivities end. we love all the fun and chaos of the big family together!!

kids are nutty

2008-12-11T08:23:00.000-08:00

ok, there are a lot of things i need to post about. first, i had my visiting teachers over, but caleb wouldn't come say hi. after they left, this is what i found. no wonder he was so quiet!!

colby's christmas concert for school was the first of many i'm sure. he was singing with the whole school for the first time. i am now one of those parents, with multiple children's performances to attend. yahoo. he looked pretty snazzy though. and silly.
and caleb fell asleep on the way to pick up grandma mcnelly, and never really woke up. this is what he thought of the whole thing.

we babysat cousin andrew for a couple hours, and here he is with caleb being so cute watching a movie. don't you love giant bean bags??
this is our view of the neighbor's house across the street. isn't the sunset awesome?
rachel thought putting her breadstick on the floor and attacking it was a good way to eat it. it was hilarious!!!
she screams when we put her in the car, so at 6 months, we switched her to this carseat. isn't she cute? she is a much happier girl now, which makes for a much happier mom!!
as always, she loves her jumper!!
and just as a side note, i can't figure out how to write under each picture, sorry!!

pics for the wall

2008-12-06T08:16:00.000-08:00

we had some pics done yesterday of the kids by my friend chalice. she charges a flat rate to do the session, then you have the cd to do what you want with. she did a great job! here is the link to check out the first pics. i thought they were great, way better than the awful school pics, even with retakes!

http://chaliceleamanphotography.blogspot
.com/2008/12/g-kids.html

twerpy boy

2008-12-03T20:07:00.001-08:00

ok, so my sister tat was over yesterday, and we couldn't find caleb for a few minutes. we were in the kitchen making dinner, and every now and then we would hear his little voice. well, tat went into the living room to check on the babies, and this is what she found. she just came and shook her head at me, and nathan handed me the camera as i walked by. we knew it would be entertaining! caleb had climbed into rachel's jumperoo, and couldn't get out!! as you can see, he was not as amused as we were by the whole thing!! :) why do all the kids think baby toys are so fun? without fail, the older child has gotten into the baby's swing, walker, carseat, or whatever they can squeeze their little bodies into! silly kids.
and this was the other morning, the girls were taking a bath together. this is the first time i have let rebekah be in the tub with rachel, and she loved every minute of it. rachel now rolls from her back to sitting up immediately if you lay her down, even in the water. she is just going to sit up from now on, and there is nothing i can do about it!! good thing she's so cute!!

holidays

2008-11-29T20:00:00.000-08:00

so thanksgiving was at our house this year. 2 of my sisters, and my parents came over. with nathan's parents too, that made for a full house! 3 babies under 1, 2 3 year olds, and all of us. yahoo. it went smoothly though, nathan is an amazing cook, so between him, and his parents, i didn't really do anything! my kind of deal. i did have to clean up the house, and put the extra leaves in the table though. that is hard work! it was delicious, and everything was perfect.

then, black friday just happened to be nathan's birthday. so after getting up at a horrid 3:45 to feed rachel, i decided to get shopping with my family. sandy came too, and we were at kohl's around 5. yes, we are one of the crazy families! the silly is that i didn't really have anything i needed to get, and only got little things that looked fun. so after going to a late breakfast, we came home, and poor nathan, who was suffering from playing in a turkey bowl, finally got to open his birthday presents. doesn't he look enthused? i can't keep secrets from him very well, so he actually got a lot before this. he had a few surprises though. happy bday!

rachel discovered the joys of finding a half eaten breakfast bar on the floor, and chomping it! she had a death grip on that thing, and wouldn't drop it for anything. until....nathan came home with a hot fudge chocolate ice cream (my favorite) sundae. then she was all for bites of that instead. a girl after my own heart!! :) and on a side note, we live just around the corner from the temple, so if anyone is coming down to see the lights, they could stop in and see us!!

yay for mobility!!

2008-11-19T07:12:00.000-08:00

ok for some reason these pics loaded in a backwards order, but here it is. rachel sitting up!! she rolls all over now, and squiggles and squirms until she can get anything she wants. she gets up on all fours, and rocks back and forth. and just today she started getting up on her feet, with her butt in the air. that's how colby used to crawl! it was hilarious when he did it. i don't know if she will actually move like that or not, but she is sure happier now that she can get around a little bit! yay for mobility!! it makes mom's life that much easier.....
and on a side not, i registered colby, caleb and rebekah for soccer this season. caleb wears his shirt at some point everyday. he is very excited to be a big enough boy this year to play! it will be fun to watch them all in action!

kids say the darndest things

2008-11-16T21:05:00.000-08:00

ok, so the kids and i were driving around saturday, and i remembered that we have this meeting sunday to talk about what to expect the next year to prepare for colby's baptism. we are talking about different things, and i said that in a few years, he would be going on a mission. i told him that daddy, and his 2 aunts, tattie and monica, both served missions. he sat there contemplating for a while, then he goes, how come they're not still missionaries? did they get FIRED? from the tone of his voice, you could just tell he was asking, what bad thing did they do that they're not on missions anymore? it was so funny!! i explained that they were not fired, and that you only serve a mission for 2 years, and only 18 months for girls. and what age you go, and all the details. it was quite the conversation!!
and tonight, we were sitting at the meeting, and colby leans over to whisper in my ear, i can't wait until i'm old enough to be a dad. then i can BOSS MY KIDS AROUND!! i laughed, but i don't think nathan appreciated how funny that was! :)
aren't kids the best? kids truly do say the darndest things!!

poor sick kids

2008-11-12T07:52:00.001-08:00

we got rachel a jumperoo from my friend, allison. she loves hopping in it, every day she gets a little better at it. it's hilarious to watch her giggling as she bounces. but the past few weeks, the poor girl has had a nasty cough and runny nose. i finally called the doc, cuz it's been 2 months for caleb and rebekah. after talking to him, he said they most likely need the breathing machine. i felt rather dumb for not thinking of that, since we do this every year. so i made an appt for later in the day. (they had dentist appts in the morning already). we all go down there, and after waiting for over an hour(a kid had a piece of GLASS in his ear, at 6 months!!), we finally got to see the doc. everyone has bronchitis and all the fun that goes along with it. so 10 perscriptions later, we are home, trying to deal with all the meds that caleb just LOVES to take. at the moment, i am sitting here with red medicine staining all over my pajamas! the breathing machine is fun too, 10 minutes for each kid. the medicine routine is something like an hour to get everything down all the kids!! don't we just love the sick kids??