Getting Caught Up.

Ok, so I have a moment to get caught up on all the happenings around our house.

First up...

Happy Easter (at home) and Happy Birthday Tommy

The 22nd was Tommy's birthday and the day before Easter. and because we would like Easter day to be centered around our Savior Jesus Christ, we do the egg hunt the day before. We got up and we were planning on going to the park for a community Egg Hunt. It didn't start until 10:00 so we just took it easy. Well as we were sitting watching cartoons Tim decides to be sick, and proceeded to throw up everywhere. (I guess since he wasn't sick on our trip it was his turn) So needless to say we were not going to go to the park and be in the sun with a sick baby. So I had the easter bunny come to our house to hide eggs. Again Tommy just enjoyed the candy, but James really likes looking for eggs and the thrill of the hunt. There wasn't very many eggs so it didn't take long but they had a good time. Not long after that this is Tim....

So while Tim slept I started on Tommy's birthday cake. I asked him what he wanted and he said he wanted chocolate cake with blue frosting. I made the cake and was letting it cool. I was getting the frosting put together and I realized that I didn't have any food coloring. So after scouring the neighborhood I found some. (Do you realized that not many people keep food coloring on hand! and yes that includes me.... it's going on the shopping list) It was a simple request I just didn't realize that it would be hard to fulfill. After finding food coloring I was able to finish the cake.After I finished with the cake I turned around and this is what saw.

This was his 4th nap and he still went to bed at 6:30. Poor baby was so sick and not feeling good. come to find out that not only was he sick he was teething too. Dang 2 year molars!

So I put Tim to bed and we did Tommy's birthday. He loved the cake and this time he waited until after we had sung before he blew out the candles.

I had him open his cards first and would you believe it, he made $35 just for turning 3!! He got more Cars and a launcher/case to put them in. (Secretly I think Steve likes the boys' birthday because he needs to "put it together", "open it", "get it out", or whatever first.... ie: play with it)

I can't believe that he is three! I know I say that with each child at every age, but I really mean it. Time goes by so fast! He has grown up so much this past year. He is such a comedian.He loves Captain and loves to have Captain chase him around the house. He loves to sing and dance around. He LOVES Cars (from the movie) and as long as he gets his favorite for the day he loves to share. His vocabulary has grown and it has gotten to be really fun to have a conversation with him and find out what he is thinking. Tommy I love that you are growing up, and doing things yourself, but you can always come and "nuggle" with me!

And next we have...

A Day at the Zoo!

We had the pleasure of having Steve's sister Michelle come and visit us for a couple days. Something really funny is that her first name is Leah! So she came in Wednesday night and Thursday morning James had a field trip to the Zoo in Tucson. So we all went to that. After a wrong turn and a jont through Tucson we finally made it to the zoo. The Tucson Zoo is a smaller zoo and we got through it in about an hour and a half, but it's really cute and it was fun for the boys. A lot of the animals were out and about. The bear, who was sleeping was right by the glass so that was neat. And the keepers were out with the elephants and giraffes.

James was really excited to see the giraffes, and you can go and feed them at certain times, I hope next time we go we can feed them.

Here are some of the good pictures I got of the day.

Do you see the this last picture of Tim? It was a really cute picture of his me was smiling with those big blue eye and then Tommy stepped right in front of the picture, so now you get to see Tommy head. And the last one is of Tommy turning the crank to get a flatten penny. Later that night I asked James what he liked best about the Zoo. I thought it was going to be the giraffe or the ant eater, but no, his favorite part was turning the crank to get that special penny.

After that we went to the park to eat lunch and play. Tim loved the swing and James enjoyed playing with all the kids that were there. And Tommy, dear Tommy.... he only got lost once.

We had a great day at the Zoo, and thanks to Michelle it was easier to keep track of all the kids and thanks to her suckers they were kept happy as well!

And last but not least.....

Race Day!

Yup, you heard right. Let me back up a little. Friday Michelle and I took the boys to the pool for splash time, as we were leaving (Between taking boys to the bathroom for the last time) I saw a registration form for a race that was going on the next day. Michelle had mention earlier that she wanted to do 3 miles on Saturday, so after she brought James back I asked her if she was sure she wanted to do 3 miles. She said yes so I asked "how about a race instead?" So we went and registered later that after noon and Saturday morning got up and ran a 5K. it was the first time racing, for me, in 10 years!!! I've been training a little and was happy with my time of 29:31. Defiantly not my fastest time, but hey, I didn't get lost! Michelle did it in 34:21, which was really good. she had shoulder surgery about a month before and she's coming from North Carolina (sea level) so coming up to the altitude was tough but she did great!

So all in all it has been a good week. It was nice to have Michelle come and visit, despite the drama and "popcorn stomach" (People please boycott movie theater popcorn.... or at least don't feed it to my kids!!) It's nice to be caught up (mostly) so I'll sign off here.

What day is it when crazies get together?

It must be Jen's Birthday!!

So I guess I have to thank my brother Rodney for getting married on the 13th of March because it was Jen's 30th birthday on the 15th (I highlighted it just in case anyone missed how old she is) Her great husband Adam had leg and foot massages set up in the morning for a bunch of girls that came over. Then that night we got all dolled up to go out to dinner and to the Military Ball. The funny thing about this is that Adam is the only one affiliated with the military, but we went and crashed that party anyway.

So here we have (from left to right) Kip and Daniell Edwards, Jen and Adam Hunsaker, Brianna and Cayde Taylor, and then Candi Walter (my date) and me. Or in other words crazies 1-8. Candi's husband couldn't make it so I had the privilage of going to the dance with her. Brianna made her dress and you can't see it but Cayde is wearing running shoes with his tux.

What did we do with all the children? Well two lucky (ie: brave)girls came to watch the 5 of them. James 4, Davy 3, Tommy 3, Tim 1, and Jon 1. I'm sure they, the girls, were exhausted when they left, but the boys had fun making them earn there money.

We went to dinner at the Gateway in Salt Lake, and Candi and I rode with Edwards. Kip decided that he didn't like being in a car of giggly girls and was going to beat up husbands for not coming along too. But then he decided that Steve was too big to fight and that he would just take on Kevin.

I don't remember the place we went for dinner but it started with a 'B' and it had a couple 'G'. I was really good. And it was nice to eat a meal when it was hot and I didn't have to cut anything up or even bring cherrios.

A couple more crazies joined us for dinner.... Molly and Dave. Molly is really good friend of Jen's and her husband Dave made the evening than much more interesting. If you can't tell he's got his finger up his nose. Yes, this time we let all the boys sit at the grown-up table.

The dance was a lot of fun. Cayde and Brianna were so fun to watch! Candi and I were just getting tired watching them, and tried to guess when there energy would run out.... we both loss. Some on should get them a TV show and just watch them dance around together, they are that entertaining!

Kip and Daniel had a good time dancing and Kip even has some moves!

Kip thought he wanted to dance with me, I don't think he realized that I was as bad as I told him I was. I tried warning him but he didn't listen.

We danced the night away, and tried to win some prizes, call me crazy but it really seemed like only the officers won anything. As the night came to a close, we went to Dave and Molly's house for dessert. Dave is a really good dessert maker and his brownies were no exception.

Here is one last picture of trouble!

Happy Birthday Jen!!! Thanks for being a great friend. For listing to me and my problems, (and letting me solve the ones in your life that haven't come up yet) Thanks for dinner and for a place to crash on those in-between time with moves. You're a great friend and I'm glad that I can call you such. You have been a great example and inspiration to me. I miss not being around you and your boys and all the fun we have together. One day we'll have our ranch.... or commune and we'll live next to each other again... I love you Jen, here's to another 30!!

Traveling Circus!

I'm going to ask a question. How many times have you traveled? Specifically a road trip? Ok, many of you.... Now, how many have you done it with your kids? Ok, good. Now... how many have done it by yourself with your kids? I did!

My little brother, ok, so not so little any more... my younger brother was married March 13. Steve wasn't able to take the time off so I went with the boys. This is actually the second time I've traveled by myself with the boys.

So off we go. I found some simple pleasures, that I'm happy to share, that kept the boys happy. Tim's favorite toy was the tambourine. He had a great time playing that.

And of course there are books, for the boys as well.

We had movies, and a few toys. One thing that was great and NO mess was the magna-doodles. I found place mats for a $1 with the states on it and another one with planets that the boys liked looking at. The special treat was candy necklaces. I had bags with snacks in them and surprises along the way for keeping things fun and happy. The best treat of all was having Aunt Connie come with us to Utah. I picked her up in Vegas and she rode with me. Aunt Connie is the photographer for the family and does a fabulous job!!! Here is her website, so if you are in the Vegas area and want some really good pictures taken look her up.

The day of the wedding we woke up and I was getting the boys breakfast. I asked Tommy how he was feeling, he said that he was ok, then he proceeded to throw up. What would a day be like with out drama from my boys. I can only imagine. (Side note.... I missed Rodney (my brother) going through the temple the first time because Tommy was sick) So I looked like I was going to miss Rodney's wedding as well. My other aunt, Aunt Jerry, offered to stay with the boys, so I was able to make it. It was a beautiful ceremony and both Rodney and my new sister-in-law, Laralyn looked happy and in love. I unfortunately don't have any pictures of the reception. But my sister Eliza does. Scroll down to the post "Last One Standing" The last thing on that post is a video clip of James and my niece Breein. Breein "taught" James how to dance. The clip is really cute. And Breein even taught James how to dip her. It was a great night and it was fun to see old friends and family.

So Friday we just hung out trying to get over the bug that we all had. And Saturday was one of my best friends Jen Hunsaker.... that in it self deserves it's own post so you will have to wait for that.

By Sunday we were back with the family for an Easter egg hunt. I like living in Arizona, but it's times like this that I miss living near family. The Easter Bunny came and all the kids had so much fun finding the eggs. Tommy and Tim both just like the candy inside.

The boys made out pretty well, and had a great time finding them with all their cousins.

(here is just a really cute picture of Tim that I wanted to post)

After that we all pitched in to make dinner. Here you have 2 (of my 4 sisters) making deviled eggs. Carolyn, and Sariah. (Sariah is the one who is REALLY excited)

It's always fun getting together and making what ever meal we are going to eat. Our family has gotten so big and we are really lucky that we all get along well. We have been fortunate that we all married people who blend and mesh so well with our family.

Now this is my mom and dad and honorary aunt. Susan (the blond) lives across the street and she joins us on many family events and is always a joy to have around.

Now rather than get together at every birthday that come up. (which would be a lot now) My family gets together once a month to celebrate the birthdays in that month. Because we were up in Utah we did March and April. So it was me and Brant (Carolyn's husband) and then three of the little boys, Tommy, Brock and Kamden. Well Tommy got so excited to blow out the candles that once my mom lit the, he blew them out, he didn't even wait for the "Happy Birthday" song. So the candles were lit again so we could sing, and then once more so Brock could blow them out because he was sitting further away.

Monday I went with my sister Sariah to Cabela's, an out door store. Just to look around. they have a big fresh water fish tank and a bunch of stuffed animals that were fun for the kids to look at. We pulled up and they had kayaks sitting out side and James kept saying "lets buy a boat mom!" We didn't, wanted too, but didn't. Besides I don't know how I would explain that purchase to Steve. We did pass something that I couldn't keep the boys off of, so I got some pictures of it.

They love 4-wheelers and these were a good size for them.

Ok, Cabela's they have a Coi pond and you can feed the fish so Sariah bought some fish food.

You probably can't read the fine print but it says "Fish food good for the fish, not for the people, please do not eat fish food" So what is the first thing Tommy does? Yup, put's it in his mouth. So if Tommy starts growning gills I'll know why.

Tuesday came and it was time to leave. We were all ready and although it was sad to leave it was nice to be on the way home. We stopped in Vegas again for the night, and got on the road again the next morning....

So as a mom you make sure eveyone else is ready to go and not really checking yourself. I had Tommy go to the bathroom, then James, checked Tim's diaper and left. I realized about an hour later that I didn't go. And remember it's me and the boys, so there was no was I was going to stop and get the troops out just from me so I waited until the boys had to go (4 hours later!!)

We did stop at the Hoover Dam which is actually really cool. If you never have been there stop to look at it the next time you pass through. They are building a bridge across the dam. (I don't know if I'll ever drive across it, I'm terrified of bridges over water)

So the rest of the drive home was fun.... I missed my exit and started driving to Flagstaff (not a good thing) got caught in traffic in Phoenix for an hour. I don't know what that was all about it was 4:00 on a Wednesday. Tim cried for the last hour home. So I was going to get a picture of us being home but the boys were done and there was no way that was going to happen.

So here are some left over pictures of our trip and visit with family that were pretty good.

This is a picture of just one of the many great cousins that the boys have. Rozilyn was born a month after Tim (and Tim was 10 weeks early) and now Tim is twice her size. She's just tiny and cute.

Ok so here is a quick recap of our trip......

Managed to get only one ticket (for $100), was flipped off once, the boys got to pee twice on the side of the road. We managed to infect 3 families with sickness (sorry) took one wrong turn. Watched 10 movies, fixed the headphones or the movie countless number of times. Played with friends and family for a week and a half.

(check back soon for Jen's 30th... Tommy's 3rd, and Easter at home)

Girls just want to hav FUN!

I have to say that I have been blessed to find some really good friends where ever I go. And here in Sierra Vista is no different. So just for fun my girlfriends planned a trip to Tucson. Ok so it's not anything special but hey, it's out of the house for the whole night. So we left right after the husbands got off work Friday night. Well, not right after... there was some resistance with the husband but finally we got off. We got checked into a hotel and went to dinner, a place with NO play land. We went back to the hotel (after we took a detour to get some food, because how can yo have a girls night with out a ton of fating food) and we went to sit in the hot tub.

So who are the girls that are crazy enough to call themselves my friends? (from left to right...) Priscilla, who is 6 months pregnant, Amy and Amy. (Just so you all know, my quota for friends named "Amy" is full)

So what do girls have pillow fights when they get together? Well, yes they do.... (this one is for you Adam)

After that what else is there to do but to get tattoos....
(yes I know I have a really bad camera, I'm working on that)

After that what else is there to do but to eat!!!

I think I ate like 4 pounds of junk food! But it was really good, and defiantly worth it. Like any slumber party there was lots of girl talk and little sleeping.

All that junk food I think I walked off the next day. We probably walked a mile with all the shopping that we did. (most of it was window shopping) but we didn't have to lug kids around so it was all good. Don't worry, our feet were taken care of with a great pedicure.

We ended the party with dinner. And we got to eat at a restaurant with no chicken nuggets.

I love my kids and Steve very much but it sure is nice to get away every now and then. Thanks for a great night girls!!

Where am I?

I'm on vacation... I'll be home soon. As a preview of what is to come..... "Girls just want to have fun!!" Why you don't need alcohol to have a good time. Chaos with the family, and adding another (what a brave girl she is). Tommy turns 3! There's lots of pictures, so it should be good. I'll be posting again s0on so check back next week.

A loss of a friend

I woke up this morning and checked my emails like I always do. And I found, to my dismay, that a friend of mine had passed away unexpectedly. She was a mom of three girls and was only 29. I know there is a reason for everything but sometimes it's hard to understand. And I think I relate to this death because I'm 28 and I have 3 kids as well.

I was thinking about the people that I have met and the people that have touched my life, and did I do enough to touch there's? I wasn't ever close to Misty but I would call her a friend. Just recently I've been getting back in touch with friends from High School, and I had Misty's email address and had been thinking about emailing her. I thought about this for about 3 weeks. Why didn't I email her? Not that I could have changed the out come or anything, but at least she would know how she touched my life so many years ago.

I wasn't popular in school and most of the friends I made were because I was part of a Cross Country team (I've only kept constant contact with one girl friend and we grew close through a class we had together... You can learn a lot over fish crackers). I think now that I'm back in contact with some it's because we have family and kids in common. I learned a lot from the girls I raced with, and when we graduated we all parted ways. I've wonder what happen to this person, or that person, but never did anything about it. And now... at least with one person I missed that chance.

How often do you get that prompting to call someone or write a note, or just even offer a little prayer for them, and you didn't? Are we doing all we can to learn from others, and doing what we can to touch other people. I truly believe that we are put in different places or we meet certain people for a reason.

I encourage you to listen to those promptings and contact those people you have been thinking about for awhile. Or reconnect with an old friend. Drop a note or just offer a prayer. But don't let the time pass you by, we only know a portion of the plan that was set out for us, and if we don't take the opportunity now, we may not get a 'next time'.

The REST of the family.

So I've been bloggin' all about my wonderful boys. I thought I would give a shout out to the rest of my wonderful family.

First many of you know him.... he's the reason for the title of my blog. He is our great dog Captain. His full name is Captain Moroni and we have had him for almost 7 years. He is a great dog!! He watches out for the boys and will bark them back if they go to far down the sidewalk. When Steve is gone he does his rounds of the rooms and checking in the beds (I've seen him do it) and then sleeps at the bottom of the stairs. He is definitely a part of this family.

The next is a duo... Grrr and Grrr 2. There is a little story behind these. We got a bear and giraffe from the Hogal Zoo when Steve was home from Iraq on his 2 weeks R&R. James picked the bear and we gave the giraffe to Tommy. Well, a year later Tommy kept taking James' bear (which he named Grrr (because that's what bears say)) So I got another from the Zoo on another trip. So here's to Grrr and Grrr 2.

(And believe it or not, the boys (and yes, Steve and I) can tell them apart)

Here is a recent addition to our family. He has to stay outside, much to James' disappointment. His name is Spot and he is our plastic owl. Why do we have a plastic owl you ask? Well when we planted grass we needed to keep all the birds away. Well I guess James thought he was lonely, so here is Spot.

Now here we have a friend of James and Tommy. His name is Gabe. He and his mom, Amy are here daily. They usually eat dinner with us. Amy's husband Charlie is a Boarder Patrol agent and is on the midnight shift right now. So he sleeps during the day and Amy and Gabe get to come and play. Gabe is a good kid but when he and Tommy get together it's just TROUBLE!!! But we love them anyway.

(Yes that is Amy making dinner at my house)

And last but certainly not least we have Brandon. He went to Iraq with Steve, and has gotten a job here in Sierra Vista. He lives in Tucson, an hour away, so a couple night a week he stays here with us. He is taken but is always open to meet any new people (preferably girls). H is really nice and the boys get a kick out of him...

The pictures really don't do this boy justus, he is really cute. (Any single takers?)

Well there you have it our (current) Sierra Vista family. Our house is ALWAYS open to people passing by or need a place to crash of a couple days or just need to be entertained during the day. One thing that I took away from the military life is that you get to have family where ever you go, you learn the joy of opening your home to others. And I love the fact that I can say that I have family all over the world, knowing that they would do the same for me (opening their home to me and my family) as I would for them.

(Any husbands training in Ft. Huachuca, family's are more than welcome to say with me)

Sometimes you just have to laugh.

I get the feeling sometimes that the Lord really does get a kick out of watching parents of children. Today all I could do was laugh. Tim once again got into the garbage. I thought it was going to be one of "those" days. But it got better. Look at the pictures to see what I get to laugh at everyday!

So Tim got the frosting out of the garbage! (and I have to be thankful that it was frosting and not anything else) but I didn't think it was so bad until he looked up at me.

Here is a close-up of this face!
I mean really... what are you suppose to do with this? So I just took some pictures and laughed as I cleaned him up.

And then there is James.... He LOVES instruments. He got a trumpet for Christmas that he loves to play songs on. And it is my "very important job" to sit and listen to him play songs.

And when we don't have the "right" instruments he uses what ever he can find. Here we have James singing "Scripture Power" playing the newspaper.

These next pictures are of James and Tommy being ghosts.

Did you notice the the ghost of Tommy has no pants? Sense he has been potty trained (a whole week now)when ever we are at home he takes his pants off and no one can find them. I guess I have to be happy that he at least keeps them on while we are out.

I love my boys, they make me laugh and cry, and I love them so much. Some days are "those" days and boy it would be nice to lock myself in my room and just sit, but those are the days that I get to listen to a pre-schooler play me a newspaper, and see for the first time a green-two headed- no pants ghosts lurking around my house, and a baby that sees no problem with eating frosting from the garbage.

I leave you with this next picture of Tommy, who really fell asleep like this. Have a happy day and watch out for those ghosts.