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.

2 down 1 to go!!!

So do you notice anything different about Tommy? (other than his really great looks) Yes... That is UNDERWEAR that he is wearing!!!! We are almost a week of having him potty trained and it was so easy!!!! I really dreaded training him because James was a nightmare! (Thanks to Em I got through it) But it just really clicked with Tommy. So I'm excited, not only to have to only change one butt, but the money that I'll save on diapers!

It's great having TWO big boys!!!! (I guess three if you count Steve)

(ps... Steve thought it was time to get Tommy a "real" hair cut, but I miss the skater look on him.Maybe we'll grow it back out. But either way he's really cute.)

ROUND 1!

In this corner we have Tim "The Tank" Grammer.... weighing in at a whopping 29 pounds!!! Known for taking on anything in his path (especially if he has his safety goggles on)

And in this corner we have... The Coffee Table! Coming in at about 35 pounds. Known to be a very rectangular guy...

DING!

There goes Tim he's weaving back and forth, the Coffee Table doesn't to be moving much but you never know with that kind of fighter. Look, Tim's on top it's looking like it's going to be a quick pin. OH NO!!!! Tim seems to be loosing his edge! No, no that's not it at all.... Looks like Tim caught the edge of the table. And the Coffee Table wins again.

Check back soon to see Tim "The Tank" take on the folding chair

And the bookcase, tag teaming with the plastic tote!

What you don't know about me.

I was tagged a while ago by Tami, so now I'm doing my little thing. I've also gotten this email from a couple of friends and my sisters as well so I thought I would just post this on the blog. I was hopeing to have a couple of pictures of me but I don't so you'll just have to use your imagination.

Four jobs I have had in my life: (or still have)
1. Mom
2. Drafter (Residential, Commercial, and Surveyor...this one I'm doing now)
3. I watered plants at a nursery
4. Fast food places

Four movies you would watch over and over again: (itshould be the top10!!!)
1. Leagally Blond (I just giggle all through this)
2. Prestige (you can't pass up Christian Bail and Hugh Jackman!!)
3. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
4. National Treasure (I'm totally into the conspiroy therories)

Four places you have lived:
1. Sierra Vista, AZ (twice)
2. Roy, UT
3. Holladay, UT (twice)
4. Monterey, CA (by far my favorite place)

T.V. shows that I watch:
1. Grey's Anatomy (and all the McHotties)
2. ER (I'm waiting and waiting for this to be like it was)
3. Almost anything that is Reality TV
4. Food Network

Four Places I have been in 2007:
1. SeaWorld
2. Vegas and Utah
3. The park (ok, all of them in Sierra Vista)
4. Walmart and Target

People who e-mail you (regularly):
1. Jen Hunsaker
2. Erika
3. Amy Badger
4. The Oriental Trading Company and the Pajama Grams (I don't know why... I've never bought anything from either of them)


Four of my favorite foods:
1. Rasinets (munchem on them right now)
2. Sushi
3. Almost anything that I make (I've turned into a pretty good cook)
4. Anything that Jen makes

4 Places I would like to be right now:
1. Fiji (that's the place that Steve and I would like to be together)
2. With my Yaya's
3. On a plane to anywhere.
4. I really like my house so I like being here

Things you are looking forward to in the coming year:
1. Seeing Rodney get married and getting to know his cute wife Lauralyn
2. Running a Marathon
3. Starting my Bachlors program
4. James AND Tommy in preschool

So there are more things about me. You can do this if you want to but no pressure.

Whose Bright Idea Was This?

Here I come with my soap box again...

Who was the guy that thought up Valentine's Day? I mean really... do you need a specific day to tell the person you love that you love them? I'm not complaining because I didn't get anything, on the contrary, Steve took me to a really nice dinner. But during dinner I decided that this day was a waste of a holiday. I love Steve so much (que music... Truely, Madly, Deeply) so why do I need a day to celebrate it. I do it everyday. It seems to me that Valentine's Day is just a day... not to celebrate love, but to say "Hey... you are single AGAIN this year!" how sad is that? I think that Valentine's Day is just a way to exploit the people and I guess the time between Christmas and Easter so they threw in Valentine's Day.

Ok, it's getting late and I'm going to start not making sense. The jist of this was to day that I think that Valentine's Day is a dumb holiday, and that I love Steve more than just one day a year.

Oh, What a Beatiful Day!

(Ok, to start with this is only funny because we found James naked the night before.... I went in to the boys' room to check on them and I look and see that Tommy has taken off his bottoms and his diaper and is laying half naked in his bed. Not wet or anything, just naked. Not exactly sure why, but there you go)

So yesterday was BEAUTIFUL!!!! The sun was shining and the birds were chirpping, and the children were happy to be outside. So to start things off I went for a 2.8 mile run and realized that the shoes that I has were 7 years old. (gasp, I know) So I needed new shoes. The shoes I got are so cool and really hot.

They are black with shiny blue stripes. I'm really looking forward to taking them out for a run. So they just played outside in the morning and after naps we went to the park to play.

Here we have James and Tommy playing the the dirt. Now during the winter time everything dies and usually stays that way until the rainy season. During that time Sierra Vista is so green and really pretty. Anyway... the boys found the only dirt area in teh entire park it was about 2.5 feet around. Just like puddles, leave it to my boys to find the dirt.

So I watching the boys and all of a sudden I see a random shoe...

I looked around and here are the feet that the shoes belong to. The dirt kept getting into his shoes and decided that not only did the dirt bother him but that his feet "needed the sun" (Tommy is definately my child)

So Tim's independence is driving me crazy. From now (16 months) until about 20-22 months is the scary times for moms and the child that likes to play on the park equipment. And that is where Tim is at, he see's his brothers climbing and playing and thinks he needs to do it too.

OK, this is Tim going up the steps....

And this is Tim going down the stairs... Does anyone else see the problem with this?

And as always Captain is around to keep an eye on the boys. He's a great dog and climbs with the boys and goes down the slides with them.
So here is to the close to a great (sunny, warm, 74 degree) day. Looking forward to the longer warmer days that are up and coming.

Slow News Day.

Not a whole lot is going on and as we wait for our 74 degrees weather tomorrow (which I will post about) I though I would lighten the mood with some funny things from the boys.

Well last night Steve went in to take James to the bathroom before we went to bed. He called me in to see what had happen. I walk in there and we find James NAKED. He is sound asleep so trying to get an answer from him is hard. We though maybe he peed and just got out of his wet clothes, but no. He and his sheets were dry, we found his jammies in the bathroom. I guess he got up by himself and instead of pulling his pants back up, he just steped out of them. If that was the case, I'm still not sure how/why his shirt was off. I guess the "world will never know"

I have a box that is in my kitchen with note cards in it. When the boys say something funny or cute or just something I want to remember, I jot it down and throw it in the box. Because it's in the kitchen, it handy and with in reach. Well, here are a couple from teh boys that are really cute. (A couple from Tommy, more from James)

Tommy:
-Instead of saying "Honey bunches of Oats" He asks for "Honey Bunches of Boats"
-When I took Tommy for his 2-year check up the doctor asked him whe his name was, and Tommy very clearly tells him it's "Mater"
-When I'm laying down Tommy likes to "nuggle" with me.
-Instead of saying something like "ouch, that really hurts" Tommy has started saying "Ouch...Double Ouch!"

James:
-James and I were looking at flashcards one day and I held up one and James "Look, is a Leah-bug" (instead of lady bug)
-We were coming home from chruch and I guess James was having a bad day because Tommy started being silly and clucking like a chicken and James turned to Tommy and said "I don't want to listen to chicken noises"
-We were dropping a note off to Steve and we passed by some soldiers in formation and James says "Mom, Soldiers make me proud"
-While Tim was still in the NICU, I was talking to James about his brother. He turned to me and said mom, " I'm going to teach Tim to eat cake"
-James learned the word 'spectacular', and I guess that was his word of the day. "Dad, these cheese burgers are 'spectacular'," "Mom, this is just spectacular!"
-We were sitting at the table for dinner one night and James looked kind of sad so I asked him what was wrong and he said "My ears are worried"
-I guess James is listening in Primary because he asked me "Mom, if these are the last days, what are the First days?"
-One afternoon we were all playing together and James wanted to see Steve's Belly Belly (his belly button) He lifed up Steve's shirt and said with surprise "Daddy! You have crumbs in your Belly Belly!" (Yes, James found some belly button lint)

The boys definatley keep me on my toes with what comes out of there mouths. Most of the time I have to laugh, or try not to laugh when they are being serious. So I hope these make you smile as they have me.

Nothing but the Weather...

So what's the weather like where you are? (Minus those in Hawaii) I'm sure you are dealing with snow, and from what I've heard there is like FEET of snow. Well guess what... we had snow here yesterday.

I don't know if you can tell, but yes, that is snow falling. Now don't get to excited, none of it stuck to the ground, so there was no playing in it, but there you go.

Now here are a couple pictures of today...

The first is a picture of our house, do you see the clear blue skies? And the next is of the lone cloud in the sky. I looked around and that is the only one I saw. (We do get snow up on the mountains and you can see it from where we are, but that is where snow is suppose to be, in the mountains!) And just to rub it in a little more... it's suppose to be 74 degrees on Saturday! So as all of you are trying to stay warm, we are going to try to fly kites.

What did I do Today?

Today I left some dishes dirty,

The bed got made around 3:30.

The diapers soaked a little longer,

The oder grew a little stroner.

The crumbs I spilled the day before,

Are staring at me from the floor.

The finger prints there one the wall,

Will still be there next fall.

The dirty streaks on those windowpanes,

Will still be there next time it rains.

Shame on you, you sit and say,

Just what did you do today?

I held a baby while he slept,

I held a toddler while he wept.

I played a game of hide and seek,

I squeezed a toy so it would squeak.

I pulled a wagon, sang a song,

Taught a child right from wrong.

What did I do this whole day through?

Not much that shows, I guess that's true.

Unless you think that what I've done,

Might be important to someone.

With crystal blue eyes, and soft brown hair,

If that is true, I've done my share.

-Author Unknown

Cow Pies, Cross bows, and 4 Wheelin'

This past Saturday we went 4-wheeling with our neighbors, the Binghams. It was Priscilla's birthday and they invited us to go with them and enjoy the afternoon. By the way Priscilla turned 35 is expecting and looks fabulous!

After pulling up and getting the quads un loaded the kids immedietly jumped on them wanting to get going. As we were unloading James had to go pee so Steve took him in to bushes to go and when he came back James brought me a present... Yes, James brought me cow crap. He was so proud of it until Steve told him what it was, then he was pretty discused.

Priscilla and I were getting the food ready, we brought a couple card tables and set those up and got out the food. Well, there were suppose to be 2 other families coming with us, but do to personal things had to back out. We still had all that food and a 6 FOOT sandwhich to share between the two families. As we were getting everything ready we realized that in the midst of everything we forgot plates. So here we are improvising.

It was easier to just dump some food out and let them have at it rather than try to seperate the food up. Tim was just grabing what ever he could anyways, so it was nice knowing that at least he wasn't dumping any plates. While the kids were eatting Allen Bingham tried getting a fire going. Well, that attrached all the children (fire usually does that to kids, like flys to honey).

I don't think Allen ever learned how start a fire in Boy Scouts, so after dumping gas on the wood adn paper the fire finally started.

Here's just a good picture, if you didn't think that army fatigues and guns were hot, look again...

Yes I asked Steve to wear the black shirt so we would match. I think we look really cute.

Ok, so FINALLY (as the boys would say) we got on the 4-wheelers to ride. We only had 2 so we just took turns. I took James and Tommy with me on one and Pricilla took Calab and Megan with her.

The Binghams have 3.5 children. Emery who is 9 Megan who is 6 and Calab who is 2. Now Tommy and Calab are like mortal enemies! Seriously.... they battle each other non-stop at each others' house, but being on neutral ground they play really well with each other.

Pricilla and I got back from 4-wheeling and the (big) boys were playing with Steve's cross bow. Why do we have a cross bow you ask... Oh, well Steve bought it at a yard sale for $5. So why not have a cross bow? They were having a good time shooting and trying to keep an eye on the kids as well. (Thanks to Emery for watching out for Tim)

But what would a day outside be like if Time was not into something?
We had a lot of fun and the weather was really (really!) nice. And all the boys got nice and dirty!!!
Tim just hung around, he was to little to put on the 4-wheeler, he had a good time rolling in the dirt and eatting what ever food fell to the floor. (At least it was food -huh-)

The funny thing about these pictures of Tommy is this is usaully what he looks like. We could be in the house all day and his face will still attrach all the dirt. He is such a character!

I took thses pictures of James, and I couldn't get him to look at me so you get to see expressions instead. James couldn't get enough of the ham on the sandwhich so that is what he is shoving in his mouth. Lately he has been asking for ham everyday at lunch so to have it around for him was just heaven.

And here is our 4th child. (Actully our 1st, we got Captain before wehad kids) Captain did really well just hanging around with us. He went off to see what was around but didn't go too far. He was really great with all the kids and kept an eye out for all of them.

It was a great day, and we had so much fun, and made many memories. (Thanks Bingham's)

And now as we drive down the street the boys are quick to point out the 4-wheelers that they see and ask when we are going to ride them again.