Real original, huh!

What we've been up to...

2009-02-22T21:16:00.005-07:00

I guess it's time for an update! The kids didn't have school Monday or Tuesday, so on Tuesday, we ventured to Colorado Springs to visit my parents. We also went to the Olympic Training Center so that Wesley could accomplish the "visit an important place in your community" portion for his Wolf badge for Cub Scouts. Here are a few pictures from that visit.

I love Matthew's smile in this one!

My brother Kendall in the middle.

I have a notebook in my purse that the twins keep getting and drawing in. Here are some of the latest.

A alien dog / A dog

An alien cat / A regular cat

This dog has glases to.

This is a cat and it has glasis.

My nose is feeling fine and I'm surprised how little pain, bruising and blood there was. It's not quite straight, so we'll see what they do with that, but if they do fix it again, it will be in the OR. If it's not going to affect my breathing or cause sinus problems, I'll probably just leave it! Thank you for your concern and sympathy! I still can't believe they do that to people!!!

TORTURE!!!

2009-01-29T19:59:00.006-07:00

I was able to go to the ENT today. When I made the appt., I asked if I needed to bring anyone with me. The nurse told me that they wouldn't do any procedures for this appt. WRONG! I'm glad it's fixed, but I definitely have a story to tell.

You might want to stop reading if you're squeamish

(it's not really that bad, but I'm giving you fair warning!)

I went to University Hospital since there were more doctors available on the insurance there. That also meant younger doctors. The doctor my appointment was made with saw me first (not young), while another doctor (young) was in the room typing all the notes on the computer. After the doctor decided it was broken and could be fixed, he went out and another young doctor came in. He talked to me about what the procedure was, had me sign the consent, and took me into the procedure (torture) room.

The first step is numbing. If I had known exactly how this happens, I might not have had it fixed... Anyway, the young doctor soaks some gauze on a wire with string hanging off of it (I wish I could find a picture, but I did see that they are called tampons...) with cocaine - now I'm a druggy ;). Then they put it in your nose (2 each nostril) and just when you think it can't possibly go any further up (or hurt worse), oh, yes it can!!! OUCH!!!!! So those get to sit in your nose for a while to start numbing things. Meanwhile, you're crying, and the young doctor doesn't offer you anything to wipe the tears and he leaves the room.

The young doctor comes back in a few minutes for the next part of the numbing procedure. This time it's a shot in each nostril. Think of the dentist... Since he's a young doctor, though, there are a few pokes before it's in the right spot, then the BURNING!!! More crying and this time some bleeding. Still no tissues or anything and alone again in the room. Eventually he comes back and sees I need something, puts one of those cute blue plastic things you sit on after having a baby on your chest (too late, blood already on the shirt...) and a gauze to wipe some of the blood.

After a few more minutes, it's time to numb the outside of the nose. Since my tongue was feeling numb, I figured it wouldn't be too bad. WRONG!!! One on each side again. I really was surprised how much those two still hurt after all of the other steps!!! Alone again.

Now it's time to move the nose back into place. The other young doctor comes in and offers his hand to squeeze. I said I'd just keep grabbing the bed. At this point I ask, "How many of these have you done." "I'm not really sure." Quiet. Other young doctor says, "It's definitely not the first time for any of us." FABULOUS! So, blunt instrument up the left nostril, a small pop, some pushing, etc. None of this really hurts, thank goodness, except for the apparent poke in the nose that still hasn't quite stopped bleeding... Not young doctor comes in to look, it needs a little more, still doesn't really hurt and done with that part. A little cleaning of the nose, placement of the tape, placement of the guard, cleaning of the blood between my nose and mouth (most of it, at least) and I'm done. Gee, that was easy.

I am glad to have it fixed, but I do wish that someone was with me to at least help me wipe my tears! It's probably good that Jim is out of town and didn't have to witness the blood, though!

Update time.

2009-01-27T16:51:00.006-07:00

I continue to be a bad blogger, but here is what we've been up to...

Jim had another birthday and got the ever exciting slippers, cargo pants, coat, laptop part, screwdriver set and pj pants. Don't be jealous! :)

Matthew decided he needed a mohawk to go watch Jim play his intramural basketball game.

Shaquille O'Neal came to the base gym to talk to the military kids.

You can kind of see his head above everyone else in the middle.

Here he is trying to leave.

This is the closest picture we got.

(See, it really was him!)

This is a tag from a skirt I recently bought.

Megan saw it when I had it on but hadn't taken the tag off yet. She read it and started laughing.

I'm happy to say that the skirt really did seem to work.

After church on Sunday, Wesley accidentally broke my nose at church. I was coming down the hallway and someone had tossed him something. He was going backward to catch it and jumped for it. His head crashed right into my nose. It was one of those things I could see coming, but couldn't get out of the way. I heard crunching and it is shifted to the right a little. I've been to the ER and my Primary Care doctor. I'm waiting for my referral to go through so that I can see a specialist. Hopefully it can be fixed soon and heal from that point instead of where it currently is. It might not be easy to see in the pictures. Surprisingly, it doesn't hurt that bad and it hasn't really even bruised. Still...

(I hope I never need to take a mug shot...)

A few photos...

2009-01-05T14:05:00.006-07:00

Our Christmas card picture.

(If you would like to see our letter,

leave a comment and I'll e-mail it to you.

Sorry we can't mail one to ALL the people

that we would like to!!! I'm thankful for

technology helping to keep in touch!)

The kids made gingerbread

(okay - graham cracker and canned frosting)

houses for FHE one night.

Matthew's

Megan's

Wesley's (after a cave-in)

James' truck

Our friends, the Lawsons, were visiting family and came by our house, too.

I love when we get to see them!!!

(The 2 on the right side are twins, too.)

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

2008-12-24T21:26:00.002-07:00

(Pictures from 2004)

2008-12-09T22:40:00.003-07:00

This link is for my friend Brooke. She entered a recipe contest and needs viewers. You should definitely give it a look! It looks like a very yummy recipe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAObVcxbnYI&watch_response

Also, here is her blog for more yummy recipes:

http://conversationswithacupcake.blogspot.com/

Just be sure to tell her I sent you! ;)

A little catch-up

2008-12-02T14:23:00.014-07:00

My last post was a little lame - sorry! Here - I'll make up for it with pictures (because I'm lame and haven't already posted these)...

Here's the kids' halloween costumes -

Spiderman, Astronaut, Ninja and Whoopie Cushion -
complete with sound effects

(courtesy of a fart machine - not the kid himself...)

During Fall Break, we went to the Cheyenne Mtn. Zoo and the kids fed the giraffes - what a tongue!

and fed the parakeets.

The first pictures of these next 2 sets are from 2002 with some friends.

The kids, and the tress, have definitely grown!

It's Thanksgiving and I'm thankful!

2008-11-27T20:31:00.002-07:00

I'm thankful for so many things. I don't even know where to begin.

And I wouldn't know when to stop. So, I'll just leave it at that.

(Besides, I'm too full and tired!!!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

OOPS!!!!!!

2008-11-03T15:06:00.003-07:00

What's this? A post within a week of the last one? WOW!

Anyway, this morning, I needed to call Qwest and dialed one number incorrectly. This is what I got - "This is the nation's master directory of every type of phone sex known to man..." CLICK!!!!!

At first I thought their line had been hacked and tried again. Then I finally saw my mistake. OOPS!

A couple funnies

2008-10-29T16:17:00.003-06:00

Since I'm a bad blogger, I'll just do another one now and then we'll see when I post again...

Here's a few funny stories from the past few weeks. There was a school fundraiser night at Skate City and there are arcade games there. They boys have played roller hockey there and the twins were excited that "the games would be on" since they aren't during hockey. What they didn't know was that you needed money for them, apparently, so they were sad about that. Well, a boy in Matthew's class had some money and put it in the "claw" machine to get them a stuffed animal. He actually got 2 in one try! Then Megan somehow had a quarter and got another one. All this was after Jim was telling them not to waste their money in it - you never get a toy...

Then we went to Sonic and ordered 4 ice cream cones. There were some upset comments about that being all they were getting and how Matthew wanted "an M&M thing." We get to the window and they tell us that their ice cream machine is only making really soft ice cream and asked if we wanted a Blast or something for the same price. They were really apologetic, the kids were excited. Jim said, "Why can't I teach my kids ANYTHING tonight?!?!?" Fun times!

The kids are now on fall break and on the last day of school before then, the boys were not even home 10 minutes and James said, "I'm bored. I need some hard math problems." I found some for him, he didn't finish them, and he hasn't requested any more, but STILL!!!!!

Right now

2008-10-29T15:47:00.007-06:00

This is another tag that I have been slow to do. Thanks, Heidi, for the "shout-out."

Right now Kristy loves...

-chocolate (that's a constant, though)

-having some fun time with her kids on fall break (zoo, bowling, Krispy Kreme) and the BEAUTIFUL weather

-Red Pandas - there are new twin ones at the zoo, but I'm not sure if they were the ones we saw yesterday; either way, they're CUTE!

Right now Kristy does NOT love...

-the stress of the Primary Program, but it will be okay!

-her kids fighting

-having to make dinner (another constant!)

Right now Kristy's kids love...

-Halloween candy

-doing fun things with mom

-Red Pandas

Right now Kristy's kids do NOT love...

-having to share

-going to bed

-mom's cooking (apparently...)

I won't even presume to do one for Jim...

Tag, I'm it (and have been for a while...)

2008-10-29T14:50:00.009-06:00

Here are the rules: Link the person who tagged you (my wonderful friend Cindi - with an "I", two actually...) Tell about 6 quirks of yours. Tag 6 fellow bloggers to do the same. Leave a comment to let them know.

Here we go:

1. I'm not good at tags! I will be doing another one right after this one, though...

(These next 2 are from Cindi!)

2. I like to figure things out - at least with the internet's help.

3. I have a memory that doesn't quit. (That's definitely a thing of the past, unfortunately... I used to be really good with names and stuff, but I believe that each kid has taken a few thousand brain cells into their bodies! I was really thrown for a loop with the twins!) I think my memory is leaking these days!!!

4. I am a clearance junkie! I love to see this at Target.

(Yes, that's a Mr. Goodbar, and no, it wasn't expired to be on clearance.)

It's even better when there is more than one sticker...that means it's been marked down even more. It's also even better when the number in the right corner is a 75 or 90!!!

5. Along the clearance lines, the Isaac Mizrahi items at Target kind of annoy me because they have a similar logo to the clearance stickers with a small red area. Not that they're bad items, just that they distract me with the clearance "look."

6. I will call companies with complaints. I have received coupons for free diapers, replacement products, etc.

I'm going to save the rest of you from tag guilt, but if you would like to do this tag, I would love to see your answers.

9-11-08

2008-09-11T13:24:00.002-06:00

7 years ago today was such a shocking day! I remember my mom calling me at about 7:30 in the morning and telling me to turn on the T.V. (I'm pretty sure she woke me up since I could still sleep in then...). I was glued to the television for the day and much of the next one. It was all so surreal! I remember calling a friend and saying, "They just got the Pentagon!" Wow!!! Jim was in Salt Lake City for a conference. That day's events ended up being cancelled. He thought it might be a good idea to show his co-workers some of the church sites, like the Family History Center, etc. All of those places closed early, too. Needless to say, he wasn't going to fly home the next day. They ended up driving back on Thursday in their rental car. I was certainly glad to have him back home! A friend of mine had her second child that day - a little boy. I can't even imagine that swing of emotions! It's still hard to believe that it all happened, but I'm thankful that a similar attack has not happened here since then.

On a happier note, today is my parent's 40th Wedding Anniversary. Here's a photo of them on their wedding day.

Here's a photo of their kids, kids' spouses and grandchildren. This was taken last December. Two of my brothers and their wives are currently expecting as well (the ones with the babies in the picture).

This is a picture of their grandkids with sweaters that my mom knit.

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad!!!

If you build it...

2008-09-10T11:13:00.002-06:00

I will go!

Guess what's coming to Colorado!

All together now!

2008-08-30T21:35:00.002-06:00

Tonight we had Chinese take-out for dinner and this was Wesley's fortune:

Once he finished reading, Jim and I both said, "BEDTIME!!!"

(Unfortunately, we're still trying to get them all in bed - an all too often occurance...)

5 years ago today...

2008-08-26T22:46:00.006-06:00

...this is what I looked like at about 6:30 in the morning.

And this is what I looked like that night.

(Gotta love those hospital pictures!)

Here's a slide show of the twins through the years. It's kind of long, but it's double the fun...

Seriously?!?!?

2008-08-19T15:22:00.002-06:00

Dead man stands throughout 3-day wake

Okay, that's the headline, now go see the article.

An exciting day!!!

2008-08-18T22:36:00.003-06:00

Today was the first day of school. That means the VERY first day of school for the twins. Yeah!!! (For them and for me...)

They had a good time and they were glad to know that I did okay at home by myself.

Update...

2008-08-18T22:30:00.000-06:00

Here's the missing odometer photo...

08-08-08

2008-08-08T22:14:00.002-06:00

Today's date is the kind of thing I notice and like. Whenever I see 8:16 on a digital clock, I say, "It's my birthday." It took a while for Jim to figure it out and he sometimes even points it out now. We either aren't usually together or sleeping so we don't do the same with his (January 10th, 1:10). James does it, too and whenever he does, I say, "You definitely are my child!"

My favorite time this happened was when Wesley

turned 5 on 5-5-05.

Our van was recently at 88,888 miles. I took a picture with my cell phone, but due to computer changes and moves, I can't easily download and include the picture. This concludes my picture-less confession...

More evidence of my nerdiness...

2008-07-30T13:51:00.004-06:00

I bought this

I just got a little sentimental for the "old days."

At least I got it on clearance - 75% off ($2.24)!!!

Do you have a router?

2008-07-27T16:16:00.002-06:00

Jim has been finishing our basement and needed one of these

to make a cabinet around the sump pump. He tried a few people to see if they had one and most weren't home. He got in touch with one friend who said that he had one. Jim asked if it was portable and the friend said that they were probably coming over by our house and he could bring it over.

When Jim answered the door, he saw this:

The next day at church, one of the people that hadn't been home asked if he had called. Jim told him that he had been looking for a router and they said that they didn't have one, but they had one of these...

( a modem)

They're so cute when they're sleeping...

2008-07-25T22:35:00.001-06:00

My baby sleeping with her baby

They were both sleeping on Matthew's bed - the top bunk

Our (short but long) trip

2008-07-25T17:37:00.005-06:00

We planned a trip to Mount Rushmore to see it while we're living "closer" to it and to also see our friends before they moved from there. After planning that, my extended family planned a party for my Grandma since she is turning 100 in December. That meant driving to South Dakota, spening a couple of days there (camping), driving all day to Utah and then back home.

It was fun to spend time at the lake with our friends, even though it was cloudy and sometimes rainy. It wasn't too cold, unless you were on the boat after getting wet... I really wish that we could live by the these friends sometime in our life!

Mount Rushmore was pretty neat, but definitely a little "random" as I've heard it described. We were there all day just to see the fireworks that night. At least it wasn't too hot!!! The fireworks show was a half hour long and we were in a good spot to watch, so that was good.

The party for my Grandma was a nice event. It was fun to see extended family that I don't see very often. The food was fabulous, especially the wonderful pasta/crab/ham salad!!!!!!!! Here is a picture of some dresses that my Grandma saved that were modeled during the program for the party. I was impressed that they could be worn now and be in style. (The middle one is actually a robe.)

After the party, we were able to see Jim's brother and his family since they had come to Utah for Sarah's brother's wedding (all of her siblings that are married have married someone with the same name of another sibling). It was fun to see them again. We also saw my Grandma that lives in Utah, but I don't have a picture of that. We saw my friend and her family on Sunday morning and then made the long drive home. Tuesday to Sunday - not very long, but it was a fun time!

My 3 (bald) sons

2008-07-25T17:36:00.000-06:00

This is what has kept us busy this summer...

2008-07-25T17:18:00.006-06:00

One week left and we'll have our nights back. They have both done well and had a good time.

Denied!

2008-07-25T17:15:00.001-06:00

Blogger is currently unavailable
Blogger is unavailable right now. We apologize for this interruption in service.

(This is what I got when I tried to do a new post a few minutes ago. I know it's been a while. I guess that's why... I will be doing a few new posts tonight.)

Tag!

2008-07-18T20:19:00.000-06:00

Here's the drill (This one's kind of interesting...)

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

James is making me feel old!

2008-06-24T23:30:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday, James!

It's hard to believe that you're already 10 years old!!! I'm glad that you are my son and such a good example for your brothers and sister. Here's a look at your life so far...

I've been a bad blogger!

2008-06-15T23:50:00.001-06:00

As I warned initially, I thought that I might be an infrequent poster. Here's an update of some of our recent happenings...

Wesley turned 8, earned his Bobcat in Cub Scouts,

(ignore my waiting to be poked face)

and got baptized.

The boys finished school, started golf,

and finished swimming lessons.

The twins pretended to be cowboys,

warriors,

and finished swimming lessons.

Here's to the start of a fun, busy and hopefully sometimes relaxing summer.

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T23:24:00.002-06:00

Well, I 've got about a half hour left to post this on June 15th, so I'll just say that I'm so thankful for all of the fathers in my life. Both Jim and I have great fathers that raised us well and helped us learn and grow. The picture below has both of them in it - can you tell which one is which? (It's really not that hard!)

Jim is a WONDERFUL husband and father and I am really blessed that we are sharing our lives together! The kids have all been quite "Daddy's Boy/Girl," so they definitely love all that he does for them. (Sometimes it makes Jim a little crazy, but that's a different story...)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!!

Field Day

2008-05-29T22:00:00.000-06:00

Last week was field day for James & Wesley. They each got the standard green ribbon that everyone received. Amazingly (it seems these days), the school also gave out place ribbons for certain events. Wesley won a blue ribbon for the shoe kick event. James won a blue ribbon for the 3-legged race (my friend and I won that every year, too - or at least that's how I remember it...) and a red ribbon for the football toss. They both had a lot of fun. I know I always loved field day!

My little monkeys at the zoo

2008-05-29T10:07:00.000-06:00

Here's some pictures of our trip to the zoo with friends...

This gorilla was a little freaky! We went into the building where he was and the kids walked over to the glass. The gorilla had been on a "ledge" a few feet away and immediately came over and banged the window. The kids all freaked out and moved away from the window. Then he sat down for a while and I took some pictures. Not sure why he came over so quickly. Weird!

Here's the kids with the "safe" Gorilla.

I think Red Pandas are so cute!

Megan's face cracks me up on this one!

The cheetahs were trying to get to the kangaroos and emus in the adjacent area.

Matthew saw this and said, "Penguin school!"

(from the penguin episode of "Go, Diego Go!")

We saw a couple of peacocks, but this one had its feathers out. So pretty!

11 years ago...

2008-05-28T22:57:00.000-06:00

This was a big week 11 years ago. The dates fall on the same days of the week this year, so maybe that makes me even more nostalgic. Jim graduated from USAFA 11 years ago today.

Our 11 year anniversary is Saturday, too. (The Cadets can't get married until they graduate, so 3 days later, there we were

at the Boise Temple!)

These 11 years (and the 2 1/2 years we knew each other before marriage) have been GREAT! I'm so thankful for Jim in my life and the life we have together.

Here's to many more years to come!!!

Speaking of Wesley...

2008-05-05T23:30:00.001-06:00

Today is his 8th birthday. He's so excited to go to Cub Scouts and to be baptized at the end of the month. We're so happy that he is a part of our family. He definitely brings a lot of joy. Here's a couple pictures of our new 8 year old.

(As I looked for the pictures to include, I remembered that he would sleep in funny places, as you will see. Also, he definitely is the 2nd child - with less pictures taken of him - and it's even worse because twins came after him and got more taken of them, too. Here are the results of my search..)

Does it run in the family?

2008-05-02T21:14:00.000-06:00

Last night was the program at school for 1st and 2nd graders. It was a circus theme with clowns, monkeys, tigers, elephants, etc. Wesley's class was elephants and performed with hula hoops. After the class all did it together, Wesley went over and did 3 at the same time.

Melinda Dransfield was sitting behind me and asked, "Do you practice that at Family Home Evening?" Last year, I hula hooped for the Primary talent show. Wesley learned to hula hoop after we went to a party that there were some hoops at and he tried all night to learn how. I bought some and it was fun to watch him learn. When I was little, I would hula hoop on the driveway while reading. I used to be able to make the hoop go up to my neck, down to my knees and then back to my hips. My body is a different shape now and it's definitely not something I've kept up with. Maybe it should be my new workout?!?

I'm a Winner!

2008-04-18T18:58:00.000-06:00

I got a fun phone call today. "You won tickets to Tuesday's Rockies game!" See, 850 KOA is having a contest to win the stuff the Rockies gave away at the opening home stand commemorating their National League Championship last year. Here's a picture of the "loot."

We actually went to the game where they gave out the poster, but it's fun to have the other stuff, too. They also were giving away a replica trophy, but that game was postponed to June because of a snow storm, so I will get that later (as well as tickets to the make-up game).

This is actually the 3rd time I've won with KOA. I won tickets to Rockies Opening Day last year and then won $850 as a "consultant." My mom won tickets to an Ice Capades show from KOA when I was little, too.

P.S. I need someone to tell me how to make the picture "clickable" to a bigger image...

Should I stay or should I go?

2008-04-06T20:04:00.000-06:00

I'm still trying to decide if I can/should do a blog. I'm sure I won't post very often and make people frustrated! Check back again and see what happens...

(We have a site with pictures here, but you need a Windows live account to see it.)