The Calico Crew

Pheonix 2012

2012-02-14T12:21:00.001-07:00

Todd was able to take us down to Pheonix last week. He 'gets' to work while we play. He was doing a training down there. It was a great break for all of us. I was surprised to hear Todd admit that he actually enjoys the ride more when his family is with him. I guess it's like having a baby. You forget things after it's all said and done. We left Tuesday morning and traveled pretty much all day. The kids did really good. I'm sure taking the breaks helped. We got to stop at Aunt Cheri's, the Hoover Dam, a couple potty stops and gas stations and we finally arrived that evening.

While we were there we swam, watched TV, swam, played basketball, swam, took naps, swam, read books, swam, went out to eat (which is a big deal because we don't do it very often), and did I mention that we went swimming? The kids loved {LOVED!} the pool. I thought it was a little chilly-what do you expect from an outdoor pool in February. It was heated...just not enough for me to take Jess in for long.

We came home Friday morning and got to play in the snow, climb big boulders and take more and more pictures. It was a fun vacation and the kids are already planning their next trip to Phoenix. All I know is that before our next big car trip like that we will be doing it in a new van. The truck fits us all great but it's time to give ourselves some space and save a little gas. Come on tax return!!

{Do you think I took enough pictures?}

Six Months

2012-01-30T23:27:00.000-07:00

You can't see all of her chubby legs but I love how she plays with her toes when she had on no clothes!

Good morning, girls!

She's survived living in our family for six months now...and she still loves us as much as we love her!

The Big 7 - 0 hhhh!

2012-01-18T17:42:00.001-07:00

My mom turned 70 this last Sunday. All us girls got together to celebrate on Saturday. A few years ago we took my mom on a bike ride--it was Tiff's idea. My kids loved it and asked if we were doing that again. My mom of course hasn't forgotten it either, but she doesn't have as fond of memories for some reason. She was very nervous that we were going to do something like that again. I told her we were going roller blading this time. We had just all been together at the first of the year so I wasn't sure if Cheri (lives in Henderson, NV) or Trudi (lives in Grantville, UT) were going to make it for the lunch we had planned. When they both said they were going to be here I was so excited and tried to think of all the crazy things we could do just to scare my mom! We really had only planned on doing lunch on Saturday with all the girls and then cake and ice cream on Sunday with all the families that could come. My mom had no idea that Trudi was coming. Cheri spent the night on Friday and then Kandice, Tiffani and I all showed up on Saturday around 1pm. When Trudi got close she called my mom on the phone just to chat. My mom moved into the computer room so she could talk/hear better so she didn't see Trudi come into the house. My mom was so surprised to see her! It was so fun to be a part of the surprise!

We had lunch at my mom's (at her request. She didn't want to go to a restuarant.) We ordered food from Outback (our appetizer--an Awesome Blossom) and Durango's (the main course) and then we went to Costco and got a cheesecake (for dessert).

It was so fun to be together with the girls. Grandpa was a good sport and kept Jess while we went and got our food. He even paid for our lunch! Double Bonus!! In return, we 'let' him eat with us! I know. We're too kind.

We stayed until late playing games--Tiff's first time playing fugitive...she loved it! We measured A'Lyssa and Ashton for a coffin and let them see stars through a coat sleeve. It was fun and even though it was for my mom, I really appreciated the 'time out' from being a mom!

Sunday night we had cake and ice cream at the club house. It was fun to celebrate my mom's birthday. It's just crazy that she's 70! I love my mom so much! She's such an example of service to me...I guess that's what mom's do! Maybe someday I will be as patient and loving as she is....Maybe.

Payton's Baptism

2012-01-12T14:09:00.000-07:00

Payton turned 8 in December so we were looking forward to January so he could be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These are some pictures from his special day. I will have to write down some memories later because there are some things I know I will forget that I might want to remember later.

2011 Christmas Memories

2012-01-03T14:07:00.000-07:00

Christmas Eve Day (is that possible?) we went on a trail for a family walk. We couldn't be gone long because I had rolls raising that I needed to be back to monitor (which didn't turn out like they were supposed to anyway). It was a beautiful day! That night we went to g-pa and g-ma Turek's with all the family that lives around here. My mom and dad ate dinner upstairs with the kids while the adults (and three babies) at down stairs. It was really nice and quiet...for us downstairs.

After our delicious soup and bread bowls we went on a scavenger hunt. We were split into cars and taken to the Rec. Center where we could loose a few lbs. (of gold) and then we had to go pay our taxes at the City offices. Then it was off to the hospital to have a baby. We walked across the street and looked at the nativity. Then we headed over to the college to be educated. What did this have to do with Christmas? Figure it out.

The kids had fun running around looking for clues and riding in their uncle Jeff's car. I sat in the back of Randy and Stef's vehicle with Jess and had the occasional nursing program in the back seat.

We headed back to g-pa and g-ma's where they gave us some "gold". G-pa Turek chose all the oldest kids in the family to follow him and didn't tell them what they were getting. Someone said they were going to do the dishes. Payton broke down crying because he was chosen from our family and he didn't think it was fair that he had to do the dishes. Julia whined because SHE wanted to be chosen to do the dishes. Worst part is that they weren't even doing the dishes. G-pa was just getting every family their 'gold' which was the big pumpkin pies from Costco. All those tears from Payton for nothing!

We headed home where PJ Elf had left the kids jams and then it was off to bed...well, after Paton wrote Santa a letter and left him some of the pie--we neglected to get the cookies made for Santa this year.

Christmas morning we were up around 7 am and opening presents! We were spoiled, as usual. Julia was so cute because EVERYTHING she opened she would scream and be so excited! Christmas is so fun! I just hope that the little subtle hints and brief moments of sharing and talking about the true meaning of Christmas rubs off on our family. Sometimes I wonder.

5 months old

2011-12-27T11:27:00.002-07:00

Somehow Jess made the post BEFORE Christmas. She's still got 2 more days before she's officially 5 months old but I just LOVE THIS GIRL! She's such a good baby--except for the fact that she won't take a bottle and she's not enjoying the solid food experience...yet. I can't believe it's already been five months since she entered our lives!

Ever since I got my new camera she has filled up my lens most of the time. I have so many more pictures of her than I do of any of the other kids. She's just SO cute! (not that my other kids aren't)

Christmas and other posts will be coming...

Early Christmas

2011-12-09T11:44:00.000-07:00

Todd bought my Christmas present on "black friday" online. I'm soooo glad he did. It's going to be a fun Christmas using my present! Here's some of the practice I've gotten in...

I'm a total amateur when it comes to taking pictures or getting a good angle but I love learning! And my finger hasn't gotten arthritis in it...yet! I thought I was annoying Todd with how many pictures I've been taking so I told him I was sorry for taking so many. He said he's glad I love it, he just doesn't want me taking pictures of HIM. I've got a lot to learn but I'm sure having fun in the process. I'm hoping to figure some 'tricks' out before Christmas so I can catch some great family Christmas Memories.

Time With Tiff Treats

2011-11-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

We were able to move the majority of our stuff on the 11th of November--yes, Julia's birthday. The cool one that was 11-11-11. That next night Tiff brought over a jar filled with candy and the cutest poem attached:

Whenever you think about your favorite Aunt Tiff
Just undo the lid and go ahead and take a whiff
Then choose your favorite candy
unwrap and chew it slow
and think about the fact tha
your my favorite too, you know.
Love, Tiff

She made me feel like such a dud because she's just so dang creative and thoughtful. Well, the next morning the kids came into my room. Porter said, "Mom, I'm thinking about Luke." in that somewhat whine voice he has. Julia of course followed suite and said she was thinking about Luke too. I knew this was leading to the treat jar Tiff had brought the night before. I told them that they had to be thinking about Tiff, not Luke, to which they quickly changed their thinking.
Several times throughout the day they would say, "Mom, I'm just thinking about Tiff again." and they would get their treat. After a while I told them that there was a limit of thinking of Tiff to only four times a day so stop thinking about Tiff!!

We love our Aunt Tiff (and the treats she brings!)

The Bus Left Me!

2011-11-17T09:32:00.001-07:00


Porter being picked up for Kindergarten

Moving to our new house has brought many changes. One of these changes has been a new school. We don't live close enough for the kids to walk/ride bikes or scooters anymore. They have to ride the bus. They are totally excited!! We'll see how long this lasts.
This morning I sent Payton up the road a little after 8:00 am...thinking the bus came around 8:10? the bus stop is just up the street from us and I watched from the road until I saw the bus do its loop around the subdivision above ours. I couldn't see Payton but assumed he would get on the bus. Around 8:15 he came back home. I asked what had happened! How could he have missed the bus??!!
"The bus just left me!" Payton said. I told him that he had to run to the bus stop because the bus doesn't wait for kids who are just taking their own sweet time to get on the bus. About 8:30 I loaded the kids up to take Payton to school. As I'm about to round the corner, I see a group of elementary aged kids across the road playing. I asked Payt if that was his bus stop. He said, "Well, that's where they dropped me off yesterday." I said, "Ok-it's your bus stop. You haven't missed the bus. Get out of the car and go wait with the other kids."
No wonder the other bus left him. It wasn't his bus! I'm sure this is of the first of many 'New School' experiences we will have.
(pictures will be coming...)

Tiger Style Wrestling

2011-11-05T12:42:00.000-06:00

I know. I never thought I would miss the day of being a "Hurricane Tiger". I've always been so true and proud to be a Panther, but having kids do activities in Tiger Territory has changed my opinion. My boys have loved the wrestling program that Hurricane High puts on. Last night was their first tournament for this year and they both did so well! Porter took third as a 38 lb. kindergarten kid and Payton took first in the 2nd grade 75-94 lb bracket. Yea, Payton was the chunky one in the bracket and will probably get put with 3rd graders next tourny but he loves his gold.

I need to write one thing from wrestling this year because I know I'll forget it later. At one of the their practices I couldn't be there because I was working and Todd was out on a fire. Tiff was willing to pick the boys up and drop them off to their practice that night. When I picked the boys up on my way home from work I asked how things went. Payton said he had to wrestle 100 lb. third grade girl in practice! Then he told me what his coach had told him...

"Coach Hirschi said, 'Is this a sport for girls?' and I said no and he said, 'Make her cry! Make her wanna go home!"

So I asked him if he made her cry. He said, "Well, a little but that was before the coach said anything to me."

I had a quick conversation with his coach and he told me, "Ya know, we teach our boys to respect girls but when we're on the football field or the wrestling mat, we tell our boys to beat the hell out of each other."

I just smiled because I know Todd feels the same way but as a girl/mom I wasn't quite sure how to feel about my boy making a girl cry. I just hoped the girl would not want to come back the next week. I was wrong. Oh well? The most ironic thing of all was that 'the girl' he was wrestling was Casey Shomaker, one of our neighbors when we lived in the basement on Telegraph in Washington.

-Wrestling Tiger Style-


Bronze medal

I'm not sure why I don't have any pictures of Payton but here's a little video footage...

La Verkin Elementary

2011-11-04T10:25:00.000-06:00

I love this school!! We live close enough that the boys can ride their bikes or scooters to school. I don't worry about them getting to or from school safely. There have been numerous times that the boys have had problems with bike chains falling off or some other bike problem where someone has helped them fix the problem and I had no idea there even was a problem! That's the kind of people that live in this area. I feel so safe and I know my kids are being taught good things by great teachers!

Last night was their 3rd annual Dance Festival. I only videoed a little of each of their performances because my digital camera is not the greatest...especially at long distances...and while I'm holding a baby. Forgive the blurry moments and the shaking.

Go Cubs!!

-I won't get to say that too much longer!-

Living Close to Number 3

2011-11-03T08:00:00.001-06:00

Another thing I'm going to miss when we move is living close to my sister, Tiffani. I say #3 because out of the five of us girls she's the third one. It's been nice for me because no matter where I live I've had one sister that was no further than 10 minutes away. I don't know how many times I've been somewhere (like WalMart, the Library, a park...you get the idea) and someone will ask if I'm related to Tiffani Wright. Yup! Sure 'nough. Apparently, even though Tiff and I don't always see it, we look alike AND talk alike. It's been fun to let our kids do things together like swimming at the Hurricane Pool and playing at each others houses. I like the visit's Tiff makes when she has to drop Khloee off at dance so it's just her and her babe, Alaina t hat come and hang for an hour. It's fun to just be able to sit around and catch up on whatever needs to be chatted about.
I do feel bad about always complaining about Hurricane being so far away from St. George so that was why we wouldn't visit her much. And then we decided to move to La Verkin--it's even further!


Tiff making me a delicious birthday breakfast. I knew she'd love this pic so I threw it in

Julia and Alaina on one of their 'dance visits'

Julia has always loved Tiff. The bond must have been made when Tiff started as Julia's "roll coach"

You know I love ya' Tiff and I'll miss seeing so much of you. But since we're saving so much money on Todd's gas to work, that means that a little trip to Hurricane now and then won't break the bank!

Double Header

2011-11-02T09:26:00.000-06:00

I think this picture might speak for itself. I will miss you double headed shower. This was always one of Todd's FAVORITE features of his house building adventure.

My 'Back up' Vacuum

2011-11-01T12:24:00.000-06:00

Although I will miss my central vac in our home, I'm going to miss my back up vacuum. It's our neighbors chihuahua, Bentley. He has helped me numerous times to clean up my kitchen. Today while Julia ate her roman noodles, she allowed Bentley to help too.

We'll miss you Bentley! ... even though Todd will never admit to it!

Two Week Notice

2011-10-31T21:31:00.001-06:00

Usually that phrase is used to give your boss when you're sick of your job or it's just time for you leave for one reason or another. I'm bummed to give this two week notice because it means that's when we will be leaving La Verkin. I guess I never thought I'd be sad about leaving LaVerkin. It's not the most glamorous places to live but it's been our home for the past three years and I'm going to MISS IT! Silly, I know. I'm actually getting teary typing this.

I thought I would try and post one thing each day for the next two weeks that I'm going to miss about this place, but they are not necessarily in any particular order.

So, here's one thing:

Our house

I have to say house because we can't take it with us like we can our 'home'...if that makes sense. You all know that home is where the heart is and I plan on taking my 'home' with me wherever we end up. I will really miss this house. It's been perfect for our family. Not too much to keep clean but plenty of room to have 'too much crap'. I was prego with Julia when we built it. I remember when we first bought the lot a year and a half before we built anything on it, I would always want to dive past it--but of course it was a little out of the way unless we were on our way to Zion or Kolob. I even talked Todd into getting a Little Caesar's pizza one night and taking our camping chairs to go eat on the lot. Sounds silly now, but it's a good memory.

Todd worked is butt off to build me a nice house and he did an awesome job. He's done such a good job in fact, it's made it really hard to love any of the houses I've been through while we're house shopping, trying to find something else to call our house.

It's our first house. Of course I will miss it. Of course we will find something else. Of course I'll never forget it...I hope.

We had some trade when building it so we thought we'd have enough sweat equity to actually make a little profit on it. We thought the market would turn around in a few years so we could sell it and use the money to buy something in St. George. We thought it would be easy to leave La Verkin after a couple years and never look back.

We thought wrong.

Anything the Boys Can Do...

2011-10-15T23:24:00.002-06:00

Julia can do better...

She's way ahead of the boys on being able to ride a two wheeler with no training wheels. She will turn THREE next month. She is AMAZING! But seriously, is it any surprise? She's so much like her mother!

We bought this bike at a yard sale for $1 in hopes that the training wheels from Emmie's bike (Julia's cousin) would fit. FAIL! Then we borrowed Emmie's bike for a couple days and Julia LOVED riding it! Tonight, we tried riding the $1 bike just for kicks and the rest is history.

I'm a proud momma!

Giver her a minute. She gets a little better.

She's so giggly. I love it!

I love how her brothers will rally around to help her get started. They were as excited as she was...almost

Sunday Preview

2011-10-05T19:59:00.000-06:00

Jess is over two months old and it's high time we did something about blessing this girl. We were going to do it at our family reunion last month, but Todd got called out on a fire a few days before the reunion. We're planning on blessing her this Sunday and this is what she'll be wearing... with a couple of changes.

I didn't really have anything great to put on her head (and she only has fuzz on top) so I was going to borrow this from my neighbor, Jen.

But then I decided I could use her sister's creation and try and make my own. Don't look at it too closely. It's not perfect.

I didn't really like the look of this flower after scrutinizing it closer. I just looked too fake...if that's possible?

so I took it off and made this to take its place. It's a little larger than the one that goes on her head.

Don't let Jess fool you. She totally loves the headband and can't wait for her special day!

My Family Hero

2011-09-28T15:02:00.001-06:00

Payton had to do a report in his class about his family hero. He chose his dad to do the report on. Payton had to write a letter to someone asking them to tell him about his hero, had to brainstorm for his written report, write a rough draft, a final draft and then present it to the class. They were even supposed to dress up like their hero. He did a great job. The only thing I was bummed about was that he read his report. He had it all memorized so he could look up at the class but all the other students in front of him read their reports too. I'm blaming it on that. I love that he chose his dad!
Disclaimer: Our digital camera is pretty old school so excuse the noises of the camera trying to adjust to stay focused.

Good job, Payton!!

2 Months Old

2011-09-27T17:19:00.002-06:00

Picture Time!

I Love My Neighbors!
Jen McClemore, who lives across the street from me, listened to me whine about not taking Jess to get pictures because I'm too cheap. She has a nice camera. She offered to take her pictures. I took her up on it!

My other neighbor, Kendra Johnson, can sew ANYTHING! She made the cute lacy outfit Jess wore in a couple shots. What will I do when we move?

Sometimes I Wish

2011-09-21T12:11:00.001-06:00

I had a really good camera...
and a good eye for how to take pictures...

Until then...

1 Month

2011-08-30T09:32:00.002-06:00

Really? It's been a month already?? We went to Jess' doctor appointment yesterday for her one month check up. She is now 10lbs. 6 oz. and is 21 1/2 inches long. I would put her head size here but I don't really think it matters. Her head is the PERFECT size as far as I'm concerned. You would think that our nights would be getting better...and I guess they would be if I could lay off the chocolate. I went without any yesterday just as an experiment and she did have a better night. I'm just not disciplined enough to eat ZERO chocolate EVERY DAY! I just can't have four brownies in a couple hours time and not expect to pay the price, at least that's the way I'm figuring it?

Can you see Julia in the background??

We love this baby girl. Julia tells me all the time, "I love our baby, mom". It's so cute that she's so loved...and I have to remind myself that when she's being smothered with kisses and being fought over because they all want to hold her at the same time. I'm afraid if I offered to cut her in half to share with everyone, they might take me up on it. No King Solomon options here.

24th of July

2011-08-26T14:49:00.000-06:00

I'm over a month behind on posting this but to my credit....I would have only had 6 days to scrapbook these pics and post them before Jess was born. If you know me at all, that's just NOT enough time.

Pioneer Day was spent up in Enterprise with Todd's family for the day and we ended the night at Tiff's for a BBQ with Tiff and Kandice's families. We left for Enterprise in the morning, had a delicious brunch breakfast and then waited/digested until the races at 2pm. The kids all raced in their age groups and then they got to search for money in the big man made pool with the fire dept. spraying them with their hoses. Julia and Riley were best buddies for the day. They didn't get much money but they enjoyed eating their laffy taffy's from the races and having a taste of the other kids shaved ice. Porter was the big money man in the water search coming home with over $2 in change. Payton got some money but mostly just got wet.

It was a good way to spend the day!

Bottle vs Boob

2011-08-11T10:31:00.001-06:00

Forgive the title but that's what this post is all about. I've been able to pump at least 4 oz of milk every morning and I've been freezing it. The whole pumping experience has been funny with the kids. They know where the pump is and they think that's where my milk comes from--the pump. Of course they know Jess can only have the milk mom gives her and they know how I feed her. Yesterday I decided I might as well even see if Jess will take a bottle--what's the point of pumping if she won't take it that way? I was a little apprehensive because I haven't gotten her to even like a binkie. ALL my kids have taken binkie's right off the bat. Not this girl. She gags and gags some more. We're still working on the binkie thing--I can't give up! I rely on it too much!

Back to the bottle-She actually took it and drank from the bottle!! Of course it took way longer than it does for me to nurse her but I was happy to see she'd at least drink from one. Porter was so excited to see her drinking from a bottle. He ran in the other room to let Payton know, "Jess can drink from a bottle now!!" I know the kids will love to be able to feed her, when I give them a chance. Later, Porter said, "Are you so excited now Jess can drink a bottle and you don't have to feed her with your boob?" Ahh, Porter. How I love you and the funny things you are saying lately--even if I'm not sure it's always good, it's usually enough to make me smile.

Jess Lorraine Calico

2011-08-06T15:50:00.005-06:00

It's high time I posted about this sweet girl that entered our home last week. She wasn't "due" until August 12th but apparently she couldn't wait the extra two weeks and wanted to come in July instead.

My water broke in the night and I woke up Friday morning around 4:15am to find out. There wasn't enough of a breakage that our bed was soaked but I knew that I hadn't wet the bed either. My water broke on Payton and Porter so this wasn't a first. I was not too excited about my water breaking because I wasn't having consistent contractions and knew that meant I was going to be receiving pitocin at the hospital--which I haven't had the best experience with. Another reason I wasn't thrilled about my water breaking is that my Dr. was not going to be in town until Sunday night. I had been to see him the Tuesday before and I was only at a one so I felt pretty confident that I could wait until he got back into town. So much for my plans.

I woke Todd up and let him know what had happened. I told him I was going to shower and then I needed to put some things together (yeah, I was prepared with all this stuff with baby #1--but let's face it. This is baby #4--and I had 2 weeks left! No preparation). At least I did have the car seat washed and ready for use.

After getting things put together for myself and the three kids we all loaded up in the truck for our next adventure. One cute thing that Payton did was got dressed and made his bed before we left. He was so excited to think we were on our way to the hospital.

We called Todd's mom when we were about to the hospital thinking maybe they wouldn't allow the kids into the room before I had been admitted to the hospital. She was willing and waiting at her back door when we dropped them off around 5:45am.

When we got to the hospital (around 6am) I told them my water had broke and they took me right into a waiting room to get changed and then hooked up to all the goods. When I told them who my Dr. was they already knew he was out of town and knew that his partner, Dr. Chalmers would be doing the delivery. When I came out of the bathroom changed they told me that Dr. Chalmers was actually out of town too and Dr. Fagnant would be doing the delivery. I had never heard of him but the nurses assured me he was really good. They got me all hooked up to the monitors and checked to make sure my water had broken. The test was not as positive as I thought it would be but the nurse said it was enough to let them know I had really ruptured and could be admitted. While we were waiting for the test results I was informed that Dr. Fagnant was also out of town and Dr. Dickens would be doing the delivery. At that point I just wanted someone to be able to deliver this baby!!

One funny thing--ok so maybe funny's not the right word--while we were waiting we had to share a room with another girl in labor. Every contractions she had we could hear. Eventually it got to the point that every contraction turned into a moan. Todd and I would just look at each other and smile. I knew my turn would come but I was sure going to try and be tough enough not to make such great noises. I guess you can't be admitted into the labor and delivery ward unless you're dialated to a four and are having consistent contractions 5 minutes apart...or have your membranes rupture. I guess I got in "easy".

We let the nurse know we were trying to have this baby without an epidural and that we really didn't want the pitocin if we could avoid it. Dr. Dickens (who by the way was a big black female doctor filling in that night and day--wish I would have taken a picture of her!) put me on a very low dose of pitocin to get things started. She actually seemed shocked that the standard amount administered was so high. By 7:00am we were underway and playing the waiting game. We watched TV, made a phone call to my parents, slept, ate ice chips, suckers and pop cycles...and waited. My contractions were no closer than 8-10 minutes apart and I was only at a 3+. They decided they were going to try and break the rest of my water (I guess there was another bag?) That was one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever done. Dr. Dickens tried and tried to break it. She even pulled out some long tool that supposedly had a sharp hook on the end that was supposed to break it--NOTHING! They decided to wait and let it break on its own...which it did about an hour or so later--much easier! We still had a lot of time. They thought the baby's head was face up so I had to lay on my side--alternating every 20-30 minutes to try and get her to turn. By lunch time Todd went and got himself a sandwich and then came back to hang out with me. By the time he got back around 12:30 my contractions were getting closer (about 5 minutes apart now) and a little harder. I was only at a 4.

That's when I had my epidural chat with Todd. I know he really wanted me to have the baby natural because he's seen what happened to Porter when I had an epidural. I, on the other hand, was the one having the pain and let him know that if it was going to take a really long time I didn't know how long I could put up with the pain. That's when he gave me the ok to have an epidural if I really wanted one. All that time I had wanted to try and be so tough just to make him happy. Now I knew that it would come down to me and what I really wanted.

A couple hours later I was getting the urges to push but it felt more in my bowels than where is should be. The nurse checked me and let me know we were almost there. I was at a 7 and my contractions were every 2-3 minutes. They started getting things set up in the room which made me very encouraged that I really could have this baby with out drugs! I really kept feeling the urge to push and the nurse told me a breathing trick to keep myself from pushing before I was fully dialated. One of our other nurses taught Todd a trick of pushing on my knees during a contraction to help decrease the pain. IT WAS AWESOME! I'm not saying I was pain free but it really didn't hurt as bad.

After 30 minutes of that it was time to have a baby. I was fully dialated, Dr. Dickens was ready, and so was I. I am not going to lie. It was a harder delivery than I've had in the past. I was almost hyperventilating and I couldn't feel my fingers because I was squeezing the side bars so hard during the contractions. I'm sure people down the hall heard me a time or two and my delivery team all had to tell me to stay focused and push. I remember pushing so hard one time that I got to the point of seeing black and thought I was going to black out. The next push I was determined to get that girl through the burning I was feeling so I could just breath. Dr. Dickens said she must have gotten stuck under my pelvic bone because she heard a pop and she came out face up and then flipped herself over. I didn't see or hear anything! I was just glad I felt her come through so I could breath again and stop pushing.

They put her on my belly and I had never been so happy to see that blue baby girl and hear that first cry.

She was born at 2:26pm and weighed 8 lbs. 7 oz. I guess it's good she came two weeks early. Her face was so bruised. Her pictures at the hospital almost make her look dead. Her body was nice and pink though.

Dr. Twiggs, our pediatrician, just laughed at her pink tongue against her blue face when he came in to check her out. She had been through heck to get here but she was healthy and that's all that mattered to me.

We made our phone calls to let family know she was here and just enjoyed holding her and loving her. We had no idea what we were going to call her but decided we had time to figure that out.

We brought Baby Jess home, without a name, Saturday afternoon. I will have to post later about our trouble coming up with a name later. It's just nice that she's here and she's healthy. She can't seem to get enough love from her brothers and sister...and I wouldn't want it any other way!

Feeling Spoiled

2011-08-03T14:40:00.001-06:00

I have a lot of blogging to do (what's new?) but I've been very blessed or spoiled, depending on how you look at it, since Baby Jess arrived to our family. The kids have been shuttled to different family member's homes that I've really been able to enjoy the baby, just her and I together. I have good intentions of writing the whole "birth/delivery" story as soon as I get the true urge to write it all.

I love having family close enough that they can help. I love it even more that they are willing to help and then still talk to me after they've helped. I hope when "real life" returns I can keep up because so far I haven't had to.

Sunday Dinner

2011-07-24T19:48:00.000-06:00

I love my kids! They say the cutest things (sometimes) and when they do, I have to write them down because I'm getting too old and I will forget...probably by tomorrow.

Tonight at dinner Todd asked the kids who Julia looked like more, Mom or Dad? I said she has her daddy's eyes. Todd said she had his nose too. We decided she had mom's chin. Todd just HAD to say she had her mom's toes and bum (because he thinks we both have longer cracks than normal girls--how many girl bums has he really seen?)

Then Porter chimed in and said, "She DEFINITELY has mom's wiener!" Todd and I couldn't stop laughing long enough to say much. Payton was sure to let Porter know that girl's don't have wieners. He said they have "va-china's" (maybe in china??) I know I haven't gone through any sex education with my kids so I asked who told him that. I'm going to have to ask what book Rayn Blair has read to her little Zoey because he said that's who taught him that.

I know my mom would not have been proud to hear my children talking about wiener's and "va-china's" around the dinner table but this mom thought it was a funny moment worth writing down.

Swim Lessons

2011-07-07T13:22:00.001-06:00

Porter had his first experience with swim lessons this year. We never put Payton into any kind of lessons and he's doing swim team this year. Porter's not afraid of the water but because his big brother was involved in some kind of swimming experience we thought we'd let Porter do something too. It was hard to get him going in the mornings but he enjoyed going to swim. His favorite things were playing the games (diving for rings, sharks in a basket, what time is it Mr. Shark?) and going off the diving board. Since swim lessons he has now learned to go off the high dive. I haven't captured that moment on film, yet.

4th of July 2011

2011-07-07T13:12:00.000-06:00

I am totally slacking on the blogging/picture thing. I blame it on the big belly and lack of desire to run and grab the camera every time I think (or don't think) of it. The fourth of July is no exception. I didn't bring the camera to the parade or to the park. I also neglected to bring it to the BBQ we had that night. I know I shouldn't blame my laziness on my big 35 week belly, but it's just so easy! So, here's our fourth of July in ONE scrap book page-how depressing. We actually did have a good day. One look at Julia's hair by the end of the day should prove how busy and how much fun we really did have celebrating our freedom and the greatest country on earth!

Esplin Family Reunion

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

Every year around the 4th of July my family has the Esplin reunion on Cedar Mountain at our favorite place called, "Memory Meadow". This reunion is my mom's side of the family and we didn't go last year so I thought we had better get there this year. I'm actually glad we did!

Todd was gone on another fire in New Mexico so it was going to be just me and the three kiddos, but the night before, my brother called and asked if I wanted to ride up with him. Heck YES! The kids loved riding with Uncle Jeff. When we stopped in Cedar and Jeff bought them a treat (cotton candy and drinks) and then we got back into the truck, Payton said, "Jeff is my favorite uncle!" Can't buy our love, huh?

There were plenty of things for the kids to do when we got there. Payton's favorite was the 4-wheelers. He loves to drive but he's not allowed to drive with just anyone. They have to be 16 or older. It was tough to get someone to go with him all the time. By the end of the night I finally allowed him to do the loop by himself with strict rules that if I saw him going too fast or being too crazy he would not be allowed to do it again. That was enough for him to know he better be good. Of course he was ready to do it again after he got back but it was time to put the 4-wheelers away and start the program for the evening. bummer.

Porter loved riding the horses. You would think that after the first time he got bucked off he wouldn't get back on...but he did. I guess it was after the second time he got thrown off (or I guess he back flipped off onto his head "into a soft spot") that we called it on the horses. Not his day with the horses but he still loves them.

Julia played in tents, rode 4-wheelers and horses, climbed mountains, explored caves, anything her brothers were doing, she was right there with them.

One of the things they did was a treasure hunt for all the kids. Julia and I didn't keep up very well but we had a cousin who made up the treasure hunt to let us know which spots to be at for the treats. For the final treasure we all rode in the back of a truck or trailer down to the mammoth caves. Inside they found marshmallow guns for everyone. The kids (and adults) loved them and we had a marshmallow war between the kids in the truck and the kids in the trailer the whole way back to camp.

I didn't get a ton of pictures, but I'm finding myself not taking too many pictures of events lately unless they come to me as I'm sitting in a chair--I'm too lazy to get up! We did have fun and made it back safely to find our dad home from his fire and waiting for us.

Father's Day Weekend

2011-06-20T14:14:00.000-06:00

Todd's been gone on a few fires this year so it was nice to have a weekend together as a family. We took a quick trip up to Yankee Meadows and did a little fishing. The weather was perfect and we actually caught something. We ended up bringing home four fish for our dinner the next day (which was Father's Day). When we got home that night, Todd got a call to go out on another fire to New Mexico. There are three GIS Specialists on Todd's fire team and they are supposed to rotate around on the fires. Luckily, it was Todd's turn to sit out so he got to enjoy his Father's Day at home.

When we went to work Monday, he received phone calls throughout the day from his team asking questions and needing help with certain things. When he came home Monday night, he let us know that his team needed him and he needed to pack and hit the road the next day.

It's hard for him to be gone but at the same time we really could use the money so I don't want to complain too loudly. Our family has actually started getting into a routine (some not so good) when he's gone and we seem to manage just fine. I guess it just makes me glad that we were able to take a weekend and do something together as a family...and we all actually enjoyed it!

Mother of the Year Award

2011-06-06T11:40:00.001-06:00

Last night before she went to sleep

While she was sleeping I snapped a quick pic

One eyed Willie. Cyclops. Sloth (from the Goonies). Mike Tyson. Call her what you will but she doesn't look like my cute little Julia.

Todd is gone on another fire and I had tried so hard all day Sunday to keep the kids from playing with friends. Every time we would go outside, a new friend would show up and we would end up going into the house because it was easier than telling the friend(s) to go home. That evening, after the third attempt to go outside and ride scooters on our own property, I caved in and let them ride scooters with their friends. It was just easier. The scooter riding turned into a game of tag on bikes--well to be more specific it was cops and robbers with the big neighbor boys (dad's) being the cops and all the kids were robbers.

Julia was being so good to just stay on our drive way and ride her scooter but after she saw all the chasing and fun in the street she thought that was the place to be. I went and got her once and brought her back home but once was not enough. I shouldn't have been so lazy and should have really enforced her not being allowed in the game because soon after I gave the boys their 15 minute warning that it was almost time to come in Julia and one of the neighbor girls had a head on collision. I would love to blame it all on Julia and the lack of her watching where she's going but the truth is that it's my fault for even allowing her to be out there with the bigger kids at all.

After the crash we picked both girls up, inspected them and I noticed blood coming down from Julia's eye and it was very swollen. I tried to stay calm and walked into the house, followed by three concerned men and what felt like 20 kids. I quickly put some ice on her eye and then the men began their diagnosing. Once said, "I think she's got a broken cheek bone". Another said, "Her eyes are really dilated". The third said, "I think it's all just swollen". I only wanted to agree with dad #3. I can handle scrapes and bruises but to think she had a broken cheek bone was NOT what I wanted to hear.

We got all the kids back to their homes and my kids into their PJ's and were about to say our evening prayers when my neighbor came back over with his wife and an ice cream cone to share with Juls. They even offered to give her a blessing if I wanted. I really thought the swelling had gone down some and it looked better than it had when it first happened so I thought she'd be alright. It was still so neat that I am surrounded by worthy priesthood holders that are willing and able to assist if needed.

I'm so grateful that it wasn't her eye that got hit or hurt in any way. It was extremely close. There's probably a reason we shouldn't play with friends on Sunday...or ride scooters/bikes in the dark. Maybe both?

This morning while in the tub. She did not want her picture taken.

Pictures were more fun when she could make faces

Ain't I a beaut!

Summer School

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

Porter got to attend Kindergarten earlier than we expected this year. He was accepted into the Cub Academy which is a summer school program held for two weeks at the Elementary school. I was so excited because Porter doesn't want to have much to do with mom teaching him letters and things. Thus the reason he was accepted...he knows NOTHING about the alphabet (with the exception of the letters in his own name). He has been loving going to school in the mornings. His first day I asked him what his favorite thing they did was and he replied, "Playing with toys and riding the bikes!" Hey! I wanna go to Kindergarten if that's what they're doing!

It's great that he's getting this opportunity to see what Kindergarten will be like in the fall. He can't wait to ride bikes with his brother to school.

Quote of the Day

2011-05-21T11:07:00.000-06:00

Mom: Porter pick up those underwear on the side of your bed and put them in the dirty clothes basket.
Porter: Those aren't mine! I smelled them and they smelled like Payton's butt!!

Porter Potty

2011-05-20T11:01:00.001-06:00

This post is all about Porter.

(The name Porter Potty came from Todd's g-ma Wittwer. She has nick names for everyone and puts them on place cards for Thanksgiving dinner.) I just needed to write down a few funny things I want to remember about this boy before his mom gets too old and forgets.

He doesn't sleep in his bed the right way. He likes to lay with his pillow at the foot of his bed and sleeps on top of his covers with just his blanket from G-ma Turek over the top of him. Sometime in the night (yes, EVERY night) he will come into our room and sleep on the floor until morning. Once Todd's gone to work, he will crawl into bed with me until we HAVE to get up.

Another funny thing he does is when he has to go pee. I know some boys have been taught to 'shake it' when they are done. Porter prefers to slap his tummy three to four times to shake off any excess. I can always tell which boy is in the bathroom when I hear the slap. I love it!

Since Todd has been gone, I've been the one to take the boys pee at night, right before I go to bed. It's really helped cut back on the amount of peeing the bed at night lately. Very rarely are the boys awake enough when we take them that they pee right away. It takes some convincing and some waking up to get them to cooperate. The other night I took Porter to go to the bathroom.He staggered in with his eyes half open. He did the duty and then turned to walk out with him. He didn't come with me. He fell forward into the toilet. Luckily it was just his hand that got good and wet and needed some soap and water before he went back to bed. It gave me a chuckle.

Then last night he woke me up in the night crying. I asked what was wrong and he said he accidentally threw his pajama's into the toilet. I was too tired to care about it that very second so when I got up 30 minutes later to take care of it I found his PJ's and undies both soaked in the toilet. Fun times here at 3am (and I don't even have a newborn...yet)
Porter is a lot like his mom because he bites his fingernails. The way we are different is that he can also bite his toenails. I can't even attempt to get my feet that high, nor do I want to. We brush our kids teeth right before bed. One night I went to brush Porter's teeth. He was stalling big time and I was getting impatient. He finally put his fingers in his mouth and pulled out two or three fingernails he had bit off and was saving/chewing...who know what?? I brushed his teeth and as soon as I was done he put them right back in his mouth. Weirdo, huh?

The last silly thing I wanted to post about Port is his love for Popsicles. He asks for them ALL THE TIME no matter what time of day it is. Of course today was no different. I had to run something down the street so I gave him a Popsicle and told him I'd be right back. When I pulled in 5 minutes later, he was outside eating his treat along with some noodles left over from the spaghetti we had a couple nights ago.

What would we do without this kid??

Do it Myself

2011-05-18T12:07:00.000-06:00

Because Todd's gone there are things that I figure, "Who needs a man?? I can do that!" Well, changing the headlight in my car was one of them...so I thought. I went to the auto parts store, gave them the info they needed and they helped me choose the correct bulb that I needed. I came home and got to work. I followed the instructions step by step. Unfortunately I was struggling with step #2. I couldn't get the connector to loosen from the bulb. After trying and trying, my neighbor came over and saw I was playing mechanic. She told me she was going to get her hubby to help. I thought I could just hurry and get it changed before he even got back over to my house. Wrong! Well, at least I got to step #3 when he came to help.

Tyler, that's the neighbor, loosend the bulb and then went to put the new bulb in. In the mean time, my other neighbor, Kasey, came over to help too. If two men can't do it what made me think I could do it? (to their credit they would have been done really quickly if they had what they needed...read on)

They worked and worked on getting the new bulb back in but it just wasn't fitting. They finally came to the conclusion that it was not the same size of bulb and I needed to take it back and get the right one. I jumped in the car and ran to Hurricane to exchange the bulb. Then I hustled back because it was getting dark. We fit the new bulb in--no problem!! Amazing! What a difference the right bulb makes, right?

Well, this is where the story gets good. The light still didn't work because I had replaced the wrong bulb. I had the correct part the first time, I was just trying to put it in the wrong spot. Whooops! So today I ran to the auto parts store again and actually bought the exact same bulb I had the day before (I could tell because of the tape job I did on the box). This time, I didn't need any man power because the old bulb had already been disconnected. I placed the new bulb in (the right place this time) and TADA! It worked!!

So the lesson here is, don't be afraid to ask for help even if your pride tells you it can be done alone. It's great to have neighbors that are so willing to help out a single prego woman while her hubby is out of town for a while!

Fire Season

2011-05-14T22:29:00.000-06:00

Fire season has begun, already! It seems like in years past it has been in mid June or July before Todd gets called out on his fires. They called Tuesday night while he was at YM's and he was supposed to leave for Pheonix, AZ the next day. He got all packed that night and then I was off to work the next morning and haven't seen him since.

I guess when he got to where he was supposed to go they told him the fire was already out. So, they reassigned him to another fire burning in New Mexico. He spent the night at a cheap hotel and then was off to the new area the next morning. He was told that they would probably spend two weeks on this fire. Can I be a single pregnant mother for two weeks?? Yes, yes I can. So far it hasn't been too bad. Of course it's only been four days and we haven't had to go to church yet. Crossing my fingers that I still have some hair at the end of tomorrow--it's always nice to have Todd at church so I can focus on what needs to be done for Primary--what teachers didn't get subs, what teachers subs didn't show up...you know, they usual Primary worries.

As much as I love the money Todd makes during the fire season I still miss him and get a little too lax in our family habits. The kids have been going to bed much later than normal since their dad has been gone. It's just one of those things that has been easier to let go than it has been to enforce. The sun isn't helping when it doesn't go down until 9pm. And then there's the subject of cooking dinner. I haven't done that since Todd left either. One night it's left overs, the next it's pizza and tonight we did hot dogs. HOT DOGS?? bleh! I usually only like them when we're camping but I must say that my dog tonight was mighty tasty!

Tonight was the first night that Julia really said anything about wondering where daddy was. I'm surprised. I think she was just using it as an excuse to stay awake a little bit longer.

It's so nice to live close to family when my hubby is gone because they are so willing to help out wherever and whenever you need help. It will be nice to have a good home cooked meal tomorrow (not by me of course). We're invited to Todd's mom's for dinner...which may be one of the last one's all together with his family for a while. Todd's little bro and his wife are moving to California. We'll miss seeing Uncle Tav and Aunt Amie. I hope Todd makes it home in time to say goodbye to them before they leave.

Something in the air...

2011-05-03T12:28:00.000-06:00

A little closer look

This morning (not too early of course) I went out to check on the kids. I saw the neighbor boy riding his bike in the road and there was something in the air flying. At first I thought it was cotton blowing but then I got closer and saw they were some kind of bug or insect flying. I got even closer and saw it was a whole swarm of BEES!! They were all starting to cluster around the bush right next door. I made sure the kids all went to the back yard because there were soooo many of them. Then between my neighbor and I we made a few phone calls to try and find someone to take care of the pesky things. I will have to take pics later of The Bug Man removing this lovely cluster of bees so I will feel better about letting my kids be free outside.

Not So Hard

2011-04-15T15:54:00.000-06:00

Last night I learned that I can be the "bad guy" and it's not as hard as I thought. Can you tell I usually let Todd do the dirty work so I look like the nice one?

Todd wasn't going to be home until late last night so I knew we would be eating dinner without him. I got dinner going and it was close to being done when Payton came into the kitchen asking if he could go with his friends down to someone's house to see if they could play. I told him he needed to stay here because dinner would be ready in 10 minutes. He threw a little fit saying he would be back before 10 minutes. I was firm and said he needed to stay here.

He left anyway.{gasp. I know. shocker!} Porter was having a late nap so it was just Julia and I eating together {yeah for some quality family time, huh?} I decided that because Payton had made the choice to go with his friends instead of eat dinner that he could go to bed without eating dinner that night. I just didn't want to cave when I knew his, "I'm so hungry!" would come. Finally at 8:00 (which is that time I usually bring all the kids in to have baths/showers and get ready for bed) I went outside to the neighbors and found my son. I asked if he heard me tell him not to go with his friends. His head sunk in the all too familiar, yes, I'm a sinner. That's when I told him that he had chosen his friends over dinner and he would be heading in the house, getting into the shower, then reading his take home book and going to bed WITHOUT DINNER. This is my kid that NEVER misses a meal {and it shows} so he was a bit heart broken that his mom would do that to him. I even had my first, "I hate you, mom!" yelled from the bathroom as he was getting into the shower.

The worst part was probably when he was reading his take home book titled, "Things we do to take care of our bodies". Of course one of the things is to, "take the time to eat good meals" and, of course, Payton pointed that out to me. I in turn pointed out the fact that it said "take the time" and he had taken the time to do something else instead.

He really didn't cry...too much... about going to bed without dinner, which made it much easier on me. A little threatening with the wooden spoon could be the explanation for that, I suppose. I guess I can do hard things (of course it was harder on me than it was on Payt but that's how it always is with kids, right?)

Cold Sore??

2011-03-28T11:59:00.000-06:00

Yesterday Julia said she had an "ouchie" by her lip and she needed a band-aid. I was trying to get breakfast ready so it was just easier to hand her the bandaid and continue on with what I was doing. I took a picture of her bandaged mouth with Todd' camera so I'll post it when I get it uploaded. After she took the band-aid off, Todd noticed her "ouchie" was actually a cold sore. WHAT?? My 2 year old have a cold sore?? I didn't have problems with cold sores until I was in college. She doesn't seem to care about it now but I'm sure it will be an issue when she gets older. Dang herpes virus!

{All she needs is a Popsicle to make her happy}

Wrestling Season 2011

2011-03-26T19:51:00.000-06:00

It's the end of another wrestling season for the Calico boys....Yes, BOYS. Porter didn't wrestle all year long until the very last week of wrestling. Then he decided he wanted to do it. He informed me we needed to buy him a shirt and some shoes. Of course that didn't happen...but it didn't stop him from trying.

Payton ended his 2011 season with three gold medals (well, he really has four but one was from the Hurricane Tournament where he had to wrestle 2nd graders...some that were almost 15 lbs. heavier so his coach told him he would give him a gold if he lost.)

Payton wrestled at 78-80 lbs. throughout the year. He was the biggest/heaviest first grader with the exception of the Hurricane tournament where he was one of the lightest against the 2nd graders. He got to practice with the older kids which really helped him this year. We were able to go to the Parowan, Canyon View, Hurricane and Enterprise tournaments this year. His dad even broke down and bought him some shoes...which helped him gain some confidence...until he had to wrestle in them.

Porter did really well in his first and only tournament in Enterprise bringing him a silver medal. He was fun to watch and I guess we really have to give credit to those warm-ups at practice that he participated in every time. I'm sure that's what gave him the stamina to wrestle in the ONE tournament!

I'm so proud of both my boys and for their dad taking the time to teach them some things. It was a fun season while it lasted.

It's a baby....

2011-03-15T15:51:00.001-06:00

We had our first "real" ultrasound today so we could put my mind at ease that, NO! We are NOT having twins...regardless of how large I feel, AND to see if we were having a girl or boy. Porter was the only one who really wanted a boy. The rest of us thought it would be a girl. I said girl just so I knew we could really look at being done. If it's a boy I will have to try to talk Todd {and myself} into having another one because Julia needs a sister! I LOVE my sisters and can't imagine my little girl not getting to grow up with one.

Well, the results were slightly inconclusive. The darn kid kept it's foot right where we needed a good peek. Hmm.. Modesty? Must come from Todd's side of the family?

Payton was cute when he was telling g-ma Turek that "the Dr. couldn't see very well because the baby's foot was covering it's face." I tried to help him understand what part of the baby the doctor was really looking for by asking, "How can we tell that boys and girls are different?" He said, "Their eyelashes. Girls are really long and boys are short." I wish that was always the case. Try again. G-ma Turek says, "What does Julia have different on her body that you have?" AHA! That did it! I'm so good at teaching my children sex education.

Well, we will have to wait until next month to make a final determination of the sex of this baby. As of right now, chances are looking at it being a boy--however, there wasn't a clear enough shot of the area needed to make it totally affirmative!

Here's some pictures from today. Todd said he thinks it's a boy because, "it looks like a boy in the pictures." Julia kept saying, "It's a monster." I'm kinda with Jul's on that one. Girl, Boy, or Monster? Doesn't matter at this point but we have a healthy one!!

Set Back

2011-03-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

My mom was supposed to know by now what treatments to be expecting after her surgery. Monday (last monday, the 28th) my mom woke up to a bloody incision. My dad packed her with gauze and then headed to his shift at the temple. When he returned around noon she was still bleeding and had called and made an appt. with her doctor. They took her into surgery as soon as they could to see if they could find what might be causing the bleeding. They removed a blood clot, letting them know it had bleeding since the surgery a week before but couldn't really tell why else she was having problems.
They kept her over night to try and solve the problem. Her test results wouldn't be back until the next day so they wouldn't know if she had some kind of infection until then but they put her on an IV antibiotic and kept her over night. She was supposed to come home Tuesday but they were still unsure of what was wrong...so they kept her. Wednesday they found she had staff infection but it was the "good kind" --if there's such a thing?-- and had her on antibiotics all day Wednesday. I had to work that day so I called her on my lunch to see how she was doing. I've never heard her so depressed. She was just tired of being in the hospital because she felt so good. She even told me to bring her some laundry so she had something to do. I told her I would come see her after work to visit and told her to ask the nurses for some tape to tape her mouth into a smile so she could smile even when she didn't feel like smiling.
It was fun to visit with her and I think she was willing to do one more night in the hospital...even though she really didn't feel like being there. She was told that 12 laps around the hospital floor was equivalent to one mile so she walked 24 laps that day just to show everyone how good she really felt!
She finally got to come home on Thursday and she hasn't had the chance to slow down too much since then. All our family was in town Saturday and Sunday because my nephew was receiving his endowment in the St. George Temple getting ready to serve a mission and then Tiffani blessed her baby on Sunday. It's been a full weekend of fun and I'm glad that although my mom had the hospital visit that everything turned out for the best and she's feeling much better (actually she never FELT bad. Just bad things happened to her.)

Ready? Wrestle!

2011-02-25T12:49:00.001-07:00

Another wrestling season has begun. Payton is so much fun to watch! I thought Porter was going to start wrestling this year. He was all talk before the first practice, telling me that he was going to beat them all down! The day of the first practice he had a melt down. He started crying and saying he wasn't going to wrestle because all the kids would beat him up. Needless to say I didn't push him (too much) and he isn't wrestling this year. He likes to get dressed for wrestling practice and if we get there in enough time he likes to warm up with all the wrestlers but that's as far as he goes!

Payton is the biggest 1st grader at practice. He's over 80 lbs. and he's almost a head taller than the biggest 1st grader. It was a little frustrating for me to watch him pair up with a partner for practice when he would choose kindergarten kids that I knew he could beat easily. During one practice the coach sent Payton up to wrestle with the 2-5 graders. That was so good for him. He had to actually work hard! The next practice I tried to talk Payton into just going with the 2-5 grade kids for practice but he wouldn't do it because "the coach didn't tell me to". Well, I kinda' lied to the boy and went and grabbed him from the preschool-1st grade side and said the coach wanted him to always practice with the bigger kids. Since then, he hasn't had a problem wrestling the older kids (heck! They're his size anyway...just older!)

His first tournament was in Parowan and he was a little apprehensive before the match started because he knew there would be a possibility that he might have to wrestle second graders because he's so big. Fortunately he got to stay with the first graders...but he was the heaviest one there was. He only had three kids (including him) in his group so the worst he could have done was bring home a bronze medal. He did what he set out to do and came home with his first gold of the season!

I'm looking forward to more matches this year. I love that he's enjoying it so much. I love that when we come home from practice and he's gotten beat by kids he just smiles and tells me how much fun he's having! It makes these tournaments (the one in Parowan, we wait from 8-11:30 for his first match to happen!) worth the time...and we're doing something together as a family!

So Far, So Good

2011-02-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

The last post I did about my mom wasn't the most "positive" post so this one should make up for that one. Since then, my mom has had surgery (a lumpectomy instead of a mastectomy) and she's feeling really good. She had to have a drain for a few days but she's felt really good. The doctor has told her that he's removed all of the tumor and the next step is for her to start chemo or radiation. The original plan was just to do the radiation treatments so when the doctor mentioned the possibility of doing chemo therapy my parents were a little shocked...they just hadn't been planning on that part for treatment. They won't know until the first week in March when my mom has her follow up visit. Then it will be decided what treatment she will need. The best part is that the doctor was able to remove all of it and it had not gone into the lymph nodes!
My mom is such a trooper and I haven't heard her answer the phone more friendly than she does now. It's almost like nothing can stop her from being happy! (and that makes me happy!)
So there's the update. More to come....

Potty Animal

2011-02-05T16:11:00.001-07:00

Todd and I were just saying this morning how nice it is not to change diapers anymore. Although Julia still has the occasional accident {thankfully the majority are wet accidents} she is doing so good. {KNOCK ON WOOD!} I'm not a bit sorry that we started a little earlier than anticipated. I think it was Crystal's fault because she was working with her little girl, Katelyn on using the potty. Julia and Katelyn are only 3 days apart. I figured if she could do, we could at least try with Jul's.

Now, if we can only work on what she wants to put on by herself in the mornings....I think she's going to be a fashion coordinator when she get's older. I know...the lack of her hair being done only helps the ensemble.

Reality

2011-02-05T09:18:00.001-07:00

Julia has been on a book frenzy lately. She loves to read...and read....and read. Usually the first book she brings me is "There's a Wocket in my Pocket". Today I wanted to just sit in the rocking chair and rock her and sing to her (because I knew she was getting tired) but she had other plans and grabbed a book instead. The book she grabbed is "Love You Forever". I've always loved reading it but today I couldn't help shed a few tears as we read and sang together. Luckily, Julia didn't notice her mom sobbing at the end of the book because she was asleep by then.

If you haven't read it you are missing out. When I got to the end where the son is rocking the mother who was very old and tired and sang to her I got to thinking about my own mom. I'm not sure she'd appreciate me posting this so soon after the news but I figured I could save this as a post I can publish later if I need to. My mom recently found out she has breast cancer. The doctors found the lump was rather small so we were all hoping for the best, knowing that the possibility of it being malignant was very real, yet hoping it would be easy to get rid of. After more tests they found that it was Carcinoma Cancer and that it was invasive, meaning it wasn't in just one spot and had spread. How far it has spread is unknown until they are able to do surgery and find out. That should take place sometime next week. My mom is very optimistic about it all, which makes me feel very optimistic but there's a 15% chance that my mother will not be around in the next five years. Wow. Just typing that hurts. I'm too selfish. I need, NEED my mom around longer than that. I need her longer than five years even. I hear about people my age losing their grandparents. I can't help but feel that it's not fair. I'm not supposed to lose my mom, yet.

The reality is that I haven't lost her. And based on her attitude she's not going anywhere. Her new outlook on life is that she's making every day special and enjoying it all. I'm looking forward to tomorrow where our family will be taking part in a special fast for my mom. I truly believe there's a power in prayer and fasting. I've seen it work for my family upon many occasions. I know that my mom will be ok with whatever happens. She's just that kind of woman. I know that I will be able to accept and deal with whatever happens too because of her example. I'm grateful for the Plan of Salvation and that I am sealed to my parents so when the day does come that we have to say goodbye on this earth it's not the end for us. I'm not saying it will be easy to say goodbye but I'm saying it will be possible. It's so much easier being a member of the church when it comes to peace and comfort in times like these.

So in conclusion, the reality is this:

Mom:

I'll love you forever

I'll like you for always

As long as I'm living

My mommy you'll be.

Buckaroo's

2011-01-21T11:18:00.002-07:00

Because of the glorious holiday we had Monday (Human Rights Day) and the fact that Payton was out of school, we tried to think of something fun to do that we don't usually get to do. We had two fun activities planned while our dad was in the freezing cold fishing through the ice. Payton of course woke up disappointed that his dad didn't wake him up and take him along, but Todd assured me he had talked to Payton about it the night before and had decided it would be too cold to take him.

After we got over the tears, had some breakfast, did a little laundry {very little} we made our plans...

We were going to borrow g-pa Turek's 4-wheeler and go for a ride and then we were going to meet up with Kandice around 4pm to ride her new horse, Mokey. The hard part about our plan was waiting until g-pa and g-ma Turek were out of the temple so we could ask to borrow the 4-wheeler.

We headed over to Washington and waited at g-pa and g-ma's house...and waited....and waited. They got home later than I expected but we enjoyed watching TV {since we don't have any TV other than the movies in our closet at our house}, jumping on the tramp, feeding the horses across the street, and just reading books and playing games.

By the time g-pa and g-ma got home we were able to spend about 20 minutes with them before Kandice called to let us know we could come down and ride the horse.

The kids were so excited to see the horse and actually ride it! Payton was the first to get on. I had forgotten my camera in the car so I ran really fast to get it while Kandice was leading Payton around on Mokey. When I got back, Payton was off the horse with one shoe on and one shoe off and he was crying. My first thought was that Payton had lost his shoe while riding and for some reason it made him feel bad so he was crying. I was soooo wrong. Apparently Mokey didn't like Payton on his back so he gave him a few bucks to remove him. Kandice said Payton held on really well because he didn't fall off until the fourth buck! When I talked to Payton about he said that he knew the reason he fell off was because he let go. When he let go he landed on his back and it knocked the air out of him.

Dave was with us and had Payton get back on the horse {which is the pictures that I got of him--tears and all} and ride for a little bit. Payton was definitely ready to get off. All the other kids took their turn and then Payton was ready to get back on the horse...which I was glad. I didn't want him being scared of riding horses the rest of his life.

The rest of the riding went without any incident and the kids are ready to go ride again. Of course, I'm ready to let Dave train Mokey a little better before we get in a real riding session.

Christmas and New Years

2011-01-07T10:58:00.001-07:00

Christmas Eve Jammies!

Can't have cookies without the milk

Payton kept adding more to the plate. Must have thought Santa really needed them...ALL!

Christmas Morning-Yup! It's the best picture I got!

It's not that Christmas and New Years wasn't worth blogging about. It's just that I haven't felt much like blogging about it...yet. I didn't take a ton of pictures on Christmas Day but we covered Christmas Eve pretty well. After our dinner of steak and eggs {which the kids hated and mom and dad loved!} we cleaned things up and got ready to have a special "night before Christmas" moment together. We talked about the real meaning of Christmas, which Payton seems to get {yeah!} and then we watched a DVD about the Nativity. After that we decided to make some cookies for Santa. While we were making them we had a knock at the door and a secret present was delivered. Inside were PJ's for the kids and a movie to watch, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". We finished the cookies, the movie and getting things ready for Santa {and his reindeer} and then it was off to bed. I had a few presents I still needed to wrap and Payton could hear me in the other room. He kept saying, "You have to go to bed, mom! Santa won't come if you're awake."

Christmas was pretty simple this year. Nothing too hard for Santa to bring. In fact, Santa kinda fell asleep and Mrs. Clause had to pinch hit this year. Luckily there wasn't anything that needed assembly. The kids did pretty well, only coming in to wake us up around 7am. 30 minutes later, Christmas was over, breakfast was started and the day had begun. The rest is history.

New Year's Eve was spent at G-pa & G-ma Turek's house. Todd stayed home with Julia and I took two of Tiff's boys with us. Tiffani had her baby so she was going to spend the night at home {for very good reason}. We didn't really do much but play the wii. I am totally regretting the fact that not picture was taken while the boys hula hooped, threw snowballs, flew like birds...and everything else Aunt Kandice made them do. Then at midnight we did the pots and pans thing, came back inside {because it was FREEZING!} and the younger kids went back to the Wii while the bigger kids played the "What if" game. Then we called it a night and the start of a new year.

Ready to bang pots and pans

Tiff had her baby {#5-yup! She's nuts!} on December 30th. Her name is Alaina and she's the cutest little thing! I love snuggling with her, when I get the chance. Even Julia enjoyed holding her. Too bad little Laini didn't agree.

Payton is SEVEN! and other news

2010-12-15T14:30:00.005-07:00

opening gifts!

His DC Shoes. Don't look at JuJu's hair.

as we sang Happy Birthday to Payton

Making a wish over his pancake

I'm not sure what's more weird. The fact that Payton turned seven today or that he'll be eight next year. Either way, my kids are growing up. I was so excited for Payton to open his presents today because he really wanted a new pair of shoes. Of course, he didn't want just any shoes. He wanted "DC Shoes". Aren't they a little younger to be asking for designer things? I told him we could either have a b-day party for him or buy him a present. He chose to have a present, and well, he got his wish. He couldn't stop smiling when he saw the shoe box under that wrapping paper.
I hope he's had a great day at school today because I'm ditching him tonight for what will be my last work party with the Heideman group. After working there for 12 years I'm saying goodbye (until someone has a baby or needs a sub and calls me) to Dr. Heideman's office. I'm going to be working once a week for a pediatric dentist named Cody Johnson. I'm excited for a change and love that I'm going to get to work with kids. So if anyone is looking for a dentist for their kids, I know he does a great job (because I've gotten to fill in the office a couple times and he's good!).

In other news, I chopped my hair. Well, I didn't chop it, I let Kandice do that for me. I miss my long hair but this is a good change. I just wish Kandice would come to my house every day and fix my hair so I like it better. I'll keep practicing and might eventually get it to look as cute as it did the day I came home with it cut. I do have to write what Payton said about my hair cut when I come home from work Monday night (that's the night I had it cut). Payton met me in the garage and said, "You cut your hair?" I said, "Yup! Do you like it?" He said, "Well, you're not as cute as you used to be". Ahhhh, honestly. Where's the duct tape? Better yet, don't ask questions you might not want to hear the answer to.

Christmas Tree Hunting

2010-12-08T10:36:00.001-07:00

she reminded me of Randy from "The Christmas Story"

Porter's snow tree

making snowmen

Eating a tailgate lunch

Todd dragging the tree to the truck. Can you see JuJu?

family picture with the tree

Porter was the first to get cold...and wet.

Payton's giant snowball he made himself

This was how the kids helped...stay in the back and out of the way.

This year's Christmas Tree Hunt was an adventure. We took a detour to pick up some jerky in Glendale from Todd's buck this year. {yeah, I still haven't posted about his hunt this year, yet....it's in the process} Although it was quite the detour to get the the Kaibab it was worth it. It's DANG GOOD JERKY!! When we finally made it to our Christmas Tree hunting grounds there was too much snow! Our new truck is a little lower to the ground so we had to put the chains on the tires and we still weren't able to go as far in as we wanted. The kids loved riding in the back of the truck while we moved forward and backward and turned around a few times. We decided to stop and let the kids play in the snow while Todd walked around trying to find a tree. After a quick lunch we drove further down a different road and let the kids get out and play again while Todd hiked into the forest of pinions trying to find a Christmas tree. I was getting really nervous that we were going to be taking one of those pinions home with us {which is what our very first Christmas tree was...we will avoid those at all costs in the future}. The kids loved making snow balls and rolling down hills while their dad was on the hunt. I was so excited to see Todd coming through the trees dragging a tree behind him. I was even more excited to see that it was a Blue Spruce instead of a pinion! We loaded up the kids, the gear and the tree and headed for home. This is our first tree like this so we're not used to the soft needles and the branches that can't hold as many decorations but that didn't stop the kids from trying. There were as many as six balls on one branch until mom and dad got involved. It's going to be a long season with the decorations. It seems like we break at least one ball a day {and a record 8 balls while we were decorating}. We will be investing in some non-breakable balls for our future decorating purposes. Now all we have to do is be good so Santa will come!{That's easier said than done}

Bentley's back in the"Hood"

2010-11-15T19:23:00.002-07:00

We really have an awesome neighborhood. There are TONS of kids constantly running around together and we've made some good friends being over here. This story is just one example of what kind of neighborhood we live in:
The first three pictures were taken when Jul's about a year old...thus the reason for the bottle and lack of hair.

Julia, Porter, Bently (the dog) and Carson

kisses

Julia LOVES Bently!

The family across the street (The McLemore's) have a cute little chihuahua named Bentley. He comes to my house often and does the vacuuming in my kitchen. Of course he's a little more picky than some dogs so he won't eat EVERYTHING I would like him to. Julia will spend plenty of time over at Bentley's house and loves that little dog.

Well, Saturday, Todd and Tyler (that's the neighbor--or Bentley's "dad") went quail hunting. Todd took Payton and Tyler took Bentley. (yeah, not exactly a hunting dog but whatever?) While the boys were hunting, Bentley got lost/or scared of the gun shots. The boys looked for him for a few hours, yelling, whistling, anything to try and find him. There were eagles flying over head and they kidded about one of them picking him off (have you seen The Proposal?) and they found a "scratch mark from a coyote" (ask the boys what that means 'cause I'm not all that sure--just that there was a coyote around?) and they thought maybe Bently had been eaten by the coyote. I tried to keep telling them that he wandered to the street and someone stopped and picked him up. Of course that meant that Bently was still gone because who would return that cute pup? Oh! I forgot to mention that he wasn't wearing any collar or tags so someone might have thought he was a stray...or something and would have been more liable to keep him.

That night the boys came home empty handed and with heavy hearts thinking that Bentley could be out there in the desert landscape freezing or avoiding predators. Sunday we went to our meetings and saw the McLemore's at church. No news of Bently. Just red eyes from the crying the night before. Poor little Carson (he's 6) had cried himself to sleep that night because of the missing dog. After church we told them we were going to go back out and look for him on our way to Todd's moms for dinner. We were there for about 30 minutes and the McLemore's and the Wilson's (another family up the street from us) showed up to look one more time for Bentley. After scrutinizing every track we could find, Todd thought he could see Bentley's paw prints heading toward the paved road. It's all we could do to just hope someone had found him.

Well, today Bentley's family went to the Washington City dog pound in hopes of finding their dog. Lo and Behold HE WAS THERE! It was a great reunion. Jen called us up and let us know he had been found. Monique (Wilson) came over soon after and had painted a welcome home sign to put up at their house and with the help of another neighbor we staked it in the ground, tied some balloons and anxiously awaited the families return.

Bentley got lost around the Coral Canyon area (the opposite side of the golf course) and was found in Washington on Telegraph and 300. He made quite a journey before someone had found him and took him in. Just one happy story for the "hood" to share together...and one for my books to read and laugh about later!

Ju Ju Turns TWO!

2010-11-10T21:28:00.001-07:00

My 8lb 8oz girl born on 11-11-08

1st B-day

in her B-day suit after playing in the mud

We love this little stinker!

Thank Emmie for letting Jul's borrow your bike! She LOVES it!!!

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T13:49:00.001-06:00

It feels like we've been Halloweening for a few days now. We dressed up for our Ward Chili Cookout and Halloween Party last Saturday and then got all dressed up a week later for school, family party, and then finally trick or treating. I'm glad it's over. I've painted Payton's face four times now and Julia has worn two {very} different costumes. Good thing there's Porter that has not put up much fuss about his costume...once we decided on one.

So here's this year's results:

Dracula, Spiderman and Superman/girl {she was Tinkerbell for one night but apparently that was enough}

Julia and cousin Riley-Friday Night Family Party-

Spiderman (Porter)

Dracula (Payton)

Supergirl (Julia--couldn't get her off the bike)


We seem to always have a neighbor around while taking pictures

pumpkin guts!

carving pumpkins...with neighbors

Halloween Parade at the school

This picture was taken at Payton's school. I really wanted to get her skirt because my neighbor {one of Julia's other mom's} across the street made it for her. I love it! This isn't a good picture so we'll try again later.

It's nice that Halloween only comes once a year. I did enjoy my dinner at Farmer's Market Halloween night! We got a burger (or hot dog), a bag of chips and a drink for $1. Todd and Payton ate TWO!!

I love this small town!!!

Buzz or Woody?

2010-10-24T22:32:00.003-06:00

I needed to write this down because it is one to remember. We were driving home from church last week when Payton said he really wanted me to make an appointment with Aunt Kandice for a hair cut. Porter said he wanted a buzz. I told him that was one hair cut I could do at home. Then he asked, "Do you know how to do a Woody?" I looked at Todd with a {where did that come from} look. Then it hit me that he was talking about Toy Story. Todd had just taken the kids that weekend to see Toy Story 3 so when he talks about "a Buzz" he's talking about Buzz Lightyear. We {Todd and I} laughed more than we should have, but it was funny--especially when I quietly mentioned to Todd that he would be more capable of doing a Woody than me.
Well, I had to call Kandice and tell her the funny story and set up hair appointments. When we got there she asked if she was doing Buzz or Woody cuts that day. Both boys chose a Woody. {go figure} We met up with Todd for lunch and one of the first things out of Porter's mouth was, "Dad! Aunt Kandice gave me a Woody!"
Needless to say, our entire family who knows the story has gotten a good chuckle out of the whole thing. Thus, the reason for posting it here.... So Porter knows what an awesome boy he is at five years old and the darndest things he says to get mom and dad laughing!

So Much Potential

2010-09-23T19:07:00.001-06:00

This is a quick one but well the worth the time to sign into my account and blog about it. First is Julia singing a song she picked up from Ella Enchanted (which we rented from the library so she only had a weeks worth--or less-- of learning this song). I guess she had longer because we've all been singing it around the house and she'll sing at the dinner table sometimes.

Next off is Porter sporting his new jeans from G-ma Julie and a new shirt from his GG-ma Wittwere. This outfit had so much potential...just maybe not all together--and without the boots?? (or maybe tuck his boots inside his pants instead of vice versa?)

Porter Turned FIVE!

2010-09-19T14:25:00.001-06:00


Porter's b-day invites for the family party

We celebrated Porter's fifth birthday on Friday. He got two parties this year. One with friends {a first for Porter} and one with his family. I decided to hurry and get the pictures on a scrap page before I got lazy so I think the pictures tell how his day went. We're so happy to have Porter part of our family! Here's FIVE of my favorite things about Porter:
1. He's so loving and sweet to his little sister; in the mornings he will say, "Good morning, Sweetheart" in a high pitched voice that I just smile at.
2. He's my social boy; it's all about the friends to him. He looks forward to getting up each morning so he can go play with friends! {one quick story. One night it was time to come in. I yelled for Porter up the street and he didn't come--even though I knew he had heard me. I finally walked up the street to get him and told him he was grounded for the rest of the night from friends because he didn't listen to me. He cried and cried begging me not to ground him. Little did he know he couldn't have gone out to play anyway.}

3. He loves to "dress up". It's not in girly things of course but he loves dressing up as a cowboy or a superhero.
4. He will do anything that his best friend (or cousin) is doing. This might mean he can't decide on his own or just that he loves those other people so much he wants to be like them. Whatever they're wearing that day, eating, drinking....he has to ask what they're having first and then he'll decide {usually the same thing}.
5. He talks big about his dad's boy but deep down he's a momma's boy. He always talks about hunting and fishing with his dad but when it's time to go he'd rather stay with mom {most of the time dad likes that because he gets to tired or cold when they're out together}. Of course he may only be staying to play with friends but I'm going to take it that he'd rather be with me!

No Time Like the Present

2010-09-14T13:02:00.001-06:00

I keep thinking I will post about things...and then I never do. It's just so much easier to read about other people than it is to write about my own family. So here's what's happened lately...

Payton crashed on his bike: It was his mom's fault because she had tightened the front tire with her fingers thinking it would do the trick. NOPE! He went for a bike ride with the neigbors and did a "pop-a-wheelie" and his front tire came off. Where did Payton land? On his face, of course. He got a little bruised and his mom learned to use a tool other than her hands to fix things like that.

Payton loses a front tooth: It had been loose before the bike incident but I'm sure the face plant helped to loosen things up a bit more. His dad pulled it out Monday morning before school. Of course he was so excited about it he had to take it to school to show it off. The tooth fairy didn't show up that night because the tooth had been left in Payton's desk at school. Funny thing is his permanent tooth is already growing in and the other front tooth is barely loose. He'll look great for fall pictures.

Kelsie, Payton and Porter-ready to ride!

Turek Family Reunion: This was held over Labor Day Weekend. It got Tiff and I out of doing the Peach Days Volleyball Tourny this year. It was fun to be in the mountains and even more fun to let the kids wander and play together. They're favorites this year; 4-wheelers and the Mammoth Caves.

I have mixed emotions about the caves because we had an "incident" this year that makes me "Mother of the Year" in my book. (that was me trying to be facetious) Porter got left at the caves--on accident. I knew everyone was out of the caves and we even did a head count so I knew my kids were ready to go back to camp. When it was dinner time, we couldn't find Porter. No one had played with him. No one had seen him recently. The only place left to look was the caves. Luckily we were only a couple minutes away from the caves and a VERY nice and PATIENT family had found him and were waiting when Tiff and I flew up on the 4 wheeler. It was an emotional reunion and one that I won't forget. I kept a little better tabs on him the rest of the weekend.

Julia's finger got smashed in a big heavy door but it's turning into a tradition for her to have a hurt finger at the reunion. She sure looked like a beauty though when Aunt Kandice pulled out the "kids makeup" (that doesn't come off too easily by the way) for the girls. The boys even got in on it calling it war paint. Julia looked like she belonged on the strip in Vegas.

Kolob Retreat: This last weekend Todd took our family to Kolob to stay in one of his friends cabins. He hunted that night with Payton and early the next morning by himself. It was just nice to hang out with the kids, read my book, watch movies and then we rode the rhino almost all day Saturday. It's so pretty up there! It was fun to spend the weekend with my family!

Porter's B-day: He's going to be five this year and I'm so excited for his party (ok-so his present). I love when there's something we can get him that doesn't cost a fortune but that he will just LOVE! What is this gift? Well, you'll just have to wait until I post about the b-day. Here's a hint.... It is a SUPER HERO themed party (ok so he actually gets two parties. One with his friends {boys only he says!} and the other is with family).

Well, there you have it. More procrastinating novels yet to come!

Upgrade

2010-08-20T13:56:00.001-06:00

Julia has moved on past her crib. I wasn't really thinking she'd be too excited to sleep in and actually stay in bed but so far, she loves it! It's fun to say prayers beside her bed and then she climbs in ready to go to sleep. It's really got me thinking it's time to fill the crib with something {or someone} else. . .

Payton's First Day of 1st Grade!

2010-08-12T10:02:00.001-06:00

Payton's first day of school 2010

Another school year has begun and Payton has been anxiously awaiting this moment! I can't remember how many times during the summer when we would put him in bed he would wine about not being in school. His kindergarten teacher did her job because Payton sure loves school.
His 1st grade teacher this year is Mrs. Williams. I was so sad because I had to work the day school started but I have a great boss that let me come an hour late so I could see him off for his first day. He's a little more independent that I was at his age. He kept telling me he'd just ride his bike down and he'd be fine. I really wanted to make sure he found his classroom so I insisted on taking him to school. He was so excited to eat lunch at school this year. I gave him the choice of taking a lunch or eating at school and it was not even a contest which one he wanted. He was going for the chocolate milk!! He was supposed to meet at the flag pole after school and walk home with a group of kids from our neighborhood. {I love that there are so many kids to walk home with!!}
I was still at work when Payton got home from school but I had left him a snack in the fridge to eat until his dad got there. When I called to check on him and see how his day went he said, "I didn't even get in trouble!" Well, if that doesn't say what kind of a school year we're going to have, I don't know what does!
We had a good back to school night and I'm really excited for this school year! I love his teacher and can't wait to see what big steps Payt will be taking this year!
....Now I just need to figure out how to make staying home and learning something fun for Porter. He tells everyone he's doing homeschool and cried the night before school because he was supposed to be starting school too but was being taken to Grandma's and she wouldn't know about home school. I let him know his school didn't start until next week. Any good lesson plans out there I should be using or sharing with my four year old? Let the fun begin!

Sunday Drive

2010-08-03T16:18:00.001-06:00

The Redwood Tree

Playing on the rocks

the boys crossing logs

Porter and Julia

We took our family on a Sunday drive up through Browse. Todd had to get out of the house and it's too hot to go for a walk {at least for us Calico's} so of course we took the new truck out and off the pavement. Todd took us somewhere I had never been and the kids are ready to go back. He took us down to the ranger station they have out there and the kids loved hiking around and playing by the little stream that flows there. We took a family picture by the big red wood someone planted down there. It makes me want to go see the real redwood forest...someday.

July 24th Celebration

2010-07-25T16:08:00.001-06:00

Catching Night Crawlers w/ Kory

Julia after her race

Payton shooting a bow at one of the booths

Porter racing!

We spent the 24th up in Hatch or if you ask my kids, "The Hatch House". It was fun to spend Pioneer Day in a small community. We went up Friday and spent the night there with Tiff's family. They loved catching night crawlers so we could fish with them the next day. Next time we will make sure there are more flash lights for everyone. The next morning we got up, had a great breakfast and caught the parade! Then there were races and games to be played at the park. My kids loved playing the games and winning prizes. After the parade and park we went fishing at Tropic Reservoir. We caught lots of fish but nothing worth bragging about. If you ask Todd, I went along so I could read. I had to finish the second book of the Hunger Games, Catching Fire {those of you who have read them understand}. We fished until we got rained/poured out of the place.

Tanner, Luke and Payton--oh, and that little fish

After fishing, we came home, cleaned up the house and hit the road for home. It was a quick trip but I think everyone had fun.

Feeling Productive

2010-07-19T11:45:00.000-06:00

Last night Todd came home from one of his priesthood meetings and talked to me about how technology is not all that great for kids to have. They learned that missionaries (100's of them) are being sent home from their missions because they can't be "unplugged" from the internet and technology. Texting, emails, internet, facebook, iphones...you get the idea. We have a son with the same problem--although I tend to refuse to see it as a problem. Payton loves the internet and loves playing games. We don't have a nintendo, wii, playstation....NOTHING! so I thought the computer was a fine way for him to get into the gaming scene. I don't even allow them to play games where they are killing other people (aliens? fine! People? NOPE!) We don't have cable so we are only able to watch movies. I thought we were doing pretty good as a family. Apparently, I'm not doing good enough.

I know plenty of kids that have cell phones {of their own} and are constantly texting {yes, it drives me nuts but I thought maybe it's because they're faster than me so I was jealous?}. Todd and I have decided that our kids will not have their own phones until they are able to buy one for themselves. I talked Todd into getting a "family phone" for when they are old enough to go out with friends and might need a ride somewhere, but he helped me see the wisdom in not allowing it to have texts because of the picture texts that kids are sending now a days. It got me to thinking about my family and all the ways I should be planning to protect my family from all the crap that is out there...{yes mom, I said CRAP! because that's what it is}

Todd also told me we should be not just be reading the scriptures but studying them every day. He asked me how many books I have read in the last month {I have been on a reading spree lately}. After counting them up I figured I had read 9 in the last 2 months. Then he asked how many times I had picked up my scriptures. Talk about putting me in my place.

So what does this have to with "feeling productive"? This morning, while the kids were still sleeping, I opened my scriptures and read...Which in turn made me want to go to the temple this week. Then I got laundry started, beds stripped, journal written in (it had only been since MARCH! AAAHHH!! I used to try writing once a month) garden harvested and sprayed from those nasty squash bugs, kitchen cleaned and one load of laundry folded and put away {that's usually the worst part of laundry for me...folding and putting away}. Not every day is like this but it's good to know if I put first things first, there can be time to get everything done that needs to be.

4:30 am

2010-06-18T12:50:00.000-06:00

Here's a riddle. What does this ladder,

and these earplugs

and this 9 volt batteryall have to do with 4:30 in the morning?
It's what I was playing with at that time this morning. Our smoke alarm went off at 4:30 making me jump out of bed. Todd's gone on a fire so I was totally freaked out. I had Porter on the floor of my room and Payton was laying in my bed with me. My nephew Luke was staying with us and he was on the floor of the boys bedroom and of course Julia was in her crib. I seriously thought there was a fire. It was good to know I can hear when I'm sleeping and even better to know that even though I'm old my reflexes still work! There was no fire...just the need of a new battery.
I spent the next 30 minutes bringing the ladder in from the garage, learning how to take the battery out and then learned that even with the battery gone our smoke alarms still can "chirp" at me. I finally ended up going into the boys room to sleep because my pillow over my ears and the lack of being able to find earplugs made me go to the farthest room possible. Let's just say I've had better mornings.
Lesson learned: Have a spare 9 volt battery on hand!

Family Fun in Pheonix

2010-06-09T12:01:00.000-06:00

The past week the kids and I spent time with our dad down in Pheonix, Arizona. Todd had to work at the BLM down there for a couple weeks and invited us to spend some time with him. I think we are considering this our family vacation this year even though Todd did not get much of a vacation. It was a paid vacation. Todd worked, we played. What more could I ask for?

We really didn't do too much. Ate, swam, slept, watched TV, ate some more, swam some more....Eat, drink, swim and be merry, right? It was nice for Todd even though he was working 12 hour days. At least there was something to come home to. The drive wasn't as bad as I was expecting, thanks to Kandice lending her portable DVD screens. It took us about 6 1/2 hours to get there but we made it and were so excited to be out of the car. The hotel rooms were great. Todd and I {and Julia} slept on the king size bed in one room and the boys slept on the pull out bed in the other room. There was a kitchen with a full size fridge/freezer, a microwave, a sink w/a garbage disposal, a dishwasher and a mini stove. The room was fully stocked with dishes, silverware, pots, pans...every thing we needed to have a home away from home.

We got there late but went and had dinner together at Bajio and then called it a night. The next day we enjoyed a hot breakfast (compliments of the hotel) and then got our suits on to swim. We were in the pool by 9:30 am. We stayed for a couple hours and then decided it was time to fill our tummies. That's how things went the whole week. Breakfast {yes, at the hotel. Hot breakfast EVERY morning!}. Then, wait for Jul's to fill her diaper and then off to the pool. Came home to have lunch, had naps and then off the pool again. Came home again and waited for our dad to get off work so we could all go to dinner.
It was a total vacation for me because I didn't have to cook or clean the whole time. I'm seriously considering hiring a maid. Todd won't be home until Saturday so I'm still asking myself why we came home. The neighbors did an awesome job of keeping our garden growing and the kids were content to stay in the hotel room and watch TV or ride the elevators. It was a nice break from the norm. It's true what they say. Some good things just don't last.

Last Day of School

2010-05-26T08:59:00.000-06:00

Payton and Mrs. HoldawayThe blessed year of Kindergarten is over today as of 11:45 am. Payton has had a terrific year and his teacher did her job because Payton loves school! We attended his Kindergarten graduation yesterday where the kids sang songs letting us know if they learned nothing else they learned to sing...and did I mention he loves school. Last week I went with our neighbor {Jen} who also has a Kindergartener and we ate lunch with our kids in the lunch room...just so they would know what it was like. Then we showed them the playgrounds they would play on and all the fun things they get to do next year as 1st graders. Porter's ready to go to school too because of the taco and chocolate milk we had. It's so fun to see Payton growing up and he's so excited about changes. He doesn't get that from his mom. I hate change...unless it's the kind in my pocket.Congrats, Payton! You made it through your first year of school...and so did your mom! I gotta admit that I got a little emotional when their graduation was about over and the principal said, "I give you the graduating kindergarten class of 2010!!" Silly, I know, but my emotions got the best of me when my eyes teared up a bit thinking he's getting so "old".I knew he had grown but this shows how much

18 months...and counting

2010-05-19T09:09:00.000-06:00

Julia 18 months old

Julia reached that monumental 18 month mark this month {May 11th to be exact}. Yes, I'm a little late in blogging about it. It's just that SHE'S SO DANG BUSY!! Ok, that's not really the reason but she really is a busy body. And don't even get me started on the girls attitude that has started. I could write all the negative things she does that seems to really drive me crazy but a good mom would write all the great things about her.

I'm just not a good mom.

She is so clingy lately. We let her go to nursery a few weeks before she was actually "legal" {one of the perks of serving in the primary presidency} and she did great! Now that she's really allowed to be there, she's awful! She cries and screams. We're hoping this phase is over soon. {not only my sake but for the nursery leaders sake} It's not just at church. If we go outside and then she sees me go inside the house she flips out because she wants me to be outside and watch her.
Ok, so that's really the only bad things about this girl that I can think of right now. She's soooo dang cute! She's turning into quite the little mother to her babies and she keeps up with the boys as good as any 18month old could. We have quite the neighborhood full of kids and Julia is just one of them. She jumps on the tramp, rides her wiggle bike, swings, plays ball, climbs hills, plays in the dirt {her diaper every day has been filled with red sand since we did the sandbox thing at our house}...anything the big kids are doing she is in the mix. The best part is they all love her too and don't mind her tagging along. She reminds me of the story "The Pokey Little Puppy" because she's always the last to get places but at least she gets there.
Some of her favorite foods are strawberries, chicken nuggets, grapes, peas, and nuts {you name the nut, she loves it--we even take a bag of peanuts to church now for her snack--forget the cereal and pretzels!} She loves babies {dolls and the real thing} and animals. Luckily we live around dogs that love kids so no bad experiences, yet. She thinks the neighbors houses are her own. She wanders from house to house not realizing the street is no place for her {another benefit of where we live.} She's just tall enough to open the doors now and comes and goes as she pleases. She loves the water, the dirt, the mud and the best is playing in any of those with her brothers. I should really take a picture of her in the morning. Her hair is EVERYWHERE! She won't keep her bows, clips or barrettes in her hair very long. She looks pretty straggly most of the time but that's how we roll. She loves balls, bubbles, helping mom with sewing projects, her blankie, her binkie and making other kids laugh with the silly things she does.
We love this cute baby girl and love that she's growing up to have such a cute personality {good and bad} but it doesn't seem so long ago that I was in a hospital bed trying to hold her back until the doctor could get there. Just goes to show, as hard as we try we're not going to be holding her back from anything she really wants to do. She'll just scream at us if we do! Must be a girl thing.

Tiff Says it Best

2010-05-14T23:27:00.001-06:00

I would blog about this but Tiff already did it...just check it out...if you're interested!
Dirty Story Ahead!

Homework: Talking Turkey

2010-05-07T09:14:00.000-06:00

One of Paytons "homework" assignments last month was to tell a story and have mom or dad write it down. Here's Payton's story...

Ok, so we got out of the truck and we heard a turkey gobble. And then we started to hike and hike and hike until we got to this spot and put this blind over us. Then we put the decoys out and Tyler {our neighbor} started to call and call and call. Then these two jakes {young male turkeys} came in and then he called again. but then this other huge one came and Tyler thought is was an 8 inch beard so dad said, "Should we take 'im?" Tyler said, "Sure". So dad shot him. The end.

The mighty hunters
Payton, Todd & Tyler

It was a good turkey hunt this year for Todd and I'm so glad Payton got to be there with him. They went out early one morning before school and were home in time for Payton to take the story with him to school. It had an 11 inch beard {apparently that's great!} and according to Payton it had hair on its waddle and on it's chest. Gotta love the hunters!!The 11 inch beard

{probably why I've never been one who likes beards}

Happy Birthday Grandpa Turek

2010-04-29T19:35:00.001-06:00

I'm a slacker (what's new?) but today is my dad's birthday. Hard to believe he's still alive and kicking after all my brothers and sisters have put him through. It must be because he has such an angelic daughter like myself that keeps him sane. Here's a little shout out to you dad. The kids put on their birthday suits just for the occasion. We love you!

Calico Family Pictures

2010-04-26T22:29:00.000-06:00

The Whole Calico-Hiatt Family

Our little {clan}

The Grandkids
Payton, Julia, Riley & Porter
{Julia is not amused}

Julia and Riley
(I love this picture!)

Thanks to Blair and Julie we had some family photo's taken. Thanks to Tav's skills we look somewhat presentable to sit on some desks at work...and of course on the wall of our house! Let's just say it's been a while since we've had a family photo taken. The last one we took with Todd's family was when I was prego with Porter. This was an overdue event.

Struggling

2010-04-12T11:07:00.000-06:00

I really didn't think it would take me this long to do a catch up on life. It's not that we haven't been doing anything "blog worthy" but I just haven't taken the time to post anything. So....Here goes nothing:

{we're still not sure how this was a three way tie for 2nd--because Payton beat both the other boys but they all look happy, don't they? Payton was just trying to find a spot on the podium with the other two}

Wrestling: Another season has come to a close. Payton did pretty well this year but has a lot to learn. Out of the tournaments he went to this year he brought home 3 sliver and 1 gold medal.

Spring Break: We spent the first four days here at home in the COLD. First day it snowed and then the next was rain....it wasn't my idea of a nice spring break. Thursday after a half day of work Tiffani and I took our kids down to Henderson to stay with Cheri for the rest of the week. The kids had a ball swimming, playing at a cool park, swimming, playing with cousins, swimming, playing the wii and more swimming. I didn't take a ton of pictures but here's a few. I really needed a picture of Tiff, Cheri and I going on our "little" bike ride. We set out Saturday morning while Cheri's hubby kept all the kids (I know...what a guy! 12 kids!) It ended up being a 20 mile ride and I was dead when we got home. I blame my poor attitude on the wind (of course I would go again in a heart beat).

Easter Weekend: I should actually say the week leading up to Easter weekend because it was filled with fun. It was Trudi and Cheri's Spring Break so they spent most of their time in St. George. One day the girls got together to make necklaces out of washers that I wear all too often. Another day the kids got to go swimming at the rec center. The kicker was the Friday the kids were out of school we went on a hike. It was a bit more than we expected and packing Julia the whole way took its tole on my body but it was fun. (don't ask my teenage nieces if they liked it because they will lie and tell you NO!!) The Saturday before Easter we played in the sand with my family. They loved being buried and finding treats in the sand. {of course I took NO pictures but will have to get some from someone else} Then Sunday was spent at Todd's G-pa & G-ma Wittwer's. It was one party after another.

Now it's just back to life which can be pretty boring.
(Julia fell asleep on the floor the other day. I love her two binkies...it's hard to pick just one!)

Invest in Gold!

2010-03-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

When I go to work I hear these "Invest in Gold" commercials. You know the ones? {Bald man with monopoly like mustache} Well, we just invested in a little this weekend. I'll post pictures when I have some {thanks to Tiff with her camera}. Payton brought home his first gold medal from wrestling. Sure he was at an advantage only having to wrestle two boys instead of three and sure he was faster because he wasn't quite as big as the other boys but we're still proud of him! He was in the heaviest weight division weighing the least of the three heaviest kids in Kindergarten {if that makes sense}. He weighed in at 63 lbs and the heaviest kid weighed 75 lbs. That is a big kindergarten baby! I have video footage but of course we're not digitally enhanced...yet so you'll just have to make due with my bragging session in writing...until I can prove otherwise. I just wish the gold was really worth something {I mean more than the memories and big head of my son}

Ready?....Wrestle!

2010-02-09T13:50:00.000-07:00

It has begun!! Thanks to Uncle Jordan we now have our own wrestling gear. Yeah??

A Sweet Surprise...for Todd

2010-02-04T22:16:00.000-07:00

A warning for the girls:

DON'T BE JEALOUS OF ME!

So on my way home from work yesterday I called Todd and asked if he had picked the kids up from Tiffani's. He said he hadn't because he had been delayed and he had a surprise for me when I got home. My first question was, "Is it another dead animal?" He laughed a bit and just said he wouldn't tell me. I'd just have to wait until I got home.

Well, I picked up the kids and hurried home to see the great surprise. It was a surprise but it was greater for Todd than for me. I shared in his joy as he told me the story about our new pet, "The Calico Buck". One of his buddies, Seth, had taken a set of old sheds Todd and his dad had found hunting a long time ago. (for you non-hunting folk I'm not talking about storage sheds. I'm talking about deer sheds--their antlers that fall off every year and Todd loves hiking around finding them) The sheds were old, broken and falling apart but Todd hung onto them because they were a matching set and I think some of it was for sentimental reasons--being that he found them with his dad and all.

Seth took them over a year ago and has been working on them, fixing them up and restoring them to what the original probably looked like. He was working with another of Todd's buddies, Jeff, who does taxidermy and was giving Seth pointers to help him out. Seth was trying to fix them up as a surprise for Todd to give to him. After Seth got them looking good he'd take them to Jeff for more tips on what to do next. After a while of doing this the sheds were looking great and Jeff got the brainy idea that they couldn't just be sheds given to Todd, they needed to go on a body. So these two buddies worked together for over a year on this buck that they now call the Calico Buck. Todd was in awe when they just gave it to him last night. He didn't know what to say because he was so taken back. When he shared the story with me he kept saying, "I don't get it. Why would they do all that for me?" Well, I know why--I married him, duh! It's awesome to see his friends show him by doing something awesome for him. Heaven knows I can't compete with that.

I just need to write a letter to those boys now and let them know the deer on the wall has stolen Todd's eye and I just can't compete anymore. He used to look at me like that. At least when I think we have no money left we will always have two bucks to our name!

The deer on the right is the one from Jeff and Seth and the one of the left Todd shot a couple years ago.

Happy Birthday Grandma Turek

2010-01-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

Today is my mom's birthday. Tiff and I have been brainstorming of what we can do for her birthday to celebrate. We talked about going out to lunch or dinner with just the girls but then Tiff reminded me that my mom and dad are on some stinking diet and eating out would not be one of the best ideas because of what she CANNOT EAT!! So, Tiff came up with a brilliant plan which I hope to post pictures and the event when the day is done. Stay tuned for a physically challenging activity that even a grandma can do. It's gunna be FUN!!

ok so I'm not the best photographer but I think the pictures will say it all.

It took a little convincing to get them on their bikes

This isn't everyone but the most we could get to hold still for a picture

One picture I am missing is Tiffani's truck LOADED with bikes.

(Four adult bikes, four kids bikes and one bike trailor!)
And, YES! my mom and dad are still walking and speaking to us!

Learning

2010-01-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

So I learned a couple new things today and I'm actually just posting to test my knowledge. This morning I went to my neighbors house (Monique) and learned how to make some cute flowers to decorate or make hair clips or even put them on the camp quilt I'm making for Julia. It was fun to learn something new that I can actually do!
The other new thing is this link business where you can check out what I'm talking about just by clicking on someone's name. I see it done all the time but NOW I know how (and Rayn was right, it is easy.)
So here's a new business that my little sister has just started up and running that I thought some of you might be interested in. Kandice is super talented and has made cute things for your girlies at what I think is pretty affordable. Check out How Adorabow you think it is. I'm getting Julia one of those cute knitted beanies...just can't decide which color yet.

Snow Much Fun!

2010-01-04T12:49:00.001-07:00

New Year's Day we went to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes and played in the white dunes of snow. It was so fun and I'm suprised the kids lasted as long as they did. Makes a difference when they have good clothes and shoes and can stay dry.

After playing in the snow for a few hours and eating hot soup drinking hot chocolate and snacking on goodies and bran muffins (yup! They make you regular. Julia had a couple!) we called it a day.

playing in the snow really takes it out of you...

On the way home Kory's truck lost power so we all pulled over (it was a caravan as follows: Tiff's family, My family, Jeff's Family and Randy's bringing up the rear). He thought he had it fixed for a moment so we drove a ways farther. Then he pulled off just before going down the hill into Hurricane. We hitched up the tow rope and made it all the way home safely.

hitching up the truck

ready to roll again

I'm looking forward to more fun in the cold before it thaws out. I'm thinking there's going to be an ice fishing trip soon...wanna come?

Traditions...kind of a novel

2009-12-29T09:43:00.001-07:00

Christmas Morning

{I love Julia's hair!}
Tradition: the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation

It seems like the holidays revolve around family traditions. I love thinking about the ways we celebrated Christmas and New Years as a family before I had my own kids. Since we've started our own family we had pretty much done the same things we had before...every other year. Because we're sharing with two families {mine and Todd's} we decided to make it even and go to one side of the family's Thanksgiving and the other side of the family's Christmas Eve. It seemed to be working out pretty well...and then my mom and dad went on a mission. So for two years we just did everything with Todd's family. Now that my mom and dad are back we just assumed we would start back into the normal routine of every other. Thanksgiving was spent w/Todd's family so Christmas Eve was supposed to be spent with my family. We had a Christmas B-day party the week before at my parents and after that my mom and dad had decided they weren't up for doing a Christmas Eve with all those wild children running around the house. They thought it would be better if we started doing our own family traditions. Kandice and I made a fuss about it when we found out because It's TRADITION! You don't break TRADITION!! I came home and told Todd that we could either go with his family for Christmas Eve or start our own family tradition. He was excited to stay home and do our own thing. That changed my attitude and I thought we could do something fun to start this new tradition of ours. Then later, my mom and dad had talked about it and decided to do something after all and invited us if we wanted to come. I would have gone...if Todd was on board. He still wanted to do our own family thing. So this year started a new tradition for us. Being on OUR OWN! {I know...scary}

Todd went hunting all day and I tried to get the house cleaned up for something that evening. I really wanted to go to Zions {because we live so close} and walk around in the dark and talk about the Christmas story but it was so windy over here that it didn't sound as fun as I thought in my head. So after dinner {which consisted of BBQ ribs, quail that Todd had hunted that day..and is a personal favorite of Porter's, green salad, homemade bread, and some steamed carrots all served on our favorite Christmas dishes....mmmm} I tried to get the real meaning of Christmas in the kids heads. We read about Christ's birth in the Book of Mormon and what the signs of his coming would be. Then we talked about why we give presents and whose birthday it was. Payton and I argued for a bit over it being Santa's or Jesus' birthday. I gave in and let him think it was both. All this time Todd is laying on the couch taking a little nap because the day of hunting had just taken it out of him...I guess. Then we could hear fireworks going off and we watched them while we put on our new pj's {another tradition}. Then we got in the car and drove around looking at all the lights. I gotta admit I was not happy when we started because it just wasn't how I envisioned the night to go {mostly the part about how Todd wasn't helping share in the teaching of the "True Meaning Of Christmas"} but after listening to him talk to the kids about all the cool lights I couldn't help but start laughing. He was doing his best to make his voice the most excited he could at EVERY house that had lights. Even the houses with just a porch light on he'd get the kids to look at it. We came home, got some cookies and milk ready and a bowl of sugar for Santa's reindeer and then it was off to bed. The kids were in bed at 9:30 and asleep at 9:40. Santa never had it so easy. We had to lock the door to the room where the gifts were so the kids wouldn't go in and peek in the middle of the night. They were bound and determined to see Santa and give him a big hug. Payton wanted to sleep under the tree so he could see Santa. Not only Christmas Eve but Christmas Day has traditions as well. Todd's mom usually makes a yummy brunch and then we open presents at her house then we have a dinner around 3 that afternoon with most of her family. This year we opted out of the brunch and enjoyed seeing our kids play with their Christmas presents until it was time to head over for the dinner. It was actually nice to not be in a rush to get places. Even G-pa and G-ma Turek came over {with some left over goats milk -aka eggnog- from the night before} to see what Santa had left.
So another Christmas is over and a new year is approaching.

Another year to start more traditions...the things that make memories for the future.

Quick catch-up

2009-12-19T22:16:00.000-07:00

I need to post about Payton's big day(s) before Christmas hits and it's all a big blur. So Payton turned six on Tuesday (the 15th) and he hasn't let us forget it since. He really got to celebrate most of the week. We started Sunday night at Todd's mom's where he got to open G-ma Julie's present (two days before his birthday) and have cake and celebrate w/G-pa Blair and Tara's boyfriend Jordan--who's b-day's are the day after Payton's.

Then Monday night we celebrated with my side of the family at G-ma & G-pa Turek's. We had pizza and cake and then the old man {Santa} himself came and visited the kids and sang happy birthday to the three boys having them this month.

Porter was hilarious!

{just a couple quotes from that night need to be written down}

He had to feel Santa's beard {yes! it was real!!}

When Santa read a book about Jesus' birth and the angels coming Porter said, "My grandma Ila died". Good relation son.

He came out of nowhere and gave Santa a big hug--which prompted Santa to tell him he could have anything he wanted...naughty Santa.

And last he kept looking for Santa's reindeer which uncle Jeff kept telling him were in the pasture--yup, Porter went looking for them across the street. They weren't there.

Santa let them all sit on his lap and then he gave all the kids toys which they all loved. Payton got these tops that had lights on them and his cousin Emmie accidentally broke one. {I've gotta put this down Kandice...sorry--Santa lifted Emmie on his knee and said, "Well, you haven't missed a meal!"} Payton got upset at Emmie for breaking his top and then said, "This is the worst Christmas ever!" He got over it...later.

Then Tuesday was Payton's real b-day. He got to take a treat to share at school {Christmas cookies} and came home with the biggest smile wearing his birthday crown. Then that night we went bowling. This year he was given the choice of having a birthday party or getting a present. He chose to have a party and invite his cousins. I don't know how long that will last, but I loved it! His birthday's too close to Christmas and it's an overload of presents. I liked spending money on him this way instead of another toy that might fall apart or get broken later.

Well, I think that wraps up another birthday for the greatest six year old in our house!

A Lesson In Follow-Through

2009-12-14T10:40:00.001-07:00

This morning I needed to get to the store and get a few things and Payton wanted to ride his bike to school. I was in my bathroom doing Julia's hair when Payton left so I wasn't really sure when he had gone. He negelcted to tell me goodbye. I've let Payton ride his bike to school alone before when I'm going to store because I usually leave a little after him and see him waiting at the cross walk on my way. Today I left quite a bit later than he did so when I didn't see him at the cross walk I assumed he was already there.

Porter, Julia, Khloee and I all went to WalMart, got our shopping done and headed home (an hour later). When I rounded the corner I saw the garage door open and thought what an idiot I was because I thought I had closed it. When I pulled in, I saw Payton's bike and thought he must have had an accident at school or something so he had to come home. I walk in the door and the kid is sitting in the chair watching ICE AGE 3!! When I ask why he's not at school he said, "I forgot my back pack and I'm not sure what time I have to leave." {WHAT?} We grabbed his backpack, jumped back in the car and headed to school...an hour and fifteen minutes late. Come to find out he never even made it to school because he had turned around to get his backpack and when he came back no one was here to tell him to get his little rump back to school instead of sit in front of the TV. I was tempted to just let him stay home but what would he learn from that? I hope he enjoys the last hour and half of school today. Chalk one up to me for learning that my kindergarten kid is not as big as I thought. What did I expect?? Just 'cause he's turning six tomorrow doesn't mean he has sprouted a sense of what's really right and wrong.

1000 by Christmas

2009-12-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

I've started doing something this year that I never thought I'd get into...ok so I really didn't start until the last quarter of the year, but I'm loving it! What is it you ask?? INDEXING from the church website. A friend at work told me she was doing this {which is why she doesn't blog or do the facebook thing--she does this instead} and she got me to check it out. The warning when you sign up is pretty accurate. It can be a little addicting. It's my late night activity when I feel like I need to do something more than blogstalk other people. I'm only 32 names away from making my goal but I thought it might motivate others {or myself if I'm reading this and I've stopped doing something like this} to get into family history one way or another. Last night I did death certificates {which is an indexing first for me} and although some of them I found a little creepy {like the guy who died at the age of 40 something because of an airplane accident. He was partially decapitated by the blade hitting a rock--yeah, you can read what the autopsy report says} it was pretty interesting. I like to read the different names and see how old they were...stuff like that. I get a little sad when I index the deaths of kids and babies. Reminds me of my sisters and how hard something like that is on a parent. Of course you don't have to index death certificates. You get to choose what you want to index. Check it out...if you have nothing to do {or want something worthwhile to do on the computer}

A Hunting We Did Go...

2009-12-07T10:45:00.000-07:00

Saturday we went out to find our Christmas Tree. Now I know most everyone else had theirs up in November --some even before Thanksgiving (???) but our family usually goes the first Saturday in December. We went out to our usual spot on the Kaibab looking for our tree. The kids were pumped to play in the snow. When we got there we found very little snow to play in and the wind was blowing enough for me to let Todd go look around and then come back and tell us what he found. The boys played in the snow until they got too cold and the first time Julia fell in it, she was done. She did get her first taste of snow and I think she liked it. Just not when both her hands were filled with the freezing stuff. After driving to a couple spots Todd came back with three possible trees to check out. We decided to have a bite of lunch before we checked them out so we could just load the tree and head on home. The tree we chose wasn't the most beautiful or the more perfect tree. We call it our "non typical" tree because it actually is one tree that stems out into three --so I guess that means we could have had three stars this year-but we don't. I love going out together as a family just because it's time together. On the ride home I talked to the boys about the Nativity and why we really celebrate Christmas. It was enough to put them both to sleep. Everyone helped decorate the tree (except for Jul's--she was napping) and after three broken balls Porter was pulled off ball duty and put on wooden angel duty. Todd was such a good sport. I had forgotten he didn't love this stuff until later when he reminded me how much he "{loved} putting up Christmas lights". I didn't even realize he was putting lights up outside until he was almost done. Well, another Christmas season started {YAHOO!!}

I had to put a picture of this shelf in because I love it! My neighbor across the street made it and I got a swinging deal on it (if anyone's interested he has a couple more he's selling for a great deal!)

I looked out the window...

2009-12-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

I looked out the window and what did I see??

These cute little bugs on the teeter totter is better than the popcorn on the tree. Porter has even put Julia on and played with his sister this way. I'm glad they like each other. Yeah, sure she's fallen off a couple times but at least she's been fairly close to the ground. (I know, I'm such a good mom.)

So Much to Be Thankful For

2009-11-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

There's no way I could post all I'm grateful for so here's today's thankful list:

Teeth to eat our dinner today...

Payton lost his first tooth last week!

Eyes to see all the world has to offer....

Payton's been taking pictures of himself lately. He must get it from his Uncle Tav. This is one of his greatest.

Family to share all life's jouney's with...

I love these kiddo's!

Modern appliances (what a time saver--to do dishes and laundry at the same time!!)...

--No picture required--

Ears to hear all the noises (good and bad)...

Todd's been using these ear plugs lately around the house.

Sister's (I really hope Julia gets to have one too...of course not for a little while!)...

Tonight us girl's are pulling an all nighter doing scrapbooking/making videos/hanging out and then we're going to pull a crazy stunt like going to the BLACK FRIDAY sales. Stupid, I know!

Of course this isn't all but it's a good start for the day. Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday Ju Ju

2009-11-13T10:33:00.000-07:00

Crazy that one year ago we brought this sweet little girl home from the hospital with us. Time has flown by! We celebrated her b-day last night. Here's a few pic's from her party...

Khloee and Julia and the new baby doll and stroller

Jul's riding her new toy from g-ma Julie

Kandice made this amazing b-day cake. Julia had 21 people at her party and we only ate the top part of the cake. That lets you know how big of a cake Kandice made. It was awesome!

Jordan, Riley, Tara, Tressa & Payton

g-ma Julie, Julia & Tressa

cake and ice cream...yum!

New presents

TuTu JuJU-Tara made this tutu, the bows and the necklace she's wearing. So cute!

Julia and Riley--wouldn't be a b-day party without b-day suits!

Kisses goodbye.

I'll have to get on the scrapbook pages but you get the idea. Julia had a great first birthday with cake, ice cream and surrounded by family! Thanks everyone!!

Photo's

2009-11-06T11:11:00.001-07:00

Kandice borrowed her neighbors camera and took some pictures of Jul's. Here's the results... Of course it wouldn't be complete without a few tears...

I hope this doesn't mean she hates girly things.

and Porter really needed some pictures too. I just didn't know it was going to be such a fight to get the superman costume off!

I hope they look just as good in larger sizes. We'll find out later today.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T11:12:00.000-06:00

Just one more day of dressing up and celebrating...yeah! I think I've been a little party poopish this year with the Halloween thing. I think I'm just tired of picking up all the pieces of cowboy and pirate costumes but the kids LOVE them! Thank heavens for hand-me-downs! With all the sugar going around tonight I'm so excited for Primary tomorrow. I don't think my sharing time will even matter. I'll be doing good to keep their attention.

Yeah for Halloween; costumes, trick or treating, sugar, friends and family.

Halloween is Coming....

2009-10-26T11:01:00.001-06:00

I know. I need to work on her brushing habits.

It might make her a happier baby.

Less of a MONSTER!

I'm A Believer

2009-10-18T21:10:00.000-06:00

So all the cussing stories ARE TRUE! Tonight I heard my first swear word come out of my son's mouth. I was definitly NOT expecting to hear it. He was looking for his shoes and couldn't find one of them. He came in from outside and shouted, "Where the hell is that shoe!?" I totally stopped what I was doing and gave him the, "What the heck did you just say" look. I told him he couldn't say that word and he said, "I say it all the time, mom. You just don't hear me." Well, I guess that makes it ok, right? No harm done :)

Happy Birthday Turdi!!

2009-10-15T23:18:00.000-06:00

Trudi with her prize winning petunia at our Sister's 5K Fun Run '09

The three medal winners at the 5K '09

She's a SUPER STAR!!

Today is My sister Trudi's b-day (yes, I spelled her name wrong on the title on purpose)--some of you went back and looked, didn't you? Anyway, I was laying in bed thinking about my day when I remembered I hadn't called her or done anything to wish her a happy birthday! So, following blog tradition, here's your b-day shout out!

Things I love about Trudi:

She's a cleaning machine.

She's always up for a bargain or sale {-k-so who's not?}

She's a totally awesome v-ball coach for those Grantsville Cowboys.

She's a supportive wife and mother

She makes girls weekends so much fun (I'll never forget sharing a bed with her one night and we tried all night to and laugh like my sister Cheri. My abs hurt from laughing so hard)

She's full of energy, the kind I hope I have when I turn 40 like her--{just teasin' Trudi. Even though I know you're not 40 -yet- I had to give you a hard time about your age}

Here's a little video from one of my favorite Girl's Weekends spent at the Washington Community Center climbing the rock wall: I may have blogged about this before but it's worth a second look. I should have Kandice do some cute video with it like she did if my boys that's posted on her blog. Are you up for it Kandice??

I love you Trudi! I totally get a "kick" out of any time I get to spend with you! I Hope you're day was one for the books....or the blog!!

Just needed one more video to show you what a nut my sister is. I mean, even in pretend basketball games she's a little slow, yet not a quiter! Way to ALMOST block that shot! :0)

Eleven Months...already!

2009-10-12T17:46:00.000-06:00

I'm a day late in posting but it's crazy that it's been eleven months already. What would we do without this cute baby girl? I'm trying to catch up on her books but she really has nothing printed. Guess that's what she gets for being the third child. Worst part is that I haven't even had her pictures taken (professionally) yet. I keep thinking I'll ask someone with a really nice camera to do it for me...but that's as far as it goes. Thinking.