The Bradley Blog

Motherhood

2012-01-26T01:57:00.000-08:00

Motherhood. Yikes. Anybody who is reading this blog probably knows me pretty well, so you are probably not going to be surprised that I do not feel like one of those natural born mothers. And I find it very hard to be a mother. And I do not pretend to be one of those moms who is so thankful for every precious moment spent with her child. I think there are moms who do appreciate every precious moment, and there are moms who don't, but are lying to themselves and others, and there are moms like me who don't lie about it, much to the detriment of her kids. There are some women whose dreams and aspirations are to get married and have kids. I knew that I eventually wanted to get married and have kids, but I did not have that thought plaguing my mind, like some girls. I was very happy and content with my life. VERY.

I graduated from BYU, so I was done with stressful school. I had a job that I loved working Nightwatch at Heritage Schools. I have always been a night person, so this job was ideal for me. I was working overtime most the time and paying off my student loans really quickly. I would go out and paint addresses on curbs for extra money when I had time. I could live on $500 a month. My car was paid off, my job was flexible, I had lots of great friends.....Life was good. I would work for 8 nights straight and then have 6 nights off, so every other week I would take a trip somewhere. Virginia, Chicago, Hawaii, Peru, California, Wyoming, Texas, Vegas, Wendover, Southern Utah, cruises to The Bahamas, Florida Keys, Belize, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel......It was fabulous. In the winter I had season passes to Brighton or The Canyons in Park City, and some weeks I was going snowboarding 5 times a week. I had street hockey friends. Midnight street hockey was good fun. I was going out on lots of dates and with many groups of friends. I would scuba dive, snowboard, sky dive, hike, and camp. If I ever had a night off when I wasn't on a trip, I would usually go camping. I had my camping gear in the trunk of my car in the summer and my snowboarding gear in my trunk in the winter. I was healthy and happy.

I wanted to work out of the country, so I got a job with the Navy MWR in Bahrain--a small island country in the Middle East in the Persian Gulf by Saudi Arabia. It was there that I met my hubby. I seriously was not looking for a husband. I had big plans to go to that Navy base in Bahrain with 5,000 single guys, and to have a date for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I was going to save all my per diem and have all my food paid for. Everything was going according to plan. I did have dates for breakfast, lunch, and dinner until one week after I got there. I met Brad at a club in Bahrain and he told me I could either kiss all the other guys out there, or I could kiss him. But it was either him or them. I chose him, thinking that I could always change my mind. We spent as much time as we could together and I knew he was my second chance. I had blown my first chance and couldn't find anyone who could even compare until I met Brad 2 1/2 years later. And I went out with lots of guys. I met great guys on almost every trip I went on. I knew I was one lucky girl and if I blew this one, I may not ever have a 3rd chance. So I took it. I knew in my heart I needed to be with this guy, but I also knew that I would probably just go back home and let him go if we didn't have something serious attaching us together--like marriage, or Josh. Brad knew, too, even faster than I knew (after a week!) We didn't know how getting married in a country like Bahrain would work, so we chose Josh.

And that's how I got to motherhood. And I tell you, people, it is hard! It's so hard to go from the life that I had that was all about me, to being a mom. Your life is not all about you any more. Not at all. The most it is about you anymore is keeping you alive so you can take care of your baby. EVERYTHING in your life changes. Sleeping, eating, working, your body, traveling. I don't know if anyone is really ever totally prepared for this. Some women want it more than others, and some women don't make as many huge life changes as I did. But I think it must be hard for everyone. You kind of hear about what a life changer it is in little bits and pieces, but you can't really grasp it until it happens. Suddenly not only are the big things in your life changed, but you can't even really go to the bathroom by yourself. I think it is a big change for men, too, but not as big as it is for women. We lose our bodies and our health, really, and then we lose our freedom. Since having kids, I have felt like I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. I have very rarely felt the feeling of freedom in the last 8 years. You can't even run out for 5 minutes to grab a drink from the gas station. You can't do anything alone. Even if you prep for it and try to do something without dragging this little person along, they usually mess it up somehow. The kid is hungry or gets sick. You can't just pass this kid off to someone else. He is YOURS. YOU have to take care of him, no matter what. It is almost like the person you were has died, but it is not okay to mourn. You have a totally different identity. I used to be fun and funny and fit, dangit! Not any more.

I love my kids, I really do. I think it would be really lonely to get up in the morning and not hear them singing silly songs to themselves or hear Josh peeing like a race horse and laughing at how much room his bladder must take up in that skinny little body of his. It would be hard to go back to my old identity again if I suddenly didn't have kids. I think I would be very lonely not having 3 kids trying to grab a ride on my foot or hanging onto my shirt so I can pull them around on roller blades everywhere I go to do chores in the house. The feeling of freedom would be so nice, though, and I am looking forward to the day when I don't have to take my kids with me every where I go (getting them all ready and fed and out in the car on time is a beast!) I can't wait. I always say that I do not know if I would do it again if I knew how hard it was going to be, if I didn't know my kids. Now that I know them, I'd have to do it again, but if I didn't know them, I don't know if I would. I do miss my old life. Sigh......

Melissa

2012-01-19T04:29:00.000-08:00

My very good friend, Melissa, died on January 5th. She was 30 years old and left behind an awesome husband, Danny, and their little 4 year old, Sammy. I am not so good with death. I'm very selfish because I feel so sorry for myself and that I won't have them in my life anymore. I feel so heartbroken for the families they leave and just can't imagine the horror of having something like that happen. It makes me scared that something will happen to Brad or one of my kids, and I seriously think I'd go crazy. I don't think I'd be able to get up out of bed. I don't think it has totally hit me yet, even though I've done plenty of crying. I'm not even sure if the death of my cousin 15 years ago has even really sunk in. Every time I really think about it, it just blows my mind and I can only think that thought for a second, then my mind just forces it out because I can't handle it.

I am missing Melissa and will continue to miss her throughout my life. She was probably the best friend anybody could ever ask for. She had cancer and chemo twice, and I think that gave her a really good idea of what is truly important, because that's how she lived. The most important thing to her were people. Her family and her friends. And everybody could tell by her actions that she knew that was the most important thing in life. We were roommates for about a year, I think. She was always making little craft projects and cookies for her friends. She would send packages home (Southern California) all the time. She spent a good amount of time with her friends--I was one of the lucky ones to get so much of her time--and she was on the phone A LOT talking with her friends. When she moved back to California, we were on the phone a lot and had the best conversations. Deep conversations where we really got to know each other and funny thrown into all of them. Man, was that girl funny!!!!! She made me laugh so much and so hard. Even when I was having a sucky day, she still made me laugh. She made me laugh when SHE was having a sucky day.

I had knee surgery shortly after she moved in and I thought it was so sweet because when I got home, she had bought a bouquet of flowers for me and she helped take care of me even though she thought I was kind of a jerk because I just stayed in my room and didn't help her when she was moving in. (I was working a night job and sleeping during the day, but I really should have helped her. I was just being lazy.) She also thought I was on speed because I never slept and I was always cleaning. She told her friends back home that her roommate was on speed! I had a lot of fun with her as my roommate. After she moved back to California, she came back to Utah (even though she is not a fan of Utah--except for the Jazz) to visit a few times. She treated it like a 10 hour drive was no problem at all and then she would always bring gifts for everyone she stayed with and she would make cookies to take around to all her friends. After I moved to Scotland and Josh was born, we had to come back for immigration stuff when Josh was 4 months old and we went to Northern California and Melissa flew up to see us. She made me feel so good because she didn't care that we didn't do anything but stare at Josh all day. I still feel like she had a love for him that was as close as you could get to my love for him. Sometimes I thought about it and felt like maybe she loved him even more than I loved him. It really makes you feel so good when somebody loves your kids like you love them. She just wanted to stare at him all day. She always said my kids were the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th cutest kids in the world, right behind Sammy. I'm sure she said that about all her friends kids, but still.

After we moved back to Utah, she came to visit just after Connor was born, and again awhile after Kaytlynn and Sammy were born. She met me and Brad in Vegas when we got engaged so she could meet Brad, and she met us briefly at a gas station in Southern California when she was pregnant with Sammy. That's when I met Danny, and instantly loved him! I'm so glad Melissa married Danny. He is such a great guy. She dragged Sammy and Danny to Utah to visit, and Danny was like-"Why Utah?" but came because Melissa said they needed to visit us. Melissa and Danny together=a non stop laugh fest. When Brad and I went on our Mexican Riviera cruise, Melissa and Danny drove all the way to the Long Beach airport to pick us up and then we spent the night with them at a hotel and they drove us to the port the next day. Melissa gave me some all natural stuff to help me sleep because she was concerned about me taking Ambien. She was always doing thoughtful things--sending packages in the mail or encouraging me to do things to make Brad happy. Like cook for him. When I mentioned that I should try couponing, she left me a super long voicemail message telling me exactly how to do it. She was just so thoughtful and loving and caring. Such a good friend.

After her second round of chemo, the doctor said Melissa would not be able to have kids, and then she had Sammy. She looked so cute pregnant! I thought I got a picture, but I couldn't find it. Sammy was a miracle baby, and Melissa was such a good mom. And she was such a good wife. And sister, and daughter. And cousin and friend. I miss that lady!

The Nutcracker

2012-01-19T04:19:00.000-08:00

I took Kaytlynn to the Nutcracker ballet in Salt Lake. My mom took me when I was younger a couple of Christmases and Jim took me and Amy when we were in Scotland. I thought it could be a nice little Christmas mom and daughter tradition. She wasn't quite ready for it. She was antsy after 45 minutes and kept moving around. She asked a few times if those were real people. I said yes and she asked "Like on TV?" I'm not sure why she hasn't grasped the concept. She used to be in dance and was in a recital on a big stage, and we've been to plenty of live shows.....Near the end I asked if she was hungry, and she said loudly "No, mom. I just ate some boogers." She was saying she wanted to go home. When we packed up to go to the bathroom, I was ready to take her away, but then she didn't want me to miss the rest. On the way home, I was thinking never again, but then Kaytlynn said that we needed to go again next time to see the parts we missed while we were in the bathroom. So maybe we will try again next year.

Dream

2011-12-28T05:25:00.000-08:00

I had a dream that I wanted to record and I didn't know where else to do it. I was driving the Subaru in Salt Lake. I think I had taken someone to the airport or something. I was alone and for some reason I was a little lost. I thought I knew about where I was and I got off an exit or turned on a street or something. I thought it would take me to I-215. It just took me to a street, not the freeway. For some reason I was on the West side of I-215, kind of close to where I lived when I was younger--by Becky Rabigers dads house or Janessas house in Kearns or Murray. I kept thinking I saw signs for I-80 or I-215 on the roads to the side of me, so I kept trying to look a little better while still driving and shifting and turning. I think one time one sign looked like it said I-7. I kept thinking I knew where I was and if I turned onto a street it would take me to the freeway. I was trying to look back to see a sign and I turned right at a green light and kind of gunned it (The Subaru has some pretty good power and speeds up really quick. I think I was just a bit frustrated and kind of driving it like a race car) right into the water. I had just a split second to wonder what the pretty blue sparkly ocean was doing in Salt Lake and why they would make a very short street that drove right into it with no chain or sign or anything. Like a boat ramp. It seemed like the ocean, like in Long Beach or Huntington Beach. It was sparkly blue like that. But there were buildings on the other side, so like the San Francisco Bay. The buildings were actually pretty close, but they seemed like they were pretty distant. So I drove straight into the water. I didn't have any time to put on the brakes or anything. I said "No Way!" as the water started pouring into the car. For a second I just sat there, cold and feeling like my clothes were really heavy because they were wet, and I thought for just a second about giving up and going down with the car. Then I wondered if it would be a struggle and really hard to open the door the further the car went down into the water and thought that I had better make a decision really quick just in case. I wanted to just sit there for a second all dejected and feeling like it wasn't fair and I thought about my purse and how I was going to lose everything in it and how my new phone that Brad got me for Christmas wouldn't work and how we'd lose our car and if it was worth even trying to get out. I thought about the kids and figured I'd better buck up and get out and then I woke up.

Josh turned into a real reader yesterday.

2011-12-07T04:33:00.000-08:00

Well, it has happened, and it happened in a snap. Yesterday Josh went to the school library. They go each Tuesday and can pick out two new books. He picked out his first chapter book without pictures. It is book #45, A Crazy Day With Cobras, in The Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne. He started reading it when he got home and he couldn't put it down. He read it instead of playing video games, he read it instead of eating, he took it to Connors 4H presentation at school and read it there, and when we got home, he laid down on the couch and read, then he took it down to bed to read the last 16 pages. It has 110 pages. Brad loves to read, and I used to read 2 or 3 chapter books a day when I was 10 or 11. I never thought Josh would choose a book over video games. Crazy stuff! Such a huge change and milestone in one day. He never had a problem with doing his reading each day. We'd sit down with his books and he would read out loud, but he never LOVED it. Now I think he does! Time to go find the series......

Josh is turning 8!

2011-11-24T04:28:00.000-08:00

My oldest baby will be 8 on Saturday! He is in 2nd grade in Mrs. Gardners class at Park Elementary. He is an amazing reader, he is the best one in his class at math, and is the second fastest runner in his class. He has lots of great friends from school. He loves playing video games. He likes sports. He plays basketball, soccer, and baseball, but soccer is his favorite. If there was track and field at school, I would sign him up. At recess he chases kids and they chase him. That's funny because that is what I did at recess in 2nd grade. He's a skinny little guy, probably because he's always been a super picky eater. He's probably only around 45 pounds. His willpower is strong, so I learned a long time ago that trying to force him to eat something he doesn't want to will just end up in wasted food and everybody crying. Here's what he will eat at this point: McDonalds hamburgers and chicken nuggets and fries, pepperoni pizza (his favorite is Papa Johns and we always have a supply in the fridge), apples, nacho cheese Doritos, bacon, fruit roll ups, rolls (they have to be warm), frosting and some candy (suckers, tootsie rolls, some chocolate, laffy taffy, swedish fish) Ummmm....I honestly can't think of anything else right now. He goes through phases and stuff that he ate every day 2 months ago, he won't even touch now. He LOVES to scare me. He probably sneaks up behind me or stands around the corner and jumps out and says "Boo!" about 20 times a day. And every time he asks "Did I scare you?" If I say yes, he asks "Really bad?" Jarom used to love to scare us. When a friend calls him and I give him the phone, he says "Yo! What's up?" When his friend Kelton calls he says "Hey Kelt! What's up, dude?" He is very rigid at sticking to the rules. Especially if it is school rules, teacher rules, or laws. He makes sure everybody else sticks to the rules, too. He is definitely the oldest child and he won't let the other two get away with things that I will let them get away with. He is so much like Brad. He's got the most amazing freckles. He looks kind of like the Mad comics kid, only not as goofy. He's lost 4 teeth so far and 2 are very wiggly. He was soooo excited when he got on level 10 in math. He is speedy at math and always asks me math questions. He is learning his times tables by asking me all the time "Mom, what's 6 by 6? What's 100 by 200? What's 7 by 8?" If he thinks he heard something from someone who knows, he will not back down, which is why he says "by" instead of "times" or "multiplied by". He wants to be a game tester when he grows up. He is really good at video games and is really rockin' the guitar in rock band. He's been doing the expert level--the highest one. He doesn't get great scores doing expert, but he's still crazy good. He has to always be on time or early. If Connor's not ready for school yet, Josh urges me to just take him to school and take Connor later. He loves money and toys. I think he may be so good at math because he is so interested in money. That's just the way he thinks. He gives awesome hugs and gets clingy with some people like Cami and Amy. He's a funny kid and he is definitely getting easier as he gets older. Happy Birthday Joshy! Love you, kiddo!

Haunted house

2011-11-24T02:58:00.000-08:00

I was chatting with a friend--my old roommate's hubby--about this haunted house I lived in in Provo. I wrote a bunch of stories and sent them to him and decided to put a copy on my blog.

Go to sleep Cara! :)
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

I'll get fired, Tony!
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

Hmm, OK, you can stay awake then
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

Thanks

I went and saw that haunted house in Provo today.
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

Oh yeah? Anything creepy happen?
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

You know, the one that Liz lived in for like, 2 days, and had little kittens running around?
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

The one with all the pig statues/figures? Yep
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

It's vacant. It's been winterized, and there is no trespassing by unauthorized persons
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

Let's break in and stay there with the lights out!
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

Totally forgot about the pig statues!!

Funny!
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

There was something weird about that place, I told Liz that when I visited
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

When Brad came to visit, he would stay there alone at night

while I was at work, and he was so totally freaked out

he said he would never step foot in that house again

and he doesn't believe in ghosts or anything
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

Scottish people have an affinity for ghosts I think

Did he say what happened?
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

I think you're right!
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

Maybe the pig figurine roomie came onto him? LOL
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

He just felt something that made him so scared. He slept up on the couch in the loft and kept the biggest knife in the house next to him
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

There's a dark male presence there, I wish I had more time to examine that
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

You are so right! This is fascinating to me!
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

I love this stuff. Liz tells me not to dabble in it, but I think it's fascinating
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

Did you feel it by the stairs that came up from the garage the most?
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

Yes!

That's the first place I felt it
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

Brad too!

Goll, I always thought maybe somebody got pushed down those stairs or something

not a guy, but the guy did the pushing
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

The two places I felt it most were the stairs, a little in the downstairs garage, and in the loft/balcony area (?)
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

Yes!

It wasn't in the master bedroom

not really in the front room

It was in Liz's room
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

Liz and I went to a frind's house in Draper that they said was haunted and we got some EVPs on a voice recorder. It was a voice saying that they had died of old age.
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

and a little in the upstairs bedroom and in the bathroom

Crazy. That would creep me out.
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

The front room was OK, Liz's was a little creppy but I thought maybe it was just because it was small and we were afraid of peeping toms
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

She said she always got the feeling someone was watching her in that room. Could have been either! I guess they arrested a guy in the ward for peeping around the neighborhood
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

What a rush. I wish I had the equipment and the free time, I'd love to do ghost hunting
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

We'd definitely find something in that house

5 years ago when we were looking for houses, that house was on the market

It had been for a long time. I wonder if people would look at it and feel whatever is there and not buy it.
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

I wonder if we could convince the owner to let us go ghost hunting in it one night. I bet with how empty it is (unless it's furnished) you'd find a lot of noises and activity
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

I wonder if it's been vacant this whole time.

All the houses around it were full.
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

Man, who knows
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

The original blinds were on the windows-the dark brown ones.
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

That place needs to be exorcised and renovated
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

The blinds were pulled most the way up and I could see up to the skylight in the loft
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

Why did you go back?
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

couldn't tell if there was furniture, but got the feeling there wasn't

We were waiting for Franklin Covey to open at the mall and were going to go to Albertsons that used to be down there to buy cupcakes. Albertsons was gone and you can only turn right to get out og that shopping center, so we went past the street and I asked the kids if they wanted to see the old house that I used to live in

Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

Awesome

Well if you ever decide you want to go back in let me know, I'm in!
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

I told them about it and they were fascinated

we should totally do it!
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

I'm game
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

Brad wouldn't go. Would Liz?
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

We can bring Liz and Brad, we need Scooby and Shaggy on our hunt
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

Maybe Brad would go, but he said he'll never stp foot in tat house again.
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

Hmm, I'd have to ask. She'd say no at first, but I think curiosity would get the best of her
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

that would be fun! and creepy!

have I ever told you my host stries from that house?

ghost stories

I'll email you. gotta go do a check
Tony Knight
3 hours ago
Tony Knight

OK, I'd better get to sleep but yes, tell me. And I'm serious - let's make this happen

Take care Cara! Give Brad a kiss for me
Cara Adair Bradley
3 hours ago
Cara Adair Bradley

Oh,my gosh. Brad will love a kiss from you.

Hahaha!

Goodnight, tell Liz hi, and let's do it! Do you have access to the stuff? Cause I have no idea where to get it. K, I'll write my stories for you--it'll keep me awake :)
Cara Adair Bradley
49 minutes ago
Cara Adair Bradley

K. I think my first real story from that house was when my roommate, Melissa, and I bought some wicker furniture from DI to put in the loft. We were making a "make out room". Scandalous, I know. We got some of that sparkly blue star and moon material and hung it from the ceiling to the floor on the fireplace side of the loft. Then we put that egg carton cushy stuff down on the floor and covered it with a navy flannel sheet and bought like 30 pillows and put them in the corner on the floor. We had a multiple metal black candle holder that we put on the brick fireplace and strung up some red lip lights that my sister bought. Then we put the furniture in there to kind of block the view from the banister. A wicker table and two wicker chairs on either side of the table. I ended up sleeping in there most nights and put my tv and vcr in there. I don't know why I just told you all about that, but it does have something to do with another one of my ghost stories. It was nice and cozy. Anyway.....we bought that furniture and brought it home in Melissa's truck. She parked the truck in the garage and we had something we had to do, so we just left the furniture in the truck. You know I'm a night person, so I was home later that night around 2 or 3 a.m. Melissa was sleeping and I was bored, so I decided to start making the make out room. I went down the garage stairs to get the furniture. I grabbed a chair and started heading up the stairs. You know how there were 2 corners in that stairwell. Well, I got to the second corner and I heard the stairs below me creaking. I figured someone was out and about and saw me because the garage door was open and was coming to say hi or hang out or something. So I threw the chair in the house and went back down the stairs to see who it was and there was nobody there. I figured whoever it was thought I had just gone in the house and turned around and left. So I got another chair and started up the stairs again, and heard someones creaky footsteps behind me on the stairs again. I figured they had turned around, started back home, then saw me come down again, so they came back and were coming back up the steps. It wasn't the normal creaking that came from me going up the steps. There was definitely somebody there--there was no doubt in my mind. So I threw the chair in the house and went down to see who it was and again there was nobody there. Then I got scared. That scary feeling just hit me. I knew it was a guy, not a girl, and I knew somebody was there. I wanted to just run into the house, but I thought that was stupid because I was already down there and I might as well grab the table, so I forced myself to be brave and grabbed the table as fast as I could and ran up the stairs and totally felt someone running up the stairs behind me. Someone not nice this time. I ran in and shut the door. I was really scared. When I got the stuff up in the loft and started working on the room, I felt better, but I was seriously freaked out!

The second thing was one night when I wasn't working I came home from WalMart around 1 a.m. and was hungry, so I went and got my leftovers out of the fridge and was heating them up in the microwave, so I was facing away from the hallway with the bedrooms. I heard one of the bedroom doors open and creaking in the hallway, so I turned around and was ready to apologize to whichever roommate I had woken up, and nobody was there. Again, there was no doubt in my mind that someone was there. I heard and felt it, but nobody was there. I heard the door open, but heard no door shut, so I went around the corner to see who was up, but both the doors were shut.
Cara Adair Bradley
34 minutes ago
Cara Adair Bradley

The third thing was one night my friend and I were in the make out room (A girl--we were just in there watching a movie.) My friend had fallen asleep and my roommate, Melissa, had gone to bed. I knew Melissa had to get up and leave early in the morning. Jen, another roommate, got home and came in and ran up the stairs and called for Melissa. I told her Melissa was asleep and Jen asked if she had to leave early in the morning and I told her yes. So Jen went back out to move her car from behind Melissa's truck so she wouldn't have to wake up and do it early in the morning when Melissa wanted to leave. I was in the make out room with that material hanging from the ceiling. Whenever someone walked by, the material would kind of move with the breeze that people made while walking past, and you could kind of see a shadow behind the material. Well, it did that breeze thing and I saw a shadow, so I figured Melissa had heard Jen call her name and came out of her room to see what was up. I called "Melissa?" to her, but she didn't respond, so I got up to tell her why Jen was calling her, and nobody was there.

One other thing that happened.....this sounds stupid, but the light in the upstairs bathroom by the loft would flicker on and off. And I swear to you that when I was on the toilet, that light would flicker and go off. When I was in the shower that light would flicker on. There was another light in the bathroom by the mirror that was fine.
Cara Adair Bradley
8 minutes ago
Cara Adair Bradley

So Brad doesn't believe in the after life or ghosts or anything, but when he came to visit, I would go to work at night and all my roommates were gone, so he would be alone in the house. A few days after he got there, some neighbors were over and we were talking about the haunted house situation. His ears perked up and he asked what and I said "Oh, yeah. This house is haunted." I didn't think it was that big of a deal, but he was mad at me! He told me that he felt something there and he actually slept with the biggest knife he could find in the house (which was pretty big because Sarah was a chef and had an impressive set of knives) next to him. He asked me why I didn't tell him it was haunted. I never knew how scared he really was until years later. He says he will never step foot in that house again. I thought he was okay because he told me that he and the ghost came to an understanding. He told the ghost that he could watch tv with him as long as he didn't hurt him.

Liz said she always felt like she was being watched in her room. She said she always thought it was a peeping tom, but the ghost thing actually made sense. But who knows, since they arrested that peeping tom in the neighborhood. It could have been either or. Or both.

Okay, now that I wrote all this, I am going to copy it to my blog. Let me know when you want to go back there! I am going to try to find out more about the house now with a little online research :) I'll let you know if I find anything out.

Write a reply...

"I'm not your sister anymore!"

2011-11-17T00:23:00.000-08:00

For quite a while Kaytlynn was calling her friends and others her sisters. When she would get mad at them, she would say "I'm not your sister anymore, HMF!" She also did this to me when I would not give her something she wanted. She got different replies from different people. Lola would come back with "Well, you're not my sister either, HMF!" Olivia would be sad and say "I can't be your sister anymore?" I would just kind of laugh. I haven't heard her say this for awhile, so I thought it was pretty much over. Well, she had some candy corn that I bought for her and she wasn't sharing the pumpkin one that I wanted, even though she had bunches of them. I thought it would be funny to say "Well, I'm not your sister anymore, HMF!" She asked what and I said "I'm not your sister anymore." Her little face crumpled up and I thought she was just faking it, but lo and behold, big tears came and she hid her face behind her hands. She was so sad and really, really crying. I could not get her to stop for 5 minutes. I finally just left her alone after she ran in her room and slammed the door and a minute later she came out with a candy corn pumpkin and said "Is this the one you want?" "Yes, thank you." I said.

Brad's new job at Clearlink

2011-11-11T04:05:00.000-08:00

Brad switched jobs a few weeks ago. Now he works at Clearlink instead of SEO.com. He is a SEO technician (I think that's what he's called now). He was a SEO Senior at SEO.com. For those of you that don't know what SEO is (I know I didn't), basically they do all they can to get company websites on the first page of Google and other search engines. It stands for Search Engine Optimization. There is an amazingly huge amount to learn and do for this job. I actually got a contract job there once and went in for a few hours to learn just a small amount of what they do and my brain was pretty fried. Brad worked at SEO.com for about 2 1/2 years. He went in knowing nothing and became a Senior there where he had a team that he gave tasks to, and made sure they got them all done and done right. He ended up learning how to build websites and made his own website called MMAshortsandgloves.com. He loves that MMA stuff (Mixed Martial Arts) I don't care for it, but lots of people are really into it. He had links on his website to places that sold MMA stuff, and was making some money off of that. He spent a lot of time optimizing that and it was on the first page of google for a few different search terms. He ended up selling that website, and now has a company that sponsors different MMA fighters called Gladiator Fight Wear. He's made their walkout shirts and tshirts, hoodies, beanies, and hats. His website is gladiatorfightwear.com If you go to MMA gear, you can see some stuff that he's had designed and made and is selling now. They've been vendors at some different fights which has taken them to Las Vegas a few times. I have dreams of Gladiator Fight Wear being the next Tapout. Look around next time you're out and I'll bet you see a bunch of Tapout shirts, stickers, and hats. But it's a lot of work, time, and energy for Brad. And money.
So Brad felt like he wasn't going to really go anywhere with SEO.com, so he started looking around for other places. He had a couple interviews with Clearlink before our cruise, and then got the job offer while we were in Florida on vacation. The one big downfall to this job is that it is out by the SLC airport--further than his SEO.com job in Bluffdale. It takes 1 or 2 hours to get there and to get back, depending on traffic, weather, and construction (Stupid never ending construction in Utah!) The commute really stresses him out. There are a whole bunch of good things, though. This company seems to have more money than they know what to do with. What they do is kind of confusing, but basically Brad is doing the SEO work for the local Verizon Wireless part of Clearlink. He optimizes the site and gets traffic to it. He's excited to have been assigned Verizon Wireless and he can basically do what he wants and what he thinks needs to be done.
Perks of the job: There are 2 company trips each year. One to Las Vegas and one to Mexico. All expense paid for the entire company and they look like fun! Somebody just got back from a trip that he won. The guy who won it got to choose his dream vacation--anywhere in the world that he wanted to go for a week. So he and his wife went to the Galapagos Islands for a week. Nice! I think we'd have to go to New Zealand. After Brad has worked there for a year, they pay 100% of our insurance premiums. Every day for the entire ski season (Which started 2 days ago!!) they will pick one person and give them a paid day off and 5 lift passes to any resort they want to go to and can take whoever they want--up to 5 people for free. This one got me really excited!! They bring in good food for lunch a lot like Cafe Rio (this one got Brad really excited!) and they take people out to lunch all the time. They have 2 company cars. One is a Cadillac Escalade that is way nice, which they took Brad out to lunch to Squatters in last week. I guess it has steps that automatically unfold when you open the door and automatically fold back up. The other car is a Porsche and that is for the employee of the month to drive. They seem very laid back. Like as long as Brad gets all his work done, they don't care if he does 40 hours a week, and he can go into the office any time during the day. Too bad my work schedule leaves him less flexible or he could go at random, odd hours and miss rush hour traffic. They do lots of different fun things at work. They are doing Movember and handing out prizes at the end of the month. Good ones. They just had a trip where they took a private jet to Vegas and stayed at some nice new hotel on the strip. They also just had an Ipad bingo game. And Cafe Rio and Happy Hour. Yes, Happy Hour. Anyway....I kind of wish I could work there for all the perks!

I am very proud of Brad and how he's done professionally. He was in college in Scotland for one year for computers and then in the Royal Navy for 4 years, so there was not much he could do in Utah with that. When we first moved here, he did the pre-concrete work, which my friend Dave calls the "job appreciation job" It makes you appreciate any other job you've ever had, no matter how bad. Then he was a used car salesman, and then worked at the call center for myfamily.com. Then Seo.com, and now ClearLink. He's probably making more than I could ever make getting a job with my Bachelors of Science degree that took me 6 years to get. That's how long we've lived here. Way to go, Brad!!

Halloween Dreams

2011-10-28T05:55:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to the dollar store and let them pick out some Halloween decorations for the house. They very carefully put up spiderwebs and hung a little skeleton out in the tree. I put up all the stuff they couldn't reach. They were so excited and thought the house was so scary. They were comparing our house to the other houses in the neighborhood and are pretty sure our house is the scariest. They wanted to call their friends to come see. Josh told me the next day that he had a dream that our house won for the scariest house. It's fun to get little insights into their brains and their thoughts. Funny what is on their minds.

My crazy (not in a good way) and lonely childhood

2011-09-05T05:52:00.000-07:00

Yikes. I was not a happy camper growing up. This post will probably not give you any joy, aside from knowing that you or somebody you knew was not the only one that had a rough time.

Josh is very cautious and timid and shy in a new situation. It used to take him at least 30 minutes in every situation to warm up and join in. Each and every pre-school class, birthday parties, play groups, family get-togethers. You name it, and it took him time. If something lasted less than 30 minutes then he would never get into it. He would stand aside and take everything in and eventually join in after he got a VERY good look at what was going on exactly. Taking him to kindergarten on his first day was ROUGH. I wanted to walk with him, but I knew I would never be able to get a screaming, wriggling, running, scratching 5 year old 5 blocks to his classroom. So I struggled to put him in the car. After having to force him into his car seat (He would arch his back and stick his stomach out making it impossible to buckle him in, and then after pushing his stomach in and getting it buckled, he would pull his arms out of the straps all while screaming and crying. We were late to everything. So once I got him into his seat we drove to the school and on the way he took his shoes off and threw them. So when we parked, I left him in his car seat to get his shoes on knowing that it would be absolutely impossible to get them on if he wasn't stuck in one place. Getting his shoes on was hard. He was kicking his feet around and grabbing his shoes as I tried to put them on. Getting him out of the car was harder. The kid has strength. He was hanging onto the car seats and wriggling his body around and screaming. I had to pull his hand off of my seat and he would grab it with his other hand. I'd have to get his grasp off and he'd grab with the other hand. Once I finally got him out of the van, I did not think that I would make it with Josh to the door of the school. He reminded me of the time we accidentally slammed the cats tail in the car door. That cat went crazy, using it's muscles to make it go up and down and around--totally stuck by it's tail and just crazy. This was Josh. I was the car door and his wrist was the tail. He was crazy, climbing up my leg with his little legs, jumping around, screaming. It was all I could do to keep ahold of his little wrist and drag/carry him to his class. I was seriously afraid his wrist would be bruised. We alternated from me carrying him when I could get him in my grasp, holding both his kicking legs in one arm and the top part of his body in my other arm, trying to avoid headbutts and flailing legs. Oh, and I didn't want to drop him on the cement either. That would be bad. So I'd have to put him down and grab onto his wrist as quick as I could. We eventually made it to the door and lucky for us and everybody else at school, his classroom was the first one in the door. I drug him in and held onto him while he kicked and screamed and asked his teacher what I should do. I tested the waters and loosened up my grasp on him and he bolted for the door. I'd run and grab him crying and screaming and go back to the teacher, who was trying to talk to him and say hi, but yeah right! That was not happening. I asked if she had runners before and she said yes, but usually at lunchtime or recess. She had one that made it to the street and she had to chase after him and grab him right before he ran into the street. I felt bad because while she's running after these kids, what are the other kids doing? Not learning in a quiet environment, that's for sure. So the brave woman took ahold of Josh and tried to talk to him and calm him down (yeah, right!) and I made a run for the door. I waited outside the door where Josh couldn't see me for 30 minutes so I could grab him if he tried to run out the door. He was crying the entire time. There were a few other ladies in the hallway talking and one said "Oh, he's having a hard time." Then another lady said "I bet his mom is having an even harder time." I said "I'm the mom." I never would have thought that kid would be my kid. After a half hour of him not getting out the door, I decided it would be safe for me to leave. I did leave my phone number with his teacher to call if I had to come get him and he was just too much to handle. When I came to pick him up 2 and a half hours later, he was all smiles. He loved it! I knew he would. It's always just getting him there. A sweet, sweet mother sat with him in the corner and tried to calm him down and told him to pretend that nobody else was there, then she walked him around the halls after I had left. She asked her son to be his special friend. Josh's favorite part was when they did the gingerbread man story. "Run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man." I guess they do this every year on the first day of kindergarten. They have the speech therapist dress up in a foam gingerbread man costume and he runs around and the kids chase him and try to catch him. Ingenious for getting the kids back to school the next day. We were so, so lucky that there were so many awesome boys in Josh's kindergarten class. He made some great friends. Every day after school (if it was nice weather) Josh would play outside the school with his friends chasing them around, while the moms talked.

Josh had soccer and t-ball before kindergarten ever started and it was exactly like going to the first day of kindergarten. Impossible. But without the threat of having the kids taken away from us or going to jail or whatever, I just let him quit those after some infuriating and frustrating tries to get him to play. So soccer was back on and it looked like we were going to have some bad problems getting him there again (He's the one who said he wanted to play.) We drove over to the practice and one of his best friends, Cade, was there. Cades dad was coaching the team. Josh jumped out and ran to the field and we had no problems. So Cade has been a great friend for Josh. Cade has older brothers and I thought he seemed pretty confident. When 1st grade was starting for Josh I was afraid we'd have a rerun of the first day of kindergarten, but Cade was in his class. Yay! The teacher told me at a parent teacher conference that it was actually Cade who had a really tough time and Josh totally helped him. Once she sat the two of them by eachother, Cade did so much better. Josh's teacher said he would actually say stuff in front of the class and make them laugh. She said he was a ham and kind of the class clown and he was funny.

I was really happy when we found out Cade and Josh would be in the same 2nd grade class. On the first day of school Josh wrote a paper of favorites. He said his best friend was Cade (and the person he most admired was me, by the way :) ) We went to soccer and I saw Cade and his dad while Josh was playing and went over and told Cades dad that Josh wrote that Cade was his best friend. Cade came over and I asked him if he knew that and he said "Yeah, Josh follows me all around at recess." Ouch. Cades dad immediately said "that's okay" to Cade. I thought they were mutual friends and I did not think that Josh was that annoying kid that follows another kid around. (I was that annoying kid many times growing up.) So I was thinking about how to handle this when I was out on the route the next day. Do I talk to Josh and tell him not to do that? Was Cade just being a kid, saying something that he's undoubtably heard from his older brothers? I decided that I would first talk to Josh's teacher and ask what her take was on it and maybe talk to Cades mom and then to Josh. I really don't want him to bug and annoy other kids. That isn't good for anyone. I want him to play with good friends that enjoy his company as much as he enjoys theirs. Right as I was thinking about this, Cades mom called and said that Cade has been bugging her all day to play with Josh. So Cade went over and played at our house for over 2 hours. Josh thought it was only 30 minutes and Cade said he did not want to go home. So I think they are okay.....I am not looking forward to the times when the kids come home crying because other kids are mean to them or don't want to play with them. I think it actually hurts parents more than the kids. That sort of thing must have caused my parents all sorts of emotional pain. I will write about that more on my next post.

"Somehow I turned my ear off."

2011-09-05T05:43:00.001-07:00

We were at Seven Peaks Water Park on the lazy river when Josh said "Somehow I turned my ear off." He didn't seem worried or anything. Maybe a little curious about how to turn it back on. I'm so horrible. I just laugh and sit in the joy of how they think and look at the world. Sometimes I will explain what is going on, but most the time I don't.

"You somehow turned your ear off, huh? How did you do that? Can you get it back on? Is it out of batteries?"

"Yeah. I don't know. I think so. No, I don't think ears have batteries."

I wish we could have a video camera going on all the time because they say and do the cutest things day and night!

Her finger is the size of a small performance tip.

2011-08-05T02:33:00.000-07:00

The kids are loving the BeyBlades right now. It is basically a glorified top. You can buy different tips for them and there's a stadium they can "battle" in. Some are better than others at battling. Autumn and her girls came over. Connor and I were just sitting there adoring the baby, listening to her talk and goo, and looking at her tiny fingers and toes. Connor looked at and touched her little fingers, turned and looked at me, and said "Her finger is the size of a small performance tip."

Rodeo

2011-07-24T05:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm torn. We went to the rodeo Thursday night. Connor did the mutton bustin'. I enjoyed most of it. I don't like how they rope calves and I never have. Yeah, I really don't like it. Those poor lil babies. But I found out what they do to make the broncos buck, which I never knew before, and it's mean! So yesterday while I was delivering the mail and had all day to think, I started feeling really guilty for going and supporting this and for letting my kids watch the animal cruelty. At the same time, I have always enjoyed going to the rodeo minus the roping. I was trying to figure out why and I think it's the atmosphere that I like. Just like the demolition derby or a baseball game. I was pondering why so many people like to go. The Fiesta Days rodeo goes for 4 days each year and every year it is sold out. There are rodeos all over the country and all over the world. People just like to go. I don't know if they all like it for the atmosphere. I think a lot of guys like it because of the man versus beast factor. There seems to be a lot of testosterone there. There is all the stuff in between the mean that is fun to watch. I don't think mutton bustin' is bad. Kids riding a sheep. I mean, it probably scares the sheep, but I think the kids get more beat up than the sheep does. Why do we like to watch the bucking bronco and the bucking bulls? My gosh, the chiropractors that must be needed for the riders.....I just don't know. Is it animal cruelty to have a fat man riding a horse? To have anybody ride a horse? I don't think they like giving us rides. I think about all the people that love the fights, too--boxing, MMA, wrestling. I don't like watching people beat the snot out of eachother, but it is sooo popular! Why? But at least it's two people who decide to do that to eachother. The animals don't have a choice. And then I think about a friend that says we are all raising a bunch of wussies. I think it is true. We leave no corner uncovered and have so much stuff to protect these kids. I'm surprised we don't make baby clothes out of bubble wrap. But then, what is wrong with protecting our kids? When I was a baby, my mom would put me on the floor of the car in the back. No 5 point safety, dual harness car seat. I rode in the front without a booster seat before the age of 11. I played with a hammer and nails trying to build a fort when I was 5. I wandered around the neighborhood before kindergarten all by myself looking for someone that could come out and play. And I survived relatively unscarred. Some kids aren't so lucky, but then a lot of overprotected kids get hurt and die, too. I just don't know. We can put our bodies through a lot and we survive. Should we test our limits, or is that just ruining our bodies for ego? Or should we make the most out of our lives--do as much as we can--or should we sit home and protect our bodies so we can live to be a ripe old age? Should we eat well or should we enjoy junk food? Anyway, back to the rodeo. I also think it is a part of my heritage. I have gone to the rodeo almost every year of my life. My grandparents owned a ranch and the men were very manly. It is a part of me. We used to go to Colorado to my grandparents ranch every Thanksgiving to brand the cows. Now that was horribly mean. Should we teach our boys to be manly, rough and tumble BOYS, or should we teach them to be sensitive and good husbands and dads that take part in their kids lives and cook and clean? Anyway, I know that if we don't go, the rodeos will still be sold out and they will still be mean to the animals, but I think I have decided that this year I'm just going to go and enjoy since we already have tickets and this will probably be the last year to save myself some guilt. Should I feel guilty? Augh, torn!

Kids Growing Up

2011-07-18T05:22:00.001-07:00

The other day I got done at the post office at 2:30 and went to pick up the kids. We went to the sno-cone place and got sno cones and sat at a table and talked. I had such a great time. I love the kids growing up. I love babies--I love their smells (some of them, at least.) and I love their sighs and yawns and cuddles and little baby bodies and just how they are, but I did have a really hard time enjoying all that stuff in between taking care of them. I can really enjoy babies now that I can give them back to their parents. I get to have a quick hold and cuddle, sniff them and enjoy their little baby sounds with none of the worry. It's great. I wish I could have enjoyed that with my kids more--but, let's face it--that would have only happened if we had a nanny. Now that my kids know how to feed themselves and not run into the road, and talk, and are potty trained, it is so much fun! Josh noticed that they had put new stuff at the sno cone place. There are new table and chairs and palm trees and fans with misters and he noticed it all. Then I got regular size sno cones. I used to have them take the tops off because my kids would dig in and spill it EVERYWHERE. Now they can pretty much eat it without spilling. They can take their own sno cones to the table without spilling or dropping them. Then they all made sure as a group effort that we all had seats. There was no fighting, just noticing that Connor had the most shade. The boys got red yellow and blue flavoring which made a pretty rainbow and Kaytlynn got pink, purple, and red. They dug tunnels in their sno cones with their spoon straws and talked about who had the best beyblades and why. It was so enjoyable for me, I just had to sit there eating my sno cone and smile.

Connor and Ellie

2011-06-16T00:55:00.000-07:00

Connor just loves Ellie. She is his best friend. I told this to Ellies mom when they had kindergarten graduation, so she left her phone number with their teacher to give to us later. Somehow the number got lost, so I text his teacher who went to great lengths to get me the number. Thank you Mrs. Moosman! So Connor called:

Then Ellie called him back:

Ellie came over to play the next day and Connor just dotes on her and is so protective of her! I don't know how he learned this. I asked if he wanted to put on his T-ball clothes so that he could be all ready for T-ball and he said "No, I want to look nice for Ellie." Then he chose his own clothes. Kaytlynn really liked Ellie, too, and both Connor and Kaytlynn were taking food and drinks to her, asking if she wanted anything. Then Connor had to get ready for T-ball and I guess Brad said that maybe Ellie would like him in his T-ball gear, so he came out, stopped right in front of her, and said "Hi Ellie" all proud. She looked at him like he was a little strange, but then I think she realized he was trying to impress her and she smiled a little smile. We all got in the van and Connor just had to sit right next to her. We couldn't find the van keys, so we switched to the car and Connor unbuckled Ellies seat belt for her and opened the car door. She kind of played with her seatbelt and Connor was all worried that if we got in a wreck that she would get hurt. I dropped Connor off at T-ball and before he would shut the door, he had to be reassured that nothing of Ellies was sticking out that could get shut in the door. She went to close the door and he was like, "No, no, no. I want to shut the door for you." and after making sure one more time nothing was sticking out, he shut the door. This boy is enamored at 5 years old! It could either be really endearing or really annoying how he's treating her. It would be so darn cute if they got married and we had all this on video!

Kids conversations

2011-06-16T00:39:00.000-07:00

In the car after Chuck E. Cheeses:

Me: They tore the 7-11 down where we used to get Slurpees.
Kaytlynn: I love Slurpees. I like the red ones. The red ones are dog juice.
Me: Dog juice?
Kaytlynn: Yep, dog juice. It's good.
Josh: How long until we get home?
Me: 20 minutes.
Josh: Okay, if anyone is still awake when we get there, can you please wake me up?
Me: I'm pretty sure I'll be awake, because I'm driving.
Connor: That root beer will probably keep Josh up.
Me: No, it shouldn't keep him up because it doesn't have any caffeine.
Josh: Connor is right. I'm still awake. (He was out 20 seconds later.)
Connor: If I'm still asleep when we get home can somebody just tap me and wake me up?

Kaytlynn was the only one sleeping by the time we got home.

There was a spider on the patio steps and I had no shoes on, so I asked Josh to get it. He wouldn't, so I asked the kids friend to get it, but he didn't have any shoes on, so out came Kaytlynn to the rescue. She brought a knife out and squished it. It had a juicy body that popped, so Kaytlynn said: "Oh, that was a grape spider." She's done her share of grape popping.

Josh always says "If you don't get me some pizza right now, I'm gonna spank you." "If you don't play video games with me right now, I'm gonna spank you." Makes me laugh.

Camping

2011-05-30T02:00:00.000-07:00

I love camping. We went camping these last two weekends. The last time I went before that was before Brad and I were married, so it's been 8 years! I used to have all my camping gear in my trunk and almost every night that I had off of work, I would head up to "my" spot up Squaw Peak road in Provo Canyon. Lots of times I'd get up there at 2 or 3 in the morning, make a fire, have some marshmallows, and go to sleep in my sleeping bag under the stars, then wake up with the sun, the birds chirping and the sound of the weeds and trees in the wind. I think my favorite childhood memories are of camping for a week every summer at Lake Shasta with my moms side of the family. I loved being with my family and boating out on the lake. It was just so fun. I think that's why I want a boat so bad, too. Just good memories.
Camping is a bit different when you are the parent. Still a lot of fun, just different. We went to Mona last weekend with Katie and Micah and their 2 nieces and 2 nephews. It was a blast. Katie brought glo sticks for the kids at night and the lifesavers that spark when you crunch them in the dark. They brought a bag of treats for each of the kids. The front of their truck was the designated crying and whining spot. If you wanted to cry or whine, you did it in there, then you could come out. Brilliant idea. They brought their catamaran. I took each of the kids out one at a time. I took Josh first. He steered while I paddled. He LOVED it. He said "This is so fun, this is just so much fun" about 10 times and he said "I want to do this every day." Connor and I had fun paddling out by the ducks and guessing where they would resurface after they dove into the water. Kaytlynn didn't like it at first, but ended up loving it after successfully maneuvering the boat under the bridge. We had fabulous pulled pork sandwiches made by Micah. The kids had a little trouble getting to sleep. There were cows mooing that sounded like they were dying all night. Josh said he couldn't get to sleep because the fire was too loud, so could I please just go and put it out?
We played soccer and baseball. Brad and I also went out on the boat. It was so nice. I laid down and steered and looked at the snow covered mountains and the clouds while Brad paddled. :) We took a couple of rides in the back of Micahs truck through muddy puddles of water and off the road. The kids absolutely loved that, too. They kept begging for another truck ride. They brought their two dogs, which the kids loved, of course. They found snakes, a mouse type thing, and a crawdad. Good times.
Thursday was Josh's last day of 1st grade, so we headed down to Moab to meet the Brusiks. Brad couldn't come because of work, so it was just me and the kids. We made it in 2 hours and 45 minutes. Not bad! We made it back in 2 hours and 38 minutes. Even better! All the campsites were full because it was Memorial Day weekend, so we were just an extra car at Greg and Malas RV site. We stayed at the Moab Valley RV Resort. They had a bunch of activities: A swimming pool and hot tub, mini golf, life size checkers, chess, and chinese checkers, horseshoes, a playground, and tetherball (yes!) Mala absolutely killed me in tetherball. Back in the 5th grade maybe things would have been different, but we'll never know. Caden and Lola are some of the kids favorite friends, so they had a lot of fun playing together. So me and the kids slept in the van (I wrote can there at first. The van is better than the can.) It was funny because the boys totally wrestled around laughing in the back. It made me smile. Kaytlynn was being a total B R A T. She refused to close the door. I left the van keys in Mala and Gregs camper because I just knew I would lock myself out of the van. I closed Kaytlynns door and locked it, so she unlocked it and opened the door and set off our alarm around 11 p.m. I ran to the RV and knocked on their locked door to get the keys and turn the alarm off. I swear that child is going to kill me off. Soon, too. How can such a cute little girl be so conniving? She can also be extremely sweet. We ended that trip with a bumpy car ride and short hike to a beautiful waterfall. My computer is all messed up, so I haven't got pictures on here yet, but I will try to add them later. Thanks Petersons and Brusiks for the camping fun!!

A Day in the Life of Me

2011-05-16T04:46:00.000-07:00

Here was my day on Saturday:

Midnight-7 Work

7-7:30 Pick up Bountiful Basket. We got a cantelope, 3 artichokes, lots of onions, lots of apples, lettuce, 3 mangos, blackberries, 5 pieces of corn, a pineapple, and lots more. We love Bountiful Baskets!

7:30-3:30 Worked at the post office. It was the food drive today. I hardly picked up anything compared to last year.

On the route:

I delivered this:

And picked up this:

3:30-4 Planted the garden:

4-5 Took a nap

5-5:30 Got ready

5:30-10:30 Went to the Real Salt Lake game with friends. So fun!

11-midnight Back to work.

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-16T04:27:00.000-07:00

Here are my Mother's Day presents:

A dozen red roses from Brad. They are a week old in this picture-oops!

From Josh. I don't know how to feel about this. Josh has turned into such a little joker. He's hardly ever serious.

Nice pointy teeth I have, and a lot of them!

My moms name is Cara. She is special because she lets me play games. I like it when my mom sbacing (spanking) me. My mom can do many things! I think she's best at doing lonjry. (laundry) My mom has a pretty smile! I like to make her smile by lafing. My mom is as pretty as a...flowr. My mom is smart! She even knows her abc. I'd like to tell my mom...to sbac (spank) me.

From Connor:

"Happy Mother's Day 2011"
My mom is the most wonderful mom in the world! Her name is Kau (Connors spelling). She's pretty as a table cloth. She is 25 years old. She has brown eyes and greyish brownish hair. She weighs 70 pounds and is 7 1/2 feet tall. Her favorite food is lasagna. In the good old days when she was little, she used to go to the park. I think mom is funny when she laughs. But I know she's really angry when I hit my sister. I wouldn't trade my mom for seven dollars. I love my mom because she gives me treats.

From Kaytlynn:

What a treasure!

Lucky

2011-04-24T04:59:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling very lucky again lately. I am so lucky to have such great family and friends, healthy kids, and just everything. My friend Sharon was visiting from Tahiti and she totally uplifted me. She's one of those natural therapists and natural mothers. She was giving my kids kisses and telling them she loved them and helping out random crying children who couldn't find their moms at Chuck E Cheeses (where she met us even though she didn't have her kids with her! Now that's a true friend!) She made me feel so good, telling me I was such a good mom and just talking with me about everything so deep. I felt so good for a couple days after wards, and then I felt good for awhile after she called me from the airport in Los Angeles to say bye and tell me what a good friend and mom I was again. I wish she still lived here. Everybody needs a friend like Sharon.

Josh!

2011-04-24T04:48:00.000-07:00

Josh and Brad went to Scotland for 9 days and when they got home on a Wednesday night and didn't get in bed until after 11 with 26 hours of travel behind them, I didn't know if Josh would be able to stay awake in school. He woke up at 4 a.m., but he said he was fine when school was starting, so I took him to class and left his teacher with my phone number to call in case he started falling asleep. It just warmed my heart and made me want to cry happy tears when we got to his class and his teacher saw him and was excited and said "Hi Josh!" Then all of the other kids in his class, boys and girls, said "Jossssh!!!" They all started talking at once "Where were you? We didn't know if you were coming back. Where did you go?" A boy said "He went on vacation" and the kids asked where and the boy said "He went on vacation to Scotland." Josh just stood there in one spot, with a blank face like he does. Not a bit of emotion on his face, but I know he was happy that he was greeted back with such enthusiasm. He is such a silly kid. I'm so glad all the kids in his class like him and missed him. His teacher said he's a total ham at the last parent teacher conference. She said he will say funny things in front of the class and make all the kids laugh. A good group of friends and classmates for your child is priceless.

My Mom

2011-04-24T03:38:00.000-07:00

Wow. First of all, she came to our house every evening while Brad and Josh were gone to take care of the kids so I could sleep and go to work. All except Friday and Saturday when Dad and mostly Julie watched (and spoiled!) Connor and Kaytlynn. 8 nights she came, would fix dinner, take the kids out on their scooters, or do projects or teach them to cook. Then she'd give them baths and put them to bed, and get up with them in the night, then help me with them in the morning when I got home, then she would go to work and come back that night to help me again. She picked up stuff at the grocery store and cleaned. Basically she was my replacement Brad, and we appreciate her so much! So Wednesday night I went to pick Brad and Josh up from the airport and as we were walking from the baggage claim to the escalator, I suddenly realized my engagement ring was not on my finger. I went to twist it so the diamond was in the right spot, which I do all the time out of habit. I gasped when I realized it was gone and stopped. I looked back and didn't see it on the floor, so I called mom to see if I had left it on the bathroom counter. I always take it off and put it on the counter when I take a shower. I usually put it right back on. She didn't answer and Brad and Josh were tired, and I didn't see it on the floor anywhere, so we went home. I was worried the whole way home. When we got back, I went straight to the bathroom and my ring was not there. I called the airport lost and found and it wasn't there, then I called again to see if they would just scan the area quickly and see if they could find it. They didn't find it. Brad got me my engagement ring in Greece on his way home from minesweeping in Iraq. It is one of a kind and we definitely wouldn't be able to just go get another one that is the same. I had to work at 3 a.m. and it was about 11 p.m. It had been a long day and I was tired, but I knew if I didn't go back to the airport I would always regret not going back to look for it. I thought I could find someone to work my 3-7 shift, go and look, then come back and sleep. Then my mom called and said that she could go look. I took her up on her offer because I was so tired. I went to bed and my mom called at 2:45 a.m., just after my alarm went off. She had just gotten back from the airport. She had talked to security and the cleaning people and found out the police were doing a practice using rubber bullets at the airport at 2 a.m. and they would be doing a big cleanup after that. She had everyone on the lookout for my ring and had other people at the baggage claim helping her look. I felt so bad that she lost so much sleep and I felt so indebted to her. I couldn't believe she would do that for me, because this is a woman who needs her sleep! It made me want to cry that she would do this for me. In the morning when Kaytlynn woke up, I thought I'd just ask, not thinking that anything would come of it. I asked Kaytlynn if she took a ring off the bathroom counter and she didn't say anything, just turned around and went straight to her room. Brad and I followed her as she walked straight to her little doll crib, opened up the cabinet underneath it, and took out a little ziplock bag that had a spare button in it earlier. She looked so proud of herself as she brought it to me, with my ring in it. What a relief!! I felt so bad my mom spent so much time and energy looking for my ring that was at home the entire time. But overall I felt good and happy because I knew my mom would be so happy that I had it. My mom and I did not get along too well when I was growing up. We both hope we will never have to live together again. We have different religious, political, and parenting views, but I love her and I know she loves me, too. Thank you, mom!! This means so much to me!

Now a similar story:
When Josh was just little-1 year old-he would throw things in the garbage all the time and put stuff "away". It was smart to always check the garbage before we took it out to the dumpster because we usually found something in there that didn't belong. One time I was feeding Connor and Josh came to me with a ziplock bag with my engagement ring in it, and he wanted me to close the bag, so I did. When I was done feeding Connor, I went to find Josh so I could get my ring back, and he didn't have the bag. For the next 3 days, I was looking everywhere--in the garbage, in shoes, in drawers--anywhere Josh could get to. I looked through the disgusting garbage and asked Brad not to take it out until I found my ring. I was dreading that I might have to go through the dumpster. Josh couldn't tell me where it was. I finally had an idea, so I put a toe ring in a ziplock bag and sat on my bed (where I was feeding Connor) I called to Josh and he came in sucking on his little pacifier (He was so addicted to pacifiers!) I gave him the bag and was sure to stay where I was so I wouldn't spook him. He walked out to the kitchen and I snuck to the hallway to see where he went. He went and opened up the drawer where we kept the ziplock bags and stuck the bag in the box. So I went out and got the box, and stuffed at the bottom under all the other bags was the bag with my ring. Relief!

One more ring story:
We went to a swimming pool for my work party. I didn't want my ring to fall off in the water, so I put it at the bottom of our pool bag under all the towels. When we were done playing, Brad got the towels out and shook them out, then put them on the kids. We left and I asked Brad if he saw my ring in the pool bag. He looked and didn't see it. We looked everywhere it could be and didn't find it, so I went back to the pool to look while they were having a private party. I looked in the grass around the area we were in for 15 or 20 minutes and couldn't find it. That night I went back with a flashlight to find it. I was going to jump the fence and look if nobody was there to let me in, but then I saw a no trespassing sign and that it was under camera surveillance, so I went home. In the morning I went back to look before the park was open and spent a long time looking with no luck. It was such a big area that the ring could have been flung into and the grass was wet, so it was shiny and sparkly everywhere. I wanted to cry. I thought I'd have to rent a metal detector and go back. I saw something shine in the grass, so I went to look and it was just a hair elastic with that little metal piece on it. I was really ready to go and I was late to something and I thought that I could go check out shiny wet grass all day long, so I tried to talk myself out of looking for a split second, but then I decided I'd just look at that one place, and it was my ring! I couldn't believe it. This is why I do not like having real, expensive jewelry, and if I do, I don't wear it, because I am so afraid of losing it. For good reason! I should probably go get a fake ring to wear around and put mine in the the safe or something. Seriously.

Is it a Big Deal or a Big Squeal?

2011-04-13T04:57:00.000-07:00

Connors teacher says this, apparently. Connor says it almost any time Josh comes to tell on Kaytlynn for doing something. "Is it a big deal, or is it a big squeal?" Most of the time he comes to the conclusion that it is a big squeal and he really takes the time to think about it and not come to me with big squeals. Monday Connor and I went snowboarding. When we went to pick up Kaytlynn at my stepmoms house, she had been spoiled as usual, and Connor said he wanted a toy, too. He kept whining over and over "I want a toy." Then he stopped and said "I am going to say this one more time. Then if I am going to say it again, I will do this." He clapped his hand over his mouth. I thought that deserved a toy! He did not say it again, and he fell asleep on the way home, so I didn't stop at the store. He woke up when we got home, and looked at me with dissapointed eyes, clapped his hand over his mouth, and looked at me with puppy dog eyes. My mom graciously took him to the dollar store for a toy so I could go to bed. Kaytlynn said that while she was at grandma and grandpas, they all had a tea party. What good grandparents. Imagining the 3 of them having a tea party together on my dads break between jobs makes me smile :)

I Gave up Today

2011-03-30T18:10:00.000-07:00

Today was supposed to be a great fun day. The plans were for me to get home from work at 7:15, read Josh and Connors school books and help them with their homework, get Josh ready for school and take him to school, come home and try to catch a quick nap, then take a shower, get Kaytlynn and Connor ready and go to the Mom and Me fiedtrip at Jumpin' Jacks for Kaytlynns pre-school. I had plans to really go jump and play with her and Connor, not just sit and watch them like I usually do because I'm just too tired. That's why I wanted to catch a quick nap, so I wouldn't be too tired. I also wanted to get a shower so I wouldn't be stinky and possibly embarrass my kids. I was supposed to take a shower last night before work, but apparently my body wasn't happy with 6 hours of sleep and wanted to take that extra 35 minutes. I can't blame it because Sunday I got 4 hours of sleep in the morning after working all night, then went to my moms for dinner and to celebrate her and Brads birthdays, then came home and only managed to get an hour more of sleep before I went and worked all night from 11 to 7, then went straight to the post office and worked until 4:45. Then I went and picked up the kids, got them some dinner, ran to the grocery store, and went home and got 4 hours of sleep, once again my body deciding I needed a little more sleep rather then a shower. So then I went to work at 11 to 7 and got a call in the morning that the post office needed me to come in. I called around to see who could take the kids, went home, got the kids all ready, took Josh to school, took the kids to Wendys, went to do the auxillary route. I was starving, but just wanted to get it done. I got that done around 1:45, then went to pick up Kaytlynn. I had a nice chat with Wendy until 2:40--our chats always make me laugh. Then I went to pick up the boys from school at 2:45. Went and grabbed some McDonalds, went to the grocery store, went home and found the boys shin guards, found out I was supposed to call everyone on Connors team to remind them of the game, so I made whirlwind calls to 10 people. Then my wonderful step sister called so we could figure out my dad and Julies birthday party coming up. Brad went and picked up treats for soccer while I did that. Then we were trying to get both boys ready for soccer and Kaytlynn ready to go. They both played at 6:15 on different fields. Thank goodness they aren't playing at different parks this year, that was rough. Kaytlynn was being a little punk. She is such a hot blooded girl and is always hot. She will go into a frenzy because when she's hot, it also smells bad to her. I think breathing in the warmer, fuller air makes her think it stinks. She also decided she was hungry and the only thing she would take is mac and cheese. So I started making her mac and cheese 25 minutes before the game started. I thought I could quickly make it and take it with us, but Brad took the pot off the stove (and left the stove on!), so that didn't work. We finally got all the kids into the car and Kaytlynn started having a fit because she was starving but she would only eat mac and cheese. So I dropped Brad, Josh, and Connor off at 6:13. Brad ran Josh to his game, then ran with Connor to his game (which Brad is co-coaching) I took the starving, whining girl to Wendys. She did not want anything there, so I just got some chicken nuggets and some fries hoping she would stop being so stubborn and picky and be so starving that she would try something. When we dropped the boys off earlier, the entire parking lot was packed. There was not one spot left and the parking lot is pretty big. When we got back from Wendys, there were some spaces pretty close, so that was a positive. Also, the Wendys line was not that long, so another positive. So we got a spot, then sat in the car and luckily Kaytlynn tried the chicken and thought it was so good. Yay! Then it was a struggle trying to get her shoes on. She always puts her shoes on, whines "It feels funny." and then screeches and tries to kick them off in a rage. The shoe ordeal with her always takes a good 5 minutes with lots of whining, screaming, and crying. She usually ends up wearing no socks (which is why her shoes and then her feet stink!) and has the shoes on the wrong feet, but whatever. That is fine with me. So we got the shoes on and went to watch Josh's team play, since Brad was over helping coach Connors team. It was cold, so Kaytlynn huddled under the blanket. There was a cute little girl that came over and was staring at Kaytlynn. Kaytlynn put a scowl on her face and said "Why is that little girl staring at me? She just keeps staring at me!" scowling the whole time. I smiled at the girl, and she smiled back this cute, cute smile. I looked back at Kaytlynn who was still scowling at her. I told Kaytlynn to say "Hi, I'm Kaytlynn, what's your name?" or ask "How old are you?" or say "I like your jacket." But no, she just kept scowling. Poor little girl. Josh's game ended around 7:30. One of the apple juice boxes had leaked all over the other juices and snacks in the plastic bag, so I was dealing with that mess while Brad took Connor to the bathroom because he had to go so bad. I had to pick up Joshs soccer schedule, then figure out how to get all the garbage, treats, soccer balls, and cones, jackets, and kids to the car. I ended up putting all the soggy stuff in the grocery bag and taking all the soggy but still good stuff and folding it up in the blanket and hoisting the soccer and cone bag over one shoulder. Kaytlynn whined that she was cold and she wanted me to carry her, but that wasn't happening. So we made our way slowly to the car, freezing and whining. The boys slid down the slide a couple times and we made it to the car. Oh, yeah. I started feeling bad before the game--headache, sore throat, fever. Ug. So I went to spend time in the cold weather, blah! I just wanted to sleep. So we made it home and I slept for 6 1/2 hours. Did not get up in time for a shower, so still stinky from working at the post office. Got up and went to work at 3a.m. until 7, went home and started the daily struggle of trying to convince kids to do everything--homework, eat, get ready, brush teeth, go to the bathroom (None of my kids use the bathroom at school. They just hold it, yikes!) One of them usually ends up having to poo right as we are rushing out the door because we are going to be late. Bring on the lateness....you can't exactly not let them do that. So we are back to the plans I had for the day. Come home from work, do homework and reading, eat, get all ready, take Josh to school, take a short nap, take a shower, go refreshed to play with my kids at Jumpin' Jacks, take Connor to school, go back and have some mother/daughter time at Jumpin' Jacks, and pick the boys up at 2 (early out day) Then I was going to try to catch another little nap, get the kids fed, homework and reading done, go to a work meeting for an hour, eat dinner, then go to a Flash game at 7. We got the Utah County Pass of All Passes which gives us unlimited mini golf, laser tag, slick track racing, batting cages, Seven Peaks water park passes, roller coaster and other games, and tickets to every home game of Flash basketball and the Orem Owlz baseball. We have not gotten around to going to a Flash game and tonight was the last one. Since we weren't able to go to the Jazz game for Brads birthday, I thought we could all go to the Flash game and have a good time. I even got someone to cover my 11 to 3 shift. So here's how the day actually went. I got home at 7:15 and was talking to the kids. I looked out the window and saw the guy who carpools with Brad and realized I hadn't heard him up. So I went in and woke him up and he was mad at me for not waking him up earlier or setting the alarm for him. He got up and out the door. Then the kids ate and we were going to do homework and reading and get all ready for school, when all the whining and crying and fighting started. They all wanted me to do stuff for them, but I was trying to make Josh's lunch. The only lunch bag we had was a Dora lunch bag and Josh did not want that, so I was trying to turn it inside out and it was ripping. I didn't have any clean good knifes to cut up his apples, so I used a butter knife and Josh did not like the way they looked. We had to go through a pile of laundry to find clean socks. I think Josh's new soccer cleats kind of rubbed the back of his heel and it was a little red and hurt a little. No blisters or anything. I told him he needed to wear his other shoes, not his high top ones that were hurting him. He refused, because he likes those shoes and he said he will not wear his other shoes to school. Whenever he tried to stand up and walk, though, he was crying. I tried to bargain with him, and look at the problem intellectually, and have him come up with a solution to the problem. He was being so stubborn, and then he said, well, now I'm so late already, I'm not going to school. The whole time, Kaytlynn and Connor were whining and crying for stuff and fighting with eachother. I got very overwhelmed. My kids are so stubborn. I also remember going to school every morning with a red splotchy face because I had been crying because my mom wouldn't let me leave the house until I ate my oatmeal. I have Crohns disease and if I eat early in the morning, especially something scratchy like oatmeal, my stomach will hurt the rest of the day. Other bad things happen, too, but that's too gross to write, so we will leave it at it hurts. I don't want to have a struggle with my kids every single day they have to go school. I want everyone to be happy and with non splotchy crying faces when they go somewhere. So we were 20 minutes late by now, so I called the school and said that he was late. They said they'd just excuse him for the day and if he came he could go to the office and check in. Then Kaytlynn started whining and being a brat. First she didn't want to go to Jumpin Jacks with the kids in her class. Then she didn't want the teachers to be there, and then she didn't want me to go. Well, by this time I was already feeling pretty broken down, so why make it a stuggle to go and do something so fun? They were making me crazy and I put myself on a time out. I came in and layed in bed--depressed. The kids of course did not leave me alone. They kept coming in wanting stuff. We didn't go to Jumpin Jacks, I didn't even take Connor to school. I had them all home all day making messes everywhere. I lay in bed--got a little sleep and a little thinking done. Lots of whining, crying kids in and out all day. Josh missed school, Kaytlynn and I missed her jumpin jacks field trip, Connor missed school, I missed a meeting I had at 4, and we are currently missing the Flash game. Brad came home and was SO MAD at me because the house was a total mess and the kids didn't go to school.
I have ideas that I'm all excited about and when other people don't share my enthusiasm, it just crushes my idea and I don't have the desire or drive to make it happen. Just too tired. Well, tomorrow will be another day, so hopefully it goes more how I'd it like. Good night! for 2 hours til I have to go to work. Sorry for the rotten post!

Med Truck

2011-03-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

Here is an idea that I have wanted to make into a video for a long time now. If anybody has the desire to make my dream come true, please do!

Focus in on an elderly couple sitting at their dining room table. You can hear faint music. The old man turns up his hearing aid and his face lights up. It is an ice cream truck tune. They look at eachother and get up as fast as their old legs will let them. Next we see old people flocking out of their houses, very excited. They are walking just as fast as they can. Some with walkers, some with canes. They are all headed for the ice cream truck playing the music. But it turns out that it's not an ice cream truck. They wouldn't like that any way because of their sensitive teeth. They are after the Med Truck. They all want to be first in line to get the best meds before they sell out. One man with a walker throws a rope or bedsheet or something that catches the truck, and the man hangs on to the sheet and bounces along behind the truck, hanging on to his walker, which also bounces along. K. I can't finish the rest right now, but I thought it would be hilarious!

Dance Monkey, Dance!

2011-03-23T05:36:00.001-07:00

I dread working Wednesday and Thursday nights with Lana. She makes me tap dance on the table for her to keep her awake. She makes me bring microwave popcorn so she can eat it while she watches me dance. We work 2 nights a week together and Wednesday night she spends the whole night coming up with complicated dance routines and expects me to have them memorized perfectly for Thursday night. Sometimes Melvina stays and watches, too. Lana made me buy her a taser off the internet and if I try to take a break, she tases me and says "Dance monkey, dance!" Then she makes me do all the checks and she tases me to make me jump up and go when I'm too emotionally and physically exhausted to get up on my own. Melvina is thinking about getting a taser of her own off the internet, so she doesn't have to drive all the way to Lanas house to borrow hers every time we work together. Melvina wants tasing capabilities because she also does not want to do any checks. Help me! What should I do? Oh no, now Wendy is telling me that she might make me dance for her, too!

It's the President!

2011-03-11T12:00:00.000-08:00

Connor, Connor, Connor. The kid is so darn loveable. Since his birthday is in the summer, they are celebrating it today at school. He wanted to take cupcakes, circle graham crackers (Ritz crackers) and water. I helped him take it all into his class. The principal was outside his classroom and Connor says to me "Look! It's the president!" Then says "Hi Mr. President!" as he passed him to go into his class. Everywhere we go--and I'm not kidding--everywhere, kids and adults say hi to Connor. Kids of all ages know him and all seem excited to see him. The other day he got some bubbles with his "Moose Bucks". His teachers name is Mrs. Moosman and she hands out moose bucks when kids are good and they can buy stuff with them. As we walked out of the school, kids and adults were saying hi to Connor and he showed everybody his bubbles and said "Look! 10 moose bucks! Look! 10 moose bucks!" left and right. The computer teacher came out the door and Connor says "Hi computer teacher! Look! 10 moose bucks!" Connor was just born very loveable. He was a pretty baby. He very rarely cried. Only if he was absolutely starving. I would put him in the bassinette and he'd just look up at me and smile. I would go get stuff done, come back, and he'd be asleep. Not a peep out of him. In the morning I would wake up and go to see if he was still sleeping, and he would be laying in his bassinette smiling. He has the sweetest little face and his laugh is one that makes you crack up and want to keep doing whatever it is that is making him laugh. He reminds me of Feivel the mouse. This sweet little face and these big ears sticking out. :) Little girls love to take care of him. He holds girls hands all the time. When he played soccer last year, there was a kid on his team who seriously probably weighed twice as much as Connor. He was tall and big. We would run over to the field and his teammates would all say hi and this kid would pick Connor up and swing him around. Connor would laugh his laugh and smile. So funny. We went to a work party at the water park and one of my friends kids was named Connor and the same age. I told Connor and he asked where he was. I pointed him out and Connor went straight over to him like they were old friends, put his hands on his face and smiled and asked "You're 4?" The other Connor was a little scared, but it reminded me of my grandma. If there is another older woman around, my grandma is instant friends. She will go over and put her hand on her shoulder, smiling and nodding, and help her with anything and make her feel very welcome, no matter where we are. They have a common bond because of their age. I went to parent teacher conference and Mrs. Moosman started telling me who his friends were, then stopped and said "Well, he's just friends with everyone. He's very friendly." I dropped him off to school and I don't think he really thought about it and did it on purpose, but he opened the door for a girl and let her walk in. He's going to be such a heartbreaker. I went to help with a class party and another mom told me that she asked her daughter who was the cutest boy in the class and she said Connor and Micah. I went to the Dads and Donuts day (pals and donuts, really). I had to bring Kaytlynn with me and Connor went over and got 2 donuts. I gave mine to Kaytlynn and Connor ran back over and asked for another one for his mom. Then he went to get us all water. He walked back very carefully with 3 cups of water, then he took our napkins and threw them away. He told me this morning that he was the shortest one in his class. I asked if he was shorter than all the boys and he said "Yeah, I'm shorter than all the boys--and all the girls!" Sorry about the genes there, kiddo! One downfall is the kid does not know how to hurry. He is a professional lollygagger. It is almost impossible to get him anywhere on time. He has to run around making tracks in the snow instead of getting straight in the car. When I drop him off at school, he can't just walk down the stairs and go in the door, he has to run a few circles on the grass and then jump down from the top stair to the bottom stair, then look back at me to see if I saw him and see if I was impressed. One time he ran down the snow and slipped and fell, then jumped up, looked back at me and gave me a smile and a thumbs up. He also cannot find things that are right in front of him. He'll ask where something is and we'll spot it right there and he cannot find it. He'll look around the whole room and not see something right in front of him. I think that kind of comes along with a very laid back personality. Okay, Kaytlynn is claiming the computer now. She plays on pbskids.org and paint. She's growing up!

Augh!!!

2011-03-08T00:25:00.000-08:00

Kaytlynn was THE WORST child today. Just when I thought she had come up with every possible way to annoy us all, she would find something else to do even more annoying. Most people are in voluntary compliance 99% of the time, meaning that we are doing what we should and not wreaking havoc and following the public unspoken guidelines. Kaytlynn was probably at 50% today. We went to WalMart and she was grabbing anything she could get her hands on, pulling stuff off the shelf, trying to jump in and out of the shopping cart, crying and whining and wandering off, then running when I told her to come. She was in an all out run and I had to leave the cart with my purse and chase her down. She's a pretty fast kid. I caught her and picked her up and she was screaming and crying and hitting and kicking me. She decided she wanted a new shirt and that's all I heard over and over for the rest of our shopping trip (which was cut short because of her behavior) Crying and whining "I want a new shi-irt. I want a new shi-irt." She tried to press all the buttons on the credit card swiper thingy and grabbed the electonic pen and would not let it go. I had to pry each finger off of it. Then she was whining for candy. She ended up in lots of time outs and no candy for the day. At home she was bugging us all. She would stand right between the boys and the TV so they couldn't see it. She kept wrecking Connors car ramps he was making because she "wanted to stand there." She would lunge for the computer and slam all the keys with her hands and when I would block her hands, she used her feet to hit all the keys. I would be cleaning up one mess and she would be making another. She took Connors chapstick and mushed it all over our bedroom furniture because "I HATE your bedroom furniture!" Poor Connor was all "My lipstick!" As I was cleaning that up she was pouring my makeup down the drain. She took off the cap of the shampoo and was pumping hand soap into it and squirting the Visine out. She'd grab something, I would get it away from her and she was grabbing something else. On her time outs in her room she pulled all her clothes out of the drawers. She was hitting and kicking the boys, turning off the TV, unplugging the computer...I don't know how she comes up with so many things she can do to bug us simultaneously. Honestly, I wish I had a padded room I could have locked her in today. I found myself stuffing chocolate in my mouth, like that would somehow make it better. She did have some sweet moments where she was giving me sweet hugs and kisses. Then she'd say "Am I being so good?" and I'd say "Yes! You are being so sweet and nice! This is just how we like you!" Then she'd ask for candy so sweetly with a nice please at the end. When I would tell her that she did not get any candy for the rest of the day because she was being so naughty she would yell at me "BUT I WAS BEING NICE!!!" If we closed a door, she wanted it open. If we put something away, she wanted it out. Anything the boys were playing with, she wanted it and would try and grab it away. I was so glad when Brad got home and I handed her over to him. What a sucky day in Mommy land. As all this was going on, I was thinking that I'm glad she didn't do what she used to do, which was smear her own poop all over the carpet or pee on the carpet on purpose. I tried to give her positive attention. I tried to read with her and cook with her, but she was just on one today. Ug!

They are growing up!

2011-02-27T04:33:00.001-08:00

So there is this basketball player named Jim Fredette. He plays for the BYU Cougars. Everybody calls him Jimmer, which was what his mom started calling him when he was little. Jimmer is very good at making baskets. There are many games that he has made 40+ points. It's pretty cool to watch the youtube videos on him. There are huge lines to get into basketball games and people travel from far away to come and watch him play. I have seen a lot of facebook updates about him. BYU fans have nothing but love for this guy. I worked as a special events hostess (professional ticket taker) for awhile in college. I worked at the basketball games and they were struggeling to get people to come to the games. Most of the people that came had free tickets. There were never very many people there. It was mostly old grandma and grandpas that came. The grandpas always made me miss my grandpa Shepley because they would wink at me as I took their ticket, or come over so I could take their ticket and then say something to their grandpa friends or wife or whoever they were with like "I got the pretty girl to take my ticket."

Anyway, the point to this story is that Josh came home from school and told me that BYU just couldn't lose. He talked some BYU basketball to me. I asked him how he knew that and he and his friends at school are talking sports! I never even thought about my kids coming home and talking sports. It is a sure sign that he is really growing up.

The other day the kids friends came over and Brad overheard them talking about kissing. Josh wasn't in the conversation, but Brad learned that Connor has not kissed a girl, Kaytlynn has not kissed a boy, Caden has kissed a girl, and Lola has not kissed a boy. When did they start talking about this? They are so growing up!

Little Miss Bossy

2011-02-19T05:20:00.001-08:00

We were at Josh's basketball game (which that kid has a passion for--he loves basketball. He asked why his games couldn't last for 10 hours. He'll sit and shoot baskets outside for hours.) and Kaytlynn had her little friend there. They were talking and then Kaytlynn walked towards me with a scowl on her face. When she got closer she started crying, so I gave her a hug and asked her what was wrong and she said "Allie won't do what I tell her to do!" Oh, poor baby.

Because we love eachudders

2011-02-17T08:21:00.000-08:00

Kaytlynn said she has a friend in school named Aneka. She said Aneka is not a doll and Aneka is alive. I asked why they were friends and Kaytlynn said "Umm, because we love eachudders."

Furniture in our room

2011-02-04T06:07:00.000-08:00

Here is our new (somebodies old) furniture in our room. We really need to get something up on the walls! And on the armoire!

Cat

2011-02-04T06:03:00.000-08:00

So I went up to somebodies door to get a signature on a certified letter when I was working at the post office the other day. I was chatting with the people and took a side step while still facing them, saying bye, and I stepped on their cat! It meowed but ran off just fine. I'm not sure if they noticed.....

New bedroom furniture!

2011-01-28T04:02:00.000-08:00

I have wanted a sleigh bed ever since we stayed with Adam and Cassidi and saw their sleigh bed in 2005. 6 years! I just didn't want to get an expensive bedroom set and be in debt for it, so we have had our sad, sad furniture. We have a king size bed with the base which has been sitting on the floor since we got it--no headboard or frame. We have 2 $50 dressers that we got from KMart that the kids like to stand on the tiny handles and most of the fronts of the drawers have been broken right off. We've fixed and refixed with wood glue, screws, and nails. Some just can't be fixed, so where a dresser drawer front should be is just a hole with a bunch of junk in the drawer. One dresser doubles as Brads nightstand. I have a nightstand that is falling apart. The back is coming off and the fake wood on the top is stripped off in little strips where stickers have been taken off or something sticky has been scrubbed off. It truly is sad furniture.
Now, I don't know about everyone else, but things really do just seem to fall into place. You can worry and worry about something and push really hard for something and work your butt off and not have it happen. But most the time after all that hard work when you've given up, something just falls into your lap. This happened with our house and kind of with the cars. Our kids certainly didn't take much effort--they just came with ease (The effort has been every day since.) Our jobs have just kind of fallen in our laps with exception of the post office. I had to push to get that and it didn't really feel right and was not easy. I was looking and looking for a mattress because we were sleeping on a full size bed and kids like to jump in and leave you no room. So I looked and searched for months--online and at furniture stores. I pretty much gave up and then one day I was driving and saw a sign that said "mattresses for sale". 2 blocks down, someone had mattresses all over their front lawn. A mattress yard sale. Odd. But I found a good one (RC Willey double side pillow top--Springair?) That king size bed fits well in our room and it fits the entire family. And our dining room table. I searched and searched online and at stores. We found our table that easily seats 10 on a trip to DI.
So I pretty much resigned myself to having horrible furniture until the kids moved out. It is so darn expensive! Neither Brad nor I had looked for furniture for a long time, and yesterday Brad thought he'd just go to KSL and have a look. He found a great deal on the bed. We went to see it and I wanted all of it! The people are remodeling their room and totally getting rid of everything. We are getting the $300 bedding, the artwork, the lamps, the $350 bench, the nice armoire, and the king size sleigh bed for $700. And they are going to help us move it. So I am really excited about that.

In other news, my shoulder is doing so much better. I slipped at work on black ice and landed on my shoulder. It made me feel like an old grandma! I strained my shoulder and couldn't hardly even move it. I couldn't pick anything up or steer the car. I have been to physical therapy 8 times and I took 2 weeks off of work at the post office. I hate missing work due to ailments or illnesses! Time off is only good if it's for vacation. I went back to work at the post office on Monday. It was stiff and sore, but okay.

Connor decided he wants to do gymnastics again, so I am happy about that. Josh is doing basketball and loves it. They are signed up for soccer and will be signed up for tball. I asked Kaytlynn if she wanted to play tball, but she doesn't want to. Bummer. She would make such a cute tball player. Connor is excited to go snowboarding and they are all doing well in school. We went to the circus and that was fun, although all three kids were crying on their way out because we refused to pay $30 for a 1 minute ride. We told them if it was that important to them, they could take the money out of their piggy banks, but nobody wanted to do that. Okay, blogging is making me tired now, so I'll be done!

I remember

2011-01-15T01:20:00.000-08:00

I remember what else I wanted to write about Kaytlynn. She has been adding ey to a lot of words. She says "That's miney!" and "Can I give you a lick-ey?" She just adds it on whenever she feels like it. On a different subject--the other day I heard Josh ask Kaytlynn if she wanted to play a video game with him. Poor Kaytlynn is usually left out. She asks the boys a question and they ignore her or they will just play with eachother and poor Kaytlynn is left to play by herself, or she asks me to play with her, but I can't play with her all day. So it was really nice to hear all three kids playing video games together downstairs. Josh was being very patient and teaching her what to do. Music to a mothers ears. Oh my gosh, I'm a mom! It just hits me sometimes and thinking that sentence shocked me. :) Josh also helps Connor read. For some reason, Connor has a hard time with in, is, and it. Josh will say "Come on Connor, we've been over this again and again last night. You know it." Also, my kids say "last day" a lot. Especially Kaytlynn. She'll say things like "Last day, we went to grama and grampas house. And last day, Santa came and bringed us presents." They will remember things I have totally forgotten about. Cuties. Kaytlynn has also been giving me lots of love since I "broke my arm". Lots of kisses and hugs on my leg.

I'm going to beat you up!

2011-01-14T04:19:00.000-08:00

Kaytlynn said to me the other day "We're doing to have a race and I'n doing to beat you up!" I thought that was kind of rude, but realized she was just putting the "up" on the end. She says this all the time now. "I'm doing to beat everyone up!" "I beat Tonnor up." "Did I beat you up?" she says it to her poor little friends, too-"I'n doing to beat you up!" "We're donna do to Jumpin' Jacks and have so much fun and I'm doing to beat you up."
I was looking through my old planner pages and saw a Kaytlynn quote I had written down "My neck is sweatering. It's hot." She must be a warm-blooded kid because I try to give her hugs and she'll push me away and tell me she's too hot. Most of her time spent at home is shirtless time because she's too hot. Awhile ago she didn't want to go to pre-school and I asked her why she didn't want to go. She said "I just wanna stay home and be naked! Hmmf!" with her arms folded and a scowl on her face.
I pulled an old grandma trick last Sunday. I slipped on the ice and fell on my shoulder. I didn't break anything. It's just a strain, but it hurts! I can't lift my arm or move my shoulder without it really hurting. So I'm in a sling and have been going to physical therapy. All the kids have been good, but Kaytlynn has been very sweet. Every time I say I can't do something she asks "Because you have a broken arm?" and then she'll come over and kiss me. The other day Brad left and gave her a hug. She ran in to me and was very troubled and said that she forgot something. I asked her what she forgot and she said she gave dad hugs but "I fordot to dive him tisses." She wanted me to call him to tell him to come back. She also says "last day" a lot. "But last day, I was a really naughty dirl" "But, last day, I ate my whole sandwich" "But last day, I didn't have to doe to the doctors." It seems like there was something else I wanted to write about, but I can't remember! Went to Josh and Connors SEP (parent teacher conference) and they are both doing really well!

Playdate

2011-01-06T04:11:00.000-08:00

Connor is 5 years old and in kindergarten. He came home with a piece of paper that had a phone number written on it in kindergartener hand-writing. He said a girl in his class called Tacie (Taycie?, Tacey? I don't know.) had written it down and told him to tell me to call that number and set up a playdate. I thought that was so funny. It probably would have just been normal and boring if it was a boy. But anyway, there was one number missing. I immediately thought that Connor had asked for her number and she wasn't really interested, so she left one digit out. This is one way girls dodge having a guy they don't like call them. Some other tactics include giving out a fake number, or taking the guys number and promising to call, then never calling. I just remembered something. There was a radio station that had a number girls could give guys that they weren't interested in. When they called the number, the machine said something like "This is (radio station) Sorry dude, but that girl that gave you her number last night just wasn't interested." Then another time they had a girl on the answering machine say "Hi! You've reached (phone number). I can't get to the phone right now, so leave a message and I'll call you back." Then they would air the messages guys left saying things like "Hi, this is (guys name) I met you at the club last night and I really had a good time. I think we had a connection--blah blah blah blah." Poor guys! Funny, though. Anyway, that came to mind, but then I don't think that girls play those kind of games at 5 years old, right? So I thought maybe she just got her number wrong, in which case my good friend Melissa thinks she's too dumb. Melissa writes "Player or dumb? Either way, no good." Funny Melissa! Oh my gosh, it will be funny when girls start calling the boys. Brad and I just both have cell phones, so all calls will have to go through us, ahahahaha!

Roiled Splotten

2010-12-26T04:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the kids got a lot of Christmas loot. Connor was playing with one of his many toys and said "Mom, are we roiled splotten?" I asked what and he said "You know, like we got a lot of stuff?" I said "Oh, you mean spoiled rotten?" And he said "Yeah, roiled splotten." He kept insisting that it was roiled splotten. Kaytlynn got an outdoor market and Connor came to shop. Kaytlynn insists that she is the customer, not the cashier. So Connor "bought" almost all the food at the market and Kaytlynn got really mad and said he was going to buy all her stuff. He said "I'm sorry! But I have a whole family to feed." Funny kids. It was a good Christmas. I know we do spoil the kids rotten, but while I think they learn good life lessons when they do without something and when they have to work, I also think to myself 'why not?' They really are only little once and hopefully I won't look back and wish that I had done this differently. I don't think I will.

On a side note, mom took Josh to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point for his birthday. They rode in Cami's little Mazda Miata. Josh told me it was really bumpy and his cheeks kept bouncing up and down. So cute!

Santas little helper

2010-12-17T02:02:00.000-08:00

2 days ago Josh was sitting on the couch whining about something. Kaytlynn came over and was standing right in front of him, staring at him. She said, to nobody in particular-"He is being whiny." Then she opened her little notebook she was carrying and scribbled with her pencil and said "Josh is being whiny." then closed her book and continued to stand and stare seriously at him. He just stopped whining and stared back, then continued whining. It made me laugh so hard!

We got an Elf on the Shelf book. It comes with this little elf that you name and each morning the elf is hiding in a new place. The elf watches everything and reports back to Santa every night. You can't touch the elf or he will lose his magic. You can talk to him but he can't talk back. So we read the story and then the kids went to look for him. He was in an easy spot, on the piano. Kaytlynn found him first. They agreed his name was Mark. Then we went online and registered him and Santa sent a message to the kids. Even if you don't get this book, this website is really neat. It seems 3-D. It is elfontheshelf.com It has recipes for reindeer food and pictures to color and games. Kaytlynn kept going over and sitting on the piano bench and just staring at Mark. I told her she could tell Mark what she wanted for Christmas and Mark would go tell Santa when they were sleeping and if she was good, she would get it for Christmas. She got all shy and looked away. Connor came over and yelled at Mark "I want a scooter!" Kaytlynn was still looking away from Mark and said in a shy, quiet voice "I want a scooter, too." Every time we would leave the room, Kaytlynn would run into the front room to see if Mark was gone. We took Josh to school and when we came back I said it looked like Mark moved a little bit. I wondered if Mark played the piano while we were gone. Connor and Kaytlynn liked that idea and jumped on board. Josh just kept saying that Mark was not real, and how could he fly back to the North Pole if he didn't have wings. I think I was about Josh's age when I learned the secret about Santa. Wonder how long it will last with him. This may be the last year for him! Sad.

Josh's Christmas wish list

2010-12-11T05:13:00.000-08:00

I love trying to dechiper what kids cute handwriting says. I also realize that so many words are spelled weird. I think that kids have it right. It should be spelled how it sounds!

Last night

2010-12-09T06:02:00.000-08:00

Last night I went and got my hair and makeup done at the school and my mom came to watch the kids and Brad and I went to his company Christmas party. It was a nice dinner at a nice place in South Jordan and then we had a white elephant gift exchange. It was fun. Brad got a Snap on knife and flashlight set so he was pretty happy about that! He loves knives. Then we had some time so we went to see 127 Hours. I hear some stories and become fascinated by them. This happened in May 2003, so right in between Bahrain and Scotland. I remember hearing about it, but didn't think about it much. Then the movie came out and I've totally been looking stuff up on the internet and was just fascinated and really wanted to see the movie. So we finally went and saw it and it lived up to my expectations. It answered a lot of the questions I had. I think they could have added his family members side of things. That would have been interesting, too. It is so amazing what our bodies can handle. And sometimes they just give out for no reason. So this guy, Aron Ralston, his arm got stuck by a boulder. He was stuck out there for 5 days with hardly any food or water. He chipped away at the rock to try to get his arm out, but that wasn't working. Finally he broke his arm and cut it off with a dull pocket knife. Then he still had to climb out of the slot canyon and walk for 8 miles before he found someone. That's just crazy! I wonder if I would do the same thing. Honestly, if I didn't have kids I don't think I would. But if I had my kids, who really rely on me and need me, then maybe I would do it. Me and Brad really are the center of their universe and I think they'd be kinda messed up if that changed while they are so young and innocent and need me. I just don't know. I tend to like to take the easy way out. I can't stand constant pain. But I think I would try it for my kids, but if they weren't around, I probably would just die there. Anyway.......my mom is really good at doing projects with the kids and teaching them new things when she watches them. She really spends quality learning time with them instead of just sitting there while they play. She's taught them how to do housework and cook and all of that. Last time she came, she taught the kids about the world. She taught them how to say "Hello" in different languages. I don't know the spellings, but my kids now know that Chinese is "Nee-how", French is "bonjour", German is "Gutentag", Spanish is "Hola" and they learned Scottish is "Gooday mate." We corrected them so now they know that's Australia. So the project for the night was to make cookies and frost them and take them to the neighbors. So they frosted the cookies and took some next door. The kids sang Jingle Bells. Then they went to the assisted living place across the street. Kaytlynn said "You know, we went to your paycheck." I always say I need to go across the street and get my paycheck, so I guess Kaytlynn thinks that is what that place is called. They talked with a couple of the grandmas over there. There are actually some great great grandmas over there. Crazy! So I thought that was cute what my mom did. When we came home Elijah was sleeping on the couch with Kaytlynns dress up tinker bell skirt on. That kid LOVES dressing up. I thought about buying him a bunch of dress up clothes for Christmas, but no, I won't. I saved this post, so last night was Josh's 1st grade program. He did a dancing part. He danced to "Sail Away" by Enya. I would have expected him to just kind of shuffle around, but he actually danced and didn't stop the whole time he was up there. So proud. It was cute. Connor wanted to take pictures, so I told him he could walk up a little further and get some pictures. He came back and showed me what he took. There was one of Josh's nose and a whole bunch really close up. Nice! I'll have to have Connor be the cameraman again because for some reason I don't think I could get away with that.

Sleep

2010-12-08T03:34:00.000-08:00

So I ran out of Ambien on Monday. I get a refill today. On Sunday I got to sleep for awhile in the morning, then hung out with the family, then slept from 8:30 to 10:30. I went to work Sunday night at 11, worked for 8 hours, went straight to the post office and worked for 11 hours, came home and did some stuff. I got in bed at 8 and couldn't sleep. I finally kind of dozed off after 9, but it was not good sleep!! I was up at 10:30 and went back to work at 11. Worked for 8 hours, came home and took care of the kids. Tried to rest, but just couldn't. I became a walking zombie. I was laying in bed and think I finally went to sleep around 5 and got up for work at 2:30! It was good sleep, too, thank goodness!! So yay for 9 hours of good sleep. So I was up for about 43 hours before my body finally let me get a good sleep. Yeah, I'd rather use the Ambien, thanks!

I miss my cousins

2010-12-07T02:12:00.001-08:00

I have been missing my cousins more than usual lately. I have a lot of time to think while I'm delivering the mail, and I have been thinking about them a lot. I wonder what would be going on. I'm sure they would both be married with little rug-rats and hopefully living here so our kids could play together. And we could play together! We'd all get together at grandmas house and our kids would play "Don't Eat Pete!" with grandma. I think Tanya would have the oldest kid. I think she would have gotten married before me and probably had a sweet, quiet, shy little girl first. Tanya was so sweet and always concerned about others. She would have made a good mom. Austin would rough house with Jarom and the boys. There was always a lot of laughing when we got together. And card playing. And toilet papering. Austin and I had some deep talks and he always had theories about things. Some of them made me laugh. I watched a muppet meep video and it totally made me think of Austin. He loved the muppets! And not just when he was a kid. We went and watched "Muppets in Space" at the theatre with Autumn in 1999. Austin also made a bunch of funny videos with his friends. In one of them, they had a tire roll through every scene. That was just his sense of humor :) He also told me about how many times he almost crashed in Alaska because they didn't salt the roads so they were all icy. And he laughed when kids threw rocks at him on his mission. He was such a silly kid! We went rock climbing and he made me do a trust jump so he could prove that the rope had me and I wouldn't fall. It took me forever to let go of the rock and jump. He was just yelling at me to jump and telling me that he wouldn't let me down until I jumped. We did some night rock climbing which was so much fun. He used to hike up in the mountains and eat the bugs! When I was staying with my aunt and uncle for a summer, he told me to only do housework when they were watching so they thought I was helping out a lot. He said to be sure to vacuum while my uncle was watching tv, so he'd be sure not to miss seeing me clean. He convinced me to plant my face in our combination graduation and eagle scout cake. He really got his face in his corner of the cake. He was smart because he got a lot bigger piece that way. When I moved to Scotland and married Brad, Austin wrote a letter to Brad and warned Brad not to stir my ice cream when I told him not to, because I would pour it on his head. I guess in Idaho one time Austin was being a pest and kept stirring my ice cream and I told him if he kept doing that I would pour it on his head, and that odd child wanted me to do that, so he kept stirring, and I poured! I was in Utah with Josh visiting and Austin decided that Josh's first word should be "Austin", so he just kept repeating his name in Josh's ear over and over again. Josh probably thought he was crazy! And it didn't work. When Austin died and I was at their house, I looked on his shelf in the bathroom mirror, and there was a picture in there of me and him. It is now on my cabinet shelf in the bathroom. There are some awesome pictures of Autumn and Austin singing together. Not serious singing, but funny singing. I wasn't even there, but I could just imagine. The pictures are so cute. I think they were singing primary songs. They were the best cousins ever!

Kaytlynn is such a manly girly girl

2010-12-06T02:48:00.000-08:00

We went and saw "Tangled" at the theatre yesterday. It was really cute, but too much for Brad. He cringed every time there was a musical number and said the movie was definitely a mother daughter movie. There was hardly anyone there (Pretty normal for a Sunday at the theatre in Spanish Fork) and there was a guy there with his two boys. Anyway, I sat next to Kaytlynn. She just loved it. She still doesn't know quite how to behave at the movies. She was talking a lot. That mouth just needs to be going. She was saying "Ohh, I like her dress. Oh, I like her hair, but it's too long." Then she was talking about her Whoppers, describing how they are chocolate on the outside and crunchy on the inside. She told me "they are like candy" and "Daddy doesn't like them and Josh doesn't like them and Connor likes them but he doesn't want any right now because he's eating his popcorn. Mommy likes them and I like them." Then she'd do her little giggle. She kept offering me more and when I would say no thanks, she would try to look at my mouth and at my cheeks to see if I was done with what I was eating. Then she would ask me if I was done or if I was still eating the last ones and if I wanted more.

She has been picking her nose and eating whatever she picks lately. The more we tell her it's gross and disgusting, the more she looks straight at us and does it again. In the movie theatre she decided to try her ears. She told me "Mom, I picked my ear wax and ate it, but I didn't like it." Thank goodness! That reminds me of high school when an 18 year old in our ward was engaged to this guy. He was sitting next to her at church and was digging around in his ear, then pulled it out and nudged his fiancee and made her look at his findings on his finger. I really couldn't believe she was going to throw away her single youth for that guy. I'm not sure if she did or not.

Anyway, Kaytlynn farted, fluffed, passed gas, had wind--whatever you want to call it--and of course had to say loudly that she farted and it stunk and laugh. She describes her farts as smelling like somebody pooped in their pants. If she smells something out in public, she is not afraid to describe it. The other night it was "Mom, it stinks out there. It smells like horse poop." So this kid reminds me of an adolescent boy in some ways. She is a very windy child. But then she is so girly in other ways, like loving the movie. I kept looking over at her and she would be feeling her hair, twisting it around her hand. She would start trying to sing the song that Rapunzel was singing. She critiques almost all girls she sees saying whether she likes their hair or not. Her moods swing like crazy. At one minute she is laughing and talking, and at the next she is screaming "NNOOOOOO!" if you don't read her mind. I just have to ignore her when she's like that. She will often stomp off crying into her room and slam the door. Anyway, it's a nail biter to think of what she will be like as a teenager.

Josh got some awesome gifts for his birthday. One of them was nerf guns. We now have enough for the whole family. Brad got the one that holds 6 of the little suction cup bullets--what the heck! Everyone else got guns that held 3 or 4 bullets. We played a nerf gun version of capture the flag. We'd turn off the lights and tip toe around the dark house, hiding behind walls and chairs, then start shooting when we saw someone on the other team. It was a lot of fun. All of the boys were totally sweating. Kaytlynn had a little fit when something didn't go her way and decided she wasn't going to play, but agreed to let us use her as a decoy. She went prancing up the stairs with her gun and almost made it to the base before Brad realized what she was doing and shot her. There were suction cup bullets everywhere when we were done. Sticking to the ceiling, the walls, and windows. I think back to when we played "witches and warlocks" in the dark house as kids. That is what good memories are made of and that's what I was thinking as we were playing--'We're making memories.' There's this guy, Nate, that works at the post office. He always has something witty to say as he's leaving to do his route. One morning as he was leaving, he said "Cara. There is about 3 inches of new snow out there and the fun is for the taking. Let's go out and make some postal memories!"

SO grateful!

2010-12-05T03:24:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to write this for a long time. I just feel like I never have the time to write everything that I think about this subject. I'm just going to write everything as I think it, so there will be no rhyme or reason.

I am so grateful that my Crohns disease is not bad. I got it when I was 10 and I've had some bad times with it, but I haven't been on medication for 7 years, and my health is great!! So many people with Crohns are in and out of the hospital and so sick they have to have surgeries and can't lead a normal active life. The biggest thing my Crohns has stopped me from doing is being a river raft guide. I was able to go on one river raft trip and was able to guide and learn what I needed to learn, but I couldn't do the rest of the weekend trips. I am so lucky this disease has not stopped me from doing much in my life.

I am so grateful to have my kids. Even though they drive me nuts and they are SOOOO hard--the hardest job I've ever had, I am so lucky. Even though they make me crazy every day, they also make me laugh every day. I love seeing Josh and Connor learning to read and Kaytlynn learning to write her name. Even though they have extremely picky eating habits, they are very healthy. None of them have had any major health problems, and for that we are so lucky and I am so thankful. I see so many people now--just everywhere--that are aching to have babies and can't, and so many families who have kids with major health problems or with kids who have died. I can't even stand the thought of that and don't know what I'd do, so I just think about it, hope nothing changes in our family, and feel these huge feelings of gratitude.

I am so grateful for my husband. I honestly think I would shrivel up into a ball in the corner and die without him. Or at least be sent to the Utah State Hospital. For those of you who don't know, that is the place for mental health here. I have major shortcomings and where I can't do something, he takes over and makes sure it gets done. He is amazing. He cooks, he cleans, he helps with homework, he works, he puts the kids to bed every night, picks them up and drops them off at the babysitters, fixes things in the house, cleans up my laptop and scans it for viruses, makes me food to take with me to work, and he takes the kids out everywhere now by himself. He wouldn't take the kids to do anything before while I was at work or sleeping, and he decided to change that, and he did! He takes them to the store, to play laser tag, ice skating, Jumpin' Jacks, basketball games, Disney on Ice--you name it, he will take them. He was also an awesome coach for Josh's soccer team. He works really hard and is spending most of his free time trying to get extra income so I don't have to work as much. I was just thinking about yesterday. I worked all night and came home and slept until 2:30 while Brad took care of the kids and cleaned the house. I got up and took a shower and Brad had all the kids ready to go to Josh's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheeses. He dug around and found a "7" birthday candle, and he called my mom to make sure I had invited her, because I said I couldn't remember if I had invited her or not. We went to Chuck E. Cheeses and he got all the tokens and separated them out for all the kids and made sure they were stocked up all night. He gathered the kids up when it was time for cake and presents, then he got everyone their cake and cups of water, then brought gifts over and handed them to Josh. At the end of the party, he helped my mom find jumper cables and get her car started. We came home and my Dad and Julie came over. My dad and Brad went to pick up some Chinese food, then he got everyone around the table and got dishes out for everybody and water so we could eat around the table together. Then he did all the dishes and I'm sure he did more cleaning and laundry while I took an hour nap before work. Then he went to the store and bought some food just for me, and made a sandwich for me to take to work while I was getting ready. He fills my water bottle and makes sure I have food every night before work. When I work all day at the post office, he gets the kids all ready, drops Josh off at school, drops the other two off at the babysitters, then goes to work all day. He comes home, picks up the kids, gets them started on their homework, makes dinner, and makes sure I have food when I get home. Then he gets the kids to bed while I sleep before work. I complained to him about always having to help the kids with their homework, and he changed that, and now he helps them, too. He is also a food storage fanatic. He is doing everything he can to be prepared and keep us all safe if something happens. He has plans of things we can trade and how long our food will last (He thinks we've got about a years worth.) if something happens. He enjoys reading post apoctalyptic books and getting ideas from those of how to survive :) When we go on a short, easy hike, he has a big heavy, sweaty backpack full of solar blankets and first aid stuff and a compass and knife and sweaters and lots of water. That cracks me up :) So yes, I am so grateful for my husband, his health, and his job. I am so lucky.

I am thankful for my friends and family. What would I do without them? I am surrounded by people who would do anything for me. I have old, wonderful friends who still keep in touch even though we haven't seen eachother in years. I have friends that stop me from going crazy. I have family who is there when I need them and who I know we could turn to if we ever needed anything. So many people don't have their parents or siblings to help them or even just to talk to.

I am grateful for my jobs. For the most part, I love them and they are what makes it possible for us to live the life we live. We are able to buy the things we need and also do the things we want. We are able to give our kids a good life with lots of different experiences. There are so many people without jobs right now, and I feel very, very lucky to not only have a job, but for it to be one I love, and for it to pay enough money. We are lucky that Brad has a job that he loves.

I am so grateful for my health in all areas. If anything were to happen, I couldn't work at the post office. I need the use of my arms, legs, eyes, ears, fingers, back knees--everything. It all has to be in good working condition. I am lucky that I am able to work this job and hope that never changes.

I am grateful for our house. I love our house. We won it in the bid by $60. Best $60 we ever spent. It has everything we need and it is in the perfect spot. It is close to the schools, the parks, the parades, and pretty much every store we need. It is close to the freeway. It is the perfect size for us and we have great neighbors. We haven't had to do any major or expensive work. It is perfect for our family.

I am grateful for central heating. Every time I walk in the door from the freezing cold, usually holding a freezing little girl, and I am hit by that warm wall of air, I am just so incredibly thankful!

I am grateful for our cars. They have gotten us to and from wherever we needed. We have not had any major repairs and they have done their jobs just how they are supposed to. I am so glad that we were in the position to be able to get a minivan when Kaytlynn was born, and get an all wheel drive when Brads job moved to Bluffdale and he has to travel in the snow to work. We are so lucky to have our cars!

I am grateful for happy pills. When you have something to help you from screaming at the kids and not being able to stop yourself, this is good. This will help my kids to remember a happy mom, not a screaming one. I am also thankful for happy pills for him. He sure can be a grump without them! I am also thankful for Ambien. Without it I could not get good sleep that would allow for me to be a mom and work all my jobs. I would be a walking zombie. Someone who wants to sleep, but just can't. I would not be able to function, so thank you Ambien!

There is so much more I am grateful for. Sometimes I get down and look around and see people who have more money than I do and don't have to work. People that don't have to stress about money or health problems. People who don't have kids to strap them down. People who are living the life I used to live, full of travel and fun and excitement. When I focus on what I do have I realize I have SO MUCH!! I am SO LUCKY, SO GRATEFUL, and SO THANKFUL. (Thankful and grateful may mean the same thing, but whatever.) Thank you to everybody who is a part of my wonderful life! I love you!!!

"I See Sam"

2010-11-24T03:19:00.001-08:00

Connor brought home his first take home book today, "I See Sam". He did really well at reading it, but I don't know how much was guessing. It's so fun when the kids start really reading. There was a "blizzard" today. Brad came home from work early and Connors wrestling was canceled. The news said to stock up on neccesities--flashlights and blankets--and said to just stay at home unless it was absolutely neccesary to go out. I went to bed around 5 p.m. and woke up around 10 p.m. I must have just slept through the whole thing. There was some snow on the ground, but not a ton. It must have passed by Spanish Fork without a lot of damage. So much for the big storm. I guess it was a lot worse in other parts of Utah....

The kids are off of school for Thanksgiving break today. Kaytlynn had a Thanksgiving "feast" on Monday in pre-school. The only thing she told me about it is they had pizza. Funny. They celebrated Josh's birthday in his class yesterday. I made up little gift bags for his class. I went to the dollar store and spent $40! Amazing how fast it can add up. I love that store. :) Just a thought for you--I am so grateful every time I walk in our door from the cold into our warm house. We are so lucky to have central heating that we can turn as high as we want! I am usually carrying a cold kid and I just can't help but say "We are so lucky to have a nice warm house!" every time we come in the door. Happy Day!

Wow

2010-11-23T02:30:00.000-08:00

In 4 days my baby will be 7! That is so crazy! On Friday night the kids were using me as their own human jungle gym and Josh and Kaytlynn fell on the floor and there were 2 little teeth on the floor. Perfect timing for the song "All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth" Apparently that song is an American thing, because Brad has never heard it. They were Josh's 2 top middle teeth. The dentist told him at the last appointment that he needed to wiggle them in his spare time so they would come out and make room for his adult teeth. Josh has been scared and wouldn't wiggle them. There was some blood and Josh cried, but I think he was mostly just shocked. He got a slurpee to numb his mouth and that made him happy. He also got $10 from the tooth fairy! I know! I guess the value of teeth is rising, even in this economy.

So Josh is in 1st grade and doing well. His teacher loves having him in her class because he is so precise at following all the rules. He is such a rule oriented kid. He is a very picky eater, so when I am making his lunch I know he will not eat anything that he doesn't specifically ask for. He just throws it away, so I only give him what he wants. Here is what his lunch usually consists of. An apple juice box, 2 fruit rollups--unrolled and in a snack bag. If I don't do this, he says he can't open it and throws it away. 1 Nacho Cheese Dorito, 2 pieces of apple--red, unpeeled, each piece 1/8th of the apple. If I try to trick him and cut the pieces any bigger, he only eats half of the piece of apple. I recently dropped Connor off at school and Josh was the only kid on the playground. I thought maybe he had ditched class to play, but he was just the first one done with lunch and wanted to play on the monkey bars. I asked him before what he does at recess and he said "um, the monkey bars or something. I do what I want." I look every time I pass the school to see if I can see him and I finally did. He was chasing and being chased by other kids. Takes after his mom. I think I started that chasing thing in kindergarten and it lasted through 3rd grade. I remember one time in the 3rd grade, I ran so hard that the next morning my legs hurt so bad and I could barely walk. Another time a boy, Manuel (weird the things your brain remembers. I can remember this, but can't remember the names of the people I work with.) was chasing me and I kept looking behind me and he was catching up. I think he was a guy that would tackle me and not be careful, so I yelled my brothers name as loud as I could, and there Jarom was in seconds like a superhero. He immediately saw what was happening and went and tackled Manuel. What a good brother.

So I'll give you all one guess on what Josh wants to do for his birthday. Yep, Chuck E. Cheeses AGAIN. I told him he could ice skate or have his birthday at the gym or Jumpin Jacks. But no, it's always Chuck E. Cheeses.

By the way, my blogs are probably going to be a lot more often, long, and random because I have not written in journals for sooooo long, and I know I'll regret not having written something down at this busy time while the kids are young and cute and time-consuming. I got my blog made into a book, so I do have something.

Okay, so Josh is playing basketball and he loves it. He's so cute when someone throws the ball and he stops for a second, then jumps all around with excitement and pumps his fist in the air when they get a basket. Connor is in wrestling and was having a lot of fun and really looking forward to it until the matches started. He usually gets pinned right away and then complains that his neck hurts. He gave it a shot though. Connor also decided to quit gymnastics. I'm sad because it would have been really fun to see him get really good and then do stunts out snowboarding. I think he just gets tired after school and all the activities he does. Next we will try piano. I can't remember which kids said they wanted to do piano lessons, but my dad and stepmom sent down the piano, so we've gotta take advantage!

And Kaytlynn, oh Kaytlynn. She is as stubborn and hard-headed as they come. I think I will give up ever trying to get her to do something she doesn't want to do right now, because she will win. She still gets naked when she's mad and can't figure out anything else to do. She said she didn't want to go to school and I asked why not. She took all her clothes off and said "I just want to stay home and be naked! Hmf!" She loves having "pitnits" and gets out blankets multiple times a day, spreads them out on the floor in the front room (and gets very angry if the blanket is not perfectly smooth), then climbs up in the pantry and gets things like 3 cans of tomato soup, a box of macaroni and cheese, crackers, honey, fruit snacks.....she fills up her tea pot with water and we have a tea party picnic. Another thing she says when she gets mad is "I'm not doind to have a pitnit with you! Hmf!" (Arms folded) "I have to have my own pitnit and you have to have your own pitnit." She also says "I'm not your sister anymore!" when she gets mad. Hm. I'm not your sister anymore, dad is good, mom is not, I'm not doind to play with you anymore, and I'm mad! And lets not forget "You're mean!" and "I hate you!" Oh, the joys. She can be very sweet too, but not too often. She has this signature Kaytlynn move where she licks you and then kisses you. Sometimes she'll run to the door and give me hugs and a lick and a kiss on the cheek when I'm going somewhere. That's nice. She also has filler conversation, because the girl loves to talk. She tells me-"Mom, you need to go take a shower because your hair is messy, and nobody wants to see that." Or "let me go change because I'n wearing pajamees and nobody wants to see that" Okay, enough writing for today.

Connor Loves Girls #2

2010-11-01T02:43:00.000-07:00

As I posted a long time ago--Connor loves girls. http://bradandcara.blogspot.com/2009/09/connor-loves-girls.html . When he started pre-school, they had a fire drill and the kids were walking back to their classroom. I saw all the kids in Connors class walking single file back to the room and Connor was the last one, holding a girls hand. He knew exactly how many girls were in his class, but hadn't the faintest idea of how many boys there were. He had a long time girlfriend, Braylee, and by the end of the school year he had 2 girlfriends, Braylee and Daisy. Daisy's dad didn't seem too thrilled about this.

So Connor started wrestling last week. They were in a big room at the high school learning wrestling moves. There were 86 kindergarten to 2nd graders and out of those 86, there was one girl. At the end of the practice they were playing two separate games of "Sharks and Minnows" In each game there were 3 sharks. The minnows would crawl to the other side of the room, trying not to get slammed down to the floor by the sharks. If one of the sharks got you, you would become a shark. I think Connor had a clear plan in his head from the beginning. As he was crawling across the room, he headed straight to one of the sharks and got slammed down, so he became a shark. As they started the next round, he made a beeline halfway across the room to the other game that was being played, headed straight for that little pony-tailed girl and slammed her down.

I swear nothing else was in his view or his mind except getting to that girl. Josh was watching with me and was like-"What the? Where is Connor going? What's he doin'? He's on the wrong side." I said "I think he's headed for that little girl." And he was. It was so funny. I so wish I had it on camera. Instead you will all have to settle for my first try at paint. Not my proudest moment as a mother, but pretty darn close :)

P.S. I went and helped at Connors class Halloween party and a mom there told me that she asked her daughter who the cutest boy in class was, and she said Connor and Micah. Hahahahaha!

Kickboxing

2010-10-27T04:14:00.000-07:00

You all know that I work nights, so I'm usually pretty tired in the morning by the time I get Josh off to school and feed all the kids. I have a kickboxing class that I go to on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9-10. Most the time I'm tired and really not motivated to go. I wouldn't really even mind going to kickboxing, it's the fact that I have to come home and take a shower instead of a nap. It's at a church and all the kids go and play and dodge their moms punches and kicks. So I really didn't want to go yesterday morning. I asked who wanted to go, hoping the kids would say they didn't want to and make the decision for me. Connor wanted to go and Kaytlynn didn't, so the choice was up to me. Connor told me-"Mom, kickboxing is exercise and when we don't exercise our bodies get all mushy and floppy." I asked him if he was concerned about me being mushy and floppy and he was. Connor is just full of fun facts and stories, so he continued on about how if we are sitting or lying down, we are not exercising. He told me he learned this on Sid the Science Kid. When he said our bodies get mushy, Kaytlynn thought he said our bummies get mushy. I said yes, that was true too. Connor said-"Oh, I didn't learn that on Sid the Science Kid" Then he added on his own fun facts that came straight from his little brain. He said our cheeks would get floppy and hang down like a dogs. So after we dropped Josh off at school and did some errands, I pulled into our driveway, and Connor says "Mom! Kickboxing!" I tried to make excuses and he said "You need your kickboxing shoes? Well, run into the house and get them and let's go!" That was all the motivation I needed. Kaytlynn has also been a motivator to get me to kickboxing. I really need that. Funny kids.

Springville Dairy Queen

2010-09-26T04:11:00.000-07:00

I like Dairy Queen. It's pretty good, but in the last 4 years we have tried unsuccessfully to get food three times at the Dairy Queen in Springville by WalMart. The first time we went to get food, we waited at the speaker where they take the order for a few minutes and nobody came. I figured maybe they just had one person there taking the orders and maybe this person was taking a potty break. Nobody ever came. We drove to the window and waited a couple minutes and nobody came, then went back to the speaker and to the window and still saw nobody. This was not at an unusual time of day. It was in the afternoon sometime. The second time one of the kids just had to have a drink after our shopping trip to WalMart. Dairy Queen was right there and there was nobody in line at the drivethrough. So we tried again. The same thing happened again! So we went to Wendy's. The third time, we waited for probably about 30 seconds at the speaker before someone came. They said to order when we were ready, so we ordered. Nobody was there. There were a few "hello?"s from me and finally someone came back and took my order. Then I drove through and was waiting at the window and nobody ever came! I did not see a soul inside. We waited probably 5 minutes because I thought maybe they were short staffed and the one who took my order had to go and cook the food and just didn't bother coming to the window to tell me. Finally I just left. Glad I didn't pay for it! So my friend was telling me about how she ordered something at the Dairy Queen drivethrough and there were 3 teenage boys with long unbrushed hair and goatees throwing trash at eachother. Like bowls with melted ice cream. She waited awhile at the speaker and finally someone took her order. When she went to the window, there was one of the boys with melted ice cream on his shirt and hair working there. So she just left. Good decision on her part. I have been totally stumped about my visits there. I think the only thing it could be is there is only one person running the whole restaurant who has uncontrollable diarrhea every day. In which case, I don't think it's a good idea to eat there anyway.

Schedules

2010-08-28T05:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, Josh will be going to school M, T, Th, F at 8:30 until 2:45. W is 8:30 to 2:00. Connor is going to school M, T, Th, F from 12:00 until 2:45. W is 11:45 to 2:00. Kaytlynn is going to school M and W from 9 to 11:20. Connor has gymnastics T and Th from 3:45 to 5, and Connor and Josh have soccer games T and Th either at 5:30 or 6:15. Just had to write that out. I am still working 60+ hours a week, and Brad is still working full time in Bluffdale. I will be amazed if I never forget a drop off or pick up time. Thank goodness Kaytlynn quit dance and Josh quit gymnastics! And thank goodness I don't have more kids!

2010-08-08T05:22:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted anything for awhile. My kids are growing so fast. We were at the park the other day and there is a little "general store" Kaytlynn said we were the customers. When we all started telling her what we wanted, she wagged her little finger at us and said "One at a time." I can't believe she is going to be 4! She will be in pre-school, Connor in kindergarten, and Josh in 1st grade. Some days I will be at the school 5 different times to drop off and pick up! I've gotta find a carpool. It will be nice when they can walk to school. Adults have to drop off and pick up until 1st grade, I think. Then they can walk! We are lucky because it only takes 6 minutes to walk to the school. Josh and Connor are in gymnastics and will be starting soccer again next week. Josh will do Little Hoopsters in October. Kaytlynn hasn't been doing dance because they switched teachers and she said she doesn't like her new teacher. She is such a punk!

One of my best friends is coming to visit in 2 days and we will go to the Grand Canyon. Brad has his work river rafting trip coming up which he is excited about, and the Demolition Derby is soon! :) We also have a few Scots coming to visit, so that should be fun. Lots of working......Work hard, play hard. That's a good motto.

Connors 5th birthday BBQ

2010-06-22T02:07:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many people actually read this, but I wanted to post that we are having a BBQ for Connor's 5th birthday on Sunday, June 27th from 5-8 p.m., and it would be great to see anybody who can make it! It will be at the Spanish Fork reservoir at the pavilion. 2931 S Spanish Oaks Dr. You get off of I-15 at the Hwy 6 Price/Manti exit. Go up highway 6 for a few miles and turn right on powerhouse road. Turn left on Spanish Oaks Dr and go all the way up the hill, past the reservoir, and there is parking by the pavilion. There is a playground and if you would like to swim, be sure to bring your water and beach gear. Call me with any questions: 801-859-5937. We're excited!

Update

2010-05-22T02:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, here's an update on the Bradley family. Josh graduated from kindergarten yesterday. They had a program, sang, got a diploma and graduation picture, and then had a BBQ. So cute. The day before was Connors pre-school program. They sang. Also so cute! In 4 months I will have a 1st grader, a kindergartener, and a pre-schooler. Kaytlynn had her dance recital. My mom helped out. She had to carry Kaytlynn out onto the stage and then Kaytlynn wouldn't dance. She put her arm up and I thought-'Yay, she's finally going to dance', but she just put her arm up to throw her stuffed animal prop across the stage. When a little girl went and picked it up and tried to find the owner, Kaytlynn refused to take it back. Kaytlynn is finally pretty much potty trained, so we haven't had to buy diapers for weeks--yay! 6 and a half years of diapers is long enough. For awhile there were three different sizes because we had 3 under the age of 3. We won't miss those diapers! Josh finished soccer and has started T-ball and loves both of them. Connor will be starting T-ball soon and is having his gymnastics program next week, before he moves on to the Shooting Stars gymnastics class. Connor is all ready for kindergarten. Josh knows how to read and write now--crazy! And he is totally the oldest kid. He kind of bosses the other 2 around, but he is very helpful--and very observant! Kaytlynn is all kinds of trouble. When she is mad, she takes her clothes off. She was mad at Joshs kindergarten graduation, so she turned her shirt around. Makes me laugh. Despite the recital, she loves dance and told me-"Mom, I just want to dance all day." Brad is still plugging away at SEO.com, and doing his workout stuff. He and Connor went to Scotland in March and had a lot of fun. And I am trying to balance 5 peoples schedules and 5 jobs! I started working for the census, which has actually been a lot of fun. Then I am still doing nightwatch at two places, delivering mail, and working every once in awhile as the activities person at the assisted living place. Life is good and we are lucky to have such great family and friends, jobs that we love, fun healthy kids, and a house that we love in a city that we love! :)

corn dog chicken bleu

2010-05-10T01:35:00.000-07:00

Connor asked me for some corn dog chicken bleu the other day. Chicken cordon bleu--heehee. And Kaytlynn always wants to wear her peejam-ees. We went to the zoo the other day and Connor had an Australian accent and was saying things like "That king snake is gigantic!" He's been watching too much Steve!

Gymnastics and snowboarding

2010-04-23T06:03:00.000-07:00

Connors gymnastic teacher thought he was doing really well for his age, so she had the competitive gymnastics teacher come and take a look at him, and they gave him an invitation to join the boys competitive gymnastics class for 4 to 6 year olds. Connor is 4, so I was a proud mom! If he doesn't like it, though, we'll put him back in the class that he loves. He also did so well snowboarding last time we went! I thought I'd have to keep only one foot strapped in so I could help him up, but I ended up having to strap both my feet in because I couldn't keep up with only one foot strapped in. His teacher said that he has more muscle than most kids his age, so the gymnastics and snowboarding must be complimenting eachother well!

St. Patricks Day

2010-03-19T01:09:00.001-07:00

St. Patricks Day is so fun when you have kids in school. Josh made a leprechaun trap for his class. He was very conscientious (sp?) about making sure the ladder leading up to the trap was small enough for the leprechaun to jump from rung to rung, then we had to make tiny little steps so he could get up to the pot of gold (Chuck E. Cheeses tokens) at the end of the rainbow, and he made sure to hide the thumb tack and string behind the wood pole so that the leprechaun couldn't see it and know it was a trap. I will have to post a picture of it. It was cute. So the kids set up their traps all over the classroom, then went on a leprechaun hunt. When they got back 4 leprechauns had been in their classroom! There were green leprechaun footprints (they got into the paint, I guess) all over the floor and the desks. And they left chocolate gold coins and jelly beans for the kids. But none of the traps caught them, they were too sneaky and fast. Josh was looking forward to this for weeks and made us take his trap to school early. Connor was in Scotland for St. Patricks Day, but his class made wands with rainbow streamers, then went on a leprechaun hunt. While they were gone, one of the teachers was throwing chairs and papers around, like the leprechaun had come in and made a huge mess. Just so cute! I would love to get into each one of the kids heads and see exactly where their imaginations are taking them. So fun!

I think all kids do it at least once.

2010-03-04T01:40:00.001-08:00

Josh ran into our bedroom yesterday and told me that Connor and Kaytlynn were cutting their hair. So I ran to the bathroom, and found this:

Now they look like this:

My little dancer

2010-02-27T01:35:00.000-08:00

Kaytlynn has been copying the cheerleaders and gymnasts at Connors gymnastics class for awhile now. She copied a figure skater on tv. And she copies me at my kickboxing class. She is really good at seeing other people do things and copying it. So I decided it was time for dance classes. I asked her if she wanted to do dance class and she said yes, that would be fun. The day before I signed her up I asked again and she said "NO!!" so we just did a trial class on Wednesday. I didn't know if she would really like it and do great, or if she would be a little bum and cry and scream and not let me go, so it was a nice surprise when she went right in and did all the dance moves as well as the girls who have been in class for awhile. She really liked it and is excited to go again. She's really growing up!

Connor likes snowboarding better than skiing.

2010-02-23T00:24:00.000-08:00

Connor had his first snowboarding lesson up at Brighton. His little snowboard was so cute! We have got to find one to buy somewhere. He seemed to do well. He fell a lot, just like every normal human learning to snowboard, but he took it like a champ. His teacher liked him because he didn't whine, he just kept saying "I want to do it myself." I thought he'd conk out on the way home, but he was up all day. I think the tired hit him last night, though. He was whining and crying a lot. I asked him if he liked skiing or snowboarding better (I really, really was not trying to push him towards liking snowboarding better, I swear!) and he said he liked snowboarding. So until next time, here's some videos and pictures! And by the way, I'm so proud!!

But I still like you.

2010-02-20T04:29:00.000-08:00

Connor told me "Mom, sometimes at night your breath really steents (stinks). But I still like you. I just turn away lite this..." as he turns his head. Well, maybe if you would sleep in your own bed..........Little punk!

There is no greater compliment than one that is given about your child

2010-02-13T04:37:00.000-08:00

I've been getting compliments on my kids lately and it feels so good. We got the basketball compliment to Josh at McDonalds. I had a lady tell me at kickboxing that Kaytlynn was soooo cute, that she just had the perfect little face. Then I had a lady that helps out in Josh's class tell me that he was just so cute. She said she goes home to her husband and tells him about how cute Josh is, that she just wants to take him home with his cute little personality and his freckles. The best compliments you can get are the ones about your kids. Compliments about me are nice, too, but just don't quite compare!

I'm a widdle fodder

2010-02-07T06:31:00.000-08:00

Kaytlynn said one day: "Mom's a stunt and I'n a widdle fodder." It sounded like Mom's a skunk and I'm a little father. It was really moms a skunk and I'm a little farter. It's so true. Well, maybe not the first part, but the second part for sure. And Kaytlynn is getting to the point where they aren't stinkless farts. They can be stinky! Poor kid got bad genes.

It's still fresh!

2010-02-07T06:21:00.000-08:00

We went to Chuck E. Cheeses for a birthday party last week. Near the end Josh said he was thirsty so I said we'd get a refill on his drink on our way out. Connor said "I found one mom! It's still fresh." He ran off before I could stop him and came back with somebodies drink. It was either Coke or Root Beer. I was a little bit mortified. I imagined somebody would be missing their drink off their table. I asked him to show me where he got it, and luckily he took me to one of the games. Somebody had left it there. Connor got a lesson in not taking things that aren't his, and he is still healthy!

My son the basketball player

2010-02-04T23:25:00.000-08:00

We went to McDonalds yesterday to let the kids play for awhile (2 1/2 hours). There is a basketball hoop there and Josh loves to throw the balls in for long periods of time. My mom took them in December and said he must have shot the ball 150 times and got a basket half the time. Josh is a little shorty. He's 6 years old, 44 inches tall and weighs 37 pounds. This is a regular sized hoop. So today he had a cheering section. This adorable couple (probably in their 70's with matching white hair) and the adults and kids with them all cheered every time Josh got a basket and were saying "Ohhhhh, so close!" when he missed. When I walked past, the lady stopped me and said "Your son has a real gift! He is amazing! He has an extraordinary future ahead of him. I told him that when he is in Junior High and High School to make sure that he plays basketball." There was more praise. Who knows, maybe we have another John Stockton on our hands. I told her I've wanted to get a hoop in the backyard and she said "Oh, do it! Do it!" We have RV parking on the side of our house and no RV (or boat, darnit) to take up the space. I've wanted to get a real basket put in since we moved in 3 1/2 years ago. I think I'll look for hoops tonight and start digging a hole tomorrow :) It is so nice to hear people cheering your kid on! All the praise made me feel so good. Parents must love going to games and hearing other people cheer their kids on. Ooh, gotta go sign Josh up for soccer. He said he wanted to play, so maybe he'll actually go this year!

Connor skiing

2010-01-12T00:47:00.000-08:00

We took Connor for his first ski lesson on January 3rd. I took him skiing/snowboarding last year (3 years old and still in diapers), but I didn't put him in a lesson and I just couldn't bear to let him go, so I was holding onto his jacket the entire time while he just wanted to go down the mountain. So I decided that this year he would have a ski lesson. It went really well and he loved it, but now he wants to try snowboarding. So that's next!

Josh didn't want to go skiing because he says it's dangerous. And Kaytlynn would probably just cry the whole time. We'll probably take her next year.

monster trucks

2010-01-12T00:23:00.001-08:00

I took Connor to the monster truck show on Saturday. It was just me and Connor because it is too loud for Josh, and Kaytlynn is still a pain at these things, so why waste the money and make it hard on myself? It was a lot of fun. Connor loves monster trucks. He got to ride on one! This kid has now ridden on a monster truck, an elephant, and a camel. Three things I have never been on!

socksy pants

2010-01-12T00:08:00.000-08:00

I've been looking for thermals for awhile in Connors size so he can wear them when he goes skiing or snowboarding and haven't found any small enough. So I found some brown thick tights and got those. When I gave them to him, he went to try them on and came back to me and said "mo-om, these aren't socks. They're socksy pants." Or was it pantsy socks? Shoot, I can't remember!

Connor is 6

2009-10-30T03:53:00.000-07:00

I forgot to write about this earlier. Connor is convinced that he is 6. I don't know why. We were in the car and he said he was 6 and Josh was saying "No, Connor, you're not 6. You're 4." And Connor was saying "No, I'n 6!" When we got out of the car there were big tears. He was so upset that Josh said he was 4. He said "I was 4, but I grow-ded up and now I'n 6." I asked him what happened to 5 and he said he didn't know. When we got home he told me again that he was 6 and said "I'll show you, mom!" He went and got the bathroom scale and stood on it. "See, I'n 6!"

Update

2009-10-30T03:37:00.000-07:00

Everything has been going well with us. Brads dad, brother, and cousin have come and gone. We didn't get to do anything really special while they were here because of work, but mostly because Brad hurt his back again and couldn't stand the thought of driving in the car for long. We were planning on going to Yellowstone, but maybe next time. I just went to Joshs SEP (parent teacher conference) and he is doing so well! He's got everything down already that he needs to know by Christmas. Everything except drawing and coloring in the lines. His teacher seems to think he will be reading by Thanksgiving. We are so lucky that Josh has such a GREAT teacher. She is perfect for him and he is learning so much in kindergarten. Connor is loving pre-school, of course. He's such a friendly boy. He likes making up words for things. The wire whisk is a spinner and the spatula is a scooper? I can't remember. I need to write things down before I forget! Kaytlynn is getting friendlier and more outgoing. She asks everybody their names and says that they are her friends. She waves to everybody. Oh, and everything is hers, including peoples babies. "That's my baby!" I'm glad she's turning into a nice girl. She was pretty mean before. Brad is doing the same. Working, taking care of the kids and his wife, and doing the never-ending cleaning of the house. I am the same too. Working some more of those 100 hour weeks and thoroughly enjoying most of the time I spend with the kids. We're getting used to doing homework. Augh! Crazy. Getting ready for Halloween tomorrow. Fun!

Fishing

2009-10-08T01:46:00.000-07:00

So Josh has really taken to fishing. We have this little fishing pole that we tie string cheese on the end of and Josh will throw the line out there and sit very patiently, shushing everyone that makes any kind of a noise. He'd probably sit there for hours. We were saying that we needed to get him a better fishing pole and he kept wanting to get one right now. He had a dime that he kept leaving next to me and I kept giving it to him and he'd say "No!" and give it back to me. I thought he just didn't want to hold it. Then I went to put it in his pocket and he got so upset at me. He said "Will you just take this and go get me a better fishing pole?!", as he put the dime in my hand. I wonder what he'd do if he actually caught a fish?

Ouch

2009-09-13T05:10:00.000-07:00

I was just looking at old pictures of my cute kids, and it seriously made my heart hurt at how much I miss them at different stages in their lives. They were so cute! I miss them when they were little babies that made those sweet sounds. Goos and gaas and sweet sleeping sighs. Those sweet smiles and the lack of control they had over their arms and legs, so they would just kick, kick, kick, and throw their arms around in the air. Those little eyes staring at you and trying to make them smile and laugh. Then when they would try and get around without being able to walk. I miss holding and rocking them when they weighed next to nothing and those little hands holding onto my finger. I certainly don't miss everything and I wouldn't want to go back to that time because it was also really hard. I look forward to when they grow up and I can really have a conversation with them and I can drag them to do the things that I enjoy and hopefully they will also be really good and enjoy doing those things. But when I hold them in my arms, it is sad to think that soon they will be too big to pick up and hold. I love my kids so much and they are just so darn cute!! My mom always said that she wishes we could be little again for just one day out of the month. That would be nice.

Connor loves girls

2009-09-04T23:17:00.000-07:00

I asked Connor if he met a boy named Derrick in his pre-school class (I found out my friends son is in the same class)and Connor said "No, but there's 3 girls."

Just some background: Connor loves girls. When he was 2, we were at the park and I couldn't find him for a minute, and then I saw him sitting in the middle of a circle of a bunch of girls--probably 8 year olds. At my family reunion, he was always wondering where my cousin and her friend were--"Where's the girls?" "Girls, we're over here." "I'm going to go find the girls" We were at a parade and he would wave at all the pageant winners on the floats and say "Hi girls! Look, Mom, it's girls." He holds girls hands and gives them hugs and kisses. Girls like to take care of him, too. They are always carrying him over to me if he's crying or anything. Funny.

Yikes!

2009-09-02T05:24:00.000-07:00

So a quick update, because I only have 5 minutes.....Josh started kindergarten, and though it was a horrendous experience getting him to go to school on the first day, he now loves it and loves going every day. We signed him up for kindergarten soccer and he still has not played. At least he sits on the grass and watches now and doesn't throw a HUGE tantrum getting there. Connor is starting pre-school on Thursday, Kaytlynn had her princess birthday party last Saturday (she will be 3 on Sep. 7th). I have been working a Ton--and when I say that, I mean 100 hour weeks--because Janets (the lady I sub for at the post office) husband died, so I am working 6 days a week, along with my other jobs. Brad is trekking away at his business ventures and his job. I'll put pictures up later!

Demolition Derby

2009-08-20T04:02:00.000-07:00

The pictures and videos speak for themselves. I had such a great time!!

More soccer

2009-08-09T02:21:00.000-07:00

Josh is absolutely loving soccer. He can't get enough. He's always asking how many days and how many hours and how many minutes until he can play soccer. Connor has been getting frustrated though, and crying, because it is next to impossible to get a ball away from Josh. It's like he has glue on his shoes, or magnets, because that kid gets that ball and runs with it and I can't get the thing away from him. Josh has been very good at getting the ball (a lot!) and getting it to Connor so Connor actually has a lot of chances. But I think other kids are also getting frustrated because Josh is so good and they don't get much of a chance. I think the coaches even have a hard time stealing it away to give other kids a chance. I don't want to frustrate other kids so much that they don't like playing but I also don't want to squish Josh's talent. We signed him up for a kindergarten soccer league, so maybe that will be better. Right now they are on a 4 and 5 year old team and Josh will be 6 in November. But I played with Josh and I can totally see how Connor feels, because it was even getting frustrating for me! I had to cheat to score any goals. Yep. He's good.

Ribbons, boulders, and rootberries

2009-08-09T02:16:00.000-07:00

Connor adds things to the end of words for some reason. I had some ribs from the Outback for dinner and Connor kept asking for ribbons. I tried to give him a ribbon, but alas, that was not what he wanted. He loved the ribs. We saw cows on the way to gymnastics and he kept saying he saw a boulder. Yeah. He meant a bull. Then he said he wanted some rootberries. It was, of course, root beer that he wanted.

Panda Express

2009-08-04T03:06:00.000-07:00

We were driving past Panda Express and Josh said "It's a baby bear from China." It took me a second to realize that we drove past Panda Express, which has a picture of a panda bear on it. He's getting so smart!

Soccer

2009-07-30T03:06:00.000-07:00

Josh and Connor had their first day of soccer yesterday and they loved it! They both did really, really well. I had no idea they were so good. Brad played with them a lot last year but hasn't played much with them this year, but they really remembered how to play, and practice paid off. Josh scored 4 times! I think the score was actually 4 to 3. Maybe 5 to 3. The coaches kept giving him 5 and people would cheer, and on the last goal, one coach put Josh on his shoulders and ran around. I think Josh loved it, because he isn't usually the center of attention. Connor fell down a lot, but that's to be expected. Gosh, I hope they don't kick him out or anything, because he would fall, and then kids would all trip over him and fall. He's a real liability! But he was so good at staying on that ball and kicking it. If it wasn't Josh kicking it, it was usually Connor. The coaches had to take the ball away from them so the other kids had a chance to kick it. I wonder if we practiced with them on everything if they would be good at everything, or if they just have a real talent for soccer?

Here's Connor, though. We were getting in the car and the kids were running around the car. The passenger front door was wide open--very easy to see--and Connor ran smack into it and bumped his head. Then we got to where they were playing soccer. I let him out of the car and two steps into the run to the soccer practice, he tripped and fell and scraped his knees a little. I do not even know how many times he fell during practice. Probably 20. The coaches had to tie his shoes twice. He fell on the way to the drinking fountain. But it was not his shoes--this is normal. Earlier in the day he ran straight into a kid. The kid was just standing there, and here comes Connor--smack! I guess the kid was bigger than Connor and it didn't seem to bother him, but geez kid! He used to run straight into the walls a lot, but seems to have gotten past that now.

Augh!

2009-07-20T04:35:00.000-07:00

So you know how just when you think you're catching up on money, something just has to happen to make that not true? Yesterday morning I pulled up in our driveway and the engine was steaming and coolant drained out of the Jeep. There was coolant everywhere, like a little coolant explosion. I got Brad out of bed and I was taking care of the kids while he checked it out. We seem to have car trouble happen with both of our cars at the same time, so I'm just hoping that's not always true. The check engine light has been going on and off in the Jeep too. Brads job just moved to Bluffdale, a 40 minute drive away, so we need both cars. Brad finally got the leaking tire changed on the van. We just don't have any time to get these things done, because we're working so hard trying to catch up with money. There is no climax to this story. Brad, yay Brad!, figured out that a hose had come off and hit the fan, cutting it up, so he was able to fix the hose and we think it's fine.

Last night I was going to put breadsticks in the oven, so I turned it on and almost immediately there was smoke coming out and a really awful electrical burning smell. I don't even want to bother trying to figure out if we can fix it or not. I think this is the original oven to the house, from 1992, and I won't be sad to see it go. I want a flat cooktop that is easy to clean! I just don't want to spend $500+ to get it. And can you believe they sell the electric cords seperate? What?

If anybody has an opinion on a great stove, send it my way! I figure the van is due to break in October because that's when the warranty is up and soon we will have another car payment. And it's time to renew the passports.....Man, we are never gonna get our boat!

"That's what you're sposed to do"

2009-07-19T00:38:00.000-07:00

I was delivering mail today while all the fun Spanish Fork happenings were happening. So Brad told me about this. He took the kids down to the park where they had some activities going on. There was a booth where you hit the target with a softball and the guy falls in the water. I don't know what it's called. So Brad paid the dollar and Josh got 5 balls. He didn't hit the target hard enough to get the guy to fall. So after Josh missed with the last ball, he ran up and pushed the target with both hands and made the guy fall in the water. Then it was Connors turn. He got the balls, put them all down, and ran and pushed the target, too, and made the guy fall in the water! What kind of boys am I raising? So Brad told me about that and I asked Josh if he did that and he said "That's what you're sposed to do." That guy deserves a tip!

My kids a friggin' genius!

2009-07-08T02:24:00.000-07:00

I took Connor to his 4 year check-up on Monday. He weighs 30 lbs, 6 oz., and is 38 inches long. The doctor asked him some questions that he didn't answer very well, so the doctor was concerned and sent his assistant in to do a little test. There were 4 pictures on each page and the assistant would say the word of one of those pictures and Connor would have to pick the right one. Well, Connor kept going and going. I think they stop after the kid has gotten a certain amount wrong. One example is the word "construction". One picture was a guy hammering in a nail, one was a sander sanding a piece of wood, one was a guy putting together a box, and I can't remember the last one. So they could all kind of be interpreted as construction, but it was obviously the guy hammering in the nail on a house that they were looking for. Another one was "greeting". It had some people coming into a house waving, some people leaving a house waving, and I can't remember what else. So you can see that these could be hard, especially for a just turned 4 year old. Well, Connor got up to age 14-15 words. These are what kids are expected to know at 14-15 years old! When the assistant left and the doctor came back in, he was just like "Well, Connor did very well on that test. We don't have to worry." I know he's not a genius, but I sure was impressed. He knew words that I had no idea he knew. Those minds are little sponges!!

"I want to ride the cows."

2009-07-05T23:38:00.000-07:00

We were at my grandparents ranch in Colorado for the 4th of July. The kids kind of herded the cows off and they walked away somewhere. I told Kaytlynn to come back to the house and she just walked away from me toward the cows and said "No. I want to ride the cows."

candy station

2009-06-30T03:20:00.000-07:00

We pulled in to get gas and Connor said "Are we going to the candy station?"

Funny Story

2009-06-26T03:06:00.000-07:00

I was just talking to a friend from work and this story made me laugh, so I thought I'd pass it on. Here at the Spanish Fork movie theatre they have free summer movies. These free movies are packed! Of course, we are in Utah Valley, so packed free anything comes as no surprise. Well, my friend got to the theatre 30 minutes early so her and her three sons could get seats all together. Half an hour into the movie, her little boy had to use the bathroom, so she took him to the bathroom and her other 2 sons watched the movie. When she came back there was a lady sitting in her seat. She had to squish her way through the aisle to her seat, just to find it taken. She told the lady that that was her seat and she just took her son to the bathroom. The lady said "You gotta freakin' be kiddin me" My friend said, "No. I'm not kidding you, mam. My son had to pee." The lady said "I have freakin' 8 kids, there's no way I'm moving." Now I think this is awesome--my friend, instead of trying to find a different seat or go home, which is what I would have done, I'm sure, says "You will get out of my seat or I will sit on your lap." Awesome! This lady came in and moved my friends kids down, who were telling her that their mom and brother were sitting there, then put at least 2 kids in each seat and one on her lap. Now, I feel for the lady, but what a rude person! I need to take a lesson from my friend on how to stick up for myself......

I'll spank you

2009-06-23T16:08:00.000-07:00

Josh asked me how many minutes until I would come and play with him downstairs. I told him I didn't know and he said "You tell me, or I will spank you." That made me laugh. I have never spanked or threatened to spank Josh. Hmmm. Wonder where he got this from?

Somebody is giving me $75,000! Yippee!

2009-06-20T19:05:00.000-07:00

Greetings My Friend,
I am Kluka Darlene A. I have been waiting for you since to contact me for
your Confirmable Bank Draft of $78,000 but I did not hear from you since that time.
Then I deposited the Draft with TNT Delivery, West Africa, I travelled out of the country
for a 3 Months Course and I will not be back till end of September.What you
have to do is to contact the TNT Delivery West Africa as soon as possible to know
the delivery of your package to you because of the expiring date. For your
information, I have paid for the delivery charges, Insurance premium and
Clearance Certificate Fee of the Check showing that it is not a drug money.

The only money you will send to the TNT Delivery to deliver your Draft direct to your
postal Address is ($215 USD) only being Security Keeping Fee of the
Delivery Company .

Contact Person: Mr.David Mark
Email :tntafrica.dispatchunit@live.com
Tel :+234-702-9066-207
Finally,you are expected to pay only $215.00 USD and make sure that you re-confirm your
Postal address and Direct telephone number to them again to avoid any mistake on the
Delivery and know when it will get to your address.
Yours Faithfully,
Kluka Darlene A.

I found this very funny. Whoever wrote this must have had $ signs in their eyes and been thinking how clever they were. Poor thing doesn't know how bad their English is. Auhhhh, so sad.

Connor quote

2009-06-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

Connor: "The big giraffe just pooed a baby and it was a boy." He seriously loves Animal Planet!

They found us

2009-06-08T01:36:00.000-07:00

The ants have found us. Now we have to move.

Whew!

2009-06-05T00:42:00.000-07:00

So I think the pregnancy scare is over. Reading up on stuff, there is a 1% chance of getting pregnant post-vasectomy. 1 in 100. hmm. It inspires me to go double up on the BC. A 1 in 100 chance is pretty good, but being that 1 would be so, so bad. Now I've just got to figure out why I've been feeling so crappy.

Connor and T-ball

2009-06-05T00:29:00.001-07:00

I asked the boys who was going to T-ball today and Josh volunteered Connor as Connor raised his hand. So I took him to T-ball. He couldn't stop hopping again. He just kept happily hopping as the coaches would instruct them what to do, while he was waiting in line, while running to get the ball--everything. He is the teeniest kid there. You couldn't tell he was wearing shorts because the smallest T-shirt available drowns him. So Connor is not so naturally talented as Josh when it comes to T-ball. Josh could really throw that ball far and Connor really can't. Josh hits the ball hard, and Connor barely hits it. Josh is a faster runner and understood directions a little better. We always thought Connor would be bigger than Josh by now and a natural at sports. He's not. He is really good at gymnastics, though. (Which he went to on Wednesday.) He told me when we got in the car "I had so much fun!" I'm sure he will be better with practice. And don't tell anyone, but it's a 4 and 5 year old class, and Connor is 3. He's not supposed to be there. He also has mostly 5 year olds in his gymnastics class. So he's doing good!

Newest Addition

2009-06-05T00:13:00.000-07:00

We got a new addition in the backyard. A 14 foot trampoline with safety net. I was just bumming around on ksl and craigslist last night and the kids have been asking for a trampoline. Connor doesn't like to leave the neighbors house because of their trampoline. I found one without the metal springs (they are the fabric kind) and with a safety net for $140. Looking up trampolines, the cheapest one like that was around $500. So we took the long trip out to Tooele to pick it up. It took us 4 hours to get there and back--that included a trip to the gas station and McDonald's. Hopefully it was worth it! We will see tomorrow. I'm excited for the kids. And Connor can practice his gymnastics stuff on it. He is already a dynamite jumper on the ground--I think he'll be really good at doing jumps on his snowboard and wakeboard and all that when the time comes. There will be a little less room in the yard for playing soccer, but I guess we can cope with that. I'll have to be careful, since I have taken to peeing a little every time I'm bounced high on the trampoline. Now our backyard will look like all the other backyards in Utah....playset, trampoline, playhouse, motorized kid cars. Yikes! I always found it funny flying over California there were pools in tons of the backyards. Then you fly over Utah and there are a ton of trampolines.

T-ball

2009-06-03T01:41:00.001-07:00

Today was Josh's first day of T-ball. He played last year and loved it almost as much as I loved taking him and playing with him. Today he would not get out of the car. Brad took him and Josh was crying and saying he just wanted to go home. So Brad brought him back and I had a go. Josh does this at everything we go to. Cries and whines and says he wants to go home. Then we get him in and involved and he loves it and doesn't want to go home at the end. Well, I tried everything. I tried asking, begging, bribing, reasoning, using reverse psychology, and anything else I could think of. Nothing worked. He said he just wanted to stay in the car and go home. I told him I was going to go have fun. I went and got his shirt and hat and came back to see if he'd changed his mind. Nope. Still buckled into his car seat sulking. I went back out and watched the kids play. Went back to the car and he still wanted to go home. I told him that if he didn't play he wouldn't get a snow cone on the way home (a tradition from last year.) That didn't phase him. I told him he could go home after and play the computer and that didn't work. I begged him to play because I wanted to play and couldn't without him. Nope. I unbuckled his car seat and unlocked the doors and went and sat on the grass, thinking that I would hear the car door anytime and see him getting out. Nope. 15 minutes later he was still sitting in his car seat. So finally, I thought 'We're not wasting our money and time on this. Connor would absolutely love this more than he has loved anything, ever. Even monster trucks and licking dirt.' So I took Josh home and got Connor. Connor is less than a month away from his 4th birthday anyway. He got to play for only 10 minutes, but that kid was so excited! He was hopping, hopping, hopping. He could not keep still. If he wasn't running bases, he was hopping. He is going to have a blast. Good thing we've got a back-up player.:) Josh is so stubborn, I can't believe it. I cannot see Connor ever doing anything like that. Kaytlynn, on the other hand....she takes after Josh. Oh, well. It will be more fun with Connor anyway. *Sigh*

Blah!

2009-06-03T01:28:00.000-07:00

I have not been feeling well for about 2 weeks now. The best way to describe my symptoms is pregnant. I feel like I am pregnant. Headache, nautious, a little dizzy, heartburn, emotional (I keep crying for no reason), and a few other not-so-nice things that pregnant people get. Now, I am hoping and praying that this is not the case. I have not been drop-dead tired like I was with the other kids, so that gives me hope. Brad had a vasectomy a little over 2 years ago, so that also gives me hope. What does not give me hope is the 5 different stories I have heard of failed vasectomies lately. We planned to have only 2 kids, and as you all know we have 3. It took a lot of talking and begging and time for Brad to consent to having the v-word. And our third child, and a scare of having a 4th.
There are so many good people out there who would take the news graciously, saying that their surprise is a gift and all that, but I am not going to lie to you, I would be devastated. We'd love the kid and everything, but, yeah. Kaytlynn was a devastation. Of course I absolutely love that naughty, fiesty little girl and I'd never want her to not be a part of our family now. So if it is true, we will take it as it comes. And if I have a terminal disease that makes me feel pregnant, well, we will also take that as it comes :) Hopefully I've just been working too much.

Knocked out

2009-06-01T03:14:00.000-07:00

So our poor little Kaytlynn knocked her tooth out yesterday. Actually, the floor knocked it out. This is a tooth that we just spent I don't know how much money on capping last month. Probably close to a thousand dollars. She had an accident with the recliner and ended up face down on the floor with no tooth. The dentist said that we should probably just leave it, because 90% of the time they die anyway and it is likely to cause an infection if we try to put it back in and it's a baby tooth. Luckily it's not a middle front tooth, but it's a tooth next to the middle. I always think these little kids with missing teeth look like little trailer park white trash kids. Isn't that horrible? Not to be mean or anything, because I lived in a trailer park when I was Kaytlynns age. So she will be missing a tooth for about 5 years until her adult tooth grows in. Tonight the tooth fairy came and left 2 little "pwetty dwesses" under her pillow, since she's not old enough to enjoy money yet. Poor girl. So when you see her with a missing tooth, that is what happened! Will post a picture when I get one.

Kaytlynn is such a girl

2009-05-26T04:24:00.000-07:00

Kaytlynn likes to change clothes about 8 times a day. Usually the outfits are...well....she has no style. Brad got her a cute little pink sun dress with white hearts. When she woke up from her nap, she came out and did that heavy panting thing with a little bit of a squeal or a squeak coming out and started stripping as fast as she could so she could put on the "petty dwess" She is officially out of the stage of wanting cars like her brothers. She wanted to show grandpa the pretty dress, so we got on the webcam. She wanted to go to his house and had a little angry face down on the ground fit when she found out it was just the webcam. What a girl!

Mothers Day Hike

2009-05-12T00:23:00.000-07:00

I had a great Mothers Day. First I came home from work and got to sleep for 6 or 7 hours. Woo-hoo! When I got up, it was such a gorgeous day that I decided I wanted to go on my favorite hike for mothers day. So we got everyone loaded up into the mini-van and headed up Provo Canyon, past Sundance, to the hiking spot for Stewart Falls. This hike is really pretty, nice, and easy. It doesn't usually take very long. We made it there by 5:45 and started hiking. Brad-well geez. I don't think I've ever been hiking with him before! A little walk in the hills of Scotland is all. He came armed with a knife with a compass, those dinner ration packs, solar blankets, 4 bottles of water, jackets, M&M's, diapers, a filter water bottle, flashlights, and more. I don't know how much that backpack weighed, but it must have been heavy. Soon after we got there Brad had a walking stick. I brought my cell phone. That's all I needed. You get in trouble, you call someone :) Usually I just bring my cell phone, a bottle of water, and some toilet paper. Brad didn't bring any toilet paper or wipes. Funny.

This is a hike that I used to go on on summer nights with a full moon. A bunch of us would get together wearing shorts and sandals and hike to the falls by the light of the moon in under an hour there and back. Well, this hike took us just under 3 hours! It was great though. The weather was perfect. We climbed over some patches of snow at places. The kids had a good time figuring out which animals each of the footprints belonged to. Mostly bear, reindeer, and tigers. They also liked looking at the holes in the ground and figuring out what lived in there. Connor decided that birds lived in the holes in the ground. It took awhile when Kaytlynn wanted to walk and had to "climb" over every small rock and branch. If there was anything over a short step up, she would put her hands down on the ground and "climb" over it. But she did well. And Josh peed for the first time in the wilderness. Yay Josh! I didn't have to work last night, so we didn't have anything we had to get home for. Just didn't want to be out there in the dark. We had perfect timing getting back, though. Just as the sun was going down. Then we went for some Slurpees. Yep, it was a good Mothers Day! I'm looking forward to doing more family things like this now that I know the kids can do it.

Loads and loads of food

2009-05-12T00:04:00.000-07:00

So Beehive Homes asked if I could work this last Saturday, May 9th. Usually the regular at the post office loves to work on a Saturday and take one of the weekdays off. But last Saturday she was going on a trip, and I think I know why. I got some others to cover for me on Saturday at Beehive and told them I would get there when I was done with my route around 2 or 3. That is when I usually get done on Saturdays. I got to the post office at 7:15 after working at my other job all night long and found out it was National Letter Carrier food drive day. Yikes! It made for quite the long day. Luckily I got someone to cover for me at Beehive, because I was done at 6:15 p.m. I do not know how much food I picked up, but it had to be a ton. Literally. I'm sure I picked up 2,000 pounds of food. It just filled the truck.

The first few bags that I picked up brought a tear to my eye. It was so wonderful how giving everybody was! I was excited when I saw another bag filled with canned goods and non-perishable food items. It didn't take long, though, for me to see another bag and be bummed. Where was I going to put this bag, and the next one, and the next one? I saw bags tied to the mailboxes and out on the sidewalk far down the street, and on the other side. There are around 600 houses on this route, and I probably picked up around 200 bags filled with food. Or more. Who knows. I wish I had my camera. So it was kind of rough doing this on no sleep, but then I really am happy to have helped. And not just because they rewarded us with Krispy Kremes! But, yeah. It was good, but I'm glad it only rolls around once a year!

Whoo

2009-04-09T00:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, here is what has been going on in the Bradley home (and out of the Bradley home) lately. We got a leak in the boys room/playroom in the basement. A big chunck of the carpet and some of the walls were wet. We think the ground was just too wet and it had nowhere to come but in. We had a nice little bill from a contractor to tell us that and to set up some big fans for 3 days. We are now flat broke! Brad and I were supposed to go snowboarding that day. Hmmm. Brad got a new job, which I hope he will love. He has been on the phones talking to "daft Australians" all day for almost 4 years now. He is ecstatic to be off the phones. I will miss having him work at home and TGN has been a great company. Good benefits, accomadating, fun work parties, good pay. Too bad it's a phone job! Brad will now be working for SEO.com That is search engine optomization. I hope it will be as good as TGN was.
I did not get much sleep last night before going to work, and early this morning I had a runner. This is the first time I have ever had to chase a runner down. She gave me a run for my money! And no Kaylee, I was not working at Beehive Homes-the assisted living place with the 80 and 90 year olds. ;) I was praying that she would stop because I couldn't run much longer. I was very happy when she got too tired. I was really just worried that she'd run in front of a car or I'd lose her and something bad might happen to her, so I'm glad I'm not so out of shape that I couldn't keep up. But honestly, this may have inspired me to work out!
So after that little work-out, I spent the day delivering mail. It was SOOO windy and a little rainy. Wind is really scary to me. I don't know why, but I think it goes back to when my cousin Tanya died. The night we found out she was dead, the wind picked up and seemed to follow me, and it just really scared me and has ever since. It makes me think someone is going to die when the wind howls like it was today. Thank goodness it wasn't dark, because I probably would have been too scared to finish. I am THAT scared of wind.
I am now at work again--the one that I can get onto the internet! Hooray for wireless and laptops! I'm tired and so ready for bed. I missed Moms Night Out last night, which I am bummed about, and I totally forgot about a meeting last night. I couldn't work at Beehive Homes yesterday and had to find someone to work for me at my other job last night so I could work this one. I really don't want to quit any of my jobs, but I guess I can only do so much. I wish I was wonder woman. Kaytlynn has to have dental surgery on Friday. Not looking forward to that. Ummmm, that's all for now!