Happy birthday DAD!!!

Today is my dad's birthday!!! He's 70 today. I am the luckiest girl to have a dad like him. He has always worked so hard for our family. He was the only man in the house with my mom raising 6 girls, and we had a lot of girl animals too!!! To make things worse, when most of the girls were living at home, there was only ONE BATHROOM!!! Can you imagine THAT? I'm convinced there's a golden toilet waiting for him in Heaven in a private bathroom!!! He was such a fun dad growing up, if you were ever throwing a temper tantrum, he would lay on the ground and start singing, "if you chance to meet a frown, do not let it stay.....". Not funny at the time, hilarious now!!! He's a funny and tender man. He has a lot of friends and many people that love and respect him. When I was little, he was custodian at Dixie High School, drove school bus and owned Pete's Taxi. How's that for multi-tasking? But I never felt like he wasn't there. A very present father in everything. His love and support has meant the world to me and I love him very much!!! Happy birthday Dad!!! Just remember, 70 is the new, well.... 70 is just 70 and I love you very much!!!! Have a great day!!!

Let Zion in her beauty rise!!!

So, we took a trip to Zion last weekend with the Clyde's. Here's our loser parent moment for the day..... we had never taken our kids to Zion!!! (insert gasp here). We had a great time and learned a good lesson.... Maddison's allergies are WAY worse than we thought!!! ALWAYS TAKE BENADRYL!!! Jamie was the only one that wasn't able to come with us and we missed her a lot. We were planning on going to the park on Friday, but Peggy mentioned that Cory wanted to go but had to work on Friday, so without many problems, we were able to change it to Saturday so Cory could go!!! It was a great time. So, I really suck at putting pictures on here in order, hang in there.....

Here is Randy, Layla, Cambelle, Steven (he's "special", I think I snapped the picture before he could really do what he was trying to.... Steven can touch his uvula (the doinger in the back of your throat) with his tounge... it makes me hyperventilate with laughter every time he does it), Naomi, Cory and Mazie after Weeping Rock!!!

The kids playing in the sand by the river!!!

Tyler and Naomi held hands THE ENTIRE DAY!!! It was soooo cute!!! They're great friends.
Here's Grandma with Maddison, Naomi and Tyler.
HEY LOOK!!!! It's the Wienermobile!!! That was SOOO exciting for the kids!?!
Here we are at Uncle Timmy's art gallery in "Sprinkledale" as Randy calls it. He can't just say Springdale. But my favorite is "Fredonkey" for Fredonia. I'm laughing just typing it!!! Uncle Timmy owns this art gallery, he features local artists. It was really fun to see his "baby"!!!
Here's Cory taking a picture of me......
While I'm taking a picture of him!!!!
Pick a husband.... Randy and his brother Steven, which is which? Steven's wife used to make fun of me for getting them mixed up, now SHE'S the one that calls Randy, Steven!!! It makes me feel better about getting them mixed around. It's only got me into trouble ONCE and that's a whole different post!!! So, in 13 years, I think that's ok!!! On this day, I'm SURE there was a phone call that went like this, "So, I'm thinking we should wear our wide-brimmed camo hats, what do you think? Let's see how many times our wives call us by our wrong names...hehehehe!!!!"
Our family!!!
Randy playing Frisbee with Steven and the kids.
Cambelle and one of her many "looks"!!! We know we're in trouble!!!


Tyler enjoying the bath from Weeping Rock!!!


Strike a pose there's nothing to it VOGUE!!! Where does she learn this stuff?
Maddison playing photographer!!!

We had such a great time and now my kids can say they've been to Zion!!! We loved driving through the tunnel and Grandma telling the kids about when she and her friends used to run thought it ("before it became illegal"), now she freaks out when my lights didn't turn right on in the pitch black tunnel!!! My, how things have changed!!! I love making memories for me and my family, this was one of those great days!!!

Chicks that rock!!!

So, I was talking to my Aunt Iva today and she was telling me about what happened to my cousin Danielle this weekend. She's a senior and wanted to go to Sr. Prom with a friend that she likes that doesn't go to her school anymore, so she asked him!!! She made all the plans, did everything for the date and even drove to the dance. When they got to the dance, one of her date's friends was there. When her date hangs out with this friend, he kinda acts, well... stupid. Danielle and her date were dancing and his friend was making fun of Danielle. Saying mean stuff, changing lyrics to songs to be mean to her, ect... Well, Danielle had enough. She's pretty strong willed, a personality trait that I hope my daughters have when they need to. She doesn't take crap from anyone, never has!!! She's my kind of girl, it's the last name! Some Albrecht's are born that way!!! So when it came to a breaking point, she decided the only thing she could do was....
LEAVE HIM AT THE DANCE AND GO HOME!!!! That's right... my kick butt cousin left her date at a school dance because his friends were disrespecting her. I know you are all clapping right now!!! I was!!! It ended up, that he didn't know what his friends were saying to her and after he had talks with my aunt, uncle, my aunt's mom and Danielle, he asked her to his Sr. Prom to make it up and she's making him stew, she hasn't given him an answer yet!!! The whole point of this post is to let Danielle know that I think she ROCKS and I hope I can do as good as my aunt and uncle raising girls that they never "settle" for just anything. Girls that are strong and have good self-worth are the kind of chicks I want to be around. Danielle, I think you're amazing!!! Love you girl!!!

Hey G... thanks for the song suggestion!!!

WOW!!!

A great big THANK YOU is going out to our secret admirer. The one that so graciously sent a note and something else with a request to "pay it forward". I hope whoever you are will read this. If you know us, you know we will follow through with your request. It was unexpected and really took our breath away. Thank you. We hope we do well with your gift. Special angels are all around (said with tears in our eyes and barely breathing)!!!

Count your many blessings

I know times are hard right now. Believe me, having a husband that works in construction, our checkbook knows how hard things are. Just when I want to sit down and have a pitty party with myself, I realize that there are people out there that would LOVE to just have my problems. People that I love and respect so much are having a harder go at it than I will probably ever have. It puts things into perspective. No matter what I have to deal with, there are people out there that have it worse. I need to remember that and try to lift them up and feel the blessing that surround me everyday. Count your many blessings name them one by one.

Nighty night!!!

Some of you have seen this on my Facebook, but I had to put it on my blog. Randy and Tyler were watching Randy's cousin, Melissa play baseball. Randy offered to escort them down to some ball fields that they had never been to before. While following Randy and Tyler on the motorcycle, Jason and Melissa were so impressed at how well Tyler was holding still. That's where Randy stopped them and told them that he had to go home... TYLER WAS ASLEEP ON THE MOTORCYCLE!!! When Ty falls asleep, he doesn't wake up, so Randy leaned WAY forward and held on to one of his arms and prayed the whole way home that they would be safe. Because of the shape of Randy's bike, he couldn't even put him on front. It scared the crap out of me when he pulled in!!! They were down by K-mart, which is about 4 1/2 miles away. That's too far when you have a sleeping 7 year old to hang on to!!! Anyhow, ENJOY!!!

By the way, turn the music of at the bottom if you want to hear what Randy says and my obnoxious laugh!!! Before you pause it... look at the song title!!! hehehehe

KISSES!!!

Kiss me!!! But I'm not Irish. I always wanted to say, "KISS ME, I'M AMERICAN"... it just doesn't sound as cute!!!! Are you a hugger or a kisser or a non-toucher? I'm a kisser for SURE, but I'll take a hug and some people I just know are non-touchers, so I'm learning to respect that and not attack them every time I see them!!! I grew up with the Albrecht's being very affectionate. That's what I learned. The VERY FIRST TIME Randy went to Vegas with me, my grandpa kissed him on the lips. That might have been the only man that had ever kissed Randy at that point. He's used to it by now. It wasn't even until that point that I knew it was anything but comfortable for everyone. I grew up that way, "doesn't everyone?" is what I thought. Guess not!!! I like the way my family shows affection and we're not even Irish... imagine if we were!!!! Well, I better go put on some green before the kids catch on!!!

Happy Birthday Peggy!!!!

I wanted to take a minute and wish my mother-in-law a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! She is such a great person. Someone I look up to in so many ways and someone that truly has unconditional love for me and my family. She has showed me how to serve others, how to put others needs over mine and how that will fill my life with love and satisfaction. She LOVES her family. She is so passionate about our family. She is an example to me on how to be a mom. She NEVER judges me. I have given her a LOT of reasons to judge me and she never does. She never questions my parenting ways, again, giving her lots of opportunities, she never goes there. But above everything else I love her for, I love her most for the boy that she raised for me to marry and make me the happiest girl in the world. For that I will always be in debt to her. Mom, I know you will read this and I want you to know that I love you. You are the best mother-in-law anyone could ever ask for. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I love you!!!

By the way... all the kids are feeling better now. Tyler's cultured strep test came back negative, so he just had some kind of virus, some nasty little virus. Thanks for all your concern.

Our Haunting Time!!!

This Halloween was a different one for the Clyde family. We usually dress up, but because of recent happenings, I decided I needed rest more then I needed to dress up, don't worry, our costumes next year will make up for it all!!!!

Update on the Ty boy....

So this weekend was a doozy. After our trip to the doctor on Sat. Tyler continued to get more sick. His fever was around 102 all night. Sunday I couldn't get his fever below 102.8 at one point it was as high as 103.5 That's when I got really worried, cold cloths all over him, Tylenol and Motrin, calling the doctor, and calling Randy out of Bishopric meetings to get home to give him a blessing. The doctor said the anti-biotic was in him long enough that the fever should be gone and so I should get him to Instacare. Off we went. We waited for 50 minutes when a nurse came out and took his temp, it had dropped to an even 100. She said to me in a snotty voice, "well, his fever is dropping, so I guess you can go home. There's nothing really we can do for you." I wanted to get my num-chucks out an whoop her a** right there in the waiting room, but I decided that wasn't a good idea. So as nice as I could, after 2 completely sleepless nights, I told her, "our doctor told us to come down for further testing, we'll wait for the doctor". She rolled her eyes and walked away. Again, refraining from punching her in the back of the head, I let the skinny little brat go. Ahhh, so they finally call us in, and the doctor had a whole different attitude than his little assistant. He was really worried for Tyler. They did a flu test, meningitis, mono and a full blood work up. All of which came back negative. He told me Ty just has a severe case of strep. Treat the fever and things will start getting better. I told the doctor I felt like I had wasted his time, and he informed me that I had done the right thing. He said if it was his son, he would have done the same thing and if he was a betting man, he would have bet that Tyler had mono. Thank goodness he didn't. We came home, put him to bed and listened to him cry all night because his throat was so sore. His fever never came back up, but his throat is raw and his voice is gone. This morning he woke up like a whole new man!!! He had energy again and was ready to go to school. His throat and voice are still bad, but he's doing a lot better!!! He went to bed early tonight. I'm predicting that he'll be even better tomorrow!!! I haven't seen him this sick since he had pneumonia when he was 1. I'm glad we're over the bad part. Thanks everyone for you well wishes!!!

This is Tyler ASLEEP at the doctor's office today. He went to bed last night with a fever, woke up this morning with a bigger fever, sore throat and generally feeling sick. Cambelle wasn't feeling good, either. She's had a runny nose for a couple days and is more crabby than normal. So, I took them both in. Tyler has strep (I HATE strep, it makes the kids SOOOO sick) and after the nurse took 4 times to flush each of Cambelle's ears, she found that Cambelle has really bad ear infections. So they both got shots (and Happy Meals as bribery for the shots) and hopefully will get feeling better soon. Our poor kids. Maddison's rash is getting better, but not all the way yet, so we're 3 for 3. Not a fun time at our house. When Tyler was waiting for the doctor, he got cold (a 102.5 degree fever), curled up in his shirt and fell fast asleep. I had to wake him up TWICE!!! Anyhow, hopefully they're on the mend.

As a side note we had a Jetette reunion last night and had a BLAST!!! It was so great to get with those girls again. I will be getting pictures soon and then I will blog all about it!!! It was a night to remember!!!!

Maddison's feeling the burn!!!

So, Maddison broke out in this rash on Monday night. I gave her some Benadryl, and sent her to bed. Next morning, still there, more Benadryl and sent her to school. Randy has allergies and she's been sneezing a lot, so I assumed it was allergies. She gets home from school and her cheeks are even more red (her cheeks aren't red in this picture). So I got some Cotizone cream and hoped that would do the trick. Yesterday, got up and her cheeks looked like they had a really bad sunburn. I decided it was best to keep her home from school and call the doctor. This picture is pretty much what her body looks like from her neck to her knees. Took her in and as soon as the Dr. saw her he said, "Ohhhhh, Fifths Disease!!!". Sometimes it's called "slapped cheek syndrome". It's one of the 5 most common viruses. It's extremely contagious. So, she'll be home from school as long as she has the rash and the other kids WILL get it. The biggest problem is with pregnant women. If a pregnant woman gets this, it will cause damage to the baby. So, good thing we're not around a lot of preggos... oh wait, we ARE!!! There goes our interaction with Brittney, Gina and Kristie. It should only last a few days EACH KID!!! She feels fine, so we're in for some cabin fever, I'm sure!!! It will go away without any medicine. Sometimes there's a fever that comes with it, but Maddison hasn't had one. Most adults have had it and once you have it, you can't get it again. Anyhow, I thought I would post this picture so Grandma could see how bad it is!!! Stay away from Maddison!!!

Oh was I a naughty girl....

Whenever Cambelle is acting up, Randy and I always blame it on each other, both of us knowing full well who's genes it came from... MINE!!! My friend Misty told a story of her getting into trouble in school on her blog, then told me it was my turn to tell one like it!!! Well, it's hard to pick exactly which story to tell. I got into trouble A LOT in school... usually because of that big mouth on my face. Anyhow, my favorite (because it involves my parents) was when I was in 9th grade at Dixie Middle School. Now, we all know that the 9th graders rule the school. At least that was my mind set!!! I was in Mr. Bundy's science class. He and I didn't get along very well, for some reason he wouldn't just give in and let me take over his class!!! Grouch. Anyhow, he always got mad at me for talking. One day, he moved me to the front row, thinking that would scare me into shutting up.... HELLO??????? It was like he was putting me on a stage with a microphone with all my L.A. Gear on!!! That just fueled my fire!!! I became more obnoxious than ever. The next step was the hall, door open. That was just a hide and seek game for me, see how long I could stand in the door, making everyone laugh until he saw me. Then he shut the door. At this point he wasn't even letting me INTO class!!! So, the window was mine!!! Blow fishes, funny faces, ect...
One day before class, I could tell he was in a bad mood (not unusual when dealing with a kid like me), he ordered me to the Library. A few minutes later he came in and told me that he was at his whits end and we (me) were going to call my parents!!! Well, looking at the clock, I knew my dad was home by then, I wasn't very afraid. He hands me the phone and tells me to dial.

Mr. Bundy-"Tell your parents that you have a learning disability"
Me-"Hey dad!!! Mr. Bundy says I have a learning disability"
Mr. Bundy-"Tell him that you can't LEARN to keep your mouth SHUT!!!"
Me- "He said 'I can't learn to keep my mouth shut'!!!"
My dad-"What's new?"
Me-"He said, 'what's new?'"
Mr. Bundy- "Ask him what I should do to keep you quiet"
Me- "Dad, he wants to know what to do to keep me quiet?"
My dad (with a giggle)- "Tell him to tape your mouth shut!!!"
Me- "My dad said to tape my mouth shut."
Mr. Bundy- "GIVE ME THE PHONE!!! Mr. Memmott, this is not a joke, I CAN NOT have her disrupting my class anymore!!! (said in a voice like a Nazi leader)
My dad- "I'm serious!!! Tape is the answer!!!"
Mr. Bundy- "We'll talk about this later" (with obvious frustration in his voice)

That period ends with me in the hall like normal. The next day, Mr. Bundy invites me back to my front row seat!!! I was so excited- TIME FOR MY RULE AGAIN!!! I sit down, ready to terrorize!!! That when it happened.... he said, "Before I begin class, I need to do one thing...." he opens his drawer, pulls out 6 rolls of duct tape, shrink wrapped all together. "Hope, if I open this, I will use EVERY INCH!!!!" I knew I was in for it!!! My dad had given him permission. I kept my mouth SO shut!!!! At the end of that quarter, my mom transferred me to a different class, because, "Mr. Bundy and I didn't get along"!!! I can't imagine being with him for another day!!! I know you're probably SHOCKED by my behavior back then, I'm so different now...hehehe!!! So, if you have any stories of being naughty in school, feel free to share!!! Misty, was that a good one? By the way... the picture is of me and my friend Amber at Sea World with my Aunt Vicky and Uncle Gus when we were going into 9th grade, we look so innocent, huh?

Guess where we're going????????

That's right!!! General Conference!!! Now, to some of you, that might not be so exciting, but Randy and I have never been to conference. Every year for the spring conference, Randy's mission (the Scotland Edinburgh mission) has a reunion and we always get the notice the week before conference and by then it's too late!!! So, last year I made it a point to remember for the next spring to make more of an effort to go (he's never been to a reunion). Since Randy's been put into the Bishopric in September, I think I've handled him being away from the family kinda ok, but lately I have really struggled. I've been wanting to go somewhere just the 2 of us. When I remembered the conference idea, I got really excited. Maddison is 9, so we could take her, but I'm selfish enough and my in-laws and parents love us enough, that this trip is going to be just Randy and I!!!! I can't wait!!! The kids will stay with the grandparents down here and WE'RE OUTTA HERE!!! Doesn't that sound fun just to spend a weekend alone? We really like being together, so it does to us!!! Some people wouldn't really care to spend a weekend alone doing something like this, but I think it's our Heavenly Father's way of patting me on the back for whining so much!!! So, watch out SLC.... HERE WE COME!!!