Scouts

Today is Tyler's first day at scouts. His first scout experience is going to be pack meeting. I remember vividly when Tyler was born, the day I had him and realized that I really had just given birth to a boy and the following thought was ..... "OH NO.... SCOUTS!!!!". You have to understand that I'm the youngest of 6 girls and NO BOYS. I have no idea what scouts is all about. I feel like it's this black hole I'm going into and not knowing anything. It's so uncomfortable for me, but I know that it will be easier with Randy by my side. He is an Eagle Scout, so he will know the ropes and the fact that Tyler is SOOOOO excited will help a lot too!!! I will support my son in going to scouts and I will try to keep my poopy attitude to myself!!! One thing that is fun, Randy's mom kept his cub scout shirt from when he was little, so Tyler has it now. He tried it on Sunday and wouldn't take it off!!!! It's funny to think of Randy being a little boy, little enough to fit into that exact shirt!!!! Most boys would be excited to get a NEW shirt, but Tyler's stoked that he gets to wear his daddy's shirt!!! So, wish me luck, I need it!!!!!

Blah

So, I don't feel like doing much of anything lately. Even my blog is being neglected. I am ok with this. I will join back into my regular blogging schedule when I feel like it!!!! SO THERE!!!! :)

Happy 8th birthday TYLER!!!!!!

Today is our sweet boy's birthday!!!! HERE is last year's birthday post. I'm hoping not to repeat myself too much.

Here is the first picture I got to see of our sweet son just 8 years ago today.

His life has been full of ups and downs, medically. But if you look at this kid, all you would see is a loving, giving, selfless, kind and gentle little boy. He is one of my heroes. Now, don't get me wrong, he is all BOY, which means there is a lot of times that I have had to close my eyes and walk away. But, he is such a blessing to us and anyone that associates with him. He has learned the art of snuggling and is THE BEST at it. He is good at so many things, but what I love most about him is nothing that he does or shows everyone that he is good at. The things I love most about him is what he IS. Inside he is one of the most genuinely wonderful people I know. He always wants everyone to be happy, even if that means he has to sacrifice. He is my little "lover boy" and I am so blessed that I get to have him as my son!!! So, without getting too mushy and making you blow snot all over from crying too much, I will just say,

TYLER, I love you so much and you make me proud every single day to be your mom!!!! Happy 8th birthday, little man!!!!!

I LOVE YOU!!!!

Choppy chop!!!

Today was a big day for Cambelle. She got her hair cut for the VERY FIRST TIME!!! She has been waiting until her hair was long enough to donate to Locks of Love, we might be a little short of the 10", but if it's not enough to use in a wig, they will sell her hair to offset the cost of the wigs. This is the first time Cambelle has ever had her hair cut, she was so excited!!!!

It's so fun to go to our friend, Angie's shop to get our hair done!!!
Here is goes!!!!!

It's kind of weird to hold your own pony tail in your hand like this!!!

Getting her first look at the new do!!!!


Angie and Cambelle, 2 happy girls in a hair salon!!! THANKS ANGIE!!!!

Here's the back.........

And here's the front!!!!


Everyone that has seen it has LOVED IT!!!! She's such a cutie and she likes the new hair. She's walking around the house, flipping it about!!! She is one happy little girl!!! It makes her look so much older!!!! What a fun day!!!!

Broccoli soup

Blanche and I with our niece's twins last year!!!

So, my sister Blanche spends about as much time in the kitchen cooking as I do.... not much!!!! But she differs from me in a big way, the stuff she does cook is DELICIOUS!!!! She has a few signature dishes that she has mastered, one of them is Broccoli and Cheese Soup. Well, she lives in Hurricane and I live in St. George and it's probably a good thing, because when she cooks my favorite soup, I would probably never leave her house till it's gone!!!! Anytime she cooks Broccoli and Cheese Soup, she always puts some in a bowl for me. My family doesn't like it, so she just does a little bowl for me. But what this soup represents is so much more to me then just soup. It says to me that my sister loves me, knows me and is willing to spend extra time preparing this meal so I can have some. When I eat that yummy soup, I am filled with enjoyment, but more importantly, it makes me realize how much Blanche loves me. We all show our love in different ways and this is just one way that I feel loved and important!!!

Thanks for the yummy memories Blanche!!!

I LOVE YOU!!!!!

LOVE!!!!

Today is mine and Randy's "first date anniversary"!!! 14 years ago today is when we went out for our first time. We didn't know each other very well, I just knew he was Wendy's obnoxious and extremely cute cousin!!! We would have never guessed that we would fall head over hills in love almost immediately? Neither one of us, that's for sure!!! We went out just for fun and now we have 3 beautiful children and a life that is happier then I ever thought existed!!! So, to that night, 14 years ago when we went to Bio Dome, ate Taco Bell and smooched in the car before the night was over, what I have to say is....... I am soooo glad it happened!!!! I can't think of a better life and definitely not a better man for me!!!! To say I am content is largely an understatement!!!! Babe, I love you to pieces and maybe tonight we can make out just for old time's sake, huh?

HAPPY DATE ANNIVERSARY!!!!

Christmas 2009

This Christmas was as amazing as any!!! We have a great time during the Christmas season. My favorite part of Christmas is getting to spend so much time together as a family. For my family, Christmas Eve is THE DAY that we get together. We know that it's the one day in the year that we are expected to be together. My parent's don't make a big deal about any other holiday or day except for Christmas Eve. This year had a different feel to it, for me, because of my dad's cancer diagnosis. This fall we started to see "family time" a little different. You just never know how long you will have your loved ones around, for me, that's my parents and sisters. We had started eating our traditional turkey rolls when my mom got a call from Tisha, my oldest sister. She lives in Tooele and was the only sister missing that night. My mom handed me the phone to give her directions to my house..... she and her husband came down to surprise us!!! All 6 of us girls were together for Christmas Eve!!! That doesn't happen often, so we were sooo excited!!!!

Here I am with 2 of my favorite men, my sweet husband and my amazing dad!!!

As always, we read the Nativity story from the Bible. This year, Maddison was Mary, Tyler was a very fancy wise man and Cambelle was the best sheep in the land!!!

We got to see Blanche at her best....

I got to flirt with a cute guy......

Cousins played like crazy.......

Spread lots of love.....

And goofing off!!!

Here is all of us girls with our cute parents!!!!
From left to right (youngest to oldest), me, Launa, Blanche, Cindy, Brenda and Tisha.

Here is most of the group that were here for the party. My nephew and his family left before we took this picture, so by my count, that's about 50 family members!!!

But the highlight of the night had to have been my dad's tattoos!!!! We had been teasing that for his "talent" he would show us all his tattoos that he got from doing radiation treatments for prostate cancer. When it came time for him to show us all, he proudly pulled up his shirt and THIS is what we saw!!!!!!




He and my mom had gone and got some temporary tattoos to trick all of us!!!! We all laughed soooo hard!!!!! There were a few of my nieces that were SHOCKED that grandpa had such amazing artwork from radiation, of all things!!!!!!! Hahahahaha!!!! I love my parents and their sense of humor!!!!

After everyone left, the kids got to open their ONE package, which is always jammies.
They LOVE them!!!

We could hardly wait to see what Santa had brought us!!!! This year, we called my parents and they came over to see how we welcome Christmas morning at our house. It was fun to have them there. We teach the kids about Christ the whole year, everyday and especially in December, we focus on the birth of Christ, but on Christmas Day, we like to let the kids just let go and enjoy the gifts they get for being such great kids. I feel our kids are well rounded enough that they know what Christmas Day is all about and on that day, they can just be kids and feel the magic of all the fun gifts and excitement that the day has to bring. We really enjoy the whole day!!!!!

As soon as we were done with everything at our house, we headed over to Randy's parent's house!!! It's always a fun time on Christmas Day over there. The kids exchange their gifts that they have got their cousins and then the adults exchange their gifts and THEN..... we get to the adult's presents from mom and dad. Peggy always puts a code on the presents, not our names. We have to figure out the code, put the gifts into categories and then decide who belongs to which category!!!!! It's hard work!!!! This year was state symbols. Randy was Rhode Island, because his name starts with R and I was Hawaii. We had the state birds, flag colors, state gemstone, state quarter picture, state bird, flower, mineral, ect....... This years was the hardest one ever!!! Without help from the internet, we would still have a stack of presents to figure out!!!! It's such a fun tradition!!!! Thanks mom for all the hard work you put into it, we all know it's quite a task, but we LOVE it, so THANK YOU!!!!




Like I said, this year's Christmas was as fun as ever. We again are reminded of how blessed we are to live by both of our families and get to spend time with them all year!!!! I hope your Christmas was as fun as ours!!!!

Happy New Year!!!!

I want to let you all know that after that rant on the last post, I am feeling much better. After the sedation wore off, the doctor's notes said I would come through this trying time just fine!!!! Some people run and hide in a corner when they are having a hard time. I am not one of those girls!!!! Thank you for your support and encouragement. It means a lot to me.

There is something I have to say with it being New Year's Day. I think this year is going to be a turning point for our family. I expect to see some really neat things happen with us and I hope you are all here to experience them with us. I don't know how to explain some things right now, but I feel we have been prepared in this last year to do things that are not what normal families do. That makes no sense right now, but soon it will, or it might. Anyhow, stay tuned, there might be some excitement coming!!!! Again, thanks for lifting me up when I am down, laughing with me and giving me an outlet to vent and express myself!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!