Saturday, January 31, 2009

11 days and counting.....

Yep that's right! We only have 11 days until we leave Ogden. Only one more trip to Kirt's :( I'm so bummed. I have loved being here. I can't think of any other time when my life has been so convenient! Everything is right out my back door. People galore ask us what we are going to do with our house and here's the answer folks.....We have no idea! It's ok though cuz we have a complete peace of mind. However.....we have gotten a ton of calls from people that want to rent our house in Tennessee. We NEVER wanted to get into this real estate business but having that house out there is proving to be a worthwhile investment. Don't think it will be something I would want to do for the rest of my life but for now it's working. On the Tennessee house at least! But hey... we still have 11 days to figure out what to do with the Ogden house and who knows what can happen in that time.

So anyway, we went to the Draper Temple open house this afternoon and it is a beautiful temple. They had everyone parking at the church buildings close by and bussed the people to the temple. Well they didn't use just any old bus. It was this huge tour bus complete with bathrooms and all. Ryan thought the bus looked like an airplane since he's never been on a bus so nice! Then we went to the cookie buffet and my kids cleaned house.

Apparently there is something in the Woods' family genes that is rotten and every last one of my kids inherited it! Ryan is the worst and Cody is a close 2nd. I can't believe that Cody's tiny little body has so much stink in there. I have had to put up with their farts all day long and after a while I start getting pissed. We had to drive half the trip to Draper with the windows down. I need to clean up their diet, good heavens!

I can't think of anything else. I'm tired.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

HMMMM.....

I love listening to a kindergartner read!!! Cody is learning to read right now and he sounds every letter out. It cracks me up! Tonight he was reading and he came across the word "use". Apparently, his teacher has not taught him how to blend consonants so it comes out as "us-y." He gets so frustrated and it is torture for me. Good thing he is so freakin' cute. I seriously could not be a teacher.

One of my favorite things is getting my hair done. Charles tells me I'm high maintenance. I get it done every 6-7 weeks. I have been trying to let my hair grow out but today I had had enough. I give my pregnant hair dresser a call and I was told she started her maternity leave yesterday! I'm leaving in 2 weeks and I am going to go nuts. Once we get to Arizona I will have to find someone I like and who knows how long that can take. So, tonight I took matters into my own hands :) I went to Wal*Mart and got some hair dye! Charles took his shirt off and put on rubber gloves and dyed my hair for me. It isn't cut but I figured a new color would make me feel somewhat cuter. He did a pretty good job. He was nervous at first but I stepped him through it. He's a man of many talents and now he can add hair dresser to his list. The color is a little darker than I am used to but I like it! He's a good looking hair dresser.

I can't seem to get enough sugar in my diet lately. I have been baking like a mad woman. Tonight I made some granola and it turned out fabulous. I have been trying to find a recipe that makes chunks of granola and tonight I learned the secrets of making chunky granola. I'm pretty excited about it! I try to get my kids to eat it as cereal but they aren't so much into the healthy eating thing. Today I served wheat cereal for breakfast and it did not go over well at all. I thought it was worth a try though. After the first bite they looked at me like I was nuts so they ended up having eggs in a hole. Josh had cinnamon toast since he can't stand even the look of an egg. He gets that from my sister. She can't stand eggs. I have a story about an egg as a matter of fact. Here goes....Charlie was at soccer practice one day when we lived in Tennessee. He brings over this blue egg to me and says "hey Mom, is this a bird egg?" I asked to him to let me see it and I squeezed it a little and the dadgum thing broke open and splashed all over me! I was pissed! It was so disgusting. Charlie knew I was extremely irritated but he chuckled anyway. I had to go home and change and wash up. I called my sister on the way home to tell her all about it, knowing her feeling of eggs. She couldn't stop gagging. It was bad. So anyway, there's that.

I have a hilarious story about my little niece. Apparently there is a little girl at her preschool that always tells her she's fat. Well, she is far from fat but hearing this is giving her some self esteem issues. My sister told her she needed to stand up for herself and to tell that girl to not be so mean to her. Well about 2 weeks ago this brat tells her once again that she is fat. This time Alyssa wasn't gonna take it. She says to the little girl, who happens to be of African American descent, "well you have butthole hair." Ok-if you knew my sweet, blonde headed, adorable niece this would be even more hilarious! Needless to say, she hasn't been called fat since then. I guess she told her. My sister has no idea where the term "butthole hair" even came from! :|

I haven't been to the gym in 2 days. I'm a little stressed over moving in 2 weeks. Plus, Charles is asking me tons of questions about our taxes and it is making me nuts! I think I need a cookie! I gotta get to the gym. I need some sunshine too. Arizona will be good for that.

Monday, January 26, 2009

I love America :)

Apparently there has been question of whether or not I voted for Obama. A certain someone thought that one of my previous post insinuated that I may have voted dem in the election. I can assure you that this is not the case. I know politics is something that shouldn't be discussed and normally I don't but I just didn't want anyone to think I voted for an African American democrat. I'm an army wife from Alabama people! Not to mention all the crap he's done in the few days he's been in office. I won't even go into all that.

I had a great weekend. Trisha, her mom and I went to time out for women and it was fabulous. We got a weekend with no obligations, chores, cooking, laundry or any other mundane tasks we normally have to do. Although....Trisha has a great time doing day care, don't let her fool you. She LOVES her job...right trish?!! TOFW was great. They had lots of good speakers and performers and we even walked away with a cute totebag. I was supposed to win the shelf reliance food shelf but they accidentally drew someone else's name instead. Oh well! I learned some valuable things while I listened to the talks. I learned that it's ok that college would bore me to death. Maybe that will be something I want to do when I get older and my kids are raised. But then again...maybe not! We don't have to be everything all at once. We can do things one at a time and that's ok. Right now I have to focus on being a mom and be the best I can be at that. It does take a lot of time to get good at that job! At least for me it does. It's good to laugh. It's ok that our kids aren't good at everything and we shouldn't model competitve behavior....oops! We need to prioritize important things and make sure we have the basics down before we move onto other things. I'm glad I went and maybe I'll get to go to the one in Phoenix in October!

Ok... apparently some of those that are not from the southern part of the country feel like the African American race are so mistreated. I had a conversation today with a sister that I visit teach and she asked me about this. She wasn't trying to be rude but was just unfamiliar with the race. She wanted to know a southerner's take on the black folks. Let me assure you people that the blacks in the south are like no other you have encountered if you've never been further east than Colorado. If the African American community knew how their ancestors had to live in Africa they would be on their knees everyday thanking the good Lord that he sent them to America. Those people need to stop thinking about things to complain about. I could write an entire novel about this but I will stop here. It irritates me.

I think that's about all the racist remarks I have for tonight :)

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Update.....

Just in case there is anyone out there interested in the cowboy cookies.....I made them tonight and they are the BEST cookies I have ever eaten or baked. I thought I needed to share this recipe since I do not want to keep this goodness all to myself. Here goes.....

2 c. flour (I used all whole white wheat flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. butter, softened
1 c white sugar
1 c brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups rolled oats ( I used regular oats, not quick)
1 c chocolate chips ( I used the whole 2 cup bag)
1 c coconut

Preheat oven to 350. Sift together the first 4 ingredients. Set aside. Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Stir in sifted ingredients. Stir in oats, chocolate chips and coconut. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Eat and repeat!

I wasn't sure how the coconut would be in these. I had some I needed to get rid of so I said what the heck. It was delicious. The texture was fabulous and I enjoyed myself to the max as I partook. This recipe made about 3 1/2 dozen for me. However, if you don't have anyone eating the dough I'm not sure how many it would make! Let me know if any of you try it.

Rantings of a mad woman.....

If there is anyone out there that is preparing to move in the next 6 months you have to promise yourself and your spouse that you WILL NOT get a divorce. EVERY time we move I want to give Charles a great, big slap and a swift kick to the groin. It is such a stressful time to uproot your life and move on to the next assignment. I do have to say, the army has been a good life for us as long as we get to stay put. I know, I know, I brought this move to Ogden on myself. I had to get out of Tennessee though. I would have gone nuts had I stayed. And boy am I glad we did move. Charles put the house up on KSL today and he did not want my advice on the pictures he should put up. First of all, he was getting all the junk we have lying around our house in the pictures. I mean, people don't want to see all your kids' trophies and Spongebob CD player in the background. They want to envision your home with all THEIR crap, not yours. Anyway, we had some disagreements on that, but we're fine now. We'll be good until he irritates me again. Reintegration is hard folks, it's not all great sex and fun!

Well, the tooth fairy forgot to come and get Josh's front tooth last night! Whoopsie daisy! Dang it, I hate when I do that. As a matter of fact, when Cody came to tell us, this morning, the tooth fairy hadn't come I had to remind Josh that it took 2 nights the last time he lost a tooth. :| Josh thought she didn't get his tooth and leave him some loot because his tooth container had fallen off of the bed and maybe she couldn't find it. I assured him that is probably exactly why she didn't get it but promised him she would for sure get it tonight. Hey...I can't be perfect all the time.

In an effort to clear out the pantry and get rid of some of our food, I've been baking up a storm lately. Baking means eating also! I need to get a handle. Today's recipe was whole wheat waffles. I'm not a great morning person. Therefore if breakfast food isn't made ahead of time then it's something quick and easy in the a.m. So, since I did the waffles today, while most of the kids were at school, they get to have hot, fresh out of the microwave waffles all week long! Cody actually helped me make them. At one point, I had walked out of the kitchen to see if Charles needed my help trying to get our house sold, and he had taken the waffles off of the iron and added more batter to it. He was quite pleased with himself and I was equally excited knowing this could be a job he can take over! It's was a great experience for both of us! Cody likes to bake as well. He likes the finished product most of all!

Well tonight's recipe will be cowboy cookies. I'll let you know how they turn out. The recipe calls for chocolate chips so I'm pretty sure it will be fine!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Democrats have taken over.......

It's ok th0ugh.....I have to be disgruntled...I'm an army wife from Alabama and a democrat is a whammy! There's no telling how many people that will piss off:) Of course, it is MY blog!

Does anyone remember the salmon tacos I mentioned a while back? Well, tonight was the test run for those babies and WOW! were they good! If they sound delicious to you, here's the recipe. I'm pretty sure if you substituted with chicken or beef it would be equally scrumptious. I've been in a cooking sort of mood lately since we have a lot of food to get rid of before we move. We're close to our moving weight and we have to decide if there's anything we can get rid of.

Charles and I went on a bike ride at the Ogden River Trail. It was fun until about halfway through. I was so tired and ready to be done. I didn't think that trail would ever end. It was a very nice ride though and a great day to be outside. I had gotten all bundled up for our little trek, since it was 22 degrees outside, but by the end I was sweating like a pig. I always think that I am in relatively decent shape until I get on my bike for a ride. The gears are all jacked up and I can't go below 5 on the right gears. It kicks my butt every time I ride that thing. A few days on that thing and I would be in some good shape in no time!

Oh yeah, I have good news! Charles called the housing office in Arizona today and they told him they should have a house on post for us to move into by the time we get there next month. That means we won't have to live in a hotel for a month. This is fabulous news for us! Hope it works out. It should...we're good people.

Tomorrow is shake night!! I can't wait :)

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend!!

I was talking to my sister tonight and she tells me she's convinced that mothers get a free ticket to heaven for all the crap we have to endure. She had to give the family hermit crab a proper funeral today. If you knew my sister you would be laughing your a-- off right now. She even had to write a goodbye note and say a prayer at the grave site. If her kids hadn't been home little Hermie would have been out with tomorrow's trash. But...since they were home and she loves them more than anything in this world and that's the kind of mother she is....there she was standing over the grave of a hermit crab trying to comfort her crying kids. We did have a damn good laugh at the story while her kids weren't around. Love her!

I, on the other hand, sat through yet another pinewood derby this evening. I think there is only one derby Charles had, I mean, got to attend. He was in Birmingham tonight having ribs with his dad. That sounds hard huh? I won't lie, I get resentful. It seems like moms get the poo poo end of the stick most of the time. I know, I know, kids are great and that one marvelous moment is worth it all! I get it. I've never been able to go out of town and have fun. Wait a minute, I was able to go when he got home from Iraq but he didn't have to stay with kids. Now I'm not going to say I have never left town without kids because I have. It's just that when I have gone out of town it's always for a crisis or to help a friend who has just had a baby or something else that isn't fun. He, on the other hand, has been out of town quite a few times in our marriage. It's ok though. Oh and when I have gone out of town, the laundry is done, house is clean and menus are written out and groceries are bought. There was one time when I went to help a friend drive from Denver to Ogden and crisis struck while I was away. Even though my kids were in pain, I did have a smile in my heart when I heard about all the commotion going on in the Woods' house while the B.N.W. was away. Here's what happened......I was somewhere in Colorado maybe...can't remember. Charles calls and tells me Charlie's testicles are hurting and I asked a few questions and we determined maybe he hurt it while he was riding his bike or doing some boy thing. A little while later he calls and tells me Josh's left cheek is swollen like mad. I asked a few questions and got off the phone. He called later in my trip and told me Charlie could barely walk because of the pain in his nuts and Josh's cheek had gotten even bigger. He was in the emergency room that night until 2 or 3 a.m. Now, I'm in Ogden by this time calling Southwest airlines to see how much a ticket would be to get the heck back home immediately. I had to scream at the lady in the ER but in the end everything turned out ok. Charlie had eppiditimitus in his balls and they were pretty sure Josh had an absessed tooth. Both kids were put on antibiotics and healed nicely. I didn't have to come home early and Charles got to experience my life for a moment! He did tell me that he thought he was going to be able to relax a lot more than he did while I was gone. Ladies, let me break this to you now.....MEN WILL NEVER KNOW! It's ok though, cuz I'm pretty sure too that we get a free ticket on the other side. I am totally convinced there is something we can't even dream about that is waiting for us up there.

Vegas....here come the Tucker sisters! We WILL have our day.....some time in June! Until then we'll clean, cook, help kids with homework, run everyone around, do laundry, solve fights, attend pinewood derbies, bury family pets and feel silly doing it, make sure everyone is dressed warm enough...maybe! And be crazy daily. I love being a woman...seriously... I do.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

I know I rant.....

BUT....I have a great life. I have 4 great kids that I want to beat daily, I have a super, great, fabulous looking husband AND I had a Kirt's chocolate, chocolate chip, cookie dough shake tonight :) Life couldn't be better. When I wake up in the morning I will only have 2 days left until Charles gets his nard-sicle home. (Nard-sicle came from my sis) I love that word, I crack up every time I hear her use it! That is one area where Charles and I are so different. I laugh a lot. He has to have something super hilarious to get him going. It's ok though, he's cute and he's good with his hands :)

Anyway, my son has been coming home from scouts for the last 3 weeks telling me this big, grown man has been being a butthole. Now, I know my kids bug me, but I love 'em like crazy and get firing mad when I think someone is hurting them in any way. I asked Ryan what he wanted to do about this guy. I said he had 3 choices...1.I could say something to him at the pinewood derby on Thursday 2. His dad could go to scouts with him on Tuesday and talk to the guy 3. He could say something to the leader. Well he opted for #2. He said I have a tendency to cuss folks out that mess with my kids. Charles felt like it needed to be handled by one of us since it was an adult. So, I have to keep my mouth shut for now and see how things go.

I have lots on my mind tonight that I'm just not sure how to put into words. If there is one thing I hate in this world( besides fake hooters) it's a liar. I absolutely hate liars. It makes me madder than a wet hen when someone lies to me. I actually had a conversation tonight with someone who's spouse just left for prison and the convict spouse is STILL being dishonest. They have left a huge mess for the family members that have been left behind. It is mind boggling. I couldn't imagine hurting someone I love like that and then have to face the consequences of leaving my kids for 2 1/2 years and STILL not coming clean! Crazy.

I have to go to bed and internalize all this.....

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Saturday Night Fever

Well today started out a bit frustrating but did get better. Last night, or shall I say this morning, Josh and I stayed up til 2 a.m. watching Shark Tale. Needless to say, I was dead tired this morning when I was awakened at 5 a.m. by Staff Duty looking for my husband, who is in Tennessee. Love those army guys! I had to call him to let him know he needed to call whoever it was that was looking for him. Ding dongs.

Well, in an effort to get healthy, I bought the Wal*Mart brand of Special K with berries. It's delicious....so....I ate the entire 12 oz box today :| Not so healthy. All these thoughts of moving have gotten me completely stressed out. Stressed spelled backwards is desserts! I have to say though, that cereal was darn good! And I don't even feel bad about it.

I finally took Charlie to the mall tonight so he could get himself some new jeans. We went to Aeropostale so he could get the cool brands. I'm embarrassed even stepping foot in there because it is so teeny bopper and I'm just so old and uncool. Kids crack me up thinking that certain brands make the clothes cool. They will wear the most ridiculous things and think that it's cool as long as it's name brand. Charlie is more interested in a particular style. He isn't so much into the brand thing. It still drives me nuts. He is very particular about his clothes and has been since he was about 5. When he was in preschool he would not wear shirts that touched the crease of his arm where his elbow bends. He would always tell me it "fothered" (bothered) him for his sleeves to touch there. He has kept that tradition alive all these years.

I finally got that giant mound of laundry, that has been sitting in my room for about 5 days, folded. I was sure glad to get that done. Now all I have to do is wash about 5 more loads and put away about 12 loads and then I'll be done!

I can't wait for Charles to get home this weekend. He made reservations for the family to stay at the Stratosphere when we head out next month. Whenever we move we try to make it a little mini vacation so the kids can get excited about uprooting their lives! It hasn't been so bad before but now that Charlie and Ryan are older it's a little harder. Anyway, we are pretty psyched about getting to stop in Vegas. The Stratosphere has a pool where you can opt not to wear a top. We'll pass that up. The last thing I need is for someone to be staring at my south bound twins, for heaven's sake. But why would anyone feel the need to go topless in public? I mean, is there not anything sacred? Ridiculous!

Well I better get in the bed....we have 9:00 church these days. It's killer.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Pickled beets!

I love 'em! Has anyone else noticed how extremely junkie Wal*Mart is becoming. I used to get crap in there all the time but lately it is junk city. Plus their prices seem to be as high as anywhere else. It bugs me.

My husband has been going crazy lately trying to find an enclosed trailer for our upcoming move. In the process he's making me a little nuts. He did find one though, thank goodness. Hopefully this will be the end of the quest. Now, I have to drive out to Roy tomorrow and make sure the trailer looks decent. I have no clue as to where anything is in Roy so Trisha is going to load her van full of day care kids and make the trek with me tomorrow. This trailer better be nice. Thank goodness for good friends. I've been here a year and the grid system STILL confuses me a little :)

My sister and I are planning our trip to Vegas and I am so excited! I can picture it now, we'll be just like Thelma and Louise! We really want to see a Chippendale revue but Charles says heck no! I told him if I can't go to the show he has to dance around for me in one of the costumes!! I don't think men get the concept that a woman can go to something like that and not want to have anything to do with a man dancing around in a bow tie and panties. It's more of a comical thing than anything. I told him it would be like him going to a comedy club. I mean I can't even say the word Chippendale without bursting into laughter!! The thought of being in a place like that with my sister and seeing those men dancing around like that cracks me right up. My sister and I have the same personality and we think the same way. I mean that crap would not be a turn on for any woman that I am friends with. He asked me why I want to go and I told him it was for pure entertainment!! Right ladies! Seriously though, it ain't sexy. But men can't grasp that way of thinking since the sight of Bea Arthur naked could get them aroused.

So anyway, my quest to start my healthy life again is back on track. It feels so good to go to the gym but for some reason the DESIRE is where I get stuck. After 3 1/2 years of going faithfully I STILL hate it. But I'm going to stop saying I hate and start saying I love it and see how that goes. I'll let you know but I'm not making any promises. It's been 2 days since I've eaten any pumpkin chocolate chip bread....I'm on a roll.

Well the countdown is on.....packers come in a month!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

I can't think of a title

My legs and the majority of my lower body are in major pain today! They have been since the middle of my kickboxing class yesterday. I love the afternoon teacher since she doesn't make us do things that make me feel foolish and I still get a kick butt workout! I actually like the sore feeling since it makes me know I'm doing some good. Now if I could just stop baking pumpkin chocolate chip bread I might do some real good!

Charles is into day 3 of his outprocessing journey! Military life is ALWAYS bringing new and exciting challenges! Once you think things are going to go one way the army is quick to inform you that what you thought is a big, fat sike. It's ok though, after the year I have had I think I can try and handle just about anything that comes my way. MaYbE!! :| It is so hard to believe that we will be moving in about a month. Moving is like childbirth.....you always forget how miserable it is until your legs are in the stirrups! I love seeing different places and moving around but the packing process and the initial change absolutely sucks. Of course, I would have taken this opportunity last year at this time instead of sending Charles off for a year. It'll work out...maybe not smoothly... but problems are temporary. At least the army will be moving us and we won't have to worry about packing our kavach! (kavach is Dutch for s--t, for those of you who don't know)

Trisha and I got the grand idea of walking to Smith's tonight. I had to get a few things and we needed to start our nightly walks again and we said "what the heck." It was a good thought until we got out on the icy sidewalks. There were no sidewalks at all on parts of the trip and we were tredging through 6 inches of snow with tennis shoes on. Bad idea! Not to mention sliding through King's prking lot. It was good for some laughs though! :) Matt ended up driving up to get us for the ride home:| Oh well at least we started our walks again. It's not that walking at night is a bad thing, it's just that initial decision of getting up and going that is so dang hard. Until the snow melts we'll have to use the track.

Man, I have a lot to think about for the next month. I try hard these days not to worry about stuff. Worrying doesn't do a bit of good. All it does for me is make me want to poop. But it is hard for me to not worry. Really though, what is the point. Whatever is gonna happen will happen and all the worrying in the world won't change it.

You should see the pile of clean laundry in my room that needs to be folded. :\ Dang it!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Another Manic Monday

OK, so there I am giving my lesson in RS today, when a lady contradicts a personal story I shared! How can you contradict someone's own personal experience? I don't know either! My lesson went well for the most part. I'm always so glad when that bell rings and I know I'm done for at least another 3 months. Well, that was probably the last lesson I will have to give here since we're moving SOON! Too soon. I need to get in moving mode and I'm having a little trouble.

I was blog surfing for some entertainment tonight, you know, since Charles is gone and all. I came across some cooking blogs. I've become quite interested lately in recipe and photography blogs. The cooking blogs inspire me to try different recipes and the photography blogs make me want to learn how to take pictures. There are some amazing freakin' photographers out there. I don't how they come up with some of their poses and background ideas. I have no imagination whatsoever. But one blog I found thepioneerwoman.com/cooking was pretty darn good. I liked the way she writes and she doesn't make herself out to be some perfect being. She seems real and I like that quality in a person. I mean we all know there ain't one of us out there that's perfect, so stop trying to portray that in a blog. I know I talk about that often and it's a soapbox of mine so I'll stop there. Anyway, I'm excited to try some salmon tacos. That's gonna be a resolution for me this year. Try new recipes at least twice a week. I'll keep you posted and let you know how that goes :)

It was 6 degrees on the way to church today! It's sounds like a joke doesn't it? I mean 6 degrees...BRRR! That is seriously one thing I will not miss when I move. I do not like cold weather. Well...the snow is fun and that has definitely been an adventure since living in Utah. But I definitely don't like my girls standing at full salute every time I step outside! Good heavens!

Yes people, I know Alabama lost the sugar bowl to the Utes! Leave me alone about it! I am not even a big football fan. I think I am the ONLY Alabama fan in the state of Utah though! Seriously though, I don't care. I am, however, absolutely thrilled about school starting back tomorrow! Perfect timing too since Charles isn't here to help entertain bored kids!

Can't wait for my Vegas trip with my sis!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Dang IT!

Well, Charles left today for 2 weeks.....CRAP! It's a totally different feeling though. It isn't nearly as bad as it is when I know he is leaving for a year. He has to go tie things up at Ft. Campbell and we'll be done with that place forever January 15th! Thank heavens. It will be nice to be back into some type of a routine. Plus school starts back on Monday and that is an exciting thing :)

I have to give the lesson in RS tomorrow and I'm as nervous as a cat covering up poop on a hot, tin roof :| It is so scary to speak in public. I can't think of anything I dislike more....well maybe a few things! It's definitely up there though. Our church times change tomorrow and we go to the 9 o'clock schedule. I'm not much of a morning person so this is going to be hard for me. But at least I can get the lesson over with sooner. I think it's supposed to be like 5 degrees in the morning too...another thing I don't like so much....coldness. Hate being cold :) Love Utah though!

We've only lived in Utah for just over a year. It seems like it's been a lot longer than that though. Tonight on our way back from the airport we took a little trip down memory lane. It seems weird to now know things I didn't know when we moved here. I'm glad for my time here and for what I now know. Both times Charles has deployed I feel like we both grew so much during the separation. It brings us closer but it's a little sad to know that there are some things in this life I HAD to learn while he was away. I guess I rely on him more than I should. I need to rely more on Christ to help me through things. This is one of the biggest challenges I had to face both times he was gone. Anyway, this year has been full of interesting challenges and obstacles. I'm thankful for the things I've learned and the experiences I've had, the people I've met and come to love and the opportunities I was given. It is so hard to believe I'll be outta here in about 6 weeks. I'm thrilled to know this departure is only 2 weeks long and he'll be back a lot sooner than later. I'm thankful I'm not headed to prison and that I don't have an 80's hair style!! ;) Anyway, I love my family tons and I'm thankful as heck for my kids. (even when Charlie bugs me to death about taking him to Aeropostale cuz he says all of his clothes are nerdy and he needs new ones) Life is good to me!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

It's a brand new year!!

Okay... Lately my postings have been random. Today I have reflected on some of the things that have happened over the last month since Charles has been home. Most of these I haven't even mentioned on here. I'm gonna give a few highlights and have Charles post some pictures for me.

After we returned from California, Cody's teacher asked Charles if he would come and speak to a room full of kindergartners! She wanted him in full uniform and all. I was the one that had actually put the uniform idea in her head! Charles was super bugged about it. He was trying to figure out if he had all the crap he needed to put his uniform together and of course he didn't. We walked over to the school the day before the break and he was completely out of army regulations! I told him not to worry since we were in the middle of Utah and nobody would know what a proper uniform would look like. Especially a room full of 5 year olds! They didn't really care what he had to say and most had no idea we were even STILL fighting a war.

Charles had no idea what to say to a bunch of little kids since he hasn't been around too many in a while! They sang him some patriotic songs and I think I had the most fun of all! Cody was just glad to have his dad home and Charles was just glad to get the heck out of there!

We had some family pictures done outside a couple of days after Christmas and it was FREEZING! We all had watery eyes and red faces! You can totally see in the pictures how cold and miserable we were.






We did get some good ones though and we have amazingly gorgeous kids! :) Can't complain.

Charles got a new video camera for Christmas and we've been getting some good videos on it! Like the one today of Cody snow tubing. We were at Lomond View park and there are 2 sides to sled down. The less steep hill was crowded so ALL of my boys went to the steep side to go down. Charles loaded up the safe sled with Charlie, his brother Matt and himself and headed down. Cody thought it looked pretty darn fun so he went right behind them on his little saucer! Well Cody got to the end of the hill where it dips and he flips off of his saucer into the air and lands face first on the ice!



Poor kid got a bloody nose and scraped the crap out of his cute, little face.

Charles ran over to him to see how he was when he noticed all the blood and had to figure out what orifice the blood was coming from. He cried for a bit but was ok and braved going down the safer hill once again. After his 5th or 6th time down, after his accident, he slid down and was standing at the bottom of the hill when another sledder took him out and accidentally knocked him to the ground. This time it was his head that got knocked and he was definitely finished after that!

Yesterday I put my domestic abilities to use and baked some homemade bread.

I used to make it all the time but put a halt on it when Charles left. Something had to go and the bread was it. But...my skills are gonna get started again. It turned out fabulous and it made me feel good since I really don't like to cook (I do like to bake though). I was reading a blog the other day and the person was writing about how they love to cook and they had made some squash soup and a lemon fritatta. I felt a little inferior but quickly realized I have 5 males that would NEVER eat that even if I did make it. Good for those people that love to cook like that and be adventurous! Oh yeah...today I made some delicious oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookies that didn't require flour! I got the recipe from my friend Rachel. They were tasty. I haven't decided if I should slap her or hug her for that recipe!

We rode the frontrunner to temple square on Monday night this week. That was fun! On the way back to the frontrunner station, on the TRAX and after the lights, there was a homeless man on the TRAX train. He totally had a joint hanging out of his mouth! He was barely awake while riding the train. He got off at the frontrunner station, smoked his joint and got back on the TRAX after he smoked it. Doesn't have money for a house but had money for marijuana! But who am I to judge?

Anyway, this posting is seriously long so I better stop writing. I just had some reflecting I was doing and wanted to write it all down. There's more that has gone on in our last month but those were some of the fun highlights of the last 2 weeks. I love my family and we have had so much dang fun since Dec. 5th. I love being the only chic in a house full of good looking boys!