Monday, October 26, 2009

Happy Fall Y'all

This weekend was one big fall fest. October always seems to be busy and full of fun, Halloweeny things. This season has actually been a great fall season. It's the first one in 4 years that hasn't revolved around Charles either leaving or returning from Iraq. He'll get to be here for trick or treating this year and help eat all the candy! Friday night we took all of our kids and a few extras to the haunted hayride on the post. It was only a short 2 1/2 hour wait to get on the hay. Cody was a little nervous about the scary people jumping and grabbing at him and I was able to realize just how old I've become because none of it was scary to me. On Saturday our stake had a family fun fest where I entered a chili and pie contest and whadya know, I won first place in the traditional chili competition! I sure did. I took 3rd place in the peach pie category and we're pretty sure that competition was rigged;) Charles was for sure I was going to get first place there too. The only thing I walked away with was a lousy certificate that Charles put on our computer as the background:) He's cute! Then today I was able to attend a first grade field trip with Cody. We went to Apple Annie's. It's a big farm where you can purchase all sorts of veggies, ride a hayride, pick pumpkins and enjoy all manner of fall fun! The teachers didn't seem to care too much about the students and where they ended up or if they even made it back onto the bus when it was all over. A few students were lost in the corn maze and luckily they happened upon Holly and myself. Otherwise, I don't think anyone would have given a good crap about them :-| After seeing how that went I was glad as hell that I went and made sure my son made it back safely to Sierra Vista.

My prize for making a dang good pot of chili!

So as we've celebrated the season this year it has made me reflect on years past. My sister reminded me a few days ago of my first October without Charles. It was 2005 and she and her kids came into town, when we lived in Tennessee, the weekend Charles left for Iraq. We were determined to not let his departure get me down. We planned a fun day at some apple orchard. The name of the place has slipped my mind. You'll know why after you read this paragraph. We get there with 6 kids in tow and quickly realize what a giant dump the place is. The hayride was just around the dirt parking lot, pony rides were $5 to ride in a circle a few times, the animals in the petting zoo looked to be near death and wouldn't eat any of the food we bought to feed them. Then we went to purchase "apple sundaes" at $4 a pop and they turned out to be an apple with whipped cream piled on top. I handed Josh his sundae and it was in his hands for about 3 seconds before it hit the dirt and he was crying! A good time was had by all! My sister and I still have the yard stakes we bought that day, it helps remind us every year of what a grand time we had! Dadgum, deployments suck. Glad all that's over.

Our day in October 2005 at the crappy "pumpkin patch"

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Fall Break......

is almost over:) We've had a good week though! It's nice to get a break from early mornings and kids that don't want to get started. We went camping on Monday and got up Tuesday and went canoeing and fishing. Our kids seem to be a little like me when it comes to fishing. No patience when it comes to waiting for the fish to bite.

Charlie and Ryan ended up canoeing around the lake while Charles was teaching the younger ones how to fish. Charlie and Ryan both thought they were canoe pros and sat in the canoe yelling at each other and sounding like Lucy and Ethel the entire time.



You could hear them around the entire lake. Neither one of them thought there was anything wrong with acting like a fool. Josh learned how to cast a reel and ended up losing the bass lure but sure had fun doing it. Cody got tired of fishing and started throwing boulders in the water that were sure to keep the fish away!
Cody before he started tossing rocks at the fish.



Josh waiting to fish.

All in all it was good, wholesome, family fun!

The view from the canoe!

With 4 boys there is lots of farting, saying "shut-up!", aggravating each other, name calling, blaming, the list goes on, but there is love all around, I promise!

Wednesday, October 14 my oldest baby turned 13! He is now smarter than his father and me! We invited his friends over for a bonfire and like, oh my gosh, it was a totally awesome time! Let me just say I'm kind of glad I don't have girls! Charlie sure likes them though :) It really turned out to be a fun party that was my idea and nobody thought it would turn out as nice as it did. I'm an awesome mom, I don't care what anyone says!

Charlie after opening his MP3 player.

Today we had 3 8:00 a.m. soccer games. I opted to go to Charlie's and had to be tortured for an hour and 20 minutes. It is so hard to hold back and not act like a fool and embarrass your child when they are playing tiddlywinks on the soccer field. Charlie has been playing soccer since he was 4 and is pretty darn good at it. Today though he was acting more like a ballerina than a soccer player. I get so frustrated. Then the coach coddles them when they get to the sidelines for half time. This is U14 people, we're playing to win now. We're not U6 anymore where it's all about fun and learning the sport and you cheer when the other team scores a goal. Completely frustrating. We lost by the way :-| It's ok, a loss every now and then keeps you humble. I need a piece of chocolate, peanut butter cake:)

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Yes, I'm here......

and 20 pounds lighter! I know, I hate when people brag but I'm just excited about it! It's actually the 20 pounds I found since Charles got home last November. It's mostly his fault! For some reason I haven't been posting nearly as much as I used to. I guess there hasn't been that much that has irritated me lately! Of course this is what brings me to write, I was bugged a little today. First, I was watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition and it was this black family that had taken in 7 kids, I believe, from another family member. Don't get me wrong, this was super sweet. However, as they started to interview all the kids most of them seemed to be in their 20's. So there I sit wondering why in the hell those big, grown "kids" aren't getting out there working and helping with the bills. Why are they asking ABC to build them a new house when there are so many capable people in that house to help out? Most people that read my blog probably think I'm racist. I'm truly am sorry if that's how I come across. It really has nothing to do with the color as much as it has to do with the attitude.

Another thing that bugged me was this chick at church. It started out this way.....I was asked earlier in the week if I would be willing to pick up this little, old lady from our ward, who lives in a rehab center, for church on Sunday. I accepted and went and got her this morning. Now as I drove her to church she told me a lot about herself. She never had children or even married. She was an only child and her parents passed away quite awhile ago. She was a really nice lady that devoted her life to teaching and serving for 30 years in the primary. A childhood disease left her with lots of residual effects. So at the end of church I walked down to the RS room to help her get to the car. She had decided to stay for choir practice so the RS president asked if I would walk to the chapel and see if there was anyone willing to take her home. I walked down there and asked one person who was willing but realized she had driven her Suburban to church and Sister Jones wouldn't have been able to get up in it. So I walk over to this other lady, who has one child that is 16 and just all around bugs the hell out of me. She was shaking her head no before I could even get the entire question out of my mouth. She was going on with all of her excuses as I walked off with a completely disgusted look on my face. I walked away before she could even finish with all of her half-assed excuses. I was pissed. The next lady I asked, who by the way has about 4 callings, was more than happy to take the lady back to her rehab center. I guess what bugs me is that I know service is usually inconvenient but people need us. That's the only way stuff gets done, through the service and willingness of others. The only thing I can say to the hag is one word......KARMA. What goes around comes around sweet cheeks! Plus the lady has a terrible haircut. I was pissed!

We're going camping tomorrow. Charles loves to camp and spends hours getting all the gear ready. He likes to be prepared and we usually eat better during a camping trip than we do when we're at home. Of course, here lately, my family has been eating well with all the new recipes I have been making. I prepared our dinner for the campout so that will be one less thing for him to do. I have barely seen him today due to the fact that I fell asleep and he has been like a kid in a candy store going through all of the camping equipment. It's perfect camping weather for AZ so we're just down right excited about our little adventure. I'm sure you'll hear all about when we get back!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Cody's thoughts.....

CODY...."Josh, you should never pay your tithing."

JOSH...."Why shouldn't I pay my tithing?"

CODY...."Cuz they won't ever give your money back!"

Love that kid!

Yikes!

I've been out of the blogging world for a while. The thoughts that have consumed me lately are not ones I want to blab out to the nation. We've had some goings on but nothings too spectacular. I have....wait for it....started another book! I'm so proud. The Lovely Bones, it's pretty good too! Captured my attention in the first paragraph!

Tuesday of this week I was able to attend Cody's field trip to the grocery store to learn about consumer awareness! It was a grand time! He was able to walk through produce, dairy, the pharmacy and was able to get a glimpse of a transvestite or whatever they are called these days. Nevertheless he was a man dressed as a woman! Let me just tell you the story.....we are just getting into the facts about the grocery biz as we walk by all the check out lanes. We come upon the self check lane and I see a person with a hot pink bathing suit skirt, hot pink ballerina flats and a baby pink spaghetti strap tank top. I am totally thinking it's a woman too old to be wearing something like that. I was straight up staring, I'll admit I was acting like a window licker staring at this person! Well, the person walks in the direction we go so I was able to get a good look at the face and hear his voice. I was astonished. I have never seen a for real cross dresser. First of all, his face was so ugly it could have stopped a freight train. For that reason alone I don't know why he was wanting to be dressed like a woman. However, looking at his legs, I would have bet a thousand bucks it was a woman. He was a mess! Cody got his first lesson in consumer awareness alright! The grocery store ain't Cody's thang! He told me several times that "this IS NOT a fun field trip!"

Soccer has consumed my life for the last 3 weeks! I love to watch my kids play sports though! Charlie's team had been doing great until last Saturday they got the living crap beat out of them. It is hard to not holler and scream when you see U14 kids playing like a bunch of nancies. But Charles and I are pretty good about holding our tongues. Josh and Cody are on the same team and they rock the house. Seriously, all bragging aside, they are the best on their team and they will let everyone know it too! Even the parents of the other players! Cody came and plopped down beside us during last Saturday's game and told us how Josh was the only good player on the field at the moment and we were surrounded by all the other players parents! At least he's honest. Tactless, maybe, but that is in the Woods gene so he comes by that honest!

I'm trying to cover all topics I missed while I've been away so long. I've actually started a few postings that never got finished and of course didn't make it to the main page. Oh, I did have some thoughts on the Kanye West/Taylor Swift crap......Wasn't it Kanye that said President Bush didn't like white people? Hmmm....interesting. Why is it that black folks can do or say whatever they want and never get admonished for it but the minute a white person disagrees with a blackie the racist card is immediately pulled? It seems like blacks get mad when you expect them to work for a living. It wasn't that Bush didn't like the blacks, he just expected them to get up and work towards building a new life, after hurricane Katrina, just all the white folks did! I am so sick of the race debate. It's just a way to take the focus off of the real wrong doing. That's all I'll say about that topic, otherwise you'd be here reading all day!

Well, I must depart to get crap done! Good to be back though!