Gone But Not Forgotten

If any of you know Christian's dad Carl, you know he is a hard-working-project-loving-never-stop-moving workaholic. Over the past few years we have had a lot of visits, dinners, and sleep-over's with him. For the past six years he has kept a vigorous schedule which has required him to work in Huntington, Salt Lake, and Rock Springs.

He crashed on our futon with us in a two bedroom apartment, he slept on an our air mattress and couch in Herriman. We were used to seeing him at least four or five times each month. Most of the time he would come with dinner; Arctic Circle, Cafe Rio, or we would meet him at Chilis or Wingers. He's taken me out to eat when Christian was working, and entertained my kids while I ran errands in the evening.

He's traveled between his three work sites numerous times per week, eating hundreds of sack dinners...I've told him a thousand times to lay off the McDonalds.

He finally listened, and on January 10th he announced his retirement after 20+ years with Pacificorp. It was a shock and surprise to our family, but don't worry....he's not really "retiring" He's just moving on. He's going to be working in Salt Lake for a mining consulting company. He's got a fancy apartment that WE can crash at now!


Here are a few picture depicting our adventures over the years.

Examining our construction site with us while we were building our house in Herriman.

This picture was taken while he was telling Carter NOT to show him his muscles.

Most of the time he arrived at our house in the evening, just in time to get in on some of the bedtime routine. He would also pick up all the toys scattered around downstairs while I tried to wrestle meowzers into bed.

This picture was taken while Carl, Christian, and I were working on our retaining wall {did I mention he likes a good project?} in Herriman. We kept throwing the kids some Oreo's to keep them happy and out of the way.


Even opening mission calls were arranged around when he would be in Salt Lake {Brittany's and Dustin's}. This picture was taken just before Dustin opened his mission call.

This picture was taken on Monday night in our new house. He stopped by on his farewell tour of Rock Springs. They all assumed their regular positions!

We are looking forward to more visits from Carl, especially now since he can play more and work less {there will still be projects galore...we have a basement to finish and yard to install!} And now that I think about it, that blog title was a little over dramatic. He is definitely not gone, and our house guest adventures will never be forgotten.

Parker

This is a six month old picture of my favorite nephew, Parker. He is such a rolly-polly little meowzer. When I saw this picture on his parent's blog, I knew I had to snatch it. Have you ever seen anything so cute? Seriously? This picture just makes me laugh and want to squeeze him forever!

She Can Walk...So, We Are Walking

As some of you may know my mom has MS. She was diagnosed with the disease when I was in 8th grade. As the oldest of five children I remember her before the disease, and I have grown with her after her diagnosis. There have been times when she couldn't walk, couldn't hold her arms above her head to dry her hair, couldn't write her name, and lost her eye sight completely.

As a result of the disease she was forced to give up all high-impact exercise. She conquered her fear of water and became an avid swimmer and water aerobics instructor. She has shown our family how to change, adapt, and do the seemingly impossible.

She has also taught us how to laugh. When I was in high school we were sitting around the dinner table and she couldn't get her fork to her mouth. She began laughing at how silly she looked. At the time I was sad and scared and thought laughing was the worst response possible. I have since learned that sometimes laughing is the only thing you have control over.

We are so thankful for the advancements in medicine which have made it possible for her to walk. Since she can walk, we are walking in the 2009 MS Walk. Our team is Team Tootsie Roll and we would love for you to join us by walking three miles around the Gateway in Salt Lake City on April 11, 2009.

We would also be very grateful for any donations, even $5.00 can make a difference. As a team we have set a goal to raise $1000.00 we would love to meet and exceed this goal. The money goes directly to the MS Society and is used for research, and to assist those living with the disease. If you would like to donate, please click on the Tootsie Roll on my side bar. Doing so will take you directly to my donation page. All donations are secure and can be anonymous.

Ten years a go a short hike like this one would've been impossible for my mom. Thanks to donations and medical research she has abilities that would otherwise be impossible.

Wii Will Wii Will Rock You

On Sunday we decided to break out the Wii. First we had to find the Wii, as you may recall it was sent to the Nintendo factory for repairs shortly before we moved. We found the bobby pin free Wii and located the controllers {I think they were in box 220 in our basement} then the party started. We played Clone War Light Saber Duels. You don't have to be a big Star Wars fan to swing a mean light saber.

While we were taking turns defeating the dark side, Bethany reminded me of a treasured childhood memory. When I was in sixth grade she was in first grade. Traditionally the sixth graders got to sit at the back of the bus {you know, the cool seats} while the first graders sat in the front of the bus and the second through fifth grades were in between. Being the awesome big sister that I was {am} I would "let" Bethany sit in the back of the bus with me and my friends. She distinctly remembers me and my friends pounding on the back of the bus seats singing, "We will we will rock you!" She thought it was cool, and I thought I was cool, and that's all that really matters!

We only take breaks from the Wii to dredge up Castle Dale bus riding memories, make these delicious fairy cookies from Cali's "Fairy Things to Make and Do" book.....


and for Bethany to get her snuggle on with Carter. Cali was much too involved with her light saber for snuggling. She had one without batteries, but thought that she was playing the whole time. She was so amazed that when she took breaks, she was still winning!! Amazing in deed!



Then Bethany fought Tyler which ended in giggles and smiles.

Then I fought Christian which ended in yelling and punching. We may both be too competitive to play against each other...I know, I know, it's hard to believe. He was all mad that my short stubby thumb kept bumping the home button and pausing the game. I was mad that he kept yelling at me for it, and that he wanted to "help" by grabbing at my controller. All in all it was a wonderful night!

Our First House Guests

It really is fitting that our first over-night house guests in our new place were Bethany and Tyler. After all, we have been known to show up to work wearing similar outfits, laugh uncontrollably at each other's hilarity, and go on countless adventures together. It's not been easy being away from her, but this weekend we created new memories and reminisced about the old days.

Here are some pictures documenting our fun!

A short trip out to the coal mine where Christian works. We were all a little obsessed by the size of this giant coal bucket. Which, by the way, is used at the strip mine portion of the mine.

She's a tough little meowzer, but come on Bethany....don't flatter yourself!!

We chowed down on some delicious Chinese food at Bonsai. If any of you other family members {MOM, DAD, JAYNA, BRANDT, DORY} or friends come to visit us, we will take you there too!! The waiter rigged these chopsticks for the kids with a piece of paper and a rubber band, Carter practiced picking up paper.

I practiced pulling creepy faces and pinching my sister's face with my chopsticks. Can we have just one normal picture together?

We also had some very fruitful shopping as well. Boots, pants, jewelry, and shirts, what more could one ask for?

This is the Last One...I Promise

This is the last poop or peep story I plan on publishing on the world wide web, that is unless something else really hilarious happens...

Carter has taken his potty training to a whole new level. Christian's Disneyland bribe is paying off. He hasn't had an accident for a week, which is a BIG deal for this little poop monster. He's even taken the inititive to go to the potty without any help at all. Things seem to be moving a long pretty well. Until...

Until he decided to monitor everyone's poop and pee. I heard him saying to Cali last night, "come on sissy, push out some poop so we can go to Disneyland!" Several times he walked up behind me and put his tiny hand right in my crack to "check if they were dry". He even went so far as give Bethany and unexpected "check if they were dry" hand to the crotch this weekend, then proceeded to ask her all weekend if she was "leaving them dry".

I went from having a son who pooped and peed his pants all day, to a son who is obsessed with making sure all of our underpants are dry. Having a few unexpected pant checks each day is a small price to pay for not having to clean up human waste. Thank you Disneyland!!

...and Continues

Bethany reminded that I forgot a very important part of the story I posted yesterday. As you can recall Carter was pantless, due to the crazy amount of poop smashed in the pant legs. You will also recall that Bethany offered to take the pants home for me and wash them. Well, with no pants we had no choice but to wrap Carter's coat around his legs. We weren't parked too far from the entrance, but it was freezing outside and his legs were bare.

Bethany carried Carter and held his coat around his lower body. Christian pushed the giant cart of "essentials" toward the door {whilst being stopped by former employees begging him to return and offering him "hugs" or they would "cry"...lame} Tyler talked with Cali as we walked, and I had the honor of holding the poop pants. When we arrived at the door to have our reciept checked, the door employee tried to stop me from leaving. She yelled, "ma'am ma'am!" and motioned for me to bring the pants back. I walked toward her with the pants extended and a feel-free-to-take-these-pants-back look on my face. Christian screamed, "No!" and explained that the pants were ours and revealed Carter's bare legs to prove the point.

We made it to the car, said our goodbye's to Bethany and Tyler, and handed over the poop pants. As we were driving down the road I recieved a text from Bethany which read, "Take life by the horns, wrap a coat around your legs!"

I was looking for a new motto to replace my previous motto, "Aim low, then no one is ever disappointed" and I think this one will do the trick! Take life by the horns, wrap a coat around your legs!

Potty Training...The Saga Continues

As many of you know I've been trying to potty train this sweet little meowzers since October 2008. I tried to read, "How to Potty Train Your Child in One Day" but it took longer than a day to read, which I thought really defeated the purpose. We've had good days and bad days, days filled with "accidents" and days filled with hope. However, the 100% potty trained status has eluded us. By the time Cali was is his age she was not only potty trained, but could change his diaper too. So, I've learned that I can't compare the two.

This past weekend we took a trip to Castle Dale and Price by way of Salt Lake. We were a few minutes from Park City when Carter started to cry. He needed to go potty. Christian pulled over and threw the ice out of his McDonalds cup while I coaxed Carter into peeing in a cup. He refused to pee standing up {this may be a problem later in life} Finally the pressure was too much for his strong will and he released an Austin Power's style pee stream into the cup. Followed by much rejoicing and praising and celebrating!

We pulled into the outlet malls at Park City. Christian wanted to run in the adidas outlet for some new gym shoes. No sooner had we parked the car than Carter filled his pants with poop. So I took him and Cali to the freezing outdoor bathroom at the outlet malls. After 100 paper towels and a lot of tears we were sufficiently cleaned up. I threw the underpants away, and considered throwing his jeans away too. Thankfully we had packed extra clothes for the weekend, so I just thought I'd wash the jeans at my mom's house the next day.

Fast forward one hour. We met Bethany and Tyler at Costco in Murray to stock up on some essentials and get our RX's filled. Bethany was walking Carter around the store when he announced that he, "had to go potty!" Bethany ran him as fast as her little legs could take her to the front of the store and into the bathroom. No luck. He filled his pants with poop as they entered the bathroom stall.

After a $30.00 box of Pullups, a $20.00 box of wipes and another pair of underpants in the trash {sorry Lightening McQueen you didn't do anything to deserve this} we were again sufficiently clean. However, this pair of jeans {the second in two hours} was significantly more soiled than the previous pair. Like the true sister and friend she is, Bethany offered to take them home and wash them for me. She and Tyler rode home with Carter's poo pants so that we wouldn't have to. That's love.

So where does that leave us? Christian told Carter that if he doesn't poop his pants again...ever, we can go to Disneyland. I laughed at the bribe, but for some reason it is working. Each time he uses the potty he announces, "Now let's go to Disneyland!" I think he needs to prove himself for more than a week, but maybe Disneyland was just the incentive this meowzer needed.

Then yesterday he said to me, "Mom when I grow up and you turn back into a kid, I'll wipe your butt for you." Thanks Carter!

My New Love... My New Gig

I recently took up Spinning, and I love it. It's the best cardio workout without the pounding of the knee joints. I'm not going to lie, it took a few weeks before I really started to like it. Mainly because the seat felt like it was going to get lost in my butt crack....but I pushed through {what spinners call} being "saddle sore" and now I'm really enjoying it. Maybe I'll even get a "real" bike someday?

I also got a new job teaching kick boxing one night a week at the RSFRC {that's Rock Springs Family Recreation Center} I'm going to be team teaching with a tough tough trainer {not as tough as you Leisa} who is going to show me the ropes. I went last Monday to show her my stuff and she was impressed with my stamina and technique {thank you Leisa and Kristin}. I think I may have showed off a little too much, as I may or may not have pulled the muscles in my forearms... The heavy bags we hit are 120 lbs of dead weight and I was feeling it the next day!

Boy Joy

We had heard from the locals that there are a lot of wild bunny rabbits running around Wyoming. In fact, Carl even told us that the rabbits were so wild they ate mice.....right.

We saw one the day that we moved in, but hadn't seen any since. Until two days ago, when Carter spotted one out my bedroom window. It was eating our neighbor's grass. We went out on the deck and threw some carrots in it's general direction, but he wasn't impressed with our offering and just ran away.

Acclimated

Today Cali came home from school and announced, "Get me out of this coat, I'm sweating to death! It's like a hot summer's day out there!" She threw off her hat, scarf, gloves, and coat. Then she emptied her book bag which contained the sweater she had on this morning {thankfully she had a T-shirt on under it}.

It's 30 degrees here today....

So, I ask you...Are we acclimated? When 30 degrees feels like a hot summer day, I think the answer is yes.

Happy Birthday Jayna

Me, Dory, Jayna, Bethany
Yesterday my sister Jayna turned 26! I was two and a half years old when she was born and I don't remember my life with her not in it. She is a very creative person with a lot of musical and artistic taste and talent. The above picture was taken at her apartment in Logan this past summer. To divide her kitchen from her living area she made a hanging wall of antique windows wired together and suspended from the ceiling. The effect is amazing and you can see a little bit of it in the background of our picture.

Her creative talents were recently expanded to include gingerbread. She and her husband, Mike, constructed Leonardo DaVinci's The Last Supper entirely out of gingerbread. DaVinci would be jealous!

Bringing Sexy Back

In other words....Brittany is home!She and Cali wasted no time getting crazy with some Rudolph noses.

Christian and Cali went to the airport with Devin and Melissa to welcome her home.

Remember this picture? This was the day of her farewell, and the first picture on my first blog post!

Christmas Travels {Pollastro Edition}

Nothing says "Merry Christmas" like a ride on your little brother's shoulders. We weren't sure who was in the most immediate danger. Some say Carson was about to crumble under the weight of his much larger brother. Others say Christian was within seconds of flying backwards and hitting his head. You be the judge.


A basketball hoop!


More presents to rip into!

The annual pinata bash. Carter and Cali both took a couple good whacks at it, but it was Brittany who finally cracked it open.


Pinata hats: Brittany, Nykelle, Me, Melissa, Vicki, and OF COURSE Cali!

Castle Dale Elementary:Home of Charlie Cougar

Back in the "good old days" before "liability" before "law suits" before "safety", the children of Castle Dale Utah were free to bring their sleds to school to enjoy the ample sledding hills during recess. Well, that came to an abrupt end about the time I was in fifth grade and there was a change in administration. Sledding was banned and the little Charlie Cougars were forced to find other means of entertainment during recess. Namely whitewashing their classmates...

During the Christmas break Bethany and I decided to see if the hills were still as steep and scary as they once were. We decided that they were, and the additional weight that I 've gained since I was 10 also made this hills much faster!

This was Cali's first sledding adventure {Carter was at grandma Gwennies taking a MUCH needed siesta} and the verdict is still out. She enjoyed the downhill, but on more than one occasion, refused to drag her sled back up the hill. She didn't like being cold, but liked going fast. This was Parker's first sledding adventure as well. He made it down the hill on his mom's lap once and his dad's lap once and then called it a day. Pretty good for only 5 months old!

It's these types of sledding related accidents that the elementary administration was trying to avoid. As you can see she is mortally wounded and unable to move at all....

I can still rock some down hill superman style. I can also rock my mom's ski pants circa 1974.

This beautiful smile after an hour and a half of turbo jam, an hour of rollerblading, and 40 times up and down this hill. The calories we burned that day were monumental!

One good booger nose deserves another!!

Christmas Travels {Peacock Edition}

This is the first Christmas in nine years that Christian didn't have to work Christmas Eve or the day after Christmas. Although Christian loved working for Costco {not to mention being very good at his job} there are some definite benefits to being out of the retail business around the holiday season.

We left Rock Springs on Christmas Day around 2:15 p.m. The drive that should have taken 3.5 hours took 6.9. When we finally got to Castle Dale we were tired, and frankly sick of the snow. We left sunny {windy} Wyoming to find that Utah was under attack by a giant blizzard.

After nearly seven hours in a car, this is all the hotness we had left! The awesome hat that Dory gave me was a huge bonus, not only is it stylish it keeps the crazy wind out of my ears!

At three years old Carter is an old pro at ripping up some presents. I think having a birthday in November gives him a good warm up for Christmas.

Cali also can get her rip on, here she is ripping into one from Grandma Gwennie and Grandpa Neal. Note: Tyler in his usual chill position in the background. Bethany, we should pool our resources and see how many pictures we have of Tyler in this pose in the background of pictures...

Christmas Must Haves

It's no big secret that I was less than prepared for Christmas this year. With the moving and unpacking plus the lack of a computer for weeks on end, it was a true Christmas miracle that we pulled this one out.

We closed on our house on December 8th. I unpacked buzillions of boxes from the 9th-13th while staying at Carl's condo at nights. The blinds were installed on the 15th and we spent our first real day and night in our house on December 16th. I located the Christmas decorations around the 21st, and we got our tree up on the 22nd. I started my Christmas shopping on the 14th, and finished on the 24th. Like I said, the miracle of Christmas was that Christmas happened at all.

Here are some of our Christmas Must Haves this year....


Proper winter gear..

Packages from "home". Thank you Bethany.

Gingerbread house. Nicole, remember this mold from the Pampered Chef party of 1998??

Raisin filled cookies. In memory of my grandma Cook. No one really likes them but me, my mom, and Carl. But they were worth it.

Reindeer food. Oatmeal, sprinkles, M&M's, and Candy Corns...

A letter to Santa, and his response...


Sweet wheels...

Carter got a sweet scooter, but was too busy with his own "DVD player" to pose for a picture. He's easily entertained.

Baby Alive


WALL*E