What my kids say.....

Setting- Driving in the car (as usual). Tanner was staring out the window.
Tanner- "Mom, I can't wait for Jesus to come again."
Me- "Really, how come?"
Tanner- "I think that when He comes He'll make gas prices go down"

So there you have it. I couldn't really say anything except... " Your, probably right, Tanner."

Update......

We had our first football game last Sat. To make this short.... we got our butts kicked. But on a good note, we had the best cheerleaders out there! I would have taken pics, but between calling out cheers and dealing with 4 girls (between the ages of 6-9)who were too hot, hungry, and thirsty, I never got to pull out the camera.

Unfortunately, Dan has had a set back in his recovery. He was on the field coaching, when the ball got kicked in his direction and suddenly had a bunch of little football players running at him. He tried to "hop " out of the way and something popped in his calf. He made it to the side lines, and then dropped to his knees. I ran over to him, being the concerned wife, and trying to figure out what had happened. Of course he said it would be fine, so the rest of the game he limped around trying to coach. When we got home, he finally told me how bad it really hurt. I called the surgical clinic that did the surgery. I got the answer I figured I'd get... Ice, elevate, and stay off it. If it gets worse call back, otherwise they'll get him in on Mon.
So Mon. came, I took him in. Diagnosis.... He tore his calf muscle, but not where he had surgery, on the opposite side of his calf. Nothing to be done but take a lot of ibuprofen, pain meds. if it gets unbearable, and crutches unless it feels better and can put weight on it. They'll see us in 2-3 weeks. If it hasn't repaired.......SURGERY, again, YA!

What makes this so sad was that just the day before this happened Dan was saying how great his leg felt, he was staring to walk with out so much of a limp. Now we're back to square one. I feel horrible for him because he has a lot of traveling this month, so he won't be able to take it as easy as I would like him to. Oh, well... we'll/he'll deal with it.

I do have to give some props to the G'parents and Aunt Ellen and Uncle Jason (and dog cousin Roxy). I don't know what I would have done with out them at the game. They totally took care of Zach and Jake.

We are going to have some scheduling conflicts, hopefully not many, because Zach is starting Lil' kickers. It's the 3 on 3 soccer for the little kids. He wanted to play something and I didn't think it would be fair to tell him "No, you can't do anything because football/cheer take up our lives!" It works, though, because he has games on Sat. mornings with Practice 30 min before the game. So no practice time during the week. I am excited though! So far he is the only one of our kids that shows a strong competitive spirit. I will have to take tons of video and pictures to post.

Are we happy to start school............
YES!
Our first day was Aug. 14.

Jayla is now in second grade in Mrs. Lori Kohls class. She was nervous about her first day and who would be in her class, and following her mothers footsteps, worried about what she was going to do during lunch.

Tanner is now in 4th grade and was excited to start school because his teacher is Mr. Jeff Tufano, the only male teacher in the school besides the P.E. teacher. Apparently that's a big deal, especially to the boys. In true Tanner fashion, he wasn't nervous at all, and told me he knew what he was doing.

I took the kids to school and showed them where their class rooms were (we missed back to school night because of football and cheer). Jayla was immediately put at ease because she noticed that her friend Isabelle was in her class and sitting right next to her.
Tanner had no problem finding his class and doing his "thing".

I was ready for school to start because I have found that I deal better when there is a schedule, which school helps fill. I miss the kids a bunch, but love that they are busy. It is amazing how having 2 gone makes a difference in the house. Starting Sept. 8 I will be down to just one at home. Zachary is starting preschool this year and will go 8:40-11:40 Mon. -Thurs. WOW! It is kind of exciting to think how much I can hopefully get done with just one at home. I won't have just one for long though, because I told my neighbor that I will watch her baby girl when she has to start back to work, probably Oct. We think it will only be 3 days a week, but then I can get a baby fix and then send her home.
It's amazing how much my life is changing. I am no longer the cute young mom, I am now the older, still don't know much , taxi mom.

Funny things my kids have said...........

Jayla- Mom, why don't Disney Princesses have moms? (Can you think of any that do? I could only think of Sleeping Beauty, all the rest are step moms or evil witches. OOHHH wait, Mulan has a mom, but can she really be classified as a princess?)

Zach- Barney Stinks!
Dan- Why does Barney stink?
Zach- Uh, because, Dad, he's a dinosaur and is in-stinct!


Just a few things to think about.

So I am horrible at following through. I am referring to The Laundry Room post. I have added a few things there, ie. a big cork board for calendars, lonely socks, school things, etc. and a new row of hooks, that things actually stay on. But, due to the clothes that are continually needing washed it is still somewhat of a disaster! I am now working on getting a laundry schedule, always easier said than done.

Football has started for Dan and Tanner, which means that cheerleading has started for Jayla and I. Yes, I said I. I have been roped into being the cheer coach for Jayla's cheer squad. They, of course cheer for Dan's team, so I figured...... I am going to be there anyway so might as well be useful, right?! We have 45 min. practices 3 times a week (they coincide with the football team practice schedule, just not as long as their 2 hours). Another reason I agreed is because I only have 3 girls, including Jayla. My only stipulation was that Dan not make me the Team Mom. He values my sanity too much (his sanity reflects mine, if you get what I mean.) There is one other girl who has a brother on the team and the other girl is the football players age and goes to school with most of them, including Tanner.

What we have been doing..........

-1-
Wedding at Coors Field.
One of Dan's co-workers got married at Coors field.

This is the set up at Home plate, where they are exchanging their vows.
The bridal party came out of the dug-outs, boys out of one and girls out of the other.
The ring bearer was dressed with his rockies jersey and carrying the ring in his mitt (pretty cute).

Dan and I before we got all "crazy" (j/j). We had a great time and I even did a little dancing. And, of course, the food was great.

-2-
Limo progressive dinner in Colorado Springs.

One of Dan's District Managers bought this "deal" at an auction to support March of Dimes and invited 3 other couples besides himself and his wife.

Here is our group we went with. I won't name names, since I haven't gotten their permission. You can't see Dan and one other guy. It was a bunch of fun. We had appetizers at one restaurant, soup and salad at another, entree at another and dessert at another place. It made for a late night. (we had to be in the Springs by 5:30 and didn't get home til 2:30.) Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for helping us out!!!!!



-3-
CINZETTI'S
Need I say more! For those of you that haven't been, it is an all you can eat Italian food place. Again, need I say more.


Dan and I took the "crew" for Dad's b-day and to thank them for watching the kids the night before! We couldn't leave out Jason and Ellen, we love them too!

That's what we have been doing. The end (for now).

Pools, Kankles and diapers........

Jayla wanted to put a diaper on her Cabbage Patch so she put one of Jakes diapers on her. VIOLA...... a diaper dress!

Anyone know what kankles are!?

I love Jakes fat legs! They have slimmed down, but they are still so adorable.

So this is what happens when mom isn't paying attention............

A pool in the sand box. I can't be very angry, because I remember making our garden into a mud pool as a kid, and making rivers in our sand box as a kid as well. I did have help (you know who you are). But, as a kid what is better than playing in mud. I guess life does come full circle. (Sorry, Mom and Dad, for the mud lakes, rivers, etc.)

I got tagged, AGAIN........ 6 quirky things............here is goes........... ( I asked Dan what some of my quirky things are, I should have had him do this post)

1. Right now, it would be itching my throat. I have allergies (onset after baby #3) and my throat itches like CRAZY! So I do this weird thing with my throat, that makes a weird noise. Mostly at night and in the morning.

2. I am not a social butterfly. I am friendly and make small talk with people, but to go out with a bunch of people makes me nervous. I feel like I'm back in jr. high and all my insecurities come out. I am trying harder to put myself in social situations. This results in NOT a lot of friends but many acquaintances.

3. I have to check the weather channels every night.( comcast 212, 249 )

4. I carry a marker with me everywhere I go so I can mark things. ie, my kids names on their cups, left overs, pretty much anything so that I don't have to here my kids fight about who's is who's.

5. Hi my name is Emily and I am a blog stalker. :)

6. I like pinching my kids butts. They are just so cute that I have to pinch them, especially Zach and Jake because they are still little enough that it isn't creepy yet. Tanner and Jayla I just smack theirs like a love tap.

Tag-your-it: You know who you are!!!!

Sorry.... not a good way to start my ambitious organizing project. I will make this challenge "due" next Fri.

Thank you for all of your 'well-wishes' for Dan. He is doing good. His Dr. told me "I aggressively cleaned out all the old scar tissue and cleaned him up. He had a lot of junk in there." They cut him open at his calf and lengthened the tendon. Dan says his ankle feels great, but that his calf is what is really hurting him. So, hopefully this will just prolong the inevitable. His Dr. also said that as long as this "cleaning him out" thing keeps working we will just continue to do this unless the pain doesn't go away after the surgeries. So about every 2-3 years he will continue this cycle.

It seems that I am always on edge. I am tired of constantly trying to "fix" the house. I have pin-pointed some of my anxiety, as things not being organized. I am challenging myself to get a handle on this. This is not a remodel. Just a organization effort

I start to try, and then say "it is too expensive, I give up." I am not using that statement as an excuse any longer. I am going to be frugal and get inventive so that I can finally have peace of mind.

My challenge: to take a room a week. 7 days is all I have to spend in that room to get it organized and then move on. I will be inventive and try to think outside the box to get that room in order.

First room: laundry room- I spend way more time there than I want to. It is the entrance from the garage and I want it to be the main entrance for the fam. Here is the before.........



I will post an after next week. Any and all comments or ideas are greatly appreciated. (my camera is working! YA!)

My camera isn't taking pictures..... I am really bummed! I am trying to take more pictures of my kids in their "element" rather than all the posed pictures. But alas, the camera is being STUPID!


I am starting to get nervous for Dan and his surgery. He wanted it done ASAP and the Dr./Surgeon he is seeing just started at the Steadman-Hawkins clinic in Denver. His "papers" haven't gone through the board in Denver so he can't do any surgeries up here yet. So we have to drive down to Colorado Springs to have it done, which means we will have to drive back up here after it's over (it's an out patient thing).

Dan is anxious to have this done so he will at least be off the crutches and just in the walking boot before football starts (He is coaching Tanners team and they are now a competitive team. Instead of just playing the local communities we will be playing the other competitive teams in the North Metro area) He wants to be fully healed by Oct (we are going to Mexico on Farmers dime) and then he goes to Africa to go visit his parents in Nov. Weird, but he wants to be able to walk pain -free for those things.





For those interested in what he is having done, here is my dumbed down version (correct me if I'm wrong honey!) He is having his lft ankle cleaned out of all the spurs and having his calf muscle lengthened to help the Achilles tendon (on the verge of erupting) in the hopes that this will give him back his range of motion and alleviate some of his pain in walking. This will give him a few more years until he has to have all this done again. How exciting! Eventually (hopefully when he is in his 60's) he will either have to have the joint fused or completely replaced. Maybe by then they will have a better treatment that will allow him to stay active.

-Our 4th of July Weekend-

Here's how it went down.....

Thurs: I was recuperating from the crappy migraine, and my friend Kathy called to see how I was doing. During our conversation she asked me how my Relief Society lesson was coming. What R.S. lesson!? Short story I was scheduled to teach that Sun. Topic; "The Latter-day Saint Woman". Vague. I didn't know if there was a lesson manual so I started to look thing up at lds.org.
Packed Tanner and Jayla for their trip to Utah with G'ma and G'pa.
Dan got home late from his business trip to Grand Junction.
Fri: Got up early to get kids ready for the annual Scout Breakfast for our wards scout fund-raiser. Dan had to be there by 6:30 am to help cook. We were planning on meeting the G'parents there to pick up the older 2 for their trip. G'parents got there about 8. Ate breakfast and packed the kids up in their car.

Getting the kids things into the trunk.

Tanner and Jayla can't wait to get going!

All ready!

Dan and I took Zach and Jake to go see Kung-Fu Panda (2 thumbs up). Hung out the rest of the day. Jake and Zach fell asleep before fireworks, and Dan and I had an eventful night of watching "The Great Debaters" and then going to bed. Happy birthday U.S.A!

Sat: Got up and ran with the dog, Sassy (pic below)

(cont.) . I missed Tanner and Jayla. Dan went golfing.... he has to get as much of it in ASAP before surgery on the 16th. Zach and Jake fought together, played together, fought, played etc. etc. They have a very love/hate relationship! Went grocery shopping and to Dicks Sporting Goods, that just opened up by our house. Had Dan's bro. Steve came over and we ordered the UFC fights. GREAT fights, even the under cards!

Sun: Went to church and gave my wonderful lesson. I found out after the fact that there is a manual. I now know for next time. (I don't teach again until Nov.) Still missed Tanner and Jayla.
Mon: Got up and went running, came home took the boys and Sassy for a walk (Sassy needs some work on the leash when she runs w/ me) Dan went to work. I hung out with the boys, prepared 11 family home evening lessons to pass out that night ( I am in a FHE group that meets quarterly and there are 11 families in the group). Did Dan's laundry, cuz he was leaving for Kansas City on Tues. Went to the FHE group mtg. Zach pee-ed his pants at the park we met at. Got home, gave the boys a shower. The G'parents stopped to drop off Tanner and Jayla. Who, by-the-way, had a GREAT time. I'll blog about that later, or Tanner will.

Tues: Walked the dog. Cleaned. Took Dan to the airport. Cleaned. Cooked dinner. When Dan is gone I hate cooking (I hate cooking dinner anyway) So I usually do something easy that the kids will eat. So Pancakes it is........

To make myself feel better about the food, they are wheat pancakes to get some nutrition in there. And now, here we are.

Football is already starting.....

Tanner has been doing a Speed and Agility camp this month. It is 1 hr 3x's a week. His last camp was Wed. (July 2). Usually while he does this I put the other 3 over at the long jump area, because there is sand and shade, and I try to get in at least a 1/2 hr run around the track( the camp is at the H.S. ) I say 1/2 hr. because it takes me at least 20 to 30 min. getting the other kids situated. Well since this was Tanners last day at camp I decided I should probably get some pics. Due to the unforeseen migraine that graced my being, these were the only pictures I could muster before I felt the nausea set in.

getting ready to warm up

doing some warm-ups

Running

playing some "buff" ball (?) They can only take 3 steps and then have to throw it to a team mate.

Some of the other drills they do are agility ladders, parachutes, boxes etc.

Random Pictures........

Tanner wearing the "Guatemala" hat. I don't think that it is supposed to be flipped to look like a peter pan hat.

Zach..... Oh Zach! He looks like he is having a terrible time, but I think that every time I take a picture of him he always has to look like he's sad. He's really not!

I kept telling Jayla to slide down the slide and she wouldn't. Why ? Because they are hot. I kept telling her "no their not, they're plastic" but they were.

Jake, finding the shade with G'ma and Jayla. That was the only "safe" spot from flying wood chips. He was doing the "flying".

This is a family picture from the Lewis reunion. I don't have a yellow ear. Zach had given me a beautiful flower, a dandelion.

I guess I have some sort of "thing" with making food look like other food. This was for Zach's B-day. It is a sherbet watermelon.

So, I have been a slacker in my "duties" as being a V.T. I have been inspired to try harder and to get it done. We just had our V.T. conference on Tues........"Feed My Sheep.... Every Sister a Friend". We had a guy in our ward, Rex Johnson, speak our R.S. Pres, Becky Smith, speak and a musical number by me.* I thought it went really well. I really liked that we had a guys perspective on V.T. and he shared some great service stories that his wife received when she had their twins his first year of dental school. And of course our pres. gave a wonderful inspirational talk about the importance of visiting our sisters.

So there you go.... I have been touched by the spirit and can not neglect it.

I visited one of my sisters today and had a nice visit. Because of my being "touched" I felt I had to repent of my slackerness. She forgave me and invited me to go to Texas with her and 3 other ladies next week. I had to decline ( maybe going to Utah for the Clark Family Reunion, my 2 older ones are going for sure w/ G'parents).

Off the subject. We did not get Water World passes this year because of our new purchase of Sassy, the lab/ St. bernard dog we adopted. What was I thinking!? The kids are bored and so am I. Oh well, for sure next year if we aren't moving. (I know I keep saying that, but it is at the point now that it is inevitable we will be heading for L.A)

* I didn't want to sing. I didn't want people thinking that now that I am in charge of HFPE that it will become "The Emily Show". The other ladies that were asked couldn't do it, so my committee leader begged me. FYI I sang "Miracles" from the Sally DeFord website www.defordmusic.com.

Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
* People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.
* At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names.
* Don’t forget to leave them a comment on their blog and tell them they’ve been tagged, and to come back and read your blog for the whole story

Thanks Erin for tagging me!!!!!! Sorry it has taken so long to get it posted..........

1- As a kid I would ride my little tricycle around with my little hat pulled over my eyes(it was a knit hat with a pom-pom on top). Why?! I just thought it was cool that I could see through the stitches and I thought people would think I had x-ray vision because I could see through my hat and not crash. I also had to shake my head around to feel the pom-pom bobble around on the hat.

2. I love playing in the rain, but as soon as it thundered I would bolt into the house( as a kid, not anymore).

3. I have a hard time keeping a house clean. Some of it is because I have 4 tornadoes running through my house at all times, but I have a hard time "tidying". I am sort of a perfectionist( I am learning this as I get older)...... if I start cleaning then I have an uncontrollable urge to clean baseboards, clean out kitchen cabinet shelves, and just get too detailed. I AM WORKING ON THIS DAILY.

4. My favorite flavors in the world are CHOCOLATE AND PEANUT BUTTER. O.K maybe this is something that you don't already know.

5. As a kid my favorite meal was Rice and Gravy. Everyone thought I was weird because it wasn't pizza or hamburgers. I guess it was because that meal was something we ate a lot of ,and it gave a sense of comfort.

6. I have always had a dream of competing in a fitness competition. I know, I know, I have a lot of work ahead of me...... but this hope resurged (?) because the last winner of the national fitness competition was a 38 yr old from Colorado. I have a few more years. My dream is still within reach :)

7. As soon as I wake up in the morning I have to watch channel 9 news or the Today Show. It is a habit that I just have to do to get me out of bed (I don't watch the ENTIRE Today Show though).

8. I HATE LAUNDRY!! Have I ever mentioned that before!?

Tagged: Raenie, Martha, Melissa, Kathy, Mom, Rachel, Ellen.... and TANNER! (his link is on the side bar)

We have done a lot these last couple of weeks. I will post pictures soon.


The kids were done with school May 22. It was a half day. So we picked up the kids at 12:30 and immediately headed for Dallas (Frisco), TX. It took us about 13 hours to get there (we arrived at 3 in the morning, that's with the time change.) We stayed until the next Tues.

Loved visiting with Chris, Wendy, Jocelyn, Brielle, Payton and Chelsea. Frisco is really a pretty and clean place. Full of new homes, shops, buildings etc. Chris and Wendy have a beautiful home and are a GREAT family. THANK YOU for letting us invade your space!

Zach turned 4 on May 31. The whole day he kept telling me that his name wasn't Zach it was 4. Whatever, dude! He got to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa Pratt with no one else. When we dropped him off we had a cookout with G'ma, G'pa, Aunt Ellen and Roxie (the dog cousin). But, he had to remind us that we were not staying and that we needed to leave him there all by himself (he made sure that, that was clear to all his siblings).

We had the Lewis' Family reunion in Dillon/ Silverthorne. We stayed HERE.
It was beautiful! There were multiple trails to pick from so I had some wonderful places to pick where I wanted to go on my early morning runs. I just LOVE the mountains! We were also within walking distance to the outlets, which of course we just HAD to go to .

Like I said I will have pics soon.

HAPPY 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY(May 16, 1998)................. (10 years= tin, aluminum, diamond- How do those all fit together!?)

In honor of 10 years (14 if you count dating) together, here are 10 things I LOVE about Dan:

1. He LOVES ME! Including all my quirks and mentalness (?)

2. He makes me laugh- he doesn't think he does, but he does.

3. He is an honorable priesthood holder.

4. He gave me 4 wonderful kids.

5. He is a hard worker.

6. Says whatever he wants or feels without caring what others think- sometimes good, bad or embarrassing (sometimes I think the same thing in my head, and I'm just to chicken to say it)

7. Supports me in EVERYTHING!

8. Always tells me I'm HOT! (So maybe he isn't as honest with me....hee, hee)

9. Wonderful Father!



10. He is so smart (he married me didn't he!?)

GAS Wars!


No really..... We have been having a gas war here in Brighton.

I was listening to the radio while taking children to school, and heard about a gas station in Brighton who's gas prices were $3.19. WOW! I knew where it was so after dropping kids off I went and filled up. I was so proud of the bargain I got. Then later I went by again........$2.96!

A new gas station opened last Fri. and started out their pricing at $3.43 the gas station down the street decided that it was going to stay at least $.03 cheaper. So Sunday the "new" gas station ran out of gas when the prices were $3.12. So of course the competitor upped their pricing back . "New" gas station got more gas and so it began again.

It's kind of fun to watch all the excitement. The last time I drove by, the cops were at both locations directing traffic, news media is all over the place, the lines are incredible!

I don't feel now that I got the best price ;)

THIS is beautiful!