Jeff, Charity and the K's

Timpanogos Cave

2010-10-26T17:36:00.000-07:00

This Summer flew by so fast!! We didn't fit in as many activities this summer as we would have liked to. We did manage our annual Lagoon day, a day at Pineview Reservoir, Kylie's first year of Oakcrest, a couple doctors visits....and my absolute most favorite, Timpanogos Cave!!! My parents had never been up to the Cave, and I have always wanted to take them. I finally convinced them to go with us!! They LOVED it!! It was such a great experience to see their reactions to the canyon, the hike and of course the Cave!!

I just love this view!!

This little birdie followed us up most of the path (following the peanuts and cookies Kasey was leaving behind).

Then came this little squirrel...it kept taking the treats from the bird. So fun to watch the two of them.

Obviously there are so many amazing pictures within the cave....

The best part to me...The Heart!!!

The best thing about this entire day was that we created so many great memories with my parents!! Thanks Mom and Dad for an AWESOME day!!!!

Da Boyz Fishing Trip!!!

2010-07-29T15:50:00.000-07:00

After 11 years of begging his Dad to take him fishing...Kasey got his Boyz Only Weekend!!

The crew that attended was Shane (Brother In Law), Dylan (Shane's Son), My Daddy, Jeff and Kasey. Shane's parents own a Cabin at the Strawberry Pinnacles, which is just past Strawberry reservoir. Kasey went up a day early with my Daddy, Shane and Dylan. Jeff Joined them at Strawberry Reservoir the next day.

On their first day at the lake they caught 10 fish, throwing back 3 of them. Kasey had a BLAST!! After fishing that day they went tubing down the river and went on the zip line. On the second day at the lake they caught 7 more fish, then they went tubing and hiking. They also roasted marshmallows by the fire! I am quite ticked that they came back with not one single picture of Jeff and Kasey together...or freak even just a picture with Jeff in it would have been nice! However, I am so very glad they had a telephone at their cabin. Kasey and Jeff were able to call and check in with us each day! Can you believe not even one injury the whole weekend! So happy that they had some Father and Son time!!

A Memory Kasey will have forever!!!

Kasey's FIRST FISH EVER!!!

He even gutted his fish!!

Kasey and Dylan displaying their catch for the day!

Tubing down the River!

My Daddy by the fire!!

PRICELESS MOMENTS!!!

Baseball 2010

2010-07-06T18:52:00.000-07:00

What a great season!!

This was Kasey's first season with the Majors! He is just so tiny compared to the other boys on the league. I guess that is typical when you are a first year Major. He played with the Riverton League this year....and this is where he will play for the remainder of his youth baseball career. He played on the Cardinals this year!! His coaches, Larry and Kyle Price, are simply AMAZING!!!! We are absolutely thrilled with them!

His team took 2nd place in the league!!!! Here are a few great pictures from this season!!
He is just SO handsome!!!

We Freaking FROZE to death during all but one game!!

Literally Froze!!

His first pitch under the lights!!

He looks so dang tiny out on that mound!!

For some reason, I couldn't get the video of his First Pitch ever made under the lights to download.....STRIKE OUT!!! We were SOOO PROUD of him!!!

Check out his AWESOME Trophy!!!

14 Years!!!!

2010-05-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

Wow! Can you believe it has been 14 years since Jeff and I were married!!! Crazy eh? For this post I thought I would go back in time....to the day Jeff and I met.

It was our Sophmore year of High School at Bingham High. We were both on the Debate team. We each had Debate class during different periods of the day. So, we didn't really know everyone on the team. At least not in the beginning. My best friend Ammie kept telling me about this boy in her class. Finally, one day she dragged me into the debate room to meet him. When we walked in there Ammie introduced me to Jeff and Kara. I immediately thought Kara was Jeff's girlfriend...I was a little disappointed. Ok so I was alot disappointed...cuz he was quite the hottie!! Turns out Kara was just his debate partner. After that day Ammie and I would hang out with Jeff during every tournament. I sure did like him...I did have a boyfriend at the time, so it was more just a natural attraction thing.

Shortly after we met Jeff had told me that he was taking ballroom dancing classes. I was kinda jealous...the girl he was supposed to go with was one of my friends. Well, turns out she couldn't make it to the classes...so Jeff invited me. Quite a few of the debators were also taking these classes...

After I think the second lesson, Jeff and I really started to like each other. We hid between two of the vending machines to talk. He even gave me a peck on the cheek...I broke up with my boyfriend so I could date Jeff. We shared our first kiss a couple weeks after that, at the top of the stairs by the history department.

Right around Valentines Day we were going on the Annual Debate Tour in California. Jeff and I rode together on the bus ALL the way to California. We talked, we cuddled, we talked some more...then throughout the entire trip we were inseparable!! Jeff bought me a necklace while we were there. It had red rhinestones in the shape of a heart...I loved it!! On Valentines day he gave it to me...and we went to dinner(with our team) at the Wharf in San Francisco. It was awesome...I LOVED him!!

Ok so, this story can't be perfect....and neither can I. I will reveal to you what happened..although I am not proud of it.

So, about half way home from California..Ammie and I were invited to join the Senior boys at the back of the bus. Ugh...so I ditched Jeff and sat with the Seniors the remainder of the ride home. Trust me, he will never let me live that down.

Once we were home from the trip...I had my friend Samantha break up with Jeff for me...terrible I know.

Our Junior year of High School, we didn't really associate much...I had a new boyfriend and he had a new girlfriend. As a matter of fact....he had even plotted with Samantha(during a time her and I weren't getting along) to put cow manure in my car!! Luckily, they never did.

We saw each other on the day we were registering for our Senior Year of high school...we talked a little about our boyfriend/girlfriends. Jeff and I really always had a connection...I just don't think we knew what it was or how to act on it.

During our Senior year, Jeff shared a locker with his friend Jeremy. Jeremy's locker was right by mine. My boyfriend had graduated the year before, so I was never with boys at school. However, Jeff would take Jenny to the locker and I swear, they would make out right in front of me just to make me jealous!! GRRR!! During this school year, Jeff and I had started talking...almost confiding in each other about life, and especially our love lifes. When Brandon and I would fight, I would go talk to Jeff...When Jenny and him would fight, he would come to me. We actually did this through most of our Senior year...and several months after graduation.

On September, 29th 1995; Jeff called me to invite me on a date. Of course I said yes...knowing that I still had a boyfriend, after all it was an innocent date! Jeff took me to a restaraunt called Shoney's, for dinner. Then we went to see Dangerous Minds in the theater. During the movie we both sat with our arms folded. Then we went to Red Robin for dessert after the movie. We sat and talked at Red Robin, playing finger football with the paper coasters. We were there until they closed at 1am. Jeff took me back home and gave me the biggest hug ever!!! I wished him a Happy Birthday and he left. I closed the door to my parents house and pretty much collapsed against the wall. I knew I loved him....I knew I was to be with him...it was the BEST date either one of us had ever been on.

The very next day I was supposed to go to the circus with my friend Brandee...but I really wanted to take Jeff. So, I went and bought a card and a rose..took them to Jeff's house and asked him if he would go to the circus with me. He turned me down....he said he was going to Dinner at Mulboons with his girlfriend Jenny. He proceeded to tell me that the only reason we had gone out the night before, is because Jenny had told him she wouldn't take him out for his birthday if he didn't go on a date with someone else first. UGH!! My heart ached!!!

I think it was sometime in October that my mom had gone to a psychic...the psychic had told her that I would finally get out of my bad relationship with Brandon and meet up with someone from my past. And that I would be married within five months of reconnecting. I called Jeff and told him and we both just laughed it off.

And that was the last I had heard from him......Until January 6th 1996. Jeff called me around 5pm that day...he said "guess what I got?" I obliged..he said..."why don't I come over and show you?" I then flipped back to the other line where I had been talking to Ammie about our plans for the night. I told Ammie she had to come over right away...so she did. When Jeff showed up at my parents house....I was instantly in love again!! He took Ammie and I outside and showed us his awesome Chevrolet Silverado!! After we talked for a bit, I told him Ammie and I needed to get ready...we were going dancing that night.

Jeff said he was going to ice cream with his family but maybe he would show up at the dance later. Of course I didn't believe him....

Ammie and I had been at the dance for a while...I was dancing with some guy I had met the week before at another dance. The song playing was "I cross my heart" by George Strait. I looked over and saw Jeff in the center of the dance floor...standing alone...staring at me. I instantly broke the hold this guy had on me and walked away right in the middle of the song. I walked and then ran right into Jeff's arms!! At that moment...NO ONE was in that room besides us. It truly was a magical moment!!!

We were married.....5 months later!!!!!
And our "First Dance" at our wedding was to "I cross my Heart" by Geaorge Strait.

And thus began our life as Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Clark

Change

2010-04-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

March proved to be a very challenging month!! On top of everything going on in our personal lives. I was asked to take on a new challenge at work. They had to let another Director go and asked me to take that store. This store needs alot of work...nothing I can't handle right? lol

So, now I have been in the Riverton store for a month. It has been a long month but so far We have made great success. The staff in this store is simply awesome!! Just last week we had our Regional Directors meeting. I was asked to give a presentation...SCARY!! I was SO excited about this opportunity. I took this challenge to the max...asked my staff to get involved and had it perfected. Then the day came...I was nervous the whole day!! Then the last hour of the meeting it was my turn to stand up for my presentation. I started off just perfect, with an aweome quote by Dale Carnegie "If you want to gather honey, don't kick over the beehive". Then...I Froze up!! I managed to sputter a couple words and then just showed the video my staff helped prepare. They did such an amazing job!! I am so proud to have them as part of my team. The most awesome part is....the Regional Director of the Canyon Region even used them in part of his presentation. Once I can get the video downloaded I will put it on here for you to see. Keep your eyes out for the Adventure Boyz!!!

Our family will never be the same!

2010-04-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

March 15th, 2010 our family lost the most amazing, loving, compassionate family member ever!! Doc had been having seizures for about 2 weeks before his passing, so we knew it was close. But, nothing could have prepared us for the pain we have felt without him. Maybe I speak more for myself, but I know it has been extremely hard on all of us. With each of his seizures we would all lay around him and pet him, just praying he would pull through..and everytime...he would. Matter of fact, he would just jump up and act like nothing ever happened. Just the day before his passing, he was having a seizure in my room and Kasey went to grab him a treat. When kasey set the treat next to his face...he jumped right up and gobbled it down.

The day he passed away I had cuddled with him that morning, before I went to work. I went to work for a couple hours and came right back home. Then I got a call from work and needed to head back there for just a minute. Well, I guess when we were walking out of the house Doc came out from under the bed. He made it half way through the room and went into a seizure. All three kids were home with him, they gathered around him and tried to talk him through it. Then Kasey went to get him a treat...only this time he didn't get up. Kylie got the kids out of the room, then she layed down next to Doc, pet him and talked to him as he passed away. Kylie doesn't talk much about this experience and I can definitely understand why. After he passed away she walked out of the room, closed the door and calmly went to the neighbors house to call us (her phone wasn't working). When I answered the phone I was helping a customer at work. I said "hello" and Kylie calmly said matter of factly "Doc just died". I dropped the phone, walked away from the customer and just broke down. Luckily, Jeff was there to catch me. Poor customer had no idea what had just happened...my awesome employee knew by my reaction what had happened. She took right over at the store and Jeff and I drove home. When I walked into my bedroom and saw my precious baby laying in his feces and vomit...I felt as though my whole world had come to an end! Jeff and I both layed next to him and pet his now hard body. I was so upset that I wasn't there to comfort him during his passing. Kylie was just SOOO mature through this whole thing. Poor Kennadie said that while he was having the seizure, she could hear him trying to breath. She said "Mommy, he just couldn't catch his breath". Honestly, my children have handled this ten times better than me! Kennadie tells me everyday (even now a month later) not to cry. My heart just aches for him to be by my side!! We burried him in my parents backyard. Right next to Cody(my childhood dog). It used to be called Cody Corner..now it is Dog corner. Words cannot describe the constant ache in my heart. I know he is in a much better place and can run and even jump again! Doc has been there through every single malady that our family has been through in the past 8 years. We actually got him when I was extremely sick and incoherent. The name Doc came from the title Doctor. He was my Doctor through everything...right up on my bed next to me after every surgery, hospital stay and even simple colds. He stuck around to make sure I could stay healthy...simply an amazing companion!! We will surely miss him!!

Chess anyone?

2010-04-13T11:08:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago Kennadie brought home a paper about a Chess tournament. I kinda just ignored it cuz really I didn't know she was interested in Chess. A couple days before the tournament Kenna said "Mom I really need to register for the tournament". I asked her if she even knew how to play chess and she said "Yes, I play everyday during recess". Ok so I sure dont get Mother of the Year award! Who knew?? Well, I got her registered for the tournament and we spent an entire Saturday watching hundreds of elementary kids play...or should I say..fight to play Chess. It was amazing to me to see how intense this event was. This was a regional tournament, so there were kids there from all over the valley. Kasey's third grade teacher had a kid in the tournament. When his kid didn't win one of the matches, he flipped out on the judge. We saw a totally different side to that man!! Too Funny! Kennadie did Awesome in this tournament! There were hundreds of kids there and at least 30 of them were second graders. We got to watch from windows separating the rooms. She was so fun to watch...she really got into it!! She came out of there so happy...and we were just SO proud of her!! She took 10th place of all the second graders. She is now on the school Chess club and plays every day! We look forward to her next tournament.

Nala

2010-04-13T10:33:00.001-07:00

Just for the sake of journaling I thought I would write about our newest family member. Kasey just really loves playing ball with dogs. He always begs us to get him another dog. Several years ago we got him a yellow lab, he was way too young to take care of her and I wasn't really healthy enough to care for her either. So we gave her away. Now, 4 years later, I am healthy and he is much older and responsible. So....I set some guidelines for picking one out. He has always been enamored by Border Collies...but a pure bred doesn't meet my weight requirement. So, we found Nala! A very sweet Border Collie Mix. She is about 3 or 4years old, 25 pounds and just as sweet as ever!!! When we got her (in December) she didn't know anything about playing ball. Now, she LOVES to play ball!! Most nights she sleeps on Kasey's bed with him. She is definitely HIS baby!! Very good catch for our family!!

So Sorry this has taken so long!!

2010-01-17T19:39:00.000-08:00

I know last time I blogged I totally left you hanging! I apologize for that! Here is the story...

So I was minding my own business working my little heart out at work one day back in October, when I got a phone call saying that they were flying a helicopter in to my parking lot to film an episode of Kick Start!!

I was a nervous wreck!! I know my store looked great but it was as if someone had just told me that some famous person was coming to my home!! It was a fantastic experience!! Here are some fun pictures...

So Exciting!!!!!!

2009-10-18T17:46:00.001-07:00

Awww....total tease huh! I would love to show you how totally awesome my job is....but Amazing Race is about to start...so I will have to post later!!

A Sleepover at Grandma's

2009-10-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

Kennadie is always trying to sneak in a sleepover at Grandma's House! I guess as the youngest child she feels left out when the other two get sleep- over's with friends. So, every so often she calls Grandma Clark and says "remember how you said someday we would have a sleepover" and then of course Grandma says..."yes you can sleep over". So the other night she had done just that...and within minutes of Grandma saying yes, she walked in our room all ready to go!

Teddy Bear and All!!

Change

2009-10-18T17:09:00.000-07:00

WOW! The one constant in our life is...nothing stays the same!

Jeff has picked up a job delivering Pizza's for Papa Johns! He works between 40 and 45 hours a week...so we see very little of him.

About a month ago I was FINALLY transferred from my store in South Jordan. I can now be found at the BEAUTIFUL Maverik in Herriman!! I am totally happy with this change!! When I moved to Mesquite, Nevada a couple years ago...all I wanted was to still have a beautiful store but be close to my family!! Now, I have just that!! I have a beautiful store just 4 miles from my house and 4 miles and a couple steps from my parents house!! Obviously, it was sad to let go of store 223 and say my goodbyes to some customers. A few of my loyal customers have started coming to my new store and I have become great friends with new customers. With every store brings new challenges but the beauty of it is that this is my 3rd store as a Director so I amost know everything. I just know I will eventually know it all...lol! I can honestly say, I absolutely LOVE my job!!!

The kids are doing great and LOVING living by their Grandma and Grandpa Low.

More Owies

2009-10-18T16:48:00.000-07:00

Our family has managed to avoid getting any flu bugs or other illnesses. Instead we pick things less common...like Broken Toes. Kasey was playing Soccer at school and attempted kicking athe ball but nailed someones foot instead. He kept telling me he thought he broke it and I kept telling him he probably just jammed it. Finally, the next night when it was still quite swollen and black and blue I took him to the instacare. Sure enough he broke it!! This is his cool boot they put him in...

It lasted about two days before he said...I can walk just fine without this!
Just in case your curious...it DID NOT keep him from playing soccer..at all!! He has since fully healed!

Mini Vacation

2009-08-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic opportunity this past weekend!!

The company that Jeff has been driving for periodically set us up with a night stay at Trails End in Park City. I was amazed at the "room" we stayed in. I had never been in a resort before, so I had NO idea what to expect. We stayed in a one bedroom condo up there...fully equipped with a kitchen(cookware and dishes included), living room, bedroom, two bathrooms and a hot tub on the back patio. Incredible!!! We went to dinner at The Prime Steak House! Also, incredible!! The next morning when Jeff went down to ask the front desk what time we needed to check out..the girl said "you just got here, and we dont have anyone staying there tonight..wanna stay another night?" OF COURSE WE DID!!! However, I couldn't keep this awesome opportunity to myself...I insisted we drive home to get the kids! So we did!! Kylie was due home from girls camp that afternoon so we picked her up from the church and told her she would have to wait to shower, because we had to take Daddy to park city for work (ha ha). Then we went to get Kasey and Kennadie from Melissa, Kasey threw a fit because he wanted to stay with his cousins! When we got up to the lodge, we pulled into the garage and started getting out of the car. The kids said "do we HAVE to come in?" We said yes...we will hurry! When we got up to the condo and Jeff used the key to open the door...Kasey in his upset voice said "what are we even doing here?" I nicely replied...this is where we are sleeping tonight! His mood quickly changed as he looked around in disbelief!

We took them down to Main Street and went into a few different shops..Kylie fell in love with the shop called "Mary Janes". Then we went to "The Market" to get some groceries. We went back to the condo and I made a very nice meal for our little family! We watched "Race to Witch Mountain" and the kids enjoyed the hot tub!

The next morning we checked out and ventured back to Main Street. What a fantastic idea! They were having a street market with alot of great FREE activities for the kids!! We spent several hours walking up and down Main Street!! Then we ventured on to the Olympic Museum. It was awesome!! I don't remember anything about the Olympics so it was like my own little Olympic Experience!! I joked with Jeff and the kids and said that my experience of the Olympics was more tropical and relaxing!! HA HA!! I saw the picture of downtown Salt Lake with fireworks over it...WOW! I wish I could have been awake to experience that!! Dangit!

While at the Museum we watched people ski into a swimming pool...I was baffled by that sport! Who would think to ski into a swimming pool?? Oh well, I guess it is supposed to make them better on the snow?

What a fantastic experience this was for our little family!!! Thank You Trails End for our fantastic FREE stay at your resort!!

While up there we saw a convention of Lamborghinni..about 30 of them!!

This is a real Grizzly Bear!!

We had a nice couple walking by take our picture!!

This is just the living room of the condo!

Pinewood Derby

2009-07-13T18:41:00.000-07:00

A few months back Kasey had his first Pinewood Derby!! We had just moved into the neighborhood so we didn't get his piece of wood until the night before! He drew the outline on the wood, of the car style he wanted. He carved a few pieces and then Jeff took it to work with him to work on it.

Then.....Kasey found a wounded bird!! His focus quickly changed from needing his car for scouts to getting this bird some help. After he finally caught the bird in a bucket, he wanted to take it to the animal hospital. My mom was quite enamored by his concern for the bird, so she helped him find the number to Animal Control. Kasey dialed the number..

Kasey: I found a bird that has a broken leg....what can I do to help it?
Guy on phone: Fry it up and eat it!
Kasey:..........(handing the phone to grandma) here Grandma you talk to him.
Grandma: (to guy on phone) you cannot talk to a 10 year old like that!!
Guy on Phone: I am sorry, we just get a lot of prank calls around here.
Grandma: Well, my grandson really does have a hurt bird and would like to get it help.
Guy on Phone: Yes we can help it just have him bring it down here.

So...as they were leaving I came home and reminded him about his pinewood derby! He was quite frustrated. I think he felt like that was the hardest decision of his life!

Pinewood Derby........or Saving a Bird??

After I convinced him that maybe the bird would make it through the night in the bucket and we could take it the next day...we had ONE HOUR to finish the unpainted, unweighted and wheel-less car!! Thank Goodness for GRANDPA!!!!!!

With Jeff at work and unable to help...Grandpa Low took on the challenge!!

To be completely honest....I thoroughly enjoyed watching Kasey and my dad work on his car. It was very tear jerking actually!! It was an awesome experience and Kasey was so happy to do a project with Grandpa!

Although his Gold car did not win the fastest car race, it did win the slowest car that made it to the finish line race!! Next year....we have requested at least two days notice....ha ha!!

FYI.......the bird.......ummm...well...no proof but quite likely that.....

I'm thinkin' Chaser (My parents lion) had something to do with it!!

Bring On The Rain!!

2009-07-05T10:49:00.000-07:00

"Another Day has almost come and gone
Can't Imagine what else could go wrong
Sometimes I'd like to hide away somewhere and lock the door
A single battle lost but not the war ('cause)

Tomorrow's another day
And I'm thirsty anyway
So bring on the rain"

These are the lyrics to an excellent song!! It is number 15 on my playlist here! It seems that this past month the trials keep coming!

It all started when my Ops Manager(assistant) gave me her notice. You would think with today's economy it would be easy to find a replacement...not so much! By the time I finally found someone capable of the position, her two weeks was up. About 2 days after she gave me her notice I had two other employees quit...one with a four hour notice (before his shift was starting), and the other a two day notice(which was when her next shift was). It seemed impossible to find anyone willing to work the shifts that I needed filled. I finally filled the two AG positions this week! So, I am trying to get two new Adventure Guides trained and a new Operations Manager trained. I am looking so forward to a day off..maybe next weekend.

I have been fighting off alot of pain in my shoulder for several months now....well...I finally gave up and went to a doctor. After about a month of trigger point injections and still having problems, I had to have an Arthrogram and MRI last week. I tell ya...whoever has that voodoo doll needs to throw it away and pick a new victim!! The MRI showed my bicept tendon is tearing away from my shoulder, soft tissue tears and bursitis. So...I am heading into surgery in the next few weeks. If you are keeping count...this will be like #18 surgery I think! UGH!!

Jeff's job doesn't seem to be as great as we expected...he hasn't made any commissions in two weeks now!! He wants to keep working on it, but I am quickly losing patience in it! Luckily, the customers he became close to, when driving for Park City are back in town. He has been able to pick up some business from them!! He loves driving for them so it helps boost his self esteem!!

Kennadie is still struggling and is now being referred to a Muscle Specialist. We will be meeting with her neurologist next week to discuss the plan for her treatment. Sometimes we wonder if some of her problems are behavior conditioned. But, then she has an episode of being disoriented, weak, muscle aches, headaches and such. Keep her in your prayers!!

As the song says...

Tommorow is another day!
Bring on the Rain!!

As I always say...Smile and Move On!!

Where does the time go??

2009-06-03T14:15:00.000-07:00

Ya know...I am a strange creature!! Nod your head cuz you know it's true! When I am reading other blogs (Daily) I think to myself.."man it has been a month since they updated". Only to realize that I often go a month in between blogs. So, I am sorry for those of you that feel that way about us...I will try to do better.

Baseball, Baseball, Baseball....we thought our season was coming to an end...then Kasey was picked for the Allstar Team!! So, until his Allstar team loses two games...we continue with Baseball! You may think we are obsessed about baseball...kinda have to be with the goals this boy has in place.

So we are driving down Bangerter Highway.....

Kasey: Mom is that a corvette?

Mom: nope.

Kasey: Hmm....well I am going to have a Silver Corvette when I am older.

Mom: Kasey that is a great goal...how are you going to get it?

Kasey: Well, I am getting drafted by the Yankees right out of High School.

Mom: Wow, that is a great idea! (despite the Yankees part).

Kasey: Yep! I am going to live in a top floor apartment in New York and play baseball for the Yankees!

Mom: Cool...and drive your silver Corvette around the City?

Kasey: Yep! Live in New York City, Play for the Yankees, Drive my Silver Bullet and have my dog named Steve!

Mom: Kasey, You are such an amazing kid...I support you 100%...but, does it have to be the Yankees?

Kasey: Yep!! So you'll just have to get over it!

Mom: Buddy...I will be the biggest Yankees fan there is when you get drafted!!

Kasey: Well then....you have about 8 years!

I just love his determination!! Kasey is a Great Pitcher! Not as good in the outfield...at baseball anyway! The other Mom's in the bleachers say if he doesn't make it to the Major league; maybe he could dance on broadway! He is constantly moving around when they put him in the outfield....he seriously dances around, picks the grass, throws his gum in the air...and catches it in his mouth. They love to watch him! The Mom's say they are taking video now so that when he does play for the Yankees they can sell the video on Ebay! When you get the kid up to pitch, he is very serious about the game. Sure Love this boy and pray that he will continue to have high goals and aspirations!! Now, before every game we say "Go Get That Silver Bullet"!!

Dance, Dance, Dance....As the baseball season will soon come to a close, the run around doesn't stop for us!! Kylie has dance tryouts this Friday!! She has been waiting patiently for her turn...and now it has come!! Yes, we know we won't always be able to only have one child in an activity at a time...but it has worked up to this point.

Kennadie is doing a little better now that they have doubled her medication!! She still struggles a little, but at least she can make it 'till her next dose without going into her trance. She was going through a phase where 6pm would hit her like a ton of bricks!! They are doing a 3 day EEG this month (or first part of July if we can make it that long). She is such a sweet little girl!! We just wish she could/would feel good enough to go out to play and make friends like most 7 year olds do!!

Jeff LOVES his new job....but who doesn't in the beginning?? Actually, he enjoys sales and especially loves talking about Real Estate and Flipping Houses. He is doing good at it so far...so keep your fingers crossed that it lasts a very long time!!

Being open 24 hours in my store is working out pretty good! Some days it is extremely slow (4 customers in 4 hours), other days it is great!! Only time will tell! I have a feeling, I won't be in my store much longer though...don't worry...I won't be leaving Maverik anytime soon!

Well, kids should be home soon, and I have to clean the house a bit before baseball practice!!

So Consumed!!

2009-04-30T13:47:00.000-07:00

We apologize for not keeping up on the blogging! We really do have SO many things going on around us! I am multi-multi tasking just to get this blog in.

Let's start with our Favorite past time....

"Pictures courtesy of Aunt Melissa"

Or Should I say....Our only past time! Kasey really loves his baseball!! We spend 6 days a week involved in baseball!! He is an Amazing Pitcher for a 10 year old! Our first game I had a funny experience in the bleachers. I am the type of Mom that just sits and watches and lets the coaches (Jeff is one of them) do the critiquing! It is amazing to me how competitive the PARENTS are with this sport. Well, Kasey came in to pitch the third inning (after having pitched the first two) and one of the mothers got upset! See, in AAA they have a rule that 12 year old's can only pitch 2 innings. She got all worked up that the umpire was letting him continue pitching...then she was told he was only 10. So funny to be the mother of this awesome 10 year old..I just bit my tongue!! I must say I am one of the proudest mothers on this team...despite the fact that they are Yankees! I told Kasey I would cheer for him and his teammates individually but never for the Yankees!! When he is playing in the Major League Professionals and gets drafted to the Yankees...I might make a slight adjustment! BUT...not until!!

Almost two weeks ago we managed to find a couple hours to get our Garden done!! We are so proud..as this is our first Garden Ever!! We Planted... 1 plant of Celebrity Tomatoes, 4 Roma Tomatoes, 1 cucumber, 1 squash, lots of peas (of coarse) and a row of beets!! We will be adding zucchini to it this weekend!! We will keep you updated on it's progress!!

This is how the whole garden area looked before.....

This is what it looked like all tilled and ready for planting...

Doc LOVES gardening...hehe more like he just loves to lay in the middle of it!!

Even Kylie helped us out!!

Like I said...He loves to lay in the middle of it!! He wouldn't budge while we were out there!!

As much as I love the thought of having a garden...and will be thrilled to enjoy the "fruits of our labor"...I Love the company of my Doc even more!!

Well...it's time to go finish making signs for my store...We are going 24 hours starting tomorrow!!! I am so nervous to make it successful...but I know I can do it!!

This will be a scroller...at least 3 posts!

2009-03-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

We will start with....

Our New House

So, last month we were going out to visit my parents and noticed a house for rent right around the corner from their house. More curious than anything...we called to inquire details. I think when the lady said the amount ($400 less than we were paying at the time) we were sold!!! So, we schedule a time to go see the place! Here is what we saw....

How could we resist living 1/2 a block from my parents, a full half court basketball court, a gorgeous view from the master bedroom window and the best feature...$400 less than we were paying!!! Our lease for the old house was not technically up until May 1st....we managed to get out of it (long story). So we moved right in!! It was really hard to move away from my sister...but saving money seemed necessary!

We absolutely LOVE our new home!! We have already had our first family basketball game!!!
And the best part.....We are saving $400 per month!!!

Baseball Season!!

2009-03-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

YEAH!! We love Baseball season!! Kasey had baseball tryouts last weekend, he was #28 on the roster...he will be playing in the AAA league this year!! We haven't heard what team he will be on but he is playing for Taylorsville this year! Opening day is April 4th!! We are soo excited! Hopefully you can come watch him play!!

Funny Kid Momment!!

2009-03-19T18:21:00.000-07:00

I am sure you can imagine that Kylie who is 12 and blonde, can be somewhat...Blonde! The other night we were sitting in the family room watching "Sum of all Fears". A picture of the map showing Israel popped up on the screen..she took this opportunity to sound all smart and says.."hey we live by there"! We said "umm no not so much"! She said..."well...we live by Nephi and Lehi"! Oh how we love her!! We laughed hysterically!!!

Birthdays!!

2009-03-19T18:01:00.000-07:00

So our kids talked us into having their birthday "parties" one week after we moved! They had a 3 day weekend so we had Kylie's on Thursday and Kasey's on Friday. Kylie took 2 of her friends to see the movie "Confessions of a Shopaholic". Jeff was their private driver for the night..he was even dressed up like a limo driver and used his company vehicle for it! After the movie he went out to get the car for us girls and when we walked out he was standing at the side of the vehicle "at ease" just like he does for his real customers. Then as the girls got closer, he opened the door for them and closed it when they were in! We took the girls back to our house where they had a great time chatting and playing! They stayed up ALL night long!!! Then Friday night we took Kasey and 3 of his friends swimming. Then we took 2 of them to our house for a sleepover! It was a crazy yet super fun weekend!!

Happy Valentines Day!!

2009-02-17T13:43:00.000-08:00

What a Great Day! Jeff and I have never really been huge on Valentines Day! Last Year I spent it in the hospital, so this year we decided to celebrate our family!! Jeff had to work on Saturday so we went out the Wednesday prior.

I was really excited to show my kids how much I LOVE them!! Jeff was actually excited with me...so much that we spent two days looking for the perfect gifts for them! We just had to have matching necklaces for the girls!! Finally, we found them....at Walmart! Jeff picked out necklaces that said Daddy's Girl and I picked out earrings..hearts and music notes! I packaged them nicely in little red gift bags! Kasey was of coarse a little more difficult...as boys are not really into the frilly things. So we got him his favorite candy...Licorice!

The night before Valentine's I waited patiently...and not so patiently for the kids to go to bed. I cut out a bunch of little hearts and wrote cutesy words on them. Then I taped them to their bedroom doors! With one big one that had their name on it! I put a few little hearts on the piano and set their little gift bags on the piano for them!

Jeff had a little break in between rides that night...so we made the kids a candlelight dinner! It was so fun!! I got a crazy idea as we sat there eating...I had each family member say one thing they loved about each other!! It was sooo neat!! My kids really are soo gooey!! They even included Doc!! We all decided we love Kennadies "Bug Hugs" and laughs! We love how beautiful Kylie is and how she always tells each of us she loves us! We love how Kasey always makes us laugh and tells us he loves us! We love Docs fat rolls and how he waits by the door for us to come home.

This little conversation sure made the rest of the night peaceful and happy! Kylie and Kasey watched a movie QUIETLY together and Bug climbed in our bed with us to watch a movie! It was one of the best Valentines we have ever had!!

What not to do....

2009-02-12T18:38:00.000-08:00

So, often times parents panic when they see their child choking on something! Unfortunately, my parents weren't here to panic and beat the heck out of my back! Twice in the last month I have choked on my food! And, as it turns out...you are supposed to cough ALL of it out of your windpipe and lungs! A couple days ago I started getting a really bad chest pain! It would worsen when I laughed, took a deep breath or coughed. I went to the doctor today after heeding to my husbands insistance! The doctor ordered an x-ray...and wouldn't you know it...

A pocket of fluid has built up in my left lung....most likely caused by a crumb or piece of food stuck in there!!! So, for the next 3 or 4 days I get to take Ibuprofen to see if the inflammation around it will allow me to hack it back up! If it is still painful, I get to have a CT Scan to help them decide if I will need to have it sucked up through a tube down my throat!!

As if that wasn't enough....my loving doctor says to me "my son had this happen when he was 2 years old". How freaking embarrasing!!

Hang on a little tighter!

2009-02-09T19:18:00.000-08:00

The last couple weeks have been just yanking at my heart strings!! So much that I almost can't even type this....my eyes are blurry with tears!! Over the years I have learned that my family is the absolute most important thing in my life!! Moving away to Mesquite two years ago really defined the importance of family for me! So much that after being away from the most important people for only 9 months...I had to move back to Utah (yes that is why we came back)!

Since we have been back, my sister and I have become extremely close!! She has been my ROCK through everything that has happened in the last two years. Andria and I live a block away from each other...the BEST arrangement EVER!! We (including spouses) climb up on her huge king size bed to watch movies together!! Good Times!!

Two weeks ago she had a hysterectomy, came home and two days later was back in the hospital with an infection. They had to do another surgery to try to clean it out. Unfortunately, she continued to get sicker! Wednesday the doctor had decided she would need a blood transfusion. That night I was taking Sydney and Dylan up to the hospital to visit her in the hospital...

As I was turning off of bangerter onto 90th south, the song "I'll stand by You" by Carrie Underwood came on the radio. I completely LOST IT!! Tears just fell heavily from my eyes and I was practically sobbing. Sydney (who is very in tune with peoples feelings) said..."your crying for my mom huh?" Oh, how I Love Sydney!!!!!!!

I waited patiently that night for Shane to take them home, so I could have my sister to myself (selfish I know). My sister and I had a great heart to heart talk!! My sister is such an amazing example for me! I absolutely LOVE HER!!!!

I am happy to report that her body responded well to the transfusion and the infection has subsided and she is home!!!!! Please Hang on Tighter to your family!! You never know when they will be called home!!

A moment worth blogging!

2009-02-09T18:59:00.000-08:00

Let me start by saying, Kasey is such a smart cookie!! I believe he may have gotten my genetics there!! Not so much book smart (as you know I am not)...but very analytical. The other night we were driving home from grocery shopping and this was the conversation...

Kasey: Mom, do you know the definition of yes?

Me: ummm....just yes?

Kasey: No....it is You Estimated Strongly!

Me: (looking for words)...almost believing him...really?

Kasey: Yes! (giggling)

Kasey: Do you know the definition of no?

Me: ummm...no?

Kasey: NOOO...it is No Opinion.

Me: Dude...you can't use the word in the definition of itself.

Kasey: ok then....it means Negative Opinion!

The sad thing is....he was very believable!!! I almost thought I missed something in school!!!

Update!

2009-02-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

It has almost been a week since Kennadie started her new meds. She was doing really well, and only once complained of a headache. Then a couple nights ago, she fell asleep before taking her pill. I tried to wake her up to take it but she refused to wake up...and if you have ever tried to force a 7 year old to take a pill in their sleep...not so possible! So, I let her go without...HUGE mistake!! It has been three days and she has not quite recovered.. I am amazed at the difference one little pill makes! She has not lost any weight so far...that is a great sign! Hopefully, she never does....otherwise we have to put her on something else!

Jeff is still driving for Park City intermitantly. He is working on a few side projects and is looking for another job until things pan out in that area.

I hope all is well with yours!!

So Crazy...and Funny as ever!

2009-02-02T18:15:00.000-08:00

Kennadie is a very independant 7 year old! She loves to play by herself more than with other kids. Partially because she likes to talk to imaginary friends...and also because she is still struggling with headaches. So she prefers to be where it is quiet and mellow! She was playing in her room the other day...playing dress ups! She came out of her room wearing this.......

Ok, now ask me what she is wearing.....go ahead...ask the question....
the answer is......Her blessing Dress!!! Believe it or not, it really is!!
Can you believe it goes to her knees?? Too Funny!!

Continuation....

2009-01-30T17:26:00.000-08:00

How about that fog we had the other night...we were driving home in it.

That shadow is a tree that was actually about 30 feet from us!

Can you see the tail lights?? Again not far ahead of us!

As most of you know....I DO NOT bake!!! Lucky for me.....Kennadie does! You see, I LOVE sweets! Not so much candy...but put a pastry in front of me and I'm sold! A couple weeks ago Kennadie begged and pleaded to make cupcakes! So...I watched...and Kenna poured, mixed, filled the papers, and baked cupcakes!! She made these cupcakes from start to finish all by herself!!! It was adorable to watch her!! She took much pride in the process...oh and did I mention...she ate them too! Well, we each got one and she got the rest!

Is this not an awesome view....that is the sunrise shining on the oquirrh mountains. I looked up from my desk one day at work and this is what I saw! It didn't last very long...after I took the picture and plugged in a few more sales numbers, I looked back up and it was dark and smoggy!

This portion of this blog is dedicated to Kylie! As it is proof that she is not the smallest almost 12 year old you know!! That is Britton standing next to her! Britton is our not so formally adopted daughter...she is actually 2 months older than Kylie!

These girls are inseperable!! They remind me of when I was their age. I am always telling them to hang on to each other because as they grow older, they may grow apart and it is heartbreaking to go through that process! I miss the best friends I had growing up!! Such cute girls!!

This is a picture from Kylie's Greek Play! She did such a good job! Honestly...she was the only one that was actually theatrical! She really got into her character! It was fun to see her use her naturally born talent!!

The past month in a...not so nutshell

2009-01-28T20:45:00.000-08:00

WOW! Can we say Hallelujiah..lol or however that is supposed to be spelled. I am sitting here in bed blogging!! Yeah that means we have internet!! Of coarse I couldn't afford to get the computer fixed, so we are borrowing a laptop! No more bugging Andria to use their computer!

This past month has been full of so many bloggable things.

FYI one thing you may not know about me is that I create my own words. Jeff and I have decided I should write a dictionary! For instance: I had a knot in the part of my neck that connects to my shoulder...I said "Honey will you work this knot in my Shneck". Another instance: tonight we were walking into the hospital to visit my sister and I said "I am going to die of coldation". That is just a couple samples of my upcoming dictionary.

Okay lets start with Christmas....

As our kids get older it seems we get less and less excited for Christmas to come around. Some think this is because of the children's belief system weakening...we believe it is because we realize the older they get...the more expensive Christmas becomes! Jeff and I have always had such a minimal budget for Christmas that we prefer to spend what we have on the kids. This year we spent a total of......$1500 on everything!! This included kids, nieces and nephews, siblings and parents. Not one penny was on credit..as we don't have any credit cards!!

Kylie LOVED finding her Hot Pink Ipod in the very top of the tree, Kasey was THRILLED to get his awesome Heely's and Kennadie thought it was pretty NEAT to be the only one to get a pink motorized scooter!! Overall, it was a great Christmas for our family!

New Year's Eve is always fun for us! I say that with some sarcasm...you see it is almost impossible to get babysitters on New Years Eve. So for the second year in a row I enjoyed a little karoake with my sister and the kids!! Jeff had to work all night so he didn't get to join us! By 11:00pm I was soo ready for bed! Yes I was in bed....asleep before midnight!!

Jeff enjoyed his experience of driving during Sundance. He met alot of very neat and some interesting people....or is it the other way around? He has a family that he has become good friends with!! He is their personal driver now! He has really enjoyed this experience!

FYI...I really should be going to bed....but I know I am so behind on this blogging thing!

Ok...so here is the scoop on Kennadie:

If you haven't heard, she has really been struggling with Migraines lately. With her history of seizures her neurologist wanted to be on the safe side and do an MRI. Initially on the MRI they just found an excessive amount of blood flow to her brain...just something to be aware of. The doctor wanted to get a second opinion from another radiologist...so we waited...and waited. That radiologist suggested they compare this MRI to one she had about 4 years ago. In doing so they found that her Brain Stem (or tonsil) is larger than they would have expected. What does all of this mean? Well, it means she will have another MRI in 5 years to compare (unless something provokes them to do one sooner). As, you well know this is very touchy ground for me; as I have Chiari and refuse to accept that my daughter or any of my children for that matter could have it! The good news is that it could just be that the brain stem could be normal and be nothing. In the meantime, for her pain they have put her on Topomax; it seems to be working pretty well for her! She still complains of a headache every couple days, but Leaps and Bounds better than when she would hold her head and rock on the couch because it hurt so bad!

Speaking of the Chiari....I reached my 1 year mark from my second surgery!! January 20th marked the special day. Back in November I decided that I would celebrate the anniversay by cutting my hair to the length of the regrowth from surgery. It was about 8 - 10 inches of hair! It was a very very sad moment for me!! I can't wait to grow it all back!! It looks much healthier and obviously thicker now!!

I have sooo much I want to blog about, but I am watching the clock in the bottom right corner of the screen...and it says I should really go to bed! Have I mentioned...I hate waking up at 4am for work?? Well...I DO! I will continue with more updates tomorrow!!

Hibernating?

2008-12-21T10:18:00.000-08:00

Recently, Kasey found a new past time...stopping at the canal on his way home from school! The first day he did this he got in trouble!! Not because he stopped but because he didnt tell anyone he was stopping and then claimed to have "fallen in". Kinda hard to fall in when the road is 8 feet wide!! He said he was taking a shortcut home...(the canal is not on the way home at all). Oh well, we got through it and made a deal that he had to come home first from now on! So, since then he has gone back to the canal a few times. The canal does not have any water in it. The kids jump down in the ravine and look for sink holes of mud. They dig in these little sink holes and pull up CrawDads! They took a bucket with them last week! They filled the bucket with water and loaded it up with approximately 30 crawdads!! They proudly carried there catch home with them!! For the first two days they would check on them and find worms to feed them. Then they lost interest...

A few days later we told Kasey that the crawdads were most likely dead! He refused to believe us....he said "No Mom...they are just hibernating!!" Jeff and I laughed and just let him believe that. After about two more days the water in the bucket was frozen solid!! I said "ok dude their DEAD!!" He said "No Mom...they are just hibernating!!"

So We dumped the bucket over....this is what dropped out...

Hmmm....Hibernating?

Hmmm...Sure don't think so!

Needless to say...he lost the battle. The resting place for these wonderful creatures is somewhere in the landfill!!

Oh the Funny things kids say!

2008-12-16T20:05:00.000-08:00

Over the years we have heard some pretty hilarious things come out of our kids mouths. This last week they have just been on a roll. I happened to store a couple in my phone until I had a chance to post again.

So we were driving down Bangerter the other night and out of no where...

Kasey: Mom, I think we are all turning into Mammals!!

Me: (Laughing) As opposed to?

Kasey: Well, aren't we reptiles? It seems lately we are awake at night.

Jeff: Pal We are Mammals!! I think you are thinking of the word Nocturnal!

Too Funny!

So this next one might have even been the next day...but I know it was sometime this week.

Kasey: What is a Sardine?

Kylie: It's a type of fish that lives in a can!!

Jeff and I were laughing hysterically!!! It seems we need to have a lesson of the Animal Kingdom in our household!! I just love my kids!!!

We LOVE Firemen!!!

2008-12-16T17:36:00.001-08:00

This story actually proves that we live in such a small world!! Each person that we come in contact with, will at some point play a role in our lives.

Case and point: Some 25 years ago I made friends with a little boy and girl that lived about a block away from us. I won't say by accident, but the circumstances not an everyday occurance. When I was 6 years old there was a neighbor that had gone out of town. That neighbor had asked me to keep an eye on their dog While they were gone. I don't recall the type of dog...only that it was alot bigger than me. Well, the dog managed to get through the fence one day that I went over there. So I chased the dog down the street. The dog went to a duplex about a block away and there was a little girl outside in her front yard. Gabrielle lived across the street from Scott and Leslie. They were brother and sister..Scott was 4 and Leslie was 2. We all played together pretty much everyday..Best of friends!! See, back then playing outside was the Norm! When I was 11 years old my family moved away. I still talked to all of them once in a while until eventually the phone calls and visits ceased. Then when I was 17 years old I really wanted to find Scott and Leslie! So I called every single number in the phone book with their last name...which
is a common one! Eventually I found them and we talked on the phone for a very long time!

Then I tried to find their house...at 17 I sure didn't know my way around the valley. I never did find there house..and again we went without talking. Then when I was 21 I went on the search again!! I found them!! We talked on the phone and we even set Leslie up on a date with Jeff's brother Brad!! I don't recall what we ended up doing on that date...I only remember we were supposed to go to a Baseball game..but it was rained out. Leslie and I talked off and on and when Kasey was maybe a year old we went to visit her whole family!! Leslie and I continued to keep in touch once in a while. After a couple years went by I found her again...this time little Leslie was Married and about to have her first baby!! So we got back in touch and every month for about a year I would go visit her!! Then it was back to our busy lives and we lost touch.....Fast Forward...

Some of you may recall last year when Kennadie had a Grand Mal seizure in her sleep and had to be revived by paramedics....fast forward again....A couple months ago when Kylie broke her arm she was transported by ambulance to the hospital.

Well, a couple weeks ago I found Leslie on Facebook!! YEAH!!! As it turns out Scott is a Paramedic....IN WEST VALLEY!!! So Leslie got me in touch with Scott..SO AWESOME!! Although Scott himself was not one of the paramedics to respond to either of my girls...we thought it was AWESOME that he is part of the department that did!!

As a Thank You for all of their service in the community, we decided to do a service project for them!! We took them dinner last Thursday night!!! The kids had an absolute BLAST!! While we were there Scott let them play Fooz Ball, slide down the fire pole, get in the ambulance and put on The special Fire Clothes!!! Then he had the dispatcher sound the alarm and welcome the kids to the Fire Station!! It was a SPECTACULAR experience!! The kids wrote the firemen special Thank You Notes!! Thank You So Much Scott and all of the West Valley City Fire Department!!!

Enjoy the pictures....

Kylie, britton and Kennadie in the Fire Truck!!

Kasey, Kennadie and Kylie, Dressed for the occasion!

Kennadie, Kylie, Scott and Kasey!

This Experience has proved to me that I need to make a special place in my heart for every person I come in contact with!! That 4 year old boy that I met 25 years ago was part of a team that saved one of my children's lives and comforted another when she was in pain! So amazing to me!!

No more cast!!

2008-12-08T16:40:00.000-08:00

So, for some this is old news...Kylie finally got her cast off!! It was a great day for us! Perhaps an even better day for her. She hasn't been able to shower alone for two months! She spent alot of time scrubbing the dead skin from her super hairy arm! Overall, very good day! Her Greek play is on December 16th and she is SO excited for it! Thanks to Grandma Clark she has the best costume of all the kids! She is very proud to be a star in a play! We had a Spectacular Thanksgiving!! I only had to work 6 hours on Thanksgiving...UGH! At least it saved me on my Labor Budget!! I am still in my store...but training for my new position on the side. I spent an entire day in the eastern part of Utah a couple weeks ago. In one day we went to Ephraim, Price, Castledale, Huntington and Mt. Pleasant. It was a very long day..but I surely enjoyed it! I was asked to go to Price next week for two days but I turned it down. I am what some call paranoid! It is a few weeks before Christmas and I am afraid of getting in an accident going through that canyon! I know once I am fully in that position I won't be able to pick and choose my road trips but for now I am going to just avoid the possibility of an accident.

Jeff had his first day of training for his new job...just a tour of the airport! Saturday he will tour Park City and then Tuesday he will actually start driving! He will be using a company vehicle for his job...and he gets to bring it home!! Once I start my new position I too will have a company vehicle...Awesome..Yet I will still have my car payment! UGH! He is excited to get back to work full time! He has been an awesome help to me in my store and we will miss his help!! I believe that is about the sum of my update...Take care!!

40 Years!

2008-11-19T15:48:00.000-08:00

This last weekend My sisters and I...and our spouses; took our parents out for their 40th Wedding Anniversary. Our Cousin works for Grand America Hotel and we were able to get a sweet deal on a very nice room for them! We all met at Tepanyaki where for the first time in YEARS we enjoyed an awesome dinner together!! It was way cool to sit around the table and talk about our childhood memories and reflect on the awesome relationships we have! Mom and Dad said their room was the size of the upstairs of their house...and was a spectacular view!! They related this whole experience as if they were in a movie titled "Ma and Pa Kettle go to New York". We were all so happy that we could pull off this awesome outing!!

I can honestly say that I have the best family in the WORLD!!! My parents mean the world to me and I could not get through life without them being part of it!! I Love You Mommy and Daddy!! Congrats on 40 years!! Only 40 more to go....hehe.

Mommy and Daddy

Andria and Shane

Mike and Stacy

Me and Jeff

In other news....

Last week Kylie tried out for a part in the school play. She had rehearsed and rehearsed the part...as if she already had it!! She was SO anxious to go back to school on Monday to see if she got it....Naturally...SHE DID!!! She will be playing the part of Cersi in a play about Ancient Greece!! We are so proud of her!!! Also, she has been working very hard to keep her grades up so that she can start dancing again. On Monday when we checked her grades....nothing below a B-!!! Way To Go Kylie!!!! She is making so many awesome improvements!! We Love Her!!!

On a more somber note...

Good Ole' Doc is not doing so good anymore. We had to take him into the vet yesterday because he has been declining very fast. The Vet was very understanding to our desires to keep him around as long as possible. They put him on some pain meds to keep him comfortable as he continues to decline. One thing that we learned was that one sign that a dogs Heart is in failure is if they continually hack. Well, as you all know....that has been a Doc trait since the day we got him. Unfortunately it keeps getting worse. Now each time he hacks...we panic wondering if this is the real thing. We don't have much longer with him and we are coming to terms with that. It sure isn't easy though. I have started reading a book called "Marley and Me". It is about a guy and his dog!! I am hoping that it will help me cope with what is to come.

Jeff will start a new job on December 6th! It will last until after the Sundance Festival, he will be transporting people from the airport to Park City!! He is pretty excited and we are told it is actually pretty good money!! In the meantime he has been an awesome help to me at my store!!

I hope everyone is doing well and Healthy!!!

Happy Days for Kids!!

2008-11-12T14:44:00.000-08:00

Despite Kennadie's concern that her birthday would ever come...it Did! She had a great day at school and came rushing in the door SOO excited to open her presents. While patiently waiting for us to wrap her presents, her and Kylie began a little squabble. Shortly after we heard the girls begin to argue with each other we heard a very loud squeal of pain come from Kenna. We hurried to go see what had happened...only to find Kylie out of sight and Kenna's finger black and blue!! Kylie had slammed the door on Kenna's finger and ran! Then the black and blue split open! It was nasty looking! My sister was nice enough to run some first aid supplies over to our house (as the kids had used all the bandaids). We cleaned it up and determined she would be ok without stitches....after all it is just a finger!! After she was doctored up WE were ready for presents and birthday cake. Unfortunately...she wasn't! She frowned through the whole process!

After she was done we made her put on the cutest hat and purse (Jeff picked it out) that we had found at the dollar store. She faked us a smile and this is what we got....

We love our little baby bug! She cheered up after a while and enjoyed the remainder of her birthday! For her birthday she wanted to decorate her own cake...with mommy and no one else! She did an awesome job with it! See the results..

Kasey has been given the thumbs up from the surgeon!! He said that he cannot play any sports or participate is any contact activities until at least the spring!! He looks great and is happy to have that behind him! It will probably take a while for the bruising around his eyes to go away but that we can handle that!!

Today was a special day for Kylie....and me quite frankly!! Her cast was downsized!!! It is now below her elbow! She was ecstatic when the doctor confirmed that they would be downsizing the cast! She can now wrap her arm in plastic and bathe herself!!!!

Happy kids make for Happy parents!!

Kylie Felt Rejected!

2008-10-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

So Tuesday night miss Kylie had an itch in her cast....

She had been told not to use hangers or other sharp objects to stick down her cast and scratch. So she chose to use a marker instead. Unfortunately, she use the wrong end....the end with the lid! As luck would have it the lid got stuck in the cast. We tried for at least an hour trying to pry it out with spoons, pencils and fingers. To no Avail. Luckily she had an appointment the next day to have it xrayed again...to be continued.

Wednesday when we were pulling in to the south side parking lot of the hospital Kylie read the sign at the entrance....

In a very loud...extremely offended voice she says.... "No Moron patient parking!!"

Jeff and I were laughing so hysterically!! As I rolled down the window to get my parking pass from security I couldn't even talk...I just pointed to the hospital and he kindly gave me the pass.

Continuation...

Once we regained our composure we shuffled into the constantly overcrowded fracture clinic. At the clinic they call the kids back to get the x-ray first. Kylie failed to mention to the tech that she had a Lid stuck in her cast. When the doctor came in to go over the x ray with us we pointed it out to her and she used her "magic tool" to pry the lid out. Thank Goodness they were able to do it without having to take the cast off and put a new one on (they charge for each package of plaster ya know).

Kennadie will be turning 7 in eleven more days!! She is such the awesome little girl!! The other night she was teaching us a lesson in our bedroom and had managed to tangle her legs (to look professional) check out the flexibility...

She is such a fun little girl!! For her birthday she just wants to be with her family!!

This month marks Doc's suspected birth month. Obviously we have no absolute because he was a pound puppy but the vet put a guess on his age and October was a guess for a month. If the guesses are accurate then he is 12 years old now!! If you don't know Doc he is my absolute best companion in the whole world!! Some compare him to newman on seinfield but to me he is the bestest friend I have ever had!!!

Happy Birthday "Doctor Dog"!!!

Very Fun Date!

2008-10-20T14:48:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the kids very special tradition of going with Grandma and Grandpa to the pumpkin patch. Daddy wasn't feeling well so he asked me to go in his place...since I was a loner that day anyway. It was so fun to see the kids get excited over the different pumpkins. They all took off running right when we got there....My 3 took off straight for the corn maze while Dylan searched to see where they went. Sydney had found the wheelbarrow and was set out to find her pumpkin. Mom followed Sydney while I waited for the other 4 to get done with the maze. Once they made it through the maze they headed off to the pumpkins. It was so cute...they would run to one.."this is mine" then they would see another in the distance...take off running..."this ones mine". Finally they each settled on a pumpkin. Sydney was content to just push the wheelbarrow while the others searched and searched. Naturally Kasey HAD to have the biggest!! Funny thing is...it was the most smushed. It was a very fun experience and I really enjoyed the opportunity....Thanks Daddy!!! :)

Saturday night we found ourselves with just one kid.....THE BUG!! At first we were a little disappointed that we were unable to find somewhere for her to go while we went on a date (Melissa had something come up so she couldn't...we still love her!!). However, it turned out to be quite a fun little outing. Kylie had gone to a Halloween Party and Kasey was taking his turn staying at Jayden's house (they switch off on the weekends). We really wanted some Sushi for dinner because it had been a while since we had some. I didn't think Kenna would really go for that but she said "this is your date...I will have SOUP!" So we ventured downtown to our secret little cheap sushi place. I took advantage of the great photo ops!!! Kennadie tried Sushi for the first time....and LOVED it!!!

Afterwards we took her to Hollywood Connections for some miniature golfing. She is such a fun little girl to play with!! One of the holes was an alligator that you aim your ball for the mouth. Well I hit my ORANGE ball straight into the mouth and it regurgitated a BLUE one!! It was the funniest dang thing ever!!! By the time we finished the game Kenna was pretty much exhausted!! She went right to sleep when we got home!! It was so fun to see her interact with Jeff at each hole..I Love that Bug!

Kasey is doing absolutely AWESOME!!! He is a little bruised up still and a tiny bit of swelling...you can't even tell they had to cut unless you look very very close. His nose is SOO straight!! I am excited for him to heal up! Doesn't he look great??

Kylie got her hard cast put on last Wednesday...she totally picked orange and black stripes...YUCK!! It might have been cute if the doctor actually did stripes...it was his idea and he did more like....ummm...I can't find a word for it...just see for yourself.

She is doing much better!! Wednesday they will do another xray and if all is still well then we don't have to go back for 4 more weeks!! In the meantime...she loves using the laptop at school for her school work and getting the attention from strangers. Bathtime is miserable....for both her and I!! Can we say awkward when you have to shave your childs armpits!!

That is all I will post for now....I am sure you have had enough excitement for now....I hope you are all enjoying this fall season!! Love Ya!!

Some Good News!!

2008-10-14T16:36:00.000-07:00

Friday we got a call from Kasey's surgeon telling us they had changed his surgery to Monday! So yesterday he underwent his second surgery on his nose!! They broke the surrounding bones and repositioned it. He has a splint type thing over his nose so we can't really tell what it looks like! He is doing awesome!! He hasn't complained once about pain so that is a huge plus!! We go back to the surgeon on Friday.

Kylie has really struggled with her arm. She tried to go back to school yesterday and only lasted half the day. I took her to the pediatrician yesterday to just make sure nothing was wrong. I just thought it was odd that a week later it was still hurting even with Lortab. They readjusted the splint and gave her more medication. She goes to the fracture clinic tomorrow to have it xrayed again and the hard cast put on.

I think Kennadie is having a spurt of jealousy....this morning she was making up every excuse she could to stay home with Kasey and Jeff. Hopefully she will let it pass soon!

Jeff is still on the lookout for a job so if you hear of anything let us know!! Everything else is going great!!

Bad Luck or...a Curse??

2008-10-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

I have never been one to believe in Witchcraft or any type of superstition. However, I am beginnning to wonder what on earth is happening!! I'll let you help me figure it out...call it an investigation!!

First of all, I was suppose to be getting promoted into a new position in the company...and I am sure eventually it will happen. But, due to another director being involved in illegal activity (thus being fired) and a few other directors being fired for other reasons. Unfortunately the shifting of people from one store to another did not include ME!! My opportunity to leave my store has been put on hold until we can find someone or train someone to run my store!!

Then the day before Jeff's Birthday; last week he lost his job!! It was a very complicated situation that involved his direct supervisor and his salesman. Jeff had been trying to work out some differences with his salesman (who is best friends with Jeff's direct supervisor). He thought things were getting worked out by the higher ups but apparently not in his favor. Basically, Jeff was fired and the friend of the supervisor stayed! Imagine that!! We have heard that the salesman recieved a final written warning and soon will be fired as well. We will see! So Jeff is back to looking for another job....hopefully with a comparable salary!!

Now, go back in time with me....to August...what happened in August?? Yes that is right Kasey broke his nose!! Okay...let's move on to September...what happened in September?? Yes right again Kennadie cracked her head open!! Ahh and now we have October.....ONLY 7 DAYS in....

This is Kylie's right arm!! One tech's hand is on her elbow, the other techs hand is on her hand!! The hand under her arm is where the break is!! This is the result of a cartwheel gone Very Bad!!

I recieved a call from my mom at 1:00pm yesterday informing me that my daughter was being transported by ambulance to Primary Childrens Hospital. Certainly not the type of phone call anyone wants to recieve!! I was SOOOO angry that I did not recieve a call from the school!! I checked my phone several times to see if somehow I had missed it and NOPE they never called me!! I am just So grateful that my mom was available to be with her!! Mom made it to the school as they were loading her in the ambulance. Then she followed them there...she called me as they were leaving the school...MY PHONE WORKED JUST FINE!!!! I actually made it to the hospital before the ambulance so I was relieved about that! Kylie was heavily medicated when she arrived and was happy and talking so that really put my mind at ease! After several hours they finally reset her arm (under anesthesia)! I was surprised at how straight they got her Radius bone. The Ulna wasn't as straight but the hope is that it will heal together just fine. She is in a Splint from her shoulder to her fingers and next Wednesday (the day before Kasey's surgery) she will have another Xray to make sure it didn't move. If it is still straight, they will put it in a hard cast. If not...well I don't even want to go that direction!! Here is what the Xray looked like.....

Pretty Narly Eh!!!

Today she has been pampered by Me and Jeff and for the rest of the week she will be home with Jeff!! She may be able to return to school on Monday!! She is doing okay other than some pain but she is actually pretty upbeat about the situation. She Claims she will never do another Cartwheel!! I give her 3 weeks from getting the cast off!!

I promise to bring better news in my next blog!! Keep Kylie in your prayers!!

Love Ya!!

Crazy Days!!

2008-09-21T17:30:00.000-07:00

Obviously things have been a little crazy for us!! I will try to keep you updated as things change in the next couple weeks! For now here is the update...

Kasey is having a partial Rhinoplasty on October 16th!! In this surgery they will break all the bones surrounding his nose, reallign them and repair the Deviated Septim. Dr. Mobley (the surgeon) said he may need a full Rhinoplasty after the age of 16, depending on how puberty affects his facial features! Kasey has adapted to all of this pretty well actually! The surgeon obviously would not discuss the process of the surgery while Kasey was in the room. This left him very quizzical. Luckily, we were able to skirt around the truth a little and still ease his mind to prepare for the surgery!

I will be having an MRI tomorrow afternoon.....unfortunately I have been really struggling with migraines and aches down my right arm. I thought Physical Therapy would help but it hasn't and I finally lost the argument and scheduled the MRI. I should have results Tuesday sometime!!

On a very Bright Note...I was informed that I will be moving into the Merchandising Department for Maverik!!! This is a LONG awaited promotion!! I will be meeting with the Director of Merchanding on Tuesday to figure out the best way to move into this position!! It will be a much needed pay raise and change of routine!! I will keep you updated on the process!!

The kids are LOVING school and doing great!! Jeff has a nasty cold right now but he his being a trooper!! We went up to Pineview Reservoir for his company barbecue yesterday! The colors in the canyons are amazing!! I would strongly recommend taking a drive up there before the reds are gone!!

Well, time for dinner so I will send my love for now and talk with you later!!

Love You All!!!

Nose Jobs and Remodel Jobs!

2008-09-08T17:22:00.000-07:00

Well, the day finally came that the splint fell off Kasey's nose! When the splint came off the other night he ran in the bathroom crying!! When Jeff went in to ask him what was wrong he admitted that he had been playing kick ball that day and that the ball hit his face and knocked the splint off. He had tried to tape it back on!! He was even more distraught to find that his nose was still crooked!! He thought that he made it crooked again when the ball hit him in the face. After we reassured him that it wasn't his fault that it was still crooked...we discussed the possibility of the reconstructive surgery. He refused to have the second surgery!! He didn't want to miss out on any play time!! We assured him that he would regret it if he chose not to have it fixed now! After a couple hours of being upset he finally agreed to listen to what the doctors suggest! We will meet with the ENT at 9:00am on Wednesday!

IDEAS ANYONE??

So here's the deal....the first time we saw the front room of our house...we KNEW we had some work to do. Not that it is bad..haha..just severely outdated!! We have the popcorn ceiling and the wallpaper is the old fabric type. Brown of all colors! The carpet is not too old so that is a plus...but we definately need to modernize the walls and ceiling! So I am posting pictures of my Living Room in hopes that I will get a rush of ideas from all of you!!

Kasey's Surgery!

2008-08-31T19:35:00.000-07:00

Kasey is such a brave young man!! He was so patient waiting for them to come get him for surgery...5 hours!! We watched "The son of the Mask" in his hospital room! He picked Watermelon for the flavor of Anesthesia!! They warned us that he may wake up really cranky! Boy were they WRONG!! He was wired!! He was wide awake when I went into recovery to see him!! We only spent 2 hours in the RTU before they finally released him!! The Doctor said they did the best they could and feel that they were able to get good mobility during the surgery! We won't know the outcome until they take off the splint in two weeks! He will have to wear a face guard for an entire month!!! He will be fitted for that tomorrow!! His only complaint has been that he isn't allowed to blow his nose!! I have to tell you the funniest story.... So once we got situated into a room at the hospital, the nurse came in and told him that if he had to go to the bathroom he had to pee in the container....you know the one sitting on the counter. Finally after about 10 minutes I could tell he was really restless, so I asked him what was wrong. He said "Mom I really have to Pee" I said..."well the nurse said you have to pee in that container" He said "Nevermind I can wait". Finally it dawned on me why he was so nervous... I said..."Hey pal you can take that into the bathroom to pee in it" Oh he was thrilled.....He jumped up, grabbed the container and I swear pee'd for 5 minutes straight!! The poor kid really had to pee!! When we were walking out of the hospital that night he was SOOO Hyper!! He was skipping out of the place!! Here are some pictures!

Waiting for Surgery!!

Skipping out!! Watching T.V Anxious to go home!

Be sure to catch previous posts!!

3rd Day of School!!

2008-08-31T19:23:00.000-07:00

So...we made it through a whole 2 1/2 days of school without an injury!! Who would have thought that the first one for the school year would have been Kenna Bug!! I recieved the call around 12:30 on Thursday!! She had fallen on the monkey bars and they thought she would need stitches! I took her to instacare to see if she really needed stitches. She had a rock stuck in it so they had to use the tweezers to pull it out...WITHOUT numbing it!! She didn't even flinch!! She was soo brave!! Luckily it was cut horizontally and they were able to just glue it back together! Amazing!! She has a nice goose egg on her head but otherwise is doing well!! Minor headaches once in a while but we think alot of that is wanting to take attention away from Kasey!

First Day Of School!!

2008-08-31T19:08:00.000-07:00

YEAH!! We made it through the summer with only one major injury and only 11 1/2 weeks straight of sleepovers!! For the most part they only made minor messes! I would say...a pretty successful summer!! The kids were very excited to get back to school! The night before school started they were all in bed by 8:30pm! Kennadie however, found it hard to sleep. About 20 minutes after we had put them in bed we heard some banging noises in Kenna's room. When I looked in on her I found that she had moved her bed into the middle of the room! I asked her what she was doing and she said her bed was not in the right spot for sleep. Within minutes she was sound asleep...in the middle of her room! The bed has remained there ever since! Here are a few pictures from their first day!

Surprise!

2008-08-29T15:01:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here at primary childrens hospital waiting for kasey to be admitted for surgery!! Yes that's right SURGERY! We came up here for his appointment with the ent..within 5 minutes they had him scheduled for surgery!! This procedure apparently should have been a week ago but we were told by the ER to wait a week. Then the doctors office put us off another week. So if this procedure doesn't work tonight then he will have to have reconstruction by a plastic surgeon in a week or two! Wish us luck!

Update!

2008-08-26T19:07:00.000-07:00

I am SO sorry I have not been able to post pictures!! I still do not have my computer working yet! It is not in the budget for computer repairs! In the meantime my sister is awesome enough to let me use her computer!!

Here are a few pictures from the Nasty Break!

At the Hospital!
The Next Morning!

The next Morning!

We will meet with the ENT this Friday!! They will be determining if they will just re-break it or if they will need to do any reconstructive surgery. If you can't tell in the pictures the bridge of his nose is broken completely to the left. He has been such a trooper through this whole thing!! Honestly his only complaint has been that everyone looks at him funny! He has been called "bandaid nose" and scar face". Today he came home from school and said that some kid would not stop staring at him!! I will post soon about the kids starting school and other happenings in the Clark household!! I am going to leave you with a FRIGHTENING picture.....

Yep! That's my 11 Year Old Daughter!!! We are in TROUBLE!!

She is SO Beautiful!!!

OUCH!!

2008-08-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

Our computer is having issues so I am blogging from my cell phone! Last night Kasey had a terrible accident while rough housing with an older much bigger boy! The boy swung him by his wrist and let go!! Throwing him face first into our piano!! He has a very broken nose and stitches!! We have to wait a week for the swelling to go down! Then they will have to reset his nose! We are hopeful that this will be a simple procedure but the doctor said there is always the possibility of having to reconstruct it! We won't know until we can actually see his nose again! We came home from the hospital at 4am!! Just a mere 7 hour visit to primary childrens! Today he looks a lot like elephant man. Just in the last two hours ygr black and blue is spreading throughout his face! His eyes are almost swollen shut! I have pictures but I can't post them from my phone! Once I can get my computer working or to another computer I will post pictures! For now I am going to try to get some sleep! Jeff and I both had to work today so sleep has not been much of an option!

Lake Powell!!

2008-07-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

We just spent the last 4 days in Lake Powell!!! What an awesome break!! Friday I went in to my store at 1:00am to get all of my reports done and my daily books done; I finished around 3:30am. My morning baker was suppose to be there by then but didn't show up until 4:30am. So I didn't get home until 5:00am. Once I got home I woke Jeff and the kids, loaded the car and off we went!! I hadn't had any sleep so the plan was that I would sleep in the car...ha ha!! We met Jeff's parents at their house at 6:00am and by 7:00am we were on the road to Lake Powell!

I finally fell asleep around Hanksville and slept the rest of the way there!! Once we got there we loaded up the houseboat and I finished up some last minute work related phone calls..then the phone service is gone and the vacation begins!!! Here are some fun pictures....

Kasey Diving off the Diving board on top of the houseboat!!

Jeff still has game!! Check out that wall of water!!

One of the big things in Jeff's family is water sports!! They all seem to have the gift of water skiing, wake boarding and slolemn skiing. I do well just to take their pictures!! I am not really big on water sports myself! Luckily for my kids...they all have the gift!! This was Kennadie's first time trying to water ski...and look what she can do!!...

UP for the first time!!!

And staying up on her first try!!!!

Talk about PROUD parents!!! It was so awesome to see her be brave enough to try it!! Kasey was like that when he first learned how!! Kylie got up..for a second and refused to try again!!

Kasey did really well for not getting out last year!!

Jeff's sister Melissa was sweet enough to take her puppy with her....oh and her friend went to...with her puppy!! The puppies are brother and sister and are the cutest things in the world!! SSHH don't tell doc!! We are getting our puppy or puppies in 2 1/2 months!! We can't wait!! We are trying to find another breeder to get a boy puppy from but if we can't then we will just get two girls from this new litter. When our puppies are born and we can bring them home they will be named Thunder and Lightning!! Here is an adorable picture of Maxi and Elliott...

Maxi is on the left, Elliott on the right!!

Jeff and I even took out some alone time and went exploring on the wave runner!! We found this awesome rock formation...it totally looks like Optimus Prime on Transformers!!

Can you see the face, the arm, the body...kinda neat!!

Well, I am sure I could write for hours on our trip but I will leave you with just one last picture!!

This was our view from the living room window!! Enjoy!!

Our Weekend...

2008-07-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

This weekend was probably the best we have had in a long time!! Friday night we went to my Great Nephew's first birthday party...so CUTE!! Saturday morning Jeff got called in to work for a couple of hours...UGH!! Then we took the kids to my parents house for their fun sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa!! That is when my weekend really started!! After we dropped the kids off we were supposed to go home and clean..."UMM HELLO!!" we said. No kids, no work....MUST SLEEP!! So we crashed for an hour!! We met some friends down at the Jazz Festival in downtown Salt Lake. We had never been to it so we were a little excited! While we were there I managed to get strawberry juice on my WHITE shorts! I rationalized saying it would cost more to drive home and change than to just take trax over to gateway and find another pair. HEHE!! I was right though! I found the cutest white shorts at Abercrombie for only $18!! We went back to the festival after wandering through Gateway for a while!! Around 9:30 we decided that we needed to go dancing!! I am not really the type to just sit and listen to music...Jazz especially!! So we went on the search of a fun place to dance. SOOO....I don't recommend randomly choosing a place!! We accidently ended up in an alternate lifestyle club for men! So after we realized what it was (luckily before we paid)...we took off. Jeff was quite uncomfortable...to say the least!! We ended up going to Port O Call! An interesting place but the music was awesome!! It was a live band and they were playing alot of music from the 90's and Neil Diamond and just really awesome music! We danced together for hours!! It was an amazing time!! We picked up the kids sunday afternoon...just in time to take them to another birthday party! Then to end up my weekend the perfect way...I got to babysit my sweet Great Nephew!! So...that was our awesome weekend!! I love reconnecting with my husband!! We get so caught up in work and kids that we often forget about each other!! We are going to strive to be a better couple during the week and not just on the weekends!!

6 Months!!

2008-07-08T17:46:00.000-07:00

First Surgery! January 3rd, 2008

Second Surgery! January 20th, 2008

So last Thursday marked my 6 month anniversary from my first brain surgery!! My hair is slowly yet surely growing back...I have about 3 inches of regrowth!! YEAH!!! We were actually at Jeff's family reunion that night!! I attempted to play volleyball...quite well I might add!! Other than when I fell backwards and practically got whiplash!! It was a four day long reunion...UGH!! It was actually kinda fun but after 4 days of non stop activity with the same people...we are GLAD it's over!! Our favorite part was Saturday night when some of his cousins that he hadn't seen for years were there! He loved re-connecting with them!! I hope everyone had a great 4th!! We sure did!!

Timpanogos Cave!!

2008-07-01T19:16:00.000-07:00

So as part of our summer fun with the kids, we trekked up to Timp Cave! Actually, we have been wanting to go for a very long time, we just never did it! Well, when I woke up on Saturday morning; I sat up in bed and said "today is the day we go to the cave". Jeff was obviously confused as to that comment, so I had to explain! A few hours later we were on our way!! As we were packing for our day in the mountains, we received the call...Angie was having her baby!! We knew she didn't really want alot of people up there so we voted to go ahead with the hike and go to the hospital later. We were SOO glad we did that!! When we got up to the trail there was a 2 hour wait just to start the hike!! So we went accross the street and had lunch by the river!! We started our hike at about 3:00. It was a little tough but we all managed just fine. Jeff and I agreed that within 10 minutes Kennadie would be asking to get on his shoulders. She lasted 12 minutes!! So periodically throughout the hike he would lift her up on his shoulders!! What A Trooper!! We took Kallee up with us of coarse!! We got up to the Cave at 4:20pm!! We only had to wait about another 10 minutes before we got to start the tour of the cave!! While we were waiting Kasey had a Chipmunk run across his foot!! So Fun!! The cave was awesome inside!! Very cold but so worth it!! The kids thought it was "AMAZING"! When we came out of the cave Kylie put her arm around me and said "that was amazing mommy" then she said "I can't wait to tell my class about my awesome summer"! We were sooo happy when she said that! Kylie is getting older so it is getting harder and harder to convince her that family activities are still fun!! The hike down was a little tough on my head. With each step it was like a pounding in my head!! I made it and when I got home I for sure took some meds!! We stopped at Arctic Circle on our way home for dinner and shakes!! It was an awesome day!!! We did not make it up to the hospital that night but I went up the next day!! I LOVE babies!! He is sooo adorable!!

Update on Kasey!!

2008-06-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

First we spent 2 hours in the surgeons office...then another hour in Medical Imaging and another 3 hours waiting for results!!

We first met with the surgeon; he told us that he felt that this was probably nothing to be too concerned about!! But, he wanted to do a cat scan just to make sure!! We totally thought they would not be doing an I.V but we were wrong!! Kasey is very well known for not tolerating needles or any type of procedure!! He has broken a Dental Hygienists underwire of her bra!! However, he was SOO brave yesterday! The first try he held his breath....the vein blew out! the second try he was more relaxed and it went right in!! He was a trooper!! We took him to "The Point" which is a cafeteria on the top floor of the Huntsman cancer Institute! He loved that! Then we waited....and waited...and waited!!

Finally, the doctor called us and reported that he has a 1cm palpable node on his Hyoid bone!! Nothing to be too concerned about...for now. If it continues to grown then they will do a needle biopsy. He is hesitant to do surgery because of the location! He said he would rather wait until it is absolutely necessary (if ever)!! YEAH!!! We were sooo relieved!! So for now....he is out of the woods...NO SURGERY!!

Kasey and Kylie were supposed to leave for Mill Hollow camp today...notice the "supposed to". Actually Kylie did end up going but Kasey just couldn't bare the thought of leaving his mommy for three whole days!! So, after spending the $55 for registration and another $75 in supplies ...he stayed home!! My boy is never going to leave home!! Oh well, deep down inside it makes me feel good that wanted to stay home with me!! I can't wait for Kylie to come home and tell me all about it!! I still remember when I went to Mill Hollow!!

Snowbird!!

2008-06-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

Kylie and Kallee on the Tram!! Bug waiting for the tram!

On saturday we had a blast of a day with the kids!!! We took the 4 K's (Kallee is our 4th K) up to Snowbird for the afternoon! There was a big barbeque cook off up there and alot of entertainment!! We didn't go for the food...just the entertainment! The girls all went on the trampline bungee while Kasey went rock climbing on the rock wall!! Then when they were done with that we all went on the tram!! Way fun...but way scary!! The tram takes you up to 11,000 feet elevation!! It was sooo beautiful up there, and the breeze felt great up that high! There is still quite a bit of snow left in the back country! Enough that there are still skiers!! It was the last day of the season at snowbird!! We stayed up there for a couple hours and then we went back to Kallee's house for a barbeque! We had so much fun playing monkey golf with her family and my sister's family! It was a great weekend!! Enjoy the pictures...

Karate

2008-06-16T14:29:00.000-07:00

I know I mentioned how Kasey had become a Yellow Belt in Karate. Well, I am now posting the pictures from that day!! He is taking a break during July for his surgery but hopefully by August he can start back up!! Enjoy the pictures!

Kasey and one of his coaches "Haunchi"

Kasey chopping the board with his hand!

Cheesecakes with Grandma!

2008-06-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

Today has been a great Saturday!! Kylie was gone to a slumber party last night and Kasey and Kennadie had a sleepover at Andria's. We had stayed up late (11:00pm) playing poker with Andria and Shane; so we were pretty tired!! Jeff and I slept in until almost 11:00am!!! It felt sooo good!! Then we went to the store to get supplies to make 4 cheesecakes for David's homecoming!! David is Jeff''s youngest brother!! He has been serving a mission in Canada for the last two years!! We enjoyed the peaceful visit to the grocery store...and then we bravely went to Bed Bath and Beyond! I say bravely because we could so easily spend a fortune in there...but we knew we had to refrain!! We only came out of there with one item NOT on our list!! Washclothes!! A much needed extra! My mom came over around 1:00pm to help me get the chessecakes done! Actually it ended up being more of a Grandma and kids project, as I was kinda banished from the process! It was actually alot of fun! We turned up the radio and jammed to the music while mixing and mixing and mixing!!! Jeff was nice enough to mow the lawn for me while I "slaved" away in the kitchen...haha!! After we were done mixing, we cleaned up the mess and started the baking process!! Mom left once we got things cleaned up and then we started on the weekend cleaning of the bedrooms!! Kylie had gotten in the shower while we were cleaning the kitchen..when she got out she started complaining about stomach cramps!! By the time she made it to her room, she was on the floor in tears!! Now she is laying on my bed with a heating pad on her tummy!! Jeff went to the store to get her some Midol!! Needless to say...her room didn't get cleaned!! I would like to believe that it was just an excuse to not get her room done....but I remember the days of having cramps!! What a rotten way to start the summer!! Well, I suppose I should go get ready to head to the airport!! YEAH!! David is coming home!!

Summer in Mesquite!!

2008-06-12T17:46:00.000-07:00

As we enter the summer months in Utah...I miss Nevada more and more!! At least in Mesquite you never had to worry about rain every other day!! I was looking at some pictures I had taken during the summer last year. I thought I would share them!! Enjoy!!

Emotions!!

2008-06-11T16:55:00.000-07:00

Okay so the last two days have pretty much been miserable for me!! Please allow me to vent for a minute! Yesterday was my third inspection for the quarter at work! (I have passed the other two with flying colors and high remarks from the higher ups). I got to work with every ambition to help accomplish the list I had made the previous day. This list consisted of things that are standard procedure and also some of nitty gritty work...such as cleaning the air vents in the ceiling, changing air filters, and other major tasks! Sure enough on a day that you have a million things to do and a huge delivery coming in...something is bound to go wrong! Recently they changed our coremark invoicing over to an electronic system. Supposedly it is suppose to take like two minutes to get all of the coremark invoices in the system..(usually a daunting 30 minute task). Naturally, the first time I try to use the sytem I end up with corrupt files...so I called I.T the first time...calm, relaxed almost in a sarcastic tone. Round about the tenth time I had to call I.T. I wasn't so calm, relaxed nor was I even remotely sarcastic!! Meanwhile, I am trying to get everything ready for this PLANNED inspection! By the time 6:30pm came around I was virtually in tears and needed to just go home! So I did!! BIG MISTAKE!! I failed my inspection!! By the time they had come around to do the inspection we had ran out of food on the warmer and we were down to only two Roast beef sandwiches!! I knew this would probably happen...I actually told myself I should stay and make more food!! Even though it is not necessarily my responsibility to make food....as the Director I should have done it before I left and then reemed the Foodservice Manager out the next day! But, I was so exhausted and emotional that I left. So, I kick myself now for allowing myself to fail! My Supervisor tried to make me feel better by reminding me that I had already passed the other two inspections and that I am not required to pass all three! However, in my book....I have to pass all three! I should never settle for par work!! Oh well...I have to just smile and move on!! Next quarter...I WILL pass all three!!

Today was Kasey's follow up appointment for his lump...UGH!!! I am trying to keep my chin up and be positive about this...but just for a minute while I am tucked away in the office of my quiet house...I am going to break! The lump in Kasey's neck has grown significantly since his last appointment. The doctor told us today that it is definately a tumor. He seems to think that it is most likely benign but warned that there is always a possibility of a malignancy. He was really good with Kasey when he was explaining the situation! As the doctor explained to him that what he has is most likely nothing serious and that he can continue to play like he normally would. Kasey was really cute about it....he just said "okay". Once we got in the car Kasey asked me what a tumor was...I basically froze! I explained (in mommy terms) what it was and told him the surgery would be just like the one they did when they removed a lymph node. He point blank asked me if he had Cancer...I boldly said NO!! He said "oh well even if I do..I know I will be fine!! Oh to have the faith of a 9 year old boy!!

We meet with the surgeon on the 24th to have the cat scan done and schedule his surgery!! They will do the bioposy at the time of the surgery! I will for sure keep you updated!!

Sleepover Mania!!!

2008-06-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

Oh My Goodness!!! Since when did sleepovers become SOOO important!!! I swear these children act as if they will die without each other!! Actually I don't mind...I just think it is funny!! I am actually very blessed to have such awesome kids!! The K's have reached an age of independence...obviously to a degree!! When they have sleepovers they keep themselves totally occupied!! Jeff and I hardly even know they are there!! The kids pretty much own the basement of our house, so other than the periodic check on them...they are content to be alone!! The neighbor kids are always talking about how big our house is...Comparatively to their own! They claim that is why they like to hang out here the most! I think it is just because the basement is purely for entertaining..so it isn't very crowded! Kylie and Kalee had like 3 nights at her house then 1 at ours. Kasey and Dylan have pretty much switched off every other night/house! Kennadie is too young to sleep anywhere other than grandma's or aunts and uncles houses! I know that the day will come when she too will want to have multiple sleepovers!! For now she enjoys staying at Andria's about once a week! Right now Kasey and Dylan are playing x-box and Kylie and Madie (another friend) are trying to convince Jeff that they should have a sleepover too!! Luckily...the girls are older and are content hanging out in Kylie's room or hanging out with Jeff and I. So there is never any problem between all of the kids!! As for me I think I will just continue to have sleepovers with Jeff!! Pretty Safe huh?? NOT!! LOL

Kenna's Teeth!!

2008-06-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

Obviously I should have posted this blog first...oh well!! When Kennadie loses a tooth it actually becomes teeth within days!! This same thing happened when she lost her bottom teeth! She lost these two teeth within two days of each other!! I think the toothfairy is going to be broke this year!!! My kids have always got the number of dollars for the number of tooth they had lost. So...this was tooth 4 and 5...which equals $9 in two days!! She has learned the best investment in this household!!

Kenna Bug Rides a 2 wheeler!!!...AGAIN!

2008-06-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

So this picture was taken right after we moved in!! She actually started riding a two wheeler last year!! However, she seemed to have lost her confidence until now!! She had just lost both of her top teeth like two weeks before!! We just love her toothless grin!! Make sure you click on the picture to make it bigger....she is so beautiful!!!

Pictures from Carlos Boozer Event!!

2008-06-07T15:15:00.001-07:00

Carlos just chit chatting with us!!

Carlos Signing the Jersey my store won!!

He is SOOO Tall!!!

Such an Awesome Experience for Kasey!!

Pictures from Easter Egg Hunt!!

2008-06-07T15:08:00.000-07:00

Okay....I am posting a bunch of random pictures!!!

First we have pictures from the Easter Egg Hunt!!

Schools Out!!

2008-06-06T13:26:00.001-07:00

Ahhh At Last!! No more school for the kiddles!! We can finally go to work without worrying about whether the kids make it to school ok!! That probably sounds worse than it really is!! For the past month, one of us has had to go in later to work!! We would have to wake Kylie up and get her in and out of the shower by 7:00am!! Then Kylie would be responsible for waking Kasey and the bug up and making sure they are ready for school when Andria picked them up!! For the most part she did a great job!! Prior to moving in to our house...I would go to work at 5am and go home at 7:30 to wake them up, get them ready and drive them to West Valley and then drive back to work!! We can't wait until next year!! School hours have changed for next year!! Now they will go to school at 8:00am!! We will still have to wake Kylie up early to make sure she is up and moving before we leave, but, at least they will leave right after we do!!

Kylie has made friends with this girl that lives next to Andria....they are inseparable!! Her name is Kallee!! They have sleep overs as often as possible and go everywhere they can with each other!! Yesterday my niece, Sharnae graduated from high school. Kylie was so upset when we said that Kallee could not come to the graduation with our family!! I have allowed her once or twice to miss family functions for friends...however, I have to draw the line somewhere!!

I forgot to write in my last blog about when I surprised Kasey!! My work was having a special event meeting with a special speaker.....CARLOS BOOZER!!! Originally Jeff was going to go with me but he got caught up at work...so I surprised Kasey and took him!! He got to shake his hand and get his picture taken with him!! My store won a home jersey and naturally I gave it to Kasey!! He had Carlos sign it!! It was a fun experience...I am glad that I took him!

Wednesday was Kasey's field trip....to the POOL!! I was very nervous about letting him go...I couldn't consciously keep him from going...so I arranged to leave work early to go with him!! His teacher protested my attending...however I just showed up at the pool!! He had SO much fun with his friends!! He even went on the high dive!!! I know he is a great swimmer...but ever since I found a guy in the bottom of the pool...I am quite leery about swimming pools!!

So, I have to share a funny story!! Today when I was at work...I happened to glance out the window just in time to watch a lady ram her car into the pillar at one of the fuel tanks!! To make matters worse...she backed up and did it again!!!! Then she nonchalantly got out of her car and filled up with fuel!!! Good thing is, hardly any damage was done to my pillar....bad thing is....there was a nice dent in her car!! People were staring at her the whole time!! At first I wondered if she was drunk but she acted perfectly normal....just not very observant to her surroundings!!

Well, Kylie is with Kallee, Kenna is with Grandma Low and Kasey and Dylan (Andria's son) are wanting to play the computer!! I suppose I will go relax and lay down for a bit!!

ALOT of Catching up to do!!

2008-05-30T16:52:00.001-07:00

WOW!! What a crazy couple of months we have had!! I will do what I can to get you all caught up on the happenings of the Clark family!!

As some of you know, my store was robbed back in April! Luckily, it was an inside job done after hours!! Unfortunately they got away with over $3000 and a whole lot of cigarettes!! The robbery is still under investigation right now. It is a little more complicated than a typical robbery. The people involved in the robbery were also involved in the robbery at the family dollar up north. That is about all the information I can give you!! UGH! Just keep your fingers crossed that we can get them ALL!!! Needless to say, I spent MANY MANY hours helping with the investigation and also trying to recover from having NO STAFF!! There were many days that I worked from 5 am - 11 pm several days in a row! Luckily I am fully staffed now and just about done training all of them!

Once things had settled down at my store, I did some begging for just a weekend off!! My family was having a birthday party for my Grandpa's 85th!! My boss who is totally awesome and was very understanding helped me find people from another store to work in my store and run things for me for the weekend!! Actually, I was not going to go until the day before we were supposed to leave my boss informed me that I had no choice!! She is so awesome!! So, we packed up our stuff and the kids and caravanned with my sister and her little family and drove to MESQUITE!! The kids were soooo excited to go!! We actually made plans for Kasey to go spend the weekend in Vegas with his friend Anthony!! We drove down on a Friday night after work!! It was SO awesome to get to see some of our friends that we left behind there!! The kids got to go swimming and bowling and play in the arcade for a couple hours!! One of our really good friends arranged for her daughter (who was a regular babysitter for us when we lived there) to babysit ALL of our kids, so that we could all go out together!! So, Jeff and I and my sister and her husband had an awesome night out!! Early Sunday morning Kasey's friends' mom brought him back to the hotel! Then we packed everything up and drove to Cedar City for the Birthday lunch! We had lunch with my extended family on my moms side! It was so fun to be able to get out that weekend!!

So, Kasey has been in Karate now for a couple of months!! He just recently became a Yellow Belt!! It was so neat to watch him be so serious!! He is doing very well at it!! I just love the respect that is taught in Karate!! Not that Kasey has ever really had a problem with respecting others, but it is nice for him to get the training just in case he ever changes! Although he did not play Baseball this spring, he will continue playing in the fall!! For now, he is focussing on Karate!!

After much time of recooperating and saving money!! We were finally able to get into a house!! We had been looking for a long time but because we were being picky about it...we could just never find the right one!! My dad would joke with me and say "if you would look in a bigger area than one block radious from your sister then maybe you will find something!!" This house had actually been on the market for a couple months! I had called on it once before but the realtor said I would need alot more money down and that my payments would be....ALOT! So, I just continued looking! About a month later, Jeff called on the house and the made an appointment to meet with the Realtor. So, we went to look inside and fell in love with the house!! The realtor said he would take our offer to the homeowners and let us know! He called us about an hour later and said that the homeowners wanted to meet with us! So the next day we met them!! It was pretty much a done deal within minutes!! They were awesome and very willing to compromise on the down and the terms. We made a verbal agreement and went about our businness with plans to sign papers the following Thursday! Well, about three hours before we were to sign papers, we got a phone call from the realtor saying that the homeowners got another offer!! So, basically we lost the house!! We were DEVASTATED!! Jeff called the realtor a couple times Friday and Saturday trying to see if they had accepted the other offer. Friday night the Realtor said they had counteroffered and he would let us know what happened! Saturday evening...about 8:00 pm. The realtor called and said meet me at the house in ten minutes with a check to sign papers and the house is yours!! Luckily, we were at my sisters house (a block away)!! So, we zipped over to the house, signed a lease option, handed over the check and Whalla!! Persistence paid off!!

We started moving in the next day!! That was the 4th of May!! I guess I must explain why this house was so important to our family!! When we moved back from Mesquite our intention was to find a house near my sister Andria! For a few reasons...most importantly was because she has two awesome children!! Sydney who has microcephaly and can be quite a challenge at times and Dylan who IS ALWAYS a challenge (just because he is a rambunctious 5 year old)!! Andria and I were never really close when we were younger....okay so we basically fought constantly!! After her cancer when she was 18 we started to get closer!! Well, marriage and motherhood has brought us extremely close together!! Sydney is a year older than Kylie, however because of her handicap she is more like a 5 year old in some areas. Dylan is almost 6 years old!! We have had alot of fun raising our kids together!! Another reason for our strong desire to live by her was so that our kids could continue attending school together!! When we moved back from Mesquite we put the kids in the same school!! We have commuted from South Jordan this whole school year!! Kennadie and Dylan are both in Kindergarten (two different classes). Sydney is going to the Junior High next year..Kylie will join her after next year!! It is SOO much fun living this close to my sister!! She gets the little ones from kindergarten and then watches Kenna until I get home from work! It is great for the kids to be able to walk to and from our houses multiple times a day! Andria just purchased Wii Fitness, so we are going to start doing that together too!!

Kylie and Kasey are in absolute heaven here!! We live right by alot of their friends from school, so they always have friends they can play with!! There are some awesome kids in this neighborhood too!! Kennadie is just happy to finally have her own bedroom!! We were surprised at how well she adapted to the change!!

Two weeks ago we had to take Doc in for some surgery!! It was a very hard day for me!! I was very nervous about taking him in the first place because I thought the vet would tell me they had to put him down! Doc has had multiple tumors all over his body and this one had gotten so big that it ruptured! Then he would scratch and break it open again and again! Finally I broke down and took him in! The Vet was very understanding and actually he told me that Doc's heart would take him before the Cancer! So, honestly it is nice to know that instead of suffering too much my baby will just peacefully pass away some day! Unfortunately, the Vet doesn't think it will be too long before that happens! I bawled my eyes out when I left him at the Vet for his surgery!! I called my mom and just cried and cried!! My Doc has been the absolute best companion I have ever had!! I know that when the time comes it will be a very sad day for our entire family!! Trying to find another dog will be a very daunting task for this family!!

So, last week when I was taking a shower at 3:30 in the morning, getting ready for work; I had a brand new economy sized bottle of Shampoo fall out of the window sill and land on my foot!! At first I just stopped breathing and bit my lip trying not to scream and wake the entire family! Then I regained my composure! When I looked down there was alot of blood in the water!! I finished up my shower quickly and then hobbled into my bedroom!! I really didn't want to wake Jeff up but I knew I needed some help! So I TRIED to wake him up.....not so easy...So I flipped on the light switch and more loudly and sternly said his name and said Help!! He eventually got up and looked at my foot...it would not stop Bleeding!! At this point I realized I was never going to make it to my store by 5am to open! So I called another Director who is also a good friend of mine and asked him to go open my store! We srambled to find something to close up the cut on my foot (we were still a little unorganized from the move). Once we got the steri-strips on it and got it cleaned up...I finished getting ready and hobbled to my car to go to work. I knew that I needed to get to the Doctor at some point...but unfortunately I didn't have anyone in my store to cover me!! When I got to the store I called my newly hired assistant and asked her to come in for a few hours until someone else could get there (it was supposed to be her day off). I finished up the books and ordering and when she got there I drove myself to the hospital. By the time I got there my foot was already bruising and quite swollen!! When the nurse saw it she said...I think you broke your foot!! I had kinda had that thought..but who would have thought that I stupid Shampoo bottle could do so much damage!! Well, the doctor came in and glued one of the cuts back together. That cut ran the entire length of my big toe! The other cut was on the toe next to it and did not need to be glued together! The doctor suggested we do an x-ray just to be safe.....and wouldn't ya know it...BROKEN!! That stupid shampoo bottle broke one of the little bones at the base of my big toe! They recommended that once the swelling go down that I come back and get it casted...I told them that with my job it would really be difficult and asked if there was any way to avoid it? They said it would probably heal ok without the cast as long as I stayed off of it!! YA RIGHT!! I am doing fine now!! I did not go back to get a cast!! It still hurts sometimes...I just can't apply alot of weight on it! In cases like this...I just smile and move on!! Just for the record....I did go back to work and finished out my work day!!

We went to Kylie's Dare Graduation just the other day!! What a neat program that is!! It was really neat to hear from the kids that they are aware of the dangers of substance abuse and how they have learned that they have the control to say NO!! All of the kids in the program (4 fifth grade classes) had to do an essay on what they have learned through this program!! Then out of the 4 classes, the teachers and Officers chose 9 essays to be read at the graduation assembly! Kylie's essay was chosen as one of the 9!! Each of the 9 students had to get up to read their essays on stage!! Kylie was up first.....Crazy as it seems...my little Kylie got stage fright!! So...after a few minutes of silence and her mouthing to us in the audience "HELP ME" they let her sit down. Then my brave little baby stood up after everyone else had read their essay's and she read hers as if she had never been afraid!! It was an awesome experience!! She even got a special medal for being a Dare Essay winner!!

Funny thing is....the very next day was the school's Karaoke assembly!! Of course she failed to mention to us that she was in it!!!!! Kylie got up on stage in front of the entrire school (as opposed to 4th graders and a few parents) and sang God Bless The U.S.A!! Jeff and I were actually a little thankful that she didn't tell us she was going to be in it! The night before when she was in the shower, she was singing God Bless The U.S.A at the top of her lungs!! Let's just say....she hasn't quite mastered the gift of singing!! Luckily, the students disagree with Jeff and I! Kasey, said she did really good and that the whole school clapped and cheered for her!! I think it is just a matter of popularity and not talent!! We have tried to get her to take voice lessons but she is opposed to it!

Well, last week Kasey found another lump in his neck!! He pointed it out to Andria one day before school and she called me and told me about it!! I took him to the pediatrician and he said that it will most likely have to be cut out and biopsied!! He has already had to have one of his lymph nodes removed because of this!! The doctor said we could just watch it for a while and then decide what to do. It has been a week...we checked him again last night...it has grown and he has another one right next to it!! I will be calling the surgeon on Monday to schedule his appointment to meet with him. Please pray that these ones are benign!! We got lucky last time and I just pray that we will be blessed this time!! I will let you know!!

Well, I am sure that I have left some things out....even though this is alot of news! If I think of more I will be sure to let you all know! Now that we are in our own place and have the computer set up I am sure I will have more time to blogg more frequently!! Time to head to the gym!!

Easter Egg Hunt

2008-04-30T07:19:00.000-07:00

I know I am extremely behind in posting!! I thought I would try to keep the blogs in order of occurance...so bear with me!! We took the kids to a special Easter egg hunt with my sister and her kids back in March. The hunt was actually in the swimming pool!! It was broken up into age groups so that the younger kids could just walk in the kid area of the pool. Our kids loved it!! It was really cold out that day so it was nice to be inside!! Kylie and my sisters daughter Sydney worked together on the hunt! Kylie would go out to the deeper parts and take the eggs back to Sydney in the shallow parts. It was fun to watch!! After the hunt we went to IHOP for breakfast!! It was a fun day for all!! I will post pictures when I have more time!!

A New Past Time

2008-03-20T18:59:00.000-07:00

Well, Hello there Family and Friends!! After several suggestions and down right demands; we have finally enlisted in the Bloggers world!! Oddly enough...it was Jeff that finally put his foot down and said I had to get it done!! So here I am...I am sure I will get better with time so bear with me!!

Life is finally getting back to normal for our family! We are still at Jeff's parent's house...ugh! We are looking for a house in my sister's neighborhood, so it is in the works but nothing is available right now! I have returned back to work full time!! I am back in my store that I had before the surgeries. I haven't quite decided if that is a good thing or not but I am adapting! I returned to only two employees and a major loss of customers!! I have rebuilt my staff (most of which were my employees that left when I was out). They came back when they heard that I was back! Unfortunately, the customer flow hasn't picked up as much as I would like!! I have lost a lot of regulars!! I have been able to go open the store in the mornings and get my "books" done, then I leave to get the kids up and ready for school. Then after I have dropped them off at school I go back to my store. I have also been able to pick them up from school! Sometimes I have to go back for an hour to finish up a few loose ends, but Kylie doesn't mind the opportunity to be left in charge for an hour!!

Jeff is LOVING his job!! He has really made an impact on his branch since he has been there!! He has had to replace his entire office staff (except one that started 2 weeks before him) since he has been there! He has had to drive a company van to Park City twice a day to transport some employees. He is in the process of hiring a new van driver so that he does not have to take the time out of his day to drive up there! He will finally be able to focus on the more important responsibilities of his job! I think he has finally found his niche in the workforce!! He is going to Moab in a couple weeks for "business" aka..GOLFING! His company is taking a few customers to moab for a golfing tournament! His trip is paid for by the company!!! He is way excited about it!! I am happy to see that he is settling in to a career that he loves!!

Kylie is blossoming quite quickly into a young woman. I can honestly say I was not prepared for the emotional outbursts that have been occurring!! She has really struggled over the last few months since I have been "out of commission"! She can be the happiest, most loving little girl one minute and then she hates you and everyone around you the next! I know that it is part of life but that doesn't mean that I have to like it!! We are spending ample time talking her through the maturity process...okay wait... I am spending ample time talking her through the process! Jeff will not have anything to do with it!!

Kasey has just recently started Karate!! He goes with his cousin Dylan! He has been begging us for over a year to take lessons. My sister Andria had put Sydney and Dylan in the classes, but Sydney never took to it so my sister asked if Kasey wanted to take her place! She had already paid for it and didn't want the money to go to waste! How could I say no? Kasey is doing well in school...his teacher has deemed him Mr. Popularity! We hesitantly gave him a rip stick for his birthday..he hasn't gotten hurt yet!! I have enforced the helmet rule and he has been really good to obey! (I put the fear in his mind)

Kennadie is still just as cute a Kenna-Bug as ever!! She recently lost her top two front teeth only two days apart!! She looks adorable!! I will post pictures later...when I learn how! She LOVES kindergarten..she especially loves Mondays!! I have started volunteering in her class on Mondays since I have been back on my feet! She is a pretty smart cookie! She is the only one in her class that is working on real math problems!! She can count by twos, threes, fives and tens!! She is slowly catching on to multiplying the small numbers! She is one of the top readers in her class!! She thinks that is pretty cool! This past week when they were passing off there reading folders, she didn't pass off her book! She was devastated!! I had to remind her that she was still doing great and not to rush it!!

So that is a run down of how things are going for us. I will make sure to post as much as possible to keep you all updated on the happenings!! Time for me to get kids in bed and get myself to bed! I have to wake up around 3:30am to get ready for work!