One hectic morning!

This morning was quite a hectic one! It all started at 6:15... I sleep with my phone under my pillow - it's my alarm clock. I had to be to work at 8am. I take the boys with me and they stay and play until I come home. That way David gets some sleep in a quiet house. Well, at 6:15 my phone starts beeping. It's a text. At 6:15?!?!?!? Who would text me at 6:15?!? Well it was the opening employee, her daughter was sick with a fever and croop and was asking if she could leave early. As I am reading the text Ryan comes into my room and throws up on my bed! Great!! I guess he isn't going to work with me. Quick call David... Oh his cell phone is off. Grrr... Get Ryan cleaned up, change sheets, text employee that I will not be in right at 8, text other employees asking them to come in early as I won't be there, try David again... Grrr... Hear from other employees, they can't be there early, oh and director texts asking if I can go work in Chandler today -ummm... NO! Jump in shower, Call David AT work, explain the situation. We decide that we will meet in the parking lot of the gym to swap cars and kids. Ok, breathe... Get ready, hug & kiss kids off to school, call David to see if he has left yet(it's 7:50, he had to leave work early, grrr...). He is just getting on the freeway. Ok, see you in the parking lot. Come out to grab boys to load in car... Oh, Tyler has pee'd on the couch! Are you kidding?!?!? Start cleaning up couch, call David again -he is getting off the freeway, tell him to come home. David walks in, I grab my stuff to leave as he conitnues to clean up the couch and then Ryan starts throwing up again! Needless to say, I finally got to work at 8:30, the morning rush wasn't as bad as it usually is, thank goodness! It was a bit of a crazy day, I didn't get to leave until an hour after my scheduled time off, I just couldn't leave her there alone with 4 babies (3 of which cried if not held) and 8 kids. I got home to a very tired husband, who had been awake with the sick boys all morning. He soon retired to bed and I have yet to wake him up. Gotta go do that now. Hopefully tomorrow is better... Oh, just kidding, I start my double shifts tomorrow! Yay!!! (that was sarcasm...)

The beginning...

Well, this is the beginning of a crazy next few weeks. Things are bound to get out of control at one point or another. I have been working at the gym for almost 3 months now and I recently was promoted (very small promotion!!) to the lead superviser of the KidZone area. I have to admit, I basically asked for the position as I saw many things I would love to change! Yes, this was suppose to be a little get-me-out-of-the-house type job, but if you know me, there is no such thing!!! I truly am a work-a-holic and so I have now created an almost-full-time job for myself! Anyway, in an attempt to get to know all the girls that work there, I am going to be working double shifts for the next 2 1/2 weeks. Yes, I did it to myself! Why? You may ask, because there are girls that work there that I have never worked with, and I wanted to get to know all of them so I can know better what changes need to be made. Am I crazy? One may say so. I may agree in about a week or so. But I just felt like I needed to do it. Well, the second week is going to be the hardest!! Not only am I double shifts almost everyday (including Saturday), but I have a few people coming to visit that same week. I am so excited that friends from California will be coming that week as well as my brother that weekend. So, as I go into my interviews this week (I need to hire a few more people) I am hopefull that I will find another superviser that can pick up some of the shifts that week, so I can spend some much needed time with friends and family. I am so excited to see everyone!

Wakeboarding in March!

The kids are out for Spring Break this week, so David took them out on the boat Monday. It was such a warm day! And it has gotten warmer too! Today it was in the 90's and it's suppose to get even warmer! I am really lovin' this weather!! (I know, I hear you all saying "just wait until summer!!" but seriously, I am enjoying the warm weather!) Anyway, I stayed home with Amanda and Tyler because I had to work. So, Christina took 2 friends with her and Michael took a friend. They also took Stephen (the missionary from CA that convinced David to move here, he got home from his mission just a month ago). I was so excited to see the pictures! They turned out pretty cool! We love that the lake is so close. We can be on the lake in just 30 minutes! It's so convenient to just run up for a couple of hours and enjoy the time we are there. First they started with some cliff jumping, always a favorite!
Then a little wakebording! This is Stephen. A little rusty I understand, as he has not done it for a couple years! We'll get him back into the groove!

Then it was time for some tubing. Ryan even tried it... ALONE! He obviously had fun!
Then Stephen went a little crazy on the tube. I am told he wouldn't let go! Even when he flipped over he would still hang on! Looks like he had fun too!
Then the Girls all took turns.
All in all it was a very fun day, and they all returned a little sunburned! They are even planning to go again this week. I am looking forward to getting out there myself. We are hoping to squeeze in a trip to Lake Powell with my family this summer. Always a favorite place to be!

Kids say the funniest things!

So, we have had a turkey in our freezer for a while and we decided it was time to pull it out and cook it up. Well, yesterday David got home from work and we were cleaning the turkey and chatting while getting it ready to put in the pan. Ryan was watching us and seemed very interested in what we were doing - asking lots of questions. So I go to pull the neck out of the bird and I hold it up and ask David if he wants to keep it or toss it. Ryan sees it and points and yells "Is that his wenis? You pulled out his wenis!" David and I could not stop laughing! My only comment to David was "I will never look at the neck of a turkey the same again!"

In Awe...

Ok, I know you have all heard me say how happy we are here in Arizona. I also know that I say all the time how fortunate we are to be in such an incredible ward. We feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and ward members all around us. I tell my parents, sisters, brothers, friends, anyone that will listen how each and every day we are amazed at how lucky we are. The past 10 days David and I have been sick. For a few days we were so sick neither of us functioned very well. Now these things may seem like nothing to most people, but to me, they are HUGE!! I had signed up to clean the church last Saturday morning. Friday night I knew there was no way I was going to make it with how I felt. I didn't want to be a flake, so I called the RS Presidency and left messages -and kept calling until I got someone at home- to tell them I wouldn't be able to be there. Well, Sunday morning the RS Pres called and said she didn't realize David was also sick, and would I like her to come get my kids to take them to church. Ummm... YES!!!!! So she picked up the 3 older ones and took them to church. She also asked if I wanted her to bring us dinner that night! WOW!! My friend, Kerrie, had a birthday on Friday Jan 30th. Her sweet husband planned a party for her for Sunday (superbowl sunday) and I had to call them to say we wouldn't be there. I felt HORRIBLE that I had to cancel! What does she do? She leaves her OWN party to bring us dinner Sunday night! WOW!! Then, Monday as I am getting out of the shower I hear the doorbell. I go to the door and it's Kerrie's husband with a box of food and lots of soda's! Are you kiding me? How do I deserve these people as friends?? WOW!! I had another sweet friend call that day and ask if she could bring dinner. The list continues with so many more little things that have been done for us. These things are done regularly! Last time we were all sick (remember the throwing up post???) I had people calling and bringing dinner then too! When they took our rental furniture away the week of Christmas, someone from church called on Christmas Eve and said they had a recliner chair for us and to come and get it. I didn't want to ruin their Christmas Eve, but she insisted. Plus she had another friend who had a big oversized chair that we could take. These people were so nice! David's parents were coming to town the next day and we had no furniture for them to sit on. Now we had two big chairs that they found incredibly comfortable. WOW!! I could go on forever about all the little things that people have done for us. And it's even more than what people have done for us. It's the hugs at church, the simple smiles and friendly hello's as you pass someone in the hall at church or see them at the grocery store. It is the 'we are so happy you are here' that I hear almost every Sunday at church. The waves hello from passing cars, the happy friendly bank teller, the cheerful smiling cashier at the store, it's all of these little things!
You see, you all may think that these are no big deal. You may do this all the time for anybody. You may think nothing of it when you offer these little things to anyone who needs it. But I just want to say that they are a very big deal to me! I am IN AWE ever day at the generosity, friendship and love by everyone here. Maybe this is just the way it is here. Maybe everyone here in this area is just always this incredible. Maybe no one else thinks it's anything special, but from where I came from, IT IS!!! People didn't act like this where I came from. Maybe it is a change in me, maybe it is the people here. I don't know, but I am truly GRATEFUL!

Tyler, Tyler, Tyler...

Well, my little Tyler is quite the 2 year old. Just like most 2 year olds, he can turn the house upside down in no time! He can make a just cleaned room a mess in under 3 seconds! I seriously feel like I have to follow him around all day just to clean up all the messes he makes! I go from one mess to the next... Well, I was folding laundry, thinking the other kids were watching him (that was a mistake! It always is, but somehow I think someday it won't be!!!). I realized he was not with the other kids in the backyard, so I called for him. No answer. I called again, still no answer. I started looking through the house, and I found him. He was sitting on the bathroom sink smearing 'lotion' all over his half naked body! The only problem is, it was not lotion... It was TOOTHPASTE!!!


At first I couldn't believe what he had done! I was irritated that I would have to, again, clean up another mess. But then I just laughed! It was so funny to see him sitting there with toothpaste all over his legs and arms. At first he would not look at me. He just kept looking in the mirror with his pouty/mad face. Eventually I got him to smile and laugh with me.


How do you get mad at that face?!?!?!! Oh Tyler, you keep me on my toes!

Just a quick laugh

David and I were out shopping for furniture today when the kids got home from school. After receiving multiple phone calls from them asking about after school snack, can they eat the brownies, etc. Michael calls and says "It is so hot! Can we swim?" I laugh and look at the thermometer in the car. I try to convince him it is not HOT, it is only 78 degrees. He insists it is hot and he 'sweated just walking from his room to the kitchen.' I suggest they open some windows, that doesn't satisfy them. David says 'just let them swim.' So I agree. We are on our way home and almost home at that. When we get home, they are by the pool, waterfall on, and Michael is holding Christina's towel for her so that as soon as she jumps in she can immediately jump out and into a dry towel. Which she did. Michael jumped in, swam to the other side and back, and immediately wrapped himself in a towel. Amanda insists she is in and that it is not cold (she is wet up to her knees). 10 minutes later Michael is complaining that something must be wrong with his feet because he can't feel them. I wonder why!?!?!? He ended up warming his feet in the tub with some warm water until he could feel them again.
If they thought it was HOT today, at 78 degrees, I wonder what summer will feel like!