Day 3

Day 3: Siblings and parents



mom is the heart of the family. she is the best grandma ever! she loves us girls (her daughters) more than anything. she sewed us fun clothes when we were little. she'll hear you out when you feel like no one else will listen. she always makes sure she has chocolate milk for tanner when we visit (we don't buy it at home very often). she never gives up on us. HELLO! she raised 4 pre-teen to teen girls after losing my dad after 14 3/4 years of marriage. she is awesome!







My ultra "cool" (baby)sister Melany. Melany was/is the tomboy of our fam. she HATED wearing dresses and when we had to keep our dresses on after church, she would put pants on under hers so she could have "normal" clothes on.

she can go from tomboy to stunner in no time flat. melany is the "fun" one. melany is 4 1/2 years younger than me

Megan (my younger sister) was the princess...i guess we all were but she was ALWAYS twirling around in her fancy dresses and posing. i love this picture of her and Em. her and i are the closest in our relationship. she is absolutely the peacemaker in the family. Megan is 13 months younger than i am.

one of the very rare pictures we have of dean. he is the resident handyman and our family is so lucky to have him. he is so smart and just knows so much. he is more of the listening than talking type. which our family needs since we all talk a lot!

ahhhh...Amy! she is the drama major in our family. she has a flare for the theatre and she knows pretty much all there is to know about any star. she, too, is super gospel smart and it's something i've always admired about her. she is a clean-aholic. you know monica from friends...that's amy. she really values things being clean and put just so...which is really good.

Look how they've grown

I took these pictures, coincidentally 1 year apart. They both have grown soooo much...Megan, this is the first time you've seen the second one. If you want a copy, let me know. I'll send it with Mom next week ; )

My 5 for Friday:

5 things I'm looking forward to this weekend/next week

1. No pictures until next week of this one, but 2 of my very dear best friends are dancing tonight and tomorrow and I am so stinkin' pumped to see them. I am slightly envious because I really hoped I could do this with them. Maybe next year.




2. Having Tanner's ear checked. He has a lot of drainage and crustiness and I'm looking forward to getting it resolved. Little things....




3. Going on my monthly Temple date with Matt then...





4. On a real date with Matt.





5. Tanner going on his yearly visit to see Grandma/Aunties/Uncle/Cousin. We all look forward to this time of the year and it's especially special this year because my Mom is having Knee replacement surgery at the end of July (hopefully earlier...she's in A LOT of pain, constantly) so she only has this month and part of next to spend time with Tanner. They always do really fun things and we all appreciate each other much more after this time away from each other. He'll be back in time for Father's day with Matt so that will be perfect.

Have a terrific weekend!

Happy Birthday to Me!

My super funny sister, Melany




The Easter Hunt




My super cute nephew, Emerson. Isn't he a doll?? LOL




Melany and Chris




Another one of my super cute, fun nephew

As I get older, my birthday's seem to get better and better. Maybe it's in part because I don't live in Calgary anymore. Last year was the BEST by far..because it was my surprise 30th that I honestly didn't think I was getting and this year was another year that will be hard to beat. It comes in as a close 2nd to last year.

I love having birthday's with my family but I also really enjoy "social" birthdays with my friends.

This year I decided I really wanted to go quading. Yes, you read that right. It's not that I hate quading but it's NOT my passion. Lucky for us we know someone who is very passionate about quading and they were happy to take Matt and I out. But first thing's first...

For Easter we went to Calgary for Easter/Conference/my birthday/Tanner's yearly Cleft Clinic appt. Let's just say that Tanner's life get's a little more complicated/involved in the next few years and that he is no longer mine only. I have to share him with the Doctor's again : (
We have had him to ourselves for the last few years without thinking about surgeries that involve lengthy stays in the hospital. But that's about to change and I'm totally ready for it. I knew it was coming eventually. Tanner is so strong and he is lathered in love lavishly. I know the Lord looks out for him constantly, as do the people who love him. Anyway, that's what came from his appointment.

On Friday we went out to Canmore for my birthday. My sister and her husband had rented a condo out there for the weekend so we drove there to be able to celebrate together. AND!!! My sister Melany and her boyfriend, Chis, came too!!! That made my birthday all the better. Melany has a work schedule that does not always allow her to be at every family gathering. So I was really stoked that her and Chris came. My oldest sister was in Utah and I missed her but she needed the get away more than I needed her to be at my birthday. We ate at Boston Pizza for lunch and then we went to a park there and hid candy for Tanner and Emerson(my nephew). They seemed to enjoy it. Then we went to the condo Megan and Dean were in and had Dairy Queen ice cream cake and opened presents.

I got the Hannah Montana Movie, plus the CD to go along with it, Miley Cyrus' breakout CD, some amazing jewelry (not anything fancy...more chunky than anything), a bucket of honey and Matt and I got a combined birthday gift of East Side Mario's GC and movie passes for a date night, an Ipod (story for this is later), curlers from Susanne, the HSM dance Wii game from Sharon, a glue gun from Jenn, and some paper and craft things from Shelby. I am so very lucky to have so many people who love me and spoil me not only on my birthday but every day with their friendship.

I went with Erica to the movie "The Last Song" which was really good. It was kind of sad at the end but surprisingly I wasn't as emotional as I thought I could have been. I think it was because I was having a really difficult week the week before with missing my Dad and I cried all my tears out that week before so it was fine. It was a really good movie. Really clean. I don't remember any language either. So I would recommend it. I had a really nice visit with Erica...thanks : ) who I don't get to see very often.

Conference was SO good. I loved that it was a lot about families. It was really enjoyable and I can not wait to get my hands on the Ensign to read them over and over.

For my actual birthday I went with my childhood friend, Meghan, to the movie Avatar. it was "totally AWESOME"!!! I loved it! My first 3D movie ever and now I really want to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D. It was a really neat experience and I am so glad I got to go with Meghan. We don't get to do much just her and I together. We use to hang out ALL the time as teens. In fact one summer we spent at least 3/4's of the summer sleeping at each other's houses all summer. That was so much fun. Anyway, then Tanner went to her house to play with her son and Matt and I went for Chinese food and then we watched Pirates of the Caribbean 1&2. I've never seen them and I really enjoyed them.

On Saturday, Kelvin took Matt, Susanne/Chris, Natalie and I out quading. It was a lot of fun but very painful now. It was so worth it and I would go again for sure. I really wanted to get really muddy, but I only got slightly dirty. Next time I'm going to get really muddy...lol.

So overall, it was a great birthday. I am so thankful for all the birthday wishes and kind words that people wrote about me on Facebook.

We didn't do too much for Spring Break. Tanner had a couple of play dates and that was about it. We hung out for the most part.

OH! the Ipod story....so funny! Melany gave me her used Ipod because she thought she lost her Ipod and so she went out and bought a new one. Then a few weeks later she was making her bed and Chris found her old Ipod. She was going to pawn it off but then they talked about giving it to me so now I am the VERY proud owner of a used but new to me Ipod which I absolutely love. I had to erase some of the songs off that she had on there because of foul language but for the most part, the songs are good. She even has some really old songs that I love...mostly dance stuff. I'm such a nerd...lol. The reason that this is funny to me is because for Christmas she gave us her Wii because she said she hardly used it. I just need her to get an Iphone now so I can have it when she gets a new one...lol. She is such a good sister. All my sister's are. I love my sisters a lot.

We are heading to Great Falls for Matt's birthday. We are going to do some grocery shopping before we come home too. Butter is so cheap there as well as cheese.

So life is going along great for now. Busy, steady and constant but it's good. I feel surrounded by love lately and am happy to be in the place that I am. I think life has a lot to do with how you choose to feel. I try to choose happiness for the most part because being unhappy or annoyed or mad or any other negative feeling doesn't make life any easier. When life is hard, sometimes being hopeful or optimistic is the best we can do. But it's better than moping around feeling sorry for ourselves. We can all be better and do better but there's no sense in beating ourselves up for not doing all that we want to do at the moment we want to do it.

Have a great day!

A little bit of randomness

I have to laugh sometimes at some of the things I read in the paper. Today I read about a girl whose hand was grabbed by a seal and took her for a swim. She was 5 years old and the article said the girl was upset "...that the seal didn't ask her if she wanted to go for a swim." Potentially this could have ended in tragedy but it didn't. Oh, the silliness of people...

I found a nut free trail mix a month ago that Tanner loves and since the school is suppose to be nut free, it is a perfect snack for him to take. This is HIGHLY addictive (well, at least for me) but very enjoyable.

2 parts granola
2 parts sunflower or pumpkin seeds (I like to use raw pumpkin seeds)
2 parts raisins
2 parts dried fruit (we like a mixture of any of the following: banana chips, mangoes, craisins, dried blueberries or yogurt covered blueberries, apple slices, coconut, dried strawberries)
1 part chocolate chips or chocolate covered candy (like smarties or m&m's)

If you use dried blueberries, they are a bit pricey but they are really good. My Mother in law told me you can get the yogurt covered blueberries at Safeway. I only add about a handful of the m&m's because that is what Tanner would pick out so I only put a little bit in. You can buy all this stuff in bulk at Superstore (except the apple slices. I used my food storage apple slices. And I'm not sure where to get dried strawberries) for about $10-15. Since it's just the 3 of us, I don't need that much but if you wanted it just for snacks for your kids to take, it would be cheap.

Tanner is really enjoying kindergarten so far. They went on a hunt for Chester the raccoon. If you haven't read any of the books in this 3 book series, I strongly recommend you do. They are such cute books and have a great message. The first book is called "The Kissing Hand". The name of the other 2 have escaped me but I got them from my Relief Society Presidency as a gift when we first moved into the ward when I was pregnant with Tanner. Tanner loves treasure hunts and they're fun to do.

What else is new???? We went to Calgary this past weekend for a little vacation. Matt and I didn't really get to go anywhere and Megan and Dean are starting up a little business of photography so we were some of their first subjects.

Normally at this time of year, I already have Tanner's Halloween outfit thought about and his birthday cake in mind. I'm sad to say that I haven't even thought about any of that. I guess I'll be looking for ideas soon enough.

Tanner had tubes put in his ears on Monday. He's such a trooper. He took his baby (his monkey) and said that baby would protect him. When they brought Tanner back up to the room, the nurse said that Tanner told her that he had the most fun ever! I had to laugh a bit at that. After all that he has been through, for him to say that surgery was fun is kind of funny to me. It is the easiest and quickest of all the surgeries he's had so it doesn't really surprise me too much. Anyway, he's fine and happy and I can tell he hears better. He's not always asking us to repeat ourselves. And the T.V. isn't blaring when he's watching a movie.

Well, I think that's about all for now.

Here's a thought for today, When life gets tough to stand, KNEEL

If my life depended on it

I could not fall asleep last night if my life depended on it. I lay awake with random thought going through my head and the song " I could have danced all night" from the movie My fair lady. I watched it and LOVED it! I love watching all the old movies that my Mom loved when I was a kid and I thought they were so boring. Like Casablanca, and Breakfast at Tiffany's and Singing in the Rain.

Anyways, I am thankful for so much lately. For being able to go to the pool as much as I want with Tanner. We love the pool and it's a great place to be on a hot day like today.

I am thankful for being re-connected with my friend from childhood through our blogs. She was my first best friend and I actually slept at her house the night my Dad died. I remember her and her Mom talking to me about what had happened and that they were there for me. It was such a huge comfort to know that my friend was still my friend even though my Dad had just died.

I am thankful for my amazing husband who this last Sunday carried my heavy church bag to church while we walked to church because I was careless and got a sunburn. He is so thoughtful and constantly does little stuff like that for me.

I am thankful for my sisters. My sisters are a huge part of my world and I love them a lot. I think about them daily.

I am thankful for my friends who are amazing and forgiving and kind to me. I have the best group of friends anyone could ask for.

I am thankful for Christal's blog. She is so uplifting and I hope my blog will be more like hers and that I myself can be more like her. I think she is an amazing person and she is so grateful for so many things.

I am thankful for my Mother who always has such great advice. Just this week I was asking her how do I encourage Tanner to say other things in his prayer other than the 3 things he always says every other time he prays. So we've tried a different tactic and it's been working pretty good. She's so smart!

I am thankful for the Bible. I love the Bible. I have been studying it this year and am thoroughly enjoying it. The stories are more personal to me as I read them and I love that I can apply the principles into my life.

I am thankful most for the gospel and for the Savior. I can see the difference it makes in a persons life and am grateful that I have the blessing of both in my life.

Anyway, those are just some of the many things I'm grateful for this week. My life is not my own. It belongs to the Lord and I hope that I can do the things that He wants me to do and live a life that honors His name.

What a difference

A year really makes a difference. As I dropped Tanner off in Calgary yesterday, I was thinking about where I was last year at the same time and let's just say it was not in a good place. Matt was jobless and I was suffering from some serious depression because of where our lives were. My Mom took Tanner for a few days so I could have a break from life and it was very much needed. And now this year, Matt's working and our relationship is good...he's such a good, hard worker and he really wants the best for his family. He really tries hard at everything he does and very rarely complains. I know he really hates something when he says even one thing negative about it. It makes me realize that I complain way more than I think I do. He never has anything bad to say about anything and when I start complaining or whining about certain things, he just lets me vent and then says something like, well, who cares...you're a good person and you're just trying your best. I love that man!
I feel like such a retard lately because I took Tanner to Doctor last week to get a referral for and ENT specialist and it was a resident that came and looked at him initially. When he was done I asked if the Doctor was coming in and he said that only if I wanted him to but that he (the resident) was a doctor. My response was "oh, good". OH GOOD!!!!! What in the world! I was just caught off guard because normally when a resident looks at him when were anywhere else (the ACH or his pediatrician in Calgary) the normal doctor comes in and looks at him as well.

THEN...as if that wasn't bad enough, I had a pap (I know TMI) today and just before he (the same resident who saw Tanner last week) left the room, he told me the gown and cover up were under the pillow and to put them on. I was a little confused because normally unless you're having a full physical (which I wasn't) you just undress from the bottom down. So I did just that and then when the nurse came in I said "I don't need to take my top off do I?" She said no just as the resident came in. Holy embarrassing! I was just confused because when he said to put the gown on, I thought "why do I need the gown on...maybe he thinks it's a full physical". I think I will be on my death bed before I go back to the doctor again. It was far too embarrassing. Hopefully I'll have an exceptionally healthy year and not have to go back for Tanner or I for a year.

So next week I have major company. My Mom, older sister, Amy, my Aunt Carolyn, my younger sister, Megan, and her son Emerson, and my Aunt and Uncle from Utah are all coming to my place for the Raymond Parade! Plus, my Mom and her 2 sisters are having their parents sealed to each other and then being sealed with their brother (who previously passed away) to their parents. It will be a wonderful thing. I'm really excited. I don't know why but I think about how sad it has been that they were not sealed together as a family until now. It makes me feel even more grateful that I am sealed to my family forever. Well, needless to say, I have some major cleaning to do. My sister, Amy, HATES HATES dusty things so I have to dust. I have to say, I'm not a big duster. Thankfully, I don't have a huge house to dust millions of little areas. Then on Monday, Matt and I will clean for our own FHE activity. The lawn will be needing to be mowed, but that takes us about 1 hour tops if we both do it. If he does the back and I do the front, it's easy. I am going to clean as I go in the next couple days and just do a final cleaning on Monday. I know, what a boring life I lead...lol. Well, I should get going. I have scripture study to catch up on.

Have a great day!

OH! everyone should check out my sister's website. It's so fun! Just click on "Megan Doll" on the side bar. You won't be sorry.

I can't stop!

I can not stop reading. I LOVE LOVE LOVE reading. I have read 8 books in the last 4 months and I am itching to start reading another but I'm trying to not read more than 2 books a month. PLUS I am reading the Book of Mormon, Old Testament, and D&C in addition to these other books. How do I have time for normal every day stuff like picking up Tanner, making supper, doing laundry, cleaning???? I don't know, but I do. Maybe because I'm up at 6am every morning to do the paper route and I read when I come home before Tanner wakes up. Maybe I'm more efficient at keeping my house tidy and I don't even notice that I'm doing it. It's amazing to me that I can read that fast. I just finished this really great book that I would highly recommend to any woman. It's called "behind every good man" It's by John Bytheway. He is such a good author. I was lucky enough to hear him once at a fireside. He is so funny and puts things into a perspective that is easy to relate to.

Tanner started soccer last week and he loves it. He slept with the soccer jersey on that night and wore it the next day as well. What a funny boy. I just love him.

The other night we had Doritos and he asked if he could have some "Dorts" and I was like "huh?". So he pointed to the bag I had and said, "you know, Dorts." I then pointed to the word Doritos and told him that's what they were called. he still called them Dorts. He's so funny.

I went for lunch with my Aunt today. Going for lunch makes me feel rich for some reason. I always think that only rich people eat out for lunch. So it's nice. It makes me feel special.

Anyways, I think that's it for now. We are looking forward to the summer...as I'm sure most of you are.

Gone with the WInd

You would think that by now I'd be use to the wind but this morning...it's a bit wild. Anyways, what's been happening the last month. I went to my first book club/discussion group. It was pretty good. I enjoyed the book and hearing what other people got out of it. The following is my favorite quote of the book and my possibly be my favorite quote in life right now:

It is not enough for us to be convinced by the gospel; we must act and think so that we are converted by it. In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something...The final judgement is not just an evaluation of the sum total of good and evil acts-what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts-what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become. Dallin H. Oaks

How true is that? It is so important to not just do what is right but do it because we want to do it. There are so many people who live the gospel for "show". They do what they think is right to look good. But then there's those who live and breathe the gospel who desire to do what's right because they know and believe that it will make them a better person and trust in the Lord and do His will. I hope that makes sense. There are the doers and then there are the believers.

Let's see, what else have we been up to? I finished the Book of Mormon for the 3rd time 2 weeks ago. I started reading it again right away. The more I read the Book of Mormon, the more I love it. I feel like I get to know the people better each time I read it.

Tanner is happy and healthy. He had a really bad cold a couple weeks ago and then had it again last weekend. I'm a bad Mom and kept him home last Monday from school because I felt it was more important for him to rest than to go to school. I remember as a child and especially as a teenager, my older and younger sister and I practically had to be dying or throwing up all over for my Mom to allow us to stay home from school. But my little sister, Melany....she could complain that she had a "tummyache or sore throat" and she got to stay home, no questions asked. And she didn't have the same rules as us. We had to lie in our beds or on the couch and rest. There was no watching t.v. or reading or anything like that. The only way I can get Tanner to rest is if we watch movies. Otherwise, he runs around the house and plays and doesn't rest. I guess every child is different.

The problem I'm having right now in life is constantly feeling judged. Like I'm not a good enough Mom, or that I'm not strict enough, or that my child isn't good enough or well behaved enough or that I'm too laid back. Parenting is such a tricky thing sometimes. And not feeling like a good Mom, for me, makes me feel like a bad person. It's something that is hard for me because I have felt judged my whole life because of my past and I am really trying hard to be a better person and not be that girl I was 10-15 years ago that people strongly disliked. I've spent a lot of time on my knees because I know it comes down to forgiving myself. I can't make people like me or see me the way I would like them to see me. I can only be responsible for me and how I act and treat other people. It's a growing and learning process. That's life, I guess.

Anyways, I should go. Thanks for letting me open myself up to my vulnerability.

Pause

This week has been the busiest week so far of my life that I can remember. Monday night was the viewing of my Uncle. I was the only one of my family that went in. I understand some people don't get the point of a viewing but I do. My Mom had a viewing of my Dad and that was really the first time I had ever heard of such a thing. I did not bring Tanner to it because I just don't know if he really understands death yet. I don't want to over expose him to it but I don't want to keep him totally and utterly sheltered from it because it happens and at some point, I know I'll have to explain it to him.

I did, however, take him to the cemetery on Tuesday. They buried my Uncle before the actual funeral service and I felt like that was something he could handle and I could explain to him in terms that were simple and that he would understand. I think it helped that we went to the cemetery on Monday afternoon to visit my Dad's grave site and place a wreath on it. My Uncle was buried right beside my Dad, which was really nice. Then after the burial, we (my Mom and Amy) dropped Tanner off and went over to the funeral service. It was a beautiful service. Just all around a really nice service. Every one in the whole family was there except 4 of the cousins, 2 of which were my other 2 sisters. Then 2 from the states were missing. Lots of my cousins traveled from distant places and it was so nice to be able to see them.

Anyways, then we spent the night in Airdrie with my Aunt. Today, we were at the Hospital all morning and for part of the afternoon for appointments and then to Erica's to visit and then to my Mother in Laws for a party. So it was a bust day and I am so looking forward to tomorrow when I have only one thing to do...speech therapy.

Tanner has been an angel for the last 3 days. Just really good and patient and loving and just really really great. It just makes it less worrisome for me to know that he's being so good.

I miss my friends and especially Matt right now. BUT...he did have 2 interviews so hopefully something comes of one of them.

I have a feeling this next year will be a year of a lot of deaths. Life can just be so fragile sometimes. I am thankful that I chose to come to earth and have this experience because I know that it will help me to be a stronger person. Death is not the end and I am so grateful for that knowledge. The gospel is true and that's all that matters is knowing the gospel and living it the best we know how through faith in Jesus Christ.

Life is not easy, but it is so worth it.

Pictures to come

If I can figure out how to get pictures on my blog without writing from my computer, then there will be a lot of pictures that I'll upload of our super, fabulous weekend. We have had a great time. Amazing! Wonderful! Splendid! Fun! I don't think I've had such a great time in a while. I hope when my husband throws me a surprise 30th birthday party it will be just as great. That's a huge HUGE hint for those of you. I really want a surprise party in April when I turn 30. I've never had a surprise party at all and what a great occasion to finally have one right?????

Anyways, we have had a great weekend so far. We are looking forward to the next 2 days.

We ended up at my Aunt's house in Airdrie instead of at my MIL's. Long, unhappy story that I don't really need to repeat, but we are having a great time...other than being woken up every night by 2 or 3 trains. My aunt lives right by the tracks and it's so loud. I really need my small town place of residence...little noise. No airplanes, trains, traffic, sirens all night, drunken people yelling, car horns honking, car alarms going off. That is what I am looking forward to in a couple of nights. SILENCE! Pure silence. Ahhhhhh....

It was really funny that people asked me at my Mom's party how we were liking Raymond and we both answered the same every time...we LOVE it! It's glorious. Quiet, peaceful, relaxing, and calm. OH! and every one asked me in that way that you know they're asking for more information without trying to be insulting how I was doing...like I was pregnant. I had to laugh because I said I was doing wonderful and didn't say anything more. Oh, people...if they only knew...lol. I think we're getting to that stage where people kind of expect us to be having or trying to have another baby. Sometimes I think people need to just keep their opinions on something that is so personal and intimate to themselves...especially if you don't have a close relationship with that person. It would be like if you're bishop just randomly came up to you and asked if when you were going to have another baby because he thought it might be time. That might be a bad analogy, but hopefully the point comes across.

Well, I should be off to bed soon. Until later...

Fired

I know I haven't written in 2 days and so I'm firing myself....haa haaa, just kidding. Things here have been crazy and busy. Just a few stories to share. My Aunt Carolyn (some of you know who she is) fell last week and had a very very serious break in her shoulders. The doctors told her that although it was good that she didn't need surgery, there's a possibility she may never regain full range of motion. Which is almost devastating considering the fact that she enjoys quilting so much. So she's a little fragile right now and needs a lot of help, therefore she is living at my Mom's for 6-8 weeks. So for her to come to my Mom's party, my Mom felt that it would be better if she was in a wheelchair so people don't bump her and we can get her to the bathroom etc. So my Mom called up her work and asked them if she could borrow a wheel chair. Of course the ADORE my Mom and agreed right away. So when they brought it to my Mom's guess who decided that he needed to "ride" on it? That's right...Tanner. It was so cute. It reminded me of when I was younger and we would all argue over who was going to ride in my Dad's wheelchair and who was going to push Dad etc. It was a great memory.

We also went to Pizza Hut yesterday because my Aunt was sleeping and for those of you who know Tanner, know he has a hard time being quiet. So we took advantage of the buffet they have for lunch to keep Tanner out of the house and eat. While we were there Tanner informed me that he did NOT like this restaurant and that he wanted to go to McDonalds...which was right across the street. Then he told Matt who hadn't been at the table when he told me, that he LOVED this place. What a goof!

OH, and this is a common thing for Tanner while traveling...as we were driving into Vulcan, I asked Tanner, who was watching a movie in the car, if he needed to go pee. Of course he said no. I mean, who would want to stop and leave their beloved movie to pee???? So as we get 5 minutes past Vulcan, he says "I need to pee are we almost in Vulcan?" Of course I had to tell him that we already passed vulcan and that he would have to go on the side of the road. He refused this idea and said he needed to pee on a potty. I knew Mossleigh was coming up and so I asked if he could hold it (he held himself from Clareholm to Raymond one time). He said he could but then he asked 5 minutes later if we were there. So I knew the urgency of the situation. I had in the car a large water cup...a tupperware one. So I stopped the car, emptied the water and had him pee in the cup and dumped it out. He actually did it. So from now on I'm going to carry a small bucket in the car. Don't worry, I sanitized the cup and washed it out a few hundred times.

So that has been our little adventures for the last few days. I am getting ready for my Mom's party so I should go and get to the 3 salads I'm making. Until later or next time...

Keys ruin day

Yes, sad but true...

When I woke up this morning I was relatively happy. Then as I was getting ready to go VTing, I couldn't find my keys. This drives me totally insane and batty. I can not stand when I can't find my keys. This does not happen very often and I can usually find them within a few minutes. Today was a whole other case. So I was on edge all day. The reason I am a little paranoid right now was because I honestly believe that someone came into our house and stole our video camera when we had the door unlocked one time. I turned the house upside down...short of literally and could not find it. So I was upset that I couldn't find my keys because I wanted to lock up my house. Anyways, so all day I have been miserable because I couldn't find my keys. I know...a choice that I'm sure I regret and partly to blame on hormones...but nevertheless...grumpy.

Plus, while we were visiting teaching our one sister, Tanner was not nice to my friends little girl who have a very strong hate/love relationship. He was being such a brat. I won't be bringing him again. I try to get someone to watch him but sometimes it doesn't always work out.

When Matt came home, I politely and calmly informed him that I was on a very short fuse and when he asked why I told him. So he says to me "Are you sure you didn't leave them (the keys) in the car?" to which I reply "if I did, I couldn't look because you had the car today". So he happily went out and looked (I think it was to get away from me). They were in there! Thank goodness. Then I told him about the video camera and he said he would check in the car. So he went out a second time and of course it was there. I am so relieved. So needless to say, I am a bad person today for being so grumpy over something so trivial. Plus the fact that I can't call to ask Matt if he knows where they are was a little frustrating. So, I know tomorrow is a new day and I plan to make the best of it because it's Tanner's last swim class and we are going to Calgary!!!!!! I feel like it's Christmas or something. Tanner is so stinkin' giddy about it. Anyways, that's my day today. I am feeling much better now and think I'm going to make some chocolate milk and watch some Grey's.

A ridiculous goal

For the month of August I'm going to make a goal of writing at least one thing about that day every day. We are having our Internet cancelled August 19th because we can't really afford the extras right now. And right now Internet is an extra because we don't need it for anything specific. We only got it because Matt needed it for his Plumbing job and now that money is really tight, it's something we have to cut until we can afford it. I also cut my hours a bit at work. I know it will be a blessing being home at least one to two more nights.

We were able to get a one time welfare benefit check so that we could get through August, which is a HUGE blessing. Matt is working until the early fall at the church ranch building a fence. Then hopefully he'll have found something by the fall to start. If not, we will be back at square one. Which I'm worried about a bit already. I hope that all the students that will be going back to school will leave more job opportunities open for people like Matt. He'll go to school in January (we are planning, anyways) and take the criminal justice course. Then in the summer he hopes to work with his Dad doing landscaping and such and then go back to school in the fall of '09 and finish the course. That's the plan, but sometimes, things happen. So I'm not getting my hopes up to high. We'll just have to wait and see. I'm just trying to take it one day at a time and not think too much about it. I'm trying to live in the moment just for now.
Next month my Mom is having her 60th birthday...even though her birthday is in November. But since November will be a crazy month because my sister and her husband are expecting their first baby and Tanner's birthday is in November, and it will be too cold to have a picnic in the park, we are doing it next month. I am really excited. I have been put in charge of games and let me tell you, I have some really good ones that I have a good feeling that will be a hit. I will tell you all about them when the party is done. I'm really excited to do them.


Also Tanner is going up to spend 4 days with my Aunt Carolyn for her birthday. Every year it's our gift to her. It's a special time for her to spend time with him and she really loves him a lot. They are going to go to Calaway Park, Drumheller, out to a friend's acreage to see the horses and go for a haircut. I know that I am planning on sleeping in a little longer in the morning and staying up a little later at night...lol. Not really. I'm going to make cards.
So that's about all for now. Oh, Tanner is also in swim lessons when he gets back from Calgary. I'm excited for that, so is he.
And my Aunt is coming down in September for 10-14 days to help me make a quilt for mine and Matt's bed with the fabric I won in April from the quilt store here. I also signed up for a quilting class at the end of September to make this really simple twin size quilt. I just have to get a sewing machine. Maybe that will be motivation for my Mom to get one of her 3 sewing machines repaired for me to have...lol.
When we were up in Calgary last month we went to Calaway Park and Tanner went on the log ride with me and he is tall enough to go on the little bumper cars. He really wanted to go on the roller coaster but he's not big enough yet. A couple more years and then he can go. Here's a picture of him on the cars:






So that's what's happening at our house.

Here's a thought

This week has been crazy, busy, tiring...all of it. It went by way too quickly for me. On Monday we went to the Temple with my sister, Megan, and her husband, Dean. They came to our place after and we had a really nice visit. I love when I have people visit. It's so nice to have adult conversations. Plus, I talk a lot so I can talk A LOT! I guess blogging is a really good outlet. Anyway. I've had some really nice e-mails from my cousin and that's been really nice because it's not that often that our family gets together anymore. Why is that I wonder? I think it's because people seem to feel like family isn't as important or that it takes too much time to have a relationship with other people. We use to get together a lot. I loved having reunions and when all the cousins started getting married we'd all go to those. Now there are only 3 cousins that aren't married and everyone else is having kids. I just really love getting together and watching everyone and seeing how everyone is doing. Also, not everyone, even in your own family, has the same ideas. Everyone has their own opinion about certain things. Like this one time, we had this big family gathering out at the family farm in Drumheller and my Aunt was there with her recently new husband. My sister had brought her dog and my Aunt's husband was actually kind of mean and kicked the dog a little bit. He also said some hateful words about my sister's dog and dogs in general. What the heck! We all thought it was pretty un called for. But there's always one in every family. One family that has all the goody goodies, one family that has a broken family and children from different spouses, one family that is large and you can never seem to keep track of how many there are, one reasonably normal family and one that lives too far away to keep a good relationship with. I guess everyone hopes to fall in the "reasonably normal" category but not all do. And it's interesting that as we get older, we see where we might have fit.
Well, here's some really exciting news. Yesterday I made my first ever home made bread from scratch and home made raspberry jam. I was so happy. My Mom came down for a day and a half and she helped me with the jam...it was her recipie. It was my favorite jam in the whole wide world and even still, no one has EVER made better jam than her. I hope that mine turns out as good as hers. I remember her, every summer and fall, making the jam and coming home from school and there were jam jars all over the place and the huge massive pot she had for boiling the jars. And she made tons and tons and tons of jam. We had jam for at least 2 years. She had a massivley huge raspberry patch and we use to have to go out there and pick those berries for what seemed like hours. We were out there every Monday for FHE garunteed and usually 1 or 2 more times during the week. But we all had ice cream buckets and every time we picked, we picked till those buckets were so full you couldn't even squeeze air in between the berries. My Mom would go out every night after dinner and pick the berries. I ALWAYS chose to do the back of the bush where the fence was because no one else wanted to get scratched up. Plus, no one saw me eating the berries. I was actually doing my Mom a favor because if I didn't eat some berries, she would have had more work to do. And that's where all the best tasting berries were. Man was I ever smart! I just have a lot of fond memories over raspberries and raspberry.
It was actually cold enough here yesterday to turn on the furnace. It was nice to get in my bed last night and get down under the blankets and pull them up all around me. I loved it!
Well, I think that's all for now.