Oh Christmas Tree

Our tree turned out beautiful this year. After two weeks of staring at it and wondering if I should decorate it we finally did. It was prickly and hard. My hands felt like they had made out with a porcupine. I still love the live trees. They smell so good.

I think it turned out pretty good.

So after cutting down the tree, Abbie getting stitches and tons of homework we finally did it. Doesn't it look great.

I have...

I have one friend who loves me very much. Heather invited me to Park City last weekend to have a girls night. We went up Friday night with a bunch of her friends from high school, played games all night long, talked all night long, and had an all around good time. The next day we went to the outlets at Park City and shopped more than we should of. I had a great time.
Tonight Heather and our movie gals had a blast going to see New Moon. We talked, laughed, and I cried (There is a preview of a love story about a soldier being deployed. I highly recommend missing the previews of the movie.) but overall the movie was good. Thank you Heather for being a great friend and making sure I laugh when life is throwing me sour lemons.

I have two parents who love me dearly. I can not describe the love I have for them. I don't think I will ever be able to thank them properly for all they do for me and especially my children. Last week when I went to Park City they watched the boys for me. My dad was so excited, because his ward was having the "Turkey Shoot" and he couldn't wait for Prest to show his stuff. Preston shot the first two clay pigeons and did awesome. He was the youngest there and shot better than some of the others.
Then tonight my mom offered to take the four kids so I could go to the movie with my friends. I didn't ask, she just offered. That is the kind of mom I have. She just does. She always has, and she always will. I know I can always count on her. The kids loved going and couldn't wait to be with Grandma and Grandpa. You two are awesome and I am very blessed.

I have three sisters that live here in Utah and love me very much. D my sweet sis calls me all the time to check on me. She is always willing to meet in Layton for lunch, or just hang out. She is always the life of the party and makes sure that I am doing well. (Next time you drive up I will make sure I am home. I am so sorry.) I love you very much.
Erin is awesome. She took my girls so I could go to Park City. (Mike helped too, but right now I am praising Erin for her love.) She just goes with the flow. She is always willing to go and play, hang out, or just talk. I love our fun times together, and I love going to your house for mac-n-cheese. But most of all I love you.
Lala is my inspiration. The patience she has for people in her life is inspiring. She is so patient with her students at school it's neat to hear her stories and how calm she is. I would be yelling or throwing chalk at kids. She helps push me to do things I thought I couldn't do. This past summer I did 3 triathlons thanks to her getting me hooked. I look forward to swimming, biking, and running with you again. I love you.

I have four children who love me very much. They have been, patient, loving, kind, generous, helpful, and happy through it all. But most of all they seem to say the right thing at the right time. They truly are a blessing from God. I am very thankful to him for his hand in my life.

I have five wonderful family members in Ohio who love and care for me. Thanks Andy for calling and updating me on your medical adventures. I miss helping people so much and can't wait to get back to helping those who need assistance in their time of need. Shay loved the chat. The movie was so fun. Hopefully we can go see the next one together and hooooowwwwwwwwwllllllll at the screen. Porter, Carlee, and Tessa, keep up the good work of giving your mom funny pictures, and cute stories for the blog. I look forward to reading them.

I have six wonderful people in my ward who take care of me and make sure I am doing well in my calling. The bishopric is an amazing group of men to work with. They are very inspired. My counselors and secretary are awesome. They have stepped up to the plate and then some this past month while I was taking care of my family.

I have seven wonderful family members who pray for the safety of Chris and my family. Amy thanks for the chats. I looked forward to when I get to talk with you.
Kathy thanks for all your prayers and love. You are so kind and gracious.
Big Heather thanks for watching out for me. It was so kind of you to come over and check on Sadie for me.
Nikki you are an inspiration. You have had and will have some great challenges but through your faith you have endured. Thank you for being an example of never giving up and always having faith in God.
Matt thanks for your good attitude in life. You have been able to get through many challenges and you are still smiling. May all be well with your family.
Jim and Peggy thank you for your love and prayers. Thank you for taking Luke the other day to the horse show. I want you to know that it meant a great deal to me.

Overall, I have been blessed. I love my life and am looking forward to what will come. I can get through this trial because of the wonderful people that I love very much, all will be well because of the people that I have.

14 down and 386 to go. Each day that passes is a day closer to being with my beautiful wife and children. I Love You Aubs. Chris.

It's broke and I can't fix it! and I have 397 days

So lately I have wondered why my faithful followers have not been commenting. I then discovered that my title is broken. When you look at the followers column you will notice that the last time I blogged was on Abbie's birthday. I have done a couple since but no one knows. I barely learned how to put pics on the blog. Chris was the one that set it all up. I barely can edit. I would not even know where to begin. I have been on quit a bit lately trying to fix it. Oh well! I have tried to have a good positive attitude towards everything. Always answering okay. But sometimes I just need to vent. I guess no one will read this so I am going to vent to myself. So here I go:

Everyone is asking how I am doing. I appreciate their concern, and care for me,but at the same time ask me something else. I know they are concerned, but do I really need to be reminded everytime I talk to someone that Chris is gone? It has only been three days. I still have 397 days to go so ask me when time sets in. It hasn't been very long. We have seen him quite a bit, talk to him almost daily; even though it is only a couple of minutes. The fact that he has left for a year has not quite set in. Then to top it off, the military wants to dangle him in our faces again. We have had so many good farewells, that I wonder how many times do I and the kids need to say goodbye to him? The kids didn't even want to go to the airport. They are so sad and coping the best they can. Do I really need to start over? I don't know. He called me tonight and said they have given him a 4 day pass. The pass is good in a couple of weeks. He can come home, or we can go see him. And I doubt we can go see him. $$$$ The problem is he can't officially tell me when he leaves country due to security. THIS SUCKS! He is leaving and I don't even know when. I don't know if I want him to come home. Everytime I get into a routine he comes home for a tiny taste and then leaves, and I am stuck starting over with the kids. The worst part is he has been activated since last Jan. If they sent him sooner like he went last time then he would be home in 3-4 months. UGH! The other thing is I am not sure that we will even get him for the full 4 days. Last time they gave him leave, they called him the next day and told him to be back in 2 days. They told him to hurry back that they got a flight. He got back and then sat there for about 2 weeks. They decided not to take the sooner flight. Gotta love it. Military motto: Hurry up and wait! There are also pros to his 4 day pass. I am just not sure what to do. I think the one person that will know is Heavenly Father, but any opinion will do. Please let me know.

On our own...

Sunday was the big day. Chris and his soldiers left. First he will be in Fort Dix, New Jersey; from there he will head overseas. All will be well. We had a wonderful last week with him. We went to the movies, out to dinner, Chris took some of the kids swimming, (Abbie had the flu, but not the piggie flu.) but mostly we just hung out. Chris' parents watched the kids and he took me racing. There is an awesome indoor go-kart place in Layton. We raced a bunch of young men that were there for their activity. I am just happy I didn't take last. We had our annual Coil Halloween party. It was a blast. Amy came down from Washington to say good-bye to her brother. It was wonderful.
Sunday Jim, Peggy, and I took Chris to the airport. The kids did not want another good-bye. I didn't want to deal with all emotions that come with it, and Mads was sick with the flu, but not piggie flu. So bless Amy's heart she watched the kids for me. It was nice to know that they were taken care of. When I got home I changed and went to a ward council meeting. As I was walking in the door Preston was in the kitchen. He had made a big pot of mac-n-cheese for the kids and was dishing it out. I am so proud of him. He is such a wonderful child. He knows how to take charge and does without being asked.
I know that we will make it through. Heavenly Father is watching over us and protecting us. All will be well. God be with you Chris until we see you again.

He's ONE Whole Hand!!!!!

I can't believe it. Luke is 5 years old. How the time does fly. He has been one of my greatest blessings. I have been so lucky to have such a friend. I cherish the moments I get to spend with him. He is so energetic, happy, playful, mysterious, friendly, shy, bashful, joyful, strong willed, and very loving.
For four years I thought we would never get rid of burpie. Every where we went burpie was along for the ride. One day he handed me all his clean burpies and said I could throw them away. I asked him if he was sure. He said that he was a big boy and didn't need them anymore, and he was not going to suck his thumb anymore. He has never looked back.

So much of his childhood consists of his best friend the burpie, and puppy.

If I ever needed to get him to sleep all I had to do was give him burpie and take him for a drive. The magic was his thumb. He gave that up over night too. I don't think most adults could break a habit cold turkey, and he did all of it in one day.

He is always smiling and so happy. His best bud is Prest. He sure does love his brother. I know there are times when Prest wants to be alone or play with friends without a tag-a-long, but Luke sure does love him. Thank You Prest for always being patient with Luke. You are a great example to him.

He has always loved having his picture taken. He especially loves when he is in the center. Most of the pics of him consist of someone else trying to squeeze in.

No matter what he has always found a way to scare mom. He will always be a true boy. If climbing, mess, mud, cars, trucks, wheels, or tools are involved Luke will be in the middle of it. He will find a way to keep up with the others and do what he can.

He was a precious gift from God and I am very thankful for him. He is my bud, my friend and my son. Happy Birthday Luke!

Hey Luke even though we celebrated your birthday the whole week you are still only 5. One whole hand. Love you, MOM.

Happy Happy Birthday ABIGAIL!

Today was a good day. We celebrated Abigail's 7th birthday! She is an awesome girl. I love her dearly. She always has a smile on her face no matter what is going on.
Some of my favorite things about Abigail is that she loves to get dirty. She doesn't care what is going on she will always be in a mess. There are times we could be at the cleanest places ever and she will be a mess. I can't figure it out, but somehow she seems to be like Pig Pen from Peanuts. I do love it though, I always know where she has been.

She loves color. She loves to live, and she loves to laugh. She is always finding something to laugh about. She doesn't care what anyone else thinks she makes the best of it.

She loves to play. She will let anyone play and she makes sure everyone is having a good time. She loves to be surrounded by friends and family. Her imagination will run wild when given the chance. Whenever she goes to Nana's she loves to play tea party.

No matter where she is at, or what she is doing she seems to be eating. She loves food. That girls is a bottomless pit. That girl could out eat Chris and I if given the chance. She has the nose of a blood hound. She can find candy that I didn't even know we had.

Abigail loves the water. She will spend hours in the bathtub. Literally. She loves to swim. If she could swim every day she would. She seems to have gills and fins. She always packs a swimsuit. So, if you have a tub and Abbie is staying plan on her being entertained in the tub.

Abigail will always have a pacifier with her. I know when she is tired; her thumb will go straight in and she will calm herself down. Someday the belly button fairy will pay a visit.

She has a passion for animals. She loves to go to Grandpa's and ride. I just love the boots with the shorts. She loves to help feed and brush the horses.

Overall, I love her with all my heart. There is so much love for this darling Angel Bear. She is tender, loving, always smiling, always singing, inquisitive, smart, intelligent, gentle, kind, happy, silly, bubbly, energetic, but most of all she is mine. I love you Abigail with all my heart and am very thankful for you.

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!

May the force be with you. The kids were so excited to go to Jedi Training Academy. All four of the kids got picked and were so excited. They couldn't believe it. There were about 100 kids jumping up and down yelling "PICK ME! PICK ME!" and all four of ours were picked. They pick about 30 kids so we were thrilled. The stage was awesome. It was a cool production. They dress the kids up in Jedi gear and give them a light saber. They then learn the proper technique of a Jedi. After a few minutes the music comes on and the stage starts to raise. Out walks Darth Vader and Darth Maul. They are decked out to the nines. Looked like they just walked off a movie set. It was incredible. He then challenges the new Jedis and they fight for the force.

I love Madi in her Princess Leia hair. She was awesome. And knew her stuff well. You would almost have to in this house when one kid is obsessed with legos and Star Wars. She has been taught well.

Luke and Abbie are in the middle. They are listening to the Master Jedi as he trains them in the proper technique. They soaked up every word.

Preston lives for this. This is all he has talked about for a long time. He was thrilled to be picked. He knew every move and was the quickest and I am not just saying that because I am his mom. He did awesome!

Here came the troopers getting the path ready for Vader. Their costumes were awesome.

Darth Maul was absolutely scary. Even though he was acting, I still felt intimitated by him. His make up was the best.

Madi fought Darth Maul and did a wonderful job.

Abbie fought Darth Vader and loved it.

Luke, well Luke got to fight Darth Vader.

Preston fought Darth Maul. He did awesome. He flew right through the routine and was the fastest and didn't have to be reminded. He was in his element. Chris and I were so proud of him and the others. That made our day. Everything else was just a cherry on top.

The kids succeeded and Vader left upset that he had not turned anyone to the Dark Side!

Afterwards, the kids were given a certificate saying the had accomplished their Jedi trainging and were ready to join the force.

Luke came up to us when all was done and had one of his famous Lukeisms.

Lukeism:

Luke: Guys guess what?

Dad and Mom: What?

Luke: I fighted my Father!

The best line of the whole day. We couldn't stop laughing.

Thanks kids for making the trip the best it could be. Overall it was one of the best times we spent as a family. I only wish we had more time.

Disneyland!

We had the best time ever! What a blast. Disney was the best way to end our quick trip. It was a beautiful day.


Okay, so I still haven't figured out how to rotate the pics. I did it on our software and then when it transferred it went back to the original. Anyways, Luke my ever inquisitive kid keeps asking me when we will go to the real Disneyland. I told him we did. His reply is that we didn't because that is not a real castle and he did not get to go in. He is in a sense disappointed. It is quit entertaining to have this conversation with him when ever he sees a commercial for Disneyland. He keeps telling me we need to go back and find the real Disney and the real castle. I love that kid. What a hoot!


The three younger kids wanted ears. Ever since Luke found out we were going all he could talk about was getting Mickey Mouse ears. He smiled from ear to ear when we found the perfect pair. Abbie had her name written in yellow on the back. She was so excited because yellow is her color. Madi always the princess in fairytales found Princess Minnie ears. She was so in heaven.

The kids couldn't wait for their pics with Mickey. It was so much fun. That is pretty much what Luke wanted to do.

Toontown was darling. We didn't stick around. I was in a hurry to get to Splash Mountain. I wanted to do some rides. Next time we will take an afternoon and hang out at Toontown. The kids loved seeing all the cartoon houses.

Madi with Brear Bear. She is so into bears and had a blast on Splash Mountain. She loved every minute of being where dreams do come true.

The ever happy Luke. Lovin' life now that he has his ears. It truly made his day.

I don't know what is up with her face but it was the best pic I had of her. I love her big bow with the ears. Every kid needs a pair of ears.

Preston our ever brave boy who just absolutely loves to ride rollercoasters was so thrilled to wait in line that he didn't know what to do. To say the least, he did a lot of sitting around and watching us ride. He was a good sport though. He loved to tease the girls and dress up while at it. He doesn't know I got this pic of him. But I can now say that boys love to dress up as much as girls do.

Disney was great. We had the time of our life. It wasn't enough. There is still a lot there that we missed. Hopefully when we go next time we will have more than one day. The kids were perfect, no major melt downs, happy faces and a good time. What a way to finish the summer. I couldn't ask for anything more.

Sea World

What a BLAST we had at Sea World! The kids were absolutely fascinated by everything there. It was a beautiful day, perfect weather and happy kids.

The show with Shamu was awesome. These whales are absolutely amazing. It was awesome to see the jumps and tricks they were able to do. And Chris, Luke and I stayed a nice dry distance.

Mama and her baby.

Absolutely fascinating. They are truly gentle giants.

Before the show they had all the troops and their families stand so that the audience could applaud and support our troops. It was awesome. The three kids were shown on the jumbo tron as the audience applauded Chris. I could not stop crying. This is a pic of the kids before the show.

There is Shamu making waves and splashing the crowd. It was awesome. I am absolutley amazed at their body mass. It was quit the show.

In the middle is the trainer preparing the audience to get wet. Oh and the three kids are to the right of him in the pic. You can see Prest in his blue shirt. Madi is standing in her purple.

Do I really need to explain?

That's what you get for sitting three rows back. At least it was a warm day.

I have no idea how to rotate the pic; oh well. After the shark exhibit Luke found a stuffed shark he truly wanted. I didn't let the kids buy anything until we had gone through most of the park or they would try to buy everything. So I told him he needed to wait. The rest of the day all we heard about was the shark he picked out. After lunch I took him back and let him get it. He was so happy.

JAWS!!

D. you would have loved it. They looked a little hungry.

When we first got there they were letting the public feed the dolphins. We bought some frozen fish and each got to feed a dolphin. It was so cool. They aren't slimey like I thought. Their skin was very tight and smooth. Never felt anything like it before so I am not going to try and explain. It was so fun.

Madi was in absolute heaven. She loves animals and anything that has to do with science. She is very interested in anything and everything. She doesn't stop asking questions and trying to find answers or make up her own that seem to satisfy her.

Overall Sea World was great! The kids had a good time, Chris enjoyed it and I loved being with the fam. Thanks Chris for the great trip.