Just a quick...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Dr. Phil

Ok, normally I don't watch Dr. Phil. I think he is very closeminded, biased, and likes to cause problems. But yesterday's topic made me interested.

Have you ever heard of "Roe vs. Wade for men"? Well, apparently a couple of years back this young man went to court to get his child support stopped on the basis that women do not have to pay child support or be parents if they don't want to, but men have no choice in the matter. He was upfront with his then girlfriend that he did not want to be a father. Apparently she said she had a condition that woldn't allow her to be pregnant and she was on birth control for a seperate reason. She got pregnant anyway and now he has to pa $500/month. The case was thrown out of court without being heard twice and now he has to pay thousands of dollars in penalties on top of child support. It really does bring up several interesting issues and points...

In the end though, the only point that's really important is that both men and women need to realize the risks they are taking and the lives they are impacting by having relations before marriage. I think our church is on the right track in it's beliefs on the family and in saying no sexual relations outside a marriage.

Busier and Busier

So, you'd think that with two less kids at home during the day, there would be less to report and more time to report it....not so.

Sunday was the primary program. We had a practice with a pizza and ice cream party to reward the kids for working so hard. It went well and I'm sure their were at least a few teary eyes in the congregation. Our wonderful primary presidency gave all of the teachers roses and made these awesome posters as a way of saying thank you. I love the kids. I love the presidency. I think this could be a favorite calling.

David and Carissa are nearly done with their second week of school. It has been quite the adventure for all of us. This week is Red Ribbon Week (Drug Awareness Week) at school. They got to take stuffed animals on Monday; Tuesday they got lollipops; Today they got to wear Red. Yay! No uniforms! Tomorrow the kids will wear slippers (mine won't, but that is the day); and Friday is crazy socks day. They also get to wear their Halloween costumes on Friday even though they don't have classroom parties. Instead, that night they have one of their fundraisers for the school: a fall festival. Fun stuff. Friday will be a VERY busy day and so I'll blog about it later.

The kids seem to be enjoying school. Carissa is very good at focusing on her homework. She has started writing her name correctly. She kept writing it "Cassa" (I think she was trying to copy my name instead of her own) and no matter how many times we corrected her, she wouldn't get it right. Finally, after enough copying she is now writing it the way it should be.

David is loving being around more kids his own age. There is one boy in particular he talks about...we'll call him "J". He will talk about "J" on a daily basis. The other day he came home with this to say: "'J' wore a tattoo to school today." It seemed like he was expecting some sort of response from me so after a couple of seconds I asked, "Did 'J' get in trouble for wearing a tattoo?" His reply: "He will if he shows it one more time." I just had to laugh.

Hopefully the younger kids will like daycare just as much. They will start next Monday. I thought about starting sooner and then decided I may as well put it off since we have so much planned for the rest of the week. We drove around all day yesterday so that I could find one that seemed better than the rest. The boys saw so many playgrounds that they now distinguish between a "baby" playground and a "big boy" playground. I am sure they will be fine, but I still worry. I hate to let them go and I'll miss them. I just keep telling myself that it is only temporary.

I just hope they manage to stay out of trouble. We took Isaiah to the doctor yesterday to get his eye checked out. No scratches or permanant damage. This time. Really, those boys are so mischievious that I am surprised I haven't been to the ER more often. No stitches or broken bones yet.

Isaiah and Jacob decided they didn't want their ramen with vegetables in it...This is how they emptied their plates. Joseph didn't seem to mind too much.

A funny Jacob story: Tonight I was sitting down on the coffee table and David wanted to sit somewhere. He asked Aaron where he could sit and Aaron said, "why don't you sit right there...or you could kick mom out of her seat..." So what does Jacob do? He comes over and starts kicking my leg. It was so unexpected that I couldn't get mad at him. I was laughing too hard.

Joseph is getting to be a big boy and loves food! He is my biggest baby and is so chubby and cute! He is walking along things and crawling around as fast as can be. He will stand for a couple of seconds and take a step or two when he feels like it. He could walk if he tried, but I think he's a little scared of it. Either that or he knows that he can get around faster by crawling so he doesn't even try walking.

Last night we went to a Halloween party. It was nice to just drop everything and spend some time as a family. Isaiah and Carissa even won the costume contest for their age group. They're being Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy, like last year. They are so close to the same height, etc. that they are like twins, so I may as well pretend with twin costumes once a year.

Isaiah and Carissa with their prize. It was a tube completely filled with candy.

Joseph the little angel.

Isaiah loved playing with these foam squares. He built a house. Joseph was just the right size for it.

We went to a pumpkin patch today and picked up some pumpkins. Hopefully we'll get the time to carve them by Friday. Now that the weather is colder we just might. Yes, colder weather has come to Texas. It has been getting into the 40's at night. The other morning we even woke up to our first frost, light as it may have been. The heater has been kicking on, and we all have been wearing warmer clothes. We still get up into the 70's and even 80's during the day and it is supposed to be great weather this weekend.

Only Isaiah

So, Isaiah and Jacob were playing with a rod/dowel earlier. I took it away and then started on dinner. They must have found it and taken it again when I was occupied because as I was serving up the food, I saw Isaiah looked as if he had been in a fight. I asked him what happened and he said he poked his eye with the stick and it hurt. I guess that tomorrow I will be spending the day at the doctor's office in stead of scouting out day care centers...Ah well, better than the ER.

UW vs. TCU

Last night was the UW/ TCU football game. TCU won 54-7. Yes we made some mistakes. Yes we lost big. BUT I will give our team credit. We really didn't do half bad in the first half and the first part of the third quarter. By the end of the game we had out-rushed the other team and had more running yards against their defense than any other team this year.

I don't think we really went there expecting to win. They are a good team. But, boy...had their referees done a better job, the game may have been closer. It didn't help us out any that they took out our quarterback with a cheap shot in the middle of the third quarter. I think we would have gotten at least one more touchdown had he not gotten hurt.

The biggest things that I have to criticize about our performance for are 1) The missed field goal that we should have made, and 2) We could not defend their touchdown passes to Young...you would think we would have caught on after the first one, but no....Oh well.

I had to laugh at something...

These are some members of the TCU dance team. Their name is the TCU "Showgirls"...Keep in mind that TCU stands for Texas Christian University...I just found the name a little ironic.

Another interesting thing to note is that a representative from the Sugar Bowl was there and it looks like TCU may get an invitation to a a championship game this year. Pretty good considering there are some out there who still refuse to acknowledge that the Mountain West Conference is a "real conference" with a force to be reckoned with. Maybe someday we'll get the respect we deserve.

We were a little surprised that the stands weren't more crowded considering that TCU is ranked so high and it was their homecoming game. There were only 6,000 more tickets sold to the TCU/BYU game. (Probably BYU fans) Kind of sad.

At least we got to go. It was nice to get out without the kids (although the family with 4 stair-step kids behind us made me think we should take them next time). It was great to be surrounded by "Wyoming" people, even though it made me want to go to a home UW game again. I am so grateful that we found a baby-sitter who was willing to give up the ward Halloween party for us. Thank you, thatnk you, thank you! It was a lot of fun and we can't wait until next year!

GO POKES!!!

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas...

Yeah, yeah...so it's not even Halloween. But I like to try and get my Christmas shopping done early, or at least get ideas early. And the catalogs have been coming to our house like crazy! I don't mind. I have always enjoyed looking at Christmas catalogs. I can remember as a kid spending hours flipping through the Sears and JC Penney catalogs circling things I wanted.

I think my kids are taking after me. They love grabbing a catalog when I leave it lying around. I usually don't mind and let them have at it when I'm done looking. David certainly had fun today! First he grabbed the Lego catalog. It had a little half-page that was labeled "wish list" and had lines to write down what you wanted. Well, he went through and wrote down some things he wanted along with the prices. It was cute. Then he was looking through the Fisher Price catalog and came across this dinosaur toy. I will admit it caught my eye as well. David expressed my opinion though when he said, "I won't buy that! It costs too much money." Maybe he is developing some money sense after all. Hopefully I'll show the same restraint when I start actually buying stuff.

School, Speech, and Other Stuff

So, we are now at the end of day #2 in the school experience...When I picked up the kids yesterday David was a bit quieter than usual. I think they wore him out. Carissa was a completely different girl than the one I dropped off that morning. She was very happy. Both got hugs from their new friends as they said good-bye. As soon as they were together they were eager to swap stories about what they had done at recess (Carissa played "flush tag" and David found out where the nurses office was...because he was accidentally pushed and scraped his elbow.), what they had for lunch, etc, etc.

After we got home they changed out of their uniforms and both did homework. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't remember getting homework in Kindergarten...I asked David's teacher if he did ok in class and if he seemed at grade level. She said he was. Apparently they reviewed for a test. She asked him if he had done addition at home. He said he hadn't, but then did the work correctly. (We had done addition and he did know how to do it. He just didn't know the mathematical terminology.)

While the kids are adjusting quickly to school (David wanted to walk to his room by himself this morning) we are keeping busy trying to get things done. It's a good thing I had some time off because Aaron was incredibly sick yesterday. I think it was the flu. He had a very high fever at one point and very out of it. I even managed to convince him to take Tylenol, which he never does. He is feeling better today and will go to work tomorrow.

I also took advantage of my time off by taking Isaiah into the local school district to get screened for a language delay. They said that they weren't sure he'd qualify for services, but that something was going on that was worth more testing. If he qualifies for services, he'll be able to be in the Pre-K program.

So that's life for us. I'm still not thrilled about it, but "this too shall pass..." And now that I have a battery charger for my good camera, maybe I'll get more pictures posted.

Mixed Up Day

This morning I did something I really did not imagine doing...I took David and Carissa to school. I have nothing against schools in general. There are a few specific reasons that we chose to homeschool, but overall, it was just what we felt was best for our family. So I hate having to do something, even temporarily, that goes against what I had planned. I feel ok with this decision and this school, but I still hate it and will be glad when I can have the kids home again.

On the other hand, I am very proud of my kids for going to school. They were so excited and nervous that they had a hard time getting to sleep. David sped through breakfast and got dressed very quickly and was ready to go half an hour before I had planned on leaving. Carissa, on the other hand was pokey about breakfast and getting ready. She took her sweet time and I could tell she was just nervous. I think she almost cried a couple of times. But they both made it out the door and into their classroom ok. I think they'll do fine, but my thoughts will be with them and I'll be watching the clock all day long.

Here are a couple of pictures showing just how grown up my kids are. Although, I can note with satisfaction, that at least the back packs are too big showing just how little they still are.

I apologize for the quality. The lighting was weird and my camera was doing funny things. I'll try to get better ones this afternoon.

Quirks

A "Quirky" Tag

Here are the rules...Link the person who tagged you-List 6 of your quirks-Tag 6 other bloggers by linking them-List the rules on your blog

My friend, Julie, tagged me so here goes nothing.

1. I don't like to talk on the phone. I avoid calling people, even to make appointments. I prefer to email people. I usually don't leave a message unless I really want or need the person to call back. Usually I will just try again later. Of course, that means talking on the phone again...

2. I prefer Dr. Pepper to Coke. Trust me, down here that is a quirk.

3. All my boys have Biblical names. This is not on purpose. It just happened to be that I like Biblical names. Of course, now that it has happened, we must keep up the trend if another boy comes along...I like Jeremiah, but then it might seem as if we were trying to start a "J" trend...

4. Even though they are on quite the losing streak, I am still a very devoted UW Cowboy fan. We will watch the football games on TV and if they are not on TV, then we watch them on the computer. We are even going to the UW/TCU football game on Saturday despite the fact that they will probably lose and we will miss a Halloween party. That's what you get when you buy non-refundable tickets I suppose...

5. I am a night-owl. It gets especially bad if I am stressed out or Aaron is gone. Or if I just have alot of energy or a lot to do. 10:00 is early for me. Usually I don't go to sleep before 11:30 or midnight. I have been known to stay up until 3:00 or 4:00 or 5:00. Sometimes this leads to crankiness. Other times I'm just tired. And sometimes there is absolutely no effect.

6. I am quite self-conscious, reserved, and even kind of shy. I know that might seem odd considering how much I reveal on my blog, but it's true. I don't make friends easily and sometimes think it would be easy to just disappear if I wanted to take on a new identity. But on the other hand, I can be fun. I can talk alot. I can be a very good friend. It just depends on who I'm around and the circumstances.

So, those are my quirks. I'm sure those of you who know me well could add volumes to the list. And these are the people I tag...

1. Lauren
2. Amanda
3. Gina
4. Brady
5. Liz
6. Nina

And anyone else who would like to be "it".

Oh How the Mighty Have Fallen

So I watched the football game last night...Yes, that football game. You know the one....Between BYU and TCU, 2 of the 3 undefeated teams in the Mountain West Conference. All I can say is, it's a sad, sad day to be a couger fan. TCU won 32-7. I would've thought the colder weather (60's or lower) would have been an advantage for BYU, but they couldn't seem to hold on to the ball for anything! All their passes were getting intercepted and their defense was terrible! If I didn't know better, I would've thought it was Wyoming on the field against TCU.

You know, secretly, I wanted BYU to win. I wanted them to go undefeated, be conference champs twice in a row, and show the rest of the country what the Mountain West Conference is made of. Oh well. In their defense, TCU was geared up for this game all year. They were out for revenge and wanted to end BYU's winning streak just like BYU ended their's two years ago. I'm sure this will get even more media coverage down here then that game did. And the conference is still getting respect. Just last night the TV commentator was saying how the Mountain West Conference was one of two undefeated conferences against the PAC 10. And just as recently as last year or the year before teams would complain they had to play the MWC and that the MWC had only mediocre teams. We started to gain respect last year when the majority of our teams were bowl eligible and this year we'll go into the first week of the BCS with at least two and possibly three teams ranked. Go MWC!

It does make me a little more excited for the football game next week when Wyoming plays TCU. Can you imagine if UW actually won?! (and I know they can if their quarterbacks start getting it together) They might, just might, gain back a little respect...

Busy Day

Today was a pretty busy day. We woke up, everyone showered, got dressed, and had breakfast. Then we went to a charter school. Yes, that's right. Charter school. Our baby-sitter had to quit to find a different job and so we decided it might be easier to get a baby-sitter for three rather than 5 and so David and Carissa will be going to school. I am not thrilled. Aaron isn't excited. Carissa is upset. About the only one happy with the arrangement is David. But what can we do? Hopefully it will end up being a good experience for everyone. And if it doesn't work out, well, it's only until mid-December.

After that David, Carissa, and I got haircuts and then we went home for lunch. After lunch we went to the park with a couple of good friends. The kids all had fun and us adults did too, I think. It was kind of cold and a little muddy, but it was still fun. Jacob loved getting wet and David did too. You should have seen Joseph on the swings. He fussed a little whenever I pulled him out.

Now we are home and I get to tackle the pile of paperwork to register the kids in school. Fun stuff.

Anniversary Gifts

We didn't plan on doing anything for our anniversary this year, but when we stopped at the store on the way home Aaron surprised me with this:

I just love roses. What girl doesn't. But it was still very sweet. And the kids loved making a big deal out of it. David got to "help" pick it out and Carissa insisted on putting it in a vase when we got home.

I didn't get Aaron anything, but I did put together this slideshow/video. It's not much, the pictures are mostly from old 35 mm cameras scanned, and I always look terrible in pictures, but it was fun to do and look back at some old pictures of when we were "just friends" and first dating and to see our family grow and change over time. The best part is I can share it with all of you. Just don't laugh too hard.

I really do love Aaron and I am so glad we found each other. He supports me, takes care of me and the kids, too many things to think of, and I know he loves me (and the kids) too. I know that no matter what crazy thing life throws our way that we are in it together. They say that most marriages end at 7 years. I am glad we have made it past that milestone and we can look forward to the next 7 years and beyond. I love you, Aaron.

Gift Idea?

Today is our anniversary. We've been married 8 years. After a few years and a few kids it seems we forget it easier and easier. One year Aaron was even out of town that day and I forgot until late that night. Anyway, I saw this on a friend's blog and got a kick out of it. Maybe it'll give him some ideas...

http://orrfamilychat.blogspot.com/2008/10/just-for-fun.html

My Day Off

So, I've been spending alot of time at the Kindergarten lately. Here is what I saw when I looked back at the house the other day as I was leaving...

It is fun, teaching, but I know I just want to be at home with the kids. I do get funny stories out of my day at least. For instance, here is a conversation as we were waiting in line and taking turns to use the bathroom:

Teacher to child: What happened? What did you hit?
Child: I hit my head on the toilet.

Huh? Kindergartners...You know I have been spending too much time working with them and the beginning letter sounds when as I drove to work one day I couldn't help but think, "Last night my cat was playing with a rabbit. This morning he was chasing a rat. And look, there's some roadkill racoon. Needless to say, I was glad that was our last day on "R". Although I was disapointed to miss the root beer floats they had after I had left for the day.

All this work has meant I don't have as much time to take pictures or spend with the kids or blog. But here is a preview of what we will do in a couple of weeks.

The church where the school is held has a pumpik patch each year as a fundraiser. On my day off the week before Halloween I plan on taking the kids, introducing them to my teacher I work with, and let them each pick out a small pumpkin. It should be fun and I should get some good pictures. I wish I could post the ones of my students. Oh well.

Working so hard also makes me guilty and so on my days off I try to do something fun. Yesterday we went to a park with a friend. It's an awesome park with this big huge wooden castle/fort/structure and I think we'll try to go there again some time.

After we left the park we went to an LDS bookstore in North Dallas so I could get a gift for one of my primary students who was getting baptised today. Had anybody reminded me it of how bad traffic would be not only because it was Friday, but also because of the state fair and because it was the weekend of the Red River Shootout, then I might not have gone. I hate traffic. I think my blood pressure gets higher and I get more tense than when I am in labor. Anyway, here's a glimpse of what I faced.

Yes, that is 4, and sometimes 5, lanes of traffic. Imagine that. Me, who grew up driving the dirt roads in Wyoming where the most traffic I faced was when the ranchers would herd cattle, and I'm driving in 5 lanes of traffic in downtown Dallas during weekend traffic. It's enough to give anyone a heart attack I'm sure.

But, I made it home, and in good time too. And while I was in town today I saw reason to celebrate even if Wyoming did lose again (40-7, the only touchdown pass came from our third-string quarterback...).

Let's hope the gas prices stay that way!

A to Z Tag

A-Attached or Single: Attached

B-Best Friend: Aaron

C-Cake or Pie: That chocolate/chocolate chip cake at the potluck was good...

D-Day of Choice: Tuesday

E-Essential Item: My laptop or other computer

F-Favorite Color: Blue

G-Greatest Accomplishment: Valedictorian, I guess.

H-Hometown: Byron, Wyoming

I-Indulgences: Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper

J-January or July: July

K-kids: David (7), Carissa (6), Isaiah (4), Jacob (3), Joseph (8 1/2 months)

L-Life is incomplete without: My family and the Gospel

M-Marriage Date: October 14, 2000

N-Number of siblings: 3

O-Oranges or apples: Neither, really. I'm more of a banana person.

P- Phobias or fears: I don't like fire ants, cockroaches, spiders, or rodents.

Q-Quotes: A Baby is God's way of saying the world should go on.

R-Reason to smile: My family, my kindergarten class, my friends

S-Season: Fall

T-Tag 5 friends: Only 5? Sorry, I'm doing more. I want to learn more about some of the people who have blogs that I follow...Amanda, Brady, Julie, Julia, Liz, Michelle, Nina, Nathan, Amberly, Kristy, Tiffany, Bryony ...If you have already done this, consider yourself untagged unless the answers have changed dramatically.

U-Unknown fact about me: I am an open book...No, really. I can't think of anything. Tell you what, if there is something you want to know about me, ask it in the form of a comment below and I will answer it.

V-Very favorite store: Target or Joann's

W-Worst Habit: I procrastinate, get overwhelmed, and then shut down/panic.

X-X-ray or Ultra-sound: Ultra sound...X-rays just mean some sort of trouble. Usually for one of my kids.

Y-Your favorite food: Chicken Fast Food (chicken salads, salads with chicken, sandwiches, wraps) or Mexican food.

Z-Zodiac sign: Virgo

Jacob's Obsession and Cowboy Update

This is Jacob's big obsession. He has always liked the movie and the Shake n Go Cars we got the kids. However, lately he has *really* been obsessed with the movie. He will watch it over and over and over again, 24/7 if we let him. We put it up only to have him get it out, open the DVD player and search for the remote control and someone to start it for him.

The other night he had woken up in the middle of the night and I, sleepily, put him back to bed. The next day I woke up and turned on the TV to watch the news only to find this movie's start menu playing. I suppose there are worse movies he could be obsessed with, but it really is starting to get annoying. I may have to lose the movie in my closet...

However annoying the movie is getting, it isn't nearly as annoying as the Cowboy's losing streak...They lost...again...24-0...To New Mexico. I really have no defense or words of hope this time. It's getting embarrassing and pitiful. As the commentators were saying, "let's see something...anything!" I am trying very hard to be loyal. After all, who would I switch to? BYU? I don't think so. I'll cheer for any team in the Mountain West Conference, even them. But I couldn't call them "my" team. I suppose there's always Utah or Boise State. I've always liked those teams. But, no. It just seems wrong to give up completely on the Cowboys. If they could just get their quarterbacks and offense to perform...When I saw they were starting Karsten Sween I told Aaron, "I just hope he doesn't throw an interception the first play." I guess I must have really cursed him because what did he do? The first play after the kick-off he turned it over for a touchdown. All I could do was shake my head and hang it in shame. Sigh. I suppose there's always next year. I tell you what though. As a student it makes me kind of mad to see so much money going into the team when it's performing so terribly. If I were the coach I'd be making them practice outside instead of in their new, cushy, indoor facility...They'd have to earn that privilege.

Join the Crowd

Hooray! My brother, Charlie, and his wife, Michelle, have started a blog. They are awesome people and have an adorable baby boy, Samuel. So, go ahead and "meet" them!

A Nice Night

Tonight was a pretty good night. I got home and just relaxed while the kids watched TV. After that I made dinner. It has been so nice out lately and it is still light until the kids' bedtime and so we all went outside and enjoyed the nice atmosphere.

I think that Joseph is going to be just as obsessed with cars as Jacob is...but look at that smile!

My creative Carissa made an Indian headband out of a headband and a leaf. What fun!

It was a georgeous sunset! I wish I were a better photographer/had a better view. I really couldn't do it justice.

Our cat gave the kids something to talk about. He is a great hunter. He will hunt many small animals. Mice, rats, snakes, frogs, birds, and even rabbits. I think that rabbits are about his favorite thing to hunt and eat. Anyway, tonight he caught a rabbit. Like most cats he likes to play with his food before he eats it. He would catch the poor thing and then let it go, give it a head start, and then catch it again. The kids saw him catch it and came running in to tell me. Of course, I can't bear to watch the rabbits be killed (or hear it) and now that the kids saw it and were very interested, I wasn't sure I wanted them to watch it killed and eaten. So I went over to where the cat had put the rabbit down. The rabbit was holding very still in the hopes of going undetected. I picked it up and while the cat was distracted by the scent I carried it away, checked it for injuries, let Jacob pet it, and then let it go...hopefully it will survive, at least until the next time our cat gets his paws of it.

The only thing that would have made tonight better was if Aaron were here. He won't get back from Las Vegas until tomorrow night. Here for the weekend, and then (I found this out earlier today) it's back to Las Vegas next Monday until Wednesday. I will be glad when the tour of the plant is over and he can stay home for a good long while. I do think that he owes me a nice night out after it's all over with.