I can hardly believe that October is almost over. And even though I've been really excited for all of the fun Halloween happenings this week- I am not excited to start November- or in other words- winter. Lucky the holidays take place at this time, or I might threaten to throw myself on the ground and have an adult sized temper tantrum. ;)
I am feeling quite accomplished though- because this weekend I got my computer totally cleaned through- which was NO small task, I'll tell ya. I organized my pictures into files and folders, cleaned out music in Itunes that wasn't supposed to be in there (ahem...country)... and rid myself of a few old programs. It was very successful- I'm feeling so organized!! So- while doing all of that I got my recent pics loaded of off the camera and stored away too- here are a few from this past week:
These crazy girls were digging up my plants and looking for worms! I question whether or not Cara would be holding that worm if Cadie weren't there with her (Cadie has nerves of steel- something that can't be said for Cara)- But they were thrilled with their find...
And here's Mr. Handsome, himself- He looked especially spiffy for school last week- so cute, I couldn't resist a photo-shoot before the bus came. He looks so cute with his new tooth coming in!
Here's a video that came out well-lighted of pre-game. I'm the closest rifle (to the camera) on the 30 yrd. line. Then I move to the 35 yrd. line at the very end of the "U".
This past weekend ended up being WAY fun- the parade went well, for me at least- not too great for the 2 kids that got-sort of- ran over. Yeah, I bet it sucked for them. ISU lost the game-(surprise! ;) - but pre-game and half-time was so much fun. All of my practice payed off- and that was a nice reward. ;) Sunday was slow and nice. Clinton cracked up at Cara during Sacrament and couldn't quit laughing. Just when he'd get himself under control, he'd laugh his little 'I'm laughing, but you can barely hear it, because I'm near hysterical' laugh. And then Clint and I would inevitably join in. No matter how hard I tried to compose myself and make the 'Ok- it's time to stop now, it's not funny anymore' face- I'd lose it all over again, tears were streaming down my face, I couldn't look at Clint because he was just as bad as I was. Needless to say, it was a giggly Sacrament for everyone. We're so lucky to have a ward that loves Clinton so much- Every time I'd look around others were hunched over in their seats cracking up at his giggles. That was the most fun I've had in Sacrament meeting for a long time. :)
So- with all of the Homecoming obligations and the shenanigans on Sunday, I put my homework off until Monday night- about 9:30pm. I know, I know, I'm very responsible. I was pretty tired, but there was no way I'd have time before my class on Tuesday to get it done, So I sucked it up, consumed a little caffeine, and wrote my paper. I finished around midnight or so- feeling quite proud of my work, and placed my paper in my folder for the next day. Then, I caught sight of my newly revised syllabus/schedule for that class and realized the assignment was pushed back an extra week. Crap. Well, not totally- because now I don't have to write this week, but still. I was pretty ticked. Why can't that ever happen when I want it to?? Well, from then on- the night just got crazier and worse...
I went to bed, tried to get right to sleep because of my early morning that was fast approaching, and of course, couldn't. I'd long passed that precious window of 'sleepy' time. So, I read- which usually puts me to sleep late at night, but it was no good. I tried everything... Listening to music, eating cereal, walking around, reading my book, reading scriptures (which, I'm sorry to say- almost ALWAYS make me sleepy)- nothing worked! Then, 2:00 rolled around and I got real silly. I laid in bed and cracked up at myself as I imagined scaring the crap out of Clint as he walked in from work- so I jumped up, hid behind the front door and waited for him. I waited there for about five minutes, snickering to myself before he came in. It worked though, and it was HILLL-ARIOUS! I asked him if he pooped his pants at all, he said 'no' but I made his arm go numb and his face was priceless! I giggled and cracked up at the memory of this for the next 45 minutes or so... then went back to staring at a black ceiling. Longer story short, I was up until sometime after 4am. Yep. It sucked. But, on the bright side, I haven't had that much fun by myself...well, probably ever. It's been a long time since I had the giggles that bad. Tuesday stunk, though. The kids ran me over yesterday- but that's ok. I was half-zombied anyway. I'm finally feeling somewhat caught up today. I've learned my lesson though- NO caffeine after 5pm. EVER. I'm sure Clint's hoping I stick to that rule, also. ;)
I had to take my camera to one of my Technology classes this week, which prompted me to find my USB cord for it (it's been lost for a very long time. ) - When I brought up the camera contents in class, I realized I had some pictures in my Internal memory of the camera that I'd forgotten about. I use the internal memory only when I've run out of space on my memory card, so I was pretty excited to see some of these cute pics. They're very random- I'm warning you, but very cute too. ;)
Cadie and Clinton goofin off together, as usual...
This is one of the kids' Christmas presents from last year. The ONE thing I don't like about Christmas, is that you can't buy your kids these grand outdoor toys to play with- because they can't take them outside immediately. Clint fought with me about getting the kids this for Christmas, I said no- because, again, I thought it was mean to wave a toy in front of their faces and not allow them to play with it. He promised to take the kids somewhere to ride it. Cannon's huge shop was closed up for the day (that's where Clint had planned to take them-indoors, with heat)- so Clint took them outside and proceeded to PUSH them around in the snow. The buggy had NO power of it's own to push along, so Clint was pretty worn out after just a few minutes. I have to say though, I was impressed with his persistence. What lucky kids to have a dad that will fight for such an awesome toy for them and then push it around in the snow just for their entertainment. ;)
More from Christmas morning...
This is just plain cute...
Snoozing in his favorite spot... the "gick-i-bye" or Rock-a-bye.
These are a few from when we went camping at Lava's campground- the water is so beautiful and shimmery and at night, bats would fly right over the top of our camper and back over the water- it was real creepy/cool.
I can't remember why she was so tired- but, I do remember cooking dinner and turning to talk to Cara and finding her like this... Stone-cold out on the kitchen table.
More Christmas!
And just one picture from Clinton's "I dressed myself' category- he demands I take pictures every time.
Isn't she sty-lee cute with her helmet and purple glasses?!
Snackin up on the trail...
Self portrait at my favorite spot of the whole ride.
We found a little creek on the ride back downhill, the kids ran and searched for fish in the water. The sun was setting and it all looked unbelievably pretty.
Ahhhh- the sticks.... Clinton was officially in Heaven.
Buggy girls...
This is the view I was talking about. The picture doesn't do it justice. We drive in the woods for SO long, and then all of the sudden we're up on this flat of ground, the trees clear out, and the huge beautiful valley appears. Gorgeous! Again, I can't wait to go back!! Grrr...winter!!! 
I've been meaning to get this up for awhile (sorry to those that asked me for pics so long ago. ;) But I've finally got a few.
This is my second year with ISU- but my first year as one of the captains. There are 3 of us- one for flag (Sandra), one for dance (Shayla), and one for rifle (me).
It's been fun- the beginning of the year was stressful- trying to get everything choreographed and ready for the shows. I get frustrated at the first of the season- because of the "all work-very little play" motto- But, now that the season is in full swing- it's been really great and all of the hard work has paid off. I have a couple of pics from this year, and hopefully will have more to come. Homecoming is this weekend, and although my wrist isn't 100%, I'm so excited for the game. This is the last one Clint will be able to make it to, so I'm stoked to have him there. It's just not as fun unless he and the kids are there.
Here's parade practice from early in the year. I'm on the far left of this picture- but now there will be four rifles in front and four flags behind.
-After one of the Saturday games. KayLynn, my instructor that I absolutely LOVE is in front. She brings such a perfectly balanced work ethic to the team- We work REAL hard, but have lots of fun- and laugh, endless laughing some days. I couldn't have picked a better person to work with. Love ya KayLynn!
Goofing last Saturday with Angela... (we were having a "can you move this" part of your face competition, I beat her in eyebrows. ;)
Angela is my bud from last year's rifles. She isn't in guard this year and since I had to sit out last Saturday for the invitational, she hung out with me all day. We had so much fun. If I could change anything about guard this year- it would be to have her back in- no doubt. Miss ya, Ang!
I realize there aren't many 'action shots' so far, and that's because the only time Clint was able to be at a game, so far-this year, he had both kids with him and couldn't cross the field to take pictures. :(
I've been wanting to get these up, though. They are from last year- and since I wasn't blogging at that time I wanted to put these up for publishing:
From left to right: Myself, Lynae, Amanda, and Shayla.
I realize this picture looks as though we are terribly OFF- but we were all in a sort of ripple at that point- SO- needless to say, it worked in the show, but not well for a still picture. ;)
After catching our "big tosses" from the picture above.
I remember the fear I had when I was contemplating try-outs for ISU last year. I was so nervous to get in with these younger girls and try to keep up with them. But I couldn't be more thankful I did. It was a big step outside of my comfortable little box, and it's rewarded me by getting more involved in ISU activities, new experiences, and friendships. Not to mention, buff-ing up my arms again. ;) I'm so happy to have gotten to know these girls and to gain some sense of self and confidence that I had lost. GO Bengals!
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