Almost to New Year!

We've been so crazed with happenings this month, and I've had great intentions to write, but haven't had the time to gather everything together (including my brain) long enough to get it done. :( The kids had a pretty good Christmas, although throughout the week we all had a large helping of Stomach Flu. Bleh. Cara began the binge when she threw up all over me at Clint's uncle's funeral. I took her home and had a constant string of sickness spanning from the 20th until today. It's not a 24 hour flu, but rather a 3 to 4 day thing- very unpleasant, so she had hers, Clinton got his on Christmas Eve and Dad and I got our share on Thursday night. We were thankful that Clinton's stomach seemed pretty calm while we opened presents and they were both EAGERLY anticipating Santa this year. We had a great Christmas overall with wonderful memories with our kids and our families. We are very blessed.
I promise to get caught up as soon as I get well enough to make my brain work. ;)

Banquet Night...

I recently had the ISU Band banquet night (Dec. 1st) to celebrate the season with the band. It was such a fun year and I was really bummed when I found out Clint was working that night and wouldn't be able to go with me. I wasn't going to go at all- it's a semi-formal affair and it just didn't seem that fun without a date, but I got to thinking about taking Mr.Clinton as my date after he'd had so much fun at the last game. I am SO happy I did, we went out and bought him a new little suit and dressed up for each other! He was absolutely delicious in his new outfit and possibly the cutest date ever! Definitely the most enthusiastic date ever- he kept telling me (while we were getting ready) "Mom, I'm SO Exi-ged to go to dinner with you!" He was "exi-ged" - He talked about it all day! And even though he didn't really care for the dinner that much, he only had maybe a few licks of lasagna and bread, he was thrilled to watch the slide show of the band and the video of one of our performances from the year. - When it came time for me to go up and accept the leadership award for rifles, he cheered out "YEAH MOM!! Good job doin Colorguard and Rifles!!!!!" Everybody loved it! He was the biggest fan of the ISU Band there. It was such a great memory for us and so fun to be able to spend that time together. He is the funnest, cutest, most enthusiastic boy I've ever known. I love watching him grow into a man- I'm just happy I got the FIRST date with him! ;)

Update..

Ok- this weekend was AWESOME! After a long week of teaching preschool, finishing up the last of guard, and midterms (Ahhhh!) - I was rewarded! Friday, after I turned in my portfolio, I literally raced to get to the theatre for Twilight, Jodie met me there, and we took it in together. I really liked it- it was so great to see such a fun series turned into film. I enjoyed it so much, I'm taking the hubbs with me today to watch it again. :)

Then, Clint surprised me by taking the day off Saturday so he and the kids could come to the last game/show. Since I'm not sure if I'll do it again next year, it was possibly my last one ever and I was pretty bummed when he was scheduled to work. - But, he begged his boss and traded a favor so that he could come. It was so fun- not only did we just have an utterly goofy time together- but ISU won! It went into overtime and they snuck in a touchdown at the end- purely awesome. It was the perfect end to a rough season. I'm really going to miss seeing my friends from the team every week- 3 times a week, really - but it will be nice to have a little extra time to myself with the kids.

Sunday was great too- got ready for church (which went surprisingly well)- our home teachers came over afterward, and then we finished off the day with a thrown together dinner of BBQ lil' smokies, baked potatoes with broccoli, ham and cheese sauce (I know, we're creative, especially on Sundays)- then Clint watched Willow with Cara while Clinton slept and I read- which I've had NO time for the past couple of weeks, so it was really gratifying.

Like I said, a great weekend! Laid back, fun, goofy, happy and rewarding. I'm SO thankful Clint made the effort to get to the game- it really meant a lot to me and helped ease my frustration from missing my husband.

And here's a few other shots of random things happening in between all that I just mentioned-

After all of my planning for Cara's preschool kids this week, Cara's really taken to pretending to have school and teaching- she decided she was going to have her own preschool with her own animal students. She set them up at the table and proceeded to hand out homework and read books to them, her pig got a "tummy ache" and had to go lay down, pretty soon all of her students were "tired" so she carried them to bed. What an awesome teacher!

Clinton getting a BIG lift from dad and loving every second of it! Laughter was widespread through the house with that one- Clinty's laugh is very infectious ;)

Thankful for Cara...

I've been wanting to do this for awhile now, but now that Thanksgiving is fast approaching- I thought it was the perfect time. My kids are growing up so fast, changing, and doing and saying new things everyday. And while sometimes time feels like it is standing still, I have learned that kids grow up too fast and soon these days will all be a distant memory.


I'm gonna try to feature both of them in their own posts about every 6 months or so and list some of the things that are important to them and what they've learned.

So, I'm going to begin this time with Cara. I am oozing with things to write about- this girl is very entertaining... so here goes...

The girl is obsessed with folding. Folding, folding, folding- she folds everything that can possibly be folded. Whenever I do laundry, she has to at least get all of the washcloths and towels, otherwise I'm in serious trouble. Here's her with her batch of laundry that she folded all on her own- I was very impressed, I didn't have to redo any of it.

Along those same folding lines-she loves to give presents from around the house, matter of fact, that is ALL she's done this morning. She finds random items from around the house, wraps them in baby wipes and gives them to various members of the family. This morning alone, I've unwrapped about 20 gifts, most of them Halloween candy. She'd rather wrap it and give it away than eat it. She also wraps her small stuffed animals in wipes ("blankets"), makes pillows out of wipes, and puts them to bed in an empty Kleenex box. Her favorite stuffed animal is a beanie baby pig that she carries around in its "wipe" blankets. This pig is always cared for, even if she's busy, she'll find someone to watch it or hold it, usually me, or she'll put him to bed in his box.

Bedtime is a whole other issue... the girl LOVES to get ready for bed. She puts more effort into getting ready for bed than getting ready for the whole day. Lately, she has to have nightgowns- jammie pants will not do. It must be nightgowns because she has to wear her dress-up shoes also. (It's a fight to get her to take the shoes off for bed- she wants to sleep in them.) To go along with the shoes, she needs necklaces, smelly lotion, and lipstick. Mind you, I do NOT condone this behavior, it has become a battle at bedtimes, usually because I just want the kids to get in to their jammies and go to sleep as quickly as possible- of course, this NEVER happens. Bedtime is a long drawn out process of helping me feed the dogs, baths, jammies, reading, prayers (calling dad), ect... and now- Cara getting completely made over before sleep. Somehow, even when I'm watching her and saying- "no lipstick"- she sneaks into my make-up bag and finds some. I'm starting to believe she has a secret hoard of it somewhere....

She's very academic and artistic. I'm thrilled that both sided of the spectrum seem to merge so effortlessly for her. She loves to read, write, count, say ABC's - and find "ABC'S" everywhere. She writes really well, she's been writing her name on all of my mail lately- and is an excellent colorer. She stays within the lines and has done this for over a year now, but she really gets particular about what colors she uses and where those colors go on the page. She goes into a conniption fit if anyone colors over her pictures or tears them, not that I blame her- she spends countless hours on all of them. She loves art. Pictures, paintings, music, singing (I'm always bursting with pride when she knows the words to my favorite songs- it's purely awesome)- books, decorating, and creating. She makes awesome little pictures and hangs them on the fridge or "gifts" them out to people.

Writing her name on my mail...
A picture of Clinty (can you see the glasses??) So cute...

And her orange pony- she's very proud of this one...

She's also very concerned about my personal happiness. Whenever I'm even slightly annoyed at ANYTHING, she says "OH! I will give you a heart!" And then blows me a kiss. She's smart- it works every time. Who could resist that?
She's also my cuddler child. She'd hang out and watch movies all day with me (if we ever had enough time for that!)- And not little kiddie movies, either, although she does love all of the typical 4 year old favorites, but she LOVES Harry Potter! L-O-V-E-S. She still calls him Heavenly Pother. I've coached her endlessly about it being HARRY- but, I've recently given up. Apparently her image of Heavenly Father is a twelve year old boy with round glasses and a magic wand. She loves the spells and potions and gets really irritated at Voldemort when he kills Cedric. - That's never a good 10 minutes. - She watches movies exceptionally well- she has ever since she was really young. Her attention span has always been marvelled at. ;) She stands at the kitchen sink and tries to mix up her own "potions." Clint teases her and tells her to drink them and that maybe she'll turn into a cat if she does. - I'm happy to say she doesn't drink them- I'd throw a fit if she did, because they usually consist of water, soap- hand and dish soap- and whatever kind of food she can reach from the counter. I know, gross. I've seen some scary stuff. But, I can never get mad- it's just too cute. ;)

She's sweet, compassionate, patient, loving, imaginative, warm, helpful, girly, funny, mature, motherly, smart, lovable little girl and I truly hope she always has the love for her family that she has now.

You're wonderful CARA! I'll always be so thankful to have you as my daughter! I love ya!

Gettin used to it...

Clint's been working at his new job for a few weeks now, and it's finally starting to feel like a routine for me. It was really weird trying to get used to him being gone at night. The kids really tested my 'mommy' strength for about 3 weeks... I mean, really tested. There were tears, fights, "NO"-ing, and every time I would get after them, they would pull the "I miss dad!"/ "I want my daddy!" card out and guilt me. I felt like a really crabby mom there for awhile. Bedtime all of the sudden became something we had to learn all over again, which was really frustrating. We've finally settled into reading a couple of books and then speakerphone prayers with dad. It's working out better now, and the kids are learning that we can't call dad every 10 minutes and we can't be loud during the day and wake him. On the bright side, I've become VERY independent. I used to wait for Clint to come home and then I would run errands or go to the store by myself, just for a little break- breaks are unheard of now (unless you consider going to class a break, I don't.) - But, it's built my stamina and patience for the kids. It's also given me a small glimpse of what life would be like without Clint. I'll be raw and honest, I've always had a fear of losing my husband. I don't know how widows do it, let alone widows with young children. Besides the incapacitating grief that would overrun my life- I can't imagine living each day and not being able to share the burdens of life with him. Not only that, but deciding how to raise my children by myself, sharing stories of the cute little things that they've done and learned, help with discipline, keeping up the house, ect... that ALONE would be horrific to me- but that wouldn't be the worst part- just not having Clint would devastate me. In thinking about all of this- it's made me so much MORE thankful for him and all that he does for me. We've been married almost 10 years now, and I know we both take each other for granted. I can see the blessings we are being given through this new chapter in our life. We are learning to help each other more and to do little things for one another to show our appreciation and love. And although, there are days when I feel like literally pulling every strand of hair from my head- It's strengthened me.

OK- on a lighter note, I've been wanting to get the kids out, somewhere, to catch a view of their dad at work. Clinton especially. The boy worships his father and I know he would LOVE to see him driving a "big truck." On Friday (Halloween Day) we had to drive to American Falls to pick up Clint's check (I haven't gotten to the direct deposit form yet)- so, we all went out as a family after Clinton got out of school. It just so happened that there was one solitary truck in the yard, and that one solitary truck just happened to be the one that Clint drives. We were SO excited. The weekend driver was readying it for his work-run and we sat in the car and watched him fuel it up, check the fluids, ect... while Clint ran in to get his check. (We couldn't get out of the Tahoe because of a safety policy they have there- we'd all have to wear hard hats to exit.)

Clinton was ready to bounce out of his seat- he really wanted to go check out the truck and even wanted a ride. I tried to explain that there was NO way he'd get a ride (also company policy) and that I'd take a few pictures to appease him. I had my camera- because of Halloween- in my purse, so I took a few shots. Then the driver pulled it right up in front of our car, I figured he thought I was crazy- taking pictures of him and all, and that he was probably coming over to beat me up.

Luckily, that wasn't the case. Clint came out of the building grinning ear to ear with a little hard hat in his hands. He got Clinton out of his seat and I swear Clinton was BEAMING with delight. Clint's boss had given him permission to take CR out and show him the truck- they got to look around inside and out and check out the trailers.

Halloween could have disappeared and Clinton would have gone to bed happy. It was so fun to watch him with his dad and think of Clint and how his dad did the same things with him. It's helped make CLinton's transistion of dad being gone a little easier, he now plays with his green semi-truck and pretends the driver is Dad. He parks his truck and "loads" it with random things around the house. He really had no idea of what I was talking about when I'd tell him about dad's new job, but now, it's really put him at ease. Thank Goodness.

Halloween Pics...

I know Halloween seems like it was weeks ago - at least it does to me, but I still need to show off my cute children and have just not had time to do that until now. ;)

I did Cara's hair in a french twist twice that day, but gave up at the trunk-or-treat- I was so sick of fixing it. It looked pretty for awhile though...
Mr. Ross at his Halloween parade- He's a dashing pirate, isn't he??? Cap'n Jack SPARROW!
Cara was exhausted by the time we got ready to go to Clinton's school- I kept trying to get her to perk up and be excited- but all I got was this 'somber' look. She's still gorgeous though...
"AYE, there...off the coast... a ship...." (Pointing towards an imaginary ship of invaders.)

Here's short clip of Clinton's excitement to see us at his school parade- he about bounced right off his seat with anticipation!

And finally, we ended the day at Cotant Park, trunk-or-treating.

(Logan-puppy, Cara-Belle, Cadie-princess, Clinton-pirate)

True Love...

The post I did about an hour ago seems so insignificant now. Jeff called me and told me about this video he'd seen and wanted me to watch. It touched my heart so deeply- I have such sympathy for those parents. It brought back a time in my life that could easily be labeled my 'most difficult and most spiritually wonderful' time. This family is so inspiring for thier optimistic outlook. Everyone should see this...

fun stuff...

I'm just updating a couple of things...
I changed my background- I'm tired of Fall colors apparently, because this is the only one that appealed to me- we'll see how long this one lasts (you know me) - but I also changed my music player. It totally saddens me to do so, but- I've been posting a lot of videos lately, and I realize it's a pain to have to pause the music so that the sound from the video can be heard. Again, I'm seriously depressed about it- but, I'm going to change the music to play only when you click 'play' (and I seriously encourage you do that... especially the new song I added from Anberlin- Inevitable, Oooo I love it ;) - I've put it over in the side bar so it's easier to access too.

OK- and here's a fun little rifle vid one of my friends sent me... supposedly 6 of the 9 girls had only learned it that day, so look past a couple of the flubs- I really love the concept and choreography- it's fun to watch...

Twilight Tix-

I just got tickets for Twilight! I'm so very, very excited! - Anyway- I got the email alert from Fandango and thought I'd post the link so that others could get tickets too- here it is...

http://www.fandango.com/redirect.aspx?searchby=movieid&mid=116469&location=83202&a=11497

Yippy- Yippy- Yippy!!!

ps- here's a fun game for Halloween- (Thanks dad!)

'FALL'-ing into winter...

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!

He went to Harbor Freight with dad and found a kid-size tool kit- He was so excited to model it all for us- he then proceeded out into the garage to hammer various things while dad worked.

Here's a picture with my new guitar (finally)- I LOVE it - I think it's so beautiful! I've been having fun learning, although it is one of those things that I wish would just come to me overnight- I'm still at the VERY beginning stages. I'll post a video when I get decent. Don't hold your breath though. ;)

Here's CR at the game with dad last week- He loves to come to "my dancin"- I think that's half the reason I keep doing it- the kids love to come to Holt Arena, sit behind the band and eat popcorn while they wait for half-time.

Here's a pic of pre-game. Clint tried to take a bunch of pictures, but unfortunately our camera BITES- so I posted the only ones that came out half-lighted. (I'm second rifle from left.)

A triple...

After the show- walking with Shayla....
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".
I know this video isn't very close up- one of these days, I'll get Clint to tape me while I practice in the backyard so that those of you that have been nagging (you know who you are)- can get a better view. ;)

Sleep Deprived...

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. ;)

Randomness and Rides...

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.

And then , I found these pictures from when we went on a huge 4-wheeler/buggy outing this summer. This ride is amazing. The view when we reach the top takes my breath away. It's absolutely glorious! We took another route down and saw some new scenery that time, and the kids loves playing in the dirt and with all of the sticks. I can't wait to go riding again. It's one of my F-A-V-E parts of summer.

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!!!

PS- I finally got a chance to add some of the new music I've been listening to on my player... I'm still lovin Muse, LP, and Paramore- but there's a few new songs and a new band that I've been digging lately. Derrick made me promise to listen to the new Metallica CD and give it a fair chance, I did... and like it! I like some Metallica, just not nearly as much as he does (though I don't know if anyone could touch him in that category)- but I posted the 2 that I like the most, Suicide and Redemption and Unforgiven 3. S&R is completely instrumental- which I LOVE- but, it's a pretty long song (9 mins.?) - Which made me remember another Instrumental song from Met, that I love, Orion- also very long. The band I mentioned is Anberlin. LOVE THEM! I don't know why it took me so very long to discover them, but again, I LOVE THEM. I put just a few of the songs I've been listening to of theirs up- my faves are Unwinding Cable Car and Paper Thin Hymn. The Promise is a remake of the When in Rome version- I like it better than the original. ;) ~ Enjoy!