Turkey Day Weekend!

What a long a busy weekend we had. We are happy to be back and partly back to our normal routine, but still I find myself wishing for one more day. But here's our weekend recap for you.

Thursday morning we got up and headed out around 8 am for Price. We got there with no problems and hung out for the day. We got to Skype with our Omaha family and wish them a Happy Thanksgiving and then have a nice dinner at my Dad's house. Otherwise it was relax and watch football. Of course we were also scouring the ads and making a game plan for Black Friday. I took the camera but sorry, I was too stuffed and lazy to take any pics ;).

Friday morning it was up at 3am and heading out by 3:30. My sister and 2 of my nieces and Papa Kevin hit JC Pennys at 4 am. Mike headed to Walmart to get in line. After Pennys we headed to Walmart ourselves and took our posts. For a change we were all able to get everything we were looking for. Uncle Ryan and Tyler met us there as well. Then we all headed out to Kmart and got a few things there as well. The rest of the day was spent with breakfast at Papa's and lunch with Grandma Nette then a nice long nap for all of us. Ryan and kids came over to Papa's for dinner and we played a game.

Saturday was spent with a little more shopping and saying our goodbyes and a yummy breakfast at the Cowboy Club with Papa Ringo and Grandma Judi. We got home around 7 pm and went to put the kids in the tub when we noticed this on Caleb's butt.

WHAT IS IT? Well my first thought was Chicken Pox and I sent the pic to Papa who thought it also looked like it but since he has had the vaccine we couldn't be sure. I asked Caleb if it itched and he said yes. Great! So we lathered him up with some Calamine lotion and waited to see if he got any more. He never got anymore and never got a fever. So I researched and researched. We had no idea when it started. He never said anything to anyone at Papa's. But on Sunday morning I finally found this article. Turns out that 1 in 10 are not immune to some wild strain of Chicken Pox and that it is usually less severe and only lasts a couple of days. Eureka! So I am convinced that's what it was. Leave it to one of my kids to be the exception to the rule. By the time he got up they had all scabbed over, which meant he was no longer contagious and we were already onto the down swing. He acted fine all day and he and I even went out on a date to see Planet 51 which he loved. The rest of the day was spent decorating the house and tree for Christmas and just the inside took all day. Here's some pics to share.

Zaric and Zaden were big helpers with the lights. They kept putting them on like a necklace and trying to walk away, making Dad scream after them since he was trying to put them on the tree and they were taking them back off for him.
Caleb had to put on the first ornament and it had to be his triceratops Papa bought him at Gardner Village over the summer. He's been waiting so patiently for that.
The boys decorating.
And Viola. About 11pm last night Mike finally got the tinsel on and we got the wrapped presents under it.

Now it's time to start the chores that were neglected. See why I want just one more day?

Dear Santa: a letter from Caleb

Dear Santa,

I have two questions for you. Why do you live in the North Pole? And why do you have deer and elves?

This year for Christmas I would like:
A new big toy airplane
My own Nintendo DS
A NY Giants Helmet
A toy guitar
Easy Bake Oven
Rubiks Cube
Radio for my room
Plastic football goal posts
Kids magazine for me to read

Since my babies can't talk I am going to tell you what they want too. I think they would like:
2 little footballs
Cars that they can drive
Toy cell phones
Their own toy airplane

Three more questions. How can all those toys fly in just one bag? Are there any stores in the North Pole? How does the sleigh lift the heavy bag of toys up?

I have been a good boy this year and just turned 6. I like to go to Kindergarten, I think it's a good grade. My teacher's name is Miss Brasher.When I grow up, I want to be a pilot and a football player. We will make some cookies and milk for you for when you come this year.

Thank you Santa. I love you,
Caleb

3 Days of 30!

We have been partying it up for my big 30 the last few days. Thursday (my actual Bday) started out with Mike making me breakfast and mostly a normal day. He went to work, I went to work but that evening I was greeted with a VI Cherry Pie.....Yum! And then after weeks of convincing my friend Wes came over and agreed (as my gift) to let me give him a mohawk for my party. It was so fun and turns out he looks really good sporting the hawk.


Friday was the next party day. My friend Shannon flew into town for the weekend. We did a little shopping and then met Allison for dinner and anxiously awaited our movie time for New Moon. We laughed, we drooled over werewolves and really enjoyed the movie.

Saturday was the main event though, I decided to have a 80's themed roller skating party at Classic Skating in Sandy. We all dressed up and had a Blast! Mike rocked a mullet and I rocked a tutu along with our outfits. I didn't think my Bday could get much better than last years NKOTB concert, but this was seriously the best party ever. :)

A group shot of a bunch of us dressed up. My mom even got on skates for a minute. A good time was had by all I think.

Enjoy the slideshow of the rest of the pics. One more 1/2 day of Shannon in town. I wonder what we'll do today?

New Moon Madness

The good thing about having a movie come out the day after your Bday that you've been dying to see is you also get awesome gifts from your friends for your Bday to go along with it. :) The movie was soooo GOOD! I'm already thinking of going again. Thanks to all and a special thanks to my girls Allison and Shannon that made it an awesome night. More about my Bday weekend coming up tomorrow.

Celebrities

This picture of the kids made the Price paper (www.sunad.com) from Caleb's bday party. They were watching the small alligator eat live mice at the dinosaur museum. EEEW! Zaden was enthralled by it as you can see. Also pictured are my niece, DaNell and my nephews, Shane, Leyton and Jaxson. And one other kid I don't know.

This is what the caption to the picture reads : Dino Discovery inside the College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum has a lot of activities for the children who visit the museum. Coloring, puzzles and excavating are some of the activities at the play and learning center that all ages can enjoy.

Kinda boring caption, but still fun. Thanks Papa for calling me and letting me know and also for picking me up an authentic copy of the paper for the scrapbook.

Sneak Peak

Watch out Vegas! May 2010! My dress and shoes are bought and (as of Saturday) here at my house. Here's the shoes. The color is appropriately named Blue Velvet. I can't wait for Elvis to get a load of these and to marry me to my best friend again. I think it's time to get a countdown going. Stay tuned!

Date Weekend

After Caleb's party on Friday, Papa and Grandma were nice enough to keep the boys for the weekend and Mike and I drove back to SL that night. We got 2 nights and 1 1/2full days all to ourselves and we tried to make the most of it. Mostly we decided to take advantage of having no kids and were able to get a ton of Christmas shopping done for them. We were all over this valley but we got so much done, it was unbelieveable the difference it makes not having to drag along 3 kids when you are out and about. We shopped and shopped and also got a couple of errands done that we had been neglecting. We were able to also have some quality us time with a trip to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch while we were at the mall and to the Grizzlies hockey game on Sat night. Grizz win 8 to 2 and there were a few good fights so it was an awesome game :). Then stayed up late next to the fireplace and watched a movie together. It was so nice.
We also had big plans to get a ton of housework done before my party this weekend and we got a good start on it today, but not as far as we had hoped. Here's hoping for a cooperative week from the boys to get some more of it done.
Thanks again Papa and Grandma, it means so much to us to get some us time once in a while. We really appreciate it each and every time. You guys are the best!

Dino Party

The Dino party was a big success! Thanks everyone for coming and for helping Caleb have a great day. And a special thanks to Papa Ringo and Grandma Judi for letting us use their house after the museum. He's still pretty pleased and had dove into his new toys after getting home from his weekend with Papa today. He also got a lot of Bday cash that Mom is going to take him to the store tomorrow with to pick out a couple new things. He is so happy to be 6! Enjoy the pics.

Happy Birthday Caleb

Aunt Allison sent me home last night with a present for Caleb. Of course he couldn't wait to open it until today. Behold triceratops hat. So stinking Cute. Thanks Allison!

I woke up this morning the Mom of an official 6 year old (well in 36 more minutes anyway) :). I wasn't sure I was going to allow him to be 6 and even kept trying to convince him to be 5 again. It's somehow not working though. So I will give in I guess and let him turn 6 as much as I don't want to.

Happy Birthday Caleb! We hope you have a great day and we are ready to take you to Price for your fun party. We love you very much.

Kindergarten Report Card

Caleb got his first ever report card today and I couldn't be more pleased. He is at mastery level on literacy, phonics, fluency, writing, numbers, and algebra (patterning), the only thing he was working on that wasn't a 5 (the new A) was geometry (length and weight).
In the life skills section (behavior) he received very high marks as well. The thing that he needs to work on is finishing his work in the alloted time. That doesn't surprise me at all. He does take his sweet time some days on a lot of things.

Way to go Caleb, we are very proud of you! Keep up the good work.

Here Comes the Dino Party

I can't believe my little boy is turning 6 on Friday. This year he chose to do a dino-themed party and wanted to do it in Price with Papa. He helped me make his invites for the party.

After school on Friday, we will head to Price and meet everyone at the dinosaur museum to go see the dino's there. Then it will time for pizza, cupcakes and party time at Papa's house. Caleb and I had a really good time making these Cupcake picks to match his invites.

Grandma Judi picked up a pin the pterodactyl on the picture game and the party bags and coloring books are made. Time for some fun! 4 more days to go, Caleb can hardly stand the wait.

Hair Bling

You have to look hard with my hair being so dark but I got some bling put in my hair today after a cut and dye. I have 5 strands. It's the newest big thing (or so I hear) in the hair world. They are totally washable, styable and not heat sensitive so you can curl and blow dry them too. They should last about 4 weeks-ish and there are so many colors to choose from. I've only had them for a few hours but so far they make me smile when I catch a glimpse of them in the mirror. So much fun!

Utes 45- New Mexico 14

We had another great time at our 2nd Utes game this season. Of course Caleb spent alot of the game eating snacks and rough-housing with Wes.

Of course we did watch a little of the game too.
GOOOOOOOOOO UTES! He totally looks like a Yell-Leader in this photo. Cracks me up.
Yelling Go! Go! Go! at the team down the field.
And best of all, he got to pose for a photo with Swoop.
Thanks again for a great time Wes!

Happy Birthday Tracey!

Happy Birthday to the best sister, aunt and friend I know! We hope you have a great day! We love you.

P.S. Caleb says he's getting a real dinosaur for your birthday. I hope you will keep it at your house.

Nellie's 14!

Today we took a quick day trip to Wellington for my Niece DaNell's 14th birthday party. She did a carnival theme, so we got to feast on carnival food like hotdogs and nachos and popcorn. Yummy. We all had a good time visiting and hanging out.

And the boys even got to see and pet a chinchilla for the first time. This is Twitch, Schydi's newest pet.
Happy Birthday DaNell! This is going to be the best year yet. :)

Halloween Night

This year we went a different route for Halloween night. My friend Wes invited us to go to a Utes game with him. We talked it over with Caleb and let him know that going to the game would mean probably no more trick or treating that night and he was totally fine with that (he did go 2 other times at different events) so off we went. We started off the fun with a little pre-game tailgating with Wes, his brother and his niece and nephew. We had some good food and Caleb got to play a little football with them. He deemed himself the referee. Although, every chance he got, he would still tackle Wes. :) Then it was game time. It was the blackout game so most people wore black and some of the customary red (of course). It got a little cold but with some bundling, we all managed just fine and the babes did suprisingly well given that they were still a little sick. The game started off a little rough but the Utes came back and won 22-10. Whoo Hoo! We have been invited back to another game next week. Mike chose to stay home with the babes for that one but Caleb and I are accepting the invitation and can't wait to do it all again. Thanks Wes!