election day

real quick- this was yesterday- zachary was talking about the election and james chimed in...

james: which one is the black one?
zachary: obama
james: that is who i want to win
mom: why?
james: because he is black and there has never been a black president before.

later, going to bed...

j: mom, you need to tell me right when i wake up who won.
m: ok james


morning...

m: james, quess who won?
j: who?
m: obama
j: yessssssssss

m: james, do you know any white people?
j: yes, one, president bush, oh wait, i know two...mccain is white too.
m: do you know any black people?
j: yes, one, obama

James is so handsome and i am telling you, he is going to make an incredible husband one day. whenever i put on lipstick or do my hair or get dressed in something other than tennis or athletic wear, he always notices. He will say, "mom-you look pretty today." seriously, so special. the other day i was getting dressed up to go to the temple. i was trying to decide between two dresses with certain shoes. he didnt know. he walked in and said, mom make sure and wear heels with that one. i love him. p.s. he is about the sportiest kid as well. talk about balance. i am telling you-husband of the year one day! :)
This is zachary this spring. we were getting ready to plant the garden, but while he was waiting, he made this one in the sand box. zachary is doing well in school. he changed schools this year because he was accepted to the magnet program in our district. this was a hard choice for us because we moved to our current house because the elementary school is in our backyard. i spent a few weeks stalking him and recess and there were times i wanted to take him out. i have been patient and he is doing really well. he has made some new friends and he is really being challenged at school. sometimes he is frustrated to not be the first one done with every assignment, but who doesnt need a slice of humble pie every once in awhile? he is still missing his two front teeth, what a guy.
the boys are about the best of friends. i know people who have playdates everyday. i literally have to force myself to because these two are inseparable and rarely fight. i am so lucky, and so are they.
here is day-z. she is helping build the new fence...
hazel-what a diva. she is all over the place. we kind of had our fingers crossed that she would follow in james footsteps and be a bit timid and mellow. but no-it is official, she is much more like the other blond. she is adventurous, social and mischievous. she can usually be found walking around the house with a full size bag of chips, or if she really scored, a package of oreos...

That's our update!!

Pee Fight?

I was minding my own business, getting ready for my sisters wedding dinner when the boys asked if they could take a bath. That is not unusual for these days, they recently purchased a jelly fish and a sting ray toy. Together, with there sharks and whales, the tub becomes an ocean.

On a side note...it is very normal for me to walk into a bathroom to wash my hands and there is a plastic ocean animal in the sink that is filled to the brim with water. This went on step further with the jelly fish. The jelly fish got the entire bath tub filled and then, just for good measure, an entire container of salt added!!!

Okay, back to the point, they are getting ready to get in the tub and I hear James say, "pee fight?" so casually like it is just kind of like are you in the mood or not? Zachary answers just as casually, "sure." As they walk over to the toilet, the conversation starts to make sense and I suddenly scream, "WHAT?" what is a pee fight...they proceed to explain how your streams of urine are like swords, blah blah. "who taught you about pee fights?"

DAD.

I SURVIVED THE EXPLOSION OF '08

IT WAS JUST LIKE AN ACTION MOVIE...

EXPLODING SOUNDS RIGHT AND LEFT, PEOPLE RUNNING FRANTICALLY AWAY FROM THE SPARKS, KIDS CRYING OUT WITH CONFUSION, PARENTS ANXIOUSLY SEARCHING FOR THEIR CHILDREN...

THIS WAS OUR 24TH OF JULY.

IT ALL STARTED WHEN CORY CALLED TO EXPLAIN HIS VISIT TO AN EVANSTON FIREWORK STORE ON HIS WAY TO THE CABIN.  HE WALKED IN AND THE 18 YEAR OLD EMPLOYEE OFFERED TO HELP HIM. 

C:  WHAT ARE THE GOOD ONES?

E:  WHAT IS YOUR BUDGET?

C:  $350...(I KNOW THAT SOUNDS LARGE, BUT THE FIREWORKS ARE USUALLY 50-100$ EACH)

E:  OKAY.

THE EMPLOYEE CONTINUES TO THE FRONT OF THE STORE, WHERE HE GRABS 3 SHOPPING CARTS.  HE BEGINS TO FILL THEM UP.  WHILE HE IS DOING SO CORY MENTIONS THAT THEY HAVE QUICKLY EXCEEDED THE BUDGET.  THE BOY TELLS HIM NOT TO WORRY.  WHEN THEY ARRIVED AT THE CHECKOUT, HE TYPES IN THE TOTAL OF $350-.

CORY PULLS UP TO THE CABIN AND OPENS THE BACK OF THE SUV.  IT IS STACKED TOP TO BOTTOM AND ALSO ALL OF THE SEATS ARE FOLDED DOWN.  CORY LOOKED LIKE A TRUE PYROMANIAC.

THE BIG BOYS WERE ON CLOUD NINE, THEY COULDN'T WAIT FOR THE SUN TO GO DOWN.  APPARENTLY, THEIR ANXIOUS FEELINGS WERE THEIR ULTIMATE DOWNFALL.  IT WAS WHEN THEY WERE UNPACKING THE MAY PACKAGES AND THERE WERE JUST TOO MANY BOYS WITH PUNKS.  THE CROWDS WERE GETTING IMPATIENT SITTING MAYBE 20 YDS AWAY.  PRETTY SOON THEY WERE LIGHTING FIREWORKS AND HAVE NOT HAD THE PATIENCE, COMMON SENSE...FILL IN YOUR OWN ADJECTIVE HERE...TO MOVE THE TRAILER WITH A LOT MORE FIREWORKS AWAY FROM THE FLAMES AND SPARKS.

THEY PUT ON AN INCREDIBLE SHOW.

WE WERE OOHING AND AAAHING.

UNTIL A SPARK HIT THE TRAILER AND SOMEONE YELLED OUT "RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

AFTER THE FIREWORKS STOPPED, LITERALLY 3-4 MINUTES LATER, WE BREATHED A SIGH OF RELIEF THAT EVERYONE WAS SAFE AND SOUND.

THEN, THE BOYS REALIZED THAT WE STILL HAD HALF OF OUR ORIGINAL STASH THAT WE STARTED OUT WITH.   THEY STARTED PLANNING THE NEXT SHOW IMMEDIATELY....I THINK THIS TIME, I WILL WATCH FROM THE CABIN DECK:)

Picasa Web Albums - Katy

Picasa Web Albums - Katy

Children Updates...long past due...I know!

Zachary is officially done with kindergarten. How weird. Even though he seems very much old enough to be in 1st or even 2nd grade for that matter, it is still surreal. For the end of the year, the kids clean off the walls and bring all of their art work home. It was very fun to unload his backpack that was filled with creations. At the bottom there was a special item that his teacher had been working on all year. They worked on journal writing and each week, she saved their entries and then the kids wrapped the 3 ring binder and brought it home to their parents. Each week the entry was clearly directed by the teacher on some subject they were talking about or a seasonal topic. I was going through the journal, and I was so glad to have these things documented. Anyways, I read along and came across something very interesting. One entry was a picture Zachary drew of me. The entry read: "This is my mom. She loves me." The very next entry was a sketch of Cory. The entry read: "This is my dada. I love him."


James asked me an interesting question the other night. "Mom, I have been meaning to ask you, what does it feel like taking care of so many kids?"

Hazel is walking. Her personality is flourishing and her hair is whitening. Everyday her hair seems to get whiter.

That is our update!

Action shot

St. George...for some reason we always end up at the indoor pool, because we are a
bit cursed with bad weather. This is James going down the slide. it is an awesome
action shot captured with megan's fancy new camera and i appreciate the copy.
It is a great picture.

We arrived at the pool, all of the kids hit the slide first thing, except James, he watches for a few rounds, and then he dives in and never looks back!

Sad Truths

This morning in the car I was listening to Fox News or something like that. The story was about a girl who was celebrating her 18th birthday and she wanted to have this man there because he had saved her when she was born. Apparently she was abandoned at birth and someone left her in a Denny's parking lot in Gainsville, Florida. So this truck driver found her and took her to the hospital and she was adopted and now lives in Texas and is celebrating her 18th birthday. So, she wanted this stranger at the party. This is not the point. The point is this girl was born in April of 1990.

I AM OLD!!!

Then, you know when something is on your mind or that you are aware of you begin to notice it everywhere? Last night during the Jazz game, which is a whole different story, the announcers were talking about how Matt Harpring is the oldest player on the Jazz team...oh he is a whopping 30! My age!! Surely Carlos Boozer is older than me?

Then, yet again, this sad truth was pointed out to me during an experience on the internet. I was asked to fill out the information for my birthday. I click on the year and the big box appears with many years, was mine in the box? Oh no, I had to scroll down a bit.

Here is the Diva. Actually, mostly she is still quite sweet, but this is one night at Young Women's and she had had it. She wanted me to pick her up so badly, but I was taking pictures. Boy was she MAD! Luckily we had some M & M's for a treat that night and she settled down quickly into a sticky mess. Still no walking, but tonight she made huge strides in her progress. Lizzy had a Creamie and Hazel would try a couple semi assisted, semi not assisted steps and she was getting more and more confident each time. Lizzy said 3 hours a day for training and she will be walking in one weeks time. I think I am just going to send her to boot camp Scherbel instead.

Realizing that many of my posts are about my James, I need to even the playing field. Since Zachary is at school everyday I rarely have time with just him and me. He is the life of any party. Everyday after school he has planned play dates with friends. Not just one, but most of the class, and always at our house. We arrive home and moms will call, is so and so there playing with Zachary? No i will say, and soon we will discover the master planner was at it again. For a long time all of the neighbor kids were walking to school and he would join them, soon he was avoiding it, when you ask why? He doesn't want to walk with a mom. One mom was walking her daughter up everyday and that was too much for him. There were many times he has walked alone, just to avoid it.

Zachary is good at everything he tries. Since he is an old kindergartner, we decided this year he could do more extracurricular activities to fill in possible boredom. He is currently swimming on a swim team, playing soccer, baseball, taking piano lessons, and going to school. His energy never runs out. His passion never runs out. He lives for sports. I was able to attend a basketball game with his the other night. The Jazz were playing the sonics. I got to sit with him, just us. We were high fiving every point and play that went our way. His passion was so contagious that I was ready to go out to the Fanzz store and pick myself up a jersey!

This is a picture of Zachary and his makeshift golf hole. He is putting it into a sideways cone.

Happy Birthday James!! This is James' birthday lunch at the coveted "CARLOS JR." James has known where he would be going for his birthday lunch for a long time. That is one thing about him, once he has decided something, it does not change. I wish I was more like that... Anyways he was certain that he would order the portabello mushroom burger as he has seen on many ads, but once we arrived, a cheeseburger was just fine. James crawled in bed with me yesterday morning and cuddled up as he always does, but couldn't stay for long...he needed to go and change his calendar to April. Serious business.

Family members came over for pizza and cake. James went to Baskin Robbins to pick out his cake, when he was able to choose out any of the 31 flavors for his ice cream cake...he answered, unwavering "vanilla."

What is it about a good deal?

What is it about a good deal? I have been thinking about this a lot, on different occasions...but I the other day, I decided I could need help...

Lets back up though, really, think about it. When you are shopping somewhere like Nordstrom Rack, Ross or HomeGoods...it is a little bit different than other places. First of all, you would never take your hands off your cart with merchandise in it. All of the sudden, instead of fellow shoppers, everyone around you become competitors. What do they have in their cart that is a better deal? I find myself peeking into carts or following someone that looks like a much more experienced deal finder than myself, who often times is just not patient enough and ends up spending more for no reason.

So...we have been looking for a coffee table for our house. Most of our furniture is hand me down or from DownEast Home with a few scratchs. I like it, I feel like the better the deal, the more I value it. So, usually after the weekly movie night, Cory and I would stop in and look around. We have had very good luck at this store since we moved a year and a half ago. One sectional, 2 rugs, a kitchen table, 10 dining chairs, a buffet.

We were not having much luck in the coffee table department.

So, on the day of our YW New Beginnings, for those of you who do not know what that is, it is a big event for all the YW and their parents. There is a program and a few talks, refreshments, decorations, the whole kitten kaboodle. So, needless to say, this was a busy day, I had already been to the wardhouse twice to set up and was making a "quick" run to Costco for a few last minute "necessities." Walking down the aisle I spotted some ficus trees down at the end. I have been wanting one, but just never found the energy to pick one up, also, they are expensive for a fake plant! Sorry for the tangent, so I see the ficus trees, decide that they would look great behing the pulpit in the RS room that night, so I put on in my cart. I turn around, and there it is, a marked down coffee table. It is the display one only left, so I know that I have got to act fast. I find an employee for mor information.

The table is dark wood, has four drawers, storage always gets me. As an added bonus, the top opens up and it has a hidden leaf, so the top gets bigger for games, puzzles, food, whatever. Regularly $350, which, FYI i would never pay for a table for the basement. I find out it is marked down to $80. WHAT!!!??? I need it now. So, since I have a flatbed now, lets get 2 trees, right?

I am lucky I only had Hazel. Finding room for all of the stuff was an absolute joke, I drove home with the tailgate held down with twine. So, once I was home I had to have little Zachary help me get it out. He was dying! It was pretty heavy.

Deals make me crazy. It looks so good...even better because it was only 80 buckaroos!

James Hoops

this is a test...

Potty Training a Puppy

Our family has been completely engulfed in potty training our surprise from Santa Claus this year, a little yorkie. Her name is Daisy Dolores by Katy's terms, and Day Z by Cory's. Either way, she is a hard core rapper, just like Jay Z. Moving along, potty training a puppy is even more challenging than a kid because there are not diapers, and you sure don't love them as much as your child. Plus, you are cleaning the carpet all the time. Megan and Jake experienced this while we were on the cruise, bless their hearts, they babysat her. We didn't understand why a 2.5 pound animal could s__t 12 times a day...literally. Disaster. Recently we realized there had to be something wrong. We took her to the vet, one fecal sample and a day later, the diagnosis was in. GIARDIA. It makes total sense.

The whole point of this was to let you know how this has affected the whole family. James sometimes puts her leash on and hooks her to a doorknob so that she will not run off into a corner and poop.

Today, Cory took the kids to TGI Fridays for lunch. The placemat had a place to draw your pet. Excited that they finally have a pet, the boys dove right in. Zachary proudly showed his masterpiece to Cory.

Zach: Dad, do you know who this is?

Cory: Yeah, it is Day Z.

Z: I know, but what is she doing?

C: What is that??? (looking at a suspicious brown blob on the picture)

Z: She's pooping! (laughing hysterically)

Potty training a puppy...a family affair.

James' prayer tonight...

"please bless President Monsen that he will do a good job prophetting us"

"please bless President Hinckley that he will be safe in heaven."

Funny thing you should say that Erik, I almost opened my blog to the rest of civilization, but last minute I chickened out. I thought of all of the times I have checked one persons blog and have ended up reading intimate details of some stranger living in Chicago...I just cannot do it.

I am sitting here downloading the photos from our recent cruise and I haven't even been home for 24 hours and I am already missing the fine company that Cory and I were able to be in for the incredible week exploring the caribbean! There are so many memories and I find myself sitting here with Hazel in my lap at the computer and just start laughing out loud at every turn of a photo.

anyways...gals I miss you already. We need to find a clubhouse here in the states! Cannot wait to see you all!

Love...Katy

James Favorites

Favorite place to eat
1. Bonsai
2. Cafe Rio
3. Arby's
4. McDonalds
5. Apollo Burger
6. Eat a Burger
7. Subway

Favorite Sports Teams
1. BYU
2. Utah Jazz
3. Colts
4. LSU
5. Miami Dolphins

Favorite Food
1. Macaroni

Favorite Number
1. 9
2. 15
3. 11
4. 53
5. 16

Favorite Sports Players
1. Max Hall
2. Unga
3. Lebron James
4. Tiger

A trip down memory lane....

Trying to organize some photos today, I came across this and I almost
began to cry. I knew the Toledo kids would appreciate it as well.
Zachary was barely 4, think. Either that or 3?

Intensity

Check out the focus in those eyes!! The other day the two guys wanted me to pretend they
different things and they would pose. For example, angry little boy, tough football player,
funny clown, etc.

Here is the latest they have come up for freethrow shooting basketball player.

Intensity

Hazel and Dad, January 9, 2008

Happy Birthday Hazel!!
Hazel turned 1 yesterday. I know everyone says it, but of my goodness time has flown by! Cory made her a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. There was, of course, pink accents. At first she was a little apprehensive, just dipping her little fingers into the frosting. She began with just one hand, but soon figured out that it would be much more efficient to use both!!

At 1 she has been crawling for about 3 weeks, she loves baby dolls, any kind of animal. She is currently very into facial expressions and animal noises. She scrunches up her face when she smiles, it is so not cute, that almost is cute, does that make sense? She is also trying get her "blue steel" look down. She pushes her eyebrows down and gives you the look. A lot of the time you find her crawling after the dog growling. You might think she is smart, but she makes the same noise when you say "ducks go quack, quack"

We love our big-ger Hazel!