TEAM DEGRACIE!

Blaze

2011-05-04T11:43:00.003-06:00

I know it has been a real long time but I can't forget this conversation I had with Blaze (7 yr old) and had to share.

He comes home from school and while we are doing homework, we has this conversation:

Blaze: So I don't have a girlfriend anymore.
Me: Why? What happened?
Blaze: We broke up.
Me: Who broke up! You or her?
Blaze: She did.
Me: What did she say?
Blaze: Just that she doesn't want to be with me anymore.
Me: I'm sorry. How do you feel about that?
Blaze: eh - I don't care. There a tons of others girls that want me.

I giggled inside at his confidence. Darren was so proud of him and told him he would have his choice of anyone he wants and more, which I can't say.

It was just great seeing his little shoulders shrug as he showed it was no big thing to be dumped - he would just get another.

Catching Up!

2011-02-16T11:08:00.013-07:00

I do realize that it has been almost a good four months since I have posted pictures but there are good reasons for that. Here are a couple of excuses, even if you don't like them. We spent Thanksgiving in Arizona after cheering Darren on at his first Ironman. We sold our house and had to move out days before Christmas Day. I spent every minute either packing boxes and the storage unit, looking for a place to live or shopping and wrapping presents. Along with all the typical holiday parties at school, work, church and family. AND unpacking all of our stuff into a much smaller home for the time being and getting it all decorated so that it felt livable. Blaze had a birthday - he turned 7 years old - crazy!!! Darren and I spent our Christmas present to each other in Vegas in January - a much needed vacation. We have also had a couple rounds of sickness = strep throat, sinus infections, runny nose, cough etc. AND been involved in wrestling matches, swim team practices, Jr. Jazz basketball games, piano practices and recital, drama, scouts, so on and so on and so on. Sometimes I feel we are TOO busy and spread too thin. We also helped in creating a more than successful adoption 5K fundraiser for Colin and Ranie's new baby. I am hoping with the holiday season over - we can slow down a bit and catch up.

SO......where do I start. Oh - I forgot to tell you that I lost all of our pictures from 2010 so I now only have what I have posted - which you know isn't much.

Here are a few pictures from our visit to Arizona. Darren competed in the Ford Arizona Ironman in which he swam for 2.4 miles, biked for 112 miles and ran 26.2 miles without taking a break. He completed all of this in 13 hours, zero minutes and 40 seconds. Absolutely amazing. We are more than proud of him and this amazing accomplishment. He finished much faster than he thought and after the race, realized he could have taken off a good hour from his time if he didn't get that flat tire or the numerous bathroom breaks he took. The kids were great sports including baby McKay, only 8 months at the time. We were up at 5:30 in the morning and didn't crash that evening until midnight. The weather was horrible which made us trapped to our vehicles but we had fun anyway. We had shirts made so that you knew who was on Team DeGracie and we cheered as loud as we could every time we saw Darren coming. Needless to say - he received many gifts from us for Christmas and his birthday related to the Ironman. He now has a bound book of pictures made by Ranie, a framed collage of photos and a professionally framed collage of his picture, bib, medal and plaque. Our family room definitely has an Ironman decor going on right now.

While we were in Arizona, we visited with family and friends, went target shooting with our bows, ate a lot of food, played a lot of games and went on a hike. The boys love it in Arizona and we have had so many discussions about moving there.

Can you tell which one is Darren?

Blaze has his 7th birthday and got to choose were we ate dinner that day and what we did for entertainment. He chose Cafe Rio for dinner, of course, and bowling for his activity. Here are a few pictures of that day.

Super Bowl Sunday! Darren childhood team was in the Super Bowl so we had to get all dressed up. We had signs, balloons and logos all over the house. Tons of food, family and candy. Here is a peak of what we looked like.

Run For Love 5K. Darren helped Colin and Ranie put together a 5K run/walk to raise money to help with the adoption of their new baby. It was on February 12th and we had an amazing turnout. I think it turned out bigger than they had planned which is well deserved. We spent a lot of time getting it all pulled together. I was quite busy with registration and timing that morning so I didn't get great pictures but here are a few of the beginning of the race. You can get an idea of how many runners there were. Canon ran the race as well and finished in 46 minutes. We are so proud of him. I video taped him crossing the finish line. I am sure he grateful for it to be over.

Valentine's Day:
Canon had to make a Valentine's box for his class but they decided to make it a competition within the 5th grade. He came up with the idea of making his look like Reese's peanut butter cups. Here is a picture of the final piece. He ended up winning the top award, Best of Show, for the best box in all the 5th grade. He has had a few self-esteem building moments lately which I am very grateful for. You should really see this in person - he did a great job.

We also had our annual cookie decorating contest but the cookies didn't turn out so we changed it to cupcakes at the last minute. We each decorated several cupcakes and then chose 2 to place in the contest. Our Arizona family members are the judge. Apparently my "I Love Dan" and "I Love Don" cupcakes weren't good enough to win. Pierson's frosting drop actually won so simplicity and then Darren's and Canon's won for creativity. I think we need new judges personally. Anyway - here are few pictures of our evening.

Pledge Follow Up!

2011-02-16T11:04:00.002-07:00

So - the pledge posted previously was something I thought Canon had to write for school. Apparently it was a pledge that he wrote for D.A.R.E. graduation and was entered in a school wide contest. His essay was chosen as the best essay written by a boy so him and the girl winner will get to read their pledge at D.A.R.E. graduation in front of the whole school on March 1st. He was pretty excited but gets more and more nervous as the day gets closer. I had no idea and offered him no help when writing his essay. I am even more proud of him now after finding out how great it actually was in comparison. I am so proud of my little student.

I love a good pledge!

2011-02-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

D.A.R.E
D.A.R.E is awesome because we learn so much and have lots of fun learning. Every time we have D.A.R.E I always go home and tell my mom what we did, saw, and talked about. When our teacher would say we have D.A.R.E tomorrow I get so excited to see what we get to do. D.A.R.E is a great program for kids to learn not to do drugs or violent stuff.
I have learned how bad people look when they do drugs, what happens to them, and what they do. When we look at pictures of what happens to people around people who do drugs and when people get drunk. I have also learned how much trouble people get into when they do violent stuff like hurting someone or their home. We have talked about how many people get into lots of trouble and what for. These are some of the things people do that we heard. They do vandalism, robberies, make fires, get drunk, and lots more.
I think it is important to be drug and violence free because I don’t want to get into trouble or make my face and other stuff look bad. I don’t want to be arrested for violence or getting drunk. I also don’t want to tell people when I grow up that I did something bad when I was younger. When I get older I don’t want to look bad and have people look at you and think you are a bad or gross person when they walk past you.
I pledge to be drug free, make wise decisions, and to not let anyone control me. I also pledge to not get into any trouble anywhere I go. I pledge to stay far away from alcohol, tobacco, and all of the other drugs. I promise to do my best to tell people to not do drugs and violent stuff.
By,
Canon DeGracie

Vegas Baby!

2010-10-20T00:10:00.014-06:00

We did it again. We had so much fun the first time we thought we would go back! We traded our Park City timeshare for a week in Las Vegas - mostly just because of the sun and palm trees but don't tell my husband. He thinks it was for the bare skin and gambling which we did see a lot of.

We spent a couple of days with Pierson's favorite people: Jaden, Uncle Dan, Becky, Ranie, Colin and McKay. The DeGracie family joined us for a day at Circus Circus filled with tons of fun on roller coasters and scary rides(see pics of Pierson) and another day soaking in some sun and then enjoying a late night show (KA) followed by yummy dessert. We have the best time with this family. We missed Jake but made sure we had dessert that night considering it was his 20th birthday.

We then spent a couple of days with the Maughan family enjoying a walk on the Strip, the M&M factory, the Coke building, the Arcade (came home with tons of junk toys not worth the money spent on the games), saw a guy have a heart attack while crossing the road and we are pretty sure he didn't make it, went to the Bellagio to view several water shows, rode the roller coaster at New York New York, and spent another day at the pool.

We played lots of games, watched lots of movies, ate lots of candy, chips and soda (which is a must on a vacation) and had LOTS of fun. The weather was incredible, the company was so fun and we had the best time. Below is the proof:

McKay loving the lights and sounds of Vegas but not the smells! He loved the water show! He did so good for the crazy schedule we had him on.

Just so you know - Darren had to pay these boys in order to get them to stand next to them. I hope it stays that way.

McKay having a good time laughing at his cousins. They drown him with attention and fight over holding him!

Me holding on tight to make sure Blaze doesn't fall into the Bellagio Lake.

Me and my baby!

We didn't know Darren and Colin were here as a couple until pictures proved otherwise. Too funny!

I should be the professional photographer for the Bellagio - don't you think? I'd take that job!

Dinner at the Rainforest Cafe! Pierson wasn't fond of the moving Elephant.

Hanging out at the pool!

Pierson chillin' without bottoms with his favorite uncle.

Pure joy! Nothing beats babies in a bubble bath!

Had enough of Circus Circus! It was the single most terrifying day of his life. We made him ride every ride once, had to cut the roller coaster ride short due to excessive crying, and didn't stop telling us that his tummy didn't like it.

Look at the terrified look on his face. Isn't that so sad? What is worse is Blaze's face - he is enjoying Pierson's pain.

Not cooperating for the camera - of course.

Crazy Uncle Dan - Pierson's favorite!

Beautiful Aunt Becky!

We found a Pierson-friendly ride finally.

Just one more horrible ride he had to endure.

And So It Begins.....

2010-10-19T23:14:00.004-06:00

Football! Well, Flag Football - but only because he isn't old enough for pads. When we first told Blaze he would be playing football this Fall he was so excited. As soon as we said it wasn't tackle football with helmets and pads - he started throwing his arms up in disgust that there was even such a level of football in which you didn't get to tackle. He didn't think he could restrain himself basically. Well - the season started and he did so good. This one will be our Darren clone. He wanted to play every position that would get him the ball. It was so fun to watch. And when practices were over - he couldn't stop talking about how much he loved it and when his next game/practice would be. I think we have found his passion. He loves it so much - he endured a 7-hour drive to Colorado just to watch a Navy vs. Air Force game and turn around after the game to drive the 7 hours back. He is only 6 years old - crazy.....

Anyway - he scored a touchdown during his first game (so proud) and threw a touchdown pass in the second (more proud). I was able to take a few pics of him in action. So sad the season is already over.

Check out his tongue - he is really getting in to it!

Tragedy One, Two and Three.....

2010-09-28T15:13:00.007-06:00

Let's begin with tragedy #1:
We had arrived home from church on Sunday afternoon to see a giant yellow smoke cloud coming from behind our mountain. We didn't feel too threatened by it so we went to my grandpa's 83rd birthday. On our way home, around 9:00 pm, we realize that the fire had made it across the ridge of the mountain and was headed straight to our house. We found we were not allowed in to Herriman city so Darren took the back roads through Bluffdale, dodging police officers so that we could get home in time to grab our dog and a few priceless items. We arrived to find the entire neighborhood had been evacuated and we were the only ones still home. We grabbed what we could in less than 20 minutes and drove to the safety of Ranie's house.

At this point we didn't know what was going to happen to our house and realized we hadn't grabbed everything that we had wanted to. Darren took the boys to my parents to sleep while I stayed until 4:30 in the morning at the bottom of the hill to watch my house burn down. I took several pictures and just knew from where I was standing that the size of the fire meant homes were being destroyed. Thankfully by the next morning we could tell that they had saved all but three. Unfortunately the fire was not contained so we were still evacuated until late Tuesday night. When we arrived home, we found our house to be in good condition aside from the smell and a little dust. We had the house surfaced cleaned and the filters changed but we are finding that we need a little more deep cleaning than we thought. The air quality hasn't been the best and we all have breathing/coughing, throat issues that we are trying to work out. Aside from that - we are extremely grateful to the firefighters that saved our homes. They were amazing and there were so many of them. The fire came right into my neighbors back yards but never touched the homes. It is truly a miracle.

Below are a few pictures of how close we came to losing everything. If you don't know where our house is, we are the second street below the black mountain so only 3 houses away from the flames - about a football field length away. We are certainly thankful for our home and all of our treasures but most of all that we made it out okay and together and realize that we can make it together as a family through anything.

Next, tragedy #2:
Saturday night around 5pm, we had planned for my family to come over for the last BBQ of the summer. I had been outside talking to neighbors about the smoke damage to our homes as family started arriving. All the kids in the neighborhood were running around our feet as usual. After while we all stated that we needed to get to our families and our next door neighbor, Amy and Brady, were going to her parents for dinner. They loaded up their kids, locked up and left for dinner.

I went inside to help with the preparations and realized that I hadn't seen Pierson for awhile. We all casually looked around the house thinking he was hiding which led to us looking outside in the yards. After an hour of looking through homes, yards, the park, the streets - we decided to call the police. They arrived, took pictures, our statement and then asked to search our house as well. Meanwhile - we had about 30 people out searching as well as others in the ward making calls. Still no Pierson. We knew what he was wearing and that he was barefoot and knew that he has never left the neighborhood or walked off. This led us to believe that he had been taken - which is absolutely my worse nightmare. I wanted to make sure he wasn't next door before the police issued an Amber Alert but we couldn't get a hold of the neighbors by cell to make sure he wasn't there and the police would not break in without a warrant. After 2 hours of trying to find Pierson - I finally got a hold of Brady. I asked if he minded if we entered his garage to look around and when he wasn't there, we asked if could enter the house. As soon as I opened the door I could hear his cries. I dropped the phone and ran upstairs to find him sitting in the corner crying uncontrollably. I finally burst into tears knowing that my son was safe and in my arms. The search was off - we had our baby. It took us a half hour to get him to stop crying, as well as myself, but he eventually was able to tell us what had happened.

In his broken language he told us that he followed Maddie inside to get a treat. She went outside but he didn't follow. They left and when he went to go outside through the back door, Zeus, the 15 year old Rot Weiler dog barked at him and scared him. He ran upstairs to hide by shutting the door behind him. He cried the whole time especially when he heard me yelling his name from their back yard.

It is such a blessing to know that he is safe and there isn't a better place for him to have been during those 2 hours than next door to me. I am so grateful that I was able to find him and grateful for all the people that were so willing to search for him. We are very blessed. I can't imagine my life without this precious little boy.

And lastly - tragedy #3:
Sunday evening my Dad had told me that my Grandpa wasn't doing very well and that I should try to go see him in the next couple of days. I asked if it would be okay if I stopped by on the way home from work since they had my kids for the day. I had wanted to go a week earlier but had been caught in the fire and being evacuated and never made it over there. So yesterday, Monday, I made plans to visit him after work at 6pm. I had sent several emails to Darren stating that I feared I wouldn't have enough time to see him and that it would be too late - the latest email being 12:18 pm. By 1:30, I received the call that he had passed. I cannot even tell you the pain I felt at that moment. I was 5 hours too late. I will never forget or forgive myself for not listening to myself and knowing that I should have stopped by on Sunday evening regardless how he felt. I immediately rushed to his side to say my goodbyes, cried for hours and didn't leave until they came to get him. I have never cried in pain like this before and hope to never have to again. It was so unexpected and sudden and I wanted to tell him how much I loved him. He is the most amazing grandpa, always willing to listen and be supportive. He is caring and genuine and never thinks or talks about himself - just always concerned about others. I will miss him everyday of the rest of my life. I love you Grandpa!

Hopefully with everything we have been through - many things not even mentioned - we can take a deep breath and have peace for awhile. What doesn't kill me will make me stronger! Let's hope!

August and September!

2010-09-25T15:28:00.017-06:00

I realize it has been so long since the last post and I am probably overwhelmed with what to write about but I thought I would give you an update of the last two months. Beware - it might be lengthy.

We celebrated our 15th anniversary, we went camping with family, we played with cousins, we have a firework show, Darren raced in his first Half Ironman in preparation for the real Ironman, played indoor soccer but shouldn't have, and me and a few of my cousins/brothers participated in the Red Rock Relay. Wow - we were busy. OH - and we can't forget being forced to evacuate our home as the fire came within 100 yards from burning down our house.

Here is our summer in pictures:

Darren and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. Unfortunately we didn't get to vacation somewhere exotic to make it all worth while but hopefully we will do something next year. We decided this year not to exchange gifts but the both of us got each other something anyway. Darren had spent all June and most of July in Arizona so he sent me his gift before he got home. He sent me a picture of himself at the age of 18 stating "he didn't want me to forget what I married". You can guess what that meant. In turn - I had asked an amazing illustrator friend to draw a portrait of me for him so that he never "forgot who he married". Pretty funny huh? That we would both give each other pictures of ourselves - or is that not funny but vain? Anyway - it was too funny opening each others "pictures". He also surprised me with an industrial sized snow cone machine which I absolutely love. While he was in Arizona, Pierson and I went to the local slushy hut once a day for weeks until Pierson begged me NOT to take him anymore. Which is okay now that I have my own and can make one whenever I want. See the pics:

We were lucky enough to have some of our DeGracie family up with us to celebrate the 24th of July. Becky and Jaden were up here for soccer camp so we bought a bunch of fireworks, had Colin, Ranie and McKay over and had the best little firework show ever. It was especially exciting for Jaden since she comes from Arizona and is not allowed to light fireworks - not even sparklers. You can see the excitement as she tries to write her name. This is also the first year we let Pierson hold his own sparklers so they had a lot of fun.

We are more than excited to finally have cousins on the Carlson side and have tried to spend as much time as we can with them. Kaylee has spent an evening camping with us as well as coming over once a week to get to know my boys. I absolutely love taking pictures of her and can't wait until we can play Barbie's, dress-up and do our hair/nails/make up. April and Josh will probably end up hating my influence but I have such a need to be a mommy to a little girl! Can you blame me? Who is more girly than me? The boys are so bugged with me when I make my way to the little girls section and start looking through the clothing racks. If I was only made of money.... Here are a few adorable pictures of sweet Kaylee.

McKay is my special little buddy that I would consider mine but Ranie won't let me have him. He is such a cute little boy with such a fun personality, He loves to yell with excitement, loves attention, loves to look at himself in mirrors, LOVES my boys which I am so grateful for and doesn't mind my unstoppable kisses. We just love that he is a part of our life and that he has brought so much joy to Ranie and Colin. We love every minute we have with him. Here are some cute shots of McKay. He is notorious for NOT smiling for the camera yet he is always so full of smiles. Isn't he just so kissable?

Camping - what can we say? We love it. We obviously didn't do enough of it this year with the boys being in Arizona longer than usual and the many races on weekends we had but we loved the time we did get. There is nothing better than sitting in a chair under a blanket of pine trees up in the mountains with family. I would do it every weekend if I could. The best part of camping is the campin' jammies. We each have footy pajamas that keep us so warm. We got to spend some time with Joni and Garrett roasting ginormous marshmallows and spent a weekend with Ranie, Colin and McKay in the most awesome camp spot. We hiked, played games, a ton of games, napped, searched for walking sticks, stayed up late, ate great food (food is always better when your camping, especially breakfast). Here are a few shots of us camping. We also invited J.T., Canon's friend since birth, to stay the night with us. They had such a great time.

Darren's Half Ironman: Darren competed in the Utah Half Ironman and finished with a time of 5 hours and 53 minutes which included a 1.2 mile swim in open water, a 56 mile bike and a 13 mile run (half marathon). It was amazing!!! He has been training for something bigger and did such a great job on the Half. We were so excited to be there for each transition but made for a really long day. We were there at 5:30 am waiting the for race to start and didn't leave until 1:30 pm. We are so proud of our daddy and how much training and work he has put into these races.

And finally - the Red Rock Relay. You probably know all about this already but I have to mention how awesome it was to be together with family in this competition. It is very Taylor of us. We competed in a 186 mile relay race that lasted 28 hours, each of us with 3 legs of the race at various lengths. I had so much fun being with my cousins, chatting, taking pictures, moaning about the pain, trying to sleep, failing to eat, and finally running in together at the end. What an accomplishment. I am so proud of my family and excited to see everyone again! I can tell you that I have not jogged one bit since the race! Here are some shots of our amazing team!

More From Arizona!

2010-07-13T14:41:00.006-06:00

Remember last year and Blaze? The Mohawk? Ya - same concept - different son

Poor Canon! The first thing his Dad did once he got to Arizona was this....

Then this.....

And then he made him wear for one whole day. Even to swim team. All for $30! Poor Canon!

Here are some great photos of the boys at their meets taken by their Uncle Dan. Aren't they great? Boys are so handsome!

For Memory Sake!

2010-07-12T23:48:00.002-06:00

Just wanted to write this down so I don't forget.....

So this last Saturday I blew up Pierson's swimming pool so he could mess around while it was hot. He has been excellent about potty training and knowing when to go to the bathroom. So....he jumps out of the pool and tells me excitedly that he needs to go to the bathroom. He didn't want to pee in the pool so I ran inside to grab his portable toilet so that he can go to the bathroom. He takes his suit off, goes pee, pulls the pee tray out of the toilet and then dumps it in the pool. I started to laugh - he didn't want to pee "in the pool" but he was okay with the pee in the pool. Too funny!

Puppies!!!

2010-07-10T00:02:00.005-06:00

Who doesn't like puppies right? Just thought you wanted to see how cute my babies are getting. They are 5 weeks old and have started to eat puppy food now. They are running around, play fighting, growling and barking. I can't believe that in 3 weeks - I will be adopting all of my babies again. I hope they go to as good of homes as the last bunch. I haven't named these ones yet but I will soon so if you know any cute puppy names - let me know. I have two males - one is black and one is brindle - and three females - two are black with white feet/chest and one is brindle. Cute huh?

Summer In Arizona

2010-07-09T23:16:00.006-06:00

So the boys have spent the majority of the summer in Arizona, in fact, they are still there. If you don't know - Darren takes them every year for about 6 weeks so that they can attend as many camps as possible. They are on swim team, in book club, kids club (arts & crafts), basketball camp, tennis camp, football camp and movie club. Fun huh? Darren spends the summer Pierson and I were lucky enough to go visit them for a couple of days. We spent a lot of time swimming and hanging out together. It was the best. Here are a couple of pics from our trip.

Meet our New Neighbor & A Puppy Update!

2010-06-21T20:44:00.005-06:00

It was Saturday morning and we heard the door knocking frantically. Our neighbor had come over to tell us to keep Tink inside because we have a visitor living across the street that may or may not be dangerous. If I haven't said before - we have an adorable family of chipmunks living in our pine trees. This is in addition to the 2 nests that have hatched at least three babies each and another nest that is full of eggs still to hatch. Anyway - I look across the street to find the most adorable baby raccoon trying to get inside the house to get away from us stalkers. He tried to scale the house to get further away but ran into a dead end. I ran and got my camera to document it for the boys who are away right now. Isn't he just so cute?

So my puppies are growing up so quickly. They are twice the size they were two and half weeks ago at birth. They just recently started opening their eyes which are amazingly blue right now. They have started to make little peep noises to let me know they are there. They each try to get up on all fours but seem to have had a little too much to drink. They won't master walking for a couple of weeks. I love them just as much as the first batch. It is so fun to have puppies.

Pierson thinks they stink a little though and he lets me know.

I have little children lined up at my door each asking if they can hold a puppy. How do you say NO! NO! NO! without sounding like a mean old lady? Anyway - they are awesome and Tink is still being an incredible mom.

Why Does It Take So Long To Post?

2010-06-13T22:24:00.015-06:00

Good question! So much has been going on. Maybe it is because it takes to long to upload pictures?

Well - here is a quick run down of what we have been up to lately:

Spending time with adorable McKay. He is so cute - we love him to death.

Darren held a 5K for his school and my entire family participated. I was able to catch a few pics of them running in. Thanks guys for participating.

Me and the boys dressed up as Indians for Blue and Gold Banquet (you know me and costume parties...). Give me any reason to dress up and I will make it a contest!

Canon was in a production called Wonderful Wicked Witches of Oz. It was 9 months in the making and he did an incredible job. He had several speaking parts and danced and sang a ton. He was so cute and we were so proud of him. Each time he did something - I cried with joy. I just love that he has found something he is so passionate about. It's awesome.

Darren completed an Olympic Triathlon in record time and we got to see him several times throughout the race. We are so proud of him. Bigger and better races to come....

I had another birthday....ouch! I finally got an ipod! I know - everyone has one but me! It's HOT PINK and I love it! (Although not pictured because the picture that was taken - I am completely oversmiling)

Pierson turned 2 years old!!!! What a cute little boy. He is such a joy and makes me laugh all the time. He chose an Elmo themed party and it was so cute. He was overly animated about his gifts which is so different from the other two - they hide it under crooked smiles. He is very active and keeps us on our toes. We love him to death. He says the cutest things, is even potty-training and fights me to be outside at all times. His best friend in all the world is our 8 year old neighbor next door - Maddie. He talks about her first thing in the morning and last thing at night. She is so great with him. He is at such a fun, cute, lovable age.

AND - we went on the bestest vacation so far!!! We went to Bass Lake with the Urmston's and my boys have said time and time again that this was their most fun vacation ever! We had a blast riding in the boat, being pulled on the tube, jumping off the dock, feeding ducks, going on a hike, playing games, killing a lot of spiders, eating lots of junk and soda, staying up late watching movies and laughing like crazy. We had such a great time and can't wait to do it again. Blaze even skied for the first time ever and he did amazing. I am so proud of him! Thanks Urmstons for letting us crash your family vacation - it was so much more than we expected! Love you guys to death!

And lastly - OOPS, SHE DID IT AGAIN! Yes. This is not a mistake. You are seeing puppies AGAIN. Tinkerbell surprised us by giving birth to 5 new puppies just hours before we left for Bass Lake. I was so thrilled to have been a part of it again. She is such a better mom this time around - the puppies are very lucky. They are so cute. I will have to post more when they open their eyes.

Anyway - I am sure I have left out a ton of things we have done but with only 4 hours of sleep last night - this is the best I can do. Sorry it took so long. Darren is on my case all the time. I will do better. That and I promise never to eat another Double Stuff Vanilla Oreo again!!!!

Spring Break - Filled With Typical DeGracie Drama!

2010-04-14T15:51:00.010-06:00

Okay - so Spring Break didn't go as we planned this year and unfortunately we didn't make it Arizona. The saddest part of this is that the boys missed their Uncle Donny's Easter egg hunt. That is all we heard about on Easter morning. Anyway - the following is a list of reasons why we didn't go and what we ended up doing during the week instead.

Reasons We Stayed Home:
1 - Darren had so many aerating jobs to do because the weather didn't cooperate the week before. It snowed 4 of the 7 days.
2 - Darren needed to finish (still not done though) painting my Dad's "flip-it" house in order for carpet, etc to be installed.
3 - My sister-in-law April and brother Josh was supposed to have their baby girl on the 8th and we didn't want to miss it.
4 - My sister Ranie dropped the greatest news on Friday before Easter that she would be adopting a new baby boy and would be getting him on Wednesday the 7th of April - one day before her birthday! What a present!
5 - Easter was Sunday and if we didn't leave by Friday evening, the boys would have missed the Easter bunny.
6 - Canon's birthday was Monday the 5th. He wanted so badly to spend it in Arizona - just to see what that would have been like!.
7 - Our dog Tinkerbell is in heat - AGAIN! She locked up with two suitors and we don't know what will happen. Please pray she does not get pregnant.

Reasons Why It Was A Good Thing We Didn't Go:
1 - Blaze got pink eye on Wednesday, Pierson got it on Friday and Canon got it on Saturday. Darren got it just yesterday. NICE!
2 - Canon had the stomach flu on Friday and was sick at both ends. Lasted all day but he was better the next day!
3 - Blaze got sick with the stomach flu on Saturday night while we were spending the night in a hotel. He threw up from 2 in the morning until noon the next day. Also NICE! He threw up in his shoe the first time so that helped a little! :)
4 - We would have missed Colin and Ranie surprising my family with the arrival of McKay into their family. The greatest surprise ever!
5 - Our new van has been giving us the flat tire signal for a month and each time we take it in - they say they can't find it. We took it to another dealership and they "fixed" 2 of the wrong tires for $250 bucks - still not helping the tire that has the leak. $250 for a patch job? We are now finding out that the tires will cost us $2,000 to replace! Are you kidding me?
6 - My Grandma had surgery which we only found out about a day before the surgery and we had to wish her well!
7 - We would have missed Acting Academy, Baseball practice and piano practice.

What We Did During The Week To Escape All The Drama:
Sunday - Had an incredible Easter Sunday with just us. Went to Mom and Dad's for dinner, Easter egg hunt (I lost) and dessert.
Monday - Canon spent his birthday at home, I was off work, we went to the Arcade, went to dinner and then he opened his presents from us. Pierson gave him DVD's of his favorite show iCarly, Blaze gave him New Moon and Space Buddies DVD's and Darren and I gave him a laptop! That night we pulled all the mattresses out onto the floor in the basement and stayed up late watching movies - it was one gigantic slumber party that followed to the next night. Might as well right?
Tuesday - Went as a family to see How To Train Your Dragon
Wednesday - Played at home, set up our "mandatory family meeting" where Colin and Ranie announced their new arrival. Decorated for Canon/Ranie's combined birthday parties. We opened presents, had cake and played Limbo. You should check out the pictures. Joni won with an amazing "limbo" measuring 33 inches off the ground. Shorter than Pierson. It was incredible. Garrett gave her a run for her money though - he came in so close and he towers over us all.
Thursday - Can't remember what we did here so I will have to fill it in when I find Canon. He always knows. I think that day was errand day - bank, Costco, post office, etc. I am sure I did something fun for them but maybe not. Oh ya - we took the neighborhood to the park and let them run around for a very long time hoping they would sleep for many hours that night.
Friday - Went to the Aquarium to see the new penguins but Canon got sick as soon as we got there so we rushed through and ran home. He was sick in bed the rest of the day. So sad....
Saturday - We went to Thanksgiving Point farm to introduce Pierson to farm animals. Canon and Blaze went to J.T.'s birthday party and then we all headed downtown to spend the night in a hotel suite, go to dinner, swim and then wake up and go to the zoo. This is the night Blaze got sick and threw up all night. We didn't get any sleep and let a nasty pink stain on the hotel room floor carpet. Woops!
Sunday - Instead of ending our Spring Break week by going to the zoo, we went home so Blaze could recover and we lounged around the house for the rest of the day.

All in all - we had a great time being together and welcomed all the crazy things that happened to us. After all - it wouldn't be normal if things worked out for us.

Enjoy the pictures!

Just Because I Love Him....

2010-04-14T15:14:00.003-06:00

Okay! I can't wait anymore!

2010-04-14T14:35:00.007-06:00

So I have such exciting news. I am sure you may all know that Ranie and Colin were able to adopt at record pace but I just want to show off how cute he is! If you haven't heard the story - you will have to check out Ranie's blog! It's amazing!

Anyway - I haven't been able to take pictures of him since last Wednesday but I am sure he is even cuter today. Here are a few photos of my little family with beautiful McKay.

What's even better about today is that my little niece was born this morning - 6 days past her due date. You will have to get the full details from Josh and April since it's their story but I have to brag about how adorable she is. My kids were so excited to rush to the hospital to meet Baby Kaylee. She is such a cutie with tons of hair and chubby cheeks. I love it! I am so happy to have newborns in our family.

Here are a few photos of Kaylee with my kids and of course, with her mommy and daddy!

One of those "You Had To Be There" Moments - By Blaze

2010-02-28T23:04:00.002-07:00

I know I don't keep up with the crazy things Blaze says but here are just a few over the last couple of days that I just can't pass up sharing. Please know that I cannot possibly write it as real and as funny as it comes across but just think of Blaze as you read this.

Scenario #1: Blaze is wrestling for the first time this season, he loves it and pretty much makes every kid cry. He calls me the other day after his latest win and says....

"Mom, I was just wrestlin' and then the kid started crying and I was like...what? why is he crying?....Why do I make every kid cry? I'm just wrestling..." Note that he says it with this total tuff kid attitude like he doesn't get what everybody's problem is.

He then says to me.... "I wish I could like, punch and kick and smash 'em to the ground and stuff" Please tell me this kid does not want to become an Ultimate Fighter.

Scenario #2: Blaze always invades my space while changing in the closet and I pretty much have given up all my privacy in this house of boys. They will obviously learn young. Anyway... Blaze loves to tell me how big my butt is and how jiggly my cheeks are and how my stomach sticks out farther than my chest does.... It's the best. Not only does he tell me - he has to poke me and jiggle me and shake what shakes so that it is self explanatory. He is very critical of how I look, how I dress and more specifically how I walk. He critiques how I walk and will show me what it is I am doing wrong while walking down the hall. Not sure this is a good thing. He tells me when my underwear is showing or when I bend over and he can see down my shirt. What do I do? I hope it ends with me and he doesn't even get started with girls he will end up dating. I must warn him now......!!!

Scenario #3: This is my ultimate favorite....
So the boys are getting ready for bed and Blaze asks his Dad in the most serious of voices. "Dad, what level of clippers do you use to get your hair like that?".... Canon and I totally bust up laughing. In all seriousness he asks again, "I mean, like, what makes you want to cut your hair like that, why can't you just cut it like mine and Canon's?".... Again, laughing hysterically. Darren tries to explain that he doesn't choose that for himself but it turns into - he uses a razor to shave in the reseeding look. Blazes questions why on earth he would think that looks good but lets it go. I cannot breath at this point. Blaze declares that he will never do his hair like that when he is a dad and maybe only when he chooses to do the mohawk again.

Scenario #4: Boys and farting..... I don't get it. I don't like it. I don't let them do it in my presence = if I can help it. Anyway - we are getting ready for bed and the boys start making farting noises with their mouths. Darren and Pierson included. He now is among those that finds it funny to make farting noises - UGH!!! So Darren asks to hear mine and so classically - I bust out a hand/armpit fart noise. Darren had no idea I was capable and the boys were stunned. "TEACH ME MOM, TEACH ME HOW TO DO THAT"... Oh no - what have I done. I don't think I really ever wanted them to know that I could do that. Oh well. Anyway - by the end of the night I was laughing so bad I was crying. It took us an hour to calm down. I truly love having boys - it is the greatest!

2 and 0

2010-02-03T12:51:00.003-07:00

Blaze is a wrestler. Against my will. Well - I think it is awesome that he is trying it but I am hoping he doesn't want to do it in high school and such. Not really wanting my son to have mangled ears.

Anyway - he had his first tournament and walked away a champion. He won both his matches, pinning the kid in his second match. I had never seen him wrestle for real before and he is awesome. Still a little timid but at least he gets the job done. He brought the first kid to tears because he was more aggressive than the kid anticipated. We are so proud of him.

Check out a minute of his magnificence....

Here are a few pictures of him in action pinning the second kid.

A Huge Thank You!

2010-01-27T17:30:00.003-07:00

I just wanted to thank my sister Ranie and my brother-in-law Colin for generously taking my kids over the weekend so that I could spend some time with my husband and my cousins. Our plan was to take them with us which isn't much fun do to when you are traveling by vehicle for 5 hours. Instead - Ranie and Colin stepped up and took my kids for the weekend. They even stayed at our house so the kids were more comfortable.

THANKS SO MUCH Ranie and Colin. You know how hard it is for me to leave my kids but you made me go without them and I appreciate it. We really need a few days alone. I can never tell you enough how grateful I am for you two!

So - the reason for the weekend?
1. My husband was running in the St. George half marathon with my cousin.
2. I was taking one of my puppies to Jaime and her family so they could take her home to California.

It was supposed to rain and snow the whole time but we made it there and back without any inclement weather. It didn't even rain during the race - although it was incredibly cold. Sunni, her kids, Michael, Jaime's grandma and me met Darren and Jaime at the finish line so that we could congratulate them and take pictures. And of course - my battery died just after Darren ran through so I missed the opportunity to take pictures of Jaime and Darren together. They both did really well and I am so proud of them - and jealous let's be honest.
Here are a few of the pictures from the race.

It's Been A Month?

2010-01-27T17:17:00.004-07:00

Wow - so much has happened in the last month and all of it NOT documented with pictures. Aside from Christmas of course. It's probably a little too late to post about Christmas and New Years but just so you know - we had an excellent Christmas this year and a fun New Year's Day. Blaze got a DS for Christmas and Pierson got the hand-me-down Gameboy so this is the boys playing their games over Christmas break. Apparently Pierson thinks he knows a bit about Canon's game and thought he could help him out.

I have had a very emotional month adopting off my puppies of course. Each one got harder and harder to say goodbye to. They have each gone to amazing homes and I am so grateful for that. We are now down to one puppy left. He is our most playful, energetic, full of spunk puppy with an awesome personality. We just love having him around but sadly can't keep him. He is not "marked" enough for Darren apparently. I do have to say that saying goodbye to Belle was the hardest. Which is weird since she was adopted by my cousin Jaime and her wonderful family. I know that she will be so happy and taken care of and that I will see her again but she was such a cute little puppy and we loved her. Here is Rascal - if you know of anyone wanting a puppy - he is awesome and available.

From this...

To this...

To this...

Puppies For Sale!

2009-12-24T13:04:00.004-07:00

Just wanted to let you all know that we have 3 boy puppies available - looking for a good home. If you know anybody seriously interested, please let them know. Again - the father is a 2 pound miniature yorkie and the mother is an 8 pound toy poodle. We are selling them for $650.00 each. Thanks for your help!

A New Tradition!

2009-12-23T16:30:00.005-07:00

This is probably the second time we have done this but we hope to continue it and make it a family Christmas tradition. We made Gingerbread houses - well - the boys did. Yes, we bought the pre-packaged, pre-cooked gingerbread house kits with all the frosting and candy you would ever need. Trust me - we tried it once before the other way and I would never do it again. The boys love it. Darren always pairs with Blaze, I with Canon. Pierson just ate the heads of the gingerbread men and ate frosting from the bag - yuck. The boys went to bed with a tummy ache and tried pinning it on my dinner but they knew better - it was all the candy and frosting. I think the boys get better and better each year. So very proud of Blaze - he did it all own his own - aside from putting the walls and roof together. Don't they look great? And edible?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLAZE!

2009-12-23T15:38:00.008-07:00

My Baby Blaze turned 6!!!

I can't believe that he is 6 already. It has gone by so fast. He has been such a boy and I love every bit of him. He is so into the snow right now, he actually sleds every single day after school. Thank goodness we live on a mountain. He loves Lego's, loves trucks and tractors, loves guns and LOVES playing the Wii, XBox and Playstation with his Dad. His favorite food is chicken nuggets, loves Airhead candy, has chocolate milk every night before bed and says amazing prayers at night. He is great with his little brother but not so great with his older brother. He is a little bit of a diva when it comes to his clothes and hair but we are working on overcoming that. It usually ends with Darren convincing him that boys don't care what they look like - which hopefully isn't true. Blaze loves sports and will be giving wrestling a try this January - against my will. He is such a sweetheart when he wants to be and is completely independent - which I love. Here is a look back at my sweet little 6 year old!

Growing Up!

2009-12-13T23:24:00.005-07:00

I am just amazed at how fast this little thing is growing. I didn't realize until I took this picture that my baby isn't a baby. He looks like a big boy now! Can you believe it? He is a ton of fun but a ton of work! We love him to death.

More of My Babies!

2009-12-13T15:26:00.008-07:00

Okay I know all you want to see is pictures of my puppies - I do too! They are getting so cute. They are now walking but look slightly intoxicated. They have opened their eyes and can see when we enter the room. It doesn't matter if they have just been fed or not - they run to our feet as if they are starving. They love to be held and the boys are so glad I have finally gave them permission to hold them - while under my supervision. They are still so small that I worry about them wiggling out of their hands. We weight them each week and each week they have grown 4-5 ounces. The biggest puppy is 18 ounces and the smallest is 14 ounces. I have taken tons and tons of pictures but it is hard to get good ones of black puppies. Any suggestions?

I love these little babies but I am sleep deprived. I hound Tink to be a good mom and feed her babies and I know she doesn't like me for it. I wake up in the middle of the night to make sure she does her feedings. Each time one of them makes the slightest little cry for help - I am up and running into their room. I bring at least one of them to bed with me each night which only makes Darren wish they were leaving sooner. :) We decided to name them while they lived with us so that we could figure out which one we were discussing at the moment. The boys love telling the neighbors their names, their characteristics, their markings, their personalities. It's awesome. This has been such an amazing experience.

No real drama since the birth though - aside from the hole in the wall vet clinic I accidentally took them to to get their tails snipped. We are just happy that they are playful, love to be held, walking around and eating well.

Here are some pictures - most of which I tried taking with one puppy in my hand and the camera in the other. Forgive me!

The Babies Are Here!!!!

2009-11-29T19:21:00.004-07:00

It was late Saturday night.....I knew the puppies were coming.... only a few moments left.....

Okay - so here is the story. It's an amazing one and has become one of my most memorable moments of my life.

Earlier that morning I had taken Tink's temperature just to see if today would be the day. Her temperature was 98.3 - the exact temperature needed to know that I had less than 12 hours before delivery. Darren is out of town - of course. We had spent the day decorating for Christmas, except for trees. That evening I put the kids to bed and made a bed next to Tink, began reading a book and waited. Within 30 minutes Tink's water broke. She was in labor. She started contracting but it took an hour before her first sac came out. Still no puppy. I called my neighbor for help - her dog was the one that got Tink in trouble in the first place so it only seemed fair she helped. :) About a half hour later - she finally pushed out the first baby. It was so traumatic for Tink, she went unconscious. I started to freak out watching my dog pass out, lay limp, eyes gloss over. She had a pulse so I shook her until she regained consciousness. Because she was out, the puppy was still in it's sack and would suffocate. We took over, ripped open the sack, sucked the fluid from the mouth, cut the umbilical cord, tied it with dental floss and cleaned off the puppy. Number 1 was here and it was so exciting. I was a new Mom and was so happy!

An hour later, we delivered puppy Number 2 the same way although this one came feet first. Each time, Tink would pass out - from exhaustion I am sure. Can you imaging pushing for an hour or more for each puppy? Ugh! She did so good and we are so proud of her! Number 3 and Number 4 came the same way - an hour apart.

Then came drama. Puppy Number 5 was not coming. It was an hour and half later and still no puppy. Tink could not push anymore. You could see the contractions but she couldn't push the sac out. I could see it crowning but I couldn't pull the puppy out. This one too was breach. I pulled the feet each time she contracted but she couldn't push hard enough for me to grip the puppy better. After an hour of this - I was desperate to get the puppy out. I had assumed the puppy was gone anyway being stuck in the birth canal for longer than an hour. I did the unthinkable and went inside Tink to pull the puppy out myself. I was able to reach the belly of the puppy and pulled slowly enough to pull it out. Unfortunately pulled to hard and lost the placenta, ripping the umbilical cord from the puppy. There was nothing to tie off and the puppy started bleeding. We couldn't stop it. Scary moment - Tink was "out" again, Puppy wasn't breathing, moving or crying and it was bleeding BAD. Somehow we got it to stop, rubbed the life into the puppy and it started breathing, crying and moving! Thank goodness! All five puppies made it - ALIVE. What an amazing night. We started at 11:00 pm on Saturday and finished at 6:00 am on Sunday morning.

Since Tink was not "awake" after the delivery - she didn't bond with the puppies. Instinctively she would have cut the sack open, pulled the puppy out, cut the cord herself and cleaned the puppy with her tongue. Instead - she had no idea what these were, where they came from and why we were forcing them on her. Because of this, I had to lay next to her every hour, place a puppy on each nipple and force her to breastfeed. Needless to say - I never went to bed that day. She didn't like them at all and growled each time they came close to her. Naturally I was freaking out! There was no way I could hand feed five puppies every hour for the next 6 weeks. The next day - I confined her to a small room with her puppies and only let her out to use the bathroom. It worked! She became a mommy. She started to clean them, feed them, lick them and snuggle with them. By the following day - she growled at me if I came close. I knew she would be a good mom. It took a lot of prayers though. She has been such a good Mom since but her barking has increased due to the protection issue. She doesn't trust anyone and follows anyone who walks in the direction of her babies.

So pictures don't turn out at well as I would have hoped. Seeing that they are black right now - they look blue in pictures. They are absolutely adorable and these don't do them justice. After a week - they range from 7 to 8 ounces - the fattest being the last little puppy that gave us such a struggle. I hope to take pictures each week so that you can see how cute they get. Their hair is starting to wave a little bit at their butt and their ears and starting to lift a bit. We had their tails snipped and dewclaws taken off so the pain is now behind them.

We just love them. I wake up in the middle of the night - each time I hear the faintest cry. It has been such an incredible time and we are thinking of actually doing it again. This time with warning!

Say hello to my little babies!

What Do You Get When You Mix......

2009-11-13T14:50:00.004-07:00

THIS

WITH THIS?

YOU GET THIS....

Yep - Tink is pregnant and we are expecting puppies.... 5 of them!

They are due in about 10 days and we are so excited. We hope she will be a good mom! The kids are really exited and are begging to keep one. We get to have them for 8 weeks and it will be so fun. So - if you know of anyone looking for a new puppy - I have Yorkiepoos! The father is a 2 lb. pure bred Yorkie and the mother is an 8 lb. Toy Poodle. They are going to be so small and so cute.

On a side note: we did not do this on purpose. In fact, we don't know when or how it happened. I mean we know HOW but seriously it was comical watching them try because Oliver is so short and wasn't even close and Tink sat there like she didn't know what he was trying to do. He must have snuck under our fence while we weren't looking. Regardless - we are excited. I can't wait to post pictures of my new babies!

Halloween!

2009-11-03T15:16:00.004-07:00

Well - we outdid ourselves this year. The best year yet - so we have been told. We LOVE Halloween. It is such a big deal for all of us to dress up together - we have had our costumes since July. We have already decided what we are going to be next year but don't ask us because it is a secret.

This year we went as characters from Pirates of the Caribbean. I was Elizabeth Swan (pirate version), Darren was Davy Jones, Canon was Captain Jack Sparrow, Blaze was a Buccaneer pirate and Pierson was a Dead pirate. We had so much fun although we didn't take enough pictures - always the case.

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

The Blue Thunderbirds!

2009-11-03T15:09:00.003-07:00

So this year I coached Blaze's soccer team. I had a team of 9 kids, 5 boys and 4 girls. We won about 50% of our games and I think the kids had a good time. At the end of the season I had a party at my house. We ate pizza, ate cupcakes, played a game, took pictures, and handed out trophies, pictures and treat bags. It was so cute and the kids were full of energy.

Went To Vegas BABY....

2009-11-03T14:40:00.008-07:00

The kids were off for three weeks and Darren had a week off for Fall break so we decided to take a vacation to Vegas - all five of us. We spent the week at the Tahitian Village on the south end of the strip. It was beautiful, brand new and tons of fun. It was set up like a condo so we had a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, living room, deck, etc. We spent 3 days at the pool & lazy river just relaxing. The weather was great for 5 of the 8 days. On the yucky weather days, we spent it indoors at the M&M museum, the largest arcade ever and of course, Circus Circus. Dan, Becky, Jake and Jaden joined us for the last couple of days and it was so much fun. The kids love seeing their cousins. We went to tons of shows which included: The Lion King, V Variety Show, Pet Comedy Show, Mystere, O, what else? We went to dinners and loved the Bellagio water shows.

Here are a few pictures from our trip!

Again from Blaze....

2009-10-19T15:50:00.003-06:00

So - we went to Vegas for the week with the kids (which I will have to upload pictures and blog about later) and this is the first thing Blaze says as we pull in and begin our drive down the strip.

He sees this billboard as big as can be and says....

"Mom, their belly buttons are really high up, they look like they are in the wrong place"

We start to laugh realizing that if their pants were pulled up where they are supposed to be - the belly buttons would appear in the right place. He has never seen pants pulled down so low although he didn't attribute that to the reason of the belly button placement - it was so funny. We started saying it was probably a freak show you could go to see men with odd-placed belly buttons. He bought it!

Typical Blaze!

2009-10-09T23:02:00.002-06:00

Sorry no pictures - just another something brilliant out of the mouth of Blaze.

So we have had issues with our yapping dog lately since the shock collar has been out of batteries. We have tried every shock collar they make and the only one that has seemed to work is the remote control kind. Well - it's tough to remember to latch it to your pants and wear it all day long so training isn't going too smoothly. We have tried timeouts where we lock her in the laundry room, we have thrown her outside, we even spank her - she just feels that barking at anything that breaths - including us - is most important.

It was the other night that I had had enough. The boys are sitting at the bar and I give them two options: either we take Tink's voice box out or we put her up for adoption.

Blaze misunderstands the "take the voice box out" for kill her and this is what he says....

"Kill her or give her away?, I say kill her". It was the funniest moment. Canon bursts into tears, Darren and I burst out laughing. He was just so nonchalant about it, not thinking his comment was off at all. This kid is just too funny. I could probably write something each day that he says that is just so cute and so funny. If only I could record these moments.

July, August, September..... catching up!

2009-09-18T09:34:00.021-06:00

So -I know I know! I need to update my blog. I think about it and I think about how overwhelming it is because I let it go so long BUT I do want some of you to know what we have been up to!

Hopefully I can do this in order but probably not!

July:
The boys came back from Arizona after spending countless weeks there. They were on the swim team there but hated the early mornings. They also went to Kids Camp, and Basketball camp. They loved hanging out with their cousins and Uncles!

Pierson and I went to Herriman days for the big firework show.

We celebrated Blaze's half birthday. I have always hated that this poor kid doesn't get to have fun outdoor birthday parties because of this December birth so we finally made the switch to half-birthdays. He will get one big gift on his actual birth day but we will celebrate with parties and friends in the summer. He loves the idea of two birthdays!

He chose a water party in the backyard. We had several pools, a slip-n-slide, water balloon fight (they all attacked Darren), squirt gun fights and a water race game. It was a lot of fun. Minutes before the party though - on July 6th - we had a massive rain storm. It was dark cold and raining and the kids were just showing up. Luckily after 15 minutes it passed and was sunny again - so random!

Took the boys to the splash park, several times.

Went to Carpinteria Beach for our Taylor Family Reunion.

Blaze hanging out with his most favorite person in the whole world - his cousin Ellie.

Blaze started Kindergarten - can you believe it? He is so big. Although if you ask him now - he says his favorite part of school is riding the bus, recess and PE. He IS his Dad.

August:
The beginning of many camping trips. Since we bought our trailer - we want to do nothing but camp every weekend. We are so lucky that just a half hour away we are in the most beautiful mountains ever. The boys love to explore, hike, hide, collect, etc.

The campin' jammies.

Pierson seeing a squirrel for the first time and not knowing what to think.

Feeding the ducks for the first time and being mesmerized.

Climbing rock walls.

Visits with Grandpa Taylor and Grandpa Carlson.

September:
Excited to be golfing and not miniature golfing.

Me with my Scouts at a Cub-O-Ree. Oh what fun!

Having a blast at Boondocks.

Puttin' on the hat, jumpin' on the jeep, wiping a snake - all boy!

Seein' a lady!

Pierson's "Uh oh" face.

Just random pictures below:

We have had a very busy, fun summer so there will be more to come. Sorry for the long wait.

We Finally Made It To Mexico!

2009-06-24T00:17:00.023-06:00

Can you believe it? A year and a half later and a new passport is what it took! We had an amazing time and there is lots to tell but I will keep it short.

Here is the pool that we lounged on most of the time - right smack in the middle of the pool. You never got hot because you were laying on the water - it was great!

There was lots to do. We swam, laid out, played Bingo, played shuffleboard and golf (I actually beat Darren once at each game), went on long walks through the jungle filled with wild animals (tried it at night - was the single most scariest experience of both of our lives), took cover from tropical storms, held a spider monkey, saw dolphins, sharks and a manatee, swam through an underground river made by the Mayan's, took tons of pictures of the Ruins, ate way too much food, saw lots of nightly shows and had the BEST time being with my BEST friend.

We stayed at a resort built around a Mayan village so everywhere you walked you would see these Mayan temples, alters, caves, homes, statues, everything... it was so cool. It even had an original stadium with pillars and everything where the Mayans would play fireball and some other game. We went to a "game" and watched the natives play in the stadium which was awesome. Basically they just built bleachers around it so that they could fit more spectators but it was all still in tact. Here are some of the photos we took of the Ruins near our resort and a few of the natives doing their traditional dances, chants and games.

After the picture above was taken - I went inside to take a look, only after waiting for a gigantic iguana to move out of my way, to be chased out of there by a massive bird. We both ran for our lives, and no - Darren didn't stop to save me.

Trying his best at modeling... not quite the photo shoot he probably imagined.

Part of the show... I feel bad because I don't have pictures of the heritage dances and such where they danced and sang, like the Mariachi band. I video clipped it all instead. There were about 12 different dances, all in different costumes, dancing to Mexican songs NONE of which we could understand but very beautiful.

What it looks like walking around the resort...

The golf course, well, sort of. It was more like miniature golf without all the lights, decor, traps, etc. A lot of betting happened on this green. Darren underestimated the putter in me!

Our beach front property...

The underground river. This is where we swam from the river down to the ocean in a underground cave they built to travel from the ocean to their village. It was very tight, sometimes extremely dark... only a few places opened up and you could see above - the trees and sunlight. It took 40 minutes to swim it and you could not imagine the hard work and years it must have taken. You couldn't escape because the walls of the openings where extremely tall. It was a little scary at times but very beautiful. In some openings they had alters were they gathered rain water and you could see how they tried to transport things. Too cool!

The largest greenhouse of rare and exotic flowers. This place was beautiful. I could have taken pictures of all of them but here are my favorites.

These are pictures of the wild animals I mentioned. They were free to roam around and half the time scared the crap out of us. They would just scurry across our path or fly near our heads or make interesting freaky noises. The iguanas were about the biggest things I had ever seen. They were everywhere and were huge. One time we took a narrow path to get back to our room and walked right into a tree with an iguana grasping onto it - right at eye level. So so scary - we both screamed and ran for our lives. The crab was so massive - we were just floating in the pool when Darren noticed the crab walking towards us. He got right in the pool within arms length from me. So scary again but cool to see one so big and up close. The macaws were everywhere too - mostly picking at each other but there were perches everywhere throughout the resort so you couldn't miss them. There were others animals too but more were too quick to take pictures of.

Funniest moment on the trip. The workers used these bikes that were used in the movie Nacho Libre - well Darren wanted to ride one so bad so he asked a couple of Mexicans if he could take it for a spin. I videotaped him coming around the corner yelling "NACHO" just like in the movie - it was so funny and everyone around was laughing but the best part was when the concierge caught him and came after him. Check out the video.

If you couldn't tell - we had the best time. Very relaxing, very beautiful, very humid - had never experienced that before.

Me and my best friend! Can't wait for the next trip!

My Bald Boys!

2009-06-24T00:07:00.003-06:00

I fear we have a family trend... all my boys have shaved their heads. Yep - even Blaze. The mullet is officially gone. They had to do it without me around because I couldn't bear losing it. I think they are still so cute. Notice Canon's lump in the middle of his forehead? Smacked it on a bar on a sandrail while at the cabin. Just took a couple of pics of my boys on the paddle boat.

Captain Pierson!

2009-06-23T23:45:00.004-06:00

Just wanted to share a few adorable pictures of Pierson "thinking" he was steering the boat on the lake in Arizona this past week. He is such a joy and such a cutie!

He isn't talking in English yet but he has his own language that I just love! He is close to running now - mostly away from me. He knows the word "NO" but refuses to listen to it. His latest thing is to pull you around the house by your finger NEVER letting go and pointing to things he wants. He eats pretty good but it is hard for me not to feed him junk since that is the only thing that comes in small chewable bites. He loves to be outside and will cry at the door like a dog to be let out. He knows the function of a remote and points it at the TV constantly.

He still takes 2 hour naps, just not when I need him or want him to. He is not too sure about swimming yet but loves the bath tub. He loves to read books and will tell me the story rather than listen to one. I think his absolutely most favorite thing to do is play with my cell phone. We are on cell phone number 3 right now. I have given him the ones he has broken but somehow he knows that it doesn't really work. He loves his brothers and loves to hear their voices. He chose his Dad over me when we returned from Mexico and I am not sure how to take that.

I just love love love him to death!

Just Checkin'

2009-06-07T18:53:00.003-06:00

I was just checking to see if I could finally upload pictures and I CAN!!!

Not much going on - Blaze graduated from preschool which was fun. He didn't sing the songs too much but he did a good job lip syncin'. He was pretty excited about the book his teacher put together about the work he had done throughout the year. He had the best teacher ever - her ideas were awesome and he wanted to go to school everyday. Too bad I can't say the same for Canon. Canon is out of school now and is so glad but will miss his friends. He starts a new school next year so hopefully he will make great new friends!

Pierson is just getting into everything as usual. He thinks he can drag me around by the finger and he's right. He is just too cute! I can't wait for my CA family to see him!

That's all I got right now! I need to start taking more pictures huh?

Memorial Day!

2009-05-26T14:16:00.002-06:00

Due to lots of things going and a baby being sick - we stayed home and enjoyed the sunshine. Darren cleaned out the garage, I planted flowers and the boys played on the slip-n-slide and on the bike ramp. I love spending a day getting things done but we were a little sad to not be spending it with family.

Here are a couple photos from our day. The flowers that I planted will eventually be so huge and cover the entire area - I will post a "after" picture in about a month. The pictures of the yard are just to show how great our trees a blooming and growing this year. Everything is bigger and better than before! I just love walking down our front path.

Hope you all had a great day!

OKAY - I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO UPLOAD PICTURES BUT I KEEP GETTING AN ERROR! I WILL KEEP TRYING AND TRYING AND TRYING!

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

2009-05-24T11:58:00.004-06:00

Well - this post is going to be a bragging post. But I have to say that I had a wonderful birthday and I have an amazing husband. It goes like this...

My birthday was on Wednesday and it was going to be a full day. I had taken the day off to volunteer at Blaze's school, take Pierson to the doctor, swim lessons for the boys and then Scouts. Not too exciting huh? Well - Monday night Darren drops a bomb. He has arranged for me to have Tuesday off as well - he arranged to have the boys taken care of for the day, the night AND the next day. My best friend took them Tuesday, Ranie took them Tuesday night and Wednesday. He arranged for me to get out of teaching preschool and scouts the next day. He told me we were shopping on Tuesday then heading to Wendover to eat at my favorite restaurant, staying the night then coming back and having the evening to spend with the boys.

Well get this - at first I said NO WAY. I cried for an hour claiming I just couldn't do it, couldn't leave the boys, couldn't leave my responsibilities, had to do laundry, I was coming up with every excuse. I finally realized all the trouble he had gone through to make this happen - I agreed. I have obviously lost my sense of spontaneity. My schedule being all messed up didn't sit well.

I had a great time though - our friends Kim and Kurt went with us and they made it so much more fun. When I told the boys the next morning - they wished me well and could have cared less that I was leaving them. Ouch!

Ranie and Colin helped them make Birthday cards for me and they turned out so cute. I can't take them down.

I had a great birthday - thanks to everyone who helped get me out of town! It was worth it!

Science Fair!

2009-05-24T11:49:00.003-06:00

Canon recently had a project due for the science fair - he was to create and design a miniature golf hole. He thought of it all by himself. It had a Madagascar theme so it was decorated with the Madagascar characters and a tree, a watering hole, etc. Darren and Canon constructed it and it took two whole night. They painted carpet, glued PVC pipe, spray painted boxes, etc. We are so proud of him and his creativity. We took his project in to the school Friday morning and then by the afternoon - parents were allowed to come see all of the kids entries. Let me just say that Canon had by far the largest hole There were a couple that were better than his but that won't happen next year - just ask Darren.

Here are a couple of pictures of the project. You had to hit the ball up the ramp trying to make into the hole on the box. If you made it - it would slide down a pipe in to a "hole in one". If you missed, the ball would go down the ramp and you would have to putt it into the hole from there.

He was excited for all the kids to see what he had made and his project was pretty popular! Too bad I won't let him keep it!

Random Pictures!

2009-05-24T11:45:00.001-06:00

Just thought I would post a couple cute pictures of my boys!

Not A Good Idea!

2009-05-23T00:20:00.002-06:00

So I realized a little too late that when you are waiting around for family to show up - it's not a good idea to pitch wiffle balls to your husband. It only took two pitches before I was struck right in the eye with a wiffle ball! He was aiming for the fences but my face got in the way. I immediately fell to the ground, lying on the driveway while Darren and the kids came running.It didn't take long to swell up but thank goodness it wasn't a real baseball. Each day my eye got a little darker, a little redder. Looked like I put on a little too much makeup on one eye.

Anyway - Darren was so proud of smackin me in the eye - he wanted it documented - here is the proof!

My Baseball Stud!

2009-05-17T00:13:00.003-06:00

Blaze has been deemed the best kid on the team and we are so proud. This boy is truly amazing when it comes to sports. He is such a natural that he doesn't even have to try to be good... he just is. Everyone is telling us how great he is at batting, throwing, running, etc. It feels so good to hear such great things from other parents when their kid is out there too. He is always placed at first base since he is the only one that can catch with his mitt, throw to the pitcher or catcher and touch the base when he is supposed to. He loves to play and makes us so proud to watch him succeed. I often wonder if we may have a professional athlete in our midst.

Pierson Lawrence Don DeGracie!

2009-05-16T23:43:00.006-06:00

Pierson has turned one! Today was his birthday and we had such a great day celebrating it! Last night he generously woke us up at 4:30 in the morning and we started talking about where we were at 4:30 in the morning a year ago. Pierson decided to come a month early and I went into labor in the middle of the night on May 16th. I was in denial of course, as I was with the other two boys when they came early. Once it started to hurt REAL bad I demanded to be taken to the hospital...hee!hee! At about 9:50 in the morning Pierson was born a perfectly healthy little boy!

So much has happened in just a year. It is so amazing all that a baby accomplishes in just one year. He gained a ton of weight, grew 6 teeth, feeds himself, throws a ball across the room, kicks any ball like a soccer ball, sits up, crawls, WALKS, can pick things up while walking without falling, can get up from the ground and start walking without the use of furniture, can say a few words, recognizes a ton of words and family members, torments the dog, sleeps through the night, well 6-7 hours anyway, and rules the house. We would do anything for this little boy. He can pour the dogs food and water out, empty the cabinets, pull everything out of the pantry, unravel the entire roll of toilet paper in each bathroom and empty the contents of the garbage cans and we still love him to death! He is such a cutie and we are so excited that he is ours! I am just so sad how fast it went.

For his birthday we had my family over for a barbeque. We had lots of food and a HUGE chocolate cake! He opened more presents than the days he has been alive and had cake in every crevasse. I think he did it on purpose because he LOVES to take a bath! He received lots of toys, the cutest clothes and some great books. Thanks so much for the gifts everyone....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PIERSON! You are so loved!

At the Park!

2009-05-12T17:21:00.005-06:00

We spent Mother's Day afternoon at the park with my boys. We had such a good time and it was fun to watch my boys play. I don't get to sit and relax and watch them play often so this was a special occasion. We played football, golf, soccer, baseball, played on the swings/slides and ate a picnic. I absolutely love being a mom and am so grateful that I have wonderful, kind, obedient boys - most of the time!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

2009-05-10T19:14:00.009-06:00

I just wanted to wish my Mom a Happy Mother's Day! She is so dedicated in taking care of all of us even though we are all grown up! She has always put her children before herself and continues to do so. She is still so beautiful and we love her tons! Hope you had a great Mother's Day mom! We love you so much and are so grateful to have you in our lives!

Blaze....

2009-05-09T17:14:00.001-06:00

Blaze: "When is Canon getting home?"

Me: "Not for a long time, he's running late"

Blaze: "How fast is he running?"

Out of the Mouth of Blaze...

2009-05-04T13:10:00.003-06:00

You may not find this as funny as I did but I have to document the funny things Blaze says. Half the time I cannot recreate it in words although I try.

So last night, we are hanging out on the boys bed, getting ready for prayers and such and without any hesitation Blaze asks bluntly and calmly... "Dad, why you bald?"

I started laughing so hard I was crying, tears running down my eyes hysterical. I wasn't laughing AT Darren or at the fact that he is bald because I know the sensitivity involved - just the way in which Blaze asked and so out of the blue. We weren't even on that subject but it just had to be asked. Darren placed his head in his hands until I could calm down and gently explained to Blaze that it just happened even though he didn't want it to and that once upon a time when Mom fell in love with him - he had hair. Lucky Canon could confirm with photos and also that he has witnessed his dad having hair as well.

Anyway - I got a good gut workout last night out of it and I quickly apologized to Darren for the spontaneous and obnoxious laughter but it caught me so right!

He has so many sayings I wish I had my computer with me at all times. I will have to remember what else got us laughing the other day as well. He is just too much!

Random Things...

2009-04-21T14:48:00.007-06:00

Well - it's been awhile. A lot has happened. But since I don't know where to start, I will begin with last week.

The boys spent Easter in Arizona while I stayed home with Pierson and spent the day with my family. Uncle Don had a huge Easter egg hunt with eggs loaded with money. The boys scored and were so excited with all the money they got. They went to another Easter egg hunt with money as well! What lucky boys! Pierson and I went to our traditional Easter egg hunt at my parents. I am excited to report that Colin was the loser even though I figured I would be since I haven't lost yet. Unfortunately none of these events were documented with photos - except for Pierson raiding my basket.

We all spent the rest of the week in Arizona and it was fabulous. It was so nice to get away from the snow and cold weather. We spent time with family, played a lot of Wii, went swimming, ate out a lot and enjoyed our company. We went to the Phoenix zoo and had a great time together. The boys were excited to see all the animals - this zoo is extraordinary compared to our zoo.

I mentioned before that Pierson is already walking. He walks like crazy. He bends over to pick up toys and can continue walking - it's amazing. He can circle around while walking and now hates to sit, crawl, etc. Today he decided to sweep while walking - which seems to be amazing considering the size of the broom. Hopefully he doesn't start talking soon either! Baby talk is so adorable.

Canon being crazy!

Blaze and Tink

My Baby Is Walking!!!

2009-04-07T14:49:00.003-06:00

What???

I know - he is way too young. My other boys didn't walk until they were 1 and I just don't know what to do about it. He takes about 7-10 steps at a time, walking from one piece of furniture to the next. Today is started making turns while walking, changing directions and all. I can't believe it but I am excited that he will be able to get around on his own.

I recently bought a walking toy to help him move around but after a week and a half - he was past it. He dragged it more than walked with it. I need to get it on film so that you can see because it is too cute. He will randomly walk whenever he wants but when you want him to perform - he won't. I will have to catch it without him knowing.

I just love this little baby!

I Have A 9 Year Old!

2009-04-07T14:32:00.005-06:00

I can't believe it! I never thought the day would come that my kids would be this big. We had a big bash this year to celebrate his birthday! The theme he chose was High School Musical.

He invited 12 friends to come celebrate at Willowcreek Middle school. Darren and I snuck down to the school the night before and pulled cafeteria tables into the gym. We decorated the tables, the walls, had balloons and even had standees of Troy and Gabriella. During the party we took "prom" pictures and "school" pictures of the kids - it was awesome. The kids played kick ball, stay off my lawn, balloon volleyball, scooter soccer, and we had an obstacle course. We ate pizza, opened presents and had cake and ice cream. After cake - the kids played Dance Dance Revolution to the songs of high school musical and each kid had a mat to play on. Darren projected the "moves" on to the wall making the screen gigantic and the music was loud. During the entire party - we had the songs blaring through the sound system in the gym which Canon loved. He helped create the CD just the way he wanted. It was so fun seeing the kids play and especially seeing Darren play "gym teacher" to the party-goers.

I took tons of pictures but couldn't figure out the settings for "indoor gym". Some pictures turned out and some did not. Here are a few of them!

I Can't Help But Laugh!

2009-03-25T09:22:00.004-06:00

Sorry if this offends anyone but...it's nature!

So - Tink has been expressing her instinctual "needs" at this time of year (if you know what I mean) with her pink pillow. It's a daily occurrence that happens throughout the entire day. It usually only lasts about 10 days but she can't seem to get enough.

What is funny about this is to hear the boys come up with some explanation as to why she is doing this. I am busting up inside. We haven't discussed why she does that for good reason but we have been saying lately that she must have an itch on her belly that she can't seem to get.

Why I decided to write this is because this morning Blaze comes running in to tell me that Tink was doing it again and hitting her head against the door in the process. Not only did he tell me about it, he SHOWED me what she was doing.

Sorry if that is awful but it caught me as funny first thing this morning. Nothing is too much for Blaze I have decided!

BEWARE!!! Graphic photos below!

My Boys!

2009-03-24T16:21:00.004-06:00

This was us Sunday afternoon....

Canon is sleep deprived and very emotional as you can see in his pictures. His dad continues to smother them and forces family snuggle/nap time on them. I made sure we were watching Planet Earth while dad napped so it wasn't forced upon them.

Pierson is a hefty eater and is always begging for food. Apparently he didn't like the feel of something on his tongue as I captured one of his pictures.

Blaze just loves attention and continually asks me which of my boys is my favorite expecting him as the answer.

The joys of boys!

Not A Good Month!

2009-03-24T11:22:00.005-06:00

As you can tell I haven't posted for awhile. And mainly for good reason. I have had nothing but bad things to say or complain about and thought it wouldn't be good but I am thinking what the heck - at least you will know that we are still alive. Here is what has gone down in just one little month!
* Blaze has had an earache and hasn't liked it one bit
* Tink cost us $200 in vet fees and turned out to be fine the following day - she was dropped by a neighbor and hurt her ribs, shoulders, arms, etc. Pain meds made her a new dog!
* Darren leaves at 6:00 am and doesn't come home until after midnight, sometimes even 2:30 in the morning. He has been painting a 7,000 sq. foot home one his own with a little help from Josh and Cougar. This doesn't help with Canon's situation!
* IT HAS BEEN COLD AND SNOWING HERE! Need I say more?
* Pierson has RSV and an earache and doesn't like getting his treatments. Screaming and sweating for 8 minutes every 4-6 hours is NOT fun for me either.
* Our car needed a new radiator and cost us $500. Where do we get that?
* Canon makes him so sick with anxiety that he throws up at least 5 out of the 7 days in a week. He sleeps on our floor almost every night. We are enjoying that.....NOT!
* Aerating season has started and Darren is gone every Saturday ALL day and then crashes the following day.
* My dad is sick sick sick and I hate not being able to do anything. We haven't been able to see him much because the kids have been so sick and contagious.
* My mom has a lot on her plate and I can't be there for her and it kills me.
* I had to take Pierson to work with me three weeks in a row. Thank goodness I have Ranie now.
* Canon's birthday is coming up and we are NOT ready for the biggest party of his life... as he puts it.
* I got a speeding ticket ON AN ON RAMP!!! My second one by the same cop in the same place!

This is just to name a few things that have kept us occupied. I did take a few pictures over the weekend and will post those shortly. Let's just hope April turns out better....

Our Little Walt Disney!

2009-03-06T15:12:00.002-07:00

So Canon's 3rd class had to choose a famous person to do an oral report on and part of the project was to dress up like him. Naturally Canon chose Walt Disney. He LOVED learning all about him and his movies. You could ask him any question and he could tell you. It was interesting learning about him. He wanted to make money on his movies just so he could make the next movie.

Anyway - Canon did a great job although I forgot to record it. I think once you worry about bringing the 5 year old, the baby, the stroller, the diaper bag, etc you tend to forget the video camera. I was so proud of him - he was confident, looked up several times and spoke clearly. Here is the cute little boy "being" Walt Disney.

First Haircut!

2009-03-06T12:22:00.003-07:00

Just so you know up front - the final product is not what I asked for.

Darren gave Pierson his first official haircut since birth. It was a kind of "here and there" hairdo so we decided to go for a cute, baby fauxhawk. Obviously Darren doesn't follow directions well because in the end, he ended up looking like him. Or maybe that was his secret intention. Who knows. All I know is he is a much cuter version of himself.

I Didn't Do It!

2009-02-24T17:16:00.005-07:00

So -

Blaze is having a tough time blowing a booger out - or so I thought! I keep hearing him try to blow his nose from the other room and I keep asking him if he needs help. Eventually he comes out of the bathroom crying and blood is dripping down his face. I ask him what is wrong and he tells me...

Blaze: Someone stuck a gun up my nose
Me: A gun? What gun?
Blaze: A toy gun
Me: Who stuck it up your nose?
Blaze: I don't know, someone did
Me: You did it
Blaze: I didn't do it - it just got stuck up there.

He keeps sucking it up the nose while I am begging him to blow out of his nose. After the third hard blow - the gun comes out along with a trail of snotty blood. Guess what my first statement was?

Me: Blaze? Can I take a picture?
Blaze: Sure, send it to Dad

At least this time we didn't have to visit InstaCare!

I Love The Teeth!

2009-02-24T17:00:00.002-07:00

What's cuter than 2 baby teeth? Not much!

Pierson is now 9 months old. I am really quite sad about it. He is a chunk weighing in at 23 pounds. He is crawling, pulling himself up, standing, eating from our plates, and yelling to make sure we can hear him. He clears out my kitchen cabinets daily, scales along the banisters and chews on the dogs' toys. Gross! He loves his brothers and makes the cutest face when he sees his Grandpa. He HATES the car seat and driving in the car (I know - WEIRD). He loves to feed himself, loves yogurt, hates veggies and still loves to be held. He loves to bounce up and down in your lap which makes for a good arm workout. His favorite time of day is bath time and throws a fit when we pull him out.

He is the best baby and I couldn't be happier!

Basketball Champs!

2009-02-24T15:47:00.004-07:00

Canon just completed his first season of Jr. Jazz and they finished 9-0. They were pretty excited but very humble. Canon plays with a great group of kids, NOT from our neighborhood which is why we would like to move into theirs....

He tried real hard to do his best and got better with each game. Not as aggressive as me and Darren are but we will get him there someday. Because of such a great season - they have been asked to play in a tournament which means about 4 more games. Then on to the next sport....this time for Blaze. We have decided to take it one kid at a time.

Here is his cute little team. They were so nice to him since he was the only kid that was new to the group. I wish there were boys like this out by us. We'll keep looking I guess.

My Sweet Boy!

2009-02-24T13:52:00.003-07:00

So - as you may notice, I have not gone private yet but don't tell Darren. I am just waiting for the next lashing before I actually do it.

I need to write this down so I don't forget but also to show you how precious children are and how concerned they are for their parents.

Ever since we found out that my Dad has cancer, Canon has been acting strangely. At first we thought it was because he upset that he might lose his grandpa and I am sure that that is also the case but it wasn't until last week that we figured out what was going on.

My poor little 8 year old baby has been suffering from anxiety attacks. He couldn't sleep, cried uncontrollably, wouldn't go to school and if he was at school - he would call to come home. He would stay up for hours laying in bed, refuse to get on the bus and wouldn't let us out of his sight. We started asking questions about what may be bothering him thinking there must be a bully or someone at school or on the bus bothering him. He said he had nightmares, bad thoughts, his head would hurt, his heart would race and he would make himself sick to his stomach. He eventually told us that he was afraid something would happen to US. He somehow associated my Dad's cancer with "this could happen to my mom". He wouldn't leave my sight, he had to sleep with me, he counted the hours that we would be away, etc... it was so sad. We have had to talk to counselors, take to his teacher and he calls us at every recess to check in to make sure we are okay. He really thinks that when we express our love to him, it will be the last time he hears it. It is just so sad to see him like this, with all this weight on his little shoulders. He cries at the second we tell him we love him.....

Last night was the first night he began in his bed but it didn't last long. Within an hour, he was laying on the floor at our feet in tears. He can't stand that he doesn't physically see his dad leave for work in the morning because he hasn't witnessed that he is safe. We have never felt so loved in all our life. This little boy has made me realize how much children love their parents. I hope that this doesn't last too much longer so that he can get back to his happy self but it has been such a great lesson for Darren and myself about love.

I love, love, love this little guy!

Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T21:54:00.005-07:00

We had a great Valentine's Day - hope you all did too! We loved hanging out as a family and ended the evening with a Valentine's Day Cookie Decorating Contest. Although we didn't know it was a contest until Darren realized he decorated the best cookies and announced the contest after the fact. We even let Pierson get in on the cookie decorating and he didn't even make a mess....ya right!

Hope you had a great Valentine's Day! We love you all!