A Soggy Easter

Well the beautiful weather we'd been having couldn't last through the holiday. About 3 days before Easter we ended up getting snow every night. We still had a really great Easter anyways. Chris' parents and brother Gabe came up to stay for the holiday. They came on Saturday and we went out to the Smokin Blues BBQ place in Providence. They had awesome BBQ with the exception of the ribs. they had good flavor, but were very tough. They even had fried pickles which were surprising but delicious. Their smoked turkey was unbelievable.

We hit the hot tub that night and watched "Where the Wild things Are." Which was pretty good, but could have been better in the plot arena. The monsters behavior was just very strange, and the storyline seemed to flail around for a purpose. The kids had fun though. They love hangin out with their Uncle Gabe. Cole had a tummy ache, and we were afraid he was coming down with something, but it resolved itself by morning.

Easter morning the kids were not allowed out of their rooms until 7:00 Gabe slept down in Cole's room with the boys and Cai kept pestering him to know when it was 7:00. At 7:03 they came to wake us up. After getting a sneak peak at Christmas, they all had to stay in the kitchen until I got the camera set up for the big reveal. They were very excited about the toys, not so much about their new church shoes. We went without the Easter Sunday clothes this year, since the boys have way too many dress shirts and pants already. Cate has too many dresses, but I did splurge a couple months ago at Gymboree and bought her one. Yes I am weak. Every year we say we're taking it easy, and then we don't and this year is no exception. Cai wanted a Wii dance game so we got the Dance Dance Revolution 2 with the floor mat. He was a little unsure about himself at first, but he seriously played it all day. He improved so dramatically it was amazing. Kids catch on so fast. All of us tried it, and I can tell it will be our families new favorite activity.

Cole is obsessed with the Lego Power Miners, so he got a big drill thing with a big monster. We also got him a Lego project container. He has about 20 lego things he's built on his dresser so they don't get ruined, so at least this way he'll have someplace to keep them.

Cate got a Zhu Zhu pet house and baby Zhu Zhu and a gift card for build-a-bear. She also played with her "pets" all day.

Then Grandma, Grandpa and Gabe gave the kids the Easter gifts they had brought. They got the boys a remote control truck and a hummer, and Cate got a new Barbie scooter. They absoloutely loved their gifts. They don't realize how lucky they are to be so blessed. After seeing the poverty of the children in Mexico, it was a little harder to enjoy all of our abundance knowing that others have so little. The little village where our B&B was had houses back along the river where the families didn't have running water and barely had walls. It really makes me feel ashamed, to look around at our excesses. I think I'm going to make a separate post about one of the families and see what we can do for them.

We had Easter dinner here. I made a smoked ham with dutch oven potatoes, homemade rolls, and asparagus, with a strawberry shortcake for dessert. It was the first time we put our dining room table together with the drop leaf table in the family room. I had always hoped we could fit the two together in the dining room for a larger crowd and it worked beautifully. Then we could fit twelve people around with plenty of room to move around. Chris wasn't thrilled about lugging the table over, but he'd be fine eating every meal over the kitchen sink if it were up to him. Men just don't get setting a nice table. I put out my white table cloths, chargers, my nice silverware, and glassware, and the whole nine. I LOVE that stuff! It's like playing tea party as an adult! Then we watched "The Testaments" before the Guymons had to leave. It was such a fun Easter! It was really nice having Conference weekend over Easter. I didn't get to dress the kids all up, but it was nice taking things at our own pace and not having too strict of a schedule. It would have been perfect if the weather had cooperated.

Happy Heart Day!

What is not to love about Valentines Day! Flowers, chocolates, little cards with adoring messages. It just makes a person happy no matter what. The boys have been waiting and waiting. Cai woke up at 4 a.m. and got in bed with me. He woke again at 6:30 and laid awake next to me until 7:30. Finally he says, "Mom get up! Today is going to be the best day ever, I totally can't wait to go to school." Believe me starting the day on that note was a blessing in and of itself. I'm usually pushing and prodding them along amidst angry grumbles about when the next vacation day they will get.

So to my favorite Valentines in the whole world. Here's what I love about you:

Cai

Cai you are so easy to love, you have a such a sweet sensitive personality. I love that you are always looking out for the needs and feelings of others. I love to watch you when you are imagining something. You get so quiet and thoughtful you can almost see the stars in your eyes. I love your dramatic personality. You can really ham it up, and I love your great sense of humor. I can always count on a goofy expression on your face and a funny one liner. You are also so talented and creative. I love that you enjoy painting and drawing and build things just like me. We love you so much and are so happy that you are a part of our family.

Cole!

We should have spelled your name with an exclamation mark on your birth certificate! I love your sparkle and zest for life. You are always so passionate about whatever you are doing. One of my favorite things is watching you play the Wii. Your bouncing, jabbing, jumping, punching air karate, is so much fun to watch. I love that you leave your heart wide open
and put it all on the line for your friends and family. You just care so deeply, it makes my heart ache when you are dissapointed. You live life at one volume and that is loud! I love that you are so focused and particular when you are doing something. You always try so hard to do things exactly right, whether it is coloring, sports, puzzles, games or Wii. I just know that your focus and tenacity will really take you places.

Cate

Little did we know after naming you after TWO queens (Catherine Victoria) that, that was just what we were getting... a little princess. I could hardly believe my ears when shortly after pronouncing "mama" for the first time "shzzzzzz (shoes)" was soon to follow. Your preference for pink

started before you could even crawl, and we can't get away with a single outfit that isn't slathered in pink. You are trying to grow up so fast it makes my heartache. I love that you know what you want and do everything you can to get it. Your persistence, determination and creativity is exhausting at times, but I am certain that those are the exact qualities that will lead you to greatness. You don't take no for an answer. You know what you want and you go to work getting it. I can already see your talents coming into focus. You love to create, decorate, and cook already. I can't wait for the day we can do those things together even more. I know I get frustrated with the day to day "projects" you get into (Valentines cards for your Grandmas SLATHERED in sparkly pink lipgloss, cutting and cutting and cutting tiny pieces of paper, dumping out glitter all over the hardwood floor, I'm sure we'll be finding glitter for years to come out of the couch cushions and cracks in the floor) but I'm certain that SOMEDAY you will be a very talented little crafter, artist, and cook. I love your bouncy blonde curls and sparkly blue eyes. It is a rare day that your aren't smiling for most of it. We love you so much, and no matter how old you get or how much you hate to hear it, you will always be our baby girl.

Chris

What good is a Valentines day that you can't schmooze your sweetheart? I know I tell you all the time but I thank my lucky stars everyday that I get to spend the rest of eternity with you. I NEVER thought I could be so compatible with another human being. We fit together so perfectly. Our humor, our tastes, our interests (most of them at least), we even see eye to eye on politics. I love that you help me compenstate for my weaknesses and make me want to be a better person. I have no clue what made you set your sights on that strange girl with the purple hair, red lipstick, wacky clothes and combat boots. But I am so glad that you took the time to see what was under all that, and I'm glad that your were persistent enough to let me see how compatible we were even though we seemed worlds apart. The 13 years we have been together have been the happiest of my life. I admire you so much for all that you have accomlished. I honestly just stand in awe of you sometimes. Thanks for putting up with my quirks, my weaknesses, my crazy projects, and my hairbrained ideas. Plently of people would have had me committed by now, but you have always supported me. I shudder to think of a life without you in it.

I found it!

Here is the perfect way to get your kids motivated to do their chores, and set goals. It is really cool and my kids are loving it. After some research to find a way to get our family going on a more consistent schedule. I came across this website, at myrewardboard.com. Cai and Cole are really excited about it love to add their "happies" every day. The program keeps track of their progress, allowance, and goals then it pays out once a week. It has a piggy bank, chore chart, goal chart, and offers extra star points for perfect chores days or meeting their personal goals.

It may be time, no definitely time for a schedule

For anyone who knows me, I am not a schedule girl. I fly by the seat of my pants on a daily basis. I am at my best in a hardcore crisis, but the daily grind.....UGHHHHH. I would rather chew glass. I live for a challenge as long as it does not involve endurance. The endurance part is truly the worst. Maybe I am not so different from anyone else, I am just overindulgent in my whims and calendrically challenged.
But it's definitely time for a change. We have a typical bedtime and routine beforehand, but breakfast lunch and dinner are totally sporadic depending on the activities of the day or when Chris gets home which is usually sometime around 6-9 p.m. (see my problem). Chores are sporadic for the kids, and I just float from one mess to another it seems. But mostly I try to find an emergency project for Y.W. or the kids school, or the house, as a diversion. I really live for the diversions. But this approach is soooo not working.

So for the past two days I am really trying to act like an adult. The kids have before school and afterschool chores, and we are trying to eat lunch at noon and dinner at 6:30 at the table together with or without my husband. So far so good, but just wondering if anyone has any grand ideas that are REALISTIC. I've done some research on the internet, and some people (mostly those that post their 3 page schedules) are probably a little on the hyperschedule side of things. So if anyone has any simple ideas that they've found work please let me know. We are still a work in progress. I may need to post a countdown to see how long I can keep this up.

Christmas and New Years!

What a crazy, but awesome holiday! The kids could hardly wait for Christmas this year. It made me remember those sleepless nights as a kid, just dying for morning to come. We could hardly sleep. We promised the kids this year that we would deck out their rooms for Christmas. I have been wanting to get to it anyways and since they have way more toys than they need, we could limit the toy shopping a bit. They were so excited. We couldn't have them sleep in their rooms for about three nights before Christmas so I could set it all up, so that just added to the drama.

Cai's room is very scienceish (wow that sounds smart), he already had a big T-Rex head that our dry-waller made in the plaster above his desk, and a few dinosaur skeletons so we went with a science theme. I built him a new headboard with two lightboards inside it to showcase some new animal x-rays and a few little cupboards behind the pillows for his "treasures" (code for the crazy junk he can't get rid of). I only had to spend about $15 for the wood since everything else was left over from construction. I love how it turned out! We bought him a new lightning lamp globe thing, and put glow in the dark planets all over his ceiling. I built shelves in the columns on either side of his art desk finally to showcase his rock collection and science books. Cai's exciting Christmas included losing his first tooth! We were all at Grandma Guymons opening presents and he had just opened his microscope kit. He took the tweezers out and pulled on his tooth with them and VOILA! He actually pulled it out and then quickly examined it under the microscope. You should have seen the look on his face he was totally in shock! The first photo is just before he lost an and the second is right after.

It was so fun to see Cole in his Kindergarten Christmas program. They sang a ton of songs and they all knew them so well. It was fun to watch. Cole was so excited to get a rudolph shirt just like Cai. For Cole's room he is very interested in planes, trains, cars, etc. so we continued with the vintage planes, trains, and automobiles theme in his room. I built him a big roll-out trundle box to fit under his bed for a new AFX slot car track. Then we could screw down the track and he could play with it easier without having to put it away and rebuild it every time. Chris was salivating over that one. I don't know if it was for Cole or him. It's funny to watch dad's live vicariously through their kids sometimes. But Cole loved it, it even had an upside down loop and a section that goes up on the wall. Then I hung up airplanes all over his room with an airplane and helicopter that fly around on fishing line. I put up part of the track for Chris' train eventually we want to finish the track all the way around his room, but later. Then we put Chris' dad's old Matchbox car set into a shadowbox frame to display on his wall. He had some cool European cars and American ones with moving parts that were pretty unique.

Cate had one request for her room. She wanted "pretty" pillows, and that was the one thing I didn't finish in time, but she didn't seem to notice. I made her a valance for her window and made a quilt top for her bed. I was pressed for time on getting it quilted in time so we're going duvet style right now. Then I made a big canopy over her bed out of tulle, and an Asian style umbrella. It took a marathon session to finish the quilt and I managed to cut it out and piece it together in less than 24 hours while Chris took the kids to his mom's in S.L.C.. I only got 3 hours of sleep but I finished it!

Thankfully with their rooms complete I will never try that stunt again. Good to have a deadline, but so not good for the Holidays I think birthday's would have been a better idea. Especially since I had a gynormous wedding cake to do the week before Christmas too. I felt like I ignored everyone trying to get stuff done, so sorry If anyone felt neglected. One of those things that seem like a good idea at the time, but later you really pay for it. I loved this cake though Christmas weddings are so fun and I loved doing the snowflakes. Flowers just get really old.

We partied all week between Christmas and New Years in our traditional style. It seems when all my sisters and brother get together the fun never ends. We spent a few days up in Garden City sledding and playing in the snow, and then everyone came to our house to play games and hot tub. My mom and dad watched all the kiddos for us and the kids and spouses all took a priceless opportunity to all go out to eat together and catch a movie. It is so fun to hang out together as adults and actually get a chance to talk to each other. Thanks mom and dad! It was an awesome evening. The house was even still standing when we returned home.

We took a few days in between Pope celebrations to hang out with Gabe and Debbie. Chris and Gabe brought all of Chris' D.J. equipment in the house and set it up for the kids. They lined them all up outside the theater room door and turned on the fog machine and laser lights. It was hilarious to watch them dance like rock stars! I think the bass about shook the house down! Then we went to the fun park for pizza, bowling, laser tag, and the softplay. Then we all packed up and headed to Kerrie's for New Years Eve, and had a great time. The kids stayed up until the ball dropped, and then we all had a fun Blue's Clues Birthday party for Colin in the morning before everyone had to start heading home.

Posting Spree!

Well in my usual all or nothing style, I wanted to post the latest at the Guymon house, and hopefully include more than just my health drama, so here's what we've been up to:

Halloween!




Well pardon the pics, since I still haven't replaced my old camera, and my little Nikon Coolpix runs through batteries like crazy and is having lens problems so I have had dead batteries or a defunct lens. Thank heavens for crappy cell phone cameras, but despite all.... the kids have had a great halloween. We actually managed to get our costumes figured out early in October, so that wasn't much of a stress. Cai was Woverine, although he couldn't wear a mask most places so we gave him hair like Logan's with big chops like he has in the movie. Then we had gotten some Wolverine claws for his birthday that fly out and have sound effects, so he got to use those a little
Cole has wanted to be a ninja for about the last three months so his costume was a piece of cake. He had a tough time keeping his special Ninja weapons backpack in it's package until halloween night, but he finally got to wear them. Somehow I knew four swords and daggers would dissapear or break before Halloween. Cate was very close to being a fairy, but she found the Super Girl costume and was sold. I was just glad to have her chose something that wasn't slathered in pink princesses. So somehow for the third year in a row the kids have managed to keep some kind of theme. Last year they were a fairytale... knight, dragon and princess. I guess this year it was superheroes.
The kids were excited that they could use the pumpkins that they grew in their garden to carve. So I let them have free reign on the design. The colored what they wanted in marker and then I carved it. I took a bit of creative freedom in interpreting Cate's jack 0'lantern face, but kept pretty true to the original. I've decided I need to be a little less picky, and honestly didn't have the time or interest in doing a super complicated carving this year. I was shocked at how gynormous Cole's pumpkin grew. All summer they excitedly watched it grow bigger and bigger! I could barely lift it by myself to get it into the house to carve. At the end of night I had to laugh. The boys were determined to take-off early to get the most candy possible. They went with a big group of boys their age and hit tons of houses in the neighborhood. But still when they arrived home and everyone dumped out their candy, Cate's pile was by far the largest. She left later, came home earlier and still she had almost twice as much. Chris said she was a little charmer. She would go up to the door and announce "trick or treat smell my foot!" and then run back to her daddy exclaiming "they were home!" At one house she said "thanks stinky!" Somehow that non-traditional tactic worked because Chris said nearly ever house gave her several pieces of candy. This just confirms my theory that a little blond curly haired girl can be as big of a stinker as possible and still charm her way into getting whatever she wants!

Viva Las Vegas! U2 concert









Pope family trip to Moab

It was so much fun to get to spend a weekend with my sisters and parents over General Conference weekend. We wanted to meet somewhere half way in-between Pueblo Colorado, Mesa Arizona, and Logan Utah so we came up with Moab. We managed to find a group camp site down there where we could fit a bunch of trailers and a few tents and we managed to find a great place. It was about 17 miles from Moab, but it was so pretty. It was a short hike to some pretty red rock formations, with ATV trails straight out of the campsite. The kids just had a blast with their cousins. My sister Cami couldn't make it since her whole family caught the swine flu, so we were really sad and missed them terribly, but the whole rest of the family was able to get together. The kids just loved playing with their cousins. We hit a few hiking trails in Arches, but I think the kids had the most fun hiking to the rock formations near camp, and making Halloween masks, pet rocks, and decorating Halloween cupcakes. We even let them put their masks on and trick-or-treat from trailer to trailer. As usuall we ate way too much food, stayed up way too late talking and laughing, but I think we all decided that the camping trip needs to be an annual event. Although It certainly could have been warmer. The first night was FREEZING! The kids and I ended up in my parents trailer, but the next two nights after Chris got there we stayed in the tent, and were at times a little too warm since we were so paranoid about bundling up after the first night! So maybe next time we'll go for a slightly earlier time in the year.

Update on U.C. and Thyroid

Well first off thanks so much for everyone's prayers and fasting. It has been a rough few weeks and I have felt like my body (and mind) was just falling apart. First my Thyroid had suspicious growths, then my U.C. meds were damaging my kidneys, then the doc decided to put me on Prednisone. About the most horrific medication with awful and embarrassing side effects like acne, weight gain, "moon face," mood swings, OCD, joint pain, and on and on. Then finally after weeks of waiting and worrying I find out that the growths on my thyroid are benign! What a relief. They are still too big, but the doc isn't forcing me to have them removed right now, their size is a worry, and if they get even half a cm larger I wont have a choice anymore and I will have to get my whole thyroid removed. But at least I can let that go a little now while we try to get my U.C. under control again. They had to take me off my Lialda for two weeks until my creatine levels went down again, and I have had a major flare up since then. I just started the Prednizone on Saturday and have only noticed a little puffiness in my face so far. The doc called yesterday and said my blood levels were back down again on Friday, so he's going to start me on Asacol (the non time realease version of Lialda) for three days and have me go in for another blood test on Thursday. I'm kinda hoping that there was just something about the time release that my kidneys didn't like but we'll see. The Asacol is a pain just because it is 4 pills 3 times a day, but I'll take that over the prednisone anyday! So please all I ask is that no one laughs at me when I look like the stay puffed marshmallow man in a few weeks!