a day at the phoenix zoo

i've been meaning to post these for a while i just never got around to it. we took the boys to the zoo back in february and they loved it! caleb had been before but, of course, troy hadn't. troy loved the "amals". here are some of our favorites.

the zoo has this really cool exhibit called "stingray bay". for $3 each (the only draw back), you can go in and pet stingrays and sharks (don't remember what kind). caleb and brandon went in and loved it. caleb was a little scared at first (why do you think i didn't do it) but ended up with it being his favorite part. troy fell asleep so that gave me the perfect out ("no, i'll stay with troy. you guys go ahead and have all the fun."). here are some shots that brandon took.

here's my excuse for not going in...

we had a lot of fun! it had been too long since we had been able to do something as a family that everyone would enjoy. it was fun seeing the boys (all of them) have so much fun.

odd woman out

As is turns out, baby #3 is also BOY #3. He was being a stinker to start off. He was face down, knees tucked in and hands between his knees. After about 30 mins. and a trip to the bathroom for me, he finally turned, cooperated and left NO DOUBT... Now the real challenge-agreeing on a name. Seeing as how we have already used 2 boy names and 5 nephews combined, that makes for a very short list. I'm excited but not looking forward to the negotiations. Any suggestions...we're open until July 18th.

safety first

saturday was such a nice (hot) day that the boys decided to spend most of the day outside. brandon was doing various outdoor chores (finally taking down the christmas lights...sad i know) so the boys just played. i was cleaning inside when troy brought me caleb's bike helmet and wanted me to put it on his head. so i did and then followed him outside with the camera. obviously it is waaaay to big for his head (unfortunately caleb has a huge head that requires an adult sized helmet). troy was getting frustrated with it but decided that safety was more important. here he is riding his "bite" in nothing but a diaper and t-shirt. oh well, he had a blast!!

caleb also decided that he needed to wear his sunglasses to keep the bugs out of his eyes. his explanation: "i ride my bike sooo fast that it would be dangerous for a bug to hit my eyes."

what have i been up to?

being sick with baby #3...yes #3. i had an appointment today for an ultrasound and here's what we got.

i'm 12 weeks 2 days and due july 18th. baby stayed balled up nice and tight with no chance of a peek. the tech tried and tried even though it is hard to tell this early. the pictures aren't very clear but we'll take them. the first picture makes baby look like nacho libre with the mask.

aside from baby, there isn't much news. christmas was a wash. i'll elaborate when i'm not still upset about it. school starts back tomorrow. let's hope that it doesn't start like this morning did (you don't have to think too hard to figure out what happened).

caleb is going to china

with christmas coming up, the first grade classes at school are going to take a "trip around the world" to see how other countries celebrate christmas (or what ever they call it in their country). all of the kids received a paper to create a "passport" to be able to travel to different countries. caleb has been so excited about this and keeps asking if we celebrate kwanzaa (eventhough i've said no each time). anyway, he was talking about it the other day and said "mom, i'm going to china." he then paused and said "will it be a long drive?" all i could do was laugh....they are only going from class to class within first grade.

"well it's about time"

that's what you all are saying huh? well, my lack of posting hasn't been for lack of happenings. it has mostly been from lack of energy and motivation.

things are going well at school and i am loving, mostly, every minute of it. the kids are great and fun to work with. the staff is amazing and so helpful. i have already made a lot of good friends there.

as for our family, we are just going with the flow. caleb is doing well in 1st grade (actually a little bored with it i think). troy is talking more everyday. his new favorite word is "MINE". oh that dreaded 4 letter word.

a few months ago, brandon and caleb got quads (4 wheelers). they have had fun riding them. brandon did have a little incident that landed him in the ER on labor day weekend. luckily it was just a dislocated finger and some scratches. you ask why the ER for a dislocated finger? well, the EMTs that responded wouldn't try to set it b/c they were afraid that the bone might have splintered. if they messed up, it could sever a nerve and he could end up losing his finger. who ever thought it would be such a big deal? anyway, here's a picture of his finger (if you want to look)

here are some more pictures of the boys

sorry that it has been a while. i promise to do better. i might even post tomorrow....WHOA! :)

give blood, be a hero, traumatize your child...

ever since my 2 nephews had their medical problems when they were born and needed blood transfusions, i have felt a need to "give" back. i am eternally grateful for the medical teams that saved/helped them and the blood donations that they received. i figure the least that i can do is to help save someone else.

when i was in high school i gave blood and ended up with the nurse holding the trash can and my (then) boyfriend holding my hair out of the line of fire. i had decided to never give blood again. well, that was until as i explained before. in january was the first time i had given since high school. everything went pretty well until about half way through when my eyes started going out of focus and i started feeling hot. then i got cold and clammy. they elevated my legs and gave me a wet rag to use and i made it through just fine.

yesterday, i decided i would try again. i didn't really feel well but thought "what the heck, if i get sick...i get sick. no big deal!" so i went. brandon and the boys went with me 1) because i don't trust myself driving home (just in case) 2) we were headed out to do errands and go to a birthday party. so, i get all my paperwork done, give blood without any funny feelings. i was proud of myself! if you have ever given blood before you know that you have to sit in the canteen area for 15 mins. to make sure that you are okay and eat your cookies and drink your juice. well that is what i was doing (brandon and the boys were sitting with me) all was fine and brandon wanted me to leave early. my stomach did feel a little uneasy so i said "let's just wait." meanwhile, the last donor came and sat down in the middle row on the end (i was on the back row in the middle). there were a few other people left there that were just chatting away. i looked at my watch, it was 12:47. i could leave at 12:51 (i know big deal 4 mins. go ahead and leave but leaving just didn't seem right). here comes the traumatic part...remember the last donor...well i happened to glance at him after looking at my watch. i thought he was stretching his neck from side to side then his back arches, eyes roll back in his head, mouth falls open and eye lids don't shut!!! he started sliding out of his chair so i jumped up (a little too fast and got light-headed) to see if he was okay-things still not registering...big guy like him this should be a piece of cake. meanwhile, he is turning green and everything is still open....FREAKY!!!! so i yelled for help, the people in the front row turned around, they were clueless until i yelled. (that man was lucky i was behind him. who knows how long the poor guy would have sat there like that! j/k) so all the workers run over, put him on the floor, elevate his legs and start talking to him. no one knew the guys name so they had to dig up his paper work...his name was jared. they started talking to him, patting his face, rubbing his arms....NOTHING....everything still open!! we started pulling back the chairs to make more room so that they can put screens around him to give him some privacy (or in case things got bad, i don't know which). just before the screens went up one guy started pounding...yes, pounding...on his chest right over his HEART!! jared finally comes to...looks around completely confused... they start asking him questions and the rest of us turn to leave.

one of the guys from the front row looks at me and asks "is he okay?" i said "yeah" (thinking he was talking about jared). he said "no, him" and points to caleb. with everything happening so fast i totally forgot that caleb had just witnessed EVERYTHING!!! he was totally freaked out...actually i don't know if freaked out is the right phrase...traumatized. i walked over to him and he walked away from me, wouldn't talk or look at anyone for about 30 mins. i felt so bad!!

there i was...trying to do something good and end up screwing up my kid (not really, he was fine later)! note to self, don't take the kids or make brandon keep them in the car!!!

i survived....just kidding!!

so, i made it through my first week of school. and i have to say that it was quite the experience. the kids that i teach are great kids and we are going to have a great year. i am so used to dealing with younger kids that i had forgotten how to handle the bigger kids. surprisingly, for some of them, there wasn't much difference between kindergarteners and 6th graders. i have already threatened to send some back to kindergarten to learn the basics (keep your hands to yourself and no whining or throwing tanturms, yes we had one already). all in all, it was a great week. i am really excited to be teaching. i was reminded of why i got my degree in teaching. aside from being a mom, it is definately the most rewarding "job" ever!

big news....

just for those of you who don't know, i got a new job. i was offered the job of 6th grade science teacher at simonton elementary. i was hired on tuesday and started with district meetings on wednesday. needless to say, i have been busy beyond belief and am feeling a bit overwhelmed. i am so excited about this new opportunity. caleb and i will have the same schedule, for the most part, and troy will be with one of my good friends. it has been almost 7 years since i graduated college and am having to dig back in my brain to remember certain things. i actually get to put to use all the learning i paid for. if any of you have sixth graders this year, i'm their science teacher!

high flyin'

last month we went to visit my sister in utah. while we were there we went to lagoon. the last time i went was like 9 years ago, the summer before brandon and i got married. anyway, when we got there caleb wanted to ride everything. my mom and dad were there and they kept the babies while we went on rides. i was going to skip the skycoaster because 1- it's $15 a person to ride and 2-i didn't think caleb would want to ride it. was i ever wrong! he begged to ride it and i caved. we waited for what seemed like forever. then it was our turn.

1- listening to our instructions
2- getting raised up to the top of the tower
3- flyin' high
4- waving at the camera
5- all finished and getting lowered to the platform


caleb had a blast!! he didn't make a sound until we had gone back and forth a couple of times (i think he was a little freaked out, more than he wanted to admit). when he finally said something it was "that was awesome!!!"


i have a video of us but i can't get it to post or does it normally take forever for videos to load? if i can get it to load i'll get it on here.