Happy Campers

So we went camping this last weekend. And by "we" I mean 6 adults and 6 kids, all crammed into our trailer. Headed up to Wisconsin, near Madison. It was beautiful.

'Cept we stayed at the ghettoest trailer park ev.er.

They had a golf cart parade. Which would be awesome, had we been staying anywhere near a golf course. But the people driving these carts were toothless and drunk, and pretty belligerent, even for toothless rednecks.

People smoked in the pool.

And little kids had mullets.

Luckily we didn't spend a whole lotta time around them, we mostly kept to ourselves.

Boys biked, girls chatted, kids played, I kayaked, and we ate yummy food and too many crap snack foods.

I need some Activia.

I took a total of 0 pictures.

Kelley has some on her blog, but it's private, so just imagine me looking like my hot self sitting in a trailer park.

Beauty.

It was nice. I love the trailer. The kids had a blast, and I think the adults had a good enough time, too. Kelley is due to birth any day now, so she's not invited to our next adventure, down to Nauvoo. I'm sure it will be a great time, as well!

I Feel So International

Thanks to Sugar Daddy's side of the family, international visitation has risen significantly on my blog. I now receive visitors from Oslo, and Paris. These are in addition to the visits I've already been receiving from Brasilia, and La Paz.

I feel very cool right now.

It Could Go Either Way

My Maggie is a crack up. She loves TV. Pretty much any cartoon, or Disney show, will hold her attention for hours. She likes to be mellow, and keep the excitement to a minimum. But there is one show that will get her out of bed at 6:00 AM, and this show will keep her mesmerized until the very end, even if she's seen it a million times.

A Baby Story on TLC.

Seriously, she's obsessed. I don't really know why. And I certainly don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. She became very interested in it when I had Gretta, naturally, and it has just continued over the last 2 years.

But here's what I think about it. I figure this little obsession of hers could go 2 ways. 1, she will turn into a creepy pregnant-lady stalker. You know the ones. They rub your belly, give unfounded advice, and ask for all the gory details of your birth. Or 2, she will become a wildly successful OB/GYN, and possibly have her own TLC show, makes tons of money, and support Sugar Daddy and I until we die.

I like #2. Obviously.

I just hope this isn't doing her any harm. I don't want her to think that birth is something to be ashamed of, or that she should shy away from asking questions about her body. I like the openness of it all. But if she turns into creepy pregnant-lady stalker, it's not because I didn't try to get her to go to medical school.

Bonus Post

Happy birthday to my nephew, Eli. He's 5, and dang cute. I love him. He has a funny way of speaking, and he is very spunky. I could probably eat him, if I could catch him. Happy day, dude. I Love You!

Coming Soon

* To a Craigslist near you. It's going for good.

** And really, people. As if. Can you imagine crazy me being a mother again? I think not.

(New) In Town

We were able to have Ken and Michelle and their two cute girls over for the weekend. It is nice having some family close enough that we can crash at each others houses on random occasions. Ken had an early interview in the City on Friday, so Michelle and I stayed home and watched the kids play. And by play, I mean fight. To the death. It was like total WWF around here. Our little 2 year old's can NOT play nicely together. But it was still fun to have them here.

Friday night, after an easy dinner of chicken nuggets, Grandma rice, and Grandma beans, Michelle and I headed out to see New In Town. It was a cute movie. Mindless, and easy to watch, a perfect escape for a night out.

Saturday we hit Panda Express for some EggRo goodness. Mmm. And then it was Roast Beef for dinner. I over did my mashed potato to gravy ratio, and ended up eating them like they were soup, but they were still mighty tasty. I'm a sucker for mashed potatoes and gravy, just like my Mom was.

Sunday we sort of pooped out on church since I had no voice due to that stinking cold I was brewing, and Gretta was sporting all sorts of pretty green boogers, so we just hung out most of the day. I don't think Ken even changed out of his pajamas. Good boy. We fried up some steaks and baked potatoes for dinner, and life was good.

Today I let Emma stay home from school to spend a little more time with the cousins, and because I'm such a cool mom like that. She helped out with the sheet washing, and by entertaining the kids while everything got packed up it the van.

It was a fun visit. We always love having family over. Hint hint.

Snow + Power = Hilarity

Cousin Chad is so sweet. He always has something fun up his sleeve, and is endlessly entertaining our kids. One day, he'll make a great dad, but for now, we'll take him as our surrogate. This particular day, a day or two before Christmas, we headed over to his parents house, and spent hours (okay, maybe an hour) pulling the kidlets around on sleds behind the 4 wheelers. It brought back many a fun childhood memory, as we spent most of our winters this way.

It was a cold day, so Chad built us a fire by which we could warm ourselves. As you can see, it didn't feel cold to me, since it was at least 30, and it hasn't gotten up to 30 in my hometown for months, now. It felt balmy to me.


Here I am, pulling Brent on the snowboard. He did better than I thought he would, and apparently, he was cracking me up. Yes, you see correctly, I have no coat on. Honestly, the only thing that got cold on me was my hands. I'm so tough.


Here's poor Livvy. She was the first casualty of the evening. Bloody nose, fat lip, and not a peep of discomfort from her. She was such a good sport. She was very brave, and wouldn't give up, even with blood streaming down her face and onto her coat.

Sugar Daddy and Emma driving around like they own the place. I think Duane was a little miffed when Sugar Daddy decided to take a spin through his garden, so I had to put a stop to that right off. Emma loved driving, though, and I think some 4 wheelers are in our near future.



Here's Kinney slamming righteously into Brent's car. You see, Sugar Daddy was a little slow on figuring out the whole "whip the sled around, but avoid obstacles at all costs" thing. Good thing Brent is leaving on his mission, here to Chicago!, in a couple of months. I doubt he'll even notice the dent her head left. Although she does tend to walk in circles, now.

I have some cute photos of Gabe and Eli, too, but blogger is being picky, and won't upload them. I don't know why. Maybe because they are 2 of the cutest boys Ev.Er. and blogger feels like keeping the fairest in the land hidden away.

I also have one of Maggie having what could be the best time of her life. If you can sense my sarcasm here, it's fully intended. That girl is afraid of everything. For her, wearing layers of clothes, gloves, boots and a hat, along with the loud sound of the 4 wheelers, was totally overwhelming. She hardly moved from my side, or from the fire pit, the entire time. Oh, except for when I literally shoved her into my lap on the sled so we could go for a ride together. Yeah, she screamed the whole time. I know, I know, slap the parent of the year award right here next to my many others, but my dad did that kind of stuff to me, so I figure it can't be all that harmful, right? I mean, I turned out perfectly.

Thanksgetting

I heart Thanksgiving. I really, really do. I love the day before Thanksgiving almost more than the actual holiday because of our super fun family tradition of dinner and a movie that evening. Picture it; a family of 20 or so, half of which are kids, crammed into Applebee's, spilling chocolate shakes, sending back undercooked steaks, and raising the decibel level by at least 20. Then we head to the movies. Remind me to tell you a story of the family accusing us (oops, my bad) of sitting in their seats, even though they were 15 minutes late, and the theater was less than half full. They just couldn't make the mental jump and take other empty seats. Geniuses , I say. Okay, so that was pretty much the story. Now you don't have to remind me. We also had a girls only sleepover at my inlaws, and all the girl cousins stayed up waaayyy too late, and laughed too loud, and had to wake me up at 4 in the morning to do laundry duty. Darn bottled water next to the bed. It was a good time, though.

This was a bittersweet Thanksgiving. You know, another first without Mom. It's that sick sad time line we all keep in our heads, and I'm starting to resent it. And it was less another person this year too. Sugar Daddy was here in Illinois all by his lonesome. He managed just fine, though. He caught up on his sleep, and even cleaned up the house! He's such a good husband. He did forget to buy a turkey for our Sunday celebration of Thanksgiving, though, which warranted a trip to Jewel on a Sunday for a "fresh" turkey. Remind me to tell you the story about Sugar Daddy forgetting to buy a turkey, and then getting stuck with all that the store had left, a fully cooked whole turkey. Really, I'll go into more detail about that one tomorrow, and I even have pictures.

I know Mom would be proud of our Thanksgiving, though. It was perfect. Crowded, loud, too much food, naps, football, roll ups, cheese tree, chips and dip, and lots of pies and cheesecake. And I think we all took away more than just pot bellies and L-Tryptophan hangovers. We got renewed as siblings, and as daughters and son. We learned that no matter where we are, we have fun together. We learned that Dad is stronger than we (I) thought, and that he is doing okay. We also learned that being in the temple all together is one of the most special things a family could ever experience. We're all very excited to have Josh join our family next month. I know mom would be proud of that, too.

So all in all, it was a good holiday. I always feel like I get more out of Thanksgiving than I give. I guess that's what Holiday's are supposed to be. Family, friends, fun, food, and growing a little.

Gifts

Some of you may or may not know that I hosted my In-Laws for a couple of weeks. And being the good hostess that I am, I never took one stinkin picture of any of the stuff we did. Yeah, I'm just cool like that. We did have a good time, though. We did lots of cool stuff. We did a "double dutch bus" tour of the City. Very interesting. We made pajama pants, and the poodle skirt. Charlie did laundry. Mountains of laundry. He even cleaned under my kids' beds. Seriously, that alone put me a good week ahead in the housework department.

But Mom, being the sweetheart she is, knows the two things I love the most. Cookies and Roosters. So she gave us a "thank-you" rooster cookie jar. And she filled it up with home made chocolate chip cookies. Yummy! They lasted about 3 days, and my kids were begging for more. So I spent all day yesterday (okay, like an hour, but it seemed like all day) making more chocolate chip cookies. And refilling the jar. And I suspect they will last another 3 days.

So thanks, Mom. That jar will be put to very good use.

Bonus Post

I'd just like to thank all my sibs out there for being the first to put my new button on their blogs.

What? You don't see it on their blogs when you click the links? There is obviously something terribly wrong with their blogs, because I know in my heart of hearts that they would never, ever go more than a blog check or two without copying and pasting that simple HTML code over there. See? It's right over there on the left. See? It really is.

Apparently my hard-earned button has not taken blogdom by storm as I had anticipated. Shocking, really, I know. So far my button has made it to one, and only one, blog. But I mean, come on. Some of us are blood, so they are obligated to adhere this here button to their blog, are they not? I thought so.

So get on with it already. This is my subtle cry for approval.

Thanks.

Send out the P.I.'s

Have you missed me? Be honest. You have, haven't you. Haven't you? Well, even if you haven't, I've missed you. Oh blogdom, do not a hater be. Please take some pity on my poor, slacker soul. You see, I've been so very busy. You will never understand the "ness" to which I've been busy. In the last 96 hours, I've played host to 8 guests, at 2 separate intervals. You don't understand the amount of time, and laundry detergent, that has been spent folding towels and sheets, and rugs, oh my!

Here is just a taste of what kind of things I've been up to recently.

Lugging around 6 kids. To dance, to the drug store, and to McDonalds. Where else could 6 kids be entertained simultaneously? In the picture are only 5, but you can't see the one sharing the cockpit of the vangina avec moi.





And here are their dear, dear parents. Parents for whom I have an immense respect, not only for traveling so far to attend the temple like dedicated Latter-Day Saints, but because I now understand the time and patience it takes to rassle 4 kids. I may have provided the cheeseburgers, and even though I skimped on the drinkage, there was nary a complaint. Good, good kids.

So dear blogdom, now you have my plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Don't they call it by reason of mental disease or defect now? Probably, but either way, it fits. Do not fear, I will return. And I will return with a promise of more interesting posts, and pictures of various projects and children. So for now, dear blogdom, I bid you adieu.

Busy busy

We've been an in-law hosting house the last few days. It's been so awesome to have family come and visit. I love having the MIL here to entertain the kidlets with puzzles and games, and all other sorts of distractions. But I also love having the MIL here because she shares my love of all things craft. 'Cept she's good at it. So we've been keeping plenty busy around here with projects galore.

This is the first taste of what is to become many, many wonderful items. One is already finished, but it will have to wait. I know, the suspense, yeah yeah.



This is the other outlet du crafte. This was last nights family night project. My kitchen table was slathered with newspaper, and then the newspaper was topped with paints and pumkins and brushes, oh my! We ended up with a pumpkin per person, and one extra. I think they'll look quite loverly on the front porch.

Stay tuned for more excitement. We received a phone call this afternoon asking to be the B&B for more family members later this week. Of course I was more than happy to oblige, so it should bring some good times.

The Happiest

A shout out to my awesome bro. It's his birthday. He's a way hottie, I have it on pretty good authority that he's just getting better with age. Good job on that.

So here's to you, oh aged one. Have a mighty fine day.

Things I've Learned Since Living In The Midwest

• How to avoid dead racoons on the road
• How to prove residency for everything
• You're likely to be the only Mormon in your town
• And probably the first one most people have met
• The true meaning of "wind chill"
• How to use a dehumidifier
• That you can't pass on the right.
  
• Game days are religious holidays

But most importantly, I've learned a lot about myself.

• I can do pretty much whatever I set my mind to
• I'm more self sufficient than I ever thought I could be
• I enjoy discovering new places
• I'm stronger than I ever thought I could be
• I appreciate my family, both near and far, for the efforts they put in each day

I love living here. I love starting a new adventure for my family, and I love knowing that wherever we are, whatever the situation, we will always have each other.

Happy Day To You

Hey, did you hear?

It's MEG'S BIRTHDAY!!!

She's 27.

She rocks.

So head over to her blog and wish her a happy day.

Okay, People

You may have noticed my "Peeps" list on my sidebar. Many of you that read this blog, and comment, are over there. Because I like to give back, because I'm nice like that. Now. Let's see. I have a dilemma.

People, please. There are many of you, I won't name names, Jill and Kelli, who are featured on my "Peeps", but are no longer earning your spot there. It's been a while since you updated. I mean seriously, I know you have lives and stuff, but I also know you have 5 minutes to grant me the gift of being part of your life.

Lest you think it's just you two, notice that there are many of my Peeps that have slacked in the blog department. I feel like there is just wasted space over there now. And frankly, it gives me less and less to do each day, not having those 10 minutes to check your blog. And I like a full life, so indulge me here.

So please, for the love of Pete,

UPDATE YOUR BLOGS!

or you risk being ostracized to outer darkness, and banished from the list of Peeps. Scary, huh?

Oh, and Happy Birthday, Kelli! Your package is "in the mail", or so they say. No, really, it is.

Proof

Wow, that weekend flew by. In fact, it flew by in such a fashion that my camera never made it out of the bag until just last night. But thanks to a few random pics of our "party" last night, I have proof of our visitors.

Ken and Michelle drove up from Peoria on Friday night. It was so good to see them, and Tressa is such a big girl now! Although her size certainly doesn't deter Gretta from beating the crap out of her. But instead of posting a boring play by play, and no pictures to boot, I'll just do one of my most favorite blog items-Bullets!

• Lou Malnati's sausage-fest pizza. Wow. Lots o' sausage on that one.
  
• The Milwaukee Zoo. Yes, on the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend, oh, and during Harley-fest, too. 'Twas a tad crowded.
  
• 'Smores in the backyard fire pit.
  
• Church on Sunday. Nothing like arriving late, and leaving early.
  
• Cedar Lake Beach. Spent jimmy. 'Nuff said.
  
• Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Like Sun Valley, but with a ginormous lake. Cold Stone brownie batter ice cream, the "Red Pony" boutique (yes, someone really named it that!), and no cell phone service.
  
• Monday night BBQ. And more 'smores.
  

It was a fun time. Now it will be good to get back to reality. I like the routine of getting up early (yes, it's me talking), and getting started on my day. The weather here is so nice, 70's pretty much all day except the high afternoon when it hits 80 or so, so that makes the mornings especially nice. So back to life, back to reality, back to the here and now.

Wicked Weekend

Well, it's come and gone. Team Keli visited this weekend, and we had a total blast. The entire weekend was packed with excitement, as it always is when 5 girls get together. But first things first. I got new furniture! Yay! It arrived a mere hours before TK, so it was close, but it made it. I'm glad, since we needed the extra space for the kiddies to play. Here it is, the blue suede sofa and the circle chair. I never thought I would own anything blue. I thought I was too traumatized from Mommas house all those years with blue carpet, furniture, drapes, you name it. But I guess not. I love it.

Now, on to the weekend. Of course, many, many fun things were had, said, and seen, but there were a few highlights for each of us. This weekend included:

• Gracie taking a few steps.
• Meg stuffing her face with a huge waffle.
• Jill asking "What are those honking birds?" Emphasis on honking.
• Kelli needing an angry local to translate her popcorn order for her.
• The Wicked theater bringing me to tears. Literally. ;)
• And Momma, well, what can I say about her? She's the best. I think she only beat up the baby once in an attempt to pick up the check, and she hails cabs even when they're full. I'm pretty sure I embarrassed her more than once, but she secretly loves it. My girls miss her already, and are asking when she's coming back. Of course, I'm doing the same.
  

Here's Team Keli, sans Keli. Jill with Gracie, Momma, Kelli, and Meg. It was tough letting them leave. And I'm not sure when I'll get to the point where I don't cry all day after they do, but it's worth it to have them here. So thanks for everything, gals. I love you guys!

I'm prepared

Next week I get a special visit.

Not that kind of visit, what kind of blog do you think this is? Besides, I don't have those anymore, thanks to my IUD. TMI? Cool.

I get a visit from my cool momma and my awesome sisters! I'm very excited for this. Last time my momma was here, my house was in shambles, still being unpacked. I don't think we ate at home once during her visit here. This time will be different. I have everything(ish) unpacked, and I know where everything(ish) is. We can cook, and sew, and watch TV, and go for hikes, (or walks, since there are no hills here), and just enjoy life together. But one thing I'm the very mostest excited about is seeing WICKED! in the city. And I'm prepared for this. I just finished the book, so I won't be completely lost.

Ah, the book.

I would be worried about the play based on the book. But thankfully many of my friends have seen the play, so they say not to stress. The book is good, don't get me wrong, but it goes into wwaaaayy too much detail for my taste.

Unless you're into Munchkin sex and adultery and drug use and that sort of thing.

Most of this detail I just skipped over, seeing as how it wasn't really relevant to the plot. But without giving anything away, I'll just say, it gives me great pleasure to know that I will be seeing the Wicked Witch of the West's point of view, along with some apparently stellar music, on the stage, with the women I love.

Joy.

Fine, thanks. How was your morning?

This morning I awoke to two things.

1. I had a nose bleed. Some people have cowlicks or widows' peaks that run in their families, but we have nose bleeds. Aren't we lucky? Yes, we are. So at 4:30 AM, I wake up to that icky taste in my mouth. I hate that. So half-coherent, I'm staggering to the bathroom to take care of this mess. And even luckier, it wouldn't stop. So for a half an hour I sat on the edge of the bath tub and half slept, half gagged.

2. Finally, it stopped. 5:15, I just drift off to sleep, and find myself startled awake by the sound of my dog whining. She never whines. Unless... Yep, she pees on the carpet. The newly cleaned carpets, mind you. Now my mouth tastes like blood and toilet paper, and my house smells like dog pee. Great morning.

But I got to go to lunch with Sugar Daddy, and brave Wal-Mart for a few last minute gifts, so my day improved drastically. I certainly don't think it could have gotten worse.