Getting Ready for Kazhia's Homecoming and Christmas

There is so much to do to get ready for Kazhia to come home and Christmas. I am starting to attempt to declutter and Matt is getting a few things done around here that need to be done and Christmas is a good excuse to do them. We have done some shopping as well. I am not sending out a Christmas card, but I will send out a New Year's card 'cuz Kaz won't be here to be in the pictures so we had to wait. I didn't think about that in August. Oh well less stress, right?

We are so excited to have Kazhia come home, our house is so different without her here. Everyone misses her whether they want to admit to it or not. I am sure it will feel that way as each of them leave the house.

Christmas is a special time of year. I really love the cooler weather and the charitable feelings that go with it. There are always good people doing good things for others and we don't hear about those until Christmas time. I have lots of fond Christmas memories of growing up with my folks and ones with my kids also. Some are goofy and some are near and dear to my heart. I always take lots of pictures or assign someone to. It drives my family crazy.

A fond memory that I have was when I was in jr high and it was our first year in Chicago and I was always cold. I mean freezing cold. So my parents ought me this ugly, homely pink robe. I pretended to be excited. As it turns out that was the warmest robe ever. It has lasted so long that Kazhia wears it. Luckily she actually likes pink.. Write some of your favorite Christmas memories as comments. I would love to read them.

Turkey Day!!

We had a great day! Matt made a video just for Kazhia. I decided to post it too. We were at the Mellor's in Globe.

I finally watched New Moon, and the special effects were so much better than Twilight!! It was a great movie, one I plan to watch over and over again. I wish the producers would put more details in it and make it 3 to 4 hours long. All of us would love it, right?? So there is my critique of the movie basics.

I love NEW MOON!! I love the story line. I totally can relate with Bella's deep profound sadness, and the joy of being with "him" once again. I to have found myself in similar situations. It brings back powerful memories of my life.

I can understand how Jacob is her sun and fills her hole in her heart when he is around. But, as she is away from him the hole comes back and she feels empty. I know how someone can fill a wounded heart. For me, it isn't someone of the opposite sex. Although a friend like Jacob would do wonders.. :) Many times it is a trusted girlfriend that brings me back from the point of feeling complete and utter destruction. Many of my friends fill my heart when it is wounded, and I am so grateful for these wonderful women I have in my life. Here's to all of u!

A sad night...........

There had been this smell in the house for a couple of days, you see. We thought it was the bathroom, so we looked and nothing (amazing as that may be), then we went to each of the boy's rooms. It seemed to be coming from Garrett's room. So I told him to clean it and get the dirty laundry out. This did not help. Matt decided to check on Garrett's hamster, named Ryan. Well let's just say he went to hamster heaven. :( Matt buried him in the backyard in a kleenex box. Garrett was so sad, and we were sad for him. I am sure all will be well with Garrett soon. He is a trooper!

Pics from Trunk or Treat and Halloween

Halloween

This was a mostly fun Halloween! We had trunk or treat at church on the 30th, and a Chili Cookoff. There wasn't hardly enough Chili to go around. The attendance was great. Kyler was a hobo and Garrett was a vampire! Zack was with his friends Brad and Chris for the evening on the other side of the church parking lot. Then Saturday was a busy day. I started off the day by making a dessert for the RS craft day. While I did that Matt was preparing the pork roast in the crock pot for the missionary dinner that night. Then I had to stop at Hobby Lobby to get some papers for my craft. Then I finally made it to the craft day. I did a plaque that says family, and it is cute, but of course not finished. So I will post it once done. Then we cleaned the church right after, it was our turn in the rotation. Then we got home about 2 pm. My stomach was churning and cramping and while finishing straightening up the house I ran upstairs and hung my head in the toilet until the desire to puke left. Meditation is a grand thing. I decided to lay down for 30 minutes and drink some gatorade. Needless to say I am sure I was dehydrated and the gatorade helped. Then I got up and finished preparing dinner to feed the missionaries and my friend Ashlee. The pulled pork sandwiches were great, and we have a lot left over. Then they had to leave quickly and Ashlee left and Kyler and Garrett went Trick or Treating. This year we went further than we ever have. We did our whole subdivision. Kyler usually wants to go home before we do that. The boys carved really awesome jack-o-lanterns this year too. I am just glad it's over! On to the "real" holidays!!

Garrett's Bday!

Garrett had a great birthday! We took him to Native New Yorker and Cold Stone. Yum!!! Than we got home and he blew out candles and we had cake. That was good! Then he got his present. He got a new internal frame really cool back pack. It's big and adjustable as he grows!!

My Weeklong Birthday Celebration!!

I have had a great birthday week! It started on Columbus day. My dad took a slew of us out to a birthday dinner at Auntchilada's. It was great! We had tacos, enchaladas, cheese crisps, chips and salsa. My dad, and his girlfriend Rita, Berta and her kids. Erick and his girlfriend Jessica, Elliot. My kids also were there and of course Matt too!. We sat on the patio and had a great time. My dad not only paid for dinner, but he gave me a card with a few bucks too!! Rita and company gave me a sweater, scarf and a bag. It was a lot of fun and everyone had more than enough to eat! Thanks Dad!!
On Friday, Matt and I went out for my birthday dinner like we usually do. We went to Red Lobster and I had all you can eat shrimp and was wonderful. Their prices have really gone up over the years, we are not planning on heading back there anytime soon. I got a Chi straightener from Matt, it is awesome. It is a special edition breast cancer one. It's pink with light silver ribbons on it. It is amazing how much of a difference a great straightening iron makes. Saturday I went to a humanitarian service project day at our church. It was fun, I helped do some coloring and put together some holiday things. Garrett did some quilt tying with a handicapped guy in a wheelchair. Kyler did some holiday projects too, and he also did some sewing teddy bears. I hung out with my great friend. I also tried to donate blood. My iron was too low and they didn't want to take it from me. So as we go to our cars and my friend gave me a birthday present. She gave me a New Moon shirt, the New Moon sound track and a key chain. It was great!!! My boys are getting sick of the music. I attempted to go shopping with a girlfriend, but the in-laws showed up and off to dinner we went!!

On Saturday night, I went to dinner with Matt's parents. We went to Olive Garden. It was a lot better than I expected it to be. They took the whole Family and gave me a card with some bucks in it too. It was a fun time!! So I used all of my extra bucks to help pay for my straightening iron. So I owe my awesome hair to also my dad and my in laws!! So thanks so much!!
On my actual birthday, the 19th. I was gonna eat something from home, but I decided at work that I really wanted Panda Express. So we had that. After dinner my good friend came by and gave me a book, and everyone disappeared. So i figured that the boys were off doing their own thing. I sat down ans was gonna read my book, and all of a sudden people wanted to know where I was. Nobody ever cares where I am. Then I hear "shut your eyes". So I do, and I smell something burning. Not a good smell in a house full of boys. When I am allowed to open my eyes, I see a Cheesecake with 37 candles in it. The boys sing a quick Happy Birthday before the candles completely burn the cake down. And yes, I am full of HOT air! I was able to get them all out in one breath!! Kyler made a card that evening and gave it to me before he went to bed that night. He used my scrapbook stuff and worked so hard in his room all evening.
Another gift I got was a super sweet video from my darling daughter that was away at BYU. She told me how wonderful she thinks I am, and that she misses making dinner with me. Ahhhh, the simple things in life....

Catching Up.......

Well--- So much has happened since this summer~ I worked at Bath and Body Works for about a month, I kept getting fewer and fewer hours, then school started. I started subbing, it was steady three days a week usually. So things were looking up as far as job opportunities. I had a interview with Walgreen's call center, and I got a full time job. I am at the call center in Tempe right across the street from Matt. So, we have been carpooling the past month. At first he didn't really care for it because I interfered with his space, and the way he liked things just so. Now, I think he likes it much better. It's nice to have a captive audience! :) My shift will change in November and we won't be carpooling as often, I think we will be able to go together 3 days a week.

Adjusting to working full time has been a challenge for everyone. I am spreading myself really thin between work, kids, making dinner and getting groceries. It gets pretty insane around here some days. The kids are home more by themselves and haven't always made the best decisions in the world. They are getting on each others nerves more often. They are hungry and cranky by the time we get home. And Matt is helping out more than he is used to as well. But we are all surviving and doing much better now. Thank goodness. I will post another topic soon since I have so much to write about.

Spotlight #4

Kyler is the youngest kiddo in the mellorclan!! He is 10 years old, finally in double digits! Scary for me.. He is a happy, happy kid. He does very well in school too. He is a Webelos Cub Scout and loves to go to scouts. He went to scout camp with the big boys cuz dad was teaching a class, and he learned the merit badge that Matt was teaching the day before and helped out the big kids. He got a huge kick out of that. This week he helped Matt with the garden and the lawn! He is a trooper with that stuff.

He had a tooth pulled last week or so, and it was a molar and really cool looking and he didn't want to give it to the tooth fairy, so he left her a note and asked if she could leave the money and not take the tooth. She was so surprised by that she did nothing, so Matt said not to put the tooth under his pillow and gave him a dollar. It was priceless!

Of course, he loves video games and internet stuff. He sends his sister things from the Disney channel site. So cute. He misses her so much. He gets on the phone with her and discusses the latest Harry Potter book he's read and they have a nice chat about it. Or he'll even text her once in a while. I am not sure he'll leave her side when she comes home at Christmas. They are just two peas in a pod almost ten years apart.

He just went to a birthday party for a friend from school, and he was the cutest hobo anyone has ever seen. Hmmmmm. Maybe I should have him go earn his keep.... He would make a fortune by the freeway!! LOL!! No way, he's my little hobo!

Spotlight #3

My next spotlight is on Zack. Zachary is a great 16 year old!! We are blessed to have him in our family. He has started working on his Eagle project. I am so proud of him! At scout camp this year he went 100 miles by biking and hiking. He fell and hurt his wrist and got several wounds. They thought at first his wrist may have been broken, but after a day they realized it was just a severe sprain. Even with being hurt, he kept going carrying his full pack. All the leaders were impressed. Right now, he is working on his SCUBA certification, which was a birthday present from Gpa Somers. They plan to go on many trips with Gpa and his uncles. He has loved sleeping in this summer, playing video and computer games, hanging with friends and eating as much as possible.

He just got his permit to drive and loves to get behind the wheel. He went on his first date over the summer. It was a group date with his older sister and her friends. But he had a blast and I have a picture to prove it!! Look as his sweet smile! A very rare occurrence..

Spotlight #2

Today's spotlight is Kazhia. She is 18 years old and is heading off to BYU on August 25th. She was #10 in her high school class out of 533. Her favorite subject is English. She also was on the dive team and played the cello. She loves to read!!! Some of her favorite books are Jane Austin, Twilight Series, Harry Potter Series and I can go on and on with the list.

She has always been a sweet person. She is always concerned about others and their feelings. She is a hard worker at school, work, and at home. She has a strong spiritual side in her. She is a giant in her understanding of Godly things. We love her and are going to miss her dearly when she leaves off to college. (Kazhia is on the left side. Her buddies are Nikki and Kylee. We love them too!)

Spotlight

I think I am going to spotlight one of my kids on my blog every day! They are great kids and deserve some recognition for being them. The first one I want to spotlight is Garrett. He is 13 and has been a handful. Yesterday Matt and I were upstairs having a "discussion" and the atmosphere was kinda tense. The kids cleaned up the downstairs, and Garrett even put things away that weren't his. He cleaned and put away things he wasn't assigned to do. It was so nice to come downstairs and find the house looked really nice. He always has enjoyed helping others, it's just that he may not always show that side of himself. He has such a good heart. I'm really proud of the young man that Garrett has become. Love ya!!

Ceiling Leak

On Sunday we had a small wet spot on our ceiling. Matt went up and saw that there is a lot of condensation where there is no drip pan. So he put a pan under there, and all was well. Today I looked up at the ceiling and I see this 2 ft wet spot, water actually dripping and the ceiling bowing. So I called Matt and said that he needed to come home because the leak had taken a turn for the worse. He came home and checked it out. The pan had flipped over spilling everything out and creating the mess. So he put a bigger more stable pan there to let everything dry out. Not sure what Matt has in mind to fix it, but we shall see.

Harry Potter

We went and saw Harry Potter, it was kind of a let down for me. I didn't read the book, so I had a hard time following the story line. So, maybe it was my fault. I just feel that when I go see a movie that it should all fit together so everyone can get it. Not just those who read the book. The effects were great and so was most of the acting. So overall a decent movie.

Road Trip!

My girlfriend, Ashlee called my up yesterday about 9 am and asked me if I wanted to go on a road trip with he to Greer to see her mom. Her mom was down from Utah and she hadn't seen her since April. So I figured things out at home and run away with her for the day. It was a 3 and a half hour drive. It was a beautiful scenic drive. On the way there we listened to the radio and Avril and sang along to it. Poor Ashlee endured my singing. We were so goofy at times. Once we got there it was so nice to sit outside and talk. Here in the Valley of the Sun, you just don't do that right now. It was 87 degrees and a nice cool breeze blowing.

Ashlee's parent's are so nice. They fed us and Ashlee got caught up on family events. It made me long for my mom. We took a few pictures of the day and you tell me if we are not as silly as teenage girls!!!

This was Ashlee's 1st and 2nd attempt at taking our picture! I finally got a decent one of us...

On our way home we had a few more adventures. There were some truckers that got in our way and delayed our arrival home by 30 to 45 minutes so we weren't very happy about it. Here is a picture of those bad boys...

Below is Ashlee's angry face in response to those crazy truckers who were just plain rude.

Scary, huh??
This was my face once she hit the accelerator!

After that excitement, I was bored so this is what I did:

Cute kissy face! Bored face!


Cute Toe Pic!

The last but not least silly picture! My pretty eyeball!! I'm watching you!!

Emergency Room Visit

I get a call at 4:00, from Matt telling me he is on his way home and he did something stupid. So I slowly ask "What?" Then he proceeds into this story of how he was using his pocketknife to cut some loose strings from his pants pocket and it slipped. So of course, I start laughing. I just couldn't help it. What would you do??? He wasn't sure if it was that bad and wanted me to look at it. He gets home quicker than usual, and I look at the flap.. I am pretty sure it needs a doctor to look at it. So, I take him to the ER and at first the nurse practitioner says oh we'll see. It might need one stitch. Well after it was numb and cleaned out he saw the flap for what it was and he needed three (3). This is a picture of the nurse practitioner stitching it up. Then Matt also got to have a Tetnus shot. Lucky man!

The weekend

This weekend was uneventful, which is nice. I went to the gym in the morning and harassed the kids to get their chores done. Matt and I went to a friendship dinner at a ward members house. We had a great time being with just adults. Unfortunately, the van battery died and I will be home bound most of the next week. Oh well, I guess their could be worse things.

Sunday was nice. I spent the morning doing some reading on Trusting in God, then went to church. For some reason I was antsy at church. It was hard to sit still. I felt like a little kid. I guess we are all entitled to our days.

Monday, Kazhia has her heart ultrasound. We are getting a ride, luckily it's just down the street. I have to get my coupons ready to go to Fry's 10 item mega event for Tuesday evening shopping. I am looking forward to a new week. It's gonna be great!!!

Cub Scout Pack Meeting

We had a full pack meeting last night full of awards and entertainment. We have a new Bear leader and a new cubmaster to introduce to everyone. They are going to be a great asset to our team. Our boys got their awards from scout camp. We also had 3 Bobcats, 2 Wolves and 2 Bears move up!! Kyler happened to be one of the boys who got his Bear rank! We also had 2 boys get their religious knots, Kyler earned this award too. Our boys have been so productive over the summer, I am so proud of them and mom's for giving the boys some motivation! Pack meeting lasted a little longer than I like them to, but everyone seemed to have a good time!

Sick of the Shoulder Injury!

I'm sick of this whole shoulder injury. I have a tear in my rotator cuff and there was one in one of my bicep tendons. This was hurt about 3 years ago and keeps flaring up! I keep doing things unconsciously that make it worse. Like picking up things that are too heavy, and moving things, sleeping on my left side. I know what's wrong with it and there is nothing I can do other than rehabbing it. Luckily it's not as bad as the original injury, but it's frustrating just the same. I had to vent!! Thanks for letting me!

One Month til School Starts!!

Today I was reminded that the kiddos will start school in a month. I am so excited about this. They are so bored at home, and I am tired of watching them be bored. There are only so many friends to get together with, and so many chores that can I am willing to yell at them to do. Our home gets really hot in the afternoon because we are on the time of use and so we all get a bit testy in the afternoon. Today was worse than usual, I was the cranky one! We should have a back to school party! Who wants to join me??

Starting a Blog........

I am joining the millions who blog..... I'm really not sure what to talk about or to say. I am sure I will come up with things down the road. Things have been so busy lately. So many things consume my mind on a daily basis. Who do I need to call, where do I need to be when, how am I going to be two places at once? I have a difficult time keeping it all straight. Even with a calendar, my emotions sometimes cloud what I need to do and what I want to do and things will seem cloudy. So, I guess many days I am under a cloud trying to figure it all out.