Raptor Romp 2008

To PLAY the videos click on the big play button to blow it up then hit the Play button to start each video! :-)

SFK to the rescue! 10/10/2008

So, Koda informed me yesterday that he wished he had super powers like me. What kind of super powers do I have, I asked? He said I have great idea powers, and when I kiss an owie it makes it feel better. Although not the super powers I would want, I will take what I can get!
He continued to tell me that if he had powers like me he could go SUPER FAST and they would call him Super Fast Kid (SFK)!! He said his costume would be black with a lightening bolt on it with black gloves and a black mask! I was also informed that since I have super powers that he knew I could create a REAL super hero costume for him.
So today after I dropped him off at school I ran and bought a black top, black sweats, a black mask, and black gloves. Came home and used my super powers to create the "most amazing costume EVER" in the words of a four year old! The look on his face when he saw the costume was priceless! He put it on and said "NOTHING can stop me now!!", and continued to pose in "super hero" form!!

If only we were all so easy to please....

Bailia's First Oral Report! 10/9/2008

The Itsy Bitsy Spider....10/4/2008

We love going for walks in the canyon behind our house looking for golf balls. Through the years of walking we have seen many things-coyotes, snakes, a momma quail sitting on her nest, and now this is the second tarantula that we have found! I can't believe the kids were brave enough to hold it-YUCK!

Moving on up!! Way to go Sis! 10/6/2008

This past month has been a LONG one! Bailia has been tested, observed, and questioned over and over the last four weeks, and has now been moved to the 2nd grade!! It has been a LONG process, but I think it was all worth it! She is so excited she can't STAND it-A and I went into her classroom with the principal after our meeting with the district this morning to take her to her new classroom- Mrs. Turnbeaugh! We are all so excited and proud of Bailia-keep up the good work Sissy Doo!!

Thomas S Monson...

I sat with tears rolling down my checks as I listened to the Prophet speak in Conference this morning. What a wonderful man! You know when you hear some of the speakers and you say to yourself- WOW that was for me-I really needed to hear that-His talk today did that to me! I can't remember it word for word but it is one talk I will watch, read, and listen to over and over again. I know how fast time is going by, our kids are growing up much too quickly. I would like to make everything slow down-looking back at old photos this past week feeling like it was yesterday, knowing that it was YEARS ago! Then hearing President Monson's talk telling us that change is inevidible, but to ENJOY right now and find JOY in the JOURNEY-love, hug, and thank your kids, husband, parents! The laundry can wait (as I sat folding laundry) the toys scattered all over the house are unimportant. Love, cherish and be grateful for the most important things we have in our lives-our FAMILY!
The past two weeks recovering from surgery has left me with a lot of time to think. I know I do not tell my sweet husband nearly enough how much I LOVE and appreciate all that he does for me. I love the way he loves me UNCONDITIONALLY! He always tells me how hot I am, even when I look atrocious! He would do anything for me and without him in my life I would be lost. I love you A- THANK YOU for taking care of me, loving me, and being my best friend! Thank you for going through this journey that we call life with me! We have created many wonderful memories, have three happy, healthy children, and I could not have said I DO to a better person to travel through this joyful journey with!

Surgery...9/22/2008

I am sure you have all been waiting on the edge of your seat to hear how the surgery went. Honestly, just skip over this post because it really just is for journaling purposes (one of these days I am going to print this blog) .
The day before surgery is always tough, knowing what the diarrhea in a bottle holds in store makes it hard to eat anything. Saturday, I had one slice of pizza for lunch, then a bowl of cereal for dinner. The day of the surgery prep I had one slice of toast. Drinking the 10.5 ounces of the magnesium citrate is as bad as I remember, and although not eating much for two days before helps, it is still a nightmare!
Monday morning comes and as I am getting the kids kids ready for school Bailia says- Mom do you think you will finally feel better after this surgery? I sure hope so I tell her. She said so do I, but the other two surgeries didn't do anything, so I was just wondering. Being weak and nervous makes me extra emotional and I started to cry silently.
Just before getting to the kids school to drop them off Jaden breaks down crying. What is the matter, I ask. He said, I just get so scared when you have surgery. Trying to hold myself together (thank goodness for sunglasses) I tell him it will be ok-just make sure you bring me a treat when you come to visit after school! Which for some reason calmed him down.
Then I run to pick up A then we take Koda to school-as I am talking to Grandma Smith about not knowing who would pick him up -she starts crying and throws her arms around me. She said you are so lucky to have these three beautiful children! What if you would have waited to have kids? Would you only have the one or two? OR would you have been able to have any at all? That thought has gone through my mind many times-but having someone say it with so much love for all three of my children made me even more grateful for my babies!
The hospital was cold-why is it always so cold?? They took my blood, hooked me to an IV and we waited for what seemed like forever-although it was a two hour shorter wait than when I had my hysterectomy! I don't know why I had been so nervous this time? Knowing how my last surgery went, it being too soon after my last, or the fear of STILL not feeling good after? I don't know, maybe a combination of them all.
Soon it was time, and I was taken up to the OR. The anesthesiologist was AMAZING ( I get really sick and he gave me EXTRA anti-nausea medicine an dit helped SO much) Everything that I had feared from my last surgery didn't happen! I had been given a little shot of something right before going into the OR to help me relax-NICE! Then when they moved me on to the COLD operating table it was like being in the middle of a beehive-there were nurses EVERYWHERE-(just what one wants when they are about to be spread eagle, with their belly filled full of gas, and being sliced open-GREAT!) But honestly at that point I was so relaxed-I didn't care! Then they placed the mask over my face (which I HATED last time because of the bus exhaust gas they had given me before being knocked out last time)-they had to tell me to breath -it is just oxygen I remember them saying-I didn't even know I had been holding my breath!
Waking up was SO different than my hysterectomy-my insides didn't spasm-so far so good! The plan had been to stay overnight for observation because of my last recovery being so bad-but I did so well they sent me HOME! But before doing so I made a FOOL of myself saying whatever drunken thing came to mind! I remember bits and pieces, and that is enough for me! The recovery nurses kept saying come over and listen to her she is so nice and funny! At least I am good for a laugh when I come out of surgery :-)
I had three incisions in my belly-one to the left of my belly button about an inch long, one in my bellybutton, and one to the right of my belly button that is about two inches. They removed my right ovary which had my bowels and intestines scarred to it. They also removed a lot of scar tissue on my intestines and my left ovary, but they were able to save the left ovary.
The recovery from this surgery was HORRIBLE! I hate being waited on-I do the waiting-but this surgery I HAD to be waited on! It was actually really nice, but at the same time made me feel like I should be doing it. I am just now (two weeks tomorrow) starting to feel better! Thank you to everybody that helped me during this time (you know who you are) without you I don't know what I would have done!

First Fight, Birthday, & PHANTOM!!! 9/20/2008

First Fight....
I picked Koda up from school on Friday and Miss Julie walks out and says "We had a little tiff" OH NO I say-What did he do??
She said oh it wasn't him it was John (names have been changed to protect the identity of the guilty) Apparently John didn't think that Coop was right when Coop told him that you put your apples in your basket (how they get the kids to sit and keep their hands to themselves at school-criss cross applesauce-apples in your basket) John was POSITIVE that you put shoes in your basket NOT apples-so he solved it the way any 4 year old would-he attacked Koda's face! He took a nice gouge on his nose and two little scratches under his eye!
As I asked Cooper what he did while he was being attacked (I assumed he decked the kid) He says in a very cool voice-Mom I was right so I just kept yelling IT'S APPLES NOT SHOES!!
Well I guess that works too!

In honor of the rodeo Friday was Cowboy day for Sis at school. Jaden was VERY disapointed that since he is now a 3rd grader they are not allowed to dress up. We were heading to Vegas right after school so her complete outfit isn't "cowgirl" but she still looks DARLING in her getup!

Instead of a party this year for Bailia's birthday we dicided to go to The Phantom in Vegas! We stayed at the Venetian since The Phantom was playing there and we are ALL abot convienence! The rooms were BEAUTIFUL-very similar to our rooms at the Four Seasons in Punta Mita-the kids loved that there were three beds and didn't have to squeeze all together! The Phantom was AWESOME -I think Koda enjoyed it the most! I don't know if he even moved the whole show!





We had to cut the trip short-I woke up this morning at about 4:30 with pain-then it became unbearable pain-I am SO thankful that the surgery is soon and I am praying it works-the kids were REALLY disapointed because they wanted to go shopping (so did I) but when there was a slight break in the pain we decided to just go home! Since I did not feel well when we got home A decided to make Sis an Ice Cream cake for her birthday! He is such a good Daddy! Love you A!

Happy Birthday Sissy Doo! 9/20/2008

Sis, Daddy, & J-dog!

Bailias first year...such a cutie! Our beautiful Princess 3 years old...
Our first trip to Mexico 4 years old...

Since this weekend is going to be a VERY busy weekend for the birthday girl I decided to post a few days early and wish my little sassy princess a VERY happy 7th birthday! I am sure there will be a TON of pictures to post after her amazing weekend so stay tuned!

Here are 7 things we love about Bailia

1- Koda loves her because "she cleans up really good"

2-Jaden loves her because "she's usually pretty nice to me and Coop" and "she's fun to play with" and "I love you Sissy Doo!"

3-We love that she is so smart and loves to figure everything out!

4-We love (and hate ;-) lol) how independent she is

5-We love how much she loves her family

6-We love how she works (at any and everything) until she is better than anyone

7-We love her because she has taught us SO much about life, patience, and love!

Happy birthday Sis, I hope all of your birthday wishes come true this weekend!

I was tagged....MONTHS ago!! 8 Things Tag

Looking through old photos I found a few that I had to post! This is J-dog only 1 day old! WOW! How time flies!

J is going to kill me for posting this picture but I couldn't resists! Are they not the CUTEST!!!???!! Bailia received a TON of dress up for her 3rd birthday who better to play dress up with than 4 year old big dog? They had so much fun!

Ok so here is my post for the TAG and I Tag anyone that wants to play:

8 Things I'm passionate about

1-My Kids

2-My Husband

3-Cleanliness

4-Being on time

5-Cooking/Baking

6-Keeping up to date on my Blog (since it is now my journal)

7-Taking pictures (you can never have too many =-))

8-Being a good wife and momma

Songs I can listen to - over and over-I know I put 9 but honestly I LOVE music and could have listed 20!
1- Kenny Chesney Me and You

2-Your My Best Friend Tim Mcgraw

3-Something Sexy About the Rain Kenny Chesney

4-Mothers Prayer- Celine Dion

5-House at Pooh Corner-Kenny Loggins

6-Just a Dream-Carrie Underwood

7-Mary did you know (it doesn't matter who sings it-it is always beautiful)

8-Somebody must be prayin' for me -Tim Mcgraw

9-Lie to me Bon Jovi (anything Bon Jovi I am a total 80's chick- Def Leopard, Poison, Bon Jovi-love them!)



8 Things I say Often
1-NO

2-My Living

3-Get your homework/chores done

4-Are you kidding me

5-What??? (you know I am partially deaf)

6-I said NO (do we see a trend here?)

7-Stop it!

8-Seriously



8 Things That Attract Me to a Friend
1-Honesty

2-Friendly

3-Kindness

4-Punctual

5-Loyal

6-Happy

7-Happy with Themselves

8-Common Interests



The last 8 books I have read
1-Harold and the purple crayon

2-Baby Bear, Baby Bear

3-There's a kid under my bed

4-Breaking Dawn (finally a book with more than 30 pages!)

5-The Last Lecture

6-Pinkalicious

7-Titanic (my kids are really obsessed with the Titanic so I have been reading a lot of kids books about it)

8-King Tut (dog has always loved Egypt so I bought him a King Tut book that we have both enjoyed reading)

9-I just read In His Sights last night it was a true story-quite interesting.



8 Random Things about Me…
1-I had 5 wisdom teeth

2-I have 2 "stuck toes"

3-Always wanted to grow up to be "a momma"

4-Have NEVER left my kids overnight (except to have a baby or when I had Surgery last year)5-I would love to be a fluent in Spanish

6-I dream of changing the world feeding one mouth at a time (really just making people happy when they eat my food)

7-I love to read

8-I love to travel



8 Things I want to do before I die
1- See my Children get old and HAPPY

2- See my grand kids get old and happy

3- Go to Bora Bora

4- Write a book

5- Travel to every state in the US

6- Have a Cabin in the Mountains

7- Grow Old with A

8- Take our kids to as many places in the world as possible, to SEE everything (what better education could you ask for)





8 Things I’ve Learned this Year
1-I can't control EVERYTHING

2-Although I love my car-I miss my SUV-we need to buy another one soon

3-I spend WAY too much money

4-I actually love teaching primary (who would have guessed =-) )

5-Bats will fly in your house if you leave your door open!! YUCK!

6-Koda has really bad allergies (the poor kid can barley go outside without getting completely stuffy :-( )

7-Surgery is the PITS!!

8-Even though I know I can't control everything I am going to still try :-)

Remembering 9/11

It is hard to believe that seven years have gone by since the towers fell. I remember it like it was yesterday. Becca called and told us to turn the Today show on-they were showing live coverage of the first tower that had been hit. As we watched, speechless, I remember thinking this has to be a joke! This is AMERICA land of the FREE home of the BRAVE! Why in the world would someone purposefully KILL themselves and thousands of other innocent people?? I still question that. Then the second tower was hit-it was like a bad dream that just kept getting worse-and it did! The towers fell, and the world cried. As Alan Jackson said so well-where were you when the world stopped turning??
Just one month before we had gone to New York to visit A's brother Dustin (who worked in the towers) I was 8 months pregnant with Bailia-Jaden had just turned one. It was a VERY spur of the moment trip and we WALKED forever wanting to see everything we could on our quick trip! Looking back thinking about standing on top of the 110 story tower, I get chills. I am so grateful that we took the trip to experience New York before the towers fell. I am thankful that Dustin was not there that day. My heart goes out to those who still suffer from this devastating day, and hope that a day like 9/11 will NEVER happen again!

Bailia's toothless!!

Bailia's front tooth has been loose for a long while (probably a month or two) it has been disgustingly loose for 2-3 weeks! Her teeth just like to hold on for as long as they can! So this morning as she was eating breakfast she hollers UUGGHH!!! I run in to see what is wrong and there is her tooth sicking straight out of her mouth!! I told her to pull it out-she tried and tried-I tried-nothing would budge that stubborn tooth! So A came in and said let me feel it-and he flipped it (hard) thankfully right out of her mouth! I am so glad it is finally out! Just in time for school pictures (LOL) !!

Koda Post 9/9/2008

My little Koda Bear has been waiting for his Halloween costume to come for a couple of weeks now(I know it is barley September)! Every year my kids LOVE trying to come up with THE BEST costume ever and Koda believes he has done that this year. When we got home from gymnastics tonight there on the porch was a giant box. Coop couldn't stand the suspense a second longer and started tearing into the box. Inside was the most exciting thing in the world for this little man-his "space man" costume!

Today at the bank he told the lady behind the counter that his space man costume was coming today. She asked which planet he was from. He quickly replied it isn't coming from a planet, it's coming UPS. She and I both had a good laugh! The picture with his helmet on is him showing me how he would walk in space!

I won what???

So I had a message from "Megan" on my machine today that goes something like this.

Hi this is Megan from the O Magazine this message is for Marcia (she actually said it right) if you could give me a call back that would be great.

The return call goes a little like this...

Hi Megan this is Marcia.

Marcia I am so glad you called back! I am just calling to let you know you have won the grand prize in the O Magazine Spring giveaway. You have won a trip to San Fransisco flight, hotel, and tickets to O You! (whatever that is)

(laughing) Ok so what do I have to do sit through a meeting? Pay $$? Give you my SS#?

(now she is laughing) Honestly this is The O magazine-you must have entered the contest back in the spring.

Yes I actually remember doing that...and I won FIRST prize??

No you won the GRAND prize-I am going to overnight you everything you need and we will get everything finalized after you have signed the paper work.

Ok thanks Bye!

So as of now I do not really know much about my winnings- but hey I WON!!! And what is more exciting that winning?? Maybe the anticipation of finding out exactly what it is that you won! =-)

Bored to death leads to LONG posts!

I have been up for HOURS now-I am bored out of my mind! So for the joys of entertaining myself, I post the following...
Over the past several days I have questioned myself wondering if I am making the right decision by going through with the surgery. Do I want to go through it all again? This will, after all, be my third surgery in two years!
It seems like yesterday that I had to stop eating the morning before the surgery and drink the "grape" flavored diahrea in a bottle. Honestly you would think with all of the technology today there would a pill you could take instead of trying to swallow that entire bottle of "juice!"
I can still taste the sickening bitter taste in my mouth from the gas, YUCK! I can still hear the monitors beeping their annoying BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, taunting you just waiting for their chance to scream their greatest joy-the long dreadful BEEEEEP-Doctor we have a red line!
I can still hear the AWESOME nurse who barley speaks english telling me-boy you don't look good-Gee thanks-that is just what I wanted to hear as I try to fight the undeniable urge to vomit on you as I try to walk the seven painful steps to the bathroom, so they can get the (oh so painful) catheter OUT of me! I can feel my insides start to spasm yet again and the same nurturing nurse, who told me I look like crap, running in to give me another shot to stop the spasms, that may have hurt worse than the actual spasms, tells me so kindly in her broken english that "if you gained some weight this shot wouldn't hurt so much" -umm maybe if you knew how to give shots like the nurse before your shift it wouldn't hurt so much! Obviously if you stab me in the hip bone it isn't going to feel so great! Moving to my rear just a few inches south you would have found a nice piece of flesh to gouge in to-I have had three kids for crying out loud-a blind man could have found enough blubber to stick that needle in!
So I ask myself am I just being a wimp? Is it really that bad? Then it hits me like a ton of bricks at 2:45 this morning-yup-it really is that bad! Whenever I have had a break from the pain (it has been a whole three days) I start to doubt myself and wonder if I should just "wait it out" to see if it gets better. Then my body tells me in its own special way-by making the pain a little more intense-to stop doubting yourself you idiot and get the surgery! Ok, on the bright side the turkey sandwich the hospital served for lunch was actually really good (maybe due to the fact I hadn't eaten in two days)! But I have to post some sort of bright side right?

This concludes my post of boredom-it didn't put me to sleep like I was hoping, but it might do it for you, if so, I have done my good deed for the day! :-)

School Starts! 8/12/2008

I can't believe school has started! I felt the day would never come then *POOF* here it is and the day is almost half over! I can't wait to hear all about their first day-it is always so exciting! The new friends they made, who they sat by, all about their teacher, and every other little detail! My kids have always had a really easy time at school-even in preschool they never cried when I dropped them off-thank goodness that I can make it back to the car before they can see me cry! ;-)

Sand Dune Fun! 8/9/2008

What a fun day out in the HOT summer sun! I wanted to take the kids out to do SOMETHING fun before school starts on Tuesday. So we ended up going out to the dunes behind our house. NICE choice!! We were out there for HOURS and the kids didn't argue ONCE! If only the whole summer could have been that way! The sand was perfect for sand castles with all of the rain we have had it was slightly moist so it held its shape! The kids loved their picnic, and if I wouldn't have MADE them come home we would probably still be out there!

JDog's Baptism 8/2/2008

We are so proud of Jaden-what a strong spirit he has! Yesterday he was surrounded by family and friends as they witnessed a very special day in his life. He has been SO excited for this day to come and watching him yesterday so calm and prepared made me feel so honored to be his momma! I had been asked a few weeks ago to write a little bit about J so that they could read it at the baptism here is what they read...

Jaden came into this world calm, loving, and with most tender heart! He loves his family and is a great example to all of us. He is a great student, a wonderful big brother, the best friend, and an awesome son! Jaden loves life and wants to be the best at everything-the best golfer and gymnast, know all of the words to the primary songs, be the best student and never miss a day of school-you name it he wants to be the best! We are lucky to have Jaden in our lives and we are so proud of him to have made the decision, on his own, to be baptized! He has looked forward to this day for months now and is so excited to receive the Holy Ghost! We love you Big Dog!

During Sacrament meeting today the Bishop called the 4 boys who were baptized yesterday up to the stand-Jaden looked SO handsome up there! Then shocking us all he stood and bore his testimony! He is always so calm-even though he said he was scared to death and almost walked off as soon as he got up there-and gave a great testimony that he is so happy he was able to be baptized, he loves his family, and his mom and dad, and his Heavenly Father- Short sweet and straight to the point. Jaden you truly are a great example to all of us-I admire your strength, courage, patience, and determination! We LOVE you!!

Pool time FUN!!

Thanks again to Grandma and Grandpa Williams we were able to get through another 110* weekend here in good ol' southern Utah! The pool was perfect and we spent HOURS there this weekend! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!!

Jdog and A tourny 7/30/2008

Jdog had SO much fun golfing in a tournament with his dad! And they are both looking forward to many, many more chances to play together! Way to go boys!