30 candles on my cake!!!!

That is right everyone, I am officially old and proud of it!!! This morning I took a shower and "washed away my twenties!!"

Here are 20 things I did in my 20's that I am proud of...

1. Had Cassidy at age 20


2. Had Lund at age 21


3. Had Sarah at age 25


4. Had Will at age 27


5. put my husband through college (some of the time..)


6. was a Primary President for 3 years


7. was married to a Bishop


8. Lived in Flagstaff, Arizona


9. Lived in Gilbert, Arizona


10. Lived in Queen Creek, Arizona


11. Lived in Pocatello, Idaho


12. Lived in Boise, Idaho


13. Lived in Bagdad, Arizona


14. Purchased our first 4x4 truck (love it)


15. Purchased our first SUV --Honda, Pilot (love it even more than the truck)


16. Read lots of books


17. Wiped away a lot of tears


18. Smiled and laughed with many people


19. Decided that short hair is easier to take care of


20. Lived and Loved the first ten years of marriage!!!!

Now that I am 30, I hope my life is just as fun, exciting and wonderful... with a little less moving!!!!

Todays events:

I had a wonderful b-day with Morgan waking me up to pancakes in bed after he got the kids off to school all by himself and let me sleep in.... (best present ever).

My best buddy here in town treated me to wings and a movie for lunch. It was wonderful and we laughed a lot. (Will thought it was funny to mimik my laugh when we thought the movie was really funny, it was more like a gaffaw or cackle).

We had my favorite kind of pizza for dinner (pinneapple) and then we had WONDERFUL chocolate cake curtousy of Marie Calendars frozen pies.

The kids made me a treehouse for my birthday. It was so cute and here is what the note said on the treehouse...."We built this treehouse for you. Happy birthday, it was really hard. The main builder was Lund. The other builders were Sarah and Cassidy." He later told me that he hit his thumb five times while making this treehouse for me and that it hurt a lot!!! That is true love!!!!

Morgan gave me a card and some money and he drew a picture of what he thinks he will look like in 30 more years..... Interesting!

I recieved a "Happy birthday phone call from a friend that I haven't heard from in many years" Thanks Crystal, it was good to hear your voice.

My friends here in town threw a party for me at last Scrap Wednesday and they all gave me some scrapbooking stuff. It is a wonderful feeling to be surrounded by good friends!

Morgan's parents send me a wonderful card and even sang to me this morning while I was eating pancakes in my recliner and yes, they even bonked their heads together. Some people reading this might think that is a very weird comment, unless you have ever heard Lund and Karen sing the "Happy Birthday song".

My parents sent me a wonderful card via my dad last Saturday, which commented "How can you be 30 when we are still 39???" He!He! And having my dad help me this past Saturday was a gift in itself!

My sister Becky called to wish me a happy b-day as her husband was adjusting her back. He just happens to be a chiropractor so I guess that is o.k.

My sister Becky and my sister Alisha sent me a wonderful package that contained a necklace, a new wallet debt reduction plan, some candy (the kids stole) and some girly stuff like nail polish, etc... thanks sisters! Your the best!

And last but not least, the blood bank sent me an e-mail wishing me a happy birthday!!! How wonderful!!!! He!He!!

Well, here's to a wonderful day full of memories and fun!!! I love you all!!!!!

Day Trip with my Cubbies!!!!

On Saturday I took my wonderful troop of Cub Scouts on a 13-hour trip to Verde River Days at Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood, Arizona. It was really, really, really fun and also really, really, really exhausting! I have 8 Cub Scouts ranging from the ages of 8-10. My boys are so amazing and nice to each other and I learn a lot from them. We had a real bonding experience on the trip, well, lots of bonding experiences to be exact. Here are some quotes from the trip,

• "Are you going to throw up?????!!!!!! I will try to pull over really quick.... oh, I see that I am too late.. Everyone out of the car, go take a hike in the woods for a minute while Sister Johnson takes care of this." (Sister Johnson)


• "I am really, really hot and tired but I am having soooooo much fun!!!!" (One of the boys)


• "What would you do if I tip over my canoe and swim in the lake for a little while" (one of the boys)


• "Leave that snake on the ground and come eat your lunches boys! We could have stayed back in Bagdad if we wanted to see snakes" (Sister Johnson)


• "I just ordered 20 hard tacos and you guys are still hungry?????!!!!" O.k. I will order more." (Sister Johnson)


• "When you bury William in the sand, please don't fill his mouth up with sand too" (Sister Johnson)


• "Can I shoot the gun or maybe the canon" (one of the boys after watching the Civil War re-enactment)


• "That guy in the iniform said that they are signing up more people to be in their War thing (the traveling Civil War re-enactment group). Can I sign up my dad??? Can I sign up too??????" (one of the boys)


• "Can we pet that rattlesnake in the cage" (one of the boys)


• "Hey, can I ride your horse?!" (my daughter, Sarah said this to a Search and Rescue guy up on a horse. And you know what? He did get off and let her ride.)


• "Miss Christa, are you and Miss Wendy sisters??? (one of the boys asked this about myself and my Assistant Scout Leader)

These are all actual quotes from the boys or myself during the trip. Fun times and wonderful memories!

Their activites included: rock climbing, canoeing, making sandcastles, petting a Gila monster and holding a Bull snake, eating lots of food, learning how to get rescued in the woods, inflatable slides and obstacle courses, and a Civil War re-enactment. The day was a huge success and I think we will do it again (in about a year....)

My dad also came up from Gilbert and helped me with the adventure. It was sooooooo wonderful to have him there and he was such a ginormous help and he sure loved those kids. Thanks dad!!!

"Do you like my hat??"

"Do you like my hat?" "No, I do not like your hat!" "Good-bye!" "Good-bye" (this is a quote from the book "Go Dogs, Go" that sticks in my mind so vividly as I look at these pictures). Sarah just wanted to try on the new dinosaur underwear that we bought for Will for his upcoming potty training days. You can see Will in the background trying to be just like his big sister.... such aspirations!!!

The Long Awaited doctor update...

o.k. i know you all have been waiting everyday to know what happened in the end of our wonderful story about illnesses and such. Alright, I realize you are not waiting by your computer all day long, but i will give you the update anyways......
Will and I made a trip to Kingman today (1. 5 hours away) to see the Ear, nose, and throat specialist. It was wonderful because one of my best buddies came along to help me out with Will, who also needed to be seen. That made all the difference in the world! She would watch him for me when I went in to see the doctor and then she brought him in on his turn. Amazing concept and I think it would be nice to hire someone to just follow me around and always do that.
O.K. onto the diagnosis portion..... I have a lymphnode swollen so big in my neck and throat that the doctor decided he needed to put gloves on and shove his hand down my throat... result: tada,.. I gagged. His reply "did that gag you and hurt or just gag you?????" Let me think!!! That hurt!!!!! Oh, and it gagged me as well..... He! He!
He was actually a nice doctor, all except the gagging part. His conclusion: reduce size of lymphnode (duh...), by administering horse pills (they look more like suppositories) for two weeks and get rid of acute tonsilitis in the process. Come back into office in three weeks to see if I...1. have returned to normal human status, 2. schedule getting tonsils out so this will stop recurring (little nervous about this step).
Wills appointment results:
Just picture a two-year-old sitting in the examination room on his mom's lap looking wide eyed up at the doctor with the flashlight and stick in his hand. He tells Will to open his mouth really wide and to my surprize, he does. Doc uses said stick to see way down his throat and once again gags an unsuspecting patient. But Will is smarter than his mother. After he finishes gagging the doctor tells him to open his mouth again. Will firmly clenches his teeth and shakes his head "no" (why didn't I think of this...). Will waits until the doctor goes and throws the stick away and come back with just the flashlight in hand. He waits through some coercing and then decides to trust the flashlight, not the stick, and we are back in business. Will is diagnosed with acute tonsilits as well and then we discuss his ears. The doctor gets the light and looks in his ears and I tell Will that the doctor is looking for a frog in his ear, he looks at me and says "no, a snake"... so on it goes. The doctor says that he has a lot of fluid in his ears and asks if he hears me really well. I replied that he is two and I just figured he was ignoring me and had better things to do when I talk to him. So the doctor now wants to see him back in three weeks as well to see if they can reduce the fluid in the ears and give a hearing test. He may need tubes. But tubes don't frighten me. Lund had his put in as a toddler and then the hospital brought me a different boy that looked just like my son but was healthy and could hear me and just run and have fun.
Are your eyes tired yet..... o.k. I will stop..... my conclusion is this: when the Z-pack and the pink bubblegum medicine in your refrigerator fails, seek out a new superhero...... The Otolaryg..... somthing or other, better known as Eyes, Ears, and Throat Man!!!! This would be a good suggestion for all those out there still seeking a halloween costume...... just eat a popsicle and save the stick and then get a little tiny pen light type flashlight to carry around with you as well. Anyone who has ever visited said superhero will know exactly who you are....
p.s. can you tell that this blog entry was written at 4:30am???? I sure can!

The Doctors are getting "sick" of us... (sorry for the pun Ruth)

Yes, this is true... I think the Bagdad Clinic is starting to get sick of us. I just wish they would offer a "family discount". We have been there SIX times in the last week and a half and now all of us have been seen... Here are the results of those visits, since we saw three different doctors and we all know that different doctors have different opinions.... ( I am putting this in order of when we were seen.
Christa: Diagnosis: Strep? Given a "Z-pack" and slowly feeling better. Seen by Doctor A
Will: Diagnosis: An ear infection and two pink eyes. Given ammoxicillian and is slowly getting better, but still struggles with his health and boogies... Also seen by Doctor A

Morgan: Diagnosis: Tonsilitis, given Ammoxicillian. He is really struggling at getting better and has his ups and downs... Is the Ammoxicillian really working?? His throat is very sore and he has horrible headaches still and feels crummy.... Seen By Doctor B
Lund: Diagnosis: Tonsilitis, given Ammoxicillin. He is still out of school because he has two pink eyes that just won't go away and every morning he wakes up with his eyes "sealed shut"..Also seen by Doctor B on the same day
Sarah: Diagnosis: Get over it, your ear just must be hurting..... given pain reducing ear drops. She is really struggling to get better and four days later her ears still hurt her and her throat is covered in white dots and her eyes are pretty red.... Also seen by Doctor B, same day

Cassidy: Diagnosis: You just have a cold, gargle salt water..... She was the only one given a strep test; tested negative...Syptoms are the same as above..Seen by doctor C. She is still struggling with headaches and not feeling wonderful, but is back at school.... I also took a look at her sore throat tonight after dinner and sure enough, white pockets or dots as well....

Dillemma: I know that "white pockets" in your throat are not good and I think Sarah and Cassidy really need to get back into the doctors again.
Frustration: They were the only ones not given antibiotics, coinscidensce?????
Another frustration: Will they give me a "Family discount" or let me have the next visit free if they were possibly "wrong" the first time....
Frustration: Driving to Prescott to get a "second opinion" would cost 50.00 in gas, worth it????
Frustration: I have been grounded in my house with sick kids and being sick for two weeks, somebody let me out......... He! He!! I am about ready to jump on the nearest Haul truck and see where it takes me...... (probably just back to the Mine, so I guess that is pointless)....

Thanks for lending me your ear, our your eyes rather, while I complain about my silly situation.

SITUATION TO BE CONTINUED PENDING TOMORROWS DOCTORS APPOINTMENTS...

Garden grown variety

I am sending a few pictures of the watermellon crop that came from our garden this year. We probably had about 8 or so this year and these last couple were HUGE and delicious!!! Our garden didn't produce as well as past years due to a late start in the new house and a weird monsoon season this year. But, we sure did reap what we sowed when we ate these mellons at dinnertime. Yummy and sweet!!!! Well worth it!!!!!

Wondering why I havven't returned your call????!!!

If your wondering why I am not answering my phone lately, it could be because

my two year old ripped my phone in half... Strong little man, huh???? He loves to play with my cell phone and open it and close it. The other day, he decided to open it, and rip the top half off. Do you think I can sell it on Ebay, for half-off????He!!! He!!!

Don't worry, I should get my new one in the mail on Tuesday or Wednesday, so in the meantime, I am here with sick kids in the dark ages.... Actually it is nice and quiet......