CrumleyCrew

Snow and more Snow

2012-01-19T07:00:00.000-08:00

Let is snow, let it snow. At least that was the song of yesterday. Today its more let it rain, let it rain. I must admit the snow was very pretty yesterday, the way it covered the houses, trees, yards and mountains. I just dislike/hate it on the roads. The morning started with me stressed about the drive to school. The snow started at about 7:15 and did not let up until about 2:30. It was a thick, heavy, wet snow which did a number on the roads and caused about 50 accidents in the city of Boise. Thankfully I was not one of those accidents. We left for school about 20 minutes early, usually its only 5-10 minutes early. A little crazy but I would rather sit in the parking lot for a few minutes than have that rushed feeling on the slick roads. Once back from the trip I stayed in the house until it was time to pick up Mr. Casey. So what kept me busy...

Oatmeal Cakes - which are usually made in a 9x13 pan but I made them in loaf pans instead and got four bread loaf sizes and two small loaf size cakes. More for me to enjoy...

Sugar Cookies - I added extra brown sugar to them to give them a little bit of a different taste which turned out very good.

No Bake Cookies - Love these and I try to tell myself that they are not that bad for you with all the oatmeal that the recipe calls for. When Casey tried one last night he was very surprised to see the oatmeal and after eating it decided that maybe oatmeal is not that bad.

I was also able to get all our old bills shredded and the driveway shoveled off. Today looks like another day of staying home for the most part. I just don't have the desire to fight with the slush and puddles that are covering the roads and parking lots. Maybe I can get more off my list of things to do someday...maybe even try out my sewing machine. Since I was told to stop the baking yesterday. :(

If anyone is looking for a good new book series to start try Joanne Fluke. She write novels about Hannah Swenson, she is a baker/crime solver. The best part of the books is they come with recipes. Everything recipe that Hannah makes in the story is in the book and most of them sound wonderful. The story is a good read as well.

Happy Thursday All...enjoy the day we have been given. :)

PICTURES

2012-01-17T06:14:00.000-08:00

Its hard to believe but I got the pictures to load this morning. So here are a few shots from the last couple of months at the Crumley Home.

Since we have had such a dry winter we were able to walk down by the river a few weeks ago and take a few pictures.

Here is a family shot after a long day of cross country skiing and then stopping by a spot to feed fish. It has turned into a family tradition to cross country ski over the Christmas holiday with Brents family.

Back up a few weeks and here are the pictures from Caseys Turkey Day Party at school. They had a good time and a good breakfast of pancakes, sausage juice and cheese sticks.

Fast forward to Christmas time again. This house does the lights and then some most every year. Casey decided that this was the best of the best of the best of the best light show.

Here are the rest of the pictures from out Christmas ski trip. There are always swans along the path.

Casey doing his best to stay up on the small down hill.

He was a little cold and not wanting this pictures taken.

Trying it without poles

This was from Thanksgiving in Idaho Falls. As you can tell not much snow but the sled was still given a try.

We had three days off for MLK day and decided to try another ski trip close to Boise. It was a lot of fun again but no pictures because I forgot the camera. Other than the ski trip it was a slow weekend which is nice to have but now its back to the daily grind of school/work and other things. We might get snow tomorrow at least thats the forcast and if it hold true I think I am going to spend the day baking. I want to make some cookies or a cake and figure that would be the perfect day to do it.

No More Shopping

2012-01-05T06:43:00.000-08:00

I really dislike shopping...unless its grocery shopping then I don't mind it. Over the past few days Brent has been working from home which means I don't have access to the office and computer so I have been trying to get other stuff done. That has forced me to get the shopping I have been putting off done. Mostly returns from the holidays which is nice to get back but I still dislike shopping. Thankfully I was able to get it all done without the "help" of Casey. He feels the same way I do.
On a side note, I would love to post some pictures but my blog will not allow me to...I need to find some time to figure it out. I know the post is kind of blah without some life from pictures.
Casey is starting to get back into the swing of school. The first couple of days were hard but now I think things are starting to get back to what he likes. He said it would be great if he could just have p.e. and recess. Yes life would be great without the work and just have the fun but sadly that will never happen.
Its still so strange to look outside and see no snow. Yesterday it was almost to nice to wear a jacket. I just hope this does not mean we will have a hard winter still ahead of us. I sure have loved to drive minus the snow and ice on the roads but it is kind of scary for the ski resorts and the snow pack for the coming summer.
Well Brent is working from home again today which means I have to remove myself from the computer for the day. Hope you all have had a wonderful first few days of 2012.

Lets Welcome 2012

2012-01-02T08:22:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe its already 2012, that I have a six year old who loves first grade, have been married for almost 9 years and I am now 30 years old. I still remember when they said the world would end in 2000. I guess they were wrong by just a few years.

We had a great Christmas 2011 over in Idaho Falls. Casey got to try out cross country skiing for the first time and he did wonderful. We also spent some time down on the farm with the animals. On Christmas Eve we went to a church service and then had out traditional Chinese food. It was also very nice to see U. Mike and A. Alice and spend some time with mom. A think one highlight of Casey's trip was going to John Deere with U. Robb and get a new tractor. Its something my dad would do for him so it was bitter/sweet to do it again with Robb.

New Years Eve was very simple, we just hung out at home and watched Mr. Poppers Penguins, which was a cute movie. I tried to get Casey to stay up and watch the ball drop but he was having none of it. I had tried to explain to him why its fun and after my explanation he just looked at me and said "So what's the big deal" :)

Now Casey has one more day off of school and Brent has one more day off of work and then its back to the daily routine. It will be nice to get back to it. Hopefully this year I can try and get some of the things I have on my to do sometime list done. One thing on that list it to be better about posting to this blog. We will see how that work outs.

Happy News Years.

Don't question a first grader

2011-10-20T06:10:00.000-07:00

So a few days ago when I picked Casey up from school I asked him what he learned that day. He was silent for a little bit then said "I learned how to spell...nothing" so I asked how do you spell nothing. Very serious he said "n-o-t-h-i-n-g" just goes to show me he learned nothing.

So its been almost one week since Brent left for hunting and we got a call last night from him. Sadly no elk yet but he did shoot a deer. Not sure why he wanted to shoot a deer, deer meat is not good to eat, at least to me. Hopefully' they will find something today.

I made some chicken and pineapple stir-fry for supper. Before Casey went out to play I asked what sounded good for supper, his answer was "something I like please" I asked him when was the last time I fixed him something he didn't like. Thing for a second he said "the last time you made peas" No it was not a meal of just peas but that is what he remembered. Got to love that kid, thankfully he loved the supper.

Well it time get moving, breakfast and then off to school and bible study. I think I am going to treat myself to a lovely cup of coffee with some of my new coffee syrup - white chocolate vanilla syrup. Yummy.

Hunting Season

2011-10-17T09:42:00.000-07:00

Its now hunting season which means we have a week of just us. Not the worst thing but with a son who is such a daddy's boy it makes it a little difficult. I did find a new use for my Crock-Pot...Busy People Breakfast. I put frozen hash browns in the crock-pot and then mixed up 10 eggs, 2 cups of cheese, precooked sausage, 1/2 onion and 1/2 pepper chopped up, and then what ever spices you enjoy. Once that was mixed I poured it over the hash browns and set it on low to cook overnight. Then Friday morning it was ready for the guys to take with them. I was surprised at how well it turned out, the only bad thing, and it really is not a bad thing, was it made the house smell so good overnight. I would have taken a picture of it so share but the guys left at 6:30 and I was not thinking fast enough at that time to take a picture.

On Saturday Casey and I went to Walmart to get him some new shoes. The boy is growing like a weed and going though clothes and shoes like no other. I know this is only the beginning of the growing... We also found some great pumpkins and hopefully we can get them painted sometime this week. Of course we had to get four because there are four in our family, if we didn't get one for Buddy he would be so sad. A boy and his dog is a very sweet thing.

Sunday we would have gone to church but both Casey and are fighting with a cold/cough/yucky thing. Thankfully today I am feeling much better and I believe Casey is over his crude too. We ended up just hanging out in the house and doing nothing but playing games and reading books and doing some homework. Fun fun...

It was funny Sunday night I gave Casey some medicine for his cough and to help him sleep. After taking the drink he wanted to know how many more drinks I had and if he could please have another one tomorrow. Same thing he says about his morning multi-vitamins.

This time of year in Boise always has me amazed. The trees are changing colors and I just love seeing them in the morning light. I have tried many times to take pictures but the camera never does it justice so I just have to be happy with the pictures in my head. If you able to make a trip to Boise dont delay the trees are worth it. If you do make it over we could meet for coffee or lunch or something fun like that. :)

Hope all have a great Monday

Rex Goliath Kind of Monday

2011-10-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

So maybe your wondering what a Rex Goliath is, well its some very good wine. I found it from Fred Meyer a while back and they had it on sale a few days ago so I got a few more bottles and after the weekend and the Monday I had its a good way to end the day.

Our weekend was long. Casey wanted to spend the first night on the sleeper sofa, Brent was out of town on a scouting trip. Well the sleeper sofa is not very comfortable and then when you add a 6 year old that sleeps all over the bed...I ended up with about an hour of solid sleep. :( Notvery good. On Saturday we went to the mall to see if we could find some winter clothes for Casey. He is hitting a growth spurt and we are going to be in need of long sleeves and pants here soon. I hate to shop as does Casey so it was an in and out trip. I would rather do my shopping on line but I needed to get an idea for sizes. After our morning of shopping we went to Brent's sisters house for the afternoon and evening. Brents parents were in town to help Jolene get her house ready for winter so we did that and Casey also carved a plastic pumpkin over there. It turned out really cute but we are still going do to the painting here soon.

Sunday we got up to late for church :( manily because of the no sleep from the night before and then getting home late and having to share a bed with the wild man again. This time it was in our room so the bed was better but he still moved like a wild man. Instead of church Casey stayed in the tub for about an hour or more while I got my shopping list and coupons ready for the week. About 11 Brent's parents stopped by to see Casey ride his bike without training wheels and then show off his hitting skills in the back yard.

Brent got home about 3:30 on Sunday. So all in all the weekend was not bad but just long, with no sleep that seems to happen.

Today was back to the old routine of school and life. I must say I love pork roast for supper. Tonight I cut up red potatoes to go with it and it was so yummy. And now I am enjoying some wine and looking forward to a good nights sleep. :) I hope.

What is it

2011-09-29T12:40:00.000-07:00

So last night for supper I made this...

Casey saw it and wanted to know why I put carrots in cupcakes and why we were having cupcakes for supper. They were not sweet cupcakes but instead bbq chicken "cupcakes". I just took dough from a can and cut it into six pieces and put it in a large greased muffin tin. Then topped it with frozen veggi mix and cheese. Then baked it for 30 mins at 350. I baked it uncovered for 20 mins and then covered for the last ten just to make sure it didn't burn. Very yummy and very easy.

While the muffins cooked I also baked some spaghetti squash. I love this stuff and figured that since the oven was on I would roast it along side. This time I rubbed garlic over the squash and then used some spicy stuff on it and put it in a baking dish with wine and then covered with foil.

When its done you just take a fork to it and it will come out of the skin just like spaghetti. I love the stuff but it is not a big hit with the guys in the family. So you can tell what my lunch for the next few days will be... Yummy.

This weekend Brent is going to scout for his upcoming hunting trip so Casey and I will have a few days to just hang out. A picnic on the pull out bed and hopefully a trip to the Saturday Farmers Market. Then maybe a second veiwing of Cars2 now that its in the cheap theater but who knows.

Its hard to believe October is so close. Dont know where the time goes anymore but I do enjoy the changing leaves and all the fun that comes with the cooler weather.

The Seventh Day

2011-09-28T06:16:00.000-07:00

Casey and Brent were reading in Genesis this morning about how the earth was created. When they finished Casey said he knew what happened on the 7th day. God watched football. :) Got to love seeing the world though the eyes of a kid.

I'm Back, again

2011-09-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

I think I am back...I have been having trouble with getting this blog to work with pictures. Hopefully it will work today.

So what have we been up to for the last few weeks. Casey still loves school, infact he was very upset when he had a day off for Labor Day. It also took a few weeks to get the weekend to be ok but now I think he enjoys the weekend. We are starting to get a good routine down for the day. His day starts at the same time in school 8:40 just like last year. But now I don't get him until about 3:15. I have found that it works better to get to the school by about 3:00 so I can find a parking spot. Its nice to have that time to talk to the other parents or just hang out for a few minutes. Then when we get home Casey has homework and being the mother that I am I make him get it done before he goes out to play with the neighbor kids. Being in first grade his homework is reading page of words and now a daily spelling test. This routine took about two weeks to get him willing to do. It took me telling him one day that we did not have to do the work but when he gets to school he would have to tell his teach why it was not done. Its amazing how that has made him willing to do the work. As far as the spelling test, he has had two so far and aced both of them. If you get all of them correct you get a jolly rancher. A great motivator for Casey.

Casey has come even farther out of his shell. There are about four families that live on our street and they all have kids around Casey's age and since our neighborhood BBQ he has been willing to go and play with them. Its nice to live in a dead end street like we do because it cuts down on the traffic and I know they are safe. These new friends have gotten Casey to take his training wheels off his bike and have gotten him to just open up in general. He is in the house long enough to get his homework done and then have a small snack and its out to play. One huge plus is he is sleeping much better at night now. The other nice thing is I know the families some what and they are all good families for Casey to be around.

Over Labor Day weekend we went to McCall for a race for Brent. One of his running buddies wife was doing the race as well. It was a fast trip, just one night but still fun. McCall is a very pretty place and not to far away. Here is Casey and his friend playing in the McCall Lake. We told them to not get to wet...it took about a blink of an eye before they were soaked. Thankfully the hotel was close and the weather was nice and warm.

Hard to believe but the strawberry patch is still producing. I did not realize it would still be going this long. Now that I can enjoy them, I love it. :):) As for the rest of the garden...lets let the pictures do the talking.
My peppers are coming back after almost being pulled out

One day this is what I found. :)

Found this today.
Sadly the squash you see in the back did not come out of the garden. I had to buy him. :(

Here is a picture of Casey at the zoo when we went this summer. So much fun.

Well this is kind of a here it is post. Hopefully I will be better about posting now that I have my schedule a little more worked out. Brent is still working from home two days a week so there is very little computer time for me. Not a big deal because I am starting my bible study for the next few months. Its "Bad Girls of the Bible" our first bad girl is Eve and the author takes the story and makes it work for today. With Eve she took the story and made Eve a daughter of a gardener and there is a group of trees that she is not to touch. An evil man comes and gets her to touch it and taste its fruit and when her boyfriend comes she gets him to taste the fruit as well. This Thursday will be the second class but I already love the book. I also love the ladies in the class, they were the same from last year and are just so much fun. So I will try to keep you up to date on that as well. But now its time to get moving before my afternoon gets away from me.

Day Two

2011-08-26T05:01:00.000-07:00

We now have a full first grader in the house. The second day of first grade went great for Casey. He is getting back into the morning routine so far. Its a good thing he has never been a late sleeper because it takes a little for him to fully wake up in the morning. When I picked him up at 3:15 he was so excited to tell me all about recesse and PE and lunch. The only problem is when you ask him about the rest of the day he cannot remember. He told me that the learning part of school is hard to remember, the fun stuff pushed the learning stuff out. Its not hard to learn the new stuff just to remember it to tell me about it. Another great reason to help in his class this year. Once home we spent about two hours playing battleship, yes almost two hours. Only two games in that time frame as well. I found a U-Build it Battleship game, its just like the good old battleship game but you get to build the boats out of legos which Casey finds just as much fun as the game.

As for my day, I spent it running more errors. Brent it going on a climb this Friday night and Saturday so I did the shopping for his supplies. He also worked from home yesterday so I got other odds and ends done, like getting a couple of goodie bags made for a couple of kids that have birthdays coming up.

Today is day three so we will see what new expression Casey has today. Not sure what our weekend will hold, I am hoping to talk Casey into going down to the Farmers Market but if not we will find something to keep us busy on Saturday. Somehow we always do.

1st Grade

2011-08-25T06:54:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Casey had his first day of school and loved it. Although I was told that it was not really the first day because it was only a half day of school and that he is not yet a first grader he is only half a first grader. After today he will be a true first grader. :) Got to love the way his mind works.

I figured the first day would go just fine and it did. We got to school and found that the parking lot was packed and there was not a single spot to park. So we had to park at the near by park and walk a little bit. Not a problem, it was kind of nice to get the fresh air. Once in the school we found his name on his desk, got his supplies unpacked and we were then told to leave so the kids to get to the fun. He knew about 5 of the other kids in his class and the teacher seems very nice. When I picked him up he was very talkative about how much fun it was to have recesses and be with his friends. He was also very sure to tell me that it was only half a day to the next day will be the real first day of school.

As for what I did while he was in school...Drank a cup of coffee and read some of my book. I got number 17 in the Stephanie Plum series and have not been able to read it. Then went out and did a little shopping, came back and cleaned the house, then it was time to pick up Casey. Its amazing how fast time goes. One of my goals it to get a school book started for Casey. I have a neat album and want to make a few pages for each grade.

I better end this post and get the little half first grader ready to walk out the door. Hopefully I will be able to get pictures posted soon. Have a wonderful Thursday all.

Short Break

2011-08-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

So I have taken a short break from blogging but I hope I am back...

The last few weeks have been busy but not crazy. Casey starts school on Wednesday which is crazy but its part of life. We went to the school last week just to do a final check on the time it starts, 8:40, which class he is in, Mr. Trumble, and where the class is located. We also got to see his kindergarten teacher and met one of the other first grade teachers. I just wanted to make sure to know where the class room was located for the first day. Casey is very much looking forward to it which will be a huge help for all of us. We have all his supplies ready and his backpack from last year is still a hit, big bonus there. It will be interesting to see what stories he has for me after the first day. As for me it I am looking forward to having a little time to myself but am looking at the idea of finding a job that will allow me to be home when he is home. I do have a bible study starting in September which I am very much looking forward to...The Bad Girls of the Bible is what the study is going to be on. I am looking forward to it for the class and to be back with the ladies.

A couple of week ago Casey and Brent went to Idaho Falls for a few days to help his dad with harvest and I stayed in Boise. I had a dr. appointment on Monday and they were going to be gone Saturday to Wednesday so I would have to miss the appointment. I found out that I have plantar facitias...not as bad as it sounds but still annoying. There is a tendon that runs on the bottom of your foot and when I tripped I rammed my heel into the floor and made it snap. The dr. gave me a brace thing to wear which has helped so much. But back to the guys being gone. I spent Saturday doing nothing, just being home and getting the house cleaned, they did not leave until after 2:00. Then on Sunday my wonderful nephew came over to spend the day with me...He got here about lunch time so we went to Baja Fresh. Love that place because they have a salsa bar and wonderful food. Then he went to play golf with Gabby and Hannah. After his golf game he came back and picked me up and we went to the Hawks Baseball game. The best part of the game...we got free tickets and sat right behind the home plate. We just got to the gate at the riht time and a guy had extra tickets that he did not want. The game was so so but still fun. William then decided to stay the night which was fine with me...I love having that guy around. He has a great outlook on life and just makes everything fun.

Monday was my foot appointment which I was so thankful to have it just be something simple and not a broken bone. The appointment ended up being close to an hour because I had to wait for the dr to see me and then he was a talker, nice guy but glad I did not have anywhere else to be.

Tuesday was more of just doing things that needed to get done. I wanted to spend time working on my pictures but kept putting it off. I did end up getting up to 2010 which is good but not as much as I would have liked. Hopefully once Casey starts school I can get the rest done.

Wednesday the guys got home about 5:00, so I spent the day doing laundry and getting the grocery shopping done. It was so nice to have the time to myself but also nice to have the guys home. Casey had a great time helping with the harvest and I think Brent also had a good time working on the farm again. He likes to go back and remember his childhood like that.

Since them we have been getting things ready for school and just being. Casey and I have gone to the zoo with some friends and then had a picnic afterwards. We also went to the Discovery Center which Casey loved. It is a great place and I believe we will be going back soon.

My garden was doing great until...Buddy. I must have left the gate unlocked because a couple of morning ago I went outside and my one squash was in the yard, half eaten and some of my tomato plants were tramped as well as my cucumbers. I only hope they can come back and be ok. I have gotten close to 10 tomatoes this year so far so that's good.

So that's a small catch up on the last few weeks of our life...I wish I could show you pictures of my garden but this blog will not let me load them so maybe next time. Pray Wednesday goes well for Casey and for mom. :)

Where has summer gone

2011-08-09T05:09:00.000-07:00

Its hard to believe how fast summer seems to go by now a days. It even harder to believe that Casey is going to start 1st grade on the 24th of this month. It seems like just yesterday he was getting ready for Kindergarten.

Kindergarten memories...School Picture, A poster he made of his likes and his favorite backpack

Our month of swimming lessons comes to an end tomorrow. Casey has done great again and really enjoys it. I love the place we have found for him and its nice to have the 30 minutes to just sit and soak up the sun.

As for my garden, I have red tomatoes. I found them yesterday. I also have a zucchini starting to come and there are a bunch more blossoms on the plant. As for my cucumbers, there are a hand full of tiny ones and many more blossoms. If my garden does what is it promising with the plants I will have veggies for days. :) Not a problem for us, I found a great recipe for zucchini bread so the more of that we can get the better. And Casey loves cucumbers, minus the skin. And as far as the tomatoes goes, I eat those like candy so...

Buddy has really grown over the summer. Yesterday I found myself sitting outside eating lunch and just watching him do his thing. He is very entertaining with is rock and his game. He chases the thing around the yard by pushing it with his paws and then when he gets tired he picks it up and heads for the shade. The funny thing was yesterday he decided that the plane that was flying over head should be barked at. Its normal for him to try and catch a bird or two but an airplane.

I found out yesterday that the Discovery center here in Boise is having a Space Exhibit for the next couple of days so after swimming lessons I think that will be our game plan. Since its right around lunch I figured Casey and I would enjoy a little picnic before hand and then check this place out. I have wanted to take Casey there for a while but have never gotten around to it so this seems like the perfect time.

Well my coffee pot just sang that it was done :):) so off to enjoy some coffee and my daily bible versus. Enjoy your day

Monday Monday Monday

2011-08-08T05:41:00.000-07:00

I am so happy, this week I get to start off with a working microwave. Our old one died over a week ago and we got the new one in yesterday. Its amazing how much you miss something when its gone. Casey is happy to have it back to because now he can have pizza bites for lunch. I know you can make them in the oven but on a hot day it was hard to turn the oven on just for a few pizza bites.

Our weekend was pretty good. Brent did his yearly hike on Saturday so Friday night Casey and I slept on the pull out bed. For some reason he likes to sleep on that bed when Brent is gone, so you know where I will be sleeping for most of hunting season. On Saturday we did a lot of nothing...played game after game after game. Life, Candy Land, Memory, and Checkers. Casey is getting very good at checkers, he beat me in the first game and just about had me in the second. Then at about 5:00 my bro called to see if we would like to go to a Hawks baseball game with him and his family. Of course we jumped on it and had a great time. Its funny you know if Casey is comfortable around you by the way he talks. If hes a chatter box then hes just fine with you. I dont believe he stopped talking all night. We got home about 5 minutes after Brent did so Casey was able to have his nightly routine back, brushing teeth with daddy and what not.

Sunday came with heat and another day of just being lazy. Casey and I went to church after I made pancakes for breakfast. Brent wanted to get some work done so decided not to go to church with us. Once back from a great message we got the new microwave in. The thing was not heavy but in such a place that made it awkward to install. Right over the stove and when your short like me it makes it a little interesting. But its in and works great. :) After that job Casey and I went to the store and got some yummy fruit. I love summer for the fruits and veggies that are so good.

So that was the weekend. Nothing to exciting but still fun. Hope you all had a good weekend. We are off to the last week of swimming lessons for the year. Its amazing how fast time goes.

Camping Pictures

2011-08-02T15:16:00.000-07:00

The view from the lookout tower. There were so many butterflies up there and this is what the inside of the tower looked like. This tower was not opened for the public.

More pictures from up at the tower.

Here is the double rainbow that came out on our 4-wheeler ride.

Here is a view of the tower on the way up. More of the rainbow.

We rode for 62.9 miles on the two trips. Sore butt after all the riding but it was fun.

The first trip for Buddy. He did great. Here's our home for the two nights. The view I got to enjoy with my coffee and muffins on the second morning.

Fishing on Sunday. I love the sound of the water

One of Caseys fish. Inbetween fishing Casey decided to climb the mountain.

Here is the first lookout tower.

This tower had someone working in his. He was there for five days at a time. Just him and his dog...not a life for me. It would drive me crazy being there by myself for five days at a time.

Sorry the pictures are backwards but that is the only way I could get them to load on the blog. Lots of fun and looking forward to the next one. Not sure if we will get another one this year but at least I got one in and Casey got two trips in.

Camping Fun

2011-08-02T15:13:00.000-07:00

And were back...well we got back on Sunday evening but with Brent working from home on Monday the computer was unavailable to me. Which was not the worst thing because I was able to get a lot of other stuff done. During our camping trip I noticed that Casey's shoes were on their last legs so we found a new pair of fast running shoes for him. Then we started the second session of swimming lessons and got the rest of the odds and ends from camping cleaned up. So what was the camping trip like...here is a small peak into the weekend. I have pictures but the blog will not let me upload them so they will be in the next post...I promise.

On Friday we left on at about 3:00 which made it nice since we were headed to Challis for the camping. I had Casey help me pack up the cooler and get a few other things in order, we then made some sandwiches for supper and headed out. We made it to Challis at about 7:00 and met up with Brent's parents. After checking the map we headed out to find out first camp site for the night. We found a place that worked for our tent and for Brent's parents camper and got things set up. Since we had already had supper the camp fire was more for warmth and to roast a few marshmallows and besides what is camping without a fire. So after filling our bellies with chocolate, marshmallows, crackers and beer, (juice for Casey) we headed to bed. As we were getting in the sleeping bags Casey said he wanted to sleep in, please please dear son that would be wonderful. It was a very good night, I slept warm and only had to leave the tent once to use a tree. That would be the only bad thing about a lot of our camp sites, we dont camp in places where there are designated potties to trees are used but its not to bad.

Saturday morning was supposed to be a late sleeping day for us which turned into 6:30 a.m., yes that was sleeping in for Casey. :) The morning was very nice and crisp, not to cold but not hot either. We started a fire and got the coffee going and then had some muffins to snack on for a prebreakfast. We took Buddy on this trip and he did very well. This was his first camping trip and he did not keep us up at night and even stayed close to the camp and out of the food. All good things for a camp dog. Once we got going LaDawn got breakfast started, pancakes, sausage, cantaloupe and fresh raspberries. While breakfast cooked I got out tent and sleeping stuff put up since we were going to find a new place to camp for the second night. There really is nothing better than fresh raspberries on a pancake with a view of the mountains and camp coffee, ie grounds in the cup.

After breakfast and getting everything cleaned up we unloaded the 4-wheelers and set out to explore the area. Our first ride took us to Twin Peaks Fire Look Out. Very pretty ride and very pretty site. The guy that works in the tower was there so we talked to him for a while and then headed back down the mountain. Once back at the camp site we loaded up the 4-wheelers, let Casey and Buddy run and then headed out again to find a new place to camp and a new place to ride. Brent wanted to check out a place called Iron Creek which is still in the Challis area.

We found a good place to pull the trucks over and have lunch. Sandwiches, chips and many salads were on the menu. LaDawn brought the sandwiches and potato salad. I asked/told her I would bring the other salads mainly because I have a couple of good recipes for salads. My favorite pasta salad and then a four-bean salad and cole slaw were on the menu. I did not dress any of the salads so they all stayed fresh for the trip. After our lunch we unpacked the 4-wheelers and headed out to check out more sites. This ride ended up taking us to another lookout tower. This one was not manned but still fun to see. On the trip back on this ride we hit some rain. Thankfully it all cleared up as we got back but there were a few minutes of wondering if we were going to have to sleep in the truck or in the camper because of the rain. This is the site we saw when we came around the corner. Thank you Lord for your wonderful promises. If you ever wondered what was at the end of the rainbow...its a herd of elk.

Back at the truck and packed up again we headed out to find a camp site. This one ended up being off the side of the road and close to the river and just enough trees for privacy. It was late and there was no fire ring so we just grilled the hot dogs on the camp stove and had the marshmallows the same way. Casey was not to pleased with this idea but thats all we could do. Even not being happy about it he had two hot dogs...he can eat when he wants to. We got things put away and went to bed. Then about 1:00 we got a storm move though but nothing major from it. Just a lot of wind and a little rain. Morning came with a lovely sun rise and the chance to see some deer very close to camp.

Sunday morning we had the rest of the muffins and coffee and got things cleaned up. Instead of riding 4-wheelers this day we decided to try and find a few fish. Ended up catching about 10 fish but only keeping 4, some were to small and why did we need all of them. After fishing for the morning we did a little more driving and then had some lunch and set out for home.

It was a very fun and relaxing weekend. We got back to Boise at about 6:30 and got cleaned up. Nothing better than a shower after a long camping trip. Brent and Casey got the pickup, the cooler, the dog crate and the dog a washed down while I got the rest of the stuff unloaded and ready to be washed. Casey thought it was so fun to give Buddy a bath in the back up Brents truck and it helped to get him a little clean as well. Then bath time for the guys and pizza to cap off the night.

So that was our weekend. Hopefully you stayed away for the long story. Now its back to real life in the city. :) Got to love it.

Some days

2011-07-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

What a day...I dont think I sat down until Caseys swim lesson and then even though I was sitting I was still running a mile a minute in my head. In the end I always end up with more time than I plan on but I still seem to stress when I have list of things to do.

Lets start from the beginning...another appliance has gone out. The microwave is now not working. It runs but does not heat anything and has a very funny smell. This happened yesterday so this morning Casey and I went to Home Depot to look at new ones. Found one that was nice but had to wait because I did not have the measurements for our old one. Then after his swim lesson we stopped by Best Buy and they had the same one for about 30 bucks less, the only thing is they did not have black in stock so we will be without a microwave until Tuesday at the earliest. Not the most pleasant but since we are camping this weekend it wont be to bad.

The camping I am really looking forward to...first trip for me of the year. :) Brents parents are coming to that will be nice as well. I offered to make a couple of salads and bring the snack stuff since Brents mom is going to bring the meat and other stuff. So this morning I made a pasta salad, a bean salad and dressing for cole slaw. Why just the dressing, because I bought the cole slaw mix from Fred Meyer and I figure we can dress it when we eat it, that way it will not wilt and those that like lots of dressing can have it that way. Of course my stress came from trying to get all the stuff cooked and then cleaned up after before we left for swimming lessons. Why did I not just wait until after...good question I dont really know. But anyway...its not all done and I can sleep in peace.

Did learn one thing tonight, Dont leave food on the counter when the dog is in the house. I went outside to get the trash cans up and Buddy decided to finish off the last two pieces of pizza. He just went into the kitchen and put those paws of his on the counter and had a nice little dinner. Live and learn.

Good night all...sleep well and hope you have a great weekend.

Metal Free

2011-07-26T19:31:00.000-07:00

What a great day. I am now free of all the metal in my mouth and truly getting back to normal. I still need to be careful with some of the foods I eat, I mean after almost six weeks of not really using my jaw, it needs time to get back into shape. Basically I am going to try and stay away from really hard candy and very chewy candy, steak and sandwiches with chewy bread. The nice thing about this visit to the doc was I came home and was not so out of it as to not remember anything. Infact the only thing I dont really remember is the time right after the appointment and the drive home. This time I was able to eat some lunch and supper. Very nice since I was told not to eat anything from midnight until after the appointment which was at 10:00. That meant to breakfast, no coffee not even any water. So not a good morning for me but willing to do it for the end result.

As for the teeth/mouth. No really pain, the gums are very tender and when I try to brush them they bleed a little but thats to be expected. So all in all this experience is one for the record/history books.

I believe this weekend we are going to try a camping trip. With summer going by so fast it will be nice to get out for a couple of days and just get away from it all. The best part is I will be wire free, something I was very concerned about when Brent went on his last camping trip. I had wires and only two rubber bands it just did not seem like a wise idea so I am really looking forward to this one...even if all we do is fish and hang around the camp fire it will be fun.

Casey is still loving swimming lessons, he had to miss today because of the doc but I made it up to him with a happy meal for dinner. I believe we are going to sign him up for two more weeks of lessons which will put him very close to the start of first grade. Thats something very strange to say, I have a son in first grade. Where does the time go.

Speaking of time I better get moving, time to get things cleaned up and get ready for bed. Wire free boy its wonderful :)

And their off

2011-07-24T06:45:00.001-07:00

That's what we got to hear last night. We took Casey to the horse races here in Boise. It was a lot of fun and funny to hear him try and pick his horses. Saturday turned into a very fun unplanned day. Brent and Casey went out to try out Brents new gun and I did a few things that needed to get done, return books to the library, return clothes and it was so nice to do it when Casey was able to be with Brent. He is good when it comes to things like that but does not enjoy it. So once they got back we headed to the races. We watched six of the eight races and for each one Casey would pick his horses. Usually it sounded something like this...

Mommy: Which horse do you want to win Casey?
Casey: Well I like horse one, two, four, five and six.
Mommy: Whats wrong with horse three?
Casey: I just dont want him in this race.

Then when the race started horse three was in the lead.

Casey: Wait I want horse three to win...go three, go three, go three

Thats pretty much how the entire evening went. But he had fun and there was no money spent on the ponies so no harm done. After we finished there we stopped at Applebees for dinner, Casey got a free meal from the library for his reading so we redeemed it. I had their Fajita Burger which was a hamburger in a tortilla shell, it was very good...I just removed the shell and added extra pico.

It is supposed to be a hot day today. Somewhere in the 100's but we will see if that mark is hit. I believe Brent wanted to float the river today but not to worry. I will sit this float out, I know I am being overly careful but I really dont care. There is a lot of moving and bumping on a river float and thats the last thing I want/need to have happen to my face. As of Tuesday, the metal will be gone...:):):):):) SO happy, my poor mouth is raw. The metal has started to rub the inside of my cheeks and it just hurts. But only for a few more days.

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday and a great next week.

How My Garden Grows

2011-07-22T08:12:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to get some pictures of my garden and I finally did it this morning. So here are a bunch of pictures for you to enjoy.

My tomatoes are starting to come.

My zucchini plant it starting to overtake its spot.

Here is the bed that Brent and Casey built for me.

Here are more chocolate peppers ready to pick. Their flavor is not quite as sweet at a red bell pepper but more sweet than a green bell pepper.

Our strawberry patch. All those strawberries came from this little spot

Just decided to take a picture of the front door with the wreath I made.

Buddy with his favorite toy...a big rock.

This rose bush started as a very little plant and this is what it is after one year. It is the rose bush from my dad's funeral. I love that its doing so well. He would have loved it.

So thats what I did with some of my morning...all pictures taken before 7:30 a.m. I get more done in the morning before 10 then for most of the rest of the day...at least thats how it seems sometimes.

A Day of Baking and Swimming

2011-07-21T19:56:00.000-07:00

So call me crazy but I bake to relax. This morning I decided that I need to relax a little so I baked these...They are chocolate, cranberry oatmeal bars and the picture does not do them justice.

I ended up sending some with Brent tonight for after his bike ride, mostly because if they all stayed home I would end up eating most if not all of them. They are so moist and yummy, it is defiantly a recipe that will go in my box for another time.

Chocolate, Cranberry & Oat Bars
1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cup oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
4 squares baking chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Combine cranberries and orange juice and microwave for 1 minute. Let stand 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine flour, oats, baking powder and salt. In another bowl beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time beating until well blended. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing well after each addition. Stir in cranberries and chocolate. Spread dough in a 13x9 pan that has been sprayed.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely before cutting.

Of course I cannot just leave a recipe alone so I made a couple of changes. Instead of 1 cup of cranberries I used 3/4 cup cranberries and 3/4 cup raisins. Then since I did not have any squares of baking chocolate I used 2 cups of chocolate chips. The rest stayed the same, I also made a powdered sugar and OJ glaze for them. Yummy Yummy if I do say so myself.

This is the second thing I made...A strawberry cake. I found a strawberry cake mix at Winco and decided to give it a try. I made it in a bunt pan and put have of the mixture in and then added some strawberry jam, them topped it with the rest of the batter. It just looks like summer to me and tastes very yummy as well.

So that was my morning...baking and cleaning. Then it was off to swimming lessons where Casey did very well with the class. I am so thankful he likes it.

After the lesson we had to run to Cabela's for Brent and then made a fast stop to get a watermelon. Nothing like a juicy red watermelon on a hot day.

So all in all it was a great day. Hope you can say the same.

Its almost over

2011-07-21T00:21:00.000-07:00

What a great middle to the week. I had my weekly appointment on Wednesday instead because the doc was going to be out of the office on Thursday and Friday. After an xray and some moving of my jaw he said to make an appointment for the removal and that I dont need the two bands anymore. As far as how I should treat my mouth over the next few days, just be careful and stay away from the rocks. Then on Tuesday at 10 I will get an IV and be put under again. Not looking forward to that part but then I wake up I will me free of the metal. Its going to be a wonderful feeling.

As for the rest of the day, Casey had a great time at swimming lessons. The weather was not the nice heat from the day before but it was not to bad. Since I had the dr appointment in the afternoon we did not get to the birdhouse. Instead I had Casey help me get things ready for supper. Cornflake crusted Chicken with stuffing and corn. I had Casey crush up the cornflakes for the chicken pieces and then add the spices to the mixture. He got a kick out of being able to crush them and then we marinaded the chicken in some sun dried tomato marinade while at the dr appointment. Once I got a call from Brent saying he was going to be heading home I got the chicken coated and in the oven. Brent rode his bike to work so that gave me more than enough time to get the chicken done. It turned out to be a good meal, minus the stuffing according to Casey but Brent and I both liked it.

So it was a great day, sorry there are no pictures for this post hopefully the next one will have a few.

Swimming Lessons Day Two

2011-07-19T20:10:00.000-07:00

Casey had a blast to day in swimming lessons. He was the first one to volunteer for the different things they did, a huge step for a shy kid like Casey.
Getting ready to jump in
Swimming with the bar
Waiting for class to start

After the lesson we stopped at the library and got a few new movies for him to enjoy. I found a couple of books on CD to enjoy, A couple of Stephanie Plum books that I have heard but wanted to listen to again and then we also got a couple of books for Brent. Then it was off to home and do what we do.

When we were in Idaho Falls the last time Brents dad gave us a bird house to paint so we started that project today. I will try and get a picture of it soon. I am going to make this a multi day project for Casey. With no summer school he is starting to get a little board so to compensate for that we are going to start doing a few pages of workbooks in the morning. He also has words to learn for first grade. Words like she, he, we, little, look and many more. Thankfully he is willing to do them with me. He is getting pretty good at it too. We did walk over and check out the class list this morning before swimming lessons. There are about five kids from his kindergarten class and the teacher is someone who was a speech specialist before becoming a first grade teacher. Two things I am thankful for. The funny thing was I read the list of supplies he will need to take to school with him and he wanted to know "Why do I have to take them, does the school not have them for me to use." Good question if you ask me but thankfully the list is not that long. Just the basic things like glue, pencils, erasers, Kleenex, a folder and a couple other things.

As for my eating, I was able to have the meal I fixed the guys tonight. Sausage with red beans, tomatoes and rice. Since Casey likes his rice plain I made the rice in the microwave and cooked the beans and tomatoes on the stove. That way Brent and I were able to mix them and Casey got his plain rice. It was so good to be able to eat what I fixed instead of having to make two meals. I dont think I will try a steak or a sandwich just yet, just a little to much chewing but I know that day will come soon.

What does tomorrow hold for us...well another day of swimming and getting a few things from Fred Meyer and of course my doctor's appointment. :):) Hopefully he will say make an appointment for Monday or Tuesday and lets get these things off. But I have decided that if he wants me to suffer for another week I will do it. So on that note...

Pictures :)

2011-07-19T05:50:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures as promised.

We went to swimming lessons yesterday and had a great time. I put Casey in Level 2 at 10:30-11:00 thinking that he was far enough to be in level 2. Well this level two class turned out to be a little more like level 2/3 which is to advanced for Casey. The teacher told me he would do better with the 11:00-11:30 class so we if could he could just hang out and wait for the Level 1 class to start. Since it was such a nice day and we had nothing else do to we waited. He did great in the class and very much enjoyed it. But here's the kicker...he is now going to go to lessons from 11:30-12:00 because the class had about 8 kids and the teacher wanted to split them up. She said that Casey's skill level is about 1/2 and that is was the rest of the kids in the class will be. So we will now do lessons from 11:30 to 12:00. That means the day will have time to warm up, he will be in a class that works for his skill level and it should be a small class. Once again the Lord knows what he is doing. :)

Here he is getting ready to swim...I will get more pictures of him in the water later.

Here are some of Casey's favorite after swimming snacks. Casey loves the ZBars and they are good for him...as far as bars of his nature go. The Nutri-Grain bar is beyond good. These bars are also great for when we go camping. They hold up in the packing and they are great for a breakfast or snack for Casey.

As for the rest of the day, after lessons we came home and got things in order at the house and just kind of hung out and played with Casey's airplanes and cars. It was a hot day and Casey was a little tired from the lessons. I tried a new recipe last night for supper and I think it was a hit. I even had some.

You cook up ground beef and taco seasoning, then add frozen veggies, I used corn, peas and carrots. Combine the mixtures of meat and veggies and put in a baking dish. Cover the veggie and meat mix with a can of tomatoes, any type, and then top with cheese and some spices, I used a pizza spice mix. Then top the entire dish with bread sticks, think the Pillsbury Bread sticks in the can. You just unroll them and twist them up then place them on the dish. Put in the oven for the time on the bread sticks and bake. I baked it uncovered for about 15 minutes at 400 and then covered it with foil and baked another 15 minutes. Then serve with sour cream and salsa. Very yummy, Casey even enjoyed it.

My garden is doing very well, strawberries are done but we got more than expected from them. I have gotten about 10 sugar snap peas and the tomato plants are starting to many small green tomatoes on them. Hopefully unlike last year they will turn red. For some reason most of the tomatoes would not turn so I just made a bunch of green tomato salsa, very good use of them and it tasted pretty good. My zucchini plant had about 15 big blossoms on it and the carrots are looking good, at least from the top. I have not picked them yet. Our raspberry bush has had a few red ones that Casey and I have enjoyed. Now for the pictures below...no I did not leave the pepper on to long, infact I have three more on the plant that are bright green right now. It is a Chocolate Pepper Plant. They are not fully ripe until they turn brown. I have not tried it yet but its supposed to be kind of sweet. I will let you know how it tastes.

Now its off to get the house ready for the day...its hard to believe that summer school is over and that July is coming to an end. Summer goes by fast when you have a situation to deal with. :) Casey and I are going to take a walk this morning and see who his teacher for first grade is and who is in his class. With swimming lessons starting later we have more time in the morning. Plus a good walk this morning will feel good. Have a great Tuesday all and thank you to all that read and comment on my blog. Even if you dont comment thank you for reading it.

Check, Check, Check, and Check

2011-07-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

Those would be for the Air Conditioner, Freezer, Washer and now Stove. As of 8:30 Sunday night I believe we can mark off all the appliances that have been worked on this week. The heating element for the stove came a couple of days ago and we got it in tonight. I say we because thanks to my small fingers we did not need to call the appliance guys again. Here's the story...I was in the shower when Brent started the process of working on the stove. When I got out the stove was missing its bottom element, the new element was on top of the stove and I had a very upset, frustrated husband. The wires had gone back up in the stove and he was not able to get them down. After much frustration he went outside to get something and I tried to work the wires back down. With my small fingers I was able to pull them back down and when he came back in the house they were pulled down and I was holding them in place. Brent then got the new element hooked up and turned the power back on in the kitchen. Guess what, the new element works and the oven heated right up as it was supposed to. :):):) This means I now have a working oven again.

As for the rest of the weekend... nothing to interesting happened. Brent and Casey spent most of the afternoon at Cablea's and Sportsman looking at guns and the like. I had a nice time taking a very relaxing walk to the river and back and then sat outside in the sun and just enjoyed the quiet. When they got home we went and picked up Brents truck, it was getting a full service at Firestone then back home to get dinner ready and now its time to get ready for bed. I think even though Casey is out of summer school we are going to try and keep him on a regular sleep pattern, it will make it so much easier when school starts back up. Tomorrow will be the first day of swimming lessons and from the forecast it should be a very nice day for them.

Wednesday will be the next appointment for my teeth and I pray they will be able to come off. My mouth is starting get sore from the wires that are poking me and from the extra metal that is in there. As of Thursday it will have been five weeks since they were put on, hard to believe I had to spend a good portion of the summer dealing with this but hey at least its better than last summer. :(

Anyway...hope you all had a great weekend and will have a great new week.

Chicken is good

2011-07-17T10:34:00.000-07:00

So we went to a birthday party last night for a friend of Brent's. Very fun party and the best part was I tried a little bit of chicken. I cut it very small and was sure to chew very little and boy was it yummy. We ended up staying there until about 9:00 but since it was Saturday and Casey is now done with school it was not a big deal.

As for the rest of Saturday...nothing big went on. Brent ran in the morning and then returned the juicer for me. So nice to have it off the counter, I did laundry and Casey played on the computer for a while. Then the guys went out to Cabelas to look at guns. While they were day dreaming I stayed home and did nothing really. Like I said it was just a simple Saturday.

This morning we went to church which was very nice and now Casey and Brent are out looking at Cabelas again. Good time for the guys to bond. As for me, its such a nice day I think I am going to walk to the farmers market just to look around. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Where does time go

2011-07-16T03:25:00.000-07:00

Its hard to believe but Casey is now done with summer school. We could start a count down to when 1st grade starts but that seems a little sad. I cannot believe he is almost in 1st grade. It seems like yesterday he was starting preschool. He had a great time at his ice cream party. He told me that he liked the rainbow ice cream but only had a few bites because he wanted to get out and play. Yes thats my son, he would rather play than eat ice cream. :) Got to love it. I was able to go thru most of his school stuff and get it in order which is nice. Now I have one box of some crafts and papers that he has done...I would love to save it all but there is just no way.

This weekend is looking to be a nice unbusy one. Its nice to have them every so often. We have a birthday party on Saturday for a guy Brent runs with and the Sunday is just church. I received a call from the pastor of the church on Thursday, he just wanted to say Hi and let me know that they were still praying for me about my jaw. I thought that was very nice of him to call and find out. Thats what I like about the smaller churches, they feel more like you are a part of it.

Now if only the piece for the stove would arrive we would be able to get past this last week of whats next. The great news is the new freezer is working like a charm. After a night of me not opening it see if its getting cold it got nice and cold. It is a little smaller than the old one but I will take it. For the price we paid and the time we got is nothing wrong with a little less room.

Maybe soon I will get some new pictures to post on this blog. I just dont think pictures of a freezer or a broken washing machine would be that interesting. But when swim lessons start...the pictures will start as well. Have a wonderful weekend.

Another Thursday :)

2011-07-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not...today was a slow day at least compared to the past few days. Casey had school this morning and after dropping him off I went to Winco to get some fruit and what not. Have you ever had a yellow watermelon. Well I purchased one without knowing it. When I got home I cut into the watermelon I had chosen and to my surprise it was yellow. It taste pretty much like your typical red flesh ones just a little surprising to see yellow when you expect red. After a few more chores at home I went to get Casey. He was so happy because they are going to have an ice cream party tomorrow. I guess if they got a certain number of points for behaving they would get to have a party on the last day of school...they got all the points they needed and since tomorrow is the last day...they get to party. Hard to believe that summer school is now over and he will start 1st grade in August. Monday he starts swimming lessons for two weeks which if its anything like last year it will be a good time.

Now for the drama with our house. At last check, the washing machine is still working fine. The air conditioner is running just fine, and the stove part is in the mail and should be here soon. Now for the freezer, after lunch Brent had a few minutes so I got the old freezer unloaded and he moved it out of the way and moved the new one into place. I then loaded it up and now I am just waiting and praying that we got a good deal with it. I know it takes time to get to the right temp and I just need to be patient and not check on it every few minutes. I have not looked at it for a while and I am not going to check it until morning. I pray it will be frozen and everything will be fine. Now for the amazing thing, we sold the old freezer on Craigs today. There was a guy that buys appliances of any kind and in any condition so that means we dont have to worry about getting rid of it ourselves. Thank you Lord for your wonder hand on things and how you work them out for us.

My doctors appointment went very well. YA YA YA. He wanted to give it one more week of being partly open just because its only been a month and it wont hurt to give it that time. So next Wednesday I have an appointment and will get an xray to get a check. If all looks good we will schedule an appointment to get the wires off. :):):) Can you tell I am happy about it?

Well I am off to bed hope all had great day. Remember, the Lord is over all and he knows how it will end. Its easy to say it but hard to remember it when things get crazy.

WOW

2011-07-14T02:37:00.000-07:00

What can say about Wednesday other than WOW. It was one of those days that make me glad I have a Savior I can pray to ask for help/comfort/peace. It started out as a normal day, got Casey up and ready for school. Brent rode his bike into work as he like to do on the nice days. We decided after looking at the freezer that we would have to get it checked by a professional. So once I got back from school, I called a few places and found someone to come out. He would be here between 12 and 1 which made it work for getting Casey and not missing him. Thankfully the dishwasher is still working fine. :) So as Casey and I were driving home I got a call from the guy and he wanted to know if he could swing by sooner, like in the next 10 or 15 minutes...sure that worked for us. As we were pulling into the garage, he pulled up. After looking at the freezer he said the air compressor was shot and the only fix was to buy a new one. :( But while he was waiting to see how it was working he fixed the washer for me. Just did a couple little things to it so I now have a washing machine again. :):) So happy, I was able to get a couple loads done and in the dryer. After he left I called Brent to let him know where we stood on the freezer. He decided to check craigs list and see if there was something out there that would work. Well he found something, out in Caldwell that looked promising. So Casey and I loaded into the pickup, since Brent rode his bike it was still here. It turned into a 45 minute drive out there, we got the freezer loaded into the truck, stopped to gas up the truck and then headed home. Now the trip home was about an hour, solely because I had a freezer, standing up in the truck and the fear that the thing would tip over or somehow have a problem so I drove a slow 55 miles an hour home. Good news, there is a lot of road construction that stretch of interstate so the speed was not a huge issue. It was just nerve racking to drive with that thing in the truck and have big truck pass. But thankfully we made it home in piece and when Brent got home he had a couple neighbors help unload the thing. It it now in the garage, plugged into make sure it gets cold enough for the food.

As we were driving home I was of course praying the entire time that nothing would happen and when I turned to look at Casey I just about cried because he was in his car seat praying as well. His little eyes were closed and his hand folded in prayer. :) Thursday is my appointment so pray that it goes better than the week has gone. I should not say that because the week has just been a crazy week of things that were bound to go wrong, they just all went wrong at the same time. So pray that things are on track for the healing process.

Slowly getting things fixed

2011-07-12T22:02:00.000-07:00

Well not sure where we stand on the washing machine and the stove...they still need their parts but other AC is working just fine. :) I made the guys chicken in the crock pot for supper so that made the stove not a huge issue, yet. I believe its the bottom heating element that is out and that should be an easy fix. The bad news of the day is I just went out to the garage and the freezer outside was beeping at me. :( Now I dont know if its going out now. So much to deal with...

As for the rest of the day, it went well. Casey and I went to the library after school and got some new movies and books. I got a yummy watermelon from Winco so that made my day great. :)

Pray that the freezer is just having a moment and that my doctor appointment goes well. This is going to be a short post only because it was that kind of day. :) Thank you all for being so diligent at reading.

When it rains...

2011-07-12T01:10:00.000-07:00

What a way to start the week. Lets see...air conditioner on the blink, washing machine on the blink and oven on the blink. Yes all three have decided to cause issues for us now. I just pray bad things come in threes. With a doctor visit on Thursday I pray nothing else goes wrong that a bad report has to be number three. But to explain the three little issues.

On Friday the AC was making strange noises. I did not think a lot of it being the house was still cool and what not. Then when the guys left on Saturday I turned it off, solely because I am not a huge fan of the AC but deal with it because the boys like/need it. On Sunday when I called to Brent to see what time they might be getting home I turned it back on so the house would cool down for them. Well needless to say it never cooled down. The AC unit would start and then never kick on. Did the same thing on Monday morning so I called the company and they thankfully were able to come look at in the morning. The tech arrived at 9:30 and first thing he said without even looking at the unit was your motor is shot. After taking a look, yes the motor was in desperate need of being replaced. Good news the from the ordeal is by turning it off on Saturday and Sunday I was able to save the rest of the unit from going bad. Another good thing was he needed a part from Home Depot right at the time I needed to get Casey. Thank You Lord for working that out so I did not have to leave him here alone. Now that the motor is new the AC is back and working.

For the washing machine...I started a load of laundry in the morning and went about getting things ready for Casey. When I went to check it there was nothing...the water was not draining and the machine would not go past about half of the rinse cycle. :( This meant what I did not know at the time but I did know that I could not just leave the clothes in the machine. So I took them out and transferred them to the bath tub. Filled the tub with water and took Casey to school. Once home and with a nice big cup of coffee I started the process of doing laundry the old fashion way...by hand. I love my washer and dryer, not a fan of the hand method. Thankfully our dryer is still running fine and dandy. I then took out as much of the water from the machine as I could and when Brent got home and we had dinner he pulled it out and did some Internet research. Boy it gets nasty under and behind that thing. I broke out the vacuum and went to work cleaning up as much of the hair/lint/what every else collected under it. From his research Brent found that the switch that controls the motor had somehow broke. So a new one is on order from Amazon and should be here in a couple of days.

As for the oven, I don't know for sure what the problem is but I think the heating element on the bottom is shot. It took way to long for the oven to get hot for dinner and the bottom never got warm. The broiler would turn on but the bottom unit just stayed black. It was able to get hot enough to heat the guys meal, which was all that was needed since I made it on Saturday when the oven was working fine but me with out an oven is not a good thing. So we will see where we stand on that one. As for what the guys ate, I found a meatloaf recipe from Rachel Ray that I decided to try for them. At one time Casey said he loved meatloaf so I cut this one in half and gave it a try. I was not overly impressed by it and will just stick to one of her other ones that you make in muffin tins and seems a little less dense but they ate it last night so that's all that really matters. I on the other hand had sweet potatoes and talapia. The talapia was one that was frozen and able to be cooked in the microwave. Very good I must say.

So hopefully Tuesday will be problem/issue free as well as the rest of the week. Must say goodnight now.

Another Post...lucky you :)

2011-07-10T14:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday has been a good day as well. The internet, as I said in the last post, did not start working until about 3:30 this afternoon after yet another call to the company to see if they were still having issues. Nope...it was fixed I just needed to call and have them reset my system for me. Why they cannot just do it I will never understand but anyway.

This morning I got to sleep in, to 7:15 but still thats sleeping in for me. I made myself a good breakfast of eggs and cheese and some soda crackers only because they are soft and I wanted some kind of carb with the eggs. Then I did something I have not done in forever and a day, I painted my toe nails, pink to match the dress I wore to church. So glad I decided to go to church because the message was about the faith of a mustard seed. We don't have to be the ones to grow our own faith we have to be the ones that take that small seed of faith to God and let him grow it for us. Just like when Peter stepped out onto the water, it took faith but with all the doubt he also carried with him he started to sink. But once he looked to Christ and had him grow the seed of faith he was able to be saved. A wonderful message for everyone to hear. Then home to get the paper read and my coupons in order. It was such a nice morning that I sat outside do the job. Enjoyed some coffee in the process and watched buddy do his best to catch every bird, plane and butterfly that flew over head. Crazy dog will chase anything that moves. I also got my grocery shopping done and got a meatloaf casserole thing ready for the guys to have for supper. I think I am going to try and cook up a piece of Talapia for supper and see how that works out. The guys are not home as of yet but thats fine once they get here it will be mass of activity to get things unpacked and cleaned up and ready to start the week.

This will be the last week of summer school for Casey. Hard to believe he is going to start first grade this year. Next Monday he will start swim lessons again. I am looking forward to it about as muc as he is, I really enjoy sitting there watching him and just being outside. Well now that I have overloaded my blog for the day I am going to go find something cold to drink and watch a little T.V. Hope you have all had a great weekend.

I'm Back after no internet for almost three days

2011-07-10T14:33:00.000-07:00

I have not fallen off the face of the earth or even left Boise for that matter. Instead my Internet has been down for the few days. Of course it chose this weekend to not have service. I say that because Brent and Casey went camping so I have had a couple of days to myself. Friday night it went out so I called the company and they were having a power outage on their end. No big deal, I figured it would be fixed by morning, boy was I wrong. It did not get fixed until Sunday afternoon at about 3:30 but I wrote up my Saturday just Incase you were interested.

On Saturday Brent decided to run in the local half, Fit 4 Life. Its a nice run on the greenbelt that started at 7:30, which is close to the normal time he runs on most Saturdays. So while he was out running Casey and I got the cooler ready to go and made sure all the blankets, sleeping bags, and odds and ends were ready to be packed for their trip. I decided to sit out this camping trip because of my jaw. I know its almost better but that almost had me a little worried that if I went I might do something to jeopardize the progress. Sleeping in a tent with a child that moves around like crazy or ridding four-wheelers over dirt tracks or just slipping when walking around when fishing. All could cause a problem that I dont want to have happen. Instead, I stayed home and got a good deal of things crossed off my list of to do when the mood hits. You know things like clean out/organize the craft stuff, clean out the hall closet, clean up the books in the office. Stuff that does not have a deadline to be done but nice to have it in order. So I took about an hour and cleaned out our outside freezer and inside freezer. A job that I have wanted to get done for a long time now and now I know what in there and what needs to be used. Big plus is now everything is in a place to be seen. After my fingers wormed up a little I got all the treats ready and took them to the church, very glad I decided to take them on Saturday instead of waiting until Sunday. There was a group of girls there getting ready for VBS so I was able to just leave them with them and not have it be a big deal on Sunday. Home again I decided to vacuum the entire house...I mean really vacuum it. I cleaned behind the blinds in all the windows...yucky. Cleaned under the couch and just did a full job of it. Dont get me wrong I vacuum almost every other day but this was one of those jobs that took some time. With that done I sat down and did something that I have only done a hand full of times since Casey had been born. I read a book, cover to cover. It was an easy read but still it was so nice. I listen to books nonstop but to sit down and read one was very nice. The author is Catherine Anderson, the series that I have all book of is about the Coulter brothers. They are cowboys who all have their own love story. I am not big on the romance novels and I dont think these fall into that category, instead they are about the trials each brother and one sister faces in their life and how they work it out and in the end, end up with the person that is just right for them. Good reads if you like that kind of thing. Bright eyes is the one I read for a second time and it follows Zeke as he falls in love with his neighbor. She is divorced and has kid that causes trouble for Zeke on the farm. He has the boy work off the bill and in the end finds a family to love and helps Natalie, the boys mother find worth in herself. So maybe it does fall in the romance category but there is enough other stuff going on to keep it interesting. Anyway enough about the book. For supper last night I made scrambled eggs with cheese and very mushy onions. Then on the side I had some sweet potatoes that I cooked when I was fixing the treats for VBS. Just wrapped them in foil and let them cook as the bread was baking. Still staying on soft food at the moment but its amazing how much more energy and strength I have being able to get more than just liquid in. I was going to go to bed early but that didn't happen. Instead I got distracted cleaning out a kitchen cupboard and did not make it back to bed until about 11 but that just meant I was able to sleep in, another thing that does not happen when the guys are home.

WOW

2011-07-08T01:01:00.000-07:00

I am still a little stunned/amazed/numb. Thankfully its not just a dream. I can open my mouth a little and its not just a dream. I love it, love it, love it. I am going to head to Winco and get a watermelon and just enjoy it. I still have to be very careful because its not 100% healed, about 95% so I dont want to overuse it. The doc said no steak for me yet but I can do soft foods, think more baby food than just liquids. But I will take it. Last night for supper I had overcooked pasta and then a very large piece of chocolate cake. It was heaven to be able to use my tongue for something and to be able to truly eat something. I have a new appointment next Thursday at 3:30 and we will find out whats next. Either another week of the part open or I will be able to schedule an appointment and have everything taken off. :):):):):) Can you tell I am happy about it all, I must stay I am still a little stunned that this is almost over. I can see the end of the tunnel just a little more.

So what are a few things I have learned from this...there are amazing people out there. I have to thank John for the juicer, both of my sisters for the wonderful care packages, my sister in law for introducing me to the soups and have kept me drinking, my husband and my son for all they have done for me. Brent made sure I stayed involved in things like going to Lagoon and just being there. Casey made sure to treat me like a mom still, with questions nonstop and just being a normal little guy. Thank you to for all those that have prayed for me. I know I still have a week or more to go but I just wanted to get those thank yous out. The prayers are still needed because I have to figure out what foods can be eaten and not over due it. That will be the big thing now, to slowly introduce the foods back into the diet.

Anyway, life is still busy. I spent yesterday before the dr appointment make some goodies for VBS. Two pans of Lucky Charm Treats, which is just like rice crispy treats only with Lucky Charms. Then on pan of 7-layer bars which was supposed to be for the kids of VBS but Brent ended up eating a few and wanting to keep a few home. Not a problem just funny. Now tomorrow I think it will be a second batch of 7-layer bars and the new recipe for Banana Bread I found. Casey has a play date after summer school so I can get it done then. Believe it or not its the best way I now of to relax.

As for the weekend, I believe Brent and Casey are going camping with Brent's parents. I have decided to avoid this trip just because I don't want to over due it. :) So I will get the camping stuff ready for them and then enjoy a very quiet weekend.

Thank you again to everyone who has supported me. Love you all

Amazing

2011-07-07T01:38:00.000-07:00

It is so amazing how the Lord works. Since this has happened to my jaw I have had a want/need/desire to bake. Crazy because its been rather warm and there has been a lot of other things going one but still in the back of my mind I have wanted to bake something, anything. Making dinner and the like for my guys has been nice but still...Brent can eat only so much and our freezer can only hold so much. So why is the Lord so amazing, well there are many reasons but last night I found a place to take a few things that I can bake. I never really even prayed about it, it was just a desire on my heart and the Lord answered the unasked desire. I love that... Our church is having Vacation Bible School and they need goodies for the kids. I got an e-mail forward about it and of course am jumping on the idea. I am going to make Lucky Charm treats, Banana Oatmeal Muffins, 7 layer bars and maybe oatmeal candy. The Lucky Charm Treats are like rice crispy treats only with Lucky Charms. The banana muffins are to get all the bananas out of the freezer and I figure if the kids are not fond of them the adults can have a little treat. I have not made 7 layer bars for a long time and figure they will be a hit because who does not like chocolate and a maybe on the Oatmeal candy only because I dont know if I will have time.

As for the rest of Wednesday, I got a lot of laundry finished. A nice feeling for sure but somehow that stuff just keeps coming. I dont like turning my back on the clothes basket because it feels like it just multiplies. Got a lot of other little odds and ends done. Very good feeling to cross stuff off the list.

Casey has been making Brown Brown what do you see at school and got to bring the finished book home. He was able to read most of the book to both me and his dad last night. I dont know how much of it was from memory and how much he actually read but it was still sweet.

We did get more icee syrup, watermelon and cherry this time. Another thing I found was four peppers almost ready to pick from the garden, one tiny green tomato starting and it looks like we might get a few carrots. As for the strawberries, I think they might be coming to an end. It still is amazing how many we got from that small patch. As you can see from the pictures...we have gotten a good fill daily. For the last almost month Brent has gotten to have glass, almost a full cup of strawberries for breakfast.

One last amazing thing is the friends my sister have. I received a very sweet letter and a magazine from someone that I have never met on Tuesday. She is a friend of my sister and just figured I would like the magazine, which I do.

Doctor on Thursday at 2:30. New xray and praying for great news. Thank you all for your prayers and thank you Lord for all the answered prayers...those asked and those only thought about.

Back to the daily life

2011-07-05T18:22:00.000-07:00

Boy it really nice to be home. Don't get me wrong I love to see family and friends but being home has such a nice feeling as well. To be home and have my own bed and to be back into the routine is really nice.

Casey was very happy to be back in school. :) Always a plus to start the morning that way. After dropping him off I stopped for some grocery shopping and ended up buying much more than planned but it was all on a great deal. Pork loin for only 2.99, how can you pass that up when its a family favorite. In fact thats what I fixed the guys for supper. Just plopped it in the crockpot with some sauce and let it go low and slow for the day. Then they had marinades for .99 and Gatorade for 50 cents.

After a few other activities I went to get Casey and he hit the library for a reload on movies and books. Then back home and the first thing to get done was a Icee for Casey. I have no problem making them for him mainly because getting one from the ice shake is as much as the entire bottle of syrup from the store. Besides he as fun helping me make them with the ninja.

Other than that my day was filled with laundry and the like. I did get some bread delivered to the neighbor for being so nice about getting our mail and papers. I have a lot of banana bread in the freezer and instead of letting it get old I figured it would be a good way to say thank you. Part of the problem I am facing is when I get board I like to bake but I have very few people to bake for and a freezer that is getting FULL. I know it could be worst so I will just have to start leaving bread and the like for the neighbors. So that was the first full day back. Tomorrow will be another day at home...if only I could stay home and stop running around town so much. Then Thursday and my third dr appointment. :):):)

I'm Back

2011-07-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

What a busy but fun weekend. Lagoon turned out to work just fine as did Idaho Falls. Thank you for all your prayers on the matter. I know that's why it went so well. So where do I start with our trip...why not from the start. :)

We left Friday morning at about 7:00. Buddy went to Idaho Falls with Jolene, Brent's Sister and we headed to Lagoon. We went with Cameron, Becky and their little family. The drive down was nice for a drive, I am not big on spending a lot of time in the car and with a liquid diet it meant a few more stops than normal. But all was good. Thankfully with three little guys I was not the only one that needed a bathroom from time to time. I made lunches for everyone in our car before we left and Casey and Brent ate as we got close to Lagoon. I just sipped away on my lunch. Once got to the park Cameron and his family had their lunch and then the kids and guys were off to the rides. Becky had her little baby so we just got to sit and enjoy watching the kids on the rides. The weather was just about perfect for the day as well...not to hot and not to cold. As you can tell from the pictures they had fun. The twins love Casey and would follow him just about anywhere.

The Boys...Aiden, Ross and Casey

Family Picture time, with one of Casey's favorite rides in the back...a water slide

The dino drop...another big hit

Casey got to fly a chopper

After a full day of rides and fun we headed to Applebees for dinner. I just made my meal in the parking lot and then sipped away in the restaurant. Thankfully they had not problem with it...minus the fact I ordered a beer and the waiter told me that technically he was not allowed to serve it to me since I did not order a meal but he was going to be nice and let me have it. :)

After a good meal we headed to the hotel. A very nice hotel indeed. A huge king bed, a nice big bathroom and a nice pull out couch. I took the couch because I was up and down all night and from what Brent said it was a good thing because Casey ended up taking up most, if not all of the king bed. Somehow that kid can move like a worm when he sleeps.

The next morning we ate at the hotel. I have never seen a breakfast spread like they had for free. Everything from waffles you make yourself to biscuits and gravy. They also had scrambled eggs, cheese, salsa, onions, sausage, french toast, cereal, oatmeal, fresh berries, toast, muffins and the list went on. Then they had the best coffee and a wide variety of juice. Then the best part they even had yogurt. I was able to save my yogurt for another day just eat theirs. I mixed it with some fresh berry juice and milk. Wow was that lovely. Once everyone stuffed themselves we headed back to Lagoon for day two and the $10 bounce back special.

Day two was a little harder just because it was so much hotter and everyone went into the water. I was very leery of the water and all the movement that could happen so I just hung out on the grass and read a book and got some other things done. Not the most exciting thing but it worked. After about four more hours of Lagoon we decided it was time to say good bye to Cameron and family and make our way to Idaho Falls. I had made my lunch in the hotel that morning and Brent stopped and got a meal after we left the park. Poor Casey was so out of it he was asleep even before we were out of the parking lot. I had a lunchable in the cooler for him so once he woke up thats what he had.

We got to Idaho Falls and got the car unpacked and Brent and Casey went down to check out the farm while I got the cooler unpacked and the ice in the freezer. Jolene and LaDawn came back up to the house and we had a nice visit while the guys finished up things on the farm. They had fresh watermelon and I found that if I cut it small enough I can get it back in where my wisdom teeth should be. Not quite the same but boy was it good. Messy and probably kind of gross to watch but so good. Then it was off to bed after everyone got home and got dinner and conversations out of the way.

On Sunday we just hung out around the house and farm. Jolene, LaDawn and I went into Idaho Falls and did a little fireworks shopping but that was about the extent of the outings. We also spent a few hours down on the farm just playing and relaxing. They have a canal that Buddy played in for almost the entire time. Great fun to watch him. Then that night the family had hot dogs and all the fixing. I had a great mix of potatoes and french onion soup. Very good I must say. After it got dark we let off the fireworks and watched some that others had. I don't think we made it to bed until about 11:30, no big deal but a little late for Casey.

On the 4th, which is today we slept in a little and then headed to Aberdeen for a while to see U. Mike and A. Alice. It was great fun being able to talk to them and introduce Buddy. After a wonderful visit and a new tank for Casey we were on the road again. One more stop to make and then home. We stopped in American Falls and saw mom. I think it as good to make her see Casey and we even got her outside to see Buddy and get some fresh air. Brent and Casey had Subway for lunch and I had my potato and soup again. Then it was home again home again. I think Casey slept almost the entire way. Making up for the late nights and long hours at Lagoon. I also slept for a good portion of the trip. Poor Brent had to drive and stay awake.

But now we are back home and as Casey said...Boy it feels good to be home again. So it was a great weekend and I cannot wait until Thursday to find out how things look in my mouth. :) Well I hear the fireworks going so I think I am going to go watch a few. Casey is asleep after some fighting and I think Brent it out as well. We were going to let Casey stay up to watch them but with school tomorrow it just didn't seem like a good idea. Time to get back into some kind of routine. Enjoy your fireworks and thank you again for all the prayers.

Brushing my teeth

2011-07-01T00:25:00.000-07:00

I have NEVER been so happy to brush my teeth. At my dr appointment the doc removed all the bands and let me open my mouth. Very strange thing, it didn't really hurt but feel odd. My mouth seemed to have a mind of its own and just open. Once I got over the first shock of having my mouth open the doc told me he would like me to brush my teeth. I just about started to cry. I was already on cloud nine by this time and then with that news I asked the nurse if it would be wrong to give the doc a hug (he had left the room by this time) she said that she gets that question a lot. She then gave me a toothbrush and some toothpaste and told me to go to work. It was very odd at first but so wonderful. Once finished the bands were put back on and if all looks good next week he just might be able to loosen then just a little which will allow for some more substantial foods. :) It the second best thing to happen, first being not having this as all but since that is impossible we will go with this.

It was funny during the appointment, Casey came with me of course and while we were in the room waiting after my wonderful teeth brush he said "I know where the doc is." When I asked where he just looked at me and said "with another patient of course" His exact words. Got to love a six year old who talks and thinks like a 15 year old.

As for the rest of the day, got the tires rotated on the car. Thankfully, I was able to get a list of what else needed to be done for packing while I waited for that. Then off to get a few other odds and ends done for our trip.

Hope all have a safe and happy 4th. Remember, if you have a dog be sure to protect his ears during the fireworks. Dog hate loud noises. Love to all

Just another Day

2011-06-30T01:29:00.000-07:00

So not much new to report for Wednesday. Some very strange weather that had you guessing what would be next. Rain, than sun, than rain and more sun. I was able to get all the laundry finished and get everything packed for Casey and most everything packed for myself. I just have the cooler and final things to pack now. Lagoon really should be an experience this year. I am looking forward to the change of senery but a little nervous about the eating situation. I just pray I remember everything and nothing goes to terribly wrong.

As of Thursday it will be two weeks and that means I am 1/3 of the way done with this life experience. I have a dr appointment at 3:00 and maybe Casey will get another toy for being a good boy. :) Thursday is going to be another one of those days that will have me running no matter what, I have a tire rotation scheduled for 8:30 which means after dropping Casey off at school I will head to there. Then the odds and ends of getting ready for the trip. Wish me luck on another day. Love to all who read this.

Cars 2

2011-06-28T16:41:00.000-07:00

What a fun day for Casey today. The first question this morning was "is today the day for cars" After telling him yes he was so happy. At school he played Bingo and got to pick a treat out of the treat bag which really made his morning. Then it was off to the movie. I dont like having to pay an arm and a leg for drinks and snacks at the theater so I packed a bag and off we went. Cars 2 is a very funny, good, exciting movie, action packed movie that is almost better than the first one. Casey had a friend join us, Jake from preschool two years ago. As we left the theater Casey wanted to know if we could buy the movie when it came out on DVD and then wanted to know if we could watch Cars 3...if they make one. :)

That was about the extent of the day. Spaghetti and meatballs for them for supper and a new potato and soup mixture for me. The nice thing about the potatoes is it seems to stick with me a little more than just the soup. I did try some jello a couple of days ago but its to hard to suck up though a straw, just not worth it. I think I am going to stick to my yogurt or pudding for snacks. :)

Killed my small blender

2011-06-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

So I killed my small blender this afternoon...at least I think I did. It kind of started to smoke when I was mixing up some potatoes to get them thinner. Thankfully Casey and I were able to find one at Shopko for only $10. It was normally $45 so I think it was just meant to be. This was not the Ninja that I destroyed but the blender that I use each morning to mix my protein and coffee. A very vital tool lately.

Casey was very happy to be back in school after the weekend. I dont know of many kids that love school as much as he does. Hopefully it will last a few more years. Tomorrow is going to be a big day...Cars 2 came out last Friday and we going to see it with a buddy of Caseys from preschool. He asked this morning if this was the day. When I told him he would have to wait until tomorrow he just looked at me like I was speaking Greek and said what but you... I showed him on my phone that the date is set for tomorrow. Silly kid.

As for anything else, I believe we are going to try Lagoon again this year. It should be interesting considering all I will have to pack for this trip. Blender, mixes, drinks and the like. But hopefully it will all work out.

Sorry for the short post but not much happened today. Just a typical day in my life. :)

I think I have a fish for a Child

2011-06-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

We made it to church this morning, which turned out to be a wonderful thing. I was able to see and talk to the leader of the bible study I did not to long ago. Very nice to talk to her. Casey also enjoyed it because his class got to go outside and play and then got a Popsicle for a treat.

After church Casey got a hair cut. A nice short summer cut that he is still trying to get use to. Then off to a birthday party for us. Casey went to school with Alex and his sister turned three. Brent also works with Alex's mom so that's the connection there. They had the party down at Sandy Shores and while the weather was nice there was a small chill in the air but that didn't stop the kids from playing in the water. I was very proud of Casey, he was able to play with all the kids without his normal few minutes of being shy. Infact it was a little bit of a fight to get him to leave the water. The guys enjoyed their hamburgers and hot dogs while I had my lovely green drink. :) Only a few more weeks then its a nice big meal.

After four hours at the party we came home and Casey talked Brent into going to the gym for more swim time. They have family swim on the weekends and Casey loves it. While they were gone I got two cups of strawberries picked. Its amazing how many we are getting from our little patch in the back yard. I am saving some for after this lovely wiring is done. They have to many seeds to deal with right now. Once home from the gym Casey jumped in the tub for a little clean off. He was so happy with the fact that he was in the water three times today. :) The simple things that make him happy make me smile.

I tried mashed potatoes with my soup tonight, not bad but next time I will get them a little thinner. I have a hard time getting them though the cracks in my teeth. It was nice to have something different though. Then topped off the night with a nice big bowl of pudding. Looking forward to another week. Thursday will be appointment number two. Praying for even more good news. Good night all...

A Day At the Air Show

2011-06-25T15:13:00.000-07:00

What a fun morning/afternoon. Caldwell airport was hosting an air show this morning so after Brent got back from his run we headed out to check it out. As you can tell they had more than just planes. Casey loved the monster trucks, cars, and even got to sit in the cab of a garbage truck.

It was a nice way to spend the day. Poor Brent twisted his ankle this morning while running so he is now trying to rest it out. Hopefully it will be the end of the accidents in our house for a while. :)

As for my mouth...no pain still just annoying to not be able to eat something. To be honest I have good days with it and bad days with it. Today at the airshow all the yummy food was almost to much but what can ya do. One week is done and we are two days into week two so the end is starting to be a little tiny light at the end of the tunnel. Hard to believe July is almost here. I dont know where the time goes anymore.

So I decided to try something with the pulp from the fruit I have juiced...freezer jam. I figure if since you need to mash the fruit up anyway why not use the pulp that has lots of juice anyway. It will be an experiment I hate to throw it all away and fresh jam is very good.

Not sure what tomorrow will bring. Hopefully we will make it to church in the morning and then we have a birthday party in the afternoon and it looks like a wonderful day to spend some time outside. Hope all have a great weekend.

Another Busy Day

2011-06-24T15:01:00.000-07:00

Its Friday and has turned into another crazy day. After dropping off Casey I did a few more stops before heading home to get the laundry done. Then off to pick up Casey and take some old clothes to the Youth Ranch. After that we headed home and Casey played on the computer while I vacuumed the house. Kind of gross to see how much hair (mostly dog) can get in the carpet in a week. About 1:30 Casey headed to the zoo with his aunt. She wanted to spend a little time with him and thankfully he was willing to go by himself. Since he has been gone I have ran to Fred Meyer and then juiced a few more things for my many meals. I love that juicer but it takes a lot of time to do the juicing and then cleaning it. I think this is the first time I have sat down all day...not counting the car trips.

As for the update on the mouth...all good. It still does not hurt just annoying. I am done with the pain meds and the antibiotics. Thankfully this has also ment the swelling in my legs are going down pretty fast. I asked the teeth doc when I was there what he thought about the swelling. He said to give it a little more time and then maybe contact another doc. Thankfully it looks like I wont have to do that. :)

Now time to get supper started for the guys. Looks like a great weekend to spend some time outside. Enjoy your weekend. Enjoy your crunchy food. :P

Week One Down

2011-06-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

Well I got a great report from the doc today. He said all looks great and I just need to keep up with what I am doing and he will see me in a week. He did change my bands out because they get weak after a while. I was very thankful to hear that all is good.

As for the rest of my morning/afternoon. It was a crazy one, dropped Casey off at school and headed to Walmart to get a couple of things returned. Then did a quick stop at Fred Meyer, another return. Then Grocery Outlet because the watermelon from yesterday...not so good tasting and they were great about giving a refund. Then stopped by the library to drop off books and movies and get a few new ones. Finally headed home to unpack the car and make a couple of smoothies for the car. While home for the short time I got a wonderful care package from my oldest sister. A very pretty frame, very cute towel, a cup that will work perfect for the to take my meals in and a few drink mixes which will work great if I try camping in this state. She also sent some Cars inspired things for Casey. Then it was off to get Casey and drop old clothes off at a baby store that buys used clothes. After that a few more miscellaneous chores that needed to be done.

We also got Casey signed up for swimming lessons again this year. He loved them last year and wanted to do it again this year so he will start the Monday after summer school is over. He is going to have a busy summer.

It was then off to the doctor and the wonderful report. Casey was a very good boy for this visit and was given a toy airplane and little dump truck. They are so great with kids at the office. I love it. Then finally home and time to get things in order here. Busy days but it makes the time go faster which is never a bad thing.

Its a hot one today

2011-06-22T18:34:00.000-07:00

What a day...we spent almost as much time outside as we did inside.

After taking Casey to school I went to Grocery Outlet...love that store. A huge watermelon for only 3.99, the new soup I am eating was only 99 cents, and the wine section is just amazing. Then came home and just did the normal things, laundry, got my shopping list for Alberstons and cut up the watermelon. I will juice some of it tomorrow. I also found that if I mix my protein powder with milk and coffee its very good.

Then off to pick up Casey. I don't think we were home for more than five minutes before Casey was out the door in his swim suit. I made my lunch, another yummy green smoothie, changed my clothes and headed outside. Its amazing, I was able to get a lot of my piles cleaned up while Casey and buddy played. We have a plastic pool that they destroyed, it was a year old and ready for the trash anyway. I then changed the hose to the sprinkler and they played/fought with the water for over and hour. Good way to spend the afternoon when its almost 100 degrees.

Supper was Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken, with the last of the asparagus, salad, and rolls. Then after supper we went took a walk to a candy store down in Bown Crossing. Casey had a free ice cream from the library reading program and figured it would be a good night for it. Well Casey didn't want the cone so Brent got it and Casey got some chocolate gelato. Got to love a kid that would rather have gelato then ice cream. After that we headed to the canal to give buddy a little time to cool off.

Now I am here enjoying some pudding with watermelon. Very good. :) Hope you all have a cool place to be tonight.

Looking forward to the appointment tomorrow, lets pray for a good bill of health, hey maybe they will say its all better and then take them off. Wishful thinking I know but whats wrong with that.

Happy Anniversary

2011-06-21T17:31:00.000-07:00

Today is 8 years since Brent and I got married. Hard to believe is been that long. We have had a lot of fun camping, fishing, hiking, racing and just living. Thank you for all the fun and all the great memories.

As for the update on the jaw...another day is almost done. Last night we went for a walk down by the river which was nice and relaxing. It felt good to get out and move in more than just house work and the daily grind of life. Buddy had a great time jumping in the water. That is something that Tucker would never do...hopefully tonight if we walk I will remember the camera and take a movie of the event. You can sure tell Buddy is a puppy.

I ended up pulling out the juicer again today. I now have watermelon, cantaloupe, canned peaches, spinach, carrots, cucumbers, and a green pepper juiced and ready for use. I figure the fruit will be good to add to the plain yogurt and the veggies are for the alive protein mix. Its nice to have a little variety when it comes to food choices.

For our anniversary I had planned to go out for a nice meal somewhere but now we are just eating at home. Casey really wanted french fries so they are having fish and fries with carrots, asparagus, salad and bread. The asparagus is for Brent since Casey will not touch it and its one of Brent's favorites. I also found out today that Casey loves cucumbers...as long as the skin is off. He choose those over a cookies...got to love kids.

Last night I received the sweetest gift...a care package from Lorie. It had slim-fast, ensure, EAS, and another drink that is slipping from my mind. Then to top it off a very pretty shirt, some lovely earrings, but the best part was the chap stick and straws. Two things that have to be close to me at all times now. Then Casey got a little gift as well, a new car from the movie Cars 2. He told me it was the best gift he could have gotten.

Well I am being asked to give up the computer. Casey is ready to play on the computer and supper needs to be tended to.

Enjoy your crunchy food all :)

Its a new week

2011-06-20T17:51:00.000-07:00

Well its the first day of trying to get things back to as normal as they can be. Took Casey to school this morning and then did some of the things that I would normally do. It felt good to try and get back into some kind of routine. The best part is I am back on coffee. My stomach had finally gotten somewhat use to this liquid diet and is now allowing me to drink my coffee...with extra creamer. Good for the calories and to cool it down. I did find a good meal for lunch...not one I could choose to drink any other time but it was good. Alive Whole Food from Natures Way is the powder which I mixed with some carrot juice and water. Then for supper I did my good old black bean soup mixed with some butternut squash soup, added a little hot sauce and enjoyed. As for Brent and Casey they got lasagna, I had some cottage cheese, which I cannot eat right now, so they got to enjoy it. It smelled yummy but I made three small pans so maybe I will save one for when this is over.

Casey was very happy to find out I can still play with bubbles with him and buddy. I have a bubble tube with a big wand that can be waved in the air. That way I don't have to blow the bubbles out and they get a great joy trying to pop them.

Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary, 8 years. Amazing how fast time goes when your having fun.

I am very much looking forward to Thursday, just to make sure all is still looking good with this mouth of mine.

Good evening all.

Happy Fathers Day

2011-06-19T07:42:00.000-07:00

Two wonderful fathers in my life...my own dad and my hubby.

Today is a bitter sweet day for me as most of you know. Its another day down with my jaw, its looking like a wonderful day to be outside. Its also a day to celebrate dads...I have a wonderful husband that is also a wonderful father. But my own dad is not here and thats the bitter part. But I am not going to let myself dwell on what I dont have, instead be happy and thankful for what I do have. Here is the breakfast I made for Brent this morning.
Strawberries from the back yard.

French Toast, Sausage, an Egg and of course fresh strawberries and a few grapes. Waffles or french toast are a normal meal for Sunday but this was a little more speical with the sausage and egg. My crazy son wanted cereal, strawberries, grapes and then three sausage. I guess its good to eat what you like.

As for the jaw, I was able to get a juicer yesterday from a cousin here in Boise so today is going to be a day of trying it out. Hopefully it will work and I will be able to add some veggies back into my diet. We spent most of yesterday getting things in order around the house and then went to the library for a new card. Somehow I lost mine, I think I threw it away with a bunch of other papers but it is now replaced so all is good. Then we hit Fred Meyer for some protein powders and shakes and all that fun stuff. I pulled out some chicken for the boys to have last night which Brent cooked on the grill. It smelled yummy and they both liked it so thats good. I had some very good Spicy Black Bean soup. To tell you the truth it was good, as good as the chicken...probably not but what can ya do. Another positive is my legs/feet are starting go down from some of the swelling. So thats another big plus.

That about sums it up for now. Happy fathers day to all the dads out there. More later

The Joys of being wired shut

2011-06-18T07:59:00.000-07:00

What a week its been. Last week at this time I was in the middle of a run on the treadmill now I am wired shut for the next four to six weeks. So how did it all happen and what has gotten me to this point.

Saturday June 11th started out just like any other...Brent went for his morning run and I went to the treadmill for my morning run. Feeling just fine and doing what I normally do on the machine. I remember looking up at the time and then looking down at my feet. The next thing I remember is being on the ground with my knees bloody and my face hurting like crazy. I got cleaned up and dressed thinking I am going to very sore tomorrow. Well then looking at my teeth a little more I saw that they were off and my bite was very off. So once Brent got home we went to the doc in a box and got checked out. The doctor gave me some pain meds and told me I have two choices, going to the ER and get an x-ray or wait until Monday and get one at my dentist. I chose the dentist only because the ER would have been an arm and a leg and not what I wanted. I think I was in denial about it being broken. Saturday was the Boise Iron man do Brent and Casey spent the rest of the afternoon at that. I stayed home and took my meds and iced my face and slept.

Sunday June 12th we went to church and then just stayed around the house not doing much. I was still on the pain meds and not in to much pain. Not feeling good but able to function.

Monday June 13th I called the dentist and got an appointment to have it checked out. Even before the x-ray came out my dentist said you have a broken jaw, just from looking at me he could tell. Once he saw the x-ray it was confirmed, broken in two placed. One in back and one in front. The back break was two breaks and he was shocked I did not feel any numbness since there is a nerve right there. He called the ortho surgeon and got me a consultation for the afternoon. After picking up Casey we got a couple of errors done and then went to see him. After the exam he gave me three options. Option one, let it heal on its own and hope its not to painful and it goes back like it should. Option two, I could have full surgery, in which they would admit me to the hospital and they would put in metal plates where the breaks are. I would have to stay over night at the hospital and the cost would be about four times more. I would have movement of my jaw but it would be very soft foods and the recovery time would be about 4-6 weeks. My third option, be wired for 4-6 weeks. It would be an in office job and require me to only be on a liquid diet for the recovery time. I chose option three for a couple of reasons. Number one, the over night hospital stay and having them place plates in my mouth just didn't work for me. Number two, the cost. Yes the recovery from the hospital might be a little easier, I would have mouth movement but I still felt the lock jaw would be better. So I made the appointment for Thursday June 16 at 10:00.

Tuesday and Wednesday went just like any other day...took Casey to school, ran errors and just tried to get a few things in the house for me to start on after the big day. I was told I could not have anything to eat or drink after 12:00 on Wednesday night.

Thursday June 16 I took Casey to school and then came home and got ready for the big day. Brent drove me to the office and I went back for the procedure. I don't remember much after going back into the exam room and the doctor coming in and asking me a few mundane questions. The next clear thing I remember is waking up at home on the couch and Brent telling me Casey was going over to a friends house to play for the afternoon. I then went back to sleep for a while. Woke up had a protein drink and went right back to sleep. That was pretty much the rest of the day for me. As far as the pain on that first day it wasn't to awful about a 5 on a scale of one to ten.

Friday June 17, Brent to Casey to school for me which was a wonderful thing. I think the biggest thing I did on Friday was pick strawberries and do a load of laundry. Other than that it was a lot of drinking and sleeping. I have found a couple of really good drinks and a very good soup out of all of this. Brent went to get Casey from school and then the two of them left for the rest of the day to go fishing with a friend. It was nice to have the peace and quite but very lonely to have them gone that long.

Now today is Saturday June 18. A day that I was not looking forward to but with all of this going on I have kind of pushed the past to the past. Good/bad I am not really sure but I am not able to dwell on it. I have been trying to look at this experience with a positive twist and here are a few that I have come up with.
1. I could have broken something (worst than my jaw) - leg, arm, both legs, both arms, my neck
2. I woke up from the fall. I could have been killed from the whole thing
3. I am finding many new things that are very good - soups, drinks
4. I am having fun finding new recipes for my different meals
5. I am being forced to relax for a while - something I am not good at
6. I am able to get things organized more
I know these are just a few of the many positives that are coming out of this situation. I will list more then I think of them.

I have my first doctor visit on Thursday June 23 so we will see how things are looking. Hopefully he will say everything is looking wonderful. I will try and keep this blog up today on my journey though being wired shut. Everyone enjoy your crunchy, yummy food and think of me when eat it.

Happy Birthday Casey

2011-04-22T04:50:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe this little guy is mine. Happy Birthday Casey. WE love you

A Few Pictures from the Past few weeks

2011-04-14T14:48:00.000-07:00

A swan on her nest. On one of our many walks this big bird was protecting her nest. Buddy is growing like a weed. He loves to sit here and moan about not being able to come into the kitchen. He does not understand why he hes not allowed but we need some kind of no dog area.

The flowers out front are looking so pretty. I love this time of year when all the flowers are coming up and looking so pretty. As you can see Casey loves to check out the flowers as well.

A creation of my from a week ago. A yummy combo of green beans, carrots, corn, radishes, mushrooms, steak and shrimp. Orzo cooked in a pan and then finished with the veggies to soak up the rest of the juice. Served with some crusty bread and salad. It was a hit for the entire family. Always a plus with a picky five year old at the table.

This is my veggie garden starters. Casey and I planted peas, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, cilantro, and onions. Its done pretty good in the front window. Now we just need the weather outside to get to a planting time.

So thats what we have been up to. With Easter this weekend and Caseys birthday its going to be a busy week. Hopefully I can get some pictures and then get them on line. Today we are going to color eggs. Casey loves to color them but not eat them. Not a problem, Brent and I will enjoy them fully.

Are you True Gold or Fools Gold.

2011-03-26T14:15:00.001-07:00

Are you living a life of True Gold or Fools Gold?

The next time you are by a river, look down you might see something shiny in the water. Could it be the most precious metal of all - Gold. Reach down and pick up the little piece of something and take it with you. Once home take it to a jewelry shop to find out what it is. After waiting at the shop the jeweler comes back to tell you its only fools gold. It looks very lovely from the outside but will only crumble into nothing when pressure is applied. Thinking about my live and all the trials I have faced I started to think how wonderful it would be to live a life more like True Gold than Fools Gold.

True gold only gets more lovely and priceless as it is put to the fire and then pounded into something special. Fools gold does not withstand the test of time and will be destoyed.

Fools gold will crumble if pressure is applied. However, true gold will conform as needed. This allows for a hunk of gold to be made into rings, bracelets, necklaces and so much more. If we try to live a life of fools gold we will crumble when the Lord tried to form out lives into something wonderful for him

Fire is very important to make gold wonderful. Each fire causes more and more impurities to rise to the surface so it can be removed, leaving nothing but pure gold behind. All the trials we must endure in life causes our impurities to come to the surface so Christ can remove them.

How wonderful it would be to not have trials, pressures, heartaches and sorrows, but without them our lives would be empty. Fools gold looks wonderful but it has no value. I want a live that has true value and is not just pretty from the outside.

So this is what happens when I have time on my hands and I let my mind wonder. :)

Happings on the Crumley Front

2011-03-05T12:47:00.000-08:00

Nothing major has been going on with us...just the same old things that make life go by. It amazing that its already March of 2011 and even harder to believe its been almost 9 months since my dear daddy passed. I don't know how I feel about that one but that's the way it is.

Here are a few pictures from our trip to the McCall Winter Festival.

Its amazing what they can do with snow and ice and a chisel. Casey loved the trip and very much enjoyed playing in the snow.

Now that the weather is getting nicer we have been able to get over some of the cabin fever. After school on nice days we have been stopping by our local park and Casey has been playing for a good hour. I bring Buddy and then switch between Caseys new bike and his scooter. Here he is on his new bike. Its in the house in a box because the weather was rainy on the day he got it. Since Brent has been doing some bike riding in the house, for training, Casey wanted to try it. Not as much fun as outside but it worked for a few minutes.

Here are just a couple pictures I wanted to throw in...

Our version of snowflakes...

I asked Casey if he enjoyed the chocolate he ate, he told me he didn't have any, to bad it got all over his face. :)

Today is another rainy day so I decided to try and finish my latest craft project. I wanted to put new curtains in Caseys room but he didn't know what kind of fabric he wanted, there was spider man, race cars and army pattern. Since its his room, I gave him the option of doing all three. I am not good with the sewing machine but this is what we came up with. Its his room so I really don't mind that it does not match or anything. But Casey loves it.

Yesterday I decided to try a new dessert...pineapple upside down cake. I have never made it before but figured I would give it a try. I used a pineapple cake mix and on the side was a recipe for it. Very easy and very good. Yes this cake is usually not a double layer but that was another twist I made. I used half pineapple juice and half water, eggs and yogurt. Then in the pans I placed the butter and brown sugar and since I was out of pineapple rings I used pineapple chunks. Baked it as directed and when it was done I made it a double layer cake. It turned out so good and moist. Its going to be a new favorite in our house.

That's about all for now folks.

Dinos on the Brain

2011-02-05T19:00:00.000-08:00

So we went to the McCall Winter Festival today which was a lot of fun and I will post the pictures soon. One funny moment came when we told Casey we were going to walk to the Carnival. He looked at us a little funny for a minute and then wanted to know which ones we would see. I had no idea what he was asking and then he asked which carnivores we were going to see. It took me a minute more to put it together...he loves dinosaurs and misheard carnival thinking it was carnivores. What Casey hears and puts together makes me smile.

Its Friday

2011-02-04T07:56:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday.

This is what Brent woke up to on Wednesday. Not one but two coffee pots full and ready to drink. Now there is a good reason for this and its not that I need this much coffee to get going. We have had the pot on the left for almost six years and I got it in the mail for free. It made great coffee until Wednesday morning when it decided to leak coffee all over the place. So I pulled out the one on the left and am not sure I like it. It has a strange smell when it makes coffee...not sure if its just because its new or the pot is just a bust. It does make good coffee, so we will just have to wait and see.

Last night for dinner I made a yummy dinner. I took chunks of boneless pork ribs and put them in the crock pot, then cut up an onion, some garlic and carrots and put them on the pork. As far as liquid, I mixed a little sweet and sour sauce, white wine, and water and poured it over the mixture. I then sprinkled it with a little cumin and covered it. Then cooked it for about 5 hours on low. I served it with salad, pineapple and rice that was mixed with peas. Casey loves pork cooked this way and it always happy with rice and soy sauce. He did want to know why I messed up the rice with peas but that was about the only miss step with the meal. I love having a stress free meal with Casey.

After dinner we always play a game of some kind. The funny thing is Casey loves to play poker. Five card stud, Texas hold-em or high card. The sad thing is he almost always wins. Last night he had a royal flush and in the next hand had a full house. Maybe we should get him to play for money. :)

I am going to start a new bible study next Thursday. Its a Beth Moore study and its going to be at the church that is very close to our house...a big plus for getting Casey to and from school. It will also be nice to have something to do daily.

Have a great weekend all who read this blog. Hopefully I will get better about updating.

Where did January Go

2011-01-28T09:50:00.001-08:00

Its hard to believe this month is almost gone. Happy Birthday to Lorie today. :)

Just a few days ago we took Buddy to the vet to get fixed...not a happy day for the little guy or for Casey for that matter. We took Buddy to the vet on Tuesday the 25th and had to leave him there for the day. Casey came with me before school and was almost in tears when we had to leave. Thankfully Buddy was able to come home that night...not in the of moods but at least he was home and Casey could be with him. As far as the cone...that is another story. Casey was very upset when we told him Buddy would have to wear a cone for a while, well come to find out he thought it would be like the orange traffic cones. How he got that idea I have no idea. The poor dog, it took him a couple of days to figure it out and now its just annoying to him. He can eat just fine and has learned to get his toys and kind of play with them but everyone is going to be happy have it off. I know its not nice to laugh at him but sometimes its hard not to.

Yesterday I rented a movie from RedBox, big deal because it was not a kid movie which is able all we rent anymore. It was "Grownups" with Adam Sandler and I must say it was very funny. I love getting movies that are good.

My son sure has interesting tastes for a kid...at least in my eyes. Yesterday I was going to make chicken tacos for supper. A good kid food right - not for my son. Instead he requested on the way home from school, Shrimp and Salmon. Well I was out of Salmon so instead of chicken tacos we had Cornflake crusted Talapia, Cocktail Shrimp, Pasta Salad and bread. Now the funny part is Casey loves to have cocktail sauce with his shrimp and last night he decided to try mixing ranch dress with the sauce. He downed about ten shrimp and an entire fillet of talapia. Sometime he makes me just shake my head and smile. The fish did turn out very good with the cornflake crust and very easy to make. Just crush cornflakes and add some spice to it...I used Italian seasoning and a little salt and pepper. Then take the fillets and crust the fish. Then place on a sheet tray and sprinkle with a little olive oil and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350. Very Yummy.

Today is Casey's snack day at school. His request was apples and teddy grahams. So this morning I had to peel, core and cut enough apples for 24 kids. Hopefully the lemon juice stopped them from turning brown before they were enjoyed.

Well that's enough for this post...I have kindergartner that needs to be picked up.

The way things hit you

2011-01-19T05:25:00.000-08:00

Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed, For I am they God
I will still give thee aid; I'll strenghten thee, help thee, and cause
thee to stand, Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.

This was the poem that was on the calendar on January 15 - my dad's birthday. If we are willing to open our eyes and let the Lord do for us what he will its amazing what can happen.

Born the middle child

2011-01-16T11:54:00.000-08:00

Yes two posts in one day is very strange for me but here we go...
I heard this song yesterday morning and just burst into tears. With yesterday being my dad's birthday, the first since... It was hard to hear. I know not all of it describes my dad but a lot of it does.

Born the middle son of a farmer

And a small town Southern man

Like his daddy's daddy before him

Brought up workin' on the land

Fell in love with a small town woman

And they married up and settled down

Natural way of life if you're lucky

For a small town Southern Man

First there came four pretty daughters

For this small town Southern man

Then a few years later came another

A boy, he wasn't planned

Seven people livin' all together

In a house built with his own hands

Little words with love and understanding'

From a small town Southern man

Chorus

And he bowed his head to Jesus

And he stood for Uncle Sam

And he only loved one woman

He was always proud of what he had

His said his greatest contributing

Is the ones you leave behind

Raised on the ways and gently kindness

Of a small town Southern man

Callous hands told the story

For this small town Southern man

He gave it all to keep it all together

And keep his family on his land

Like his daddy, years wore out his body

Made it hard just to walk and stand

You can break the back
But you can't break the spirit

Of a small town Southern man

Repeat Chorus

Finally death came callin'

For this small town Southern man

He said it's alright cause I see angels

And they got me bu the hand

Don't you cry, and don't you worry

I'm blessed, and I know I am

'Cause God had a place in Heaven

For this small town Southern man

This song is by Alan Jackson

I know my dad was not a southern man and I know that the kid ratio is different than our family but the basic layout of the song just made me think of my dad. I only wish I had a few more years with the man that helped to shape my life. 28 years was not enough to learn all he had to teach me and to share all my new things in life with him.

I Love You Daddy. One day soon we will be together again I just wish it was here on earth so you could see all the new things in my life. I know heaven is a better place but...

Yummy Oatmeal Cookies

2011-01-16T11:14:00.000-08:00

So yesterday it get some stress out I tried a new cookie recipe. Its called simply Oatmeal Cookies. The recipe calls for very little flour and butter and the strangest part - yogurt. I figured I would give it a try and I think its now my new favorite cookies...good enough to eat for breakfast. Here's the recipe if you are so inclined to try it.

Oatmeal Cookies

2 Eggs

1 3/4 Stick butter, melted

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 cup White Sugar

2 Tablespoons yogurt - non flavored it best but vanilla adds a little something

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

3/4 Teaspoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

1 1/4 cup Flour

3 cups Oatmeal

1/4 cup Wheat Germ

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1 cup Chocolate Chips

1 cup Dried Cranberries (or crasins)

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix eggs, butter, and sugars until smooth. Mix in yogurt, vanilla, salt and cinnamon until very well blended. In a different bowl combine the flour, oatmeal, wheat germ, powder, and soda and blend. Then slowly mix into the wet ingredients. Once well blended add in the chips and cranberries. Spray cookie sheet and spoon out the mixture onto the pan. Bake 15-18 minutes, until the edges are golden.

The mixture may be a little loose but they will cook up wonderful. The pictures do not do the cookies justice but it was best I could get.

Casey loves them and he is getting a big dose of oatmeal which is always good.

Just another Friday

2011-01-14T12:23:00.000-08:00

Casey had a great kindergarten teacher. She recently sent home a blank paper and asked us to cut out things that are important to Casey. Things that the class would like to find out about your child. Here is Casey's poster

We included things like the fact Casey really wants to go hunting with daddy, his new puppy Buddy, some of his favorite foods, things he likes to do and his three favorite colors. They then showed the poster to the class and had to answer questions about the different pictures. I love that his teacher does things like this, making each child special and getting to know things about the children. Casey has also had to do his first book report. Nothing to hard just reading the book from the library and then drawing three pictures about the book. Just simple stuff that we have to do but still to me it shows that the teacher really does care about each student.

Here is Casey's new blanket from A. Linda. Along with the new BSU pillow that I made for him.

Just another day of school for my big kindergartner.

Looking forward to the weekend, not sure what we are going to do but sometimes those kind of weekends turn out the best. Casey is out of school on Monday for the holiday which he thinks is crazy...I love that he still loves school as much as he does.

Last night for supper we had pork and veggies. It made me laugh because Casey was so sure the the meal was not going to be good but then as he ate and ate and ate he decided that just maybe pork is good and the green beans are starting to get better. It was a very easy meal to make...just cut up boneless pork ribs and place in baking dish. Sprinkle over Italian Seasoning and lemon pepper marinade. Add one package frozen veggies, I like the blend of carrots, peas and green beans but its what every sounds good and then open one can of diced tomatoes. I then baked it for 45 mins at 400. I also had a pan of scalloped potatoes in the oven at the time so I think that is why the time is a little long but it was nice to have them both cooking at the same time. Now I get to have the rest for lunch, always a bonus. :)

Family

2011-01-12T10:17:00.000-08:00

I love my family. I just got to spend a couple of days with my oldest nephew and am just amazed at how he has turned out. William will be 21 in April and had decided to try living on his own for a year or so. Not close to his parents but here in Idaho. He spend a couple days here in Boise because the guy that he drove cross country with had a flight out on Tuesday but it was canceled so he had to leave on Wednesday. That meant I was able to house these two guys for a couple of nights. Last night Casey wanted to make sure they would not leave before he got up because he really wanted to tell William "See ya Later" That was able to happen. :) Made a simple supper of Sausage and Potatoes in the Crockpot and served it with bread and salad. The supper a hit, minus the salad of course. Just to prove how respectful/helpful William is - he helped to clear the table and thanked/complemented me for the meal many times. So many miles from home and still full of manners and what not. I love it.

Casey and William in June

Casey is on a kick lately that has me wondering. He just is trying the limits at every turn, then yesterday in his backpack I got the monthly snack list and what not and in the packet was a paper about 5, 6, and 7 year old behavior. Guess what it says that kids at around 5 1/2 and 6 start to question everything and wonder about the limits they can push and test. The paper says it lasts for about a year and just when you think you are going to lose it they turn 7 and settle down. So that means Casey is right on track and for the next year we are going to have a limit tester. GREAT :)

Casey just playing one morning.

Anyway that's enough babbling for this post.

Chocolate Cake

2011-01-08T07:03:00.001-08:00

Bill Cosby once said that Chocolate Cake for breakfast is just fine. Its got flour and eggs and if you add some fruit juice to drink you have all you need. Well if you have my chocolate cake you can add coffee and yogurt to that mix. Yesterday Casey and I made a chocolate cake without water or oil and it is one of the most moist cakes I have ever made. Not to mention the yummy flavor. We took a simple cake mix and followed the direction on the back only with a little twist. Instead of the water I used the left over coffee from the morning. Then instead of the oil I added cherry yogurt. Then to finish it off as we poured it into the pan we added chocolate chips. The coffee gives it a boost of flavor and there is nothing better that the slight hit of cherry that comes through. If Casey loves it you know there is not to much coffee flavor.

As for my sewing venture...

I finished the heating pads. I was able to fill three of them but then ran out of rice for the other three. :) Always something

Here is the pillow case that I was able to finish as well.

This is the fabric I got for Casey's pillowcase and pillow. One day soon I will get this one done.

Now time to start my Saturday. Enjoy your weekend.

A Little Foodie on My Hands

2011-01-06T05:05:00.000-08:00

Last night Casey made me really laugh. I fixed a steak stir fry for supper and I guess I did not get the meat cut just right. As we were eating he wanted to know what was wrong with it. I asked him to explain and he said "Well this piece is a little tough and chewy and the one I just finished was nice and tender" He must watch more cooking shows with me than I realize.

Yesterday was a very productive day, for me at least. I was finally able to get a bunch off my to-do list. Now for the project I have been putting off. I never took sewing in High School, instead I learned how to judge a cow and can tell you what the different cheeses are. But a couple of years ago I decided to try and sew rice heating pads. They turned out but only after some words with the machine. Its been a while and now I need some new ones so...I am going to try and figure out how to outsmart a sew machine and have it work for me. I am going to need lots and lots of coffee for this one. Hopefully I can post a picture or two of the finished project.

On a side note, Casey is having his IRI test today. I just hope he can not be to shy for the tester and do all that I know he can do. If not...its only a test.

Coffee

2011-01-04T05:34:00.001-08:00

Casey went back to school yesterday and loves it. So happy and thankful that it was a good day back. Pray today is just as good and he does well with the upcoming tests. I think its crazy to test kids when they back from a long time off but thats just me.

As for the title of this post...I love coffee. I am a huge fan of Moxie Java here in Boise. They have a wide selection of coffee syrups and good strong coffee. Starbucks has never been a big hit in my mind, just to bitter/strong for me. I know I probably drink to much of the stuff but nothing warms you up on a cold day. This time of year I love to add the holiday syrups from World Market. The gingerbread one is an old favorite but new favorite is Peppermint with a little peppermint mocha cream. Starbucks and Moxie have nothing on it.

It truly is hard to believe that its 2011 and the fourth day of 2011. Dont know where time goes anymore.

Church

2011-01-02T14:17:00.000-08:00

We have been going to a new church lately. Its closer to our house and the kids program is very good. This morning Casey went to the class without a second thought. I love knowing that Casey is enjoying learning about the Lord. As for the message it was wonderful today. Learning about who God really is and I was able to get through the service without crying over my dad. A huge step in my eyes.

Welcome 2011

2011-01-01T18:37:00.000-08:00

Well its the start of a new year and its going to be a different one for sure. Its strange to think that anything that occurs this year, good or bad will not be shared with dad. Its been over six months now and it still seems like a very bad dream. There are so many things I would love to share with him. From the new puppy that is keeping us so busy to the new things Casey is learning, doing and asking. I do know that one day we will be together again but when that day comes all these little things will not matter. I look forward to that day. I do realize that home is not the four walls that I grew up in but the people that filled those walls and the memories that were made. I just have to remember the great times I had as a child and try to make new memories from her on out.

On a lighter note, Casey is growing up so fast. He is so happy to be going back to school on Monday to be with his friends again. I love that school is still so much fun for him. We went to a Boise State basketball game and had a great time cheering on his team. As you can tell he loves the Broncos. A little hard for Daddy to take since he went to ISU, but its all fun and games.

So heres looking forward to a great 2011 with all it will have to offer.

Long Time Since Last Post

2010-03-13T10:37:00.000-08:00

I really wish I was better at this blogging thing. I just get busy and to be honest I dont believe my life is that interesting. Then to top it off my son has decided that when ever I sit down at the computer he wants to come play a game, write a letter to someone or just do something...But right now he is getting his hair cut so I have a couple of free minutes. :):)

Last night we went to a monster truck show and he loved it. Thankfully he was willing to wear the ear protectors. It was a very fun family night.

Watching the show

Big smile for mom...he looked a little like a chipmunk. :)

The crusher

Cheering on his truck.

Just a few pictures

2010-01-18T13:38:00.000-08:00

Casey has been wanting a new pillow and blanket so here is what we came up with.

John Deere and Rescue Things. Spider Man and Cars.

A little sledding before all the snow melts away.

Thankful For

2009-12-31T05:50:00.000-08:00

Well I am back. I know I missed a few days with my thankful for list but I have a couple of good reasons...First my blog account decided it needed to update itself or something of the sort. Second, by the time it came back to working we were getting ready to head to the families houses for the holidays.

So here we go again...hopefully I can be good about this in the new year...maybe not everyday but at least a few times a week.

December 31, 2009
1. Dry roads on long drives
2. Family and friends
3. Coming home after a long stay away
4. Visits with fav. Aunts and Uncles. :)
5. Seeing the wonder on Casey's face when watching the Live Nativity in Idaho Falls.
6. Having your son ask how he can see Jesus
7. The true reason for the season

Over the holiday we were able to go cross-country skiing at Harriman State Park which was amazingly pretty. While we were getting ready to go a young family was getting packed up to leave and overheard the mother talking to her young child. What she said made it so had a wonderful time. Not many people know I like to write poems...nothing special, its just a way for me to get my feelings out. Here is a poem from that day.

ADVICE
I overheard something today
Not something foreign to me
But something I have heard
Something I have said
Over and Over Again

This overheard little saying
Made me stop and think
It made me change
Just a little something
About the way I spent my day

It was said by a mother
To her very young child
She didn't know me or my life
But she changed my day and
Changed it for the better

So what was the advice:
Its amazing how much
Better things can be
When we change our attitude
About the day

And here is a second poem about the season

Falling snowflakes and
Swishing of skies
Calm the nerves
The holidays can bring

The crunch of crackers and
The snap of cards being shuffled
Erase the crinkle of paper and
The snap of tape being torn

The laughter filled rooms and
Joy on the faces of other
Vanish the questions
Asked at store after store

The story of why
We celebrate the season
Causes us to stop and
Say Thank You Jesus.

Thankful For

2009-12-17T09:14:00.000-08:00

December 17, 2009

1. My library card...I love having so many books/movies/cds at my fingertips.
2. My health
3. No matter how many times we lose our cool, the Lord will never say - That was the last time.
4. Any time Casey gets a good nights sleep.

Thankful For

2009-12-16T11:15:00.000-08:00

December 16, 2009

1. The heat wave we are having in Boise. It made it possible to have a fun bus trip with Caseys Preschool Class.
2. The chance to see Casey with the other kids in his class.
3. Coffee, my new fav is a combo of Vanilla and Gingerbread syrups...YUMMY

Thankful For

2009-12-15T11:00:00.001-08:00

December 15, 2009

1. Clear roads after many days of snow/ice covered ones.
2. My son asking to sing many of the songs I loved as a kid.
3. Friends and family that put up with me and my many moods. :)
4. The fun memories from lasts nights show...Guy from the food network was in town and we were able to go to the show. (Birthday Present from Brent)
5. That our old dog is still able to play and put up with Casey.

Thankful For

2009-12-13T05:54:00.000-08:00

December 13, 2009

So I see that I missed yesterday. I sat down to write and then got sidetracked with playing with the options and forgot to do the post. Some days are like that...

1. Gift cards to good restaurants. We were able to have a $1 meal last night at Chili's
2. The feeling that you get when you know things on your list can be crossed off. :):)
3. Finding a good person to cut your hair...I am still in the search and now realize just how nice it is.
4. Surviving yet another day of driving in awful road conditions...

I spent yesterday out and about with my sister-in-law. We had a great time shopping and then trying to find a place to eat. The first two we tried were closed on Saturday and then not opened until 4. We ended up going to a new Sushi place in downtown Boise. Very good. Yes I said Sushi which if you know me would know that as a kid I would not touch cooked fish much less raw. But lately I have taken a liking to fish of all kinds...I have always like shrimp but after getting married I have decided that fish is good. Its even better when you catch it yourself. My dad is still amazed that I have taken a liking to Sushi but its really good, or maybe its the washbi that I put on it. :)

Thankful For

2009-12-11T15:58:00.000-08:00

December 11, 2009

1. That tomorrow is a new day
2. My bible

I know there is more but I have to make this short...

Thankful For

2009-12-10T03:49:00.000-08:00

No I did not forget about yesterday I just never got a chance to get to the computer. :(

December 10, 2009
1. Not being famous. I would hate to live my life in a public setting.
2. That each day is a new day a new start.
3. My faith to get me though hard time.
4. The true reason for this season...
5. A warm house and warm clothes.

Thankful For

2009-12-08T05:34:00.000-08:00

December 8, 2009

1. Days that I get to stay home and just be with Casey.
2. Warm socks on cold winter mornings
3. The ability to forgive, now if only I could get better at the forgetting.
4. Living in a free country
5. Knowing where I am going when it all ends

Thankful For

2009-12-07T17:24:00.000-08:00

December 7, 2009

No I did not forget about this but with the morning I had it was very hard to get it done.

1. Driving on dry roads, something I did not get to do today.
2. A car that is able to handle slick roads
3. My gym membership
4. Having enought to be able to give to other.

After today and the slick roads I am just thankful to be home in one piece. I have very bad luck when it comes to slick roads and today I did a lot of white knuckle driving. Leaving the house 45 min early and driving at a very slow speed. Tonight calls for a glass of wine. :)

Questions...

2009-12-06T12:01:00.000-08:00

So last night we went to a basketball game and on the way home Casey had a few questions. Not about basketball but about something he saw. In Boise there is a huge cross on the side hill and at night they light it up. Last night Casey saw this and wanted to know what it was. We told him it was a cross and of course he wanted to know what a cross was. I told him it was where the Lord Jesus gave his life for his people. Casey said nothing for a few seconds and then wanted to know where heaven was and why he could not see it. This made me stop and think...how do you explain heaven to a four year old...much less to a 28 year old. He also wanted to know if Jesus would be coming back soon and why we dont get to see him. All of these questions were asked at 9:30 at night so my brain was not on full anyway. So you may be wondering what I ended up telling the little guy. As far as heaven, its up above the clouds (kind of). Jesus is coming back one day to take all those that believe on him to live with him and until that day we are asked to live for him. I then took the chicken way out and told him to ask Papa with combine the next time we are in Aberdeen.

This is the same little guy that wanted to know a few days ago where he came from...the hospital was not a good answer. I then told him from mommy and daddy to which he asked where did you guys come from. A few of his other questions...why dont the people in the back seat of a car have a sun visor? Where does ... come from? (fill in the blank with just about anything) Why is my pee yellow? Yes the joys of having a four year old with a very, very active mind. :):)

Thankful For

2009-12-06T05:17:00.000-08:00

December 6, 2009

1. Sleep when I can get it. (its hard to do this when I have not gotten a lot of sleep lately.)
2. A warm house.
3. Having found a church that is enjoyable to go to and has a good message sunday after sunday
4. That Casey has a very questioning mind...last night at 9:30 he wanted to know where heaven was, how we got to heaven, where is Jesus and on and on...
5. My health...my voice is starting to go :(

Thankful For

2009-12-05T04:00:00.000-08:00

December 5, 2009

1. It looks as if Casey is on the mend from his cold/flu thing.
2. With all the bugs that have been going around this year I have been able to stay pretty healthy...thank you Lord for that.
3. Our troops who are fighting for us to have the freedom we so enjoy.
4. The life I had growing up...being raised in a Christan Home with love parents is a huge blessing.
5. Any free time I can get to get my thoughts in order...even if its when I am in the car driving to and from picking Casey up for dropping him off.

Thankful For

2009-12-04T05:27:00.000-08:00

December 4, 2009

1. That Casey always has a hug for me...

2. Having a good place to workout and get the blood flowing.

3. The ability to enjoy the simple things in life.

4. My family

5. Nice customer service at Fred Meyer. After returning a load of stuff there yesterday I am very greatful to them.

Thankful For

2009-12-03T00:13:00.000-08:00

December 3, 2009.

Its strange but its only been a couple of days and I now find myself thinking as the day goes on about things for my list. I like this idea of positive thinking

1. The first cup of coffee in the morning.

2. A healthy family...which is in question right now. Casey is starting to get a cough.

3. A full night sleep...which I am not getting tonight. :(

4. Life in a free country. Thank you to all who have served and to all the parents who have raised the soldiers.

5. That I am not nor am I married to a movie star. I would hate to have that kind of life.

Thankful For...

2009-12-02T05:28:00.000-08:00

December 2, 2009

1. Laundry...yes I said laundry. I dont like it but after doing four loads yesterday I got to thinking that at least I have some to do. There are many that do not.

2. A wonderful preschool for Casey. It is amazing the change that has happened since he started.

3. My gym membership.

4. The good memories that I have stored away.

5. The fact that this is not all there is. One day we will understand why things happen

Thankful For

2009-12-01T04:41:00.000-08:00

December 1, 2009

Hard to believe its already December.

1. When my son gets a full night sleep which means I can then try for a full one myself.

2. That Brent and I both feel it is important for me to stay home with Casey and that the Lord has given up the funds to make it possible.

3. A working washer and dryer, and a working dishwasher.

4. Having enough food on the table.

5. Being able to have arguments with my family but still know that we all love each other in the end.

Thankful For...

2009-11-30T04:17:00.000-08:00

Things I am thankful for today. Nov 30, 2009

1. Coming home after long trip and being able to sleep in a warm bed. I love to visit places, family and friend but there is nothing like your own bed.

2. A car that run with very few problems.

3. My friends and family. Even though things may not always be perfect with them I dont know what I would do without them.

4. Hearing my son sing at the top of his lungs in the car - Hes got the whole world in his hands is a favorite.

5. Knowing that I have a savoir who loves me no matter what I do.

I know there are many more but I am going to try and post a few each day. Just a good way to have a positive outlook on life and try to keep me grounded during this holiday season.

Races and Fun

2009-09-08T13:28:00.000-07:00

What a fun weekend.

Casey did his first race...it was a .2 mile run for kids under the age of 8. He loved the first half of the race but when he got to the place where the crowds were cheering he did not like it. He did love his shirt and medal. Now he has one just like daddy.

Getting ready for the big race

Not sure about it, this was right after the race. About two minutes later he was as happy as could be and very proud of his big race.

I did the half marathon this year again. Brent did not run because he is doing a full in Salmon next weekend. I was able to run this year in 1 hour and 54 min. which is 2 min. better than last year. The first three miles were awful but the rest turned out great. The weather was perfect and the crowds were even better.

Coming into the finish line.

Checking out my medal after the half.

After the race we headed to Aberdeen to visit with U. Mike and A. Alice. Casey has the best time taking Hank for a walk and then playing with him while the adults visited. He wanted to be sure to go back and play with Hank again because "that black dog it a fun dog to play with"

Sunday we went to the fair in Blackfoot. Casey had a great time seeing all the animals and what not.

At the petting zoo.

Here is Casey at home with his new hat.

On Sunday night we headed to Aberdeen for the night and Casey got drive the combine. This was the highlight of the trip.

It was a fun weekend and now we have a busy week ahead. Casey is starting preschool on Wednesday and speech classes again. He is going to have a very busy day. Then we leave for Brent's marathon on Friday. Hopefully I can get better at posting...hopefully. :)

Iron Man Weekend

2009-06-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

June 13, 2009 was a big day for the Crumley Family...Well Brent at least. It was the day of the Iron Man in Boise. Brent had trained for a few months for this race and was as ready as on could be for a race that was in total 70.3 miles long. It started with a swim of 1.2 miles in Lucky Peak. Then a bike ride of 56 miles that took them to the desert and back down to transition near Bodo in Boise. Finally they finished with a run of 13.1 miles. All of this madness started at 2:00 p.m. mainly because Lucky Peak is a cold body of water and they did not want to freeze everyone out. Brent had a few hours in the morning to stress and wonder why he was going to do this race. After he headed down to get things in order Casey and I did a few things around the house, ate lunch and then got ready to go try and catch daddy on the bike. Once I found a road that was not closed to do the race we found a great spot to watch the riders. Sadly we did not see Brent at this spot...either we left for downtown before he came or he was in a group and we missed him. Here are a couple pictures of the other riders, taken my Casey. I had to laugh at Casey, because as many of the riders went pasted I was cheering them on, saying things like good job and looking good. Well a few would respond with a thank you or a smile and a nod of the head. When ever one did not say or do something Casey wanted to know why. Trying to explain to a four year old that they were working to hard and needed to concentrate did not go over to well. Be he still had fun.

A couple riders working hard

Casey trying to show me his shirt and still stay warm

Here is the shirt we made the day before the race.

I think he likes it.

Once we left the bike riders we headed home so I could check and see how Brent did with the swim...55 minutes and 3 second with a transition from swim to bike of 4 minutes and 47 seconds. We then headed for down town to meet up with Trina, Holly and Jolene. That's then the day got interesting. Yes it was rain was expected but only a little and that is another reason we stopped at the house...to get rain coats. Best move I could have made. Once downtown it started to pour. I parked the car and just sat there watching the wipers working overtime and still falling behind with the rain on the windows. I could not believe I had forget an umbrella but I did. Once out of the car it took maybe a minute for me to be soaked to the bone and not caring about the weather. We started walking down the end of the bike course and ran into Jolene...Brent's sister. We then headed to the transition area for the bike and run. We did get to see Brent. Bike Transition

He did his bike portion of this race in 3 hours and 36 minutes with a transition time of 4 minutes and 19 seconds and then he was off for the run. We found a great spot to watch the run. We were able to see everyone four times. The run course was a loop on the greenbelt and they did twice and ended at Bodo. After seeing Brent start his second lap we headed to the finish line.

Looking good for the start of the run.

He did the run portion of this crazy day in 1 hour and 54 minutes...crazy if you ask me. That is a pace of 8:46.

Just crossing the finish line and getting his foil blanket

Casey was very happy to see daddy...I was trying to let Trina know Brent had finished and we would see them soon

Getting his final shot

The family after race.

What a day...we did not make it home until about 10:30. Everyone soaked to the bone and bone tired but all in all it was a fun day. Casey crashed on the ride home. I ate my supper once we got home and then feel into bed not to move until the next morning. Brent ate and then tried to calm his running mind and uneasy stomach. He did say he fully enjoyed the race and may do it again next year. His total race time was 6 hours and 35 minutes. All I can say is Wow and you will never see me doing one of these races.

More pictures

2009-06-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

Two posts in one day...I found more pictures to post.

Casey being a strong man.

My garden...I am so happy that so far nothing has died. Minus the plants Tucker ate.
We should get some good tomatoes
The peas are starting to come as well.

Just a few of my flowers
My little man just being cute.

After all the rain in Eastern Idaho we were rewarded with this...a double rainbow. The first rainbow Casey has seen and he loved it. Its hard to see the second rainbow but its there.

The Last Few Weeks

2009-06-12T06:03:00.000-07:00

Now I know its been a few weeks since I have posted but there is a good reason for it. With the nice weather Boise has been having I don't get to be inside much and when I am I am spending my time doing household chores... But this is a rare day that Casey is sleeping a little late and that means I can get some pictures posted.

Here are a few pictures from the Ogden marathon. Brent ran the full 26 and I did the half. Finished in a time of 1:56 which while I was very happy with that time it was a full three minutes slower than last year. :(

After party at a friend of a friends place in Ogden
After the race
Ali, Myself and ??? (I cannot remember her name) We all did the half
Me, Trina and Ali

For mothers day Brent decided that since he was not able to fix my old bike and we love to bike on the weekends I should get a new one. So we took it out for a spin.

Getting the water bottle holder on with great help from Casey
Caseys new bike. It hooks to Brents bike but does not have any power to make him go faster/slower/stop.
After the ride Brent was working on his road bike and Casey decided that he wanted to help
Loves to help daddy.

Over the last holiday we had we decided to try a fishing trip. As you can see from the pictures it was not the warmest day. Sadly we did not have a single nibble but we did get home before the rain came pouring.
Getting the lines ready
Waiting for the worm to put on his line
The very calm water we fished in
Self taken Got to love it
Another taken by Casey from the back seat

And finally this last Wednesday we took a trip to the Zoo. Casey loves the place and I very much enjoy the animals. The weather was perfect for the day, not to hot or cold and not to sunny. So we spent about two hours just walking/running around and having fun. Then headed home for a happy meal and watermelon. It turned out to be a great day.

Ground hogs
The mighty lion with his two lady lions (One is sleeping right behind him)
The giraffe
The two playful Zebras
Casey and his little meerkat friend. They a very funny little animals.

So that's the past few weeks here in Boise. I will try to do better about the posting but with even more nice weather on the way I wont promise anything.

Casey's Party

2009-05-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

I figure since both my husband son are asleep and I have a couple of seconds I will get the pictures posted from Caseys party. I guess party is the wrong word since it was just daddy, mommy, A. Jo and Casey but we did have cupcakes and presents.
Birthday pizza made by my little chef. He did not want ham on his pieces.

Needs a big breath to blow out that many candles. He did not want a cake so we went with cupcakes.
Almost got them all.
Now their all out.

Time for the presents.
Ready to get the show on the road

A Dot - to - Dot book from A. Linda
He had to stop and read the Clifford book before moving on
Still reading his book
Tools from A. Lorie
He used the saw to open the rest of the gifts.

Robie Creek

2009-04-22T11:15:00.000-07:00

As promised I am posting about my Robie Creek Run.

This year was my third year of running this race. This was the first race I had ever run. Brent talked me into it not long after we got married and I ran it for the first time in 2004 after doing nothing in terms of training. I finished that year in 2 hours 55 minutes and could not move well for almost a week after. Sadly I think that is when I became hooked on running. The second race was in 2007, why the long wait...Casey was born in 2005 three days after the race so no running that year and as far as 2006 I don't remember why I back out then. But my 2007 race was done in 2 hours 20 minutes and with much better training and less hurt afterwards. Its amazing how training right for something helps. :) As for the race this year...

It was a good race day, the weather was nice for the start. I did not stand there and shiver from the cold instead the nerves had me on edge but that's very normal.

Trina and I before the start.

Robie always has a theme and this year it was the Blue Period. As you can tell from the people many wore their blue attire, the fat lady was in a blue dress and started the race with Devil with a Blue Dress and the end token was a blue crayon. They even had blue corn chips to eat at the end.

The fat lady that sings to start the race.

The crush of people at the start of the race. I'm there somewhere.

This is what is looks like for about the first mile or so. Hard to run without running over someone.

So the race takes you up and over the side of a large hill/small mountain. Having run it before I knew that there were many spots that I would have to walk and there was no way around it but somehow I got mixed up in when the top of the hill was. I was sure it was mile 6 or 7 and was pushing myself to get there so I could have the joy of running down the backside. Nope it was not until mile 8 1/2 so for those couple of mile it was not a good race. But once I hit the top and at 1 hour 30 minutes it was all smooth sailing for me. I love the back side of Robie, all downhill and speed. I was able to get a 6 minute mile on the backside, compared to a 13 minute mile going up the hill. As I said before the weather started out wonderful and stayed nice but just hot. I had sunscreen on for the start of the race and I think I sweated it all off by mile three which meant my poor face is now starting to peel from the sunburn. :( Sad thing in on Sunday my legs felt fine it was my face that was in pain.

There is no better sight in any race that the finish line. Here is a pictures from the paper as I was coming across.

And the after party is always a lot of fun. Get good food, good drink and a chance to listen to some music with friends and compare notes about the race.

The group that ran

Trina and I enjoying our after race prize...beer

The band stand that keeps everyone happy with music

So all in all it was a great race and I will probably be doing it again next year.

I cannot post without a picture of Casey on his bike.

Hes Four

2009-04-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

Its hard to believe but at noon four years ago today we were blessed with Casey. As most know Casey was not planned, we were going to wait a few years before kids came into our lives but as normal the plans we had were changed for the better. Its impossible to imagine what life over the last four years would have been like with Casey to fill the days. Maybe a little more sleep and a few less arguments but we would also be without the memories, smiles, laughs, crazy ideas and fun that he has given us.

This picture was taken within minutes of his birth. He captured my heart from the first time he looked at me with those big eyes that reminded me so much of his daddy.

I would love to say we are going to have big party for him tonight but sadly he is still fighting with this cold bug that has been going around this year. Also, he had decided that he does not want to turn four and he does not want a birthday party. He is still trying to decide if he wants the presents and the cake. But even a mention of the party and he gets very upset. I didn't think the not wanting to get older happened at such a young age. I think it all boils down to not wanting to be in the center of attention...he has a shy streak a mile wide and having a party would have every eye on him. So we are going to have a nice low key party. Mom, Dad, A. Jo and Tucker are going to have his favorite meal, pizza with pineapple and ham, carrots and ice cream.

Here are just a few pictures of the little guy.

Posing in his new sweater.

Playing at the park.

With his best friend, Tucker.

Favorite past time...riding his bike.

Painting his first pumpkin

The result of playing to hard with Tucker, a fat lip

Checking out the river on one of our many camping trips.

I thank God every day for the joy of being his mother and pray for the ablility to raise him right.

Happenings of the Past Few Weeks

2009-04-16T09:38:00.000-07:00

So I know I need to be better about blogging but every time I sit down to write Casey hears me and wants to play his card game. Yes my son loves Solitaire, why his dad showed him how to play is beyond me but what can you do. I have a few minutes now because he is fighting with a cold and is currently taking a nap. Its something I need to write down because naps are almost out of his vocabulary.

Spring is trying to show its face here in Boise as you can see from the pictures.

Believe it or now these are the flowers that I planted a when we first moved into this house and I have managed to keep them alive. I am very good at killing plants. :(

Sadly this year we were not able to take Casey to the Zoo for the egg hunt. He has been fighting with this cold for a couple weeks. So I hid eggs around the house and he had the fun of looking for them. He also had an Easter basket to find and was very happy with the content. In fact the first thing he pulled out was the cars and did not want to look at the rest for a good hour.

With Casey being in school a couple times a week he gets to do a lot of projects. Here are the things he did for Easter.
A basket for all his goodies
A birds nest

We colored eggs this year as well. As you can tell he was very serious when it came to painting the color on.

The finished eggs.

As far as eating the eggs, he was not fond of that. In school they learned about the different parts of the egg and got to taste a hard boiled on. I was told that he took a bite and spit it right out. But dad and mom enjoyed the colored ones.

Some of you know that I run, well this Saturday is Robie Creek. If you have never heard of it check out www.robiecreek.com and you can see what its all about. The short rundown...its an annual half marathon in Boise run around tax time. We start at Fort Boise which is close to St. Luke's Hospital, then run up Robie Creek road (don't think small hill here think small mountain) and down the other side (the fear here is losing control and rolling down the other side). This race is a killer and why I am doing it for the third time I will never understand but I am. I got my number last night and am going to run on Saturday. Hopefully I will still be able to walk on Sunday. It is crazy to put myself though it I know but in the end being able to say I did Robie Creek is something kind of cool. Not to mention the great party afterwards that makes all the pain go away. I will let you all know how it turned out on Monday.

Others thing going on in the life of the Crumleys...not much. Brent is still working at HP, thankfully. I am still working for Casey and Casey is still being a sweet, lovable, stinker. We are working on potty training with him and it has its good days and bad days. But all in all things here are good.

Ramblings from the sleep deprived

2009-03-17T22:22:00.000-07:00

Its almost 11:30 p.m. and here I am trying to wind down from another day. I am tired by body is ready for bed but my brain is on overdrive...again. I wish I knew why sleep is so hard to come by these days. Today was a day filled with trying to figure out the mind of a three year old. I sometimes wonder who the little body is that is sitting at the kitchen table. One minute he can be the sweetest thing in the world and the next he is telling me that he hates me. Now I know he does not really mean it but it still hurts to have your little one say it. He can make me laugh and cry all in the spanned of a few seconds and that plays with the old emotions. I just wish I could find a manual that would spell out a few of the things we have to teach our children. I got off easy with the walking stage but then was blind sided with the speech. Thankfully Casey is doing much better with his speech and he loves school, the other kids and the teachers. Next school year we are going to start him in a daycare/preschool program at a local church. It will be two and a half hours a day and three days a week. Hopefully it will help him with his shyness. That is another thing I wish I could understand...he is so deathly shy we had to have his dental work done at the hospital with him fully out. Then today we went in for a followup and he buried his head in my arm and refused to let the dentist even see him. :( Another trial is potty training. With him being almost four years old and advanced in many things I hoped/figured it would be something he would pick up after he got over his initial fears. Sadly I was so wrong. He loves to do everything else on his own so I thought he would love the idea of doing that by himself. If I don't set the timer for every 15-20 minutes there is no chance of him staying dry and he does not care. If anyone has any idea of how/what I need to do please let me now. But after all the gripes above I love him so. I cannot imagine my life without him in it. With the way he gets so excited over the little things, like seeing a fire truck come down the road or an airplane in the sky. The smile he gives on the good days. He makes me appreciate all my parents did/do for me.

Hopefully there is somewhat of a thought above...now to try and sleep again.

Bowling

2009-03-04T13:38:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago we took Casey bowling again. He loved it and this time we were able to use the same lane for everyone. The bumpers for Casey came up on his turn and then went down on ours. Here are a couple pictures from the game. We went with a couple friends and they have twin boys who are about a year younger than Casey. They loved it as well.

Daddy helping Casey with the ball

Watching the ball go down the lane

Cameron and one of his twins

Here is a picture of Casey after a bath. I went back to get his pjs and he was sound asleep by the time I got back.

One of the many pictures I find on my camera. Casey loves to take pictures of the dog.

A few pictures

2009-02-25T04:40:00.000-08:00

Baby Italie

Papa and Baby Italie

Robb and part of his family

Showing papa how stuff works

Playing in the snow in Idaho Falls

Lambs waiting to be fed

Daddy showing Casey the horns on the lamb

If only we could take him home

Helping feed the new mommies

His lamb once again

Just a few pictures from the last trip to the eastern side of the state. If we could have a lamb in the city with our dog it would have happened.

Funny Stories

2009-01-30T16:56:00.000-08:00

I cannot take credit for these stories. My sister sent them to me in an e-mail and I just had to post them. They made me laugh and realize that I am not the only one that has days that make me want to die.

Have you ever spoken and wished that you could immediately take the words back...or that you could crawl into a hole?
Here are the Testimonials of a few people who did....

FIRST TESTIMONY: I walked into a hair salon with my husband and three kids in tow and asked loudly, 'How much do you charge for a shampoo and a blow job?' I turned around and walked back out and never went back. My husband didn't say a word... he knew better.

SECOND TESTIMONY: I was at the golf store comparing different kinds of golf balls. I was unhappy with the women's type I had been using. After browsing for several minutes, I was approached by one of the good-looking gentlemen who works at the store. He asked if he could help me. Without thinking, I looked at him and said, 'I think I like playing with men's balls.

THIRD TESTIMONY: My sister and I were at the mall and passed by a store that sold a variety of candy and nuts. As we were looking at the display case, the boy behind the counter asked if we needed any help. I replied, 'No, I'm just looking at your nuts.' My sister started to laugh hysterically. The boy grinned, and I turned beet-red and walked away. To this day, my sister has never let me forget.

FOURTH TESTIMONY : While in line at the bank one afternoon, my toddler decided to release some pent-up energy and ran amok. I was finally able to grab hold of her after receiving looks of disgust and annoyance from other patrons. I told her that if she did not start behaving 'right now' she would be punished. To my horror, she looked me in the eye and said in a voice just as threatening, 'If you don't let me go right now, I will tell Grandma that I saw you kissing Daddy's pee-pee last night!' The silence was deafening after this enlightening exchange. Even the tellers stopped what they were doing. I mustered up the last of my dignity and walked out of the bank with my daughter in tow. The last thing I heard when the door closed behind me, were screams of laughter.

FIFTH TESTIMONY: Have you ever asked your child a question too many times? My three-year-old son had a lot of problems with potty training and I was on him constantly. One day we stopped at Taco Bell for a quick lunch, in between errands. It was very busy, with a full dining room. While enjoying my taco, I smelled something funny, so of course I checked my seven-month-old daughter, she was clean. Then realized that Danny had not asked to go potty in a while. I asked him if he needed to go, and he said 'No' . I kept thinking 'Oh Lord, that child has had an accident, and I don't have any clothes with me.' Then I said, 'Danny, are you SURE you didn't have an accident?' 'No,' he replied. I just KNEW that he must have had an accident, because the smell was getting worse. Soooooo, I asked one more time, 'Danny did you have an accident? This time he jumped up, yanked down his pants, bent over, spread his cheeks and yelled 'SEE MOM, IT'S JUST FARTS!!' While 30 people nearly choked to death on their tacos laughing, he calmly pulled up his pants and sat down. An old couple made me feel better, thanking me for the best laugh they'd ever had!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST TESTIMONY: This had most of the state of Michigan laughing for 2 days and a very embarrassed female news anchor who will, in the future, likely think before she speaks. What happens when you predict snow but don't get any! We had a female news anchor that, the day after it was supposed to have snowed and didn't, turned to the weatherman and asked: 'So Bob, where's that 8 inches you promised me last night?' Not only did HE have to leave the set, but half the crew did too they were laughing so hard!

Church and Police Cars

2009-01-30T16:45:00.000-08:00

So what do the two have in common? From childhood I remember a couple times when the cops decided they would try and cause a stir. Nothing major but enough to the make the small town talk for a day or two. But now Casey and made a new connection. When I was making his lunch today he wanted to know if we could go to church. I said yes when Sunday gets here we will go. His question surprised me because he has not been a fan of Church and daycare there lately. When I asked him why he wanted to go he said he wanted to chase cars with the police car. Not sure what he was talking about I asked him to tell me more. After a fifteen minute store on how he likes the police car that makes lots of noise and the flashing lights it all was clear. On Wednesday Brent and I started a couples bible study at the church and the kids are down in the daycare. They got a new toy police car and Casey played with it when we were upstairs. Hopefully when Sunday comes around he will still be excited to play with the police car.

Just a side note but boy it was so nice to see the sun the past couple days. I am so looking forward to the nice warm weather, the sun and being able to just enjoy the day instead of shiver though it.