3am...and the 4th Angel

Ok - so at 3:15 am my best bud Jenny shows up and off we head to Kohl's to start our Christmas shopping. Our Goal is to finish TODAY!!!! Usually we come pretty close. So we wait at Kohl's for about half an hour, with part of the Morris clan (Callie, Kara, and Annie) and shoot in and out in under 15 mins. See that is the trick to Black Friday, in and out really fast, other wise you get stuck waiting in line to check out for an hour or more. If you want to shop and look around then go back later after the bargain shoppers have moved on. So on to Target for an unmentionable (you never know who reads this:)!) we decided to forgo the stores that opened at 5am to get the good stuff at 6am. Not as cold this year but still a little chilly. Anyway, after all of the doorbusters we then shop for the gifts we are not sure of and by 8 or 9 am we are a little punchy!!

So I believe Charlie lost one of his angels... dig the denim jumpsuit, complete with tie belt and big bell bottoms!! I swear we almost peed our pants!!! I had to take the above picture with my phone and with the awesome help, in the Jacklyn Smith pose, of the gorgeous Jenny Denton!!

What is it about good friends that bring out the need to either make fun of the ugly stuff or search out and try on the really cute stuff?? I really think shopping is more fun with someone who gets your sense of humor.

Anyway, great day until about 2pm, home to make sure all is well and off to a fun wedding reception and then dessert at Sonja's. Full day and Full life. Love it!

Wrestling, Black Friday, ETC...

Dallin had his first wrestling match last night. He did so great - He tech pinned the guy. For those not wrestling schooled that means he scored 15 or more points than the other guy and they stop the match and declared the dude PINNED! Dallin was stoked. Mountain View handily won both the JV and Varsity meet.

On to Black Friday....I love this day!!! My good friend Jenny and I have been shopping for years on this special day!! As the week progresses we get more excited as we plan how to outwit the others!!!! I found this great site here http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=1014365 This is an excel spreadsheet, you can sort by price, item or store. It is so helpful!! I am so glad Kohl's is opening at 4am - that way it is out of the way and we can go on to the next one that opens at 5am. I know, crazy, but this is a tradition and Jenny and I don't feel right if we are not out there. Over the years we have scored the best deals...$20 gameboys...$45 color gameboys a few years later..$5 legos...I can't list them all :) and frozen our selves a few times. I can't believe it is raining! Oh well, it just adds to the fun.

Things at our house are never dull - Logan was wrestling (OK, messing around) with his cousin who will remain nameless on this blog for now, and was dropped on his head...concussion - (at the Denton's house, what is it about their house? broken arm, concussion,....) he has been out of commission this week, which is kind of sad since he was scheduled to wrestle (really) in the Grand Canyon State Games this weekend.

Kens brother Mike and his family are coming for Thanksgiving, we are hoping the girls will stay with us so they get a good visit with Brenn. She is out numbered with Sonja's 4 boys and our 2, at least Mike evens it out with his 5 girls!

We had a fun night at Linda's for the December birthdays. We at Turducken - turkey stuffed with duck stuffed with chicken stuffed with pork stuffing. It was really good, part of it was really hot and spicy and the rest was delicious. We enjoyed the adult only atmosphere (we don't get that too often). I have such a great family, we always seem to have a good time when we get together.

Tagged: "I am the luckiest woman alive"

Ok - Sera tagged me and I have had to think about it for a little while. Since this has been the year of Pestilence and Famine, I have felt a little picked on, but here goes....

1. I am married to Ken...Gma Petersen always said the most important decision she ever made was who to marry, and that she did a really good job of it. I think the same thing, Ken works so hard, especially since the a fore mentioned year, and he is willing to try most of my outlandish schemes, including but not limited to: roofing, scraping and texturing ceilings, laying floor, taking out tile, going to Spain, building a gun cabinet (soon, I hope), and taking out an engine and replacing it with a new one. He still thinks I look the same as I did when he married me 20 years ago and that I am beautiful, what's not to LOVE about him!!!

2. I have really great kids...yes they are ALL TEENAGERS, but they are good kids who still tell me they love me and will hug me in front of their friends. They are all sure of their testimonies and share them with me.

3. I have the gospel of Jesus Christ to help me be a better person. I am sure in the knowledge of what comes next and that my family is eternal. What is more lucky than that?!

4. My Grandma Young lives with me. She has been the best Grandma ever!! Lots of sleepovers when I was a kid, lots of crafts, cards, candy, popcorn and dogs!! I have been so lucky to have her here for almost 4 years, I am never lonely, and she has the best sense of humor... if I am yelling at my kids and totally frustrated, I can hear her laughing at me and at the situation in my house. This never fails to help me see the other side and relax and enjoy my kids. She has taught my kids to serve and how to treat an older person, that they are people too. She has been such a blessing in our home, and in my entire life.

5. I have indoor plumbing and hot water!!! I know this is not quite as deep as the others but.........with that comes a washer and dryer that do all the work themselves, a dishwasher (not just the kids), and a shower whenever I feel the need.

Indeed I am the Luckiest Woman Alive.


I tag Lisa Cole and Jenny Denton

Car Repair

So how many men does it take to change a light bulb??

or get out 1 engine??

Or should the title be

"Ken knee deep in Jethro"
Notice that both Kai and Jake are underneath unhooking the transmission.

Brian - my adopted step-brother (ok my dad's friend who is usually at their house) was amazing in his knowledge of how to do this project. I am sure it would not have gone as smoothly or as quickly if he had not donated his time on Saturday!! Thanks Brian.

I tried to get a picture of Dallin sitting under the truck and hunched over with Kai and Jake underneath too but he was too fast - those boys labored really hard!!!

Success!!!!!

Halloween, Football, ETC

Ryan and Risa Naughton welcomed Abby Ann into this world on Thursday the 30th of October.

Isn't she really cute - Ryan has the cutest kids!! I can't wait until Christmas to see her and attend Garrisons baptism.

Football has ruled our Saturdays for the last few months - Logan is #76 - here he is running in with his best bud Ben Denton #74. Logan loves to play football which really pleases his Dad who also loved to play football!

Logan plays defensive line - hard to believe since he only weights about 90 lbs. He id 3rd from the right on the line.

Wrestling starts today for both Logan and Dallin, seems like we are always somewhere watching some sport. I think they will both be sore for the next week or so!

Halloween was fun this year - Brenn complained we did not have enough decorations and the ones we do have are old. So I went and bought this web and 3 scary spiders (Brenn hates spiders). I thought the front porch looked great - notice the dead plant, it died just in time to be used for decoration.

I even dressed up the dogs!! Zara loved her pirate costume - it is hard to find one big enough for her so I just winged it (so what else is new!).

Fritz thought he was hot stuff - the minute I put this on him he was so careful - he left the hat on for a long time, I was surprised at that. Of course Zara would not leave Fritz's hat alone but we tried. The kids who came to the door thought it was fun and I think they were a little less afraid of Zara the great big dog.

No pictures of my kids (does that say something or what) actually they didn't dress up much for Halloween - the older kids went to the football game, Dallin did wear a wig, but I did not get a picture, and Brenn just tried to look cute (she always succeeds at that). Logan went home with a girl!!!!! and went to her neighborhood party and dressed as a spy. He wanted to be Monk (from the TV show) so I bought him a suit, but he did not think anyone would know so he was a spy with a suit and a pair of sunglasses.

Since this is supposed to be my journal of sorts I need to record what happened after Halloween.

I want to preface this with, Is there anyone who knows us, who do you think is still up at 12:30am? All with one voice "KEN!!" Okay in our family I go to bed at 10 pm - Ken stays up until all hours, he is a true night owl. Okay, so everyone knows this EXCEPT our son Dallin.

So it is 12:30 am Halloween night, Jethro (Dallins car) breaks down, no oil, (yes, another obvious fact that escaped our son) and who does he call?? Dad?? NO, of course not we call Mom, who is asleep. Really, REALLY, asleep. What can I do for him? I tell him to call DAD! And Dad, being the superdad he is, went and rescued him.

Well, we believe Jethro threw a rod, (yes it is still the year of pestilence and famine at the Cole house), so the next morning we call my Dad, the engine repair guy, and decided Dallin could do to learn how to rebuild an engine. Too bad Rob DeWyze doesn't live a lot closer!!

We will see how it all turns out - I will document with pictures and fun comments from this peanut gallery!

Coming together to help.

The Family is in our stake and I have be following on the http://blog.cjanerun.com/ and she asked if we could post the poster on our blogs, seems like its such a little thing to do so here it is.


There are buttons on the other blog to donate if you feel like you can.

Homecoming 2008

Look at the COOL Dude!!! Doesn't he look so handsome?!!

Dallin lost the scrap of fabric I was supposed to find the tie with...color me surprised. So I guessed and bought a couple that had yellow in them plus the solid yellow - It worked really well!!
This is Hannah - isn't she cute! She is on the speech and debate team and on AC/DEC or academic decathlon team - smart girl and pretty too!!
My friend Jenny Denton volunteered to host the dinner - she bought the decorations and made the main dish... She is amazing!! There were 9 couples in this group.

All the pretty flowers.
Dinner

The whole crew.

The boys goofing off.

So what is new?! These girls and boys looked so wholesome and had so much fun, it was nice to see them dressed in their best, on the best behavior and being polite. Eating with table manners, pulling out the chairs for the girls, it is nice to know the teaching of such things, even when no demonstrated at home, do sink in and they know HOW!!!

Yikes!!!! and Double Yikes!!!

Okay yesterday I am talking with my mom, a common occurrence, and we are talking about the economy and the bailout etc. I tell her I am grateful Ken has a secure job and we have a decent mortgage, and I feel although it is tight, with the summer of pestilence and famine of course, we should ride out this ok - as long as I don't look too close to the 401k statements, good thing retirement is a long way off.

We discussed the bailout and whether it is a good idea or not and what else could be done by these dumb banks who loaned money to people who didn't qualify and could never handle the payment once the interest adjusted - of course why should the banks have to save the stupid from themselves. Kinda harsh but its my mom and, we were really just generalizing the sub prime market.

Anyway, later last night I am talking with my hubby over the phone as he works another late, late night, and he tells me

"Well I guess I will not be working for DMJM Harris much longer."

My heart starts to pound, my head starts to hurt and panic is starting to set in (are we going to be the "stupid people" now? because that is how it works, harsh judgement and then you have to walk in their shoes to see it is not true. WAIT!! I repent!) and I say

"WHAT?!!"

He calmly says "yeah," meanwhile I am hyperventilating - and he tells me "DMJM Harris is going to be called AECOM now so we are all the same name." HUH???

Turns out I got a cardio work out for a name change at his company. I don't think he had any clue of the turmoil he caused and since this conversation happened about 9:30pm and he was still at work, I figure he is allowed a break.

I needed the workout and feel alot more in shape now. Do you think that really works? Nah...otherwise all parents of teenagers would be in the best shape of their lives!!!!

School - 2 days in a row!!!

I know most of you know how Brenn struggles with migraines and has missed more school in the last few years than she has attended. Today is 2 days in a row she went to school! That is huge right now. She seems to be really struggling with the pain lately. We visited with a new neurologist (for her, he is the one who originally recommended the Botox for me at Mayo) Dr. Eross, he did an occipital nerve block on both sides of her head and a ton more Botox up her neck and into her hair - the nerve block was great, her head was numb for about a day - too bad it made her pass out and then have nausea and be really dizzy for about 2 days. She told be her head was great, too bad she couldn't walk! But it seems like the Botox, which takes 2-3 weeks to take effect, is starting to kick in.

I admire her for her fortitude - she keeps plugging away at make up work and her online class, we signed her up for the ACT yesterday and looked at the requirements for admittance to BYU and figured if she did well on the ACT - no problem - and got a 4.0 this year - no problem - she should easily get in, then I thought "WOW" this girl who makes it to class maybe 2 days a week figures a 4.0 is no problem, and she is right - I do wonder what she could accomplish if we get these headaches under control!

All in all - she impresses me to no end, and I just wanted to write about it for those to come to see what a good attitude will get you, and of course to brag a little....since this is my journal of sorts.

I have been reading 2 other blogs and am impressed by these people at well - first is a family in our stake, the parents were in a plane crash and are recovering from burns (2nd plane crash in our stake this summer - both lived- Wow) and the other is some one I do not know but am impressed by the togetherness of this couple. Here are the links http://blog.cjanerun.com/ this is the sister of the first family and you can link to several others from there. This link http://www.sccsdecker.blogspot.com/ is to the other and I admire the strength of this couple and how they are holding it together. Feel free to donate to either, as we struggle to pay for the medical expenses for Brenn I can only imagine what these families are going thru.

Eighteen part II

We had a family party on Sunday and I wanted to share some of the pictures with you.

Two Cakes - Ken had to put 18 candles on both - Scott and Jason kept saying "but she is not 36!" I love getting together and just chatting with the kids running in the backyard playing "Judge" which is a hide and seek game played in the dark with one flashlight. I am not sure all the rules but the kids line up at our house at dark to see if the game is on.

My Mom, Judy and her sister Linda

Brenn and Sonja

Jonny and Dallin

Sonja and Dave

Okay, Dallin was being funny and felt his picture should be taken, being a loving Mom I complied. Just a side note, I am amazed at the power of the media - one 15 - 30 second commercial and all the kids us this pose. Makes you wonder....

Eighteen - How is that possible??!!!!

This will wax nostalgic and probably a litte weepy! My baby turned 18 today, and I feel like it is impossible - I was just 18 and not nearly as mature or together as Brenn.

I remember calling my mom and Kathy at 8pm on a Friday night and telling them the contractions where 10 mins apart and we were going to head to the hospital. They jumped in the car and drove all night long from Phoenix to Provo - maybe that is what has cemented their 20 year friendship - They reached Payson and called us to see if they should just go to the hospital. I answered the phone at home and told them it was a false alarm (no cell phones back then!). They proceeded to help me nest and stare at me until my doctor finally started me about noon on September 12th - as soon as I was hooked up and settled into my bed, Ken, Kathy and my mom went to lunch. They left me and about 10 mins later the contractions started and I was alone and a little scared (once again no cell phones) - luckily they were not gone long and 12 short hours later she came into this world and changed Ken and I forever. She was so small, and such a good baby - we had no idea what we were in for, but do we ever?


I will be forever grateful for Shelley's parents Joe and Sandy Anderson for letting us be part of their family in San Francisco while Brenn was treated for her cancer. Really that was not the worst thing in the last 20 years, I do find that amazing but she was so good and we were so blessed that I learned what it means to have Christ carry your burdens and make them truly light.

I am grateful for such good In-laws (all of them) Ed and Kathy have been such a great source of strength and always right on advise - I am grateful Kathy told me not to worry about Brenn going to Kindergarten that first year - she missed the deadline by 13 days and was so ready to go - but the school would not make an exception (now these kids get to try) so she is a senior this year instead of graduating last year. How grateful I am she is home for one more year!!

I am grateful for my parents, Pat and Judy, they are always available and Dad is good for a computer or fun electronics. Gma makes the best cinnamon rolls and brings groceries when I am out of town!! She is a great cook and hopes that some day I will cook too. My parents are a never ending source of gospel light - their testimonies are evident in the way they live and encourage us to learn about our Savior.

Brenn has never been imitated by adults - she always spoke like one and felt she should be listened to like one. Good things most adults treated her that way, she had and still has no patience for those who do not give her credit for her intellect. I never knew how smart kids were until her - She constantly amazed me and still does for that matter. She has had such a hard time with migraines and only went to school last year less than half the time and still got the best of grades. I always try to talk to the teachers and warn them about her attendance, Mr. Bonjour was sure she wouldn't keep up and shouldn't race to graduate (he must be so old as to not remember how exciting it is to get out of High School), by the end of the first 2 weeks - Brenn attending class 4 or 5 times - he was singing her praises. He actually left me a message telling me what a great gal she is - like I didn't already know!!

I am excited to see what the future holds for her. She will be a great wife and mother, photographer, card maker, massage therapist, pianist, daughter of God, and whatever else she can dream up!!

I keep telling her I am ready to be a grandma - but not too soon. I am learning and enjoying my grand nephews once a week and sometimes I get to play with Rylee and Tyce.

Mostly, I am afraid the next 18 will fly by even faster and I will get so caught up in what I "have" to do I will forget to slow down and enjoy the little things and the beauty of family.

PINK!!!

As you can see Brenn has put pink on the bottom of her beautiful hair, well last night I was giving Ken a hair cut and all of the sudden it looked like I cut my hand or something and I realized that the comb I was using had be previously used by my darling daughter when dyeing her hair and she neglected to rinse it off.

I told Ken it probably wasn't a big deal and continued the hair cut - after a few more minutes and realizing how much dye was really in his hair I did, like a good hair stylist, invite him to rinse his hair before going any further. I could not believe how much pink came off of his head!!! He had a big meeting today in Prescott so I hoped it did not take. Of course he has dark hair and probably even if it did do a little we probably couldn't tell so I helped the picture along just a bit!!

Love you Ken!! I just couldn't resist - the idea that something like that could happen so easily was so funny on one hand and (at least for Ken) a little horrifying on the other!

The Olympics are Over!! Are we sad or happy?!

We are alive - I am sure some people are wondering but we survived but after hours of viewing and loving every minute the Olympics are done.

We are exhausted - late nite viewing is killer but who can resist the beach volleyball finals? Logan has decided that will be his chosen profession, hope he gets to be really tall!!

We are really kinda sick in our watching - we will watch any Olympic sport and enjoy the heck out of it. Any other kids watch the dressage? Or the table tennis?

My favorite moments were of course Michael Phelps and his 8 gold medals!! I also loved Dara Torres - who doesn't want to think she can do that at the young age of 41? Can I have her abs with my routine? Probably not possible! I also love the weight lifter who dedicated his gold to his wife who died last year. What about Bella Karolli the gymnastic coach turned commentator - when was the last time you saw Bob Costas speechless? I loved it - he held nothing back and was so charming at the same time.

What about the sport where the horseman or woman gets to ride an unfamiliar horse thru an obstacle course with jumps and all to prove they can ride any horse - some horses have a sense of humor because who else will throw a rider in the most comical way possible?

I did not know how beautiful China was - the countryside was so green and pretty - I thought the buildings were amazing, especially the water cube!! What a building! I hope all of the attention and building is good for China.

Luckily we still have some on the DVR if we go into withdrawal to severely.


Well, we are trying to catch up on our sleep and our life - I can't wait for the winter games in 2010 - Brenn mentioned that Vancouver was not that far away and we went to Salt Lake so....

First day of School!!!

Doesn't the first day of school bring back memories for us old people? I always planned my outfit with care and took extra time with the hair and makeup and sat excited in new classes - some lost the luster but some I really enjoyed! Here are Dallin, Kai and Brenn off to high school - Kai is a sophomore and starting high school - Dallin is a junior - And Brenn is a senior - she is excited to leave campus for lunch (a privilege allotted to only seniors). We have tried to take these pictures every year on the first day - Dallin said it was ok if he could roll his eyes! But I did it anyway - they change so much from the first day to the last.



Dallin is starting the "get in shape" part of wrestling, I love to watch him compete and see how hard he is working. I know he is not looking forward to homework, but he knows he needs to get it done.

Brenn is going to massage therapy school as part of the high school - I am excited to be practiced on! She is doing better headache wise and hopefully will continue to improve.

Logan is off to Junior high - he is in eighth grade and is too tired from football practice to be too excited. It is almost scary how fast these years are going.

Football is exciting we are looking forward to games starting and seeing how much he has improved. He is looking forward to continuing the harp too.

Mini Powell

This is our mini (totally fake) Lake Powell vacation - actually it is at Lake Roosevelt in Arizona. We took our camp trailer and the boat and the Palmer's (Kens sister and boys) and headed to a campground at Roosevelt Lake for a long weekend. Hurricane Dolly gave us some really pretty sunsets!! Luckily our campground had plug-ins and we had A/C or we would have roasted. It is different at Powell because the water is right there to cool off - here we were in a gravel lot and it was HOT!!
Brenn and Jason on the tube - Jason also skied like a demon but since most of us were in the water helping we got no pictures.
Here is Scott he tried and tried to get out of the huge wakes (when you only go 13 mph they are wide and really tall).
Jason, Sonja and Brenn.
Da' Boys!!! Jonny, Nate, Logan, and Dallin - when you camp with 6 boys things are just a little crazy!!! Poor Brenn - only girl and all.

Logan tore it up!! He skied so well I could hardly believe the change from last year!!!Nate did really great too!! He had really rough water and still did well - it is hard when the water is choppy, it feels like you are being beaten up.Brenn is an amazing skier!! She has to watch out for Logan!

Jonny skied like a champion - I got out the camera and Sonja told me to let him warm up - well he really did not need to he skied all over the lake and then rehurt his foot and did not go again!! So no Jonny pictures!!

My little Achmed!! Dallin was so burned he had to cover up - this is how he choose to do that!!Gotta eat!!Our usual Lake Powell trip was a casualty of the gas prices and the catastrophes that have befell the Cole household this summer. This is the first year in about 10 we have not gone to Powell and we are all suffering withdrawal!! I am grateful my kids understand and are up to just about anything we come up with.

Jason could not figure out the camper - he kept waiting for us to put it in the water!!! After all that is how we usually camp at the lake - on the lake!!

I read Mark and Tamara's Blog http://www.thevoiceofashby.blogspot.com/ she talks of school starting. Sonja'a kids started yesterday - thank goodness we still have two weeks. I am a little scared for Brenn to start her senior year - first because !HELLO! last year totally at home and because then Dallin follows so fast!! 2 years and I am down to one!! That is a good argument for more children (well kinda).

I have felt Tamara's pain at what is right for our really bright kids - schools have such great programs to help those who are behind or who learn differently, which is so important. But they do not do alot for those kids who are super smart. We as parents are responsible to figure that out with out a lot of guidance - and of course try to get the little buggers to pay attention and see the same opportunities we see (after about 7th grade they get a mind of their own and then we have to take a back seat and just try to motivate them). I am rambling but mostly kids seem to learn and grow, sometimes in spite of us. We have the world to beat us up we should give ourselves (the mommies) a break and realize if our kids don't live up to their "potential" they will still be really nice and productive people who will supply us with grandchildren to play with! So chin up!!

Slip 'n' Slide!! Fun, Fun, Fun!!!

Well the boys wanted to slip and slide so they came up with their own version - Lots of tarps and soap and water - what else would be so much fun?! Dallin in a picture of poetic grace!!
There goes Kai - he told me you have to keep your eyes closed or the soap stings!!!
Jake at his best!!
Whoa whoooo!!!!!
Three handsome men!!! They spent so long having fun they are all sunburnt!!! What a fun day. I came home from shopping and Logan had 2 girls in the house - they wanted to slip and slide too, hmmm is that ok with no adult home?? Grandma said she kept an eye on them but I am not sure she is the best chaperone, after all she told Brenn about seven minutes in Heaven!!!