The Gibson Family

Love to go Shooting

2011-01-25T11:44:00.004-07:00

Holden's 5th Birthday

2010-12-10T14:29:00.005-07:00

Holden really loves Club Penguin (thanks to his friend Slater who got him hooked). Holden isn't having a party with friend but his good friend Slater got him this for his birthday. Holden was so thrilled.

Holden waiting patiently for family to show up so he could open his gifts.

My 5 wonderful kids Holden (5), Tevin (16), Sloane (9), Harrison (14) and Chandler (16)

Opening his Transformers. We bought him one good guy and one bad so they can do battles but then he told us he only wanted good guys. Oh well.

Another Club Penguin toy. These are called Puffels. He has wanted an orange one forever since it is his favorite color. I am thankful a neighbor called and told me she found one. He sleeps with all his puffels every night. I think we have 6 or 7 now. Holden will not be happy until he has a bed made out of puffels.

Super Mario Movie. Redbox has gotten their moneys worth from me renting this about 5 times. I finally found it for 4 dollars at target and we have watched it about 3 times a day.

Slippers so he can match mommy at night.

Moon Dough. He has asked for this for about 6 months. I don't recommend it. Very messy. But he loves it and that is what matters.

Playing moon dough with cousin Bradie.

His orange cake. He wanted spider man but mommy was too late to order it, but was pleased when his cake was orange so I earned brownie points for that.

His favorite things from his birthday.

We love Holden so much. I know he can be a pill sometimes but he is worth it. We are very proud of him and are impressed with the way his mind works. He has blessed our lives in so many different ways. Happy Birthday Big Guy.

Christmas Photo of the Kids

2010-12-09T10:14:00.005-07:00

Well I finally have a good picture of all 5 of my kids for the holiday. They are growing so fast. I love each and everyone of them so much. And I hope they know how much I love and appreciate them. And yes Tevin is growing out his beard again. ERR

November Pictures

2010-12-07T12:14:00.009-07:00

Holden and I went to Lindon, Utah to help my sister-in-law with the new baby. Holden, Natalia and I had fun playing in the leaves.

Holden is very sensitive to light so he was trying to cover his eyes.

I love this one of the two of them. They were a lot of fun.

Holden with his new cousin Hayden. He loved holding him and rubbing his head.

Hayden Daniel Cavan. He is so darn cute.

Holden taking a picture of me holding him.

Thanksgiving up at my Father and Mother in laws home in Lindon Utah with all of Chris' siblings.

Chris, Mark and Dan took turns carving the turkeys. I think we had 3. The steam from the turkey fogged up my camera. Sloane was very hungry and couldn't wait for her plate of food.

LOL my nephew Scottie...He loves the legs on the turkey and he ate that thing till all that was left was the bone.

Scottie's brother Mason was not that far behind him.

Family sitting at the table after having one, two maybe even three plates full of food. At this table Kim, Eden, Kellie, Mark and Dave.

Chris, Paige, the backs of Holly and Kayla.

Hayden in his cute turkey outfit. He was very festive.

Dan cooking up some of the skin off the turkey making it crisp like pork rinds. I have to admit that were pretty tasty. I need to get me one of those cookers he has there.

Some of the nieces and nephews doing an activity with Aunt Jill to keep them busy.

Talking to mom and dad on skype. They are serving a mission in Japan and we all were happy to at least be with them this way.

Mason singing a wonderful Christmas carol. I think he sang " I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" after he was done singing his parents Jill and Dave announced they were expecting another baby. We were all surprised and I screamed the loudest and once again sorry about how loud that was.

Holden just waking up after going to bed with wet hair. I have never seen his hair stand this high.

Went to a Tanner Family Christmas party in Payson Utah. Santa was the big hit. Holden asked Santa for an Orange Puffle.

Sloane asked for Liv World dolls.

Grandma and Grandpa Tanner.

Grandma and Grandpa Tanner will all the Great Grandchildren. Believe it or not there were a lot of children missing. We have a big family.

Sloane was very sick Thanksgiving weekend and we told her she had to stay away from the baby. Her aunts brought her a mask and she finally was able to hold Hayden. That made her day.

The weather had been wonderful all Thanksgiving weekend. No snow until the day we were going to go home and this is what we woke up too.

Sloane and Holden are so deprived when it comes to snow. Holden didn't realize how cold it got. He didn't put a coat on.

Sloane making a snow angel. It was deep and snowed all our way home. What should of only took us a little over 3 hours to get home took us over 7. We had a wonderful weekend there.

Happy 9th Birthday Sloane

2010-11-14T19:45:00.004-07:00

She has wanted a red sock monkey forever. This is what Holden got her.

Chandler, Tevin and Harrison bought her a scooter for her Liv World Doll.
Sorry Harrison got his head cut off.
Thanking her brothers for her gift.
A bag of goodies Daddy and I got her.
Cousin Chance, Chandler, Tevin and Gma Gayle
Cousins Bradie, Sadie, Harley and Great Gma Heslop
Aunt Ali was really sick, but came anyway. What a trooper.

Really pretty headband with a flower from Gma Gayle. She is really into headbands right now.

Can you guess who this is from......yep!! Aunt Ali. She will always keep Sloane stocked on the pretties that every girl needs.

Gift from Daddy and I. We all went downstairs and I covered her eyes and stood her by the keyboard and then told her to open her eyes. She was so excited. She will start piano lessons in January.

Her smile says it all. I am glad she loves it.

Cake time. The candles were melting the frosting. We love you so much Sloane and I am happy Daddy and I could make your day a great one.

The only Halloween Pics I was able to take

2010-11-05T22:17:00.001-06:00

Sloane was a dear and got back in her Santa costume so I could take her picture.

I have to start by saying I totally forgot to take pictures this year. So I got what I could after the fact. Holden with all his candy. He was Spiderman.

Sloane and her goodies. Dad trying to look for Almond Joys.

100 pushups???

2010-10-03T16:30:00.003-06:00

A new blog from the Gibson's, can you believe it!? Don't hold your breath though, we're not as talented or devoted as many of you in keeping our blog updated.

Some of you may remember me having a goal of doing 100 pushups on my 40th birthday a few years ago. I was able to do so but just barely, unfortunately we didn't think about getting it on video. Well, for the last few years, I haven't been able to hit 100 pushups on my birthday because of a combination of shoulder pain and general laziness. As a result, I was even more determined to make it to 100 on my 44th birthday a week and a half ago. I started training for this back in March because believe it or not, you don't get stronger as you get older and challenges like this become increasingly more difficult.

Anyway, Krissy encouraged me to post this video so feel free to watch if I haven't bored you to tears already. Incidentally, I'm not able to touch my chest to the floor, nor am I able to extend my arms all the way up because of my bad elbow. I haven't decided if that makes a pushup easier or more difficult.

We hope everyone had a wonderful conference weekend. We thoroughly enjoyed all sessions and I was able to take my nephew Chance to the Priesthood session last night. Krissy claims she will write an extended blog soon (anyone want to place a bet on that? :)) so I'll keep me comments short. We look forward to seeing many of you in Utah County for Thanksgiving.

Fourth of July Pictures

2010-07-07T11:14:00.007-06:00

I know a shocker I have a new post. We had a wonderful 4th out in Hurricane at my cousin Rachel's home. Had all the family that lived in St. George there. It was a lot of fun.

Man I love this guy.

Holden wanted to get Jedi off the leash. I told him no.

Adam and Dakken (sorry if I spelled his name wrong) put up the slip and slide and the kids had a blast. I was tempted to give it a try but was positive that I would hurt my back..lol

Sloane sliding in to try and get me wet.

Holden trying to get the hang of it.

Sloane and Dakken

Holden and I having fun jumping on the trampoline. I really would like to get one.

Girl cousins having fun. Ashlynn, Sloane, Harley and Sadie

Grandma Heslop looked so cute. She was so festive.

The group waiting patiently for the fireworks to start. (Sadie, Aunt Jill, Gma Heslop, Caleb, Dana, Alison, Chance, Kellan)

Adam setting off fireworks we had brought.

Holden enjoying a Popsicle.

Kellan is so dang cute. I love his blue eyes. We all took turns eating him up. (Rachel you have a cute little boy)

Chance wishing Chandler, Tevin and Harrison were able to be there but they were up in Idaho

Alison and I goofing off. We took one of each other.

Sloane, Holden and I.

Sparkler time!

Sloane doing a double duty.

Hope you have enjoyed my pics. I had tons more but I had to narrow it down. We are all doing well. Chris is still busy as ever and is out of town a lot. I am still doing the same old thing.

We have enjoyed our summer so far. In June we celebrated the Chandler and Tevins 16th birthday. I can't believe they will be Juniors in high school. Time is going by fast. Harrison is now 14 and is enjoying going to stake dances. They are all growing like weeds. There was a lot of music being played at home. Between Chandler playing the drums, Tevin the electric guitar and Harrison with his bass and then friends coming over to jam with them, I was thankful that my basement had a door on it. But I am proud of them, and love to hear them play and learn new things. Their grandpa Duns bought them a mic and now singing is involved. They left July 1st to spend the month with their dad so it will be pretty quiet this month and I will miss them deeply.

Sloane and Holden are pretty much having fun with friends and trying to stay cool by going to pools, lakes and rivers. Each night since it is just the 3 of us I try to find different things for us to do. It has been good for us to bond more.

Hope everyone else is having a good summer. I was burned out on blogging, but I think I am ready to do it again.

Chandler the Mechanic

2010-02-14T19:11:00.005-07:00

In what may be the understatement of the year; I was NOT blessed with ANY mechanical ability whatsoever (by the way, this is Chris, NOT Krissy, as if you couldn't tell by my opening sentence). So, when I discovered I needed to have my front brakes replaced, naturally I planned on taking my car into Tunex (a friend of ours owns the one in Washington) to have the work done. I casually mentioned this to Chandler who responded by saying he had replaced brake pads before and he thought he could save me some money by helping me replace mine.

Now, you need to understand that even though it's typical for me to learn things the hard way, I HAVE learned not to try things like this myself. I'm not the type of guy who knows just enough about cars to be dangerous, I fully recognize and have resigned myself to the fact that I don't know more than just the very basics about cars. As such, it's never bothered me very much to take my car to a mechanic because I learned long ago that I don't have an option.

However, Chandler seemed sincere and knowledgeable when he explained the process to me; so wanting to help him gain some experience (and save some money) we made plans to replace the pads on Saturday. The pads, and a few tools I needed ending up costing less than $50, far less than the $119 it would have cost at Tunex.

Anyway, the first side was a challenge until Chandler was able to figure out how to press the piston back in place by using a piece of wood and a C-clamp which enabled us to slip the pads back onto the disk.

The other side was a breeze comparatively and the entire process took only a couple of hours or so. It was amazing to see Chandler in action, he truly is a natural when it comes to cars, or anything mechanical for that matter. I definitely couldn't have done it without him (although he probably could have done it without me). He has a very intuitive feel for cars which I can relate to on many levels but certainly NOT with cars.

Anyway, he feels he's found his call in life and looks forward to getting better and better. Hope all is well with everyone.

A Long Time

2010-02-11T13:54:00.002-07:00

Ok I am really sorry for not posting sooner. I got a little burned out on the whole blog thing. Our lives are pretty much the same. My sister Alison has moved here and we are having a blast together. I love the fact that she does nails and I get mine done for free now. WOOHOO Saturday we are going to see the movie "The Lovely Bones" we both read the book and now are excited to see the movie. I watch a total of 5 kids now but Zaycia is still my only one that is 5 days a week. The others are part-time. Next weekend I am looking forward to going to a hotel here in town and scapbooking for 3 days straight. Chris is in charge. I will only come home to sleep and shower. I didn't want to pay the extra to stay in a hotel room. I am hoping I will get caught up.

Chris is still busy as ever and never slows down. Going out of town is still a weekly thing. I think the only time he doesn't have an electronic device infront of him is when he is driving, sleeping or eating. The rest of the time his fingers are working away. He is still enjoying his calling as a High Councilman.. Thursday nights he goes to a marriage and family class. I feel bad that I don't go with him but that is the only night of the week I get to see Tevin. At least I have friends in the class that will tell me if he makes a comment about me...lol Chris still works out a lot and he is still able to find the time to play racquetball. He has a lot of men who want to play him. But his darn elbow wont keep up so he has to limit himself to 2-3 times a week.

Our kids are such cutiebatooties!!! The older boys will kill me if I said that in public infront of them. Chandler is having so much fun in his automotive class. I think he has found his calling in life and that is to be a mechanic. He has a car that his dad gave him and he took it to school and everyday the students work on it and he loves it. I am sure it will be up and running in no time. Chandler is also going to be helping Chris change his breaks on his car. I was surprised Chan knew how to do it. He is very excited to help Chris. Chandler used to ask to stay home from school a lot but now with this class he doesn't want to miss. Chan also has a new Chicago Bears room. I have missed placed my camera so as soon as I find it there will be pictures posted about it.

Tevin is doing well by what he tells me. He has a job now working for his uncles that own a Granite company. He is learning a lot. He enjoys working with his hands and learning something new. He loves the money he gets every 2 weeks. He still has his beard and is determined to keep it until October. We call him our lumberjack. Chandler and Tevin recently went on a field trip to Las Vegas to see the Body Exibit. I have seen it and it is amazing. The twins thought it was a little weird but cool at the sametime. If you're not sure what it is google it. Then they went to Shark Reef. They loved that even more.

Harrison is having fun in school He is our straight A student. He is now interested in girls and there is a special one he talks to a lot. She is a sweet girl. He is giving her chocolate covered heart pretzels for Valentines Day. He is enjoying playing Young Mens basketball as well as his brothers. They haven't won a game yet but at least all the boys are learning the sport. It is funny when the other team sees Tevin walk in. They think he is not a loud to play cause he looks too old. We get a kick out of that. Harrison is my life saver when it comes to Holden. Holden has bonded with Harrison and when I am not around he usually will go to him or Chris. It now has been 3 nights in a row that Holden has slept in his own bed. YES!!! Harrison recently attended a Klondike. He had a blast and was the warmest one there. He loved sleeping in snow caves. To be honest I would take girls camp over snow caves any day.

Sloane....man what can I say about her. She is doing extremely well in school. She was really sick a week or so ago with Strep and some weird thing in her throat and had to miss 3 days of school which was torture for her. She is miss popular at school and everyone wants to play with her. She always tells us how she likes being friends with everyone and hates leaving kids out of stuff. She also sticks up for kids who are being picked on. I am glad she is that way. I use to be like that. She is looking forward to her Valentines party tomorrow at school. I keep trying to talk her and her daddy into cutting her hair to her shoulders so it can get healthy but I get the same answer from both of them which is a NO!!!! She is enjoying Activity days, but is bummed one of her friends will now be coming to my group since I have the 10 and 11 year olds. She is loving her new decorated room as well. She feels like a princess.

Oh man here comes Holden. He is a lot better. He is not as wild and out of control as he use to be. I think pre-school has helped a lot. He had his first valentines party today. Pictures will becoming soon. He got his hair cut and was such a good boy. He was even keeping up a conversation with the lady who cut it asking why she was doing that and what was this etc... He loves having friends over and plays especially well with his friend Landon. We no longer let him have naps because he will usually stay up till midnight. Now he is usally out by 8pm which is a wonderful night for me. Primary has been hard. With the time change moving to the afternoon and then changing teachers. He usually is kicking and screaming when we have to drop him off. But the last couple of weeks he has done well. He also gave his first talk. I didn't go in because I thought he wouldn't do it so daddy helped him. When he got up to the mic and Chris joined him he turned to his daddy and touched his face and said "I love you daddy!" Everyone heard him since the mic was there. The primary presidency thought it was priceless.

That's it for now, hope everyone is well!

Holden's Birthday

2009-12-09T09:15:00.003-07:00

Waiting patiently to open his gifts.

Daddy and Ella watching him and helping him.

The tools Holden has been asking for. He waited 5 months to get these and he hasn't put them down since he got them.

He loves Buzz Lightyear. His brothers got him these wings but he was a little disappointed when he couldn't actually fly.

Blowing out his candles. Holden was pretty grumpy all day except for the 2 hours that we celebrated his birthday. When he woke up that morning I sang happy birthday to him and when I was done he said he wanted to be alone. Typical Holden. I am happy we have him even knowing he is a handful. He keeps us running and laughing. He is a blessing to us all. Happy 4Th Birthday Holden.

Sloane's Baptism December 5, 2009

2009-12-07T14:38:00.006-07:00

The night before Sloane was baptized we took her to Seagull Book to pick out her scriptures.

Here she is looking at all the different ones. But we should have not taken her cause she had a hard time deciding. She went in thinking she wanted blue.

Trying to decide between the Green or Blue scriptures. She decided on Green cause she wanted gold trim. Well I went to the front counter to pay for it and when I was done Chris came up with the blue ones and said she has changed her mind. Then we had to do a return and ring up the blue one. The lady then took it to the back and got her name put on them.

You can't see her name cause of the flash. But she had Sloane Kristelle Gibson put on them. She is very excited to start using them.

Baptism Day!! Here she is getting ready to head to the church with Daddy. My niece Justine was here and french braided her hair for me. Thank you Justine.

Daddy and his princess in front of the font before we had to go into the chapel to start. She is very excited and NERVOUS, she would not stop biting her nails.

Mommy, Daddy and Sloane. We are very proud of her.

After she was baptized I took a picture of her in her white dress. This is the same white dress she wore when she was sealed to us almost 4 years ago. Wearing that dress made the day even more special.

Afterwards we went to our church building and had a potato bar. Here are some of the teenagers. Trey is on the right. I am so happy he was able to make the trip, but he was very worn out and needed rest.

Sloane and some of her younger cousins. I took pictures of everyone that attended but it would have taken too long to post all the pictures. But we had about 50 or more family members that attended her baptism. And some of our friends from the ward. Thanks again for all who came.

These are the wonderful Priesthood holders that stood in the circle that confirmed Sloane.

Uncles Dan, Steve, Cousin Trey, Daddy, Uncles Karl, Dustin and Allen.

Here is our family. I think the picture turned out pretty good except for Holden.... I do have to say when Sloane came up out of the water Holden said "OOhh Cool Do it again" we all busted up laughing.

Holden's Shaving Cream

2009-11-18T21:57:00.003-07:00

Holden came to me and said he had a surprise for me in my room. This is what my surprise was.

Thankfully shaving cream isn't a hard mess to clean up.

Holden and his bath

2009-11-15T21:13:00.003-07:00

Well Chris walked in from being at a stake meeting and heard Holden down the hall. He turned to see he was in the bath and started laughing. I was in the chair and I turned to him and asked "Do I even want to know?" his reply was "Probably Not." This is what we saw. Well he looks innocent but those of you who know him knows he is not, definitely not.

Enjoying his toys and left over movie popcorn from the night before. You can imagine how soggy it is now.

Poor Woody needs to be attached back to his body and all I can think of is I get to be the lucky one to clean up after him.

Stay tuned for pictures that I took after walking into my room and finding a shaving cream mess all over my bathroom floor, mirror and counter. Oh I will make it through this child.

A Wonderful Surprise

2009-11-01T16:11:00.002-07:00

Well today my grandma called me and asked me if I would go on a drive with her out to Ivins to my step-sisters home cause she has to pick up somethings there and wasn't sure if she could remember exactly how to get there. When we pulled up I noticed they had company. I looked at the car and noticed it had California plates and I said oh that looks like Alison's car (my sister) and I just ignored it. Then I saw my brother in law jimmy. I looked at my grandma and she smiled. I asked if Alison was here and she said yes. I ran in the house to hug her and asked what she was doing here. Well she then said I have a surprise for you and we go for a walk. We stop at a house right next door and she asked me what I thought of the house. I said it was cute a little small but nice. She then smiled and said it was her house and she will be moving here in 3 weeks. I screamed and jumped up and down and gave her a huge hug. I then turned and pointed to the trailer that I saw and she said they were here to move some stuff into the house and to sign the papers.

I called my boys who are with their dad and told them and they can't wait to hang out with their cousin Chance more. I then called Chris who was at home with the other kids and told him and he was surprised too. Sloane is thrilled to have some girl cousins that live close to her now. My brother in law works for the movie industry and he will still be in California most of the time and will come home on the weekends. They have wanted to move out of California for sometime and now was the time.

This has just made my day. I keep on thinking of all the stuff we can do together now. I haven't lived near any of my siblings for 19 years. I am looking forward to having a sister close now.

My Nephew Trey

2009-09-30T10:57:00.002-06:00

I have had a lot of people ask me about Trey lately so I thought I would put the current update of him on my blog. It was written by my mom after she had talked to my Sister Heidi (Treys Mom)

This will be a long entry...I talked to Heidi last night and she gave me a lot of information to share. She said she knows it has been awhile since she's updated but the last two days at the hospital were very long and she has been exhausted...Hopefully I will be able to share it all accurately...First off, nothing about Trey's case is text book. His reactions are unusual and have the doctors scratching their heads...the type of Leukemia he has hides in the body and is very hard to determine if it is in complete remission, which he has to be before they can do the bone marrow transplant. He hasn't had spinal taps for quite awhile due to the back pain, which helps the doctor determine his remission status, which in turn, then causes his doctor to be hesitant to move ahead.Trey is on a 60 day chemotherapy treatment plan. He has a treatment every 10 days and his first for this series was Monday (28th). He also saw a neurologist to try to determine why he is in so much pain. The dr stated he doesn't have nerve damage but found some "nerve aggrevation" which he didn't think should be causing as much pain as Trey is having. They want to do more testing and one test is doing "pin pricks", but with Trey on blood thinner they are hesitant to do it..Trey also received one of the meds he had been taken off. In previous entries two of the meds he needs to prepare for the bone marrow transplant had to be stopped. One med can cause blood clots, which it did, and the other med which is injected into the spine was stopped due to the pain Trey was having. The med usually given in his spine was given in an iv that goes directly into his heart. He didn't have a reaction until he was home where his eyes and nose swelled shut. He was also very sick with stomach pains and intestinal distress plus nausea. When he has these types of allergic reactions he can take Benedryl but didn't this time because they weren't sure it was ok until after calling the doctor and she okayed. He was doing better Tuesday but very tired.Trey's case will be presented to the City of Hope again today (Wednesday, 30th). Heidi was explaining to me about this process: A committee of doctors meet on a weekly basis and review a number of cases. These doctors may be from all over the world and meet via tele-conferencing. As each case is discussed the various doctors share from their own cases and look for similarities that may help with the treatment of the cases they review. One doctor doesn't make the decision for a transplant. It has to be a consensus of the entire committee. Anyone considered for a bone marrow transplant has to have their case reviewed by the City of Hope.When Trey is cleared to receive the transplant, he will be in the hospital two weeks before for complete chemo and radiation to prepare him for the transplant. After he receives the transplant he will remain in the hospital another 2 weeks as they monitor him and deal with the initial rejection. After this is under control he will be allowed to come home and he will require around the clock care for the next 4 weeks.Trey's donor, Raeghan will not have to have her marrow extracted. They are able to use her blood thru a different procedure that is less invasive and painful for her. She is required to meet with a social worker to be sure she is not being forced to be a donor. Heidi and Allen were required to sign papers that they will be his primary caregivers once he is home and they understand the requirements and conditions. They have to remove all animals from the home, masks have to be worn at all times. There will be limited contact with others. He has to be on a special diet and food prepared per instruction. In an earlier entry it was found Raeghan is his match, what is unusual is she is an EXACT match. There are a number of elements of the blood which determines the matching capabilities. Her blood matches completely. What is more unusual is Justine, Madison and Tristyn are also EXACT matches to one another.Another interesting aspect of the transplant is Trey's blood type will change after the transplant and will become the same as Raeghan's. I asked Heidi if the transplant could be repeated if this one doesn't work. She stated yes, but generally they are not successful.Trey feels very positive the transplant will be what he needs to beat this. He knows it will be a very rough time but he is willing to go through it. Trey is having a rough time right now. The constant pain is starting to get him down and mom says he's been kinda grouchy. He wants to be going and doing things with friends but his reactions to meds and treatments are so unpredictable it's hard to be able to do the "normal" stuff. He has plans to go to Catalina Island and a BYU game. Mom says if she or Allen can go then it's fine...They know what to do, others don't. Our hearts go out to Trey and his struggles. I know we all want to see him well again. I asked Heidi how the family was doing and she said, "We do okay..this has just become our way of life. Sometimes I have to be able to think about something else, Spider Solitaire on my phone has become a new addiction and is a way I unwind... I know when it's time to spend some one-on-one with my girls, but we're doing good. I know there are things I could do better but right now I do what I can and have to be satisfied with it." Heidi promised she will get pictures sent soon to post.On a lighter note: Kai, Trey's very sweet Bull Mastiff is a sweetheart but still a puppy..The other night as the family were all at mutual, a church meeting, Trey forgot to put Kai outside and she had the run of the house. When they all got home, Heidi heard a yell "Kai!!" coming from Madison. Apparently Kai had chewed on a library book and her homework...Heidi and the rest of the family had a good laugh about it...except for Madi..The next day Madison took a picture of Kai, her homework and the book, presented this to her teacher and said, "Look! My homework really was eaten by the dog and this is the one who did it!!" Her teacher thought it was pretty funny and had a good laugh over it!!Trey is scheduled for still more tests this week, will update as I hear results...That's all for now...

A Day at Zions National Park

2009-09-25T09:56:00.003-06:00

No matter how many times I have been to Zions I never get sick of it. Loved being able to go with my brother Adam and his family. Best of cousins. Jayce and Holden sitting in the back of the bus when driving through Zions.

Uncle Adam, Aunt Amanda, Trinity and Jayce. Uncle Adam was being daring and went off the trail to look over the edge.

The squirrels at Zions are very friendly and want food. But there are signs every where telling you don't feed them cause they can get aggressive.

Cute little Jayce

Sweet little Trinity

Amanda and Jayce trying to make it across the river without falling into the water.

Mom and Sloane.

Mom and Holden

One of the many views of Zions that are so beautiful. I think one of our sisters weekends might have to be up here in Zions Lodge I think. What do you think sisters of mine?

Uncle Adam putting Sloane up on the big bolder in the river. She wanted to slide down it but I wouldn't let her. Cause knowing her we would of had an injury and the water was moving fast that day.

Sloane's Big Day

2009-09-09T19:32:00.004-06:00

Well after 4 years of Sloane and I bugging her daddy to let her get her ears pierced he finally said yes. She was too nervous to ask him again so I bugged him about it and told him to think of what his daughter wants and not what he wants. We have a very good girl and she doesn't ask us for much. Well after reviewing the church website on the matter he went out and held Sloane in his arms and told her she could. She hugged him so tight and was crying cause she was so happy. That made me cry too. Daddy wouldn't come with us cause he couldn't handle it.

Here we are out front of Claire's where we are going to get her ears done.

Sloane looking at the earrings deciding which ones she wanted. She ended up picking a rainbow flower crystals. Very pretty.

Mommy filling out the consent form.

Sloane sitting in the chair getting more and more excited waiting patiently.

The technician marking her ears to make sure their even.

And here we go. Sloane says the pinches were not as bad as she thought they would be.

She now has earrings. Sorry you can't see them real well in this photo. I promise you when you see her she will love to show them off to you.

Summer Photos

2009-09-04T00:11:00.003-06:00

This is at Malibu Beach in southern California. Tevin teasing his cousin Jayce. The family is all in the back ground. These are the last pictures of Tevin that I have.

Griffith Observatory in Hollywood. This was amazing looking over all of Los Angeles and Hollywood. Kids with Grandpa Duns.

An old train museum we went to and saw this and of coarse had to take a picture with Holden in it

The kids with the Hollywood sign in the background. I love California.

Holden and Mommy riding on a small train at the train museum.

Sloane and her cousins Rae and Trinity already starting to sun bathe at Malibu Beach.

This explains itself. I didn't even ask Holden to pose. I was standing there and noticed he was copying and was glad I got the shot before he noticed me.

All the kids at the Train Museum again.

Holden and Harrison have become best buddies. This is taken up in Hooper Utah at the cemetery where my grandpa was buried.

The kids in front of Great Grandpa Heslops casket in Hooper Utah.

It was hard to put the ones with Tevin on our blog. I miss him so much.

I hope you have enjoyed some of our snap shots we took over the summer. I will try and be more frequent.

Holden First day of Pre school

2009-09-03T16:56:00.002-06:00

This is Holden with one of the babies I watch. She is 2 months old and her name is Zaycia. Holden loves her so much.

First Day of pre-school. Had to make a face for the first photo. He is very excited to go and couldn't wait to put on his backpack.

Our little guy is growing fast. I think he looks a lot like chris here. I will post more pics of the other kids later.

School

2009-08-22T09:22:00.002-06:00

Well it was officially the first week of school for the boys. They all are attending new schools this year. The twins are now at Pineview High School and loving it. Chandler went to their first football game with some friends. Pineview won 39 to 6. They were playing a team from Alaska. I went to back to school night with Chandler and loved meeting all of his teachers and what his routine is. I was able to see Tevin for a minute that night. Gave him a hug and told him I loved him. He looked like he wasn't feeling well.

Harrison is now at Pineview Middle and enjoying being with some of the older kids. He loves hanging out with his friends and walking home from school. He has good teachers too. All 3 of the boys are taking a foreign language class and all 3 hate it so far. Chandler has french and I would have loved his teacher when I took french. Tevin and Harrison are both taking Spanish and have the same teacher. This teacher jumps from the two schools. I just laugh and say sorry you need to stick with it. A foreign language is required in order to graduate.

Sloane LOVES school. Her teacher is Mrs Guy. She is already a big helper in the class. Unfortunately she has already missed a day of school. She is coming down with a cold. I was hoping to get further into the school year before this happened. She hated to miss but I told her the schools have said if your child is sick just a little bit to keep them home.

Holden, our dear Holden. He can't wait to start preschool after labor day. He already has his backpack and asks everyday if he can go. Next week we have a back to school night for him and that will make him even more excited.

Chris and I are busy as usual. I now have 6 kids I babysit. Two 2 month old, a 9 month old starting in a couple weeks, 18 month old, 2 year old, a 4 year old and a 5 year old. Thank goodness they are never here all at the same time. There is only really one of the babies I have all day 4 days a week. The others are part-time. I think once a week I might have them all at the same time for maybe a period of an hour or two. But I am enjoying them. I have them call me aunt Krissy cause babysitter or Mrs Gibson etc is too formal.

Last night Chris and I got the opportunity to clean the temple from 10 to midnight. We both were exhausted but still went. I had a great time doing it. I got to clean the brides rooms and the women's locker room. My back is killing me today after all the vacuuming and bending down I had to do, but I would go back and help again in a heart beat. I thought it was funny that Chris got the job of cleaning the men's locker room.

Chris is busy with work as usual. He goes out of town a lot but always come home by 7 or 8 instead of staying the night unless it is more then 3 hours drive then he will probably stay the night. I admire how hard he works not only in his work but also with his calling. He is a great high councilman. I think he goes far and beyond what he should, but I am proud of him.

Just to give you a heads up Sloane will be getting baptised December 5Th which is the first Saturday of December. Hope you all can make it. I am not sure how much of my family will be there cause the week before is thanksgiving and we are having a big reunion at the church that weekend. I am bummed my mom and step dad wont be able to be there for the baptism cause they have to get back to Wisconsin after the holiday and start moving to Arizona. Which I am extremely excited about to have them so much closer.

Anyway, I am done rambling. I hope everyone has a great day.

Our Holden

2009-08-18T11:02:00.002-06:00

Story 1- Holden was wearing his superman cape that Gma Gibson had made him running around the house thinking he was all that and then some. He started getting to loud and Chris told him to settle down. He then put his hands on his hips and said " you want a piece of me"

Story 2- Holden thinks he can only love one person which is mommy. Well Harrison and Holden share a room together now and have gotten really buddy buddy. Well last night Harrison tells Holden that he loves him. Instead of Holden saying I love you too he responds by saying "thanks" and walks off.

Story 3- Last night I was doing dishes and Holden came into the kitchen naked cause he just got out of the bath. I look down and he was pulling on his boy part and I asked him what he was doing? He said " I want to take my potty off" I replied by saying you can't do that buddy, then he said " I can use scissors to get it off" I laughed so hard and needless to say all the scissors are now put up very high.

He makes us laugh non stop. I hope all of you got a chuckle too.

Passing Days

2009-07-30T15:54:00.002-06:00

I can't believe school is going to be starting in a little over two weeks. The summer went by fast. This week has been hard for the boys cause they are being youth missionaries and are unable to watch TV, listen to music, text, etc you get the idea. So I have to be creative with them. We spent all last evening playing games. Tonight they go to members houses and have dinner and teach a discussion. They were all assigned companions and they do this stuff together. They leave tomorrow to go to the open house of the temple up north. They are excited. I hope it is a real spiritual experience for them. Especially for Tevin since he is going through a lot right now, moved in with his dad and has nothing to do with me. I have missed him so deeply and hope his heart changes soon, but after having some guidance from a wonderful person I will listen to his advice. I also received a wonderful blessing from my bishop that I needed desperately. Thanks for all your prayers that you have sent my way. I appreciate them. I appreciate my husband for how moody I have been.

The next Bill Gates

2009-07-26T20:24:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone, Sloanie has a very creative mind and is always coming up with ideas that will help her one day become the richest woman in the world. Here's a sampling;

· A balloon that won’t pop
· A Limo that has a bathroom in it and a swimming pool and if you want a drink, just press a button and have one handed to you
· A watch that has an alarm go off when your favorite baseball game is on and a small tv pops out so you can watch it
· A machine that can make a snowman that won’t melt even in St. George
· A machine that can make the sun go away if it gets too hot
· An ice cream cone that won’t melt and never runs out of ice cream

Sloanie would love to hear your comments. Hope all is well with everyone.

Misc

2009-07-14T19:35:00.002-06:00

Well, last week was my first week of watching the new baby. She was so good and is SO tiny. Holden adores her and Sloane is a wonderful helper. The only one that got jealous of her was the 14 month old I watch Myka. When I hold Zaycia, Myka has to be held too. With watch Zaycia, her mother has been asked who is watching her cause I guess a lot of people she works with are looking for babysitters. I am capable of having 4 full time but more then that I would have to be licensed and I don't want to do that. So maybe next week not for sure yet I will get a 10 month old that I will watch just 2 days a week. I am glad they keep me busy, cause it helps my mind stay off other things that have been troubling in my life lately. And it helps me not miss Chris so much when he is gone out of town.

The boys are doing well. I get to see them tomorrow and can't wait. I haven't seen them for over 2 weeks. I hope they are just as excited to see me.....lol. I had a wonderful weekend with my brother Adam and his family. The kids played until they couldn't play no more. Adam wants to come and visit ever 2 months and so far he has done it. Can't wait to see him again in September.

Other then that we are hot and sweaty down here is southern Utah with it going to be 110 by Friday. I am not going anywhere that day. Starting to get ready for school. This summer is going by quickly.

Trey is Home!!

2009-07-04T10:26:00.002-06:00

Well Trey is now home. My mom and sister have a website you can go to and read about Trey and even make comments to him. You will have to register with it to make a comment on the guest page. I have enjoyed reading their daily updates. This way all of you who would like to keep up on Trey can do it through this now. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/treythompson

Update on Trey (written from my mom)

2009-06-26T13:50:00.002-06:00

I want to keep you updated on Trey. It isn't good news right now, but Trey, Heidi and Allen are in good spirits (or as good as one can be at this point in time),still in shock to some degree, but now that they know what is happening they are getting ready for the battle. I spoke to Heidi last night and this is the report so far:

Heidi really likes his doctor. Dr. Storch is very good and she is being very upfront with them. Nurses and staff are very helpful. Heidi/Allen are able to stay there at night.

Trey has started his treatments.He is on a very agressive treatment regime. He is having nausea and is very tired. He doesn't sleep well at night because the mass in his chest makes breathing difficult. There is still some fluid surrounding the heart and this is being watched very closely.He had a spinal tap yesterday and they found cancerous cells in the spinal fluid which is not a good sign. This means it has spread and can affect the brain.

They will be testing family members for compatibility as bone marrow donors. Siblings are the best hope for a match, then they will go to parents and grandparents. It isn't the blood type that matters, but other factors. This is precautionary right now, so they will be prepared if he needs it.

This is a fast growing and agressive lymphoma/leukemia. Even though it is the type that responds to treatment quite well in children, it is more difficult to treat with success in adults. The fact Trey doesn't have a spleen is also a concern.

He will be in the hospital for at least a month. This is to monitor his reaction to the treatments. He will be having spinal taps on a regular basis, but since they put him out, he is able to handle them without too much discomfort. Trey will be under an intensive treatment regime for the next 2-3 years, depending on his response.

He is very very ill and is literally fighting for his life.

He is at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Woodland Hills
The address is: 5601 De Soto Ave, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
The phone # is: 818-719-3220, room 2106

He can have phone calls and visitors, however always call first if you wish to visit. He may be too ill to have you there. If you have been sick, or around someone who has been sick DO NOT VISIT. He has no immunity now and that would be devastating for him.

He cannot have plants or flowers in his room. He can only have fruit that can be washed well and/or peeled. Fast food has to be microwaved at the hospital. Cards, banners, books, pictures are welcome.

Heidi would prefer to relay updates on Trey through emails such as this. She appreciates your calls and texts but she can't or won't answer depending on the circumstances at the time of your call. Don't be offended, she just can't worry about anyone right now but Trey and its difficult to have to repeat the same information to each person who calls or texts.

I realize most of us won't be able to visit any time soon but just so we all know. For some, this may be info you've already heard, my apologies.

Your thoughts and prayers are so important. Thank you. I know the support of ALL family members makes a difference. Heidi stated she appreciates them and feels the strength they bring. We know Heavenly Father is in charge, as Heidi put it, and we need to have faith Trey will be with us for many years.

Nephew Trey

2009-06-23T14:44:00.002-06:00

We just found out my nephew Trey who is 19 and someone I adore has T-cell Lymphoblastic lymphoma. It is in his bone marrow and it already is or turning into Leukemia. They will be placing a catheter into his heart where they will treat him with meds. They are also transferring him to woodland hills hospital where a children's doctor will be treating him. Please keep him in your prayers.

Home Safe

2009-06-23T13:41:00.003-06:00

Well we had a great time in California. We went to the beach, malls, Griffith Museum and just hanging out. Thursday we had bad news about my nephew Trey who was admitted into the hospital he was diagnosed with Lymphoma a kind of cancer. We are worried about him and he is in our prayers. A mission is on hold until he gets well. We are all staying positive. We then went to the lake on Saturday with some friends and had a great time. A little too windy, sand was in everything. We had a blast riding the sea doos.

Holden is currently under the weather. He has had a temperature for 4 days now and has a cough and loosing his voice. I took him to the doctor and all they tell me he has swimmers ear, but personally I think there is something more and the doctors are not seeing it yet. So I have been giving him drops in his ears, but he is still not doing well. I will give it a couple more days and will take him in again if he is not getting better.

The boys left today for scout camp. I hope they have a great time.

New news

2009-06-12T20:10:00.002-06:00

Well I have been praying that I would get another child to babysit and my prayers have been answered. Yesterday I got hired to watch a 2 week old little girl starting the first part of July. She is so cute. And very tiny. Her name is Zaysha (not sure on the spelling) but Sloane and Holden have fallen in love with her just after spending 5 minutes with her. I will watch her Tuesday - Friday from 8-5.

Also, there is a lot going on with me and thanks for your prayers. To help me deal with life I sometimes have a tendency to rearrange furniture. Well my family room is now totally changed around and I moved my scrapbook stuff into the family room and I am just about done with it. All that is left is to hang some pictures. So stay tuned for some photos. Also, I will be leaving Monday to see my family in California. A much needed vacation. I just wish Chris was going with us, but I understand he needs to work.

Our little Trigger

2009-06-08T21:08:00.003-06:00

Hello everyone,

Krissy is still mourning the loss of her Grandfather and understandably hasn't felt much like blogging recently. We appreciate everyone's love, support and prayers. Krissy was particularly close to her Grandfather, having lived in close proximity for nearly 20 years. We will miss his down to earth sense of humor, his kindness, his unique brand of wisdom and his family leadership. We're grateful for the witness we have that we will see him again.

Krissy will blog more when she's up to it but I did want to relate one incident on the lighter side that is typical Holden. I'm relating this based on Krissy's description to me since I wasn't there but I'll have her proofread this blog before it's posted to make sure it's accurate.

Since Grandpa Heslop served for a brief time in the Air Force shortly after World War 2, he was granted a funeral complete with military honors where he was buried in Hooper, UT. As the military reservists were preparing for their 21 gun salute, they set down their riffles for a short time while they attended to other duties. I'm sure it's clear by now where this story is headed but somehow Holden got a hold of one of the guns (which was loaded with blanks, not bullets thank goodness!) and pulled the trigger.

Needless to say, blanks are every bit as loud as real bullets. And as soon as the shot went off, Krissy knew without question who was to blame. Holden was obviously terrified so after being comforted (and scolded) by his mother, he stayed as far away from the guns as possible (at least he gets his smarts from his mother!). Apparently everyone got a kick out of this 1 gun salute and someone (I'm not sure who) gave Holden a new nickname, Trigger.

Even though Grandpa only got a 20 gun salute instead of the standard 21, we have a feeling that he probably got a laugh from Holden's antics as much as anyone else.

Hope all is well,

Chris

My Grandfathers Obituary

2009-05-29T19:10:00.002-06:00

Obituaries
Eldon Herbert Heslop (May 3, 1926 - May 28, 2009)

St. George, UT - Eldon Herbert Heslop born May 3, 1926 in Ogden, Utah passed away May 28, 2009 at the family home in St. George, Utah. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Marilyn Belnap Heslop; children: Gayle Feaster (Michael) of Middleton, WI; Scott Eldon of Canyon Country, CA; Annette Moore of St. George; Jill Anderson (Karl) of St. George; siblings Marvin Spencer Heslop of Roy: Alan Heslop of West Weber and Patsy Call of Sunset; 20 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son David Belnap Heslop, his parents Herbert Spencer and Leila Ida Chugg Heslop, and sister Carma Leila Heslop Hunter. Eldon served in the Air Force in post-war Europe from 1945 - 46. Eldon and Marilyn were married April 1, 1949 in the Logan Temple. They have lived in Hooper, Utah; West Covina, California; Palmdale, California and St. George, Utah. He worked in the Aircraft Industry for over 17 years, working for Pacific Airmotive Corp. in Chino, CA; Convair Aircraft Corp. in Palmdale and Lockheed Aircraft in Palmdale. He worked on a number of military Aircraft including the F-102, F-106, C-5, F-86 and in the top secret programs for the (then) classified aircraft U-2 and SR-71 “Blackbird” and the commercial airliner the L-1011. He retired from the aircraft industry in 1975 and began a second career as a cabinetmaker for over 12 years. His many years of devoted service to the church included a mission in the East Central States Mission, Sunday School Teacher, Sunday School Superintendent, Seventies President, High Priest Group Leader, Stake High Councilor, Ordinance Worker in both the Los Angeles and St. George Temples and 15 years as the Stake Patriarch in the Palmdale California Stake. His Community Service included a 2 year appointment to the City of Palmdale Planning Commission and a special assignment as the Official Santa Claus for the City of Palmdale for 6 years. After his move to St. George, he served as Vice-President and President of the Cottonmill Chapter, Sons of the Utah Pioneers from 1994-1996. Funeral Services will be held Monday, June 1, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. at the Bloomington Hills Stake Center, 1130 E. Brigham Rd., St. George, Utah. Visitations will be held Sunday, May 31, 2009 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Metcalf Mortuary, 288 W. St. George Blvd., St. George, Utah and again on Monday, June 1st from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. at the Stake Center, prior to services. Interment will be Tuesday, June 2, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. at the Hooper City Cemetery. Arrangements under the direction of Metcalf Mortuary, 435-674-4221. The family wishes to express thanks to the doctors and nurses for their loving care throughout Eldon’s illness and to Applegate Hospice Care. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to Applegate Hospice Care, American Heart Association, or American Diabetes Association.

Sadness

2009-05-26T15:09:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that I wont be posting that much for the next few weeks. On Saturday of last week all of my family was told that my grandfather has only a week left to live. We have had family from out of state come and say their goodbyes before he passes. I went yesterday to the airport in Vegas to pick up my mom (this is her father). My emotions are a mess and I spend all my free time with this man who is my HERO!!! I moved to Utah 19 years ago and lived with my grandparents for a year. I have always been there for them and them for me and my family. My grandpa is a wonderful man and I wish he didn't have to leave this life but I know he is going somewhere wonderful. All my children are heart broken, but Sloane and Holden especially. These are their great grandparents and they have been the only ones that live close to us and it hurts to see their pain. Today the nurse gave him about 2 more days. We will have a funeral here but will be berried up in Northern Utah.

Also on Saturday Chandler had a bike accident and broke 3 of his front teeth. I will post pictures later but he is doing OK. Went to the dentist today, but they need more time to heal cause he is still in pain before they start fixing them to look nice again. We go back next weekend unless a funeral takes place.

Just wanted to give you a heads up so don't think we have fallen off the face of the earth.

Hmm Birthday

2009-05-18T17:36:00.002-06:00

Well today is my 37Th birthday. I may look 37 but I feel a lot older with all the aches and pains that I have. I woke up this morning to text messages wishing me a happy birthday starting at 6:15am. I think my step dad who lives in Wisconsin forgot about the time change. Then all the kids got up and gave me birthday wishes and the first thing Holden said was "where is the cake"
he is so cute. Kids went off to school and Chris took me to lunch at El Pollo Loco one of our new favorite places to eat. Then when I was alone I had to cry for some reason. I don't care that I am 37, I am actually looking forward to being 40. But I got the cry out and then I was good.

Spent the afternoon working on laundry and getting kids from school. Chris is now gone with all 5 kids doing some birthday shopping, picking up Pizza for dinner so I didn't have to cook and picking up a white cake with whip cream frosting on it. So it will be a fun evening. I also rented the movie Taken since I have been dying to see it. Chris reminded me that the season finale of 24 in on tonight, but I told him thank goodness for Tvo cause we can watch that another time. It is my b-day and I want to watch Taken. He laughed and said OK, love ya.

Well Chris and the kids just got home. Thanks for all the happy birthday wishes from everyone.

Cruise Photos

2009-05-11T18:45:00.008-06:00

No matter what I do my photos always end up out of order when I think I am putting them in order. But at least you will get the idea of what we did and how much fun we had. Chris just coming out of the water after a few hours of snorkeling. He loved it.

My hubby the fish. He usually doesn't go swimming very often because of his contacts, but was excited when he was able to snorkel.

There were tons of Iguanas on the Coco Cay Island. I got brave then knelt down so Chris could take a picture of me with them in the back ground.

The 3 in the center of the photo were the biggest ones we saw. We counted a total of 10 I think.

More of these nasty reptiles.

The water was so warm and crystal clear. You could walk out for miles before the water started to get deep.

View of our ship from the island.

Chris and I kicking back in one of the hammocks that are all over the island.

All I can say is this beach was heaven to me and I didn't want the day to end.

We had to take a smaller boat from our ship to get to coco cay. This is the view of us entering the island.

The boat we had to board to get to the island.

The view of Coco Cay from our cruise ship.

On the ship there is an attendant that makes up your room everyday. Well one night coming back from dinner we found this dog made of towels on the bed with my sunglasses. I thought he was the cutest.

One afternoon they were having belly flop competitions. The biggest guy did the worst flop. I was very disappointed and this skinny guy had the best flop.

Chris and I hanging out poolside getting some sun.

This is us arriving in Key West Florida. It is a beautiful town. The red building in the back in a museum and it stands out like a sore thumb.

The entire time in Key West I pretty much just shopped. Chris was getting pretty bored.

HUGE Statue in front of the art museum.

My Handsome Hubby. The homes in Key west were beautiful.

The center area of the cruise ship. This is where we had some dancing and bands play.

Enjoying our time together with no children. Having a smooch.

This is when we first boarded the ship. Miami Florida is in the back ground.

Our stateroom. They are so tiny. But it was very nice.

Top deck pool side is where we hung out most of the time and where a lot of the parties and dancing was held.

View of Miami from our Hotel window. I was looking in the water to see if I could see an alligator. Bummed that there wasn't one.

Well I took over 100 pictures on our cruise but I just thought I would show you some of the highlights of it. I highly recommend a cruise to anyone. People who usually don't think they will like it end up loving it. I hope you enjoyed the photos. Sorry it took so long to post.

Home

2009-04-23T16:11:00.002-06:00

Well, we arrived home safe and sound and had a wonderful time. Fell in love with Key West and also the Island Coco Kay in the Bahamas. I love white sand and blue water that is so clear. Chris loved snorkeling and I loved laying out and relaxing. Saw Iguanas the size of Holden and bigger. Enjoyed the food enough for me to gain 7 pounds, but I am also retaining a lot of water cause I got burned really bad on my ankles and I am so swollen and blistered it is very hard to walk. The weather was amazing. I hated to come home but Chris was ready to get back to work. Four days of relaxation is all Chris can handle. I will post our pictures this weekend.

Now I am preparing for Harrison's birthday party tonight. He is such a sweetheart. I can't believe he is now 13. He went to his dads yesterday which was his birthday and when he came home I asked how his day was and he said good. I asked what did his dad get him. He told me he couldn't tell me cause I would get mad. I was like come on tell me. He then proceeded to remove his hand from his ear and low and behold was an earring. I said what the HELL is that. He said dad said since I was a teenager now I could do it and I talked Chandler into doing it too. Chandler came in and there was an earring on him too. I felt my blood boiling. And the anger building. I was in the process of looking for my phone to rip their dad apart and I told Harrison and Chandler to get away from me. They then could see how upset I was and started laughing and said mom it is fake and pulled the earring off. It was a magnet earring. I was about to beat both of them. Chris gave them high fives for getting me and their dad was in on it too and was waiting for me to call him yelling. UUGGGGG!!!! I told them they better not ever get one cause I will rip it right out of their ear. They were laughing the rest of the night on behalf of my expense.

Anyway, stay tuned for photos.

Saying Goodbye

2009-04-15T10:16:00.002-06:00

Well the time has come. The house is in order. My sister in law Lynn is here to watch the kids and I am all packed. Can I say Chris isn't packed yet and he will do it around 10pm tonight. So I am here to say goodbye for a week. I will take lots of pictures and tell you all about it in a week. I want to thank those now who are going to help taking and picking up my kids from school while I am gone, so Lynn doesn't have to put all the little ones in the car to do so. I hope everyone else has a great weekend as well.

An upset mother

2009-04-13T13:45:00.002-06:00

Our Easter was very nice. Sloane and Holden had a blast. The boys went with their dad on Saturday night. When the boys got home I could see that they were not OK. I asked them how their Easter was and they said their dad didn't do anything for them. They woke up Easter morning and got their sisters all up and were waiting to look for baskets. Their dad came out and said they did baskets on Saturday for the girls. So the boys asked where theirs were and he said that he thought they were too old. As the boys were telling me I could see the hurt in their eyes and I was doing everything in my power not to cry. I went into the other room and gave them what I got which wasn't much just a chocolate bunny, gum and a Reese's egg. I gave each of them a hug and told them how sorry I was. I also told them I would make it up to them. I also told them no matter what Easter will be here for them every year. Even knowing it is the next day I am still so angry and hurting for them. I want to go up and snatch up the Easter stuff that's left and fill a basket for each of them.

OK I am done venting.

Coloring Eggs

2009-04-11T18:30:00.003-06:00

Chandler is alway the patient one and does multi-color on all his eggs.

Tevin is doing 2 at a time to get his eggs colored faster since he really doesn't enjoy coloring eggs.

Poor Harrison had to sit by Holden and ended up sharing his already colored eggs with Holden who couldn't get enough of the coloring.

Sloane who couldn't decide what she wanted to do, but knew she wanted stickers all over hers.

Holden who wanted every egg either blue or green and took Harrisons to make sure they were green too. His hand is still green after washing a few times.

General Conference Surprise

2009-04-05T21:17:00.003-06:00

Well Saturday as we are watching the second session of General Conference they were calling brethren to new positions and we hear a name that we knew. Chris and I looked at each other and thank goodness for Tivo we rewound it for a minute and sure enough Chris' Uncle Larry M Gibson was called as 1st counselor to the General Young Men's presidency. We were so excited for him and surprised that Chris immediately called his parents in Illinois to make sure they heard the same thing we did. We all were surprised but then again not surprised cause he is a great man and is going to do a great job. He has such a way with people. Within the first 5 minutes of me getting to know him and his wife Shirley I loved them both. We want to tell him congrats and he will be in our prayers as he starts this new adventure in serving the church.

Things are better

2009-04-03T15:16:00.003-06:00

Just wanted to leave an update. My Grandpa is out of ICU and has his own room. My older sister has been here for a week staying by my grandma's side and being there for her. It is going to be hard when she leaves on Sunday to go home. Hopefully he will be going home the middle of next week. He needs to build his strength up before they let him leave.

Our plumbing issue finally is fixed. I am happy to be able to do laundry again. (did I actually say I am happy about laundry!! I need a life) Tevin and Sloane are both doing well. I don't think the creams are working on Sloane. We go to the doctor next week. So we will see.

I am looking forward to this conference weekend. This is one of my favorite times of the year is when we can listen to our prophet and general authorities and I also get some scrap booking done. WOOHOO.

Chris and I have 2 weeks left until our cruise. We are not even close to being ready. I will most likely wait until the last minute like I normally do with things.

Anyway, nothing new going on. Take care.

A Silver Cloud

2009-03-26T13:56:00.002-06:00

I hate the saying "When it rains it pours" but that is what has been going on at our house. Tuesday I took Sloane to the doctor about a growth on her foot. We were referred to a cancer doctor and was told she was going to have to have surgery and have the lump removed and then have a biopsy on it. Well today was the day we were told the surgery was to happen. So we prepared ourselves for the worst. When the doctor came in he looked at Sloane's foot and said we didn't need to do surgery and told me she has a skin condition. But to make sure he called in the other 2 doctors as well. All 3 agreed no surgery needed to be done and what she has is a condition called Granuloma Annulare. There are 2 different procedures that can be done. The first one is the one we chose to do and that is she has to put 3 different creams on her foot 4 times a day. Let me tell ya the creams were expensive, but worth it to have our daughter OK. The second procedure is a series of shots 12 total that they would do to kill it. We go back to the doctor in 2 weeks to see if the cream works. They took a picture and measured it so they will know for sure if it has gotten smaller or bigger. We were given a brochure on GA and it is caused by a reaction from her immune system. It is also a relationship to diabetes. We will have some blood work done in 2 weeks when we go back to rule out diabetes. She will be prone to these kinds of lumps, bumps, rashes whatever you want to call them the rest of her life. But when one shows up we just need to get the creams again. So that is our update on Sloane

Yesterday we took Tevin to the doctor and he was given an inhaler for Asthma. He has been having a lot of chest pains and has to stop often to catch his breath. So this afternoon I will take him in to get an x-ray done of his lungs. He has to take 2 puffs every 4 hours on his inhaler until his breathing and the tightness goes away then only will have to use it when he needs it.

Yesterday we also had some plumbing problems and called a handyman that we have hired in the past. Our water and plumbing is totally out of commission downstairs. No bathroom use or laundry can get done. He is suppose to come back today at 4 to finish fixing the problem we have with the water pump.

Then today my grandfather who lives here has been admitted into the hospital. He is in intensive care unit. He has been sick for a few days and then had a very high fever and had to rush him to the hospital. The update I have right now is that he has an infection of some kind that has taken over his entire body. My grandma said they are not sure yet where the cause of it all is coming from. So I am very worried about him.

On the brighter side of things. I weighed in last night and after a month of being at the same weight I finally lost 6.1 pounds in a week. WOOHOO.

Tonight is my last Stampin Up party I will do. I am quiting being a demonstrator. It will be hard to say goodbye to my clients. But I am burned out and I need to lighten my load and turn my focus more towards my family.

Anyway, that is our update. Thank you all for your prayers when we told you about Sloane. We are so relieved it was not worse. I actually had to stop and cry because I was so stressed out.
Thanks again. I am ready for the wind to blow this silver cloud away from my house.

Family Group

2009-03-23T14:19:00.004-06:00

The ones who started it all. Eldon and Marilyn Heslop 60 years of marriage. What an example they have been to us all. We love you.

Ok here is the family group that gathered together for my cousin Caitlins Wedding and my Grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. We are getting pretty big. We haven't been together like this in 10 years.

First Day of Spring

2009-03-20T09:37:00.002-06:00

Well I am happy it is now spring, but I am hating the fact that my backyard is being taken over with weeds and now I am sneezing my head off with Allergies. I have lived her almost 19 years now, last year and this year have been the only time I have ever had allergies. I hate them. I remember being so miserable last year and I hope it is not the same this year. I am happy that it will be 82 degrees today. I might take Sloane and Holden to the river.

This week has been spring break. On Monday the kids and I went to see Race to Witch Mountain and then were interviewed by our local news and was on the 9pm news that night. Woohoo 15 seconds of fame. The boys were with me till Wednesday and then they went with their dad. So Chris and the boys have been gone since Wednesday. Sloane, Holden and I have been a little bit lonely. Yesterday I spent the day with a friend scrap booking and then took a friend out to lunch and then went to jumping jacks. I am missing my hubby. I am glad he is coming home tonight. This has been a boring spring break. We usually are down in Arizona seeing the cubs but we didn't go this year cause we had a wedding and anniversary party for my grandparents last weekend. Which I have to say was a blast having the entire family together. We laughed and ate a lot and I got really sick for about 24 hours. I had a reaction to some meds I took. But all in all it was so much fun and I hated to see everyone leave.

As you can see I am just rambling.

New Calling

2009-03-05T13:48:00.002-07:00

Well I am no longer the Ward Activities leader. I was only in it for a year and I wanted to do it for 2 cause I had that many ideas, such as Tale gate party, Easter Egg hunt and a brunch, peeps show etc...That is if the Bishop would of approved it. Oh well maybe I can pass my ideas on the the next leaders.

But my new calling is Achievement Day leader for the 10 & 11 year old. We meet twice a week and I am looking forward to it. We met as a group with the 8 & 9 year old on Tuesday and played get to know you games. There were about 18 girls there I think. It was pretty overwhelming. I can see why they wanted to split the group. Our next meeting will be at my house. I have a great partner to do it with. Her name is Ellen and she is a blast. I am excited to work with her.

Harrison got his stitch out of his toe and the infection seems to be gone. It looks really good. He only had to take 2 pain pills this last week. If it were me I probably would have taken more. I am a wimp.

We are looking forward to my cousin Caleb coming home from his mission tomorrow. We are going to St. George airport tomorrow to greet him. All the kids can't wait to see him. I think it will be really good for the twins especially since they are 4 years away from going on one themselves.

Ta ta for now.

Warning Gross Toe

2009-02-28T20:45:00.002-07:00

Awhile back Harrison broke his big toe. He lost the nail and a new one grew back but it caused him to have an ingrown toenail. He has had this for about 2 months. Finally on Thursday morning I looked at it and it oozed out green puss. Right at 9am I called the Doc and got him in that afternoon. Well he ended up having minor surgery. They gave him 4 shots in the big toe to numb it and then from the tip of the toe all the way into the skin cut out his toe nail. They then cleaned it out real good and took out the nail bed so he wont grow anymore nail on that side. They then gave him 2 stitches. I watched the entire process and was grossed out. I helped Harrison sit up for a minute to watch but he couldn't take it and back down he went. This is what it looked like pretty gross. I wish I had my camera at the doc office to take pictures of step by step process.

He then got bandaged up and had to stay off his foot for 24 hours. He is on pain pills and an antibiotic for the infection. He goes this Thursday to get the stitches out and make sure the infection is clearing up. We have to change his bandage daily. And he is wearing my flip flops.

Today he wanted to make sure he didn't have to pass the sacrament at church tomorrow. He didn't want people looking at his foot. Poor kid. The doctor said it takes about 2 months for something like this to heal. But he is doing pretty good so far. I thought he would be in more pain than he is. Sorry if this post grossed ya out. I think it is cool.

weight frustrations

2009-02-26T10:31:00.003-07:00

OK as a lot of you know I am apart of a biggest loser contest. I have been at the same weight for 4 weeks now. I am not cheating on my food and I have been exercising 5 days a week and still no loss. I was in tears yesterday crying on Chris' shoulder. He made a comment that maybe the weight I am at will be what I need to stay out for the rest of my life or he said maybe I need to try something new besides weight watchers program. Anyone have any ideas that I might try? Sorry I consider a blog a place to vent sometimes.

Tevin Sweeping

2009-02-21T10:17:00.004-07:00

I was laying down with Holden and Tevin came in trying to put off sweeping the kitchen floor. I finally got firm with Tevin and told him to get it done.

When I got up Tevin was sitting in the rocking chair not even knowing I was taking his picture cause there was a new Spongebob on and he was too focused into that. I told him once again to get his job done.

A couple minutes later this is how I found him. I swear.

Then again not doing what he was suppose to be doing.

This is when he finally realized I was taking his picture. I had to get mad at him in order for him to get the floor swept. A job that should of only took 5 minutes ended up taking Tevin 35 min...... Ugh. What to do with this kid sometimes.

Chocolate Milk

2009-02-20T13:51:00.003-07:00

Holden loves Chocolate Milk. He decided he wanted to make it himself. He first had to sniff it.

He then had to get a spoon and dig in.

But instead of putting it in the cup he put it right into his mouth. Yummy!!

I was very proud of him putting 3 spoon fulls in without spilling too much on the counter.

He then had to watch the chocolate sink to the bottom of his cup before he would let me put the lid on to shake it. Holden usually has about 6-8 cups of choc milk a day. He use to have over 12 and had to cut him back.

Cruise

2009-02-19T08:54:00.002-07:00

Well, it is for sure on from April 16-21 Chris and I are going on a cruise to the Bahamas. We are so excited. We haven't been on a cruise since Sloane was a baby. This time there will be no kids with us. Chris and I have needed just couple time for A LONG TIME. We are both going to lose a little extra weight so we can indulge ourselves in all the great food that are on the ship. We are going on a Royal Caribbean Cruise line. Chris' sister Lynn is going to come down with her kids and come and take care of Sloane and Holden. The boys will go with their dad. I would like to really thank Lynn for doing this for us. We will return the favor whenever it is needed.

Anyway, nothing new is going on. I can't believe there is a little over 3 months of school left. The year has gone by really fast. I do have to tell you what Holden said yesterday. I was folding the laundry and he came in asking what I was doing and I told him I was folding clothes. He looked at the pile and noticed it was his clothes. He examined a pair of his pants and then smelled them. He then jumped in my arms and gave me a hug and a kiss and said "good job mom." I am glad that someone appreciates my laundry skills.

Sisters Weekend Slide Show

2009-02-15T20:15:00.008-07:00

As you can see from the slide show I had a blast. For a moment I almost didn't go because Holden got really sick with a fever and throwing up. He had it for 2 days. But I still went and glad that I did. On the Friday after dropping off kids where they needed to be I met up with Chris in Vegas and had breakfast. We were only together for an hour and then he had an appointment to get to. I then had 5 more hours of driving. I have to say having a quiet car was WONDERFUL. I got to enjoy a book on my mp3 player.

I arrived at our hotel first. Alison and Heidi showed up about 30 min later. We didn't go out because it was down pouring rain. We were kinda bummed. So we talked, watched movies, ordered pizza, talked about our families. Then we went to bed.

The next morning we got on our Grumpy shirts and hats and headed to Disneyland. It was raining for a few minutes in the morning, but our prayers were answered and it cleared up. We rode everything in the park. The longest we had to wait in a line was 25 minutes and that was for the Matterhorn. Everything else was 5-15 min. It was fun. We even went to Fantasy land and went on all the kid rides. After finishing everything in the park we went shopping in Downtown Disney. We pretty much went into every store. If was nice not having our husbands hurrying us along since this is the part they hate. We then left the park and went out to dinner to Denny's and by this time it was raining again. We went to our rooms and got in PJ's and enjoyed some wonderful treats that Alison made (pumpkin cookies, pumpkin dip with graham crackers, banana bread and tons of chocolate).

The next morning which is Sunday it was raining really hard so we decided to hang out in our rooms and be lazy. We watched 27 dresses and then got ready in the t-shirts Alison had made for us that said "Sisters Weekend 09" we also wore hates that said Evil on them since we are the evil sisters. he he.... We arrived to California Adventure around 2pm which was good because they were closed all morning because of the rain. I had never been there so it was a new experience for me and loved it. We rode everything and the lines were 10 min waits. I have never seen the parks so empty. We loved the roller coaster the best. We rode it 3 times. Soaring over California was amazing too, it felt like you were flying. But my favorite part of the entire day was dragging my sisters on the Tower of Terror. The entire time in line I was teasing them. I was laughing so hard and I have to say Alison looked a little flush right before we got on the ride. We were in the front row and needless to say Heidi and Alison had their eyes shut the entire time and I was laughing and enjoying myself. We bought the picture that they take when your on the ride. I was smiling and sure enough Heidi and Ali had their hands over their eyes. It was a priceless picture. Alison bought her a pin saying she survived the tower of terror. For those who don't know what that ride is, you are in an elevator and it takes you up and then drops you and it does it about 4 times in a row. IT WAS A RUSH!!!!

I was a little bummed because my camera battery died so I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted. Alison and Heidi are suppose to send me their pictures and if there any that are different from what I posted I will add them later. We left when the park closed and went to Denny's again for dinner. We were so tired. We went straight to bed. The next morning which was Monday we got all ready and packed up and watched another movie and then had to say our goodbyes. I didn't show tears until after I got into the car and was alone. I loved the time we spent together and the bonding that we had. I can't wait until next year when Heidi is the one in charge.

My drive home was a long one. Very bad weather. Rain in the lower elevations and tons of snow in the higher. I even pulled off to the side of the road so the snow plow could clear the road for me. It was very tense. My neck and shoulders hurt really bad, by the time I got home. I was happy to see my family. I did miss them. I got all the kids a big sucker and told them where I went. They were bummed they didn't come but glad I had fun. Holden loved the fact I saw Buzz Light year and Woody.

Anyway, this last week was busy getting home life back in order. But I hope you have enjoyed reading about my weekend. I will never forget it.

Sloane's Talk

2009-02-15T18:39:00.002-07:00

I think Krissy is in the process of putting together a blog describing her trip to Disneyland with her sisters but I thought I would post the talk Sloane gave today in Primary.

Here's a note from Sloanie;

Hi, this is my talk and I hope you like it. I love you all and I can't wait to see you whenever. Do you think what I said about having NO sisters was funny? All the kids laughed! And I mentioned all of you in my talk.

Good morning Boys and Girls. My talk today is about families. I love my family very much. I have a Dad and a Mom and 4 brothers and NO sisters.

I’m so glad that I was born into my family and I know my family loves me very much. Heavenly Father sent his Son Jesus Christ to die for us so that we can return to live with him as a family. I’m thankful for Heavenly Father and Jesus and I love them very much. I know that we can be together forever as a family because of them.

I also have other family members that I love very much. I have Grandpa’s and Grandma’s and aunts and uncles and cousins and we all have so much fun together. I’m so glad that if we do what is right we can all be together again and live with Heavenly Father.

Heavenly Father wants all of his children to return to him someday and he wants them to be part of a family.

I know the Church is true and I love Jesus and my family very much. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

time goes by

2009-02-05T19:52:00.002-07:00

Well I just realized that it has been a week since my last post. Nothing much has been going on except for me counting down the days till I go to California and meet up with my sisters. We are staying in Anaheim and going to Disneyland for 2 days. No kids, no hubbies, no strollers, no diaper bags, no potty breaks.....aah heaven. And it gives us 3 girls a chance to be kids again. So I leave tomorrow morning at 8am and will be back Monday evening. I plan on taking a lot of pictures so get ready for a slide show when I get back.

If any of you see my kids before I get back do not mention Disneyland. They have no idea that, that is where I am going.....hehehe.

Holden has been fighting a cold and has been very unhappy, especially today. I have been running on about 3 hours of sleep a night and the rest of the time dealing with Holden. I will be looking forward to getting some good nights sleep this weekend.

Anyhoo... stay tuned.

Girls after Harrison

2009-01-29T16:28:00.002-07:00

OK well I had to leave Harrison home to babysit for me for a bit and while I was gone 2 girls came over and brought him some chocolate chip cookies. He said thanks and called to tell me. I told him they must like him. When I got home I found 2 girls on my door step knocking on the door I told Harrison to answer the door and the same 2 girls gave him some more cookies that they just got done baking that were Oatmeal chocolate Chip with nuts. He was very polite and thanked them again. I just giggled after he shut the door. He says "mom I am going to get so fat if they keep on feeding me cookies" I laughed even harder. I said for him to just be nice and not to hurt their feelings.

Anyway, I had 3 of the cookies which were actually pretty good. It blew my diet out of the water for today. Speaking of diet. Last night was weigh in and I lost another 4.1 pounds woohoo.
12 more to go.

Great to be 8

2009-01-26T10:55:00.002-07:00

Yesterday Sloane had a meeting to go to called "Great to be 8" they talk about everything you need to know about being baptised and what achievement days are and they got to see the baptismal font. I wasn't able to attend cause I have been really sick. Sloane came home running into my room all excited. She told me everything about it. She is the youngest one. She will be baptised the first Saturday in December. If the white dress she wore when we got sealed still fits her she wants to wear that dress on her big day. If it doesn't she wants Grandma Feaster to make her a new dress. Anyway, I haven't seen her this excited since her birthday.

We are alive!!!

2009-01-23T12:03:00.003-07:00

Well what got me to finally write was this morning I had a message from my dad who lives in California saying he checked my blog but there hasn't been an update so he had to call to see how I was doing. I love getting his phone calls but it did make me feel bad that I haven't written in awhile.

So I am just going to say we had a wonderful holiday season and glad it is over at the same time. A week and a half ago I started potty training Holden and let me tell ya he was so EASY!!! Finally something easy with this child. He pretty much was trained in 3 days. And haven't had any accidents in a week. What a relief to have that over and done with.

Kids are doing well. Wanting summer to come. Tevin in trying to get into a program that will let him start some of his college courses now. We will see if he will get in. Sloane has been having fun going to birthday parties. One last week and 2 this week. She is a popular girl. Chandler and Harrison are having fun hanging out in their room since I cleaned it out and got rid of a bunch of stuff. They love a clean room.

Chris is busy as usual. He has been in Vegas since Wednesday and will be home tonight. I am doing the same old thing. Nothing new with me except I decided to stop being a Stampin Up Demonstrator. Kinda of sad to stop, but I need a break. I also have joined a biggest loser contest at Sloane's school. It is kinda hard weighing in front of a bunch of people, but they all keep you motivated to keep loosing. It has been going on for 2 weeks now and I have lost almost 6 pounds. Today I am not being good. It is raining so I am making cookies and I keep eating the dough. When Chris gets home I need to go to the gym and work out for a couple hours to burn off some of those calories.

Anyway, no much else is going on. I will be better at blogging more often. By the way the Twilight movie comes out to DVD March 22ND but you can pre order it now on Amazon for 22.95 with extra footage etc....woohoo.

Holden's birthday

2008-12-07T20:07:00.002-07:00

Here's a quick video of Holden's birthday. I'll blog more later.

President Orr

2008-11-23T22:10:00.002-07:00

This actually happened last week but I wanted to report that Chandler was set apart as the President of the teachers quorum in our ward. Tevin is his 2nd counselor and surprisingly seems to be OK with what could have been perceived as a slight. I think both boys understand that the call comes from the Lord.

Chandler seemed surprised when I explained to him that only 4 people in a ward hold priesthood keys and right now, he's one of them. He's taking the calling very seriously and did a great job of standing in front of all the brethren during priesthood opening exercises this afternoon and announcing what the teachers quorum would be doing on Tuesday.

We're proud of our Chanman!

Update

2008-11-21T12:43:00.003-07:00

We left at 6am on Tuesday morning and arrived in California around 11 am. We relaxed for a couple hours and then received a phone call from my dad that it was OK to come and see my grandma. When I first saw her I was shocked at how much she has changed in a couple of years. She looked so weak and small. I re introduced all the kids to her and she said each of their names and the kids leaned over so she could give them a kiss. Holden was the only one who wouldn't. He thought she was a ghost and would not go near her. I felt so bad. The day I got there was the last day that she would talk. I was rubbing her hands and that would make her fall asleep. My sister Alison was rubbing her feet and she would keep on telling us it tickled. We spent about an hour and a half with her then it was time to let her rest again.

The next day we let the kids hang out with cousins and just I went over for a bit to visit with my grandma again. I talked to her and told her of my favorite memories. When she woke up from sleeping for a minute I made the mistake of asking her if she was dreaming about grandpa who passed away a couple years sooner. She closed her mouth shut and started breathing very heavy. She was crying. I felt horrible. I called my dad over and he helped calm her down and he said she misses grandpa so much. I spent a lot of time with her and talking with my dad and lost track of time cause I was going to leave that night. But we ended up staying the night again and came home of Thursday. We got home around 3:30 yesterday.

Then I got a text message at 2:30 this morning that my grandma had just passed away. I laid in bed crying until I fell back to sleep. The funeral will be held on Tuesday. So we will be leaving Monday to go back down and coming back Wednesday so the boys can get back to their dads for the holiday weekend. I just have to say our little Sloane stayed with her great grandma for about 30 minutes rubbing her head and holding her hands. A couple of her girl cousins wouldn't touch her and Sloane said it was OK and showed them what to do and then they were not afraid to touch her. She even gave her a kiss goodbye. I cry just thinking about how tender hearted she is.

I am so glad I went down to say my goodbyes to her. I was unable to do it with my grandpa. It meant so much to me the last few moments I had to be with her. She was a great woman and great grandma and she will be missed deeply. She touched every ones lives that she came in contact with. And I am happy she is back with our heavenly father and with her wonderful husband. You will be missed.

OK I just realized that the day of her funeral is Chris' and my wedding anniversary. oh wow

Going out of town

2008-11-17T17:13:00.002-07:00

I just wanted to let you know that the kids and I are headed to California. I got a call last night from my dad that my grandma isn't doing to well and the doctors only give her a couple days to live. I wasn't planning on going down but when all my siblings and my dad went to see her today she was talking and I got a text message from my older sister to get down there while she is still responsive. So as of right now I will be gone until Thursday. I want to thank all of you who have offered to help me with things so I could get out of town. It is great to have wonderful friends who can jump in whenever you need it. I hope I can return the kindness when you are in need. Thanks again.

Holden & Sponge Bob

2008-11-14T21:48:00.003-07:00

We finally received our new camera as a replacement for the defective one we purchased online about a month ago. I'm just testing the video function.

What to do

2008-11-14T10:07:00.002-07:00

OK, with the economic crisis going on Chris and I are trying to be careful due to you don't know where your future is going right now when it comes to your job. Well we had a family home evening on finances and to help the kids understand what is going on. So I told the kids to only put 3 things on their Xmas lists. Well all Tevin wants is an Electric Guitar package that is around 179 at Costco. Harrison wants a Bass Guitar package that is around 199. Chandler bless his heart only asked for some controllers for the PS2 that come to be around 100 for all of it. Then they all have shoes on their list. We are not sure what to do with the 2 boys that asked for the guitars. Any advice???

Sloane's Birthday

2008-11-09T15:25:00.012-07:00

Yesterday was Sloanie's 7th birthday and as you see, she had a wonderful day and was obviously well compensated. Apologies for the fuzzy pics but we are still waiting for our camera to be repaired so in the meantime, I am using my cell phone.

Krissy asked me write a blog entry dedicated to our special little princess so please bear with me as I'll no doubt come across as very biased;

As our only girl, Sloanie has always been very special to Krissy and I. She's always been very well behaved (especially compared to her younger brother!) and is particularly mature for her age. Sloanie and I have always been very close but it seems as though our already strong bond continues to increase as she gets older. I try to find time for daddy/daughter opportunities as often as possible although I'm sure not as often as either of us would like. One of our favorite games is to come up with the most disgusting sandwich ever and believe me, we've come up with some doozies. Although on Sunday's we change the game slightly and talk about our favorite things about Jesus. I'm continually amazed and how spiritually insightful she is and how deeply she thinks about spiritual things even at a young age. Each night I give her a 'bus ride' to her bed where she and I kneel down and say a prayer together. Her prayers are so precious and spiritually mature for her age. She's had a great love for the Savior even before she could speak.

Sloane does very well in school, in fact she was the student of the month in October. What I find especially impressive however is her attention to detail and her love of homework (sounds just like me, right Mom & Dad?) She's actually sad when she finishes her homework and is downright upset if her teacher doesn't assign homework on a given day. Believe me, neither Krissy or I were like that and we have no idea where she acquired/inherited this strange behavior (Grandpa Gibson maybe?).

One attribute Sloanie did inherit from Krissy is her desire to be kind to everyone regardless of differences. She goes out of her way to befriend kids who are new, shy or different. I was NOT this way as a child (although I'd like to think I've made some progress as I've gotten older) so I'm very thankful Sloane takes after Krissy in this regard. A couple of nights ago Sloane and I had a good daddy/daughter talk and I told her how much I love her and how special she is to me. I told her for the very first time about a spiritual experience I had as a teenager. Of course I won't go into specifics but I knew from that time forward that my first child would be a girl. Sloanie got a bit teary when I told her about my experience and I think she knows her daddy loves her.

Obviously we love our little girl very much and are grateful for the privilege we have to be her parents.

Check out this Website

2008-11-03T13:14:00.004-07:00

http://www.eyeslipsface.com/ my mother in law sent me this website. Nordstrom is changing the look of all their cosmetics and everything is on sale for a $1.00. I went and ordered some stuff that would of cost me close to a 100 dollars and got it for 15. This is no joke. I promise you. Show your hubbies, maybe they can get ya some stuff for Christmas. I gave Chris a list. But they would have to move quickly I think before it is all gone.

Halloween Pics

2008-11-01T13:39:00.002-06:00

we currently do not have a digital camera. These picks were taken with Chris' cell phone. Holden is a little blurry. My friend has a good pic of him and when I get it I will post it. Holden loved trick or treating. He was kinda slow so we came back home and got the stroller. Then Chris took him back out. At first he didn't want to go but then learned what to do and loved it. Sloane hung out with her friend Brigitta(sp?) and came home at 8:30. We were pretty much kidless all night and then we let the boys have a couple friends stay the night. All in all it was a fun night and I was in bed by 9:30.

I told chandler he is in charge of carving the pumpkins every year since he is the only one that enjoys doing it

Sloane makes a pretty pirate. We were not going to do pumpkins this year but then I got puppy eyes from Sloane and Chandler and at 4pm yesterday I was able to find 2 pumpkins. Chris drew the faces, Sloane cleaned them out and Chandler carved out the faces. I didn't even have to do much.

Tevin wasn't going to dress up. He was just going to be a teenager. He then ended up being a ghost and went out with friends to a haunted house. Let me remind you tevin is terrified of haunted houses. To go to this corpse nightmare it cost 10 dollars. Tevin paid got to the front and then chickened out. He was mad at himself and so we let him go again. Paid another 10 dollars and finally did it. He was freaked out, but we are proud of him that he made it through. Next year we will have to try and get the other boys to do it.

Our civil war hero. He looked so good. He already has a school teacher who would love to have his costume when he is done with it cause she teaches 7th grade as well as the civil war and would love to display the costume when she teaches it.

This is Harrison's last year as santa. His pants are getting too tight and his arms are too long. But he sure has used this costume to its fullest. 3 years in a row he was been santa

Protective Son

2008-11-01T12:28:00.002-06:00

Chris and I were in the office talking and then we started making out...yes even after 8 years of marriage we still enjoy that.lol. Anyways, Holden comes walking in and says "What you doing my momma?" Chris and I started busting up laughing. He then said "That's my momma."

Halloween

2008-10-31T15:06:00.002-06:00

Well Wednesday night was our ward Halloween party that I put on. I was counting on maybe 150 people to show up and it ended up being over 200. We had a chili dinner then a carnival for the kids. People seemed to be enjoying themselves. Sloane, Holden and I were all in our pirate costumes and got many compliments how cute we all looked. Can I tell you when these ward parties are done with I come home so tired and sore from standing, running around, putting up tables and chairs and then cleaning up. I love my calling and I am already planning Christmas. I had parents mad at me for not having a trunk or treat this year and I will have some mad at me at our Christmas party because I will not have a Santa. I am glad the bishop supports me on these. I think if you want to see Santa go to the mall. In a church building it should be focused around Christ. I am going to do a Bethlehem theme. So hopefully it will all come together.

Anyway, kids are all in their costumes and ready to trick or treat, but they still have 3 hours to wait. I wish Holden knew how to tell time. He keeps on asking to go treat. Too cute. This will be the twins last year to trick or treat. Actually Tevin doesn't want to go but Chandler is and then they are done. Hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween.

Oh by the way some of you are wondering about Holiday plans. We are staying her for Thanksgiving. I have family coming up. We will try to come to the Tanner Xmas party but not sure. We are still working out dates for Xmas with the boys. I have them Xmas day until new years (I think) but am not sure. I hope this helps

Hate Mondays

2008-10-27T16:36:00.002-06:00

I use to never have a problem with Mondays. But now that our lives are so busy the weekend go by too fast and then boom back to the busy life. How do I get my life to slow down. Sometimes I feel like I am going to loose it. Life is rushing by and I am not getting the chance to enjoy it and before I know it all the kids are going to be gone. Am I always there for my kids. Do I notice problems that they might be having or am I too busy to see if I am needed. OK I will stop complaining. Just had to vent a second.

Sloane and I had a fun Saturday. I went to Super Saturday and made beaded jewelry and found a new hobby in that. Then I hurried home cause Chris bought Sloane and I tickets to High School Musical 3. I have to say I enjoyed this one the most. I can't believe how many young girls there were in the movie and I applaud the fathers that took their daughters. It was a nice time with Sloane. She even went out in line and got her own popcorn cause I had Holden asleep on me. I was very proud of her.

I always enjoy Sundays because I sleep in until 10am which is very much needed. Church was very spiritual. Talks and lessons were all about Prayer and it was nice to hear peoples experiences with Prayer and how in 3 Nephi Chapter 17 or 18 can't remember exactly how Christ went often to talk to his father in heaven through prayer and how he prayed for the Nephites. I really enjoyed Sunday school.

Anyway, time to make dinner. TA TA for now.

Missing Hubby

2008-10-23T11:17:00.002-06:00

I don't know what the deal is today, but Chris left this morning to go to Vegas and will be back tomorrow night. I always miss him, but for some reason I am missing him more this time. If I could of I would of went down with him. He looked so tired when he left today. I guess I am a little concerned. You would think I love the man or something....lol. I can't believe that next month we are going to be married 8 years. They have gone by very quickly.

Tonight I am going to go and scrapbook with a couple of friends. I finally figured out how to upload my pictures to Costco.com and will pick them up here in a bit. I had fun cropping and picking what sizes I wanted on each photo. It will also be nice to have a break from the kids for a bit. Tevin is grounded so he is my babysitter tonight. I don't know what Tevin is thinking of sometimes, but this morning Chandler was in the bathroom with the shower running and was getting ready to undress and get in. Well Tevin rushed into the bathroom and climbed into the shower before Chandler could get in. Chandler came upstairs all mad. I told him he should of hit him. I wouldn't of cared. At least not this time. When I took them to school, I told Tevin, Chandler get the shower from 7 to 7:15 and then he gets it at 7:15-7:30. If you wake up late then your out of luck. Hopefully this works. Tevin is mad he wont be going to night games tonight with friends, but sooner or later he is going to learn.

Well gotta run. Holden just dumped out a whole bag of oreos on the floor.

with it finally

2008-10-21T15:47:00.002-06:00

Well after not knowing how to do much on the blog a friend of mine helped me change my template so it was cute like everyone else's and she also showed me how to put music on our blog. To the older generations that read our blog sorry for so much rock n roll. So enjoy the new things I can do.

Mom Gibson we got the package today and Chandler loves his costume and the beard for Harrison looks great. I hid the stuff for Sloane for her birthday and I will wrap it for ya.

I thought the twins were done with football, but the varsity coach told them to turn in their freshmen uniforms and get the varsity ones. They are the future players for Pineview and he wants them to be ready for championships so they go practice with the big boys and are there on their games dressed out and ready to play if needed. Tell ya the truth if Chandler had to go out there against varsity players I don't think I could watch. But they are having fun and think it is all cool.

Holden had fun today dumping out 600 Dixie cups all over the floor and building towers. I had fun cleaning them all up. This morning Tevin said hi to Holden and Holden's response was "leave me alone tevin I am eating" I thought it was so funny. Holden also always hears Chris and I complain about Headaches and the other day he came up to me with his hand on his head and told me he had a headache. Needless to say I didn't tell him that he was my headache.

Nothing Much

2008-10-15T11:04:00.002-06:00

Well it has been a few days since I last blogged. Nothing much has been going on. I have been in the spring cleaning mood and I have been at DI daily dropping off huge trash bags full of things. I have also been working on our backyard. I will love next spring when we have a fun backyard to play in.

I am also pouting that I have to wear my glasses every minute. I am so blind now. I have noticed things getting pretty blurry. Chris laughs when I don't have them on cause I squint to watch TV. Signs of old age I guess. My sister was 36 too when her eyes started going bad. So get use to the new 4 eyes I have.

Kids are doing well. Holden is actually behaving these days. The twins have their last football game tomorrow. I will be glad when this is over. Takes too much of our time even knowing I love going to the games. Harrison is funny as usual. His new crisis is that he thinks he is getting fat. Yes he has gotten chunky but I keep telling him he is going to grow here pretty soon so be patient.

Sloane got student of the month in her class. She is so excited. I can't remember if I mentioned this already or not. She is also addicted to watching "The Sound of Music" and "Annie". She loves the fact that I loved these movies as a kid. I bought her the soundtracks for her birthday which is approaching very quickly.

Since I have been cleaning out things I have noticed how much the kids have grown since last winter. Sloane especially. She has gotten pretty tall and we are going to have to buy a new wardrobe for winter along with pretty much all the kids.

Well all the kids are gone to school and Holden is at a play date so I am going to lay down for a bit. I am sick of sleepless nights I have been having. I also spent 4 hours on the computer doing tax stuff last night and I don't think I can handle being on the computer anymore today. Have a great day.

One ugly haircut on one cute kid

2008-10-05T17:53:00.002-06:00

Come on, be honest, have you ever seen a worse haircut? As some of you are probably aware, it was necessary for Krissy to buzz Holden's hair due to some cradle cap that has never cleared up. Unfortunately, Holden wouldn't sit still so we'll probably need to get him into Fantastic Sam's sometime this week (they'll need to live up to their name to fix this mess). By the way, Krissy isn't about to strangle Holden even though it may look like it!

Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed conference this weekend. As usual it was inspired counsel specifically regarding the economic and other societal challenges facing the U.S.

By the way, you'll notice what I DIDN'T mention. Good thing I'm able to compartmentalize and focus on other things, otherwise I'd be in trouble!

Chris

buzz

2008-10-04T19:56:00.002-06:00

Well after 5 hair washes on Holden i finally buzzed his hair. It was so bad that the clippers wouldn't go all the way through his hair. He looks a lot older. Chris wasn't too thrilled, but at least we know it grows back.

The boys went up north with their dad and went to the morning session of conference. Tevin was texting me telling me that they were in the 16Th row from the front and that he sees a lot of people he recognizes. He loved the feeling he felt when the prophet came into the room. He sat by a family from England who came to the states just to go to conference. He said he never paid such close attention to conference before like he did today. Chandler and Harrison said how totally cool everything was. And they loved listening to the Tabernacle choir. This will be an experience the boys will never forget. I still remember when I went and I was 12 years old.

I couldn't believe that there is going to be a temple in Rome Italy. I loved hearing the congregation all whispering and how President Monson paused and smiled. That is so major since it there are mostly Catholics there.

Chris said if the cubs loose tonight that he was going to stop being a fan.... I wont hold my breath. He also said that we will not be going to Arizona in March either. He is so upset with the cubs. I feel so bad for him.

Time Flies

2008-10-02T13:36:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it has been a week since my last post. A lot has happened during this time. On Thursday of last week at the boys football game, Tevin made a touch down. He jumped into the air and caught the ball between his legs and couldn't believe he caught it for one thing and then he started running as hard as he could and he could see the other team coming at him and he was yelling cause he didn't want to get tackled by them. Well he made the touchdown and then got tackled by his own team mates. This was a 60 yard touchdown and he was so excited and talked about it all night. He tells the story so much better and it makes you laugh. Well I missed the entire thing cause I was stuck in traffic on the freeway. I missed it by 2 minutes. I couldn't believe it. Chandler was the one that told me and he ended up finally playing the entire last quarter.

We then had my sister Heidi and her husband Allen and 3 of their kids come up for a quick weekend. Allen was called to be High Priest Group leader in his ward and wanted my grandfather to set him a part as a high priest. It was so neat to see my grandpa in a suit again. I can't remember when the last time was. It was a spiritual experience. My grandpa also announced that he would give patriarchal blessings again just to family members. I hope when the boys are ready he will still be around to do them. Allen ended up fixing our flood problem in our backyard. Now we can finally get all the weeds out of there and NO MORE FROGS!!! Thanks Allen. It was a fun visit.

I have been busy planning the ward Halloween party and doing science projects for kids and running here for this and here for that. Tevin just announced all his pants are too short and now we need to buy more. I think he is now 6'3 who knows. He wont sit still long enough for me to measure him. Well tonight is another football game and look forward to watching it. I think next week is their last game.

Kids have also made their Christmas lists and Tevin is so unrealistic. Everything on his list cost over three hundred dollars each except for the Electric Guitar he wants. I told him I was going to throw that list away and to try again. Chandler wants Chicago Bears stuff and an Iguana. Harrison a bass guitar and 2 cans of whip cream....gotta love it. Sloane's list consists of birthday and Xmas. She told me what I don't get her for her birthday to give the rest of her list to Santa...too cute.

My dad had fun calling me the other night to tell me the Dodgers are coming after my cubs. I said bring it on. yesterday we kept calling back and forth rubbing it into each other when our teams did well. Needless to say the Dodgers WON!! UGGG..My dad reminded me I was first a Dodgers fan. That is when I started to love baseball. I guess I kinda am rooting for both teams to do well. Hopefully the cubs will WIN tonight.

Today Holden and Landon(boy I babysit) decided to put Vics vapor rub in their hair. I have washed their hair 3 times and I still can't get it out. I am sure Holden was the instigator. I don't know how they found the jar. I thought I had it up high in the medicine cabinet. Anyway, my house smells like vics and it is making me sick.

Circus

2008-09-25T10:25:00.003-06:00

Last night I took Sloane and Holden to the circus. We got there about 45 minutes early and found good seats and ate cotton candy and did the pony ride. The circus ended up starting 30 minutes late but once it started Sloane was glued to everything. She loved that they were playing high school musical songs to different things the acrobats were doing. Holden was starting to get tired so I went and bought him a unicorn (yes I tried to talk him into a light saver or a sword -something boyish but he wouldn't have it). But when the clowns came out Holden laughed so hard and Sloane didn't think they were that funny. The biggest attraction was of course the elephants. The kids loved them. Holden was a little scared since they were so big. Well we ended up getting home at 10:30 and both kids were fast asleep in the car within 2 minutes of me starting the engine. It was a fun night and I am glad I took them. I wish the boys could have gone, but they were with their dad and Chris is down in Vegas. I have pictures on the blog but I put them starting with the end of the night to beginning. Sorry!! Brain Freeze again.

mommy children time

2008-09-25T10:24:00.000-06:00

Some of the circus entertainment

2008-09-25T10:22:00.000-06:00

Pony RIde and toys

2008-09-25T10:21:00.000-06:00

eating cotton candy

2008-09-25T10:19:00.000-06:00

Going to the circus

2008-09-25T10:17:00.001-06:00

Cute Story about Holden

2008-09-22T11:26:00.002-06:00

First of all when I was looking at one of my old blogs I noticed I spelled Holden's name wrong. In church yesterday I had to ask Chris to verify the spelling cause I wasn't really sure. I am really loosing it I think. Anyway,

Holden loves to look at a picture of Sloane that I have displayed when he misses her. Well today he took it off the shelf and was laying on the couch looking at her and he kept on knocking on the picture and saying "Sloane are you there?" I asked him what he was doing and he said "Sloane wont talk to me." I started laughing and tried to explain that it was just a picture and she was at school and couldn't talk to him right now. Then he rolled his eyes and said " Oh Dang it!"

Finally a cute story instead of one that is going to put me into an early grave. Chris told me I forgot to mention his number 1 birthday present which was the Cubs winning their division on his birthday. WOOHOO

Chris' BIrthday

2008-09-21T09:41:00.002-06:00

Well I think Chris had a good birthday. He spent the day preparing and going over his talk that he has to give this morning. We gave him his gifts in the morning which were a briefcase for his church stuff (from the boys and I) Sloane got him a wallet to hold all his business cards, Holdon bought him sock...lol. And I still need to make him an angel food cake.

Last night I planned a dinner at a restaurant called Iggy's and had a some of Chris' friends from Learnkey meet us there with their wives. There was about 9 of us all together. We had so much fun and I haven't laughed so hard in all my life. Our friend Jolene and I were in term oil a little bit because our other friend Scott use to be a partner with Tai Pan Trading. We were devastate when we heard that one. He gave up his share because he thought it wasn't going to grow anymore. Well look at it now. We were giving him a guilt trip and teasing him at how much money he would have now if he wouldn't of left the company. Oh well. We were there from 5:30-9:00. We were having so much fun chatting we lost track of time. We all haven't been together like this for about 4 years. It was a blast and I know Chris had a good time. We hated to end it but Chris had to get back on his talk. But our friend Ken and I put in the word for Chris to be sung to and sure enough they did. Chris got a little red and I ate his dessert they gave him because it was too chocolaty.

Ken made a comment to our group last night how they may all hate the bosses of learnkey, but look at how they have brought all of us together and this kind of friendship we all have will never die. So ken thanked them(the boss) for bringing us all together. There ate only 2 of our group still left at learnkey and it is a little better company to work for now.

Well that is how Chris spent his birthday. Thanks for the phone calls and emails he received yesterday.

Twilight Sisters Weekend

2008-09-19T14:05:00.003-06:00

Well last night my mom informed me that our sister's weekend will be in June of Next year in Forks Washington for a Twilight Convention. My sisters and sister in laws on my side will be going. We will be staying at a bed and breakfast most likely that will fit us all and make the cost not be so high. We are all very excited. It will be just fun to go to Washington. I have always wanted to go there. I can't wait to get the agenda of what we will be doing there for 4 days. The convention is for momma fans of the Twilight series.

Curried Chicken

2008-09-17T22:12:00.003-06:00

I am in a cooking club and we exchange meals every Tuesday. Well this week I made a dish that Chris and I just love and it is Curried Chicken. Well the 3 people who had it this week all called me and told me how much they loved it and their family wished they had more. Well I thought I would share the recipe with all of you.

Curried Chicken

2 T Butter
1 can of Cream of Chicken soup
1 apple peeled and finely chopped
1 onion finely chopped
2 tsp curry powder
2 cups of chicken cooked and diced
1 12 oz can evaporated milk ( I sometimes will use coconut milk)
1 cup shredded carrots, peas, potato's these are all optional if you would like to add to the sauce

Saute apple and onion in butter until onion is clear. Add curry and saute for one more minute. Add soup, milk and chicken (if adding veggies add them at this time as well). Simmer on love heat for 20 minutes, until onion and apple are tender and sauce is thickened. (You can add up to 1/2 cup regular milk for a thinner sauce). Serve over hot rice.

Since I am on Weight Watchers, I use Fat Free Soup and Evaporated Milk. I hope you try it and let me know what you think.

Scare of loosing photos

2008-09-17T22:12:00.002-06:00

Well today I was having fun putting pictures on our blog. Our camera is broken so I was putting my SD card in another digital camera and when I did that an error message came up and deleted half my pictures. I tried finding them by putting my SD card in my computer and couldn't find them. I had my friend Tonya over and she called her brother to see if he knew what to do. I was missing all pictures from June till now. Well I decided to go to Costco and see if my card would work on their computer and it didn't. I asked to speak to someone who knew a thing about cameras and let me tell ya Shane was my life savor. He told me when you take pictures on one brand of camera and then put your card into another brand the other camera will have a hard time formatting the pictures. I took the pictures on a HP camera and then put the card into a Kodak one and the Kodak couldn't read the pictures. Well Shane spent an hour on the computer at Costco and was able to retrieve my 694 pictures from the card and burn them to 2 Cd's. The pictures were not restored back onto the card but at least I have a hard copy of them now.

I owe Shane so much. I was in tears and sick to my stomach. But now I am fine. I will not do that again.

Holden wet from the rain

2008-09-17T15:41:00.000-06:00

Down poor

2008-09-17T15:34:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we had rain hit us really hard. Sloane was in it as fast as she could.

2008-09-17T15:31:00.000-06:00

Tevin in is the game and chandler is watching him on the sideline numbers 88 & 36

2008-09-17T15:30:00.000-06:00

Chandler is number 36 and is the smallest on the team.

2008-09-17T15:28:00.000-06:00

Tevin is number 88 he is the tallest on the team coming in at 6'2

A long day of babysitting

2008-09-17T15:25:00.000-06:00

All of us are sick

2008-09-13T19:56:00.002-06:00

Well, we all ended up getting sick. I had a miserable cold a long with the flu. I had Chandler and Tevin home from School yesterday, but theirs only lasted 24 hours. I came down with mine on Wednesday night and am finally feeling better today. Chris got the flu while he was in Vegas and it was so hard for him to work. I felt so bad for him. Surprisingly Mr. Holden is the only one that hasn't got sick yet. Knock on wood. I was so glad I didn't have to babysit yesterday because I spent pretty much the entire day in bed. Days like yesterday is when I wish my mom or mother in law lived closer to help out.

But all of us are feeling so much better today. We all stayed close to home because we were tired from being so sick. But now the boys are well rested and are out playing night games and Sloane and Holden are jumping on my bed watching sponge bob.

I am ready to go to bed, I am still pretty worn out. I had it the worst.

Holden

2008-09-10T14:38:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to let you know Holden is doing great. He doesn't ask for a bottle anymore. He has one in the middle of the night when he wakes up but that is it. He woke up dry this morning and I tried to sit him on the potty but he freaked out. One thing at a time I guess.

I also want to say how much I HATE politics. I hate both parties. I am sick on the lies and bad jabs at each other. I am not going to vote this election. I hate both parties. I know some of you are probably gasping for air, but that is how I feel. I do have to say which ever party wins will be a historical event.

There was an incident with Holden last weeks at the twins football game. I was video taping the game and Sloane was suppose to be watching Holden. All of a sudden I looked to check on them and Holden had got down from the bleachers and was on the football game. Needless to say I was embarrassed to have the game stop while I chased Holden off the field. I will find babysitters for Holden for now on.

I am starting to babysit another child. She is 4 months old. I start tomorrow and will only watch her 4 hours a day 3 days a week (I think). The lady is paying me more than I quoted her which I thought was nice. Hopefully things will go well with me watching 2 kids now.

Sloane is home from school today with the flu. She is constantly running to the bathroom. It breaks my heart. I am hoping the rest of us don't get it.

Anyway that's all for now.

Cubs!

2008-09-07T19:02:00.002-06:00

Ya, I had to change our blog. The cubs are wearing on me, after being in a rut. They won last night but then lost today. Oh well. But my ringer on my cell phone is the song "go cubs go" what they sing after a ball game when they win. So I am still rooting for them. I am ready for fall and needed to change things. I don't have the patience to look around for a cute template so this will have to do. Unless someone else would like to look for one for me....hint...hint

Holden has behaved this week, thank goodness. Today was the day we finally are taking the bottle away. He usually has 10 a day, but today it will only be one at bedtime. I have to say he has done surprisingly well. When he asks for it I just tell him he is a big boy now and when it is dark outside he can have one. Since he hasn't had milk all day he has been eating meals. I am hoping after 3 days I will take the bottle away at bedtime too. Then we will start the potty training next month before it gets too cold.

I finally took Sloane to see Mama Mia yesterday. She kept on leaning over in the movie telling me "I know this song and this one too" I could see her dancing in her seat. She came home and couldn't get the music out of her head. We bought her a MP3 player for her birthday and I will have Chris put the music on it for her as well as Sound of Music. I think she watched that movie about 4 times last week. She also thinks her dad looks like Peirce Bronson because their hair is the same and they dress the same. I thought that was cute.

I am fighting another cold. I hate it when school starts and all the sicknesses come home. My first one was from Sloane and this one is from Tevin. Anyway, TA TA for now.

Same old thing

2008-09-05T18:53:00.002-06:00

Well I have semi calmed down from our horrible day with Holden last week. I still get worked up a little every time I walk into my room and see my stained carpet. Things have been pretty much the same. The twins have played 2 football games and have lost both. Tevin played in both games, but Chandler has not played yet. The coach told him when he can tackle someone during practice he will put him in the game. I was mad, he can't be any worse then the kids he is putting into the game. I hate it when they ignore the smaller boys. Chris agrees with the coach.
We told Chan to pretend he was tackling Tevin when he has made him mad and he will do fine. Tevin is banged up. He has a sore neck, scratches and bruises all over, but is loving it. He gets sympathy from his now back on girlfriend.

I went to SEP at Sloane's school and she is doing very well. She is at second grade level in everything but reading. The teacher says give her a month and her reading is going to sore. On the first day of school they had the kids do a spelling test and Sloane was the only one that got all 15 spelled correctly. She is also one of 3 in her class that can write complete sentences. Needless to say we didn't work with her over the summer. I am impressed with how much she remembered from last year. We are just going to work harder on reading.

Anyway, Chris is in Vegas and will be home late tonight. I better go get all the laundry put away on my bed to he will have a place to sleep.

All in one evening

2008-08-29T23:14:00.002-06:00

I wanted to get this down for posterity's sake. Actually, this information will be used to embarrass Holden one day in front of his fiancee; we'd like to give her one last chance to backout!

Here's how Holden spent his evening tonight;

1 - threw-up all over the floor
2 - dumped 6 tubs of Crystal Light on our bed
3 - squeezed an entire tube of toothpaste all over the bathroom floor and then threw the tube in the toilet
4 - dumped my liquid shoe polish all over our semi new carpet and then used it to finger paint all over the walls.
5 - scribbled all over our bed spread.

Keep in mind, he didn't do this all at once; we would clean up one mess, get Holden in trouble, only to discover another mess not long after. Additionally, a few days ago Holden emptied about 1/4 of a box of tide all over the downstairs. On the bright side, the basement doesn't smell like teenage boys anymore! Needless to say, Krissy is fit to be tied and so I volunteered to keep Holden away from her for the rest of the night.

I'm sure I'll laugh about this tomorrow (Krissy may take longer!) but he is sure tough to deal with sometimes. Anyway, hope all is well with everyone else.

Scare with Holden

2008-08-24T20:44:00.002-06:00

Krissy suggested (my word, not hers;)) I write tonight's blog. We felt bad we weren't able to attend Ty's baptism, particularly after reading Lynn's and Paige's description. We were thankful for the wonderful pictures and commentary however and almost felt as if we had been there. Congratulations again Ty, this will be an occasion you'll always remember. I have very distinct memories of my own baptism so many years ago (almost 20 years now;)).

As the title suggests, we did have quite a scare with Holden Saturday night. Lately we've let Holden go outside by himself for a few minutes at a time. Up until last night we've felt OK about this because we live in a safe (we hope) cul-de-sac and we're very good about checking on him every few minutes. Sometimes he'll end up in our neighbors backyard, occasionally he'll even walk into their house and help himself to a snack in their fridge. But we're used to this and our neighbors get a kick out of him and usually send him home with a few new toys.

So, when I went out to look for him last night and couldn't find him right away, I wasn't immediately worried. After exhausting his usual hiding places however, I began to get really concerned. I called Krissy and Sloanie out to help me search and within a few minutes several of our neighbors joined the search.

After searching our backyard and basement really well, I had the impression I needed to get in my car and start driving around the neighborhood. Logically this would have been my next course of action anyway but I remember thinking the thought had come to me much stronger than normal. So I quickly got in my car and began to drive. Fortunately, I caught site of Holden way down on the other end of our street, probably close to a quarter of a mile away. When he saw me he tried to hide behind a tree as a joke but I could tell he was glad to see me. He insisted on driving (sitting on my lap) back to the house. On the way back, I rolled down my window and thanked all of the people who were helping us look. We felt very blessed and relieved to have found our little boy. Sloanie and Krissy took turns holding Holden for the next half hour. Needless to say, all of our doors leading outside now have childproof locks on them.

Anyway, just another testament that the Lord hears our prayers and watches over us in everything we do. Hope everyone is well.

Thanks

2008-08-21T08:35:00.004-06:00

I want to thank everyone for their comments about Landon who I babysit. The other day I let him cry for an hour and I gave in and shouldn't have. But my nerves were shot. At least I had Holden in the other room sound a sleep with the sound machine on so he didn't hear anything. I will try and not give in today.

Last night was back to school night and I was at a table for the PTA trying to get memberships and this great guy came up to join who was so funny and was having a ball embarrassing his kids. I was busting up laughing. I told the kids he had a cool dad and they rolled their eyes at me, but anyway he looked at my name tag and asked if I was related to the Gibson's up north. I asked him if he meant Larry and Shirley and he did. I said yes that they were my aunt and uncle in laws if that was such a word and he said that they were his aunt and uncle too. I was so surprised. His name is Chuck Barton. I couldn't believe what a small world we live in. Sloane goes to school with one of Tony and Amy's nieces on Amy's side of the family.

Anyway, Chuck related a story to me that happened a couple weeks ago at a family reunion they had at Larry's. Keep in mind Chuck is completely balled and he was taking pictures of what was going on and Tony's little girl I believe is Morgan the 4 year old came up to chuck and asked him why he had cracks in his head. He then turned around and showed me the little lines he had on the back of his head. We both laughed and Larry got a kick out of the story.

The twins got their football uniform and they look pretty dang cute if I do say so myself. They said I can take a picture today of them to put on our blog. I hate the fact that the twins don't like me to take very many pictures of them anymore.

Update

2008-08-18T13:00:00.002-06:00

Harrison is doing a lot better. He walks a lot better, but his toe is still kinda gross from the infection but we both can tell it is clearing up. We will give it another week and if we don't see a lot of difference then we will take him in again to the doctor.

OK...the little boy I am babysitting is VERY SPOILED!!! He is so good but when it comes to nap time he wants to be held when he sleeps and when I lay him down he screams. I can't hold him for 2 hours while he naps. The mother doesn't care if I let him cry to fall asleep but what is the time length to let him cry. My kids were always asleep after maybe 10 minutes. He goes longer than that. I check on him every 10 minutes to calm him down and then I leave again then he screams. Paige what would the super nanny do?? It is harder to know what to do when it is not your child.

Harrison

2008-08-12T19:23:00.003-06:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that Harrison came home in tears from school today because of his broken toe. It was hard to take off his shoe and his foot was swollen. We ice packed it and Harrison cried himself to sleep. I was finally able to get him into the doctor tonight and his toe is infected. He is on antibiotics and is putting cream on his foot that cost an arm and a leg even after insurance. He has to keep his foot elevated at all times if possible, even at school using another chair. If it doesn't start to look better in a couple days I have to take him back in and we will get x-rays done. Worse case scenario is that the bones haven't healed correctly and if that is the case he could get a bone infection and we don't want that. So Dr. Twiggs wants us to watch it very carefully.

Anyway, we feel really bad for him and his toe is just throbbing constantly. He takes a lot of hot baths to soak his foot as well.