months in review

Work & Play OK! OK! So we've been REALLY bad about keeping up with this lately. I'll try to keep this extremely brief but let you in as much as possible. Not much went on in November. Nola and Chemo went to Utah/California for Thanksgiving; which left us to fend for ourselves over the holiday. We are adults, we managed just fine. In a way it was a blessing that a bunch of family wasn't in town over the holiday. All of us got sick. Cade, Kelson, and I were sick with sinus infections, pink eye, colds, and vomiting. The boys were so congested that everytime they would get mucus drainage they would throw up. Not fun for me. I handled it pretty well the first few days just because I was so congested and couldn't smell anything. Cheeto left to get tissues one afternoon and returned later informing me that the house smelled awful, like vomit and such. I couldn't tell until about 2 days later. It made an interesting 4 days. Cheeto wasn't real entertained. Cade talked me into decorating for Christmas 2 days after Thanksgiving. I felt awful but couldn't tell my 5 year old no. We picked up my recently scratched van up a couple days later. We picked it up at night and didn't notice what an awful drop Crown Paint and Body did. They left the inside looking awful. Also, the only way you could open the front passenger door was from the inside. I was so upset. I use to have a brand new car with a 12" white scratch, now I had a car that looked trashed on the inside, a door that is broken that wasn't broken in the first place and an incomplete paint job. We picked it up Friday night and had to wait until Monday to take it back to the shop. Luckly our prayers were answered, Crown was more than willing to fix their mistakes.
To fill you in on some more recent news. Christmas was good. Of course, we were all spoiled and grateful for everything everyone did for us. Adam and Melissa came in a week early. We had a couple of snow days right after their arrival. It was nice for Cade to not have to school for those days. I think he would have had a really hard time being the only kid that had to leave all day. We went to Tanglewood for FHE one night. I struggled sitting in a car for such a long period of time, but the boys loved it! So that makes it all worth it. Christmas morning was lots of fun. Kelson got mad that Santa ate the cookies he left out for him. That was pretty funny. I was grateful that the boys were so pleased with all of their presents. Santa brought them some battery-operated Polar Express trains. They opened those first, anything after that wasn't too exciting I guess. It was funny because they would open a couple of presents

Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)

Arellano Update

Christensen Update

Work & Play I knew I would be bad a keeping up with this. I had to go back to my Franklin to catch you all up on the events. Cheeto stole me for 3 days last weekend. He had a trip to Charlotte planned for our anniversary. We took advantage of it this year. Next year with the baby and all, we don't think we'll get to do anything overnight and such. We left Thursday morning. He had massage appointments lined up and a day spa in Charlotte. He got me a prenatal massage and he just had a deep tissue massage. I was really excited but turned out the lady that did mine wasn't all that great. She made me, well- I guess she didn't hold a gun to my head, but she did have lie on my back for the last 30 minutes or so. I was enjoying it up until then, but as soon as I was on my back I had trouble breathing, back started hurting, and then the heartburn set in. After the massages we went to check in at the hotel and then got some lunch/dinner at CrackerBarrel. We wanted to go to a movie but all that was playing close to us was either rated R or nothing we felt like seeing. We ended up watching Chicken Little. We knew that Grandma nad Grandpa were taking the boys to see it, so we figured if we saw at least we would know what the boys were talking about when the tell us about it. It was pretty good. I think it will be one we will add to the home collection. Friday we went to an IMAX at the Discovery Place downtown Charlotte. We were impressed with the downtown area, very nice and clean. The theatre was dome shaped and somewhat distorted the film. Cheeto and I were both sick when it was over. We spent the afternoon shopping at Concord Mills. Cheeto told me we could whatever I wanted. I took advantage of the outlets and got some Christmas shopping done. It was nice. That night I knew we had tickets to Cirque de Soleil's Varekai. Plummers were going to meet us down there. Cheeto kept telling me were having dinner alone. I thought he was kinda rude not to invite them to eat with us. Well, he was trying to surprise me. They were waiting for us at the restaraunt when we got there. They couldn't find a babysitter so they got a hotel room for their kids for a couple of hours. They just brought toys and food and such for them. It made it so they were only gone a couple of hours instead 6 hours paying for a babysitter. They didn't even stay overnight. We had lots of fun. Saturday Cheeto and I just went looking for cribs. We ended up finding one in Greensboro. That set me off to this weeks events. I worked almost everyday on the baby's room. I think I'm pretty much finished. If not, whatever else I want to do it doesn't have to be done before she gets here. I'm very pleased with the result. I seriously spent Tuesday-Friday sewing most of the day. It's a good thing I enjoy it so much. Cheeto has just been working and studying, studying and working. Between preparing for the test he has to take in December and Elders Quorum stuff he stays very busy. I'm amazing on how well he budgets his time between it all. He still finds time to spend evenings with us once in awhile. Last night there was a ward father-son camp out. It was going to get down to about 25-27 degrees so they decided because of the lil' boys they didn't want to go. Grandpa wasn't wild about the cold either. We ended up ordering pizza and watching Kicking and Screaming with Grandma and Grandpa. It was a fun family night.
OH, I almost forgot. I went to Walmart after picking Cade up from school on Wednesday. We got out of the car and stood in front of "Millie" to wait for this cadillac to pull into the spot next to us, and SHE HIT my new van. I just stood there in shock as she backed up scratching it again. It is just a dent and scratch, but still my van is only 3 months old. I called Cheeto to find out what I should do. As soon as I heard his voice and I opened my mouth to say, "Honey, this lady just hit my car." I just started to cry. I was so sad. The lady was 83 years old and living in an assisted living home just out for an afternoon with her friend. When she found out that my van was new she asked me if I was used to driving such a big vehicle. I laughed at her. She said it was my fault because I parked retarded. I was off a bit, but if I had been straight in she would have hit me way before she did. She wants to leave insurance companies out of it and just pay for it with a check. The estimate we received was not quite $700. She and her friend kept telling me that it couldn't be more than just a touch up paint job- no more than $200- $300. It's the passenger sliding door. The door is dented and they said they would have to paint the entire door. We'll see what happens.
Cade's News Cade played his last soccer game for the fall season. He did much better during this game than he had the past few games. He is one that likes to look along the sidelines to make sure mom and dad are still watching him. He didn't like it when Kelson would be playing with his soccer ball with grandpa and dad. I think he thought it looked like more fun to play with them than playing in a real game. Marcos surprised Cade and flew home from New York for the "big" game. Cade was very pleased. Kelson wasn't sure of Marcos when he first showed up at the game but by that evening we couldn't keep either one of them away from their Tio. It was sweet. Cade has always had a special bond with his Tio Marcos. I was glad he made such an effort to make it to his game. Cade is getting more and more content at school. Cheeto doesn't even have to walk him inside to drop him off in the morning. Cheeto said he finally convinced him that he was a big boy and could get dropped at the car rider drop-off door. I'm proud of my lil' boy. He's really not so little anymore. It really is true what our parents say, "Enjoy them while they are small because it really isn't long before you blink and they are married and out of the house having kids of their own." I don't want to think about Cade married and having kids, but 5 years have really gone by too fast. Cade is reading more and more. I think he loves it. He's quite the show off sometimes. He's reading more in spanish at school as well. His teacher tells me he is doing so well and is such a good kid. Kelson still misses him some. Cade was home this past Thursday and Friday with "the runs." Poor Kid! I think he was doing better on Friday but I just couldn't send him and think if he were to have an accident at school how humilating that would be for him. We also noticed he had some sores on his right leg. I took him to the doctor and found it was some sort of staph infection. We have no idea where he would have gotten it, but that is what he is being treated for. He only had 3 sores but Dr. Ross said it could easily spread if left untreated. Cade was funny at the doctor's office. He was so nervous because the last two visits weren't very nice visits for him. I kept telling him that Dr. Ross would simply just look at his leg and that would be it. I dont' think he really believed me. When we were done and Dr. Ross left the room, Cade turned around and said, "THAT'S IT? I'M DONE?" He was quite amazed!

Kelson Adventures Kelson has been just putting up with his mother lately. I think the hours spent sewing and cleaning have finally affected the poor child. He has gotten so clingy lately. He even went and fell asleep on my side of the bed the other night. He has been such a good kid this week though. He has had NO accidents this week as far as potty training goes. Thursday he was yelling from the bathroom, "Mommy, Cade, come and see! Hurry! Come and See!" So of course, Cade and I go running to see what's the matter. Nothing bad, actually more like amazing. He had made "yuckies" in the toilet. I didn't even know he was going to the bathroom. I was so proud. That night we celebrated by getting Krispy Kreme with Grandpa and Grandma. He also was successful this morning. I can't tell you how happy I was not to have to clean poopy underwear. One thing that we pray won't be too serious with Kelson is that we noticed that his feet were turning in. We asked Dr. Ross about it and said we shouldn't wait too long to get him into an orthopedic doctor to get it checked out.

Arellano Update They are packing up to leave again. This time to Utah/California. They are headed there for Thanksgiving. We have to share with the other siblings. They leave Monday and are gone for a couple of weeks. We are having dinner with the Plummers this year. It's all good.

Christensen Update Mom and Dad have spent the last week with Uncle Dale and Aunt Nancy golfing and such in southern Utah and Nevada. Sounds like they had lots of fun. They went to Cirque de Soleil's "O" in Las Vegas. Mom said it was awesome.

Week in review

Work & Play WOW!!! So I don't write much anymore. My christmas craft making has begun and I have been sewing, knitting, painting, and card making up a storm. I can't say what in case your on my list of receiving crafty gifts. :) It's been fun but a lot of work. Monday the boys, grandma and I went to pick out pumpkins to carve for FHE. I thought Cade might struggle with the cleaning of the pumpkin, but to all of our surprise- it was Kelson. He was gagging like crazy. He didn't like the smell of it or something. We were carving it in the garage and we had to make Kelson sit with Cheeto inside. We had lots of fun. Cade picked to do the Spider and web. Not really surprised. He is so into Spiderman right now. The movie is too scary for him. But all he has asked for for Christmas is Spiderman stuff.
Friday night we had a trunk-n- treat at church. Our bishop wanted to combine with Guilford ward. We were NOT excited about this one. There were so many people there, not much food, and not enough seating for everyone. It took 1 hour and 20 minutes just to get people seated with food. The Trunk-n-Treat was fun with so many cars, but the rest of it wasn't worth our time. I think next year we might opt to just trunk-n- treat and eat pizza by our car or something, if they decided to make this an annual thing. The Spanish Branch one was fun though. I think Chemo had fun dressing up and getting into the Halloween spirit. Funny thing that happened there was someone asked Chemo how do you say "Ladybug" in spanish. His little girl was dressed up like a ladybug. Chemo was struggle for the word. Cade walks up and says, "It's Mariquita." Chemo said, "Yeah, that's it!" Funny!!!!! Cade finds the words quicker than g'pa these days. I love seeing what Cade has learned.

Cade News Cade had an ok week. I was thinking I would go with him on his first "real" field trip. They were going to "Mr. B's Pumpkin Patch." It's towards Burlington, NC in a town called Graham, NC. I drove all of the other room mom's in his class, plus the other teacher's parents, who were from Columbia and didn't speak more than one word of English. Interesting! Well, I thought all along it was Friday morning. I found out Monday night that it was Tuesday morning. I made a mad dash to call mom and ask if she could watch Kelson. Thankfully, she came to my rescue... as usual! We had fun. They got to go through a bubble maze, pick them a pumpkin, pet some farm animals, and take a hay ride. Cade was such a good boy until he saw that I was driving "Millie" (our van). After that he started to cry and didn't want to ride the bus home. He wanted to go home with me. I felt bad, but school rules!
This week was also his book fair at school. Each class got to go in and make a list of the books they would like. I was so proud of Cade. The list he brought home had only one book on it. I saw other kids with multiple sheets of paper with their lists. Showed me that he knows that he knows better than to ask for everything. Made me one proud mom! Mom and I went Monday to get the books and were told we couldn't purchase them until Wednesday. Neither one of us were thrilled, but we put our name on them and put the aside. Well, Cheeto went to buy them Wednesday when he ate lunch with Cade. That way Kelson wouldn't see all of the books either. Well, guess what? They couldn't find the books we set aside. We had to try to remember which books we wanted. Got kinda crazy! I know Cheeto wasn't thrilled about having to find them either. But being the good father, husband, and son that he is; he did with a good attitude.

Kelson Adventures Kelson has had an interesting week. The potty training has seriously digressed. He wet his pants a couple of times last Saturday. Sunday he wet them during nursery. He hasn't once made "yuckies" in the toilet, always in a diaper or in his pants. GROSS!!! By Friday he was doing better again. Thursday we went to Costco. He fell asleep on the way home and while I was unloading the car I told him to run to the bathroom. I don't think he was quite awake- but he stood on our porch and wet his pants. He was running off the steps, in his shoes, and everything. I was so mad. I think we got somewhat back on track this weekend. But it has definately been a rough wee for the both of us!

Arellano Update Yesterday was Sunday of course. We always to go to mom and dad's for dinner. Unless they are out of town of course. Well, the oven never turned on and we had to wait until almost 3pm to eat dinner. We were all starving, except for the boys. We fed them Mac n'cheese. We didn't think they could wait. Mom made guiso's and of course there was separate one made by dad himself, HOT of course! We were all sitting around the table. Cheeto was watching the end of the Panthers game and mom and I were just chit chatting, when Dad shot up out of his chair and headed for the watertank. He just started drinking and drinking. I think dad finally made one TOO HOT for himself. I know it wasn't funny that he was suffering, but the rest of us had to chuckle. I don't think he even finished all of his dinner. He was hurting pretty bad.

Christensen Update Mom and Dad finally got there tickets to come in February for baby and such. I found them tickets for $149 each. I was so excited they didn't have to pay so much to come and visit. We can't wait to see them! Also, mom said she had been having lots of problems with her car and decided after 250,000 miles and over 12 years of driving it, it was time to reinvest in a new one. They bought one Friday. She loves it, sad to see her other one go, be excited about the new one. It's always fun to get a new car. Don't know why, but it is! They spent most of their week in Park City, UT. There for golf business of something. Don't remember exactly what it was for. They had fun. They have all been sick and it's been lingering for weeks. Sucks to be sick this time of year when there is so much to get done.

Recent Pictures

Cade sittin with a bunch of girls. The girls like Cade. I don't know if it's because he's nice or his stunning good looks! :) He was such a good boy. I was glad I was able to arrange to spend the day with him. We had lots of fun!

Cade helping his classmates stuff a scarecrow. He had lots of fun doing this!

Cade's field trip to the pumpkin patch. He's in the back row- up against the wall.

The boys with Grandpa at the Summit Ward Trunk-N-Treat. Kelson finally warmed up to the idea of G'pa in a costume!

Kelson pretending to drive like Grandma. Cute picture! This is one of his favorite ways to pass time. Note: how close he pushes the seat up.

This is what cheeto did while we were trunk-n- treatin! Doesn't look really entertained does he?

This is the back of the Explorer after dad and los ninos decorated it.

Grandpa really got into halloween this year. He surprised us at the Summit Ward Trunk-n-Treat on friday night. Kelson was pretty concerned that it was really his Grandpa. By the time we went to the Spanish Branch party.... he was back to loving he Grandpa. Dad decorated Mom's explorer with cobwebs, tinsil and pumpkins. Nola said she could see something flying off the back of her car on the way to church sunday morning. She got there.... it was more cobwebs. She said she had to laugh out loud to herself.

Our Final Creation! Not too shabby!

pumpkin carving at the arellano house! kelson was gagging the whole time. I expected that from cade but not from kelson! we made a spiderweb... the boys loved it!

Cade's First Field Trip - they went to the Fire Safety Puppet Show here in Greensboro. He loved riding the bus. He was mad that I picked him up that day.

One of Shena's Many Recent "Girl" Nights

This was at Leesa's baby shower/dinner at Lucky 32. All three of us are expecting .

Leesa is 9 months, Shena is 7 months, and Teresa is 4 1/2 months.

sickness and parties

Work & Play We have had an interesting couple of days. Friday Cheeto had a Elders Quorum social and Ed Plummer's home. They grilled hamburgers and such. Just a guys night out. Even guys need those once in awhile. Cheeto said he felt good about the turn out and they seemed to have a good time. I stayed home and had a "party" with my boys. We had dinner, made halloween sugar cookies, rented "Are We There Yet?" to watch. I was surprised that Kelson sat on the couch with Cade and I for the entire movie. Saturday was both busy and lazy. In the morning we had a baptism at 9am. We had a fun time trying to convince the boys we weren't going to church per say, but we were going to the church. Cade knew who Tanner was ( he was the boy getting baptized) so he was more excited once he figured that out. They were pretty good. Kelson didn't want to see him get in the water and such but once he saw it happen then he thought that Tanner was just taking a bath. Kelson proceeded to fuzz about wanting to take a bath at the church baptismal font. Cheeto had to take him out for the remainder of the baptism. Even at church on Sunday when we walked past the font- doors closed of course, he kept asking to take a bath. Funny kid!
We went to Costco afterwards to get the weekly supplies. Once we got home we just chilled. Cheeto had some work to do in the office and the boys and I stayed home and napped and such. I had a girl's night with my friends at Lucky 32. Leesa went in yesterday for an induction labor. We were celebrating her last night as a pregnant woman. We had lots of fun and good laughs. I have such good friends. Leesa likes to be surprised- so making her gift was a challenge. Much easier when you know the sex of the child. We all found good ideas around it though.
Sunday was church as usual. We invited the Witbeck's over for dinner. It was fun to get to know the people my brother grew so fond of on his mission. Cade and Kelson had fun playing with their little boy, Hayden. Cheeto watched the Panther's game later and then we watched "Coach Carter" together after the boys went to bed. Cheeto had to go out at 10pm to run an Elders Quorum president duty. He did it very willingly. I'm so proud with the positive, head-strong attitude that he approached this calling with. I know he doesn't "enjoy" all of it, but he really seems to be doing a great job.
ps. WE HAVE GRASS!!!! It's only been a week and there is bunch of grass filling in out there. We planned that one perfectly. It has rained a bit everyday since they planted it. I'm so excited. I'm getting a backyard for our boys!!!!

Cade's News Cade was going to have his first field trip Saturday but was canceled due to rain. I had already arranged for Nippy to watch Kelson, so instead of canceling my sitter for the entire day, Nippy still watched Kelson so I could go help in Cade's classroom. His assistant teacher had to return to Peru for a family issue. Sra. Castro has been in dire need of help. I truly enjoyed helping. My favorite part of the experience was to see Cade's face light up when I walked in the door. He said, "Hey, that's my mom!" Made me feel so proud. I told Cheeto I better enjoy it because a few years from now he'll be embarrassed to admit he even has a mother. ;) Cade came home thursday with a minor cough- it persisted through the weekend and finally took him to the doctor this morning. He woke up saying he was too sick to go to school. I said to Cheeto, "Let's take them to the doctor." Cade immediately started feeling better. :) The perfect kid response to going to the doctor. His last doctor visit was for his kindergarten shots, so I can understand why he wasn't eager to go. I explained that all the doctor would do was listen to his heart and lungs and look in his ears, nose, and mouth. I asked him if he enjoyed coughing all day. He said, "NO!" So after that he was more willing to go. Cheeto went with us just in case we decided to send Cade to school afterwards and in case I needed some reinforcement! Cade was such a big boy. I thought it would've be Cade that we would have to fight with, but it was actually Kelson that needed the comfort. They both were very good boys! Found out that his airways would just tight and needed some help opening up to allow the mucus stuff to pass. He just has to take an antihistamine/decongestant with some cough syrup!

Kelson's Adventures Kelson talked Nippy into a "Happy Meal" from McDonalds. So I picked him at the McDonald's on Battleground and West Ridge. Nippy and I both were curious to see Kelson's reaction to being left with her. He was fine, more than fine actually. He went with her and Tia to run some errands. She said he fell asleep for a bit and woke up hungry. Of course the kid is going to like her if she buys him McDonalds. Nippy ain't stupid! :) Sunday night Kelson woke up at 2am with a raspy cough and labored breathing. I have never heard a child breath like that. It kinda gave Cheeto and I both a scare. We made it through that night. I was sure that a humitifier and some cough syrup would make him through this cough. We were up with him again all night last night. I tried to allow Cheeto more sleep because he had to go to work. Cheeto doesn't sleep well when the rest of us are healthy and happily sleeping without nightmares and such. He still didn't sleep well, but at least he got a little bit. We had the boys at the doctor by 9am. Kelson is on 3 or 4 medications. Some over-the-counter and some prescription. He didn't weigh enough to take all over-the-counter. It's been a struggle today to keep those two boys calm and not running around the house. Cade understood a bit more than Kelson did. He would be weasing and cough but still wanting to run around playing baseball and football. Silly kid!

Arellano Update We have only talked to them a couple of times. Seem to be having a wonderful time. Said they were grateful for taking umbrellas and jackets. Wet and cold! Well, Nola said chilly, but that's Nola. ;)

Christensen Update Mom, dad, and Ryan made it back from Canada. Still working on golf course stuff and prepping for the winter months. Ryan said that it has turned real cold. I wish it would do that here. I need a season change. My maternity clothes are mostly winter clothes. Kyle is working laying hard wood through their hall and living room. Finding ways to always improve their home. They always find ways to stay super busy!

Backyard Pics

Cade and Kelson's safe spot from grandpa. They didn't want to go inside, but thought they would be safest on top of the playset. It took some convincing to get them down!

This is Kelson plugging his ears. He kept yelling, " Grandpa noisy!"

This is Chemo not quite in control of the tiller. The instructions said to change the wheels to "free-wheel" instead of "wheel control." I knew something was wrong because the picture and the way the operators manual said that you could control it with ease of one hand. Dad didn't quite look like that! :)

What our nicely, somewhat finished, backyard looks like now. Now, if we could just keep the birds away from it!

Work & Play Hey, to all! Again not much exciting to report. Chemo and the two men he got to help us with our yard finished on Monday. It looks so much better than it did. We are so grateful we had someone to help us. I believe Cheeto is more happy about that than even I am. I have found a new craft to add to my christmas project list. Of course, I can't give details. Just in case you are one that might be receiving one. I spent all morning yesterday buying the materials and figuring out how to make one and then mass produce many more. I must say.... I think I'll have to make one for myself. Susie came over on Tuesday. I taught her how to knit during the afternoon session of conference on Sunday. She picked it up very quickly. She came over Monday and said that she messed it up and would like some more help. So Tuesday she brought "Monster In-law" so we could knit and watch a movie. I hope I got her on the right path again. Wednesday I took Nola and Chemo to the airport in the morning. Nola was getting pretty exciting to get out of Greensboro. (read Arellano Update) Then Kelson and I went to Wal-mart to some shopping. After lunch we went to pick up Cade. I have made it a habit/routine now that if Kelson falls asleep on the way to the school, I'll just get in the car rider pick up line and wait for Cade. But if Kelson is still awake and it's hot outside, I usually park and go inside to get Cade. Going inside is ALWAYS faster in the long run. Not as convenient, but we get home almost 15 minutes sooner. Anywho.... they have changed the line-up procedure at his school. They have put in new modular class rooms across the parking lot so the lot is now closed during school hours because kids are constantly walking back and forth. Yesterday, I was the first one in line. I waited for about 10 minutes before these 2 or 3 ladies drove up, moved the cones blocking off the parking lot and pulled up first inside the parking lot. I could tell the 5 cars behind me weren't too impressed either. I was on my cell phone talking to Melissa, so I somewhat kept my cool. Then it wasn't two seconds later that these two punk kids riding their bikes rode down the middle of the road knocking over all of the dividing cones. Made a huge mess, so now cars couldn't even get through the road without dodging cones. There are some real jerks in the world today. I'm sure you all knew that though! When we got home, Nippy came over to get some help finishing up invititions for Cecilia's bridal shower. Cheeto and I later watched "Lost." Man, what and addiciting show. I hate the way they leave us hangin'every week. I know that is their intention.... but still! AAARRGGGGHHH! It was late before we both got to sleep.

Cade's News Cade has been doing fabulous this week. Not once have we fought about getting up and ready for school. He didn't even fight me when I made him eat school lunch for two days. He got mad about not being able to check out new library books because he wouldn't sit and study the ones he already had checked out. However, after only one day.... that changed! He is even starting to read them some with Cheeto. So exciting to see one of my children begin the reading stage. He has his first field trip tomorrow. I REALLY want to go with him. They are going to Bur-mill to the wildlife center/preserve. The only problem is that it's from 9am- 2pm. I'm not sure Kelson will last that long, and since Grandma and Grandpa are out of town, I don't really have someone to watch him. We shall see. Cheeto is eating lunch with Cade today and was going to talk to Sra. Castro about it.

Kelson Adventures Kelson was watching TV with me on my bed the other night. We were both trying to fall asleep. Well, Cheeto came in and found Kelson upset with what was on. I watching Dateline NBC about that airline that crashed in Peru awhile back. When we were on our way to the airport yesterday, well.... let's just say... Kelson freaked out on us. He DID NOT want grandpa and grandma to get on that airplane. He kept saying, "No, airplane fall down." He cried until we got to wal-mart. I couldn't believe it.

Arellano Update Nola and Chemo.... wow to make it short... kept getting bumped flights yesterday. They were suppose to take off from Greensboro at 11am i think. They called when I was in line picking up cade that they were finally taking off. That was around 2:30pm. What an airport to get stuck in. There is NOTHING at PTI. They got to Manchester safe and I'm sure board their tour bus about now this morning. Chemo is probably having a hard time containing Nola's excitement! :)

Christensen Update Mom and Dad are still in Canada. I have been emailing mom, well, I thought I was. She hasn't mentioned or answered any of the questions I have sent her. They are having a good time. Busy traveling and not much time for calling of us kids. I'm sure I'll get the down low of it all sometime next week.

This is Kelson's latest napping position. I was working on the computer and he was whining so I of course wasn't going to answer him. All of a sudden he was quiet, I looked and this is how I found him. ASLEEP!!!! CRAZY KID!

Finally a chance to blog!

Work & Play Wow! has it been a while or what? Cheeto has been working like crazy. I think he is really starting to enjoy the profession he chose. If he's not, he does a good job a faking it. He seems to be more relaxed at home and in much better moods most of the time. I'm not saying that he doesn't stress about his job, but I think this is the first time in our married life that when he doesn't dread leaving for work. What a blessing that is! He does a fabulous job at what he does and even a better job at taking care of all of us. I'm so proud of him and his self-motivation. What a guy! He has been in Des Moine, IA for the past 3 days. He left Tuesday morning and we went to pick him up last night. I don't think he was too thrilled about having a business trip to Des Moine. But after all was said and done.... I think he quite enjoyed it. My dad served part of his mission there years ago and has always said how much he enjoyed that city. I think part of it was that Des Moine doesn't sound very glamorous. The boys really were glad to see him last night. They had a hard time expressing that when it was time for bed. That was my fault though, I let them sleep with me while he was gone. They didn't like having to go back to their own beds, even after I gave them the "heads up" that they would have to go back to their beds after daddy got home. Oh well... how much do you think a 5 and 2 year old really cared? .... not much!!!!!
I told Cheeto that I was going to paint while he was gone. I think he really thought I was going to do the baby's room. I wanted to surprise him and do our room instead. Nola had bought me a duvet cover from Eddie Bauer for Christmas... and that set me off to repaint our bedroom. I still can't have the cover and such until Christmas but I don't think I'd be in the mood at 9 months pregnant to paint much! ;) We had always discussed that we would have to get a new crib for this baby because Kelson chewed the sides of the crib we had. Yep... he ate everything at that age too.... including wood! Well, I took the undamaged ends of the crib and screwed them together and made us a head board for our bed. I don't want to brag.... but it looks pretty nice for something we thought would be trash! With a lot of help from Chemo... we got that room torn apart and put back together within 24 hours. I think Cheeto was surprised and please last night when he saw it.

Cade's News Cade has been doing well at school. He actually doesn't fight us at all anymore when he has to get ready for school. We had a potluck dinner at his school last night and that was hard to get him to go along with. He didn't want to back to school until morning. In fact, he was playing outside with g'pa and Kelson right before we left. I called for them to come in that it was time to go. I thought he was going to the bathroom. I said, "Let's go!" I looked down the hall.... and there was Cade naked with the bath water running. He was ready to take a bath! I was already a late. Like I really needed to struggle with him to get dressed again. The lil' stinker! He loves bringing home new books to read. The Accelerated Reading program requires them to be tested on the books the check out from the library. I thought we had to read them and send them back the next day for testing. I finally looked at his scores. He was average... which surprised me because he was understanding them great with me. Then I found out that sometimes it would be a week to 10 days before he was tested on one book. No wonder why he wasn't doing better on the tests.... he had probably forgotten about them.

Kelson Adventures WOW!!!! Kelson!!!!!! has he had me going this week. If it wasn't one thing... it was another! I could write all day about the stuff he has done. But one in particular... yesterday I cleaned all morning to have the house nice when Cheeto got home. He loves coming home to a clean house. Well, I just got out of the shower and I heard a thud in the kitchen followed by crying. I ran out there to find my kitchen pretty much standing in water. The counters were covered with water and waterfalls were flowing off into puddles on the floor. And then there was Kelson... lying naked on the rug crying. He had plugged the sink and had begun to fill it with water. I asked him what he thought he was doing, "taking a bath" was his answer. He had found a picture of him when he was only a couple of days old getting a bath in the sink. He wanted to do that again. My kids and baths yesterday. I found Kelson again at 4:30pm naked and in the bathtub taking a bath. No water on yet... but still. My kids must like to be clean.

Arellano Update Dad has finished his wall garden thing in the back of his yard. He has lined up some guys from the branch to help us get started in the process of planting grass in our backyard. These guys were in dire need of work and we would rather pay them knowing they NEED the money than some lawn care business. Nola has been helping Cheeto with the Elder's Quorum enchilada dinner tonight. So she has been working on that for the past two days.

Christensen Update Another year of potato harvest is behind them. Today when I talked to mom all of them were in Provo spending time with Erin and her family. They guys were headed golfing this morning. Even Kyle and his family are down there. Ryan has mission something or other tonight in Salt Lake. They will head home tomorrow and turn around Monday for Canada. Can't remember what mom said they were going to do in Canada. Sounds like they are having lots of fun without Alyssa and me. Oh well... such is life.

Work & Play I've come to the conclusion that writing on this everyday is an impossibility. I wish I had the time but I suppose you'll just get an ear full on the days I can write. I have started teaching piano for the fall semester. I started last week I have 3 students that only wish to take them every other week. So this is officially my first "full" week of piano teaching. I don't really agree with the every other week option, but money is money. And at least the kids are still interested enough to do it that often. I teach Monday and Tuesday from 3:30 to 5:00ish. Last year I taught them all on Thursdays. It made for a really long afternoon. I do like this better already. Last night was enrichment meeting. I think you all know I'm the commitee chair person. I don't know what the official name of the calling is. I just know I'm in charge of getting it planned and pulled off every second tuesday of each month. Last night was September service. We assemble hygiene kits for bishop's store house. We also have a goal to make 200 bunnies before christmas to donate to Moses Cone Pediatrics. We counted what we had either completed or in progress last night and we are up to 100. Not bad! I was so pleased! It took us awhile to get in a rhythm last night, but soon we got on beat and had quite the assembly line going. I almost felt like I was running a sweat shop.
Cade's News Cade has been surprising us with how much spanish he knows. He doesn't speak much at home to us anyway. However, when he's playing he talks to himself and sings in spanish. It's quite impressive. He has to read a book every night in English and pass a test on that book the next day. This is the only English that he will get for school work until he is in the second grade. We are suppose to help him sound out the words and teach him the sight words. Well, because I was at enrichment, Cheeto was reading to him. The word "yuck" was in the book. Cade stopped Cheeto and spelled the word in spanish then continue to say the word in English. Cheeto was impressed. Monday, Cheeto said Cade cried when he dropped him off, but the last two days he has been just fine. Maybe he gets the Monday blues, too. He has been a happier kid this week.

Kelson's Adventures Monday was a rough day with the potty training. He drank so much apple juice in the morning that he was having to pee/"make water" every 20 minutes or so. He was wetting pants like it was our first day trying to make it to the toilet. I didn't want to clean up a poopy mess after that much apple juice so we opted for a diaper. I was glad. I think Nola was glad he had one on while she was watching them during piano. Today he hasn't had any accidents. He is still doing well. He has been quite the lil' companion during the day. It was weird going to Wal-mart yesterday morning with only one child to hang onto. Cheeto has been eating lunches at work to save on gas. Kelson and I have been eating sandwiches everyday. I found out that Kelson loves lunch meats, so far at least turkey and ham. He eats like Bob in the movie "What about Bob?" If you haven't seen it, watch it and then you'll find it funny.

Arellano Update Dad has completed building brick wall dividers between all the trees and the grass now. His yard is look awesome. I asked him when he was going to start on ours. He just laughed and looked the other way. I think he knew I wasn't serious. I hope he knew I wasn't serious. Our yard is looking pretty sad. Cheeto and I haven't had a Saturday to spare to get working on it. We better get on it soon or we are going to miss our prime grass planting opportunity.

Christensen Update They are going to be starting potatoes soon. I think school lets out next thursday for harvest release time. However, mom told me dad said his are ready now and might be done by then. That's not going to make very many kids happy. They won't have jobs for the week. Mom has been busy canning pears and peaches. Each time she calls or I call it seems like she's always cleaning up the canning mess. MAN, what I wouldn't give to have just one bottle to myself. I would have a hard time sharing with mi familia. That's sad isn't it? But they don't get better then Cherie's peaches/pears.

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 11pm - 6:35pm

TODAY:
Breakfast: Frosted Mini Wheats

Lunch: potatoes, carrots and roast beef - leftovers from last night- someone has to eat them! ;) no offense cheeto!

Dinner: Taco soup and cheese bread- 2nd time I've cooked this week. I'm on a roll! :)

Work or play?

I put this one on just for Sissy! She would be the one to want to see it! :)
Kelson reminded me of my brother Ryan. He had one of these cars and drove it around for hours. That's just what Kelson did. It's a good thing the only kid he had to fight for it was Cade. This was at Coit Slack's bday party.

Cade is the one kicking the ball. Look at that form! His coach let him kick and throw the ball a lot. Perhaps that was because Cade was just running behind the rest of the team up and down the field. He hasn't learned the concept of taking it away yet. He likes to share! ;)
This was just 4 of the 6 team members warming up before the game. Such cute lil' guys. So innocent at this age.

Work & Play Feels like we have been running around for days. I'm exhausted tonight. Don't know if it's just from the busy weekend or from being pregnant. We started yesterday off with Cade 1st soccer game. I've finally become a soccer mom. Kinda a weird feeling. Am I really getting a son that old? Yep! I must be. Well, Cade didn't want to play at first. He saw we brought the soccer chairs and decided he would rather just sit and watch the game. Of course, Cheeto nor I would let that fly. He was one of the first three to start the game. He soon started to enjoy it. It was a perfect morning for soccer, warm with a cool breeze. If only they could all be at 9am. After the game, we went to Kohls. We had heard they had Spiderman pj's on sale. Coit Slack, one of our friends son, was having a "super hero" party and said it was optional to dress up. DeDe had lent us some of Hank's pj's and costumes, but neither was big enough to fit Cade. He was able to get the costume on, but it cut him pretty short in the body part, they were also about 3 or 4 inches from reaching his ankles. He wanted to wear it so badly, but I could not let him be seen in public like that. One day this week he had it on and he wanted to go get the mail. I wouldn't even let him walk to the mailbox, it looked that bad. I'm serious! Awful. Kohl's had a set of 2 pj's for the almost the same price as the set that he wanted. Do you think I could talk him out of the others. I kept telling him, "Cade, you get TWO with this set and with that one you only get ONE!" It didn't matter, he wanted the one that looked like a Spiderman suit rather that the one's that just a picture of spiderman on it. Well, we decided that's what he'd have to wear for Halloween as well. Cheeto found him some deals on some new work clothes. I thought it was funny to have Cheeto so excited about shopping for his clothes. He hates shopping period, even for him. I had to enjoy the moment. It was fun. He knew exactly what he wanted and we almost couldn't find that. We were successful. He was happy. I think? Afterward, we went home, showered (not all at the same time, by the way), ate some lunch, and chilled. I got ready to go to Raleigh with mom for Miss Jenny's wedding. We had fun. Her wedding was simple as far as the decorating, but you could tell it was still a costly one. The church was incredible. The room we ate in had two huge screens showing a video of the pictures. You got to eat and watch the movie from where ever you sat. Kinda fun. We got home in good time and found grandpa and the boys drawing with sidewalk chalk in the driveway. Of course I had to play too. Cheeto and the boys ran to cook or dinner and shakes. Boring night, but we just ate, gave baths and went to bed. Today was church as usual.

Cade's News Cade had his first soccer practice on Friday. He was so excited. His team name is the "Earthquakes." The coach that was suppose to have coached his team flaked and caused Cade's team to be one practice behind the rest of the league. It somewhat showed at his game Saturday morning. The other team was killing us with goals. It took the Earthquakes until the 4th quarter to finally score. Our boys just had a hard time figuring out to get in front of the ball and block the goal. Cade still had fun. He has learned more this season in one practice than he did the whole season at the YMCA league. His coach really worked some drills with them and got them understanding the game. I hope it continues to go well.

Kelson Adventures Kelson has just been Kelson. He hasn't had an accident since a minor one on Friday. Oh wait, he did have a pretty good poopy one for Cheeto yesterday after I had left for Raleigh. He pooped right before I left and I thought to myself..... "Awesome... this should make it easier for Cheeto while I'm gone." Nope, I called before we walked into the wedding and Cheeto didn't sound very happy. Sure enough, Kelson pooped for him. Kelson didn't like just having to watch Cade's soccer game. He kept wanting to run out there and play with them. He also kept trying to take Cade his soccer ball and bottle of water. Very cute. After a couple of times, Cade would turn and run sideways down the field waving and yelling, "Hi, Kelson! Watch me!" Very funny.

Arellano Update Nada

Christensen Update Haven't talked to mom in a few days. It has still been crazy with the new lil' one. Erin and Sky were up for a few days. I didn't hear if Alyssa and Jeff went.

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 9:30pm - 6:25am

TODAY:
Breakfast: bowl of frosted flakes and glass of Apple juice

Lunch: Toquitos, rice and beans

Dinner: Cheese Nachos with the boys - not so healthy for sure!

This is Dad's wall I mentioned. This is taken from the basketball hoop Nice- eh?
This is standing from the back sliding doors.
On our way home from school we got behind a funeral. The guy must of been an avid biker. We were stopped at a light and this was the procession. Here is one of the 3 only choppers. This is taken from the stop light we were at. The building is the new baseball stadium. The entire street was full of bikes. I quit counting at around 50 or 60. Cade just kept saying.... "Those are lots of bikes mommy. They keep coming and coming and coming!"

Kelson's new way of taking naps! Maybe he had heartburn too! ;)

finally healthy.....

Work & Play
yeah...yeah.... so i've heard that y'all have been giving us a hard time about not blogging much. We are so blessed to have Cade in school. the second day he brought home a nasty cold virus or something. Both Cade and I were in pretty tough shape. I started feeling better just a couple of days ago. I have been working on projects and more projects. I made cards all morning today. I knitted most of the day yesterday. Project working works well while potty training Kelson. I devote myself to staying home, and if I'm staying home, I don't spend any money, which Cheeto loves too! I'm still think about what to do for the baby's room. I've decide I'm going to wait awhile to paint. Going to let it cool off a bunch, so I can open windows and have lots of ventilation.

Cade's News
Cade has done fabulous the past couple of days. Cheeto said he didn't fight too much yesterday. When I picked him up the first thing he told me was, "Mommy, I didn't have to cry today! I missed you lots, but I didn't cry!" He was so proud of himself, but I think I was more proud of him. Today, Cheeto had to leave for Raleigh early, so I was in charge of taking Cade to and from school. We talked to Mom last night and thought it might be better for her to take Cade this morning since he just started getting over the "mama blues." G'ma said he told her, "I don't need to cry, do I?" Sweet boy! He also has eaten school lunch the past few days. He said he loved the pizza and grilled cheese. He loved having chocolate milk! They have the kids memorize their student numbers. Cade walked around the house repeating his number. It was funny. Yesterday on the way home from school we past a wreck and the police car had his "student number" on the back window. He yelled, "Mom, STOP!" I was glad that I was already stopped because of the wreck, that would have scared me while driving! But he wanted me to see that the police car had "his" number on it. He's very observant.

Kelson's Adventures
Kelson is Kelson! Yesterday seemed like a really long day! He was into, climbing, eating, and curious about everything. He had one accident in the morning as far as the potty training went. He was dry the rest of the day. I was a slacker and had forgotten to wash more underwear for him, so I put Cade's Bob the Builder underwear on Kelson after his bath last night. There is a picture of Bob right in front. Kelson was very specific in telling me that Bob needed to stay dry. This morning while running to the toilet, Kelson pauses first to talk to Bob. "Bob, you still dry. Yeah! That's a good boy! Ok, sit on the floor- I make water." I was laughing. I don't think Kelson understood why I was laughing so hard. He was trying to bend over and talk to the front of his underwear. Looked hilarious. I guess you had to be there. Yesterday Susie Hiatt came over to watch movies and cut out more bunnies. I think Kelson was making her nervous. He wanted to bad for Madeline to get out and play with him. Well, Kelson got mad at me and went to open the blinds- he knows he's not to touch the blinds. In the process of trying to get even.... he actually pulled the blinds down, crashing to the floor. Scared him, but he got in more trouble, of course. He was pouting and looking out the window, hanging over the back of the black chair. He was there being real quiet. Susie and I looked over and the little stinker had fallen asleep like that. Thus explaining the pictures attached. What a nugget!

Arellano Update
Dad has been working his tail off in his back yard. He has constructed a curved garden wall taking up half of his yard. It's beautiful. He's quite the craftmans. Y'all know him once he gets an idea. :) I'll go over this afternoon and take pictures!

Christensen Update
Becky had her baby! Well, their baby. It's partly Kyle's too, I suppose! :) She went in Tuesday morning and was dilating so the doctor stirred things up some more and told her to come back in a few hours. She had her in about an hour and 20 minutes. Kyle said it was fast and easy. Easy for him to say. I haven't actually talked to Becky, yet. We'll see what she says. She's still very lucky her labors don't last long. Jacie Brynn was 7 lbs. 9 oz. Definately Becky's biggest baby, especially after the tiny Allie. Mom said they all would be home some time today. Tanner has pink eye and can't go to school. Mom said it's been a crazy week. She loves having the kids, but is glad she doesn't have to keep up with them everyday. There is a reason why we have children when we are young! :)

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 9:30pm - 6:30am

TODAY:
Breakfast: bowl of frosted flakes

Lunch: Ham sandwich with cheese and water

Dinner: last night... beans and tortillas

Yet, a successful day...

Work & Play
WOW! Today sure didn't start off well. Y'all know that I mentioned that Cade hadn't been feeling well. His mom joined him today. Last night I was waiting for Cheeto to come home and then talked to him pretty late, well, 10:30pm. I know you all don't think that is late, but for me THAT is late! I had to stay up to tell Cheeto what Kelson did. OK... so you know that we went to Krispy Kreme. There were a few donuts left over. While I was in the office blogging, I heard Kelson in the kitchen. When I stood up to go see what was going on, he took off running down the hall. I thought to myself, "...that's all it took for him to run to bed. That's what he does when Cheeto comes after him, but not me. He usually turns his head and grins, pretending I can't see him." Well, I returned to the office to finish blogging. When I was done, I walked back to the kitchen and glanced at the table. There were frosting flakes all over it. I know we cleaned it after dinner. I then noticed the frosting flakes continued across the floor. I went into the boys bedroom, and what did I find.... Kelson sitting in the dark, in the covers eating a chocolate frosted donut. He was cover ear to ear with chocolate and of course; their freshly washed sheets were freshly frosted now. Kelson, had even grabbed the wipes to clean up his mess. What a smart, sneeky lil' kid. It was funny yet frustrating at the same time. Anyway, once I got in bed I got the worst heartburn. I only get heartburn when I'm pregnant. Man, I don't know how all the rest of you everyday heartburn people suffer. It was awful. Well, when I finally fell asleep, I woke up about 2 hours later with a sore throat and couldn't swallow, then the stuffy head set in. I felt like crap this morning. So not in the mood for Cade's fears of going to school. He woke up smiling again and came and sat by me on the couch. He was yet again ready to go to school. But when I pulled his clothes out to get dressed the war began. He cried of course, and I held it together until he left. I cried more than one tear this morning. It breaks my heart to see him leave like that. Because I was potty training all day, Cheeto picked him up from school. Cheeto said it was nice being able to be nice guy for once. Poor thing ;)!
Kelson and I had a pretty successful day. I wasn't looking forward to it, but he did such a good job today with the potty training. he only had one poopy accident and 2 wet accidents. I would take the wet ones over the poopy ones any day. He wasn't like the poopy one either, so maybe tomorrow he will get that down a bit better. He hasn't had a diaper on in over 12 hours. Kinda wierd not changing diapers. I'm looking forward to a few months with out buying diapers. They do get pretty spendy. We even went to Wal-mart without having an accident.
We went to eat beans with mom and dad tonight and noticed on the way over that gas was $2.55. An hour and a half later, on the way home, gas was now $2.95. It jumped .40 in a hour. Ridiculous. Cheeto decided to run both cars out to costco and fill up. He said they changed their price while he was pumping. He will probably say more about that.
Arellano Update
Mom taught institute tonight so we didn't get to talk to her much. I was just very grateful she invited us over for beans. One... her beans always seem to come out tasting better than mine. Two... I have felt so nasty today with my head cold that I told Cheeto he might be lucky if he got a bowl of cereal for dinner. He was also grateful for the beens and tortillas. Dad was out planting in the rain. I had to laugh because he was watering his plants with the hose in the rain as well. Funny guy! Said he wanted to make sure they didn't get thirsty.

Christensen Update
No baby addition yet. Unless they have forgotten us out here on the east coast. Sounds like they are all staying pretty busy with harvest business. I really miss this time of year at home. You can all laugh... but nothing smells better than a potato cellar in September.

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: i have no idea.... it was a hit and miss night!

TODAY:
Exercise... running every 15 minutes with kelson to the bathroom. Does that count? it should!!!
Breakfast: nada... oh wait.... cough drops!

Lunch: carrots, broccoli and ranch dip- cheeto didn't come home today... so kelson picked lunch :)

Dinner: Beans and Tortillas

***Text in this color authored by Shena***

Work & Play
Cade had another rough morning getting ready for school. He was relatively happy when he woke up but as soon as we started pushing him to eat some breakfast and get dressed the happiness dissolved. He started coming down with a cold last night so I knew he didn't feel well either. I tried to stay patient and stay positive, but at the same time felt sad that he didn't really want to go. Today, a tear actually came to my eye when he left. He was so happy to see me this afternoon when I picked him up. I was the second car in line today and saw him come out of the school. He didn't see me, so I walked to the step and yelled his name. He jumped and yelled, " Senor, that's my mommy! That's my mommy!" I loved it!!!!! He literally jumped off the step and ran into my arms. He then told me, "Mommy, I missed you so much today. I loves you. Can we go home now?" Of course my heart melted. I always knew Cade loved me, but you all know he is not an affectionate child. I have had more loves and kisses in the last 5 days than I have in the last 5 years. I allows me to kiss him and hold him like he never would before. I believe Cade has realized that he actually needs mom. Don't we all!
As for what Kelson and I did today. We went walking this morning with Danny Crocket and Susie Hiatt. When we got home we started the potty training process. Kelson loved the idea at first. It faded quickly into frustration and tears. Kelson made it the first few trial run dry, but once the apple juice hit; MAN... that boy wet his pants constantly. I did much better about not getting frustrated with Kelson. Cade was a different story. Well, it was Kelson that was sad and upset. He thought he was in trouble. One time he sat on the toilet and stood up and peed all over the floor. I thought he should be done by now. Nope! We were out of dry draining pant within the first 2 hours, so i sent him to his room for a diaper. I then heard "water" hitting the floor. He stood right in front of his dresser and peed all over the carpet. We were done for the day. The rest of the day he would say,"...still dry, mommy. Still dry!" He was wearing a diaper, of course he felt dry. Poor kids, potty training must suck for them too.
Cade gave the FHE lesson tonight. He did a great lesson on the word of wisdom and such. Then we all piled in Millie and went to Krispy Kreme. Afterward went to Target for a few things. Kinda wierd going all together to Target. Nothing all of us had done before. It was nice having so much help with the boys while shopping. Ya moms know what I mean. :)
Well, Cheeto. Who is the slacker now? You might regret getting me to do this. I'm waiting for Cheeto to come home as I type. Doing more Elders Quorem business at the church tonight. He is really trying his best at this. Good Guy!

Arellano Update
Talked to Lettie. She got me craving a BLT. Said she was in her friends garden snatching a tomato. She said that she and Melissa had to chuckle at Cade's pictures. Said he looked like he was posing for his senior pictures. Hey, he's done it before. He knew the drill. ;)

Christensen Update
Mom said that Becky went to the doctor and was dilated to a 3cm. Mom said she will be out of town all day Wednesday running errands in Pocatello and Rexburg and is praying the baby doesn't decide to come then. She doesn't think Allie would enjoy the day of adult errand running.

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 9pm- 6:25am

TODAY:
Exercise: walked 2.5 miles @ Battleground park- 35-40 minutes/weights
Breakfast: bowl of Frosted Flakes
Lunch: Tuna sandwich with cheese
Dinner: pasta, green beans, and bread- krispy kreme donut

***Text in this color authored by Shena***

Work & Play
WOW! Can you believe it? Cheeto has finally bugged me enough. I got tired of the little comments of my not contributing. If this makes him happy.... it'll make me very happy! Besides, I haven't been very good at keeping up journaling. If nothing else, this should be for my benefit. However, I don't think I will post what I eat everyday. What woman in her right mind do such a thing? That, and because I'm pregnant... I don't want to see all I ate in day. Perhaps, I'll enter my exercise routine instead of my eating routine. We shall see.
Anywho... today was Cheeto's first Ward Counsel at 8 am. I had to giggle because his ride showed up on time and he was just running out of the bathroom. Luckily, he is a guy and can just put a tie on and run out the door. Women have a hard time just grabbing anything from the closet and running out the door, i.e. ME!!!! I was blessed that the boys cooperated with me so well this morning. No, I don't want to go church today whines. I think Cade was more excited that we were going to church than him having to go to school. :) He is still going through a major adjustment stage and gets sad a bit when we tell him he has school in the morning. In a few weeks, I think Cheeto will start eating lunch with him once a week or something, just to make Cade get excited. I'm glad I do the picking up, I get to see how happy he is to come home. I'm still adjusting as well. I miss my lil' buddy. It's not really easier having him at school. He was truly my lil' helper. Kelson can't do as much as Cade. However, I have noticed that Cade is the one makes the mess with the toys. We pick up the toys each night before we go to bed. And both Thursday and Friday, when 3pm rolls around the only toys out are Buzz, Woody, and Bulleye. Those are Kelson's favorite, and nothing else has left the basket. But when Cade comes home, the tornado begins. Bless his heart.
I kinda got off an a tangent there. After church; the Sunday afternoon ritual: went home, changed clothes, and went and ate and mom and dad's, came home, napped, and chilled out. We borrowed "Because of Winn-Dixie" from mom. I actually got Cheeto to watch it with us. I know he wasn't excited... be being the awesome husband he is, he watched it with us. I told him Dave Matthews was in it and that should be a good enough reason to watch it. The boys watched all but about 20 minutes of it. Cheeto kept telling me that if I got the boys watching this that we would have to get a dog. I DON'T THINK SO!!!! Cade and Kelson had to bark every time the dog barked in the movie. It was cute, but not cute enough to get a dog.
Arellano Update
We ate enchiladas, rice, and beans with mom and dad this afternoon. Doesn't get much better than that! Except maybe a steak. ;) That's what I've been craving for days. I might have to talk Cheeto into grilling tomorrow night.

Christensen Update
Surprisingly.... I didn't talk to my mom today. For sure will have something tomorrow!

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 10pm - 6:30am

TODAY:
Breakfast: bowl of frosted flakes

Lunch: enchilada, rice and beans - brownie and ice cream

Dinner: half a peanut butter sandwich and milk

Two more..

Cade and Kelson partying it up and Cade and Kelson having fun hosing down grandpa last Saturday. This was just a little while before lighting struck somewhat close to the house and scared the crud out of all three of them. Grandpa scooped up one kid in each arm and was into the house in about 5 seconds. Never seen him move so fast. It was funny after the fact.

Cade's Cake - with Candles

Cade cheesing for the camera while Kelson sneaks in for the "steal."

Cade's 5th Cake

Cade's birthday cake. Isn't my wife awesome? She TOTALLY kicks some SERIOUS booootayyye.

Cade Headed to School

Cade's first day...with Kelson holding his notebook...looks like he is ready for school too.

Cade "School" Pictures

A couple of Cade's 5 year pictures.

This is Shena's favorite picture of the boys together. Kelson's face is hilarious.

Pictures Shena went and had made with the boys on Tuesday, August 23rd. Kelson has the exact same little grin in about every single picture he is in.

Cade's 1st Day

***Text in this color authored by Shena***

Work & Play
Went to Raleigh all day for a seminar...learning a little more about Equity Indexed Annuities and the different companies that offer them and their products. I know you are all thrilled to hear about that.

Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
Cade's first day of school. I wound up driving Shena over, and I'm glad I did. It was a mad house. I planned on walking in with them, but there were cars everywhere and it would have taken 20 minutes to park and walk, so I dropped them off and then went and waited for Shena to come back out. She said he did well...just kind of squeezed her hand when she first said something about leaving, but she told him she'd be back and he said "Ok" and dropped her hand. No tears from either Shena or Cade. She said he was kind of grinning when she left. It went well. She said when she went to pick him up he was happy to see her, but the class assistant said he did well and was a really good boy. She also said he had lots of stories to tell about his first day, but by the time I got home, he had spoken with several different people and was tired of telling the stories. All I got out of his was "Cade, did you go to school today?" "Yup." Oh well, that's how it goes sometimes. Looks like tomorrow should be no problem. He was a little concerned that when Shena picked him up that she was going to take him back again later in the afternoon, so he was happy when she said he didn't have to go back until tomorrow. She said he ate all of the lunch she packed for him (sandwich, chips and crackers). She also said Kelson was a pretty sad little boy when she came back without Cade. She said he cried for a few minutes and carried around Cade's pj's. Cute, huh? Maybe Kelson is going to have a harder time adjusting to this school thing than Cade is. I'm sure he'll grow to like the time alone with mommy.

Arellano Update

Christensen Update

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 11:15 - 6:20 - Had some weird dreams last night...we won't get into them.

TODAY:
Breakfast: 1 bowl of frosted mini-wheats

Lunch: Good stuff at the seminar I was in today: garden salad with ranch, steamed baby carrots, mashed potatoes, small piece of meat loaf, 1 breast of fried chicken, roll, boston creme pie (which was the worst part of the meal...not that it was BAD).

Dinner: angel hair pasta, two pieces of french bread with cheese melted on top, water

1/2 Day in Raleigh

***Text in this color authored by Shena***

Work & Play
Spent 1/2 the day in Raleigh playing golf with Jim. Had an Elder's Quorum meeting. Told you these might be short from now on.
Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)

Arellano Update

Christensen Update

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 12:30 - 7:45 - I got caught watching the MLS Select team playing Real Madrid in Spain...great game to watch

TODAY:
Breakfast: none

Lunch: two peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwiches on wheat, five oreos, milk

Dinner: two pieces of "The Loop" cheese pizza that Shena brought home for me, IBC root beer...had a couple of bites of Cade's birthday cake and milk just before I went to bed.

Catching Up...

***Text in this color authored by Shena***

Work & Play - Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
Ok, so here's how it's going to go down for the next little while.

I'm up to my ears in stuff going on...and frankly I don't feel like I have the time to bore you all with the little details, sooooo....I am going to do my best to at least get the major highlights each day, maybe a little commentary. I am also going to work really hard on getting Shena involved to help me fill in the holes a little.

Monday (22nd) was Cade's birthday and he loved every second of it. Shena made an awesome "Dash" (from the Incredibles) cake (pictures to come), he had balloons and tons of presents...got to pick what we had for dinner (bean burrito's), went golfing with grandpa and just enjoyed himself.

Sunday (21st) I got a new calling, which is part of the reason I'm not going to have time to blog it up as much. We also spent part of the afternoon with the Plummer's, since we haven't seen them much lately. We watched "Strange Brew" and hung out for a bit.

Today (23rd) We went to an open house at Cade's school to meet his teacher and see his room and get instructions, etc. Cade SAID he was excited, but he didn't really look or act like it. Not sure if he was just trying to be "cool" or what. I don't think he even knows what it means to be cool, but it's like he was trying to hide any emotions. Kind of weird. We'll see how Thursday (first day of schol) and Friday (whether he wants to go back or not) go .

Saturday (20th) We golfed first thing in the morning (7:30) with dad and Marcos at Greensboro National. We were glad we started early. It was hot as Hades (sp?) before we were done. It was fun. Going to be a while before we all get to play together again.

Friday (19th) We had a ward swim party at Bur-Mil. Good times. Kelson scared the crap out of me one time. We were standing in the shallow end (up to Kelson's waist), but I was about 12-15 feet away from him. I was getting ready to put on some goggles of Cade's to go under the water and grab Kelson's leg. I went to put them on and they kind of flipped and hit me in the eye..so I was rubbing it and fixing the googles. When I opened my eyes again, Kelson was laying on his back under the water, thrashing around, trying to get his feet under him. I don't know how long he was under (couldn't have been more than 5 seconds), but it still scared me. He just coughed a little when I grabbed him, so I don't think he breathed much water in. But, of course because he is Kelson, he was fine after about 10 seconds. He didn't cry. He didn't act scared. He wanted me to put him back down in the water so he could play some more. That scares me.

Sleep: Feels like hardly any the last 5 days

Food: We've still done really well with not eating out much...McDonald's on Friday night was it...ate at home or at mom's the rest of the time.

Whaaaaa?

***Text in this color authored by Shena***

Work & Play
Raleigh
Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
McDonald's - took the family after I got home from Raleigh
Arellano Update
None to report that I know of...I think Shena said something about mom buying some pink girl's clothes...but I'm not sure.

Christensen Update
None to report that I know of...though I wonder if Cherie has started making any purchases yet? I wouldn't be surprised if she had!

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 11:00 - 6:30 - I tried to get to bed on time last night, but I was watching the US Men's soccer team play.

TODAY:
Breakfast: 1 bowl of frosted flakes

Lunch: Jack Astor's - cheddar cheeseburger, no tom, no onion, fries, coke - not bad...I'd never eaten at Jack Astor's before...and they closed the one here in Greensboro a little while back.

Dinner: McDonald's - quarter pounder with cheese, no onions (ate about 1/2 of it), fries (ate about 1/4 of them), orange drink

It's a Girl

***Text in this color authored by Shena***

Work & Play
It's a girl! Shena had her 18 week ultrasound and after about 2 minutes of looking at the baby, the technician (is that what they're called) said she could tell and she showed us how she knew (I'll spare you the details). We are VERY excited (especially Shena). She's been hoping, I've been PRAYING that it would be a girl. I was going to feel like a failed husband if I couldn't produce a girl for her. She is going to be a great mom for a little girl. The baby has all her parts, and most everything looks good. The doctor said they could see two little spots on the ultrasound on her spinal cord (which he said could be indicative of downs syndrome), but he said not to worry yet. Shena's blood tests came back normal for that earlier, and he said the spots are somewhat common and they will probably go away in the next 10 weeks. Shena will have to go back then for another ultrasound to be sure. I'll keep you posted, of course.

On a (somewhat) related note, I'm sexy. Here's an article that says so: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/337994p-288635c.html

On an UN-related note...we had the missionaries over for dinner again. They called late last night. We had tried to scratch our name off the list because Marcos was in town and we had just fed them last week and we didn't think we were supposed to feed them twice in one month. But they said it was ok. One of the Elder's is a big guy and always goes for seconds...sometimes thirds. I'm sure HE said it was ok because he didn't want to go without a dinner appointment tonight.

Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
Cade is still in denial that we will be having a girl. We will have to work on him the next couple of months. When I tried to talk to him about it this afternoon, he kept saying "No, I want a brother. I don't want a sister." Kelson was happy to be getting a little sister. It is what he has been saying he wanted all along, but I don't know if he really knows the difference. I think he just says the opposite of Cade to bug him.

Arellano Update
Of course everyone here is happy to have a girl on the way. Had it been a boy, both Shena and Melissa would have been mad at both Adam and I. We thought that "The Arellano's" only produced boys since we were 4-0 in the boy department.

Christensen Update
And of course everyone was happy for us here, too. They already have girls on their side, but Kyrie (my niece) was especially excited that we were getting a little girl. She said that "Cade needs a little sister." Maybe he hasn't been treating Kyrie very nicely and she thinks he needs a lesson in how to treat girls.

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 10:30 - 6:08 - The boys went to bed EARLY last night, so I got to, too.

TODAY:
Breakfast: none

Lunch: Smokey Bone's - a pulled pork sandwich with fries, strawberry lemonade...it wasn't as good as I thought it would be. I think it was the bun, I wasn't real fond of it. It was still pretty good though.

Dinner: Frito chili (Frito's covered with chili, sour cream and cheese), kool-aid, two scoops of ice cream over a banana