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

Cade's School Countdown

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

Work & Play
Had dinner with mom, dad, Marcos and the spanish missionaries tonight. After we got done eating we started talking about a golf club (driver) that my dad was missing. I seem to remember having borrowed it while he was in Mexico...I just couldn't remember WHY I borrowed it, so Marcos and I ran to my house real quick to pick it up. Dad had been accusing Marcos of leaving it at another golf course the last time he played...several months ago. I also had to return Marcos' sand wedge to him (for this week, anyway). I'll be taking it back out of his bag as soon as he leaves to return to NY.

Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
Things are moving along at our house. Only 9 more days before Cade starts school. I'm having mixed feelings about that. I can't decide how he is going to react or how Shena will react, etc. Part of me thinks he will have a hard time, especially the first week or so. I have this image in my head of him screaming because he doesn't want Shena to leave him there at school. Then the other part of me thinks he will be fine, that Shena will drop him off in his classroom and he'll be excited and say "Bye, mom, see you in a while." He seems to be getting more and more excited, so hopefully it will be the latter. Who knows, by the time we get to next week, I may be more worried about Shena than I will be Cade. She will be without him for about 7 or 8 hours every week day for the next 13 years. I'm sure it will be tough for the first couple of weeks.

Arellano Update
We (Marcos, Dad, Shena and I) are going to go and play golf on Saturday at Greensboro National. Can't wait. I haven't played in quite a while.

Christensen Update
None to report that I know of. But honestly, I think I'm getting REALLY close to getting Shena to contribute. I think she will have a little time when Cade starts school...

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 11:45 - 7:30 - another night getting to bed late

TODAY:
Breakfast: none

Lunch: meatball sandwich on home made bread with cheese, cool ranch dorito's, milk and a couple chips ahoy cookies

Dinner: re-fried beans, rice, carne asada, home made flour tortillas, coke - had some apple crisp with chocolate brownie ice cream and milk just before bed

Steelers v. Eagles

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

Work & Play
As I was reading the news today I came upon this picture of a guy from Pocatello. I didn't know him, but I thought it was cool to find a soldier in Iraq from Pocatello on Yahoo.

Got to watch the Steelers for the first time this season on Monday Night Football. Exciting time for me...even though I know you don't care. It was a pretty good game for a pre-season game. Plenty of scoring, that's for sure. I can't say the Steelers looked as good as the Panthers did the other night, but they still looked decent. The best news was that Hines Ward ended his holdout and will be playing in next week's game.

Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
See below.

Arellano Update
Cade went with Grandma and Grandpa to pick up Marcos from the airport at 10:30. Kelson was already asleep, but Cade had been bugging all night to get to go, so they took him. They stopped by the house on the way back and we all had a cinammon roll and chatted for a few minutes before they went back home. Cade wanted to spend the night, so we sent him with them. Kelson was oblivious to the whole party.

Christensen Update
None to report that I know of.


Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 11:45 - 7:30 - I got about a 1/2 hour power nap yesterday, and that was enough to throw me off for the rest of the night. Frustrating...then when I woke up in the morning, I just couldn't drag myself out of bed.

TODAY:
Breakfast: none

Lunch: corn tortillas with cheese, beans and meat (did I tell you about this meat Shena made? can't remember...anyway, when she was spicing it the other day she accidentally grabbed the cinnamon and gave it a couple of shakes before she realized what she was doing...we didnt' think it would effect it much, and you couldn't taste it the first day...but after it has been re-heated it tastes kind of weird...cinnamon does not go well with meat) - had a couple cookies and milk

Dinner: porcupine (rice) meatballs, new potatoes, peas, fresh bread, milk - good stuff, I love it when Shena cooks a "full meal" for us. Girl can cook when she's motivated (not sure what her motivation is right now...maybe she's still grateful for her van), had milk with dinner

"K-k-k-Cade"

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

Work & Play
Not much besides church today. Caught some of the golf tournament, wish it would have finished today. I can't believe that Tiger actually has a shot at winning the thing. 12 strokes back and barely making the cut to being within one stroke of the lead. Incredible.

Stopped by Slack's for a few minutes. The boys were getting kind of bored from being inside the house for so long, so we ran by to say hi. We almost interrupted their dinner, so we didn't stay long. Just kind of chatted for 45 minutes or so. Got us out of the house anyway.

Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
Dad said Cade said to him yesterday "Grandpa, how's your mom? Is she better yet?" Made him feel good I think. Nice of Cade to think about her.

He's also been kind of excited to do schoolwork all of the sudden. He has a little "homework" book that he uses to practice writing his letters. He and Shena have been working on his name, and during sacrament today he wrote it on the program, and he started saying (kind of loudly) and jumping up and down "I wrote my name! I wrote my name!" He was really excited. It looked pretty good, except the "E" had like 10 lines coming out of it. We tried to get him to stop after three...but he kept drawing them.

He also got real excited today when he was able to get a chair over to the counter and got one of Shena's Cutco knives and cut some banana bread she'd made with the knife. He was yelling "I did it, daddy! I cut the bread in half!" That wasn't real cool. Scared the crap out of me, actually. At least he didn't come running with the knife or something. I shouldn't have left it out like I did.

Kelson had his own breakthrough today. Up to this point he didn't say "Cade" he said "Sthsthathe" (with the funny lisp he has). But as we were headed to Slack's, Cade kept going "K-k-k-k-Coit" (who is their 3 year old son). All of the sudden Kelson started copying him, so we got him to say "k-k-k-Cade." He was excited when he realized what he was saying.

Arellano Update
Marcos comes home tomorrow. We are trying to get out of Cade if he wants to go to the airport to see him or not. I'm sure he will when the time comes. He said "no" today...but I'll bet he changes his mind tomorrow night.

Christensen Update
None to report that I know of.

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 11:22 - 7:52 - I wanted to go to sleep earlier, but Kelson didn't cooperate much. He was out wandering around until 11:00...we finally turned off all the lights in the house and locked our bedroom door...I went to check on him 20 minutes later and he was in bed with the covers over him...I think we may try that again tonight.

TODAY:
Breakfast: 1 bowl of frosted mini-wheats

Lunch: corn tortillas, re-fried beans, fried egg omelet, cheese, coke - had a couple of cookies and milk

Dinner: 2 more leftover sandwiches from Ed's b-day party, carrot sticks

Panthers First Game

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

Work & Play
Kind of a chill, lazy day. We tried to recover from the "wild" party last night. We ran a couple of errands in the morning, but didn't do too much because it was so freakin' hot outside. Cade and I gave Shena's van a peticure (we cleaned the wheels...they had brake dust all over them) and we also cleaned the front of all the bugs from our trip to Atlanta (we hadn't done that yet and there were lots stuck to the front).

Mom and dad called about 5:00 and wanted us to meet them at the restaurant for dinner. After we ate we came back to the house for ice cream, then they went home and I got to watch the beginning of football season for me. The Panthers and the Redskins played their first pre-season game and of course they showed it on tv. Of course these kinds of games you don't necessarily care about the outcome (we won) as much as you do how the players are looking (we looked REALLY good). It was still awesome to know that the regular season is just around the corner now. Can't wait.

Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
See above.

Arellano Update
Mom told us a funny story about Lettie and a zipper. If you want to know, you'll have to call her!

Christensen Update
Sounds like we are missing out on the family reunion there in Grace. Ryan is giving his "homecoming" talk at church and everybody is there for that. We are sorry we are going to miss it. It would have been fun to be there with everybody.

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 2:00 - 9:00 - we stayed until about 1:00...and the Plummer's are so nice they don't want to offend us and say "Please go home, now." I finally told Shena "Let's go" when Ed started falling asleep sitting upright on the couch while we were talking

TODAY:
Breakfast: 1 bowl of cinnamon toast crunch

Lunch: 2 leftover sandwiches (not full size) from last night's party, carrots, kool-aid

Dinner: Mexico - Combination Dinner #5 - not what I ordered, but I ate it anyway - two beef enchiladas, rice and beans, order of flour tortillas, sprite

Party Over Here...Party Over There!!!

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

Work & Play
Dede put together a "surprise" 35th birthday party for Ed that we were invited to. We had all done a good job of keeping things quiet and under wraps. Shena called me about 4:00 and said "we have a problem. Ed is coming home early." The plan was for everybody to get there at 6:30 and to park down the street so he didn't see the cars. Dede just figured he wouldn't be home from work until then. That obviously wasn't happening. So we came up with a plan for me to call him and ask him to meet me at Best Buy or Target to look at TV's (with the guise that I was going to surprise Shena with a new TV and I wanted his help picking one out, since he had just bought one a couple months ago). Shena then called me back about 4:45 and said "Don't worry about it, he's home and he knows." Apparently as Dede was unloading the car of the stuff for the party, Ed pulled in behind her. He said he had known since last night, he just didn't say anything. He also said that if I had called and given him the excuse to come meet me at the store, he would have known for sure what was going on.

Anyway, the party was fun, we had food (see below) and hung out and talked. Played a game of Pictionary (remember this is an old people's, Mormon party...that's as wild as we get) and then the guys went upstairs to play pool while the woman...I don't know what they did. I assume they sat around and talked. The party emptied out by 10:45 or so, but Shena and I hung out for a "little while" longer. Actually, we stayed until Ed was falling asleep in the middle of our conversation. That was our clue we had stayed too long.

Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
Shena and the boys ran all kinds of errands today. I know she got gas for $2.25 a gallon out at Costco...which was about .19 cents cheaper than anywhere else...this is starting to get ridiculous.
Arellano Update
Mom and dad watched the boys so that we could go to the party. They actually spent the night there, which was nice. We got to stay as late as we wanted. I heard they went out to eat at McDonald's and then went shopping.

Christensen Update
None to report that I know of.

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 11:42 - 7:30 - it's like if I know what time it is when I go and lay down, my body thinks it isn't time to go to sleep until 11:40 or something...weird.

TODAY:
Breakfast: 1 bowl of cinnamon toast crunch

Lunch: flour tortillas with beans and leftover hamburger meat from taco salads yesterday, with cheese, kool-aid, the last of the chocolate cake (I'm sad to see it go) with milk

Dinner: holy cow...this could take a while...plain potato chips, dorito's, carrot sticks, fresh peas, broccoli (all with ranch dip, of course), croissant sandwiches (some ham and swiss with lettuce, some roast beef with american and lettuce, some turkey and swiss with lettuce), dr. pepper, lemonade, peanut m&m's, skittles, red velvet cake, milk...I think that is it...there were some shrimp cocktails, but I can't eat cold shrimp...has to be hot or I gag

Corporate Lawyers

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

Work & Play
Had an annual, mandatory compliance meeting for work today. Always a bit of a nerve racking time of the year. You know how corporate lawyers can be...no matter how strict you are about going by the rules, they always think you should be doing something else. I guess it's their job, but it sure is tough trying to make them happy.

After work just kind of hung out with the family. Surf for a while, too, which I haven't had time to do in a while. Kind of nice, catching up on all the news and sports, etc. I've got to start getting ready for fantasy football. I've been in charge of a league for the last couple of years, so I've got to get it up and going sometime this weekend. I did come across this article though: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/tv_extreme_makeover_lawsuit . Leave it to somebody to ruin a good thing. Who knows what the repurcussions (sp?) might be from this. I remember the episode well, and I wouldn't have thought the people would have done something like that, but who knows.

Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
Cade had a swimming lesson. Shena said he is getting better about keeping his head under water. Before he would just go under for a second or two. She said as long as he had his goggles on, he would stay under a little bit longer. He's proud of the way he kicks his feet, though.

Arellano Update
Marcos was supposed to stop by and see the Christensen's on his way down to Layton, but he dogged them. What's up with that? He's leaving Idaho on Monday and went to spend the weekend with Adam and Melissa. I don't count on either one of them blogging about it...the slackers.

Christensen Update
See above.

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 1:00 - 7:30 - I couldn't sleep again...drives me nuts

TODAY:
Breakfast: 1 bowl of frosted flakes, glass of o.j. at the meeting

Lunch: leftover tortilla wedges (yes, there was a little left), leftover spaghetti casserole, milk, two bites of chocolate cake

Dinner: Shena's taco salad (lettuce, crushed dorito's, hamburger, salsa (or Catalina dressing), cheese) - water - had a fudgesicle and then some chocolate cake and milk later

Lunch Party

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

Work & Play
Had the missionaries, mom and Teresa over for lunch today. We were supposed to be feeding them dinner, but one of them is getting transferred tomorrow and needed time to pack tonight, so we moved it up. Shena made a lot of food, so she invited mom and Teresa to come and help us eat it all. It was kind of wild for a middle of the week lunch at the house. Almost felt like a Saturday or something. All I know is I ate A LOT (see below). Come time for dinner (at mom's) and I barely ate anything.

Spent the rest of the night working and making phone calls.

I was, however, excited to see that my favorite football article during the football season has returned from it's off-season. Tuesday Morning Quarterback (TMQB) is well written and a unique look at the league...plus you just might learn something about something besides football...how often does THAT happen in a football column?

Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
Cade was supposed to have swimming lessons this afternoon, but his teacher got in a somewhat minor car accident on the way over and she had to cancel. I think they are making it up tomorrow.

Arellano Update
None to report.

Christensen Update
None to report.

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 12:03 - 7:09 - can't sleep...got to much on my mind, I guess

TODAY:
Breakfast: 1 curiously strong, Wintergreen (tm) artificially flavored altoid mint (made in Great Britain)

Lunch: garden salad with ranch dressing, cheese and several croutons - spaghetti casserole covered with cheese, several pieces of cheese bread, kool-aid - I then had another piece of that delicious chocolate cake that Dede sent over ESPECIALLY for me (the missionaries were lucky I shared it with them) and some milk

Dinner: home made corn tortillas (3) with smashed up beans and cheese, milk

Love Me Some Chocolate Cake

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

Work & Play
Another boring, typical day. After work I went and helped Shena get set up for her "Enrichment Night" at the church, then brough the boys home. We played on the swingset, ate some ice cream and popsicles, took a bath, cleaned the living room, then watched Thomas. All incredibly exciting to you, I know.

Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
I'm really going to have to start bugging Shena about writing in here. She tells me funny things that the boys say and do sometimes, and I simply forget to share the story...but if she would write, it would get told gooded (that was an akward sentence).

Arellano Update
Mom helped Shena at Enrichment meeting tonight. They had some cooking classes, and mom showed everybody how to cook some mexican food. Shena said they ran out.

Christensen Update
None to report that I know of.

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 11:45 - 7:03 - kept hitting the snooze this morning, but don't remember doing it

TODAY:
Breakfast: 1 bowl of frosted flakes, 1 banana

Lunch: Tuna on white with cheese, cool ranch doritos, milk, a couple cookies and a couple chocolate mini-doughnuts

Dinner: "Tortilla Wedges" (I was informed by Shena) leftover from last night, milk - had a piece of chocolate cake that Dede sent home to me...and no matter what she says, I know she WAS thinking of me specifically when she sent it home with Shena...it had NOTHING to do with the fact that they had way too much cake for them to eat by themselves...she just knows how much I love chocolate cake and was thinking of me the whole time

Salsa Sandwich

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

Work & Play
Not much to report there today. We invited Teresa home for lunch today so that Shena could show off her van. Of course that wound the boys up pretty good since we had a visitor and they were climbing the walls. After we ate the girls were looking in the van and Kelson kept climbing in different seats saying "Let's go! Let's go grandma's house!" and, to me, "Bye, bye!" (as if he wanted me to leave so that they could drive to grandma's. He was mad when Shena made him get out. He thought they were really going somewhere. I guess he loves to ride in the van that much.

After work we had FHE, then treats, then got the boys ready for bed, then I finished reading the book I was on most recently, "Blind Faith" by Joe McGinnis I read it because the guy I work with, Jim, knows the guy the book is about and he was also an agent for Provident Mutual, which is the company I used to work for, until we were bought out by Nationwide.

Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
Mom and dad came over for dinner, and dad brought some salsa with him. The boys had sandwiches instead of what the adults ate, but Kelson saw grandpa dipping his pita into the salsa, so Kelson was dipping his sandwich into the salsa too. Keep in mind, this isn't the red, mild stuff that you get at a mexican restaurant with your chips. This is the green, extremely spicy kind my dad likes. We asked him if it was good, and he said "No," but he kept dipping. Weird kid. He is really starting to talk alot. He puts together 3 and 4 word sentences now...and his lisp is cute as ever.

Arellano Update
None to report that I know of.

Christensen Update
None to report that I know of.

Daily Report
^LAST NIGHT: 11:30 - 6:15 - I would have been asleep sooner, but Kelson was cooperating...as usual and Shena went in to lay wit him on his bed, which made it harder for me to sleep.
Sleep:

TODAY:
Breakfast: none

Lunch: Not sure what to call this dish...an "open burrito" maybe? Flour tortillas layered with beans, salsa, sour cream and cheese, baked in the oven...I'll have to get with Shena and find out what they are called - kool-aid, a couple chips a hoy and milk

Dinner: Tracy's chicken pita's - almost a tradition after we have Tracy's chicken to have pita's with the left over chicken, cool ranch dorito's as a side and then ice cream and root beer floats for dinner

Walking on Broken Glass

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

Work & Play
Church.

Dinner at mom's with the Yow's, Malcom's (Christopher and Kristy), and Jill Locke. We had a close call at mom's after dinner. She had taken the glass off her dining room table (so she could put an extra leaf in it) and leaned it up against a couch in the front room. We lost track of Kelson, and suddenly heard a loud crash. I went into the room praying that he wasn't laying in the middle of the glass, but found him on the couch looking scared. I think he just got on the couch, may not have even touched the glass, and it fell over and smashed against the piano bench which broke it. He was good not to move and looked like he was sorry. I tried not to yell at him because I was just glad he wasn't on the other side of the glass when it fell.

Took a nap in the afternoon since I didn't sleep worth *shtuff* last night.

Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
None to report.

Arellano Update
None to report.

Christensen Update
None to report.

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 12:30 - 8:00 - Long, long night...I tweaked my back sometime Saturday, don't know when and so I didn't sleep well at all

TODAY:
Breakfast: none

Lunch: Tracy's chicken, baked potato (butter, cheese, sour cream and ranch dressing on top), green bean casserole, rolls, root beer - had fresh peaches and vanilla ice cream for dessert

Dinner: 1 peanut butter and strawberry jam on white bread, milk - had a couple donuts after the sandwich

Dinner with the Stout's

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

Work & Play
Kind of a typical, busy Saturday. Cade and I went to a soccer camp thing that GYSA had over at Bryan Park. It was supposed to go from 9:00 - 11:00, but we had to leave a few minutes before 10:00 because he had a primary water fun day at the church. He had fun at the camp, and I think it would have done him some good to stay for the whole thing, but since it was "free" we didn't worrry about it. We dropped Cade off at the church, then the rest of us ran to Target, picked Cade back up (after getting him dried off and changed into regular clothes) we came home to grab a bit for lunch. We then headed back out for more errands: library, Omega Sports, Costco, Honda Dealership (where we got a cargo tray liner for the back of the van so that the carpet doesn't get ruined when Shena keeps her stroller in there or in case groceries or something along those lines spill) then Wal-Mart. We were trying to get some school supplies for Cade because this weekend was the "no sales tax" weekend (that only applies to school supplies). I think we got all we needed...not much to get for a kindergartner.

We dropped the boys off at mom and dad's about 5:00 to go to dinner with Zach and Kristy Stout who are in town for a week or so. Kristy is a friend of mine from High School and we got together last summer when they were out visiting her family...and she and Shena hit it off and Zach and I got along pretty well, too. So we determined to do it again this year. I guess it may become an annual event, assuming they come into town every year. They live in N. California, so it's not like we can get out to visit them. Anyway, we met them at the restaurant and then after dinner went to Kristy's parent's house out in Oak Ridge and talked for a couple more hours. We have a good time with them. Zach has to leave on Tuesday, but Kristy will be here for at least another week and so I think she and Shena are going to get the kids together (they have 4 little ones) at some point next week and have a play date. I'm sure I'll be working when that goes on.

We were supposed to be back at mom's between 8:30 and 9:00, but wound up getting there about 10:00. There was a bit of deja-vu for me...rushing back to the house (because I'm late for crufew) after visiting Kristy. Not sure how many times I did that back in high school, this time Shena is with me and we are hoping that mom isn't mad at us for being an hour later than we thought we'd be because we were having a good time talking.

Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
See above.

Arellano Update
None to report that I now of.

Christensen Update
None to report that I know of. I need to talk to Ryan and see if the new golf clubs his mom got for him were all that he hoped they would be. I'm sure he's taken every chance he's had to play.

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 12:05 - 8:00

TODAY:
Breakfast: none

Lunch: tuna sandwiches on wheat, double cheese, frito's, kool-aid (the clear kind)

Dinner: Smokey Bones - Shena and I split a "pick 3" platter - we picked smoked turkey, pulled pork and 1/4 barbeque chicken, with mashed potatoes and bake beans as sides, we also ordered 1/2 a corn bread to split with the Stouts, I had some strawberry lemonade with dinner. At the Shelton's, Zach and I had a bowl of ice cream with bananas and brownies mixed in, covered with whipped cream. Two nights in a row I've eaten like a pig...ask me how much I care.

Banana Cream Blizzard

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

Work & Play
I wanted to make reference to the Pearls Before Swine cartoon for today. I laughed out loud at this one today.

After work I picked up my family at we met mom and dad at Mexico for dinner. Dad had been bugging for a little bit about wanting a banana split, so we decided to pile into the van (since we can do that now) and drive to the other side of Greensboro to the only Dairy Queen in town. It was a fun trip. The 1/2 hour drive was perfect to open some room in our stomachs for the dessert. It was fun...a good memory made. After dinner we came home and got haircuts, then went to bed. Pretty exciting for you to read, I'm sure.

Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
Shena and the boys went swimming with the Ludrigan's and the Williams' this afternoon. Cade is excited to be learning how to swim. Shena said he was asking everybody to take him to the deep end so that he could kick his feet. Don't know if we will get him taught before the end of the summer, but we'll have to try.

Arellano Update
Adam drove from San Diego to Utah the last couple of days. A short report is available on his blog.

Christensen Update
Sounds like Ryan is enjoying being back on the farm. I heard that about all he wants to do is work.

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 11:40 - 7:10 - Had a hard time getting Kelson to go to sleep last night...messed up my sleep cycle

TODAY:
Breakfast: none

Lunch: cheese and corn tortillas, milk, three mini-choclate covered donuts

Dinner: Mexico - chicken fajitas, flour tortillas, rice, beans, sprite - for dessert: medium banana cream Blizzard from Dairy Queen

"The Van Movie"

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

Work & Play
After work we stopped by mom's for dinner. Came home, then heard that Ryan and Amelia Allred were in town and were at mom's. So we ran back over there for a bit to visit with them for a little. They seem to be doing pretty well. He is going to be working in Raleigh for 2 weeks, and they may wind up living there in a year or so. The end.

Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
Shena took Millie to Costco for the first time today. She was as excited about that as anything, I think. She used to have to put stuff in the front seat of the Nissan when she went, but of course she didn't have to today and she said she loved it.

She also went and saw "Must Love Dogs" (I think that's what it's called) with mom and Nippy. More power to them...if they go with her, then I don't.

We got a DVD from Honda that showed different featuers on the van. Just for fun we put it in while we were eating lunch and Cade LOVED it! He was all excited to be watching it and when it was over kept bugging Shena to put it back in so he could watch the "van movie." Weird kid.

Arellano Update
None to report that I know of.

Christensen Update
None to report that I know of.

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
^Sleep: 10:44 - 6:12 - sleept like a baby last night...I was beat from the trip

TODAY:
Breakfast: 1 bowl of cinammon toast crunch

Lunch: tuna on wheat, frito's, milk

Dinner: beans and cheese on corn tortillas, 1/4 bottle of Coke, had milk and chips a'hoy before bed

Our New Addition

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

Work & Play
I'm not even going to try two seperate entries today...no time, not that much to report.

Tuesday:
We got up early and Bart, Cherie, Ryan, Shena and I went to the temple, while mom and dad watched the boys. When we got out, we checked our cell phones to see if our guy from the Honda place had called yet telling us that he had found Shena's car, but he hadn't yet...so we had to wonder for a while longer. We changed clothes, then went to Smokey Bones for lunch. I had never eaten there, but Christensens had down in Florida and loved it. We did too. Cool thing is there is one in Greensboro, we didn't even know about. As we walked out of the restaurant about 1:30, we still hadn't heard from the Honda place, so I called to get a status report. I had to leave a message...so we were still not sure what was going to happen. We all decided to go back to the hotel and rest, since there wasn't anything we were DYING to do and we didn't want to get too involved in something just to have the Honda place call and tell us to come and pick up the van. The guy finally called about 3:30 and said that he had found a van, and he would have it to the dealership by about 5:30 and we should meet him there then. I didn't think he would pull through, but he did. The only "downside" was it was our 3rd color option that he found. He said he couldn't find a Silver (1st choice) or Slate Green (2nd choice), which is very close to the silver color, but he did find a Midnight Blue (Shena thought for sure he was only going to be able to find the Ocean Mist Blue, which is kind of a Carolina blue, and she didn't want that at all...so she was happy for the dark blue). We (and that means EVERYBODY) headed over there about 5:00, got there about 20 after. Since our salesman had called and said that he had found the van, Ryan, Bart & I took their rental car back to the rental place and since they turned it in early, they got a little money back, but that meant that we all had to pile into the Expedition to go over to the dealership. Luckily I was driving so I was comfortable, but it wasn't for the rest of them. We all went over thinking that we had taken care of the "waiting" last night. WRONG! It was 7:50 before we got out of there. That was frustrating. We for sure wouldn't have ALL gone over had we known it was going to take that long. We thought it would just be, sign here, sign here, here are your keys, the van is gassed and clean. I know they were just trying to have good customer service and make sure we were familiar with the van and Honda itself, but it was a little ridiculous. The boys were going nuts...which drove the grandparents crazy. Anyway, we FINALLY got out of there, with Shena behind the wheel of her new van ("Millie" as she will be called) happy she had a van, but very bugged and annoyed that it took so long and put everybody else out. Which was unfortunate because she didn't get to enjoy the moment as much as I would have liked her to. We decided to go to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. It was a quick drive down to Buckhead (the dealership was North of Atlanta). We pulled in, the valet took our cars, we walked inside and found out it was another 30 minutes wait, and we didn't want to try that with the boys. So we ordered a cheesecake to go, turned around and walked back out and paid the valet $2 to go and get our cars back (all within about 7 minutes). Not a bad deal for the valets, I guess. Then we had to wait for about 15 minutes for them to get the freakin' cheesecake out of their freezer ("I have to go upstairs to get it." So? Do it! We paid for it, go get it. Sorry to put you out and ask you to do your job! "I'm sorry, we don't have the kind you want, we are all out. Would you like this other kind?" Whatever! Just get me a blasted cheesecake. I paid for it 15 minutes ago! "I'll have to go upstairs and get it!" Good gracious! Do it!). So we are ALL on edge at this point. Kids screaming, adults annoyed, it wasn't fun. We decided to stop by Arby's and get take out to eat in the hotel lobby. I don't know if I even want to start THIS story...here is how it ends. After another 15 minute wait, they finally brought us our food, and we got to the hotel at 9:15 to eat...only to find out that they didn't give us the orders of fries we asked for! So much for my visions of a smooth, quick, pleasant car buying experience. I guess at least we had a good morning and early afternoon. After dinner we went upstairs and Grandma C. gave Cade his birthday presents. Kid is going to think everyday is his birthday! He got some cool toys that he and Kelson started fighting over immediately. Kelson has learned what "mine" means and uses it as often as he can.

Wednesday:
Mom and dad took Bart and Cherie to the airport at 4:30 am, since their plane left at 6:00. My family slept through it. We had said our goodbye's just before bed time. We got on the road about 9:30 and everything went fine. We stopped for drinks after an hour on the road, stopped for Lunch at Cracker Barrel in Gaffney, SC (home of the "big butt" water tower) about 12:30, stopped for gas in Archdale, NC, then took mom's Expedition back to the rental place (which we couldn't do in GA because they didn't have a "Triangle Rent a Car" in GA) about 5:00. We then dropped off mom and dad at their house (along with the boys), unloaded the van, ran an errand to Wal-Mart, picked up the boys, went home, I mowed, the boys ate, I ate, took Marcos' car to mom's (wanted to get rid of that thing as soon as possible...I mean, I appreciate being able to have it to get around for the last year...but it is WAY too hot around here right now to be driving a car with A/C as bad as that thing has), came back home, went to bed. How's that for a sentence summary?

Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
You want more? Tough, see above.

Arellano Update
Ditto

Christensen Update
They apparently had some problems with Ryan's ticket in Atlanta. Somehow they voided Ryan's ticket because he didn't take the first 1/2 of the round trip ticket from SLC to Atlanta, which Bart and Cherie were told was ok. I'm not sure how that is going to pan out, but it's not cheap to buy a plane ticket last minute...which is what they had to do so that they didn't leave Ryan behind.

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: Monday night: 11:45 - 7:00 Tuesday night: 12:45 - 7:30 - couldn't sleep, must have been the beds

TODAY:
Breakfast: Tuesday: wheat toast, with strawberry jam and boiled eggs, oj, strawberry yogurt
Wednesday: waffle, milk, blueberry yogurt

Lunch: Tuesday: Smokey Bones - Shena and I split a combination plate...we had pulled pork and a beef brisquet, mashed potatoes and gravy, baked beans, texas garlic toast, pink lemonade...very, very good stuff...the pork especially

Wednesday: Cracker Barrell: patty melt on sourdough (hamburger with sauteed onions, cheddar cheese), steak fries (thick cut fries), one biscuit with blackberry jam.

Dinner: Tuesday: Arby's - two Arby melts (roast beef sandwiches with nacho cheese), curly fries, sprite, lemon/raspberry Cheesecake Factory cheesecake (pretty dang good, but not worth the $22 if you ask me. I'd just as soon pay $13 for a sampler from Costco and eat it).

Wednesday: PB and J (may be a lot of these in the next year as we pay off this van!), milk

Trip Pics - Atlanta

At the Atlanta Temple.
A cute picture of Cade and Grandma C. He was telling her "Thank you" for his birthday presents.

This lady was sitting a couple rows in front of us. I told my mom if she ever tried something like this, I would NOT go to the game with her.

Kind of a cool display they have at Turner field. I just liked the way it looked, thought I'd share.

The view from our seats. Keep in mind, the camera makes it look like we are further away than we are. The seats were pretty good. Section 212, 11 or 12th row.

"Millie". The day after we buy the van, this article comes out. Hope it's not a bad sign.
Again.
I think the boys love the van as much as Shena does. Cade has been bugging for months for one. I just hope he doesn't think it is HIS and that we got it for his birthday. I'd never be able to top a present like that, huh?

You Won't Believe This

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

Work & Play
So this is what vacation is all about, right? Running around like crazy and being busy. That we were today...just wait until you read the rest of this. You will be shaking your head at me saying "Cheeto, Cheeto, Cheeto. Are you serious?"

We got up and got ready for the day. The original plan was for Bart, Ryan, Mom and I to go to the Braves game, while Shena, Cherie, Dad and the boys went shopping. At the last minute, dad decided that he would rather go to the game...but Cherie didn't hear that part. As we are headed down the elevator (we all left together) Cherie goes "Chemo, I'm sure glad you are going with us and not with them. We are going to need you," (she was nervous about driving around in Atlanta traffic, and Shena couldn't drive because she wasn't on the rental car agreement. We all looked at her like "Huh?" Of course dad immediately started feeling guilty that he was ditching them...and Cherie felt bad for saying something, but the rest of us thought it was pretty funny. Anyway, we all went our seperate ways. We had to get dad a ticket...the rest of us had one. He wound up getting one about 3 seats down from us (they tried to get him as close as they could). Luckily the Braves fans don't show up for regular season games. All the winning they've done over the years has spoiled the fans and they just don't show up much. So dad was able to sit by us anyway. We got there pretty early...like an hour and a half before game time. We wandered around the park for a bit, looking around. Went in the store, looked at some of the displays, etc. The old folks said they wanted to go and sit down after a bit, so Ryan and I went and walked around some more. We went and hung out by the Braves' bullpen. At one point Leo Mazzone (pitching coach) walked through the bullpen, then walked back out with about 6 baseballs. He started tossing them into the people surrounding the bullpen. Unprovoked, unasked as far as I could tell. He tossed one up my direction (not directly at me) and I got one finger on the ball, but the dude next to me had a hat and he stuck it out so far I couldn't reach the ball and he got it instead. I almost punched him and took his ball AND his hat...but since Ryan just is coming off his mission I figured he wouldn't like that much. We watched Tim Hudson, who was the starting pitcher warm up a bit, then we headed to our seats. On the way we ran into mom, who was headed down to her seat with food. She gave us money to eat, and we both grabbed dogs. On the way to the game, mom and I were talking about Matt Price, a guy Lettie went to H.S. with, who worked for the Braves at one time. We didn't know if he still did, so we thought we might stop somebody who looked like they might know and ask them. Well, as Ryan and I were walking back towards our seats with our food, (which was quickly getting cold because we were in the middle of putting condiments on the dogs when the national anthem started...at it was like 10 minutes long, very nice, but very long) when Matt happens to walk by in the concourse. He's still with the Braves, working now in player development. We talked for several minutes (my food getting colder all the time), and I put in a word for Greensboro's new baseball stadium. I told him that he should hooks us up with a AA or AAA affiliate with the Braves. He said the rumor is floating about that they will be moving the AAA team from Richmond soon because their stadium is literally falling apart. So, you heard it hear first...if Greensboro winds up being an AA or AAA affiliate for the Braves, it was all because of Cheeto! The rest of the game went like this...we hung out, watched the game...cheered sometimes, booed sometimes, tried to get t-shirts from the girls dancing on the dugout, tried to get foul balls that were really no where near us, refused to participate in a "wave" that some guys in front of us were trying to start in the middle of a Braves rally, watched the Braves get beat 4-1. A funny thing happened during the game. During innings they have the cameras around the field putting people on the scoreboard (that's not the funny part)...once they put a heart around the border of the scoreboard and called it the "smooch cam" or something like that (that's not the funny part either). Everybody who they put on camera kissed the person of the opposite sex next to them with great delight...and the crowd even got all riled up when a girl leaned forward and kissed another girl on the cheek instead of kissing the guy who was sitting next to her (he seemed ok with it...maybe they were siblings?). The very last "couple" that they showed were two Pirates (whom the Braves were playing today)...oh, did I mention they were two MALE Pirates fans? One guy just kind of grinned, the other guy shakes his head, then raises his middle finger. For a full 3 or 4 seconds the guy is flipping everybody in the stadium off. We all got a kick out of that one...laughing, clapping. Hilarious.

The game was pretty short. Started at 1:00, was over by 4:00. We were back to the hotel by 4:25 or so. The girls and the boys arrived just about 10 minutes after us and we swapped stories for a bit. At this point, I'm not sure exactly what happened, but to make a long story short, we bought our Odyssey. WHAT!?!? Well.....we THINK we did. We don't know for sure until tomorrow night. How did that happen? Shena said something about "I'm going to call the dealerships down here and see if anybody has my van," (since we were having no luck in Greensboro, and Crown hadn't bothered to call me at all today like they said they would...not even to say "we're trying, but no luck...give us another day." So I 1/2 jokingly say, knock yourself out...you find the van, we'll go buy it. So she called about three dealerships. Two of them say "sorry, we don't have any EX Odyssey's with a gray cloth interior. But one says "I don't have any, but I can find one." Again, to make a long story short, after several phone calls between myself, Shena and the salesman, he says he can have one in their dealership tomorrow morning. At this point I was like "Whatever, the guy is full of crap, he can't find one. We've called two other dealers and they say they don't have any...where in the world does this guy think he is going to find one?" So I figure I'll give it a shot and just throw a number at the guy and see if he bites. I call him on the way to dinner, tell him that I want the van for $27,000, walking (in other words, with all fees, taxes, etc. included). That would beat the Crown dealership price by about $125. So he goes "Oh, I don't know. That's pretty tough. Let me see what I can do." I'm thinking, either this guy is just playing his salesman role and uses the same line for every single customer who makes an offer, or he really thinks I'm full of crap. We eat, come back to the hotel and I haven't heard from him in an hour and a half. I was about to go get in the shower and get ready for bed, when I thought I'd just give him a call and see what he says. He asked me the number again I was looking for, then said he'd call me right back. Five minutes later he goes "We can do it. How soon can you come down to the dealership?" Suddenly Shena and I are on our way to track down this Honda dealer in Atlanta at 8:30 at night...they close at 9:00. We find out the guy has the day off tomorrow, but is coming in to track down our van. He should be able to find SOMETHING. We essentially told him we would take ANY exterior color, as long as the interior was either gray or olive color. We just don't like the tan interior. That means he can bring us back a van that could be one of two different shades of green, one of two different shades of blue, or silver. Our first choice is silver (my last choice would be the dark green...Shena's the light blue), but after talking with all of these dealers, it is obvious that we can't be choosey right now. Otherwise we could wind up buying a 2006 that costs $500 or $1,000 more than the 2005's. We'll have to wait and see how it all turns out tomorrow. Shena said that if it doesn't go through, or they can't find a van by the end of the day tomorrow, she may be crying the whole way back home to Greensboro. I hope it doesn't come to that.

Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
You heard it all, already.

Arellano Update
Ditto

Christensen Update
Ditto

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 11:45 - 6:45 - but I was up several times during the night...I just can't seem to sleep in a strange bed

TODAY:
Breakfast: Thanks to the Fairfield Inn "Continental Breakfast": two mini-blueberry muffins, 1 bowl of raisin bran, strawberry yogurt and a glass of oj

Lunch: Brave's game: a "Jumbo" hot dog - with WAY too much mustard...the dang dispenser was broken and when I pushed down on the button to spit it out, it sprayed a lake onto my dog, sprite

Dinner: Hard Rock Cafe - cheeseburger, no tom, no onion, fries, water - everybody else liked their dinner, mine was unmemorable. I've had better cheeseburgers at Hardee's.