Cheeky/Chiki/Cheek/Dingo/Kangaroo

At the end of June, a new member came into our family: Cheeky.







That's one of the earliest pictures I can find of her. Here, we see her standing guard over Katie. When we first got her, she was the most skittish dog in the world, and wouldn't go near Dad, even if he was holding a treat. She bonded fastest with Katie, and would almost never leave her side. Cheeky quickly grew attached to Lindsay, me, and even Mom, but it took her a few months to let Dad go near her, let alone pet her.


Today we gave her a bath. Mom had to carry her into her bathroom, and once she was put down in the tub, she started shaking. The shaking continued until we were done giving her a bath. I discovered that wet dogs are the worst air fresheners.




So far, Cheeky has ripped the stuffing completely out of two soft toys. The duck still exists because there's a rope going through the middle, and the small pull rope because we got it today. Cheeky has yet to chew on any of our stuffed animals, but sometimes when we come home after being out most of the day, we find her in her bed with a shoe. The shoe isn't damaged at all, though.



I can tell that she doesn't like the camera. She licked the lens a little after this picture.

My Grandmother

On Wednesday July 1, 2009 our family lost someone who was and always will be so very dear to us all, my Grandmother Elaine Garner. My Grandmother was an amazing woman. She raised 8 of the best aunts and uncles a girl could hope for and 1 truly wonderful father. Although I am not a "blood relative" of the Garner's, Grandma never ever allowed me to feel as though I wasn't apart of the family and loved every bit as much as anyone else.

I have so many memories of my Grandma that have come flooding back to me over the last few days. I remember spending many weekends at the Garner's, snuggling in bed with Grandma and Grandpa in the morning (well usually it was just Grandma because Grandpa was long gone by the time the sun was up, usually) making cookies, going shopping, playing in the yard, attempting to learn cross stitching and crochet, learning how to play cards with the grown ups, and picking raspberries (how I loved those rows and rows of raspberries). And of course there were the many trips we took to the Liberty Cabin and the trips we took to California.

Grandma introduced me to my love of cooking, showing me how to properly measure the dry ingredients, the wet ingredients, how to sift flower and why, the difference between baking soda and baking powder and so much other cooking knowledge. She was always so patient with me while I learned and made messes.

Another thing I will always treasure was the effort she made to spend time with just me. I was the only grandchild for a few years and then by the time the other kids began to come along I was so much older and they were all boys - yuck! I'm not sure now how often it was but I'd say it was at least a few times a year, if not every couple of months, Grandma would pick me up and take me out for an afternoon of shopping. She loved to window shop! We would go down to Ogden Mall and wander around, always stopping by Sees Candy for chocoaltes, always going into one of the department stores (which one it was escapes me now) to oogle over the pretty china and always into the infants department to look at the little girl dresses. At the end of each shopping trip she would always tell me to pick out an outfit that I liked, of course I gladly obliged lol.

I remember one time being so frightened at the Cabin during a Thunderstorm. Grandma held me to comfort me and told me that the noise of the thunder was only Heavenly Father moving his furniture around and not to be afraid.

Very rarely did I ever see my Grandmother upset or angry. Usually the boys, my cousins and my brother, would test her patience and she had to lay down the law at times, but mostly Grandma was unbelievably patient with all of us. She always seemed happy, genuinely happy. I try every day to immolate her example and find patience and happiness in my life, only to feel that I have fallen short of her example, but it'll always be something I strive for. The picture of her in the swing, that smile on her face, that is how I will always remember her, happy and smiling.



She loved her Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren all so much. She would light up whenever she spent time with any of us. Somehow she seemed to remember each and every one of our birthdays, how she did that I'll never know because I have a hard enough time keeping my 2 of my 3 straight.

Grandma and Grandpa were an example to us of what a family is, what family means and what we should all strive for in our lives. I appreciate both of them for being such an example and for being such loving Grandparents to us all.

I will miss my grandma dearly, as I have missed grandpa dearly, but I carry both of them in my heart always and will always hear their words of wisdom and advice when I need it most.

Kids are so cute!

So I finally managed to remember something cute that Katie said. Yesterday we were picking up around the house and like always I was constantly repeating myself on what needed to be done. At one point I was certain I wasn't being heard so I said:

"Katie, please pick up the toys on the floor in the family room." Silence.......
"Katie, PLEASE pick up the toys on the floor in the family room." More silence....
"Katie did you hear what I said?"

To which she replied:

"Yes mom, I DO have ears you know! Jeez!"

Wow, Haven't Done This in a While.

Hello everybody! It seems that Mom has taken over for now, and I really don't have much unique to add, so I'll build on what Mom posted!

"If you look closely at the picture of Katie's cake you'll notice a hand print in the cake, no that isn't on purpose. Apparently Allison's Tourette's kicked in and she decided that she had to put her hand in the cake." --From "Happy Birthday Katelynn"

Um, yeah. That wasn't exactly my greatest moment. I remember Katie sniffling, close to crying, once I did that. You can see the hand print right behind the crown. I thought, 'I wonder if I can sneak a bit of frosting off of that,' and my Tourette's went into overdrive and slammed my hand on the cake. I did make an imprint on Katie's birthday, though. (Hooray for puns!)

"Later that evening Allison expressed her gratitude that we didn't have anymore kids because she realized how much more attention they require and she didn't want to share my attention with any other kids, nor did she want to have to increase her chore duties. I think it was mostly about the chore duties myself, the other stuff was just added as a distraction from the truth." --From "Happy Birthday Katelynn"

That's not true! Because, um, um... Okay, the last sentence is mostly true.

On the last picture in "Happy Birthday Lindsay - Whew, We Made it!":

I had everything from clips, to ponytails, to a comb and a candy wrapper in my hair. Those girls really do go all-out when it comes to makeovers.

On the new trampoline:

This is, truly, the coolest thing in our backyard. (Next to me when I'm out there, of course.) I adore jumping on trampolines when they're surrounded by a net, and doing it with my friends is even better. SO COOL!

"One in particular, her English teacher Mrs. Champi, has taken her in as her own and made sure she is well taken care of, even after Allison developed the rare symptom of Tourettes called corproalia (which is the "swearing" tic that I think most associate with Tourette Syndrome) and swore at her." -- From "Year End School Events - Allison"

That was one of the most awkward times of the school year. I was ticcing really bad that day, as in, jumping and running around the desks, hitting people, throwing things, and so on. I could feel the cursing bubbling up, but I tried to keep it inside until I could get to the councilor's office or a bathroom. All of a sudden, I said, "Mrs. Champi?" and as she looked at me, I proceeded to say the F-word. After a very awkward silence, she said that I should go to the councilor's office, and I hastily obeyed. It spread like wildfire through the school that somebody had cussed out Mrs. Champi, and I became semi-famous for that, and jumping up and singing part of the chorus to Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer."

". . . Elvis Crocodiles (yes I said Elvis Crocodiles lol), . . ." -- From "Year End School Events - Lindsay and Katie"

As I have learned from Lindsay MANYMANYMANY times, they are Elvis Lizards, not Elvis Crocodiles.

School Events - Lindsay and Katie

Lindsay's 3rd grade class worked long and hard on an opera (it was really a musical) for performance in front of the school and parents this year. These kids decided on the subject, wrote the lyrics, wrote the dialogue, choreographed the dance numbers, and made the sets! The subject of the opera was a town in Texas and how it dealt with a tornado. There were townsfolk, cattle, Elvis Crocodiles (yes I said Elvis Crocodiles lol), ghosts, and a singing piano. Unfortunately the audio wasn't that great so it was difficult to understand most of the words to the songs but they were very creative from the parts that I did hear. It was truly amazing what their imaginations managed to come up with!

Katie's program was today. It was entitled "Wild West Show". She was so nervous this morning she woke up and immediately told me she didn't want to go to school because she thought she was going to throw up and proceeded to cry. After calming her down I managed to talk with her about performing in front of a crowd, suggesting she just look for mom whenever she became nervous and I would be there with a smile. Of course it didn't hurt that I also bribed her with a trip to Walmart to buy these little miniature horses she's been coveting for about 6 months now. After that promise she decided she could be brave and perform.

When I arrived she was sitting on the steps of the stage looking nervous but so terribly cute with her little "I'm so shy smile." They entertained us by singing Home on the Range, You've Got a Friend in Me and Happy Trails in addition to a performance entitled "Leo the Longhorn" which included a Cow Conga Line following a Bear. Kindergartners are so darn cute!!

Well that's about all from our house for now. Next adventure is a mini escape for Todd and I. We're heading off to Yellowstone for the weekend tomorrow morning! Hope everyone is well and enjoying life!

Year End School Events - Allison

I shall start this blog off with Allison's one and only 2008-2009 School year photo. As photos of Allison go, it's a rather good one I think. I just can't believe how grown up she looks and is!

We have had a interesting and challenging time with Tourettes this last year. Allison has been such a trooper and managed to wade her way through the year with few issues. Her teachers have been magnificent. One in particular, her English teacher Mrs. Champi, has taken her in as her own and made sure she is well taken care of, even after Allison developed the rare symptom of Tourettes called corproalia (which is the "swearing" tic that I think most associate with Tourette Syndrome) and swore at her. She has recently changed medications, again, and now wears a patch that provides continual medication to her system that seems to be helping more than anything else she has tried thus far. I believe we have been through at least 5 different medications since August. Luckily Allison hasn't had to suffer through being unjustly punished due to the Tourette symptoms nor has she experienced any teasing or mocking.
Education of teachers and students I think was the key. I am so very proud of Allison. She has handled Tourettes with maturity well beyond her years and taken every bit of it in stride and has learned how to make Tourettes apart of her life and her personality.

Despite being over tired from different medications and dealing with ticcing throughout her classes Allison did so well that she received a few awards at a recent awards presentation at school. Unfortunately my camera decided it didn't want to behave so I only have 2 poor pictures of the event. Allison was awarded with a Certificate of Recognition for participation in the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program. For those that aren't aware of this program, it was developed orginally for children of Ambassadors throughout the world to ensure that they received an advanced and diverse education. If Allison follows this program through to 12th grade she will graduate with 2 diplomas. It is said that a diploma from the IBO has helped distinguish scholarship candidates and entrance applicants obtain acceptances at even the toughest schools. So we shall see.

Allison also received an Honor Roll Award for maintaining a 3.50 to 3.74 gpa for the first 3 terms of the year, in addition to a Certificate of Recognition for Excellence in Utah Studies and a Certificate of Excellence for Citizenship. Way to go Allison!!

Next Event - JUMP Time!!

While we were trapped in my parent's basement, we encouraged the girls not only with a new home with new bedrooms painted colors of their choice, but also with the promise of a trampoline. They were discouraged that we weren't able to buy one last summer so we knew we couldn't put it off any longer.

One Friday afternoon Todd was able to leave work early, so we decided to drag Katie along on a bit of a shopping excursion with talk of looking at trampolines. After settling on which one we wanted we went straight home and Todd began the work of assembly. Katie said about every 5 minutes "Moooooom I want to jump! Is it time yet????"

Soon it was time for Lindsay to come home from school. I told Katie not to tell her what Daddy was doing in the backyard. This was very difficult for her to keep quiet the whole block from the bus stop to the house of course. I wish I had had my camera at the ready because Lindsay's face lit up the minute she saw the trampoline. Of course it wasn't completely together at that time, but it was surprisingly to the stage of attaching the mat to the springs.

So then Lindsay joined in on the "Mooooom I want to jump" bombardment. Evening time rolled around and Jim joined us for the event. I would like to point out that up to the time Jim arrived Todd had put the trampoline together all by himself, except for a moment or two here and there that he asked Allison or I to hold something up. Somehow he even managed to get the mat attached without injury (well unless you count the spring bouncing off of the mat and hitting him in the head).

5 hours later the time had arrived. Because we were all nervous that Todd had assembled the trampoline on his own (Todd makes Tim the Toolman Taylor look experienced -refer to the old 80's sitcom Home Improvement), we told Jim that he had to jump on it before we would allow the kids the opportunity. Katie just did not understand this but she waited patiently while the rest of us waited for Jim to bring the trampoline down to the ground.

As you can see all went well. Unfortunately though it was very late by the time Todd had finished and the girls were only allowed to jump for a short time. I had to drag them offonce I noticed them turning blue because it was so chilly that evening. Since then just about every evening that we have had good weather the girls (Lindsay and Katie) have spent hours jumping, running, and lying on the trampoline.