Decorating the tree

    

  

I know I am a little behind, especially since we have already taken our tree down but I wanted to make sure it was documented.  The line of ornaments was an attempt to get the kids from picking the ornaments out the of box and dropping them while looking at all of them, it actually worked pretty good!

Cade's piano recital

Tonight Cade had his first piano recital.  He did a solo, Jingle Bells, and a duet with his teacher, We Wish You a Merry Christmas.  He did great!

  

SNOW DAY IN LAS VEGAS???

Usually when it snows here it snows for one day and then we are done and usually it is just by our house.  Yesterday about 1pm it started snowing and it continue to snow.  It was hilarious, I turned on the tv to watch some random show while I got dinner ready about 3pm and on all of the major tv stations they were covering the snow.  I guess we had our biggest snow storm in 3o years and it even snowed on the strip which it never does.  It kept coming down harder and never let up so by 8pm the school district called a Snow Day for today.  It snowed throughout the night but early this morning it stopped and it has started to melt.  Thank goodness because in a town that only has 4 snow plows it could have got really ugly.  Of course Cade couldn't be happier, he even had yesterday off for Parent/Teacher Conference!  So he gets to join us at Peter Piper Pizza for Claire's Preschool Christmas Party so he thinks he hit the Jackpot.  

I wish I would have taken this picture last night with more snow but this is what palm trees look like in the snow.  

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas?

    

         

Monday around 6am it began snowing in Las Vegas!  It has snowed a couple of times since we have been here but it SNOWED on Monday.  First it was just slushy wet snow but then big fluffy flakes started coming down.  Of course living in Vegas we don't have snow clothes so the kids went through a few outfits but they had a blast.  Casey even came home early and helped the kids build a snow man, yes we had enough snow for a snowman.  

Fun times at Thanksgiving

       

    

My kids love to spend time with their cousins and so of course they had a great time at Thanksgiving.  They had fun with Allie and Laney and I feel bad for them because they think that they are a lot younger than they really are.  Laney is only 5 weeks younger than Chloe and Allie 14 months but they think she is a little baby.  It is so neat to see them interact with each other and see the love and friendship growing between all of them.  They also got to play with Uncle John and Stephanie!

My handy work

   

Last week Chloe wanted to cut her hair short.  I asked her if she wanted to keep it long like Claire's and she said no, she wanted it short.  I was hoping that she didn't want to cut it because I can trim but I don't like to cut off more than an inch.  I was surprised that she didn't want to keep it like Claire's because she wants to do everything that Claire does.  So I got the scissors out and made the call to Casey to make sure he was ok with it.  He was ok with it as long as it was long enough to put into a ponytail, Chloe does look really cute with a ponytail.  So I made the first cut, probably a little too high because I usually have to go back and even it out a few times.  Plus Chloe's hair has a little curl to it so it gets shorter.  Half way through she decided she was done, well it doesn't work that way.  I had to put layers in because her hair is straight on top and curly on the bottom so it wouldn't look funny.  I just did what it looks like they are doing to me when someone is cutting my hair.  So there you go, you didn't know that I could cut hair like that did you?  Hey neither did I!  The second picture is me pleading with her to take her picture and this is what she gave me. Apparently she was really into whatever was on the tv at the time!

One less...

Chloe has had a really hard time with potty training in one area and I am tired of it.  Finally the other day after I had to clean up not only dirty underpants but it smeared on the floor as well, I lost it.  I called Casey and told him I couldn't handle it anymore.  Casey's call to action, get rid of a "night night".  See THIS post to see the significance of this.  He came home from work and took one and put it out in the garbage can.  I was having a hard time with it.  This was her comfort!  Chloe seemed ok and I about caved in when I was putting her to bed that night and she was crying saying, "Where is my other one."  The garbage came the next day and as it was sitting out on the street I was so tempted to go and grab it out.  I called Casey and told him what I was thinking and he thought I was crazy!  If it was up to him he would have gotten rid of both of them.  I have to admit that it is disgusting but she loves them more than anything, aside from her Claire Bear and the rest of us.  So, one is gone and it hasn't helped the potty situation at all.  Oh well, now we only have one wet stinky blanket around.  This picture was taken last week and it was with both of them. 

A Bittersweet Moment for Cade

Yesterday Cade was playing in a friend's backyard and bumped his head while bending over to pick something up and somehow his tooth fell out.  I can only assume that he bit down on it and it came out.  He was standing on the grass looking at it in his hand when his friend (who thought it was a bug) came and whacked it out of his hand.  Cade was NOT happy.  He was yelling at his friend and crying uncontrollably .  I felt so bad for him because it was only his second tooth that he lost.  Casey and I and another adult tried looking in the grass but since we weren't there when it happened we didn't know exactly where it happened and each time we asked the boys the story changed a little.  Luckily we were able to leave a note for the tooth fairy and she left a not back saying that she was able to find his tooth in their backyard and left some money.  He was very happy.  

A Kodak Moment

Looking at this picture, most of you probably wouldn't think of this as a Kodak moment.  With Claire wearing pants, jeans no less, and her hair in braids I had to take a pictures.  For those of you that don't know Claire very well, EVERY DAY she wears a dress unless she is doing an activity where she should wear pants.  This day she went to a birthday party where they were riding horses.  I convinced her that cowgirls wear braids, but it took awhile and she finally gave in.  If it were her choice she would wear her hair down tucked behind her ears.  Luckily she has beautiful hair so she can get away with it.  So, take a moment to look at this picture because it is an extremely rare occurrence.  

Happy Anniversary Las Vegas!

On November 1st, 6 years ago, Casey, Cade and I arrived in Las Vegas.  I can't believe that we have been here that long.  Next month we will have been in our house for 5 years.  This is the longest I have lived anywhere in my life.  We moved around a lot when I was growing up, I went to 6 elementary schools, 2 jr. high schools and 2 high schools.  Of course, once you go to college you are moving every year.  Even when I came home to Gilroy, my parents had moved to a different house that I lived in when I was in high school.  

I have loved Las Vegas and have many wonderful friends here, we are very lucky.  

Halloween has come and gone

I was ready for Halloween to be over before it was even here.  I did a really good job this year of not buying candy before Halloween because I knew I would eat it.  This year Cade was Spiderman, Claire was a witch and Chloe was Minnie Mouse.  We had a trunk or treat the night before with four HUGE wards so we had a ton of candy from that.  Casey didn't get to experience it with us because he was cooking for the 800+ people that were there.  I was really glad when we still had a few more rows of cars left and Cade said, "This is taking too long."  I was more than happy to stop.  Chloe got the most candy that night because there were so many kids there that people were just dropping candy in bags and not really looking and Chloe kept standing there and so she usually got a few at one stop.

Halloween day was Nevada Day so Cade didn't have school.  We went and visited a few people and then did a couple of streets in our neighborhood.  Our neighborhood is so funny because there are two cul-de-sacs that are happening with people walking the streets trying to scare people and haunted "garages" and then... there is our street, it is dead.  We only had a few trick or treaters so Casey had to give out handfuls to try to get rid of as much candy as possible.  The kids have already decided what they want to be next year so I have bought the girls costumes already.  

By the way, the things coming out of Cade's eyes are his eyelashes, not spiderwebs!  He couldn't wear his mask very long because he couldn't blink!

The Latest on Cade

I'm a little late in getting this on my blog, but better late than never, right?  Cade had his tubes put in his ears 2 weeks ago and it has made such a difference.  He can actually hear without his aids in!  It's fantastic.  The day that he had them in I asked him a question, his aids were out, and covered my mouth so he wouldn't read my lips and he answered it!  Needless to say, I cried.  He hasn't been able to hear well for a long time and now the liquid is out of the way, he can hear so much better.  One of the best things is that the tv isn't as loud as it used to be.  We had a follow up last week with the doctor and he said that everything looks great and the tubes are in a good position.  Cade keeps asking how many more days until they come out.  His teachers all noticed a difference right away, he is so  much more focused.  He is a great little boy and we are so lucky to have him in our family.  The poor thing has been through so much in the past 2 years to try to get things figured out and hopefully now we are done.  The improvements in him are amazing, he is more social and is speaking a lot clearer.  

MERRY CHRISTMAS CASEY!!!!

I have to give you a background on this post.  Every Christmas I stress out what to give Casey for Christmas and last year I thought I did a pretty good job picking out some gifts including a watch and an ipod shuffle so he could listen to music while he rode his bike.  Christmas morning we were opening presents and Casey said, "Well, that's it!"  I said, "No, there are still some presents for you."  We looked under the tree skirt, even picked up the tree and nope, they weren't there.  I went to my closet where I was putting all of the presents after I wrapped them.  No, they weren't there either.  I was so stressed.  I looked through our whole closet, I showed him the receipts to show him that I really did buy him more then what he got.  Not that he wasn't happy with what he got or didn't believe me but for my sake.  It was driving Casey crazy because all I did the whole day was either worry about it or look aimlessly for the missing gifts.  We came to the conclusion that they were probably put in a plastic bag with garbage and thrown away.  I didn't really believe it but it was the only solution I could come up with and it took me awhile to accept it.

So....  Today I was cleaning out the closet in the toy room that holds all of my craft things, wrapping paper, bags, ribbons, toys etc.  I was going through and organizing all of the drawers and I had a big bag of ribbons on the shelf and decided to put them in the drawer.  They didn't fit in the drawer in the bag so I dumped the bag out and out fell two wrapped presents.  My first thought was, What are these presents?  I turned it over and there was the gift tag that said To Daddy.  I started screaming for Casey over and over.  He came running wondering what in the world would I be screaming like that for.  It was pretty exciting and on top of that he LOVED the watch!  It is a happy day!  Casey loved his gifts and the money I spent on him wasn't thrown in the garbage!  So... 9 months later, Merry Christmas Casey!  

Cade's new golf clubs

     

Last Saturday, Casey wanted to go get himself a new putter and asked Cade if he wanted to go.  Surprisingly, he said yes!  If Cade has a choice to go somewhere or stay home, he always stays home.  So Cade went with Casey to the golf store and ended up getting Cade a set a golf clubs instead of a putter for himself.  What a good daddy.  So of course when he got home he had to show them off and try them out.  Casey and Cade even went to the golf course that day while Claire was at a party and Chloe and I napped.  

We might have a golfer on our hands!  

Pink dots

Yesterday while I was brushing Claire's hair before church, she was looking in the mirror at me and said,

Claire: Mom, I see pink dots on your face.  

Me: Thanks Claire.  I'm going to remind you of this when you are a teenager, ok?  

Claire: Ok Mom!  

Cade's latest...

Cade has had some trouble hearing lately, even with his hearing aids on.  The other day I was about 3 feet away from him and was asking him in a normal voice, "Cade, can you hear me?"  He did respond until he saw my lips moving and came over and put his ear towards me.   He has really been relying on lip reading a lot lately. Without his aids on, we have to talk directly into his ear for him to hear.  He also has been complaining about a noise in his ear that he has described two different ways.  The first is by putting his pointer finger and thumb together and making a circular motion by his ears and the other he described as a feet noise.  I asked him what a "feet noise" was and he stood up and quietly marched in place.  He went to the audiologist last Saturday and he did some tests, his hearing had gone down 10-15 decibels and the pressure behind his ears was REALLY bad.  We were able to get him into the ENT and we were told that he needs to have tubes put in his ears to help him with the draining.  We were really happy that this was a lot easier to diagnose then the hearing loss was.

We showed him the poster on the wall explaining the tubes being put in his ears and immediately he said, "I don't want that."  Then Casey said, "Maybe we can get you the Lego Batman video game if you get it done" and that sealed the deal.   We went to meet with the scheduler and he was ready to get it done right then.  Now he has to wait 2 whole weeks to get his game.  We go in on October 10th to have the procedure done, it will be a great day.  I can't wait for my little boy to hear well again.

The Gumball Machine is Back!

Cade and Chloe are so alike in many ways, it's a little scary.  They both like the same shows as little kids, they both can't sit still, and they have the same motivators to be potty trained. When I got back from Lake Powell I rededicated myself to try to potty train Chloe.  I know that it's all about timing but when all the kids her age and younger are done then I put the pressure on myself to get it done.  So the immediate reward is a gumball, I bought this when Cade was going through the process.  Cade loved it then and Chloe loves it now.  I should rephrase that, all of my kids love it, Cade and Claire think that if they go to the bathroom then they get a gumball too!  I hear them asking me a lot after they go.  The long term motivator for when she is done is Disneyland that is what it was for Cade too.  She's also like Cade in that one part of potty training is going to be difficult, I'll let you figure that out.  So the adventure begins... I can't wait until it's over!

Cade leads the school

While we were at Lake Powell Cade's class was in charge of leading the school in the pledge of allegiance and he got to do it one day!  Mandy and Erich practiced with him so he would be ready. So here he is in action!

Lake Powell

Last week we were so lucky to go to Lake Powell with Bruce and Lisa King, Jerry and Jackie King and Casey's parents.  This is our third year going and we have so much fun every year.  It was very relaxing, I took so many naps, I'm embarrassed to count.   A lot of that was because I was STILL sick and didn't have much energy.  Because I had so much junk in my chest I wasn't able to stay in the water very long without having a coughing fit.  The weather was perfect and the water was perfect and the food was, as always, excellent.  We were so lucky that Mandy and Erich came to watch the kids otherwise it wouldn't have been possible so thank you.  Check out this entry and this one to hear about their experience here.  

Cade lost his first tooth!

What a big event for our first child!  It was an exciting experience for us all.  He wasn't looking forward to his teeth coming out even though a lot of his friends have already lost their teeth.  I thought he was going to be the kind that wouldn't let anyone touch it even when it was barely hanging on, but he was tough!  It was getting pretty loose so tonight after dinner we made him eat an apple and after a couple of bites, it came out in his mouth.  He got cheers from the whole family and the missionaries were here for dinner so they got to join in on the fun too!  The Tooth Fairy will make her first appearance in our home tonight!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

My friend who is into nutrition and working out gave this recipe to me and I love it!  It's a great source of healthy protein and is delicious over brown rice.  It makes a lot so you will have plenty for lunch the next day.  It's actually a recipe that she changed to make healthier.  I put the ingredients that I used and the actual ingredients in parenthesis 

1 1/4 lbs ground turkey (1- 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef)

3/4 cups rolled oats - add more until it has a thicker consistency about 1/4 cup more

2 egg whites (2 eggs)

1/2 cup finely chopped onions

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp salt

Few grains pepper

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Sauce

1/2 cup honey (1/2 cup brown sugar)

1/4 cup vinegar

1 tsp prepared mustard

1/4 cup low sugar teriyaki sauce (1/4 cup BBQ sauce)

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients; mix well.  (I think because it is ground turkey it will be a little more wet than if using beef) Form into balls, each about 2 inches in diameter.  Place in a casserole dish.  Combine sauce ingredients and blend thoroughly.  Heat and pour over meatballs.  Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.  This made 2 casserole pans full.  

FYI

I'm all about sharing important information and here is a good one.  If you get a fever, make sure you go to the doctor within 48 hours.  Don't have the mentality that it will go away on it's own.  I am going on day number 4 of having a fever and missed that 48 hour mark and so now I just have to wait it out and have it takes it's course.  I keep thinking I am getting better and the fever comes back.  Ugh!  I can't tell you how frustrating it is and I am SICK (no pun intended) of sweating (I do that enough living in Las Vegas) and being cold!  Hopefully I'm on the downhill side.  Anyway, so go to the doctor so he can give you medicine so you can start feeling better and not have to wait it out like me.  :(

Caramel Chip Bars

If you know me well, you know that I am a sucker for caramel, it's my favorite.  I would take it over chocolate in a heart beat.  So of course I have to try recipes that include them.  These are very rich and I didn't want them in my house so I sent them to work with Casey and they were devoured in no time.

1/2 cup butter, cubed

32 caramels

1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 package yellow cake mix

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

2 cups mini chocolate chips

1 cup vanilla or white chips

1 Heath candy bar, chopped

In a large saucepan, combine the butter, caramels and milk; cook and stir over medium low heat until smooth.  Cool.

In a large bowl, beat the cake mix, oil and eggs until blended.  Stir in chips and chopped candy bar (dough will be stiff)  

Press 3/4 into a greased 9x13 pan Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  Place on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  

Pour caramel mixture over crust.  Drop remaining dough by spoonfuls onto caramel layer.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes; run a knife around the edges of  pan.  Cool 40 minutes longer; cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.  

The many sleeping positions of Chloe

Chloe is going through a funny stage right now.  She is in a bed and likes to come out.  Last weekend we put her to bed and went out to finish watching a movie.  I went to go check on the kids and this is what I found...  Chloe asleep by the front door on the cold, hard tile.  

The next day we decided to not give her a nap so that she would go to bed easier and around 5pm she came into my room where I was watching TV and she climbed up on me and fell asleep.  It really doesn't get much better than that!

Claire's First Day of Preschool

      

Claire was so excited to go to Preschool.  Her exact words were, "I'm so excited to go to Preschool" which she said over and over all day yesterday.  She kept asking when we were going to eat lunch because I told her that we were going after lunch.  The cutest thing was that Chloe thought she was going too and got her backpack and even wanted her picture taken with Claire's teacher, Mrs. McIntyre.  In two years you will be able to Chloe!  Claire had so much fun yesterday and is looking forward to going back today.  Claire and Cade are so different in that Claire counts the days until she goes to school and Cade counts how many days until the weekend.  

Cade's First Day of School

   

                    

For the past few days I have been so nervous about Cade starting 1st grade.  I think it's because he will be gone all day and he was so sheltered in his previous classes and now he will be on the big playground!  I think everyone worries about how their child will be treated and hopefully people will be nice to my little boy with the green ears.  I actually slept really well last night, when I said goodbye to Casey this morning he told me "Good luck" and I had to think for a second why he was telling me that.  

We walked to school with a bunch of kids from our neighborhood to the chaotic playground.  Cade did really well and because he did, I did.  His class only has 12 kids in it!  That probably won't last for long but I am so excited for him.  There are a couple of kids in his class from last year and one from church so he should be ok.  I think I am now more worried about tomorrow because I hope he will want to go back.  

I just got back from picking Cade up and I asked him if he had a good time and he said, "That was a LONG time."  Whenever I ask him about school it's always about how long it is.  He even said, "I don't want it to be that long again."  Too bad, Cade, there's a lot of school left!  I asked him who he played with and he said "everyone".  He didn't come home crying so that's a great sign right?  My little boy is not so little anymore...

The Cannon Reunion

        
Finally... Our last trip of the summer without Casey, I've gotten tired of not having him along.  Not just for the fact that I have to do it without him, but I feel sad that he is missing out on memories.  Hopefully next summer won't be as hectic for him and he'll be able to make a few trips with us because we missed him!  

So this time we were headed to the Jemez Mountains in New Mexico.  Luckily Betsy was able to meet me in Flagstaff and she drove the rest of the way with me.  So it was only a 3 1/2 hour drive by myself, very doable.  It is so beautiful there and well worth the long drive to get out of the heat and be able to let the kids play.  Casey's Aunt Dee Dee has a ranch there with four wheelers, horses and plenty of wide open space to run free, but contained enough that we didn't have to worry about where they were every second.  

I about had a heart attack and a flashback to last year.  There was a little quad that didn't go too fast that they let Cade drive.  He did fine the first time he got on and wasn't on it too long.  Later he got on again and was a little more confidant than I would have liked.  I saw him spin around a pole which first got me nervous.  Claire needed something in our room so I hurried and grabbed it for her because I wanted to watch Cade.  When I went to look for him, all I saw was Dee Dee waving her arms telling me to come and no Cade and no quad.  FREAK OUT TIME!  As I sprinted out there a million things were going through my head.  I was hoping that the worst would be a broken arm, I could handle that.  By the time I got there Cade was back on the road, not crying, just a little stunned and not hurt at all.  Dee Dee was down watching him and saw the whole thing.  He was watching something on the road he was trying to avoid and instead of looking back up to see where he was going he kept looking at the ground and went off the road.  

We had a great time and hopefully next time Casey will come with us!

Girl's Camp

  
I probably haven't mentioned that I am now in Young Women's and I had the opportunity to go up to camp Friday and Saturday.  It was fun getting to know the girls.  They have a zip line and leaders and YCL's were allowed to do  "Upsie Downsie's".  I decided to give it a try!  After I did it, I left quite an impression, especially since it was my first time.  Casey came not long after to help cook and he couldn't be out done so he did it too.  It was fun!  

Feeling older...

Last night we were taking girls home from a service project and our Young Women's President asked me when I graduated high school and I said, 1994.  Then a Laurel said, "Oh!  I was 3 when you graduated!"  That's gotta make you feel good, right?  WRONG!

WICKED Fun!

       

I'm so far behind in my blogging but I have to post about a great weekend that I had.  My great friend Michelle and I were complaining one day about our husbands being gone so much that we decided it was time for US to go away.  So we planned a trip to Southern California!  The only qualification we had for where we stayed was somewhere close to the beach, which we never went to, and to see Wicked  We saw Wicked the first night, Michelle hadn't seen it before and I'm always up to see it again!  The rest of the time was filled with shopping, shopping and more shopping.  It was such an odd experience to be out with a friend and not feel like I had to rush through the stores in order to get back to my kids.  

It was a much needed getaway so thank you to Casey, Betsy and Ben for making it possible!

Hallelujah!

While we were in California at the beach Cade broke his hearing aid while being a little too rambunctious.  Luckily his audiologist works on Saturdays so as we drove into town we went directly to her office to drop it off.  Thank heavens it is still under warranty.  I thought we would get it back in a week but no...  Let me tell you, it makes a huge difference if Cade has only one hearing aid.  Today we got the call that it was ready to be picked up.  Thus the Hallelujah!  Cade immediately wanted to put it in and when he did he said, "Whoa... that's loud!"  Now I don't have to shout at him to get his attention and I can speak to him in a normal voice.  And hopefully no more, "What? What? What did you say?"  Poor thing...

Frozen Ice Cream Delight

Delight is the perfect word to describe this creation.  It has oreos, ice cream, chocolate and cool whip, all food groups that we enjoy separately and together.  I mean it really doesn't get any better than this.  This is the dessert that Casey requests, even on Christmas Eve (it's not THAT cold in Las Vegas!)  We even had a neighbor that didn't eat sweets but had a Sixth Sense for when I made this and always had an excuse to come over every night for a few days.  Beware, a little can go a long way which makes it last that much longer!!!

2 1/2 cups Oreo crumbs, divided

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 gallon of ice cream, softened, we use vanilla but I'm sure chocolate chip or chocolate would be great!

2 cups powdered sugar

2/3 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup butter, cubed

1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

1 tsp vanilla 

1 1/2 cups salted peanuts (We don't included these)

1 carton (8 oz) cool whip, thawed

Combine 2 cups of cookie crumbs with sugar and melted butter.  Press onto the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  (I usually combine everything in the pan so I don't have to dirty a bowl) Freeze for 15 minutes.  

Spread ice cream over crumbs.  Freeze until firm, about 3 hours.  Begin fudge sauce as it needs to cool to room temperature. 

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, chocolate chips, evaporated milk and butter.  Bring to a boil and boil for 8 minutes.  I always stir the whole time so it doesn't burn, learned from experience.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Cool to room temperature.

Spoon sauce over ice cream layer; sprinkle with peanuts (optional).  Freeze until firm.  Spread cool whip on top and sprinkle with remaining crumbs.  Freeze at least 3 hours before serving.  ENJOY!!