OOOOklahoma where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain

The Adventure Begins...

Saturday, Dec. 21^st we loaded up and headed out.  Our van loaded to the max plus some in the Camry Devin was driving to AZ for Christmas.  The drive was… tense.  The weather wasn’t too great and I watched Devin hydroplane and then later he slid off the road so I was pretty frazzled by the time we made it to Jen’s house and very grateful to be done driving for a couple of days.  The boys, by the way thought the whole sliding off the road thing was wildly funny.  We all spent the night and Sunday with the Christensens and then Dusty, Devin and Brian headed to Mesa.  (Jen’s older boys were in California for Christmas so Brian wouldn’t have had anyone to play with.)  I enjoyed some very nice, warm days with Jen and kids and then headed to Mesa also.  It’s just not fair that sisters have to live so far apart!

Christmas in Mesa was wonderful.  We were all spoiled with good food, lots of attention, and of course presents.  Grandpa Allen and Uncle Bill made all the grandsons these amazing trucks!  And the granddaughters received jewelry boxes.  We played hand and foot and watched lots of movies as one is nearly always playing at Grandma Black’s for the kids.  It was a lot of fun to spend time with my nieces and nephews and get to know them better.  It’s really neat to see their personalities developing which have so much of their parents in them and yet are so unique at the same time!

Dusty offered to watch Mary one day so I went to Maricopa to watch Frozen with Aunt Daphnie and family.  Best. Movie. Ever!  I absolutely loved it!!!  I told Dusty repeatedly that I wanted to buy it.  And I will.  And I’ll probably play it over and over so I can memorize all of the songs once I do- even if the kids aren’t watching it.  Hehehehe.  (like Beauty and the Beast when I was a kid).  Beth and her family were in Mesa for the holiday also so Grandpa and Grandma Allen were able to get pictures of everyone except 1 grandkid who stayed in Oregon.  Great Grandma Black housed us again and we are always grateful to her for letting our gang literally take over her house.  Mary absolutely love Gma Black’s dog, Tootsie (a miniature poodle).  She did fantastic sleeping which was one of my biggest worries and the other kids did really well too. 

The Monday following Christmas, we loaded up again and headed East to San Antonio, Texas.  This was uncharted territory for both Dusty and I, having never traveled this far East.  Our plan was to stop halfway but when we got to the halfway point, everyone was doing awesome and it was only 2pm so we kept going.  We ended up doing the entire 16 hour drive!  Mary was screaming for about the last 20 minutes but Ben and Darci had beds ready for everyone and luckily we all crashed!  San Antonio was much greener than we expected!  The kids enjoyed every minute playing with their cousins.  We spent one afternoon at the park, one day at the Children’s Museum, and one day we traveled down to the Gulf of Mexico so the kids could put their toes in the ocean.  So much fun crammed into a few days!  We taught Ben, Darci, Alec, and Hannah how to play Hand and Foot and the boys stomped every single time! 

On our trip to the gulf, we got to have a ferry ride which the kids thought was the highlight (mom and dad
thought it was pretty cool too).  Unfortunately, we had car trouble on the way back to San Antonio that night.  The check engine and battery lights came on which meant the battery wasn’t charging.  We went as far as we could until the kids just HAD to have a potty break.  Thankfully, the Lord answers some prayers very quickly and there was a kind man to jump start us and we made it the rest of the way.  The next day Dusty pulled the alternator and battery and had them both tested (they were fine, of course) so he put everything back together and chalked it up to a computer problem or a bad connection so we went ahead with our plans to travel to our final destination that night. Big mistake.

The alternator really was bad and Dusty coaxed and prodded and borrowed a battery charger from a fire station and picked the brains and tools of the mechanics in some random blink-of-an-eye town right before they closed and we made it about half of our 400 mile journey.  So we threw in the towel, got a hotel room and ordered pizza.  After a good sleep and a good rest for the van, we piled in to limp the rest of the way.  We literally barely made it to Fort Sill! 

Luckily, I had mapped out our journey so we were able to drive straight to the hotel on post.  We parked and unloaded and then bundled up to find some dinner.  We arrived on the coldest night!  If you think Idaho is windy, think again!!!  I have felt the take-your-breath-away wind here in Oklahoma a handful of times already and it’s only been 2 weeks!  Well the night of our arrival was about 10 degrees with one of those biting winds.  Add the humidity and the kids were crying after about 30 yards.  I abandoned the mission and took the kids back to our room while Dusty braved the ½ block walk to Subway for dinner.  What a 2 days that was!

Our first week was filled with jumping through hoops and learning post life the hard way.  Things that never would have occurred to me are simply the way of life here—some good, some annoying, but mostly just different.  One of the first things I noticed is that the post is spotless.  Everything is clean.  There is no litter anywhere, which is pretty surprising considering that the wind never stops blowing.  

Day one lessons:  The commissary is the grocery store (not the food court) where there is only one line and you have to scan your military ID card before the cashier can ring your groceries.  Oh, and they have Peter Pan brand Peanut Butter.  Anyone know/remember that stuff?

Also, active duty orders are not enough to prove residency in order to enroll children in school, but a copy of your hotel registration will suffice.

Day two Lesson:  There is a thrift store on post! But they only take cash and there is no Wells Fargo Bank in Oklahoma. Period. Not in the entire state.  (I scored a stroller for $3!!!)

Day three Lesson: Your military ID has to be current in order to buy groceries at the commissary.  Don’t worry, it was the same ID that allowed me to buy them on day one but this time, they looked at the expiration date and I was in line with 2 growing cranky children and a cart full of groceries.  Then, when I sent Dusty to the store that night, he learned that the baggers work for tips- they’re not employees of the store (I miss Broulims!!!). Oh and Mary’s shoe fell off in the cart of groceries that I couldn't pay for and I didn't notice and I was too embarrassed and mad to go back.  (I did get the shoe eventually though) Day 3 was a little rough.

Day four:  Being a lieutenant’s wife has perks!  They’ll make you a new ID card before normal operating hours in under 10 minutes even though no appointments are available until next Tuesday!

Day five: The Library requires a current military ID card too but they are very friendly and have a TON of materials available.  Plus, there are playgrounds everywhere!!!  One morning, we were slightly early for school so I drove around for 10 minutes to kill time and we counted 9 playgrounds in less than a square mile!

Our first weekend we mostly spend driving around, getting our bearings, meeting our ward, and meeting new friends.  We had a couple over for dinner Friday night so that was fun.

Our second week felt much calmer.  We were settling into a routine and I think have most of our lessons learned.  But I guess we were starting to feel just a little too comfortable…

Mary and Samantha got a stomach bug which made me really miss home.  Mostly just because the washing machine was a downstairs/outside walk instead of just downstairs.  But everyone seemed just fine the next morning so we headed out!

Our first official outing in Oklahoma!

We decided to go to the Oklahoma City Zoo!  They offered a 50% military discount .  Once everyone woke up, we had our free breakfast at the hotel and then headed north!  We knew that hwy 44 we would be traveling was a turnpike or toll hwy but since we had paid a toll upon entering the hwy, we didn’t expect there to be 2 more toll booths on the way to Oklahoma City (OKC).  So as we pulled into the “Cash” line at the first booth, the attendant informed us that in an extreme emergency, they could accept a check.  So I wrote a check for $1.75.  At the second toll booth I was prepared with a check for $1.50 as well as a polite, “how many more toll booths are there from here to OKC?”  none, thank goodness!  Needless to say, we stopped at the ATM before heading home. 

The zoo was absolutely fantastic!  I’ve been to 2 zoos that I can remember- Portland and Idaho Falls- and this by far was the best.  (sorry Idaho Falls, more people, bigger, better zoo)

Here are some photos:

The highlights were watching a baby giraffe run/gallop/leap like a deer across the enclosure.  Cutest thing I’ve ever seen!  Letting a deer like my hand- probably completely against the rules but super cool! Watching the elephant stand on 2 legs on top of a stump (both anchor legs were on the same side of her body) and learning that she was expecting.  Babies are just awesome. Speaking of which, we also got to see a baby gorilla and a baby chimpanzee!  The baby gorilla was wrestling with his mama and the baby chimp was playing in a blanket.  We got to watch a sea lion swim laps underwater.  We got to see lots of different turtles and tortoises which are my favorite, and lots and lots of snakes which I think are Dusty’s favorite.  Nathan said his favorite was the giraffes.  Brian’s favorite was the giant Galapagos tortoises, (they had babies too) and the night animals- mostly the bats.   Samantha’s favorite was the leopard. 

The lowlights were the stomach bug that hit Mary while we were in one of the indoor viewing buildings.  :-/  We were strolling along looking at.. frogs I think when I smelled this really bad smell.  I’m looking around wondering if it could be one of the animals but we’re inside and all the animals are behind glass when I realized the smell was following me (or actually proceeding me) .  Dusty cornered the kids around a bench and I took just the wet wipes and a diaper to the bathroom thinking it would just be a quick change.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  (Warning: graphic details ahead) I seriously didn’t notice a thing when I picked Mary up out of the stroller but when I went to lay her down on the changing table, there was literally poop squishing out everywhere.  Legs, shoulders- everywhere!  It was the worst blowout I’ve ever seen!  The poor girl!  I ended up throwing her clothes in the garbage, using about a hundred wet wipes, and giving her a bath in the automatic sensor sink- boy was that fun- not!  Since I didn’t bring the diaper bag with me (and let’s be honest the only things in there were snacks and more diapers), I took off my sweatshirt to dry her and wrap her up.  20 minutes later, I exit the bathroom to find my children running around the building, under daddy’s watchful eye of course.  After describing the incident to Dusty, he asked what I wanted to do… Well, we’d paid to get in and only seen about half of the animals, Mary would probably be just as comfortable riding in the stroller as riding in the car and I’m positive she got it all out of her system (that was so. much. poop!).  So I put her coat on her and wrapped my sweatshirt around her legs and off we went.  She fell asleep. Perfect.  And then, when the zoo closed, we headed home… We’re about 10 minutes down the freeway when Mary starts crying.  I look back and I can see the poop pile that has squished out between her legs and the carseat.  I literally screamed, probably made Dusty almost crash although he didn’t say so, and ordered Brian to the backseat.  How in the world am I going to clean this up!?!?  But I did.  I just did.  I’m not sure how I got through it a second time that day but I managed.  Then I buckled her in Nathan’s carseat and put Nathan in Samantha’s booster and luckily we got home without further incident.

Definitely an adventure and definitely memorable.  Overall, I have happy feelings about our outing.  Hopefully I didn’t traumatize Mary!  That night, the stomach bug hit me and the next night it hit Dusty but so far the boys have escaped (knock on wood). Our next post won’t be so long- promise!

It's Autumn Time! (and Christmas too!)

 This amazing family picture was taken in Colorado at our first ever Mark & Ellen Fillmore Family Reunion.  Sarah has really developed her photography skills!  The reunion was a blast!  It was really good to get to know my nieces and nephews better- some of whom I'd never even met.
 I have been doing a lot of hard pondering lately about myself, my appearance, my weight, and my physical abilities.  While life moves on at 100 mph, it's hard to take a step back and evaluate the quality of that life.  My evaluation has come up short and I'm dissatisfied with myself.  I have learned a lot in recent years about myself and I feel like I have finally come up with a plan to teach myself how to really take care of myself and be healthy.  Hopefully losing a little (or a lot) of weight and improving my physical appearance with be nice side effects.  While this picture is great, and it's obvious that we're a happy family, I can't look at it with joy.  I zone in on my bigness and I want that to change.  So, at a correct place on the priority list (with my family coming first), my focus the next year or two is going to be on creating a healthy and strong me!

This picture was taken on the first day of school.  It still makes me smile and laugh.  Brian, standing at attention has been to school enough to know what to expect but still be nervous.  Samantha, starting kindergarten, is so excited, she can't sit still.  Every day I ask Samantha how school was and she says, "Awesome!"  It was immediately obvious that she inherited my love of organized education while Brian inherited Dusty's love of knowledge and learning.  Samantha has had a couple of accidents at school which I was worried about but she and her teacher, Mrs. Clark handled them very well.  I have finally been able to relax about her potty-training and just let it be what it will be.  She loves to ride her scooter or bike to school and while she talks all brave and independent, it means a lot more to her that I drop her off and am there to pick her up than it did to Brian.  She has such a desire to please those around her that I'm finding I have to be quite careful about how I discipline.


 I got a phone call from Brian's teacher on the 2nd day of school and was thinking... not another rough year! but I had a great conversation with Mrs. Parkinson about Brian, his personality and expectations and consequences.  I haven't heard from her again and at parent-teacher conferences, she said he has been doing quite well and seemed positive about increasing his reading skills as well!  I don't in any way think his 1st grade teacher was less skilled, or even less anything but it just goes to show that some kids do better with certain personalities. Brian still fights almost everyday about his reading homework but he is starting to realize that he's not going to get out of it and does surprisingly well when he buckles down!  Brian has shown a significant interest in all things non-fiction.  I saw a video about the camouflage of an octopus on facebook and showed it to Brian one morning before school.  He was so enamored with it, that he decided to write and illustrate a book!  It was all I could do to stay calm and not make a big deal about it.  I was so proud though!

Crazy hair day at school!

I was so worried about my decision to not enroll Nathan in pre-school this year.  He's always been advanced physically for his age but he has 2 years before kindergarten and I didn't feel he needed 2 years of formal pre-school.  But as the start of the year drew closer, he became more and more upset that he didn't get to go to school with Brian and Samantha.  He kept telling me how big and tall he was so he could go to school too.  It got so bad that I had to call Dusty's mom and one of my best friends for reassurance that I was making the right decision.  And sure enough.  After a week or two he settled down and is just fine. He loves to ride his tricycle to take Samantha to school and again to go meet the kids after school.  He has also managed to find plenty of things to keep himself busy while they're gone.  He loves to help mom cook/bake and he is even learning to share a little with Mary Ellen.

 I know everyone says children grow so fast but this little girl has really done that.  She is so different from our other 3 kids and walking at 9 months is just one example of how fast she is growing.  She seems to have this drive to learn things quickly but then gets in over her head sometimes and doesn't know quite what to do.  She mostly sleeps through the night, occasionally needing a little help to find her binky and snuggle back in the covers.  She naps pretty good too and other than the tantrums she has learned already, she is such a joy to be around. I especially enjoy her interactions with Dusty.  She is definitely more of a daddy's girl than Samantha ever was.  She knows how to wave and is learning how to clap.  She only has 5 1/2 teeth but she loves to eat just about anything and does quite well.  She even ate a peanut or two by accident.  The older kids had spilled some on the floor and she got to them before I could.

I made these at our ward's super Saturday activity in October.  Sarah came with me and we had fun.  She and I have also spent quite a few nights scrapbooking this year and I am almost caught up to the end of 2012!  I think I'll work on Dusty's mission scrapbook next before I start 2013.  It feels so nice to be caught up.  I know it's been hard on Sarah to have Geoff and Lacie off on missions but I sure have enjoyed her being around more often!

Despite Dusty's long hours at work, we do find time to go to a pumpkin patch for family night an enjoy other family activities.  He has made a serious effort to spend one-on-one time with each of the kids.  Since Devin moved in, it seems Dusty is much more relaxed and he will rough house with the kids a lot more than he used to.  Maybe that's also because a lot of the stress of school and ROTC is gone too.  We are planning to take 2 weeks to travel to Oklahoma stopping to see Jennifer and Tyler, Dusty's family for Christmas and perhaps even Ben and Darci in San Antonio before Dusty reports January 6th.  As long as we're careful not to add too many extras, our life has a reasonable pace and we make time for the important things.  Now if only I could post more often so they don't get so long!

Disclaimer:  This is a really long post! (I mean really, really, really, 5 pages in Word, long!)

Playing catch up again!  November/December absolutely flew by and here we are in Oklahoma!  We’ve been here for 2 crazy weeks. We’ve had some ups and downs but mostly we’re grateful and still excited to be here!

November brought me cooking Thanksgiving dinner as Mom and Dad were in Texas with Ben and Darci’s family.  I suggested to Sarah that we just order Chinese food but she was appalled at that suggestion!  Hehehe.  It went really well but my it’s a lot of work!  

With December came Mary's birthday!  The big ONE!  She has recently really enjoying putting things in and out of bigger things and trying to carry them around so we decided to get her a purse (which of course we didn't get a picture of).  We had mini cupcakes at home on her actual birthday (Dec. 2) and then celebrated with presents and cupcakes that Aunt Sarah made the following Sunday at Grandma's.  Of course she's been walking for quite a while but she proved her big girl status by climbing onto the kitchen table a few days after her birthday.  She really is learning way to fast! Except for talking.  I think she'd rather just scream and squawk all the time than learn actual words.  hehehe  She has the most beautiful blue eyes and I'm not just bias because other people tell me that too.

In-between birthday parties, company Christmas dinners, and ward parties, I did my first ever craft fair.  I had been hemming and hawing the decision since September but when the ladies organizing the craft fair offered me a discounted booth in exchange for advertising help, I jumped in.  I had been playing around with upcycling/recycling clothing items since September and I really wanted to see if I could sell anything.  I had been doing things like making skirts out of old jeans or t-shirts, super hero capes out of just about anything and lots of projects with scrap material like reusable hand-warmers.   The Craft fair went really well.  I earned back my booth fee plus some and since most of my items were from recycled materials, I didn’t really have any costs!  It was very rewarding to help advertise and organize the craft fair which was also a fundraiser for Journeys (the local center for adults with disabilities).  I even got a few custom orders and won an incredible raffle prize for the kids!

We celebrated our Christmas early having asked our elf “Ruenin”(roo’nin) to take a note to Santa asking him to come early as we wouldn’t be able to take all our presents to Oklahoma (like Brian’s bow and arrows and the blow up castle that mommy won!).  Then we celebrated with Mom and Dad Fillmore, checked the kids out of school, (Samantha actually shed tears when she said goodbye to her kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Clark- Awwww) and packed, packed packed!

At Summer's End

I watched the movie Willow last night with my favorite husband.  I have dragged my feet to watch the movie because I classed it with Lord of the Rings which I also have no desire to ever see.  I don't have any particular gripe about it other than it just appears dark and I've learned that I am quite sensitive to movies.  Well I will admit that I enjoyed Willow and not just because of my snuggle partner.  Although the baby's constant peril ripped at my mother heart strings and I'm super glad I didn't watch it pregnant, I really enjoyed the underdog wins scenario with a "trust in yourself" and "rise above it" moral of the story and don't forget the criminals turned good.  I have a husband who knows me well enough to know what I'll like even when I don't.  However, I did have to check on my kids several times during the night, especially baby Mary just to make sure evil queen Bavarda (or whatever her name was) and her unruly army hadn't snatched my precious Rubies.

Summer is ending with no more broken bones or mishaps (knock on wood). It's been a really low key summer (aka boring) with a few trips to the movies, 1 trip to the splash park, 1 road trip/family reunion, a few visits from relative and lots of playing with friends.  I've actually enjoyed it.  I've been able to get some organizing/deep cleaning done around the house and I've been able to sew and scrapbook which are 2 hobbies I really enjoy but rarely get to do unless you count the occasional mending holes and hemming cut-off shorts.  I recently have started a re-purposing kick making toddler sweatpants out of old sweatshirt sleeves and skirts out of old t-shirts.  It's rewarding and fun even if my house does get quite messy while I zone into the sewing machine.  I'm grateful for this ability and the bigger make a smaller footprint and same money for my family purpose that comes with it.  

Dusty is working as a mechanic with Les Schwab here in Rigby.  He enjoys the work but feels maybe there's not a lot of room to grow and has been looking for other opportunities.  We're going to Oklahoma in January for BOLC, it seems hard to want to switch jobs for only 4 months and then we'll have to see what happens when we get back.  Legally, employers have to hold a position for soldiers when they're deployed or training but in reality, it's difficult to leave and then just try to pick up where you left off.  Live goes on while you're gone and so does business.  Ultimately, we would really love to open our own shop or tow rig but that takes a lot of time and money- both commodities seem to be quite scarce lately.
 

Brian will start 2nd grade.  He has had an enjoyable summer as long as one of his friends are home to play with.  Horrible is the day when he goes door knocking and comes home without a friend in tow.  While he still has his moments, he is rising to the occasion of more responsibility and independence and most days will help without griping when I ask him (a quality I'm sure he is learning from his Father's amazing example).  He doesn't want to go anywhere without his bike and when his got a flat tire he tried to fix it himself only to find the air compressor was broken.  Not to be defeated, he simply jumped on dad's bike and took off where he wanted to go.  Determination.

Samantha is really excited to start Kindergarten and I worry for the tales she'll tell.  She is so eager to learn to read and while still shy, I think she will make friends easily as she's a little bossy and quite imaginative.  She will be in afternoon kindergarten (at my request) so we'll have less stressful mornings.  She decided to give herself a haircut and we had quite a lot of fixing to do before she felt beautiful again.  It was quite traumatic.

Nathan's favorite movie right now is Old Yeller and he would watch it over and over all day long if I'd let him.  He loves to jump and runs everywhere he goes.  We walked to church the other day and he literally ran the entire way (almost a mile).  Of course he had to stop and wait for us frequently.  He is dying to go to school and keeps telling me how tall and big he is because he's going to school with Brian and Samantha.

Mary turns 9 months next week and she took her first steps yesterday!  Dusty tricked her into thinking he was holding her hands but having her hold on to her blanket, but she did it!  She had a look of total fear and excitement on her face that reminded me of the first time I jumped off a 30 ft cliff into the lake.  She is growing so fast!

I wonder what we should all be for Halloween this year...?

Sweet (and Sour) Summer

I was SO excited for this summer.  I made up a little schedule for me and the kids so we could have plenty of fun but get the work done too.  Well, all I can say is... "life is what happens while making other plans."

The week before Memorial Day and the end of school, Nathan broke his arm.  I wasn't in the room so we're still not exactly sure what happened but he either jumped (and got his feet caught), was pushed, or just fell off Brian's elevated bed landing on his hand and then over onto his back.  He wasn't really crying very hard but definitely favoring his arm.  Luckily, or should I say blessedly, my good friend showed up moments later to pick up her daughter who I'd been tending and offered to take the other kids so I could take him in.  I took the Ipad with us and by the time we saw a Dr. I was ready to just go home because he was so calm but boy am I so glad I went in!

Then, we took an impromtu trip to Arizona to be with Devin in the Temple as he went through for the first time.  It was so neat to be there with all of Dusty's siblings including (I believe) his older brother who passed away when he was young.  It was a really quick trip but so nice to see Dusty's  family and I actually got to hang out with Darra and Daphnie for some excellent girl time!

The next week, while finishing up the lawn/yard work, I was opening a large black garbage bag to go pick up some grass clippings and stepped on an old metal snow shovel that the kids had been playing with.  I fell over and was in a great deal of pain.  Blessedly, it was Dusty's day off.  I sent the kids to get him and he helped me up and after trying several times to put weight on the foot, Dusty just scooped me up like we were newlyweds and carried me to the couch!  Mom came over to stay with the kids and we were back to the Dr. just 2 weeks after Nathan's accident.  The x-ray tech said, "You're supposed to get one bone healed before you break another!"  Well the PA said the x-ray looked shadowy because of the inflammation and to come back in 1 week.  They sent me home in a walking boot and I was still in some pain but at least I could hobble along.  Well a week later with my frequent Dr. visit card in tow, they took another x-ray and confirmed the fracture advising me to go "non weight bearing" for at least 2 weeks.  I said, "I know this sounds bad, but is that really necessary?  I have a 6-month-old baby who weighs 25 lbs."  He assured me that it was and gave me a Rx for crutches.  Well I tried using though crutches- impossible!  I called back and asked that the Dr. look at my x-rays.  They called back the next day and said I would be okay in the walking boot if I was careful.  So for the next 2 weeks, I walked as little as possible.  Mom was super awesome and came over almost every day to help me for a while but when she and Sarah took the kids to the park for Stampede days and Brian ran off- twice- I think she was ready to be done with my family for a while. haha.  So after 2 weeks I went back for another set of x-rays.  The verdict- the bone is healing really well!!!  I have to wear the walking boot for 3 more weeks while out and about but I can start going without it in the house as long as I'm careful!  It couldn't come at a better time because Idaho picked this week to jump the temperatures to the high 90s and that boot is hot!!!

Meanwhile, Nathan figured out how to take his hard cast off and then dunked it in the mud so we got to go back to the Dr. several times for him as well.  Baring any other accidents, we will be able to resume our summer plans!  We've been going to the kids movies (6 of us in for only $1.50!), summer reading program at the library, splash park and meeting up with friends.  Hopefully a trip or 2 to Rigby Lake and at least one to Rexburg Rapids will be perfect for this hot weather!  The kids start swimming lessons next week and then we leave for Colorado to the Fillmore Family Reunion!!!

Brian has been playing with lots of friends and creating lots of mischief (like cutting a hold in the trampoline!) but he is actually rising to the occasion of completing his chores and helping when I ask.  He and Samantha also started taking piano lessons from Grandma Fillmore!

Samantha celebrated her 5th birthday with the requested super hero birthday party theme and received her desired scooter.  Hopefully she'll be able to ride something with Brian to school in the fall.

Nathan will turn 3 next week and I'm dragging my feet with starting potty training.  He'll go sometimes but others refused and I really don't want another 3-4 year-long accident ordeal with him!  I figure we'll wait until we get back from Colorado and then hunker down and get to business.

Mary turns 7 months tomorrow.  She is eating 3 meals a day, usually with the family but still taking bottles inbetween.  She can roll over, sit up (though she's still a little unsteady) and can wiggle to wherever she wants to go.  She kind of looks like an inch worm getting up on her hands and knees and then lurching forward.  hehe.  They're so fun!

Dusty is working over 50 hours/week and is having a hard time dividing his remaining time between his many pursuits.  He is such a wonderful husband and father and always puts us first.  He's working on restoring the 50s Chevy truck putting a diesel motor and new transmission in it.  He's finishing our bathroom remodel and also taking care of a lot of outside things like mowing the lawns that I was helping with before my foot incident.  He still wants to reload and is forever trading/changing guns.  Who knows if he'll ever be satisfied with what he has. hehe.

I did something that I swore I would never do and became a distributor for a direct sales company called It Works!  They sell the crazy wrap thing!  It's a body contouring wrap that tightens, tones and firms your skin reducing the appearance of cellulite.  It's pretty cool but I actually decided to sign up so I could use their supplements at a discount (or hopefully free if I get more team members!).  The supplements are helping with my insulin resistance and if I could get exercising, I can finally lose all this weight I'm tired of carrying around.

Dusty goes to BOLC at Fort Sill, Oklahoma starting the first of January 2014 and some friends int he military clued us in as to how we can go with him.  We will be staying in a 2 bedroom "hotel" room for $7.25/night with maid service and continental breakfast.  It will be quite an adventure but we're excited to be able to stay together!