Gettin' closer and STUPID SNOW!

So, we are now living at my parents house. We have everything but a few bins and the big freezer to bring over here. BUT.... we have A LOT to pack to put in the storage unit, which we have yet to get. Ben through out his back a while ago and put us back nearly 2 weeks in packing. (Well, I was going through stuff best I could, but it's hard to do it alone!) I had the flu on Monday-Tuesday and dealing with a cold, so my energy is WAY low. Now, the SNOW came last night and we got 6", which cancelled school and prevented me from going over to the other house to purge kitchen items and pack it up. My hope was to take Keven to school this morning and head over to the house and have the kitchen completely done by the time I had to pick him up from school. STUPID SNOW!!! So, Ben is taking 1/2 day tomorrow and we'll be going strong at the house trying to get through stuff and get it packed. Our hope was to be to the stage of everything out and cleaning on Sunday, but I don't know, considering we're supposed to have MORE STUPID SNOW on Saturday. Now, mind you, I do love the snow, but not when I'm trying to move!!! GRRR!

Anyway, I've got most of the things unpacked here and emptied lots of bins to take back to load up at the house. I think we'll need to purchase more bins, but I'm not sure. So stressful not knowing.... I just pray that the snow holds off until Sunday morning or something, so we can pretty much get things completed. Everyone have prayers for us to hold off on the snow!!

I hope everyone stays safe in this weather, no matter where you're at.

My nephew, Jacob

So, my nephew has been in the hospital for a few days with complications with his diabetes. He is 16 and has type 1 diabetes (juvenile). Poor kid had his wisdom teeth out and the medications they gave him for pain somehow reacted with his other medication he's on and sent his body out of whack. So, he'll be in the hospital for a few more days to make sure his liver stops secreting so much sugar and that the insulin starts working again. He just wants out of the hospital, but said he's feeling OK. My sister, Alishia has been at the hospital with him, except a few hours each day to go home and shower. She is so good to do that, because not everyone would. So, I am hoping that when he gets home, he'll do well and take good care of himself. Jacob was born when I was 15 and in 9th grade. He holds a VERY special place in my heart. I love all my nieces and nephews, but he was the 1st, and used to run up to me when he'd see me and always hug me 1st. Of course, this ended around the time he turned 12 or 13. I still get hugs, but not quite the enthusiasm. HAHA! So, keep him in your prayers please.

cupcakes and church stuff

So, we tried more cupcakes a few days ago and I failed to tell you about them. I tried the vanilla cake with choco frosting one from Trophy and DID NOT like the frosting. BLAH! Tasted semi-sweet, which I don't like. So, Ben and Keven ate it. I also tried the Hummingbird one from Trophy. It was banana cake (like a muffin) with coconut and pineapple in it(hardly any) with a cream cheese frosting. HOLY MOLY! Can you say, YUMMY?!?! That one was hands down the best one of all. I think I am going to attempt making these (minus the pineapple and coconut, since I didn't even taste them).

Ben had the triple chocolate from Trophy (he shared with Keven) and he said it was really tasty, except it was a bit dry. Now, mind you, it had been a few days since these were purchased, so they were probably more dry than the 1st day. Keven REALLY liked this one. He said it was, "SO YUMMY" and made a lip smacking sound. haha! He just loves chocolate.

So, only a few more, which Ben will eat tonight (the coconut ones) and say which one was better, but again... it's been 5 days now, so they won't be so great.

Onto ward business... (I sound like I'm at the pulpit)

My dad was called as 1st counselor in the Bishopric today. He's been in before, but it's been a little while. He was needed to be in there because he's a go getter and makes sure things get done. He doesn't leave stuff hanging. The other new counselor is a young fella. I want to say he's around 26 or 27 and has 4 young children. It will be very challenging for their family, but his wife is strong and there's plenty of us to help out during sacrament.

We have also received word that the ward could be splitting in about 6 months, which is a good thing. We have 100 active Primary/Nursery children (which is NOT normal for our area... remember, we aren't a Utah ward that is primarily young families in the ward that's a 2 block radius!). No one but the Bishop knows the boundaries he submitted for the split. I have a feeling on how it will go, but won't bother saying anything about it, because I really have no clue. We'll see what the next few months brings.

Ben's back is still bothering him, thus hindering our move process. I'll just have to get my butt in gear this week getting things packed and over to my mom's house. I can at least get that going without Ben's help. Time is creeping up on us and it seems nothing is done. I hate when this happens and I hate moving. At least with this move, most of our stuff will be in storage, so when we move out of my parents house, it'll be a MUCH easier move!

That's all for this glorious day. I have stake choir practice tonight, so I need to get ready for that. Goodnight for now!

More Cupcakes and Backpain

So, we tried a few more cupcakes. I tried the Plain Vanilla (vanilla cake with vanilla icing) from Cupcake Royale and Ben tried the Eggnog (vanilla cake with eggnog icing) from Cupcake Royale. They look almost the same, except the eggnog one was slightly darker in cream color and it had a sprinkle of what appeared to be nutmeg on it. They both tasted like they had coffee in them. I think it's because they're in a coffee shop and that shop REEKED of coffee. I mean, it was strong! So, we figured that the flavor in the air must've mixed with it. The cake on both was dry and the frosting was pretty dense. I think it's because it gets cold at night here and we don't have the heat on downstairs, but still... Not impressed again. Such a disappointment thus far.

Well, Ben hurt his back on Thursday playing football with a bunch of guys from the ward. He then decided that going to judo on Tuesday was a good thing and has been in a lot of pain all day. Today, we were supposed to take a HUGE load to the dump and possibly squeeze in another one, but NOPE. He can't even bend over, so he's heading to the chiropractor in the morning and I hope he's able to make it better, because we need to get going on the moving business soon! I'd like to take over some stuff to my parents on Sunday, after church. He's been taking ibuprophen and vicodin to help with the pain. He walks crooked and it looks hilarious. Since we didn't go to the dump, I slept for several hours because Ben's snoring is SOOOOO horrible, but since his back was hurting I let him sleep in the bed last night. Thus, I only got 2-3 hours of sleep before I got up and got Keven off to school. Once I woke up, Ben had to head out to go to a manditory meeting at work, but couldn't take the KIA, because it's too low to the ground and he has to shift and it all hurt his back. So, I told him to take the Cruiser, since it's MUCH higher off the ground and no shifting. While he was gone, I got to work on our room. This is a room we have SERIOUSLY neglected over this whole year we've lived here. I threw away so much crap and purged a lot of stuff. I filled several garbage bags full and I feel MUCH better about moving things out of this room now. I threw away old bathroom stuff from under the sink and it's down to one bag that is going to my parents this weekend. YEAH! Keven and I are going to work on his room tomorrow and get a nice, large bin FULL for the goodwill. He has way too many toys and can only take a bin-full over to my parents house, because when he has too many toys, he just makes an enormous mess!

OK, I'm done. Will continue to post on the cupcakes. I told Ben we have to get them eaten soon or they'll go bad! So, we'll shoot for 2 each tomorrow. They're so rich that I have a hard time finishing them! Until then, sleep well and dream of large women... or men. HA!

Temple, Cupcakes & Lunch

So, today was the day for my gal pals and I to go to the temple. We go every other month as a group. Today was a smaller group, but still great! Kanoe, Donna and I trekked out early this morning and headed to the temple. 1st stop, drop off Sydney with Donna's parents. Next stop, the temple.

Next stop, Deseret Book near the temple to buy a few things. Donna managed to find quite a bit of stuff. I think some might be for Christmas gifts. Not so sure. Kanoe bought a very lovely calendar.

Next stop, Cupcake Royale in Seattle. We called Ben to get directions because both Donna and I failed to remember to print them! HAHA! We have heard lots about the fancy cupcakes all over the nation (especially in NY) and my friend's wife is a cupcake connossieur and recommended this place and another, so off we went! Each of us got 1/2 dozen to try. Here are the ones I chose: Starting from the top left they are: Eggnog, triple chocolate, orange creme. Then, bottom left: Coconut, Peppermint and Plain vanilla. You choose either chocolate or vanilla cake, then the frosting seems to be the flavored part. I ate the orange creme one and although the frosting was tastey, I noticed the cake was a bit dry and I was dying for some milk or something to drink! Ben ate the triple chocolate and said he tasted some coffee in it. I did tell him that they were placed next to the mocha ones, so the flavor could've rubbed off on it and this place is also a coffee shop, so that's another explanation. He said it just tasted like chocolate cake, nothing special.

Next stop: Trophy Cupcakes in Seattle. This place was a little more challenging to find because the street was N on one side of the freeway and NE on the other side of the freeway and we didn't have that tiny detail, so we drove around for probably 20 minutes before we stopped at UW and asked these people. We said, "Are there any cupcake places around here?" This guys says, "Are you talking about the erotic bakery?" WE ALL DIED LAUGHING! Then he said, "It's actually pretty good", so we decided that next time, we'll stop for a booby cake. HAHAHA! No, for real, we were laughing pretty good over it. He then told us about the whole N and NE thing and off we went and found it. This place was more fancy and the cupcakes, although smaller, seemed to be fancier. They have cupcakes for certain days of the week, so Donna couldn't get her coveted toasted marshmallow s'mores one, because they are only on Sun and Mon. Another day, Donna! So, we all got 1/2 dozen again, but these were a little more pricey. So, here's the ones that I got. Again, starting in the upper left side, moving across and then the lower left moving across: Hummingbird (Has banana, pineapple and something else), Vanilla cake with vanilla frosting, coconut (coconut cake, frosting and coconut on top), triple threat (choco cake, choco frosting and choco sprinkles all over the top), vanilla cake with choco frosting, vanilla cake with lemon frosting. So, I tried the vanilla cake w/ vanilla frosting. The frosting was VERY thick and the cake was more dense than the other place. It was more moist, but very rich! I couldn't finish it, so I put the rest back for tomorrow. The frosting tasted like it had a hint of lemon in it as well. So far, not overly impressed. I can make cupcakes just as good or better. I guess we'll see with the other ones!

After we hit the cupcake places, it was off to Azteca for lunch. We were all starved and wanted something besides cupcakes! We all enjoyed a very inexpensive lunch, which I didn't know they had!

Next stop: Pick-up Sydney from Donna's parents house.

Then, back to Donna's where I grabbed my car and dropped off Kanoe at home. Then, off to my mom's I went to get Keven and then I came home! Ben and Keven headed to judo and I took a much needed power nap. Probably about 1/2 hour long, but worth it. Ben and Keven returned home with great news that Keven had done VERY well at judo and his sensei said he could be ready for the tournament in January, but we'll have to pay by next week, which I don't know if we'll have the money for it. Guess we'll see. He said he didn't get in any trouble at all this week for goofing off with the other kids and that everyone but him had to keep doing pushups for not focusing. I reminded him that when he actually focuses, he can do a lot! I'm so proud that he's doing so well and will be testing for his yellow belt next Tuesday. YEAH KEVEN! He's really enjoying it and is getting so much better each week!

So, that's all. Will post more as the cupcakes start disappearing from the boxes and our finds. So far, they aren't worth my trip back to Seattle and the price they are! I am sure my sister, Audra, is salivating over the pics of the cupcakes! HAHA!

Postalicious

So, I don't have a whole lot to write about. Been a boring couple of weeks in the Thomsen household. We've been working on getting things ready to move in a few weeks. We need to get out butts in gear quicker though! We're such lazy slackers. Anyway, took a HUGE load to the dump and a HUGE load to the Goodwill on Saturday. If we moved everything to one side of the garage, I could actually park on the other side now! We haven't moved things, but it's possible. We're taking another load to the dump (old furniture) on Saturday and probably another load to the Goodwill.

Mom and Dad have cleared out the downstairs living room for us to move our things into. So, on Thursday, Ben and I will move our entertainment center (along with the stuff that goes on it), bookshelf, movie shelf, couch and chair over. That'll clear out our downstairs living room to make room to put other things down there as we clear out the upstairs. Ben and Keven will have to deal with the video games being at my parents for 2 weeks before we move in. HAHA!

It super-frosted this morning and was VERY cold! This is more motivation to get our things moved over quickly, before the ice comes and covers the roads. Although we're only moving less than a mile, if the roads are icy, it still makes it difficult!

Keven has had tummy issues for a few days and the poor, lil guy has had the WORST gas in history and we kept telling him to poop all day yesterday and he tried and tried with no success. Well, he woke up in the middle of the night, went BIG time and went a ton this morning (won't go into details on it) and still had an upset stomach a little. So, the kind-hearted mother that I am said, "OK, let's get you off to school". It's a SUPER short day (gets out at 11:35 due to conferences), so I figured he could handle it and if not, they can call me and I'll pick him up. We live less than a mile from the school. I hope he's getting whatever this is out and that he'll feel better. He's showing no other signs of a sickness, so I'm assuming it's something he ate and it's now fighting back.

OK, so I posted. Told you it was boring and nothing much going on. Hope to post more later this week after Thanksgiving. Some friends of ours and us are gathering for a Turkey Bowl. No, I will NOT be playing, but I will take pictures of the fools getting all muddy! MUAHAHAHAHAH!

Keven's Birthday Sleepover

So, Keven had a few friends over on Friday night for his birthday sleepover. There was one girl there, Trishana, and she just stayed and partied, but went home later that night. Her parents, Kawika & Thelesa, are good friends of ours and hung out at the party. It was nice to have other adults to hang with while the kids ran up and down the stairs and went all crazy! We made homemade pizza (crust and all) and the kids DEVOURED their pizza. The chose what to put on it (pepperoni, olives & cheese). I was surpised by the olives, but they all wanted it. I enjoyed the one I made for myself (small one) and Ben and Kawika ate up the one Ben made with lots of "icky" stuff! haha! Keven is not a fan of cake or cupcakes, so we did rootbeer floats. All of the kids (and adults) gobbled it up! It was so good and hit the spot. He got more Pokemon cards, money, gift card and CANDY! Just what we needed in this house. The kids stayed up until 2:00am and finally crashed out. They were up at 8:00am and had sausage, eggs and toast for breakfast. They gobbled that down as well. All of them were very tired and one had a football game he had to play that day. All in all it wasn't as bad as I expected, but MAN was it loud! I'm not used to so much noise with having only Keven here. But, there were no fights (like how girls get so caddy at sleepovers) and no disrespecting of Keven or of us. I'm OK knowing that he can't do something like that again for a year or so. My mom said that maybe ONE friend could stay the night on occassion, but we would need to really be watching them.

After the boys ate breakfast, I had to jet out to head to Super Saturday. This is one Saturday a year where the women of our church gather together and make really cute crafts or learn to make certain foods. Many of us use them for Christmas gifts because we are POOR! I made 2 different items, but need to finish them. I'd show them, but I'm giving them as gifts and those people read this! So, you'll have to wait to see it after Christmas. :) I had a wonderful time getting to know a few ladies at church, since I don't get the opportunity while at church to do so, since I'm with the Primary each Sunday. The food was the best EVER! I begged for NO SOUP, because I never eat any that are brought and end up having rolls for lunch. I guess a few others requested no soup, so they had a potato bar and taco salad. MMMMM!! It was fantastic! The Relief Society room was decorated like a little cafe. Very cute. Thanks to the ladies that worked so hard and made it easy for the rest of us!

OK, I'm done for now. Tomorrow is NO school and Ben and I will be in the garage doing mega purging of our stuff. We're hoping to take a load or two to Goodwill and if the dump is open, take a load there. CIAO!

Going Private and Birthdays!

Well, Keven had a great time at his birthday dinner at Red Robin tonight. I brought the camera and FAILED to take pics! Guess I was too busy eating and chatting. Anyway, he got a bike, pokemon shirt, football and mario figures from us. He got clothes from my mom and will get a DS game from my dad, who'll take him out this week to let him choose it. He got a Star Wars Transformer from the Smith's. He'll get a DS game from Audra & fam and should be here in a few days. Alishia & fam got him lots of clothes he needs and will get it in the next week. I'd say he made out pretty well. Here's a funny pic of him on his new bike and wearing his Pokemon shirt! He opened it this morning and instantly insisted on wearing it. I'd normally wash it 1st, but he was jumping around so excited! He kept saying, "It's my 1st Pokemon shirt!" So funny! Yes, that's Ben in the background, being grumpy.

He's having a few of his friends over here for a sleepover on Friday. He BEGGED to have one and I figured this is the last time he can have a sleepover for at least a year. For those that don't know, we're moving in with my parents in December for the next year. We're going to pay off debt, put money in savings and hope to get into a house after that. I have all my paperwork into the school district and just need to have the background check done and I can hopefully start working soon!

On another note, a friend of mine (fellow blogger) mentioned that she was making her blog private, so only friends of hers could see it. I realized how easy it is for others to see my blog from other people's pages and vice versa. My sister, Alishia, also expressed a concern to see her nieces and nephews exposed in detail for all to see and how people have stolen pictures and found people. SO, I've decided to make mine private. For those who's e-mails I don't have, PLEASE send it to me so I can add it to the list. I'll do that on Saturday to give people a chance to get me their e-mail addresses. Either leave it as a comment or e-mail me: sunomannuh28mom@aol.com

My baby is 9 and I can hardly believe it!

ABC Tag

Well, it's Keven's birthday today, but I'll do a post after we go to dinner with family later tonight.

A- Attached or Single? attacked... haha. no, attached
B- Best Friend? have a few
C- Cake or Pie? I love a good caramel apple pie.... **crossing fingers Costco has it this year!**
D- Day of Choice? Saturday
E- Essential Item? make-up
F- Favorite Color? Blue & Black
G- Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms? I'm not a gummy fan, but I'll go with... WORMS! (say it like Loyd Christmas)
H- Hometown? Bremerton, WA
I- Favorite Indulgence? I love wheat thins and Kraft Sharp cheese in a can
J- January or July? July! It's actually warm
K- Kids? Keven, who's 9 TODAY!! Happy Birthday Beanie!
L- Life isn't complete without? My family, the gospel/church & music
M- Movie favorite? I have many, but I love the old musicals (40's - 60's), most Tim Burton movies and most M. Night Shyamalan movies.
N- Number of Brothers and Sisters? 1 bruder, Adam and 2 seesters, Alishia and Audra
O- Oranges or Apples? Granny Smith Apples... mmmmmm.. especially dipped in caramel
P- Phobias or Fears? Always have the fear of losing my son or him getting hurt. Besides that.. SPIDERS! Well, big ones. HATE 'EM!!! Oh, yes, and heights. If it's not enclosed, forget it!
Q- Quote? "It'll make a turd" - my dad when he's about to eat something
R- Reason to Smile? It's Keven's birthday and we're celebrating with family tonight!
S- Season of Choice? I love Fall. The leaves changing and falling all around. Oh, and the crisp smell in the air. I also love Spring for the blossoming trees!
T- Tag a few friends: Whoever feels like it
U- Unknown Fact About Me? I'm an open book. Something people may not know is that I had tubes in my ears as a child and have always had hearing problems in my left ear since.
V- Vegetable? Love them taters and corn or "carn" as Ben says. weirdo
W- Worst Habit? Lounging around and taking naps
X- X-ray or ultrasound? Ultrasound
Y- Your Favorite Food? I also love good Italian food. Seems pasta is a staple in poor people's homes! Although, I've really been into chili burritos this week. Eaten them 3 times!
Z- Zodiac Sign? Capricorn

This is Halloween

We had another successful Halloween this year. Keven was Mario again and this is the only shot we got with him and his mustasche. He looks possessed! HAHA! Anyway, we went to the church for the trunk-or-treat and it was CHAOS!! Oh my goodness. The kids were out in droves and there seemed to be no order to it. Ben and I purchased toys at 75% off after Halloween last year (halloween rings, pencils, bubble pens, erasers) and that's what we handed out. We also decided to do silly string to the kids that were WAY too old to be out there. I say, save it for the KIDS. Once you hit around 14, you need to stop. Anyway, these teens would say, "trick or treat" then I would say, "I choose trick" and either Ben or I would spray them. It was great. We also sprayed the adults in our ward that weren't in costume, well, the ones we knew wouldn't get all upset about it. It was pretty funny when lil ones would see us spray then not want to come near us! HAHA! Also, the little kids in the ward would look at me all funny (I was Maleficent again) and be afraid of me. SO, I'd take off my hood and smile at them, then they'd recognize me and smile, but still be a bit hesitant. We made the best of it considering the chaos. I don't know if we'll do it again next year, unless they make it more orderly.

Keven had begged us to go door-to-door, because we always hit up the trunk-or-treat, so we went after that. He hit about 15 or so houses and had a blast. The Smiths came along with us and lil Sydney (2 yrs old) held Keven's hand and went up to about 5 houses. She DID NOT want to hold any of our hands and only wanted to hold "Keben's". It was really cute. I completely forgot to take pictures because of the chaos at the trunk-or-treat! Oh well! They left and we contined on to some more houses, then decided to go home and change. Well, on our way home, we realized that Keven's school was still having their Halloween festival/carnival or whatever it was called and that it was still going on, so we decided to swing by there to support the PTA! So, we get there and he sees one of his best friends (he's not in our church so he didn't see him at the trunk-or-treat) and he was SOOOO elated! They pal'd around playing games. We put in for a few fun baskets ($1 a ticket), but didn't win. We saw friends from the ward and chatted with them. Here's a few pics from that! Yes, I remembered the camera there! HAHA!

I'm ready for my close-up, Mom!

Ben and Keven play fighting

My friend, Chase and I. I forgot the zoom was on! HAHAHAHAHA!

Keven doing a Mario pose while Ben tries to block Chase from being a photo bomber! HAHA!

All in all it was a lot of fun. Keven would like to do more houses next year, so I think that's what we'll do. After the school event, we hung out with friends and had a late night! So, we'll see how it goes next year. Oh, and Keven got quite the haul. This isn't including the 20 pieces we threw away for being open already or being questionable and the 20-30 pieces gone from Ben and Keven eating it last night and today! It actually fills a big bowl!

Pictures and Shoulder Pads

We got Keven's 3rd grade school picture back the other day and I am pleased with how it turned out. His hair was cut WAY TOO short right before school and I feared it would look terrible. He took a great picture and has a wonderful smile. They went with a different company this year and I'm not real pleased with them. I wish they would've stayed with LifeTouch instead of this local company. The prices were more expensive and the quality is lower than LifeTouch. Also, he didn't get to pick a color for his background nor a pose this year. He was pretty bummed about that. The glare is because I took a picture of his picture! hahahaha!


On another note, my mom is very funny sometimes. She comes up with her own creative ideas and just goes with them. Keven has a tendency to put holes in the left knee of ALL his pants! It drives me nuts because they still fit him! We purchased Nightmare Before Christmas jeans last year (big on purpose) and he decided to get a hole in them and pull and pull and pull at that hole until it was huge! He did this some months back. I pulled them out and asked my mom if she could fix it. She said she had a patch, so I was OK with that. Well, apparently she didn't have a patch and this is what she decided to do:

Yes, you are correct if you guessed that it's a SHOULDER PAD!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! I just about died when I saw that. It's still padded and all. So, these are now play pants because I would never send my son to school or in public with a giant shoulder pad on his pants! Oh, how I love my mom and I appreciate all that she does for us and how willing she is to help, but next time, I'll just bring some patches!

It's Halloween and I'll post pics later tonight or tomorrow of our trick-or-treating adventures this evening. We're praying that it stops raining!!

Pumpkins and Decorations!

So, tonight, we carved some of our pumpkins. We decided to let Keven not only create his own design, but carve it himself. We have this awesome battery operated thing that holds the little saw, so you don't have to move your hand and get cramps with it! It is pretty cool and makes things look nicer. So, here's Keven's pumpkin:

Next one is mine. On Halloween night, we'll have the guts spilling out of it's mouth to look like he's puking. HAHAHAHAHA!

This is the front of the house. This pic doesn't do it justice. It looks pretty cool when you drive by the house.

Graveyard

Front Porch

PARTY CITY!!

So, we had our 4th Annual Adult Halloween party on Friday evening and it was a blast. Lots of fun and some very creative costumes. I went as a vampiress (even though the $5 teeth I purchased DIDN'T stay on with the putty they provided... a friend of mine had the SAME problem..GRRRRRR) and Ben went as the Grim Reaper. The pic below is blurry, so I'm hoping to get a more clear shot from someone else that had a camera! I'd like a close-up shot because I had these really fun fake eyelashes on.

We played some fun games and some different ones, but laughed all night. Had some interesting conversations and 1/2 my makeup was off from tearing up so many times. Many others had great costumes, but I'll let them share theirs on their own blogs, if they wish. So, now I look forward to next year's party and wonder what the theme will be!

For those that get it.... *cuh-cwah, uhnana*

FOUND THE CAMERA!!

So, this isn't the best shot of the boy, but it's what I could do quickly. (pulled him out of bed.. haha) He looks ticked, but before this he was acting MEGA-goofy and I was telling him to stop!

Shiner

OK, so I've been searching all over my house for my stinkin' camera and CANNOT for the life of me find it. So, I figured I'd better post about Keven, even though I have no pics to post right now.



SO, Keven decided to keep a before Halloween tradition this year. He, once again, has a nice shiner!


Last Thursday, he was in PE at school and they were all running around. Well, apparently he stopped and turned and then WHACK!! Yep, you guessed it... A little girl's head went right onto his eye! So, he went to the office and they put ice on it. They gave me a jingle to let me know what happened and I said if he felt OK to leave him there. It was all swollen and red when I got him and each day it's turned a different color. Today, it's turned into that nasty yellowish bruise color, with a big streak of black color.


What's so funny about this is that he had a shiner at this time last year, same eye. We went to a friend's house for a Halloween party and the kids were swinging a wooden broom handle at a pinata. Candy started falling out and then the kids would grab what had fallen. Well, it hadn't completely busted and it went to the next person. Each kid got 3 swings, then was done. So, the girl swung and hit the pinata and candy flew out (Again, not busting it, but a few pieces came out). Keven felt the need to dive for the candy. While in mid-air dive, she pulled the stick back in full force to swing again and WHACK!! Keven got nailed on the eye. Totally his fault on that one. Here's pics of the one from last year. You can see where it whacked him and that it "cracked" on his brow making his mark look like Anakin's scar from Star Wars.

This is last year's shiner. October 2007

To top it all off, Keven burnt his lip on Friday evening on a bratwurst that he failed to blow on first! SO, when he woke up on Saturday, NASTY COLD SORE!!! Yep, he gets them so easily. So, 1/2 of his bottom lip is a grotesque cold sore. Thank heavens for abreva! Best stuff ever made. Basically, my son looks like he was in a fierce fight. Gotta love him, but I don't know if this shiner tradition is one he should keep.

WE ARE SPLITTING APART!!

OK, now before you all have a heart attack and start calling me about the title, read below..

So, our ward cubscouts has been combined with the 2 other ward cubscouts in our building. One ward has the wolves, another has the bears and the other has webelos. And the cubmaster, assistant cubmaster and committee chair are from each of the 3 wards. WELL, we had noticed that our cubscout group was fairly large and we really felt impressed that we needed to SPLIT APART (that's where the separated part comes in) from the other 2 wards and just do it ourselves. Now, most of you know that wards do not usually combine their scouts, they are self-sustaining.

After many not so kind things kept coming up with the other wards (which I will not go into), the Primary President and I had a nice, long chat with the member of the Bishopric that is over Primary. We expressed our concern for things and told him how confidant we are that we could run the cubscouts, on a ward level, and be completely successful. As of now, the cubscouts have not been as successful as they could be and they are not receiving badges they should be getting.

So, today, that member of the Bishopric gave us the best news ever. He told us that we are splitting apart from the other wards and going to do our OWN ward cubscouts! EARLY CHRISTMAS PRESENT!!! This issue has been such a source of stress and disappointment for me, not only as the person over the cubscouts in our ward, but as a mother of a cubscout. I am thrilled beyond measure and know that things kept going "sour" for a reason. The Lord has enough faith in us to teach the cubscouts and prepare them to go on into boy scouts. So, I just wanted to share my enthusiasm with you all and how I can't stop smiling when I think about it.

As for my banged up body, I woke up Saturday feeling like I had been in a car wreck. Apparently, when I had to do my quick grabbing of the railing and tightening of muscles to stop my sliding down the stairs, those muscles got jolted. So, now I know what muscles I used to stop my slide. HAHA! I am still sore and the bruise is still there, but I just deal. I feared one of the Primary children would bump me or come to hug me and hit my bruise today, but those that hugged reached up around my waist and I never got bumped! I'd like to say a miracle happened... HAHA! j/k.

OK, so I'm off. I'm up WAY too late and we may head to a pumpkin patch/cornmaze tomorrow since Ben has the day off and Keven has no school. GO COLUMBUS!! The dude needs a little bit of props. Can he get a whoop whoop?

DOWN DOWN DOWN SHE GOES!!

So, this morning was a SERIOULSY cold morning. (34 degrees!!) I was heading out to a Primary Presidency meeting... hands full (binder, purse and posters I made of our last activity)... put my shoes on and headed out the door. I noticed it had been a lil chilly last night. I proceeded to walk down my stairs and WHOOSH!!!

DOWN SHE GOES!

Yup, you got it. I slipped and fell on my hip and side of my leg (all the while trying to protect those posters I spent HOURS on and money on) and continued to slide down 3 stairs. I sat there going "OH MY GOSH.... OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH" all while making sure the posters were OK.

So, I got up and COULDN'T find my keys! They had been flung in the attempt to grab the railing, while not destroying the sacred posters. Did I mention that already? Anyway, so I start looking for the keys, which have now fallen underneath the stairs in the abyss of growth... UGH! I was already running 15 minutes late and now in total pain on my hip and leg. So, I said, "FOR REAL!! WHERE'S MY KEYS??" I guess that was my lil prayer plea. HAHA! Well, I found them (thanks to the disneyland keychain that is bright red) and went on my way.

So, now I'm sitting here with a huge bruise on my leg and feeling like a putz. I scolded Ben for not getting rid of the foliage that has popped through the stairs, thus making it more slippery. I will remember to cautiously approach the stairs from now on.

Thus ends my fabulous adventure, one which I hope to not repeat!

Signing off, big bruise, sore hip and all!

Amanda - 0; Stairs - 1

Lil' bit about us!

Well, I have finally caved into the blog trend. I guess I figured this is a good way to keep family and friends up on what's happening with us.

Keven is in 3rd grade and almost 9 years old! I can't believe it's gone by so quickly. He has many friends and they are all weird. HAHA! I keep telling myself that he's a boy and that's how they are... WEIRD!! He loves going to church and learning about the gospel and about Jesus Christ. He is WAY into Pokemon and I hate it! Seems that all I hear about is the rare ones and which cards he has and wants, etc. There are many times I have to say, "OK! I am done hearing about it!" He still loves Mario & Luigi and is going to be Mario again for Halloween. I told him he didn't have to be that again, but he still wants to! Fine by me! We bought him a mustache this year (painted it on last year), so his overall costume was $5.99 for this year! HURRAY!!

Ben works at one of the naval bases as a contractor. He does help desk (computer stuff) and fixes the computers around the base when people do stupid things. (like putting in batteries backwards and claiming the item doesn't work!!) He likes his job for the most part, but as with most jobs doesn't like how some people are favored. At church, he is a Primary teacher for the 10-11 year olds and is the 11 year old scout leader. He enjoys his callings, for the most part.

I am a Sensaria Natural Bodycare Independant Representative and love doing shows for people. I wish I could do more, but it's hard to break out of your friends circle, so I am hoping to meet new people that want to do a show. If you're interested, the in home spa class only lasts 90 minutes now (that's the show and check-out) and I'd love to help you out! Just shoot me an e-mail or visit my website. We have LOTS of new stuff I'd love to show!

athomsen@mysensaria.com

www.sensaria.com/athomsen

I, too, fully love going to church. I am the Primary 1st Counselor and am so blessed to have this calling. We have over 90 children in our Primary and it can be overwhelming, but to know that I get to be a part of their gospel learning is pretty amazing. I am blessed to be working with such a fantastic Presidency and know that we were called from the Lord. We were put together for a reason and it's definitely manifesting itself to us.

We have been decorating for Halloween and having a great time doing it... well, at least I have! I love the Fall and can't wait for Halloween to get here. The next 3 months are filled with awesome holidays and great family fun. That's about it for our family for now, so I'll just check out and try to make sure to post weekly, if not more often!