Its time for the stress wagon to set in...

The Holiday shop is OVER...THANK GOODNESS!!! Like I said before...It was CRAZY! It made Black Friday seem mild. Those kid's were CRAZY!! TRUST ME...I saw it in their eyes!!! They were WILD EYES!! The kids wanted EVERYTHING!! And there was ONLY Teresa and me working ALL week (and due to an emergency for a while -just me)! It was a MAD HOUSE!

BUT because of the Holiday shop --- I LOST A WEEK -- A WHOLE WEEK!! Do you know how much a week is during the holidays...it's a life time!!

I'm so far behind! In fact other than shopping, I've gotten nothing done!! NO WRAPPING, NO BAKING, NO CLEANING, NO NOTHING!!!

And I only have part of this week left because I lost this weekend, cuz, well we took the kids to DISNEYLAND for Seth's 8th birthday! It was a BIG surprise for the kids! And what a better place to try and get into the Christmas holiday then at Disneyland! Did you know they make it snow there? We soooo LOVE Disneyland!! More on our trip another time, with pics!

But because of the trip, which I'm sooo glad we took, our family really needed it, I'm going to lose A LOT of time getting things ready for CHRISTMAS! So this next 4 days will be crazy. Plus today, Seth has an appointment in town at 1 and then there is Christmas lights tonight...then Wed we are going someplace, can't say where yet, cuz we are taking my mom and dad, and well, mom reads this and then she will know where we are going. She probably knows where already but, I'm not going to say just in case! But the Christmas Eve party is coming up and I have to be ready by then. So much to do, and so little time.

I'm starting to look like one of those crazy women runny around with wild hair and bulging eyes!! Well, I'll some how get it all done...I don't know how...STAY TUNE!

Hansen Christmas Letter

Dear Family and Friends, December 2009

We know we say this every year, but its true…it amazes us when Christmas comes around because we really can’t believe that another year has passed. BUT here we are at the end of 2009, with Christmas fast approaching. There is so much to get done with all the hustle & bustle of the season but we wanted to take a moment & pause to celebrate the birth of our Savior. This year has found our family a little stressed but as we look back we realized that we have been so blessed with His love & we wanted to express our gratefulness for the blessings we have received.

We hope that as you are reading this you & your family are well &in good spirits. DJ, Suzi & the kids, Cayla (17), Joshua (11) & Seth (7-8 on the 17th of this month) have kept ourselves sort of busy this past year. We are still out in Buckeye watching it grow everyday. Like we said its been a busy but quiet year for the Hansen Family. The kids however, have kept us running from one place to another.

In 2 weeks, Seth will turn eight. Its hard to believe that he has survived this long without some major incident happening…you know, like mom trading him in for a nice quiet chinchilla...just joking (maybe). Really, he is a very loving, but very talkative child, he NEVER stops, EVER! But we love him! Next month he’ll get baptized for our church. He’s really looking forward to that. He’s also getting ready for Cub Scouts, which he is SO excited about. He’s been watching his big brother do it for 4 years now & he can’t wait. He’s working hard in 2nd grade, where he has his own little group of friends…most of which are girls, they adore him (it’s that smile)! They want to play anything he plays…even if its Indian Jones or Batman, the girls will do it, if Seth says so. It’s so fun to sit back and have him read books to us now, its kind of cute watching him sound out words. He’s still working hard on his speech & trying to stay out of trouble (that’s a hard one).

Joshua is our funny child. He’s such a cute kid. But he’s tricky. He has you thinking he’s such a quiet & shy kid & then BAM!! He shows his wild & crazy side. This year he has had a lot of changes in his life. He moved up from cub scouts into 11 yr old scouts & he is loving it. Right as he was moving into scouts he received his Arrow of Light which is a big thing in cub scouts. His first scout campout, Josh had so much fun~they got poured on (who would of thought it would rain in AZ)! He thought it was GREAT!! 6th grades going pretty go so far for him. He’s starting to come out of his comfort zone (alittle). He’s playing football & basketball & my shy kid has joined student council. This requires him to talk in front of others…kind of a hard thing for him to be center stage. Oh & he was asked to join Jr. National Honor Society this year. He’s been such a help to his mom when it comes to helping with Seth & things with School. We think he’s a pretty good kid.

Now for the busiest of our three, Cayla. She’s still juggling EVERYTHING in life! How she manages, I really don’t know. Her Senor year has proven to be busiest year. She’s balancing cheer, dance, school, NHS, Pom, student council, church, trying to find a college, family, lots more, & oh yes, can’t forget BOYS, BOYS, BOYS. At the end of her Jr. year she ended up attended 3 Proms, good thing we had 3 prom dress’(we love a good sale). This year Cayla was elected to the Homecoming court and ended up coming in as first runner up, Homecoming Princess. Cayla is still actively involved in her dancing & this year she has done so much singing for our church. She really does have a beautiful voice. She is working on her second YW’s medallion & should have it by Feb 2010. We really don’t know how she manages all of this & maintains a 4.4 grade point average, but she does. She is her biggest critic; if she doesn’t feel like she has given her all at something then she is the hardest on herself than anyone else is. That’s a hard thing at such a young age. She continues to be a help to her teachers, friends & family. She can be such a good example to us all with the amount of love she gives to others.

Suzi is working on keeping the family together. Keeping everyone’s schedule straight gets a little hard sometimes. This year Suzi’s spent most of her free time at the boy’s school working with the PTSA, where she serves as Vice President & Treasure. This really keeps her busy. She enjoys being at the school with the boy’s & having an active involvement in their lives. She continues to serve as Laural (16-17 yr old girls) teacher at church. Cayla enjoys this cuz she gets to have her mom as her teacher. We are grateful for all the balancing acts Suzi does for our family and we love her for it.

DJ is starting his Christmas off with an early gift, he just received word this week that he was made the 1st sergeant of his military unit. This made his year! He’s been keeping life busy between family, church, work & guard. He still enjoys teaching the Gospel Doctrine class at church. He kind of got depressed this year cuz he didn’t get drawn for elk hunting which ended up being a good thing, according to Suzi, because during the summer he hurt his knee & last month ended up having knee surgery. So it all worked out & there is always next year. We’re just grateful the surgery went well.

From our house to yours we hope you have a Merry Christmas and May your New Year be Fun and Happy!
All Our love,
DJ, Suzi, Cayla, Joshua and Seth Hansen

Ok~Ok...

I know~I know...Don't get on me like ugly on a frog!! I've been a SLACKER...AGAIN!! No surprise there~RIGHT!

But what can I say~Life's been~well~NO I WON'T SAY IT... we all have crazy busy lives, so I wont use that excuse... so let's just say life's been life, according to my definition of life!

BUT...I will say I SURVIVED BLACK FRIDAY!!! With all the insaneness and wildness (yes that would be my life, not just black Friday), I managed to get 90% of my shopping done!! (I'm so awesome if I do say so myself...now Suzi get off your cloud!)

The day was HILARIOUSLY INSANE if I do say so, and I do! The sales weren't really all that if you ask me! It was what I did and who I did it with that made it a FUN day/night! (yes that was the word night in there).

Thanksgiving Day...we spent it at my moms this year instead of home or at Disneyland (yes we go there a lot on Thanksgiving, its so fun) or at Kim's, cuz, you see my grandpa's in the hospital. We all needed to stay close so we could go back and forth that day. More on that another time, maybe....

So Teresa, my friend (yes I really have one, mom :))~I've talked about her before...anywho, we decided to be a little shall we say mentally ill. We went out Thanksgiving night at 11:35 pm! Yes, that wasn't 4:30 am like most sane Black Friday shoppers, that was 11:35 pm, the night before. Other than the first store we went to, where we had an hour & half wait, the rest of the stores we had NO~ yes NO wait ~ in and out in just a few minutes! We did decide that the mall was not worth going to! That's where we had the long wait! After we left the store and started walking around we were laughing at all the people in some of the lines that went the length of the mall (sorry if that was you). Then, as we were leaving Old Navy at around 3:30~4, we were laughing at the people at Best Buy camping out at their doors in Tents with little grills to keep warm! It was so funny (again if that was you sorry, and I know my laughing is going to come back and bit me in the darreair~it always does), but we were in and out with all our stuff with in 20 to 30 minutes, come on is that shopping or what!

At JC Penny's we had to have one of the guys help us out with our stuff & when he got to Teresa's truck he started laughing. Can you believe that...he laughed at all the stuff we had. Teresa had to buy for a lot of family. When we went to Target a guy was pushing in carts, looked at the back and just walked away laughing at the back of our truck!

Teresa and I got home around 11 or so still full of energy and then I turned around and left again with DJ and didn't get home till 5:30 or so. We went out looking for things for Cayla, came back empty handed! I hate shopping for her!

The two bad things out of all that is...I still have NO idea what to get Cayla other than clothes~ugh! And now I have to wrap the gifts! Stupid Teresa already has hers wrapped!!

LET'S REVIEW BLACK FRIDAY...

~The deals this year were SO-SO (at least I thought so)

~Got 90% of my Christmas shopping done~yeah me!

~Teresa & I had a BLAST!

~Sleep is SO over RATED!! You should try going a few days with out it!

OH and GUESS WHAT...

CHRISTMAS is COMING!!!!

Poor~Poor~Poor Cayla...

You got to really feel for the kid...NOT!!!

When the poutty lip comes out and the sad, sad eyes and then the "it's not right, it's just not right!"

WHY...You ask? Well, I'll tell you...

See Cayla has a few friends that, well, will text me and ask me questions, or that I'll text and ask questions (What can I say...I'm a cool mom...hey don't laugh...let me live in my own little world and think my own little thoughts, ok!). Now I'm sure there are some of you moms out there with teens that do that. Now, it just so happens that some of our conversations will go on and on and on for a while and maybe those conversations will be about...well I don't know...about Cayla...just maybe... and maybe, she happens to be sitting right in the same room with me or with the friends at the time...and maybe, just maybe neither one of us will tell her what were text. I'm just saying MAYBE!

OH BUT DON'T FEEL SORRY FOR THE EVIL CHILD!!! Yes, I said EVIL. That poutty lip will change, the whinny and complaining will change and the EVIL EYES come out...the STARE STARTS. She will walk around and JUST LOOK into your eyes... You moms KNOW what I'm talking about...BUT NO...SHES EVEN MORE EVIL...SHE ATTACKS...THAT'S RIGHT...YOUR READ IT HERE and YOU READ IT RIGHT...she went after me around the kitchen table (after the cell phone...it might of been cuz I said do you want to read what we've been texting...oops, I deleted it...ha ha ha) and I'm not ashamed to say I ran to DJ and hide, but then...she came after me!!! That little pill, how dare she and started to try and tickle me and take the cell phone. DJ had to protect me. What a hubby he is!!!

All this cuz I text Geoff about his new dogs name (which I wanted him to name Cayla's nick giggles and he said NO WAY...You can't have two weird crazy females name giggles :))... and about whatever else we could think of about Cayla (heheheheheheheheheheheheh)...and it just went on for a long time...WE JUST DID IT TO BUG CAYLA...CUZ WE CAN! ;) LUV YOU BABY GIRL!!!

Where or where is my PURSE...

I really miss carrying my purse right now...

You see ONLY 2 DAYS TIL THE CARNIVAL
...WOW...CAN'T BELIEVE THAT...

I have to carry so much junk...oh WAIT...it's not JUNK...it's important PTSA stuff (right Teresa)...that it wont fit into my purse so I have to carry a bag, a big bag full of everything, papers, money, checks, notes, documents, things you write with, gum, water, t-shirts, tape, calculators, EVERYTHING under the sun...HECK IF YOU LOOK, I BET THE KITCHEN SINK IS IN THERE SOMEWHERE...I WANT MY PURSE!!!

I keep forgetting stuff...example yesterday...What did I forget...my drivers license so I couldn't cash one of the checks we needed to write for PTSA cuz I don't have my Lic number memorize...come on, what more do you want...thats too much for my head to remember~numbers!!! REALLY...if its not your socially security number~who has it memorized...obviously I DON'T!

Your killing me here people, just plain old killing me!!!

I'm going crazy...AGAIN...

I think I just might be going crazy!!! They say that happens when you get older...I did just have a birthday this last week and so somewhere along the way the years did start to SLOWLY creep up on me and as Cayla occasionally reminds me, well she reminds DJ more than me, we are getting older. BUT I think with my old age, not that I'm saying I'm old, I think my mind is going~Oh wait I NEVER had a MIND!!!!

But some of you might be asking why I think I might be losing that thing in the upper part of my head...well it's that time of year again...

NO...Not Halloween!

NO...Not Thanksgiving!!

NO...Not when the weather guy says that we will have no more 100 degree weather and then we do

NO... No Christmas!!!

YEP...you guessed it...IT'S the Jasinski FALL CARNIVAL!!!!

JUST KILL ME NOW!!!!!!!!!!

You would think after what I put my body throw last year, I would have learned and NOT do it this year...well that would be a NO....

And guess what...it's even BIGGER...yes, you read right...that was the word BIGGER this year. And there is really only 2 of us running around until the day of it planning it. AUUUUUUUGGGGGG. Really I AM CRAZY.

BUT IT'S GONNA BE FUN! Ok...Shameless plug...you all should come...you know I'm just a shameful person...if you are anywhere in the valley, you should come. Its cheap and safe...Heck it's in Buckeye!!! Ok, so it's half way to California if you live on the other side of the Valley, but thats ok, just make a trip out of it;)...hit the carnival first and the drive to California and watch the sun rise at the beach, sound good (you know I'm just kidding, its really not that far, people~20 minutes, 15 if you drive like me, cops plug your ears)

Heres some of what you'll get...Shameless plug time...50ft zipline (you have to be 48inch tall to go on this ride)~ it's called the survivor...it looks so cool (it takes its own crew to put this one together, its so big), a video gaming trailer with 14 plasma TV's, a gyro, swing n spin, a 58 foot slide, a train, games, food and lots more.

Its not as bit as the state fair, its not as small as your normal school carnival, but hey its OUR school carnival. And I have to put the word out there some how...RIGHT?!?! And what better way then my blog. SO, with that said there it is, plus, I had to put something on the blog, its been awhile since I've put anything on and right now all I eat, sleep, drink and dream is this carnival. Its crazy.

Once the Carnival is over will life slow down...NOP the next week, we start right into the book fair...NOVEMBER 2 to the 6th. I really think I am going CRAZY!!!!

Check one...

CHECK ONE...Coughing...(Late night~ALL RIGHT~NO SLEEP...again!!!!)

CHECK TWO...Fever...(Cool shower and meds to bring down)

CHECK THREE...Throw up...(Time for GOOD OLD Mr. BUCKET)

~~~WHAT'S NEXT ON THE LIST...POOR SETH!!!

WELCOME FALL BREAK!!!

This is for MOM...

This is for my mommy...CUZ she informed me the other day, AFTER I sent her an e-mail that I needed to update my Blog. You see at the end of my e-mails it says to visit me at my blog. Mom says, "I do visit and its the same, it NEEDS to be UPDATED!" Whatever, MOM!

SO FINE, MOTHER!!! I'm UPDATING just for little OLD you!! :) Love you mommy!

Well, as many of you know from reading my facebook...oh you didn't know I was on facebook, well, I am, check me out on facebook (so is DJ and Cayla). Anywho, I love how my mind just wonders around, need to stary focused on my task at hand.

But back to my topic...as some of you may know, Cayla was nominated for HOMECOMING Queen. How cool is that and boy was she shocked!!! Well, I thought it was pretty cool in deed. Well alas (what a funny word to use), she did not win, BUT she was runner up and because the queen did not, yes that was~ did not go to the Homecoming dance, Cayla started the dance with the king. Have you ever heard of such a thing, not going to your Homecoming dance when you just won Homecoming. Crazy if you ask me. But Cayla did get a crown out of it and a sash. And out of all the girls in the school she was 1st runner up. Shes a princess in our books. Way to go baby girl!

Also, are you ready for this one, Josh, my sweet quite but sometimes crazy middle baby is playing football. Did you hear what I typed...FOOTBALL. Yes, the sport where you can break you body. Isn't bad enough that I have Cayla who is a walking advertisement for a physical Therapist, that now Josh wants to get all beat up. Its just too funny though some of the things that have happen.

So he comes home from school and he gets this cheesy grin on his face and he says "mom what do you think if I want to play football?" The kids never showed an interest in football before, basketball, yes, baseball, yes, football, never. I just kind of laughed and said I don't think so, you would die and break all your bones. So he asked again. This time I knew something was up. The school was starting a team and he wanted to play. He'd been playing at lunch and I guess he really liked it. I told him he'd get all beat up and he says...NO I WONT. Let me tell you what happen the next day when I went to check him out of school early. Hes sitting at the front office waiting for me, with a bag of ice on his chin, bruised. He GOT KICKED IN THE FACE. MOMMY ALWAYS KNOWS! Told him he'd get hurt!!! He got kicked twice in the face. Its not the only injury he's gotten. Oh don't get me wrong, I don't care at all that he's playing, I just wanted to pull his leg, but I KNEW HE WOULD GET HURT...I ALWAYS KNOW...I'M THE MOTHER!!! He is having fun.

Then of course Seth...Seth...Seth...What to do with that kid. Do you know how many people have asked me where he has gotten his accent from. I just don't know about that kid. His new thing is to talk with an English accent, that on top of his already natural accent that he has that you can't understand. He comes out and says "Ello, Gevonor." Strange kid. Wonder who he belongs to?!?

So Mom, sooo sooo sorry that I've failed you as a daughter at keeping up on the blog and the facebook. Life has been a little crazy as of late. Don't feel guilty cuz you pressured me into updating at all. It needed to be done. I will try and be better at my responsibilities at getting on to the computer and down loading pictures too. I know I am failing in the department also. Oh just go ahead and disown me, I'm not even worth it!

Hey mom, YOU SHOULD START A BLOG!!! LUV ya LOTS!!

Sometimes Mickey...

...I outta...if it wasn't for the fact that Mickeys so darn CUTE and a 16 1/2 year old black Lab dog, I'd, well, I don't know what, BUT I WOULD!

In Mickeys old age he's gotten, well, a bit senile...and when it storms with lightning and thunder, he goes CRAZY! Over the the last few years he's eaten, and I do mean eaten our house...stucco, metal, concrete, wood, you name it~he's eaten it. And its not just the storms...he has what we now call (its a scientific term~well one we made scientific), SUNDOWNSINDRUM...when the sun goes down, he goes CRAZY and starts knocking at the door trying to come in. What a MENTAL case!

He was NEVER like this before MEG. Who is Meg...Meg was a German short hair dog we found years ago. She was afraid of ANY loud noise~even the ice maker...She was NUTS~I tell you, just plan NUTS! Sometimes I though she was going to brake our sliding glass door down trying to get into the house...and now shes passed this unto Mickey!

A storm comes...he goes crazy...and that's what happened Saturday! We were trying to get ready to walk out the door to Caleb, my nephews, baptism. We're dressed in Sunday clothes, dress and heels ~me and Cay, shirts and ties ~ the boys. DJ's already left cuz we had to take two vehicles cuz he was working the ASU game later that day (figures he ALWAYS misses the craziness in my life). Oh and I'm fighting the starting of a whooper of a migraine. (So much joy in my life).

Anywho...I could see a storm was coming so I decided to be nice and let Mickey in. That will teach me ~ trying to be nice...when will I learn! SO, he comes in...we had the front door open cuz we were getting ready to walk out. Infact the boys were already in the truck. They were just waiting for me.

Mickey makes a b-line for the font door and I told him go lay down, which he did! (Mickeys NORMALLY pretty good about listening when we tell him to obey something...kids should follow his example! Well until....) Then I turn around and before I knew it...he was up and out the door. I was yelling "Mickey, stop!" (I really think in his old age hes going deaf cuz sometimes he doesn't hear us and we can walk right up to him.) He normally will stop right at the door...he'll sit and just look out, we always leave the door open...BUT NO, not that day...out he goes...I take off after him in 4 1/2 inch heels, mind you. I kick them off and take off IN THE RAIN, IN A DRESS, trying not to fall cuz I kept slipping. Cayla comes running and then Seth. We get Mickey cornered down the road at one of the houses. Then Josh comes running down the street, in the rain, asking "Why is everyone running down the street?" (Nothing like being a day late and a dollar short.) Of course the dumb dog didn't want to go back...HE'S CRAZY!!! I really don't know what his problem was, hes usually a really good dog! I'm telling you~HE'S CRAZY!

Needless to say...we got him home...put him in the laundry room where his bed his...got wet skid marks all over my tile floor, cuz I had to drag him...Now I have to mop...got wet from running in the rain...My hair went flat from the rain (perfect for pictures after the baptism)...my migraine started to get really bad at this point~stress ya know...hit a pretty big storm driving to the baptism, which slowed down our driving time...couldn't see the roads~NICE....and was 5 to 10 minutes lat for the baptism....

All because an old dog is scared of thunder and lightning!!

BANG~CRASH~BOOM...

...thats what I heard at 7:45 in the morning, while I was getting ready to take the boys to school. Josh, Seth and myself had the jeepers scared out of us!!

Here let me paint the picture for you:

I'm in my bathroom, putting make-up on (trust me, you don't want to see me without the stuff...its pretty scary whats under all of it...sometimes I even scare myself), anywho, I'm putting the much needed make-up on when...I hear this loud noise coming from somewhere in the house. NO JOKE...it sounded like someone crashing into a wall with their car. It was so loud it scared the jeepers out of me!! I go running out of my room and start yelling..."Are you guys ok...what was that sound?"

Josh answers and says "Seths dresser fell over". I run to their room and see poor Seth almost in tears. I ask are you ok and he says yes as he sits down. I ask did it hit you and he says yes on my leg and foot, but I'm ok. At this point I'm holding him and before I know it he starts to cry. Poor guy, his leg was really hurting him and he was trying so hard to be brave. I checked his leg and it has some cuts and busies on it, so did his foot. (He looks like I beet him to death)

When asked what happened, he wasn't really sure. He says he was looking in his top drawer and then it fell. Mom being Mom, put two and two together. I asked if he climbed on it and he says "no I'm tall enough to reach", but I still figured it out. You see he is tall enough but barley, I'm guessing he stands on his tippy toes to see inside, pulling on the top shelf to help him see better. So being the Sherlock Homes that I am...I'm guess he did this and the poor dress just couldn't take it and down it went...scary the jeepers out of the boys, oh and me.

Poor guys, Josh was scared to death. Then he started looking at the dresser...of course the drawers broke but that wasn't the worst part...they have a lot of knick knacks on their dressers and the ones on Seths are now in a million pieces. Josh got really upset and started to cry (I think mostly because he got scared, not so much the broken pieces) then I told him I'd rather have broken stuff, then two broken boys...oh wait I had one a couple of years ago:)

What away to start the weekend off.

A Summer of Fun in Pictures...

I know, I know...all these pictures are a little late, but what do you want from me...I'm lucky I remember my name and address...WAIT~whats my name....

Anywho, these are just a few of the pics from all we've been doing since May...

ENJOY!!

OK...Can I just say...Sea World with Josh, sleeping there, being in the place after hours...SO COOL!!! Don't you just love our LOVELY GREEN SHIRTS!!

(Of course here is Josh and me...and our good friends, Austin and Teresa...I tend to get into a lot of TROUBLE with Teresa....)

Hes just SOOOOOO cute!

The newest Temple in UTAH...Oquir Temple (yeah I know I spelt it wrong, but hey what do you expect from someone who hasn't been in school in (blank) years!)


(good friends the Bowkers...Love them!)

(Mary Fielding Smiths home)

We went to the "This is the Place" in Utah...TWICE! (This is where Brigham Young said the saints needed to be...its a pioneer village) The kids had so much fun the first time and we didn't get to see everything (still didn't)...that we met up with our very good friends the Bowkers and spent another day there!

(Salt Lake Temple)

OK...this was SOOOO COOL! And I have so many more pics I could put, but this is the cemetery where the prophets of the church are buried (well all but 3). We walked all over, in the rain. We got a good work out that day. VERY COOOL!
We went to a museum and then afterwards, we just vegged for a while at the park. All of us had fun...running and playing! It was a nice park...could have taken a long nap if I had a blanket!




At the museum, Cayla found this frog prince and she was hoping that it would be like the story...If she kissed him ~he would turn into her PRINCE CHARMING...Yah~NO...it didn't work...shes still looking!

On our way back home~in the middle of NOWHERE...we found this fort...COVE FORT...that President Hinkleys great grandfather was sent to establish for the saints to rest and get supplies while they where traveling to their destinations. It was really neat to visit...I highly recommend it to EVERYONE! (Plus its a nice little place to stretch the old legs and to take a break from the KIDS!)
Now summer is over and the NEW school year has begun! Can't we just skip everything and jump to summer...it really was WAY too short!!

This is a little late...time to catch up~SO MUCH TO SAY...SO MUCH TO DO...

...And so little time to do it ALL!!! (This ones a long one, sorry all)

That's really how I feel. Where to start? Lets start with the end of May the first part of June...

We went to Utah for a site seeing trip (sorry to all the family we didn't see but we wanted to go see all the sites we miss when we go see you normally~you understand...if not...oh well...life's rough sometimes). Anywho, we did stay at DJ's folks house~Thanks for the room (its always nice to know we have a place to put our heads at night!)

We got kind of worried about our trip...got a late start. Was waiting for some meds to get filled that I dropped off, but there was a mistake in the perceription and they had to wait to hear back from the Doc. I thought we would NEVER get that call saying the perceription was ready for pick up, but by 11 (yes that was 11 in the morning, not 6 like we wanted), we were off! We hit rain and lots of it in AZ, that ARIZONA you know the DESERT, where it NEVER rains, well we drove in it for a while up north~CRAZY! The kids were pretty good on the drive...didn't drive us too crazy and we got up to his folks at around 10:30 (AZ time)...11:30 (UT time), not too bad at all.

The next morning we were off...ok not really, we kind of had a slow start. WHY~ well Cayla trimmed my hair, we ate, we just kind of did whatever...heck it was our trip. Finally we were ready to go...BUT WHERE TO... The decision was made and we went to a place called "THIS IS THE PLACE". Its the spot where Brigham Young said Utah was the place for the saints to be. Its a really cool place to be (except for the snakes). If you've NEVER been, you need to go and if its been years, go again, they've added a tun more stuff. IT WAS SOOOO COOL (except for the snakes)! Infact it was soooo cool we went again on Tuesday and still didn't see everything. (More on Tuesday later)

They have all kinds of old pioneer homes and things from when the saints where around during Bringham Youngs time. Some of them originals and some of them copies...It was really cool. You can interact with them and do crafts, play games and things. It was a lot of fun (other than the snakes we saw~not so fun)

Sunday we spent the day with his parents and went to their ward. They really have a nice ward. Lots of members walked up to us and introduced themselves to us...one of the friendless wards I've ever been to...It was kind of nice.

Monday was pretty cool. We got up early and headed over to the town of Jordan where we got to go on a tour of the new temple that was built there...the Oquirrh Mountain Temple (remember if its spelt wrong, I just can't spell). Its Gorgeous! Now if you can believer this, Seth was very good when we went on the tour! One because we threaten him with an inch of his life and two because you can't help but feel the spirit. After the tour they take you to a reception area...oh my heck, you talk about fancy. It look like a wedding reception. They had beautiful seats and tables and paintings of Christ and a beautiful piano. WOW! After that we headed over to the Museum of natural history. The kids had a lot of fun looking at the dinos and frogs there...but it was after that that they had fun. We went across the street and they ran around the park for a good hour or so. From there we went to Temple Sqair!

Our last day in town was really fun! We met up with our friends the Bowkers at the "This is the Place" Park and just hung around for the day! A few things happened during the day. We decided that Seth, DJ and hammers just don't mix. Seth was hammering, DJ was holding the nail for him...well you can put two and two together...lets just say there was blood involve. DJ and Angela introduced me to Farrs ice cream~I guess its the greatest ice cream around (it was pretty good). Seth did something~none of us are really sure what but he ended up falling straight back on his head and hitting it really hard (ok I tried not to laugh but I did and he was crying so hard he tryed not to but it was funny), left a pretty good KNOT! At the end of the day we said our good bys to John and Angela and started to head over to the beehive house but got side tracked...

This was soooo cool, but in a morbid way (well maybe to some...we thought it was cool)...EVERY HEARD OF THE LINE...I SEE DEAD PEOPLE...Well, we kind of walked on dead people....So we were driving a long and ran straight into (not really ran into), the Salt Lake Cemetery. Do you know whats there...Well I'll tell you...All the prophets are buried there but 3 well and our current living one. It was the coolest thing ever. It was so old looking. It was after 5 so we couldn't ask where things where, so we drove around and the first one we found was President Hinckleys then after that we just drove and walked. We walked all over, this place was so BIG. They had pioneers every where. We found Joseph F Smith, Joseph Feilding Smith, Heber J. Grant, David O. McKay, Wilford Woodruf, Spencer W. Kimble. We also found a few apostles and a few 1st and 2nd councilors. It was really cool. We want to go back, because it started to rain really hard so we needed to leave. Infact it rained every night on us while we were in Utah.

Wed. we headed home. Again we got a late start cuz DJ wanted to visit with his dad for a few minutes before he went to work so we weren't in any hurry. We got on the road at about 10:30 (UT time). However we made a few pit stops on the way home. DJ's sister told us about a candy story that was about 10 miles off the freeway in Alpine so we made a stop there, it was a cute drive, the candy stop was so-so. Then when you get in the middle of NOWHERE land in Ut there is this Fort~Fort COVE. We drive by it all the time when we go up to UT. I'm sure you've seen the signs. Well, DJ said hey lets stop, so we did. WOW! Its ran by the church and little old missionaries (they were so cute~I love little old missionaries). It was a fort that Brigham Young asked President Hinckleys grandfather to go out and build so he did. It was so neat. You really need to stop there. The kids had so much fun and so did DJ and I.

Over all I'd say we had a lot of fun. Did we do all the things we wanted to do this trip, NO but who cares, it was a kind of whatever happens~happens trip. Its nice sometimes just to go and not really have set things. We had plans just not set in stone. We weren't in a hurry to go places, we just had a lot of places to see.

Infact while we were there we got to see the Bountiful temple, the Tepanogus Temple (I know its probably spelt wrong) and also some really old people that DJ knew when he use to live there in the 80's (you know that means they were really really old cuz DJ's really old). Oh and lets NOT forget Caylas fav of all...WE GOT TO SEE WHERE HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL WAS FILMED!!! The REAL EAST HIGH!!! After about the 20th time of seeing it~it lost its thrill!

We LOVE visiting UTAH~ we just NEVER really get the chance to see everything cuz were are spending it with the family...and by GEORGE...this time we wanted to!!!

My observations about the place in the summer time...
~Lots and Lots of Roses
~Lots and lots of Flowers
~They need to re-pave all their roads, way too many pot holes
~They streets are too narrow
~EVERYONE rides a bike
~There was this green stuff everywhere...DJ says its called grass
~And this other green stuff in the sky...again hubby says they are called trees
~Way too many hills to drive...don't think I would enjoy driving them in the snow
~Just about every house looks different than the house next to it
~Again Roses, they are everywhere

(I'll put the pics in later, sorry they aren't in now)

My man ROCKS...

I know at times we all think that our hubby's are the best and ROCK...but can I just say at times...mine really does ROCK!!!

As most of you know, at times, I can be...well how shall I put it...a little high strung...ok just plan crazy...AND hes the BEST, he puts up with it all.

And he puts up with EVERYTHING I put him through. I know everyone of us gets a calling and our spouse gets the calling, but not like my hubby. I put him through ANYTHING and EVERYTHING I can. I EVEN make him do stuff for PTSA and for my Family (and most times I don't even ask, I just volunteer him, I'm so bad, I should really say sorry and feel bad for the things I put him through...maybe when I have time;-) naaa)...thats right...hes the MAN!!!

So this last week I was at girls camp and I asked DJ to change his days off, work Monday and take Tuesday off so that he could drive up to camp and pick Cayla up and drive her to Flagstaff so that she can compete in a Cheer competition.

Well, silly me didn't think things through, like always, BUT he did. Heres what was going on. See on Friday DJ was going to be leaving out of town for the next few weeks for Military Duty and really didn't want to miss too much work, so he was going to work all week except for when he was taking Cayla. One little problem in the plan...the boys (yes mom was going to take care of them, but they wanted to spend time with dad before he left and could do that if DJ was working all the time)....

My wonderful hubby, said "Family First" and took Monday and Tuesday off and went into work late on Wednesday...WHY you ask, cuz he took the boys camping and fishing while Cayla was Cheering.

He drove up to Strawberry on Monday, set up camp, took the boys out hiking and fishing. Then bright and early Tuesday came into LoMia to get Cayla and drove her to Flag were he spent the day with the boys. Left camp set up in Strawberry cuz it was 11:30 by the time they dropped her back at girls camp. DJ and the boys spent the day hiking and fishing...of course the only thing they caught, which didn't make me too happy, was a SNAKE!!! Ok for that, he gets knocked down a few steps off his pedestal!!! I DON'T DO SNAKES!!! (I've got a pic that I'll put on later for all of you to see...my heart skipped a few beats when I saw it)

Anywho, the next morning, they were off, back to Phoenix, dropped the boys off at grandmas and then he was off to work!! Sometimes he really can be the BEST!!!

He really does ROCK!!

Girls Camp...just a few hightlights...

Well, I can say I survived...I didn't die...I didn't get sprayed by a skunk, didn't get eaten by a mountain lion, didn't get bitten by a snake and I didn't fall off the side of the mountain!!! I LIVED through GIRLS CAMP!!! YEAH ME!!!!

NO...REALLY, it was questionable...but camp went well...sooooo many people said this was one of the best camps they've had in Buckeye in a long time. Way to go Tiffany and Katie...you guys did good!

NOW, you know me...I'm not gonna lie to you...there were some major ups and some major down. AND NO!!! Don't ask...I'm not going to tell you what they were, that would be wrong of me to tell you that would be gossip and as we learned the first night at girls camp...GOSSIP is WRONG:) (little plug for everyone that was at girls camp) But I don't want to be Little Miss Pious and be all Holy now!!! It was fun wearing a formal and Terra at camp!!!

I was really happy that Cayla was at camp with me this year. I don't know if she'll go to camp next year or not, but at least she went this year, good or bad. She LOVES camp...heck shes got to...shes gone twice this year. And both camps had there moments for her. She will make an AWESOME leader someday!!!

One of the funnest things was also the coolest things. It was when we had deer come into camp. And when I say come into camp, I mean we walked right up to them, just a couple of feet from them (too bad I didn't have my camera...I know...don't yell at me...gesh, I can't have it with me all the time.) Anywho, I was with three girls from my ward and we were laughing so hard cuz one of them was doing what we now call, well, the matting call and run. It was so funny, and those deer just didn't run away. Crazy animals, and I'm not nessarly talking about the deers.

We did the iron rod program and it was both funny and spiritual. Of course this wasn't without some problems, but as always "Its all good". I was stationed right next to where the girls got brought if they let go on the iron rod and can I just say...I wanted to laugh and cry for these girls. Cayla kept bring girls because someone told the girls "don't trust anyone except for Cayla". So when they got to her, she said that they needed to go over to a different area, and the poor little things bought it and let go. Cayla was bring girls left and right. Then it was even sadder...They would get put back on the rod in front of me and I would tell them that they got put on in the wrong spot and needed to move them and you guessed it...they let go AGAIN!

I love camp...BUT...I'm glad its over. I think Caylas kind of glad its all over too. Long days and late nights, makes for a VERY grouchy Suzi!

The UPDATE...

I am going crazy...can I just say, we got the new modem the other day and the Internet worked great as soon as we hooked it up, that is for a day and then it all started all over again, the static and everything.

Seriously, the static on the phone is enough to drive me crazy! Others may not hear it when I'm talking to them, but I CAN hear it and I'M going CRAZY! I really CAN'T hear anything anyone says...WAIT maybe thats a good thing.

When the box came with the new one in it, it was all banging around, loose inside the box (nice packing job) and everything. SO back to the drawing board we go! DJ will give them a call this week while I'm at camp and try and get it fixed. Who knows, maybe it will never be fixed and I'm doomed to have STATIC in my ears forever and my Internet turning off and on all the time.

I WANT to KILL my COMPUTER....

A few months ago Qwest changed our Internet. They went to something that was going to be faster and all that.
NOW...we didn't get a choice in the matter, it was change or you have NO more Internet. SO, with the option at hand, we changed. Really it was no biggy. Infact, according to DJ it was going to be a better deal anyway. We were upgraded to a faster modem and everything was ALL GOOD....

OK NOT REALLY!

Didn't really put two and two together until a few weeks ago, but here's whats been happening. Ever since they switched us we have had some static on our phone line. At the time I really didn't think much about it. Until it started getting worse and I mean really really worse! To the point sometimes I really couldn't hear what people were saying (ok so the truth came out, I never knew what any of you were saying half the time, I just agreed to it all, ok, deal with it).

Then the next thing started happening, our Internet started to really slow down. Whats up with that. Its suppose to be FASTER. Now if you haven't learned yet...

Suzi is not a patient person...

I know, this might come to a shock to some of you...but yes it is true...I have NO patients!

It was driving me crazy. Then the Internet started to freeze up! NOW I'm mad.

Not only is it freezing up once in awhile, its happening ALL THE TIME. So DJ calls Qwest. They have him do something, saying it was the problem, yeah~no! Still static and still slow Internet!

DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. Infact its getting worse by the minute.

Do you all know what time it is right now...ITS CAMP TIME...The time I need my computer! Yesterday was the worse day of all. It wouldn't let me on the Internet but for two seconds here and two seconds there. It was driving me batty...(no commits...I know I'm already half way there).

Anyways...DJ makes a call, I'm telling you, I know these Qwest people sit at there desk just dying of laughter at some of the stuff they know they are making people do. They had us running around our house, moving beds, taking panels off walls to get to wires, climbing over stuff, it was crazy...and what was all this for...just to find out that it was our modem and not our phones or our phone lines that what bad. I could have told them that. The problem started when we got the NEW modem!!! Now I have to WAIT (and everyone knows I don't wait well, maybe thats were Seth gets it from). A new one should be here today or tomorrow or the next day. The crazy part it...it works just fine first thing in the morning and late at night. DJ gets on it last night and has NO problems at all. FIGURES!!

What a GOOD LOOKING KID!!!

Ok so I know I'm his mom, but can I just say that I think that my son Joshua James is the best looking kid around! AND TODAY IS HIS BIRTHDAY so I think he got even better looking when he woke up this morning! Its hard for me to believe that he's 11 today! I know I had a hard time excepting Cayla turning 17 a few weeks ago (ok, not really, but moms are suppose to have hard times when their kids grow up right?), Your kids are growing up and somewhere you missed the memo...I don't know.


(Isn't he SOOOO CUTE!)

But LOOK...Josh went from my cute little boy into a really GOOD LOOKING KID. Let me tell you about this good looking kid!!! Some of you have been deceived by my sweet Innocent little, ok not so little, boy...you see, he may look and sometimes act all calm and quite...

BUT...

Underneath it all...HES JUST PLAN CRAZY!!! NO!! Really he is, just ask anyone in the family, they will ALL tell you the truth, the kid is NUTS!

Hes a good kid...like every kid, hes got problems... and as a mom, of course I want to try and fix them all, but I can't ~ I haven't figured out how yet. BUT I'll keep trying for him and the other two rug rats. Out of my three rug rats, Josh is the most complicated to understand, I think, well sort of. Hes a really funny kid a times. Can make you laugh your head off. Other times, I think hes just plan sad and I really don't know why.

Hes a funny kid~ loves watching the Discovery channel and the History Channel. He LOVES everything to do with WWI and WWII and Vietnam. He likes to invent things. Watch out or else one of these times you might end up in the little boogers trap.

Lately hes been getting into basketball. Kind of felt bad for him the other day... He got a new basketball for Christmas and someone at the park stole it while he was there, (little brats...oops guess thats not very nice to type, but really stealing from a kid).

(Josh and Seth get a long really good...sometimes Seth does drive Josh batty and Josh wants to kill him but its all brother love, right?)

I know sometimes being the middle child is rough but Josh does ok. He causes trouble when he can. Beats up on Seth every chance he gets...Teases Cayla about her bugs all the time (only cuz its easy to do) and trys to get the best of mom and dad, when he can!

(Cayla and Josh are really close...Cay thinks Josh is soooo cute. When Josh was little he didn't have a problem giving his his sis a kiss but now he runs anytime she trys and give him a kiss...the tables have turned)

So for Josh...I hope he has the BEST Birthday today. We love him very much. We couldn't be happier to have him in our lives. He makes life fun for us!!

(Josh with his closest friends...acting NORMAL?)
HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY JOSHUA!!!

This ones for YOU...Steph...

(This was taken right out side your house...don't deny it Steph!)

Thats right this blog is for my special friend!

(Special in more ways than one...)

My...WHITE TRASH-RED NECK FRIEND STEPHANIE!!!

(inside joke)

(This one was taken in yr back yard...you know it was...just admit it)

For those of you that don't know Steph and I live in our own little worlds. We have our own little conversations that really make NO sense to ANYONE around BUT US! And this is one of those times. So this is dedicated to:

MY WHITE TRASH...

RED NECK

FRIEND STEPHANIE!!!

LOVE YA LOTS!!!

Now if you had one of these in the yard...you wouldn't have to use the pool! You should think about that Steph! Just a thought for you:)

Most of you need to understand...

Stephanie is the type of friend that everyone can count on, and sometimes that GETS HER IN TROUBLE! Shes always there no matter what, even when you don't want her around shes always there...kind of like a kid, you can't get rid of her! Oops did I type that. Shes one of those people that you kind of take advantage of cuz you know shes there for you. Shes someone that you can vent to or just be still and not say a word to but she knows, its kind of creepy if ya ask me. Some people over use her and some just use her when its covenant for them. I'm not sure yet which one I am yet. But we have that kind of friendship that is just there, if ya know what I mean. We never stay on task with ANYTHING, we kind of think alike which can be a good think or a bad thing depending on who you are, I guess. One of us starts a thought and the other can finish it and it turns out ok, well most of the time.

Sometimes she is that thorn in my side but I don't think I would have it any other way. She is crazy and thats what makes her normal...

And MY WHITE TRASH RED NECK FRIEND!

(inside joke)