Eater's Remorse.

Halloween is tomorrow! I am already sick just thinking about all the candy I am going to be eating this week.

Tag-alicious!

6 Facts about me!! This seriously took me a week to come up with things.

1- I am a sucker....and I mean SUCKER for Christmas movies at any time of the year. Some of my very favorites include:

• Christmas Vacation
• A Christmas Story
• Home Alone, Home Alone 2
• The Preacher's Wife
• Elf (just watched it yesterday with Gracey)
• A Christmas Carol
• Its a Wonderful Life
• The Christmas Shoes

2- When I smile really big or laugh really hard, the right side of my mouth goes crooked. The funny thing about it is that I can feel it but I can't help it. When it happens, it makes Corky laugh which makes me laugh even harder...which makes it even more crooked.

3- Of all the chores in my house, for whatever reason, emptying the dishwaher is my least favorite. I love to load the dishwasher (because in my stubborn head, I am the only one who does it right!) but I really hate to empty it when it is clean. Its one of those things where I have to tell myself that it will be over in less than 5 minutes so I can just deal with it. Luckily, if Corky sees me doing it he will take over because he knows how much I dislike it.

(For this next one, Corky made me promise he could proofread it before I posted it to make sure I don't downplay it like I usually do....apparently its a bigger deal than I make it out to be!)

4- I almost drowned on our honeymoon. We were in Aruba and wanted to go snorkeling to explore a shipwreck that was off the beach about 1/4-1/3 of a mile. It didn't seem that far from the beach when you are standing there, so we decided to go for it. I had never had much experience in the ocean before our honeymoon, growing up we always went to the lake, but we had been snorkeling everyday and I felt I had the hang of it. So we are decked out in our snorkeling gear and start on our swim. We had been swimming for a while and I looked up and still had a ways to go. The beautifully clear, blue water was getting deeper and deeper beneath me. There was probably 30 feet of water beneath us that I could see perfectly through and that is when I realized just HOW MUCH water I was surrounded by. I was trying very hard to stay calm because I didn't want to ruin this little "adventure" for Corky because I know he really wanted to see the shipwreck. I thought I was doing okay but my panic mode took over and I began taking off my mask because I was sure I couldn't breathe. Then I would suck in salt water which made me really not be able to breathe. Corky kept saying "let's go back, let's go back" but I refused because we were almost there. The waves were getting stronger and I was getting more scared but still being stubborn despite the fact that I was STILL breathing and drinking salt water. Finally I started vomiting (and here's the gross part) started sucking that in. That's when Corky got scared and turned me over on my back and just started pulling me out of my own throw up and back to shore. He seriously thought I was going to die....but I wasn't.

When we got back on shore I felt just fine. I was hungry because I had just lost my taco bell chalupa to the ocean, but I couldn't believe what had happened. I still feel bad that we didn't make it to the shipwreck but in Corky's words "he feels bad that he almost drowned his new bride!"

5- I can put dental floss up my nose and have it come out my mouth. It was a hit at every family reunion up until I got pregnant and my gag reflex multiplied by like a million.

6- If I have to take a pill, this is what I do. I put the pill in my mouth first, then take a drink of liquid and let the pill and liquid sit in my mouth until it "feels right" to swallow it! I don't know, I don't get it either. I am not sure what makes it finally "feel right" or how I can speed up the process but I just know that if I swallow it before, then I am most likely going to gag and the pill will get stuck in my throat.

--- I am so late doing this that I am "tagging" anyone who hasn't done it yet. Don't hate me for being lazy and not checking to see who hasn't done it themselves. :)

baby steps, really.

Sorry friends if you get sick of videos but living away from all of our family makes it tough on everyone when I can only tell family about the milestones that Emily and Gracey go through. Technology definitely makes it easier to share those fun times. So to all of our family, and anyone else that wants to watch, enjoy!! :)

Emily is getting to be a little pickier with her food. I usually can trick her though into finishing all of her veggies. Bananas though are a whole other story. She does not like bananas at all. Who doesn't like bananas, really? The video here is of her letting me know that she doesn't like green beans. She doesn't hate them to the point of being grumpy, but she definitely doesn't enjoy them.

Mmmmm, green beans.

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Emily has taken 3 full steps on her own but of course she started goofing around when we got the digital camera out. She is closer and closer to walking, although she doesn't seem to be in too big of a hurry. I am fine with that. Baby steps, right?? ;)

A little progress walking...just a little

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U-C-L-A!!

Last weekend we went to another UCLA football game. It definitely wasn't feeling like mid-October....it was H-O-T!!! Its okay, it was still a great day. We went down the night before and stayed with our friend's Andrea and Ben. Ben plays for UCLA but injured his knee a few weeks ago so is sitting out for a couple of games. Crappy for him I am sure, but fun for us because we got to hang out with him a little more than we normally would have been able to. Andrea and I hadn't hung out for this long period of time in years and so it was a blast for me to just sit and catch up and chit chat! I love her to death and thank her for having us for the weekend.



Here we are at the UCLA vs. Cal State game. The game was right at nap time so Corky and I got to actually watch most of the game while the girls slept. Notice Emily's blanket around the head? Have you ever seen Man vs. Wild when he is Moab, Utah? "What's his name" (bear grills is how I say it) pees on a shirt and wraps it around his head to cool him off. We just dumped water on the blanket for Emily, but knowing that trick definitely helped! :)

Here we have Andrea looking sexy, a family picture, the game, and a picture of the cute newlyweds, Ben and Andrea.

All good things must come to an end, so after a delicious dinner at BJ's, we said our goodbyes. Emily was really sad to say goodbye, can't you tell? Anyway, we hope to see them again soon. We had a super fun weekend.

Isn't it ironic....don't ya think?

It's funny how things turn out. A year ago I was praying that having a new baby was a good enough excuse to be released from the Primary Presidency. Even a month ago I was secretly wondering how much longer my sanity could last with my calling. But the past few weeks have been great. I finally felt like I was getting the hang of Primary and it wasn't such a chore anymore. I was actually really enjoying it and especially loving the kids. Wouldn't you know it....I was released yesterday from my calling. In fact, the entire presidency was rearranged. As a presidency, we had an idea that things would change soon so it wasn't a HUGE shock. My funny husband made me laugh yesterday before church as I was situating myself and the girls before it started. He came up to me, said "Will you give the closing prayer?" I agreed. then he said "Oh, and you are being released!" He's so formal, right? :) I don't mind, I figured that much. So then onto the new callings. I was so excited for the primary because they are going to be in great hands. The new presidency consists of 2 of my very closest friends here at Ft. Irwin. They are so amazing and will do such a good job. Then the evil, unproductive part of me came out as I thought to myself "They are going to have so much fun at their meetings....can't I just come to the meetings to hang out?"

During the rest of our Sacrament meeting, I was a wreck. I realized I would be giving my last sharing time that day to all those kids that I have grown to love and adore. Even today I am surprising myself at how emotional I am. I was cleaning out my binder so that I could hand it over to the new 1st counselor and was finally able to begin to feel the relief that I have been looking forward to. I have learned so much serving in this presidency. I have gained a load of confindence in front of children (they used to scare me to death!) and I have learned that each calling is equally important. Nursery teacher, to Sunbeam teacher, to Relief Society teacher.....there is not a single calling that we, as a church, could do without. When I used to teach CTR 6, I looked at it like I was just a babysitter for an hour or so each Sunday. From now on, if I ever teach again, I will know whole heartedly that those children will remember.

Now that my lessons have been learned, hopefully I will continue to apply them to my every day life. I look forward to the next lessons that I am meant to learn, but right now I am really looking forward to relaxing this Sunday.

Only a matter of time now....

Here is Emily walking with the popcorn popper. She did this all night after she discovered how easy and fun it is to walk when you have something to help you go along.

Emily walking, with assistance.

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Which cookie would you choose?

If you are smart, you would most definitely choose the ones that Gracey decorated! She LOADED them with the good stuff....frosting, M&M's, sprinkles.

Fun-filled Day at the Pumpkin Patch!

Last Saturday we continued on with our tradition of going to the Pumpkin Patch. So what if it was only our 2ND time doing it, ever. We hope to find one nearby wherever we might move to next year. Last year was a hit and this year was just as great!

Of course, Gracey had to ride the pony! She was so excited and was first in line so she chose to ride the white one. She said his name was Simba! (she watched "The Lion King" that morning!)



We ran into one of Gracey's favorite schoolmates, Lauren! You should have seen these two be so giddy with each other. They were jumping and hugging and doing that girly shriek that only little girls can do.

The we headed over to the Corn Maze. Last year Gracey about gave me a heart attack in there. She was not even 2 years old and would run THROUGH the corn, not in the cut out alley ways they created. I was sure that she would get lost and they would have to bring in a search team to find her. This year was great though. She lead the way the entire time. At every intersection she was the boss "Go this way!" and would point to whatever direction she wanted to go. She was real good and lucky. We finished the maze in only about 15-20 minutes. No heart attacks this time until the very end, literally. Corky and I went out the exit thinking she was following. I turn around and she is gone. I go running back in yelling her name and sure enough, she decided to go in between a row of corn. Fun game, right?

Then it is time to find the perfect pumpkins. The patch wasn't as green this year since So Cal has gotten less than a day of rain, but it was fun to see all of the pumpkins. We went on opening day and so the pickings were real good.

Foxy Cleopatra!!!

Once a month usually, spouses of the "army guys" get together for what is called "Coffee Group." I don't know why they call it that because I have never been to one that actually served coffee. I think the name is a tradition from many years ago when the wives would get together first thing in the mornings for their meetings. Anyway, they usually discuss community events and I personally really enjoy them. It is a night out with just friendly, womenly chit chat.

Last night was a costume party. Honestly I didn't even know what I was going to wear until about 4:00pm yesterday. What do you all think? Sadly, the only thing I had to buy to make this costume was the wig. I already had everything else from years ago. Corky reminded me yesterday that I bought myself a "pleather" outfit more than 6 years ago. I dug that out from underneath my bed and the costume was made!!!




*I was so nervous that I was going to be the only one dressed up that 10 minutes before the meeting started last night, I called the host and said "Are you sure others are going to be wearing costumes?" I don't need that nightmare of being the only one to show up in a costume to become reality.

Yesterday Corky had the day off and so we decided to go to the Marine base that is about an hour away from us and have a little family golf day! On courses that allow it, we've always let Gracey tag along. I was a little nervous now having 2 kids to worry about but like we had thought and planned, it was the perfect day to golf with kids. There was hardly anybody on the course (it helps that we golfed on a work day) and so we were able to let Gracey take her swings at every hole. She is actually quite good which makes Corky way excited. He is looking forward to having another golf buddy. Emily was great. She just sat on the grass and watched us, perfectly content as long as she had her own golf ball to hold on to.

It has been almost 2 whole years since Corky has been home, 3 years since he left for his deployment in Iraq. This week has brought some memories flooding back that make it seem like yesterday. A unit that is in Corky's battalion is leaving tonight, they are loading the buses at 12:50am to be exact. These are some of our friends and many of them, Corky works closely with on a daily basis. I worry for them, pray for them, and hope that all the soldiers and families can find some type of comfort tonight.

Let me tell you why, other than knowing what they are going through, it has been emotional for me and Corky. Less than a year ago, Corky had a job presented to him that he knew he was a qualified candidate for. He would have taken command of the 557th Maintenance Company. For whatever reason, he didn't get the job that he was hoping for. Mainly he was hoping for it because it would have looked excellent on a resume. Anyway, he was a little disappointed but no big deal. Within weeks of the other guy taking command of this unit there were rumors that they would be deploying again. (they deployed December of 2004-November 2005) After a few weeks of rumors it turned into reality. Originally they were slotted to leave in June of this year but because of the new 15 months deployments, they were postponed to this month. Needless to say, Corky and I have felt extremely blessed that he didn't get the command position because it would have been him boarding that bus tonight. Not to say that he wouldn't do it and that I wouldn't support him, because I most certainly would, but it is not something that I would choose to relive.

As we were eating dinner, Corky was telling me that he thinks he will have a hard time keeping it together in front of the unit. Tonight I couldn't help but start to cry, when he said that he will be the one at the microphone having to say "15 minutes until bus-boarding, please say your farewells to your families and friends." We both know how hard it is going to be for these families and I guess the best that we can do for them, our friends, is to love, support, and carry whatever burdens we can for them during this tough time.

I feel extremely grateful for my husband and my family and I am grateful that Heavenly Father is blessing us to be together at this time. I also know that soldiers and their families that are apart are also being watched out for. I have been there and I have felt the comfort that is given during those times that seem intolerable. I am feeling extremely proud to be an American and I am grateful and proud to know such brave men and women.

This was the night that Corky left. November 26th, 2004

November 19th, 2005. Corky returned home safely from his deployment. Though there were many hazards faced by his company, miraculously no fatalities occurred among them. They all retuned safely home to their families.

We have company!

For General Conference, some of my family came to California to visit us. It is always fun to have company and I love that they came for Conference weekend. That means that the pressure is off to really entertain. It's a good excuse to lounge around all weekend and eat lots and lots of good food! Here are a few pictures from the weekend. Of course though, I didn't really think to get the camera out until we were saying goodbye!

Here is Grandma Joyce helping Emily eat some Fruit Loops.

Emily and Grandpa Ron, finishing the last of the Diet Coke!! :)

Emily, Me, and my little sister Markie

Dallas, me, and Emily

My little brother Dallas and his cute girlfriend, Jessica!

Grandma Joyce and Gracey

And lastly, Emily on the hood of the car saying "You are not leaving me like this!"

Aunt Wendy, look familiar?

I have some family that are frequent visitors to my blog and I am pretty sure that my Aunt Wendy is one of them. Anyway, her granddaughter (my cousin's kid) was born September of 2002. Gracey was born November of 2004 so they wear clothes in the same season! My cousin Heidi was SO KIND to lend me Annie's super cute clothes. Last week as I got Gracey dressed for school, I had to laugh because she was dressed like Annie from head to foot! I had to take a picture! She looked super cute and looked so much like Annie! We are treating the clothes the very best we can so we can give them back for if they have another girl someday! It has been so great to have them. It has saved us 100's of dollars (literally) having all these cute clothes.

Thanks Heidi, Aunt Wendy, and Annie!!!!!

p.s. Heidi, if you read this....you should start your blog! :)

Tender little mercy.

I remember the days when I would go to church and feast on the spirit that I would feel. I looked forward to it every week and would become so excited when I would learn something new in my gospel doctrine class or Relief Society. Truth be told, I don't get that too often these days. It's been about 5 months since Corky has had his calling, which has left me to sit during Sacrament meeting with my two little girls alone. Now I can barely get through a single speaker without hearing "Mom, I want snacks." "Mom, I want to take my shoes off." and "Mom, I need to go potty." (for the 5th time) Or better yet, I hear myself saying in that whisper/yelling tone "Put your dress down so nobody can see you underwear," "Get up off the floor!" "Gracey, please whisper!" "Don't steal your sisters toy, that's not nice!" You get the idea, right! There have been days where I have literally walked out of the meeting in tears because I didn't think I could handle my toddler and infant anymore.

Of course, after the meeting Gracey goes to nursery and if Emily has been fed, Corky is great about taking Emily to his meetings. I still don't get a break. I go straight to primary. We drive from the building we do sacrament meeting to make the Catholic chapel activity room look like an LDS primary room. I set up bulletins, centerpieces, pictures, and chair covers indicating what class sits where. Myself and the rest of the presidency (I am the 1st counselor) have to make sure that each class has a teacher, that each kid has a chair, and that the assigned talks, scriptures, and prayers are ready. Needless to say, not many spiritual experiences happen during that time of chaos which sometimes can be considered "Sharing time."

Amidst all the craziness that was going on with the children today, added to CTR 8 doing sharing time, I had a moment where it was all okay and I loved those children more than I ever had. I looked around the room and saw for a second the greatness that these kids held and I felt very humbled to be associated with them, especially in a leadership position. That feeling of such strong peace and love lifted my spirits in that instant. Not a second later a shoe was thrown and the world around me seemed chaotic once more, but I was so grateful to have had that little tender mercy from our Heavenly Father. It was a breath of fresh air. I feel energized and ready to continue on with this calling that I have been so burned out from lately. Little moments like I had today make it all worthwhile.

What's in the closet??

This morning I got a good laugh because I got to witness Corky experience a small glimpse of a woman's world. Every Friday, his work allows him to wear civilian clothes if you pay $5. It is a fundraiser for activities and events. He usually has important meetings on Fridays or he just plain forgets and so most of the time he ends up just wearing his uniform. This morning he got a phone call from one of his guys reminding him that it is civilian dress day and so that is when my entertainment began. He stressed for OVER a half an hour about what to wear and probably put on and took off 5 different outfits! He then said "I don't know what I am going to wear" and I replied with a "Welcome to my world on a daily basis!" I am definitely a tshirt/jeans kind of gal, but even mixing and matching those can get a little stressful. Two times in that 30 minutes of Corky's turmoil, he said "I am just going to wear my uniform!" Then I teased him for being a slug. (Slug is slang word for somebody who is ridiculously gung-ho army.....and Corky is totally opposite of that!) He didn't want to dress too nicely but he didn't want to look too casual. He had to find that happy medium without looking like he was trying too hard! Again, welcome to my world!

Is it sad that I find pleasure in the little things like that? Even though I know I can be ridiculous for worrying about superficial things like what to wear, it is refreshing to see that it isn't just the females who do that!

*I sure do hope that Corky skips reading the blog today! :) Love you sweetie!!

Just one of those days.

Since I haven't been on here in a while and don't have the time to sit down and blog about everything that I wish I could....here are some pictures from Sunday. It was one of those miracle of all miracles days. We were all ready for church an hour early, no wet hair, no stressing, no looking for the other shoe, and to top it all off it was GORGEOUS outside. So we said "We have a timer on our camera, it seems like a family picture kind of day!"

Check out the bow in Emily's hair. We are finally able to pull one of those off. She can now really be our little girl Emily, rather than our little boy "Ernie." :)

Ladybug Owie?

Friday I was pretty sure that Gracey broke her nose when she stumbled and hit her face on the chair. The big dent in her nose made me a tad bit nervous. My nerves were settled within only a few minutes when her nose didn't bleed and the dent went away. It left a good scab though.

This morning as I was doing her hair before school, she was looking in the mirror. She said, "Mom, do you see my lady-bug owie?" I had never looked at her scab that way but now that she mentions it, it does kind of look like a lady-bug.

Favorite Things Swap

Here is my picture of the fun things that I received from Abby!

#1- A pack of hairstuff.

#2- Way Cute little crafty notebooks. (Abs, did you make those yourself?)

#3- Red lipstick and red nailpolish.

Thanks so much Abby! I love them all. My nails are currently painted and I have already dug into the hair stuff!

Calling all Chili Cooks!!!

Every year, they do a post-wide chili cook off. Each unit, brigade, battalion, or basically any group here at Ft. Irwin does one. Guess who was put in charge of finding a recipe to represent Corky's battalion??? Me. Problem....I cook chili but it is usually just from a packet of seasoning then add a can of kidney beans and meat. I am in need of a great chili recipe, preferably beef chili, to enter. I am asking ANYONE who is reading this to either post a link, email me a recipe, or leave it as a comment. It would be so appreciated and I would make sure that you got full credit for it....especially if it is your original recipe.

Tortilla Soup

Tonight I made a horrible, horrible dinner....not tortilla soup, but a Shrimp with red sauce over pasta! I followed the recipe exactly but I couldn't gag it down. It had everything I like it: tomatoes, mushrooms, shrimp, pasta, yummy herbs. But no, it was gross! I am going to be going and making myself a PB&J here in a few minutes. I am usually quite proud of what I cook and for some reason tonight's dinner is really getting to me. For that reason, I am posting what I cooked up Monday night for dinner! It is so incredibly good that I can't get enough of it. Tortilla Soup!! I froze half of it so that we can have it again at a later time because the batch is so big. Before I made this the first time (about a year ago) I did my research because I wanted to get it just right. So this is my version of tortilla soup, inspired by about 5 different recipes. You HAVE to try it. It is so easy, basically open up a bunch of cans, add a few other ingredients and there you have it.


Tortilla Soup

2 cups of cubed chicken breast
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
3 or 4 garlic cloves
1/2-1 cup onion (depends on how much you like onion...I love it)
4 cans of condensed chicken broth
1 can of water
1 28 oz. crushed tomatoes
1 4 oz can of diced green chilis
1 can golden or white hominy
1 can of corn
1 can of black beans, rinsed
1 teaspoon of cumin, and then a few more shakes (i really like the cumin flavor)
1 teaspoon of lime juice (I didn't have any and it didn't make a difference)
1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
garlic powder to taste

I cooked the chicken, set aside. Saute onion and garlic in some olive oil. Add the chicken, soup, water, tomatoes, chilis, hominy, corn, beans, cumin, lime juice, chili powder, and garlic powder. Bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and let it simmer for 40 minutes or so and it is DUNZO! The key is in the cumin. Just keep tasting it to how you like it. I like to really taste it.

Serve it with all sorts of fun toppings. For example: sour cream, tortilla, tortilla chips, cilantro, green onions, Colby jack cheese, (or any kind of cheese really) I am sure avocados would be super but haven't ever done that.

Seriously, make this soup! Put half of it in a zip lock and freeze it and you have a fabulous meal all ready for you for another time. You won't regret it.