Fire alarms........

Wednesday we moved out of our house & into TLF (temporary lodging). Last night around midnight, the fire alarms went off. I almost peed my pants because they were so loud. Of course all 3 of my boys slept through them for the first couple of minutes until I was asking Chad to help me. He was trying to turn off the alarm. He said, I thought it was already 7 am. I think we have been inhaling WAY too much Windex!! Anywho, the Fire Dept. came, asked if someone had just gotten out of the shower & left. I think the alarm went off for about 20 minutes. We were all huddled in the living room part of the house with the side doors shut since that was the place the alarms were not as loud. Ahhh, what a night. Add that to the list of craziness that is our life.

Drumroll, please.........

Two IS better than one!! I am so pleased to tell you that after 14 months to the day, I can finally wear two shoes!! It is soooo weird though. The first couple of steps I took,I looked like a drunk chicken. Eventually, I ended up just looking like Quasimodo, the Hunchback, which is where I am still at. I feel like a total dork. I don't know what I was thinking it would be like, but it is just not normal to me anymore. I guess I thought everything would be back to normal in two seconds. Nope. You know that commercial of that guy in the work out room, & he does a lap around all the equipment, then gets on the scale expecting to see results? That would be me. Funny how life keeps you guessing. I can officially wear two pairs of shoes & one pair of flip flops! My foot is still too swollen for anything else, so it looks like I will be wearing my jean skirt to church for a couple of weeks!! Two feet are sweet!! Thank you for all your prayers & happy thoughts. It worked!!

Ever have one of those moments............

It's official. I am old. Chad & I were on a date last night, in line for our gourmet dinner of Subway & cough drops (for me), when all of a sudden there was way too much noise coming from a table full of rowdy boys. The weird thing is, I know rowdy boys, so the fact that I wanted them to be quiet was silly. There was one in particular who kept doing this annoyingly, retarded laugh that was like nails on a chalkboard to me. I actually glared at them & they left shortly after said glare, but the fact that they were bugging me floored me. I said to Chad, "I am officially getting old". Another one of these "getting old" moments happened to me in Hollister a couple of months ago. The smell of cologne was so overpowering I tried to breathe though my nose. No luck. On top of that, the music was stupid & way too loud. Yep, it is official, I am getting old. Crap, when did this happen, & how do I make it stop???? Sigh..........

The Perfect Cheer

OK, this is one of my all time favorite skits. I just couldn't help myself!!


http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/chess-tournament/2918/

Use the Force Alli..........

My sister sent me this link today. It pretty much made my day. Thought I would share. This dude is awesome!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk5_OSsawz4

Yeay Frickin Rah!!

You can probably tell by the title that we finally got out orders!! Nothing like last minute. I know none of you are surprised by the craziness that is soon to be my life for the next couple of weeks. Smile. TMO (The packers) come Dec 1-5. The first day is the load that will take about a month to get there. (This was supposed to be done over a month ago) The 2-4 will be the stuff that will get there who knows when & the 5Th will be the load that I will forget we even have since it will be in storage for 4 years. I still have a bookshelf to strip & repaint, the car to sell & I need to become the queen of piles. Any advice besides to breath like the Karate Kid?? All in all, things were only pushed back by 2 days. We fly out of Minot to Seattle on the 10Th of Dec & then on the 11Th we fly out of Seattle & get to Okinawa on the 12Th. Hopefully now the block of cement that has lodged itself between my shoulder blades & up my neck will move on!! Sigh.

My darling 7 year old.........

I was getting Sawyer ready for bed tonight, ok I was trying to coerce him into bed tonight, & I told him he needed to get a good night sleep because we were going to go to the Temple in the morning. This was his response:

"You mean we are going to the Temple of Doom?"

I'm thinking we need to rethink the whole letting him watch the second Indiana Jones. Next thing we know, he'll be chanting some weird song, try to rip out hearts out of our chests while lowering me into a pit of fire!!

Sigh........

Is is bad that I am praying it snows soooooo much tonight that the Base shuts down & school is cancelled tomorrow??

Happy Halloween!!

"I am Batman!!"

OK, my pictures loaded backwards but you still get the idea!! The kids brought home soooo much candy!! Of course we (Chad & I) had to make sure everything was ok. There is still a candy tax in our house!! Tanner was a Greaser for our Ward party at church & he looked awesome. He hid from the camera though, so there are no pictures of my cutie all decked out with Chad's Letterman's jacket & everything!! We went to a Haunted House here on base on Thursday night & it was the best one I have ever went to. Sawyer was soooooo freaked out that my mom had to take him out a couple of minutes into it! It was a blast!

Tanner & all his "loot".

Batman & his "Thug".

Pumpkins!!

There was quite the production in the pumpkin carving department this year. The boys, all 3 of them, had a blast gutting their pumpkins & making their masterpieces. They were fun to watch get all grossed out by the insides & stuff. We compared the inside of a pumpkin to the Saarlak (the pit monster in Return of the Jedi).

Is he a ham or what??

Sawyer's finished product. He didn't gut it very well & by bedtime it had been attacked by Freddy Kruger (aka Sawyer's knife).

Tanner was so completely grossed out with the whole process, that I had to document it!!

Tanner's finished product. I don't know if you can see, but on the sides of his pumpkin he made ears. He had put ears on his pumpkins since he was 2!!

Chad made a Darth Vader pumpkin. He was very proud of it!! It even won a prize at our Ward party.

The full effect of Chad's efforts. Pretty cool hu?? Yeah baby!!

Bud Ebert Park

We had such a beautiful day last week, that I took the kiddos to the park. They were hilarious to watch. They were a bunch of hams running around without a care in the world!! Enjoy some of the pix from the day!

Tanner striking a pose on the kiddie swing.

Sawyer & Haley in the train.

This frog was the most coveted thing at the park.

Tanner being a cowboy on Mr Frog. He fell off right after this picture. It was awesome. I couldn't stop laughing. (Of course I made sure he was alright before I started laughing at him!!)

A girl can dream can't she??

OK, so you know that commercial when it is raining shoes and the lucky girl who gets out of her car pretty much has free reign on all the falling shoes? I wished that would happen to me today.

I retired "Stinky"

Nope, your eyes are not deceiving you, I turned "stinky", or my ever present boot, into a flower pot. I have had this thing almost a year, & Tyson thought it wise for me to get a new one. This one could clear the room if removed. Not good. Even Chad said something, so you know it is bad. Well, thanks to Fabreeze, love that stuff, it is smelling super & now I have quite the keepsake for my year of hobbling. The best part is that a lot of my family members have signed it, even both my G'ma's, so it has turned into something special to me instead of the pain in the butt it really is!! So, 6 more weeks in a shiny new one & hopefully I will be good as new!!

The end of Soccer season........

The soccer season is over for us this year. No more indoor season for us. I am a little sad about that. I am pretty sure I will get over it. Grin. The boys did really well this year. Tanner totally came out of his shell & got pretty aggressive. He scored two goals his last game & came close a couple of other times. Sawyer is great at defense. He loves guarding the goal. When he throws the ball in, he just kynda lobs it to himself which is not ok. It is funny to watch. Here are some highlights. Notice Chad in the background as the ref??!!

Go Tanner!!

I think his eyes are frozen shut!!?? It was snowing this day, it was frickin freezing Mr. Bigglesworth!!

Sawyer & I watching Tanner's last game together. We were so cold, but had fun!!

Corn Maze

There is a corn maze in Deering that we went to this week. It was pretty cool. The best part was the randomly placed stuffed animals through out the maze. We saw Blue from Blue's Clues, tigers, penguins & big snakes. I wonder if they thought, I know, let's just put stuffed animals everywhere!?? The boys had a blast & we did too.

Bow to Master Tanner

He he he he!! Grin....

All hail King Sawyer!!

Tagged by Laurie.....

1. Where was I 10 years ago? In September of 1998, I lived in Goldsboro, NC. Tanner was just over a year old and we were getting ready to move to Anchorage, AK.
2. What's on my to do list today? Well, since I am on vacation & at my parents house, my to do list is pretty fun. I need to go to lunch with my mom & 2 G’mas, take a peek at my Pop’s room at the school he teaches at, and then pack for my flight out of LAX on Wed.
3. What if I was a billionaire? I’d like to be responsible and say I would do great things with my new found moolah, but I know I would pay off debt, invest & then do some serious playing!!
4. Five places I have lived: Lancaster CA, Tehachapi CA, Goldsboro NC, Anchorage AK, Minot ND.
5. Snacks I like- Hmmm let’s see here…… anything chocolate related, salt & vinegar chips, popcorn, chocolate, cookies…basically anything that is not good for me!!
6. Three bad habits- I tend to “produce” things without being asked (sooo sorry), I get distracted by all the things on my “list” to the point that NOTHING ever gets crossed out & I don’t make my bed!! (really there is no point, you are just going to get back in it & mess it all up again!!)
7. Who am I tagging? I tag Kelli, Abbey, Amy, Brooke & Jen (I know how much you love these tags Jen!)

Dorothy, eat your heart out!!

So, I told my sister I would post a picture of my sweet, new, red shoes a couple of weeks ago. Sorry Ames, I am a procrastinator!! Well, here they are sis. Dorothy has nothing on me. I only wish I could put these on, click my heels & I could be in California without paying for a plane ticket!! Where is Glinda when I need her??? Maybe I could just steal her "bubble" to get there!!

"There's no place like home"

Tanner's Camp Out.........

Tanner had his first Boy Scout overnight camp out this weekend. I had to take deep breaths because usually Chad or I is always with him on these things. He told me he would be fine & not to worry. Funny how my 11 year old is "talking me down" now!! Yikes. Anywho, he had a blast pelting the leaders in an ambush of flying apples, beating the Camp record of the fastest fire started, (the fire had to reach a rope that was 2 feet high as well) being cold at night and runny eggs in the morning. He told me "They didn't even have any salt. That was the worst part!" Is he my son or what??

The big "heave ho" moment

My Happy Camper!! I am so proud of him!!

Indian Name...........

So, I have discovered I have an Indian name. It is "Walks with cane".

Son of a nutcracker.........

OK, so apparently, the Police cars on base have cloaking devices installed on them. I kid you not. I was driving to pick up the boys from school & was slowing down from a 20 mph zone to a 15 mph zone, singing along to Carrie Underwood (thanks Buff). I pulled into my "spot" (I get a close one since I "waddle") & out of no where there is this cop. I said to myself, Where the heck did he come from?? He asked to see all my papers & blackmail photo id's. I obliged. He said do you know why I am here? I wanted to sock him just to make sure I was not hallucinating, since I have had problems with this in the past (Grin), but I smiled & said No. Apparently, he clocked me at 20 in the 15. DUH!! I was just in the 20 zone, moving to the 15!! I never even saw him until he was knocking on my window. He was like 18 years old & was probably hoping this "HUGE bust" would land him on his Commander's good side. I don't think the cops on base have enough to do other than sit in their Cloaked Cop Cars waiting by the sign that changes the speed limit in front of the school. Deep breath. Sorry, lots of ranting. So the kid tells me I have to tell my husbands First Shirt. This got my attention. Was he serious? He obviously has no idea what the 372 TRS Squadron does here on base. Hint: NOTHING!! So Ken, Chad's 1st shirt, stopped by tonight to rip me a new one. He looked at me & started laughing. I LOVE KEN!! It is stupid but people have actually gotten an LOC (letter of counseling) for their wives getting tickets on Base. So today more than usual, I am VERY thankful for my husband's job & his Boss!! So here is my shout out to Ken the super 1st shirt who just laughed at my blunder & did not yell at me or Chad!!

Fire.........

Not to worry, the only fire is in my stomach, which I have decided hates me. Every time the stupid doctors give me the "generic" for prevacid, my stomach has something equivalent to a prison riot. I am so glad I get to go back & beg for the real stuff yet again. The good thing is that I can now roast a marshmallow by belching!! (Just a metaphor of course!) Grin..........

Sawyer is 7!!!

Today my baby is 7. Sigh. He is so excited to be a "big boy". We slept in and had the Rasmussen's over to help us celebrate. Sawyer wanted meatballs for dinner & Brooke made some amazing salsa. We ate like pigs. OK, like kings & queens. We had a great day. Happy Birthday Sawyer!! Here are some of the things he likes lately: Indiana Jones, Shadow the Hedgehog, playing games, chocolate milk, yogurt & anything his older bro likes! WE love you Sawyer!!

For some reason, his cake looks like it's on fire. He is only 7 for heaven's sake!!

The Clones vs Optimus Prime

Oh yeah, a Halo guy!

My happy son. He is always smiling. Thank you for brightening my life Soyboy!

Three guys, a girl & a Wedding..........

Our friends, Lindsey & Clark, got married this weekend & Chad & I were asked to be in it. We were honored they thought of us. It was a beautiful ceremony. I was one of the flower girls & Chad was an usher. After the ceremony was over & we were walking back down the isle, Sawyer noticed that Haley didn't have anyone to walk back with so he gladly stepped in. It was really sweet! We had a great time & the boys really enjoyed dancing at the reception. Enjoy the photos!! The last is a video of Sawyer dancing, it is hilarious!!

Me & Mr. Handsome

The boys dancing

Haley & I getting ready

The boys were burning things in the candles! Leave it to my boys to be pyros at a wedding!

Sawyer & Haley dancing!

Tanner's B-day........

Tanner is 11 today. He is an awesome kid. I am very blessed. He hated being a baby. He was happier when he could crawl & was a completely different kid once he could walk. He hated anything he could be strapped into & his crib still looks brand new. That's my boy.

What he likes now?? Halo, soccer, going to the Youth Center, hanging out with friends, jumping on the tramp, Naruto, Ben 10, Star Wars, School, family movie night with rotel , popcorn & soda, Disneyland, Halo, riding his bike & earning money for Halo stuff, guitar hero, rock band (they just earned that one!!). He is a bright spot in my life & I am a better person because of him & his bro. I am a lucky woman!! Happy Birthday Tanner. I love you!!

Mr Happy

He wanted this Warthog vehicle from Halo with Master Chief & 2 marines. He was pretty much begging us for it. I told him "no" & surprised him!! Am I good or what??

Bring on the presents!! We still can't convince Sawyer his b-day is 5 days after Tanner's. He has opened his presents with his big bro for the last 5 years. We told him this was the last one. Good luck with that one!!

The Clone Cake

(It is an ice cream cake)

Awww. Isn't he getting big?? (He hasn't put his warthog or his big Master Chief down since this morning. I think he even slept with it!!)

Back to school.......

I can't believe how fast this summer went. I had a blast with the boys & was sad to see them head off to school this year. I know, I'm a woos. They have awesome teachers and they both seem happy. Tanner started 5Th grade & Sawyer started 1st grade. Time goes by way too fast for my taste. I only wish I could slow it just a bit! We made it through the first week (it was only 2 days, go figure) without any calls from the Pricipal this year. Last year we got two the first week. Yes, it was only 2 days as well!! We are already off to a better start so with any luck, Mr. Strand (Principal) will not need to call me with any "bad" news!!

My boys. They are getting so big!!

Holy Hot Hair!!

I am thoroughly convinced that I was a man in a former life, and they forgot to switch out my "man glands" since becoming a woman. Seriously!! I am in a wedding next weekend, so I have been trying to figure out what to do with the ridiculously straight mop that is meant to be my hair. I tried hot rollers. No luck. I got so hot with the stupid things in my hair that I actually had little beads of sweat on my forehead and by the time I took the last roller out of my hair, the rest had gone completely flat! The good hair gene was just not in my "pool". No, no. I got the hair that sticks to your head, you need to rat it into a clown wig to look halfway decent, and the minute I walk outside, poof, all that work is for nothing. I have decided I need to cut my hair or steal some of my sister's genes. Of course, she got all the good ones!! No fair AMY!! I'm telling MOM!! Wait, I got her hair, never mind!!! Grin..........

Pink Pills.....

"Say hello to my little friends!" (I love using that quote!) I am talking about the Darvaset (sp?) I have had for my last 3 surgeries. Let me just tell you about these little devils. They are equivalent to an acid trip. I really haven't had a real one, but I think that hallucination is part of the whole "acid trip" thing. The first time I had these, I was haunted by my doctor's mother who sat on the end of my bed for three days. No joke. For anyone who knows who this is, she is the sweetest old lady ever, but her lips are a frightening color of purple. Think dead guy purple. I'm sorry to say this, but it is the truth. It took me a couple of weeks to look at her without wanting to run crying for my mommy. The second time, I was just kynda flying. You know, like one arm out of the window of a driving car flying. Wooo-hooo. This time, I have insomnia and I am writing a ridiculous post at 3:20 in the morning. I am thinking, I just might be getting a little too used to this particular narcotic!! Ya think?? Hello, my name is Alli and I am not affected by Darvaset anymore. I just wish I had someone to pass this darn candle to!!

Woe is me..........

Ok, so today I have come to the conclusion that I am a freak of nature. For all of you out there who already knew this, I finally caught up to you. I'm pretty sure everyone knows about my crappy foot surgeries. (MY foot is a bone snob & will not accept the cadaver bone put in there!) So, this time they chipped (ouch) a bunch of bone out of my heel & stuffed in to the part on my foot that refuses "dead guy parts". Now for the totally Alli part of this pathetic post. Leave it to me to be allergic to the "glue" they used to patch me up with. I was up all night with hives & itching like there was no tomorrow. Of course I was like a 5 year old with chicken pox 7 & was scratching away like a crazy person. Hence the blood & tears until 5:30 a.m. I know this is such a pathetic, whiny post but I just feel way too sorry for myself not to share it with the rest of you. I went to the Dr's today & am now on a 5 day major dose of steroids & some steroid cream that makes me smile. All is well when there are drugs involved!! Sorry, no pix. I've grossed you out enough, plus there is puss which is way to gross for anyone to see but my 3 boys!! Thankx to all for your help & yummy meals. Nay, Sawyer ate ALL your cookies!! Ok, I snuck one out before the cookie monster got it. They were awesome!!

Fore.............

So, Chad took the kids out to practice their swing and then to a golf course for kids here called Wee Links. I was at home drugged up on Darvaset blissfully ignorant of errant balls!! They had a blast & I was sad I missed it. It was good for the guys to bond over a game of golf though. They can't wait to be able to do it in Japan. Everything is going to be better in Japan for some reason. Hmmm, I think they are in for a rude awakening when things are just the same, we just live in a different place. Oh well......

Master Tanner

Master Sawyer

Eeeuuuwww......

For those of you who just threw up in their mouths, I apologize. Chad thought it would be cool if everyone got to see how nasty my foot looks. Yes, it's gross, let's move on!!

Nasty, nasty nasty......

This is the hardware they removed from my foot. (Sans quarter!) It felt much bigger in my foot, but it is still a little intimidating in person. The boys asked if I could keep it so I asked Dr Williams.... natch!! It will go in my journal box right next to my wisdom teeth!! Your welcome Mom & Dad!! Grin...........

Puddle Park........

I know, two posts in one day...egads!! For some reason that makes no sense whatsoever, I feel like I need to get as many posts in before my surgery. Don't worry, this is my last one. I took the kids to the puddle park today. They had a blast. I thought they would get bored after about 20 minutes, but they proved me wrong & were protesting when it was time to leave. The best part about this park is it's free. Here are a couple of snapshots........

The Gang

The boys "meditating".

Sawyer hiding in the "bubble"

All I can say is "Fire in the hole!!"

My last Pack Meeting........

Most people know that I have been the Cub Master for Scouts for the past 8 months. I will be getting released from that due to my foot & moving to Japan issues. I have to say that I have really enjoyed working with the boys. They are awesome & up for anything. Last night was my last shindig. We had a water themed one. My other leaders did a balloon toss & a relay where you had teams & each team had a sponge, some water, a glass 7 a ping pong ball. Each person had to get their sponge wet, run down to the glass squeeze the water in the glass & the first one to make their ping pong ball fall out of the glass was declared the winner. (Oh yeah, the ppball was in the glass ; p) I did an obstacle course. The catch with this is that I had the leaders & the parents lined up on either side of the course armed with sponges, super soakers, water balloons & cups with buckets of water at the ready. Needless to say, the boys got very wet. Here are some pictures of the night. Enjoy...

When the Weeblos finish all their requirement, they get "tested" to see if they are ready to move up to 11 year old scouts. We burn a neckerchief to see if the pass. If it burns itself out, you get to move on. This was Tanner's. If you look up in the right hand corner you can see the flames. He passed!!
My Weeblos

Chad did not go easy on Sawyer. Doi!!

My blury boys. I loved this pix though

Tanner & his friend trying to get Chad after the obstacle course was over. They ended up getting him pretty good. Way to go guys!!