Crank Call

Almost every night the boys ask me if I am off work the next day and I tell them, "No my boss only lets me take Saturday and Sunday off"

Tonight Little Brian called and in his squeaky little voice the conversation went like this

Little Brian:  (in his deepest voice) Hello, this is Doug, you can be off tomorrow.
Me: Oh, I can!?
Little Brian (laughing hysterically): I just kid you, this is Brian Tator
Me: Oh you tricked me!
Little Brian: I just want to tell you good night- love you!
Me: Love you too buddy, see you tomorrow

Zack is 3 !!

Kenny's cousin Michelle's son, Zack turned 3 today! I cannot believe it- seems like we were just celebrating his first or even second birthday! They did a pool party and invited our nephews along as well.

Look at this awesome cake Michelle made!

Kenny and I cannot believe how big the twins are getting! And seeing them walk all over the place is unreal! 

Kenny and Emma were having quite the conversation: 

Jacob

Everyone had a great time swimming and trying out the diving board (I didn't swim because I was going to go visit my dad at the hospital)

Little Brian 

Kenny

Jacob

Little Brian 

Brittany 

Chris

Zack 

Zack

Matt

Matt

Emma

Random picture of little Emma 

everyone waiting for Zack to open his gifts 

Zack was just too funny opening his gifts. He wanted to show everyone what he got. When he opened the shirt we got him he wanted to put it on right away, then ran over to show us- too cute

Then it was cake time-

It was nice to spend a little time with the Ross family (and friends)! 

Milk Challenge- 1 gallon in 1 hour

Have you ever heard of the milk challenge? Basically the idea is a person is given 1 hour to consume and entire gallon of milk... which usually results in the contestant vomiting. Our friend Jereme said he was going to do the challenge (his brother Nathan already did it VIDEO) and when my brother heard about it he wanted to give it a try.


Brian did pretty good until about the half way point (time and milk) and then he started to struggle. In the end he had about 20% of the milk left and had about 8 minutes to drink it... but it was too late he started to vomit. I felt really terrible for him, but the guys thought it was pretty funny.

I asked him if he was going to try again when Jereme did it and he said he wasn't because he already knows what its like. lol

This Crazy Thing We Call Life

What a week. Seriously, good bad and ugly. Monday I stayed home from work. I really hate wasting PTO days on not feeling well- I miss having separate sick days from vacation days! I can't complain too much because while I wasn't feeling good my Dad was feeling WAY worse and he still worked. 

Tuesday morning my dad didn't go into to work. The nurse at his doctor's office told him he needed to go to the ER once she learned of his symptoms, but he refused. My brother finally convinced him to go to the hospital, but my dad wanted to drive himself so he would have his vehicle when he was ready to leave. He only made it about a mile and had to pull over and let my brother drive him the rest of the way while my mom followed in her car. Of course they admitted him that afternoon. Kenny and I went up to visit him after work. He just didn't look good. They were getting ready to bring him to his own room and once they gave him some Morphine he just wanted to sleep so we left. 

Mom, Kenny and I went to dinner and Brian was off to take ASVAB for his entrance into the National Guard. He said he was the oldest guy in the whole place... it will be tough for him to compete against these men that are 10 years younger than him, but I really admire him for trying. After he completed his test they called his name along with two others and escorted them to another room. Brian was sure he had done something wrong or would have to retest.... turns out he scored thehighest possible score on the test!! Woot Woot! I am so proud of him and at the same time getting very nervous that this is going to be a reality! He meets with the recruiter next Monday so we should know more then. 

After dinner I went to Creative Quest for the 10 card extravaganza. I shouldn't have went.. I was in a bad/sad mood because of my dad but I went anyway. Sometimes I swear people can be SO rude! It was about 7PM and the event ended at 8 so I was in a hurry, but it was pretty crowded and had to wait for my turn at each station. It was finally my turn at my last station and I put all my things down and started to work on the card when I realized I was missing a piece. I went to the front to ask for the piece and when I returned someone had taken my spot! They just put all their things down on top of mine and started working! I swear I almost lost it! I confronted the woman, but she didn't seem to care so I moved her things and took mine (including my purse!) and left. GRRRR 

Wednesday I worked and went to the hospital after work to check on my dad. I was pretty frustrated to him in basically the same state we had left him the afternoon before. My dad is pretty patient and won't but the nurses for anything so, I hunted down the nurse and tried to ask questions. She was pretty rude and just gave us vague answers. Finally the GI doctor, Darlene, came in and talked to Kenny and I. What a Heaven sent this woman was! She took the time to explain what they were trying to do for my dad and what the treatment plan looked like. She answered questions and gave us some hope. They are still testing, but they think it is some sort of infection in his digestive system and are giving his body 3 days to rest from digesting food - meaning he can only have a clear liquid diet. Also, they are giving him fluids and antibiotics to help his body fight. You know , its not THE ANSWER, but at least she let us know where they were at with him and what type of recovery they felt like he would have. They said he could be released as early as Friday, but wont be going back to work for a couple weeks.  

To me this was great news and gave me a new HOPE. Kenny and I decided to take my mom and brother out for dinner at Chili's to celebrate the news and Brian's test score! We probably had way too much fun, but I was glad we could get our minds of the seriousness of the situation for an hour or so. 

Mom and my brother 

Thursday evening I had a busy night planned and my brother joined me. I was a little shocked he wanted to hang out with me, without Kenny. We drove out toChandler and he waited while I got my haircut. He joked that he didn't know why we had to go to the other side of the earth for a haircut, but I told him it was all about the price... Well, she charged me $45 instead of the $25 she had told me and I pretty much hate the cut. I won't be back. Next we went to Scrapbooks etc to drop off my swaps and then to David and Denise Lang's house to pick up the bench they had made for me in memory of my grandma.

I had sort of put off going out to see Denise, because I was a little nervous about going alone. I was glad my brother came with me, but it didn't end up being necessary. David and Denise are two of the nicest people ever. David is Carl's  (my Grandpa Jake Lang's brother) son. My grandma really thought a lot of Denise and now I know why. She is so down to earth, humble, generous, kind and just awesome. Brian and I both enjoyed visiting with them, their 3 dogs and numerous chickens! I wish I had taken pictures of their place, but I felt dumb and didn't want to ask them if I could take pictures of their house and yard, but it was beautiful. Since they only live a couple miles from Scrapbooks Etc I am going to try to make time to visit her more often when I am on that side of town. 

After we picked up the bench Brian and I went to China Chili, a favorite restaurant of my brothers and had a late dinner... We were in and out in 20 mins- unbelievable! 

I don't know why I am so surprised, but Brian and I really had a great night together. 

Swaps

I participated in Scrapbook's Etc. first Swap Soiree back in April and really enjoyed it so I signed up again this time. I of course waited until the week the items are due to work on them, but I have been thinking of what to do for awhile. Here are my cards: 

 Here is my mom's card for the swap:

 I also signed up for the new cigar box swap. Basically you decorate the cigar box, include one homemade item and a bunch of scrapbook goodies. Here is mine-

 Lastly, I signed up for the flower hair accessory swap. These are cuter in person, but not as cute as they were in my head.... but they are done so they will have to pass with a push.

The below project is not a swap, but I finished it today : I made an album out of pair of flip flops and then I made a little bag for it to be stored in for my friend's bday next month.

I really had no idea how to make a draw string bag, but I just googled it and kind of figured out how to do it my own way.

Wonderful Week

I can see how parents of small children do not have time to keep up with  blogging or any other hobby! In order to keep up you either have to skip time with your family or sleep... both of which you CAN do without, but who would want to? This past few weeks have been so amazing, but ridiculously exhausting! My mom, brother, the boys, Kenny and I hang out almost every night and have been planning most dinners together. My family is genuinely getting along and enjoying each other.  It is an answered prayer for me.

My brother is SO different. Last summer Crystal had said she found God (which I have been told sobriety is often mistaken for finding religion) and they had all started going to church. I knew my brother was interested and he seemed to enjoy the lesson part of the sermon, but this time is different. He is different. He is kind hearted, patient, understanding, thankful, humble, helpful and seems to have a thirst for Biblical knowledge. Not that he wasn't all these things before, but it was more difficult to see. Saturday after church I bought my brother a Bible. Honestly I just wanted him to be able to do the church homework with the boys, but what happened instead was priceless. He thanked me and gave me a hug- I almost cried. Also, Kenny, Mom and I are currently reading the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren and he has taken a huge interest in reading that book and learning more. My mom bought him his own copy of the book and a journal to go with it... he can't seem to put it down. I love it!

Sunday Kenny and I had a nice lunch with Barb at the Claim Jumper and then went to see Zookeeper which was really cute! We all agreed it was funnier than Horrible Bosses… there is no reason for the crude humor- talking animals are just funny! LOL

Sunday night we had everyone (except Dad he wasn’t feeling up to it) over for dinner. I used Barb’s recipe for chicken and gravy over egg noodles and it came out perfect. I put a whole chicken in the crockpot with 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup and water all day. I transferred the broth/soup left in the crockpot into a sauce pan and deboned the chicken. I used flour-water to thicken up the broth for the gravy and it worked out great! Yummo!

Just after dinner we heard the ice cream man… I think I was more excited than anyone! I grabbed my wallet and ran out the door with my brother screaming, “Ice Cream man, Ice cream man!” Jacob was right there with us jogging down the street to catch the Van. We were trying to decide what to get when Little Brian finally came out and caught up with us. We all picked out an ice cream and slowly headed home to enjoy our melting ice cream. I don’t know why buying ice cream from the ice cream man is so fun, but it is.

The boys (including Big Brian) worked on painting their bird houses and dinosaur and star magnets! They just love to paint and get so excited when they have a project to do.

Jacob

Little Brian 

Monday after work WE went to get Pedicures with our friends Beverly and
Lloyd. That's right after months (years?) of us telling them they should come
Kenny and Lloyd finally did! Guys are so funny about things like that... pedicures are for
girls they think. They of course didn't get their nails painted (although they
joked about getting hot pink), but enjoyed the massage, etc.



That night another Haboob storm hit and man did we feel it! It poured on us
(Kenny was still driving home IN IT)! The boys ran from my moms car into the
shelter of the garage like they just might melt if they stayed out too long! We made little Pizzas using Kaiser rolls, a jar of sauce, cheese and pepperonis and toasted them in the toaster oven. Super simple, but everyone really liked them and Little Brian said, “This is a fun dinner!” I think he like preparing his own pizza (with a whole LOT of cheese on it). The boys played Mario and mom and I worked on our flip flop scrapbooks. You would have thought the superbowl was on the way they all screamed, cheered and jumped up and down. When it was time for my mom and the boys to head home we walked them out. There were tons of puddles leftover from the storm and Jacob and I had fun stomping in them while Little B and Kenny took a test drive in the truck (after the airbags had been installed).

Tuesday after work my mom brought over a couple pans of her yummy enchiladas and Thursday Brian made his fabulous enchiladas which are both so different it wasn’t like having a repeat in the same week. Both nights the boys played Mario and my mom and I worked on our crafts.

Jacob

Wednesday my mom watched the boys so Brian could go to Bible study with us! It was so nice that he was able to go and everyone in the group seemed to enjoy him being there.

Saturday Kenny and Brian got up early, rented a trailer and after dropping the boys off at Crystal’s went to clean out both of Brian’s storage units. I slept in and cleaned the house while they were gone… It took them most of the day… and it was HOT but I am glad they did it. Getting the things like the ornaments and stockings my grandma had given the boys was worth it to Kenny and I. Kenny, Brian and I all went to Church and then Which Wich for dinner and then saw to Captain America that evening.

Sunday we did our new usual movie and lunch with Barb. We saw Larry Crowne with Tom Hanks- it was cute, but kind of a slow one. After the movie we ate at the new Raul and Teresa’s restaurant on Litchfield.  It was a really nice time.

Sunday night Brian and Kenny beat the last world on Mario and saved the princess! I am sure Jacob and Little Brian will be 

sad they missed it!

Phoenix Suns Shoot Around

Friday night the Suns offered a FREE event for all ages to come shoot hoops on the court. Kenny and Brian weren't very excited about it, but I thought, "Hey, Why not? Its a free activity for the boys!" So we went and ended up having a really great time... the men even admitted they were glad we went. 

Brian, Jacob (in his giant Suns shirt he insisted on wearing), Little Brian and Kenny

The boys shot some hoops on the kids court for a while, but Jacob kept getting hit in the face and head with other people's balls and went to sit with Brian and Kenny. Little Brian really got the hang of it and started making some baskets.

Then we got to go on the big court! It was pretty cool to be out there. It was actually the Mercury's (the womens team) court, but it was still really cool to be out there. I have to brag that I was the only one who made a basket out there : )

Jacob, Me and Little Brian on the court 

The boys were just tired so they took a break --- those are front row seats they are sitting in!` 

We took a look at the practice court area and got to walk through the players tunnel which was very neat for me. Then we were off to the kids play land area and guess who was up there!? The Gorilla!

Jacob and the Gorilla 

Little Brian even got to play basketball with him!!

Little Brian and the Gorilla 

After the event we went to Dillans for dinner. I had a Groupon I wanted to use up and thought that would make for a complete night. I was shocked how much the boys liked their food! Little Brian said' This such a good place, thanks for bringing me" Even Jacob cleared his plate- in fact we all did !