Surprise!!

I have a great friend that I love dearly. She has lots of little kids who are close together, just like me. Her husband, and my husband are brothers separated at birth. (if you don't actually look at them!!) He is 6'4", David is 5' 8". They are quite funny to look at, but they have SO much in common. Anyway, that is not the point of this post. The point is, last night, my wonderful friend volunteered to keep my kids (yes, all five of them!) overnight! They have so much fun together, and she claimed that they were really good for her (they always are). THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!!!

So, I surprised my hubby. I arranged a babysitter and took him on a date last night. Told him that we were picking the kids up at about 10pm, but as we were passing a hotel in town, I pulled in. It surprised him to bits. We had a great time together, WITHOUT kids!!! We stayed up late, splashed in the pool and jacuzzi, and slept in this morning. We enjoyed a quiet breakfast, I took a long leisurely shower, and got ready for the day! We then enjoyed lunch and a couple more hours at home WITHOUT kids. AHHHH!!! Just what the doctor ordered, you should try it.

Hang on Sloopy!

Sorry out there to anyone that actually reads this blog. It has been neglected lately.

A couple weeks ago a wonderful man passed away. Davids granddad Pew died and left yet another sad hole in our families. I went through my highly unorganized pictures trying to find the ones I was looking for to post, and of course, I can't. I married into this family back when he was relatively healthy still and caring for his wife who was in her last years. He was very accepting, loved to give me hugs and scratchy kisses. He had a witty sense of humor, and VAST knowledge of all things Arizona and Mexico. I swear he has traveled every square inch of this state and Mexico and can tell you things you never knew. He and his wife joined us once to Rocky Point where he and Nathan (who was 6 months old at the time) fell together. Nathan was loved and protected by that wonderful man, but Granddad Pew broke his hip as a result of that fall. His health declined from then on and he was never quite the same. He has spent the last 3-4 years basically confined to either his chair or bed. His memory has been fading with his health.

One of my last memories I have of him happened about two months ago. I stopped in Show Low to see him. I walked into his living room, he looked directly at me and said "Hey Valerie!" It has been years since he has called me or any of my kids by name. He smiled, hugged me and gave me a scratchy kiss. He seemed so happy to see me and the kids. His memory had come back clearly, even if it was only for a few minutes. Bittersweet. It was a wonderful thing for him to go. It was sad for me and David, and Nathan who remembers him the best, but really a happy day. Many changes are happening in the family now because of his passing. It will be interesting to see how things settle. I love that great man. I miss him.

Oh blah dee, oh blah dah

Well, life goes on. I wish I had more to report... This week had gone pretty smoothly. No major events, and nothing to really report, or blog about.

I have spent quite a bit of time organizing, throwing away stuff, and generally decluttering and cleaning my house. It feels good to see progress, but it doesn't seem to last long with five kids running around. One day my house will stay clean for more then 5 minutes at a time. Right??

I started watching the shows Psych and Bones on NetFlix. Both awesome shows that seem to keep me moving, or cleaning or folding clothes. And I need all the help I can get on that folding clothes category. I'm watching Psych, David is watching Heroes. We are both watching Bones. David doesn't really like it, says its too gruesome. I like shows like that though. I know, I'm kinda morbid.

I don't have much else to say. Life is slowing down again. And I am grateful for it. Maybe I can finally get Jay potty-trained. Maybe.

What we have been up to....

We got one of these: I have done A LOT of this ('this' is cleaning, by the way): Jay got one of these, poor little guy: Emily posed for the camera: And posed again, with help from Aubrey: And again, with a little bit of help: And again: Nathan was in the 3rd grade poetry contest and got a Certificate of Participation: Betsy STILL has this attached to her hand: Aubrey was a "pirate" (yes, that is a chicken):

Along with all that, we are on our 4th, yes fourth, as in F O U R T H, bout of sickness since mid-December. Each strain is a bit different, but two of them have involved throw-up (be grateful I don't have pictures!). YUCK. I am seriously sick and tired of dealing with people who are sick and tired (myself included!).