squirt and nemo

so, so tired

I'm exhausted. It's 6:30 in the morning and I'm getting ready for work, but work is the last thing I want to do today. I had parent-teacher conferences Tuesday and Wednesday nights this week, so I was at work for 12+ hours each of those days. Not getting home until after 8:00 and having left the house a little after 7:00 that morning really, really sucks!! I am super glad we get tomorrow off. B and I will snuggle in bed while Josh goes to his doctor's appointment in Laramie by himself. :)

remember #50?

Here he is again! This guy is one of the nicest boys I've ever met. Easy going, sense of humor, and is nice to his mom!! It's been a pleasure taking his senior photos these past few weeks. We met today up in the Snowy Mountains at Mirror Lake and Lake Marie and had fun laughing at Brecken, who was calling a chipmunk a "kitty". :)

strawberry jelly and biscuits

I heard a story today that almost made me cry. Our secretary at work told me that she and her minister went to talk to the little brother of our student who was killed. To protect his identity, I'll call him Jay. So on Sunday, they went to talk to Jay. And they brought him a box full of food. (Remember, they don't have much. And right now, Dad is out of town working and who knows where step-mom was the day our secretary came over.) He looked inside and saw strawberry jelly and got SOOO excited about it. He thanked them a lot and then told them, "I knew I shouldn't have eaten all the biscuits."

How sad, that he got so excited about strawberry jelly and wished he had some biscuits. I just want him to have strawberry jelly all the time! I think about Brecken and his favorite foods, and if we're out of Cheerios Snack Mix, it's only because we can only get it at Walmart and we haven't been there in a month. But if I can get things at our store, I make sure we never run out so that he can always have it!

I think next time I'm at the store, I'll be buying strawberry jelly and making some biscuits to put in Jay's locker for him to have.

first game with a new team

Friday's game was a very emotional one.  We played Lusk, and we played HARD.  We lost, 14-10, but the boys won, too- they survived their first game without their friend and teammate, Mitch.  The first defensive play was played with only 10 people, they left Mitch's spot empty.  And wouldn't you know it, Lusk only gained 2 yards on that play.  And the team's second offensive play, they played a play that Mitch hated with a passion, and ended up scoring with it.  The boys knew Mitch was with them somehow.

Mitch's jersey on the field with the team:


Mitch's dad and little brother on the field during the moment of silence. Dad stayed on the sidelines the whole game:


BOTH teams, Saratoga AND Lusk, wore these stickers on their helmets. I thought it was super classy of Lusk to wear them, too.:

football

I had my first big job yesterday- the middle school football team!  It was freezing cold but we got it done- and made a nice profit, too!  It was fun- I hope I can do it again!!

i hate when that happens

Our internet went down on Thursday sometime.  Nobody knows how to fix it.  We FINALLY were able to get it to work by plugging the computer straight into the modem, so we are limited to using it just on my bed.  The wireless still will not work for some reason.  How frustrating.

oops

At school, I get called several names.  My little kids are always calling me their homeroom teachers' name, or Mom, or I've even been called Grandma.  And tonight, it happened with my own kid.  I gave him something, and he said, "Thank you, Amy." Then he kind of shook his head a little and looks up at me and said, "MOMMY."  :)

i'm not cut out for this

I hope that I never again have to bury one of my students.  It was one of the most awful things I've ever done.  

The funeral was nice, for a funeral anyway.  The gym was PACKED.  The family requested that everyone wear red and black, our school colors.  Saratoga brought two buses- one with the jr. high and high school football players, and the other with other students and staff that wanted to come.  I think the final count of people from Saratoga was 60.  Our science teacher (also the asst. boys basketball coach) spoke at the funeral, and the first thing out of his mouth was "I want to say how appreciative I am of how many Saratoga kids are here- and I know for a fact that Mitch would have been tickled that he got you to wear red and black."  And that's so true- I think Mitch was jumping up and down in victory up There.  :)

Heath, our head football coach spoke, too.  That's what got me crying hard.  He had Mitch's jersey with him, that the team signed.  He spoke about how at this Friday's game, the first defensive play will only have 10 people on the field.  And how he told the other team's coach that he wants them to run the play like usual- and if they get through the hole where Mitch would have been and their player trips, know that it was Mitch on the field helping out.  And then he laid the jersey on the casket and said he was getting Mitch suited up for his last game.  Here I go, crying again.

Then our FCCLA and home ec teacher spoke, as Mitch loved her.  And that was the end of the funeral.  Then we all went to the Encampment Cemetary for the burial.  A few dozen red, black, purple and gold balloons were released.  I thought it was a nice touch to include both schools' colors.

Then everyone went back to the school, where there was a carry-in meal.  TONS of fantastic food and it was good to be able to relax a little.  

But like I said- I'm not cut out for this.  I hope this can be a lesson to everyone, so we can maybe save a life in honor of Mitch.  I know that I will never again text on my phone while driving, and I hope everyone else quits too.  If we can take this death and save a life, we'll be doing OK.

in the candlelight

We had a candlelight vigil at school this evening for Mitch.  He would have been 18 years old today.  People came and shared stories about Mitch and had hot chocolate, which was good because it's COLD tonight!!  I was doing alright, until we sang "Happy Birthday" to him.  Then I lost it.  One of the hardest things about this whole situation is seeing my students hurt so bad.  To see a "tough guy" cry his eyes out kills me.  I feel so bad for them- they are way too young to have to go through this.  And as hard as tonight was, tomorrow will be even harder.... I better stop and buy a couple boxes of Kleenex on my way to the funeral.

something exciting's going on....

on Beth's blog!!

tragedy

It rained this afteroon, which was only fitting since it matched all our tears.

One of Josh's favorite football players from his team, which also happens to be one of my students, died in a car accident. The pager went off at 7:10 this morning as I was leaving for work. They said it was a rollover accident. Right after I left, Josh heard that it was too late for whoever it was in the car. I followed the ambulance out (it happened about 1 mile away from our house, on the way to Encampment) and couldn't even see the car, it was so far down in a ditch. By the time I got to school, Josh was calling for me and I had to hear the awful news that it was Mitch. Josh was crying, I was crying, our secretary wanted to know who it was so I told her and she was crying, and we were sending kids out of the office as fast as we could. And of all days, our principal was late today. His son had got a deer this morning and they were hurrying, but would be late. Our secretary, through her tears, called his cell phone and said to hurry up. Our counselor didn't want to wait for him, so we had an assembly at 8:05 this morning to tell the kids. They are all really shaken up over this. Mitch was a huge part of our school. And he came from NOTHING. His mom abandoned him, his dad lives in Alaska, and he lived with his half-brother's dad. (along with half-brother, who is a delinquent 8th grader.) The "dad" is never home and works in Rock Springs and is only home once in a while. Mitch really did rise above all the problems and was the neatest kid in the world. His 18th birthday would have been this coming Monday. And to make things even worse, his real dad had flown in to Denver last night so he could be at Mitch's game today.

Obviously, today's game was cancelled. The Saratoga football boys were gathered together and were brought up to Encampment to be with our football boys. We had counselors available, but most everyone just went home. Probably on Monday, there will be a lot of kids ready to talk. I hope they are, anyway- how horrible to keep it inside.

And what's killing me, is he was on his way into Saratoga last night when he wrecked- it was about 9:00 according to the last text he sent anyone. He didn't have his seatbelt on and he was ejected from the car- I'm praying to God that Mitch died fast, since he wasn't found until 7:00 this morning. I cannot stomach the though of him laying outside all night long, knowing what was going on and wondering why nobody had found him yet.

And how horrible to come from a home where nobody realizes you didn't come home at night, so they could go look for you.

So, if you are parents, hug your kids hard today. And EVERYONE call their parents tonight and tell them "thank you for caring about me." Josh feels like he lost a son, and our school feels the same way.

i think i just got called a poop head.

I had made some soup tonight. Brecken calls it poop- he can't figure out the ssss sound at the beginning. B wanted a taste of the soup, but couldn't figure out how to get the broth off the spoon. So I was showing him how to suck it up. I told him to try, and instead of sucking in, he blew out. Soup all over my face. B laughed hysterically and said, "Mama. Poop. Head."

2 years old and calling his mom a poop head. :)

better late than never...

I realized the other day that I had pictures and movies on my little camera that I never downloaded! So I took some off- here's some images from B's birthday.

Riding his new 4-wheeler: It rained hard all day long on B's birthday, but there was a small break in the clouds that evening so he was able to go out and ride for a few minutes:


First day of pre-school, Sept. 12:

At his birthday party on Sept. 13:

o'tay, mama

That's Brecken's new phrase. And I'm totally in love with hearing it- it's sooo cute. I find myself asking him questions that end with "OK, B?" just so I can hear his adorable little voice say, "O'tay, Mama."

owies

B got a good owie tonight. He was helping me make dinner and touched the hot stove with his hand. THANK THE LORD it was the one I had turned off a few minutes earlier, instead of the one I had JUST turned off, but it was still hot and he burned his hand. I immediately got his hand under cold water and Josh was just pulling into the driveway. We held his hand under the water for several minutes while B bawled hard, and then B wanted to cuddle with Josh. His hand was a bit red, but it didn't blister, thank goodness. He sat with us for quite a while and sniffled and every once in a while he'd cry and say, "owie...." and hold up his hand. Poor baby. :( Luckily it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

may i have this dance?

It's been a bit of a rough afternoon in our house- Josh is gone on the ambulance and Brecken has been so naughty. Throwing crayons, not listening, the whole bit. I tried time-out twice, in our room with the door shut. Well, he has figured out how to open the door, so I had to stand there holding it shut. Two go-arounds of that and all he did was laugh. I was at my wits end. After more crayon throwing, I put him in his room and shut the door- and he must have known finally that I meant business because he didn't try to open the door and he bawled. I was mad enough at that point that I left him there for an extended time-out (don't freak out on me- it was only 5 minutes instead of 2.) while I gathered myself back together. After I was ready, I went to get him. I made him tell me he was sorry and he gave me the biggest hug ever and came out to the living room and was the best helper, picking up his mess.

After we picked up together, I turned on the iPod and we slow danced in the living room. My mind fast-forwarded 20 or so years to his wedding and I imagined myself with him dancing on his wedding day and it made me sad. I'm not ready for my baby to grow up. He's already too big. 2 years old is too old. It will be so exciting, however, to find where his life leads between now and his wedding day. Soon I will be saying I wish he was 2 years old again, tantrums and all.

My mind woke up from my daydream, when he covered my mouth to make me quit singing, and said, "Momma. Milk." Yup- back from the 20-something young man to my 2-year-old-milk-wanting-son; one who is the light of my life, tantrums and all.

haizey doe

We want to welcome Brecken's new cousin into the world! She was born on Wednesday, Sept. 24, but I wanted to wait until Joel and Annie posted first before I did.

Hailey Jo, or as B says, Haizey Doe, weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs, 1 oz and was 19 3/4 inches long. Big sister Karlee is in love with her, I can tell from the pictures. And Joel said Trevor wanted to put her back and not bring her home. I've been told that's what I said about my sister, too. :)

So, WELCOME, Haizey Doe, and we can't wait to meet you!

(pictures of her are posted on Annie's blog)

trucks poop- did you know that?

Brecken is very stinky right now. I asked, "Did you poop?" He immediately replied, "no...." I asked if I should check, and he said, "no....." Then pretty soon, he brought me his toy truck and said, "Momma. Truck poop." I asked to make sure I heard right, and he confirmed it- the smell I am smelling came from the truck. Plastic trucks poop. Good to know. :)

Off to change a diaper...

"gwoss"

Yes, it is gross. We all smell like skunk today.

Last night, there was a skunk on the other side of our fence. The dogs were barking at it so we got them in as fast as we could. Unfortunately, it was not fast enough. They got sprayed. Once we realized it, out they went again, but it was too late- our house smelled like skunk. All night. We left the windows open but it didn't do too much good. We all went to school today smelling like skunk, although only one person asked me about it. I think the others were just being polite. :) I was dousing myself in peony smelling lotion, maybe that had something to do with it! HOWEVER, the first thing out of Amy's mouth when I went to pick B up was, "Um, Kara?" I said, "Did he smell?" Poor Amy. She said it wasn't bad, but I think she was just trying to be nice! I honestly didn't even think about the fact that B would smell like it until I smelled it on myself at school!!! She put B's extra set of clothes on him and she said it was much better, but man, I still feel bad!

So, as B would say, "GWOSS". Josh is outside right now putting skunk remover on the dogs and I am in with B while he takes a bath so we can get it out of his hair. We left the windows open all day today and the house no longer smells, thank goodness! It was not something I wanted to live through tonight, too! The house is freezing cold now, but blankets can help that- nothing helps skunk smell. :)

#50

family

I had the privilege of taking some more photos of my niece yesterday, along with my nephew, and their parents, too. :)

happy birthday!

My baby boy turned 2 today! Holy moly, how time flies.

September 11, 2006
September 11, 2007
September 11, 2008

two years ago today...

I woke up and threw up. First time in a while that had happened. (And after 5 constant months of it, I didn't miss it at all!!) I told Josh after I puked that we needed to get the baby's room done that day, because I had a feeling we were going to have a baby sooner than we thought. All we had left was curtains and blinds and straightening up, but it needed it! Little did I know, 2 hours after making that statement, I would go into labor! Tried stopping it with water and laying on my left side, didn't work. Tried a bath. Didn't work. They were long contractions and regular, but they sure didn't hurt like I thought they would. Instead, it felt like a body sized rubber band squeezing the air out of me. I knew they were real though! Called the dumb doctor on call and he wanted to prescribe me a pill, but on a Sunday in Saratoga, there was nowhere to get it filled. So off to the hospital we went. We got there and got checked in and I was given the pill to stop labor. Didn't work. They gave me the worst shot I've EVER had (OH MAN, I can still feel the stinging in my arm!) and that didn't work either. So I labored all night. Counting the minutes until MY doctor came on call. :) For the rest of the story, you can read it here.

And yes, I still think about those babies in the NICU and ICC. Every day.

two years ago today...

was a Friday. I got up and got ready for work, totally oblivious to the fact that it would be my last day of work for a few months. I'm sure there was a football game that night that I attended, too. I didn't have any of my sub plans or info ready to go. If we are lucky enough to have another baby, I will have all affairs in order by 30 weeks, just in case. :)

backet

For as long as Brecken could talk and identify people in pictures, photos of himself were always "Baby", "Rynee" (Ryan) or "You". Today, for the first time ever, he saw himself in a photo (of him on the potty, none the less!) and said, "Backet!" Not only was that the first time he has identified himself, but the first time he has EVER said his name!! (well, close anyway.) He said it again, and then pointed to himself and said it again. Yay! And he did it before his 2nd Birthday!!

Here's the famous picture:

airplanes

The group of terribly rich people with their own airplanes who fly to Saratoga just to hang out are in town this week. Brecken, as you know, is fascinated with airplanes so I took him to the airport for a closer view today.

waterboy

It's official- I became the mother of the waterboy today. He helped Macy fill them up...

Then he carried them over...

And carefully placed them in the water holder thingys (don't you love my technical terms?) for the boys to drink later.

We went to Hanna for Josh's game tonight. It was COLD AND WINDY. But we won- a solid 58-6. :)

fyi...

For you grandparents and such that are looking for something to give to a 2-year old for his birthday... here's what we got him so do NOT get him the same thing. :)

Thomas the Tank Engine railroad tracks, expansion pack, and a couple trains:

Shape sorter:

And Josh's choice- a 4-wheeler similar to this. Only it's just blue, not Batman. :) It's small, like his bike that he is in love with, but this one is battery powered.

road trip

We took a road trip yesterday. Wasn't planning on it, but it happened anyway and was a really fun day!

The day started off a bit silly...

B thought it was hilarious to wear Josh's socks instead of pants. What a dork. But it made us laugh, hard!!

Then we went up to do a family session for some new people in town. Josh teaches with the dad...

Then we headed up the mountain to visit Aspen Alley. Last year, we missed the gold trees. We went the weekend after Labor Day and it had already snowed and there was not one single leaf on any of the trees. This year, they were still GREEN. We'll have to see if we can find another day to drive up there.

By the time we were done at Aspen Alley, it had started raining. Hard. And the fog was thick.

Right before we made it back to Encampment, we decided to drive down to Hog Park Reservoir since neither of us has been there. On the way, there was a sign that read, "Steamboat Springs, CO- 68 miles". We had diapers and lunch, we were set, so we decided to continue, on the dirt road, to Steamboat! It took 2 hours since most of it was dirt road, but it was a fun drive. Coming off the dirt road and onto the highway, we got to see some pretty amazing houses. In Steamboat, we parked on one end of downtown and walked down one side of the street and back up the other, shopping in all the stores that were having sales. It was crowded down there! We also passed this gas station, which was out of business. You can tell how long it's been out of service:

We wanted to eat dinner at Beau Jo's Pizza, but it didn't open until 5:00. So we found a park for B to play at and for Josh to read the paper:

Steamboat is sure in pretty country. I have never been there before. So it was a good road trip to take! Here's the view leaving Steamboat and the Yampa Valley, along with the pretty setting sun on the mountains on our way home.