In Loving Memory...

We lost a valued member of our extended family yesterday. What a sad, sad day in the McClure home and for all of us.
Cade lost his #2 favorite cousin (sweet boxer, Sandy, of the McClure family would be Cade's #1 fave cousin).
#2 never hit him, punched him, or pummeled him. He surprisingly never wanted to either. He never yelled at him or called him mean names.
He would never hurt Cade's feelings and wanted only good for him. Cade felt the same way for #2.
Cade would risk getting in trouble by sneaking a few extra morsels of food to him, just to show him how much he cherished their cousin-ship.
#2 would give everlasting entertainment for Cade when none of the big kids would play with him. Cade sure appreciated that (as did his mom and Aunt Tiffany).
Cade and #2 were the babies in their families until just over a year ago. They felt for each other- it's hard to be the baby of the family. They were so similar in so many ways and now Cade has to say goodbye to his beloved friend and cousin.
We all say goodbye today.
#2, you beat the odds. Your parents and big brother, Tanner, brought you home where you were placed in a small crib with a soft water bed mattress along with many other siblings. They all died within the expected couple of days. You trudged on. Your parents got some friends for you to try to brighten your life, but they didn't make it very long either.
All you needed was Cade to bring a little sunshine to your life.
And now it is over after just 5 short years.
Fat Bastard, aren't you glad? You were so fat you looked not like a wee goldfish but more like a Koi fish who belonged in some outside pond.
But you weren't a Koi, oh no. You were so hardy and easy to care for, unlike a Koi fish.
Now your parents are wondering how to dispose of you... for the traditional way would cause a great problem with their plumbing. You are fatter than any poo (we hope!) that has traveled down the tubes to sewerville in the McClure home. Perhaps a proper burial is in order.
I hope in the afterlife you will find lots of food, my friend. We all know that will give you great pleasure and happiness.
We, and especially Cade, will miss you, for you are irreplaceable.

Fat Bastard was rather camera shy and in fact not too photogenic so here is a picture that greatly resembles him as he looked in his youth.

Laundry Room

Why is a laundry room called a laundry 'room'?
In my house it is actually just a laundry closet. In fact, in many houses, even very large houses, the laundry room is really just a laundry closet. In my next house I will have a laundry room with many cabinets and a huge island in the middle- much like my kitchen. Then I won't have to use my kitchen to cook and to do laundry in like I do now. I can hardly wait, I'm excited about it already!!!

Just for the record

I STILL haven't seen Twilight. In fact, I never even read the 4th book. What is wrong with me?! I just asked someone all I needed to know about book 4: Did they get married? Did they have sex? Did she get turned into a vampire?
I'm gonna get to it one of these days...
If you own it may I borrow it?

All caught up?

NOPE!!! I sure got a lot of blogging done today but just blogged about the most recent things. I still have 8 more blogs posts started but not posted yet because they are not finished, in fact some are not even started yet except for the title.
*Memorial Day
*Easter at Tiff's
*Fourth of July
*Halloween
*Connor's Bowling Birthday
*Cade Fall Tee-Ball
*Camping with Pickles
*Ward Christmas Party
Watch for these posts possibly coming soon to a blog near you. But don't hold your breath... I can't make any promises.

Date Night

Will and I went out with some other couples and had so much fun. We first ate dinner at Kona Grill. They have great sushi so that's usually all I get. That's just an appetizer for many but for me- I make it a meal. We have been there so often lately that I think Will has tried almost everything on the menu at least once :) He's good at trying something different every time we go there.

Crystal, what are you looking at? The camera's straight ahead, Sista!


Afterward we walked around San Tan Mall. It was fun because they had pretend snow machines going so it seemed like it was snowing on our heads. We had to catch some to figure out that it was just bubbles because it looked so real. We grabbed Dairy Queen and then went and saw Four Christmases. It was a pretty funny movie. It was so nice to get out and have fun with great friends!!! Can you tell how much fun we had by looking at these pictures?

Check out the snow falling
What the heck am I doing in this pic?

We weren't aware these videos were being taken. In fact, when uploading these pics I just noticed the videos and thought they were funny so I decided to post them. We are super silly!

The Angela's

My best friends in grade school were both named Angela.
One of them others would call 'Angie'. I have kept in close touch with her for all these years (our dad's went to primary together and our grandma's served in presidencies together). She is one of my very best friends. I have always called her Angela though.
The other one, whom is still called Angela by all, I lost touch with after I moved away in 5th grade.
The three of us met up last week and had a lot of fun. We hung out at my house while I finished ready- we didn't really have a time set and I got side tracked trying to clean my house after the numerous Christmas festivities that were held here tore it apart. (Luckily Carlee and Cade were gone at Tricia's and Will was paintballing). So we chatted as I finished my hair and then we went to Kona Grill for lunch. We also went and saw Angela's new house, which happens to be only a few miles from mine. It was fun to catch up but I felt a little out of sorts due to having Cloee with me and also the extreme chaos in my life with the holidays actually my life just felt chaotic because my house was so messy and there were 3 loads of laundry that needed folded and more that needed cleaned. I was so embarrassed that my house was such a mess. Also, I didn't have a single clean thing to wear so I ended up wearing this stupid shirt that I really don't like at all.
So, my insecurities aside... it was fun to catch up and get to know Angela again and I look forward to having her close by so we can get together whenever we want.
Now we just need to get 'Angie' back from New York as soon as she gets her Masters from Columbia. I'm so proud of her!!!
None of the pictures make us look as beautiful as we really are. LOL!!! Just kidding!

Cari, Angie, Angela

Christmas 2008

We had a busy yet relaxing Christmas season. I didn't feel stress at all. I think because normally Will is always telling me to go get more presents for the kids, all the way up until Christmas Eve. I don't think they need very much. Plus, I'm the one who has to clean up all their little toys all the time. Less is more with me- when it comes to the kids, not when it comes to me receiving gifts, of course. I keep mine picked up and put away. :) Will didn't grow up with much and I think that's why he wants to give our kids more than necessary. I think he over does it and he thinks I over do it. It's hard to find that balance but I think this year we did.
Also, for both sides of our family we had a white elephant gift exchange. That took the pressure off having to buy for each and every brother, sister, brother and sister in law and all nieces and nephews. It worked out pretty good on the pocket book this year.
We started out by celebrating with Will's family on the Sunday before Christmas. We ate food and had the elephant gift exchange and then we played games (we never get together and not play games).
Then on Christmas Eve we went to my mom's, like we always do. My grandparents and aunt and uncle and cousins go there too. We eat REALLY yummy food...like the entire time we are there. We all hover over it like it's going to walk up and leave. Sometimes it does- if you step away and come back you may find your favorite food is poof! gone! So we try to never walk away. We did manage to get our elephant exchange in. It was the first year we had done this and may change to just drawing names for next year.
We got home and sent the kids straight to bed. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrived within minutes and took only seconds to set up the toys and fill the stockings. (It was an easy year- no bikes, trampolines or train tables to put together).
Cloee woke me up around 6 am (also at 1:30 am and 3 am) and I thought about getting the others up at this time but she was cranky and just wanted to nurse and go back to sleep and I was still very tired. So we went back to sleep until Cloee woke again at 8 am. She and I played for a little bit then decided to wake Daddy and the big kids.
Our camera had VERY little battery charge left so we only got pictures from about the first 20 seconds of Christmas morning. Dangit!

Cade opens his presents very S L O W L Y because he is so busy goofing aroundCarlee opens her presents very quickly and then waited for Cade to catch up
Cloee doesn't really open her presents at all... so Mommy helps her
After opening presents we went to my Aunt Rozanne and Uncle John's and have a Christmas brunch and visit with all the cousins. My siblings have in-laws they do stuff with but since Will and I get together with his family ahead of time my aunt has always included us in her Christmas morning tradition and we love it (my mom and Chris and Cassidy go too). After eating, some played Wii (Cade of course was in on that!), some napped, some played games, and some did a little of all of those things. Cloee took a nap with Tia (my Aunt Rozanne) which was so nice since I had been dealing with her crabbiness for numerous days (due to extreme ear infections). After almost falling asleep during a game I went and slept on the couch for a little bit while Will and some of the others went to see a movie- 'Yes Man' with Jim Carrey, everyone said it was funny. I had to wake myself and go home because we were then going to have dinner at my house. The same people that were at my aunt's that morning came over and my brother, Cynthia, and her son Rene (pronounced Hene') came down from Flagstaff. We visited and ate and some played Rock Band. It was pretty relaxed.
The next day my dad & Joann, Gami and Papa, all my siblings and their families, and step sisters and their families came over for a Prime Rib dinner. Yum yum! It was fun and the food was great. We had a great time visiting and vegging after stuffing ourselves with too much food.
My house was a crazy place for a few days in a row and thankfully it was just family because there was no possible way I was going to be able to keep it clean.

Zoo Lights 2008

This year Will's company had a holiday party at the Phoenix Zoo. We ate hamburgers and hot dogs and the kids got a fun treat bag and then we walked around and saw the lights.


Since Will and my uncle work at the same place my cousins were there too. It was fun to be together with them. We took lots of pictures together while some of the others were in the stingray exhibit.

I think Angela was saying "Hurry and take the picture, the baby isn't really happy right now."I think this is a really great 'accidental' picture of Kimee.
This is the stingray exhibit. The kids all had a lot of fun checking those out and 'petting' them. It was really dark in there so the pictures didn't turn out so great. The pictures of Will and Cade were very dark so I won't post any. Angela and I opted to save the $3 per person fee and stayed out with Cloee.
In this picture from left to right: Cortney, Jordan, Kimee, Cassidy, Carlee.

Heidi's Birthday

A few weeks ago we took Heidi out to lunch to Olive Garden for her birthday. It was lots of fun and I think it cheered her up a bit and let her mind flow in a different direction for a while. I wish I would have done that more when Cloee was in the hospital.

New Year's in Flagstaff

We went to Flagstaff for New Year's this year. Both of my sisters and their families were going to go so we'd all be up there with my brother but then Tiffany didn't end up going although I'm not sure why. Will told some friends that he would feed their animals while they went out of town and so by doing that he wasn't able to go out of town with us. What a ding dong! Whatever! So we went to Flagstaff without him. So it was just me and my kids and Trish and Scotty and their kids. Tricia and her family were already staying at Ryan's and my dad and Joann said there was no room to stay at their house since Michelle and Kaulana are living there so my dad paid for us to stay at the Hampton near Ryan's side of town for 2 nights. It was nice to have somewhere to escape to when the kids needed a break and Ryan needed some calmness in his house. I followed Tricia and Scotty up there and hated driving the Excursion- I think the tires need rotated or the brakes need changed or something. It was a relief to finally arrive. We went straight to the hotel to check in and then over to Ryan's. Scotty took all the kids (except Cloee) to Ryan's and Tricia and I went to Safeway. It was ridiculously crowded there. 6:00pm and the whole town was there getting their New Year's Eve booze and sparkling cider- of which I was told, "Sorry Mam, I just sold the last bottle". Tricia and I grabbed some food staples so the kids wouldn't have to eat granola and drink soy milk at my brother's the whole time. :) Then we headed to Ryan's where his girlfriend, Cynthia (who we absolutely LOVE!), had prepared lots of yummy food. My dad and Joann were there too but are so old they just couldn't stay up until midnight and headed home around 10 or 11. Michelle and Kaulana came for a bit as did Cynthia's brother and his wife- Elano and his wife Nina- I can't remember her real name because it is Brazilian and more complicated but the English version is Nina. The kids had fun and just played around. Cloee was a trooper! (or is it trouper? I'm feeling Englishly challenged) She is usually in bed by 8 pm but because she wasn't in a crib she wouldn't go to sleep but she managed to take a small snooze on the couch at some point and then didn't go to sleep until after 1 am when we were on our way back to the hotel.
Here's where the adventure begins. I got to the hotel and there wasn't a single place to park. In addition to that the hotel is built on hilly terrain and the roads were very icy. Cade and Cloee were sound asleep and it was freezing outside. I pulled up in front and turned the autostart on so my kids had heat and then removed the keys and locked the kids in the car and ran in and was asking the guy at the desk where I was supposed to park. He told me to park across the street in the other hotel's parking lot. Yeah right! And carry not one but two sleeping kids in while walking on icy roads in the middle of the night in below freezing temperatures with diaper bag and purse on my arm??? I don't think so! He finally told me he would move his car somewhere else and I could have his parking spot- which happened to be one of the closer spots. Very nice of him! I made sure it was a spot that was big enough for me to pull the huge Excursion into and it was. The only problem was that when I opened my car door there was a huge- like 10-12 feet tall- mound of snow piled up. This was also the side Cade was on. I climbed out the passenger door and then pulled Cloee out of her seat and had Carlee stand outside with her. Then I tried to wake Cade but it wasn't working. I tried to drag his very limp body up and over Cloee's carseat but that wasn't working either. So I went around to his side and positoned myself against the mound of compact snow- with lots of ice at the bottom of the pile- and lifted him up and crawled around the back of the car. It took lots of skill not to slip on the ice. We made it up to our room and I put Cloee in the pack & play and told the kids to get into bed. Cade was standing and leaning against the bed sound asleep. Carlee and I were laughing at him, it was so funny. I woke him and told him to get into bed and he started climbing into bed when I told him to change his clothes first (he was sharing the bed with me and I didn't want his dirt from the day sleeping with us that night). So he got undressed and climbed into bed in just his underwear. I went to bed with pajamas as did Carlee. I was woken up at 5:30 am when my arm was on Cade's back and he had goosebumps from being so cold. I used the light of my cell phone to try to locate a thermostat on the wall but couldn't find it anywhere. I layed in bed and then decided I better cover Cloee so I got one of my large sweatshirts and put it over her and when walking back to my bed the unit under the window caught my eye and so I was able to turn on the heater. At 7:30 am I woke up and was roasting so I turned the heat down a bit and took off my clothes so I was now only in my underwear. The combination of it being pitch dark in the room and getting to bed so late caused the kids to sleep really late. Cloee finally woke up at 9:50 am but the other two were sound asleep. I just put her in my bed and nursed her for a few minutes as I sort of fell back to sleep. At 10 am I heard a loud sound coming from the hallway but just ignored it until I heard people running amuck. I opened the door and everyone was saying to get out- it was the fire alarm going off. So I frantically woke up Carlee and she immediately jumped up and started crying because she thought she was dreaming that there was a fire alarm going off. I quickly pulled my pajamas on and we woke up Cade- which wasn't easy. I grabbed a jacket and blanket on our way out to put around Naked Cade and just as we were about to walk out the door I ran back to grab my wedding ring. I've always been paranoid to not sleep with it on in case there was a fire but it bothers me to sleep with. It was chaotic and staff members were in the hallway trying to get everyone out but then it went off and everyone went back to what they were doing. I can't imagine what the twin towers were like on 9/11! That was one adventure! Super scary!

We didn't do too much that day- went to Ryan's for a little bit where the kids played in his snowy yard- Cade and Connor wore underwear, wife-beaters and rubber boots; Hannah had on her bathing suit which complimented her bright pink arm cast very well; Carlee wore Connor's underwear and a shirt. It was relatively warm outside with no wind but once the kids would touch the snow they realized it was a bad idea and very cold.
Carlee and Hannah got stuck on the wrong side of the fence. It's hard to tell in the picture but if the girls were to step down into the snow instead of stand on top of it Hannah would be up to her thighs in snow and Carlee up to her knees.
Ryan and Cynthia watching the half naked kids play in the snow.The kids got on top of the hot catoozi (that's what Carlee used to call it when she was younger). Cade showed us all his ginormous muscles. I'm not quite sure what Connor was doing but I'm sure it was something goofy since he is the silliest goofball around! Hannah pranced around and got in trouble for going in the middle where it is less sturdy.We took the kids swimming at the hotel in the heated pool and hot tub and then went to my dad's for dinner.
The next day the kids and I ate the continental breakfast and they liked that it's like a restaurant but they can serve themselves. We checked out and spent the rest of the day at Ryan's. I went to Wal-Mart with Cloee to get my kids some snow boots but of course had to check out their Christmas stuff that was 75% off while I was there. At Ryan's the kids got all bundled up and played in the snow outside and 'snowboarded' on a plastic sled down the driveway that has a very slight slant to it. It was funny.
They also made a hill out of a mound of snow and sledded down it which took them right down under our cars each time. That was funny too.
I guess Ryan was nervous that we weren't out there watching the kids but we checked on them and were out there with them off and on. They didn't need constant supervision in his yard, which is 2 and a half acres, and safe neighborhood, their activity was plenty safe but he can't totally understand since he doesn't have kids yet. They were fine and had a blast.
Then he and Tricia got into an argument and she packed their stuff and decided to leave. This was Friday and they were planning to stay until Sunday. I didn't really know if I was going to leave that day or ask Ryan if we could stay at his house but since I didn't really want to drive home alone I left when they did so I could follow them.
We made it safe and sound but it took us forever to get home. After taking the long way and going THRU town instead of taking the 40 we had to stop so Cade could pee just as we got out of Flagstaff. We also stopped near Cottonwood exit and got a very no so cheap dinner at A&W/KFC which was $31 for the three of us! Everything I tried to order they said they didn't have.
Me: "I'd like a small order of popcorn chicken."
Them: "Sorry we only have chicken strips."
Me: "That's fine. I'll take that. I'd also like a plain hot dog"
Them: "Sorry we are all out of hot dog products"
Me: "Ok, I'll take a cheeseburger then and 2 ice creams in a cup."
Them: "Sorry we only have ice cream cones."
Me: "Cones are fine."
It was almost humorous. Then when he was handing me the cones he asked if I'd like him to tip them over into a cup. I said that was fine but Carlee got mad because she already had it in her head that it was going to be in a cone. GEEZ! So we took a while and ate and then hit the road again.
We continued to take it very S L O W L Y, which I didn't mind since the Excursion would get annoying when I went fast. We literally went like 60 MPH even though the speed limit was 75 most of the way. I texted them and asked why we were going so slow and they just texted back by saying "no hurry to get home". Alrighty then!
We were all happy to see Daddy and ready to be home to our own beds!

Now I'm just ready to get these kids back into school and get back into my routines and get my house cleaned up! Tomorrow can't come soon enough!!!!!