Stop Hounding Me!!!

Not that I am that popular but I have had a few people comment that I really need to update my blog. So I have now done it. New pictures of the kids and everything. There has been a few things that have happened over the last couple of months. So here is the breakdown with some pictures.
September - this month was pretty much consumed with my back and the up and coming surgery which I had on the 22nd. I really don't have any pictures since I was not willing to have my backside photographed. Let's just say that my "crack" has been extended by a couple of inches. No more low rise jeans for me. And I thought I would spare you the photo of my leg hair that had ample time to grow over the 6 weeks. Quite impressive. My Mom was able to come down for 2 1/2 weeks and take care of me and I can't imagine what it would have been like if she hadn't come. She has a few good years of usefulness left in her. The weekend before the surgery we went to an apple orchard in Julian, Ca. A small orchard and not worth the price but it was fun and got some cute pics.

October - still in recovery but again Walt stepped up and was able to do a few things with the kids. They had fun picking out pumpkins and other weekend outings. Since Halloween was on Sunday we didn't get much into the spirit. But we still managed to get enough candy to get me in trouble. Especially since a majority of it was chocolate candy and not the sugary kind.


November - we were able to go to Sarah's for Thanksgiving and had a great time. Good food and good people. I was able to do my Black Friday shopping online, the husbands and kids hiked up rocks, while us women folk averted our eyes convinced at least one of the sixteen kids present was going to fall. But good job Dads for keeping them all safe. We then went bowling and had a blast. Although, didn't think it through and realized after I paid that I couldn't do it. So it was granny bowling for me. Van was able to beat my score along with pretty much all the other kids.


December - started off on a sad note. My 90 yr old grandpa died the week before Thanksgiving. But thankfully I was able to fly up to Seattle for his funeral. His quality of life had been poor for the last year so his passing was a good thing and expected. I was able to spend a few days with my family and enjoy the wonderful service. All but one of my siblings was able to make it and I got to see the Pruitt side of the family who I don't see often but love dearly. I along with Samantha and Adam stayed with Seth and Kathy for the weekend in their tiny apartment. But had a great time. Seth had arranged for his annual Gingerbread House competition to be held that Sunday night. And since all three of us were still going to be there, we joined in. I will first point out our 2 handicaps of not having as much thought and prep time as everyone else and that I made all the frosting during the competition, we came in second place. Now, I am not a sore loser by any means, but the talk of the group there was they liked ours best. But the judges were really impressed with the "Back to the Future" theme house, so that one won. We had lots of fun.

So that brings us up to date. Christmas cards should be going out tomorrow and just getting ready for another trip to AZ for Christmas with the Sharp family. I hope the Holiday finds you all well.

So Much To Tell!

It has been a long time since I last posted and many things have happened. The main reason for my absence is our camera took a trip through the washing machine and we have been without a camera. And what is a post without pictures. We are all a year older (Walt turns 36 on the 4th), a few pounds heavier, and hopefully a lot wiser. The school year ended on the 8th of June and surprisingly the summer is flying by. Most in part to the stress and preparation of my families reunion that my brother Nate and I were in charge of and is the main reason I am posting now. We are still enjoying San Diego, especially the weather.
I finally sat down and found a new list of doctors and dentists so we can all be checked out finally get Ian's eyes checked. And now my boy has glasses. He is adorable with them on and now I hope the next school year goes a little better. They should help his confidence. I found a chiropractor for my back that has been getting bad again. I am so sick of this and I am thinking of exploring some other options to stop the pain. Not sure which ones yet but I will keep you posted. Every one else is fit and growing big and strong.
I have quit working to try and become a better and more involved Mom. Between my back and work I was missing out on a lot of things and unable to help them. I am excited for this summer and the next school year.
Like I mentioned above, I was in charge of this year's Perrins Family Reunion. We chose to go to Yellowstone and found some homes we rented in Island Park, Id. Which is about 30 miles to the park. We had a great week and had lots of fun.
The theme was survivor and we had 7 teams of about 9 or 10 people. We did challenges throughout the week and had lots of fun. Especially for me since I got to sit out and watch. Here are some of the highlights from our trip to the Upper and Lower Canyon Falls with My sister Lanith and some of her kids.

Max Turns 8!

Max turned 8 back on the 11th and for all you Mormons out there, you know what this means. Max was excited to get baptized and decided that he wanted to do it in Arizona. So last Friday we headed back to Mesa so we could be there for the Stake designated day for baptism. Max and Kayla, a friend from the ward, were the only 2 from our ward with January birthdays. We had slips of paper for people to write their testimonies on and give to them. I am putting them in a scrapbook that Max can have for always and to remember this day. It was a great day. With help from friends and family, we had a dinner after wards at Nate and Carrie's. The food was delicious and it was great to visit with them all. We went to our old ward the next day to welcome Max to the ward, even though, he will only be a member of that ward for a week or so. And it also gave Walt a chance to say goodbye to people he didn't get to say goodbye too. We then headed back to CA that afternoon.

I was a quick weekend but very nice. I can't believe that he is already 8. Time went slowly for so long, but now it is speeding up. This makes me happy as well as sad. As Walt says, "Well, we have one who made it to the age of accountability. Just 2 more and we are off the hook. " Can't wait.

The NOT So Little Thing That Made My Day!

I know it is too early to brag but I am going to do it anyway. But at least it isn't about myself.

As many of you know, I have been a major slacker when it comes to potty training Van. I started training Max and Ian when they turned 2, but since Van just turned 3 on Saturday, you can say that I am a little behind. I have used the excuse of moving as to why I haven't done it but the truth of the matter is I just haven't set aside the time and dedication to doing it. I have made little attempts in the last few months and in fact have gotten him to go, as he calls it, Yuckies (#2) in the toilet a couple of times but never pee. I had made it a goal to start once we got moved but the flu has been going around our family since we moved into our new place and Van's tummy has been suffering in a way that might make it difficult for him to control when he can make it to the bathroom. ( Wasn't that delicately put)

He is now doing better and I noticed that I was running low on pull-ups. In fact, I was down to one and trying to convince Van to wear underwear so I would have the one for night time. I thought I had him convinced until he sneaked and took off his pants and slipped the pull-up on instead when I wasn't looking. I then made the bold statement that I wasn't buying him anymore diapers and he was going to have to wear underwear to bed. Now, I am known to make threats that are so drastic that I really don't want to follow through on. Since most of the time, I am the one to suffer. And it looks like I did it again. But I am happy to say that I did follow through and put Van to bed in underwear. The results are:

HE WOKE UP DRY!!!

I was so happy that I didn't have to clean up a mess this morning but I did try to get him to go this morning before he had an accident. He said NO. So I was thinking to myself that I had this one victory to hold on too and hope that he wouldn't pee in his pants. Then about 10 minutes ago, I was on the computer, when I hear him yell out that he went pee. I jumped up thinking I will have wet clothes and a puddle on the floor to clean up. But Wonders of Wonders, he is sitting on the potty and has gone pee pee for the first time. My cup runneth over! I am even more impressed because he was wearing footy pajamas so he had to take it all off.

I know this is not the end and my child is magically potty trained but I was thinking this might be a great posting for his 3rd birthday that I missed. I love my Van. He is such a sweet boy who loves me. We are best buds and I am grateful for the time we have together. On Saturday, we went to the beach as a family for his birthday. Here are a few pictures of the present and past.

The water was freezing but Max and Ian didn't seem to notice. Van even took a dip, but that wasn't intentional.