END MY ETERNAL SUFFERING

MEOW IMMA CAT HEHEHEHE

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.

I Don't Know What Has Come Over Me!!!

As I have said many times, I don't like to cook and don't do it very often. If I do choose to dabble in the kitchen, it is to make something easy and with as little mess as possible. So I keep asking myself, why at one of the most busiest times in my life, with working pretty much full time from home, taking care of 3 active little boys on my own since Walt is gone, and getting ready for an out of state move and a massive garage sale, would I choose to make Calzones from scratch. Yes, you heard me. From scratch. You might think no big deal but I might have failed to mention that I have never, ever, made any kind of dough in my life other than cookies. I have never bought yeast, kneaded dough or rolled it out. Sure I have helped my Mom when I was younger but I always managed to get out of this part or she had her Bosch to do the mixing and kneading. My only regret is that this moment of insanity occurred when Walt was not home to benefit or witness the miracle. And I have to say that it was no big deal and it sparked a little domestically in me. I topped the night off with baking cookies and moping my floors. I really surprised my myself and this might be a turning point in my life to start cooking more. Now the only think left is for me to start enjoying eating more and I might actually do it. Here are a few pictures to document the occasion. Like Danielle, I have an amateur photographer, so I can't show you the picture of me working the dough but you can see the finished product.


I made about 4 calzones but this one was the only one that looked good. They all tasted good so that is what counts.

And here are the cookies. Nothing special but worth a photo.

Come Sail Away, Come Sail Away With Me!

As many of you heard, over and over again, Walt and I were able to get a away for a week on a cruise to the Caribbean. We had talked with my sister Sarah and brother Nathan about how we could celebrate all of our 10 year wedding anniversaries since we were all married with a year of each other. Life happened and postponed the trip earlier this year. But the stars aligned and the chance came again this month and we all took it. We even picked a couple other travelers when my parents and oldest sister Lanith and her husband Steve asked if they could come. The more the merrier. So "hold on to your hats" for a few posts detailing this trip.

We flew out of Phoenix at noon on Saturday the 15th and arrived at about 9pm in Miami. Thankfully, with all of my Dad's travelling, we were able to use his points for the hotel room, which we shared with Nate and Carrie that night. We ordered pizza and wings and went to bed pretty late. Check in for the ship started at noon, so we caught the shuttle and headed down to the harbour. They have a few check points and had to stand in a few lines.


Standing in line for our boarding passes. We are excited.

This is my sister Lanith and Steve. They were ahead of us and walking onto the ship. They are the newlyweds of this trip. The love is still there.





Sarah found a better way to wait our turn. Good book.

Once we were on board the only thing to do was eat and explore the ship. Our rooms were not ready, headed for the Garden Cafe on Deck 12. We found some tables by the pool and out of the sun. After lunch, they announced that the rooms were ready. We all went to our rooms and had some time to get settled before we set sail.

I was really nervous about the room since we had an inside cabin and I don't like small, cramped spaces. I was impressed by the size and width of the room and we were very comfortable.

Here is the bathroom with the shower right to the left when you step up. It was roomy and the shower was bigger than I anticipated.



There was plenty of closet and storage space and they even had a safe in the closet for all our our important stuff.



The front door is right there on the right and they had pushed the beds together to make the one bed. I don't remember asking for that. I was kind of looking forward to having a bed to my self. Just kidding. The best part of the room is that when the lights went out it was dark and the sun didn't wake you up.



We then went on top to watch us sail out of port, then we had to meet to go over emergency procedures.



Looking out the port into the open sea. We sat out here until we hit open water and enjoyed the breeze and to watch the land fade away



Our safety group included Nate, Carrie and my parents. We had to demonstrate that we were capable of putting on our life jackets. We were pros.

Our first dinner was at Tsar's and we enjoyed spending all our our dinners together as a family.



We also enjoyed watching the sunsets every night. I have never seen a sunset like this. It was amazing to be able to actually see the sun disappear from the horizon without buildings getting in the way. Beautiful.



That night we went to the Stardust Theatre and saw a comedian named Bud Andersen. He was a little slow to start off but he was hysterical. It was a short show but he was scheduled to preform Monday night. He closed with an imitation of a large chested woman and how her many activities impact the movement of her chest. He did this by squatting on a chair and pulled a large shirt over his knees. I found it very funny because I experience many of the same things with my chest. Mine isn't that big but having kids has definitely had a negative impact on them. We ended the night with a dip in the hot tub and off then off to bed.

Stay tuned for more fun filled days.