Peg me!

"Peg me!"  We heard that a lot this summer.  The kids have figured our what those things poking our of their bike wheels are for.  At first we were all paranoid to let them peg anyone around or to BE pegged.  We made them gear up in knee pads, elbow pads and a helmet.  And it was a good thing.  They took a few spills for the first few days.  But now they are pros and we only make them wear the helmet.

Kaleb also has pegs on his bike and has pegged Bradley around.  But that STILL makes me nervous.

One day when we were riding bikes at the school Charles wanted to be cool and peg all the boys on Jaden's bike at once.

And they did.

Then Brynnlee was feeling left out and started running after them.  Charles picked her up and was about to take off... when the Party Pooper mom objected.

But she still gets a turn to ride.

Kaleb is getting pretty good on those monkey bars.  But when he forgets he still has his bike helmet on... I don't say a word.

Brynnlee wants to try everything her brothers do. Charles had her hanging there by herself for a few seconds.  She LOVED it.  But by the time I could grab the camera she was ready to come down.

Jaden's Bobcat

Jaden started Cub Scouts back in April.  He has really enjoyed it.  At first he wasn't sure if he wanted to do Scouts, (which surprised me since he loved it when Charles and I were den leaders) but as more and more of his friends joined, the more he began to look forward to it.

Jaden comes home from Scouts every Wednesday night, ready to fill us in on all the cool things he has made or learned.  After his very first meeting, he brought home a super tall fishing pole, that he had made out of bamboo and fishing wire.  After that, he was hooked!  Heh-heh...

He and Lucas and Kisaac have really gotten into working on their acheivements.  Which I LOVE, because I remember when we were leaders, it was like pulling teeth to get some of the boys going.

Just 2 months after starting Scouts, Jaden received his Bobcat.  Here he is at June's Pack Meeting, getting presented with his badge and also Jaden presenting his Daddy with a pin.  We're so proud of you, Buddy!

Fun in the A.Z.

After we miraculously made our flight to Arizona, we rented a car and headed to our posh hotel.

Then we got to spend the weekend with some cute little kiddos.

This was about as close as I could get to Kaylee on this trip.  She wasn't quite ready to warm up to a stranger that looked vaguely familiar, and a little like her own mom, and who wanted to squeeze her like her mom.  But still... she knew.  I was NOT her mom.

And this is about as far as Nathan would allow Uncle Charles to go.

These 2 were best buds.  Playing iPads, iPhones, the Wii, building blocks...

...doing the potty dance...

...and reading together.  Nathan impressed both of us with his memorization of a couple of his books.  Someone must be doing well reading to their kids!

Check it out.  He was cracking me up.  Instead of saying "um" in between his sentences, he would say, "Wellll.."

Here we are eating Sunday dinner on Father's Day.  Nathan's seat was originally at the end of the table.  Then he realized how far away from Charles he was and so he had to fix that problem.

And this is where he gave Charles an extra show of affection.  A bite.  Took us all be surprise, haha!

But Charles didn't hold a grudge.

The very first morning I was there, I took Kare's Step Aerobics class.  3 words:  "She's gooood." And "Oooouuuch!"

We went house hunting in the rain.  Charles thought that in the event he actually wanted this job he was interviewing for, we should take advantage of our time there to see where we would... fit.  We found 2 houses in a "mormon" neighborhood.  We wanted to find a neighborhood with lots of kids.  Apparently mormons have a lot of kids??  So I've heard.

Addendum :

There was a brief moment between looking at houses and meeting the infamous Randi DeRoest and her family, where I was holding the cutest, snuggliest baby, and watching Charles hit it off so well with Randi's husband Brent, that I thought, "Yeah.  I could see myself living here.  I could totally join this group and have friends already! I mean, Randi even let me meet her WITHOUT her eye makeup being on."  If that's not a sign of true friendship, I don't know what is.

When the kids were in bed we watched "In Time" and played "Minute to Win It."  It was pretty entertaining.  Here's Kare using a banana tied to her beltloop to hit the marbles up over the ramp and into the box.  She did it.

And here's Charles moving a feather down his body (with no hands) and catch it in the can clipped on his pants.

He had to do this one twice.  Yep.  He's got skills.

Then on the last day we were there, Charles had his interview then we headed back to the airport once he was done.  Unfortunately no excitement at the airport this time.  The interview went well, and they offered him the job.  But after seeing how dysfunctional things seemed to be there, he decided that the grass may not always be greener.  The trip was fun, but it ultimately just helped Charles to gain a little more perspective and be happier where he's at.

This is WHY I am a great match for Charles...

Charles had a job interview in Sierra Vista AZ where Kare and Curtis live.  I decided to go with him.  Our flight was scheduled to leave at 8:02 PM.  This was our schedule working backwards, so we'd know what time to leave our house.

8:02- Take off
7:02- Be there to check-in an hour early
6:32- Find parking, walk to a shuttle stop, wait for shuttle, ride shuttle to a million stops, wait for shuttle to take us to the right terminal
5:55- Drive from Mom and Dad's to the airport
5:30- Drop off kids and get them settled.
5:15- Leave home to drive kids to Mom and Dad's.

Can you tell where this blog post is going?  Well get ready...

So. I was excited to have a quick Friday - Monday getaway with Charles. Or, I knew I SHOULD be excited.  But for some reason I was in this weird funk.

I wasn't in the mood to do anything.  I didn't want to clean my house the way I usually do before a trip.  I didn't want to pack our stuff.  I didn't want to pack the stuff for the kids.  I didn't want to plan what we'd do when we were there.  I didn't want to find a good book to take along.  I just didn't want to do anything.

So I just did the essentials.  I packed.  The house was a mess, and I didn't care.  I made no plans, and I didn't care.  I was going to have the perfect chance to sit and read a book on the flight, but I didn't care.  It was just such an empty feeling.

But even though I was feeling this way, my head was telling me to snap out of out of it and wake up!  So I said a little prayer, asking for help for me to stop being lame and get excited and not miss out on the joy of this rare opportunity.

4:30
So, Charles got home from work, looked around at the mess that was our home and I just shrugged and said, "We're packed. Let's go." We didn't need to leave for another 45 minutes, but I just felt done being in my house.  Charles got ready and then we left.

4:55
We left our house and drove the kids to my Mom and Dad's.  After getting them all settled in, and car seats moved and then visiting for a while, I just felt done again.  I was ready to leave, but still not feeling happy or excited.

5:25
We left my mom and dad's and started our drive to the airport.  I knew we were early, and kept thinking how about how bored I was going to be just sitting there at our gate waiting to get on the plane.  And then I thought about how bored I was going to be waiting for it to take off. It would probably be delayed... such was always my luck.  Man, I really had a bad attitude!

5:40
Since I knew we were going to have to sit and do nothing at the airport, I suggested we stop and get dinner now, instead of at the airport. Plus it would be cheaper.  So we stopped at McDonalds.  I thought we would go in and eat, and just sit and talk.  But Charles thought we should just go through the drive-thru and keep on driving.  I couldn't help but think, So typical!  Always wanting to be way too early, never wanting to relax and just take his time on something!

6:05
We pulled into the airport long-term parking lot and started our search for a spot.  Charles has been on a ton of business trips this past year and so he knows the parking lot well.  He mentioned that it must be busier than usual because the cars were extended further out in the lot than he had ever seen it. It took us about 5 minutes just to find a spot.

6:10
I gave a heavy sigh, bored already, not looking forward to sitting on my butt doing nothing.  Charles looked at me and said, "Shall we?" I said, "Sure," and reached around my seat for my purse.  I kept reaching... and reaching...
"Oh NO!  My Purse! It's at Mom and Dad's!"  (It takes about 35 minutes with no traffic to get from the airport to my parents' house.)  Charles just looked at me and said, "Are you kidding me?! Do you really not want me to interview for this job?"  I looked at the clock and said, "Go! We can make it!"

So he turned the car around, and I called my dad to see if he could meet us halfway and bring my purse.
"Hello?"
"Dad! I need you to do me a HUGE favor.  We're at the airport, but we're coming back.  I left my purse at your house and I need my ID to get on the plane.  Can you grab it and meet us halfway?"
"Yeah.  Hold on... (muffled voice) I'm gonna have to go ahead and cancel that cod.  I have to leave right now."
Ohhhh... I felt bad.  He was taking everyone out to dinner!
"Crissy?  You still there?  I'll call you back when I have the purse.  Any idea where it is?"
"Yeah, I think it's on the counter."
"Okay I'll call you back."

I felt terrible about forgetting my purse.  I felt bad that my dad had to leave his dinner.  I felt bad that I might make us miss our flight.  I really was looking forward to this trip, and now I might have cost us a whole 12 hours or so of our mini-trip if we didn't make it.

I expected Charles to get upset.  I expected him to say something along the lines of "Typical Crissy... never on time. blah blah blah blah blah."  Or worse, I expected the silent treatment.  But he did neither of those things.  He spoke normal to me and drove fast.

I texted Kare to let her know what was going on.  She responded... "You hate me."

My dad called back, said he had the purse and was heading down the highway.  We decided that we would get to 9000 S. at about the same time, but he would get there just before so he could swing around and have the purse ready for us to just grab from the window without even stopping.

I looked at the clock.  This could work!  This could actually work!  We might make it, after all!

6:32
I see Dad.  He has turned off the highway onto 9000 S, made a U-turn and is waiting for us to follow, make the hand-off and keep on going.  We are just about to his car when I see him get out of the car, with both hands up in the air as he shrugs and shakes his head. 

I smiled and thought, Oh Dad, always making a joke.  Pretending like he forgot it too...

We pulled up next to him, and he pulls out a purse.  Not my purse...  My mom's purse.  "I'm sorry!  I just grabbed the purse on the counter and ran out the door.  But when I got here I actually looked at it and... it's the wrong purse!"

I couldn't help it.  I busted out laughing.  What were the odds?  There was no way now for us to make it, so all you can really do is laugh.  And... it WAS funny.  Sometimes I see humor in situations before everyone else.  Mostly when I am the cause of the stress to begin with.

We tell Dad it's okay, and we take off back onto the highway to go get the purse ourselves.

6:40
We pull up to Mom and Dad's house and Charles grabs the purse while I make a phone call to Delta.

I ask if the plane is on time.  Of course it is.

I ask if it is the last flight to Tucson.  Of course it is.

I ask if he can notify our flight crew that we are coming and not to leave without us!  Of course not.

In fact, he tells me that if we are not checked-in by 40 minutes before take-off (7:22), they will begin to give our seats away.

He asks me how far away we are.

I tell him 35 minutes.

He says we might make it.

I tell him we have to park our car.

He says,  "Oh.  I can put you on a flight in the morning."

Then I ask him if he can check us in over the phone, so they know we're coming.

He tells me that if we both have a smart phone, we can do it ourselves.

Only Charles has an iPhone.  So we decided that even though our odds were terrible, we had nothing else to do, so we went for it.  I checked Charles in on his phone, and we hoped that it would be enough for them to wait as long as they could for that missing passenger. 

7:15
We arrived at the airport and somehow found parking in that first minute.  But not before the shuttle just passed our stop.  We hurried and grabbed all our luggage, and waited for the next shuttle.  It only took a few minutes.

7:18
We got on and rode the zigzag pattern of stops, up and down each aisle of the parking lot.  About 8 stops.  Then we were off for the terminals.  Lucky us, we were the last terminal, and the last stop.  After the 1st stop, we realized that everyone but us had gotten out.  But our driver (Pat) was just sitting there twiddling her thumbs.  So Charles got up, walked to the front and explained the situation.  Pat said we would be fine, but was also kind enough to skip the next stop and take us straight to ours at the end.

7:26
We jumped off the shuttle and I ran ahead, with my credit card in hand ready to check myself in at the nearest kiosk.  I got to the point where it says to print my boarding pass.  But then big letters starting flashing on the screen.  TOO LATE FOR BOARDING PASS. PLEASE SEE A DELTA ATTENDANT.

So I ran to the nearest attendant at the desk.  I blurted out what the screen said, and they sent me to the attendant on the far end of the counter... the opposite direction of security.  The lady there checked me in, handed me a boarding pass, and told me to RUN.  Like I needed that advice!

7:29
I put my flip flop wedges in my hand and I took off toward Security in bare feet.  Charles had all the luggage and his computer bag and was keeping up pretty well.  Security would be the real test.  If there was a short line, we might just make it.  If it was long, then we were screwed.

It was a  miracle.  No line.  Only the people already taking off their shoes and emptying their pockets.  We grabbed some bins and started going through the drill.  Taking the computer out of the bag, all our less than 3 oz. toiletries, out shoes, jewelry, phones, change, I.D.s, boarding passes etc...

Then I was randomly chosen for the search I had the air blown on me, and then got frisked by the beeper stick.  The security lady was very pleased with herself to find a gum wrapper stuck in the corner of my pocket.  Watch out! 

7:33
Once we collected our stuff back together, I kept my shoes in my hands along with my boarding pass and purse and took off running to a screen to tell us which gate.  We could make it!  We could make it!

Charles asked  me if it said the Gate number on my boarding pass.  It said E77.

Holy Crap.

The E gates were the furthest gates in the airport!  They are way down on one end.  So we ran.  And ran.

We passed the A and B gates and got to the first walking escalator and I thought, "nah, I'm faster than that!"  So I ran beside it.  By the time I got to the end of it, Charles had caught up to me, and I was sweaty and out of breath.  But we kept running.

We passed the C and D gates.  At the next walking escalator I got smart and got on it.  "Excuse me!  Pardon Me!  On your left!"  And just so you know... Those tiny strips of metal on the escalators KILL bare feet.

Just as we arrived at the E gates, Charles stopped us and said, "Wait.  Something's not right here.  These are all international flights.  This can't be the right gate."  So he went to check a screen. I didn't have a chance to look before Charles punched the air and said, "B-12!  I knew it!"

7:40
So we turned around and started running the opposite direction, back to the B gates.  Back through the escalator, back through the next escalator, turning at the B Gates.  And of course B-12 is one of the last gates in the Bs.

We're about to take an escalator down to a lower floor of B gates, when Charles decided to double check with another Delta guy.

The attendant looks on his computer and says "Tucson?  You're at E-77."

7:47
That's when Charles said, "Nope. I'm out."  Charles was red, and sweaty, and hadn't had time to tie his shoelaces after going through security, and had broken one of them.  I asked the Delta guy to call our gate and tell them we are coming.  He said to run. Why do they always state the obvious?  So said, "C'mon Charles!  We can do it!" And I took off without him.  I ran as fast as I could, without looking back.  My bare feet pounded the floor and the escalator.  I wondered what the people sitting down must have thought, seeing us run by not once, not twice, but three times.  Hmmm, maybe there is some entertainment to be had while sitting and waiting at an airport.  I ran my heart out.  And I made great time.

7:52
I made it to the E gates, back where we had turned around, and then I had to find 77.  THE LAST GATE.  When I got to the desk, I noticed there were 2 people in line.  I thought, "Sweet!  There's still people boarding!"

So I look around for Charles, he's not here yet.  I let a few people pass me... he's not here yet.  So then I think I should at least let them know we are here.

I give the lady my pass and she says, "You're going to Tucson?!"  I'm a little surprised because she had JUST let like 5 other people board.  I say "yes..." and she says, "Is everyone here?  And I don't mean in the airport, I mean HERE HERE?!"  I looked back just as Charles was rounding the corner and making his way down the hall.  I told her yes, and she gave me a very wary look.

Then she got on her phone and said, "I'm sending 2 more." I don't know what the big deal was, until she opened the door... not to small walkway that connected to a plane.  It was a very very long hallway that had 24 doors, each leading to a plane.  Our plane was all the way at the end of that hallway... Door number 24.

7:57
We made it to our door, and walked out to our plane.  We had to check our luggage with an attendant, and then climb the ramp to board our plane.

7:58
We found our seats.  There was a lady in Charles' seat when we got there, who was hoping to have a little extra space to spread out.  Sorry Charlie!  Back to your own seat!

We sat down and started to concentrate on our breathing. We did it!  Holy crap, we did it!

I turned to Charles and said, "With 4 minutes to spare."

Our faces were deep red, we were dripping in sweat and we both smelled of terrible B.O.  I was so amazed, and excited and giddy.  I couldn't believe it.  I wanted to grab my camera to document that moment, but Charles was not quite ready to celebrate.  My picture would have been me with a huge smile and 2 thumbs up.  Charles' picture would have been... not so smiley... and his finger choice might not have been the thumbs.  So I gave him a few minutes.  Instead, I texted my Dad and Kare to give them the miraculous news.  I had to make it quick because we were supposed to have already turned our cell phones off.  And it was a good thing we weren't flying over any oceans because we had missed that little safety spiel too.  We took off right on time and landed on time.

So the moral of the story is...

God has a sense of humor.  I wanted to get out of my funk and feel excited, and my prayer was answered.  You have no idea the pure joy I felt when we made that hopeless flight.  That picture above, is me flying on Cloud 9.  Absolutely ecstatic.

But just to help Charles out with his own sense of humor at that point, I let him know that this was all part of my plan.  A plan to let him get out to feel alive.  To not be so responsible and predictable. To not be half an hour early ALL the time.  To take a risk, and to not always know what the outcome will be.  To make his airport experience a little less mundane.  To add some thrill and excitement to his life.  I did it for Alli when she and I flew to Tucson last year, and I knew I should do it for him too.  It's just the kind of person I am.  And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why we make a great pair.  It's all about balance.  The End.

FYI

If you are following this blog by using my private address (asoccistory.blogspot.com) it may be hard for you to keep up.  I have been posting new things, but in earlier months, (to keep things in chronological order) so it's hard for you to know when I have posted, AND you have no feed for the private blog.  If you add my old public blog (charlesandcrissy.blogspot.com) to your feed, my new posts will show up in your feed, in the order that I actually post them, regardless of the month in which they actually end up.  In other words... FOLLOW charlesandcrissy.blogspot.com to make it easier and click on the link from there. Sorry for the confusion. :)

Jaden's Fundraiser

Jaden:  Mom?  Can I ask you a favor?
Me:  Sure. What's up?
Jaden:  So, can you make a bunch of cookies and then freeze them for me and Jackson to sell outside our house?
Me:  For what? (I'm so sure he's wanting to buy some new expensive Lego set)
Jaden:  We were thinking we could sell cookies and then give you some money to pay you back for the supplies, and then give the rest to some poor people, and the orphanages, and maybe to the sick kids at the Primary Hospital?
Me:  (Shocked) Um... yeah!  Sure, I can do that. (How can you say no to that?)
Jaden:  Really?  Thank you!!

Thus began "The Neighborhood Cookie and Otter Pop sale for the Primary Children's Hospital."  I had to try and shift their focus a little because I wasn't sure I wanted them just handing out money in the streets of downtown SLC, and there's not really any orphanages these days, so they agreed to keep it just for Primary Children's.

The kids chose a date, planned out what to sell and for how much, and then put it into a flyer.

 

I tried REALLY HARD not to interfere with their plans or ideas.  I wanted them to do things exactly how they wanted... for the most part.  I bit my tongue with the spelling, the grammar and the alignment of their flyer.  It was how they wanted it.  I did however, talk them down from selling cookies for $5 each. Haha!  And in case you were wondering about the "frozen" cookies, they said that it was hot outside, and so people would want their cookie frozen. 

Jaden and Jackson recruited Kaleb and another friend, Kisaac, to help out. They copied 200 little flyers and cut them out to tape on everyone's door in the neighborhood.  They also made bigger ones for the mailboxes, and more signs to hang on the back of their bikes.

These kids were so motivated.  I asked Jaden if he wanted me to put anything about it on the Ward Facebook page, and he was like, "Great idea, Mom!"

Two days before the big event, Jaden, Kaleb and Jackson piled into the van to go deliver their flyers.  This was one of my proud moments as a mom.  It was so stinkin' hot, and these kids had like 200 hundred houses to go to.  They were walking up and down the streets, while Maria (Jackson's mom) and I kept an eye on them in the nice air-conditioned car.  I drove while she put tape on the flyers. 

After 5 or 6 streets only my boys were the only ones left actually doing the work.  Their faces were red, and sweaty, they were getting sunburned, and they were tired.  Thank goodness I had a bunch of bottled water in the trunk.  They would come to the car for a gulp or to just pour it on their heads.  I could see how hard this was getting, so I told them that they've probably done 100.  And that 100 was great!  They didn't need to do the rest.  But they just kept saying, "No. It's okay.  We can do this." 

After about 150 houses, Jaden started to get mad, and said, "Jackson, you need to get back out here!"  But he just said, "No.  It's too hot.  I'm done."  So then Maria went out and did some too.  Again, I told them they didn't need to finish, but Kaleb and Jaden just kept on going.  Kaleb!  My skinny little 5 year-old, Kaleb was out sweatin' in the heat, not quitting!  This was one of those moments, where I realized what hard workers my boys can be.  I started to wonder where they got it from, because given the chance to quit, I know, I would have taken it!  Thank goodness they have a lot of their father in them.

When there was one street of about 6 houses left, I talked Jackson into doing them, and my boys climbed into the car and just collapsed.  I was kind of feeling like a bad mother for not forcing them to stop.  But then as soon as we got home, Jaden came up behind me and gave me a huge hug and thanked me for taking them out to do this.  Again, I was shocked.  All I did was cruise around the neighborhood in my air-conditioned van, while watching my poor kids try not to die from heat exhaustion! And he was thanking ME?!

The next day was Sunday, the day before the big sale.  We spent a few hours baking big Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Only 6 on a pan.

The kids also sold Mint Oreos, 3 for a dollar.

The kids pre-bagged the oreos.  We also filled the freezer with Otter Pops, and Maria and Jackson were at their house making the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies.

Monday was the big day.  They hung their signs and set up their table.  They used a fisher price cash register to collect the money, and they had 2 big ice chest full of ice, otter pops and a few piles of cookies.  More neighborhood kids showed up to help.  They were so excited.  The hardest part was the waiting.  They would get so antsy, they wanted to know if they could start knocking doors.  I told them their advertisement was great, and they just needed to be more patient.

Whenever a person showed up, they would yell, "It's a customer!  It's a customer!"  After the transaction, they would say, "Thank you for your donation to the Primary Children's Hospital!"

Grandma and Grandpa came to support the boys too.  Not only did they leave a donation of over twice their price, they had also given Jaden a little seed money to get started with the supplies.  They're so great!

During the slow times, Jaden started giving away the cookies to his friends for helping.  I told him he needed to wait till we closed because we didn't want to run out.  I told him to just give his friend otter pops for now.

About an hour later I caught them all eating cookies again.  When I asked what was going on, they all pointed to Jaden.  Jaden said, "What? They did a dare!  I had to!"

Some families would actually send one of their kids to come and buy treats for the whole family.  That was nice.  And after a few hours of open business, the boys became restless, and wanted to ride their bikes around the neighborhood so they could "Spread the word," or "Spread the truth!"  Haha!  And they did.  I couldn't stop them.  They rode around yelling, and also knocking doors.  Some people even told them they would buy, if the kids would deliver.  After the first delivery, they got the idea to offer their delivery services to everyone.  My poor neighbors!

So while they were gathering  orders to get ready to deliver, Charles asked one of the boys if they wanted a grocery bag to carry everything in.  Then he told the boy, "Make sure you charge an extra 50 cents for the bag, and 2 dollars for the delivery!"  Haha!

One of our new neighbors, came out with his family and was messing with the kids.  It was funny!  He would try to haggle with them.  Then he told them that what really got him to come out was their Facebook marketing strategy. 

Since the sale went till 8 at night, we decided these kids needed to have dinner so we went and got a bunch of pizzas and crazy bread.  The kids were so surprised and excited.

The kids had a blast playing together... not like they don't do it everyday anyway...  Towards the end, they decided to slash their prices.  Cookies for a quarter!  Jaren Rodeback (age 11?) came and got a few.  Then he came back later for more.  Charles saw him walking away and asked him, "So did they cut you a sweet deal?"  He said, "No.  They raised their prices back up."  Haha!  So I guess I don't know what really went on behind the cash register.  But I didn't care. This was THEIR thing.

It was really fun to see how awesome and supportive our ward and neighbors are.  We also met new faces, and had fun chatting.

When it was over, there really wasn't that many cookies left.  Everyone got one and was happy.

Then everyone wanted to know how much they made.  Their grand total was $167.  Not bad considering everything they sold was either 50 cents or a dollar.

I'm so proud of these kids.  We're still trying to figure out the best way to give the money so that it will be the most meaningful to these kids.  Apparently you can't just walk into the Hospital with a jar of money and hand it to them.  They want you to do it online.  But we're looking into at least touring the hospital so they can have a better idea of the good that they did.

Jackson and Jaden: the minds behind this whole thing

I'm one proud Momma. :)