The first annual Case family WII tournament!

Josh was off today, and the kids are still off from school, so we held a WII tournament.  Josh spent some time over the last week trying to figure out what games we could play that would allow everyone in our family to enjoy playing.  I think he did a good job, but it is real hard to keep everyone happy and excited...

It was so much fun watching Josh try and help Catalina and Savannah to do some of the games.  Josh would stand/kneel behind the girls trying to help them last longer in their games.  The whole day was a lot of fun, but it took a lot longer to do than we thought it would, and so we will have to actually finish the tournament another day.  Today we got it down to the final four.  And were as I had a lot of fun, I wish that I had not done quiet as well.  I made it to the final four, but I would gladly give up my spot to my sweet 9 year old who didn't quiet make the cut...  I am so glad that Josh came up with the idea for a consolation round. 

Servant!!!

That would be my new name that my three year old has given me.  It started yesterday at lunch.  I had just finished "talking" to the kids about listening to me and not fighting anymore.  I was in the middle of getting everyone lunch when Catalina blurts out... "Get me my water Servant"!!!  And then she giggled...  She did it again at dinner... "Get me a spoon Servant"!!!  And another giggle.  Today's was...  "Where is my salad Servant"???  I am beginning to think it is a game for her...  But it is hard to be mad when she is so darn cute and giggling :)

Why!Why!Why???

I know it wont come as shock to most of you, but I have six kids.  And for the last 11 days they have been on spring break (and they still have 5 more days left).  We have gone and done a few fun things, and I hope to get in some more fun activities before they go back to school, but today I thought that we would just have a down day.  I had a lot I need to get done for a meeting I had this evening.  I wasn't making them do chores or anything, but for some reason today has been a day of grumpiness!  Kids picking on each other, fighting and a lot of complaining...  Some of it going on for A LONG time...  But it only seems to be for me.  The kids are perfectly happy to get along when their dad is home, but as soon as he leaves, the grumpy monster comes running back!!!  Why???  Why do they have to fight when I am home???  I would be more than happy for them to get along...

Catalina's Prayer

Josh and I decided that I would blog Cat's prayer tonight since he did a blog on Cat more recent than me...  Her prayer tonight was too cute not to blog...

Catalina's prayer (as best we can remember it three hours later)...

Heavenly Father,  please bless Jesus, cause he a nice guy, even though he died once for a few years.  And we don't see him very much anymore, except in heaven, cause that's were he lives now.  And that is true, cause the Holy Ghost tells us whats true.  And He tells us if someone is lying.  And I learned that in church. Amen...

Got to love Catalina!!!

On another note...  Apparently Catalina told her aunt several months back that she couldn't pick up Myra, because Myra was talking with angles...  She later went to her aunt and said that Myra was done talking and her aunt could now pick her up!

Something New

I learned something new about my husband this week...  He has never had apples with peanut butter on them!?!?!  It's not that he doesn't like peanut butter either.  He likes it, he has just never had it on an apple.  I was blown away by this.  So it got me thinking that maybe I'm just weird, and no one really eats apples with peanut butter on them...

"Hide and Seek"

It always amazes me how young kids are when you start to see their personality.  And how different each child is.

This afternoon Myra decided to pick on me.  Josh Jr. and I were reading books (not to each other or out loud, but both reading a book) when Myra got "stuck".  Myra had been playing with the toys on her bouncer...  now mind you, she wasn't "IN" the bouncer, because where is the fun in that, but she was standing up next to the bouncer to play with the toys...  She had pushed her way in between the wall and her bouncer to reach a certain toy...  And she got "stuck"!  And she began to cry a little while looking at me, as if to say "Help!  I can't move!"...  So I had Josh Jr.  move the bouncer away from the wall a little so that Myra would have more room to play...  But that was not what she wanted...  So she continued to to her little cry for help while looking at me...  Now at this point I knew that she was not stuck, but she continued to cry like she was.  I gave in and got up to "save" her.  But before I went to Myra I stopped to pick up something and put it on the counter.  When I turned around (like 10 seconds later) Myra was gone!  She had gotten down and crawled behind the rocking chair next to the bouncer and was "Hiding" from me!

Denver

Me and the kids went up to Denver today with some great friends.  We went to the Denver Aquarium.  We were probably crazy because there were 4 adults and 13 children, with Josh Jr. at 11 being the oldest!  Of course 6 out of those 13 kids were mine...  so maybe it's just me that is crazy :)  It turned out to a wonderful day, even though the place was CRAZY packed full with TONS of people!!!  All the kids were good and very helpful.  The only sad thing...  I forgot my camera :(  And the camera on my phone would not work either, so no pictures...  I think Catalina's favorite part was meeting the mermaids!  She was so excited, she even got out of the stroller for it :) 

Poem

I came across a couple poems I wrote in college.  I thought I'd share one...

The Scars Of Life

The scars began to form in the early years of life. Brought about from enduring experiences of strife.  In Eternity the plan was set for what this life would hold.  Set in stone to build the soul for blessings to unfold.  The first scalpel to pierce this soul left marks beyond compare. Yet hidden behind much humor, it seemed no pain was there.  What brought about the second scar began as an innocent game.  But quickly ended when terror struck and tears of anguish came.  The next scar to arrive nearly delayed Eternal progression.  Sit back, relax, no need to fear, this scar was not transgression.  The most recent scar to mark this soul stands far above the rest.  Though nearly two years have come and gone, this scar is still a test.  The nights that followed the day it came left the soul no way to turn.  The body was chipped and left alone, wishing for life to soon return.  These scars began quite early in life, and will continue until the end.  But with the scars have come the blessings sent down from a Heavenly Friend.

Dinosaur Feet!

Here are some missed pictures (and story).  Catalina had to make dinosaur feet for preschool.  She didn't want to wear them when we first made them...  In fact I had to bribe her to try them on.  But after having them at school for a week or so she was happy to wear them for me.

If you are wondering...

I have been blogging for over a year now...  Not every day for a year (although I have every day so far for this year).  And if you look back at my early posts...  Even posts  from just a month ago you would see LOTS of pictures!  So you might be wondering why there have been so few lately...  It's not that the things I have posted haven't warranted pictures.  And it's not because I don't have pictures to show.  I have taken lots of pictures!  I have even downloaded them to my computer...  Just not the computer that I have been typing my posts on...  I have been using a laptop a lot lately (while we are watching Scrubs), and there are no pictures on it.  So forgive me for not posting pictures...  One of these days I will go back in and either put the pictures in with the posts, or just do a BIG post on just pictures...  Maybe :) 

Zoo Day!

We spent the day at the zoo today... and I mean the DAY!  We got up to the zoo a little after 11 this morning, and we didn't leave until almost 5pm.  But it was a fantastic day!  We went with my brother and his family, and my mom.  In total there were 15 of us there.  We were able to see a ton of animals and have a lot of fun with family.  We even got to ride the Sky Ride three times (that is three times up and three times down)!  It was a great day (even if Myra peed all over Josh's leg), and a great way to start Spring Break!

I wonder why...

I wonder why we have so many baby toys sometimes...  Maybe it's because we have so many kids :)  But actually I wonder why we have soooo many toys, when my baby would rather play with a box, or a bottle of soda...

This evening as Josh and I were talking in the family room, Myra chose to play with cereal boxes and a 2 liter of soda when her "PILE" of toys was just a few feet away.  And she didn't just play for a couple of minutes, it was a good half an hour or forty-five minutes that she was content to play with the boxes...  So why do we have so many toys???

Does the thought count???

I spent this afternoon with my father trying to get my husbands car home...  it has been stuck in Larkspur on the side of the road since Thursday evening...  We were finally able to get it running and home, YAY, after many hours and several trips to Sears...  Between the first and second trip to Sears, we ran across the street to Walmart to do some shopping, since we had an hour to spare...  While we were waiting for a light, I noticed the young man standing with a sign saying "Need help!  Traveling, No Food,  Hungry!"  There was a young woman across the street as well with a sign...

I always would like to help people in need, but I have to admit that I really don't want to just give them money...  But what can you do to help???  As we were shopping my dad and I talked about it some.  And we finally decided that we would buy a loaf of bread, some peanut butter, and some jelly to give to the guy on the corner...

We were only in Walmart maybe a half of hour.  We packaged up the food, and then started to decided which of the two young people we would give the food too.  But wouldn't you know it, they were both gone!  So does the thought count???

Myra is 9 months old!!!

I know what you are thinking... NO WAY!  But it is true.  Myra is 9 months old today.  It has been a great nine months.  She is such a joy to our family.  I can safely say that EVERYONE loves Myra!  I have a couple of cute video's of Myra from today, but I still don't know how to post them to my blog.  So if you want to see them you will have to go to my facebook page (I only have one up right now, but I will post the other tomorrow).

So here is the run down on Myra...

Myra is a mover!  There is no where safe to hide from her :)  She speed crawls everywhere, and if you turn your back or close your eyes for even a minute she will be gone...

Myra also tries to walk...  With help from, well anything!  She will grab your leg and try to hold on as you walk...  She will walk along the furniture and walls as well...

Myra has stood with NO help for a good 15 seconds, maybe longer (I didn't time it, to busy be amazed by my sweet angel)...

Myra has a new fun game...  OK she thinks it is fun, but Daddy is not so sure...  She takes ALL the CDs off of all the shelves she can reach!  They often end up in the trash too...  mostly because the trash can is under the shelves she is pulling CDs off of...  She pulls the movies off too, but I think she prefers the CDs...

Myra is still not sleeping through the night :(  But she is down to getting up just once, and if I am fast enough on the bottle she will usually drink it and go right back to sleep... 

Myra still loves food.  She mmmms while you are feeding her...  Even baby food!  And she is starting to get vocal if you are eating around her and not sharing! 

Myra is still long and thin...  Not sure on actually weight, but I will get that here soon...

Myra still has what I would call Red hair!!!  Still not a lot, but enough that you can make a good mohawk.  Let's hope the red lasts :)

Myra still has blue eyes too... Also hope they last!

Myra is still the most loved (on) baby ever!!!

Why does it always happen at night???

I'm not talking sick kids (although that did happen last night), or natural disasters (even though those do seem to happen during the night more often than not)...  No what I am talking about is a certain car that likes to stop running...  after it's dark!  I blogged about "Jazzmine" last year (you can go here if you want to read it)http://jandkcase.blogspot.com/2010/01/jasmin.html.  Last January when I had the fun adventure it turned out to be the alternator.  And Josh was able to replace it with the help of my dad, and our good friend Tony.  In doing this they removed the power steering reservoir (because it was in the way and cracked, so it didn't really do anything...  or so we thought).  This was last January/early February...  After that the can ran great.  It still didn't have power steering, but it was a good work out for the upper arms to drive with out.  I just made sure not to park anywhere where it would be tight to back out...

Now fast forward to the end of August/early September...  Josh went up to Denver with my brother Bob, his son Alex, and our two boys to watch some Bronco training thing...  They are headed home after a long fun evening in the Mile High City...  And I get a call telling me that the car had died...  And they are sitting on the side of I-25.  And of course it is dark!  I quickly loaded up the youngest three girls (luckily Brooklyn was sleeping over at a friends) and headed up to pick up people, while Josh stayed with the car until his dad could get there and tow him home.  This time it was the serpentine belt...  Or more correctly it was the crank that turned the serpentine belt.  See it turns out that the power steering fluid was actually lubricating the crank as well as providing power steering...  So Josh and my dad had to go find a new power steering reservoir...

Josh did find what he needed to fix the car, and with the help of my dad and many hours of labor, Jazzmine was up and running again...  Now let's fast forward to this evening...  I skipped the Relief Society Birthday dinner (even though I made part of the meal) to go to the Temple with a friend for her birthday.  Josh mentioned to me a couple days ago when we started to figure things out for tonight, that the battery light for his car was coming on sometimes when he drove...  He also said I should/could just take the van to Denver.  But I didn't want to leave Josh without a car big enough to take everyone all afternoon/evening.  Plus he had to take the food I made to the church!

So I took Jazzmine up to Denver...  And I will admit that in the back of mind was the thought that his car was going to die on me, and that I would be stuck on the side of I-25 with a dead car...  But I have a VERY active imagination and figured I was just being a worry wart...  One of these days I promise I will get better at listening to the still small voice...  So I went to Denver today.  Went to the Temple and got to catch up with a friend I haven't seen in a while...  We got out of the Temple about 5:50...  Now if I had just come home then it wouldn't have been dark...  And I could have still gone to part of the RS dinner...  But I went to dinner with my friend and her family...  Now it is 7pm as I am heading home...  And it's not dark yet...  But I have my head lights on so that other can see me...  I got to just south of Castle Rock when I notice the radio was cutting in and out...  Like when I used my turn signal...  Then the odometer stopped working (sounding familiar ???)  Oh and I had no head lights...  And then wouldn't you know it, the whole car died!  Yep, right there on I-25!  And now it was Dark!!!!

I called Josh, and my dad, and they both came to the rescue.  And I am home safe and sound...  Jazzmine is in a dirt field in Larkspur, because she wouldn't hold a charge longer than 5 to 10 minutes.  We have the battery and going to charge it over night, and hopefully tomorrow we can get Jazzmine home.  But we are back to where we were 14 months ago...  What do we do???  What is wrong with Jazzmine???  And is she just too old and we need to look into something else???  But the real question is...  Why does it always happen at night???

Josh Jr.'s Thoughts

Josh Jr. was talking to me tonight (trying to stall on going to bed).  He was telling me that when he is older and rich and famous (for his fantastic restaurant) and when Josh and I are old and unable to you know move and what not (like 90... his words not mine) that he is going to invent a recliner that has everything...  including a toilet, cause you know we can't move...

Of course Josh Jr., you know you will be 66 when I am 90...  Maybe YOU will need the chair :)

St. Patrick's Day Parade

Colorado Springs does a St. Patrick's Day Parade on the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day.  Progressive does a float for the parade.  Last year Josh walked in the parade...  And I took the kids (and my sister) to watch the parade.  The St. Patrick's day was last Saturday.  Josh was planning on walking in the parade again, however he was sick and not up for it.  The kids, apparently, LOVED the parade last year.  They have asked almost a dozen times about the parade and if we had missed it.  The other day Ben was talking about the parade and how much fun it was last year...  And how how Josh was dressed up like a ....  CLOWN!  Josh was not dressed up like a clown... 

Josh's Game

I got to witness a few minutes of a game Josh plays with Myra this evening.  It was so cute to watch....

Josh takes Myra's pacifier from her and puts it in his teeth (the edge of it).  Then Myra pulls the pacifier out of his mouth and puts it into hers...  Josh then proclaims "Heeeyyy"!  And Myra giggles!  Every time!  It was so cute!

Prayers

Each evening we say prayers together as a family.  We have set nights for each person to pick who prays first (except for Myra, since she can't really pray yet).  After one person prays they get to pick the next person to pray.  If you are ever at our house during prayers you will mostly likely be called upon to pray.  At least once during the routine someone will ask "whose left".  When there is a long pause, we will often jump in with the list of whose left before the question can actually be asked. 

Tonight Catalina finished her prayer and did not immediately pick someone to pray (even though Savannah was the only person left).  We jumped in to tell Cat that Savannah was left and she replied with "Vannah, Duh!  I know she the only one left"!

Duh?!?!? 

Yoga

I have been doing some Yoga on the WII Fit the last couple days...Apparently Catalina has been doing Yoga in preschool as well.  Because as I do different Yoga moves she tells me the names she has learned for them.  I don't remember the actual names for the poses, but I remember the names for "Cat's poses".  There was the "bird", the "cat", the "dog", the "tree", and the "shark".  She even does the poses...  I will have to try to get it on camera, too funny!

Angels

I am so thankful for the Guardian Angels looking out for my family today!  My curious three year old decided to take her cute hair clip and put it into the electrical outlet this afternoon...  The result?  One very scared three year old, who was also VERY lucky! 

There were two cords actually plugged into the outlet, so I really don't know how she got something into the outlet.  The cord in the outlet that she played with was slightly burned, the outlet itself was slightly burned, and the fuse was blown.

But when I think of all the things that could have happened...  well it scares me.  I am so thankful that my sweet three year old was watched over this afternoon.

New Show

It seems like most of the shows Josh and I watch are on hiatis...  And so today we tried a new show...  OK it's not a new show, but it's one we haven't ever really watched, at least not on a regular basis...But I suspect we will catch up on them... 

Today we started watching "Scrubs"!   FUNNY!

Can't Breath!

I blogged almost two weeks ago that I was going to do a sleep study, to see if I had sleep apnea.  And I do have it...  Haven't actually heard back from the doctor yet about it, but during the sleep study they came in and woke me up to put me on C-Pap(???).  When I told Josh the experience of breathing on the C-Pap he about died laughing, and thought I should share.  So bear with me as I try to illustrate to you with words what it is like to breath on C-Pap...

I couldn't tell you what the little device looks like because it was the middle of the night and I had no contacts or glasses... and I don't think the lady really turned on the light.  But we went with a nasal device instead of a mask that covered my nose or nose and mouth.  The nasal thing went at the bottom of my nose and sealed off the openings.  It strapped on to my head some how (again not really awake and blind), and it had a chin strap to help keep my mouth closed.  Because you are suppose to breath only through your nose!  Not to hard... Really I do it all the time.  As I am writing this I have my mouth close and I am just breathing through my nose... and I have been for minutes!  But as the lady left me hooked up to this WEIRD thing that is pushing air into my nose, she told me to keep my mouth closed, and to just breath through my nose.

I think this it what it must
 have looked like, but not sure

I thought I was going to DIE!!!  I was going to suffocate.  I actually started to hyperventilate a little bit.  There was TOO much air going though my nose that I didn't know what to do.  I felt like I wasn't getting ANY air actually into my lungs.  And even though the lady told me to breath through my nose, I had to open my mouth and take a couple of big breaths!  But when you open your mouth with air being forced up your nose... the air just comes out your mouth!  I had to mentally calm myself several times through out the night.  Convincing myself that I could actually breath, and that I was not going to suffocate.  I don't know how I will be able to sleep with C-Pap on...

Pine Wood Derby

Tonight Ben had his second Pine Wood Derby.  He decided he wanted to make his car into a bus.  And a bus they did make!  They actually put two cars together to make the bus.  It turned out great.  Josh and Ben spent a lot of time into making a great "car".

The Pine Wood Derby was loud and fun.  The kids all had a great time.  Ben did not win, but you could tell he still had a great time.  Great job Ben!!!

Three Minutes...

What is three minutes???  Not much in the grand schme of things, but three minutes can make a world of difference...

Three minutes to tell your child a story...  Three minutes to read your email...  Three minutes to wash the table... Three minutes to boil water...  Three minutes to listen to a prayer... Three minutes to say good night... Three minutes to miss the bus...  Three minutes to hold a crying child...

Three minutes really isn't that much time.  I know for me that three minutes disappear all the time.  So how can three minutes make the difference in the day?  If someone smiles and says hello (way less than three minutes) it is easier to have a happy day.  A quick chat with a friend for three minutes can make the day great too.  And on the other hand kids fighting for three minutes (I wish mine only fought for three minutes) can turn a mood sour.

I had a doctor appointment this morning, and swear it seemed like the doctor was only in the room for three minutes, but it affected my whole day.  It put me in a sour, slightly grumpy mood, that I could just not shake today.  Three minutes!  I let three minutes bother me for the whole day!  What a waste of a day (and three minutes)...

Who is this for?

Sometimes I wonder...  :)

A Three Year Old's Math!

Today is Saturday!  Saturday means chores!  My kids hate chores!  But they love getting their allowance :)  Today my kids got their allowance for February (I know a little late, but not as late as January).  My oldest three kids get five dollars a month... if they do their chores...  My younger two girls get a dollar each month (they don't really do chores like the older ones, but they sure want an allowance).  When I handed out January's allowance I gave Savannah and Catalina each a dollar bill.  They both wanted more and traded their ONE dollar bill for FOUR quarters.

During the month of February my kids missed a Saturday of chores...  So every on was docked on their allowance.  So Catalina and Savannah only got THREE quarters today.  After I handed out the kids allowance, I got paid...  They all owed me money (long story... maybe another blog), so Catalina ended up with just TWO quarters (and she really shouldn't have had any, but her brother was nice and paid for her).  But Catalina was not happy with just Two quarters, so she went to the bank of "JOSH JR." to fix the situation.

Catalina know Josh Jr. has money.  She has often snuck some from his room, and he has been know to "Bribe" her on occasion.  So Catalina took her money problem to him (because she could quickly see she was going no where with mom).  Her problem today was that she wanted a dollar.  Josh Jr. tried to patiently teach her that she needed FOUR quarters to make a dollar, but she's three.  And she wanted a dollar!  So the sweet kids that he is, Josh Jr. traded Cat a dollar for her TWO quarters...  You'd think that would make her happy...  Nope!  "It's not fair I gave you TWO quarters, I only got ONE dollar.  It's not fair!" 

This went on for a little while, with Josh Jr. STILL trying to teach Cat that ONE dollar was worth more than Two quarters.  Catalina then switched to needing ONE quarter and ONE dollar (and remember she only started with TWO quarters).  Josh Jr. finally caved and gave her back a quarter with the "promise" that next month when they get their allowance Cat would give him back the THREE quarters he had now given her.  You' think that would make her happy...  Nope!  "It's not fair!  I need TWO dollars!  I had TWO quarters, but I want TWO dollars instead"!!!

Poor Josh Jr.  There was no way to make Catalina happy.  And here he was loosing his money to please her, and she just wanted more.  I finally told Josh Jr. to go find Catalina's bank and take out TWO dollars, and then give back her TWO quarters that she started with.  Finally we got a happy Cat!  At this point Josh Jr. and I decided that Catalina is going to be rich!!!

What do you mean???

I had a doctors appointment with a hand surgeon today... For my hand that I hurt back on the 6th playing Volleyball...  That's right it's still not better...  OK it is better, just not all the way.  And when I made the appointment a week and a half ago it was hurting a lot!  Since then it has only hurt a little, but I thought that it would be better to still go and have it looked at.  And the prognoses was that the doctor could see nothing physically wrong...  Which is good, except that it still hurts.  So I have two choices, run a bunch of expensive test (MRI's and what not) or try physical therapy...  We are going to go with physical therapy...  But the doctor asked at one point during his questions if there was numbness or tingling in my hand, and said once, on one finger.  But I thought about it later (after the doctors appointment)...  I often wake up with my hands numb...  Is that something the doctor would want to know???  I don't know...

Pictures of Estes Park

Sunset in Estes Park

I finally got around to down loading the picture from our trip. It was so much fun and so beautiful!!!  Thanks Josh for a wonderful "Weekstart"!  I Love You!

"Living Room"







"Sleeping Area"



"Kitchen"





Sunset in Estes Park



Home Sweet Home

I had planed to down load all the pictures we took the last couple of days and do a blog on them, but my sweet baby didn't go to bed as early as I thought she would, and I have run out of energy, so the picture will have to wait until tomorrow.

Josh and I got home this afternoon.  We actually made it home before the kids got home from school.  And I like to say that they were excited, but I'm not so sure...  Ben asked why we didn't stay for a week...  And Brooklyn bawled when her Aunt Jodie left...  Bawled!  For close to a half an hour...  Come to think of it she was still crying an hour after Jodie left...  She didn't cry for me...

It's nice to be home, even if it is LOUD (six kids will do that to you).  It was great to see all my kiddos again and to hold my baby, who has started this new crawling thing...  She doesn't like the feel of the kitchen floor on her knees.  I'm not sure if it only bare knees (she had crawled out of her pants and they hadn't made it back on yet) or if she will do it with pants on.  I am going to have to try and get a picture of it.  Instead of crawling on her hands and knees she tries to crawl on her hands and feet.  So funny.

Well it is nice to be home, and my wonderful bed is calling my name.  I am off to sleep...

Must be a guy thing!

Today was a beautiful day up in the mountains.  Josh and I spent several hours driving though Rocky Mountain National Park.  We even adventured onto a couple of short trail, even though they were snow packed, and I was silly and didn't pack any shoe that would work in snow...  Not sure what I was thinking there. 

But as we were driving Josh would go out of his way (almost) to drive though the wet and melting snow.  He would go as close to objects to "hit" the snow.  The bigger the splash the bigger the smile!  Now don't get me wrong, this is something I love about Josh.  It is very endearing, but it is not some thing I would do...  So is it a guy thing?