A Skeleton, Pirate & Princess ........................

Well this year we had Halloween on two nights. Friday night we had our ward Trunk or Treat at the church building. We were lucky enough that our friends saved us a great parking spot so that we could be next to them or we would have been out in the back of the lot.....THANKS Carrie and Ron!!! The ward Halloween Party was the best one we have ever been too. They had the traditional Chili cook off and also a pie/cheesecake cook off. I don't know why this one was different than the rest but I think what I liked was the way that everyone was arranged in the parking lot for the trunk or treating it was safe enough that the kids could basically just run around.....and they did!! I made Taco Soup and our favorite Lemon Cheesecake with a mixed berrie sauce drizzled on top. It was one of the cheesecakes that won in the cook off (I don't think there were that many homemade ones that came though)!! Then on Halloween night we went to Mesa and Trick or Treated and stopped at my mom's church for her trunk or treat. Cooper was at Halloween parties both evenings so no pictures of him.

Rob sat and passed out the candy while I went with the lil kids around from car to car.

Kenna was happy to hang out with her lil best friend Ady.

Walker was happy being a SCARY Skeleton!!

Carter and a group of kids dump their candy out in piles and did a swap. He found this to be SUPER FUN!

Walker went around and got his candy then was done and wanted to sit and eat it while all the rest of the kids were running the parking lot and trunk or treating all the cars again until the candy was gone.

The lil kids had soooo much fun both nights!!

Tanner and Michael

Tanner and Michael went and did their own thing with the rest of the teenagers at the ward Halloween Party.

ooooooooo............ scary Emo teenagers!!!!!!! On Halloween night Tanner went with Michael into Gilbert to hang out and Trick or Treat. I am glad this was the only time my son has painted his nails and put tattoos on and wore earrings and lip rings!!!!! Also glad he was worried that the nail polish would have to be something he could take off so that he would be able to pass the sacrament the next morning. :D

OUCH...........warning graphic pictures included

Well a few weeks back Rob called me while on his way home from working in Scottsdale and said he was done working but headed to drop his work truck off where he parks it then headed to the ER. He told me he had nearly cut his finger off and would I meet him and drive him to the ER. Ummmm.......WHAT!!! So that is what we did!



When I met up with him he had bandaged his hand up with a towel and had used black electrical tape to secure it to his arm so he could drive...The white towel had some blood on it but wasn't as bad as I had been expecting. As I was driving him to the ER and discussing what had happened he informs me that he didn't want to scare me on the phone but he actually cut three fingers and wasn't sure on how bad they all were because he never got the bleeding to stop!! Are you kidding me! So I am edgy and nervous now and he is a little light headed. When we are admitted back to the room and they go to take off the towel as each layer of towel in unrolled it is getting redder and redder! They finally get it open and it is poring blood out everywhere.....not dripping but gushing like you could put a cup under it and fill it up real quick!! I really expected a finger or two to just roll right on out of the towel on to the floor...thankfully that did not happen! So they put the blood pressure cuff on him and had him elevate his arms just so they could even get a look at it eventually. Finally they get the bleeding under control and they see that the pinkie finger will need stitches and the other two will heal without being stitched.

He had just installed a new microwave at a customers house and was putting the 10 year old slimy greasy one back in the box and haul it away when it started to slip, slide and fall toward the granite counter tops. So he was grabbing it anywhere possible and the metal on the back just sliced right through. He said there was a 3 foot wide splatter of blood across the ceiling and blood splattered on her white cabinets. He was at the sink trying to stop the bleeding when the homeowner(a lady in her late 60's)came in and and he was like "umm Mam I think I have a problem here!!" He asked her if she would get him some cleaning supplies so he could clean the mess up but she refused saying he needed to get to the hospital and she could drive him she was calm and helpful. After repeated attempts to clean his mess up he finally just left. This sweet lady called him the next morning to check in on him and see how he was. He again apologized about the mess and she said it was nothing 409 couldn't take care of. She also said her father was a DR. and when she was a little girl she went with him on calls and watched him do surgeries and stuff.


This is his pinkie finger after they got it cleaned up enough to see where they would be stitching. It sliced the pad of the finger nearly off




Well 7 big stitches later and we were all done. It has now healed up quite nicely thank goodness.

What I have been doing

Many years ago I fell in love with this entertainment center. This was the best picture I could find. (please ignore the kids)



I didn't care that it was off white and at the time I had three boys. One of which was very destructive. So destructive he has over the years carved his name it,carved extra lines and put extra lil holes in it, broke the baskets and shelves.....I loved it! So when we moved into this house it had to be taken apart in the move and I didn't want it put back together until I had time to paint it. I finally had time and let me tell you it took a lot of time to sand away the different varnishes and stuff that was on there. I am not done with decorating it with stuff yet. It is not perfect but I don't care I love it and that is all that really matters.

Painting the kitchen table and cabinets are in my future sometime. Wish me the time and luck I will need it.

Ahoy Matey's...............

We celebrated Walker's 5th birthday this last week! He wanted a pirate birthday party so that is what we had. He knew exactly who he was going to invite. He invited 5 lil boys from church and luckily all five came. I suggested a few girls from church and he said NO!!! We were low key in comparison to the parties Tanner and Cooper had in the years past but I think it still turned out to be fun.
Pirate Walker

We played pin the flag on the pirate ship.




We ate dinner. When I asked Walker what he wanted to have to eat at his party he said peanut butter sandwiches. I told him we could have what ever he wanted since it was his birthday so he thought about it........peanut butter sandwiches. I asked him if maybe we could have pizza or hotdogs since not everyone likes peanut butter and he agreed on hotdogs and macaroni and cheese. So my dad grilled the dogs and my mom made the mac. He had wanted a pirate cake that was chocolate with chocolate frosting and I knew there was no time for me to make him one so he setteled on pirate cupcake liners and pirate flag picks in the top. Somehow we didn't get a picture of the cupcake tower.

For some reason Carter put his hand in front of Walker's face when he was blowing out the candles.


We opened presents too. Walker has been wanting this gold Bionicle for months so he was thrilled to get it and the movie of it too.

He got a lot of different presents and loved them all!! YEA!!

We also had a pirate ship shaped pinata. The kids of course loved this!!


I didn't think about where we would hang it so Tanner gladly helped out.........
and also made it a lot harder for his brothers to hit the pinata.

We also had a treasure hunt which the kids enjoyed. I wish we would have gotten a picture of the treasure chest filled with the booty! I had filled it with the treat bags. Pirate Tanner was a good helper to me that day. He had early release and he helped with the decorations/streamers and many other things.

Pirate Kenna enjoys Walkers toys too!

It was a fun quick party and I had lots of help. Thanks to Tanner, Mom,Dad,Jessie,Carrie and Rob for helping me out!!

One year older & wiser too..............

Well I had a birthday recently and I am OLD!!!! I enjoyed celebrating my oldness time after time through out the week with several great friends. Only one picture sadly. I meant to take my camera with me when I went out but I forgot. Went to lunch with Normandee at Costa Vida once for my birthday then another time for her birthday! So enjoyed visiting and our yummy lunches. Had ice cream after our Temple night with girls in the Primary Presidency. My Visiting Teacher dropped off Oreo truffles that were DELISH and a yummy smelling scentsy candle with a nice warmer too!! Went out to dinner with our friends Carrie and Ron to the Roadhouse!! We really had a GREAT time!! Tanner babysat all the kids that night there were 8 in total. He is such a good kid! Lucky me!!! Then we came back to our house to rescue Tanner and we watched a movie and Rob surprised us at the last minute he brought out cake and cupcakes so we all celebrated together. Good times!!



I had a fun day with Kelli too!! We went out to lunch at one of my favorite places....Cheesecake Factory and ordered our usual...fried Mac and Cheese and The Navajo sandwich then went to see My Sister's Keeper...started crying five minutes into the movie and continued to the very end!! Good thing I had read the book and brought Kelli and I each our own package of tissues! Afterwards we went to D.Q. We had so much fun talking about teenagers and life. After all these years who woulda thunk we would be still hangin together. I love that girl!! It is great to have a friend that has been around all these years!

Oh What A Beautiful Morning............

Well school started about 2 weeks ago for Tanner and this week for Cooper and Carter and it really couldn't have come sooner!!
The two younger boys have been restless for awhile and were needing something to do. Tanner was just glad to be going back to socializing with his friends! He didn't want any pictures taken.....teenagers!!! :)

Cooper 5th grade

Carter 2nd grade

Cooper Carter Walker and Kennedy getting a group picture. While taking pictures at the school Coop kept not smiling and wanted me to hurry up and be done. I told him if he would just smile real quick for a picture then we could be done before any of his friends saw us....sure enough a quick smile came and I left him to be COOL with his friends and went to the little kids area with Carter who still wants his mom to hang with him!!!

Afterwards the two little ones and I met Daddy at McDonald's for breakfast. Kenna was loving her orange juice!


Then we went home and the rest of the day was filled with two little kids playing nicely together. Awww I love when the bigger kids are at school!!!

Wow Time flys when you are having fun......

In July Rob and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary!! Sometimes it seems so hard to believe that we have been together that long already. It has been a fantastic 16 years. Yes we have had our ups and downs over the years but I can honestly say that they have not had to do with our relationship. It has always been just "life" kind of stuff. You know bills, kids, in-laws, sickness and death. I can honestly say that we have only once gotten in an argument and that was at the time when we were dealing with both of Rob's parents having cancer and him working 70-80 hours a week and trying to deal with the emotions from a recent miscarriage. Can you say STRESS!!!


Marrying Rob was the best decision I have ever made.....well maybe next to having that last baby of ours!!! Just kidding....they are tied!!LOL He really is perfect for me and treats me so good. He even puts up with my crankiness, not that it happens that often! We almost always agree exactly on everything.

I had to take a picture of our wedding photos so the pictures aren't the best but whatever! Also we tried to get Tanner to take our picture before we left to go out that evening and every single one of them was blurry beyond recognition. So this was the best picture I could take with holding the camera out in front of us!! LOL

For our anniversary we went to Farrelli's Dinner theater in Scottsdale. We had never been. I have always wanted to go but Rob has never really wanted to drive that far or the times when he has agreed the movie choices sucked or we didn't decide in enough time to make a reservation. So we went and it was wonderful. The ambiance was great for romance. The food was delish!! The movie was enjoyable too! All in all we plan on going again soon. Here is to another 16 years Rob I love you!!

I have a family Tree...........

We had our William Joseph McCain family reunion this summer and although it was not the best turn out it was nice to see family. On Friday night we all went to Amazing Jakes. We had a really fun time playing together and enjoying each other's company. I rode the twirly teacups with Carter and lets just say I will not be doing that EVER again!!! I guess in my old age I can't handle the twirly rides anymore. :( The train and carousel were fun though. Somehow I didn't get any pictures there....bummer!!

On Saturday we all met at a church building for a potluck luncheon.





Here is my lil ol' Granny. She doesn't get out much anymore so it was a nice that my Mom was able to get her to come.


My Mom and Dad washing the dishes. I had to get a picture to remind me that my Dad CAN wash the dishes.....he was not amused by this statement!!!!!! LOL



The kids and some adults had fun playing tag in the dark in one of the over flows. It was DARK, HOT and SMELLY in there!! The kids LOVED it!!



Tanner was not to excited to go because there was nobody his age there but he was a good sport and helped out with the lil kids......he did NOT play tag in the dark!! He is to old I guess......but I can promise you had his friends been there he would have! He is such a teenager.

Cooper and Kennedy.


That evening we all went to Shepard Aquatic Center. We had it rented out so we had it to ourselves and it was nice. So we swam, visited and had ice cream afterwards.
Kennedy had a fun time playing in the water.


Kennedy getting ready for her Sports Illustrated debut in a few years..........NOT!!!


Walker

Carter

Tanner and his friend Kennan that he had come along with him.

All in all it was a fun few days. It would have been nicer had we had longer to be together.