Merry Christmas!

Temple Square Christmas 2010

Devin's mom came into town for the weekend and we thought it would be fun to go up to Temple Square to show Kodi the lights.   We drove around looking for a place to park for nearly as long as we walked around to sight see. We saw the lights, drank hot cocoa, looked at the beautiful Temple and took her up to the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. 
We haven't visited Temple Square at Christmas time before, everyone had a good time, Kodi got tired and Dev ended up packing her around. 

Devin and Kodi

It was fun to be in Salt Lake at Christmas time.   We loved seeing the tall decorated buildings and everything looked so fun and Christmas-ey decorated in lights. 

Merry Christmas!

Birthday and Christmas...

Today we celebrated Devin's birthday.  We went to church, came home and took naps, put up the Christmas tree and relaxed,  watched movies together as a family and ate 

Pumpkin pie and icecream.   

Kodi wearing Dev's Birthday present

We went down to Spring City yesterday to cut a Christmas tree.  I love this time of year but to be honest I don't love hiking all over the Manti LaSal forest looking for the "perfect tree".   Kodi ended up riding on Dev's back as we hiked uphill through the snow without any luck.  Kodi decided she wasn't going to walk any further so Devin kept going while Kodi and I sat on a log and waited.  Devin found the perfect tree at the top of a huge hill.   We decorated it with 800 lights (red and white) it is beautiful!

DOG JAIL

The past few weeks have been some of the hardest times Devin and I have lived through.  We have a great family and a wonderful daughter that has helped us with our struggles.   We hoped that December would bring a brighter and more hopeful month.

I'll just start by saying....December 1st wasn't so bad...till we were going to bed.  

This is my dog Aspen, or at least I used to refer to her as my dog.    Now, she's Devin's

ASPEN a couple months old

I picked her out when she was a pupply, Devin and Kodi help out but I am the one that takes care of her 

(for the most part)  

I've never had my own pet before.  Kodi LOVES her.  We named her Aspen after a little girl at Kodi's old sitter who was terribly mean to Kodi. (yep, this was my idea...at least this way hearing the name makes us think of our dog, not the mean little brat in Springville)

It has been below freezing conditions out here during the night.  (for example:  it was -4 degrees this past Monday night)   We've been letting Aspen sleep in the garage on cold nights, but when it started getting this cold, we moved her kennel to the basement.  She is great and sleeps all night, she doesn't make a noise until I take her out when I leave for work each morning.

On December 1st, Devin went out to bring her in for the night and she was no where to be found.   Her pen was open and apparently (from our limited investigating skills) she had jumped against the door of her chain link dog run until she had loosened the latch and was able to ESCAPE.   Trying to be good pet owners, we never letter her out of her dog pen unless we are outside with her.  So, as you can imagine, she must have bolted like a bat out of hell at her first sign of true freedom.  Devin drove the streets of our neighborhood and I sat on the porch calling her name and whistling till well after 10:30PM.   We couldn't find her.  I dropped Kodi off at school and drove the neighborhood some more before work- she was gone.   We found out later Wednesday that someone on the next street to the south found her and called animal control to turn her into the Utah County Animal Shelter.   Kodi didn't know she was ever lost, I didn't tell her before I dropped her off at school.  I still can't believe Aspen made it through the night - it was cold!  I picked Kodi up from school to drive to the animal shelter to claim her and Kodi said, "I can't believe Aspen is in DOG JAIL."

So after paying $85 dollars in impound and licensing fees (bail), and a "dog at large" citation...we got her home.  She slept from the time we got home till we left for work this morning.  Devin says he is going to figure out a way for her to earn/pay us back the money.   I think if she takes off again, we won't be picking her up.

November is nearly over!

I can't believe next week is December.   
I have a LOT of catching up to do on my blog.  

Starting with Halloween...Kodi was a fairy - Rosetta for those of you familiar with TinkerBell and her friends.   We actually met Rosetta when we went to Disneyland for Dev's graduation in May of 2009, so she is one of our favorites.  I went to Kodi's school to watch the Halloween parade.  It was fun to see Kodi and her friends.  

Kodi and Ashtyn at school for the Halloween party

2010

I borrowed a costume from my friend Dawn and dressed up as Professor McGonagall from Harry Potter.  Kodi and I both came down with a bad cold a day before Halloween and the weather for the day was atrocious; rain, a little snow, and a ton of wind.   Devin and I took her out to 3 houses and she was done and ready to come home.  Later that night when the weather cleared up and her cold medicine kicked in, Devin took her to a few more homes.  We ended up running out of Halloween candy and shutting our lights off and pretending we weren't home.  

I've been trying to help out with Kodi's class as much as possible. But I started a new job this month working for a software company in Orem and haven't had much time to be at the school. So I volunteered for homework. 

I made 62 Pilgrim hats for Kodi's 1st grade Thanksgiving day celebration.   

Each one black, traced and cut out of butcher and construction paper, with a yellow buckle on the front.  

It was  quite a project, one I will NEVER volunteer for again.

Kodi is a good girl and she has a conscience and for the most part knows, but is still learning right from wrong, so before you read on, please know that this next story was completely innocent and one day she is going to be furious with me for writing it down. 

The first grade at Kodi's school watched a movie together in their little auditorium last week. Well, there are rules in the auditorium, keep your hands to yourselves, keep your shoes on, don't talk above a 6-inch whisper and raise your hand to get your teachers attention.

Keep this thought in mind as you read on: Can you imagine how hot and stuffy it may get in a little auditorium with nearly 100 first graders, right after lunch recess?

When I went to pick Kodi up from school and get some additional supplies for the stupid pilgrim hats, Kodi's teacher (who we LOVE) asked if she could talk to me for a minute.   She explained how they went to watch the movie and had a little issue.  I thought "oh great, did she talk too much, or did she have a hard time listening...how long will she have to sit in time out this evening?..."

Miss Nuckles started out by explaining that the class went to a movie and it was very warm inside the auditorium.  She said Kodi was quiet and respectful and not causing any trouble, but she noticed part way through the movie that Kodi had bare shoulders, Kodi had taken her shirt off.   She spread the shirt over her front making sure to tuck the shirt up under her armpits on each side to cover her chest. I stood looking at the teacher with a blank stare...

WHAT? - Did she really just say she took her shirt off at school?   

I bent down to block the laughing teacher from my view and asked Kodi why she took her shirt off during the movie.  Her answer was simple.   "I was HOT mom!"   Yep Kodi, I get that part, but we don't do things like that and she knows better!  This coming from a little girl who won't even allow Grandma to help her change into her jammies.   She knows about modesty and how some things are inappropriate to wear to school.  I asked why she just didn't take off her shoes, she responded "its against the rules to take your shoes off in the kiva".   Oh that makes perfect sense, so naturally, removing the shirt was the only other option. 

This entire time I am not sure if I should laugh or be mad, so I just kept a straight face while her teacher was cracking up in the background. 

I sat next to her in a chair and asked her if taking her shirt off was the best thing to do in that situation or what she could have done different.  She said, "The teachers told us not to talk, not to take our shoes off and not to ask to go out to get a drink or go to the bathroom.  I sat there for a long long long time, but I was so hot I was sweaty and just took off my shirt, I covered myself though and no one saw me...I don't think."  I am dying inside because in her head this logic makes perfect sense.  After talking a little longer, we came to an agreement: 

The next time she gets hot enough at school to shed her shirt, her pants or any other article of clothing, she will quietly get her teachers attention and let her know she is feeling like she is ready to remove her clothes and Miss Nuckles will help her come up with a compromise.  

I'm not sure we'll have any more kids but WOW she is entertaining!  

I love being a mom.

We'll be spending Thanksgiving day morning with our friend the Sabeys - going to see the new Disney movie: Tangled, then the afternoon with Dev's family in Spanish Fork.  

We had our 11th wedding anniversary on the 19th.

Kodi got a hair cut which is okay now, but it took her 3 days before she wouldn't cry when she passed a mirror.  It is short to her chin and looks a TON more healthy.

I'm ready for the break of a holiday and looking forward to the long weekend. 

I'll post pictures later today.

October 2010

October has flown by!  I can't believe next week will be November.  

We've had some crazy winter weather already.   The other night it was raining and hailing and Kodi came in and woke me up telling me that someone was banging on her window, and now they were banging on my window.   I had to take her to the front door to show her it was only rain and hail.   So funny!

Today though, we had the first of many snow storms!

You can't really tell, but it is has just started to snow.

My best friend Dawn and I made cupcakes tonight.  We had a blast.  

We tried a bunch of different designs, and this is what we came up with:

My favorites! 

These are all the different cupcakes we made.   Tombstones, Jack Skellington, the eyes in the trees from the woods on Snow White, spiderwebs, and Mickey mummies!

7 out of 9....

Wow - 7 out of 9 campers have gotten the flu from the atrocious camping trip this past weekend.  Larry woke up Monday morning with it.  Hailee got it during the day Monday, Kyle came home from school with it. Devin had to drive home from Logan with it.  Ang got it later Monday night. I didn't get it till Tuesday morning.   

If you can believe it, all the men are still making plans to go back for more "fun" this weekend.  Kodi and Grandma Strate are the only ones that didn't get sick.  Grandma says its because the oldest and the youngest are the strongest.  Thank goodness they have proved that they are. 

Strate Family Elk Camp 2010

I love my family, BUT at 6:05 AM this morning, I was ready to trade every one of them for a one way ticket to anywhere but Spring City Canyon; specifically Pelican Point.

Every year the families (mom's dad's kids, cousins and this year for the first time Grandma Strate came!) go up the weekend before the Elk hunt to set up Elk camp for the Dad's to go the following weekend.  This year was NO exception.  We anticipate this trip every year, we set up camp, and then sleep over and go home the following morning.  It is a blast.  Everyone from the Parents to the kids look forward to it. 

 Let me tell you about this year...

Thanks to bossy Devin we got a good and early start heading up the canyon Saturday afternoon.  My awesome nephew Kyle talked his dad into letting him ride his motorcycle up the canyon and meet us up at the usual Elk camp site.  He let us get a head start (since bikes are so much faster then trucks) and somewhere along the trail the poor kid wrecked. 

Kyle- Post wreck

Kyle hanging out with Grandma

So, here's a picture of Kyle and another picture of "useless Kyle" because later that night his leg and ankle hurt so bad he was nauseous and wouldn't even eat the awesome smores we made.  

Aside from Kyle and his wreck, the craziness started right after dinner when Kodi and her cousin went to the outhouse (secluded area equipped with a potty chair and shovel).  Who knows WHAT she did or HOW she did it but after having used the facilities she comes back over to the camp fire with pee all over her pants and up the back of her shirt.  She must have started going and then thought it would be cool to do cart wheels or something... HOW is it possible to get that on the back of your shirt?  I can't figure that one out.  

We marched into the tent for a wet wipe bath.  ugh.

Kodi and her buddy Hailee Jo

 We made tin foil dinners, had smores, sat around the fire and had a nice evening. 

Kierstyn, Hailee Jo and Kodi

Larry Kyle Angela Hailee and Kierstyn

Devin Kodi and Amy

It was dark around 8:30 and everyone had worked so hard we decided to get the little kids ready for bed. Hailee decides she needs to go to the bathroom...again.  So, Grandma takes her.  I changed Kodi into her PJ's and laid down next to her. Hailee needs to go to the bathroom again, so Angela takes her. Kodi was exhausted and ready for bed so after a few minutes she fell asleep. About this time, Hailee needs to go potty again, so Kierstyn takes her.

When they return Hailee tells us she isn't feeling very well.  Whether she was sick or it was just fatigue from the day, she went through the nighttime phase that every parent is familiar with:  I am tired and I'm uncomfortable and it's WAY past my bed time.  We were able to easily remedy the grumpiness after one more trip to the potty and a couple glow in the dark neon light sticks- she finally went to sleep.  

Kierstyn sitting around the fire

We had a rude awakening about 11:30PM when Kierstyn announced she didn't feel well and bolted from the tent, making it (but barely) out of the tent before tossing her cookies (well, cookies, smores, tin foil dinner, etc...) She was sick every 15-30 minutes for the rest of the night.  We took care of her in shifts sitting outside, and laying with her inside, trying our best to to keep her warm and make sure the bucket was close by; the poor kid just couldn't seem to kick it.  Dev and Larry gave her a blessing and things seemed to slightly improve after that, but she was sick the rest of the night.   

Meanwhile back to Hailee, at this time we've made it to approximately 2:00AM.  While taking care of Kierstyn we tried to keep the two little girls asleep, but Hailee and Kodi both woke up.  Kodi woke up freaking out because she was in bed alone and she could see that Hailee had a glow stick and she didn't.  Since I was outside with Kierstyn, Devin moved down next to Kodi, gave her a glow stick and she went right back to sleep. Kierstyn then tried to lay down next to Grandma, so I made my way out to go to the bathroom.  When asked where I was going, I said "the bathroom" and Kyle calls out, "Hey, be careful with the B word!"  We were all cracking up because Hailee was obviously having potty issues.  She must love the potty chair grandma made for her because she literally went potty 6 times last night.   WOW - that kid can process fluid.  Devin told her he was going to nickname her "faucet".

So between Kierstyn being sick, Hailee peeing, and Kodi crying over glow sticks, we were all awake anyway so Angela thought it would be a good idea to refill her air mattress every other hour all night long, using the not so quiet battery operated pump.

That wasn't the least bit annoying...and we're all glad they didn't have to sleep on the hard ground. 

I bet Grandma was thinking the entire night that we were out of our ever-livin' minds for talking this up as a fun family outing.

At 2:30AM we felt as though it should be morning and contemplated packing up and driving home.  But we stayed, somewhere between 5 and 6 AM Angela took over with Kierstyn while Grandma, Larry and I crashed.  Ang took  Hailee to the potty (again), changed Kierstyn's clothes, blew up the air mattress and dozed (a little) all before the sun finally came up. 

Here are some pictures of the worst camping trip EVER.  

We were blessed that no one was seriously hurt, but the guy's will have a hard time talking their families into returning to Pelican Point for a fall camping trip anytime soon.  

Packing up to head home

Poor sick Kierstyn

Elk Tent

Kierstyn and Hailee have both vowed to never return.  Angela said that next year no one under 40 gets to go - which is great for me because I'm only 33. 

Kodi fell asleep on Aspen during the drive home

Right before we left Kodi actually dumped handfuls of dirt and bottled water on the dog. Because she was "just seeing what her black coat would look like with both dirt and water..."so it's only fitting that the dirtiest little girl named Kodi falls asleep on the dirtiest black dog in Utah. 

I just updated my blog and clicked on my brother's to see if Teri had anything new.  Kodi is sick today and asked me if we could please drive to New Mexico because she is bored and really wants to play with Brooklyn.  Funny Girl..."lets first call dad at work and ask him if it's ok if we go."

Family Time

My niece and nephew slept over this past weekend.   We had a fun time, we went to the park, had a slumber party on the living room floor (yes, I slept out there too), ordered pizza and watched ice age and tinkerbell; 2-3 times each. 

I forgot A LOT about when Kodi was this little. It's funny how fast you forget things.

 

Apparently its important to put bibs on the children....

 

and you can't really leave them to do things like go to the bathroom....

 

 

 

 

The best was how much fun it was to watch Shaylee dress up! Kodi still loves to play dress up.  She wore these glasses the entire weekend.

Hollywood!

Saturday Fun!

Devin surprised us on Saturday by not having to work all day and took Kodi and I to the FAIR!   We try to go at least every other year, just as a fun tradition.   When we walked in, there was only a few people in line at the face painting booth so we went there first!  The girl did an awesome job painting Kodi's butterflies!

High in the air - overlooking the Fair

Bumper Cars!

Kodi and I rode the ferris wheel and Devin and Kodi took a turn in the bumper cars. Devin NEVER needs a reason to drive a fun car.

Devin has been fueling generators downtown this past week for an event called the Dew Tour, (similar to the X-Games) the event coordinator gave him free tickets for us to get in last night, so we went over after the fair.  I was only 10 feet from these riders but I was struggling to get a clear picture.

Twitch

A few of the Metal Mulisha racers (Twitch)

Twitch was said to be one of the best racers at this event. It was cool to see them all up close, tons and tons of tattoos!

Picture Day

Today was picture day for Kodi.  By her standards we barely made it....

She was first upset because the toilet seat lid was left down this morning and she had to "go real real bad" and it "bothered" her that she had to exert the energy to lift it before going.  I got her dressed and her hair done, she doesn't like it when I take time to do her hair and make her sit still for "a long long time."  

The next catastrophic event was her wearing a dress to school for fear kids may see her "panties when I twirl" but my resolution for that was not sufficient either...

don't twirl or wear shorts under the dress. 
Apparently she hates it even more when she has to wear shorts under her dress.  

It makes her look all bumpy-ish and crazy.   

I told her the bus was coming (in an effort to change the subject to something other than bumpy shorts) and she immediately put on her jacket took her allergy pill gave me a hug and ran out the door.   

Not sure I can handle the daily drama of a little girl!

Kodi's in First Grade

First day of First Grade

 

Kodi started first grade this year.  It was a fun day and she was super excited.  The bus stop is literally at the light post on the East end of our front yard.  I love it!  I can watch her till she gets on the bus and don't have to worry about the older kids teasing her AND when it snows, I can wait till the bus pulls up to send her outside!

Wind Storms in Eagle Mountain

The wind out here is sometimes out of control.  I took several pictures at a storm from last weekend.  The wind blows so much dust and dirt you can barely see the houses right across the street!

Aspen

Aspen is my black lab, she is a great dog.   She is just over a year old and sleeps outside.  Sometimes when I get lonely now that Kodi's in school I let her in for company, but I can't handle the dog hair so she is NOT an indoor dog.  Kodi loves Aspen and regularly tries to ride her like a pony.

My New Blog and My Cute Kid!

It seems I've lost my mind.  I am not able to log in to my previous blog, but I committed to a friend that I would update my blog, so here we go...

We have had a crazy couple months.  We moved, I left BidSync in search of a new job that I could work while Kodi was in school.  Kodi started school and LOVES it.  She rides the bus every day.  Devin is still working at Cardwell, always looking for a better opportunity, but for now, Cardwell pays the bills.