Inman's Insanity

Just an Update

2010-01-14T20:13:00.000-08:00

I know I am terrible about updating and I cannot possibly catch-up in a quick post right now.... so I am going to provide a picture link here from the fall, and I promise to recap the last 6 months soon! I want to be better about posting more regularly, plus I have some cute stuff from December to post :)
link to web album

Lots to Read and See

2009-07-20T22:48:00.000-07:00

July so far.....

2009-07-20T22:39:00.000-07:00

I want to start out by saying that I just poured my heart out in a blog the computer lost, this will be my second attempt at July.....
I love the fourth of July it is my favorite holiday. We enjoyed the ward breakfast, Kennedy spent the morning with the stomach bug, I hit the 50% off sale at Goodwill for school uniforms, we hosted a family bbq, I read a book, swam with the Burnett's at the city pool, and ended at the Black's for a backyard view of the fireworks. Who could ask for more?
Monday I was off to Student Government camp. The camp was huge this year with 400 participants, 8 of which were my students. Overall the camp was great and each of the kids took home special experiences. Cell phone reception was awful and I had to eventually email to keep in touch with Marc. The picture to the left is from our 70's Disco themed banquet. I searched several thrift stores for a decent outfit, and really struggled. Then I got home from camp and noticed several stores are carrying 70's inspired clothing! The worst part of camp was driving home to the valley in a car without air conditioning. Again, I need to thank my mom for coming to AZ to watch the kids while I was at camp.
A few days later we were off to California to visit our family/friends the Mueller's. Surprisingly Marc was able to take off work and drag his laptop for homework to join us. (I probably have not mentioned that Marc has gone back to school full-time. He will be working part-time and finishing his degree in Computer Information Systems. If all goes well he will finish in December 2010.) Wednesday I took the kids to Huntington Beach for boogie boarding and sand castles. Thursday we went to Disneyland and tried out-of-the-ordinary things. Friday the Mueller's joined us with their new surf board on a beach trip. The beach we went to was rocky and not so kid friendly, but apparently great for surfing. We had a good time nonetheless. Later that night we went on a date with Clint and Melinda. (It is so nice to have a built in babysitter). Unfortunately we had to come home on Saturday. When we got here we went straight to a wedding reception and then to Spencer's Surprise Birthday Party.
Now we are looking the school year straight in the eyes. Student Government training starts Wednesday. We are hosting a regional spirit conference September 1st, plus all of the normal school year stuff. So we really need all the time we can get to be ready.
Side note on life: Why does it seem that just when you are comfortable everything changes? Our principal and head counselor have taken jobs in Connecticut. My student activities administrator has been transferred. The bookstore lady was promoted. MY AIDE RETIRED. My classroom, class period, and school schedule are changing. Kennedy is going to Kindergarten. Marc is now working part-time and going to school full-time. My hairdresser moved and I have gained ten pounds. What is the Lord trying to tell me?

Carter- Master of Destruction

2009-07-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

Those of you who have boys know exactly what I am taking about. He is not content, like Kennedy, to play quietly on his own. He is busy! I don't have the pictures or blog space to prove the "mark" he is making in our home. Make-up, flour, paper, crayons, the dishwasher, toilet paper, cd collection, inside guts of the remaining VHS tapes, anything is fair game. Plus, he has to make his physical presence known: pinching, hitting, scratching, and other impulsive forms of violence. His personality is setting in full force! It is crazy he can SO sweet and adorable (picture 1) and turn on a dime. He has been teething, getting all of the pointy teeth at once, and I keep praying that this phase is associated with the teeth. (You know screaming in the middle of the night for no apparent reason.)
The nice thing, however, is he is starting to communicate, yay! He is starting to "say" a few things: Mama, Dada, please, ball, bite, uh-oh, wow, eyes, dog, uh-uh (no), uh-huh (yes). It is really nice to be able to figure out what he wants.
Overall he is a good, happy kid. I am really grateful he is healthy and "thriving." Mostly I can't believe he will be 18 months soon!

Kennedy's Summer

2009-07-20T21:26:00.000-07:00

If you had to summarize Kennedy's summer in one word it would be swimming. She had swimming practice every weekday, swimming lessons right after, and a meet once or twice a week. Whenever she had down time she wanted to swim, go figure! She has gotten to be a really good swimmer, but she is in no hurry. Well, unless she is racing right next to her cousin Rory, then there is no stopping her.

Still Busy in June

2009-07-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

May ran into June this year. With everything we had endured, I was totally on the mental fritz. My mom stayed with us, helping to watch kids while I taught lessons and took kids to swim practice. With all the chaos I really need to thank my mom, sister (Janeal), and friend JJ for making it possible for me to pull off working and taking care of my kids.
Marc knew I was totally fried and did the best thing in the world... he took me away for my 30th birthday. Again, my mom watched the kids while we spent a day on the beach and another at Disneyland (alone!). He knows me well. Plus, I got to hang out with some Dysart girlfriends, using my birthday as an excuse.
A few sad notes about June.... our friend's the Mueller's moved to California! In addition, my buddy and hairstylist Sarah moved to Virginia. I am still totally bummed! We had an awesome trade system worked out. I am still trying to figure what to do with my hair!
June also gave us a chance to celebrate Father's Day, which Marc totally deserved. We hosted a Student Government Dive-in Movie. Also, we went up to Stoneman Lake to camp with Marni and John. Everything was great, except the bugs who thought Marc's legs were very tastey. The kids totally enjoyed romping in the forest and playing with their cousins.

Goodbye 20's!

2009-07-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

Most of your life you never believe you will be 30! Most people dread it, not me I am perfectly content to welcome the 30's. Don't get me wrong, the 20's were good to me, good enough to move on. So I thought I would take a moment to recognize all the growth and experience gleaned in my 20's.
* The 20's started in college, lost and searching like 98% of 20-year-olds. I worked for the City of Goodyear coaching swimming and teaching water aerobics. I also waitressed at Cracker Barrel.
*At 21 I submitted papers to serve a mission, but my parents separated and I put the papers on hold. In the mean time I met Marc and we got married (Marc will be pleased I don't currently have digital wedding pictures to post.) I finally quite being a waitress and started working for Desert Schools Federal Credit Union.
* At 22 we bought our first house (enjoyed remodeling), I graduated from ASU, and landed my first teaching job (real money, well sort of).
* At 22-23 I served on a cadre and opened a new high school. Plus we bought our second house and moved to Goodyear. (We moved five times in three years)
* At 24 I had my first baby, Kennedy.
* At 25 I went to New York. I had my first (and last) Student Teacher! I also contracted the building of our pool. I started my own swimming lesson business.
* At 26 I left the perfect job, and my best friend, to become a librarian and started my Masters degree. I also started directing Diversity Camps.
* At 27 I had my first miscarriage.
* At 28 I took on Student Government, had my second baby, Carter, bought a car, and finished my Master's Degree.
* At 29 I spent most of the year adjusting to the growing pains of life, motherhood, supporting my husband through school, etc. Did I mention I got to go to Cancun! (If you ever see me zone out, I am mentally visiting the Mayan ruins.)
Throughout my 20's I cannot count the number of times I have willingly embarrassed myself (see below), moved, done something I thought I couldn't do, laughed, cried, and grown in ways I am incapable of describing. As tough as times are, I have a wonderful life. I am very blessed and the Lord has always taken care of me. Knowing this, I look forward to what the 30's will bring.

May Extravaganza

2009-07-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

May was indescribably busy! We had Student Body Elections and Class Appointments. I taught a 40 hour Water Safety Instructor class for the City of Goodyear. Mother's Day and a family funeral. We had an unexpected family wedding May 23, with all of the preceding planning and celebrations. Student Government had our end of the year banquet. Kennedy started swim practice and of course there was graduation and sending off all of our Seniors. Kennedy finished her final days at St Thomas Lutheran Preschool. We all really enjoyed the school, her teachers and all the experiences she had there. She still talks about how much she will miss Ms Ehrenberg. She also got to be good buddies with a daughter of a teacher at my school. At the end of the year they put on a program and graduation that was really cute. The month ended with Memorial Day and the start of swimming lessons. I am tired just remembering everything we did!

Sneaking in a trip to Disneyland

2009-07-20T19:46:00.000-07:00

We decided we needed to sneak a trip to Disneyland in the middle of the week. So we went April 23-25th. We also hit the beach before coming home. We had a really good time. But it was freezing!!!! The only person that did not seem to mind was Kennedy. Half the time I wanted to wrap up in my towel! On the way home the kids totally crashed. (Which, by the way, is the only way to travel.

Back in April

2009-07-20T19:22:00.000-07:00

So we finally drained our pool in April for a serious cleaning. I was far too embarrassed to even take a picture of the pool before we pumped the water out. Marc spent a lot of time pressure washing the junk off and I spent about 8 hours scrubbing, scrapping, and even sanding the calcium off the tile. When we were done the kids had a great time exploring in the empty pool.

Earlier that same day I finally got the chance to hang out with Martha, my best friend from teaching for Dysart. It had been so long since our last visit, we talked for hours over breakfast. We had gotten together in honor of her birthday:) I got to hang out with her again in June for my birthday.

Warning

2009-04-12T21:57:00.000-07:00

I have been on an intense blogging streak after a very serious drought. I think there are eight new posts!!! Sorry I am not very good at keeping up! I can't promise that anything you read will be all that interesting, but it is an update none-the-less!

Easter

2009-04-12T21:39:00.000-07:00

The other day, Kennedy had school pictures and she was telling how one of the mom's had come to watch. So I said, "that's cool." Kennedy said, "but mom I wanted you to come." Then I started thinking I was kind of a loser mom and made plans to surprise her during her school Easter party. I didn't have long to stay, but I got to see the Easter egg hunt, story time, and some singing.
My mother-in-law hosts the funnest little Easter party every year. (Even though she was deathly ill this year, her party was a blast.) The kids enjoyed pin the egg in the basket, bunny bingo, a coloring contest, cake walk, an egg hunt, and lesson on Easter (by Addie). She completely took care of lunch, which was delicious: ham croissants and various salads. It was so much fun to see the cousins, aunts, and uncles, and especially Grandma and Grandpa. We had a great time, can't wait till next year!

Conference/Camping Weekend

2009-04-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

Marc was so anxious to go camping that he renewed the conference camp out. We had a total of seven families camping up at Stoneman Lake for conference weekend. (Our most successful camp out yet!) We brought a satellite dish so we could still enjoy hearing conference.
The pictures taken show the sunshine on Sunday. However, looks can be deceiving... Friday and Saturday were freezing, literally. The pipes in our tent trailer were frozen most of the weekend and our heater died; but, we were warm. Our blankets were wonderful and we wore lots of layers during the day.
Every time we go camping I think of the pioneers. I have tremendous respect for what they endured. During conference President Monson spoke of the woman from Germany who had to travel a thousand miles in the bitter winter with her four young children; losing one at a time along the way. I know we were not nearly as cold, but it made it so much easier to understand what she endured. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many comforts.
If anyone is interested, we will camp again soon. Probably closer to summer... somewhere a little warmer.

Wendy

2009-04-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

I just had to post this.... Doesn't she look like Wendy?

Spring Break- Disney

2009-04-12T21:14:00.000-07:00

For Spring Break I took my Student Government class to Disneyland for a leadership training. Since Marc had to work, I made arrangements for Carter and took Kennedy along. It was really fun for just us girls to go do whatever we wanted.
Another exciting part of the trip was Kennedy's first ride on California Screamin'. She has been so excited to ride the big roller coaster and she was tall enough this trip (barely!). So our five year old is 48' and has ridden the biggest roller coaster at Disneyland/California Adventures. Where do we go from here? I knew I was in trouble when she made me ride it 3 times in one day!

Spring Break

2009-04-12T20:55:00.000-07:00

Spring break was hot enough to entice me to turn on the sprinklers and lather sunscreen on the kids. Kennedy charged right into the water and Carter played on the side lines. Of course it did not take Kennedy long to consider swimming. Without hesitation she gathered her favorite toys and jumped in. Carter and I attempted it... but we were not quite so desperate. I have to say I could have gotten in if I really wanted to. My feet never went numb and after a while the water actually felt refreshing.
Kennedy was so crazy she was sitting on the bottom of the pool and refining her pencil dive. Carter was happy to work the top stair, but he has been submerging his face in the bath tub. (With these two I may need to hire a private lifeguard.)

Easter Build A Bear

2009-04-12T20:17:00.000-07:00

Grandma Brenchley bought all the grandkids a Build-A-Bear gift certificate. While she was here we took the kids and they had blast building their bears. In the chaos we managed to snag a picture. Thanks Grandma!

When a mother needs peace....

2009-04-12T20:12:00.000-07:00

She makes cookies and....

feeds her children the dough.

Carter turns One!

2009-04-12T20:07:00.000-07:00

I know this is super late, but.... Happy 1st Birthday Carter!

The most incredible afternoon!

2009-03-05T15:25:00.000-08:00

Sometimes words are not enough to describe life experience.... Sometimes you just need to see it. So, I would like to dedicate this video to all the moms out there. I had a few to choose from, but I felt this clip captured the essence of our experience.

This lovely bit was repeated in various settings throughout the afternoon. In fact, later it was accompanied by the sweet words, "I am going to tell dad, you are a mean mom," and "You're going to jail." The funny thing is, I am not quite sure what set it all off. I do know, however, five years old has brought it's own brand of tantrum. So..... view.... enjoy....and please laugh.

Oh, if you listen carefully you will hear peaceful primary music playing in the background :) I hope someday Kennedy will forgive me for this; I just couldn't resist.

A Tribute to Old Red

2009-01-23T21:13:00.000-08:00

Where do I start? The beginning I guess. Marc fell in love with his first truck about 6 months before we met. It was a Beautiful, Red, 1998 Ford F150. His bachelor mobile; a symbol of his manhood. But that was only the beginning..........

We went on our first date in the truck.
We got engaged in the truck.
We went to the temple to get married in the truck.
We have camped hundreds of times with the truck. (Without kids and later with.)
In fact, we used to be able to go camping and just sleep in the back.
The poor truck has even hauled our huge camp trailer faithfully.
One of the things I liked best about the truck is when we had Kennedy we could all ride up front together.
Another thing I liked is that I always sat in the middle next to Marc.
We have taken the truck to the drive-in.
Once it got broken into and someone stole the radio and all of our cd's (I am still bitter if you can't tell.)
I cannot tell you the countless number of people it has moved! We account for at least 5 moves.
The truck took Marc all over the valley when he worked for a cabling company; it even once adorned a ladder rack. Old Red also drove him for an entire summer to Sanders, AZ for work.
The truck has been faithful in taking me and the kids, at various stages, to work.
We never had one problem with the truck, honestly.
Well, we did eventually have one problem with the truck; when Carter came along it was TOO small. All four of us could not ride in a three passenger truck.
We knew we would have to sell it eventually. It just took us a year to come to terms with it. So about a week ago Marc had his sister print For Sale stickers and I started driving it to work. Within a week we had a buyer. It is sad. It was hard on both of us to let it go. It is just such a good truck. Oh well, after ten years and 132,000 Old Red is onto new adventures.
By the way, Marc would probably have something to add or change about this tribute, but he never reads to the blog so too bad.

Kennedy turns 5!

2009-01-23T20:29:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe it, Kennedy is 5! To top it off she has a loose tooth. We were finishing breakfast, trying to get out the door when she says," Mommy I think my tooth that is hurting is going to come out." Me- "What, what tooth." Kennedy "This one" (visualize her wiggling her tongue). Me- (feeling her tooth - mooove!) "When did that happen?" What a birthday present, a loose tooth!
Kennedy was rather disappointed that she had to go to school on her birthday. She is so funny she would not let the kids at school sing happy birthday to her. (She is totally Marc's kid, the next part is further proof.) For a birthday treat, she had me buy Twinkies for all the kids at school. She called then "Tweats."
After school we baked cupcakes and she chose to eat at Chick-Fil-A for dinner. Janeal and her kids, plus Carla and Gregg joined us. We had a good time, we all love Chick-Fil-A especially on free kids meal night. My mom gave her a water-painting book. The Inman's bought Kennedy a princess projector set and night time stories dvd. Janeal bought her a pair pajamas that match Rory's. Marc got her a remote control submarine for the bath AND I took her to the store to choose a present. She chose a princess castle alarm clock, that wakes her up to Cinderella singing and projects stars on the ceiling. Overall, I think she had a very happy birthday.

Disneyland- not ALWAYS the happiest place on earth

2009-01-23T20:09:00.000-08:00

So, I am only posting this as evidence! Marc's company gave the employees a trip to Disneyland as a year-end "thank you." We tried really hard to convince them that going January 2-3rd was a bad idea. It didn't work. To save "time" we bought passes in advance online. However, when we got there, we had to stand in the ticket line to exchange our vouchers. The ticket line took two hours! We have video to prove it:) After standing in this line, Marc was pretty much done with lines the rest of the trip.

WATER!!!!

2009-01-23T20:05:00.000-08:00

I don't know why I am surprised, but both my kids love water in any form. It does not matter how grouchy they are, a bath will fix it. Getting out, however, might be a problem. Carter loves baths in the sink, playing in the bath with Kennedy, and basking in the shower. He will actually stare straight up in the shower and try to drink it. I can't wait for summer swimming.

Carter and the Candy Cane

2009-01-23T20:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I was going to blog about recent things, until I went through my pictures. Carter liked a lot of things about Christmas. He was actually really good and left the tree alone, well most of it. I was busy in the kitchen one day and Carter was being so good............ After a little while I decided to investigate. Behold, I found Carter and what was left of a candy cane. If you look closely, he patiently sucked the candycane into a fine point! What you don't see in the picture is the fit he through when I took it away :(

I love Picasa!

2008-12-15T20:37:00.001-08:00

For someone with a Master's in educational technology I am a little slow using all of the fun new technologies. Recently I started playing more with Picasa and I absolutely love it! I still use Macromedia Fireworks and Adobe Photoshop for specialty fixes, but Picasa is super fast and easy. So needless to say I have gotten a little carried away with creating collages. Although it will really help because I am really trying to do pictures from home. Marc talked me into a really nice camera a few years ago and I need to stop paying Kiddie Kandids so much money. When I have time later I will post some of my latest photo adventures:)

Everything is going really well for us. School is winding down and Kennedy is really looking forward to Christmas. She had her Christmas performance at school on Sunday. I was so surprised, she actually sang this year and smiled!
Carter thinks he is too funny. If you are laughing he thinks he should too! He is now moving between furniture, standing, clapping, gives high-five, and occasionally waves. We recently discovered he hates anything on his head: hood, hat, etc. We also discovered that he will steal your cereal bowl and spill it all over himself. (Ask Kennedy, she was devastated). The funny part is he didn't start crying until I took the bowl away!

Kennedy's Haircut

2008-11-30T16:29:00.001-08:00

Here is a quick view of Kennedy's new haircut. She has been asking me for a while to cut her hair short. Marc and I have been really hesitant to fulfill her request because she is constantly changing her mind. The last thing I wanted was for her to cry over wanting her hair long. To my surprise she is very proud of her haircut. I am really glad because besides a little trim, I have never really cut her hair.

She is so much fun. She is hopelessly devoted to her brother. Recently Marc took her camping and when she called me on the way home the first thing she checked on was her brother. She wanted to make sure he would be up from his nap so she could play with him when she got home. She loves to help him and I often find her "helping" him across the room!

She said the cutest thing the other day. We were eating dinner and she told me when she grows up she
wants to be a grandma!

She is doing really good in school. She is obsessed with letters and wants to know what everything says. I often catch her pretending to read and write all sorts of things. I am really glad she has such a great school. Being a teacher you would think I could teach her to read, but I never had one reading class in six years of college!

Carter, our healthy baby

2008-11-30T16:27:00.001-08:00

Carter absolutely loves to stand! He is also clapping, which he thinks is pretty cute. He is still the sweetest little boy.... But, he is getting so active. He is army crawling everywhere. Occasionally he gets up on his hands and knees, but it is short lived. He is a great baby. He loves to eat and he is a pretty good sleeper.

In fact, he sleeps so well he recently gave us a little scare. He went to sleep for his nap about 10:30 AM last Sunday. Then he never really woke-up. It was the strangest thing. He would "wake-up" screaming and as soon as you picked him up or gave him a bottle he went right back to sleep. This continued all day. That evening we went to Marc's parents for dinner and Carla was really worried about Carter. We tried to wake him up by playing with him and giving him a bath, but he was too tired. To make a long story short... We ended up at Phoenix Children's Hospital where they ran blood work, CAT scan, spinal tap, etc and nothing. Everything was perfectly normal. They kept him for observation and about 7:30 the next morning he woke-up like nothing had happened. They released us about 2PM and we were all speechless.

I have tried really hard not to be frustrated about the enormous hospital bill when my baby was perfectly fine. It is a humbling experience to spend the night in a children's hospital. I will strive to never be ungrateful for or take for granted having healthy children.

Eventful July

2008-07-11T16:41:00.001-07:00

This has been a busy month and it just got started! My mom just moved down from Utah and she is still trying to get settled.

Marc and I took the kids camping for the Fourth of July. The Bringhurst's and the Hinton's joined us for the fun. We camped in Happy Jack where rain and hail started about 45 minutes after we arrived. We sat in the camper a couple of hours trying to wait it out. To pass time we attempted to nap, but the kids were going crazy. We finally decided to get up when the bed/table broke from the kids jumping around. It was too wet to cook so we ate at the Happy Jack Lodge. You will see from the picture, there was actual snow/sleet on the ground. Then we heard rumor of fireworks at Mormon Lake so we drove over there. We were glad to find the rumor was true, otherwise we would have traveled to Payson or Flagstaff to see a show. (By this time the Hinton's decided to ditch the rain and they packed-up to head home.)
We spent the night and morning in Happy Jack and got home about 2PM.

Sunday I was off again for Student Government camp. Carter got to come with me and Kennedy took turns spending time with the Grandma's. It is so nice to have family around who are willing to help! My mom took Kennedy swimming and played the Wii. My mother-in-law arranged for Kennedy to play with all sorts of cousins. As for Carter he was such a good baby at camp. We had a good time, but we were so glad to come home!