A Day with my Boys

So, Kiley was off to Disneyland with her "other" dad and left me to deal with the boys, alone!! So, we decided to go check out all the Fall Colors near Sunrise.

Fall is Toby's favorite time of year, so off we went for a day trip up to the beautiful Aspens. We have made it a family tradition to get up to Sunrise to do the "Scenic Lift Rides" every year, with the exception of last year since I was days away from delivering baby number three (a.k.a. Chase). This year, we brought Toby's family along for the occasion.

This year, just like the others, was busy and chilly. So, with the smell of kettle corn and hot chocolate in the air and a cold breeze in our faces, off we went. This year was no exception with the cold, the boys had ruby red noses when we reached the top, but the ride up was wonderful, except for some "dip" who decided that bras and Mardi Gras beads were the perfect decorations for a pine tree (didn't really do much for the tree!)

When we reached the top we saw a few people we knew, visited, and then decided

to have some fry bread and pepsi (I know, not a good combi

nation, but if it is any consolation, I did not drink any Pepsi~ that was the rest of the crew.) We had Toby's mom take our picture from the top, the wind was not as strong on the top...weird.

The view was beautiful and the colors were gorgeous. It made me remember why I love fall so much and how much I love living in the mountains of Arizona.

After staying at the top for a while, we decided to head back down. On the way down we got some silly pictures and some good ones of the kids and Toby and I. It was nice to have some family

time, although I will admit, I was missing my little Kiley. The

family just isn't complete without her. When we got to the bottom we visited with some people we know and then headed off for our "cook-out" in the woods.

We went to Greenspeak (Braedon was showing us his driving moves the whole way there) near our family camping spot and parked the truck. Toby, his Dad, and our two nephews began rounding up wood and making a fire pit, while I got the boys and the chairs out of the truck,

along with the ice chest and the foil packets that we had made up for lunch.

After Toby and his Dad got the fire going, we sat around and visited and waited for the coals to get hot. Toby's dad found a nice piece of metal to set on top and we all threw our foil packets on the top and got them cooking. Within minutes you could smell the chicken, potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery cooking (mine included some garlic, lemon, butter, salt, and pepper as well). The smell was making us all extremely hungry, what is it about being in the woods that makes you hungrier and makes all food taste better?

After the food was cooked, we all sat around and ate our lunches and visited some more. After eating, we sat around a little longer and then packed up our stuff to head home.

It was such a nice day. Toby and I decided to take the scenic route home, we weren't quite ready to get home yet. The drive was beautiful and QUIET! The boys had fallen asleep not ten minutes after we pulled out from our "lunch spot." It gave Toby and I a chance to visit, uninterrupted, which is few and far between.

We eventually arrived at home and got ready to head out to my mom and dad's for dinner. It was a wonderful day and it was topped off with a wonderful dinner at mom's house. The day was fabulous and nice and relaxing. I am so grateful for days like these!

When their fingerprints are gone...

So, today I was home from work with my little one. We are both finally getting over this "crud." I decided one more day of rest wasn't going to hurt anyone and I got a great sub for my class. The baby and I took a nice LONG nap this morning and then we played for a little while on the floor. While I was playing with him I caught a glimpse of something I had completely forgotten about.

About 6 years ago, Kiley was learning to write her name and practiced all the time. It wasn't until one day, years later, while cleaning the house I found a spot that she had "discreetly" written her name. I, of course, burst into tears at the sight of her "baby" handwriting. This particular spot that she signed her name is underneath my coffee table in the living room. I am not sure when she wrote it or how she got away with it without my noticing earlier but she did. Today, looking at it, I am so happy that she did. I don't know that I will ever part with this piece of furniture strictly because of the signature.

On Saturday, I was home sick and during the time that I was resting, my little Braedon decided to do some "signature" work of his very own. I woke up to find the number "42" on a specific piece of furniture. He was not as discreet as his big sister though, his was in plain

view for everyone to see. While I was getting after my 5 year old for writing on furniture and telling him why he shouldn't do it, I thought about Kiley's name on my coffee table. While this did not add beauty to my "butcher block," it did add some character. Years from now will I remember how he wrote his "42" if it is not on my butcher block?

Every week, when I clean house, I am wiping away my growing children's little fingerprints. They are being wiped off the doors, walls, windows, sinks, etc. They won't be around forever for me to look at and remember the times in their lives when they were so small.

Each of them have chosen to "bless" me with one thing that will stick! Their penmanship on my furniture! While this may seem silly, I think I will let it stay. Our children are only small for such a short time and I, for one, would like to remember the times when they were so little and innocent and sweet. My children are wonderful and by far the best things that have ever happened to me.

I want my children to know that even when their little, sticky fingerprints are gone; I won't ever forget kissing the little hands that made them. I won't forget the looks of determination on their faces as they learned to write their names or their numbers and the excitement that crossed their faces when they finally got it.

I am so happy to have the three children that I do and for all the wonderful times and laughs we have shared thus far. I look forward to many more years of laughter and joy with each of you!! Thank you for enriching my life far beyond what I ever imagined.

Love,

MOM

My Hands

Sometimes you get discouraged

Because I am so small

And always leave my fingerprints

On furniture and walls.

But every day I'm growing...

I'll be grown up someday

And all those tiny handprints

Will surely fade away.

So here's a final handprint

Just so you can recall

Exactly how my fingers looked

When I was very small.

My Husband, my BEST friend.

My husband, as most of you know, is a police officer in the area and the School Resource Officer at that. He has the opportunity to do the "scary/thrilling" stuff (depends on who you ask, Him or me on which one you get) and has the chance to work with the students. He has been in the schools since January and absolutely loves it.

I think it is amazing!! Not only do I get to have lunch with him every day but Tuesday (he eats with Kiley in the cafeteria on that day) but I get to have him home in the evenings and weekends, for the most part.

Several years ago when he told me that this was the profession he wanted, I was VERY against it! It scared me and I was not looking forward to having our family work around shift work. Well, as against it as I was, I wasn't going to hold him back from something he wanted to do. Now, looking back five years later, I can't imagine him doing anything else or our family running any other way. We have made it work.

Since Toby has been in the schools, I have seen a change in him. Not a bad or good kind of change but just a change in general. I have seen him develop relationships with kids and form bonds with them. I have seen him have emotional connections with them due to a lifestyle some of these kids "have" to live! He is a positive influence in the lives of these children who might not otherwise have one. I am so proud of him!

Yesterday, was the Public Saftey Open House at the Police Department. Toby was so excited about this since he is the D.A.R.E officer now. He made fliers and put up posters. He made announcements at the school and reminded the kids about it as they were going out to the buses on Friday. He really wanted a good turnout and he wanted "his" kids to be there. Well, he succeeded. They had the biggest turnout this year, ever. It was so neat to see all the kids there to see "Officer Gilmore."

He volunteered to be the "victim" of the Police Canine, "Holly." She is not a nice dog I might

add (her owner says she is just mis

under

stood but I just think she is extremely vicious). Toby had to simulate a criminal running from the police. He did, in a lot of gear, I might add and she attacked. It was crazy to watch.

After the simulation was over, Toby began walking back to the truck to get changed out of the bite gear and there were so many kids that just swarmed him. Comments like:

"Officer Gilmore, that was so cool!"

"Were you scared?"

"She is so fast!"

Toby looked so proud that all of those kids came and were so interested in what he was doing. His comment to them was pretty funny though, "That is why you never run from the cops!" The

kids just laughed and agreed.

During his time as the S.R.O, he has bonded with one child in particular. If you ask some of his previous teachers, they will most likely tell you that he is a "problem" child and is a "pain" and "you don't want him in your class." If you ask Toby about this kid, he will tell you "He is a great kid!" and "He is a funny guy." He has been given the title of "Toby's favorite."

This child has had a pretty disadvantaged life. Mom is a drug addict and dad has been in and out of prison. I believe he is currently being raised by his grandparents who are older and tired. There isn't a day that goes by at the school that this boy doesn't come up to me and ask where "Officer Gilmore" is. He tells me how cool and funny he is. He really looks up to Toby.

Well, yesterday at the Public Safety Open House, Toby volunteered to get into the "Dunk-a-Cop" tank to raise money for the Special Olympics. It was hilarious to see all the kids line up to "dunk" their D.A.R.E. officer. Toby, of course, was talking all the smack he could and the kids were "shutting him up" quickly by dunking him. He was in the tank for nearly 2 hours total and

raised nearly $200 dollars. The largest donation they have raised in years!

During the time that he was in the tank, the student that Toby thinks so highly of showed up. Toby asked him if he was going to take a turn at trying to dunk him and his reply was, "I don't have the money to do it, I just came to see you." Toby lent the child the money to dunk him. The look on the little boys face was priceless. He was so excited that he was going to get a turn.

Of course, he got three for three and Toby was down in the water each time. Toby told him he was a cheater and so on and the student loved every minute of it. After the student was done dunking Toby he came over and asked him about the "bite" dog and they chatted a little while longer until it was time for him to go. Toby made sure to shake his hand and tell him thank you for coming. It was neat to see! It made me very proud to call this man my husband!

As I was getting ready to leave, Toby stopped me and said this was so neat. He was pumped about all the kids showing up and supporting them. He was like a little kid again.

I am one of the lucky ones, I was able to marry my best friend. He, almost 8 years later, is still my best friend. He is the person I would choose to be with over anyone else and he makes me laugh more than anyone else. He is a wonderful father to his children and wonderful husband to me. He stands by my side when I need him the most and takes a step back when I need some space. He is a shoulder to cry on and a friend to laugh with. My life would not be the same without him! I love him more than he will ever know. He is and always will be my FAVORITE!

Sick of being SICK!

I have now officially been sick for 11 days. My friend, Becky, told me last night that the flu is running 10-14 days, looks like I am one of the lucky ones that gets to do this for the whole 14 days.

It all started on Wednesday at work when I started to get a sore throat. By Thursday it was killing me. I called the doctor and told him what was going on and he prescribed

my Penicillin for strep throat. Well that is all gone and now it is in my head (like a sinus infection). Yesterday I spent the whole of my day on the coach with Vicks under my nose and Day Quill in my system. What a drag!! Especially on a beautiful day.

I decided last night to call my mom and let her know how "crappy" I felt. Mom's are always good for that kind of thing. After talking to my mom for about 3 minutes I already felt better. Here are some things I have decided about moms when you are sick, especially mine...

1) Know one else can take care of you like she can.

2) I should move in with her while I am sick and have her nurse me back to health.

3) No matter how old you are, Mom still knows best!

I am feeling much better today, but still a little under the weather. Maybe another lazy day and another good night sleep will help me get back to normal. Now I remember why I dislike this time of year, especially as a teacher. Uuuuugggggg!!!!!

I love Sundays!!

I love Sundays, for so many reasons,

1) I don't have to work.

2) We go to church as a family.

3) I get to relax.

4) We spend the day as a family

These reasons are why I look forward to Sunday all week.

This Sunday was wonderful. We took it easy, I especially did, I am still trying to get over some really nasty flu/cold/strep/sinus thing. So, Toby, Kiley, and Braedon headed off to church while Chase and I stayed home. Chase took a nice long nap and I lounged on the couch and watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," really good movie.

When the rest of my family came home we all got in our "comfy" clothes and took naps. I LOVE NAPS!

After we woke up, Toby

got the turkey fryer out and prepared the turkey.

Braedon was so excited about it, he spent the whole time outside with Daddy while it was going. He was definitely the supervisor and messenger all in one. He would tell his dad how it was looking and then come in the house and relay the message to me.

During the turkey frying, Kiley was preparing the sweet potatoes and the stuffing. She is becoming quite the little cook and I love that she can help now. She loves it and so do I! While this was all going on, I was playing with the baby. He, however, had quite a rough day. While he was coming to give me a hug, he tripped and went face first into the coffee table and put his tooth through his lip. This may have caused most babies to cry for some time, he whimpered for about a minute, if that. He was then back on the go again. Within another 30 minutes, he fell again, this time reaching for his dad and cracked open his chin. That bled for a while but was pretty superficial. In about 5 more minutes, he busted his top lip on the remote, by swinging it around. He is a mess, not to mention the plant

that he pulled down on top of himself about an hour before all of this began. You forget how accident prone they tend to be when they first start walking. He was definitely keeping us all on our toes as well as making us laugh. He is a mess for sure!!

Check out those lips!!

After this experience, we decided it was best to move him as far away from the coffee table as possible, so we moved him by his toys, which happen to be close to our door. He decided to head outside.

This is where we found a plastic bottle under Toby's patrol car, this entertained him for quite a while. This was great news, as he wasn't hurting himself anymore. HAHA!! Eventually he decided to head over and help out Dad and Braedon with the turkey.

During this time, I got to spend some time with my sweet girl. We messed around in the living room and visited. Thank goodness for my little girl, otherwise I would be totally outnumbered in my home of "boys."

I am so blessed to have such a good girl. We talked about what she learned in church and her friends in school. She is

growing up so fast, I can hardly keep up with the kid. Yesterday she was born and today she is telling me about the boy that likes her, although she got very embarrassed about that and told me not to tell her dad.

What am I going to do??

I love watching her grow up into the girl that she is but I just wish I could slow it down a little bit!

Thank goodness for Sunday family time!

Finally, our turkey was done and Chef Toby was ready to show off his bird. I have to admit, it looked wonderful and

Braedon was mighty proud of it himself.

Daddy started to carve the bird and the rest of us snagged pieces off as he was doing it. It was juicy and delicious.

At that time, Kiley pulled her sweet potatoes out of the oven, as well as her stuffing. We put it all together and it made a wonderful dinner. Chase ate so much I thought he was going to be sick. Normally he isn't the biggest meat eater but he was doing pretty well on that turkey. I guess that

Thanksgiving will be a lot of fun this year.

After dinner, we cleaned up the kitchen and then got the kids ready for bed. It was such a nice and relaxing day. It is hard to say goodbye to Sunday's. Knowing that the next day is the beginning of another hectic, busy week. But I feel like I am lucky enough to have the family that I do and know that Sunday is only a few more days away and we will get to do this all over again. Till next Sunday....

Family Time

Yesterday was a wonderful day!!

Toby was the first to "rise" this morning (which is NEVER the case, he is always last out of bed on any given day!) and went wood cutting with his dad. This is our final load, I think!

We have gone out every weekend for the last four weeks and I think that is enough.

While Toby was out wood cutting, Braedon,

Chase and I went to Kiley's friend's house to pick her up (she had stayed the night and went to the football game the night before). We spent a little time over there and then headed off to the grocery store to pick up TONS of groceries. We were in desperate need of produce and pretty much every thing else. Thank heavens for payday!!

When we got home, Toby was home and we all put the groceries away. After that we headed off to the "Run to the Pines" carshow. On our way up we decided that we all needed Frosty's from Wendy's. They were delicious! It's been a while.

Of course Braedon and Chase managed to get it every

where, even in places I am still question

ing how it made it's way there?!

Once we got to the car show we made bets on how many people we would see that we knew. I, of course won. As soon as we got there, we saw Jared and his friends, along with many others. We walked around and looked at all the cars, Braedon was so excited that he got to look inside the cars rather than just the outside. He was just as excited about the cars as his dad.

Toby wanted to explain to all of (just like he does every year, HAHA) about how to

tell the difference from one year to another. He tells us all about them all, until he gets to his '66 Chevelle Super

sports, then he tunes out every one us out and stares at every detail on the car.

After about an hour and a half, the kids started getting a little whiny and miserable due to the heat. Chase was a little better after we let him walk around but since he is still pretty new at walking, he wasn't making much headway, he was

walking in a lot of circles!

When we were done looking at the cars, we started our trek back to the car. Once the car was in sight Kiley and I decided to race,

let's just say I smoked her! She said I cheated but I'm not sure how?!

On our way back home the kids and Toby were pretty hot and a tad cranky. I decided they all needed to chill out and cool off, so I took a bottle of water and poured it down Toby's shirt and doused the kids in the back. They loved it even though they acted grouchy about it.

Once we got home, Kiley and I started our lasagna. I told her I would teach her how to make it. It is my favorite but takes roughly 3-3 1/2 hours to make, but it is totally worth it. We started out with our onions, garlic, and herbs and started to saute those. After that we added our

tomatoes and red wine, that has to simmer for about and hour and a half. While we were cooking the sauce, Kiley browned the spice Italian sausage and I started the Tiramisu (White Tiramisu with Strawberries and White Chocolate).

After the sauce was cooked, we added the sausage and made the Ricotta/Spinach mixture.

Then Kiley began layering while I finished up the Tiramisu. It looked wonderful, she did a great job! We put the lasagna in the oven and the Tiramisu in the fridge to chill. After an hour and a half the lasagna was ready to come out and set up. At this point, Kiley put her garlic bread in the oven and started dishes and Braedon made

salads. He was so proud of them!

The whole dinner turned out great and looked beautiful. Kiley and Brady were so proud of their food. It was a really fun thing to watch! After dinner, Dad cleaned up the kitchen and I put the boys in the bath. Kiley took her shower and we were all in our pj's. We then sat down and

boys in the bath. Kiley took her shower and we were all in our watched America's Funniest Home videos and Chase entertained us with his "dancing" to the theme song. After the kids went to bed Toby and I sat up and watched "I love you, Man!" It was pretty hilarious!

It was a wonderful day with my little family!

I cherish these times because before too long my kids won't be so little and their friends will become the highlight of their lives. I am so grateful for my husband and my children and the happiness they bring into my life everyday. I am so content with my life just the way it is. I can't imagine any other life than this and I am so happy that this one is mine!

Kiley's Lasagna:

My Tiramisu:

Braedon's Salads:

The Path

There are reasons that all of us are who we are today. There are turns of events in our lives that make us take paths we may or may not have traveled. Whether or not we like where this path takes us is up to us. We are ultimately responsible for our own future and the quality of it.

I have had many examples of this in my life. I have had to make difficult choices and traveled paths I was very unsure of. However difficult they may have been, they have all lead me to a wonderful place now. I am blessed with beautiful children, a loving husband, a steady, successful career, and amazing friends and family that have always supported me.

As I reflect on the people who's support has been the most steady and consistent, I think of one person in particular.

This person is my best friend...

the one who will call me out on my "bad" behavior...

the one who knows more about me than anyone else...

and the one who is more like me than anyone else I know, or should I say I am more like this person.

I am blessed to get the opportunity to talk to this person usually on a daily basis and share my concerns with raising my family, the happy things in my life, and getting an account of their day. I don't know how I would make it in this world without this person, I wouldn't be the same with out being in this persons life.

Every value and moral that I know to be true

Every "Type A" personality trait I have

Every ounce of passion I have for life I have learned to love from this person.

SHE is the most amazing woman I know and holds the most special place in my heart and my life. I think of her role in my everyday life and the utmost importance it plays. She gives me hope and strength to be a better mother and wife.

Everything I have been taught to do started with this amazing woman, she has been there with me through it all. She has walked my winding path all the way from the beginning with me, holding my hand every step of the way. I am so grateful for this amazing person and I hope there isn't a day that goes by that she doesn't know how much I love her.

To my beautiful mother... I love you and would not be the same without you! You are the mother I hope to be to my own children. I hope on

e day they look at me and feel this way about me. When I think of you I thin

k of all the times in my life that you held me while I cried in your arms and

all the laughs we have shared together. You

are and always will be my best friend. Thank you for all that you have taught me and continue to teach me daily. I love you!