Tagged. I got a quirky tag today....name 6 things about myself that are quirky. Maybe I should ask Derrick. He probably has a list a mile long. But I'll do my best.

1. Door knobs. I have issues with doorknobs. My house may not always be super clean, but you can count on my doorknobs being cleaned on a very regular basis. I wash my hands twice in the bathroom. Once after I flush, so that I won't get any germs on the doorknob, and once after I open the door, in case anyone else touched it without washing first. I also take my bottle of Lysol around at least once a day and wash the doorknobs.

2. Feet. I don't like feet at all. I especially don't like my own feet. When I was in Junior High and High School P.E. and they made us take off our shoes for something, I just about died. I just really don't like feet. I think Derrick (and my dad) may be the only guy EVER to touch my feet.

3. Sand. I have a fear of sand in my food. When we go to the beach, and I see a little person put their hand in the bag of chips, I'm done. The thought of biting into a chip and feeling that sand grit between my teeth, just sends me through the roof. It's worse than fingernails on a chalkboard. Last time we went to the beach, we ate in the car before we got out. Just to prevent the sand thing.

4. Music. I listen to music only for the beat. Sometimes I'll be singing a song that I have really always liked, and Derrick looks at me with complete shock. He then asks me if I know what I'm singing, and of course, I have no clue. I've never thought about it. When he tells me what the song is talking about, it usually makes me blush. I've had to delete some songs off of my ipod. It's a shame, since they had such a great beat!

5. Smell. I have a super strong sense of smell. I can smell something and have memories flood back from my childhood. It's probably the reason we don't have a pet. Even a clean dog still smells like a dog to me. It doesn't bother me when other people have pets (to a point), but I just can't do it myself. I have 4 boys, that's bad enough!

6. Memory. I think I remember everyone I've ever met. Not that they remember me. I just don't forget people. I remember the smallest details of conversations we've had. I usually remember their name too. I can't remember what we had for dinner last night, and I almost always forget to make it to doctors and dentists appointments, and it's almost scary how lost I can get because I forget which way I came from...but I NEVER forget people.

That's it! So now I'll tag Maria (you don't come across as a quirky person, so I'm dyeing to know), Tonya (I'm laughing already), Ruth (I've never really thought about your quirks), Gabe, Nicky, and Laura (yep, sister Campbell, that's you).

Guilt...

Why am I feeling so guilty today??? This is the first time EVER in the history of my kids' education, since Skyler started preschool when he was 4, that I have NOT volunteered my services at a school Halloween party (at least one per year). Shouldn't I feel as though I've earned the right to stay at home with the baby? Why don't I feel that way? I was determined to stay away this year and let some of the other mothers take it on, which I'm sure they are more than capable of....but then WHY do I feel guilty about it!? I didn't even get asked to send cookies or anything! Tannon's costume doesn't even require my assistance at school. I wonder if I'll actually be able to stay away! Probably not. I guess it's most likely I'll see y'all (at least you Pocatello friends) at the school in a few hours!

Beward Of Pride!

When I was a kid, I was always confused by the statement, 'Beware of Pride'. On the one hand, the scriptures tell us over and over that pride is bad, but on the other hand I always felt so warm and fuzzy when my parents told me that they were proud of me! I even remember once when President Benson came to our ward (since he was from my hometown, Whitney Idaho), and told us how proud he was of us! So which is it??? I guess now I know there are two kinds of pride. There's the kind that is bad, that makes us think we are above others, and perhaps even that we don't need our Heavenly Fathers help...and then there's the kind of pride that we take in ourselves and in our accomplishments...while recognizing the Lord's hand in those accomplishments! So this is what I'm proud of...

*I'm proud of my husband, and the way that he treats me. It's easy to feel like a 'queen' when my husband treats me as such! I'm really proud that his parents taught him that.

*I'm proud that I know how to 'can' food. My mom taught me, and it's been such a great skill to have.

*I'm proud that I can make my husband laugh. Granted, it's usually on accident when I do something really dorky, but laughing is the greatest thing ever, and I love to hear him laugh.

*I'm proud that I can keep up with Derrick on a hike (normally), and I can even take my fair share of time carrying the baby back-pack.

*I'm proud that I have so many great friends. I think they really like me!

*I'm proud that I'm really a pretty darn good cook. I LOVE going to a restaurant, and then coming home and making up copy-cat recipes. I am especially proud that I am able to make healthy food taste really good.

*I'm proud that my kids eat vegetables. I have taken it as a challenge the last few years to get them to actually like their veggies...and they do!

*I'm proud that my boys can play the piano. Most days its a battle, but when I see that Skyler can play the hymns in priesthood, it's all worth it!

*I'm proud that I'm smart. I may be a flake, but I'm really smart!

*I'm proud that Derrick and I can grow a garden (for the most part). I think it may be a necessity some day, and I'm so glad we know how!

*I'm proud to be a Latter Day Saint. I'm also proud that I have a testimony. I'm proud of my parents for teaching me, and helping me develop that testimony!

*I'm proud that Derrick reads books. He loves classic literature. I think it's so important that boys see their dad reading.

*I'm proud to have five wonderful kids!

*I'm proud that I chose being a mommy as my first priority. I want to go back to school some day, but this whole mommy thing is the best!

*I'm proud of 'my girls'. I just got released from Young Women's, but I just love 'my girls' both here in Pocatello and in Vegas. It's so much fun to see some of the older ones getting married, and serving missions, etc....

*I'm proud of Skyler's curly hair. He gets it from me. It's way cute.

*I'm proud of my brothers and sisters (there are 8 of us!). It's so great to know that I always have people who care about me (even when I might not deserve it!).

*I'm proud of my nieces and nephews. They are some seriously great people!

*I'm proud that we've been working on our food storage like crazy! Whether we'll ever use it or not doesn't really matter. We've already received the blessings just from being obedient.

*I'm proud that I'm not a selfish person. I love to serve others, and don't mind putting others ahead of me. I think I'm pretty sensitive to other's needs.

*I'm totally proud to know that I am a daughter of God, and that he loves me!!!

So there you have it! I'm so proud of so many things, and I'm so thankful for each of them!

This was a week of FIRSTS. It all started on Sunday morning...

Tannon found his church shoes BY HIMSELF for the first time ever!

It was a miracle!

Myah blowdried her own hair for the 1st time.

Desmond sat in his Bumbo seat for the 1st time.

And so did Myah.

I got to go for my 1st hike since Des was born (a very mild & very short hike, but it was better than nothing!)

And I even got to shop at our brand new Pocatello Costco. I thought this day would never come!

I even used Facebook for the FIRST time, and found old friends that I got to talk to for the FIRST time in 15 years! How cool is that???

I think all of our FIRSTS this week were good. Can I have SECONDS?

Pansy!!!

Boy, I sure sounded like a pansy yesterday!
Today will be better.
I just know it!

Run Kelli, Run!

Today I ran.
I really ran!
It didn't feel good like it used to.
Then I tried to do a declined sit up.
It hurt.
A lot.
Oh well.

Mission Accomplished

I made myself a goal this weekend. If only all of my goals were this easy! I promised myself I would get all of the kids pictures done, and a family shot too. Anyways, we took the boys out Sunday afternoon and finished up our fall pictures. Here's a few of my faves. Myah's are down a couple of posts, since I did her pics last week.

Skyler
Zacary

Tannon



The Young'ns

The Family

The Very Proud Parents

And there you have it. Perhaps I posted a few too many, but it's just so hard to choose. I guess I love my kids so much that even their 'bad pictures' are cute to me! I wish we could say that we made it through this photo shoot without any tears. But honestly, we had weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth! Oh well, we're done until next year!

The only question I have now...do I have a head tilting issue, or is my brain lop-sided? I looked back at all of the pictures that I am in, and my head is obviously tilted to one side, the same side, in every pic! That's weird. I never knew I did that.

Oh, CRAP!!!

I'm seriously in a lot of trouble! No, I didn't wreck the car, or buy a hundred dollar pair of jeans. I didn't even volunteer Derrick for some huge service project. This is what I did do though...

Tannon and Myah and I (along with Des of course) went to Shopko to check out the Halloween costumes today. Tannon wants to be a Ninja. Myah is already hooked up with her 'Dorothy' costume. Shopko was a flop in the costume department. I think it's time to pull out the Halloween box and get creative! So anyways, after our stroll through Shopko, I remembered that on the other end of the mall there is a party supply store with costumes. There was nothing there either, just a bunch of mannequins dressed in only the skankiest of skanky costumes. Do women really dress like that on Halloween? In public??? I'm getting sidetracked again. So while we were walking to the party store, we passed by the food court. It's pretty small, and I was sort of thinking of stopping by Mrs. Powells and grabbing a pink sugar cookie, but I promised I would do good today. I thought I might even hit the treadmill later on. So as we're walking through the foodcourt, I looked down and saw a couple sharing an ice cream. I was suprised, since I didn't think there was an ice cream spot in our mall. As I took a second glance, I saw where they had gotten their ice cream. Apparently, Dairy Queen has moved on out, and in it's place....A GELATO BAR!!! I haven't had Gelato (Italian ice cream) since I was in Germany 15 YEARS AGO!!! There's just nothing quite like it. And that is why I'm in so much trouble!

So much for the motivation and determination that was creeping into me to lose a little baby fat! I know without a doubt that I will be frequenting the new Gelato bar a couple times a week at least. The kids and I shared one today, and I plan on taking Derrick back tonight. Just down the hall from this new favorite place in Pocatello, an Aeropostale store opened. Pretty cool, but Aeropostale clothes and italian ice cream just aren't going to work well together I'm afraid! Oh well!

Fall Photos

Today is THE MOST beautiful day ever! I can't believe that just 6 days ago, we were under snow. Myah and I decided to take advantage of the great weather and get some fall pictures done. I've decided that it's much better to take the kids one at a time, even if it means a lot of driving around. Desmond was very cooperative, and we got through the whole photo shoot without any tears or frustration (from any of us!). So here are a few of my favorite shots. Aren't digital cameras great?

Like I said, Des was very cooperative. He even liked the swings at the park. I totally had to let up on my germ-a-phobic tendencies, but it was worth it.

Desmond let me sit him in the swing...

....and he liked it...

...A LOT!!!
My goal by the end of the weekend is to have everones pictures taken, and MAYBE even a family pic! (Yes mom, I said a family picture!) I don't think this weather will hold out for long, so we better get it done.