Christmas Past!

Christmas has come and gone yet our tree still stands! I was really disappointed this year that the holidays started passing us by as we sat home sick. We missed a Christmas play in the tower, Steve's Christmas Party (it would have been our 9th one together), Tjerrild family Christmas gathering, Carson's playgroup gift exchange, Christmas Eve with Steve's parents and having Devin (because he was sick) for Christmas this year. We did fortunately feel better for Christmas day and welcomed many guests into our home. Dad and Debbie arrived with Christmas dinner while my Mom, Paul, Paul's daughter Jennifer, her fiance Carl, and my brother Stephen all sat down to enjoy the ham and other delicious holiday favorites. Yes, we had 9 people around our table for Christmas Dinner!!!

We were later joined by Steve's parents, Gregg and Grace. Then to top off the evening, the whole Delton family graced us with their presents!! (I mean presence!!) We had a house full!!

I can't forget to mention what Santa brought each of us!!.... Carson strolled downstairs to find a slide that Santa had built just for him. Santa brought Steve a brand new Xbox 360 with wireless Internet so he can play against Stephen in Oakdale!! And Santa brought me a new Canon Rebel Xsi camera AND a Sony HD camcorder!! Woooo Hoooo!!!

Steve, Dad and Stephen gave each other little remote control helicopters that they literally flew into the night!!

And Uncle Stephen made Carson an amazing train table to fit on our coffee table.

Many other gifts were exchanged and enjoyed by all!!

A Century of Life

My Oma, Ruth Wagner, is celebrating her 100th Birthday today!!

It just isn't Christmas until....

....we get to open the presents in our stockings that Santa has brought us!!

I must commend Cousin Jodi for helping us to recall our special Christmas memories. It has been a treat to reflect upon my own as well as to read those of my family members. I thought I'd share a few of my personal favorites.

It just isn't Christmas until.....you find the DT in one of Diane's Christmas cards (Jodi)

It just isn't Christmas until.......Patty gets the last spoon! (Barbara)

It just isn't Christmas until....I can silence Patty's competitive spirit after running a clinic in Apples to Apples. (Dean) -

It just isn't Christmas until... we wear oversized T-shirts and make up a dance to the Beach Boys! (Amanda)

It just isn't Christmas until....I get saddled with a Milli Vanilli CD or other undesirable gift after a fierce white elephant gift exchange. (Dean)

It just isn't Christmas until... We have done one of Aunt Julie's crafts! (Kristen) - This year it will be her maxi pad slippers!! I can't wait!!

It just isn't Christmas until....A new guest whips the egg whites for the abelskivers on Christmas morning. (Amy)

It just isn't Christmas until... I have shared a toothbrush (and no toothpaste) in the car with the Cheatham sisters. (Patty)

Gosh, there were sooooo many good ones. It was hard to pick just a few of my favorites.

As we prepare for Christmas, I am really trying hard to stay positive to that holiday spirit. This nice little exercise was definitely helpful.

On Monday, Carson and I drove to Salinas/Monterey to visit friends. We unfortunately had to cut our trip short, as I came down with a terrible winter cold virus. Only to have Steve and Carson sick as well. However, Carson and I were able to share a night at the beautiful Monterey Marriott on Monday night. It was like a mini vacation. The two of us slept in our big cozy beds of white linens and down pillows. We ordered room service and enjoyed sipping coffee (OJ for Carson) as we viewed the beautiful Monterey Bay from our ocean front corner suite!!

Upon returning to Clovis, I have spent the better part of the week trying to get better. Carson is currently fighting a fever of 102. Hopefully we will all be better in time for Christmas. Actually, I hope we are better before then, because I still have Christmas shopping to finish up.

No Coal for you!!!!

To Sleep or Not To Sleep!

Last night I put Carson to bed in his big boy bed. Shortly after putting him to bed I heard some commotion upstairs then it was quiet again. Hmmmm... I thought. So, I went to check on him, just in case. When I opened his bedroom door, to my surprise, he was sitting in bed with his aquarium night light on with all his books on his lap, reading! It was the cutest thing but I had to try so hard to keep a straight face. He looked at me with his little guilty face. His lower lip came out and started to quiver. He was supposed to be sleeping! I took his books away and turned off the light. He started to cry. I left the room, shut the door and laughed in pure amazement at his mischievous ways at almost 2 years old!!!

Dear Santa,

I want Santa to bring toys and a baby sister!!
Love, Carson
PS. Thanks for the Candy Cane

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree, How lovely is thy train underneath!

I had to post a picture of the pies I made for Thanksgiving that feature the amazing pie crust cutters that I purchased from Williams Sonoma! In my opinion, they totally made the pies taste better!!

The holidays have always been a stressful time for me. My parents divorced when I was 4 years old and during the holidays I always bounced between my mom's house and my dad's house. Wanting to spend the holidays with my mom but knowing that I was going to have more fun with all my cousins on my dad's side. As I grew older, the decision grew more difficult as well. Then I went on to marry someone with divorced parents who also has a son that divides time between parents. Mothers, Fathers, step-moms, step dads, mom's boyfriends and dad's girlfriends.... so many family members to love and even more to get to purchase presents for.

I am trying really hard to enjoy the holiday spirit this year. Thankfully Carson is helping me find my inner child that loves Christmas. Carson is almost 2 and is really excited about all the festivities. He is thankful for the Christmas tree, Santa Claus, snowmen and candy canes. Every morning he wakes up, comes downstairs to open a door on the "train" advent calendar and finds a chocolate Hershey's kiss. But I would have to say his favorite is the "choo choo" train that Grandpa Tjerrild (papa) gave him on Thanksgiving to go around the Christmas tree! Carson has learned to make the train go forward, stop and go in reverse. A true train conductor with the most amazing passion for trains.

As my belly grows bigger, I try every day to put the 1st trimester of my pregnancy behind me. I want to feel better but every time I think I do, I have a day that I feel miserable again. When we ask Carson if he wants a baby brother or baby sister he replies with a baby tractor!!!

The house is another thing you are probably wondering about.... Well, the brief update on it is that we officially walked away from it. We have hired an attorney to try and recover our $30K deposit. Still no word as to if we will see any of that money ever again. Ugh!!

Well, until next time....
Enjoy the Holidays, eat way too many Christmas cookies and wear at least one hideous Christmas sweater!

See ya next "Fall"

I might criticize those who don't update their blog often enough but now I realize that I have fallen a victim as well!! Opps!

We have been busy with just the usual day to day activities. I will try to summarize any updates:

CARSON
He is growing up so quickly. A couple weeks ago he was refusing to sleep in his crib. When we would put him down for a nap or to bed and he would just scream. He has always been a good sleeper and at this point we wondered what to do. He wanted to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed but we refuse to lose our bed to our children. In compromise, we disassembled his crib and converted it into a "big boy bed." Carson now loves to go to sleep in his Big Boy Bed!!

We had some pictures of him taken last week. Diane did a great job.... Here are a few of our un-edited favorites (and yes Kylie, that shirt is the one that you got him for Easter! Thank you!):

PREGNANCY
I will be 12 weeks on Tuesday. The doctor say everything seems good so far. I got to hear it's heartbeat at the last visit. This pregnancy has been very different from my first one with Carson. I have been more nauseous, ridiculously tired and suffering from terrible migraines! Food disgusts me most of the time. All in all, I just feel miserable. I seriously don't remember being this miserable with Carson. Everyone that has multiple children says that the second pregnancy is always harder because you are chasing after your first born and the excitement of being pregnant has worn off. To those who "LOVE" being pregnant... Eat your words because I HATE being pregnant!!! And to those of you who are going to respond with, "well, maybe this one is a girl," bite your words too, because it just might be another boy!!!

STEVE
How is Steve you ask? Good. Just busy at work as usual. He has been having a bit of a back problem and is in a lot of pain. He strained it on our last day at Bass Lake over the summer and it seems to be only getting worse. He went to the doctor last week and still has no resolution to the problem, whatever the problem might be.

Daddy and Carson actually just got to spend some quality time together this weekend as Mommy ventured off to a scrapbooking retreat in Shaver. It was fantastic! The weather was unbelievably beautiful and I managed to get closer to completing 2007!!

THE HOUSE
We are in quite a dilemma with our new home builder right now. Not quite sure what is going to happen at this point. They poorly hand textured our walls that we requested and now they are unwilling to negotiate because they know that our house is not going to appraise and we refuse to pay more than the appraised value. We have sent our contract to an attorney and are waiting for a letter from the home builder as to the next steps. I would love to have our $30K deposit back and walk away but highly doubt that is going to happen. That would be best case scenario. Worst case scenario, we just walk away and lose the $30K. Happy medium is that the home builder is willing to compromise with us and we will have a new house towards the end of January 2009. I will keep you posted.

A Shawna Update

Here is the latest entry from Shawna's CarePage:

BAD NEWS!

I am so numb with emotion that I can barely sit down to write this. At 8:45 am I walked into the Oncology office dreading seeing my Doctor. I prepared myself for bad news based on how I have felt the past two weeks. I didn’t give up hope I just listened to my body. This is what the Doctor told me. The cancer is worse in my body especially my lungs. This explains the cough that I have developed. I asked if the cough would ever go away and he said no. So what I have dreaded has finally come true. I was told that I am Chemotherapy resistant. I have stopped responding to all types of Chemotherapy. These were my options today. Try one last drug that my Doctor said I have less than a 9% chance of responding to and pay 16 thousands dollars to be on or go home and live out the rest of my life and when things gets worse he will but me on morphine. HE SAID I WOULD HAVE 3 TO 8 MONTHS LEFT. I have not cried yet today for I am afraid if I start I will not be able to stop. I have so much I need to do with the kids the next three days If I melt down it will suck all my energy out of me and I am afraid of not being able to participate in my children’s classroom Halloween parties or field trips. WHO knows I could end up crying all night! I hate this! My options are both horrible. What would you do? Well today I have been on the phone with a few Doctors. Hopefully I will be able to go down to LA next week. I am leaning on going down to Mexico. I will be gone for 28 days. I don’t want to be gone during Christmas. I don’t know what I will do. I feel sorry for Dan right now- right when his basketball season is starting I’m throwing a big wrench in things. What do I tell the boys? I was a maniac today. I went shopping and spent two hours in build a bear making stuffed animals for my boys and then came home put some pumpkins out and then started cleaning the garage. Afraid to stop for a minute to let my day sink in. So confused, sad, discouraged, disappointed and overwhelmed. I have so many feeling going through my head. I need to get my affairs in order, finish my projects and start a few, spend quality time with everyone and start cleaning up all of my personal things so my family won’t have to do it. I want to just hold on to my boys and never let go of them. My heart aches for them. It is going to take a lot of strength not to go climb in bed and put my face straight down in my mattress and feel sorry for myself. I am thankful I am helping in Preston’s Kindergarten class with his Halloween party tomorrow and tomorrow night from 6:00PM to 9:00AM I will be at California Oncology for the Art of Life.

Wednesday, October 29 from 6:00PM to 9:00PM. California Oncology is putting on the Art of life Exhibition and Reception. 12 local artists with 80 women cancer survivors to co-create 13 works of art during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It’s open to the public, free of charge. Come enjoy refreshments, entertainment, and more. It should be a lot of fun! For some crazy reason my whole group never showed up and I was able to do the whole piece of art by myself. It’s all about my journey as a young mother with small children who has cancer. It’s very personal and I’m excited about completing this special memory. California Oncology is located between Herndon and Bullard off of Fresno street. The address is 6121 N. Thesta, suite 205. (I will take pictures and post them this week) Tonight the story was on KSEE 24. Here is the link to it, if you have problems it can be found on www.ksee24.com -- under Art of Life Exibition -- click on watch the story: http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/33469949.html?video=pop&t=a

Everyone has been wonderful but I know I will need my friends and family around me more than ever. As my nightmare becomes a reality. I am not giving up I just don’t know how to let go, say goodbye. I will never say Good Bye! The reality of being my last Christmas just makes me shutter. I love the holiday season. The feeling of Love and giving is what I like about it. So I have asked Dan to help me set up A Christmas tree in all of the major living areas and I will be starting this project Saturday night. I told Dan I am making my own rules right about now. Please keep praying for I know God can still come through in the 9th hour. I would like to try and see everyone in the next few months. You guys are amazing and I truly appreciate your support. Love, Shawna

http://shawnalynnkilbert.googlepages.com/

Oh, The Things You Will Find in a Toaster!

I was just wondering....
At what point as a mother do you:

a. Check the Toaster for unknown objects?

b. Store the Toaster in a place that your child can't reach?

c. Watch your child to make sure he isn't placing things in your Toaster?

d. All of the Above?

In my case, I should probably pick option "d".

Amy plans to write a book on grammatical incorrectness. I am going to write one on all the things you will find in a toaster, or the like, such as finding your cell phone in a flower pot, or a hot wheel in a printer. Yes, the true joys of parenting. Someone in our family definitely needs to start a publishing company!

Which leads me to wonder what life is going to be like when I add another delightful little person to the family. If you haven't heard, yes, I am pregnant again and expecting baby #2 sometime in late May. I am officially 8 weeks pregnant and confirmed a heartbeat last week by the honorable Dr. Wilson.

Steve likes to think that conception happened the night of our anniversary.... in a tent... at BASS LAKE. You are either wondering, "Ahhh, how romantic" or "Ew, remind me never to borrow their tent!"

Well, I will keep you posted on the status of Baby Charlie (boy or girl) and update you with any new chapters to my "You put what where?" Book.

Take care,
"Hecho en Bass Lake!!"

Keep the Faith

Most of you know that I have invested a lot of time and energy to help raise money for my friend, Shawna that is battling cancer. And I thank those of you again, who have donated.

I received an e-mail today that reinforced my efforts to continue to raise money for Shawna. I believe I is a must read. Have your tissue ready.....

"My name is Jim Horn. As a teacher here at Bullard, I was forwarded the terrible news about Shawna by Liz Dodds, our librarian at Bullard. The story was a “de ja vu” for me. When I was 14 years old, my mother came down with something called Hodgkins Lymphoma . At the time, my father owned the largest gas station in San Luis Obispo which is where I grew up. San Luis Obispo was even a more sleepy town in 1962 than it is today; a great place to grow up and, later, to grow old in. There wasn’t much to do in the meantime. She was a good mom, too. I remember the stories about when she was pregnant with me and how she would go to the old mission to pray for a healthy child. I give this to you as a background because in 1962 she was diagnosed and, at the time, there wasn’t much known about this disease. Eventually she went to the Sansom Clinic in Santa Barbara where a number of things were tried; many of them to no avail except to make her even more sick. Up to that time, no one had survived Hodgkin's. The doctors eventually took the position that there was nothing more they could do….. except to try a very experimental protocol. The insurance company would not pay as this was an “untried” therapy. I remember my father going to Santa Barbara and consulting with the doctors and was given the choice of ending any further treatment or to find some money to pay for the new treatment knowing that the financial burden would rest with him. Without hesitation or reservation, he told them to “go for it.” Ultimately, he had to sell the station to pay for treatment. What he received in payment didn’t completely pay for it, but that was the decision and he never looked back. After a period of time, which seemed like years but was, in reality, only about 14 month, she went into remission and ended up living another 20 years. When my father died in December of 1977, she fell sick again and died that next June. Both of them were my hero and heroine. I haven’t thought about it much over the years, but there really was a love story there, although neither would admit it.

Shawna, keep the faith. Keep your optimistic side up as the power of positive thinking can move mountains. It is rough to look the grim reaper in the eye and not blink. From what I have read about you, your faith and belief system are much like my mom’s. Look that old fella in the eye, let out a laugh and tell him, “not now, sucker, not now. I have too much to do.”

I remember Dan when he was here at Bullard and I remember him as a good man. This will certainly test his metal, no question about that. Those young sons are going to need his strength and direction as well. Personally, I am not one could call a “bible beater” by any stretch of the imagination. However, there are times when we must let someone stronger than ourselves shoulder the burden for us until we can resume the task. No matter what happens in the end, the master’s plan will be played out and families are forever.

My hopes and prayers are with you and yours. I am sending a donation and if there is anything more I can do to help, please let me know; this treatment needs to go forward."

For those of you interested, Sarah Hallier and I are hosting a Benefit Fundraiser for Shawna on Saturday, October 25th, 6pm at Pangea Restaurant, in Fig Garden Village, Fresno, California. It includes an hors d'oevre and cocktail reception for $50 per person. Please e-mail me if you are intrested.

Them Good People

There are days when I get really depressed hearing about all the hate and anger in the world. The evening news is regularly filled with killings, robberies and lately filled with back stabbing politics. It saddens me to think of all the unhappy people.

However tonight, I my heart is warmed my the goodness of others. My dear friend Shawna, who is fighting for her life against cancer, was blessed with a fundraiser that exceeded all expectations. The local Moms group of Fresno put together this idea to raise money through Baja Fresh. 15% of all proceeds from those who brought in a particular flyer and at Baja Fresh today would go directly to Shawna.

Steve and I ate there for lunch today. The place was packed. We waited 45 minutes for food after we ordered. I approached the manager before we left to make him aware that tonight was going to be 10 times busier. The manager actually got a little pissy with me and scolded me for the people that were handing out flyers in line. From what I saw, 95% of the people in line had flyers already and I was upset that he was being so petty. He told me that 50% of the proceeds would be forfieted for that reason. I was appaled. A friend, Randy, was outraged as well and determined to do something about it. They had no clue for the evening shift was in for.

Tonight the place was off the hook. Shawna showed up for the dinner shift and introduced herself to the manager. The manager said, "Who are you?" thinking she must be someone special to pull this big of a crowd. He mentioned that they have had fundraisers before but none even close to this magnitude. Randy also returning for dinner, chatted with the manager and they agreed to not forfiet 50% from lunch and instead donate 20% of the proceeds to Shawna. The news brought tears to my eyes.

I spoke to Shawna after the event and she was astonished by the generosity of others. She came home with $400 dollars in her pocket from people just handing her money. I can't wait to here how much the proceeds from Baja Fresh is going to be. I will keep you posted.

All this makes me realize that there really are good people left in this world. And sometimes we shouldn't let the small things bother us so much. Life is truely a blessing and I am so fortunate to wake up and live each day.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

I decided to take a moment to sit here and reflect as Steve and I sit here while being completely bored by the Emmys.

1. I would like to comment on the succes of Jimmy Johnson!! He finished 5th today during the NASCAR race at Dover. He sits 2nd in the race for the chase. Can he win the chase for the 3rd year in a row? I believe he can!!

2. As for my fantasy football team, I had my first win this week. Can I get an applause??!!! For those of you who don't know, I joined Steve's fantasy football team 2 years ago when they were short one player. Previously before joining, I would get annoyed at Steve (yes, I get annoyed at Steve every once in a while... who knew???) as he would sit in front of the TV with his laptop on the coffee table, flipping from channel to channel and rooting for random players. Now I am officially hooked as I am the one with the laptop frantically screaming at the television during football season!!

3. CARSON: Oh, where do I start??..... He is becoming quite the chatterbox with a complete obsession for Choo Choos, tractors, and trucks. "Mommie, Mommie, choo choo. More choo choo! Mommie!! Mommie! More! CHOO CHOO!!" This is what I hear all day long, over and over again. Did I mention that he is completely obsessed? Totally!! A close 3rd, 4th and 5th would be Helicopters, airplanes and cars! Wow. I never knew how these items could take over ones life!

Also, Carson repeated "I Love you" for the first time today. I become more and more in love with him each and every day. He is a true joy. I hope you enjoy the video as much as I do.

That's all folks. Goodnight John boy.

Pool Party at Casa Delton!

Five for Thirty-One

Sometimes spontaneity results in more fun than actually having a plan.

Steve and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary on Saturday with a last minute trip to Bass Lake for the night. I was sad on Friday because we couldn't decide what to do for our anniversary and didn't want to spend a lot of money doing anything. The weekend prior we had to cancel plans to camp at Bass Lake because of a sick Carson, so we made up for it this weekend. Suzanne took care of Carson while we rendezvoused to Bass Lake with a tent, chips & salsa, 2 rafts, a cribbage board and an ice chest with some cold coronas.

We arrived, found an available campsite at the Forks campground. We set up camp, played a game of cribbage, floated on the lake, set up our tent, played a game of cribbage, walked to the Forks for a Meal, then came back made a fire and played more cribbage under the glow of a Coleman lantern!!

We woke up the next morning next to a beautiful lake, packed up camp, had breakfast and a birthday Sunday at the Forks and headed back down the hill to get ready for my party.

Mark and Ginger graciously hosted a last minute Pool Party at their house for my birthday. It was super fun!!

Sometimes when I plan and anticipate a grand time, the actual event doesn't always live up to my expectations. I feel that last minute splurges are often the most fun!! This weekend was definitely an example of that. It truly was one of the best anniversary/birthday weekends I have had!!

Carson's Anatomy

It may not have been Seattle Grace Hospital but Carson made his Emergency Room debut at Clovis Community Hospital last night.

Carson had been running a fever of 102 degrees for a couple of days with no other symptoms. Yesterday, he woke up with a raspy voice and a little cough. Nothing I was real concerned with, but was keeping a close eye on. Last night after refusing to eat any dinner we put him to bed. We had a full house of men making draft picks for a fantasy football league. At about 9:30pm, Tom mentioned that Carson was upstairs crying. I went to check on him and noticed blood in his crib, on his shirt and all over his face! I carried him downstairs into the light and saw that the blood was coming from his mouth. He started coughing a real deep dry cough and with the blood coming from his mouth it appeared that he was coughing up blood.

We immediately drove him to the ER to have him checked out. We requested our very own, Derek Sheperd, aka: Dave Stone, and Carson was seen right away. The diagnosis was an upper respiratory infection along with croup. The blood was from the inside of his lip that he had been chewing on. Carson was given some Tylenol and some prednisone, (a steroid) to reduce the inflammation.

We were released and upon leaving the hospital, Carson proceeded to throw up all over me!! The staff observed him for a few more minutes and determined that it was just the prednisone that often makes kids nauseous. They gave him an anti-nausea pill and sent us once again on our way.

As of this morning, Carson is still feeling a little under the weather but doing fine.

Permanently Hot!

I was a marketing major in college and have worked many years in marketing and advertising, so I truly appreciate a good advertisement when I see one.

In honor of the 2012 London Olympics, I thought I would share this one with you. I found it incredibly clever. Let me know what you think....

The First Supper

If you believe in true love keep reading:

Steve and I are about to approach our 5 year anniversary on September 6th.

My morning texts from Steve yesterday read, "I love you and appriciate you more than u know!!" and "You are a great wife and I think you are a spectactular mom!" It was time for some generous payback.

At about 4:00 pm , Steve agreed to meet me at the new house later that day. I picked up my car from having its oil changed and told Steve that I also wanted to go to Target. I really didn't have to go to target, but I didn't want him to head to the house before me. Instead, I made a quick stop at Steve's favorite restaurant, and picked up some take out from Tahoe Joe's. Then it was off to the house.

At the house I unpacked the card table, chairs, table cloth, dishes, water and wine that had been stored in my car all day. I called Steve and told him I was on my way and for him to meet me there. I put the table in the kitchen and set it with all that I had brought. I removed the filet, green beans, and baked potato and arranged them on the plates along with the salad and railroad camp shrimp (a Tahoe Joe's favorite). I lit the candles and poured the wine. My stomach was turning nervously while I anxiously awaited Steve's arrival.

Steve pulled up and made his way up to the house. He paid careful attention to the newest construction that the workers had done that day. As he walked into the front rooms of the house he continued to admire the wood framing of the new house and was yet to notice the table set up in the kitchen. He walked down the hall way to the kitchen and finally noticed the lovely table of food that I had set up for us! SURPRISE!!

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner in our new house. The atmosphere of our barely constructed and far from completed new house was super fun. Several neighbors honked as they drove by, already excited for us to join the community. I am looking forward to our house in Harlan Ranch to be complete!!

PS... I love my Husband!!

Carson and the Choo Choo!

I haven't had much time to sit down and update my blog. Sorry, I know how dissappointing it is when I go to view other's blogs that haven't been updated!! Hint, Hint!! (with the exception of Dean. Dean you are great about updating you blog. I get so excited to read updated blogs and look to the next.)

Here is a brief update:

The week after we returned from Bass Lake, Steve had strained his lower back and was in a lot of pain.

Update: Steve is feeling much better, thankfully!!!

The next week, Carson woke up Monday morning throwing up! It was horrible. This was the first time I have ever experienced a child vomit! Not only was it messy and disgusting, but completely heartbreaking to watch your child go through this type of agony. Then, Steve came down with the dreaded stomach flu on Wednesday, Grandma Heidy on Thursday and yours truly on Friday. Luckily, we had some house guests that were a big help! Thank you Maddi and Suzanne.

Update: We are ALL feeling much better, thankfully!!!

Last week at about 10:00 pm on Wednesday night I decided to take Carson to the Train Museum in Sacramento on Thursday. We were joined by Kristi R (Auntie K), Jodi, Emelyn and Delaney. To say that Carson loved the Train museum would be a complete understatement! If you ask him what we saw in Sacramento, he will reply, "Choo Choo." He may have come home with his first Thomas the Train starter kit and a book, and a video too! Can someone say spoiled. Nahh, just well loved!

Update: Carson loves trains!!

Bass Lake 2008

For as many years as I can remember, and even more before my time, the Tjerrild family has gathered yearly for festivities that have included (but not limited to) Turlock swim parties, Grandma and Grandpa's anniversary celebrations and picnics in Toro Park. Four years ago my Dad and Debbie decided to coordinate an official "Annual Tjerrild Family Picnic" at Bass Lake. The prior years have been quite a success and have gathered momentum and excitement for each year to come. This year was no exception. In years past, many family members, including Steve and I have made a weekend event out of the occasion by camping for a few days before and after the picnic. This year however, a few of us cousins may have had some babies along the way and decided it would be a grand idea to rent a cabin for the week.

So this year....It all started Sunday morning July 20th, I did some early morning grocery shopping for the big trip, then headed home to finish packing. Raindrops fell from the cloudy sky as we headed for the mountains. We dropped our dear Tenaya off at the doggy inn for the week and were on our way.

We arrived at our beautiful cabin overlooking the lake. I was excited to know that this was going to be our home for the next week. Steve, Carson and I were accompanied by:

• Jodi & Dean and their 6 month old twin girls, Emelyn and Delaney
• Amanda along with her two boys, Trevor (2 1/2) and Parker (11 months) and her wonderful mother-in-law, Marti from Pennsylvania
• Stacey & Blaine and their 7 month old daughter, Jane
• Marie with her 10 month old daughter Olivia
• Suzanne, Carson's babysitter even stayed for a few days to lend a hand and enjoy the festivities

If you are doing the math... yes, you are correct, we had 7 children all under the age of 2 and a half!!

We coordinated breakfast and dinner among us and ate rather well during the week. My personal favorite meal was the lasagna. Oh, maybe it was the tacos?? Ok, it was the barbecued chicken skewers. We will just say that every meal was amazing!! Our days were spent soaking up the sun and swimming in the lake. Carson couldn't seem to get enough swimming. He loved to jump of the back of the boat into Steve's arms! Our evenings were spent playing with babies, and engaging in highly competitive family gaming!! Apples to Apples is always a true crowd favorite, along with Cribbage and Taboo! We may have caused James Brown and Helen Keller to roll over in their graves. Please... let's have a moment of silence...........

Tuesday, July 22 we celebrated Jodi's birthday and were thrilled to watch her open her new Wii. Dean may have beat me at bowling but I won at baseball!!

Friday morning, Amanda, Marti, Trevor, Parker, Suzanne, Carson and I piled into my Denali and drove to Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad. Carson has a severe fasination with trains, or as he calls them, "choo choo." The boys were so thrilled to ride the giant steam engine. But the funniest part of it all was right when we arrived. We were all standing at the station waiting to board the train when I noticed a rather familiar face. It was our cousin Torben from Denmark. He and his wife, Hanne flew in to surprise the family for the picnic. Nobody new that they were here. There cover was partly blown. We were to tell not a soul!! I am a bad secret keeper, I may have slipped to Steve but didn't ruin the surprise for the people it mattered most to!

(Please let me make a side note to the whole Torben story. Torben lives in Denmark and had not been able to make any of the annual picnics. But he is so loved that in year's past, our family is just crazy enough to have posted a picture of Torben on a stick to include him in the annual photographs.)

Friday night we invited all of the family, including the those who were camping and those who were staying in other cabins, to a BBQ bash. After dinner a select few were feeling adventurous and decided that they wanted to try the rope swing in Willow Cove. We drove 5 miles an hour to the cove were Jessica, Foley, Suzanne and I swam over to where the swing was. All I remember from this wild adventure was watching Suzanne swinging towards the water but accidentally letting go before she was actually over the water. Pooooof, there was a huge cloud of dust as she rolled down the hill into the water. Thank God she was not seriously injured and only suffered a few embarrassing scratched on her back and arms.

Saturday was the actual picnic that began early with the set up of the day use area. Family steadly arrived throughout the morning and Torben's surprise visit brought the whole crowd to tears. As usual, the barbecue was amazing thanks to my dad and godfather, Merrill. Carson played in the lake most of the day as we celebrated Carol's 60th birthday.

As our week came to an end, Sunday meant packing up and saying goodbye. Stacey and I were ready to stay another week as I was NOT ready to go home. Unfortunately however, Steve injured his lower back and was anxious to return to the comfort of his own couch.

Our picnic is already scheduled for next year, on Grandpa's 105th Birthday, which of course is also my Mom's birthday!! July 18th! See you there!!

Busy Bodies...

We have been busy!!

Due to an outrageous 112 degrees in Fresno, Carson, Suzanne and I decided to head to the coast to find some cooler weather. (Suzanne is Carson's Nanny - Well, actually she is just his sitter that comes at least every Thursday) We found beautiful 65 degree weather in Monterey. We took Carson to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for the first time. We were accompanied by Heather and Trevor Church and had a delighful surprise visit by Nana and Genie too!

We spent the night at Roland, Alli and Mia's House. On Friday we strolled the streets of Carmel, ate clam chowder in bread bowls on the Warf and bought salt water taffy! Before returning to the sweltering heat, we visited with Marie, Olivia, Stacey and Jane!!

Saturday night we attened a Charity Event for the St. Agnes Men's Club. This year's Summer Sizzle event suggested that everyone wear WHITE! It was a fun evening.

Today, Lindsay, Andrew and Nolan invited us for a day at the Park. We went to Oso de Oro Park where we fed the ducks and played in the water!

One of Carson's favorite activies is playing in Ol Billy!! He will actually take your hand, pull you out to the garage and beg for you to put him in the driver's seat. I had to post this picture because I thought it was so CUTE!!

Independence Weekend

I have been trying to sit down and blog about the 4th of July Holiday, but have been too busy. So, I am going to make it brief and just post some pictures.

But first I want to say sorry for jumping the gun and letting the cat out of the bag early. I announced my pregnancy at only 4 weeks along. Unfortunately, on Thursday, at only 5 1/2 weeks along, Aunt Flo came to visit and I miscarried. Am I bummed? Yes. Am I ok? Yes. We were fortunate to get pregnant without having to try very long and I wasn't that far along. We will continue to try in the coming months. And, I actually want to get some medical things in regards to my thyroid taken care of before I get pregnant. So, better luck to us next time!

As for the 4th... Kristi R. and Jen came to visit from San Francisco on Thursday night and stayed through Sunday. (It was great to get my mind off of things, if you know what I mean!!) Then we spent Saturday morning at Millerton Lake before hanging out on the greenbelt the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening. The neighborhood kids had a parade. Sweet Jordan Browning enjoyed the opportunity to pull Carson in the wagon for the 2nd year in a row. It was really cute.

On Saturday we spent the day at Bass Lake. We dropped Carson off at Nana and Grandpa's in Oakhurst and enjoyed an adult day on the lake.

On Sunday we were visited by Jodi and Dean as they made a quick stop through Fresno on their way home from Bakersfield. It was so great to see the twins. They are getting so big and not to mention CUTE!! I was sad that Carson was not feeling well and did not get to hang out. He had a fever that ranged between 101 and 103 from Saturday to Monday. Doctor said it was just a virus and that he would be fine. The fever broke Monday afternoon and he has been feeling a little better each day.

Now the the countdown is officially on for BASS LAKE 08!! Woo HOOOOOOO!

Baby Charlie?

Yesterday morning I woke up feeling like I hadn't slept in weeks. My whole body was tired and felt heavy. I managed to drag myself out of bed because that is what you have to do when you have a 17 month old. with a list of things to do for the day, I arranged for Carson to spend the day with Grandma.

As we walked out the front door, Tenaya bolted for freedom. I secured Carson in his car seat and then tried to convince Tenaya to come home. She wouldn't have anything to do with me. Mind you, I am in my pajamas, the car is running and I am in the middle of the greenbelt, screaming at the top of my lungs as Tenaya is prancing around as though this is some sort of game to her. I was furious. Screaming louder and louder with every "Tenaya Come!" The next thing I know, my neighbor Michelle came out to see what all the commotion was about. I completely lost it. The keys went flying and the tears started flowing. It was then I knew something more was going on.

Michelle calmly took Tenaya inside to play with her dog, Pickles and I took Carson to Grandma's. then I took my long list of daily activities and tossed them aside and went back to bed. I woke up at 2:00pm with a craving for fast food. Who does that?? So, I ventured to Burger King then to Target to buy baby wipes, body wash and a pregnancy test. I picked up Carson and returned home, leaving the pregnancy test in the car.

I am not pregnant, I thought. I mean, how could I be?? We just started trying and my boobs are not sore. Yeah, my stomach has been hurting and feeling nauseous. Yeah, I was supposed to start a couple of days ago. Yeah, I am tired and emotionally unstable. But what's new?

I proceeded into the evening and watched Fresno State pound Georgia in the college baseball World Series. What an amazing series.... Go FRES-NO-STATE!!!

Half way through the game I received a phone call from Keithly (Heather Church). We have always had an unspoken friendship that goes deeper than words. She just knows, and this time was no different. She had a feeling. Not sure exactly what the feeling was but it made my lazy but go to the car to retrieve that darn pregnancy test and pee on it! By golly, it said that I was pregnant!

I called Michelle over for a second opinion because Steve was at water polo practice. She agreed that there were two lines. I was not sure how to feel so I just paced the house.

Steve came home and was watching the game highlights on ESPN while I was talking to cousin Amanda on Skype. She asked me if we were "officially trying." I mentioned that there was a pregnancy test on the counter that Steve was too blind to notice. And well, long story coming to an end, he found the test and realized that I am pregnant!!

I am only a couple weeks along so I will have to schedule a doctor's appointment to make sure all is well, but will definitely keep you all posted. Here's to Baby Charlie!

Anyone need Home Financing? - I DO! I DO!

Yes, it is official, Steve and I signed papers last week with Wilson Homes and have chosen to proceed forward with the purchase and construction of a brand new home, the Fordham Model in Rivage at Harlan Ranch.

We have, however, also chosen to not sell our home but rather to just rent it. Goodness, Budget Lockdown is officially in effect!!!!

It is rather bittersweet. I am really excited for the new house but am very sad to leave our current home. This was our first home together and it holds a lot of memories. Steve and I love our house and our current neighborhood but hope to fill the new 5th bedroom with a little Charlie someday. The purchase of this house is a financial gamble but hope that it will pay off in the long run. It is a little unnerving right now because of the current state of the housing market but I believe that long term real estate is one of the best investments!

Well the details of the house are rather exciting. The house will be located just 2 miles east of where we live now. It is approximately 3,200 square feet with 5 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths. The lot we have chosen is directly across the street from my friend Shawna who is fighting her battle against cancer. More importantly, it has plenty of room for friends and family to come visit and stay!! We hope to move in some time after the 1st of the year 2009!!

Kenny Chesney!

We just returned home from an amazing weekend in San Francisco. Steve played against Olympic water polo players at a tournament in Moraga on Friday and Saturday. Then Saturday I picked him up as we ventured into the city.

While out to dinner on Saturday night we sat next to Sammy Hagar. Then on Sunday we went to the Kenny Chesney concert at AT&T Park. The concert included a line up of Luke Bryan, Gary Allen, LeAnn Rimes, Brooks & Dunn and Kenny Chesney. It was super fun. Kenny started to sing his song "Shiftwork" and said "Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome, George Strait." I of course about fell out of my chair only to have Kenny say just kidding! I didn't think it was too funny. Then later on he welcomed Steve Miller to sing a few songs with. And to top it off he welcomed Sammy Hagar to sing as well! The crowd went wild. It was an incredible concert.