The worst feeling (in existance) to the human race...

I think....begins with a RACING HEART. Then PANIC. Then absolute HUMILITY (but not the good kind. There was absolutely NOTHING I could do. Kind of one of those OUT OF MY HANDS situation. But SO DESPARATELY trying to control the situation. Followed by a PARCHED THROAT. Maybe the HYPERVENTILATING caused that, so add that to the list as well. I had covered a lot of ground up to this point. Whether on foot or car, I just couldn't move fast enough. Mykael and Jaden had joined as well, while I ordered Ash to stay with Dylan. Knocking on neighbors doors and driving to possible locations only freaked me out even more when nothing positive resulted. Attempting to call my husband was almost impossible, for as bad as I was SHAKING. But somehow holding the phone in my hand and unknowingly accessing the touch screen...it kind of just called him itself. It did that two times. Weird. When I finally reached him, he said that if nothing changed in an hour, I needed to call the police. Forget the one hour!!!.... it had been LONG ENOUGH already...

So I called.....
"What's the address you are calling from?" 331* ****** **
"The number you are calling from?" ***-****
"What's your emergency?" I can't find my son! I've looked all over the house, he's not here! I've driven around the neighborhood. My other kids are looking for him. We can't find him!
"How old is he?" 4
"How long has he been missing?" No more than an hour. (looking in closet, slamming door)
"What was he wearing?" I don't know, he was changing.
"Ok, what does he look like?" He has blonde hair. (looking in dryer)
"Eye color?" Blue (looking in cupboards)
By this time I'm shaking uncontrollably! And crying. (I'd already looked in these spots. I guess I was hoping for a little magic or miracle).
"What color is his hair?" (I already answered that, but if they needed to know it again, FINE!) Blonde, really blonde. Fair skin. (Looking in deep freezer)
"Is the hair long, short?" Short (sitting down, shaking, breathing hard, so helpless)
"What's his name?" Elias
"Can you spell it?" E-L-I-A-S
"E-L-I...?" A-S
"Last name?" Geeting G-E-E-T-I-N-G (Just incase I went ahead and spelled that too.)
He asked another question, but I heard a small voice and screamed, "WAIT!"
ELI??? WHERE ARE YOU?
"I'm right here mom." Climbing out from under the table.
HE'S HERE! I FOUND HIM!
"He's there?" yes
"Do you want me to send out an officer out?" No. Sorry for bothering you.
"It's ok. I'm glad you found him."

I've often asked myself if I had a superpower, what would it be? I've ever answered: super strength, super hearing, super piano player, elastigirl (sometimes I hate getting up to turn the light off after getting into bed.), Speed would be nice too. But after today, it would be the ability to be in multiple places all at once. Perhaps you could just clone me. A Me to do the dishes. A Me to do the laundry. A Me to clean the house. A Me to cook meals. And a Me for each child.

Fortunately my story ended happily when sadly I hear about dozens of others that don't.
At the beginning of this little incident, I had walked outside to see if he was playing out there but only found his flipflops in the little green gator truck. So I went back in the house to find him. The rest has already been told. But the one thought that kept seeping into my mind was that HORRIBLE newly exposed, freeway and someone picking him up and carting him off. That's where the humility (not the good kind) came into play. I was powerless. Knowing that if that was what had happened, my "strong, brave, controlled self" was now just as useful as a dried shriveled up leaf, lifelessly blowing in the wind.

When I asked him why he hid, he said, "I just did." Not really an answer but it really didn't matter at that point. He had been hiding in a small cabinet in the kitchen and then quickly moved under the table where my crying panic'd conversation on the phone, with the operator, pulled him out from underneath. He was worried, because I was. And I'm hoping his lesson was learned.

I don't think that there is anything that could prepare you for such a thing, other than a clone to attach itself to your child/ren. Of course that's impossible, and not very practical at that. Needless to say, it will be an "indoor play day" today! (and tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that, and maybe the one after that, and depending on my mood....the next 2,334,876 days after that.

Right now: Grateful! and that's all.

Fetching the Kiddies

I tried to suprise the kids and wanted to get their reaction. I get my camera ready, and ring the doorbell. Nothing. But I could hear kids! So I knock loudly. Nothing. I did notice the newspaper sitting at the base of the door, but figured my mom hadn't picked it up yet (I didn't know she even got the newspaper!). So I knock again. Nothing. This time, I turn around and try to follow the noise. It came from the door across from the one I was pouding on. I take a venture and captured this when attempting the second door: (Good thing "neighbor" wasn't home. I'd look pretty stupid standing there with a camera!

I think Angela's reaction was what I was looking for from the kids, but hey, I'll take it! Thanks Ang!

Dylan was just happy. And so was I!


We had a free day, so I suggested we drive up to Palisades and get Square Ice Cream. (It's an Idaho thing) Falls Creek was our first stop!

I remember it being so beautiful but the water level in Idaho is on the higher side so I was a little... (ok, I was A LOT) nervous with the kids getting too close. The grass behind the boys has a sudden drop behind it so they were super brave by sitting here. Jane was really scared. I just happened to snap this pic during a transition in displeased expressions that makes her look ok. But she was FAR from ok.

Love this country! It reaks of childhood memories! "Sunday Drives" happened rather often!

See? LOTS of water! And it was moving REALLY FAST!

Artsy fartsy shot. Me likey.

Enjoying our square ice cream! We never did make it up to the resevoir. We had to get back for more fun with family. A movie (How to train a dragon) with Uncle Schmoe (I mean Joe.) Good times! Good Time, indeed!

Virginia

These are a few highlights from my trip! I had a wonderful time and miss them already. I spent a majority of my time using my imagination with Genevieve (my niece) and holding this super sweet baby.

We're sitting here waiting for Mommy, Daddy, and Emory to come home from the hospital!

Helping her baby walk.

When they finally arrived, her reaction was hilliarious.

Hurry. Hide!

Then she remembered what they had!

"Where's my baby brother?"

She's a great sister! When he cried, she would say, "It's ok. It's ok. It's ok...." And the harder he cried, the faster she said it and the higher the pitch she used.

This was an old tank top of Mykael's. I loved it so much I hated giving it to the D.I. So I made a dress for Genevieve out of it. She loved it! This isn't a very good picture, but she was dancing around so much in it, it was hard to get a good shot.

He is such a peaceful baby. Wish I was cuddling him right now!

Playtime outside with Evie. Fortunately the humidity was really low and we had a few days of fun outdoors.

Saying goodnight and goodbye before my early flight!

*kiss them for me, will ya?

Good enough to clog the veins

I ate these awesome appetizers at a graduation party and couldn't stop eating them. Of course self control kicked in and I refrained from finishing the plate and socially embarrassing myself, but they were GOOD! Lil 'smokies wrapped in bacon with brown sugar "sprinkled" on top. (I say sprinkled, but I was a little more liberal with it. Love the salt and sweet flavor)

This picture totally makes it look gross with all the raw bacon and a child's hand, but necessary sanitizing procedures were constantly being practiced during the preparation of this dish. (I have issues with raw meat).

I was going to get an after picture of crusting sugar, crispy bacon, and sizzling weiners, but I made these for a bbq and was already late. (There weren't any leftovers!!) I placed them on a plate with a paper towel to absorb any unnecessary grease and took off.

You're suppose to cook them until the bacon is done so I guessed with 20 minutes. But ended up a little more than that. I guessed the temperature at 375 but hiked it up to 400 when I was running out of time. If any of you out there knows the offical name of this yum stuff, please let me know. (not that it matters, just curious I guess.)

The comment at the graduation party from the woman that made them, "You can't eat just one." And she is SOOOO right!
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Later that night, I found this next to Eli's bed. Sproutin Lil' smokie. He wouldn't let me throw it out, I think this weekend will be a great opportunity of "out of sight, out of mind, and remember no more." But the attempt was cute regardless.

Banned from Blogging...

I have banned myself from blogging when my mood is tettering on Moody. You're VERY welcome! Sorry 'bout those last posts. They did kinda suck! So I did us all a favor and pretended they never existed.

We will now continue with the regularly scheduled blogging....Thanks for coming back.

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I told Eli he was being a "pain in the butt".

"No mom, YOU'RE peanut butter!"

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Ashton started tee-ball. If you could use a good laugh, stop and watch a tee-ball game. HILLARIOUS! The kids were SO cute.

Ashton took it very serious! It was so fun to watch.

But the boy takes sliding TOO serious! Had to slide EVERY chance he got. If the ball was two feet away laying on the ground...He slid for it. Another kid went for the ball, he slid for it...TEN FEET AWAY! I now need to find where to buy patches, cause this kid is going through jeans before I can get the tags off! Good Grief! :o/

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Jaden had his Arrow Of Light ceremony for cub scouts and his pinewood derby that same night. So it was an exciting night for him.

First of all, a mountain man came to do the presentation. Jade and a good friend of his recieved these feathers and arrow as a reminder of what they've accomplished. It turned out SO well.

I had originally thought that mountain man made the hanging feather things but nope, that's "mom's job". I was a little worried about how they'd turn out, and really wanted Jaden to have one to hang in his room! I think they turned out alright.

Immediately afterwards...They had the derby. Jaden's car is the red one in the middle. Sorry the picture is so blurry but its the only one I've got that shows his car. My batteries were dying, it was indoors, I shake, and am just too lazy to get out of my bed at 10pm to go take a picture of it to post on here, so here ya go!

He spent a LOT of time with his dad perfecting everything on it! It was exactly 5oz. The alloted weight. But the boy in the tan you see in this fine pic of mine, took first everytime! He had a tank and did quite well. Apparently if you hollow out the middle of the car on the bottom, then melt iron into holes behind the rear axle, you take the lead everytime. It was fun to participate in and Ash and Eli had to have one too, so daddy hooked them up. Ashton can't wait to be a scout for "real". (Neither can I!)

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That's it for now! Have a great holiday weekend and stay safe!

The Latest to Have Mastered the Bullet Bike

This boy doesn't waste any time, does he?

*yes his shirt is on backwards. That was the stipulation to allow him to ride. "Get dressed".

Rags to Riches

I really hate clutter, which ironically plagues my life. I have lots of motivation but I lack the drive to actually accomplish it on a more permanent basis. But on certain days my drive exceeds my motivation and I actually get something done.

Case in point. Our "fire pit" was getting a little out of control and even a little bigger than what was previously decided upon. (actually I don't think there was a set size, but I've since decided that we should've. I didn't want to loose more of my backyard than I already had.)


So I remedied that with the help of this fantastic Cabela's Fire Ring.

Next I'm gonna get small rocks to place around the dirt. It'll look real purty.

And yes, I did this in ONE (read: uno, single, 1, une, odeen, Yi, ein,...etc.) day!