The Big Emily Did It!

Ireland and Kearney....sporting their new bangs!

Yesterday I was sitting on the couch and I looked at Kearney (although I thought it was Ireland) and noticed that the front of her hair was significantly shorter than the rest! I could not really believe it and hoped that I was mistaken. I asked her to come over to me, and sure enough she had bangs. Granted, they were a bit longer than bangs usually are, but they were there none the less! I asked her who cut her hair and she said 'The big Emily did it'. I called Ireland over and took a look at hers and sure enough hers was done as well! I could not believe it! Now, we have two Emilys living by us. One is in the 1st grade and one is in kindergarten. We went out to talk to Kylee and 'the big Emily' to discuss not cutting other kids hair. Emily was pretty adamant that she had not cut the girl's hair. This did not mean much. I have heard all of the kids protest doing things that I knew they had done. So, we called the twins over to have the three of them there while asking the question again. 'Who cut your hair?' The twins would not look up and had a very guilty look on their faces. So I asked them 'Did Emily cut your hair?'.....no answer, which is really an answer. James and I both apologized to Emily and then had the twins apologize for trying to get her in trouble for something that they did. They then had to go to time out. Not for cutting their hair, but for lying! Ah, I hate lying! On the Cosby Show Claire Huxtable was heard to say 'If there is one thing we can not abide by in this house, it is lying'. I agree with this statement. In our house you get in a lot more trouble for lying than for whatever the infraction was that prompted the lying.

Well, after time out was over we had to head over to the nearest hair salon. This needed to be done anyway to try and trim up the back. The girls are trying to grow their hair out and it needs to be done frequently. They were so excited to go...me not so much! lol When we got there we decided to have the same lady cut their hair so that they looked the same. Yes, they really like to tease people about who they are and it is hard to do if they have different haircuts. This time around they each got to have their hair washed (they LOVED that!). While the lady was cutting their hair they sat and stared at themselves in the mirror. You know, smiling, making faces, just generally loving how cute they looked! lol Once the bangs were all trimmed and ready they kept flattening them and saying 'I look so cute!'. lol Really, they do look adorable with them.

We got home and Kylee took one look at their hair and got mad at me because they had bangs and she didn't. I reminded her that she had told me that she wanted to grow her hair out and we were in the midst of doing that. She started to throw a fit and after about 10 minutes of this with plenty of warnings she got sent to her room. Now, if you think that this shut the sound up you would be sadly mistaken. Who knew that something so cute and small could be so loud? Well, I did seeing as how I have heard it before....but it might shock you. Unless you already have kids and then chances are you have heard it from your own.

Nine Years

This is not a picture of just us, it is better. Our 4 kids make our lives a million times better!

Yesterday was mine and James' nine year wedding anniversary! In some ways I can't believe that we have been married that long and in other ways it seems like we have been together for longer than that. (and this is not longer in a bad way!) Ten years ago this June my dad (he was stake president at the time) started a singles ward in our stake that covered five different stake areas. I did not want to go to it. I was attending a student ward up at the University of Utah. My dad asked me to go and I told him 'all the guys in this area are dorks'. He told me that he needed my support. So, to show him how much I loved him and supported him I decided to attend. That first Sunday after church we had a 'mingle' or a 'get to know the ward' visit. I was walking around with some friends (we were checking out which guys we thought were cute) when I noticed this guy standing across the room. I said 'look at that cute guy' and both Rose and Andrea said 'Oh, do you mean James? He is in our ward'. Well, off we met for me to meet him! Now, I will not say that it was 'love at first sight' but it was definitely 'I am so attracted to you' at first sight! haha

We didn't start dating right away, but we flirted like you would not believe and he was invited in to our group and so we did things together every night. It didn't take me long to decide that I really liked this guy. I have always been a big flirt, but I have not ever been the one to initiate dating, but with James I had to! He would never have done anything if I hadn't. So, in the end I asked him out. I loved doing things with him. He was funny, nice, had the same values and goals that I did, and was so stinkin' cute! Now, in the past I had dated other guys like this, but usually after the 1st or 2nd date I didn't want to have anything else to do with them. Not the case with James. I just knew he was the one. We dated for a bit and then he started 'wanting to date other people' although I did not know this. So, we broke up. I should say that he tried to but it was taking so long and was so painful to listen to him trying to get around to it that I ended up breaking up for him. It was a miserable three weeks. Yes, at the end of that three week period he realized what an idiot he was. lol He didn't date one single person and just kept thinking about me. So, we got back together. My parents had gone out of town for a week. When they left I was not with James. A few days later I called them to tell them I was getting married! My mom said 'To who?!'. lol Six months later we were married. It has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love him so much and I am so grateful for all that he does for me and our kids. I am grateful that he loves my family and truly thinks of them as his own.



This year was only the second year that we were able to be together on our anniversary (last year was the first and we didn't even do anything!). He gave me some perfume that I have fallen in love with (Viva La Juicy by Juicy Couture....yummmmm) and we decided to go out to dinner. We got a babysitter (doesn't happen very often) and went to dinner. We headed over to Burger's and Beer, one of my favorite places to eat, and had Mexican food! haha....seems weird to have mexican food at a burger joint, but there is really not any place here that does not have good mexican food (unless you count Taco Bell or Dell Taco). We were only gone for 90 minutes, but it was so great to get away and just talk.



I am happy for the last 9 years that we have had together and I am looking forward to being together for eternity! I love you James!

Two Years and Counting

This is James in one of his uniforms!





Almost three years ago James was looking for a job and came home and told me that he was going to be applying with the U.S. Border Patrol. Being one who does not like any kind of change, I quickly informed him that there was not a U.S. border in Salt Lake and so it would be hard for him to do that job there. I did not want to move to who knows where and leave behind all that I loved. He told me that it was his last resort and that he would be able to find something in Salt Lake and we would be good. Well, he put in the application and for the next 10 months applied all over the place. He had his degree in Business Finance but did not have any experience. That was the problem. The jobs he was applying for sometimes had over 300 people applying as well and more than 60% of them had experience. He just wasn't getting that job! The end of that 10 month period came (Beginning of April 2007) and he got a job offer from Homeland Security. If he took this job (in El Centro, Ca.......um, where?) he would have to start on April 23rd! Hello! That was only two 1/2 weeks away! We prayed about it and got the answer that this was the right move. I was not happy about it, but who am I to tell the Lord what to do? So, we got a realtor and put our house up for sale. We sold it the very same day that it went up. We started packing and James did as much as he could (he was working like a madman) before he had to go off to his 4 1/2 months training. He left and I, along with my family and friends (thanks so much...especially Josh) moved all of my stuff in to storage. The kids and I then moved in with my kind, patient, wonderful parents. I am sure it was the longest 4 months of their lives! We kind of took over the house. 4 kids running around screaming and yelling and getting in to all kinds of mischief (writing on walls, breaking things, etc) had to be a shock after being just the two of them. I love them both so much for the sacrifice and love that they have shown to us. It was so nice to spend that time with them. I knew I was going to miss them so much. I did miss my husband and wanted him to come back, but I also knew that his coming back would mean that we had to leave....so I was torn between how I felt.

The day soon came that we had to leave. We had our U-Haul packed up and towing James' car (fully packed). James and Parker drove in that and the girls and I followed in my car. Pulling away and leaving my mom and dad standing on the curb was the hardest thing that I had ever done. I was crying so hard it I could barely see to drive and with each passing minute it got harder because I was getting that much farther away from my parents and sibs. Part of me was so mad at James that I wanted to scream! (at times it was a big part! lol)

We got to El Centro the second day and I was so not happy! It was 120 degrees and 77% humidity! I wanted to jump in the car and go right back home to Salt Lake! We had to stay in a small hotel room for 3 weeks until our apartment was available and it was VERY hard, but James was loving his job. It was the first job (besides the Marines) that he had that he really loved. Now, I should say something about the Border Patrol. There is a lot more to it than most people think. When he first got the job I had someone say to me "He will get something else soon. He is too smart to just be Border Patrol.". Well, it actually is not just a 'security' job (nothing against those...James did that while going through college). It is hard work. They have to learn how to track people and know tons of legal stuff (can you tell that I don't know it?! lol). It is also extremely dangerous.

So, when you start with the B.P. you are on a two year probation. They can pretty much fire you for anything and there is not much you can do about it. (this has happened to a good friend of James...very sad) Last Thursday James hit his two year mark! I can't believe that he has been with them for two years! He is now part of the union and I don't have to worry about him being canned! (if they did they would be stupid) Yay for James! There is also a change in my attitude. The first 3 months I was severely depressed and still depressed for months afterwards. I sobbed daily (more than once a day was normal). I look back and see that I probably should have seen someone about it. I changed a few things about what I was doing and it got a bit better, but it took a long time for me to be okay with things. I know that I worried my husband, mom and sister. I am grateful for their love and support. I still miss my family and I still want to move back to Salt Lake, but I have come to love El Centro and I love the people here. It was not hard to love the people, but it took some time to not call it Hell Centro. (the summer still fits into that category) I have several really good friends and so many other people that I enjoy visiting with. I have also come to like warmer weather! I get cold really easily and don't really like that much! I do miss having 4 seasons instead of two (one is MUCH shorter than the other) and I like to look at snow (in pictures), especially on Christmas but it is nice to have the kids play outside all year round.

I have also thought about how the economy is doing. I often wonder what would have happened to James and our family if he had gotten one of the many jobs that he had applied for. I know that his job is secure and I don't worry about us meeting our needs. I know that the Lord watches over us. I am grateful for what we have. I am also grateful for when I am able to go back and visit my family. I don't get to go as much as I want, but I do get to go back. We have also had family come here to visit (not as much as I want...but some). I know that we are better off here with a job than how we were before, with no job.

So, to end my LONG post....thanks for reading it, if you made it to the end.....I can't believe it has been two years. We don't know how long we will be here before we move back, but I will enjoy the time that I am here. I will do what my grams said and 'bloom where I am planted'. I still don't like change, but I recognize that sometimes it is in our best interest!

Totally Freaked!

I have started watching the new t.v. show Harper's Island. I missed the first week but recorded the second week. I was hoping that I wouldn't be too confused and thought I might give it a try. So, I sat down last night to watch the 2nd episode while the 3rd episode was recording. OH MY WORD!!!!! It was so creepy and scary! I love scary movies, I always have. When I was younger I used to thrive on it, but as I have gotten older it is harder for me because for some reason I really get scared and I can't seem to get the feeling to go away. Plus, I am not sure if I like being scared or not. Kind of a love/hate relationship with the fear. So, back to the story. I was able to catch up on what was going on and I loved the show, so I decided to watch the 3rd episode as well. There were times when I was tense and others when my mouth dropped open and seemed to stay that way for a long period of time. I loved them! Almost an hour after I had watched the 3rd episode I was still kind of spooked but I needed to go out to the car. It is late and very windy. I was slightly trepidacious as I walked out and the further I got the more afraid I became. I started thinking that I wished my neighbors (Adam and Yvette) were home so that if someone tried to kill me they would hear me scream and come running to save me (turns out Adam was home and said that he would have loved the chance to play 'hero', but I didn't know that). The shadows from the trees were bouncing all over the place, the trees were brushing the top of the carports making an eerie, creepy noise and all of a sudden I couldn't take it any more. I quickly turned around to walk back home and the moment I walked in the gate I took of running as if my life depended on it (I truly felt like it did). I rounded the bushes and threw open the door. As I did so I scared my dog to death who immediately started barking. This in turn made me scream slightly and slam the door shut and quickly lock it. I was shaking and felt like I was going to die. You might think that running would have made me feel better. I didn't. I found that it increased my fear by at least one million times. Once in the house I was not feeling any safer so I ran (yes, ran) in to our room jumped onto James wanting some comfort. The problem was that he was sound asleep, it was late and he had to get up really early. He has been helping with bike training all week and is pooped. He was slightly annoyed (probably more than he showed) and completely exasperated that I had woke him up. I didn't get the comfort I wanted. When I talked to him about it this morning he thought I was just scared from being in the house and felt badly for not feeling more sympathetic. It took me about 1 1/2 hours to calm myself down. I should note that while I may seem to be crazy (I would have loved to have seen it from someone else's eyes as I came shooting in to the complex) I don't do this very frequently. I think that the last time I ran from being scared was when I was a little kid running up my grandma's creepy staircase sure that some monster was going to come out of the darkness and grab me. Still, at almost 37 years old, I was totally freaked! It was great!.....I think.

Did I Get Detention?

Well, I went in to meet with Mr. Wavara (the school principal) today about the kids missing three days of school at the beginning of March. Sounds stupid, right? Well, it is! The twins and I got there ten minutes early (always better to be early than late) and had to wait for five minutes. I felt like a little kid sitting outside the office waiting to get yelled at. I have no experience in this, I am just going by what I have seen on tv and in the movies. While we were waiting three other sets of parents came in to wait for the same type of meeting! Bunch of delinquents! haha

He came out and called me in to meet with him. He was so flustered and discombobulated! It was kind of amusing to watch him. He informed me that he does not usually do this interview, that the school has an attendance officer who does this meeting. She happened to be out of the office that day (hope it was an excused absence and not something fun!) and so he had to do it. He looked at Parker and Kylee's attendance and said 'They don't seem to have a problem'. This I already knew! I had to sign two papers for each kid saying that I knew their 3 days absence was unexcused. I made sure to let him know that we had received their homework in advance and that they were always on time and never missed. He said that by law he had to meet with me. I guess they have an auditor come in each year and go over the students absences and if the parents are not met with and sign papers than the school gets docked money each year. However, had they been 'sick' it would not have been an issue. I am telling you, California is a crazy state!

We then had a nice little talk about Kylee getting in to the right 2nd grade class and not getting Parker's stinky teacher. (she is awful) He said that the school district had a strict policy that parents could not request teachers. However, he told me to send him an e-mail that was just for him requesting not to get her. He said the district would have no knowledge of said request and it would be taken care of. I also requested to have the twins be in the same kinder class. He said that he used to split them up but he had so many complaints from parents of twins that he now (especially for kinder) puts them in the same class.

So, overall it was an okay meeting. I think that if I had been sent to the Principal's office in high school, junior high or elementary school I wouldn't have minded if it had been like that! Chances are that it does not go that well for the kids! haha So, in answer to my post question, No! I did not receive detention...I dodged that bullet this time!

If you are a betting man or woman, the odds are against you!

The pictures are coming first this time because I don't want to have to drag them all over. So, look and then read! :)

Me (with Ireland on the side) trying to get some reading done!
Parker and James.....trying to catch fish.

Kylee reeling in her 1st catch!

Kylee's 1st fish this trip.

She loves to catch fish, but don't get it too close!

James and Parker

Ireland in the morning before the bathroom run.

The girls found a million ladybugs. Kylee had about 10 on her, but they moved so fast!

Ireland, Kearney, Chancho, Parker and Kylee. Hiking around Lake Morena.

James and me. brrrr....

The clouds are starting to roll in! Too bad you can't see the wind!

This lovely palm tree was in our camp host's camp spot!

Eating dinner in the car. Kearney has a marshmellow on her tongue.

hmmmm.....good!

This is what I felt like after being stuck in the car with 4 screaming/laughing kids!

Eating breakfast in the tent to stay out of the cold! Parker and Kylee

We went camping this week. We headed up to Lake Morena for 3 days (two nights). We checked the weather forecast before we left and it was supposed to be good sailing, or at least good camping. You may have been able to tell from the post that it turned out to be not so good camping. For some of it anyway. The first day that we got there it was really nice. The sun was out, it was somewhat windy but not too bad. We set up camp and then took the kids to the lake to do some fishing. The lake reminded me of the lake in 'On Golden Pond' when Norman and the boy (can't remember his name) go fishing and smash up on to some rocks. There were rocks jutting out of the water all over the place. They also had some tree type things sticking up here and there. This was definitely not a swimming lake (and there were signs saying as much) but it was pretty. We walked out to a type of peninsula and tried fishing there. We lost 6 lines and caught nothing, so we moved to a different spot. We should have started where we moved to. Kylee had her line in the water maybe two minutes and she caught a rainbow trout (this is the kind of fishing she likes to do). She reeled it in, James got her all set up, she was cast back out and almost immediately caught another trout. She was thrilled! Parker was sort of...he wanted to be doing some catching of his own. The twins were jumping up and down screaming 'Do it again, Kylee, do it again!'. Well, unfortunately we did not catch any more. We had to stop fishing 30 minutes after sunset (so we thought) which would be about 7:00. We heard something over a bull horn but we couldn't tell what it was. I ran up to the car (a bit of a distance) but no one was there so I drove to find out what was going on. It was so lucky that I did because they were closing the gate for the night and opened it to let me out. If I had not left we would have had to leave our car there. I had to walk back to James and the kids (about 3/4 of a mile) and then we all trekked back to the car. The kids had fun jumping on rocks and just playing and Chancho loved not being on a leash. The poor dog pretty much had to be on a leash the whole time and he was NOT HAPPY about it. When we got back and got dinner ready it was almost 10:00 and the girls (Kearney and Ireland) went right to sleep in their chairs. They were all pretty much pooped.

The next day started out nice. We took the kids on a 'hike' around the lake. We probably walked for 2 1/2 miles. We then took them to a playground for a couple of hours. At this time the wind really started to pick up. By the time we got back to our camp it was COLD! We ate lunch and the kids started to play. I was freezing so I went in to the tent with Chancho (was was snuggling under a sleeping bag. The dog hates the cold! I don't know what he is going to do when we move back to Salt Lake. Pretty soon (by 5:00) the wind was whipping around and we were engulfed in clouds. You could see them rolling all around us....not to mention feel the moisture that is in them. It was so cold that the tent was not a respite. The kids and the dog had to go in car with the heater on while we made dinner. We all had to eat in the car because of the wind and rain and then go right to the tent. The kids got to watch a movie (Annie) and James went right to sleep. We had some hand warmers, so each of us got some and put them in our bags. Good thing too, because it was freezing (have I said that before?). The wind was whipping around so much that I had the irrational fear that our tent was going to be ripped out of the ground and we would go flying through the air...or that maybe the tree that we were camped under would tip over and fall on us! The tent was moving like crazy! And when when you stepped out of the tent (which Parker and I did at 3:30) it was so cold it took your breath away. Parker kept saying 'Please just let me go back to the tent, I will go to the bathroom later'. haha....no doin'! Now, it was so cold that we did not do our dishes and said that we would do them in the morning......but it was too cold and windy! We couldn't even put our tent away properly! The wind just blew it around so we shoved it in the back of the car and did it at home. While we packed up the kids sat in the car (with the heater on again) watching us. My hands felt like ice cubes. Ireland like to touch my cheek because it felt so cold! I told James this morning that I DO NOT like camping in the cold and that I was not a scout. He then informed me that it always rained when he went camping as a scout and that when he was in the Marines it rained more than it didn't during their trainings. He told me that his unit had a saying 'If it ain't raining, we ain't training!'. I have come to the realization that it is his fault that we have bad weather when we go camping. He is jinxed! He wanted me to warn all of the Warner clan that it will probably rain/snow when we go to Montana because he will be there! Ouch!

The Cat's Meow and Getting Sent To See the Principal

Okay, to start off this post, I need to say upfront that I DO NOT like cats. If they stayed small and never left the kitten stage then I would like them all, however, seeing as how they don't I don't like them at all. The other night James and I were sleeping and at 2:00 in the morning I heard this awful sound. It sounded like a baby or a lady crying loudly. Yes, you guessed it, it was a stupid cat. Yeowling is the only word that I know that fits what it was doing. I am not sure if it is a word ( I just looked it up and it is not a word) but it works for the awful sound that was being made. A few minutes later another cat joined in. The sad thing (for us) is that it was right outside our sliding glass door, which happened to be opened. For 20-25 minutes we kept telling a growling Chancho that it was okay and trying to stop him from barking (remember it is after 2:00 in the morning). The stupid cats then decided to come right up to the wall of our patio. There was no stopping the dog from barking and running to the door then. Luckily he scared them away. As I lay there trying to ignore the dumb animals I thought about the play Cats and how a big shoe is thrown at the cats in the story. I know now why people throw shoes at cats! I was so tempted to take one of James' shoes (not mine, I like the shoes too much) and hurl it at the offending cats! I also thought about how nice it would be to have a soft air pellet gun to shoot them in the bum. The problem with that is I don't like to hurt animals (even if I don't like them). I would have been sorely tempted that night if we had one but seeing as how the only gun we have is a real one I wasn't about to pull it out. Still, I hate cats!

Now, at the beginning of March we took the kids out of school for 3 days. Not weeks or months, just a few days. They have not missed any other days of school this year, nor are they ever late. So, on Tuesday I received a letter that can only be termed 'mean' from the school district. It would seem that in the great state of California kids can not miss any school for any reason unless they are 'sick'. My kids are now considered truant (never mind that we received and turned in their homework for the time of said trip) and I have to go in to meet with Mr. Wavra, the principal. I am also at risk of being charged up to $250 a kid and 60 days of community service (per kid) because of 3 days absence....yes, 3 days! They sent me a pamphlet that California has made up of reasons that are acceptable and are not acceptable for missing school. If the child's parents, siblings or grandparents that are living with them die then that can miss 1 day of school, but only 1. Don't want to do too much grieving....you must choose between the day they die or the day of the funeral. If I happen to be out of town when I die then they can miss 3 days. If, however my parents were to die right now they could not miss any days of school. I can find a lot of flaws with this plan. We have a neighbor who misses so much school because he is 'sick' (I am not sure how sick you are when you are running around all day playing outside) but that is okay because he is 'sick'. Please! So, you can bet the next time I go out of town (next Feb. or March) I will be calling to let them know that my kids are sick. And my parents better make sure that they don't die while the school year is in session (really, they better not die for a LONG time to come), because I don't want to go to jail for going up to Salt Lake during the school year! (yes, you can go to jail) So, I was able to make it through 13 years of school and never once be called to the Principal's office, but at the age of 37 (almost) I have to go and talk about my not being a 'good parent'. Who knew! Now, I have one more problem with this. It seems that a great amount of people in California want it to be okay to teach my 5 year old children about sex and other various topics that are so not appropriate, but I can't take them out of school for 3 days! Come on California!