Sleep-talking

You know your husband has been deployed too long when...

   -He doesn't recognize his own wife's voice

   -He thinks his own bed is a hole

   -He talks about "civilians"

Tonight Joe crashed into bed around 7:00 p.m. I put the kids to bed and went in our room to put some things away. When I opened our bedroom door, I startled him and he sat up immediately in the completely dark. This conversation was too funny so I just had to post it:

Joe: "I need to get out of here! What is going on? Where am I?"

Kristen: "You're in your bed. Where do you think you are?"

Joe: "This place is a hole. There's got to be a better place to sleep than in here!"

Kristen: "You're in your own bed. It's not that bad."

Joe: "Who are you?"

Kristen: "It's Kristen. Who do you think I am?"

Joe: "Well, I know you're a female by the sound of your voice but I don't know."

Kristen: "Honey, you're home and in your own bed."

Joe: "I've got to see if some civilian flights can get me out of here. This place is a hole!"

Then he fluffed his pillow, laid back down on his stomach and stopped talking. It was so funny and I was laughing my head off and trying to keep the conversation going but he zonked back out. Thank heavens my husband is home. I don't know how much more of Bagram he could take!

Reunited

Last night my husband made it home safely from his deployment to Afghanistan. It was a whirlwind last-minute adventure getting him home this weekend but he made it and words can not express how grateful and happy we are to be a complete family again.

I didn't tell the kids that he was coming home so it was such a fun surprise as I was giggling (and taking deep breaths to calm the butterflies in my stomach) on the whole drive there while they were guessing different places I would take them. As we were driving through the tunnel near the airport, Jake said, "Mom, this is the tunnel for the airport. Are we getting Dad?" I couldn't keep it in any longer and when I told them yes, they screamed and cheered.

We were running late due to traffic and normal kid situations and we pulled in to park with 15 minutes to go before his plane landed. There was no way we were going to make it to see him walk through the gate. When we went down to get our security passes, they told us the plane was delayed about 15 minutes so we would have to hurry but we should make it. I was sweating bullets and we were literally running through the airport to get there in time. Luckily there was no line at security but flip-flops were lost on the belt, children were tripping and falling on the floor, posters were tumbling to the ground, and ankles were twisted as we hurried through to get on the tram ride to the other terminal and, of course, walk to the last gate. We arrived just in time to see his plane pull up to the walkway. The kids had their posters ready and I had the camera ready.

People were filing out, smiling at my children and oohhing over their welcome posters. They commented on how cute they were and said "they must be the families of those 2 Air Force guys". The kids saw him first and hugged him tightly while I snapped pictures. I hugged him next and the tears started. The other passengers on the plane clapped and thanked Joe and Clarence Dunagan (Kelly, his wife, and their 18 month old and 6 week old baby were there to welcome him) for their service as they hugged their families. I was so happy to have him home. He looked fantastic, even with his short military haircut ;) We got his luggage; he changed his clothes and we were off to dinner. Clark had picked out Cheesecake Factory so we headed down to Caesar's Palace to eat. The kids were happy and hungry and we played games while waiting for our food. We were a family again and it was like our normal life.

We missed you and love you so much, Joe. Thank you for your willingness to serve and sacrifice for our freedom. Thank you also for jumping through many hoops to come home safely and reunite our sweet family again after five long months.

American Girls

Last weekend I had the opportunity to have a little getaway with Katelyn. We have been planning this since about December and were so excited to go. We went to Los Angeles to visit the American Girl Place with three of her best buds, and three of mine. It was so much fun. We took the girls out of school early and headed out Friday afternoon. We got caught in some traffic in both Vegas and L.A. but arrived just after 7:00 p.m. Jen and Aspen were already there to meet us and had made dinner reservations for 8:00. We quickly dropped off our suitcases at the hotel, Residence Inn Beverly Hills, and hopped back into the car for dinner at Maggiano's in The Grove shopping center. It was really tasty and the girls loved acting grown-up with their best manners.

After dinner, we walked around looking at all the shops there and took pictures in front of the fountains. (All of us took tons of pictures all weekend so Geneva dubbed us the "Mamarazzi") We then headed back to the hotel to relax and give our own "American Girl dolls" a little surprise. We put together some cute journals and hot pink take-out boxes with lip gloss, nail polish, treats, and friendship bracelets for each girl. Even their dolls got mini boxes with treats and friendship bracelets! So cute!

Most of us went to bed soon after but a couple of us (Jen and Geneva!) stayed up talking until 2:00 a.m. so breakfast came early at 8:30. It was a yummy continental breakfast and then we got ready for the day and headed back to The Grove for our highly anticipated adventure.

Taking a reading break

We shopped the entire store for about an hour checking and re-checking things. The girls made their little wish lists of purchases after lunch. Then we headed into The Cafe for lunch. It was so cute--everything in black, white, and hot pink. We were the only crazy "Mamarazzi" taking pictures of everything including the food and the table settings. It was so fun.

Writing the wish list

The "Mamarazzi"

Lunch consisted of warm mini cinnamon rolls, veggies, fruit kabobs, mini cheese potatoes, and french bread as the appetizer, pasta for the girls and chicken sandwiches for the moms, and chocolate mousse, a sugar cookie, and a heart-shaped piece of cake for dessert. Yum Yum! As we were talking over lunch about our blessings and what you receive when making right choices, we looked over at our four sweet little dolls and I couldn't help but get choked up. We discussed that moms are just big girls because we too like to play with our friends, go shopping, eat yummy food, have sleepovers and talk until the wee hours of the morning, and dress our own "dolls". It was the perfect weekend to help celebrate Mother's Day. Katelyn thought it was all for her but it was just as much for me, if not more. We got to spend lots of time together holding hands while shopping and talking. I am so grateful for my little doll and what she gives me.

After lunch, we made our purchases and headed out for some more window shopping. The girls had a blast being the store mannequins modeling items and clothes in Gap, Crate & Barrel, and Pottery Barn Kids. We just shopped and they made the customers smile with their poses and funny faces.

Cute Crate & Barrel mannequins

When we were shopped out, we piled into the car for the 4-hour drive home--I mean 7-hour drive home due to L.A. traffic. It was crazy! Luckily we had some great conversation to pass the time and the girls did really well with very little complaining. Writing songs in those notebooks and watching American Girl movies while eating snacks kept them very entertained. It was a wonderful weekend with some wonderful American Girls.

Grandpa George

In January, Clark auditioned for his school play, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. He made the part of Grandpa George. Since February, Clark has been to both music and drama rehearsals before and after school. It has been quite the commitment. On May 6th and 7th, the play was finally performed. They performed a shorter version for the students during the morning and then the complete production for the public in the evening. Clark did a wonderful job. Way to go, hon! We're proud of the commitment you made and the talent you have.

Clark and his best friend, Roman, an Oompa-Loompa

Clark and Ms. Jackson, the drama teacher

Clark's First Solo Trip

Okay, so not completely solo, but his first trip without Mom and Dad!

Clark went to El Paso with Grandma and Grandpa Stuart to surprise his cousin Andrew for his 12th birthday. Clark was excited and a little nervous to fly. It has been about 3 years since the kids have flown. I was all ready to send him alone but due to Clark's apprehension, things were arranged so that Grandma and Grandpa would just catch a layover in Vegas. Uncle Charlie and Aunt JaNay were in on the plan but the "cousins" didn't have a clue.

Their flight arrived about 11:00 p.m. so JaNay had made a bed on the floor of Mathew and Joseph's room for Clark to just slip into. Obviously, the kids were sound asleep when Clark arrived so he quietly went to sleep and anticipated being woken up by shrieks and yells of surprise and laughter. And that is exactly what happened. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall in that room. Since I wasn't there, this story is "hearsay" but apparently Mathew rolled over and drowsily opened one eye and looked at Clark. He was a little confused and then realized who it was and immediately woke up, screaming, yelling, and basically freaking out. Andrew and Tommy heard the racket and came running in. They were all so excited to see Clark.

Charlie and JaNay let the kids stay home from school that day so they just had a good time playing, swimming, wrestling, dressing up like "white nerds" (Clark will have to explain that one), playing, and swimming even more. That night was their Father and Sons Campout so Clark and Grandpa got to go as well. They went somewhere in New Mexico to camp. The next morning, JaNay, Grandma and the girls drove out to meet them and they all went to White Sands National Park to play for the afternoon. That was a fun place that we also visited three years ago when we drove back to San Antonio from San Diego. It was a lot of fun. Miles and miles of white sand everywhere. You can buy sleds there and then you wax them and "surf" down the sand. It's great.

Clark came home early Monday morning and headed right off to school. He had a great trip and although he wished he could have stayed a little longer in Texas to play with those cousins, he did admit that he missed me and his brother and sisters. It was so fun for him to be able to surprise them and spend some time alone with Grandma and Grandpa during the flight. What a great little getaway!

Spring Pictures

First amateur photo shoot with poor lighting and a wrinkly backdrop but at least the subjects were cute!

Love those little munchkins and their personalities!

I Couldn't Say No

It was a spring morning in April--April 6, 1997 to be exact. I woke up and got ready for the day, wearing one of my favorite outfits. In just a couple of hours, I was going to meet somebody new--a blind date set up by my roommate. I was thinking . . . No! not another blind date. I had been on several throughout my dating years and although they had been great guys and we'd had fun, there was no spark and no second dates. My cute roommate insisted on this one and although he was "sort-of, not seriously" dating someone else, I had agreed to go because she was so persistent.

My roomies, their dates, and my date were coming up from Provo to my parent's house for brunch and to watch the Saturday morning session of Conference. I had to work later that afternoon so this was when the date was planned to best fit my schedule. The doorbell rang about 9:30 a.m. and in walked my friends. Last but not least, Amanda introduced me to this dark-haired guy with big brown eyes. I thought he was cute and dressed really well. We started talking right away getting to know each other better. He was from Brigham City and the middle child of 6. He was a Biochemistry major, in the ROTC, and had plans to go to medical school.

We started our brunch and conference but I don't really think we watched it because we all were talking and goofing off too much. I guess our intentions were good. When the session was over, we jumped into the cars and headed to the Bowling Alley. Joe was a pretty good bowler and we had a lot of fun competing against and teasing each other. Of course, he beat me, but not by much. I think I got lucky that day. We had greasy burgers and fries for lunch there and he tried to convince me to "call in sick" to work so that we could do a movie and dinner that night. Being the responsible person I am, I did not fall for his temptations and went to work that evening.

The next day, Amanda gave me the low-down on his opinion of me and he thought I was awesome, fun, and totally hot. (I'm probably exaggerating a teeny bit, but hey, it's my blog!) And he wanted to ask me out for the next weekend. She told him that I probably had to work and he said that "No girl had ever turned down Joe Stuart!" I told her that I was not going to feed that huge ego and that I was going to say no--not because I didn't have a great time, but I certainly did not want to be another one he conquered.

Three days later, he called me on the phone and we talked for about 3.5 hours. At the end of the phone call, he very politely and sweetly asked me out for Friday night. And because I'm such a sucker (and I kinda liked him), I couldn't say no. We went on our 2nd date, then our 3rd, and 4th, etc. until we were always together.

At the end of the winter semester, my roommates convinced me to move in with them since they lived in the same apartment complex with Joe. Again, I couldn't refuse. We both went to school during spring quarter and I continued working full-time at the mall managing a clothing store. Joe would work in a chemistry lab, study, and pester me at the mall when I was at work. And although we had a few soap opera stories and a lot of drama going on due to exes, we were growing closer and liking each other more and more.

In July, Joe went to military field training in Massachusetts for a month and I received some letters from him in which he professed his love for me. When he got back, we started getting more serious and talking marriage. He wanted to get married in October. I thought that was crazy, getting married in the middle of the semester. He then wanted to get married in December. Again, I thought that was crazy with both of our birthdays and all of the holidays during that time. We finally agreed on April--the end of the semester and a year after we met. He asked me to marry him in January. I couldn't say no and we were married on April 27, 1998.

It's been 11 wonderful years and I still can't say no to him--bowling, going out to eat, movies, talking for hours, competing against each other in silly games, teasing each other constantly, snuggling on the couch with a yummy dessert, shopping, running errands for him with things he's forgotten, vacations, road trips, ditching the kids, the latest and greatest electronic toys, and his smirk when he knows he's won. He has grown more handsome to me as the years have gone by and as I see him as my husband and the father to our four beautiful children. I love him more and more and am so grateful that he was introduced into my life and that I didn't say no.

Happy Anniversary, Joseph! I love and miss you so much!

Spring into Utah

For Spring Break and Easter, we headed up north to Utah. I picked up my sis in St. George and we were on our way in a car full of 6 children, 2 moms, 6 duffle bags, 8 easter baskets and "supplies", bags full of snacks, water bottles, DVD's, video games, books, and iPods. After a few bathroom breaks, stopping for lunch and gas, and making a few returns at some stores, we finally arrived at Grandma and Grandpa Holt's to drop off the Quarnberg Family and continue up to Grandma and Grandpa Stuart's.

We spent Sunday relaxing and listening to General Conference. When it was over, everyone came over for dinner and an Easter Egg Hunt. The boys (Tyler, Nate, Clark, John, Zach, and Jake) had to find their Easter treasure by reading and figuring out clues hidden inside eggs all over the fields behind Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was so cute to see Grandma and Grandpa riding the four-wheeler around and hiding the eggs. The girls (Alyssa, Katelyn, Jayne, and McKell) had to find their treasure the same way but in the front and back yards of the house. Carlee and Owen searched the backyard for their eggs with Carlee looking for pink, and Owen looking for blue. Actually Owen wanted the pink eggs but he settled for putting blue eggs in Carlee's pink basket. The youngest ones, Megan and Eli, just enjoyed watching the kids run around.

After finding their treasure, the kids just played for hours outside. The weather was perfect and they just enjoyed each other. It was a wonderful day.

Monday we headed into Ogden for a trip to the Treehouse Museum, lunch at the Pizza Factory, and some playing at FatCats. The kids had a great time at the museum pretending and imagining. Carlee and Owen loved riding the stuffed horses, Kate, Jayne, Alyssa, and McKell loved running around the treehouse and playing with the paper dolls. Clark enjoyed being President Stuart and answering trivia about the United States, and Jake enjoyed playing the musical instruments. We even heard a story about Peter Cottontail and did the bunny hop.

We ate some yummy pizza, salads, and breadsticks at the Pizza Factory and then the plan was bowling at FatCats. The kids wanted to play some video games first so they each got 4 tokens to spend and off they went. Clark and Nate decided to pool their tokens together and play one game to win a bunch of tickets. Little did they know, but they hit the jackpot winning 2, 946 tickets. They couldn't believe it! Clark was so excited. It was even more than his jackpot win at Malibu in Texas a year ago. He and Nate each picked out a lava lamp and then they got their sisters bracelets and Jake picked out a prize. Because we had to wait so long for the tickets to come out and to pick prizes, we bailed on the bowling but the kids didn't mind a bit. Hooray for the Jackpot!

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Tuesday was spent running errands up in Logan and playing outside. When the rest of the cousins got out of school, we ended up going bowling with the boys competing against the girls. The kids did really well and some even scored over 100. Way to go!

Wednesday morning was spent riding horses and taking a drive in the princess carriage. Katelyn is always excited to go to Utah because she gets to ride Grandpa's horses every day. I'm so proud of her courage to ride by herself and listen to Grandpa's teachings. She has no fear when it comes to the horses and does a great job helping take care of them and guiding them around the corral. Jake, Carlee and Clark rode as well and did a great job, but Katelyn is definitely our cowgirl. Clark gets allergies pretty badly so he doesn't spend too much time around them but he did take a quick ride on Tuesday morning.

After lunch we headed down to Grandma and Grandpa Holt's to spend the rest of the week. On the way, I visited with a dear friend that I used to work with. We had a great visit and got caught up on our lives from the last 10 years. I love that when I see good friends, it seems time hasn't even passed (although there are some little people running around that weren't there before). It was so fun to see her and I'm grateful that we get to keep in touch. When we arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's, everyone was there so we just ordered pizza and played.


Thursday morning we ran some shopping errands and then I got to go to dinner with another dear friend from high school. We enjoyed catching up over Olive Garden and then did a little Easter shopping. It has been 15 years since I saw her and I love that she hasn't changed a bit. She is still the same sweetheart with the same laugh and we got to share stories about our husbands, kids, and our careers as mothers. I love having good friends.


Friday was my sister Jenn's birthday. We decided to surprise her at the elementary school where she teaches 2nd grade. All of her nieces and nephews wore a balloon around their wrists and we paraded into her classroom singing Happy Birthday! She was surprised and her students loved it. It was fun. Then we hung out at Cath's house. We played some rock band and reminisced about our childhood.

That evening, we colored Easter eggs. This year, Carlee was a little more involved since last year she kept trying to drink the dye, throw the eggs, and pull on the tablecloth with everything on it. We had to push her high chair back away from the table and just let her gnaw on an egg. This year she was very interested and wanted to "do it myself". She still tried to tug on the tablecloth but only to check the eggs for the color shades she wanted. Clark was the last one decorating his eggs to perfection. We had the entire kitchen cleaned up and put away and he was still putting on the finishing touches. I wonder where that perfectionism comes from?

Saturday morning we headed out to the movie, Hannah Montana. Carlee stayed home with Grandma and Grandpa and took a nap and I took the other 3 along with Kyle and Jenn. It was a cute movie and I'm a little embarrassed to say that both Katelyn and I got teary-eyed during the show. I'm ridiculous, I know, but it just pulled on those heartstrings and the music just got me going. It was a great family movie though and a lot of fun. We went back and prepared for our Easter BBQ--burgers, hot dogs, Dad's Delicious Cowboy Beans, strawberry spinah salad, grape salad, and oven roasted potatoes with strawberry shortcake for dessert.

When dinner was over, the kids did their Easter Egg Hunt in the basement. Uncle Geoff hid the eggs really well and since the basement is unfinished and there is a lot of storage down there, it took the kids a long time to sift through boxes, old mattresses, and the cupboards of old furniture. They each got 10 eggs and in each egg was a little prize, and a quarter, or a paper that they could turn into Grandpa for a prize. Grandpa was running a mini store as he exchanged prizes for paper and other prizes they already had. The kids were happy and ready for bed scolding us to get to bed early so that the Easter bunny could hide their colored eggs.

Sunday morning was beautiful and the kids woke up excited to search for their eggs and baskets. Clark had left a note the night before for the Easter bunny to hide his basket and his eggs (marked CJS, CS, and Clark Stuart) in really hard spots and that is exactly what the bunny did. Carlee's basket was the only one sitting on the couch. Each of the kids found their baskets and after going through them, raced around the house on their egg hunt. After a delicious breakfast, everyone got ready and the car got re-packed for the drive home with 2 moms, 6 kids, 8 full Easter baskets, 6 duffle bags, snacks, water, DVDs, books, video games, and iPods.

On the way home, we discussed our Savior and his wonderful sacrifice for us. We are so grateful to have the gospel and the amazing blessings it brings us. I am thankful for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the opportunity that I have to live with Him again in heaven with my family. Thank you to all of my family for hosting our crew this week and making it so fun. It was a wonderful Spring Break but now the break is over and it's back to school and reality.