BREEZY FIELDS

Sadie's first year as Mary. Aunt Meagie getting our little shepherd dressed. Costuming the crew.  Doesn't Kaia look angelic? Harris was very convincing as our little lamb. Ellyn seems to be saying "I may look like an angel..." Sawyer was such a good shepherd.  He listened, and was quiet, and acted out his part with sincerity.  He really loved the story this year. Our wise man and Samuel the LAME-inite (just kidding Jane) being teenagers. Uncle Jason got to be Joseph.  I think he was okay with the role since it meant he was able to keep baby Adam out of the hands of children.  Sadie is attempting to look pious.  She was a beautiful Mary. One with Ellyn's face and Sawyer and Hazel cut off.  One with the back of Ellyn's head, but we have Sawyer and Hazel.  It's nearly impossible to get everyone.  Our little sheep is missing. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Another year of the Stinchfield/Bennett Nog Run.  This year was a huge crew.  I'm going to have to find the picture Tom took of everyone.  Buffy's mom and sister's family came too!  It was so much fun, even if Ellyn and I only walked less than half of it.  Uncle Mike poured all the "nog" and lead the group in warm ups as we waited for our mile marker to get set up.  Kim's girls brought bikes, many pushed jogging strollers, Tracey's stroller included speakers playing Christmas carols!  If she wasn't so fast we could have heard more of them:-) Next year I think I'm going to have to give out bells and have Jackson help us design a t-shirt.  It is a family tradition worthy of continuation. Jack and Ruby exceeding max weight for a stroller. Anne looks excited. Tracey and her speakers. Melia takes a little spill and I take a picture before I go help.  That's the nice aunt that I am. Jane trying to figure out if she'll get t...

Yesterday morning I received a text from my husband. I can't remember exactly what it said but it was something to the effect of "are we done looking at that burnt up, nasty, vegetable encrusted skillet yet?". I suggested that he should perhaps, write on the blog. He told me he had essays to write on Obama's speech to the Westpoint graduates in 20... Yada yada yada. Whatever. I did not foresee a time between now and the 3rd of January in which I could post anything to the blog. Until... Jane's band teacher asked that all students be 40 minutes early to their Winter Concert. Really? I wanted to text with my husband, since we never have time, but Mike is using the ever so lame, "I have to write an essay" excuse again and so I sit here, blogging. I have read all valid tweets to keep me abreast of the daily news and now the guilt has set in. Let me begin by saying we had such a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have pictures and will post that another day. In ...

There are those moments in life when our anticipation of what lies ahead quickly dissipates when met with said object of anticipation. I present to you, this evening's meal. To clarify, this was what remained after I had salvaged what I could. Left behind in a dishwasher's nightmare of a skillet you will find brussels sprouts even I, the hard hearted mother that I am, could not bear to make my children ingest. Sautéd, carmelized, carrots, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, and onions-earthy deliciousness to soothe my over candied, Halloweened out soul, were to be the entree this evening. Instead, Sadie ate a bowl of Cheerios, Ellyn ate mac and cheese left over from lunch, Sawyer, some of the sweet potato and a banana. I have no idea what Jane may have consumed upon her return from Driver's Ed but the phrase "Wow mom!" did escape her lips when I stated that her dinner was waiting on the stove (I was trying not to laugh). I, alone, ate my meal. Penance f...

The "crazy" thing is- we barely had to do anything! A little ratting and some hairspray. Sadie's hair is amazing. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

We all are (not Mike, but he is in warm and sunny Georgia). We could find it very difficult to ever leave our living room after five in the evening ever again. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

As a wife, especially as a military wife, you do hard things.  It's the way it goes.  Today I have decided what one of the hardest of those things might be, helping your husband pack.  I'm not talking packing for a trip to the car races for the weekend or a weekend backpacking expedition.  I'm talking about the kind when you know you aren't going to be with him again for a very, very, long time.  That is the packing I dread.  There are a few different aspects to this that make it so difficult and press me to put it on the list of things I hate. First, the pressure.  This is the case for any trip, is everything washed?  Is everything found?  Socks matched?  But for a soldier it is much worse.  There is SO much that they have to have, "according to regulation."  You can't really fudge anything.  You also feel like you are sending them out for an indefinite amount of time and you want them to be comfortable, be prepared, b...

As usual, we had a great weekend.  Friday night we drove down to Pa's retirement and center for the family swim night.  It was so fun to play with the kids in the warm water.  When it comes to water temperature I have senior citizen needs.  When it was time to close up shop we headed up to Grandma Bennett's and Pa's for ice-cream, popcorn balls, whatever hit the mark, and continued to visit with Meags and Cor and the boys (Hazel and Bennett were on a trip with their g'ma Allen), and mom and dad.  Saturday morning Mike and Cory took off early to go mountain biking.  Mom and dad made delicious oatmeal pancakes and eggs and juice for breakfast and then we cleaned up and headed out for a walk in the beautiful fall sunshine with Meagan and g'ma and Harris while Pa and Wil headed off to the BYU football game. A few hours later we were back and making lunch and then changing to go to Audrey Schickedanz's baptism.  It was so good to see the Schickie's and Au...

These are questions that Baylee, our respite care provider in California, needed answered, in detail, for a paper she is writing.  The questions included how the kids and I dealt with deployments and moving etc... I thought that while I was expounding on the subject I might as well throw it onto the blog. Being in the military is definitely a mixed bag.  When Mike and I decided that joining the Army would be a good decision for our family it was a time of peace, as a country we had seen very little action for many, many years.  Of course we knew what the job entailed but at that time it seemed so abstract, not really something we were going to have to worry about.  We joined desiring a stable job, health benefits, a chance to see the world, help with education, and also with the feeling that what Mike would be doing as a career would be an honorable and significant way for him to spend his time. The beginning was difficult, we quickly had to learn how to live a...

Almost two weeks?  Yikes!  Sunday we made a mad dash down to Battleground/Vancouver.  We couldn't leave Saturday or Jane would have missed the Stake dance- Tragic!  So we left at 7 Sunday morning for church and an afternoon with my family and then we popped over to the Stinchfield's for a Marnie/Sawyer birthday party.  A great day.  Sawyer got spoiled and he has been in little pig heaven with all of his new toys. The rain has set in- so far I am handling it.  Impressive since it has been a week, eh?  Ellie has been having sleeping issues the last few nights.  It's nearly killed me.  I suspected maybe she was a little cold and that's what might be waking her early.  I put more blankets on her last night and she stayed asleep.  Time will tell. We are loving having Mike home.  We get him for three more weeks.  I will be in major withdrawal come November.  We all will. I have two loads of laundry to fold so I m...

I have not abandoned the blog.  This past week Mike graduated from the Naval Post Graduate School.  We went back to Monterey.  I will post more about that later, I have pictures!  I will say that I am so proud of him.  He has spent the last few years working so hard (he always does, actually).  What an amazing accomplishment!  But, as I said... We are getting this school routine down now.  Bedtime is still a bit tricky.  Sawyer and Sadie want to sleep together, both nervous to sleep alone.  My children and their imaginations!  So they tend to not fall asleep for forever, but if I separate them they don't fall asleep ever.  I think bedtime will have to be moved up by half an hour. Jane has informed me that peanut butter makes her nauseous and Sadie has a kid in her class that is allergic, so no peanut butter and jelly or honey for those two this year.  I think it is the best news Sadie's teacher could have given her. ...

So some rooms are works in progress and some aren't pictured. But these are the highlights. We love our house and it fits us just right. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I told Sadie she could pick out a first day of school shirt and was lovingly guiding her towards some darling plaid blouses. Sadie told me she thought they were cute, but she was thinking more- this... You have to give it to the girl. She knows herself. Look how pretty and happy my girl is! A is for apple, oh, and aliens. Where is Jane? According to all of the photos on her Facebook she is not camera shy when she is with her friends, however, she is not a fan of me taking her picture. Also, I have found it difficult to remember to bust out my camera as I'm shooing my girl out the door at 5:45 am. You have to love early morning seminary! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Soy started preschool this week.  I am so thrilled.  We loved preschool co-op in Monterey so much and I was afraid we wouldn't find anyone to do it with us here, but... we did.  There are four cute little yahoos in our co-op.  Today was my day and it was so much fun.  I am lucky because I have done this before.  For the first several weeks I get to do a little bit of what I did last year, with a few changes.  Pretty spiffy.  The last two days of having some time alone has been really nice as well.  I was able to go for a five mile run yesterday and the day before I was able to make a bunch of annoying phone calls without feeling guilty for neglecting my child.  Not a bad set up.  Well we have to run and go buy a water bottle for Ellyn's field trip tomorrow but I wanted to make a little pit stop at the blog.  Can't go too long:-)

The thought of catching up has been very daunting.  I have found myself procrastinating, rationalizing, dramatizing, all sorts of "ing" but no writing.  So we are going to just say this past summer was a hiatus, "a missing piece or an interruption in the intensity or amount of something."  I think we can all agree that this is indeed what Breezy Fields has experienced the past SEVERAL months.  Sure, I have thrown a post or two on in a weak attempt to get back in the saddle again, but it has been, just that- WEAK.  My hope is that this is it, I am back.  I can keep an account of my little family and not regret letting my blog gather dust and cobwebs, hidden under a mending pile in the back of a closet (I don't know why I have a mending pile. Things really just stay there until they are so out of style I have no guilt, okay maybe a teensy twinge, when I finally load it into the Goodwill pile).  My blog will be shiny, new, sparkly, and maybe I can even ...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

It was sunny and beautiful today. I took the kids to Heritage Park Fountain and they loved it. I did not. It was not fenced in and both sides were lined with busy streets. There were also many, many children. I needn't have worked out this morning because trying to keep track of Ellyn gave my heart quite the workout. Finally, after one particular panicked moment (she runs around with no particular pattern or speed) I bribed the kids with the promise of McDonald's hot fudge sundays and we headed home. We have been hanging out in our awesome back yard, playing Castle Crashers with daddy on xbox Live, and soaking in the evening warmth. Perfect. Tomorrow Janie comes home! I can't wait. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Mike left Sunday afternoon to go back to Monterey. Yesterday morning Janie left for Girl's Camp. It's not bad, but I am feeling the teensiest bit lonely. I am also completely unmotivated to do just about anything. I am taking a few days to just lay low, read a book, give my foot a rest, not stress about the house. I am sure my usual sense of urgency, mixed with a dash of energy will return shortly... maybe when the sun comes back. I miss my Michael and my Jane. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I have major catching up to do...obviously. But I have decided I will start with the most recent and work my way backward. I have to say there will more than likely be many more pictures, but this will be a start. So... The Stinchfield Family did Ragnar this year! Kim and Treven were exempted because Kim is having another little Perry, but the rest of us were there. We came, we saw, we ran, we attempted to sleep, we spent many hours in a van... And it was such a great time. Memories for life. Mike and I looking all fresh before the race. The back of our shirts. It's a song and Marnie found the awesome graphic. We also had our parents and siblings painted on the van windows. Mike getting ready for his leg to begin. Sponge Bob being a supportive member of the team. Marnie and Mike and I are at the other table. Somehow I do not have a good pic of Marnie, but I will get one. Oh yes, I will. Right before my 2 am run. Yes, I was tired and unfortunately after my first leg my foot started...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone