Hope Big Brother isn't tuning in!

Because I have a bone to pick with the government agency called MSHA!!! ;) Thayne and I were laughing this morning that MSHA is a 4 letter word in our house! Even Kami will 'curse' MSHA when she hears her dad has to deal with them! I know... we totally brain wash our children but hey, it is what it is! She prays for her dad when she hears MSHA is coming... prays that MSHA won't be mean!!! ha ha!

Thayne had to go out to work today because MSHA is there. Tell me, what other government agency would willingly work on Sunday unless they can torment and harass the common man! It also seems very unfair and misguided when they hire a man that was fired from the mine and knows virtually nothing about underground and has a bone to pick with the company... talk about a double standard here! Now... if ever there is a mining accident and the wonderful media gets in and goes on and on about the number of citations the mine has... even going so far as to say that they had some serious ones... let me tell you about those! They got a MAJOR safety violation handed to them last week...want to know what it was for? They have 12 rescue chambers underground... 12 rescue chambers worth millions of dollars that has the potential to save the life of a miner underground in case of a cave in, a fire, explosion, gas leak or any number of worst case scenarios! It is self contained and will keep them alive for 72 hours! So you are wondering what the big violation is? Well, you see, there were no paper cups in the rescue chambers and what if somebody had to go in... in order to save their lives... and has to drink the water from the jug without a paper cup!!! Okay, call me strange, even petty, but if my life had just been saved in the event of a horrible tragedy, and IF there was food and water to keep me alive long enough for somebody to come and get me... I promise you that I won't be complaining that I might have to share the water jug with somebody!!! He has even been wrote up for the garbage can being in the wrong place in the office... boy these people are thorough! Let's forget that he wrote him up on one part of the mine, only to forget where it was!!! So he signed it off after looking at the wrong place! :) Yes, this is our government in action! Don't you feel safer now???

So my husband is at work, had to miss church, is out there being tormented by a man that seems to be stalling so they will send in help to finish the inspection because he doesn't know what he is looking at. I am just overjoyed at the wonderful way the government spends time and money... or is that wastes... hmmmm!!! Now I hope that the government doesn't come knocking on the door and take us away for having such a negative attitude about MSHA! And I hope Thayne gets through this while still managing to get 50,000 ounces of gold for the month to put them ahead! He's pulling the ounces off, but MSHA...that's a whole different nightmare! ;)

Thumbs up!

Last night (this morning) was great and Twilight actually lived up to our expectations! If you like the book, definitely need to see the movie. And I don't usually say that! I wasn't sure what to expect since usually the movies don't ever live up to the books. But I really liked the movie and it was great fun with all of the girls! The theater was packed and everyone was in a great mood for it being in the middle of the night. Tammy and Kassi got a little out of hand! ;) Kassi is even more in love with Edward... haha... for a fictional character, and a vampire at that!!! We had a fantastic time and after coming home at after 2:30am and then being awake well past 3am with Thayne because he was sick, I was back up at 6:20am and at the school by 8am to sign the papers to get Bummy enrolled in speech therapy. All in all it was a really great way to spend 2 hours and I am looking forward to see what they do with the books in the future... because you know they totally set you up for the next one!!! My most favorite part were the tree top scenes and the baseball game! Well done... well done!!!

Kinzee... ready to go to the movie!

The girls with their load of junk food to keep everyone awake and hyper for the show!

7 more hours....

The girls are sooooooooo excited! 7 hours until Twilight... 7 hours, oh how will they EVER manage to wait 7 hours!!! I'm excited because it is going to be a fantastic girls night out on the town. Hanging out with my girls, sister and friends! Yep, this is going to be a great night!!!! 7 hours Kassi... you can make it, you really can!

4am again!

This is getting old.... I can't sleep!!! Been up since 4am again. Thayne got up and left for work and here I am, wide awake, wondering why I am wide awake. Even Nate wonders why I am up at 4am. He woke up and I got his bottle and he looked at me like I had grown two heads.... you could see his mind working, wondering why in the world I would be up while it was still pitch black outside! I'm wondering the same thing! Stress is not a good thing!!!! Candice had some new books I haven't read. Guess it's time to dig into a good one until I doze off again! Which will be just in time for the kids to get up!

My daughter did this to me!!!

My sweet daughter is obsessed with 'ratting'... you know, ratting hair up as high as you can get it! Yes, Kassi loves to do it and tonight she made my hair so big I could barely hold my head up!!! :) She's obsessed!!!

And this is the obsessed girl herself with her big hair... though she told me she was POSSESSED, not OBSESSED!

Twilight....

Yes, we are on the Twilight bandwagon at our house! I started reading them because a friend told me about them. And then my older girls read them. We had to buy two Breaking Dawn's because Kassi couldn't wait for me to read it. It is kind of an obsession for Kassi especially and she has been WAITING, ever so impatiently for the 21st of November to come. The tickets are already bought for the midnight showing of Twilight. It's going to be a girls' night out, despite school the next day... despite the fact that it is a 2 hour movie and we will be up until the wee hours of the morning! My sister and one of her friends, Buffy and her daughter, me, Kailee, Kassi, Kinzee (Kimi is being a wimp because she has to work Friday morning!) and several other friends will be going! It's going to be a great night!!! Fun, fun, fun!!!

4am....

Why am I awake at 4am? Well, I know why I am awake. Thayne left an hour early for work so he can get underground early. MSHA showed up and as usual they are more of a problem than a help and are beating up on them extra hard, last quarter of the year and all! Didn't Ronald Reagan say, "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" That seems to apply directly to MSHA! haha

I hate when I wake up in the middle of the night and can't seem to shut my mind off. I seem to stress about everything from bills to kids to life in general. It doesn't help that I have been spotting a little bit so I am a nervous wreck about the pregnancy. And the owner of the video store is coming into town today... don't know why that should matter but it always stresses me out. Tammy and I are giving my sister in law, Kerry, a baby shower on Tuesday so I am thinking about that and trying to finish planning it. And then of course I can't help thinking of when Garrett will be popping the question to Tiffany!!! :) That part is the exciting part though! Thayne and I had dinner with them last night. They seem to be the perfect fit and he is definitely head over heals and she seems to be the same. It's fun to watch them together. We were talking in Relief Society Sunday about marriage, and love. The lady teaching the lesson said that her dad was telling her right before she got married that she didn't know what love was and that he would talk to her in 10 years and she what she thought about it then. He told her that she knew as much as she could then, but he would see in 10 years what she thought. She said now she completely understands what he meant. I had been thinking the same thing. When I met Thayne I thought I loved him as much as you could love a person, only to realize that I didn't know a thing about love. Every year I learn to love him more than I ever thought possible. One couple at church are going to be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary the day after Thanksgiving and I was thinking about how I look forward to that with Thayne because I can't begin to imagine what I will feel for him in another 25+ years. For now, it is fun to watch a romance bloom, fun to watch my oldest child fall in love and start dreaming of a future with her. But I also can see that the ins and outs of real life is what will cement that bond to last forever.

Tanner was home yesterday and we were talking about him going into the army. I think my emotions are way to close to the surface thinking about him being away for so long! I am excited to see what he can do with this time in his life. He's excited to be a soldier. He has wanted to do this for so long now. But I watched him hold Nate, as Nate snuggled into his big brothers arms, and my heart broke thinking of all that he will miss. It's life, that is how life goes, but it still hurts to think about him being gone so long that Nate doesn't remember him. Although we did a good job of making Kalli remember Garrett while he was on his mission. We will just have to put up a lot of pictures and talk to him about Tanner. He signed for 3 years and 16 weeks! This child is the one that is always looking for an adventure, always looking to take risks, so I guess this 'job' will fulfill all of the things he is looking for... but it sure makes a mom lose sleep!!!

I hear kids moving around now. The older kids are getting up to get ready for seminary. They amaze me that they get up faithfully every morning to go to early morning seminary before school. I am grateful for their desire to do that. I can't believe Tallin will be graduating this year. I am amazed at how quickly life seems to fly by us. I guess I need to go find some saltines to settle my stomach and maybe, just maybe try to get one more hour of sleep before the day really starts!

Interesting reactions...

I took Nate to the doctor today to get his first Synagis shot. When I sat down an older lady started talking to Nate and asked how old he was. I told her 11 months (TODAY I might add!!!). She then said, "So, is he your first?" Usually I don't go into the actual number he happens to be but without thinking I said, "No, he's our 15th." Well, you would have thought the world was ending today the way she went on and on about how crazy I must be to have 15 kids (didn't bother telling her 16 is on it's way!). I just tried to smile and pretend like everyone in the place wasn't looking... but come on... EVERYONE in the place was looking! Then she tells me she could barely handle the two she had, but that she had 6 grandkids and 2 great-grandkids. I told her congratulations, that is wonderful and then she went on and on about how insane it was to have 15 kids. Then her daughter walks out with the 2 year old great-grandchild. And she tells her daughter who then went off taking the Lord's name in vain and going on and on about how insane a person must be to have so many kids. Now... I was sitting there perfectly normal AND sane while they ranted about the insanity of it all...with a room full of people. I must say it was a relief to have them finally leave.

Then we head to KFC... I love our KFC because the owners are amazing and so sweet to our family. They have been open since we were expecting our 8th baby and everytime we go in they seem to celebrate our family, often giving the kids a chocolate cake or a free dessert. Everytime we go in they ask if we are having #16. Today he said something about another baby, and Kailee pointed to my belly and excitedly tells him that 16 is on it's way! He was thrilled and told his wife who smiled and congratulated me. They tell us it is wonderful and are so happy for us! And I know they mean it!!! And he gave us a discount to celebrate!!! :)

I just find it interesting how different people react to news of a large family. Some people rejoice in it in a way that is wonderful to see... because that is how we feel. Other people, usually those who chose to have a small family, are miserable about it and think a person must be insane to have so many kids! It's great to be around people who are as happy about family as we are.

And... we are now officially started on the Synagis shots. 1 down, 5 more months to go. And praying like crazy that this helps keep Little Man healthy and happy throughout the winter! Though today you wouldn't know we are in the middle of November... it was 64 degrees when we came from town. The kids are saying they wish it would snow to sled down our hill... I say it can snow on Christmas eve and then clear up and be like this the rest of the winter!!!

This just seems so wrong!

How is it possible to look so pregnant when I am only just over 9 weeks? I guess I shouldn't be surprised... can I use the excuse that this is #16? That sounds like a good excuse!!! It just doesn't seem right that I can't be the tiny little pregnant lady... nope, I start gaining at conception and have to pull out the maternity pants the same time I get a positive pregnancy test. It just seems so wrong, so unfair!!! :) Guess I will learn to deal with it... but there is simply no hiding it!

(and don't mind the marks on the mirror... Kami was doing her own hair and spraying hairspray everywhere... so it is all over my mirror!)

Buying Bullets!

Today was just such an exciting day! (read MUCH sarcasm here!) Jace and Thayne wanted to go into town and buy bullets! I know, I know... it wasn't all that exciting! But since the elections the men in my life, and well... frankly, everyone that I know... have become obsessed with guns and bullets... buying more guns (Garrett and Jace have both bought a couple), and buying bullets. It would seem that the nation feels the same way, as everywhere on the internet is sold out of ammunition. In the gun store, as we bought a few thousand bullets, the owner was telling us that they are out of almost everything and are having a hard time getting what they need and that many clips are virtually impossible to get now. It would seem that somebody doesn't believe that the president-elect is okay about guns! :) The owner said that there is talk of a 500% increase in the cost of bullets!!! That is just scary! Maybe it is all just a big conspiracy by the gun shops of the entire nation to scare everyone into buying guns and ammunition... or maybe it's a good item for food storage!!! Either way, I have been informed that every two weeks we will be stocking up from now on! :)