Reagan Eli Cardwell

I want to welcome Reagan Eli Cardwell to our family! He was born November 17th. He weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces!

Photo provided by BellaBabyPhotography.com

Where's Dexter?

Adrenaline Rush

Last night Erik and I had the biggest, scariest, and unexpected adrenaline rush ever!

Around 10:30 p.m. last night, as we were watching a movie, Erik heard some sounds near the front door, like someone was trying to come in and some kids voices. So he jumped up and ran towards the front door. I didn't hear anything so I was a little freaked because he was freaked..

Then, when Erik opened our front door, the cutest little girl walked right into our house and didn't stop until she was clear in the living room. Then, her older sister walked in right behind her. It looked like they were really scared and Erik thought he heard one of them say something like, "My Mom is dying."

What? Is this really happening?

So, I kneel down in front of the older girl and ask her to talk to me because at this point they are both crying and obviously really scared. She mumbles through her tears and I hear something like, "they are all gone."

What? Is this really happening?

As I'm trying to get more information from the older girl, Erik races to the bedroom to grab his gun and his cell phone. Then, he asks them to show us where they live.

I have this awful feeling like I'm walking into a domestic dispute situation or a crime scene and I'm more scared then I've ever been in my whole life.

After asking the girls where they live, we start heading out the front door, ready for god knows what...

As I get to the front door, I see a guy standing on our sidewalk and he says to the girls, "Did you walk into the wrong house?"

Whew. Breathe. I think this may be a lot better than I originally thought.

But, Erik was behind me and didn't see any of this happen.

The girls started crying even harder and walk down to the guy on the sidewalk. He grabs one in each hand and they start walking to the van in our neighbor's driveway.

Erik, not sure if this guy was part of the reason they were acting so scared, RUNS out the front door and gets right up in the guys face. I was totally impressed and shocked at his bravery and embarrassed at my willingness to let these girls leave with this guy after the way they were acting.

After a brief interrogation of the guy and the situation, Erik decided the guy was telling the truth.

So, after all the adrenaline leaves, we find out that he was my neighbor's brother-in-law and they were traveling to my neighbor's house. He took some stuff into the house and left the girls asleep in the van. They woke up in the van and no one was there, so they got really scared. A little disoriented, they walked into our house, instead of into their uncle's house. And, got even more scared when they realized they were in a stranger's house.

What? Is this really all that happened?

I guess the girl didn't really say her mom was dying but it took Erik and I like an hour to calm down.

All I know is that we were both willing to do whatever we had to do to protect those girls.

It was scary but I like the fact that humans are willing to stick together in scary situations, even if we are strangers.

And, boy oh boy, I'm sure glad to have Erik around in a scary situation. He took total control and wasn't afraid of anything!

Happy Birthday April!

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear APRIL,
Happy Birthday to you!

Being Tipsy isn't always fun

Over the holiday weekend, Erik and I spent time at the cabin with the Olsens! It was so much fun until around 3:00 p.m. on Sunday when I ROLLED my 4-wheeler! And, to add insult to injury, it decided it would be funny to land on top of me!

The sad part is that I wasn't driving to fast or being courageous or anything.. Really, it was because I was driving to SLOW!

On a very angled turn, I ended up tipping the 4-wheeler and rolled down the short path. And, the 4-wheeler followed suit. Ugh!

After the 5-mile drive back to the cabin on the back of Erik's 4-wheeler (heck no was I going to drive the rest of the way home!), Erik drove me to the ER where I received good news that I wasn't seriously hurt.. just seriously sore!

So, for the last couple days, I haven't been able to walk very well. Erik has been so kind to help me out with everything. Ahhh..

Although this accident put a big, scary dent in the weekend, I still had a great time hanging out with the fam!

Until next time 4-wheeler... Please be kind.

Books, Books, Books

Today I decided I wanted to see if I could get some money out of my millions of books sitting around. So, I found a Web site (AbeBooks) and started entering information like a mad woman! Although they wouldn't pay me for all of my books, I was able to sell about 30 of them for about $250.00. While this isn't near as much as I paid for them, its better than nothing and its 30 less books sitting in my bookshelf taking up room.

I really want one of these anyway....

And, now with this money, I can buy it! If you ever want to read a book and can't find it at the library and don't want to buy it, check with me! I may just have it for you to borrow!

Ahhh.. its nice to make money for something you won't ever use again! (Most of these books were old textbooks that book stores wouldn't consider buying back.)

Dexter, Jack, and Tob

Yesterday, Dexter got to hang out with Jack and Toby. He was so playful and him and Jack are best buds now. We'll be patient for Toby to join the crew. He played so much that he has slept nearly all day today. It was a blast! Here are some pics of the cuties..

Dexter is Home!

We got our new puppy yesterday and he is AdOrEaBlE! He's had lots of visitors and has been a perfect little gentleman! He doesn't ever bark and has the most beautiful eyes! The sad news is that before we picked him up from the breeder, his puppy brother scratched him in the eye with his doggie toe nail. So, I had to take him to the vet today. And, sadly but truly, he has to wear a cone until his eye heals. It's so sad to watch because I can tell he can't stand his new hat. And, the eye medicine makes him sleepy. But, he's still super cute and very well behaved. The potty training has begun and so far so good (crossed fingers)! Anyway, here are some pics of Dexter Olsen. Our new love.

Weekend Getaway to the Cabin

This weekend I got to take my sisters and their families up to the cabin. My nephews are in love with sledding so they were really excited to see the big sledding hill. They got there around dinner time and could NOT wait until the next day to go sledding. So, with some begging and a lot of excitement, we agreed to go night sledding with them. And, I'm so glad we did because I now am a huge fan! It was so much funner at night because of the speed combined with the fact you couldn't see where you were going or what you were aimed at!

There was one small incident where poor Torey flew backwards into one of the poles, which is a hazard of night sledding, but fortunately, he wasn't hurt and he still had a blast.

Here are a bunch of pics from the weekend. Thanks Geir and Margaret for letting my family enjoy the cabin... It was wonderful!

Victoria enjoying night sledding


April, Torey, and Alan heading up the hill


Victoria and Torey getting a ride from Uncle Alan


April posing with the "speed demon" sled


Torey


Sean, Austin, and Heather


Sean, Austin, and Erik


Austin and Sean


Erik



And, now for some day sledding...

Torey (front), Austin (back)


Austin


Dallin


Austin..One of many crashes


Dallin made it a goal to throw as many snowballs as possible at Erik


Austin, another crash!


Austin retrieving his boot after the crash, which popped right off his foot!


Torey looking cool!


Heather and Dallin


Dallin and me


Sean and Torey


Now, for some inside time..

Brayden


Victoria and Ellie


Audrey


Austin (the boys loved the "slippery" wood floor, and raced on it for hours)


On your mark, get set, GO


This was the starting point for the races..


Exhausted after a long day of sledding and racing


There were a couple of funny memories I wanted to note too...
1. Brayden asking in his prayer that "Audrey not be too crazy"
2. Brayden, Audrey, and Victoria chanting "pancakes, pancakes" after finding out that's what we were having for breakfast the next morning
3. Audrey screaming, "Get set, GO", at the top of the hill whenever sledders would go down.
4. Audrey screaming, "Go Audrey!" as she rode the snowmobile, which she totally loved! (Sorry, I forgot to take pictures the first day so I didn't get pics of the Paul family kids sleddding, sad.)
5. Victoria thinking that Erik and I moved to the cabin. She didn't realize it was a vacation spot at first and was so excited that this was our new house.

Anyway, these kids make me so happy and I was so glad to spend some awesome, quality time with them and my family.

It was a great weekend!

Blah, Blah, Blah

So, I heard Ke$ha's song "Blah, Blah, Blah" today on American Idol and it sucked, sucked, sucked! I'm shocked that people actually like this kind of music.... Then again, that's just my opinion and I'm certainly not making tons of money running around kicking TV screens, so what do I know?

Flat Stanley

My cute nephew sent me a friend to visit in the mail. His name is Flat Stanley! He had a great little stay at our house. We taught him all the things we love to do...

Watch Erik cook! (cuz ya all know I don't do any of that!)



Cook toast (this, I can do)



Play Chess (this, I'm horrible at)




Watch TV (way too much of this!)




Play on the computer



Stanley-It was a fun staycation. But, now it's time to send you back to Butterfield Canyon Elementary, where you will visit my nephew's class. You sure will be missed! :)

Happy Birthday Brayden!

My sweet little nephew is 6 years old today!

H a P p Y B i R t H d A y B r A y D e N!

I can't wait to celebrate with you on Sunday!

I Fed a RAT today!

Today, I went over to my sisters house to feed her pets and pick up her mail while she is out of town. My nephews have some fish, a tiny, tiny frog, and yes... two rats.

A lot of research went into the decision to buy rats and apparently they are a very good pet for kids. They love people and become pretty attached to their owners. While, I have had the courage to hold them, the second the long, ratty tail touches me, I lose it!

So, my goal today was to slip my hand in the cage with lightning speed so I didn't have another encounter with the TAIL. Plus, my sister warned me that they are very quick and that if I wasn't careful, I'd be chasing them all over the house.

I'm happy to say, I did not have an encounter with either TAIL, but I did almost squish one of them in the door. (T and A-I promise no animals were harmed in the process of feeding them!)

As soon as I was elbow deep in the cage, I noticed one of the rats (whose name started as Hermoine and quickly changed but I can't remember it now), was half way out the cage with a wild, "let me out of here" look in her eyes. My first reaction was to shut the door, which I did quickly! At the same time, I politely pushed her back in the cage. But, she cried at me for doing that. And, I'm not ashamed to say, I did feel bad.

So, after talking the rat off the edge (for real), I got the courage up again to give it another shot. Luckily, by this time, the rats realized I had given them fresh water and left me to my devices.

Needless to say, the fish didn't give me any problems at all. I love fish. And, my sister's family!

Congrats T!

Congrats Torey on taking 7th place in your school spelling bee today!

I want to show you something!

So, I'm watching my sister's kids tonight and as I walked in the door, the youngest (whose 3) ran up to me and yelled, "Heidi, I want to show you something!"

Next, he proceeded to tackle and pound (wrestle) his older brother, whose 7.

He was so proud of his accomplishment! And, being the positive reinforcer I am, I thought... What should I say here?? "Great job pounding your brother!", "You are so strong!", "Keep up the good work!"

Needless to say, both kiddos were laughing there heads off, so I just said nothing. But, I did feel stupid for not knowing how to behave in that tiny moment.

Parents of the world, how do you do it? I guess you just try, try, try again.

I had so much fun tonight.. We got to practice for the spelling bee tomorrow, play Super Mario Brothers, which was a little embarrassing considering the 3-year old did better than me!, and read and talk with my nephews. It's awesome spending time with them and I'm so glad I no longer have to drive 6-7 hours to be able to see them!