Daddy-Daughter ski for free.

Shane took Avery skiing today at Alta. They do a "ski for free after three." So they get an hour and a half of skiing which is perfect for a four year old. I didn't go because we had no one to watch Sage. Shane is determined to make her an Olympian, whether it be skiing or running. One thing she will not be doing, according to Shane, is cheer leading. (Sorry to anyone reading this who may have been a cheerleader.) Personally, I think it's a little hypocritical considering Shane was once a cheerleader himself. (Pause for dramatic effect) Yes that's right Shane Hughes was once a cheerleader. Okay, it was only for one assembly and he was invited by a cheerleader because apparently they needed some boys to do a stunt of some kind. (what do I know about cheer leading.) Anyway, the girl had a crush on Shane and told him he could look up her skirt during the stunt. (Shane will kill me when he sees this but it's worth the risk) He claims he didn't look, but then again, he was a teenager. How I went from daddy-daughter date to loose  women, I will never know. Enjoy the pictures. (None of them include loose women.)

ps. For anyone who missed it, the Mark Twain quotes are under the photo of the week. It is a little inconspicuous, the picture is so big and the quote so small.

If they say these things in another 10 years it won't be so cute.

A couple days ago my children made me laugh all day with their potty mouth antics:

1. We were in the care singing to the radio, (one of Avery's favorite past times) and a song came on that Avery really loves. We all know it, "I'm Yours" by Jason Miraz sp? Anyway, I was really amazed at how well she knew the lyrics even when it came to the line that goes something like, "open up your eyes and d@#! you're free." she didn't miss a single word or beat. I had to laugh.

2. Later that day, Avery and Shane were on the computer playing a game together and Avery started getting frustrated with Shane over something I'm not quite sure of, and I heard her say in a very teenage tone of voice, "Calm your butt Dad." Shane looked at her completely shocked, but again, I had to laugh. (Though I shouldn't have.)

3. And my personal favorite, I was playing a game with Sage:
Where's your nose? (Sage points to his nose.)
Where's your mouth? (Sage points to his mouth.)
Where's your eyes? (Sage points to his eyes.)
Where's your cheeks? (Sage points to his bottom.)
I was pretty much rolling on the ground at that point.

Off the subject, but one of my favorite authors has always been Mark Twain (okay, you can stop being shocked now) and I wanted to share from a book of quotes from him called "Wit and Wisecracks." He always makes me laugh and if you haven't read "Huckleberry Finn" what are you waiting for? Yes, I like it even better than Twilight:)

Being a mother and head gashes.

Sorry for the gruesome picture, but for some reason this head gash on Sage's head has caused me to do a lot of pondering on motherhood for the past few days. It all started on Saturday night at 8pm when Shane put Sage in time out which up until this happened was his crib. It wasn't long before we heard a crash, a thud, and a healthy wailing from Sage. I ran into the room only to find Sage's head matted in blood. (head wounds are infamous for lots of blood.) To our surprise, he had managed to climb out of the crib and land on a train set below. We dropped Avery off out our trusted neighbor below us and took him to the instacare not far from our house. The poor kid needed one stitch and four staples to close the wound. This was no easy process and it took two parents, two nurses, and the doctor to hold him down. (the picture looks wet because of the neosporin.) Holding Sage down was heart wrenching. He laid on an exam bed under a very bright fixture spot lighting him with three strangers pinning him down like a straight jacket with his own parents betraying him! (Okay I'm a little over dramatic, which doesn't happen very often, but I could see it all in the look he gave me.) He kicked and wiggled and screamed the entire time which in a way made me glad. I was very glad that he just didn't give in and succumb, my heart really would have been broken then because that is completely opposite of Sage's character.

Sage has been very difficult in many ways because of his stubborn fiestiness. He was so hard as a newborn, especially following his sister who was the world's easiest baby to care for. I've definitely had both ends of the pendulum in my children. One day as I was in the midst of several clogged milk ducts, mastitis for the second time, ear infections in Avery, zombie like state due to lack of sleep, dealing with drama that goes a long with being YW president, (you get the picture.) A friend asked how I liked being the mother of two children. I knew I was in no position to fake a response so I said something like, "I'm not gonna lie to you, it's really hard." Her response to me was "Really, all my friends say it's even easier than one." Of course my heart sank even further because now I'm thinking, "what some people find this easy?" and I just wondered how I could ever have more children.

But like everything, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. But first, another flash back to my growing up years. I lived in a neighborhood where 5-6 kids was average for a family. People who had less were either not LDS or medically unable to have more children. I had teachers and priesthood leaders teach in Sunday school and YW's that "you should have as many children as possible, wait for no reason at all, and don't use birth control." (I swear I'm not making this up.)

Several months after Sage was born I sat in Stake Conference and listened to a broadcast from Pres. Hinckley which was being transmitted to all the stakes in the Salt Lake Valley at the same time. The message that sticks out most from that broadcast and pretty much any other talk I've ever heard from a general authority was this: Pres. Hinckley reminded everyone listening that God commanded us to multiply and replenish the earth, but he didn't put a number on it. It's a decision between married couples and the Lord and we should not judge one another for the number of children we choose to have. Yes, it was definitely one of those moments I felt like he was speaking directly to me. A huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. He continued to council women and mothers not to complain about their lives but to be an optimistic and positive influence...something I also needed to hear. Having said this, I just want to note that I'm totally aware that there are many woman out who are completely able to take care of multitudes of children and do it happily and successfully. I'm just not one of them, and I know that about myself.

Motherhood is hard but then you have moments like what happened last night that make up for so much. Now that we know Sage has the ability to climb out of his crib he's slept in Avery's trundle bed until we can get him a toddler bed. Because I am so determined not to fall into bad sleeping habit like when Sage was a baby, I was adamant that neither Shane not I be in the room while Sage is learning to adjust to his new bed (as per doctor's advice.) Of course he screamed and cried for a very long yelling our names and tugging at our hearts. Before long we heard Avery singing him a lullaby. Shane and I cracked open the door and saw Sage climbing into bed next to Avery while she put her arm around him and sang him her own version of a goodnight song and they fell asleep snuggled next to each other.

Any and all temper tantrums? forgiven
Waking up at random hours during the night? forgiven
Sage picking on little boys he doesn't know for no reason? forgiven
Throwing food on the ground instead of eating it? forgiven
Multitudes of children? I'll leave that to the pros. Don't get me wrong; I'm not done, just not multitudes.


Watching your children become people and develop their personalities is very rewarding as a mother, but not as rewarding as watching your children play with each other, love each other, and look out for each other.

Thanksgiving in the woods.

Call me crazy, but I love watching my husband chop wood! There's something about it that reminds me why I fell in love with my mountain man.

If you think this is silly, make your husband chop some wood and see if it works for you too!

Okay, now it's my turn. It took me at least a hundred swings just to chop one piece. I was ridiculously slow, but by the time I was done I was too warm to start a fire.

Honestly, chopping wood is quite addicting. I thought I would have really swore arms and back muscles the next day but to my surprise, only my thumbs were sore...who knew?

Wood choppers in training. What, you don't let your children play with large axes that are as big as they are?

This is Shane's Grandma. Easily the warmest, friendliest person I know. She has a really neat house and she and her son make famous apple cider. She's 88 years old and she has this really neat adult size tricycle that she gets out and rides. It's so much fun to visit Grammer.

I promised a hunting report, so here you go. This is Shane's best friend Park. He shot the only and only animal the whole trip. Notice he's using a branch to mimic an antler. This deer only has one antler and apparently in the hunting world this is a major embarrassment. Shane and his other friend couldn't stop making fun of him the entire trip. According to them, it would have been better to have nothing rather than a deer with only one antler. And all this time I thought it was about the meet.

Moving on, We had a really fantastic and delicious Thanksgiving feast at Amy and Austin's house. My only disappointment is that we didn't have any any Turkey's visit us this year. Every year we have flocks of turkeys roaming the yard, but this year they stayed away. I guess they know Mark and Tamra won't be around for awhile. (They're on a mission in Russia.)

Worst Movie Ever!

Okay maybe that's a little strong in describing Twilight, but if the shoe fits....Anyway, Shane was lucky enough to not have to sit through it with me because his saving grace, my sister-in-law, Amy called to see if I wanted to see the movie with her and some of her friends in Montana. We rolled in to Montana at about 11:30 and went directly to the theater for opening night. I laughed during the movie, but not during the parts that were suppose to be funny. So many odd angles and camera shots and really weird acting. The actor who played Edward was so....awkward. I saw him on Jay Leno a couple nights later and he was even weirder then. Heidi Klum was making fun of his hair and Jay Leno said he looked homeless. It was pretty funny. Anyway, I still like the books, but if they want a successful sequel, they'll have to fire the director and the actor who played Edward and put a lot more dough into the movie. On a positive note, the actress who played Bella did a really good job.

Road Trip

We're headed to Montana in a couple of days for Thanksgiving. It's really more of a hunting trip, but whatever. Thanksgiving and Hunting are pretty much interchangeable this time of year. I have to admit, I NEVER thought I'd marry a hunter. My first huntin' outing was also my last and it lasted for about 10 minutes. It's was probably one of our first fights as a married couple too.
Shane: "Sit still d@#* it!"
Carrie: "I can't even Shiver? Forget this, I'm going home."
Note: Since I'm the one writing this, I can make myself look more innocent than I probably was.

Moving on, hopefully we'll bring back enough elk meat to satisfy us for the next year. (I put my foot down at deer meat, it's not worth the freezer space.) Here are some pictures of "Thanksgiving/huntin' parties" of the past.


Here are four of the Hughes boys. Travis isn't here because he doesn't hunt. Actually, he's a vegetarian. If a vegetarian can be raised from this family, there's nothing that can't happen:)



I got a phone call from my 5 year old nephew today and he told me all about the 5 point bucks roaming the Many Lakes area and the pheasants and ducks they shot at Grandma's pond. I wish I could have recorded the call. He sounds like he's been hunting for 30 years minimum.

What, you don't let your two year old daughters play with elk heads lying around in the back yard? tsk tsk tsk.

Personally, I'm really excited this Thanksgiving to see Twilight. We're leaving on Thursday which means I won't be able to go with my girlfriends, so unfortunately for Shane, he's promised to go with me. Although I'm excited to see it, I have to admit my hopes aren't that high for this movie. Granted, I've never seen a movie that's as good as the book, but this movie especially might be a little too "teenage" for me. We'll see I guess.

I hope everyone has a great Holiday and travels safely to their destinations. I'll have a full "elk meat" and "Twilight" report when we return.

I'm a Trunk-or-Treat convert

I just love them. It's a great way to get lots of candy in a short amount of time and see a lot of great costumes. There's also the added benefit of socializing for the adults. This year our ward did a trunk or treat. We sent flyers around the whole neighborhood and made signs in the street to advertize. It was a big success and lots of people showed up. Unfortunately I was so busy planning parts of the trunk or treat and making my kids' costumes that I didn't put anything together for myself. So, I went as the woman who made her kids costumes. Here they are:

Here's Avery's. She's got a whole Annie Oakley vibe going for her. Truthfully, I unpicked this costume enought times to make it three times over. Unpicking; it's what I do best.

Sage went as a sick cowboy. He really played his part well. It started around 4am when he woke up with massive congestion, coughing fits and lots of vomiting on my bed. We even took a real trip to the Doctor, just to make it authentic, and came home with enough antibiotics for a whole month! Wow, the costume that just keeps on going. The Doc okay'd him to go trick or treating so he didn't have to miss out on the Halloween fun. Here he is in the pick up we rented to go along with his costume...Not really.

Shane went as the husband of the woman who made her kids' Halloween costumes.

These two look like they're about to hijack a train or hold up a bank. There just to cute, I don't think anyone would take them seriously.

We figured the adults would want a treat as well so as a Young Men and Young Women's group we served hot chocolate. It was a huge hit. Here I am bossing everyone around.

Just for kicks, here's what teenagers are wearing for Halloween costumes. This is Jennifer. Isn't she adoreable!

Here's Kristen. She's an Elmo/fairy hot chocolate dispenser.

Here's Mayra lookin' good in a tutu.

Here's the line for the hot chocolate. See, I told you it was a hit.

I hope everyone had a really great Halloween!