The Claridges

My Jorgan Babe

2011-08-06T09:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we walked across the street to play on Mary and Gerald's grass and just play outside (our yard is horrrrrrible at the moment!) and Jorgan was so much fun! She would run and run and then fall over and pretend to snore and be asleep (the whole time with a HUGE grin on her face) and after a couple seconds of that she would sneak a peek and make sure I was still watching her, and then pop back up and run some more. She was having a ball!

Jorgan is so wonderful! I just needed to write a few lines about how much I love this kid. She is always so happy and helpful! She gives THE BEST loves and is so sweet. I've been thinking alot about how the dynamic in our family is going to change once the little sister gets here and hoping that its not a huge, painful adjustment for Jorgan. She'll be the best big sister, I'm sure, it just might take her a little while to adjust to having to share the spotlight. Like any two year old she LOVES to be the center of attention. In the meantime, I'm trying to spend as much quality time with my "best girl" and hope that she knows how much we love her!

Moments That Matter Most

2011-06-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

This was such a good reminder to me that I need to slow down and recognize and savor alot of the little things in life, especially with Jorgan. It seems like time just keeps going by faster and faster and my priorities need to shift. This is just the kick in the pants I needed!

Life's Tangled!

2011-04-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

This movie has taken over our lives! But that's okay because its not just Jorgan who loves it :) I think it brought back the "Disney magic" for me- not to mention Mandy Moore sings all the songs which totally takes me back... Jorgan watches her "pincess" movie at least once a day (does that make me a bad mother?) and I love hearing her belly laughs coming from the living room! Anyways, if you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it. It'll change your life... not really... but I promise you'll enjoy it!

BIG NEWS!

2011-03-22T07:32:00.000-07:00

Introducing......

Baby Claridge #2!

Thats right! We're adding a new little bundle of joy to the family! I'm due September 25th (so that makes me 13 weeks) and everything is going great. Jorgan is so excited to be a big sister! She LOVES babies and will be such a good helper.

SNOW!

2011-01-16T16:49:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post these cute pics of my little girly in the snow in Colorado. She LOVED it! She must have her Daddy's genes because I do not enjoy it that much. Of course when I went to take her picture she wouldn't give me the happy little faces she was making approximately one minute before I got my camera out... Sigh... Thus is life. :)

Stop! All this cuteness is making me sick!

2010-12-27T15:51:00.000-08:00

Not really... But there is alot of it going on here... :) I came out from getting ready for church Sunday morning (hence the PJs...still...) and this is what I found. How in the world did I end up with such a girly girl?! I love it!

Going Private...

2010-12-19T07:04:00.000-08:00

I have been postponing this for quite awhile now, because I hate when I go to look at one of my friends blogs and I can't because they've gone private, but when people start commenting on my family blog that I have no idea who they are and their profile isn't available... lets just say it makes me really nervous! You just never know about some people out there. I'll leave this public for a couple weeks, so if you want an invite leave your e-mail address and I'll send you one. Thanks!

Santa Claus

2010-12-13T10:05:00.001-08:00

This year we have been talking up Santa Claus hoping that Jorgan would be excited for the Christmas party and sit on his lap with out screaming... It worked! She just walked right up to him and sat on his lap and was so CUTE! Ok so she still looks a little freaked out, but she wasn't crying! :) I'm so excited for Christmas this year because she's going to get it, and we won't have to unwrap her present FOR her. Woohoo!

4 down...Eternity to Go...

2010-10-23T07:12:00.000-07:00

Collin and I celebrated out 4th anniversary this week and more than ever I know he is the man I am SUPPOSED to be with. Collin works so hard for our family and usually has about half an hour to get home and shower than he is off to his next shift, but he took the time to get me some flowers and let me know how much he loves me. As I sit here this morning, I can't help but think back on the past four years and think of how blessed we have been. I love the life we have created for ourselves! We may not have everything we want but we have always been blessed with what we need. We have a beautiful daughter who we love with all our hearts. I have a wonderful husband who I love more and more each day and always supports me in everything I want to do. Everything isn't always perfect, and we have certainly had our disagreements, but if I had to do it all over again I would still choose Collin to go through life's adventure's with. Thanks for being wonderful and working so hard to make your family happy! Here's to loving you babe! Four down, and eternity to go...

Blog slacker (Warning LONG Post!)

2010-10-14T07:58:00.001-07:00

Where has the time gone?! I can't believe we are already half-way through October! It seems like I just started volleyball again and now we are 2 weeks away from the Regional Tournament. (I measure my life right now by games played vs. still left... I guess it comes with coaching?) Things here are going well and I'm going to attemp to summarize it all for journal purposes. If you're still reading by the end... props to you. You're a dedicated blog reader! :)

Collin is still as wonderful as ever and works so hard for our family. As much as I miss him, I'm glad he loves what he does and so that makes it a little easier to wave goodbye for two days at a time. I love watching Jorgan's face when her Daddy walks through the door! She squeels and runs right up to give him a big love and she doesn't even like sharing him with me!

Jorgan is getting so big! It seems like the last month she has really gone from a baby to a little girl. It makes me sad (but not sad enough to want another one just yet! :D)... She jabbers constantly and there are some real words thrown in here or there. She says "Hi" "Mom" "Dad" "Babba" "Bampa" (Grandpa) "Pappa" "Dance" (She usually ways this one as she's waiving her arms around and running in a circle, I guess that what dancing passes for these days... :D It is so cute!) Lately, she's been saying "Oh no!" and "Oh my gosh!" I guess I say that alot... guess I'll have to watch what I say from now on! :) She also has an obsession with shoes lately. She will try anyones shoes on that will let her. She usually walks over to someone and points and grunts until they give in and she gets to try one their shoes. If they are in a pile on the ground, forget it. They are fair game and she will wear them until you chase her down and retrieve them. She does really good at matching the shoes. She always seems to know which shoes go together... she really is pretty smart. Takes after her mother. :) hee hee. I've started watching one of my friends little boys that is a few months younger than she is. It is really good for her to learn to share (work in progress) and be "soft" (another work in progress) and play with another kiddo. She's doing pretty good. She is so much fun and such a sweetheart! Her Daddy and I love her so stinkin' much!

Things always seem to get a little hectic for me this time of year. I love it though. It keeps things interesting. I am still coaching volleyball for the next month or so. This is the time of the season when things start to get exciting. The work up to State. I'll let you know how that goes. The team looks pretty good so far. There is a new Varsity coach this year that is a JOY to work with. I am learning so much. I'm also still in YW and loving it! I really think we have the best young women in the church. :) Collin and I both just got put on the Activities Committee. I'm kind of excited to have a calling with him. That should be fun. I'm still doing photography as well and its picked up a little bit. I don't know if it will drop off when the rush to get Senior pictures in time for the yearbook deadline is over, but its been fun to have some sessions and learn new things. Its really turning into a passion of mine and I'm greatful that Collin is indulging me a little bit on this. He's wonderful... did I mention that? :)

Hopefully I'll get better at blogging when things calm down a little bit. Just thought I would let everyone know that we're still alive and haven't fallen off the face of the earth. :)

2010-08-22T16:11:00.001-07:00

My beautiful baby girl has grown into a toddler and with that has come all of the joys that go along with it. The tantrums have started, she's having trouble sleeping through the night again (I thought we were past that), etc. etc. etc. I was having a particularly hard day a couple days ago, Collin had been gone to work for two days straight, I'd had discipline problems at volleyball practice, Jorgan was in a winning mood, and I was at my rope's end. I found this quote that I think I needed to see and read it. It hit me in a way that I know was inspired and it made me realize how fortunate I am, and that I need to focus on the positive things instead of getting frustrated with the things that I can't control. I have a wonderful husband who loves me and works SO hard for our family. He is the best dad to our beautiful little girl who is growing up so fast. She is learning new things everyday and so happy and loving. I just need to soak it all in and not take it for granted because her being this little and so innocent and precious isn't going to last forever. If I keep focusing on the laundry not being done, and the endless diapers that need to be changed, etc. I know I will end up regretting that I didn't take more time to enjoy her being little and learning how to say and do new things. I guess I just need a wake up call once in awhile to make me realize what a blessed life I have and how much I have to be grateful for.

Here it goes!

2010-08-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

So I've been dabbling in photography for the last two years and I have fallen in love with it! It is great learning new techniques and seeing the changes in the end product. After a couple years I feel like my photos are consistent enough to take it public. I've launched a new blog with pictures that I have taken in the past, so it would be great if anyone and everyone would go take a look and let me know what you think. I love feedback! Hannah Claridge Photography

Graduates

2010-05-28T17:52:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to give a quick shout out to my little brother and sister. Evan graduated from Pima High School this year and Olivia graduated from 8th grade and is moving on up to high school! I feel old. Congratulations you two, we love you and are so proud of you!Evan just thought he was getting his diploma... maybe they'll mail it. :)

Jorgan's 1st Birthday

2010-05-28T17:09:00.000-07:00

My little Baby has turned 1! I can't believe it! For her birthday we had a cookout at Chris and Debbie's outdoor kitchen (thank you!) and invited the family. It was so much fun to have everyone there and Jorgan made out like a bandit. Thanks everyone for the fun gifts. She loves them all! Rochelle made her the CUTEST cake! She is so talented! Jorgan didn't know what to think about it at first, but after one bite.... It turned into this! Now you know why her shirt if off in all the pictures. She was a mess but it was so fun to see her just go to town on that cake. She sure played it up!

Another breakthrough is that she got to turn around in the car! I was so excited for this day to come and I love driving town with her looking out the windows and talking to me! So fun!

Jorgan's one year accomplishments:

21 pounds

Has 10 teeth

Walks everywhere, sometimes runs... she's fast!

Climbs everything

Says Mama, Dada, Baba, Hi!, Bye!, Ya, Bampa (Grandpa), and can make horsey noises.

Can wave goodbye and blow kisses.

Loves reading books and knocking down block towers.

Gets her purse and walks to the door waving and saying BYE! (The cutest thing I have ever seen)

The busiest baby ever. This girl never stops.

Gives the best loves and kisses. She pats you on the shoulder or arm or cheek when she gives you hugs. LOVE IT!

Loves to cuddle when she's sleepy.

Says Mmmmm after every bite when she likes what she's eating.

Drinks with a sippy cup

Is the SWEETEST baby girl and has both her parents wrapped around her little finger. This girl is spoiled rotten!

I am so grateful for this little girl. She fills my life with such joy and I know the same goes for Collin. If I've had a not so wonderful day I know I can expect a big love and kiss from my little girl and the world is suddenly good again. She is so busy and keeps me constantly on my toes but I wouldn't trade her for anything. We love you Jorgan! I'm glad you're ours.

The Gila Valley Temple Celebration and Dedication

2010-05-25T18:35:00.000-07:00

Its going to be pretty hard to beat this past weekend. There has been such a feeling of excitement and anticipation surrounding the temple that it seems hard to believe that it is now open and functioning as a dedicated temple. I feel so blessed to have been able to be a part of this and know what a blessing the temple is going to be for this valley. For journal purposes I'm going to write about everything that happened over the past two days.
Saturday night I went with my mom and cousin David to the Temple Cultural Celebration. There were so many people there and they were all talking so loud until President Monson drove up. You could have heard a pin drop if it hadn't have been for all the camera shutters going off. He got out of his little golf cart and immediately started talking to the little children sitting in front of him. He wiggled his ears and told a hilarious story about his Mexican friend. The two of them had gotten in trouble and had to write lines in the classroom after school. They heard a car honk and Juan (or whatever his name was) told the teacher that he had to leave because his dad was there to pick him up. President Monson said " I knew his dad didn't have a car so don't tell me about dumb Mexicans. They're smart!" We all laughed but looked around to see if there were any Mexicans that had been offended, but then what could you say? He was the prophet...
The TCC was amazing all the kids did such a great job! I think Pima's dances were my favorite. They did the cotton stomp. My brother, Evan, and sister, Olivia were in the show and they did such a good job! So many clever people put alot of time into developing that show and it came out incredible. The finale was so powerful. All the kids were waving colorful flags and singing Come, Come Ye Saints. At the end of the song they all put on white capes (that the RS sisters had made. They were "wrapped in Relief Society love" as my Grandma Katy put it)and pulled streamers that were attached to a tower with the angel Moroni on it. That picture along of all those youth standing there so excited about the temple being built here was enough to bring tears to my eyes (I'm not going to lie, it happened more than once!) After is was over President Monson started shaking hands and it was amazing. All of the youth collectively started moving towards him. Not in a chaotic way at all, they just wanted to be as close to the prophet as they could get. Someone started singing "We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet" and the entire stadium started to sing. After the song was over a man yelled "Hurrah for Israel!" and all the boys on the field answered him "Hurrah for Israel!", "Hurrah for Israel!", "Hurrah for Israel!" I have never seen that many people be that quiet as we all just watched President Monson. That was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life. I think that must have been a little bit like what the Nephites felt in 3rd Nephi. We were only about 20 feet away from a prophet of God and it was such a great feeling. None of us wanted him to leave.
The next morning we got ready early and took Jorgan to Pork and Rochelle's (Thanks for watching her!) and headed to the temple for the dedication. All of my Dad's brothers and sisters were there except one and alot of my cousins were there as well. My mom and dad, and aunts and uncles got to go in the Celestial Room with my grandparents and the rest of us went to another room in the temple to watch the dedication. It was wonderful to be there with Collin, and my brothers and Olivia, my parents, and my cousins. There was such a spirit in the temple. Grandma and Grandpa Crockett both talked in the 9AM session and they both did such a good job. I would have been so nervous to speak in front of the Prophet, let alone all the people that were watching the dedication. Grandma talked about how she was sure that there were people who had already died that were probably at the dedication and were rejoicing that there is a temple here and I believe it. You could feel it there. Grandpa talked about becoming more Christlike through temple work. I am so grateful for these two amazing examples in my life. They have always answered the call to serve no matter what the sacrifice to them and it is a wonderful legacy for their posterity to follow. President Monson spoke about President Kimball and his love for The Gila Valley. That he is sure he is rejoicing to know that there finally is a temple in his beloved hometown. I'm sure President Kimball and many others are rejoicing right alongside all of us here because we have waited for a temple for so long and it finally happened! It seems unreal still.
I am so excited to be able to drive 20 minutes from my home and attend a temple of the Lord whenever I can. I need to make a commitment to try and attend more than I have in the past and I don't have the excuse of a 3 hour drive anymore.

Springtime

2010-04-06T18:34:00.001-07:00

Springtime... (sigh) I love this time of year...

Hip Hip Hooray!

2010-03-15T08:09:00.000-07:00

My brother Sean has returned home from the Cape Town, South Africa mission. He was such a dedicated missionary and we are so proud of him. His mission report was yesterday and he gave such a great talk. Glad to have you home Sean!

Cause and Effect

2010-02-25T08:31:00.001-08:00

We've had an exciting week. First Jorgan started walking!

This makes me a little nervous and apparently I have good reason to be!

She pulled the piano bench over on herself and we thought she had possibly broken her nose! Luckily she didn't and she gets this badge of blue and purple to wear around for a while. I love this little girl but she is going to give me gray hairs!

Our Little Jorgan

2010-02-09T09:55:00.000-08:00

Jorgan is nine months old! I can't believe it, where has the time gone? She is the delight of our lives!
A Few of Her Favorites:
Broccoli (weird I know)
Taking naps with Momma
Spending time with Dadda
Exploring
Feeding the horses
Walks outside
Playing with Grandma and Grandpa
Crawling away from Momma, laughing :)
Being tickled
Peek-a-boo

A Few of Her Accomplishments:
She says Dadda, Baba, Bampa(we think its Grandpa) and Momma(only when she's mad or upset)
She feeds her self (very independent)
She crawls very fast
She climbs on everything
She is trying to figure out the whole walking thing
Smiles constantly
Can cry on demand
Knows how to take her shoes off
Helps mom with the laundry

We truly love this little girl. She is so fun!

The Holidays

2010-01-06T09:09:00.000-08:00

It seems like I'm always playing catch up with this blog... Oh well. We had a fantastic holiday season full of food, family and fun...

Thanksgiving this year was spent with Collin's family. The first time since we've been married. It was so much fun with food, food, food! Which means I ATE, ATE, ATE! Jorgan had fun with all the different food we kept letting her try!

Cousins! Jorgan loved playing with her cousins. They are so fun!

All of the Collin's family and the Norton Aunts and Uncles and cousins were there and it was fun to visit, wrangle kids, and of course play CATCH PHRASE! Some of us get very creative and intense (Chelle) when we play that game... :) Fun times. After Thanksgiving Day we had the Norton Family Reunion that weekend. I met a whole lot of relatives that I have known all my life and am now related to. It was fun. I'll forever have burned into my mind a certain rendition of YMCA...

We had a few weeks break where I made a mad dash to get every one's presents put together. Every year I swear I will start that whole process earlier than December 17th but I am the Queen of Procrastination so I find myself in the same place every year; One week to go and I'm not even 1/3 of the way through my list! I got it all pulled together thankfully and it was a great Christmas.

Collin had to work Christmas Eve so Jorgan and I stayed at my parents house that night. Talk about flashbacks from the past! Evan and Olivia went carolling, so we got to stay with my mom and dad and sing songs and look at the fire, and I fell asleep at about 9. It was heaven! Thanks for taking Jorgan, Mom! That in itself was a great Christmas present!

Christmas morning we woke up early and fixed breakfast and waited for Collin to get there so we could open the presents. We got about half way through with presents and then Sean called! It was so fun to talk to him. He sounds so good! His release date is March 5th and he'll be home on the 6th. My mom is counting down the hours practically... Anyways, back to Christmas. We finished opening the presents at my parents (We were so spoiled!) Collin got a GPS unit from me and Jorgan, and a bunch of stuff for guns and other manly stuff. I got a new camera from Collin! My parents also got us year supply stuff (thank you, I already feel more secure) and a play pen for Jorgan, and then Jorgan was spoiled rotten!

I think Jorgan enjoyed eating the wrapping paper more than opening presents!

Evan made her the prettiest little rocking chair. I love it!

After presents, we got ready really fast and headed to spend the rest of the day with the Claridges. Yummy food at Vick's beautiful new house, then we headed to Chris and Debbie's for presents over there... I never knew Christmas could be so fun with two families! JK... They got us some beautiful books on the Claridge and Norton heritage, and Debbie slaved hours to make us a scrapbook full of pictures of great-grandparents, and stories. It is really a treasure. The rest of the day was spent eating, visiting, eating, playing games, eating, and did I mention eating... I love her face in this picture... she has crazy eyes! Thanks Chelle, she loves these!

The Sunday after Christmas, Seth and Courtney blessed their new little baby boy and we had more good times. Eating, visiting, eating, wrestling crazy, crying, babes who desperately needed naps, eating some more, you know the usual. It was a fun day and little Mason is so precious.

New Years Eve was about as low key as I've ever had. We must be getting old because we went to bed at 9, and only happened to notice it was after midnight because one of us was taking a bathroom break and noticed the clock... Life's grand.

I sat down New Years Day to write my resolutions and realized that half of them had to do with weight loss and my figure. I can only assume that this is a result of all of the aforementioned holiday parties and family get togethers. Mostly though, I have to remember all of the blessings I have: a wonderful husband and daughter, a fantastic extended family, a home, Collin's job, etc, etc, etc. 2009 sure was a wonderful year but I'm excited to see what this year brings!

Halloween and Catch Up

2009-11-06T11:03:00.000-08:00

Alright. We haven't had a computer for about 2 months and we finally got a new one that works! Yay! So for the last couple of months...

I survived my first season coaching volleyball at Ft. Thomas. I had so much fun but it was definitely a learning experience. I learned that I have a long way to go to be a great coach. Isn't it amazing how different 8th graders are from 9th graders?!

Collin is working his brains out. He loves his job and is getting more and more confidence in his EMT skills. I am so proud of him!

Jorgan is growing like a weed! She can sit up, and roll completely over, and she got her first tooth! She is such an angel and I am having such a fun time being her mother. She was a flower for Halloween and a pretty cute one at that! We made the rounds to all the grandparents and she put on a show smiling and talking to them all. It was fun showing her off in her costume.

Goings On

2009-08-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

Another month(ish) has flewn by and like always I am behind on the times. Poor Jorgan's world has been rocked this past week. Not only did she get put on the bottle (that whole experience has been just as traumatic for me too I think) but she got her first ear infection. The poor babe has not been feeling well, but we saw Dr. Batty and she's on antibiotics now and hopefully she'll be back to her happy self shortly.

Collin started at the San Carlos EMS yesterday as an EMT! Yeah! I am so proud of him. He had a great first shift and we managed to go a full 24 hours at home without him. Boy were we happy to see him this morning!

I started coaching again. This year I am the JV volleyball coach at Ft. Thomas. Thats right... I've crossed over to the dark side. :) Its fun and the girls are great, but it is a whole different world from Jr. High. I hope I don't botch it too bad. Its keeping me busy and Jorgan is having fun hanging out with Grandma and Olivia every day.

We had so much fun at the Pioneer Day Celebration. My Aunt Mary and Uncle Steve and family came for the festivities and it was fun to see them all. My cousin Jen had a little baby boy, Colt, about a month after Jorgan and he is so stinkin' cute! He was five weeks early so Jorgan looks like a tank compared to him but I bet he'll outgrow her before too long.

Here's Jorgan with her Great-Grandma Katy and Great-Grandpa Crockett at the football field. She loves these two people! I was worried about how she would handle the fireworks but she slept right through them. I guess it was all too exciting for her.

My dad and Evan along with Uncle Steve and cousins Zack and David sang in the program and it sounded so good! They're rock stars!

The next weekend we had a fun time with everyone in Collin's family. We had a party at the Thatcher park and took family pictures (Thanks Trey!). Here's my two favorite people... Doesn't Collin look like he's having fun?

Summer has been fun but I always like it when school starts and we have a little bit of a schedule. At least this way I remember what day it is halfway through the week!

I found this picture and it cracked me up! This is what Collin typically looks like when he gets home in the evernings. Phone in one hand, babe in the other.

Lots and Lots

2009-06-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been a blog slacker, but summer has started and so has all the pandemonium that goes with it. We have been having such a fun time with little Jorgan. She is wonderful! We blessed her on Sunday and it was so special. Collin gave her such a sweet blessing and thanks to the tons of family who came to support us. It wouldn't have been half as special without you there! We had a great lunch at Chris and Debbie's (Thanks again!) and took a few pictures...
Jorgan got to wear my blessing dress and that was so fun. Thanks mom for digging it out of boxes! And thanks Trish for teaching me how to make bows!

The Ft. Thomas Fire Dept. participated in a challenge at home depot to cut open a car with a DeWalt reciprocating saw and the got 2nd place to Safford by a fraction of a second. Good job guys! It makes me feel safe to know that our fire department is full of such capable men. Isn't Collin cute?!

A couple of days ago I decided I needed to have a "photo shoot" with Jorgan. A few of them turned out pretty good, some of them are just cute because they are of her not because of the photography. She is such a sweet heart!

First Month

2009-06-05T21:16:00.001-07:00

Jorgan turned a month old on the 3rd. Can you believe it?! She is on the verge of smiling and has seriously found her voice. She growls and coos and is just so much fun. Collin and I are loving it. Feeling like someone is going to come and pick her up is slowly starting to fade and it is sinking in that we truly are parents and this is forever. Its a good thing she's so dang cute! Well, here's some pictures of our baby girl.

Piano Lessons

2009-05-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, in order to help out a little bit I am going to start giving piano lessons again. If you or anyone you know would be interested in taking some lessons let me know! Adults, little kids, etc. It matters not to me. I would even be willing to go up to Pima and do them there for those of you who don't want to drive the half an hour to my house. Leave a comment if you are interested and we'll figure out the details. Thanks!

The First Two Weeks

2009-05-18T13:43:00.000-07:00

Wow! Has time flewn by! I can't believe little Jorgan has already been here two weeks. Isn't it funny how pregnancy seems to last forever and then once you get the little dears here time doesn't seem to stop. It has been an adventure and so fun. We've only had a couple sleepless nights, she usually sleeps pretty good, and we are all adjusting well. A couple days after she was born she started turning yellow... So when we went in for her first check up they had to prick her little foot (I always kind of rolled my eyes and the moms that said they would start bawling if their little one was being hurt... but I guess I can't roll my eyes anymore because I am one) and decided that she was jaundiced enough to have to wear a bili-blanket. She got to sit in this fun thing all day for a couple of days. I secretly think my mom loved it because we couldn't really put her down the machine was so bulky so we pretty much had to spoil her and hold her all day long.

I have had so much help and feel so greatful that we live close to all of our families. My mom was a fixture at my house for the first few days and I don't know how I would have done it without her. She came and helped me give her her first bath so I wouldn't drown the poor baby. I'm sure Jorgan appreciated that one as well...Its amazing how slippery they get!

Isn't she cute! We also have been having fun getting her all dressed up! Its great to put on her little bracelets and headbands and put her in some cute outfits. Its like having a real little doll to play dress up with.

My Granma Katy also came and helped out and it was so fun to have her here. She helped me give her a bath and rocked and sang to her while I took a shower (I think I have totally taken those for granted the first 22 years of my life). Thanks alot Grandma!

It is so fun to watch her little personality start to emerge. She makes some of the funniest faces and she grunts and growls constantly. She's an impatient little bugger too. She'll make one of her faces and growl at me if I don't move fast enough when she's hungry. She gets the hiccups constantly and always gets this perturbed look on her face after each one. Hopefully I'll be able to capture some looks with the camera because they are classic!

Jorgan Kimberly Claridge

2009-05-11T19:32:00.001-07:00

Jorgan Kimberly Claridge arrived Sunday, May 3rd, at 7:18 pm weighing 7 lbs. 3 oz. She is such a sweetheart! I was supposed to be induced that morning at about 7 but about 3:30 I thought my water broke so we headed up to the hospital. It hadn't but they admitted me anyways and started to induce me at 6:30 (They didn't even have to use pitocin!) I don't really know the timeline because when you are in those little rooms or pacing the hallways you have NO sense of time.... I finally got to 3 (it took hours) and Dr. Tran came in and really broke my water and then the party began. No sooner had he walked out of the room then the contractions started coming HARD and fast. I thought "Oh this is what its supposed to feel like" because up until then it hadn't been that bad. I was supposed to wait until I was 5 to get an epidural but because I was getting NO break almost between contractions they said I was a special case and got to get one at 4 (I don't know how anyone does this without one!). The anesthesiologist came in and I went from 4 to 7 while she was giving me the epidural which was FAST. Then the drama started... The baby's heart beat started to plummet into the 40s and my blood pressure skyrocketed. We were the only ones having a baby in there at the time so all of a sudden EVERYONE was in the delivery room with us. They paged Dr. Tran and he came in and stared at the monitor for another 45 minutes and as soon as I was almost 10 they had me start pushing. I was trying not to panic at this point because he got out the vacuum and was pulling so hard to try and get her out fast enough that he broke 3 of them. And then about the time her head was coming out her shoulder got lodged and Amy Ollerton (one of my WONDERFUL nurses) had to jump on top of me and start pushing on my stomach to get her out. Can I just say again how much I love an epidural! When she came out she had the cord wrapped around her neck and her body and she was unresponsive so they RAN her over to the table and started trying to get her to cry. My mom parked herself by the little station and once they got her to respond we told everyone what her name was and my mom turned on the water works! I'm so glad we got to surprise her with that. Anyways, she is fine now and we have a beautiful little girl who is such a blessing in our lives. Here's the token new little family picture where the dad is tired but beaming and the mom looks like she has just been hit by a truck. Can I just tell you for my own dignity that the reason I am SO puffy is because they pumped me full of 5 LITERS of fluid! I was swimming!

Collin is such a good dad and Jorgan already has him wrapped around her little finger. It just melts my heart to see how gentle he is with his little daughter.

The grandparents and a few other visitors came in that night and it was so fun to get to show her off to everyone.

We are adjusting well and she really is such a good baby. I am so grateful that everything went well and that our beautiful little girl is finally here with us!

Collin's EMT Graduation

2009-05-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

Collin has just graduated from his EMT class. We are SO proud of him. He has worked so hard and has done so well. He was a pretty stressed person this week. That was a mean trick of me to play on him having a baby the same week as finals but it all worked out in the end. We love you babe! Good job!

P.S. And we would greatly appreciate it if you could inform your teenage daughter that her bra strap is showing. Thanks!

2009-04-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

This was on my aunt's blog and it cracked me up! She got it from another blog but its too good not to share!

Dear Grown Woman at Walmart,

Please, I beg of you, for all that is decent in the world, stop wearing your pajama pants out in public. Enough already. I don't know at what point in your life you lost all self-respect but, please, try to get some of it back. You can start by putting a little bit of thought into what you wear out in public. How you represent yourself, that is. A pair of blue jeans and a simple white t-shirt go a long way. Not to mention a clean pair of shoes.Which brings me to my next request: Please stop wearing those over-sized, extra fluffy pink and/or cheetah print slippers out in public as well. Return them to the 14 year old girl you borrowed them from and advise her not to wear them out either. They are referred to as "bedroom slippers" for a reason.You're "relaxed" style of dress is not cute, trendy or at all endearing. No one is admiring you and saying, Gee, I wish I had the courage and self-confidence to go out in public looking like I just rolled out of bed after a hard night of drinking. Trust me.I'm not talking about when you're walking the dog, getting the mail or picking the paper up from your front lawn. Those can easily be classified as "Oops! I didn't expect to run into anyone" moments. We all have them. What I'm talking about are the trips to the grocer, the bank or, Heaven forbid, the mall. Please, show some mercy!Now go, dust off your self-respect, run a comb through your hair and put on a decent pair of pants and some real shoes. You will truly feel better about yourself and be glad you did.Thank you!

Signed,
The General Public

P.S. And we would greatly appreciate it if you could inform your teenage daughter that her bra strap is showing. Thanks!

Weekend in Pinetop

2009-03-16T13:07:00.000-07:00

We had a chance to go up to Pinetop and hang out at a cabin with Pork and Chelle this last weekend.

It was so much fun and a much needed get-away. Thanks guys! Collin found a couple of new hobbies and I found out that I shouldn't let him within a mile of any slot machine... :)

We played darts,

Wii, and the guys soaked it up in the hot tub (I am looking forward to the day when I can get back in one of those...) and just relaxed. It was pretty cold up there. It snowed the night before we got up there and it was trying to snow again as we were pulling out of town, so we didn't get outside much. Emily did find a new friend though.

It was so fun to spend some time with Collin and just hang out together before the baby comes and our lives are turned upside down! I sure love him!

Mawage. Mawage is what bwings us togedder today....

2009-03-03T19:52:00.000-08:00

For all you married people out there!

1. When is your "engagement" anniversary: August 3, 2006
2.When is your "marriage" anniversary: October 20, 2006
3. How long have you known your spouse: A long time. I met him when I was about 10 and I spent the night at my cousin's house and he was there hanging out with her brother. The rest is history...
4. How long did you date/court before you were engaged: I don't really know. We'd been friends for a long time. We dated seriously for at least a year before he proposed... Maybe longer. Who knows.
5. Where did you meet your spouse for the first time: Isn't this the same question as above? I met him at my cousin's house in Geronimo... Its funny that we live 50 yards from there now.
6. What is your spouse's full name: Collin Alf Claridge
7. Do you have any children yet: One bun in the oven... She'll be here around May 4th.
8. How many: See above
9. Do you have any house pets: Unless you count the peacocks, and the lizards we find in our house occasionally....
10. Do you own a house or rent: We rent, of a sort, i.e. we do not own the house that we live in.
11. Do you live in the country or town/city: Is Geronimo classified as a town?
12. What are some of your favorite activities together: Going to the ranch. Hanging out with our families. Going to the temple together.
13. Do you have a favorite vacation spot: Does the ranch count as a vacation spot?
14. How many siblings (including in-laws): 2 brothers, 1 sister. 5 sister-in-laws, and 6 brother-in-laws.
15. What church do you attend: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
16. Is this the church you were married in: Mesa Arizona Temple
17. What town is your current address: Geronimo
18. Do you work or stay at home: I am a bum and I stay home.
19. Where did you honeymoon: Payson, Az
20: Leave a piece of marriage advice: Communicate! Even if you're sobbing and he can't understand what you're saying!
NOW I tag: All my married friends... Yeah!

Baby Room

2009-02-18T13:50:00.000-08:00

Sorry about that last post... I had a moment of weakness. Thanks for pulling me out of it. :) Things are going great here. I've been planning the baby's nursery and I've settled on black, white, and pink. This set from JC Penny's is sort of my inspiration... I will add a little bit of color to this though.

My mom and Grandma Katy have been so nice to volunteer to help me sew the bedding and curtains. Thanks guys! It should be an adventure. I don't know how Grandma feels about it... She keeps trying to talk me out of black furniture and black in general (Its just not a baby color!). I just don't think she can envision it. It will be great! I am about 30 weeks along now (only 10 to go until my due date) and so I'm getting kind of ancy to get everything put together. The way our weekends get used up we have a limited amount of time, better get started!

2009-02-16T18:12:00.001-08:00

Do you ever have one of those days when you feel like all you ever do is laundry and dishes?

Catching Up

2009-01-14T08:39:00.000-08:00

Wow! I guess I have been a little preoccupied these last few weeks. Lots to do. Anyways, Starting from Christmas... I am apologizing now for there being no pictures. Maybe when we have kids I'll be better at that. We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We spent Christmas Eve and Morning with my great family, and then the rest of Christmas Day with Collins. It is so great to be near both families. It is one of those things I am truly greatful for. Chirstmas Eve was fun at Grandma and Grandpa Crocketts. We had the annual Christmas Nativity. This is always great because the little kids are so cute! We opened presents early and headed up to Pima again that morning. We had a blast and got to talk to my missionary brother Sean for 45 minutes. Its amazing that you can have a conversation with someone clear from South Africa. All of Collin's brothers and sisters were at Debbie and Chris' and it is always a party! We opened presents, visited, and did I mention EAT!? Good times. We all convened back there again for New Years Eve and I learned that Grandma Norton is a very competitive Hand and Foot player! Fun times. I had my 22nd birthday on the 2nd and life is just moving right along.

We have started playing musical rooms at our house. We're getting ready for the baby now and I am so excited to finally be doing something proactive in that regard. It should be interesting to see how it plays out.

Collin is taking the EMT class at EAC and I am so proud of him. He is really excited about it and is already working hard. I am still being a bum. All the closets at my house have been cleaned out though!

And the Results Are...

2008-12-19T12:31:00.001-08:00

Bring on the Pink, Princesses, and Giant Hairbows! We are having a little GIRL!!! We found out yesterday and are so excited. Everything looks great on the sonogram and Dr. Tran even said that she is a very active baby. I could have told you that though. I don't think Collin stopped smiling yesterday. I couldn't stop smiling yesterday. Mary Ann the necklace trick worked! I wasn't brave enough to try the Drain-O though. :)

Yeah!

2008-12-14T19:34:00.000-08:00

We get to have another sonogram! We go in on Thursday morning and I'm not saying a word about this one. I don't want to jinx it again. Bets anyone?

Our Baby Is.........

2008-12-04T10:10:00.000-08:00

VERY SHY APPARANTLY!!! So, okay, maybe I jinxed it with the overly modest comment, but come on! We went to the ultrasound and the good news is that there isn't an alien inside me. The baby looks healthy and active, except for its legs that were strategically crossed over that all important part! We were in the little room for a good 15 minutes or so with the technician trying pretty hard to get the little booger to uncross it's legs, but it wouldn't budge. In the mean time it was bouncing around waving at everyone and everything... Collin says it gets the spastic from me. How sweet. She finally said, well I guess you'll find out May 4th. I didn't think that was very funny. So I guess we'll just have to wait until later to find out. My mom says that this is my penance for all the Christmas presents I've opened before Christmas. Justice is cruel, thats all I can say on that one.

Christmastime is Here!

2008-12-02T15:10:00.000-08:00

I am so excited for Christmas this year! Out of respect for my husband I saved all the Christmas music, decorations, etc for after Thanksgiving, so now I get to start! I plan on turning my house into the Christmas Palace over the next few days and I can't wait! Doesn't this time of year just make everyone happy?!

Oh, and we get to find out what we are having tomorrow (Cross your fingers our little bambino isn't overly modest...) Stay tuned for more news!

Happy Birthday Collin!

2008-11-20T08:46:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to the most wonderful man in the world! He turns the big 23 today. Thanks for being so wonderful and I hope you have a great day!

State Semi-Finals Here We Come!

2008-11-05T14:55:00.000-08:00

Any one who knows anything about me knows how much I love Pima Football. It has been such a great season for our boys and they are doing very well. They defeated Williams handily on Friday night 58-7. Evan had a couple touchdowns and played very well. I LOVE LOVE LOVE small towns and the fact that when you go to the games everyone is there, your family has their own little section of the bleachers that they always sit in, and that the same people sit around you every week. I just LOVE football season! Anyways here are some cute pictures that my cute little mamma took at the game last week. This is pretty much my family's life from September to November... Collin's gotten used to it. :)

My cutie pie parents

Grandma and Grandpa Crockett and Dad

I WILL get him to smile in a picture one of these days!!!

Ooh! Look at the little studmuffin... Next to him is the amazing Coach Bryant.

Baby News

2008-10-19T19:19:00.000-07:00

So sorry I haven't been very good at updating lately, but there hasn't been much to fill you in on. I finally got into see the doctor and found out my due date is May 4th and we got to take a gander at the little squirt. It was SO neat. They baby was kicking and moving the whole time and although its still too small for me to feel it, it was pretty cool to see that its already active. Considering I was expecting to see a tadpole looking thing, I was amazed at how much it already looked like a little baby. Collin came with me and he had a smile on his face the whole time. It was so fun. Dr. Tran gave me a prescription for some nausea medicine and it seems to be helping for the most part. Any relief is much appreciated. Our life is on the verge of a drastic change, and I feel like I should be scared to death. Don't get me wrong, I am a little nervous, but I am SO excited to welcome this new little person into our family and it will be so hard to wait until May!

So they tell me that the blob on the upper left hand side is its head and then the body is lower down and you can kind of see a leg sticking out but it moved right as the doctor took the picture so we didn't get such a great one. But thats okay.

My brother, the missionary

2008-09-16T21:58:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post this neato picture of my little brother. Isn't he a stud? He is in South Africa and doing such a good job. He's really an example to all of us and keeps us spiritually on our toes. We love you Elder Crockett!

Mountain Raspberries

2008-09-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

This last Monday I tagged along with my wonderful mother and Gayle Bryce and went on the hunt for some raspberries on Mt. Graham. It was so much fun. Gayle had never been raspberry picking before, but by the end of the day she was a true professional. For those of you who have never gone berry picking with my mother, I guess you could say she is ALMOST obsessed. It is so fun to watch her shimmy down precipices and crawl through brambles where a rabbit wouldn't go, all in the hunt for "the Granddaddy of all Raspberries" as Gayle so eloquently put it. Mom gets on the hunt and it is truly contagious. We had to pry ourselves off that mountain because we were all convinced that we were not going home until every raspberry on Mt. Graham was safely in our buckets. I think we're planning on making some raspberry jam with them. I'll keep you posted. I just want to tell those fun ladies "Thanks for letting me tag along! I had a grand time."

Something Exciting is Going to Happen

2008-09-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

If any of you haven't already heard... Drumroll please...

WE'RE PREGNANT!!!

We found out on September 1st (ironically Labor Day) and we are so excited we couldn't keep the secret very long. I'm about 5 weeks along and we're due sometime in May. We are so excited we can hardly stand it and I have a feeling that its going to be a long 9 months waiting.

Here's some pictures of us telling Mom and Dad, and then Grandma and Grandpa Crockett. We didn't get any pictures of us telling the Claridge side. My brain wasn't with me...

I had these letters in the bottom of an early "birthday present" for dad. It didn't take him very long to unscramble them.

Grandma had them unscrambled pretty fast but we had told her that she had to do it for one of Olivia's class projects so she was staring at Olivia waiting for her time before she caught on... It was sure fun!

Pima's First Game of the Year

2008-08-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

Pima Football has officially started! Yeah! Can I just tell you how much I love this time of year?! I think my family crossed the line into being MEGA-UBER-FANS last night. We drove to St. David to watch the football game and Evan wasn't even playing. We just all wanted to go watch the Roughriders faceoff with the Tigers. It was a fun game and we ended up winning 42-10 so the younger kids got to play as well. It was killing Evan not to be out there but hopefully his shoulder will be recovered to play next week against Veritas. Evan ended up coming home with us and we stopped at Wendy's in Benson to get a frosty and headed home. Here are some pictures I took and just maybe Evan will be in some of them next week.

Emily's Photoshoot

2008-08-28T12:58:00.000-07:00

I am taking a Photography class this semester and I kidnapped Emily for a photoshoot the other day. It was pretty fun and she was a superb model. Here are some of the pictures...

Yet Another Wedding

2008-08-19T12:24:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we embarked on yet another journey to experience another loved one's wedded bliss. You'd think weddings were in season or something... This time it was on my side of the family. My cousin Heather, who is six months younger than me so we've been pretty close growing up, got married to a wonderful guy and I couldn't have been more happy for her. It was fun seeing all of the cousins and Aunts and Uncles that we don't get to see alot because my dad's family is pretty spread out over the country. Anyways, here are some pictures of the lovely newlyweds with an added sprinkling of assorted family members. Enjoy!

Heather and Kevin coming out of the temple looking completely blissful.

Awwww!

The families. Shumways and Sandalls all mingled together.

Grandma and Grandpa Crockett looking as sweet as ever.

My wonderful Dad and Heather's Grandma Shumway

Chance and Megan's Wedding

2008-08-11T09:58:00.001-07:00

Saturday we traveled up to Snowflake to be with Collin's cousin at his wedding. It was such a sweet ceremony and the couple couldn't have been happier. Our party was supposed to consist of Collin and I, Debbie, Grandma Norton, Tricia and Aisley, but due to circumstances outside of anyone's control, it ended up being only Collin, me, and Grandma Norton. It was sure a fun trip though. Thanks for putting up with us Granny! We met Russ and Janie, and Tammy and Sarah, and Wade, Amy and Gentry at the temple. We were few in numbers, but the quality was fantastic! Anyways, here are some pictures of the newlyweds and family...

Megan was such a beautiful bride (her dress was GORGEOUS!) and Chance was so handsome. They were both positively beaming. Congratulations!

I love this picture of Grandma. She looks like she is deep in thought about something. I wonder what?
I found this little arbor over looking the valley on the other side of the temple. I made Collin go and take a couple of pictures there. He looks pretty happy considering he is a hostage...
Half of our family at the wedding- Tammy, Sarah, and Grandma.
Janie, Russ, and Collin. (I think Russ just said something smart alecky if I remember correctly.)
Amy and Gentry. We are sure happy to finally have them in Arizona! Wade seemed to be missing in action for all of the pictures, but let me assure you he was there.

Weeds, Dishes, and Way Too Much Time On My Hands

2008-07-31T17:02:00.001-07:00

This week I have found myself with alot of spare time. Something I am not at all used to. I don't really know how to handle it, so I have been coming up with a whole heaping lotta projects for myself. I have gotten alot done too (can you tell how proud of myself I am...). I have become a master weed chopper this last week cleaning up my yard. This is something that I honestly thought I would never do voluntarily in my life, but I truly isn't that bad. Its kind of fulfilling looking back at what you have accomplished, and I now have a grand scheme for what I'm going to do with our yard. There is a perfect place for a picnic area, and I've picked out a spot for a garden. Who knows when I'll actually plant anything, but when I do I know where I'm putting it. I also degunked my kitchen. It is dang spankin' clean. You could even eat off the floor if you really wanted to, or even the table now for that matter. I cleaned out my closet and dresser drawers (Olivia will be so thrilled with the 2 bags full of clothes that I will soon be handing over) and you can actually see my bedroom floor and walk around without fear of breaking an ankle. I've been doing pretty good at keeping busy, but I am running out of ideas that don't cost alot of money... Dang. I kinda think Collin secretly likes having me home all the time. This has been a nice little break, but I think I'll be ready for a schedule when school starts up again on the 18th. Its so fun playing the litte homemaker, I love it!

Photography

2008-07-19T08:30:00.000-07:00

So, I've kinda been interested in photography for a while, but I've sort of been too scared to try it. I really like playing off of the natural shapes and lighting that nature has (i.e. all the clouds and tree pictures) but I think that its really neat. I think I also like working with black and white film (do you call it that when its digital?) because I think that it plays up the shadows and shapes that are created. One night at home the monsoons were rolling in and the lighting was AMAZING, so I took my little digital camera out and started snapping pictures. I think some of them turned out okay... I definitely would be considered a novice, but perhaps this has shown me that I might be better at it then I had once thought, but I am still really nervous to put my pictures out there in the very critical world... So, here's a couple of pictures that I have taken, some of them are just random pictures of the mountains, but the lighting was really great. Let me know what you think!

Photo Op

2008-07-19T08:26:00.000-07:00

Fun in the Sun at the Pima Pool

2008-07-10T16:30:00.000-07:00

So this summer has actually been pretty fun for me. I work long hours, but I get to work with some really fun kids. Well, I have a couple of stories of our doings and goings on at the pima pool... The last couple of days have been really cloudy and overcast but they haven't produced for us at all. We have spent hours scouring the clouds for any sign of lightning and praying for the slightest downpour...NOTHING. We started joking that we needed to do a rain dance. A little while later this is what the MALE lifeguards came up with...
So we were very optimistic and all day waited for the thunderstorm that we just knew this rain dance would bring...NOTHING. However, the next day a kid got sick and threw up in the pool. We got to close the pool down for the rest of the day and go home! We are not sure if the kid got sick because of some adverse, delayed side effect of our powerful rain dance, but you can be assured that we will be doing some more experimentation and investigation into the subject. ALSO, while we were waiting on the verdict to come back on whether we were going to get to go home, or open up at a later time, me and another guard (Kali Carlsen, whom I absolutely LOVE!)ambushed a poor unsuspecting little boy and started playing with his hair. Eventually the hairspray came out and this is the end product. Notice the look of priceless enthusiasm on his face... We told him he had a white Lenny Cravitz thing going (I know, what every 8 year old boy wants to hear) and he went home looking somewhat unconvinced, but perhaps just a little flattered. :)

Fourth of July

2008-07-07T11:01:00.000-07:00

Fourth of July this year was really fun. Kinda lowkey, but I like it that way sometimes. For the actual 4th, Rochelle invited us to go and celebrate with her family in Central. My parents were up on the mountain, and Collins family were mostly out of town. We went over there and had a super fun barbeque and round of card games afterward. Those Ferrins sure do know how to play SPOONS! We were on our way to the spot that we usually watch the fireworks when they started up. We just kinda pulled over on the side of the road and watched them for a little while. Kind of a bummer, but it was okay because it was raining and lightning anyways and I almost enjoyed watching the lightning more than the fireworks. On Sunday morning we went to Columbine to be with my family for the day. Collin had never been to our cabin, nor to church at the mountain, so it was pretty fun for him. I saw some people there who I hardly ever see anymore and it was really fun to rub shoulders with them all. We had an amazing R.S. lesson by Leora Taylor about pioneers, and being our own kind of pioneer today. I swear there was not a dry eye in the place. It was really neat. Sacrament meeting was cut a little short. It started raining two testimonies in, so we said the closing prayer, and everyone made a mad dash to their cabins. Mom made an awesome dinner for us. Manicotti! Woo hoo! I love that stuff! They cleaned up after lunch and left, Dad leading the way on the motorcycle (I'm sure mom was a nervous wreck the whole way down). We stayed and visited with Carol Anne Weech for a while and then Phillip and Sophie Weech (NEWLYWEDS!) and Emily Weech and her boyfriend, Jason, came over and we visited with them for a while too. It was fun to get to see Phillip. I haven't really talked to him since he got off his mission. He has been a little preoccupied though, so I guess there is a good reason. We took a short nap after they all left (I swear there is nothing like sleeping in the mountains) and we took off too. Let me tell you Dramamine is a LIFESAVER. That mountain road is HORRID, but we made it down. It was really fun to get to hang out with my family up at Columbine. Here is a picture of us all outside our cabin getting ready to go to church (I told Collin "Nobody wears Church clothes up there, its the mountains" Needless to say he was kinda miffed at me when he saw that my family wasn't the only ones in white shirts and ties. Oops!)

Saga II

2008-07-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

So this lovely Saturday morning Collin and I didn't have to be anywhere so we slept in. We stayed in bed a little longer and visited and then decided to get up and make a huge breakfast. Yummy bacon and eggs, hash browns, buscuits and gravy- it was quite a spread. I was making the gravy and noticed Jason Black driving by on a trencher and really didn't think anything of it. We ate breakfast, and then I was going to get in the shower to get ready for work. I went to go turn the water on and.... NOTHING HAPPENED! Collin called Jason and guess what? That innocent trencher (with him driving) hit the water line. Water, Water Everywhere, but not a drop for me... So the second day in a week where I am learning what a precious commodity water is. I live in the desert so you would think that I know that by now, Eh? Well, I guess this calls for another dip in the pool. For me, this is having a little too much in common with all the little pool rats (thats our fancy term for the kids that are at the pool all day, everyday). Thankfully, unlike Thursday, there was still enough water for one more flush of the toilet. HALLELUJAH! There are still miracles from heaven! The funny thing about this is that I have had a song from SESAME STREET, stuck in my head all morning. It goes something like this. "Cool, Clean Water (Water, Water, Water) Cool, Clean Water." How's that for life's little ironies.

No Water WOES!

2008-07-03T10:27:00.001-07:00

So this morning, Collin went to flush the toilet and GUESS WHAT? No water. We called Gerald and to make a long story short the pumps broken, and the pipes are broken and we don't know how long we will be out of water. Its funny how you don't realize how much water you use until you have none. I ate some Spicy Nacho Doritos for a snack and went to wash my hands... No water. I went to wash my face... No water. Its amazing how little water you actually need to brush your teeth when you are using the last of the bottled water in the fridge. HALLELUJAH for the tiny bottle in the fridge. Well, I guess I can just take a dip in the pool today and call it good... I swear half the kids that swim there all summer don't take showers anyways, so I'll fit right in, right? Just make sure that you don't stand too close to me today... Hee Hee. Isn't country living grand! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! :)

Arizona Monsoon We Salute You!!!

2008-07-02T20:31:00.000-07:00

Can I just say that I love this time of year! We had some pretty amazing weather today and I think it is safe to say that the monsoon season is here. Anyone who has ever lived in Arizona knows how cool it is to watch the storms roll in. The clouds start to accumulate and then BAM! all of a sudden you are smack dab in the middle of a thunderstorm. One of the hazards (or perks if you're a glass-half-full kinda person) of being a lifeguard is the weather. I was supposed to work until 9:00 tonight, but the weather was being hazardous, so I got to come home 2 hours early! No complaints here! The typical storm in the Gila Valley goes like this... It usually starts in Solomonville and barrels through the valley. There are rolling power outages all over and by about the time it hits Thatcher everyone in Pima is out on their porches watching the storm because well, the electricity is off and what else are we supposed to do? So in the end you spend a wonderful evening with your family on the front porch watching the lightning and rain as if it were the 4th of July fireworks show. It is sure great! I have alot of memories hanging out with cousins on Grandma and Grandpa Crocketts backporch watching the storms come over the mountains. Its enough to make any person nostalgic. Well, no salute would be comple without some pictures. I did not take these, however they are still pretty cool. Some of them are pretty close to what we experienced today too, others are just cool pictures.

Back to Real Life

2008-06-19T13:40:00.001-07:00

Its about a week late but I am finally blogging about camp. It was such a great week. Not only did I have Mom and Olivia up there with me, I also had Collin there for a night, and Trish and Meg were there all week too. Who gets homesick with so much family around?! The camp was as usual a spritual feast. There were so many great speakers and workshops and other things to strengthen testimonies. I really feel recharged after this experience. The highlight of the week was getting a letter from my dad, it was part of the mountaintop experience. He's such an example to me and I love him dearly. Thanks Dad! When I got home it was right back to work at the pool. Things there are going swimmingly (hee hee). Collin is working as hard as ever keeping up with the farms and secretly I think he loves it!

Like A STAR

2008-06-19T13:33:00.001-07:00

Tagged AGAIN!

2008-06-02T19:19:00.000-07:00

Thanks Jaci! This tagging up stuff gives me a chance to seriously reflect on my life... Ha Ha!

3 joys: Collin, Family, That feeling of accomplishment after you've gotten alot done.

3 fears: Something happening to Collin or another close family member, SPIDERS especially when they get in our bed and crawl on me when I am asleep, public speaking (which is kinda weird considering I want to be a teacher. Hmmm...)

3 goals: GET ORGANIZED!, start a family one day, live in a house that is less than one hundred years old (not that I am complaining. I love my little house!)

3 Current Obsessions: Blogging (Collin thinks I spend way too much time looking at these things), Fast food, Trivia Questions (somedays that is the only way the time moves quickly, or at all for that matter, at the pool).

3 Random Facts: I sorta have the same problem Jaci has- I always like to throw my two cents in when someone is feeling sick or has injured something, Collin calls me Dr. Claridge. Collin and I "hunt" mice in our home... Its a long story... I have worked at the Pima Pool for five summers (I know, I really need to get a life, or at least a grown-up job)

5 People that I tag: Courtney, Rochelle, Tricia, Mikael, Taylor.

Mothers

2008-05-12T10:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know it's the day after Mother's Day, but I just wanted to write this down. A little thank you to the mothers in my life for being such wonderful people and examples to all of us. My mom has always had the best for us in her mind and even if it meant that she would go without she did it. She always has a smile on her face and makes you feel like you were exactly the person that she wanted to see and talk to, even if she has fifty other things that she has to get done before the day is over. Now that I have my own home and household I realize and appreciate all of the hard work and sacrifices that she made to make our home a great one. Her wonderful attitude and willingness to serve in any capacity has been a great source of guidence for me in my life. I simply have to think how she would react and I am a better person for it. Bottom line-- My mom is my best friend.
Collin's mom, Dub, is a wonderful person, whom I love and respect. She also makes so many sacrifices for her family and makes sure we all feel like we are loved. She is such a wonderful example to all of her family, and you can see how much her kids love her in the way they treat her. She did an amazing job raising my husband and teaching him to cherish his family and preisthood and I will be forever in her debt for that. She's doing a fabulous job as a mother-in-law and I can't think of anyone else I would rather have filling that role in my life.
Well, I'm audibly sobbing now (I am such a cry baby!) and can hardly see the screen to read what I'm typing, so I will leave it at that. Thanks ladies and we love you!

Tagged, I Guess

2008-05-04T16:57:00.000-07:00

Thanks Trey. Okay here it goes...

5 things on my to do list-

Clean the bathroom
Finish my wedding scrapbook
Laundry
Finals
Make some living room curtains

5 jobs I've had-

Papergirl
Lifeguard
Coach
Data Collector for a school grant program
Babysitter

5 places I have lived-

Flagstaff
Pima
Central
Thatcher
Geronimo

5 favorite snacks-

Potato chips
cheese crisps
popcorn
apples and carmel dip
crackers

5 things you may not know about me-

I bite my fingernails (horrible habit!)
I have a dog named Jack that doesn't live with us
I hate public speaking of any kind.
I have played the piano since I was five
I would live in swishy pants if I thoght I could get away with it

5 things I would do as a billionaire-

Build a HUGE house
Get out of debt
Buy a farm for Collin to run
Become a world class philanthropist
Devise a contest between me and Bill Gates to see who has the most money

5 things I love-

COLLIN and my family
friends
coaching basketball
scrapbooking
decorating my little house

5 people I tag-

Jaci
Trish
Kaija
Taylor
Mikael

What a Week!

2008-05-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

Wow! I just got home from my last class. Yeah! I've got finals next week, but I'm not too worried about them. This has been kinda a wild week. It started this weekend when we had to make a trip to the ER. I thought I had apendicitis (sp?) but it turned out to be something else. Luckily its not a big deal and I didn't need surgery. Thanks to my wonderful husband for being so wonderful to me and holding my hand when I got poked with a needle. He was so patient and caring, I'm still trying to figure out what I did to deserve him. I even got a Relief Society dinner out of it! It was great. I feel alot better and hopefully the trouble is behind us. There has been an announcement that a temple is going to be built in our valley and I am so excited. What an oppotunity, and a wonderful blessing! It should be done about the time my brother gets home from his mission, so we'll get to go in with him. No one knows exactly where they are building it, but the rumors are flying. My Grandpa Crockett sent me a link that you can go to to get a newletter giving you updates on the site, open house dates, etc. I put it on my sites to see if anyone is interested. I'd also like to cogratulate Sass and Kolby on their new little girl. Neices and nephews are so fun! Well, thats it for now...

2008-04-23T16:33:00.000-07:00

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

YEAH YEAH

2008-04-21T14:27:00.000-07:00

I am really horrible at keeping this up to date. So sorry. Life is great here. We're both keeping busy and loving every minute of it! Summer is almost here and I cannot wait. Classes are going good, but it will be a much needed break. Lately, the mice and squirrels have come out of hiding. Collin has declared all out war on them. I've gotten used to him running in breathless, grabbing his "sniper rifle" and running back out of the house on a regular basis. Its kinda funny and I have a hard time not laughing picturing the mighty hunter at work... Hee Hee. I got to go help Trish with the youth baptisms at the temple this weekend and that was really neat. It was wierd to be on the other end of that and not the one doing the baptisms. It was a fun trip though. This morning was the high schools fake drunk driving wreck. Chris and I, and Chandler went to go watch all the boys in action, even if it wasn't for real. Chandler loved the helicopters! Afterwards, all the emergency vehicles lined up and they let the kids look through them and run the sirens (it was a loud ten minutes!). Sam Napier and I were amazed at how many kids could fit in the firetruck! We counted 17 kid get out of it. Scott Hawkins was talking to us and said "Yep. Those Injuns can sure pack 'em in there." It was VERY humorous. Well, thats it for now. If anything exiting happens in the next little bit, I'll be sure to post it.

Life in Geronimo

2008-01-21T09:40:00.000-08:00

Life has been great but busy for us the last couple of weeks. Collin has been staying busy with his dad. Their latest project is fixing up a bunkhouse up at the ranch. They've been hard at it and it looks pretty good. I think they're getting close to being done. I have started school again. I am taking 17 credits at EA and hope to be done there by December. My goal is to have my teaching degree in 3 years. We'll see if that happens... We've had some visitors in our yard that past couple of weeks. I was finally brave enough to go out and take a few pictures. They were only about ten feet away from me. Crazy! Gotta love the country life!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-01-21T09:30:00.001-08:00

Just for kicks

2007-12-29T20:28:00.000-08:00

Well, alot of my friends and family are getting on the blogging bandwagon, so I figured it must be something I might could do. We just had a wonderful Christmas. It was so fun to get to hang out with family for the week. We're getting back into the post-holiday swing of things though. Collin's gone back to work at the farm daily and I'm gearing up to go register for school in a couple of days. We did get to go throught the Temple with Sean on Thursday. That was a really neat experience for everyone who went. It is so wierd to me that he is already going on his mission in a month. I guess my mentality is that it is okay for me to grow up and not my siblings. He'll make a great missionary though. Anyways, I'll letcha know if anything exciting happens. Should be interesting.