Herman's gettin' a beatin'

Dallan

So I am in trouble here it is Late Tuesday night and I am finally writing my dear missionary brother a letter of course you will not have a Pday and be able to read this until Monday at which time I will be sunning my white body on the beaches of Maui. Anyway enough of my plans to escape the negative degree weather and the white snowy slick roads for something warmer. I need to tell you something to make you smile and not remind you of the heat trap you find yourself in in Mexico. Well here it goes.
Ever since I fell the down the stairs in my fuzzy pink bathrobe and slippers. (you will remember the story from about 2 months ago) my back has been in pain. A weird pain. It hurt in one little spot on my spine right where they gave me my epidural when I had William. But that one little spot was making my quite miserable. So I asked Mom what she would do. After some discussion and planning and conniving she sent me her Christmas present of a back massaging chair. With the idea that I could use it for these next few days before she came to take care of my kids and then she could take it back with her. Anyway Mom instructed me to only sit in it for about 20 minutes. Well I sat down in it and watched a 30 minute TV program. And then later that Day I watched American Idol for an hour and then the hour long show on after that. So in total I had the chair rubbing my back for 2 and a half hours all in about 6 hours of time. Well I’ll tell you what. My spine no longer hurt, but for the next two days it felt like somebody had taken a two by four and beaten me all up and down my back.

I have not sat in the chair since.

Love you lots hope I made you smile

Monica

Wishing for more heat!!!

Dallan, Jan 19 2009

Jon has spent most of this week putting insulation in the ceiling of the garage. There was insulation in half of it but the other half of which the office sits there was zero insulation. Hence it has been a very cold room. I insisted that the amount of heat we were losing from that big cold room was ridiculous and Jon and I decided that it was in the best interest of our heating costs to make some changes. Lucky for us he is in construction. And one of the guys he works with had just finished insulating a house. The scrap was headed for the dump before Jon intercepted the itchy stuff and brought it home and put it to good use in the space between our feet and the cars. It is definitely much more pleasant to sit here and write a letter to you. My fingers are not blue and my nose is not running. What is the saying that “one mans trash is another mans potpourri” “I don’t know it’s some kind of soup!”
I have been sicker at the beginning of my pregnancies in the past. Not to say I am feeling well. Jon told somebody the other day that I was hibernating. I am so tired that I can barely stay out of bed long enough to make it before I am crawling back in for another nap! Jon has been a truly awesome husband in all of this and has even fixed a few meals this week to help me out. I just wish we could be part of a nudist colony and then I wouldn’t have so much laundry to tackle all of the time. On second thought that wouldn’t work. Since I have a bun in the oven the thermostat is broken and I am freezing butt cold ALL of the time. Jon is always convinced that I am so warm to the touch (he always wants to cuddle up and touch for some reason, got me in this predicament in the first place) but I feel like I am a popsicle! I am usually bundled up in all my snow gear including hat, coat, scarf, and even gloves. But I still feel as if I am going to freeze to death. If you saw how many blankets are on my side of the bed you would wonder how they are not crushing me to death with all of their weight, But as I whine and complain about my miserable state I just laugh up my sleeve that Laura, Cody, and Crystal are all feeling just as crappy or worse!
I made a deal with Stiles and Marcus this past week. If they made their beds the right way ( you know pull up the sheet have everything straight) for a whole week without me having to remind them. Then I would let them move the furniture in their room around. Well I had some beautifully made beds for a week. Then they took it upon them selves to move their beds and bookshelves around, I let it fly for a few days before I put the room back in order again. They also decided they need a desk to do homework. They headed out to the shop to build one and instead they found one! Painted bright BLUE. It weighs a ton and they dragged from the shop over to the house. I told them they could have it if they scraped all of the blue paint off of it and painted it a nice color and then I would let them bring it in the house. They scrapped blue paint all day long. Right in front of the door to the house! I thought this project would entertain their creative genius. Not so, the next morning, They decided that they were tired of having a pink bedroom and began stripping the wallpaper off the walls in their room. Now I have no love for the wallpaper in this house, but their room had by far the best wallpaper job in the entire house. Most of the seams actually lined up! As punishment we required them to continue the wallpaper stripping job for many hours. This of course meant that I spent most of the day Stripping wallpaper with my children. It was not a fun day! However the room is now about 1/3 of the way stripped. Jon threatened that we will paint the walls pink just so that our kids will not get the desires of their hearts but then again I am sure some thing a bit more masculine will end up being the call of the day.
Last Christmas Erica received a little play kitchen which she rarely played with. So to make room for her big bed this Christmas, her kitchen and all of the dishes got kicked to the basement where they have never enjoyed so much attention in all of their plastic lives. The other morning Erica brought me a “meal” I don’t recall what was on the plate but in the cup there was “Hot chocolate” She told me that “It will be soooo good for you mommy! It will make your heart rainbow!” So now I have a rainbow heart. Jon complained that his “apple pie” and his “hot chocolate” needed whipped cream Erica told him she didn’t know how to make that. And So he has been asking her ever since if she has figured out how to make whipped cream. For several days in a row she told him that she didn’t, then one day her imagination kicked in and she said “Of course I know how to make that,.” And served him up some right away.
Hunter is pushing 3 of his 2 years old molars right now. The poor kid. He drools so much with it that his shirt is wet to his belly button half an hour after you put it on him. He has been crying much in the night and all hours of the day. He hates the orajel stuff but I certainly love that it turns off the noise. I just hope all three of them brake through in the next 10 days before Jon and I head out of Hawaii or my baby sitters might hate me when I return. He still refuses to say any new words we have been trying to get him to say milk for two weeks now and he still just says MA and goes and gets a bottle and stands by the fridge. He has added Will to his vocabulary so that It for true is Will and others could understand. He doesn’t say anybody else’s name and I joked that William will learn to talk before Hunter so now all my kids are coming to me all them time with the “words” that William just said.
William does a kicking scooting thing that usually propels him backwards but he definitely wiggles around a room now. Again I am hopeful that his mobility stays to a minimum for as long as possible. I am so scared of how many stairs are in this house and how fast William will try to defy gravity and learn that gravity always always wins. Come to think of it Hunter is still testing this theory often.
Anyway It was great to hear from you. We love your letters and Like I said last time I wrote. Your Christmas letter is like gold. We pray for you always and are proud of the work you are doing. Keep working, the time is short, the days only seem long. And before you know it you will be back here in Idaho freezing your fanny off wishing for some hot Mexico sun. I’m wishing for a little bit of it myself. But I will settle for the Sun in Hawaii.

Love from your Sister, Monica.

Jon has been busy

Dallan, and all other who might be concerned, then again maybe not! Jan, 13 2009 (wow look at that date!)


Jon has been very busy this week, doing what we are not sure. On Monday I had him cut my hair. And I had him cut a lot off. A foot is a lot of hair for most people, but most people don’t even notice that my hair is massively shorter because it is still past my shoulders. Then On Tuesday I colored it a little bit to lighten up the color. Most people can’t tell that either because I only lightened it a tiny bit but those are the biggest things to report when it comes to my hair.
Jon spent most of the week working on our dodge truck. I guess the fuel lift pump or something like that was toasted after many phone calls to Roy Utah and much talking with some mechanically minded buddies it was decided to lift the bed off of the truck. That would be the EASIEST way to get the pump. But they all forgot about the 5th wheel hitch and then the wiring of all the lights and so on and so forth and then when the truck was in pieces all over the shop they realized that the pump was not located on between the fuel tank and the bed but rather to the side. It was like a 4 bolt job. So the truck is now getting fuel to the engine and runs but the back side of the truck looked kind of messed up still.
In all of these calls Jon invited Martin and Sara to Pocatello to go sledding with us up Scout Mountain on Saturday. They accepted and we had a ball sledding on the hill. Jon and Marin spent half the day getting the snow machines running but nobody complained when they were getting a ride back up the sledding hill. Hunter and Lillian were pretty tired of the whole deal early in the game. But Jon and Martin persevered until the sun was setting. Thank goodness for the warming cabin. When we arrived home Jason and Camille were at out house waiting for us to get there so we could all have dinner. We chowed down on baked potatoes and pork chops. Then Martin and Sara figured they had to get going and so the rest of us jumped in the hot tub it was a fun day.
The Snow had been melting and Jon has been busy pushing the snow back off the pavement in our yard. I think it is funny to watch him run the plow when it hasn’t snowed in days but in reality we are still in a sense digging out from the snow storm that hit the Monday before Christmas.
Mom said in her Email that we got out Christmas Letter from you, and we did. IT is like gold around here. I am thinking of getting it framed, or stuffed. Camille and I were laughing our heads off and Dad didn’t get half of the jokes. Poor guy.
My children continue to do things kids do. William is getting more and more mobile. He is getting up on his hands and toes and pushing and rocking for all he is worth. I hope for my babysitters sake he remains an uncrawler until after Jon and I’s trip to Hawaii. We have been trying this love and logic technique with Stiles to curb his whinny tantrums and fits. If he doesn’t have any all day he can stay up for 30 extra minutes past bedtime. Who knew that it has been working like magic. I just hope the magic lasts. The crazy thing is that he was staying up that late most nights anyway doing nothing now he goes straight to be in fear that he might lose the staying up privilege for the next night. Two birds with one stone. Now I have to talk with my friend that suggested it and find out some more tricks.
Well I am getting to end of this letter I am quite out of news except for this one last bit of information. And I have to call Mom and tell her before I can email you this letter but the big new news is that Jon and I are expecting a baby. Right smack dab in the middle of elk season. (Jon is freaked about that part) That means September for all those who are not sure when elk season is. So That brings the grand total for new babies for Mom this year to 4 when just about 6 weeks ago the number was 0 and that means 9 new kids you get to meet when you get home. It also means that Jason and Nanettes family will not out number us for very long even if they are getting a two for one deal with their twins.

Lots of love
Monica, Jon , Stiles, Marcus, Erica, Hunter, William, and Baby Woodin

"Ring Ring" - Jon this call is for you

Dear Dallan, Jan 04 2009 SO NOTHING has happened this week. We only rang in a new year, had warm weather and bitter cold, snow, sleet, rain, and sun. Late night parties and early to rise mornings, and Oh yeah I almost forgot Jon was called to be the elders quorum President in our ward. :O Crazy don’t you think!!! They called him on Tuesday night and I have never in my life seen Jon so dumb struck. He was at a total loss for words and couldn’t even make a joke! He is so disappointed to be released from his calling as the assistant to the priest quorum advisor. He really loved those boys. And he had such a blast with them every week. The one brother who he called as a councilor had been serving as the executive secretary for the ward. And before Church He came up to Jon and said “Thank You so Much!!! Now I don’t have to wear a suit to church!” Jon was not sure how to take it. He was expecting a “thanks a lot ya’ jerk” And instead Brother Rone was all smiles. Weird huh. So that is the biggest news of the week.
On to some lesser news
Hunter (who of late is providing most of my letter material) Is adjusting well to his new toddler bed and Jon and I are working on trying to expand his vocabulary beyond “ Ma, Da, and Uh-Oh.” He is will be 2 years old in about 6 weeks. (all of you kind generous aunts, uncles, grandparents, and other relatives can start your shopping now) WE think he should start at least trying to talk. Jon thinks we should be trying to potty train but I want him to be able to say “poop” first. Speaking on that subject this morning while I am filling up the tub to wash my little gremlin before church I helped Hunter get undressed, put his clothes in the laundry, he put his diaper in the garbage and while I was checking the temperature of the bath water Hunter proceeded to pee all over the fuzzy pink slippers I was wearing to protect my tights. He thought it was pretty cool. I was a “wee” bit grossed out. But of course being a mommy I just kicked out of my slippers and was grateful the pee had not made it though to my tights yet. It must be hard to be a boy when you have an older sister or maybe more than one older sister. Erica has these cute plastic dress up shoes a pink pair and a blue pair (very stylish pumps complete with Faux fur and feathers) Hunter and her are often tramping about the house with their stylish foot wear pushing the stroller and carrying a pink purse. A pink hat or sash often makes an appearance and if Erica would take off her Tu-Tu her aunt Shauna made for her for Christmas for more than just a bath Hunter would probably be sporting that as well. He is sure that he should have his turn to have his hair done and will stand in line to step on the stool and have me sprits and tousle his curls. If I attempt to do Erica’s hair and do not take the time to lavish some hairstyling time on him I usually am in trouble and do not hear the end of it until I do. He will even bring me the spray bottle and a comb when he sees me doing my own hair. I tell you it makes me think about how warped you must be having 3 older sisters and a cutie with darling curls. I know of a picture or two taken at grandma’s that will make it into wedding videos and your children will laugh at you and your apparel until they cry. I tell you Sisters warp little boys.
School starts tomorrow. I am not looking forward to bouncing myself out of bed a 6:00 am. And I look forward even less to bouncing out my kids. However I am looking forward to going to the grocery store and only having three kids to drag. And I understand the line in the Christmas song “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” When the lyric says “And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for School to start again.” You know, I now totally get it!! However, even though it is sappy, I am sad when my boys are off to school . I miss them.
Erica’s hair is finally long enough to put in to pig tails. It has been so long since Stiles cut her hair I had forgotten how to do anything like that to her hair. I was still pretty sure that a headband was about the only option. But when we were at the farm over the holiday Camille was doing her girls hair and Erica stepped in line. Camille gave Erica two little pig tails on her head and I was so excited to see that yes indeed her hair was growing back. So much so I trimmed up her bangs this week as well as trimmed up the back so as to hide a little bit the differences in the lengths of hair between the front and the back.
Speaking of hair cuts late last night Jon asked for a hair cut because He was pretty shaggy and with his new call he felt like a good trim was in order. He asked me to do it and of course I couldn’t send him to a salon it was 10:30 at night. So I started working on his hair and then - well - to put it lightly it was a total massacre. I cried and begged him to NEVER ask me to cut his hair again. He was calm and stepped into the bathroom with the clippers and began smoothing out the mess I had made. At church today someone commented on his hair asked if he was called back into the military, and if he was heading out to Iraq again. The response from the member of the Stake presidency was “No, he was just called to be the elders quorum president, and that is even worse than Iraq.” All the rest of my boys received a hair cut earlier in the week. We were standing in the bathroom and Stiles could see my progress in the mirror. His hair was QUITE LONG when we started and I was cutting it VERY SHORT. He pronounced it stupid halfway through and complained bitterly about being able to the see the skin on his head though his hair. I assured him that in a week no one would be able to see his head and that in two weeks he will need a new hair cut ( his hair grows twice as fast as Marcus’s hair!) He told Jon later that I had “Messed him up!” I think he is over it now!
Stiles got a tool belt and some tools for Christmas. And He and Jon have been out in the shop ever since tearing out some shelves in the barn and moving them into the shop. Marcus was not to be out done and was hanging anything he could off of his belt. Jon felt sorry enough for the kid and took him shopping to buy him his own tool belt. Now both Boys are walking around with their little tool belts and their tools from the dollar store and asking if they can “fix” anything. I am just so glad that Jon and the boys have found something to do together and Jon has been paying them to work. so they got a big lesson in tithing this Sunday. Stiles found it quite hard to give up two whole dollars. He could just not see that he still had quite the wad of cash for a 7 year old. Erica had no problem handing over her Dime. The power of the all mighty buck holds no sway over her.
With the extreme in warm and old and rain and snow and sun over the last week much of the snow that was covering our asphalt has melted and been pushed away. This makes for a very happy Marcus who has not taken much opportunity to ride his new birthday bike because circles in the shop are boring. Stiles and Marcus are racing around outside this week and I am usually yelling out the door to “get a helmet on“. I spent a fortune on the stupid helmet the least they could do wear the things. Jon has been anxiously engaged with moving the melting snow and ice around with his 4 wheeler snowplow. The dump we had on the Sunday we were gone to the farm made things back at the ranch pretty messy especially with people coming and going to take care of the horses. I think Jon had more fun than he would like to admit pushing the snow around. Truthfully I am a bit jealous I think it would be fun to work the plow but like the lawn mower If I show an aptitude for it then Jon might never ever do the job again. And “Baby it’s cold outside!”
William is a total champ at rolling over and is beginning to scoot around. I don’t think he is making progress towards where he want’s to go but it is still progress. This week I found a pine needle that had made it though his digestive track. I though it was funny.
Speaking of the pine needles from the Christmas tree I undecorated and hauled the dead dry Charlie Brown tree out the fire pit. I think half the tree left the house inside the belly of the vacuum the rest I lit on fire and Stiles and I Oohhed and AAHHED about the giant flames coming off the tree. Jon was hurt that I had burnt the tree with out him. Apparently HE was really looking forward to burning the tree himself. It was quite fun and I told him that the vacuum was full of pine needles and he could burn those. He did not think that would work.
So for nothing happening this week I think I have filled this piece of paper to full capacity and I am thankful for the chance to rattle off my comings and goings to someone who might take the time to read them and pretend they care. The Church is true. The Lord Loves us. We are his children and he has a plan for us. Love Monica