Hanging Around

Wow, I'm really struggling to keep this blog current! I used to take my camera everywhere. I still do, but it usually stays in the vehicle instead of actually being used!

I finally went outside this evening and took some pictures just so I could add them here. Oh yeah, I accomplished something!

Before I get to that, I wanted to give you an update on my nephew, Jake. First of all, thank you so much to everyone who expressed an interest in helping send his family on a vacation a few weeks ago. We were able to raise enough money to fund the trip which was so generous. If you want to see pictures from the trip, read For the Sake of Jake's blog, the Sept 15th and Sept 17th entries. While you are there, go ahead and read the Sept 21 and Sept 25th entries as well. The amount of love shown to Jake's family over the past year has inspired me and has taught me life lessons I will never forget. Jake's mom, Rose (my sister-in-law) also has a personal blog with updates and family pictures: click here. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Rose is probably the most faith-filled person I've ever known. Her perspective through this larger-than-life trial has been incredible. Unfortunately, Jake is in his final days. He is bed-ridden, drinking juice once in awhile. We were able to go visit him on Monday night and tell him we love him. I'm so thankful for that opportunity. His whole body is covered in cancerous tumors except his face, forearms, and feet. It brings me to tears to think about how much pain he is in but I'm so thankful he is surrounded by a loving family and a loving neighborhood who come over regularly to help the family.

Here is what we've been up to the past few days here on the home front.

Cameron LOVES his plasma car. These things rock and I highly recommend them. He seriously could spend hours a day outside riding it.




Actually, it's a good thing Summer is over. The way he drags his feet while riding the plasma car has done a number on his flip flops! ha ha!


Something I've been meaning to blog about for awhile and keep forgetting: When I had my first ultrasound, Cameron was with me. You know how the ultrasound is in black and white? Well, a few days after the ultrasound, I heard Cameron tell somebody "I'm so excited to meet my black baby sister!". I laughed it off because I totally understood why he'd think she was black. Then the next week in church, his nursery leaders were laughing when I picked him up because they said "I hear you are having a black baby girl!!". Whoops, I guess I should explain to Cameron that she will be white. He'll probably be very disappointed. Actually, I'll probably just wait until Cameron meets her. You know, let him figure it out on his own. It's good for him, right?

Guess what 2nd grader FINALLY learned to ride a bike? This guy!


On Friday night Parker learned. On Saturday morning Parker said to me: I just thought I was a scooter guy! Now I know I'm a bike guy too! ha ha! I just love that kid!

Fall time is real purdy in my yard. I have these amazing blooming mums and dahlias in my island. That purple dahlia is as big as Parker's head!



My Zinnias are super tall and gorgeous this year. Love the Zinnias!



I planted a ton of pumpkins this year. But it only looks like 3 or so pumpkins are actually growing. OH well, seeds are cheap. This one looks like a watermelon but I'm pretty sure it's a pumpkin!


Well, Cameron has been soaking in the tub for the past 20 minutes, I guess I should go wash his pruney booty! G'night!

The Haps

My dad's been in the hospital this week. This is his second time checking in to the Hospital in the past 3 weeks for a pancreatitis attack. Who knew the pancreas was such an important organ? Seriously, you never think about it until it decides to reject your body and every crumb of food or drop of liquid you consume! Crazy bad stomach pains is what he's been going through. The doctor's had to put a feeding tube up his nose and down into his intestines, bypassing the pancreas, just so the pancreas could have a time out for being naughty.

The boys and I have gone to visit my dad quite a bit--to either cheer him up or make him happy he doesn't have little ones at home...not sure which end of the argument he would agree with yet. He's not talking much. Maybe he's remembering what his mom used to say to him: "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all!" ha ha!

Anyway, one day Carson and Parker were there with me while the phlebotomist was drawing blood. She was taking several tubes of blood and Carson and Parker had their noses right next to her watching every move she made. At one point I noticed Carson's face was a little pale. I asked if he felt okay and then reminded him (in the same breath) that if he fainted we would all laugh at him! Probably because Carson was nervous, he started talking a mile a minute. I think Parker said "How much blood do we have in our body??" and Carson piped up and said "I KNOW! We have 5 gallons of blood". I had no idea if this was right so I looked at the phlebotomist and she smiled and said "that is right!".

Who knew? So, just so I could be a part of the conversation, I said "Hey Carson, you know that bucket in our garage that you throw all your otter pops wrapper in? That is a 5 gallon bucket. So, if we drained our blood, it would fill up that bucket.". Carson just looked at me for a half second, and then yelled "Manslaughter! I slaughtered a man!".

I laughed. I laughed hard. If you don't know why he said this, watch this video:



We love Brian Regan at our house!!

Do you know what I love more than Brian Regan? I love how witty and grown up Carson is getting. His sense of humor and sense of timing have seriously knocked me off guard more than once...in a good way!

Another example:
One day there was a little bit of ice cream left and I decided I deserved it. Carson and Sam were sitting in the kitchen as I took the ice cream out of the freezer and was getting ready to empty it into a cup on the counter. Carson was asking for some and I was telling him "too bad" or something like that.

I tipped the ice cream container over my cup and dumped it....only for the ice cream to plop right onto the counter instead of my cup. Carson laughed really hard and said "KARMA!". Oh man, it was funny. Carson has made me realize that these pre-teen years are fun and as he continues to mature, I have a feeling we are in for some more good laughs in the future!

Another Carson related story.
The other day we were trying to go somewhere as a family. I was going crazy because nobody was listening to me as I was shouting out orders: go to the bathroom, get your shoes on, go to the van.... Grrrrrr. I suddenly realized that the sprinkler in the backyard needed to be turned off. I asked Carson to turn off the water. He went into the backyard and as always, he turned it left instead of right to turn it off. I was exasperated by this point and I shouted "REMEMBER, Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosey!" and then I sent everybody to the van. Sam was the last one out the door and he was totally laughing. I asked him what was so funny. He said "I'm laughing at something you said, but I don't want to make you more mad.".

I took a deep breath and said "tell me". He told me that when I was yelling at Carson I actually said "Righty Tighty, Loosey Goosey"! It was all I needed to chill out. I laughed so hard! I can't believe Carson didn't make fun of me right on the spot! Maybe Carson cares for his life and was worried about my reaction. I'm sure he'll make fun of me one day for it!

Man, this post is all about Carson. Today I asked him to get me a soda from our little fridge we have in our garage. He happily obliged. Then as I opened it I realized why he was so willing. The dang can exploded all over me. Carson just silently laughed in the living room. Ah yes, the ol' shake-the-can trick. Next time I'll ask Parker to get the soda!

Sam took the boys on a hike last week just to give me a break. He also brought one extra--Devin. They thought they were pretty dang cool. Uh-oh, the rushing water is giving Cameron a strong desire to do something...



Also last week, we celebrated my nephew's birthday. Happy birthday Dexter! He had a pirate themed party. It's always a good time hanging with the fam.







Oh hey, guess what? Carson earned his Arrow of Light scouting award! I'm still trying to understand scouts, so I'll share with you what I learned. The Arrow of Light award is the only rank that you can bring with you from cub scouting to boy scouting. That's right....all the other items earned over the last 3 years are just garbage now! ha ha, just kidding....sort of. It was cool though, he turns 11 next month so we will bid farewell to cub scouting....until Parker turns 8 next June. :)






Finally, I can tell I'm the mother of 3 boys because Cameron started preschool last week and I never took a picture. So lame! Anyway, Cameron goes to school for three hours on Mondays and Wednesdays. He seems to like it and I'm tripping out a little bit that I have all that time to myself on those days! I'll try not to get used to it though because in 4 months I'll have a little bambino to care for!

As long as I'm confessing my lame-ness....Parker's class does something called "Celebrity of the Week". This week is Parker's turn. The teacher sent home a note letting us know all the things Parker has to bring to school each day this week so they could celebrate him. Today he was supposed to bring a poster all about himself. Oh no, I'm supposed to get creative? Oh yeah, here's my creativity: Parker did a similar thing in 1st grade, but his special week wasn't until school was almost over in the spring! So, I took that poster off his wall and handed it to him and said "here, this was only made 4 months ago, use this for today!" He was pretty skeptical but was happy to oblige. When he came home today I asked how it went and he was laughing because some kids from his class last year recognized the poster and pointed out that it was the same one! Whoops, hadn't thought of that angle! Ah well, Parker didn't mind and I was thrilled not to have to make another poster. Go ahead, judge me.

Parker's teacher did a spotlight on him and here's what she wrote for the class to see. It makes me larf out lard.

Parker Jackson Sweet was born June 20 in SLC. He has brown hair and blue eyes. He lives in a gray house with the 5 people in his family. Parker is adventurous. His favorite color is green and he has lost 2 teeth. When Parker grows up he wants to be a spy. He loves corndogs, soccer, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Parker wishes he had 1000000000000000 dollars. He can do 20 sit ups and 12 push ups. Parker is a fan of scary movies, spring, and the book Ben 10. He would love to have super vision so that he knows where he is going. Parker is faster than a speeding turtle. He "no way" paints his toenails. He can just about ride a two-wheel bike, and he would love to drive a Corvette all the way to Disneyland.

Ah Ha, Ya Burnt!

To understand my story, you have to understand the TV show, "30 Rock". Liz Lemon, played by Tina Fey, said this to one of her co-workers when he failed miserably in his contract negotiations:


Image of Ha ha ya burnt

I found that clip on the web. Good ol' web. I can't even remember what life was like before the internet! I swear I've blocked that part of my life out! ha ha! I was in college before I ever used the internet. Yes, I'm old.

Now onto my story.

The other day I woke up and had an overwhelming feeling of love and appreciation for my husband. I seriously love everything about him, all his quirks and his sense of humor. He is such a great guy! I called him at work to tell him how much I love him. He was kind of taken back--remember I'm preggers and grumpy a lot of the time! Kind of hesitant he says "Um, did you eat a cookie this morning?" I was totally confused and said "eh?" so he repeated himself. I told him NO, I did not eat a cookie this morning. He said "oh, okay....". So I took the container of cookies off the top of the fridge and opened it. This is what I found inside:


He had finished off the cookies and left that note for me so when I had a craving, I would be left unsatisfied! That's why he thought I was calling him! Oh man, I had a great belly laugh over that one. See what I mean? Sam is awesome!

In other news.

My friend gives me clothes that her son has outgrown for Parker. The other day she gave Parker this awesome robe. After his shower he struts around like he is mega macho. It's so funny!


This past Sunday we had a BBQ at Sam's brothers house to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday. It was a most excellent time! Fern and Russ had access to a wheelchair for my nephew Jake so Russ brought the wheelchair to the BBQ....on his motorcycle! Fern was embarrassed but I thought it was cool, because, hey...people in China carry stuff on their motorcycles all the time!


My fun family on the Sweet side!












Seriously, such a great family I married into!

Okay, gotta run get my hair colored (halla-hulla!). My gray hair is such a bully!

Update On Jake's Fundraiser

This is from the "For the Sake of Jake" blog, which Jake's mom writes:

Family Trip update: We could not wait on passports to take the cruise, so again we are going to Plan B! My sister was able to find us a condo in Oceanside, CA. We will fly there in a few weeks...some of the boys will have to drive down. We may just end up hanging out at the beach or in the condo...either way...Family bonding! My boys are a hoot when they are all together...with no electronics! They just feed off each other till they have us laughing and coming up with new family funnies!


We are still trying to raise money for flight's and for condo fees. Thank you so much to those who have already donated, despite your own struggles and trials. It amazes me how generous my friends and family are!! Thank you so much!

For The Sake Of Jake...Fundraiser

This has been a bitter-sweet week for me. I just returned from Portland where I attended the funeral of my Uncle Phil Bell. He suffered with cancer for 3 years so it truly was a bitter-sweet experience. I loved seeing my aunts, uncles, and cousins and I am thankful my Uncle is not in pain anymore.

I returned home to the news that my 20 year old nephew, Jake, was given some sobering news from his doctor regarding the cancer he has fought for over a year: she believes he perhaps has 3 months left...could be more...could be less.



If you'd like to read about his journey, his mom has kept a wonderful blog: You can read it HERE.

As stated in the blog entry from today, August 24th, we are trying to raise money for them to take a family trip, a cruise. The cruise date is set for September 19th.

I am asking for your hearts to be opened and if you are willing to donate towards this vacation, Jake's family will be eternally grateful. I am collecting donations for the cause. Email me for more details: thecarrie.sweet at gmail.com.

Thank you so much!

Jake, Grandma Sweet, John (Jake's twin brother)

Just For A Laugh

If you need a laugh today, just look at these pictures. Every time I look at them I about cry from the laughter! Apparently Carson was playing with Fern's ipad and discovered an app that does funny effects to pictures. I absolutely could not BELIEVE the kid in the brown shirt was CARSON! Oh my, he looks so creepy!!! He captured his gimpy tooth quite nicely! ha ha ha! How about Cameron and the white part of his eye spreading off the screen? Super fantastic!



Sam put an old Batman movie from 1966 on NetFlix the other day. Carson started watching it and said "huh, it's a little different than I thought it would be....oh man, Robin is NOT modest at ALL!!!"

A few minutes later Cameron said "I want to watch Fat Man!" ha ha! I will never think of him as Batman anymore, he'll always be Fatman!

It's A.....

I couldn't wait a day longer. I had a gender check ultrasound today! The result:

Can you read it? The shadows make it kind of difficult...

GIRL

Yes, I'm tripping out.

Strangest Few Days...Ever

Life has thrown me some curveballs lately...just things that make you go "hmmmmm" (Remember that song? I'm totally singing it right now!).

First and most importantly, my Uncle Phil Bell passed away last Friday. He battled cancer for three years. I'm so sad to see him go, but I'm so thankful he is not suffering anymore. He was and is an amazing man with an amazing family.

Phil's oldest child is Brent. Brent posted the following on facebook and I believe it about sums up everybody's feelings who knew him:
"My father, a small, gentle and unassuming man, just finished stoically enduring a three-year ordeal that would've crushed the spirits of giants, reduced lesser men to mewling infants. That we should all pass from this world with such strength and grace."

Wow. That is an amazing tribute and I completely agree with every word!

Phil's son Kris set up a website to honor the memories of Phil. Feel free to check it out, it's beautifully done!
1000 Memories

I'm looking forward to the funeral next week to hug my aunt and cousins and tell them how much I love them and how much I pray for their continued strength! As is usual in times of crisis, family bonds seem to become unbreakable. The Bell family has been through a lot this past month and the unity that is left behind is inspiring!

My other curveballs are quite strange. Now that I'm thinking about it, I probably should split this blog post into two separate entries: One for Uncle Phil and one for the other weirdness going on. However, Phil was probably my #1 blog fan and I honestly think he would have appreciated the following story. I seriously can hear his belly laugh right now!

So, without putting it off any longer.....I present to you, MY cat story.

My cousin Cody has a GREAT cat story....one that involves a dead cat, a heating pad, and a Victoria's Secret box. Not sure my cat story can live up to that one, but it's a close second!

For the past 1 1/2 weeks, I've been smelling something dreadful in my backyard. I keep my recycle bin just outside my back door and every time I recycle something I start gagging. Finally, last Thursday I couldn't take it any longer. The smell was so bad I couldn't open that dang door! Sam came home from work absolutely exhausted, he only had 4 hours of sleep the previous night and was looking forward to a quiet evening at home without a single thing on the agenda. I was just about to ask him to find the source of the smell, when the phone rang.

The phone was for Sam. There were some bishopric duties he needed to attend to in the near future. So, he put on his white shirt and tie and was getting ready to head out the door. At that same time Carson and his friend Amanda were at the house hanging out. Instead of bothering Sam, I said "Hey Carson, will you and Amanda go open the grill and see if a bird or something has died inside it?" Sam got all irritated with me and said "don't make them go look!" as he walked out in the backyard. It's important to note, we haven't used our grill at all this summer and the grill cover is still on it.

As I was watching through the sliding glass door, I saw Sam's look of horror as he pulled up on the grill cover. He looked at me and mouthed "it's bad". I opened the door a tiny crack, without breathing in the air, and said "what is it?". He said "Cat. Really big cat, covered in maggots". At that point I was out of air and had to slam the door shut but not before I caught wind of the stench. I started retching and gagging like an idiot! Now remember, Carson and Amanda are standing next to me. Amanda said "uh, is it a siamese cat with a pure black tail? We've been missing our cat for a month." Sam nodded in the affirmative.

At that point the realization that I almost made Amanda discover her own dead cat sunk in. I tried to apologize but I couldn't get the stink out of my nose. I gagged all the way to the street in front of my house. Not sure what happened to the cat, but it wasn't IN the grill, just under the grill cover. I don't know if he couldn't find his way out, or if he was hiding because he was hurt/sick and hid there to die. However, the reason does not matter. I have a rotting carcass lying on my back patio at the exact moment Sam had to leave for a meeting!

Luckily, we have awesome neighbors who live behind us. They watched the horror scene unfold from their balcony. Nick the neighbor, said "Hey Sam, come get me when you get home and I can help you with that!". At that point I had to take Carson to scouts. I apologized (half-heartedly...I'm not a very compassionate person in situations like these) to Amanda and sent her home. By this time the stench has wafted around my house and to the neighboring houses. I couldn't get out of the area fast enough! I took Carson to scouts and then hung out at my friends house for about 30 minutes, basically wasting time since I didn't want to go home.

When I did get home, this is what I saw out my back window:




That pink bandana around Nick's face seriously made me larf out lard! Meanwhile, Sam was coughing and gagging the whole time they were putting the remains in garbage bags. Then the clean-up got serious. Tons of bleach was scrubbed onto the patio to get rid of the smell. It was putrid until the next day!

The worst part was the next day when Amanda's mom came over to talk about the loss of her cat. In all the misery I forgot to tell Amanda's mom! I don't know her too well so it was slightly awkward. She was emotional and wanted to understand how it all happened. In my head I was like "lady! I don't know HOW it happened, it just did and it was horrible!" but I put on my compassionate pants and tried to help her grieve....which is totally out of my character! ha ha! Phew.

Let's see...what else is happening...
Oh yeah, Shark week was fun! Cameron and I watched our fair share of the footage. He even has pj's he proudly wore!


Last week there was a free day you could ride TRAX on the new West Jordan TRAX line. All you had to do was bring food for a food drive. Cameron and I rode the train one morning. Cameron was in HEAVEN! Every time the train would stop to pick up passengers Cameron would YELL "All aboard!!". So funny!


Guess what? Yesterday was my 13th anniversary! I am so happy that Sam and I decided to get hitched! He is the best husband and father a girl could ask for! We celebrated on Saturday by going to Ruth's Diner (holy cow that place is soooo good!!!) and then we hung out in Park City. It's always nice to have some alone time with Sam (Thanks mom and dad!!). Yesterday, when Sam came home from work he brought Cafe Rio for dinner, long stemmed red roses, and the most amazing Raspberry/White Chocolate cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory! See what I mean? He's the BEST!!! We devoured the cheesecake before remembering to take a picture. :)

The End Of Summer

Last weekend Carson had Webelos Day Camp so he and I stayed local. Sam, Parker, and Cameron went to Deer Creek to go boating with Fern's family. Even though I wasn't there, I thought I'd share the photos because a lot of fun was had!

Sam's first time wakeboarding this summer. I think his forearm muscles are still paying the price! Totally worth it though if you ask him!!



Oh man, I just love Parker! Everything he does makes me wish I could freeze time so he never grows a day older! Sam laughs at me because I say that about every stage of our kids' lives....well, except the first 2.8 years of Cameron's life. Yep, pretty sure those words were never uttered!


From the boat, Cameron saw the "Heber Creeper" train. Wait, is that the name of it? That looks weird now... Anywho, he was in heaven! Even now if I say "Hey Cameron, did you see the train from Fern's boat??" He'll get super animated and tell you all about the different cars and their names (from Thomas and Friends of course!).


Sam set a goal before he went to Deer Creek. His goal: To teach Parker to wake board. He's tried getting Carson to wakeboard before but Carson would have nothing to do with it! Carson takes after me!! Sam even told Carson he'd buy him an ipod but Carson wouldn't do it. Parker is a little more adventurous. He was happy to give it a shot. This picture makes me happy. Surprise!!! Parker was able to stay up for a few seconds and that is as far as they got this trip. Hopefully he can continue to improve each time. :)


This is my niece Melissa. These pictures of her on the tube are hysterical! How can anybody hang around Melissa and NOT be in a good mood? Look at that smile, even in the face of extreme tubing danger! ha ha! Love these!!!





Sam and Parker tubed as well. The driver of the boat was very kind and didn't get all crazy on them!


I can just imagine the conversation that took place at the moment of this picture:
Sam: Alright Parker, let's do thumbs up!
Parker: What? How old was I last year?
Sam: Yeah, thumbs up!
Parker: Holds up 6 fingers
Sam: *facepalm*


Once Parker was safely back in the boat, all considerations were off the table. The new goal: dump Sam! Another reason for the sore forearms.





Monday we celebrated the 24th of July, Pioneer Day!
We didn't do too much actually. Sam mowed some grass and we watched the parade on
TV. Our Stake's float won the People's Choice award! Very very cool! That evening we went with my parents to the park for a picnic. It was a perfect day with lots of clouds. Without involving the kids, Sam filled up two coolers full of water and brought water toys to the park. They were quite surprised when a full blown water fight erupted out of nowhere!








Yesterday was the first day of school for Carson and Parker. Carson is in 5th grade and Parker is in 2nd. I didn't get any pictures in the morning. Tsk Tsk. About 20 minutes before school let out, the clouds gathered and the rain and hail came thundering down!!! It was so funny! My kids usually walk all the way home, but I took a little pity on them and met them halfway with the van. Holy moly, they were SOAKED! When we got home they decided to just play in the rain. Their interpretation of playing in the rain means laying and playing in the gutter water. Part of me is so grossed out by this, but part of me thinks it's just awesome!







The best part: the mailman had pulled up to our mailboxes but he couldn't get out of his truck because the weather was so ridiculous. He just sat there for like 30 minutes. I'm sure he looked at my kids and thought, "where are their parents for crying out loud!".


On an unrelated note, and just so you don't think that all I ever do is complain, I am starting to feel much better regarding morning (all day) sickness and this pregnancy. I'm almost 16 weeks along and now I just get pukey feeling later in the evening, around 9pm. That's much better than feeling sick all day and every day! I feel like a whole new woman! I should be getting my ultrasound in about 3 weeks. I'm pretty excited to see what this little bambino is going to be!