All about Caious

This is from Caious's autobiography:

I was born in New Mexico. When I turned one I still lived in New Mexico. This is when I learned to walk and talk. My first words were “dog” and “jet”. My favorite thing to do in New Mexico was sit in my backyard with my family eating coconut igloos ice cream (coconut ice cream with chocolate covered coconut mounds in it and a ribbon of fudge - yum).
The next state I lived in was Texas. I lived near San Antonio for three months. That is where I met my friend Alex C. I’m still in touch with him today.
I next lived in Missouri. My brother was born in this state. His name is Andrew. My sister Ellie was also born in this state.
I went to Little Explorers Preschool. I was taught by Mrs. Carroll and her assistant Miss Elyshia. I loved going there. Everyone was kind there.

Going to play at a park was fun. My favorite park was called Grover Park. When I moved away, my friends had a surprise going away party for me and my family.

The first elementary school I went to was called Lincoln-Eliot in Newton, Massachusetts. My best friend in kindergarten was Grayson W. He moved to Georgia after the school year. My best friend in first grade was Jeremy P. I met him the summer before first grade. He also moved to Arizona in 2006 when I did.

In Oro Valley, Arizona, I went to Richard B. Wilson Jr. K-8 School. My best friend was named Cros C. He was my best friend in both second and third grade.

My dad’s name is William. He has brown hair, green eyes, and is 39. He was a pilot in the Air Force. He flew F-16 fighter jets and B-2 Stealth bombers.
My mom’s name is Cheryl. She has blond hair, blue eyes.
My only older sister, Kaiti has green eyes, blond hair, and is 11. She used to have two fish.
My little brother Andrew looks like my sister, but he has blue eyes instead of green.
My four year old sister Ellie looks like my mom.
My youngest sibling is named Brianna. She looks like my brother too. She is almost 2 years old.
My family likes to play outside. Hiking, camping, canoeing, biking and going to parks are some of our favorite activities.

I’m athletic, cheerful, gentle, intelligent, and attractive.
I am athletic because I’ve played lots of sports. My favorite sport is soccer.
I am cheerful because I am happy when I do chores even if I don’t like them.
When I have to baby sit my little sisters I am always gentle with them.
I am intelligent because I do well in school. My favorite subject is math.
I am attractive because I look like my dad. Whenever I get a haircut I get one to match my dad’s.
Jim, my Dad’s favorite barber, cuts my hair so I look attractive like my dad.

My favorite things to do are reading, because you learn; doing math, because it makes you smart; and playing sports because it gives you exercise. My favorite sports are football, soccer, basketball, tennis, and baseball.

My favorite foods are pizza because it is hot, meatballs and steak because I like meat.
I do not like lasagna, mushrooms, and onions.
I do not like doing homework, writing, and doing chores.

For the rest of elementary school my goal is to pass all grades.
For middle school I want to pass all grades and play sports.
For high school I want to get good grades.
When I grow up I would like to be a fighter pilot because I like to fly.

St. George

I intended to post this earlier, but life (and a 630 page book) seems to get in the way of blogging.

The first half of Spring break week was spent in cleaning, packing and babysitting (see earlier post). The second half was really something worth recording for posterity. Grandma and Grandpa arranged for us to stay in my Aunt's condo in St. George for a few days. It was great to leave the wind and cold temperatures for a few days.



While on vacation we also conducted a psychological experiment to see if Caious would starve to death surrounded by food. I am aware he is a picky eater, but he will usually at least try the food we offer him . . . before he makes himself a big bowl of oatmeal. So we made sure to pack oatmeal. but apparently it was the had the wrong kind - quick oats are somehow offensive to him. To add insult to injury, we also brought the wrong kind of sugar. Who knew he only eats old fashioned oats with brown sugar and milk? We all do . . . now. Grandma got so exasperated at one point, she had him eat cookies for breakfast. Her famous homemade oatmeal raisin cookies. She reasoned that they had oats, raisins, eggs, flour . . . some of it was bound to be nutritious, right?

I took a different approach. I challenged him and everyone else to an eating contest at an all-you-can-eat Chinese Buffet. I was in the running for champion, but my dad beat me handily. I tried. I ate so much that I wasn't hungry again for three days.

Other than the food drama we had a great time. We toured a few LDS Church history sites. The children were surprisingly good. Except the baby who didn't get the concept of "be quiet, listen to the tour guide and don't touch anything" but she thinks the world revolves around her and rules of polite society only apply to her when it is convenient.

We also toured Zion National park. Some of my best childhood memories are of climbing the sandstone in Southern Utah. Sadly, climbing is now discouraged most places. The children still got to run and climb (in approved areas - I swear), plus Grandma was there with Skittles to keep them extra happy and energetic. Interesting enough, Caious had no objections to the candy she offered him. Andrew squirreled his away in his pockets. The next day he entertained us by stuffing 21 skittles into his mouth at once. Luckily he has room in there because he still has no teeth.

Kaiti loved the swimming pool at the condo complex. She swam for hours on end. Thanks to Aunt Susan and Cousin Meggie who were willing to hang out in the water with her. Caious played tennis as often as he could get a partner. Ellie and Andrew swam and played tennis, but only when we wouldn't let them watch any more t.v.



Bill took a day off and explored Zion National Park with us. It was a great vacation. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

The Power of Marketing . . .

As I mentioned before, I considered the book signing tickets and 630 page book my Mother's Day gift. (Bill had other ideas, but more on that later.)
While I was driving home Ellie and I had the following conversation:
E: "Is that book your Mother's Day present?"
Me: "Yes. I am very excited about it."
E: "I don't think it's a very good present. You should go to Jared's."
Me: "What? What's Jared's?"
E: "I don't know. But they have the best diamonds."
Me: "What makes you say that?"
E: "A commercial said it. And you don't have very much jewelry. People who wear jewelry look beautiful and you look . . . not so beautiful. You need to go to Jared's."

I didn't go to Jared's. I am okay with not being so beautiful. But I did get an additional mother's day gift: a Roomba - it's a robotic vacuum. I have wanted one for years. This one even cleans hard floors. I am very excited to give my mop a rest.

P.S. I am almost finished reading "The Host". A very good book. I can't wait to hear Stephenie Meyers talk about why she wrote it.

Victory!

I am a fan of Stephenie Meyer. There. I said it. I have read all of the books in the Twilight series and found them entertaining. So when I discovered she would be at a book discussion/signing right near my home, I thought I'd like to go. All I had to do was buy a ticket to the event along with a book at the Borders bookstore in Provo. Easy enough.

Or so I thought until I called the store and learned that:
1. Tickets and books were going on sale at 8 a.m. May 6 (today).
2. The store had 500 tickets to sale. No more no less.
3. The store would not limit the number of tickets purchased by an individual . . . as long it accompanied a book.
4. People were coming from all over to buy tickets.
5. Borders Bookstore employees expected long lines outside the door long before 8 a.m. May 6.

Even though the odds were against me, I decided to try to buy a ticket. What is the worst that could happen? I spend a few minutes in line only to be turned away. I could still buy a book and have a good read. I decided it was worth a try. If I was sucessful, I would call it my Mother's Day gift. Bill thought that was a great idea.

So I dropped the older children off at school and headed to Provo. Ellie Brianna and I arrived at approximately 8:10 a.m. and stood at the end line behind about 200 people. Some of whom were putting away tents and rolling up sleeping bags.

We waited patiently for about an hour (aiming dirty looks at people who came out with more than two books - especially the 11-year-old girl who drove by sticking out of the sun roof holding her book high, yelling in triumph. Show off. I hope the book gives her nightmares) when the news came down the line "only 100 tickets left".

I considered packing my freezing little girls back in to the car and giving up. Listening to Stephenie Meyers would surely be a great way to spend an evening, but she will surely write more books and I can try again during the next book tour. I am not as die hard a fan as the woman who's license plate read "TWILIGHT". But since I had waited that long, I thought I would at least get a book if I couldn't get a ticket.

As the title of this blog suggests, I got both a book and ticket. In fact I got tickets #480 and #481 out of the 500 tickets available. (I don't want to go alone. My friend Marianne said she would go with me and she wanted a book wether or not I got event tickets.) I am very happy about my luck today. Happy Mother's Day to me!


I have just started to read the book, I know a great deal of it takes place in the Sonoran Desert (a.k.a Tucson) reading it may asuage my Arizona "homesickness". It is her first novel targeted for adults. The premise is very intriguing to me. I will most likely post my opinion of it. Anyone want to read it and discuss it with me?