ABC Tag

I got this fun tag from Sherry and thought I would post it here....

A- ATTACHED OR SINGLE: Very attached to one husband and 5 sons.
B- BEST FRIEND: Paul.
C- CAKE OR PIE: Sour Cream Lemon Pie.
D- DAY OF CHOICE: I like them all, especially school days -- I know, I'm such a nerd!
E- ESSENTIAL ITEM: Running shoes and contact lenses -- so I don't run into any sign posts.
F- FAVORITE COLOR: It varies daily.
G- GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: I'm not finished yet, so I'll get back to you on this one.
H- HOMETOWN: Rexburg, Idaho
I- INDULGENCES: Good shoes; Books, books and more books!
J- JANUARY OR JULY: January -- my birthday and snow skiing.
K- KIDS: 5
L- LIFE IS INCOMPLETE WITHOUT: My family. And the occasional bit of chocolate.
M- MARRIAGE DATE: May 17, 1985
N- NUMBER OF SIBLINGS: 5 older sisters, 2 younger sisters, 2 younger brothers. 7 sis-in laws and 10 bro. in-laws.
O- ORANGES OR APPLES: oranges and orange juice.
P- PHOBIAS OR FEARS: Heights.
Q- QUOTES: "I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it."
- William Shakespeare
"Are you telling me no?" -this one's mine.
R- REASON TO SMILE: Life is good!
S- SEASON: Summer and Winter.
T- TAG THREE FRIENDS: Deaun, Debra, Alysha.
U- UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME: Hey, Dad...I've become a morning person!
V- VERY FAVORITE STORE: I don't really have one. Clothing stores are good. Sierra Trading Post online gets alot of my business.
W- WORST HABIT: I kind of like to have my own way...is that a bad thing?
X- X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND: Neither would be very welcome at this point in my life.
Y- YOUR FAVORITE FOOD: This is very seasonal -- fresh fruit in summer, hot cocoa with a scoop of ice cream in the winter, salmon all year.
Z-YOUR ZODIAC SIGN: Capricorn.

2008 Summer Olympics - Rexburg

Paul went to Lincoln Elementary School's Olympic Field Day with Cameron and Jacob on May 16. Opening Ceremonies began with the Parade of Nations. Each class marched onto the field, representing a different country, complete with flags. Cameron's class was France and Jacob's was Iceland. After a picnic lunch, the athletic events began.







Jacob ran the 100 yard dash and Cameron ran the 50 yard dash. They brought home "Gold" medals (like all of the other kids).

Cameron took his turn in the dunk tank.





This was his favorite part of the day.



Shaved ice was a popular treat...



...and so was cotton candy.



Getting sprayed by the firetruck was Jacob's favorite event.

Gentlemen, start your engines!

Saturday afternoon, Paul and I went to Idaho Falls to test drive cars that don't consume the same amount of fuel in one week as the entire nation of Kiribati.



Parker was in charge of keeping Hayden, Cameron and Jacob out of trouble at home. Surprisingly, we only got one call in the 4 hours (we drove a lot of cars!) that we were gone . It was for a non-emergency type issue, so we were feeling pretty good about the whole thing. We finished shopping and headed for home. When we arrived, we were told by an anonymous source (brothers make excellent informants) that Parker had decided since Jacob was now eight, he was old enough to be introduced into the exciting world of truck driving. So they headed up the hill to the dirt road and Parker let Jacob steer the S-10 while sitting on Parker's lap. Apparently this seemed like a good idea in the mind of a sixteen year old male.



I can't say I would agree. Fortunately, no one was hurt and no vehicles were damaged.

This is what 23 years of marriage will do to a couple...

In celebration of our anniversary on May 17, here's a little quiz:



1. What is your husband's name? Paul Jay Carling

2. Who eats more? That would be Paul, but he needs more fuel.

3. Who said I love you first? Paul did. But I was a close second…kind of a Mutual Admiration Society.

4. Who is taller? Paul, he’s 5’10” and I’m 5’6”.

5. Who is smarter? Okay, it all depends upon the subject. I like to think we have a symbiotic brain trust going on…what I don’t know, he does, and vice versa. Paul’s better with mechanical/mathematical issues and I specialize in arts, literature, and of course, useless trivia.

6. Who is more sensitive? That’s a tough one. Neither one of us is really mushy. I guess it’s a good thing we have boys!

7. Who does more laundry? I win (or lose, depending upon your viewpoint); although, he does have the ability.

8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me. I have no idea why, that’s just how it’s always been. It doesn't make much sense, hardly any, really. It places me the farthest from the bedroom door and the kids throwing up in the night…hey, maybe there is some sort of subconscious reasoning behind it after all.

9. Who pays the bills? Me. Paul’s too busy.

10. Who cooks more? I do. Paul used to cook Sunday dinners, but then he was called to serve on the High Council, then in the Bishopric…wait a minute…he doesn’t do either of those anymore…I believe it’s time for a policy change!

11. What meals do you cook together? When we have a barbecue we cook together and when we have company.

12. Who is more stubborn? We are both fairly flexible, so I’d have to say neither. Paul is the easiest person to get along with.

13. Who is the first to admit it when they are wrong? Both of us are willing to admit our mistakes.

14. Who is more clean? I think we are on an equal footing here, although he does track mud and dirt into the house more than I do (except for this morning).

15. Who has more siblings? With 7 sisters and 2 brothers, that would be me. Paul has 2 brothers and 3 sisters.

16. Who wears the pants in the relationship? Both at times (except on Sundays, when I wear a dress). We are coequals in our relationship.

17. What do you like to do together? Anything: Skiing, riding dirt bikes, kayaking, grocery shopping (hey, you gotta take together time wherever you can), camping, hiking, watching good movies like, oh, I don’t know…Pride and Prejudice…(Paul is a good sport about watching chick flicks with me).

18. Who eats more sweets? I’m not sure, because I don’t know what kind of treats he gets during the day. I like my sweets, but I try to run them off the next day.

19. Guilty Pleasures? For me: Jane Austen novels and movies; for Paul: buying crazy motorcycle boots off E-bay ;o)

20. How did you meet? At an LDS Institute dance at Weber State (quite possibly the one and only dance that Paul went to. Do you see the hand of Providence at work here?) He was there with a guy I knew from my home ward.

21. Who asked who out first? Paul invited me to go snowmobiling on New Year‘s Day. He was impressed when I dared to go 80 miles an hour my first time out. Pretty stupid of me, but producing excellent results!

22. Who kissed who first? Paul asked me if he could kiss me on my birthday (Jan. 11). Of course, I said yes, and kissed him back!


23. Who proposed? Paul did. We were going to go skiing, but we decided to go to McDonald’s for Happy Meals, instead. Mine came with a diamond ring.

24. Best features? His eyes, smile, personality, sense of humor, shall I go on?


25. What is his best quality? Paul is a friend to everyone, especially me; respectful, hard working, honest, a good father, and he makes me laugh!

Good news, bad news...

Paul was scheduled to have his PET/CT on April 29, but the clinic called him on the morning of 24th and asked if he could come at 11:00 that day. Everything went well; he even slept through most of the process, he was that relaxed (Ativan will do that). I called and moved his follow-up appointment with the oncologist to this past Thursday (May 1)so we wouldn't have to wait the extra week for the results. When we met with Dr. Hancock, he said, "There's good news, and bad new." The good news was that the spot of cancer in Paul's right femur was shrinking. But the bad news was that a bunch of lymph and other tissues in his esophagus area were lit up. He said it didn't make any sense to him why the leg would have improved, but the other area had gotten worse...until Paul told him that he thought he had pneumonia. He asked him when the symptoms had started, which had been just before he started his course of oral chemotherapy. He had gotten progressively worse as the week went along. By the time he went in for the scan, he was feeling pretty rotten. Things made more sense now. Apparently, the infection lights up on the scan like cancer would have. The doctor is confident that that is what he was seeing. He said it was kind of a "perfect storm" scenario, with Paul's compromised immune system and picking up whatever bug it was that eventually turned into pneumonia. So, now it's "good new, good new". Well, maybe "good news, not as bad news". Paul still has to get over the pneumonia, but he was well enough to baptize Jacob today. Thanks to all who were able to be here with us for Jacob's special day. We appreciate your love and support and continued prayers for Paul and our entire family.