Bad day saved by Goulash?

August 31st...

Ok, nothing SERIOUSLY bad happened today and I really had no reason to be as mopey as I was...but that doesn't mean I wasn't. I was in a bad mood all day long, most of the reasoning I can blame on payday because money is really just an illusion. You think it's right around the corner, it's coming and then everything will be ok...nope. It's gone before it even hits the bank account! URG! Anyway...that was the basis of my frustration today and Cael's attitude didn't make things any better. Dinnertime finally rolled around and halfway through cooking I realized I had completely forgotten to go grocery shopping today (which also means I forgot to buy stamps and my bills will be one day later...awesome)and we had no milk. After throwing the tiniest of tantrums and I figured I could make spaghetti. Well, I poured the sauce into my hamburger and there was so much of it, I really had just made a swimming pool for the meat more than anything else. So, answer? Noodles that go into the sauce before it hits your plate to counter act how much there was. Goulash. I honestly can't remember the last time I had it, but I have to be honest. It was so freaking good! I could just feel my happiness meter creeping upward at a steady speed. Partly because the food was good, and partly because I didn't completely freak out and throw a whole pound of hamburger into the garbage before heating up a burrito.

Well what did you expect??

August 30th...

Hilarious!! I'm making lunch and a frantic Cael runs into the kitchen yelling "car car! car car! couch!" I asked if he had a car stuck under the couch and he said "uh-huh!" I walked into the living room and cracked up! What did he expect was going to happen when he placed the slide of his fire station UNDER the couch? Of course he had cars stuck under there. I got them out for him this one time, but in the future he is on his own lol.

Day one and I'm still sane!

August 29th...

Today was our first day without Nana here and honestly it went better than I thought it was going to. I am really getting tired of being here by myself, so I thought I would break down and cry as soon as I was alone again. Well amazingly, I didn't! I kept my cool and just tried not to let myself stress out too much. Cael asked for his Nana when he first woke up in the morning, but he knows she's home and he got over it pretty quick. So all in all, a good but boring day here for us.

Poor Averi, in this picture I was using her crib as a playpen while I did the dishes and she wanted out!

Bye Bye Nana

August 28th...

Oh man...that was a really fast week. It really was great to have my mom down here with me, I had been dying to show someone where I live and what it is like here. There are so many differences between here and Washington that it's hard to describe, you just have to see it. And finally my mom got to! The bonding time between her and the kids was absolutely irreplaceable and I know Cael won't forget for a long time. Hopefully it won't be long before she gets to visit again, or anyone else for that matter! Thank you mom, you mean the world to me and I am so glad you were able to come stay with us, it was amazing.

Woo Hoo!

August 27th...

Mom, Faith and I were all in Averi's room tonight going through her baby clothes and deciding what to give away. She was sitting in her crib, just playing and getting ready for bed, when out of nowhere we all saw her raise herself up to her feet! I don't even have words for how proud of her I was, and I could tell she was just as proud! She stood there for quite awhile just smiling and watching us, with her cute little death grip on the railing of the crib. Part of me was thinking "Nooo! Just wait a little longer, I'm not ready for you to walk!" But it's inevitable. I am happy for her no matter when she wants to start walking, and I know Derrick will be too. She is such a big girl!

Nashville!

August 26th...

I've lived here for 8 months now and I finally got to tour Nashville! Mom and I were total tourists today - there was no hiding it. We had the camera's around our necks, taking pictures of things that normal people could care a little less about like billboards and glass buildings, but we were having fun! Our very first stop was the Country Music Hall of Fame, we decided it was the only "pay to get in" type of thing we wanted to see today and I just happened to accidentally drive us right to it! It was very cool inside. I am a little young to really appreciate the majesty of everyone in there maybe, but it was still a very cool experience to have. After the hall of fame we went to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe where we completely offended our waiter by being cheap and skipping the alcohol and sharing a plate of nachos. Oh well. He still got a tip so I think he forgave us in the end. We hit a few gift shops and other things like that before we drove down music row (which was an experience, let me tell ya!) Music Row was very cool, but neither of us knew what to expect. It was lots and lots of recording studios down a very pretty street, I can't believe we didn't anyone famous, I bet it was CRAWLING!! Oh well, on the way their we almost died so we were happy just to drive down it, even if we didn't see anyone. To get there, we had to go through a round about which I have only done maybe twice before in my life. In my defense, the ones I have been on had lines just like a road. This one did not! Nothing! Two make believe lanes that can either be there, or not, whatever the driver would prefer at that given moment. I am telling you, once you enter into that circle it is ever man for himself! It's a free for all! Cars just swerving in and out of each other trying to get to an exit relatively close to the one they originally wanted. It was absolutely terrifying. And to top it off we had to go through it 3 times to get to see everything we wanted to see. That is one street I will probably never drive down again, no matter who might be recording down there!

Taking mom to the lake

August 25th...

Mom and I decided we wanted to take the kids swimming today. We figured either the lake, or the water park would be equally fun. The waterpark is closer...the lake is cheaper...it's a win either way. Well, the laws of retard-ness made up our minds for us. What waterpark closes in the middle of August?? They are only open on weekends for the rest of the season. The season?? This is about as "season" as season gets if you ask me, it's the hottest month of the year! Oh well...lake it is! I was totally confident I knew which exit to take since I had been their once before, but of course as we started seeing signs for other lakes along the way, I started to think maybe we could find a closer one. Ya...no. We drove for an hour before realizing their was no lake at that particular exit and we got back on the interstate with still an hour to go before we got to our actual lake. If that was enough, as we get to the exit guess what happens? Yep...it's starts raining! What luck we have! Actually we do because the water was perfectly warm, it only rained for a minute and we had the whole swimming area to ourselves! There did happen to be some nasty dead fish on the beach...those didn't smell too great, but it was only every once in a while that we noticed them. All in all, no matter how long it took to get there, it was a good day and that was something I really wanted to check off my list while mom was here!

Birds

August 24th...

Driving home from Nashville last night after the zoo (I know, I know, this isn't "today's" picture) we were absolutely crawling! There was a game going on at the stadium and the interstate was jam packed, construction on top of that and it took us 2 1/2 hours to get home! On the way, I saw all these birds land on a telephone wire after the game's fireworks sent them fluttering. I just thought it looked cool.

Nashville Zoo

August 23rd...

Mom and I took the kids to the Nashville Zoo today! I had never been, but we were both very impressed! This is the first zoo I have ever been to where the elephants weren't standing on a concrete slab. They were actually in a huge meadow with a water hole and everything, it was very refreshing to me. The giraffes are always a hit with me, and it was cute to see how much the impressed Cael too! They were very close to the fence so we got an awesome look at them. In the gift shop Cael got to pick out a present from Nana and between a zoo hat, a truck and a bag of animals, he picked the animals! I was a little surprised, he is such a car boy...and a hat boy! But nope, he wanted a bag of rubber animal toys (probably because of the giraffe that was in there) and he hasn't played with his cars since. He is officially an animal boy now I think. He sleeps with them and everything. Goofy kid and his phases :)

Back Porch Artist

August 22nd...

At our trip to Hobby Lobby on day 1 of mom's visit I bought Cael some $1 sidewalk chalks. Cheap of me? A little. I figured...he's 2. Chalk is chalk. When he is in kindergarten and all the cool kids have Crayola glow in the dark, 3D chalk that actually makes pictures come to life and start talking to you...we'll go that route. But for now, dollar chalk! Anyway, my point, he loves it! He makes the most awesome little pictures all over the patio out back and it's so fun to watch him. One thing I have learned though...sidewalk chalk + potty training = one messy toilet seat! Green and purple little fingerprints everywhere!

If you get down on her level...

August 21st...

I can't remember exactly what mom and Cael were playing on the floor...but it really isn't important. Once you start sitting on the floor, you are in Jo's territory! You couldn't possibly be down there to play with anyone but her. It doesn't matter how many times you try to push her away, that just eggs her on and before you know it you are on your back with a 70 pound dog pinning your chest to the floor and licking you to the point where you honestly start to worry about suffocation. I tried to tell her...

Seeing Ft. Campbell

August 20th...

I took mom all around Clarksville today. We went down to the river and then up to the base. We shopped for a while at the PX and had Little Ceasers for lunch. The kids are still getting over the trip so we called it a day after that.

Faith came over later that night to watch the Big Brother episodes that we missed during the trip and they were the best ever!! There was fighting which was hilarious to watch, and things went just the way I wanted them too! :) Best line ever : "Everything about you is fake, your boobs are fake, your face is fake, the only honest thing about you are the pimples on your chin!" HAHAHAHAHAHA Ahhhh Ragan...you are awesome.

Home!!

August 19th...

Ahhhh....

We are home!! 2100 miles, who even knows how many hours driving...we were more than ready to get out of that stinkin car! Cael learned how to say "I want out!" along the way so that was really fun to listen to for 2 days straight. Now comes the exciting part of showing my mom where I live and what it's like here! So far so good, she loves our house and (for now) she LOVES the heat!! We will take a day of rest and then start showing off Clarksville tomorrow.

Bear Country

August 18th...

Early morning today before we even left Rapid City, we went to the Bear Country Drive-Through Wildlife Park. Faith and I saw billboards for this park on our way to Washington and knew we wanted to go on the way home. It was really cool, you stay in the car and drive through acres and acres of wildlife preserve. There are signs telling you which territories you are entering and what animals to look for. We weren't sure if it would be hard to see them or not and if they would be behind fences, but it turned out to be way easier than we thought! They were free as birds. Sleeping on the shoulder of the road, walking across, whatever they wanted! There was even a bear (The bear section was AWESOME) that was scratching itself on the grill of the car behind us! It was an awesome time, and I will definitely want to go back when the kids are a little older.

Devil's Tower and Mt. Rushmore

August 17th...

Today was very cool. In Wyoming we decided to take a small detour off I-90 and see Devil's Tower. It has a really cool legend about 7 little girls who wished for the rock to rise out of the ground to save them from a bear. Our tour brochure said it's actually the inside of a volcano and all the earth around it has eroded away. Either way, it was pretty awesome!

Later in the after noon we got to Rapid City, South Dakota where we got a motel and stretched our legs for the night. We stopped there specifically so we could visit Mt. Rushmore which none of us had ever seen before. It was just about the coolest thing in the world. The faces are so big it's hard to fathom how they are even there. It was amazing. There are some very talented people that have walked this Earth. Very talented.

Headin home...

August 16th...

Well today is the day we leave and head back to TN. It was hard to say goodbye to my dad, I could tell he was putting off his hugs for the kids for the very last minute. Goodbye's to my sisters weren't as painful as the first time just because I know now how easy it is to come home and visit. (And I use the term "easy" VERY loosely...30+ hours in a car is never easy)

It was great to see everyone, and I'm sorry for those I didn't get the chance to catch up with while we were here. I don't know when the next visit will be, but I will more than likely have my husband with me that time :)

**Oh my, first rest stop we hit on the way home was in Montana somewhere, it was pitch black outside and all we could hear was a hoot owl somewhere in the trees. Faith and I were coming out of the bathrooms, back to the car and there was a wall we had to go around. I was in front so as I came around the wall I gasped and jumped back like something scared me and Faith's reaction was hilarious! She screamed like I had never heard before for about 10 seconds straight with her hands over her face. It was so funny, I'm laughing right now as I type this. I got her so good, I was very proud of myself...until we got into the car. Jo got her even better and completely stole my glory. Faith was sitting in the backseat with the kids and she had forgotten about Jo who was sitting in the very back. She was calming down from the scare she just got from me when out of nowhere Jo sat up in the back and made some crazy sound while she was yawning. Her scream was about 1,000 times longer and louder than the one outside! Jo got her so scared that she was crying before her heart finally resumed to normal beating.

Ahh....it was awesome. A night I will never forget, my throat hurt from all the laughing by the time we had all calmed down. Love you Faith! :) And for once it wasn't me who was getting scared!!

Workin all day

August 15th...

What an awesome day today, Cael got to ride on Uncle Rodger's combine!! That's not super exciting news if you live in Whitman County, I know...it's kind of the norm, but we left before Cael ever got the chance so this was exciting for us! He wasn't too sure at first but I told Rodger to just go ahead and take him and I would wait for a few minutes to "rescue" him if need be. When the combine didn't stop and they headed off back into the fields, I took it as a sign that Cael was alright and was enjoying some quality time with his uncle.

Motorcycle!

August 14th...

Papa brought out the motorcycle today to offer Cael a ride. All was good, we went out and looked, and oohed and aahed, Cael tried to push it himself, he climbed up (with a little help of course) and sat on the seat, Nana handed him his helmet...and that was the end of it. I guess the helmet made it a little too real for him, he changed his mind that quick and decided he didn't want to go for a ride after all. During mine and mom's rides (and with the motorcycle out of view) he was all gung-ho again, but as soon as he saw it turn into the driveway it was back to "no...no...no"

Maybe when your older bud :)

Hey Bj!

August 13th...

BJ and I met in a birthing class while we were pregnant with our boys. We lived just a few blocks away from each other and had a great time watching Cael and Braxden grow together for their first 2 years! It was always so nice to just sit and talk with her while the boys slept, then it turned into visits where they sat and stared at each other, then they played together, then they stole toys from each other, then they started talking to each other. It was fun to watch another little boy grow up at the same time as my own, and it was great to have someone to lean on.

We made a special trip to Colfax to see BJ again today and it was like no time had passed at all (with the exception of Averi who was never part of our visits before.) The boys had a great time playing and getting reacquainted with each other, and so did we!

Can you see it Libby?

August 12th...

Oh Libby...you are so cute! Can you see the caterpillar in there? For a little girl who does not like bugs (at all!) she sure did get a good look in that jar!

Swingin at Aunt Misty's

August 11th...

We spent the day at Aunt Misty's house and Averi had a blast in the swing! Looks like I will be getting her one of those, as long as my tree branches are strong enough to hold that chunky little butt :)

Pretty Little Liars

August 10th...

Today was very very productive, one of my best friends came over and spent the day watching the Pretty Little Liars marathon on tv! Faith and I are way into that show, and the finale is tonight so Dawn wanted to watch from the beginning and catch up. Of course, by the time we got all caught up to where we all had a new episode to watch before the finale, it was time to call it a night. I crashed right on the couch, and couldn't stay awake another second. I vaguely remember hearing my mom and Dawn trying to catch a racoon that was under the porch...I don't think I'm fully caught up with the sleep I missed on our drive! I'm never the first asleep! Oh well, I'll have plenty of time to sleep when the kids are grown :)

Lots of Laughs

August 9th...

We party-crashed scrapbooking day today! Who can spend time scrapbooking when there are little kids around that need attention?? My mom, aunt, cousin and sister all got to spend some awesome quality time with the kids, and to top it off, I also got to reconnect with a friend from elementary school!

BBQ

August 8th...

My parents have a BBQ (or 3..) every year and it's great that so many people come to them. It was the perfect setting to get to see a lot of family and friends that I might not have been able to see in the short time we plan on staying here.

Spending the Night

August 7th...

The girls (or most of them anyway) spent the night with us at mom's house tonight. After helping get the house ready for tomorrow's BBQ, Faith and I took all the kids to the park for awhile. It was a nice walk, but I didn't bring my big sit and stand stroller on the trip with me (I needed to space in the back for Jo) so I should have known Cael would need to ride on my shoulders for the whole walk back to the house. That is DEFINITELY daddy's job from here on out! He's heavy!

Quality Time

August 6th...

We spent half of today at Aunt Nikki's house so Faith and I could catch up on Big Brother. Ooops! I mean, so Cael could spend some quality playtime with his cousins! He loves playing with them and it seemed as though these past 7 months hadn't really gone by at all, everything clicked back into place with them. I love that about my family, it doesn't matter how long you are gone or how much has changed...nothing has changed so much that you don't feel welcome when you come back.

We spent the second half of the day in at Aunt Misty's house and that was fun too! My nephew Evan was too little to play when we left, so it was great to see the boys (the only two boys this family has!) get to play together! They splashed in the pool, played cars, sat and laughed up in the clubhouse, it was awesome! I also got to add one more surprise to my list, because Hannah didn't know we were here yet. I went with Misty to pick her up from day camp, and she was NOT expecting to see me when she got off the bus!

Today was a really good day, It's nice to be back.

Surprise!

August 5th (after some much needed sleep...)

Misty, mom and I just pulled off the best surprise ever! Nikki didn't know we were even thinking about coming up! During our drive she got on facebook and asked where I was

and we played it off. I told her I just hadn't been on much now that Derrick has Skype, and she believed me. (It was partially true, I haven't been as addicted as normal now that I don't have to constantly wonder if my husband is on there or not.) I even called her from mom's house this morning on my cell phone and told her we were heading to the lake! Around noon we met Misty and Evan in Tekoa (It was so great to see them again! My nephew grew about a foot!) and we walked (have crouched so we wouldn't be seen) to Nik's house. We had to stop half a block away because we could see her outside, we felt like Mission Impossible spies! Darting across the road, crouching under windows, it was awesome! Mom went in the front door to keep her in the living room while we went to the back door and put Cael inside the house. I told him "Go find Aunt Nikki" and off he went! We rushed behind him as soon we heard "What are you doing here? What is he doing here???" There was crying and lots of hugs, it was amazing. I don't think we will ever top it. Surprise Nik :) Later that night Faith and I took her to the ER because she started having contractions...we figured we better tell her about the baby shower we had planned instead of surprising her again!

WE MADE IT!

August 5th...

2:30 Am and we finally made it home! That was a long drive, but it was so worth it! Faith and I had some great laughs along the way, and everyone stayed reasonably sane. People may think we are crazy for not stopping to sleep, but I couldn't stand to take any longer than necessary to see my family again! My mom met us at the car and scooped up both babies, she was overjoyed! Cael looked at her for the first time in seven months, and even in his sleepy state and he said "Nana...where's papa?" :) He is definitely a papa's boy! It's great to be back, and I can't wait to surprise Nikki tomorrow, she still has no clue we are here!

South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana...are we there yet?

August 4th...

Ike-a-rumba! it's been 24 hours and other than stopping for gas and diaper changes, we are still truckin! I tried to sleep at a rest stop at one this morning, but of course...as soon as the car turned off, the kids woke up! They wanted out of those car seats. We tried to each hold one and get some sleep, and Faith and Cael were alright with that...but Averi and I were not so fortunate. She wanted nothing more than to play with my hair and ruffle around in the grocery bags. After about two hours of pretending to sleep, I finally put her back in her seat. The only way to get her to fall back asleep was to turn the car on. If the car's on...I might as well be driving. Tried my darndest to stay awake (good thing those rumble strips are there!) and around Five AM I handed the wheel over to Faith. Not too sure what happened after that...other than my snoring! We thought we might get to see Mt. Rushmore on the drive through South Dakota, but it's a ways off the interstate and we were too excited to get home. Mom is driving back with us, so that is the time for us to be all touristy. Montana was a pain. Not so much the states fault, as it was the time of day, it took forever to get out of there. And by midnight we were so close to Idaho, and that meant so close to home that I just couldn't stand it. I was willing the roads to get shorter although I think the opposite was happening. Road construction didn't make matters any easier. Man was I excited when we finally reached Couer D' alene! It was smooth sailing from there!

And we're off!

August 3rd...

Off we go! Two obviously insane friends, two (hopefully peaceful and patient) kids and a dog! Not to mention a car packed full of snacks, clothes and a giant baby swing for my sister! We've got 2100 miles to go and that may seem like a lot now, but the sooner we get going the faster that number is going to go down! On the road again...I just can't wait to get on the road again...(We may not be singing that for a VERY long time once this little adventure is over...)

Saying Goodbye for now - Not forever!

August 2nd...
Today Faith and I had to give our hugs goodbye to an amazing woman. Amber, you are such a good person, an amazing friend and a great mom! Moving home for deployments is something that comes up all the time when living the life we do, and I knew I was going to have to say goodbye to some of the friends I had made eventually. I am really going to miss you, but it's only a year and then Cael and I can have our friends back!! Have a ton of fun back home with your family, I'm sure they are more than excited to have to guys move home! All of my thoughts and wishes are with Thomas and that he comes home safe and sound to you both!

Cleaning Day

Aug 1st...

**Alright, it has been awhile since I have blogged, but with good reason! I planned a surprise trip home to Washington State to surprise my oldest sister Nikki! With the help of my mom and other two sisters, we pulled it off and it was awesome! I couldn't update my blog without giving anything away, so now that the cat is out of the bag I can catch up!**

Today was cleaning day for me (...I didn't get much farther than this hutch to be honest) but at least progress was made! After my trip to Washington, my mom will be driving back down with my friend Faith and I (she made the drive with me and I can never thank her enough, I don't know what I would do without her) So I had to work on the little things to make my house look as nice as possible. Every daughter wants her mom to think "Wow, I guess she can manage on her own..." when she walks in the door for the very first time. Finger's crossed!

Back to normal! Life is Good!

July 31st...

Ahhh, we woke up to normalcy in this house today. It's been a comfortable 72 since this morning and I could not be happier. I hate it when things are broken, especially things I have no clue how to fix myself, and make us so unbelievably uncomfortable it's not even funny. But today was good, the kids got to wear clothes again (which is always a plus) and I even put a blanket over my legs on the couch! Heck yes!

As for today's picture...yes, that is my son. He spend quite a while with a toy box on his head, bumping into things, blindly reaching his hand out to try and find a toy or two to take up into his little clubhouse, at the moment, he was actually eating a pickle in there. He has amazingly good recollection of where the furniture is in the house, he kind of surprised me in that way! When he decided he wanted a pickle, he was able to get off the couch and make his way to the refrigerator door without so much as a peek! I got a pickle out for him and he stuck his hand out from under the box, feeling around in the air until he found me and then said "Thank you momma!" and up into the box it went! Funny little guy.

OK, back to hotness...day 4

July 30th...

Well we woke up this morning to (de' ja vu, anyone?) a broken air conditioner...

I called the company and they gave me a few things to try to see if I could force cool air into the main rooms of the house...it didn't work. When the house reached 86 I called him back and said something needs to be done - He said he would make us an appointment for Monday...awesome, thanks a lot. House reaches 88 - I called him again, he says he will see how early Monday morning he can get someone to us. House reaches 90 - I call again and he says he will send someone right out. House reaches 92 and I think we are going to die! The guy came to work on the unit and was stuck here working on it for 3 hours, poor guy. Apparently the "brand new" unit was missing a part from the factory and he will be able to fix it for good on Monday. He temporarily fixed it tonight and said it should get us through the weekend. So far so good, we'll have to wait and see how things go though. As much fun as the kids had today (literally living in the cold bathtub and sprinkler) I know we would all love a reason to cuddle under a blanket right now...oh how I miss being cold. Funny how that happens huh?

New AC!

July 29th...

Last night we watched scary movies in an effort to make me never ever want to be home alone again, of course it worked, I'm such a baby these days. Amber's friend Katie came over with her little boy Aiden, and that was a nice distraction from the movie! Him and Averi were adorable, they were SO excited to see another baby! I love watching little kids get together like that, it's hilarious. In other news...It's finally Thursday!! Today is the day we can venture back to our nice, cool home! I don't know why I expected to walk into a winter wonderland with icicles hanging from the door frames and white puffs of breath coming out when we talked...but that's definitely not what we came home to. Nope, still 88 degrees and air is barely coming out of the vents. It cooled a little as the night went on, and is finally down to 72...hopefully during the night it can catch up with itself enough to keep us nice and cool in the morning. We shall see!

hotness...day 3

July 28th...

Still at Amber's house today, waiting patiently for the AC to get fixed at our house. Trips back and forth to make sure Jo is OK and hydrated, and just hanging out with our friends. It was nice to spend these days together before they head home to Texas! The two boys were hilarious racing each other in the backyard! I can't wait for Cael to be able to play this way with his sister...or maybe I can :)

hotness...day 2

July 27th...

Still no AC (looks like we are getting a whole new unit on the 29th) so we picked up and moved to Amber's house! I really do have amazing friends, Tiffany and Amber both opened their doors to me and the kids so we could house hop for a few days and it was a lot of fun. Brayden and Cael were perfectly content playing (and napping) all day in their nice, cool house.

hottness...day 1

July 26th...

We woke up today to a broken air conditioner...ugh! At first when the company said they could come out and fix it tomorrow, I was fine...no big deal, we can manage. But as the day went on and three o'clock finally came around, yeah right! Tiffany came over to scrapbook (which couldn't happen because it was so unbelievably hot in here) and offered her house for us to hang out and spend the night in. The AC guys went ahead and came today after I called again and told them how hot it was, but it will be at least until tomorrow to get it fixed. Good thing I had Tiffany here with me, it took approximately 30 seconds for me to pack us up and get out of that house!

Pez

July 25th...

Cael's dreams came true today...Toy Story AND candy all rolled into one! What little boy wouldn't be overjoyed?? We got a package in the mail today from Aunt Nikki and she supplied him with some Toy Story Pez dispensers, what a lucky boy! She also supplied me with Nalley Chili!! How crazy that Nalley is pretty much the only brand (or the most popular anyway) when it comes to chili up in Washington, but they have never even heard of it down here! We are all stocked up now so everything is going to be all right.