The Horton Home

Stephanie and I just came back from a great time in San Diego. I had to go down to speak at a "Best of EFY" on Saturday so we went down 3 days early and did nothing but play. We stayed at the Coronado Village in on Coronado island-the same little romantic B&B we stayed in on our honeymoon 16 years ago.

We walked the beach, ate lots of good food, shopped and hit some movies (Mama Mia and Dark Knight) and Phantom of the Opera in Downtown San Diego. We also toured the USS Midway- a 63-year-old aircraft carrier docked off the San Diego Harbor. It was all lots of fun and very relaxing. Thanks to Kris and Michelle, our kids partied hard while we were away also. BTW, we did like Mama Mia (minus the suggestive parts) and did not like The Dark Knight. The Phantom of the Opera, however, was AWESOME!!

The day we returned from San Diego, we unpacked, packed, and took off for Midway for a reunion with Andy's family. It was a lot of fun too. We are home from that now but are leaving for Lake Powell in 2 days for a week. We really need a vacation from our vacations I think, this is getting ridiculous.

Never a dull moment at the Horton home!!

Keena took a little spill on Saturday evening while getting off the trampoline. She lost her footing and fell on a delicate spot- straddling the rail. She landed so hard that it forced a 1-inch gash in her underparts. After finding lots of blood, we gave her a blessing and rushed her to the hospital at about 11:30 pm. I don't know why we drove 90 mph to the hospital when we just ended up waiting for 3 1/2 hours in the "EMERGENCY" room with 40 other people that drove 90 MPH to get there. We were finally brought into a room at about 3:30 am. Keena put on her brave pants, (actually there were no pants involved- only one of those air-conditioned hospital gowns), and endured 10 shots to numb the area. Her crying out in pain was nearly more than Stephanie and I could take, fortunately, I (Andy) am not effected as much by the trauma's of needles or blood and was able to be a comfort and support to all that were present, including hospital staff. Keena braved it out and survived the ordeal, walking (actually we carried her) away with 5 stitches, 2 very tired parents, and a cute little brown teddy bear provided by the hospital. We got home at about 5:00 am.
Fortunately, Kim and Brad were at our home that night to help us out. The best part of the night was Mackenzie's comment, "Keena should be glad she doesn't have boy gentiles!"
Keena and Steph won't be able to go to girls' camp this week which is a shame.

Half the fun was sitting in the ER and guessing other people's names and injuries and how they got hurt. If you are every hard up for entertainment, go to the ER and place your bets. We had some good laughs, at the expense of others of course. We did make some new friends; we met a woman with a foot swollen as large as our first minivan. We met Tipsy, a local alcoholic with a cyclops-type abrasion on the front of her forehead. We also met a 25-year-old student with a broken nose- he got beat up by a 115 lb girl. There was a 12-year old young man with no obvious problem other than his mouth; he just kept talking and talking and talking. I'm sure he was there to have that gash under his nose fixed. I guessed that his name was Louis, but Steph said, "No, he is more of a Sean." I agreed and told her, "Good call!" A few minutes later, Steph walked out to go to the restroom and while she was gone I overheard "Sean's" brother actually refer to him as "Sean." I just about died; by the time Steph came back, Keena and I could barely breathe or talk from laughter as we tried to tell her that she had guessed right. Well, she confessed and told us that she had overheard his name earlier. We had a good laugh and decided that Steph got us good on that one. Sean just kept talking.

Anyway, all is well. We are feeling very blessed and grateful that Keena wasn't hurt worse. She is resting well and walking funny. The doctor recommended no horseback riding, bike riding , or trampolines for a the next few weeks- what a bummer.

Top 20 Quotes from Aspen Grove:

1. There's corn in your hair! -Steph
2. This is what I call a vacation! -Malia
3. I hate being up on stage, except for at church. -Kylie
4. Dad, are we made out of meat? -Marcus
5. Tony the Tiger. -Andy
6. Dad, can you put your hand somewhere else? -Kylie
7. You've gotta be kidding me! -Andy
8.I don't like to sleep on the couch, unless it's made out of a bed. -Kylie
9. Mom, I'm hot. -Marcus
10. Uh huh, the deer could have done this... -Marcus
11. Why is it okay to say, 'please pass the chicken' but not okay to say, 'please pass the pig?' -Keena
12. Everything happens for a reason! -Keena
13. Well, the most painful part of camp is over! -Elder John H. Groberg
14. I like everyone, except licorice. -Kylie
15. You guys, Quincey is clear over by the turtles! -Steph
16. Bless you Dad! -Quincey
17. I'm a potgut! -Quincey
18. I don't think I'm eating enough meat. -Malia
19. Why don't you make two snowcones and give one to all your friends! -Caleb
20. Why do they call them "cowboys" and not "horseboys?" -Marcus

We can't help but wish this cool Dad a Happy Father's Day. Even if this motorcycle is way too loud for little Quincey (and everyone else in the neighborhood for that matter) she still likes to sit on it every now and again. I have even become soft enough to let her ride down our street and back....that is what six kids does to you it makes you soft in many places!!
We think we have the best Dad in the world that does everything from movie nights to making kids shoot spaghetti out their nose from laughing too hard at the dinner table.
Hope everyone had a GREAT Father's Day!!!

Our busy little Quincey!! She was trying to turn on the light so that she could play the piano. She was working with her partner in crime Tyler to get into as much trouble as possible.
She is so busy right now and keeps us running to keep up with her!
We love her new favorite saying of "it's freaking me out" when she sees a any bug outside and really anything else she says. She is really cute....we just hope we can keep up!

Uh, oh! Guess what Andy did? Yup, it was time for an upgrade. A Honda Shadow 750 Spirit. It's so loud that the first time we started in the garage, we had to peel Caleb off the ceiling and change Quincey's diaper.

Oh, and don't forget to vote for David Archuleta on Tuesday, May 20th.

We have taken a journey back in time to the year 1964where we find Gilligan, the Skipper, a bamboo car, and and radio with a battery that lasts longer than the one in my cell phone.
One interesting bit of trivia that might enhance your mind while watching this entertaining but seemingly lightweight show: The producer intended the island to represent the world and each character to represent a country. Their interaction was to represent world politics. Keeping that in mind when you view it will be a whole new experience. That could make for some lively discussions.
The guys out there can also ponder the age old question: Ginger or Mary-Ann?
And for the ladies, I don't know, Gilligan or Skipper?

Soccer Season has come to a close once again. Malia, Caleb and Marcus had a great season and are already looking forward to next year.

We haven't entered anything in this blog for months and months but we are back!!

Keena is almost done with her first year in Jr. High and has learned more in those halls than she really wanted. At 13, she is already counting down the days until she drives. She really would just like to spend each day at the mall or Old Navy and is going to start the "Keena Horton shopping fund" if any of you would like to donate. She has also become quite the "Hymnist" on the piano. She has been earning $5 for every hymn she memorizes and is also teaching Caleb how to play the piano. She can text faster than anyone I know.

Malia is as busy as ever running the 5th grade at Westmore. She is also getting pretty used to hearing Quincey say, "Mawia, jeep!" And they end up driving the jeep around the yard for hours at a time. She just finished a great season of soccer and average 3-4 goals per game. She is also doing well with piano. If she isn't in the Jeep than she is hitching a ride over to her friend Annie's house to organize some sort of day-care or intergalactic-children's carnival.

Caleb is always outside. He is either playing basketball, dodgeball on the trampoline, soccer, baseball, or riding scooters. He is our in-house, quick-witted comedian that always has something funny to say. He had a great soccer season too and as stated earlier, is learning to play the piano. There is never a serious moment when Caleb is around.

Marcus is a professional X-box player. He also just finished a great season of soccer, even though he says his legs get tired. We recently walked the half-mile, thirty minute walk to church one Sunday and I didn't think Marcus would make it. He would collapse on someone's lawn about ever 100 yards. When we finally got to the church, one of the kids said, "now we know what it was like to be a pioneer!" Marcus is our pioneer with the "cute little eyes."