HORSE LESSONS and.......WE GOT A PONY!!!!

My visiting teacher had a great reference for us....an ametuer horse riding instructor, at a very reasonable price. We found out about a year ago and finally signed the girls up. They loved every minute of the lesson and can't wait for the weekly lessons to ride Tuffy again and again.

Shawney...changed the name to Tawney, is the new addition. She is a beautiful miniture horse, given to us by our friend Rod. He had some friends who needed to limit the amount of animals on their property....so he had our family in mind and gave Jeremy a call. I couldn't believe that the phone call came the day after the girls' 1st horse lesson. Jeremy could see the joy in the girls eyes and could tell that their love for horses is more than just a fasination. Rod had Jeremy completely convinced that this little pony is perfect for our girls and our property. We are hoping he is right. Tawney is 3 years old and is used to kids. She comes from a family with 7 children who gave her lots of attention. Tawney is super friendly and such a fun addition. We have the intent to keep her, but the girls also are prepped that they need to enjoy every moment with her. If her health and happiness are at stake and if we or they are unable to care for her, Rod takes her back and finds her a better home. We shall see how it goes.....wish us luck! This will be a new experience for all of us ;-)

Family Vacation 2011

Our family was thrilled to get-a-way, be together and spend time with Jeremy's family. This time was much needed...get our minds away from the regular routine and create some additional fun memories. Get ready for lots of pictures :) The above was taken right out our back door as soon as we got there, before the rest of the family arrived.


Steve and Becky arrived next with Reese and Tori. I was so happy that Reese came right to me, after awaking from a nap. She snuggled with me for quiet a while....was so nice! Tori eventually warmed up and was happy to sit on my lap after I told her I'd play "piggies" with her. Katie and Aaron showed up soon after, dinner the first night was at their place. The little boys immediately swarmed to a corner to play cars...so cute! The cousins attacked each other with hugs, thrilled to be together for the week!

Day 2: Beach and Crabbing


Best day to be at the beach! Pictures speak louder than words. Need I say more?




Two years ago Jeremy got crabbing nets and supplies for his birthday. This was the first time using them....so fun! We decided to head down to a new area (referred by a local fisherman). Turns out there was no railing, this made everyone a tad bit nervous (understatment). That didn't last long, so we headed to the pier.


I love being at the pier. Everyone we've ran into has been so pleasant and willing to let us take a peek at their catch. The community shows excitement for one another as we pull in nets, we also share in the disappointment (catching females or too small to take home). When star fish are brought up the kids show all kinds of amazment, crabbers allow them to hold the starfish and throw them back into the waters.


Day 3: Tidepools in Lincoln City, pool, seals and some girly fun

Jeremy, Wes, Steve and their boys (Westin and Steven) went crabbing this afternoon so Becky and the rest of us headed to the tidepools. We weren't at this location more than 20 minutes. The breeze and cool air was too much for the babies and Kaitlyn so we made it short. Instead, the babies went back for naps and Becky and I took the girls swimming.


Tom liked his walks and found many seals beyond the fencing, behind the condos. It was fun to walk down several times each day to see if they were there and stare at them for a while. The kids enjoyed watching the sunset and viewing the ocean's tide come-in with Grandma and Grandpa. Eventually the tide washed many of the seals back out to sea.

The nail polish game was a big hit with this side of the family as well....neices are so much fun! Although, I have to say Westin was pretty curious and wondered why a nail polish game would be fun. Wed had to try and convince Westin that nail polish is fun, so we painted one nail on each of their hands....don't you love Westin's reaction. I think he knows boys shouldn't have polish on their hands ;-)
Jeannie was thrilled to have Jeremy paint one of her hands so beautifully....she's such a trooper.


Sydney spent the night at our place and got to witness Ally's snoring...right in her ear. They slept in the same twin bed across from Kaitlyn. They enjoyed watching a movie in bed and hearing a few stories from Papa while Jeremy and I went to get a quick bite to eat with Wes.

Day 4: Depoe Bay, Swimming, Fogerty Beach and Steven's Birthday

No whales this trip, but the seals made up for it. Swimming was the girls highlight of the week....Ally became quiet the little tadpole. We got word that the girls got into the last session of the water awareness program for the summer....this will be SO good for them and hopefully help them with their skills that much more.

Fogerty Beach was a highlight for our family. It's such a different type of beach. It has very course sand....or should I say rocks with many tidepools and larger rocks to climb on.....see Aaron??? King of the mountain top? He must have had a great view. We enjoyed digging for rocks/agates and adding to the girls rock and seashell collections.


Jeremy took these pictures on his phone and found an option to create a sketch.

We finally got a taste of some of Becky's cupcake creations. The PB and Choc variety was our favorite....delicous! These were made to celebrate little Steven's 6th birthday celebration. The gift he's holding brought back so many memories. My brothers used to have the same toy guns...hopefully Steven's will last a while.

These bottom pics are obviously random. They show our awesome dog-sitter, Conner (Ally's friend Jillian's brother). Our dog Ruby adores him! Kaitlyn LOVES grandma's neck pillow, she borrow's it for every road trip. Jeremy is stylin in his new glasses...an early bday present from little miss Kaitlyn....she was so proud of her comical gift idea ;-)

Tom and Jeannie....thank you for the opportunities you provide for the family to be together. We enjoyed every minute....THANKS!!!!

Pioneer Days

We had a great week getting a taste of of olden days. It started with making starwberry jam, 2 batches since the 1st didn't set. We'll use that as pancake syrup.
Day 2, pioneer day celebration with Tom and Jeannie. The girls were thrilled to receive a little coin purse to hold their pennies they earned to get some candies at the end of the festivities. They liked sawing wood, panning for gold and playing some old simple games....like throwing a ball at old milk bottles.
Day 3, I realized the need for more bonnets for the youth trek. This was a Relief Society service we had been wanting to undertake all year, but was hard to anticipate the need (how many and such). I knew I needed to learn how and help with the efforts....many sisters got involved and were willing. I was thankful to receive a lesson from a sister I visit teach. This allowed me to make a couple bonnets for the Youth Trek and a couple for my own daughters dress-up and play.
Day 4, bake a cake from stratch. Again, 2 attempts were made. 2nd turned out good, but realized I still forgot an ingredient....no one could tell but me. I can't imagine having NO mixer, NO electric oven, or convenient utensils like we have today.
Day 5, bake bread; sew bonnets and aprons. Take Ally to activity days; she dressed up and learned how to make a fabric doll, zoomer, raspberry jam and homemade butter.
Day 6, weed the garden, stack wood in the shed.
Day 7, attend pioneer day celebration and dress the part (kindof).

Below you will find the girls in the bonnet and aprons I made for them. The dresses were made by Jeremy's mom years ago. Ally and Kaitlyn happen to be about the same age as Lairen and Kierstin (Jeremy's sisters) were when they wore the dresses. The girls loved playing dress up. They were little pioneers most of the week. I'm hoping they will plan on wearing these outfits for halloween....hmmmm, we shall see.


I've gained more appreciation for the things they endured and the way they had to live. It seems as if we have it so easy these days with technology and our simplfied ways. I found some frustration, but appreciate the little things so much more today than I did yesterday.

Kierstin, Wes, Westin and Jade came into town and decided to join us for the Stake Fair (pioneer day celebration). We're glad they came.


Mia joined us the last couple minutes. We had planned her outfit and knew she would fit in it perfectly. She was a happy girl, even if we did dress her up like she was a doll.....so much fun...the girls had a blast! Looks like Mia did too ;-)

Fourth of July and other Summer Sweetness

This fourth of July was one of the best celebrations yet. We went to the rodeo with my parents, brother and his kids (see post below), came home and napped, then headed to a friends place for a spectactular display of fireworks and fun. It was great to be with many of our ward members (church friends) and celebrate the blessed holiday. Thank you Deb, Rob, Jaime and Jana for a great evening! It was definately memorable, Jeremy has the scars to prove it ;-)


Story on the hand....yes, the night was eventful and fun. The down side was the stupidity of my husband having a teenager light a 2 inch round of sparklers in his hand with a blow torch. It let out a huge flash and burned Jeremy's hand pretty good (understatement). We were up until 3pm dealing with Jeremy's pain and wondering if we should take him to the doctor or not....his brother, "Dr Leif" would be proud (NOT). The on-call doctor I spoke to that night was not helpful one bit....he even fell asleep on me! Luckily, Jeremy got through it. He was thankful for medication on hand from a previous surgery which got him through.

Miscellaneous Summer Sweetness: (top right to left)


Sunday drive up in the hills with Mom, Dad and Molly (pup).
Ally and Kaitlyn trading massages.
Summer weeding....no complaints!!!....each had 1-2 rows they were responsible for.
Riding Grandma and Grandpa's bikes....smiles all the way, especially at the park.
Kaitlyn and her animals that were returned to her after a harsh day of disipline.
Ally and Dad's mole....dad showed her how to tell when one is caught in the trap.
Sisters....most days they are like this....getting along during the car ride.

Nathan and Christine's Visit

The long anticipated visit from Nathan's family (my 2nd oldest brother) came and went too quickily. I've been wanting to post these pictures for so long, but fear the tears that are already begining to form.....we miss them dearly and cherish their visit every couple years. Nathan's girls are at such a fun age. We connected so well with them and tried to get as much time as possible. My girls were so sad knowing their cousins were still in town for 3 days before leaving us for the last time....we all understood that there were other family members to see. So here are a few of our memories to share. We hope that as my brother Jason's family read this they will know how much we longed to have them with us on the trip. We thought of you often and look forward to future times we get to spend with you.

Day 1: Alpine Slides at Ski Bowl Adventure Park

We went on opening day, the kids were the perfect age to enjoy this adventure. It was a new experience for all of us and everyone found enjoyment! Ally and Ksenya went down the slides first....they were CRAZY into it. Ally NEVER read the signs and could care less about slowing down or getting on someone's tail. She and Skenya stuck like glue, going on the ski lifts and slides by themselves. We did not catch up to them until the 5th or 6th time...Christine and I finally waited at the top to catch them and explain to Ally that the signs for direction, caution and safety. It was pretty comical seeing her reaction....she shruged her shoulders and realized she had seen no signs what-so-ever. She also could care less about ever going down the slides with mom or dad. It was bitter-sweet realized our little girl is growing up.

Kaitlyn had a great time taking turns with each of the adults. She was a couple inches too short to ride the slide by herself. She had the most fun with aunt Christine, who let her be in charge of the breaks and aceleration. Christine said she had no fear....wish I would have saw it.

Kylie and Crystal enjoyed riding by themselves, but also enjoyed a few rides with the adults. It was so fun too have them warm up so quickily and want to go down the slides with me multiple times. I LOVED (understatment) every moment with the girls and miss them so much!

The adventure park had a lot of other fun thongs to do too; pony rides, rock climbing wall, kids play area (not that fantastic), go carts, kiddy canoe rides and other things that were not yet open since it was opening day.

Between adventures, we all went up to Government Camp to the top of the mountain. The girls loved playing around in the snow on a warm day.

Day 2: Fourth of July Rodeo

We've always heard such great reviews on the local rodeo here in town....it happens to be very close to mom and dads, so this year we were thrilled for the opportunity to go...another 1st for everyone.

Day 3: Family Dinner

This was the only night all of us could be together, since Heather and Jeremy had to on the week days, which is when we scheduled the day trips to avoid crowds. I can't believe we forgot to get a group photo! This was the night Nathan's family surprised mom and dad with a beautiful handmade quilt to commemorate mom and dad's 40th wedding anniversary. It included pictures of the each child's family and mom and dad's wedding pictures...wonderful work from both Nathan and Chrstine.


Day 4: Cannon Beach

The beach of choice was Cannon Beach. It is the beach that holds the most memories for our family. Walking through all the shops and enjoying the scenery of Haystack Rock was wonderful...the only regret was the wind, which of course we had no control over. The kids didn't seem to be bothered too much by it and had a good time no matter what...OF COURSE!


Day 5: GIRLS SLEEPOVER!!!

It was so much fun to have the girls all to myself ;-) They played outside for a while, then came in to play our nail polish game (idea from Ally's last birthday party). We painted rocks, watched movies and had lots of giggles. The morning brought a good breakfast, fun hairstyles and a movie with Papa (Cars 2). It was GREAT girl time!

The sad part to this is I knew that this was probably going to be the last time we saw them for a while. I didn't let the girls know it....for fear of breakdowns, which came later.

I'm thankful for Ksenya. She shared her wonderful talent of dance with us; DVD from some of her performances. She is so talented and is certainly exelled for her age. I'm thankful she is more than a cousin to my girls, she is a real friend. Ally looks up to her so much. Ksenya you are a beautiful young lady, we love you!

I'm thankful for Chrystal. Her smile lights up a room. She is very quiet in her ways, but is so sweet. Crystal sits back and watches, you can tell she wants to be involved in what's going on, but is reserved. Cystal you are radiant, let your light shine and know you are loved very much! Thank you for all your hugs and sweet gestures!

I'm thankful for Kylie. Those brown eyes will melt your heart! She is another quiet and sweet one, but will let you know what she wants in her own quiet ways. She is full of snuggles and wants to be loved. Kylie you are such a joy to be around. I loved seeing your thoughtfulness and creativity. Thank you for making me feel so special. You are loved very much!


I'm thankful for family, for my family. I thankful for loving parents who have strived to do whatever they can for our family. I'm thankful for three brothers who are unique in their own ways, I love each of them and appreciate the wonderful fathers they have become. They have married good women who I look up to in different ways. I cherish my time with children dearly, these moments with neices and nephews won't last long. I love spending time with them and have so much fun with them.

I'm so glad for every moment we got to spend with most of the my side of the family. The memories we create and the love that resides is cherished dearly.

Activity Day Recognition

Ally's first Activity Day recognition was last month. She was very happy to receive her 1st year certificate and flowers for her efforts (picture was taken morning after). The duck derby took place right after. She did an awesome job competing against the boys. She and 'One Eyed Duck' were a great team'. I love that she's found so much joy from going to Activity Days and working on her Faith in God requirements.