Meeting the Twins

We were estatic when Aunt Rachel (Leif's wife) asked if they could spend some time at our house during their visit. The day finally came after a couple months of anticipation. What a neat experience for our family! The girls got to be little mommy's for a day. They LOVE the real-life baby dolls, I mean neice and nephew :) Being able to feed, change diapers and clothes, play and watch them sleep was such a joy. It was a crack up watching Kaitlyn play her "Chinese Checkers" hand-motions with Savannah. Kaitlyn was really good with her. Ally became buddys with Micah and loved every chance to hold him and carry him around. We all loved our chance to hang-out with Rachel. She is so good with the kids and brings much energy into the home. We love you guys and appreciate the chance we had to be together.

Our Ally is 8!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALLY! It's unbelievable to me that our Ally is 8 years old. This sweet girl is growing up so fast!

This past year, she's come out of her shell in many different areas. She knows what she wants and is learning to get over many of her sensitivities that have bothered her in the past. One of the most significant changes is her willingness to share her talents. Ally loves to write, play songs on the piano (without reading music) and sing. She is getting confident enough to do these things in crowds. It's fun to hear of Ally's desire to share her writings. She's continually adding more details to her stories and never fails to impress us with her imagination.

Ally, you are an amazing girl and bring us so much joy! You are kind, thoughtful and loving in so many ways. Thank you for being the sweet daughter you are!

PARTY TIME! Ally has many sweet friends. We are lucky they live close by. Most of them ride the bus and live around the corner(s) from us. It was a half day at school, so the kids rode the bus home and had 3-hours of organized fun. Here are the guests, starting at the bottom left (top pic): Taylor, Alexa, Lauren, Ally (of course), Jillian and Jadyn.


The mummy wrap game was a big hit, it was played twice and was very comical. The girls posed great for the picture! What goof-balls!

"Spin the nail-polish bottle" was another hit. It was a long game, but each girl loved it. 8 bottles of polish: one girl chooses a color and spins. Whoever the bottle points to gets to paint 1 fingernail and choose the next color to spin. The girl to get all her fingernails painted first, gets to choose the first color to take home. This continues until each girls nails are painted and has picked their color to take home.

Other fun items were: A guessing game (gumball count), charades (barbie movies were drawn from a bag to act out, grouped in team of 2) and pipecleaner crafts.

I was very impressed with the throughtfulness of Ally's friends. The cards were so personalized and sweet! You can tell each girl put lots of thought into each gift as well. Thanks for coming girls! You all are so special and fun to be around!

Ally's all caked-out. Dessert of choice: Oh Henry Bars, with cupcakes for those who might not like them. Easy for me....I like it!


Tonight's fun: Ally is so simple and easy to please. Originally, she wanted the family to go out for ice cream and that's it. After the busy day, plans changed and she wanted to stay home...that is after going to the store to get ice cream with Dad. We made sundaes and she opened presents. She was thrilled to get her own set of scriptures with her name on them.

It's great to be 8! Ally has made the decision to be baptized, it will take place on the 6th....we are so excited for her special day and are proud of her decision.

Pumpkin Carving

The guts were up to the girls this year....no complaints were allowed or they went to bed. Ally and Mom were a team. Ally designed the pumpkin, the only change mom made was to add eye balls to the square eyes. Ally designed a great pumpkin! Jeremy stuck to the traditional pumpkin and was teamed up with Kaitlyn. I loved watched Kaitlyn's expression while they worked on the pumpkin together. Great work F-A-M-I-L-Y!

2010 Deer

It's been a while since we've had some hunting pics on here. Jeremy went East with his friend Steve. This is the first time in 13 years that he has skipped opening day. Instead, they booked a hotel during the week to clear out the weekend crowd. It worked!!! They left Tuesday morning and got their deer the next morning...YES both of them :) I'm pleased with the picture of my handsome man, but am envious I didn't get the chance to go. Jeremy loved the colorful Pheasant he spotted and I love the shot of the moon he mistaken took, while taking a picture of his rig. Glad it was a good week....and that its over :)


Nothing but excitement when Daddy arrived home. The girls ran out and gave lots of hugs. Kaitlyn couldn't wait to get her hands on the deer :0) Yes, it's not the nicest picture....sawed off, fuzzy scalp...but everyone else looks great!

I LOST MY TOOTH!

Kaitlyn lost a top tooth....you can see she's thrilled! She insisted on writing this note....what a silly-willy!

Grandpa's Birthday

It is so fun when the cousins get together and celebrate. They are great friends and love every moment together (which unfortunely is seldom). We got to enjoy hearing them play the piano, dance, act out skits (if that's what you call them) and watch them be just plain silly...SO FUN! Grandpa, we hope you had a wonderful birthday. Thanks for providing the time to celebrate. We LOVE you!!!

The Fort and Old Apple Tree

It was a beautiful day and I couldn't let what could be the last beautiful weekend of the season go to waste. We got mom out of the house and headed for the Fort. It was a great outting! Mom and I enjoyed the Fort the most, both of us intrigued by many things we now take for granted; herbs needed to be grown, sugar had to be ground, brick ovens needed to be heated for 3 hours before baking, water had to be fetched and carried, tools had to be made, etc. It's nice to be reminded how easy we have it. We tried to teach the girls what we could, without boring them to death...who knows what stuck. All I know is Ally's getting good at the yada, yada, yada (in a polite way, rolling the eyes). I certainly know when to quit.


The girls enjoyed the Old Apple Tree and the walk afterwards. They loved learning that the tree was 174 years old, had been hit by a big storm (possibly lighting) and was cut in half from it. They also learned that Johnny Apple Seed is a relative of ours....from my Mothers, Fathers side. As we sat surrounded by the highway, railroad tracks and planes going to and fro, they realized at those things didn't exist when the tree was planted. On the walk they could see the fort we had just walked through, the river and bridge. It was also the first opportunity to watch a small airplane take-off with a banner advertising a website.

It was a good day. So glad we spent it outside and didn't let the beauty of the day go to waste!

Brennan, 6th Nephew

Congrats Kevin and Heather, he's beautiful! More pics will be posted after my turn tomorrow....can't wait! This is the 6th nephew, 2nd on my side.

The current count is 13 neices, 6 nephews (8/4 Jer's side, 5/2 my side)....so much fun!

Yeah! We got to meet Brennan. I felt selfish going by myself and after having a rough morning with the girls, decided to pick them up and take them with me for a visit. The girls were thrilled and loved hearing his sweet sounds. I loved hearing the touching story of Heather singing to her baby just before his arrival. Apparently his heart rate was outragously high and the doctors were considering c-section. She didn't even want to think that route and decided to sing to the baby while changing positions a few times. She sang for a hour and it worked! His heart rate dropped and he arrival a short while later. I'm so glad Heather didn't have to suffer quite as long as she did with Mya, but still feel bad it took longer than anticipated. Congrats you guys! He's a cutie!

Bakery Babes

Every Monday, each of us takes our turn choosing the treat we would like to have for family night. Now that I'm not working, the girls are taking full advantage of the more time consuming treats our family loves. The girls had a blast and I loved every minute helping them. Both batches of treats were the best batches our family has ever made. Way to go girls!


Ally and her orange cocunut rolls. Her favorite part was cutting the dough into pizza slices.


Kaitlyn and her cinnamon rolls. Her favorite part was spreading the melted butter and sprinkling the brown sugar on the dough.

Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Kaitlyn and I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to the pumpkin patch. It was a beautiful day and warm enough to wear a t-shirt. The kindergarten classes are adorable to watch. I loved it when they swarmed to the hay bails once the teacher said it was their turn....so FUN!

Back to School 2010

Ally started school two days before Kaitlyn. Both had a great 1st days. I can't really say Ally's excited to be back, but it has been a good week. She's happy to have a nice teacher and see her friends each day. Kaitlyn is thrilled to be riding the "big" bus with sister and knows she'll have a good time at Kindergarten this year. I am ready for a full week of school and getting into a set-routine. So far, so good.

HTC 2010

Okay....so about a year ago a friend asked if I was interested in running Hood to Coast, my reply "no way!". I came up with several reasons why I wouldn't/couldn't do it. 5 months later, the friend came to me seeing if my reply would be the same....I was wishy washy and after my husband heard me...his comment was "you'll come up with any excuse in the book, won't you?" Well, I couldn't take that...and knew I had my husband's support ;-)

So here I am with my "Speedy Runners: OnDemand" team. I can't believe I actually completed all three of my assigned legs! It was a great opportunity and I'm thankful for the experience...though I'm not sure I'd ever do it again! Note to self: NEVER do leg 20 again (terrible...horrific experience! I'll just say hills, gravel, dust and more hills, gravel, dust combined....and not excluding an animal attack)...Uggg! I do plan to keep up with the running or jogging as my husband would say :) I agree, I'm slow!


I had fun getting the jitters, days before the run while watching the tents go up for the finish line "party".


There were 2 vans, I was in van 2. Very mello van, with lots of team support. Our Mascot, Speedy Gonzales.



Khara, thanks for putting the team together, reserving my spot and being a great friend!


AND...thanks to my family and friends, who encouraged all along this journey. You're support, prayers and encouragement got me through this! THANK YOU!!!

Family Beach Trip 2010

This is beach trip #3 for Jeremy's side of the family. We all had a lot of fun and are grateful Grandpa and Grandma allowed us the opportunity to be together. We had a great beach house with lots of fun things to do (hot tub, nice patio for bbq, fuse ball, air hocky, tv's everywhere and some games...including "fact or crap"...mom's favorite :) There are a few in the fam who were not able to make it (Becky, Leif and Lairen...we missed all of you and your families). You better make it next time!

We had a great time meeting one of the new additions, Jade (Kierstin and Wes's newest little bundle). Love the little tongue!


The cousins had a blast playing together....


We thoroughly enjoyed our time together (beach fun, games, paintin' toes, girls first sunset, finding crabs and other sea things)....


And being together as a family...



Thanks for the GREAT time!

Bull Riding 2010

Great Grandpa was able to attend our 13th year at the CC Fair Bull Riding Championship. The bulls were incredible, especially the first! We all loved it!


Queen Taylor, Kaitlyn's tutor from last year, rode during the opening ceremonies for the Muttin Bustin and the Bull Riding. She did a wonderful job! We were thrilled we got to the fair just in time to snap a great photo of the two together. Isn't Kaitlyn an adorable cowgirl?! She got all dressed up herself, early in the morning, for the fair outting :-) The girls favorite part???....the horses of course!

Daddy's 34!

Daddy birthday was yesterday. He is officially 34 and hates aging. He does love the attention and extra little things we do to celebrate his special day.

Who would have thought the thing that meant the most is....giving his favorite dog a bath so she could be in a a couple hours. Yes, Jeremy loves Daisy....I agree that she is pretty sweet and was actually easy to bathe. Other favoites: the fact that we had a relaxing evening at home with no visitors (no offense friends and family), the mini cakes the girls made with their easy bake oven and the steak dinner with german chocolate cake for dessert. WE LOVE YOU JER!!!

A thought unrelated to Jeremy's birthday: Every time I make a german chocolate cake (frosting imparticular), I think about my maternal Grandpa. I remember years ago, baking him a german chocolate cake for his birthday and hearing his reaction. He commented how good it must be, because I got the frosting to attach to the sides of a double layer cake. Each time I frost this type of cake, I think of this. Unfortunately, today I didn't have the time to get the sides frosted...but we still think it was yummy...grandma's coconut pecan frosting is the best :)

Kamie's Visit

Kamie came to visit last Wednesday. I miss her being so close. We've been friends since we were 9. I'm so grateful for her friendship and the fact that we've remained close through the years. Her daughter Katelynn, turned 12 on Sunday. Jake is 8, 9 in September. We also got to meet the new addition, Jane! She is adorable and such a good baby! Congrats you guys and thanks for the visit!

Baby Charlie's 1st Cone

I had the opportunity to travel to the Seattle area and visit my friend Natalie and her family. Charlie, her little guy who's 1, was given his first DQ cone. This one's for you Nat. Enjoy! He's SO cute and it was a joy to hang out and finally spend a good amount of time together.

Heading Home

We said our goodbyes to Porters extended family after the parade. Porter and Jen followed us over to Ezra Taft Benson's graveside. He was the 13th President of our church. I'm told that he is 1 of 2 prophets (latter day) buried outside of Salt Lake City, UT. President Benson was from the town of Whitney, just outside of Preston.

We said goodbyes to Porter and Jen there at the cemetery.
Thanks for the GREAT trip you guys!


We left at 8:30 (their time), just in time to see the sunset and catch sight of a rainbow. Jeremy drive through the night and allowed his girls to sleep. I slept all I could, but unfortunately wole up everytime the road changed texture. I kept thinking it was Jeremy going off the road :-( I only had to drive for an hour, the girls slept from 10pm on and I'm thankful the drive flew by.

Day 5 - Temple & Parade

Day 5, Porter and Jen needed to attend a baptism for their neice, so we headed for the girls trip to Utah (they were very excited for). Utah is 20 minutes away...I asked the girls what they thought as we crossed the border, Ally's comment "huh, it's not much different than Idaho".


We were happy to see the temple and take turns with the camera. We finally got the family pic for the calendar dad puts together :) Jeremy got a couple by setting the timer...he did pretty good!


The parade is a big deal in Preston. There are 3 straight nights of parades and rodeos. Many attend the parades each night; lots of horses, princesses from each small town (Kaitlyn's favorite) and of course CANDY and other surprises (yoyos, water bottles, chocolate/strawberry milk and otter pops).


Jeremy liked the Orange County "Patriot Chopper". I liked the huge tractor and watching the kiddos.

Day 4 - Fun around the House

Day 4, we stayed around the house and let the kids play. They had fun on the trampoline Riley got for her birthday, playing with the kittens, swinging and of course playing barbies, horsed or whatever else their imaginations stirred up....like those baggies with a straw, they used to blow air in and out (weird).


Late in the afternoon, we headed down to the pond for a yummy dutch oven dinner and just hang out....it was so peaceful! Neither of our phones got reception...do you know what a rarity it is to not have a single phone call...ahh SO nice!

Have I mentioned Jen and Porter have a new addition? Last November they had Easton...what a cutie!!! Each time you turn around to look at him, he makes an immediate smile with those adorable cheeks and bottom teeth showing.

You see a pic of Ally with a bloody nose??? Yeah, that was her second. It came outta no where, while the kids were playing near the sprinkler. The first came the night the boys set up the trampoline. The kids were playing a game, Ally had her eyes shut trying to find one of the others, then hit the pole. There was so much blood we couldn't believe it! I need to research bloody noses at such a high elevation...we were around 5000 feet, I think that has alot to do with it.