April's Summary

HUNTING with HONEY...I always love the views and the company ;)

EASTER MORNING, happy to get dolled-up

We love our vists with family...wish it happened more often.

Precious moments; Brennon with Andrea, sweet Mya, Ally with Zack (cat), our last picture of Mia, Lexy and Kaitlyn, Mara and Ally

Kaitlyn's pre-Birthday Festivities

What a day! It didn't start quite the way we would have liked, due to Kaitlyn's extra-early rise because of those darn butterflies in the tummy. But it did rapidly improved as we went about our day.

Here's darling Kaitlyn....ready for her half day of school to be over, before it even starts.

Mom tested her creativity in the kitchen and decided to make 5 batches of rice krispie treats, in addition to the 2 batches of brownies and 1 batch of cupcakes. The result...a couple rainbow creations.

Every friend was able to attend the 'friend party'!!! Kaitlyn was thrilled and had a wonderful time. Her friends are very sweet and displayed wonderful manners throughout the afternoon. Kaitlyn's friends; Adi, Ruby, Halle, Kayla, Rebecca, Talitha, Allie, Joely, Lexi and of course Sis

This year, Kaitlyn desired a St. Patty's Day theme...I did what I could with rainbows/pots of gold (omitting the leprechans). The picture above includes a revised version of 'Mummy Wrap'...instead 'rainbow wrap'. We also divided into teams, hiding and seeking pots of gold, then played charades after receiving the assigned action from a slip of paper in a balloon.

A couple hours after that party ended, the family party began. Grandparents (including Great Grandma) and Aaron/Katie's family attended. The kids made bookmarks, destroyed a pineta and played the balloon/charades game. We, of course, ate the goodies and watched Kaitlyn be spoiled (opening gifts). I know LOTS of pictures were taken...just not with my camera....I SOO need to do better at that!!!! So family, could you please pass some along so I can post more??? Thanks!!!

It was a great day....Kaitlyn knows she is loved by many and we all are so happy to celebrate the wonderful day she became part of our family and such a special part of our lives. WE LOVE YOU KAITLYN!!!

Kaitlyn & Tuffy

Kaitlyn loves Tuffy. As you can see from the look on her face, she enjoys every second of her horse lessons. Now that she's 7....maybe we can get those legs to stretch and fit in the stir-ups.

SNOW that lasted a couple extra hours

This snowfall was 2" and stayed around 3 hours longer than last time. Since school was delayed, not canceled....we went out to play at 7am, came in (warmed up toes) and headed out again at 9am. The girls had a blast packing snow on the slide and sliding off.....it's so fun to watch them play and have a great time together :)

Lovebug Mia

Miss Mia is full of surprises, smiles, giggles, grunts, tricks, fun and snuggles. She's 16 months old and a joy to be around....most of the time, minus the illnesses and teaching her to use softhands and not bite. Today we loved having her chase us around the house, playing peek-a-boo and giving goodbye waves and kisses....she is a ray of sunshine in our home.

Ally's riding...

Ally's doing a great job with her riding lessons. She's learned to canter and...she loves it! I'm told she's a natural she should consider barrel racing....we'll see what the future brings. For now; I'm loving to watch the smiles, the encouragement, the passion, the confidence, the learning and wonder of GIRLS and HORSES!

Misc Winter Posts

Lots of love at our house

Lauren and Audrey's 12th and 10th birthday
Andrea learned how to use a new tool
We got to meet Rudolph, the calf at Elissa's
Andrea learned a new hairstyle, the waterfall braid
Andrea's Girlz night with Arica :)
Girls learned how to Karioke
Ally loves Science (earth cups and rainforst)
Kaitlyn....OUR CUTIE...in so many ways

Valentines Day - Family Date at Home

Good food, good games, nice R&R and PERFECT company = a HAPPY night!

Ally's 3rd Grade Report

Ally worked dilligently on her Mango Tree and Peacock report. I'm amazed at her artwork skills and dedication to the project. It took a little motivation at first, but she knew what needed to happen (what her teacher expected)...and she made it happen. GREAT JOB ALLY!!!!

Birthday Snow

It was a perfect day for SNOW! I loved having my family home in the morning hours....it felt like school was canceled just for me...I loved having playtime with my family (before 7 in the morning...so fun) and having Jeremy prepare and serve breakfast. Such a treat! Grandma took us to Olive Garden for lunch, then took the girls home with her so I could rest up and have my afternoon at home with Jeremy. That night we headed for our dinner date with the family at Gustav's...YUM! It was an exhausting day, but a good day. The Lord blesses me greatly!

Cheercamp

I did not and repeat DID NOT encourage them to do this. This was the girls own desire and they ABSOLUTELY LOVED it! MLK holiday was a half-day cheercamp...they learned lots of fun games, chants, cheers and dances. They shared a few of them at the high school b-ball game the following thursday night. Each had a friend join them. All the girls did a great job overcoming their fears (stage-fright), taking on a new adventure and had fun all along the way. WAY to GO girly-girl's!!!

SNOW...finally

Too bad the snow didn't accumulate....but it WAS fun to watch it come down. The girls reactions and Mia's first experience with it was priceless. I loved that Jason had the opportunity to be here for it and watch his neices and nephew watch the wonder of nature.

BIG BROTHER is HERE!

It was such a sigh of relief to see my eldest brother over MLK weekend. It had been almomst 5 years. We all loved seeing and spending time with him. He's looking great and I can't believe he's one year shy of 40. We didn't do alot while he was here, but we did catch up. Kaitlyn now knows her Uncle Jason, both girls adore him and love that they have such fun uncles. Thanks for the visit Bro!
Now....we can't wait to see the rest of his family. Melissa, Emily and Jacob, WE LOVE YOU and can't wait for the times we'll share in the future. XOXO

Bell and Hondo

Bell and Hondo are the newest additions to the pack. We're enjoying them while we can.They were born Dec 1 and are growing fast...these are the grand-pups of our dog Ruby. Jeremy was supposed to bring one home, but couldn't resist little Bell's playfulness....turns out, she's my favorite anyway...so I don't mind. Now....just hoping they can grow faster, so we can use the bark collars and get their barking under control. The barking IS NOT loud and is not consistant, mostly a playful bark as pups do.....apparently it still bothers the neighbor, which causes anxiety for both house-holds...wish she would get over it and deal with...but nope.

Kaitlyn's Field Trip

This trip was back in October and because I forgot my camera, everything was taken on my phone and I forgot to blog about it. Kaitlyn and I had a great time touring the farm with all of her school friends. She is such a social bug and is friendly to everyone. I was able to meet Braden and his mom...I know them through mom, who has spoke nothing but good things about them for a couple years. Such a nice family...mom I took that photo for you ;) We took a hay ride to the pumpkin patch and went down pumpkin lane. Each year they get more creative with the pumpkin people and their costumes.
It's such a blessing to attend all the girls field trips...I love knowing they are safe, I love seeing the way they interact with classmates, I love getting to know the classmates, I love being there AND that they love having me there too. We have a great time together.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA

An opportunity to celebrate Grandma's birthday...TOGETHER (missed you Leif, Rachel, Micah and Savannah). SO glad the cousins had the opportunity to play together...it is truely one of the girls most favorite things to do and look forward to. Thanks for making the long trip Becky/Steve and Kierstin/Wes. I know you helped make Mom's birthday LOTS brighter. Happy Birthday....to a great Mom, Grandma and all together great Woman!

Jeremy's Latest Passion

Jeremy ABSOLUTELY LOVED having Wes hunt with him while he was here. It was perfect conditions for great hound hunting. Just knowing that someone is interested and can understand what a good time it is was great. Jeremy's trained these dogs long and hard and feels he has a good pack, weather permitted. We're hoping the bobcat hides will have great value at the auction coming up. I'm glad he has a sport he loves and look forward to the opportunies I'll have to hunt with him again in the future. Thanks for going Wes!

2011 Christmas Memories

My Grandpa and his wife (Grandma) is so sweet. They look forward to our visits and since he's turned 90, I think he thinks each visit will be the last. I think that because everytime I go to leave he whispers to "have yourself a really good life". I love my Grandpa and am so glad he has such a loving wife to care for him. She is truely as sweet as my grandma who passed when I was 18....such a sweet loving lady who would do anything for anyone. I'm so thankful my Grandfather and I have become so close since Grandma's passing. He is a great man with a kind heart. LOVE YOU GRANDPA and GRANDMA (Nubia)!


Above (clockwise, starting from the top); Lairen, Aunt Julie, Phillip (Kelly's son), Devon, Vaughn (Rochelle's boys), Chase (Vicki's son), Thomas (our nephew), bottom right picture Phillip and Kelly (Jim's daughter) and of course our Sweet Ally.
Our Christmas Eve started at Aunt Dawn's (that is after I spend the morning making the most amazing orange rolls and watching White Christmas with my family). Many of Tom's side of the family were there. We had a wonderful time catching up and creating new memories. The food and company was fabulous....including the new set of puppies :) One of Ruby pups (Jewels) from over a year, had puppies...they are so cute!!!


Starting at the top; Toby (Julie's husband), Uncle Jim (Tom's brother), Grandpa Tom, our sweet Kaitlyn, Kaylee (Vickie's daughter). Bottom starting at the left: Rochelle (Julie's daughter), Grandma Jeannie, Vicki, Liz, (Julie's daughters)Valerie and Vanessa (Rodney's twins) and Thomas.


This picture is funny because it started with about 8 girls and ended with gathering all the girls in the house. It's fun to see how the family has grown and how much all the Great Grandkids of the family LOVE to play together. Dawn and Randy, thanks for making this happen....it was a GREAT time!


My side of the family (the family that's local) met at mom's. Kevin, Heather and Grandma joined us. We got there a little later than everyone else and unfortunately didn't have much time to spend with Kevin and his family. Kaitlyn did a great job getting her time with Mya. She was so cute and warmed up to everyone, especially when she got to play Santa and pass out the presents. I like seeing my dad and Kevin's humor in the pictures above. I wonder how many weird expressions I've collected of Kevin's face ;)


These picture of my brother and his wife are priceless, they are such proud parents. I love the twinkle in their eyes as they watch their son open his mickey mouse :)

Grandma had fun with her grandkids. Mya is at the perfect age to watch her excitement over the magic of Christmas. I LOVE the picture of Mya looking at Kaitlyn. the two of them admire each other so much. I have another photo of Kaitlyn looking at Mya in the same way. Jeremy and Ally are buddies these days. In fact, occasionally they call each other partners....that is something Ally started with Daddy when they would seek off and watch Pirates of the Carribean together.
At the bottom right, there's a great picture of Mom. She did a great job pulling everyone together, we are so thankful for she and dad's thoughtfulness and always doing what they can for everyone. Thanks Mom and Dad!


This picture shows the new theme in the girls room; horses of course. Mom and I had a girls day and found an amazing comforter with artwork for the girls room. It happens to have the pinks and green that already exist in their room. THANKS GRANDMA AND PAPA (from the girls)


Christmas morning was magical. First...I should mention that the girls actually slept in their beds on Christmas Eve. This is impressive, because in the past Kaitlyn has been scared of Santa and has slept in a sleeping bag in our room. The girls woke up at 12:30 AM...Kaitlyn would NOT go back to sleep, so we were up at 1:30 opening gifts, then back in bed by 3:00. For us, IT WAS PERFECT. We all went back to bed and slept until 8am. The girls were happy little campers and excited that the Elf's made something special for them, a horse stable. An elf even left a hair tie, by accident, in the stable. It was a little green one. They liked the fact that a girl elf helped transport the gift this year ;)
We started a new tradition this year. See Kaitlyn holding a picture of a baby? Well, that's our baby Jesus. Throughout the month of December we did acts of service for friends and family. For each act of service we, wrote it on a piece of paper which acts as a piece of hay for baby Jesus. The goal is to add as many pieces of hay, before Christmas morning, so Baby Jesus will have a softer bed to lay in. We love the fact that the girls asked if this could be a new christmas tradition.....ABSOLUTELY, was our response.


Antoher neat thing about Christmas morning, is the girls chose to open their gifts from each other first. They got each other books and gave the sweetest hugs to each other. We each took turns opening a gift and Kaitlyn wanted to be last each time....she can show patience, when she wants to :)


Later in the morning; Mom, Dad and Grandma came by and had breakfast with us. We had the orange rolls I made the day before, sausage, apples and orange juice. We were in great company and loved the relaxation of the morning. That afternoon, we attended church at Mom and Dad's ward. Then headed to the Katie and Aaron's:


At Katie and Aaron's we opened gifts. Christmas dinner will be on Tuesday, when Kierstin and Becky's families get here. We all had fun enjoying each other company and visiting with Grandma. Mom and Dad are always so generous. We feel SO fortunate to be around so much family during the holidays.

It was a GREAT Christmas season!

MERRY CHRISTMAS to our family and friends

This season, the camera hasn't been out much. So I'll share with you some of the traditions our family enjoys. The following is taken from an assignment Ally had, compiling a list of her own family's holiday traditions. She was able to share this with her class during her holiday party:

The day after Thanksgiving, our holiday season begins. We put up and decorate our Christmas tree and try to put out all our decorations; like our blow-up snowman outside and our Rudolph stocking holder and nativity set inside.

Me and my dad always beg my mom to make Christmas bread. It’s a delicious type of bread that is topped with icing. We try to get mom to make it as many times as possible.

Me and my sister ALWAYS dance and listen to Christmas music. Our family loves Christmas music!

On December 14th, we start our 12 days of Christmas surprise. Each day, until Christmas we leave a gift on a persons door step and cross our fingers they won’t see us. By leaving gifts, we hope the person or family will feel happy and enjoy the surprises we leave them.

On December 24th we get to see family; grandparents, great grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. We eat dinner, dessert and have lots of fun together.

When we get home it’s time to leave out cookies and milk for Santa and feed for his reindeer.

The next morning we eat orange rolls, which is a yummy tradition my Great Grandma started when my mom was a little girl.

Christmas is our family’s time to share fun, laughter and happiness.


Here's a pic of the girls and I....Jeremy can be a BIG GRINCH when it comes to getting his picture taken. He sure did look handsome in his sunday clothes...but I guess you'll have to take my word for it ;-)

Sydney's Baptism

It was a great opportunity to go to Idaho to Sydney enter the waters of baptism. It was wonderful to feel the spirit witness again, the importance of having this important blessing in our lives. Sidney, you are such a special girl, whom we admire very much! Thanks for letting us share the special day with you...and give your parents and siblings a special thanks too :) We had a great time visiting with each of you at your new home. It's so fun to create new memories...this is one we'll never forget!!! Love you guys!!!

The kids had an awesome time together, they were very sad when it was time to go....slthough smiles returned when they realize they'll get to see each other again right after Christmas...YEA!


And a special thanks to my in-laws who allowed the girls and I to "tag along" in the back seat. It was such a comfort to know I didn't have to drive in the "unknown conditions" and have the sanity of two extra adults to keep the girls in tact and entertained. We had a great time.....THANK YOU!!!