Riding Bikes...

Justin, Jessica & I walked around the block to see the ducks the other day. That is the first time we have seen a pelican, pretty cool! On our way home we saw a bird and her eggs in the rocks. We had a bird lay eggs in our rocks too last year, but I didn't take pictures. If you get to close the bird spreads it's wings and chirps at you! Jessica has been loving her bike! I didn't even know she knew how to ride a bike, until I saw her cruising around on our neighbor's bikes. They have 3 little bikes and she helps herself to their stuff just like it's hers! Justin learned how to ride a "two wheeler" about a month ago. He's got really good and goes pretty fast. I started letting Josh and Jaren ride bikes to school by themselves about 2 weeks ago. They have done really good getting to school on time and getting home quick. Normally, I would drive them or we would all ride bikes together. It's been nice not having to drop them off and pick them up!

I won!

A craft store by my house opened recently (From Our Home to Yours) - and I won the May drawing! That never happens!
This is what they gave me...

You’ve had a birthday, shout hooray!

Justin is 4! He was so excited all day long! He kept asking "When will it be 6:00". He knew that was when his party would start. Except he got tired of waiting and fell asleep on the couch! We woke him up about five minutes before his friends got here. He knew what he wanted this year. He picked out his cake and told me what presents he wanted! (he pointed out everything on our trip to Wal-Mart the week earlier) He even helped me put the little sand bucket together to give to his friends - he thought that was so cool. He is such a funny kid!

Truck and Trailer

Our Excursion is fixed, we got it back on the 22nd. It seems to be running fine. Matt noticed that the roof on the trailer was rotting in the corner.....so he's been working on that. Right now the roof is gone, he took it off and will start building a new one. These 2 pictures were taken about 10 days ago.

Remember to LOCK UP...

A few months ago Matt noticed his stereo equipment was missing in our garage. He had bought a few things and work had given him some things for Christmas gifts. Someone came into our garage and took all of it. We were surprised they didn't take anything else. Then last week Matt needed to use his saw and router. But couldn't because they took that too!!!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

My kids made the cutest flowers and cards at school and church to give to me today! Matt made egg mcmuffin's and french toast for breakfast! Thank you for a wonderful day! I can't imagine my life with out them....what would I do! To all of my sister's, sister-in-laws, Mom, Mother-in-law, Grandma's, friends - you have all been there for me and are such a great example! I love you all!

Josh's Baptism

We had a great day today! I'm so proud of Josh and Matt. Thank you everyone for coming and sharing this special day with us!

Update...

The UTA FrontRunner's (commuter-rail train) Grand Opening was on Saturday. They are having free rides until Wednesday. We thought it would be fun to try it out. It might be something that Matt could ride to and from work, still not sure, but it's a possibility. We got there and learned we would have to wait in line for 2 hours to go to SLC. Then decided we would rather go to Ogden because the line was shorter. We still waited an hour. It wasn't bad...by the end Jess was getting tired of it. But it was fun! I forgot my Camera...I found this picture on the Internet.

- Our Car is still getting fixed, probably another couple weeks before it's finished. :(

- Josh and Jaren go back to school tomorrow. They'll have 43 days/9 weeks left until they are finished with this year. We're counting the days!!!

- We went to G-pa Howard's and G-ma Tauna's for 4 nights and visited with Matt's Family. Lynsey, Nick and baby Lexi came for a week. Lexi is so cute! We only see them a few times a year, so it's a party when they come! It's nice when everyone is together.

- The next Saturday my family gave my sister Lori a Baby Shower. She gave me a ride to our sister Deena's house....then my sister Melanie brought me home! It was fun!!! My brother came and brought his kids (triplets) and Dad came. We don't get together enough, so when we do we talk, talk, talk!

- In March we went up a couple times too, once for Candice's (Matt's little sister) Jr. Miss. Then the next week for Chase (my nephew) and Jessie's Wedding.

- Matt started a new Job last Monday. Still doing Network Administrator type stuff. It seems to be a really good company to work for. He likes it so far.

- Today, were playing outside. It's a really nice day....warm, sunny & no wind! Jessica isn't feeling good though. She's acting fine - but she has thrown up 3 times. Not fun.

I'll add some pictures a little later....

had a bad day......

the day started out normal, Matt took Justin to Preschool on his way to work. Justin was excited because he was going on his first field trip to the fire station. It's not very far from his school so they were walking. The rest of us finished getting ready (Josh and Jaren have been off track since Monday) and went to the Library. After we were finished there, we took a check to the bank, we sold our mini van and we got half the money yesterday and the other half we'll get when we give them the title. Then it was time to pick up Justin. Next we needed to get Josh a Scouts shirt at the Boy Scouts of America store, I hadn't been there before but kind of knew where it was. I got directions off the Internet before we left home. So we were on our way and I couldn't find it. I drove past it, turned around, drove past it again....called Matt and he looked it up - couldn't find the address. So then I dialed 411, called and got directions. First, the kids had to go to the bathroom and we decided to have lunch at McDonald's. Finally we are on our way, I was driving and keeping an eye out for the road I was suppose to take. Then it happened.................I was running a stop light. I slammed on the brakes, but hit a lady on her passenger side. The kids were scared and crying but are fine...I'm fine. A few people saw it happen and stopped and made sure we all stayed in the car. I called Matt a couple times on his cell and he didn't pick up, so I called his office . . . and the girl who answered said he was talking to someone in the office, I told her I was in a wreck and Matt said she ran over to him and told him what happened. When I saw the other lady get out after all the emergency vehicles got there she was up but looked pretty sore. I didn't talk to her, but wish I would have. They put her on a stretcher and took her to the hospital. The worst part for me is that I hurt someone. I'm going to have to find out how she is. I'm glad there was no one else in the car...I can't imagine if there were more. She was driving a Pontiac Vibe...same car that Matt drives. Both of our cars were towed. I guess we'll find out tomorrow what the damage is. One of the Police Officers gave the kids a stuffed animal and sticker badge. Matt came to get us and he said should we get the scout shirt. It was in a really weird place but he pretty much drove right to it. We went to get a car rental...it's some kind of mini van. I was thinking...I wonder if I should be driving.... we came home, Matt picked up a pizza for dinner....He just left to go on a fishing trip with a few friends that they planned earlier this week. We're not hurt...it's not like he needed to stay. This was not on my list of things to do today, and turned a good day bad....We OK though, I'm just not going to go anywhere for a while. So the new car that we had for 5 1/2 weeks now looks like this...

New Toys...

Yep...we got an Excursion and a trailer!!! And we are excited to go Camping! We found both on the Internet, the Excursion in California (we had it delivered) and the trailer was only 45 min away. Matt has been having fun working on both of them. It was weird to drive at first, it's so much bigger than the Mini Van!

One year older & wiser too..... happy birthday to you!

Josh is 8 years old!!! Where has the time gone! We had a B-Day Party with a couple of his friends (and brothers and sister) at Classic Fun Center...and I forgot my camera! Plus having a celebration at G-pa & G-ma's and at home. Definitely too much cake! We had him open all his presents with his new claw toy. I thought it would take longer but he was pretty dang good at it. He's an awesome big brother, very independent, and will try doing just about anything! 8 years old.....I'm getting old!

Happy Birthday Jessica!

G-ma & G-pa had a B-Day Party for her, Josh and their cousin Krew yesterday! We went up to watch Matt's little sister in Junior Miss. We stayed with my sister and she even watched our monsters so we could go. :)

Today Jess and I sang Happy Birthday many times to her, she was so funny! When we sang to her tonight, she sang with us-it was cute! I got a mini cake for her (we've had cake quite a few times in the last month) and a couple presents. I can't believe she is already 2!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I had a nice day! After Church we ate dinner, which Matt made...it was yummy! He got me an iPod and PINK Starbursts, they are my favorite. :) Then we had a Oreo Cake from Dairy Queen! Yes, I was spoiled!!!

Hubby Tag!

What is his name? Matt

How long have you been married? 8 years.....Our anniversary is pretty easy to remember 9/9/99

How long did you date? about 15 months

How old is he? 27....today is his Birthday! He is 4 days older than me, but 5 days if it's leap year.

Who eats more sweets? Probably me, he is more selective about what kind he'll eat. I like it all....except gummy worms! yuck! We don't buy candy very much so we don't eat much of it.

Who said I love you first? He probably did, I can't remember the details though.

Who is taller? he is - he's 5'11" & I am about 5'7''

Who can sing better? He can. He listens to a lot of music and sings along.

Who is smarter? he definitely is

Who does the laundry? mostly me, but he normally helps fold it.

Who pays the bills? both of us

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? no assigned sleeping arrangements in our bed.

Who mows the lawn? Matt normally does....but last year we got a new lawn mower so now I help out. Our old one was a push mower, our new one goes by itself...it's awesome!

Who cooks dinner? normally me, but he helps out when he can and has been helping with dishes too!!!

Who drives? he does. period. Not very often that I do...he likes to drive.

Who kissed who first? it takes two, right?

Who asked who out first? Me...Valentines Dance our Junior Year. Although he likes to rub in the fact that he noticed me first....we sat by each other in 9th grade and I don't remember.

Who proposed? he did, I knew it was coming though...we picked out my ring a few weeks earlier. Good thing he didn't change his mind!

Who has more siblings? I do. 8 kids in my family, 5 in his.

Who wears the pants? probably him

It's pretty crazy we went on our first date 10 years ago, it really doesn't seem that long ago! We have learned so much over the years and I'm really happy we have come this far. I am excited to see what comes our way in the future! You are such a hard worker and do so much for our family. You are my best friend and I am a very lucky girl! I Love You!!!

Basketball.....

 

 

 

Josh and Jaren liked playing B-Ball this year. They didn't keep score, but they tried to keep track in their head. :) They met Carlos Boozer and got free tickets to a Jazz game!

Sledding at the Park!

Vacation Pictures!

Our Vacation!

We had a great time! We played a lot but also had plenty of time to do nothing. It was nice!!!

• Friday - got everything ready...we knew we were finished packing when we couldn't fit anything else in the car! The kids got their pajama's on since it was almost 7 pm by the time we were ready to go. We got dinner and a movie to go...haha! They fell asleep about half way through, but woke up the last 20 min of our drive. It was snowing pretty good and had 4 inches of snow on the road. We actually didn't tell the kids where we were going. They thought we were going to G-ma Tauna's house! So when they saw all the snow and unfamiliar roads they thought we were lost!
  


• Saturday - We woke up late, drove around, went grocery shopping and Matt took the boys sledding. Jessica and I took a nap:)
  


• Sunday - Matt's little brother, his wife, their little boy and Matt's little sister came up. We went sledding, or tried to anyway....the snow was so deep! It was fun though! Then we made dinner and hung out.
  


• Monday - We ate lunch at O'Rourkes and ate a really good, huge burger. Then stopped to see my sister who works in Driggs. Matt found the OUTDOOR Hot Tub. I honestly didn't think the kids would like it at all. But they did! We didn't go until later, it was dark, snowing, cold, but once we got in no one cared! It was really close to our Room. We wore pajama pants, boots and a coat while we walked over. The hot tub was big too, not your normal size.....and we were the only ones there when we went. We went a couple more times during the week too.
  


• Tuesday - The roads were closed, so we couldn't go to far. We ate lunch at Warbirds Cafe. It was pretty cool, they have a little museum with some airplanes. Justin picked out the one he liked and said he wanted one for Christmas!!! hahaha Then later that afternoon when they opened the roads, Matt's Dad and little sister came up. That night we went tubing at Grand Targee (Ski Resort), The hill wasn't very steep, but we still had fun!
  


• Wednesday - Matt and his sister went skiing, well she mostly snow boarded. They were so sore when they were finished. It was the first time Matt had gone skiing since he broke his back skiing......... The kids and I stayed at the Condo and played games and watched TV. Matt's little sister had to go back home.....the joys of High School...NOT!
  


• Thursday - We thought we would go to Jackson today, but ended up not going. On Tuesday our cars check engine light came on. We had it checked and they said it was a Cam Shaft posistion sensor. Matt called around to see if anyone could fix it...but no one had the part. When we called our Dealer here they had the part and could fit us in Monday. So, we chanced it hoped our car wouldn't die on us.
  


• Friday - Packed our things, check out was at 10 am. Drove around a bit before going to Rexburg. Took Jessica to my sisters house (I actually have 6 sisters & 1 brother...I'm the youngest) while the boys, Matt and I went to the Rexburg Temple Open House. Jessica can be a handful sometimes or an angel other times, you honestly never know what kind of mood she'll be in! It was so pretty and I'm glad we went. The boys were really good and thought it was cool. We went back to my sisters house and hung out for a while with her, her little boy and husband. Then went to Matt's parent's house, his little sister watched Jaren and Justin while we went out to dinner with his parent's. (My sister kept Josh and Jessica) Matt stayed the night at his parents house so he could go snow machining with his 2 younger brothers on Saturday. I went back to my sister's house for the night......
  


• Saturday - Went swimming with my sister, her husband, their little boy, my niece, my SIL, her little boy. Josh and Jaren decided to brave the diving board wearing a life jacket. At first they were being careful but by the end they were having a lot of fun! They will probably always where life jackets in deep water when they are with me....I never learned how to swim. It's on my to do list...one of these days. After swimming, I tracked my Mom and Dad down and met them at a Gas Station so I could say hi. My Dad drives a Semi and he was leaving that night. Then Matt and I met up at his parents house....hung out for a while and ate dinner with them. We left pretty late, I think we knew once we left our vacation was over...it was about 1:30 am when we got home.

We had a great time!!! It's nice to get away from all the daily things going on and spend some time together!

Don't you just love this time of year...

Justin and Jessica both had their turn with a 24 hour bug. First Jessica on Sunday night, she threw 3 times in her bed. Then Justin, same thing Tuesday night. Jaren has had a cough for a couple months now and we've all had yucky noses. Jessica had an ear infection a couple weeks ago too. When will it end!!!

Fun in the Snow!!!

Family Vacation!!!

A week from now we will be on our way to Driggs, ID . . . for a whole week! Who cares if it's not that far away and the population is only 1300. That's actually a plus! We plan on going to Jackson Hole one day, rent a snow machine another day and take the older two tubing at Grand Targhee. We're going to the Open House at the Temple where we grew up too. We'll be in a two bedroom Condo, if anyone wants to come....you're more than welcome to!

About a year and a half ago we signed up for some Vacation Club. Why, we don't know....we clearly weren't thinking! We haven't used it at all. I occasionally check their website to see what they have. Normally it's nothing good. When I last checked, I saw one to Driggs, but the week they had it for wouldn't really work. I decided I would call the next day to see if they had a different week. (When the kids are off track) So...the next day when I called them, the lady said they did have the week I wanted and that I still had a free week and all I had to pay was the $65 cleaning fee!!! I thought we were going to get it for $399. That's better than going through the Condo where I would have to pay $1050 for it. So even though signing up for the Vacation Club was not a smart idea, it worked for this. :) I guess a couple more of these and it will pay for itself.

Christmas Day!

We awoke to presents galore! Santa overspent this year....and we got more than we needed. The kids were so excited! It's fun to watch there faces light up when they open each present. (at least for now when they are still easy to get presents for!) Matt's parents, little brother and little sister came to visit and brought Christmas all over again! I was surprised it all fit in their car! I'm glad they were able to come, since it snowed the day before. It was so pretty though...not so fun if you're the one driving in it. The kids were excited to show them everything they got for Christmas! For dinner, Matt made Prime Rib....It was yummy! He really is a good cook, it's just not that often he has time to.

Pictures with Santa!

We went to the portrait studio on Saturday to have pictures with Santa! If you look close at Josh in this picture he has a little grin and he is playing with Santa's hair! Everyone was good about getting on Santa's lap except Jessica. She was so scared. She got her candy cane early to calm her down.

And . . . . they showed us a flyer with our family picture on it! I guess they thought it was good! I wonder if we're famous now!!!

Later that day we went to get a few things from the store...I actually knew Santa was going to be at Albertsons, but decided to go to the studio instead. I figured there would be a lot of people at Albertsons and a long wait...and guess what there wasn't! We got them taken again! The pictures aren't as good....but that Santa is awesome!!! Jessica was not happy, but she did wave bye when we left. :)

Keeping Busy

We are doing good! Josh and Jaren are playing Basketball twice a week. I should have asked if they could be on the same team, because Jaren's practices are on Tue/Thurs and Josh's are on Wed/Fri. The practices are only 45 min.......but by the time I get the kids ready, drive to and from, it takes a while. So we are keeping busy with that, school, and homework.

Matt is at his parents house helping take down the rest of the tree that they started a couple weekends ago. They have someone coming who owns a crane! It should be a lot easier this time around. He left this afternoon and will be home tomorrow night.

Tonight, we had to go to the Dr's office for Jaren. He has an ear infection. I gave him some Tylenol because it was hurting him.....I hate ear infections, poor kid. I called and they couldn't get us in for 2 hours. Then when we got there we waited for 1 hour! They are normally pretty good to get us back within 20 min but not today.

Family Christmas Party!

My side of the family met at my brother's house for our Christmas Party yesterday. I think it was good we had it early because everyone except one was able to come. :) That's pretty good considering the amount of people in my family. There are 8 kids in my family, one boy - seven girls, me being the youngest. Big Surprise.....my only sister who hasn't had kids yet, is expecting!!! We had a great time. We ate Chinese Haystacks and they were so good. I didn't know what they were.... so I googled it and found out! The adults played a game where we bring a gift, put them all in the middle and someone starts by opening a present. Then the next person can either choose a gift to open or take one already opened! So, I opened my own gift!!! No one took it from me so I got to keep it! I wanted one too, it was a big frying pan with a lid. :) The younger kids exchanged gifts with each other. They had fun playing with their present the rest of the time!