A Little Aspyn

MEMORIAL WEEKEND

2011-05-30T15:38:00.004-06:00

Ciara finally got her hard cast on this past Monday. She didn't mind getting it on but the first couple of days was a little irritating to her because she couldn't take it off like we could the other one. Of course she had to have pink!!! It's her favorite color but orange has been creeping in as a favorite the last couple of weeks. Last night she told me that she had to sleep in my bed because she couldn't sleep in hers since it is not orange or pink. It does have orange & pink on it but apparently she thinks it should be all over pink or orange. Lucky for her the back side of the comforter IS solid pink so I turned it over for her. Now she calls her bedroom the "pink room".

She has gathered more signatures for her cast, but this was the first one!

The kids had a pretty boring weekend since I have worked the whole thing. But we managed to make a quick trip to the cemetery on Sunday. And of course it was windy, cold, and soggy!!!
Yet still beautiful :)

NOT A HAPPY CAMPER

2011-05-25T14:21:00.004-06:00

Let me start with this ... I am very upset (said in nice words)!!! If you don't think you will like what I have to write DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER!

I found out yesterday that without a doubt I have spent the last 6 years and then some being lied to on a daily basis. You all know that I have been separated for nearly 3 months. I thought there was still a good chance it would work out eventually. Randy and I have been talking the last couple of weeks and more then once I told him he could think about coming home. This didn't have to be permanent. We even went to dinner on Friday after Ciara's recital. It was great, he was friendly & fun, I was enjoying the conversation so much that it hurt to have him leave. I told him he needed to come home it would be so much better then him living out of the suburban and he is on a waiting list several months long to move into a barrack on base where he started working. It's not even permanent housing, he can only stay there on the days he works. Yesterday we were talking again and I asked him if he'd thought about it and he said yes but wasn't sure .... then he decided to give a girl a call that he thinks he has been in love with for more than 15 years. He wanted her to tell him the truth as to whether or not she loved him. Now mind you they never dated, and supposedly nothing has ever gone on between them except for what he was wishing for. Well needless to say she told him that she did not love him, never had! This is what his reservations about coming home were all about ... what if he had a chance with somebody better. Somebody that left her family over a year ago and has never sought him out. THIS is what my whole marriage, last 6 years, comes to an end for!!! NOTHING ... a BIG FAT NOTHING. I told you I was upset & hurt beyond anything I thought possible. It makes me so mad that Satan can so easily put thoughts into people's minds, get them to do stupid things, and tear families apart. What are his consequences? According to Randy that now he has a broken heart & I should understand how he feels. That's it! He gets a free place to stay at his grandparents with no responsibilities, nobody that questions his motives, or ask him what is going on. He's been partying over the past 3 months and living so carefree and his worst consequence is that his heart is broken!!! I know there are more but right now he doesn't even recognize that. He doesn't even feel bad that this is happening. In fact he told me that today he is just out enjoying the sunshine and that it is so nice! Normally I can be pretty rational but right now I am having a very hard time doing that. I just feel a lot of anger & betrayal. I just don't understand ....

SPRING RECITAL

2011-05-22T22:07:00.002-06:00

Ciara has been taking a creative movement class just through the recreation department this year and they decided to have a Spring Showcase last Friday. It was really cute ... her teacher told a story while they acted it out about little baby dinosaurs; starting from the eggs. I haven't included all the pics because I took quite a few!

First they had to wiggle around in their eggs & break out of them. Then they had to stand & stretch.

And then they started to move around in different kinds of shapes.

You can see that she isn't the only one with a broken arm.

Then when they were tired after playing & moving all day they laid down to go to sleep.

Ciara's Dad came to watch!

Ky didn't make it because she was not home yet from her end of the year stuff with school. But Dal & I enjoyed the show quite a bit.

Only minutes before the show she came up to me and said that she didn't want to do the performance because of her broken arm. But then she remembered she wasn't the only one and happily went and danced!

CIARA'S WEEKEND

2011-05-17T23:29:00.004-06:00

Ciara is keeping me on my toes lately ... well maybe a little more than normal! Last Friday she wanted to help me while I was doing yard work and so I let her help cut weeds that were growing through the fence. She was doing a really good job too, she was bringing me weeds that she had cut and I thought she was doing great! Then a few minutes later she comes to me and tells me to look at her beautiful hair! I had been thinking about cutting her hair because it is so fine and tangles so easily, but never, ever, ever would I have had it cut into a mullett! haha I was very calm and told her that we would now have to cut it short and her reply was, "I don't want to look like a boy." Oh my goodness! I just want to laugh every time I see this pic because this is almost a perfect 80's mullett sweety! :)

Needless to say I did give her a cut and did the best we could at blending it all in and now she has bangs to hide what was way too short to blend; and she is still pretty dang cute!!! Every day she does let me know that her hair is growing.

Then Sunday evening rolled around and she fell off the trampoline. Her arm was a little swollen and it hurt, but with an ice pack the swelling went down and tylenol seemed to help the pain. She could bend her arm and move it around as well as her hand and fingers. I thought that she would probably be okay, until later that night while we were trying to sleep. She would wake up every couple of hours and would say that her arm was hurting. I took her into the Dr. and he said that it could possibly be broken in her elbow since that is where the pain was located and that they are hard breaks to find, so we headed to radiology for x-rays. Sure enough she has a broken arm, just above her elbow joint, but so far we lucked out and I feel very blessed that she doesn't have to have surgery ... as long as she doesn't hurt it more, and so we are being very careful with it. They will put a hard cast on it next week and then she will spend the next 4-6 weeks casted up. Just in time for summer :(

She is quickly adapting to the changes and has learned how to use her one free hand and mouth to work together to take the cap off of her push pop so she can eat it. It's fun watching her try to figure things out, and it can be quite amazing. She hasn't let it stop her or slow her down. I am glad the weather is gloomy right now because I can easily keep her in the house and off of the tramp, swings, bike, and scooter!

We went to Ky's dance concert Friday night and once again I really enjoyed all of the talent those kids offer. The concert was a lot of fun. I wasn't paying attention to my settings for recording Ky's dance and I am pretty bumbed about it, but if you look really close, she starts out in the back and quickly comes to the front corner. And by looking really close ... I mean you probably better grab the magnifying glass! :)

Ky's Lindy Hop

2011-05-17T23:17:00.000-06:00

HAPPY WEEKEND!

2011-05-08T17:54:00.004-06:00

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!

I am very grateful to be a Mom, it is a huge blessing in my life! I am so thankful that I have been entrusted with 3 beautiful children here on earth and one very special angel. I am grateful for my own mom who taught me so much as a child how to do very basic things like cooking, cleaning, decorating, and so much more. I am also thankful that she taught us how to love and raised me in the gospel that now guides me in all I do, even as a mother. I have been very fortunate in my life to have been touched by many special women in my life and to have so many examples to look up to and learn from. The list is long but I'll keep it short and general .... my sister, sister-in-laws, mother-in-law, grandmothers, aunts, friends, leaders, co-workers, teachers, & more! I hope each of you have a wonderful Mothers Day!

We have had such wonderful weather this last week ... it was awesome! I received a great sunburn on Monday while mowing the back yard. We finally got to pull out Ciara's swimming pool and YES she was very excited and quickly learned that it was still a little cool for it. But she went ahead and played in it anyways several days this week. Dallin was sure that it was warm enough to sleep on the trampoline this weekend, but we were still getting frost almost every night so I told him he could sleep on the couch instead. This then prompted a sleepover for all of the kids as they decided they all wanted to do that! Ciara was so excited, only she had a hard time deciding if she wanted to sleep on the couch or the floor. She did eventually end up on the couch and then about 4:30 AM she came and climbed in my bed.

On Saturday Ky's track team had a fundraiser at the school with a little carnival and a movie. Ciara had more fun then anybody. She loved the little games and got pretty good at throwing darts at balloons. She won several prizes doing it, including these obnoxious lips. She also was able to throw a ball at some stacked cans and knock them down, ate tons of treats, ignored her dinner, decorated a cookie, got a flower on her face, and enjoyed watching the movie.

Brianna & Ky having TOO much fun!!! haha

C's flower and new headband!!!

Thanks Abby for the flower! :)

Ky getting her hair colored!

I also got started on planting my garden yesterday! So far I have the tomatoes, peppers, green onions, raddishes, lettuce, and spinach planted. I still have zucchini, pumpkin, watermelon, canteloupe, and cucumbers to go. Ciara and I also planted some flowers out in our little flower bed in the front yard Thursday and she loves to be able to water them!

SPRING HAS SPRUNG?!!

2011-04-30T19:56:00.005-06:00

I only had 2 shifts at work this week but it was kind of a good thing because I had days off that had good weather so I was able to get LOTS of yard work done. I was so glad to be able to do it too! Ciara & Hiatt helped me sweep off the driveways early this week and the back patio. I was able to get all of the lawn edged, weeds sprayed, leaves vacuumed up from the rock areas, the garage all cleaned out. I took the car in to be inspected and had to spend $30 on TWO light bulbs ... really? I didn't even know they were out and that is a ridiculous price. Oh well now they're fixed.

For our YM/YW activity this week we went to the Carl Bloch exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art. That was fun, the kids rushed right through it so I didn't get to see as much as I wanted, but the paintings are beautiful. It's only there for another week or so, it would be nice to try and go back without kids. They also have a display of a huge stack of books ... 80,000 lbs worth of books; very cool!!!! I can't imagine how much patience it would take to stack them in such a way that it will not fall, but it is cool to look at.

Ciara has spent time with her dad and it's been good for her but also very hard. She is so emotional for about 4 or 5 days afterwards and everything feels normal just in time for her to see him again. She misses her daddy so much and the things she will say blow me away. Kids are resilient but they are also a lot more perceptive than I think we give them credit for. She is doing much better most of the time but she still has hard time when even I leave and thinks that I am not coming back ... even if I just walk into a different room from her. She is growing like crazy and I am grateful for warmer days so she can burn more of her energy outside! It's funny though if it is cooler outside she will ask me to get her pool out because that means it "will be warmer". So the other night when it was chilly she went swimming in my bath tub instead!

Ky had a track meet today down in Richfield and we're not sure exactly how she did yet, but she said it snowed most of the time. Not sticking to the ground but they had to stay outside and the race went on while it snowed, needless to say she didn't care for it too much. She has a dance concert coming up, her AP History test on Friday, camp certification and a carnival fundraiser for track. If anybody would like some cheap entertainment let us know, she is selling tix to it. They will also have a raffle for and Ipod or something with an "I" in front of it! They will have dinner and will be showing Tangled. It could be loads of fun!!! We will most likely be there :)

Dallin is glad the school year is finally winding down. He is very excited for his scout camp in June, when they will spend six days canoeing 68 miles of the Green River. Ugh .... mom is not so excited. I'm sure it will be a good experience and they are getting ready for a camp out at Vernon reservoir to practice their canoeing skills. Dal stayed home with Ciara today while Ky was at her match & I was at work and he did a fabulous job! I checked on him several times because he has not ever babysat for more than an hour or so, but each time both he and Ciara were fine and having fun! Maybe he is starting to mature just a little bit more.

I am sending out a call to my friends on here that I am looking for a different job if anybody is aware of anything. I love my job and really don't want to leave it but it is not providing near enough hours. We would like to stay where we are but if we have to move elsewhere we will ... well I might have some exclusions of where I'm willing to live. I'm not a fan of cold!!! After the phone call I received last week sometimes getting out of this town sounds better & better. Sometimes I really don't understand ... I just want to laugh!!! Small towns are the BEST!

HAPPY EASTER

2011-04-24T14:03:00.002-06:00

Ciara's Easter Dress!

I got this made last night after dinner! I picked up the fabric and everything a couple weeks ago and just have not had the time. So I was scrambling last night to get it done and it is so cute ... and big enough she can wear for awhile!!!

We have enjoyed our Easter today. We went to church and of all things the talks were on MARRIAGE! Last week the same thing at Stake Conference too. If only ......

Here was a neat quote from President Monson's talk at the Priesthood session.

"Choose your love; love your choice."

This could be applied in life in many ways I suppose. It is a great reminder to me to always be grateful for what I do have.

I am grateful for Easter and for our Savior. The atonement has meant so much to me in my life and it always will. I am grateful for the sacrifice he was willing to make on my behalf, my children, and my family. I hope to one day have every part of my life be a reflection of gratitude for all the wonderful things Jesus has done for me!

BORROWED FROM MY FRIEND

2011-04-19T10:49:00.000-06:00

"The greatest tragedy in life is not dying, it's what dies inside of us while we are trying to live."

J.O.

THE END

2011-04-17T21:48:00.003-06:00

Today was our final day of spring break. It's kind of sad, I will really miss having the kids around. I did work several days during the break, but the kids were able to still have some fun. We of course started it in Colorado. Then we came home to cold, not so fun weather. It began to warm a little and so we did spend some time outside. I got a little yard work done in between rain storms. Dallin tried getting his bike fixed so he could ride it; he also had a scout camp out at Topaz mountain. He was very excited about all the topaz that he brought home, none of it was the $1000 pieces they were hoping for but he is pretty proud of his stash. Kylie was out with friends quite a bit, which included some late nights. I personally will not miss those. Ciara was Ciara ... and she was invited to her first birthday party! She got to go to our next door neighbors party yesterday and had lots of fun. The kids and I went and saw Rio; it was cute, not the best, but cute. The kids really enjoyed it though ... all of them. I forgot the camera for every single thing that we did so that explains the lack of photos! :)

This weekend was Stake Conference. Something that stood out for me was this simple quote. "To experience the fullness of joy, one must have trials and endure them righteously." It really has me thinking. I have always excepted my trials, not necessarily enjoyed them, but I know when they happen I need to endure and learn. This has me thinking of them differently though; perhaps I need to change my attitude as well, because I could really go for some "fullness of joy." This may take some practice because right now I just want to lock all of the doors and never come out. Thankfully I have a million reasons to not do that and I remember them every morning as soon as I wake up. I know that Heavenly Father is mindful of us right now. I just also know that my attitude is making it very difficult to feel any joy or happiness at the present time. So maybe I will be posting this quote on a mirror or two to help remind me .... righteously which includes my attitude!!!

TRACK MEET & MORE

2011-04-14T20:05:00.000-06:00

A couple weeks ago Kylie had a track meet at Delta High School. It ended up being a fairly nice day, windy ... but when is it NOT windy in Delta. Kylie did good in her races, she ran the 100 and the 400. She was suppose to run in the 200 but slept through it! It's probably her best race too, and I was looking forward to watching it, aargh!

Turns out that Ciara is Kylie's biggest fan & an awesome cheerleader!!!

After a beautiful spring day of temps in the 70's and we all got sunburned ...

Nothing says SPRING in Utah like a good snow fall!!!

Now it's Spring Break for the kids .... Wahoo!!!! We all wanted to get out of town, especially I wanted to be gone during my anniversary, so we took off to Colorado to spend the weekend at my sister's house. We had a great time :) The girls all got pedi's and Kris and I went to Madcap in Westminster one night. That was a fun show; it's like the Drew Cary show "Who's Line is it Anyway." We were laughing the whole show and they kept everything clean, it was really great! It was a lot of fun and Ciara couldn't make up her mind if she really wanted to come home or stay with Malia. Those two are could be a lot of trouble together if they had a lot of time together .... something I may be willing to find out. ;)

SAD DAYS

2011-04-13T17:23:00.003-06:00

It has now been almost 6 weeks since Randy and I separated and it hasn't gotten any better. We did counseling twice and learned quite a bit there, but then he decided to give up. I'm so sad for Randy and the reasons for all of this are hurting us both so much. It doesn't look like things are going to work out as he wants to proceed with this being permanent. What does one do? It's not my choice in anyway. I have found out that he no longer loves me, since we lost our little Aspyn. So weird to think that we lost someone together and some how now it is tearing apart our little family. I don't know what to make of this or even know how to react. It's like the wound has been re-opened and still feels so fresh. It hurts a lot to be losing Randy. He has been such a great guy, and has so many good qualities about him.

I will work on a happier post soon! It might take me a little bit, but I will do it!

END OF HIATUS

2011-03-18T19:42:00.002-06:00

Hopefully you haven't all given up hope on me. A couple of months ago our desktop quit working and had a mishap. We have a laptop but I was not able to get onto blogger for some reason. I couldn't look at any blogs nor could I look at mine or log on .... nada! Today I finally tried downloading some updates and woola ..... I can now get back on!!!!!

So instead of boring you all with lots of details of the past few months, I'll give you the short of the long.

JANUARY

Randy was laid off at the beginning of January. His job was temporary however while he covered for a guy who was serving with the guard in Afghanistan. He is now looking for another job. He made some good contacts while at this last job however with some possibilities.

We had some awesome :( snow storms that had us shoveling for hours at a time. I started going to Zumba classes with my friend Maquel and quickly became addicted and loving it even more then doing it at home. Ciara started dance and loves it. She has natural rhythm and is a lot of fun to watch. We don't get to watch them when they dance at class until later in the spring, but at home she has a dance for every song that comes on.

FEBRUARY

We had a couple baptisms we attended in February. One was for Randy's niece Hailee and the other was our friend's daughter, Aspyn. They happened on the same day which made it a little busy, but we were very grateful to be able to share that special day with some very special girls.

Randy and I both celebrated our birthdays during February. It's gotten to the point where we don't get very excited ... what's another year at this point anyway?! I did get to shovel a good amount of snow on my birthday which just helped me remember it really is just another day.

MARCH

Nothing to exciting to report for this one. I did get a new job working for a Pediatrician's office in Payson as a PRN receptionist. I really enjoy the people there and the work, so far it has been a lot of fun! However after my first day of work Randy & I separated. I was more appreciative of the job as it has kept me busy and hasn't allowed for too much time to think. I'm not going to bash on the situation at all, because I still have hope. Hope for something better to come of all this. I have said before that this is my therapy ... the blog. So here I am trying not to pour out all of my heart into this right now. It has been a very lonely couple of weeks and I miss Randy a lot. There has been several times that I have thought, "if only Randy were here." Ciara had a really hard time for about the first week. She would cry every time I would leave or even if I went into another room. She was afraid that I wasn't coming back. She even had me sleep with her. She has gotten better though and doesn't break down nearly as much. If only we could peak into the crystal ball once in awhile and see where the light will begin to shine.

I am grateful for my family & for our good friends who have been here for the kids & I and for all of the support we have received. It's always good to know that there are people who really care about others.

We are eager for Spring to get here and for spring break in just a few short weeks. We no longer have plans for it, but it will be nice to have a break. I'm sure we will try to get out and enjoy the sunshine ... so here's hoping that it shines!!!

Now that we are up & running be sure to come check us out and see what we are up to!!!! :)

GRATI-TUESDAY

2010-12-21T07:14:00.000-07:00

Learning

Church

Free Will

Going to Colorado (repeated by more than one member of the family)

Malia talking

Answers to Prayers

Good Weather / Dry roads

Photography

Family time

Heaters in Vehicles

Sleep

Gloves

Hands

When nobody is Around

Water softener

This Country

Running

Fire Alarms

Memories

Scopes / Guns / Ammo (do you need a hint on who?)

Smiling

Hot Cocoa

Honesty

Snow IN Mountains

Love

Regular Income

Christmas Lights

Healthy Kids

Charity

Having Power at Home

FINALE

2010-12-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

This is just for fun! This is what the whole show is about ... the Symphony is playing live, all of the choirs singing, and the dance company. I thought that I had recorded the Natvity set, but I can't find it yet. It was such a great show, and both times I watched it I was very moved by seeing that the kids performing were touched as well. During both performances I saw kids who couldn't sing and wiping the tears from their eyes as they felt moved.

D's Guitar

2010-12-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

Dallin is just learning the Guitar, and this is his beginning Guitar class!

Sleigh Ride Jive

2010-12-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

Elvis Christmas

2010-12-14T21:25:00.000-07:00

This is just a clip of the Show Choir with the elementary choir. The kids were too cute!

Dal's Hip Hop

2010-12-14T21:24:00.000-07:00

Ky Waltz

2010-12-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

I totally blew it on this one, I thought I was recording from the beginning but it turned out that I was NOT .... dang it!

Hip Hop Company

2010-12-14T21:21:00.000-07:00

ATTITUDE

2010-12-13T22:57:00.002-07:00

I have shared some of our gratitude's, and have talked a little about how our gratitude journal has changed our attitudes a little here on the home-front. But last week it was something weighing heavily on my mind. I have all sorts of thoughts on my own attitude through out my life. I (like everyone) have had the type of experiences that can change your attitude and in the eyes of the world, would think that it is okay to have a bad attitude. Now don't get me wrong ... I have definitely had a crappy attitude more often then not, however I have been fortunate enough to have lessons that help me not to continue that way. I don't think of myself as some picked on person but I have had days that I would like to throw a really big Pity Becki Party! Doesn't sound like fun though does it. Well lately I have realized how blessed I am to have my siblings. They have been a huge part of my attitude lately and helping me to stay positive. We have teased my brother Steve about being "preacher Steve" because he has become so excited about all that he is learning about the gospel over the past couple of years that every time he calls he tells us what he has learned. It's funny though because I will be having a bad day, where I sit and stew over things getting more & more upset and then the phone rings. I kid you not it is always my brother .... and he always calls and says I was thinking about you the last couple of days I learned .... and realized that you are .... how you have .... He doesn't even know what I am thinking or doing but somehow knows what I need to hear. Then there is my sister Kris who will let me unload anything I need to say. She is understanding, patient, and honest! I am so grateful to have siblings who help lift me up when I need it. It's hard to think of them that way because I am the oldest and have always felt like I need to be there for them more then they should be for me. But it is such a great blessing to have them! All of this has helped me realize that our Heavenly Father really does not want us to think negatively of ourselves or others, He doesn't make you have a bad attitude ... He wants us to really be happy, no matter what! So here is a thought for my readers ....

Are you the Lord's instrument in helping others or do you bring others down?

Do you allow others to help you or do you refuse others kindness?

Our attitudes reflect who we are ... and with that in mind I hope my attitude reflects happiness, kindness, and something to be desired.

Now with that said, let me tell ya I am so glad that tonight was the last night of school performances for the rest of the year! The kids school does the "Spirit of Christmas" every year and it is performed on 4 nights. Both Ky & Dal performed in the show. Dal performed in the pre-show on Friday with his hip-hop group and tonight with his guitar class; and Ky performed every night with her ballroom company. It is a great show, it involves symphonies, bands, choirs, and dance groups. And they all perform together ... it's AWESOME!!! I am in the process of getting the videos uploaded, but it's still showing over 200 minutes to go. So they'll be on here another day!

ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

2010-11-18T10:38:00.002-07:00

And now a few of our gratitude's from our journal .....

Vehicles that work

Things that smell good

Communication

Fall

Running Water

My bed

Strength in our bodies

Pockets

Couch

Family

Talents

Serving

Showers (I'd like to second that one)

Church

Aspyn

Hugs

Doors

Utensils

Happy Family

FLASHBACK UPDATE

2010-11-18T10:14:00.002-07:00

So I talked about how Ky was going to be dancing with her Ballroom company in CATS ... well we went and saw the show on closing night and it was sold out with a line of people waiting. The show was AWESOME!!! That is not a biased opinion either. I wasn't sure of what to expect but I didn't have nearly the expectations of what we got to see. I honestly felt like I was watching a Broadway show! The only issues were that the school could use a few more spotlights. I loved the show and I would like to see it again! There are only a few pics posted because they didn't allow any photography during the show, so I tried getting some afterwards. Ky is the black cat with the mostly white face in them.

Other then that things are going pretty well. Randy is still working all though as of right now it is not turning into a permanent position unless something changes before the guy gets back from Afghanistan. He still looks for other work but the electronic job market hasn't really made a turn around yet. We still have a few months and know whatever happens is what will be best. I just keep hoping that we are learning what we are meant to learn from all these lessons.

Kylie is glad that CATS is over and that now she can really focus on her studies. It was very hard to keep up on everything when she was spending every hour out of school practicing for the show. She is now well rested and a much happier camper to be around. She has her boyfriend and it is funny to see some of the changes going on. Things like telling people to drop it cause it's not worth fighting over ... or last night she ate lasagna. That was a big deal because she would never even try it before because it has tomatoes and then she tells us that last week when they were at dinner with Brannon's family that she ate some nachos that had onions & peppers on it and LIKED it. She is normally the pickiest eater that ever lived and now all of sudden she is trying more foods. I asked her last night if this have to do with Brannon or if this could be a sign of maturing. She said definitely not maturing ... hahaha

Dallin is still enjoying guitar and let me know a couple of weeks ago that he does not want to take hip hop next year. I guess he may be losing interest in it which is kind of too bad, because he is really good at it. I finally have him more interested in soccer though so I think that is what he wants to focus more on. I like soccer it's a lot less of a contact sport then football. He has been begging to play football for a couple of years and I just don't dare let him. He is fast, but he is tiny! He looks like he would break so easy even with the gear ... it could be the gear that breaks him. He looks more like a soccer player to me and he likes to go outside and kick the ball around and asks me to teach him some tricks with it. Maybe he will make some of his own :)

Ciara .... well she is Ciara! Sweet, cute, mischievous, ornery .... the list goes and goes! There are a few pics of her little personality below. There is no possible way to catalog them all though, there are just way too many. She just keeps going and going and going .... literally like the energizer bunny. She is mostly out of the napping stage. I get so excited when she will take one though! This past Sunday was our primary program and it was her first and nobody was sure how she would do with it. Well it wasn't too much of a surprise, Randy was up on the stand with his class and all she wanted was to go sit with her dad. So she did until it was her turn to say her part and she did her part very well (the only one I could understand in her class), then she went and sat with her dad for a few more minutes and got way to ornery and Randy took her home. Maybe next year! Maybe her dad could set an example of how to sit up there reverently and sing with the choir for the Christmas program! C'mon Randy it won't be that bad :)

2010-11-18T10:13:00.001-07:00

OUR SWEET ASPYN

2010-10-29T09:56:00.000-06:00

Today was our 3 year birthday of our sweet, little Aspyn. As some of you may remember as her first birthday approached we challenged ourselves and others to join us in a month of service to honor her. Later I thought how I would have to make it a point to serve others and that I should be just be in the habit of always doing it, after all isn't that how our Savior was. Now 2 years after that challenge and as I look back over this month I realize how much more we take advantage of the opportunities to serve. This month we didn't sit down and discuss who or how we were going to serve, but we still were blessed with many opportunities. I am so grateful for our Angel, and the blessings we have been given because of her. I am thankful that because of her we have been strengthened as a family. It is never easy but she helps to make it all worthwhile, she is a constant reminder of what I truly want in life!

We love you, Aspyn

OUR BUSY WEEK

2010-10-25T19:52:00.003-06:00

This past week was a busy one for us .... well, mostly the weekend anyway. Ky qualified for Cross Country State Championship and ran in it last Wednesday. The day was perfect for her to be running, the weather was awesome and the park was beautiful. It was a hard run with all of the hills though. She finished and ended up earning the Varsity Letter award for it! She enjoyed doing Cross Country and is looking forward to track in the spring. They only place the first 10 runners in so I don't know where she finished.

Randy's grandma Ogden passed away the Saturday before and we knew that her funeral would be coming. We got to spend time with some of Randy's family when they stayed at our home for a couple of days. It was really great getting to see them, especially when we don't get to see them very often. I was preparing for a Toy/Food drive for our community on Saturday and also a Bridal shower for one of my previous laurels so I was a little stressed trying to fit everything in, but all went well without any hitches. I made it to the drive for an hour, then we were off to the funeral, I had to leave a little early to get back for the shower, and when the shower was over Randy, Kylie, and I went to her Cross Country banquet where she received her team award and her letter award. All-in-all it was a good day and I am glad it is all over!

Our family has decided to try the counsel we have received in several of the past conferences of having a gratitude journal. It has always sounded good to me, but I have not been able to get myself to do it. Last night I had the thought that perhaps we could do it as a family, so each day we will each write 3 things that we are grateful for. I will try to share some of them from time to time. Here are a few so far .... comfortable chairs, grass, music, cooler temperatures, garbage cans, puddles, windows, and rain. The kids told me that they were going to end up getting weird if we have to do it everyday and we can't repeat ourselves; but I told them that is okay it may not seem so weird after you recognize that you are grateful for these things. We will see how it goes!

2010-10-25T19:51:00.001-06:00

YOU KNOW YOU'RE OLD

2010-10-13T21:29:00.002-06:00

Okay I know I am getting old, but this is really bad!!! I thought I posted this video a couple days ago .... turns out I didn't finish doing it though and I didn't remember until Randy was looking to see if I had updated the blog yet today. There is my DUH moment of the week. You can't really see Dal in the video cause he is in the middle and I didn't even know he was dancing yet because I was busy watching the Hip Hop Company dance. It's too bad you can't really see him either because he does the pose thing at the end really well! I've said it before but Dal just really pulls the hip hop thing off well.

The kids are on their fall break now, it just started today. I'm not sure how we are going to fill the time as Randy is working his normal days off this week. Kylie had a track meet today up in Park City and improved her time by 5 minutes over her last meet. She really enjoyed it today too! She doesn't like running the hills however. Now the rest of the month and the beginning of next month will be very busy for her. She is performing with her Ballroom Company in their school performance of CATS. She has 3 different routines for it and lots of extra practices. So for any who feel like it could be fun watching a school performance of a Broadway show, let us know and I'll give you more info on it. The performances run November 3rd-11th. We will even welcome our out-of-town family members!!!!

Dal's Hippity Hoppity HIP HOP

2010-10-13T21:28:00.000-06:00

DATE NIGHT

2010-09-27T15:57:00.004-06:00

Randy & I went out with some friends this last weekend and had some fun! We went to Tucanos for dinner and it was fabulous. We had some great meat servers and had fun playing with our food too! Then we headed up to Sundance. I have been up to Sundance before to ride the ski lifts during the summer but only in the day. During the full moon they offer night rides and we happened to hear about it just in time for the last one of the season. It was a lot busier than we expected it to be, but the lines moved very quickly. This was a pic I took of part of the line on our way back down. You can see the ride got a little bumpy ...

Somewhere in there is our friends on another lift.

Ohhhhhh .... that is the face of "I am having SO much FUN!"

This is another part of the bumpy ride ... that and the wrong setting on the camera.

A shot of the almost full moon ...

Yeah Yeah!!!

The ride was so peaceful and relaxing. We thought it would be cold but as we went higher it actually got warmer. If I would've had a pillow I probably could have fallen asleep.

I had to get some pics of Ciara the other day. She was in the mood for posing and wanted me to cut a rose for her. Looking at these pics I can hardly believe how much she is growing and changing. She is going to be 4 in just a few months. AAAAAGGGHHHH She still is loads of trouble, but isn't that face just too cute?!

End of Summer Update

2010-09-13T22:00:00.003-06:00

It is starting to officially feel like summer is ending! Once upon a younger time, Summer was my favorite season. Now my favorite would be Fall. I love the colors, the cooler temperatures, putting on a sweater now and then, and the kids are back in school, which means routine!!! I finally figured out how to make our mornings go much smoother so the transition has been very nice. The kids are enjoying school and are excited about their classes. Kylie is doing cross-country, ballroom, AP History, and has Driver's Ed beginning in January .... so scary! Dallin just finished a dang bug project for science, has hip-hop again, and started guitar at school. Hopefully he'll be playing me Hotel California by the end of the school year .... okay, I guess I can wait a little longer than that.

Right before school started we moved, still in the same town but a different house. That meant we were really busy for a good couple of weeks. I was able to get 8 different rooms painted in a 2 week period and I have not attempted any of the bathrooms or the master bedroom and quite honestly not to anxious to get on any of those either. It was fun doing new colors though, I was getting the bug to start painting again anyway. Randy has been working hard in the yard and getting things done outside. He has even had a nice project on the car since he hit an Antelope on his way home from work one night!!! Now he doesn't even need to worry about hunting those suckers, he ran one right over!!! I didn't think they ever ran out in front of cars but he says that 2 of them did. I guess that's what happens out in the dessert in the middle of the night.

We took the kids to the carnival a couple of weeks ago. Ciara had so much fun! It was her first and she kicked and screamed the whole way home until she fell asleep. Apparently Randy & I are getting old (or wimpy) cause we only did 3 rides and I was sick after the first and Randy didn't feel so good for awhile either. It was fun just watching Ciara get on a ride and give us a thumbs up and a wink though. Unfortunately I forgot the camera and have no pics. That has turned into my favorite saying because every time we have been anywhere fun, I always forget to take it.

Dallin is officially a teenager now! (I think they get the teenage attitude around 11 years old though, girls get it much younger.) We had a great day though ... we went fishing up to Payson Lakes, didn't catch any fish, but Dal must have been cleaning the bottom of the lake. Again, no pics! He is such a good boy! He tries hard to do what he is suppose to do and his teachers have always really enjoyed him because he just does his work and is so cooperative. This year he has really showed a lot of growth in getting ready for school on his own. He is finally getting up all on his own in the mornings and getting himself ready on time! It's a big deal here. He has always been the hardest child to shop for, he usually doesn't know what he even wants. I gave him $$ instead and he doesn't even know what he wants to spend it on. Too funny, maybe I could ask for it back ... I could think of a hundred things to do with it :)

He does know what he wants when it comes to his birthday cake though! This cake was really yummy ... very BIG & yummy!!!!

Seriously a cute lil' man! Makes me a little sad though that they have to grow up so fast.

PICTURE UPDATE JUNE/JULY

2010-07-29T10:21:00.009-06:00

These are out of order ... I'm don't really want to fight blogger at the moment :)

I spent 2 nights at girls camp up at Koholowo. We were there just a few weeks after they sent a bunch of girls home because of a bear and cub in the camp. We never saw any bear but we did hear one just outside of our camp Thursday morning. It had the cows very upset and the girls since it never showed its face.

We went camping out to Manti on the weekend of the 4th. We were right next to the temple and had a great view of the top of it. We swam a lot, went to the veteran's breakfast in the park, watched fireworks, and took a great drive on the Skyline Drive and got to take in some amazing views.

Ky's friend Cierra came with us and clearly did not want her pic taken.

Neither did Ky, but you girls should just enjoy having your pics taken while you are still young. You don't get to hide from the camera until you are a Mom.

Here is Dallin telling me to not take his picture either.

Don't go see this Dr.

Our view at night.

We just went up Beaver Mountain last weekend. This would be the Beaver mountain by Beaver. It was mine and the kids first time up there. It was beautiful ... lot's of trees and several small lakes, with lots of fishing to be done. Randy's brother Roger came up with some of his kids and spent a night with us.

LOOK Roger I got a picture of you with your eyes open .... woo woo :)

Ciara & Dallin really got into the fishing. They had so much fun doing it. It was Ciara's first time fishing; she caught quite a few of them too. Dallin wasn't quite as lucky, but he did catch a few. I didn't have the camera when he caught them though.

Enjoying a good camp fire ....

and a beautiful lake.

Kylie had a wonderful opportunity to perform in the Handcart Pageant back in June. She got to make new friends and learn new things. I didn't get great pics, but she is in there somewhere dancing and walking behind a handcart.

Beautiful girls!

All righty mom you are all updated!!!! :)

MAY MAYHEM

2010-06-01T11:33:00.000-06:00

Where did the month go? It seems like it was just January and now school is out! May always feels like a super, crazy month. Well really after Spring Break it just feels crazy until school is out. I am glad to have the break though ... no more homework, projects, concerts, getting kids ready. I wish it meant sleeping in, but not with the 3 year old! She'll make sure I won't miss a sunrise.
The kids have been involved in dance at their school. Ky danced in Ballroom and Dal in Hip Hop. They both had a lot of fun in their classes. This month they had a Spring concert, Ky decided not to dance in it though because she didn't want to do the Samba and I think after she watched her friends do it she regretted that choice. Dal had a lot of fun doing his dance though. Their teacher is an instructor over at the VIBE studio in Lindon and he is awesome! (For any of you DWTS fans he danced during one of the result shows back towards the beginning as well as some of his students.) Dal has always enjoyed dancing and has a funky style of his own so this was a great opportunity for him. They even had a dance-off and he and his partner won!!!

Kylie's Orchestra concert ...

Our Memorial Day tradition is going to Deseret to do some decorating at the cemetery. This year we had a very pleasant surprise ... NO WIND!!! It was great! This was the first time we've been and the wind wasn't blowing everybody away. I'm not usually a big fan of the presentation, but it was short and sweet this year, and we didn't have to chase Ciara the whole time. These little ol' men are just cute too! They have so much patriotism and it's a lot of fun watching them do the 21 gun salute. They always have a local student speak, picked from a contest they hold about Patriotic Duty. The young man that shared his essay this year was very good. I really appreciated his thoughts he shared. It is great to be reminded of everybody who has served, is serving now, and will serve in the military to protect our freedom's. I am truly grateful that we live in our great country. I know that we often take it for granted and sometimes it is easier to complain about the choices our government makes, and the things that don't seem right, but we are so blessed. There are so many more things that we do have that others in this world will never have. We need to always remember to just be grateful for what we DO have.

On a sad note, this morning I dropped Dal off at the church so he could go on his scout camp trip this week. I can't believe he is old enough to do this now. It just didn't seem right sending him away for 5 days. SOOOO sad! He wasn't sad though, he was just super excited to be going. He wouldn't even give me a hug in front of everybody, that was just embarassing. LOL We'll just pray he has a super fun, safe, and mom-missing trip!!! (Don't forget your MOM Dal!)

2010-06-01T11:31:00.000-06:00

FIRST DATE PICNIC

2010-04-29T22:40:00.003-06:00

Today we had Hyatt over to our house while his momma was working, and I enjoyed it so much! It made the morning so nice. He and Ciara just played and played and I was able to get so much done with very little interruptions, like getting all the wood floors clean in the front room and kitchen, and the kitchen sink, laundry, and a good cleaning for the stove top. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I cleaned the floors on a day that it was snowing and raining but nonetheless it was nice being able to do it!!! (yes I do get excited about cleaning floors)

After lunch the kids went down to the basement and came back with this little basket which Ciara quickly filled with her little silverware, dishes, and a frog, and an umbrella. While she was getting these Hyatt grabbed his blanket and started laying it out and put the basket on the blanket. It looked like they were having a picnic so I grabbed them some snacks to put in the basket also.

Then they needed the umbrella ....

Seriously cute!!!

After snacks and Ciara pouring water on Hyatt they needed to play games.

I guess if you are 3 Connect Four is a lot more fun if you put the pieces in a paint roller, which they brought up from the basement also.

It was a lot of fun, they laughed almost the whole time!

Checking out the snow falling outside. Yep, that window is open thanks to the incredibly warm fire in the stove.

And after all of this fun they grabbed some pillows, their blankets, and took a nap under the umbrella.

If only they would've really slept. :)

All of this definitely had the makings of a date ... meal, playing, and then rest!!!

DRESS UP

2010-04-26T08:43:00.003-06:00

Ciara has really gotten into dressing up lately and she loves to pretend that she is a prince (princess). Her favorite thing to dress up in right now is the Easter dress I made her. This morning she came out with the dress and wanted it on over her p.j.'s. Here is what we have ....

I'll have a little sass with this dress please!

It makes me sad looking at these and seeing how much she is growing lately :(

BEAUTY SHOP

2010-04-18T14:49:00.004-06:00

Ciara has decided to start playing beauty shop

lately on her own.
Here is what she has done ...

Can you see where this chunk came from?

Oh ... so pretty!

SPRING BREAK

2010-04-12T21:34:00.007-06:00

I love spring break ... I even love that the kids were out of school for a whole week! I was as ready for a break from school as the kids were. It's nice to be able to not feel rushed in the mornings or having to worry about getting kids (really just Dal) ready on time! I didn't get to sleep in much because Ciara still would wake up pretty dang early, even after sneaking some Benadryl one night. Yes ... she got the lid off of the bottle while I was packing for our vacation and I'm not sure how much actually got into her mouth but it must not have been too much. It looked as though most of it hit the floor, thankfully! I never cared to much for the flavor of Benadryl, Dimetapp was more my choice!!!

We decided to take a little vacation with some friends for spring break since we had not been on one for so long. It's been over a year and I can't even remember how long it's been since we've been on a fun trip! We knew we wanted some sunshine but didn't want to go too far; so we decided on southern Utah and found exactly what we wanted and needed!

And apparently you can't move pictures around on blogger right now so these are way out of order. And since it is being so fickle I am not going to fight adding anymore of them, but here are some of our pics of our little trip!

While we were there we also celebrated our 5 year anniversary! Happy 5th babe :)

We drove through Kolob National Park on the way home and decided that we will definitely need to go back to hike some of the trails there. The mountains are absolutely stunning!

Falls from the middle pools to the lower pools.

St. George Temple

We visited the Brigham Young home also, but I didn't take any pics.

We stopped at Cove Fort on our way down, it was very windy there but we had a good time going through the fort and learning about it!

This was our guide ... here he is showing the kids an old pioneer game and teaching the kids about eternal families. The kids got to keep the little toy and it kept them entertained through the rest of the drive down.

Inside Zion National Park at the upper Emerald Pools. The name upper made me think it would be at the top of the mountain, it was the upper pool of three different ones but still not near the top of the mountain.

This is the water running from the middle pool to the lower pool.

This is a fun little park in St. George. There are lots of the slick rocks to climb around on. More than once however we had to yell at Ciara to not run as she would take off to the edge not knowing that it was a cliff she was about to run off of. The girl has NO fear!!! She sure scares her mom though ;)

The Three Patriarchs in ZNP

HOLY ....

2010-03-18T22:20:00.003-06:00

I just logged on to our blog ... and it has been a long time! I couldn't believe that there was still a Christmas background & banner on there. That's embarrassing ... especially cause so much has happened since Christmas!

I'm going to be brief cause it is late, and I'll try to cover more later. It should be easier to keep up on our blog because our biggest and best change is ....

RANDY GOT A JOB!!!!

WAHOO!!!!

Was that a little too excited?

He started in the middle of February out in Dugway. Yes it is quite a drive but he is really enjoying it. Especially when he gets to track the bombers! But once again it is a job that I couldn't really tell you what he does cause to me it gets a little blah blah blah boring. I don't understand most of the things he is talking about, but who cares? We are just happy he is working!

Kylie started ballroom in January at her school and she is loving it and is doing pretty good at it too! Both she and Dallin did awesome this last quarter, but that usually goes without saying. I wish I enjoyed school as much as they do. They are both going to be playing ball this spring and I was quite surprised that Ky wanted too, but at least they will be busy for part of the summer.

YW is still keeping me very busy. We just had our Gold & Green Ball last night! Does anybody remember those? I do and we always had so much fun at them and nobody out here had even heard of them except for the older people in our ward. As it turns out it use to be bigger than PROM, they even had G&G Ball King & Queen! LOL So I thought it would be fun to have one. It was a 50's theme and we all had so much fun! It did consume the majority of my week, so I am glad there won't be another one for awhile!!!

Well that's the short of the long ... for now!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2009-12-25T12:09:00.009-07:00

Merry Christmas to all of our Friends & Family!!!

We have had lots happening in the last week and we have had a great Christmas season!

Thank you to all of our family, friends, and neighbors for everything!!!

We love you lots!!!

So good, she just had to have a lick ....

Cute as a button

The Mr. & Mrs. were not so fun this year

Christmas Eve dinner ... Chinese take-out!!!

Ciara insisted on using chop sticks

She even figured it out, I barely missed it going in her mouth.

The classic Christmas PJ's picture

Good Morning ... did Santa come?

Ciara almost always has a purse!

I think these are the faces of happy children!!!! :)

TIS THE SEASON!!!

2009-12-06T19:49:00.006-07:00

I cannot believe how fast the last month has gone by. I am happy to report that Ciara's thumb is healing well. It is even starting to look like a thumb again!!! She got her big splint taken off 3 days after we went in to the ER, then we went back 7 days later and the stitches were removed. Then we went back again to have it checked. We still have to keep it wrapped and change the bandages each day, but it is getting better and we are all happy! No pics of it still though as it is not pretty and she doesn't like anyone to look at it.

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. We were just home and we were all alone, but it was nice day and then we ate until we were all stuffed like turkeys!!! We have much to be grateful for and that was really what made the day great!

We are officially ready for the Christmas season! Normally we set the Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving but this year I just wasn't ready to put it up yet. We did put up some decorations that weekend though. Today at church though Randy asked if we should put the tree up, so it went up today!!! I am one of those people that like to decorate the tree by myself, my way ... you know what kind of person I am talking about! We have 2 trees and this year I decided to put up the 2nd tree and let the kids have at it. Ky didn't have an interest in it, but Dal and Ciara had a lot of fun and they did a pretty good job!

They sure are cute ... especially when they get along so well!!!

I got to go to Temple Square last night with the Youth in our ward. It was sure pretty! We watched the Joseph Smith movie, saw a few lights (it's a bit of sore spot for some), and then ate some dinner. I did get this pretty pic of the Temple though to share!

The lights there are the best!!! Now go ahead .... bring on Christmas!

AN EVENING OF FIRSTS

2009-11-10T16:56:00.003-07:00

Last night Randy had his first trip to the emergency room for one of his kiddos and Ciara got her first trip to the emergency room ever ... and they BOTH survived!!!

Yesterday afternoon Ciara was outside playing with the neighbor boy in our back yard. We had checked on them several times and I had been in the house for a few minutes when we heard Ciara scream. We ran out to find her on the other side of the fence and the neighbor boy running away, he usually runs when she cries. Her hand was all bloody and she was just screaming. We brought her in the house and tried to clean it up and stop the bleeding we had assumed that she had cut herself on the fence, not really thinking about the fact that there are no sharp edges on the fence. We could see that her thumb was cut and a chunk of skin was gone at the bottom of the nail and the nail was bruised underneath. It stopped bleeding and we put some band-aids on it. She cried a lot that it hurt, but we thought it would be okay. When we went to change the band-aids before bed we found that it was still bleeding, so we knew that we had to take her in.

So after 4 lovely hours in the E.R. this is what we have ....

Not a cut, but some trauma to the thumb. The Dr. said that it got squashed by something pretty good. The whole nail came off and he stitched it back on, but once it was off and he was able to clean it up he could see the gash went all the way to her bone. So she has inside dissolvable stitches, outside stitches, and a splint around her thumb and her arm ( so she can't tear it off).

This is her telling me it is scratched!

And finally late this afternoon she crashed. We didn't get home until about 1:30 this morning and she only slept until 6 so she crashed pretty hard! She isn't trying to pull it off anymore and thinks that the wrap is soft, here's hoping that when it comes time to take it off, she will let them take it off!!!

Just Some Happenings

2009-10-31T19:09:00.001-06:00

First of all, I would like to thank our family and friends who's kind thoughts and comments have really helped lift us up. We are so blessed to have each of you in our lives!!!

Thank you!!!

So here is what we have done over the past couple of days .....

The kids stayed home from school on Thursday and we went down to the cemetery to take some flowers and a balloon As you can see it was quite windy and cold and unfortunately the balloon didn't stay for too long.

Then we went to visit Grandma Ogden after a quick lunch at Leo's. (I can't even recommend that place anymore. The food just isn't as good as used to be.)

We had a nice visit with her and was able to help her get some things done also!

Thursday ended up just being a nice day that we spent all together.

Now for Friday ... the day was nothing special. One of my Laurels asked me if I would chaperon the Sadie Hawkins dance at her high school and I agreed to it and in the 11th hour talked Randy into coming with me. No pics for this one because I forgot the camera and my phone camera doesn't have a flash or I don't know how to work it. The time went by really fast, and we were rather entertained to say the least. Some things never change, like slow dancing ... still exactly the same as it was in Junior High. LOL And then there are other things that have changed quite a bit, like kids laying on the floor making out ... no joke! And girls cutting in to dance with other girls. But for the most part it looked like a lot of fun and the kids were pretty good! Randy was super happy when our shift was over.

HALLOWEEN!!!!!

The kids school had their fall carnival today and I helped there for a few hours while Randy and the kids went around playing games and eating. Ciara won the award for most adorable costume!

She was pretty cute!!!

After a great nap we then went to the Trunk or Treat our town does. It is a good one too. Everybody goes to it and you are done in about 30-45 minutes. I don't think I would every want to go trick or treating again, this is just way too convenient!

Here we are ...

Now that's a cute family!

P.S. This is post number 3 this week! WAHOO! I wouldn't expect it to keep up like that though!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

2009-10-29T08:35:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday Aspyn!

We love and miss you so much, but we know we will be with you again eternally!!!

Knowing that has helped our hearts to heal and brings up peace and joy! Another year has gone by and so much has changed. You have helped our family to be better, closer, and stronger. I know the work you are doing is great and something that you were chosen to do because the rest of your family could not. We love you and are so grateful for you!

When the day comes that we will get to hold you in our arms will be a great and happy day!

YEAHHH!!!!!

2009-10-25T15:43:00.005-06:00

So as most Utahn's know this past week was the deer hunt! This year Randy and his brother drew out for the Vernon Range hunt. Needless to say, the were very excited. There grandpa used to own a ranch out there and they would hunt there every year until that area closed and turned into a "draw" unit. I harass them every year that this is just a glorified hunt, because they haven't shot anything since I've known Randy, so I think they wanted to be sure to get something this year. Randy has been home 1 day out of the last 9, so he was very serious ... I'm just not sure it was all about the deer, I think part of him just needed to get out of the house after being home for the last 7 months. He came home today and with a little somethin' somethin'!!!!

That is a happy boy!

You all want a good chuckle?!!! He took his little Suzuki Swift out hunting and brought this deer home inside of it with all of his camping gear. I know, I know ... but please no "you might be a redneck if" jokes. Just enjoy the laugh with me!

Like any good deer hunting widow I got some stuff done while he was gone. I worked and was even busy ... WAHOO!!!! And I did a little sewing and some shopping for BUNKO gifts.

Ciara's Halloween costume. She will be the cutest Little Bo Peep! I still need to do the shepherd's crook thing though.And some Christmas PJ's, I still have to sew Ky's together.

All in all, I think we had a pretty good week!!!

THE BIG 12

2009-09-15T11:38:00.002-06:00

Dallin turned 12 earlier this month. He as very excited for his birthday and nervous at the same time. He knew that turning 12 was a big deal because now he could receive the Aaronic Priesthood and that it brings about some very important responsibilities. Well he was ordained to the priesthood in the class of Deacon on Sunday, September 13th by Randy. It was a very special day and I asked him how he felt afterwards and he said that he felt as though some weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. I think that it is wonderful that was the feeling that he had, that he felt his Heavenly Father helping him. It is an awesome feeling to be in our home now and having 2 priesthood holders. I sure love my little man and I am so happy for him and sad that he won't be my little man forever.

The kids are doing great in school. They are enjoying it a lot even though the bus ride is long for them. This week is spirit week for homecoming, and they are having a lot of fun participating in all of the activities. Kylie is loving HS. She likes going to the football games, STOMP, and all of her classes. She most of her teachers are weird, but I just have to remind her that she says that about all adults who have rules or have to ask her not to be so chatty!!!! I can hardly believe how big my kids are getting. I am very blessed to have such GREAT kids! (Okay, I don't always feel that way, but most of the time I do.)

Randy is still in job search mode. He is at an interview now (that's why I get to blog!) and he has been looking forward to this interview for 2 weeks now. That's how long ago they called to schedule it. Plus while he has been gone I got a phone call from another company that would like to schedule an interview also. It has been a long 5 1/2 months with him home. We have been incredibly blessed during this time. Maybe that is why my blog has been soooo neglected.

Our little Ciara is growing like crazy. I don't think she is so short anymore, and she definitely isn't short of words or personality. She has my sass, Randy's dance moves, Ky's defiance, and Dal's tender heart.

I have been working at DIVAS salon 2-3 days a week. It has been fun being out working again and I love what I do. Now if business would just pick up, I don't like just sitting there. Thanks to some friends however, we have had some fun toe parties! Now some friends in town and I have just started a dinner group, we each take turns making meals for the group every week ... so now I am looking for fun, new recipes to try!

MY WISH LIST

2009-07-19T20:03:00.003-06:00

I have been thinking a little today about what I would wish for if I could get some wishes granted ...

Cleaning Fairy

Cooking Fairy

Laundry Fairy

Calgon Take Me Away

$$ Tree . . . That probably means I need a Genie!!!

I could probably go on but if I actually had all of these would I have any friends left? You'd all be so jealous ...

As I thought of all of this stuff it made me think that I wasn't being very grateful for what I have. The past couple days have been pretty hard for me to be grateful. Well my attitude has made it hard anyway. But now as I sit here and think more I do have so much to be grateful for.

The past 3 1/2 months have been trying but in a strange way I am glad that Randy and I have had so much extra time together. And it has worked out well that he was here to take care of Ciara during girls camp and next week while I am gone to youth conference.

Girls camp was a lot of fun. I enjoyed being around the girls and when it was time to come home I couldn't believe how emotional that time was for me. I wanted to gather them all up and bring them home with me ... I'm sure I probably wouldn't have felt that way for long, but we have a great bunch of girls here.

I'm posting some pics of our water kickball game we played while we were there. If you have never played it, it is a BLAST!

This was how the game ended ...

It was all good fun though.

And here is Ky learning how to use a compass.

WOW .... ITS BEEN A MONTH

2009-06-03T21:59:00.012-06:00

I have been the biggest blog slacker! But to my defense my hubby is still unemployed and at home! It's hard to blog when he is home. But I take pictures with the intention of blogging, but never get around to blogging. So here we go ... a quick run down of our past month or just pics I have taken for fun!!!

Ciara imitating Dad!

This was actually funny ... dad was tilling the garden area and Ciara is terrified of the tiller. So as far away from the tiller as she could get she pretended her wheelbarrow was a tiller and would "follow" dad's direction. She was a lot faster than he was!

2 Otter Pop Buddies!!!

Ciara copying big brother!

Lots of Loves for Dallin!!!

Ciara hangin' with the big girls!

Mom's big helper!

That ugly floor is now gone and now looks like this

Mom's other big helper!

After loads of welcome rain we found a frog at the bottom of the outdoor stairs to the basement, it was pretty cool looking and it's eyes would change colors with it's skin.

And the best part of our month was going to Colorado for a very special sealing of Malia to her parents at the Denver, CO Temple. We got to spend lots of time with family and I even got to do a bunch of toes while I was there. It was a great week!!!

School is also out now and some people got their yearbooks signed, but Ky had to get more than that signed ...

I'm really glad that the rest of the signing happened in the yearbook!

Well, I think I've redeemed myself a little bit. This looks like a long post but hey, at least it's mostly pics!!!

Tell me your opinion ...,. Only if it's politically Correct

2009-05-01T08:36:00.002-06:00

I am talking about the Miss USA Pageant. I personally did not watch it but have read about the Miss California / Perez Hilton question in the news and I am very irked! Here is the question and answer.

Perez Hilton: "Vermont recently became the 4th state to legalize same-sex marriage, do you think every state should follow suit, why or why not?"

Carrie Prejean, Miss CA: "I think it's great Americans are able to choose one or the other," she said. "We live in a land that you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what in my country, in my family I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody there, but that's how I was raised and that's how I think it should be, between a man and a woman."

Here is PH's comments after the show.

I was floored," Hilton told ABCNews.com Monday. "I haven't said this before, but to her credit, I applaud her for her honesty. However, she is not a politician, she's a hopeful Miss USA. Miss USA should represent everyone. Her answer alienated millions of gay and lesbian Americans, their families and their supporters."

This is after he called her a "b ----" on his blog. Then he continued on his rant and ended it with this: "I would have gone up on stage, I s--- you not, and snatched that tiara off her head and run out the door," he said in his video blog. "I would probably have been arrested. But so be it."

I love closed minded people! You are entitled to your opinion but only if it makes me happy! He must have forgot that his question said "do you think". I don't care what the question or answer was, if you are going to ask "what do you think" it is an opinion question and you should allow the other person to answer it honestly without chiding them for their opinion.

Phewwww .... so glad I got that off my chest!!!!

IN LIKE A LION ... OUT LIKE A LION

2009-04-24T20:20:00.009-06:00

I haven't been much for blogging lately I've noticed. I got busy with school and I have felt like I am out of the loop. The last few months I felt like I was watching everything happen from outside and that I wasn't part of it. It's all catching up to me now.

March was a hectic month. It started off crazy and ended just the same and everyday in between was crazy too. Poor Dal ended up suspended from school, which turned into the rest of the year suspension. (Kids don't take a pocket knife to school. It is VERY bad!) He felt like he needed it to protect his classmates in case of a lock down. Ciara was sick the first half of the month. Every time I thought she was getting better, it would come back. Finally we figured out she had an ear infection when one of her drums popped. Poor little bug never even complained about her ears hurting. Ky also ended up with 2 days of in-school suspension, because her teacher let her and her friend out of class early to get on the bus and then told his wife (a school administrator) and turns out it was sluffing. The kids and I went out to Colorado at the end of the month and after 10 hours of driving we were stuck in Rawlins, WY. We had to spend the night there and while Randy was at work he learned that it was his last week working as layoffs came around. We had fun for the very short time we were in Colorado with Kris and the kids. Kris and I even made a bunch of flower clips that are so stinkin' cute!

April has been a bit better, and it's been that time to really reflect on our blessings. Randy is looking for work and I finished school 2 weeks ago and passed my state boards last week. I am now officially waiting for my license. (comes in the mail?!) I am very glad to be done and excited to do something with it. I still feel like I need some more practice as it was hard to get nail clients at school with the hair girls doing the scheduling. Needless to say I got a lot of practice doing pedicures!!! LOL But since I am done and love doing glitter toes I am doing those and doing glitter toe parties if anybody is interested.

Here is how a party works ...

Hostess gets a free set when she has 5 people come and get toes done!!! Simple, and they are just $20/set!!! The glitter toes are basically gel toes with glitter and they last anywhere from 3-8 weeks. 3-4 weeks is about the time you like to have them off since you can see where the nail is growing out. But I have had some people who kept theirs on for 8 weeks.

We have really enjoyed the sunshine this week and have loved the moisture as it has made our grass the most beautiful green!!!! LOVE IT! Of course this weekend isn't looking so sunny, but it's about time for some more rain ... I can put off watering my lawn a little longer!

2009-04-24T20:18:00.001-06:00

JEFF MITCHELL

2009-04-05T10:09:00.006-06:00

In Loving Memory

August 30, 1968 - April 4, 2009

Jeffrey James Mitchell

Yesterday morning I received a call from my mom telling me that Jeff had died. Unfortunately the home he was living in had burned down while he slept. As my heart breaks for my youngest brother and the rest of Jeff's family I have reflected about the past and about Jeff and the role he has had in my life. My mom and Jeff married when I was 12. And this man took upon himself the responsibility of husband and father of 4 children. He did this at the mere age of just 20 years old. I can only now imagine the burden he carried. I am sure that I didn't make it any easier for him either as I was not happy about the marriage.

I now would like to share some of the great things about Jeff.

Jeff worked hard!

He always worked hard even when it was very physically challenging for him, to provide for his family.

Jeff loved the outdoors!

He took us hunting, camping, 4-wheeling, shooting, and helped us to learn to love the outdoors. Even the very far away outdoors! Who knew that Deep Creek could be so much fun!

Jeff was an awesome cook!

I had never liked fish or wild game until Jeff cooked it. He had lost most of his taste buds because of medications to treat his allergies and so everything he cooked was very seasoned. Deer, goose, duck, catfish, and so much more always tasted great when he cooked. When we were out camping it was common for us to shoot cotton-tail and grouse and cook it over a fire and sometimes it was our favorite meals. BTW it really does taste like chicken ... with lots of flavor.

Jeff looked out for his family!

You don't mess with family. I knew that as long as Jeff was around that you didn't mess with us and expect to get away with it.

Jeff could fix most anything!

Even though sometimes it may have been with duct tape! LOL He was very mechanical and would work to fix up vehicles and other things in his spare time.

Jeff saw a lot of this country!

And he loved all of it. He was an OTR truck driver and seemed to enjoy it. He didn't complain about it and when he was home he didn't complain about having to drive to other places even though that was what he did all week.

It has been quite a few years since I have seen Jeff. The last time I saw him was at his wedding reception and as I walked up to him his eyes filled with tears and he told me he loved me and gave me a big hug! I knew that he still loved and cared for me and my siblings.

Thank you Jeff for your all you have given to us and taught us. To his family my feelings for you are to feel love and peace in his passing.

A BIT OF GRATITUDE

2009-03-14T05:32:00.003-06:00

So I woke up this morning about 4 just thinking .... it's a common problem for me. But all of my thoughts have been about my Young Women and my stewardship over them. And led me along these lines that I have decided to share as some of the people I have been thinking about I know will read this and I want them to know how grateful I have been for them.

I always grew up in a home where I knew religion was important, where I was taught to love God and to know that I am one of his special children just as everybody is! As I got to the age to become a Young Woman in our church our family changed. My parents divorced, and my mom remarried. She still went to church as often as possible but the circumstances did not always allow her to go. I have been thinking a lot this morning of the people who have been there since to make sure that I was always at church and my Young Women's meetings and activities. I know it was hard for my mom but I am also grateful that she allowed me to go with my friends families to church. For the first year there were 2 families that did this. Keli Cameron was my best friend at that time and lived only 2 houses away from us. It was funny that we were such great friends after I moved there because we spent our whole elementary school years not liking each other at all! I often went with Keli's family and I am so grateful to her and her parents for helping me to be there. My other really good friend Liz Ficklin lived kiddie-corner from me and her family was also always willing to let me go with them also. They also made sure that I had a ride and was always welcome to go with them to every fireside there was. Both of these families treated me as if I were one of their own and I felt loved every time I was at there homes.

Part way through my 8th grade year we moved to American Fork, which was the last place I thought I wanted to live. I didn't want to leave my friends or go to their "horrible" school! I'm quite sure I made it very clear to my mom and can admit that it was probably hell for her in the way I behaved through that move. My first day there however wasn't nearly as bad as I expected and as I got on the bus to go home I was invited by a girl to sit by her. Her name is Andrea Ault who quickly became my best friend through the rest of my school years as well as I became a member of her family almost as quickly. We lived in different wards however, even though we were just a few blocks apart. My ward only had a few young women and I didn't feel comfortable going alone there. Andrea's family quickly made me feel welcome to go to their ward and I once again was able to attend Young Women's with my best friend. I through special permission was able to play sports with their ward and go to YW Camp each summer. They even took it further and also had me to a lot of their family functions as well and when my family moved away a few months before graduation they once again opened their doors and allowed me to live at their home. That was like a permanent sleep over party!!!

As I have thought about all of this I realize how grateful I am to each of them even now. I'm sure I didn't express enough gratitude then as it was probably more "fun" to me than a learning experience, but it has still helped shape the person I am now. It has also made me realize that no matter who we are, or what our circumstances are, that we should always be willing to reach out to others. I know sometimes our kids friends' can be annoying, and even a bit disrespectful, but they should always feel like the door is open in our homes to them. We may be the only people that can offer them something they may not receive anywhere else. I don't remember the exact quote from President Hinkley, but he has said open your doors and your hearts and feed them until they are no longer hungry!!! I have always been blessed by my friends and their families because their homes were always opened to me.

To the Cameron's, the Ficklin's, and the Ault's, I say THANK YOU!!!

GUILTY PLEASURES

2009-03-05T08:14:00.003-07:00

So can we all admit that we have them? We all have a little guilty pleasure here and there ... mine has become school! I love, love, love, school. Well love might be a little strong, but I really do enjoy it. It's my time out and I'm learning things that I really enjoy and even getting better at it which is great. I did Ky's second set of nails this past weekend and they look great! I'm not so big on all of the art stuff 'cause I really think it's kind of corny but that's just me. I've learned the acrylics, gels, toes, mani's, pedi's, and art. And then we even get a personal service day each month and yesterday I got eyelash extensions, and they are lots of fun. It's kind of become my new therapy, so that's why I haven't been so great at blogging lately. This is where my "guilt" comes in. Not for the blogging, just the part that I am away from my family and while I am away I enjoy what I am doing. I miss the kids like crazy, but I am almost half way through now. I am glad that it is only 300 hours, I'm not sure I could do much more than that. It breaks my heart in the morning when Ciara calls for dad now instead of mom. I can't hardly wait to hear "MOM" in the mornings again!

P.S. Kris, I am still working on pics ... maybe on Friday, just not sure which Friday that will be! LOL

A SHOUT OUT

2009-02-15T14:44:00.005-07:00

To my awesome hubby!!! Valentine Day turns out to be a good day to reflect on love. And Randy did not disappoint yesterday! We are not much for going out and joining the crowds on this holiday so we stayed home and enjoyed a fabulous dinner with the kids! Randy brought me home some very thoughtful gifts yesterday and even a beautiful orchid. Now my goal is to keep it alive so if any of you have them and have some helpful hints to keeping them alive, I would greatly appreciate the sharing of knowledge!!! I typically don't keep live plants in my house because I can't keep them alive.

Since my hubby was so thoughtful, I thought I could share some information on this great man that I get to call mine forever & ever!

One of the first things I realized about him was that he was kind, and that sometimes his kindness has a weird sense of humor!

He is creative!

And sometimes has good ideas!

He is a great cook! Especially on the grill. Just ask Kylie where you can get the best steak .... she'll tell you "Dad makes the best steaks, even better than the Outback."

He can sleep anywhere!

He likes to keep everybody warm. Everybody knows when you are camping with Randy he is the fire tender, and at home he keeps the stove going and we are never cold!

He is funny!

Did I already mention that?

He is a worthy Priesthood Holder!

He is a hard worker and last but never least, he is an awesome hubby and daddy!

We sure love you babe! Thanks a million for all that you do!!!

ALL THAT SPARKLES AND SHINES . . .

2009-02-06T12:31:00.010-07:00

I have now had my first official week of Nail Tech classes ... I love it! Even the not so fun pedicure I had to give couldn't spoil all the fun. Here is a run down of this week . . . .

My first day I had book work (which there is every day) and then learned manicures, so I received one and then had to give one. Then I practiced on Randy at home (without the polish). The next day I did 4 chapter reviews, learned pedicures, I received one and gave one. I had to leave early that night for Young Women's which was a fun night also. We are getting ready for New Beginnings next Wednesday. I'm slightly nervous but I know it will be a great night. Yesterday I took 4 tests (thankfully passed each one) and learned glitter toes!!! I received and then gave.

Sorry about the pic of my own, but they are so much fun! I saw these for the first time at the last craft fair that I did and thought they were fun and now I know how to do them. So starting next week I will be needing "models" to come in so I can practice. Ky gets to be my first and she is pretty excited.

Part of taking this class means Ciara has to go to a sitter on Thursdays for about 3 hours until the kids get home. The rest of the days Randy is home and it works out well. Ciara has never been tended by anybody but her big sister, so I was very nervous. Apparently without a reason because I took her to Nicol's and she pretty much didn't even care if I was there or gone. She immediately went to exploring and trying everything out and didn't even want to give hugs and kisses when I left. Shortly after I left she told Nicol that she wanted a nap and laid down on a bed and went right to sleep. WOW or PHEW? I'm not sure which to feel maybe both? And add a little sadness that she didn't mind me leaving, at least I don't have to worry about her feeling abandoned when I leave her there.

ARE FISH HOT?

2009-01-28T14:31:00.012-07:00

The other day Ciara was playing in the living room and all of a sudden started doing her "scared" thing. She wouldn't step on the rug where the fish is because she said it was HOT! She wouldn't touch it and was doing her little fakey cry because it was hot. So she went and got her Tinkerbell doll and made Tink touch the fish and then hugged her and said "hot fish!" It was really quite funny. She is okay with the fish on the rug now, but last night she and Randy were looking at a fish book and she pointed at one of the fish and said it was hot. I'm really not sure where this all came from. We haven't eaten any fish and we don't even own any live fish!

After I tried taking a picture of the whole fish thing, she decided to actually pose for pictures of her and Tink!!!

Saturday the young men and young women went and did baptisms for the dead at the Provo Temple. We had a really great time!!! The baptism area was very busy so they only got to do 2 names each, but still enjoyed it a lot. Afterwards we went and got a bite to eat. It was fun getting to spend some time with them outside of church.

Last Friday I registered over at the MATC in Spanish Fork for their Nail Tech class. Figured I better do something since after the 10th of February I won't be able to legally sell my hair bows anymore! (CPSIA) : ( This is actually a good thing though and I am very excited because I have wanted to do nails for quite awhile and once I finish it allows for flexible scheduling compared to working in an office. So let me know if you want to be my guinea pig ... oh I mean let me practice on you!!!

On a final note .... my friend Kristina (she did our family pictures), is running a special promo and contest so get over to her website and book an appointment if you want some fantastic pictures done!

http://kristinacurtisphotography.blogspot.com/2009/01/january-special.html

I love looking at our pics that she did for us and I get many compliments on them! And it's not just the great looking people in them. They are just great photos and we will be using her from now on for all of our pics!

THE COLOR PURPLE WEEKEND

2009-01-20T08:17:00.003-07:00

This past weekend I got to go out to Colorado and spend some time with my sis and her family! A couple weeks ago Rich had called me and asked if he could fly me out for a surprise for her as an anniversary present and send us to a show. He got us tickets to "The Color Purple". When he first told me that was what we were going to see I was so nervous cause I kept thinking that it was Purple Rain, which I've never seen but heard it was pretty naughty. LOL It wasn't until a few days before I left that I realized they weren't the same. I flew out on Friday and we went to the show that night. I had never heard of it (obviously), so I really did not know what to expect....it was a good show, not the greatest show, but was good. There were definitely some really funny parts. Sophia was hilarious and my kinda gal! Most of the show was surprising and sometimes shocking, but we had a good time. Saturday morning Kaden had a basketball game we went to. That was fun and really intense! I've been to NBA games before and they've never seemed quite that intense. We did some shopping and went to "Bride Wars" .... so cute and funny! Since I was out there we had to do some Guitar Hero competitions and I even managed to beat Kris one time!!! Wahoooooo! I love spending time with my lil' sister and I am grateful that we have such a great relationship. Thanks a bunch Rich for bringing me out there, even though it was a gift for Kris it felt like one for me too! I am glad that I have a great hubby that let me go too and that he was happy to be home taking care of the kiddos!

I finally got some pics of Ciara's ears! As usual she wasn't super cooperative, but she is just too cute! She still likes them and likes to get them "sparky" clean!!!

I had to throw in the one of her trying to hide from the camera. This is her new "don't look at me", or "I'm scared" face.

And on a final fun note ... both Ky and Dal drew out for the Turkey hunt this spring. They are both excited, especially Dallin! He even did some happy dance thing that was quite funny!

DANG IT!!!

2009-01-14T12:08:00.002-07:00

We had a fun weekend and of all things, I forgot my camera both times I needed it! So that means I will post our fun without the pictures because I am apparently not tech savvy enough to get the pics I did take off of my phone.

Last Thursday Randy and I took Ciara to get her ears pierced! I knew it wouldn't be great fun for her but figured we could get it done while she is young enough to not want to play with them. So far that part of my plan is working well. I asked her that morning if she wanted to wear earrings and she said "yes!" and took off to my bedroom thinking she was going to wear some of mine. It was really cute. We took her over to the Provo Towne Center to get them done and I don't know if the guns they were using were not so great or what, but it took longer then I've ever seen it take. The girl looked like she was really having to squeeze it so hard to get the earring through and of course Ciara was quite upset! She does like her earrings now, and likes to have them cleaned or to have them sparky (sparkly). Soooo stinking cute!!!

Thursday night we surprised the kids and told them they weren't going to school on Friday because we were going to St. George for the weekend. They were excited and so were we .... if nothing else we were getting out of town!!! The weather was sunny and in the mid to upper 40's so it wasn't warm, but it wasn't snowy either!!! We went up to Snow Canyon and did some hiking around and it was great getting to see the beautiful scenery. Ciara really enjoyed the hike too. Sometimes she wanted to walk, jump, or just be carried on daddy's shoulders. She really liked the little squirrels running around too. I think Ky and Dal enjoyed it more than being at school too! We thought it was too cold to be swimming outdoors so we took the kids to an indoor pool out there. There was a large water slide there that actually went pretty quick and Ciara loved it. She would laugh the whole way down. It was a great weekend that we finished by going to Delta to see Randy's family on Sunday, and stopped by the cemetery in Deseret. I just want to tell Randy a big "THANKS" for thinking that we needed to get outta town and taking us out for a fun weekend!

If anybody knows how to get pics off my phone (motorola krazr) please tell me!!!!

HAVE A LITTLE SNOW

2009-01-04T16:22:00.005-07:00

I am not a huge fan of snow . . . especially if I have to drive in it. Every once in awhile when it snows (and I don't have to drive in it) it can be really pretty to look at it. Our most recent snow storm brought the pretty kind of snow! We went to bed Friday night and it was raining and woke up Saturday to a new blanket of pretty, white snow!!! We got about 5-6 inches of new snow, so I thought I would share some pics of it with all of you.

OUR MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY BIRTHDAY

2008-12-31T13:11:00.000-07:00

I finally am getting around to adding some pics from the holidays!!! We had a nice and quiet Christmas and like a lot of you we got a lot of snow!!! It still looks like a white Christmas out there. I thought for sure Ciara would love all of the wrapping paper, but she didn't quite get it this year . . . . maybe next year?! Ky, Dal and Ciara came to our room at 6:04 am Ciara saying "present, present" over and over. I think the kids may have woke her up so they could get out to the presents. There was a doll stroller for Ciara that was sitting next to some gifts that was for Ciara and as soon as she saw it she didn't care about anything else. She just wanted to sit in it!!! I finally pushed the stroller with her in it to her presents and she opened one but eventually Dad ended up opening her gifts for her. Ky and Dal enjoyed their Christmas and Dallin has barely put his MP3 down since then. Ky is at the age where clothes make the best gifts and other teenage kind of things. It makes shopping for her super easy.

2 days later we had Ciara's 2nd birthday!!! She understood opening gifts better so she opened her gifts but once the paper came off she would just want to play with whatever she opened! It was a lot of fun and very cute. She had her 2 year check up on Friday and it went well. The doctor put her in the 66 percentile of her height and 3-5% of her weight. Not to worry though, all of our kids are tall and thin. She is healthy and developing normally, and to me that is all that really counts anyway.

I hope everybody enjoyed their Christmas! And are you ready for another New Year? It seems like each year goes by too quickly. I'm not one who really sets goals for the new year, they are just always on going. I do hope we are able to finish most of our yard this year though!!! ( Good Luck to Us! )

Have a great and safe New Year!!!

Christmas Photos

2008-12-31T13:08:00.000-07:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2008-12-24T20:04:00.003-07:00

We would like to wish everybody a very Merry Christmas!!! Our Christmas Eve has been kicked off with a tradition of the kids opening their Christmas PJ's. This year Grandma Osborn made them and they were very excited for them. Ciara even wanted her picture taken! (WOW!!!)

We hope that you all have been able to enjoy the spirit of the season. I wish it was always so easy to focus on this special spirit. I am so grateful to celebrate the birth of our Savior and to remember the greatest gift that has ever been given to mankind. We are so blessed to have the gospel in our lives, and are blessed each day because of the gospel. I am thankful for our Savior and his great sacrifice and what it means to each of us and that through the atonement we will have the wonderful opportunity of eternal families and eternal joy! I can't think of anything greater than this gift of an eternal family .... even on the not-so-great days!!! May your Christmas be filled with joy and peace and we wish you a Happy New Year!

Love, The Ogden's

THE OFFICIAL START

2008-12-19T11:13:00.003-07:00

Of the crazy Christmas season began about 2 weeks ago. I know it is crazy for everybody but we are normally pretty relaxed during this time, until this year. I thought that we were good this year so we signed the kids up for hunter safety. The class began last Tuesday. Not the best timing but thought it should be okay, then it happens . . .

Ky has musical theatre practice everyday after school!

Ky also has a dance concert, orchestra concert, and school play!

Dallin has basketball games!

Throw in a church calling, activities, and meetings!

Mix in a little hair appointment

and top it all off with the FLU!!!

That's the way it goes though right! Needless to say that our Christmas season has turned quite busy and I'm so grateful today is the last day of school (at least for a couple of days) and that I already finished my Christmas shopping! PHEWWW

Early Monday morning Ciara woke up throwing up and continued to do so for the whole morning and most of the day. Every time that we thought she was getting better she starts throwing up again. Apparently last Sunday the Nursery leaders had to send some kids home because they were throwing up, I guess that was just a little late!!! LOL She woke up in the middle of the night again this morning throwing up again and this time she got company from her big brother. Dallin now has the flu too and that is the way to start Christmas break! If you've got to be sick it's better to find it out at home rather than at school.

Ciara thought that she wanted to eat this morning so I made her some oatmeal and she had a pop-tart and she was just sitting in her chair staring into space. I could tell she was so tired and tried taking her to lay down but she did not want to leave her chair. Finally after about an hour she fell asleep in it and I tried moving her again and she still did not want to move, so she took a nice long nap in her high chair for about 2 hours! I guess she will sleep somewhere besides her bed if she has been sick for several days!

I do enjoy this time of year so much! Even the craziness and the sickness because it is still great to just feel the great spirit that everybody seems to have.

CHRISTMAS BOX SATURDAY

2008-12-09T07:45:00.006-07:00

Have you all read the "Christmas Box" by Richard Paul Evans? It is a fabulous story with a wonderful message. I first read the book years ago when it was new and read it at least once a year (usually around Christmas). I love the message but now it has new meaning for our family. The book talks about a statue of a angel child in a cemetery in Salt Lake. This angel actually exists there, the original was destroyed after a flood, but after the book it was built again and placed in the cemetery. This angel is dedicated to all parents who have lost a child. They have since built more and have had them placed at cemeteries all over the world. The one closest to us is in Baby Land at the Spanish Fork Cemetery.

Each year on December 6th at each of these statues there are services held for anybody who has lost a child. We attended it last year while our wounds were still fresh and did it again this year. It will be our family tradition for a long time I'm sure. It is nice to be able to go there and have others there that know and understand your feelings of loss and to just remember. There is always a speaker, a musical number, candle lighting and moment of silence, and then we each place a flower on and around the angel. It is a beautiful and peaceful ceremony. If you are aware of others who have lost a child I would recommend that you share this with them. Click here to find a location near you.

Also on Saturday we did some family pics. I have a friend who has an awesome talent of photography so we had her come to our town to take some pics. We don't very often look at our town and think it's pretty, actually I don't think anybody has ever thought that, but it does make for a great back drop for pictures. Especially if you like old, outdoors, and farm kind of stuff. As you know Ciara isn't picture friendly and Saturday was no different, but I have gotten to see a few of the pics and they are FABULOUS!!! Yes I really said fabulous! Here are a few of them.

All right, so anybody else wanting some awesome pictures too?

Here is where you need to go...

Kristina Curtis Photography

You can see some of her other work there as well. It is all really great!!! And pricing is really great too!

THE SPOTTED ZEBRA BOUTIQUE

2008-12-03T15:10:00.009-07:00

Have you heard of

THE SPOTTED ZEBRA BOUTIQUE?

If not then it is time to head over to their website

http://www.thespottedzebraboutique.blogspot.com/

This is the next Craft Fair I am participating in and I am super excited!

Check out their other vendors, because there will be some super cute things there.

You will find some fabulous things that will make super Christmas presents!

They are also doing a GIVE-AWAY each day until the fair next Friday!!!

Log on to their website for details!

Today's give away is some of our hair clips!

Be sure to check back each day for a new give-away!

Map of location

THE CHRISTMAS TREE

2008-12-01T09:34:00.003-07:00

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We had a very enjoyable and quiet Thanksgiving at home. Randy's dad had brought us a large turkey breast roast a couple weeks ago and I decided to use that for our Thanksgiving turkey. I knew I would be busy getting ready for the craft fair and didn't want to spend hours and hours in the kitchen. I was worried about it though because I am one of those who bastes the turkey every 30 minutes and this turkey is suppose to cook in the bag. It was the most FABULOUS turkey I've ever had! It had a great flavor and was very moist and tender! I don't think I will be doing a whole turkey again.

It is a family tradition to set up our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, so we pulled everything out last night. We got the tree set up and Ciara was loving it!!! This is when it starts to get fun for her too. She walked around with an ornament for about 15 minutes trying to find a place to put it on the tree and then she would put it on and take it off and look some more. It was so cute. Ky and Dal had a lot of fun watching her too! Then when I pulled out the tree skirt she got really excited. She said "oh pretty dress!" I laid it under the tree and she immediately laid down on it and pretended to go to sleep. Then she grabbed her blankets and went back to just lay there and stare at the tree. First thing this morning she wanted the tree lights back on. She really likes the tree. Last year she loved the ornaments and trying to chew on them, but hopefully this year they will stay in one piece!

What Every Mom Needs....

2008-11-19T08:43:00.007-07:00

Two weeks ago, my loving husband sent me on a trip to Colorado by myself to go visit my sister and to see our new niece, Malia. A fabulous girl weekend was what I got!!! Apparently it must have worked well too, since I haven't updated the blog since then. I had a great time getting pedicures, going shopping, going to dinner, and even playing a little Wii. Kris was intent on getting me hooked and it worked pretty good. Guitar Hero was a lot of fun, the only person I could beat was Maddie, but I give her 5 stars for effort. I think I won a game of bowling and I sucked at Tennis. I'm pretty sure I've always sucked at Tennis though!!! On top of all this fun I got to play with our precious, little Malia. She is such a great baby and an absolute doll! And every good aunt has to teach her nieces and nephews some kind of good trick, so I taught her to wink. Okay, so she is probably a natural at it, but I like to claim that I did it!!!

I am pleased to say not only are my kids the cutest in the world, but I have a bunch of really cute nieces and nephews too!!! So thanks to Randy for sending me and to Kris for letting me come....oh and to Rich for letting me harass him. He's a good sport!!!

Randy and the kids survived their weekend very well too. I think the kids like it better when I'm gone, it seems that Dad is more fun than Mom!!!

So since I've been home I've been busy, busy, busy! It's all good busy though. I am doing a craft show next week after Thanksgiving in Spanish Fork.

So naturally I've been busy making my bows and magnets for it. Plus I had some large orders for the bows too. I thought I was never going to get stuff done for the show, but it's starting to come together! So please stop in and say "Hi" if you are in SF next weekend. Ruth is doing this show with me and will have her oatmeal/goats milk soaps there, that are great! She even did a batch of Cherry Almond that is fabulous. I'm excited to be there and even more excited to be done. Then we will be up in Draper in December doing the Spotted Zebra Boutique. I'll have more info on that one later.

TAGGED!!!

2008-11-05T12:58:00.002-07:00

I got the

4TH FILE . . . 4TH PICTURE TAG!!!

This is Dallin's pinewood derby 2 1/2 years ago. It was his first and not the best one for him. He received the "Most Original" award if that tells you anything. He did have fun though!!!

Now I tag:

Kristine &

Stacey (who needs to update anyway!)

HALLOWEEN

2008-11-04T09:38:00.005-07:00

Well Halloween really snuck up on me this year. I didn't feel prepared at all for it. This is the one thing that our town does well though. They have a town trunk or treat and everybody goes to it. Even the old people come and pull out their lawn chairs and hand out candy. It is nice, cause then there aren't trick or treaters at our house all night. Ciara didn't really know what to think. She thought the candy was great, especially the suckers. She wanted to hold those in her hands and not in the bucket. A lot of the costumes made her nervous though, so dad had to carry her most of the way. Dallin trick or treated with us while Ky stayed at the car and handed out candy. She had a Halloween party to go to afterwards and had a lot of fun. It sure is nice when the weather isn't cold on halloween and the kids don't have to wear coats.

The kids have decided that they would really like to start hunting and so we are getting them signed up for hunters safety. So Saturday we took them out shooting. They had a lot of fun and didn't do to bad. (They get that from their MOM!!!) Ky has a hard time closing one eye though, we had no idea that she could not wink! Kind of funny! Dallin was really excited about shooting his squirrel target (paper) right in the center. And even Ky got the center of her rabbit! And Ciara used this time to be the drama mama queen that she is!!! The kids had been shooting for quite some time when she decided that every time a shot went off that she needed to milk it for all it was worth to her daddy and would pretend that it was scaring her. It was quite cute and really funny!!!

A SMALL WARNING!!!

2008-10-29T05:51:00.002-06:00

As you may remember I have stated in past, that blogging has been very therapeutic for me. ( My Therapists name is BLOGGER.COM, please feel free to use it!!)

The following post is no different. This blog has always been intended for our family and friends and so I have given a lot of thought about sharing the following video, and I know that I wanted to share it with those who are closest to us, as many of you were with us a year ago when we lost our little Aspyn. The video does have pictures of Aspyn. So I caution you to please watch it with reverence and respect and listen to the words of the song. The lyrics were written by a women who also had a still born child and then she asked Michael R. Hicks to write the music for it. This song is beautiful and the words are very healing and peaceful to me.

BORN STILL ~ LITTLE ASPYN

2008-10-29T00:01:00.001-06:00

HAVE SOME HEAT

2008-10-26T16:33:00.007-06:00

Ciara has never been a big sleep-in kind of baby. She is not much of a napper either. So when there was a couple of times that she was sleeping in quite a bit over the past few weeks I thought it was kind of awesome but weird too! You have those panicky moments when they do that and you have to go in and check to make sure everything is all right. Well here is what I found ...

She really likes the heater, she says "hot, hot!"

Her heater puts out quite a bit of air!!! Doesn't it look like according to her hair that she should be flying?!

That must be a good time!

Now I know that if the heater is on, more than likely she will be on the heater and not sleeping in!!!

SMART?!!!

2008-10-14T06:43:00.005-06:00

Last night Randy and I went to dinner. We went to this fabulous little Chinese restaurant in Payson called Tsing Tao. We really like it there. The food is great, especially the teriyaki chicken and the coconut chicken, and the wait staff is fabulous and friendly! Last night our waiter asked if we wanted chopsticks, this is the first time we have been offered chopsticks there. Randy said yes as he has become quite good using them after spending so much time in Asia. He even has a preference of what kind of chopsticks (no metal). So we are eating our food with our chopsticks when the waiter comes up and starts talking to us. He is talking so fast that we can barely understand him, but he is saying something about how we look smart and something about if we have used chopsticks before. Pretty soon I see him handing out chopsticks to more customers and showing some of the kids how to use them. This guy is just very friendly and you can tell he is enjoying his night. He brought Randy and I some cake and then our ticket with the usual fortune cookies and tells us to come back again! He looks at Randy and says "I will remember you, you are very smart" while gesturing to his head and pointing out Randy's receding hair line. LOL I don't think he was being offensive at all but I'm wondering if the Asians believe bald men are smart because they are bald! It gave us a good laugh and of course we will be back. How can you not when dinner is that much fun.

Just as a side note, I do think that my husband is very smart and attractive, but I would never had considered that the balding part is what made him look that way!

A SWEET REUNION!!!

2008-10-12T08:57:00.006-06:00

She's here, she's here!

And in Maddie's own words "Listen up! This baby is ours!!!"

Malia made it home, safe and sound on Thursday. Just a few days after she turned 1. She was greeted at the airport by her family and a whole lot of friends. This is their first family pic and she looks like she has always belonged. And it would appear that Mom and Malia have the same hair do!!! Having children is such a blessing and Malia is no different! She and her family have waited for so long to be united together. Kristine has said so many times "all in the Lord's time", which isn't always easy to accept, but they have been so patient through the entire process and as always, Heavenly Father DOES know what you can bare! And now she is here and is perfect. She has been an absolutely wonderful baby and is full of love and smiles!

CONGRATULATIONS JEFFER'S FAMILY!!!

Jesus Loves the Little Children

2008-10-09T13:49:00.003-06:00

And Ciara sure loves him too! We have a ceramic figurine of Jesus with the little children and a sheep that sits on a stand in the living room. Ciara is always trying to play with it. Today she went up to it and started saying oohhhh, and gently touching it. Then she was excited about the kids on his lap and his shoes. Then she started pulling it towards the edge of the stand trying to kiss him, but she couldn't reach it. So she grabbed him off and before I could stop her she hurried and gave him a big hug. She has this new thing when she gives her babies and animals hugs that she squeezes them really tight, and makes a noise that I don't know how to write it. But it IS really cute. So she does this with Jesus over and over and giving him kisses!!! It was really sweet so I had to take some pics and share!

Pictures of Korea

2008-10-06T16:29:00.000-06:00

GOOD NEWS MINUTE!!!

2008-10-03T12:43:00.004-06:00

First of all, due to the fact that Randy and the crew got the install done early and it is a holiday in Korea today, he is already on his way home. We will have our daddy back tonight!!! It will be so nice to have him home. We did find out a few days ago that his schedule might be changing when he gets home, but we probably won't know until next week.

Next, and this is very exciting!!!! My sister and her family got Malia's travel call yesterday.! What does this mean exactly? This means that after more than a year of the adoption process that their sweet little Malia is coming home to her family next Thursday. Her 1st birthday is on Monday, Oct. 6th. We are so excited for them to finally be getting their little Korean Princess home! Kris, I am sending a WOOT, WOOT out to you!!!! Patience does pay off!

Is that just not the sweetest smile!

A Life of Service

2008-09-30T15:32:00.010-06:00

"God the Father gave His Son, and Jesus Christ gave us the Atonement -- gifts of unfathomable depth and value for us. Jesus gave His gift freely, willingly to us all. One of the sure signs of a person who has accepted the gift of the Savior's Atonement is a willingness to give." Henry B. Eyring, Giving with Joy, Ensign, Dec. 1982

Our countdown to October is almost officially over. You may remember several months ago I posted a blog saying that when October came around that our family would be focusing on giving more service to those around us as a way to honor our little Aspyn. I also challenged and invited those who read this blog to join us. As the time has gotten closer I sill feel that it is very important to do but have wondered if it was necessary to make one month out of the year seem more important than the rest to serve those around us. It may seem weird to some that October is the Ogden family service month. Let me explain a little more about why we are doing this.

When Aspyn passed on we really didn't know what to do or what to expect. But before we had the time to figure this all out we immediately were given support from our family and strangers that we did not know. Even at the hospital I had nurses and hospital workers that came to give emotional support and offering to help with making arrangements for Aspyn. I was amazed at the generosity of Amy Engle and the time that she spent at the hospital taking care of things for us. Such as taking pictures and putting together a memory box for us to keep. She was there almost the whole day ready to give of her time. Not much later we began to have family come to the hospital as well. Randy's parents came and were a big help to us with furthering the arrangements of what needed to happen as well as took the other kids to eat and brought them to the hospital, and were just an all around comfort to us. My mom hopped on a plane and got here that evening and was a big help with the kids in making sure that things tried to stay as normal for them as possible. If it weren't for her they might not have been trick-or-treating last year. My sister was available for me on the phone every time I called her and was a great listener as we shed tears together, even at 5:00 am when I woke her up to talk! It didn't end there either. We continued to receive support from people all around us even from people we didn't expect. Meals were brought in for several days, arrangements were made for graveside services and burial, we received gifts of love from family, friends, and even people we hardly know. At that time we had not really ever had the need of service from others, besides the occasional helping us move kind of thing. The amount of love and kindness that we received at that time was very touching and as I look back now it was also inspiring. So now we want to be able to give back.

We are taught in church to love and serve others. The two really go hand in hand. How can you love somebody and not want to serve them as well. So we decided that October we would really focus on giving to service to others in hope that we will make it a part of our lives always. I know that we have our families that keep us pretty busy and I remember in a VT lesson a couple of years ago that it said our service should begin in our homes with our families. However, we need to make great efforts to serve those in need as much as possible and incorporate our families into that. For our children who are older they can learn so much from our example but also by being a part of it.

It is my hope that by focusing on service this next month that we will become more in tune to the needs of others and be able to bless their lives as ours was blessed last fall. When I think of the Savior I think of how much he loves each of us, and how his mortal life was filled with service and charity. He gave all he had to everyone around him. And now he still serves and love us and we get to know of his love through the service of others. I knew that he hadn't forgot our family because he sent others to us in our time of sorrow and they brought his love with them. We need to always be willing to share his love with others, which means serving others, even if by small and simple means! Let us all follow his example and be better givers of service!

(Is givers even a word?)

An Update on KOREA

2008-09-26T17:09:00.004-06:00

I know this is about a week late, but Randy made it to Korea safe and sound, and without any sleep on his flight. He arrived in Seoul last Friday and spent the night in Suwon. On Saturday morning they jumped on a bus for a 4 hour trip to Gwangju which is where he is now and will be for the remainder of the trip. He says his hotel is decent and hasn't minded the food too much. He doesn't particularly care for the Kimchi which happens to be the main food in Korea. He's been eating a lot of rice dishes with veggies and pork. Yesterday he ate mostly western foods with lunch at Burger King and spaghetti for dinner. His first night in Gwangju he ate at a traditional Korean restaurant. You must remove your shoes at the door and the sit on a pillow on the floor up to a table. The waiter didn't speak English and I don't think Randy knew what was on the menu so the waiter brought him a whole bunch of food to eat. He says he ate it and was getting full and then the waiter brought him some more! LOL

Randy has been working the afternoon shift so he goes in typically around 2 or 3 and works until about 11 pm. Well he arrived at his hotel room two nights ago to find a strange man asleep in his bed. By strange, I mean that Randy didn't know him! The man was not waking up so Randy headed down to the front desk to let them know there was a problem in his room. They employee went with Randy to try and wake the man up and he wouldn't even respond. Needless to say he was very drunk and passed out on Randy's bed. So the employee and Randy started gathering Randy's stuff to move him into a new room . . . I guess he didn't want a roommate! As they were gathering his stuff the man still passed out began to vomit. HELLO!!! He must have had a good night or a really bad one, but it still didn't wake him up. Needless to say I'm sure he didn't have a good following morning! Randy got a good chuckle out of it. He was a pretty good sport about the whole thing. It appears that the guy got off on the wrong floor and his key just happened to work in Randy's door. Moral of the story . . . don't leave anything valuable in a hotel room in Korea and don't wander around naked!!! You never know who's going to be coming in and it may not be room service!

We are sure missing Randy here but he is doing well over there. He's anxious to get home, but while he is there I'm hoping he can get some good shopping trips in!!! LOVE YA BABE!!!

Retail Therapy Baby!!!

2008-09-21T21:31:00.007-06:00

Okay, so I deliberately "forgot" to mention a little shopping trip Ciara and I took after we left the airport the other day. I felt so bad for Ciara missing her daddy and probably having no idea why he wasn't coming with us. So on our way home while she was crying for her dad, I asked her if she wanted some new shoes, (I know...I'm horrible!!!) and she said "yes"! I knew she would, she loves shoes. She gets that from me! So we made a side trip to the store to get some shoes. She really liked it, we got her some fall clothes and a couple pair of shoes. I tried to get a picture of her "therapy" today so she could show daddy, but she wasn't so cooperative!!! She just likes to see herself in the camera. So here is the best one I could get! BTW she says "HI DAD"!

HELLO CUTENESS!!!

From the Canyon to the Fireside, Zoo, Home Depot, and Korea

2008-09-18T13:08:00.006-06:00

The cooler weather has been so fabulous that we have tried to take advantage of it! Randy got off work early on Saturday so we headed up the canyon again. This time we just took a picnic though so we could spend more time chasing Ciara!!! Kylie decided to go with her friends family to another canyon though, they were taking horses and 4-wheelers, so of course that was more fun. It was cool enough that we needed jackets. Ahhh . . . jacket weather is the best!

I had organized a youth/parent fireside with the missionaries for this last Sunday. I was quite nervous if anybody would show up. Our ward has a great record for not showing up...example; in a town of just under 1000 we have 1 ward with an average attendance of 27%. So I wasn't sure anyone would come, let alone to a fireside about how to fellowship and share the gospel. I had organized a youth choir to sing there as well. Needless to say, the choir sounded beautiful, the missionaries gave awesome talks, and the bishop told me that was the best attendance they had ever had. It was a great fireside!!! The choir did so good that they are having them sing their song in sacrament this Sunday. I hope that the message will stick with the youth. The spirit was really strong and the message was awesome!

Randy, Ciara, and I went to the zoo on Monday. I thought Ciara would be getting old enough that it would be fun for her, and the weather was perfect for it. So after a few wrong turns we made it there and boy did Ciara have fun! She would hardly stay in her stroller (except walking up hills) and she loved running around. Her favorite part about the zoo was probably the carousel. (Should've been our last stop) Her next favorite thing was probably the water in the exhibits. She would see the animals and make the sounds they make, or say what they were, but as soon as she saw water she would get so excited saying "water, water, see, see?" It was really funny, until we went to look at the penguins and she saw their pool and sat down to start taking off her shoes so she could go swimming! She also liked talking to the other little kids around her. We were there for a few hours and by the time we were leaving she was pooped and about 20 minutes down the road, she was out!

Well with all of this excitement that meant Tuesday we needed to make a trip to Home Depot. What's a week without HD? Don't ever let anybody tell you that the Provo HD is going under, because I'm quite sure we keep them funded!!! LOL We went to get that paint we needed for the wall with Randy's gun and of course picked up some other stuff too! Randy also finished the chimney to the stove, so now we are down to doing the brick work (any volunteers?), mantle and book shelves. Can't wait until that's all done!!! I got the wall painted yesterday and it looks fabulous. Randy took his gun out to shoot since he had a new muzzle break put on, only to find out that it was too small and had to take his gun back in to get it fixed. Then I had a nice relaxing night with the YW making "Charity Never Faileth" jars.

So now we are up to today and the Korea part. I had to take Randy to the airport this morning so he could jump ship to Korea for 2 1/2 weeks. For work of course. I know he just got back from Taiwan 2 months ago, but is anybody listening to me? I'm telling them right now, he needs to be home for the rest of the year!!! Ciara daddy, daddy, for 20 minutes after we left the airport. She was sad we dropped her dad off somewhere and of course doesn't know why. It broke my heart. She finally fell asleep in the car around Lindon. She really loves her daddy!! So the good part about Randy going to Korea is that he will get to pick some stuff up for Kristine to have for her baby. Malia is still in Seoul and will hopefully be home soon, but this way they can have some things for her from her first home! Randy will not get to see her as it is not allowed anyway. And he will only be in Seoul for a few hours and then he is off to Kwangju which is at the Southern end of the country. The worst part of these trips is waiting for that phone call where he says I'm in my hotel. Let's see, I have about 15 hours until then. We all miss Randy while he is gone. Especially his super, great, BBQ burgers!!! Ask the kids, they are the best!

We LOVE and MISS you Randy! Be safe!

2008-09-18T13:08:00.001-06:00

Uh-Oh He is 11 Now!!!

2008-09-07T12:03:00.003-06:00

Do you realize what that means? In one year he will be receiving the Aaronic Priesthood, he will be a Deacon and will be my little man passing the sacrament!!! I'm so not ready, especially since we all know how time flies, I'm not going to be ready then either. I'm glad I have another year!

Dallin's birthday was on Friday and naturally that meant we had an early start! 5:00 am early, since Randy leaves for work around then and who wants to wait to open presents until 7:00 at night. Yeah right, like I could wait that long to give them to him! He was eager to get up and was so excited for new jeans that he could wear to school the same day. (On Fridays they get a semi free dress day) He didn't even want to go back to bed after Randy left. It is getting harder to find things for him. I think it is so much easier to shop for girls than it is for boys. I think it must be harder for him to think of things that he wants too. He could only say that he wanted a motorcycle and books. Books okay, motorcycle. . . not happening my friend! After I got done making salsa last week he wanted his own jar of that too! He likes when we can salsa before his b-day so he can get his own!!! We had some "Better than turning 11" Cake, which of course is better than a lot of things, and then had to watch Indiana Jones! It was a fun day for him. He has been a pretty easy kid to raise. He is usually pretty relaxed (sometimes too relaxed), and laid back. He has a sweet heart, and really looks out for Ciara. He really likes to play with her and her toys. He is such a great kid and who could resist that cute face?! Yes, I'm a bias mom.

Dallin's B-day

2008-09-07T12:02:00.001-06:00

Finally a Cool Down!!!

2008-09-04T09:10:00.002-06:00

But not necessarily a slow down! It is so nice having the kids back in school. Ciara really misses Kylie while she is gone though. Now that it has cooled down some I got to take Ciara to the park where she could play without getting burned on the toys. She really likes the park ... like is an understatement. I think she would swing all day if she could! We took a little picnic and ate, then she played on the swings for about 20 minutes. When we went to get our stuff all packed up she saw some birds in the parking lot and went to chase them off. She tried calling them back by patting on her legs like you do to get a dogs attention. She wasn't to happy when they wouldn't come back.

My mom made a surprise visit last week. I didn't tell the kids she was coming so they came home from school last Wednesday and were very surprised to see her here. They had a great time with grandma. We even woke up one morning to quite a laugh when Ciara came out of her room. Randy had put her to bed the night before and had stuck one of those plastic diaper covers on over her pants! It was very cute, but she seemed a little embarassed. Dad's are funny!

This week has been the week to get stuff done! I have canned a bunch of salsa and we can hardly wait to eat it! We are big fans of salsa especially the home-made kind so I'm sure we will be doing more so it will last at least until next fall! I dragged Randy up to Tai Pan on Monday to do some fall shopping. He wasn't to excited about it, but he ended up finding some great hooks to hang his shotgun up with. Earlier this year he did some refinishing work on an old shotgun he inherited from his Grandpa Black. He wanted to hang it up for display, so he was pretty excited when he found these hooks. We have extra wood around so he found a piece and sanded it up really nice. I was so impressed with his work. It turned out great. I stained it for him and we hung it up yesterday. It looks really great so of course that means we will be repainting the wall!!! I've given up on the idea that I could possibly be done painting in the house. Oh well, I always enjoy seeing new walls!

Pics of the Last Week

2008-09-04T09:09:00.001-06:00

If You Can't Laugh With Us

2008-08-24T17:02:00.001-06:00

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A Little Aspyn

2008-08-24T15:55:00.001-06:00

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Need Some Help Please!

2008-08-21T11:53:00.003-06:00

I made these little, bitty, korkers and would like to find out if they will work in fine, baby hair. So here is what I need. I am looking for 4 people with baby girls preferably under 18 months that would be willing to try these clips in her hair! They are attached to 3/4" alligator clips that have little jaws on them. I CAN use them in Ciara's hair but I am looking for babies with less hair than Ciara. I will send them out to you free of charge; what you have to agree to do is this:

1. Have your baby girl wear it several times.

2. E-mail me some feedback about the clips. I will send you a survey of what I would like feedback on.

3. HONEST feedback. I want to make sure that they are functional as well as cute! So you can't be afraid to send back negative feedback as well.

4. If you want to be a part of this please leave a comment for this post of which color you would like and then e-mail me at kayandbeecreations@hotmail.com with your shipping information.

That's easy right! Thanks for your help!!

My Computer is BACK!!!

2008-08-14T10:07:00.002-06:00

I got it back yesterday afternoon! I am very happy that it works again! I can finally post some pics now.

After Randy came home from Taiwan he immediately went right back to work...that is work on projects around the house. There is a new set of stairs off the back kitchen door, he finished the shed, added rain gutters to the back of the house, started the chimney for the stove, and decided that the kids bathroom needed some updating. Which it really did! So we were off to buy a new toilet and some tile for the floor. We put the kids out of their bathroom for a couple of days and painted the walls, tore out the floor, put in the toilet, installed the tile, replaced the lights, and put in new trim. I got to grout the tile again, but I'm starting to like doing it! (On a small scale) After we finished the floor I think we were both glad that we decided against tile in the kitchen. I love washing tile but I don't think either of us want to install over 400 sf of tile! After the tile was down the next day Randy installed the toilet. It made such a huge difference. There is still some work to be done in there like definitely a new counter top and tub, but all in due time! After I painted the bathroom and had left over paint, Ky decided she liked the color so much that we then painted the green walls in her bedroom turquoise! It does look fun and her room is turning into more of a teen dorm room!

We had a good thunder & lightning storm the other night and Ciara really enjoyed it. She sat in the window listening and watching. Every time there was lightning she would say "wowww", it was just like fireworks. She has even started noticing the stars at night and likes to point them out and tell everyone to "see, see!" She is really starting to talk. She repeats almost everything that we say to her. I changed her crib into the daybed on Sunday and so far it has been great. She takes her naps in there and sleeps in it just great. She even goes to bed and stays in it! I probably shouldn't be so surprised cause she will only sleep in HER bed. I guess that's not a bad thing!

We have finally started getting good, red tomatoes from the garden. They are so yummy and fresh. Hopefully we will be able to start canning salsa in a week or so! I put in a picture of the watermelon we picked last night too. We have 3 of them that grew long instead of round (weird), and more that are round, but this one just seemed so big for our garden. It weighs almost 20 lbs!!! I'm glad that we didn't have to pay 30 something cents for that one.

2008-08-14T10:07:00.001-06:00

Kylie's Pics are in!!!

2008-08-12T08:59:00.006-06:00

All right, so I've had them for a few weeks now. She was very excited to get them back as were we all. We have to approve them and wait a little longer for the prints but I will post a few of them today. This means it is time for her official spotlight too!

Ky is the oldest in our family. She was also the first grandchild for all of her grandparents, needless to say she has been somewhat spoiled for that fact alone. Kylie was the best little baby. She was very quiet and a quick learner. She has been a fairly easy child to raise. Kylie has been on competitive dance teams and plays the violin. She learned the violin very quickly and is a great player. (I didn't have to spend a lot of time cringing at wrong notes) She loves her family so much. And now that she is a little over 5'5" tall and a teenager in every way, she really thinks that she is an adult! (Wait, didn't we all feel that way?) So now my sweet baby knows more than her parents, thinks that she should live with grandma most of the time and is so upset with me right now cause I won't let her go to the Toby Keith concert with friends.

Remember when life was hard?!

She is a huge help at home and is absolutely adored by Ciara. She was just recently sustained as the Beehive class president, and is really excited to serve the girls in her class. She showed a great deal of spiritual maturity as she prayed about who her counselors should be. It was a powerful learning experience for her. Ky has often comforted me since last fall. She can tell when I feel down and likes to write me little letters to help cheer me up. She started writing me letters in Kindergarten, however they weren't always the cheering up kind!!! If she got in trouble for something she would write a letter of how sad she was and throw it down the stairs for me to find. It was often so cute and funny that I couldn't stay mad. A couple years ago she had a class on leadership and learned how to write "persuasive" letters. Needless to say it wasn't long after that that Randy and I received a letter on why she should have a later bed time. It was very persuasive and Randy was completely convinced and agreed to it whole-heartedly. I'm sure that means that class paid off.

We love our little Kylie so much...even though she is not so little anymore. I'm so happy that you are my daughter! Thank you for all the help you give us!

TAGGED!!!

2008-07-31T22:04:00.007-06:00

Thanks Stacey! This was fun, now everybody else is tagged so get to it!!!

A-Z This is me...

A - age - 32, but really I quit counting at 25
B - birthday - February 25, Do the math!!!
C - candy or cake - Depends on the candy and cake...German Chocolate or skittles, I'll go for the GC.
D - Dessert you love - CHOCOLATE, The milk chocolate kind.
E - easiest person to talk to - Kristinee weenee ... Don't kill me!
F - favorite song - ummm...anything that makes me boogy!
G - gold or silver - Silver, silver, silver
H - habit - Brush my teeth first thing in the morning (You didn't really think I would embarrass myself with a bad habit did you?)
I - instruments I play - Flute & piano (self-taught on both...mostly)
J - job title - Domestic Engineer AKA...mom, wife, laundry girl, cook, maid, babysitter, I come to all of those names!
K - kids - Ky, Dal, Ciara, & Aspyn (refer to previous posts to find out how wonderful they each are, and by the way...can't wait for school to start!)
L - love or lust - All You need is love, love. Love is all you need! (I hope that tune is stuck in your head now like it is mine)
M- married or single - Married, married, married
N - next to you - Usually Ciara
O - one wish - That my fair godmother would get off her life-long vacation all ready
P - person you called last - Kristine
Q - quotes - There are starving children in China! (My Parents) Seriously, I still didn't eat my brussel sprouts so I don't expect that to work on my kids.
R - reasons to smile - If you spend enough time with me you will have plenty of reasons to smile or laugh too! Just ask my kids, they think I'm so weird, but at least we can all laugh at me!
S - steak or pork - Steak! Just ask Ky what she wants for dinner. She better marry a cattle man.
T - turns you on - Randy with a clean shaved face, not head! (hint, hint!) And on the side maybe Edward too!
U - unique talent - Everything I do is unique, again ask the kids. I'll have to get back to this one later!
V - vegetable - fried zucchini, fresh garden tomatoes, make that any fresh veggie from the garden!!!
W - woke up at what time - About 7. It usually depends on Ciara. I try to sleep a little later when she does. I'm not always so lucky though.
X - x-rays I've had - Teeth, other than that I'm not really sure. I don't remember any. Except maybe once when I swallowed a nickle, but I'm not real clear on that memory.
Y - your favorite color - Right now it might be a light turquoise, or bold pink colors. Depends on my mood.
Z - zodiac - Pisces baby!!!

What Did We Do Before Computers?

2008-07-24T20:04:00.004-06:00

Does anybody even remember how we managed without them? What fun would that be if we had to go back to that? We would have to start mailing out letters again instead of blogging!! My computer crashed this week; yes my brand new computer that is only 4 months old! It makes me crazy to have these problems with a brand new product. It of course is under warranty so naturally that means mail the computer to Texas and let them fix it and mail it back. So I am without computer for a couple weeks. (aaaaaghhh) I really like to be able to check my emails, and business news throughout the day. Plus that's usually how Randy and I communicate when he is working. Needless to say until my computer comes back I won't have any pics on the blog. I am using Randy's laptop when he is home and don't really want to install the software on this. So you may be stuck with just the posts!

I am really excited though for school to start again! Probably more excited than the kids and no not just cause I'm sick of them fighting and complaining that it's too hot! The kids have been in charter schools almost all of their schooling years but last year I had to pull them out because it seemed that it would be a lot of effort trying to get them to school with 2 babies in tow and they aren't just down the road. Well I got the best news a couple weeks ago that 2 of the charter schools were going to begin busing and we happened to be one of the "lucky" towns that gets to have the busing. Mostly cause one of the drivers lives around the corner from us. I immediately jumped on that band wagon and got the kids enrolled. I was even more excited when I got to see the schools programs they are offering for the kids. They have several different programs to join but Ky will be in the fine arts program which will include orchestra (of course), dance, private violin lessons, drama lessons, and other classes along those lines. Dallin will be in the business/sports program. That means that he will be taught his core classes with a business emphasis but will also be involved in sports through the school all year long! All of the practices are during school and most of the games will be also. They are trying it that way to try and keep kids from being soo busy with extracurricular after school that they don't have time for homework and family time. Seriously, I should of thought of that a long time ago. I'm glad somebody did. I'm sure this can be a great experience for them and also have a little fun at school too! I've always been so happy with the charter schools curriculums anyway, my kids really learn a lot more there than at the traditional public schools. Don't even get me started on last year! (YIKES!!!) Needless to say I could give you at least a dozen reasons why the kids should be in charter schools!

Just Some Good Family Fun!

2008-07-17T13:07:00.006-06:00

It is so awesome when the family can get along and be entertained so well with something so simple!!! These moments are so much fun and greatly treasured I just love to share them with everyone. I was quite surprised that the trampoline could bring such unity even with the bumps and bruises that happen along the way! Even Ciara gets quite a kick out of the trampoline. Not that I should be surprised she likes jumping on everything else!

It's Official...She is a TEENAGER!!!

2008-07-11T10:02:00.006-06:00

What to do...she has been a teenager in her mind for quite some time, but now she is official (as of last night about 6:18)! Ky turned 13 yesterday. In some ways she does seem a little older, but I think that comes as being the oldest! We started the day about 5 am. Randy has to leave for work early and who wants to wait all day to open presents? She received quite a bit of new clothes, a new phone for her bedroom and of course some jewelry and make-up. After Randy left I think we all went back to bed.

Aunt Kris called to wish her a Happy B-day and the power went out while they were talking. Turns out some animal got into the lines and our power was out for just over 4 hours! Thankfully it wasn't a hundred degree day! We went swimming only to sit most of the time on the side because somebody left a muffin on the edge of the pool, which to the swimming pool employees looked like something else. So the swimming part was not so much fun, but we will have to try again!!! We went from the pool to meet Randy at Cold-Stone for some birthday ice-cream. We all had some yummy ice-cream and Ciara made a big, sticky, mess of course! Then to finish off her day she hung out with some friends roasting marshmallows and playing night games.

I am so glad that Kylie is my daughter. She impresses me all of the time with her maturity. She has helped boost me up when I've needed it and is a big helper with Ciara. Kylie was the sweetest, calmest baby and made the motherhood transition so easy. She was just called as her Beehive class president and I know that she will set a great example for her peers. She is very talented, she plays the violin and likes to write stories. I remember when she was in 2nd grade and she wanted to read me a story she wrote. It was a "re-make" of Snow White. I don't remember the whole thing but I remember thinking you wrote that? It was a hilarious version, I laughed at it so much. She has since written many short stories and even plays. She has a very creative mind. Kylie also has a tender heart and even though she and Dallin can fight like cats & dogs she is also very concerned for him and looks out for him and will help him when he needs it! We are so blessed to have Kylie in our family and wouldn't trade her for the world. (So, you don't have to ask.)

Happy Birthday Bug!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-07-11T10:02:00.001-06:00

To the Woods

2008-07-09T12:34:00.011-06:00

Monday night we decided to head up the canyon for a BBQ picnic. We used to do this all of the time when we lived close to Provo Canyon and it was always a lot of fun. Plus who doesn't want to get out of the heat? I really enjoy not having to cook in the kitchen in the summer! Thanks to Randy we often eat off of the grill, and it is always better than kitchen food! We headed up Santaquin Canyon which is a pretty canyon. There is a lot of foliage and a small river and a VERY narrow road. More narrow than AF canyon has ever been. Most of the road is broken and has a lot of falling rock. We had a good laugh because at one point there is a sign that says "one lane over bridge" and we thought the whole road has been one lane why bother with a sign here? LOL We found a place that was very shady with a fire pit and got to cooking the burgers.

Kylie just got home from girls camp last Friday so she sat there listening to the tunes on her MP3 cause she had enough outdoors last week!!! Dallin was busy finding wood for the fire and rolling rocks down the mountain and Ciara.... well she just couldn't sit still or even stay in an area for longer than 30 seconds. She wanted to run down the road and up the mountain and it was all great fun. Every time she fell she got dirtier and dirtier. And we are talking BLACK dirty, cause the dirt was black. She thought it was great fun! I took her for a little walk and a caterpillar ran out right in front of her and she started laughing and chased it until she caught it. It was a really fuzzy caterpillar and it probably tickled her hand cause she even tried putting it up against her nose to tickle it! We had to throw it into some bushes so the poor thing wouldn't get squished to death! We had a really great dinner but I'm not so sure I'm ready to take Ciara camping anytime soon now that she is so mobile and fears nothing!

It is hard to see, but she is holding her little caterpillar here.

Is this the face of trouble or what?!!!