Christmas the entire month!

Christmas morning can sometimes feel like a let down...that was all it's over and done is less than an hour. So I've tried really hard this year and last to make Christmas last the entire month. We've done something every night together as a family. I probably should just post the entire list but here are a few of the things we've done.
*Put up the Christmas tree
*Read our favorite Christmas books
*Attend the kids school program
*Make treats for the neighbors
*Decorate a gingerbread house
*Church dinner
*Listen to favorite Christmas songs
*Lights at temple square
*Secret Santa
*Write letters to Santa
*Go to our friends Christmas party
*Watch our favorite Christmas movies
We still have a few more days til the big day and we are looking forward to the time we spend together each night and I think that's what I want my kids to remember most about the holidays.

Meggan's Big Day

Saturday was Meggan's Big Day. She became the newest member of the church in our family. She was baptized by her amazing dad. One of Meggan's best friends Megan was baptized as well. It was a great day and we had lots of family and friends come and support her. We are so proud of her for making this important choice and glad she is ours.

Time with the girls

Last Saturday my sister-in-law Britney and I drove to Salt Lake to see the movie Twilight with my other two sisters Kristy and Shelley and Mom. It was a really fun day. We saw the movie, I liked it, didn't love it and I'll probably see it again with my husband. We went to lunch and then did a little shopping. It was a really nice day and we missed having our other sister-in-law who lives in Pennsylvania with us. Maybe she'll get to come to the next girls day out. I'm thinking Mother's day weekend sounds good.

I know it's not Christmas yet, but play along...

This is a fun little getting to know you Christmas style TAG! Hope you enjoy and if you read this feel free to play along.
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? both, mostly paper at Christmas.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial

3. When do you put up the tree? It varies usually the first week of December.

4. When do you take the tree down? New Years Day if I can get Dustin to hold off that long sometimes its December 26.

5. Do you like eggnog? Not really unless it has sprite in it and then just one cup is plenty.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My dad and grandpa made me a bookcase that I still use and another year a desk I still have.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My in-laws, it's hard to buy for those that have pretty much everything they need.

8. Easiest person to buy for? I enjoy shopping for my kids.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes - a lot of them I guess you could say I collect them. My favorite came from my in-laws last year and it is the white porcelain one my husband remembers growning up with.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? mail I love getting Christmas cards as well. So I send a ton.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? It would have to be some really weird white elephant gift from the Stuart Christmas party.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I don't really have one.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I'm a huge day after Thanksgiving fan. I love to go and get great deals that day and who am I kidding I love to watch the crazy people.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? yes, those white elephant gifts from the Stuart Christmas party and the next Stuart Christmas party. I think we had a necklace and earring set that got passed around for a couple of years.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? all the treats the neighbors bring by.

16. Lights on the tree? yes

17. Favorite Christmas song?Oh Holy Night. It's been done by a couple of great artist and I enjoy each one.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Yes

20. Angel on the tree-top or a star? Star

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? 1 on Christmas eve, the rest in the morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? I love it all. We really try to make it last all month long not just one morning.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I love unwrapping each ornament and reminiscing about where it came from.

24. Favorite food for Christmas dinner? Isn't it a tradition to have ham and funeral potatoes.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I have a list that I keep going through out the year when I think of something I would enjoy using or having around the home.


Merry Christmas and feel free to play along.

Meggan's Birthday

Meggan's birthday was last weekend and she got to invite 8 friends to a birthday party. She had a great time. When the girls arrived they each made a bracelet. Then Mom hired 2 young women to come help do make-overs on all the little girls. We did hair, make-up, & nails. We ate pizza and cake, opened presents, watched a movie and played pin the crown on the princess. The girls all went home with a goody bag that had candy jewelry in it, bubbles, & bubble gum. Mom also made hair flowers for each of the girls. They all wanted up do's so we put a flower in their hair and then there was another color flower for them to take home as well. It was a great night. Meggan's birthday present from mom and dad was to get her ears pierced and she was so brave. She didn't flinch and when they were done she was amazed it didn't hurt at all. Meggan's cake was a purse with a little coin purse in front of it. I couldn't figure out how to make a cake that looked like make-up so she settled for this. I think it turned out pretty cute. We hope you had a great day Meg and we're looking forward to your baptism this next week. You are a lovely young lady and we're glad you're part of our family.

Boy meets Girl TAG!

This from my sister who tagged me. I have so many other things I need to blog about and I promise I'll get to those a little later. But first...The man in my life. Hope you all enjoy.

This is all about my sweetheart...hope I remember it right. It has been over 14 years so my memory might be a bit fuzzy.

This tag is called "How I meet___."

1. Where did you meet?
We were in a music appreciation class at ISU. His dad told him not to bother taking this class it just filled a general requirement.

2. What was the first thought that went through your head when you met?
I was a big flirt and I wondered when he would get around to asking me out. I did my best to hint that I'd like to see him outside of class every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but it still took him almost a month to ask me out, and then it was to have something to eat before we did homework for the class. Later I found out he was waiting to see if his friend was going to ask me out first. What a gentleman.

3. Do you remember what he was wearing?
I don't remember what he was wearing when we met, but in the back of my closet I still have the shirt he wore on our first date.

4. Where was the first time you kissed this person?
He says I kissed him first, I say he kissed me. It was while we were watching the movie Aladdin on our second date.

5. Where did you go for your first date?
We went for a walk around the track. Our second date was the next night we went to dinner and attended a concert for our class.

6. How long did you know this person before you were a couple?
We went to class for a month before we went on our first date. After that we were together.

7. How did he ask you out?
So would you like to get something to eat before we go to this concert for class.

8. Has this person ever purposed to you?
Yes, actually twice but that's a story for another day.

9. Do you and this person have kids together?
Yes, 5, 4 living and one angel in heaven.

10. Have you ever broken the law with this person?
Not that I'm going to admit to.

11. When was the first time you realized you liked this person?
I was interested in him the first time he smiled at me. He's got great eyes.

12. Do you get along with his family?
Yes, but we don't get to see them very often.

13. Do you trust this person?
Absolutely!

14. Do you see him as your partner in the future?
For at least the next million years or so...

15. What is the best gift he gave you?
Another story for a different day...He gave me a pearl ring for the Christmas after our first son passed away.

16. What is one thing he does that gets on your nerves?
He really doesn't get on my nerves.

17. Where do you see each other 15 years from now?
Enjoying growing older together.

18. What causes the most arguments?
We don't really argue we mostly pout at our house and then we talk about whatever was bothering us and we move on.

19. How long have you been together?
We have been married for 14 1/2 years.

20. Are you married?
I sure hope so.

21. Who do you tag?
Any girl who has a boy to talk about.

Happy Birthday Gracie! or in other words how mom spent Saturday night!

Our little Gracie turned 2 yesterday and she absolutely loves Barbie. In fact when we asked her how old she was she would say one and then we'd ask how old are you going to be on your birthday and she would energetically say she was going to be Barbie. So mom spent Saturday night making a Barbie cake. I think it turned out pretty cute, especially for my first attempt. Gracie got Barbie movies, a cute little jacket, and money to go buy more Barbie. It was a great day. We love you Gracie.

Halloween Night!

We had a great Halloween week. We had a school carnival, Preschool party, Class parties, Trunk or Treat, and a great party for the whole family at some friends of ours. It was lots of fun and we look forward to doing it again next year.

Anxiously Awaiting Spring

I know it isn't even winter yet, but I'm ready for spring. I think it is my favorite time of the year. Maybe it's the thought we made it through another winter. Any way, we cleaned out the flower beds and planted lots of tulips and daffodils and I'm excited to see them in the Spring. I'll post an after picture then.

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

General Conference

We had the opportunity to take the family to Salt Lake last weekend. We had a great time staying with my sister and her family and visiting with my other sister. It was a great weekend and on the way home we got to visit and have dinner with my mom and Mike. On Saturday morning Dustin, MaKady and I stood in the stand-by line in the pouring rain on temple square but it all paid off. We got to sit in the conference center for the Saturday morning session. It was wonderful to watch MaKady's sweet face as she experienced conference in person for the first time. I will never forget the immediate silence that occurs just before the prophet walks in and how reverently everyone stands as he enters the room. It is a testament to him being the prophet of God and I'm so glad MaKady got to witness that. We will definitely stand in line again as each of our children are old enough to attend conference in person.

A Great Weekend!

Sorry it has taken me forever to blog about this.



My mom and I had to opportunity to go to Time Out For Women in Logan this year. It was amazing. We went on Saturday and listened to wonderful speakers. The messages were all about joy and hope. Kenneth Cope was the host and he sang through out the day as well. What an amazing voice. I always leave days like that feeling like I'm doing OK and I can always find things I can to better at but the speakers make you realize you can do anything with the Lord's help. I think we are going to try to plan a Fall '09 trip. The tentative schedule says there is going to be a Time Out in St. George next fall so I'm thinking I'll pick up my mom and sisters and maybe we'll all crash at the Tyler & Jenny's. We'll have to see what we can plan.

New family picture

We had a great time doing a new family picture with some friends of ours. The top of the page is just one great example of her work. Feel free to check her out at capturedmomentsphotography.blogspot.com

Brock"ism"

Just thought I would share one of Brock's cute moments he has plenty but this one made my day...
"Mom, you are the BEST mom in...our whole family."

The best Living Will

This is another one of my finds on a blog of a friend of my sister's. I thought it was just too appropriate following this morning's post. Enjoy!

I,__________, being of sound mind and body, do not wish to be kept alive indefinitely by artificial means. Under no circumstances should my fate be put in the hands of pinhead politicians who couldn't pass ninth-grade biology if their lives depended on it, or lawyers/doctors interested in simply running up the bills. If a reasonable amount of time passes and I fail to ask for at least one of the following:
Chocolate
Pasta
French Fries
Chocolate
Chicken Fried Steak
Mexican Food
Chocolate
Cream Gravy
Chocolate
Pizza
Ice cream
Chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate
It should be presumed that I won't ever get better. When such a determination is reached, I hereby instruct my appointed person and attending physicians to pull the plug, reel in the tubes, let the 'fat lady sing,' and call it a day!

Really, do you want to keep going if there is no chocolate to look forward to?

Amazing Neighbors!

I don't have a picture of our great neighbors, but I have a picture of the gift they brought last night!

Yep that would be 8.5 lbs of chocolate cake!!! I have the priviledge of watching their little guy for a couple of hours a week. He is a joy to have in our home and the kids love to have him come play. I told you they are amazing neighbors. If you want to check out some great pictures you can find their blog at capturedmomentsphotography.blogspot.com. You can see what a cutie their little one is. You can also see some of the great photos she did of our family!

A day for remembering

I haven't posted in quite awhile and I have a lot to say and I will get to those things in the next few days. Today is a day for remembering. Our first son Braxton passed away 12 years ago today. He was born with breathing problems. We spent a week at the hospital here and then 12 weeks at PMC in SLC and then 4 days back here. He ended up with a secondary infection of pneumonia and passed away from complications of that. I can't believe how quickly that time has gone. They were never able to completely diagnosis what he had. He was just a one in a million. This is the day that I listen to all the songs that mean something to me. I think sad thoughts and think about how much I miss him. My kids know all about their big brother and we look forward to being a forever family. Tomorrow is another day. And one more year passing brings us one more year closer to being with him again.

I thought this was funny!

I'm a Ford Mustang!

You're an American classic -- fast, strong, and bold. You're not snobby or pretentious, but you have what it takes to give anyone a run for their money.

"Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

This is absolutely my favorite car and always has been. Funny that the survey put us together.

I'm such a thief....

OK maybe not a thief, just a really good imitator...I love to lurk and see all of the fun ideas out there in blogs and sometimes, once in awhile I go, huh...maybe I can do that. So I saw a really fun idea for curtains on a blog my sister follows and I thought I really would like new curtains in my kitchen and I have a box of scraps in the basement let's see what we can create. Voila!!! new curtains didn't cost me a thing. If you can't tell in the picture it is a chocolate brown and white check. The above the sink is cute pleats and the large window is just one pleat in the middle. The two pieces of fabric were the same size and this is what I came up with. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

Let the games begin

It's that time of year FOOTBALL!!! Dustin and I had a "friendly" wager last season. Each week we would go through the list of games and decide who we thought would win each game. Sometimes we only had 2 or 3 different but other weeks it was more like 9 or 10. The winner was the one with the most correct. The loser had to plan that weeks date. It didn't have to be big or extravagant just they had to do all the planning including finding the sitter if needed. Let's just put it this way I only had to plan 1 date. We also kept a cumulative total and I got a home made delicious steak dinner after the super bowl. Dustin didn't like the way I picked my teams I based it on who had the better record and who was the home team. I tried to convince him to spot me one win each week before we started but he said no way. It looks like I didn't need the help. We printed out the schedule last night and each chose this weeks winners...So let the games begin.

Another adventure with family!

My amazing sister Kristy came to Pocatello to run the 10k in the Pocatello Marathon last weekend. I didn't get any pictures of her running or crossing the finish line instead I have pictures of our 2 boys camping out in the tent they made in the living room. They had a great time together and didn't want to go to sleep. Imagine that! We really enjoyed having their family come stay and if you want to see pictures check out her blog the ashby archives. I'll run with you next year, I promise.

The last first day this year!

Today was Brock's first official day of parent run preschool. It is an awesome opportunity for a group of mom's to work together to help our kids have a great preschool experience for $5 a month and 2 volunteer days. It is great. We did it with Meggan one year and her second year I ran it. We did it with Brock last year and this year I'm organizing it again. I don't have to do as much this year because we split up the duties. One mom is dealing with the schedule, one the money, one the shopping, one the field trips, one the class parties and on and on. I'm doing the curriculum and the crafts with another mom. He had a blast and is looking forward to his next school day on Monday.

Things my mom taught me or maybe I'm teaching my kids

25 Reasons I Owe My Mom (I found this on another blog and thought it was too cute)

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
’If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.’

2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
’You better pray that will come out of the carpet.’

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
’If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!’

4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
’Because I said so, that’s why.’

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.
’If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you’re not going to the store with me.’

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
’Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident.’

7. My mother taught me IRONY.
’Keep crying, and I’ll give you something to cry about.’

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
’Shut your mouth and eat your supper.’

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
’Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck.’

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
’You’ll sit there until all that spinach is gone.’

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
’This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.’

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
’If I told you once, I’ve told you a million times. Don’t exaggerate!’

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
’I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.’

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
’Stop acting like your father!’

15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
’There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don’t have wonderful parents like you do.’

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
’Just wait until we get home.’

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING .
’You are going to get it when you get home!’

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
’If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.’

19. My mother taught me ESP.
’Put your sweater on; don’t you think I know when you are cold?’

20. My mother taught me HUMOR.
’When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.’

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
’If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.’

22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
’You’re just like your father.’

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
’Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?’

24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
’When you get to be my age, you’ll understand.’

25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE.
’One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!’

Update!

Along with all of the back to school stuff I updated the kids info down the side of the blog. Just thought I'd let you know incase you wanted to read it. Have a great day!

First Day of School!

It's official school has begun! MaKady is starting 5th grade and Meggan is in 2nd. Brock won't start preschool until next week and Gracie gets to spend her days running around with mom. It's amazing to watch them grow. It all happens so quickly. Here's hoping we all have a great day.

Cinderella's

For some reason our family must love Cindrella. We've collected a Cinderella dress up outfit in 3 different sizes, and the oldest and youngest discovered that the other day. They had a "ball" playing. The middle one was having a moment and didn't want to do what the others were doing at the time so I missed having her in this picture as Cinderella too. Oh, well maybe another time.

So grown up!

She wants so much to be like her big sisters. She found MaKady's DS and was playing just like they do. Kick backed and relaxed having a ball.

End of Summer

I noticed today that with all of the other posts I had been adding to our hair blog I had neglected this one a little so two posts today. WOW! Actually harvest is in full swing and Dust doesn't get home till dark and I let the kids take over. They built this huge tent all the kitchen chairs and tons of blankets and we left it up for two days. That is so unlike me. I usually make them put their creations away before we move on to the next activity. But hey nothing is normal during harvest. We ate lunch in it, played games and they had a great time.

No harvest isn't over

No harvest isn't over but I was tired of looking at the tractors on my background so I thought we would celebrate summer with flip-flops in the background for at least one more week. We start school next week so I'm sure I'll change it then as well. Hope you are all having a marvoulous day!

A new calling

This is Dustin trying to sneak in a little nap between meetings. He was called a couple of weeks ago to be the new second councilor in our bishopric. He has meetings before church and after church, which means Sundays have officially become the longest day of the week for mom. Actually we are all very proud of him and know that he will do an amazing job helping the members of our ward.

Happy Birthday Brock

Brock's birthday was a couple of days ago but with the end of summer being so busy I haven't had a chance to blog about what an amazing kid he is. Brock wanted a skate board for his birthday and we settled on a skateboard cake and a new bike. He spent his birthday money on a play double barrel shotgun and a classic scooby doo movie. He also go spiderman pj's and a magnetic set. He is such a sweet boy who loves to wrestle with his dad, play with his sisters and love on mom. We are so grateful he is part of our family.

Hair-New Blog

So my girls have developed a new passion for letting me play with their hair. We thought it would be easier to just create a blog to share all of the fun things we've tried. Feel free to check out the link in the right column and let us know what you think.

Candy, Candy and More Candy

We took the kids to the Caribou County Fair last night. They have a great parade that goes down main street then turns around and comes back. The kids made a haul! They got Frisbees, footballs, necklaces, otter pops, water bottles not to mention the candy. We came home and weighed the bag of candy after they had kept there mouths full the entire parade and it weighed in at 8.5 pounds. WOW!!!! They are taking a gallon bag to church today to give the bishop to use in the candy dish in his office and we still have way too much here at home. I'm sure well find a way to share it with all the neighbor kids.

Preschool Projects

Brock and Mom participated in a parent ran preschool program at school last year and as one of our projects in the spring we planted sunflowers. This variety is supposed to reach a height of 4-6 feet and have lots of flowers on one stalk. We did it before spring break so these little seeds had almost reached the top of my kitchen window before it was warm enough to plant them outside. They are doing really well and Brock is really proud of his plant. We are doing the preschool program again this fall and I think next year we'll find another place to plant sunflowers at home. They've been fun to watch grow and bloom...just like our kids are.

It has finally begun!!!

As you can tell by the new background harvest has officially began!!! For those of you who don't know, Dustin is a grain inspector and any time grain is bought, sold or transported it has to be inspected. And at this time of the year I get to be a grain widow, at least that is what I lovingly refer to harvest time as. Dustin is gone as long as the farmers are working, usually sunup to sundown sometimes later. Harvest usually starts around the 24th of July and goes til Labor day, but because we had such a wet spring everything is running a little later and we don't know if that means harvest will last longer or just be more intense. I'm not sure which to hope for.

She's gone!

MaKady is gone on an adventure with Gammy and Grandpa Mike. MaKady wrote a report on Couer D'alene, Idaho in school this year and Grandpa Mike and Gammy said they'd never been there so they all planned a trip to go visit. They left on Friday morning and will be back this Friday night. They stayed in Dillon, Montana; Couer D'alene, Idaho; and are now in Seattle, Washington visiting my aunt then they will go to Boise, Idaho before coming home. I told MaKady on the phone I don't know if I miss her or I'm just jealous and wish I could be with her. I hope she is having a wonderful time and I'm sure she'll have lots to blog about when she gets home.

Meggan's been tagged!

From the mind of a 7 1/2 year old.


1. What is something your mom/dad always says to you?
Meggan: Please watch your sister.
2. What makes your mom/dad happy?
Meggan: When I do my funny nose trick.
3. What makes mom/dad sad?
Meggan: If I don't do what they say the first time.
4. How does your mom/dad make you laugh?
Meggan: Dad does by his funny voices. Mom does by tickling me.
5. What was your mom/dad like as a child?
Meggan: I don't know I wasn't there.
6. How old is your mom/dad?
Meggan: Mom is 33. Dad is 37
7. How tall is your mom/dad?
Meggan: Mom is taller then me. Dad is taller then her.
8. What is your mom/dad's favorite thing to do?
Meggan: Go on a walk.
9. What does your mom/dad do when you're not around?
Meggan: Talk a lot.
10. If your mom/dad becomes famous, what would it be for?
Meggan: For being funny.
11. What is your mom/dad really good at?
Meggan: Exercising and making cookies.
12. What is your mom/dad not so good at?
Meggan: Mom is not good at being the dad and Dad isn't good at being the mom.
13. What does mom/dad do for a job?
Meggan: Mom watches on the kids and Dad does the Grain.
14. What is your mom/dad's favorite food?
Meggan: Dad's is ketchup. Mom's is ice cream.
15. What makes you proud of your mom/dad?
Meggan: They tuck me in at night.
16. If your mom/dad was a cartoon character, who would they be?
Meggan: Dad would be popeye and Mom would be Sleeping Beauty.
17. What do you and your mom/dad do together?
Meggan: Hang out together. Go camping and ride bikes.
18. How are you and your mom/dad the same?
Meggan: We both are blonde and blue eyed.
19. How are you and mom/dad different?
Meggan: I can burp better then either one of them.
20. How do you know your mom/dad loves you?
Meggan: They tell me.
Now we tag: MaKady, Paige, & Kenidee

Cousins!!!

Who better to get into trouble with then a cousin? My sister Kristy and I have kids that are stair stepped. I had one, she had one, I had one, and so on. We have our little one that passed away, then 2 girls, a boy, and a girl and she has 2 girls, a boy, and a girl. They just happen to have built in playmates when these cousins come to visit. The pictures are of our youngest two and the mud puddle they discovered when the Ashby's came to visit this weekend. By the time they were done they were both covered in mud and ready for a bath, although it was tempting to just send them through the sprinkler to get clean:-)