Wilcox Family

October 2011

2012-02-06T09:20:00.000-08:00

Lucky you. I do have a ONE picture of Spud Harvest. Tyrel wanted me to take it because he finally got a brand new tractor to run. Look at it. Study it. Enjoy it. It's the last picture you will probably ever see of Tyrel running a potato digger because apparently he has more important things to do during Spud Harvest from now on. It's make me very sad though. This is how we met and it was so much fun every year looking back at the memories in October 2002 and comparing them to where we are now. But alas, that is over. I'm not complaining, just sad. (FYI, Tyrel got a promotion. That's why he won't be sitting in a digger anymore.)

Some excitement happened in October. Okay, I guess it wasn't exciting but kind of annoying... Jaiden cut her hair. Ugh, she is our child that does all the things you dread. (ex. cut hair, poop in bathtub, color of the walls)

Getting her first haircut. No, we didn't cut the back as short as she cut the side, more tried to blend it as much as it could be blended.

She ended up with bangs and had to wear pigtails for quite a while to hide the short hairs...

Halloween!! (That's normal Jaiden right there. She's not crying, just being a weirdo. lol)

September 2011

2012-02-04T14:12:00.000-08:00

September was pretty uneventful except for Spud Harvest (sorry no pics of that this year..) Oh yeah, and me starting my new business venture. I decided to start teaching clogging and I just happened to have a very supportive husband who agreed to let me do it. The problem? There was no where to teach around here so in August of 2010 (when I had decided to take on this new challenge) I went to Tyrel with the idea of building a garage and using it for a studio. He agreed (only because he REALLY wanted a garage) but the new problem was that Tyrel didn't want to share his garage with me.... :P Soooo, he suggested we build a separate studio. (No arguments from me!!!) :)

In August of 2011 we ended up with this:

(Yes I took this picture today)

No it didn't take a year to build. Our contractor was awesome (Fillmore Construction) and they didn't start on it until the middle of June.

This is what it looked like on my birthday (July 7). They had just put the frame up that day.

The whole thing was finished by the middle of August! Like I said, Fillmore Construction is awesome!!! I highly recommend them.

My studio floor (I did all the painting, Tyrel laid down all the floor)

The kids playroom. There is a little more work that can be done but we are kind of too lazy right now... :)

Bathroom and that second door is where the stairs are to the garage.

I love it. Yes, I know I'm spoiled. A better word it blessed. I am blessed that I have a husband that would support me this much to let me start my own business and build me a studio. He's pretty much amazing.

My studio is called Camas Creek Clogger and so far it's been really fun. I have quite a crew of kids I'm teaching. This community has been incredibly supportive also! Thanks to all of them!

August 2011

2012-02-04T10:17:00.000-08:00

Alright, maybe I can get caught up if I post about 1 month at a time. :) After that, my goal is to update my blog once a month. Sound like a lame goal?? Well, I don't think so. I've decided that I NEED to update once a month. Not for the people that read it (although I do love that people like to take an interest in my life and read what I write <3 ) but for me and my kids. I don't keep a journal and my memory sucks so this is the best, easiest, and most fun way that I can think of to record my life. So please fans, continue to read and make a comment or two because I enjoy reading them. :)

Now onto the month of August. It was a big month starting with Abby's 5th birthday!!

P.S. Ignore the dates on the pictures, they are wrong!

We started the day by going to the zoo with some cousins

One of the few times that my girls show sisterly love... :P

<><><>Rapunzel cake the my sister made. She's pretty amazing.

New bike!

FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN!!!! August 24th

Jaiden had to have a picture too....

First day of riding the bus to school!!! (ew, I just noticed Jaidens snotty nose.... sorry)

August was also my 10 year High School class reunion!! Geesh... I'm getting old....

Ladies night at Pizza Pie Cafe

Some of our class with spouses and, of course, children

Jaiden

2012-02-02T09:44:00.000-08:00

Geez, I haven't updated my blog in quite a while.... I even forgot how to log in! LOL Oh well. I will get everything caught up eventually but for now I just wanted to type what Jaiden said the other day. That child is always making me laugh. :)

Me: Jaiden, hurry we need to get Abby from school
Jaiden: I don't want to get Abby...
Me: Why not? She's your sister, we need to get her
Jaiden: No she's not my sister!
Me: Well who is she then?
Jaiden: Daddy's friend...
I had a good laugh over that one. You have to imagine her saying it in a pouty voice too.

Later that evening:
Me: Who ate all the candy?!
Abby: Not me
Me: Jaiden did you eat it?
She just stares at me
Me: Where is the candy Jaiden??
Jaiden: It's in my tummy...
lol, at least she's honest.

4th of July

2011-07-11T14:28:00.000-07:00

We spent the 4th of July in Island Park celebrating Tyrel's Grandmother's 90th birthday (and she looks amazing!) Dumb me didn't get any pictures up there though but I took this fabulous picture before we went to the Hamer fireworks. Don't they look thrilled!

Ignore the mess behind them and sorry again for being sideways. Still don't know why it's doing this.

Gorgeous Hamer sunset

Packsaddle Lake?

2011-07-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, this title has a question mark because for one, look at the first picture, and for two, I can't remember if that's what it's called for sure... lol.

Yup, the date is right on that picture. It is July 2 and yes, that is a four wheeler stuck in the snow. FUN?

I'm kind of a loser and get dirt in my eyes a lot, so I remedy that situation by wear goggles that make me look goofy. Plus it was bright outside so I obviously needed to wear sunglasses under the goggles. :) (My good friend Jen told me I look like a minion from Despicable Me. thanks. ;) )

Swinging on the rope swing

Sexy Tyrel. VERY sexy....

Remember the snow in the first picture?? Now imagine how cold the water is. He is the only one brave (crazy) enough to jump in.

T-ball and Rigby Lake

2011-07-11T14:03:00.000-07:00

Hamer t-ball... I'm the coach. Pretty good coach, huh, with my child hanging on my legs... lol. Oh well, it was still fun. :)

Jaiden up to bat

First base

That is really how she holds mitt ALL the time

Abby's turn up to bat

First base again

Ice cream party at the end

The girls took swimming lessons in Rexburg for a week and a half, so after swimming lessons on one of those days, my mom and niece came with us and we went to Rigby Lake. I had never been there before. It was pretty fun. :)

The Animal Whisperer

2011-07-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

I felt that this post needed it's own section. Our mini horse, Sophie, has a tendency to get loose and run away. Even though she has little, mini legs, she is impossible to catch without going to extreme measures (or calling our awesome neighbors, when Tyrel isn't around, to come rope her). Anyway, she got loose like normal and we were about to try and catch when we saw this. Our dog Sis had walked out into the grain field and Jaiden for some reason followed her then low and behold, Sophie decided to join them in the grain field. We decided to sit back and watch what would happen (mostly because Sophie would have bolted if WE went out there), although yelling to Jaiden to GRAB THE ROPE. Jaiden grabbed the rope and slowly brought Sophie back to us, petting her along the way. Sophie could have easily escaped but for some reason she just really likes Jaiden. :)

I think I'm way behind... :)

2011-07-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

Yup, I'm really behind on this blog, about 6 months behind. Oh well, here is a quick catch up. :)

Kiana got hitched and became Mrs. Spencer Parker

Sorry Kiana, this is my favorite pic. I just HAD to post it! But sadly, nobody can see the cowboy boots. hahaha ;)

Hamer Easter egg hunt

Jaiden loved finding the eggs. Abby, not so much...

Sorry, pic is sideways... Anyway, Easter morning in their new Easter dresses.

Abby's clogging recital

Flowers Tyrel got for her, she is loving it. (Sorry, not sure why the picture turned...)

Jaiden wants some attention but Abby is NOT about to let that happen. hehehe

Tyrel's birthday party! A very small event because he doesn't like to celebrate his birthday, so it was just me and the kids.

Abby's jazz/ballet team

Abby's second dance recital for the year. The dads escorted the girls out. :) (I know, I sound like a crazy mom that is making her 4 year old be involved with EVERYTHING. I really didn't plan on her taking 2 dance classes and believe me, she won't be doing it again... She did awesome but it is way to much for a little girl.)

Afternoon at Mud Lake. Ugly name but it CAN be a beautiful place. :)

I just love this picture

Catching Up

2010-12-27T14:11:00.001-08:00

Alright, get ready. I am catching my blog up from Halloween to almost now. There are quite a few new posts. :)

Santa Claus

2010-12-27T14:08:00.000-08:00

Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus came to the Hamer school concert and I believe that they performed a Christmas miracle. Abby has been scared of Santa since last year and just flat out wouldn't have anything to do with him but after a lot of coaxing, I finally got her near him! Santa and Mrs. Claus were done seeing all the kids and just getting ready to go back to the North Pole and right then I finally convinced Abby to at least get close to Santa while I carried her. She let Mrs. Claus hold her and Santa scooted in close to get the picture but then he talked to Abby a little and now she seems to be okay with him. I still don't think she will sit on his lap but she says that she does like Santa now!

Jaiden was a little weary too but they had candy and that's all the convincing she needed. lol

Salt Lake Trip

2010-12-27T13:50:00.000-08:00

The kids have never been to Salt Lake during Christmas, so we decided to take them so they could see the lights at Temple Square. I booked our room at the Holiday Inn Express that has a kid size water park in it and the kids LOVED it. We got there kind of late in the evening, so all we did that night was let the kids swim and then went back to the room and ordered pizza.

The next day we went to the Living Planet Aquarium which I highly recommend. It was the first time either one of us had been there and it was really neat!
Jaiden with the jellyfish

Octopus

Can't remember what that is...

Stingray

Tyrel touching it. It's feels really slimy... yuck.

Shark

After the aquarium (and taking a drive to try and get the kids to take a nap... which didn't work) we went to dinner at the Mayan. Cool place to eat (not good food though... sorry but it wasn't)

One of the divers. I wish I would have got a picture of them jumping from the high places but I didn't....

We ended the evening with walking through Temple Square

The next day we came home but not without going to Cabelas and Smith & Edwards! A side note, we make look happy and carefree in the above pic (except for Abby) but our trip was filled with tired kids, lots of people, and scary Utah driving... :) We had fun but it was sure nice to get home to our small town with a small population and a two lane highway.

Getting Our Christmas Tree

2010-12-27T13:10:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving we went and got our Christmas tree. I don't actually have a picture of our tree but these are the pictures of Tyrel trying to plow through an unplowed road... ya, you can see how it turned out... lol.

:) He did pick us out a very nice tree though. Can you believe ALL this snow just the day after Thanksgiving!! It has been a long time since we have had this much. CrAzY

Jaidens Birthday

2010-12-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

Our little baby, who is growing up so fast, celebrated her 2nd birthday on November 10.

Birthday morning, showing off kitty with blue sucker on her face. (I don't normally let her eat candy in the morning but I figured it was her birthday, so why not.)

Birthday dinner with the cousins

Hello Kitty cupcakes (yes, I made all of them. 36 to be exact!)

Singing Happy Birthday

Blowing out the candle, er, putting it out with her fingers.... She really did touch it but didn't get burned.

Time for presents

YAY for birthday money from Grandma and Grandpa Reiss

Of course her Dad had to throw in something John Deere

Halloween

2010-12-27T12:46:00.000-08:00

Halloween

The Little Witch

And the Bumblebee

For Halloween, I took the kids trick or treating to a few houses in our neighborhood and when Tyrel got home from work we went into Rexburg and visited a few more houses. Needless to say, the kids had a blast (but really, what kids isn't having fun on Halloween as long as they get candy!)

Husband and Wife

2010-11-18T01:36:00.000-08:00

So I'm not super into questionaires but I am bored. Tyrel is gone on his man trip and I can't get photosmart to work right now to upload pictures of the kids so I will do this questionaire. (not that any of you REALLY care...) :)

What are your middle names?
His- K
Mine-Michelle

Who is older?
Tyrel but just by 3 months.

How long did you date?
3 months and were engaged for 3 month. I know, sounds like a typical BYU Idaho engagement. (blah) It doesn't count though, he wasn't in school, so there!

Who said I love you first?
Ha, ha. Tyrel. Funny story actually. He said it after dropping me off at my apartment and I just looked at him weird, kind of smiled and walked away.... When I went in my apartment, I said to my roomate Nicole, "I think he told me he loved me but I'm not sure... We haven't been dating that long..." He said it 2 more times before I finally said, "Are you really telling me you love me?" I know I made him feel stupid but it was kind of a shocker for me. It was awhile before I said it back but he was sure persisent. :)

Who is more romantic?
I would say me. Tyrel's idea of romance is riding a snowmobile. lol.

Did you go to the same high school/college?
Nope

Where is the furtherest you have traveled together?
Wisconsin to get a rock crusher...

How long have you been together?
Married 7 1/2 years

Do you have any children together?
2 little girls :)

What about pets?
2 turtles and now 2 cats. (one just showed up last week but if she catches mice, she's welcome to stay!)

Who is the smartest?
It depends on the subject but overall I am going to have to swallow my pride and say Tyrel.

Who is the most sensitive?
ME.

Who has the worst temper?
This also depends. I can stay calm longer about certains things but I can't keep my temper contained as long as Tyrel.

Who does the cooking?
Me. Tyrel is a good cook though, he just works too much.

Who is more social?
Definitely Tyrel.

Who is the neat-freak?
Again, definitely Tyrel. I'm not a messy person but Tyrel pays WAY more attention to detail than I do.

Who is the most affectionate?
In public, me. At home, Tyrel.

Who is the most stubborn?
EQUAL. We both have too much pride. FYI, that's a bad thing.

Who hogs the bed?
ummmmmm, me....

Who wakes up earlier?
Tyrel usually just because of work but if he gets to sleep in, I am up earlier.

Where do you eat out at most as a couple?
Either Mexican food or a good steak house.

Where do you shop the most as a couple?
Walmart.... ya, i know.

Who is the first to admit they are wrong?
It depends on who is wrong! Like I said, we are both pretty stubborn.

Who proposed?
Tyrel

Who drives when you are together?
Tyrel unless he is too tired.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
Tyrel.

I realize questionaires are lame and you just wasted precious minutes in your life reading this BUT if you stayed tuned, hopefully tomorrow (er, technically later today) I will have Halloween and birthday pictures posted.

Military Send Off

2010-09-29T09:49:00.000-07:00

It was a sad but proud day for our family and all the other military families. My two brothers, Shawn and Troy, left for their tour of duty to Iraq. They will first spend a couple of months in Mississippi and from there, go to Iraq until next September. We are very proud of what they are doing, yet very frightened. We pray everyday that they will return home safe.

Troy and my parents
Shawn and his family

Saying Goodbye

Getting ready to leave

Need to vent and clarify

2010-09-29T09:10:00.001-07:00

Tyrel is a hard worker. I wouldn't have it any other way. He works long and late hours and it is hard for me to sit at home at take care of our children by myself all the time. It is hard for me to see him working out there alone because everone else has gone home. I get angry. It is hard when our kids are asking when daddy will be home and I have to tell them it will be very late and they probably won't see him until the next morning. We rarely see him. Pretty much from planting grain in the spring to working fields in the fall, I am a single mom. It is frustrating and I feel defeated a lot. Why am I telling you this? I don't know. The last couple weeks have brought me to a breaking point. I don't know why. Maybe it's the mono I am dealing with and the pure exhaustion. That is my venting. Now my clarification. I can deal with Tyrel working late hours but I can't deal with him doing it alone, knowing that he is out in the shop by himself late at night trying to equipment ready and everything else. That's what I can't deal with. People say he is crazy and doesn't need to work those late hours, it will get done. Here is the plain and simple fact: even with him working late hours, stuff STILL was not ready for spud harvest. So tell me how it would get done if he didn't stay late.
I am going to end this with saying that I am grateful for him being such a hardworker. When times get to be the hardest, I think about military families with spouses overseas or other single moms who are truly single moms. In reality, I have it pretty good with nothing to complain about but sometimes the weight of everything becomes to much to bear. That is why I vent.

Grain Harvest

2010-09-29T08:43:00.001-07:00

It's time to play catch up. So grain harvest is over and now potato harvest has begun but I have a day off today so I am going to hurry and catch up on my blog.

These are some pictures of grain harvest in kind of a random order. We got to ride with Tyrel several times which the kids loved but Abby enjoyed it most of all because her daddy was using a fancy new red combine that had a seat/bed just for her.

Getting ready for a combine ride just her and dad

And it's nap time. She spent nearly the whole day with him and that space was perfect for her to take a nap. She even made herself a blanket using his paper towels.
Jaiden gets to join in on the fun

Now random
Loved it. Both sitting on Tyrel's lap. They were fighting over who got to sit there, they both won.

Color of Grain

2010-09-06T12:32:00.000-07:00

We went for a drive Sunday afternoon to visit Tyrel and Dallin's grain and pea fields in Rexburg. Apparently I haven't really walked through grain with Abby before because I was shocked when I saw that her hair is the exact same color as grain. That little stinker has the most beautful hair. (she knows it too, that's the problem....) :)

First Hair Cut

2010-09-04T21:31:00.000-07:00

Since Abby has been born, I have never cut her hair. I figured since she is a big girl now going to school, I better at least get it trimmed. I wanted to take her where I get my hair done so I could explain to her that it is only okay to cut hair in a salon and not to cut her hair or her sisters at home!! (Dad's hair is okay to be cut at home) She was so excited. I got mine done first and she kept asking when I was going to be done so she could get her's cut!

Like I said, she just got it trimmed so it is still long and beautful just like she likes it. lol.

And I figured that while I was there, I should go blonde. What do you think? Tyrel sure likes it... (that kind of worries me...) :)

Abby is in School?!?!?

2010-09-04T21:10:00.000-07:00

Abby started school on August 23!! Preschool that is, but still my little girl is going to school! Funny story to go along with that actually. When I had called the school to make sure she was enrolled in the morning class, they told me school started August 30. Well, when August 23 came I happened to be up and ready for the day early because of my morning piano lessons and my friend happened to call me around 9:00 because her little girl is in Abby's class and she was wondering if Abby was coming to school. Needless to say, I was surprised, hurried to get Abby ready, and rushed her down to the school. Not the type of first day of school I had always pictured for my kids but I got her there (an hour late). I didn't have time to be sad that my little girl was starting school already.... Oh well. She loved her first day (and every day since). When I went to pick her up started yelling "I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME!! SCHOOL IS NOT OVER!!" :)

Her picture before school. She really was excited to go, she just didn't want a picture...

I made her take a new one after school and told her to smile. Right... This is what she did.

Happy Birthday Abby!

2010-08-25T20:43:00.000-07:00

Abby turned 4 on Aug. 11 (i know, i'm a little slow getting this posted). She is such a big girl! For her birthday I took Abby, Ellie (cousin/friend), and Kirra (another friend) out on the town. Try spending the day with three little 4 year old girls in town. Exhausting.... Anyway, we started the day by going to the beauty college in Rexburg to get our finger nails and toe nails painted. Those little girls were soooo excited and kept showing off their pretty fingers and toes the rest of the day. Next we just had to go to McDonalds for lunch. What kind of party would that be without McDonalds!?!? :) Then we met up with Ellie's mom and went to the movie Despicable Me in 3D. The girls had so much fun!! I was going to take pictures of it all but I was too tired...
After the girls went home, it was time to prepare for the family party. We had pizza, cake, and ice cream. All of Abby's favorites. (Okay, she could care less about eating the cake, she just wanted me to make a butterfly one.)

Then it was time for presents

New pajamas from Grandma and Grandpa Wilcox

Had to wear them

I thought I got a picture of Abby's new school outfit from Grandma and Grandpa Reiss but apparently I didn't... :(

A party is not complete without a petting zoo and horse rides. LOL. Poor Sophie....

Izzy going for a ride

Jaiden's turn

Mt. Borah

2010-08-02T09:20:00.000-07:00

Stats: Tallest point in Idaho at 12662. 3.5 miles one way (i lied of my facebook status.. oops..) 1 mile takes a lot of climbing not just hiking.

The scouts decided they wanted to climb Mt. Borah. So they did. They invited anyone who wanted go. I am the scoutmasters wife, so of course I went...... (what was I thinking) :)
We left the Hamer church at appr. 5:00 am and arrived at the trailhead at appr. 7:00am. 24 people went.
Our area had been experiencing thunderstorms all week that would come in the evening. Our goal was to conquer this mountain and get back to the vehicles before that storm hit. Right.... We did pretty good until almost the top, then a hail storm hit, then past. Another storm hit when we were just about back to chicken out ridge. There were 4 of us, the rest of the group about an hour ahead. The four of us hid in chicken out ridge until the storm past. We also stayed there to wait for one member of our group who was about 20 minutes behind due to altitude sickness. The sickness hit him before chicken out ridge and we thought he had turned around and went back down the mountain but he had decided to conquer the beast on his own.
Luckily we stayed mostly storm free the rest of the way down. Clouds kept rolling in but the wind was blowing just right that we only caught the edge of the storms.
We got back to the vehicles at appr. 7:00 pm.

Now for pictures. I'm just going to warn you that there are a lot.

Making our way to the first rest point

This is where we are headed. The jagged rocks before that snow area is called chicken out ridge.

Chicken out ridge. ya, we climbed down that... it makes me a little sick when I look at that now

The end of chicken out ridge

Someone said this part was as wide as a school bus...

It wasn't... This picture does it no justice. The drop off is really quite steep and a long way down. (that's me walking across)

Tyrel and I at the top. I know this makes it look like the area from chicken out ridge to the top was a piece of cake, it wasn't. It look a long time and in my opinion was the hardest part. From chicken out ridge to the top had a nickname and I won't write it on my blog but you can figure it out for yourself. It was called "Witch" Mountain (rhyme witch with another word now...) Oh that last little bit to the top certainly lived up to it's name.... Also, we arrived at the top in a hailstorm. All I can say is ouch.

The view from the top. This made it all worth it.

Coming down off "witch mountain" You can get a little idea of how bad it sucked from this picture

Taking a quick rest about halfway down

I just thought this tree was cool

Our group of 24. We are smiling because we are soooo happy it's over!!

Most of us vowed to never climb Mt. Borah again... Well I think I just might be crazy enough to do it again..... Keyword: crazy.

Georgetown Lake

2010-07-19T13:20:00.001-07:00

I went camping with my family at Georgetown Lake, Mt (Tyrel did not come because he has Scout Camp this week. Darn Scout Camp, he can NEVER take time off to go camping with us because he always has to take a week off for Scouts. ): ). Anyway, I was dreading it just because Jaiden is CrAzY and I had no idea how she was going to do at night, well it turns out that she did AWESOME. She went to bed easily and would sleep until 9:00 am without waking up once at night. She did like to run around and follow the bigs kids too much but other than that, we had a really good time.
(My pictures are a little out of order, this was my last day there)

Isn't it beautiful!

Time to swim (BTW, that's my new hat which I love but Tyrel hasn't seen yet. I'm pretty sure he will make fun of me..... :P )

They are a little c-c-cold now. The water was warm but the breeze cooled them off pretty quick.

Night pictures at the Lake

My dad caught a duck. Not on purpose (although if you were to ask Marissa, she might say otherwise.... lol)

Troy saved the day

Bye, Bye duck

The first day we visited a friend of my Dad's that he went to school with. They live on ranch.

Love the outhouse/flower pot

It is gorgeous where they live. Wouldn't you love to have this view ALL the time!

I love Montana. I wish I could get Tyrel to move there.

Birthdays

2010-07-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

I celebrated my birthday last Wednesday and wonderful Tyrel let me order a camera I really wanted. (He also gave me a dutch oven and a dutch oven cookbook which I am really excited to use!) My camera arrived on Friday which happened to be my sis-in-laws birthday, so the pictures are from her party (which I took on my new camera :) ). Happy Birthday Alisa!

(no we do not eat ranch and bbq sauce on our cake) :)

This is my favorite setting on the camera. Everything is black and white except for certain colors. You can choose to bring out whatever colors you want.
Zach in his green shirt

I love this one of Jaiden

I can finally take close up pictures!

Tyrel decided we needed to have a little rodeo. Poor Sophie. :) She went a little crazy and would run around Tyrel. All the little kids (ages 3 and under) got to ride her until they fell off. I only have pictures of Zach and Jaiden but they all had a blast!

T-Ball

2010-06-21T21:03:00.001-07:00

We signed Abby up for Hamer t-ball this year and she has been having a blast. They don't play any games, just practice but it's still fun to see how excited the kids get when they hit the ball. It's so cute.

Abby and her coach

She is a pretty good little hitter

In the outfield now

Trying to catch the ball

Fun times. :)

5k

2010-06-17T16:19:00.000-07:00

This is me finishing my first 5k at the Teton Dam race. I'm so proud. I didn't finish fast by any means but I jogged the whole time even though the first mile+ was uphill and the week of the 5k was the first time I had actually jogged 3 miles. It was fun. I can't wait to do another and now I REALLY want to do a 10k. We will see. My first goal is to run a faster 5k. :) (By the way, I think that shirt is the ugliest color! :P )

My Little Dancer

2010-06-15T19:24:00.001-07:00

Abby had a dance recital about 3 weeks ago and she did so good!! I am so proud of my little dancer. Her teacher is pretty awesome too. I can't believe how much patience she has with the little kids.
Abby learned two dances (okay, actually 4 but the other 2 she learned in a couple weeks and they were big group dances.) Her first one was a jazz dance (sorry I don't have a picture of her in that costume) and the second was a ballet dance. The videos were too big to put on my blog but they are on facebook except you can only watch them if you are my friend. :)

Abby in her ballet costume

Circus

2010-06-15T13:37:00.001-07:00

Thanks to all the rain we had been having, Tyrel was able to go with us to the circus last Monday. It was so much fun and even Tyrel was really impressed by the performers although he said this was the last circus he would go to for awhile. :) Some of my pictures are really dark and I didn't get pictures of all the performers but they did some pretty cool stuff.

Abby got to ride on an elephant before it started. I was afraid she was going to be too scared to ride alone (I didn't want to pay the extra fee for me to ride!) but she had a blast.

Scary! Especially when it started to whobble.

Lions and Tigers

Jaiden devouring cotton candy

GIVE ME MORE!!! NOW!!!! (ya, she got cut off from the good stuff)

Lady riding the elephant (don't really know what the purpose of her riding them was) The guy walking by them made them do all the tricks.

Abby and me

Abby

2010-05-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

I know I posted this one on facebook already but I thought it was just too cute.

Me: Abby, do you see how high the water in the ditch is?
Abby: Yes
Me: Don't play near it because it's really dangerous okay.
Abby: Okay.
(a few minutes late)
Abby: Mom, you don't play near it either because it will take you away and we don't have any extra mommies.
Me: okay Abby. :)

This morning Abby had made a mess in the kitchen with water and wet wipes.
Me: (a little annoyed when I saw it) Abby, clean this up right now.
Abby: You can't say that word. It's a naughty word.
Me: (confused) What word?
Abby: Clean up.

Random Pictures of the Kids

2010-05-07T21:10:00.001-07:00

Tyrel had to deliver some hay for some elk so Abby and Jaiden got to get close up to them. Abby was a little scared but Jaiden sure wasn't!

Abby is trying to get Jaiden to move away from them. lol

Abby coloring Easter eggs in her Christmas shirt. What a funny girl.

Look at that blonde hair! Is it wrong for a mother to be jealous of her child's hair? :) I like being a brunette but her hair is just so pretty! (That bad thing is that she knows it too. uh-oh.....)

Abby wanted to feed Jaiden but as you can see, Jaiden isn't really very thrilled about that idea. lol

Easter Weekend/Anniversary

2010-05-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

I am posting a little out of order. Sorry. This is Easter weekend that we spent at Fairmont Hot Springs. Beautiful, fun place but it was sooooo cold!! Our anniversary was also on Easter but Tyrel and I celebrated it Saturday night by hitting the town of Anaconda and eating at a little diner, then back to Fairmont to do some swimming without the kids. I need to thank Ryan for getting us this awesome condo. Abby loved it and STILL talks about it.

My pictures are a little out of order too. Oh well.
Abby wanted to take some pictures so this is my Grandma, the back of her head.

Another picture taken by Abby. This is me, kind of.

Jaiden on Easter hugging her best friend. You will rarely see her without the cow. Sorry about the booger nose, it's kind of gross. :)

Lane getting into everything AGAIN! (Okay, Jaiden got into everything just as much but I just happened to catch Lane in the act with my camera)

Abby and Emma

Didn't I marry such a manly man! lol

I just knew Wendy wanted her picture on here, so here it is!!

Cutting the ribeye roast. So good, I highly recommend it on Easter. We also had ham.

Little Jaiden waiting to go swimming.

Still waiting!!!!

Finally swimming but not for long because it was FREEZING outside. Fairmont has an indoor and outdoor pool with a huge waterslide outdoors. It was so cold outside and began snowing on us a couple times but it is a hot springs so it was still fun.

I took very few swimming pictures only because I couldn't handle standing outside very long without getting in the water to warm up and the indoor pool was so warm that it kept fogging up my camera.

I love that place and I think it has become a favorite vacation spot for our little family.

Sophie

2010-05-07T20:20:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in awhile, I don't know why because plenty has happened. I guess I am just lazy. :)
This is Sophie, Tyrel's new pet. I emphasize TYREL'S PET because really, can any of you see ME owning a horse. lol Anyway, she is growing on me. We just got her on Sunday and she is still afraid of people but seems to like me more than anyone else. :)

She is a mini horse and only about a year old. We don't expect her to get much bigger than this.

More Abby

2010-03-23T20:00:00.001-07:00

After lunch I was trying to get Abby to take a nap
Me: Abby, you NEED to take a nap!
Abby: DON'T JUDGE ME!!
lol
Still trying to get her to take a nap
Me: I'm not kidding, you really need to take a nap
Abby: Your watch is telling me that I don't need a nap today.
lol
She's pretty funny and yes, she did eventually take a much needed nap.

During dinner (we were eating chicken)
Abby: Mommy, we don't eat cows. They're gross.
Me: Why are cows gross?
Abby: Because they have bums! EWW Yuck! We don't eat bums.
Me: Actually Abby, we eat cow A LOT and you really like it.
Abby: NO WAY! They are gross! I don't eat cow bums!
Me: (laughing) Yes you do Abby.
Abby: (silence)

A Couple of Pictures

2010-03-15T12:03:00.001-07:00

I just had to post these because they make me laugh.

I guess she likes cheese from a can. lol

We wanted Abby to try on my boots but she didn't really want to..... :)

I'm going CRAZY!

2010-03-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or this weather enough to make someone have a mental breakdown!!! (oh wait, it did. ) For some reason I have been tired, cranky, ornery, emotional, and the list could just go on and on. (NO I AM NOT PREGNANT AND IT'S NOT PMS!) Friday night I finally had a break down. Do you ever have that feeling you want to cry but you can't because there is no reason to cry, well I finally got my reason and it literally was over spilled milk. lol Friday started out just great but for some reason the kids have been fighting with each other and getting into yelling wars for the past month so by the end of the day I HAVE HAD IT and Friday was no exception. By the time Tyrel got home and we got dinner on the table, the kids were in a bad mood and kept crying and wouldn't cooperate. I got them both milk but in the midst of the yelling and crying, I forgot to put the lid back on when I put it in the fridge so when Abby wanted more milk and Tyrel got it for her, he didn't notice the missing lid and quite a bit spilled on the floor. Him being aggravated by all the crying and yelling caused him to be annoyed with me and that's when I broke down. I just went in my room and cried. I hate crying but it felt good although I didn't really talk to Tyrel the rest of the night. :) Saturday we got to spend the day in West Yellowstone at the Snow Expo and that was fun but the kids were still grumpy. Tyrel was kind enough that evening to watch them and some of our friends kids (or as he put it, "let Disney babysit them") so I could go to Jr. Miss. Although it was hot and stuffy in there, it sure was nice to get a break! Sunday began AWFUL. For one, we didn't know the time changed (i know, i know) but luckily I set my phone alarm and was really confused when it asked my if I wanted to change the time. For two, I woke up with swollen lips and it's my month to conduct in Relief Society. Well, I wasn't about to stand in front of people and try and talk with swollen lips and I also have a canker sore on my tongue. Needless to say, Jaiden and I skipped church. It did get better though because it was such a nice day outside. We took the kids outside and let them play which I think is just what they needed and what I needed! I can't wait for warmer weather even though it means more work for Tyrel. I'm going insane being stuck inside and the kids are too! Here are some pictures from Sunday.

Abby flying her first kite!

Cabin

2010-02-22T08:53:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we were able to go to Wilcox's cabin in Island Park with some friends. We had some fun times and the kids loved it as usual. I don't know what it is about that cabin but I always leave there in such a good mood. Maybe it's because while I'm there I can leave all my worries and troubles behind or maybe it's just being there with family and friends, telling stories, letting the kids play and run around all they want. Anyway, we had fun. :) (alright, my worries aren't totally left behind. I worry about those 'devil chairs' attacking the kids!!)
Here's a few pics.

This picture is my favorite. A couple of our friends have 120 snowmobiles and were kind enough to bring them for the kids to play on. Abby was too scared to ride it alone but Suri sure wasn't! Abby would only ride with Suri or another little kid. lol

I couldn't get Tyrel and Jaiden to look at the camera at the same time!

Riding in the sled behind the 4-wheeler

More Anti-Santa from Abby

2009-12-25T21:41:00.000-08:00

Scene: Christmas Eve, Abby's Aunt Wendy is asking her about Santa Claus

(I don't remember exact words)
Wendy: Abby, is Santa going to bring you presents?
Abby: No, I'm scared of Santa. I will like him when I'm older like Ellie. (Abby's cousin who is 8 months older)
Wendy: How will you get presents then?
Abby: Order them.

hmmm, I didn't think I ordered THAT much on the internet. :-)

Santa Threat

2009-12-24T14:25:00.000-08:00

Scene: Jaiden is innocently walking and Abby comes up behind her to push her. Jaiden falls and I see it all.

Me: ABBY! Why did you do that?!
Abby: I don't know
Me: Fine, Santa IS coming tonight
Abby: (wails) NNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

Abby is afraid of Santa Claus. lol

2009-12-11T19:49:00.000-08:00

2009-12-11T16:07:00.000-08:00

Pictures of Jaiden's birthday party that was a month ago!

Her favorite toy was the John Deere tractor that she could sit on (it was also Abby's favorite. lol)

Tyrel picked it out, of course.

Boise!

2009-12-11T12:23:00.001-08:00

ARRGGHHH! I'm so behind on my blog. I still haven't put up Jaiden's birthday pictures which I did try once but my computer froze. (grrr) I will get some up though.

Tyrel took me to Boise on monday for a little getaway for the two of us. Okay, before you go thinking Tyrel is so romantic and such, I told him about 6 months ago that when field work was done, he was taking me on a mini vacation. I wanted to go to a concert (ANY concert but preferably someone I've heard of and at least kind of liked) so I got online and happened to find Metallica which wasn't my first choice but a heck of a lot better than Marylin Mason or Miley Cyrus! Anyway, I was in charge of getting the trip figured out (reservations, tickets, and such) because Tyrel just really didn't care where we stayed or anything, he just wanted to go see Metallica. (It will make sense soon about why I am telling you all this) As I was searching hotels and trying to find deals, I used my own judgement to decide that we should stay at the hotel that was 1.03 miles from the Idaho Center instead of the hotel that was .26 miles away because the farther one was cheaper and offered breakfast and I figured 1 mile wasn't too far to walk anyway. Well, there were two problems with my idea that I didn't see coming! First was that the cheaper hotel was on the other side of the freeway and second was the WEATHER! Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought Boise was warmer than Hamer! I thought the low's would be around 30 degrees but no, the HIGH was 15!! Anyway, now to the actual Boise trip. We got to our hotel which took forever to find and traffic was horrid! We decided walking was a bad idea and driving was an even worse idea so we got a cab (keep in mind that I booked the farther hotel to save money *sigh*). It took about 10-15 minutes to drive a mile because the traffic was so awful and our cab died along the way! We finally got to the concert (late) but it was okay because the 1st opening band was still playing. They finished and the 2nd opening band played which was Machine Head and I don't recommend that anybody listen to them. We left while they played. Finally it was Metallica and they were AWESOME!! Listening to them made it all worth it.

Yup, that's pretty close to being front row. Our tickets were for standing and I took advantage of my being small to squeeze as close as I could get while dragging Tyrel behind me (I needed him close for protection!!) It's not a bad picture for being taken from a camera phone.

After the concert was over, Tyrel and I were pretty much stuck at the concert. It was pretty much impossible to get a cab so our options were to wait for probably an hour or two for a cab or walk. Well we decided to walk back to the hotel in 10 degree weather plus a wind chill at 11:30 pm. We got hot chocolate which didn't stay hot very long, stopped at the Walmart right by the Idaho Center to get hats and gloves (all we were wearing was fleece jackets so we didn't have to carry around a big coat during the concert and keep in mind that we spent more money that I thought we would saving), and headed for our hotel. It was sooooo cold and we had to run under the freeway overpass which didn't have a sidewalk (very scary). We eventually made it to the hotel but I was frozen and we really didn't end up saving any money by staying there although our hotel did offer breakfast. :) Overall, it was really fun and now we have some good memories to go with it.

I forgot to write about Tyrel saving me during the concert, it's a pretty funny story. Oh well, if you really want to hear the story I will write about it in a different post. :)

Happy Birthday Jaiden!!!

2009-11-10T08:52:00.000-08:00

Jaiden is now 1 year old! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. Here is a little update about Jaiden.
~ she has 1 tooth. Yes, only one and she has had it for over a month. I think that's weird :)
~ she has taken a few steps
~ she can say mine (mea) and hello (hao) along with the normal momma and daddy
~ she is a little copy cat lately. she likes to copy anything and everything Abby does or we do
~ she loves hugs and kisses from us and to give them back to us or stuffed animals, whichever is closer :D
~ and she is our little snuggle bug. She absolutley loves to put her two fingers in her mouth and lay her head on us (or stuffed animal)

I will post picture later.

Give Hope to Benson and Claire

2009-11-08T12:34:00.000-08:00

This story breaks my heart. Visit givehopetobensonandclaire.blogspot.com. They are having an online auction to help this family and it ends Nov. 16. Look at the stuff and maybe you will find Christmas presents while also helping this family out. There are some really cute things on it.

Just too cute

2009-11-06T20:58:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to put this picture up because it's so cute. For some reason she loves to sit in that little hole and play.

Halloween

2009-11-06T20:39:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. Halloween was a week ago and it's old news but I still want to put pictures of my kids on here in their costumes. Abby, of course, wanted to be a princess and since Jaiden really didn't care, she got to be a kitty cat. Friday we went to the Carnival in Terreton mostly so Abby could be there with her cousins and then we went to the Hamer Carnival because that's Abby's future school so we needed to show them support. (when I say 'we' I mean 'me and the girls', Tyrel had a scout campout) Saturday we (Tyrel and I) only took poor Abby trick or treating to the Mud Lake store. DON'T JUDGE US, she was still high on candy from the carnivals and we were really tired but needed some groceries. :) I promise, we will take her next year to more places than just the store. She was thrilled to just wear her princess dress again anyway.

The Things I'm Thankful for Today

2009-11-05T21:35:00.000-08:00

1. A healthy Family.
2. A husband that loves me and his kids enough to feel guilty about going on his "man" trip.
3. The nice lady at Arby's who asked if I needed help while I was struggling to carry Jaiden and my tray while at the same time keeping track of Abby and dragging a high chair over to the booth and when I told her I was okay, she helped me anyway.
4. The sales people in the mall who said my kids were adorable even though one of my kids was running around knocking the clothes of the shelves (I did not think it was adorable!!!)
5. Abby's dance teacher who has SOOOOO much patience with the 3 years olds that don't listen!!
6. That Abby isn't the only girl in dance class with a short attention span. :)

Catching Up

2009-10-26T21:08:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted and a few things have happened. Harvest came and went without drama for once, Jaiden FINALLY got a tooth but still only has one and that was 3 weeks ago, and I got a new church calling which I'm very excited about. I am the 2nd counselor in the Relief Society and I think it will be fun to have a calling that is just a little more challenging than showing up to church and playing the piano or organ. (although I loved playing the piano in Relief Society) So just a few things have happened, not much. Oh yeah, we got some turtles. I guess that's kind of exciting, at least the kids like them especially Jaiden. It's so cute to watch her look at them.

Enjoy the pictures of Picasso Abby and Tyrel the Master Pumpkin Carver.

Just a side note, that pumpkin was planted and grown by the very mice that torment me. If you look closely at the sides of the pumpkin you will notice scabs on it which were put there by the mice. They knew Tyrel would be carving a face in it and they just wanted add to it. We just pretend that the mice gave the pumpkin hair. :)

And I have yet ANOTHER mouse story.

2009-09-21T12:09:00.000-07:00

I really don't enjoy writing about rodents and wish with all my heart that this stuff would quite happening to me but I guess I do live in the middle of nowhere surrounded by fields. Maybe to someone else this is no big deal but you have to understand people, I REALLY hate mice. On to the story now. I was on my way home from canning peaches and pears at my parents house and I stopped at the mailbox to see if the mail came yet. Well, when I opened the mailbox there was a whole bunch of dead grass in there and I thought "What in the world? It must have been some of Tyrel's punk scouts just being dorks." So I left the lid open hoping the grass would just blow out (there was tuffs of mice fur in it so I didn't want to touch it). The mail came so I walked back over to the mailbox and I as reached for the mail and was just about to scrape out the grass with it, a little mouse peeks its head out of the pile. I, of course, scream and run over to the shop trying to find Tyrel. So there I am in the shop freaking out to Tyrel about the mouse (he is just grinning) and there are tons of people in the shop that probably think I'm crazy. My wonderful husband drops what he is doing to walk over to the mailbox with me and proceeds to catch the mouse and kill it. I am so lucky that I married someone who really enjoys killing mice. lol :)

PAYBACK!! mwahahaha!!! (evil laugh)

2009-09-16T20:13:00.000-07:00

To the mom's reading this post, do you remember the nights of waking up with your baby 2 or 3 times a night and then hearing your husband say "The baby sleeps all night" and you just want to punch him! Well, it's payback. Apparently Abby has been waking up in the middle of the night EVERY night and I have no idea!! hahaha. Tyrel hears her and always has to get up and get her a drink. I love it. Jaiden sleeps all night (has been for quite a while :)) so I get an excellent nights sleep and I get to be the one that says "Yes, both of our kids sleep all night long" while Tyrel gives me the evil glares. hehehe.

lol

2009-09-09T23:17:00.000-07:00

Update to the question of the day written in Harvest Time post.
The question was, Is Abby a Case or John Deere girl? Well if you still haven't figured out the answer this might make it even more clear. Tyrel got his new combine and we went to take him dinner again, as I pulled into the field Abby said "Daddy's combine works because it's green." LOL. She's so funny. BTW, it was actually a red combine but it was dark when we got to the field so she couldn't really tell, she just assumed it was green because it was working. :)

Rant

2009-09-03T15:17:00.000-07:00

I really need to say what is on my mind right now so if you don't want to listen to me rant, then don't read it. :) I was on my way home this afternoon after my weekly shopping trip to town and I was listening to some talk radio that happened to be about kids, whether to have them or not. Well some idiotic lady called and said that her father told her that back in the olden days people would have 14 to 15 kids so that they could help on the farm (which I half agree with but the other reason was NO BIRTH CONTROL and if I'm correct, I believe men liked women just as much in the olden days as they do now). Anyway this idiotic lady went on to say that since we really don't have farms anymore, there is no reason to have kids. Yes, you read correctly THERE IS NO REASON TO HAVE KIDS. All I can say is oh my gosh, I sincerely hope SHE NEVER HAS CHILDREN because her theory is that they are only around to work for her. I have nothing against people that don't want kids but to say on a nation wide radio broadcast that 'there is no reason to have kids', is she really dumb? I can think of one really good reason, TO REPOPULATE THE PLANET! (the part about not having farms anymore bothers me too but not as much as what she said about kids) Enough of her, I will move on to one more lady that really made my blood boil. This lady is 37 and has never wanted kids and says that her and her husband are extremely happy with not having kids. I think that's great for her and have no problem with that but here is what upset me. She went on the say that all her friends are married with children and all of the husbands have told her they regret having the children because now their wives neglect them. REALLY! I have two things to say to guys that think that, SUCK IT UP and QUIT BEING A WHINING BABY! Their wives are busy now raising THEIR children, so grow up. Maybe they should help their wife out more so she can make time for them and herself. I'm done with my ranting and feel much better now. Since I live on a farm, I think I better have at least 12 more kids and we better make Abby start working now. A 3 year old can drive a tractor, right? :)

Harvest Time

2009-09-02T20:31:00.000-07:00

So after a few days of making Tyrel starve while he's been driving a combine or truck (depending on weather and break downs), I decided I should finally be a good wife and mother and take him dinner while letting the kids ride in a combine. Well guess what, a major beak down that is so bad he is getting a completely different combine tomorrow. At least my intentions were good and Tyrel did get his dinner. :)
I went ahead and took a few harvest pictures while I was there because who knows when I will be so generous again. (maybe tomorrow if he's lucky) lol

Look at the top of this picture and you will see Tyrel

Question of the day: Do you think Abby is a Case or John Deere girl?

As we left the field she said "Daddy better get a green combine."

Sometimes I just have to laugh

2009-08-15T14:07:00.000-07:00

From the mouth of Abby. Keep in mind that a barely 3 year old is saying this.

Me: Abby, where are you?
Abby: In the bathroom.
Me: Are you going potty?
Abby: Not exactly.

Hahahaha. I still don't know exactly what she was doing but I heard a toilet flush. Hmmm, maybe I should be worried! :)

Abby is 3!!

2009-08-11T17:41:00.001-07:00

I can't believe Abby is 3 years old!! My little girl is getting so grown up. Here are some pictures from her party last night and today she wanted to go to the zoo for her birthday (in her princess clothes of course. :))Her cake. Candie helped me decorate it.
New princess clothes, crown, earring, etc...

Using her new doctor kit to make sure Izzy's okay

At the Zoo

:(

2009-07-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

I miss Tyrel and can't wait until Scout Camp is over.

Dirty Little Ground Squirrel

2009-07-29T22:07:00.000-07:00

We went camping at Georgetown Lake a couple weeks ago which was so beautiful, but that's not the reason for my story. I could write many things about how wonderful Georgetown Lake was but I will choose to write about the dirty, little ground squirrel. (don't worry, it's shorter than the mouse story, i think. what's with us and rodents!!!)

I don't know if this was the culprit or not because there were probably a dozen of them around.

My story begins with Abby falling asleep on my dad's lap and when he went to lay her down in the tent, her sandals fell off and me being lazy just left them on the ground all night. The next morning, Abby woke up and wanted to go outside but I wouldn't let her until she had her sandals on. I went to get her sandals and ,you guessed it, one was missing. I looked around the camp and all over in the tent and others looked all over the camp ground but there was no sandal. Oh well, I thought, there's nothing I can do about it and I had brought a spare set anyway. I figured it was the dirty, little ground squirrels but I had no proof. Life went on and later that day Wendy was sitting at the picnic table and looked up. There was the sandal!! It was pretty much in our campsite and as we went to investigate, we discovered that it was right by a squirrel hole and this was the result. (the pictures not very good but hopefully you get the idea from the chunk missing!)

We know now that it was the dirty, little ground squirrel, but what had this poor shoe been through!! It was obviously not very tasty and was rejected from the dirty, little ground squirrel society but had it been in the hole and then kicked out or did the dirty, little ground squirrel return it to our camp but purposely put it next to a hole to frame another dirty, little ground squirrel!! We will never know. :)

From the mouth of Abby

2009-07-03T22:57:00.000-07:00

Scene: We are in a hotel room and Abby is banging the toilet seat against the back of the toilet while Tyrel and Jaiden are trying to sleep.
me- 'Abby! Be Quiet!'
Abby- 'Mommy, I go poo. POO NOT QUIET!!!'
needless to say I laughed so hard that I woke up Tyrel.

Scene: I am raking the grass after I mowed and Abby decides to help.
me: 'Abby, you are messing up my pile, go start your own.'
Abby: 'okay mom'
I go to help her with her pile.
Abby: 'MOM! Stop messing up my pile! It's rude.'
hmmm. I wonder where she heard that word. :)

Scene: Abby is "helping" Tyrel put a license plate on the scout trailer and a mosquito lands on him. (I'm not exactly sure what Tyrel said but I will improvise.)
Tyrel: 'Got him'
Abby: 'What's the matter Daddy?'
Tyrel: 'A mosquito landed on me'
Abby: 'Oh no, that's terrible'
That's a pretty big word for a little girl. lol

Now here is a random one that I shouldn't have laughed at but I did anyway. This just happened out of the blue.
Abby: 'Mommy, I say heck.'
great...

sigh.

2009-07-03T21:54:00.000-07:00

This happened a little while ago but it is a good example of what can happen when a mom is too tired to get out of bed so she tells her 2 1/2 year old to find some cereal but that 2 1/2 year finds fingernail polish instead.......

.

It was all over the floor but luckily it was the kitchen floor. Easy cleanup.

Camping at Henry's Lake

2009-06-11T20:38:00.000-07:00

Henry's Lake
Abby being a weirdo

Jaiden being cute but do not be fooled by this smile, she cried most of the time. :(
Hopefully our next camping trip will be more successful!

Mouse Story

2009-05-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

This story begins at the end of December when I saw some black things on our carpet. I asked Tyrel casually if they were mouse poop and after he carefully inspected them, he replied that they weren't. I cleaned up the mess and went on with my life all the while thinking 'of course it's not mouse poop, how could a mouse get into our house!' Later that night, Tyrel runs into our bedroom telling me to hurry and get up because, guess what, he saw a mouse!! He for some reason thought I would help him kill it, silly Tyrel, but I just stood on a chair and screamed when I saw it run by. Needless to say the mouse escaped, Tyrel was annoyed with me, and I did not sleep well that night. The next day was spent with me buying mouse traps and my mom helping me search for the mouse. We tried to track it down by following it's trail of droppings and that trail led to my bedroom. (shudder) I placed mouse traps throughout the bedroom and bathroom but I am not an expert on mouse traps and put too much peanut butter on it. The mouse swiped the peanut butter and left new droppings in our closet. As soon as Tyrel came home I told him where the mouse had been. He shut himself in the closet, blocked both doors so there would be no escape for the mouse and came out 5 minutes later saying the mouse was not there anymore. I cleaned up the closet mouse droppings and have not seen any sign of the mouse anywhere in our house. We figured he went down the vent and died.
My story continues 5 months later.....
So last night after a very hectic night involving me loading up kids, doing a lot of running, and shutting off a linear end gun a couple times (don't ask), it was 10:00 before I got home and was settling the kids down so they could go to bed. As I sat in my comfy rocking chair giving Jaiden her bedtime bottle, I saw something run out from under the couch and over to Abby's toys. My heart jumped and I gasped. Abby asked me what was wrong and I didn't know if I should tell her the truth or lie so she wouldn't grow up being as scared as mice as me but in the end I told the truth and proceeded to tell her to get my phone so I could call Tyrel (I had to stay where I was to watch the mouse in case he escaped again). I thought my phone was in my jacket and she brought my jacket but there was no phone and I panicked. I told Abby to find my phone and she was running around the house saying 'I don't know, I don't know. Where's your phone mommy? Oh no, a mouse. I don't know, where's your phone.' (That part was really funny) Luckily I heard Tyrel's four wheeler pull into the shop and told Abby to run and yell for daddy, so she runs and opens our screen door and starts yelling 'DADDY'. He thinks she is just excited to see him and doesn't think anything about it, so I tell her to tell him there is a mouse in the house. She goes back to the door and yells 'DADDY MOUSE' and he still doesn't think anything about it so I tell her to tell him that it's in the house so she yells 'DADDY MOUSE IN HOUSE'. Finally we have his attention and he comes in right away. Just then the mouse runs by me again and runs over by Abby's other tote of toys and Tyrel comes to take over. We block the area with boxes so the mouse can't escape but the dang thing runs up the broom I had over there but luckily jumps into one of the boxes. HA, we have him trapped. Tyrel take the box outside so that there will be no chance for escape in our house again and I won't go into many details about how we killed the mouse but I will say that it involved a wheelbarrow and a water hose and the mouse is definitely dead and Abby is definitely scarred from the whole experience. She woke up at 1:00 in the morning and climbed into our bed while crying about a mouse. (oops, I guess I should have handled the situation better :)) With our luck, it was probably a different mouse too. (sigh)

Day of Firsts

2009-05-14T22:26:00.000-07:00

There were only 2 firsts, one was cute and the other was not so cute. You be the judge.

Jaiden's first ponytail (she did not like it)

Abby trying to get her own cereal while I was in the shower.

Luckily the milk was almost gone!

6 months old!!!

2009-05-14T21:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, technically Jaiden is 6 months and 4 days. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by!! (she is half laughing and half crying in this picture)

Happy Birthday!!

2009-05-02T14:45:00.000-07:00

It's Tyrel's Birthday!!! Okay, so he doesn't really care about his birthday but I do. He told me not to get him anything but of course I did anyway. He probably won't like what I got him and that's okay because one of the things is more for me anyway. (hehehe) The poor guy is stuck in his tractor planting away, so he really isn't going to have much of a birthday but the rain is coming so with any luck he just might get off early tonight! (I won't hold my breath, though) By the way, he turned 26!

Sad News

2009-04-28T21:45:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how bad I am at updating this blog! It's not that I have nothing to write, I'm just lazy. Well, I guess I will start by telling you that we lost our dog, Lucy, yesterday. She was hit on the road. It was a really crappy start to the week. I can't believe she is gone. Abby hasn't asked about her yet and I'm glad because I think I would break down and cry. She was such a good dog and we will miss her. We also woke up to a lot of snow on the ground today, so that hasn't helped my mood this week. Sorry to be so gloomy. I will write about happier things now.

It was nice and sunny last week so I did get a bit of yard work done. Okay, my dad did most of it but that's only because Jaiden wouldn't lay down and take a nap but as soon as she did, I helped him. We also got to have Abby's cousin Ellie stay with us for a few days. Ellie and Abby had a blast playing with each other although they did have their arguments but what can you expect from two head strong little girls!

Tyrel has been in a tractor planting potatoes for the past week so I haven't seen much of him lately. I have to laugh when other wives say they never see their husbands because they leave at 7:00 in the morning and don't get home until 8:00 or 8:30 at night. Tyrel leaves at 6:30 usually doesn't get home until 11:00 or later. He came home at 10:00 the other night and I didn't know what to do because I'm just used to being alone and doing whatever I want. Ya gotta love being a farmer's wife. I do take him lunch and dinner sometimes and yesterday Jaiden got to go for her first tractor ride! It's just the first of many, I'm sure. The picture below is Abby and Ellie riding in the tractor last week but there wasn't room for Jaiden and me so that is a picture of Jaiden chillin' in the old red pickup while we waited. I did take a picture of Jaiden when she went for her tractor ride but it was on my phone. I'm not quite sure how to upload it to the computer yet.

Update

2009-03-27T23:11:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been over a month since my last post, so maybe I better get things up to date.

Let's see, the last time I wrote Tyrel was on his man trip to get his snowmobile and I have to admit that she is a beauty. I am a little jealous but not really because I could never handle that much power! I can wait for my pink M6. Ha! Abby really liked it too.

Jaiden turned 4 months old and she began eating cereal. Just another milestone to remind me that she is growing up way too fast. She is getting so big now. I had to pull out the 6-9 month clothes!!

Abby is in the middle of her terrible 2's more than ever. AHHH!! Will it ever end?! I love her but she sure can be a little turd. She does have her good moments and is starting to show compassion for Jaiden. For instance, when Jaiden got her 4 month shots and started to scream, Abby glared at the nurses and kept saying 'Jaiden crying!' I thought it was pretty cute.

I got to go on a little shopping spree with my mom, sisters, and sis-in-laws. We had a blast. Of course I mostly spent my money on the girls but their clothes are just so much cuter than mine! Tyrel got to spend that weekend alone with Abby and I think it was excellent bonding time for the 2 of them. I am still very impressed that he was willing to do that and he is even planning on watching her next year when we go again! He is the best!!

look for new pictures below

Little Homemaker

2009-02-22T23:23:00.000-08:00

While Tyrel is out of town picking up the newest member of our family (his snowmobile, aka his second wife! HA!) I decided to try something new. I made Abby a dress and keep in mind I have never made any clothes before. I have made quilts but I think it is way different. Anyway, I made Abby's cute little dress that she is wearing and if I do say so myself, it turned out pretty good. (just don't look at it too close!) I spent all day Saturday making a table runner for Quilt Guild and making Abby's dress and about 10:15 Saturday night I finished the dress so she could wear it to church. I had her try it on right after I made it and she was so excited to wear it that she told me to put on my dress so we could go to church. Needless to say, Abby loved it but I think I could have stapled two pieces of fabric together and she probably would have liked it just as much. =)
You might also notice Jaiden in the background with an enormous bow on her head. I have never really been a big fan of the huge bows on babies but I am very sick of people calling her a boy. I went to a wedding reception and she had a little pink bow glued to her head but someone still thought she was a boy! So I have finally had enough and bought her a big bow that nobody would miss and hopefully nobody will mistake her for a boy again!!!!

My Baby is 3 Months!

2009-02-12T19:49:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Jaiden is already 3 months old. My baby is growing way to fast and it makes me sad. Oh well, time for another baby. (Just kidding, really I'm only kidding)

Long Night

2009-02-07T16:12:00.001-08:00

It was a very long night last night. Abby didn't sleep well and I'm not sure if its croup or just a cough. It sounds like croup sometimes but not nearly as bad as she had it before. Jaiden on the other hand slept all night. Not to brag or anything, but she has been doing that lately and I LOVE it.
Abby has been accident free for one and a half days. Thank you to those who had suggestions.
My new obsession if facebook. I never thought I would be sucked into it but after catching up with people I haven't seen in years, I'm addicted. I really hope the excitement wears off because my housework in suffering badly!

Advice Welcome

2009-02-05T12:40:00.001-08:00

I'm still getting the hang of this blogging thing. Well actually I am still getting used to having more advanced technology. If any of you have advice on getting pictures to be the same size and such, feel free to let me know. I am also taking advice for potty training! I thought Abby was all potty trained and we were mess free, but that is not the case anymore. She has decided she doesn't want to use the potty and would rather go in her underwear. My patience is wearing thin and I am not a big fan of our house smelling like pee and doing laundry everyday just so she will have clean underwear. Like I said, advice is welcome.

Out of the Stone Age!

2009-02-04T12:34:00.000-08:00

We have finally caught up with technology by getting a new computer. Yeah! No more using peoples old computers and finally, NO MORE DIAL-UP INTERNET. Now I feel like the cool people. I don't know how well I will be at keeping this updated, but I will do my best.