That's Gross

What can I say ????

2010-08-23T11:40:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking today- I don't think anyone reads my blog anymore. Oh well I don't either. I haven't had the time to post for such a long time. I will have to do better.

The Rusty Wagon . Com

2010-01-05T13:16:00.000-08:00

Wow I can hardly believe it but therustywagon.com is finally open for business. My sister and I have been so busy. Her husband Curt worked miracles and made us a great website. I am really excited to have our own business. Right now we feature handbags and totes as well as some accessories for the bags.

Happy New Year

2010-01-03T15:58:00.001-08:00

I can hardly believe that it is 2010. It seems like 2009 just flew on by. I hope that this year will bring lots of fun and happiness for everyone. This year is bringing lots of milestones. Eric and I will celebrate 15 years of marriage on January 19th. Eric will be turning 42 and come September I will turn 40 (YIKES) Nicole will be 14 and Justin will turn 8. I am looking forward to finding a job and excited about me and my sisters business of making purses and totes. Of course Eric and I have made the goal again to get in shape and lose weight. Hopefully this year will bring us success in this endeavor.

Its a Great Day for a Ball Game

2009-10-15T12:44:00.000-07:00

Today is the championship game for Weber County Jr. High Schools. It is between Orion and TH Bell. Of course we are cheering for Bell. Even though she probably won't get to play, Nicole is so excited. The weather is great and it should be a wonderful game. I will post some pictures later. It has been a really fun season. The best parts :
1. Nicole has made lots of new friends and has really been able to fit in for a 7th grader.
2. She has learned a lot of new softball skills.
3. She has had a great time at practices and the games.
4. Our family has really enjoyed going to all the games.
It is kind of sad that the season is over.

Wednesdays

2009-10-07T13:41:00.000-07:00

I gotta say that I just love Wednesdays. Because........
1. Early out day for the elementary kids. Love spending time with Justin.
2. Its almost the weekend . Hip Hip Hooray !!!!
3. Its YW activity night. I get to see all the girls.

conference weekend

2009-10-04T16:04:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone ! Yes I am back. My computer has been in the shop since before school started. yikes ! I only had 15 pages of emails to go through, and a bunch of other stuff to get caught up on and now I am finally getting around to my blog. I am so excited to because it is really relaxing for me.
This weekend was absolutely fabulous. My niece Jessica and her dog Minnie came and spent it with us while the rest of her family was on a camping trip. She had college to go to that she couldn't miss. Welcome to real life Jess. We had great fun with her while she was here. The other great thing is that it was conference weekend. I really enjoyed all 4 sessions. I was surprised to hear of the 5 new temples announced to be built. A temple in Brigham city wow. Eric and I were just talking about how they needed one there and yes it was kind of freaky when they announced that. It was like someone was listening in to our conversation.
I also enjoyed conference quite a bit on Sunday. Eric had to work today so he didn't get to listen. I tried to pay really good attention so I can tell him all about it tonight. There were so many good things I learned and I really am pumped about trying harder to do better.
After the second session on Saturday it is a tradition with Eric's family to have Adults go to dinner while kids play together at home. Then the men go to the priesthood session and women come back home to craft or hang out. This time it was at my house. Thanks to my creative friend Camille we had a cute witches shoe to make . She got the pattern for the shoe at a scrapbook store then she had the great idea to make it in to a witches shoe. So the girls made those while we were able to visit and laugh and eat pie. Yummy !

Summer Fun

2009-08-04T12:22:00.000-07:00

Well to say that we have been busy is a understatement. We have been having a lot of fun this summer. Nicole and I went to girls camp which was a blast ! Then we had our annual 4th of July party. It was great to see my cousins and my Uncle and Aunt home from Germany. Then crazy us we went camping again up to bear lake, visited Minnetonka Cave.
We went to the drive-in and saw Harry Potter.
Every other warm day we have been in the backyard pool.
We are getting very excited for Jeremy and Felicia and Taryn to come for a visit.

Justin's Tooth

2009-06-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

Justin has had a loose tooth now for a few months. He finally started wiggling it consistently about 2 weeks ago. Since Nicole has lost several teeth he thought she would be a good person to consult with. Nicole was able to instruct Justin in all the steps to remove a tooth. First you wiggle back and forth until it bleeds. Next you twist and turn until it bleeds again. ( Blood is a good sign she says). Then last you take a piece of tissue to get a better grip on the tooth and pull straight out. Justin followed this routine several times . Nicole then gripped the tooth and pulled it out. Nicole then told Justin all about the tooth fairy and helped him put it under his pillow. She also put in a good word for him suggesting how much the tooth fairy should give . Justin woke us early in the morning, running in our room waving a dollar in each hand, exclaiming " I got two dollars ! " Justin then told us the tooth fairy left his tooth and so he thought he might try for more money tonight. I told him it didn't work that way. If you try and fool the fairy you might never get another cent.

School's Out for Summer

2009-05-29T17:54:00.000-07:00

Justin has been singing a bunch of songs today- Schools out for summer, Schools out forever- and No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers dirty looks. He is very excited for summer vacation. As is Nicole. Today Nicole got sprayed by the fire dept. She thought that was great. She is very excited to be starting jr. high in the fall.
I have to admit I am pretty excited for summer vacation to. I asked Justin what he plans on doing this summer, He replied "stay up late, sleep in long and swim". Wow I say that's exactly what I plan on doing. With the addition of taking the kids to school lunch, and making cards and scraping. We have a lot planned this summer. The kids play ball mon- thur, so we will be at the park a lot. Jeremy, Felicia and Taryn are planning to come down in August and we are so excited for that. Between all that I am taking a phlebotomy course and will hopefully have a job come fall.

That China Report

2009-05-19T17:01:00.000-07:00

Today was Nicole's big day at school. She did her oral country report on China. She chose China because her Uncle Thayne had traveled there numerous times and had lots of cool things that he brought back with him. I have to say Nicole is a natural speaker. She was not nervous at all. She presented herself very well and knew her subject matter good. The class responded with lots of questions. They were all very interested. Nicole said that no one had asked questions of the other kids. She made a power point as part of her presentation my but she is smart. Eric and I went to watch and take up the food sample. We gave the kids some ham fried rice, eggroll and fortune cookie all to eat with chopsticks. The kids absolutely loved it. Eric and I went to a local oriental market. ( for the first time) We were quite impressed everything was very cheap. I was so happy for Nicole when I heard all the positive comments from her class mates.

The Start of Summer

2009-05-19T16:52:00.000-07:00

You know that summer has finally made it when softball and baseball begins. Nicole had her first game last night. It was fabulous ! Nicole is the pitcher and she did great. The whole team did super. They won 11-0.

Justin plays tonight so I will post some picts. tomorrow. I just love going to the games. This is what we look forward to all year.

Dana's Shopping Spree

2009-05-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

My sister in law Dana Palmer won a Macey's shopping spree from studio 5 ( a local tv show). We are all so happy for her. We all got to share in the fun as we watched her race the clock and stock up on lots of great stuff from Maceys. Click here to see Dana and a few glimpses of me cheering her on.

In the words of Justin 2

2009-05-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

Mothers Day- We are in the car when Justin asks " Where are we going ?" "To the rest home to visit Grandpa and Grandma", I reply. " Why do we have to go to the rest room ? " "No not the rest room the rest home ". He then says " Whats the difference ? They pee in their beds there".
Well I didn't have a response to that one.

San Diego Zoo

2009-05-13T12:38:00.000-07:00

After a frustrating trip on California's freeway we finally arrived at our first vacation destination-San Diego Zoo. The weather was gorgeous. We especially loved the pandas. We were lucky enough to see them at lunch time when they were very active. Justin also enjoyed the petting zoo. He still thinks that living on a farm would be lots of fun. Nicole was a good sport and let me take lots of pictures of her and Justin. After a long day we then got back in the car and headed 90 minutes back to Disneyland.

Back to a routine

2009-05-13T11:04:00.000-07:00

Ok so you may have noticed that I haven't blogged since January. My cousin Andrea just told me today that she still checks in with mine while she is stalking other blogs. I appreciate that. What can I say???? Life happens. We went to Disneyland, started baseball and softball for the kids, trying to get the yard ready for summer and numerous other things. I am committing today to catch up on all the fun things we have been doing.

Spring Fever

2009-01-29T11:57:00.000-08:00

I am sick.
I was just self-diagnosed with spring fever ( aka- cabin fever ).
I had to change the title picture because I am so tired of winter and indoors. The picture was taken on a camping trip to willow flats one of the most beautiful places on earth to me.
Looking at these pictures brings back good memories and excitement for this years camping trip.

.

Happy Birthday Eric

2009-01-15T19:19:00.000-08:00

Happy 41st Birthday Eric -Tuesday January 13th. We had a wonderful day. After kindergarten let out Justin and I took Eric to lunch at Ye Lion's Den. (Thanks for the gift card Grandma and Grandpa.) Justin has been so excited for Eric's birthday, he has been counting down using the Christmas countdown since after Christmas. I think Justin was more excited than Eric. Tuesday morning when Justin woke up he immediately ran in yelling " Happy Birthday Dad " and gave Eric a big hug. Then even before breakfast he had Eric open up his present, -a digital photo frame to sit on his desk at work. After we came back from lunch I made a cake and Justin put all 41 candles on it and asked Eric if he could help blow them out at the right time.
My Dad and Mom dropped by in the afternoon to see Eric and later that night Amy and her family came for a visit. That night Justin asked Eric, "Did you have a good birthday Dad" ? Eric replied yes and Justin said that he was very happy. Since then we all have been enjoying " Outdoor Adventures " a Wii game Eric received. It is great fun.

In the words of Justin

2009-01-12T15:46:00.000-08:00

This kid really cracks me up. He says the funniest things all the time. Like the other day- "Hurry Mom get me a tissue, my nose is leaking" or 2 days ago at breakfast he informed us that " I know why the corn you eat comes out good, -- It gets ressurected". When anything and I mean anything is hard or crusty he refers to it as "frozen". - He often says he has frozen bugers and occassionally a frozen you know what. Last night he said " I ate so much , my tummy is so full of poop", " Dad you must have a lot of poop in your tummy, you need a bigger shirt". When I was helping him with his prayers I coached Him to say " Help me to not tease Nicole" he said that and quickly added " Help mom be nice to me and let me do what I want".

We love you Justin.

Sledding

2009-01-09T12:47:00.000-08:00

One of our favorited things to do in the wintertime is sledding. The best place is Romer Park.

The hill is steep and long.

The view is great.

After when I went to pick up the pizza, they stole my camera and took some candid shots.

Spoiled Jack

2009-01-09T12:37:00.000-08:00

Okay so I know that Jack is spoiled. We let him sleep on the bed with us.

Eric makes him comfortable with a pillow covered with a blanket and when he lays down he covers him with a blanket.

He also sits up to the dinner table with us. We have a tall chair that he sits on.

Here is a picture of him enjoying his favorite plain double cheeseburger.

Chuck E Cheese

2009-01-01T11:39:00.000-08:00

Monday we all went to Chuck E Cheeses. When I say all, I mean Amy, Curt and their 5 youngest, Jon, Karrie and Nathan and Eric, Me, Nicole and Justin. It was quite the event. It seems that everyone in Northern Utah had the same idea as we did. It was packed. We had great fun playing the games and winning tickets. I really scored big on the race car game. I hit the jackpot 5 or 6 times.

When the kids saw my tickets spitting out of the game they tried to take it over. I had to tell them it was occupied.

Those darn kids gave me dirty looks and tried to tell their parents on me.

Justin was so happy when I gave him all my winnings. He was happy when he turned in his tickets and got candy and a basketball.

I don't think Amy was having too much fun.

Nicole hung out with Meghan and had a blast.

I told the kids we would maybe go back when school lets out for spring break. Secretly I want to go sooner. Maybe one day Justin and I will go after kindergarten when no one is there.

Nicoles piano recital

2008-12-29T13:49:00.000-08:00

Saturday Nicole had her piano recital at the piano gallery. She played 2 songs - The entertainer and Oh Christmas tree. She played beautifully. Nicole has a wonderful teacher and has been learning a lot. There was 12 or so students that performed and so it was a little long for Justin. I was sitting there enjoying the music when all of the sudden I smelled fried chicken. What the heck ? Fried chicken at a piano recital ?? I turned to Eric " Do you smell chicken" I said. He replied look at your son. I took a peek at Justin to see him munching on a chicken finger that looked at lot like the ones he had at lunch earlier. "Where did you get that ?" I asked, "Out of my pocket" he said. " I saved it from lunch". Leave it to my Justin to pull a chicken finger out for a snack in the middle of the recital. He never ceases to make me laugh.

Christmas Day

2008-12-29T09:49:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning was great. The kids woke up at 6am thanks to Nicole's alarm clock. The parents got to bed at 1:30 am . Next year we will remember to unplug all clocks when we go to bed.

Here is some video of the highlights. I only posted one video because it takes so long to upload. Justin wanted everything Pokemon and Nicole was happy to have anything Twilight.
I have never seen Justin so happy over a sweater. I think because it was from Santa it was a ok with him.
When Justin opened a pokemon video game he ran around in circles screaming.

When Jack saw the life size cardboard cut out of Edward Cullen he growled and barked and started to attack. Either Jack doesn't like vampires or maybe he is a good guard dog after all.

Later on we went over to visit Grandpa and Grandma Koldewyn. It was fun to be able to sit and talk with them. We enjoyed some of Grandmas Christmas punch, which is one of my favorite parts of Christmas. We have been enjoying the punch at her house ever since I was a little girl. It always brings back good memories. Grandma shared a story about her going snow skiing at Snow Basin. She said she didn't know that you are supposed to go from side to side down the hill. She also didn't know how to stop. She went straight down the hill making other skiers get out of her way. At the bottom she made herself fall over so she could finally stop, and then she said she couldn't get up. It makes me laugh because I can just picture Grandma going so fast down that hill, probably screaming all the way. Grandma shared some of her Christmas memories growing up in the depression. It made me realize just how spoiled I am. I am sure I won't take so many things for granted if I can remember how things were for her.

After we went to my parents home for dinner. Mom made a fabulous spread of ham, rolls, meatballs, cheese and crackers etc. We were able to visit with both Jon and Amy's families. Mom and Dad also gave us a nice addition to our food storage. Potato pearls, hot chocolate, pancake mix, fruit drink mix and some apples. I really appreciate their thoughtfulness. I want to work on our food storage this next year and that really gave me a jump start.

Then the kids started to get tired ( I wonder why????) .

So after a few heated disagreements and tears, we decided it was time to leave before any blood was shed. It was no sooner than the first stop sign that Justin was fast asleep in the back seat. Then as we stopped in the driveway at home of course he woke up.

It really was a nice Christmas season, but I am glad that it is over. This year seemed to be a little more stressful than others. I don't know if it was because Eric has been working such long hours or other commitments we had . Maybe a combination of both.

However, the real meaning of Christmas did not escape me and I hope to keep that in my heart everyday of the year.

Today we plan on all going to Chuck E Cheeses. I will post later about that.

Christmas Village

2008-12-23T14:43:00.000-08:00

ok so I know that it has been November since I posted. Life of course doesn't slow down so I can do fun things like blog. We have really been enjoying the holiday season. Thanksgiving was great and now Christmas only 2 days away. The time has had a way of really creeping up on us.

Last night we went to Christmas village and loved seeing the christmas cottages , our favorite one was the Nutcracker house. Justin collects nutcrackers and he was amazed at all the different ones. Of course we also went to Santa's castle. Nicole chose to not sit on Santas lap, but Justin was all to eager. He asked me 6 or 7 times if I had the camera ready. I assured him each time that I did. He asked Santa for the most powerful pokemon in the galaxy.

Today was the last day of school and it was only a half day for the kindergarten so 8:30 - 10:20. Anyways the school had a sing a long and Justin did not want to go. He tried everything to get me to let him to stay home. He finally went when I said it was against the law. Sorry Justin, Mom needed extra time to go shopping.

What's for Dinner ?

2008-11-10T13:57:00.000-08:00

Today my mom let me know of a website that is absolutely unbelievable. You have gotta check it out. http://www.simplifysupper.com
This site suggests a monthly menu with all the recipes and shopping lists you can print. If you do not like what they suggest make your own menu from their recipe files and still be able to print a shopping list.
I have been on the site for the last 30 minutes or so and already have this weeks menu and shopping list put together.
All of the recipes look easy and are made with familiar ingredients.
Check it out and let me know if you like it.

Sister Time

2008-11-04T14:02:00.000-08:00

Everyone needs a sister like mine. She is so much fun to spend time with. Today was one of those fun ones. She had Tom with her about lunch time and was out my way. So she bribed Tom with Mcdonalds to stay with Justin so we could go to lunch.
We went to the Union Grill which is Fabulous ! We both had the soup and salad. We took our salads home so we could have a piece of the yummy chocolate mousse cake. When you have that cake I swear you think you have died and gone to heaven.
Two other sisters were sitting close by. They both eyed our cake when it was served. So I told them it was to die for ! Next thing we know the waitress is bringing cake to them. It was pretty funny. They had to take most of their cake home in a box. They said next time they would do as we did take the food home and eat the cake !

Big Chicken

2008-10-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

Here is Nicole at the costume parade today at school. The picture isn't very good because she wouldn't stop so her dear old mother could snap a photo.

She looks pretty cute though.. some history of the chicken. 6yrs ago I made the first chicken costume a idea I got from a Martha Stewart magazine ( I made it better though).

I recently submitted a picture of Nicole in the chicken costume age 6 to the Standard Examiner and wouldn't you know it got published.

Nicole was in heaven. She asked me if I thought tv reporters might want to come and talk to her. I said probably not, even though you look fabulous as a chicken the newspaper is your 5 min. of fame. She did get a lot of attention from people at church as well as her class at school. Shortly after her picture was in the paper she announced she was going to be the chicken again. And so I being the wonderful mother I agreed to make a new bigger chicken costume.

This however is the last chicken costume I will be making.

There are white feathers all over my house.

There are white feathers in my bed. ( I sat on my bed while assembling the chicken )

There are white feathers on the dog. ( Jack was drawn to the fluffy chicken suit, rolling and sleeping on it He couldn't get enough of it. I think He might of thought it was a female dog because yes, I caught him doing that to). Don't tell Nicole that part. She will never want to wear the chicken suit and she promised to wear it next year to.

Halloween tommorow should be lots of fun.

Justin as the Candy Robot

2008-10-30T07:51:00.000-07:00

Today is the Halloween celebration at the elementary school. There is no school tommorow. The kindergarteners get to wear their costumes to school and the older kids take theirs to change into.

So we dressed Justin in the robot costume I made and he looked great ! It was funny because he can't put his arms down all the way. oh well, the price of looking fabulous.

All month long Justin has told me he will be the robot for school but wants to dress as Mario for tricks and treating. I have tried to convince him to be the robot instead of Mario.

I think today changed his mind about Mario.

When we were walking up to school and across the playground all of the school kids ooohed and awwed at his costume. We heard kids yelling awesome, and cool robot kid- you should have seen Justins face, he was beaming. When we got to kindergarten the praises kept coming - from adults and kids alike.

Justin turned to me and gave me a big hug saying " Thank you mom for making my robot costume".

Wow... this kid really knows how to make me feel great.

He is going to have one fantastic day at school.

Let's play tag

2008-10-28T13:15:00.000-07:00

Well I have never done this before but it seemed kind of fun and since Karrie tagged me I'm not about to break the chain.
8 TV Shows I like to watch:
This is hard because I am not a big tv watcher but like Karrie we watch a lot of dvds of old tv shows.
1. Monk- it is halarious.
2. Curuso - new show on nbc this season good so far.
3. Home extreme makeover- I just love all the stories and the deserving families.
4. The Adams family.
5. The waltons- good clean entertainment.
6. Dateline and other news shows
7. Masterpiece theatre on pbs especially when they had the Jane Austen series on.
8. Fox 13 news

8 restaurants I like to eat at -- In no particular order,
1. Jason's deli in layton, try the panninis yummy !
2. Ye Lions Den - the scones are to die for.
3. TGI Fridays- Bruschetta chicken pasta.
4.The Oaks- just the atmosphere is great.
5.Texas Roadhouse- kind of loud but the food is great.
6. Boston's - if you love pizza
7. Cafe Rio - anything with the sweet pork barbaquoa
8. Lee's Mongolian- really great food but a dive

8 things that happened today.
1. Woke up and got the kids to school
2. Volunteered in Justin's classroom, kindergarten is so much fun.
3. Thought about doing laundry, maybe a little latter.
4. visited mom and dad
5. Worked on Halloween costumes
6. Played outside with Justin
7. Cleaned up a bit
8. Talked with my sister

8 things I'm looking forward to
1. Halloween, trick or treating with the kids, school parties and a day off of school
2. The weekend- spending time with Eric and the kids
3. Thanksgiving- being with family
4. Christmastime- the whole season is fun
5. A family vacation ( hopefully sometime in the next year )
6.
7.
8.
8 people I tag
1. Annemarie
2. Dana
3. Gloria
4. Chloe
For those who I have tagged copy the questions and replace my answers with yours in a posting on your blog. I look forward to reading yours.

Chicken and Robot

2008-10-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

Well, today I am working, working, working on Halloween costumes.
This is one thing I look forward to every year. I really enjoy making the kids costumes. Last year the kids wanted store bought costumes. Nicole was a witch and Justin was a vampire. It was ok but I am really glad that this year they both decided ( I talked them in to ) being something unique.
Nicole decided she wanted to be a chicken. She was a chicken when she was 6 and it was great, so hopefully she will be just as happy as a 12 yr old chicken.
I talked Justin into being a robot for school and it is turning out fabulous. He still wants to be Mario for trick or treating which I guess is ok to.
I am going to dress up Eric either as a farmer to go with the chicken or a mad scientist to go with the robot. As for me I will probably be a witch, ( I won't even have to dress up ) just kidding I will dress up and I think I might spray my hair as well. As soon as the costumes are done I will post some picts.

Frightmares

2008-10-25T12:50:00.001-07:00

UEA weekend

2008-10-21T15:25:00.000-07:00

It was so nice to have the kids home for a break from school. We had lots of fun even though I was sick the whole time. I came down with a horrible sinus deal and it totally knocked me on my butt for the weekend.
Friday I suffered through frightmeres at lagoon. The kids had a great time and it was fun to see the performers dressed up like monsters singing and dancing. Lagoon really goes all out on the decorations. We even saw a tombstone with Justin's name on it. He thought that was great !
We walked through a small spook alley with the kids clinging to both sides of me. I told them one of them could hang on to Eric, but neither one would leave my side. Nicole opted out for the other two haunted houses. I guess she is still scarred from her birthday at the haunted corn maze.
We spent some time at the arcade and Justin won a bunch of tickets on deal or no deal. When he was turning in the tickets for prizes a teenage girl came and gave him 125 more. You should of seen the look on his face, the girl did, and that made her day.
The best part for me was watching the kids devour carmel apples while watching the monsters dance. The kids rode on a few rides and then we called it a night. It has been really fun this year having lagoon passes. So nice to go and not spend all day long.

That's a Bummer

2008-10-14T13:51:00.000-07:00

Today my nephew Thomas had to have a colonoscopy done. What a bummer he is only 12yrs. old. So to celebrate I made him this cake. The small sign sticking out of the butt cheek says- congrats on your colonoscopy.

Jeremys Revenge

2008-10-13T11:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, yesterday we woke up to snow. I couldn't believe how much was covering the ground and still coming down. The flakes were huge. We had about 5-6". I am not ready for winter one bit. I think that it is my fault for all the snow. The other day my brother Jeremy called- He lives in Alaska, and when he told me that they already had snow I laughed my head off. I rubbed it in pretty good that down in Utah we were enjoying a lovely fall. So to get me back I am sure he had something to do with all the snow coming down here. I can just see him praying for us to have a winter storm.

Go Utes

2008-10-09T15:11:00.000-07:00

This year we got a couple of season tickets for Ute football. Eric has been having lots of fun taking the nephews and our kids. My turn is coming up when the Utes verse BYU. I told Eric maybe we should paint our chests for that game. Don't worry I won't post the picts. if we do. We have had so much fun that next year we've already decided to get season tickets for the whole family.

Creative Hair Day

2008-10-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

Today is creative hair day at school. Every day this week the kids have been doing fun things for the anti-tobbaco campaign.

Justin wanted to be half red and half green in honor of both Mario and Luigi.... go figure.

Nicole just wanted colored hair.

Eric did the honors.

Feeding the ducks

2008-10-08T21:03:00.000-07:00

Today we took a trip up to Beus' Pond. I just love visiting the pond. We took lots of bread to feed the ducks and they were hungry. I have never seen so many ducks at the pond. We also took Jack with us, he didn't like the ducks so much. The weather was perfect. I could not have asked for a better day. You can tell Justin had a great time , just look at the goofy look on his face. Nicole enjoyed herself as well. And of course I had a blast watching the kids and taking pictures.

The Great Pumpkin

2008-10-08T21:00:00.001-07:00

Halloween is coming !

2008-10-07T11:08:00.000-07:00

Last years famiy portrait. I know we look fabulous !
Nobody recognized Justin with his hair sprayed dark.
I just love Halloween.
This year I just don't know what to be. I love making costumes and especially like when our whole family matches.
Any ideas out there ?

Remembering Thayne

2008-09-29T16:40:00.000-07:00

Today marks the one year anniversary of Thaynes death. It is hard to believe.

So much has happened this past year, both good and bad. It amazes me how my sister and her kids endured this last year. I have enjoyed spending more time with my niece and nephews and the relationship I have with them.

Today I have been thinking a lot about them and their Dad.

Every time I think about Thayne I remember what a prankster he was.

The day that I introduced Eric to my family we had a bbq over at my parents house. I wanted everything to be just right. During dinner Thayne came behind me with a pitcher of water and dumped down the back of my head. I was so mad. I just sat there and didn't say one word. He knew he was in trouble. I remember not talking to him for a while after that. And as weird as it may seem, this is one of my favorite memories.

I have asked Eric about that incident and he doesn't seem to remember anything amiss.

Thayne was always willing to help me when needed. I benefited many times from his mechanic expertise.

Thayne always loved playing with the kids, probably because he was just a big kid himself. We would often joke that Amy actually had 5 kids, Thayne being the biggest.

We miss Thayne.

We are grateful for the happiness that Amy and her kids have found.

Nicole turns 12

2008-09-25T16:48:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go ? It seems just like yesterday when Nicole was a tiny little baby. Now she is a beautiful young lady. She is very talented and smart. She loves to read and is currently almost done reading the Book of Mormon. We are so proud of her. She is a happy person and fun to be around. She loves to perform. She can be seen singing and dancing around the house on a regular basis. I think that next year she will really enjoy being in drama and choir. She has a wonderful sense of humor and is constantly making us all laugh. I am so glad she is a part of our family.

Justins Socks

2008-09-20T17:47:00.000-07:00

Here is Justin wearing his favorite socks. He especially likes to wear them to church. What a wild boy I have.

Bike Ride on the river walkway

2008-09-19T20:17:00.001-07:00

Peachy

2008-09-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

I got myself a sweeeet ride for my birthday.
I love it. This bike is an absolute dream machine.

The best part is it's pink making her a real beauty.

I named her Peachy.

The seat has plenty of springs for a nice smooth ride.

I also like how I can sit up straight so my back doesn’t hurt.

I have been riding all over the neighborhood every day.

The best place to ride is down the river walkway. It is so pretty with all the leaves starting to change. It is some good exercise and it is so much fun. I feel like a kid all over again.
Peachy would look real nice with a basket on the front don’t you think ?

Soon I am going to work on a pirate flag , I can hardly wait.

2008-09-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

I am so glad that it is Friday ! It has been a long week.
Today has been great so far.
This morning I went over to my Moms ( aka- the card Queen ). I love having a little bit of free time in the mornings to my self. Anyways I made the cutest halloween candy bar holder, with my moms help of course. It was a lot of fun. She is very creative.

The weather outside is gorgeous. It is just the perfect temperature, a little cool . I absolutely love this time of the year. I love how fall smells - leaves, cinnamon, and pumpkin all together some how- very yummy.
I really want to take the kids leaf collecting but I don't know if the leaves have started to change. I'm a little nervous to bring up the subject to Eric after last time. Here's what happened.....
It was a beautiful fall Sunday and I thought it would be nice to skip out on church to go for a picnic and collect colored leaves. Eric agreed. So we went to Beus' pond and had a wonderful time. We were able to collect a lot of nice leaves that I had plans to press and put in a autumn time scrap book. Several times I had Eric leave the path to acquire the best leaves possible. When we got home the itching started. The next morning Eric looked like some kind of freak show. His face was huge ! It was so red and puffy. We put the calamine lotion all over him. He was miserable. He looked so bad that one of the Doctors at his work called in a prescription for him . Thank goodness because that did the trick.
The moral of the story ?
You might say not to skip church to collect leaves .
I however think the real lesson here is to never leave the pathway when searching for the best leaves.
Ha ha ha - I bet my Dad is shaking his head right about now.

Remembering 9/11

2008-09-11T11:32:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking today about the tragedy of 9/11.
We had just dropped off Nicole at my moms house to be babysat and she told us to turn on the radio. We were on our way up to the hospital for Eric to have abdominal surgery in relation to his cancer. We could hardly believe what we were hearing. Then upon arriving at the hospital the news was on every TV. The hospital was on high alert because of the possibility of terrorist activity locally. I remember feeling emotionally overwhelmed.
Eric and I were both very anxious about his surgery. Eric even had feelings that he might die during surgery, fearing that the Doctor might mistakenly hit an artery that was in very close proximity to the lymph nodes being removed and that he might bleed out.
During his prep, we found out that Eric's doctor had just returned the night before from NYC. He had been on top of one of the towers just 24hr previous. That was erie.
I remember feeling shock and horror that human beings could be so evil and full of so much hate.
I remember almost feeling guilty for praying for comfort and for Eric's health, with all those thousands of people who were in a greater need than I.
Later on,
I remember the feeling of closeness, and family that our country felt. Stories of the firefighters and other volunteers risking their lives to help in the rescue efforts.
I remember the kindness of people to one another. It seemed that we didn't want to take our relationships for granted, we wanted to show appreciation to one another.

Justin turns 6

2008-09-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

Justin’s 6th birthday party was a huge success ! When Justin first told me he wanted a Mario party I was a little overwhelmed and did not think that it would be possible. He tried to comfort me by saying “ I know you can do it Mom, just look on the internet”. Well after much searching on the internet and a lot of playing his video games I was able to come up with a great birthday plan.
At the first of the party I had my niece dress up like Peach and my nephew like Bowser. As Peach was distributing gold coins to the kids Bowser came and kidnapped her, tied her up and threw her in Bowser’s bounce house ( the trampoline ). He then told the kids to rescue Peach , they needed 3 stars. They would have to play the game to get the stars.

We made the backyard to look like a giant game board using colored paper for the spaces. The kids rolled a big dice to move along. We had three different mini games the kids would have to stop and play – 1 Donkey Kong bash (pinata) 2- Yoshi’s dinosaur egg race ( I made dino eggs from paper mache) and 3- Boo’s balloon pop ( kids tie a white balloon on ankle, run around trying to pop the others while protecting their own.). We also had a traveling candy shop table ran by my daughter dressed up as Daisy. The kids spent the gold coins they got from mini games on the candy. We also had Peach’s prize palace- under the gazebo where kids ate cake and ice cream and then picked up their party goody bags.

They finally earned all 3 gold stars and we let Justin dressed as Mario go and rescue Peach. It was so cute !!!!! Mario untied Peach . Peach exclaimed, “ Mario, my hero “ . Mario gave Peach a big hug .

All the kids cheered.

I did feel sorta bad about one thing. I had downloaded all this Mario music and I forgot to turn on the cd player.

Justin did tell me that it was the best birthday party ever and that he loved his cake.

He even said that I could make his birthday cake every year. He also gave me a big hug and kiss and told me that I was the best mom in the whole world. That comment certainly made all my efforts worth it.

Truthfully I had as much fun as the kids.

It's great to be 38 !

2008-09-10T07:54:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday was my birthday and now I am 38. Wow I remember thinking when I was a kid that 30 was so old. I remember when my mom turned thirty and I thought that I would never be that old. So now as I reach almost 40 I don't think that it is old at all.
I had a great day. I went to lunch with my parents at Hug-Hes cafe and it was delicious as always. It was fun to be able to spend some time with them and visit. Eric took me to dinner to ABC mandarin my favorite Chinese place to eat. YUMMY and Amy watched my kids so I could go with Eric and not worry if they were fighting. I got lots of calls from family and friends, it felt good to be remembered. My little brother Jeremy in Alaska even gave me a call, I was able to talk to him for a long time. It was good cuz I miss them a lot.

Jensen Park with Haney Cardall Family

2008-09-05T22:20:00.001-07:00

Back to School

2008-09-05T21:11:00.000-07:00

Well school is back in session. Kids going to bed early, and getting up early. It's nice to get back to a routine. I am feeling pretty old this year. I have a sixth grader and a kindergartner. Both Nicole and Justin are loving school.

Summer Fun 2008

2008-09-05T20:47:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that school is starting already. This summer has been so busy. We have had lots of fun. Nicole played softball and Justin played coach pitch baseball. We were busy doing many things. Going to the Drive In movies, Liberty park, swimming, and going camping were some of our favorite activities.

This is Nicole at the splash park in South Ogden.
Justin drying off.
Justin on the carousel at Liberty Park.
Nicole and Jack camping at Willow flats.
Beautiful Willow Flats.

Pet Peeve

2008-04-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

Ok I just need to say something about all those vinyl pictures stuck to the back windows of mini vans. What is up with it ? I can't stand it. Do these people actually think that anyone cares that they are a family of 15 with 2 dogs and a cat. It just annoys me, and I don't even know why I let it bother me. And that is even more annoying.
The only positive thing I can say about these decals is when I see a van with it I try to stay as far away as possible.
Who ever came up with the idea of putting stick figure decals on your window?
The next thing will be 5 generations of your family represented on your van window with stick figures.

Paparazzi

2008-04-17T10:55:00.000-07:00

Well Justin got a camera and now he is an out of control paparazzi.

Thank goodness I am the only one who downloads and saves his pictures.

I can delete all of the way to candid shots.

No one is safe from Justins camera.

He will take pictures when you are asleep, or he might just pop in when you're in the bathroom.

I think that his favorite thing to shoot is Jack and his feet.

Nicole

Grandma Pretty and Jack

Grandpa in his truck

Jessica ( aka the good kid )

Jacob

Justin

2008-02-26T21:33:00.000-08:00

Justin put chewed up gum in his pocket because he didn't know where the garbage can was at his friends house. After struggling to remove it I finally cut out the whole pocket, only for him to inform me that he also put gum in another pocket.

Justin frequently eats cold cereal without any milk.

Justin loves fish sticks. He dips them in his cup of milk before each bite.

Justin plays his guitar and sings along with his Alvin and the chipmunks cd.

I call Justin my best boy, and he calls me his best mom.

Justin gives the best hugs and kisses.

Justin tells me all the time " I love you Mom."

Justin is training to be a Ninja.

Justin loves to play video games, and he is great at it.

Justin thinks the F word is referring to fart. He is quick to tell me of anyone using the F word.

Justin loves playing baseball. He is very coordinated and can really whack the ball.

Justin is in bed asleep for the night. All I can think about is how much I love him and his sister, how I can't even imagine life without either of them.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring. I can hardly wait.

Tomato Soup & Chocolate Milk

2008-02-26T21:24:00.000-08:00

Tomato soup and chocolate milk remind me of my friend Doris.

Doris came to live at the rest home about 4 months after Eric started working there. Eric and I had only been married a short time by then. Doris liked Eric right off. She would tell Eric several times a day “ I think your cute Eric. “ She would give Eric cards or notes on the holidays and Eric’s birthday. Sometimes she would make crafts and give to us. When I had Nicole, Doris became our adopted grandma. We kept her room stocked with family pictures and artwork of Nicole which she proudly displayed for all. We would visit Doris frequently. She had no family that visited regularly. Doris had never married nor did she have any children. Occasionally her brother would come to see her, but for the most part we were her family.

A few years passed and Justin was born. Doris immediately loved Justin. Although Nicole always had a special place in her heart. Doris continued with her infatuation with Eric. Eric’s coworkers liked to tease him about that. I thought it was sweet.

Then in the summer of 2007 I decided to get my C.N.A working at the same rest home . I worked on the same hall the Doris resided. Doris was truly a sweetheart. She had the most contagious smile ( missing a few teeth ). Her laugh was even better. It was a quiet giggle that I looked forward to hearing. I loved taking care of my Doris. She had long white hair, as soft as a newborns. We kept it pulled back in a braid. She loved to have a coffee ensure, a glass of chocolate milk and a little tomato soup. I never saw her consuming anything different.
Eric was no longer Doris’ main squeeze , she had turned her affections to another resident named Tom. Whenever I couldn’t find Doris I knew she must be over visiting Tom on his hallway. Doris was so good to Tom. She always gave her winnings to him from the weekly junk food bingo game. When I would get Doris up in the morning, I would always ask her what she had planned for the day. She loved to make me laugh by saying she was going to make mad, passionate, love to Tom. I would just shake my head and giggle with her.

Doris knew two songs, Down in the Valley and Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer, which she would sing to me often. In fact every time I would go to get Doris from visiting Tom she would sing Rudolph with me as we returned to her hallway. We got a lot of strange looks ( Doris sang really loud ). Down in the Valley was her favorite song to sing to me.
Down in the valley, the valley so low.
Late in the evening, hear the train blow.
Hear the train blow love
Hear the train blow
Late in the evening, hear the train blow.

Roses love sunshine, violets love dew
Angels in heaven know I love you
Know I love you dear
Know I love you
Angels in heaven know I love you.

Send me a letter, send it by mail
Send it in care of Tijuana jail
Tijuana jail love,
Tijuana jail
Send it in care of Tijuana jail.

She would sing this to me when I was helping her get ready for the day, or when I was laying her down to rest tucking her in bed with her favorite stuffed animal, a dog named Jasper. She would change the words though, in the second verse she added my name to I love you.

Doris told me so frequently that she loved me. It wasn’t out of place to hear her hollering down the hallway, “ I love you Becky “ and of course me answering “ I love you Doris.” The first thing she would say to me in the morning was “ I love you Becky “ and again when I laid her down after lunchtime “ I love you Becky “ and of course before I went home for the day “ I love you Becky “. Giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek was probably one of my favorite things to do throughout the day.

Friday February 1st Doris’ roommate called to tell me Doris wasn’t doing very well. Later that night our family went in to visit Doris. She was laying on her bed very peaceful.

I gave her a hug and told her that I loved her. I washed her face and her eyes, and then she opened her eyes for a bit while I sang to her…
Down in the valley, the valley so low.
Late in the evening, hear the train blow.
Hear the train blow
Hear the train blow
Late in the evening, hear the train blow.

Roses love sunshine, violets love dew.
Angels in heaven know I love you Doris
Know I love you Doris
Know I love you
Angels in heaven know I love you Doris.

At five am the following morning Doris passed away.

I will miss her.

Moo

2008-02-20T20:03:00.000-08:00

I'll tell you it is never a dull moment with Justin. Everyday he does things that just crack me up.
Today for example, I took him to Harmons grocery store to pick up a few things.
He loves to ride in the special carts that have a truck attached to the front for kids to ride in.
I was pushing the cart along in front on the dairy section. At Harmons a cow moo is heard when you are over by the milk. Well Justin started mooing back, LOUDLY.
Then I noticed several people turning and giving me weird looks.
Justin kept mooing along everytime the cow sounded.
Then I realized then the other shoppers thought it was me mooing.
They couldn't see my cart or Justin in it because we were in front of a big refrigerator case in the main aisle.

Next time you're in the store and the cow moos I dare you to moo back !

2008-02-18T20:14:00.000-08:00

Do you ever have a day where you just wish you had stayed in bed ? Well I recently had one of those days. In fact I am sure that plenty of others had wished that I would have stayed in bed on Saturday.
The day started out as any other hectic day. The phone rang off the hook, children were not feeling well, and so they were not getting along and then Dad had to go to work. So I thought it would be fun to go to the movies, you know to kind of break up the day.

I called my sister and asked if her and her 4 kids would join us. They were up for it. We decided to go see The spiderwick chronicles down at the new megaplex in Ogden. The megaplex is a great place to go. I really like the fact you can pick your seating and have it reserved, so that you don't need to go into the theater so early.

We also chose to eat dinner down there as well which was a huge mistake. Kids can't eat all at the same place. So I had to get in 3 different lines to order from 3 different places. Then they gave you a number that would be called when your order was ready. So I had three different numbers, I don't know what I'm complaining about cuz my sister had to do it for 5.

Pretty soon we got all the food and all 8 of us proceeded to go into the theater.
With all eight of us we practically took up a whole row, and of course I had to take the seat next to the strangers because no one else would.

The poor people who sat by me.
It was a couple about my parents age. The man was sitting next to me.
We all finally got situated and I was really enjoying my enchiladas and refried beans.

All of the sudden I had to really sneeze.
Have you ever had the kind of sneeze that really blows out all of the pressure in your whole body ?
Well this was a sneeze that blew everything out at the sametime.
Yes at the exact time I sneezed a let the biggest FART ever !
Talk about embarassing.
I turned and looked at the man next to me and begged pardon.
Then I looked at Nicole sitting on the other side and she was laughing her head off.
Just about that time Tom came back with a big bucket of popcorn.
I pulled out my lunchsacks so we could all share the popcorn and get a free refill to.
The movie started and I had my little lunchsack of popcorn and I was really enjoying myself untill.....
All of the sudden something jumped out on the movie and made me really JUMP.
In all of the excitement my bag of popcorn flew from my hands and landed all over the man sitting next to me.
Popcorn was everywhere ( on him ) .
I couldn't help but start laughing and I tried to apologize, but do you know that man did not say one word to me. Can you believe that ?

After that I sat as still as I could. I despertly tried to control all bodily functions and thankfully nothing else happened.
After the movie ended I planned on apologizing again but the older couple left before the lights even came on.

It will probably be a while before I will go to the movies again.
Or maybe not..... I do like living on the edge.

Sledding

2008-02-18T19:34:00.000-08:00

Rhomer park is the perfect place to go sledding.

Eric took Nicole and our cousins Tom and Andrew. Justin and I came later.

Justin had great fun cheering them on as they went down the hill.

Eric was pretty daring. I still don't know who had more fun,

Eric or the kids.

Nicole was the bravest of all. She went on the jumps.

Justin and his grandpa

2008-02-18T10:02:00.000-08:00

Justin's Grandpa Paskett cuts his hair.

He does a great job.

Justin holds really still for Grandpa.

When Grandpa is concentrating his tongue sticks out.

The finished look is so handsome. In fact Justin loves to say " I gotta look handsome for the ladies. "

Wednesday January 9, 2008

2008-01-09T18:16:00.000-08:00

I can't remember when we had this much snow. Eric and I shoveled this morning and again at noon, and then I did it again when he left for work.

The kids thought it was great !

Justin and his friend Ivin helped by shoveling.

Eric helped multiple people get on their way this morning when they got their cars stuck in the road.

We shoveled a big pile of snow in the corner of the yard so the kids could snow sled down it.

Jack our dog went crazy making snow dog angels in the snow. He looked like a giant snow ball when we brought him inside. He loved it.

Another storm is scheduled for tomorrow.