It's a Morris Thing

Valentine's Day

2012-02-15T10:44:00.003-07:00

We had the best couple of days celebrating Valentine's day. We have decided holiday's are always so much more fun when we get to celebrate them with our sidekicks.

This year we had a Valentines themed Family Home Evening. We started with heart shaped french toast for dinner. We also talked about how important it is to show each other lots of love, I had cut out paper hearts and we wrote what we loved about each other on them and then hung them on their bedroom doors. For dessert we decorated heart shaped sugar cookies. I think next year we will all draw a name and decorate a cookie for that person to help us spread the love.

The sidekicks were so excited for their Valentine's parties, but no one was more excited than Hannah, she was counting down the days until her party and couldn't wait to show me all the Valentine's she received.

That night we had a red and pink dinner, we haven't done this in a a couple years and I was excited to really get the tradition going again. We ate spaghetti, pink heart shaped biscuits, and red jello.

We also decided to start a new tradition and have chocolate fondue for dessert, this was such a hit and I am excited to add it to our Valentine's Day dinner.

When we were out shopping for our fondue goodies we found a dragon fruit and thought it would be fun to try, it was okay but didn't have much flavor, but at least we can say we have eaten a dragon fruit.

I have to admit that although I didn't get around to doing the big ideas in my head I think this was the perfect day. I love that we are starting traditions that work for us and we all love.

The Weekend

2012-02-13T22:01:00.000-07:00

Sunday we headed to Tooele for Rob's sister Annie's baby blessing. Grandma and Grandpa Morris were getting a hotel in West Valley Saturday night so we decided to join them and Katie's family (and Kim and Omi). We all had dinner at Cracker Barrel before heading to the hotel pool for some fun.

Lia wore Leka's blessing dress that Grandma Morris made from Katie's leftover wedding dress fabric.

I sure do love this kid, we gave him a lemon at Cracker barrel and he loved it, he was so mad when we took it away. The last two are from Chuck a Rama on Sunday, he is just so stinkin cute!!

Random Happenings

2012-02-13T07:07:00.000-07:00

Hunter asked if I would read him Harry Potter, I was pretty excited because Samantha didn't have any interest in reading them, I even tried bribing her but that didn't work. Rob still doesn't know how he feels about Hunter liking Harry Potter, but I love it and so does Hunter.

Hunter also had his 100th day of school, they sent a note home encouraging students to dress like they were 100. When I mentioned it to Hunter he said "you want me to dress like I am dead?". I tried to convince him that wasn't the case but he decided he didn't want to dress up.

There is a boy in school who has a crush on Samantha. I asked her if he was cute and she informed me he is gross because he picks his nose. And so it begins!!

(I was telling Rob all this and he said he didn't even want to think about Samantha and boys because pretty soon it would be out of control)

Samantha has been showing an interest in reading again and usually has a book close by, I can't tell you how happy this makes me. She brought home the Invention of Hugo Cabert and I was impressed with how big it was. She told me she only got it because there are lots of pictures so it is not too big.

We sat down to address the sidekicks Valentines, this year I decided to be super lazy and buy box Valentines. I let the sidekicks pick out whatever ones they wanted. Samantha picked out Monster High, no surprise there, Hunter picked out Transformers, and Hannah surprisingly enough picked out Tinker Bell, I thought for sure she would follow her sisters lead and choose Monster High.

The Spelling Bee

2012-02-10T17:05:00.004-07:00

(please excuse the horrible cell phone pics, I have no excuse for not having my camera)

Last week Samantha qualified for the school spelling bee, there were 2 students chosen from each of the classes in grades 3rd - 6th. Samantha competed against all of them and did so well. We didn't know what to expect and so we only studied the 3rd and 4th grade words thinking she would only be competing against the other 3rd graders.

The first round the words came off the 3rd grade list, the 2nd round was off the 4th grade list, the 3rd round off the 5th grade list, and then everything after that was off the 6th grade list.

Samantha got out in the 3rd round, her word was quarrel and when I texted Rob to tell him what word she got out on I couldn't even spell it (which is not surprising because I am a horrible speller). She is determined to win next year and she is so smart I don't doubt for a second she could do it.

Samantha's Birthday

2012-02-10T15:05:00.002-07:00

*I am posting Samantha's entire birthday celebrations in one post, so here is your warning this post will be LONG and contain lots of pictures.*

Samantha's birthday was on a Sunday but the party started on Thursday when we brought cupcakes to school for her class.

We took the cupcakes on Thursday because on Friday she got to skip school and go skiing with Rob.

Friday night Rob and I took Samantha on a birthday date, she got to choose where we went to dinner and decided on Buffalo Wild Wings (I have trained my sidekicks well). It was crazy busy and we spent more time waiting to be seated then we did eating, but the food was good (even better than it was a few weeks ago).

We also tried to take her shopping for a birthday outfit but by the time we were done eating everything was closed.

Samantha shares her birthday with Grandma Morris so she came up to spend the weekend with us. We spent Saturday shopping and then heading to the park for Samantha's birthday shoot.

Katie's family also came down early and Samantha was able to have Leka sleep over.

Sunday we woke up super early, the joys of 9am church, Hannah has been trying to be patient but couldn't wait any longer for Samantha to open her gift. We let Samantha open it in the morning hoping it would hold her over until she could open the rest in the afternoon.

I love that Hannah was just as excited as Samantha every time she opened another present, she was also really excited that Samantha loved the Operetta Monster high doll she picked out.

Samantha chose Cookie Crisp for her birthday breakfast cereal (an idea I stole from my cousin Hannah).

I had to throw in this one, Hannah was so tired from all our partying she fell asleep on Grandma's lap during Sacrament meeting.

Every six years Samantha shares her birthday with the Super Bowl so we combined the 2 parties. We were not planning on eating until right before the game started at 3 o'clock so we decided to let her open her presents early. Hunter got her the 2nd Monster High book (my little reader is starting to come back) and Rob and I bought her the Monster High Cupid doll. The Bartlett's sent her a Laguna doll, Grandma and Grandpa Morris got her a Neffera doll, the Tautua's gave her a cute purse and earrings, and the 'Aho's gave her a Toralli doll. She now has more Monster High dolls than anyone she knows (except for the girl on the internet who supposedly has them all).

Grandma & Grandpa Davidson's gift arrived on Monday, because the mail man was dumb, but she was excited her birthday lasted one more day and she loved the Monster High puzzle and the awesome art supplies.

Thank you everyone for the great gifts!!

She was busy admiring each of her dolls when Rob wheeled out one more surprise, a new bigger bike. She immediately took it out for a spin and I was grateful for nice weather, winter birthday's can be hard when you are given summer toys.

At 3 o'clock we busted out our feast: Chicken wings, meatballs, shrimp, cheese fondue, vegetables, 7 layer dip, chips and Salsa. There was so much food and it was SO GOOD!!

During half time we dished up cake, Samantha wanted a snickers ice cream cake and we bought Grandma her very own Chocolate cake.

Samantha dug in for her first bite, seriously this is one of our favorite traditions, so funny!!

We even made Grandma take a big bite of cake, because it is tradition!!

Samantha loved her birthday and I am still in denial I have a 9 year old, but we sure do love this girl!!

But wait, you all thought I was finally done, nope there is still more.

We couldn't let Samantha's birthday pass without a family birthday dinner. Of course she chose Salmon and everyone was happy.

Have I mentioned this is her favorite food and my other sidekicks also devour it? At least I have done one thing right!!

Happy Birthday Samantha, we had so much fun celebrating your birthday!! We love you so much and are grateful we get to have you in our family!!

Happy Birthday Laurel!!

2012-02-09T21:26:00.001-07:00

I first came to know Laurel when I heard her speak at Time out for Women in Logan, she was the first speaker and she had me captivated. When she mentioned she was a blogger I immediately looked her up and have been a faithful reader ever since. Her posts always have a wonderful way of saying just what I need to hear at the time.

Today is Laurel's 40th birthday and she asked if 40 people would commit to do something nice for someone else today as a birthday gift. She has inspired me so much over the last few months I decided this was my chance to do something for her.

I woke up this morning with a lot weighing on me and on top of that I had turned off my alarm and we were running late. I rushed through the morning and tried to rush my kids without loosing my temper. Samantha seemed to dig her heels in a bit and was not getting ready very fast. I got after her and she stormed to her room. It wasn't long before I heard her start to cry.

I opened the door to find her on her hands and knees searching the carpet for missing earrings. When she was pulling out the drawer to pick out the perfect earrings for her outfit she had pulled a little too hard and her earrings had scattered all over the floor and fallen into the piles of stuff on her floor.

I stopped myself from getting after her for her messy room, informing her this wouldn't have happened if her room was clean, and telling her she would have to find them later we were late. Instead I got down on my hands and knees to help search through the bags, shoes, and toys her find her missing earrings.

When we were done I knew I could check "do something nice for someone else" off my to-do list. But this small act changed our entire day. Samantha's attitude improved, I felt calmer, and although we were late to school I didn't mind because I knew we had left the house happy and with a good spirit for the day.

It also made me change my outlook for the day and try to find more chances to do nice things for my family.

So once again Laurel thank you for giving me exactly what I needed today.
I hope you had the best birthday!!

Samantha's Birthday Shoot

2012-02-08T21:45:00.001-07:00

After a crazy/busy/fun weekend, a day of cleaning, a spelling bee, a Young Women's activity, and getting our taxes filed I finally have a few minutes to post the pictures from Samantha's birthday shoot. The idea came at 3am, like most good ideas do, I wanted to recreate the shot with Gene Kelley and the light post in Singing in the Rain with balloons.

The park in American Fork worked as the perfect back ground for Samantha and I to have some fun.

(I am posting all these pics mainly because I love them but also so family can request the prints they want)

Have I mentioned how much I love this girl?

Dear Samantha

2012-02-05T21:41:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday my sweet Samantha!! You made me a mother and have taught me so much in our 9 years together. You have been with me every step of this crazy journey as I have tried my best to navigate motherhood. You are always challenging me to become a better person and expect only the best of me, for that I am grateful. You make me laugh, you are very adventurous, and are always so willing to help out. Have I mentioned how smart you are? Sometimes way too smart for your own good. You have an amazing spirit and I am grateful for the example you set for our family. I am forever grateful you joined our family and we get to keep you for eternity.

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

I love you so much sweet girl, and I will always love you, for forever and a day!!

Love,

Mom

Birthday Skiing

2012-02-03T22:17:00.000-07:00

Samantha kicked off her birthday weekend with a trip to Sundance to go skiing. She has been asking for a while to go and Rob decided to surprise her for her birthday. I thought we should get her some lessons but Rob wanted teach her himself. Samantha was a natural, it wasn't long before she was tired of the little tow-rope hill and wanted to go on a real run.

They got on the lift and Rob told her she had to get off on the first stop, Rob jumped off and Samantha started to get off but got scared and ended up staying on the lift. Rob was able to get them to stop the lift so he could get back on and they got off on the next stop which was the beginning of the harder runs.

The trip down was not easy, she fell a bunch and started to get upset. When they finally made it to the first stop she was beyond frustrated. Rob was worried this was going to be a bad experience but Samantha was determined, she got back up and did so well skiing the rest of the way down.

Rob took her back to the tow for a few more times and then they tried the lift again. After that Rob couldn't drag her off the mountain, she was loving it.

She keeps asking when they can go back again and is determined to teach me how to ski so I can cross it off my bucket list. I really want to learn now and I am filled with visions of my cute little family spending a day on the mountain skiing together.

Legos

2012-02-02T16:32:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was a rough day and I didn't accomplish anything on my list. With Samantha's birthday this weekend my list is longer than normal and everything from Tuesday was moved and added to Wednesday's list. Once the older sidekicks were off to school, I was ready, and the house was picked up I went to start on the list.

I glanced in the kitchen to see Hannah with all the Lego's spread on the table building a dog house. I thought I should go in and play with her but the list felt overpowering and I went to get started on it instead.

It was then I decided I didn't care what I really wanted was to spend time with Hannah. Soon she will be in school and we won't have this alone time during the day. I sat at the table and started to build a semi truck while she described all the parts to her dog house she was building.

We built for over an hour until it was time to pick up Hunter and then came home and Hunter helped us finish our truck and house.

If I had to do it over again I would, even if my list for today got a little bit bigger, the time spent with her was way more important and I hope to find these little moments more often.

Awesome thing of the day: Rob informing me he
knew what was stressing me out, perfectly explaining
exactly what was bugging me and then giving me the
exact answer I needed so the weight from the stress
is gone. I sure do love him and I am so grateful he
is mine!!

Sunday

2012-01-31T16:27:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to really be present with my sidekicks, to be around where the they are and really pay attention to what they are doing and listen to what they are saying to me. This was our view Sunday, I was trying to plan the week and instead of hiding in my room I came out to sit at the table while they built Lego houses, Hannah took a nap, and Rob worked on his airplane.

Samantha is turning 9 this Sunday and I wanted to check out a spot I had found to take her birthday pictures so after Hannah woke up from her nap we loaded in the car for a Sunday drive. The park was right next to the Mount Timpanogos Temple so after we explored the park we drove to the Temple to give the sidekicks an up close look.

The sidekicks all took turns jumping off this wall, Hannah cracked me up telling her Dad to keep coming closer until he was finally close enough for her to "jump"

We came home and Rob flew his plane until it got dark, he attached toilet paper trying to make a circle by doing loops but we never did get the toilet paper long enough.

Samantha also had a bit of fun with the toilet paper.

It was a great Sunday and I wouldn't mind if they were all just like this.

Awesome thing of the day: Redeeming my
punch card at Firehouse for a free burger, YUMMY!!

Our Everyday, Week 3 & 4

2012-01-31T05:56:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post this last week so now it is extra long and packed with 2 weeks of our everyday.

Sunday January 15th: The kids have had so much fun in Blanding and have spent a lot of time outside and on the trampoline.

Monday, January 16th: We stopped on our way home from Blanding and hiked into Delicate Arch

Tuesday January 17th: Playing one of their new favorite games, Just Dance Kids for the Wii.

Wednesday January 18th: Rob took the kids to the dollar store last night and they picked out FBI kits, or as Hunter calls it a BFF kit.

Thursday January 19th: They finally opened a Buffalo Wild Wings in Utah and we managed to wait 4 days after they opened to finally get us some wings.

Friday January 20th: Hannah was invited to her first birthday party tomorrow so today we went shopping for the perfect present.

Saturday January 21st: Rob bought a Slow Stick and spent today with Hunter putting it together.

Sunday January 22nd: The weather was finally nice so Rob took his Slow Stick out for its first flight.

Monday, January 23rd: Hunter wanted to watch Transformers today so he grabbed his Bumblebee to watch it with him.

Tuesday, January 24th: New tires and the alignment done, the car is now riding smoother than ever.

Wednesday, January 25th: Hannah wants to build a snow fort but so far we have only had enough for one brick before it melts.

Thursday, January 26th: Hunter and I curled up on the couch and watched The Jetsons movie on Netflix.

Friday, January 27th: Hunter, Hannah and I stopped for pizza from the grocery store deli for lunch after we picked up our groceries.

Saturday, January 28th: Today we went on a family date to the cheap theater to see Puss in Boots.

I Love To See the Temple

2012-01-30T16:36:00.000-07:00

I love a project and I feel like I am always wanting to start a new one (if I could figure out how to finish them I would be golden) and I have been looking for a photography project for a while. I love taking pictures of my kids but sometimes I think they get a little tired of Mom and her camera. I don't know where the idea came from but the other night I decided I wanted to start taking pictures of the temples.

I love the temple and I always thought it would be fun to see how many temples we could visit in our lifetime, so I thought why not photograph them along the way.

Today seemed like a good day to start and since we were heading up to American Fork to check out a location for Samantha's birthday shoot on Saturday I decided the Mount Timpanogos Temple would be a good start. Plus the park was right next to the temple so it worked perfect to stop and take a few pictures.

I was standing in the road to take these pictures and it still was not far enough back, Rob was seriously worried I was going to be hit by a car. We are adding a wide angle lens to our wish list for my Temple pictures and the landscape pictures Rob loves to take. So thankfully I am starting with the Utah Temples so when I get better I can retake these. But I must say for my first attempt I am pretty happy with them and I am looking forward to taking the sidekicks to visit a few more Temples close by.

The Snow Fort

2012-01-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

In the past Hannah has hated the snow but this winter she can't get enough of it. She found an empty tin can in the garage and has been making bricks to build a fort. Sadly the snow melts before she can get very far.

We keep hoping for a big snow storm, not that I don't love the warm days, but come on...

WE WANT SOME SNOW!!!

Good thing of the weekend: Taking the sidekicks to see
Puss in Boots at the cheap theater

The Slow Stick

2012-01-27T17:10:00.000-07:00

(seriously, my hubs is so handsome in his glasses!!)

Whenever I think of a new hobby I might be interested in Rob is always encouraging me to give it a try. When I started scrapbooking he would tell me how great my pages were and when I transitioned to making cards he figured I was the best card maker there was. Now that I am loving photography he is always telling me I could be a professional, and even gets mad at me when I talk about my lack of ability or put my pictures down. He researches equipment for me, and has spent more time in the camera store than I have.

I don't think a girl could ask for a more supportive husband, and I am grateful he is mine.

When he talked about getting a Slow Stick as something fun for him and Hunter, I was determined to make sure he got one and be as supportive to him as he is to me and my hobbies. He went back and forth about if we should be spending the money on it, but he works so hard I really wanted him to get it. After he received an amazon gift card and his bonus ended up being more than we expected he finally bought himself one.

He was able to find someone in Spanish Fork who sells everything he needed (and lots of extras) and spent the majority of the weekend putting it all together. Sunday the weather cooperated and he took it out for its first flight, and then again every chance he has had after that to practice learning to fly it.

(he just came home from work and grabbed the plane and Hunter to go to the school and go flying)

(First Flight)

I love listening to his plans for when he masters flying it, he is going to attach his GoPro, he also wants to put a bomb bay on it, and the kids toys are standing in line for a ride.

He loves it, the kids love watching him fly it, and I love that they are all happy!!

Jamie

So many good things I could note today but my favorite was the alarm going off at 7 but instead of getting up Rob and I stayed in bed snuggling and laughing. I teased Rob about his hot lunch date today (a work meeting) and he insisted he was having his hot date right now. The kids missed the bus and I had to drive them but it was all worth it for some extra time with my handsome hubs!!

Finding Happiness

2012-01-26T15:50:00.000-07:00

When we lived in Kansas I always thought "things will be much better when we move to Utah", not that things were terrible in Kansas but it wasn't where I wanted to be. I have had this dream in my head since Samantha was born of a beautiful home all my own. We would be settled somewhere we planned to stay until we retired and raise our sidekicks surrounded by our family and friends.

All of this I just knew was in Utah and once me moved I would finally be happy. And while things are better and I love it so much here, I found things are not perfect here either and that dream of ours is going to take a lot of work and sacrifice.

We have a plan to get our dream and hopefully be in a better financial position when we get there. We also figured we could have part of the dream by finding a rental in the area where we want to buy a house so the kids can get settled into a school, and we can still work on paying off debt and saving for a down payment.

So now that we have a plan to get there, and that makes me feel so much better, part of me is really impatient with the timing of everything. I want to be in the rental tomorrow, have my budget all worked out, and start to see the debt get smaller putting us that much closer to our dream.

Friday we were able to pay off the credit card, and put money in savings. But like it usually does life happened. The car failed both inspections and required some maintenance (which Rob was thankfully able to do for free), when he was fixing it he realized the tires were more worn than he thought and we needed new ones, and after an unfortunate accident on slick roads the car's alignment had to also be done.

All of the money we had put in savings was taken back out, and while I was grateful we could pay for them without putting it back on the credit card, I was frustrated and hated it was going to be that much longer before we could find a bigger house to rent and start paying off our debt.

I felt that old "I will be happy when" me creeping in again, and thinking things would NEVER get better.

Last night I went to bed feeling horrible knowing how much I hated thinking those things and feeling so terrible and ungrateful for all I did have.

This morning I woke up thinking about a project I had heard of a while back called 365 Grateful and really thought it was something I needed to do for myself. And then after I read my favorite Conference Talk I decided to jump in with both feet.

I don't have a strict plan other than to keep my camera close by along with a notebook and pen, and then be conscience of all the things I have to be grateful for during the day and make sure I am writing at least one thing down every day.

I am really grateful for this blog, it has become not only a place for me to document our fun as a family, but an outlet for me and a record to see how far I have really come to be a better person, wife, and Mom. I hope to look back soon and see that I have really come a long way from today, that I am much happier with myself and our situation.

Trampoline

2012-01-23T16:42:00.000-07:00

I made a goal to try and learn something new everyday to help improve my pictures, on Friday I focused on white balance. I am trying to get my straight out of camera shots to be near perfect but when I am trying to capture something quickly I don't usually have time set my white balance first or I will miss it so I have to rely on the camera and then fix it later.

I know there are times when I will want my white balance to be perfect straight out of camera so I figured it would be a good thing to learn. It is actually really easy so I set it up, called over my model, and let her go crazy jumping off the trampoline while I snapped away.

Delicate Arch

2012-01-19T14:30:00.000-07:00

Since Rob was working the entire time we were in Blanding we wanted to stop and do something fun together on our drive home. I was a bit worried about the weather because it was snowing like crazy between Blanding and Monticello but Rob kept trying to convince me it would be sunny in Moab, and sure enough he was right.

We debated stopping to do a free hike so we could stick to our spending freeze but we justified the $10.00 park fee thinking it wasn't that much to spend on a family activity. When we pulled up to the window to pay our fee the park ranger handed us our map and told us to enjoy the last day of free entry into a National Park weekend. I think both of our jaws hit the floor and we immediately gave thanks for that blessing.

It was still a a little cold in Moab, but nothing horrible, so we started up the 1 1/2 mile trail. I was so proud of Hannah, she made it the entire way without being carried. I think her confidence has been boosted after I made her hike the entire way into the Indian Ruins.

The winds had picked up when we got to the arch and I thought we were going to be blown right off the edge, Rob kept trying to convince me to go a little further telling me the winds were not as bad up there but the ledge kept getting smaller so I was happy right where I was.

Hunter and Rob braved the wind and the rest of the way to the arch while I stayed behind to take pictures and the girls hid from the wind under a rock.

*Rob took all of these pictures except for the last 3, and this is only a few of the many he took*

The wind kept blowing as we hiked back down and it even started snowing at one point. There was also some thunder and lightening and after living in Kansas my kids tend to panic when they hear any kind of rumble in the sky.

But despite the less than ideal hike out we had a great time. I would love to go back and explore more of Arches and I am happy to finally say I have been there after driving past it so many times in the last 10 years.

PS Did you know Rob and I decided to start a Family Adventure review blog, check out our review of the Delicate Arch Hike HERE

Dollar Store Goodies

2012-01-18T15:45:00.000-07:00

On the drive home from Blanding we told the sidekicks who ever took a nap would get a dollar, it wasn't long before they were all asleep and we patted our selves on the back for having the best idea ever. The dollar was burning a hole in their pockets so when I headed to Young Women's Rob took the kids to the Dollar Store to pick something out. Hannah came home with a stack of necklaces and Hunter and Samantha bought FBI kits (or BFF kits as Hunter keeps calling it).

These three have been keeping me entertained as we have a lazy day at home. I have also been editing pictures of Hannah I took this morning, and working on a new project. I am always thankful for a very chill day after a fun filled weekend and a day full of cleaning, laundry, and regular Tuesday commitments like yesterday.

Project 365, Week 2

2012-01-17T04:12:00.000-07:00

Sunday, January 8th: Samantha was so excited to finally make a snowman.

Monday, January 9th: Hannah hiding in her homemade bed tent.

Tuesday, January 10th: This girls had their winter dance recital tonight and they both did awesome!!

Wednesday, January 11th: Hunter watching his new favorite show, Sonic X

Thursday, January 12th: Hunter and Hannah didn't have school today and I was so happy to hear them playing nicely together.

Friday, January 13th: I don't know who was more excited, the kids or Daisey, to see each other.

Saturday, January 14th: Today we hiked into Indian ruins, they were some of the biggest we have seen and the kids named it the Castle.

The Glow In

2012-01-16T16:44:00.000-07:00

I love hot air balloons, I have always wanted to go for a ride in one but at the same time I am terrified of the idea. Last summer we got up really early to watch the balloons be blown up and take off into the morning sky, it was amazing. This weekend they were having a Balloon festival in Bluff, Utah and Friday night they had a Glow In. The Balloons were blown up just before dark, tethered to the ground, and soon they lit up the night sky.

I wish I had been up on the hill with some of the other photographers I saw, my 50mm lens doesn't allow for any wide shots, but I was happy with the pictures I did get.

Holiday Weekend in Blanding

2012-01-16T06:49:00.000-07:00

Right now we are driving home, we spent the long weekend in Blanding. Rob, who never stops working hard for our family, came down to earn some extra money and we tagged along. I went back and forth about if we should come, but in the end we decided it was more important to be together as a family so we packed up the car and off we went. I am so glad we tagged along, we didn't have to spend a weekend without Rob, and we enjoyed a few fun activities in the nice warm weather.

The sidekicks spent every spare minute they could outside playing with Daisey, trying to find all the cats, and jumping on the trampoline. It is our goal to be in a house with a back yard by this summer so we can finally own a trampoline of our own, bring our dog back home, and maybe get a cat.

Saturday morning we hiked into Indian ruins, it was one of the biggest we have seen. The sidekicks named it the castle and had so much fun exploring it. I hauled my camera all the way in hoping for some awesome pictures only to get there and realize I didn't bring the memory card. Thank goodness for a cell phone with a camera so I could take some pictures.

Saturday night we headed down to Bluff for the Glow In, we loved seeing all the hot air balloons light up the night sky. One of the balloon pilots asked Samantha if she wanted to try lighting the torch. I am sad the picture didn't turn out better, I thought she would be lit up once the flame started, but she stayed in the dark.

You can see more balloon pictures on my photography blog.

It was a great weekend, I felt bad Rob was working the entire time and couldn't join us, but I am also so very thankful for all he does for us, and thankful we will reach our goal of having the credit card payed off.

Winter Dance Recital

2012-01-12T16:57:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday Samantha and Hannah had their winter dance recital. They were both excited all day long to put on their costumes, but most of all they were so excited because they could wear makeup for their performance that night.

Hannah had a look of fear the entire time she was on stage, I think they told them to smile big and that was her best effort, I get the same look sometimes when I am trying to take pictures. Despite the funny face she was still adorable and did all of her dance moves with lots of personality.

I was so proud of Samantha, she hardly watched the instructor, she did so awesome with her dance moves and performing, also her toes were pointed during her jumps (something we have been working on). I hope she chooses to stick with dance because she is very talented.

I sure do love these cute girls!!

2012 Word of the Year

2012-01-11T03:57:00.000-07:00

Every year I choose a word, something to remind me of what I want to work on throughout the year. My word came after I spent a bunch of time trying to figure out what I was going to Choose to Become (the challenge issued at Time Out for Women). It was a challenge for me to find exactly what I wanted to "Choose to Become". I thought I had settled on finally choosing it, but I realized it didn't cover everything I wanted to become.

The more I obsessed about it the more one word kept coming back to me over and over again: STRONG. It was perfect, and covered everything I was hoping to improve in my life.

Choose to Become STRONG!!

I am choosing to become strong physically. Honestly my weight classes are some of my favorite. One of my friends, who took me to my first exercise class, explained that she loved to feel strong. I soon found I also loved the feeling and I want to feel that way all the time.

I am choosing to become strong creatively. I love to take pictures, I am learning everything I can so I can take great pictures, but often times my self doubt holds me back. I realized the other day I am usually the one standing in my way and I don't want that to happen any more.

I am choosing to become strong emotionally. My 20's were plagued with so much self doubt and insecurities. This year I enter my 30's I want all of that to be gone. I am me and I want that to be good enough, and stop worrying about what anyone might think.

I am choosing to become a strong Mother. I want to feel strong in my ability to do this job I have been given, and my ability to teach my sidekicks everything they need to be strong in today's world. It has not been easy for me to be a Mom and I often think I am doing more harm than good. I refuse to feel that way any more, I want to go to bed every night knowing I did my best and be willing to admit my mistakes and work to be better. But I am capable of being a great Mother, especially with the Lord on my side.

I am choosing to become strong spiritually. I figured if I am going to teach my kids what they need to know I better have a strong testimony of what I am teaching them. I have never doubted what I know, but I would love to have a stronger knowledge. I want to be stronger in my study and knowledge of the scriptures.

This scripture is one of my favorites and it fits so perfectly with my 2012 word. Because I can accomplish anything through Christ.

I plan to hang this above my desk where I will see it often and remind me of exactly what I want.

Building Snowmen

2012-01-10T13:32:00.000-07:00

One of the first things Samantha wanted to do on Saturday when she saw it was finally snowing was to make a snowman. She had so much fun making the first one she decided to make two. It must have been hard work because when I asked where her coat was she informed me she was hot.

She used rocks, pieces of our Christmas tree, sticks, and a pickle to give her snowman its features.

There is a giant snowman in our neighborhood and Samantha wanted to make one that was even bigger, unfortunately there was not enough snow left but she did manage to make a snowwoman bigger than she is, it even has a baby snowman in her arms.

Project 365, Week 1

2012-01-10T05:29:00.000-07:00

Sunday, January 1st: Hannah and Daddy playing cut the rope.

Monday, January 2nd: The sidekicks sleeping in their house they made out of an old stove box

Tuesday, January 3rd: Trying hard to wake up for Scriptures on our first day back to school and work

Wednesday, January 4th: Trying to create the perfect Creamy Potato soup recipe

Thursday, January 5th: Samantha's tin foil hat, AKA having way to much fun with Dad cleaning the kitchen

Friday, January 6th: Love that crazy after nap hair.

Saturday, January 7th: We were so excited to finally snow, we packed up and went sledding.

I thought I would post my finished pages too, hopefully this will help to keep my current. I decided to start digi scrapbooking, it is cheaper, I can do a bunch of books with one kit, or make 1 page and put it in multiple books, I don't have to store anything (which helps in this tiny place), it is fast, and easier clean up.
I am officially addicted!!

Sledding

2012-01-08T14:52:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning we woke up to snow, we were all so excited so of course our activity for the day was planned, we were going sledding. There was not enough snow in our mountains for sledding so we drove down to Fairview, they already had snow on their mountains so we figured this new storm would create some perfect sledding hills. We were not disappointed and found the perfect place to sled, there was one other truck there but they were off snow shoeing so we had the entire hill to ourselves.

The entire time we were sledding Hunter would haul the tube up the hill slide down and then repeat until we had to drag him off the hill because it was getting dark and we needed to head back home.

Samantha stuck mainly to hauling the orange sled up the hill. Rob tried to go with her once and Samantha ended up with her face covered in snow, that was the last time he was allowed to ride with her.

I tried going with her once and we hit a bump, her head smacked my jaw, and for a minute I thought it was broken. Thankfully it is not broken just very sore.

Last year when we went sledding it took a bunch of convincing and a bit of forcing to get Hannah to try sledding, she also didn't love having to climb back up the hill to go again. It is amazing what a difference a year makes, the minute her snow clothes were on she took the purple sled and started climbing the hill and sliding down all on her own.

After my one trip with Samantha I figured going down smaller hills with Hannah was a lot safer.

It was beautiful and peaceful up there, the only sound was our laughter. I love moments like these when I feel like I am getting a glimpse at what Heaven will be like. I sure do love my little family and all of our weekend outings together.

PS. Look I'm famous now. (And yes we are trying to figure out if we want to camp out for free wings for a year)

Tin Foil Hat

2012-01-06T16:49:00.000-07:00

One of the things on my bucket list was learn to shoot in RAW, and I decided yesterday was the day to get started. I Googled "how to start shooting in RAW" and every single thing I read said "just put it in RAW and start shooting". I still couldn't do it, it just seemed to easy, and I figured I must be missing something. So while doing dishes I started to tell Rob about everything I had read and he decided if I wouldn't try then he would. I told him how to switch the camera into RAW and he started snapping away. I wondered if it could really be so easy, and sure enough I imported them to Lightroom and there they were ready for a few touch-ups.

I have noticed when I shoot with my 50 mm I have to be really careful about where it is focusing especially when my aperture is wide open, I think since shooting in RAW was so easy to accomplish working on getting the focus right should be the next thing I work on.

All of these pictures are taken by Rob, if I was not elbow deep in water I probably would have taken some, but probably not since Rob and Samantha were having so much fun with their photo shoot. Samantha was clearing the table and Rob was getting ready to wipe it down when they decided to make this hat for Samantha and that started it all. We sure do love our little goofball!!

This Week

2012-01-06T14:53:00.000-07:00

I have decided it is a good thing I didn't make any resolutions this year, I am sure every single one would have been broken all ready this week. I have only gotten up on time once this week when I had to be to the school to help in Hunter's class. I have had a Diet Coke almost every day to help beat the afternoon fade as my body and mind refused to come out of Winter Break mode. And I don't even want to start on the treats I have had. Going back to the gym, yeah that hasn't happened either, we are doing our January freeze and that is money we can use to pay off debt (at least that is the excuse I have used).

Speaking of the freeze, we are doing really well (other than the diet coke). Today I was able to pay off the motorcycle, and hopefully by next paycheck if we continue to do good we can pay off the credit card.

I have been working on my bucket list this week, I even crossed something off (found HERE). Rob decided to join my Angry Birds quest, and try to finish before I do, but he has a lot of work to do because I have 3 stars clear up to the 6th level. I also organized all of the kids papers, made a plan for how I want to document this life of ours, and started working to finish my Project Life albums.

Not to mention I also planned a menu for the next 2 weeks, did all of our grocery shopping, and finished what I needed for Young Women's.

I think I will count this week as a success and enjoy my weekend!!

New Year's Eve

2012-01-04T04:49:00.000-07:00

I have a confession, New Year's Eve is my least favorite holiday of the year, I don't usually stay up late and I really really love sleep. Plus when everyone is already exhausted from all the Christmas celebrations keeping the sidekicks up till midnight (or later) never sounds fun.

I love a new year full of fresh possibilities, but I would rather wake up ready to conquer the year instead of spend the entire day wishing for a nap (or a nap for the very cranky sidekicks).

That being said my Sister in Law Katie threw a great party this year, we ate lots of yummy food, went out to shot some guns, played a few games, and spent time with Rob's family. The kids all had a great time hanging out with their cousins, and there is always lots of laughs when we go to their house.

I don't have many pictures, I should have taken more but it is what it is.
Thanks Katie for the fun party!!

January 2nd

2012-01-03T02:41:00.000-07:00

There is something to be said about January 2nd, ecspecially when it falls on a Monday. Rob had they day off, the sidekicks were out of school for one more day, and all of our company had returned to their homes. I am always sad to see the holiday season come to an end, but putting my house back together and giving it a good scrub always cheers me up.

It was also the first time I didn't complain about the lack of snow this winter break, instead we all enjoyed being outside playing and getting things done. Hunter even came in and asked for sunscreen to cool down his back because he was "so hot". The sidekicks built a house out of an old stove box, I cleaned out my car, and Rob and I organized the garage. I know it is only a matter of time before the snow starts falling so crossing these off our list was a great feeling.

Today life returns to normal, Rob heads back to work and the sidekicks back to school.

Freeze update day 2: We did really good today, the only thing we bought was a drink, but after all the hard work we put in to cleaning the house and garage we deserved it.

Restarting Project 365

2012-01-02T08:57:00.000-07:00

(Jan. 1st: Hannah playing cut the rope with Daddy)

For Christmas Rob bought me a 50mm lens for my camera. I have been having so much fun learning how to use it and it has sparked my interest to take more every day pictures. I was looking through my album from 2010 and I realized how much I missed taking a picture every day. I started out really well last year but after my ectopic pregnancy in February I was struggling to keep up and eventually I just gave up all together.

So with the start of a new year I am ready to dive back in. Wish me luck I might need it!!

January Spending Freeze

2012-01-02T04:27:00.000-07:00

Rob and I had the following conversation one night:

Me: I finished my house plans, they are perfect. Just need to take them to Brian so he can figure out all the dimensions for me.

Rob: Jamie, I have been thinking a lot lately and I really feel we need to pay off our debt before we start saving up for the house. I would like it if you prayed about it to see if you also think it's the right decision.

Me: I don't need to pray about it

Rob: I would like you to, because I don't want to do anything if we both don't agree it's the right thing to do.

Me: I don't need to pray about it because I know it's the right thing to do, I am just not very happy about it right now. (which is also what I told Heavenly Father later in my prayers)

So that is the plan for 2012, we are going to pay off as much of our debt as we can. It won't be easy, it probably won't be fun, but in the end it will be the best thing for us. A few years ago we did a January Spending Freeze, we did not spend anything extra through the entire month of January. We didn't eat out, we drove only when we needed too, we didn't do any activities that involved money, and we didn't buy anything except food. It was a LONG month, but in the end we paid off a bunch of debt.

We decided to do it again this month and I will admit I am not looking forward to January. I want it to be over and have our credit card and Rob's motorcycle paid off. (at least that is what we are hoping will happen by the end of the month)

I have a few things on my Bucket List that don't require any money to keep me distracted, I will also have my morning workouts to get me out of the house during the week, and Rob is super creative at keeping us busy for free on the weekends. So all in all I don't think it will be a bad month, I hope.

Wish us luck!!

2012 Bucket List

2012-01-01T04:15:00.000-07:00

I decided against resolutions this year, as a wise husband once told me: "If something needs changing why not do it now instead of waiting until the New Year?". So I decided that is what I am going to do, but it didn't stop me from making a list of things I wanted to do or accomplish in the next year.

I am calling it my 2012 Bucket List.

* Complete my 2010 and 2011 Project Life Albums
* Organize my recipes
* Move into a bigger house
* Finish Samantha's room
* and Hunter's room
* and Hannah's room
* Finish (or redo when we move) my Gallery wall
* Solve our toy organization problem
* Read and Study the entire Book of Mormon
* 3 Stars on all the Angry Birds levels
* Eat Sushi
* Learn to ski
* Learn the ins and outs of Lightroom
* Learn to shoot in RAW
* Save for a Canon 24-70 mm lens

I may add to it, but for now this seems perfect, and doable!!

2011 Year in Review

2011-12-31T04:29:00.000-07:00

Looking back on 2011 I can see it was a year of high's and low's, but a year of growing and figuring out where we want to go. I am looking forward to 2012, we have a plan, we know what direction we want to go in, and we are ready to get there. I am grateful for all we learned in 2011, grateful for all of the fun we were able to have, grateful for all of the time we got to spend with family and friends, and grateful for the many blessings in our lives. Rob and I talked the other night about how much fun we have had this year, and how many fun opportunities we had. So despite how challenging it was at times, we should think about how blessed we were to be able to have so many adventures together this year.

So here they all are, boy it was a busy year. We are all excited to see what 2012 holds!!

January

After 5 years of living in Kansas, we were finally back home in Utah
Sledding at Jolley's Ranch
Weekend trip to Beaver for more sledding

February:

Samantha turning 8 and getting baptized
Weekend trip full of ice skating and potato guns

March:

Spending a day on the waterfront in Seattle
While not the happiest time I was grateful I could go to my Grandpa's funeral in Washington
Hannah's 4th birthday (and her birthday party)
St. Patrick's Day
Lots of 4 Wheeler riding Here and HERE

April:

An unexpected snow day
Hunter learning to ride without training wheels
Spending spring break at Grandma Davidson's in St. George (and getting our craft on)
Jones Cousin Egg Hunt
Easter in Blanding

May:

Samantha's opera at school
Mother's Day Weekend
Selling our house in Kansas (and getting to spend the weekend in St. George)
School Carnival, Hot dogs, and Smores
Fishing at Joe's Reservoir

June:

Going to the zoo with Aunt Hydi and Grandma
Our first camping trip of the year (and a trip to the lake)
My Sister in Law's baptism
The story of our summer: Reunions, BBQ's, and Parades
Ethen's 8th Birthday Party
A free weekend to just go riding (plus a Friday ride because we had so much fun the weekend before)
A family trip to Temple Square
Sunday dinner in the mountains

July:

Ethen's Baptism
4th of July parade (our first big parade)
Samantha's Pinkwood Derby
Lehman Caves
Hunter learning how to ride a motorcycle
Hiking the Y
Hiking into Stewart Falls

August:

Alex and Kaitlyn's Wedding
Outdoor Cooking
Hiking into the Hot Pots
Tubing the Provo River
First day of School (Samantha and Hunter)
Mirror Lake

September:

Labor Day weekend (including a baby blessing)
Hannah's first day of Preschool
Peach Days (and another baby blessing)
Time out for Women with my Mom, Grandma and Sister Hydi
General Relief Society Broadcast (in the conference center!!)

October:

Cascade Springs
Strawberry Reservior
Elk Hunting
Apple Picking
Pumpkin Walk
Witchapalooza
Halloween

November:

Hunter's first wrestling match
Austin's 5th Birthday Party
Hunter's wrestling tournament
Thanksgiving
Grandismas (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

December:

Festival of Tree's
Our Christmas tree (attempt 1, attempt 2, decorated)
Festival of Lights
Lights on Temple Square
Hunter and Samantha's Christmas programs
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day
Fake Sledding in Cedar City

Duck Hunting

2011-12-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

Rob has been talking about taking his Dad out duck hunting for a while now, tonight he was finally able to do that. Rob hasn't had much luck before now but they ended up coming home with 4 ducks. I think he was pretty happy about that!!

Dinner after the hunt is my favorite, it took me a while to try Rob's duck, but now I love it.

Fake Sledding

2011-12-30T15:48:00.000-07:00

We had big plans for winter break, well actually we only had one plan: lots and lots of sledding. Unfortunately that is impossible without snow. Southern Utah has had all the snow so we drove down to my parents house the day after Christmas and decided to find somewhere along the way to sled. We stopped in Beaver only to find bare mountains, so we decided to try Cedar City because they have gotten the most snow. When we got there we realized they didn't have anything either, but we figured a drive up the mountain to look wouldn't hurt. We ended up on a side road where others were trying to sled and Rob convinced me to pull him and Hunter behind the truck on the snow packed roads.

It didn't take long before Hannah wanted a ride as long as they could use the purple sled.

Pretty soon Samantha decided she also wanted a ride.

Unfortunately we quickly ran out of snow covered road, and had to call it quits. We are all crossing our fingers for a giant snow storm so we can do some real sledding.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

We had a big plan for Christmas Eve, we would hike into the Hot Pots early in the morning, and then later that night we would head over to our friends house for Christmas Eve Fondue. I was very excited for this plan until we realized it was going to be cold. When we left our house that morning at 8:30 it was 12 degrees outside, I began to wonder if we were crazy. When we got to the trail head our cars told us it was zero degrees outside, at this point I knew we were crazy.

Instead of turning back we bundled everyone up and started on our 2 1/2 mile hike in. The kids were troopers and hiked in despite how cold it was, I won't say there wasn't any whining, but for the situation they did awesome. And when we did finally make it my kids couldn't strip down fast enough and jump in.

After everyone got the fill of swimming (aka the mommies were cold and ready to go back) we tried to hurry and dry off, and put clothes back on as fast as possible. We then hiked the 2 1/2 miles back out. After all the hiking the kids were so happy to see our cars again, and we were happy to see the temperature had gone up 20 degrees.

After a much needed nap we headed to Dan and Crystal's for fondue, I had never had real fondue so I was excited, we also had not eaten since breakfast so we were starving. They had the best spread, the cheese was delicious (I could have eaten nothing but bread and cheese and been happy), the meat was amazing, and the chocolate fountain was a huge hit.

We all left with huge smiles and very full bellies!! (Thanks again Dan and Crystal for inviting us!!)

We returned home and we all got to open our Christmas eve pajamas (Rob and I got slippers this year).

After the kids were showered and ready for bed we all snuggled on the couch to watch The Grinch cartoon before we ushered the sidekicks off to bed.

Hannah decided to leave Santa some chocolate dipped fruit she had made and he must have liked it because our tree looked pretty full the next morning.

Our Christmas Day adventures can be found HERE.

Christmas

2011-12-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Christmas at our house, the day started with me up before anyone else, I may be the adult now but I still can't sleep Christmas eve because I am so excited. Not the rest of my family, they were all out cold and snoring. When they did finally wake up we headed into the family room to check out their presents. Every year Rob and I figure out what to get the sidekicks, and every year we get more, we love buying for the kids and love watching their excitement when they open the gifts.

Waiting to go to the family room and right before opening presents.

First up, checking to see what is in their Stockings.

Gifts from Santa Clause (Samantha: Monster High Cleo bed, Hannah: Monster High Laguana bed,

Hunter: Giant box of Lego's)

We like to open presents one at a time so Rob and I can see their reactions, and to make the entire morning last longer than if we just set them loose on everything.

We also loved watching them watch each other open gifts and getting just as excited with them. A couple times we had to remind them to let them open their own present, they would get so excited to see what it was they wanted to help rip off the paper.

Samantha: Monster High Cleo bed, purple pea coat, clothes from Mom, Monster High Abbeybomidable, gift card to Claires (and promise of a shopping trip) from Dad, Monster High Lava Lamp, Monster High head band. Also a Monster High book from Hunter, a Nerf gun from Hannah, Monster High Cleo Doll from Leka, a Monster High drawing set and Just Dance 2 for Kids video game from Grandma and Grandpa Morris, and a crochet Hat from Great Grandma Selman.

Hunter: Big Box of Legos, Airport Lego set, Real Steal action figures, Clothes from Mom, Halo Master Cheif toy from Dad, Lego Indiana Jones Xbox video game, Angry Birds bomb and pig toys. Also a Nerf gun from Hannah, and a Halo Alien from Samantha, Transformers from Austin, Airplane Lego set and Hunting guys from Grandma and Grandpa Morris, and a Crochet Hat from Great Grandma Selman

Hannah: Monster High Laguana bed, Crib Life doll, Monster High Spectara doll, 2 wheeled scooter, clothes from Mom, toy marshmallow (from annoying orange) from Dad, Monster High head band. Also a Monster High Neptuna (Laguana's pet fish) from Samantha, Polly Pocket play set from Hunter, Monster High Frankie doll from Leka, Monther High Draculora doll and Tinker bell fairy from Grandma and Grandpa Morris, a crochet Hat from Great Grandma Selman.

The kids and I bought Rob a new Leatherman, old man slippers, a new pair of pants, and a Hunter Dan toy.

Rob took the kids to the dollar store and set them loose to buy my a Christmas present, I almost wish I was there from all the stories he was telling me. They came back with:
Hannah: A turkey baster (she told Rob I NEEDED a turkey baster and he was surprised she even knew what it was, thank you Curious George), Huge pink sunglasses, ice trays, and colored zip ties.
Hunter: Sunglasses, an apple slicer (he didn't know what it was it just looked cool), and a back scratcher.
Samantha: a Thor puzzle, a pillow (which will include a picture of me and her) and a piggy bank.
And Rob bought me an air horn to use so I don't have to yell to get everyone's attention.

Rob may have started a new tradition, I laughed the entire time I was opening my gifts, I think I am taking the kids to do the same thing next year.

When all the presents were opened Rob pulled out one more for me, I wasn't expecting it and I was so excited and happy when I opened it. There were lots of tears shed, I LOVE IT, and we have been having so much fun taking pictures with it.

After we opened presents on Christmas Day we ate our traditional Christmas breakfast of sticky buns, eggs, and fruit. We then hung out playing with toys until it was time for church. Our Sacrament meeting made me wish Christmas was on a Sunday every year, the music and speaker added to the spirit of why we celebrate Christmas and helped to set the mood for the rest of the day.

We came home, changed back into our jammies, relaxed, and played with toys for the rest of the day. I pointed out that for the first time in 6 years we didn't have to pack up and drive 16 hours, it was a great feeling.

We enjoyed a nice Christmas dinner of ham and potatoes, I didn't think I could after last year's ham experience (which I really should right about because now that we look back it is kind of funny), but Rob got a ham from work and it was delicious. We were also lucky enough to have my parents and brother Tyler stop by and visit for a bit.

The day was perfect and Rob and I decided this is how every Christmas should go.

Christmas Programs

2011-12-23T14:51:00.002-07:00

Hunter had his first Christmas program the Tuesday before Christmas, he was so excited all day and kept asking what time it was so he wouldn't be late. In the program he held up a light bulb for the first song and also had a speaking part (Christmas is presents under the tree). The program was so cute and all the kindergartners did awesome!! (and I sat on the wrong side, I forgot to ask where he would be)

Samantha also had a Christmas program Wednesday morning during school. She has been going to choir twice a week before school for the last few months. She loves to sing and I was so happy she has a chance to do it at school.

I really wish I could get video to work on my computer, one day, but believe me when I say they both did awesome!! (and I have video to prove it, just can't get to it)

Oh Decorated Christmas Tree

2011-12-23T14:46:00.000-07:00

Our tree has been decorated for a few weeks now, we decorated it the night Hannah got sick, which also happened to be Family Home Evening. I felt bad Hannah was sick and didn't want to help decorate so we made her a bed on the couch so she could still join us. Hunter and Samantha had lots of fun adding as many ornaments as possible to the tree. It is not a very full tree but thankfully the branches were strong enough to hold the ornaments.

By the next morning Hannah was feeling better and I found her playing right next to the tree. She is not the only one who loves the tree, if any of the sidekicks are home the tree has to be plugged in.

Our tree may not be perfect, but she is ours, and we all love her.

What's for Dinner (Dec. 22nd- Jan 6th)

2011-12-22T10:47:00.001-07:00

(Crown Burger, one of the many places we have eaten out at this year, SO GOOD!!)

One of my goals for the new year is to be more prepared, organized, and also to cook more. I used to plan an entire menu for two weeks, do all the grocery shopping, and then we would always have a home cooked meal and food in our pantry. This year I have been throwing a huge tantrum about the kitchen I have, toss in a few medical problems, and mix in being back in Utah and near some of our favorite places to eat, and you get a family who did not eat many home cooked meals in 2011.

The other night, determined to make a change, I sat down and planned the menu through January 6th (on the 6th I will start planning every two weeks following our paydays). I did all of my shopping yesterday and managed to somehow cram all the food into our tiny fridge, freezer, and pantry. I mentioned on Facebook that I was starting to feel more like myself again and hopefully I will have the motivation to keep it up.

A couple things to note abut our menu plan: every Wednesday in the winter is soup night, Friday is pizza night and Tuesday's are usually busy so I try to do a crockpot meal.

I don't have many links for the recipes, I will try and post them as I go along, but if you want them before then you can email me and I will send them to you.

Tursday, Dec. 22nd: Leftover Minestrone

Friday, Dec. 23rd: Pizza

Saturday, Dec 24th: Fondue at friends house

Sunday, Dec. 25th: Ham, cheesy potatoes, bacon wrapped green beans, rolls

Monday Dec. 26th: Dinner at my parents

Tuesday Dec. 27th: Leftovers

Wednesday, Dec 28th: Chicken noodle soup

Thursday, Dec 29th: Meatloaf

Friday, Dec. 30th: Pizza

Saturday, Dec. 31st: New Year's Eve Party

Sunday, Jan. 1st: Dinner at Rob's Sisters

Monday, Jan. 2nd: Tacos

Tuesday, Jan 3rd: Italian Chicken in the Crockpot

Wednesday, Jan 4th: Creamy Potato Soup

Thursday, Jan. 5th: Beef Stroganoff

Friday, Jan. 6th: Pizza

The Festival of Lights

2011-12-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

A couple Friday nights ago Hannah and I made ginger snaps, we bought hot chocolate at 7-eleven, and once we had our goodies we drove to Spanish Fork for the Festival of Lights.

(and for the rest of the weekend I had this song stuck in my head)

Kind of appropriate since Hanukkah starts tonight.

And Happy Hanukkah to all my Jewish friends, enjoy your celebration of the Festival of Lights!!

The Festival of Lights in Spanish Fork, it is set up in the park and you drive around the loop looking at all of the different displays. It was cold but we still had our windows down for the best view. There were so many different light displays and most of them had changing scenes.
(like the penguin below who was catching the fish and it changed as he pulled it up from the water)

The Festival of Lights goes from Thanksgiving until New Year's Day and only costs $5.00 to drive through so if you are in the area check it out. Normal trips in the car are no fun for us, but we all loved driving through to see the lights and it will be another thing we try to do every Christmas.

Lights on Temple Square

2011-12-19T15:34:00.000-07:00

We crossed another thing off of our Utah Christmas "To Do List", last Wednesday we drove to Salt Lake to see the lights on Temple Square. The sidekicks loved the lights, and so did Rob and I, they didn't even seem to mind the cold. Next year when we go we will be sure to add on more layers and bring some hot chocolate to help keep us warm.

One of our favorite parts was watching them light up the nativity and read the story of the first Christmas from Luke. When it was done Hunter asked if we could come back next year, I told him we were planning to go again on Monday, unfortunately a lovely head cold is keeping us home tonight and I hope the sidekicks are not to disappointed. Thankfully it will be on our list again next year, and every year after that.

Another One Bites the Dust

2011-12-13T16:45:00.003-07:00

It was bound to happen, no one is lucky enough to have only one of the five people living in a home get the flu, especially when we are all hanging out in such close proximity to each other. This small place does not leave any extra room to quarantine the sick child.

Hannah started complaining about not feeling well when it was time to fold her laundry, so both Rob and I figured she was trying to get out of it. We got the laundry folded and then headed to the Wal-Mart for a few things to decorate our tree. I decided this was the time to listen to the little voice in my head so we brought the bucket, just in case. We were almost there when Hannah started throwing up.

Now here is the part where you award me Mother of the Year: instead of going home we found a dumpster, threw away the bucket, and rushed inside to get what we needed adding a new bucket to our list. We made Hannah a bed in the cart with a tree skirt and Rob's coat and thankfully we made it out of the store without incident. She came home and curled up on the couch and watched us decorate before falling asleep.

I hoped it would only last 12 hours like Hunter's and sure enough this morning she was feeling much better.

So the questions remains...Who's Next??

The Weekend

2011-12-12T14:09:00.003-07:00

Craptastic is the word I would use to describe this weekend. It all started Saturday morning at 5:00 am when I hear Hunter calling for me from his room, I went in to check and he informed me he had thrown up, three times. I climbed onto the top bunk and started cleaning up while Rob got Hunter showered. We had Hunter settled and were almost asleep when he started throwing up again. After another change of the sheets, shower, and instructions to use the bucket if he can't make it to the bathroom we headed back to bed. Just as we were all almost asleep he threw up again, this would last for all of Saturday.

Because Hunter was sick I sent Rob and the girls out to find a tree, ideally we all would have gone but I figured we had all gone the weekend before so they could go without us. Hunter and I took naps and I cleaned up the house while they were gone. Just after dark Rob called to inform me the truck was stuck on the mountain and some nice people had given him and the girls a ride back into town and could I please come and pick him up.

Rob spent the rest of Saturday night getting what he needed to pull the truck out in the morning. Thank goodness for family, Rob's cousin Steve came over bright and early to help him get the truck out. Hunter was feeling better so he headed out with his Dad and the girls and I took a chill day because I didn't want to spread any germs that may have been lurking.

The bright spot in the weekend was Rob bringing home a tree, it could rival the Charlie Brown Christmas tree for it's lack of branches. Rob found it close to where his truck was stuck and I will admit I hate it, but I also love it because it has a story we won't forget anytime soon.

And in my opinion Christmas tree's with a story are the best kind no matter how ugly they are.

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-09T16:51:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we headed out in search of the perfect tree, and before my fingers froze, and while the 2 youngest were still excited to be in the snow, I managed to snag a few pictures of our nephew Baby Jax and my little Hannah.

My other two were so excited to play in the snow they didn't stay close enough to take any pictures.

And the colder I got the less I pulled out my camera to get pictures of them when they were close by.

Sorry kids, I will to do better next time.

Oh Christmas Tree

2011-12-09T08:40:00.001-07:00

Have I mentioned we live in Utah, maybe only a few hundred times, did I mention we are in Utah for Christmas?? Since we are in Utah we could add cut down our own tree to our Christmas list. We invited Rob's sister Katie and her family down, and drove up the mountain in search of the perfect tree. We hadn't driven very far when there she was, the heavens opened, the light shone down, and I think I heard angels sing. We checked her out and deemed her perfect but wondered if we should cut down the first tree we saw, so we put a stick to mark where she was and continued our search.

But when the heavens open up and sing you cut down the tree, we didn't and when we got back to her someone else had cut her down, I won't lie I hated them a little bit. So we hurried and cut a different one down since it was getting dark and brought him home. The first morning he was up Bubba decided to hang from the tree to check and see how sturdy he was, after that the poor tree wouldn't stand up in the stand, and if we are being honest his poor branches would not have held a single ornament anyway.

Tomorrow he will be used to make a fire and keep us warm as we search for a new tree.

Katie and her family did find a beautiful tree and it is so cute and decorated in their house, don't worry I am not extremely jealous, just a tiny bit jealous.

The sidekicks had a blast playing in the snow with their cousins, I think they forgot they were supposed to be looking for the perfect tree.

Thanks for coming down Katie it was lots of fun!!

PS. I am all caught up now, YAY, and my memory card is empty, double YAY!!

PPS. You can see some more cute snow pictures of Hannah and Jax over HERE.

Hannah Ruby

2011-12-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

I took these a couple weeks ago, Hannah had just woken up from her nap and came in ready for dance class that night. Her hair was messy and she had that after nap sweaty smell, but she was so excited because she had put her dance outfit together all on her own.

Sure do love my little Hannah Ruby!!

Yesterday

2011-12-08T15:59:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I was sick, which meant today I was still a little sick, which also meant helping in Kindergarten and breathing on kids was not the best idea. So with a few free hours to lay around and do nothing I came up with a name should I ever start my own photography business. And since the name was so perfect I had to start a blog to put my non family adventure pictures.

So I give you:

Ruby Lane Photography

Check it out if you want to, don't know where it will go but it might be fun to find out.

Festival of Trees

2011-12-08T12:11:00.001-07:00

There was no way I was letting this Christmas season go by without a trip to Festival of Trees. Hannah and I had to make a quick trip Friday morning but it worked and we had a great time. Not only do I love looking at all the beautiful trees, I also love that the Festival of Trees raises money for Primary Children's Hospital. One day I would love to buy one of the trees.

The trees are beautiful and some are donated by families for a loved one who has passed away, or is currently fighting a battle at Primary Children's. This tree donated by the family of one of the missionaries who was killed in Texas was beautiful and heartbreaking.

I can't think of a better way to start the holiday season.

Grandismas Morning - Part 3

2011-12-06T18:03:00.001-07:00

The Saturday after Thanksgiving as part of our Grandismas celebrations we all got up bright and early, which is what happens when you have little kids (or nieces and nephews). The grandkids were all excited because it was time to open their presents from Grandma and Grandpa.

There were some very excited and happy kids (especially when Cars 2 was opened), thanks for the gifts Mom and Dad, the sidekicks love them!!

(I also really love my gift, so thank you!!)

After presents we gather for Grandismas breakfast which always includes sticky buns, wassail, and my Mom also made a delicious casserole. (but I was to busy eating to take pictures)

The idea for Grandismas came from my Dad, as our family grew Christmas morning (and the activities leading up to it) were chaos, plus we couldn't be together every year and it wasn't long before we all started staying at our own homes for Christmas. So my parents thought of a way for them to enjoy the Grandkids (and their own kids) opening their Christmas gifts from them along with all the fun traditions we grew up with. I love this new tradition and I am so thankful my parents thought of it.

Thanks again Mom and Dad for another very fun Grandismas!!

Christmas Wish

2011-12-06T13:27:00.001-07:00

(two of the cutest holiday elfs)

My hunt started the Monday before Black Friday, we had put together a list of what we wanted to get the sidekicks for Christmas and had started buying what we could. I knew the dolls I wanted for the girls were going on sale on Black Friday so I crossed my fingers I could find them.

Walmart didn't have the specific ones I was looking for so I left empty handed and my hunt continued. I have been checking online and every store I go into since then only to come up empty handed. I saw Target had them listed as in stock late Saturday night and rushed up there only to again leave empty handed. I planned on going back today hoping to find someone else a little more helpful.

This morning when I was saying my prayers I asked for something I thought was extremely silly and a waste of the Lord's time when there are so many more important things people need help with. I didn't know if I should be asking for help finding the dolls, but I asked anyway, and explained how I knew it was silly to be asking, but it would really mean a lot if I could find these dolls for my girls.

After another unsuccessful stop at Target I headed to Toys R Us ready to throw in the towel and just find them something else. I wanted to be done shopping and didn't want to try and hunt them down anymore, I am not that kind of shopper, I get what I need and then get out as quickly as possible.

I headed straight back to the aisle where I knew the dolls were located thinking of other options I had and couldn't believe my eyes when I got there. In front of me were four dolls left on the shelf and 2 of them were the ones I was after. I almost started crying in the isle, yes I know they are just dolls, but I was so thankful.

I asked Rob if I was being ridiculousness (because his opinion is really the only one that matters), and he told me even though they are just toys and really don't matter in the grand scheme of things, it was still important to me. I was so grateful for the reminder that no matter how silly I think my request is, my Heavenly Father cares about me and blesses me every day.

I want it to be Christmas tomorrow, I can't wait for the girls to open their gifts. I know years from now they may not remember what they got this year for Christmas but I know I won't ever forget, or forget the blessing that accompanied that gift.

Grandismas Part 2 - The Tree and PJ's

2011-12-05T14:25:00.001-07:00

The Friday night after Thanksgiving, also known as Grandismas Eve, the Grandkids decorated the tree for my parents entryway. Grandma pulled out her ornaments and the Grandkids added on their paper chain they made last year along with their salt dough ornaments and made room for the frames they had made earlier in the day.

After the tree was decorated and our stomachs stuffed with some really good food, (which may have involved some deep fried oreo's and candy bars) we were onto another Davidson tradition, Grandismas Eve PJ's and a Christmas story.

Grandpa usually reads the story but he couldn't find his glasses so Grandma took over.

After the story we tucked the kiddos into bed and broke out the fingernail polish, hair dye, card games, and Just Dance 3. That's right we adults know how to party!!

December 2011

2011-12-01T14:06:00.001-07:00

December 1st may have snuck up on me and so we rushed today at lunch to take our monthly family picture. Thank goodness for a little bit of cloud cover to make the lighting work.

Also I might have been able to cram it in yesterday but I was secretly hoping for the snow that was supposed to come today.

I had a few other ideas for our picture but they are going to be saved for next year, which should give me plenty of time to find a Santa suit, and lots of time to talk Rob into putting it on.

I don't know about any of you but I am so excited for December, and even more excited we get to be in Utah. Time to get started on that big list of activities I have planned for the month!!

PS: Happy Birthday Dad, we LOVE you!!

Grandismas Part 1 ~ Gingerbread Houses

2011-11-30T20:34:00.001-07:00

Last year we did all of Grandma and Grandpa Davidson's Christmas traditions the day after Thanksgiving, it was such a hit we decided to do it again this year. On Friday we had Grandismas Eve and the first thing on our list was Gingerbread houses, normally the adults have a big competition after the kids are in bed but this year we got a bit distracted with Just Dance 3.

The kids did make theirs in the morning and did an awesome job.

Another thing we wanted to do again this year was make ornaments to decorate Grandma and Grandpa's tree, this year they each made frames out of Popsicle sticks and put in a picture of themselves and their gingerbread house.
(I didn't get pictures of the finished frames but they were cute)

So from oldest to youngest, their picture with their completed house.

(let's all cross our fingers I get the right house with the right grandkid)

Samantha:

Ethen:

Hunter:

Nait:

Hannah:

Gracie:

Aiden:

Ava:

Nolen:

Who was is to small to make a house but way to stinkin cute to leave out of the picture line up.

Stay tuned for part 2.....

Thanksgiving

2011-11-30T14:48:00.001-07:00

This Thanksgiving will forever be known as the one when Jamie suggested a new way to cook the turkey she had heard about on the news one night and the turkey was not cooked when it was time for dinner (thanks a lot little america chef). Rob thought there must be something to this method though because once the turkey was fully cooked the meat was some of the juiciest he had ever eaten. I will not be beaten though, Christmas is just a few weeks away and I plan to show the turkey who is the boss.

*Side Note: see those cute chocolate turkeys, Samantha helped Grandma make them, they were a big hit.

This poor kid was "SO HUNGRY" and wanted to know "WHEN IS DINNER GOING TO BE READY".

He was pretty happy once dinner was finally served, we all were actually.

The food was delicious, the company was wonderful, and our bellies were very full.

So despite the turkey taking a lot longer to cook, it was a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Monday

2011-11-28T13:36:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday we took our first vacation of the year, sure we have done a lot of fun things this year on the weekends, but this was the first time Rob took an extended amount of time off work for a family vacation. We used to take 2 long vacations every year in Kansas and I have been missing them.

We had a busy week and I have just started editing the pictures. Our week was packed with great food, lots of activities, craft projects, shopping, and my wonderful family. What can I say we love to have a good time. Hopefully I can start posting all about it tomorrow.

As for today I slept in, cleaned my house, the laundry is almost done, and I had a lunch date with Rob.

Which is what should happen every Monday.

And for the TMI portion of this post, my monthly started today, not something I would normally talk or blog about, but for the first time since the ectopic in February it didn't start with the normal stabby pain that would have kept me down all day. Rob was thinking I was quite strange for being happy about it this morning but I am so thankful to be pain free, and I am hoping this means I am close to being fully recovered.

The Thankful Tree Part 2

2011-11-23T13:48:00.000-07:00

On Monday we finished all the leaves for our thankful tree, we have slacked off a little with doing it every night, so we sat down for family home evening and filled out all the leaves that were left. I loved doing this, and so did the rest of the family, it will definitely be a tradition we do every year.

Right now we are busy in the kitchen making pies and doing prep work for the big day tomorrow. Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays, and black Friday is always fun!!

So from our family to yours, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Wrestling Tournament

2011-11-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

Saturday Hunter went to his first wrestling tournament, there were not many people in his weight class so he ended up only being able to wrestle twice.

(this is what happens when you are in Kindergarten and are in the 55lb weight class)

The first match the kid he wrestled must have been wrestling for quite awhile but Hunter didn't give up he fought hard and kept from getting pinned. Although the kid kept choking Hunter trying to get him down, which is illegal and should have been called. Hunter was struggling to breathe and starting to get upset, so I started to get upset (not a good combo) because Hunter struggling to breathe is a very scary thing for me (especially when I forget to bring his inhaler).

But we both calmed down and in between matches Hunter and Rob watched the video of the match and pointed out what he could do better, and then it was time to wrestle again.

Hunter fought hard, the other kid fought hard, and after the two rounds it was a tie score.

Now I did stats for the wrestling team my junior year in high school so you would think I would remember a thing or two, like when you go into overtime the first wrestler to score points wins. Then I could tell my son he needed to get the take down to win, only I didn't remember.

And the other kid got the take down, and it was over, and I suddenly remembered. Sorry Bubba, but you did awesome!! At the end of the tournament he got a medal, and he thought that was the best part.

PS. I don't have a picture of his medal because I rushed off to help enter data for the rest of the tournament, again SORRY BUBBA!!!

Chuck E Cheese

2011-11-21T14:58:00.001-07:00

On Friday we drove to Layton so I could get in some good snuggle time with baby Jax, OK fine that wasn't the real reason, Austin had a birthday the day before and we were going up to celebrate. We met the 'Aho family at Chuck E Cheese to let the kids play and then to get some dinner. The sidekicks were so excited to get to hang out with their cousins and I was happy to get to sit back and let them run until their tokens were gone. Oh and because I had parked myself in a booth to have some adult conversation I sent Rob out with the camera, so all of these pictures are his (thanks hunny!!).

The birthday boy, hard to believe him and Hannah are only 4 months apart, Happy 5th Birthday Austin!!

This has to be the best picture of the night.

We also managed to play some games, ski ball and deal or no deal.

Thanks Austin for letting us celebrate with you, we had the best time!!

And thanks Jax for being so chill and letting me get my fill of snuggling (and smooching) in!!

Progress

2011-11-18T14:52:00.001-07:00

I feel like I have been doing a lot of whining lately, along with trying to give myself pep talks, and also being really mad at myself for not being "OK" and "Happy" despite everything I feel is wrong right now. It is easy to say I should choose to be "happy" despite our circumstance, it is another thing to actually be happy, and being happy takes some work.

I have good days and I have crummy days, and yesterday was a crummy day. I did manage to pull myself out of it after I spent 2 1/2 hours folding shirts and helping to hand them out for the wrestling club Hunter is in. Not the normal thing to cheer someone up, but I love being able to help, even if it means folding shirts.

I came home and told Rob how much I hate feeling this way and I want to be better. He is amazing and didn't tell me I just need to decide to be happy, instead he pointed out how I have gotten better. He reminded me when I used to feel this way I would be mad at everyone around me, be very short with them, and then I would end up in tears telling myself I was the most horrible person, wife, and mom around.

Now I am better to recognize when these feelings are starting, my patience has improved, and I do try really hard to change how I feel. Part of helping to fight off these moods is sitting down and counting my blessings and being consistent with saying my prayers and asking for strength to battle the moods.

I sometimes expect myself to change over night, but I should know it takes time for weaknesses to become strengths. Yes I can decide I want to be happy but it is only the first of many steps to actually getting there.

Focus on Your Feet

2011-11-15T15:06:00.002-07:00

My Mom told me about a post she had read and thought of me (found here), I first came to know Laurel Christensen when I listened to her speak at Time Out for Women and I have been reading her blog ever since, but somehow I had missed this post. I read it, and then read it again, and a third time because I needed to make sure it really sunk it.

I loved this quote she posted (and the painting):

"I remind myself to 'be where my feet are' often. My mind tends to drift toward the future, sometimes planning or worrying about what lies ahead, missing the present. Being present is where life is the most rich and colorful. I've even found myself consciously feeling the soles of my feet on the ground to get myself there."

-Artist, Cassandra Barney

See I am a planner, a worrier, a list maker, and a replanner. I think about what we need to do, where we need to go, and how in the world are we going to get there. Sometimes I spend so much time worrying and planning I don't stop to enjoy life right now.

One of the things I worry a lot about, a house: how are we going to save up the down payment, how long is it going to take, and why in the world am I stuck in this little itty bitty twin home. We talk about it, make a game plan, and then I fall into despair because the entire task seems so daunting and it will take SO LONG to get there. I talked about the house being my "Golden Ticket" (here) and my outlook has improved but this was one more step in the journey, I need to focus on right now and what I can do today.

But then I realized it didn't just apply to the house, although that seems so central right now, it also applied to my every day. I seem to get overwhelmed with everything I need to do: maintain the house, cook 3 meals a day, get kids out the door on time, exercise, scripture study, what needs to be done for my church calling, help kids with homework and reading...this list could go on forever. I sometimes only see how I am lacking in each area instead of focusing on the accomplishments and celebrating the victories along the way.

It might have something to do with my "all or nothing/perfectionist personality", but I know I don't want to miss out on the "rich and colorful" moments that are now, because let me tell you life is good and I want to enjoy all of it.

So I added the quote to my sidebar, I plan to hang it on my mirror, and I also plan to strive every day to "Focus on my Feet" and enjoy the here and now.
It may take a lot of reminders but I can and I will Focus on My Feet!!!

The Perfect Saturday

2011-11-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

If I could describe my perfect Saturday it would go something like this: Sleep in until almost 10:00 snuggling with Rob the entire time while the sidekicks get themselves breakfast and watch cartoons nice and quiet. Everyone pitches in to pick up the house and then we load up the truck and head up the mountain to shoot skeet.

We would then return home and take a quick nap, enjoy some Firehouse burger for Lunch/Dinner, and then I would cap the night off sitting in Lavell Edwards Stadium watching the Cougars destroy Idaho.

Yep it doesn't get any better than that.

My First Attempt at Family Pictures

2011-11-10T15:14:00.002-07:00

Last year Rob surprised me with my new camera, one of the first things he said was "Now we never have to pay anyone to take our family pictures again, right?!?" It sounds great in theory, but I am a perfectionist so I really struggled with the idea of me taking anything award winning to hang on our wall, I also didn't want to bring up the fact we would need a tripod, instead I agreed and gave him a big hug for being the greatest husband.

Last fall things were really crazy getting our house up for sale and moving so we didn't make it into a studio or even attempt to take our own, but I was determined to get them done this year. So again being the greatest husband ever Rob took me shopping for a tripod and a remote shutter. And just like that all my excuses to have someone else take our family pictures were gone.

Rob wanted to find some places in Blanding when we went with him for the elk hunt, we were slightly rushed trying to get them done and also try and do some hunting before the sun went down. The pictures didn't turn out quite like I had hoped, but I tried to look at them and learn what to do better next time.

The top picture is two separate pictures, I did some research online and figured out how to do some head swapping to make one good picture. This one will probably be on our Christmas card, and just might make it onto our wall.

Rob took a few of these, I do love a real life shot and this is me trying to get my kids to sit in the right spots.

This one was my favorite of the sidekicks, I need to do a bit of editing, and I wasn't thrilled with Hannah sticking her tongue out but at least it is a happy face and they are all doing normal smiles.

This is the other one that turned out pretty good, Hannah is kind of a bugger in the pictures and Hunter has this same painful smile in most of them, but we are going with whatever we can get.

We also have a bunch of silly face pictures to try and give them a break from "sit straight and pretty smiles".

I may have shed a few frustrated tears when I saw this picture. I LOVED this spot, and we all are smiling but I didn't check the light on my face. Every picture in this spot is the same, I made sure everyone looked great I jumped in the shot and snapped away not taking a minute to look at the picture to make sure I was in the right spot. I really don't know if it can be fixed I need to do a lot of searching to see if it is possible.

But then I saw these pictures with Rob and I couldn't help but smile, Rob and I don't get many pictures together (which we need to change) so I was so happy these were good ones.

This one is my favorite of all the pictures we took, I sure do love my hubs!!

Thankfully my family is pretty willing to be my test subjects, and they are pretty easy to bribe, so I can take what I did learn and hopefully continue to get better.

The Last 5 Days

2011-11-09T14:43:00.001-07:00

Hello Wednesday, my comfy sweats, wool socks, and I thank you for your arrival. We have had a busy but fun last few days, there was so much going on I am just going to do one big random catch up post with lots of pictures from my phone.

Friday:

They said it would snow sometime during the night and into Saturday so we made a trip to Costco. We browsed the isles, stocked up on food, and brought home a new Hot Chocolate maker, some of the cutest mugs around, and a giant tub of Hot Chocolate. We were ready for the snow, which didn't turn into much.

I also bought some Pumpkin ice cream because a scoop of that in Hot Chocolate is amazing!!

Saturday:

Rob headed out duck hunting, he was like a kid on Christmas Eve because the weather was going to be bad and that makes for great hunting weather. He always asks if I want to go with him but getting up early to go and sit in the cold does not sound like a good time to me, thankfully Hunter is always game.
(this picture is from a couple weeks ago but still equally cute)

I spent the morning at a Poppy Seed Project class and made the most beautiful picture of the St. George Temple, I LOVE it and can't wait to find somewhere better to hang it. I want to rearrange the picture wall in the family room but we are waiting to see how long we will be here before I take everything down and patch holes only to make new ones.

That afternoon I was able to go to a baptism for one of the Young Women in our ward, I love baptisms and this one was no different. She is an amazing girl and I am so happy for her and her decision to be baptized. Have I mentioned how great my calling is to be able to serve these awesome Young Women?

Other pictures from Saturday:

We may not have gotten a lot of snow but it was COLD, which didn't stop Samantha from playing outside with her friend. She bundled up really good and stayed out until almost dark. (the kitty ears are a must to any winter outfit)

Hannah told us to be quite because her babies were sleeping, Rob and I questioned if Snow White was really getting a good nap in that position, but I guess it is her favorite place to take a nap.

Sunday:

I was able to have dinner with some of my roommates, this is 6 of the 11 tree house girls. It was so great to see them, I wish it could have been all of us but I will take what I can get. Brittney brought us Vegemite from Australia to try, it was so salty but Rob actually liked it.

I still can't believe it has been 11 years since we all first met, now we are all married with kids of our own, who thankfully had lots of fun playing together.

Monday:

Sunday night I posted on Facebook that I was done making excuses, it was time to get back into my morning workouts, and then I woke up every hour Sunday night, but at 5:25am I pulled myself out of bed and headed out for my kickboxing class. I then came home cleaned my house, got all the laundry washed, folded and put away. By dinner time I was so tired so Rob rescued me and got cereal for the girls and breakfast burritos for us and Bubba. The kids were in bed shortly after 8 and we followed an hour later.

Tuesday:

Today brought its normal run around schedule, we had Young Women in Excellence and I was trying to finish what needed to be done. The night turned out amazing, I really do have the greatest calling being able to serve in Young Women's. We were worried about how the night would turn out and how many girls would end up coming. You would think I would learn from all the years of helping with the Primary Program, no matter how crazy things seem the Lord's hand is always in it and things will turn out perfectly. I sat in awe of the girls as they talked about what they have done in personal progress, they have such strong testimonies and I think I learn more from them then they learn from me.

I will have to post more about our night in Excellence later, in just a few short months I have developed a new love for the 13th Article of Faith.

Side Note: Hunter had wrestling practice and did really well so Rob told him he could have anything he wanted for dinner, he chose a breakfast burrito and ate the entire thing himself. They are HUGE and I usually split one with him but I am sure this is a preview of what is to come with food and my not so little boy.

Today/Wednesday:

No workout for me this morning, I decided Wednesday is my day off, so here I sit in my sweats super comfy and loving it. And since it is my day off I also ate a leftover cupcake for breakfast, it was delicious!!

Hunter's First Wrestling Match

2011-11-04T20:52:00.000-06:00

We signed Hunter up for wrestling, it is the only winter sport he is old enough to participate in and I needed an outlet for his energy. He has never wrestled before and had his first practice on Tuesday and then his first dual meet on Thursday. He has some learning to do but he smiled the entire time and loved it.

This was the best my poor little lens could handle in the very low light with fast moving kids, very grainy and a bit blurry, but oh there are some that make me giggle every time I look at them.

They talked to him about the proper way to grab around the neck, no choking, and at one point during the match he was swung around in the air (although he may have jumped into it a little). But he had fun and tried really hard to do what he had been taught on Tuesday, and really that is all that matters.

The Thankful Tree

2011-11-03T14:20:00.000-06:00

Starting family traditions has been very high on my list, I love traditions and hope my sidekicks will remember all the fun we had together when they are grown. One of the things I wanted to do was make a Thankful Tree every November. The tree would start out empty and throughout the month we would fill it up with things we are thankful for written on the leaves.

I drew our tree on a white poster board and then had the girls color it, once they were done we cut it out and glued it to another poster board. Probably over kill but I told the girls they didn't have to color in the lines to make it easier, plus all of my eraser marks did not make for a nice background.

I used my Cricut to cut out the words and the leaves, love that little machine, and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. I love when an idea in my head works out in real life.

We all write (or draw for those who can't write yet) something we are thankful for every night before bed, two days in and already we love it. I am excited to see it at the end of the month overflowing with all of our thankful leaves.

Power Loss

2011-11-03T01:49:00.009-06:00

This morning we were without power for almost 3 hours, the outages covered 3 counties, and the temperature was 36 degrees (had to throw that last 3 in there so I could have 3, 3's). Rob was sent home for an early lunch hoping when they got back the power would be back on. So we headed down to the dark school (they have a back up generator but it decided not to work today) to pick Hunter up early and check Samantha out for lunch.

Samantha was a bit torn, she wanted to come with us but was also having lots of fun in the dark school, but she decided to come with us. We drove to Costco for lunch, because really who doesn't love wondering around Costco, and ended up bringing home some Blueberry and Pumpkin muffins and some sourdough bread for dinner, Yummy!!

It is funny how much we take it for granted, Hannah asked this morning if she could play the Wii and when I told her it wouldn't work she tried to turn on the TV "OK Mom I will just watch cartoons instead".

And apparently when the power is out our brushes stop working too, thankfully pretend friends never stop talking on the phone to us.

I kept thinking of what I could do while I waited for the power to come back on and I tried to get the vacuum a couple times. But instead I curled up on the couch with a blanket, this little house is drafty and got cold pretty fast, and looked for updates on Twitter. (thank you smart phone)

Now that the power is back on and I am warm again I can't help but think how thankful I am for electricity, they really do make life a lot easier and warmer (or cooler depending on the season).

Today We ~ Tuesday November 1st, 2011

2011-11-02T13:44:00.000-06:00

Today we woke up to rain which would eventually turn into snow and then back into rain, it was a slushy mess. We also decided to sleep in, maybe not the best idea for a Tuesday around here but it was Halloween yesterday and we needed our rest. The sidekicks were almost late for school but we made it with 2 minutes to spare and they all took off running into the building.

Today I managed to:

* Not shower and spend the majority of the day in my sweats (I put on mascara and jeans to go to YW)

* Hit Target to pick up the place-mats I had been eyeing for 50% off, thankfully they were still there.

* Finish the laundry I didn't get to do with all the hustle and bustle yesterday.

* Pack up our Halloween decorations.

* Spruce up the house, I cleaned on Saturday instead of yesterday and it was needing a refresher.

* Finish and hang up our Thankful Tree, plus cut out all the leaves we will need for the month.

* Make a homemade dinner of Italian chicken, noodles, rolls, and green beans (we had to eat in shifts).

* Take 3 trips down and back to dance lessons to drop off and pick up my little dancers.

* Watch Hunter demonstrate what he learned at Wrestling Practice before I had to leave for YW.

* Make it to Young Women's almost on time and finish up our project for YW in Excellence next week

* Come back home and snuggle into bed with Rob and proceed to beat him at Words with Friends, thank you "abuzz" for the 105 points.

Halloween 2011 Report

2011-11-01T14:57:00.001-06:00

Rob and I didn't buy any candy this year, we figured we had many years sitting at our house passing out candy but only a few years left of enjoying trick or treating with the sidekicks. Samantha asked if she could go with her friends, I didn't think she was old enough yet and it reminded me it won't be long before they are all off on their own. So we turned off our lights and headed out, we wanted to go to the houses which had won awards for the best decorated in town, to the neighborhood I am hoping to live in one day, a few houses in our ward I knew we wouldn't want to miss, and also to one of Rob's bosses house.

Hunter followed his super hero trend with Iron Man, Samantha was Clawdeen Wolf from Monster High and Hannah followed suit dressing as a "Sea Monster named Laguna Blue" (also from Monster High). This was also our first year with wigs, Rob and I bought the costumes and the girls saved up to buy their own wigs and Samantha saved up even more for the extra accessories.

I even dressed up, well as dressed up as I was going to get, my sidekicks loved it and I will probably use the hat for the next however many years it lasts.

The weather was BEAUTIFUL, I couldn't have asked for a better Halloween. I have been telling the sidekicks for weeks we would have to bundle up because it always snows on Halloween, so although I lost a bit of clout I was very happy to be wrong.

On a side note we carved pumpkins Sunday night, we were racing the sun and I was elbow deep in pumpkin guts so I didn't get any pictures, and then we didn't have any candles so I had to wait until last night to get the final pictures.

From Left to Right: Samantha (she drew this face by herself she is my little artist), Hunter's Batman, my bat eyes (made with cookie cutters and a rubber mallet), and Hannah's silly face.

(Left to Right: Samantha, Hannah, Hunter)

We also took our extra pumpkins we didn't have time to carve and the kids made faces with our Mr. Potato Head Halloween pieces.

We had a great time and I was amazed we had the sidekicks home, showered and in bed by 8:30, they were so tired and didn't even complain. OK Hannah complained about having to shower and not being able to wait until the morning because she just wanted to go to bed.

Farewell until next year Halloween, thanks for the memories and the great time this year!!

November 2011

2011-11-01T02:31:00.009-06:00

Holy November Batman, is this year really almost over? We loaded up the sidekicks Sunday night to go try to get a good picture for our yearly family picture and also to get our monthly picture, which is why we all match, only when we got to our spot all the leaves were gone. I may have pouted a bit because I was looking forward to a picture with the beautiful fall leaves but we made the best of it.

It is hard to believe October has come to an end and we have already had Halloween night. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time, now we are bracing ourselves for the cold winter months, thankfully we have Thanksgiving and Christmas to look forward too.

This month as a family we are focusing on being thankful, I borrowed an idea from Shawni at 71 toes to make a thankful tree for our family, I am so excited to start filling it up.

My first leaves added to the tree will be these 4, I am thankful every day I get to call them mine.

Witchapalooza

2011-10-28T23:06:00.001-06:00

Today the sidekicks didn't have school which lead to the fighting starting shortly after they woke up, which lead to me needing to find something to keep us entertained and get us out of this tiny house. We have tried to go see the witches at Gardner Village a few times but never did make it and I had heard great things about Ride to a Witch so I decided we were going to spend the afternoon there.

Only I didn't check the website to confirm times until after we got there and found out Ride to a Witch only runs from 6-8 pm on Friday nights and 10 am - 8 pm on Saturdays and it was the middle of the afternoon and we needed to pick up Rob at 4 from work, so that was not going to happen.

Lucky for me there were lots of fun witches all over Gardner Village to see and we had fun wondering around checking them all out. Thankfully the sidekicks didn't question why all the other kids had scavenger hunt papers and they didn't (another oops in not printing them off before we left).

The sidekicks loved the witches and asked if we could go back next year, of course I agreed and promised myself I would be a little bit better prepared.

The Pumpkin Walk

2011-10-27T16:42:00.000-06:00

Every year in North Logan they hold the Pumpkin Walk, it was one of my favorite fall activities when we used to live there and I was so excited to take the sidekicks back this year. Samantha was 2, Hunter was only 3 months, and little Hannah was not even born the last time we went. Seriously where did all that time go? Anyway, they didn't remember anything and when I tried to explain to Hannah that they make scenes out of pumpkins she asked "why do they do that?", I told her to wait and see. Of course once she got there she loved it.

It used to be small and we figured if we went on Thursday night it wouldn't be crowded, only it has grown and they now bus you in. The sidekicks all loved riding the bus although I am not a big fan, I couldn't see out was getting sick. The poor little girl next to me kept a close eye on me after I told Matt I may throw up.

But despite the HUGE line of people, and the bus ride (only the ride back was bad), the pumpkin walk was just as awesome as I remember it being.

Despicable Me was one of the kids favorites, there other favorites were Tangled, Perry the Platypus (Phineus and Ferb), and the Zombies.

I loved this Winnie the Pooh scene especially the Tigger. The Bambi scene was also a favorite.

And of course the sidekicks had to stick their head through every picture hole available, I have a couple of Hunter as a princess that I will save for when he is older.

It was a cold night so we headed to Village Inn for Pie and Hot Chocolate, YUMMY!!

The Pumpkin Walk is free (which might be one of the best parts) the scenes are all donated by different groups in the community, and it only runs the weekend before Halloween.

But if you are around Logan next year I recommend checking it out!!

Just Another Crazy Tuesday

2011-10-26T14:57:00.001-06:00

(Ms. Laguna Blue and Ms. Clawdeen Wolf)

It began like a typical Tuesday, I woke up early to get the kids where they needed to be and gathered my list of errands hoping I would be able to complete them in the 2 hours before Hannah was done with school.

Hannah was leaving on her first field trip, and although I am sad I missed it, I knew there was a bunch I needed to accomplish and I was going to be there for her Halloween party on Thursday. I did however sit in my car and watch for her to board the bus with my phone in hand to sneak a picture. There are 13 kids in Hannah's class and they were accompanied by 2 teachers and 7 parents, I left with my picture knowing she was in good hands.

I stopped at Target, Shopko, Einstein Bagel, and Walmart before heading back to the school, I gave myself a big pat on the back for completing my list. I picked up Hannah and we went to gas up the car in preparation for our Tuesday night activities and returned to pick up Hunter.

The girls were having a Halloween party at dance class so I got Hannah dressed in her costume and set everything out for Samantha to change into after Hannah was dropped off. I was so happy I was handling the busy Tuesday so well, another pat on the back for me as we walked out the door to start our afternoon of dropping off and picking up.

Hannah and I walked into dance class so I could wait for them to take pictures and then take her wig home with me so it didn't get damaged, it was then I realized I had dropped the ball. We were supposed to bring a treat for them to hand out when they had a class trick or treat, I felt horrible.

So with 30 minutes to spare I had Samantha hurry and put her costume on so we could take quick pictures and head back to dance class. We grabbed two bags of candy, and rushed to make it in time for Hannah to hand out her treats. We made it with 5 minutes to spare and Hannah didn't even notice I had forgot.

Thankfully everything worked out and my girls were happy, until they had to go sit through a wrestling meeting. Did I mention we added one more activity to our Tuesday nights? Hunter is now in wrestling and has practice every Tuesday.

Thankfully I married the most amazing husband and is taking over wrestling duty while I manage dance classes, and then coming home to take over the night time duties while I go to Young Women's.

I really couldn't do it all without him!!

Apple Picking

2011-10-25T14:06:00.000-06:00

The sidekicks and I decided it would be fun to spend the Thursday and Friday of UEA (Fall Break) at my sisters house, and lucky for all of us Grandma was able to come along (we missed you Katie!!). We had planned on lots of crafts, making cookies and going to the pumpkin walk. When we arrived Wednesday evening my Brother in Law Matt asked if we wanted to go pick some apples, I was on board and thought the sidekicks would have a blast (which they did).

Matt had helped to landscape the yard, it was beautiful, and the apples were bigger than any I have ever picked off of apple trees. Oh man did they taste good, we have a big box full in our garage and the sidekicks are always asking if they can have one for a snack, beats candy any day. We filled up 2 huge buckets and a bunch of bags, I only wish they would last for a long time because they are some of the best apples we have eaten.

I of course was armed with my camera although it was getting dark so some kids are a bit blurry and these are a little bit grainy.
(Only 2 months until Christmas and maybe Santa will bring me my editing program and hopefully a new computer).

Every time I saw Aiden he had a different apple, I would ask him how many he had eaten and every time I got the same answer "three".

The view was amazing, it made me excited for when we have our own yard. First thing on the landscaping list is planting a few banana apple trees.

So thank you Matt and Hydi for taking us along; and a big thanks to the very nice people who let my sidekicks pick their apples, sit by their warm fire, and run all around their path. We all had the best time and are loving the apples!!

Tuesday

2011-10-18T22:40:00.000-06:00

I should be in bed, I am exhausted and my body is going to shut down at any minute, but for the first time all day I am sitting down and don't have anything I need to do, other than go to bed. Sure I could pack for mine and the sidekicks trip to visit my sister for fall break, or I could go to bed, but I am starting to get my second wind.

You see I have a love/hate relationship with Tuesday.

I hate how busy Tuesday's are, everything seems to be scheduled for Tuesday and I am running all day long.

But I also love my two hours in the morning when all three sidekicks are in school and I can get so many errands accomplished. Today I sat in Einstein Bagels eating a cinnamon and sugar bagel with pumpkin cream cheese drinking a diet coke. I had my calendar with me and I started to figure out the rest of our month.

I may add this to my schedule every Tuesday, it was relaxing and I was able to figure out my week.

I also did some shopping and I didn't have to ask anyone to stay with me or not touch anything, it was awesome!!

And I love spending Tuesday night with the Young Women, they make me laugh and are the most amazing girls.

I love my calling.

Now that I am home, the kids are all in bed and everything is cleaned up I should also be in bed catching up on sleep. Instead I am pinning away over on Pinterest, writing this blog post, and also thinking I should watch the Colbert Report since I haven't had time yet today.

Maybe I will be good and just go to bed, but I wouldn't count on it.

The Elk Hunt

2011-10-17T15:53:00.001-06:00

Rob and Hunter have spent the first two weeks of October hunting in Blanding, I have managed to keep the girls and I busy while they were gone, but we still missed them and I was looking forward to a family weekend. Rob was not able to get anything so he was going back down last weekend and convinced the girls and I to go with him. I wasn't completely on board but we have a deal and if I wanted Rob to hold up his end I was going to have to go hunting with him.

The first morning there we all woke up at 5 am to get out at the best hunting time, but then Saturday and Sunday I stayed in bed and let all the kids sleep in while Rob, his cousin Steve, and his parents went out. We would then go back out with him in the evening.

When we weren't hunting we spent a lot of time jumping on the trampoline.

The sidekicks all picked a pumpkin from Grandma's pumpkin patch.

We attempted to take family pictures.

And we took many drives up on the mountain looking for Elk, but also taking in all the beautiful fall colors.

But most of all we were together as a family, I was able to spend some alone time with Rob hiking around in the woods, and we had some great conversations on our drive to and from Blanding.

So although Rob didn't come home victorious, I still think we can count this weekend as a win!!

Finding ME

2011-10-12T10:28:00.001-06:00

I learned something about myself last night; I was not meant to stage objects, I am also not a super crafter, or a DIY home gal. These are just not my thing, I am finally OK with that, and thankful I don't have to try and keep up with something I am not. I have been wondering for a while where I fit in the whole "creative" scheme of things, and I have been crossing a bunch off my list of things I am not and can stop trying to be.

I decided this week I needed a break, no Facebook or Twitter, I even cut down on my reader time and cut out some of the blogs I was reading trying to be something I am just not. I was surprised at how easy it was and how much I have been able to accomplish in my free time.

I wanted to figure out who I am, what I wanted to become, and find my voice. I am a Mom and Wife first, I love my little family and I want to enjoy where I am now. I want to wake up every morning and be truly thankful I get to be a Mom and stay at home doing all these wife/mom duties.

I also wanted to be happy being me, but I didn't know who "me" was supposed to be anymore. Me kind of got lost when my big plan for life got put on hold for 20+ years while I traded my dream career for a career as a Mom, a career I didn't think I would have or even be cut out for. Over the years I have tried stamping, scrapbooking, cardmaking, crafting, etc. thinking I would find me, but I never did and I eventually gave them up.

As I have thought through everything this week I have found 3 things I have never stopped loving to do:

1) Taking pictures of my family, our adventures, and our beautiful surroundings.

2) Cooking and baking, the kitchen has always been one of my "happy" places.

3) Make holidays extra special and to have lots of fun traditions.

I think I have started to find Me, I am pretty sure I was there all along I just never fully embraced it. But now my plan is starting to fall into place, I am starting to see what needs to be done, and I am ready to dig in and learn more about my interests and improve on them.

I am starting to feel better about my place in life right now, and I am starting to breathe again.

And that is an amazing feeling!!

Strawberry Reservoir

2011-10-11T01:41:00.000-06:00

I can't believe I forgot to post about our very first trip to see the fall leaves, the trip when I didn't take a single picture of fall leaves despite all the beautiful colors we saw. Rob had been wanting to drive up to Strawberry reservoir for a while to see the Salmon running so we figured a Sunday drive was the perfect time to head up there.

We looked in the river and found one Salmon but the majority had already made it up to the fish hatchery.

And boy were there a ton of them, one even tried to jump over the wall thinking he could continue to go upstream, wish I would have had my camera out for that.

We decided to have one last cookout before the snow fell, and we got super busy with all our fall activities, so we roasted hot dogs for dinner. They were delicious!!

This is what Samantha did most of the time we were eating dinner, she traded pretend phones with one of her cousins and wouldn't put it down (even though it doesn't do anything).

We had lots of fun and Strawberry Reservoir is now on our list of places to visit next summer. We would love to fish for Salmon or even camp up there for a weekend. Better put it on the calendar now before next summer fills up again.

Cascade Springs

2011-10-06T01:45:00.015-06:00

My fingers are freezing!! (just thought you would all want to know that) I am not one to pay close attention to the weather unless I need to pack for vacation or plan an event, the most I do is wake up and look on my phone to see what the temperature will be for the day so we dress appropriately. But Monday I was watching TV and they mentioned it was going to snow tomorrow in the mountains, yes you read it right, SNOW!!

There are still so many places I wanted to take the sidekicks to see the fall colors, I wasn't ready for it all to be covered with snow, and if we are being honest it hasn't even melted in some spots on the mountain yet. But welcome back to Utah Jamie because this is how Mother Nature rolls.

So we threw all Monday plans aside and decided to make the drive to Cascade Springs while we still had the chance. Unfortunately we were about a week late and a lot of the leaves had already started falling off the trees and the air was filled with the smell of rotting leaves. But despite missing the majority of the fall colors, Cascade Springs was still a very beautiful place.

Cascade Springs is really close to Heber so we figured we couldn't pass up the chance to stop at the Dairy Keen for milkshakes, ice cream,

and a raspberry Diet Coke, it's the little things that make life great!!

October 1st, 2011

2011-10-03T09:10:00.001-06:00

Today we slept in, I could not sleep last night because I was a little bit excited BYU had actually won. But around 8:30 I climbed out of bed, well actually the girls drug me out of bed so they could watch cartoons. We have been in St. George since Thursday and have been staying up pretty late, thankfully the girls are also sleeping in.

And yes 8:00 is sleeping in at our house.

We watched the first session of General Conference, but after President Monson announced they would be restoring the Provo Tabernacle, which was destroyed by fire in December, and turning it into a temple I couldn't concentrate. I was so full of emotion; excitement gratitude, and amazement. That old building has become very special to us, we were not here when the fire happened, but we drive by it a lot and the sidekicks always ask what it going to happen to it. Now I love old buildings, I love their history and their architecture, so I was sad when I heard about the fire and I also wanted to know what would happen. When the Church bought the land surrounding it we started speculating but I didn't think it would actually happen.

My favorite part was the audible gasp from the crowd, and I am sure there was lots of cheering in Provo.

After the morning session of conference we headed to Robert's to gather supplies for our craft projects, I love weekends at my Mom's because I actually accomplish crafts sitting on my to do list. We grabbed a caramel apple from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory and then headed back to get started on our projects and watch the afternoon session of conference.

After another wonderful conference session we cleaned up and ate dinner with my Grandma Jones and Uncle Scott. We played games, watched Despicable Me and made Pumpkin Snickerdoodles all at the same time.

(PS wasn't the biggest fan of the pumpkin snickerdoodles, next time we will make on or the other)

The girls went to bed before 9 and I stayed up with my Mom working on our projects.

As for Rob and Hunter they headed out early to try and find their buck, but returned home unsuccessful and spent the rest of the day listening to conference before heading back out that evening for one last try. Rob did see one but had some bad luck with his gun and couldn't get a good shot so they returned home empty handed. I am a little disappointed because I was looking forward to jerky and summer sausage but he has promised me he will get an elk in the next couple of weeks and we can make some with that.

Hello October!! We can't wait to see what you have in store for us.

You can read more about my new "Today We" project {HERE}.

October

2011-10-01T06:40:00.001-06:00

(yes these are some of the normal picture faces I get, it is all about real life!!)

Today I am in St. George with Samantha and Hannah spending conference weekend with my parents, Grandma and Grandpa Davidson. Hunter and Rob have been in Blanding at Grandma and Grandpa Morris' since Tuesday trying to fill Rob's tag for the muzzle-loader hunt.

I think we are all so excited for October. The sidekicks have already bought their costumes, and today is finally the day they can start having the goodies from our advent calendar. We may be out of town but we brought today's goodie with us.

September was a great month, and I still feel like I am on a spiritual high from all the opportunities I had, and I can't wait for it to continue this weekend with General Confrence.

I just need to drag myself out of bed, but after last night's AMAZING BYU game I had a hard time calming down enough to sleep. Riley Nelson (the backup but now I hope starting quarterback) has stolen my college football loving heart. Samantha, who was rooting for USU had to call her Dad and inform him she didn't like football anymore. "The Aggies lost and Mom and Grandpa were screaming a lot".

So I figure October is going to be a great month and we are so excited to jump into the holiday season. This is definitely my favorite time of the year.

The Morris Holy War

2011-09-30T02:53:00.003-06:00

Tonight at 6:00 pm is the Morris Holy War. At the end of tonight's football game one of us will be crying and one of us will be gloating way more than is necessary. For the first time in 9 years I am actually thankful Rob is in the other corner of the state hunting, it is easier to turn off my phone and ignore him than to try and ignore him when he is sitting right next to me.

Plus I know you would all enjoy seeing Rob sporting Cougar Blue as much as I would!!

So please don't let me down Cougars because I will never hear the end of it.

The Idea

2011-09-27T18:37:00.001-06:00

I had a crazy idea one night, Rob and I were discussing the ol' blog and what it would probably mean to our family years down the road, it is my/our history of sorts. I had been mulling an idea over and I thought it was the perfect time to see what Rob thought.

"I want to take a picture every month in the exact same spot so we can see how we change and how our spot changes throughout the year. Plus it will be some great picture taking practice for me."

Rob was completely on board and we have been searching for the perfect spot for a few weeks now. There is not a short supply of beautiful places surrounding us, but it had to meet a couple requirements.

1. We had to be able to access it year round: Once the snow hits many roads are closed off and this would present a problem. (Rob said unless we had a snowmobile, he figured suggesting this would help plead his case as to why we need one)

and

2. I wanted it to be in our mountains: We could go to Sundance which is breathtaking year round, but I wanted it to be closer to our home, and somewhere that meant something to us.

After a few drives up the canyon and some discussing as to what would be the perfect spot for us.

Last July after Rob's family reunion we had loaded up and were heading home, Rob decided he could take a shortcut to the Highway. As we drove along the road I pictured myself living in the surrounding neighborhoods, I think that was the moment I fell in love and knew this was just where I wanted to live. I hadn't said anything to Rob and he turned to me and said "I could see you living right here." (because Rob knows me but also pictures himself living in the mountains far away from any civilization)

Fast forward a few months; Rob accepted a job, and we would soon be moving exactly where we had pictured ourselves.

When I mentioned this to Rob he agreed it was the perfect spot, and lucky for us it is even open in the winter. Although I am sure we will be trekking through a little bit of snow.

I will show you our October pictures in our spot on the 1st, along with a "Today We..." post on the 2nd detailing what the first day of the month looks like in our lives.

I have been so excited about this, and if you want to join in let me know.

The more the merrier right?!?!