Life Lessons Learned

randoms…

2010-11-18T14:46:00.001-07:00

in a ploy to put off studying (reading, writing, and just plain thinking), here are my current thoughts and ponderings…

listening: some of my favorite songs on iTunes

eating: a egg sandwich on chili cheese bread

drinking: a monster drink to keep me going

wearing: comfy jeans and a snap up “cowgirl” shirt

feeling: full of energy and yet… not

weather: a bit chilly

wanting: to get on with life… I feel like I’m on hiatus

needing: to do some homework so I can finish this accounting class

thinking: nothing of anything of good use

enjoying: the butterflies in my stomach

wondering: what’s next?

My how they’ve grown!

2010-11-18T14:17:00.003-07:00

School pictures have finally made it home (over a 3 month span… really, can’t they all just have them done at the same time?) and I’m amazed, as I trade old school pictures out for new ones, at how much they’ve grown over the last year.
Daylon is in the 7th grade and *almost* a teenager. I love that little big man. He’s got a personality like nothing else and keeps me rolling with laughter and proudness at how he’s just HIM. He’s quick with the tongue, and is one of the most even tempered people I know. I love seeing how at ease he is with himself and those around him. I love watching him as he is becoming such a handsome and wonderfully perfect young man. He’s unique and hands down, one of my best buddies.
Rianne is in the 3rd grade this year and almost 9 (geez… slow down on the growing up!). This kid is a wiz! She’s brilliant and I’m not exactly sure where she gets it from! She’s our *GIRL*, and although we may not know exactly how she ticks quite yet, she’s an awesome young lady. She’s friendly and has a great sense of who she is and what she wants to be. Of the three, she is the most dedicated and focused. She knocks my socks off every time I turn around and I’m in complete awe of her. I’m lucky to have her as my daughter. (And may I add, I’m so glad that her teeth finally started coming in for school pictures. She’s been sporting her snaggle-tooth look for almost a year. I must admit admit, she looks much better with teeth LOL)
Sam is in his second year of preschool and sporting the four year old status. He’s constantly cracking me up with his witty personality. He’s quite the smooth talker already (I’m dreading the older years when he’s using it on everyone else) and can talk us into just about anything or get himself out of trouble. He’s on his own course in life, and it’s been interesting in watching him grow and learn at his own pace. He aims to please, but on his own terms, which I just love and admire. It seems as though he’s inherited his stubbornness from both his parents, meaning he’s doubly as stubborn and the other two kids, which I imagine will work to his advantage in his life. This little guy of my rocks!

Sam’s first day of school

2010-09-10T13:52:00.001-06:00

Sam started school a week later than the other two kids. The wait absolutely killed him. I dropped him off Tuesday and not even a whimper came out of him. I can see this year is going to be a good year for him.

Halloween ideas!!!!

2010-09-10T12:16:00.001-06:00

getting a bit of a head start on Halloween with these beauties… I'm going to make the kids help me since I'm such a mean mom ;-)

yarn spiders

Back to school

2010-08-25T10:50:00.001-06:00

It’s official. Today was back to school for the two older kids. Both were super excited to go back and that, in return, makes me super excited. Sam heads back to preschool in a few weeks. I will then have 2 hours of sweet quiet bliss three days a week.

As for me, I start school up again “officially” the first of September. I’m about 1/2 way through getting my Bachelor’s degree. It’ll be nice to step it up and get moving on it again.

Sam's birthday is coming up next week

2010-04-27T14:56:00.000-06:00

and i've got plans in the works for his birthday party this weekend. But as scatterbrained as i feel right now, i'm posting what i WANT to do for his birthday here. Actually results will most definatly vary.

from here: pleasant-home

I've got this great idea of making this kind of cake for Sam. Only make it a double decker and put a train on it (yup, still a train (and Lego) freak!).

I've also thought about doing a ice-cream sundae bar.

EAK! i can't wait!

doing a little fixing up in my scraproom...

2010-04-27T14:43:00.000-06:00

and i'm REALLY needing to get my ideas all in one place. So here we go....

from here: funky junk interiors
I kind of want to have doors or something of the like on my scrapbook room. Something i can leave open when i want to but something i can use to close it off when i have a lot of kids running around downstairs or to just block off the mess in there.

LOVE LOVE LOVE the look of these and they would be very functionable, and totally fits in with our tastes.

...and how about this!

combined with this:

from here: knock-off wood Thinking that this would be perfect in my scrapbook room. I really like the double shelves and absolutely LOVE the sink in it too. my room is already set up for a sink, we have the sink, and we even have the faucet. Now i just need a table to put it on! I could get rid of some of those wire cubes that i have stuff stored in and use the shelves on the table... Nice huh?

and that towelbar in the front! DUH! i would have never thought of that!

a little motivation

2010-04-11T15:16:00.000-06:00

a little something-something to keep me motivated through this schooling (and more) part of my life.

I spend a LOT of time here at my desk so i figured it was more than fitting to put it where i can see this day in and day out.

The message to myself:

Never let someone say you can't do something.

Prove them wrong and show them that it's in you to become more than you are right now.

Easter 2010

2010-04-06T14:04:00.001-06:00

Easter felt different this year.

I'm not sure why.

It seemed to come too fast and by the time i warmed up to it, it was gone just as fast.

Maybe it has to do with the fact that i've been pre-occupied with school that i feel like i can't keep up with the daily stuff that's happening around me.

Regardless, it was nice to share Easter with Taylor, Jared and Quintin.

I just love that bunch.

We did the typical Saturday-before-Easter-Sunday thing.

We headed to the foothills to BBQ, shoot clay pigeons, have a easter egg hunt, and roll eggs down the hill.

It was cold, which is nothing new, but the wind made for some great kite flying and bubble blowing.

A few things to note:

*Daylon has sadly hit that age where he's considered too old to hunt for easter eggs.

*On the other hand, Daylon has also hit that age where he can, without my freaking out, participate in the clay pigeon shoot... and hold his own.

*Rianne, being one of the VERY few girls in the family, has a huge advantage over the boys and easter goodies, namely easter plush toys. Boys don't like girly toys... well most of them.

*Rianne and Jayden are attached at the hip, and i can't be more thankful for that. Rianne really needs some girl influence in her life and Jayden was my miricle this weekend. (thank you Jayme)

*Sam and Quintin might as well be brothers. They have a great love/hate relationship going on there. Sadly, at this moment, Sam is heartbroken that Quintin is gone.

*For Easter, I bought myself a tulip plant. I've decided that I really love flowers, regardless if some people think they are a waste of money. It's nice to see a happy, sunny spot in my house.

(...and i've decided that i'd really like a pussy willow. I've forgotten how amazing they are)

it's been that long?

2010-04-06T10:38:00.000-06:00

It's been mentioned that i've fogotten about those of you in blog land and that i should really update my blog. Not a whole lot has happened since blogging last. I'm not even sure i've pulled out the camera since Rianne's baptism. Sad but true. I've been studying my tail off and have made it through the first term (6 months) of school. So far, so good. I'm learning things now that i just couldn't even begin to wrap my brain around in High School. I consider that a HUGE success on my part. The math is starting to come around and almost, dare i say, fun. My current term is full of HUGE classes like Quantitive Analysis (which i just passed! and wasn't nearlly as scary as i thought it would be), Economics (macro and micro), and Marketing. Next term, i break into the finance and accounting part of it. If all goes as planned, i'll have my BS degree by August of next year (fingers crossed).

In other news, hmmm.... not sure there is really any other news worthy news. I'm back on the weightloss bandwagon again. I'm determined to loose those "freshman 15" (although, i'm glad i'm not to that extra 15 yet) since starting school. DarRell is working again after a long, no new work hiatus.

Daylon, Rianne, and Sam are doing the school thing and it's working out well.

Daylon just bought his own DSi after spending over a year to save up for it. I'm quite proud of the little man. Although it does give me a lot of leverage to help him keep his grades up.

He's decided he really likes the "arts" part of school. Not actually the art class but more like drama and band.

Life is a bit "hard" for him being the older brother. Especially when he's the oldest by several years compaired to all the kids around here. And to top it off, he's in that stage in life where he's left out of a lot of stuff cause he's too old but then he's not old enough to do the other stuff. I hate this age. It's so hard to see them try to (forced into?) transition.

Rianne is flying through school with flying colors. She's actually starting to get a little bored with it and starting to slip up. School seems to come quite easily for her and is in the top of her class.

She's an absolute girly-tomboy, if there is such a thing. She likes it rough and tumble but is the first to cry foul when she gets roughed up a bit. She thinks it's tough being the only girl in a house of boys (i don't count, ask her. Although i do get her point). I feel bad that she doesn't have a little girl her age to play with at her beck and call. I think she needs a little bit more of "girl influence" in her life.

Sam is doing great. Since starting school, his personality and vocabulary has opened up in incredible leaps and bounds.

He enjoys all the attention he gets being the baby. He's got quite the personality and is always smiling. We are starting to get over that 3's attitude i think - WHEW!

He's really into trains and helecopters and legos. Definately legos! He can sit for hours, literally, playing with them. He still struggles with sleeping all night long and eating but i can see improvements in both so hopefully we are on the way to being a "normal" household with EVERYONE sleeping at night and sitting at the dinner table together as a family instead of customizing everything to suit Sam's stubborn needs.

The ABC's of me

2010-03-03T21:59:00.001-07:00

...because I haven't updated this thing in a while. Lots of things going on lately, but not really anything I want to share with the world and, for the most part, it's quite boring... like school stuff and all. So here's a fun little diddy, for just cause... and because i'm taking a break from the books right now.

A- Age: I'm not feeling like i'm in my 20's anymore, and that makes me sad. I'm not sure i could get away with looking 23 anymore, although, i don't look my age? which is a good thing. Let's just say that the grey is getting quite prominent and the smile lines are getting deeper.

B- Bed size: Depending on which bed i sleep in that night. It varies from the couch, to a twin, to a queen, to a king. The couch is just uncomfortable (unless i move to the downstairs one... i LOVE that one!), the twin is just too hard to get comfortable on with little knees in your back, the king feels TOO big, but then again, sometimes the queen feels too small. I'm not complaining... just saying. Oh, and to answer the question... the master bedroom houses the king, which i sleep in most of the time anyways.

C- Chore you hate: cleaning tubs with the toilets in a close 2nd. Tubs are just HARD to clean, add a few jets in the mix, and it seems impossible. Note to self: although jetted tubs seem like a great idea, you don't ever use it and they are a PAIN to clean... cross that... impossible to clean.

D- Dog's name: Pudge (RIP), PJ (RIP), Gabby (RIP), and Scooter... sigh. Anyone looking for a good dog? LOVE Scooter to death and i love the idea of having pets, but the third child was a doozie. Add a dog to the mix and i'm SO overwhelmed.

E- Essential food/item: Ro-Tel, Chicken (but i think i'm over the chicken bit for now after a little food poisoning spell - BLECK!), canned tomatoes, ground meat of some sort, chili peppers and cheese. Makes for a quick, easy, and cheap chili meal, which i'm all for lately.

F- Favorite color: Yellow... always has been, always will be. Ask anyone that knows me well

G- Gold or silver: proably silver. I want to like gold but it just doesn't fit me

H- Height: 5'5"ish

I- I am: moving on to bigger, better things in life. It's all about change for the better, even if it means rough times ahead to get to that green pasture in life.

J- Job: lately... "just" a mom (you mom's know what i mean). Part-time clerk, full time secretary (just wish i got paid for the secretary part). Someday... someday... someday i'll be something. Not sure what as of yet, but i'm open to it.

K- Kids: 3 of them. Two boys and a girl. I like to call them my bookend boys, one older and one younger. They are there for my little girl, got her squished right there in the middle, just the way i like it. And i'm amazed by all three of them. I'm glad we ended up haveing them so far apart, because i'm able to celebrate that little moment of time with each one of them without them running into each other.

L- Living arrangements: a little home we buit pretty much ourselves. It's got our blood, sweat and tears wrapped up in it. The family drama part of it, I could really do without though... REALLY do without.

M-Mom's name: She's always Mom to me. I've rarely called her by her actual name, it just feels too weird. It's even weird calling her Grandma. Needless to say, my kids get really confused when i'm talking about my mom, since they consider her Grandma. They've only come to the understanding lately that Grandma is really my mom.

N- Nickname: Jo or Joey. I can usually tell my friends from just aquantances. If they've just met me, I'm Jolynn. When it gets to the more comfortable part of our relationship, it moves to Jo. My true friends, i find, call me Joey. It feels like... Home. I'm comfortable being called Joey.

O- Overnight hospital stay: sadly... too many. Way too many for my age... WAY too many.

P- Pet peeve: Talking to someone and them ignoring me... HATE it! Yes... HATE it! Close second: smoke being blown up my butt or being "humored". I kinda like being taken seriously sometimes. I do have an opinion... one that matters even ;-)

Q- Quote from a movie: Lucky... ( in my best Napoleon Dynamite voice... *giggle*)

R- Right or left handed: Right

S- Siblings: a older sister, a younger brother, and a younger sister. For the longest time, my brother and i had schoolmates convinced we were twins. He was just a bit slower and that's why he was in a lower grade. Looking back, that was a terrible thing to say, but pretty impressive that we kept it up for so long. I miss my biggest sister terribly right now... there's so much that we both just... get right now. I'd love to just hang out with her, just to hang out.

T- Time you wake up: i should wake up at 7:00am with the kids, but for some reason my body just doesn't want to. Thankfully, DarRell is nice enough to get up with the olders, and lets me sleep 20 minutes longer, which is what my body wants to do. Sure enough, 7:20am and i'm up. Just like clockwork.

U- Unique thing about your car: my car... meaning my truck, sounds like a deisel truck. Mind you, it is NOT a diesel. And sadly, it's now just a glorified car. It's can't pull anything anymore and it has a lot of problems with it (the "clacking" that makes it sound like a diesel is a bent rod and the electrical problems are a "wait and see what happens" thing) but i can carry a lot of "stuff" in the back... that's always nice.

V- Vegetable you hate: Mashed Potatoes. Hands down the worst thing ever! I know, say it, i'm weird. I can accept that, but i can't accept the mashed up stuff. *BARF*

W- Ways you run late: gotta be my little man. He's always got something he "needs" to do before we go anywhere. It may be nothing, but it's always something with him. Lately, it's been "i'm falling" as i drag him everwhere. *sigh* I can't help but love him though

X- X-rays you've had: wow.... remember number "O"? Ya, this question goes hand in hand with that one

Y- Yummy food you make: Oatmeal Pie... just because i can.

Z- Zoo favorite: Gosh... i don't know. It's been so long since i've been to the zoo, that i'm not sure what i enjoy anymore. Last trip to the zoo was not very enjoyable at ALL (morning sickness + zoo = absolute repoltion!). Can i count see world as a zoo? Cause i REALLY liked SeaWorld... and Cabellas aquarium.

a bit more scrappi-ness

2010-02-08T12:06:00.000-07:00

because, first, it's been done for a while

and secondly, it feels really good to be back scrapbooking!

Enjoy!

Rianne's Baptism

2010-02-07T19:54:00.000-07:00

This weekend Rianne got baptized. We waited an extra month to do it so we could get a bit more organized after the big holidays and so that more family could make it out.

Rianne was tickled pink to be able to share her big day with her cousin, Talmage. There is only a week difference between the two of them (Rianne being the oldest of the two of them).

It was a good day. Rianne felt like the princess for the day.

She got a new dress complete with shoes and all the little "accessories" to make it special.

She got her hair all dolled up (which actually made it through the WHOLE day, during the baptism itself and after!)

She had a lot of family supporting her. Lots of family there to celebrate her big day. Lots of congratulations and a few gifts and cards to remember her day by.

And by the day's end, with bellies full of pizza, we all called it a successful day...

... and remind her of how proud we are of her.

a little scrappy goodness...

2010-01-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

It's been way too long since i've posted anything i've scrapped. I do have a few excuses though:

I went back to school. I've had my head in the books a LOT lately. Although, I finished up my term early and decided not to add any more classes to my term so I'm left with a little bit of free time on my hands right now until the new term starts back up.
My scanner hates me. Actually, I think my laptop does too. Apparently, i only have enough memory on my computer to work the very bare minimums and unfortunately, my scanner isn't one of them. It will only scan once before it gets "lost". My only choice is to uninstall and then re-install again. So far, I've decided it's not worth the effort but it makes me OH SO MAD!!!
The scanner hooked up the desktop is having the same issues, but i really don't know what that problem is, and frankly, i'm too frustrated to figure it out for now.
A three year old named Sam. Do I need say more?

However, before my scanner got "lost" when I re-installed it the last time, I did manage to scan in one whole layout! Sadly, it's the only layout I've done in months and months... well, besides the December Daily I've been working on (and is ALMOST done!). I'm quite proud of it though, and I really wanted to share it, so here it is!

Water, Imagination, Warm Fuzzies

2010-01-27T18:05:00.017-07:00

1) Water.
As I strive to drink down my 96+ oz of water daily, I think of those in Haiti and their lack of clean drinkable water, among other things. (and my friend, who's words are now constantly ringing in my head, when i think of her visit to Haiti and the terrible living conditions. Her heart is breaking from the terrible news in Haiti, where she and her family adopted their son from and wonder if those they know are alive or dead) as i wash my family's laundry, clean our dishes, and bathe my children. I feel privledged to be in a place where our basic needs are, quite often, taken for granted.

2) Imagination.
While sitting back minding my own business, I overhear a converation Sam is having with himself between two blanket bears (one is white and actually belongs to Rianne. The other a blue bear rattle blanket. I intend to stow both away when he grows tired of them). Turns out, that 1) the three year old has got quite the imagination, and, 2) by the sounds of it, we've got to do a little less of the demanding and a little bit more of the nice talking.

3) Warm Fuzzies.
Tonight, while warming up some cheesey garlic bread in the oven, the smell brought in lots of warm, fuzzy feel-goods. If only I could bottle those feel-goods and open them up on my rainy days.

quiet, back to what feels right, and music

2010-01-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a *LONG* time since i've done a 3 Beautiful Things post. I think it's about time, don't you?

1) The Quiet of the House.
The family went to church while i stayed home and ~~sluffed~~ took some time for myself. I know the quiet will be gone here in a few hours but I am enjoying it in the here and now and using it to center my thoughts.

2) Back To What Feels Right.
I've finished up my school term way ahead of schedule so i have decided to take the rest of what's left of the term and focus on what makes me happy. I've picked back up my glue, pictures, and scissors, made a big mess of my craft room and started to enjoy what pulled me to scrapbooking in the first place. I'm letting my creativity flow and it feels good.

3) Music.
Feeling the beat of a good song ring through my bones. Letting it take over my thoughts and suck me in. I've forgotten how much i love music and how lost i feel without it.

40 looks pretty darn good

2010-01-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

We celebrated DarRell's 40th birthday yesterday. It was nothing big, just a little family get together. I had this huge idea of making it some kind a big bash but when it came down to it, dreaming it was a lot easier than actually doing it.

I did make sure that we celebrated though. We invited family, because it was just a small bash... and when you invite family, small is actually large. I did the whole "over the hill" stuff complete with 40 black balloons and black cake with the 40 black candles.

All in all, it was good. I hope he enjoyed it. And personally, I'm SO glad it's over with... talk about pressure!

And, I thought I'd never say this but...

40 looks good.

REALLY good!

Yes, I think it does!

Obviously, I can't make up my mind.

2010-01-12T10:38:00.000-07:00

...and as much as I loved the previous template, I couldn't figure out how to write a new post. So, I'm changing it up again. And, I REALLY love this new template. It's a bit dark, which i guess isnt' too bad, but I'm REALLY missing the three columns. But, I can post again, so it's all good!

I've been getting back to scrapbooking. I've missed it and i've got a renewed love for it again lately. I hope to be able to post some picutres of my December Daily before too long, I've just got to finish it. Just know that i haven't given up completely on the scrapbooking thing, i've just got a lot on my plate right now with my school (which come friday, i'll be done with this term!) and the kids school. I'm trying to learn to take time doing things i enjoy, and this happens to be one of them.

Window shopping

2010-01-07T13:20:00.003-07:00

While I try to make it through our spending freeze, I've decide that I found my favorite place to window shop is here. These little paperclip birds are to die for!!! And all the other million other things that they have, what's not to love about this place?

So, if I can't shop in real life, then i'm going to be here filling my shopping cart.. Even though it means that I won't actually be buying it, it almost fills that need to spend money.

That's what i get

2010-01-04T11:36:00.003-07:00

for messing around with my blog template. I LOST all my blog links. So, for those of you who read my blog, thanks! And i want to do the same so PLEASE leave a link to your blog so that i can back up my blog links

REALLY needing a change

2010-01-03T18:03:00.003-07:00

With the new year comes a new urge for change. Right now I'm really craving change on my blog. I'm sick of the old template that i have had on my blog for, well... forever. As you can see, i've changed it and really still hating it but i don't have a clue how to even go about changing it beyond the already preset templates. So I'm reaching out to whom ever reads my blog for some help.

2009 in Pictures

2010-01-02T09:59:00.075-07:00

2009 was a year of firsts... a lot of firsts
(click on the month and it'll take you to that months archive)

January

We started a new family night activity. Every Friday is Movie night. We pull out the hide away bed, throw in a movie and spend the night vegging in front of the tv.

I vowed to lose weight and joined Weight Watchers.

We started potty training Sam

Daylon tried basketball, and loved it, even though he was there more for the social aspect then the sport aspect.

February

Sam became 100% potty trained!!!

I continued the weight loss journey, and found out what worked for me and what didn't

I scrapbooked, and i was proud of it

March

Rianne out-fished her dad, and it rocked! (and we did it in short sleeve shirts at the river in March!)

Decided that eating healthy is expensive!!! WHOA!

Maria became my fitness idol

We enjoyed the Sportsman Expo this year. That's something we've never done before!

April

Easter up Poverty. It was a great day for flying kites... and it was cold

Daylon participated in his last PineWood derby

I decided that i was going to run in the July 24th Milk Run... and then never did

May

Sam turned three! He was really into trains... and firetrucks of course

My bestie, Kathleen, graduated from The University of Pheonix with a double Bachalors Degree! She became my inspiration

The kids started summer break.

Daylon and Rianne danced in their year end recital... and rocked it

Celebrated Memorial Day weekend with 90% of DarRell's family

I hit the 15lb loss mark in May... and a MAJOR platau

June

We decided to get out more and do more things this year. One of our favorite places to go was Capitol Reef. Hickman Bridge was our first hike, and so far, our favorite.

Daylon spent a few days at Science Camp in Cedar City. Another first for him... and us

July

Daylon turned 11

We moved out friday night movie night outside. I loved that

The 4th of July was spent doing our usual 4th of July stuff

We spent time in the pool and night sleeping out on the trampoline

The McDonald family reunion (if you can call it that) ended up being over the 24th of July. And ended up being a CRAZY time for us with our usual 24th of July fireman duties

Kaye and two of her kids spent some time with us. One of my favorite things this year!

I turned 35 without much notice, which was a bit of a bummer

We lost our Pudge. Our first dog which also happened to be our first baby. 14 1/2 years (which translated into something like 101 years old in dog years) he'd been with us. We still miss him

We spent more time outside visiting Capitol Reef

Grandpa Mac did Daylon's Arrow of Light Ceremony. It was completely awesome!

August

The kids headed back to school. Daylon started the 6th grade in Middle School, Rianne in 2nd grade, and we started sycking up Sam for pre-school

We enjoyed a State park close to home... REALLY close to home. The Fremont Indian State Park

September

Sam started pre-school. It's been REALLY hard for him having us dropping him off every week

More of the Fremont Indian State Park

The kids, minus Sam, spent Labor Day Weekend with Maria and Justin. They say it's our gift to them, but we really think it's their gift to us. We all got to go see Thanksgiving Point. I think i loved it more than anyone else

I started school at Western Governors University to get my Bachelors Degree in Business Management

Rianne's soccer season wrapped up

I hit my lowest weight of the year with 27lbs lost, which is just over half of what i wanted to lose overall

October

I fell off the weight loss wagon

More time spent at Capitol Reef

HALLOWEEN

I fell off the blogger wagon and never got back on the weight loss wagon

We bought a used piano so that Daylon could practice better

November

We stuck around home for Thanksgiving with most of DarRell's family down

We went and cut down our Christmas tree the weekend of Thanksgiving... always a nice tradition
I completely fell off the blogging wagon and it took off without me

December

We attended the Monroe City light ceremony and saw Santa Clause. First time ever with the kids (now thats pretty sad).

We had a lot of snow this year so the kids spent a ton of time outside in it

We celebrated Rianne's 8th birthday in Tooele with family. We decided to go bowling and had a great time

The ward Christmas party where the kids saw santa AGAIN!

Daylon played in the school band and danced for his Middle School Christmas program

CHRISTMAS! of course

The kids got to hang out with their best friends, The Erickson's, for a day while they were down visiting from Montana

My dad's and DarRell's mom both had their birthdays

DarRell and I celebrated 15 years of marriage on New Years Eve and then spent the night eating crab and steak with the firemen

Spent the last 3 months gaining back 7lbs

Resolutions

2010-01-01T11:05:00.007-07:00

Yes, i know resolutions are for the strong, which for the most part, i am not. But once again i am going to make them. Not a whole lot of them, just ongoing things that i really need to focus on to make my life, and my outlook on life, better.

So, here it goes:

Lose another 10 lbs. (I'm really trying to being realistic here. First number i put down was 20lbs. I want to be optimistic and think that i can REALLY lose all of those 20lbs, but a girl has got to be realistic... and frankly, this girl likes to eat). I lost 26 lbs in 2009, gained 7 of those pounds back. This year, i want to be able to lose those 7lbs and then some. I know it all starts with eating right, so that's where I'm starting.
Be almost done with my Bachelors degree. I stepped out of my comfort zone last year and really did some soul searching and decided that i needed to do something more with my life. As much as i love staying home with my kids and being a "housewife", i realize that the kids will move out and start their own lives. I want to do something with my life after being just "a mom". So, i decided that school was a must. An associated degree won't get anyone very far so i started the journey to getting my Bachelors Degree in Business Management. I started school at Western Governors University in September of 2009. So far, i have officially completed 13 credit hours with 12 more credit hours in the process of being finished up for the first term. At this rate, i hope to be finished with my degree in about another year, if not less.
Be well on our way to be completely debt free. I believe this was one of last years resolutions? But we got a good start on it, and now we are riding the wave back to the debt free shore. We still have a little bit to go but it feels great knowing we have a plan and that plan is very much in action.
Integrate my "One Little Word" into my everyday life. I've done this for the last two years (first year was Manage, and last year was ReThink). I haven't been 100% successful in keeping with it (although, looking back on 2009... i did a TON of ReThinking. It was a good year for my one little word!), but it's done plenty in getting my thoughts and actions in the right direction. This year I've decided on FOCUS. I will be focusing more on obtaining my goals/resolutions for this year instead of merely just thinking of them.

This year will be a good year.
I have all the power inside of me to make it so... and i will!

and so...

My Wish for You in 2010
May peace break into your home and may thieves come to steal your debts.
May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for $100 bills.
May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips.
May happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy.
May the problems you had forget your home address.
May you have a stong, healthy, and productive new year!
Happy New Year!!!

15 years

2009-12-31T22:12:00.002-07:00

15 years, of marriage today.

Granted New Years Eve isn't exactly the best day to get married but it is certainly a day we won't be forgetting.

Happy Aniversary Babe... Luvs ya!!!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-26T09:40:00.002-07:00

From our house...

... to yours!

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas

tooth number 4

2009-10-07T08:14:00.009-06:00

The weirdest thing happened last night.

I was on facebook, reading a status update of cousin Marla and reading the drama that entales a seven year old and loosing her third tooth. It wasn't more than just a few seconds later that Rianne came upstairs and told me she couldn't sleep cause her front tooth was bothering her.

Her best buddies have been loosing teeth all over the place. One of her besties in particular lost his tooth at school yesterday prompting Rianne to think that she really needs to loose these three teeth of hers that have been loose for months and months.

I checked her tooth in question, and sure enough, it was pretty loose. In fact, it was a LOT looser than when i checked it that morning

(it IS becomeing a morning and evening ritual
as of lately!)

I proceeded to give it a bit of a yank but it never came out but got even looser. I told her to go check with her dad (who bascially rolled his eyes and told me this morning that i pawned her off on him...whatever!), who in turn sent her back to me. She really wanted it out, so we both took a deep breathe and i gave it a good pull. The kid has got an amazing threshold of pain! It bled and bled and bled and not once did she say anything.

So, she is now the proud owner of a toothless grin and a handful of change from the poor toothfairy. Seriously... the toothfairy should really be made aware of things like this ahead of time, espeically when Rianne makes the comment that the toothfairy brought 5 bucks for her friends tooth! Thankfully, she didn't say anything about how much she got (a whole $1.30 in coins)

...she must have gotten blinded by the pile of sparkly change sitting there for her!

2009-09-19T17:43:00.012-06:00

I love this time of year.

The leaves start to change...

The weather starts to get a bit cooler...

Football season starts...

WHAT? I don't keep up on football?

Nope... i don't.

I could if i put a little effort into it.

But really, it's not on the top of my to-do list.

It's not even in the top 100... sorry.

BUT... it is that time of year when the little kids are invited by the highschool drill team, to do a half-time dance during one of the home football games.

Every year Rianne signs up. And every year it's been a kinda "hit-and-miss" sort of thing.

Last year was one of those kinda "miss" years.

Right after she signed up, she ended up with the flu and missed the whole week of practice and still wasn't feeling up to even going to see the girls dance.

This year happened to be a "hit" year.

We've spent every day after school for a week at practice for this one night of dance. Those few minutes of half time chaos.

Just one night of dance and i missed it.

It was all a miscomunication really and his intentions were good.

But i didn't get to see it, and that really bummed me out.

He said he took pictures, this is the only one that worked out naturally.

And... he had really good intentions. So, of course i forgive him.

But i missed it... and there will always be next year.

BTW... South Sevier won AGAIN!!! Undefeated BABY!

Really... i'm not keeping up on the football but isn't that just awesome all the same??!!!

what we did over summer vacation...

2009-09-18T11:20:00.000-06:00

...and then some

Science Camp for Daylon

Visits to Capitol Reef

4th of July

another visit to Capitol Reef

Daylon's 11th Birthday

Pudge - May he rest in peace

day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 of our annual Fish Lake Reunion

and the 24th of July right in the middle of that

Daylon's Arrow of Light

Fremont Indian State Park

Back to school for Daylon and Rianne

garden goodness

Fremont Indian State Park again

and again

The New Harmony fire that darkened our skies for a few days

Western Governors UniversityWGU - I'm a college student again

Labor Day vacation

Sam's first day of school

and inbetween all of that, there was
family, more family, even more family, and even more family... and more and even and more

and inbetween all of that, we managed to have time for:

movie night

and pool time

WHEW! it's been a heck of a summer. I'm actually glad to have the school year back again.

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-13T10:30:00.002-06:00

WOW! can you say a big busy weekend?

Maria and Justin took the kids (plus Tory but minus Sam) for the weekend for Justin's Be-lated birthday gift to himself (is that really what it was? cause it really felt like a gift to us) and it so happened to be the long Labor Day Weekend that worked out the best for us all. The kids got their weekend with Maria and Justin and we got time to go visit friends and my parents.

After finding out all the stuff that they were going to do with the kids, we didn't want to miss all the fun either so we tagged along for part of their weekend.

Here is what we/they ended up doing all weekend:

Friday: it was Maria's birthday, so we stuck around to wait till Justin got off work. To kill time we vegged out at Cabela's for a couple of hours and then had pizza and cake with Maria and Justin
Saturday: Thanksgiving Point @ the Museum of Ancient Life to see the Dinosaur exhibits (which happens to also be world's largest dinosaur exhibit!) and watch the Dolphins and Whales 3D film. I loved watching the kids experience a REAL 3D film (and it was just as amazing for me cause i've never seen a REAL one either!).

{Tory and Daylon checking out the fossils}

{Daylon and his favorite fossil}

{I loved all the staged photos. The kids put a lot of work into it}

{they even got Sam in on the action!}

We went out for lunch, which was great! Later on, while Justin was watching the big BYU game, Maria took the kids to Gateway Discovery. I snagged all her pictures from there since we didn't go. The kids had a TON of fun and are still talking about it.

{Daylon making movies with his one big eye}

{Even Tory loved it!}

{Rianne doing what she loves most... being with the horses}

Sunday: I'm not exactly sure what the kids did on Sunday but i did hear that they got to go see UP. From what i hear, it's a must see movie

Monday: We met back up with Maria and Justin at the Utah Museum of Natural History to see the "Toadally Frogs" display along with their other perminant displays. I had no idea that they had so much there to look at!

{awesome circular aquarium with a hole in the middle so you could see all around you}

{one of my favorite frogs}

{bless Maria's heart. She saved Sam so many times from a frustrated dad that we couldn't count any more}

We headed to the Gateway for lunch (mmmm... Applebee's) and to hang out at the fountain, which broke down just as the kids were getting ready to go play in it. It was a complete bummer for the kids.

We ran back to Maria and Justin's to pick up the kids and their gear and head home. Apparently we wore Maria and Justin right out. Maria was crashed on the couch and Justin was about out himself.
We hope they weren't too much trouble.

We can't thank you enough for taking on the kids like this. We appreciate the patience you have for our kids. And the kids love to spend time with you both. We love that you guys are able to show and do things with them that we aren't able to. Thanks for making this something that the kids will always remember.
You guys rock!

Fremont Indain State Park - Week #3

2009-09-10T17:05:00.017-06:00

Yup, that's right... Week #3. And all because we didn't catch it all the first two weeks. But that's what's nice about it being so close. We don 't feel like we need to cram it all in one day. The kids get tire? fine... we'll hit the other spots next weekend. I love being close to things like that.

This week we hit:

The Canyon of Life... again
Spider Woman Rock Canyon
Cave of a Hundred Hands... again
Arch of Art AKA Coy's Canyon
and, as always, the Visitors Center. But only mostly because we had Tory with us and the kids wanted to share that experience with her.

First stop was Spider Woman Rock Canyon (Point of Interest #13). We got confused and hit the wrong canyon to start with but did find some bonus petroglyphs there too. Amazing the places these people got to, i tell ya! Finally finding the right canyon, we started with what we could find on our trail guides. This canyon had a lot of REALLY great petroglphs and pictographs... VERY cool! The hunting scene was a favorite of the kids. You could really pick out what kind of animals they were REALLY well. Our favorite was the elk, until we found the moose!

{the kids looking at the hunting scene panels. I really hate how the big one is all shot up though... stupid people!}

{still in the Spider Woman Rock Canyon. This one was my favorite. It was really clear and had a great story to it. And just around the corner to the left of it, we found some bonus petroglphys AND pictographs that weren't on our trail guide}

After the Spider Woman Rock Canyon, we headed to the Visitors Center to get a better idea on the petroglphs we couldn't find the week before at the "Canyon of Life". The desk lady was really funny about it and said that she hadn't been in that canyon before and she doesn't plan on ever going into "that" canyon ever. She was sorry she couldn't help but she didn't want to chance coming out "fertile" as the legends go. LOL - it was kinda humorous. She did, however, give us a few pointers and a bit more history. We decided to take our chances again, and headed up there for lunch and another quick look (and oddly enough, a "facts of life" exericence for Tory and Daylon, which was kinda fun)

{FINALLY finding the Mareo Panel we couldn't find the week before. It was WAY up high and really hard to find. It was a pretty steep hike to get up closer to it, but so very worth it to get a better look at it}

The other big Point of Interest we stopped at was the "Arch of Art" or "Coy's Canyon". It's just off the side of the road and if you look close, all these petroglphs just start popping out at you. Amongst all the petroglphs you start finding "Coy" written everywhere (or maybe you find COY first and then the petroglphs)
{a shot of the rock wall}

{the same shot, only with petroglphs and graffity circled}

This is definately worth going back and looking at better. By the time we got to this Point of Interest, Sam was wiped out and the kids had lost interest. Daylon came out and checked it out with me and we both decided we needed to do it again. Next time we'll check this one out and go check out the Rim Trail View from the road.

We've pretty much taken the kids on all the kid friendly hikes/trails/intrests in the park. Of the 13 points of interest, we've hit 10 of them. We hope to wipe out another one, maybe two if the one isn't too much for them, of those next time we go back. The last one is a scenic hike and WAY too long for the kids so we definately won't be doing that one.

Although, one of these days, i'm going to book a private "tour" for the Rim Trail View where they take you right up high on the cliff side right next to the petroglphs.
Definately not a kid hike but something i really want to do.

Femont Indain State Park - Week #2

2009-09-10T11:14:00.008-06:00

Because one week just wasn't enough

We decided that there was SO much more up there that we wanted to see, we headed back up there the next weekend. We hit 6 points of intrest this time. Three of which were new to us. But we got to see stuff we missed the first time which was really nice.

took the Parade of Rock Art Trail/Court of Ceremonies backwards this time and ended up findingn the Hidden Secrets Trail...{i'm assuming this was one of the "hidden secrets". Very very cool!}

...the end of Coyote trail and one of the trail heads of the Alma Christensen Trail that ends up by the visitors center (Points of Interst #5-8 and then some){a hunting scene on the "Parade of Rock Art Trail" that we missed last time because we took off on another trail}

Point of Intrest #11: the Picnic Grounds and Centennial Cabin where we had lunch in the trees by the river.
{pretend we got some great pictures here}

Point of Intrest #2: Canyon of Life {a pretty intersting story that goes with this point of interest along with some pretty clear petroglyphs. This one was on the right side of the canyon. The ones on the left side of the canyon, we weren't able to locate this time}

There is just so much to see, even now after being there twice (actually three times... see the next post). Definately something to keep going back for.

so much to catch up on... AGAIN!

2009-09-09T19:12:00.005-06:00

but... i couldn't let the day pass without sharing pictures of my little man on his first day of pre-school! He's been waiting for this day since the other two started school, 2 1/2 weeks ago. It snuck up on me so fast that i spaced that he needed a backpack and so we scoured the house through. The only pack we could find that didn't drown him out was a cute little hot pink and pretty blue Scooby-Doo of Rianne's (actually a hand-me-down from cute little Ali!).

He was pretty excited to have it and wanted nothing more.

Even when i brought him home his own little backpack when i went to town this afternoon.

I guess we're sticking with the cute little pink and blue backpack .

All in all, preschool is a hit. Especially for the treats!

First day of school

2009-08-19T09:57:00.007-06:00

Today was the first day of school for Daylon and Rianne.
Daylon is going into the 6th grade... middle school.
Rianne is starting 2nd grade

Now i have kids in two different schools, which means:

*a whole new level of chaos in the morning to make sure each kid gets to school on time.

Rianne's school is a few blocks away ~ Daylon's is across town

*which also means that i won't be able to have Daylon and Rianne look out for each other

*they won't be walking to school together or walking home from school together

*two different time schedules all together (although it might make homework time easier?)

*and so many more i'm sure i'll find out about later

The kids are super excited, so i am too, and i get one on one time with Sam again... and me time during his naps! YAY!

Lets just hope that school goes smoothly this year and middle school isn't as scarey as people/parents tell me it is.

and just for fun because i saw it here: be different act normal

Daylon

Rianne

and because Sam couldn't be left out of the fun!

Fremont Indian State Park

2009-08-18T12:00:00.018-06:00

This was the last weekend before school started and we wanted to go out and do something before we weren't able to anymore. But considering that this weekend was also a weekend full of family down for Katie's mission farewell, we decided to do something close(r) to home.

We are pretty lucky having so many state/national parks right close to us. The closest one is practically right in our backyard and, sadly, we've never been there before.

The Fremont Indian State Park is only about 15 minutes away from us so we thought that we'd go take a look and see what we've been missing.

There are a bunch of really short hiking trails throughout the whole park so we decided to take a few of them.

We started out at the visitors center/musuem and they pointed us in the direction of the closest and easiset self guided hiking trail/walk which takes you around the musuem and then back again. The walk then breaks off into other smaller hikes.

The hike ended at a pithouse and a grainery.

The pithouse was big enough to fit our whole family, Maria and Justin, and Taylor, Jared and Quintin. Very cool!

Our first hike out of the museum/visitors center was to the 100 Hands cave.

The cave was barred up because of obvioius vandlism on the walls.

...and if there is waster, you must stop to play in it.

Second hike was up to Sheep Shelter and a few rocks along the trail with petroglyphs

Sheep Shelter is also barred for the same reasons. But all the petroglyphs are on the other side of the rock inside so they put up a mirror so you can see them.

If you look closely, you can see them in the mirror along with all of us.

There was another sheep petroglyph just up from Sheep Shelter that was pretty prominate.

And the biggest highlight of the trip was seeing the Indian Blanket drawn on the rocks across the canyon. This is the one that the kids were most excited about, especially Daylon. I think that is was the legend of the indian blanket was what drove it closer to home for Daylon

It wasn't the most exciting of places that we've been to so far, but the history is intersting. I would love to go back and continue to go on the other hikes that we missed and see the rest of the place.

Daylon's Arrow of Light

2009-08-13T10:21:00.012-06:00

After spending almost a week up at Fish Lake, my parents were gracious enough to stay another few extra days to stick around for Daylon's Arrow of Light ceremony. In fact, when Daylon joined Cub Scouts, my dad offered to do Daylon's Arrow of Light ceremony when and if he earned it. I was not about to let that opportunity fall between my fingers. So when i found out that Daylon was going to receive his Arrow Of Light, i snagged my dad and made sure that he he still wanted to do it. I've seen dad do several Arrow Of Lights while growing up and was pretty thick in the scouting thing. Nothing pleased me more than to have the honor of Dad sharing that milestone with Daylon.

Getting ready for things to start

Before the ceremony started, all the boys had to get their awards. Daylon and I worked our tail ends off and ended up earning ALL of his merit badges, a belt full of belt loops and several other awards. I'm quite proud of the little guy. I'm sure he did most of it to make mom happy but he sure did look pretty slick up there all decked out in his awards!

Getting the mother's pin for earning his Webelos award

The begining of the Arrow of Light ceremony.

Dad had all the kids gather up in front of him while he told them a story...

Dad was right on the ground interacting with them. They had a cool "campfire" going with indian music in the background and a teepee backdrop.

The three boys, Kyle, Daylon & Tyson, who received their Arrow of Light awards that evening, pinning on their mother pins
... and the big hugs (and kisses?) that go with it

The Weblos leader talking with the boys about what a great honor it is to receive this award.

... and being welcomed into the Boy Scouts

Our family and dad

(don't mind our faces... all part of the ceremony... although i'll never understand why Daylon thought it was so funny to put a green mustache on me LOL)

Thank you dad for making this such a special night for the boys.

It was special for not only us but also for the parents of the other boys.

Fish Lake - last 2 days (really 3 days)

2009-08-10T11:38:00.012-06:00

The last two days of vacation were consumed with cousins.

Meeting new baby cousins, catching up on others, seeing some that i haven't seen in years, and meeting some that married into the family. There was only a few of my cousins there. Hopefully next year more of us will be able to join.

Most everyone left Sunday morning.

We stayed up there one more night with Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Gary.
Daylon getting his head buzzed by cousin Jake.

Daylon was quite impressed by this cool "cop" cousin he'd never met before. Needless to say, we've got to get to know my family much better. I finially got to meet his wife, Nattalie and their little guy Cooper.
Sam helping Great-Grandpa Mac working on the ropes to his boat.

I think Grandpa loved it just as much as Sam did.

Sam helping Aunt Connie "work". Everytime someone was doing something, Sam was there to help. In this case, it was cutting up potatoes and onions.

Charlie was pretty into my mom fileting fish.

He sat there and kept my mom company the whole time
The newest member of the family, baby Sophie. She was named after my awesome grandma. Only a few weeks old and she's a camping champ

The kids found a great lean-to that someone had put together.

If we couldn't find them, we always knew where they were.

One last trip out on the boat as a family Sunday afternoon.

Just a nice cruise up the west side of Fish Lake watching the fish in the shallows

One last trip fishing the beach with Sam while Rianne, Daylon and DarRell took the boat out on the lake to fish one last time. Sam was having no fun fishing with Gary until he started wadeing in the water. It all ended with him being wet from head to toe after tripping

We can't wait until next year. Next year it will be over the 4th and we plan on being there the whole five days. I can't wait! I hope more people can make it next year.

True Confessions Monday

2009-08-10T10:02:00.003-06:00

apparently i need a bit more accountablity.

remember when i said i needed to get back on that wagon. I must've missed the announcement that it was leaving and totally was left behind running after it
if it's possible, i think i may have gained 4 pounds since yesterday. It had to have been Mt Dew i drank and king sized candy bar i devoured.
today i started counting points again.
because so far, i haven't had any fruits since my "wagon" post
However, i have still been living off salsa so i have been getting in 5 servings every day, it just hasn't included fruits of any kind
exercise hasn't been part of my vocabulary in quite some time. That really needs to change
my garden is finially starting to produce RED tomatoes. LOVING THAT! The chili peppers are starting to get big enough to pick if the wind doesn't wipe them out first. And the speghetti squash is about right. Carrots are being devoured and i'm enjoying watching the artichokes grow. Next year i'm definately growing a bigger garden if i can find the space for it
i'm addicted to the lo-carb monster energy drinks. Not a good thing
to help keep me on track, i'm going to spend the afternoon planning out meals on Weight Watchers. I'm paying for the subscription, i may as well use it.
i really gotta finish up posting about July. It's already mid-August and i'm getting further behind
i hope to finish up those last few scrapbook layouts sitting on my desk taking up space on my desk and room in my brain. They've been there WAY too long.

Fish Lake - Day 3 & 4

2009-08-08T09:06:00.007-06:00

July 23rd and 24th were the busiest for us by far. Most of our time these two days were spent away from Fish Lake than at it. Kaye and the kids had to leave early on the 23rd. Some time over the course of all the excitement, little Hunter ended up sick. I hated sending them out the door with Hunter feeling so rotten but knew that Kaye had to go back to work that night. All my pleading and begging couldn't change that.

I headed back up to Fish Lake after sending Kaye on her way. It was a bit of a lazy day on the 23rd. I was greeted by the kids and Uncle Gary with a "Happy Birthday". We headed out on the lake to do a bit of fishing, which was a bit of a bust with only two fish caught that whole day. We lazed around the rest of the day at camp and headed back home before it got too dark.

The 24th was filled full of 24th of July festivities and fireman duties. I was over the firetrucks for the parade and DarRell had his usually duties of firetruck rides at the park and fireworks that night. It was non-stop from sunrise to sundown. DarRell was up early with six o'clock salutes with the fire department to start off the day. Off to the parade and park activities. Home for a double birthday party for Kole and Tucker. And DarRell was off with the fire department for the rest of the night with firework duties.

We took Daylon out on the boat and taught him how to drive it.
The view of the Lodge from the Lake. I can't wait till fall when the aspen leaves start to turn. We are definitely going back if only for a day trip.

I told the kids we could let off fireworks in honor of my birthday the night of the 23rd.
Being kids, they didn't forget and after getting home from a lazy day up at Fish Lake, we set off a package full of firework we had laying around from a few years ago.

My hottie of a fireman during the parade

The evening of the 24th turned out to be a bust. It was windy and rainy that evening when it was time for fireworks. The two oldest kids were wiped out from a day of running. Daylon never even made it to the start of the fireworks before he crashed. Rianne gave up half way through it and went to the back seat to lay down. Sam wanted to get out and run around in the rain. Needless to say, it was pretty much a bust.

We all went home and crashed hard. Another 24th of July over and done with FINALLY!

Fish Lake - Day 2

2009-08-06T13:35:00.019-06:00

The actual start of Vacation!

Everyone was up bright and early that morning to get packed up and off to Fish Lake. It's super nice that it only takes a hour tops pulling campers to get there from my house. Since i had to work, Kaye decided to give the kids a taste of country life and joined me at work. I'm guessing it was a bit of culture shock for them with all the comments LOL. After work we headed up to Fish Lake to meet up with the rest of the family. We spent the afternoon setting up camp, fishing at the beach for yellow perch and roasting hotdogs and smores over the fire. Later that night, I took Kaye and her kids down to my house for the night. They had to be on the road back home the next morning.

Tattoos galore... my mom has always got something great for the kids. Last year it was butterfly nets. VERY cool Grandma!

Kaye behind the camera... always. Howerver, not complaining at all

Uncle Gary and his one eyed wookey dog

my dad teaching sam on how to pull apart worms...

...and Sam NOT liking it one bit!

Uncle Gary showing Daylon where fish are supposed to go

... showing Sam where worms should go

... and how to properly kiss a fish

The evening fishing for yellow perch with the kids... absolutely priceless

Fish Lake - Day 1...

2009-08-06T13:21:00.002-06:00

...which turns out isn't even the first day of vacation for us

The biggest thing in July is our annual vacation/family reunion type of thing that gets planned every year in advance. Every year my Uncle Jim and Aunt Connie reserve the big Doctor Creek campground and we go out and camp for 5 days. It's always during July and it's always nice to get away and still be close to home (i really love that part). This year it was over the 24th of July which made for and especially busy week for us.

But before the big camp out at Fish Lake, my parents and my grandparents, and every once in a while my Uncle Gary and Aunt Becky come to stay at my house for a day before going up. Everyone parks their camper trailers in front of the house for the night and we have a day of catching up and relaxing before the big week of R&R. This year was a special year. My oldest sister decided to come out for a visit during the same time as the family get together. She showed up with her two youngest just as my parents and grandparents pulled up. I spent as much time as i could catching up with my big sis (that i miss SO much), letting cousins get to know each other over again, and, more importantly, reconnecting with my grandparents that i never get to see except for these few days in July every year. The day was full of pizza, swimming, laughing, reminiscing, and just plain wishing i lived closer to my family.

A few of my favorite shots from the day, that my sister took. Did i mention that i loved that she has such a GREAT camera and she's not afraid to use it????

My Dad's Mom. I love this woman. I don't think I've ever really heard her say anything REALLY bad about anyone. Most times this woman has nothing but nice to say about everyone.

My dad and his dad. It's amazing how much they are alike. I love watching the two together. I can see so much of my dad in his dad from the way they talk to the way they hold their hands. My grandfather... he rocks. He's a great man and he's hilarious in his grandpa kinda way.

My dad... i can see him getting to be more and more like my grandfather. It's weird seeing him through other peoples eyes. It totally gives me a new appreciation for him. Makes me love him even more and more.

My mom. She hides from the camera way too much, and when you do get a picture, she's never smiling. This is my mom... and how i always think of her, with her smile. The smile may be hard to find sometimes, but it's there. And she puts up with so much of her kids crap! And yet she doesn't call us on it... what a woman.

This is my Sam. He's a spitting image of his dad. It's not often that i get him to myself when he's calm and wanting to snuggle. He's a daddy's boy all the way. Thank you Kaye for getting this... it just didn't last long enough.

The two girls, BobbyJo and Rianne. The kids, i swear they were twins separated at birth. They are so much alike it's unreal! I love that Kaye got his picture of the two girls with the horses. Oddly enough, i hardly seen either of the girls the whole time. They were off doing their own things together. Amazing how much calmer Rianne was with another girl around. Apparently all the boys around here makes life tough on a little girl.

and who could forget the two older boys? or well... three older boys.

Lets face it, DarRell is just as much a boy (with responsibilities) and they two youngers are. Hunter and Daylon got along great. I love that the kids think that DarRell is so cool. Someday Daylon will appreciate having a dad that's cool. The two younger boys ran wild and loved every minute of it. I love it when my family visits... i wish it would happen more often. I'm missing out on some very serious family bonding time and so are my kids.

playing a bit of catch up

2009-08-05T19:19:00.002-06:00

Wow! Turns out July is the most insaine month of the year hands down. It's a month of a million birthdays, of vacations/family reunions, and a month of just trying to get it all in before school starts again.

Stay tuned for all the goings on that happened during July. I really need to catch up but it's going to take a few days if i stick with it.

getting back on the wagon

2009-08-05T09:13:00.018-06:00

I know i haven't talked about my weight loss in forever. That's because I've just kinda lost motivation. I lost the first 20 pounds semi easy and I'm struggling to get past this 5 pounds that keep going off and on. If you remember, this January i posted to the world how much i weighed (169 pounds if you don't remember), and mentioned that it was the heaviest I've ever been in my life, including when i was pregnant with any one of my three children. I joined Weight Watchers, I started exercising a little bit, started taking my vitamins, and started living the healthy life i was supposed to. I even started running. I started training for a 5K that turned out to not be a 5K but a 5 mile. I got halfway into my training and turkey hunting season came up. I was no longer able to stick to my morning running schedule and DarRell's small window of hunting. I fell off the wagon. I didn't make it to that 5 mile run (although i have plenty of reasons why, but seriously, they weren't the REAL reason why i didn't run it). Truthfully, i haven't been running since. Not a real run anyways. I got to a point in weight loss where my clothes starting fitting better, and had to, in fact, go and buy, get this... 2 sizes smaller! Right now i weigh in at about 145, give or take on the day. I hover up or down a few pounds and haven't made it lower than 144 yet. This is great news for me! Depending on the day, I've lost 25 pounds! However, I'm not near what my goal weight was for myself. Even when I've reconsidered what i want to weight now, I'm still not there. I would love to loose another 10 pounds or so. I haven't counted "points" in several months (which makes me wonder why I'm even still paying for my subscription to WW online). I've been eating better, but when i splurge, i make sure i splurge good. So, I've decided that i need to get back on that wagon. It's going to take baby steps. Lots of baby steps.

So, this is where The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans comes into play once again. Right now they are doing a challenge on making good health habits. by taking 21 days to form a new good habit. Right now, it's not focused primarily on weight loss but more into incorporating a few good habits into my life which will make a good impact on my weight loss goal. I've been thinking about what good habits i need to make in my life that will help in getting me to my goal weight and helping me stay there when I've reached it, and most importantly, just being more healthy in general.

I've decided that I don't want to overwhelm myself with tons of goals, whether they be easy or hard. I'd be setting myself up for failure at best. So I'm going to settling on four of what i believe to be most important to me at this time. So here it goes...

Taking my daily vitamins. Yes, i know this should be super easy. But truthfully, anything i find healthy, i hate doing. It's a glitch in me that i see happening all the time... i guess a bit of self destruction going on there. Not good... but it's the truth. So what better goal to have than to have one that SHOULD be easy just to prove to myself that i can do it. And what makes it even easier is that i found a daily vitamin that i can stomach and so happens to be really yummy. Thank goodness for children gummy vitamins, otherwise this would be a much more challenging and HARD goal for me.
Eating my daily servings of fruits and veggies. Or should it be veggies AND fruits... fruits being the hard part for me. Seriously, this is not a hard goal for me at all. I've been living off of salsa for the last month or so and loving every minute of it. And what's making it even easier is that gardens are starting to produce boatloads of veggies right now. I know i shouldn't make my goals a given, that making them so easy will also set me up for failure also since I'm not making any progress. Thus, the addition of adding in fruits. I'm super lucky if i get in my daily serving of fruit in one week, little alone in one day. I'm not a big fruit eater. I think i got worse at it when i started WW after finding out that most fruits have points where as lots of veggies were free. Yes, i think this goal will be a bit harder for me.
Drinking more water. Another easy one for me if i actually make a effort at doing it. I used to be so good at this, drinking at least 64-80oz or more a day. I got used to the constant trips to the bathroom and knew when i needed to drink more by just the way i was feeling. Don't ask me what happened to fall off that wagon, I'm just not sure what happened. Right now, my intake is approximately 32-48oz a day. Not even close to what is normally advised for everyone. I know what i need to do and how to do it, it's just the matter of doing it.
Eating breakfast EVERY day. I know, it should be easy. And seriously, i know better. But there is that part of me that STILL thinks that if i don't eat breakfast, then i'm not eating as much throughout the day calorie wise. But i KNOW that if i eat breakfast, it kick starts my metabolism. It gives me that extra punch to help burn calories longer in given day then if i don't. I know that it doesn't matter much what i eat for breakfast (well, it does... but lets face it, any kind of breakfast is better than no breakfast right?), i just gotta do it. And yet, i find myself NOT eating breakfast just because of the fact that i want that milkshake later in the day and i'm making up for it calorie wise by not eating breakfast. Twisted thinking but true. Even though i know what i'm supposed to do, i justify it anyways. Definately the harder of my four goals.

Although these four goals I've chosen aren't things that i need to work super hard at achieving, They are some of my most important goals to help me in my journey of a healthy lifestyle and helping me get to where i want to be in life, health and weight wise. Like i said, it's all about baby steps. These baby steps are going to lead to bigger and better steps and before i know it, I'll be out running that 5 mile next year... you wait and see!

our friday night tradition...

2009-07-24T20:02:00.000-06:00

Just got better...

For one night only (or maybe not because it was such a hit)
Friday Night Movie Night gets moved outside!

Movies are so much better outside!

RIP Pudge

2009-07-16T16:11:00.007-06:00

Having to let you go was the hardest thing we've ever had to do.

You lived a very long life.

We will miss you so very much.

A few highlights and favorite pictures of our first baby

*He was the cutest little roley poley dog you'd ever seen.

*He was part char-pei, part pitbull and part lab.

*He was the fatest and the littlest of the whole litter. When we picked him out, the rest of the puppies came to greet us, Pudge stayed behing to eat.

*He was born right before Christmas a week before we got married

*We brought him home to live with us in February

*He was so wrinkly in the face that he had to have a face lift around his eyes because the excess skin was making him blind

*He used to carry around a baby pink blanket wherever he went

*He has lived through two other dogs, a ferret, an iguana, and several other pets

*He was our first baby

*He was 101 1/2 years old, in dog years of course, when he passed away

*He will always hold a VERY special place in our hearts forever.

Pudge

December 1994 - July 2009

Daylon's 11th Birthday

2009-07-16T14:56:00.006-06:00

Boy has he ever grown up.

We had a really small get together Pool Party for him on his birthday which ended up being even a MUCH smaller get together than we had planned for. I guess that is one of the hazards of having a weekday birthday party.

He didn't ask for much this year and we were able to fulfill all of his birthday wishes this year:

*Hiking in Capitol Reef - we enjoyed it the weekend before his birthday

*Go to the afternoon movie to watch Monsters vs. Aliens - It turned out that they had the matinee on his birthday so it made his day a little bit extra special

*a lava lamp

*Bedtime Stories DVD

He also got $25, a "Got Dirt" John Deer t-shirt, and a few books.

...and not once did he complain that he wasn't having fun or that it wasn't the best party ever.

You gotta love that kid

Capitol Gorge

2009-07-16T14:06:00.013-06:00

One of Daylon's birthday wishes was to go hiking back up to Capitol Reef. I have to admit, it was as much my wish as it was his. I love Capitol Reef and have plans to go back and do as many as the hikes as i possible can with the kids in tow, and then do as many as i can when they aren't.

This time we went on the Capitol Gorge trail.

I had hear a lot about this one and since it was one of the easier trails, we thought we could tackle it pretty easily. However, it was HOT and there was NO shade at all. It was still quite amazing anyways. Sheer rock walls on either side. Petroglyphs if you were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of them. The Pioneer Register was interesting but the modern day graffiti over the top of it all really took away from it. But the highlight of the trip and the reason why we went on this hike in the first place was the "tanks".

They were REALLY cool.

And they would have been more amazing if the tanks were really full.

There were three tanks in all (or at least that was all we could find).

The first tank we came to was almost dry. It was sustaining life for a few tadpoles.

Second tank we came to was fuller and deeper.it took a little tiny bit of scrambling around to get to the top part of it.

This tank was chuck full of tadpoles. The kids LOVED looking at them.

Third tank we came to we had to climb down lower to get to it.

It was harder to find but was completely amazing. It would have been even more of an awesome sight if they were all completely full.it was an awesome sight to look down into them

(and i would have loved to have jumped in them if they weren't so gross and could actually find a way out of it once you got into it)

Looking down into the lower tanks from above.

(top is the lower larger tank, it emptied into a smaller tank and then ran through a bridge into more crevise like tanks)

DarRell climbed up to the lower tanks from the bottom of the canyon since we couldn't get into them from the top.

All in all, it was an ok hike. It would have been SO much more enjoyable if it weren't so hot. Obviously July and August are not the months to go hiking up there. However, come September when the orchards are ready to be havested, we are going to go up for another easy hike with the kids and then get our fill of fruit.

Next hikes on our list:

*Surprise Canyon

*Headquarters Canyon

and then, if there is ever a chance to go without the kids:

*Sulpher Creek

*Cassidy Arch Trail

FINIALLY!

2009-07-16T12:59:00.004-06:00

THE POOL IS NOW OPEN! after 2 months of complete nightmares on trying to get the water clear and swimable, we finially were able to open the pool on the 10th of July.

And it was a perfect day to swim!

One other thing i love about summer:

My boys summer hair cuts!

Buzz cuts all around!!! LOVE IT!

4th of July

2009-07-16T12:31:00.007-06:00

This years 4th of July was like any other typical 4th of July here.

Parade in Richfield. Sitting in front of Jody's shop melting in the hot morning sun. A quick family shot. It doesn't happen often and when it does, nobody is looking at the camera at the same time.
We head to Joseph for Joseph's 4th of July celebration afterwards.
Great food and a small carnival like thing for the little kids.
I never get pictures there. Maybe it's because i'm so wore from the parade.

We head home to take a break for the rest of the afternoon and then head back to Joseph for the evening dinner, raffle, and firework.
Although we usually miss the dinner and raffle almost every year.

We watch the fireworks on Grandpa Mills' lawn straight across the road from the field where they light them off.

a few sparklers

Sam LOVING the fireworks

Daylon and his princess...

Natia and her prince...

Sam with Grandpa and Grandmathe evening sky
awesome fireworks
and wore out kids ready to call it a night... except for Sam

Loved this

2009-07-05T11:33:00.003-06:00

i saw this and loved it!

going to do this for the 24th of July out here:
Lawn Stars
Lotsa Jars

i love it when other people take pictures of my kids...

2009-06-28T09:21:00.007-06:00

I love that Maria always has her camera with her when she comes down. She's always catching the kids when i just don't feel like taking pictures... and then i steal the pictures from her LOL.

My absolulte favorite one she took of Rianne this weekend.

I just love that crinkled up nose when she smiles.

...and she's got the cutest belly laugh (when she's not faking it)

Sam finding a mud hole
...and taking advantage of it.

Love Love Love this close-up of him.
He's totally in his element.Wanting to give his dad some loves but dad not wanting to get muddy LOL

No pictures of Daylon but he's been kinda hormonal lately.
I guess he's just at that age right now... sigh

Capital Reef - Hickman Bridge Trail

2009-06-22T09:18:00.031-06:00

Saterday we decided to get out of town and take a day off since DarRell has been working NON-STOP and is just plain burned out. I've been wanting to head out to Wayne County for some time now and everyone of the kids have made a trip out with DarRell to Torrey while he's been working there. He needed to go take a bill out there and do a bit of repairs so we decided to head out during a weekend and enjoy some time out there as a family. I spent some time online looking through websites looking for something fun that we could all do as a family. Since Capitol Reef is just barely outside of Torrey, i decided on a nice little trail hike that we could all do. I feel so guilty now knowing that Capitol Reef is only a hour away and super accesable and we've never been out there to enjoy it. After looking through all the many trails and hikes they have out there, i decided on the Hickman Bridge Trail.

It was absolutely beautiful! It's only a two mile round trip hike and even Sam was able to walk most of it (DarRell ended up carring him the last 1/4 mile because both Sam and Rianne had to go to the bathroom). There were SO many different awesome things to look at on the way up AND on the way down. We bought a trail guide at the trailhead which ended up being a really good addition to the hike and showed you points of interest you normally wouldn't see or pay attention to. Daylon passed off a lot of scout stuff on this trip which was a nice bonus to the trip. It was definetaly a trip we want to take over and over again. We've got the summer planned out for more trips out to Capitol Reef to do some of the other easier hikes/trails and we CAN'T wait!

Some of my favorite highlights:

The begining of the trail. It starts out just beautiful and has this rock wall against the drop off into the river and the first set of rock stairs just above it. It's just beautiful.

Daylon found the "Loch Ness Rockster". It's a formation that i had read about while looking on the internet. Totally didn't even realize we had gotten a picture of it until i uploaded the pictures onto my computer.

The Hickman Bridge itself. It's amazing! I wish i would have gotten a bit of a better picture from the back side. A repeat visit is definately in order.

Sam's hole. It was just big enough for him. This is one of my most favorite pictures from the trip.

This tree up against the rock stairs was too good to pass by without a picture with everyone. Just wishing i got a picture with all of us in it. I'd almost want to use it on Christmas cards or something.

Watching DarRell helping Sam down the steeper parts. Sam was so independant the whole way. Once he got to a spot he could handle. He didn't want help from anyone.

Two of my favorite pictures of me and the kids. The first one has all the great black volcanic rocks in the background and the second one has a great hiding spot that the kids liked to go play in.

Science is Magic

2009-06-15T18:27:00.009-06:00

SUU puts on this really awesome Science Camp during the summer for kids 4th through 6th grade. We were lucky to get to go thanks to Heather asking if Daylon wanted to go with Kyle. I had never heard of this before but obviously its a HUGE thing, and spots fill up SUPER fast. I can totally see why after seeing all the awesome stuff these kids got to do.

Daylon's favorites were:

*Dr. McKay's chemistry lab magic show ~ apparently chemistry has never been so awesome! Lots of amazing stuff like starting things on fire, lots of dry ice, and even more fire. Ok... that that was the main idea i got out of it all. BUT... he learned tons from it. He's wanting to do all these experiments he learned from Dr. McKay.

*Fossil Mountain ~ find your own fossils, what's cooler than that?

*Making Volcanos ~ they never got pictures of his groups volcano. From what i understood, it took off fast and hard and there was nothing left of it LOL

*Playing with Electricity ~ they got zapped... and zapped good LOL.

*Dancing Flames ~ Daylon is determined to make a set-up of his own. "Mom, all you need is a long pipe with holes in it, a propane tank, rubber gloves covering the ends, speakers, and fire. It's REALLY awesome" His words exactly. LOL

*Mammoth Cave ~ pretty self explanatory. Boys loves caves (and the girls too!). Heck! I love caves too!

Other things they did there:

water testing

constellations

campfires stories

more science magic

He made great friends...

...and he's promicing to go back next year, he had THAT much fun!

...and what comes out of his mouth non-stop now:
Science Is Magic

and nothing melts my heart right now as much as knowing that my son is having so much fun learning about science.

randomness

2009-06-14T15:44:00.007-06:00

so many things going on through my head...

*I'm kinda loving these days when hubby is gone out of town working and taking a kid with him. For some reason the stress level goes down with only two kids instead of three.

*i feel REALLY guilty for thinking the above.

*i REALLY miss having my friends around. I've gone too long without seeing any of them and decided that i didn't really need friends. After all, i have a family that takes up my time. Now that I've seen them and hung out a bit with them, i realize i miss them VERY much. I hate living so far away from them, especially my best-ies. Life doesn't seem complete without them.

*Sadly, I'm such a homebody. I'd much rather stay home then go out... that is, until i actually go out, then i don't want to come back home.

*As much as i love the summer, i don't really look forward to July much. There is so much going on and it never seems to slow down enough for me/us to enjoy it.

*I hate feeling jealous... especially when i have no absolute reason to be jealous. Even the opposite.

*Yes, i am quite selfish. I'm working on it. Or rather, working on not being so selfish.

*I feel like people give me more credit than what i deserve. I feel like i have a lot to live up to. However, i don't think that is necessarily a bad thing sometimes. It at least keeps me responsible.

*Responsibility keeps me from doing a lot of stuff in my life that i think i want to. By the time i feel like i will be able to do them, it may be too late or I'll be too old to enjoy them.

*I'm nowhere where i thought i would be. But, to a point, that's a good thing. Now if i could just have the best of both worlds...

And a few things on my to-do list:
~ watch Australia so i can send it back for another great movie. And re-watch a few favorites.
~ get off my behind and get on the elliptical. My body knows what it wants but my brain is fighting it... well, except for when it comes to food... darn body is winning out on that one.
~ catch up on the piles of laundry again... before hubby and daughter get home and it piles up again.
~ make out a new budget... it's time to change things up again.
~ stop chickening out and finally hang some pictures in my house. It's been almost 6 years? and I'm still scared to put a hole in the new walls
~ under no circumstances, let Sam's nap time be wasted away with stuff i have to do. I need to spend some time doing stuff i want to do... like enjoying scrapbooking again.
~ finish my library book before i have to take it back again.

2009-06-07T23:16:00.001-06:00

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?

Tagged...

2009-06-03T08:03:00.006-06:00

Megan, my new friend and team mate (GO YELLOW!) over at The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans tagged me. It's been a while since i've been tagged. I forgot how much i like these.

8 things I am looking forward to:

1. finish losing 15-20 lbs

2. see some MAJOR progress on our guest house out back

3. the 24th of July 5 mile milk run. If not this year (most likely won't), definately next year (and I'm keeping you to your word Richard)
4. summer veggies from the garden
5. 24th of July vacation up at Fish Lake
6. relaxing summer evenings hanging out back at the firepit
7. Wednesdays all summer long
8. paying off debt

8 things I did yesterday:

1. talked with Richard
2. went to softball practice with Rianne and let the boys run and play at the playground
3. dyed my hair (supposively dark brown but ended up black looking)
4. cleaned the kitchen
5. took the kids to school lunch
6. texting with my big sis
7. read up on blogs
8. watched a repeat of House

8 things I wish I could do:

1. travel

2. repaint the interior of my house and like it

3. buy a old house in town and fix it up
4. have more ambition to do the things i want
5. loosen DH up a bit so he doesn't feel so obliged to everyone else in his life
6. as much as i love my children, i wish i could enjoy the time i spend with them as a SAHM (right now it's just stressing me out)
7. see more of my friends and family
8. go back to school. For what? i don't know. I'm just scared of what i'll do when the kids are older and moved out.

8 shows I watch:

1. House
2. Survivor

3. Gray's Anatomy
4. Ugly Betty
5. The Big Bang Theory
6. Lost
7. The Dr's
8. News

8 people tagged:

Kim over at Nothing But Chatter

2. Richard over at The Dream
3. Brandy over at The Johnsons
4. Tirah over at Shepdogg
5. Jessica over at Many Days of the Week
6. Emilie over at The Peterson Press 5
7. Shallon over at Engle Family
8. Maria over at My So Called Life

True Confessions Monday

2009-06-01T09:49:00.004-06:00

1. Today is the first day of Summer Vacation. After several (all ready?) meltdowns this morning, it's going to be a difficult 3 months.

2. Both Daylon and Rianne are a bit down and mopey. Oddly enough, they miss school terribly, especially Daylon.

3. Sam is having the hardest transition. I don't think he likes his brother and sister cutting in on HIS time.

4. I've been under a LOT of stress lately.

5. I've lost 3 pounds in the last 5 days.

6. I love that I've lost 3 pounds, I just hate the stress that caused the loss.

7. I think i have a whole new crop of grey hairs coming in because of it.

8. I haven't done any tracking points in WW for about a month. I started back up on Thursday. It feels good to know what i need to do again instead of just taking my chances. But i feel like I'm on the right track even when I'm not tracking.

9. I haven't done any deliberate exercising for over a month either. I've lost all motivation and it sucks.

10. I hit my 20 pound loss this last week (and the week before but i gained it back after the Memorial Day Weekend feasts)

11. I have 13 more pounds to loose before i hit the top of my weight goal. 18 more pounds to hit the bottom part of weight goal.

12. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

13. Even though i know i won't hit it by my 35th birthday in a month and a half, which was my plan, I know that I will be at least 20 pounds lighter than i was last year at that time.

14. I really need to start exercising again. I hope the summer will give me back some motivation.

15. I'm sure the new challenge starting up next week over at The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans is going to help with the motivation too. GO TEAM YELLOW!!!!

bittersweet

2009-05-29T16:12:00.005-06:00

(beginning of the school year: August 19, 2008 and the ending of the school year: May 29, 2009)

Another school year has come to a close. I'm having a hard time believing that nine months have already come and gone.

Daylon has graduated from 5th grade and is now on his way up to middle school.

Rianne passed 1st grade with flying colors and is going to 2nd grade.

Both are a bit sad to be moving on, especially Rianne. She loved her teacher so much. Daylon loved the fact that they were able to do so much more this year in school than years past. Both are a bit worried about what the next year has in store. However, we are lucky enough to live in such a small town that I'm sure we'll be seeing lots of friends during the summer to keep things busy for them.

Now... if i can just keep the teasing at bay this summer.

sigh i LOVE wednesdays

2009-05-28T11:01:00.003-06:00

I love Wednesdays. They are my days. My one day a week i get to get out of the house. My one day a week i don't have to keep track of kids. My one day that i get real adult conversation and not 3 year old potty mouth and sassy mouthed conversation (well, there are those exceptions i guess. Gena, I'm sure you understand LOL). My one day a week where i can go and feel like I've had a productive day where there is a start, a middle AND a end and feel like i did my part to make it successful. I love the people I work with. I love the people I work for. I love the atmosphere. I love the camaraderie. And for just a moment or two i get to unwind. I look forward to Wednesdays. Wednesdays are good for my soul.

Most Wednesdays are typically the same. A day full of Big Jo (or is he Little Jo? or am i Little Jo? I'm confused) being his usually self but always bringing the humor that makes Wednesdays worth while and Scott making sure we can handle it. Hours spent catching up on the week with Gena. Lots of great small talk with the ladies in the office. The general back and forth joking with clients and associates (is that i should call them? the higher ups? the officials? or call them by what they are? the brand inspector, the vet, my boss(s)?)I went through the day doing what i do, enjoying my Wednesday. I come home to finish out the evening watching Rianne's softball game and couldn't figure out why people were cracking jokes about me "being released from the auction". I totally forgot that all the while i was sporting a nice big red"auction release" stamp on the back of my arm (thanks Chyrl LOL). And although i got the stamp of approval, apparently I'm not official cause he never signed it, even after i teased him about it. I guess i will be forever branded as propery of "R" Livestock... or at least until i washed it off last night (not that i mind working there forever).

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-26T07:22:00.014-06:00

Memorial Day Weekend
it was...

*Full of Family ~
DarRell's whole family was down, minus one sister and her family. That means all 8 of the 9 kids made it down. DarRell had a brother coming in from California, his baby sister coming in from Colorado and his other baby sister came down from SL. Add in the additional kids, grandkids,spouces,and cousins and you've got a mad house! We really wish Lyla could make it from NM. One of these days, everyone is going to be here at one time.

*Full of Food ~
We decided at the last minutes that we would host a BBQ here at out house Friday evening. I felt like that was the least I could do. We have the space, we have a big yard so why not? Turns out the weather had a different idea. We ended up moving it inside which turned out just as well. Although i wish i would have had a bit more of a cleaner house.

*Full of cruddy weather ~
It was overcast most of the weekend, which wasn't so bad. Off and on storms during the day, but rainy and cold in the evenings. It totally took the fun out of enjoying the evenings outside. Mother Nature couldn't have picked a lousier time to rain on our parade.

some of my favorite highlights of the weekend:

The kids, mostly Sam, looking for bugs... always looking for bugs.

Swimming with Uncle Mike at the Hotel

Food and Family

Birthday get togethers because there are just never enough

Grow Blossom Bloom DANCE!

2009-05-24T08:21:00.019-06:00

Elite Street Dance Company

Rianne - Jazz and Lyrical Ballet

Daylon - Boys and Girls Hip Hop

Rianne - Mini Hip Hop Girls

Thursday marked the end of dance season around here. 9 months of weekly practices came down to this. And it turned out GREAT! I'm bummed that i didn't get to see much of the other dances since Rianne had so many costume changes, but what i did see was really good. I guess it should have been really good, the older girls have taken 1st place in so many compitions lately this year.

Here are a few more pictures of the evening:

Rianne - Lyrical Ballet

"Freeze"

Rianne - Mini Hip Hop Girls*

"Can't Touch This"

Daylon - Boys and Girls Hip Hop

"Wall to Wall"

Rianne - Jazz

"Let's Dance"

Rianne - Mini Hip Hop Girls*

"Funky Cold Medina"

*(These four cute little girls got the award for the being the shakeist... those girls can move their stuff! It was GREAT!)

frustrated

2009-05-20T16:55:00.004-06:00

Today marked the end of The Shrinking Jeans, Shrink into Summer challenge. I admit, i haven't been keeping up on it like i should be. I didn't hit my goal during those two months. I was about 2.5 lbs off. I did however lose 7.4 pounds. And frankly a loss is a loss right? I didn't come out on top of what i started out as so i consider it a win.

Also, i earned this:

a while back. I honestly can't wait till i trade it in for a 20lb loss button. Just a few more pounds to go.

I beleive it's time to get back into the swing of things again. So, here go a few confessions:

*I haven't run for over 2 weeks now and i feel like i'm completely out of it.

In fact, i haven't done any exercising for quite some time now.

I'm in need of some serious motivation.

*I haven't done any tracking of points on WW for almost that long.

It's showing in my weight loss... or lack there of...

Tomarrow starts a new week. A perfect time to start new don't you think?

*I think i've given up on my goal to run/walk the 5 mile milk run in July.

It seems so beyond my reach right now.

*I just bought 2 bags of puffy Cheetos yesterday.

Sadly, that's all i had for dinner last night too (although i didn't eat the whole bag(s))

*I'm finding that with the warmer weather also comes a greater challenge to eat right.

I've got summer cravings coming in hard, and most of them aren't exactly the best. I'm hoping that once my garden starts throwing out it's bounty, things will get easier.

So... that's it, i guess. I'm a bit frustrated with my lack of motivation right now. I'm hoping that swift kick in the rear end is in my near future, i could really use it.

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY

2009-05-04T21:17:00.008-06:00

i know i've been slacking major big time on the blog front.

No excuses... just not feeling it lately.

...but i couldn't NOT blog about my baby's 3rd birthday.

So, here's a big shout out to my little guy....

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY SAM!!!

One More Mile

2009-04-05T19:06:00.006-06:00

One More Mile Running has these cool shirts.

They are made out of this wick-lite diamond knit fabric.

It's super light and stretchy and soft.

Even better is the slogans they put on their shirts.
Here are a few i like:

This one is pretty good too!
and my all time favorite....

I'm thinking I might want to get that one for my 5 mile run in July.

*****

For a chance to win one, enter here at Shrinking Jeans.

Shred It!

2009-03-31T15:38:00.003-06:00

What can i say, i'm serious about loosing this weight.

And lately I'm lacking in the motivation area.

The sisters (and guy) over at Shrinking Jeans are having a 30 Shred challenge.

(Did i mention before that these guys are great at motivation?)

This is a serious challenge even though it's only a 20 minute workout.

I borrowed a copy from my neighbor (who is in the process of moving! WHAAA!!!)

and for the two days that i did it, i lost ONE pound!!!!

(then life got in the way... AKA the kids came down with the plague again)

WOW!!!

So now that i KNOW it works, i'm up for the challenge again...

and i'm ready to die those 20 minutes every day.

For someone who can...

2009-03-31T09:54:00.021-06:00

... out fish her dad any day of the week...

...she's not too fond of holding live ones...

...or eating dead ones for that matter!

Not even a smile in her.

But don't let the facial expressions fool you...

she LOVES that she can out fish her dad any day of the week!

True Confession Monday...

2009-03-30T17:21:00.002-06:00

it's monday... here are my confessions:

*I used to REALLY be into eggs until I started WW. I'd rather "spend" my points on something else then eggs now.

*I think I'm going to have eggs for dinner tonight.

*I've been doing the C25K training for the 24th of July 5K Milk Run. I am halfway through week 2. I think i can do this

*I'm looking forward for the weather to warm up.

*I'm also looking forward to working in my front and backyard.

*my projects for this summer/spring is:
.raised planting beds in the backyard
.retaining wall/flower beds in the front yard
.repainting the door moldings on all outside doors.

*my goal is to hit my 15lb weight loss this thursday

River fishing

2009-03-28T21:30:00.003-06:00

...and because Rianne and DarRell didn't get eoungh of fishing at the expo, they decided to spend the rest of the day out at the river.

Several hours later he calls me up to say that they are having a great time and to come join them. Not much fun to be had once we got there (although the kids loved playing with the yucky sucker fish) but we made out with a few fish. Now if we could just get Rianne and Sam to eat them.

Sevier County Sportsman Expo

2009-03-28T21:15:00.004-06:00

Today we decided to have a family day out and it so happened that the Sportsman Expo was in town today. It ended up being a lot of fun for the kids, maybe not so much for the adults.

But...

They had the climbing wall...
A little archery for the youngers

(and the biggers behind them)

an air rifle range for them...

...and best of all...

a fishing pond!

Rianne made a big catch... and they let her keep it!

a big 3lb rainbow trout!

can you say FISH FRY for dinner!

bring it on.

2009-03-25T08:52:00.003-06:00

Confession...
I've fallen off the bandwagon.
True, i am loosing weight.
But i keep putting it on in the same week also.
So, technically, does that count as loosing?
I'm not so sure it does.

That is why i love this place --> The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. I need the motivation. And they a wonderful at handing it out... by the bucketfuls.

They are starting a new challenge today. Check them out! I am so there!!!

YOU ROCK MARIA!

2009-03-23T10:38:00.005-06:00

(Hope you don't mind me swiping a pic from your blog)

A quick shout out to Maria for completing the Moab half marathon.

(and technically under 3 hours! WHOOHOOO!!!)

She's a heck of a woman!

We are so proud of you Maria!

Wish we could have been there more than in just spirit.

Love,

D, J, D, R & S

Project 365 Kit... anyone interested?

2009-03-18T10:51:00.005-06:00

I FINIALLY got my Project 365 kit last week after the whole mess up they had. It's been frustrating but it's finially here. And... now that it's here, i no longer want it. I know... terrible. So, in hopes of getting the $ out of it that i put into it (and hopefully a little bit more), i decided to sell it on Ebay.

So for anyone who is interested, here is my Ebay listing: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&item=290303806755

You can find out more about the Project 365 kit here: http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/2008/12/this-is-big.html

It is an awesome kit and a even more awesome concept and i know a TON of people are upset for not being able to get one. Here's your chance! Spread the news!

shrinking? maybe... but only a tiny bit

2009-03-18T09:15:00.004-06:00

Today is the end of Shrinking Jeans Kiss Me, I'm Shrinking! Challenge.

How'd I do? Two words... I SUCK! i did loose weight but i only lost 1.8lbs over 3 weeks. I did a LOT of yo-yoing. I blame the Girl Scouts. Those Samoas are the death of me, the proof is in my loss... or lack thereof! I will never be free until all the boxes of Samoas are gone. That's the truth!

And although today is Wednesday and not Monday... i'm going to do my True Confessions now.
* i did not loose the 5lbs i was hoping to loose for this Challenge
* i love Girl Scout Samoas way too much
* i've lost a lot of motivation lately
* i'm in a slump where all i want to do is eat
* but... i am loosing weight
* and i've been putting this off but i do deserve this:

* and even through all the yo-yo-ing, i've stayed below my 10lbs lost so i'm tossing my 5lb loss button and replacing it with my new 10lb loss button.

and one last one:
* my goal looks farther away now than it did when i started. 4 months away and i'm afraid that a 30lbs loss is not very realistic anymore. I'd need to loose about 1.5lbs a week to loose it by then. Maybe i need to re-evaluate my goals again.

True Confession Monday...

2009-03-09T07:29:00.007-06:00

*I eat when I'm stressed

*Sam has been sick non-stop for the last 7? days

*Rianne is home sick again today

*I am SO stressed

*I want to go back to bed and sleep the next week away

*I think i've killed off all my weekly points

*and then maybe some?

*did i mention that I eat when I'm stressed?

*but... i've eat ALL my 5 servings of fruits and veggies every day

*on the other hand, i totally sucked on the water intake

*this week my goal is to get back to drinking at least 64oz of water a day...

*... and to stay sane

Wanna play?
Sisterhood of the Shrinking Pants

YAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

2009-03-05T19:52:00.006-07:00

Doesn't it just make you feel like yelling?

WHHHHOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!

Ya... ok. So i'm not much of a runner... yet.

I dont' know what got into Heather to come snag me tonight but I'm so glad she did.

It started out as a walk and it ended up with mostly staying a walk. That is until the last few blocks. Then she broke into a jog. And as much as i complained (ya, i know. I suck. Sorry Heather) it was great.

I admit it... it was good feeling that just maybe i could do it.

That 24th of July 5 mile Milk Run may be a reality... just maybe. And deep down, that makes me very happy.

And Heather, it was great. I loved it. Really. And i hope you were serious about snagging me every once in a while, that is if you can put up with my crap. You really are inspiring, dont' let me fool you or let me fool myself.

it's a loss

2009-03-05T10:34:00.007-07:00

Yesterday at the Sisterhood was the end of the first week of a three week weightloss challenge. I weighed in yesterday mornng (even though this morning is my "official" weight-in for WW) and I am proud to shout out a 2.2lb loss! Whoohooo! I was actually quite shocked to see the loss (and one of the biggest weekly losses i've had) considering i used EVERY weekly point i had and never worked out once.

On another note, when i weighed in for WW this morning, i hit my 5% goal weight. The 5% goal means I've lost just under 10lbs since starting exactly 6 weeks ago, and a total of almost 12lbs since the first of January. The 5% goal also means that my daily points have dropped *EAK*!

Also, on the Sisterhood, they are having a recipe carnival. I haven't gotten any recipes that are low cal/low fat/low whatever, but here is my favorite meal:

Homemade Pizzas

*1 Flatout bread - i like to use the multi-grain w/flax - 1pt (depending on the different flavors available, it can range between one to two points for WW)
*1/4 cup pizza sauce - i use Contadina brand and 1/4 cup is almost too much - 0pt
*1/3 pizza blend cheese - 2pt
*sliced tomato - 0pt
*mushroom - 0pt
*1 cup chopped artichokes (I LOVE artichokes... and a lot of them) - 1pt
*1 tsp olive oil - 1pt
*baby greens or spinich - 0pt
*chopped chicken breast - about 1/2 breast - 1.5pt

Pop it in the toaster oven till crisp.
Total WW points: 6.5
it also checks off: 1 dairy, 1 oil, and approx. 4 veggies

it's monday...

2009-03-02T10:55:00.002-07:00

I can almost relate...

Monday Morning Cow

*BTW - her blog is one of my most favorite blogs to read ever

True Confessions Monday

2009-03-02T08:59:00.006-07:00

* I have refrained from weighing myself all week long. I'm looking for that genuine surprise on weigh-in day whether it be a gain or a loss (please be a loss, please be a loss, please be a loss...)

* I had dinner with our wonderful neighbors last night. It was really good for the soul

* Speaking of good for the soul... so was the girls night out last week. I miss having girlfriends. Thanks Heather and Loraine!

* I've been staying within my WW points pretty well but i feel like I've been cheating by going into my weekly points every day.

* I haven't exercised for nearly a week. I just can't find the motivation

* My "big" pants are fitting loose now. That makes me so happy

* I'm afraid that now that my "big" pants loose, I'm going to start slacking more

* I've been really bad getting in my water every day... even for WW standards

* I have a new found love for bananas (and apples and grapes... MMMM, thanks Heather. The fruit salad was a hit!)

* I found out that planning my dinner first and then working my WW points around that makes for staying within my points much easier

* I spent double on groceries last month trying to put more fresh fruits and veggies and healthier foods into our diet

* Did I mention that eating healthier is more expensive?

* My goal this month (besides loosing weight) is to cut our food bill back down to budget

challenges and goals

2009-02-25T06:53:00.004-07:00

Yup, I'm still here. And I'm still on my "weight loss journey".
I've found a great place to go for a bit more motivation (thank you Kim). I love this place. I like to go there when I'm feeling a bit unmotivated or when i think about giving up and wanting to eat everything in sight. It doesn't stop the cravings but it does help keep me sabotaging myself.

They have a NEW challenge starting today and i'm sooo up for it. I do better when i have something motivating me to do it. Somehow me doing this alone just isn't enough.

So today I'm weighing in (and I will tomarrow too for my "official" weigh in), and hopefully in 3 weeks, i'll be 5lbs lighter. I'm thinking that is a very realistic goal, unlike what i'm thinking deep down hoping it's going to be more like a 10lb loss. I'm not sure i can hit it, considering i've lost only about 2 1/2lbs in the last 3 weeks, but i'm going to give it a really good try.

But one thing is for sure, i WILL be in the 150's!

True Confession Monday...

2009-02-17T08:14:00.005-07:00

and even though today is not Monday, it sure feels like it... finally (yes, it's a good thing today).

1. I'm so glad the kids are back in school today
2. Every time i talk to Rianne, she starts into cry mode... it's driving me crazy. See #1.
3. Sam's cold is getting the best of all of us.
4. I've gained almost 2lbs since last week.
5. I love Valentines Day.
6.. This year i hated it...
7. DarRell did something for me this year (and i didn't). A BIG A+ in my book ;-)
8. But the goodies did me in.
9. I went over big time on my points (daily + weekly) on Valentine's Day and i'm having a hard time staying on track now.
10. I weight myself every morning... naked
11. I know i shouldn't weight myself every day, it's terrible for moral
12. I need to go grocery shopping. I am out of olive oil, eggs, yogurt, fruits AND veggies... and dinner ideas.
13. I'm feeling the winter blues pretty bad lately. COME ON SPRING

and one to grow on....
*there's no school again on Thursday *SIGH*

HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!

2009-02-13T19:14:00.004-07:00

a Reece's Peanut Butter Heart is 4 points!!!! (and it so didn't taste THAT good)

even worse: a Whopper Mushroom Swiss Steakhouse burger is 20 points! YES!!! 20 points!!!! Almost my complete daily point worth.

Kiss 10.5 of my weekly points goodbye!

*sigh* I thought i would just vent a bit. I feel better now... sort of.

not a complete loss

2009-02-13T10:02:00.003-07:00

Sunday, when we should have been at church (and we REALLY were going to go this sunday) but didn't go because Rianne was still hacking up a lung, i did this: She has so many pants that are too short or have massive holes in the knees but she can't bear to part with them. So I made a compromise with her and told her i'd make skirts out of them. It ended up being a win-win situation because she LOVES skirts.

It took me about 2 1/2 hours to throw this together and she LOVES it. I wish i had a before picture of the jeans so you could see the whole process. I started by cutting the jeans right at the tore knees as a starting point at how long it would be. The cute little flowers on the side panel are from the bottom half of the pants. You use the bottom half of the jeans as the side panels for the skirt if you want it a bit more full.

Good news is that she will be able to wear this skirt for a LONG time. I'm sure she will grow up out of it before she grows too big in the waist for it.

Now to turn the other half dozen hole-y pants into skirts!

______________________________________
and Kim... yes, i'm talking to you Kim. After we talked Wednesday, I jumped on the treadmill for 50 minutes. I need more of those pep talks ;-)

recent stuff

2009-02-12T10:03:00.010-07:00

Here are some of the recent layouts that i've done since the begining of January. I haven't done nearly as many as i want to, and none this month. I've totally slacked off and really need to jump back into it again. My room is getting very lonely.

Birthday Girl

From Rianne's 7th birthday in December. I didn't want to drag it out to several pages so i kept the pictures small and put as many as i could on one page. I absolutely LOVE the sparkly letters (thanks Heather! they are awesome!)

Seeing Santa

a bunch of pictures of the kids seeing Santa while at my family Christmas party. I loved that Santa was so REAL looking this year. Real beard and everything. He was great! Even Daylon got into it this year, which was expecially exciting.

Fall

a few pictures of the kids and cousins in our backyard playing in the falling leaves. Some more of those great alphabets from Heather. And i ended up LOVING this paper. I wasn't too fond of it when i got it but after a year or two, it's grown on me.

Cookies for Santa

This one gave me troubles. I love how it turned out though. I really love the bright colors and it fits Rianne quite well. It felt really good to use up a bit of my stash.

Winter Wonderland

I just HAD to scrap pictures of the first big snowstorm this winter. This is what our mountains/roads looked that morning. I love these gem swirl stickers... i think i really want to get more of them. Used up some more OLD stash

Play Ball

Daylon's first year at playing basketball. I LOVE how this turned out. The pictures are a bit to be desired but man the lighting in a gym is bad! Absolutely love the word stickers... i think they may be my new obsecession.

RANDOM thoughts...

2009-02-10T15:01:00.009-07:00

...about my weightloss adventures and being a Weight Watchers girl.

*eating healthy isn't necessarily hard for me, except for the fact that at least once a week i have HORRENDOUS cravings. That's when it gets hard for me.

*I've decided that i like to keep track of what I'm eating. But after eating out with DarRell for lunch, I've decided that it's so much harder to track WW points that way.

*my food bill has gone up due to the fact that i need to keep going to the store for fresh fruits and vegetables every few days.

*I've finally found a multi-vitamin that i can take that doesn't make me sick and really tastes good. You ready for this? Children's gummy vitamins.

*I've found i drink way more water than what i "need" without any trouble at all. 64oz a day is nothing for me to get down.

*I'd much rather spend my WW points on meat and vegetables than on sweets. But it's the white breads and fried foods I'm really missing.

*I love eating breakfast. Who would've thought.

*I'm a bit disappointed in the amount of weight I've lost so far. I think i may be setting my expectations a bit too high (amount of lbs i want to loose a week/month) but on the other hand, my final goal seems very reasonable.

*I wish my mom was still on WW. She'd be a great buddy to compare notes with.

*some of the ladies on the WW message boards are VERY snarky and VERY mean. BLECK! I thought the message boards were all about support, not a place to pick apart the way someone accidentally miss-spelled something.

*it's hard to loose weight when everyone you live with is on the skinny side and need all the calories they can get.

*Daylon is my best support. He's a healthy eater and keeps me motivated by asking if we have certain things in the house for snacks. His favorite is Dannon Light & Fit vanilla yogurt with strawberries and blueberries. It happens to be one of my favorites too.

*DarRell bought(OK, traded work for product) me a great pair of walking/running shoes. I love them.

*I've never wanted to go work out in a gym so much in my life as i do now. What's stopping me? I don't want to go alone. For now I'll stick with my treadmill and the open road but i have some serious issues with motivation right now.

*my cravings hit me hardest in the afternoon. From about 1:00pm-4:30pm. It is then, that i want to sit down with a big bag of Cheetos and a Mt. Dew and pig out.

*I'm completely off Mt. Dew

*Thursday is my weigh-in day. (but as of today, i am down 7.8lbs since the first of January with almost 2 full weeks on WW).

*I WILL be at my goal weight by my 35th birthday

Friday night = family movie night

2009-02-08T09:25:00.011-07:00

Not too long ago we came up with idea of spending Friday night with the kids watching a movie of their choice... or at least a movie they would like. Actually, idea came when we got our new couches. The one couch has a pull out bed in it and just for kicks we decided to pull it out one night and watch a movie. Since then, we've decided that every Friday night would be a good night to just veg out, pull out the hide-away bed, stay up late and watch a movie. It's been a success so far. And instead of having to wake up the kids to get them to their beds, we just let them crash on the couch for the night. It's something they look forward to every Friday night.

This Friday night we watched Igor. It was certainly not what i had expected and a bit disturbing in almost a comical way in some parts. My favorite part? Hands down, the music! The kids enjoyed it. Especially Sam, who has this thing for the name Eva (who happens to be one of the main characters in Igor, and of course, Walle).

Anyways, my point is. It's nice to just hang out with the kids. Definately something we look forward to every week.

Friday night movies coming up:
*City of Ember
*Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
*Open Season 2
*Zoom: Acadamy for Superheroes
*Cheaper by the Dozen 1&2
*Hoot
*Jump In
*Yours Mine & Ours
*Flicka
*Everyone's Hero
*Sky High
*The Last Mimzy

... and well, the list goes on.

WE CAN'T WAIT!!!

and from my favorite song in Igor:

I've got a woman as big as a house yes sir

She's as big as a two family house with a porch and a fence

You won't believe what you see when you look at her

She's enormous collosal tremendous gigantic immense

Why try to deny it

She's just what I like

If she goes on a diet

I'll go on strike

The bigger the figure the better I like her

The better I like her the better I feed her

The better I feed her the bigger the figure

The bigger the figure the more I can love

SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!

2009-02-02T13:03:00.005-07:00

YES!!!!!!!!!!
We are now potty trained!
COMPLETELY!
Dry nights, dry naps, no accidents!

Sam Rules!

It was a combination of new underware, hershey kisses, and nightly trips to the firehouse. I forgot how much fun the diaper switch to underware is! We took a trip to Wal-Mart and got some he really like (the Cars ones), ones that i thought were cute (rocketship ones) and then some like Daylon's (boxer briefs). Sam prefers the Cars ones over any of the others unless Daylon is around, then he has to look like his big brother. It's just too cute.

Today we took our first trip to town diaperless. I've been scared to death to take him anywhere without him being in a diaper. I just haven't been wanting to deal with the accidents. But since he's been dry consistenly for the last few days, i thought i'd give it a go. He's a champ!

Rewards were/are Hershey kisses every time he goes potty. It works like a charm since the kid is addicted to them. He knows that if he wants a HK then he'll have to go potty. It turns out its a perfect incentive.

If we've had a REALLY good day, DarRell takes him down to the firehouse after dinner to see the "weeoo's". He gets so pumped up with the whole thing.

____________________________________

on the weight loss front, things are going well. I am down a complete 6lbs! It's been one full month since i started getting serious. I'm kinda looking forward to working out and eating right to see it all come off. I can't really see much a difference in myself but the scales say they do, so i'll take their word on it!

Official

2009-01-29T21:42:00.005-07:00

It's official. I'm now a member of Weight Watchers Online. I'm hoping that this is what's going to help get the weight off a bit easier. So far, today anyways, i've done quite well. I had a hard time staying full for the first two meals but dinner i ended up super full and still had a few points to spare. I can see this is going to take a bit more of planning meals ahead of time but i think it may work out great. I'm actually looking forward to weigh-in next week to see how much i loose. Keeping my fingers crossed that it's in the negitive direction.

Stubborn Stubborn little man and a weightloss thoughts

2009-01-27T11:05:00.001-07:00

First off..... i'm sure Sam is not going to appreciate this too much when he gets older. But.... meh......

Sam by far is my hardest to pottytrain. He is stubborn. To the fullest. I've got people on both sides saying that he's, both, not ready or why isn't he trained yet. Truth be told... i'm a bit lazy. I'm not in such a rush to potty train him. I think that, maybe, if i put it off, and he's ready.... it'll be easy-peasy. So... i've put my big girl pants on and decided to stop being so lazy and get to it. And... he's ready, he really is. He lets us know when he's wet, when he's gone, and he does't like to sit in wet/dirty diapers. But the fact that i thought i'd be easy with him when he was ready was so far from the truth. The boy is STUBBORN!!!!!!! He's killing me! I guess i expected a few days tops but, *sigh* not so. Right now we (i) are trying the naked approach. Sorry for all those who come to visit me in this stage.... Sam now answers the door in the nude (or at the very most, a shirt since is IS winter).

It's worked well, that is until today. In which he proceeded to make a mess of things while i was otherwise occupied in the other room. I guess it was a bit my fault. I'm not feeling the best right now... a bit green and currently hoping i dont' have a stomach bug. I knew he needed to go potty, and he wanted me to stay and keep him company. But my stomach had other ideas and being the person i am, i didn't want to loose my breakfast in front of him. Needless to say, when i come out, he decided the kitchen floor was a great place. I know, i know... not a good a good visual at all. But for the record... i AM trying. I'm determined to get rid of diapers. Not only are we so incredibly tired of buying diapers, we've decided that diapers are just way too expensive and are eating away at the slowing income coming in. I realize Sam doesn't understand that but it's motivation enough for us to be serious about it now.

Next Samuel project? loosing the binkie!!!

_______________________________

As for the weightloss adventures... it's VERY slow going. Almost 2 weeks from my public admition and i'm down only 3 lbs.... which yo-yo throughout the day. I swear if i weight myself tonight, i would have gained those 3lbs back. At one time, i was even down a full 4 lbs. I totally thought that the weight would start coming off and regularly. Especially when i got serious about what was going in my mouth. Things like totally kicking the Mt. Dew, started drinking water (96ozs... every day without fail, well... except for today maybe), taking out the yummy white bread/products and replacing it with multi-grain (and still quite yummy, yet i still CRAVE white bread) bread/products every time i can. A biggie right now is me moving a lot more every day. There aren't many days when i haven't hit the treadmill for at least a 30 minute brisk walk. And the Wii Fit is a biggie right now too. It's been 26 days and i've only missed 5 days. Needless to say, this is going to be a lot harder than i thought. I'm not giving up hope though. I'm determined to loose the weight. I've got great info (i totally suggest Bob Greene's Best Life Diet book. It's a bit of a different approach to weight loss but great info) and good motivation. But to step it up a bit, I've decided that i'll be joining Weight Watchers Online. I'm hoping that will give me a bit more of the bump i need.

It was a heck of a game!

2009-01-23T09:57:00.005-07:00

The boys played a kick butt game of basketball last night. It was the championship game between the two best team in the 5th-6th grade division of Jr. Jazz. Those boys put up one heck of a fight and they....

WON!!!!!!!!!!

(we're #1, we're #1, we're #1)

It was a tight game through the whole game. I'm incredibly proud of all those boys.

Daylon played the whole complete first half and then sat out most of the 2nd half (as usual. Normally, i think it would bother me, but it doesn't bother Daylon in the least bit. He's tickled pink that he gets to play at all. And truthfully, so sad to admit, he is the one on the team who doesn't know how to play).

and as predicted, he had a jab session throughout the game. I had to laugh because it was with a girl, but this particular girl happens to be one of his best friends.

so now that they've won the championship...

what's next?

a great big pizza movie night courtesy of his coaches!

i think that may be Daylon's favorite part. He's my social bug.

YAY!!!!!!!!!! off to the championships!

2009-01-19T12:26:00.002-07:00

The boys won their single elimination game on Saturday and now they move onto the championship game on Thursday. They have never won against this team so I'm sure it'll be another loss for them but it should be a really good game.

Daylon gets to play against a few of his buddies so I'm sure it'll just be a chat session for him but the rest of his team is going to work their hardest I'm sure (have i mentioned that Daylon just isn't the best in sports?).
Daylon's team, minus one kid.
... and the tall one in the middle... he totally kicks some basketball butt!
that kid is GOOD!
And the coach.......... is the woman! how cool is that?
Her hubby is the assistant coach but takes the reins when he's able to make it to the games.
They are GREAT coaches!

2009-01-17T09:48:00.002-07:00

I'm excited about Shimelle's new class. Take a look here ----> free mini class. I've always liked her style of scrapbooking. Now is my chance to take a class of hers! Join me if you want!

169.6

2009-01-15T11:53:00.007-07:00

Yes, i just did do that. I'm going to make myself accountable. I'm completely serious about doing this. Because, seriously, i'm tied at my highest weight EVER. That even includes every time i was pregnant (but, i'm thinking that doesn't really count since pregnancy and i don't get along very well. Pregnancy always seems to kill my body). But... there it is. And i just want to put it out there, that this isn't just about loosing the weight. I realize it isn't all about how much i weight, but it's about how i feel. But somehow, the two seem to go hand in hand don't they.

I've been at it "seriously" for two weeks straight (not being serious about it, i've been at it for a few months). That means doing some kind of something to get me moving and getting my heart rate up (love that Wii fit! Although i feel a bit retarted sometimes not being able to do the strengh training. I am that out of shape). I've been eating with the right mind frame(although at times not all good foods go into my mouth). I've been drinking water. LOTS of water.

Today i went out and purchased me a scale that actually works (thus the title of my post). It was getting frustrating seeing my weight jump all over the place with my old scales, and that's just from stepping off and getting right back on. That, and i KNEW that my bathroom scales were just plain off. The proof is in the difference between my scales and the doctors office scales. Sure, i know there will be a slight difference, but 7-10lbs is just crazy. I decided that if i'm going to do this right, i'm going to do it right all the way around.

So now that it's out for the world, i'm hoping that this is going to be a great for motivation. Hopefully there'll be enough people out there calling me out on it.

apparently, i need all the help i can get

2009-01-13T13:51:00.005-07:00

Since Kim is my girl, my support person. The person who i check in with regularly. I thought i'd copy this from her blog to here to see how i do.

… About Small Eating Changes
1. Water, water, water, water. (Your skin will look great, too!)
*i'm up to at least 96oz a day. Sometimes more, never less.
2. Order half portions at restaurants, or share a full portion with somebody. Or ask for a "to-go" container when you order your food, and pack up half the portion before you even start eating.
*ughh. we rarely eat out now. But when we do, i usually can't eat a full plate anyways and have a take home box
3. Cut back on butter and mayo.
*i REALLY need to do this. I LOVE my mayo and butter... but so does the rest of my family. I think DarRell would kill me if i cut back on these. Even going to low/no fat, i just might be disowned. I got to figure out a way to work for me and still make everyone happy.
4. Limit fried foods to once or twice per week.
*HUGE downfall for me. The greasier the better. I didn't realize this until i thought back on the past two weeks of meals..... NOT GOOD.
5. Use less or no sugar in your coffee or tea.
*no biggie there...... don't drink either (although the tea is good sometimes)
6. Replace ground beef with meatless products or ground turkey.
*sigh..... no ground beef? Meatless? those veggi boca burgers aren't too bad sometimes.
7. Try at least one new food every week. If you're bored with what you're eating, you're more likely to give up.
*it's worth a try. I just get tired of wasting food cause i have to cook for 5 and 3 are picky.
8. Eat fresh, raw veggies with sandwiches instead of chips.
*working on that RIGHT now! yayay me! although those darn Cheetos are the death of me.
9. Measure your portions until you're sure you know what a cup, a half-cup, and a tablespoon look like. This will help you practice portion control, an essential key to weight-loss success.
*working on this with the easier things like cereal and stuff i can control.
10. Try not to drink high-calorie beverages.
*did i mention that Mt. Dew is also the death of me?
11. Dip your fork in a side of salad dressing before each bite instead of pouring it directly on your salad. You'll find that you are satisfied with much less than you usually put on.
*ya... i've tried this. it works when i do it. Otherwise, i just eat too much.
12. Find healthy alternatives to all your favorite foods.
*is there a healthy alternative? gotta find them
13. If you don't really love it, don't eat it.
*definatly a problem. I eat it if its sitting there. Doesn't matter if it's not my favorite.
14. Never eat out of a bag or box. Take out a measured/counted quantity of food and put it in a bowl. This way, you know exactly how much you're having.
*Cheetos again...... gotta get rid of them apparently
15. Always eat something for breakfast.
*YAYAYAY for me! i'm actually doing this!!!!!
16. Read food labels. Check serving sizes.
*got to get better at this but i am aware and do check occasionally
17. Add vegetables to everything.
*working on this too. Just gotta find the right veggies to make me and the rest of us happy
18. Plan meals in advance; use that information to make out a complete shopping list.
*doing it right! Only way to do it when you get paid only once a month
19. Give food to guests to take home.
*or make only enough for the 5 of us..... it works
20. Write down everything you eat and drink, without fail.
*i gues i'm chicken. But it'd sure be an eye opener wouldn't it. Something to get on my to-do list.
21. Plan ahead for special occasions by accounting for higher-calorie foods before you eat them.…
*it's sitting in the back on my mind... always

About Small Exercise Changes
1. Take the stairs every single time they're an option. No more elevators or escalators.
*i use the upstairs bathroom everytime i'm downstairs and the downstairs bathroom whenever i'm upstairs. And with all the water i'm drinking....... it's often
2. Make exercise a priority, not an inconvenience.
*working on it. That's where Kim comes into play ;-)
3. Park far from your destination so you're forced to walk. This works at the supermarket, the mall, wherever. (This also helps you waste less time looking for a parking space!)
*being in a small town, this isn't very easy. Especially since, well..... i don't really go anywhere
4. View tiring chores (shoveling snow, cleaning the house, weeding the garden, taking the garbage out, grocery shopping) as a chance to get in some activity.
*good idea.....
5. Take the grocery cart back to the store when you're done loading your bags into your car.
*i do when i'm kidless. Never thought of it with the kids...... do i really want to go there?
6. If you take public transportation, get off one stop early.
*N/A
7. Work out with a buddy.
*thank you Kim... even if you are a million states away.

Hopefully the little things will add up. Apparently i need all the help i can get.

new item for my wish list...

2009-01-12T14:35:00.006-07:00

The Gurgle Pot

Isn't it the cutest thing ever???
and it gurgles when water is poured out of it.

Someday, i'll have this.

needing some SERIOUS tune-age

2009-01-09T11:48:00.003-07:00

Since i'm REALLY getting serious about this getting into shape thing (AKA loosing the million lbs of fat hanging on to dear life to me), i've been using my MP3 player a LOT more now. Problem is... my music isn't really motivating.

I need suggestions. I need to know what music is going to lift me off my sorry butt and get me moving. Honestly, with the sorry music i have on my player, i slow down to a slow crawl and i know that isn't going to get me anywhere fast (or maybe even at all).

So, give me some suggestions. I need them!

Have you ever?

2009-01-08T09:21:00.005-07:00

1. Started your own blog duh!
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity may be part of #15 someday
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child someday in one form or another
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied working on this one
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant bought? no. But given one when i worked at a resturanunt
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie does a commercial count?
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class someday
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching looked for whales but not really there for whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma unfortunataely i can't :-( but have received many times from those generous people
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check would have bounced if not for overdraft protection
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job no but i've quit several so i'm going to count it cause i don't belive that living is being fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating buffalo, deer (wait, i haven't killed a deer yet), antilope
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life if only for a short time
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake swam? no ew! ew! ew! but totally been there and waded
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Project 365

2009-01-06T15:06:00.003-07:00

if you are any part of the online scrap world, i'm sure you have run across some reference to the 365 project. I've jumped on the bandwagon and decided to do it too. I'm super excited about this whole concept. Unfortunately, I'm not really known to see projects from start to finish and i'm really worried about setting myself for failure. So, in an effort to fight back the fears, i've made myself a deal. I'm not going to stress so much on taking a picture EVERY day of the year. Instead i'm going to focus one week at a time. If i happen to take that picture every, that'll be an extra bonus.

For those interested in joining in, you can learn more about the 365 project here ---> Project 365 (yes, unfortunately the kit is sold out but that doesn't mean you can't do this. MANY people are using different means of getting the same concept down)

here's a few links to get you started
* top 10 reasons why you want to do this!
* 365 day, 365 ideas for photos

Resolution revisitied...

2009-01-05T06:43:00.003-07:00

I keep telling myself that I'm not a really big fan of new year resolutions, and every year I commit to not making any. But deep down inside I ALWAYS make them. Those typical ones that i always choose like loosing weight, getting rid of debt and being a better mother and wife. And every year, it's the same. I never make it to those resolutions and i call myself a looser for not having any self control and structure for those stupid resolutions that i really never even made in the first place (out loud anyways).

Last year was different. Last year I did this. Last year i chose the word Manage. I resolved to manage a few areas in my life. Most of it was my typical resolutions, but i had a few others in mind. Like getting serious about getting my rosasia under control (which also meant finding some way to juggle around bills and such to come up with enough money to see the dermatologist on a regular basis and the $$ i needed to keep me in stock with the meds i needed to take for it). And for the first 6-7 months of the year, i treated it like it was any other stupid new years resolution and failed miserably at it. Then by about mid July to early August something just hit me, i got back into gear. I not only sat down and worked out a budget that showed me how soon i could pay off my debt if i just stuck to it, but i showed it to DarRell and together we tweaked it a bit more. I went and saw my dermatologist and got my Rosasia under control for a while. I totally have slacked off on it because my dermatologist was killed in a freak airplane accident. As far as i know, he was the only dermatologist here and he was only here twice a month. I realize that i can go to my GP, but after the advise i got last time from him, I'm not too savvy on going back for it. And although i don't look like I'm loosing weight. I'm not gaining either. This is after the huge gain i had over the last 2 years so its going to take a lot to get it off again. But I've managed to keep my binging under control especially during the holiday season. And apparently it's worked cause over the last 3 months I've lost 5 lbs. It might only be 5 measly pounds that doesn't even show but it's a start, and for right now, that's all that counts.

So, going back to what i was saying earlier... This one little word this seems to be working better than anything else I've done so far. This year I've decided to do it again. I want to keep my old word because i still have a LOT of managing to do this year. But i needed to refresh my take on it again. So this year I've chosen ReThink. It's time to re-think things over again. I need to rethink all my choices so that i make. I'm determined to make better choices for me and those around me. So far, it's working. I still have all my previous resolutions hanging over me that I'm still plugging along with and i am making progress with them. And perhaps i will find more along the way later this year, but for now, I'm happy with my old resolutions. I still want to loose weight, i still want to get out of debt, i still want to be a better mother/wife and i still want to get my Rosacia under control. Of course it's only the 5th and things are still new and shiny. But I'm proud to say that I'm still feeling motivated from the progress i made during the latter part of last year.

So here's to the old (Manage) and to the new (ReThink) and may it be a year of change!

from our family to yours...

2008-12-26T12:05:00.000-07:00

We hope that you had a Very Merry Christmas

10 things...

2008-12-17T16:33:00.005-07:00

10 things I'm loving RIGHT now...

1. My new Trans-Siberian Orchestra CD playing while surfing the net.

2. Feeling the warm air from the heater blow on me, warming me up from a FRIGID day at work.

3. The feeling of satisfaction on my homemade Christmas cards. That last little bit of bling made the world of difference.

4. Finding new recipes to try out and feeling confident that they will be keepers.

5. Chap stick for my dry windburned lips.

6. That big hug from my boss. I love that he makes all his employees feel wanted AND needed. Love that man! (and super bummed that there will be no auctions for TWO weeks).

7. The big pile of my childhood classic Christmas movies I picked up today. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (both versions), The Muppet's Christmas Carol, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Clause is Coming to Town. I can't wait to add them to our Christmas movie collection.

8. Anticipation of NOT having to cook dinner tonight! Yay for the ward Family Christmas Party!!! and hopefully great photo-ops with Santa again.

9. That itch to add to my Christmas book collection. I have two. Yes, you read right. Two books. I need some serious help in this department. Especially since we are a family of readers.

10. Coming home from work and finding that the two olders are playing nicely and the baby is napping. I have no idea what happened while i was at work but I'm take in every second of it.

(thanks Kim for a bit of inspiration)
.........................................................................................................................

On another note... something i noticed today that made me a little sad.

I've been reading all over the place how people aren't excited about the holiday season this year. That times are tough, therefore, putting a downer on all the usually chipper festivities. Yes, I've noticed that times are tougher. We are actually living it right now. We are struggling to live from month to month. But for the life of me, i don't understand why that should make such a HUGE impact on the holiday season. I believe that Christmas is in your heart. We don't need all the fanfare to make Christmas, well... Christmas.

Which brings me to what i noticed today that made me just a little sad. I was walking through Wal-Mart picking up that last little bit of stuff i need to do some baking and noticed that there was NO music playing. What's up with that? Are things so bad that we can't even enjoy a little Holiday music? I immediately came home and dug out all my holiday CD's and started listening to them. I've never noticed how much i missed all the music until there isn't any.

December Daily - Day 13 - 14

2008-12-15T10:56:00.002-07:00

Day 13: the Parade of Lights that only Daylon got to see and the nasty stomach bug Rianne picked up

Day 14: Cleaning up the basement and fixing up the fake tree down there

Life Lessons Learned

randoms…

My how they’ve grown!

Sam’s first day of school

Halloween ideas!!!!

Back to school

Sam's birthday is coming up next week

doing a little fixing up in my scraproom...

a little motivation

Easter 2010

it's been that long?

The ABC's of me

a bit more scrappi-ness

Rianne's Baptism

a little scrappy goodness...

Water, Imagination, Warm Fuzzies

quiet, back to what feels right, and music

40 looks pretty darn good

Obviously, I can't make up my mind.

Window shopping

That's what i get

REALLY needing a change

2009 in Pictures

Resolutions

15 years

Merry Christmas

tooth number 4

what we did over summer vacation...

Labor Day Weekend

Fremont Indain State Park - Week #3

Femont Indain State Park - Week #2

so much to catch up on... AGAIN!

First day of school

Fremont Indian State Park

Daylon's Arrow of Light

Fish Lake - last 2 days (really 3 days)

True Confessions Monday

Fish Lake - Day 3 & 4

Fish Lake - Day 2

Fish Lake - Day 1...

playing a bit of catch up

getting back on the wagon

our friday night tradition...

RIP Pudge

Daylon's 11th Birthday

Capitol Gorge

FINIALLY!

4th of July

Loved this

i love it when other people take pictures of my kids...

Capital Reef - Hickman Bridge Trail

Science is Magic

randomness

Tagged...

True Confessions Monday

bittersweet

*sigh* i LOVE wednesdays

Memorial Day Weekend

Grow Blossom Bloom DANCE!

frustrated

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY

One More Mile

Shred It!

For someone who can...

True Confession Monday...

River fishing

Sevier County Sportsman Expo

bring it on.

YOU ROCK MARIA!

Project 365 Kit... anyone interested?

shrinking? maybe... but only a tiny bit

True Confession Monday...

YAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

it's a loss

it's monday...

True Confessions Monday

challenges and goals

True Confession Monday...

HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!

not a complete loss

sigh i LOVE wednesdays