Tour of the Fire Station!

Last night, Bradey's scout troop had their pack meeting at the Franklin County Fire Department. What a great lesson for these kids to learn. The fireman were there and dressed up so that the children realized what they would look like if they ever came in to save them from a burning building. They referred to themselves as "Darth Vador" in their full suits with their masks. I thought this was great for the kids to see. They need to realize that if they're in a house and it's burning and Darth Vador comes to rescue them that they will be okay and not to panic even more than they probably already are. It might not be a bad lesson for us adults either. Anyway, they let the kids get in the fire trucks and also try on the firemen's gear. Most of the gear was too heavy for the kids to even handle. They told some fun stories and it was alot of fun for the kids. Of course, families were also invited so I had some great opportunities to snap some pics of the kids. It was a nice night and the kids really enjoyed it!

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!!

So Makenzie has had some rough times at her last several dentist appointments. She really doesn't have a whole lot of teeth left. Well, if I can tell you, she absolutely loves corn on the cob. So as we were eating our last batch of corn from the garden, Mike and I couldn't help but laugh at poor little Kenzie and her mutilated corn cob. So dang Funny!!!! So I thought I'd share it with you all... This was the end result :-)

This is Kenzie's best attempt at the cob of corn...

This is Kenzie showing off her cute little toothless grin BEFORE her last dentist visit.

How great is your mind?

I took this off my friend's blog today... I thought it was awesome! See if you can read it! I was just so dang proud of myself ;-)

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid tooCna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs forwrad it

Mom & Dad-- 33 Years!

Well, I can't believe that mom and dad are actually old enough to have been married for 33 years! Congratulations Mom and Dad! What an amazing accomplishment, especially in this day and age. With the challenges that have come upon our family and of course, Mom, in the last 2 years, it really makes you really look back and reflect on all of the good times. Mom is doing so well now and for that I will be eternally grateful. She has been through hell and I'm so proud of her for fighting her cancer battle as hard as she has. I have never met a stronger lady in my life. I hope that I can have just half her strength to help me through my trials and tribulations. Dad took Mom to Salt Lake and beyond yesterday for their anniversary. He had mentioned to me that he wanted to do something special for her. Well I hadn't heard from them ( and of course I was leaving them along for their romantic day out together). Dad called me around 8 and told me that he wanted me to know that he had made good on one of the promises he's made mom for a really long time. Well I don't know how, but I totally guessed it right off... Mom is the new owner of a Lexus!!! Dad was oh so shocked when I guessed it and he was actually speechless. So he took her down and bought her a 2004 Lexus! It is beautiful and it is so very comfortable. I'm impressed! Congrats Mom! See, you did get payment for being such a great mom and wife for that last 33 years. I am so happy for you!

10 Things I admire in my parents relationship:

10-- They enjoy their time together.

9-- They are very supportive of one another in everything!

8-- Dad would sell his soul for my mom's happiness and health!

7-- Mom is such a great little secretary for Dad :-) (love ya mom)

6-- Dad will take a week off of work to take mom on a vacation with an unknown arrival time and/or destination :-)

5-- Their love shines so bright for each other! It's amazing

4-- They share the same interests so they're always able to do stuff together like 4-wheeling, camping, vacationing, traveling, etc.

3-- They always kiss hello, goodbye, goodnight, etc.

2-- They are an amazing example to all who know them

1--Their love for each other is so rare... I am so lucky to have my parents!

The Taste of Home Cooking School

On Tuesday, my mother-in-law and I went to Ogden to the annual Taste of Home Cooking School! We had a blast! We haven't been for about ten years since they had it in Logan then. When I heard about it this year, we just HAD to go! They demonstrated 11 recipes, three of which scared the hell out of us :-) and then there were those that I just had to try.... so, yesterday I made the Chocolate Chex Caramel Crunch. It was so dang good. I had eaten enough before dinner that I wasn't hungry for dinner. Don't we get upset at our kids for doing that? I do... oops! So I'll share the recipe with you. It is a GREAT recipe for your kids to help you with. No hot stove required!

Chocolate Chex Caramel Crunch
8 cups Chocolate CHEX cereal
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
6 TBSP butter
3 TBSP light corn syrup
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup vanilla or white chips

Place cereal in a large microwave-safe bowl; set aside. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.

In a 2-cup microwave-safe measuring cup, microwave brown sugar, butter and corn syrup on high 1 minute, stir. Microwave 30-60 seconds longer. Stir until blended. Stir in baking soda until dissolved. Pour over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.

Microwave on high for 3 minutes, stirring every minute. Spread on baking sheet. Cool 10 minutes. Break into bite-sized pieces.

In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt vanilla chips; stir until smooth. Drizzle over cereal mixture. Refrigerate until set. Store in an airtight container.

So, try this... it's so yummy! And it's something you can do with your kids.

And watch for the Taste of Home Cooking School in your area! It's well worth the ten bucks for the ticket.

Another thing is that there was this awesome booth out front that had really inexpensive kitchen stuff. If any of you like to cook, they're a website based business so they're so much cheaper cuz they don't have the overhead of a store. Their website is www.ramkitchen.com

Canning Season

So, canning season is almost over. Yay!!!! This year Mike and I had an absolutely beautiful garden. I can't stand to see anything go to waste and of course with the falling economy I'm even more worried. So, I have been going like crazy to preserve all of our summer efforts. Our friend owns a corn field so I have had two loads of corn equaling about 800 ears of corn. OH MY GOSH!!! That is sooooo much corn. But my freezer is now overloaded with wonderful frozen corn and I also bottled about 3 dozen pints of corn (in case the power goes out and all my work of frozen corn is lost :-( ) These are all things that I worry about. Stupid, huh? Then I made 5 batches of salsa and I have tomatoes, onion, peppers, and jalapenos still growing in the garden for more. My mom actually came over on Tuesday and helped me cut up all my salsa. It was a great day. I have used my dill and cucumbers to make bottled dill pickles. They look so dang yummy, but I know I need to let them set for awhile so they take on the taste of the dill. It's killing me! Oh and I've bottled and froze green beans... And picked and juiced choke cherries for syrup and jelly... Needless to say I've been kinda busy.Mike has been so good to help. Last night we were in at the daycare until midnight 'doing corn'. I still have about 100 ears to go but the pile is quickly diminishing. I ran out of sugar or I would have kept going last night. I have not even started bottling potatoes. They'll take forever too. But they'll be yummy. So, this is my excuse for not blogging for awhile. I've been BUSY! :-)

10 Reasons I LOVE Mike

1. He is a HARD worker. He does well at providing for our family.

2. He is an AMAZING father.

3. He puts up with me and my crazy life!!!

4. Have you seen him??? Oh he's HOT!!!

5. He helps me at my daycare.

6. He loves helping (or should I say I'm the helper) with the garden!

7. He gets along with my parents and they are a very important part of my life.

8. He is great with animals, and that's quite the requirement around our house!!!

9. He understands me... (not an easy thing sometimes)

10. He loves me back!!!!!!!

The Kids are Loving School!!

The kids were so excited for their first day of school... Bradey just had to have his hair spiked. And of course Makenzie wanted to wear the red shirt because it matches her favorite hair bow... Bradey is in the 4th grade and Kenzie is in the 2nd grade. My, how time flies!!!

Sept 2 2008

Well we had a great Labor Day Weekend together... We went to the Blackfoot fair with my mom and dad on Sunday. We had to stop by the 'Turkey Shack' for our yearly fill of marinated turkey breast sandwiches. At $6.50 a piece, you enjoy every bite :-) Then there are those awesome 'Tortatoes', the cool homemade potato chips. YUM!!! Bradey also went with us and took his own money that he has earned from mowing Grandpa Brad's lawn and working for him this summer. He bought himself some pretty cool toys and he was so excited. Makenzie stayed home with her cousins Chelsey and Taylin. It seemed like they had a pretty good time. It rained like crazy while we were in Blackfoot. It was cold. We stopped at Sportsmans Warehouse on our way home in Pocatello. That place is amazing!!! Yesterday, the kids went with mom and dad to Kung Fu Panda. Mike and I stayed home and took care of our garden. We shredded zucchini to freeze and I blanched all the green beans and put them in the freezer. I hate to see anything go to waste. So while we were shredding zucchini I made two batches of zucchini bread for Mike's snack for the week. Then we ended up covering the garden last night because it was supposed to get really cold. I have so many tomatoes that are almost ready and I would cry if they froze. And my peppers too. I can't wait to make salsa. My onions are huge!! My pepper plants (all 20 of them) are loaded with peppers but they're just not ready to pick yet. Anyway, our days are busy, but they're going to be well worth it when we have a bunch of food in our freezer this winter. The daycare is going real well and I'm excited that it's working out the way I'd hoped.

Mike & Tea- 11 Year Anniversary

11 Years of Marriage!! Time spent together alone is priceless!

Every Anniversary deserves to be sealed with a kiss, right?

August 8 2008

Our 11th anniversary!!! We had a really good time. Mike and I went to Bear Lake (since I have never been there before) and we had our friend take some pictures of us. We went and ate a fresh raspberry shake which was simply to die for. Of course Mike had a mint shake because the seeds in his teeth would drive him crazy, oh, and yeah raspberries are kind-of a good for you food. Wouldn't want that, now would we?
After spending a few hours at Bear Lake, we went back to Logan and got the pictures printed at Sams and went to Olive Garden for an early dinner. It has been f o r e v e r since we have eaten there. It was good though, just as I remembered.:-)
We then went camping for the remainder of the weekend and it was so nice and relaxing to spend the time with one another. We haven't been able to have that much time alone for a really long time.
We were in pretty somber moods, however, since Mike came home early from work on Thursday and I thought it was just his way of surprising me and beginning our weekend early... But, not such good news... instead he came home to tell me that Trails had laid off again and he was one of the unfortunate few this time around. Wow! If that isn't a punch in the guts!!!! And the way they handle it is so childish and chicken-hearted, but you know, eventually karma will get them. At least we have to look at it that way to stop the anger from building up inside. So that put quite the damper on our moods, but we did well to make the most of our weekend all things considered. We took alot of pictures and I'll be posting them as soon as I can.

My New Business Venture

Well my GREAT friend Janeen and I have decided to do it!!! We're finally going to take the leap and move my daycare into Preston and add a preschool too! We're excited, yet so nervous all at the same time. My daycare has struggled simply because the people that need daycare are more in the direction of Preston and don't want to drive out to Weston. Because I am state licensed, my daycare should feel up pretty quick especially with the addition of a Preschool. We will still call it the Country Sunshine Daycare. We're renting a small little house that has a awesomely huge yard. It is in an excellent location close to the elementary school. I'm sure it might be tough for the first little while, but once we get in the groove, all will be well. Woo Hoo!!!

More Fishing Pictures

Well here is one of those pictures of Mike and I that I was talking about. I understand that it's not any sort of professional picture, but it is one that tells a story... ha ha. We like to fish and get in the middle of the reservoir where no one can bug us. That's my story...

Fishing...To tell you the truth, I always have thought it is a true waste of everyone's time. But, I can now honestly say that it is one of the most relaxing things you can do. I have never had a fishing license until this year. I decided to get me a license for one simple reason... THE KIDS. I figured that way when we were out at the reservoir, Mike could actually fish and I could help the kids. Well, of course Mike was so excited that I got my license that he went and bought me my own special PINK fishing pole. How could I resist that?We went out on the boat for the first time with one of Mike's friends from work (Mike, Kenzie, & I) and after about 15 minutes of casting and reeling, Kenzie caught her first fish. Since then, she has been addicted. I caught my first fish shortly after and I also have become rather addicted to the whole fishing scene. We try to go as a family quite often.My mom and dad showed up yesterday and we went up to the Narrows and the boys (Mike, Bradey, & Dad) all fished while we girls hung out in the shade. Bradey is an excellent little fisherman! I'm not sure how, but he has this way of catching all the fish and not leaving any for the rest of us. Dad caught the only fish yesterday and it would have made good bait to actually catch him a bigger fish... ha ha. When he reeled it in, he was so excited because he finally got a bite and when he pulled it out of the water, it was about a 4 inch long bass. Bradey hollared out "Grandpa, you caught a MIDGET BASS!" My dad nearly fell in the water from laughing as did the rest of us. It was just so funny...but at least he caught one :-)Anyway, well Mike and I sent the kids home with my parents last night--THANKS GUYS!!-- So, we took advantage of being alone for the second night in a row and we went up to Condie Reservoir with our boat and we went fishing. It is so nice and relaxing to go out in the peace and quiet and enjoy our time together. We were out there for three and a half hours and I caught me a fish. Poor Mike...didn't. Ha Ha!! We did take a few seconds out of our casting and reeling...casting and reeling...casting and reeling... to snap a few pics with Mike's phone. We were laughing so hard for who knows what reason so they're quite the pictures. But it was great!!! Times spent alone without kids are few and far between for us so these will always be cherished times.I'll do my best to keep ya'll updated on all of our upcoming fishing excursions.

Funny Animals

When I was out taking pictures of the horses and kids, Daisee couldn't stand the attention wasn't directed solely at her. She was being so funny. She would bark at me then she'd pose when I'd look at her. Doesn't she look like she's smiling in this picture? She is the funniest dog ever. And she absolutely loves the horses. The colts reaction to her was hilarious. He had no idea what she was. Sooooo funny!! He had his ears cocked different directions. I was lucky enough to get a picture of him too. . .

Our Colt

Our colt will be three months old on Saturday. He is such a cutie. We still haven't named him so when we were up at the Summit the other day, the kids asked me what we should name him. Jokingly, I told them we should name him 'Rainbow' since he changes colors every time we see him. Well, Mike wasn't real enthused with that. Our 'horse' colt (meaning he's a boy :-) ) needs an extremely MANLY name. Well, I'm clueless, but even without a name, he is a pure DOLL!!!

July 23, 2008

Well today is such a beautiful day and the kids and I are going over to Malad. They want to go to the library and get them a book. Then we'll probably have a picnic at the park and they can play on the playground equipment for awhile. I'll make sure I get some good pictures.

Mom and Dad are still gone on vacation and it is driving me crazy;-) I'm really glad that they were able to go on a fun vacation together and relax but I am having some serious withdrawals. They know this, I think, since I leave them a message or two on their phone everyday telling them... Yeah, they think I"m crazy too!!