The Hammerstrom Family

Happy 5th birthday, GAGE!!!

2011-08-14T10:49:00.000-06:00

Summer so far

2011-07-19T15:05:00.004-06:00

I have been absolutely horrible about the whole blog thing, but what can you do.

So here is summer so farThe hot husband and I at the dino park
Brett and the kids posing with the dino

My little ragamuffins

The Bubs

Brett getting eaten by a dino

Jett making a mess eating his cookie at grandma's work picnic

Grandma and Khloe playing a game at the picnic

My little cuties

Brett and the kids playing cards before the fireworks

Hailey posing

Khloe's awesome tat

We've had alot of fun so far this summer!

Soccer

2011-04-19T19:05:00.003-06:00

Spring is here so that means SOCCER!

The kids were really excited to start again this year. Khloe's team has played two games and haven't won yet, she's getting closer to scoring a goal though!
Khloe is #6

Getting ready to play

Running after the ball

Trying to get the ball from the other team

Last fall Gage would run circles around all the players that were going after the ball. His first game was on Saturday and he actually kicked the ball a couple of times! He was really proud of himself! I was too!!

waiting for the game to start

Getting ready to kick off

His team just scored a goal

This typically sums up how Gage plays.

The ball is behind him and he's running somewhere else

Khloe's 7th birthday

2011-04-19T18:35:00.004-06:00

The Bubs turned 7 on the 2nd of April. Really I can't believe I have a 7 year old in first grade!

I thought because she had a big party with all her friends last year that we could pick and friend and go watch a movie. Well the movie she wanted to see wasn't in the theaters anymore but it did come out on dvd. So I though it would be a great idea to have some of her friends come over after school on Friday to watch Tangled. BIG MISTAKE! It was so nice out they didn't want to watch the movie. Oh well they are just little girls so what are you going to do. We made pizzas and I had them frost and decorate cookies. My brilliant husband had to work til 10pm so his awesome brother helped me. Thanks Jon for helping me keep my sanity! The next day we had a family party with BBQ ribs, cake and ice cream (heaven on earth in my opinion)

Happy Birthday, KHLOE!!!blowing out her candles

Opening presents with the cousins

Opening her DS

present opening with family

Frosting and decorating with friends

Frosting again

Opening presents with friends

playing red light, green light

lined up ready to race

A new house guest!

2011-03-16T21:00:00.003-06:00

Brett's brother Jon asked us if he could stay with us for a little bit until he got back on his feet. Because we are so nice and love family we, of course, said YES! We we Sheetrock the addition ceiling and put in insulation and moved Jon in there!!! The only bad thing for Jon is we didn't move the exercise stuff out so when Brett gets up at 5am to workout Jon works out with him. Which is good, Brett needs a spotter. Another good thing about Jon moving in, he's a REALLY hard worker and all the little projects that aren't finished or Brett needs help with I don't have to do!!! Thanks JON!!!
We were hoping the gas insert in the corner worked but alas in the mayhem of remodeling the gas line was cut and doesn't work. We need our awesome plumber to come hook it back up!

Some spring pictures

2011-03-14T15:10:00.003-06:00

Its been so nice the last couple of days. I'm really glad the kids got to get out of the house (and my hair) and go play out side!Jetty just relaxing on the grass
Khloe going SUPER fast on her scooter

Gage riding his bike. He's really good at it. We need to get him a new helmet that ones a little small

TULIPS!

Boys eating lunch on the front porch

There are other things that are new and exciting but I have to wait to take pictures when the boys are done!

Arizona!

2011-03-08T13:55:00.003-07:00

Brett, his dad and two brothers decided to take a boys trip to AZ to watch some spring training games! They all had a blast. (I was hoping they would get a little sunburned because it was nice and warm there and a little chilly here)

Since this was Brett's little vacation I don't really know what else they did. Well he told me when he got home but I don't remember details. All I know was that he had fun and him and his brothers got yelled at by some old lady for not having their shirts on when they walked back from the pool. (they stayed at Brett's uncle's house and I guess they have alot of crazy rules!)

About time!

2011-01-21T09:39:00.008-07:00

Since I can't figure out for the life of me how the order of the pictures do when you download them, they are all mixed up. Oh well I'm sure you can figure it out.

Christmas time!!Opening presents!

Yea! Levi got a new razor! (that should last him a year)

Brett got a new Ipod, hopefully that lasts him awhile!

The boys got lots of wii games and toys!

Sennad LOVES Despicable Me

Levi is SOOO excited to open presents

The children waiting to open presents

Opening one present on Christmas Eve

Brett and I at Temple Square

All bundled up at Temple Square

Brett, Sennad and Levi hanging out at Temple Square

The Bubs

View from our room at the Waldorf-Astoria in Park City

Where the lights are is the pool

Sennad excited to finally be here!

Brett trying to keep his eyes open

Levi loves his ginger ale and whipped cream vodka

Jetty the Joker

Levi and his new best friend Belle

Chris and Lisa just can't hang with the Hammerstroms!

Brett's family Christmas party

Cousins waiting to pick presents

Baby Noah!

The whole fam damily!

I swear he's not rabid!

Levi posing for the camera

Making gingerbread houses at the neighbors

(she made the gingerbread from scratch!)

Decorating

Gage's preschool Christmas program!

Jett and Brett waiting for Gage to start singing

Gage waiting to start singing

Jett's 3rd birthday!

waiting to blow out his candle

opening presents

Happy Birthday, Jetters!

We were really busy in December! Levi and his friend Sennad came to visit for Christmas. We had Gage's preschool program, we went to Temple Square to see the lights, We got to stay at the Waldorf-Astoria for a night because Sennad is AWESOME (and my in-laws too for watching the kids for us). Levi, Sennad and Brett went snowboarding a couple of times. We went to Brett's mom's for New Years and then we had Jett's birthday. WHEW! I'm glad its over and we can get back on schedule.

Happy Birthday to ME!!

2010-12-03T09:07:00.002-07:00

So it is a sign that I'm getting old? The best thing I got for my birthday was NEW SOCKS! I love socks and I LOVE argyle (can you tell?) I was able to go to dinner with my in laws and our really good friends the Jones'. Hailey even tried some sushi! I was so proud of her. Brett and the kids gave me a great day! The second best present was Jett getting potty trained! I love it!

I love my MIL expression in the picture

she'll probably kill me for posting it

Ryan and Hailey

Brett and I waiting for our sushi

Wil, Val and me

(stepdad-in-law and mother-in-law)

Thanks everyone for all the great birthday wishes!!

YEA!!!!

2010-12-03T08:58:00.003-07:00

After 6 years, 7 months, and 13 days I have had the last DIAPER CHANGE!! Yes that is correct. I have changed diapers since my daughter was born in April of 2004 with NO BREAKS! Now that my youngest is potty trained (2 months shy of his third birthday) I AM DONE! We aren't having anymore kids so the next diapers I will be changing will hopefully be my grandkids! (or my little bro's kids but I'm not going to hold my breath!)

On to another thought.....my baby isn't a baby anymore! He's getting to be such a big boy. Gage too. Once Gage learns he can do something all by himself he stops whinning about not being able to do it. I am a little sad we won't be having anymore kids but I honestly don't think I could handle another one. The three I have drive me nuts on a daily basis! But I love them and I wouldn't change that for the world!

Lots o updates!

2010-11-16T09:56:00.004-07:00

Should I rake now?

Or wait until all the leaves fall?

The kids LOVE the leaves

Maybe too much

Jett eating snow

Playing in the snow

Jett

I don't know why Jett is walking with his hands on his hips

Three Cute Girls

Khloe, Maren and Starr

Finally!!

2010-11-05T09:58:00.003-06:00

Yea! We got a new camera! Its a Fujifilm Finepix S2800HD. So far its taken some great pictures. It has many options that I will probably never use but its nice to know they are there. Here are some of my pics experimenting with the camera. HI Gage!
I love his cute little smile

Bellezbub
(really sometimes she is the devil dog)

Brett, looks a touch crazy here

The Bubs

Jetty

Gage posing

He's the only one that would let me take his picture over and over again

taking pictures of myself

I know I'm a spaz

Just kidding pictures TODAY!!

2010-11-02T16:23:00.001-06:00

I really love my dark hair!

I think it makes my eyes look bluer instead of gray

Thankful.....

2010-11-02T10:10:00.001-06:00

Today I am thankful that I get my hair done! WHOO HOO! Going dark again for winter. Sometimes I think I was meant to have dark hair. Oh well thats what dye is for right? Pictures tomorrow!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2010-11-01T12:50:00.003-06:00

So because we live in Utah and Halloween landed on a Sunday this year, we trick or treated on Saturday night. About an hour before we were going to go it started DUMPING rain. But lucky it let up enough so Lisa and I could take the kids down the street. They had a good time and because of the crappy weather they got extra candy because there weren't alot of other kids out. And of course the weather was perfect on Sunday. Oh well what can you do?Boston (Dash from Incredibles), Jett (superhero witch), Khloe (vampire) and Gage (Knight)
Bubs being super scary!

my spastic superhero witch

Gage's preschool program

2010-10-27T20:23:00.004-06:00

I really can't believe that Gage is in preschool now! This is the same preschool that Khloe went too, so the songs they sing are the same too. So I get to hear all my favorite songs over and over again (sarcastic). Gage did really well and sang most of the songs. He wanted to be a knight this year so they got to dress up today for their program. His helmet wouldn't fit his ginormous head but he was still a cutie! The only thing we didn't realize was that when he sits down his chest thing kinda chokes him so he was pulling it down the whole time.

singing

getting ready to start the program

singing another song

waving to dad as they went around the parents in their parade.

I'll post a video in the next post. I need to find a nice short one!

OKTOBERFEST!

2010-10-27T20:06:00.004-06:00

Brett and I had the opportunity to go to Oktoberfest in Leavenworth, WA this year with some friends of ours. We went two years ago with the same friends and ended up driving, which was horrible. But this year we had three hotel rooms between the 12 of us that went. It was such a fun time. Brett and I, My brother Levi and his girlfriend Megan and his best friend Sennad (really more like a brother to me) came with Brett's Best friend, his wife and sister and her husband and a couple more friends. It was really nice to get away from the kids for a weekend and enjoy ourselves. I recommend going to everyone!

The first night we were there we went out to eat at King Ludwigs. It was really good and they have live music.....polka music. But it really makes you want to get up and bust a move. Its so upbeat! Then we went to the festival part where you have to have a ticket to get in. But they have lots of food and beer and booths where they sell just about anything Bavarian. (also some non-Bavarian stuff) I'm glad I didn't bring too warm of clothes it was like 80 during the day.

Saturday they have a parade and a keg tapping. We missed the keg tapping but it was still a fun day. Lots of drinking and eating. We even got in a round of putt-putt. The hotel we stayed out was pretty nice too. The breakfast was REALLY good after a night of drinking. We are going again for sure! Levi and Brett, yes Levi has a pirate hat on.
Brett's best friend, Court and his wife Michelle

Sennad, Brett and Levi

Tiara and Michelle

Court, Michelle, Brett, Tiara and her husband Deryk dressed up at night is lederhosen and dirndls

Michelle and I

Megan, Levi and Sennad

Megan and Levi

Levi the pirate with his little friend

Court and Brett in their lederhosen (yes they are real not a costume)

Krista's Birthday

2010-10-27T15:41:00.006-06:00

I am VERY fortunate to have some really great girlfriends. When Brett and I flew up to WA for Oktoberfest it also happened to be Krista's birthday. So we all decided to meet up and have some drinks and food. I love them all and had such a great time. Too bad the restaurant we went too is considered a high class hooters. Yeah we were the only group of girls there. None the less it was a great time to reminisce and have a little too much to drink (only me really) Love you all! Krista and Sarah

Julie

The twins Sunny and Krista

all of us hot mamas!

Christine and Krista

Krista and Julie

I love how even though we don't get to see each other very often we can pick up right where we left off. I have known most of these girls since elementary school or junior high. LOVE THEM!

New Chairs!

2010-10-19T12:40:00.002-06:00

We traded our breakfast nook table when we moved into the apartment for a regular table with four chairs. We definitely got the better deal. Our table has two leaves that are under the table. You just slide them out. Its great! So the chairs were not so great they had the beige jute weaved really tight for the seat and the back. Well we replaced it with tan and red jute weaved but since we didn't weave it tight enough they kinda just fell apart. Brett is the most brilliant, crafty person I know! He figured out how to make the bottoms have cushions. I sewed the backs and they look AWESOME now!

And of course I don't have any before pictures because the camera is still broke and we haven't bought a new one yet. I also need to post about OKTOBERFEST!

Foyer

2010-09-26T10:08:00.002-06:00

We finally got the front entrance done! Yeah it looks so good! Great job, BRETT!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VAL!

2010-09-26T10:03:00.003-06:00

We had a big family party for Val (my mother-in-law). She turned 60! ( I read somewhere that 60 is the new 30) Tyler and I decorated the house and porch so she had a nice suprise when she got home. We ate great food and played some games. We had a great time! Val opening her presents
Maren, Calylie, Khloe and Cambrie

Scott and Val (like the sign?)

Boulder Mountain

2010-09-26T09:53:00.002-06:00

We go camping every year with Brett's family. Usually its in September and we go south so its warm enough. This year we went to Boulder Mountain. Its in the middle of the state and higher in elevation then the desert. It was so beautiful! We were surrounded by Pondersosa pines and a creek to one side of us. We stayed at the Rosebud ATV campground. They have trails for the 4 wheelers right out of the campground. We would take the 4 wheelers for drives and there would be the desert. The views were AMAZING! I hope we go there again. It was a little chilly at night (the dog water didn't freeze but it was pretty darn close) but comfortable during the day. Levi and his girlfriend drove to go camping with us on there way to Vegas. It was good to see them and finally meet Megan. I love camping in the summer but I'm ready for fall! Kids playing in the creek
Driving to get service to make sure Levi finds the place

Brett accidently broke the camera. It still works but we can't see what we take a picture of until we download them on the puter. Hopefully we can get a new one soon, or this is going to be one boring blog with no pictures!

How is my garden looking?

2010-09-03T12:28:00.003-06:00

I wasn't able to plant my big garden this year and almost just didn't do one. But my father in law gave me some pepper and tomato plants and Ryan gave me two extras he had. The neighbor gave me two acron squash plants and a pumpkin magically appeared. I only took pictures of the veggies today. I'm going to let Khloe take pictures of her flowers.Red Peppers

I'm so grateful we have these. They are $1.50 in the store! These are free and HUGE!
Purple Peppers, taste like green peppers but they are PURPLE! Great for some color in salsa

I have 8 tomato plants, 6 celebrities and 2 better boys
They are all going to ripen at the same time and I'm going to make some more salsa. Lots and lots of salsa

My surprise pumpkin! It just started growing.

Entryway

2010-08-31T13:25:00.003-06:00

Brett finished the entryway drywall this weekend! Yeah! Now we just need to mud, tape, paint and put tile in! I love that we can put a hanging light in the entryway because we raised the ceiling. We still have a TON of little things to complete but its coming along.

First soccer games

2010-08-28T14:29:00.004-06:00

The other day it dawned on me that I am now a soccer mom. My first thought was NOOOOOO! But its ok now, as long as I don't have to drive a mini van.

Gage plays on tiny tots. It's pretty fun to watch.....if Gage actually wanted to play. I will NOT be one of those parents that yell and scream at their kid if they are not doing what they are supposed to be doing. (I'm trying to not be that parent, no really I am) Gage was really excited for his game but once it started he didn't seem to like it. I think its because he wanted to kick the ball but that would mean running after the other kids. But he did good. I think once he gets in there and the sun isn't in his eyes he will do good.

Khloe plays on U7 girls. I think their team is the smallest in the league. They did really good at the beginning of this game but in going into the 4th quarter they were up 3 to 1 and lost 6 or 7 to 3. I have no idea what happened but I would like to know what the other team gave their girls for a half time snack. Khloe seems to like the game. She runs around the girls instead of going right for them. They only play 4 on 4 right now, the same with Gage. I think we just need to practice more with both of them to get their confidence up. I really just want them to have some fun and learn some basics.

New roof (over the porch at least)

2010-08-24T09:20:00.003-06:00

From my previous post you know that our entryway ceiling leaks. We had an awesom thunder storm roll through last thursday. I knew it would leak into the house, and it leaked a ton. At one point it was a steady stream of water dripping out of the roof. Brett, his dad, Tom and brother Jon fixed the roof on saturday and a little bit on sunday. So we figured out where the leak was coming from. The roof between the two additions had a hole that water was getting up into and then running down. Also the once again morons before us only put a second layer or plywood down over half the porch. So once they got all the shingles off and the rotted pylwood it was just a matter of putting new plywood down, tar paper, ice sheild paper and then shingles. They did a great job!! Did I mention that it was almost 100 degrees on saturday?
I realized after I downloaded the pics onto the puter that I had a smuge on my lens. I bet it was Jetters playing with the camera, the little stink butt!

Khloe's first (second really) day of 1st grade!

2010-08-24T09:15:00.002-06:00

I refuse to believe that my little baby girl is a first grader! Really, where has the time gone? She had a great first day and her teacher seems really nice. The beginning was a little chaotic but I'm the type of person that really doesn't like going into things blind. And since the school doesn't send anything out before hand I was a little stressed but Khloe handled it like a champ! Two of the girls on her soccer team are in her class so that helped too. (More about soccer of thursday)

Love you Bubs!

Driving me nuts!

2010-08-18T17:14:00.001-06:00

Does anyone know how to get that photobucket thing off? I can't read what I wrote and it has to be annoying to you guys too. Thanks!

Why not do one more?

2010-08-18T17:03:00.002-06:00

Project on the house that is! Brett wanted to take out a small portion of the entry way ceiling because it was leaking. He ended up ripping out EVERYTHING! The morons before us decided to just put plastic up near the leak instead of fixing the roof. What happens when you do that??! Lots of mold! Well not anymore because Brett tore it all out. The bonus though is we get to have a vaulted ceiling in the entry way! WHOO HOO! The scary thing is we don't think any of the additions are up to code....not even close.....I hope we don't find anymore surprises! The paler brick is the original house, the red brick an addition. You can't see it in the picture but the corner where they meet is not held together by anything....the morter has pulled away

They primed the house for painting and then built the entry way. At one time the porch was the outside porch and the entry way. Somebody enclosed part of the porch. I think they had to knockout half a wall to have it go into the front room. I'm hoping there was a window there already.

MAN I have an old house!

Bear Lake 2 (no kids allowed)

2010-08-18T15:52:00.002-06:00

Our really good friends Ryan and Hailey thought it would be a brilliant idea if we had a grow-ups only 3 days at Bear Lake. It was the BEST idea ever! Brett's mom watched the kids while we were at the Lake, and Brett's sister and Bro-in-law watched Belle for us (thanks a ton) It was nice to be able to spend all day on the boat and not worry about kids near the water. Well we couldn't spend all day on the boat, the wind kicks up and we have to go in but Hailey and I wanted to go on a hike. Ryan ended up going with us, it was a good thing too. We got thunder and lightening and pea sized hail. But it was a great hike and the scenery was to die for!Bloomington Lake

Yes, the white stuff is snow. Elevation 8200 ft

It was 75 degrees when we left the cabin, it was 48 when we left the lake

I love it!

We stopped by the Bear Cave for shakes on the way back to the cabin from the hike, I wanted hot chocolate because I was still so damn cold. But I love the little teddy graham they put in it.

Brett wakeboarding, what a HOTTIE!

This was actually the family trip but Brett and I never get pics together. I got just a little sunburned!

The other bad thing that happened at the family trip was I lost my phone on the beach while I was four wheeling with Khloe. It must have fallin out of my back pocket. Oh well though because I got a new one. I tried to look for it but there was no way I was going to find it.

Bear Lake

2010-08-18T15:41:00.003-06:00

We had the annual Bear Lake trip with Brett's dad and family. We had a BLAST! We did Gage's party saturday night, we made smores and just had a nice time playing in the sand and water. I really enjoy just relaxing with my family! I only got sunburned on my back, the kids got sunburned around their eyes, and they were so worn out from playing with their cousins all day. Belle LOVED the water, she took to swimming like a champ! There was only one time we wouldnt jump off the floating dock into the water. But once I pulled her in she did a great job! Jetty LOVES smores
Celebrating Gage's birthday!

The boys getting ready for a 4-wheeler ride

The girls building sand castles

This was before we left. Please notice that Starr is not on the slide but she is jumping down it. Crazy kids!

Gage is 4!

2010-08-03T14:45:00.002-06:00

Wow it just seems like yesterday Hailey was driving me to the hospital in preterm labor with my little red-headed boy! He was been such a great little guy. He really wanted a Toy Story 3 party. So Brett and I decided we would invite some cousins and friends to the drive-ins to watch. We didn't really plan anything, but I guess we should have. We arrived WAY to early for the drive-ins. We were planning to have the little party while we were waiting for it to get dark, luckily there was a nice park near by we could use. Gage has a new bike now! He is really excited. He also got some Toy Story 3 toys and a mini nerf dart gun (my favorite). Then we headed over to the theater. And because I am a moron and didnt check to make sure the movie was still playing (it wasn't) we didn't get to watch Toy Story 3. They had it as the second movie to Dinner for Shmucks. WHY on earth would you put a kid movie as the second movie? So we watched Dispecable Me. I liked it and so did the kids. It was a great birthday for Gage! Blowing out his candles with his cousin Trae and friend Bronson
Trying to show me he got Woody for his birthday

On his cool new bike, and yes we did buy him a helmet too!

Getting ready for the movie!

Man, I have some ragamuffin kids!

Before and After

2010-07-18T12:34:00.002-06:00

We finally put the black walnut trees on KSL for free. If you wanted the wood you had to take out the trees. And we actually got someone who wanted the wood. We wanted to fell the walnut but two other trees were in the way. Those trees were eventually going to come out. But the guy had a winch so we just pulled them over. It was AWESOME! Now we have a VERY sunny patio and I don't have to rake as many leaves in the fall. When the last tree came out, it turned at the very last moment and took the corner of the porch off. I am just grateful it was the porch and not a person. I will post videos later or they are on my facebook page.
oh yeah it was almost 100 degrees on saturday!

Once again.....

2010-07-06T13:08:00.002-06:00

I forgot to take before pictures! You would think after how many times I have done that I would remember. Oh well. Please enjoy the pics!My tomatoes
Red peppers

My roses

This was a overgrown with weeds and looked HORRIBLE. So Sunday Brett and I weeded around the roses, weed wacked everything else, tilled it and put sod in. Oh and we planted a flowering cherry. You can see it a little bit behind the stump (which will be coming out soon!)

Swimming lessons!

2010-06-26T08:11:00.005-06:00

There is a really awesome lady in our former neighborhood that does swim lessons at her house. The kids always look forward to the two weeks after schooll gets out. This was Gage's first year. I thought he might not like the water but he took to it like a fish!Gage swimming

Cute little red head boy

The Bubs
Khloe got put in a class with older girls this year. I was a little worried that she would be left behing because she got put with older kids last year and didn't do very well. But she was with her best friend this year and tore it up! There pictures are from the beginning of lessons and I wish I would have brought my camera at the end because she was SWIMMING! I was so glad she was with the older girls because it pushed her a little more. Good job BUBS!

Doing back rockets

I can't wait for next year because Jett will be in lessons too!

Kindergarten Graduation!

2010-06-26T08:03:00.003-06:00

Yep, I'm a slacker mom. Khloe graduated from kindergarten on June 4th. I could say she went to school in Washington because they just got out. But no, I'm a slacker mom.

Khloe and Miss Wilkes.

She was a first year teacher and did a great job, Khloe learned so much. She learned German and is reading really well. We will just need to practice over the summer so she doesn't forget anything.

Singing at the graduation

They sang in German too!

Khloe got a speaking part in the little skit they did.
We are so PROUD of her!

I can't believe I am going to have a 1st grader and a preschool next year, where does the time go?

Before and After

2010-05-30T19:10:00.003-06:00

We decided to have a BBQ on Memorial Day this year. This first family and friends gathering outside at our house this year. Brett and I wanted to spruce up the back patio a little. So I took out the dinky little firepit that was horribly put together by the previous owners. I also wanted to get rid of the BBQ. You can see it behind Brett in this picture. Its the only picture I have. I kick myself when we do big project like this for not taking before and after pictures. It really started on Wednesday when the local scouts came a pulled ivy for us as a service project. They did such a great job. Something that would have taken me weeks, they did in a hour. So I took out the BBQ because the wood was completly rotted. The wood was the easy part. Getting the rock in concrete off was another thing. Luckily, we have a sledgehammer and I'm not afraid to use it! So that was saturday after Brett helped me clean up my mess. This morning we power washed everything. We noticed when the BBQ use to be there was names written in the concrete. I always knew there was some kind of waterfall type thing with the rocks behind. Upon further investigation we saw what looked like a border where they took the rocks away. But after finding the names we fingured out they FILLED IN THE POND! So we busted out the concrete and shoveled out about 2 feet deep of dirt. Its about 7-8 feet across. It really didn't take us long. We did find a drain but it was also filled with concrete but thats ok, because we fixed it. We bought a pump, cleaned out the pond a little more and BAM! We have another pond! YEAH WE ARE AWESOME!!Before (its behind Brett)
After!

Its not this dirty anymore, and its painted a light blue also that's coming off so it looks a little weird. It's funny that Brett and I do they projects that just happen to come up. I LOVE IT!!

Super busy weekend getting stuff done

2010-05-18T08:38:00.002-06:00

We moved the boys into their room after we got done painting on saturday night. We are going to put dino stickers to go with the footprintsExcuse the mess haven't had time to clean yet
Khloe's finally got her own room and a nice big bed

Because she got our bed! We bought a king size bed. Now I don't have to worry about the kids getting in bed, its too high! I have to take a running start to get in bed.

And the pond. Thanks to my AWESOME Uncle Bruce and Aunt Karen we have a pump so we are not wasting water. Before it just ran from the secondary water and out to the street but we fixed it now. We also powerwashed it and discovered someone had painted two fish. If you look closely at the left of the pond under the big rock is the blue fish. It is so peaceful. We were hoping we could hear it from our bedroom window but the roof is in the way.

I also found out there is an extension in salt lake for the school I need to go to to finish my BS in Horticulture so that might be a possibility in the fall

Master Done!

2010-05-05T13:45:00.003-06:00

Now we just need to get some lights and move our stuff upstairs. Not looking forward to that but I want to hurry and get it done!!

Master Painted!

2010-05-04T13:23:00.002-06:00

Brett got the painting done last night.....well all but the trim that we will be finishing up tonight before the Jazz game (GO JAZZ!) I don't think the pictures give the colors justice but maybe its just my eyes are getting old. Carpet comes tomorrow so there will be another post after thats done. I'm so excited to be getting stuff done around the house. While Brett was painting the ceiling yesterday I decided to work outside and clean out the pond. Yes, we will be covering the pond this fall. It wasn't as bad as I thought but it was still pretty dirty and wet. I didn't take any pictures because it was gross. Once I get it all cleaned up and flowers put in (maybe this year) I will take some pics. We have been slacking on yard work to get the bedroom done.

The hole will eventually have a door and it will be storage

Stairwell leading down

I am so grateful for my husband who knows how to paint well and uses that knowledge to make our house so freakin awesome! He works so hard and I love him for it!

Gettin' stuff done!

2010-04-29T11:52:00.003-06:00

Brett finally got all the sheetrock up with the help of Jon and Speny. We were looking for someone to do the taping and mudding (cause it SUCKS) Weirdly enough our old neighbors the brother does sheetrock so he gave us a killer deal. Hopefully we will be able to paint this weekend and get the carpet in next week.....then move upstairs. But the kids will still have to share a room while we finish painting the boys rooms and then Khloe's room. But its coming along nicely!

can you see how the tape lines go diagonally down? That's where the ceiling use to be and the big rectangle in front is where a little furnace use to be that we took out. These are after pictures

Before, the ceiling was so low but we took it out! Now its huge!

rectangle where the furnace use to be. The silver thing is the vent for the gas of said furnace. the scary thing is there was no top at the very top so for how ever many years rain and snow have been getting into the vent and mini furnace. Glad we decided to take it out! Because we are working on the inside of the house the outside is getting a rest for the moment. We did take the pine tree stump out of the front bed. I had only planned on weeding so Khloe could plant some flowers but then about 4 inches down I noticed weed barrier. I eventally want to plant some shrubs there and thats not enough room so Brett came and ripped it all out and we took out the stump as well. There is only a slight bump where the stump is. And Khloe got to plant her seeds. I'll take pictures when they bloom.

Brett's new toy (aka Forrest Gump)

2010-04-14T13:46:00.002-06:00

I will have to admit that Brett is the best at finding deals. He goes to KSL.com and searches their classifieds for stuff that we might need. He found crown and baseboard for the house. The swing set and climbing dome and this little number. Since we have a HUGE backyard I thought it was onlt fair that he could get a riding mower. Since I have NEVER mowed a lawn in my life I don't know what it would be like to have to mow such a massive lawn. But I might start so I can use the mower.

We also rented a chipper and chipped up all the branches. Now the yard looks even bigger and MORE overwhelming. But we have more grass then we thought, so we just need some turf builder and a couple of years and we will have a great lawn.Brett aka Forrest Gump
Yeah I know he's a babe!

The backyard now

Totally tearing it up!

Khloe's Birthday Party

2010-04-14T13:35:00.002-06:00

This year Khloe wanted a princess theme for her birthday party and she wanted to invite her little friends from school. So there were 9 little princesses. I think this is going to be the last big party for awhile. It wasn't as crazy as I thought it was going to be but very tiring.

We first made necklaces. That wasn't too bad except the stretchy string I bought wouldn't stayed tied so the beads kept falling off and the necklaces apart. Then we moved on to pin the kiss on the frog. It was hilarious! The girls wouldn't put their arms out to see where the wall was so they kept bumping in to it. Then we went out side for the pinata. We tried to use the pull strings but I packed it to tight so nothing fell out. So we let the girls at it with a stick. Some of those girls are pretty tough. Then we sang Happy birthday and had cupcakes. I think they all had a great time! Khloe blowing out her candle
9 little princesses scrounging for candy

waiting in line for the pinata

waiting for pin the kiss on the frog (I put their names on the crowns so I wouldn't forget names)

making necklaces

Easter!

2010-04-14T13:30:00.003-06:00

Easter was a great day! We dyed eggs the night before (for some reason we forgot to pull out the camera) and luckily mom and dad found the plastic eggs so the Easter Bunny could fill them and hide them. I really hate to give my kids a ton of candy and stupid little toys that break the next day so this year we did coloring books and soccer balls and a big tub of sidewalk chalk. They had a great time and then I made dinner while Brett and Jon worked on the upstairs. Gage
Khloe and Jett

Jett finding his coloring book

Khloe with her stuff

Is it my imagination or my kids super ragamuffins in the morning?

New stuff in the house

2010-04-06T15:49:00.003-06:00

Our room upstairs with a new subfloor!Bedroom
same room

Trim for the cans so the lights are not dangling from the ceiling

front room

kitchen

The last couple of days we have been working on the house. Subfloor upstairs is finished, now just need to sheetrock some stuff, paint and have the carpet installed which we bought monday!

The house looks different with the lights in the ceiling instead of hanging! Brett did alot of hard work! Thanks Jon for helping!

Spring fun without mom

2010-03-30T13:51:00.003-06:00

I have been taking 3.5 mile walks at night and since its been warm (a little windy though) Brett has been taking the kids outside to play after dinner while I am on my walk. Last weekend we drove up to Logan to get the climbing dome. And a couple of weekends before that we went to Orem to pick up the tractor tires. We have 4 more just haven't set them up yet. All the branck piles are from the trees we cut down and have yet to chip (waiting for our tax return). I am so incredible grateful that we have a house with a huge yard for the kids to play in. Even though we have taken 3 trailers of yard stuff to the dump we really haven't even put a dent in what we have to do. There is ivy everywhere that has to come out, there is a BBQ that once was very nice but due to neglect will probably be destroyed and behind that is a rock waterfall but its so full of dirt and spruce needles that is will probably only have flowers now. I would take the whole thing out but the base rocks are concreted together. I'm not even going to mention the pond. Its going to take a lot to clean up this spring because we didn't cover it last fall. But we don't have to worry about anymore walnuts falling in there. We took off the last live limb. We also limbed up the other trees so the kids could play. Brett rigged the tire swings so they are like the ones at schools, luckily he put a swivel hook so they can't spin until they puke (like I use to do). While I was on my walk last night Brett was pushing them on the swings and Khloe and Gage collided and Gage went flying. Not too injured though. The kids love to play outside and I'm grateful for that!Jett and Khloe on the climbing dome

Having outside fun without mom

Gage on the tire swing

Belle

Gage and Khloe on the climbing dome

Spring Time!.....almost

2010-03-19T12:58:00.002-06:00

I'm so HAPPY that its been warmer lately so we can go outside and enjoy the sunshine! My daffodils are blooming, the kids are getting dirty and Belle is running around. This is by far the best time of the year......well except for the surprise rain and snow storms we get this time of year. We have been working hard in the yard and have made some progress but we have a LONG way to go. Give us about 3 years and we will have the best yard in the neighborhood.

I LOVE SPRING

Scary Faces

2010-03-09T16:25:00.002-07:00

'nuff said

Silly Belle!

2010-02-26T08:20:00.003-07:00

So not even 24 hours into having this adorable little girl, I had to take her to the vet. I saw she had some kind of seed pod pokey thing up her nose. I didn't know if she had sneezed it out or sucked it in more so I asked my sister in law where she took her dog and she recommended Animal care Center. It was right near the house so I called them and see what they suggested. So of course I had to bring her in. But it was a great experience. They didn't find anything in her nose but I was able to get her shots so it wasn't a total waste of time and money. They were really nice too and answered all my questions and gave me some advice on how to train her.

So far she has been an excellent addition to the family. Brett and I got a little lax in training last night and we had a few accidents but other then that she had been a great puppy. Khloe is ok around her and Gage is even wanting to pet her now. Jetty doesn't really like her and tries to stay as far away as possible. I think once she stops jumping and nipping he'll be ok with her. She has slept in some interesting places and positions!

Pretty Girl

Sleeping between my recliner and couch

Sleeping on the banana chair in the kids room

Sleeping on the floor by the couch

A new member of the family!

2010-02-22T20:19:00.003-07:00

We finally decided to get a dog. Kinda spur of the moment, but it was a great deal and couldn't pass it up. Her name is Belle. So far she is adjusting nicely (she has been here 30 minutes) The boys don't like that she jumps and nips a little but I think they will be use to her in a couple of days. Welcome to the family Belle!

Poor sick Gage

2010-02-16T14:29:00.002-07:00

Last friday brought lots of interesting things. I made an appt for Gage because he wouldn't stop coughing for THREE hours. It was also an hour before Khloe's Valentine's party at school that I volunteered for. So I dropped Gage off with Brett at the clinic (one of the perks of Brett working at the hospital) I dropped Jett off at home with Aunt Kristy and Uncle Jason, and Khloe and I went to the party. I actually had lots of fun helping with Khloe's class. She has quite a few boys that seem to like her. It was really cute. I got a call from Brett half way through that they were going to admit Gage to the Children's hospital here. They were concerend with his tender stomach ( I didn't even know he had one) and his cough. Long story short, the belly ache was from him not pooping, and he had a viral infection in his lungs. Pretty much what Jetty had two years ago that got him admitted to the same hospital. He got to come home monday afternoon, which happened to also be Brett's birthday. It was a nice birthday present but that was about it. I think we are going to celebrate Brett's birthday next weekend. I'm just glad to be home and sleep in my own bed! I hate the hospital.

What Brett and I like to do together......

2010-02-08T14:08:00.004-07:00

Get your mind out of the gutter......we like to take down trees together. Since we don't have the money at the moment to work on the inside of the house, last monday and this monday we decided to take some trees down. I normally don't like to cut down trees but the pine tree in the front was planted to close to the house and was ruining the roof. The cherry tree in the backyard was smack dab in the middle of the yard and they are MESSY! Alot more light comes in now. Now we need to rent a chipper to chip all the branches for mulch. Oh, and paint the house because now you can really see the ugly yellow and blue.

Happy Award

2010-01-30T20:01:00.007-07:00

My friend that I have known since high school gave me this award. Her blog is hilarious at times and really makes you think at times, and most of the time it makes me smile and brings happiness to my otherwise hectic life. T and her husband recently started an adventure traveling the country in a RV, exciting let me tell you! There is a link to the right for her blog "tMOOnie"

Here are the rules

1. Copy and paste the award
2. List who gave you the award and leave a link to their blog

3. list 10 things that make you happy

4. pass the award on to other bloggers and let them know

10 things that make me happy

1. When my kids give me hugs and kisses out of the blue

2. Hugs from my husband after a bad day

3. A clean house

4. "me" time

5. Phone calls from friends from WA

6. Great friends

7. Sunshine

8. The smell of rain and dark, rich soil

9. Helping my kids learn something

10. My family

I'm going to give this award to

Hailey

Paula

Renae

Potty Training was a SUCCESS, at least for one of them

2010-01-25T14:55:00.001-07:00

Gage has been doing REALLY well with the potty training. He only wears diapers at night. We just need to teach him that he needs to stay in the bathroom when he's done instead of walking like a peguin out to the frontroom to tell us that he went pee or poo. He got a Mater car because he is doing so well. GOOD FOR GAGE......now on to Jett but I think we will wait until summer when it's a little warmer.

Jett's 2nd Birthday!!

2010-01-09T19:46:00.007-07:00

We finally had Jett's birthday tonight. It was great, Brett's family came over and we had soup, cupcakes and ice cream. Since Jett is really into sports we got him a Jazz jersery (he's wearing it in his video) Grandma and Grandpa Dredge, Jon, The Rodebacks and The Brown's got him a really cool toy. Its an ESPN better batter. I wish I had one when I was little. It is the coolest thing EVER! It's an outside toy but until it warms up and the snow is gone we will have to play inside. So far nothing has broken (knock on wood). and yes, he is batting left handed. I really hope he plans on taking care of mom and dad after he becomes famous!!

Happy New Year! and some other things

2010-01-03T10:16:00.003-07:00

One of my goals for this year was to keep my blog updated as much as I could. So here it is the 3rd of January and I haven't even posted Christmas pics yet. Oh well, what can you do?

So I got Jazz tickets for Christmas! We also bought three tickets for Levi for Christmas and since we are the only people he knows here he took us! What a great brother! Thanks Levi!Brett opening presents
Levi opening presents (funny movie by the way)
Gage REALLY excited for his dinosaur playset (mom not so excited, took me an hour to put it together)
New pjs from Grandma Val
So far it's been a great year! I had surgery a week ago and everything is going well with the recovery. Not to go into too much detail, but no more kids for Brett and Jaycee. We sold one of the four wheelers because we don't really need two until the kids get bigger. Brett and I made it to midnight on New Year's eve. Jett's birthday was on Saturday. There's no pictures because we postponed the party til next week because Gage was sick. But other then that, it's been great! I can't believe Jett is TWO!!

Guess who is coming to town?

2009-12-16T13:47:00.002-07:00

No, not Santa. My little bro LEVI!! He arrives thursday night and will be staying with us until the 29th. I'm excited, the kids are excited and Brett is too. He will have a helper to do house stuff with!! Whoo hoo!!

first big snow

2009-12-08T08:40:00.004-07:00

This morning Brett woke up for work and looked outside to dumping snow. I took him to the front runner station because that early in the morning no one has had a chance to shovel. I'm grateful we have four-wheel drive. I might just have to get Gage some snow boots so they can play in the snow. I love the snow but not the cold that comes with it. Because our house has no insulation and single paned windows our house is FREEZING! We can't keep the thermostate about 63 because then the furnace would just run all day and night. So we have been using space heaters to keep a little warmer. I think I'm going to cry when I see the gas and power bill for this month.

Happy Birthday to me!

2009-11-25T08:22:00.003-07:00

November 21 was my birthday. At first I was not willing to celebrate my birthday because I wanted to be in WA celebrating with my friends. But we bought the house so that was out the window. Don't get me wrong I'm glad I have a house, and there are always other years I can go celebrate with my friends. But I had the biggest surprise this year. We had a triple birthday to do to and Brett's sister's house. Starr's birthday was on the 20th and Austin's was the 23rd so we all celebrated together. I wanted to go early so we could leave early but brett kept watching tv and wasn 't getting ready so finally he starts changing and while I was changing he told me someone was at the door for me. So I walk out into the front room and there is my little bro!! he drove all the way down from WA for my birthday. What a great surprise. We went out to dinner for my birthday and had great sushi at the Last Samuri. Brett made me an even better cheesecake. Then Brett's mom took my shopping on sunday. Even though I didn't want to have a birthday it was a great 30th! Thanks everyone!

Sorry there is no pictures, had the camera on me the whole time, just didn't cross my mind!

Finally able to relax

2009-11-20T09:50:00.002-07:00

After the mightmare of remodeling our house we were finally able to move in on halloween. Just this last week we got around to actually getting stuff out of boxes. The kitchen is almost done as well as the bathroom. The front room is pretty much done also. It was a very educational experiance and if we had to do it again I would have to say we would hire someone for the bigger things like, framing and sheetrock. But overall it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. It did go a little overbudget and way over the time frame but I have a house and I'm grateful for that. Now we can relax for a little bit until the hecticness (is that a word?) of the hoildays is here. But I'm grateful to be able to spend that with the family!!

Pumpkin Patch 2009

2009-10-18T22:00:00.004-06:00

Family pumpkin patch. It was a great time the kids loved to look for the perfect pumpkin and loved spending time with the cousins. Thanks Val and Wil!!Only Jason was missing, he was being a great guy and helping mud the kitchen
Grandpa Wil and Jetty

Starr, Trae and Maren who looks extra cute in her glasses

Cambrie, Caylie and Chelbie

Khloe, Trae, Jett and Gage

Can't wait to carve our pumpkins

Goblin Valley 2009

2009-09-21T08:22:00.003-06:00

We had our annual family camping trip to Goblin valley. We were able to stay at the campground and it was great. We had a huge pavillion and lots of room for everyone. There were bathrooms and showers (great for washing the kids off after being in the dirt all day) The went to the Valley of the Goblins (sandstone rocks that the wind and water have transformed into these weird shapes. Saturday we went on a hike up Little Wild Horse Canyon. We got really far until there was water that we didn't want to hike through. Brett, Scott, Ali, Tyler and Celeste went up farther. It was crazy to walk thru these super tight slot canyons. The kids did a great job we had to carry them most of the way down but it was a fun time. Saturday night there was a wind storm. I wa already in the tent and had to run out and start throwing stuff in totes so it wouldn't blow away. The tent held up thru the rain though, NO LEAKES!! YEAH! I was super happy about that. Sunday morning it looked like there was going to be another huge storm but it missed us. It was a great trip and can't wait for next year!! Sitting on a Goblin
Kids on the goblins

Hiking thu Little Wild Horse Canyon. There were some points that we had to have adults helping kids and each other to get over the bigger rocks. I'm glad we have such a great family!

Looking down on the slot

We came to some water that was too deep to cross (plus it was freezing) Brett wanted to see how far it went so he straddled the ways and got almost to the end of the water when he fell in. It was a great hike!!

Where's Waldo?

2009-09-10T11:11:00.005-06:00

My friend Hailey asked me to do Where's Waldo? for the church. Of course I said YES!! We dressed goth and walked around gateway until the youth in the church found us. We got lots of looks, glares and people trying to be sneaky and take pictures with their camera phones. But we had TONS of fun! Thanks Hailey for inviting me! My friend Paula has better pictures....her blog is www.sheridansix.blogspot.com.

Khloe

2009-09-09T14:30:00.000-06:00

Today was Khloe's picture day....here she is in all her glory!!

Gotta love the kids!

2009-09-05T21:42:00.002-06:00

The kids were great today while we worked on the house. I was really worried about them outside when one of us wasnt out there. But they really are great kids, they will just play by themselves and be good. Its great. They were pretty funny today. This is what happens when I just want to get things done and I don't really care what they do. Khloe helping me remove wallpaper, she did a great job!
the castle they built with the scrap wood.

We have a leaky sprinkler faucet in the backyard. The boys were being really quiet so I went to check on them, this is what I found

After this they found a little tupperware bowl and started dumping water on themselves, also probably drank a little of it, not the best thing in the world. The county we will in has untreated water you can use for your yard, its called weber water and you're not supposed to play in it or drink it. But I'm sure they will be ok. I was just happy that they weren't screaming and crying at each other!

Khloe's first day of kindergarten

2009-08-31T14:33:00.003-06:00

Khloe's first day of kindergarten. I can't believe how big she is getting. She has pm kindergarten. At first I didn't think it was going to be good, but now that I can sleep in and not get up early to take her. It works out perfectly! She lines up with the other kids and the teacher walks them in. All the parents were out there taking pictures. We live only 4 blocks away to we walked today. This morning....WAY before school started, she was a little nervous but I think she will do all right!

Our 6th wedding anniversary

2009-08-26T07:41:00.003-06:00

We had one of the best anniversaries ever!! We closed on the house! It's been a quick process and a little stressful at times but in the end it's going to be great!! We got a sitter for the kids and since we got done quicker then I thought we were able to have a nice dinner by ourselves. (Thanks again Maddie!) Hopefully we will get in the house on thursday. I can take pictures then. I love you babe! Thanks for the house!!

From now on I will only be posting stuff on the house on my other blog www.mygreatestblessings2.blogspot.com

Looks good so far!

2009-08-11T12:12:00.005-06:00

So far the process of buying this house has been quite easy. Let me tell you a little background on how I found this diamond in the rough.
I am constantly looking at houses online, just in case there is something we can afford in the area we want. I saw this house a couple of months ago for 160K, I kept my eye on it and looked at in again about 3 weeks ago and they dropped it to 145K. I told Brett and he said we should call our agent to see what it looks like. We knew that it was almost 100 years old, so before we even got approved for financing we wanted to see if it was worth it. We made an appt, our agent said there was alot of traffic but nobody wanted to do the work. This piqued our interest more because this is the house we have always wanted.
1. Old and in need of work, check
2. huge yard in need of work, check
3. enough room for everyone, check
so we did a walk through....we loved it!! We made another appt to do a more thorough walk thru. We were there for two hours looking at everything. Luckily our Brother in law is an electrian because it needs lots of work. The first time we looked around we couldn't really see anything because there was either no light bulbs for the switches didn't work. We also couldn't find the water heater and furnace, we looked forever because the sheet said there was no basement or crawlspace...but there is!! It's a super creepy cellar with some food storage from who knows when!! There are also chimmnys you can see from the attic but there are no fireplaces with them. I believe they were covered over when someone took out the plaster and sheetrocked everything. The electrical has been updated but not in awhile. The plumbing is also so old that the main shut off is so calcified that it looks like a geod ( I don't think thats the right spelling). We had the inspection last friday and the apprisal is going to be done sometime this week. What makes this so unusual is that its a short sell. Since it's owned by the bank, they ususally take FOREVER in making a decision on the offer the buyer gives. So we thought we would have months to get stuff organized and ready. YEAH RIGHT!! Four days after we submitted our offer they bank countered and wanted to close by the 23rd of this month. Both our agent and the sellers agent went on vacation without taking files because they thought it would be awhile before we heard back from the bank. Wonders never cease!! So that's where we are now. Just waiting for stuff to get done that we can't control. I want to pack or something be Brett says we should wait until we close. We can live here in the apartment until the end of september. After we close the people have 48 hours to vacate. We will take two weeks to clean and rip out and replace carpet. After that we will move, or actually I will move some boxes everyday and then Brett will get some friends to move all the big stuff. After that we go camping with Brett's family at goblin valley and then we come home and get the apt ready for new renters!! Fun times!!

Creepy basement, we found the water heater and what we thought was the furnace. Because the lights didn't work down here we were taking pictures with the camera and then looking at them later. Taking a closer look at this picture I realized this wasn't hooked up to anything. And it's not a furnace it's a boiler. The water heater is fine. Two years ago they replaced the funace and it's now in the attic.
Going down the stairs into the creepy basement

Food storage...couldn't tell you how old

Pond in the back with 3 waterfalls, it looks in pretty good shape, the funny thing is the pump is going but the people can't afford light bulbs

back yard....needs lots of work, but when it gets done it will be awesome. Also found out the owner gifted the back neighbor some of the back yard to build a fence, the only problem? they didn't record it at the county building. So we could be jerks and say you built a fence on our land so remove it now (which we probably won't) or ask for the money that its worth (who knows)

So that's about it. There is a ton of storage and places that can be turned into rooms for when people visit. I will post pictures when the people move out. the before and afters will be astonding!!

Gage is 3!!

2009-08-04T19:07:00.003-06:00

I can't believe my little baby boy is 3! Seems like only yesterday I was rushing to the hospital with Hailey after my water broke. We had a great time at Chucke Cheeses' for Gage's birthday. Then Jason and Kristy and their boys came over for dinner and cupcakes. He had a great day!!

On to more exciting news...we put an offer on a short sell house thinking we had some time before the bank would counter. What a surprise when our agent called today that the bank had countered and want to close by the 23rd of THIS month....so it's a little scary but more exciting.

More updated coming!!

Videos from Bear Lake

2009-07-15T08:15:00.005-06:00

Brett and Ryan Redneck surfing. The water would get too choppy so this is what they did.

Ok these are the last Bear Lake pictures

2009-07-15T08:04:00.004-06:00

Redneck surfing, 4 wheeler, knee board, sand bar Aren't we cute?!

Ryan makes the best burgers ever! the only problem is you can't fit them in your mouth

Brett flexing.....again

He really loved wakeboarding once he got the hang out it

Even more pictures from Bear Lake

2009-07-15T07:56:00.004-06:00

Jetty and I going for a ride the boys going 4 wheelin!

Gage and I on the tube. I thought he would freak but he really liked it

Brett and the Bubs on the tube

Brett really likes to flex any chance he gets

Bear Lake Vacation

2009-07-14T21:20:00.004-06:00

Brett's dad's friend has a cabin at Bear Lake (the most beautiful blue lake I have ever seen, the picture doesn't do it justice!) We left Monday with our friends Ryan and Hailey, the rest of the family got there thursday and friday. It was such a great time. We kinda wore ourselves out by the time everyone else got there. I tried wakeboarding on tuesday. I got up, but not standing up I just couldn't straighten my legs out so I was doing this weird squatting thing. The nest day we did tubing and that really wore my arms out. Brett tried wakeboarding too and LOVES IT!! The kids loved being on the boat (the boys would fall asleep) Khloe loved being in the tube with her friend Mazzy. On the last day they got throwen off the water weine and didn't even cry. Gage normally freaks out when he has sand on his feet so I thought he would sit in a chair all day but we got him some water shoes and he loved playing in the water and sand. We ended up going home a day early because we were so tired. And it's a good thing we did because by the time we got home the freezer was getting warm and the fridge was on its way. But it was a great vacation and we are hoping to make another trip sometime soon to help the guy fix his cabin. I love it there!!
My hot husband

Mazzy, Gage, Jett, Bronson and Khloe digging holes so we could trip in them

Khloe playing

Gage and his girlfriend Hailey, he fell asleep most times on the boat

More Pictures from Bear Lake

2009-07-14T21:12:00.004-06:00

Khloe and her friend Mazzy on the tubeGage on the boat

Jett and Gage playing in the water
Ryan and Jett on the tractor taking the boat to the lake

Jett hating his life jacket

just keep swimming, just keep swimming!!

2009-06-21T18:27:00.003-06:00

Khloe just got done with two weeks of swim lessons. She had a great time and just like last year she finally got something down. Learning to float on her back took a little while to master and on the last day she finally did her back crawl without the teacher holding on. On the second to last day all the other kids jumped off the diving board. To my surprise, Khloe lined up with the other kids and jumped. The teacher caught her in the water. It was a great time, Gage can't wait for his turn next year!!

Triple rainbows

2009-06-11T20:28:00.003-06:00

This is why I love liquid sunshine! (rain) You get to see cool things like triple rainbows (this is a first for me!) When I was taking Brett to work this afternoon there was a cloud in front of us that was spinning and looking like it was trying to form a funnel cloud! A little scary but really fascinating at the same time. I've only seen that happen one other time when I was on a softball team that had a tournament in Kansas during tornado season. That was REALLY scary!

Going for a hike

2009-06-03T09:22:00.003-06:00

Last sunday we went for a hike up mueller park. We put Jett is a backpack, Khloe walked and Gage had to be carried most of the way back. I don't know if he was tired or was jealous of Jett because he didn't have to walk. Gage didn't nearly freak out as much as I thought he would about bugs and people's dogs. It was a fun afternoon but I think next time we go for a hike we will find a babysitter

Memorial Day

2009-05-26T12:56:00.002-06:00

We went to the cemetery in Charleston to see my parents. Normally I'm not sad when I go to the gravesites but this time I really wanted to cry. I miss them a ton. Afterwards we went to Bridal Veil Falls for a picnic and to hike to the falls. After that we went to see Scottie's gravesite as well. It was CRAZY! There were so many people that and thousands of flowers it was really neat. The cemetery where my parents are is small compared to where Scotty is. Then we went to Ryan and Hailey's for dinner. Ryan makes the best burgers in the world. So I don't need to eat for a couple of days because I'm still full from last night!!

Preschool Graduation

2009-05-22T21:19:00.004-06:00

Khloe is not my little baby anymore!! Wednesday she graduated from preschool. I can't believe I have a kindergartener.

I love Flock of Seagulls!

2009-05-22T21:15:00.002-06:00

Khloe did Gage's hair the other day and all she used was water. His hair stayed like this for two days. I buzzed his hair today because I couldn't think of anything else to do!

This is a great book!

2009-05-15T16:06:00.002-06:00

When we lived in Washington, Brett's cousin came to visit with some friends. As a token of their apprication for picking them up from the airport, they gave us this book and some other things. I read it then (which was about 5 years ago). I only rememebered a certain part, about world population and producing more food. I just got done reading it again, and it really has opened my eyes to how things are going to be if we don't stop doing what we are doing to the world. This is just a great book to read, I know the author has some other books along the same lines that I have yet to read, so I guess I'll be making some trips to the library. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I do.

What a wonder!!

2009-05-13T21:00:00.003-06:00

I love trees, and who doesn't!! I really miss all the evergreen trees in Washington. It's just not green enough here. I also miss working with the trees and plants. That's one of the reasons I would like to go back to school. I want to be able to learn more about the native plants of Utah and to work with them. I didn't take any of these pictures, they are just ones I found on the web. I would really like to go see the angel oak in South Carolina.

Angel Oak in South Carolina

What to do, what to do?

2009-05-04T19:26:00.002-06:00

I'm debating wether to go back to school. I really would like to finish my degree in horticulture. I don't know what I would do with it. I've been doing some research and Utah state is the only school that offers the degree I want but the program had off-campus so I wouldn't have to drive to Logan for classes (because that just not realistic). Brett and I have talked about this alot. Do I finish my degree and then go to work? It would be nice to have two incomes but at the same time do we want someone else raising our kids? Who knows, I think this is going to be a debate that is far from over. Does anyone have any good ideas or advice?

Outside fun inside!!

2009-05-04T10:02:00.002-06:00

We went to Ikea yesterday for something to do, we picked up this fun tent for $10!! So far the kids have had lots of fun with it.

I REALLY love Spring!!

2009-04-27T09:35:00.003-06:00

I love Spring!! This one is for you Hailey!!, I know you love daffodils, sorry its not yellow! I Love tulips!! these were at the capital

Khloe told Gage these were popcorn trees, and he really believes that they are popcorn!! This is my favorite picture!

No more snow!! Just plenty of sunshine!!

Jett teething

2009-04-27T09:30:00.002-06:00

So about a week ago, Brett put the boys in bed and gave Jett a foam ball to play with until he went to sleep. When it was time for us to go to bed we open their door and check on them. I was brushing my teeth when Brett said I needed to come and see something. I went into the boys room and found little pieces of foam all over the floor and the ball looked like this. I guess he has teeth coming in!! Luckily he didn't swallow any, or at least I haven't seen any in his poo!!

Park

2009-04-13T09:52:00.002-06:00

We went to the park before dinner on sunday. The kids had a blast!

Easter

2009-04-13T09:45:00.003-06:00

We had a great Easter this year!! Brett made me an awsome egg that said "Jaycee is a poo" thanks honey!! I love you too!! We were able to have Brett's mom and stepdad over for dinner and his bro Jon came over with his girlfriend and we played some cards. It was great. If you ask Khloe why we celebrate Easter, she will tell you "Because the Easter Bunny comes!" Um yeah I guess I need to teach her some church stuff. She knows now that it has to do with Jesus. So that's better. Hope everyone else had a great Easter!

Do you like my necklace?

2009-04-10T21:33:00.003-06:00

Do you like the necklace I made?? HA HA HA I got my hair cut today and I LOVE IT!! Khloe got her hair cut too and she looks so much older. She's not my little baby girl anymore. So let me know what you think!!

I don't know why this is funny

2009-04-09T16:55:00.003-06:00

When Gage says "Mr. Crabs" from Spongebob Squarepants it's the funniest thing in the world. Why? do you ask. I have no idea. It might be because it's only of the few things that he can say clearly, maybe because he sounds a little asian when he says it. But whatever the reason it cracks me up!

Kids outside

2009-04-09T12:54:00.003-06:00

It was nice and warm the other day so we decided to go outside and play (more like I decided so they could run off some energy and I wouldn't have to lock them in a closet!) The kids thought it would be a good idea to ride the little toys down the driveway, I was just glad there was a little lip there so they didn't go into the street. They had fun so I had fun!! I love the SPRING!!

ALL MOMS NEED TO READ THIS!!

2009-04-06T21:04:00.003-06:00

I watched a little bit of Oprah today and I think it was great advice and something that all moms need to read or watch. We moms compare ourselves to other moms not realizing that they are doing the same thing to us. We should all realize that each of us is doing the best that we can and some days it doesn't look like it but we are trying. So lets cut each other some slack!!

http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090311-tows-mom-truth

PLEASE READ IF YOU ARE A MOM!!

Are you sure she's 5?

2009-04-04T18:47:00.002-06:00

Is that the most awsome cake ever!! I baked it and Hailey frosted it and we both decorated it. And yes it's a mad hatter cake and it's supposed to be crooked!! So that's out of the way. Today we had Khloe's 5th birthday party. It was so much fun!! We invite Brett's bro, sis and parents and wow there's 30 people. But it was great, she got a bike, movies, ken doll, leotard, dress-up stuff and a thumbalina doll. I would say the best present she got was a chicken that lays (poops out) bubble gum eggs. It was pretty hilarious. The biggest experience of the day was she got to get her ears pierced. She cried but only for a little bit. I will post pictures of that later. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KHLOE!!

Too funny!

2009-03-31T09:36:00.003-06:00

Here is Gage!! He looked so funny in these pictures. The first two he was rocking back and forth looking out of the corner of his eyes. They are a little blurry becuse I was laughing so hard. He looks like such a nerd and even now while I am writing this I am laughing out loud! Too Funny!!

I'm so Happy!

2009-03-27T08:18:00.003-06:00

I'm sure you can figure out why!

Goose Egg

2009-03-25T09:50:00.003-06:00

Last night Gage tripped over Brett's feet and whacked his head on the side table. It was a pretty loud thud and I'm guessing from the goose egg and his screaming that it didn't feel very good. I was a little worried because he did hit his head so hard, so Brett took him to the ER. They didn't find anything and by the time the Dr did see him he was acting like goofy Gage. It just looks really bad. But he is ok!! In the first picture you can see the side of his head where he hit. It's going to be real pretty as it heals.

Fun with tails

2009-03-24T16:05:00.002-06:00

Levi bought these really cool tails for Khloe's birthday last year. You strap them on like a belt and the tail detaches when you pull on it. But its cute to see the kids just run around with them on. The other kids in the pictures are Amy and Ian, kids of my friend Renae! It was such a nice day!

Spring is here!!

2009-03-18T09:49:00.003-06:00

Here are some pictures that proves that spring is in the air!! The deer was outside the kids bedroom in the neighbors yard. And the other picture is of the kids playing with their little friends, Mazzy and Bronson. It was so nice yesterday, it was good to get out and play!!

I'm a maniac, maniac, Oh, no no!

2009-03-03T10:10:00.002-07:00

The kids were playing with Khloe's headbands the other day and they looked like they were getting ready to exercise, Jetty is the funniest!

Is it summer or something?

2009-03-02T10:25:00.003-07:00

I know it's been warm the last couple of days but Khloe thinks it's summer. She really enjoys wearing her swimsuit around the house. Maybe the warm weather gods will be pleased and it won't snow again in the valley, just in the mountains!!