Turkey Story

Please read the following story and the procede with this post...

http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/585559.html

This turkey is my sister-in-law's turkey. She raises turkeys each year and then slaughters them just before Thanksgiving. This big guy got out a week ago and ended up less than a mile down the road. The funny thing about the article is it states that there aren't any farms in the area, but they have a big sign in front of their house that states "Fresh Turkeys for Sale". I guess he decided that since he didn't receive a pardon, he was going to make a prison break.

This turkey may have "ruined" Thanksgiving but will make for a Merry Christmas!

We did have one of her other not-so-lucky turkeys for our Thanksgiving.

Twilight

We decided that a girls night was in order, since I am pretty sure Kate and I have never had a girls night out together. We decided to have some yummy dinner at the Olive Garden and then go to the movie. The day got a little stressful when my mom called and said she was way to sick to go. I tried to find someone else to go without any luck! How could I not find one person who wanted a girls night out to see Twilight? Then Kris was having some problems as well and didn't think she would be able to make the night out after getting the day off. Luckily for us, she was able to make the movie as well as Wendy. Here are Kate, Ivie and myself at the Olive Garden.
Here we are waiting in the ridiculous line!The line was so long because they kept adding showings of the movie. When I ordered tickets on line, there was only one showing for the movie. When we got there , they had added two more (totalling 3). By the time they let us into the theater (5 minutes before the movie was to start) they had added another. It took them 30 minutes to get the film ready to show on 4 screens. Finally, we got to see it! You should have seen the lobby when the movie was over! It was pure mania! I have never seen anything like it!

When I left, I had mixed emotions. I kinda liked it and kinda didn't. Movies are never as good as the book because they usually omit things or condense things, i.e. two dances into one prom. I know that they added some scenes to bring in the male population, but did so at the expense of the story. Oh, well. But now that I am a few days out, I am seeming to remember a lot that I liked about the movie (i.e kissing scene) and a desire to see it again! I must have liked it more than I originally thought! I am going to see it again tomorrow with my mom. I will have to let you know the final verdict. I hope you all enjoyed it.

What are you plans?

Lucky 13

Today is our Anniversary. Yep it's been 13 years! How is that possible? One day it feels like we just met and the other it feels like we have been together forever (that's not always a bad thing). :) Last Friday, we went on a date for our anniversary. We did a little shopping, ate at the Cheesecake Factory (for me) and then went to a movie (for him). We hardly get out with just each other, so it was nice.

So some of you may be wondering some lessons that I might have learned in 13 years of marriage. Well, I don't know if I learned anything big but I did learn a little lesson each year.

Here they are...

Year 1. It is really nice to married to a man who makes the bed every day.

Year 2. Always listen to your hubby when he tells you to go to the doctor. If I hadn't, I might be skinny, but I would be without 3 beautiful children and have a goiter the size of a baseball.

Year 3. Saving up for a house is worth it.

Year 4. Having a husband who makes the bed at all is only something that happens the first year of marriage.

Year 5. A child can bring even more love into a home.

Year 6. Follow your husbands promptings to sell your house. It is for the best sometimes.

Year 7. Rediscover each other.

Year 8. The seven year itch is real, but it can be overcome.

Year 9. Cooperation really works with 2 kids.

Year 10. We really do listen to one another.

Year 11. Building a house isn't that hard when you refer to 10.

Year 12. Having a baby and knee surgery in the same year could only work with the help of a good man.

Year 13. They really were not kidding when they said that communication is key.

What I can say is that I am glad to have this amazing man in my life. We have had a lot of great times and some not so great times but I would not change a thing! All of our times together have been worth it as long as he has been by my side!

I love you, Ryan! We have been counseled to find joy in our lives. You are mine. Happy Anniversary!

Four year olds!

It has become evident that I have a four year old running around this house. There are shreds of paper everywhere I look. He is constantly cutting and drawing and spelling every one's name in the house. If I have to spell "Carter" one more time, I'm gonna lose it.

His teacher told me a funny story about Spencer the other day. She saw that he was coloring a banana on the board and she asked him about it...

Miss Amanda: "Spencer, what are you doing?"

Spencer: "I'm trickin' it out!"

What else can I say?

Baptism

I am not always good with the sensitive emotions. I would much rather make a joke. I almost titled this blog "Slam Dunk" but I changed my mind. Is it really necessary for me to always take the easy way out and make a joke. No, this is a time for me to attempt some maturity, I do have an 8-year-old for crying out loud. So here it is...

I have to say that I am so impressed with Carter. Just before he turned eight, our primary had a meeting with all of the children who would be getting baptised this fall and their parents to go over everything that would be taking place. I was impressed on how much he paid attention. A couple of days later he asked, "The primary president said that it was my choice to get baptised. Is that true?" I told him, "Of course it is your choice. You do what you want to do. What do you want to do?" He replied, "I want to get baptised."

Over the next month, I was also impressed with the knowledge he has. His primary teachers are amazing, because, let's face it, I haven't been living up to my potential. They are amazing men! His one teacher sends all of the kids post-cards from his travels. They truly love these kids.

Now, I want to tell you about the actual night. There were FIVE kids just from my ward getting baptised. It was crazy! The whole chapel was filled with people coming to witness the children getting baptised. It was fortunate that there were people out of town, because there wouldn't have been any room for them to sit. Carter was in the second group of kids to be baptised so we had a few moments to talk and take pictures. During that time I really took notice of Carter. He is a nice kid. A really Nice kid. He doesn't care who the person is, he will be nice to them. My heart swelled as I watched him talk to other kids. He was so nervous and excited, yet he managed to pay attention and be nice to all of the kids that were there to get baptised or witness his baptism. The other thing that struck me that night was the actual baptism. Carter had a huge smile on his face as Ryan lowered him into the water. What else can I say? Pure joy and happiness as you become a member of the Lord's church. I was truly touched. It was a wonderful evening. Thank you to everyone, those who was able to attend and to those who weren't there in body, but were there in spirit. We Love You.

All Hallows Eve...

When I asked the kids what they wanted to be for Halloween, Carter initially said that he and Natalie wanted to be bucket heads. Huh?! Spencer said that he wanted to be Iron Man (a movie, of which, scares him and he refuses to watch). Double Huh?! So after discussion on how this bucket head thing was going to work, Carter changed his mind. :) He then decided that he wanted to be a ninja. When Spencer heard this, he "decided" that he wanted to be a ninja as well. Now, I am sure that many of you know how 4-year-olds with older siblings are, they want to do everything their older sibling does. I am sure this will not end at 4 either. Lucky Carter! Well, since they both decided to be ninjas I decided they all were going to be ninjas. I figured this will be the last year that I could make Cora be whatever I wanted her to be. We extended the offer to Natalie to be a ninja but she said no. She instead decided to be a munchkin (we are the lollipop kids...). I don't think there could have been a costume that would have stuck out any more than hers in comparison to my children, not to mention she is quite taller than my children despite that she is only 6 weeks older than Carter. Check it out...Now, I just thought this picture was funny. I mean, their getting free candy! Why the tears? We have the movie 3 Ninjas. I never heard of it either. I believe we got it out of the cheap bin at Walmart. We were watching it in the car. If you really question acting in a movie, try listening to the dialogue over and over and over in the car. Blah! Well, one day Carter says, "Mom, this movie is PG-13." I replied, "No it isn't. It's a kids movie. They wouldn't make it PG-13." He responded with, "Yes it is. Look at it." I took the movie from him, and sure enough it was PG-13 (nice parenting). What caught me off guard was the reason for it being PG-13. Check it out...

I don't know why, I have just always thought the reason was funny. If you can't read it, it says, "Non-stop Ninja Action".
And that's all I've got to say about that.

Turning 8 in "08

Finally I am getting around to posting this! I know! Carter turned 8 on the 14th and boy did we party it up!!! We went to this place called Boondocks. It's the epitome of FUN centers. The kids got to eat some pizza and cake followed by some gift time. Then they got to play laser tag and drive go-carts. The best part of the party was Magical Nate! He did it all! He showed off his mad magical skills with some tricks, tried to keep the kids under control during the gifts and then got a couple of kids to shove Carter's face in the cake. Magical Nate Rocks!

Another highlight was the arrival of our friends, the Olsens. They were on their way up to Washington to visit Jean's family. They stayed over at our house and were able to attend the party. When Carter answered the door, Hayden (Carter's buddy) was there and they had the same shirt on. It was fate! Buddies for life! I hope their next trip to WA is soon, we can't wait to party it up again.

Here is a little video I "made" on my computer. It replays the same pictures a lot, so don't feel bad if you want to stop the video. The song is from High School Musical 3, go Wild Cats!

Ode to K8!

Guess who's birthday it is today?

We must Celebrate

Kate

cuz she is really great

she is never late

she can never hate

it was fate

when Chad asked her to date

he didn't want a rebate

just a re-date

with love giving she can satiate

and radiate

she is top rate

she is funny when she retaliate(s)

her humor undulate(s)

Her friendship I valuate

as pure and great

so, I am here to celebrate

my wonderful friend, Kate

Happy Birthday, Kate!
Does anyone else have the song Mediate (INXS) in their head now?
"We all rotate"

Comical Misunderstanding

I was talking to a friend today and we were discussing beautiful people. We were discussing how uncomfortable it can be when you are in their presence. She had a made a comment about an attractive person and I automatically that she was talking about Ryan. It wasn't until I got off the phone that I realised that she was talking about someone else. I felt like an idiot at first. But, then I got to thinking that I shouldn't be embarrassed that I still feel attracted to my husband. I feel happy that I am married to this handsome man. It made me remember the first time that I saw him. I remember I was sitting in Sunday School when this completely gorgeous guy starts teaching the lesson. I don't remember a word that he said! All that I remember was thinking how cute and personable he was. I then remember going to a Family Home Evening and he was there with some friends. I remember wondering how I could get him to notice me. I was a decent flirt, but I never approached a guy first. So I wondered how I could get introduced to him. It was then that I learned that a friend had a crush on him. Well, we all know that friend law states that you can't hit on/flirt/date a guy that a friend likes, so he was off limits. Lucky for me, he did notice me somewhere along the way and asked me out and the rest was history. Oh yes, and my friend had moved to Georgia.

In case you may have forgotten (and how could you), here he is...

Snip! Snip!

No! I wasn't talking about Ryan! :) Cora got her first haircut today.

She really didn't need much. I just wanted her to have the length cut up a bit so her bangs would catch up more quickly. Here are the pictures...
She cried pretty hard and was moving around a lot, so the lady didn't do much. I don't know if it was worth the 10 bucks, but what are you going to do...

Follow it up with some chicken nuggets!

You Say It's Your Birthday...

Happy 35th Birthday, Ryan!

I would love to tease him and say that he is getting so old, but I will be 35 soon as well and that will come back to get me!

I just want to tell Ryan how much I love him! He is always making me laugh and isn't that the most important thing. He knows how to have a great time! There is no sitting when Ryan is around. There never is any question if the food he is eating is good with all the mmm's going on. Plus, he has amazing quotables such as "It's like the 4th of July in your mouth" and the classic "Double, triple check 'em"

Love ya, Babe! Have a great day!

Garage Days!

There is this house down the street from us that I am wondering about. Now I am not one to talk about neighbors (who am I kidding), but I am wondering about these people. Yes, they are the ones in the picture above. J/K

Before I start I would like to state that these people are living in a good size home, over 3000 square feet. It has a family room and bonus room, five bedrooms and I will be hosting an open house on Saturday. :) When they moved in, there was living room furniture in the garage. I thought that maybe they were just taking their time getting things moved into their house. Then I would notice people hanging in the garage. I thought maybe they had a band, working out or fixing a car. Lately, while picking up Carter from the bus stop, I have noticed that the people in the garage are just hanging out. Sitting on their living room furniture and talking. I am wondering why. Do they not have enough room in their house? Do they want to experience the fresh air of the garage? Are they from a different part of the country that does that sort of thing? Can someone please shed some light? Thanks!

Happy Birthday, Grandma Lloyd!

The reason we went to Utah on the weekend we did, was for Grandma Lloyd's 90th birthday. It was nice to see and get to know Ryan's aunts, uncles and cousins. It was great to see Grandma Lloyd. She has never seen Cora in person, so it was good for the two of them to meet. We had a nice time. Thanks to Ryan's aunts and uncles for putting on a nice reunion.

Why Must Everything that is Mine be Everyone's?

Ok, soooo... Why must children think that anything that belongs to mom, belongs to them? They don't do it with their dad! Here's the deal. My children think they can hijack my camera and play with it like it is a toy. I never know what they are doing until I download pictures on my computer and get a bunch of pictures of random things like a thumb, stuffed animal, an eye, a cartoon on t.v., a hot wheels car, etc. OR I go to take a bunch of pictures and can't figure out why they look like crap. Well, the little monkeys got a hold of my camera before we went to Utah and screwed up the settings! Dang It! So these are the fuzzy pictures from when we went to dinner with Kyle and Jeannie. I had been looking forward to seeing them and having fun pictures for the blog and this is what I get. Thanks kids!

We went to a yummy Brazilian restaurant called Rodizio Grill. I had never gone to a Brazilian restaurant, so it was a new experience for me. It was a lot of fun! If you have never been to one before, there is a salad bar that is stocked with a ton of salads that is all you can eat. Then, men walk around with meat on these skewers for you to eat. If you choose what they offering, they will cut a piece off. The meat is all you can eat as well. It was fun and the boys had a great time.

Kyle eating some yummy pineapple. (Well, yummy for him, I don't like cooked pineapple)Carter and Hayden - buddies even after not seeing each other for three years.Spencer loved making friends with Reece.I love when Carter thinks he is funny and does the bunny ears. At least Hayden did it him in a previous picture.Here is a picture of a guy serving the meat.

Laptop woes

A couple of weeks ago, I went to shut my laptop when it made a weird grinding noise. I freaked! It took a little finessing, but I got it opened again. Phew! Well, I haven't shut it since for fear that it may totally break and I would lose my baby! (I know, a little dramatic but I have my life on that thing.) Soooo, Ryan took it to Geek Squad and they said that we needed a whole new screen and it would cost $500. Might as well get a new laptop for that! So Ryan brought it home and called around to see if he could get a part from somewhere for cheaper and do it himself. Now, I love my husband, but handy isn't his strong suit, so I wasn't thrilled about that option. He then asked someone who works for HP and they said it might just need a new hinge and that would be around $45, but he would have to look at it. Well, that wasn't happening! So, I took matters into my own hands today and took the laptop to a place to have it fixed. If it needed a new screen, it would be $220, not as bad as the first, but still not great. Rick (the repairman) said that a screw came out which couldn't be redone because it was stripped, but he could reinforce it a different way and make it more secure than it was before for $45. Now that is something I can deal with. I will be able to pick it up in the morning and then post pictures from my trip to Utah (I know you are dying to see them). Thanks, Rick! You're awesome!

Gotta Go Back, Back, Back to School Again

School started back up for both of the boys yesterday. Carter is a big 2nd grader and Spence is attending another year of pre-school. They were both excited. When I asked them how their days went, Carter said, "Great!" and Spencer said, "I wish I could stay here all day." That seems to be a good sign. We'll see how they feel about school in a month, or even a week.


Spencer was so excited about the fact that he gets to take a lunch to school this year. Pre-school ends at 11:30, but they can stay until 12:00 and eat lunch with the teacher if they would like. He chose to stay, of course! It was so cute watching him put all of his stuff in his lunch box when he was done. I wish I would have brought my camera for that.

Carter's Teeth

As many of you know, and some of you may not, we have had A LOT of problems with Carter's teeth. He has had to go under TWICE to have the dentist fix multiple teeth at one time. Well, for the past two years Carter hasn't had any cavities! Which totally rocks! But, with that being said, it doesn't mean that we haven't had any problems. Last night Carter said that his tooth was hurting and I examined it with my professional eye. He brushed his teeth and used some ACT mouth wash and we flossed his teeth. I then gave him some Advil and put him to bed. I told him that if his tooth still hurt in the AM, we would take him to the dentist. He woke up this morning and said his gums still hurt and Yada, Yada, Yada... he had an abscess tooth. I had to take him to the dentist and they had to pull it. Good news is it was a baby tooth, bad news is, he won't get his permanent tooth for another couple of years. Oh, well!

Now, if you are interested in the yada, yada part, you will have to give me a call. It is pretty horrific. I mean gross, like horror movie gross and I thought I would spare you all the details. If you are into horror, give me a call and I will gladly share the details with you because misery loves company!

Memory Game

Concentration anyone?Here is what you do:

1. Add a comment to this post on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you knew me a little or a lot…anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It’s actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses.

If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Trip to Twin Falls Temple (Say that three times fast)

Well, two weeks ago we went to Twin Falls to walk through their new Temple. We had a great time. We then went to Shoshone Falls ("Niagara Falls of the west"). The falls were running pretty high, so the kids were impressed. We then drove home and Cora threw up, twice. That was the beginning of a crazy couple of weeks. So we got home and she threw up again. She was doing better when I put her to bed, but then it was Spencer's turn. He threw up 7 times and had the back door trots ALL NIGHT LONG. It took all of Wednesday to recover from that night. Then Thursday I got us ready to go camping on Friday (that will come in a later post). We came home Sunday, I started reading Breaking Dawn and it took all of my free time til Tuesday. Wednesday Kate came over for a play date. After she left, Carter and I started to feel like crap resulting in throwing up. We then felt like crap for another couple of days and so here I am! Finally posting!

Here we are! Myself, Cora, my mom (Sandie), Carter, My mother-in-law (Carol), and Spencer My cute kids.

Here we are at Shoshone Falls with my mom.
Here we are with Carol.

Fair Play!

It's fair time again! Every year my mom has the kids come out to enjoy the Canyon County Fair. It's nice because it is small and the kids have a nice time. My mom has a garden wagon that they ALL decided to ride in. They kids got to enjoy the fair in style.

Here the kids are checking out a chicken.
McKinzie was in a bind and needed a babysitter. I said cool, as long as you don't mind her taking a trip. So Kambree got to go to the fair as well.
Checking out the goats!
One cool chick! Too bad she wouldn't keep her hat on.
Annabelle and Liz petting a baby pony.
Spence giving the pony a pat.
Nothing softer than a bunny. Some fresh ink!
While the kids were getting their tats, the lady all but physically forced me to put a small tattoo on Kambree. Even at my protests she cleaned off Kambree's leg and put one on. So now 6 month old, Kambree, is sporting a small heart tattoo on her ankle. Sorry, Ryan and Kinzie! (I was too embarrassed to take a picture of that.)

Tagged!!!!

All right, I have been tagged so many times and have not done it, but these are simple answers, so I thought I would finally do one...
1. Where is your cell phone? kitchen
2. Your significant other? gym
3. Your hair? sweaty
4. Your mother? awesome
5. Your father? compassionate
6. Your favorite thing? family
7. Your dream last night? none
8 Your favorite drink? Diet Pepsi
9. Your dream/goal? Masters in Counseling
10. The room you’re in? family room
11. Your hobby? anything computer
12. Your fear? I can't say it out loud
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? getting my masters
14. What you’re not? relenting
15. Muffins? blueberry
16. One of your wish list items? Interior decorator
17. Where you grew up? Idaho/Alaska
18. The last thing you did? Canyon County Fair
19. What are you wearing? capris and T-shirt
20. Favorite gadget? Tie - Blackberry/laptop
21. Your pets? none (do kids count? J/K)
22. Your computer? Loved
23. Your mood? relaxed
24. Missing someone? yes
25. Your car? dirty
26. Something you’re not wearing? earrings
27. Favorite store? Target
28. Like someone? most of the time :)
29. Your favorite color? green
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? Thursday
I'm sorry Leslie, but this is stopping with me. I don't ever do them, therefore I am not going to ask anyone to do it. But, if any of you are interested in doing this, feel free!

A Little Bit Girly

So... I just figured that Cora would be a little Tomboy. She has two older brothers and loves to play with their toys. She has some dolls and stuffed animals but always looked at them like they were planning a sinister plot. Well, we had a girly breakthrough. A friend of mine, Danielle, gave me a bag of clothes that her daughter has grown out of and in that bag there was a pair of princess shoes. Now, Cora's has had a healthy interest in shoes (shoe was one of her first words), so she was happy when she discovered the shoes. She insisted that she wear and walk around in them. Since then, she has now enjoyed playing with her baby dolls. Although, the tomboy does still show when she carries it around by its foot and throws it.

Meet Andy

No, we didn't get a new dog, but after looking at his cute little face, I wish we had. Grandma Lloyd got this cute little Bichon. His papered name is Raggedy Andy, but we just call him Andy. He loves to chase after my new (not so much now after Andy) broom and chew on it.

4th of July

Another holiday, other child sick! I only have three, how is it whenever a holiday roles around I have a sick child?

Well, it was a fun holiday in spite of the sickness. We went to my mom's for lunch and then to Karen's for dinner and play. The evening started with dinner followed by swimming and fireworks. We also celebrated Mark and Steve's birthday. Mark turned the big 50 today. Happy Birthday, Mark! I took Cora home early so she wouldn't be scared by the fireworks which turned out to be a good thing, since when I took her to the doctor the next day, she had a double ear infection! Yippee!

Here is Ryan with John (in blue, family friend), Mark (birthday boy) and Karen Annabelle and Spencer watching the fire crackers and bottle rockets being lit.
Carter
Kristi throwing Spencer in the air.
My poor sick baby! You can tell she is sick by those glossed over eyes.