Weekends go by too fast..

We have had a very productive weekend. I heard early this week that the weather on Sat was suppose to be nice and I wanted to get the yard picked up from winter. We have the biggest trees that line our yard but they leave a ton of dead limbs on the ground.

I deligated on who was to do what. Clay's duty is to pick up the dog poop, Michayla to pick up any trash that is in the yard (Tessa loves to chew up the blankets I put out for them), Mick trimmed up the rose bushes and other shrubs and I raked the never ending supply of limbs in the front yard.

Of course it couldn't stop there, Mick had to pull out with his 4 wheeler, a grape vine bush that looked dead, and sis got her 4 wheeler out and hooked on the harrow and disked up the riding arena.

We decided to have a garden this year. We went grocery shopping and couldn't believe the price on bell peppers, cucumbers and other veggies. We haven't had a garden since we lived in Nampa when Clay was in Kindergarten, so Mick is very excited! He goes all out, making some water system with his PVC pipe and other contraptions.. As long as we don't have tomatoes in it I am fine. :) It's a little too early to actually plant the garden, so he bought this thing where you plant the seeds and it grows inside of the house into the plants, then once it gets warm enough he can plant those into the garden. With having fox, skunks, racoons and what ever else roams around out here we will have to build a fence around the garden and I am going to have the kids make scarecrows. I can't wait to have corn on the cob this summer!!
Although Sat wasn't the warmest or nicest at times, we enjoyed hanging out, letting the dogs run around the property and just being together.

Then I woke up to the never ending howling wind. Looked out at the front yard and then at my hands and told Mick that these blisters I have from raking were all for nothing because the yard looks just like before I spend an hour doing that.. Oh well I guess, it'll give me a good excuse to go outside when the weather finally decides what it wants to do.

We heard from our neighbor's that Mr. & Mrs Green are due to be back from California either tonight or tomorrow. Clay is so excited to have them back. They sent the kids a nice gift for V-Day. They are the sweetest neighbors. They are like having my grandparents right across the street. I did see that they have already pulled in, I can't wait to tell Clay in the morning!

Mick did quit his job last Monday. He was able to do his side jobs this past week. He is starting his new job tomorrow (Mon). He will be working for BrenCon, it's owned by Steve that owns STP Concrete, where I use to work about4 yrs ago. Mick has known Steve for quite a while, he use to see him all the time when Mick worked for Masco. So we will see how it all goes. He will be working out at Avimore, the new community/subdivision outside of Eagle on your way to Horseshoe Bend. He will be doing a lot of construction stuff plus Steve will teach Mick how to run their concrete trucks.

Well Spring Break is over. The kids had a lot of fun going to the Boys & Girls Club last week. They moved into a new building it's right next to Meridian Elementary School. It is really nice. The kids went to the movies and swimming during the week. They also dressed up for a give away for a new computer, but neither won. Oh well. The B&G Club is where the kids will be going this summer as well.

My sister is trying to convince Jason to get a dog. Sat morning I found an 8 month old Golden Retriever and sent the link to my sister, she responded to the lister and then tried to arrange a time to meet and look at the dog and the lady never responded again. It was a bummer for them, but I was on the hunt again. I found a few different puppies, and one litter in Kuna. We went and looked at them, of course adorable!! Now the hard part is to decide if they want to spend the money right now and buy one. **Puppies aren't cheap, even with a down economy.** I love GR, they are the nicese most generous, calm, easy going dogs out there. Everytime one comes into the clinic I just love on them. I think that breed will be a good breed for my sister's family. They leave for Vacation next week, of course I have offered to babysit. We will see what Amanda convinces Jason of tonight. The lady that has the puppies is moving to Oklahoma this weekend, so she has a short time to decide. I'll keep ya posted..

Till then~

Back at it, more focused..

I will be starting my 4th month in April, since I have started working out at the gym. I had a lapse for about 2 weeks, I still ate well, but just was feeling exhausted and not going to the gym. I had wore jeans that I hadn't wore in probably at least over a year, and feeling pretty good.

But watching the Biggest Loser on Tuesday and seeing my dear friend Aubrey go home and her home diary, I suddenly realized that could be me, I have a tendency of losing weight then thinking I am ok not to keep my routine going. I felt terrible when I saw in 3 days how she gained 9 lbs back. How scary is that. A few weeks ago, I saw Mandi at the Sprotsman's Show, she looks terrific, almost the same as I have always known her. I never really saw her at her biggest. I asked how Aubrey was doing and she says that she struggles because she doesn't enjoy working out and doesn't make herself a priority. Now I can't imagine having 5 kids, a husband, house and a full time job to take care of.

Ding Ding, went the bell in my head. I have to make myself a priority. Not in a selfish way, but in a way where I make the time when it's available to put myself first. I work in a business where all I do is cater to the needs of other people, their animals and the needs that they have. I take care of both my kids and hubby, and my own animals. I need to remember that if I don't take care of myself that I won't be here to take care of them.

I am in no way looking to lose all this weight to make an impression on other people. Just me! I am not doing it so that I can be the cutest mom out there, I am doing it so that I can enjoy all of the events that my kids want me to take part in, and just to be in good health because as much as I don't want to admit it, I am only getting older. Darn it..

So tonight I went and spent 1 1/2 hours at the gym. I have a feeling every time I leave that gym that is almost indescribable! I feel re-fueled, energized, and more confident in myself!
I have about 50 lbs to go. It's not about a size or necessarily a number, but I know that with my height I should weigh a certain amount and if I can get within 5-10 lbs of that goal, I am ok with that. I won't dwell about it, I will just continue to try hard to achieve it.

I want to reach this goal by my 30th B-day and it's only creeping closer everyday. But the count down begins today: 10 weeks, 71 days.. Here we go!!

6 1/2 inches..

Two posts in one day, this has to be good, and trust me it is!!

Michayla has been bugging me about getting her hair cut. We attempted to do it yesterday but we couldn't get an appointment anywhere. I promised her that we would do it today. So after getting up and ready for the day we headed out and were able to get right in to a hair dresser.
We went back and forth, trim it up, cut it short and here is the final decision.


Before:















After:













She absolutely love it! Mick and I adore it too. I think it makes her look older, not that I want her to. She already acts likes she is 16!! I have been told that she looks even more like me than before! I will deffinately take that compliment!

Anyhow there is our suprise for the day!!

Busy with Life..

I think it always gets busier as the warmer weather comes. We have been so busy! I have been working really crappy shifts this month. A lot of closing which makes it hard to spend time w/ the kids after school and Mick at night. Some nights I am not home until 7-7:30 and that's hard when they go to bed at 8. I did bring it up to my manager and hopefully next month will be much better.

The kids' Baseball/Softball season has officially begun! I am excited about Michayla playing this year. She really wants to be involved in some kind of sport. Though I think she would prefer to be doing chearleading/gymnastics, we went with Softball. Maybe next year we will do the other events. We will just see how this Season turns out.
She did get to participate in a Cheerleading event through the H.S. Cheerleaders. She was exstatic! Everyday it was her in the living room trying to do a cart-wheel, or a backwards flip, some kind of cheering thing. A few times we all thought she was going to break something.. Thank goodness she didn't. Michayla was excited that Abigail was going to be doing the clinic as well. It was a 2 hour practice at Abigail's school gym. And then they were invited to the H.S. where they preformed during the half time break.


They aren't the best pictures, but it's as good as I could do.. It seemed like the girl that was in the center was always right in front of Sis and I couldn't get a great picture. Oh well, I think she's been bitten by the cheerleading bug, so I am certain this isn't the last time I will have this opportunity!

Clay's Baseball has started this year as well. My Dad is his coach and of course Mick is an Asst Coach of some sort. I remember my dad always coaching my brother's team's when he was younger, and he came religiously to Clay's practices/games the last 2 years. I know that my Dad wants to see every child do the best they can during these games. My dad will deffinately bring structure to the team, and I think it is well needed. Clay was bumped up to Minors AAA League. Although Clay may not be the best at this league, I think will the constant training he gets here at home & with my dad and all the practices he is going to do very well this year! He loves to be "involved" in the game. He doesn't like being an outfielder, so he's played catcher's position the last year and loves it! I can't wait to watch his games this year!!

Mick's job! Well it's been here and there. We don't really know which way it's going. They gave everyone a pay cut, and really don't have much going on besides the Prison. He's had some other job offers so we'll see what he decides to do. I am not sure if he will take the Donnelly job, he knows how important it is to be here with the kids, and he really doesn't want to work out of town. He's going to talk with someone this week about a new job, so we'll keep ya posted. One thing I know about Mick, he works his butt off doing "whatever" it is he decides, and I know that he will make the right decision! One good thing, he's had about 4 phone calls on side jobs. So he's going to be doing those this week and that kind of extra money always helps out!!

We decided not to do 4-H this year. Everyone has raised the prices on buying pigs and feed has gone up, and honestly we don't think that their will be very many people buying at the sale this year, so we decided not to do it and hopefully next year things will look up for the economy and both kids will be able to show. It has taken a load off our shoulders not doing it this year, that would just add more to the schedule and it gets pretty hectic sometimes..

Hope everyone that was reading before hasn't given up on me. I am sorry it's been so long since I last posted. One last thing I would like to share is that I have lost 15lbs, and I am just so excited that I am on my way to losing more!!

Take care~

Changes

Gosh it seems like it's been forever since I have blogged. I have been either too busy working, taking care of kids or just plain too tired to get on here and type.

So many things have been going on, and maybe my brain is just to the point of exhaustion that I can't comprehend exactly what all is going on..
Mick has once again been laid off of work, this is his 2nd week he's been home, it wouldn't be too bad but his un-employment is about ready to run out and we aren't sure if he can get the extension, so that is a little stressfull. In the mean time, he has been offered another job. The only catch is it's in Donnelly. He met a guy who owns a Const. business and he has got jobs in Donnelly, for a new airport, boat park, and 3 subdivisions. It is a great opportunity for Mick, better pay, able to move up within the complany faster. But, it's in Donnelly, and I absolutely LOVE living where we do and I don't want to move. It sounds like it is a job that will last for 7-10 years, so Mick has talked about moving up there so he doesn't have to travel back and forth. I can understand, why not move, it's close, we can still visit down here. Here are my issues, I wonder what kind of sports programs they have up there? What about 4-H? What school's are good? Will I really be ok living away from this Valley, the only place I have ever lived? By moving, will I lose contact with my friends that are here, will they come see me up there? I love my job, I mean I have never liked a job like I have this one, and I am worried that I will leave this job and totally regret it!!
I think it's just hard to change, although I have always said that I love change, I wonder just how much I like it???
They are talking of starting the job the first of April. We of course wouldn't make any drastic changes until the kids are out of school and Clay is done with the Fair. So we are looking at late summer.
The kids are very excited, they want to move now, but I am not sure if they really get what it all intails. Anyhow, so there is our delima, or opportunity however you want to look at it.

Last weekend we took a trip to McCall, our friends rented a cabin and invited us to come up. There were 14 adults, 3 kids, and 3 dogs, WOW might not quite be the word to describe how it was.. We did have a good time. We didn't get up there till late Sat, Clay had Baseball tryouts then we left after he got home. Sunday we went and visited Mick's Aunt who owns the feed store in New Meadows, then we went to the Gold Fork hotsprings again, this time at night. That was so awesome, so different then in the daytime, we loved it! Then we came home Monday (I had the day off). We were able to look at some houses up there and get a newspaper to look in their classifieds for houses to rent. That step might be a little premature, Mick might just take the camper up there and live in it until we decide what we are going to do.

Here are us girls, they are all such sweet gals! Had fun..

Over all, things have been going good for us. My niece Syndey came to town last week, so on Wed I went and picked her up after I got off work and took her over to my parents house so we could all enjoy the visit with her. I can't believe that she is 19 almost 20.. Goodness where has time gone??
Over the weekend Clay convinced us to get another cat for Chloe to play with. Well this will be day 3 and they aren't getting along. I don't know if we will keep her. She is super sweet, a lot calmer than Chloe, but Chloe is having hard time liking her. Anyone have any suggestions as to how to get them to like eachother?? We will give it a few more days, but I think it's stressing them both out..

Alright well I have been sick all weekend, and today I feel a little better. I have a fever that I just can't shake, it's awful to sit up straight, so I think I better go lay down. Thank goodness for Mick, he's taken care of everything this weekend, from the kids, to the cooking to even the laundry. I am very greatful to him!!

McCall Carnival, Snow mobiling..

It's been quite a while since I have updated my blog, just haven't felt like it lately. But I have done so much in the last two weeks, that I thought I better update and share..
Typically my girlfriend Laura and I go to McCall for the Carnival every year and this year we invited 3 other gals to go with us. We rented a cute hotel room and left Sat morning, it was a lot of fun. I think I just enjoyed getting away and the fresh air!







We had fun, ate dinner at a great restaurant, went to the best hot springs Gold Fork, where we happened to run into my sister and family as we were leaving. It was just nice! Those girls were great fun!!
Came home that evening and Mick had been cooking all day, some of our friends came over for the super bowl, I am not really into football, but definately thought the game was well worth watching.
We've been working working working and fitting the gym in, in between.
The kids have been signed up for baseball & softball for this spring, we have try out's for Clay this Sat. I hope we can arrange to get them both to their practices and games.. I know we'll run into some conflict with having games at the same time, but I hope that it can be worked out.
My parents invited us to go snow mobiling/sledding with them on Sunday, that was so fun. It just amazes me how well Clay can ride a snow mobile. He rides so good and doesn't show off or drive irresponsible. He is really awesome on his sled and Mick's too. We went out past Pine, there wasn't a ton of snow but enough that we all had fun!






All has been good, we are approaching a spot where we feel like we are stuck between a rock and a very hard place. Any prayers to help us would be greatly appreciated! I'll add more to that in a little while..

Sharing...

I made a life altering decision at the beginning of the year. I didn't want to "blog" about it, because I wanted it to just be MY thing. I didn't make a big deal about it because I wanted to be successful as well, and I didn't want to say anything because I wanted to feel confident in my decision without feeling like a failure if I didn't succeed.
I realized when 2009 started that in 6 short months I will be turning the BIG 3-0! And it gave me a huge wake up call. My baby has just turned 8, and my oldest will be 11, ah!! And I am in the worst shape of my life!! I definitely can't say that it is just baby weight anymore. :)How scary is that?
So on Jan 3 I took the plunge and for the how ever many-ith time I have joined the gym. It is a cute little quaint small gym that doesn't intimidate me in the least! It's 3.5 miles up the road and I HAVE to drive by it every single day to and from work, so it is a constant reminder for me to go there.
Before I have always said that I have tried to eat well and work out, but I honestly don't think I ever took the actual steps to make it successful for me. It is so different this time, I am eating better than ever, 5 meals a day: 3 regular size and 2 snacks. I eat breakfast every morning, and make sure to get in all my snacks. I go to the gym and work out on the elliptical for an hour to an hour and a half, burning 500-650 calories per workout and I am going 4-5 times a week!! My girlfriend Laura is my workout buddy and she hopes to get me into the spinning classes once our endurance level is up to par!
I am proud to say that I am down 7 lbs and hope to lose at least 50 lbs by my 30th B-day. I am making an honest effort to make this a part of my life. I am keeping my family involved and changing the way we are all eating. Although Mick hasn't gained what seems like a pound since H.S., he is the MOST supportive person encouraging me to reach my goals. He went grocery shopping last week to buy the food that I specified, he can eat ANYTHING and not gain an ounce, and I look at it and my butt grows an inch! He was so great to not buy any "junk" food. He does have his own junk, but it is always the food that I don't care for, so we are safe there.
My biggest weakness is Pepsi and Coffee, and I am proud to say, I stopped cold turkey the day I signed up for the gym and have been going strong w/out either one ever since!

Anyhow, I decided to share with the encouragement of some of my friends. I have been told not to step on the scale again until the end of Feb, so I may not post about my progress until then. Finding the time to workout hasn't been a challenge, I typically get off work at 1 or 2 and go straight to the gym after work before the kids get home, it's working out wonderfully.

I applaud all of the other co-worker-outers, it's a constant struggle. I just tell myself that I need to take it one day at a time, and that no matter how hard I work it isn't all going to come off in a week. AND, I am not going to lose weight like the people on the Biggest Loser, so I should be discouraged! Good luck, and good job to everyone who takes on this hard task in life!

With success comes failure, and if we didn't have failure we wouldn't have success..

Roller Skating Madness!!

I think the idea to go roller skating was one of the best ideas ever! We ALL had a blast. There were more than 20 of us in attendance for Sis' B-day party, and just about everyone got out and skated.. After getting everyone through the door and then all of the presents stashed and blah blah, we were out in the skating rink.. I saw Mick and Clay out there first.

Mick said he was a little nervous too not having roller bladed since he was a kid, but he got out there and did a great job. Ash really wanted to skate, so Uncle Micky took her out there and had her skating between his legs in no time.




Mick's mom even got out there and skated, that was great! My poor friend Jennifer was going around w/ her daughter and fell, oh it looked so bad, I felt terrible..

It was a little difficult trying to manuver around on skates, to get all the gifts to the tables and presents and then gathere everyone all at the same time. Michayla recieved a lot of generous gifts from her family & friends! She is very thankful and had a great time.

Her little booty is hurting her this morning, as she fell a few times yesterday. I am sure there are a few other little one's who are hurting too. I was very nervous, having broke my legs a few years back I was just sure I would biff it and break it again. Michayla kept asking if I was going to skate and I told her I would attempt it. I did get out and skate, and did NOT fall at all, it made me feel like I was 10 yrs old again. TOO FUN!!
They had a race, Clay, Michayla, Kayla, Kaitlyn, Kimmie, Jessica, Jake, Cole, Mick, Jason D., Laura & I all raced around. That was fun too..








My sister posted a good picture of all of us adults for the race, Jason Dawson won and I think Mick was second, I of course was last, but atleast I got out there and did it.

We had a terrific time, and it seems like all of Michayla's friends did too. I can't wait to go back and just skate around with the kids again, it's definately a family outing now!!

Happy 8th B-day!!

I can't believe that Michayla is 8 today. Where has the last 8 years gone? I am so very proud of this little one. From day one she has been an utter joy in our lives. She was a terrific little girl, she slept well (some say way too much), she wasn't ever picky about food. Always was a happy baby. She is smart way beyond her years. Potty trained herself before 2 yrs old, started reading before she was 5. Once she got in school she absolutely loved it. Asked the teacher for extra homework to come home with. Loves to read and pretend like she is the teacher. Has always been the little motherly friend. Follows the rules and likes to keep things in order. Very helpful to her little cousins, sometimes too much that they don't like it.
She wears her heart on her sleeve, if you talk to stern to her she is crushed. Always wants to help clean, cook, organize, or whatever she can to keep things straight.
Mick and I adore her more than anything in this world. We definitely got two different ends of the spectrum with our children. We love them both for their individuality's.
Happy B-day my love, I hope you have a fantastic day at school. Can't wait to celebrate with our family and friends roller skating Saturday!!!

I...

I AM a wife to Mick and mom to Clay & Michayla.
I KNOW that my family is FOREVER..
I WANT to succeed at my goal.
I HAVE to get the rest of Michayla's B-day party in order.
I WISH I could take a family vacation right now.
I MISS my grandma.
I FEAR losing someone close to me.
I FEEL lucky to have what I have.
I LOVE listening to music.
I SMELL Scentsy warming.
I CRAVE ice tea.
I SEARCH for a good deal on anything I am looking for.
I WONDER how my grandpa is doing.
I REGRET some mistakes from the past.
I LOVE my family!
I AM excited for Michayla's 8th B-day tomorrow.
I THINK it's funny when people read about your life but keep their's private.
I ALWAYS hug and kiss my kids goodnight.
I BELIEVE miracles can happen.
I DANCE to music mainly in the truck, sometimes when I am being weird at home.
I SING in the car with the music up so loud. I love a good song.
I DON"T know what the future will hold for us, but I'm excited to see.
I ADORE this life I have.
I TRULY am a Cowgirl.
I CAN"T wait for our "Girl's Weekend" to McCall at the end of the month.
I WIN playing Aggravation, it's a cute marbles game.
I AM proud of my children.
I THINK it's funny when the kids pretend to be people they aren't, when they are playing.
I CAN always depend on MICK.
I AM not scared of anything..
I NEED to keep focused and stay confident.
I KNOW I am happy when I'm with my family.
I TRUST having a friend that takes you for exactly who you are (Thanks LauraBell)

I tag anyone who reads this blog to post this on your own, it's pretty fun!! Read those two words of each sentence and see how much of a postitive attitude you have when you are done! I love it!! Feel free to change any of them for yourself..

Tonight I am sitting over at my sister's watching her kids, well I should say, Mick is entertainging them with the Wii and well I am really not doing much. Ocassionally Ash will come over and try to bug me, she is such a little stink-pot, right now I have told her 3 times to put the keys back that she keeps getting out of the laundry room where Amanda & Jason hang their keys. HOLD PLEASE.. Ok got the keys put away, I don't think they would appreciate Ash locking the doors to the truck and then losing the keys or setting off the alarm in the garage, or whatever it is she could do w/ those things. Then of course she wants a snack, so now she is running through the living room making the announcement that we are having popcorn... I tell you, it is very different tending to a litte one. I think I am so spoiled with my kids, it sure seems they have grown up so fast..

Talking of that it reminds me of Sis B-day coming up on Thursday. I can't believe that my baby will be 8 yrs old.. Goodness, where has the time gone. We are going to go Roller Skating for her B-day, she can't wait. I didn't think I wanted to have another slumber party, although it was fun, I opted for her to do something else this year.
Amanda made some really cute invitations this year:


I can't wait to go skating, I can't remember when the last time was that I did that. It had to have been quite a long time ago because it was at Skate world that is no longer on Cole rd.. This will be an experience in itself.. I just hope I don't break my leg or something. ;)

I just can't even belive that this year I will have an 8 and 11 yr old and that Mick & I will hit the big 3-0!! I truly do adore this life that I have and all of those that share in it with me~

My friends on the Biggest Loser...

About 6 or so months ago my friend Aubrey told me that she and her sister had made some semi finals for the biggest loser and they were going to Colorado to see if they made it.. I never heard back from her if they had or not. Mick told me while I was still at work that some gals from Meridian were on the Biggest Loser and I asked if it was Aubrey and Amanda, but he didn't know. When I got home we started watching from the beginning and sure enough there they were!!! I am so excited for them both. I have know them since 6th grade and in middle school and early high school was really close friends. Amanda and I use to play Basketball together and Aubrey and I kind of use to get into trouble... Well lets just say we were always there to be eachother's "backup." I am so rooting for the girls in the yellow shirts!!! They came in 2nd in the competition for imunity and just barely lost it...

So keep the girls in yellow in your corner, they were both really big athletes in school and I know they will kick butt this year!!!!!

CRasHEd

What do you do when you have lost ALL of your pictures from the past 3-4 yrs on your computer?? You cry like a BABY... This past week my computer said I needed to do some updating on it, so I downloaded the updates (which I typically do) and then restarted the computer. When it came back on it just kept flashing this black screen and wouldn't come up with my normal screeen. Impatientially I kept turning it on and off to see if it would reset itself, and it wouldn't. I see a screen that says press F10 to do a system recovery. I of course thought that would fix everything. It did - in a way - it reset to original settings when I bought it and erased everything else that I had!!
I seriously cried, I couldn't believe that this happened. And of course I had been ignoring the little pop up screen that kept telling me to backup my picture files... I have been googling all different ways to see if I can get those pictures, I could care less about anything else on my computer but pictures are very important, they tell a story all by their selves.
I do have a guy that says he could probably find them on my computer, so I am going to take it over to him to see if he can find and copy them to a disk for me this week.
So, word to the wise. Back up your pictures or put them on a disk. I probably lost over 2-3000 pictures... It makes me sad talking about it again.. I should have learned when this happened to Cassie and taken the appropriate steps to avoid this, but I didn't.. Bummer...

2008 in review

I can't believe that 2008 is already gone. We had a terrific year last year, I have put some pretty memorable pictures together. I can't wait to see what pictures I get next year!

Hope everyone has a fantastic New Year in 2009

Christmas..

We had a great Christmas, and it's not over yet. X-mas eve we went to Mick's Grandma's house and had dinner and opened presents w/ her and Mick's Aunt and cousins.. It was nice, the kids recieved new clothes, which is always appreiciated. We finally put the kids to bed around 10 or so, and they were both so excited about Santa coming. ** Now Clay does and doesn't belive in Santa, sometimes he says he doesn't and that he knows it is Mick and I, and then when I talk "Santa" up he starts to believe in him again, so it's kind of a catch 22 with a 10 1/2 yr old buy**

Anyhow, so we wait till about 11 before we go to the barn and get Sis' big present to bring into the house, and then we start filling the stockings. 11:30 and Michayla is up and going to the bathroom and not wanting to go back to bed... AHH, I paniced when she started towards the living room. I detoured her to her room. We waited till a little after midnight and decided we were good to go to bed. I don't know how many times thru the night that those two came into our rooms saying "Santa came, can we open our presents?" Umm, I looked at the clock it was 1am, 3:30, 4:30 and finally at 6am a sleep deprived mother got up. Of course I remembered that the camera was in the truck from the trip to Grandma Betty's so I went to get it and decided I better just feed the horses while I was out there..
Anyhow, came back in and they both opened their stockings first and then onto the presents. Sis was so excited that she got a new dresser from Santa and Clay almost passed out when he opened his new hunting coat! Along with all their other gifts they had a great time opening presents.
My parents and Amanda and family showed up. Mick made scrambled eggs and sausage, I made cinnamon rolls and Amanda brought pull-aparts. It was a nice gathering.. Opened gifts again. Clay got a new sling for his 22 that he bought with his pig earnings. Michayla got a new desk and chair and some necklace making kits. My mom was nice enough to buy me new dishes, I so needed them. Two years ago she bought me new silverware, so my kitchen attire is rather nice now.. Mick of course got Cabelas gift cert. and some new outdoor shoes.
Then my folk's took the kids and we went to see Marley & Me. I read the book a couple years ago and I just loved it. The movie was really well done, it compared to the book rather well. Then to Mom's for dinner and home to put all of Sis' things together. Clay spent the night at mom and dad's so he could go hunting w/ Dad on Friday and Snowmobiling on Sat. Maybe I'll get him back on Sunday.

Sunday night we go to Mick's folk's house to exchange gifts with them. We usually spred X-mas out over 3 days just so we don't have to do so much running around in one day..
I am putting together a photo slide to post, but will wait to post till after Sunday. Hope everyone had a great Christmas with their families...

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!! Take care, god bless...

X-mas card thank you's..

I just want to say thank you for all of the great Christmas cards we have gotten this year. We have recieved a ton and I really appreciate all the pictures and traditonal cards, they are all great!!

The winner for the Scentsy Bar drawing is Melissa!! More than likely Amanda may be dropping it off to you, but I will try to do it myself.. :)

It was a very busy weekend, but I need to get to bed so that I can go to work tomorrow, I work 10 hr days for the next 2 days, so I might not get to post about Michayla doing a terrific job in her Christmas singing Program at Amanda's church today until X-mas eve!! It was great, she really wants to be a singer when she grows up, too cute!

Till then......

Missing..

Doesn't it just drive you crazy when you have something, then go to look for it and it is missing? I have 3 bamboo pampered chef spoons, and now I can't find any of them. Clay's chore is to unload/load the dishwasher. I asked him where they were and he says he doesn't know, Mick and Michayla have the same answer. Where could they have gone?? It's not like a sock in the dryer, I don't think that my dishwasher ate them, but I searched every drawer and cupboard and can't find them anywhere... They have to be around here someplace, I guess I will continue to keep looking...

**A Christmas give-away**
Leave a comment about something bizzare that has gone missing at your house. You'll be in a drawing for a Scentsy Bar, just perfect for this time of year. I will draw the name on Friday, and get the bar to you before X-mas!! Good luck... :)

Busy weekend..

My weekend started early on Thursday. Mick had been sick since last Sunday, it was pretty bad for about 3 days, then Clay woke up Thursday morning and had a fever and a terrible cough. Mick has not been working but 1-2 days a week, and of course the one day he is called to work, is the day that Clay is sick. I was scheduled to work 10 hours that day so I couldn't really call in sick. Clay went to work with Mick, he was fixing some things so Clay just hung out in the truck. After I got to work we looked at the schedule, it wasn't busy and almost all of us were there due to it being a Surgery day so I was able to go to Nampa and take Clay home.

We did some errands before coming home then Clay was banned to the cough and some medicine and eventually took a little nap. It definitely isn't like it was when he was little. Before you could give him some medicine and he'd be out, now it's a huge ordeal, he thinks he's to old to rest, but I got him to anyway.

Friday was Clay's X-mas Concert, he felt a little better that morning, he was excited about the concert so there was no keeping him home from school. Mick and I took the opportunity to go to Cabelas so we could finish Clay's x-mas shopping. It never fails that when we go there Mick just "happens" to find something in the bargain cave that he just has to have.. :)
Clay's concert was at 1, Amanda and the girls came and it was a nice concert. Some kids used the percussion instruments and sounded great. Afterwards we ran some Scentsy to my niece Shannon's teacher and then home.
I have been using my myspace to get a few friends' address for X-mas cards and had told our friends the Anderson's that if they were coming into town for the holidays to call. With apologies Shannon contacted me and wanted us to get together Friday night for drinks. We hadn't seen them both since right before the moved about 3 years ago. We met up at the Ram in Meridian, thank you Amanda for watching the kids on such short notice. It was nice seeing them, they really haven't changed.

Sat Mick got up early to go Goose/Duck hunting. My dad has a special membership to some blind in Nampa, the Geese always fly but have gotten smart and fly around the blind. Oh well they still came home with 6 ducks.
Sat night was both Mick and I's company X-mas parties. This being our first we wanted to go to them both. Of course they started at the same time. Mick's was in Meridian at the Golf course and mine was at our Dr.'s house in Star. We went to Mick's at 6-8 then mine 8:30-10:30.. It was nice to see all the guys that Mick talks about.
Sunday Mick and Clay and my dad got up and went goose hunting, the weather was perfect, a overcast and snowing, couldn't ask for better conditions. They got 3 Geese this time.. I dropped Sis off with Amanda and the girls at church and then went and sat with my Grannie for about 3 hours till church got out.
My Grannie is looking and doing wonderfully. Great news is that she gets to go home on Thursday! I am excited for her but bummed that she'll be back out in Homedale, it's so easy to see her here in Meridian. I guess that just means we'll be making more frequent trips out there. She is trying to make arrangements to move into Meridian, I hope all that pans out for them.
Then it was home to start laundry and all of that stuff for the work week preparations. Cass came by to get some Scentsy that she bought, she looked too cute in her little van. When I was saying goodbye, Ella (her wild child) was sitting in the passenger window, stradling it. She cracks me up. Always keeping Cassie on her toes.. Too fun, for her.. ;0)

I can't believe that X-mas is in a little over a week. And, in 1 month from today my baby turns 8 yrs old. Oh my goodness...

I believe that I have all my shopping done, I know there are a couple people that I still need to buy for, but for the most part, I am done. Hope all of you are too..

This next weekend Michayla is singing at church, she has a solo part in a song they are singing. I can't wait to go and watch. She loves to sing, and does a great job of it. She reminds me of myself when I was little. I always had the radio on and I knew all of the words to most every song. Can't wait, my mom bought her a beautiful winter dress and she will look just adorable in it. I'll post about that then..

X-mas a little early!!

My best friend Laura and I always buy X-mas gifts for each other, and we never wait till X-mas to give them to each other.. She and her husband Zach just bought their first house together and I am so glad that it is only 4 miles up the road from me. Thursday we both needed to get some more shopping done, and thought heck why not exchange our gifts to each other. I bought her tons of towels, washcloths, and kitchen rugs and pot holders. Although she has lived on her own for however long, she needed new and exciting things for the new place. I was shocked when she gave me this Ok so my gift doesn't really compare to hers but I am so thankful to her, I love it, it's brown suede and has pink crystals on it..

She didn't spend that much on my gift, but won't tell me how much she did spend. She said that she was tired of me always fixing my little crystal clips on my cheap purse that I bought off Ebay. While I love that purse and always got a ton of compliments on it, I am very appreciative to her buying that for me!

Laura is the kind of friend that you know is always going to be there. We can call each other at any time of the day or night or early early morning for that matter. She cocktails at a local bar and if something interesting or funny happens she thinks that at 3am is the time to call me and tell me about it. I love that we talk about 4 times a day, usually about nothing too important.

Laura is more than just a friend, she is more like family. We have been through so much together, she was right there for me during some really hard months a few years back and I too for her. We are ok with just sitting and watching TV not talking at all. She went camping with Mick and I and the kids for 5 days one summer.. Although she doesn't have her own kids I know she will be a great mother when that time comes!

Thank you "Laura Bell" for all that you do for me, I am a better person for our friendship!!