Wintertime Fun!

The weather has been keeping Kelly really busy after school as of late. We have really needed the snow that we are getting this winter. It needs to keep it up! The last few winters have been so mild that Kelly hasn't had to blow around much snow. Not so now! The man has another full-time job. This is my usual view from my front window every evening.



Let's just hope the 'ole John Deere snowblower keeps a goin' for another few winters. It kind of makes loud, weird noises once in a while. Kelly's figuring out how to keep it going. At least he is remembering to put oil in it (Sorry - Grandpa Barry! ; ) ).

B-Ball Time!

Rae and Brady have had a great time playing basketball this winter. Both of their teams are doing really well.
Getting all ready for the big game!

Sorry - dark picture, but that's Brady driving the ball.

Another dark one - maybe I should actually stand up and walk closer to take a picture! Naaah - too much effort!

Rae is playing church ball - and Brady is playing on a "Jr. Jazz" team. His coach is one of his dad's friends that has coached high school for a long time. So Brady thinks that is totally awesome. They are both learning a lot and having a dandy time.

Rexburg Temple Open House

We finally made it to Rexburg! We had a fantastic day. The temple was awesome. My kids really enjoyed seeing it all. They said they liked the mural room the best. Grandpa Jonesy would like the murals! Looked just like the top of Greys river with elk and deer. Fantastic! It was a cold, cold day but we had a great time spending the day together. We love to see the temple!

Finished!

I am really excited and happy about how the room turned out! It looks fantastic. I'm feeling much more prepared for our arrival - to say the least! Thanks Jen for the crib and baby stuff - it is wonderful!

SSB CLUB

I'll bet you didn't know that we have a great club here at our house. Yes we do. It is the "SSB Club" and it meets regularly for fun and games. Occasionally there are meetings to discuss important political issues, but mainly it is fun and games. The "Sister, Sister, Brother Club" started about 2 years ago when Rae had the brilliant idea of talking me into letting the kids sleep outside or something. Anyway, the club began and has continued these long years. They really have fun with each other. They create forts, or watch movies together and always call it a "SSB" party. They even hang a sign on the bedroom door that says, "SSB Club in progress, don't come in. No telemarkiters" (Rae can't spell).

I love that they love being together.

They had a fun club meeting this weekend - watching movies, eating junk and sleeping upstairs on the big couch. I might let them do it more often if Brady actually slept!

Baby room project

So, I can finally put up some pictures of our big project. I can't tell you how nice it is to have a handy Kelly around! That man is Bob the Builder himself. I really am glad that he can do so much around here - from keeping the snowblower going, to building an entire house! The man is handy. Ask him to cook something ---- well . . . .that is not the same story! For sure! Oh well, good thing I love to cook! And helping with the baby - you know he'll be good for at least 17 minutes! What a guy! Anyway, I talked him into putting up bead-board wainscoting in the baby room. It looks great. He also built shelves in the closet - SO NICE.





Today the kids and I were supposed to go to the Rexburg temple open house - but the weather didn't allow us to. The roads were closed all over because of blowing snow. We were really disappointed! But, we tried to be productive - and you know how kids like to paint! So we began the great painting project of the room. (They had all done make-up work for school already, so I just kept them home). I decided about half way into the big paint, that I'm a bit too pregnant to be painting with 3 kids - (translation: I was a bit more grumpy than usual! : ) ). But we really did well. They were actually a lot of help - we got the 1st coat all on. We went to the Maverik for hot chocolate to celebrate their hard work (which, of course, Rae spilled all over the car ----and created another project!!! Ahhhhhh! Gotta love that girl! ) It was actually a pretty fun day - in spite of the storm!

We LOVE Maura!

Maura is so darn beautiful! Rae was enchanted the entire time we were there! She never wanted to put her down. We had a great trip to see the Russells - we always love a good trip to Arizona. It got us all excited to have a new little one around here. Now, if he can only be half as beautiful - we will be set! : )

Beautiful Reese

Here are some cutie pictures of Reese.

This is her class Christmas program called "Christmas all over the world". Her 1st grade class taught us about different Christmas traditions in many countries. Cute reindeer - eh?





And here is the toothless wonder herself! That's right - she lost both her fronts. True to form, when she had her second front tooth get loose, Kelly said, "here, let me see how loose it is?" and promptly pulled it from her mouth. It is a wonder that those kids ever trust him. She was actually really glad that it was gone. She is a pretty cute 7 year old!

Merry Christmas?

Merry Christmas to all! Here is our Christmas picture, that was going to go on our blog in December. Better late than never!

Crazy Boo Boo

Well, we all know that Brady is a closet goof. Yes, that is CLOSET goof. If you are lucky enough to get to be around him when he is feeling funny it is HILARIOUS! He has the best laugh in the world - it just won't stop. It is infectious. Here is a silly picture of Brady wearing Reese's hair. She was sitting on a stool behind him and he was laughing. What a kid!

Happy Thanksgiving?

Yes - I know that it is January 15th - but here was our fun Thanksgiving with Katie, Kevin and David. We had good bird and lots of fun! Here is the photo to prove it!

Rae Rae the actress

Rae had a great fall acting in some plays. She landed one of the lead parts in her school play, and tried out for the high school's production of "The Music Man" and got to be in that too! She was so excited and did such a fantastic job. She loved every minute of it. This is one hobby that she is definitely sticking with!

The Russell Family

I love my sister and her family. We had a great time visiting with them for Christmas break.


Aren't they cute!?!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY REESE

Yes! I can post now! Tech support was a total help (why didn't I make him sit down sooner?!) Anyway, so the next few posts are catch-up. I have a lot! So If they happened a long time ago - yea, like November, that is why!
So-- the girl is 7 now and totally adorable! We can't believe that she is getting older. We had a great birthday with her.

BEAR WORLD!

Reesie's first grade class recently got to go to Bear World! I decided to tag along for the day - and we had a great time. We saw over 30 bears! They are just roaming around (in a fenced off area) and you drive through the area and look at them. It was great fun. They also had a petting zoo that we went to after seeing the bears. Reese got to pet a lot of cool animals - including a deer! She had a great day.

Painting!

Here are the photos:

I Think I've Got It!

So I think I figured it out! Now I can blog again! Here is my furniture! I absolutely love it! I'll take a picture of my painting job soon! That was a lot of !!!!!!!

Summer at Bear Lake

How's this for a summer picture! I'm trying to see if I can get one to upload. Hopefully it will work!

More About Me! Finished!

Okay - Okay - I'm having blog problems. I can't seem to upload photos. I have to figure it out. So I haven't published any in a while - okay an entire summer! And I have so many cute ones that I'm dying to share! Oh well. I will do it soon. Instead, I will attempt to finish my "about me" list that I seem to have forgotten about. I know you are ALL dying for the finale! (yea - yea - Bek and Jen are the only ones who even look at this!) So here goes . . . . . .

66. I just completed "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" and I cried twice while reading it. It was great.
67. I can procrastinate about doing the most simple things. I usually think about watering my plants for at least two days before I actually get to watering them. Pathetic.
68. I talk very loudly.
69. I also just finished reading "The Lovely Bones". What a book! I sure love a good read.
70. I don't mind mowing the lawn. I just love how it looks so much when it is finished - that it is great motivation to mow it.
71. I try to be open and honest with my kids - and tell them all the things that my mom never would tell me. I hope they feel like they can ask me questions.
72. I'm a clean-a-holic and a little embarrassed by it sometimes. If someone is coming over that isn't such a freak like me - I will actually put stuff out to make it look like I'm not a freak. (Now how freaky is THAT!?!)
73. I clean stuff up and then can't remember where I have "cleaned" it to. It drives Kelly batty. I don't blame him.
74. I have a mole right between my breasts. Smack dab in the middle. Oh yea - and one on my as . . . uh- I mean bottom.
75. I love to be the only one awake in the morning at my house.
76. I don't like to sleep in. Makes me feel yucky.
77. I hate to take naps on Sunday afternoon - makes me feel yucky.
78. I love it when all our kids come and get into our enormous bed with us and talk. Kelly doesn't like it so much - but I LOVE it.
79. I give Reese silly kisses every night.
80. I am not a fan of country music. Not at all. Occasionally I will hear a song that doesn't make me want to spew - but mostly it's a spew-a-rama. Too bad that the only station here is a country one! AHHHHH! I've resorted to just laughing, spewing and all together making-fun-of it most of the time.
81. Did I mention that I like to watch movies?
82. I don't like to wear jewelry.
83. I wish that my name were Cordelia. (Okay - now that was a total lie. It is just so darn hard to write 100 things about myself!)
84. I don't ever lie.
85. I don't like to watch sports on t.v. If I have to - I think I'd pick a football game over anything else. No golf! Please!!!
86. I have been the primary chorister so many times - for so many years - I could do it in my sleep. I love that calling though.
87. I can remember most of all the lyrics to musicals that I have seen. I think I needed to sing a song about the first boy I kissed!
88. I like to keep my toenails painted - it makes them a bit more bearable to look at. Maybe I should paint Kelly's . . . hmmmmm . . . .
89. My favorite fruit is a peach - ripe and fresh.
90. I have to go on a drive or a walk on Sunday afternoons.
91. I think thumb rings are really cool.
92. Toe rings make me want to toss-up-my-cookies.
92. I love the change of the seasons.
93. I do not have a friend that is shorter than me. I don't think I can think of a person I know that is shorter than me!
94. I have cried more times this year than I ever have in my entire life.
95. Rainy days and Mondays always get me down. (Lying again for the sake of reaching 100 - I actually enjoy rainy days and mondays. Rainy days mean curling up with a good book or a movie - and mondays mean getting the house really clean after a weekend of kids/husband home! Great fun!)
96. Kelly is my favorite person in the world. I'm surely glad that I married my favorite person.
97. I hate the name Tiffany - almost as bad as the name Rod.
98. I don't really like "surfing" or messing around on the computer. I'm a get on it once in a while kind of person.
99. I snore. Really bad when I'm prego.
100. I love being me! I love my life! I love where I am right now in it! I'm excited to see where it leads me!

Peppy and Belle

It wouldn't be summer without lots of fun on Peppy and Belle. Last summer and this summer we have had a neighbor let us keep them in his pasture right by us. Rae loves to take care of them and just play with them. A chip off the 'ole grandpa - that girl is. Rae is loving barrel club again this summer with Peppy. They are doing really well. Kelly took all the kids for a ride just in the pasture last night. He really enjoys riding with Rae too.

Summer Haircut

Every summer Brady gets the buzz. He likes it - and i like it because of the no hassle factor. It is just funny to look back at all of our family photos and if it is summer time - Boo has a buzz! I'm not sure if the buzz helped his mustache grow or not?!

WICKED fun!

We had such a great time in Denver! The musical was awesome! The kids really loved it - Reese and Rae especially. Brady liked it too, but the girls were really enchanted. It was such a great family thing to do. After Wicked, we went to the Denver Aquarium. It was so cool too! Kelly loves aquariums, so we couldn't resist.

Memorial Day

Mom's grave on memorial day.

About Me Continued!

So I'm digging deeper - I guess! Come on Bek - I can't tell you everything! I must remain a little mysterious! ; )

36. Pet peeve - cupboards and closets left open.
37. Pet peeve #2 - chairs not pushed in.
38. Pet peeve #3 - bad grammar! Yuck!
39. I would rather take a bath than a shower. I always take a bath whenever I'm upset or don't feel well. It really helps. (I have taken as many as 6 baths in one day - I'm serious! How wacky is that?!?)
40. I want to be a better listener.
41. I really don't like cell phones. I think they are helpful once in a while - but I'm not a groupie. Text-ing seems kind of ridiculous. Maybe I'll be converted when I have older teenagers.
42. I have a burning desire to learn to tap dance. I may take a class this fall.
43. I LOVE all the Star Wars movies - even the ones that weren't that good. I love 'em all - It is STAR WARS!!! I am also obsessed with the Harry Potter movies, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the Spiderman movies. Brady and I could watch one every night.
44. I'm not a fan of feel-good-mormonie-music. I love listening to the Tabernacle Choir - but anything that resembles "Afterglow" makes me want to retch.
45. I own a Donny Osmond CD (how's that for digging deeper?! - HA!)
46. I have a poor memory. I cannot remember the first boy I kissed. Not a bit - not who, not when, nothing. Now that is pathetic. Maybe there were just so many . . . .
47. I can remember exactly what my mom's voice sounded like when she was singing. I'm glad for that.
48. I love the smell of baby magic lotion! It is the best smell in the whole world.
49. I have never heard my husband fart. Bless him.
50. I have never seen my husband sitting on the toilet. Bless him. (He's keeping the romance alive)
51. I love to sit at the swimming pool and gab with my friends while our kids swim. Good times.
52. I think "bedazzling" something is just plain wrong.
53. I have always wanted to be a good french-braider. Just can't seem to get the hang of it. I'm great at french kissing - but braiding - not so much.
54. I crack myself up all the time. But then I forget about it later.
55. I love Hostess Snowballs. Love 'em.
56. I don't really ever read a newspaper. I'm a skimmer.
57. I am not interested in politics.
58. I love LOTS of ice in my drinks. The colder the better. And I love to eat the ice. Crunch - crunch! Huh- Chris!
59. Jennifer once screwed me out of having John Denver sing me a love song. Dang her!
60. I wish I were as cool as Buffy!
61. I am so not good at math. Uh uh. No way. I think I could learn - if Ronny Hyde hadn't permanently messed with my brain.
62. I HATE gangster rap. I totally HATE it. The only thing I don't love about Kelly - he LOVES the stuff. (I keep trying to remind him that he is a white English teacher from Wyoming!)
63. The most beautiful scenery I have ever seen is the English countryside. I was awestruck.
64. I hate to be cold.
65. It is simply amazing what I can accomplish while I'm on the phone with one of my sisters. Cleaning is my thing to do while I'm on the phone.

About Me

Finally getting on the wagon and beginning the list about myself. I love to read other people's - so I guess I should do my own. Here goes - I'll see how far I can get.

1. I love to movies. LOVE them. I get such joy about thinking about movies that are coming out that I want to see.
2. I love to watch tv with Kelly. We have "our shows" that we always watch together. He rubs my feet the whole time.
3. I sweat when I talk. I'm not nervous - I think I just get into talking too much. It makes me crazy.
4. I HATE feet. Any feet. Anytime. I think they are all nasty. The only ones I can stand are baby feet.
5. I love to plant things and watch them grow. I love to putter around outside in my flower-beds.
6. I get so excited in a green house. A true natural high.
7. I could fold laundry all day - I just hate to put it away.
8. I like to clean the bathroom. I just love the clean feeling and smell when it is finished.
9. I would rather talk with Kelly than anyone in the world - except not on the phone. We don't like phones.
10. I'm not a real animal lover. I kind of love them - I guess I haven't really decided yet.
11. I love broadway musicals. Love listening to the soundtracks, love going to them - love singing them loudly in my car.
12. I like to work hard, fast and furious and then crash. Just like my mom.
13. My favorite part of the day is getting ready for bed with Kelly. We always go to bed at the same time. Brush our teeth together and talk, wash our faces and talk, get into bed and read. I fall asleep first - and bless him for buying a reading light!
14. I hate spending money on car things - servicing, tires, repairs, registration, etc.
15. I'm not photogenic at all. Never have been. You are or you aren't. I'm an aren't.
16. I love to read - although I haven't been reading much this year.
17. "Lonesome Dove" was one of the best books I've ever read (Sorry Bekki! So true!) This totally surprised me - I really don't like westerns. I really can't get into Sci-Fi either - much to Kelly's dismay.
18. I hate the word coagulate. YUCK.
19. I love to have close friends. Martha and Jeff feel more like family than friends.
20. I love to cook and bake. I'm more motivated about it during the winter time, but I always like to cook- I never dread it.
21. "Girlfriend in a Coma" by the Smiths is my all time favorite song in the whole, entire, wide, wide world. Can't get over that song.
22. I love to do step aerobics. Love it. My favorite form of exercise for sure.
23. I am definitely not athletic - and I'm totally okay with that. I don't have a desire to be so.
24. I'm not very interested in clothes. I hope I look presentable - and that's about as much as I think about it. Just not my thing.
25. Tom Welling is the hottest movie star I have ever seen. Totally yummy.
26. Cookies are my favorite food. I looooove cookies.
27. Ice cream is a dessert I could turn down.
28. I felt really out of place during college. I was nineteen and married - kind of weird. Others in my biology class were going to parties that night - I was going home to cook dinner. I don't regret getting married young. It was perfect for me. Thankfully we had Marty and Ceef (Martha and Jeff) to hang out with.
29. My favorite sound in the world is hearing Brady laugh hard.
30. I am scared to death of heights. Just ask Barry. I wasn't kidding!!!!
31. I hate mice - they freak me out.
32. I am mostly scared of anything. I hate things that are high, fast, unpredictable or otherwise dangerous in any way. I have been like this my whole life. You say bun-gee jump? I say - LIKE HELL!
33. I love taking my kids trick-or-treating. I LOVE watching their heads bob up and down as they run from house to house.
34. I love to walk up the canyon behind my house.
35. I love to watch "Moulin Rouge" and sing all the songs along with it.

That's all for now - gotta jet. I'll keep adding!

GOTTA DANCE

Yea! This past Saturday we got to go and watch Rae and Reese perform in their dance recital. They were so awesome! They both did really well. Rae learned some jazz and tap this year and Reese did ballet and tap.

This is Star Valley!

I love where I live! I think it is so wonderful to live in Star Valley. But in order to live here you just have to be patient and wait until you get the weather that you want! For instance - I'm posting two pictures, the first taken on the 5th of May - last saturday. The second was taken today, Saturday May 12th -after I got finished weeding my flower bed. If that's not crazy - I don't know what is.