Every day stuff

Just thought I'd post a picture of what the kids are usually doing while Kelly is blowing the snow. Yep - Rae's mean mom makes her practice the piano. The problem is - she is doing so well, I can't let her stop. All the kids are playing and doing well. It is definitely difficult to keep up the momentum and keep everyone practicing. It is paying off though. I think they enjoy it - a little bit. It is just such a darn good thing to know!

Brady the homework man!


Our kids are really good about getting their homework done. The moment they get in the door (after mad dashes to various bathrooms throughout the house - what?! do they not have bathrooms at school?! I can't figure that one out!) they all sit down and get their work done. I don't even have to remind or ask them. It is so nice to just get it all finished early! Great job kiddos!

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!