Petunia's Patch

2011-10-26T21:48:00.000-06:00

elk creek

2011-09-07T14:33:00.000-06:00

Set camera down, set self timer, run like a a wild man to get on horse in 10 seconds before timmer goes off, smile. so fun. Love my view from the back.

blissful

2011-08-24T17:37:00.000-06:00

Our horseride today. D took the pictures of J and I. She did a great job. Love this little family. Bittersweet thoughts of school next week. Ok mostly sweet.

Heber Valley Camp

2011-08-21T15:40:00.000-06:00

We went and saw my parents on their mission. What an awesome place. We had so much fun. We hiked, did the challenge course, went on the lake, enjoyed being with Gramma and Grampa, played horseshoes, loved every minute of it. The sunrise picture is the only benefit of having a little boy awake at 5:30 AM. Ok maybe not the only one.

2011-06-25T14:25:00.000-06:00

We rode at Harriman State Park the other day and had a great time. i think I feel a new found freedom not nursing, pregnant, nor will I ever be again so we can go for the entire day and have a great time. Our horses do pretty good as do kids so we are having fun.

Saturdays ride

2011-06-06T20:52:00.000-06:00

So fun. Today was about the opposite of last ride. Warm, sunny, pleasant. We rode really high up above Heise. So much fun and not a complaint from anyone so we didn't ruin them from out last ride.

Horseride

2011-05-30T17:17:00.000-06:00

We went on a ride today. It was nice going but hail coming back. Literally. It hailed and rained everyone cried but we made it back and everyone was happy in awhile. This is where we had lunch. It was an old set of corrals and we could get out of the rain for a minute. I was wishing we had matches to light afire. It was not the warmest of days. 39 degrees to be exact but we were sure that "it will blow off and be nice soon" We were soaked. I put clothes on the front bench and the were steaming a drip. But we made some memories and who said they all have to be wonderful and good and positive. We will remember this ride for along time. Sometimes the kids want a story and most of the time they start out with "one day we decided to go for a ride so..." The other picture is a field that is not usually under water near my parents house. Lots of water.

P's baptism

2011-05-19T16:00:00.000-06:00

What a fun day. P was able to be baptized with 2 good friends. This is J's parents. Mine missed because they are on a mission. We had such a neat day. Later he read me his journal and it said "I got baptized today and felt the spirit very much." I love to be a mom to great kids.

Spring

2011-05-19T15:53:00.000-06:00

This is how cheap rednecks harrow their pasture. Hook 2 pieces of hog panel to 2 bikes and pull till your heart is content and legs are burning. We did pull a harrow around with a 4 wheeler later. P drew this picture after we got back from moving cows for 2 days. An 8 year old perspective. If you can't see it is the view of a cow from the "tail end" and he is saying "yah cow" . D was holding a horse and reading a book while they both chilled. Baptism Pictures to follow.

Cows to the hills

2011-04-21T17:38:00.000-06:00

We took my brothers cows to the hills today and yesterday. We all went and drove and rode because Grandma and Grandpa are on a mission. The older kids rode and did great while the younger 2 rode in the pickup and had almost as much fun. We had a great time.

winter

2011-01-24T17:55:00.000-07:00

We have been having fun even if it is 13 degrees outside.

Halloween

2010-11-01T15:58:00.000-06:00

This is our family at the truck or treat. Doesn't J make a great viking and D a great missionary and P is a natural clown and M a very good mother to B already. We had a fun time dressing up and later eating all the candy that we got too much of. We had a great time.

4-H

2010-08-23T12:56:00.000-06:00

D did great in 4-h. So did P. Between both of them classes, record books, open classes and everything, there was only one red ribbon. Everything else was blue. Pretty great. We had a good 1st year and we will be doing it next year. D was in the top 8 of her halter class,pretty good for about 30 kids. She got to go back in and that was fun. She did good riding too. Lambs they had a great time. I don't have any pictures of P but he did showtoo. D was doing really good in her lamb showmanship and he started rearing and bucking so she got flustered and started crying but she got it together and did good. They had a good time so hopefully we are life long 4-hers because it is a great thing.

STP

2010-08-19T17:52:00.000-06:00

We had a tea party on our computer keyboard on the way to Seattle so I am just now getting to blog. I will try to blog a few times in the next few days (in between naps and pain meds) and catch up summer. We had such a great time in Washington and Oregon. J rode the STP Seattle to Portland. 204 miles in one day about 14 hours with feed stops. He rode with 3 brothers, a nephew, and 2 other somehow related family. We got to follow them from stop to stop and we had a great time. There are 9,993 other crazy people that want to ride that far also but about 3/4 of them do it in 2 days. I can't imagine getting back in the saddle after a 100 mile ride just do it all in one day. They had a great time. We drove along the coast to go back to J and B house. We went on the ocean in J boat one day and to the lake the next. We ate fresh berries till we were sick, some of us more literally than others. We had such a great vacation. It was so fun to see where his brother and his family live and to stay with them. They are awesome hosts. I am still amazed 204 miles in one day by choice? Whatever makes your wheels go round honey, Good job.

Summer

2010-06-06T20:57:00.000-06:00

D is in horse 4-H this year. She was alittle nervos as we walked to the arena, she calmed down rode did great, had fn and we got back to the pickup and she said "Mom that was so awesone" Hurray I thought. She was able to make some new friends and did so good. She wanted to ride a few days later and it was cold and windy and I was having a difficult time getting excited to take everyone out, saddle and all those things, about five minutes later I see her ride by the kitchen window. She had caught her horse taken her through two gates while keeping two horses in the corrals and got on bareback by herself. I promtly got shoes on B and went out. She is having fun. J and P were riding and it was so funny to watch, P was watching his dad every move and would copy him they were being so goofy. This is my sisters kids they were over playing and all of them were under the trampoline playing fetch with Dora. They had a great time, they really need a good dog like Dora. B had just got a haircut so I stripped him before a bath and couldn't resist because he is so dang cute. Some day it will warm up and we can really enjoy summer.

My amazing husband

2010-05-30T15:39:00.001-06:00

J has been riding his bike for just over a year now. He loves it. It helps him relieve stress, gives him time to think, he is able to get away (even though sometimes I do want to curse his me time, maybe I need a bike) and is great excercise. He entered a race on Saturday. It was blowing hard at times, raining, and even snowing for awhile. But he did it. It was only 25 miles but it was an up and down with parts between 5-9% grade. The last 3 miles were all up hill. It was a beautiful ride. After he started in the snow we waited for a while and then found him and followed him for the last 7 or 8 miles. It was really hilly with a resiorvior at a spot, lots of cows, freeway frontage for a mile or 2, and an amazing rock canyon with a nice little creek running through it. It was amazing to see him do this race. He worked so hard and wanted to quit quite a few times but he didn't. He finished even though he couldn't feel his hands because of the cold and was soaking wet from sweat and rain not to mention burning calf muscles and a tired sore back and his bike was acting up and trying to shift gears when he would stand up but he never got off and walked. And as if that isn't enough he isn't sore at all today. Holy cow makes me want to push myself alittle more. Yes I really am bragging I know but isn't he amazing. He finished in 1 hour 49 minutes. Look at the grade nad the surroundings. Amazing.

The pictures of the kids asleep is on the way home from the race. You would think they raced.

catch up

2010-05-18T13:56:00.000-06:00

School is almost out. Yeah I think. A couple of things to catch up. I went to Muffins and Moms with P at school. It was fun. They had written about their moms and why they love them. D had Parents, Pies, and Poetry. They each had choosen a poem and then did some in groups mostly Shel Silverstien. It was fun to see the different personalities come out in the poems. D did a good job sharing her poems. We got 4-H lambs. We are doing horse and lambs. D is any way P still has another year. It will be an adventure. The family picture was Sunday morning before Stk conference. We had an extra hour so we took a few pictures. J took B for most of conference so I really enjoyed it. J I mean B had alittle nap in the foyer even. D had a piano recital a few weeks ago also and did very well. It is so fun to watch these little kids grow up. They are growing up so fast. We saw pictures of the family when M was about B age it was just yesterday. How I love that I can go to these things at school, that I can be home when they get home from school, and be home with my 2 littlest monkeys all day. I wouldn't trade that for a vacation home in Island Park, Disneyland trips, a nice ranch in Montana?, a brand new minivan, or a Dutchman RV. I love being a mom.

Really this is all

2010-04-28T14:36:00.000-06:00

I relive this everytime I look at the pictures and I missed showing J on the pony, Max. Someday he will be a nice horse for the kids in the meantime J does great with him. I also missed getting B and M in the mix so I think that is all. Until I look at them again and find some more that are blogworthy.

Cows to the hills

2010-04-27T12:03:00.000-06:00

I don't know what pictures these are but there was one of P riding with Gus a cousin, J on the pony,Max. Dallee is in pink on Moe, there is a partial family of P,J,me, and D. We had a great time Dallee rode on Saturday her own horse for the whole ride. P rode on behind me and Gus and walked part of the way. It was fun to be together. The pony got some good training and was almost tired by the time we got there Sat. The other kids stayed with Gramma and then she brought them up when we got there. Sooo fun. I still just want to be a mom and a cowboy when I grow up( if that happens, the growing up part.)

just a few more

2010-04-12T20:57:00.000-06:00

P had a great time too. A few years ago and he had to have ear plugs but this year he was right out there in the fun. M and D had fun trying to get a squirrel to eat their food. We missed dad he was at state FFA convention but I think we hadf enough fun for all of us.

Brandin' 2010

2010-04-12T20:50:00.000-06:00

Call me crazy but this is one of my favorite things to do. It was a mostly pleasant day with a little wind. It could have been blowing 50 MPH, or snowing like it was Christmas ( or last week) and it would have been a fun day. I think one of the reasons besides the ropin and ridin part is being with my brothers. They are fun. This is 3 or the 4. We missed T. It takes me back to when we were kids and we did this same thing every year. We talked about the spills, the wounds, the loops, the help, the sores. When I grow up (if that ever happens) I want to be a cowboy.

April showers

2010-04-06T11:04:00.000-06:00

These pictures are of the lawn that J just fertilized yesterday, the swingset with the baby swing that B just played on yesterday, the bench that M made "prefake" pie out of mud and gravel, the cement that I swept off, the flowerbed that I prepared for planting, and the firepit that we had a "Indian Camp" at just one week a ago. Just remember that April showers bring may flowers. I don't know what April snow storms bring but I'm sure it's good too.

KIDS

2010-02-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

I tried to take pictures of B and all we got was M and fuzzy ones of B. Oh well. Maybe I need to take him somewhere because I can't make him sit long enough to get a picture that isn't fuzzy. We played with some and that was fun.

Silly boys

2010-02-12T10:59:00.000-07:00

P has loved this new pony. This is him standing on max and jumping on him too. B loves to unload the lazy susan and he got in here and was mad because he couldn't get out. Hope winter is treating you good. We are having a good time. Happy Valentines Day too.

15 years

2010-02-01T11:25:00.002-07:00

We just celebrated our 15th anniversary on Thursday. I know I say this all the time but time just goes soo fast and especially when you are having fun. Well we are having fun. Life is good. I am so glad that I can spend eternity with J. Too look back 15 years ago is amazing. 5 kids, 7 moves, 4 real jobs, a few years of "Carter experiences" and very little that I would change. I love to think that I can spend many many more years with my great husband. I thought that I loved him on our wedding day. I really love him now but more than that I know him and thats what makes me love him. I am rambling on and on so I'll quit but I sure look forward to the many, many, many, many more years I have with my honey.

sorry the were the right way at one time

2010-01-14T12:14:00.001-07:00

rambling, catching up and more funny things

2010-01-14T12:08:00.000-07:00

We had a great Christmas. We went to SLC for a few days after and had a really great break. The kids got the pony for Christmas. He is not broke but is pretty gentle. J has had fun working with him. We will get him going and rideable soon. We are doing a meal sharing with three other families. It is so nice. We were quite apprehensive at first but the meals have been great. I cook for our family and three others on Wed and deliver it ready to eat by 5. Someone brings us supper Mon, Tues, and Thurs. I have found I have time to clean rooms and places that normally see me about every other year. I have time to blog, exercise, and I don't have to cook, clean, plan, prepare, shop for every night of the week. Its great. Some funny things M is on a princess kick, I told her to pick up toys and she said princesses don't pickup toys, I said do princesses play with toys, Yes she said then princesses pickup toys. Ok I will. I asked her if she wanted to lick the spoon from making brownies. "Mom princesses don't lick spoons." SHe did lick it. We had a reaaly cold week when the daytime high was single digits and I was taking the pickup and all the kids to piano. P didn't have a coat on, D had on a jacket so I gave them the "be prepared to walk a mile what if we got a flat tire whaqt if we slid off the road" speech P says under his breath "mom its a chevy don't worry." He is such a boy. one more thing. The fedex man came back (parked on the road this time). I had been downstairs picking up and had found some kabob skewers. Well I wasn't headed up stiars so what does a home mom do with things like that? Of course stick them in your hair. Well the door bell rings and I sign for the overly happy fedex stuff. A few minutes later I bent over to pickup B oops out falls my skewers. What is the deal with the fedex guy. Anyway always something to laugh at around here quite often its myself. Have a good day.

Just a couple a funny stories

2009-12-15T14:23:00.000-07:00

This chicken jumped over the fence right on to Moes neck. She let her rest there for about 30 minutes and then she just shook her head until she flew off. If you have been to my house you know that the driveway is alittle goofy but come on FEDEX its not this bad. Really, he delivered, left so I thought and a few minutes later I noticed a van driving all over our lawn, good thing its frozen. He must have got a little crooked went into the rocks and didn't feel them or the three foot drop? Whatever. He did make some big holes in the rocks but other than that not too bad, but come on its not that difficult. Merry Christmas. We are enjoying this time of year and hope you are too.

2009-11-09T15:08:00.000-07:00

It is November?

2009-11-09T15:00:00.001-07:00

I just downloaded my pictures from summer and fall. Can you believe how slow I am? Can you believe its November? I really thought about blogging but never got around to it. So why the picture of the rooster. Cause he was the only thing on my camera that wasn't severly out of date. B from June. That was 4 months ago he has doubled in weight, a cute D hairdo, she got it cut and permed and no I haven't even taken pictures. Wow I know that I say this all the time but time flies when you are having fun. We must be having more than fun because I don't know where time goes. So let me take this oppurtunity to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, Meryy Christmas, and a Happy New Year. And a Happy Valentines Day just because.

tHATS THE WHOLE PICTURE

2009-06-09T15:21:00.000-06:00

How redneck is that?

2009-06-09T15:19:00.000-06:00

J decided that we needed a mule so to get a mule you need a mare (check) and a Jack donkey. Well it just so happens that the neighbor has one. Now we know why there are few mules. Jackson the donkey was worse than a rooster in your bedroom. He would bray at all hours of the day and night and it was the longest, loudest bray I have ever heard, ok so I haven't heard that many. Well after about 2 weeks and not a sign of studleyness this is how he went home. our friend R on the 4wheeler, J turned dragging the donkey, P on his bike with a stick hitting him to get him moving. That is why it is so big to be sure that you can see the whole picture.

love these kids

2009-06-06T10:46:00.000-06:00

J has been gone this week so this was something to do to break up the week. Our neighbor has this great fence and area where we love to take pictures. And finally M cooperated. Yeah. we have very few pictures that she is not cheesy or turned around or whatever. It was a good picture day for all, even mom hardly had to get mad. Welcome summer it is about time.

Branding, cows to hills

2009-05-13T16:05:00.000-06:00

We helped brand calves and take cows to the hills. P was riding Copper and he got in some nice warm dirt and rolled. P was a little freaked out I made him get back on and then get off after a while and then a few miles down the road he was ready to ride again. Yeah. J and I took turns driving and riding it worked really well when B woke up I fed him and drove and when he was asleep J drove. The kids only wantedd to ride when Dad was. D is the photgrapher of the kids on horses. They branded when B was just a week and a half old so I mostly sat in the van and fed him but I did get to rope a few. It took along time to catch, sorry Tate, because I am so very rusty, but it was fun still. I love springtime for a few of these reasons.

For Grandma

2009-05-13T15:48:00.000-06:00

This is a few weeks ago but they were as good as its gonna get for a wahile. This 4 child thing is extremely time consuming, especially when one of them wants to be attached, literally. But I love this new life. I love kissing him, bathing him, just holding him, sometimes most of the day.

Baylor Jon

2009-04-08T19:05:00.001-06:00

We welcomed Baylor to our family on March 31st at 3:58pm. He had jaundice and required the blanket for a week, but we are over that bump. He is doing good. He does what a baby is supposed to do eat, poop, cry and sleep. We love him and are so glad that he is here, healthy and happy. Hw weighed 8lbs 1oz and was 211/2 inches long. he takes after me, his shoulders got stuck in my pelvis and required two nurses jumping on my belly to free him. He takes after his dad maybe alittle too in that department.

7 days?

2009-03-24T12:18:00.002-06:00

Another week has passed. Another dr visit. I'm still scheduled for next Tuesday. They tell me that once my body recognizes that it is in labor it will go fast. I'm just alittle leery bcause this is two weeks earlier than I have had a baby. The dr gave us a little scare. He said that doesn't feel like a head down there. Lets do an ultrasound and make sure. Well the baby (boy for sure) was in the correct position. Huge relief. Now I just keep reminding myself it could be three weeks rather than one, be tough, endure, enjoy the journey, be patient, grin and bear it, be grateful that you can have kids, enjoy those movements they will be gone soon, need I go on. Needless to say I am very ready to exchange my aches and pains in for new and different ones. I can't wait to feel that first twinge of labor pain. I get to this point and I like to count down for some wierd reason it makes the time go faster. Only one more Sunday, one more laundry day (probably not), one more babysitting day plus a few hours, one more week of sleepless nights (haha I know this is just the begining) but maybe atleast when I lay down I can sleep. Blah, blah blah I will stop. I am excited to meet this new addition and move to the next phase. We did get a carseat Thanks to all who offered theirs. Have a good day.

Really, could it be?

2009-03-12T20:20:00.002-06:00

I went to the Dr. today. He asked if I wanted to set my induction date. Yes do you think I'm wiling to just let nature take its slow course again? No, not if I have anything to do with it. We are having a baby on March 31st or so I hope. I'm still hoping for that miracle of miracles in that i just go into labor on the 26th ( our kids are out of school from Fri to next Thurs) have a baby all natural. I believe in positive thinking but its just not even possible at all, so we will stick with the plan. Interesting thing my blood pressure was high and since I switched Drs. it has been normal. One other thing I called to check on our carseat, it is too old. Would anyone be willing to let us rent a carseat for a year. I don't want to buy a new one because I think (strongly) that this is our last. Does Once upon a child sell them and do I trust them if they do? Any other ideas? 19 days and slowly but enthusiastically counting.

Homade laundry soap and dishwasher soap

2009-02-20T14:11:00.002-07:00

I found this great blog iamfrugal.blogspot.com and on it she has homemade soap. I thought I would give it a try. It was so easy to make I bought all my stuff at the local Winco for under $7. She has it all figures out that it is about $.01 per laundry load. Just to be sure it worked it I dirtied two identical rags with the same stuff and let them sit for two days. Ketchup, mustard, chocolate, oil, and permenant maker mostly just so I would know which was which. I washed them both with cold water using my old detergent (cheap winco stuff) and my new stuff. We thought that they were about equal in how much of the stain it brought out. Neither of them touched the oil, the chocolate was clean and the others were still slighly there. So I am using it. It was so easy to make and I have 2 gallons of soap now. The disherwasher detergent uses the same Borax and Super washing soda and it has worked just as well too. If anyone wants to try it before they buy, let me know, but I will charge you that penny that it does cost so this is no freebie. Haha. Check out the blog she has some amazing things on there. Have a good weekend.

Dr. switch

2009-02-11T14:27:00.002-07:00

I switched Dr.s a few weeks ago. I like my new dr and do you want to know why? He said the most wonderful thing to me the other day. This is it "I will start you anytime after 39 weeks." All of our kids have been a week over. I always dream of having an on time baby but know that the chances are like haveing twins at the stage. It just isn't going to happen. P was 8lbs 10 oz I fear that this one is big too so my dr said we can start you. Music to my ears. I don't want to be too early that I have a horrible, long delivery but even the due date doesn't sound too bad at this point. We will see how it all plays out sure as I plan I will have him early. Yeah right. Oh well the thought that I could have almost 7 weeks and not almost 9 makes me giddy. I just really need to be patient because who knows what the plan really is, I for sure don't.

14 years of eternity

2009-01-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

Ahh love is in the air. We too celebrated an anniversary this week. 14 years. I can't even belive that we have been married that long. Although 14 years of an eternity is not that long. It has gone by so fast I'm sure that the next 14, and then next 14, and the next, and the ... will go even faster as we get busier with growing kids and lives. I love life. I don't know that I ever imagined life could be so great but I have a fantastic husband, good, healthy kids and a wonderful life. My sweet D said "if I could choose any mom in the whole wide world do you know who I would chose?" I was alittle afraid for the anwser but she did say she would chose me. What a relief. I would chose her too as well as the others and even J although I don't know that he would pick me as fast as I would pick him. Maybe it is just pregnancy hormones but I just feel so blessed. I truly do have such a great life with great families, great friends and everything I could ever want or ask for. I can't wait to spend 345,455,454 more years with them.

Winter fun

2009-01-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

Well I thought I better blog something although we still have one puppy left free to ANY home. J has taken the kids sledding behind the horses the last few Saturdays. They love it and have so much fun. I do feel alittle left out though. Sunday morning we had a few minutes to spare before church so I took pictures. There were about 2 in the whole bunch that weren't blurry. I think I was trying to hurry too much. In the goofy one I said make a face and that is what I got. We are loving the snow and so grateful for it. Hope you are having a fun winter too.

Free Puppies

2009-01-09T15:01:00.000-07:00

Hi our mom Dora she is the big one in the picture with the boy, she is getting tired of nursing us, cleaning up after us, you know how it can be 7 babies at once. Well anyway we are looking to branch out, ya know find some homes. These people who take care of us are tired of us too, we try to keep the pooping to a minimal, we are fairly quiet, but Chubs the big one he always hogs the food. Anyway if you know anyone who would like to have a great friend, companion someone who is always happy to see them get in touch with the owners. We are old enough now that we can leave mom anytime and I would love to have a new family to love. Please call, send out the trackers or do something we need our own space.

Now thats a pile a ....

2008-12-27T17:22:00.000-07:00

So thats it a pile of puppies. So this is our giveaway. Each of you that made a comment have won a yellow lab cross puppy and a friend of each of you also so you chose the friend. Help we have 7 of the cutest puppies that we need to giveaway. The mom is a great dog. She is purebred yellow lab and were fairly certain (HAHA) that the father is a well bred yellow lab because all the puppies look like the mom Dora. They come well adjusted to families M would pack them around all day if I would let her. They are starting to eat puppy food but will still need a week or so on the mom. We have 3 males and 4 females or vice versa we can't keep them still while we try and figure it out. So if you know ANYONE that is thinking about a puppy have them come look. They are soo cute and we love the mom. She is a great hunter, good with the kids, quiet as in she doesn't bark, She just is great.

We are jumping on the Giveaway bandwagon

2008-12-12T13:50:00.002-07:00

You know this time of year people are so kind and good and with blog these days its so easy to get the word out about a giveaway. Well we have decided to be a part too. We are giving something a way too. I'm not telling what it is but, doggone it will be worth it. Just leave any comment about a favorite Christmas tradition and I will get back in a few days and tell more about the giveaway.

She is 8

2008-12-09T15:40:00.000-07:00

D was baptized last Saturday. What a neat day. We had lots and lots of family so that made it even more special. She got to pick out a dress, she got a few presents, she had a great day. I asked her that night if she felt different and she said "yes, it's hard to say but it was like whooosh." I said "like whoosh?" "Well like clean." When I went into the dressing room she was crying and J said that as soon as he pulled her out of the water that he could tell she was emotional. She said that she felt the Holy Ghost when the men put their hands on her head too. It was such a neat day. I was just as excited as she was I think. I love when these moments of joy come and I look forward to many, many more.

Families are Forever

2008-11-29T20:47:00.000-07:00

My grandpa passed away on Monday so all of my siblings and spouses were here and all grandkids but 4. It was too long of a drive from CA to bring them for a quick trip. He was 85 and had alzheimers and was ready to home as he said. The funeral was Sat. It was good. He was such a jolly man always tickling, laughing, teasing. He will be missed. He was a veteran of WW2 and so they did the military service at the graveside. It was neat. He lived a good life raised 8 great kids and had a huge posterity, 46 grandkids and 89 great grandkids. All of the cousins were there but 4 and two of them are on missions. Pretty awesome, I would say. So while we were together we took some family pictures. We didn't include the grandkids because we were missing some. So we took individual families, siblings and spouses, boys, and girls. It was so fun to be together even for the few minutes that we were. I have such an awesome family and thank my Heavenly Father everyday for them. Thanks for making the effort to do pictures and to be together. Families really are forever.

Be Careful

2008-11-18T10:18:00.002-07:00

I was at a friends house last night and she was telling me a story that I think is worth repeating. She said that Sat. something was bothering her, that she felt danger and she didn't know what the feeling was. She didn't sleep at all that night early Sun. morning she told her husband that she felt like she needed to delete her blog. Weird but she had a very strong feeling. So later she deleted it after she had copied it to a folder. Her sister-in-law called her that same morning and said "I'm deleting my blog" The sister-in-law had typed in her name and it was the first thing that came up in google and my friends blog was was linked to hers. Anyways to make a long story understandable(?) her blog had been viewed 1.4 million times. She has her town, her childrens school, tons of pictures, all sorts of info on there. There was anarticle done on blogging in SLC and the person pulled up a random blog and was at there house in 10 minutes. There are so many freaks out there be careful what you put on your blog because anyone can take it and claim it as theirs. I am going to be even more careful than I am about what pictures I use and what I say. I may even go private. I typed our names in and my blog name and nothing came up so I think I will wait for now on the private thing. Sorry to be so doom and gloom but better safe than sorry.

a day in the life of M

2008-11-13T10:36:00.001-07:00

I need to take pictures and replace the pictures that are on the wall so I thought one child at a time. I took about 40 pictures and none of them turned out. She is moving in them, picking her nose, doing sommersaults, you name it. She is impossible to take pictures of. Unless she is sitting on the toilet with her shirt over her head or she is afraid to get down after she has scaled the pantry shelves trying to get bubbles. I don't know how they would look on the living room wall though. What a joy they are.

2008-11-06T13:43:00.004-07:00

PARTY REMINDER

2008-11-04T14:41:00.003-07:00

My candle/jewelry party is Thurs and Sat. The official time for Thursday is 6:58 but you are welcome anytime. Saturday is from 10-12. Say you saw this reminder and I will give you something for free no purchase necessary. They sell some Willow tree statues and I ordered the Nativity and love it. Candles make great gifts too. As does jewelry. Hope to see you there. Tell your friends. Just for fun bring a friend and I will throw in another freebie. You can probably smell the candles from my blog they are sooo good.

I'm having a PARTY

2008-10-29T15:25:00.003-06:00

I have had an open house for the candles that I sell for the last few years and this year decided to combine it with Lia Sophia Jewelry. You all are invited and will receive an invitation just as soon as I get them out (and the flu bug leaves us.) It is next Thursday Nov. 6th at 6:58pm or for your convenience on Sat. Nov. 8th from 10-12AM at my house. You can order online at Lia Sophia and look at candles at Ashmancandles.com. These are great candles. I have sold them for 7 years and love them. They have great new scents and great old scents too. Hope to see you there.

A few of my favorite things

2008-10-26T16:47:00.000-06:00

We brought dads cows home on Saturday. It was such a beautiful day for a ride. These are my brothers T and T. T came up and it was so fun to visit with them. We had a great day.

This is the other thing that we did this weekend. We dipped about 40lbs? of chocolates. We brought different centers and went to town. These on the plate are orange slices, peanut clusters, butterfingers, toasted coconut, pecan turtles, mint truffles, and pretzel carmels. Yum huh?

J's neat experience

2008-10-20T09:58:00.002-06:00

Well our baby is due on Apr. 4. It seems forever away but I know it will be here sooner than I am ready. We are secretly hopeing for a boy so that P can have a brother even if they are 6 years apart. I wanted to share the experience that J had on trek. Yes I was pregant on the trek just didn't know it. The Stake YW president was talking to all the boys as the Stake Pres 1st couselor was talking to all the girls just before the womens pull up the huge hill. She was talking about hardships and challenges and Jon was thinking about the last trek and how I was pregnant on the last trek. (I have committed to not being preggo on the next trek if only to myself) He said that he the spirit said "A is pregnant this time too." So he was excited but did't say anything to me for about 3 or 4 days. Then he said "When you find out your pregnant, I have something to tell you." I told him I wasn't going to take the test for a few weeks just to make sure because I have such a weird body. Well I couldn't wait that long so I took the test a few days later and then he told me his story. Anyway it was pretty neat I thought. This is not written very well so I don't know that you can get the full jist but if not call me. Anyway we are excited. We should find out in two weeks but we don't know how much we will believe it because of past experience. I will for sure followup.

Outdoor Adventures

2008-10-01T10:55:00.000-06:00

The last two Saturdays we have taken a few minutes to go fishing. They have been local lakes with planted fish but we have had a good time. The weather has been great and the time together even better.

Our oldest

2008-09-22T14:23:00.002-06:00

Our spotlight would not be complete if I didn't share about Carter. I wanted to post pictures but I ( imagine this) can't figure out how to scan them in. Sorry. He was born Mar. 2, 1997. He was born with Down syndrome and about 40% of kids with Downs have heart problems. He had many heart surgeries. The first starting at 9 days and then 6 months, 7 months, 3 years. The 3 year surgery he had his mitral valve replaced with a titanium valve. He was very very sick for a long time and was on the ventilater for about 4 weeks. We were in Denver at the time which is an awesome childrens hospital. From there I flew to CA to live with J parents hoping we could return to CO. Well it never happened and J moved to CA. C also had eye muscle surgery, tonsils and adnoids removed, pneumonia a few times requiring hospital stays. He was on oxygen most of his life and enough meds to have a medicne cabinet with his name all over it. That is some of the depressing medical parts of his life, but he didn't know any different. He loved life and was so happy all the time. He had to have blood draws every week and he was so tough he would just put his arm out and rarely cried. He never talked so we signed to him and he signed back but he understood everything we said. I think he really understood alot more than we did about alot of things. He loved to look at the childrens friend magazine and would find the pictures of Jesus Christ and sign Jesus. He loved Primary songs. He loved cheetos and hotdogs, broccoli and water. He was tube fed for 2 years so we think that he didn't know the joy food could bring and it was a fight. And with all the meds his mouth was fried of taste buds. When he did eat it was very strong flavors, salsa, garlic, chips, lemon juice, ketchup, mustard. Well this is getting long so I will wrap it up here soon. He was happy. He loved to have J come home everynight that was the highlight. He would play and talk his jibberish and love his dad to pieces. He passed away on June 14, 2002 in my arms. We miss him but are so grateful that we got to enjoy him as long as we did. Well I guess that is all of our spotlights or is it?

our sweet D

2008-09-19T19:05:00.000-06:00

I know that my pictures are old. I will take some new one of these days. D is almost 8. She is a great helper. She loves to "babysit" (watch other kids not her siblings while they are outside). She loves school and learning especially math and science. She is like a sponge and just absorbs it all. She likes to ride her bike, train Dora (dog), jump on the trampoline, be outside. She is agreat kid. She is a super helper to M and loves to carry her(?). Most of all I think she loves to play with friends. She is very social and loves to have people over. We love her and sure appreciate all she does.

The P man

2008-09-16T15:15:00.000-06:00

Ok so I haven't blog for awhile. I need to finish my spotlights like I was going to do so here is one more. P is 51/2. He has a funny sense of humor. He loves to be with dad doing anything. He is very sensitive and tender, usually. One horse got out the other day while we were messing with the others and he burst into tears. "Mom mom hurry she is getting out" It is ok we are right here she is not going anywhere" But mom" He was so worried about Moe getting out. He loves to jump on the trampoline. He is very athletic and strong, but we also call him crash sometimes because if someone is going to fall, run into something, it is going to be him. He loves school. He loves to tell me about his lessons in primary and goes into great lenght to relay what he has learned. Well that is about all that I can think of. He is a great kid and a good helper and we love him.

Camping

2008-09-01T14:04:00.001-06:00

We went camping on Friday night. We had a very long, miserable, sleepless night, hence the very asleep kids on the way home. The wind was blowing about 40 miles an hour. Wind and tents don't mix, not with sleep anyway. We had fun but will find a not so winding spot next time.

Precious Boy

2008-08-25T14:46:00.000-06:00

These are few pictures that I just took of my sisters baby that is 3 weeks old. He cooperated after he was asleep. He is precious.

Summers over

2008-08-22T11:11:00.000-06:00

The kids entered a pet show at the Jefferson County fair and took horses. They had fun. We made it through our two weeks of swim lessons everyday eventhough I thought I would go crazy having to go somewhere everyday. They loved it and learned alot.

This is the first day of school. Hurrah. They were both very excited to go. P has the same teacher D had for kindergarten so that is very good. She is great. They both have good friends in their classes so that made it even better for them. Maybe not the teacher.

M

2008-08-11T07:28:00.000-06:00

I'm going to "spotlight" each of our kids because I adore them and love them. These are just a few recent pictures. M is fun. When she is happy which is 99.2% of the time she is easy going, funny, cooperative, singing and a joy. The other .8% watchout. She is not so sweet and crying screaming. I have decided that it is usually frustration. She tries to tell me something and I don't listen or I don't know what she wants. She loves to be outside. I think her favorite thing is jumping on the trampoline. She would prefer to do it alone but that happens rarely. She loves to throw anything for the dog to fetch. She loves D and if she gets mad at me she goes to D. She says her name and it is so cute. She loves shoes, mostly girly shoes of D's, she loves to wear D's skirts too but she gets mad when they trip her. Her talking is coming we just have to listen and look for clues as to what she is saying. She is a delight and we love her to pieces.

Camping and other

2008-08-07T15:44:00.000-06:00

We went camping earlier this week. We had a great time. We fished, caught nothing, looked for the cool looking wood, built a TP, ate smores, and relaxed. We had fun and realized we need to do it more often. Our stake trek was really good. I am always amazed at the youth. They really are choice, they have amazing strength. Martins Cove is such a neat place. I've heard that it is Wyomings temple and I believe it. It is sacred. I didn't take my camera but only 20 times a day I would say " why didn't I bring my camera?" Maybe next time. We went boating with the youth Tuesday night and had a great time. It sounds like all we do is play but can you imagine " Today I got up, threw cereal on the table, made the kids clean their pig stys or rooms we call them sometimes, mowed the lawn, the lawn mower broke so J spent 4 hours fixing..... ya I will stick to the more exciting or I guess the things that I want to remember. Well I have probably lost you by now, but just in case I haven't we have had a fun, busy, crazy summer.

Rodeo Reunion

2008-08-07T15:26:00.000-06:00

We were invited to the neighbors family rodeo-reunion. What a blast. We had a great supper, complete with a soft sevre ice cream machine and homemade rootbeer, games, crafts, pony rides, mutton bustin' ( P is conviced that has been the highlight of his five years), wild horse stampede but with bulls and cows. We had a great time thanks for the invite and we want to come back next year too. P is just coming of his mutton if you look hard in the third picture. The last picture is J doing some holding he is in the red. Sorry the picture is so awful but you get the jist.

Happy Birthday J

2008-07-30T14:30:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was J's 36th birthday so I thought I would share. This is last Saturday gettin' a little air on the wakeboard.

Everytime I see him on this motorcycle I laugh because it reminds me of Andre the giant on Pricess Bride. It is funny with his legs up around his nose, ok so maybe I am the only one who thinks it's funny.

This is from this spring taking dads cows to the hills.

Last summer we took pictures up in a big wheat field up on Iona hill and I love the pictures especially this one of a dad and his boy. J you are the greatest and I love you to pieces. HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

Time flies when your havin' fun

2008-07-29T16:06:00.003-06:00

I don't have time today but one of these days I will get back to bloggin'. Family reunion, trek, summer all of those things until then it is good to be home with nothing planned for a few days. Hurrah.

I just needed to blog

2008-07-04T15:45:00.000-06:00

Well life hasn't been too exciting here and that is ok. I really should be cleaning, mowing, you know the list, but I just needed to blog. We did a food booth at this rodeo so I took a few pictures. Our food booth did good and we are glad to be done with it.

This is my brother at the rodeo. It was a ranch rodeo and they are so fun to watch. We didn't get to watch a whole lot because of our food booth. But what we saw was fun.

This is our climbing rose that takes up the arbor, but I love it. You have to be careful when you walk through it or you will get thorned. M is quite terrified to go through the arbor. I think it has gotten her one too many times. Well sorry for the rambling. Have a great Independence Day.

When it rains it pours

2008-06-21T15:42:00.000-06:00

Since I am doing this I might as well do it all day huh? Ok this is the last one. This is M when we were in B read the first blog of the day. We had goggles and she loved them, anyway she wore them.

These are just some of the new flowers that are coming out and I just love them. They are therapy for me.

Mothers and Daughters

2008-06-21T15:35:00.000-06:00

While J and P were at the fathers and sons we went to the Visitors Center with another family. We had a good time. We walked around the temple and then some of the greenbelt and then had lunch at D favorite, Wendy's. I think it will be a new tradition. These are some of the pictures that we took and with such adorable girls, I couldn't help but blog them. This is the landscaping job (at my house) that we have been working on for a long time. We filled in with rocks and then put some plants in. We are hoping that it is low maintenence (haha is there such a thing except for me, I'm fairly low maintence) It is nice to enjoy it now that it is done. I love to walk around our yard and enjoy the flowers that are just starting to open or watch the bee's on them. We have a robin in the basket of flowers on the front door. There are 3 babies and they have been so fun to watch. M wants to see them every time she goes out the door, which is alot. I love the good ol days of summer time. Now that it is here.

Summer Vacation

2008-06-21T15:09:00.000-06:00

We went to Boise this last week so J could attend Ag teachers summer conference. We had a great time. D loved that she could chose whatever she wanted for breakfast in the hotel. We swam, shopped, swam, shopped, swam and swam some more. We played at parks and had a great time. It was summer in Boise so the heat felt pretty good, especially when we swam.

Wind Chill in June?

2008-06-11T14:35:00.000-06:00

If you went out in our neck of the woods this morning you may have felt what I felt. November. It was so cold. It was 33 degrees and the wind was blowing about 20 mph. This is our garden, or should I say was our garden. I think it is ok. I haven't looked at the beans that close but I think the tomatoes did survive. This is standing at the back door, today, yes June 11 just 11 days until summer. Ha whatever. I don't think it's coming. Standing from the front door. Look at the sad little pots of snow covered flowers. When it is hotter than heck "this Summer" someone please remind me of how "cool" it was in June.

Good Things

2008-06-06T14:02:00.005-06:00

1-A Date with my husband (dinner and a movie WOW) 2-A clean house 3-Good kids who help 4-Tomorrow is the last soccer games (kids have had fun but time to move on) 5-Getting my landscape work, worked on

Memorial Day

2008-05-27T21:14:00.000-06:00

This was how we spent our Memorial Day. We went for a little hike on a nature trail about 20 minutes from our house. The kids loved it. We had a great time being outside with each other. It was a beautiful, overcast, cool day (huh sounds familiar). The rain waited until we got home. We had a great time and my cup runneth over.

Saturday Fun

2008-05-20T20:58:00.000-06:00

M got a hold of the Bordeax Butt Paste and now her "cheeks" and hands are no longer chappy. What a joy

D is in the red. She had a good game.

This is M dribbling. She is actually really good.

P is in the middle. You can't even see him but he had kicked the ball. He had a good game also. We don't have games this weekend. Hurrah. We will find something else fun to fill our day.

Funny things

2008-05-15T13:50:00.002-06:00

Today P and I were making cookies and I was telling him to turn on the bosch mixer. On it the speeds are M that is just a quick buzz and then 1, 2, 3. Being a boy he said as he pointed to M "is that 4 four wheel drive?" We have birds that are nesting in the tulips in my front door decoration. I was saying that I didn't know what kind they were so we needed to ask dad. He said "Dad is smart, he is so smart. He is older than you and smarter. I'll bet he could count to 40 almost." I just laughed and said " I bet he could." He is quite a character. Our kids go to the back fence and talk to the neighbor kids that are about the same ages. The 5 or 6, depending on the time of day, will talk for an hour or more. It is fun to watch them. They will walk down a ways, and then go to the corner and then sit down and then walk back to where they were. It is fun to watch them. I would like to be a fly on the fence. J accepted the R High school job. He is so excited. He will be teaching with a great guy and doing something that he loves to do, teaching rowdy high school kids to weld, grow stuff, build things, appreciate nature, and be better people. I'm so glad he loves it and is excited for a change of even busier pace.

Life is good

2008-05-06T13:57:00.002-06:00

First J is DONE with his Masters Degree. He graduated, defended, and presented. Way to go. We had a little celebration with balloons, signs, and cake. The kids thought it was great. Hopefully they will remember (haha) that education is important and how amazing dad is. He graduated with a 3.89 GPA I think. Pretty amazing if you ask me. He is very happy to be finished and is filling his empty time slots (all of them) with landscape jobs. It has been so nice the last few days. We are enjoying the warmth for a change. J parents are in Hawaii. They flew out on Saturday to serve a mission in the Polynesian Cultural Center and BYU-Hawaii. We miss them already but are so greatful that they can go and do. They are great examples and will be awesome missionaries. The kids soccer games were good. P made 2 goals of 9. They really had fun and just kept going. The other team seemed really young and just happy to chase the ball. D team lost again. She played hard and is getting some good experience. Her coach rotates them so that every player, plays every position, every game. Life really is good.

I've been tagged

2008-05-02T11:46:00.002-06:00

Anwser these questions about yourself and then tag five people. What were you doing 10 years ago? We lived in Mendon UT J was in school and C was 1. I stayed home. 5 things on my to do list Vacuum, put clothes away, clean cars out, mop floor, clean bathrooms What snacks do I enjoy? what snacks don't I enjoy. Have you tried the new chocolate chex? Yum What would I do if I were suddenly a billionare? I would buy a big ranch, lots of cows and some good horses, a new pickup and trailer to go with the whole set up and hire someone to run it so I could just be there when I wanted to. I would have to invest quite abit because running cows I'd be broke in about 6 years I figure. I would buy J a new motorcycle too. His choice, Wow is that selfish or what. We would enjoy the ranch together. 3 Bad habits Cluttering, overeating, repetative encourgement also called nagging 5 places I have lived Here, Vallejo Ca, Craig Co, Mendon Ut, Rexburg, and Pingree 5 jobs I've had retail Cal Ranch, Walmart, Vet clinic, Greenhouse worker, House cleaner not my own 5 things people don't know about me I have very little desire to ever "go to work", I like to be home, I was the Whoppee Days rodeo queen, I do not like to "talk" in front of people Since I only have 5 friends and 3 have been tagged I guess I tag Christina and Rachel. I really should get more friends

Meryy is it Christmas or May Day

2008-05-01T20:36:00.000-06:00

This is how our day started. Very cold and windy with a couple inches of snow. We need the moisture so we are not complaining.

These are our daffadils that were a little sad about the snow.

M could not take off her sandals eventhough she had mittens on.

This is how our day ended. Up a tree. It was a fun end. With dad gone we try to spend some time outside, playing soccer or doing something outside.

Happy thoughts

2008-04-28T14:07:00.002-06:00

We had another fun Friday and Saturday of soccer. P scored a goal and had a good time. He was alittle sick so he was tired after not too long. D is getting it. She isn't quite as aggresive as she needs to be (after game 2). She was goalie and didn't really understand I don't think. They both need more direction and parental play. It is so fun to watch them play. J is soo close to being done with his Masters project. Halleluah. He defends soon and will be all done. I am so proud of him. He has worked so hard to get here. He is one amazing guy if I can brag just alittle.

2008-04-23T21:20:00.000-06:00

I love to carry my camera when we are moving cows. I just thought that these were fun pictures. My dad is on the gray horse and then a brother in the other one. Thank heavens for wind or they wouldn't be as nearly picturesqe with the wind blowing. They got the cows there the next day with no troubles. Yeah.

2008-04-23T21:14:00.000-06:00

These are pictures of helping dad take cows to the hills (Fort Hall reservation.) It was a windy, cold day but a nasty day moving cows beats a nice day doing dishes or mopping the floor. This is J walking and a brother.

2008-04-23T20:59:00.001-06:00

P had fun. He is the biggest kid on his team and the fastest too, I think. It is fun to see them grow up and become alittle more independent. We have about 6 weeks left, so I'm sure I will keep you updated.

Branding 2008

2008-04-14T09:43:00.002-06:00

This is my dad. Sorry I forgot to turn this.

J and one of my brothers. Waiting for calves I am sure.

J and dad.

This is almost heaven for me. Doing what I love to do with my family.

2008-04-14T09:17:00.003-06:00

This is M. She had no fear she walked out in the pen of 100 calves like she was the calf whisperer.

This is my dad. Believe it or not he suffered a mild stroke about 9 days before this. Thank heaven for miracles, prayers, and priesthood. We love you dad.

This is me after I finally was able to catch something. Thanks to Rusty for being a patient horse. What a fun day it was with beautiful weather.

2008-04-14T09:10:00.002-06:00

OOps

2008-04-11T15:10:00.002-06:00

I'm learning but I think I'm doing it the hard way. Whats new. Rather than put comments on each picture I do it the hard way and add another post. These are from February so they are inside and a little fuzzy. But they are still cute kids.

2008-04-11T15:00:00.000-06:00

2008-04-11T14:58:00.000-06:00

2008-04-11T14:56:00.001-06:00

Finally

2008-04-11T11:15:00.004-06:00

I've had so much fun reading everyone else's blogs and blog "stalking" that I thought I needed to do one too. So here it is. Let me explain the title. We all have horticulture names. I don't know why but we do. J is dogwood, D is rose, P is snapdragon, and M is lily and I am petunia. We have a Petunia's kitchen, Petunia's Cafe, somedays we eat out at Petunia's Diner. We also have Petunia's Cleaning service and no she doesn't hire out unless the price is right.