Christmas 2009

Wow! It's already over? This is my reaction every year....the 10 minutes it takes to open all the presents doesn't seem to make up for the countless hours it took to shop, organize and wrap those maticulously thoughtout and stressed over gifts. I tell myself every year that it's time to simplify but somehow or another, it's still complicated.

Jaysie has grown out of dolls and dress up, so it was a karaoke machine for her this year. She loves to sing and secretly dreams of being a pop star, so I thought we could keep the dream alive. I mean who doesn't secretly want to be a rock star...right? We've had a good time belting out the tunes...I've even introduced her to some great "old people" music.

Teegan is at that age where he wants everything he sees on TV or in the ads. It was hard to decide what to get and I don't know how many things I bought and returned because he changed his mind. The one thing that was constant was a "spark scooter". As the days to Christmas drew closer, he kept talking about this spark scooter that Santa was going to bring him. "Santa" hadn't got one for him and was starting to feel bad, so Christmas Eve rolled around and Santa was scrambling to find one....but the magic happened and it was under the tree on Christmas morning. Whew!

Kate could have been happy with one toy. She was worn out from opening birthday presents! Jaysie ended up opening most her wrapped gifts because she was busy playing with her princess vanity and riding her horsey. She had so much fun just playing in la la land.

We enjoyed watching the kids have their magical moment...it doesn't last forever so we'll enjoy it while we can.

Kater Mater turns TWO!

With all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it is a great change of scenery to celebrate a birthday. No jingle bells and Christmas carols, just spit-filled balloons, birthday wrapping paper, cake and candles.

Kate is one of the deprived kids with a Christmas birthday. I've heard all about it from my sister, Noelle, because she shares the same birthday as Kate. So as a promise to my sister, we make sure that Kate gets her day.

On Sunday we had the Humphreys family over for dinner & dessert to celebrate. Kate is really into Dora the Explorer at the moment, so Dora was the theme of the decor and gifts. She was overwhelmed with gifts and had so much fun with her cousins. Trent is the cake decorator in the family and creatively made a Dora "Backpack" cake. It was awesome!

On Monday, her actual birthday, we celebrated with Aunt Noelle at Grandma Meyer's. This year is a special year because Noelle will be leaving for a mission to Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia in one week. We are going to miss her immensely. She is a fun, smart and very spiritual girl who will maximize her calling to serve the Lord. I am so excited for her!

I can't wait to see what this next year brings for both Kate and Noelle. It will be fun to watch both of them grow, but in very different ways.

Kate, I love your spunk! Your cute, curly hair and hazel eyes melt my heart. I love watching you grow and learn new things. My favorite times are when you sing...you know the words to I am a Child of God, Once there was a Snowman, Wheels on the Bus and many more. You love it when Teegan and Jaysie come home from school and look forward to playing with them. If they're not around, Roxy (the dog) patiently takes their place. We all love you and hope your 2nd year of life is full of fun! Love, Mom

The Portneuf River Nightmare!

So I was looking through my pictures and saw these photos....I know this is out of the timeline order but I had to document this story.

It was mid-September and Trent had some training in Lava, ID. We decided to make it a weekend trailer trip and invited the inlaws to come along for a little R&R. We rolled into town after dark and pulled into the campground with plenty of open spots to choose from. Now the Humphreys family isn't known for being able to make a decision without discussing all the options for hours on end, so just to pick a spot was a challenge. After hashing it all out, a spot was chosen and we landed for the night.

We got up the next morning and decided to rent some tubes and float down the Portneuf River. The big pool and waterslides were closed for the season, so there wasn't much else to do. We scoped it all out and determined that it was safe and headed down Main St. to rent the tubes. Dave and Debbie weren't planning on floating with us, but when we got a two for one deal on the rental they succombed to the pressure.

Off we went in our shorts and flip flops (not river running approved attire) to the river for a leisurely ride or so we thought.

Trent, Teegan, Kate and I went first and decided to be adventurous and take a good sized drop off right from the start. Jaysie, Dave and Debbie watched us go and were going to follow our path if all went well. So off we go with no problems...smooth sailing. That wasn't the case for tube #2. Dave, Jaysie and Debbie flip the tube and are now soaking wet in some pretty chilly water.

They're troopers though...they get back on and follow us down calling it a case of a little bad luck. Well that was only the beginning...the next drop off had some stronger currents but those of us in tube #1 went right through it with no problems. Tube #2 heads down the same path but right as they start to descend the tube flips again and all heck breaks loose. Dave is trying to get his feet under him and keep Jaysie safe but ends up pinning Debbie's head under the water with his legs. She finally gets loose and is gasping for air just to realize her prescription sunglasses are nowhere to be found. Trent and I were dumbfounded! We couldn't understand where it all went wrong! We felt horrible and they looked horrible...bumps, bruises and scrapes from head to toe. They got back on though and made it to camp, vowing never to do that again.

Back at camp, the Harley Davidson riders had moved in. There was a charity motorcycle ride and concert that day. So we got to enjoy the peaceful sounds of motors roaring and rock bands blaring all day and all night long. After the concert, they brought their drunken party back to camp and kept everyone up until they passed out.

Needless to say, the next day was spent recovering in the mineral pools. It took Dave nearly 3 months to even walk straight again. I hope they will consider vacationing with us again even after the nightmare in Lava Hot Springs!

Three and a half years....DONE!

Well it is official...Trent passed his Journeyman Lineman test and the long, grueling apprenticeship is over! YEAH!!!

To explain what Trent has had to endure over the past 3 1/2 years is almost incomprehensible. I don't know how he did it, other than by pure faith and determination. He truly is my hero.

We have been to the lowest of lows and the highest of highs these past years and everywhere in between, but where there's a will there's a way and we made it!

We couldn't have made it through without the support of those around us. There were many times when I poured my soul out to whomever was the unlucky one to call that day. Thank goodness they were nice enough to just listen and give encouraging words of advice. Thank you, thank you for your support!

I can't wait to see what the future holds for us. It's always an adventure but as long as we do it together then nothing else matters.

Congratulations Trent, you deserve it!