1st day of school 2009

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The first day of school is always full of excitement! Jaysie was up early and ready to go in no time. She and the neighborhood kids (about 15 of them) made a plan to walk to school. They have a route they take and make sure to never be late or it screws up the timing of it all. I think it's great, they think it's great and we're all happy!

Teegan got to start his 2nd year of preschool the same day instead of waiting a week. He was super excited to go to his new preschool. He is meeting new friends and enjoying his new teacher. He even has become quite the gentleman...he always carries in Jocelyn's backpack for her. (Jocelyn is a little friend in our carpool)

Now Kate and I get to hang out together and the whole time she asks where Teegan and Jaysie are, so I know how I rate! Both of us can't wait for them to come home each day....they are truly missed.

Like every other year, we'll get over it and wonder where the day went by the time they come home......

10 days and 2200 miles....

A trip to a lineman's rodeo in Montana turned into 10 days of living out of the trailer and miles of beautiful country. Many of you may not know that I'm married to a rodeo champion. (I've secretly wanted a rodeo man all my life) My dream came true when Trent won the SLC Lineman's Rodeo in June. (Hey, it counts!) To prepare for his International Lineman's Rodeo that the company will send him to in October, he decided to compete in the Montana rodeo for practice. So we started out in Cascade, MT watching Trent and his friends from work (Tom & Shane) compete. If you've never experienced a lineman rodeo, they are unique to say the least. My favorite event is the people watching event....just imagine a party tent in the middle of nowhere with free beer, karaoke and a dance floor.

Our next stop was Glacier National Park. What a beautiful place! We had a great time skipping rocks in MacDonald Lake, driving up the Going to the Sun Road and getting almost close enough to touch this Big Horn sheep and the mountain goats.

This mountain goat had quite the hairdo.

In our rock skipping competition, Trent took the cake!

We couldn't wait to get to Aunt Becca's house in Sandpoint, ID to see baby Porter. He was 10 days old and soooo cute! It was great to visit with Becca and Jeff and see the beautiful area that they live in. They were great hosts especially with having a new baby. My kids will say that this was their favorite part of the trip....

I've trained my kids well.....we LOVE bleu cheese salad dressing! Nothing tops Litehouse Bleu Cheese and it just happens to be made in Sandpoint. We made sure to leave with a BIG bottle. The other day we had spaghetti for dinner and Teegan decided to top his spaghetti with bleu cheese dressing instead of parmasan. He said "It's cheese, right?"

Our last stop was at Henry's Lake just outside of Yellowstone & Island Park. We met up with Trent's family for a little fishin' and some good fun. We went into Yellowstone Park and saw everything except wolves and bears. We swam in Firehole River and didn't forget Old Faithful. We always seem to get there just after Old Faithful has errupted and have to wait a good hour and a half for the next show. The kids never seem to think it's worth the wait.....

After 2200 miles and no DVD player, the kids did surprisingly well. We only had one meltdown from Kate, a few tears from Teegan because Jaysie kept beating him at tic-tac-toe and lots of mosquito bites. I'd do it again tomorrow.....I love vacations!!

M-I-C-K-E-Y (you know how it goes...

Our first trip to Disneyland! It took a lot of sweet talkin' but I finally talked Trent into taking us to Disneyland. The kids enjoyed seeing all the characters, the parades and riding every ride possible....but overall, they just wanted to swim in the pool at the hotel. Isn't that fitting? We went to the beach a few times and even though it was too cold to swim we still managed to leave wet. Those waves are deceiving....

Even though Teegan says he's too big to like Handy Manny....he sure was excited to see him!

It's great to be eight!!

Jaysie turned the ripe old age of eight in February. She wanted pictures taken by her favorite temple. So on a whim...the kids and I drove to Bountiful one Sunday afternoon for pictures. Much to my surprise, we had a great time and always seem to enjoy being on the temple grounds.

The big day!! As I was frantically trying to get food prepared, trying to make the family look somewhat presentable and stressing out on the inside while trying to portray calmness on the outside, Trent looked at me and said...."You know, all this stuff you're doing doesn't really matter. I have the stressful part." I was a little offended at the time, but realized he was right in the end.
Everything turned out great and Jaysie had a wonderful eight birthday and baptism that hopefully she will remember forever.

My Kater Baby is ONE!!

I can't believe it.....Kate turned one! I vividly remember the day our Christmas baby was born. It was a snowy night and the hospital was packed with laboring women. Everyone had the same idea....if we have this baby tonight, we can be home for Christmas. I was one of them patiently waiting for a room as the contractions got stronger and stronger. I finally got a room at around 7:00 pm and delivered Kate within 2 hours. She was small...weighing in at 6 lbs. 1 0z. but she was strong and healthy. The hospital was chaotic and I couldn't wait to get home! I felt good, Kate was doing well....so we were home before 24 hours even passed.

Now we are here again, one year later, and our newborn is now almost walking and talking. She is so fun to watch as she explores new things everyday. We love having our little Kate Noelle in our home. She brings much joy and laughter to each and every one of us.

Happy Birthday Kate (and her Aunt Noelle)!

Love.....Mom

It feels nice to accomplish a goal....

Ok, so this year I was bound and determined to get a family picture and send out a Christmas card. I had big plans to do something really creative and fun......Well atleast I did it, right? So here's the Christmas 2008 family photo taken by my little sister Marissa with my other little sisters Noelle & Mikah working hard behind the scenes to get the smiles from the youngins. Enjoy!!

Holiday traditions.....

The Christmas season has finally arrived....I love this time of year and the holiday cheer that seems to fill the air. The twinkling of the lights on the tree somehow bring a calm, warm feeling into the home. I love plugging in the lights outside each night as the sun goes down.....it brings memories of Clark Grizwald to mind each time I turn them on. I LOVE it!!

Last Sunday the monthly FHE was held at my Grandma & Grandpa Meyer's home. This was the start of our Christmas gatherings. My Grandparents never cease to amaze me! They are in their 80's and still host gatherings for their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It's a large crowd, but you wouldn't know it with the way they make you feel. Each person that walks through the door is greeted with a hug and is made to feel like they are the only one in the room. There is always good food, good conversation and a good laugh.

Grandma wanted to have the younger grandkids and great grandkids put on the Christmas story production. She called ahead of time to make sure her cast would be there and had the bathrobes, towels, scraps of fabric and rope ready and waiting. She made sure that every one had a part and they were posted on the front door as you walked in.

Jaysie got to play the part of Mary and Teegan was a shepherd or a "leopard" as he called it. His robe was made out of animal print fabric...therefore he was a leopard. They all did a wonderful job and seemed to enjoy every minute of it. I can only hope that my children will be able to remember the good times they've had with their great grandparents.