What a month

This has been a crazy month, so sorry for not updating in while. Work has been busy, go figure. We have two girls that have been on vacation for the last two weeks so alot of overtime has been earned.

Holidays+drunks=busy Andrea

It doesn't help that it has snowed almost 2 feet the last two weeks. The kids love the snow, Cody loves the snow and Andrea does not like the snow. As some of you may remember many, many, many years ago I totalled my first car in a snow storm. Luckily without serious injury to me, the car was another story. Something about hitting a bus bench, telephone pole, 7-11 sign, a few shrubs...

Since that night I have been scared to death of driving in the snow. Needless to say, I have not been driving alot. Thank goodness for no school and Cody being home.

Cody has been working steady except for the last week. He has been home playing with the kids and letting me sleep. Thank you sweety!

The kids must have been good this year because Santa brought everything that they wanted and some. Mason and Alexa got a Nintendo DS, Austin got an AT-ET Walker (starwars ship) and they all got many other presents.

FYI-Moon Sand is very messy! We went through playdough so fast that "Santa" thought let's get Moon Sand. What a joke! Within minutes all the colors were blended into gray. Bad purchase.

I am thankful that my husband got me a Shark sweeper vac for Christmas. That thing sucks up sand and everything else. I also got the Shark steam mop. Love it!!

We haven't made it out to see family yet, due to the weather and work schedule, but hope to be able to soon. My dad, Marnae and Logan came up on Christmas Eve to see us. That was great! The kids love seeing them and so do I.

I am still working on learning PhotoShop in all my spare time, which is very limited. Pictures will be posted shortly.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and continue with a Happy New Year!

Finally...

It finally snowed. After purchasing the snow boots (see previous posting) for $105.00, and having them sit by the front door for 2 months, it finally snowed. The kids were so excited to finally be able to wear their sweet new boots and they looked stylish in them!

Christmas Party

Here is a photo from my company Christmas party.

Don't we look happy!

Thanksgiving 2008

This Thanksgiving we went to my mom's house in Bluffdale, Utah. Here are a few photos. I am still learning Photoshop Elements, so be patient.

Alexa outfit vs. Mom outfit

Can you tell the difference?

Anyone know what kind of spider this is?

We have a lot of these in our house. Don't know what they are.

How much??!!??

Seriously! All three kids needed new snow boots this year and since the weatherman said,"there is a 50% chance of snow for the next week", chances are it will. Parents out there know that when the snow starts, the boots disappear. But $105.00 for three pairs of snow boots!?!?!?

Halloween

Mason-a werewolf
Austin-a "bobble-head" clone trooper
Alexa-a mermaid

This year we went to the mall for trunk or treat. They had the trunk or treat inside the mall and most the the stores had someone standing, in costume, at their door handing out candy. The police and their carswere there in the middle of the mall, lights shining. My kids got a little bit spoiled by the officers. Thanks guys!

After that we went to a few friends houses and came home to eat dinner. Okay, we didn't eat a lot of dinner due to all the candy WE ingested.

All in all it was a very nice Halloween!

Crazy Hair Day @School

Alexa and her best-friend Tierra.
Mason
Austin

School photos 2008-2009

Austin's Award

I received an email about two weeks ago from Austin's teacher, Mrs. Burrell. She wrote that an awards assembly was coming up and she had chosen Austin out of all of her students to receive the "Good Work" award. She explained that Austin is always willing to help her, plays well with others and is excited about learning. Here is a photo of Austin and his award. He is very proud and so are his parents!

Have you done any of these?

I got this off of my cousins blog. Just copy and paste this to your blog and highlight or Bold the ones that you HAVE done.

1. Started your own blog 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band 4. Visited Hawaii 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyland 8. Climbed a mountain 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Sang a solo 11. Bungee jumped 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. 18. Grown your own vegetables 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 20. Slept on an overnight train 21. Had a pillow fight 22. Hitch hiked 23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping 27. Run a Marathon 28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 29. Seen a total eclipse 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 31. Hit a home run . 32. Been on a cruise 33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 35. Seen an Amish community 36. Taught yourself a new language 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied 38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person 39. Gone rock climbing 40. Seen Michelangelo’s David 41. Sung karaoke . 42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 44. Visited Africa 45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 46. Been transported in an ambulance 47. Had your portrait painted 48. Gone deep sea fishing 49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris 51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 52. Kissed in the rain 53. Played in the mud 54. Gone to a drive-in theater 55. Been in a movie 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business . 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Visited Russia 60. Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies 62. Gone whale watching 63. Got flowers for no reason 64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma 65. Gone sky diving 66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 67. Bounced a check . 68. Flown in a helicopter 69. Saved a favorite childhood toy 70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 71. Eaten Caviar 72. Pieced a quilt. 73. Stood in Times Square 74. Toured the Everglades 75. Been fired from a job . 76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London 77. Broken a bone . 78. Been on a speeding motorcycle 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person 80. Published a book 81. Visited the Vatican 82. Bought a brand new car 83. Walked in Jerusalem 84. Had your picture in the newspaper 85. Read the entire Bible 86. Visited the White House . 87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 88. Had chickenpox 89. Saved someone’s life 90. Sat on a jury 91. Met someone famous 92. Joined a book club 93. Lost a loved one 94. Had a baby 95. Seen the Alamo in person 96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake 97. Been involved in a law suit 98. Owned a cell phone 99. Been stung by a bee .

Week in review

Nothing exciting has happened this past week. Last Sunday Mason and I ended up with a stomach bug, Cody taught Elders Quorum, Alexa gave a prayer in primary and Austin went to all of his classes without complaining.

On Monday things went back to normal, kids went to school, Cody went to work and I cleaned house and did laundry. Tuesday and Wednesday went pretty much the same, except that I worked at night and slept during the day.

The kids had no school on Thursday and Friday so the weather turned into fall, leaves on the ground, cold and rainy. Exactly what kids and parents want when there is no school. Dang weather!

Now we are up to date, like I said nothing out of the ordinary this week. Hope yours went well.

30 Something

This past week I had my 30th birthday. There is said it, I AM 30! It was a good day, went to dinner with Cody and no kids (thanks Sunshine and Travis). Cody gave me a beautiful saphire and diamond necklace. He spoils me with "bling". Thanks to all our family and friends for their birthday wishes and cards.

Just a note on the subject, 30 is not as bad as I thought. Of course it has only been a few days and no one has asked me how old I am, yet. I still feel the same and still look the same as I did when I was 29. So no big deal right?

Still here

The last few weeks have been very busy/stressfull due to school starting and getting back into the grove of things. Just an update, the kids are all really enjoying school so far. In fact they get upset when Saturday comes and there is no school.

Cody has been working all over the town. Tomorrow he is going to Salt Lake with a co worker for an electrical class. Today the owner of the company asked him if he would be willing to work in Wyoming for a while. Our feeling is that if that is where the work is then that is where he will go. The joys of construction and a slow economy.

I have been tossing and turning on wether or not to apply for a new position. Currently I work in dispatch, four 10 hours nights, from 9 PM to 7 AM. I love my job although it can get pretty nerve racking to say the least. I have been given the chance to work like a normal person, in the records division, during the day from 8 AM to 4 PM. Cody and I talked about it for a while since it would be a HUGE change for me.

So, we decided for me to apply and I got the position. The good/bad news is that I will have to wait to start the new position until they hire another dispatcher and get them trained which takes up to six months. It is NOT an easy job and over half of those that apply quit after a few weeks because they can not handle it. Anyways, Cody is really excited for me to work a normal job and I really feel it will work out well for the family.

I can hardly wait to sleep at night and have weekends and holidays off. It has been a long time.

That is what has been going on the last few weeks, lots of pondering, talking and praying.

More to come...

Apples

Apple season has begun. Here are the kids picking apples for the first time this year. Hopefully this will continue, as it saves us lots of money. Apples also help with those slightly wiggly teeth.

Anniversary

Today was our 9th wedding anniversary. How time flies. I am married to a wonderful man who thoroughly loves me and our children. I am more in love with him today than I ever thought possible.

Timpanogos/Timpanooke Hike

We we finally attempted it. We had placced on climbing this blasted mountain last year, however, due to many circumstances we did not. This year we were able to attempt the climb. When I say attempt, I mean attempt. Daniel and Logan made it to the top and that was it. The rest of us old folk made to to Emerald Lake when our bodies decided that enough was enough. We had alot of fun, taking short cuts that ended up being long, painful cuts. All in all it was a good time.

Lava Hot Springs

After Cody and I were done throwing up and feeling like total crap for a few days, we decided to go see my friend Lori and her family in Lava. She came up for the weekend and wanted to go tubing down the river. Lori was my matron of honor at our wedding. Here are a few pictures of the event. It was so nice to see them, it had been 5 years. We won't wait that long again!

First day of School

Mason is now in second grade. Austin is now in first grade. Alexa is in kindergarten. I still can't believe it.

The joy of reading...

So, dang all of you who said "you have to read these books"...you know the ones that I am talking about...yes, the Twighlight series. I finally caved and started reading them. I bought the first book Friday, 08/15. I have read the first three and only have 200 pages left of the last book. Needless to say I have slept very little and my eye balls are red. Why is it that I can not read fast enough?

Fun Weekend

Unfortunately, once again I left my camera at home. I made sure that I brought extra batteries for it and thought that it was in my purse, however, it was not. Still not sure where it is. Anyways, I was lucky enough to have my friends camera so as soon as I get those pictures I will post them.

Here is a low down of the weekend,

This weekend we had a blast. We went to the north beach of Bear Lake. I hadn't been to Bear Lake since I was a small child and Cody hadn't been since he was in high school. Neither of us had been to the Idaho side of the lake.


The water was so clear and low that the kids could walk out quite a ways and still the water was only up to their knees. We still had them wear their life jackets due to my fear of water.


We stayed from Saturday morning until that evening. We ended up getting rained out. No, rained out doesn't sound nearly as bad as it was. The rain started lightly, then progressed into painfully hard rain, then the wind picked up blowing sand at us with great force. I think that was the fastest clean up I had ever seen.


We all had a blast and would love to go back again sometime. Special thanks to our friends for inviting us!

7 Quirky Things About Me.

My friend, Annie, tagged me to write 7 quirky things about myself. So here it goes.

1. I am completely fascinated with the human anatomy. I love watching all the discovery channels that show operations, medical conditions and injuries. Trauma: life in the ER in one of my favorite. When someone gets hurt around me, kids mostly, I am the one who takes them to the hospital for stitches and watches while they get sewn up. I even watched my own finger get stitched up after an incident with the lawn mower. Someday I would love to become an RN in the ER.

2. I still watch Cops every week. I know, I work at a police department and have experienced mostly the same things that they show on Cops, but I just can't get enough.

3. This one isn't so quirky, but I am totally proud of myself and have to share. I quit smoking in February. I smoked for 12 years (off and on) and finally decided enough was enough. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. I even got Cody to quit.

4. I chew on the inside of my mouth (my cheeks). I have since I can remember.

5. I have OCD. When I am counting anything the ending number has to be an even number, or I will continue counting it until it ends on an even number. Examples, I have an even number of pictures hanging in each room, I buy 10 apples at the store and the grapes need to weigh 2 or 4 pounds. I know, really weird.

6. I love creating order/organization. That is probably why I love my job so much, I take something that is totally hectic (someone calling 911, screaming at the top of their lungs) and create order by calming them down and sending them the help they need.

7. Sorry, can't end on seven...it is not an even number!

Next I tag Abbie, Vickie and Neiko. Have fun girls!

Back from Salt Lake with a REALLY long post.

Cody ended up working out of town this week, so I packed up the kids and off to Salt Lake we went for a few days. First to my mom and Denny's place (Nana and Papa). While there Denny's 5 daughters and their 13 kids came over for dinner. Needless to say my kids were not bored. Of all the grandkids, there were four girls that were close to the same age.
And girls will be girls...
The next day we all went to Hogle Zoo.

This is where Austin spent most of the time, in the wagon (pulled by me). Still not sure why we paid to get him in.


Alexa spent a lot of time on Uncle Dan's shoulders. Thank you Dan for helping with the kids and coming to the zoo with us!!All of the cousins.After to zoo, we all went to the Training Table. We don't have the Training Table in Pocatello. The kids were completely confused by the telephone order. Mason wouldn't eat his macaroni and cheese-because it was actually made with real cheese (It wasn't Kraft).


That night we went to my dad's and Marnae's place and played with "Bird". Yes, that is the birds name, "Bird". The kids love putting "Bird" on their shoulders, until he poops of course.


After dinner, we went to feed the ducks. The kids love doing this and it is actually really relaxing for grown ups. I have to say that last year we came to this same park, can't remember the name, and some of the same ducks were still there. There was a HUGE duck that was camera shy (we named him big daddy) and one that was a little special (we named him retard). Retard was pigeon toed and had a feathery tumor on the side of his head. We fed him a little more bread then the others.These are pictures that my dad took while we were feeding the ducks. They turned out just perfect.

Sunday Best.

I love when the kids get dressed up for church. Can you tell how excited they are to be dressed up? The good thing is that when we get to church they forget about being uncomfortable. Thank heavens!

Week Update

This last week was a little crazy. We went camping at Twin Lakes for a night. Talk about fun! We were supposed to just spend the day there, but as fate would have it, we ended up spending the night. By we I mean my friend Sunny and her three kids and me and my three kids. The men had to get up early the next day for the annual Union picnic so they went home. Between the crying, snoring, bed wetting and coughing, Sunny and I got about 4 hours of sleep. Also having six kids and two moms, one of which is pregnant (no it is not me) in a four man tent made things interesting. But it really was fun. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, but I did remember bug spray.

The next day, we had the picnic at the park. We met up with Cody there and we all ate together. After that I took the kids swimming at the community swimming pool while Cody did his Union stuff. We ended up only staying for a few hours due to us all being exhausted.

The next few days consisted of unloading the vehicles and laundry, which still is not completely done. One day we went to the park for lunch and let the kids play on the playground for a while.

Then onto the work week!

I have my camera in my purse so I have no excuses this week.

Star

This is my latest project. I think it turned out pretty cute. What do you think?

Fourth Of July Celebration!

This year for the 4th of July we went to the fairgrounds where we listened to live music and watched the fireworks. We all had fun with our friends around us. Here are a few pictures of the night...

Alexa loved the live music. She used her American Flag as a microphone. Austin loves fire trucks. He really wants to be a firefighter when he grows up. Good thing mom works with the fire department.
All the kids, including their mother, thoroughly enjoyed the cotton candy.
Even Cody had fun.






After the fireworks started, this is where Alexa ended up. She is definately daddy's little girl.

And boys will be boys...

We had an exciting day and night. Hope you had a safe and happy 4th!