Paul & Patty

Lovely Warm Weekend!!

2010-07-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

We had such a warm sunny weekend..spent Saturday down at Amanda and Leif's fixing their sprinkler system and hanging out with all of the kids..Susan and kids came to Amandas also so there were alot of crazy kids there.. Paul and I went to the Red Lobster for lunch which was so yummy.. I had a dish called Crab Crusted Tillapia..it absolutely melted in my mouth it was so delicious..I bought a new wallet at Ace Hardware that I absolutely love..I played with the kids outside most of the day and even picked up a table and chairs for Clayton and Danielle that they just happened to buy that day and needed to be picked up in Pocatello..talking about good timing..We had a great Sunday with all of the kids and watched Sherlock Holmes..loved the movie..I think Robert Downey Jr did an excellent job in this character part..well I had better get to work..everyone have a great week..bye now

Long time no Comments

2010-07-07T11:31:00.000-07:00

I had a great busy time over the 4th of July holiday. We had people in and out the whole weekend. We watched the fireworks from the roof of our house with Susan and family. The best part for the kids was actually climbing up on the roof..hopefully they will not try this at home..We had everyone over for a barbecue on Sunday because Bob and Kathi and Austin were in town.. it was lots of fun ..lots a great conversation and food. We watched "Remember Me" on Monday.. I really liked the movie but very very sad, depressing...do not watch unless you are able to let go of that heavy unhappy feeling..can I tell you how badly I need to go on vacation..I thought that going to girls camp for a week would help this feeling that I have had...NOT..it was kind of fun but so much drama and fighting among some of the girls..I am totally hooked on the show Lost right now..we never did watch it when it was on tv but we are now netflixing it and love it..I want to just keep watching show after show...lot of things happening but so good...well gotta be going lots of stuff to do..bye now

My lovely Nook...

2010-03-19T14:59:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to mention that Paul gave me a Nook for Christmas.. This is the best gift ever. I am such an avid reader ..always reading at least three books at the same time..and now I do not have to carry tons of books with me I just need my Nook. I love love love it!! I just downloaded Alice in Wonderland screensavers which are really cool and also three books that I have been wanting to read. If any one else has a reader I can loan some of my books to them. Let me know. bye now..:)

I am still out there somewhere..

2010-03-19T14:37:00.000-07:00

I did not mean to be so long away from the blog. I wanted to post a bunch of pictures but unfortunately I have not been able to locate my camera since Makayla was showing her dance pictures to everyone. Paul and I celebrated our 32nd anniversary yesterday. I can hardly believe we have been married that long it has gone by so fast. We started our date out by doing an early lunch/dinner at Johnny Carinos-love the Italian food. We then went to the movie "Avator"-which was truly an amazing movie to watch though 3 hrs long. We then ended the day by staying the night in the Congo room at the Destination Inn. It was a lovely way to spend our anniversary. Paul is such an awesome husband and friend.
Makayla went to her 1st formal dance last month and her dress was so cute but of course I cannot show everyone since the camera is missing. She has been dating a little now that she is 16. She also got a job working at my office as our runner. It is a great job for a young person. Just enough hours to supply playmoney and gas money. There has been lots of drama with all of the boys who like her..oh well.
I have been busy visiting with Susan and kids. She is now established in her home in Grace Idaho. It is big and roomy for her growing family. they have a great big yard which the kids love to play in. She has already had to find the emergency room but it was not for the kids this time because she stepped on a nail. I think it will be a great place for them to live and it is closer which makes it easier to go and visit.
We have been busy working on some new projects in the house. We took our sauna and converted it into a bathroom. Paul did a wonderful job and it is really nice to have another bathroom when the little punkies come for a visit. It was rather difficult with only one bathroom. We also redid all of the tile on the fireplace in the front room. It really lightens up the room and is more in the style of the rest of our home. I have been reorganizing all of the kid corner and got rid of alot of things. All of the nieces and nephews that have stopped by are not happy with me. How could I take down their favorite little corner in our home?... I think they will get over it because it is really nice to be not so cluttered.
I am planning on going to see the production of "Oliver" with my sisters, Danielle and Amanda in April and then a few days later I get to see one of my favorite singers of all time..Michael Bolton. I can hardly wait for the concert to come. I never in my lifetime would have expected him to come to Idaho Falls and appear at the Civic Auditorium.
Well enough for now. I am really going to try and keep up with the posts a little better.
Everyone have a great week...bye now...:)

Life is so busy sometimes...

2009-10-24T19:01:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that it has been so long since I blogged. I have been really busy with work family and church. Clayton and Danielle have been living with us and their lovely big puppy while trying to get into a house. I went on my annual sister trip to the "cabin" in Island Park. We have been busy trying to keep up with Makayla, driving with her and her many friends. Harmoni is busy going to college down at ISU in Pocatello and still working at Wingers. Clayton and their friends have been hanging out here and even Danielle's sister and her kids have been over alot. We love all of the company but is rather crazy at times. I have been spending some time with my friend from Russia, helping her with her English. She passed her drivers license test and has received her green card. I am so happy for her.
I also just received a new calling about two weeks ago as the Young Womens President. It is much better this time around. I am also singing in the choir in the ward also. I love to sing. I just completed a knitting class. I have been knitting flowers which I then shrink and plan on using on knitted purses and hats. I love learning how to knit different things, plus I love hanging out with the women who knit. It is so entertaining.
Back to house hunting for Danielle and Clayton....they found the house for them and close on November 6. yeah for them!!!!!I am sure that their big puppy Dante wants his own back yard and places to hang out. We will be doing alot of cleaning and ripping up carpets, putting in new floors. Window coverings. The house is great but quite neglected by previous owners. But it will make a lovely home for them. We will post pictures when we get it all ready.
We are also looking to buy a different pickup. I swear this seems to be harder that buying a house for Paul. I think the problem is that there are too many choices out there and also too many options to be included. We have been to every truck dealer in the area driving lots of trucks and doing alot of research on line to get everyones input on which is the best. Hopefully he will decide soon.
Oh by the way if you do not already know. Clayton's puppy is a great dane. He has literally gained about a pound a day since Clayton picked him up. With two dogs, big dogs running in the house, it has just added to the madness... He is really cute though.
Well I need to go..hopefully not too much info to absorb. bye now.

Graduation!!!

2009-07-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

We had such a nice time last night. Clayton and Danielle are officially graduated from BYU Idaho. the speakers were short and sweet and the music was so lovely. The only complaint that I have is that it was so hot in the building. We went with Danielle's parents Steve and Sharon and her sister Rebecca that lives in Firth. Amanda went with us also. After the graduation we were all hungry and went to this Chinese restaurant in Rexburg only to find out that it had just closed. When they saw us drive up they opened the doors and had us come in and fixed us a delicious meal. It was lots of fun. We had such a great visit. We are having a celebration barbecue today with the Arnold family. It should be yummy, since Paul is making his famous burgers. McKinley and Sophie are coming to stay with us overnight tomorrow and Makayla will be home from girls camp tomorrow also. We really missed having her home. Well everyone have a great weekend. bye now.

Latest...

2009-07-20T13:06:00.000-07:00

We went and saw Harry Potter on Friday night. I loved the movie. I laughed cried and even jumped out of my seat in different parts of the movie. I want to go and see it again. Susan and kids came for a quick overnighter on Saturday.
We went to my brother's 50th birthday surprise party. I loaned him my 50 year princess crown to wear at his party. He looked so sweet. Susan and I sewed some crayon rolls for her and the kids and cut out extras to sew later. We played alot with the kids and had a very busy weekend.

I was finally able to get a photo of Gabby and Paige in their skirts that I made for them. obviously Paige would not cooperate so I could get a photo of her. I baked three kinds of cookies on Saturday morning for my ward choir. I told them I would bring them a treat on Sunday. I have realized that I was very busy this weekend, no wonder if felt so good to sit in my office this morning and have it be kind of quiet and calmer.Here is picture of some of the earrings that I made from old buttons that I had in a jar on the shelf. I think that they are kind of fun. Danielle made a few pairs also that really turned out nice. I even made an orange pair for my friend to wear with the skirt that we made for her.
Paul has been working on getting his old Mustang completely torn down to just the body of the car. It looks pretty sad right now but will be amazing when it is all painted and upholstered.He has given himself a deadline by the 4th of July 2010 to have it completed. Not bad since we have had the car for about 26 years. He is serious this time though. Just for your information Paul has finally grown the hair back on his head that he lost from his radiation treatments. He goes in for a PET scan tomorrow to make sure that the cancer is completely gone at this time and will probably have to do this about once a year. We are so blessed.

Graduation for Danielle and Clayton from BYU Idaho on Thursday night. Clayton just got a job with Wells Fargo in Idaho Falls starting August 17 and Danielle will be working at Crandall and Oseen and accounting firm starting July 27. I am so happy that they are staying in Idaho Falls for the time being.
We are keeping Danielle's sister Amy in our daily prayers that all will go well with her cancer treatments. Everyone have a great week. bye now.

Soft Lovely Hands...

2009-07-16T18:58:00.000-07:00

We had a hand fix party last night at my house for lack of a better name to call it. My neighbor Pauline Mickelsen who is 89 yrs old and her three daughters, Danielle, Makayla and my other neighbor Dawn came over to my house so that the Mickelsens could show us how they keep their hands so nice soft and lovely. I bought really bright wash clothes on clearance and had one for each of us. We rubbed this scrub on our hands for a about 2-3 minutes and then rinsed and then rubbed lotion into our hands. The stuff was amazing. I have never had my hands feel so soft. We used a product that can be bought at Rite Aid called yes-to-carrots. (web site: www.yes-to-carrots.com) All natural ingredients. We used the hand scrub and the body moisterizer. Amazing stuff. They have been using it for years and have loved how soft their hands are. I went to the store today and bought some. I plan on using it weekly if not more often. We had such a fun visit and I found out that I actually graduated with Pauline's daughter Julene. We could not remember each other which is kind of strange since we ran around with the same kids. I guess it was too long ago. We decided to make our get together an annual event if not more we had so much fun. Well I had better get going I have a few things to get done tonight before I can sit down to rest. Bye now.

Some of My Sewing Projects...

2009-07-10T20:18:00.000-07:00

Here are a few things that I have been sewing lately. There are some market bags. I also made some crayon rolls.. I put crayons in one and then markers in the other. These have been lots of fun to make. So sorry Sesha I do not have a picture of the little skirts that I made for the little girls, but I do have the pattern if you would like to borrow it. Susan tells me that she will send me a photo when the kids wear them. I forgot to take photos.

I love these crayon rolls. I added my own little eyelets to them to give them some personalization. I got the pattern off of skiptomylou.org. There are some really great patterns on that site. Well back to sewing. bye now.

Life is Happening..

2009-07-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy this Summer. I am not sure with what but busy. Paul took Max and Carter for their annual camping trip and while the boys were up camping Susan and the girls came and stayed with Makayla and I. We did not do alot. We went up and met Paul for dinner one night. We did sew some really cute skirts for Gabby, Paige and Susan. Made breakfast for Cheryl one morning early and did a lot of visiting and playing.
I have been sewing a lot the last month. I made some skirts, some market bags, curtains a table runner, some more napkins and some pillows for the new deck furniture ( by the way we have been loving the newly remodeled deck) . I helped my neighbor make a few skirts for herself and I also made a skirt for me. I love the pattern. It is easy and can be made out of all different kinds of material and designs. I have discovered a lovely store in Rigby call the Quilt Shop and they have the most wonderful material. It is pretty costly so I will need to stay away from the store.
We had a really fun 4th weekend. Danielle's sister Lizzie is here from Palm Springs and we had a barbecue and had Lizzie and her kids and Danielle's other sister Rebecca from Firth and her kids all over for the barbecue. We had a wonderful visit and the burgers were delicious as usual.
We went to Rebecca's on the 4th to Firth and cooked hot dogs and marshmallows over a fire. Then watched the kids do their fireworks. It was lots of fun. I swear all we did was eat eat eat. I feel like I gained 50 lbs from all the good food. But Paul and I have been walking each night so hopefully that will help.
I have been super busy at work. We have added two new attorneys just in the last few months and lots and lots of new clients. I am also training Clayton to do my job for his internship for school. By the way Danielle and Clayton graduate from BYU Idaho this month. Clayton in Business Financial and Danielle in Accounting. Danielle will be starting her new job at Crandall and Oseen in Idaho Falls the Monday after Graduation and Clayton is interviewing with Wells Fargo and Northwestern Financial this week. Hopefully he will get a job soon as well. I am so glad that they are going to be in Idaho Falls longer.
Well I had better be going. I am tired and want to get to bed early tonight. Everyone have a great week. bye now.

Excitement in our Home!!!

2009-06-10T18:40:00.000-07:00

We ended in the emergency room last night with Makayla. She had a severe allergic reaction to something. Her lips were totally swollen and she had huge hives from one end of her body to the other. Her skin was terribly itchy. We have no idea what caused it. The only thing that she did different than usual was sit on the grass at a baseball game of one of her friends. When we went to pick her up it had just started. It was a little scary but she is doing just fine now. She is on meds for about 5 days and then will always have to carry an epi pen in case of another reaction. My friend Laura also suggested that we keep liquid benadryl around at all times. Kids Kids Kids.
It has been raining like crazy here in our area. It reminds of the rain in Oregon. I have been making Graduation cards and wedding cards today. I forgot how much fun this can be it has been so long since I pulled my stamps out and actually used them.
I have been driving everywhere with Makayla. She is really doing a good job of driving. I am kind of surprised.
Everyone have a great week. bye now.

Fun Things Happening...

2009-06-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

The before and after pictures.
We have completed the deck and had a little family friend get together Sunday to break it in after church. We were able to hang the family hammock that Clayton had mailed to us from Brazil when he was on his mission. It is so pretty and comfortable. We have been eating out there every chance we get. What could be better than to have added a huge room to your living space and have it outdoors. Love it Love it love it.

We had a great time in Utah with Susan and family. Gabby ended going to the wedding with us and she had a great time. She talked our ears off, but we really enjoyed her company. Park City is really beautiful. The church was right next to the ski hill and so lovely. I also wanted to let you see a picture of the lovely wedding cake that was made for them. The flowers are made from frosting and they look so real.
Here is a picture of the Mulan costume that we made for Makayla. I know it is a little late but she looked so cute in the costume.
She spent the weekend in Swan Valley with her friend Alex. She has a gorgeous home right on the river.
Today was the last day of school for Makayla and she is feeling pretty weird about it already. I hope that she will not be too bored. We have been driving with her now that she has her permit. We have to drive with her for six months. She is pretty good and will get better with time.
Today is Clayton and Danielle's 3rd wedding anniversary. Time has gone by so fast. It just seems like yesterday that we were all traveling to Oregon for the wedding and then quickly back to Idaho Falls for the second reception. They will be graduating from BYU Idaho in July. Danielle in Accounting and Clayton in Financial. They have worked really hard and have done a great job of getting thru school quickly. We are very happy for them.
Well everyone have a great week and enjoy the warm weather. I just love Spring and Summer.
bye now.

Lovely Windy Day in Idaho!!

2009-05-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

It is really windy again today. Yesterday it was about 85 Degrees and calm and then we get slammed.
Makayla went to her Freshman Prom this last week. All of her friends went as a large group with the boys in one and the girls in another. This is one of her good friends named Max. She ended up wearing a dress that Danielle's mother made for one of the dances she went too. It was so cute on Makayla.
We are working on redoing the back deck that is connected to our house. Paul has been tearing it apart and it is looking very ugly right now. We will be putting up new railing, painting and staining and I can hardly wait. (We are also de-junking because we have this giant garage shop and the junk belongs in the garage not on the deck) We picked up a new table and chairs. I have taken two of our old iron and wooden benches and painted the slats bright bumblebee yellow. I love how bright they are.

I will post pictures as the deck progresses.
I came home today and made a bright Spring like table runner. It is okay, not quite what I had in mind but it is cheerful.

Makayla is currently in a musical at school. It is the Disney Mulan. I had to sew her costume at the last minute since that is about all the time that she gave me. I went to see her in the musical last night and they did a great job. It made me want to go home and watch the movie.
Paul and I are headed off to Utah to visit Susan this weekend and to go to Paul's, Uncle Paul's wedding. His wife died about 2 years ago and he has found himself a wonderful new lady friend. It will be a quick trip. I am really looking forward to seeing all of the little punkers. They are so fun to visit with on the phone. We are planning on fixing a few bike tires while we are there.
Well I had better get going I need to get packing. bye now.

Latest..

2009-05-04T15:42:00.001-07:00

Well I did not die from a heart attack Sunday. I was so scared for a few minutes when they announced my name at Stake Conference as being second to speak. When I got up to speak I felt so calm and I gave most of the talk without even looking at notes other to read a quote or two. Makayla did a great job of singing. It was an especially good conference. A few members of the new ward that we are moving into came up to introduce themselves. We have had the our new Bishop, the Young Womens President and the Relief Society President already come and visit us. I am thankful that they have done so because it will make it not so scary for Makayla and I to make this huge change. Danielle came to conference to hear makayla and I and just kept her in my vision to help me to stay calm. She is just the best. Clayton was unable to come because he did not feel well.
I got to go and get my hair trimmed today. I took 2" off of the back it has grown so much. I am still not sure that I am happy with longer hair but Makayla says that I cannot cut it off. Haircuts feel so good and make me so happy.
I better be going I need to get dinner ready. I think we will have some leftovers from Sunday dinner. The family did say that it was yummy. so we might as well try it again.
Everyone have a great week. bye now.

Sad.....So Sad......

2009-04-27T14:20:00.000-07:00

Makayla and I went to the Stake meeting. We were informed that we are no longer in the 11th Ward. I tried not to cry, but Makayla started crying instantly. Then people start saying how sad and I lose it. This is a major change in our life. This ward is the only ward that I have attended since reactivating and it is also the only ward that my kids have attended. They know us and know our history and we love all of the members so much. I know that it will be okay but I am so sad right now. It is very difficult to get my head around because it is like we have moved and have to attend a different ward but in fact we are still in the same home and still looking at the neighbors homes that we will no longer be attending church with.
Makayla is the only youth that is being moved so she is so upset. She hates change so intensely. It stems back to the separation syndrome that she has from back when she was a baby and was separated from her mother. She rarely changes things or the way that she does thing.
Even though this ward is in our stake, we do not know anyone from that ward even by name only. I will try to be strong for Makayla and I keep telling her that we will be okay.
Okay I hope I did not bore you with my sadness but I just needed to vent. Everyone have a great week. bye now.

Snowy Sunday...

2009-04-26T16:46:00.001-07:00

We had a lovely sunny day yesterday and then woke up to a lovely snow this morning. I am trying to appreciate the fact that the moisture is much needed for the Hot Summer Months.
We had such great church meetings today. We meaning the people in my ward have a Stake meeting tonight to let us know what the new ward boundaries are going to be. Our Bishop was very sad as he made the announcement. Most of the people in my ward have been there their whole lifetime. I am just a little anxious for the meeting. I am working on my talk for Stake conference that I was asked to give this next Sunday. I am so nervous. It is scary enough when I have to talk in the ward let alone at Stake Conference. Oh well it will be over soon.
Clayton is starting an internship at my office on Tuesday this week. I am very happy that it has worked out this way. I am going to teach him all of the financial of running the office. He and Danielle will be graduating in July and Clayton needs to get his internship done by then.
Makayla is going to sing the youth choir at Stake conference also. Then the choir that I sing in with my ward is singing at the Saturday Night Session. Lots of stuff going on this week.
I am going back to the specialists this week to see if we can get the problem with my throat resolved. I am so tired of the sore throat, blisters in the throat and problems breathing that I could scream but that would just make my throat hurt worse and then I would start coughing again.
Well everyone have a great week. love you all. bye now.

Pictures

2009-03-28T19:01:00.001-07:00

These are the pictures that go with my previous blog. I finally figured out how to get it to work. I have not added pictures to my blog since I got this new computer. I am still trying to figure out how everything works.

This is Paul's latest hairdoo since the radiation. A small price to pay to get rid of the cancer. We love it.

This is the new elliptical. It is a much harder workout than my treadmill. But I wanted something that would be a challenge and it meets the criteria.

This is Makayla 2 days after her wisdom teeth removal. She has pretty puffy cheeks. We kept laughing at her but she is still really cute.

These are the flowers Paul gave me for our anniversary. red, light pink, dark pink and purple. They smelled wonderful.

Update..

2009-03-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been very busy. Paul and I celebrated our 31st Wedding Anniversary on March 18. Paul had a dozen roses delivered to my place of employment. They were beautiful and they smelled wonderful. It has gone by so fast. I love being married.

Susan and family came for a short stay because Blain's uncle passed away from cancer. I bought Paige a little dress which looked so cute on her.

Paul said yesterday that he is finally feeling not so tired. He still is missing part of the hair on his head. We are not sure whether it will grow back or not.

Makayla is on Spring Break and had her wisdom teeth pulled on Monday. They were impacted so they knocked her out. She is really puffy and looks pretty funny. I have not been able to stop from laughing at her funny face.

We purchased an elliptical machine and it was delivered yesterday. Clayton came from Rexburg and helped me put it together. I can tell that it is going to be a hard workout. I was only able to stay on it for about 15 minutes and that was on tension level 1. My arms and my behind are kind of sore today from the workout. I gave my old treadmill to a friend of mine. I am really looking forward to more workouts on the elliptical.

I went to a wedding reception for my friend Juliet. She looked so happy. She seems to have found the right guy and he comes with a daughter. Juliet loves his little girl and will make a wonderful mother. They looked so in love with each other. I am very happy for her.
I really wanted to add some photos to this blog but I cannot get them to work.
Everyone have a great weekend. love you all. bye now.

Latest News...

2009-03-14T12:34:00.000-07:00

Well I have been slow about blogging lately. I love to read all of your blogs. Paul has completed his radiation treatments. He lost the hair on the top right side of his head. He has been very tired. The doctor said that these would be the two things that happened to him. It has not stopped him at all though. He is always working or on the move doing something. We are very thankful that all has gone so well. He checks back with the oncologist in 30 days to see if all of the cancer is gone. Then checkups every three months for the next two years. We just purchased a new tv to have mounted on the wall in the front room. It is really nice to watch a movie, just like our own theatre. We just watched Australia on Sunday of last week and I lovvvvvved the movie. Hugh Jackman is a fine specimen. I loved the little boy he was so sincere and intense. In fact I loved all of the characters in the movie. I would highly recommend the movie but be sure to have three hours of time.
Right now I am hooked on the sound track from Mama Mia and am constantly singing the songs. I think Makayla is getting sick of it but she has not said to stop yet.
Makayla started drivers ed this week and has her first drive on Tuesday. Just a warning is case you do not want to be on the road or sidewalk. Actually I thing she will do a great job. Paul has had her driving when we went camping this last Summer to give her some idea of how it is done.
I joined Weight Watchers about 5 weeks ago so that I could get a handle on my weight. I have been able to lose 12 1/2 lbs so far. It really helps when I have to go weigh in and listen to the lectures that are given each week. I will always have to be conscious of watching what I eat. It has also gotten me back on exercising regularly. Which is 90% of why I have gained weight lately(because I was not exercising).
Well everyone have a great week. Do not forget to wear your green on St Patrick's Day, unless you want to get pinched. bye now.

Latest News...

2009-02-13T09:15:00.000-08:00

Well we found out that Paul is in Stage one of his cancer so it is curable. He started radiation this week on Monday and so far is not feeling any effects except for some minor stinging about 15 minutes after each treatment. He has to go in 5days a week for 4 weeks. Then the oncologists will monitor his health very closely for the next two years. We feel very lucky that everything has turned out as it has.
I am so tired of the cold here in Idaho Falls. I am not much of a winter person. It was -8 when I went to work today. It hurts to step outside. The only good thing is that the sun is shining.
Everyone have a great Valentines Day Weekend. Love you all. bye now.

Good News!!!!

2009-01-28T07:06:00.000-08:00

So we went to Paul's oncologist yesterday and the bone marrow biopsy came back negative. So no cancer in the bone marrow. Which means that Paul is in stage one of the cancer that he has and it is curable. He starts the radiation in the next few weeks. Which the doctor tells us will kill the cancer spot that is on his head. We are so thankful for all of your prayers on Paul's behalf. We will keep you up to date on any further developments as we find them out.
We went to another cooking class this last weekend and learned how to make the Dutch version of German pancakes. It was really yummy and lots of fun. We came home and made a dessert pancake the same day. They are fun to watch cooking in the oven because they rise so fast.
We just installed a web cam on our computer and gave one to Susan and family for Christmas. It is lots of fun to talk to the kids and see them at the same time. We go through skype which is a free service and have been having lots of fun doing the camera thing. You should all get one so that we can talk to each other on the computer and see all of your lovely faces. Well everyone have a great week. bye now.

Update..

2009-01-16T06:58:00.000-08:00

We went to Paul's doctor and he gave us the results of the PET scan. It came back negative which is exactly what we wanted. (which means everything was clear from that test and the blood test that he took also). Now Paul goes in on Jan 22 for a bone marrow biopsy to see if it has gone into the bone. If that is clear he will only need radiation on the spot found in his head and it is curable if not clear then he will be going through chemotherapy to keep the cancer in remission for the rest of his life. We are praying for it to be clear. We will be fasting as a family on Sunday for some great results for next week. We will keep you updated.
On a lighter note Paul and I went to a cooking class on Monday to learn how to make easy pizza. It was delicious and lots of fun. We also learned how to make baked donuts, which are also so yummy. If you come to our house for a visit we can make you some. Everyone have a great weekend. bye now.

Cancer update..

2009-01-06T13:31:00.000-08:00

We went to the doctor yesterday and the exact words of the doctor are
"It is a cancer that you can live with but will not die from" This is really all I needed to hear to make me feel better. Paul has low grade b cell lymphoma. He will going thru some staging to find out what stage the cancer is at starting with his first test next Tuesday with a PET body scan. If they find nothing in that test then they will be doing a bone marrow biopsy. If he has gone past stage four it is not curable but managable. If it is still in stage one it can be cured. We will keep you informed as we find out more information and as the tests proceed. We felt very relieved after our visit with Dr Shull yesterday and much more informed as to what Paul would be going thru. Thanks again for all the phone calls and prayers. Love you. bye now.

Updating..

2009-01-04T16:39:00.001-08:00

Well we made it through the holidays. We had a wonderful Christmas. Susan and family stayed at our house and boy did Santa ever spoil the Susan's kids and Makayla. It was fun to have little children here for Christmas. Danielle and Clayton went to Oregon for Christmas. Harmoni came over Christmas morning and handed out gifts. We had a lovely meal of turkey and dressing. It was really yummy. We spent New Years eve with family and friends with our traditional game of bowling and then home for food, treat and more games. We played a new game that we bought called Loaded Questions. It is so much fun to play and we laugh hysterically every time we play it.
We went and had family pictures taken just before Christmas and it was about time. The last time we had them taken was about ten years ago.We were very happy with the photos. It kind of made me sad because everyone is so grown up now.
We also lost Paul's mom just after Thanksgiving. A blessing because she was so sick but we miss her very much. It seems very strange to go to their home and not have Bernice be there.
We also received some news that Paul has been diagnosed with B Cell Lymphoma cancer. We are pretty freaked out right now but we go to see the Oncologist Monday afternoon to find out more about exactly where we go from here and how far it is advanced and more specifics on what he has. We have been praying for comfort and good news. We are very thankful for all of the calls from family and friends and all of your prayers on Paul's behalf. There is so much power in prayer. We will let all of you know what is going on as soon as we find out. Take care, Happy New Year to all. bye now.

Trip News..

2008-12-09T07:48:00.000-08:00

Well I finally have a chance to catch up this morning. We had such a wonderful time at the Lamm home. The weather was in the high 70's the whole time we were in Palm Springs. We shopped till we dropped in a designer outlet store and got some real great buys. Paul and I climbed a mountain which just about killed me getting to the top. But the view was well worth the work. We went for a few walks and were able to pick oranges and grapefruits off the tree and eat them. So yummy!! We actually had a fun drive even on the long drive visiting and watching movies and of course some of the family slept in the car. We sat in the hot tub a few nights and watched the stars. We ate some delicious food. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with help from all to get it on the table. We had so much fun playing with Tanner and Kate. We came home to the news that Paul's mother had passed away. So we spent last week in funeral preparation and attending a Rosary and viewings and then the funeral on Thursday. It was real sad to have her go but such a blessing at the same time because she was in such bad shape. Paul has been real sad but also thankful that she is not so ill anymore. I then was in charge of my ward Christmas Party on Friday. Eveything went well and the food was yummy and the decorations turned out pretty good. We had a theme of "A Picnic in December".
Then Danielle got tickets for our family to go and see the 1st Presidency Christmas Devotional in Salt Lake. It was amazing hearing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in person. The talks given by the Presidency were wonderful. But I have to say that my favorite part was the singing by all who were there. It gave me the goose bumps with the beauty and power of the message in the songs. We also celebrated Max's birthday on Sunday with Susan and family on our way thru to Salt Lake. This week has been a little slower but I am going out to finish my Christmas shopping and we are having family pictures taken this Friday. I also plan on getting my Christmas tree up and decorated. I feel a little behind because of so many things going on. But is has all been enjoyable except for the funeral. Well everyone have a great week. bye now.

Current info...

2008-11-13T07:11:00.000-08:00

I have been using my new used serger. It is really fun to use. I was able to make 24 napkins and 2 table runners this weekend that I need for the Ward Christmas party. I also made a wrap skirt to wear when we go to Palm Springs over Thanksgiving. (Which I am so excited for) The serger makes everything have such a nice finished look. I am so glad that Danielle was able to get such a good deal on the sergers for those of us who purchased one. Makayla has come down with the flu and was very sick. She is never sick. Then I get a call from Clayton and he has come down with the flu. I hope the rest of us do not get it or if we do, before we head to California. We are debating on renting a van for the trip or seeing if Amanda will loan us her van, because it it going to be so crowded in a car for five people and all of the luggage for a 9 day stay. Hopefully we will get it figured out soon. I am almost finished with Gabrielle's sweater and I found a real nice black corduroy to make Gabrielle and Paige a skirt to go with their matching sweaters. They will look so cute. Well I need to get to work. Everyone have a great day. bye now.

Update...

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

We were able to get Clayton and Danielle moved into their cute little house. They received some great help from the people in their ward. It is really clean and well kept for such an old house. I love that they have porches on the front and the back of the house. Danielle picked up my serger yesterday and I can hardly wait to try it out. I have been putting off some sewing so that I could use the serger. We had a great Halloween. The rain stopped and it was so warm that you only needed a light jacket, which is wonderful for Idaho. We celebrated Paul's 53rd bday with all of the kids. We had a great time eating at Applebys and then home for ice cream cake. I used to think that being in your 50's was old but it really is not. Well everyone have a great week. bye now.

Happy Halloween!!!

2008-10-31T14:04:00.000-07:00

What a busy week. I guess that it is what I get for going away 10 days. I was super busy at Susan's house. The kids are so busy and it seemed like they eat 24/7. We went to the park and played outside, cleaned. cooked, did laundry, shopped. Never ending busy. Paige fell down the stairs and got a slight concussion and just a little while later Carter ran in to my nose with his hard head and it crunched and then I had a very sore and bloody nose. It still hurts today. Clayton and Danielle are starting the move to their new place in Rexburg today. Paul and I are going up tomorrow to help finish the move or anything else that they need help with. I will be busy in a few hours with Trunk r Treat that I have planned with the Ward as one of their family activities. We are only going to go for one hour. Yeah!!!! I am looking out the window and it is raining lightly which is such a bummer with it being Halloween, except I need to remember that it is an Idaho Halloween and it is always miserable weather in this day. Amanda Phillipp is having her baby Addison blessed on Sunday so we are all going and then over to Johns for a light meal afterwards. Clayton is going to stand in the circle which is so wonderful. I finished knitting Paige's sweater and I am half way through Gabrielle's. They should have them within the next few weeks to wear. I love making the wallaby sweaters and cannot wait to make one for myself. I also finished 2 pairs of gloves. They are also lots of fun to make. Well everyone have a great weekend. BOO to you now.

Adventures...

2008-10-17T07:44:00.001-07:00

Off to Susan's home to help her and Blain. I will be there 10 whole days. It should be really busy. I am looking forward to seeing the kids but sad about leaving Paul and Makayla for that long. I have been thinking of some fun things to do with the kids to keep them entertained and out of trouble. We will have to go on daily walks. I brought some fun recipes to make with the kids. I also decided to take the Wii fit. Hopefully everything will go well with Susan so that she can recover quickly. bye now.

Lovely Fall Weekend.

2008-10-09T07:07:00.000-07:00

Cheryl and I went to Linda Waters cabin Thursday thru Sunday. We had a really relaxing fun time. We spent Thursday in West shopping and enjoying the Fall weather. We went walking to get a great view of the Fall colors. I took some really amazing pictures with the storm clouds in the sky. Paul and Tim joined us Friday night. We visited alot because bad weather came with the guys. We played some Wii fit and other Wii games. Clayton Danielle and Makayla came up on Saturday to check out Linda's home and we played games and had a great time visiting and eating. We had to go home on Sunday what a bummer we were having such a nice time. I started my knitting class on Monday and love the new sweater that I am learning to make and having a good time doing it. I still have the stupid sore throat and went to the doctor again to have them tell me that it is a viral infection and I will have to give it time. (6weeks already) Well I had better get to work. Have a great week. bye now

Update...

2008-09-29T09:37:00.000-07:00

What a busy weekend we had at our house. We finished touch up paint in the kitchen and replaced the ugly trim that the kitchen people put up. I replaced the microwave that caught on fire. Paul and Clayton worked on Clayton's car and got it running smoothly again. Danielle and I went to the Relief Society General Broadcast together at my Stake. We had a Chocolate Fest before the broadcast and I really overdosed on chocolate. It was so yummy though. I truly enjoyed the broadcast. I loved Pres Uchdorf's comment the we are all Treasured daughters of our Heavenly Father with Infinite Worth. I am really looking forward to General Conference this weekend.
I still have the stupid sore throat and nothing seems to be working to make it go away. I have another doctors appointment this week to have it checked again. We played cards with Amanda Leif Clayton and Danielle and had a great time. Well everyone have a great week. bye now.

Cleaning..

2008-09-19T08:59:00.001-07:00

Well the weekend is finally here. I am going with Cheryl to clean at Linda Waters cabin. She is getting it finished and needs some help cleaning so we are going up to Island Park for Friday and Saturday. It is the least that we can do since she lets us have our sister trips there whenever we wish. I am rather excited even though we will be working because it is such a beautiful restful place to go to. I am on my second batch of antibiotics for this stupid sore throat that I have. It is very frustrating to say the least.
I have been doing the Wii Fit almost every night and I can say that it is so much fun but at the same time a really great workout. I have been able to unlock alot more of the games and excercises and it is so much fun.
Well I need to finish up so that I can get ready to leave town this afternoon with Cheryl. Bye now.

Birthday Party..

2008-09-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun crazy weekend. It was Paige's 1 year birthday celebration at our house. We fed all of the family and had cake and ice cream. It was so loud and crazy. I will post some pictures later of Paige. She was being such a little girl with her cake. I at one moment was thinking about what had I gotten myself into with all of the mess and the noise and then I realized how blessed I am to have such a great family that come and spend time at our home and that we have such a great time being together. We played some more Wii fit with Clayton and Danielle before everyone arrived at the party. It is so much fun and also a great workout. Wayne and Carrie came and brought Cassiday. She is so cute and that hair is something else. I am so happy to have them living in Idaho Falls.
I am really bummed because I came down with a nasty throat infection this weekend also. I have blisters all down my throat and it has even spread up into one of my ears. It really hurts and I have had a high fever. I do not have time to be sick so I am so frustrated. I went and saw Molly to get on some antibotics. Hopefully it will go away really quick.
I went to church on Sunday even though I did not feel real well but I needed to be there for a spiritual uplift. I received a great big hug from a wonderful couple in our ward who are aware of some of the issues that I am having with a former friend. I really needed that hug that day. It made me realize that everyone is aware of what a trial this has been for me and my family. I am so glad that I went.
Well everyone have a great week. bye now.

Crazy Busy Week...

2008-09-02T17:39:00.000-07:00

We had so much going on last week. I finally got to see my new great niece Cassidy Hurzeler (Wayne' daughter). She is so cute with all of that dark hair. I loved holding her she is so cuddly.
We finished the kitchen and I finally decided what to do with the wall in the dining room. I loved the finished product.

Danielle and Amanda helped to put the lettering on the wall which was so helpful. We also were able to put on rug down in the dining room and have it cut to size. There was so much left over that the rug guy was able to make a runner for the hallway coming out of Makayla's room. It is so great to have it all finally done.
I have been able to start some knitting projects and I am almost done with one pair of adult socks and I am also working on a baby sweater. It is in a soft yellow acrylic and it has been lots of fun to make. I love to knit. I am also going to be taking a class starting in October to learn how to make a wallaby sweater. I decided to make one for Paige in a lovely dark red.
Sunday was Sophie's blessing. Her great grandpa Gary Waters did a wonderful job on the blessing and she looked so sweet in the dress mom made for he, but as soon as she came back to the pew to be held she had a major blow out and had to be taken out and changed it went everywhere. I was able to take a picture of Leif and Amanda's family. We love to spend time with them. We played games with them and Clayton and Danielle on Sunday afternoon and had such a fun time. We laughed alot.
We were able to try out the Wii Fit. It is really lots of fun and gives you a pretty good work out. It is extremely entertaining for a group activity if any one is interested. It sure kept our group laughing and busy.
Paul and I drove to Tremonton on Monday and spent part of the day visiting with Susan and family. The kids kept us very busy. It was fun to spend the day with them. Paige is starting to walk and can take about 5-10 steps. She is so proud of herself.
Well maybe this week will not be so busy. bye now.

Birthday Reunions etc.....

2008-08-17T20:17:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy weekend. Clayton turned 23 years old on Friday. We went to dinner at the Olive Garden and then went Turtle shopping. Clayton bought himself a turtle and her name is Rosemary. She is really cool. Makayla and I went to Utah to the Richardson reunion early Saturday morning and had a great time visiting with all of the aunts uncles cousins and even my own family. They had great games and great food. My mom and dad had the most great grand kids totalling 26 with one on the way and Kabrie was the oldest of that number at the reunion. By the way she cut all of her hair off and it is so cute. I love going to reunions and touching base with family that you only get to see every two years. Especially all of the new babies. I tried to take a turn holding each of them. It was very sad when they started talking about those that had passed away since last time which included David and Alan. It makes you appreciate your family even more. I brought Max and Carter home with me for the week. It should be lots of fun and exhausting since they are always so busy.
Today was my last Sunday to substitute teach the 14-17 year old Sunday school class(3 weeks). I really enjoyed interacting with all of the kids that hang out with Makayla and find out what strong testimonies that they really do have. The subject was a little awkward (sexual purity). I only hope that I was able to make them think things through.
School starts next Monday for Makayla and she is pretty excited to be back with her friends on a daily basis. Hopefully she will be as excited about school.
Well I need to be going now. bye now.

Latest News.

2008-08-05T07:29:00.001-07:00

I finished Breaking Dawn over the weekend even with Susan Paige and Gabby visiting us. The book was great. I will not say more in case all of you have not finished it yet. I ended up at Walmart Friday night and it took me about 10 minutes to pick up the book and get home to start the read.
We are still waiting for our kitchen to be completed. The new guy who bought the business that is doing our kitchen is extremely slow and frustrating to work with. We called the rug guy and he is still out of town more frustration..... But I am able to use it and love everything that we did in the set up. It is so bright and new.
We are really enjoying our new dog. He is very well behaved and calm thank goodness since he is so big. Paul has taught him to go out and get his paper in the morning and deliver it to the place where Paul sits and reads it every morning. We found out this weekend that he is very tolerant of children since Paige would not leave him alone and she kept sitting on him and yelling at the dog. It was rather funny since she is such a little punker. McKinley keeps him running around the house because she wants Stetson to chase her and she giggles nonstop.
I finally got into my office to get it organized yesterday. It looked like a bomb had gone off in it. I got everything organized and put away. I also got rid of alot of stuff that I will be delivering to the DI.
Well I had better get to work. bye now.

Pictures of the Kitchen

2008-07-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

These are not very good because my other camera is broken. But it gives you and idea.
The island is great for sitting at and working on the laptop we have. We also like to sit there for breakfast. It might have something to do with the fact that the dining room is still not finished. I love the little bench seat in the corner of the kitchen. there are cupboards underneath that I have decided to store pans in. But it is a real nice place to sit and visit with others who are in the kitchen. I am very excited to finish with getting all of the kitchen set up this weekend. It will be nice to have everything back upstairs.
Denise Jerry Paul and I are going to a Three Dog Night concert tomorrow. It should be lots of fun.
The following are pictures of the new addition to our family.
Stetson
12 months old
95 pounds

Isn't he cute. We love him already. Well I have to go and get some more grocery shopping done. bye now.
Clayton and Danielle----I hope you are having a great time.
love you all----bye now.

p.s. Vacation

2008-07-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

We had a great vacation. We went camping up by Quake Lake in Montana for 10 days and stayed at Beaver Creek Campground. We went into West Yellowstone and saw "Hello Dolly" at the Playmill. Susan's kids came and stayed with us the last 4 days of vacation and it was wild. The mosquitos were really bad and it rained on us a few times and the kids were crazy as usual. Paige fell out of the camper and got a bonk on her forehead. It scared me half to death. But she loved camping and being outdoors. Gabby and Kabrie played and fought and Max and Carter kept Paul very busy between walks and scooter rides. Makayla just kept saying that she wanted to go home that she had enough of the camping thing. ( we did not have phone service at the campground) Overall it was fun. bye now.

News Update!

2008-07-25T07:08:00.000-07:00

Clayton and Danielle are off to Oregon to a family reunion and they took our car. We will miss them but I hope that they have a great time. Danielle was so excited to see her family. I have been driving my scooter since Clayton took my car but I had to break down today and drive his car because it is so overcast and I did not want to get rained on. I love to ride my scooter around town.
Well they came and put in the rest of the countertops in the kitchen. I am still missing the doors for the island cabinets and the drawers. They told me one more week and then the guy who was going to cut my new rug for the dining room went on vacation so that will not be done for another week or so. I swear sometimes that I am jinxed. I have not even set up the kitchen yet. I started to bring up some of the food and the dishes. It is so wonderful to have a kitchen back in use. We went grocery shopping yesterday which I have not done for about two months. We had a huge load of groceries
We went to the 24th Celebration at our Stake. The food was really good and we had a great time visiting with everyone. All of the little kids were dressed up like pioneers and looked so cute.
We have added a new member to our family as of the 24th. We acquired a new dog. He is a labrador/golden retreiver mix. He is one year old and huge (95 lbs). We love him already. He is so loving and follows me everywhere. He was sad when I left for work this morning. I am so glad to have a dog back in our house. His name is Stetson. He already had the name and we kind of like it so it will stay. I will put pictures on later because my camera is not working.
bye now.

Vacation!!

2008-07-11T21:37:00.000-07:00

Well so sorry that there are not photos of the new kitchen yet. They came and installed the countertops and the island countertop was not made right so they came and took it back out and are going to correct the problem. Paul finished connecting the water and I can now use my kitchen. We are working on getting the trim in the dining room and then it is all complete. I am supposed to be leaving town tomorrow to go camping and I am not even one bit ready. This kitchen project has really taken over our lives. We are trying to leave in the morning. I hope that we can get all of the packing and shopping done in order to get out of town. We really need the break. Well enough whining for now. Everyone have a great weekend. bye now.

Update!!!

2008-07-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

Well what a crazy weekend. Amanda and kids came on Friday and visited. Sophie is so cute and cuddly and McKinley is so funny. Clayton and Danielle came later in the afternoon and we visited and watched the movie "The Bucket List". Excellent movie. It makes you want to cry one moment and the next be laughing. We played Wii and had a some really yummy burgers. We also invited Mrs Mickelsen over for a meal with us. She is such a nice women. We sat on the roof and watched the fireworks. Makayla went with the Fuhrimans and Clayton and Danielle went with some of their friends.
We started the sanding on the floor in the dining room and finished sanding Saturday morning. Susan and family came on Saturday. Carter cracked us up because he was chasing his shadow and trying to get rid of it all day. He kept looking over his shoulder to see if it was still there. I guess you had to be there to understand how funny he was. We had a great visit with all of the kids and it was crazy as usual trying to keep everyone out of the kitchen and off of the floor in the dining room. It was kind of hard to keep everyone fed withouth a kitchen, but we accomplished it. We put three coats of finish on the floor on Sunday and then our house smelled so strong of the finish that we ended up staying outside all day. But the floor is now finished and we only have to put on the trim in the dining room and the countertops will be installed this Tuesday. It will be so wonderful to have the kitchen back and to be able to cook meals.
Well I hope everyone had a great 4th. I will posting pictures of the finished kitchen this week. Have a great week. bye now.

Getting There!!!

2008-06-26T06:57:00.000-07:00

Well the kitchen cupboards came in and were delivered Monday and the install started yesterday. They are looking really nice. The countertop guy came early this morning to measure for the template and informed me that the countertop will be installed on July 3 next Thursday,which is much sooner than originally I had been told. I am so happy to see the kitchen finally coming together. I have the dining room about halfway painted and will finish it as soon as the kitchen people get done. So I get a few days break from the kitchen. Yeahhhh!!.
I get to go to book club tonight. We read My Sisters Keeper by Picoult. It is a really good book but rather a sad story. It really makes you think about the way that you treat each of your children and why you had them in the first place. I would recommend it to all. I am now reading a series of books called the #1 Womans Detective Club. I have read three of them now and they are so sweet. The main character in each of the stories is so sweet and really tries to do the right thing. They are written about life in Africa and the main character is a woman from Africa. They are very good and uplifting.
I get to go to a baby shower for my nephews girlfriend, Keri, on Saturday. She is going to have a girl the end of July and they are going to call her Cassiday June. They are planning on getting married soon, which makes me very happy for them.
Well I had better get to work. bye now.

Catching Up!!

2008-06-18T07:11:00.000-07:00

I have been really busy the last few weeks. I did not realize that it had been so long since I had blogged. The kitchen is progressing slowly but surely. The wall is completed and all of the new cam lights are installed. The wiring is almost completed. We have run all of the wire we just need to hook it into the main box. I have all of my new appliances, flooring, lights, sitting in the garage and the new blinds. The cabinets are so supposed to be installed next Wednesday and then the countertop about 10 days later. I am so glad that everything has worked out and that Paul and I were able to do the most of the work ourselves so that it saved us tons of money that could be put towards the cabinets and countertops that we wanted. I will be ripping up the rest of the kitchen floor today. The only hard thing is that we have no kitchen right now. It makes it a little difficult to make meals. Oh well, cereal and sandwiches are okay for awhile.
I just got back from my annual sister trip. We went to Tremonton to stay at Susan's house. Blain and the kids came to Idaho to go camping with Paul. They had a great time. My sisters and I did some shopping in Park City. We played Wii alot and went walking and visiting. Paige stayed with us and was such a good baby. We drug her everywhere and she just kept on smiling and laughing at us.
We have been able to play basketball with Clayton and Danielle the last two Sunday afternoons. This is so wonderful because even 3 months ago this would have been impossible for Clayton to even attempt. You can just see the improvements in his health and his happiness at being able to doing some physical things without the intense pain.
I was able to ride my scooter to work today and I loved it. The weather has been really nice and warm for the last few days. Yeah!!!
Well I had better get to work. Bye now.

Kitchen Update

2008-05-28T15:25:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy weekend. We knocked a hole in the dining room into the kitchen. We organized the new shelves downstairs and started loading stuff from the kitchen onto the new shelves. I do not think it is going to be alot of fun to have everything downstairs for the kitchen. I have already run downstairs about 100 times. I just need to remember that it will all be worth it in the end. We played pinochle this weekend with mom and dad. I got all 8 aces which is worth 1000 points. I had never heard of this rule until just before I was dealt this great hand. I really enjoy playing pinochle. We watched National Treasure on Monday. I enjoyed it as much as the first movie. Every day I am moving a few more things downstairs. Paul wants to be able to rip out the old cabinets this weekend and start on the new electrical. It will be such a mess. We have alot of rain here in good old Idaho Falls this week. We need it but is rather depressing to have it so dark and cold still. We need a little sunshine also to lift the spirits. Well I had better be going I need to get ready for exercise class. bye now.

kitchen stuff.

2008-05-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a rather busy week. We have been trying to rip up the kitchen floor and it will not come up. We went to Home depot and bought this can of stuff that was supposed to lift the stuff on the floor and all it did was make Paul more frustrated and angry. we decided that we would put down a new floor instead of trying to refinish the kitchen floor. It was not a hardwood floor anyway. We found some flooring that we both like and bought it from Home Depot and had Amanda pick it up and deliver it to our house. We thought it would be a good idea to give the sales to Leif for the bigger things. I started taking everything down off of the walls in the kitchen and loading up the things that I do not use very much. I set up some shelves in the basement and I am putting my small appliances and big dishes downstairs until the kitchen is completed. Amanda has been at the house the last few days with McKinley. She is so busy and talks a mile a minute. It has been lots of fun. We will be ripping the kitchen wall out this weekend since we are staying in town. I can hardly wait for the mess.....just kidding. It will be wonderful to get the kitchen all done. I am so excited. I am reading a new series which so far has been very good. The story starts in the preexistence and ends with the end of the world. I am just at the point where the characters have come to earth and satan is going after them because of what they did to him in the preexistence. I have the 1st three books and I think that I will end up with the whole series. It is written by Chris Stewart and called The Great and Terrible. A pretty good read that really gets you thinking about the life that you are living and the time that we live in. I will let you know as I read them. Well I had better be getting ready for bed. bye now.

Update!

2008-05-18T18:44:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention that last Sunday that my best friend from High School dropped by and we had a short sweet visit. It was so great to talk to Lynn and see her. I had not seen her for about 12 years. Thanks so much for getting hold of her Cheryl.
Paul Clayton Danielle Makayla and I all went to see the movie Narnia on Friday night. I loved the movie. It was so true to the actual story and I loved Prince Caspian. I thought the end was sad. I would recommend that movie to all to see.
Paul and I had a very busy week. We have started the demolition on our kitchen. We started by ripping up the old layers of linoleum from our dining room. There is a hard wood floor under which we will be refinishing. We scraped for about 15 hours. It was very hard and hurt the back and the knees and the hands. Paul then had to go up into the attic and get all of the insulation moved off of the old electrical work so that we will be able to work on putting in new electrical wiring. We are installing new lights and a few more outlets. While Paul was moving insulation I was sewing a new canopy for our swing in the backyard. Danielle and I picked out the material on Saturday. I was very happy with the way it turned out. I love to sit in the backyard but I cannot sit in the sun so I was happy to get it finished. We also had card club this weekend and make a real cute tag and a really pretty card. I enjoyed the projects because they were easy and looked great when finished.
We went to the Seusical that Makayla was in Monday and it was great. It was funny and very colorful. The kids did a great job of singing and acting. We really enjoyed ourselves. All of the kids had really bright colored costumes.
I had a very busy and productive week. I hope we can get as much done this week on the kitchen. Well I better be going. bye now.

Weekend Fun...

2008-05-12T09:37:00.000-07:00

Except for the awful sign put up on the lawn where I work( my crazy sisters) what a great weekend I had. Lots of fun and lots of visitors. We went out to dinner on Friday for my birthday. We went to Johnny Carinos which I absolutely love. Italian food is my favorite. We then went home and watched two movies PS I Love You and Dan In Real Life. They were both pretty good movies. We all went to a wedding open house on Sautrday for Joel Fauver who was a good friend of Claytons and also lived across the street from us until last year. It was really nice to see all of his family and meet his new wife. I did some birthday shopping on Saturday and went to Barnes and Noble and picked up a few books. I bought the new book Host by Stephenie Meyers. It was really good. I finished it this morning while waiting for Makayla. I had a great Mothers Day. I subd for the 8 yr old primary teacher. It was great. All of the kids came for dinner and a visit. We had turkey which was delicious. We also watched a movie called Becoming Jane. I loved it even though the guys thought it was kind of boring. I would like to buy it to put in my libray of movies. We also watched Survivor because Paul loves the show. I did not like the winner. I know that I spent alot of time watching tv but I caught a nasty sore throat and did not feel very well or up to going out and doing anything. We are having such nasty weather this morning. It has been blowing really hard and snowing off and on all morning. I keep wondering if the snow is ever going to end. Well I had better be going. bye now.

Surprise!!

2008-05-05T16:44:00.001-07:00

What a surprise I got this weekend. The family got me good. An early surprise birthday party. There were lots of people and lots of food and a whole bunch of black balloons. I do not know why but everyone was dressed in black. I especially appreciated the poster of me and the pictures all over my house (which I am still discovering). You would thing they were in mourning or something. I think it is great to be fifty almost and to have such a great family and lots of good friends. It was lots of fun and I had a great time. Thanks to all who participated. bye now.

Snow Again!!!

2008-05-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

We woke up to a snow storm again today. It is miserable with the wet snow and the wind blowing about 30 mph. It is so cold. I can hardly stand this disgusting weather. I am thankful for the moisture that we needed so desperately, but enough is enough. I walked into my office and got caught in a swirl of snow that totally soaked my face and hair. My face was dripping with water. What a great way to start the work day. Okay enough of the complaining. Then Clayton calls me to complain about the snow also that surprised him as he left to go to school. We meet again with the kitchen tune up lady today to look at her plans for our new kitchen. I am so excited now that we are making some of the final decisions. We are also getting ready to start on my dads sprinkler system for his yard this week. It will be great to get that done for Dad so he will not have to worry about his lawn as he travels around in the Summer. I was jsut laughing at the pictures on Susan's blog of the kids. I cannot believe how cute and big Paige is getting to be and I love all of Gabby's missing teeth. Check them out. Well I better be going so that I can get the things made for our ward family activity tomorrow night. We are going to the Idaho Falls Temple Visitors Center with the whole ward and I am making treats to hand out afterwards. It should be lots of fun. bye now.

Good Weekend!!

2008-04-27T19:34:00.000-07:00

The weather today was so nice. It was sunshine with no wind. I sat on my front porch for at least and hour solid soaking up the rays. Unfortunately I burned myself just a little. I did not realize that I had been out there so long. I made a costume for Makayla who is singing with the choir and has some dancing parts in the Seusical Play that her school is putting on in a few weeks. Her outfit turned out great, if I say so myself. She is so excited for the play. We had an amazing Stake Conference this weekend. It was broadcast from Salt Lake City. Pres Uchtdorf, Elder Nelson, Elder Tingey and the new YW Pres spoke to us. They talked alot about reading the Bk of Mormon and stepping up to do the things that we have been asked to do. They talked alot about the line of authority in the church and also spoke to the youth alot. It was great but different than any other that I had attended. We are getting the plans finalized on our kitchen this Thursday and getting. ready to start the work. I can hardly wait. We will be using our trailer to cook in and to eat in while the kitchen is being remodeled. Well I better be going. Everyone have a great week. bye now.

Same Old Stuff/Different Day

2008-04-23T13:53:00.000-07:00

Just thought to update my blog. I have been indexing everyday. It is so interesting to see all of the records back from 1870. I am working on entering the Illinois 1870 Federal Census. Most of the parents are from a different country and then the children usually are born in Illinois. I set a goal to do at least one batch every day but I usually do about three or four because it is so interesting. If you are looking for something to do while sitting around the house, this is a great thing to do. I was so happy to hear that all of Clayton's fish lived after I lost the house keys while they were gone so I was unable to feed their fish. It totally stressed me out because Clayton put so much time into the fish tank getting everything just right. I just got through babysitting Heather's little boy, Tallon. He just about talked my ear off. He is getting so big and he is so cute. I have not seen him for about 4 months. We played match game and put puzzles together. It was lots of fun. We are having the Kitchen Doctor come to our house today to give us some ideas for redoing the kitchen. I am planning on stripping it completely down to the walls and starting over. I need some input on where to put things without doing major reconstruction. I will report on the results later. It should be very interesting. Well I had better get going. Bye now.

Tagged

2008-04-14T13:25:00.000-07:00

How did you meet your spouse? We met at a friend of my brothers whose older brother was
a friend of Paul.

Where did you go on your first date? to a movie and dinner

How long have you been together? 34 years 30 of them married

Who eats more? Paul

Who said I love you first? I fell in love with him after the first date but he said it first.

Who is taller? Paul

Who sings better? Me

Who is smarter? We are each smart in different things and ways

Who does laundry? me

Who does dishes? We all take turns and also help each other

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me

Who pays the bills? Me

Who mows the lawn? Paul but occasionally me because I love to mow the lawn.

Who cooks dinner? Mostly me but occasionally Paul

Who drives when you are together? We take turns except on slick roads I always want Paul to drive. On long scenic trips I always do the driving so Paul can look.

Who is more stubborn? We both are a little stubborn about different things

Who is first to admit when they are wrong? it depends on the issue because we both do it

Who kissed who first? Paul kissed me on the cheek.

Who Proposed? Paul

Who is more sensitive? We both are about the same

Who has more friends? we are kind of like amanda and leif not alot of friends, more acquaintances. I consider Paul my best friend.

Who has more siblings? Paul (10 living)

Who wears the pants? I also think this is a weird question because we discuss things together depending on the situation. We work well together as a team.

Last Week

2008-04-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

What a busy time we have had. We did dinner with family early on Friday. Went to Rexburg to get our nails redone only to find out that the nail tech was 1 1/2 hour behind. Got home late from that. got up early to clean house Saturday and Susan called to say she was coming to visit. She came about 10:30 with all of the kids. The weather was so warm that we were able to play outside which was so much fun. We rode my scooter and gave the little kids some rides. We threw the frisbee around and rode bikes. Clayton and Danielle came down for a visit and did their laundry and Clayton and I washed and cleaned up his car while Danielle and Makayla went shopping. Sunday is always busy with church meetings and such. I went over to resolve an unpleasant situation with a neighbor and ended feeling worse than when I had started. She said such awful things about my family that I was almost dumb struck. Oh well I tried. I cannot figure out how to resolve the issue. Well have to going. bye now.

Update!!

2008-04-10T14:23:00.000-07:00

Well we have been really busy as usual this last week. Makayla did not make it into cheerleading. She was pretty sad that day but life goes on and she is okay now. Clayton is still showing improvement from the treatments that he is receiving for Lyme disease. We are really hoping and praying for a full recovery. Harmoni is getting thru finals week and moving home for a whole week in between semesters. Paul is working hard as usual and helping to take care of his mother. I have been indexing everyday but Sunday. It is really difficult to read some of the records and the different kinds of handwriting. But I really think it is interesting and I plan on doing at least one batch everyday. I have been working some overtime at work trying to catch up. I have finally decided that I will never catch up. Makayla and I went shopping Monday and found some good sales. She bought 3 new shirts, a pair of flip flops, a bracelet and necklace and 1 pair of shorts. I found a cute pair of shoes and a good book. We also hit Bath Body and they had a sale going on buy 2 get 1 free. I stocked up a bunch of different lotions and shower gels. It should last me about 6 months or so. We had a great time. I watched Biggest Loser Tuesday night. I really enjoy the show and the hints on healthy eating that you get during the breaks. I can hardly wait for the last show this next week. I have been trying to organize my office but I think that I have created an even bigger mess. Well it will just have to be a work in progress. I went to have my annual physical this week and my thyroid is out of whack again so I have to up my medicine and hope that my body will get back to a somewhat normal state. Well I have to be going. bye now.

Catching Up

2008-04-02T16:07:00.001-07:00

Well we survived last week. I was not so sure after our sad loss last week. We really do miss Macey alot. I keep listening for her in the morning.
We went to Danielle's sister's house for dinner on Sunday. We were celebrating Danielle's 20th Bday. Her mother was also there from Oregon. We had such a nice visit. It was a lovely meal and we had a great time. We put in a request for Rebecca (Danielle's sister)to play the piano for us and she obliged us. It was so beautiful. It makes me even more excited to start piano lessons.
At church we had combined classes and we were taught how to index. I had wondered what it was that everyone was talking about. I was so excited about it that I signed up as a volunteer and did my first batches today. I have set a goal to do at least one batch a day. It is really hard to stop at one. You should all sign up and do it yourselves. I really like to keep busy and love doing new things so this fit the bill just right.
I finished my strength class for women over 35 on Monday and do not start again until May 14. I will be doing the exercises at home until then. Cheryl has a friend that is a personal trainer and we are talking to him about working with the two of us and whipping us into shape. I am kind of excited. I really do like to exercise it is just trying to get myself started that is so hard. I even know that I feel better when I do.
Clayton is already starting to feel better from the treatment for Lyme disease. The throbbing in his joints at night is not there when he lays down just a little stiffness. Is that not so wonderful. I am so thankful that our prayers have been answered. I am so looking forward to conference this weekend. It absolutely lifts me and always inspires me to be a better person and to try harder to do the things that I need and should be doing. So excited!!!
Makayla is going to cheerleading tryouts this week and she practices every night about 2 hours after her training. Official tryouts are on Friday. She is so excited and working so hard. I hope that everything goes ok for her. She is very good at the cheers and the dancing. I always thought she would love cheerleading. She did this stuff even when she was a little girl around the house.
Well I had better go and fix some dinner. bye now.

Crazy Days

2008-03-27T15:13:00.000-07:00

We had such a lovely Easter. Church meetings were awesome. I really enjoyed Gabby's visit with us. She is really getting to be such a big girl, no little girl anymore. We had lots of fun on Saturday with all of the girls watching movies and eating popcorn and other treats. Then they played cheerleader and just hav ing a great time giggling and playing together. It was so much fun.
We have good news concerning Clayton's health. He has been diagnosed with Lyme disease. I know this does not sound good but up to this point for at least 3-4 years we were unable to find out what was causing him to be in so much pain. Lyme disease is curable. we had prayed and fasted as a family and our prayers have been answered. We are so thankful.
We had some really sad news today. Our wonderful dog Macey got really sick and I took her to the vet and she is very ill. She has liver cancer. I could hardly believe the doctor when he called me after I had left macey so they could run tests on her. She will not be coming home today. We had to make the difficult decision to put her to sleep today. I can hardly stop the crying. She is such a big part of our family. We feel so safe with her around keeping an eye on us. I felt so bad for our kids and all of the neices and nephews that love her and love to play with macey. I am sure that we will feel really lost for quite awhile. We were very fortunate to have such a great pet.
Well I have to be going now. bye now.

Sunday Napping Time

2008-03-16T16:45:00.000-07:00

Everyone at my house is now taking a nap except for me. I really enjoyed church meetings today. They were talking alot about service to those around us. The service that you render as you do your visiting teaching. This makes me want to try harder with the ladies that I visit on my beat. Most of them are not active in church and need the contact that their visiting teacher gives. I am going to try harder. It is going to be a very busy week this week. It is Paul & My 30th Wedding anniversary on Tuesday. I can hardly believe that it has been that many years. they have been really good and I so appreciate Paul and his values. He is such a good man. we are going out to dinner and staying overnight at the Destination Inn. we are staying in the Thailand Room. Wednesday we are going to drive to Pocatello and eat lunch at the Red Lobster and also picking Susans kids up in Pocatello and bringing them home with us for an overnighter while Blain and Susan celebrate their 10th anniversary. I have meetings Wednesday and a choir concert for Makayla Wednesday night, RS birthday Celebration Thursday and I am singing with two other women from my ward at the Bday celebration. Friday a wedding reception and helping, Saturday a girl getogether for Gabby and some friends of mine. Gabby will be staying with us thru Monday. Sunday is Easter and I will making dinner for family and the sister missionaries in our Stake. I almost get tired just thinking about it. I will have fun doing all of the above it is just alot to get done in one week. Well maybe I had better go join everyone in their naps. (not really-I do not like to nap during the day)... bye now.

Midweek

2008-03-12T13:18:00.000-07:00

I decided to update my blog after Susan's reminders. This week has been really crazy at work. I am hoping that things will get better. We still are unable to call long distance from my new office which is really frustrating for many reasons. I am so far behind because of everything going wrong and not working like it should. May be next week will be better.
It has been a sad week for me with the things that are going on with Clayton. I am trying to be upbeat but it is just really sad that he is having such health difficulties in his life right now. He was never sick when he was little. I just wish that we could find an answer to the problems. I just need to keep praying and staying faithful.
Paul was down with the flu yesterday and we totally stayed away from him because Makayla and I do not want to get sick. (I did take care of him)He is feeling better today and even went back to work.
Harmoni is in California right now with her friend Jake and his family. I have not heard from her since she called from Vegas. I hope that she is having a great time. She will be back this Friday. I hope she brings Makayla a surprise back from her trip.
It has been pretty warm in IF this week and the sun has even been shining except not much today. I finished my Quickbook class last night..YEAH!!!! I have three more weeks of my exercise class and then I will probably start taking piano lessons. I would like to brush up on technique and figure the only way that I will sit down is if I am taking lessons and have to practice. I am not very good but I really like to play. I have not really played since I was in high school. It should be fun. I received a call from Carter today on the phone. He cut his finger and needed to tell someone about his owie. He is starting to make sense and talks alot now. I just love to talk to the kids on the phone. I am really looking forward to seeing them next week and having Gabby stay with us on her Spring Break.
Well have to be going. I need to finish baking cookies. bye now.

The Move...

2008-03-03T18:55:00.000-08:00

Well I tried to make this move better than the last one 5 months ago. I had everything so organized on my end and had spoken to the people that own the new building every week for 6 weeks with their promises that everything was in order. We show up Saturday morning with the moving van and the people that used to be in the building were not moved out yet. There was a mess everywhere. The place was so dirty..No phones. ..Our computers did not work on the network in the office. No internet. What a nightmare. I have worked non stop all weekend with a short break on Sunday to attend my church meetings-searching for some peace of mind. Today was long with no progress on the phones or the computers. We are dead in the water without the two. I cleaned all day and moved very heavy boxes downstairs and tried to put everything away. I am praying for a better day tomorrow. I think Paul could tell that I was totally tired so he took us out to Rays in and out for burgers and a root beer shake. It was yummy since I had not eaten since about 6 am this morning. I am really concerned about Clayton with all of the health issues he is facing right now. I am so glad that he has such a great wife to help him through these difficult times. It makes me almost cry when I hear that she knows to get a blessing for him. I am so thankful she has such a strong testimony of the power of the Priesthood. Well enough of the venting my frustrations with this crappy weekend. I really am so blessed to have such a great family and have them be so supportive. Take care. bye now.

Moving weekend.

2008-02-29T15:06:00.000-08:00

I have been getting ready to move this weekend. Unfortunately the phones will not be working at my new office because the phone people screwed up bad. It is so frustrating since I started the procedure for moving the phones 6 weeks ago. My back is already tired from packing everything up at the office. Tomorrow the moving truck will be at the old office to move all of the boxes, desks, file cabinets, etc. the new offices are new and will be great once the move is over. Cheryl and I are taking an exercise class for women over 35 Strength Training. I have a hard time not laughing when I am in pain and Cheryly is the same so it is sometimes very difficult to do the exercise when you are laughing so hard. I told Cheryl that I will not make eye contact with her. It has been really nice and warm in IF today almost 42 degrees. The sun was actually shining this morning. Paul washed my car for me. I hope that it stays pretty and clean for at least one day. Clayton called me yesterday after his business class to tell me that his professor had him teach the class with about 2 minutes notice and that he really loved doing it and did a great job. He was so jazzed. I would be terrified to have a teacher at college do that to me...even if I knew the material well. Makayla had the day off from school today for Parent Teachers conference..she had really good grades she just has a little problem with being too social..but all of her teachers love her and love having her in their class. Well I had better go and make something for dinner. bye now.

Update

2008-02-22T09:28:00.001-08:00

What a busy week. My office is moving again and there are so many things to get done
before the move. We had a really nice enrichment last night. We made up goody bags and treats for some of the older members of our ward then we delivered them with a quick visit. I went and did a temple session yesterday and it really made my day alot better. I went in the earlier afternoon and it is a great time of day to go. I went to the CE Gale basketball games with Makayla this week and the games were really close and kept you on the edge of your seat. Makayla wanted me to come so that her friends could see who her mother was. I hope that they approved.
Well I had better get back to work. bye now.

New Week

2008-02-13T06:30:00.000-08:00

This week has been rather crazy with work and family things. but not as crazy as last week when we had Carter and Max. I finished my last class of Intro to Quickbooks last night and start the Quickbooks II class next tuesday. Hopefully it will go faster than the first. I finish my strength training class this week and do not start again until 2-25 but luckily the exercises are some that I can do at home with the weights that I have. I was checking out Danielle's mothers blog and saw that her Grandma had passed away. It is so sad to lose those that have been such a big part of your life. The sun has been shining a little the last few days and the temperature has been in the high 30's, then we wake up this morning to a cold front moving through again. Brrrrrrrr......Winters in Idaho!!!!! I still do not know what to do for Paul for Valentines Day. Maybe we can go out to lunch on Friday since he is off. I got the kids a treat for Valentines and hopefully they will like it. Well I better get to work. bye now.

Last day with the Boys.

2008-02-09T18:08:00.000-08:00

We have had such a busy week with Carter and Max. They do not stop for even 2 seconds. Yesterday we went and fed the geese down by the river. We put together alot of puzzles. today we have been going going going. We cleaned house this morning and then Paul played outside with max for awhile then we went to McKinley's bday party at Leo's. the boys loved the playroom. Carter especially loved the slide and then they ate lots of ice cream and cake. We then came home and gave the boys a little nap before going to dinner at Mrs. Mickelsens. The boys ate everything and then more ice cream and cake. We are now sitting around watching tv and getting ready for bath time. It will be awful quiet around here when they go home tomorrow. They are not ready to go home yet. I think we spoil them too much when they are here. We will have to bring Gabby next time. I miss having her here for a visit. Once the kids start school it is really hard to get them for a visit. Well I have to go and give some baths and finish the kids laundry. I am really looking forward to going to the Rexburg Temple dedication tomorrow. what a treat for everyone involved. Paul is going to drive the kids to Utah while I am at church and at the dedication. What a great husband I have. bye now.

What the....

2008-02-06T18:54:00.000-08:00

Okay we wake up this morning and we have another snow storm overnight which puts down up to a foot of snow in some areas around town. ... what a nightmare...enough. I could hardly get around town today because the snow was so deep and then it kept getting into my snow boots because of how deep it was. I tried to get up my driveway after exercise class tonight and it took two tries before I could make it. I have been listening to the news and we are supposed to get even more snow tonight. It looks like a doozy of a snow storm that is moving in. Max had a blast in the snow today. I went out to shovel the front sidewalk and he shoveled in the driveway for about an hour and made a huge mountain of snow. He was so proud of himself. But I had a hard time getting around it trying to leave tonight. But that is okay. he just cannot understand why I do not like to play in the snow. Carter just watched.. he does not seem to like to get cold that much. max and Paul plowed snow all over the neighborhood tonight trying to help the neighbors out. Max had a blast of course. Well gotta go give the boys a bath and get them in bed. bye now from buried in snow.........

Crazy Winter

2008-02-05T07:13:00.000-08:00

Ok enough with the snow. I know that we need the moisture but okay. I got stuck at lunch downtown and Paul had to come over and push me out. Then I get home and Danielle is stuck in the alley. I pushed and dug for about 20 minutes and finally some of the neighbors came out and we were able to push her out. Boy was I tired after that.
Max and Carter are staying with us this week to give Susan a break. They sure do keep us busy. I do not think that Carter is feeling very good but he is being a good boy and so is Max. They can hardly wait for Paul to come home from work so he can play with them outside. I did not go to exercise class last night but I did the exercises at home and Carter and Max had to try them out. They were so cute trying to lift the weights. I have Quickbook class tonight I hope that it is a little faster so it will not be so boring. Since I got so little sleep last night because Max got up twice. I think he had a tummy ache considering the condition of the bathroom when we woke up this morning.
Well I better get to work and get through another work day. I was happy to see that they plowed the roads downtown and they were starting on the residential this morning.
Bye now.

Winter!!!!

2008-01-29T15:31:00.000-08:00

Okay I think we have had enough of the snow wind and cold. Danielle stayed overnight last night because of the bad roads. I am glad that we can offer her a place to stay in situations like this. It has been snowing again today and blowing to beat the band. It seems like everytime I have to step out of the house I feel like my face is being sand blasted by snow crystals. I am not looking forward to going out for class tonight. I am really hoping that the weather picks up so that we can travel to SLC on Saturday without putting ourselves in danger from really slick snowy conditions. Laurel called me last night and I got to ask questions about David. I felt alot better after talking to her. I am so glad that she was with him when he passed away. I am looking forward to seeing all of the family, unfortunately it is sad that it is a funeral that brings us all together. Laurel asked me to say the opening prayer for the funeral. Well I had better go and make some dinner. bye now.

Sunday...

2008-01-27T14:40:00.000-08:00

Well what a week. I received my new calling this morning. I am going to be the new ward activity leader. I have really been enjoying my exercise class and looking forward to the next class. We played Killer Bunnies with Clayton and Danielle and that game is so busy. There are about 20 different things going on at the same time and Paul and I decided that in order to win the game you must be as ruthless as possible. There are not a lot of good things going on. Got some bad news today my Uncle David passed away this morning at the young age of 62. He had a horrible disease that took away his capability of taking care of himself. In fact the only thing he could do is talk and even that was going. It is a blessing but so sad at the same time because he was so young. We had been talking about him last night with my parents and discussing how we did not remember him being sick a day in his life and that he was such a great athlete. I am sure that we will going down to the funeral in Salt Lake City sometime this week. I have been talking to Susan and Paige is sick with RSV. They have already made 4 trips to the hospital. I feel so bad for her. Her life is quite a challenge with her kids constantly catching or having such serious things wrong with them. Well hopefully every thing will start going better this week for the family and we will all be able to travel safely to the funeral. bye now.

Update

2008-01-24T16:07:00.000-08:00

We have been really busy this last week and weekend. We had Max and Carter for the weekend. It was lots of fun but so busy. They loved playing outside with Uncle Paul on the 4wheeler. They slept like rocks every night but woke up really early. the turkeys. Gabby sent me a card that she had made over her girls weekend. She is so creative and I love it. I was released from the Relief Society Presidency Sunday. I have been in that calling for about 3 1/2 years. I am already feeling lost without a calling. I went from Primary Presidency to Young Womens Presidency to RS Presidency. It feels very strange. The Bishop told me to not get too relaxed, so I am looking forward to the next adventure. I have been going to my strength class and I love it. the exercises are great and I am looking forward to seeing results. I even signed up for the next 6 weeks and talked Cheryl into taking the next class with me. I am also taking a Quickbooks class and it is really slow. I am sure that it is because alot of the people in my class are so computer illiterate. We are shown each key stroke and even that is very confusing for some people. I think another reason that it seems so slow is because it is a night class and lasts until 10pm and I happen to be a morning person and I am usually winding down at about 8pm because I usually wake up each morning at 4am. I will be happy to have the certificate saying I have completed the class I just need to hang in there. As you can see from the picture the boys really tired Uncle Paul out. Well have to be going. Bye now.

Great Night

2008-01-17T08:39:00.001-08:00

We went to the open house for the Rexburg Temple. Wow what a beautiful building. Cheryl and her friend, Makayla and Harmoni, Danielle and Paul and I all went together. It has alot of steps but it was so wonderful and the tour speakers had the right spirit and said all of the right things. The roads were clear no snow and no wind. I started my Quickbooks class and really like it, but it is really slow. Some of the people in my class do not even know how to use a computer let alone learn a new program. Oh well it gets me out of the house and I really like to take classes and learn new things. The teacher is really excited and outgoing so she does a great job of teaching. I also started my new weight training class and really like it because the exercises can be done at home really easy also. Danielle is coming to our house every day for lunch and I am really happy to see her everyday and visit with her about work and Clayton. bye now.

Catching up.

2008-01-12T06:25:00.000-08:00

Well I woke up early this morning as usual. I just have no idea what it is like to sleep. I get really restless in bed and just have to get up. I have been going over the notes for my talk tomorrow. I hope that I am ready. This has been such a crazy week. It is kind of nice how quiet the house is this morning. I am really excited because I signed up for a class at EITC yesterday to take Intro to Quickbooks. It is a 1 day a week (3hours) 5 week course. When I was talking to some of my friends that are accountants they all told me that is a must. I have always used quicken in my office. I also get to start my new exercise class on Monday. It is a strength training, nutrition class for women over 35. I can hardly wait. It lasts for about 6 weeks 3 times a week. I am hoping that it will start me on an exercise program that I like so that I can get back into exercising. I have been really bad lately and because of the not exercising, have put on weight which is so depressing. Well I better be going I want to finish doing my weekend cleaning before the weekend craziness starts. Danielle and Clayton are coming today for a visit. Yay!! bye now.

Catching up!!

2008-01-08T14:42:00.001-08:00

Well we have gotten back into our regular schedule again. I love the holidays but it is nice to have the normal again. We went to Tremonton Friday night and stayed over with Susan and family. On Saturday we went to Gabby's baptism. It was wonderful and Gabby looked so sweet. She was so happy about having her dad baptize her and everyone coming to watch it happen. We had a great meal afterwards and then celebrated her birthday with a cake and ice cream since no one was able to go on her birthday. We were so lucky that the roads were clear all the way down and back. I was really stressed about driving on bad roads and I had promised Gabby that we would be there for her. I bought her a really pretty Cinderella dress and new shoes to wear for her baptism. She said she felt like Cinderella when she put it on. She looked really sweet. The Stake that she is in provides long white dresses for the girls to be baptized. It makes the girls look so innocent and sweet to be in their long white dresses. We had a great time as you can see in the pictures. I was very sick yesterday. Woke up at 4am and was sick until 8pm last night. It was a miserable way to lose a few pounds. I slept almost all day except when I was running to the bathroom. I am feeling much better today, just a little shaky and my stomache still is aching. I have been working on my talk that I have to give in Sacrament meeting this Sunday. I get so freaked out about speaking in public. I get to speak first and then the rest of the RS Presidency. Harmoni moved to Rexburg yesterday and will be starting school on Wednesday. She is a little nervous but excited at the same time. We just hope that she does well and has a great experience. School can be be great. Well I better get back to my talk. Later. bye now.

!st Day of the New Year

2008-01-01T12:26:00.000-08:00

We had alot of fun last night bowling. It was our 4th year to do bowling on New Years Eve. We then came back to the house and Brett & Gail and Danielle and Clayton played cards with Paul and I. Harmoni was out with some friends and Makayla went to a Stake Dance. she even had fun though she did not really want to go in the first place. We made it to midnight had some sparkling pomegranete juice and set off some poppers. We were all very tired at the end and ready to get to bed. I was really mad that I woke up this morning at 5am and could not get back to sleep after being awake until 2am. I just wish that once I could sleep in. Well since I was awake I made some homemade bread and some cheese potatoes for dinner later and for a family that we are feeding today. I did some laundry and cleaned. What a boring but busy morning. I had Makayla help me frost my hair. She does a pretty good job of pulling it through a cap evenly. I was very happy with the end result. Well enough of my rattling on. Happy New Year to all. Love you all. Bye now.

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-12-29T06:32:00.001-08:00

Holiday Happenings

2007-12-28T16:28:00.000-08:00

We had a rather crazy Christmas Holiday. Susan and family and Clayton and Danielle all came and stayed at our house. It was lots of fun but wild. Especially with Gabby being sick and then Carter having his throwup session at 2am in the morning. Nothing like giving someone a bath at 2am in the morning. I still loved having everyone here. We went to childrens mass with Paul on Christmas Eve. It was so crowded and we ended sitting way in the back so it was hard to hear and tell what was going on. We gave everyone BYU sweats for their Christmas eve pjs. they are all warm and soft. I personally love mine. I think everyone else did also. I woke everyone up at 6am Christmas morning. I felt pretty good about letting them sleep so late because I wanted to wake them up earlier because I get so excited and cannot sleep because I am so impatient to give everyone their gifts. We had the traditional breakfast casserole and oranges for breakfast after opening gifts and went and visited mom and dad and then came home to play with all of our new toys. We had lots of good food on Christmas day. Mom and Dad Phillipp and pat came for dinner. Everyone seemed happy with the stuff that they received for Christmas. I love my new Zune. I have been downloading all of the cds that I have and have not even started to use any of the space. I also got two gift certificates to Barnes and Noble (totally the best gift for someone like me who absolutely cannot get enough to read). In fact I went and spent some time in Barnes and Noble to day and bought two cds - Best of Simon and Garfunkel and also Credence Gold/Credence Clearwater Revival. makayla wanted to know who both of the cds were. My age was showing and so was hers. they are awesome cds and I have already loaded them on to my Zune. I also bought three new books. I then came home and ordered two more books on line because I had some money left and also I had received an 10% discount coupon for an online order. I love getting new books. Well I have rambled on long enough. Looking forward to the New Year celebrations. Talk to all of you later. Bye now.

Busy Weekend

2007-12-16T14:22:00.000-08:00

What a busy weekend I have had, but it was lots of fun. My company party was Friday night at Steve Thompsons home. Then Saturday morning my family was invited over to a Breakfast Christmas Party. We had to bring white elephant gifts. The food was delicious and we ended up with a bizarre tie for Paul, I received a gallon can of pickled jalapeno peppers, Makayla a Christmas CD and Harmoni some funny Christmas decorations. It was a fun way to start out the day. I then finished house cleaning just before Danielle and Clayton showed up. harmoni went to work and makayla ended having some friends over to play games with. I went shopping with Danielle and Clayton to buy just a few finishing gifts. Danielle and I then frosted cookies, dipped caramels, dipped pretzels, made chocolate cookies that were her family recipe and put them in the freezer for Christmas Eve. We finally finished all of the goodies and made some dinner. Clayton and I then went shopping again to replace some fish. It is really hard with so many too choose from at the pet store. Hopefully they will live this time. I am excited to hear from Clayton on how things went with the new fish. We finished out the evening watching the newest Harry Potter movie. Until about 10:30 when we turned it off because we were all getting so tired and Clayton needed to get his new fish home. He was probably up all night getting them set up. I am going to wrap all of my gifts on Sunday and Monday before someone sneaks into the downstairs bedroom and takes a peek. Well better get back to wrapping gifts. Bye now.

TAG

2007-12-14T07:09:00.000-08:00

Okay here is my tag Amanda
J Joy

E Efficient

A Any kind of chocolate

N Neat

Yea it is Friday

2007-12-07T08:01:00.000-08:00

I am so glad Friday is finally here. I went Christmas shopping with Amanda yesterday. I only have two more gifts to buy. I cannot wait to get done. I finished making all of my homemade gifts yesterday. I am going to bake some cookies and make some candy this weekend. I get to help with Kurt Killians wedding reception tomorrow. It is rather strange to have all of these young men married that ran around with Clayton. Time has gone by so fast. It just seems yesterday that they were all new scouts hanging out at our house with Paul. We are celebrating Paul's dads birthday on Sunday - he will be 80 years old. He is in really great shape for someone that age.
Well have to be going. Bye now.

Update

2007-11-29T07:23:00.000-08:00

I did not realize it had been so long since I posted last. We had a great Thanksgiving. Susan & family came and mom and dad. We had lots of good food and had a great visit. Danielle and Clayton came Friday and visited with us and we played cards for awhile. We were fortunate to attend a fireside that was put on by Michael McClean on adoption on Sunday. We took the whole family and it was wonderful. I think I cried the whole program. It brought back alot of the memories of the despair that we felt when we found out that we could not have children. The program talked about trying to adopt the perspective of the mother giving the child away the receiving parents and also the grandparents of the child being adopted out. It made me remember how blessed that we are to have been able to adopt and have children in our home. I am trying to get ready for the Super Saturday in our ward. It is this Saturday. I hope that I have everything that I need by now. I get to go to Book Club tonight and am really excited. I really enjoy reading and it is lots of fun to get together with other women and discuss a good book. Well have to go now.

Yea The weekend

2007-11-16T19:06:00.000-08:00

Yea it is Friday. Makayla and I just got back from the mall. they sure have alot of cute things out at the mall, but I have a hard time spending $29 for a tank top. I found a really cute green coat that I might just have to buy. I am thinking hard about it and showed it to makayla in case the girls want to get it for me for Christmas. I went and did alot of window shopping trying to get some ideas for the girls for christmas. Clayton and Danielle are coming tomorrow and we are going to play some games and do some visiting. I am really looking forward to Amanda's workshop tomorrow. I like to make all of the things that she brings to her workshops. Well have to be going. Bye now.

Weekend News

2007-11-13T15:08:00.001-08:00

We had a very busy weekend. We had Susan and family, Amanda and family and Clayton and Danielle at our house this weekend. It was fun but rather crazy. Paige was cooing and smiling at us this weekend. She is getting so big. Paul and I went to Clayton and Danielle's home on Monday and put in a new floor in their entry way. It looks so much better than the cracked grey linoleum. It was hard work but it made them happy so it was worth all of the hard work. Their home is so comfy and right for them. I finally got into my office today and cleaned it up. It was an absolute mess and I could not even get into it to do anything. but it is all organized again and I can get in and update my blog site. Well have to be going. bye now.

Finally

2007-11-02T15:27:00.000-07:00

I received a chewing out from Susan because I had not posted since 10-27. But I have a good excuse, I have not been feeling well. I finally went to the doc and I have strep throat. I am on antibiotics and also mucinex for the cough that I also developed. It makes me so mad I had plans to go in to get my flu shot the morning that I woke up with the sore throat. I ended up home from work today. Not what I had planned. Tomorrow is Paul's Bday and I had all of these plans to get things done which are not going to happen. Luckily I had already given him his bday present. I am hoping for a better day tomorrow so that we can all go out to lunch for the bday boy. Kate is coming into town with the new baby and we are going to an open house at Steve and Mollys to check out Marcus. I hate staying home all day. There is absolutely nothing on tv. I did sleep alot. I also checked out all of the pictures of the halloween costumes of the nieces and nephews. They were really scary. bye now.

Weekend Fun

2007-10-27T15:13:00.000-07:00

We went to card club today and made a really cute card. Photo attached. the kids have had a blast playing in the leaves. ( Susan and kids came for the weekend) I keep cleaning the floor every time they come thru. I need to give it up until they are done. Paul went off hunting with his sister Annette and her friend Bob for a moose. Hopefully they will get the job done quickly. I went to Book Club on thursday and absolutely loved the experience and looking forward to next month. we will be reading Angels and Demons which I have already read. But it is a good book so I will skim it before club. Well have to go chase down some kids. bye for now.

Tuesday

2007-10-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

Well what a long day yesterday. All the driving, which I absolutely hate. We found Harmoni a car in Malad. I will post a picture later today. She was so excited she was screaming and loves it. The kids were fun although little Paige is not the happiest of babies. It is a good thing she is so cute. Carter got jumped on by a dog when he went with Paul to look at the car and the dog scratched his face pretty bad. It looks like he got in a fight. The dog got both sides of his face with his paws. Max about talked our ear off with all of the stuff he needed to tell us and he kept asking when we were going to go camping again. Gabby had a great checkup but was mad at us because we had to leave after she got home and she wanted to visit with us more. We stopped in Poky and did dinner with Amanda & Leif and finally got home at 8:30 last night. Well bye now

Monday Morning

2007-10-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Another Monday morning starting the week out running. Paul and I are headed off to Tremonton this morning to keep an eye on the kids for Susan while she takes Gabby to Shriners Hospital. We are looking forward to playing with Max Carter and Paige. We had a busy weekend. Paul went hunting but did not find anything to shoot. I was busy cleaning house, shopping and I got all of my visiting teaching done before the end of the month. Yea!! Amanda and McKinley spent Saturday with us hanging out. Amanda and I hit the open house at Roberts and bought just a few things. We also went to this other store that is only open on Friday and Saturday and did not get to shop to long since we went at 2:45 and they close at 3. but looking forward to this Friday so that I can go back. They had great things for decorating the home and in the style that I use for my house. Well better be going so that I can finish getting ready for the trip today.Bye now.

Friday

2007-10-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

Yea!! it is Friday finally. Long long week. Going to frost Rita's hair today. I want to go to the new shoe store in town and see if I can find some brown shoes. I loaned my other pair to Denise to wear at the wedding and I think I will give them to her because they really make my feet hurt. I do not know why because they are not tight. Maybe the arch isn't quite in the right spot. I am going to go to a bridal shower tomorrow for Kurt Killian's fiancee. It should be fun because I have never met her. Paul went hunting today and saw a moose and one deer running away. so he did not get to shoot anything this morning, maybe later today when he goes back out. He is picking up an older Honda 4 wheeler that he got for $65 that he thinks he will be able to fix for just a little money and then he will have a newer 4 wheeler. Ours is only 23 years old.
I am going to Utah on Monday to help Susan with the kids. She needs to go to the Shriners Hospital for Gabby's annual checkup and wants to take all of the kids. It should be an adventure. Paul said that he would drive down with me, which makes me happy because it is getting to be such a boring drive. Well bye for now.

perfecting the blog site

2007-10-16T16:22:00.000-07:00

I added some new elements to our blog site today. I cannot believe how long it took me. Usually I am not so computer illiterate. I like the slide show and the new clock. I would really like to add some music also. It is a fun thing to do and I think everyone in the family should have one so that we can keep tabs on each other and also to share photos of all of the little kids in the family. Well bye for now.

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-10-16T13:05:00.001-07:00

Weekend

2007-10-15T10:48:00.000-07:00

Well the weekend was great and busy. I did not get very many pages done at the overnight scrapbooking considering all of the stuff that I hauled down to Pocatello. We had a great time visiting and spending time together. We only stayed up until about 2:30, all the kids said they were too tired and not feeling inspired. I had my second wind by then and was ready to go all night but decided that I better go to bed since everyone else was. McKinley hollered at me first thing Saturday about 7am. She wanted to have someone help her out of her room. She is so cute and fun to spend time with. I also was chasing picture frames for my cousin from Wyoming all weekend as I was running from Idaho Falls to Pocatello. She needed 41 11x14 frames for her Super Saturday project and we were finally able to find the last of them in Blackfoot. I finished the last of the vampire books Eclipse. I am very excited for the new book to come out which it appears will not be too soon. The books were great. I enjoyed every minute of reading them and could not put them down once I had started.
Well I better be going. Bye now.

Good Books

2007-10-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

well I am reading a new series about vampires. I love the books. I read Twilight in a couple of hours and then I had to wait for New Moon to come in the mail because it was sold out in IF. It came today in the mail. I started reading it and could not put it down and finished it in a few hours also. I have Eclipse which I am going to start tomorrow. I can hardly wait. We went out to dinner tonight to Texas Roadhouse. It was so yummy. I had the smothered chicken without the gravy and their fresh steamed vegies. They do a great job with the vegies. I have leftovers that I get to eat for lunch tomorrow. Well tomorrow is Friday and I get to go to Pocatello to scrapbook with Amanda. Danielle and Clayton are going to go also. Bye for now.

Weekend

2007-10-08T10:15:00.000-07:00

Well I loved conference this weekend. The messages that are spoken always make me want to try harder to be a better person. I noticed that there were a lot of messages concerning the roles of mothers and the influence that they have on their children and the family. I am looking forward to receiving my copy of the ensign so that I can read the messages again. We had lots of good food to eat and enjoyed our visit with Danielle and Clayton. We played Wii and I ended up with the highest bowling score of 214. I am so glad that we bought the Wii for Clayton it is really fun to play with the family. We watched movies and enjoyed each others company. Susan and Blain showed up on Sunday afternoon and Amanda and Leif. We had quite a household of people but I love to have my family around. (Even though it was crazy at times)
I have been printing more pictures for my scrapbooking night at Amanda's. It is really quiet at home today. Everyone else is either at work or school. But I better enjoy it while I can. Paige Carter and Max will be here this afternoon for me to watch while Blain and Susan go to a funeral for his great aunt. Well better be going, bye now.

Yea!! It's Friday

2007-10-05T18:50:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness Friday is finally here. Did the grocery shopping and some laundry. Looking forward to conference in the morning. I started the new book that I bought yesterday Twilight and finished it today. I loved the book and cannot wait to get the next one- New Moon that I had to order thru the mail because it is out of stock in town. I really like the story about the good vampires. Looking forward to having Danielle and Clayton spend the weekend. Had a nice visit with Amanda and her friend Sara about our scrapbooking weekend. We are all looking forward to getting alot done. Bye for now

2007-10-04T14:45:00.000-07:00

I had a fun day today. I went with Denise and Heather to the Wild Flower Blossom scrapbook supply sale. I of course spent way too much money, but I am really excited because I found all of the paper ribbon and stickers to complete the scrapbook of Clayton and Danielle's engagement wedding and reception photos. I am going to an all night scrapbook at Amanda's on the 12th. I plan on trying to catch up with my sister trip book and the wedding book. I can hardly wait. I caught the stomach flu from someone and was real sick yesterday and ended in bed for half of the day. I am feeling much better today, thank goodness. Clayton and Danielle are coming to stay this weekend so that we can all watch conference together and also they do not want to miss conference since they do not have tv at their apartment. It should be a fun weekend. Well bye for now.

Paige Blessing

2007-10-02T13:22:00.001-07:00

The girls and I traveled to Tremonton to celebrate Carters Bday and see Paige get blessed. It was lots of fun and lots of people. Paige looked like a little angel in her blessing outfit that Denise and Mom made for her. I even contributed by making the slip to wear under it. A little family project. Carter loved the gift we gave him of a John Deere tractor book. It has real wheels on it and he would not put it down. He is such a tractor lover right now. max was outside making jumps to go over with his bike. I would not be surprised to hear he has broken his arm again. We had great food and great cake. When we got home Danielle and Clayton came to visit us and we ended up watching old family movies. We had a great laugh at how funny we all looked 10 years ago and how much we had all changed. I am really looking forward to watching conference this weekend. It is a time that I actually sit down and watch tv for about 4 hours each day of conference without interruption. I can hardly wait. Bye for now.

2007-09-26T19:21:00.000-07:00

Well we made it thru the weekend okay. We had Susan and family over the weekend and it was rather crazy around the house. Danielle and Clayton came down on Saturday and we all went out to dinner to Olive Garden. It was really yummy. I ate to much as usual from there but we had great leftovers. We played WII. It is lots of fun and I really like the game where you check your own fitness level. Paige is really growing. She is a really good baby. We are looking forward to seeing her this weekend when we go down to her blessing in Tremonton. We are also celebrating Carter's Bday. I need to come up with an idea for a gift for him. He is the big "2".

Trip to Tremonton

2007-09-18T16:30:00.000-07:00

Makayla and I went for a short one day visit with Susan and family. Paige is so cute and we got alot of hugs from Gabby max and Carter. They wanted us to stay overnight with them.
Paul is off hunting in Leodore by himself and having a great time. he has seen alot of elk but nothing close enough to shoot with his bow. he will be home on Thursday.
Susan and family will be here on Friday evening for a visit. Blain is coming to help his dad
cut hay. Well I have to be going. I need to fix dinner for the girls.

2007-09-15T10:45:00.000-07:00

This is our first entry on our blog site. Love reading those of
other family and friends. Makayla and I are getting ready to go to
card club and then off to Tremonton to visit Susan and family, especially
the new baby. Paige. We will post pictures when we get back.