FAMILY

Whats the BIG Obsession?

2010-04-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

Every Thursday is Library day at school and Braeden comes home every Thursday with a new book...a WAR book! I'm not talking about a First grade level book either. He's bringing home big huge War books and wanting Ryan to read them to him every night. Its all he talks about these days. War this and War that and how when he grows up he is going to jump in the big Tank and shoot all the bad guys. Ryan tried to talk him into being a Doctor in the Army and Brady ask what a Doctor would do? After an hour of explaining it, Brady said "No Thanks, too boring. I just want to be in a tank and shoot the bad guys." Brady even threw an hour tantrum at Walmart because we wouldnt buy him a 350 page book about World War II. Brady tried to sneek down the stairs the night we watched Hurt Locker and cried when we made him go to bed. Should I let him watch Saving Private Ryan?? Maybe that would change his mind!!

Braeden lost his First Tooth!!

2010-04-25T20:18:00.000-07:00

Braeden has complaining about not loosing a tooth yet and how everybody in his class has lost many teeth. Well a few days ago he came to me so excited that his tooth was loose. We have been working on it for a while and finally tonight I pulled it out. He didnt even feel it. He was so excited but not as excited as Denni was. She was screaming saying how Brave Brady was and how she cant wait to break a tooth!!

Playing Catch-Up

2010-04-22T19:29:00.000-07:00

Easter weekend

Denni and Elise

Braeden and Nate

Us at the Park on Easter

Dinner at The Melting Pot

Same

Denni being silly

Denni is a Diva!

Happy Birthday to ME!!

2010-04-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

I got some money for my Birthday and I knew what I wanted to spend it on. I've been wanting a Collie Jersey for a year now. I loved watching Collie play for BYU and now love watching him play with my other Favorite Manning for the Colts! Thanks to my bestest friend ever..Jerri got me this Jersey..Super Bowl addition for an awesome price. I totally spoiled myself this year!!

WHATEVER!!

2010-04-12T19:25:00.000-07:00

I know that April is Spring time and the Weather isnt perfect but I am sick of crappy weather oh and of Channel 2 News telling me that it will get in the 70's. I wake up all excited, shave my legs hoping to get somewhat of a tan or burn, walk outside and its freakin cloudy with a chance snow!! 70 WHATEVER!! I think this week I need to just go buy myself a pass to the tanning beds and call it good.

Brown Sugar Oct 08-April 10

2010-04-11T21:43:00.000-07:00

Its been just over a year since I've done anything with my blog and I am missing it a lot so I think Im going to start it up again. Today I went in to Denni's room to check on her pet hamster and noticed that she had passed. We gathered the kids and told them the news. Denni cried and cried. We let the kids pick a spot in our yard to bury her and said a few nice things as Denni was still crying. Then after she went over to all the neighbors and cried to all of them and then called everyone she knew and told them about her hamster. I'm afraid she is going to need therapy for this...Well it is our first pet that has passed..I hope she knows that Brown Sugar is in pet heaven and is very happy.

The Kids Power Throw! (so tough)

2009-03-31T19:46:00.000-07:00

I thought this was funny. The kids were trying to be tough and throw the ball as hard as they could.

POOR LIL GIRL!

2009-03-09T13:53:00.000-07:00

Just a little update on whats been going on. Denni has been getting several UTI's in the last month and every antibiotic she has been on is NOT working. She has been in so much pain and finally after a ER visit in Cedar last weekend the Doc told us to see a Urologist. The doc at Primary's sent over an order for some testing to be done at Makay Dee. He wanted some test done on her kidneys and bladder. So early this morning we checked in and she was such a trooper. They had to give her an IV and she didnt even cry or flinch. They also put her under for the test to be done on her bladder. We are home now and she is doing great. We see the Urologist at Primary's with the results on the 16th. The little cutie pie deserves a treat!

WHY? WHY? WHY?

2009-02-24T10:48:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a long time since I've blogged, so I have a lot of catching up to do. Ryan took this picture this morning and I just had to laugh and ask myself Why? Why would we let our kids pick out their own clothes, dress themselves, and leave the house without their hair done? Denni is getting to the point where she wants to do everything on her own. Ryan had to run some errands this morning and she wanted to go and this is what she walked out of the door looking like. I told Ryan that she looks like a Truck Driver's daughter. She would NOT let me take the hat off and do her hair before she left. When Ryan got back he said that everyone in Home Depot was saying how cute she was. Yikes!! This might be her new look for the rest of the year.

SUNDANCE

2009-01-19T19:08:00.000-08:00

Last year a few friends and I went up to Park City for the Sundance Film Festival, and had a blast. We saw a few stars, so this year we were even more excited to go. We left around 1:oo and walked around all day! No Celebs in sight! We decided to go into the Chocolate Factory for some hot coco and to get warm and John Cleese was standing in there talking to some people. Man he's tall. By the time we all figured who it was it was too late to pull our camara's out and take a picture. oops! We had a great time anyway. I realized that I hadn't taken any pictures so I snapped a few shots in the car and one at dinner. Thanks Bill for being a trooper and being the only guy on our trip!

ALL THE FUN PLACES THE KIDS FALL ASLEEP!

2009-01-15T20:23:00.000-08:00

This was today. Denni almost fell down the stairs!
This is her favorite place to fall asleep. I don't know why!
When she was younger, she would always fall asleep in her highchair.
I think I would forget about her and she would get bored!
Brady could fall asleep just about anywhere, doing anything!
Like eating cereal at my Mom's house!
Watching t.v. in his bedroom.
Ohhh, Denni was so sweet when she was a baby. Hence the word was!
She always loved to have things over her face!

SNOW SNOW AND MORE SNOW

2009-01-08T19:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Ryan had the day off and the kids wanted to go out side to play in the snow, I told him to take lots of pictures. He took 2! I guess if I want anything done, I need to do it myself. For anyone who knows me well, I HATE the snow. I hate the winter and it just wont stop snowing! Ryan and I were coming home from a date the other night and it was really quiet in the car, he asked me what I was thinking of. I said "sitting on the grass in the summer and watching the kids play in the kiddie pool" I don't think I have heard Ryan laugh harder then I did that night. He told me, "well honey, we have a long way to go for that" I really wish it was here. The kids had fun in the snow anyway. I just stayed in the house wrapped up in a warm blanket and playing around on Facebook!

Cedar/St.George Trip

2009-01-01T12:38:00.000-08:00

After Christmas Ryan and the kids took a trip down south to go see his family. I got a weekend to myself and stayed home. They spent some time in Cedar City with Grandpa Barton and a little time with Grandma Banks in St.George. The kids had a lot of fun with their cousins and a good time seeing the Grandparents.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2008-12-25T07:57:00.000-08:00

This morning we woke up to a white Christmas. I really thought that my kids would get up super early because they were so excited last night but Ryan and I had to wake them up at 7:45! (nice) My mom always woke us up at 5:00 every Christmas morning but Ryan wouldn't let me. The kids had so much fun opening presents. Braeden got a Hero's V game, a Dinosaur, a Jazz Jersey (Korver) a board game and some new Wranglers. Denni got a Bike, a Camera, a doll that came with all the accessories, a puppy that grows, and some shoes she picked out her self. Ryan and I got a gun safe from Ryan's Dad. We have been needing one for so long. Ryan has been keeping his guns in Cedar City and now we can have them up here to take out shooting. I really need the practice so I can get my hunters safty this year. This was a really great Christmas, but we really miss being with all of our family. We love you guys, Merry Christmas!

CHRISTMAS LETTER

2008-12-22T22:36:00.000-08:00

I have had so many complaints about me not updating my blog so I decided to write a quick Christmas letter and let everybody know how we are and what we are up too. The last month has been crazy for Ryan at Wells Fargo. He has been working a lot of overtime. I guess that is a good thing for him, not so much for me. Braeden is in Kindergarten and loving it. He is growing up so fast. He still plays with his trains a lot but has found a new love for computer games. (I wonder where he gets that) Denni is my little disaster girl! She just loves to find anything around the house to ruin. We are still working on the potty training thing. I know I don't want to hear it Mom! But she is full of joy and makes us laugh everyday. As for me, well I just clean and yell at kids all day. I hope that your Christmas is full of Love and Joy!

Thanks to Mister, Tag I'm it.

2008-12-10T11:26:00.000-08:00

7 Things I can do...
1.I love to Draw
2.Spend Money
3.CLEAN!!!!!
4.I love to cook
5. Bake
6. Wicked game player
7. Do girls hair.

7 Things I cannot do...
1.Ski (tried it and hated it)
2.Let my house get dirty (tried it and couldn't)
3.Let my kids go one day without a bath (tried it and they smelled too bad)
4.Spell (Thanks Dad)
5.Math (Thanks Mom)
6.Read (I think about too many other things while reading)
7.Be a good Mom (I scream too much)

7 Things I like to eat...
1.My home made Alfredo
2.Cap'n Crunch Berries
3.The Mandarin
4.Home made Rolls
5. My moms pumpkin pie
6.Fresh Nevada Pine Nuts
7.Chips and Salsa

7 Things I always say...
1.Whatever!
2.What the Hell
3.Ryan, get me a drink!
4.Ryan, rub my back!
5.Ryan, run to the store!
6.Ryan, feed the kids!
7.Ryan, get the kids to bed, I'm on the computer!
Who's next..Deidre, Heather Bruck, Heather Randall

Mmmm... Marv's Yummy Yummy

2008-12-08T20:12:00.000-08:00

YES! I did make another trip to Enterprise. My sisters and I had plans to attend the Rotary Bowl in St.George and see some friends of ours from Nashville, but it didn't work out that way so we just when SHOPPING! Ryan was nice enough to stay home with the kids and let me enjoy a weekend alone with my sisters. Of course the first thing I wanted to do when I got to St.George was go eat at Marv's. I have been craving it for so long. After that we spent 10 hours shopping and I only had two things to buy. My sisters are tough cookies. (they do have 4-6 kids to shop for) I'm just glad that I was able to get my Christmas shopping done and spend a great weekend with my family!

"SO WHAT"

2008-12-01T09:10:00.000-08:00

Braeden and Denni love the song "So What" by Pink. They even asked me to go buy it at Walmart and if I didn't they would just ask Santa for it. So we went to Walmart a few days ago and purchased the CD. Well that is all we have been listening to for the last few days. This morning I caught Denni singing and dancing to the song and thought it would be funny to post.

THANKSGIVING TRIP

2008-11-27T17:49:00.000-08:00

This year our family wasn't able to go down south for Thanksgiving so we decided to take the kids to Salt Lake and rent a Hotel room. Our friends, Darren, Amber and their kids were also alone for the holiday so they joined us for the two days of activities. We went to Olive Garden for dinner and then took the kids swimming all night. They all had sooo much fun. Braeden said that staying at a hotel is the coolest thing ever. Then on Thanksgiving day we met up at Golden Corral for a great lunch. The food was really good but not as good as my mothers. After we ate we all went to the Gateway and saw the movie "Bolt" the kids and the adults loved it, it was so funny and well worth it. I think that every year that we can't spent Thanksgiving down south with our extended family, we will always do this.

THANKSGIVING TRIP

2008-11-27T17:41:00.000-08:00

Darren being a goof ball!
Swimming at the Hotel
DON'T EVEN ASK!
Darren, Amber, Marley, Ryan
Maddison and Denni

THANKSGIVING TRIP

2008-11-27T17:28:00.000-08:00

Our friends at the Gateway
Marley, Maddison and Denni
Braeden and Denni at the Gateway
Our family, freezing by the fountain
Us in front of the Gateway

DUE WEST

2008-11-21T23:36:00.000-08:00

Tonight I got the chance to go to a Farm Bureau Banquet with my neighbors Justin and Jana. Ryan being the party pooper stayed home with the kids, so I got to 3rd wheel it. The food was great but the entertainment was Awesome. Due West (Tim Gates, Brad Hull, Matt Lopez) came all the way from Nashville to play at the Banquet. I'm sure I've rambled on and on before about them but they happen to be good friends of our family, (so I like to brag a little.) I never get sick of listening to their music and these guys crack me up. I had such a great time.

BRAEDEN'S FIRST BOOK

2008-11-18T19:00:00.000-08:00

I had such a mother moment today. After Braeden got home from school he threw his backpack on the kitchen table and demanded that I help him with his homework. So after we all had lunch I pulled out his homework and there were two books for him to read. Until now I (by I, I mean Ryan) have always read the books to him, but today he read the whole book to me. I didn't even have to help him. I was so proud. Braeden you are growing up so fast.

DISNEY ON ICE

2008-11-15T11:25:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Ryan was able to get some tickets to Disney on Ice in the Wells Fargo suite. We decided to get the kids really excited and told them we had a big surprise. After a week of anticipation Brady could take it no longer. He constantly pestered me and Ryan about what we were going to do. Finally I told him we were going to see Mickey Mouse. His response was "Yes, we're going to Disney Land!" I explained it was Disney on Ice, not Disney Land. He was a little disappointed, but was still really excited. The big day finally came and that morning I woke up with horrible pain. It was another kidney stone. I called Ryan home from work, and couldn't even get out of bed. He ended up going solo to Disney on Ice with the kids, so I told him to take lots of pictures. He took 5. Thanks Ryan. In his defense the batteries died in the camera so he had no choice. The kids had a wonderful time, and I wish I could have been there.

THE BIRTHDAY HAMSTER

2008-11-13T18:31:00.000-08:00

Braeden has been begging for a hamster for his birthday for a few months now so finally I gave in. We took him to the Pet store and let him pick it out all by himself. The cashier at the store told us that the one we picked out was sooo nice and sooo mellow, so we were really excited to take it home and play with it. WHAT A NIGHTMARE! I think that our hamster has ADHD and it is really mean! The other day the kids wanted to get it out to hold it so I went to grab it softly and it BIT ME! HARD! It broke through the skin and I bled all day. A few hours later Braeden was petting it and I walked in the room and it started to spit it's own poop at me, after it ran out of poop ammo it started to spit its food at me. It doesn't do that to the kids, just me. So I've come to the conclusion that the birthday hamster named Brown Sugar hates me. I know that Braeden will love and take care of it. Happy Birthday Braeden, you have grown up into such a handsome boy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAEDEN

2008-11-13T18:14:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that my baby boy has turned six years old. Braeden has grown up so fast and has been so much joy in our lives. We had a great but small birthday party for him at our house on Sunday. We invited Bill and Michelle's family over for dinner and cake and ice cream. Breaden was so excited about his present that Hazon and Cayden gave him, a Webkin. He named it frogger. He also got a few spider man toys and most of all a Hamster. "mom's not happy" We Love You Braeden!

6 YEARS OLD!

2008-11-13T18:00:00.000-08:00

TRIP TO ENTERPRISE

2008-11-10T10:20:00.001-08:00

During our visit to Enterprise we went to St.George to visit my Grandma Jones. She has been in a rest home for 5 years now. We stopped at Pizza Factory to pick up her favorite kind of pizza "canadian bacon and pineapple" and all ate lunch together. Then we all played Rook, her favorite card game. Of course grandma won, and giggled about it the whole time. She loves it when we all come to visit. She loves to see the kids and share stories about uncle Dutch coming to visit.

TRIP TO ENTERPRISE

2008-11-10T09:48:00.000-08:00

This past week Ryan picked up 40 hours of overtime, so I packed up the kids and we headed to Enterprise for the week. We had a great time with the family playing cards and Settlers of Catan until 3:00a.m. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins and having sleepovers. Oh, I forgot to mention that Braeden called 911 at my moms house and the cops showed up to make sure that everything was okay. It scared him to death. The cop was really nice about it, he just talked to Braeden about calling 911 when it is an emergency. I bet he will never do that again.

MURDER MYSTERY PARTY

2008-11-02T09:38:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to a murder mystery at the Who Hung Wu palace (Bill and Michelle's house). There were a lot of great costumes and bad accents. We made new friends with General Shang and Joyous Flower (Breck and Rob). We also dined with Hao De Doo and Willow Blossom (Dan and Camille). The party was hosted by Jade Flower and Pen Ta Gon (Michelle and Bill). Of course the life of the party was Silver Bell and Hoo Li Gan (Me and Ryan). I especially liked Dan and Bill's sweet facial hair. It was a total blast with great food and even better company.

2008-11-02T09:33:00.000-08:00

2008-10-31T22:16:00.000-07:00

After a full day of trick or treating in Bountiful, we came back to our neighborhood to do more candy damage and came upon Mr. Incredible. This is Brian, Patricia and family. Patricia sewed all of the costumes herself. You guys look AWESOME! Oh, and our kids got way to much candy, I think it will last them until Christmas.

TRICK OR TREAT

2008-10-31T21:39:00.000-07:00

What a way to start out the day! Our friends Bill and Michelle took us to a couple of different Rest Homes in Bountiful. People were lined up in their wheelchairs to hand out candy to all of the kids. Everyone had a blast. It really made the folks at the Rest Home very happy. The bad part about it was, the kid got way to much candy. Our Wal-mart sacks were clear full by the end of the day.

Don't let your sisters touch your hair!

2008-10-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

A few months ago my mom and sisters were all sitting in the hospital room waiting for Sharla, (my oldest sister) to have her baby. It was taking a little longer than we would have liked. So my sister RaSelle said "hey, while we are waiting let's do your hair like a plig. So everybody else joined in and this is the end result. It's a horrible picture but we all had a great time.

A few things I've missed

2008-10-29T11:28:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few things I miss about living in Enterprise. 1. I'm missing out on all the fun of canning. 2. I'm missing out on all the fun of cutting up deer meat with my sisters. 3. I'm missing out on all the fun of Pine nut picking in the middle of who knows where, and 4. I just miss spending time with my family. So I saw my sister's blog the other day, and it had all of these pictures on it, so I decided to take them off her blog and put them on mine. Sharla looks like she is having a great time cutting up that deer. Maybe next year it will be my deer.

TIME OUT FOR WOMEN

2008-10-27T07:48:00.000-07:00

In September I was able to attend Time Out for Women in Vegas, not only with my Mom and sisters but also with my Aunt and cousins. Their were 14 of us sharing 2 rooms at the South Point Hotel, and we had a blast. The night before the conference we went to a concert put on by the Tribute Band. If anyone out there has never heard them play, you need to, they are awesome. Their CD is called "Joseph a Nashville Tribute to the Prophet" and they also have "Trek a Nashville Tribute to the Pioneers". After the concert we hung out with the band for a while, that's them in the picture above. The next day we attended the conference and had a great time. I learned a lot on how to be more patient with being a mother and a wife. I want to thank my family and cousins for making the trip so enjoyable for me. You guys are AWESOME!!!

PINE VALLEY MOUNTAIN

2008-10-24T21:55:00.000-07:00

The best part about camping, is the FOOD!!! My family knows how to make great dutch oven chicken and potatoes. I think we all regret the 10lbs weight gain during our camping trip. My nephew's Jad and Gavon caught two snakes in the creek. They thought it would be cool to keep them as pets not realizing that they were water snakes so they had to let them go. The cute little baby is my youngest nephew Wyatt. He is so much joy to be around. He always has a smile on his face. We all look forward to next summer, and the fun we will have in Pine Valley.

PINE VALLEY

2008-10-24T21:33:00.000-07:00

One of our family's most favorite things to do in the summer is go camping at Pine Valley Mountain. My whole family was able to be there. The kids had so much fun playing in the dirt and not thinking about taking a bath for five days.

The whole family together

2008-10-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken just after grandpa Jolley's funeral. It was really nice that the whole family was able to get together in Price. The only person we are missing is Brett's wife Becca. It was a really nice service. The kids had a great time spending their first night at a hotel.

BYU Game Time

2008-10-22T09:52:00.000-07:00

As we all know, BYU lost to TCU, but we all still know how to have a good time. This is us hanging out with our neighbors, Dallas and Jeff Bailey and Brian and Patricia Nelson. I made great Tortilla soup and we had awesome dessert. Ryan also knows how to throw a good Zoolander pose.

FOOTBALL SEASON

2008-10-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

If there is one thing that everybody knows about me, it is that I love BYU football and Green Bay Packers. I even got my kids to sit down on Sundays and watch football with me. The other day we were shopping at Wal-mart and Denni was yelling out B-Y-U GO COUGARS. Braeden asked Ryan "If the Packers and the Cougars played against each other, who would you want to win" and Ryan said "Well of course the Cougars" but Braeden being a loyal Packers fan said that "The Packers would Kick their BUTTS any day" Braeden is a funny kid, he wants to wear his Packers shirt every day. As for me I was really sad to see Brett leave and go to the Jetts but I still will watch him play....I have to, any loyal Favre fan would.

LAKE TAHOE

2008-10-21T23:12:00.000-07:00

Finally after 6 months of planing a vacation we went to Lake Tahoe with some neighbors the Nelson's and the Jolley's. We left our kids home with grandparents for a week. It was really nice to get away and spent some time with friends. Ryan and I will take the kids next time... or not.

2008-10-21T23:06:00.000-07:00

We went to Lake Tahoe with Steve and April Jolley and Brian and Patricia Nelson in August. We spent a week in a Time Share, it was so awesome...

2008-10-21T22:59:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of us rock jumping at Tahoe and also of the beach, it is so beautiful.

2008-10-21T22:57:00.000-07:00

The Nelson family and I on the beach in Tahoe

2008-10-21T22:54:00.000-07:00

Patricia and I playing Guitar Hero in Tahoe

Denni Finally Turns 3

2008-10-21T22:50:00.000-07:00

Denni has been talking about her birthday for months. She told me she wanted a Barbie cake like Maicey, so I did my best. She had a ton of fun.

2008-10-21T22:48:00.000-07:00

Denni blowing out her candles.

2008-10-21T22:46:00.000-07:00

Denni's birthday party with Hazon

2008-10-21T22:38:00.000-07:00

The kids and I always have so much fun in Enterprise on the 24th. After the parade they have races at the church and later that night I took the kids to the rodeo. Braeden and Denni got to ride RJ's horse and Brady did not want to get off.

2008-10-21T22:35:00.000-07:00

Braeden and his cousins at the parade.

2008-10-21T22:32:00.000-07:00

Denni just after the 24th of July parade in Enterprise. She got so much candy.