Cierra's Class Christmas Party

Abbie got her school Christmas post so I thought I would show you Cierra's. I was able to help at her classroom party. The mom I helped with did a treat and I did the game. I took a box and filled it with mini laffy taffys and wrapped it 22 times. In between every wrapping I had a silly little thing for them to do...spin 30 times, hop on one foot 15 times, make a silly face, drink lemon juice, draw a moustache on your neighbor, tell what their favorite Christmas song is...you know fun quick easy things. The kids had a blast! The last one was tell what one thing on your Christmas list is. Well we had one extra so I gave it to Mrs. Jensen and she had to answer it. One little boy piped up and said...Mrs. Jensen I bet you get tums!!! It was so funny I thought Mrs. Jensen was going to fall off her chair. They also brought little gifts, homemade or not more than a $1, they did boys to boys and girls to girls and passed the gifts to a song like musical chairs. Its so sweet to see the reactions kids get to presents from their friends. It never matters what they get, every single kid loved it! Here are a few pictures of their day! This was the activity that actually got me in the mood for Christmas!

Abbie's Christmas Show at School!

I love the new music teacher at Abbie's school I think he's awesome, his name is Mr. Simon. He was just married this year and his new wife helped out by playing the piano and she even sung us a song. This year their christmas performance was outstanding. All the kids were asked to wear a white shirt and black (or dark) pants. This kids were all very animated and looked like they were really enjoying themselves. One thing I hate about my camera is that in low light the pictures are absoultely horrible! They are dark and most of the time very blurry. I don't know if I need an SLR to fix it, take my tripod with me, or what cuz the lighting in the school gym gives me horrible pictures every time.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

This post is mostly for family so grandpas and grandmas and cousins can see what the kids got for Christmas.

We have had a really great Christmas. So far today we have watched Mamma Mia, The Dark Knight, played Guitar Hero World Tour, a game of Apples to Apples, Mario Cart, cards (Abbie got a card game called rock, its like rock paper scissors its kinda fun), and the girls have been out in the snow to play, Abbie got a really cute new coat and she reports it is very warm! The girls also got a bunch of club penguin stuff so they have been on the computer and now I am blogging and its only 2:30 what a great day!

Our Christmas Letter 2008

Well I finally got my Christmas cards sent out yesterday and I put my blog address on them so I didn't have to print out a Christmas letter. So I thought I would summarize a little bit about our year. This year has been pretty great to us (knock on wood). I haven't had to have any MRI's or anything weird happen. Pretty uneventful and that's the way I like it! From Jan - May life just seems blurred. When schools in it doesn't seem like much happens. Bill and I are still the Webelos leaders and love doing it. There's really not a better calling in the church. Bill did change jobs at Meleleuca. He was Warehouse Manager and is now back in Purchasing as International Forecasting and Planning Manager. My workaholic of a husband loves it and it has made it so he barely even travels anymore, which he hates and I enjoy because I don't have to fix dinner every night! Oh Well! His passion for golf is ever increasing and it doesn't help that my 15 year old has an equivalent passion. Idaho Falls is a very golf friendly community. There are 3 City Courses and a golf pass covers all three. Its a pretty decent deal, so of course him and Jesse have their passes! In the summers Bill is awake every morning at 5am just to golf! As I said Jesse's passion for golf is equal to his dads and its a fun past time for the two of them to share. He turned 15 in November and besides golf Jesse's new interest is Driving! Jesse took drivers ed this past summer and now has his learners permit, he will be eligible for full fledged licensing in February. Most people think I should be terrified, I am a little, but driving back and forth to the golf course almost daily all summer and picking him up after school or before school because of projects...well I get tired of doing it! So I am almost as excited at the prospect of him being able to drive as he is. Jesse is also a great student. He has set a goal to be Valedictorian at graduation so he's working hard to maintain a 4.0 grade point, which with 4 honors classes and Italian its pretty tough. Jesse also finished (sort of) his Eagle project. He just needs to finish up the paperwork and he's got it. I just need a match to light a fire under him! Abbie is now 9 years old. Abbie is energetic, happy (most of the time) and very smart. She is also the hardest for me to understand. Her personality is so much like her dads! She considers herself to be very beautiful and very smart and never considered the possibility that it could be any other way! She's a great kid and tries very hard to do what it right. She is a great listener, I mean she hears EVERYTHING! She loves being in Achievement days at church and has a dance/gymnastics class that she can't seem to get enough of. She's in the third grade at school and wishes she was in the 7th. She is already boy crazy and loves everything a girl could love and can't wait till she's old enough to color her hair and wear make-up! AYE-AYE-AYE!!! Cierra, our youngest, is in the 1st grade and doing a great job. She loves to read, but with a picture book in hand ends up talking about what she thinks the pictures say rather than reading the words in the book. She's definitely a story teller, and a bit of a truth stretcher, but I don't think its meant as a lie, its just to make a story a little more interesting! She also is in gymnastics and she loves it as well, she is a little monkey and loves to climb the walls. You can read more in an earlier post about how much she loves bugs and cooking! She's a sweet kid, very laid back and not really concerned about much other than having a good time. That is a quality we can all enjoy! This summer we took a family vacation to the Black Hills to see Mt. Rushmore. We rented a van and took Bills folks with us. We had a blast! It was one of the funnest vacations we've ever had. There was so much to see and not enough time to see it. I would totally recommend that trip to everyone! Sorry for the length of my letter I always seem to get a little carried away! I love my family and I just want everyone to know how great they really are! We all want to wish you a very merry Christmas and we hope the New Year brings you all the happiness and joy you can handle! God Bless you all!

My Youngest

My little family of 3 kids is pretty much the same as the family I grew up in. Oldest being a boy and then 2 girls with me being the youngest. I loved being the youngest and it has its perks! Maybe that's why I like Cierra so much, I 'get' her. I also know when she's trying to get someone else into trouble when it wasn't their fault too. But there is just something about her. Not that she's my favorite (moms aren't suppose to have favorites), but there is just something about that kid that just makes me smile. Last year when she was in Kindergarten, just seeing her step of the bus caused me to grin, and I couldn't wait to give her a squeeze, actually I still can't. She is just a happy go lucky kid. I think she's either going to be a chef or entomologist (isn't that a person who likes bugs?) In the summers we have many containers lying around that are filled with worms, grasshoppers, ladybugs, crickets, beetles or slugs. And she just loves making concoctions in the kitchen if I turn my back long enough she can put a bowl full of who knows what together and then think its ok to microwave it. I am always afriad she's going to blow us up with the stuff she puts together. But she likes to help (on her terms) in the kitchen. I had a small get together with friends yesterday (I stress small, cuz the twelve hunsky doesn't fit many more than a small group in it!) and she was helping me to get ready. As you can see from the pictures helping is on her terms...Decorate one...squirt of frosting...decorate another...another squirt of frosting. She has a great desire to do things, anything, and learn things any things and all things. She is a very tactile child. She loves to touch and experience things. We'll see if that turns out to be a great quality in her or a dangerous one. I suppose only time will tell!

What a beautiful Sunset!

On Monday night I thought the sunset was so beautiful, I tried to take picture of it. Of course since I don't really know how to use my digital camera they didn't turn out as I would've liked, but this is the one I liked the most I hope someone else saw what I did! Don't we live in the most beautiful world? Just take a minute to stop and watch, you'll be amazed at what you see!

It's December 6th and my first post of the month!

Is anyone else having a hard time getting in the mood for Christmas? I still need to make Christmas cards and I haven't figured out what I am giving my neighbors. Its on my mind all the time! I usually love Christmas and can't wait to get the decorations and the presents out. What is wrong with me? I think I have too much time on my hands, and not enough motivation to get any of it done. Maybe its because I really thought my basement was going to be done by Christmas and we would be able to celebrate it there and I am really disappointed that we ran out of money. Now I don't have very much money for Christmas AND my basements not done! SIGH!!!!! How do you get out of the 'money doesn't make a good Christmas' funk!?! The thing is we're not going to have a bad Christmas either...I don't know what's wrong! Maybe it will SNOW!

Anyway here are some pictures of the kids decorating the Christmas tree!

Sisters!

I love to watch Abbie and Cierra when they are getting along. These two have a love/hate relationship (like most sisters I imagine). This was Wednesday morning they were happy to be having Thanksgiving break, cuddling together watching Jesse play Tiger Woods golf on the Wii. Within the hour though they were yelling and screaming at each other. Go figure!

I don't really remember fighting with my sister. I was the youngest and 6 years younger than her, and besides being underfoot or tagging along when she didn't want me too, I don't really remember fighting that much. Because when we were younger we weren't close, I was glad to have a best friend next door who was just like a sister to me, only with a best friend there is less fighting! I wouldn't say my sister and I are super close. There are some sisters that speak to each other almost everyday, and call just to talk. We probably talk only once a month (if that!). We're not a real daily chatty family, but when we do talk its for hours. We're not a lot alike either she's a clean freak and I clean to get by and so nobody pukes when they come to my house. (seriously her favorite store in the world is Don Aslet, she can't wait for the magazine to come so she can dream and drool!) And she's a Born Organized person, and I am scatterbrained. She's always on the go...can't sit down, and I like to relax and have seat! She's a great friend and a great person and I love her very much and look up to the example that she sets for me.

I hope Cierra and Abbie will always have a great relationship with each other, and can always be there for each other. You know it's true what they say...friends come and go, but Families are Forever!

These Boots are made for walkin'!

For a while now Cierra has been asking for pink boots. I told her I could only find black, brown and white not pink...nowhere was pink. Well the other day in the mall I noticed Corral West is going out of business and I thought..."Wait cowboy boots are pink sometimes, hmmm" So I went in and there they were so I bought her some Pink Cowboy boots. She loves them! She will probably now wear them with everything. So if you see her at church on Sunday in her pink boots, just give her a high five and say nice boots, cuz she already knows! That girls got style...not necessarily good style, but style!

Stuffing, not necessarily just for the bird!

I am a little ashamed at the fact that while its National Blogging month, and I had agreed to blog daily, that I haven't even blogged for 4 days! There are only three days left in the month I should be able to find something to blog for those days!

Well I thought that I would share some pictures of the Thanksgiving Feast that the all McCammons shared! We did miss Jason and Heather though and can't wait to see them at Christmas. But it was an enjoyable day with a great meal. There are so many things to be grateful for in our lives. First and foremost the gospel of Jesus Christ and what it means for us to know where we came from, the reason were here and where we are going! I am also grateful for the freedoms of this country. A lot of talk has taken place about our country turning to socialism, I hope not and I will be actively aware. A favorite saying of mine is "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke) Last but not final is my family. I was born to a family of great people. I have had a lot of really good examples in my life and I am grateful for that. I also married a great man, no ones perfect even though he thinks he is, but in my book he comes awful close. I couldn't ask for a better man and he treats me like a queen! There are so many more small things to be greatful for...like the ability to use all of my five senses. I have been without a couple of them temporarily and I didn't like it. I am grateful for two cars the run, not a necessity but nice to have. The warmth of the sun in the winter, but moreso a home that has heat and hot running water. We have so many luxuries in our lives, even if I could live without them I am grateful I don't have to.

Through the years

I don't have time to blog too much today so I thought I would show my school pictures through the 7th grade. The first two are before I started school, but I am not sure how old I was.

Fetish or Obsession?

I have a fetish of sorts...well maybe not fetish maybe more of an obsession. I try as often as I can to take pictures of the present that I can compare with the past. When Jesse was about 2 I have a picture of him and one of Bill when he was two, they are identical. When I showed them to my mom she asked me where that picture of Jesse was taken? (it was Bill) I scraped it and now I think that's what started it. Then when Abbie came along my mom found a little red outfit that I had my picture taken in so...I put Abbie in that dress and now those two pictures are scrapbooked as comparison. The post I am putting today is another comparison picture that I love. I had this little outfit when I was about 2, my mom took the picture of me with my dad on his birthday, July 4th, 1973, so when she found the outfit I had to take a picture of her in it with my dad on his birthday July 4th, 2001. Silly I know, but its so fun to make a comparison!

It's time for a story!

Once upon a time in a small town called Tremonton there lived two little girls, Kami and Tammie. Now with those names you might think they were twins, but alas no. They were next door neighbors, and they were the best of friends! From the time they were 2, and they first met, they became almost inseparable. There were times of quarreling and discontent (usually because she liked to play barbies and I didn't), but mostly good fun. There were many good times. Riding bikes to the park, climbing trees, swimming, sleeping out, building club houses, going down town to King's for candy or Mac's Drive in for fries and fresh limes, stealing apples from Mrs. Hirshi and then trying to sell them back to her, hiding under the gooseberry bush and eating them all while they were still green (I don't think Mrs. Chapman? ever got any). They lived in an older area of this small town and there weren't many other young children to play with, so they invented their own fun. The street was lined with houses containing widows or aged couples. It was a favorite past time of these two young girls to dress up like old ladies and go visiting teaching to all the older women who lived nearby (they always gave us cookies!). Our favorite was visiting an old lady named Daisy. She took such good care of us and enjoyed our company. There were many others, (I wish I could remember all their names!) and they were just as kind. These two young girls were easy going and never got into too much trouble...except that one time when we were about 5 and mooned a car driving by, but that's another story!

High School Dances

I have said before that I didn't date much in high school. I had a group of friends, boys and girls that we hung out with and there was some inner dating a little, but it never seemed like I had the date for dances. Most of that probably stems from self esteem issues. In my old age I realize that if you feel good about yourself it goes along way in the dating arena. That being said I would never want to go back and do it again even if I could retain all the knowledge I have now. Prom at my high school was Junior year, a big deal. It was the day of prom I still didn't have a date. That morning I had ACT's over at Utah State and my friend Janette felt awful that I didn't have a date so she found a boy who didn't have a date and talked him into asking me. Now this was the morning of Junior Prom. No dress, no tux, no tickets, no nothing! He asked me after the test. My next door neighbor Kami had a dress that she had worn to prom the year before so she loaned that to me, my mom had jewelry for me. Now I didn't really like this boy and in my high school view was a complete geek, (sad thing is he probably thought the same about me). And the worst thing was that everyone I knew was already double dating so there was no room to squeeze in with another couple. He didn't pick me up until 8pm and didn't take me to dinner and I was home by 11:45(sad huh?). In hindsight as a 37 year old woman I am glad I had the opportunity to go to Prom, although I feel pathetic that my friend had to find someone willing to take me! :-( The upside was that his dad was a huge car buff and the car we got to go in was a Delorian (you know the back to future car). That was fun. Well there is my post for today, see what you made me do Heather??? How embarrasing!

24th of July!

The 24th of July in Tremonton is a big deal. That is the city's big celebration day. At the park they have booths and food, and the lion's club breakfast. The city softball and baseball tournaments are that day and then in the evening there is a dance and fireworks. But in the morning there is a parade. Only its not a regular parade it is only for kids. It goes 3 blocks, but thats a lot when your a kid. That was the big excitement every year. We decorated our bikes or wagons, we dressed as pioneers or clowns or just in regular street clothes. I remember feeling so important to be in the parade...it was AWESOME!

This picture is me, my BFF for life Kami, and my sister Wendy in our Pioneer garb!

This picture is of Kami, my sister Wendy on the back of her bike and me in a clown costume. Can you see the balloon and crepe paper?

This picture is so hard to see, we couldn't have been very old but here we are ready for the parade with the two neighbor boys from across the street. I can't remember first names but their last name was Borcherdeen (sp?) Ahhh those were the days!

Them nosy newsmen

Sooner or later this month has to end or my family needs to do something really exciting so I can quit embarrassing myself with all these old photographs. Because when you accept a challenge you need to follow through, and that is why you are all subject to my personal humiliation. If I get real desperate for stuff I might even post stuff about the boy before Bill! Yikes! But I did scan a bunch of pictures today each with their own little story to tell. So these should at least get me through another week!

The darling little girl in the photograph is of course, ME! There is a little newspaper in the town of Tremonton called 'The Leader'. It goes as most small town newspapers go, and that's into the personal lives of those in small towns. Luckily that's not the reason I was in the paper. My mom had a recipe featured in their recipe section (I don't know what that section was called exactly but I am sure it was not The Recipe Section). Anyway the newspaper photographer took this picture and this was in the paper with the recipe and I imagine an article about my mom. Ok now for more clarification...I don't actually know if this was the picture in the paper, it seems like my mom said it was though. My Aunt and Uncle owned the newspaper too, so this picture may just be one the photographer took and liked and printed one up, who knows. But the above story is the one I am sticking to until someone tells me otherwise...mom?

***Update from my mom - The recipe section in the paper was called the 'Good Cooks Corner', this picture was not in the paper it was an extra taken by the photographer, the paper had my mom, my sister and I in it. My mom was a cake decorator my whole life and taught classes for adult education in Tremonton. The picture was of us with some animals my mom made for a carousel cake she makes, along with 3 other recipes.

The Evolution of Dance!

I think this video is crazy funny! I hope you all enjoy it! Maybe I'll actually post something real tomorrow!

There's just something about it!

I don't know if its the same with all women, but it definitely is true with me. I love scruffy facial hair! I am not talking about a full bushy beard, just the short to the face bearded scruff, mmmm! It gets me all twisted up inside. When Bill and I were first married it was the style in the 80's to have that mullet look, you know business in the front party in the back! Come on ya'll remember! Well this is my absolute favorite picture of Bill. He's got the mullet, the beard and he's wearing his cowboy boots the only thing he's missing is a flannel shirt! Ahhhh the good ole days. I can't remember what year this picture is. I can't decide whether Jesse looks almost 1 or Almost 2, I would say 2 so Halloween of '95.

Let's go way back!

Upper: Kayla, Alisa, Tammie Lower: Angie, Lynnette, Jane

Alisa and Angie lounging on my bed. There's a guy in our room I just can't remember who it must be?

What a lovely picture of Angie! Good Morning...Maybe Good Night. Its College you never know!

Our die hard clean freak! Good thing nobody left the cleaning to me! Thanks Kayla!

Tammie and Teena, we were heading to Salt Lake to Temple Square to go to conference with our boyfriends! _____________________________________________

I liked LaTisha's reminiscing about her college years. So I thought I would go back and do that too. I went to Utah State University like my brother and sister before me, and my Grandpa Harris. I lived in a housing complex off campus called Old Farm. I know is sounds odd, but it was the best place in the world to live. We had a great ward and a really fun Bishopric. The complex was made up of I think 12 buildings with 4 townhouse style apartments, 3 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs and the kitchen, a 1/2 bath and family room downstairs. Our carpet was this hideous red color and we loved it! There were 6 girls in our apartment. Myself and my friend Lynnette from High School, 2 girls from Salt Lake that were also friends, Angie and Alisa, and 2 from Weston, Id also good friends from their hometown, Kayla and Jane. I still think this was one of the best years of my life! I learned a lot about myself and about life. Living away from home to go to college is a great experience and I don't think any child should be robbed of it if that's what they want to do. In the center of our complex was the building that held the laundrymat and the mailboxes in the basement and a large room on the main floor that our ward used on Sunday nights to meet and have a prayer with our bishopric...we called it merge! Don't ask me why thats just what it was called. I can't remember if there was anything else in that building, for some reason I think there was. We kept the door of our apartment open a lot, so did everyone else. Anyone could walk in at anytime. I don't even remember if we locked our doors when we left for the day. I had my first real boyfriend while living in that apartment whose name was Troy. It was love...eventually Bill beat him out for True Love! There is just something about the freedom you feel, yet still part of your parents life that still makes you feel secure. I wasn't a great student in college, I get nervous when I test and usually bomb the whole thing that I knew forward and backward when I walked in the room. I worked at the Golden Corral which is where I met my true love, and made a lot of great friends while working there too. One of my roommates, Jane, also worked there with me. I have a lot of great memories of the time I spent in that apartments with those great girls, I was lucky to have had such a great experience, especially with those who were complete strangers. We were all members of the church which made it a lot easier. We did our share of crazy things, nothing to be toooo ashamed of though! I have tried to keep in contact over the years, its hard to keep track but we do OK! Oh well here are a few pictures of life in Old Farm!

Cakes, cakes and more cakes!

I feel silly posting about absolutely nothing. Thats why I haven't been so good at posting this week. I haven't had time to get my new toy out and download from some more negatives from the long ago past and I haven't really had a digital camera longer than 2 years, even though I used to put some on photo cds, but I am digging all the way down to 2007 to bring you something new. We all love birthday's and since Jesse just had one I thought I would post the birthday cakes I made for the kids in 2007. I am sure you all can tell which one is Jesse's. Abbie had the Baptism Cake (btw, my mom did that one), she had another one but it was just a cheesecake and not really decorated. Cierra also had 2 kinda....Brianna Taylor and Cierra had a combined princess party so I made cupcakes with these chocolate carriages on top. Then I made another cake for Grandma and Grandpa to visit. As you can see its Candyland (grandma helped with that one too), it would've worked better on a half a sheet cake a 9x13 just isn't quite big enough. If I had time I would go through all my pics and show some of the cakes I have made, but that will have to wait for another post. I have scouts coming in 25 min! Yikes!

Cierra's Snowman

Sunday night Cierra asked me if she could make a snowman with marshmallows. Of course being the wonderful mother that I am, I said yes! So as I sat and watched her, it was very funny. She would put it together and it wouldn't quite fit so she would bite off a small piece and stick it on again. Again if it didn't fit she would take the marshmallow off and take another small bite. It was quite the process of building this snowman. She started to do the legs and I couldn't resist taking her picture. So here is the process of building and biting!

Happy Birthday Jesse!

Today is Jesse's Birthday! Happy Birthday Jess! We sure love you! I have definitely lucked out with this kid. He's pretty great. Couldn't really ask for one too much better that's for sure. We have our moments, but they are mostly just power struggles. He's always been very agreeable, ask him to do something, well he might tell you no, but you'll soon find him doing it anyway. Tell him no and he'll pester you to death, but never do it if you've told him no. He threatens, but its just not in him to disobey. I do love that about him, maybe that's why I bought him that stupid hat! He really is a great kid, he helps me a lot and is a great example to his sisters. I feel bad sometimes that were so hard on him. Anyway, both mine and Bill's parents came up this weekend to help us Celebrate Jesse's birthday. Jesse decided he wanted the superman pan, so my mom brought that pan up. I didn't get it made Friday while they were here because Jesse had a camp out so I made it for when Bill's parents came up on Saturday! I think the cake really speaks for itself. What do think?

Ushanka

Has any of your kids ever wanted something so badly that apperance is no longer an issue to them? Jesse has been begging for this stupid hat for sometime now and kept saying that is all he wanted for his birthday. Well I finally gave in. We drove to Sportsmans Warehouse on Friday before his campout and bought him a Ushanka - this the the russian word for those stupid furry hats that they wear there, the ones with the earflaps that tie above their head. Yeah you know the ones. Now I don't want to insult any Russians out there. I don't want to be thought of as intolerant, we have a new President now and possibly with the Fair Doctrine Act I may be jailed for thinking this hat is stupid! But nonetheless, I do! Anyway, he said that is all he wanted and if I would buy this one thing he wouldn't EVER ask for anything else (through the check out line he asked for candy...nice huh!?!). Anyway here he is in his wonderfully stupid Ushanka doing his Trepak dance! (thank goodness for Wikipedia, I learned 2 new words today!) Good thing I love this kid!

Something to be proud of?

Have you ever watched a group of men showing off their scars? Starting with the smallest working thier way toward their masterpiece of all scars. They don't care who's their, they'd drop their shorts if they thought someone would believe the crack in their butt was the biggest! The one that they think is the "piece de resistance"! Get Bill started and you'll hear the story of going down the basin hill on his bike, or riding his bike into a fence, or cutting his leg when he was a 'slasher' at weathershield. He's always so proud and can't wait to show off the scar. Well I don't think mine would win a record for being the biggest or the best but it is pretty amazing. Bill always tells me to cut my hair short and show it off, "that's a battle wound to be proud of!" So for all of you who like to see old battlewounds or brag about how yours is bigger...well I might just have you beat!

No reminiscing today, My tile is done!

Layer by layer, piece by piece, its getting closer to being done. My basement you silly! The Tile Guy spent his last morning here today, YAY! Now finish the trim, paint some walls, a toilet and sink in the bathroom, some faucets, and put in some carpet (wait that's still quite a bit,hmmm). And VOILA! were done! Here's a few pictures. There's no lights in the bathroom yet so its hard to see, but I think it looks great! The top picture is in natural light no flash, the bottom is a work light and no flash.

Memories of Grandma

My Grandma Harris and I always had a special bond. I loved her very much and wish I would have thought of all those things to ask her, you know, the ones that always come to mind now she's gone. The secrets that Grandma never meant to keep, life was just too short? She had a massive stroke in 1999 which made it so she wasn't able to communicate with us or walk. She had to be in a nursing home, but my mom was able to bring her to church and the house after on the day Cierra was blessed. This picture is a 4 generation of me and my girls, my mom, and my Grandma Harris. It was always so sweet to watch her with my girls. Whenever we would go and see her, she and Abbie would just stare at each other and hold hands. Abbie would say that she could understand what grandma said, and we believed her. It was very sweet.

I haven't found the pictures of us at the nursing home with her on Valentines Day dancing, but that is a special memory of her too.

Its all Heather Rhineharts fault!

Ok Heather, you asked for it. It just may be a bunch of babble for me to post everyday, but here goes!

One of the best memories I have of when we lived in Nampa was the fun we had going to the Steelhead Hockey Games. Bill worked for an electronics company and one of the guys he worked with had a night job as the Steelheads equipment manager. Abbie loved hockey and even more she loved the Zamboni, seriously though, who doesn't? ( oh by the way Heather I have the Zamboni song on my ipod too!) Anyway he worked it out to get Bill and Abbie a ride on it while they were cleaning the ice before the game. Abbie was just giggling with excitement she couldn't hardly contain herself. She was only 2 and a half, but knew how awesome it was!

Then he took Jesse and let him sit by the team during the 1st period and fill water bottles and stuff. Jesse thought it would be cool, but ended up not liking it so much when all he heard was A LOT of profanity. After that he was happy to watch the game from where we sat. If you could blow up this photo you would see Jesse with his arms over his head trying to block out the words. He is sitting right above the blue line on the wall. To this day he still hates to listen to profanity! Good Kid!

This is our attempt at a good picture of the famous Jackson Hole Barn on Mormon Row. We went over there the end of September. It was a beautiful clear day, but not early enough to get a great picture and see the colors of the barn. Maybe it would have been ok if we were great photographers and really knew how to run our camera it would be different. One of these days I am going to take a digital photography class!

Halloween Week! Busy,Busy,Busy!

Wow, it has been quite a week! In the past week we've had book fair (which I was running), Parent Teacher Conferences (the girls') and Halloween. (This has been sort of a fun way to keep a Journal so I am just going to put all the goings on in here so bear with me.) Monday was set up day at the book fair. I took the kids to school and was there the rest of the day, setting up displays, having teacher preview, and classroom previews. For the teacher preview I had made a Texas Sheet cake with pecan frosting and had waters there for the teachers to enjoy. Mostly bribery to get them to the book fair though. I thought I would be gone by the time the kids got out of school (I wasn't) so I told them to just go to the bus and I would be at home. Well Cierra didn't go to the bus she came to the gym, I just happened to still be there so I told her to go get Abbie off the bus. Cierra never came back so I thought she just got on the bus with Abbie. I got home as Abbie was walking from the corner and no Cierra. Abbie got in the car and we headed back to the school, I called and the secretary on the way and she said Cierra had just walked into the school in tears. Apparently instead of coming to get me she walked to the car, I wasn't there so she went to the park next to the school to play. You can't see the equipment where the car was parked or I might have seen her. She got done and came to the car and it was gone. She started to walk home, but got scared so she ran back to the school. All was well and it was a good learning experience for her I guess. Then Monday night Abbie had an achievement day Halloween party she said she had fun! Tuesday began nice and early...6:45! I showered and got the kids up and all of us off to the school. I pretty much spent the day there. I brought Cierra and Abbie home after school, so she could get ready for gymnastics, waited for Jesse and then went back to the school for book fair to start and the girls' parent teacher conferences, which by the way turned out great. Abbie does really good in her class and Cierras teacher told me she is Delightful and Mischievous...can you really be both? Anyway, I came home long enough to start dinner and get Jesse off to scouts just to go back and get the money from the book fair and come home. Wednesday was better, same morning...kinda, I didn't get up early enough to shower before school, so I took everyone there, dropped off the money and came home to shower. Was back at the school by 11:30, and was there for the rest of the day. Brought the kids home and actually had some time with them tonight! Abbie had gym also from 5-6. At 9:00 I finally made the cupcakes and frosting for Abbie's class party the next day. Thursday...another big day. I was at the school for the morning, and then left for lunch and to run to DI for crutches for Jesse's costume. Back to the school for Abbie's Halloween party, and collect the money from the day's book fair. Left in time to pick up Jesse from school and head to Melaleuca for the the Halloween Trick or Treating. It was fun, but took a while, they always do such a great job decorating each of their departments. Headed back and was to the school by 4:50 to drop off money again and get em started. Went home and had scouts and went back to the school to close and pack up the book fair. Everyone was impressed with my good friend Joy and her ability to overachieve in everything she does and how quickly we got cleaned up! Thanks Joy for all your help! Yay book fair is over! Its not a lot of work, it just takes up a lot of time. Friday, Halloween Day! Kids got up, girls had the day off and Jesse had school. We took Jesse to school. We have a friend in Boise whose daughter came over for State Volleyball tourney's, so we went in and watched that til 10am, almost forgot Cierra's dentist appointment. Hurried home and brushed teeth, made it to the dentist just in time! After the dentist we stopped at Kmart to buy a few more Halloween items. Came home, I finally showered, fixed lunch, and figured out book fair money. Cleaned the kitchen, made dinner and got the girls ready to go trick or treating. Thank goodness for Jesse and him taking the girls trick or treating and giving me a rest from my week! Abbie was a Renaissance girl and Cierra was going to be a Vampiress, but she got hold of the makeup and ended up more like a geisha with a bloody chin! I am glad that is not the typical week...oh yeah and we never did carve pumpkins! :-( And to top it off I only have maybe 2 pictures to post with all these words!

Bill's Fishing Trip to Jackson Lake

I wasn't there, I wasn't even invited, but he still seems to get facetime on my blog anyway! Bill and a bunch of friends went over to Jackson Lake to go fishing on Thursday and they had a great day. The fish were really running and they caught a lot! Here is my sexy fisherman with one of his. He ended up bringing home 4 and they're longer than my freezer is deep. This one below is his friend Paul, he caught the biggest fish of the day at 5lbs and about 28 inches long. They had a good time though, it was kinda cold in the morning, but warmed up as the day went on and he got a little color on his face!

Sunday, A day of Reflection.

Since its Sunday and I should do something worthwhile other than read others blogs, the newspaper and watch TV, oh and eat! I thought I would reflect a little on the lesson that we had in RS today and admit that I am not the person I would like to be...or even close to it. The lesson was on trials and our attitudes toward them. As always Mary Jones gave a very insightful and beautiful lesson. She so good at getting people to open up and tell what ever it is she needs them too. I am sure its because she has done a good job of preparing and inviting the spirit to assist. But she does it and does it well! Anyhoo, I realized today, that I am a horrible person! All these women were saying at how they look at their trials as blessings, and say bring it on Lord, or I am truly loved by my Father in Heaven because he loves me enough to give me trials...the refiners fire! I HATE TRIALS! There I said it. I am not tough through them, I whine and complain and cry and ask why me? What did I do so wrong to deserve this? and when its over I am relieved I made it through and I am glad its over and CAN really wait till the next one. I don't look forward to them. The only positive is that I can look back and see the blessings and reflect on what I learned. But the actual trial no thanks! I can't even fathom the strength it must have taken for Joseph Smith to be the man that he was. To be able to live through the things he did and come out even stronger. I even wonder why it was necessary, what did he need to learn when the mob dragged him from his home and stripped him naked, tried to make him drink hot tar and when that failed, poured it all over his body? Hadn't he had enough persecution at that point? In his short life he went through so much! I think trials have to be for the next life too, because he didn't live long enough for those trials to have served him for the better in this life. Unless his trial are there for our example only and something to compare ours to. Well at least I am not covered in hot tar! See what I mean, I don't understand trials and I am not sure I will ever look forward to them. I guess I am destined for hell, if we need to endure them well! Thanks for listening (well...reading) to my deep seeded feelings of inadequacy.

Photo Tag!

Photo Tag I was officially tagged, by my dear friend Julie John. You are supposed to look in your photos on your computer and post your 4th photo in your 4th folder and tell what is going on in that picture.

This is when we found out that Cierra was allergic to Penicillin. She had strep throat a lot last winter and because Cierra hates medicine the doctor has always given her 3 day stuff. This time we went to community care and they gave her Amoxicillin. She had been taking it for 6 days and Cierra woke up in the night just itching on the top of her feet. I put cortisone on it and she said it felt better so she went back to sleep. She woke up in the morning and this is what she looked like all over. I took her to our family doctor and he said that is an allergic reaction to penicillin so they gave her a steroid to help with the swelling and the itching and another medication to finish the strep off. They said this is what it looks like the first time. If it were to happen again it would be a lot worse a lot quicker. Scary!

Now I tag Andrea, Janus and La Tisha and anyone who thinks this would be fun!

Booing is Fun!

Ok I know when you boo someone it should be a secret, but when the cookies turned out so cute I had to brag a little bit. I got the idea from this months taste of home magazine and they just turned out so cute. I made a dracula too, but I don't know why it didn't end up in the picture?