Be Happy for this Moment

Back to School 2011

2011-08-29T08:55:00.001-06:00

"Oh back to school, back to school, to prove to dad that I'm not a fool.I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight."-Billy

And if I could figure out how to get pictures off my phone and downloaded onto the computer without emailing them one by one there would be a cute picture of my 3 boys out side my house ready for their first day of school....just imagine would ya!

I was able to talk with my personal geek squad in China this morning and he told me how...with a duh tone even. I love that man!

What was I thinking?

2011-05-04T09:19:00.000-06:00

Seriously who wears that? Apparently I did and thought it looked good!

Signs, signs, everywhere signs.

2011-03-23T09:50:00.001-06:00

posted from Bloggeroid

2011-03-23T09:49:00.001-06:00

posted from Bloggeroid

Pondering

2011-03-22T11:03:00.000-06:00

I have a ton of thoughts lately racing thru my head...ones that don't necesarily mean anything but are mine none the less. I always wonder about writing them here. Maybe I will someday.

On another note tragedies come in three right? Well a week ago (last Saturday) Jef dropped his phone playing football with the boys and it shattered the screen, the phone still worked tho. That night our laptop hard drive failed. Monday night one of our external hard drives failed while I was telling my sister all about our electronic woes.

Now after sending the phone off to get fixed and getting it back it won't work. Ughh. So is that the start of the terrible 3's all over again? I think so because this Monday my little fold up tv in the kitchen broke, a plastic piece, so it is unfixable...I guess I should clarify the tv still works it just hangs down in the way all the time now.

Lame is all I can say!

Words of Wisdom

2011-03-18T15:12:00.001-06:00

Don't drop your iPhone!!!

It is fixable but a pain in the bottom.

Honk for NO Luna!

2011-03-09T22:39:00.001-07:00

posted from Bloggeroid

Life and Living

2011-01-28T16:36:00.001-07:00

There comes a time in life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh, forget the bad, and focus on the good. So, love the people who treat you right...pray for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is part of LIFE, getting back up is LIVING. (Anonymous)

This is a long one so take a potty break,go get a snack, and get comfortable.

I have been contemplating this post for quite some time and then I found this quote...actually it found me and I thought it summed up alot of what I have been feeling lately.

In December of 2008 I had the opportunity to have some conversations with family members here in Idaho Falls. In this said conversation things were said that made me uncomfortable but I kept my mouth shut to them about it. My family and I were also at this time invited to join these same family members in September to go to a cabin that they had reserved. I thought it would be great fun and agreed. When I came home very late that night I got into bed with Jef and told him the things that were said and how angry/hurt/upset/mad they made me. He told me not to get involved...but I felt like I was all ready involved by knowing these things were said, I felt like I had no "out." I had committed to send an email to all extended family proposing some changes in our family reunion during the 4th of July so I began formulating my thoughts and did what I had committed to do.

Fast forward to September 2009. My sister's husband died of cancer the first week of September. At the funeral I asked the family that had invited my little family to this campout if Wendy and Kady could join us, and I was told yes, and "wow" what a great idea to invite her along that would be fun have her. So that is what I did and she agreed. The campout was exactly 2 and a half weeks later. She drove to my house and because my older boys had football, Wendy, Kady, Ella, Cole and I drove up the cabin. It is about an hour from my house. We had a nice dinner and everything was going great. Wendy ran into some emotions that really got her down and she wanted to go home, but would wait till morning so the next day after lunch I drove her back to Idaho Falls and she drove home and Jef and I and the kids went back up to the cabin. It was a nice weekend and my kids really had a great time with their cousins.

Fast forward about a week. Grandma's birthday is approaching and my Aunt from Wy called and we were chatting. She had asked what we had been up too and I was telling her. I told her about going to this cabin with family (whom she is related to as well.) In the course of talking she asked why this wasn't a whole family thing (meaning extended family as well) since I was invited and so was Wendy and also some inlaws of the family on the other side. I know I can be pretty honest with my Aunt so I told her some of the conversation that had happened way back in December of 2008 (those things that made me upset knowing.)
So I guess this is where I tell you what was said....When conversating about the 4th of July activities and this weekend in September it was said that it would be nice to have a family reunion at this cabin but since it was church property it was a no go since we have family members who smoke and drink and "you know that would just make them uncomfortable." Now some of you may wonder whay this would bother me so bad....my dad smokes. I believe when this was said my dad never came once into their thoughts I believe they were meaning my Aunt in Wy and my Uncle in Moscow and some other cousins.

Now back to the conversation with my Aunt in Wy....I did not say to her "You were not invited because you smoke and drink..haha and guess who said that?" It came out very honest and matter of fact but she all ready knew who said it and why...it has been an issue between them before. In th course of the conversation we talk out what was said and yada yada yada... She then tells me she spoke to her mother, my grandma, and she never even brought up she had been out and about anywhere. My Aunt very specifically asked her if she had done anything fun and Grandma told her no. So now my Aunt is thinking, Wow my mom just lied to me about what she had been up too. A lie of ommision.
Fast forward about a week (and now it is about a week before Gma's birthday) and my Aunt in Wy writes on her Facebook "Not invited to a family function because I smoke and drink" All HELL breaks loose in the family and I am at the center of it. People who were at this campout respond immedietly "what are you talking about?" And a family member in Idaho Falls calls me and asks if I told her anything and I admit to telling the Aunt in Wy about our campout and yes I told her that she was not invited because that is what I understood from the conversation way back in December. I was told I misunderstood and yes the comment was said but it was meant about a 4th of July activity and not for this September activity and I was ONLY invited to the September campout because I live in Idaho Falls and Wendy was ONLY invited because I asked for her to be, and same with the other inlaws from other side of family. In the course of a couple of hours I was called a liar on FB (but not named specifically.) The actual comment was "whoever told you that is a big LIAR and does not know what they are talking about!!!" So now I am a liar.

I will leave you with this today...why would I lie about something that would so deeply hurt me, my kids, my grandma, my Aunt in Wy? WHAT do/did I have to gain from that lie?

Many more posts to follow and what has happened since this day on October of 2009!

Please comment of what you think so far. Please Please especially if you are one of those family members involved.

Dirty Jobs teaching moments

2011-01-21T20:45:00.002-07:00

Cole was watching Dirty Jobs with Jef tonight and learned a little about the birds and the bees. He told me upstairs that the guys were putting their hands in the cow's butts and they called them baginas. So I said you mean vaginas and he said ya mom baginas.

posted from Bloggeroid

4th of July 2010 Continued (Brother-Sister Love)

2011-01-12T13:34:00.001-07:00

These are my cousins Sherry and Alan. They totally crack me up. I love them soo much and you can see from the pictures how much they love each other!

4th of July 2010 Picture Overload

2011-01-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

Proud Wife Bragging Post

2011-01-05T17:06:00.003-07:00

Jef was awarded the President's Award from Melaleuca in December. This is a very prestigious award given to only a handful of employees every year. It is to recognize their hard work for the company. They bragged on Jef as he walked up to the stage. I can't remember all the things they said but one of them was he was instrumental in the implementation of the Japan project. His hard work and dedication was acknowledged. I am so proud of him.
In the picture from left to right is Shane (Chief Architect and Jef's Manager), Tres (Director of Software Development), Lance (CIO, Chief Information Officer, Head Cheese of IT) and Frank (Melaleuca's head cheese.)

Halloween 2010

2011-01-05T09:40:00.000-07:00

For Halloween we had a Zombie football player, a skeleton, an astronaut and SnowWhite. What fun the kids had they walked the neighborhood with Jef while I stayed home to greet all the trick or treaters at our door. I think we had over 200 kids at our door. I had quite a few bags of candy and and according to the serving counts that is what I can figure.
Cole "carved" this pumpkin. Not really, he picked out the pattern and we did it together. We have carved pumpkins in the past but I guess he couldn't remember doing it. Note his favorite pj's at the time. Spongebob pants and Logan's b-ball jersey.

Drowning is no laughing matter.

2011-01-04T08:05:00.002-07:00

I guess I should explain this picture and title. This summer we took the kids camping up to Palisade Reservoir (lake) and we were swimming by the beach and I was taking pictures. I uploaded this one to my facebook page and said something about look how much fun we are having. My Aunt LoAnn commented immediately how Jef made it look like it was soo much fun...words dripping with sarcasm. Anyway Jef replied drowning is no laughing matter. It really cracked my aunt up so it is kind of a inside funny between us.

Eagle Rock Columbia Blue

2011-01-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

Logan's football team would do this cheer to get pumped for the game. It was always fun to watch them.

Picture Overload

2010-12-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

sticks always win over eyes

CrAzY wierd rash

To Bone and Back Race

4th of July fun with Family

Heather and I at Bret Michaels...notice the crimped hair...oh ya baby!

Lacey and I at Scentsy Convention

I just downloaded all my pictures and videos from my phone to the laptop, and I only had to make one little call to my own personal tech dude. So now I have a ton of pictures I want to blog about but here are just a few to get me going.

Family is Everything

2010-11-18T18:44:00.000-07:00

Love Story

2010-11-10T15:41:00.000-07:00

Living Vicariously

2010-10-26T22:42:00.000-06:00

I remember most than others do about grade school and high school. Don't ask me why I just do...it is lame. Anyway I remember it was 3rd grade and continued into 4th grade, it was an obsession with Shel Silverstein and his book "Where the Sidewalk Ends." I was never able to check the book out and read it cuz all the other kids always got to it before I did in the library. And then the "coolness" wore off and I forgot about it, till this summer, I found it at a yard sale. I bought it and brought it home to my kids and they weren't impressed till this weekend. I have been reading it to my Cole buddy and he is really enjoying it, but I have to admit I think I am enjoying it more than him. I think alot of the poems are over his head, they would have probably been over my head in the 4th grade.

I am finding them full of useful information. I want to share one with you that I have been thinking about.

"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be."

— Shel Silverstein

Laboring on Labor Day

2010-09-06T12:22:00.000-06:00

We are home laboring away this wonderful Labor day. I have so much to report but no ambition to actually sit down and type it all out. Maybe later this week I can get some stuff put up here. Mason's baptism from May, Yellowstone trip, Jef in Japan, Me at Girls Camp and in Denver, our family in Lagoon, and finally my 15 (GASP) 15 year Class Reunion. Hopefully more coming soon!

To Bone and Back

2010-06-27T21:18:00.001-06:00

On Saturday I participated in the most prestigious road race in the continental US. It is called To Bone and Back Race. I was a member of an 8 woman relay team. We each were required to complete 5 miles and pass the "bone" on to the next team member. My good friend from the ward and gym bullied me into doing this. She kept telling me it would be fun. Haha she is such a joker. I started to struggle towards the end and I felt completely terrible and worked up the courage twice to ask her to stop and she would just turn around and smile and say "your doing great keep going this is fun." Who can stop with that kind of encouragement. I soo did not want to let her down. She had enough faith in me that I could do this with her so it was REALLY hard to ask her to stop.

We saw 3 dead snakes...the first one was really fresh dead, maybe still barely alive and that really got my heart going, 2 dead jack rabbits, one was headless and finally a dead skunk (scent sack still intact so no smell.)

Our leg was the second one and the most difficult it was uphill all but maybe a quarter mile. Our goal was to finish in 1 hour 30 min. and I was able to complete it in 1hour 25.39min. Heather came in about 1.30 min. before me. WE MET OUR GOAL. Our team time I believe was 8 hours 16min. The winning all women's team was 5 hours 36 mins.

We are all ready planning next year. Durring the race I was sooo not ever doing this again but I am really looking forward to next year. Crazy I know. Our goal for next year is 1 hour 5-10 min. I think we can do it, with lots of training.

This bottom picture is of the elevation gain. So it is 20 miles out to Bone and then 20 miles back. My leg is the second leg, which is an elevation gain of a little over 1000 feet.

Teaser

2010-06-22T21:27:00.000-06:00

Videos

2010-06-02T14:40:00.001-06:00

How do I upload videos? I am lost... and have some to show off.

FYI for my blog stalkers

2010-04-08T08:45:00.000-06:00

For whatever reason you read my blog and I thank you for that. I know it is pretty boring and not really "funny," but you still read it.

I have one request, if I write something you want to know more about, JUST ASK ME! I am pretty much an open book so if you want to know something just ask ME! I really don't care for you spreading my business around to those who do not read my blog. If I wanted "others" to know my business I would tell them in person or give them my blog address, this is not YOUR job.

If you wonder to yourself is this directed at me then it probably is.

Have a great day, I know I will now that I got that off my chest.

Have you heard of this?

2010-03-26T21:25:00.000-06:00

I have decided to make a change in my life. I am really excited about this. I have been doing really well. Jef and I are doing this together and we have seen a real difference in our eating habits. I have totally felt a difference in my body. I have lost 9lbs in 3 weeks and for sure 2 inches in just one area. I really look forward to the free day. Jef not so much, he has more will power than me. Wish me luck on continued success. I want to live a long healthy life for my children and my husband. I guess a brain tumor makes you think about those things.

This thing will be the DeAtH of ME!

2010-02-10T14:55:00.000-07:00

When Ella was born she was fussy a lot and I mean ALOT! After spending a small fortune on different pacifiers we hit the jackpot. I swore to myself we would take it away at her first birthday. I wasn't going to have a toddler walking around with one of those things in the mouth. Well of course I relented and let her keep it..but with rules. She could only have it at nap time and bed time. Ella was quite happy with this arrangement, and frankly so was I until....

Ella began to be lazy at night. I would have to get up in the middle of the night and "find" it for her. Some nights it would be 3 times a night getting up and gettting that dumb thing for her. Well I say NO MORE!

9 Days and 8 Nights ago I had enough. I took it away and we have been going thru severe withdrawls.

She used to be the best baby at night time. We would say it's time for night night and off to her room she would run get into bed and not hear from her again (until she lost the plug.) Same for nap time, no problems. Well we (as in Ella and I) are not seeing eye to eye on this adventure. I really want her to be indepedent of it..but man this is hard! Crying lasts for hours and hours as it seems (one night was really an hour and a half.) This to shall pass but jeesshh...when oh when will it pass?

Nothing new to Report

2010-02-04T15:32:00.000-07:00

The gym is going great. I feel so good after a good workout, but why is the scale not reflecting that? I am limiting my calories and really watching what goes in my mouth. Oh well maybe it's time for the "fat" doctor. I have some awesome pics to post from my weekend get away in Boise. I will get the motivation one of these days soon to do it. If you can't wait they are on FB.

Words to live by

2010-01-21T09:54:00.002-07:00

HANDBOOK 2010

Health:

1. Drink plenty of water.

2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.

3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..

4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy

5. Make time to pray.

6. Play more games

7. Read more books than you did in 2009

8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day

9. Sleep for 7 hours.

10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:

11. Don't compare your life to others... You have no idea what their journey is all about.

12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

13. Don't over do.. Keep your limits.

14. Don't take yourself so seriously.. No one else does.

15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.

16. Dream more while you are awake

17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..

18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.

20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

23. Smile and laugh more.

24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

Society:

25. Call your family often.

26. Each day give something good to others.

27. Forgive everyone for everything.

28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.

29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

30. What other people think of you is none of your business.

31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:

32. Do the right thing!

33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful..

34. GOD heals everything.

35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..

36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

37. The best is yet to come..

38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.

39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Thanks Wendy

I joined a gym

2010-01-10T07:03:00.001-07:00

I have committed myself to 3 years to the gym. WoW! I saw this quote and laughed..not going to be me anymore!

I gotta work out. I keep saying it all the time. I keep saying I gotta start working out. It's been about two months since I've worked out. And I just don't have the time. Which uh..is odd. Because I have the time to go out to dinner. And uh..and watch tv. And get a bone density test. And uh.. try to figure out what my phone number spells in words.

- Ellen DeGeneres

Here's to my Health

2010-01-05T08:40:00.000-07:00

You would think after the health issues that arised in 2009 I would have been taking better care of myself but no I didn't. I have resolved that 2010 is going to be a much healthier year. I stepped on the scale yesterday and was mortified...yes folks mortified. I started a food journal yesteday and boy was that motivation to stay away from the chocolate and my most fav. bowl of cereal at bed time. Going to join a gym today. Yep, there I said it, going to do it. I have dug out my old work outs from 3 years ago and I wish Matt lived here to push me harder but his old handouts will have to do.

Here's to my health!

WhY?

2009-12-30T17:49:00.001-07:00

Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!

2009-12-23T18:15:00.001-07:00

Vandal Game Day!

2009-12-17T08:43:00.000-07:00

We went to the game over Thanksgiving break. It was lots of fun to go visit campus and go Vandal gear ShOpPinG. Ella by far was the most spoiled, two cheerleader outfits and a pair of cutie socks. All the boys in the family got new hats and Logan and Mason got new hoodies. It was fun to watch the game, sad they lost but fun anyways. We sat by the families of the senior players and it was great to see the enthusiasm the parents and families had for their sons.

One of these is not like the other

2009-12-14T13:48:00.008-07:00

One of these is not like the other...can you tell the difference.

All that Jazz

2009-12-02T16:10:00.001-07:00

Jef was given the opportunity to go to the opener Jazz game on October 30, 2009. He was allowed to take one person with him and it had to be a spouse or an immediate family member. Of course I went with. Being the Friday before Halloween, it was real hard to find somebody to watch our kids, and get them to the piano/guitar Halloween party. Our good friends the Nelson's watched the two older boys over night and Jared gave them a ride from the party to the Nelson's then picked them up the next morning and watched them till we got home from Salt Lake. Gma Kump watched the younger two over night and till we got home as well. It was soo fun to sit soo close to the players, we were on the second row floor. Those guys are huge...that is all I can say. It was lots of fun to get away for the night.

Yes we were this close...

Jef got to be even closer on Monday night (11-30-09.) He was flown by private jet to SLC to the Million Air Hanger and then driven to the game to sit second row the first half the game. Second half he was on the players bench. When they had a time out, Jef heard everything they said. He said it was pretty cool.

2009-10-18T06:00:00.001-06:00

This is my crazy Dad. We were at my sister's house the day after her husband passed away and he was being his goofy old self. These "WERE" my sister's but now they are mine. Yep I now have something a little cowgirlish. Thanks Wendy!

New Obsession, I mean Hobby

2009-10-17T06:00:00.001-06:00

We learned how to make these new fad watches at an Enrichment activity in September. That night I made the pink and green ones on the right. The others I helped my sister make. We had a fun weekend get together and I taught some of my cousins and aunt how to make them too (she has made 6 since then).

After making them again I am redoing the green one, it is a B-day present for one of my BFF's. She has seen it thru a text picture, but I am making it over so it will be a surprise for her. If you want to know how to do them I am willing to share the info and website where you can get the watch faces pretty cheap, just drop me an email.

I am having a making party today with my sister and cousins and another aunt today...I will post again what I make and maybe what everybody else does too.

First Day of School 2009-2010

2009-10-16T06:00:00.001-06:00

Logan and Mason were able to attend the same school as last year. We are in the "overflow" school but really don't mind. We are hoping to stay there next year when Cole starts Kindergarten. I would just like to stay the same so we don't have to relearn a new school and the rules, and plus this school has sleds at recess in the winter. The boys leave for the bus early in the morning and get home about 2:30 in the afternoon. We have been trying really hard to get into a schedule and some days we are more successful than others. On Tuesdays I pick them up from school and take them to piano lessons (Mason) and guitar lessons (Logan). They aslo have to read everyday for me for at least 25 min for Mason and 30 min for Logan. I am hearing lots of Magic Tree HOuse books.

Logan Football 2009

2009-10-15T06:00:00.002-06:00

Logan joined the Grid Kid Football League this year. What a learning experience for him and for me. We started on August 3 and it ended October 6. We had 4 practices a week for 2 hours a night plus one game a week that last about 90 min. So needless to say we have been busy for 2 solid months. We missed out on some plans for late August but we made better ones to come in November. Here are some pictures from his time playing his number is 66 and he played on the Starting Defense team and his position was Corner Back. What ever that is, I still didn't quite figure it out.

Photoshoot Oct. 12, 2009

2009-10-14T06:00:00.001-06:00

Birthday Boy

2009-10-13T10:28:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was Jef's 35th birthday. We celebrated all day long...well not really. He gets up early in the morning to go to they gym, yup he's a trooper, so I mangaged to open my eyes long enough to tell him "Happy Birthday" and he was off.
Cole's favorite thing to do during the day is go to lunch with dad (maybe we do this too much.) I googled Jef and made plans to meet at Gandolfo's for lunch. After lunch Cole, Ella and I went off to finish the b-day boys shopping. We found him a WWF calander and the Sims game he wanted. On Friday I made a trip to Costco and bought him some Pub Mix, one of his favorite snacks.

After work we went to dinner at Iggy's and had a very yummy meal followed by some ice cream. Jef and I ordered the deep fried cheesecake. So delicious. We went home and opened presents. Great day overall!!

BFF'S

2009-08-18T09:08:00.003-06:00

This is my BFF from 4th/5th Grade. We have been thru a lot together and when I say a lot I mean A LOT. There were days that I didn't think I could make it and she was there to pick me up. She has always been good for a laugh. I am just going to to do a bullet point list of the things/situations we have been thru (in no particular order.)

Asthma attack in 5th grade (her not me)

riding her first horse at Jenny Rountree's

her grandmother passing away in 6th grade right in front of her

me falling in 5th grade and getting a bloody nose all over my clothes

my first period

Junior High

walking to school together

Junior High Halloween contest...we were beach bums with her massive boom box

First day of High School

Her going thru driver's ed

shopping for her first car in Pocatello...I believe it was a white Cavalier???

Me getting sick at her house while staying the night in 5th grade and having to go home

Me puking at her 15th birthday all over the floor and she cleaned it up

Playing spin the bottle at a summer party bash at her house

Going to a James Haycock dance in Shoshone...(my mom got pulled over by the police on the way there)

My first kiss at the above dance with Jason Southwick from Buhl

Carol making fun of me for the above

numerous rides everywhere

teaching me to drive a stick shift from Dairy Queen to F Street in Jerome

AhhHH Dairy Queen...so much could be said for that
her first shoplifting experience...I cried

Violent Femmes and B 52's concert at the Salt Palace in 1993

I love her... just as friends have ups and downs we have had our fair share...but thru it all we have stuck together.

Love you Carol and thanks for being an amazing friend.

Bear Lake Fun

2009-08-05T07:26:00.003-06:00

Last Thursday I loaded up the kids and gma and left for Bear Lake. We staying at Aunt LoAnn's and had a great time. It was also Raspberry Festival so we got to enjoy a small town parade, complete with a real live yakk and lots of trashy kids that had never seen candy before. The lake was absolutely beautiful. My pictures don't even do it justice.

Wondering who has it out for me?

2009-08-03T17:39:00.002-06:00

This quote sums it up for me....

Living Hell is the best revenge. (Adrienne E. Gusoff)

It has been a "great" 32nd birthday so far...wonder how much more crappy it could get.

2009-07-22T15:42:00.001-06:00

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

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2009-07-10T11:56:00.001-06:00

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime® 6.5 or higher is required.

UpDaTe

2009-07-08T08:05:00.000-06:00

hahaha

Just kidding

Grandpa Doug Craziness

2009-05-31T12:37:00.005-06:00

Grandma Kump, Granpa Doug, and Aunt Laurine

Here are some more pictures for you to enjoy. These were taken at my gpa's funeral and I am not just getting around to posting them.

Dad wanted a picture with his head cut off not sure why.

Cole, Mason, Ella, Grandpa Doug and Logan

Grandpa Doug and his sister Aunt Laurine
He can never be too serious for too long.

The Perrine Bridge Twin Falls

2009-05-30T12:25:00.000-06:00

I have crossed this bridge more times than I care to count. I have walked across it maybe 2 in my lifetime. I don't care so much for heights so thus walking out on the bridge + children + blowing wind + big rig trucks driving by at lightening speed = to scary for me. My kids really wanted to see the bridge so Jef took them out while I waited in the truck safely with Ella. This is a picture of them looking over one of the lookouts from underneath the bridge.

Hop2It

2009-05-29T14:11:00.004-06:00

Mason, Logan and Bailee

Logan and Bailee

Bailee and Cam

I think just about everybody has heard of this place so we finally checked it out. The weekend of my gpa's funeral we had time to spend with cousins and this is what we did or rather they did. It was a fun place a little spendy but provided much fun for the kids and they didn't want to leave...

Lame-oh!

2009-05-28T07:50:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday Ella!

2009-05-27T09:34:00.003-06:00

It's Ella's 1st Birthday! We are so happy to have her in our family. She has been a joy and a pain but we love her anyway. Here she is in her birthday shirt and her "ghetto" hair as Jef calls it.

Serious Stuff

2009-05-09T14:44:00.003-06:00

I have had a lot of serious stuff going on in my life the past few weeks.

The end of March I went to the ob/gyn for the yearly visit. For those of you women readers (do I even have any men reading my blog?) we know this is not a fun visit but I was sort of looking forward to it, I had some questions and concerns about female STUFF and was hoping to get some answers and help. I left with not all my answers but felt good about the outcome, I was to get an ultra sound later in the week to help rule out or diagnose what was going on for sure. The ultra sound was almost as unpleasant as the previous visit I had that week. The technician wasn't very friendly but not rude, but she had made some "wierd" comments during the examination. She politely told me my doctor would call later that day or the next day(Friday) with the results. This is where the waiting began and phone tag began.

Two weeks later on a Friday at 4:55pm I get a call finally from the PA. She tells me I don't have the one thing they were looking for orginally but...there is a growth on my right ovary. She also says the doc. is saying it "has to come out" and soon. Also that I will have to have a CA-125 test which is a cancer marker test. I am told to come in on Monday to get the blood draw and the doc.'s nurse will call to set up the surgery some time in the next week. Boy Jef and I had a lot to talk about that next night on date night.

I went on Monday to have the simple blood draw. I was told the results could be in as early as 3 days or as long as 7 days. In the mean time, my Gpa Arbaugh started doing some unexplained things. He was going down hill and fast, loosing his mind wise anyway. My sister had an appointment for him set for Friday with his doc. in Twin Falls. By time that day had come he was very incoherent and had lost control of bodily functions. While he was at the doc. I was in SLC shopping with my neighbor and received a phone call first from the PA again saying the CA-125 test was normal (meaning no cancer). I then received another phone call from the nurse to schedule surgery (June 1). Then another call came in Gpa has a mass in on his brain he is going for more tests. Another call later he has a very agressive brain tumor and it is bleeding putting pressure on his brain, and his health makes it non-operable. As a family they decided to take him home and try to make him comfortable but the end was very near.

I came home from SLC (with new furniture of course) and we left Sunday morning to see my gpa. He didn't look sick but I could tell he wasn't the same. He still laughed and joked with both Jef and I but it was sad to have to say good bye and most likely for the last time. He passed away Wednesday morning.

I am soo thankful for the knowledge of the gospel and to know that this life is not the end. I know that I will see him again and be with him and my mother. I am sort of jealous he got to see her first, but I can wait till it is my time.

Wendy and I both spoke at his funeral and that was nice to be able to tell about his life and our memories of him. He will always be so special to me. I loved him soo much, he was a good man and taught me so much. I know how to irrigate, fish, go wormin and camping thanks to him. I know that if I play with fire I will pee the bed, not really I proved him wrong on that one. I also know that family was important to him and he liked to think about things. I love you gpa arbaugh and I will see you on the other side.

Sorry for the long post, one last thing. I will be having surgery on June 1st. I will be having the right ovary and my uterus removed and a bladder sling installed. Next post to be more light I promise.

Easter 2009

2009-04-23T16:16:00.004-06:00

Jef and I have never been big on doing Easter, not that we don't like the floppy eared dude...we just haven't always been real good about the whole thing. Anyway he did visit the Clark house this year and even left eggs outside for an egg hunt. The 3 boys received new bike helmets and some summer shoes. Ella got a doll, that she pretty much could care less about. So enough of my rambling and here are some pictures.

For Sale

2009-04-16T19:36:00.004-06:00

For all you local yocals that read my blog....and not so local either. I am selling my desk. Gasp I know, I fought Jef tooth and nail for it and now I am realizing it just doesn't fit this house, or really any house but the Kuna house sooo....

It is on Craigslist and hopefully it will be snatched up quick. Wish me luck! (or buying it works good too)

2009-04-06T15:21:00.001-06:00

Life of a homemade Birthday Cake

2009-04-03T09:14:00.004-06:00

Here is the inspiration.

Results to be posted later.

And the RESULTS are:

The frosting isn't as smooth as I would have liked but hey I actually made a successful birthday cake. I have always bought them in the past so after 8 cakes for Logan and 6 cakes for mason lucky #15 was homemade and somewhat cute. Can I call it cute, it was for a 7 year old boy?

Mason's 7th Birthday!

2009-04-03T08:36:00.006-06:00

Tuesday was Mason's 7th birthday and we celebrated family style. We have always let the kids choose their birthday dinner restaurant. This year Mason chose Chuck-A-Rama. Our choices in IF are much different than in Boise. We had quite the crowd. Let me list for you:

Jef

Logan

Mason

Cole

Ella

Aunt Laurine (Mason's Great Aunt)

Jessi

LaNay

Dalyn

Hailey

Kolby

Savannah

Jared

Joyce

Justin

Uncle Jeremy

Aunt Sarah

Isaak

Mikelle

A great time was had by all, good conversation and good buffet food (you know as good as it can get for being buffet.) I think Bruce was glad to see us go after 3 cups of chocolate milk spilled and never being able to keep the diet soda flowing for Jef, Jeremy, Sarah and Sarah.

Mason is having a friend party today so we will have a part two.

TAGGED!

2009-03-27T07:05:00.004-06:00

OK so my friend tagged me and this is what I got. This is a picture of my dad and my three boys. My dad can harldy ever take a serious picture it is not in his nature and he got the boys to join in. It was taken 4th of July weekend when Logan was baptized and Ella was blessed.

Now to Tag others: I am not going to actually list names just all of you who read this do it! The rules are go to your 6th folder and pick your 6th picture and post it....

Coleisms

2009-03-27T06:56:00.002-06:00

"Mom is this a hundred up or hundred down?"

We have no idea what this is suppose to mean. He will ask this when we are at a store and he wants to have/get/buy something. I must have told him one time that $100 was too much and we couldn't afford it.

Interview Me! (warning long post)

2009-03-04T07:15:00.004-07:00

1. As long as I have known you you have been a stay at home mom. What jobs have you had in the past?
Well my working career started back way back in a little town called Jerome Idaho. I was an indentured servant to my parents. We all have had that job right? I then ventured on to the local DQ (Dairy Queen). That job didn't last long as I was only 14 and my mom didn't like me working late on school nights, which to her was past 9pm. I was let go for that very reason, Dee (very self absorbed owner) actually told me so when I was called in for the talk. I am grateful for this job tho as I still make my cone with the DQ twist on the top. My next job was for a little company called Orange Julius, from this experience I learned how to crack an egg with one hand, thank you Karen. Oh ya and I also got to know my darling husband. He worked across the hall in the mall and we chatted all the time. My final job working for the "man" was for Waremart/Winco Foods. This was my job for 9 years and 3 months. I did a variety of things for them, pizza worker, deli worker, cashier, pizza manager and finally bean counter at 2 in the morning. Of all my jobs I think being a mom is the greatest and most demanding.

2. After recently moving to Idaho Falls from Kuna, what do you miss the most about the Treasure Valley?
Target...yes over here we do have target but it is about the size of Bed Bath and Beyond in Meridian. Big Lots, once again there is one but not as good as Meridian. I also miss stores staying open late, everything closes early here on weeknights and even earlier on Saturdays.
I miss all of my good friends I made in Meridian and Kuna the absolute most tho.

3. And of course, what do you enjoy most about your new location?
The best thing about being here is my Grandma. I love her soo much and had a great time living with her and my kids getting to know her and love her as much as I do. Little Ella just lights up when we go to her house. She love Gma a ton. When we first moved out Ella was really sad and we would go to Gma's just to cheer her up.

4. I am somewhat aware that you have a business of selling sauces of some kind. Tell us more about this.
Jef and I are in business with his parents Dale and Linda manufacturing and selling BBQ sauce. Dale came up with the recipe many years ago and I kept after him to sell it and long behold he took me up on that. Our first sauces were Habby Too Original and Habby Bleu. Habby is pronounced hObby, it is an affectionate term for Habanero peppers, which is in our sauce so yes they are VERY hot. We opened business 4 years ago, and two years ago we came out with some less hot sauces, New Mexico Green Chile and Chipotle. They are all BBQ sauces. We have won first place for our Original and a third place for our Chipotle. We have traveled to New Mexico three years now for the Fiery Foods and BBQ Show in Albuquerque. Want to know more just ask.

5. You had three really great boys and then a little Ella came along. What has been the biggest difference with your little girl compared to the boys?
Well she was the normal baby at first fussy little sleep you know the usual, but then things changed, or should I say stayed the same if not worse. She was soo fussy and always seemed to be hungry. We took her to the doc and he said she was probably just colicky and would eventually "grow" out of it. In September/October she was still the same and she was getting up sometimes 5-7 times a night, so I switched from nursing to bottle feeding and boy what a change. I guess all the stress I was under was affecting my milk and even tho her weight was good and she was growing good, it wasn't all that satisfying for her. It was night and day difference once I switched to formula. So long story short the boys slept through the night at 2 months and had great naps in the day and were pretty much happy go lucky babies and Ella well she was never happy, always fussy and had to be held by me most of the time. I was almost ready to give her back, well not really but you know what I mean.

If you are interested in having me give you a few interview questions for you to answer on your blog, be one of the first five people to follow these instructions and I’ll be in touch.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Leave me a comment in this post saying, “Interview me” (please include your email address as well).

2. I will respond by emailing you five questions of my choosing.

3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include these instructions and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions each.

2009-02-27T13:28:00.001-07:00

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All in a name...Sarah Nanine

2009-02-23T07:25:00.004-07:00

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

You Are Seductive and Ruthless

You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong.You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know.You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do.
You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality.
You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.
You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out.Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia. Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person.
You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.
You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.
You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

So I found this from my cousin's website her and I must have the same name, because our meanings pretty much say the exact same thing. I highlighted what I felt matched me in red. Tell me if you agree or what I missed.

FYI, I was not named after anybody for my first name. My dad says that my mom had pretty much picked out my name from a name book and he let her choose. My middle name is the same as my mothers' and my grandmother found it in a name book as well . It is extremely hard to find now-a-days in any name book.
Just to add another note...I always wanted a girl so that I could pass down this name to her because is it is so unusual but pretty. When we had decided that 3 was enough for us and my sister was prego with a girl I asked her to use the name but her husband said no...maybe he knew something we did not. (not really)

Blog lul....

2009-02-19T16:43:00.003-07:00

I guess I am in a blog lul right now. I have lots to post about but not much I want to post about...make sense. Maybe all the snow I see everyday. I love the snow love it love it love it... so I never thought I would hear myself say I want to see grass, even if it is brown and yucky. Maybe in few more days I will feel like something. Oh yea, I am going to Albuquerque next week maybe I will be motivated by then.

Dr. Phil said so.

2009-02-12T15:49:00.001-07:00

Your Result: The Lively Center of Attention
Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical, and always interesting; someone who's constantly in the center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not one to let it go to their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding; someone who'll always cheer them up and help them out.

So Funny!

2009-02-05T16:57:00.000-07:00

A woman relays her story about her black bra experience...
I had lunch with 2 of my unmarried friends. One is engaged, one is a mistress, and of course I have been married for 20+ years. We were chatting about our relationships and decided to amaze our men by wearing a blackleather bra, stiletto heels and a mask over our eyes. We agreed to meet in a few days to exchange notes. Here's how it all went.
My engaged friend: The other night my boyfriend came over and found me with a black leather bodice, tall stilettos and a mask. He saw me and said, 'You are the woman of my dreams. I love you.' Then we made love all night long.
The mistress: Me too! The other night I met my lover at his office and I was wearing the leather bodice, heels and mask over my eyes and a raincoat. When I opened the raincoat he didn't say a word, but we had wild sex all night.
Then I had to share my story: When my husband came home I was wearing the leather bodice, black stockings, stilettos and a mask over my eyes. As soon as he came in the door and saw me he said, "What's for dinner, Batman?"

Jef and I have only been married 10 years but I can totally see him saying this! We have 4 kids people what do you expect!

Masonisms 2-4-09

2009-02-04T15:18:00.003-07:00

His name is Andy you know and with a y.

He was telling me about a boy at school that had to go to the principal's office, for doing lots of naughty things. I asked what kind of naughty things, he said lots of stuff that was naughty.
I finally got out of him the boy pushed Mason and "cutted" in line and he the boy yelled and another time he ran to the computers so that was the last ticket he had to pull and was sent to the principal's office.

Conclusion of Pine Wood Derby 2009

2009-01-31T07:02:00.004-07:00

Here is Logan with all of his winnings. He had a fun time and remembered it wasn't all about winning. He was a good sport and had a blast participating in his first ever race. He took second place over all and has a medal around his neck, received a participation ribbon and also received an award for "Most Artistic."

Life of a Pinewood Derby Car

2009-01-26T08:23:00.004-07:00

Here are some pictures of the progress of the car. The big race is Wednesday and Logan is pretty excited about it. We will post more pictures of the finished product. Just on a side note Logan is very worried about not cheating and making sure we are following the rules. Jef keeps reassuring him that the only rules are to not go overweight and to have fun. We shall see how it goes on Wednesday night. Jef will be a solo parent with all 4 for this event.

My Ella Bella

2009-01-23T09:23:00.002-07:00

I do hair?

2009-01-23T09:05:00.004-07:00

It must be a girl thing. I got to do Savannah's hair last night while at "BaNay's" as Cole calls her. Next time I will do it different but it is cute I must say...I had a cute model to begin with though.

Watch out She's a Card Shark.

2009-01-23T07:35:00.004-07:00

This past weekend LaNette came from SLC for a visit. Now when she comes to town we all get togther multiple times and it seems we spend many many hours together, which is wonderful. She came, I think for two reasons, one because it was a long weekend and two to celebrate her birthday. Happy Birthday again LaNette. So let me list of the activites for the weekend.

1-Saturday Day; "girls" lunch with gma to celebrate Lanette's birthday and to get gma out of the house (I think gma's alternate goal in lunch.)

2-Saturday Night; Card rematch at my house involving gma, Laurine, Jesse, LaNay, LaNette and I. The latter two just along for the ride as the others were apparently scorned at the New Years Eve Party.

3-Sunday afternoon; Actual b-day dinner for LaNette at LaNay's.

4-Sunday night; rematch of said card game from Saturday night. This time Jesse, LaNay and I needed to have a rematch. Well I think we got it and then some...insert evil laughing here.

Red threes are really bad if you get "caught" with them in your hand but they are really really good when you can get three of them and lay them down. We had 11 of them and at 500 points a piece that is just plain AwESoMe!!

5-Monday Morning; Pancakes at gmas with Laurie and girls, Laurine and LaNette and girls. This actually turned into an all day thing. I didn't get home until after 2:30.

It was a great weekend and I am looking forward to many more. Thanks everyone!

My little Sunbeam!

2009-01-19T16:00:00.003-07:00

We are soo excited to introduce you to our little Sunbeam. He was not very excited to go to his new class. I walked with him into primary and found a seat and he just kept telling me I go to "my" class and pointing towards nursery. He I left while he was going into melt down mode. I went and traded Jef for Ella and he went in and sat with Cole just for sharing time. He has loved his class ever since. Mason or Logan walk him to class he is our real big boy now.

Clarification of Previous Post

2009-01-06T16:33:00.002-07:00

Ok so I know I didn't give much explanation on the previous post I was trying out something from my phone so I wasn't even sure it would work.

On New Year's Eve Logan and the other two were playing chase or some other lame boy game and it never fails someone gets hurt. Logan jumped up onto his loft bed to get away from Cole and slipped (wearing socks) and fell and hit where the his leg connects to the groin area. He swears he didn't hit the groin. If you can imagine that area is much like the area between your thumb and first finger it split open and every time he moved, it opened up. He did say that his groin was a little tender so off to the ER we went (on nurse's advise from pedi.) Nothing was damaged and they put on some butterfly bandages to help hold the skin together so it wouldn't come open every time he moved.

Nothing tooo serious but the ER doc said you should never mess around with that area and always come in to get it checked out. The Pediatrician had us go to the ER because if something was damaged that is where we would have to go anyway.

So there you have it. Nothing serious but boy was he scared of going to the hospital...must get that from Gpa Doug. I must also note he and Ella are the only one of our kids who had not been to the ER so now I guess all we have left is Ella. (side note Mason has been 3 times so he has made up everyone else not going!)

2008-12-31T14:03:00.000-07:00

No holiday complete without an er trip.

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Date with Logan

2008-12-26T18:38:00.004-07:00

Tonight Logan and I went out to spend some of his Christmas cash. We went to a few furniture stores first for me, then dinner at McDonald's where Logan ate 2 yes 2 double cheese burgers and fries. He told me he was hungry. Then we went to Big Lots to spend his money. He purchased a "Wheel of Fortune" game. He learned to love the game show at gma's. I am pretty excited to play with him tooo.

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Can you Believe IT!!

2008-12-12T10:23:00.002-07:00

Fellow bloggers, what is the lowest you remember gas in the last 10yrs? I remember it being $1.069 for a sale that the radio station put on and waiting in line for over 30 min. In 2005 I remember when it spike to almost $3.00 because that is when my grandfather passed away and we had to travel.
This picture was taken on Wednesday when I gassed up. It only cost me $33.10 to fill up, what a huge discount compared to in August when it was $100.78 to fill up the same amount of gallons. We may be in a recession but I love the price of gas.

Great Great Grandkids!

2008-12-10T21:17:00.005-07:00

Before 20 girlee quilts.

Living with Grandma has given a whole new perspective on her. Don't get me wrong I really really love her and appreciate all she has done for me now and when I was a kid, but man is she quirky. She makes quilts like crazy. This is just a sampling of what she has. I went thru them this last Saturday and separated the girlee and boyee ones. Grand total in one spot downstairs (she says she has more hidden around) 20 girls and 16 boys. I told her she was behind on the boys so last two times she has been out she has picked up some boy material.

She is making Jef and I a quilt for Christmas I am really excited I will post once it is done and on my bed in my own place.

After I vacummed 16 of them into a storage bag.

Sew Simple

2008-12-10T21:05:00.004-07:00

So being that I live soo close to one of my Grandma's that sews I have taken on some projects. I thought it would be fun to make a blanket way before Ella was born and guess what it didn't get done until now. I found the red material way back in April and was going to just sew on satin binding, but wasn't sure I exactly knew how to do that. Now it is December and after washing it the back pilled really bad (wasn't suppose to do that) but too late to take it back. I found a way fun fabric that was a remnent and the right size so new idea came to mind. I am making this for Kady. I am almost done just have to do some simple tying so that it doesn't bunch up too much. I hope she enjoys.

Almost finished, just have tying left to do.

It's Snowing It's Snowing The Old Man is Snoring!

2008-12-08T08:15:00.001-07:00

I have soo much to post about but we woke up to snow this morning, not much at 6 when Ella needed fed but it is really coming down now at 8am.

Husband Tag

2008-11-24T16:09:00.006-07:00

1. What's your husband's name?
Jef to his friends and Jefrey to me
2. How long have you been married?
10 GREAT years!
3. How long did you date?
2 years to the day!
4. How old is he?
34
5. Who eats more sweets?
Absolutley me!
6. Who is the better singer?
I cant sing so it must be him.
7. Who is smarter?
He is more book smart.

8. Who does the laundry?
ME

9. Who pays the bills?
He makes the money, I do the actual paying.
10. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
Me, it is closer to the door meaning closer to Ella.
11. Who mows the lawn?
Jef, but I will again next summer, Ella gave me this summer off.
12. Who drives?
It is shared between us, if Jef has worked I drive he tends to get agressive.
13. Who asked who out first?
I honostly don't know but I probably did.

14. Who kissed who first?
I think we both went for it so no one was "first".

I tag Marisa, Jo, Anne, Julie, Joleen (have you done this one?), Stacy and LaNay!

So you guys go to college?

2008-11-22T08:04:00.002-07:00

Last night Jef and I actually went on date night with no kids not even Ella and it wasn't house shopping...gasp I know. Jef's friend from work invited us out, which now a days means you pay for yourself, Grandma thought they should have paid they did the inviting. Anyway...one wife and I were seated while the "boys" waited for their friend who is always late. The hostess is seating us and asks "So you guys go to college?" I about died laughing. Me 31 and 4 kids and I look like I go to college? Ya right!!! We told her no but thanks for the great compliment. Maybe that is what it is like to buy beer and be carded, I don't know but maybe.

Which House? Take 5????

2008-11-20T07:34:00.002-07:00

Here is the news on the house(s)...we didn't get either. We made on offer on the first it was absolutely beautiful but alas it didn't work out. They were asking a lot and we under offered? and they countered back too high so we walked away. There was two main things wrong with the house...1 car garage and taxes. So we have been house hunting again and again. Came close to writing more offers and then we find out something wrong with the house that we (I) can't live with.
So with a new search method in place (which coincidentally is h0w we bought our first house 9+ years ago) we started looking again. I found the floor plan to die for but dirt here is waaayyy to expensive to build for us right now so second best looking at new again. We found the house ready to put the offer in and the realtor is showing me (Jef was at work) what a value this house is in the market for what we would get it is 3# out of 46 homes, awesome value right? Yes is the answer but in looking at the screen #2 or #4 pops up and I loooovvvee the way it looks have to seee it!!! BIG mistake!!! Now Jef and I are at a stalemate! He likes the other one and I like this one. There are good and bad about both, yes #3 house is the best value and we get more buuuuttt I love the way the other one is laid out better than the #3.
Even more of a dilemma they are both in the school boundaries the kids go to so now we can't even use that as a tie breaker. We will have a decision today it will be settled and we will be in our own place by Christmas one way or another.

Unless someone out here in blog land has 50k to loan so I can build the killer house mentioned first!

Move over Molly

2008-11-13T14:57:00.002-07:00

Here is a great new site that I just found and want to share it.

http://modernmollymormon.blogspot.com/2007/12/about-modern-molly-mormon.html

Which house?

2008-11-09T16:59:00.004-07:00

Jef and I have rented out our house in Kuna so now we are looking for something here in Idaho Falls for ourselves. We can finally get out of the basement at Grandma's. What a relief....except we found two houses we really like. We have listed the pro's and con's of each house and well folks it is a tie. The money on both is actually a little more than we wanted to spend so now I turn to the blog community. Which one do you like? Check them out and let us know what you think. I am not going to post any of my thoughts until we decide, which hopefully is by the end of the week.

Here you go in no particular order:

http://tours.tourfactory.com/tours/tour.asp?t=458853

or
http://tours.tourfactory.com/tours/tour.asp?t=464347

We are so very excited and with your comments it might help us to decide.

Vote Today!

2008-11-04T13:59:00.002-07:00

Make sure you get out and vote. If you don't you can't complain for the next 4 years.

Grandma is 88 in 08' and cousins!

2008-10-21T15:14:00.004-06:00

Grandma is soo funny. She still has her sense of humor!

Hitching a ride to and from Jerome to visit Norman and her girlfriends.

This past weekend we celebrated my grandma's 88th birthday. We had much fun and stayed up too late visiting and staging LaNay's home. I wanted to post some pics of my beautiful cousins. The boys missed them about an hour after they left asking when would they be here next. We love you very much Grandma and are very thankful you let us live with you!

Abby

Lauren

Happy Birthday to one GREAT Husband!

2008-10-13T14:55:00.002-06:00

This post is a day late and probably a dollar short but I wanted to tell my husband how thankful I am for him. I think he is one great guy and I love him a ton. He is terrific dad and example to our children.

Happy 34th Birthday Jef!!

I've been Tagged

2008-09-30T07:56:00.002-06:00

Suppose to do 1 word answers.

1. Where is your cell phone? Upstairs
2. Where is your significant other? Work

3. Your hair color? Brown

4. Your mother? Heaven

5. Your father? Crazy

6. Your favorite thing? FAMILY

7. Your dream last night? NO sleep NO Dreams

8. Your dream/goal? PATIENCE

9. The room you're in? make-shift living room

10. Your hobby? Blog Lurker

11. Your fear? Snakes

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? IN my own HOME

13. Where were you last night? Chiropractor and McDonald's

14. What you're not? Thin

15. One of your wish-list items? Hawaii

16. Where you grew up? J-Town

17. The last thing you did? Dishes

18. What are you wearing? Shorts and T-Shirt

19. Your TV? On
20. Your pet? Maddy

21. Your computer? ON (I don't know what is with this question as I am doing this ON the computer!!!)

22. Your mood? Sleepy

23. Missing someone? FRIENDS FAR AWAY

24. Your car? Truck

25. Something you're not wearing? Shoes
26. Favorite store? Target (but not here in IF)

27. Your summer? Hectic

28.Love someone? Jef

29. Your favorite color? Purlple

30. When is the last time you laughed? Yesterday

31. Last time you cried? Last Night

Hope everyone enjoys.

Ella's 4 Month Well Check

2008-09-30T07:35:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we had Ella's 4 month well check. Everything went well. We have found a great doctor here. His name is Dr. Groberg and has a personality much like our very loved Dr. Godfrey in Meridian. He is very thorough and even made Ella smile. These are her stats:

Weight: 14lbs...59%

Height: 25inches...76%

She is growing fast and has really started to fill out. Grandma thinks she changes daily, I am not so sure I see that but she is definitely getting big.

Some of the things she can do now is roll from her back to her belly. She has rubbed the hair off the left side of her head rolling over so much. She loves her hands she grasps them together constantly and rolls them and rubs them. She can't take her eyes off of them or barely keep them out of her mouth. She really likes to hold other people's hands too, I think she enjoys the skin to skin contact. She started to purposely grab some toys. They go straight to the mouth of course. Also she is drooling like crazy. It reminds Jef and I of Cole. He could never keep the drool in his mouth until he was 2, I hope she is not the same.

It's Official...I'm a DUP!

2008-09-26T16:16:00.005-06:00

Yep it's true I am an official member of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers. This move is going to make me more "Molly" than I ever thought. Yes those that know me well and most of my life can laugh "Sarah is going Molly!"

What we have been up too.

2008-09-14T16:16:00.003-06:00

A whole lot of nothing and a whole lot of everything.

Back in August the kids and I were home in Kuna (our vacation house) to take care of our precious Maddy and took her to get a bath and a temporary new home. Our good friend Ryan went with us to help. I think he did most of the work and Maddy was soo pretty after it was all said and done.

I will do some more post the coming days hopefully.

Waiting for house to sele!

2008-08-21T14:37:00.002-06:00

We are still waiting for the house to sale. I think the Lord is trying to teach me something but I am not sure what it is. Hopefully I will figure it out soon and our family can get back to normal.

Awesome House for Sale

2008-08-01T10:51:00.001-06:00

I just saw this house in CL and thought everyone should see. It is soo beautiful and I can't believe the owners are letting it go.

http://boise.craigslist.org/rfs/776873651.html

We have been busy!

2008-07-29T18:16:00.004-06:00

Just an update of our lives the last few weeks.

On the 12th of July we were able to tour the Twin Falls temple with our little ole family. It was a hot day outside but the temple was sooo beautiful. The boys enjoyed going in and seeing all the pretty rooms. Mason liked the sealing room as he could see himself forever in the mirrors. After the temple we drove down to Shoshone Falls to show the boys the actual falls that was painted on the walls in the temple. That was the highlight for mom. I really enjoyed looking at the falls. After the falls we went to Wendy's house and got ready for our photo shoot we had planned that day. Lucinda Higley does awesome photographs and I wanted her to take some pictures of our kids. They turned out great I think, but she had great subjects to use.

The following days after our eventful day in Jerome Ella started to smile at people. She especially loves to smile at her daddy then her mommy. I see how I rate in her world, I do all the work and dad gets all the attention.

On July 18th, Wendy and I finally spread our mom's ashes. We took them to one of our favorite places mom would take us and put them in the water. I know that I got my love of the water from my mom. She loved the sun and water. In the summer you could always find her outdoors enjoying the sun some way or another. This was our way of honoring her and her love for us and the sun and water. It was a sunny day and the water was cold as expected.

The next day was Melaleuca's Summer Picnic for employees. It was a very hot day but the breeze was nice. They had quite a set up. They had all you can eat popcorn, cotton candy and snow cones as well as all you can drink Pepsi products. They had a mini carnival for the kids, a rock wall, mini golf course, tons of big inflatable things and a horse ride area for the kids as well. The event was catered by a local restaurant; The Hardhat Cafe. The food was terrific. All throughout the day the company gave away prizes to employees, the only catch was you had to be present to win. Some of the prizes included Wii's, patio furniture, camping gear, electric drills, grills and much much more to be exact. The grand prize was a Caribbean cruise or a trip for 4 to Disneyland. Jef unfortunately did not win anything....except a helicopter ride at the picnic. He was allowed to take one person with him and he chose me. It was a lot of fun and a great experience. Jef is really liking his job and as you can see the perks are pretty good so far.

Now that we are closer to Jeremy's family we were able to go to the hospital and see Sarah and Mikelle. She is such a sweetie, probably all those drugs still in her system. Just kidding! She is really cute.

Pioneer Day! The boys partcipated in their first parade. It was with my grandma's stake and the kids and whoever wanted paraded (is that a word?) around the parking lot. The boys thought it would be more fun than it was. Oh well!

Sorry for the long post just trying to catch up with all the Clark happenings.

6th of July 2008

2008-07-29T18:12:00.003-06:00

Ella's Blessing!

We had such a wonderful weekend. Here are some pictures from the blessing day. I hope you enjoy. Jef gave such a beautiful blessing. We are gratefull to have the priesthood in our family. Actually I will have to add pictures later. They are in Idaho Falls with Jef, maybe if he goes to the library and has time he can add some.

5th of July 2008

2008-07-22T15:03:00.004-06:00

We had a wonderful weekend for the 4th of July. I all ready blogged about the fun and fireworks had on the 4th but our weekend did not end there. On the 5th of July Logan chose to be baptized. It was a wonderful experience for our family. Logan was soo excited he was such a big boy all week talking about his baptism and knowing what a big decision it was to be a member of the church. Logan was the only one from our ward to be baptized this month and was the second to last for all the baptisms in the stake. Needless to say the water was pretty murkey. He told us aftewards that there was bugs in the water. Grandpa Doug told him they needed baptized too. Logan thought that was pretty funny. We did have a little hiccup at the baptism, our bishopric member did not show up so we were left to confirm Logan on Sunday which normally wouldn't have been a problem, but Jef was blessing Ella on Sunday and didn't want to monopolize sacrament meeting. Our good neighbor Kevin called our counselor and we only had to wait a few minutes for him to show up and Logan was confirmed that same day. Logan really has a testimony of the church. I just wanted to share with you some of things he has said to me about what he feels his testimony is:

He knows that Joseph Smith was a true prophet.

He knows that this is the true church.

He knows he has a forever family.

He knows that he can be forgiven of his sins if he asks heavenly father in prayer.

He also loves his family very much, even though this not really part of his testimony it is something he always says.

I love Logan sooo much, he came first in our family for a reason. He is so kind and generous. He is a big helper to his mom and brothers and sister. He is very friendly and wants everyone to get along and have fun. These are just a few of his great qualities.

4th of July 2008

2008-07-07T10:00:00.004-06:00

Miss Ella Bella in her cutie 4th dress!

Cole fell asleep with his hands on his ears.

Mason with his ear protection.

Logan showing us his sparler is all gone!

This year was a bit different for us for the 4th. We always go to Idaho Falls to my dad's side of the family for a little reunion, but this year with our families living situation we decided the time would best be spent with each other together and not so much traveling. We stayed home simply put. It was great to just hang out with Jef and the kids. In the morning Jef struck a deal with the boys if they did some work we could all go to Kung Fu Panda the movie. Mason worked real hard as well as Logan and they got the job done and off we went to the movie after lunch. Ella did great at the movie. It was a pretty cute show and was fun for the boys. Here are some pictures of our day and our fireworks celebration.

SLACKER!

2008-07-03T18:23:00.003-06:00

I am the biggest slacker. I haven't posted for over a month. But it hasn't been due to laziness, I have been sooo busy. From Jef's last post you can see I had a baby and have been quite busy with that in itself, but on top of that I have been a single mom for almost a month now too.

Jef started work at Melaluca in Idaho Falls. He has been living with my Grandma Kump. He loves his new job and is very excited about the company and where it is headed. The kids and I are staying in our home until it sales...so if you know anybody who needs a good house let us know.

We had a big celebration this last week. Logan turned the great 8. We didn't do much on his actual birthday as it was on a Wednesday. I did take him to a restaraunt of his choice the night of his birthday. He chose one of my favorite places...Corona Village. It was soo yummy, but they didn't take his picture or sing to him but brought him extra sopitillas. He really enjoyed that as did his brothers too.

On Friday Jef came home for the weekend (dirty laundry) in tow and we celebrated Logan's birthday with a party on Saturday. We rented the local swimming pool for an hour and had some of Logan's close friends and family come and swim with us. Logan loved the high dive.

The weekend also started off really great for us. We got a call from a realtor who wanted to show our house the coming Monday it was to be our first showing. It was sooo exciting to actually have some action on our house. Then Sunday morning we got a call that somebody wanted to come and look in the hour. We frantically cleaned up the Saturday junk that had showed up and left with Maddy so they could look.

And one last thing...the kids have been in swimming lessons. I found out that Logan can not swim unless he has his goggles on and Cole likes the idea of "geegles". He is soo cute. Mason just likes to watch everybody else...but did master the high dive today (no camera).

I just wanted to give an update to everybody. Hopefully I will find some more time to post and take more pictures of the kids.

Ella Nanine has Arrived!

2008-05-29T08:17:00.005-06:00

Just a quick note (this is Jef acting as Sarah), Ella Nanine arrived on Tuesday afternoon at 1:47pm. She weighed in at 7lbs 14oz and was 20.75" long. Sarah went in for her scheduled appointment while I was having the second half of a root canal done. The doc told her if she wanted to be induced she could, so she headed to the hospital. Once I was done I joined her. As tradition holds, it was a fast labor and in just under a few hours after starting our sweet little girl was born.
Here are a few pictures that I snapped in the last few days (see all the pictures at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=41753&l=69c45&id=635589304). There will be plenty more to come in the next few weeks!

minutes after birth....

Cole and Ella