CHAOS x 4

ME!!

2012-01-02T13:43:00.003-07:00

I don't usually blog about myself but I am today. So back in June of last year I decided that since I am not pregnant or nursing that I was going to take advantage of it. So I joined Weight Watchers online. Since then I have been losing weight slowly but surely. So here today, January 2nd, I start 2012 exactly 50 pounds lighter than last year. And have full intentions on starting 2013---- 100 pounds lighter. Here is to a Happy New Year 2012!!!

CHRISTMAS 2011

2012-01-02T12:41:00.009-07:00

Taylee and Raegan on the 4 wheeler.
Raegan ready to ride the 4 wheeler.

Our GRINCH punch we had with Christmas dinner. YUMMY!!

Merry Christmas to you all. A little bit late. Just a quick recap on our Christmas here in North Dakota. First of all it was 45 degrees on Christmas day and that was a great gift in itself. The kids got up at not 6 but 2 in the morning, I was not a happy camper so sent them all back to bed and told them not to wake us up till at least 7. So about 10 to 7 they came and woke us up. They played with all their Santa stuff and then we went to church. After we got home they got to open their presents. They all had WAY to much stuff this year. But they were all thrilled with their gifts. I finally got a panini press and was so excited to have it. It was even the one I wanted. Rich know me way too well. We had a very nice Christmas and again reminds me how incredibly blessed that we are to be here in this place at this time. The ward has more than quadrupled in size in the last year and it is amazing. So glad to be a part of this great town. Missed my family terribly this year but I will hopefully be visiting them in a month or so. Hope you all had a Very Merry Christmas and Have a Happy New Year. :) lots of love, the Martinez's

Raegans "pesents" from grandma and pa, it is a purple

ballerina outfit with a crown and shoes that she has to wear on a daily basis.
Loving his new shirt.

This one was hilarious for Crae.

Rich bought these chocolate pistols for the boys, they came in an actual gun case so Traceson really thought he was getting a new pistol.......he was a bit saddened to find out it was just chocolate.

Raegan and her new pink bow.

The MESS!! I have yet to find some rhyme and reason to avoiding a mess on Christmas.

Traceson turn.

Taylee was so surprised, Santa got her a laptop.

Santa brought the boys a 4 wheeler, despite their mothers protest.

Macrae

Both the boys and their new helmets.

Raegan and her Belle!

Sisters Christmas morning.

Macrae and some of his gifts!

Traceson loved his football helmet and pads.

All Raegan wanted from Santa was a pink cat.

The boys santa surprises.

The girls Santa surprises.

THE TREE!

Santa Cookies, Peppermint meltaways and a puffed rice ball, oh and some eggnog.

KIDS!

2012-01-02T11:43:00.005-07:00

Rich helping the kids make their owls! Family Fun Night!

Raegan being an airplane!

family fun night, 2011
Trace shooting his bow.

Taylee and her BFF Casey with Chance and Whiskers.

This is what happens when Raegan gets mad at you!!

Not a good thing.:)

Absolutely so in love with these little people. They really are the reason I try so hard!!

So Blessed to have them in my life.

halloween!

2012-01-02T11:13:00.003-07:00

PUMPKINS!
Family FUN Night!

Raegan and Rapunzel

We went to the ward Halloween party and this is a little girl in my class that was Rapunzel. Raegan loved her. So I had to take a picture of them together.

Ninja

BATTERINA

STRAWBERRY!

CAPTAIN SPARROW

TAYLEE AND HER KITTY, WHISKERS

Halloween, 2011

Raegan absolutely loved Halloween. Everyday she asked if she can go Halloween again, which means that she wants to go ask strangers for candy. The kids picked there own costumes again this year. Taylee was a "battarina", Traceson was a ninja, Macrae was a pirate and Raegan was a strawberry. She loves strawberry shortcake so this is what she wanted. They had a school family fun night that was really fun for the kids the week before Halloween. So thankful everyday for my wonderful kids and for the fun they are!

MORE SHOP!

2012-01-02T10:57:00.006-07:00

We have been adding on to the shop another 3 bays and it is going really slow.

Luckily we have had a very mild winter with no negative temps at all! Wish every winter was like this one.

This is a little project my mom for the shop and I LOVE it!!

This is the office part of the shop.

Then there is all the tires!! Lots and lots of those things stacked everywhere.

Then the awesome employees. We really do have some great people working for us.

hailey and heidi

I feel like I haven't blogged in forever and that I really need to keep updates more frequent. I am trying really hard to do this, this year!

Thanksgiving!!

2012-01-02T10:50:00.006-07:00

So Thankgiving was great this year. We had all of our family up here to enjoy this time with us and it was so much fun. I was so happy to see all of our family with the exception of my older sister and Rich's older sister. What a great way to make you realize how truly blessed you are when you are surrounded by such amazing family!

WHISKERS AND COOPER!!

2011-10-13T16:14:00.006-06:00

WE HAVE 2 NEW PETS: A WHITE LAB NAMED COOPER. (WHAT A GREAT NAME FOR A PET THAT PRETTY MUCH LIVES AT A TIRE STORE RIGHT?)
AND A KITTEN NAMED WHISKERS! HERE ARE SOME PICTURES OF THEM. WE STILL HAVE BULLDOG AND CHANCE BUT CHANCE IS GETTING A LITTLE OLDER AND CAN'T HUNT AS MUCH AS HE WOULD LIKE SO COOPER IS GOING TO BE THE NEW HUNTING DOG. HE IS A POINTING LAB AND WE GOT HIM IN UTAH WHEN WE WERE VISITING FOR LABOR DAY WEEKEND. HE IS SUCH A GOOD DOG, THE KIDS LOVE HIM AND HE GETS ALONG WITH EVERYONE, EVEN WHISKERS.

CHANCE

COOPER

ROYCE AND COOPER

WHISKERS SLEEPING ON CHANCE

SOOOO STINKIN' EXCITED!!

2011-10-13T15:37:00.017-06:00

BEFORE

THIS IS PRETTY MUCH BEEN OUR HOUSE FOR A YEAR. WE HAVE NO TIME FOR ANYTHING INCLUDING LANDSCAPING SO IT IS PRETTY MUCH DIRT AND WEEDS:(

HALF WAY TO A YARD:)

lOVE THIS PICTURE OF THE SKY! SO BLUE AND PRETTY!

MORE PROGRESS!

AFTER

OUR NEW FRONT YARD:):) CAN YOU SEE THE SMILE ON MY FACE:):)

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

WE OFFICIALLY HAVE GRASS!! i CAN NOT TELL YOU HOW EXCITED I AM! THE POOR KIDS HAVE NOT HAD A LAWN TO PLAY ON FOR OVER A YEAR AND FINALLY NOW THAT IT IS ABOUT TO TURN COLD AND SNOW.......WE HAVE GRASS. WE HAVE HAD A NOT SO FUN YEAR OF MUD (TRUST ME I SLIPPED IN IT ONCE AND FELL FLAT ON MY BACK) NOT SO FUN, BUT OH HAPPY DAY, TODAY WE HAVE A YARD AND I LOVE IT!! WE ALL LOVE IT, THE BOYS AND RICH WENT AND PLAYED FOOTBALL ON IT ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND HAD A BLAST. TAYLEE AND TRACESON WERE HAVING RELAY RACES, EVEN RAEGAN LOVES PLAYING TAG AND CHASING HER BROTHERS AROUND ON IT. SERIOUSLY SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW :):):):)

BACKYARD FROM MY DECK THAT MY AMAZING DAD BUILT FOR US WHILE THEY VISITED!! LOVE HIM AND MISS MY FAMILY SO MUCH:) BELIEVE IT OR NOT WE LIVED HERE FOR A YEAR WITHOUT STAIRS TO EXIT THE BACK OF THE HOUSE! I AM TELLING YOU WE ARE A LITTLE CRAZY BUSY!
MOTHER PLEASE DON'T LET DAD SEE HOW DARK THIS DECK WAS STAINED. FROM THE MINUTE I OPENED THE LID ALL I HEARD WAS HIM TELLING ME HOW I AM GOING TO RUIN THIS NICE WOOD WITH THAT DARK STAIN:)

BACKYARD LOOKING SOUTH

BACK OF HOUSE WITH MY DECK:)

Holy Cow!

2011-09-17T09:52:00.028-06:00

Easter 2011

Graduation Time!!

Walking that long walk to the front!!

I should actually start with Macrae's graduation from last year. Sad that I am just barely getting around to posting this. His preschool graduation was fun. In the middle of it all he leans over and kisses the girl next to him on the cheek. I was so embarrassed. Macrae on the on the other hand thinks he is a stud. Graduation 2011!! Now on to the big school as Macrae calls it with the cool playground:)

The oldest 3 are all now if school all day long. Weird!!! I am so not used to having only one child all day and to not be nursing or pregnant. But the 3 of them go to Lewis and Clark Elementary and I LOVE this school. I have never seen such an amazing school or group of caring teachers. Very Impressed. This year is no different. I love Macrae's teacher and Taylee's too. Traceson's is new this year from Texas so I don't know a whole lot yet but I am optimistic that she is great. They all love school and I love having them somewhere I feel comfortable for them to be.

Taylee went to the carnival with her friend and their family and came home like this!! lol

One of the trips to visit in Utah the kids played on the slip and slide. Here are a few pictures. They have no grass here and I think I hate it more than they do. I hate not having a yard for the kids to play. But we have absolutely no time to try to do a yard nevertheless anything else. All in good time right?

My mom and dad and rest of family except Brendette came up to get Curt and while they were here my dad built me not just an EXIT to the back of my house, (yes we have lived here a year with no stairs off the back doors of the house.) but an amazing deck. LOVE IT!! and love my dad and his talents!! Now if I can just find some time to stain it:) What else has been happening? I brought up my sister Hailey to help me with the office. I was literally going insane. She has been amazing. I just need to figure out how to tie her up somewhere so she can't leave me;)

All the kids have had a birthday this summer except Raeg's hers is in November. So here are some birthday shots.

Taylee also had her first daddy daughter date this summer. She was so excited to go with her dad. And they had some contests and won because her dad is a cheater!! It was a three legged race and her dad picked her up and ran with her cause she was having a hard time. They had a lot of fun.

Taylee aslo had a mother daughter date and we were supposed to wear jammies. I brought Raegan to wear hers with Taylee and they had made these super cute hats to wear. Raegan loved these hats. She was pouting big time when I made her let Taylee wear it to take a picture. It was a fun night and I can't wait for many more.

We did go fishing a couple of times this summer. I think Rich would have liked to go alot more but this is all time would allow. We didn't catch anything except one little bitty one at the end before we were heading home. Fun to be able to spend time with my little family though.

I think Curt had a good time!!

This was the catch of the day!!!

Yes that is a fish!!

This is Curt reading stories with Raegan and Macrae and Taylee. They love and miss him as much as I do.

Raegan's most favorite thing in the world (besides me) is the wheeler. She will do just about anything maybe even anything to ride the wheeler with her daddy.

This was the worst blizzard I have ever seen last April. We were without power for 3 days no heat, nothing. It was crazy. No one that I talked to that had lived here for years had ever seen anything like this before. We pretty much sat around in the house for two days and did nothing. It was a huge eye opener for me on food storage and emergency preparedness.

This is Macrae's Valentine box that we made for school. I can't believe I am just barely posting these pictures. I am such a slacker. Anyhow, he wanted a monster truck so we made a monster truck Valentine box. It was fun for us and he still has it and will not throw it away!!

Well that is a quick wrap of the last 6 months, hopefully I will do alot better at staying on top of this so that my whole saturday is not devoted to the computer.

10 years!

2011-02-03T07:23:00.005-07:00

Happy Anniversary to US!
10 years ago today I married my best friend. Although at the time I didn't realize just how much I would grow to love, admire, respect, appreciate and adore this guy! I am so lucky to have found someone that makes me want to be a better person. I love everything about Rich!
We (I) had big plans to have this big wonderful 10 year anniversary last year. Who would have thought that we would be here in North Dakota and that Rich will not have a day off for a couple of years. But at the same time it is so exciting everyday to see more new accounts and the business growing the way it is. I would much rather be right here doing this than be on a cruise somewhere, this is so much more exciting. All of this would not even be happening if Rich wasn't such an amazing person. He deserves this and so much more. Rich, you are my world and everything that I do is for you and the kids. You are an amazing father, awesome husband, great friend and I am so happy to be here by your side now and forever.I love you more than you will ever know!
Happy 10 years :) I am sure the next 10 will be unbelievable!! I would love to go on and on and on but I have statements to do and a house to clean. Love you so very much!

CHRISTMAS

2011-01-17T12:03:00.015-07:00

Christmas eve jammies
Tinkerbell and monster trucks, what
a great combination!

Raegan and Macrae's

Traceson and Taylee's

Christmas seems like a long time ago. It was great. Last year was not so great and this year more than made up for it. For me anyhow, I loved just being here with my little family and hanging out all day, playing with all their new toys and just enjoying the day with them.
Taylee and her baby doll.
We had a yummy brunch and a yummier dinner and it was a beautiful day from the time the kids awoke till they went to sleep.
the boys opening anything and everything....
Before the tornado!

Macraes (mr. fix it) favorite toy!

I am more and more thankful everyday and every struggle that we have for the chance to be here and to live in such a great community. I love the thought of raising my kids in a state that has a crime rate comparable to that of Disneyland. Serious, nothing ever happens here:):)

I can't post all the pictures from Christmas cause who has that much time.......not me, but I will post a few. We made a trip to Utah to see grandparents without Rich who is pretty much married to Dan's Tire right now. I felt bad leaving him cause I know how much he wants to go but can't. But in a few years he will be able to go and do whatever he wants whenever he wants. I am very proud of him and his hard work and determination. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and Have a great New Year. I am pretty sure this is going to be the hardest but GREATEST year ever. I can already see the blessings that have come from us being here at this time for whatever reason, I wouldn't go back and change any of the decisions that have led us to be here. We are truly blessed and I am so grateful for all that we have.

After Christmas Dillard's always has the best sale on dresses so I loaded up for the girls. here are 2 of the dozen that I bought them. SO cute!!

Snow....

2011-01-17T11:53:00.003-07:00

This is how we play in the snow when it is toooooo cold
for little ones to play outside!
Raegan sat and played in this until it was
but a puddle on the floor. She moved it off the sled onto the floor
and back to the sled and back to the floor, she played forever.
She loved it cause she wasn't cold
(other than her hands) but trying to get the girl to wear gloves is a battle.

2011-01-17T11:40:00.006-07:00

My little Taylee bug got her braces off last Monday!
She was so scared that it was going to hurt like it did to put them on, but it was so quick and her teeth look amazing.

Such a pretty smile.
Before....

And three thousand dollars and 8 months of no popcorn,
ice, uncut meat, sticky candy, or gummies, suckers,
and pretty much all of Taylee's favorite things later:)

More shop

2010-12-18T18:28:00.015-07:00

The shop is getting a little bit closer. Here a some recent pictures.

Rich's office!!

Christmas Park

2010-12-18T17:14:00.018-07:00

There is a park here in Williston, called Spring Lake Park.
One of the kids favorites.

That is where they like to fish and catch frogs.But during Christmas they do a drive thru Christmas display with sponsers from the community.
We went there when Rich's family was here and decided that we wanted to sponser a display for Dan's.

So we had to go back after we got the display. You are supposed to order the displays from a website but since we didn't know and are new and couldn't have one by the time Christmas was over then they let us just buy something to put up instead. So we just grabbed something at Wal-mart this year and then we will order a cute one for next year.

Hard to tell but this is a penguin sliding.

This is a snowman bowling for penguins.

It is a great idea I think. It was only 50 bucks and the parks and rec people put up the display and store it every year and take it down. So here are some pictures of some of the displays.

Macrae's Christmas Play

2010-12-18T16:36:00.011-07:00

Love this picture!! Notice Traceson's new hoodie.
He LOVES it and was so proud that he got one.
Taylee has one that is pink. Macrae also has one but
does not really care.

My little ornament.

December 17th, 2010, Macrae had his preschool Christmas program.
It was at a Lutheran Church in the sanctuary part and it was interesting.
He was a Christmas ornament. They all sang about 10 songs and then that was it. it was literally like 15 minutes. And then Santa came and they all sat on him and that was that. Raegan was not wanting to be there and Traceson did not want to sit still either. There were some people right in front of us that would not sit down to save their lives so I got what I could for pictures but we were quite a ways back and with the dark it was not working so well.

I did video part of it but it won't let me upload for some reason. It was fun though Macrae did awesome. At first I couldn't find him in all the kids cause I didn't know what costume he had on. Then I saw a very busy kid playing with everything from the tree to the microphones and knew that had to be mine. I was right, I told Richie, leave it to my kid to be the one running around and not listening.

The preschool kids all got to sit on santa and then I snuck up Taylee and Traceson and Raegan to sit on him too. I didn't know if they would get another chance.

Raegan was not having it. She kept saying Santa....no, no, no. She didn't even dare turn around and look at him she was so scared. Then she heard "do you want a candy cane." And she was good to go. Silly little girl.

It was fun though and it was nice that Rich got to come. I was freaking out thinking of taking them by myself, he made it home just in time to quickly change and go.

Just something really random, we were eating some runny eggs for breakfast the other morning and Macrae's got away and some landed on the table. A few seconds later he was like, "look" his egg had made a guitar on the table. I had to take a picture cause he was convinced that it needed to stay on the table.

Gingerbread houses

2010-12-04T15:42:00.019-07:00

Getting started!

So we attempted making some graham cracker gingerbread houses. It was way fun for the kids and fun for me to see their different personalities come out in their decorating skills. They each had their own house and was free to do whatever they pleased with it.

Macrae was done first.

He threw some gingerbread men on it (alot of them) I guess he thought where it was a house for gingerbread men then there needed to be alot of them.
The brown things are gingerbread men marshmallows.

But it did entertain him for a while.
Concentrating so hard.

Traceson did a good job on his too.
He made a chimney and a slider door is what he kept calling it.
Traceson's finished product.

Poor thing makes a christmas list and the only thing he puts on it is a swing set. Yeah, we had one of those but with a lot of stuff we left it in Fruitland cause we ran out of room.
Anyhow, Taylee made a cute little house with a gingerbread men outside and some trees.Taylee's finished piece.

Raegan was napping so I did her house with the kids.

No laughing, I never claimed to be a contracter, or an architect.

We had a fun time.
Raegan is now dismembering them all as I type a little piece of candy at a time.
Happy Holidays.

Sledding

2010-12-04T15:08:00.016-07:00

My sweet baby girls:)

Naturally, the only time Raegan decides she likes to sled
is when we are about to leave.

Raegan and Grandpa Lee going up the hill.

Macrae

The kids loved sledding.
Going down!
We went over by the rec center and they have a water tank that sits on a hill that is perfect for sledding. They went the right way, wrong way, upside down, backwards, you name it they tried it.
They all crashed.
Traceson just chillin' in the tube.
He didn't like the tube cause it wasn't fast enough.

Traceson just being cute!
And they had a blast. Raegan just loved stopping in the snow with her "pimpass"boots on. My kids are like there dad and love hot chocolate so of course after sledding they had to have some.
Taylee
I just love her and the beautiful, amazing little girl that she is.

I may resort to liking hot chocolate if the weather here ends of like some of the horror stories I have heard. So far though it hasn't been bad. Despite my "moments of loneliness" all is well. I can handle the stress of everything else I just don't like not having any "friends". When the only real friend you have is your spouse and he is too busy to think nevertheless communicate with you about things, then it gets frustrating. I feel like I am always nagging him to tell me what is going on with everything from his coversations with Dan to work that day and I hate to have to ask all the time, so I don't anymore. I guess if it is important than someone will tell me right? Until then I guess me and the little people will continue to do the routine of school, errands, homework, dinner, and bedtime. Thrilling I know! But it's all I got.

Christmas Tree

2010-12-04T14:52:00.008-07:00

Raegan telling me that she don't want her face washed. Pretty sure I won that argument!

I can't believe that it is December already. Where does the time go? I haven't even thought of Christmas! I did have Rich go get a tree the other day and they don't give them away here. $60 for a little tree. Crazy. Rich got it in the house and every year since we have been married Rich has been the one that puts the lights on the tree. But this year he don't have time and the kids asked to decorate it for 2 days and so I finally put the lights on so they could decorate it. They did their decorating and then I went back and did mine.

This is the kids decorating job. The kids also made the snowflakes to put in the windows.

This is my redo.

I guess a tree is a tree but this one is much different from all the other trees we have had, all of ours have been a pinion tree and this is everything but....... a pinion. Good thing Christmas isn't about the tree right?

2010-12-04T14:08:00.015-07:00

Raegan telling me she is ready to go to the store.

Raegan and daddy, just about the only time
during the day that we see him is bedtime!

Thanksgiving 2010

So this year we had Thanksgiving at our house here in North Dakota. Rich's mom and dad and Grandma and Grandpa Nielsen came up to celebrate with us so we wouldn't be alone. I think that it went great. There was no stress, no hurry let's eat at this time, nothing, just cooked as we pleased and when it was ready we ate! Very nice Thanksgiving. I made the kids all their own banana cream pie and I think
Traceson ate his and the rest of Crae and Raegans.
That is my banana boy!

Little miss Moody! Telling me to stop taking pictures of her.

Macrae and his mouthful!

Taylee and her pie:)
The weather for Rich's parents was horrible to drive in, they got stranded in Idaho cause all the roads got closed. If Rich wouldn't have needed the 2nd service truck so bad I would have told them to turn around and go home. But I am thankful that they made it safe and that Rich has his other truck. It helps alot but I still don't see him except at 8 or 9 at night then he eats and it's time for bed. The kids had a great time with grandma and grandpa. They went and bought sleds with the money they earned from their chores and then we went sledding. They had so much fun sledding it was hard to get them to leave.
I am putting some random pictures of the kids on here cause they are growing like weeds.
We also took Rich's parents and grandparents to our favorite and really the only chinese place in town. It is called Rice and Spice and it has amazing food. The kids LOVE this place and so we go there about once a month. Then we went to see Tangled in 3D at the movie theater. It was the cutest movie ever.(Next to Despicable Me) We all loved it, even Raegan loved the "haussie" (horsey). We took them over to the shop to see it and then drove over to Spring Lake Park where they have a Christmas Village of lights from different sponsers in the community. It was really cute but I didn't take me camera so I have to go again. We enjoyed Rich's family being here and were all sad to see them leave. It never seems to get easier to say good-bye. That was the only reason I was glad that I wasn't with my family, so I didn't have to tell them bye.

This is what pink eye does to the poor kids. Macrae got it first, then Raegan and then cowboy. Taylee avoided it for it while and it starting to get it a little today. Eyedrops and my kids don't mix very well. They hate them as bad as their dad.

Macrae sleeping with Raegan's "banket"

Raegan with her bout of pinkeye!

Macrae made this cute turkey at school. It is a s'more turkey.
It was so cute I had to take a picture of it.

Hope you all had a great thanksgiving!

Thankful!

2010-11-22T12:39:00.010-07:00

So along with the majority of you all, I am thankful for a lot of things this Thanksgiving! And here goes......in no particular order.

1. I am thankful for this country in which I live. Where I have freedoms to do what I want, when I want. I know that a lot of people do not have these things and I am so grateful that I do.
2. I am thankful to have a house. Even though I love and miss my old house in Fruitland, and I really dislike this house, I am still just thankful to be a lucky one here in Williston that actually has a house.
3. I am thankful for the gospel. I am so blessed to know the gospel and to be able to teach it to my kids. Rich and I both know that if we take our callings here serious and focus on them then everything else should fall into place. Without the gospel and the power of prayer we would both still be sitting in Fruitland wondering what would have been had we opted out of this adventure. Like I said before, this business thing is just icing on the cake, we are supposed to be here for a reason and it isn't to sale tires, although we are going to do that to the best of our ability. I am so thankful for the gospel and the opportunity I have to be with my kids and husband forever!!
4. Laughter!! I am so thankful for laughter. I love that Rich has a sense of humor and can always make me laugh. My family is another one, we are so crazy and I miss all the random bursts of laughter over the stupidest things. I am glad that I have a sense of humor and don't have to be serious about everything all the time......boring!
5. Today especially, while it is 3 degrees outside, I am thankful for warm clothes and a warm house. I never thought that the day would come when I wouldn't be in flip-flops and capris all winter long.......lo and behold, it is like I told Rich the other day when I busted out the SOCKS, the world is coming to an end! j/k but how thankful I am that I have warm clothes when I need them.
6. I am thankful for food of course, even if food is double the cost of what it is in Utah, I am still thankful for it. And oooooh how bad I miss Smiths grocery store. Someday in the next couple of years I hope I am going to be saying that I am thankful for a Smith's in North Dakota, but pretty sure that won't happen. I stopped seeing Smiths in Wyoming and haven't seen one remotely close to us. But still, enough whining already, I am thankful for food.
7. Diet coke and Diet Mountain Dew have to be on my thankful list. I know it is terrible, but I have to have one or the other to make it through my day:):):)
8. Family. I am so thankful for an awesome family. I know that us moving has been hard on alot of them particularly my mom, but even though it is tough I know that deep down they support our decision to be here. I love them all so very much and miss them terribly. I always thought I had a lot of friends but then I realized that the majority of them was my mom and sisters. I guess that is what happens when you have 5 sisters. But I do consider them by best friends and so THANKFUL for them all, as well as Rich's family. I am so blessed to have married a man who I look at his grandpa and grandma and makes me melt to see how he treats her. Cause I know that in 50 years when we are old he will still be opening doors for me and doing whatever it takes to make sure I am happy. So thankful for his examples and how lucky I am to have that example for my boys.
9. Friends. In particular my bestest friend in the world Marie, who I miss a ton. But also I am thankful that I can call all my sisters and my mom and dad and little bro and my in-laws all my friends. I miss my friends from Fruitland too!(you know who you are.) How boring life would be with no friends. I love you all and am thankful for all the fun times.
10. Education. Even though I know I probably wasn't the biggest fan of school I am grateful that I went and that I did it well. I hope my children can do the same.
11. Speaking of children. I have to be thankful for the little ankle biters. I am so blessed to not only have one but 4 beautiful children. I am thankful that when Rich and I want a baby we can just have one and don't have to try too hard to do that. I know we are truly blessed and I couldn't imagine my life without them. I pray everyday that they continue to grow strong and stay healthy. Love, love, love these little rascals.

12. Of course to round of my top 12 I have to add RICH. I am so lucky to have such an amazing man. I don't tell him enough how much I love him or how proud I am to be his wife. He was the biggest blessing to me and I am eternally grateful that I married him. Or that he married me for that matter. I love every little thing about him including his dirty laundry!! That is how much I love this man.

I have so much to thankful for..... this is just the tip of the iceberg but I really am thankful I am here and have all these things to be thankful for. With love to all our friends and family this holiday! Happy Thanksgiving! Something I am finding is that it is easier to be thankful for the little things rather than keep wishing for the big. I don't need to have the best of everything, as long as I have my family, health, home, church and money for food, I am content.

2010-11-18T08:53:00.002-07:00

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!

Make your own digital scrapbooking design

This is some pictures of Raegan's 2nd birthday! I have to say a big thanks to all of you family who made her birthday so wonderful. It is so hard to be away from all of you on special days like birthdays, trust me mine was awful! But to know that you remember Raegan on her special day and let her know.... that means so much to me. Thanks for all the gifts and even just the calls that you made. She is such a special little girl and we love her so very much. How lucky I am to have her and all of my kids and an amazing husband to be with me on this adventure we are in. Mom I want you to know that I didn't forget you or Curt on your special days, I feel awful that I didn't get your stuff mailed on time but it is coming:) What can I say I am just like my mom!
Love you all and miss you and THANKS again for remembering my baby girl on her special day.

Getting closer!

2010-11-15T13:17:00.005-07:00

Here is a few pictures of the rock on the shop that they finished. It looks really good. Rich and I picked it out and we both love how it turned out.

The shop!

2010-11-06T16:43:00.016-06:00

Dan's Tire, Williston North Dakota:):):)

Sooooo exciting! Yet scary!

The angel in the shop.

It is hard to see but at the end is the 2 bathrooms. Traceson is in the boys and Taylee is in the girls on the left. This is all to the left as you come in the front door.

The shop floor, so nice and clean!

The front doors that Rich came home with the key to the other day with a big smile on his face. I am so excited for him:) He sooooo deserves this chance.
So the progress on the shop for all you family wondering. It is going very fast, to say the least. They finished the rock on the outside so the outside is done except sidewalks and parking lot.
The inside looking at it from the door from the office!

The upstairs.
The inside is just about there. They have framed the inside office part and said that the electrical and plumbing would be done this week and they would sheetrock on monday. We did go over today though and their was no electric or plumbing done. That is the first thing that they said that would be done that wasn't I am totally impressed with them.
This is where we are going to put the front desk.

Anyhow, so this is a picture of the shop from the upstairs above the office part, we are going to store tires up here.

The office on the right is Rich's office.

We hired our first employee this week and by day 2 he was worn out. Good thing he a weekend to recoup.

We went over to the shop on Halloween night.....that is why the kids are dressed up. I promise they don't dress like this everyday:) Anyhow, lots of pictures here. It is so very exciting and yet still overwhelming. Things are going great though and I pray that they stay this way for a while. Just about everyone we talk to is excited to see Dan's Tire. They are so unhappy with the tire stores here and are excited to have someone here who is actually willing to work. And Rich is definitely that person. As the truck driver that delivered some tires the other day put it.....my husband is one ambitious son of a @$#%&!! His words not mine. But I am in complete agreeance. Is that a word. So the shop looks good.....agree! I am guessing by this time next month we should be up and running, and I mean that literally. I think the day the doors open Rich and I are going to both wonder what we got ourselves in to. But exhaustion and overwhelming fear is not keeping us from doing what we know we need to. I will never be able to repay Dan for giving Rich this chance to "compete" if you will, he is not a loser, to give all the other Tire Factory stores a run for their money. He is dead set on being #1 Tire Factory store in the United States and I will be right here with him doing whatever needs be to make it happen. Wish us luck cause we are going to need it. (again me...........very overwhelmed)

The angel running around and loving it.

2010-11-06T16:21:00.005-06:00

Today the kids went to their primary program practice and pizza party. Holy chaos. I do not miss primary!! While the kids were there Rich and I went to the shop to look to see what has been done. I didn't take my camera and I should have but I will post some pictures in the next post about the shop. Anyhow, we got the kids at noon and came home and the boys and Rich went fishing.

So here is the catch of what made it home.

Crae was having a hard time holding them up cause he said they were too heavy!

They had a blast. Rich kept saying how much fun it is to fish up here cause the pike fight good fights. They caught quite a few and were not gone long. I guess cowboy caught a huge carp and was ticked when Rich wouldn't bring it home. He reeled it in all by himself too and Rich said it was ginormous.

Halloween 2010

2010-10-30T14:25:00.018-06:00

Halloween 2010

Well here it is the end of October and time for Halloween. Once again I let the kids pick their costumes and this is what they wanted to be.

First I have Taylee, she wanted to be a devil!

Then we have Cowboy, he wanted to be a ninja!

Then Macrae wanted to be Jack Sparrow! I had to put the mustache on cause he looked too much like a girl without it. Darn eyelashes.

And Raegan well, I chose an angel for her cause it was the cheapest costume I could find.
Yes, she acts just like her dad.

All of them together!

I decided to try to make sugar cookies so the kids could frost them on Thursday.

They all helped make and frost and Raegan kept saying "ting" she wanted more frosting.....not for the cookie, for her mouth. We made gravestones, cats, ghosts, bats and pumpkins. I told Raegan no more frosting and not to touch the cookies on the counter and so every time I turned around this is what I would catch when I turned back around. SO I kept telling her no, no and she would laugh and try to lick some more "ting"!

We carved pumpkins which we only did one for Taylee and Traceson cause Crae took his to school to carve there. And Reagan just wanted to color on hers.

Rich helped Traceson do a dragon,

and Taylee did hers all by herself, eyelashes and all.

Very good job if I must say so myself.

We went to the ward Halloween party on Friday night. It was nothing short of chaos. Something I happen to be very familiar with. They had games for the kids and dinner but there was not nearly enough places to sit to eat and it was very crowded. The kids played a few games and then Rich who was late cause he was on a service call had to leave again for a service call so we all just left. (missing the Fruitland halloween party:(
I am still trying to figure out if they are supposed to trick or treat on saturday or sunday. Here I have no idea.They played the fish pond and bowled with squash and then they did a doughnut eating contest...very funny.

Taylee lost big time, and Crae just pulled his off with his hands, but it was fun to watch them.

Macrae was not amused!

Happy Halloween to all!!!

Trip to Utah

2010-10-30T13:02:00.010-06:00

Wow, that sounds weird. Trip to Utah.....
Well here is a little recap on the last month. Busy but fun.
We had Rich's mom and dad and sister Leslee come visit.
The kids thought that it was Christmas, at least that is how they acted. They were running from one end of the house to the other and the very well behaved, obeying kids that I found when we moved here disappeared. They were crazy!! Rich and the boys went hunting with Grandpa and Grandma and had fun even thought they didn't have any luck. They did manage to all wear themselves out though. Leslee and the kids played alot of games and sang alot of songs with the grinch game. It was nice to have them here and to see the kids having so much fun. Carollee made the girls some really cute little hats that she had bought at Swiss Days. They love them. They also bought all the kids some snowboots. They have no idea how greatful I am for them. That saved me money I didn't have by bringing them those boots. Which they needed by the way last week when it was a blizzard. I had mentioned to Rich before they came that maybe I should take the kids and follow them back home so I could let the kids go see the other grandpa and grandma. I debated and debated on going, back and forth in my head for a long time. I didn't have the money and didn't dare go by myself for fear I would get lost. But about an hour before they were ready to leave I decided that I would do it. So I hurried and packed all the kids' clothes and stuff they would need, pillows, blankets, toothbrushes, Ellie, and snacks of course for the 15 hour car ride. I knew that by doing this then there was going to be a couple of bills that were not going to get paid but by staying home I would be being selfish and I didn't want to do that. So we took off and headed to Utah. We took a new road to Utah that we haven't before and I liked it alot better. No more boring drive through Wyoming. This one took us over Yellowstone and was so much more scenic. The kids were amazing!! I was so proud of them for being so good for me. I ain't going to lie, it was exhausting. A week of little sleep and driving 9 hours for 4 days, and living out of suitcases wore me out. We surprised Grandma Sweat by going to her house and I am so glad that she was home when we got there. The kids miss them so much. It was fun to see the kids having so much fun. Taylee had fun playing with Hannah her friend from Fruitland and teasing Aunt Hailey.

Raegan of course found "Pa" the minute he got home.

Aunt Hailey made a cake for Raegan for her birthday since we were not going to be there for hers. Of course, it had to princess and the frog. So Cute!!

Her kissing frogs!

Then we had a birthday for Brendette's little boy Sean and Raegan. Raegan loved her presents, she used the paper to cover up her frogs with blankets.
MONEY!! For me?

I went up to my old empty house and grabbed some stuff I needed for Christmas. I walked in and looked at my kitchen and wanted to cry. I just kept thinking...what kind of idiot walks away from a house and life like this?? I miss my house! And my family too of course but my kitchen, oh how I miss it. I was glad to go back but it also made me sad. Not that I don't love it here too, but things here are not stress free by any means! If there is one thing I hate it is being behind on bills and ever since we got here it has been nothing but playing catch up with them. I know that it is just a test because I know that we need to be here, but in the back of my head I long for that carefree, stress free life that I had 6 months ago. But again, 6 months ago things were great and we were just content with our lives in Fruiltand. This is a test of our faith and willingness to do the things that the lord would have us do. Which is be here, so even though I know this, I am trying really hard to make the best of it. I knew that it would be hard to go back and see all that we left behind. And it was. I looked over to where the horses were and they are gone. We had to sell them cause we didn't have a place to put them here, I looked in the backyard where the kids used to swing and the swing set is gone, we didn't have room to bring it, I looked downstairs at all the stuff that we left cause we had no where to put it, I looked at the empty garage and wished I could move it here. It is so hard to start over. Some days are better then others and today is a hard day for me, so maybe I shouldn't be updating the blog today. But I am glad that I got to see all my family again. I miss them all so much. It is always the hardest to leave though. Even if it is only going to be a couple of months or maybe a little longer, leaving is hard. I can tell the my mom is not the same as when we left and that bothers me. I want her to be that happy, crazy grandma that the kids have to roll their eyes at:)
We left on Saturday and drove to Belgrade Montana and slept there.
The hotel had breakfast so Traceson was thrilled when he got biscuits and gravy.

Raegan and Taylee enjoying their King size bed!

Then we left early Sunday so we could get home. We made good time and like I said the kids were amazing. We made it home just in time for Rich to get a service call and leave. Dang it! But he left us with a spotless house which I sooooooo appreciated more then he will ever know. He even cleaned the washer and dryer, yeah, like washed them off and everything. I am really thinking of leaving for a week more often. No, hopefully the next trip he will come too! I know he misses his brother alot and would love to see him. Thank you to my wonderful husband who makes me do the unthinkable sometimes. And for making it easy to be his wife. I don't tell him how much I appreciate what he does for us and I know that the past month or so I have made things hard for him cause he can see my frustration with lack of money and stress but I don't want him to think that it is cause I am not completely happy with our decision to be here, I am. It is because I can see how hard he is working and I know how much he makes and to me it makes me feel bad cause he busts his butt everyday and still can't get ahead. I know that this short time of catch up is going to end but it can't end soon enough. I am sure he feels stressed too, working the hours he does and knowing that we still have bills to pay. But this is what we agreed to and we just have to push through. Thanks to all of you in Utah who made time to come see us and talk to us even if it be a small hello.

Now on to Halloween!!!!

Autumn

2010-10-05T17:55:00.012-06:00

The Front

Welcome to the Big Show

Taylee and Traceson got shirts at school for homecoming week. They were supposed to wear them on Friday so I took a picture of the twinners. I am sure this will be the only time they remotely dress alike.

The back
Coyote Circus Homecoming

I went to pick up Macrae from preschool today and they were all outside playing in the leaves with their teacher. He was having fun picking up piles of leaves and throwing them on other kids. I had to put and end to that and tell him that wasn't nice unless the other person is playing the same game.

Then I saw him playing with this little girl and I had to take a picture. He is such a funny kid. I couldn't have asked for a more pleasant Autumn and Fall season here. I thought that I would be in my mittens and scarf by now but thankfully I am not. I am praying for a mild winter without my garage. Next year it can be 40 below I will have one then. But this year please don't let it freeze us:)

The shop is coming along great. We have a front door. Who would have thought that I would be so excited about a plain old front door and some windows.

But it is very exciting. I can't wait to get it open. I have seen and spent all the time I am going to get with Rich the last few months. He pretty much stays steady from sun up to sun down now. That is the other exciting part. We both can see the potential and makes us both want to try that much harder to make this a complete success.

view from the other side of the highway

North side of the shop!

So I took these pictures today. They have the north side of the building sheeted and was working on the getting the rock on the front ready to go. They are pouring the inside of the floor after all the building is dried in. It looks good.
Traceson just saw these pictures as I was putting them on and says, "Is that dad's shop?" I said "yep", he says " holy crap, they are almost done. I am going to be working on semi's soon." Another goofy little kid. Rich rotates taking the kids with him on long service calls. It helps me keep my sanity and helps him stay awake driving and working long hours. I heard on the news tonight that they have a record of 148 operating rigs here in North Dakota. That ties the record of rigs they have ever had here from 30 years ago. And they are still drilling anywhere and everywhere. Awesome.....

Since we have moved in 2 months ago their have been 5 houses go up in our neighborhood. 4 of them manufactured and one stick built. It is fun to see our neighborhood grow. Also in the last 2months of watching boring news here.....nothing happens here, they had the first news of a shooting in bismark on last night. 1 shooting in 2 months. Yeah, I like it here. Taylee finally talked me into a facebook. Mostly to talk to Amber and Breanne. She misses them alot and misses sleeping over all time. I am thankful for the opportunities that she had with them while she did though.

I have only had one moment so far that I wished that my mom was here to talk to and that was 2 days ago. I always have to be the tough one and the strong one and so I hate to even let Rich know that I am concerned about anything especially when it comes to me and going to a doctor. But Monday after I got Macrae from school and we ate lunch I was doing a couple of things on the computer and my vision started blurring. It would not go away. I just kept trying to focus and I couldn't see and it started freaking me out. Mostly because yeah, I am a thousand miles away from anyone who I could call to help me and if something happened then what do I do. I don't have a doctor here yet, I don't have anyone I could trust to watch the kids, my grandma had diabetes and my aunt does and I am bound to get it as well as I take care of myself, and this is a sign of it, all these things going through my head and I still can't see very well. So I panicked for about an hour and said a little prayer and about a half hour later I could see again. Anyhow, I think that was a huge wake-up call for me. I need to live my life for my kids and family and part of that is taking care of me so that I can be the mom that they deserve. So off I go starting another "diet". I don't want to have diabetes and I don't know for sure what the problem was but I do know that I make my own choices and I choose to not take time to myself. I am always busy trying to make sure everyone else it taken care of and laundry is done and dinner is on the table and bills are paid, that by the end of the day I am beat and don't feel like anything but quiet. So if any of you have some motivation for me I would greatly appreciate it. Wish me luck. I will need it. So that was my "I need my mom moment." She is always the one that I turn to for that stuff cause I don't like Rich to see me weak or needy.
Everything else is good. The kids are all good, Traceson's finger is healing better than I thought. I finally painted the rest of the 2nd living room don't know if I like it or not, it dried alot darker than what I going for but it is growing on me. Pictures to come. Maybe you can help me decide. Rich's mom and dad and sister are coming next week and the kids are really excited. Raegan says "weswee" for Leslee. Love you all and hope all is going well for you.

Beautiful

2010-09-29T17:33:00.004-06:00

Okay, so I am not a photographer by any means nor will I claim to be but I thought that this picture was just beautiful. It is as the lake we went to on Sunday and as I sat and watched the kids play and fish, I had to take this picture.

Painting

2010-09-29T15:28:00.011-06:00

So this white in the house was literally driving me CRAZY!! Okay crazier!! But those of you who know me (which should be everyone reading this) know that I am not a plain person.

I like to be very creative and this usually shows in my home. So I have started the personalization of our new house. Starting with the first living room. I should have taken some befores.

But here are the afters. Even Rich walked in the door after I had finished and said that it felt more like home. YAY, mission accomplished. I have started the second family room(the kids' room) but my masterpiece is not yet complete. Rich looked at me the way he does when I buy a shirt and he thinks that it will look hideous on me until I put it on and then he is like Wow, I never would have picked that, but it's you, when I told him I was going to do this room blue! Yes, blue. Just wait, it will be beautiful. Then on to the kids' rooms. One room down, 6 more to go.I do have the top of the ceiling left but I couldn't reach and couldn't find the ladder. Have I mentioned that I HATE to paint.

So Macrae had cowboy and cowgirl day at preschool for the letter "C" So they got to dress up for it. Here is him all cowboy'd up. He was so excited to wear his boots and belt and "rodeo" pants.

Miss Taylee was invited to her very first birthday sleepover here. I was so scared. Mostly because I didn't know the parents. But I called and talked to the little girls mom and it sounded like it was going to be fun. Taylee wanted to make sure that her friends Megan and Kaci were going to be there and they were so she was happy to go. We went to Wal-Mart to find a gift for her and then I took her over to her house. She had such a fun time. They had dinner and cupcakes and all slept on the floor on a mattress in the living room.

I sent Rich to get her in the morning cause he had to go get some more lumber anyhow. Little did I know that he was going to bring home ITaylee and a CAT!!!

I guess there was a lady that was giving away cats somewhere between here and there and so of course we have to bring one home. Taylee named her Calli, and yes, this one is really a girl.....Raegan loves it and so does Traceson. So here is Calli.

On Sunday we went for a ride and found yet another park-fishing-swimming area. This one is about 10 miles from our house and looks like it is going to be so much fun in the summer. I know it sounds weird but one of the the things I was going to miss the most about Utah was Bear Lake. I love that lake. I love the sandy beach and the shallow water so the kids can play and I don't have to be in panic mode the whole time. But I think we found us a new Bear Lake and it's only a couple minutes away. So excited. Rich wanted to try this pike fishing thing so we went to attempt it. You don't use worms you use these little guys. Macrae was so funny he was kinda scared to stick his hand in a get one, but you know Rich, his boys will not be scared so if they didn't get one they didn't fish. Finally after quite a few he got one and kept it in his hand. It was almost 90 on Sunday so Raegan and I were trying to avoid the sun so we played over at the park for a while while the others fished. There was no success this fishing trip but the park was really fun and we had a fun time together.Rich was pushing the kids on the swings and then Macrae wanted to push Rich on the swing so he did, then Raegan saw him and had to also push Rich on the swing. She is such a copycat. I told Rich we should have named her Raegan Parrot, instead of Raegan Paige. She copies everything you say and do.

Make a scrapbooking design

I love being able to just spend time with my husband and kids and know that we aren't supposed to be anywhere. I feel like the last couple of years have been so rushed with coming and going and coming and going all the time. When you have to drive an hour or more for eveything then you never really have time to just sit and take it all in. Since we have been here, I drive the kids to school and go pick them up but I never really HAVE to be anywhere. And it has really made me spend more time with the kids and appreciate them more. They help me do their chores and don't complain ( except for Macrae, but I have come to expect that from him) We do homework with no complaining and we now let them earn their own money for toys by doing their chores. Even though we miss our families this move has already been a blessing for us. At least that it how I feel. I am so excited for the next few years. I can already see the potential in this shop and am excited to be able to make Dan proud and make this OUR shop. I had too many pictures of the park and fishing so I had to do a smilebox cause it's quicker for me. So enjoy!

The shop is coming along great. This is a picture that I went and took today! These guys don't waster any time. YAY, again!!
What a beautiful sky.

This week is homecoming and tomorrow is twin day at school so Taylee and her friend are going to be twins. Go Coyotes! Traceson is doing great in school. I am so proud of him. He loves that they give them snacks between the morning and lunch time. They give them fruit and veggies and dip and popcorn and pudding cups, all sorts of fun snacks and they are so good at accommodating Taylee with her braces and the foods she can't eat. They have a "got caught" system at school and if you "get caught" doing a good deed then your name gets wrote on a list and when you get caught twice you get to go to the counselors office and pick surprise. Traceson has got caught twice, and got a book.

To all our friends and family back home we LOVE and MISS you all. Hope everything is going great for you as well.

Just stuff

2010-09-22T15:10:00.011-06:00

Rich's 1st Service Truck

We have been crazy busy with all sorts of stuff here. It is homecoming this next week and they like to involve the whole community as does every town for homecoming. The kids have shirts for homecoming week that say Williston Coyotes. They love them. I will have to get a picture of them soon. We got the sign for the shop done and went and put it up while 2 of the kids were at school. Here it is:

The sign!!! (so excited about a little sign)

The shop from the front!
EVEN MORE EXCITING!!!

THE SHOP
The shop is coming along great. They are really getting alot done. Here are some pictures that I took last week. I told Rich last night that I am feeling very overwhelmed and undereducated when it comes to this whole tire thing. I have never paid attention to one thing about tires. If I didn't have to have them for my car to move I probably wouldn't even own any. But I guess it will come with time. I tend to learn fast but it is very overwhelming for both Rich and I! We both are wanting so badly to make Dan proud and let him know how thankful we are for this once in a lifetime opportunity that he has given us. We both want to be able to pay him back in the next 2 years so that we have our own business.

The kids love to go to the park. Even Macrae likes it after being thrown off and getting a goose egg on his head. This is their favorite park. It has lots for them to do.
Raegan on the "sep" step!
Taylee and Traceson both have been trying
to conquer the whole monkey bar thing.

Everything in the park was from money that businesses in Williston donated so whatever money they donated the park represents the company that donated the money. There is the water tower, some hotels, banks, oil companies, It is just fun to see the stuff they have there.
I am so excited for what it to come. I can see the future here with the kids in school and loving it. They have been so amazing the last little while. I have talked to both Taylee and Traceson's teachers and they are both doing great. Macrae well he is just Macrae. Today I picked him up from preschool and asked him if he had fun at school. Of course he did. So I asked what he did. He says " Oh, shoot! I forgot I need to take a ladder to school tomorrow." I was like "WHAT!" What do you need a ladder for?" He says. "My teacher was trying to hand up some stars on the ceiling and she couldn't reach so I need to take her a ladder tomorrow." All I could do was say Okay, well, we might have to asked dad if we can take his ladder to school. He does not have school on Thursday so I am hoping that he forgets by Friday. He is such a turkey. This is what preschool does to him. Wears him out!!

Being here is somewhere that I still sit back and wonder how we got here, even though I know that the whole reason that we are here and are given this chance is because of my amazing husband. He really is the most wonderful husband, father and best friend! I have talked to alot of the girls in our ward and they all say the same thing about being here. They have no idea why they are here, but they know they are supposed to be here. One of them asked me why we were here and before I could answer she says...."you obviously were prayed here because everyone here was, I guarantee none of us would be sitting here in NORTH DAKOTA if we weren't prayed here." I thought it was funny. Even though it is tough here without family, it is easier for us cause there are no memories here of family. If we were living in Fruitland and having to see my parents house everyday...... empty, then I would probably be crying everyday. But, like I said, it is much easier on us cause we don't have the memories here to have to see everyday. I found Taylee a new orthodontist here and we found a CPA that we like, and I got the boys first ever haircut by someone other than Aunt Les. 2 things down about a hundred more to go. So just a couple of updates of the last little while. Taylee went to her first achievement days and had a fun time. She is going to her first birthday party sleepover this weekend and can't wait. She misses Amber and Breanne and having sleepovers every weekend with them.

Preschool for Macrae

2010-09-09T16:19:00.016-06:00

This is a sunset that I took a picture of when we were waiting for the drive-in to open. Beautiful!!! This is why I love it here.

This is Spring Lake Park. It is a lake that the kids can fish and a park as well. There were a ton of geese there and Rich and the boys were all sorts of loving it. They also do a haunted house here on Halloween. Raegan loves to swing!! Every park we go to she loves to just swing and swing and swing. This park is my second favorite in Williston. The kids can't get enough of any of them though.
Cowboy Fishing!

We took the kids to a park over Labor Day and they fished and caught frogs (eww) and had so much fun.All the kids caught fish in a matter of minutes and they were all pretty good size fish, so they were all happy. I didn't get a whole lot of pictures of them fishing cause Rich and I were busy talking with some old friends that were up here visiting. Fishing is no fun when you don't catch fish. They didn't want to leave and we were there almost all day. So after we left we saw that Despicable Me was at the drive-in so we decided to take the kids to their very first drive-in.We went home got their jammies on went and got some churros from a place here in town and headed to the drive-in. They has lots of fun and this was the end result on our way home from the fun filled day. Talk about hard to get up for church the next morning, even Rich and I were dragging. Good thing for sunday naps. Things here are a little more crazy than they were in Fruitland, some days I feel like a taxi. But, I guess all mom's do and I expect it only to get worse until Taylee is 14 and can drive. Yes, they drive when they are 14 here.

Macrae has started preschool! He started yesterday and absolutely loves it. Here are some pictures of him going to school. This is so a Macrae .....picture to a T, so I had to put this on here for crazy grandma.

This is a picture of his little goosebump he got at the park when we went to playdate. He really hit his head hard. Poor little guy.

This is a picture of Raegan with her "pimpuss" shoes on. She loves them.

So every time I start getting ready to go anywhere, to get the kids, take the kids, go to run errands, it doesn't matter, Raegan goes and gets her purse and baby and bottle and anything else she can carry. I was trying to tell her that I couldn't carry her and all of her stuff so she got her feelings hurt and started to cry......needless to say we took the baby and purse and bottle and phone and popsicle all to the store today and home.

We went passed the shop today and they are going to town on it. The shop materials should be delivered on the 21st and they said it would be 4 to 5 weeks after that and it should be complete. SOOOOO excited. I still sit here amazed about this adventure we are on and on one hand excited and on the other scared. But I am more excited than scared. Things here are really good and I love it more and more everyday. I miss all you family and friends but am loving every minute of this new life. This is a picture of the progress on the shop as of last week. The footings are done now and they are working their way up.

Buffalo and More

2010-09-01T11:33:00.011-06:00

We have been here about a month and figured that we had put Taylee through misery long enough....so we took the kids to see the buffalo down at Roosevelt national park. We went clear up the canyon and didn't see a one. We got out and took some pictures of the scenery and stuff but still no buffalo. Then on the way out we were almost down to the bottom and we saw some. Rich took some pictures of Taylee with them in the background on his camera and he has that with him at work so I don't have those pictures.

This is Raegan in the bathtub, Taylee thought that it was hilarious that I did this to Raegan's hair until I told her that I used to do it to her when she was a baby too. Then it didn't appear to be so funny to her. Silly little girls. Raegan was combing Taylee's hair after bath time and got the brush stuck alot. So Taylee would scream and Raegan would kiss it better.

The first day of school for Taylee and Traceson. They go to Lewis and Clark Elementary and they love it. One of the teachers there is the stake primary president and is also in our ward. She is really fun and the school is wonderful. They have after school programs here that they don't have in Utah. It is basically some teachers and aides and high school students that watch any one's kids after school until 5 or 6, in case the parents have to work and don't or can't afford daycare. They have snacks and help them with their homework and let them play with their friends there. They also do one big activity a month, such as go swimming, go skating, go bowling or something like that. I think that it is great even though my kids don't need to do it. They have no buses at the school so picking up the kids and dropping off is nothing short of chaos. Which I am totally used to with my circus so it's all good.
We took the kids to shoot their bows after their first day of school and there are lots of pictures so again I have to throw them in a smilebox cause it is so much quicker. I need to get rid of about 2 years worth of pictures on my computer cause it is really getting slow.

Rich has really been busy lately, he is starting to get back to his normal gone all day work hard routine. It is exciting to think of where this is leading. If we can just make it through the next little while, moving is expensive and starting over with a new house is too. All these things I want to do like buy trees and decorate, but we are trying to play the game of catch-up on bills before we can do that. I thought that those days were over but maybe this is just another test on my faith with living here. I guarantee that it isn't cause I go shopping all the time that we are low on funds. I am going crazy wanting to go buy paint and even just groceries so I can make some recipes. I have this huge creative bug and nothing to help it vent except scrapbook and blog. I never realized how expensive it was to live here till we were here. The milk, eggs, bread and staple stuff that you live on is outrageous here. I can't find milk for under 4.50 a gallon and that is the Wal-Mart price. It seems that all the stores here are quite pricey and for frugal little me I am not liking that. But so far that is my only complaint on living here, so I guess that is a good thing. I honestly just feel lucky to have a house to live in. Every Sunday we meet new people and I am constantly amazed at how many people live in tents or their cars. So even if I have to scrape up money for milk and bread I am just thankful that I have a roof over my head and a bed to sleep on.

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Chokecherry Dayz

2010-08-21T14:03:00.008-06:00

Well here is an update on the last couple of weeks. First of all we are all but a little unpacked. Just a little left and it's not stuff we HAVE to have. Rich built a porch on the front of the house in the pouring rain the first week we were here. The kids have been very good and I haven't had one meltdown of crying hysterics YET!! I thought I might have had a couple before now. They started on the shop last week so we went over and took some pictures of it and these are the pictures so far.

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We have to buy all the school supplies for our kids here, from paper to pencils to erasers. So we got that all out of the way yesterday. I have done smileboxes in here cause they are so much faster to download. This and That has pictures of random stuff that we have been doing since we got here. A little bit of this and that. I told Raegan the other day that we were going to the store so I got my shoes and purse and turned around and she had her purse, 2 babies and a my little pony. She said " K" and off we went. She has been so funny lately and learning new things and just being silly. She is getting so big. We bought her a toddler bed and she has slept in it every night so far all by herself all night long. I will add that picture at the end of this. The other night Rich took the kids to the bow range and gave me some peace and quiet so me and Raegan were here getting some things done. I was on the computer responding to an email and Raegan jumped up on the couch behind me. She was jibber jabbering and playing with a silk laundry bag. Not even 2 minutes later I turned around and she was sound asleep!

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The last picture is of Royce. He thinks that this is his new place to sit while we are gone. What a ferocious watch dog I have.

The kids had their first primary activity today so we went to that! They played some really fun games and got an otter pop. Traceson also got a medal cause his team won a relay race. After we got them from that we took them down to the Big Park downtown where they were having Chokecherry days. They had lots of things for the kids to do, they had all sorts of games and jumping things, balloons, face painting, tattoos, candy, toys, a petting zoo, lots of fun. They played on the jumping things for a long time while Raegan ate cotton candy. We have missed every fair between the move here so it was nice to be able to take the kids to one. These are some pictures of the fun that they had jumping and playing at the petting zoo. Raegan loved the petting zoo. She had to pet every animal at least once. She loved the pigs ( I think because they were sleeping and not moving all around so they were easy to pet). Taylee and Traceson loved the bunny rabbits and Macrae liked all of them. They had lots of fun and I am glad cause I have been wanting to do something with them before school started but been so busy with things that we haven't been able to. We are going to go to see the buffalo tomorrow after church. We are going to pack a picnic and go for a ride to see the buffalo at Theodore National Monument Park. School starts in less than a week and I am sort of glad. It is hard to get things done with 4 little messmakers right behind you all day long. Taylee got a new bow so she could shoot with her dad and brothers. It is PINK of course and she loves it. She loves to go shooting and I am glad that they all have something that keeps them from fighting long enough to entertain them. It is an added bonus that I get some time to myself once in a while.

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The petting zoo!

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This is just extra pictures of stuff that we have been doing.

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So my goal for this week with the kids going back to school is the get the house completely unpacked and with the exception of painting ( I am going to paint the entire house) it will be ready to live in for the next little while. I will post pictures as soon as it is picture takeable. I know that isn't a word but it works. Speaking of the kids going back to school, we found out their teachers. Taylee has an older lady who has taught for over 30 years her name is Mrs. Perrson. And Traceson has a new teacher who I know nothing about named Mrs. Sundby. They are both excited! I will try to update this a little more than once every 3 weeks once I get a normal routine going. To all our families and friends in Utah we love and miss you all.

This is Raegan in her new bed sleeping like a baby even though she is a big girl now.

This is a rainbow that I saw the other night and had to take a picture of. I was having a hard day being here and not having my sisters and parents around and was kind of frusterated. Then out of now where without rain or anything I saw this rainbow (must have been the calm before the storm) and it made me stop and think again that God has a hand in all things and we are supposed to be here and that everything is going to work out. So I went outside right before the storm came and took a picture so I could remember it.

This picture is kind of dark but this is a look at the house outside right before a rainstorm.

We are here

2010-08-09T21:35:00.002-06:00

Well after 15 hours in the car and a 3 day trip we made it to our destination and our new home in North Dakota. I am still trying to get boxes and stuff put away. I can not stand the messes of moving. I had my family with me for a week and then I had to say good-bye. Hardest thing that I have done ever I think. I love them all so much and already miss them terribly. I know that I will see them soon but it is still sad to think a bout not having them near. I am sitting here typing and we are all watching Shrek the third. Raegan just conked out on the couch next to me.....no bottle or nothing. She is very tired. Crae is zonked out on Rich's lap and Traceson and Taylee are still watching the movie. We said bye to my parents and then we went to church. Taylee has 2 new friends a Taylee and a Jamie. Poor cowboy just cried the whole time, he is way too much like me sometimes. I sat with him during primary and he finally dared go to class by himself. Macrae had no problem and as crazy as it sounds, I was in awe of how crazy some of the kids there were. I was trying to help the primary song leader and keep some of them quiet and some little kid told me to shut up because he knows all the songs and doesn't have to sing if he doesn't want to and then he hit me. Teach me to help in primary. My kids are actually good kids in this primary. Yay!!! Raegan had a blast in nursery she didn't even care that Rich came to get her out, she just kept playing. So anyhow, I just thought I would let the world know that we are here and we are liking it and we are busy trying to get things in order with the house so we can focus on the business. I can't wait until things feel a little more like normal and I can see the floor again to vacuum. I will post some pictures later, I need a new memory card for my camera. Mom and Dad I LOVE YOU and am so lucky to have you guys. I will miss you every day, I told Rich to stop mentioning you guys because I am going to move home if he doesn't. I mentioned Curtis and Trace just started crying cause he misses him. Thanks so much for handling this move so well cause even though I know that I don't see how hard it might be for you guys you make me able to feel okay about being here.Love you all and miss you!!

Happy Birthday

2010-07-10T11:06:00.005-06:00

My little Taylee Bug turned 8 yesterday. Man how time has flown. I remember taking the little 6lb baby home from the hospital and wondering what I was going to do with her. She is such a sweet little girl. Has always been a good girl. She will be baptized on July 31st and then we will be moving to Williston the couple of days afterward. She slept over at her grandma and grandpa Martinez's the night before her birthday and they went swimming at the Kamas pool. They all had so much fun. I was a little lost with only Raegan running around, but I did get ALOT of packing done. My amazing sister Hailey made Taylee a my little pony cake cause that is what she wanted. She worked on it all day on thursday and the next morning my mom left the doors of their house open so the new little puppy could go in and out and the cats came in the house and ate the frosting off the cake. So needless to say Hailey made her another one. This is how it turned out.

Very cute. I guess Hailey will have to ship or deliver cakes when we move. It is getting closer and closer to moving time and I am getting a little sad. I am very excited......maybe because it is new. But I am hoping that when the new wears off that I don't miss my family too much. I love my sisters and my mom an dad and even the prince. I know it is going to be hard for a while but it is supposed to be. Rich is gone now for 3 weeks and having him gone for 11 days was hard so we will see how fun this time is. I get along good with the kids and stuff it's missing him and his presence that is hard. So Happy Birthday to my little baby girl, I love you so much Taylee and am so proud of the little girl that you have become.

girls weekend

2010-06-28T13:31:00.003-06:00

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Just a little of the fun we had this weekend. I laughed so hard I really thought I was going to die.

Luckily Ididn't. Soooooo much fun. I am going to miss these guys so much when I move. Thanks

coming and having so much fun with me before I leave. :)

Time flying by.....

2010-06-15T08:01:00.008-06:00

Sunset in Williston!

It seems that the last couple of months have just flown by, even with 2- 15 hour car rides to Williston. Rich and I went back up last weekend and planned on only being gone from Thursday to Sunday. Surely we could get a house by then. Teach me to think. Talk about frustrating. Every house that we looked at was at least 50 years old, most of them 100 years old and they want between 200 and 300,000 for them. I just could not spend that much money on something that I would stay awake at night wondering if it was going to burn down or fall down. Some of the foundations were crumbling and others were foundations made from wood....yes wood. I didn't know that was even okay to do. There was some property for sale.
This is Williston!
Not a whole lot, the problem with all the property is that unless you bring a builder with you from out of state then you are looking at about 2 years to have a house cause the contracters there are so backed up with work. We don't have 2 years to wait. They have no apartments for rent, no motels rooms to live in, everything there is being lived it. We actually saw people living in tents in trailer parks cause they have no where else to live. Anyhow, by Saturday Rich and I were so frustrated that we were barely talking to each other. And that isn't like us at all. My frustration was coming because I just kept thinking that if this is where we were supposed to go and why we still don't know, then why are we having such a hard time finding a place to live. So we weren't planning on going to to church up there and decided to go to Wal-Mart and get some church clothes and go. We couldn't leave till we had a house so we might as well go see the people that we will go to church with. I am so glad that we did. I felt so much better after we went to church. I had been questioning my answer that I KNOW we were supposed to go to Williston. And that bothered me that maybe I was seeing something that wasn't there and we weren't really supposed to be there. But after going to church I know that I was right, we are supposed to be there. I don't know why and honestly I hate to go but for some reason we are supposed to move to Williston. So church was great! The people were nice and all were so inviting. I didn't think church could get better then Fruitland. We met the bishop and his wife again, and all sorts of people. There are so many families that don't have a house that are looking for a place to live. Rich and I both really enjoyed church. After church we went and changed and I told Rich that there was this 1 lot available the only one for sale in Williston that we could put a manufactured on and we should go look at it. So we went to look at it. As we were looking at it a guy was over on the next lot just playing around with his truck and trying to clear some rocks off of it. Rich wanted to talk to him to see what he was doing with his property to see if we would want to buy the lot right by him. So we start talking to him and he is thinking about selling his ground. The lot we were looking at was 1.98 acres. This guy had 7 1/2 acres. And he only wanted 10,000 more for it than the other lot we were looking at. So we paid the guy and went to the title place and got everything done so we could go order a house. We went and ordered us a house, and I can't wait to see it. It is going to be so cute. It is supposed to be delivered and set July 12th. So I will post pictures as soon as I can. So now all we have left to do really is pack. I dropped the price of my house so I hopefully won't leave it empty. Rich is going to leave this next Monday and go up and finish all the house stuff. We still need to decide where to put the house on the property and get all the dirtwork done. So about a month and we will be getting ready to move. Time is flying by. They are going to start work on the shop now so hopefully it will be done by fall. I will post pictures of the progress on the shop after we move. This is going to be my way of letting the family and friends know of all the happenings in our life. It's getting very exciting and will be great after all this moving is done. I HATE moving. On our way home we were driving down the road going 65 or so and Rich said he saw a turtle in middle of the road. I didn't believe him so he turned around to prove it to me....sure enough it was a turtle.

They aren't as slow as I thought. That little thing really moved when Rich chased it.I love the rivers up there. They are HUGE. Lots of bridges to get across all the rivers. So with Rich leaving us for a while I had promised all the kids a build a bear forever. So I finally thought that I would take them cause I don't know if they have one in North Dakota. SO we went to Build-A-Bear. Somehow we managed to get everything but a bear. We have a kitty for Raegan, a leopard for Macrae, a dog for Traceson and a horse for Taylee.

This is Traceson and Macrae wearing the glasses they chose for their Build a Bears. Yes they both take after their father!!!

Just some updates....

2010-05-12T09:16:00.011-06:00

Wow, what a busy couple of weeks it has been. With school just about over and field trips coming up, along with t-ball and birthdays for 3 of the four kids, what a crazy couple more weeks we will have. Today is the last day of work for Rich at Newfield. One of the drivers that works with Rich and likes him wrote this poem and I have to share it cause it is Rich to a "T"!

Rich Martinez

It was just another day at the shop.
With three trucks broke down, the fun never stopped.
Rich was still up to his elbows in grease,
Though he'd already given his formal two weeks.
He asked for a tool- he asked real nice:
"Would you please get me a 9/16 end wrench, Bryce?"
"We haven't got one," Bryce said. Rich still acted pleasant.
"That's alright," he said. "How bout a crescent?"
"Randy's got that one in the field,"Bryce replied.
Rich was not about to be three times denied.
"How about pliers. Have we got some of those?"
Bryce said he would get some of those he supposed.
But those too were missing. He made himself a liar.
"Then damn it!" Rich said, "Just get me some wire."
I just used the last strand on 792."
Then Rich just grinned back and said. "Have you got any glue?"
His phone started ringing as Bryce went to get his truck done.
At this rate, they'd never get around to 791.
(But from the new hire, Rich did not want to rob.
Him of the opportunity to inherit that job).
So the day went on in its normal routine.
Once Randy got back, the shop was swept clean.
And Rich was found sparring and dancing around.
With one hand tied back, he knocked Colton to the ground.
They were going to miss this bald, mustached mechanic,
but they'd like the new guy, Rich said not to panic.
He'd be off to Williston, North Dakota, changing tires.
But perhaps he would leave them his tools without pliers.
Still, when that day came, it showed in our faces.
If he wouldn't stay, we'd pack our suitcases.

Good Luck Rich!

I LOVE THIS GUY!!!!!!
I think this poem describes Rich and his personality and work ethic. It means alot to me that guys at work think this much of him.
They also did a biggest loser contest at Newfield and Rich came in 4th place. I had to take a picture cause I know how much Rich hates his picture taken. So Newfield is another notch on Rich's resume and onto a much greater journey for us.

We also went to the Zoo over the weekend and had a fun time with Rich's mom and dad. We weren't sure when the next time we were going to make it to the zoo would be so we thought we better go.The kids had a fun time and we seen lots of animals obviously. Raegan liked all the kitties, big ones little ones, it didn't matter they were all kikis! The kids all got them a big huge bubblegum snocone and everyone of them spilled it at least once. I think Crae spilled his about 4 times. We tried to have Rich's mom take a picture of us and I think she had to try about 10 times to get one that wasn't crazy. They all love the big water ball and the train.

The weather was perfect and we had a really nice relaxing day with family. Things have been so crazy and stressful lately that it was nice to have a little break.

We went to visit with Great Grandma Jennie for a bit the other day. I thought I would get a picture of her and Raegan and give it to her. She thinks she is just so cute.

My little Taylee Bug also got braces on the 5th of April. She was really scared cause people told her all sorts of stories about how bad it hurts, but she was a trooper. She did really well after she realized that it wasn't going to hurt. She chose pink and purple bands this time and doesn't go back until July. She has been taking very good care of them cause they told her if she did she could put her name in a drawing for an ipod. She thinks that she needs a big ipod with a screen. Her shuffle isn't good enough anymore.

We also put the house up for sale:( and sold the horses, and the bronco. Now we just need to sell the 2 old scouts and the explorer and the horse panels. Then we are going to have a big moving sale and get rid of the rest of it in a couple of weeks before Rich goes to ND.

Every day I get more and more excited to move. I just wish some nice family would sell their house in Williston so we could buy it and have a place to live and all go together. I don't want Rich to have to go alone. I want to be there to support him and help him if he needs it. We are having a birthday party for all the kids this weekend so Rich don't have to come back every week for birthdays. So that should be interesting. Thanks to all my friends and family who even though I know this is as hard on them as it is us are supporting us with the decisions that we have made. It makes it a lot easier to go.

Day two!

2010-04-29T12:51:00.003-06:00

Well here it is.....day two of Rich being gone. I couldn't stand sleeping alone and the one night Raegan actually let me put her in her crib....and what do I do, go get here to come sleep with me. She doesn't mind, she loves sleeping with us anyway. Rich is in North Dakota buying a building for the shop and looking for something for us to live. The housing there is crazy so we may end up just buying a lot and building again. I am getting more excited to go. Dan asked Rich the other day if he was still excited and Rich told him "I feel like a bucking bull in a chute and I just want someone to let me out." He isn't lying either. I think we both just want to go NOW. We want to get up there and get established before fall so when things slow down come winter we will still be busy. I shouldn't say we, all I am going to do is paperwork and office stuff. Rich is going to be doing all the hard work. I am excited to make new friends (hopefully) sometimes here I don't feel like I fit in that much and so I am excited for a new start that way. I know that the kids won't have a hard time fitting in they seem to make new friends daily. I know that as long as we go to church and live right that we will have all we need. I hate that Rich is going to be gone till Sunday. The kids don't like it either. It would be different if the weather would cooperate with us so they could play outside. But I guess that is why we finished the basement. I still have to decorate the walls but don't dare cause they use the space for dodgeball and everything else I won't let them do up here cause I am afraid of breaking things. I love my family so much and pray that this move will be easy on my kids as well as me. I will miss my mom and sisters and all the fun we have. I have to hand it to my mom. Even though I know this is probably hard on her she has been so supportive and keeps reassuring me that it is all going to work out. She never thinks of herself even though she may be stressed a lot she never takes it out on us and is always there to listen. I am going to have to make her a facebook page cause I talk to her way to much and won't be able to pay the phone bill when I move. Lots of changes coming and I too am just waiting to go.

MOVING!!

2010-04-23T15:43:00.002-06:00

Well it is official. Rich gave his 2 weeks at work today and we are moving to North Dakota. He has been so stressed about leaving Newfield. But things just keep falling into place. He told his boss Mike Quinn that he was leaving and Mike told Rich that he is one of his best employees and biggest assests and that if things don't work out with the tire shop then if he has to make a job for Rich than he is to come back to Newfield. So Rich called me after talking to him and I could just tell that he felt like the world had been lifted off his shoulders. I am so glad that Rich is who he is! He makes me so proud to be his wife. I love him more than anything. I have been teasing him lately about being such a good worker and a great person. If it weren't for that I wouldn't be leaving Fruitland. But in reality, as much as I hate to go, I am so thankful that he is such a hard worker and supports our family so well. He amazes me in that he never complains about having to get up at 3:30 and work till sometimes 7 or 8. I am also honored that Dan sees in Rich what I see in him in that he can trust him with this shop and knows that he will make it go. I am finally starting to begin to think clearly again. I feel like the last month has been crazy with stress and headaches.
It makes me sad to leave my family. I love to play games with my sisters and scrapbook with them and just be around the craziness that we have. That is what kills me to leave. I know it isn't going to be easy being so far away but I truly feel like Williston is where we are supposed to be. Whether it be for 6 months or 6 years I know that is where we need to be. It made me so mad cause I prayed and prayed for direction and an answer to what we should do and gosh dang it I got the answer. Rich and I both knew the same day that we had to go. SO NOT the answer I was looking for. But it is going to be good.
It is going to be weird going from driving 25 minutes to the kids school and getting groceries to having a Walmart right in town. Whatever happens I know that Rich will always have a job and we will always have a place here in Fruitland. This will always be home.

New Baby Horse!

2010-04-19T13:39:00.007-06:00

Well Rich and I came back from our little excursion a day early. I think we did all we needed to and both really missed the kids so we decided to check out a day early and come back. 6 states in 5 days was alot of road trippin'! We had a fun time though. We saw some gorgeous places and some not even remotely nice places. We did get to see a huge herd of buffalo just lying in the road and by the side of the road so I took some pictures of them.

All in all the trip was great and very helpful in our decision to move. Williston is a great town. I actually was sad to leave it when we left. The people are great and the town is very livable. At least in the summer!Everyone we talked to to said that the winters are cold but they said that you get used to it and dress for it and it isn't as bad as people say they are. They did say that the ice storms are not fun but you just don't go out in them if you don't have to. The things I really liked about the place was mostly the fact that about 80% of the people are lutheran. I know that sounds odd that I would find that positive but when you grow up here everyone pretty much is or knows someone LDS. There that is not the case. So you have to have your own testimony and a strong one so that you can answer questions about you religion when asked. The bishop said that even though majority is Lutheran the kids are so loving and kind and accepting of one another because they all go to church and are christians. The crime rate there is pretty much non existant. Which is another good thing. Pretty much the only bad thing about the place is the winters. Although we still have not made a decision to go or not.

Next thing......Chessie finally had her baby. I went to take Mr. Bulldog out at 6 this morning while Taylee was eating breakfast and looked over at the horses like I always do in the morning and there was an extra one stumbling around. I told Taylee that Chessie had her baby and that was the end of breakfast. We got dressed and went out to see the baby. We don't have a name for her so if you have any suggestions besides FRECKLES (Crae's choice) and CUTIE (Traceson's choice) then let me know. She sure is a cute little baby. Kinda reminds me of a baby moose though. All legs.

Change???

2010-04-07T12:36:00.002-06:00

Wow, it has been a long time since I updated my blog. Lots of happenings and not lots of down time. The basement is finished. YAY! So we got the kids a much anticipated Wii and put it down there to keep chaos to a minimum upstairs.
Easter was fun! The kids went to the smokehouse again this year and didn't find it too thrilling. It snowed a lot the night before and was still snowing during the Easter egg hunt. Rich had to work so I took the kids and recruited Breanna to come help with Raeg's, needless to say I didn't get any pictures of the hunt. Just the aftermath. Taylee found one egg and Traceson found 2, Macrae being the crazy kid he is found quite a few so he shared with them. Then we went to my parents' house for dinner and another Easter egg hunt. That one was much more successful than the first. Raegan was funny she didn't quite know what she was doing but she just kept picking them up and putting in the bag. Funny little girl.
We played some games at my parent's house and that turned out to be interesting. My mother is crazy and is convinced that she ruined marriages for both me and my older sister. My in-laws came out to do Easter with us cause Rich was on call and couldn't leave Fruitland, and I don't know for sure if they will ever come back to a holiday with my family again. I see my crazy mother every day and so I know she is random and me and my sisters love to play games and listen to the randomness of my mom. I don't however think that other people understand her humor. So she may have scared or offended Rich's family. She keeps telling me I need to explain to them her actions so they will come back someday. Anyhow, Easter was great and I love my family so very much and love to spend time with them.

Now on to a more serious note.......
Rich has been offered a partnership in a business is North Dakota by a very well known millionaire in Roosevelt, who happens to be one of his good friends. He wants us to move to North Dakota and start and run this business for about 10 years and then sell it off and come back. The question is do we do it or not. We have worked so hard to get to this place that we are now, building a beautiful home that I LOVE and personalizing every wall in this house for us, we just barely finished the basement and have some other "dreams" to finish as far as the yard and stuff goes. To leave it all behind and start again is SCARY. I have never lived out of Utah. I know that no matter where I am I have Rich and my kids and that is all I need. They are my world and the reason that I am who I am. It is one of those things that I really want to go and then I really don't. When a very successful guy says he can have Rich a millionaire in 5 to 7 years, then it makes you want to jump in and go. But then I think about how much I love it here and about how money isn't really that important. My family is important and that is all, money is great but it's not everything. The guy that offered Rich the job pretty much is making it impossible to say no. He is doing anything and everything that Rich asks to make it sooooo hard to say no. So I guess we are going up to North Dakota next week to see if we can find a place to live and meet with the bishop of the ward there and talk to him about life up there and answer all the questions that we have.It will be weird to go from a place that has a church on every block to a state that only has 2 stakes in the entire state. It is a 15 hour drive from here so it will give Rich and I plenty of time to talk and sort all this out. We have both prayed about it and feel good about it so unless we get up there and absolutely hate it then I think we selling our house that we worked so hard on and starting a new adventure in our lives.

Yay Taylee!!!!

2010-02-04T20:30:00.004-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Taylee came home from school with a paper on the invention convention. She HAD to participate for her science grade, otherwise I may have just tossed it in the garbage. So we thought and thought and thought and finally we decided that a good idea would be to make some slipper warmers. So she found a pair of slippers and took a knife and unpicked the stitch on the top and ta duh, we have a pocket. In the pocket goes a hand warmer that you can buy at any store for less than a dollar. And that was the invention. So easy but oh so practical. So she took it on Tuesday to her school and came home so excited with a medal. She won and was going to the district on Thursday. So we go to district and see all the other inventions. It was a fun time for us. My mom watched Raeg's and Macrae for me so I wouldn't have to try and have them sit still for 3 hours. So glad that she did. I would have gone nuts with them there. Taylee had 3 judges come to her and she did such a good job explaining all the parts to her project. It was great to see her not only not shy but very eager to explain and talk to the judges. I wish I could be as brave as her sometimes. Anyhow, she did great and ended up winning. She won 3rd place but out of 50 some kids I think she did amazing!!!!! I am so very proud of her. I enjoyed spending time with just her even if it meant that I had to sit and color for 3 hours. I don't remember the last time I just sat and colored with my little big girl. Rich was doing his run arounds for work and so he stopped by and made her day. He told her to call him if she won and she said she would. After we got in the car to leave she decided that she didn't want to call daddy she wanted to go to his work and surprise him with her trophy. But she did want to call grandma. She couldn't wait to call grandma and tell her that she had won, cause apparently grandma had a surprise for her if she did well. So grinning ear to ear she called grandma and then we went to Rich's work and surprised him. He was so proud of her. It was a fun day for my little princess. We are so proud of her and her desire to learn.

9 YEARS

2010-02-01T13:53:00.006-07:00

Rich and I have been married for 9 years. Or will be at least on wednesday. He is the BEST thing that has ever happened to me. I love him more and more everyday. It's like everything that he does is for me. To see me smile, to see me laugh, to see me glare at him when he is being a smarta** which is ALOT! But that is why I love him so much. He makes my life so complete and makes every minute so fun. I don't know what I would do without him.
So for our anniversary we decided to go away for a couple of days. I haven't been away from Raegan since she was born in November of 2008. I hate leaving the kids. Since they are a handful all together we split them up and took the girls to my mom's and the boys to Rich's mom's. They all had a great time and Heidi is convinced that I have an octopus as a baby. She kicked and hit and pinched Heidi all night long. I guess I am just used to it cause I don't notice it so much anymore. So we left on Friday afternoon, after my new "Taste of Home club" was over and the kids got off the bus. Me and my friends here in Fruitland decided that since we all get the Taste of Home Simple and Delicious magazine that we would meet once a month and bring something that we made out of it for lunch. The first meeting was so fun and I am excited for the next. I know it sounds crazy but I think that it was great. It gives us a chance to talk and to taste recipes that we probably wouldn't try ourselves. I had a blast, thank you girls for adding one more day of chaos to your lives so we can "chit chat"!

Blackhawk

Then we were off. We stayed at Anniversary Inn on Fifth South Friday night. We have gone there or Castle Creek Inn every year since we got married. I think our favorite is the one in Logan and Castle Creek is always such a great place to go. So we stayed in the Rio Grande room cause it was one of the 3 they had left when I made reservations. Then the next morning we left and headed for Wendover. Rich knows how much I have always liked Blackhawk so he got us tickets to go see them on Saturday night. Little Texas was playing too so we got to see them. We stayed in a Suite at the Montego Bay and it was better then Anniversary Inn. Seriously. The room was huge, cheaper, had a huge jacuzzi tub and a steam shower, huge TV, and a very comfy bed. It was alot of fun. We went to the concert and had a really nice time. I can't wait till Trace Adkins comes in June cause I am going back . What a great place to see a concert. Their is no bad seat in that place and the sound and everything was awesome. We spent 2 days in Wendover and didn't put a single coin or dollar in a slot. Which is weird, but we were mostly there for the concert. Neither of us really gamble. All in all we had a great time and I am so glad Rich made me go and get a break from the kids. I missed them but was glad to have some quiet time.
Little Texas

I love you Rich with all my heart and am so glad to have such a great husband and father for my kids. I couldn't have picked a better husband to be stuck with for eternity.

Kids chores!

2010-02-01T13:45:00.003-07:00

All the kids help do chores and clean up as I think all kids should do. Raegan can not even walk yet but decided to help the kids unload the dishwasher. It was so cute. She was getting the bowls out and handing them to Taylee and Traceson. Let's just hope that she continues to "help" in 5 years when she would rather play. I am glad that the kids help and very seldom complain about it, they are great little kids and I love them all so very, very much!!!

Thankful!!!

2010-01-26T16:06:00.005-07:00

Raegans favorite person ever next to her Pa's!!

I have been thinking a lot lately and just want to tell my family how much they mean to me. It is so nice to know that they are always there. It means alot to me, being someone who hates to leave my kids cause I always feel guilty doing so, knowing that my family can and will watch them and not make me feel like I am putting them out if they have to watch them makes it easier for me. The kids are lucky to have such fun aunts to play with all the time and a crazy uncle Curt to tease. I love all of my family very much and am very grateful to call them family. Sunday night after we went to Rich's mom and dads for dinner we got home and put kids to bed and I went over to my mom and dad's to see Hailey and Heidi before they went back to Provo Monday morning. I laughed and laughed and laughed. I don't know where Heidi comes up with some of the stuff she does but she is hilarious. LOVE HER!!! And Amber and Curt just egg it on. Rich and I are going away this weekend for 3 days and leaving the kids home. I know that they will be in good hands and have a fun time and probably not want to come home when we get home! I also have to say that I have the most amazing mother. It makes me mad when Rich calls me Jana but not really cause I know I am alot like her.........without the insane craziness. (Really she is very crazy sometimes....especially when we are at bunco) It makes me glad that I am like her cause she is a great role model. I don't know what I would do without her daily phone calls just to check and see how everything is going. The fact that she cares so much to just call and say HI means a lot to me.

Popsicles!!

2010-01-26T15:56:00.004-07:00

As cold as it is you wouldn't think that it would be Popsicle season but apparently it is at my house. Raegan loves them and so does Macrae and since those are the 2 that home all day they seem to eat them all day long. Not really, but if I would let them they probably would. Just makes me cold thinking about it. You are only young once right, so eat up my little monkeys.

MONSTER TRUCKS

2010-01-26T15:36:00.007-07:00

Rich promised the boys that the next time that the monster trucks came he would take them. So here they came and there they went. Rich took the boys and his dad and they had a fun time. The boys came home and told me story after story of all the different trucks and motorcycles and tough trucks. They really enjoyed themselves and us girls stayed home and enjoyed ourselves too. They have also been doing some ice fishing but I don't have any pictures of that yet. I don't trust anyone with my camera. I had to remind Rich five times to please not lose or hurt my camera when he went to the monster trucks. Luckily it survived.

Rich said that Traceson had an ice cream cone and was so into the monster trucks that he didn't move to eat it he just sat and licked and licked until the whole thing was about to fall off the one side so he had to tell him to turn it around and lick the other side too. Funny boys. I am so grateful for a husband that takes the boys and has fun with them no matter what they are doing. He is amazing. Rich only got a couple of pictures of Macrae this is one with cotton candy all over his "crazy" face and the other one had his finger up his nose so I didn't want to put that one on here. Macrae is a very silly boy!

The worm!!

2010-01-26T15:28:00.004-07:00

This is why the kids call Royce a worm!! This is how he sleeps and that is pretty much all he does when people aren't here to get him all excited.

Ice Castle!

2010-01-18T18:37:00.007-07:00

We took the kids to see the ice castle at the Zermatt the other day and they had a great time. They wanted oh so badly to crawl and play on it, but couldn't. They had a good time walking around and seeing all the different icicles. It was a beautiful day, nice and warm and we were glad to spend some quality time with each other. Fun times for all.

Royce's Baths!

2010-01-07T14:04:00.002-07:00

Royce our BIG little English bulldog absolutely hates the water. He hates rain, rivers, ponds, any water at all he doesn't like it. He really doesn't like the bathtub. He is so funny when Rich says "Royce you wanna go get in the tub" Royce will just look at you with his sad little eyes and put his head down and mope all the way down the hall to the bathroom. He is so funny. As much as he hates his baths he is really good to bath he doesn't move or try to get out or anything he just pouts until he is done and then runs around like crazy after he gets out. We love our Royce-e-dog.

Stairs!

2010-01-07T13:48:00.005-07:00

So we have been trying to finish the basement and we have been going up and down the stairs which usually stays safety guarded with a gate alot. The little troublesome boys decided to take the box of a shelving unit we bought and make a sled out of it to fly down the stairs. And I mean fly!!! I am the one that doesn't like the kids to do this stuff and Rich is the one that not only encourages it..... but helps them. This is just a picture of the crazy little turkeys adventure. Luckily the end results were not broken bones....just a little carpet burn on their backs from losing the "sled" a couple of times. The joys of BOYS! Taylee would not even consider doing it but the boys didn't even bat an eye at the attempt of it.

2010-01-06T15:46:00.007-07:00

Well we made it through the holidays! Whew! we can breathe now.
How excited I am for this year. Alot of fun things to look forward to and I can't wait. I wish time didn't fly by so fast anymore.....soon I will wake up and be 50 and be sad that my kids are grown and all the time that I wished that I had to do "me things" I will have and not want. That is why I have decided that this year I am going to make sure that from now on I am the best mom and wife that I can possibly be. My kids are so great and fun and they deserve to have the best mom ever. Rich also deserves to have the best wife ever. He is so amazing and I love him with all my heart and want to be the best person I can be because of him and his hard work and dedication to our beautiful family. With this new me though, it means that I will have to be taking a little more extra time for myself to exercise. That is not me time that I will regret taking.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

So Christmas was good. The kids didn't want anything specific, not one of them, so they all got to be surprised. It was good. They had a good time opening and playing with their gifts. We did alot of giving this year to people less fortunate and that made it really fun for us and the kids to know that we could do that for someone else. We went to both the grandparents' houses. The kids were not too thrilled to leave all their stuff and go, which I can't blame them....I used to hate to have to do that too when I was little. We are an hour away from Rich's parents so we were a little late for brunch, but Rich had already made ham and muffins for breakfast and so we let the kids play as long as they could before we had to pull them away. It was really tough to get up and do Christmas and get dressed and ready to go by 10. We had a scavenger hunt for the boys to find their big present downstairs so that took some time. Those are the days I wish I had an airplane, so we could be quick to grandma's and not have to rush the kids so much. I was trying really hard to take it all in and let the kids take their time and enjoy the day, but at the same time feeling really rushed to get gone so that Kelly and Kyle could get to her parents house. It stressed me out so much knowing that we had to be somewhere that I knew we weren't going to be on time that it pretty much ruined my day knowing that people were waiting on us because we were trying to enjoy some time with the kids. Needless to say my day was ruined. So Rich and I come to the conclusion that next year we are just going to stay home. Take the whole day and enjoy it with the kids because soon they will be gone and those are the moments that we will remember.
Raegan loved to open the presents, she was fun this year. All the kids had lots of fun stuff to play with and they love their basketball game downstairs. Now it is on to finishing the downstairs so we can enjoy it. That was alot of my Christmas this year is finishing that so I can move my scrapbooking stuff that seems to be growing and growing in my room down there.
I am soooooo excited for Rich and I's 9th anniversary this year. Less than a month now and it will be 9 years. And then comes Valentine's which I love too. Especially now that Rich's job gives bonuses then. I am hoping that this next year goes a little slower than the last but I am betting that it doesn't. Come March or April we will be having a new baby horse and we are all excited to see him or her. Raegan is crawling and starting to try to walk. She talks up a storm though. She says all sorts of words. Dad, mom, dog, kitty, stop it, no, pa, taylee, buck (yeah i know, Rich taught it to her) baby, hi, and probably some that I forgot. She loves to read books just like Taylee did.
Taylee and her aunts Breanna and Amberlee decided to put all of Taylee's barbies and pet shops on her barbie house. This was the result. I am sure that Taylee is getting no more of either of these items.

Macrae just moved into primary last week and was really good. I was really worried cause he is such a busy body and a talker, but he did great. I don't plan on it going so smooth every week but I pray it does.
Rich thought that this hat was the cutest hat on Raegan. Rich works on Mack trucks and loves the little bulldog logo, so everything he gets of Mack stuff he loves. This is a beenie that they gave him that he thought was the cutest on Raegan.

So another little update from our busy life here in Fruitland.

A little recap on 2009!

2009-12-08T14:10:00.002-07:00

Now that the end of the year is here and I have been slacking a lot I thought I would do a little recap on the year. We started the year off with a new little girl in our family and she has been such a welcomed little spirit. She is the only one of the 4 that is pretty much just like me. The other 3 are spitting images of their father. With the exception of Taylee's little girl drama that comes out once in a while. They all tease just like their dad. Raegan is a funny little girl. A little spoiled, or maybe a lot, but she is a sweetie.
Taylee turned 7 this year and was so excited to get an ipod for her birthday. She does amazing in school. I went to parent teacher conference and her teacher told me to find a college for her now, cause the sky is the limit with her. She is in the 2nd grade and reading on a 5th grade almost 6th grade level. And she loves to learn. She has never cringed at the thought of homework. Traceson turned 5 and is doing really well in kindergarten. For a boy who hated to color or write I am very proud of his work and his will to do well in school.
Macrae is one of those kids who has keep everyone on their toes. He is constantly talking to anyone and everyone that we see at a store or church or anywhere. He just stops and starts telling them random thoughts. Funny kid he is. He finally mastered the potty training thing after I gave up completely cause he just had no interest. A couple of months later he decided that he was a big boy and no more pull-ups for him. All the kids were really excited get the horses. Everyday, dark or light, Trace will ask if we can go ride the horses.
Raegan like I said is pretty much a little Tanna. She turned 1 year old last month. She has a thing for her grandpas. At church Grandpa Sweat is the Branch President and so he sits on the stand and we have to keep her busy so she don't see him or she reach her hands out and say "dad". That is what she calls her pa's. She is kinda picky with her food, and only gained 1 pound in 6 months at her year check up. So I have to try to force feed her lots of protein and milk, which she doesn't really care for unless she is really thirsty. She loves horses and loves when daddy comes home. She loves to tease him and pretend she is going to give him a kiss and then doesn't. She has finally started to crawl but even though she is 13 months old, she still can't roll from back to front. She is like a little turtle when she gets on her back and just lays there and screams and kicks till someone helps her back up. Spoiled......maybe a little.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Rich is still at Newfield Exploration Co.and loving it. He has done really well there and I have to say that I am so proud of him. He has always been a very hard worker, but with this job he has amazed even me. I can't believe how much he has done in the last year.He is the Lead Shop Mechanic and keeps track of all of Newfields water trucks, fixes them and keeps them all UDOT certified. He has alot of random responsibilities but handles them all really well. He should be getting a new title at the beginning of the year but until it happens it is hush, hush. So excited for him. I think his personality accounts for alot at his job. He is serious when he needs to be but all in all he keeps us all laughing all the time. One of the things that I LOVE about him most.
With Rich's job he got a bonus last February and since I keep track of the money I spent it on him, well a third of it anyway. I bought him something that he has always wanted. An English Bulldog. His name is Rolls Royce ll, and he is a fun addition to our family. I am going to get a girl one as soon as the basement is done so Royce has a friend. We love him lots!
We still live in Fruitland and don't plan on leaving. We really like it here. Rich is still Elders Quorum President and I am in primary now. Fun stuff for us all.
What else did we do this last year....Rich and I both turned 30...ugh. Rich's brother and his wife adopted a sweet little boy that was born 23 days after Raegan. That experience with them and the adoption will forever remind me that heavenly father has a hand in all that happens here. Major testimony builder for me. What a sweet little guy he is. It makes me happy to see him and see that Raegan likes him so much. He used to scream alot when they were smaller and Raeg's didn't much like that, but now she screams and gets so excited and gives him loves and it is so cute. We love Kashers and is so glad he is a part of our family. We bought a fifth wheel to go camping, went to bear lake had a blast, went on some spur of the moment getaways and most of all we have grown closer as a family. I am excited for this next year, we are planning on going camping alot and getting our basement finished completely , going on some sort of trip...Rich wants to go on a cruise, getting our backyard finished and baptizing Taylee. How the time flies. I am sad that my baby is going to be eight, but am so proud that she is excited to be baptized. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I personally am so thankful for all my blessing that I have and for the opportunity to be with my blessings for eternity. Merry, Merry Christmas!!!!!

Newest additions to our homestead!

2009-11-02T15:33:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Happy Halloween!!

2009-11-02T13:45:00.009-07:00

Geez, I feel like this year is just flying by.....way too fast.
The kids just barely went back to school and before I know it they will be done with the school year. I on the other hand felt like things would slow down a little after Taylee and Traceson were both in school, but somehow feel like they have sped up on me. I don't know where the time goes.
This year I let all the kids except Raeg's of course pick out their halloween costume. I would have liked to have had a theme but they all wanted to do something different.

So Taylee decided to be an angel. She was a very pretty angel too. She really is an angel of a little girl. She is doing so well in school and loves it. I went to parent teacher conference and her teacher pretty much told me to find a college for her now and so she has a plan because she has endless possibilites. She is so smart. I thought her teacher was kidding, she is in 2nd grade....so I laughed a little and her teacher was NOT kidding. She is amazed at how wonderful Taylee is.

Traceson decided that he wanted to be a dirt bike rider of course, so this is what he ended up with. Traceson is doing very well in school as well. I am so proud of him and he seems to be excelling 10 times better every day. He stays out of trouble and his teacher says he is a very good boy with a big heart. I really am very proud of him.

Macrae wanted to be the Wolverine for halloween because he had long claws that looked cool and big muscles he could beat up Trace with. He is such a little turkey sometimes. Everywhere we go people have to hear him talk about random things that he decided to share with complete strangers. People always stop us to google over how cute Raegan is and so that gives him a chance to get to know complete strangers.

Little miss Raegan hates things on her head....hairbows, ponytails, headbands, you name it she hates it. It is always seconds before they are removed. So I decided maybe she would like to be a little baby lamb for Halloween. She was the cutest little lamb. And grandma Jana even taught her how to say baaaa. She will be 1 on saturday and she says: dada, horse, Royce ( our english bulldog), Hi, yes and baaaa. No she will not say MOM. I am convinced it's too hard for her or she would say by now.
Now that halloween is over it is on to Raegan's first birthday at Chuck E. Cheez on Saturday. My little brother Curt will be 16 a couple of days after Raegan so we are going to have a double birthday and celebrate Curt's birthday with hers. Can I just add that I have an amazing family. I think that being a teenager nowadays is really hard and my brother Curt amazes me at how he is such a good kid. I am really glad that I have a family that I don't have to worry about them ruining their lives or stressing out my parents or anything like that. Curt is a great kid and has been an awesome little 'PRINCE". I hope he has a great birthday and continues to grow and be a strong spirit in our family.

A little break from our crazy life!

2009-10-06T11:06:00.020-06:00

Rich called last thursday from work and said he was taking Friday off and to get a bag packed for the kids cause he wanted to go somewhere. Well as always, I do as I am told.I got the kids all some clothes and jamas for the next day and all the other basics and waited for Rich to come home. The kids were out of school for UEA and so we went to Orem and stayed at the La Quinta. We went swimming and enjoyed the time away from our little crazy life. Raegan was plum tuckered after we went swimming and fell asleep on the bed. Her hair does just what mine does when it gets wet from swimming or rain, turns into ringlets.

Sooooo cute!!!
Rich and the boys were pulling faces at the camera, heaven forbid Rich be serious once in a while.

The rest of the kids went to sleep quite quick too, after playing hide and seek for a while. (not an easy game at a hotel). The next day we weren't exactly sure what to do....go to Hee Haw Farms, go to Gardner Village and go on a scavenger hunt for witches or go to the new Pirate place that is similar to Chuck E. Cheez.

We decided that we would go on the Witch hunt cause Hee Haw farms didn't open until 4. So off we went.
I have wanted to go for a while now and glad we did cause we had a lot of fun.

They had a petting zoo for the kids, they could ride horses and pet all the animals, they had tonz of activities for the kids and of course they had all the witches for the kids to find.
I dare say Rich even enjoyed the day.Trace was running around crazy like usual and he went running up by this duck and it turned around and lunged at him....funniest thing ever!!
His eyes were as big as his head as he turned and ran from it. We had a good little laugh. Macrae on the other hand was not about to get too close to some of the witches.

He had to keep his distance.

They had the funniest witch that was dancing the Conga with all the kids and I couldn't take my eyes off her. She was so funny. And I couldn't figure out how she could even walk, nevertheless dance in witch shoes.

The kids made little pins to put on their shirts and some witches brew and some potion and they played the bean bag toss and thought that their day was complete with cotton candy as we left.

The kids were so good while we were gone and we had alot of fun bonding.
Our only worry was about Royce and whether or not he was getting attention while we were gone. I am so thankful for a husband who likes to go and enjoy the little things with our family, he is the best. He is always looking for another way to make a memory and I love him for that and all the other things he does for our family.

So sad to see summer go. I hate the cold, but glad that we got in an outside adventure before it got too cold!

Miner's Day 2009

2009-09-08T15:47:00.002-06:00

This was Miner's Day 2009 in Park City. This is a Martinez family
tradition that every year we attend. Rich's grandpa Rich used
to win it every year. Now he just hosts it and makes people
laugh. How great it is to be part of such a wonderful family
with so much love and respect for their ancestors. Rich is a
5th generation miner is his family.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

It was great fun to go and Raegan's first time there.
We go over to his grandparents house after for dinner and
get to spend some time with family. So glad to be a part of it.

BEAR LAKE 2009!!

2009-08-13T13:30:00.016-06:00

Well here we are in August and just a couple of weeks before school starts. It was also time for the annual Martinez trip to Bear Lake. We had a great time after we actually got there. We had a little
mechanical trouble on the way, Rich lost all the lug nuts and bolts to
his back right tire and by the time we realized what it was and got
pulled over he had one lug nut
left before he lost the tire.Thanks to my mechanic husband we
made it to bear lake in a little under 9 hours. The biggest problem was
trying to
find the right bolts for the custom rims. It was not fun. Who would have
thought such a common part would be so hard to find. We were right before the
Wanship exit and so we tried coalville and park city and heber for parts and
on my way to heber to get some of the parts I had a thought that maybe I would
try the Burt Brothers Tires by Home Depot. Lo and Behold they had the parts.
Yeah, it was a long ride!

We actually had a trailer this year to stay in and let me tell you how thankful
I was for that. Last year we tented it and it was not the most thrilling vacation
of my life. This year was like night and day with 3 kids and a baby, the trailer
we bought was WONDERFUL. Not that I don't know how to ROUGH IT,
because I can, but with it so windy and cold the whole time I was very
thankful we had the trailer. So anyhow, Bear Lake was great, even with the cold and the wind it
was nice to get away and spend some quality time with family. I took my
family with us too and we had alot of fun. I am so glad that they decided
to come. I think we all needed a little break from life for a couple of days.

Breanna and Taylee love the water. They are like little fishes. It didn't
matter the temperature of it at all they loved it. Hailey enjoyed it too.
We buried her and Taylee and Traceson in the sand. I gave Taylee some
boobs with the sand and Rich was not too impressed with me.
Sorry dear, she has to grow up sometime.
Traceson liked to try to jump the waves.

They all went for ride on
Uncle Trents boat. I think that Curt was the only one who got
in the water to try to ski. Hailey wanted to but Macrae wouldn't let go of
her long enough to do anything. Rich wanted to surf on the surfboard but
the weather just would not cooperate. We took a little ride into town for a
raspberry shake and it was yummy. We also visited some of the
gift shops that were around.

Grandma Carollee and Macrae in the water! Macrae had to always
"hold hands" in the water.

Raegan had a good time bonding
with daddy. This picture of her looking at him is my favorite.

You can see the love in both their eyes.

Macrae just liked to play in the sand the whole time. He loves to dig, dig, dig.
So I dug a big whole for him to play in by the water and he played there
for a long time. Raegan was plain tuckered out the day after we got to
Bear Lake and pretty much slept the whole next day. Thank goodness for
Grandma.
Here is Mr. Studmuffin himself chillin' on the beach.

Too bad Grandpa Brent was only there on the last day and
didn't get to go swimming. It was too cold for even the fishes to swim
that day. Raegan absolutely loves Grandpa Brent. I don't know what the
connection is with them but when she will reach away from me to
Grandpa then she must love him alot. We had such a fun time and
can't wait to go back. I have a feeling with the trailer we will be
doing alot more traveling now.

10% OFF SCENTSY NEWS!!!

2009-08-03T11:25:00.007-06:00

I JUST GOT THE DISCONTINUED SCENT LIST FROM SCENTSY
AND THERE ARE A LOT ON HERE THAT I KNOW A LOT OF
YOU LIKE (SUSAN)! SO IF YOU WANT THE SCENT YOU
NEED TO GET IT BEFORE THEY ARE GONE.
EVERYTHING FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST IS 10% OFF!!
WHEN THEY
DISCONTINUE A SCENT, RARELY DO THEY BRING IT BACK.
HERE IS THE LIST......

Blueberry Cheesecake (BBC)
Cashmere (CAS)
Eucalyptus (EUC)
Exotic Vanilla (EXV)
Falling Leaves (FAL)
Fresh Cut Cantaloupe (FCC)
Grapefruit Blossom (GFB)
Grapefruit Pomegranate (GFP)
Havana Cabana (HVC)
Hearth & Home (SOTM) (HNH)
Herb Garden (HBG)
Irish Cream (IRC)
Juicy Peach (JCP)
Leather (Bars and Bricks) (LEA)
Lemon Lavender (LMV)
Lots of Lavender (LOL)
Luxe Vanilla (LUX)
Meadow Pear (MDP)
Mediterranean Spa (MTS)
Mulberry Bush (MBB)
Mysterious (MYS)
Nutmeg & Orange Zest (NOZ)
Pomegranate Orange (PGO)
Red Delicious (RED)
Sandalwood & Cranberries (SWC)
Sangria (SNG)
Sheer Saffron (SOTM) (SHE)
Silk (SLK)
Spiced Orange Harvest (SOH)
Spruceberry (SPR)
Strawberry Sweetie (SBS)
Sweet Indulgence (SWI)
Sugar (SGR)
Sweet Tea Magnolia (SWT)
Tarocco Mint (SOTM) (TRM)
Tea Blossom (TEA)
Toasted Apple Butter (TAB)
Tuscan Garden (TUS)
Verbena Berry (VBY)
Wasabi Ginger (WSG)
Watermelon Patch (WMP)

LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT ANY BEFORE THEY ARE GONE.
MY PHONE IS 435-671-2378 OR EMAIL ME AT.....
tannamartinez@hotmail.com
If you want to order but live a ways away from me
I would love to
pay shipping for you to have it shipped to your house
if it's over $35.
THERE ARE ALSO SOME WARMERS THEY ARE
DISCONTINUING HERE IS THAT LIST
Bombay (DSW-BBAY)
Brownstone (DSW-BSTN)
Dandy – Black (PSW-DBLK)
Dandy – Brown (PSW-DBRN)
Dandy – White (PSW-DWTE)
Dragonfly (DSW-DFLY)
Jakarta (DSW-JAKA)
Luminous (DSW-LUMI)
Patina (DSW-PATI)
Pressed Penny (DSW-PPEN)
Punched Tin (DSW-PTIN)
Raised Dot Black (DSW-DOTB)
Raised Dot Mocha (DSW-DOTM)
Raised Dot Turquoise (DSW-DOTT)
Retro Chic (DSW-RETR)
Scentsy Classic Chocolate (DSW-SCHO)
Shabby Chic (DSW-SHCH)
Weave – Black (PSW-WBLK)
Weave – Brown (PSW-WBRN)
Weave – White (PSW-WWTE)
NOW IS A GREAT TIME TO STOCK UP AND SAVE MONEY DOING IT!
ANY QUESTIONS GIVE ME A CALL!!!

Boys' Camoflauge Bedroom!

2009-07-18T08:29:00.004-06:00

Ever since we have moved into our new house I have wanted to paint the boys bedroom with some cattails to make it look more camoflauged. So with my biggest helper Macrae gone all week with Grandma Martinez I decided that would be the perfect time to pull out the paints and do it. So on thursday I went at it.
I was nervous to do this because the camo on the wall was a process and I didn't want to ruin it cause I knew I couldn't redo the camo. But, I did it and it turned out better than I thought it would. Good thing this is my house forever cause it is pretty much being personalized. Room by room.

Summer Salad Recipe!

2009-07-10T11:48:00.002-06:00

Summer Salad Recipe!

2 cups torn iceberg lettuce
1 cup fresh cauliflowerets
1 cup fresh broccoli florets
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup fresh peas
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large salad bowl, combine all ingredients but cheese.

Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Combine, pour over lettuce mixture to coat.
Top with cheese

So easy.
Enjoy!!!

Happy 7th birthday Taylee!!

2009-07-07T16:55:00.004-06:00

It was 7 years ago today that I was blessed with the most beautiful little girl that I ever seen. I know alot of people think that their kids are cute but everyone thought Taylee was just the cutest thing ever. I used to count when I went in a store how many people would tell me how beautiful
she was before I could get out of the store. Taylee was a
big change for two people who like to come and go as they pleased.
But what a welcome change.
She has brought such a sweet spirit with her and has become such an important part of our family.
She is a great example to her brothers and loves to watch Raegan for me
when I am making dinner or watering trees and the grass. She is going into the 2nd grade this year and reading on a 5th grade level. She loves to read and play dolls and barbies....typical girl. She also loves to listen to music, dance and sing.
She is a huge help and we love her so much.
I couldn't imagine what I was going to do with her after I had her,
and now I can't imagine not having her. I love you so much Taylee and am so proud of the little girl you have become. Happy Birthday Princess!!

Our Family!

2009-06-30T22:08:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Tee ball is over!!

2009-06-29T11:26:00.007-06:00

Traceson finished up his last tee ball game on Saturday.
He had so much fun playing this year.
He was thrilled to get a trophy and a
ticket voucher to a Bee's game.
I personally am thrilled to get to stay home on a
Saturday and work on the backyard! Good job Cowboy!

Raegan's 1st french fry!!

Trouble times two!
Traceson and Macrae.

Happy Bithday!!

2009-06-29T11:00:00.002-06:00

Well it's official.....Rich is now 30. Over the weekend we had a birthday for him and Macrae who turned 3. We have a birthday between Rich and my families every week for about 2 months and cake and ice cream gets really old. So we combined Macrae and Rich's birthdays together and went to the bowling alley for some good food and bowling. It was very chaotic, thus the term "chaos times 4" but it was really fun too.Crae got bored after the first game and Taylee and Trace played a couple until they were done as well. We had a big Tonka truck cake for them to share and blow out candles. Crae got all sorts of fun boy toys! Not that he needed anymore, but the boys have had fun sharing the motorcycles and tools and can't wait to go play with the cool sprinkler Crae got. I surprised Rich with a new sight for his bow that he had no idea I knew he wanted. He actually asked for a cheap one cause he thought the one he really wanted I would never buy for him cause it was alot of money. But nothing is ever too good for the guy who is responsible for me and my kids eternal happiness. He is the BEST!!! And he deserves the best. Love you Lots......love, sexy!

Father's Day!!

2009-06-22T14:24:00.005-06:00

So we have a busy couple of weeks here at the Martinez house. First there was girls camp for me. We were going to girls camp
on June 16 thru the 18. So the 16th comes and I get Raegan
and my evergiving sister Heidi and we leave. Well Raegan was
sick puking all day on Monday and I was just praying she would
be okay for camp. She was a little better, but little did I know that later that
afternoon
I was going to get what she had. I had also talked to my mom and
she mentioned that both Taylee and Macrae had been sick all day with tummy aches
and so that was even more reason for me to go home to my family.
So I came
home from camp early and although I was sad to leave I was happy to be home
with my sick family. So we all had a little bout of the stomach flu and that was that.
Poor Rich took 2 days of work to watch kids and ended up cleaning up puke and
puking himself the whole time. Then there is the fun of Kashers getting blessed and then getting sealed to his loving
parents. That is something that I was so greatful to be a part of. Kash is such
a lucky little guy and I am so happy for him and his mom and dad.
He couldn't have wished for a better family. These are some pictures of the day at the Provo temple. The kids
loved the waterfalls and the pretty grass and flowers.
Such a beautiful place to spend a saturday morning. Then there is Father's Day. We went to heber and went to the Hamlet
park and had a picnic (again) 2 times in 2 days. What fun!!!
happy father's day to all the great dads out there.

CAKE!!!

2009-06-20T21:21:00.004-06:00

A good thought to ponder:

Sometimes we wonder, "What did I do to deserve this?" or
"Why did God 
have to do this to me?" Here is a wonderful explanation!

A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going
wrong, she's failing 
algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best
friend is moving 
away. 

Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her
daughter if she 
would like a snack, and the daughter says, "Absolutely Mom,
I love your cake." 

"Here, have some cooking oil," her Mother offers. 
"Yuck" says her daughter. 
"How about a couple raw eggs?" "Gross, Mom!" 
"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?" 
"Mom, those are all yucky!" 

To which the mother replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad
all by themselves. But when they are put together in the
right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! " 

God works the same way. Many times we wonder why
He would let us go through such bad and difficult times.
But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order,
they always work for good! We just have 
to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful! 

God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a 
sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen.
He can liveanywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart. 

Sometimes things just don't go our way and
there is nothing we can do about it except accept it and move on.
And know that God wouldn't make us indure anything that he thought we
couldn't handle.

A Couple of Great Guys!!

2009-06-11T16:21:00.008-06:00

With father's day right around the corner I thought that I might spotlight and recognize a couple of my favorite guys!!!
First there is my DAD! I have always looked up to my dad, not just literally speaking of course but I admire him for the person that he is. I think of Mr. Brent and I think of certain words that just come to mind......like, Lays plain potato chips, honest, hardworking, organized, model cars, "PA",dirt bike, builder, fisher, loves the gospel, caring, fixer of everything, honda lover, lecturer, levi's jeans ( a certain style), the smell of sawdust, the best christmas tree finder, and most of all father. My dad has taught me a lot in life and I am so thankful to have him so close.I love you dad,
Happy Father's Day to you.

It's not all that often anymore that a person is blessed with 2 wonderful parents but somehow I managed. I admired my dad so much that I wanted to find a man just like him when I got older.
Well what-do-you-know I did.The other very important and special guy would have to be my husband.
I knew Rich in high school and to be perfectly honest even though I did have a minor crush on him then, I NEVER thought that I would ever have married him. Mostly because we were so completely different people. He was the renegade cowboy and I was the goody goody. But somehow we found our way back to each other after high school and I thank my heavenly father every night for that. He is the greatest blessing that I have ever had in my life. If not for him I would not have my beautiful children and my wonderful life that I have. The words that come to mind when I think of Rich are a lot of the words that I used with my dad because they are both similar and that is great. Words such as......patient, hardworking, sweet, rodeo, joker, cowboy, strong, mechanic, my security blanket, hunter, outdoors man, foot warmer, back tickler, amazing father, gospel strong, MINE FOREVER!!! I love Richie with all my heart! I really do lay in bed at night and laugh because I never would have pictured being married to him. I couldn't have dreamt a greater husband. My only wish is that my little girls end up as lucky as I did and meet a man to take them to the temple and have the life that I have, that I never thought I would have deserved. I love you Rich, oh so very much.
You are my rock and are the reason for my happiness.
Happy Father's Day and Happy Birthday to you!!

Preschool Graduate!!!!

2009-06-05T12:37:00.001-06:00

Traceson is officially a preschool grad!!!!

2009-06-04T21:17:00.001-06:00

Macrae and Taylee! Taylee loving Macrae and Macrae thinking....... when you let go of me I am going to hurt you!!!

2009-06-04T21:14:00.002-06:00

A visit to Great Grandma Jennie!

More...... on Traceson's birthday!

2009-06-04T20:52:00.003-06:00

This was Trace thrilled that he got so much money from Grandpa and Grandma Sweat!

2009-06-01T09:47:00.009-06:00

It has been a while since my last post and quite a bit has gone on....busy, busy, busy!
Traceson turned 5 on May 17th. We had a birthday party for him at the park in Heber so we could play a game of baseball too! It was beautiful weather and perfect for the non heat lovers. Trace had a fun day and we love him so very much. He is definitely a keeper.
Traceson also graduated from preschool! He has been going to sunshine circle in heber and loving every minute of it. His teacher was Mrs. Tricia, one of Rich's friends from high schools wife and she is amazing. She loves cowboy! She likes him cause she says she can tease him and he will tease back. He has had so much fun at school this year. I am so very glad that I decided to endure the pain and expense of a preschool so far away because it was worth every bit of it. So on to kindergarten next year for Traceson and 2nd grade for Taylee!

Then, not that this isn't enough fun for a little 5 year old but Trace also started tee ball. He loves it. He gets a little bored though when he is in the outfield cause the little kids don't really hit it too much. But all in all he loves it.

On mother's day we went on a little picnic up currant creek. It was alot of fun. We went with my family for a change and had a fun time. My crazy sister Hailey decided to get in the 10 degree water and then Curt did, then Breanna, then Amber, then Heidi had to! They are crazy....that water was COLD! Rich also got me a new camera for mothers day. I have had my old one for about 5 years and as much as I loved it, it was time for a better one. So me being the frugal one would have bought me a not so great one for a hundred dollars and been good with that but my wonderful husband knowing this got me one that I would not have bought myself. And I love it!!! I have the greatest husband in the world!
Tomorrow is my little Macrae's Birthday and he is going to be 3! We are going to wait though and celebrate his birthday with Rich's that is the end of June. We have a birthday every week for about 2 months straight between my family and Rich's so we get really burned out on "celebrations" so we are combining them this year so maybe it will be easier and not so repetitious. I can't believe that my little boy is going to be 3! I am getting old.
Girls camp is also coming up for me in a couple of weeks so I guess I have that long to motivate me to REALLY want to go. I want to go, I just don't really want to go. Mostly cause it's hard to take a baby with you and still give all your attention to the girls. Which is really why you are there!

School is out now and so on to all the summer fun. We are planning a trip to Bear Lake in August and who knows what else. So that has been the last couple of crazy weeks of our life here in the middle of nowhere. You wouldn't think that there would be this much stuff to do out here would ya?

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies!!

2009-05-11T15:21:00.003-06:00

Of all the recipes for these cookies that I have tried I absolutely love this one.....

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies!

1 cup shortening
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups canned pumpkin
2 heaping tsp pumpkin pie spice
5 cups flour
8 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 heaping tsp cinnamon
2 heaping tsp nutmeg
I always add 2 bags of MILK chocolate chips cause we like ours chocolaty, you can add however many you would like, one bag is what the norm is but who likes to be normal?

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and pumpkin. Sift in dry ingredients and mix.
Drop by teaspoon onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 375' for 14 minutes.

You have to try this recipe, it is great!!

Lost Tooth!!

2009-05-06T08:39:00.003-06:00

So here we are 2 weeks from Traceson's 5th birthday and he lost his first tooth. He had been sick all day on monday coughing and sleeping. Typical sick Trace. He is such a good sick kid. He just sleeps until his sickness is gone, never complains, never says a word, just sleeps. So by Monday night I asked him if he felt like eating something and he said the typical "no, I am sick" so I told him grandma had sent up some watermelon and boy did that change his mind. He started eating the watermelon, sick or not, Trace will never pass up watermelon. About halfway through his second bowl, he got a funny look on his face and said "Mom, I think my loose tooth is really loose now." So I told him to try to push it backward and it fell out. He didn't know if should be happy or cry until I told him to put it under his pillow that night and the tooth fairy would bring him some money. Then it was all good. I can't believe my little cowboy is going to be 5. 11 days and counting and we will be celabrating the 5th birthday of a very sweet, loving, ALL BOY!!!! I love you Traceson!