Tragic Loss

See this handsome guy. This is my 18 year old cousin, Neal. He was killed in a car accident this morning. He is a sweetheart! My heart aches for his family, whom we love dearly! They are wonderful people. My thoughts and prayers are with them. He had a special relationship with my mom, so I know she was there to greet him on the other side. Our Heavenly Father has a plan for each one of us. Neal, we love you and appreciate the person you are and are glad we know you and love you!

A What?

Carson was running a fever this weekend, so on Sunday we needed to keep him home from church. Colby, Carson and myself were in the boys' room while Colby was getting ready for church and he says,
"Carson, you can't go to church today because you have a beaver!" I died laughing and made him say it again. HILARIOUS!!! Although, he didn't find it to funny that I was laughing. That is one of my favorites!

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Today my mom would have turned 65. I want to celebrate her today. It has been a rough week thinking that this day was coming. And as I write this I can't fight back the tears. I miss her more than I can begin to explain. I miss being able to pick up the phone and tell her the latest things the boys are doing. I miss being able to tell her I love her. I miss her hugs. I miss her voice. I miss hearing her call me "honey". I miss the way her face would light up when she would see her grandkids. I miss her advice. I miss her listening ear, when I was struggling with something. I miss her smile. I miss how special she made holidays. I miss looking at her BEAUTIFUL face (in person). I miss that she is not a physical presence in my life or my boys' lives. I miss the way she would come visit and make something for my home to make it more beautiful and "homey". I miss her singing. There are so many things to list. I could go on forever! I think about her everyday and miss her, but as I go about my day with my children and family and life, I catch myself doing something or saying something that my mom would do or say. That is a wonderful gift, to have inherited some of her wonderful qualities. Happy Birthday, Mom! Thank you for blessing my life for 32 years and the way you will keep on blessing my life.

I love you!

Mom and Me

Here is she is with Colby in her infamous Christmas sweatshirt!

Thanksgiving....Delayed

So our Thanksgiving was so GREAT!!! My sister Rhonda and her family and my dad made the trek down here to spend Turkey day with us at the C* Cabin. We had such a blast. The only regret is that Mark & Company, Cory & Company, and Renae weren't there. We missed you guys!!! And that there was not much snow at all. There was enough to do some sledding after patching up some spots to make a sledding path. The kids loved it!!! Dinner turned our great. I was a bit nervous about cooking a big meal up there, but it turned out really well! Nate had a great idea to share a memory of my Mom around the dinner table. After some memories shared and some tears shed, we had a great meal. It was weird to not have Mom there. I am bummed also that I have no photos to mark the event since I did remember my camera but not the sd card that was in my computer. ARGH!!!! Rhonda and Pops....could you kindly send some my way or upload them on Snapfish or something. We played lots of games, ventured out and did some shopping and the last day most of the folks went skiing in Park City. Thanks guys for making the LONG trek down and for spending the Holiday with us. We really enjoyed having you guys!!

Online Shoppers Beware

I guess we are in the giving spirit early this year. We inadvertantly gave our cc# to someone while doing some online shopping. They helped themselves to some large purchases this morning. Happy Holidays.....I guess! ARGH!!!! I have been sick to my stomach all day. What a violation! We both still have our cards in hand. So, they had to have lifted the # online. The fraudulent purchases were all made online. We are HUGE fans of online shopping, but now I am leery, and probably won't do it anymore. Sad day! :( All of our purchases have been made on well known sites. So, for those of you that are fans of shopping online as well.....be careful! Luckily, our cc company is on top of things and noticed the suspicious spending behaviour before it got too far. Phew! Thank you Discover! They are going to cancel the orders. So, the grimey thief gained nothing from all this. HA!

3 Smiles That Melt My Heart

Wishing You A.....

Hope everyone has a wonderful day and weekend full of family, friends, and FOOD!

I Was Thinkin'........

I am going to do a homemade Christmas this year. I am really excited about it.

Wish me luck!

*I apologize in advance for those who will be receiving. :-)

A Book By Colby

In pre-school the teacher has them make books. They draw pictures then the teacher writes down what they describe the picture to be. This is the book Colby brought home today. You can click on the pictures to make them larger so you can read what each page says.

Hangin' Tough With New Kids

Last night was the big New Kids concert. When we first got there, there was a table where you could trade in your tickets for better seats. Kind of sad, that they had that many seats open, but we got a little bit better seats. It was still pretty full. Just the top level was empty. Natasha Beddingfield opened and was amazing! That girl can sing, and has great music! It was a blast! Me, a wife and mother of three, was reverted back to my 13 year old, New Kid lovin' self as soon as those guys came out on stage. And I loved every minute of it!!! (You were right, Pops!) It was so fun to re-live the old days for a couple of hours. A big thanks to my honey for watching the boys so that I could go. And to Linds for humoring me and going with. She had fun too!

Linds and I while we waited for them to take the stage.

Natasha Beddingfield

Yes, some girls did dress in their best 80's get up. HAD to get a picture of that!

Sorry, this video is a bit shakey.

Who's Going To New Kids?

Lindsay is the lucky winner and gets to go with me to the NKOTB concert! Thanks for wanting to go with me, Linds, you are a good friend! It will be fun!

First Giggles

Want to see Josh giggle? Check out this video. Warning: the video is not great quality, but serves its purpose! Josh giggled for the first time last night and I was so excited that I had to take video and post it. A special thank you to Colby for being my videographer! This sweet little baby continues to melt my heart everyday! Pause the music on the right side of my blog before you play it. Otherwise you won't be able to hear it.

PS. Yes, that is a toothbrush next to Josh. Carson can't seem to keep that thing in the bathroom! :-)

A Proud Mama!

Yesterday was our Primary Program. Which went so awesomely! The kids did an EXCELLENT job! Yeah!!!! Colby sang in a quartet with his cousin, Brady and two friends, Riley and Tanner. When the Music Leader suggested him to sing the song ("I Love to See the Temple"), I hesitated, thinking he was still pretty young and may be shy or afraid to stand in front of 200 people and sing. I was so proven wrong yesterday. He was AMAZING! He knew all the words (after some practice!) and never once showed any fear about doing it. Nate and I were talking last night about it and are so glad that Colby has that confidence (as long as it doesn't cross the line to arrogance). That will be so beneficial to him in the years ahead. He never ceases to amaze me. He is a very special kid, and I am SO blessed to be his mom and sometimes feel inadequate. Way to go Colbs! We are SO proud of you! Brady, Tanner and Riley did awesome, too! I have to toot my own kid's horn, of course, but they did an amazing job, too. It was so cute to listen to them all! And the rest of our Primary was incredible!!!! I am one proud mama!

Calling A New Kids Fans

First of all, a disclaimer to this post. I realize I may be mocked, teased, and made fun of for what is to come in this post. And I am ok with that! Lets step a few years back in time in Michelle's life.....ok, quite a few years! She is 13 years old and there is an extremely popular band....New Kids On The Block. She had the opportunity to go to their concert at the Puyallup Fair and totally fell in love with them! The walls of her room were covered, and I am talking no visible wall at all, of pictures of Jonathan, Jordan, Danny, Donnie, and Joey. (I have pictures somewhere of my walls that I will post later if I can find them.) She knew every word to every song of theirs (and still does, sadly enough).

She and her friend even learned the dance to the song "The Right Stuff". Anything that had to do with New Kids she was all about it! Yep, I was one of those girls. I thought I was going to marry Jordan (thank heavens that didn't come to pass. A couple of years later I grew out of that love for NKOTB, and they later broke up. So, flash forward to the present. They have reunited and decided to go on tour.....one of their stops being here. Of course, I thought twice about it. But was not about to pay for tickets to go. So, I won them on the radio. (BTW Nate was working to get some for me as a surprise before I won them....so sweet! Love you Nate!) Realizing that there may not be too many fans out there, I ask this question anyway:

ANYONE WANT TO GO TO A NKOTB CONCERT THIS SATURDAY NIGHT, THE 15TH?

I promise I won't scream the whole time, cry or faint! =-) If you want to go, just leave a comment and if I have multiple takers (which lets be real, I will be lucky to get one!) I will draw a name. It would be fun getaway from kids, and it's free! Doesn't get any better than that!

Colby At A Glance

Since Colby just turned 5, I wanted to write some things down, mainly for memory sake.
At five years old he:

• loves the color red
• favorite number is 4, although I need to check with him on that since his favorite number changes every time his age does.
• can't get enough of peanut butter and honey sandwiches
• once said, when asked what he did on a certain day, "I watched a show, played a game, and then I got handsome." One of my favorite Colby quotes.
• loves to color and create
• calls a frisbee a "rice krispie"- he has recently corrected that. But, dang, it was cute!
• remembers his Nana. Just yesterday he said, "I wish Nana was here." They have such a special bond.
• loves treats, espcially chocolate! A man after my own heart.



• loves to snuggle
• is reading
• doing simple math
• absolutely loves his "workbooks" to practice letters, numbers, etc.
• is obsessed with numbers. He knows how to read the calendar and will ask about certain dates and what is going on that day. He even makes his own calendars at the beginning of the month and then crosses of the days....here they are:



• can use the telephone....dial up a number and call someone. I have to be careful there! Although it is always someone he knows.
• can tell time
• obsessed with freeway exit numbers
• is starting to play the piano, because of Aunt Caytee's great lessons!
• loves music and knows Duffy's "Mercy" song word for word. And sings it really well. Amazing and so entertaining!
• loves to tease
• loves to wrestle dad
• at "Pro" status on Wii Bowling
• likes "Tom & Jerry", "Scooby Doo", and "Phineas & Ferb"
• the kindest, sweetest, sensitive, helpful, smartest, most handsome 5 year old I know who makes me smile every day!
  
  

Election Thoughts

Today, as my thoughts are consumed with the events of yesterday, I wanted to write them down. A new President was elected yesterday in this wonderful nation, where we are free to choose. Yesterday I was able to witness history. The first African-American was elected President of the U.S. Whether or not he is the "right" man for the job, that is amazing and so huge for our Nation! And I am grateful to be here to witness that. Yesterday my voice was heard. Irregardless of who I spoke for, I need to accept America's (majority) choice for their new leader. And, whether I agree or disagree with the choice, I need to give this new President the respect he deserves, because of the office he will hold come January. I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt and hope that he will serve our Country well, and bring us to a better place. I didn't feel any peace during this election as to who was the best candidate, but I do know that my Heavenly Father is ultimately in control, and that gives me the peace I need.

Yep! I Did It......

I VOTED!!!

Happy Halloween!

Today was full of excitement, anticipation, cute boys in costumes, trick-or-treating with the cousins, eating LOTS of sugar, and of course....meltdowns. And now the house is quiet with sleeping boys! The perfect Halloween!

and a big THANK YOU to Shelley who lent us the adorable Tigger costume!

New Photos

Baby Josh at 10 weeksColby 5 year

Colby's Fashion Sense

This is my adorable, smart, loving and fashionable? boy Colby. Please take note at the pants and how short they are. No, he is not preparing for a flood....he has grown out of these pants. There are his "comfy" pants that he absolutely LOVES! When I ask him to go get dressed in the morning and I haven't picked out an outfit, this is what he comes out looking like. His "95" shirt (it has the number 95 on it that you can't see, and that is Lightening McQueens number) and his "comfy pants". Being a girl who has a little fashion sense (even though it is debateable at the moment), I guess there is a part of me that wishes that he cares what he wears. But then I remember he is a BOY! And they are all about comfort. And Nate keeps reminding me of that. He tells me I can buy all the nice clothes in the world, but a guy just wants what is comfy. So, needless to say, I think it is time to put the pants away, far, far away. But I will give him a couple more weeks with his beloved comfy pants. I love you, Colby! :-)

It's All About the Pumpkins!

We went to the pumpkin patch tonight with our friends Gary and Jana and their two adorable boys! We got to go on a tractor ride, but not before we had their yummy apple cider donuts! We had a great time and the kids loved it! This is Cars with the sippy cup clutched in his arms, which is a common sight with him!

Colbs hanging out on the fence while we wait for the tractor ride.

Gary, Jana, Tanner and Gage

Tanner and Colby....best buddies.





Carson and Colby in the pumpkin field.

Colby, Tanner and Carson

Carson found sitting on the pumpkins to be much more entertaining than picking one out......

while Gage found the rocks much more interesting!

Here we are getting ready to leave on the tractor ride.