Who says I can't make a mess...

For Family Night we had an object lesson using corn starch and water (if you have never tried this mixture, I encourage it!) As long as you are moving it around in your hands it is hard and can be shaped, but once you stop, it will drip like water. Very cool. It was something we all could play with, but Bria got a little distracted. I think she got crowded out to tell you the truth. She just can't compete with Tyler, Jake, and Allie. She didn't seem to mind too much though.

Sooo EXCITED!

Tyler and I get to to go to Boston for a whole week this month! Tyler is presenting at a Psychologist Conference there for his work. We are leaving the girls with my mom, which I think will be hard on both of us considering we have never left Bria, and have only left Allie once. It will be good for us to get away. These chances don't come along very often. I posted some pictures of the Hotel where they are having us stay...all I know is that they have some specialty bed called the "Heavenly King Size Bed" That is what I'm talkin' about! I haven't slept an entire 8 hours in 3 years! Anyways I guess I'll have more to say about it after we actually go.

Welcome to Nevada

My 15 year old brother Jake came to live with us at Christmas and is staying until July, so we decided to give him a little taste of Nevada. We decided to check out some natural hot springs. There were these boiling pits in the ground and pipes coming out of them which lead to this "bath tub" which was full of the "filtered" water. Something about sitting there in my nothings in the middle of nowhere just didn't sound appealing to me, so we just looked. The water smelled terrible, I really don't think you could have paid me to get in that thing. We also went to a ghost town, that really wasn't a ghost town because there were several families that lived there and seemed to own everything. Anything that looked cool had a big fence around it and a NO TRESPASSING sign. Sorry Jake, but that's all we have to offer here in northern NV, somehow we still manage to love our lives here.

Allie Girl

My sweet little Allie got a hold of my sewing scissors and...well there ya' go! I'm actually liking the short hair now, it was a bit of a shock at first, but the girl is so darn cute, the hair compliments her sassy little personality.

A little time in Logan

After Chirstmas in IF we got to spend some time in Logan UT, our old
stomping ground. We spent a few days with Tyler's Brother Derek and
his family. We sure love them. Allie and Sadie were cute together dancing around
in their Cinderella dresses. Cute little Cousins.
We also got to see our old pals the Hanson'sand Watkin's.
Our numbers have doubled since the last time we hung out,
it's funny how time does that to a family. I'm grateful we got to catch up
with everyone, I wish we could do that more often.

Crazy Christmas

We had a great Christmas in Idaho this year. It got a little crazy at
times with 11 children under the age of 6 running around, but man
did they have fun. My uncle Jim and dressed up as Santa one night
and Allie was not so thrilled about it. She informed us she likes Santa
in the movies, and not in person. It was nice to have my whole family together.

Family Fun

We threw an "I love Daddy Party" to surprise Tyler
after work. Do you love the hats? Allie had fun with
this-the party consisted of us dancing around to loud Christmas music
and eating cereal treats, but the girls were in heaven and Tyler didn't
mind it either. :) He loves his girls.

























Since we will be traveling to IF for Christmas, we had to give Allie her presant
a little early since we won't have room for it. It's nice when they are still so young.
This is ALL she wanted, and was thrilled that she got it because now she can make
"breadsticks", "noodles", "tortillas", "pancakes", and "soup".

Christmas Firsts

This was our first Christmas putting lights on our very own house, very exciting. Tyler stapled each light to
point the same direction, he says it was for me, but I know the truth. (The color of our house will be changing next summer
I hope! I thought I should add that) It was also our first year to put up a really, real Christmas tree. I love that pine smell!
Allie pulled it on herself the first day, and hasn't touched it since...lesson learned. Another first is we recently purchased an SUV to
accomodate our growing family, it was my first time ever driving one, and boy do I feel like queen of the road. It's HUGE compared to
my cute little orange hatchback (Which my sister bought). We are going to IF for Christmas this year, and then going to Logan to visit
Tyler's brother and his family. We are looking forward to the break. My 15 year old brother; Jake will be coming back with us at Christmas and finishing out the school year here. I'm grateful to have an opportunity to build a stronger relationship with him. Have a Merry Christmas!

Giving Thanks

My sister the "sharp shooter"














The guys took the kids to the school gym to play
while my sister and I cooked, that was sure
helpful. We had a great Thanksgiving. We are so
extremely blessed and I am grateful every day
for the life my Heavenly Father has given me.
I wake up every day to a home filled with love
a patient husband, and to beautiful girls who love me
despite my flaws. All of my needs are being met
along with things I don't deserve. It's a good time to
reflect, I love this time of the year!

Thanksgiving

This looks dangerous I know...but what else can
you do in Winnemucca?
















My sister Tye came with her family.
The kids did not sleep well together, but they sure looked
cute. Allie has never been a good sleeper, and boy can she
work bed time!
















We had an awesome feast, and the boys cleaned up
after, sure can't complain about that!

Spillin' the beans...

Well, I've recently been witness to how fast news can spread in a small town.

Within a matter of hours I think all of Winnemucca knew that I was pregnant.

I'm not a private person, so it didn't bother me much. The only thing is, I don't know

how far along I am. To tell you the truth, this pregnancy came a little sooner than we had anticipated (note: I did not say "planned") We don't plan, but for any of you who know my track record, it has taken over a year for me to get pregnant with each of my pregnancies...until now that is. So here we go again, I'm guessing I'm only a little over a month along-maybe more. Since the beans are already spilled all over Winnemucca, I thought I might as well spread them a little further, even though it is quite early. Of course I will keep you all posted. We are praying for another happy, healthy baby. We feel very blessed at the opportunity to have such close babies, we hope we will feel that way in the teen years as well!

Oh Joy...

Allie; ready for Joy School-She did not want me to take this picture


















So, I consented to do a "Joy School" with a few other mothers, basically it's
like a repeat of nursery for an hour and a half on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
We take turns "hosting" and I recently did two of my four weeks. I can't say
it's something I look forward to, but Allie loves her friends, and the kids LOVE it. I have plenty of friendly
reminders that "we are doing this for the kids". (Thanks Kate:) Tyler makes fun of me
a little. He thinks it's like a pre-pre-school. He thinks Kindergarten is when they should
start school, I think I agree-all the moms in the group know I'm not tottaly converted to the idea,
but I gave it a shot. I completely respect teachers, and those who have the talent of managing lots of
little children every day. I do not have that talent, however, it seems to be different when they are your own.

Bloggin' with the Frog

I'm giving a shout-out to this web site in hopes that all of my blogging friends will jump on! This site has helped me find so many long lost friends, which is the whole reason why I blog. I'm horrible about staying in touch, and this site does a lot of the work for me. I'm a click away from knowing who's interested in me by the widget that shows my recent visits, and also who I need to check out by the news feed widget. You can search by highschool, and by links shared by other members. It is free, and they never send junk mail, gotta' love that! So take a looksee at the link.
http://theblogfrog.com/Welcome.aspx

Big Blue Adventures

There are a lot of secluded areas in Nevada to explore, this was one of our adventures in "Big Blue". We took a little dirt road out to an abanded homestead. Just a typical Saturday morning in Winnemucca. Allie loves this truck, and so does her Daddy. It was given to us from our good friends the Lord's Family; Kraig Lord's is Tyler's boss and we share "dumping" rights with them in return.























We highly recomend that every family have a beastly vehicle that can get roughed up without worry:)

8 TV shows I love to watch:
1. Big Shocker...Tyler and I haven't watched T.V. in 2+ years...and we don't miss it.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
My Favorite 8 Restaurants
1. Macaroni Grill
2. Johnny Carinos
3. Rodizios
4. Quiznos
5. Red Robin
6. Ruby Tuesdays
7. Canton
8. The melting Pot

8 Things That Happened Yesterday
1. Sanded some letter blocks
2. Played duck, duck, goose with Allie and her friend Ren
3. Made Christams Cards for the card exchange group I'm in
4. Deep cleaned my bathrooms
5. Made my mom's real mexican tacos...mmmm
6. Painted Allie's toe nails
7. Went to BK and watched Tyler, Allie, and Bria share a small shake (I didn't want any:)
For FHE
8. Started reading A Day of Remembrance from the Promised Land Series.

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To
1. Christmas in IF
2. Going to Boston in February
3. Finishing projects on the house (mostly exterior)
4. My Aunt and Uncle going through the temple
5. Allie going to bed willingly
6. Weaning Bria (She's addicted to me)
7. Thanksgiving!
8. Man, I didn't think this would be hard, I guess I'm enjoying the present as much as possible.

8 Things On My Wishlist
1. That all of my children will stay active in the church
2. I could divide into two people to get everything done
3. pay off our mortgage and student loans today!
4. the economy would stabalize
5. That I could say things exactly how I mean them without confusing people
6. That I could lose this last ten pounds...I'm gettin' there
7. That people could just get along and get over there differences
8. That I could make Spicy Ramano Chicken at home that tasted like Johnny Carinos

8 People I Tag: Whoever wants to do this...