Death; it's hard, but it's not the end, it's only a graduation to the next life.

Death there is a lot one can say about death. I have a really hard time with it. It's not that I'm scared to die, it's that I don't want to suffer when I die. It feels like where ever I turn I hear that someone close has died, or isn't doing well. The beginning of this month a close friend of Matt's his mother died of a freak stroke. It was heartbreaking, she was a healthy woman too. His Dad is an older man, he slipped on the ice and fell on his back. He broke a Vertabrae. Matt went to the funeral, and said he didn't look to good. Well last Thursday I got a message from my Mother in Law that she had just talked to Shane, and his Dad had passed away that afternoon from a bloodclot. It hadn't even been a month since his Mom died. I can't imagine loosing both parents, it's hard enough loosing one. I feel so bad for him, he is only 22 not married, and the closest sibling in age is his brother who is close to his 40's. He is going to go and live with them for awhile. I ended up going to the funeral bymyself because Matt wasn't able to get off from work. It was really hard to go. I haven't been to a funeral since my Dad died, and I tell you what all I could do was think about my Dad the whole time. I was in tears, I couldn't go look at bob in his casket for very long, it was just too hard. It was a good funeral, and It made me wish that I had gotten to know shane and his parents better. They are some neat people. It's so sad that he lost both parents so close to each other, and that he had to watch them suffer. At least Bob and Sheryl are together again. Shane will see them again.

As we were driving home from Idaho we found out that President Hinkley had passed away. You know I was sad for only a moment, but then I was happy because he was so old, and he was with Marjorie his wife again. I got an email from a friend that had tons of pictures of President Hinckley, and his wife.

They are such good people and so cute with one another. They are great examples, and did so much for this time and dispensation. I will miss President Hinckley's talks, his cane, his sweet smile, and funny personality. Just by looking at the pictures how could you not love them, they are good examples of good Christian people. I'm so glad that President Hinckley didn't suffer, and that his family got to say goodbye. Most of all I'm glad that he is together with his wife again. I love this quote by Elder Boyd K. Packer.

"You were generals in the War in Heaven and one day when you are in the spirit world, you will be enthralled by those you are associated with. You will ask someone in which time period they lived and you might hear, "I was with Moses when he parted the Red Sea," or "I helped build the pyramids," or "I fought with Captain Moroni." And as you are standing there in amazement, someone will turn to you and ask you which of the prophets' time did you live in? And when you say "Gordon B. Hinckley" a hush will fall over every hall and corridor in Heaven, and all in attendance will bow at your presence. You were held back six thousand years because you were the most talented, most obedient, most courageous, and most righteous."

I've heard this so many times before, but today as I read it I got the chills. I always think that I don't think I could handle living back in the time with Joseph Smith and the pioneers. I also thought to that the pioneers probably thought they couldn't handle living in our time either. Both time periods are hard, but I think ours definately has it. It is scary out there, and you have to be so careful with everything you do. It is a fast paced and very worldy world. We are strong and we can make it through to the end, we just need to do what is right, and rely on the Lord and Heavenly Father.

Post Christmas Party

We decided that we were going to have a post Christmas party with matt's brother Josh and his family, and his sister Rachael and her family. The party was at his brother Josh's house in Victor Idaho. I wasn't looking forward to the drive. It's about 5 hrs. from where we live to their house. We left early like at 5:00 in the morning on Saturday the 26th. The girls only slept for like a hr. and a half. Stinky deal, but oh well they slept for a little bit of it! So we arrived at Josh's house around 11:30 and unpacked. It was good to see them all again, and spend time together. The kids had fun playing with each other, and amazingly enough they all got a long! Good deal!!! The whole day the guys played the Wii and the girls talked. I wouldn't have had it any other way. I love talking! It was fun to catch up. Saturday night we had our Christmas dinner, and it was really yummy. I just love food, and mostly everything tastes good to me. After dinner and cleaning up we opened our presents from each other. The kids enjoyed their gifts. Madisynn got an Ice cream bubble blower and a bouncy ball with a fish inside. McKenzie got a Strawberry shortcake doll, which came with a dance music dvd. McKenzie loves the strawberry shortcake, but I think she loves the dance dvd more. There is a song on there called The Strawberry Shake. Yesterday we did that dance probably more than 20 times in a row. I was tired and turned it off. McKenzie would have kept on going if I wouldn't have turned it off. It was really cute and fun! Madisynn was obsessed with the bubbles, and wanted me to keep blowing them. I probably blew bubbles for close to a half an hr. I was starting to get light headed! They got mad when I put the bubbles away. What a mean Mom and Aunt I am, sheesh! =) Matt got a candy bar. and a gift card. I didn't open one, because I had already opened it on Christmas morning. Matt's little brother Jacob lives in Illinois and wasn't able to come. He is a punk though. His gift to me he wrapped it up into several different boxes which were all taped very well. I swear it took me like 10 min. to open the gift. Inside the smallest box was a gift card to Hollywood video. If you knew him it is probably one of his trademarks to do something like he did to me. I was totally exhausted by the time we went to bed, I think I feel asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow. That hasn't happened in a long time, and it felt GREAT! Sunday we went to church, just Sacrament meeting because we were leaving that night. It was really bad weather that day, and we were hoping that we wouldn't get snowed in. So we went to church came home and I made my Baked Spaghetti a recipe I got from a friend when I got married. It is so good!!! It felt good to be able to cook for everyone, I really enjoyed it, and I'm glad that they liked the spaghetti. We were able to leave that night, though it was bad weather, but we made it home okay. Matt's Sister and her family were supposed to leave the next day. They ended up getting snowed in. The bad part is that Jason's boss wasn't very understanding about it. It makes me mad, like Jason had control over the weather, and the roads. That's ridiculous. They did make it home the next day thank goodness. The roads were closed later after they left. I'm tired of the wind and snow, and the crappy roads. I am very thankful for the moisture though, it is so badly needed. It's just hard not to complain when your cold and you have to go out in the cold. To wrap it up, it was a FUN weekend, and I LOVE my FAMILIES they are so much fun.

You Know You Grew Up In The 80's or Early 90's If:

I had this in my email and thought it would be fun to share! I have done, had, or remember most of these!!!

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word SIKE.
2. You watched the Pound Puppies.
3. You can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and can do the Carlton.
4. Girls wore biker shorts under their skirts and felt stylishly sexy.
5. You yearned to be a member of the Baby-sitters club and tried to start a club of y our own.
6. You owned those lil' Strawberry Shortcake pals scented dolls.
7. You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey on Blossom.
8. Two words: Hammer Pants
9. If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock"
10. You had plastic streamers on your handle bars... and spokey-dokes orplaying cards on your spokes for that incredible sound effect
11. You can sing the entire theme song to "Duck Tales" (Woo ooh!)
12. It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons
13. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.
14. You saw the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the bigscreen...and still know the turtles names.
15. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class atschool.
16. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in aknot on the side.
17. You played the game "MASH"(Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House)
18. You wore sto newashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.
19. L. A. Gear....need I say more?
20. You wanted to change your name to "JEM" in Kindergarten. (She's TrulyOutrageous.)
21. You remember reading Tales of a fourth grade nothing and all The Ramonabooks.
22. You know the profound meaning of "WAX ON , WAX OFF"
23. You wanted to be a Goonie.
24. You ever wore fluorescent clothing. (some of us...head-to-toe)
25. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose felloff and his cheeks shifted.
26. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.
27. You took lunch boxes to school... and traded Garbage Pailkids in the schoolyard.
28. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.
29. You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence.
30. You remember Hypercolor t-shirts.
31. Barbie and the Rockers was your favorite band.
32 . You thought She-ra (Princess of Power!) and He-Man should hook up.
33. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because youexchanged handmade friendship bracelets.
34. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes.
35. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are,but what am I?"
36. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"
37. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.
38. You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide.
39. You have ever played with a Skip-It.
40. You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds.
41. You've gone through this nodding your head in agreement.
42. You remember Popples.
43. Don't worry, be happy
44. You wore like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high top Reeboks.
45. You wore socks scrunched down (and sometimes still do...getting yelled at by younger hip members of the family)
46. You remember boom boxes and walking around with one on your shoulderlike you were all that.
47. You remember watching both Gremlins movies.
48. You know what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare!!"
49. You remember watching Rainbow Bright and & My Little Pony Tales
50. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli was hot.
51 . You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac.
52. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool...and don't even flinch when people refer to them as "NKOTB"
53. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved ByThe Bell," The ORIGINAL class.
54. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.
55. You just sang those words to yourself.
56. You remember watching Magic vs. Bird.
57. Homemade Levi shorts.. (the shorter the better)
58. You remember when mullets were cool!
59. You had a mullet!
60. You still sing "We are the World"
61. You tight rolled your jeans.
62. You owned a banana clip.
63. You remember "Where's the Beef?"
64. You used to (and probably still do) say "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?"
65. You had big hair and you knew how to use it.
66. You're still singing shot through the heart in your head, aren't you!

So what crazy things did you do in the 80's or 90's???

Good Friends

I love this picture!!! It makes me happy and sad. These are some of my bestest friends in the whole world. Brittnie is holding Madisynn, and Randy is holding McKenzie and their son Jaydin. They are some of the funnest people, and very easy to get along with. I appreciated them so much while we lived in Cali. They are the type of people that would do anything for you. I really miss them. It was hard to say goodbye back in June, but it's even harder now because they moved to Germany. I miss having that friend just down the street that I absolutely trusted with all my heart. Someone that loved our kids as if they were their own. We had some really fun times: karaoke, playing games, being stupid together, picking on Matt, flirting with randy, spending general conference together, spending Christmas Eve and Christmas pretty much any holiday together, eating dinners together. Man we should have just moved into there house, we were over there so much! Those were some fun times and I will cherish them always. Brittnie always knew when I needed to get out and she took me out. I was always feeling down, and just feeling plain stressed about life. They did everything for us, and I always told Brittnie I wish I could have done more for you. She just smiled and said you will be able to do that for somebody else. I hope so, and I really do hope that one day I'll be able to help Randy and Brittnie like they helped us. I have made some great friends over the years and I will always cherish them. It's not about quantity, it's about quality. So do you have a friend that would do absolutely anything for you???

White Chili

I'm not much of a cook. It's really not my thing. In the last couple of years I've felt bad for Matt. He's probably getting sick of the same old thing. Well this year it was one of my resolutions to start cooking better. It hasn't been that bad. I've actually enjoyed doing it!!! My Sister has given me some easy recipes that are really tasty. Here is one that I have never heard of. White Chili. When she told me about it, I knew I wanted to try it. She gave me the recipe for it, and tonight I made it for dinner. It turned out so yummy, we really enjoyed it. I love watching Matt gobble up his food, it makes me feel good, and that I can actually cook. So thanks Kate for the yummy recipe we will be making it again soon, and next time we are doubling it. I also made a yummy salad. lettuce and spinach mix, craisins, apples, broccoli, and carrots. We like it, and it's a great way to get your vegetables.

Here is the White Chili recipe if your interested:

Saute until brown:

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 medium onion chopped

1 TBSP. vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Add: 2 cans (15 1/2 oz.) great white northern beans rinsed and drained

1 can (14 1/2 oz) Chicken broth

2 cans (4 oz.) chopped green chilies

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. dried Oregano

1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. pepper

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 30 min. Remove from heat; stir in:

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 cup (8 oz.) Sour Cream

Yield 7 servings

Dirt.... Yum!!!

This is McKenzie when she was turning 1. This is in my parents backyard, and she wanted to follow grandma everywhere. My Mom was getting flowers and plants ready to plant. Can you guess what McKenzie did???



Yep that's right she actually put the dirt clod in her mouth. She wouldn't leave the dirt alone, and I got tired of telling her no, and getting her away from it. I decided I would watch and see what she would do. So yeah I had to get a shot of her doing it. Awful Mom right? I hurried and cleaned her up right after. I mean what kind of Mom would I be if I didn't do that?!? From what I remember McKenzie didn't seem to mind.
She is such a cutie!!! I do remember that moment like it was yesterday.

Volleyball... It makes me happy!!! =)

Volleyball what can I say: I absolutely love it! I haven't played since may, and man have I missed it. Our ward plays Monday mornings 9-11 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday nights 9-11. I have been meaning to get out and play, but I would always forget, or I was tired, or something else came up. I went tonight and played, and man I had a blast! My arms are really killing me though. They are going to be so bruised up in the morning. I'm proud of myself for going to something all by myself. I'm a little shy, and I just hate putting myself in situations like that. I think I'm getting better at it. Everybody was so nice, and it made me feel more accepted in the ward. It also made me think of the fairfield ward in Cali. I loved playing volleyball with them. I miss them all so much. I'm going to make it a goal to get out and play every Tuesday and Thursday. So do you all like volleyball?

Games, Games, Games!!!

So this last Friday we had a game night with my little brother Quinn and his date Angie. First of all I was so excited that he was interested in someone! They are really cute together, and you can totally tell they like each other. They have already been out on a couple of dates before we had them over, so that's good. She is very fun, and I'm glad we got to meet her! We were also excited to have them over because we had planned on playing the totally insane card game. We got the game for Christmas. The problem is you have to have at least 4 players to play. So you can see why we were excited to have them come over. When we answered the door Angie was carrying a big bag. They said it was full of games. In my mind I was like well we'll see. I just really wanted to play the totally insane card game. Angie is a game person obviously. We had dinner Sweet and Sour Chicken and rice, a fun salad, and rolls. Very good tasty dinner, and I'm proud of myself. I'm not much for cooking, but when I do I really enjoy it and feel very satisfied. After we were done eating we talked about what games we were going to play. We decided that we would play some of her games. Oh I'm so glad we did, because they are all so much fun and I would love to get them eventually. The first game we played was Pirates cove.

Come aboard and sail to Pirate's Cove... the legendary hideaway of thieving pirates and cutthroat buccaneers. The tales of those legendary pirates of old who've fought and survived these mysterious waters still haunt all those who yearn for a life at sea. Armed with a secret map and starting with a modestly outfitted sloop salvaged from last winter's storm, you set sail to Pirate's Cove - your eyes filled with visions of treasure and fame, your lungs filled with the salty air of the High Seas.
Your objective: to battle for the rights to plunder and become the most famed and feared Pirate the world has ever seen. To do so, you will need to navigate shrewdly, fight recklessly and pillage mercilessly. You will gain fame by winning battles; burying gold and treasure; and bragging about your exploits at the Tavern. At the end of twelve months, the pirate with the most fame will be declared the most fearsome Pirate of the High Seas!

I totally stunk at this game, I lost, but I had a lot of fun. It takes awhile to remember what you're doing. I know that I would probably do better the next time I played.

The next game we played was Ticket to Ride. I was excited to play this one after reading about it on Shaina's blog. With elegantly simple gameplay, Ticket to Ride can be learned in 3 minutes, while providing players with intense strategic and tactical decisions every turn. Players collect cards of various types of train cars they then use to claim railway routes in North America. The longer the routes, the more points they earn. Additional points come to those who fulfill Destination Tickets – goal cards that connect distant cities; and to the player who builds the longest continuous route.

I didn't loose this game, I came in third, and my brother lost to me by one point. Ha Ha!!! I really had a lot of fun playing this game.

The next game we played is called Zigity A cranium game. I love Cranium so I knew that I should be able to do alright on this game.

Looking for 10 minutes of fun? Try Cranium Zigity, the quick card game for 2 or more players ages 8 and up that's filled with crazy twists and a fun mix of activities.
You'll play sets of cards that add up to 11, spell a word, complete the puzzle, or match musical instruments in a race to get rid of all your cards! Think you're about to win? Watch out! Action cards can change the game in a flash.
Fast-paced and full of surprises, Cranium Zigity is a great game to bring on trips -- or enjoy any time you need a quick burst of fun with family and friends.

I did do really good on it. I actually won one of the games! My brother Quinn said that he would give me a $100 if I could spell hippopotamus with the cards. I never could do it though. Nice of him to offer though!!!

I wish that we could have played the totally insane card game, but we ran out of time. It was about 1:30 in the morning when we finished playing Zigity, and quoting movies and talking. It was a really fun night, and I hope to be able to do it again. I love games!!! Just for kicks I'm going to show you the totally insane card game. It really is fun and insane!

Totally Insane plays "like" you would play UNO®, only with 27 action cards and lots of fun new twists. The game ends when a player reaches 500 points, lowest score wins.The Totally Insane Card Game has numbered cards 0-10 and 27 actions cards such as Change Hands. If you do not like the cards in your hand, you think another player MAY have a better hand, play the Change Hands to the discard pile and change hands with him. Other examples of action cards are the Moving Cards. These cards when played, will move the entire hand of all players either two players left or one player right. The Totally Insane Card Game includes Draw 2, Draw 4, and Take 2 cards that make the next player either Draw 2 or Draw 4 cards from the draw pile, or Take 2 cards from any player. Of course the draw cards add together so you might have to draw 6 or 8 cards. In Totally Insane, players could takecards from your hand, helping you get rid of your cards, while adding cards to their hand. The Totally Insane Card Game has a Totally Useless Card. This card is exactly what is says: totally useless. At no time can the Totally Useless Card be played to the discard pile. So what do you do with a card you can't play to the discard pile? Simple, you give it to another player so he can't play it either. (If you can't play it, you can't go out.) You can give it away with cards like the Change Hands, Moving Card, or a Forced Kindness. When you play a Forced Kindness to the discard pile, you give two cards from your hand to any player. You never know who will be picked on next. The Totally Insane Card Game boasts one Dead Card. Any time this card is played to the discard pile, the hand is over immediately. All players add the points of their cards, then deal the next hand. This is just a sample of the action cards and how they play.The Totally Insane Card Game is designed to play in turn and out of turn (matching), so you must be alert or you may miss an opportunity to play a card.

If you're into games try some of these, they really are a blast!!!

Enchanted: A must see!

For Christmas Matt's grandparents gave us some money to do something with our little family. So this past Saturday we decided that we were going to do something as a family. We decided that since we hadn't seen a movie in the theater for awhile that we would do that. We wanted to see a movie that was kid friendly. There wasn't that much to choose from. We chose to see enchanted because for 1: we had heard how good it was! 2: because McKenzie is really into princess's. McKenzie was glued to the screen, and when it was over she wanted to watch it again! Madisynn didn't do so swell during the movie. She whined a lot, but she also slept for a little while. I loved this movie!!! It was so cute and cheesy, just plain hilarious!!! I also loved the music in it! I wouldn't mind getting that one when it comes out on video, then I could see the parts that I missed because of Madisynn. She is still a little too young to take to the movies. She's just to busy that's all!!! Well go see the movie if you get a chance. =)

Ouch, that hurts...=(

I swear someone is going to think that I beat my kids. I don't beat them. Well here's how all the drama started. Friday I was making eggs for breakfast. When I got done I turned the burner off and moved the frying pan out of the way. Well as I was getting the girls plates ready McKenzie decides that she is going to touch the burner on the stove. She has never done it before, and she knows it is hot. Why now??? I have no idea. Anyways she burned herself bad enough to blister it pretty good. Poor thing.... She was so funny about it. Mom I need a bambeed, which means a bandaid. I told her no because it wasn't bleeding, she wouldn't stop talking about it, and wouldn't eat her breakfast. I fineally told her if she ate her breakfast then she could have a bandaid. She gobbled all of her food so fast. She definately wanted that bandaid!!!

This picture is was taken today, so it's healed a bit. I just felt bad for her.

The next day we went to the primary activity. It went well. Well at the end of it, I was making copies for our lesson in the library, and matt was helping clean up I guess. The kids were running around the gym. Someone had mopped up an area of the floor, and McKenzie slipped and fell. The guy that saw it happen thought she was ok. He thought she was just being shy because she didn't cry, and that she was embarassed. When she looked up he saw all of this blood coming from her mouth. Matt hurried and got her and took her to the drinking fountain. He got the bleeding to stop, but she had a nasty cut/bump on her upper lip. Poor thing. She has never really hurt herself like that until now. Lucky!!!

This picture was also taken today. It looked a lot worse when it happened. The first picture she was being grumpy because she was still tired from her nap. The second one she was more willing to show.

Today this one was my fault, and I totally didn't mean too. I was changing Madisynn's diaper on her bed. She sits up grabs the diaper and stands up. This is the usual routine. I usually hold her hand and she jumps down with my help. Well it happened to quick and I missed her hand for some reason and she fell face first off of her bed. She hit her eye on the bottom of the rocking chair. She was lucky that it didn't get her eye worse. I felt so bad it was like the whole thing happened in slow motion. When I got her up she had this huge black bump on her eye, and a little cut. It wasn't bleeding thank goodness. I have never felt so bad before. All I wanted to do was hold her and rock her. I kept saying I was sorry. I hope she understood. Kids are so forgiving. She didn't want to let go of me, which made me feel a little better. I just felt like I broke my little girl. I felt like a horrible mom. I know I'm not, but you can't help it when something like that happens. We will be a little bit more careful next time, and hopefully no more accidents.

This one is actually taken on the same day, after she woke up from her nap. Yes it looks pretty bad. I'm so sorry little girl. She has been really happy inspite of what happened thank goodness.

Birthday Cards

We've already had 2 birthdays this year in the family. Matt's older and younger brother. Today is actually his older brother josh's birthday. We already sent out their birthday cards, which got me to thinking about my older brother Chris. His Birthday is on the 29th of this month. I already have his card and I think it's too funny!!! When I'm searching for the perfect card it takes me FOREVER to find it. I like funny, cheesy cards so that's what I search for. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Happy laughing =)

M&M's & Marshmellows

Whenever I see M&M's and Marshmellows it makes me extremely happy, because they make me think of my Dad. My Dad loved his M&M's and Marshmellows, he always had a stash. It was nice for us when we wanted a little treat!!! One year for Christmas I decided to get him an M&M dispenser. My Dad was a really hard person to buy for. I knew that I couldn't go wrong with M&M's. As far as I remember, I think he liked it. He kept it on his office desk at home. When we were going through his stuff, I asked my brothers and Sister if they would mind if I had it. I'm glad that they understood, it was hard enough going through his stuff as it was. The bag of Marshmellows was the bag he was eating when he died. I told my mom that I wanted to put them on his grave. I didn't feel comfortable doing it at the funeral though. I wanted to do it when I was alone. My brother says that it sounds like an offering for the afterlife. I want to do it because I think my Dad would get a kick out of it, and it would definately make me feel closer to him. Man I'm tearing up. Oh I miss him so much.... Anyways since I didn't get a chance to do it at the funeral or memorial day because we weren't in Utah I did my own special thing to remember him. I got a bunch of Helium filled yellow balloons, and attatched a little plastic baggy of marshmellows to it, and released it on Memorial day. It felt good to do. McKenzie loved doing it. She still brings it up once in awhile that she helped papa by giving him balloons with marshmellows. I plan on putting the marshmellows and m&m's on his grave on the 31st of this month. I can't believe that on the 31st it will have been a year since my Dad died. It already feels like an eternity. I can't wait for the day that I'll get to see him again.

Hotwheels

So I was flipping through my photo album again and I saw lot's of things that I wanted to share and write about. You will definately be seeing more from my photo album of growing up. Here is a picture of me on either my 2nd or 3rd birthdays, i'm not really sure. I love the cake, my Mom did a good job don't you think?!?

Here is what I opened up for my Birthday... A Strawberry shortcake hotwheel!!! Very exciting!

And here is a picture of me on my strawberry shortcake hotwheel!
My Mom said I absolutely loved it, and that I was always riding it. I don't really remember it too much. My Dad had to put wood blocks on the pedals with rope around it to slide my foot through because my legs weren't long enough to push the pedals all the way around. Smart Dad!!! Later when we moved to Clinton utah, I remember my brother Quinn and his 2 friends Gage and Don all got the same hotwheels to ride on for their birthdays. I loved his hotwheel too, when he wasn't riding it I was. I kind of remember he didn't like that too much. You know they don't really make them the same anymore. I don't even know if they do make them anymore. Everyone wants those electronic powered cars. I know that I did want one of those at one point in my life. I wanted a barbie electronic powered camero. Yeah right my mom always told me no. Those things are so expensive, so now I can see why my parents never got it for me for Christmas or my birthdays. I still have to say nothing beats the old hotwheels cars, expecially my strawberry shortckae one!

Off day in Sunbeams

We had hoped that this week would be another awesome week in sunbeams. Our hopes were shattered today, they weren't too great. The whole primary seemed to be having an off day. Today It was just so tiring watching kids. I felt like a real meanie. It doesn't help that we have sacrament meeting last. Madisynn has always been hard to deal with in Sacrament meeting and today was really hard. I'm glad Matt took her, because I was in no mood for it. McKenzie was also acting like a baby and I was ready to snap. I was just glad when church was over and we could go home eat and put the girls down for a nap, though Madisynn never really napped. My sister brought up a good point when I talked to her today. Kids have off days like we do. It just happens. I guess we're all allowed to have an off day here or there. I just hate when it's me, or when I'm around someone that is. This calling will get better, we just need to be more prepared with the lesson. We need to have a better flow pattern. I hope the kids are better next week.

Weekend Temple Trip

This past weekend we were able to go to the Temple! Hurray! It has been about 6 months since Matt and I have been able to get to the Temple. Well during the week last week my sister and I were talking about it. We decided it would be a good idea if we would watch each others kids so we could all go to the Temple. It worked out great! I didn't get a good nights sleep the night before, because I didn't want to sleep past the alarm. I was up bright and early at 6:00 A.M. on a Saturday morning. At least we were on time to my sister's house. I told her we would be there by 9:00 A.M. So Matt and I had a great trip to the Jordan River Temple. It was the temple that I took out my Endowments in, so it brought back good memories. It was good to be able to look over at Matt during the endowment session. =) Of course he was playing with his beard and mustache, I don't think that he even knows that he is doing it. I wish that he would shave it, but he won't because he says he's never been able to grow one before, so now that he can he's going to do it. It's getting too long for me. OK sorry I got sidetracked. Anyways it was good just to sit there and not feel nervous like I have in the past. There was this sweet old lady that I was sitting next to. She reminded me of Matt's Grandma. All during the temple session someones stomach was growling very loudly. It was starting to make me nauseous. I felt bad for whoever it was. I was glad to make it to the end, and at least this time I didn't high five anybody!!! Just a little joke, if you want to know just ask!!! I had gone to the temple hoping that I would be able to feel my Dad. It was a little depressing that I didn't, but Matt said that when he entered the celestial room he felt this incredible warm feeling that just made him feel good inside! I asked if it was my Dad, and he said he didn't know. I'm just glad that he was able to feel something that strong. I felt good while i was there, and I'm just really glad that we got to go. We left the temple and rushed back to my sister's house so her and her husband and my brother Quinn could go. We watched their kids, who were little angels! I wasn't in the mood to have kids not listening to us. It was good to sit and talk with my Niece and Nephew Kaleb and Dalice. I was worried about watching my Sister's baby. She is only 4 months old, and has been very colicky. I was also worried that she wouldn't take the bottle. I had nothing to worry about, Ruby did Great!!! There was one time though when she woke up from her nap and I tried to feed her the bottle. It took her about 5 minutes to latch onto the bottle, but after that it was smooth sailing as long as I was holding her. When My sister and her husband got home we planned to play games, but we were all too exhausted. We just ate dinner and chatted. It was a great day!!! We hope that we can do this once a month with each other. I love the temple, and I love going!

Guess who???

So the primary is having a get to know your teacher activity on the 17th of January. They want all the primary teachers to bring a baby picture of themselves so the kids can guess. Fun!!! I don't know how well the sunbeams will do, but they might have fun with it. I thought it would be fun to share a baby picture of Matt and I. Matt is so skinny and I'm a chunky monkey!!!

A memory from the summer

While we were living with my Mom at her house this Summer along with my Sister and her family we had lot's of fun. There was this one day that my nephew Kaleb decided to get a box, blanket, and I think there was a pillow involved. He set the blanket and the pillow on the inside with the blanket going over the edges. He put Madisynn in the box and started caravaning madisynn around. He started singing Hail to the princess Madisynn!!! One of his little brothers Jack and his sister Dalice heard the commotion and came to see what he was doing. They joined in parading around banging pots with spoons and singing hail to the princess Madisynn! Then McKenzie and Sammy Kaleb's youngest brother heard and came to join in on the fun. It was a good day. I love it when Kaleb and Dalice are around because Mckenzie and Madisynn just love them to pieces, and follow them around. They don't seem to mind, and they keep them entertained very well!!! Nephews and Neices are great, and I love all of mine!=)

Nauvoo, and Family Pictures

This past July we had the opportunity to go visit Matt's parents, and little brother who live in Illinois. It was a big family reunion for us all because we haven't all been together for a few years. It was really exciting to go! It was good for the girls to see their other grandparents. Matt's parents live about 20 minutes from Nauvoo, so we got to go to Nauvoo! I have always wanted to go and visit Nauvoo. It was neat to see the Mississippi river. you drive right along it as you're driving to Nauvoo. It is a very wide river. I thought it was exciting!

While we were there we had a busy week of events. We got our family photo, and whole family photo. I'm glad we were able to do this, but it was such a pain in the butt because the kids were not cooperating at all. It's amazing that we got a shot with everyone looking at the camera looking happy. On our individual family photo it was all we could do to keep Madisynn awake. She kind of looks like she is out of it in the picture.

We were able to go to the Nauvoo temple. It was a very spiritual experience. The temple is so beautiful and unique. We had the opportunity to go up into the bell tower of temple because Matt's grandpa is in the temple presidency. Going up into the bell tower was an experience I will never forget. The view is spectacular!!! I wish that I could have brought my camera along just to be able to capture it.

We got to visit the Carthage jail. I wish I could remember more about it, but Madisynn wasn't behaving too well at the time we were in the jail cell, and the room where the martyrdom took place. I would have gone out of my mind if I was a prisoner there. The Jail cell was little, dark, and dreary. The stairs leading up to the bedroom are so steep, I was afraid I would misplace my footing and fall down the stairs. It was neat to be able to see it! We also got to see the rest of historic Nauvoo. We went to the blacksmith shop for a tour, and at the end of the tour they give you prairy rocks. I've always thought they were so neat, and now I have one of my own. For those of you who don't know what prairy rocks are they are neat looking nails bent into a ring shape. The pioneers used them for wedding rings.

The following pictures are of Carthage jail. I wish we would have gotten some better pictures =)

Matt's parents, and grandparents are into this place called the adventurezone. They wanted to take us all there and have a day of it. It was a lot of fun!!! We did the go carts, video games, toys, pizza, and the playzone. The playzone was really neat. They had an area for the little little kids to play in and an area for bigger kids. The playzone area for the big kids was pretty neat, we were able to climb throught it and go down the fun slide. It was quite the workout!!! It was fun to watch the kids go through it too.

The last thing we did on this trip was go to the Nauvoo paegent. It was a neat experience. We were up close, the girls were good, and I got to listen. I felt the spitit strong while we were there. I'm so glad we were able to go and visit Matt's family. I hope that we will be able to get there again. When we do, I want to visit all the church historic sites on the way there of course!!!

I'm a fork, I mean dork!!!

Ok last night my Grandma calls me. I'm glad she did, but we were about ready to have scripture and prayers with our girls when she called. I talked to her for a few minutes, and then asked her if I could call her back after we were finished. Of course she said that would be fine, so I hung up and had scripture and prayer with the girls and Matt. After we were done, I pick up my cell phone and go into the call retrieval area and pick a number. When I hear the person's voice I say in a happy voice Hey Grandma I'm done!!! The person that I thought was my grandma says umm no, this is Sarah. I felt so dorky and stupid. It was 9:30 at night and I call the person that I go visit teach. I had called her earlier because I called to let her know that I was bringing her dinner at a certain time. She had just had foot surgury, and needed help. Anyways Sarah then proceeds to say it's ok we were up, and by the way your dinner was really great. That made me feel better, but I still felt so stupid because I hardly know her. I've only talked to her a couple of times. She is very nice though. I just assumed that the top number was my grandmas number. They both have area code of 435. I really need to get them both into my contact list on my cell phone. lesson learned, I'm doing that tomarrow!!! I'm such a dork, and at least I'm able to laugh at myself =)

Shoes, Shoes, and more Shoes!!!

I don't know what is up with my girls, they are totally obsessed with shoes. I think Madisynn is more obsessed than McKenzie, though Mckenzie freaked out the first time we took her into a payless shoe store. She just went absolutely nuts because she had never seen so many shoes, and she wanted to have them all!!! If my girls see any shoes lying around they are fair game. They put them on and run away. Thanks to Auntie Brittnie, she knew what was best when she got a set of 6 princess shoes for Mckenzie for Christmas a couple of years ago. Mckenzie absolutely loves them. Madisynn probably loves them more then McKenzie. She carries them by the armfull. When we first moved into this house for some reason both of them would fall down the stairs when walking with the shoes on. I don't know if the carpet was just really slippery. They had no problem walking up and down the stairs at my parent's house. Because they were falling and hurting themselves I took the shoes away. They didn't like that very much, but they soon forgot. I gave them back for Christmas, because we had the dressup chest that matt made for them for Christmas. They both have been walking around in the princess shoes without having any problems falling down the stairs. I really don't know what the problem was!!! It's really cute Madisynn is fineally able to put 2 princess shoes on her feet, and walk around. She absolutely loves it!!! I just love my 2 little princesses. I just wish that I could find the picures I took of McKenzie and princess shoes. So I guess this picture will have to do, because I think she looks like a princess!

Sun beam teachers

last week I recieved a call from the primary president. She started talking about a calling that I never had extended to me. It kind of freaked me out. We had gone to tithing settlement back in November. The bishop wanted to get to know us a little bit better, so he's just asking us all of these questions. Then he starts asking us what kind of callings we had had in our old wards. So Matt and I told him. He asked us about nursury. I told him pretty much no way right now. I love kids, but I wasn't ready to deal with any more of them. He was like well how about sunbeams. I didn't really answer, and neither did matt. We never said yes to it, he never extended it to us, but he still wrote our names down next to the sunbeams. We thought we were safe. The day after the primary president called me, the 2 counselors in the bishopbrick asked us to meet with them after relief society/priesthood. I was like great.... I don't want to do this, I can't do this. I just want to be able to go to relief society. Well we went to meet with them. They apologized to us, they thought the bishop had extended the calling to us. Then they proceed to ask us questions about ourselves again., and then one of them says we just felt really inspired about you guys. Ok wrong thing to say, I'm a sucker and I don't turn down callings. They had 2 primary callings open the 9 yr olds, and the sunbeams. I would rather have the sunbeams because they are like sponges, they suck it all in. They are hard to get control of, but once you do it's cake after that. I can't deal with older kids that don't want to listen and obey. I had the 11 year old girls twice. I loved the girls, but it was so hard to teach them because they are so ready to get out of primary. Well Matt and I are team teachers for the sunbeams. I'm glad to have matt as my team teacher, it will be good for us! We had our first lesson this past sunday, it really went well. It was really fun to teach them. The kids were all good for the most part. There is one boy that will probably give us problems, better one than 6 though. It was also McKenzie's first time in primary. She was so cute, and well behaved during sharing time/singing time. She is not in our class, which I'm very glad of. Our lesson was on I am a Child of God. We made crowns that said I am a Child of God on them. It was really cute to see the different crowns on all the sunbeams. Their are 3 sunbeam classes, and all of us teachers had different ideas. I liked ours the best. Ours was a home made original the other teachers had a primary book that had a crown pictuer on it. Ours were brite pink, green, and blue posterboard crowns that matt drew himself. He did a great job too!!! The kids liked them, so it went well. I should have taken pictures, but slacked on it. I'll have to take a picture of our sunbeam class though... they are all so cute and little. I just have to keep telling myself this will be a fun good experience for us! Wish us luck in the weeks to come=)

Happy new year!!!

I hope everyone had a great new year!!! I did. =) I had fun playing games, and talking to my family. I barely made it to midnight, I was so tired. I'm so exhaused. I'm just so glad Christmas is over, I'm so glad 2007 is over, it was an extremely hard year. It wasn't all bad, but for the most part it was. I look forward to 2008, and will stay strong, be positive, and keep a smile on my face. I had a list of new years resolutions that I will try my hardest to do and keep. Somebody in our ward on Sunday talked about new years resolutions, and she said set hard realistic ones so you are continually working on it. I wish you all good luck on your new years resolutions.