Baker-rific!

Deep thoughts...

2012-01-28T12:24:00.000-08:00

So Brensyn woke up at 4:30 Friday morning, and started watching infomercials. He came in and told me we should buy a pilates chair, and that it makes you skinny. He went back to watching for a while, and went to show Jaran the picture that he drew. It started out with a lady before pilates and one after. Then he started writing down the number, but it went too fast. Hilarious. But I would like to figure out how to keep him asleep... he woke up at five this morning. Ugh!

A new post!

2012-01-19T14:50:00.001-08:00

Wow... I am a horrible blogger. I was really good at it once upon a time. Maybe now that I will have something to be writing about constantly, I will start it up again! As most of your know, well those of you who have facebook, so not Shayla;), Jaran and I are expecting baby number four! I'll be 15 weeks along on Saturday, and I'm so excited to be out of the first trimester! I don't know how women have more than one baby if they get morning sickness. I was lucky to be pretty healthy with the first three. I had a smidge of sickness with Ansleigh, but boy, this baby has taken a toll on mommy dearest. And why do they call it morning sickness? Because that's the ONLY time I WASN'T sick!

It was super exciting for the kids to find out. I remember when we told them they were all excited... about five minutes later McKie says, "So that means that you're pregnant, right?" Ha ha ha. I guess I just assumed they knew, but great of him to figure it out on his own. All three of them want a girl, so I hope they get their wish, or I'm afraid that they'll be devastated! I don't really care what we have, as long as it's healthy. Jaran says that if we have a boy, we'll have to have another one so we can have a sister for Ansleigh. UGH! I don't know if I can do this again!

Trying to do full-time school, mommy to three kids, wife to one, and all the other stuff that life throws you has been super hard. Harder than I remember... probably cause I usually felt fine before. I'm not sure why this one has been harder. Perhaps because I am much older than I was the first three times. I had McKie at 21, Brensyn at 22 and Ansleigh at 24... I will have this baby at 29... that's the only difference I can figure... or perhaps the stress;)

But I am super excited. I'm finally starting to feel half-way decent, and I'm starting to get a tiny bit of energy back. Jaran has been great, but I think taking care of the kids at night is starting to wear on him. I have been actually able to fix dinner lately, and I think that makes us both feel better.

Well, that's all for now. If anyone even reads my blog anymore, thanks for stopping by! Take Care!

Reunion- per Shayla's request!

2011-07-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

Okay- we will have a get-together Friday night at the Byron park at 7:00. If you don't have a babysitter, bring the kids, otherwise... this will be the time to let the grandparents have some quality time!:) Saturday we need to meet at the parade staging area in Cowley at 9:30. The parade starts at 10. T-shirts will be handed out Friday if you come to the park. If not you may pick them up right before the parade... but only after dues are paid- which are $20. Saturday after the parade, we will have the family BBQ at the Byron park. It's still somewhat up in the air, but we're hoping to have waterslides for the kids... so bring suits and sunscreen. We'll have some basketballs and hopefully the volleyball net set up. Probably going to try our hand at some water balloon volleyball, so everyone can wear their suits if you want... good way to cool off!

Anyone with a maiden name ending in A-M bring a salad on Saturday to the park. Those ending N-Z bring a dessert of some kind. Dues will pay for beverages and chips, as well as the class member's sandwich at the BBQ. Additional adults will be $4 and kids will be $2.

We will be getting together sometime Friday before the park to work on the float... not sure where or when, but I will let y'all know more when I get everything finalized! Any suggestions on decorations, anything like that, let me know!!!
307-250-5034 Take Care!

My Grandma Pearl and our trip to CO!

2011-06-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

WARNING! This is a LOOONG post!

As most of you know from my previous post, we took a little trip to Colorado. We went to stay with my Aunt Deana, which is where I lived after I graduated from high school. It's been a long time since we were able to go and actually visit, so I was super excited! We got there Saturday evening, and Aunt D had made us homemade chicken noodle soup- AWESOME!

Sunday, Jaran started tearing apart the basement bathroom and took all the tile out of the shower and the floor. Then he had to scrape all the stuff that the tile was laid with. He is such a hard worker that he was done by the afternoon! That night we went to my cousin Shasta and her husband Pound's house for a BBQ for memorial day. It was really nice to finally see their house (GO BRONCOS!) and to visit. My cousin Lance and his kids were also there. His son, Hunter, is one of Ansleigh's favorite people... not sure how she remembered, but last summer during Ames camp she was his little tag-a-long. Hunter is 12... and he's awesome with the kids!

Monday Jaran took Aunt D to pick out tile and new fixtures... which took quite some time, but they got some awesome tile! I'm an idiot and didn't take pictures. They got back and Jaran started right away, and finished the floor before the day was through. That night Lance and his family came over for an impromptu BBQ for the real Memorial day. I wish I'd taken more pictures... but like I said, I'm an idiot!
Tuesday Jaran worked on the shower, and finished it quite quickly... then we decided we'd take a break for the rest of the day... which meant we tried to keep the kids from driving us crazy.

Wednesday we needed to let the paint dry... so we split up... Jaran took the boys to go pick up some stuff for Bob while Ans and I went with Aunt D and Grandma Pearl to a Dr. appt. I'll tell more about that later.

Thursday was time for grouting the shower and floor, and I helped Jaran wipe down the tile. After that, we met up with an old friend of mine, Stacy, and her fiance` and ate some food at Red Robin- Jaran was in heaven! Then we took the kids to the park a bit. When we got home, we watched a movie with Aunt D and then went to bed.

Friday was painting, and we got two of the spair rooms done, and then I tried to help Aunt D locate some stuff in her storage... no luck!

Saturday we did a second coat on the two bedrooms and then got washed up to go to my cousin Shanda's grad party. It was fun to spend time with family again, and I got to see Uncle Rick and Aunt Janna, who I hadn't seen for quite a while. The kids had a blast, and my cousin Brooke was kind enough to watch the kids for the next two days so we could finish painting and not worry about them getting into things, as we were moving on to the main room where there are no doors to keep them out!

The next two days we finished the main room and got the fixtures for the shower. It was a good time, and I felt like we actually accomplished quite a bit. I know you're all thinking- well it doesn't really sound like a lot... and here's where the time consuming part comes in:

Grandma Pearl
My Gma has Alzheimer's disease. It's something that she's been living with for over 10 years, which is a pretty big feat. We started noticing some memory loss in 2000, and maybe even before that. She has lived with Aunt Deana, my Dad, Aunt Brenda, and then a nursing-type home that specializes in the memory loss patients. When Aunt Deana realized she wasn't getting taken care of quite right, she removed her and started taking care of her full time. Two years ago she had a fall and broke her hip. The Dr. told Aunt D that she was basically taking her home to pass away, but stubborn old Pearl decided that she wasn't ready yet!

Daily schedule with GMA:
Wake her up and give her some yogurt with her pills mixed in.
Get her breakfast ready, and make sure that the laundry is done from the day before.
Breakfast: 1 scrambled egg with cheese, 2/3 cup blueberries, 1 packet hot oatmeal, 1 banana. Mix it up in the AWESOME blender until it's "porridge" and you're ready. This sometimes takes a long time, as grandma sometimes doesn't sleep at night! After breakfast, it's time to take her to the potty and get her cleaned and changed. This part of the day usually take a minimum of an hour, sometimes 2, and I don't know how Aunt Deana does it alone. I was there to help, and I felt like I was so exhausted by the end of the day. She has no control over anything... so sometimes you have to wait with her forever until she does her duty. She's still very modest, although she can't put a full sentence together that makes any sense... so she's constantly trying to pull on her clothes and things to keep herself covered. Finally, it's time to take her into the living room to "her chair" where we put her feet up and cover her up with her blanket. By then, it's about lunch time... and that's usually homemade soup Aunt D makes her. after lunch is about the only time Aunt D has to do anything. Then it's dinner around six or so, which is chicken breast, potatos and gravy and peas... all super smooth and mixed up in the mixer... or she will chew forEVER! Then after that you have about an hour to finish laundry and get her bed ready, get her pudding and pills, and then it's another trip to the bathroom to change her pants, get her pj's on and then get her to bed and tuck her in. My Aunt Deana is such a great lady and takes such good care of my Grandma Pearl... who still has her sense of humor, and is constantly giggling! Every now and then you catch a glimmer of the old Pearl in there, and it's awesome. The first few days was hard for me, and I was constantly tearing up. My grandma used to take care of me, now I was taking care of her. I suppose that's the way it's supposed to go, but as I was singing to her one night trying to get her to go to sleep... I was reminded of how she used to do that to me, and it was hard to continue with my song. She no longer knows who any of us are, but she still smiles at us and if you say- "I love you" she'll say it right back. And here I am crying again. I was thinking about how blessed I've been to be so close to my Grandma's, and how precious my memories are with them, and how glad I am that we were able to go visit and help Aunt Deana. I didn't do that much, I fed most of her meals to her, and sat with her so Aunt Deana could go with Jaran or go pick Jason up and go to a quick dinner, but it was the smallest thing. I hope that I can go back later and give Aunt Deana a couple days off to go and do something for herself! She deserves it! Well, enough ranting... I know this was long, and I apologize, but I felt I needed to say it! Take Care!

Colo-rado!

2011-05-26T17:21:00.000-07:00

It's been a LONG time since we were able to visit Colorado. The last time we went it was just for a quick trip to grab our camper (that we just sold today!) and we didn't get to spend any time there to really visit. The time before that it was when I was coming back from Texas, and we just stayed the night over before continuing on. The last time we really got to visit was for my cousin Jenna's wedding quite a while back. Man, it's been too long!

So we are leaving either tomorrow or Saturday morning to make the journey! I can't wait to see everyone and to actually be able to relax and be in my home away from home. I'm going to be helping my Aunt Deana with my Grandma Pearl, who has Alzheimer's and Jaran's going to re-do her downstairs bathroom with tile, and paint the rooms down there as well.

My Aunt Deana is an amazing lady, and I love her so much! She takes care of my Gma day in and day out, and she hardly ever gets a break. I know that it's really hard, and I'm sure takes quite a toll on Aunt Deana. So being able to let her get out of the house alone to do some things that she really wants to do is something I can't wait to help her do!

My cousin Shanda just graduated high school yesterday, and she's having a party this weekend. I made her a pretty sweet blanket for the occasion, and it's going to be fun to see her and her again! Not to mention her sisters Brooke and Jamie! And don't forget her mom, my cousin Traci! Also, my cousin's Lance, his wife Laura, their kids Hunter and Keeley, Shasta and Pound, Des and Chad... it's going to be great! :)

As most of you know, I used to live there with my Aunt D. and I loved it there. I made a lot of great friends, and I'm hoping to meet up with some of them while I'm there too! Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!!!!

Well, that's all my ramblings! Take Care!

McKie

2011-05-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

Although his birthday isn't until Sunday, I've been thinking a lot about McKie lately. I can't believe that he's almost 7 years old! It's amazing the way time passes as you get older, and it's hard to believe that my baby is no longer a baby. I remember how frustrated I was when I was pregnant with McKie. He was stubborn, even in my belly. He was due on May 14th... but didn't come until May 22nd, and even then we had to force him. We almost didn't get him until May 23rd, but thankfully he gave in, arriving at 11:17 PM. He weighed 8lbs. 2oz. Boy he was a chunky little monkey.

As hard as it is sometimes to deal with some of his issues, I love him so much. I know that having a child with ADHD doesn't seem like a big deal, and I know there are a lod of people who have to deal with issues that are a lot worse than that, but sometimes it's hard to remember that he's just a little boy and that a lot of what he does isn't intentional.

He really is a good kid, and hilarious at times. Even though he usually does things to be funny at inopportune times, you can't help but laugh at him, and he's always trying to make you laugh. He's always making faces or saying crazy things.

I don't know what I'd do without my little man. When he wants to be, he can really be a great helper. He's a good big brother, and even when he's crazy, he's trying to look out for his little brother and sister. He LOVES lizards and frogs and things like that. He's gotten really good at t-ball and has a pretty darn accurate throw. He can throw further and further each time he tries, and I think he will be pretty good by the end of the season.

Well, just wanted to say a little... I know it was rambling, but I felt the urge! Take Care!

Finals

2011-05-11T14:38:00.000-07:00

This year's finals have been a little bit harder in some ways, but easier in others. For History, I had to write an eight page paper, and then we have a final tomorrow where we have to write 500 word essays on at least two questions. The open book, open note test in A&P today was pretty darn good! I think I got all but maybe 2 questions right, and I know I got the extra credit ones, so I should get at least a 100% on that one. Then there's the Public speaking test I can take online, open note, open book. Pretty sweet if I do say so myself. But the history one is really hard. oh well! Just wanted to take a quick break and post again... trying to get back into the habit. Oh, wanted to just show these quick pictures of Ansleigh when she was tiny. Just saw them again the other day and I love it!

Thoughts

2011-05-05T14:09:00.000-07:00

I got asked to help with the makeup for the musical at Rocky. While looking through some old pictures recently I came across pics of my senior year high school musical. It was Cinderella and it was HILARIOUS! Jen, Steph and I had so dang much fun being the step-family... def a good memory!

So we are selling our camper... not sure if I mentioned it on here... and our van. So if anyone cares or is interested give me a call or comment or whatever. I've got some older pics on an old post, or I have them posted on facebook of the camper.

I need to go gather my supplies and head to Cowley... but I wanted to post before I forgot for a few months! Take Care!

random stuff

2011-05-01T18:42:00.000-07:00

Ok... you know when you are getting ready to post a comment on someone's blog and it makes you type in a totally random nonsense word? I've decided I'm going to start typing that at the end of any of the comments that I make... because it amuses me!

Well, I'm pretty much healed up from my surgery. I've got some pretty great pics that the doctor took of my insides while he was in there. If enough people comment on this post, I may be pursuaded to put them up. I'm pretty much convinced that nobody reads my blog anymore since I took forever to post again... or maybe because I'm random and boring in my posts. Anyway...

Our Grand Am, which we had for longer than we've had McKie, died on Monday. Luckily, our super duper awesome brother Jeremy came to the rescue with a little Mazda that we'll be able to use. It gets great gas mileage and it's super clean. Thank goodness for that!

We had Cam's kids over yesterday and they stayed the night and then went to church with us today. It was actually not too bad. I was a bit fearful of having 6 kids 7 and under, but they were pretty well behaved. We played some BAND HERO today for a bit, and the kids loved it and Jaran and I laughed a lot. I taught the class that Taylin was in, and we were talking about the golden plates and the book of mormon. I decided to make some "silver plates" out of aluminum foil. I then created some characters that were the alphabet and a key that said what the characters were. The kids then had to put on a pair of my glasses with the lens out and decipher things I wrote... then they wrote things themselves. It was their own "translating" experience. Taylin loved it so much I had to make her one of her own and she made up her own little characters... pretty cute! I felt good that the kids liked the idea so much. I'm thinking about finding some gold foil and making all the kids their own.

Well, it's time for me to stop procrastinating and write a history paper. Take Care!

Pictures

2011-04-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

I'm so proud of my baby sister and niece for the awesome pictures that they take. It really does take a good eye to make a good photographer, and they both seem to have it. Knowing how hard it is to capture a whole family looking good in just one picture, it's amazing the amount of options I always have when looking through all the pictures. Now, granted, my children are the best looking kids on the planet, but still! Just kidding! Anyway... just wanted to give them a shout out. If you're ever in need of a photographer, they are ready to be booked!

This is Calli's facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100001571180751&sk=photos

This is Kalee's facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100002278688694&sk=photos

And here are some of my favorites of Calli's:

and some of Kalees:

Just so you all know, I didn't ask Kalee to take those pics of me, she asked me to pose for her cause she's never done female senior pics or anything and wanted a sample. :) Anyway- y'all should look them up next time you need a shoot done!

Take Care!

Thankful

2011-04-18T22:20:00.001-07:00

I usually write a post on April 14th about my brother, Carl Scott. This year I just mourned in my own little world. I took flowers out to the cemetery and cried like usual. Every time I went to get back into my car, the flowers would get blown over by the wind. McKie was in the car, and kept asking to get out. I kept saying no. Finally, when I realized that I couldn't keep getting out and picking the flowers back up, because it was doing no good... I asked McKie to get out with me and help me find some rocks to hold the vase up. Holding his little hand, we walked across the cattle guard to the outer area of the cemetery. As I went to pick up a larger rock, he said, "Mommy, be careful and make sure that there's nothing under that rock that will hurt you!" What a sweet little man. He was worried about me, and could tell that I was sad anyway. As we took our rocks back across the cattle guard and placed them around the vase, he said, "Mommy, I know why you're sad. Cause your brother died, huh? And you miss him?" I wasn't sure how to respond to that. How to tell him that he actually died before I was born, so that I never knew him. Then I thought, what am I talking about? Of course I have met him. He has watched over me my whole life! I knew him before I came to this earth, and I know that he was my best friend. So I told McKie that I did miss him, but that he was in heaven with Heavenly Father and Jesus. He smiled and gave me a hug. Then he asked a few questions about other headstones around of other family members.

On the way home, I thought a lot about Carl Scott, and how all three of my babies remind me of him in some way. When I was pregnant with McKie, our first ultrasound showed that he had some type of heart defect. While the tech was looking at his heart for so long, I started getting scared, knowing that Carl Scott was missing a chamber of his heart. So I started panicking. She brought the head honcho in to take a look and they told us that we would need to return in a month, to see if the problem might resolve itself. I was a mess for the next 24 hours, and after seeing our doctor, and him reassuring me that he knew all would be ok, I started feeling better. And, a month later, his heart was perfectly fine, other than a small murmur that has never bothered him. Carl Scott was watching over me, every time I'd start to worry I'd feel a peace, and I know it was the spirit letting me know everything would be ok.

When trying to think of what to name Brensyn, Jaran and I couldn't decide on a name. I loved the name Brennen after one of my most beloved cousins, and Jaran liked Bryson. So we decided, the night before he was born, to name him Brensyn. The one thing that we never had to think about was his middle name, Carl. The morning of his blessing, dressing him in that little white suit, I remember thinking how much he looked like my brother... the little flat chin, the tiny nose, and the little short stubby fingers. How proud I was to have a little man that would always remind me of my brother I'd lost. Baby blessings are so emotional anyway, but when Jaran gave Brensyn his name, Brensyn Carl Baker, I felt a special feeling, and I knew that my brother was there with me, Steph, Cam, Kade, Calli, my Mom and my Dad... and we were a family... all there... together. I know that Brens and his uncle have a special relationship. When Ansleigh was about a week old, Jaran and I had a meeting for McKie at his new preschool, and we asked Jaran's brother and his wife to watch Brensyn. While we were gone, Brensyn decided to wander off, sneaking out the door when someone's back was turned. When we got back and went searching for him, instead of freaking out and crying and screaming, I was calm. I kept my wits, and we searched for him. Finally Kendra came running down the road carrying him. He was 18 months old, and had walked clear down the road and around the corner to someone's house, went into their back yard, and started playing with their dogs. The owners saw him, gave him a Popsicle and kept him safe until we found him. Had he crossed to the other side of the road they lived on, or fallen in the ditch, or went into the swimming pool next door, found some dogs that weren't so nice... so many things could have gone wrong, but they didn't. His uncle was watching over him.

Ansleigh is our third. Carl Scott was the third. She is such a cuddle bug, and she knows when I need a hug. Sometimes when I'm having a hard day, all I have to see is her beautiful smiling face, and everything is ok. She's my shopping buddy, and she loves when mommy does her hair. We could sit for hours braiding and curling her hair. She loves singing Taylor Swift songs with her Mommy and getting dresses on to play. When she wakes up in the morning, I'm the first one she comes to. She crawls into bed with me, and we have our morning snuggle. She watches over me and always tries to make me happy. She is my little tangible spirit. Between the two of them, I'm taken care of physically and spiritually when I need someone to uplift me.

I'm so thankful for my three beautiful babies. I'm so blessed to be able to have children, and to have such and easy time with it. When I see others I know struggling to have children, or knowing that they can't, and finding other ways to become parents, it makes me that much more grateful. Jaran and I are truly blessed in our lives. Sometimes the kids are a challenge, and sometimes we think we need a break. But all we need to do is remember how blessed we are to have these little spirits to take care of, and that they are ours, and all is well with the world.

Forgive me for my ramblings. I can't seem to stop my incisions from giving me fits tonight, and trying to sleep isn't really going well for me, so I thought I needed to write some stuff down. I didn't think it would be to this extent. Goodnight all... and remember how blessed we all are! Take Care!

WAHOO!

2011-04-12T18:27:00.000-07:00

I got into nursing school! It's such a relief! For those of you who don't know... here in Powell at Northwest they only accepted 24 people into the RN program this year, and I was blessed to be one of those 24 people! It's been a long road getting here, and I'm so excited to get started! I went and signed up for classes today, and it was all nursing classes! No more classes that I don't need like history or anything! :)

I have to apologize for not ever posting on here. I don't know why I don't ever, but I'm going to do better, at least until nursing school starts up in the fall. I have a ton of pictures and stuff to update on, but I don't have them all on here to do it. I just wanted to share the good news and I will work on getting some more posts up soon! Take Care!

Things

2010-08-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

Well, we had a great sale this weekend and got rid of a bunch of stuff. If you know me, you know I tend to hang on to things long after I should... so I was pretty proud when I purged the closet and drawers. Even now, cleaning up last night, I found some more stuff I'm going to take and donate to the rescue mission. Yay me!

I mostly just wanted to post some random things. Today while taking McKie to soccer practice... one of the kids asked... mom is this the speed limits? They are all obsessed with that, always asking, mom are we going the speed limits? It's hilarious!

McKie and Brensyn have been engrossed with hungting for toads in the field next to the house. They find a few every day, put them in the lizard cage and then we make them let them go the next day. Erik was awesome yesterday and took them out to the sandhills and they caught a Lizard. Kies has spent all of his free time playing in there and learning new things. Such as, if he touches it's head, it opens its mouth like a lion... and that it will purr if you touch it just right... and that it's a girl one minute and a boy the next. Super cute!

We will be going to Utah on Wednesday, and it's going to be the best weekend ever! Buddy, Jaran's little brother, is returning from his mission to Nicaragua on Thursday night. We are all so excited to see him! It's going to be great. It's going to be hard to program the kids to stop saying "bless Buddy and Zak on their missions" in their prayers... like it took a while to add the Zak onto it after almost two years of only Buddy. But they're getting really happy to see him.

Alrighty folks. I'm done for now. Need to clean up lunch and get Ans down for her nap and the boys settled for quiet time. And try to make Kies stop the creepy noise he's making that he said his lizard just made... for reals it's creeping me out! Take Care!

Ames Camp 2010

2010-08-02T08:44:00.000-07:00

For a little background, I have been a huge fan of camping since I was a little girl... in fact I can't remember a summer, well one when Jaran and I were sealed, that I have missed an Ames camp. When I was younger we would go for two weeks every summer. We went one year on the big horns, but for the most part, we have been loyal to the Beartooths, and the Sunlight Basin. I love it so much that I talked Jaran into naming his business Sunlight Homes. It has nothing to do with the actual light of the sun, but for the beautiful place I love. In 1988 the fires of Yellowstone did a number to the region, but the places that were once charred blackness are now green and growing. It's a beautiful place. We were lucky to get a great camper for super cheap and fix it up (see previous post) and we had a great time up there! We went up on Saturday afternoon, only to find that we hadn't put the kids' clothes basket into our camper, and realized we'd have to make a trip down the mountain in the morning to get them... but here are some pics to demonstrate how great it is up there!

So the first morning we woke up and made breakfast, the works, pancakes, hashbrowns, eggs, bacon and didn't end up eating until around lunch time. Then Jaran went down the mountain with Ryan and Rozman to get the kids clothes, ice, a different bed for Cam cause the one in the trailer they were using was super uncomfortable and a few other miscellaneous items. We pretty much wasted time around the fire, the kids went and caught crawdads by the lake, and we enjoyed the peace and quiet. When Jaran and the boys got back, we started the secret agent hunt for the kids provided by Steph. Right before that, Brensyn got a mosquito bit above his eye... this was the result:

It only got worse, but those pics will come later. So the hunt was on, and the kids had a blast! They got 4 clues taking them to different places and they were awarded a bag of goodies, also provided by Steph! It was great!

Calli and Matt came up on Suday afternoon and stayed until late Monday morning. It was Matt's birthday on Monday, so Brensyn made him a card with his one good eye.... poor baby... looked worse the second day!

We did a lot of s'mores by the fire, the kids got dirty, and had a blast.
Ryan and Rozman cut down a couple trees so we got some great wood for the fire, and a play zone for the kids.

Monday we had our white elephant game and also did an auction of items to raise some money for John and Amee's gravesite to engrave and try and get a permanent vase beside them. Ryan served as auctioneer and did a great job! There were some great things!

Camp of 1977

Aunt Deana laughing at camp of 1977

"A great item here, let's start at $5 do I hear $5?"

We won this gem
My cousin Lance brought his kids with him and their mom, Laura, was joining them later in the week, so when Kealey wanted her hair to look like Cam's, this is what happened:

We took some group pics before Steph left on Monday evening, and had a lot of fun.

Ans and Me

The cousins

The girls and Aunt Deana

Us

Cam and her girls
Shanda hasn't been to many Ames camps and decided to come with my Aunt Deana, her GMA. So she came, had a blast, and I hope will keep coming. We had some fun, and she loved fishing, even though she fell in the water and ran head first into a tree!

And now for a few of the reasons we go to the Lily Lake campground

1. The Lake itself

2. The Crawdad fishing

3. The super awesome Outhouse

4. Because you can look like this

5. And then look like this all in the same day without anyone caring

6. This is the view you get all the time

And 7. You get to spend time with your family getting bug bites,
cutting down trees, being pinched by crawdads and getting back and them by eating them, have a wonderful time fishing, falling in rivers, running into trees, winning prizes, smell campfire all day long, and not have to worry about showering and putting on makeup and doing your hair. We had a blast, and we all made great memories! That's all for now folks. Take Care!

Slack-master

2010-07-26T08:56:00.000-07:00

Sorry that I haven't posted for so long. School has really put a damper on my posting! I did get a 4.0 for the summer semester, so I'm pretty excited about that! Well, I'm going to tell you a little story about a boy and craigslist. This boy's name is Jaran. He is now obsessed with craigslist. He found some campers online and decided that we really needed to get one. We were in touch with a few different sellers, and finally decided upon this beauty in Colorado:

And here is what the inside looked like before the boy unleashed his awesome remodeling skills:

This is the upper bedroom

Close up of the kitchen region

The "living room" area

a wider shot of the kitchen area
There was painting, carpeting, vinyl flooring, tongue and groove and a lot of small things to be done. Taking all the faces of the cupboards off, all the knobs and hardware off of the cupboards, taping and things of that nature were very time consuming.

First order of business was ripping old carpet out and putting in a new subfloor, but this is up in the loft where the bedroom is after Jaran put the tongue and groove on the walls that had water damage.

The floor and the mess

Awesome purple and white... camo?

Blue and white camo in the bathroom... and the awesome wood paneling that is in all the camper

There used to be nothing here. Jaran fashioned a way to make a couch that pulls out into a bed... and we got a futon mattress for it... we will make some cushions later on when we have time.

The plethera of cupboard faces and drawers

Ansleigh chessing it up

finishing before painting

Sideways bedroom

Primer in the kitchen

The bathroom

primed bedroom

getting the paint on

The cupboards outside

The semi-finished product

The main area

With the cupboards on

new vinyl floor

new carpet flooring

The bathroom

The Bedroom
And that's it folks. I'll post more about our summer later. Take Care!

It's Time

2010-05-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

I guess it's time for a new post. Sorry that I've been kind of AWOL... I have had a busy life lately with school, dance, the musical... and my latest thing: I've been asked to be one of the dollies of the follies. For those of you who don't know me well, I have an inability to say no. It causes problems in my life, and I get super stressed and spread thin, and yet I still can't tell people no. Good times! Anyway...

My sister-in-law Vanessa got married last Thursday, and we made the trip to Utah for it. She looked great, and we're so glad that we were able to share her special day! Congrats Nessa and James! They got married in the Draper temple, which is one that I've never been to, so it was fun to go to a new place.

Just came out

entrance to the temple

So cute!

Their silly one... the regular didn't turn out real great

Sis and I

Friday we were able to go to Salt Lake and take the kids around temple square. We went to the church history museum and then took in a viewing of the testaments. Brens was a little confused when he asked if it was a movie theater, we said yes, and he said- then why can't I have popcorn? Ha ha ha! The flowers at temple square were beautiful, and I probably overdid it a bit, but I did love it!

The temple from the conference center

Daddy and Sis

Mommy and Kies

Kids and Jesus

One of the cool flowers in the visitor's center

Checking out the grove

Ans

Brens

Kies

Kies liked this flower, asked if he could take a pic- good job!

The cabin... take number 3

checking things out

the wagon

Kies in the bulkhead

printing press

Looking at Gma Baker's piano

In front of the fountain

A pretty tulip

Beautiful temple

So pretty!

Kies

Brens

Ans

Mom and Dad... thanks Kies

The whole fam

mini tulip

Saturday night we had Nikki's bachelorette party, and it was so much fun!!! It was 80's theme and boy, did we go all out. I thought it made it twenty times as fun to get all dressed up and crazy! Nikki said it was a blast, so that made it that much better. I won't go into all the details, but we embarrassed her a little, got some free popcorn, and had a personal fashion show! Good times!

Camary and I... yes we are sexy

Kendra and I had some awesome bangs!

Love the sunglasses

The Bride to be

Yes, I know I'm cool!

the whole gang sans me

yes, we are rockstars

Being afraid of Camary's driving ha ha ha j/k

The 6 of us crammed into the truck

The end of the night... no we weren't drunk... wait- Nikki- were you?

Sorry about the picture overload! Well, I need to go, I have to clean up and shower and then go to the musical... then right two papers and study for a quiz tomorrow!!! Take Care!

WARNING!!!

2010-02-22T11:12:00.000-08:00

For all of you beautiful women out there:

DO NOT TAKE YASMIN BIRTH CONTROL!!!

The birth control Yasmin has caused my beautiful, wonderful sister more problems than I can count. I'm sure you've heard commercials about it on the TV and how it can cause Gal Bladder disease and other problems, but they still make it, and many people still use it. I will tell you the sad story.

My sister started having some stomach pains in August or September. The doctors ran many tests, and they finally decided that her pain was cause by her Gal Bladder and that it needed to be removed. One of the big side effects of Yasmin is Gal Bladder disease and she was an unfortunate victim. They did surgery to remove the Gal Bladder, and they said her pain would go away. She was still having some pain, and after getting to the point where she shouldn't still be having "recovery" pains, she called the Dr.s. Again, they didn't figure out what was wrong for a long time after the surgery. Test after test was done, and finally, after months of tests and stomach pain, they diagnosed her with Gastroparesis, aka paralyzed stomach. They decided that while doing the Gal Bladder surgery, a nerve was mistakenly cut, causing her stomach to become paralyzed. When you have a paralyzed stomach, there are many things you can't eat. Most veggies, lots of fruits, no whole grains only to name a few. It's best to try and not eat after 5:00 PM and if you are craving a salad and give in, you will be in severe pain. She is taking medicine which is supposed to help, but she hasn't seen too much of a difference. While sitting at a basketball game the other day, I was eating some peanut M&M's and offered her one. "Can't eat peanuts," she said. Imagine trying to make your kids eat their veggies when you can't show them how! Not an easy task.

The moral of my story- if you are taking Yasmin- STOP!!! Or at least look into taking another kind of birth control. We always hear bad things about medications on TV, but this real, and most of you know the person this is happening to! I love you all and hope that you take this to heart! Take Care!

Stolen

2010-02-15T12:18:00.000-08:00

So Olivia Peterson got married this weekend, and I was lucky enought to be able to attend. She looked beautiful, and it was so much fun to see her! I took a few pics with Calli's camera... that I stole... cause she is in Laramie and left it at my house. So here are some pics!

Here are Livs and Chris listening to her Dad during the ceremony, before the vows.

If anyone has a reason these two should not be married... she laughed!

The kiss... the blurriness of the pics shows why ametuers shouldn't try and use a confusing camera!

What?

The AWESOME fabric boquet!

The happy couple!

More to come when I have time. Take Care!

Good job, good job ladies, good job, good job (clap, clap clap)

2010-01-23T18:15:00.000-08:00

I just want to express to my dance girls how proud I am of them. I don't think any of them read this, but they did such a great job tonight! WAY TO GO! I'm sorry I'm such a terrible blogger lately, but there is a lot to tell and I feel like I don't have time to do it all so I don't do ANYTHING! I'll try harder. In the mean time- here are the latest Calli pics! Take Care!

Brens

Kies

Ans

Baker Trio

Over due!

2009-12-18T08:48:00.000-08:00

I know a post is long overdue! Now that we have a camera, I will be more likely to post as there will be pictures to go along with everything! I will start with Thanksgiving. It was a stressful time. We had just moved into our a house a week and a half before and everyone decided we should do it here. So we had to shove stuff away, and it's still shoved! The night before, our sink started leaking and it had been backing up a bit anyway- so no sink on Thanksgiving made things hard! Mom and Bob, Dad, Cam and Ryan and her kids and Kade and Rose and Maddox came, as well as Grandma Fran. Dinner was good, and it was nice to be here since we have been in Utah for the last 2 or 3.
Next come Black Friday! Rose talked me into going to Bozeman with her, and it was a great choice! We spoiled ourselves and got a new TV as we have been using a tiny 12-inch for quite some time. We got a great deal, and it's a super nice TV. We got a new camera, and then a bunch of things for the kids. They have such great deals, but I was upset, as Walmart decided to do things differently. In the past, they do not allow people to get anything until 5:00 AM. This year, all but the big stuff was free game, which meant anyone standing in line for big stuff didn't get any of the little stuff except the scant few items left over. I had planned on getting McKie a bunch of PJ's and track suits as they were all $3 and he is wearing PJ's that go half-way up his shins. But, alas, I was unable to get as many as I wanted. So Walmart was crazy, then we went to Target, Old Navy, the mall (JOANNS) and then went back to grab 1 hour of sleep before returning to Byron. It was so much fun and we had a good talk and listened to a great audiobook on the way.

The day after that, Saturday, was not a good day! Jaran and I had started a movie the night before on our new TV and decided to try and finish it while the kids watched a movie downstairs. BAD IDEA! Why? Because McKie comes upstairs and says: "Oh you are going to be so mad at Ansleigh!" She walks in and looks like this:

Turns out McKie had done it because "Sissy wanted me to cut her hair." I cried for about an hour and decided I needed to fix it quick since family pictures were supposed to be later that day. I called up Lacey and got Madison's number so I could go get some bows and things. She saved the day! And Ans looks close to normal with the headbands on!

We have loved our new house. It has so much more room and the kids are a lot happier here. It's amazing the difference I see in McKie since moving in here. He doesn't get into as much trouble at school and he goes to sleep at night. It might have to do with the fact that they can literally run around and burn energy.... where with the last place they could barely walk!
We had a great vacation, just Jaran and I.

We haven't been on a vacation since our honeymoon 6 1/2 years ago, and he had a good month at work, so he decided since we have been telling ourselves for 3 years that we would take a vacation- we did! We booked a 4-day cruise out of LA. Calli stayed here with the kids, and we left on Friday, the 4th of Dec. to Utah so we could go to Jaran's friend Justin's wedding on Saturday. It was weird waking up without kids bugging you for juice or a cartoon... although Jaran got up at his usual time and insisted that everyone else should also be awake. We went to Kendra and Joseph's for a bit, and I got my nails done. I only do this when in Utah, because it's only $20! I love it! So we got to the wedding, and since we were there so early, I offered to help set up.

It's amazing that we were there early, as we're usually late, but kids tend to delay you, so we had a bunch of time without them there. I helped put flower petals down the isle and then helped make the centerpieces a little more snazzy.

The ceremony was nice, and it was awesome to be there with Justin and Amy on their special day. She looked beautiful, and you could tell they were both so happy!

Jeremy and Camary came and we had a nice time chatting.

Then we went back to the Baker castle and watched 300 with Jeremy and Camary, since she had never seen it before. We watched Loyal's edited version, so the bums and boobs were out!
Sunday we went over to Jaran's brother Justins and visited with him and his wife, Liann. It was a nice visit, and we watched a little bit of "Hoarders" while we were there. It was sad to see all these people who feel like they have to keep everything. One dude wouldn't get rid of his dog's hair that he had brushed off of him cause he said it made him feel like he didn't love the dog if he threw it away... weird.
So Monday morning, bright and early, Loyal took us to the airport so we could start our journey. While sitting on the airplane, a man dressed with a hat and many rings came and asked if he was in the right row... and low and behold- it was.... wait for it.... Joe Pantoliano! He sat next to Jaran on the ride to LA, and he was a very nice man. A genuinely cool dude and talked to us for quite a while. He was great and let us take some pictures with him at the Baggage area.

He was recently over in Iraq doing a documentary about how it's okay to talk about your problems. He suffers from Depression and wanted to make others feel like it's okay to share their feelings, as it has helped him quite a lot. So go check out his website:
www.NKM2.org

Okay folks... I'm going to have to do another post about the vacation cause I need to go get in the shower before I have to go get Kies and run to drop some papers off in Powell! Take Care!

Happy Day!

2009-11-26T09:55:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all! So I got nominated to have Thanksgiving at my house. Yes, we just moved in last week, yes we have a ton still to do, but we put it all in our storage room in the basement and cleaned up. While finishing the cleaning process last night, our sink started leaking in the kitchen. Since we moved in it has been draining very slowly... well it was a big mess, and Jaran tried to fix it, but we're going to have to hire a professional to fix it. So we're doing dinner here at 1 and we are going to have to wash in the bathtub... awesome... yeah...
On a brighter note- we're having a sale at Who's Got the Button! It's a BLACK FRIDAY SALE only going on tomorrow- so go check it out! Love to all, and have a great day!

http://whosgotthebutton.shopping.officelive.com/default.aspx

Take Care!

Website!

2009-11-06T12:43:00.000-08:00

There is so much to update about, but I'm going to start with some pics.

So Ranee` is awesome, and she put together a website for us to sell our crafty-crafts on! It's still under construction, but it is coming together quite nicely! Please go over and check it out! You know you can always let us know if you want special orders too... but still- go check it out NOW!
http://whosgotthebutton.shopping.officelive.com/
Go- seriously, go now... now.... NOOOOOOOOOOWWWW!!!!!!
Take Care!

So many things!

2009-10-16T19:29:00.000-07:00

So I feel bad that I'm such a blogging slacker. I used to get mad when people would wait more than a couple days... now I wait a couple weeks or more before I update. SORRY! So much has happened since I last posted. I got accepted to college! Wasn't hard- just turned in my transcripts and applied, but was still cool to get the acceptance letter in the mail this morning.

I'm going to start school in January and get my nursing degree. Wish me luck there! I also took a trip to Utah and got... wait for it... a BRAND NEW CAR!!! Okay, so it's not brand new. It's almost 10 years old, but it's in super great shape for the mileage. Jaran's bro, Jeremy, hooked us up, as he has a car dealership in Utah. So for anyone that needs a great car, let me know and I will hook you up! We've been needing a new car since the end of June, so it was fantastic to get a van again. Hmm... after we got home, a few days were spent at home before Brens, Ans, Calli and I took off to Gardiner to watch Kalee on her Senior night. Not a good subject to get me on. Why? one might ask. Let me tell you. Kalee is 5'11", and has a killer spike. She played 1/2 of the first game, then the coach sent in a JV player in her place. She did nothing wrong, in fact didn't even miss ONE hit, so this was confusing to me. Come to find out, the coach has been doing this all season long. On SENIOR NIGHT she put in a SOPHOMORE in her place, and Kalee sat on the bench and cried. She has NO IDEA why the coach keeps doing this, because the coach doesn't tell her if she's doing something wrong, or if she just wants to stay in the good graces of the higher-ups of the school by playing their Sophomore daughter. Needless to say, I had to be restrained from giving the coach a piece of my mind before leaving for the night. I was steamed to say the least. We were the coolest people there that night, and all of Kalee's friends told us so. And it's all because of this:

It says: Kalee rocks my (small socks pinned on in place of the word socks) off!
We also did bandana's... let me see if I can find a pic of that...

I've been busy crafting as well. While at Steph's in Gardiner, she showed me the picture frames she's been making and I decided that, I too, should be making these. So here are my first 5:

I also decided to make my Mom a calendar for her birthday. This way she never has to put birthdays and anniversaries on her calendar, it's permanently on her wall... of course I'll write them all in for her, and I will post a pic of when it's all done.

I'm sure there are many other things that I have failed to talk about, such as how dance is going, and things of that nature, but those will have to wait until another post. Take Care!

I love great deals!

2009-09-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

So I got $64.93 worth of clothes for Ansleigh for next year for $16.49... a total of $48.43 savings! 5 shirts and 6 pairs of shorts! I love when I get a great deal... so if anyone needs to get summer clothes for their little ones for next year, hurry to Kmart! Take Care!

Accident Prone?

2009-09-28T10:02:00.000-07:00

So in a six day span, Kies sprayed himself in the face with Pepper Spray, Kies hit Brensyn with a car flag and gave him a bloody nose, and Brensyn pushed his sister off the bed and gave her a black eye. Is it a chain of retaliation or is it just that we are a very accident prone family? I don't know!
Dance started last week, and I am very excited. I think the girls are excited too. I am working on making a blog for the team so that I don't have to send letters out if I need to tell the parents anything. I'm also trying to figure out the best way to find some choreography, cause I'm not having any inspiration right now. I think I will try youtube... even though last time I did it wasn't a pretty thing!
Sorry it's not a very interesting post- just wanted to update something! Take Care!

Gratitude

2009-09-22T13:23:00.000-07:00

Today I watched my step-brother and his wife lay to rest their little boy, and my heart is truly broken. At the same time, it makes me so grateful for the little souls who have been given to me to guard, protect, teach and love. Our Heavenly Father truly has a hand in all things! When you stop and think about all the things that could go wrong in a pregnancy and take away such a precious little life, it's obvious that He is watching over you and blessing you every step of the way. It is amazing to watch all of the different things that go on during a trial such as this. It brings people together and reminds you of all the blessings you have. It also shows how much people can care for you and want to help, even if they don't know you. Calli and I have decided that we have more people pass away in our family than anyone else! I know that's not true, but maybe it is just the closeness that we have in our family. In the last 2 years, we have lost Grandma Jean, Amee, Aunt Vi, Uncle Ron, and now little Kayson Robert. It's great to know, however, that those that have passed are waiting to welcome home those we lose. It's different to lose someone that you have known forever, and then to lose someone that you haven't gotten the chance to love, and yet loving them anyway. Marie told me what a comfort my Mom has been during this time, having gone through the same thing herself so many years ago. It seems that blessing can sometimes come in strange ways, and I am thankful to Heavenly Father for knowing all that we need. Thanks to everyone for your prayers. And thank you all for being great friends! I have realized how much I complain these days, and I'm trying to start changing for the better! I love you all- Take Care!

Birthday party, painting and pepper spray

2009-09-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday do my wonderful husband! We had a nice day, and seeing how it was Stake conference, and our children can't even make it through Sacrament without causing major problems, we skipped church- I know, don't judge;)! So I woke up and made Jaran breakfast of french toast and eggs with homemade cherry syrup. After that, I tried cleaning the house while the kids went behind me and messed it up again. I tore open my toe while moving the dishwasher to the sink to hook it up(it's portable) and while making some pasta salad, I was stirring the pasta with a fork and stuck the tip of my finger in the boiling water! GRRR I hate steam! Anyway- last night before I went to bed I made Jaran a huge b-day card and put up Happy Birthday signs all over the house. You see, if there is a movie on, it lulls him to sleep so I had ample time to do all of this. The kids made him cards this morning and it was so darn cute!

Daddy gave them big hugs, even though they didn't have pants on!
Then he pretty much watched football all day. While I got into the shower(finally) Kies decided to climb up on top of the fridge and get my pepper spray from Dallas. What did he do? Spray it right in his eyes. So Jaran brought him into the shower and we tried to spray him off, but he was spazzing out.

So Jaran tried to hold him down while I dripped saline into his eyes. Even after doing it to myself to show him it wouldn't hurt, he didn't think it was a good idea. We told him his eyes would die and fall out if he didn't let us wash them. So after fighting and yelling and trying to restrain him against his will, I filled up the tub and let him just lay in my lap and calm down and try talking to him rationally.

It sort of worked and I got some saline in his eyes. He has super sensitive skin and I hope that people don't think we beat him, cause he might have a few bruises show up from where we were trying to hold his hands away from his eyes.

He's fine now and super proud of his battle wounds on his face- such a weird little boy;)! After the ordeal was over I finished showering quickly and we headed to Mom and Bob's where they BBQ'd some pork and HUUUUUUGE King Crab legs for Jaran.

We had some guests in the form of family to share in with the festivities. It was super good, and we topped it off with chocolate cake from Costco- if you have never tried it- you must go do so at your earliest convenience. It will truly change your life! Jaran has been busy with the house he's building and this is what he looked like after painting all day!

Well I know that was hit and miss, but I'm super tired and it's time for sleepy time!

Super Sad News- Need Prayers!

2009-09-19T22:07:00.000-07:00

Most of you know my step-brother, Dustin (Bob's son), and his wife Marie. They were expecting their 4th child and the baby was due in the middle of October. While visiting at Mom and Bob's house, they were having fun and feeling the baby's little bum moving around. Marie started feeling some sharp pains and decided to go home and rest. A little while later, the pains got much worse and they headed to the Emergency Room. They found out that her placenta had torn, and that they needed to do an emergency C-section, which she has to have to deliver her babies. Little Kayson Robert Acton was 7lbs 11oz, even being almost a month early. He was a perfect little boy with a perfect little face, but didn't get to take even one little breath. My Mom said that he looks just like their little boy, Kail, and that he was so beautiful. She said it was a hard thing to see Dustin and Marie go through, as she went through something very similar. Bob also lost a son, Rob, when we was young from Spinal Meningitis, so they both struggled more than most probably would to hold it together for them. Marie is now home, and her sister and mom are helping with their kids and trying to keep their spirits up. They need everyones prayers, as this is understandably a hard time for all. I hope and pray that they can make it through this trial and that we can all help them do so. Take Care!

Go Pokes!

2009-09-11T06:52:00.000-07:00

That's right- I'm off to the great big open. Kade called a few weeks ago and asked if I would go with him and Rose to Laramie to sell his WYOGEAR for the big game. So we are headed out today, and as long as the trip is, I'm super excited! I haven't been to Laramie since 2001, and it's going to be a fun time with all the crazy Pokes! Can't wait! Take Care!

Till you drop

2009-09-10T06:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I have decided to do dance again this year. Now that I know what more to expect I think things will be a lot more organized, and that's something we definitely need! Although, yesterday was a bit of a mess. I called Vana at the rec to go and get my uniform magazine and she said she would be there all day. So I left and stopped there first, and she wasn't there. So I went over to the school to drop off the sign-up sheets and put up signs, and then I went back... still wasn't there. We got out of the car and Brens and Ans played on the playground for a while. We were even there when the siren went of that they test and the kids were so scared cause it was right there and we had to plug our ears in order to remain hearing. So we were there for over an hour, and no Vana. So I left and called to give her a message. She called later saying she had some errands to run. That's why I had called before I left, so I would know if she was going to be gone. GRRR!!! Then Cam was going to pick it up on her way to volleyball, but she was running later, so she didn't get there. So I am going to have to go back today to get it so I can have the uniforms picked out by next Wednesday- our first get together. Wish me luck, and if anyone would be willing to help, I need a helper! Take Care!

2009-09-08T13:47:00.001-07:00

Hmm... Beware- graphic sickness language involved!

2009-09-08T08:47:00.000-07:00

I think I might do what Lauren did to her blog and just block the pictures from being copied... Lauren, will you let me know how you do it?
So, yesterday, Jaran took a break from work(yes he was working on Labor day, is anyone surprised?) so I could go to Cody to get the shopping done at Walmart, kid-free. It was a miserable trip! Somewhere between Byron and Powell I got a large object in my tire, and when I stopped at Maverik for a drink, a man told me it was completely flat. So I went to O'Reilly's and got some green slime to fill it till I could get it repaired in Cody. That took some time and when I finally got there, the chic said they couldn't repair it with the slime so wet still... so I asked for an oil change while I shopped... while she was getting my info, a guy came over and she asked if they could repair it with the slime and he said yes... but that the tire was too bald to repair. So I asked them to replace it. The chic took my information down, took down the tire size, and I signed the thing and went in to shop. I got everything I needed and headed to the check out. I asked the man to do two separate tickets since I was getting things for primary, but he didn't... then I requested $20 cash back, and didn't realize until I got back to the auto dept. that he hadn't given it to me. So I told them about it while they were ringing me up. The total was only $40 so I asked if they repaired the tire instead of replacing it. NO- they didn't do anything to it... even though on the slip it said- tire too damaged to repair. So they said that I had to go to customer service to get my cash back, so I went up there and they said they'd take care of the tire. When I got back, they said I had to replace 2 tires, and I said that was fine, but how long would it take? 20 minutes, she said. So I told her to go ahead. She said it would be $140 for the tires. So I sat and waited... and waited... and waited. An hour and a half later, they said it was done. Half the time I watched out the window and nobody was even working on my car- I was so angry, cause by this time, Jaran had told me Ansleigh was throwing up. So I knew I needed to get home, plus I had a bunch of groceries just sitting there that needed to be in the fridge. So I went to check out and they said the total was $160, so after them watching me pace back and forth for 4 times the amount of time they said- and me saying- I thought it was only $140- they took some charges off and it was only $135. So I finally got home to find that McKie was also throwing up. Not long after that, Brensyn also started in on it all. McKie seemed to have the worst of it, but after Dad and Jaran gave him a blessing, there was no more vomiting from any of them! It was a long night, as Kies was in bed with me, Brensyn and Jaran were in the living room, and Ans in her own bed, as she seemed to be done with it. So I woke up every time Kies moved, and needless to say, I am exhausted this morning. The pukes happened about every 10 minutes per kid... and I estimated I emptied puke buckets 27 times! YUCK! But they are all on the mend and we are off to Powell to get some carpet cleaning liquid so we can borrow Cam's carpet cleaner so we don't smell like vomit! Sorry for the nastiness of this post! Take Care!

Private?

2009-09-02T06:51:00.000-07:00

I just read about people taking kids' pictures and putting them on child pornography sites, and that is definitely not something that I want to take a chance of happening. I need to know if you would like to still be able to look at my blog. If only a few of you read it, it will be easy for me! So please, if you are interested in viewing my blog, please let me know by giving me your email. You can comment or email me at: jsmbbaker@yahoo.com thanks- Take Care!

PS- I posted 5 posts and I only got 3 comments, so I'm assuming nobody even reads my blog anymore!

Kies is in Kindergarten!!!

2009-08-27T21:45:00.001-07:00

There are about 5 other posts below... maybe only 4, but be sure to check them out!

Can you all believe my little man is going to school ALL DAY LONG? It's been only 2 days, and it's been a weird couple at that, but I think that it's all going to be awesome! The first day he had an accident at recess, and I think it was cause everything was so new and he was a bit out of his element. He didn't seem to be bothered when he got home, so I'm not too worried about it being a problem. After school, he had soccer, and he was supposed to be done around 4:15. Jaran went to get him and Taylin and they weren't there.

He went to the coaches house and found out that he had let them out early cause nobody wanted to practice (which was SO not okay with me, you can't just let K and 1st graders out on their own if their parents don't know about it!) and that he thought they went home with Lana Brimhall... so he tracked her down and she had tried taking them to Mom's, but she wasn't home so they just hung out with her and her kids at home. Thanks Lana for helping out! So then today he had everything he needed, and I sent a note explaining he tends to hold going to the bathroom until he can't hardly hold it, and that they might want to remind him every now and then. Also, I told them that he needed to go ahead and stay after school for Soccer. They didn't get the note, however, so Kies got on the bus and came home. Mom called and told me he wasn't at practice and that he had probably gotten on the bus... so I called Jaran as the kids were still napping. He got there just as dear Mick Esquivel was about to call us and tell us he was there. So wires have been crossed and hopefully from now on things will go more smoothly! His first soccer game is tomorrow and I think he is super excited! Wish us luck! Take care!

Accident Prone

2009-08-27T21:29:00.000-07:00

My dear husband seems to be a little bit accident prone. I think I will try and list all of his injuries since I've known him.

1) His ACL injury during church ball a week after we met
2) He has had numerous cuts on his head and right between his eyes from running into beams at work.... you would think if it's right between your eyes you wouldn't run into it, but I guess not.
3) He broke his knee cap at work when he was cleaning up after a snow. He had forgotten they put a sheet of wood down to cover and hole and he was picking it up and moving forward and fell right into it.
4) He sliced his finger open on a piece of broken bowl and had to get stitches.
5) At a house he was building, he walked off of a drop off thinking it was the side the stairs was on and cut his arm farely bad
6) He sliced his arm open twice while moving sheets into a house
7) He sliced his leg open falling off of a deck he was building
8) He sliced his leg open while carrying in doors on a piece of discarded metal to go on the corner where the sheet rock meets together... that is what the picture is of... he had to go get it glued and almost stitched
9) Tonight he got the biggest paper cut ever on his thumb... which will most likely cause some issues because of where it is at.
10) He shocked himself trying to get a power cord that was live out from under my mom's lawn mower
11) He tore his ACL again, after he got it fixed
12) These are not in chronological order... and I'm kind of tired of thinking of them all... I could probably add 80 more, but I don't have time!

Maddox is 5!

2009-08-27T21:24:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to Bozeman for Maddox's birthday, and we had so much fun. I took a bunch of pics with Kade and Rose's camera, but I didn't get many on my phone, so this is what you get!
We also met with the people who are going to rent our home in Three Forks! I think it's all going to be great for us all, and we are so thankful to them! Wish us luck!

Feeling Left Out

2009-08-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

Poor little Brensyn has been feeling left out lately. When we went to Billings a few weeks ago to do McKie's school shopping, I also got Ans some clothes for next year cause Sears was having and incredibly crazy sale. Poor little man looks at me and says, "Mommy, what did you get for me?" I felt like the biggest loser in the world and said that maybe I could get him a special treat for being so good. That worked for a while, but after we kept going into stores and getting things for Kies, his little face got more and more sad each time we returned with only things for Kies. So we went back to Sears to grab a couple more things, cause it had the best prices, and I got a shirt for him for $2. I also got him a Lightning McQueen backpack that he can pull on wheels, and that appeased him for a while. Then I was at Walmart and Mom was there and needed help picking things out so I went to the kids section to help her. She was buying things for birthdays, of which she said she has 9 in August to buy for, and she was also getting some things for Kies and some other kiddos for school. So again, he was saddened and she kindly picked him out an outfit and showed him that she wasn't leaving him out. When we got home he was sad we didn't have his special outfit, but since hadn't said anything. This morning I got the bag of clothes mom got for Kies and was going through it and found his outfit. I pulled it out to show him and his face lit up like it was Christmas morning. The picture above is the jersey she got... Jaran isn't very pleased, but Brensyn LOVES it! He's so excited to wear it to a football game... I hope he doesn't think he can ONLY wear it to the football games!

Happy Birthday Ansleigh! (a few days late)

2009-08-27T20:51:00.000-07:00

To my sweet baby girl:
I can't believe that it's been 2 years since you came to join our family! I can't imagine life without you and your beautiful smile. You are such a joy to be around, even though you're starting to show the terrible twos are not a myth, but a condition that hits all children at the age of 2. Those gorgeous eyes of your seem to suck everyone in and make them love you instantly, and when they fill up with tears, it breaks my heart... even if you're being naughty and I am irritated with you, my heart melts at the sight of you.

You had such a nice birthday with family and friends there to share it with. Dollies are your new favorite thing, so Mommy, Daddy, Kies and Brens got you a little playset with a stroller, port-a-crib, bouncy seat, diaper bag and belly mat. Gma Barb got you a new dolly, and you don't go anywhere without her unless Mommy says no.

You got books, toys and clothes and you loved them as soon as we got home, but after opening a couple presents you were bored with it and Mommy had to hold you on her lap and MAKE you open the rest :)

Thank you for picking us to be your family, and me to be your Mommy!
I love you so much!

2009-08-19T10:30:00.001-07:00

Hmm...

2009-08-16T22:32:00.000-07:00

So I got called to be the Secretary in the Primary and it's going pretty well. I like to be involved and have a purpose, but not have as much responsibility as our wonderful President does. I have been pretty busy re-making lists and doing all sorts of things to try to help and improve the old system... although I'm not sure if that's happening!
Judd and Janessa came to visit for a few days, and it was so great seeing them again! As always, Janessa and I had some good laughs and Jaran delivered some nice and unforgettable pics for our memories! We did a BBQ on Saturday, and then went to Mom's and played some games. All I have to say is "SNAKE!" We went to eat with them at Chinese as well, which is always a good time.
I am really looking forward to school starting, and I think McKie is about at the same point. It's hard to keep him occupied when he is on such a different level than the other kids. Especially with the short attention span he has! Poor kid gets so bored that he tries doing things that he knows he shouldn't do so that I'll pay more attention to him cause he thinks he needs it all;)! He has been going to Cowley Monday- Wednesday from 8-12 and that has helped. The only problem is he gets a bit of an attitude when he gets back and tells me he "will NOT do that!" I really hope that he is good for his teacher, as he will probably push his limits. He is really a sweet boy when he wants to be, and I think he's just testing what he can get away with.
Brensyn has really started to be a sweet little boy. When McKie is at his activities in Cowley, Brens and Ans seem to be them most mellow kids ever. I think Kies has so much energy they feel they have to compete and it turns into a free-for-all and I go a little nuts. When it's just the two of them they will sit and color and help me with chores and watch a WHOLE Dora without causing any bodily harm- ha ha ha!!! He loves to sing and tell me- "Mom, I was being SO so SOOOO good!" Even if he was being a little Sheisty! He is, however, the MOST stubborn kid you will ever meet, and can test my patience with his refusal to answer questions when he gets mad. I have learned that rather than yell and scream to get an answer, I remove myself from his presence and wait until he's ready to talk again so we can move on.
Ansleigh is starting to prove she's almost 2! She is still a sweet little girl, but is picking up from her brothers how to throw fits. I think that we just need to teach her that throwing fits will not get you what you want and she may stop. With Brens and Kies, they play off of each other and she sees that they usually end up using each other to get things... so we're working on it! They really do play well together when it's something they can all agree on doing. They can be the sweetest to each other and the meanest, but they are great kids, and we love them!
Jaran is busy building Caleb and Lexi Sanders' house, and is getting a lot of praise for the work he's doing. I think he really enjoys being the general contractor and seeing things from beginning to end. He works so hard and does such a great job. The boys love going to work with him, and he is great enough to let them come and "help" which usually lasts for a couple-few hours cause they get bored, or they stop listening and get into trouble. The boys have loved Daddy catching them frogs, which are plentiful over there by the corn fields.
The Bakers and are happy and healthy and hoping to stay that way! Take Care!

Back to school

2009-08-08T21:08:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let you all know how pumped I am at the sales I hit up for Kies today. 1st of all- I can't believe how much it cost for school supplies! They were $31.29! We went to Billings to hit some garage sales, and ended up mostly empty handed... so we decided to try and find some good sales to get Kies some back to school clothes. Poor boy is growing so fast that his 5T pants are highwaters on him, and he just turned 5 in May! And he only has a handful of 5T shirts, most of the ones he has are 4T and they are just about to be belly shirts... in fact his favorites are already started to bare some drift! So I had heard that JC Penny's was having a back to school sale and that door busters were from 7-1 Saturday... so we were about to head that way, but decided to stop by Sears first at the West Park Plaza. Not sure why I did this, but thank goodness I did! We got a TON of clothing there for not very much at all... in fact I bought some stuff for Ansleigh for next summer too(poor Brensyn was feeling left out today). I ended up buying 1 pair of pants, 4 pairs of good shorts, 7 shirts and 1 full B-ball outfit(shirt and shorts) for $38.29. That's 14 items at an average of $2.74 per item!!!! YAY!!! At full price I would have paid $165.97! Then I went to Old Navy where the deals were not so bueno... spent $39.00 and only saved $29.00 but still saved a bunch! So all together We spent $108.58 and saved $156.68. I am pretty happy about the day... and we also saved on a pair of gym shoes for him, but I'm not going to pull those out and look how much they used to be... so just imagine the savings you could get going to Sears!!! I'm crazy and have been up since 5:30 so I need to go to bed now! Take Care!

tag

2009-08-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

I've done this tag with McKie before, but Brensyns answers were hilarious!

1. What is something mom always says to you? I love you and I draw a pretty picture

2. What makes mom happy? When you get cookies and put them in the milk and eat them

3. What makes mom sad? When you be naughty

4. How does your mom make you laugh? Do funny fings

5. What did your mom like to do when she was a child? Play and go at the huntin place

6. How old is your mom? 5

7. How tall is your mom? All the way on the forehead

8. What is her favorite thing to watch on TV? Star Wars(so not true)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? I can't Member

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Because I will be mad at you

11. What is your mom really good at? Letting us go at Daddy's work

12. What is your mom not very good at? Monsters

13. What does your mom do for her job? When you let us at the park and that's work

14. What is your mom's favorite food? Umm........... Hot dog?

15. What makes you proud of your mom? Be happy

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Um I don't know I can' fink

17. What do you and your mom do together? sit in chairs and eat

18. How are you and your mom the same? You are the same

19. How are you and your mom different? I am white and you are brown(HA HA HA HAHA)

20. How do you know your mom loves you? when I be nice you love me

21. What does your mom like most about your dad? because you love him so much

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? At the parade and the parade and the parade

So much, so little time (and patience)

2009-07-24T13:24:00.001-07:00

I have so much to blog about! I'm not really sure where to start... so I'll just go back to Dallas and start there. I apologize if it gets long and boring!

I left at the end of April and traveled the lonely road solo in the Grand Am. Here are some illustrations!

Super flat and boring most of the way!

Windmill Alley- this was for miles... kind of freaky to think what might happen if one fell onto the road!

It was too dark when I got to Colorado to take a pic, so here's the Oklahoma sign!

And Texas... was only in OK for about 45 minutes!

And the new scenery in Texas... not much better, eh?

Amarillo by morning... or afternoon!

We supposedly got the AC fixed before we left, but that was a lie. Shown above: the window open and me being hot and sad!

The scary sky!

The view off of the back of the apartment- the golf course right behind the apartment.

Sonic is everywhere in Texas!
So things in Texas were hard, but good. I met some really cool people and learned how hard missionaries must have to work... except I didn't have to do it all day. When the kids finally got down to Texas, Jaran and I took them to the zoo before he went home. It was a fun time! I will do more later... but it's time to get stuff done around here! Take Care!

Rental

2009-07-13T12:14:00.000-07:00

Wow... I've never been so grossed out before! This place we found to rent is so nasty and dirty and just disgusting, but at least we found a place of our own. We're only doing a 3-month lease in case something better comes up. We are cleaning and painting today, and hopefully that will make it better. Thanks for everyone who has tried helping us! Take Care!

Ponderings

2009-07-02T07:03:00.000-07:00

You know when you feel like sometimes things happen at wierd times? We have been trying to sell our house/rent our house forever it seems, and just now have found someone who really and truly wants to rent it. They have a home in Idaho they are trying to sell, so they just want to rent it for now, but as soon as their's sells, they want to buy the house. I hope that everything works out!
Jaran and I are getting so so so frustrated cause we can't find a place to live! We are staying with my mom still, and it's not a good time. Her place is way too small for us, and the kids are driving her crazy. So please pray that something happens for us!
The kids are loving being home, and I am super happy too. We missed Jaran way to much, and even though we don't have a place of our own, you can see the difference in our attitudes and overall demeaner. Jaran is happy to have us here too, of course! We had a good time at Lovell's Day, and are getting excited for the Rael's 4th of July stuff, and we might take the kids to the parade in Cody, but I'm not sure about that one.
Well, my thoughts are super scattered, and I need to get showered and get going, so I will try and post better later! Take Care!

Back in the land of the living!

2009-06-27T15:34:00.000-07:00

Well, we are back in Wyoming, and we are all so glad for it! It was a great experienc being in Dallas, but at the same time, it was crazy! I am so thankful to have a husband like Jaran who is willing to work so hard and loves us so much. Poor guy was all alone here for 2.5 weeks and worked sun up to sun down. He does appreciate how much it sucked for me to be out in Texas all by my lonesome now though! A couple of people I was working with asked if I would be doing it again next summer, and I said "not unless I have my WHOLE family with me!" I do not recommend being away from husbands/kids for longer than just a weekend or so;)! Well, it's time to hit the lake for Lovell's day, but I will post a longer drawn out tale later! Take Care!

Sorry

2009-05-24T02:02:00.001-07:00

Yes I am alive... no I don't have swine flu... yes, everything IS bigger in Texas! Ha ha ha just kidding. I just wanted to let you all know (the five of you that seem to actually read my blog) that I am doing pretty well out here. I had a rough first few weeks, but this week I stepped up and did great! I got my first multiple sale day on Monday and got 3! It was the best feeling! Then I pulled 1 out late on my b-day and then 2 the next day! I got sick the following day and yesterday... well Friday, was miserable, but today I went back out and walked about 10-15 miles with now sales. I am going to try to kick some butt on Monday though!
There are fireflies here, and they are so cool! My buddy Mike ran over a huge snake today, and Onkes(Matt) and Stowell(Matt as well) kept laughing and telling him to do it again cause it shouldn't suffer... and it made this loud popping noise and it was so disgusting! Hmm... what else? The magnolia trees are in bloom and they smell so dang good, it's not even funny. People here are super nice, so it's been great. The people in the office are all awesome, and I've made some really close friends here. The kids should be starting their trip on Friday with Cal and Jaran, so pray for them! It's going to be a long trip. Well I need to go to bed so I can wake up, go to church, go see my cousin and listen to his band! Love you all- Take Care!

Hey y'all!

2009-05-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

That's right- I said y'all... but many of you will remember I said that before I got to Dallas! By request, I am going to do a quick update. Dallas is great, but I hate driving, cause the roads intersect and turn different directions and get me lost on an almost daily basis. The weather has actually been okay, save the 2 SUPER HOT AND HUMID days we had last week. There has only been 2 days that it hasn't rained, but I like it when it does, cause it keeps it cool. I have had some success, and although I get discouraged cause I feel I should be doing better, the people here who know what they're talking about say I'm doing well for a first year and that I am on the right track to kick butt this summer, so that makes me feel better. The people here are incredibly nice, and I really do love having this new experience. My Aunt Vi died a week ago and I made a quick trip back home, leaving on Wednesday, arriving at 2 am Thursday morning and going to the funeral at 10, spending time with family, driving to Billings at 10 pm, waking up and getting to the airport by 6:30 AM and flying back Friday morning. So I was home for less than 24 hours, but it gave me the boost that I needed. Being away from the kids and Jaran is hard, but I have an awesome roommate, Kristin, who is such a blessing to me. When I first got here they had some problems with apartments so I was put in with her for what was going to be a few days, but I have decided to stay with her until the kids and Calli get here the end of May, so it was a blessing in disguise! We have been helping each other through the first two weeks which were hard, but are getting better daily. Everyone in the office is so great, and the managers Ty and Ty are very helpful and willing to listen to you about anything you are having a problem with! Well, I need to get going, have some paperwork and then the daily meeting at noon, so I hope this was sufficient! I will post some pictures later. Take Care!

Dallas

2009-04-28T22:05:00.000-07:00

Well just so you all know, I'm in Dallas. I will go into more detail and send pics when I have a better internet connection. Love you all! Take Care!

Here comes goodbye

2009-04-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

So I am going to have to be gone from my family for almost a month. When I was in Utah, I was gone for a week, they came for a week, and I was gone for another week... so it was only a week at a time. But I will leave on Saturday super early and won't see them for a long time, and I am not sure how I'm going to handle it. I , so had been planning on leaving on Friday morning, but Austin Leonhardt sent me a text Monday and asked if Kies could be a crown bearer for Prom, and of course I said yes. There is now way I can miss that, so I am going to have to spend a longer chunk of time on the road and finish the drive Sunday. I hope McKie does well, cause it could be either the cutest thing ever, or he could throw a fit and be crazy, but I think it's going to be great. We have practice tonight at 6 so I'm hoping it will go well! Wish us luck and I will post pictures of prom after I arrive in Dallas... oh that just made me nervous! Take Care!

2009-04-16T14:14:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted pics for so long! This will be my picture post of randomness!

This is a picture of Jen Hessenthaler's chart. I help Ruby Harvey do these for a primary activity, and they turned out so cute! all I did was the vinyl, everything else was Ruby!

McKie's toe injury I mentioned in the last post. He was playing downstairs with his Dad's weights and I told him to stop. He had just brought it up to show me how strong he was and I told him to take it back down and never play with it again. As soon as he reached the basement, he dropped the weight on his toe, causing it to bust open and smashed it in the process! Grandpa Rand came over to save the day. He squirted some Lidocaine in it and glued it, which didn't last long, so I have been replacing the bandage everyday and had to cut the flap of skin off two days ago cause it wouldn't lay down flat anymore. Sorry to gross people out!

This is the lind of Easter Baskets the Easter Bunny left. Jaran and I explained to the kids why we really celebrate Easter, and I was suprised at how well McKie understood it. It was a great morning!

Just a close up of mine. We seemed to have "misplaced" our baskets from years passed, which means Jaran put them somewhere he can't find them or they got thrown away. So I had to be creative and fashion one out of a dollar store wire basket I've had since I had Brensyn- thus the smashed and sad looking thing! I thought the ribbons helped, though!

My Mom planted Easter grass and gave us all a bucket of it. This is actually one I took over to Shayla cause Ranee` Clark and I are her home teachers and failed to finish the cookie boquet we were trying to make her!

This is of Ansleigh after Aunt Calli got done with her makeup makeover. Those are her real eyelashes, just a splash of mascara to really make them look fake!:) She's so dang lucky!

This is Ansleigh stealing a drink of my pepsi. I try to keep the kids out of it by telling them there's medicine in there that's only for grown ups, but they don't listen!

I tried getting us all in the picture. We were all lounging in our deck chairs, enjoying a warm day- yes it was last week, not this week!

Here's Brensyn doing what he does best- throwing things. He loves throwing any and all things and usually does it to just make me mad I think!:) So cute though.

Well I guess that's enough for now. I will put some more on here later, but I've already overloaded this post! Take Care!

Sad days, birthdays, and garage sales!

2009-04-14T20:19:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday brother! Carl Scott was born April 14th, 1979. Today he would be 30! He died only a few hours after birth on this day 30 years ago, and for some reason I feel closer to him than I do other siblings somedays. Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part, but I have always wondered, were he still around, if I wouldn't be the "milk-man's kid" as my lovely siblings like to call me. I happen to think that I have a very attractive family, and I know Carl Scott would be as well. It's funny to think of it now, but we've always called him Carl Scott, not just Carl. I wonder if it's because he never was able to be called by a nick name or called just by his first name. I told McKie and Brensyn Carl(yes, he was named after my brother, who was named after my Grandfather) a little about it this evening right before I went out to the cemetary, and I think Kies understood a little. We were telling him about Christ dying for us and that if we are good and repent we will be just like him and be resurrected and live with Heavenly Father. So tonight when I was walking out the door, he said "Mom, is he going to be alive again when you come back?" and I told him that he would someday when Jesus comes again. I don't think he got it completely, but I guess that means I haven't done the best job teaching him. I will have to do better!

Moving on from my sadness- sorry about that- we are having a garage sale at Cam's on Friday and Saturday from 8-4. We have lots of kid and baby clothes, toys etc., adult clothing and a bunch of miscellaneous stuff- so EVERYONE who is around needs to come stop by and check it all out! Jaran and I are trying to consolidate our stuff since we are packing things into storage for the summer while I'm in Dallas and he's living with Mom or in a camper(his idea) so we are, like I said, consolidating and getting rid of stuff we don't have to have. Cam's also got a lot of stuff... I know there is a papa-san chair, a little kids desk, crafts as well as random stuff. I was going to post more, but I have a headache and I'm really just not up to it today. But stay tuned for the post about Easter, McKie's injured toe and a funfilled evening at Pizza Hut! Take Care!

I totally just flipped out

2009-04-04T21:55:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you all remember my NKOTB mania back in November. Well I was trying to show Vanessa a youtube video from the Utah show, and then took her to the website where I found out that.... wait for it... THEY ARE GOING TO BE IN DALLAS WHEN I AM!!!! I started screaming like a little Jonas Brothers fan and then started laughing hysterically cause of the look on Vanessa's face. Loyal thought I'd seen a mouse, and I explained that I just got really excited. I've been trying to call my NKOTB buddy, Rose, to tell her she HAS to come out there and go with me! Wish me luck getting good tickets! TAKE CARE!!!!!!

warning:: pics may gross you out!

2009-04-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

Alright- does anyone even read my blog anymore? I think that I have posted the last three posts with only 1 person actually leaving a comment... which makes me want to not post anymore! Let me know if you read! So I played a dirty April Fools joke yesterday. I've never really been one to do this since Jaran played one on me 5 years ago while I was pregnant with McKie. I was at my sister Cam's house and he called me to tell me that he'd fallen off of a ladder at work and that he was pretty sure that his leg was broken. I didn't have a cell phone at the time so I had to hurry and hang up and "run" to my car with my 7 1/2 month pregnant belly, which if you all will remember I look due to deliver by 5 or 6 months, so I'm huge by this time. I jump in my car and am driving away when my Dad, thankfully he was at Cam's that day, comes out running and waving his arms. I stop and he gives me the phone. Jaran is on the other end telling me April fools! I didn't think that it was even remotely funny. Maybe had i not been pregnant or had a cell phone or... actually, no, not funny. I later tried calling him to tell him to come home and get me cause I had gone into early labor from all the stress he caused, but he only half believed me. I mean he had me so upset I was crying and breathing super hard, and I was sooooooo mad! Which brings me back to my dirty little prank. I thought I was pretty clever! I texted people telling them exactly this: So I got hit today while I was knocking doors. The kid was texting and wasn't paying attention. had to get 18 stitches. Then my sister asked me where I did it and I said by my left knee. She didn't believe me so she said to send pictures. I thought that she had caught me there, but thankfully Amanda's friend, Melissa, was there to save the day. She said- don't tell anyone where you got hit- and I said that I already had and that I said it was by my knee. She had a huge grin and said- no way! Then she proceeded to show me the pics she had on her phone of her cousin's knee where he'd fallen down a mountain and had to get 17 stitches. How could this have worked any better!? So these are the pics I sent to people:

Unfortunately, Cam realized that it was a right knee instead of a left... but I got pretty much everyone else. I felt bad doing it to a few and told them pretty soon after I started my story. I got Amanda's friend Micah pretty good, though. She was coming over so I told her and she brought a pizza and soda cause she didn't think I could get up and do anything. I felt bad, so I told her and she was so mad, but got over it quickly and laughed... but I still felt bad! I won't be doing anything like this again next year. Just pray for me that I don't actually get hit by a car now cause I made people worry! Take Care!

Sad today

2009-03-31T09:56:00.000-07:00

Why am I sad today? Because I watched my family drive off about half an hour ago. I am staying in Utah for ANOTHER week so I can try and get some more systems before I go home and then go out for the summer. I already spend 9 days away from them, and now won't get back till Sunday or Monday. I'm so sad, but I will try and pull it together and kick butt today when I go out. Wish me luck, and keep us in your prayers as we try to make about a million decisions pertaining to our plans this summer!
On a brighter note, I was able to go back in time and help Amanda, Zak and their friend Micah prepare for prom. I did Micah's hair, and it looked AWESOME!

Then I ended up doing Amanda's hair, too, and since she has short hair, I knew it wasn't going to be easy, so I came up with this:

Zak was an awesome big brother and Amanda was an awesome little sister and they went to prom as each other's dates! they didn't get corsages or boutonnieres so I made some with some left over tule and embroidery floss. I don't know if you can see it in this picture, but Zak said everyone thought it was really cool! So I felt as though I accomplished something on Saturday, and it was fun for me at the same time!

Take Care!

Quick

2009-03-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

Jaran's brother Jeremy got married yesterday! We all wondered if it would ever happen;) Not really, he's a great guy and just hadn't found the right girl until Camary came around. We went to the wedding in the morning at the Bountiful temple, and their sealer was so hilarious! It was hard not to just bust up laughing, but being as we were in the temple, we tried our hardest to be reverent. Afterwards we took a couple pictures outside, and then headed to Layton. We went back to Bountiful/North Salt Lake at 4:30 and took some more pictures. Then we took the kids to Jeremy's house just down the road from the reception center and they were looked after by Amanda's great friends Micah and Melissa. We took them there so we could enjoy a very delicious meal they had planned for before the reception. There were some great speeches given, some funny ones and some sentimental ones, and then it was back to get the kids and then come back for the reception. It was so much fun, and they had music for dancing. They both looked so great, and you could tell how absolutely happy they are! I forgot to mention the cardboard-cut-out that was made of Buddy(Jaran's brother that's on a mission) so he could be part of the party;)! Ha ha ha- it was a blast and I will post pictures as soon as I can! Take Care!

These are a couple from Amanda's camera, but none that were super great of them, so enjoy until I can post more!

Games

2009-03-23T18:28:00.000-07:00

I have been in Utah for a week and a day and I miss my family so bad! This is one of the parties that Amanda has had while I've been here, and yes- they are all boys! HA HA HA! Went to a movie shortly after this picture was taken. I talked Zak into going with me, and we went to KNOW1NG with Nicholas Cage. It was really weird! I also went to the Jazz game with Justin and his family one night- which was fun!

We were on the 27th row, so you could actually see the guys' faces! It was pretty cool. Since then I've just been training and getting the hang of things for the summer. I can't wait to get out there and get started. Jaran isn't coming until tomorrow or maybe the next day, and I'm getting super sad that I can't see him and the kids all the time. It makes me realize that I take them for granted when I'm around them. Well, I'd better go cause people are trying to watch a movie and I'm probably being annoying! Take Care!

The time has come...

2009-03-16T22:25:00.000-07:00

... for a new post! I always get irritated when it's been more than a few days and I don't see new posts... therefore, I have decided to try to be a better blogger. I will also be a better commenter. Why? Because I find myself to be more motivated to post when I know people read my blog and they post comments. So here goes!
I am in Utah for 2 weeks, and this first week will be without Jaran and the kids. Yes- you read that right! I have THE MOST awesome husband in the world, because he is staying home and taking care of the kids for a whole week. He doesn't really have a job right now, just odd jobs here and there, so he will be a full-time daddy while I stay here in Utah to train for my summer job.
Which brings me to my next item up for bid(thank you to Bob Barker for allowing me to use that phrase):
I am moving to Dallas for the summer to do the security system thing. I know it sounds crazy, but this gives me the opportunity to make a good amount of money in a short amount of time and help out Jaran with our financial situation. Him being a contractor makes it hard to know if we will be financially stable in the time to come, and I am hoping and praying that this will work out for us. I will be taking the kids with me, and Jaran's sister, Amanda, has agreed to come out and watch the kids as soon as she is done with school in June. The problem is I have to leave the end of April so I will have to find someone to look after my kiddos for 5 weeks. I may have to fly out to Dallas a couple weeks in advance to find a place for my sweet little babies while we wait for Aunt Amanda to take over- so if anyone has any suggestions- let me know. I found the Bishop's number on the church website, so I thought I might call the Relief Society president to see if she knew of anything I can do, or places to look. I don't know beyond that. I went and got my AMP apparel today, as well as did paperwork, fingerprinting, got my picture ID made, and did a little selling. We are selling tomorrow, then going to a Jazz game. We will continue the selling until I am ready to do it on my own! I'm getting really excited to do this crazy new thing! I also get to hang out with my in-family and get to know Camary, Jeremy's fiance` before they get married on the 28th! YAY!
Well here are the pics I decided to post! Enjoy!

These first three pics are of Kies and me in the car on the way to Billings to drop me off at the airport. I met Calli there and then she took Kies back home with her. I was supposed to fly out at 1:40 and then have a 2 hour layover in Denver before arriving in Salt Lake at 6:30. Instead, they put me on a Delta flight non-stop at 5! so I got to hang out with Cal and Kies, eat some yummy food instead of just the peanuts and pop on the plane, and didn't have to sit in airports all day long! And my bag weighed 50.2 pounds! So I only had to pay $15 to get it on the plane. That's so dumb you have to pay to be able to take a bag!

So I am an idiot and thought that St. Patrick's Day was on Saturday, so I made everyone dress up in green! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! On Sunday Cal, Kies and I walked around Old Navy and I was thinking- why are they still selling these patty's t-shirts for 10? They usually reduce the price after the holiday... Cal said- it's not till Tuesday. I tried to argue for a minute, realized she was probably more on the ball than I was, being a busy mom, and laughed my bum off! It was great. This is the boys at Blimpies. I filled out a survey for the hospital and got the chance to be 1 of 10 people to win a $50 gift certificate. And... wait for it... I WON! I never win stuff, but I won $50 in Chamber bucks that I could spend anywhere in Lovell, Cowley, Frannie, Deaver or Byron. So we went to eat a sandwich and a movie. The kids were very well behaved during the movie, and it was cute. It was "Inkheart" and I liked it more than I thought I would.

HA! This is on Friday. We all packed into the van and headed to Cody to do some grocery shopping to stock up while I was gone. The kids got to pick something out at the dollar store for being good all day. Kies chose a sword(I know big surprise!), Ans ended up with a hat(she flippin' loves hats) and Brensyn took about 20 minutes before we finally told him he had to pick something or he couldn't have anything. He was meticulous about finding the perfect thing. Sadly, I can't remember what he even chose... wait- yes- he chose a small flashlight. I know- another shocker! Anyway- we got in the car, and I decided we needed to celebrate the beautiful day by getting dairy queen. This is why This pic of Ansleigh is so funny- she had a sundae, dumped it all over herself on accident, and then got so filthy trying to eat it after Jaran picked it off of her. I have been driving a lot lately- which is weird, cause he used to drive everywhere. Anyway- that's the story of the pics! Hope you enjoyed this totally random post and set of pics! Take Care!

Vinyl

2009-03-10T15:47:00.000-07:00

I have been going crazy doing vinyl the last few days. I'm going to Utah for a couple of weeks, so I'm trying to get stuff done for people there, as well as new babies coming and the people I visit teach. So since I am in full on vinyl mode, let me know if anyone would like to order anything!

Some of the stuff I've been working on

These are so cute together!

Most of our vinyl collection!

Just thought I'd toss this in here cause it's hilarious the way he lounges like that. Brensyn and Ansleigh do it too, but not as much as Kies!
Take Care!

Mommy's world from McKie

2009-03-06T10:07:00.000-08:00

Kid Questionnaire
Ask your child(ren) to answer the questions and type their answers in.Tag other moms with kids who might have fun with this. :)

1. What is something mom always says to you? Be Quiet

2. What makes mom happy? When I don't pee my pants

3. What makes mom sad? Being Naughty

4. How does your mom make you laugh? Tickle me

5. What did your mom like to do when she was a child? play with lizards

6. How old is your mom? He holds up his hands with 10 fingers up

7. How tall is your mom? 15 Tall

8. What is her favorite thing to watch on TV? Grey's anamony

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? I don't know

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? He just nods and says yeah

11. What is your mom really good at? Friends sport?

12. What is your mom not very good at? I don't know

13. What does your mom do for her job? All kinds of stuff

14. What is your mom's favorite food? Goulash

15. What makes you proud of your mom? Huggin' you

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Dora

17. What do you and your mom do together? Play games

18. How are you and your mom the same? We have the same shoes?

19. How are you and your mom different? You're a girl and I'm a boy

20. How do you know your mom loves you? Because Heavenly Father made you love me

21. What does your mom like most about your dad? Watchin' tv with him(exciting, right?)

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Just the museum?

Sad day in the neighborhood

2009-03-05T20:43:00.000-08:00

I got a couple of pictures on my phone this morning showing this scene:

You can google Bozeman explosion to see more pictures, but it saddened me, and made me glad that I wasn't around at the time. There was a lot of damage done downtown, with glass blown out of windows as far as 5 blocks surrounding it. There haven't been any reported casualties, but there has been 1 unaccounted for person. I pray that they are able to locate the person, and that they are safe. There are 5 buildings destroyed by the explosion, and a lot of other damage to the surrounding area. The Rockin R Bar is a place where we went a few times to sing some karaoke and eat a sandwich. They had a Pickle Barrel in there, and I loved to eat there. It was a non-smoking place, so it wasn't like you were eating ash. Boodles, the place that blew, was an eatery of some sort, and one of my favorite stores, Lily Lu's- a children's clothing store, was leveled. I hope that they can clean the place up and rebuild soon... because there are a lot of great things about downtown Bozeman that could be troubled by this unfortunate event! I wish all those safety and comfort who have been hurt or troubled by this! Take Care!

Post of Pictures

2009-03-02T21:31:00.000-08:00

I promised pictures last post, so this is all about my phone pics! This is McKie Saturday doing his helmet head. It was so funny. He needed a hat, but he also wanted his hood on, so this is what we came up with!

This is a picture of Brensyn being a good big brother to Ansleigh when we were in Colorado for Jenna's wedding in January.

Brensyn's birthday

This is a picture of McKie's beach day at school. I went to volunteer that day, and it was fun to see the kids have so much fun!

More beach day!

And Beach Day again

And again

And again!

McKie's Valentine's day party where I volunteered again!

Just a picture of the kids enjoying the warm weather last week! They were having a blast!

This is a picture of my dance girls at our end of the year party. We had so much fun doing karaoke and just having a good time. I will miss these girls! They were so great, and I hope I can do it again next year!

Take Care!

Irritation

2009-02-28T20:05:00.000-08:00

I would like to apologize to the people who read my post where I was ranting. I'm irritated at myself for getting so crazy! Jaran and I have been a lot less stressed out lately. And the reason for that is that our mortgage company, after having a talk with them, lowered our interest rate from almost 9% to 3.95%! That cuts our payment by more than half! Now we have a small enough payment that we could rent it out and even make a little, depending on how much we want to rent it for. Thanks to all of you who have been thinking about us and praying for us. It has been such a big load off of us, and a great answer to our prayers! The kids have been better behaved the past week or so, and I think a lot of it has to do with us being in such a better mood. I love my kids, and they have are such a great joy, when I let them be. I just need to remind myself how blessed we really are, and that there are a lot of people struggling a lot more than we are!
Moving on, this afternoon, I got a call from my cousin, Steven Bassett. It went something like this:
-David Cook's Light On ring tone playing and me not recognizing the number saying "hello?" in a tone like- who is this?
-"He Shan, this is Steven. Are you terribly busy today?" First of all, what kid his age says terribly busy? I get a grin on my face, thinking, what does he need;)?
-"No I'm not terribly busy, we're just hanging out at home. What's up?"
-"Well I went and got my hair cut yesterday and then had to go straight to work. I was wondering if you could maybe fix it?"
-"So you must have called my Mom and figured out she wasn't home?" You see my mom has been cutting his hair, and Erik's a lot, since I can remember.
-"Yeah I called like 5 times and she isn't home."
-"No she's at regionals. I can do it, come on over."
-"When, now?"
-"Sure whenever."
-"Okay see ya."
It couldn't have been 5 minutes later. I had enough time to pick up the bathroom a little from the mess the kids made with water and toilet paper, thankfully JUST water, and put a bra on;). This poor kid wasn't kidding that he needed his hair fixed. He has an INCREDIBLE amount of hair, and had said the girl cutting it had tried thinning it. Well, she had done a horrible job, and I knew it was going to take some doing to fix it. So after poor Steven sat there for a while, telling me how this crazy person messed up his hair... I even think he mentioned how she was wearing 7 shirts all at different lengths, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, we got it done! I was pretty proud of myself. I mean- he has got about 5 times the amount of hair Jaran does, and Jaran's got a great head of hair. He must roast under there!
After we were done there, Serena Hessenthaler called and invited us over for dinner. Ranee and Adam Clark were there, and Dave and Jen Hessenthaler. It was fun to just sit around and talk for a while. We all say that we need to do it more, but we don't do it often enough! I swear we need to make some type of schedule so that it actually happens! I have some pictures I will post later of the kids, but I'm too lazy to open my mail, download them and then upload them, so wait for the next post! I'll try and be better at posting... I get irritated when people wait too long between posts, and I'm one of those who does it! Take Care!

2009-02-23T13:23:00.000-08:00

Thursday was our last high school dance performance! It was the Rocky/Lovell game so there were a bunch of people there, and the girls did great! I don't remember if I mentioned before, but my little sister, Calli, came the weekend of Brensyn's birthday party and took pictures of the girls, and here is our group shot:

Didn't it turn out great? She took individual shots too, but with 17 girls, this post would be too long... so I'll just post the group photo. We are having our last performance tomorrow at the College in Powell at 5:30 if anyone wants to come and watch us. With so many girls, I didn't think we would be able to fund-raise and get enough volunteers to make it to regionals, so I called up the college and finally got a reply about dancing up there. We will have a little party on Wednesday for our last hurrah, if I may steal the phrase.
We visited Three Forks this weekend, and it was sad and happy. It was sad because we didn't want to leave, but happy because the kids had so much fun it was hard not to just stay on our air mattresses with one change of clothes forever! We also went to church and saw all of our old friends. They were excited to see us, and it was so much fun seeing them. We may have found a renter for the house from one of the Brothers from the ward, so I will update on that later. We spend some time with Kade and Rose and the kids got to play with Maddox. I find myself wishing I were back there. It's weird because when we were there before I couldn't wait to try a new place. But I guess that Byron isn't really a new place so it doesn't count!
I played basketball with a bunch of ladies on Thursday after the big game... ladies... feels like I can't call us girls, but ladies? anyway... and I had so much fun. Even after the next few days of being sore, I think I'll go back and do it again. I felt so good the next day... sore, but almost refreshed! It's nice to know I'm not the only mom that is slightly (in my case HORRIBLY) out of shape! Well I had better go now- Take Care!

Blah

2009-02-16T19:02:00.001-08:00

Oh my flipping flip flapper! I just typed the longest post, and it somehow erased itself. I went to the draft, and it saved just before I left, so it was just blank. Which adds to my blah day and week. GRRR!!!!!! I guess I will start over again. We headed to Billings on Friday cause Jaran is currently out of work and Kies didn't have school. Jaran and I decided to donate plasma so that we could make some money for a nice dinner and to save a few lives. So we got there, started doing our physicals, only to find I wasn't quite hydrated to what they like when they draw plasma. So I could do my physical, but not donate. They ask questions and poke and annoy you... and you have to have blood drawn for them to test. The lady that did mine was HORRIBLE! I have a 2 inch bruise from the puncture site up my arm.

She dug around in there claiming: I know I'm in your vein, I don't know why the blood's not coming out- LADY- if you're in my vein, the blood will be coming out! So it was quite sore, more than it usually is when you give blood, and I saw the bruising the next day and just grit my teeth. Jaran donated, so the kids and I went and got food, and just sat in the car waiting while we watched "Robots" for the bagillionth time. We then went to Jonny and Erica's to visit and see if we could get a hotel so I could donate the next day and attend their son Jacob's b-day party. We got at 3 star for $50 after taxes, so we were excited to use the pool that the website said they had. Got there, checked in, and found out they didn't have a pool... weird. So we went to walmart to get some sandwich stuff and then went back to the hotel. Getting 3 kids to bed with their parents and TV in the same room is not easy, but we did it. I was hydrating like crazy, and water tends to make me nauseous, so I was not in the best of moods. The next morning the kids were starting the day off with a naughty start, and I was sick from the water intake, so when I showed up to donate and they said I couldn't- I was so angry. I didn't have the proof of address, so I couldn't. I said- my husband did yesterday. They said- we give you a free pass the first time. I said- this is my first time, I didn't get to donate yesterday. They said- but you did have your physical, so that counts as the first time. GRRR! So after getting into the car, Jaran said that he need to go to Lowe's and price check some stuff. After sitting in the parking lot for over 40 minutes, I was so ticked off at the kids I wanted to abandon ship and fly away with Peter Pan... but I couldn't leave my children, so I toughed it out. Then, it started snowing, and we decided we had better not wait to go to Jacob's party and start home. We dropped the gift off at Chucky Cheese, and after we calmed Kies down telling him we couldn't go into Chucky Cheese and maybe next time, we started home. Kimberly (Bassett) Lynn was having a party for her little girl Kennedy in Byron, so an hour after we arrived home, we were able to go to that, and the kids weren't as disappointed about missing Jacob's, cause they got cake;)! Then I had to go to the high school cause my girls were dancing at half time. Another GRRR- a bunch showed up late, not ready and being defiant, so it was not the most pleasant experience for me. But they did a great job, and my spirits were up. Jaran got there just as we were about to walk on, so after we got done with the dance, I went to him and asked what we were going to do with the rest of the night. He went over to ask Mom and Bob if they would let the kids sleep over so we could go to a movie, and they wouldn't have to come to our house to watch them. We got such a cheerful- well, I suppose we can. Let me tell you what the translation of that is- Well, we can't think of an excuse to get out of it, so I suppose so! So we took the kids over and by the time we left and got to Powell, the actual movie had been going for 15 minutes... so we went and sang some Karaoke, and went home. I wanted to eat since I hadn't had time for dinner, and started the oven to make some pizza. While I was waiting, I decided to read my book. Jaran took this as- I'm reading my book, go to sleep, and that's what he did. So I was up and alone at 1:00 AM eating a frozen pizza. Glamorous Valentine's day, I know. We woke up, got ready for church, and went to get the kids. We decided to go to church in Cowley and then broke the Sabbath to go to lunch with Mom and Bob at Chinese. I know it's horrible, but I was craving some of their green beans, and spaghettios didn't sound good. So we ate, while Mom was convinced that my kids were evil cause they weren't super quiet angel children, and went home for naps. I came down here to make a monthly menu to try and save some money on groceries, and went to print it out and the printer wouldn't work. So I went up to watch TV, and Jaran was asleep on the couch, so I went to our room and read my book. Then I made some frosting for the sugar cookies that we were going to make. The dough was chilling in the fridge for a couple days, so I thought it was about time. I found that the rolling pin I had left at my sisters during Christmas so the cookies would have to wait till tonight. Kim and Danen came over to visit with their girls, and we all had breakfast. After that, Jaran went to do some odd jobs for Bob, and I had made some cards. McKie wouldn't listen and follow directions today. I had asked him to find his coat, only to walk in to see him "playing with Brensyn" in the way you don't want to little boys to play. I don't know what the fascination is with boys and their... you know whats, but I'm so sick of telling them to stop playing with themselves, that having to tell them to stop playing with each others is a little too much. So after screaming at him, and finding his coat for him, after he took over 10 minutes to put on his shoes, we missed the bus. So I had to take him to Cowley. I told Brensyn to get his shoes, to find that he had lost his socks sometime in the last 30 minutes. This is one of my pet peeves. I tell my kids to leave their socks on, but they ALWAYS take them off, and usually end up losing one or both of them. So I had to get new socks, find his shoes, and we were about 10 minutes late getting Kies to school... luckily, they were still at the door waiting for him so I didn't have to walk him to class. Then I went to buy some stamps to find the post office was closed for President's day. GRR! Came home, put Brensyn and Ansleigh down for a nap, and after and hour, heard them finally settle down to sleep. When I went to pick the boys up from school (I watch a couple of McKie's classmates for a while after school) McKie tried to run off with Taylin, so I had to chase him down. We got back to the house, and they wouldn't stay quiet while the kids were asleep. Jaran was hungry, so he cut them an apple to eat and they settled down just in time for the boys' dad to pick them up and leave. Then Jaran had to go big a small job, and the kids were rowdy and wanted snacks and kept jumping on me and hurting each other, so when Jaran got home and forgot to look at the text I'd sent him about picking up the rolling pin at Cam's and getting some meat and letting me know when he was coming so I could start dinner, I just asked him to please check his phone. So he went to Cam's and found her house dark, empty and locked. So no cookies again tonight, after I promised Kies all day long if he would only be good we'd make cookies. Oh- I forgot to mention Kies took his lizard out of his cage again. He said that the lizard had gotten out and ran into the closet. So I was angry and yelled at Jaran to hurry and help me find the lizard... so we took the clothes and shoes out to find McKie had trapped him in a Tupperware container and hid him in the closet so he could take him to school. We have told him numerous times not to take the lizard out, but he doesn't listen. Poor thing is finally growing his tail back after being torn off twice. So dinner time was annoying cause the kids decided they didn't want green beans... which were mixed in the stove top and chicken. So Jaran decided to pick them out for them, and Brensyn still didn't eat. Then McKie kept throwing his plate and hitting people, then threw a fit, so when he asked for ice cream and I said no, you're being naughty, he threw an even bigger fit. So I came down here to type away my blues. My back started hurting this afternoon like I have a pinched nerve. I have a severe curve at the bottom of my spine which my Dr. told me, after I'd hurt my back a few years ago, causes a lot of back problems, especially with pinched nerves. So that, too, added to my wonderful day or week. Brensyn is now screaming in the other room that he wants a sandwich, but I refuse to give him one, cause he didn't eat his dinner... now he's kicking at the door. Lovely. Well I am going to stop ranting. Sorry to whoever reads this. I am sure I will be horrified at my words when I read it later. I will try and make up for it at a later date! Take Care!

2009-02-12T18:31:00.000-08:00

Brensyn's turning 3!

2009-02-08T10:34:00.000-08:00

Brensyn will be THREE on Monday, but we decided to celebrate the weekend before, since next weekend will be Valentines day. So we had a party at the lunchroom at the high school, as our house it rediculously small for a get-together. Brensyn really likes tractors, so Aunt Steph made him a most excellent tractor cake! It turned out very cute! Uncle Kade was kind enough to do a beach front scene for the kids to take pictures in front of. I kind of stole this idea from Kendra. She had a lot more decoration, and the whole party was beach themed. It was so clever, so I stole it! I had a "surf board" for them to ride on- a.k.a. my ironing board- and we would lift it up and have them hang some ten while Calli took pictures. My family is very talented... hmm... Cam had her in-laws in town or I'm sure she would have done something magical and fun too! Brensyn loved all of the stuff he got, and the kids had a BLAST! I just need to explain that the beach scene Kade did with spray paint a couple hours before the party- isn't it amazing?! Holy monkeys! I did, however, fashion the life-like trunk of the palm tree;) Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Messy is fun!

2009-01-27T20:25:00.000-08:00

Last night for FHE we let the kids do the volcano that they started a week or so ago. Kies got it for Christmas, and it takes some doing to get it ready. We had to make plaster and pour it in a mould. Then we let it set, and they didn't have a great day of following directions, so we didn't let them finish. Then yesterday, they were KIND of good, and it was Monday, so we decided to let them do it. They painted it, with a little help from Mom and Dad. Here are some pics:

And then came time for the explosions!

They had a blast- ha ha ha! It was fun the joy they got out of it, and it was pretty cool to see the reactions of the baking soda and vinegar, even though I am... well older than they are;)!

Kies wanted me to come down so he could show me his unicorn the other day, and this is what I found! He had taken a piece of driftwood and put it on with a GRIZZ ear warmer! Creative little kid! He was pretty proud of himself, and I was pretty impressed!
And one more thing, thank you for your thoughtfulness. Who am I talking to? I don't know, but you know, and I love you for it! You will recieve blessings for being so thoughtful and selfless! Jaran and I appreciated that little envelope more than you know!
Take Care!

My Babies

2009-01-22T20:14:00.000-08:00

K don't make fun of my huge fake-looking belly- this was a week before I had Ansleigh- yes, she still grew after this pic

Baby Tag

Thanks for sharing Ranee

1- Where were you when you first found out you were pregnant?

McKie: In our first apartment. I was never completely regular, but usually within a couple days. It had been five too late, and I was looking at the calendar when I realized... so we ran to walmart and took the test.

Brensyn: At home

Ansleigh: In a Target bathroom- I know it's weird

2- Who was with you?

McKie: Jaran

Brensyn: Calli maybe? I think someone...

Ansleigh: Nichole

3- How did you find out that you were pregnant?

McKie: Took a test cause I was late

Brensyn: I was craving tacos EVERY NIGHT

Ansleigh: My feet got super hot every night during bedtime, and that always happens when I'm pregnant

4- What was your first reaction to finding out you were pregnant?

McKie: WOO HOO This is great!

Brensyn: Nice. For some reason we had been wanting to get pregnant right away after Kies. Thank goodness it didn't happen closer!

Ansleigh: Hmm... well... I will be happier in a minute when I stop freaking out that the kids will be 21 months then 18 months apart!

5- Your Husbands reaction?

McKie: He was so pumped!

Brensyn: I made a little box with booties and the pregnancy test for him to open, and he opened it, got a big grin(after first being confused) and said- REALLY?

Ansleigh: He was excited to hopefully have a little girl so he could spoil her

6- Who was the first person you told?

McKie: Jaran

Brensyn: Calli or whoever was with me

Ansleigh: Nichole

7-Did you plan to get pregnant?

McKie: Yes, we were only married 2 months and off birth control for 5 days! so it was crazy, but awesome

Brensyn: we had been planning on it for a while

Ansleigh: No, no we weren't, but we love her to death!

8-Was everybody happy for you?

McKie:Yes, I think so

Brensyn: Pretty sure they were

Ansleigh: I think everyone thought we were crazy, as if we'd planned it!

9- Did you go out and celebrate?

McKie: I think we ate ice cream

Brensyn: maybe?

Ansleigh: Nopers

10- Did you want to find out the sex?

McKie:Yes- I think it's nice to be prepared

Brensyn: see above

Ansleigh: see above

11- What was the sex?

McKie:boy

Brensyn:boy

Ansleigh:girl

12-Did anyone throw you a baby shower?

McKie:yes

Brensyn:yes

Ansleigh:no

13- If yes, who?

McKie: mi familia of sisters

Brensyn: same, mostly cam and mom I think though?

14- Did you get any outfits at the baby shower that you just knew you weren't going to put on your baby?

McKie: I don't think so

Brensyn:yes

15- How much weight did you gain?

McKie: 30

Brensyn: 25

Ansleigh: 40-45

16- Did you loose all of the weight that you gained?

Yes to all

17- Did you get a lot of stretch marks?

Before I answer I just need to say UGH!
McKie: I got a few around my belly button, and then a couple on the underneath the week after he was due grr...

Brensyn:I got some more under and just grew the ones I had

Ansleigh: yes, and everything grew again

18- What did you crave the most?

McKie: I always had a pb sandwich and a glass of milk- with all of them though

Brensyn: Tacos!

Ansleigh: Pork chops!

20- Who or what got on your nerves the most?

With all of them I got super irritated when I was only 6 months along and people would say- wow you must be ready anyday now- or ask if I was having twins- yes I got huge- just in the belly mostly, but it was rediculous

McKie: not being able to fit into clothes that I wanted to

Brensyn: Having to wear different clothes than with McKie

Ansleigh: my feet being so hot with all of them, but a lot with Ans cause she was born in the end of August

21- Were you married at the time?

Yes to all

22- Did you have any complications during your pregnancy?

Not really with any- other than being super huge and not sleeping well- but I have worse insomnia now than I did before

23- Where were you when you went into labor?

I was induced with them all- never had a natural contraction in my life

24- Did your water break?

Nope to all

26- Did you go early or late?

McKie: 8 days late grr

Brensyn: 1 day early cause Dr. Holland felt bad about going so late with Kies

Ansleigh: 2 days early- or I would have been 7 days late

27- Who was in the room with you when you gave birth?

McKie: Jaran, Calli, Cam, Steph, and mom... with the nurses, scrub techs and dr.

Brensyn: Jaran, Cam and Mom... others were there, but not in the room

Ansleigh: Just Jaran this time- it was nice

28- Was it video taped?
McKie's labor was at some points, but not a full on view- Cal took some video above my head, no gross stuff, and it was fun seeing him when he was finally out!
no to the others

29- Did you have any drugs for the pain?

If you know me then you know this is a crazy question to ask. Of course I had drugs.

McKie: Epidural/intrathecal mix after being on the pit for l0 hours

Brensyn: same as above, but only after I went from a 3.5 to a 6 in an hour, and I freaked I'd go too fast to get anything

Ansleigh: Nothing, until I decided to try some stadal(?) which worked the first time, second dose did nothing... then an epidural when they said I'd been at a 9 for two hours and it was going to be at least another hour if not more... then before they were even done giving it to me, I was ready to push. I'm glad I got it, though, cause her shoulder got stuck and I had 2 nurses pushing really hard on my stomach and the doc was... trying really hard to get it unstuck

30-Did you go vaginal or have a c-section?

Vaginally with all 3

31- What was your first reaction after giving birth?

McKie: Finally! That took forever! (17 hours and 90 min. push time)

Brensyn: Wow, so much easier than Kies (7 hours and 30 min. push time

Ansleigh: Flip- man, she's so much bigger than I remember babies looking

32- How big was the baby(s)?

McKie: 8 lbs 2 oz and 22 inches

Brensyn: 6 lbs 12 oz and 20 1/2 inches

Ansleigh: 9 lbs 3 oz and 21 inches- yeah I know she was HUGE

33- Did your Husband cry?

Yes with all! It was special and sweet

34- What did you name the baby(s)?

McKie Jaran
Brensyn Carl
Ansleigh Mae

35-Did the name have any significance to you?

McKie is a Scotish family name- My special Great-grandma Jean's middle name, and her mother's maiden name- and then Jaran, my hubbie's name

Brensyn isn't, but Carl was the first name of my Grandpa and also my brother that died

Ansleigh kind of after Jaran's Mom(RuthAnn) and Mae is grandma's on 3 or 4 sides

36-Does the baby's name fit?

Yes I think so

37- Did the baby(s) have any complications?

No with the boys- but Ansleigh shoulder getting stuck sucked, and it made her whole face so bruised it was purple and the nurses had to put a note on her so people wouldn't try to recusitate her cause she looked like she wasn't breathing

38- How old is your baby today?

McKie- will be 5 in May
Brensyn- will be 3 on Feb. 9th!!!
Ansleigh- 17 months on Saturday

39- When is the next one(s) coming?

Flipping no comment at the moment

40- If you could would you do it all over again?

Well, I love my kids, so yeah, I would!

For Camary

2009-01-22T09:24:00.000-08:00

These are some pics that Calli has taken!

The first... well second.... but first

2009-01-19T21:49:00.000-08:00

This was Ansleigh's first "official" haircut. Kies did cut her pigtails off when she was little, but that was more of and ambush/attack, not a haircut! Kasi Baxendale did it, and she did great! And Ansleigh just sat still and ate her sucker while Kasi rid her of the mullet... although we will probably need to give her some more layers soon... her hair grows quite fast for a little lady. It was a good experience, and the first haircut that wasn't done by Mommy or Grandma Barb.
GREAT NEWS! We had this crappy microwave from the 70's... maybe even the 60's. We loaned our microwave we got when we were married to Calli cause she had NONE and we hadn't moved in here yet. So it's been taking 5 minutes to cook a hot dog, so you can imagine how long it took for everything else! Well, tonight we got it back, cooked 2 burritos, 4 hot dogs, and some popcorn chicken... in the time it should have! Not 3 to 4 times as long! I LOVE OUR MICROWAVE!!!! Love it... love it... love it! Thanks Cal for relinquishing the microwave, love you Bean!
That's about it. Thanks for the comments on the house. It's nice to know people like it... cause it doesn't seem like anyone there in Bozeman does:( Take Care!

The house

2009-01-15T22:15:00.001-08:00

We have put an add in the Bozeman Chronicle for the house, and I have created a blog for people to go and look at. Please let me know what you think, and tell me things I can do to make it better, or entice more people!
http://204rglhome.blogspot.com/
Take Care

My freak accident

2009-01-14T00:08:00.000-08:00

Bob, my step-dad, loves meat. This means that we all eat meat a lot too, and that we don't usually buy meat. He usually buys a beef and has some made into hamburger. So we all enjoy the blessing of eating a lot, and having our freezers full of it. Today, since Jaran hasn't been working(please pray for us on that note, he can't stay busy), we all went to Powell to do some grocery shopping. We stopped and ate at Chinese, for the last time for a while since we won't have any income for a while, and we were running late getting Kies to school. So when we got home, we brought all the stuff in that needed to be in the fridge, and we were hurrying to take Kies over to school, so Jaran was putting things into the freezer while I put stuff in the fridge. While I was kneeling down to put the beans in the veggie drawer, I felt a sudden pain on my upper back/shoulder blade and head. I thought Jaran had dropped a can of juice on me. Then I realized that it was REALLY hurting. I couldn't believe the pain that was throbbing through me... and then I looked at the floor next to me and saw that it was a 2 pound tube package of ground beef! It hit me first in the back and knocked me on the head a split second later. I thought that my head got the worst of it, as the instant headache spread, but then as I tried to steady myself and get up, I realized any movement of my left arm sent shock waves through me. It is ridiculous how bad it hurts! Even now, 12 hours after it happened, it still throbs! I hope that the pain isn't as bad tomorrow, but I have a feeling it might be worse... cross your fingers for me! Moral of the story- do not have the freezer open while bending into the fridge, just in case a large tube of beef decides to roll out and attack you! Take Care!

A crazy week!

2009-01-12T19:23:00.000-08:00

I had a very emotional week the past week. Monday was the viewing for Amee, and then Tuesday was the actual funeral. I can honestly say that it was the saddest funeral, for me anyway, that I have ever been to. Looking at my Aunt Brenda while she mourned the loss of her daughter, something you never think you will have to do, was hard enough, but looking at her daughters while they greeted people and tried to hold it together, was almost more than my heart could take. I know that she is not in pain anymore, as she was almost every moment of her life lately, and that she is more happy there than she could ever be here, but I don't know that everyone else there felt that way... and that was what made me sad most of all. I don't want to go into detail, as there are some things that would take too long to share, and things that are too personal to share, but it was an experience that I do not want to repeat any time soon... and I'm afraid that will not happen, as her husband, John, has a disease that could take him at any time. I am just so thankful for my beliefs and for all of the comfort that I was able to feel as I thought about what a great life Amee led, and what a great example of service and love that she showed. She was such a talent, and anything she put her mind to was great! I am so thankful to have known her and had a small part in her life.

If you click on the picture, on the right side of the casket, you will notice a carving that my Dad did for John. It says Amee, and then has the Barrus brand below it.
Wednesday, I had dance, and was a little disappointed in the girls. After going over and over the dance, I asked them how many times they practiced over the 2 week break they had. There were two girls who didn't practice AT ALL, and most didn't practice much more than that. I was drained emotionally and may have come off a bit mean, but I was so upset that I put forth so much effort to get such a small effort back, if any at all.
When I got home, and we packed up and got ready and left for Colorado. We drove to Casper, and stayed with Kim and Danen Lynn so we could break the trip up a bit- so thanks Kim and Danen! Kim had set up space for all of us(Jaran, Kies, Brens, Ans, Dad and myself) in her living room, and was still up when we got there around 1 AM. We woke up around 7... then 7:30 and about every few minutes after that, and decided to finally get on the road around 8:45. When we got to Aunt Deana's, I started helping her with flowers for Jenna's wedding on Saturday. It was actually pretty nice, and I won't say fun, because we both had to work through some back issues while doing it, but we enjoyed ourselves as much as we could have!

Here is Jenna's Bouquet

Here are the bridesmaids bouquets
So we got to bed late, after eating a delicious meal of homemade chicken noodle soup, and finishing all but the 3 grandpa's boutineers and the corsages. Jenna had 7 bridesmaids and Nate(her new hubby!) had 7 groomsmen... so we had quite a bit of stuff to do. We got up the next day, ate some scrumptious bacon and eggs, and went back to making boutineers and corsages. When we were finished, Jaran(who had been watching the kids all the last night and that morning, bless him!) went with my Dad and Jason and they hauled some logs around to later be cut for firewood. When he got home, we left for Loveland to lend a hand at decorating the church for the reception, and to visit. We didn't have a lot of time to do so, but we did visit a bit before they had their rehearsal dinner. We went over to Traci's and ended up staying the night and visiting with her, Jim and their girls. When we woke up, we had to go straight to Aunt Deana's, after getting some delicious cinnamon crunch bagels from Panera bread(I used to get one every morning before going to work when I lived there!), so I could take Dad over to the temple(my recommend expired and with the funeral and things, I didn't have time to renew it:(). I had a nice chat with Sheridan as we waited for the ceremony to get over, and the lovely couple to show us how happy and in love they are! Turns out that they had forgotten all the flowers in Loveland(an hour away) and Aunt Janna had also forgotten Jenna's slip for her dress... so things weren't going well. I decided that it was time to save the day, and tried to do so by going to walmart, getting some flowers and throwing together a sloppy bouquet for her pics... I don't know how much she cared about having flowers, but I hope that it made her feel a little better.
Dad and I headed back for Jaran and the kids and then made our way(after stopping at a walmart to get my mangled glasses repaired that Ansleigh thought I must not need to fit on my face, but on my face and the person next to me) to the place where my Grandma Pearl is living. She has Alzheimers, and I didn't know what kind of a visit it would be, but when she saw us coming, she new we were coming to visit her. Whether it was Dad or I, she recognized us, and it was a great visit!

There was a lady sitting by her that kept saying "peek-a-boo, I see you" to the kids, in a very scary voice. I can't believe they didn't freak out, but she was a very nice lady. We sang a couple songs with Grandma, and stayed for about 45 minutes, before having to take off. She kept asking why she couldn't come with us, and it was very hard and sad to not be able to take her along, but in the end, we talked her into staying cause we didn't have room with the Kids and their seats.
When we got to the church, we had to change into our dress clothes, and then went in to greet the couple. They looked great, and I am so mad for not taking a couple pics, but I only had my phone to take them anyway, so it wouldn't have been a very good pic.
Jaran took the kids to Traci's for the night while Traci, Jamie(her youngest daughter) and I stayed to help clean up. My feet were killing me cause I was wearing the new boots I got(for $7) and they had a higher heel than I thought they did... but I got to gossip and get caught up with my cousins, so it was worth it. We had a nice visit with everyone, and I wish we could have stayed longer. I didn't get to meet up with any of my buddies, but I am determined to in March when we go for Shasta's wedding. I can't wait! Sorry for such a long one, I hope it doesn't annoy anyone! Take Care!

What's that smell.......?

2009-01-07T13:06:00.000-08:00

I'll tell you what it is! Today I realized that I have some bananas that needed to be made into banana bread... so I took the proper steps, added the right ingredients and preheated the oven, all while trying to fix lunch for the kids. I put the bread into the oven, and started smelling the aroma of it long before I thought I should, so I went to check on it. It seemed to be getting larger than it normally does, but I figured it may have been cause I beat it longer or something. Then I took Kies to school and waited for the buzzer to beep. I thought it was smelling sort of burned, so I went in to check on it, and it was! GRRRR! It's not a small task to make the bread, so I was mad at myself for doing something wrong. When I came back in from throwing it in the garbage outside, after it burned through the garbage bag I put it in, I checked to see that the oven was still on and start another batch of bread. It's supposed to be set at 325 and it was past 450! One of the kids had messed with it while I was making them lunch and mixing the batter! I was thankful that the kids were asleep and at school so I couldn't yell at them, cause I was pretty T.O.'d! So now I keep checking the bread I have in now to assure that it is not burning. I hope this turns out better, cause I'm craving some banana bread! Take Care!

Phone numbers

2009-01-05T13:24:00.000-08:00

K... so a couple months back, Brensyn put my phone into a glass of milk, and it never recovered, and I can't get any of my contacts from it, so anyone who could give me their numbers again, please do! If you want to just email them instead of leaving them on here, my address is jsmbbaker@yahoo.com or you can text them to me at 307-250-5034! Thanks! Take Care!

The House

2009-01-05T09:11:00.000-08:00

So we put the house up on Craigslist, and have gotten 3 replys, all of which haven't come to anything, of course! But we are praying that it will pan out for us. It's so stressful having a huge house just sitting there, empty, while we are living in this crap hole of a house! I'm sorry, but I'm just so frustrated by it! The bathroom is so gross- I spent TWO hours scrubbing it and it looks like it hasn't been cleaned in about 10 years, which must have been the case at some point in time! The breakers in this house are rediculous, as they all seem to be attached to about 3. Which, for a 4 bedroom house, is not enough! And don't get me started on the carpet! It's this super dark green that shows EVERYTHING, and when you have three little ones running around, being dirty little kids, it is a really bad idea! You would think, in a rental, they would have some type of nuetral carpeting! It's green in the living room and hall, and pink, yes PINK, in the rooms! I'm sorry- I truly am grateful for a warm place to live and have my children be comfortable. It's just so hard to know I could be living in a house like we have, but we can't cause everyone has suddenly stopped building houses in Montana!
Well enough with that, I apoligize for being so melodramatic, it's just really irritating to me as I have been trying to clean up the whole house for company for the funeral, and I realized just how annoying it was! Not that I didn't before, it's just that it was only me who had to deal with it before, now I have to be embarrassed that other people have to deal with it! The funeral is tomorrow at 11 in Cody, and I have to sing(just call me the funeral singer!)
We will be heading to Colorado after the funeral sometime to go and see my cousin, Jenna, get married. It has been over 4 years since I last visited Colorado, and it makes me super sad! This is, by far, the longest time I've spent away from my dear Colorado! It will be nice to see some old faces and places, and visit with family!
I guess I had better go, Ansleigh keeps getting egg shells out of the garbage! Take Care!

In Loving Memory

2009-01-01T11:33:00.000-08:00

I woke up yesterday morning, thinking about what we might do to celebrate the new year. With kids, it's not the most exciting of holiday's, so I knew it would be a pretty normal night... maybe a smooch or two in there. Right around 8 o'clock, I got a call from my sister, Steph, and she was the one who had to give me the bad news that my cousin, Amee, had passed away sometime in her sleep. Amee was more of an aunt to me, as she was only a few years younger than my Dad. She was one of the most amazing people that I know! She has had many severe illnesses in her life, and has been quite sick off and on since I can remember. She always had a good attitude about the things that she had to suffer through, and I couldn't believe how she could smile when she was in such pain. She was always the one to coordinate things, plan parties and get-togethers, and keep us all updated on the goings on of her family. We aren't exactly sure of what it was that took her from us, we will know in a few days, but this is a bitter-sweet thing. On one hand, she is no longer in pain, she is happier where she is, and there are so many loved ones with her to keep her company... but those of us here will miss her greatly, and she leaves behind her such a young family. She has two daughters, Desiree- a bit younger than Kade, and Shasta- a year or so older, who is getting married in March. Her husband, John, has ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease. They have been through a lot together, and I hope and pray that they can all feel our love for them and know that for everything there is a reason and purpose. Although we may be too blinded by our grief right now to see it, we will know in time. I loved my Amee, and I will miss her so much! The afternoon before she passed away, I was in Cody, and I had the feeling that I should go and visit her. She had been planning a party for John on Saturday, so I thought that it would be silly to stop by when I would see her in just a few days. Now I wish I would have. Whether it was an arrant thought, or a prompting, I will never know... but I do wish that I would have listened, either way. Please keep her family in your prayers- this is quite a shock to them, and us, all! Thank you everyone! Take Care!

Anolis carolinensis

2008-12-27T16:02:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas! We went to a party at Kim and Kurt Acton's house on Christmas eve, and we had a great time! We ate lots of yummy meats(Kurt and Bob were in charge of the food;) and I made cookies for everyone to eat. We had a white Elephant gift exchange... but it was just more of a $10 or less gift exchange. The kids all got something from Mom and Bob, and we just sat around and talked and had fun.
When we got home, we opened our PJ presents and made some sugar cookies for Santa. The kids all decorated one, and then I decorated one and we all took a bite of it.

All of us taking bites and doing cookies
So, for months, all that McKie has wanted is a lizard. So we told him if he was good, maybe Santa would bring him one for Christmas. We went up to Billings to finish our shopping and went to petsmart to get the lizard stuff. Well, we waited there for around 30 minutes to get someone to help us, and finally, when she came, she said there wasn't a set-up there for a tropical environment, only one for a desert environment. I didn't think that a simple little lizard needed much, and I didn't think the small lizards that were out in the sandhills needed a tropical set-up. BUT... they do. So we contemplated wether to just get a bigger lizard and use the desert set-up, but it would have been $40 more dollars, and I didn't think that we could handle that, it was already costing more than we wanted to pay. So we called the place that they told us to at petsmart, and they were closing in 15 minutes, and the roads were horrible, so we didn't know if we could get there in time, but thankfully, the people there stayed open long enough so that we could get our things! It was so nice of them! He was so excited when he walked out on Christmas morning to his lizard! I got a video on Calli's phone, but it was too long to send, and my phone was at my sister's so I don't really have any Christmas pics. That, and McKie threw up after he opened half of his presents, so we were cleaning that up.
After we opened presents, we went over to Cam's and ate a very good breakfast that mom and Bob made. Dad brought over the kids' gifts and all of our gifts(the traditional 12-pack of pop and some moolah- love it!) and we gave him his. We then went home to take naps... and I actually got to take one! Then we woke up, went to Mom and Bob's and the kids opened their presents there.
The day after Christmas, we always go up to Billings and Mom and Bob give all of their kids our gift(moolah again) and we get to partake of all of the sales and get what we want or need! We shopped around for a little bit and met up at the Golden Corral for a late lunch. After that, we went to a couple places to look at snow suits for the kids and we got an ipod alarm clock dock for Jaran. McKie went home with Maddox for a few days(and I already miss him tons).
We then went home and got ready and went to our UGLY SWEATER PARTY! It was great, and there were a lot of great sweaters. I don't like to do things half-way, so Jaran and I did whole outfits for ours!

I tied for 2nd, one more vote and I would have tied for 1st! DANG! J/k!

The kid that won had this off-white sweater with blue polar bears on it, and it was fantastic! We left early, cause I wasn't feeling well, but it was a good time, and we got to see Alex, whom I haven't seen since high school!
Well all, it's time to do something non-computer-related!
Take Care!

Baby it's cold outside

2008-12-19T10:28:00.000-08:00

I know that it's not as cold toay as a couple days ago, but it's still so dang cold! I am pretty sure it's reached 20 below here one night. I would describe it as skin-peeling cold. Why? You might ask. Well, it's because it feels as though your skin is being peeled away from your flesh when you walk outside. And if it's blowing at all- it's HORRIBLE! I like snow, and I don't mind the cold most of the time... but it's TOO cold to be fun.
Last night we went to the Lovell/Rocky game, and it was very disappointing. Our boys didn't play very well, and I felt so bad for them. Every shot they put up just didn't want to go through the basket! We took the kids, and Jaran left not long after the 3rd quarter started with Ans and Brens. Kies and I stayed, and he had fun hanging on the railings of the bleachers. He kept asking me to take pictures, so here's what I captured!

We finally got our dance uniforms, and I gave them to the girls Wednesday at practice! I think they're pretty dang cute, what do you all think? I'm really proud of the girls and how hard they have been working. We finally finished the dance and are ready to perform. It's so exciting!

We are going to finally decorate our tree today after Jaran gets here. It hasn't really felt like Christmas since we haven't had any decorations, so I'm hoping this will make it more real. It's less than a week till and I can't wait now that the kids are old enough to get excited. I hope that they're not disappointed, as this year is going to be mostly homemade stuff. I'm sure it will be fine, as long as we find some big boxes for them to play with, right?!

This is just a pic of Ansleigh after she woke up yesterday. She had a pony-tail in her hair the day before, and it held it's shape pretty well. Steph said it looked like the baby Grinch from the real-life movie! Ha ha ha!

A very cute, and unusual, picture! They were sitting watching "Kung Fu Panda" and were all sitting so nicely! Sweet babies!
My Aunt Deana flew in for a few days to help get my Dad's place ready to move into. We had our ward Christmas party Wednesday night, which I had to sing at, and then I took her to Cody so she could go to the airport early the next morning. I ended up staying until after 2 and just talked with her. It was nice to catch up, and get my gossip quota filled;)! I am hoping that I will be able to make it to Denver for my cousin's wedding on Jan. 10th. It's been 4 1/2 years since I was there last, and I used to go several times a year before that. Cross your fingers for me!
Well, sorry the post is kind of boring, but it's been a semi-normal week! Take Care!

Husband Tag

2008-12-11T11:35:00.000-08:00

5 Things he loves:

- BYU football
- His family
- 311
- Building log furniture
- His homemade salsa

5 Things on his to do list:

- Make a toy chest for the boys for Christmas
- Make end tables for the living room for Christmas
- Help me organize the craft/computer room
- Take a vacation kid-free
- Close on our home refinance

5 Foods he enjoys:

- Steak
- Baked potatoes with cheese, sour cream AND butter(not butt like it said before!)
- My Grandma Fran Spaghetti
- Hamburgers(he orders this almost everywhere we go to eat)
- Chinese food from China Town

5 things you may not know about him:

- He can sing, even though he tells people he can't
- He is a master paper airplane maker
- He DOES NOT like to relax when he can be doing something... he'd rather be working that sitting on the couch watching a movie
- HE is the one who wanted to buy a van
- He Speaks Spanish(from his mission although he says he doesn't anymore)

5 quirky things about him:

- His jaw pops when he chews
- While sitting he always has to move his legs
- He always taps his knuckles together
- When he laughs he doesn't really make noise
- He calls grilled cheese sandwiches "cheese grills"

Anyone who wants to do this

Now is the time

2008-12-09T09:26:00.000-08:00

I suppose it's been too long since I last posted anything worth posting, and I apologize for that. I will now bombard you with pics and good fun stories!

We spent over a week in Utah during Thanksgiving time, and we had such a great time we didn't want to leave. We left on the Sunday morning before Thanksgiving, and got there around 5, I think. Monday we just kind of hung around and had fun. We visited with Kendra and Joseph for a little bit on Monday evening, then went back to the Baker house.

Tuesday we went to visit Nikki and Jeremy at the car lot, and went to get my ring fixed, only to find out that the place we bought it from went out of business and so now to get it fixed, we have to pay a bunch of money for it... so I will probably be wearing fake rings again for a while. I made Jaran go to Twilight with me on Tuesday night, and it was better the second time. I still don't think that people who haven't read the book really gets how great the books are. It doesn't do it justice, and I'm crossing my fingers that whoever they get to direct the "New Moon" film does a better job. He thought it was an okay movie, so that is all I could really ask for. Wednesday we went to Zak's wrestling tournament, and it was so much fun! Jaran and I took our kids, and Kendra brought 7 of hers, and Amanda was there to help us out. When we got there I went up to talk to Zak and his friends thought I was their age, and asked Zak- who is that? It was funny to think that I can still pass as 18... and really weird at the same time. So after Zak's first match, we decided that all the kids needed to go back to the Baker house and get their energy out, cause 10 kids with only 4 adults(or close enough) didn't quite work out. So Kendra, Amanda and I went to walmart to get some stuff to make shirts and posters to go back and cheer Zak on. This is what we came up with!

It was so much fun! That night we went out with some of Jaran's friends to dinner... you know what? I might be getting nights mixed up, but who cares? Justin and his girlfriend Amy, and Billy and his wife Nikki and Jaran and I went to a place called Iggy's for dinner. It was really good food, and they had this great dipping stuff for your bread they called "chili water." It was sweet, but spicy, and so dang good. Then we went back to Justin's and played TABOO, which I found out later was a mistake. We did boys against girls, and the boys were being crazy and did everything they could do(cheating) not to lose. So we conceded so they wouldn't cry. Thursday morning I woke up and started doing stuff for our Thanksgiving meal. I made Crandberry relish, made a homemade pie crust for my pumpkin pie, and did the relish trays. I ran up to get in the shower while my pie was in the oven, and due to the craziness you always have before dinner on Thanksgiving, the pie got burned. You see, you have to change the temperature 15 minutes into baking it, and everyone forgoet while I was showering! But it's okay, cause Kendra made a bunch of delicious pies to share! Almost everyone was there for Thanksgiving dinner... all but Karina and her family, Jonny and his, Vyedka and hers(sorry I forgot to mention that before Vye, you just usually are, so it was weird that you weren't in the first place! I feel like a loser for not saying so before) and Buddy, who is on his mission. We got to spend time with Krystal, Justin's daughter, whom we had never met before. She lived in Georgia with her mom, and just moved to Utah during Thanksgiving time. It was great!
That night we decided to get crazy, make some funky shirts and go to Twilight, again. It was great fun! We also talked Zak into being extra crazy and doing his hair like Edwards(which took tons of hairspray and a straight iron) and put a little extra saying on his shirt. Jaran ditched out on the movie until the movie he and Justin went to was over. Then we went back and realized we were only going to get a couple hours before we had to wake up for "Black Friday" shopping. We woke up around 3 and Jaran went with his sisters to Walmart in Layton, while I went to the JoAnn's in Riverdale. I thought they opened at 5... but they didn't until 6... so I could have been first in line, but I went to check out the stuff at Walmart there in Riverdale, and then went and got some snacks for the long stand in line. I met a lady that was born in Lovell, and we had a good talk about home. When I realized that I could get trampled at this store, I called Jaran for reinforcement. You see, you have to get a number in order to get your fabric cut, and if you do that first, you miss out on the great flannel... so being the great husband that he is, he came to help. We ran in and got the stuff we needed(or all that I was able to get anyway) and our number was A20. I only had to wait a couple minutes to get mine cut. When we were leaving they were only on A38 and people were picking numbers clear into B80's and I am sure they were there clear into the afternoon waiting to get their fabric cut. It was crazy! I'd only been to the JoAnn's in Bozeman, and there were only a handful of people there. This place had people clear around the corner of the store outside waiting when they opened, and I was 5th in line! So we went home and tried to catch a few Z's after that(which didn't really happen cause the kids were just waking up when we got there. Then Jaran went to Tooele to help his mom and her family move stuff out from his Grandma's house. I took Nikki and Zak to Walmart, where she bought rock band for her Wii. Needless to say, that's about all we did for the rest of the day.

Saturday we all went back to Tooele to move more stuff out of the house. We were there until around 5 and then had to go help Jaran's uncle unload his stuff... and got home around 6:30. Then around 7 we went out with Andy and Ashley(Jaran's friend and his wife) to dinner and then the new Bond movie, which was good, but a little confusing cause we hadn't seen the one prior to the new one. Sunday, Amanda spoke in church, so we went to listen. She did a great job, but the boys were extra naughty and hard to control. So we left them at class and nursery and went back to clean up the house. We actually got some stuff done without them there! Then we went over to Joseph and Kendra to help them un-pack the rest of their stuff from Montana, and while there, I stepped into a hole and twisted my ankle so bad! I had already stepped into the hole 2 times, and had just finished telling Joseph he should fill it in before someone hurt themself... and then I did! So I was of no help after that. Then we went home and played some cards that night. Monday we took the kids to a park down the road that is shaped like a castle, and the kids loved it! Then we decided to take them to The Mayan, which is a restaurant that has these people who dive off of cliffs into a big pool below. When we got there, we found out that they didn't open until 4... so we went and got a pizza at Little Caesars for 5 bucks and went home to the Baker's house. We put the kids down for a nap, and just vegged out.

That night, we went into Salt Lake and walked around the temple, which was AWESOME cause they had the Christmas lights up and on.

I have never seen them in person before, and it was so great. Even the kids loved it.

We met up with Jeremy and his girlfriend for a few minutes, then walked back to the car, went home and went to bed.

Tuesday, we got up and drove home. It was a great trip, and it was sad to leave everyone.
As soon as we got home from there, I went and helped my Mom and Bob with a catering job they got talked into doing. I got there at 5:30 and was on my feet serving food until 10:30... my ankle was swollen and hurting, and I was exhausted by the time I got home.
Wednesday I had dance, so Jaran stayed with the kids during the afternoon. The girls are great, but sometimes they have these moods where all they want to do is talk and giggle and not get anything done! Tomorrow will be better, I am sure, but last week wasn't very productive! The shoes we ordered should be here by the end of this week, and the uniforms by the end of next week, so that is exciting!
Jaran has been building some log furniture for Christmas, and just cause we need some. He's building another bunk bed, just a double twin, so we can put it downstairs for Ans and one of the boys... cause the one we have doesn't fit down the stairs. He is also building a chest-of -drawers for our room, so we don't have to live out of bins anymore! He is going to do a Toy chest for the boys from you-know-who and some end-tables for us. I am going to make him a big quilt that he has been asking me to for years, but since I found the perfect fabric at Black Friday, I now have the stuff to do it!
As I said before, Calli did our Christmas card pics last night, and they turned out as well as you can expect with our kids.

They just don't like to sit still for long periods of time... as you can see in the one of Ansleigh with the boys giving kisses. It's pretty dang funny! Well, that is all for now! Take Care!

I will update more tomorrow

2008-12-08T21:09:00.000-08:00

This is just so that Kim will still love me! I have some pictures I need to get off of my phone, and Cal came and took a bunch of pics for us for Christmas cards... as you can see at the top of the page. So I will give as much info in the next post as possible. In fact, you will probably want me to NOT write so much, but I'm going to anyway! Love you all, Take Care!

Spoiler alert and Happy Thanksgiving to all!

2008-11-25T22:49:00.000-08:00

If you've seen "TWILIGHT" then you may keep reading. If you plan on seeing it and haven't gotten there, come back and read this after you're done.
I was lucky enough to go to the midnight showing of the movie in Billings. Mind you, I was still on my NKOTB high, so I was thinking that the movie would, perhaps, take my obsession with men in their mid-late 30's away. Alas, it did not. I am a stickler for details, and there were so many things that were changed in the movie that I was irritated, sad, mad, hurt, and so many other emotions. I decided that I needed to go to it again, so that I could try and watch the movie for what it was, instead of spending the whole movie thinking how it was leaving important details out and changing things that were so much better the way they were in the book. So I went tonight, and I dragged Jaran along with me, and we brought Amanda with us too. I didn't comment on it to him, and only made a few comments to her. It was so much better the second time! When I just watched the movie and didn't think too much about the book, it was actually a decent movie. Don't get me wrong, I still have my issues, but, for what it was, it was alright.
Now to get to the fuming part. WHY DID THEY CHANGE SO MUCH!?! So many things didn't make sense unless you read the book! For example... they didn't talk about the Volturi at all, they didn't mention that Jasper can control emotion, they left out so much of the build up to Bella and Edwards relationship! What about when they go back to school and he listens through Jessica's thoughts... and "watches" her in gym class... what about when they do the blood testing? And why in the HECK did they change so much about her figuring out what he was? She is supposed to find out from Jacob at the beach, go research on the internet, and have it figured out by Port Angeles! Then they talk about it on the way back home! And they left out the HUGE build-up to the meadow scene. IRRITATING! grrrrr... there are so many other things that I could point out, but I need to stop and calm down, and realize it is fine. I am just hoping that they do a better job on the next screenplay. Keep it more like the book. I wonder what Stephenie thought of it, and if she felt a bit betrayed by all of the changes.
Anyway- we are in Utah for Thanksgiving, and we are loving being able to hang out with Jaran's family. I really love being around them, and it makes us both want to move to Utah. Not just to be around family, but being able to drive 2 minutes to shop or go to a movie or the temple... or buy underwear if you need some! Ha ha ha- maybe someday I will be able to buy underwear in the town I inhabit! We are going to go and watch Zak wrestle tomorrow, which I am SURE the boys are going to love! We have been thinking about taking them to the children's museum thing and the aquarium or something. McKie is OBSESSED with Lizards, so we have already taken him to petsmart to look at them. I think we'll probably get him one for Christmas... he will be so excited! I am also pretty pumped for all the places I will be able to go on BLACK FRIDAY! Woo hoo!!! Well folks, I'm out. Happy Thanksgiving and Take Care!

Shan

PS- Did anyone else think that Bella was not a very good actress? She hardly changed her emotion from mad to happy to elated... and she eneded every sentance in the same way!

The best NIGHT of my life!

2008-11-16T19:43:00.000-08:00

I love my husband, and I love my children. The day I got married to Jaran is my best DAY ever, followed by the birth of my children close behind. The best NIGHT of my life happened on November 15th, 2008. What happened to make it my best night ever? Rose(my sister-in-law) and I had been planning a trip to SLC to watch... wait for it... The New Kids On The Block... which I will start referring to as NKOTB from this moment forward... until she sent me a message on Wednesday telling me she was soooo sick there was no way that she was going to be able to go. I can't tell you how bummed I was, because I don't do things alone, without children, pretty much ever... unless you count the occasional movie with Jaran. I have not been away from my children for any amount of time to do something for myself before. I did go to Utah once with my mom and Gma to do some genealogy and Jaran took the boys to daycare for a couple days. I did a garage sale with Rose this summer and was away from Ansleigh for A NIGHT. So you can imagine how excited I was for some me time. Not only that, but I used to enjoy NKOTB. I was NOT a fanatic, at all, but I was a young girl when they were around, and it's hard not to be swept up by things when you're young and all the girls around you are crazy in love with "Joey Mac." I was so bummed out that we would not be able to go. I went about my day on Thursday in a SUPER bad mood, and I was determined to make Friday better. So I called up Steph(Coble) and asked her out on a lunch date to Chinese. On the way there, Rose called and said the Anti-biotic finally kicked in and she was feeling wonderful, so we could still go. I wanted to, but I had canceled the plans, and I was going to help my dad with the apartment they are trying to fix up to live in, so I was a bit reluctant. Finally, we decided to go ahead and take the trip. My sisters-in-law had planned on going with us, so I had told them we weren't coming and to find someone to take our place... then asked if they had found anyone cause we WERE coming... and lucky for us, the seats were still available. So Rose drove down to Byron on Friday night. We left around 8 on Saturday morning and, knowing that we had 8 hours of driving ahead of us, started the NKOTB tunes to get pumped up and pass the time. She had also downloaded the TWILIGHT books onto her IPOD(which was a genius idea!) and the trip passed by so quickly it was amazing. We got to SLC and went to the gateway mall to pick up some much needed Bangle bracelets and some other accessories. Then we met up with my awesome in-laws and proceeded to drive around forever to find a place to eat, which ended up being Subway(eat fresh). Rose and I split a meatball sub and we were ready to go and get our NKOTB swag before the concert started. We got there and found our seats. They were nosebleeds clear in the back, but we were just pumped to be there. While waiting for the show to start, these two chics come up to us and tell us they have ONE ticket for the 17th row on the floor, and they got better seats, so did we want the ticket? Rose took it right away and headed down to check it out. We planned on taking turns going down to see how awesome it was. She got down there during Natasha Beddingfield(who was fabulous) and saw there was an empty seat right next to her. So what did she do? Came up and got me. She went down, showed the ticket, then I went by the fence and grabbed it from her to make my way down. Although the seat was vacant, we didn't have ticket, so we had to be sneaky. As soon as we got to our seats, the place went dark, and EVERYONE(sans the boyfriends and husbands who were made to go take their girls) started screaming. It was so awesome! Once there, we realized that we couldn't leave our seats cause as soon as they started the security guards checked EVERYONES tickets to make sure they were supposed to be there. So we couldn't leave or one of us wouldn't be able to be there. I felt bad leaving the rest of our group up there and not letting them join in this most fortuitous adventure... but we couldn't go. We spent the whole concert in the 17th ROW!!!! We screamed and yelled and I whistled as loud as we could... and finally during the last song, we snuck up to the front and stayed and yelled to them. I was about 4 inches from touching Joey's hand, when some horrible woman pushed her way in front of me, and got the touch that had once been meant for me! Terrible, I know... so I did the next best thing. Looking into Donnie Wahlberg's eyes, I blew a kiss at him! And, ladies, hew blew it right back to me... them pointed at ME and gave me a little wink. How do I know he did it right to me? Everyone else around me was reaching out for Joey and screaming... I was the only one where I was looking at him and blowing kisses. I am in love with Donnie Wahlberg... and it makes me feel like a 10-year-old little girl! HA HA HA! I know I sound like a crazy person right now, but unless you could have experienced that, you will never know how incredibly FAN-freakin-TASTIC it was! If I were to read this on someone elses blog, I would be embarrassed and giggling at how silly they were, so you can go on ahead, but let me say this- you know a tiny bit of you wishes you could have been the one there- don't lie- I know it's true! I can honestly say, and I know it's blasphemous(cause I have seen Tim McGraw, Keith Urban,Weezer) this was the BEST concert I have EVER been to. They did ALL the songs that you wanted to hear, and even did Joey and Jordan's singles. They did all the dance moves, they all have great voices, and they look amazing! For guys in their 30's(Jaran I love that you're 30!) they were completely AWESOME! The whole time they put their all into it, and it was just so much fun to have 30-something women screaming and crying over these men! Rose and I are researching how much blood we would have to sell to get to another concert(because I am convinced that Donnie wants to give me the BIGGEST hug ever, yes, he's in love with me) and re-live this once-in-a-lifetime experience. I am not ashamed to say that I am a NKOTB FANATIC! I embrace it, I love it. Don't be afraid of it girls, they are wonderful! And they definitely have- THE RIGHT STUFF! HA HA HA! I will post pics as soon as I can- thanks to all those who made this night possible(Jaran, Kade, Rose's Dr for giving her medication, Joey, Jordan, Jonathan, Danny and DONNIE)- I'll be lovin' you FOREVER!

Take Care!

PS- I am not going to re-read this to make sure it makes sense or that I said everything right... I will make more sense in a day or two when I have come down from my NKOTB high... and my sickness(I have a HORRIBLE cold) goes away... so enjoy the madness! (We had better seats that the person who took this video!!!) Don't forget to pause the AWESOME NKOTB music on my playlist!

The Fire

2008-11-06T09:34:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to let you all know about my Dad's fire. It burned his whole house down, but they weren't staying there yet, as the plumbing wasn't finished. They were about four feet away in a camper, and tried very hard to get it put out, but just couldn't. So they lost pretty much everything! We are trying to go throught the ruins to find the smallest thing(those of you who know my Dad will either be laughing at this or crying) but there isn't much left to find. People have asked what they can do. All we can ask for is prayers! They lost a lot, but they are still with us, and that's what matters. Shelly has almost no clothes and dad lost almost all of his nice ones. He has NO more suits or dress clothes, and they both only have one or two pairs of shoes. So if anyone would like to help- those things are needed, or they would appreciate anything you can do to help! Thank you all!

Take Care!

And the winner will be... and overload of pics

2008-11-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

I think that just about EVERYONE voted for this one, and I think it's pretty darn cute, so this is the one! Erika(and anyone else interested), any vinyl is $.10 per inch per letter. So if you want something that is 3 inches tall it's $.30 per letter. So say you want it to say FAMILY... that would be $1.80. You get the picture? Yes we see... that's when I fell for... the Leader of the pack! HA HA HA... sorry, I couldn't help myself. All other Leader of the Pack Alums will know what I'm talking about!

Decorating cookies... a glob fell onto the table so I quickly scooped it up, popped it into my mouth, and realized there was a bunch of food coloring in it... my teeth are also green, kind of hard to see!

My boys eating cookies after decorating them

Brens decorating pumpkins

Kies decorating with Gpa's help

This is Kies' class... I helped with the party

My jack-o-lantern

Daddy and the kids on Halloween night

Captain Jack Sparrow aka Kies

Ansleigh and her Halloween bows

Ansleigh and her cousin Brittly just after kisses

Batman aka Brensyn

Ansleigh and Mommy at Gpa Rand's house

My little Butterfly

Captain Jack

My little masked hero

Jaran had a little accident at work and hurt his eye at work and is having problems with it, so everyone say a little prayer for him. We are hoping it won't be permanent, so we appreciate all of your thoughts!

Take care!

Which one... you tell me!

2008-10-23T15:18:00.001-07:00

I need some input! I need to get some business cards printed, but I can't pick which one of these to do- so I'm putting it to a vote! Please help me out!

Is this one too jumbled?

This one is fun!

Cute, eh?

I like the flower on this one!

Take Care!

It's time

2008-10-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

(My Sarah Palin look- think I should be her for Halloween?)

Thanks to my blog monitor- and I know you don't yell at me- but if I imagine you do- it helps! To Kendra, I think Veteran's day will be the holiday for us, or perhaps flag day... which, not that anyone cares, is our anniversary- weird huh? Congrats to Erika now that you finally announced what everyone already knew;) J/k! We love you and are excited for you! Lauren, I've always thought that Grace looks just like you! Ranee, I actually have gone to a football game with underwear in my pocket, so no worries there!:) HA HA HA! Brooke, I can totally relate...

Jaran's in Montana for a job, so I have been alone since Wednesday evening, and it's not fun being a single mom! He probably won't come back until next weekend, but will have to go back again. Anytime anyone knocks on the door, or opens it for that matter, the boys get excited thinking it's their Daddy. Every time Kies talks to his daddy on the phone, he says- "I want you to come over, cause I miss you!" His poor little heart is broken everyday his daddy isn't around.

Dance is going great! The girls are doing so well and I am so proud of them all! I thought it would take more time to get things together, but we already have 2 counts of eight down. I know that doesn't sound like much to some of you, but teaching 17 middle school tweens is not an easy task, so I count myself lucky to have such a great group of girls. I refrained from the toe-touches this week and managed to come away from practice unscathed! I have to much fun doing it, it's kind of sad that all week all I can think is- I can't wait for dance!:) You can tell I don't get out much, huh?

The kids are doing great, other than the absent daddy thing. Curtis Abraham decided he needed to get rid of some of his stuff, so he's giving the boys a REAL mini four-wheeler, and an electric one, as well. They already have the electric one and we've already had to re-charge the battery, which tells you how much they rid it! I need to get some pictures of them on it, they love it! Even sis loves it! We went to the last of the football game on Friday, and the boys had so much fun running around with their cousins. They actually went to sleep farely well that night, which I was so thankful for. I still don't know what they're going to be for Halloween- any ideas?

Brensyn is potty trained! From official starting to now has been about a week, but it only took one whole day of wearing underpants and we was trained! Literally! We had tried it here and there the days before, but when I told myself not to give in and put him in a pull up after the first accident, he didn't have any more! He's even woken up the last two nights with a dry pull-up! He's a big kid now, bum bum!

Steph and her kids and new boyfriend came down for the weekend, as did Kade, Rose and Maddox. I was asked to serve as the designated driver for them, and since little Ryan volunteered;) to babysit, I said okay. We had so much fun singing karaoke. I know I shouldn't condone their getting inebriated, but it's about the only time I can hang out with my siblings and have a fun time kid-free. Steph's new boyfriend, Andy, is super nice, and she seems quite smitten with him. I'm crossing my fingers and praying like mad that he will treat her like she should be treated, cause she deserves a great guy!

I had to do a musical number today at the care center for their sacrament meeting, as Byron was in charge the last two months. I was going to sing, but didn't have anyone to accompany me, so I decided to try and play a song. I love "Nearer My God to Thee" so I sat down and made up a little number. Kim- don't get mad, I can't read music like you, so I have to make it up- I love you;)! had been pretty happy and impressed with myself until I got there, and Linda Hitz(I love this woman) was playing the prelude. I was almost embarrassed to play what I had put together after what I heard her playing. I can't wait to get my piano fixed, into my house, practice, and actually be able to play something nice! Wish me luck on getting Jaran to fix it.

Well, that's all from the novel of Shan for now- Take Care!

Sorry to Destiny- I don't know why in the heck I spelled it like that in the first place. I know how to spell it... must have just been typing to fast to notice that I was trying to spell a last name, not an action;)

I'm getting old

2008-10-09T13:44:00.000-07:00

So as I was trying to be a cool coach at dance practice yesterday, I realized I am getting old. When did this realization hit me, you ask? When after doing about 10 toe-touches, for teaching purposes, I did something incredibly bad to my back. For the rest of practice I walked around like an 80 year old, and the girls kept giggling, which I can't blame them, and I knew, I'm just not young enough to do those kinds of things anymore. At least not the way I seem to be doing them. I didn't think that 25 was that old until yesterday. Maybe I just need to go get a physical and discuss things with my doctor on how best to do a toe-touch at 25 and not hurt oneself! Other than that, dance seems to be going well. We have 16 girls for sure, 18 girls maybe. There are a couple who haven't shown up to either of the two practices that we've had, and I don't want to call them and beg them to be on the team, because if they want to they will, if they don't, they won't... right? I have come to realize that I'm not a good coreographer. I can rip things off from a dance here and there, but putting a cohesive routine together is quite a bit harder than I thought! The uniforms we are getting are so cute... but I'm feeling a little big weird about them... I don't know- what do you all think? I'll attach a pic, but the kids are waking up so I need to go- take care!

So much

2008-09-29T21:01:00.000-07:00

There is so much I need to post about! Jaran had his 30th birthday on the 20th, and leading up to said day, he was having a hard time coming to grips with it. While watching "Failure to Launch," I said that paintballing looked like so much fun and asked him if he'd ever done it. He said a couple times in Utah. So I started formulating a plan. I asked Erik and Jordan if they knew of any places. Erik said that there was one in Greybull so I called. The didn't answer so I left a message. They never did call back, so I started finding places in Billings and came accross the perfect place. For $25 you get 500 paintballs, a gun, a mask and all day field access and air. So I set up a time for us to make sure there were guns. Being the smart person I am, I realized just having two of us there would not be very much fun, and decided to take my poor sister and her poor boyfriend with us and pay for it for her birthday which was today. I say poor because Matt is going to school and working part time and Calli is working somewhat part-time and having to rent a place. She has a great job that she loves, but the people always give her too little hours to work. Anyway- we had a BLAST! We got there around 10:30 and started having fun. I only have one picture of the thing, and it's a nice welt that my loving husband gave me after I was already out and standing up... here it is:

The lady told us it's like stubbing your toe- you hurt at first but it goes away quickly. That is a lie. Either that or he must have gotten me just right, and I must have gotten Cal just right- in the rear end... I still feel bad about that one. I ambushed her cause she would NOT move from the place she first hid. After being hotter than snot in our pants and long sleeves, we had to go cause Matt had to work and Jaran HAD to watch the BYU/WYO game from start to finish. We had a ton of fun and I'm glad that I am such a genious;)!

Okay- can I just tell you all how much I love my little girl. Not that I don't love my boys- but you just CAN'T dress them up into a cheerleading outfit like you can Ansleigh. Case in point:

It is because of her that they won that day. I love it! I have a video of her and it looks like she's dancing in it. I sent it to a few of you, and it's so flippin' cute! She is such a little trooper when it comes to stuff like that. I have taken to flipping out her hair with my straightner and I know she is such a good girl when she doesn't move and lets me. I love it!

Poor McKie had a horrible little accident this Friday. He didn't have shoes on, so I took him out of the car and sat him on the sidewalk. I was going to get Ans out and just happened to turn to look at him as he tried crossing a corner of the garden to get on the sidewalk and stepped on this:

That is 32 goathead thorns. Not only did he step on them without shoes, but after stepping onto them, he then stepped onto the sidewalk again. If you'll look closely at the picture there are a few drops of blood in the midst of the thorns. I carried him inside after removing the thorns and sat his feet in some water to try and calm him down. Then I got the tweezers to try and remove the pieces that broke off into his foot. It was WORLD WAR III. Both Bob and Jaran were trying to hold him down so I could do the task at hand and he still managed to flail. I wish I could have gotten a picture because at one point Jaran was plugging his ears to try and save himself from the screaming. Kies' face was a fuschia/violet color and sounded as though we were torturing him with a hot brand or something. I do have sympathy for him, however, as I stepped on about 2 this summer, through flip flops, and it hurt for about a week. So to have 32 in your feet couldn't have made for the most pleasant time.

Brensyn is such a funny little kid. This story is both sad, and HILARIOUS. We had a bit of a scare today as the kids were playing downstairs. I went down to check on them and smelled some gas, then heard some gas leaking. I hollered at all 6 kids to get upstairs fast and get out of the house. So we walked over to Cams... about half way down the block I realized Brens didn't have any shoes, so I ran back and grabbed him some. I put him in Wranglers this morning and that doubled with his little bow-legged walk was about the cutest thing I've ever seen.

On the way back from Cam's, he was just walking along and minding his own business and this black and white Aussie dog come running out and barking and poor Brensyn started running away and screaming. He had the most terrified look on his face- and what did I do? I laughed so hard I could barely stop. I know I'm a horrible mother, but I couldn't help it. I knew as soon as I saw the dog coming it was going to scare him, but I didn't have time to go and get him. I laughed for a good two or three minutes straight. Poor little man! He got over it quickly though.

So as I said before, I'm coaching the middle school dance team and I become more stressed as the days go by. I not only have to coach them, I have to make up the dances, pick the music for them to dance to, choose the uniforms, schedule when they dance, fund-raise for them and a load of other things I never really thought about when I thought this would be so much fun. I know it will be fun- I know it. But I am still scared out of my mind. Especially after Ryan(Boettcher, my bro-in-law) tells me half of the girls are little you know what's! Yikes... hopefully I can whip them into shape. I am not going to take crap from a bunch of pre-teens!:) j/k... I probably will. So wish me luck, our first get-together is on Wednesday! Take Care!

A Tag

2008-09-29T09:31:00.000-07:00

8 TV shows I like to watch:
1. ER
2. Heroes
3. Gray's anatomy
4. House
5. How I met your mother
6. Greek... I know
7. Anything CSI
8. Friends reruns

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Olive Garden
2. Famous Daves
3. Johnny Carinos
4. Mongolian Grill
5. China Town
6. Santa Fe Red's
7. CHILIS!!!
8. Old Spaghetti Factory

8 Things that happened yesterday: (Oh geez, this is asking a lot!)
1. Woke up
2. Went to Church
3. Came Home from Church with Kies during Sacrament to put him in his room for being naughty
4. Went back to church
5. Came home from church and made lunch
6. Took a nap for one of the first times ever
7. Visited with Emily and Michael and Stetson
8. Went for a walk with the fam

8 Things I'm looking forward to:
1. Getting a hair cut
2. Finding a song for Dance
3. Getting the dance coreographed
4. The Holidays
5. Getting my house organized better- will it happen? no
6. Getting my eyes fixed- another thing that probably won't happen
7. Getting more financially stable- someone please buy our house
8. Getting rid of all of our CRAP

8 People I tag:
1. Kim
2. Janessa
3. Kendra
4. Vyedka
5. Nikki
6. Nina
7. Lauren
8. Lacey

Yes, I am still here

2008-09-27T18:37:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to say something before I get yelled at. We had a yard sale today, and we did pretty good... although we still have a TON of stuff so we are going to do another one next weekend or the weekend after that. So anyone needing 0-4t clothes, come on over. We also have a lot of adult clothes, toys, WYOFAN gear and misc. junk to junk up your home! Take care!

To my post monitor- Bim

2008-09-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

Here it is! No pics right now, but I will try and take some later, although my house is still a mess from trying to unpack and get things organized. Some news- I will be coaching the middle school dance team this year. It's actually pretty terrifying because I haven't danced (well for reals;) for 8 years. I will have to make up the dances as well, so please, if any of you reading this would like to help- let me know! My new blog thing I got from thecutestblogontheblock.com so if you like mine, there are a TON of cute ones there! Kies had to get shots today, and it was horrible. I had to try and hold him on my lap with my legs crossed over his holding him down, which his arms crossed and me holding him, and he still managed to wiggle. It was so sad, I just hope he doesn't have bruises on his arms later, cause I was really having to squeeze and restrain him. So sad, huh? Well I need to take him over to school. And one more thing, I don't have the internet, so I will be doing this from my mom's and Cam's... so please be patient with me! Take Care!

The Retraction, the house and school

2008-09-08T14:31:00.000-07:00

I have to print a retraction. In the previous post about Buddy, I said he got a wrestling scholarship when it was, in fact, and academic scholarship! As soon as I saw Erika wrote me that, I remembered that I knew that, it just slipped my mind. Thanks Erika!
Now, for the house part of the post. We are finally starting to settle into the house. There are only a few un-packed boxes, bins and bags. Let me clarify that we are very gratefu and happy to finally have a place of our own, but I need to have a bit of time to complain. When I finally made room assignments, the guys(Jaran and Jordan) started moving the big stuff in. We already had some bags and bins in the smallest upstairs room that was to be the play/toy room. The boys' bunk bed was first to come in, and was destined for the larger downstairs room. As they started down the stairs, they realized that it WAS NOT going to fit down the stairs. The ceiling was far too low for the frame to fit down there. So we decided to move our master bedroom down there and let the boys have the larger room upstairs and moved their bed and chest of drawers in there. The boys took our bed frame down stairs and then took the box springs on the journey to find out that, this too, would not fit down the stupid stairs! So we had to decide to move our room back into the large room upstairs, move the boys into the small upstairs room, move the toyroom to the small room downstairs, which was going to be Ansleigh's, and move her stuff into the larger downstairs room that will double as the office/craft room. So we had to move EVERY SINGLE ROOM around! Awesome... and now we get to the closet space- or lack thereof issue. You see, in our old house, we had a quite large walk-in closet where ALL of our clothes, including socks and underwear were housed in cubbies and shelves, along with a big space for hanging other things. Now we are trying to stuff our things into ONE maybe three foot closet and ONE chest of drawers. It's not easy, but we have decided to downsize as much as possible and store things in bins that we won't need until it gets warm again. The boys also had a walk-in closet, but we did used a chest of drawers for them before. We added a bar to the closet and it's working out alright. Ansleigh's room has the biggest closet, so we are taking some of our stuff into her room, such as church clothes and things that aren't used regularly. We have a bunch of plastic drawers which we will use to put her things in, as we only have two chests of drawers, which are being used. One of Jaran's main priorities is to build one or two more sets of drawers, but until we get a little more settled, he is just going to concentrate on work... not to mention the fact that there is not room in the garage to house his tools, and everything is in his tool trailer. Okay that's it for the ranting... well for now, anyway! The kitchen has quite a bit of cupboard space, and there is a large space downstairs for food storage and what not. There is a large backyard as well, but without a fence, we are going to have to keep a close eye on the kids, as the house is on main street. Thanks to Jordan(Hitz) for coming and helping Jaran move stuff in. I'm sure it's not what he wanted to do on his day off, but we love him for taking the time to help us on short notice. Our move was one of Jaran's spur-of-the-moment things. He likes to do those a lot. But we're happy to be in our own place and letting the kids be wild and crazy and not getting into trouble for it!
Now the school part. Since we have moved to Byron, McKie is going to start going to school on the bus, which means he is going at a different time than before. He has been going fom 10:15 to 12:15, but will now go from 1:15 to 3:15 and will be riding home on the bus with his cousin Taylin! He's excited cause I'm excited, so that's nice that I won't have to drive him back and forth everyday! Wish him luck with his new class-mates!

Our Buddy

2008-09-04T22:37:00.000-07:00

Buddy getting his last hugs from the boys

Buddy and Jaran, their Dad always calls Bud "Jaran"

I know I wrote about Buddy a tiny bit last post, but after hearing and reading so much about him from other family members, I wanted to go into more detail for those of you who don't know him, which is about half or more of the people who read my blog. Actually, I don't know who reads my blog. If you do- would you leave a comment, even if it just says, I read! Anyway...

Joshua Ryan Baker was born on September 7th, 1988 to Loyal and RuthAnn Baker. He is the 12th of 14 children and is the 6th son. As I've been told, when he was very young, either a few weeks or a few months, he came very close to leaving this life, had it not been for the prompting that his parents had to take him to the hospital. Something was wrong with his digestive system(I think that's what it was) and they were told by the Dr. that he wouldn't have made it through the night at home. So we are all grateful to Mom and Dad Baker for being so in tune with the Spirit to know what to do! I came into the Baker family when buddy was 13. And one of my first experiences was watching a video he had made when he got bored and couldn't sleep a few nights in a row. Let me re-phrase, he slept all day long and stayed up all night- which we all know he's great at doing;)! In this home-movie, he would set up camp under a blanket, turn on the video camera, and take a flip-flop and hit a completely sleeping person on the head. IT WAS HILARIOUS! He later graduated to putting shaving cream on the shoe, causing his victims to become so ANGRY they wanted to maim him. I couldn't stop laughing, and this had me realizing that I was going to love this kid. Buddy is a wrestler, a 4.0 student and a great all-around person. He is such a great wrestler that everyone who knows anything about wrestling in Utah knows his name. He got a scholarship to wrestle and Boise State, and will have a place there when he returns from his mission in the Nicaragua, Minagua(spelling?) mission. This last Sunday, as he was speaking from the pulpit, I realized how prepared he is for this mission. He gave the best talk from a pre-missionary that I have ever had the opportunity to listen to. His subject was having a peaceful heart, loving heart, something heart, and the likenesses that he made were great! He told the story of how after he and his roommate got their first utility bill, seeing it was so high and not really knowing what else went with the utility bill, they decided to turn off the heater. It wasn't so bad at first, but being one of the worst winters in Boise in a long time, it didn't take long before they were making excuses to be out of their house. They would wrap themselves in layers and go to practice early, or go to friends' houses. Before long, they realized that this wouldn't work, and had to turn the heater back on. He said that the Spirit is like the heater. You can slowly lose it, but you will start to realize that you can't live without it anymore. Of course we all laughed at the story, but it was a great likening. Also he talked about how he was trying to cut weight from about 140 lbs to 125 lbs. He would go to practice, lose a ton of water weight, put himself into a sweat suit and jumprope and run, go home and eat a TINY bit, let the suit dry out in the dryer, put it back on and go back to the gym, then if he could stand it go into the sauna. This whole time his roommate was there helping him, going anywhere Bud asked him to go, and was his constant companion in times of struggle and need. He likened this to the Spirit. As long as you need it, it will be your constant companion if you do what is right. I love Buddy, and we will all miss him while he is away. He is such a great example to everyone around him, and all of the people that came to his farewell was only a small group of the people that he has touched in his life. I am so grateful to have him be a part of my life and am such a lucky girl to have him as my family, as well as the rest of Jaran's family. Even though there is a LOT of crazy people, Kendra, Nikki, you know who you are;), I love them all, and I wouldn't trade one of them for anyone else... okay that's not true, Kendra and Nikki, I'm sorry, but I might trade you for the awesome werewolf and scary half man half woman that we saw at the Twilight book party, I'm sorry- but I have to put it out there! J/k, you know I love you! But truly, Buddy, I know you won't be reading this, but I am a better person for having you in my life, and I thank you for that! You are going to be a great missionary, and you will touch so many lives in such a great way, that Nicaragua will never be the same. Good luck to you Bud! We love you, and will await the day when we will be able to hear all of your awesome stories when you get back. Two years to go! Until then, Take Care!

PS- This is Sandy V... signing off;)! HA HA HA HA!

Quick Post

2008-09-02T11:38:00.000-07:00

I'm just waiting for some pictures to attach and then I am done, so this will be short. We are moving into our rental in Byron today, yes Byron, so we will now be Niners... never thought I'd be a niner again, but it's okay! We went to Utah this weekend for Joshua aka Buddy's farewell. This is Jaran's second youngest brother, and he is going to Nicaragua! He is the only other in Jaran's family to go Spanish speaking, and only the third to go foreign, so we are excited for him. We will miss him, but we know that he's doing the right thing and we love him! Great job Bud! We went to the Hogle zoo on Friday, and the kids had fun, that is until Brensyn decided he would scream unless Daddy held him on his shoulders. But all in all it was a great trip and it was so fun to be around the family again! Here are some pics!

Happy Birthday Ansleigh Mae!

2008-08-25T12:03:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that Ansleigh is 1 already? Her birthday was on Sunday, but we had her party on Saturday. It was a fun time, and even though it was just about nap time for ALL the kids, it went over without too many tantrums!

Aunt Steph and her Neices and Nephews.

Mommy with Ansleigh saying- what's going on?

Looking to see what is in this mess of tissue paper

Ansleigh IN the mess of tissue paper

Trying to get into the cake- with Taylin in the background looking horrified that she is going to touch and ruin the cake- Taylin pretty much decorated the cake by herself- good job Tay!

First taste of her cake

Kies kept hovering, so bob smashed his face into the cake- yeah I know, real cool, right?

Ansleigh's famous glare

Grandma Fran and Ansleigh Mae!
We didn't really do anything on her actual birthday, but she was a cute little fart all day long, and me thinking how crazy it is that she's already a year old, not my little baby anymore. But don't worry- unless by divine power- we will not be adding to our family any time soon!
Take Care all!

School

2008-08-22T07:42:00.000-07:00

Kies is in Pre-school Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10:15 to 12:15. We are going to be moving here ASAP, and have already, at least we think, found a place to rent in Byron. It will be nice to have a more permanent place to be, and the kids will be better, I think. It's Walker's old place, accross from the school in Byron. It's an old 4 bedroom house. The rooms are small, but we will learn to make do. It'll be weird to have all of our stuff in such a small space, but there is a big utility room downstairs and a garage outside for storage! Wish us luck! Take Care!

The end and the beginning

2008-08-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

This has been a hard few days. Bradley Mickelson, a friend to many and loved by all those who knew him, had a tragic accident that took his young life. It's not important how it happened really, but he was accidentally shot while on the mountain. The circumstances are completely sad, and since I not only knew him, although not as well as some, I knew his siblings, Ashlee being one of my closest friends growing up, it has taken me by surprise the feelings that I have been feeling. As I said before, I didn't know him as well as some, in fact, the only reason I knew him was because of my friendship with Ashlee and Brad's friendship with my little sister, Calli. He was always a fun person to be around. He had this goofy little smile that he almost ALWAYS had on his face, and it was hard to not be in a good mood around him. I remember the way he used to always want to be with Ash and I when we would be hanging out, and we usually never really minded. JT, or I suppose I should call him Jason, was usually around with us too. I love this family. We have spent a lot of time together through the years, and it will be hard for this family without him around. The funeral, that was held for him yesterday, was beautiful! Tanya and Bryan, his oldest brother and sister, gave his life history- and it was filled with loving and funny memories. The songs were beautiful, but you could feel the sadness still. This made me realize how blessed that I am in my life to have my family around me and those people who care for me are always there for me. I have a brother that died before I was born, and although I still seem to mourn his death somehow, on days like yesterday and on his birthday, I can't imagine the pain of losing someone like Brad. I am so thankful for the testimony that I have and for the knowledge that I have that I will see him, and all others that I love that I have lost, again someday if I do what I have been taught and commanded to do. I am so grateful for all of these things. And I am grateful for all of you... even those of you who don't know me or I don't know you - you are part of my life!

Now onto the beginning part! McKie started school today! I had Calli take a few pictures of him, but I also took some pictures of him yesterday, when he went to his screening. Today is his first official day, but yesterday still kind of counts, so I will post a few of each! He is very excited for school, and I think that it will be nice to have some time with just Brensyn and Ansleigh while Kies is at school! We will see! And maybe I will just post some miscellaneous pics too!

Kies getting ready to head out

Kies showing Brensyn the grasshopper

Being silly before we get out for school

Mommy holding his hand to walk to school

On the run for school!!! YAY!