MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Merry Christmas!  We hope everyone is having a great holiday.  Thanks for the phone calls, many of them instigated by Taylor on her brand new Cell Phone....she is very excited...it's "almost as good as heelies"...her words.  Shaylie has dubbed this Christmas, the BEST EVER!  I guess it doesn't get any better than that.  Hopefully, she won't remember how great this was next year.

Santa brought Shaylie a Snuggler, a Biggest Littlest Pet Shop, and a Kobe, the Study Buddy.  Taylor got her Cell, and two Avatar games, and a almost brand new puppy named Blackberry.  Scott is donning a new studly hat (a la Indiana Jones) and I'm happily studying my Martha Stewart Homekeeping Handbook.  We've watched new movies....Cars, Air Buddies, and Ice Age the Meltdown, and next we'll head in to play some new games.  Last but not least, we've all been gifted with Gift Cards and cash, so we will have plently of shopping to do when we head up north for our New Years' bash. 

We had a traditional Ham Dinner with all the fixins.  My family now thinks I can cook, which is too bad.  For them.  And we are all stuffed to the gills, and we haven't even eaten the pie, the apple crumble, or the crackers/cheeseball and chips/dips. 

Thanks to all of you for making our holiday so special!  We have been blessed this year in so many ways.  We pray for you all everyday and especially at this wonderful time of year.  May the Lord bless you and keep you safe and well.  May He give you everything you need to be happy and content in the coming New Year.  We love you and we are so grateful to have you in our lives.  Be Merry, Be Bright.  We'll see you soon.

Family Picture 2006

After six years, we have finally taken another family picture.

Last day of school...Vacation begins!

The girls took off for their big party day today.  I'm helping with Shaylie's party at 1:00.  SHe is very excited.  Taylor just thinks today is a big waste.  Her words not mine....I told her to just go and have fun.  She might even do it.  :-)  They both took gifts to their teachers today, just a little something.  Scott has the whole break off work too! Yay!  I am looking forward to spending Christmas together with just us.  Scott wants to go out to eat on Christmas day....maybe find a Chinese restaurant (Fa-ra-ra-ra-ra!)...but the girls want HAM DINNER.  They had their whole menu planned out...even down to the Strawberry Shortcake.  I guess I'm the deciding vote.  We'll see. 

For New Year, I think we'll head to Mom's on Thursday to see Christmas stuff, visit Greats, and get haircuts...then up to Dad's on Friday to help with getting ready for our big Bash!  I'm a little worried about Blackberry...how he'll do on the trip up, how he'll do with sleeping, and how he'll do with the other dogs, and how he'll do with housetraining....I suppose there's no sense in worrying about it.  I just don't want to cause everyone grief, especially me.  ;-)

I'm excited for the Holidays to begin...I'm actually ready, I think...there's always more to do, but I'm drawing the line!  As soon as I buy gifts for a couple more friends, I'm done. Nothing more to do after that but shop for Christmas dinner.  Oh, I might have to buy some batteries too.....WELL, you can see what I mean....never ending.  I will enjoy the holiday!  Merry Christmas to Everyone!  Hope your holidays are as hectic and filled with love as mine are turning out to be!

One week until Christmas...

We have been having a good visit with Grandma J.  She came Friday morning and will be leaving tomorrow after the girls head to school.  We've been to the girl's dance concert, Taylor's basketball game, and Beauty and the Beast at St. George Musical Theater.  It was a nice production and we all loved it. 

Mom and Anissa came to support the girls this weekend too.  Monday night, I am watching Anje while Anissa finishes up some Christmas shopping.  I thought I was mostly done until we went to Cracker Barrel and saw some great stuffers and holiday decorations for pretty nice prices.  I going to have to go back and see what I can tell Santa about.

The girls only have four days of school this week.  Break starts on Friday.  It seems like a much shorter break than usual since the holidays fall on the weekends.  I'm not overly sad about it though.  It just means I have fewer days to entertain the children.

Dad, you're going to have to let us know when you'd like us to come up to visit for New Year's.  We can come whenever you like.  Just let us know the schedule.

More posts coming.  I loved all the poems everyone posted.  I wish all our entries could have that much interaction and fun!  Thanks for making it so memorable.  Love to all!

Happy Birthday to Chad!

Today is Uncle Chad's birthday. 

He is getting very old.

Soon he'll get real wrinkly

and then he'll start to mold.

He won't remember you or me

and soon he'll start to drool.

So I guess I better tell him now...

We think he's really cool.

Love you Chad!  Happy Birthday and we are going to eat cake in your honor tonight as planned.  Come visit us when you have a chance!!!

2 Weeks and Counting...

NOTE: The I key on my keyboard is sticking, so if you notice some missing letters below, you'll know why... 

Christmas is only two weeks away!  I am almost done shoppng, but not quite...I am actually doing better this year than previous years...I'm usually still doing some shopping even after Christmas, but hopefully not this year. It helps that we are doing Christmas light this year...not half as many gifts as usual.  It's actually nice...we are trying to get the kids especially to focus on giving instead of receiving.  That's actually my favorite thing about Christmas.

Blackberry is doing fine!  We are slowly but surely getting used to each other.  He mostly is sleepng through the nght but we aren't having much progress n the house training business.  I'm not sure f we are supposed to though untl he is a little bit older.  We just keep taking hm out as often as we can.  We have got him trained to Sit, Down and we're working on Roll Over.  I cannot get him to walk on a leash though..he just sits and makes me drag hm along.  Maybe that wll happen as he gets older too.  The grls are doing really well with hm. 

Tomorrow, my friend Amy and her family are moving up to Salt Lake.  We wll miss them so much.  We got to have a night out last week and our neighborhood threw a party for them last nght for everyone to say Goodbye!  I'm very sad, but t's going to be a good move for them.  Our house is going to seem a lot emptier without the Miles kids over all the time.  We wish them every good thing and I hope they find friends as good as they have been to us.

Hope to hear from you all soon.  Please post!!! We love to see comments on our page...PAS...

Early Morning Mishap

Scott left for work this morning on his bike and not 15 minutes later, I saw a police truck outside of our house. After a moments' panic, I saw that Scott was getting out and unloading his bike from the back.  He was okay, but it turns out his front wheel got stuck dead in a trench on the side of the road and he went tumbling over the handlebars with his bike landing on top of him.  His helmet is cracked (thank goodness he was wearing it) and the front head lamp is toast.  But it could have been so much worse.  He came home and rested for a few hours.  He has a bumpy bruise on his head and some cuts and scratches on his legs, but after some sleep he felt better so he headed back to work...in the car.  I guess it was only a matter of time before he had some kind of accident. He's been riding his bike for so many years now with no major problems...I'm just glad he's okay.  Post again soon...

Off to a Good Start...

December is off with a bang! We've had so much going on and it is only the 3rd...the week ahead is busy as well.  Yesterday was the Dickens Festival...the girls performanced were awesome. Afterwards, we went to lunch with Anissa and Anje. Tonight, our good friends the Miles invited us to dinner and to watch the Christmas Devotional together.  The meal was SO yummy. She made a very traditional pot roast dinner from scratch...but before you think she did it just on our account...she does it every week! What a woman...I'm sad that they are moving in just over a week. :-(  Tomorrow night, the Sabaitis family is coming for Family Night and on Thurs. and Fri. and Sat. Scott and I have Christmas parties to go to....DWS, Train Club and Ward Party respectively.  With Dance, Scouts, and meetings in between....definitely Tis the Season!  The miracle will be to get it all done and then some between it all...

Hope Mom had a safe trip back from Atlanta..heard she was sick. Yuck!... Grandma Rose is coming to visit on the 15th so she'll be here for the girls' dance concert...Got to see Bella for a while at the Dickens Festival yesterday...talked to Chad on the IM and to Dad on the phone...no word from Mike, but I have to send him his Christmas present (from last year) before this Christmas comes. I've made many attempts to get it there, but alas, I will have to resort to using the MAIL.  It will be good to see everyone over the holidays....

MIKE, are you guys bringing Odin with you to visit...Dad suggested that I send you a toy with Blackberry's scent on it & vice versa to get them familiarized with each other a bit, if you are....Let me know! 

Have a very merry....talk to you again soon!

It's been a long week!

But progress is being made!  Blackberry's first week with us has been full of ups and downs.  He is a very good puppy and we are slowly, but surely, learning how to live together.  I had a couple of sleepless nights, but last night (following some advice from my Dad and learning by trial and error) I finally got to sleep through the whole night.  I am anxious to see if it is a repeat performance.  And...after giving in to the idea of using a squirt bottle...he is learning not to bite Taylor's and Shaylie's feet as they walk.  He is such a smart little puppy.  He picks up on things very quickly.  It will be a very fun to see what he can do. 

Taylor and Shaylie are excited for Christmas, although it's been tough to get Taylor to tell me what she wants from Santa.  She already got Blackberry and I think she is satisfied with him, but she still needs something from Santa....we just don't know what.  Shaylie on the other hand wants everything.  If we can narrow it down, we'll post a list of suggestions here.  One thing Taylor did tell me is that she wants to start "collecting" gift cards. Take that for what it's worth... :-)

Tomorrow is the Dickens Festival performance for the girls' dance team.  They have new costumes this year and I think they both have their dances down pretty well.  Both classes are pretty small so they'll get a bigger share of the coveted spotlight.  We'll try to take pictures, but we haven't got a video camera anymore since the battery died and it costs a fortune to replace it since it's so old.  Our digital takes video but they're not very long. It takes too much memory.  Maybe Anissa can video tape it.  The Festival itself is always fun...lots of music and neat gifts and crafts.  We'll probably be there for the better part of the day tomorrow...with a quick trip home to check on the puppy sometime.

Upcoming weeks are getting busy too! Hope you are all having your fair share of parties, and holiday cheer!  Let us know what's going on and take care!

 EDIT: You can tell it has been a long week because Tonya forgot that we bought a new video camera three years ago that works just fine, as long as we keep the girls from using it to video tape all of their newscasts and plays.

The Holidays are Here...

And wouldn't you know? I'm sick.  I have absolutely no voice.  Scott's been making phone calls for me since I can't get anyone to hear me.  It all began Saturday night....after picking up our little Blackberry. 

We had a looong trip over to Salina (the girls were very anxious to get there) and then he was late coming...so every car that passed our meeting place was the one.   When he finally came, the girls were so thrilled.  Taylor kept asking me if it was a dream.  She was so good with him--she got up in the middle of the night several times to take him out and it was COLD!  That night, I started getting my cold or whatever it is...so we headed home earlier the next day than we had planned. 

On the way home, Blackberry started whimpering to get out of his carrier, but I wanted to wait for a good place to stop. He cried louder and Taylor started crying too!  She didn't stop all day. She cried and cried.  I think she was tired from the night before..mostly...she was also feeling overwhelmed by the responsibility, I think.  We told her that she didn't have to do it all by herself and after calling Grandma Dawn, she was feeling a little better.  Daddy gave her a blessing too and the next day she was feeling back to normal. 

I'm now staying up at night with the little guy...I hope this doesn't last forever!  It's like having a baby again! As sick as I am, I just want to sleep but Blackberry won't let me :-(  Boo hoo on me!  Still, he is super cute and fun....he is coming along with housetraining...he goes almost instantly now when we take him out...we just have to watch him diligently and he really like to chase the girls feet when they walk around the house.  So there is a lot of screaming and running and jumping up on the couches. 

Now that I don't have a voice...it's hard to praise and scold...but we are getting along fine!  And the girls are loving all the attention from friends and Blackberry himself.  Scott is doing great too! No reactions so far...YAY!  So far, our research is paying off!  Blackberry likes Scott too. Whenever he sits on the floor, Blackberry comes up and sits by him or chews on his feet...either way, he is turning out to be Daddy's little boy.

I did take him to the vet today (Blackberry, not Scott) and the vet thought he saw ear mites, but wasn't sure. He said if I saw him scratching alot to bring him back.  I hadn't noticed him scratching overly much before the visit, but since coming home, I've noticed him scratching a lot....so we're going back tomorrow.  I hope I don't have to pay another office visit...I should have just had him treated in any case while we were there today.  Oh well again! Live and learn...better safe than sorry...all's well that ends well? You can choose the cliche that works best.

So thanks for reading my very long post....making up for lost voice, I guess.  We'll post pictures when we get the time and energy.  I haven't even begun to think about Christmas yet and it is getting very close! Hope you all are having a great time decorating and preparing and shopping, etc.  Drop a post! Love to everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today begins the Thanksgiving Holiday.  The girls are coming home at noon and we are heading up to Mom's for our traditional feast and fun weekend.  We've got most of our decorations up now...better to do it before and have it all up and ready to go for the Holidays, I say.

I'm excited to bring home our Blackberry on Sunday!  I hope he adjusts to us well...the girls are dying to get him here and  I have been working hard to get ready for him.  Of course, we'll keep you posted. :-)

Let us know your plans!  We wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!  Love to all...

My New Page...

I have started a new page at Yahoo 360...I don't know if I'll use it that often but it seems kind of fun for now...I noticed that Chad and Bryan had both started one too, but they don't seem to update often...SO...if you want to check it out, you can click here or I'll have Scott put a link in the sidebar....I've made it so that you can read theTechFamily blog on that page too!  So that is cool!

New Pictures...

I got back from my long walk this morning and there were new pictures in my email of our little BlackBerry.  We are picking him up on Saturday at 10 a.m.  The girls can't wait!





 

In other news...Scott has started work on his HO layout and Shaylie is doing very well, though we are having to cut up her food into little bits since she has no biting teeth.  Taylor is busy and active as ever.  She's a little bummed since we found out some good friends of ours in this new neighborhood are moving up north the first of December.  She'll be okay though...

Please leave us a post.  We love to hear from everybody...Love to all!

Before and After...Cute Forever

Here are pictures of my darling girl...before and after.



 

And here's after...she was a little goofy & wobbly still as you might be able to tell.

My Baby Girl...

My poor Shaylie had to go to the dentist today for major work.  When we went on Monday for a checkup the dentist found an abcessed tooth and that her baby teeth were growing in very, very crookedly because her mouth is so crowded....so today, he extracted 7 teeth: the two stubby front teeth, four to make room for grown up teeth and one abcessed tooth.  OUCH! 

Luckily, they put her under anesthesia so she won't remember anything, but when she came out to go home, she was VERY groggy and sleepy still.  They wheeled her to the car for me and I brought her home.  Her mouth is a mess and she is sleeping it off now, but they say she'll be able to go back to school tomorrow.  We'll see.  She'll be hurting when she wakes up.  Any love and kisses sent her way would be appreciated...Our love to all!

Black Berry

We are getting a PUPPY! We're getting a PUPPY! Hip Hip Hooray! The puppy's name is Black Berry. We are going to get the puppy the Saturday after Thangiving. I can't wait. He is sleeps in room. I can't wait to start to training it when i see the picture i kiss it.

Help us decide...

We are trying to decide on a name for our new puppy and we have a tie vote in our family....two of us like the name, Blackberry, and two of us like the name, Snowball.  If you have a preference, let us know....Blackberry or Snowball?  See photo below...

New Addition!

We found our puppy!  Though we haven't met him yet...We are scheduled to pick him up over the Thanksgiving weekend.  Scott posted a picture but I think he has grown a bit since the picture was taken as I've been told that he has lots of curly hair now.  He has gorgeous blue eyes and he's a little bitty thing.  I can't wait to see him in person.  We found a breeder at www.willowcreekcocker.com and she is in the Richfield area, so we're planning to meet with her in Salina on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  Yay!   Taylor and Shaylie have been flipping out. They are so excited and, frankly, so am I...

Start getting used to seeing this face

He may be attending a Jesienouski house really soon.

Big Weekend....

Well, we've had a big weekend around here.  Scott's train show was awesome!  They had a great turnout...Scott did a lot of advertising on his own and it was very effective.  We had many people from our ward and from the girls' school come to check it out.  Shaylie especially loved sitting with her layout and having all the little kids come over to check her out.  She looked so cute in her overalls and pink engineers cap.  I'm sad though that my camera batteries died, so I didn't get a picture of her this time.

We also had our Primary program today.  The kids did a great job.  Taylor gave a talk and Shaylie had her part completely memorized on her own.  Mom, Anissa and Anje came to support us and I got a kick out of watching Anje singing the songs right along with our kids.  I also had a small part and I am glad to have it behind us.  It was a lot of work and it turned out great.

Now the big news at our house is the Great Puppy Search.  We have practically decided to add a new member to our family.  I'm holding out until the girls can show me that they can keep the house puppy-proof and until we can find the right puppy for us.  We need a dog that doesn't shed overmuch and we've narrowed it down to a Cockapoo.  According to my research, doodles and especially cockapoos are good for people with allergies.  I've emailed a couple of breeders here in Utah and I'm hoping to hear whether they have puppies available.  Until then, the girls will keep looking at pictures on the web. They've fallen in love with so many puppies now--especially Rachel and Gala.  If only they were closer to us.  But, hopefully, we will find one we can bring home.  Wish us luck!

Module Finished...well sort of

My Module now has trains running on it.  I still have to finish the road, and add table legs (it is being held up with clamps) but I am very VERY happy with how it turned out.

I will put together a construction set of pictures soon.

Remember come out to the show

Watch Good Things Utah!

The other day I was watching GTU (see above) and they were talking about making friends as an adult and I thought, "Hey, I write about that very topic on ClubMom. Why don't I email them and let them know about my stuff."  So I did.   And....Today I got a reply from Angie Larsen, one of the co-hosts on the show, saying that she looked at my page and was very impressed. She is going to talk about one of my articles on the show on Monday the 13th!  I'm very excited....so tune in and see what nice things she says about me.  It's on KTVX Channel 4 at 10:00 a.m.   Unfortunately, my ClubMom contract is up this month and won't be renewed.  Alas, just when I was getting noticed....But, I'm enjoying my 15 minutes while they last! Yay me!

We're back...

Due to technical difficulties, we have been offline.  But here we are again.  I finished my train module last night, will put pictures up soon.  Don't forget about the train show on Saturday!  Please come!!!!  It will be from 10:00am-4:00pm on Saturday at the St. George opera house.  Click here for more info and a map!

Halloween Picture

Here are the girls in the Haunted Garden...They all looked so cute.  We had a really fun Halloween!  There are lots of other pictures, which we will hopefully have posted on the photos page soon. (Hint, hint, Scott) Love to all!

Happy Halloween!

I can't believe that Halloween has finally arrived....well, tomorrow, anyway...All our many activities went well last week.  I actually did get to do a Trunk or Treat after all...I reprised my black light Halloween Town. It was much easier to do the second time around.  Now that we've moved to a new ward, I have at least two more years worth of ideas to re-use...Yay!

Shaylie is having a Halloween Party at school tomorrow and the traditional costume parade...she still doesn't know what she wants to be...she's already dressed up twice and she had a different costume each time...which is also traditional.  I think Taylor must have a party too, but I haven't heard anything about it.  It will be hard to top last year's Fear Factor party they had...that was fun...Hopefully, we'll post pictures soon.

Taylor has been working hard on an Explorer Report this weekend.  She is reporting on Eric the Red and has put together an awesome PowerPoint to show her class...It has everything from graphics to music and sound effects.  She did a great job!  And she's very excited to turn it in today.  I'm very proud of her.

Scott did a lot of work on his train stuff this weekend...The mini-microscopic people are all painted and he and the club (especially Ralph) have worked out a lot of the bugs and kinks in the layouts.  The train show should go well with all the hard work they have put in.

I am getting ready for our big Primary program on Nov. 12th.  We have been trying to work out seating and practicing songs and parts.  Taylor has been assigned a talk on dressing modestly.  Shaylie has a smaller part, and she can't wait to take her new Book of Mormon to sing Scripture Power.  It's so fun to see the kids so excited to share their love of the gospel.  They have such big testimonies at such little ages. 

Love to everyone....It's my carpool week and the time change has given me enough extra time in the morning to update our blog, but I've got to get going....PAS

Tuesday Tidbits

Bunch of stuff happening this week...Taylor has Girl Scouts tonight (her first as Pres.) and Shaylie was invited to a Halloween Party at Lisa Loris' house. She is one of my counselors in the Primary and she has two girls about Shaylie's age. Very cute and fun family. It will be good for Shaylie to get to know them better. 

Tomorrow night, the girls have dance and I have Enrichment night.  I think Scott is having one of the N-scalers, Ralph, come over and help him paint his mini-microscopic people for his layout.  It is all coming together nicely.

Thursday night is the big School Carnival.  The so-called Redhawk Rally....I'm so glad I don't have anything to do with getting that going this year.  It's been nice to have a year off of PTA.  I think I might be ready to go back next year...but no promises.  I also have my weekly Presidency Meeting.  We are almost fully staffed in Primary but I'm finding it is a mostly uphill battle.  But lots to do and talk about.  This is also the night that the whole N-scale club is coming over to work on getting the modules ready for the big Train Show next month.  November 11th officially. 

Friday we managed to eke out some time to let our Home Teachers come over. Poor Bro. Suttefield always tries to make time for us, but we are always so busy that we have to schedule it out very carefully.  So we are going to be glad to see him. 

Saturday is our Ward Halloween Carnival....let's see, that makes 3 Halloween parties in one week, and that's not even counting Halloween....This should be tons of fun too....I know the activities committee has been working hard.  And my girls are looking forward to it, even though it isn't a Trunk or Treat and even though I won't be reprising my role as Madame Yasmeena, the Bad Fortune Teller.  Oh well.

So that's our week.  I certainly hope all of you  are just as busy and excited as we are.  You know Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year!  Let us know if you are reading our blog....we'd love to hear from you!  Post Again Soon....

Found

Did someone leave a grey Old Navy berber jacket at my house? I found it with a bunch of the girls' toys in the family room.  Let me know...Love ya!

More Good News...

Taylor has been elected to be a member of her Girl Scout Troop Patrol.  This means she gets to wear a cord with her uniform that shows her leadership position. It's a three month stint.  This month she is serving as President, and the next two months she will rotate with the other two girls on the Patrol serving as Secretary and Treasurer. So by the end, she will have served in all three positions.  It's very cool.   Tonight, she, Shaylie and Scott are at a Girl Scout activity---at the Corn Maze---I sent Shaylie to tagalong, since she still hasn't been assigned a troop of her own yet.

We have had fun with Bella here! She is such a cutie and a good little girl. I love her sense of humor and it seems she is always singing a song.  I'm not quite sure when Krissy is coming to pick her up...she called this morning but she didn't talk to me when I answered the phone, just asked for Bella.  Bella talked to her for a minute, but then I noticed that she was not speaking into the phone anymore, though it was still at her ear, and she was just staring at the TV.  I asked if she was still talking to Mama and she said yes, then "Hello, hello...no she hung up." So, I don't know if she needed to talk to me or not.  Anyway, I was expecting her around 5pm for some reason, but I don't know why I have that hour in mind.  It doesn't really matter....but she is excited to see her mom.

After the activity tonight, Anissa invited the girls to come sleepover at her house tonight. That will be fun and make for another eventful weekend for us.  It seems there is never a shortage of things to do.  Time is flying. I still can't believe there is just over a week until Halloween.  I'm so not ready...Taylor hasn't even picked her costume yet.  And then, the holidays....sheesh.  I think we're planning to go to Mom's for Thanksgiving and then a quiet Christmas with just us this year, then up to Orem for New Year's at Dad's.  It will all be here in a blink of the eye.  And I still have Mike and Erin's present from last year...how bad is that?  But, luckily we are going to actually see them this year! Yay. 

Anyhow, I'm rambling.  We are obviously all well....we'd love to hear from you. Drop us a post every now and again....PAS....Love to all!

Business as Usual...

We had a great weekend with my Dad and Pam visiting.  Chad and Anissa both came yesterday afternoon for a visit as well. It was good to see everyone.  Now it's back to business as usual.  We are having the Moores over tonight for a Game Night.  And all the usual stuff happening during the week...dance, homework, etc.  I am babysitting Bella on Thursday and Friday....We'll post if anything fun, unusual, interesting happens...which it usually does.

Private Post test

This is a test of what happens when a post is made private

Kids, Kids everywhere!

Taylor and I had quite a day today. We both had babysitting jobs.  She had a neighbor call her to watch her kids for about 3 hours.  She was excited to go, and I had already agreed to watch my friend Amy's kids while she went to the dentist, so while she watched Jade and Brenden, I was watching Ethan, Hayden, and Miranda.  Then, when I had a lunch appointment, I left my charges with Taylor until their moms came to get them.  She did a very good job and earned $10.  Scott says she is earning more money in her side business than he is with his.  I guess it's a good gig if you can get it. 

Tonight, we have two other little friends over for a "late night"--Jake and Sydnee. Jake is Scott's business partners' son and they came to Scott's train club meeting and Sydnee is visiting Shaylie.  If you are wondering, a "late night" is a sleepover without the sleeping over part. The kids come and play until they get too tired (or I get too annoyed) and then we send them home.  It's not so bad as it goes.

Needless to say, I am very tired tonight.  I've already deemed tomorrow a "No Friends" day.  My kids aren't happy but their mama needs a break.  I suppose if they want to go somewhere else they are welcome to but my house if off limits.  At least for tomorrow.

Post again soon....love to everyone!

T-shirt Design

I've had several requests to see the winning design, but Taylor doesn't have a copy of actual drawing.  She is trying to re-create it and if she can, I will post it. 

We are looking forward to seeing Papa and Grandma Pam this weekend.  We hope you are still planning on it....let us know. 

Tonight, Taylor is having a sleepover with several of her friends.  We are planning to roast marshmallows and we are going to see Barnyard at the dollar theater this afternoon.  Trying to keep busy during vacation...so far, so good.

Love to everyone....PAS

Great News...

Taylor won the t-shirt design contest at school.  So now all the school shirts will feature her great drawing.  She did an amazing job!  She is very talented.  We are so proud of her!

Also, Scott sold $400 worth of paintings on his NeldonBullock.com website.  Yay--He gets a commission, but better yet, his hard work is starting to pay off!  We are proud of him too!

Quick Trip

Taylor and I took a quick trip to Holden last night for a Makeover Day.  We both got our hair straightened and colored (Taylor got streaks of brown) and we got an extra surprise when it was Mom's Relief Society Super Saturday.  We got to help make some cute crafts.  I also picked up a frame to match the one she gave me before and a signed print by Holden's premier artist Frank Thomas.  Taylor and I had fun with Grandma Dawn.

Shaylie and Scott had a good time here in St. George while we were gone.  They checked out a new pizza place and went to Fiesta Fun Center.  The new pizza buffet is "like Chuck E Cheese, without Chuck E Cheese" so I'm sure Shaylie was in heaven. 

Only two days of school this week since it's UEA.  Post again soon...

Pictures are here..

We got the girls' school pictures back today and they are pretty cute, If I do say so.  Taylor and Shaylie are both wearing brown and they match very well. I can't wait to get some frames and hang them on my wall.  Now is the time, if you have requests, to let us know sizes and how many you want.  I ordered a pretty big package but as usual there are not enough for everyone so we may have to make copies. 

October is finally here and it's not as cool as I would hope.  If you are enjoying wet, rainy fall weather, I am jealous.  I did wake up to the patter of raindrops and the flash of lightning, but the best of the storm was over by the time the day got going.  I definitely want the fall!

UEA is on the way...we don't really have any plans.  I would love to go on vacation but it doesn't look like a possibility.  The only thing I have to look forward to is a Scout Training.  But...I would readily ditch it, if I could come up with better plans.

Deck the Haunted Halls...

I spent the evening pulling out Halloween boxes and putting up decorations. Unfortunately, I picked one of the hottest days of the past three weeks. It was toasty today, but it was fun to pull out all our stuff.  Taylor and Shaylie and their friends had fun dressing up in all the costumes, which reminded me of doing the exact same thing each year when we were kids.  I especially remember the Indian gunny sack dress and the red yarn Raggedy Ann wig.  I guess not much changes, but don't ask my daughter if that is true....I have to tell you what she said the other day.

She (Taylor) came home from school the other day and I thought she looked especially cute. I had just bought her a new outfit and I told her I thought she looked terrific. I asked her if any of the kids in her class had commented on her new duds and she immediately gasped and rolled her eyes at me. She said, "No one comments on people's clothes anymore. What are you from the 20th century or something?"  Well, I guess I am, but I still didn't understand what that had to do with the price of peanuts.  Oh well, I must be getting old.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to conference this weekend.  President Hinckley is getting so old and frail looking. It wouldn't surprise me if it was his last. I hope not though.  It also means no Primary so I get a day off.  Always nice.

Hope everyone is doing well.  Haven't heard from too many with the posts.  Feel free to drop us a line. We love to get comments on our blog.  Love to all...

End of September Update

I can't believe it....October is almost here.  I am excited to get ready for Halloween. My girls want to have matching costumes this year but they don't know exactly what yet.  I have a new house (palette) for decorating this year so it should be fun.  I saw the cutest "snow" globes for Halloween with ghosts and flying bats. I can't believe all the great stuff they have.

Scott made it home, and was only depressed for a couple days about his trains. It seems that most of the parts can be replaced and Percy is going back to the company for replacement too.  So all will be well.

I have been walking every morning after the kids go to school. It's been great for me and the mornings are so cool these days. I love it.  I am trying to make this a habit for me. I just hope I can keep it up when it starts to get really cool.

Taylor found out yesterday that one of the girls in her class lives just down the street from us...so she is feeling a little better about some things.  And Girl Scouts starts tonight, so she'll get to see her friend Emily again.

We had a really great home evening last night.  Taylor asked some wonderful questions about what happens after we die.  We got to talk about the Plan of Salvation and clear up some of her misunderstandings.  She thought only Mormons go to heaven, which is not what we believe at all. In fact, when I told her that we teach that everyone goes to heaven, even so-called "bad" people she was quite shocked.  I guess that is why it is good to have Family Home Evening...so we can teach and learn from each other.  Anyway, she is an amazing girl.  I could tell she was really trying to understand the Lord's plan for us.  I love that about her...she has never taken anyone elses word for it, she always has to study it out and learn for herself.  Anyway....I digress.

Shaylie is doing well in school and has plenty of friends to play with, but...she misses our old neighborhood too.  I was taking her to a birthday party for one of her friends (in the old place) and as we drove nearer, she started to cry and ask why we had to move away?  Poor little girl.  She was worried that nobody at the party was going to remember her, but of course they did.  So I think she is going to be okay.

I also just had the good news that my "Making the Friendship Connection" article has been picked to be featured in the Babies newsletter from ClubMom.  That means it will be sent out to everyone instead of them coming to find it.  It's very exciting.

Well, this post has been much rambling and random thoughts.  I hope everyone is doing well.  Love to all...

In the rain...

Scott's on his way to SLC for his annual GeekFest....I don't think that's the official name, though.  We had a little stress before he left, mostly my fault. 

I had my primary presidency meeting this morning and several of the people had to bring their kids with them. I didn't think it would be a big deal, we got the Big Room ready for them and thought they would just play while we met...but some escaped and made their way down to Scott's MOST TREASURED TRAINS in the living room.  Their mom came down to round them up right away but not before the kids broke the couplers on several trains, ripped the box of the Thomas engine, and generally destroyed the whole thing.  Most of it was fixable but we will have to order and replace the couplers, if not replace the whole car.  Scott was not a happy person when I called to tell him, but fortunately, it wasn't as bad as I told him on the phone since I was able to fix a lot of the damage.  I should have realized that the kids would not stay where I wanted them and put the trains up before the meeting.  But I didn't.  I've been making a lot of these shoulda-woulda-coulda mistakes lately.  It's not fun.  I hope I can get my act together one of these days.

The mom said she would be happy to replace what is broken, so that is good. We don't know exactly what it is going to cost since we have to do some research to find the right parts and replacements etc.  It could be a lot or not much.  I hope not much.

Well, I hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather.  We are!  Let us know how you are doing...Love to all!

Back from the Zoo...Busy Weekend Over

Taylor made it back safely from the Zoo and, despite a little mix-up with the pick-up, she had a great time.  They got snowed on and had to sleep indoors rather than in tents like they planned and they visited the planetarium the next day.  Taylor had fun on the Moon Bounce, a moon gravity simulation. 

I got to see Cats this weekend out at Tuacahn.  It was very good-- not what I expected to see, but not entirely surprising either.  I'd heard a lot about it over the years, including the famous song, but even  though I knew it well, Grizzelda still brought me to tears.  I went with Anissa, Mom and Anje and during the intermission some kids were going up on stage to talk to Old Deuteronomy, who apparently stayed out on stage for this purpose. Anje ran up and sat on his lap for a minute or two.  I cracked myself up by asking her if she told him what she wanted for Christmas, but maybe you had to be there.  It was fun.

All my meetings went well. I am very happy with my calling. I've got great counselors and I love working with the Primary children.  So far, I have no complaints. It's been just right to keep me from getting bored all alone at home by myself during the day.  I guess I always had housework for that, but it's not anywhere near as fun.

We have another busy weekend coming up but Scott won't be here for it. I guess he has to go up to SLC for a meeting.  We'll miss him, we always do.

As always, we hope to hear from all of you who read our blog. Let us know how you are doing...we love you. Post again soon...

Photos added

I have added some pictures to our Photo Gallery

Shaylie's 6th Birthday Party

Taylor's To and From Girl Scout Camp

July 24th, 2006

Railfanning on Trip

Too Much Going On...

We've got tons to do  or not do, depending on the situation, starting tomorrow.  Dixie Roundup Rodeo and parade (we've been promising the kids to go for years now), temple night (but we may miss this because of the rodeo), Taylor's going up north on Friday night to the Snooze at the Zoo (I'm worried about the weather since it's supposed to snow as low as the benches), Cedar City's SkyFest Balloon launch on Friday morning (but it may be too early and stormy for this); on Saturday, Primary activity for me and the girls, Elder's quorum boating activity for Scott (Normally we would all go to this but they are both at the same time), and Primary leadership meetings on Sunday.

Sheesh.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something too. With all this stuff, it would be a miracle if I remembered it all.  Hope we survive...I'll post on Monday if we make it through. Love to everyone....

Remembering the Day...

Five years ago, this morning I sat down on the couch to fix Taylor's hair for school. She was in Kindergarten and the easiest way to get her to sit still was to turn on the TV and watch cartoons.  Instead of Blue's Clues, however, we saw the now famous image of smoke pluming out from the first WTC building. 

I listened while Matt and Katie tried to sort out the details--Was it a bomb or something else less innocuous?-- I immediately called Scott, thinking that he would be online and was undoubtedly following this very closely.  "What's going on with the World Trade Center?" I asked him. "Are you watching?"  But because of meetings that morning, he hadn't yet turned on his computers.  I was surprised to be the first to find out about this whatever it was, and as he tried to dig up information on the computer, I sat with eyes glued to the TV & ear to the phone, as we witnessed the plane fly in and crash into the second WTC building.  I told Scott what I was watching & he relayed information from the web to me over the phone. 

It is hard to think back to that time without feeling the same emotions: shock, disbelief, marvel at the insanity of people, heartbreaking pity for the people we watched as they ran for their lives away from the destruction, and incredible pride in those that ran toward it, to help and even for some of them, to die.  I remember the days and weeks that followed. How our entire country seemed to be of one mind & one heart.  Flags flew in every home, car and business.  I remember feeling so proud to be an American, despite the grief, the fear, the pain that followed this day.  I cried for weeks and weeks.  I watched the TV constantly following the stories, sobbing with the families searching for their missing ones, believing the President as he and other leaders tried to reassure us all that those lost would not go unavenged, searching for the hope in the aftermath of the destruction. 

It amazes me to think that five years have gone by. I remember it like it happened a week ago.  I don't think I will ever forget.  I hope I never do.  I think the tragedy of that day is worth a few memories and even more tears.  I have cried a few today, though the pain is less,  and I do every time I remember that day. 

This day, five years later,  is different than that day, however. Today, my tears are tempered by the stories I see of families who have moved on and who have grown through faith and time.  I am a different person.  I have changed even though I was not personally affected, though it feels very personal.  I can see that sometimes the worst brings us the best and that we can triumph over even the most tragic of circumstances.  We are all connected and each life can have a profound impact on another, though we may not ever meet or speak.  I am grateful to have learned these lessons and to know that the sacrifice of that day was not for nothing. 

Here is a link to Tonya's Blog entry on that day: September 11, 2001

Great Weekend

It was so good to see my Dad & Pam this weekend. We started out kind of slow, not a lot of activity...just catching up and visiting.  I also had a lot of primary stuff to do on Saturday and Sunday...so I was hoping everything wasn't too boring for our visitors....but Monday we headed out to the Sand Hollow Reservior.  It was Labor Day so I was afraid that it would be really busy...and it was....but we found a nice little niche in the rocks to hang out and play.  Scott and Taylor swam out to the newly christened Desert Pearl Island and we watched as they got up their courage to jump off an almost 30 foot outcropping on the island.  Scott went first, and after about 10 running starts, Taylor finally went off the edge...It was incredible.  I've decided we need to get some cool water toys...an inflatable raft, or some tubes, or some jet skis...to take out there. We live so close and it was just so much fun to play on the beach...It would be terrific to spend more time out there. 

Anyway, thanks for visiting you guys.  We are so glad that you are moving closer so that we might be able to do it again and more often.  Anytime! We love to have family come and visit us! Love to all! Post a comment! We'll update again soon...

We made it...

We survived my first Sunday as Primary President.  Being Labor Day weekend, both of my counselors (and half the teachers) were out of town, so it was me, the secretary and the music people. It ended up going well, but I have to admit I was nervous.  We doubled up some of the classes.  And the sharing time lesson that I planned seemed to hold the kids attention and they seemed to like it. The great thing is that now I know that if I can get through a "worst case scenario" like today, then everything else is going to be fine.   It really wasn't that bad, but I don't want to imagine any situations that might be worse.  I had a good time and I think this is going to be a very adventuresome and exciting calling.

Dad and Pam are here visiting...Chad and Anissa have been over to visit off and on as well.  Tomorrow, we are thinking of driving out to the new Sand Hollow Reservoir either to stay and play, or if it is too busy, we'll just have a look and then come back into town and go to the splash park.  We may go do Blue Bunny ice cream too.  We are having a good time visiting and catching up.

Love to everyone and hope to hear from you soon....

A visit

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of my Dad and Pam.  They called yesterday and told us they are making a trip down to St. George to visit.  It will be fun to show off our new house and neighborhood.  They will be staying through Tuesday.  It's been a while since they've visited and we can't wait!!

My new train set

I may never go home now!  I have my new train set at work now and if fits exactly like I had hoped. I just have to figure out how to put the camera on it.

Nothing new...

Not much new...Scott did finish his first train layout ever! Yay! He took it to his office and I'm sure that he will have pictures soon.  The girls had their SEP conferences and as usual are both doing very well in school.  They are back in dance and are glad to be there. I have my first Presidency meeting tomorrow and I am returning to Panorama Elementary to help them figure out how to keep up their website.  There is a funny story about that too...

Mrs. Turner, the principal at Panorama, called me last week to set up the appointment to meet with Mr.Lingwall, the new webmaster at the school.  I told her I would be happy to help and we ended the phone call.  The next morning I get a phone call, again from Mrs. Turner..."Tonya, how are you?" she says.  "Fine," I say.  Then she proceeds to tell me how the PTA at the school usually provides an after school meal or sandwich during SEP week for the teachers, or if they don't that she can do it.  "Do you know what I'm saying?" she asks me.  I said no, I'm confused and I'm thinking that maybe she wants me to join them for the meal when I come to help.  She rephrases but basically tells me the same thing...That if the PTA doesn't want to provide a meal then she will do it.  "If you guys can't do it, then I will."  I'm stammering, trying to remind her that we have moved out of the school and I'm no longer on the PTA there.  "Who am I talking to?" she asks. "Tonya Jesienouski" I say.  "OH Tonya! I thought you were my PTA president!" (She happens to also be named Tonya this year) We laughed as we realized what has been happening.  She then let me off the hook.  I was relieved.  I was beginning to regret agreeing to the appointment.

Anyway, we are all doing well.  Looking forward to cooler weather coming!  Love to all...

It's Official...

I am now the official Primary President for the Washington Fields 5th Ward.  I am excited, but also humbled....I know people always say they are humbled, but I really am feeling small and insignificant that I should be responsible for the spiritual guidance of all these little children.  ( And anyone who comes to my house would say that it's pretty unlikely too :-) ) It's a bit overwhelming. That Heavenly Father should choose me to serve in this way is very humbling.  But on the other hand, like I said, I am excited too. I know that running the primary is something I can do well since my talents tend to run toward leadership and creativity, plus I also have really good people helping me, which is also a big (HUGE) bonus. So I'm sure many of my blog entries will be updates on this latest endeavor...I could really use all your prayers and words of encouragement.  Love to everyone!

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Where is everybody?

Finally...

We finally got our game table that we ordered back in May.  It actually isn't the one we ordered since the store had trouble figuring out how to actually get it to us, so they told us we could come in and get the floor model.  It had a couple scratches so they took another 10% off the price.  This additional discount plus the original sale discount meant that we saved about $100.00 on the table all told.  Yay!  So anytime anyone wants to come play cards...we've got it covered.

Taylor and Shaylie start dance today.  At least for a while....Shaylie for sure wants to do it, but Taylor is talking about acting classes.  I don't know though.  I think she would be great at it, but I don't think she will do it long-term.  Not that it has to be a career move, but we'll have to see...It depends on if I can find a class around here that doesn't cost a fortune.

Scott has his official business license for Trestle Tech Services, LLC.  I went today and bought a frame so he can put it up on the wall.  We are also looking at getting an additional cell phone on our plan so that he can have a number that is just for the business.  His work is also cracking down on personal calls on his other phone, so we may have to do it just for that.  He and James are still trying to drum up business, so if anyone out there knows someone who needs a webpage written, just let us know.

Hope to hear from you all! Lots of love...

New Calling...

Well, I must not do well with a lot of free time on my hands.  As soon as I get a little bit, I certainly find a way to fill it.  This time it wasn't my idea, though.  I was taken completely by surprise to find out about this new calling.  Scott and I have been enjoying our calling in the Primary.  We have been taking turns each week teaching the gospel to our five-year-olds.  (They are so cute!)  I have even been careful not to say I would do things differently if I were in charge, although there were a couple of times last Sunday, but it was only to Scott and not where anyone else could hear.  I can't really say what it is yet, since it's not been sustained in church, but I am meeting with the Old tomorrow so she can pass on her stuff to me.  I will say that I am excited, if a bit overwhelmed, and I will post the official title as soon as I can.  Love to all....

Checking In...

We've had a successful first week of school....Taylor likes her teacher and she says her class is fun, a lot of jokesters and laughing in class.  Shaylie is so glad to be back in school, her teacher is very strait-laced but I think she will be good. It is her first year teaching first grade so she may be a little stressed out with the transition.  Scott and I went to Back-to-School Night last night and I was so glad to find out that I don't have any homework for Taylor's class this year.  No homework to sign, no reading charts to keep track of, no papers to fill out every day....I love it!  I think the kids are old enough to start being more responsible for themselves by the Fifth Grade...It will be good practice for next year in the Intermediate School. 

I, myself, had trouble signing up for anything remotely volunteerish...I think I have burn out.  I did sign up to be a helper in both the girls' classes, and for the Book Fair, but I really had to force myself.  I think it will be fun once I'm going, I just dread the thought.  I'm just glad I'm not in charge.  I did run into a couple parents that I knew from my old neighborhood and the principal recognized me from the glowing recommendations that Mrs. Turner and the Tech director gave me, so that was nice.

Next week is my week to drive the car pool.  My friend Amy Miles and I are taking turns driving the kids to school since it is just too far and hot too walk.  We decided to take it in weeks, instead of days...this makes it nice when we don't have to drive.  Maybe the kids will want to walk a couple times when the weather cools, but for now...we'll add to the traffic hazard. 

I am also going to try to get into a daily routine next week....I must be disciplined.  Not usually my forte, but I want to set aside some time each day while the girls are at school to write.  And to do some projects: Grandpa's life history, guitar lessons, and maybe a photography class or spanish class, I haven't decided yet.  If Scott's and James' business picks up, I may be spending some time each day playing receptionist/secretary too.  I wouldn't mind that. 

Anyway, we are all well and looking forward to fun times ahead.  Hope all of you are well and that we get to hear from you soon.  Love to all!

Shaylie's 6th Birthday Party

Here are the pictures!

http://jesienouski.hopto.org/photos/shay6bday/

Happy Birthday to Shaylie! Happy First Day of School!

It seems like we've been counting down to this day for so long now that I can hardly believe that it's here!  Shaylie is 6 years old today....she has been waiting and waiting.  She told me today that 6 year olds can do a lot of things that 5 year olds can't...so I can't wait to see what her new abilities are...it's like her superpowers kicked in or something.  So exciting!  We had her birthday party last Thursday, a luau theme, and everyone had a great time...she got tons of presents (thank you everyone) and she loves the train that her dad and I got for her.  And so many puppies...they get to ride the train and everyone is happy.

It is also the first day of school, so the girls were up before their alarms this morning and insisted that we walk to school ("It's a tradition, Mom!")  The distance is about 3 times farther than our old house however and it was already around 90 degrees at 8:30 this morning, so you know how I felt about this.  But, we did it.  Even Bella, whom I am watching the next couple days, walked with us without complaining...she loved all the flowers and butterflies.  (We have so many butterflies from the surrounding fields!) We got to school and Taylor insisted that we drop her off outside the school.  She told me that when you get older that parents get embarrassing.  Heaven forbid!  So we didn't take her in, but we did sneak back later and peek into the class...she was busy doing bellwork and looked like she would be okay.  We did take Shay into her class and helped her organized her desk and keep her birthday treats tucked away until time to celebrate. She was already chatting away with a cute little girl who was sitting next to her when we left.  It's too bad we lose that spontaneity as we get older...

I think the girls are glad to be back...I know I am.  More updates and pictures to come! Love to all....

August 8, 1992

On a hot summer day in the itt-bitty town of Holden 14 years ago, I married the most wonderful woman in the world.  She even worked really hard that day to make it happen ;-)  Thank you Tonya for everything that you have given me and done for me through the years.  I love you.

Summer's waning....

Less than two weeks until school starts!  I think both the girls are excited.  We should find out fairly soon which teachers they have been assigned to and what kinds of things we need to do to get ready.  We never have had to buy school supplies since Taylor started kindergarten, but the girls always have to have some new pencil boxes and glue sticks and stuff.  So we will be shopping...

 My duet went pretty well on Sunday.  I think it was the best I've ever done as I did not forget the words or get overly emotional.  I was still a little shaky just from pure nerves, but it was tolerable.  Taylor was giving me a big smile when I came to sit down, and that made me feel good about it.

Hope everyone is doing well....sign in soon and leave us a post! We love to hear from you! Love to all...

Taylor at Camp

Just found out that while Taylor was at camp, the camp had a blog, here is a picture from the blog:

Heading Up North...again!

I can't wait to see Taylor so I've decided to cut my Mom Vacation short by one day and come up with Scott tonight to pick her up in the morning.  I had originally planned just to send Scott to pick her up since I am singing in church on Sunday and I have a primary lesson to prepare but I've decided that I have to go and see her tent and meet her friends and just welcome her home in general...I can't believe what a worry-wart I've been over this whole thing...I was so relieved to get her letter on Thursday that I can't even tell you.  I now can't wait to see her in person and get the whole scoop on camp.

Shaylie wants to come with us too! That will be fun since it is likely that she will be heading up to camp with me next summer.  We're thinking of taking the whole family to a camp next year.  SHaylie has been having fun at Grandma's....I've only had a couple of phone calls saying that she is homesick, but hearing my voice seems to be enough to snap her out of it.  I've been doing a bunch of shopping for her birthday party, which is coming up so soon.  She'll be surprised to see all of her decorations and stuff....but I'll never hear the end of her asking "is it my birthday yet?' She is so cute.

I've enjoyed my few days without children.  I've been able to read, watch dvds, catch a movie, go to lunch with Scott and just enjoy the absence of friends and general chaos.  But, I will be glad to have my family back together again.  I'm sure the time will come all too soon, when I will wish for the chaos of the girls' younger days.  Having these short times away from them really makes me appreciate them more when they are here.  I am missing them a lot. 

So, I'm sure we'll have a post soon filled with all the camp & birthday & school happenings.  Love to everyone...

Yay!

I got a letter from Taylor!  She says camp is awesome! She has four girls in her tent...Peek-a-Boo (Taylor), Tigger, Bugs, and Yoda. She told us about a Polar Bear Dip(?) which was very cold and her swim test.  It sounds like she is having a lot of fun.  She also mailed me a necklace from the camp store, I don't know why.  It didn't come through the mail very well, but it did make it through.  I was very anxious & excited to hear from her...It is so great to know she is having such a good time.  I knew she would but I was still worried.

My Mom Vacation has begun!

We took Taylor up on Sunday to Girl Scout Camp! That was a fun day.  We took our time going up and stopped at a few different places along the way.  Taylor was a bit anxious earlier in the day, but by the time we got there, and she saw the familiar campsite and we reminisced a bit about our Mom and Me camps and showed Dad around the place, she was good to go. 

Our poor little van almost didn't make the trip up the mountain.  I didn't think we'd have any trouble but it was groaning on the way up and I almost melted the brakes on the way down.  Since our experience last year, I was watching the brakes very carefully though and we didn't do any harm.  Just had to stop for a few minutes to let them cool down a bit.  We may have to borrow Grandpa's truck to pick her up. 

We spent the 24th at Holden. They always have a big fun celebration at the park. After that, and some visiting with Grandma and Grandpa Heath, Scott and I took off for home.  Shaylie is spending the week at Grandma Dawn's.  She was a little homesick last night, but she called me up and is doing fine.

So, I'm on my own today.  The house is very quiet, Scott is at work and I'm enjoying a little kid-free time.  I'm sure I won't stop worrying that Taylor is having a good time, or that Shaylie is happy and not driving anyone too crazy, but it is nice to have a little time to relax and regroup....especially right before school starts.

When I hear anything new about either of the girls...I will post again.  Taylor is planning to write to me, so I am looking forward to getting a letter or two before Friday.  Love to everyone....talk again soon.

Another Birthday Update

Chad must have been pretty psychic when he visited mom's house and let me play with his new guitar.  The whole time I was tuning and playing the few chords I know, I was thinking how I wish that I still had my guitar and that I could still learn how to play.  I was thinking it was an AWESOME guitar and how cool it was! 

Well....today he opened up his trunk and shows me my present....his guitar! He said he hasn't touched it since he first got it and he saw how much fun I was having playing with it over the holiday, so he decided to give it to me.  I couldn't believe it at first....but he left here without it, so he must have been serious.  I feel kind of guilty taking it from him, but I do love it and I really have always wanted to learn how to play so now I have no more excuses.  So, thanks Chad...I love my present..I'll try to be able to play you a song soon!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Saturday was my 36th birthday....sheesh, am I getting old or what? We had a fun weekend, Grandma Rose was down and Taylor had two swim meets, which she swam very well.  Scott decorated the house for me and bought me a chocolate cake.  We went out for lunch and dinner so I was treated to a Birthday Serenade at both La Fiesta and Cracker Barrel.  The girls gave me a plaque that says "Cuz I'm the MOM."...Very cute, and I got to spend some of my birthday money on cute decorations for my house at a fun craft store in Cedar City.  Thank you everybody for making my birthday so special...it was great to hear from Dad too.  You guys always make me feel great!

Swim is ending...

Taylor only has this weekend's swim meets (Friday in Mesquite and Saturday in Cedar City) before the championships next week.  She has had such a blast this summer and it's been so much fun to watch her do well at something she loves.  It's made the summer fly by too, which is good.  Shaylie is also swimming quite well...she is sad that she doesn't get to swim everyday anymore.  I say that's fine, because her hair is turning very green from all the chlorine. 

Mom, Anissa and Anje are in California this week, actually heading home today, but I spoke with them yesterday while they were at the San Diego Zoo watching the baby Pandas.  They said they were having a great time.  They will be at the swim meet on Friday and so will Rose. Taylor will love showing off for her grandmothers.

My birthday is this weekend. I will be 36 years old. Ish.  Scott has taken me bike shopping and I think we will probably go buy one I like in the next few days. It felt weird riding a bike again since I haven't ridden one since we were first married.  It will be great to go on bike rides with the family. We just need to get Shaylie on hers before we can all go together.

Last week in July is Taylor's Girl Scout Camp. She is excited and a little anxious about going by herself. I know she'll have a blast.  I have already written her some letters so that she will get one each day.  I think she will do well there.  Shaylie is going to spend the week at Grandma Dawn's house.  She is looking forward to spending some time alone with Grandma.  I am just looking forward to a little break from kids, mine and the neighborhood. 

I hope all is going well where you all are.  It's been a while since anyone has checked in. We love hearing from you and we hope you are having a great summer too!  Love from the Jesienouski's.

Utah Railway 5004!

I have seen the Utah Railway MK50-3's several times in pictures on the internet, but tonight we were driving back from Orem and I noticed that there was a train going under I-15.  As I got closer I recognized the IPPX coal cars, and I got excited as I thought that "This could be a Utah Railway train!!"  I took the freeway off-ramp and pulled up to the railroad crossing.  At this point we were at car 143, it slowly went by and finally got to 191.  The crossing gates went up and raced down the road to catch up with the front of the train.  As I started getting closer, I saw the familar red stripe of Utah Railway engines and I drove alongside the train for about a half-mile, then Tonya told me to pull ahead so that I could get a picture, we found a turnout and pulled over and Anissa and I got out to take pictures.  I think the conductor saw me from when we were along side and when he saw us, he blew his horn, which scared Tonya and Anissa, I thought it was cool.  The conductor even waved as he went by!  It was so great!  There were four engines, 3 MK50-3's, and a SD50s.  It was getting pretty dark and we only had Tonya's cell phone for pictures, but still it was great fun.  As you can tell, I am in a very good mood ;-)

Not much to say...

Just wanted to check in and let everyone know what we're up to....

It's very hot here in St. George.  We've been keeping cool by heading to the pool nearly everyday.  We also have our backyard pool to splash in, which is nice as always.  The kids and their friends love to come cool off!  Shaylie is doing very well in her swimming lessons! I am no longer afraid that she will drown in the big pool...although sometimes she looks like she might go under and not come back up....it's just her swimming style.  She can actually swim quite far in pretty deep water. 

Taylor had her second big swim meet...she didn't win any ribbons I think...she was swimming new strokes.  She did the 25m butterfly, the 25m breast, and the 100m IM.  That last one was hard for her...she crawled out of the pool with her last bit of strength. I was so proud of her...she gave it her best shot.  It's good experience and I can't believe how well she is doing in this first season!

We are heading up to Holden this weekend for the Fourth of July...Grandpa Heath is celebrating his 82nd birthday...He is amazing!  Mom says he is not doing so well, but this is definitely a milestone birthday for him.  His actual birthday is on July 10th, but Aunt Pam is going to be here for the 4th and Mom will be in California on the 10th so this is a good time to celebrate!  I hope he is feeling better soon....Our prayers are with you, Grandpa! We love you!

Hope everyone has a terrific Fourth of July weekend!  We are glad to be escaping the heat...Might even get some rain...Love it!  Love to everyone....

A Day at the Doctor

Taylor and I spent the morning at the doctor's office.  She has Swimmer's Ear. She's had it before so I recognized it again.  She has drops we have to put in several times a day...a pain med and an antibiotic....and one she has to put in before and after swimming to keep the infection from occurring again.  He didn't say anything about staying out of the water but he suggested that we put earplugs or putty in her ears to keep the water out.  Hopefully it won't put a damper on preparations for her next meet on Wednesday.

As for me, I have had a "fungus amungus" for a while now and the other day I caught my big toe on my carpet cleaner and ripped the whole thing off...it was hanging on by a toenail (hardee har) and today I had the doctor take it off for good.  He gave me an antibiotic and a Rx for Lamisil, but my insurance requires preauthorization on it before the pharmacy can fill it, so I guess I'll pick that up Monday.  It's hurting pretty good today, but no worse than when I ripped it off in the first place. 

I think we'll both survive and the best part is we don't have to go back...yay! At least until the next time....Love to everyone!!

Love the new camera

You can't tell from the picture above, but our new camera has incredible resolution and features.  The train picture is actually four pictures stitched together and has an actual size of 6908 pixels by 1853 pixels.  As that doesn't fit any screen of web blog, I sized it WAY down.

The train is great!  It is very big and fits perfectly.  I can stare at it from my computer.  Thanks Tonya for getting it for me!

Wow...time flies!

It's been a week and a lot of stuff has happened. 

 It won't surprise anyone to know that Taylor won three ribbons at her first swim meet.  She is having a blast and the ribbons are just icing on the cake.  She won the 50 m back stroke, she got second in the 25 m breast stroke, and fourth in the 50 m freestyle.  I think she would have done better in the freestyle but she lost her goggles and it threw her off.  She had a coach help her at practice to keep her head up and goggles on....so hopefully it won't happen again. 

After her Mesquite meet, we drove down to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to meet a guy about a train.  He was selling a big 8 foot wooden train online and I bought it, but instead of shipping it (expensive), I told him I could meet him...so we drove down and picked it up.  It was Scott's Father's Day present...it is now above our front door on the plant shelf and it looks just perfect.  (Scott will post a picture soon.)

Tuesday Bella came to stay for a couple days and today we have another friend's daughter...her parents are in China for two weeks and they've farmed out the kids every couple of days or so.  It's been fun to have more girls in the house.

No swim meets this week, but next Wednesday she has one here in St. George.  Shaylie is finishing up her lessons this week, and she is much improved, but I am thinking of signing her up for another session.  She'll love it and it can't but help. It depends on if there are any openings or not.  We have to wait and see.

As for me, I am having a good summer.  The kids haven't been too bored and we've had lots to keep us occupied.  I could probably use some alone time, but that will happen soon enough.   Scott is having a good time with his trains...he had train meeting again last night and he and his friend James are coming along with plans for their business. 

More news soon...

Back from Vacation!

We're back from Lagoon! We had a great time.  We stayed at the Lagoon Campground. The girls were happy because we were at Lagoon and they got to go watch them test the rides before the park opened. Scott was happy because the train tracks were just across the street and whenever the train whistle blew he could run down and watch the trains.  I was happy because I got to see my family and I was sleeping on an air mattress at night. 

They had some new kid rides at Lagoon.  Shaylie was loving it, and of course, Taylor had a blast on everything else. She went on the Fire Dragon about 10 times and she tried out the Samurai, which she missed last year.  Shay also rode the Fire Dragon and the Screamer with me. We spent some time at Lagoon-A-Beach too.  The next day Scott had a meeting so we met up with my Dad and Pam at the Gateway and they took us to see CARS. It was pretty cute.  More for grown ups than for kids, but it was okay for them too.  We are very excited that they have decided to move to Orem.  We'll get to see them much more often I hope. 

We also got to stop in and see Grandma Rose for a minute.  She had a meeting and she didn't know we were coming so it wasn't a long visit, but that was all right because right after we left her house, Scott found out that his meeting started an hour earlier than he was told.  But that meant that he got out earlier too...so it worked out okay.

Taylor's first swim meet is tomorrow afternoon.  She was supposed to go back to the doctor for a follow-up with her arm, but she is fine, so I am cancelling.  I don't need to pay a doctor to tell me she is fine, when I know she is fine.  She is fine.

Shaylie started swim today and I was a little worried, since she missed the first two days and she was in a level higher than I thought she was.  She seemed to keep up with the other kids and by the end of class she was doing standing dives into the pool so I think she is going to be fine too.  

Tonight I am going to Peter Pan at Tuacahn with a friend of mine.  Her husband doesn't like plays so he is going to tend while she goes with some friends and family.  I was glad she thought to ask me...Taylor is going to see it in July with her Girl Scout troop and I wasn't sure I'd get the chance...If it is good, which I'm sure it will be, we'll have to take some of you when you come down to visit, which I'm sure you will.  Eventually.

Love to everyone...hope all is well and you are enjoying your summer! Thanks to everyone who helped to make our little vacation so much fun!  See you again soon!

Malling

Yesterday was a momentous day in our young Taylor's life....She went Malling with her friends.  Taylor, her best friend Shaylie and Shaylie's friend from SLC Kyla went to the Red Cliffs Mall yesterday for about 2 hours...on their own, dressed to the nines, and armed with cash.  Of course, I had to teach her how to use a pay phone, and I made sure she had quarters to call me if needed, but the only reason she finally did call was to ask me if she could get her ears pierced at Claire's....I had already given her permission to make the decision once she turned 10 and I thought she had pretty much forgotten about it...until yesterday.  So, I met her at the Mall at pick up time and she did it! Cute little CZ studs.  She said she feels so grown up.  (How well I remember those days!) She even found a cute outfit at Sears and spent some of her birthday money on it....You can't ask for a more successful Malling trip than that if you ask me...My little girl.....I think I might cry. :-)

Swim Schedule

I thought everyone might like to know the dates of Taylor's Swim Meets in case you are in the area and would like to come cheer her on...

June 15 St. George @ 6 pm

June 17 Mesquite am

June 22-23 Utah Summer Games (We may not attend this one.)

June 28 St. George pm

July 8 St. George am

July 14 Mesquite am

July 15 SUU Cedar City am

July 19-20 Championship St. George

She only has to attend 4 to qualify for the championship, but knowing Taylor she will want to go to all of them.  There is an extra fee for Utah Summer Games and she hasn't been training as long as some of the kids so I don't know if we'll go to that meet but the rest are very likely. 

Shaylie starts swimming lessons as soon as we get back from Lagoon.  She is very excited.  It seems to her as if everyone has been swimming forever and she is the only one left on dry land.  She will be thrilled to start and she is very ready to get out of her floatie. 

As for Scott and me, we have suddenly become very social.  We have been going over to friends houses, inviting friends over, scheduling dinner dates with other couples, and generally being very outgoing and friendly.  I really don't know what's come over us, but we're having fun.  We've found many nice couples and families in this new neighborhood and they've really made us feel like we are a part of the place.

We are planning to leave for SLC on Sunday morning (we can't leave Saturday because Taylor has her Girl Scout Pinewood Derby with your Dude from 1-4).  We are looking forward to seeing Dad & Bobbie's new house while we are up there and maybe Grandma J too.  It's going to be a busy trip.  I am so excited for cooler weather.  (Although, it is raining and only about 80 here right now.) 

Love to everyone.  Hope to hear from you all!

Everyone has died!

I was looking at all of the other family member blogs and have come to a conclusion.  Everyone must have been killed.  Why else would five people not write anything on the blogs when their sites and computers are working.  Especially when somewhen went to all the trouble of making sure that their home computer worked. ;-)

Busy Past weekend

We had a whirlwind weekend.  Saturday morning at 6:00am, our ward had its 2nd annual (not bad considering the ward is barely a year old!) 5K run at Coral Cliffs Park.  Taylor and I decided to run it.  Only 10 people ran it (btw there was a lot of walking, it was a VERY hilly course), if you can say anyone won it, I came in first and Taylor came in second.  Then at 8:00, our ward had a huge pancakes and eggs breakfast at the park.  It was great.  After that, the bishopric got out the water balloons and we had a water balloon fight.  They brought out huge slings and were able to launch the balloons a few hundred feet.  Then everyone had a water fight.  It was a great morning.

 I then went over to James' house and helped him unload a pile of rock from his truck for his outdoor train set. He then lent me his N scale train set to run my train on, pictures coming later.

One of my neighbors that I home teach is really into trains (he is Taylor's age), so after I got the N scale set up, I invited him over.  We ran trains for a couple of hours, he really liked my setup (in fact, he dragged his dad over to see it the next night ;-))

Our old stake was reorganizing and so that meant that an apostle would be down for the conference, so at 7:00 on Saturday, I went over for the adult session.  The General Authorites were Elder Jones of the 5th Quorum of the Seventy (a good friend of thecurrent Stake President) and Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Twelve Apostles.  It was very great to see and hear him speak.

 On Sunday, Tonya and I went to the 10:00am session of their stake conference to see who the new Stake President would be.  We got there at 9:00am and still had to sit 3/4 of the way back in the cultural hall! (Apostles and change are a great way to get people to show up for conference!)

Then at 2:30, we went to our normal ward,  Tonya and I teach Primary and we have 5 5 year old kids.   It is a really fun calling.  When we got home, we ate dinner and watched "Finding Nemo" as a family.  A pretty great weekend, all-in-all.

Back on the Swim Team!

Good news!  I talked to Taylor's swim team coach over the weekend and she felt like it would be worthwhile for Taylor to come to practices even though she is in a sling still.  Today was the first practice and Tay did okay.  She was not her usual graceful self in the water but she did very well considering she only had one arm.  I think it might help her just to be there and hear the instruction and, for sure, to exercise.  She is very determined and I think her coaches were impressed.

We had a fun weekend in Holden.  We helped Grandma and Grandpa Heath clean out there garage so that there would be less stuff on the floor to trip on.  Grandpa's workbench and hardware all got organized and put away.  It was big work (especially since the cousin's didn't show) but it was a fun time and worth it, because now Grandpa can spend more time puttering out in the garage.  Bobbie and Tiffany and Misty were all down visiting too, so we got to spend some time chatting with them and also with Polly.  We went up to the cemetary and put flowers on all the ancestors graves. Taylor spent a good part of the day four-wheeling.  She and Jordan (Tiffany's little girl) went out by themselves and ran out of gas, so I had to do a rescue mission. She wasn't even supposed to be riding but she loves those four-wheelers and she is very stubborn when she determines to do something...as most of you readers know.  All was well and our trip home was super quiet and uneventful as the girls slept the whole way home.

Today I am watching Bella for Chad. Krissy was supposed to bring her at 6:00 this morning so I dragged my tired self out of bed about 6:10 when Scott left for work.  I dozed in the recliner while I was waiting, but Krissy hadn't brought her by 7:00 so I gave Chad a call.  When Krissy & Bella showed at 7:30, she said Bella couldn't wake up and she didn't know why Chad told me 6:00....but he told me that she said she needed to be into work early this morning. I guess she was confused.  Anyway, the girls are all having tons of fun....but I could sure use a nap! Not much chance of it with all the screaming going on....

Hope everyone is having a great start to the summer.  That's all from our little corner of the world.  More updates later.  Love to all....

Bummer!

Took Taylor to the doctor yesterday and he says she pulled her triceps muscle and has a pretty deep bruise. I was so glad nothing was torn but he told her no swimming for three weeks...which means no swim team.  She was very sad and cried all through lunch at Applebee's.  I think she is feeling better now, but we are all very disappointed.  I know she would have done so well.  But this does free up a lot of time for other summer fun!  And she can always do swim team next year, I guess.

This weekend, we are travelling to Mom's for Memorial Day.  Anissa has recruited a bunch of the cousins to go work on Grandma and Grandpa Heath's garage because they (and by they, I mean Grandpa) keep tripping over stuff.  It should be a big job, but many hands make light work...so hopefully we'll be done in no time. 

Next Tuesday and Wednesday, I am watching Bella for Chad.  Depending on what time we get home Monday, I may have her Monday night too.  This will be fun, she is such a cutie! 

Nothing much else going on....we'll keep you posted as the summer flies by.  Hope to hear from you all soon! Much Love!

Shaylie's Graduation Day

Today is Shaylie's last day of school.  We are going to a program and graduation at 2:30 today.  I am very proud of my little girl. She is reading at a mid-1st grade level and Mrs. Sewell said she flew through the end of level tests.  I know she is going to do great in First grade.  She is excited to go to the new school, now that we have had a tour and taken some of the mystery out of it.  I'm sure the summer will go by fast.

Taylor hurt her arm yesterday either during or after her school swim party.  She said she heard a pop in her arm and there is a bruise and a dent in the muscle of her arm.  I fear that she tore something, which may mean that she won't be able to do swim team.  I hate to take her to the Doctor but we may have to for this just to make sure she can still do her activities.  If she can't, there will be some serious disappointment for all of us around here.  We'll see.

Scott just signed and sent in his papers this week for his new job with the Department of Technology Services (DTS), or dits, as Scott calls them.  This means a big pay raise for us, but he can also be fired on the spot now. No job security as far as we can tell....we'll see how it goes.  I think it all kicks in on July 1.  He is also serving on a committee with some big wigs from up north to upgrade some service or equipment or protocol or something....I think it is a good sign for him.  Of course, he's brilliant...they must know that by now.

I am looking forward to summer. I've got some projects I want to work on including editing Grandpa Heath's life story. He gave me some disks a year or so ago and asked me to work on them, get them burned to CD, but I haven't been able to until now. I am excited to read it and get it preserved.  I also want to get busy writing.  I need to get into the habit so that next year when the girls are off at school I can have some really good quality time "working on my craft." Hee hee.  I also have to do some painting, because Scott won't let me buy any art for my house. He says why should we pay for someone elses artwork when you could do it better.  Isn't he awesome? Even if it isn't necessarily true...you gotta love that.  I think I'm going to keep him for always. 

So, as usual, I am rambling.  I will get on to the day.  I am hoping to take some pictures of the house and post them since I am having no luck getting anyone to come and visit.  Now that the weather's turning hot, I'll have to wait until fall probably....not to take pictures but to entice people here.  I'll try to get the pictures posted whether it is hot or not.  **Love to all--The Jesienouski's

Finished for the year...

Yay! I am done with the school year. And what a crazy last day it was. Everything that could go wrong with the computer lab did. Computers crashing, internet down, printer died...you name it.  I spent most of the day following the tech guy around the school complaining.  I'm sure he'll be thrilled that I am no longer there.

The girls still have about 3 days left.  Mostly fun, end-of-year stuff: swim days, graduations, and yearbook signings.  Then summer will be full on busy.  We are planning around swim team and lessons now, but we have managed to find time for a few other fun things...the first being a trip to Lagoon in June.  I still have to make reservations at the RV park, but we are planning to camp a couple nights so we don't have to rush up and back.  Maybe we'll get to see some family while we are up in the north country.

Tonight is our Ward BBQ/Block party that is being held at our house.  I hope it all goes well. We are not in charge, we've just volunteered our place for the party site. It feels weird that there are going to be a ton of people here and I don't really know what is going on.  I'm sure the people in power know what they're doing.

Well, Scott is making some big noise down in the train room.  I better go see what the latest project is.  Love to all and hope to hear from you all soon.

Last Week!

This is my last week at school.  Shaylie is off this week, so yesterday she went to her friend Rebecca's house (Thank you Rosie!) And today she is with me here at school.  I'm sure we have enough stuff to keep her busy for today, but I'm pretty sure she'll be bored before long if she comes any more days.  Tomorrow, I am watching Bella too...but I don't think Bella will stay at school very long with me.  I was already planning on taking the last hour of the day to go to Shaylie's Post-assessment with Mrs. Sewell. 

Shaylie is sad to have school end.  She wants to go to first grade tomorrow and is having a hard time understanding the concept of Summer Break.  I'm sure she'll get it soon.  I still haven't signed her up for swiim lessons, so I need to do that...I've been so busy it seems.

Today, we had the exterminator out to the house to get rid of a nest of BEES we had living in a pipe in our house. Or at least we thought it was in the pipe, it turns out that it is actually in between the stucco and the framing, I guess.  He has sprayed (and charged me a huge price) and said let's watch and see what happens.  He mentioned peeling away the stucco but I am avoiding that if at all possible.  I suggested that we just put some kind of smaller screen over the exhaust pipe where they are getting in...if there is no reason why we can't just leave the nest in there.  I just don't want the bees coming and going.  He thought it might be worth a try, but he'll probably charge me another arm for doing it.  I could have done all this myself...Grrr.  Oh well...I guess I didn't have the Bee Suit, so that is worth something.

I, myself, am looking forward to summer.  As always, it will be a challenge to keep the girls busy but it is always a fun time to spend together.  We usually plan out some projects at the beginning and this year the girls will have swim to look forward to as well.  We also want to plan some fun activities with our friends and their families.

We hope everyone is doing well.  We love to hear from you....both on your Blogs and on ours.  Keep us posted....and keep posting.  Talk to you again soon.

Railfanning

My friend James and I went Railfanning over the weekend. We drove up to Thistle, because I had never seen the mudslide and I wanted to see the tunnels as I am going to have tunnels on my train, when we got there, we took some pictures of the area and as luck would have it, a train showed up! That was only one of about 50 pictures I took in the course of a few minutes!

New Pictures!

I have uploaded new pictures to our photo page.

No Trucks!

I took this picture at Shaylie's last soccer game, I thought it was funny.

Summer's A-comin'!

We are SO ready for summer at the Jesienouski house.  The girls are finishing up end of level testing and we are gearing up for the warm weather.  We just got our pool set up and bought new suits and pool toys.  I am heading to the local swimming pools this weekend to sign Taylor up for Swim Team and Shaylie for swimming lessons.  It's a big committment for Tay, 4 days a week with meets on Saturdays (some Thursdays) but she is ready for it.  Shaylie really needs to get her swim on...she still doesn't go in the pool without floaties and it's about time she learns, so we may sign her up for a couple sessions this summer.  Scott has his floaty out in the pool so he can cool off after hot bike rides and I have my new cute (easy) summer hair.  So, what more can we need?  The only think I can think of is some visitors....we would love to have family come visit us...Dad, Pam, Rose, Mike, Erin, Bry, Dena....Are you reading this?  We still have to show off our new house...plenty of room...air conditioning working....pool in the yard.  I can't think of any reasons not to come. :-)

Anywho, we are going to have a busy and fun-filled summer.  Hopefully, there will be some time for getting out of the heat for us too, but we'll have to do some planning.  We will keep you all posted as the days go by.  Love to all.

We're Back Online!

Yay! We now have Internet at our house again!  What a relief...you never realize how much you depend on something until it isn't there anymore....wait, should I have said that in Spanish? Oh well.  We are so glad to be back in the CyberCommunity.  We have been having tons of fun settling into our new place, getting to know new neighbors, and getting ready for the winding down of the school year.  Scott has almost completed the first phase of his first real train layout and he is having a great time.  Taylor had a wonderful birthday party.  She and her friends all had a raucous, sleepless night followed by soccer games and canyon hiking the next day.  They all survived, though they were mighty tired.  Shaylie is still asking if we can move back to our old house, as she misses all her old playmates.  She is finding new ones here though, so I don't imagine it will take long to forget all about the old place.  I am having fun decorating and buying furniture.  I have many more walls and rooms in this place than before, so I imagine it will take a while. I am in no hurry...I want to find things that will last us a while and that we really love.  We are mostly out of boxes and that is the most important thing.  So, that it is from our little corner of the world.  Hope everyone we love is healthy, happy, and....I tried to think of another h word, but nothing came....Oh well.  Love to everyone.....bye.

A Post!

I was going to get on yesterday from school and tell everyone that we are still SANS internet, but Scott already did...so I am posting today to tell you all about Taylor's birthday plans.  We have a party planned for both Wednesday (just family) and for Friday night (for friends).  We found a fun Movie Star Mystery party game that I bought online (think How to Host a Mystery but for kids).  It looks like it will be a lot of fun.  The girls are going to come dressed up in character and then sleepover for the night.  Taylor doesn't want her pesky little sister or her cousin to be there (She is turning 10 after all) so we are going to see if she can spend the night with Aunt Anissa and Anje.   She has asked for a motorized scooter and heelys for her birthday present, neither of which are very easy to find unless you order them online.  I'm sure she'll be pleased with whatever she gets.  We'll let you all know how everything goes after the weekend.  Hopefully we will be able to post from our own internet connection.  Wish us luck!  Talk to you soon...

Still no internet at home

We still don't have the internet at home so i am writing this at work.  We are getting setup on May 1st, so that will be a joyous day.  We are finding that we do not like satellite TV.  They say that it is 24.99 a month, but then there is equipment rental fee, guide fee, DVR fee, fees if you have more than 2 TV's, plus we get fewer channels than we used to.  Being able to pause tv and record shows so far hasn't covered it.  Too bad we have this 18 month contract.  Oh well, then we will be able to "dump the dish."  What is amazing is though it appears that everyone in our area has a dish.

 My train set is coming along with a few setbacks, but it looks like everything will be operating by this weekend.  Then I have to decorate. (for the next few years ;-) )

We are liking our new ward, just wish our records will transfer over so that we can start getting our introductory visits from the Elder's Quorum, Relief Society, Bishopric, Primary, etc.  Oh well, the longer it takes, the longer till we get callings ;-)

Taylor and Shaylie both got really nice Easter dresses and they look really cute in them.  When I get the home computer setup, I will put the pictures on the net.  E ya later!

Posting from School

What a weekend! We are all moved into our new house, though we are living out of many boxes still.  Slowly, but surely we are making progress.  Anissa and Mom were down over the weekend to help us get things finished up. Anissa did an awesome job organizing my new kitchen and Taylor organized our Big Room.  It will take us a while to settle in but it is already beginning to feel like home.  I still need to call to hook up TV and Internet...it's a good thing we have plenty to keep us occupied and there is always the DVD player.  It only took me about 10 minutes to "commute" to school today.  I was thinking it would take more like 20-30, so that was a good surprise.  Maybe it won't be so bad...only 35 days of school left anyway.  A few things left to do at the old house: clean up the garage and do a little scrubbing, then I'll turn the keys over to Shaun.  Sad but Yay!  Post again soon...Love to all!

Last Post from our Old Address

As soon as I'm finished posting this message, I am taking the cable modem into Charter to have our service disconnected, so this might be the last post from home you will see for a while...Scott can still post from work and I from school, but we probably won't have internet at the house for a bit. I don't know how we'll survive.  Then again, if we can survive this move, we can survive just about anything.   

We are moving the majority of our stuff to the new house tonight.  We've rented a truck and enlisted the EQ to come load.  We are giving them pizza in lieu of wages....although we wouldn't have given them wages anyway...good friends and neighbors all.  Anyway, love to everyone....talk to you again as soon as we can.

Wow!

We had a whirlwind day yesterday...closed on our house, paid off the van and all our debts (other than the big new house one), bought new furniture for the new living room, and we got the keys to our new place!!  So we went out last night and just basked in the fact that it finally belongs to us!

After we left the house, we went exploring the neighborhood a bit and found an especially awesome park with water features not quite completed yet but pretty close to where we live, so the kids will have a blast there this summer. 

I am almost set to go back and paint...I bought the colors for the girls' rooms and I decided on a color for the bathroom, so as soon as I get that I'll be ready to go.  Fun, fun, fun...

Not a lot of time to chat....lots to do before the Big Move on Friday/Saturday...wanted to keep you all up-to-date.  Thanks for checking into our lives...hope to hear from you soon....T:)