Wow! What have we been up to?

Time sure flies! Besides just livin' life, we haven't really been up to much! I am going to attempt a quick run down of the last 9 months! It may be long.. suit yourself!

We hosted Thanksgiving this year. I LOVE hosting parties. I wish I could do it more often!

Joshy turned 8. On his birthday, we went swimming and then to leatherby's. We then had a friend party at Jumpin Jacks.

Christmas is always fun! My Mom has a christmas party usually the weekend before Christmas and the kids almost always decorate gingerbread houses.

We always go to Grandma Cynthia's for Christmas Eve.

And then to Grandpa Jims on Christmas Day. The boys got all sorts of loot!!

We then celebrated New Years Eve at Brian and Lisa's. They have been hosting the past couple of years. We always have fun at their house! This is a pic of the kids after midnight fresh into 2010. Joshy isn't in the pic b/c he was toooooooo tired.

Jake passed hunter safety in January. He can now officially hunt. His first hunt will be the turkey hunt in April. For his birthday present he wanted an expensive gun to hunt with so he had a "small" (ha ha) family party, with a few friends.

(UGH! I just deleted Jake's picture blowing out his candles! Dang it!) He had a "sundae bar" rather than a birthday cake. It was fun and super yummy!

Everyone in line to make their sundaes.

Jared turned 32 this year. He is an old fart. They put this hat on him at the restaurant and sang Happy Birthday. So glad it wasn't me!

We went to Moab in April. It was super fun. At first, i was way nervous and annoyed about all the money it was going to cost. Though, once we got there, and after this first small "obstacle", and also once I noticed I was the only wimp getting out of the jeep... I calmed my nerves and we had TONS OF FUN! Josh didnt' get out of the jeep for any obstacles. He was a trooper. Jake always seem to find a way to get out and camcord everyone. The trail was slow going.

Jake camcording.

The boys checking it out.

Our (rented) Jeep and some friends!

The boys went on the turkey hunt. Unfortunately, the weather sucked and it was too cold for the turkeys. Apparently, they dont like to come out of their house when it is freezing cold and snowing. Sounds like me! They did catch quite a bit of fish though and still managed to have a GREAT time. Derek and Cynthia rented a warm and cozy cabin for the boys to sleep in.

Easter! We had a great Easter. The easter bunny took 2 spools of yarn, 1 for each boy, and wrapped them around the house. It was a tangled weave of a mess that took quite some time to unravel! The boys loved it.

My Dads (Grandpa Jim) annual easter egg hunt and breakfast. All the kiddos wanting to find their eggs.

Because of the weather, Grandpa did a hunt both inside and outside.
Josh and Evie

Jakers

The Easter Bunny's weave of a mess! Watch out! Dont trip over that yarn!

Decorating eggs.

Mothers day! we had a mothers day luncheon at our house. We had sandwiches (chicken salad, turkey, ham & roast beef), salads, veggies, fruit, shrimp and yummy cheesecake for dessert. It was a great day! We had the kids take their Moms or Grandma's order, and then they had to get their food for them. It was so cute! Here you see my Mom giving Zach her order.

Great Grandma and Grandma Cynthia circling their order. Jake & Josh waiting patiently.

All the Moms. Such a poor picture. For some reason jared couldn't get the flash to work when he took the picture. Totally OPERATOR error! And of course the only pic with somewhat lighting..I am talking!

the punch. I wish I could take nice food shots.

some of The grub.

Joshy started rec soccer. He plays purdy darn good! As in, one of the "top" players on his team. Oh yea. He scored his first goal last weekend. Jake really wants to play soccer as well. Jake is also a very good soccer player. Josh learned all his skillz from his brotha. We are trying to find a soccer program for Jake....

This goalie let 2 goals slip through... that's okay!

Here he is getting ready to score that goal!

If you are still reading this..... that about sums it up. There are actually so many things in between those! However, I am so dang tired of this blog right now. Hopefully I will post more frequently so this "novel" crap doesnt happen anymore.

What I am thankful for Day 8

I am thankful for..... http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/. Without her, I still wouldnt know what I was cooking for Thanksgiving dinner!! She has many, many great recipes. The following are all of her recipes that I am cooking for Thanksgiving (Sorry, but I dont know how to "hide" the web addresses, where you can just click on the name..):

Turkey brine: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/pws-turkey-brine/
Turkey: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/10/roasted_thanksgiving_turkey/
Mashed Potatoes: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/11/delicious_creamy_mashed_potatoes/
Stuffing – probably this one: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/11/stuffing_dressing_my_favorite_thanksgiving_food/
Cranberry Sauce: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/11/homemade-cranberry-sauce/

This apple pie: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/12/scrumptous-and_i_do_mean_scrumptous-apple_pie/
This chocolate pie: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/02/the_meal_of_love_part_iv_de-licious_chocolate_pie/

If you haven't heard of Pioneer Woman ("PW") or tried any of her recipes, you are surely missing out. :)

What I am thankfor for Day 7

I am thankful for..... my Car! Seriously!! I drive a 1996 honda accord that runs amazing. This car drives my family everywhere we need to go. In the mornings, we have as little as 2 kids up to 5 or 6 kids piled in my little 2 door coupe on the way to school. What a great investment this car was 7 years ago! Yep, we bought it used. It also has about 175,000 miles on it. Too bad the body isn't as nice as I wish it was. With my kids getting their bikes in and out of the garage, the sun damage and some DIRT BAG hitting my bumper in the post office parking lot, its got some wear and tear. Thankfully the engine is still happy!

What I am thankful for Day 6

I am thankful for.... my job ! I am so thankful that I am able to have a job during these rough economic times. I work for a GREAT boss and company, who believes you put your family first. I am able to work my kids school hours and I am also able to volunteer at my kids school. I really enjoy my job and feel very lucky to be where I am at today.

What I am thankful for day 5

I am thankful for....... Tom & Shirley! Jareds grandparents, my kids GREAT Grandparents. Tom & Shirley come to our house every Friday and watch my kids for a couple of hours since it is early day at school. They always bring soda pop for my kids, bring Jared and me breakfast, spoil my kids at Walmart and just help us out tremendously. I LOVE that my kids have gotten to know their great grandparents. Most kids dont get that opportunity, especially on the level my kids are able to. They have watched Jake since he was an infant. He got to spend the night. He would get watched on Thursday and spend the night to Friday. Since Josh has come along, those sleepovers have phased out, but thankfully, 11 years later Tom and Shirley are both still able to watch my kids. Tom & Shirley both turned 80 this year. ( I think)

What I am thankful for day 4 ~

I am thankful for.....my inlaws!! Jareds parents, Derek and Cynthia, are also very nice. They spoil us rotten and buy us lots of fun things. They love our boys so much and they are really great grandparents. I also love that they dont mind hanging out with my family. We usually have one big gathering rather than two. That is so great. I LOVE big gatherings! :)

What I am thankful for Day 3!

Please note...these "thankfuls" are in no certain order. I just have to make them last for another 12 days! :)

What I am thinkful for on day 3 is...... my Mom and Dad! My Mom and Dad are a big part our lives. Though, I dont get to talk to my Mom as much as I would like, she is my biggest cheerleader and stands behind us no matter what. She is always there to help us, no matter how big or small the "help" may be. Her husband Dave, is also a great guy. We are really happy to have him as a part of the family. I know they love us very much.

My Dad, whom I do talk to very often, is also just a great, great person. He is also there to help us whenever we may need help. I refer to him as my second main man. He always steps in when Jared is away and takes good care of me and my boys. He is a wonderful grandpa and will drop anything he is doing to come to our aid.

We are so lucky to have such great, suppportive, loving parents. I just love them all so much!! We are also lucky, since my parents are divorced, that they have "chosen" to be friendly with each other. It makes planning things so easy.

* So, I was going to download pictures for this post, but apparently I have used my maximum allowed storage space for photos - unless I want to buy more space. I guess no more pics. :(

What I am thankful for - Day 2

I am thankful for....My Boys!! I am so thankful they are healthy, smart, mostly polite, funny, nice, cute and never back talk - hahahaha who am I kidding? Forget that last one.



They are sweethearts most of the time. They bring me MUCH joy. I love them so much! I couldnt imagine life without them.

What I am thankful for - Day One

There is some stuff going around Facebook where you should write what it is you are thankful for every day up to Thanksgiving - or something along those lines. I thought it sounded like fun, and wanted to participate because I am thankful for so many things. I have been blessed which such a great life.! I would rather do it on my blog than Facebook, so here goes!

I would have to start day one with..... My husband! I am so thankful and happy to have Jared in my life. Jared is sexy, smart, strong, funny, good cook, argumentive, and such, such, such a great husband and Dad! Our boys just idolize him.

When I think about him right now, I just laugh. We laugh at each other and the kids quite a bit. Jared puts up with a lot mess with the boys and me, and mostly takes it in stride. He isn't much of a romantic, but one thing I know for sure, he loves me and the boys with all his heart. He works hard for us and I am such a lucky girl to call him MINE. :)

Where has the time gone? (Revised about 10 different times)

I have been planning on posting pics from halloween since, well...halloween. I cant believe I am doing it after Thanksgiving!! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We did! We went to my Dad's house with all the family. It was alot of fun!. I was going to take pics of the Thanksgiving football game goin' on, but I was too lazy. It was cute tho watching my kids have so much fun. They really enjoyed the football game.

I am on the computer tonight in an attempt to plan my sons 7th birthday party! My baby is growing up so quickly! The year has really snuck up on me. I usually have his birthday party planned in November - this year I am planning it the week before!

Now, back to the Halloween..... Halloween was a great day for us and we had alot of fun. I hope you had a happy halloween also! Earlier in the day I was in charge of an activity for Jake's class halloween party. Though I was super nervous, it turned out really well. I am planner and everything has to be just right. I only had 2 short days to plan this activity. By Thursday night I was doing a pretend setup on my kitchen counter following the pictures I drew in my notebook. I can be a bit crazy with the planning. Below are pictures of my "examples" I was going to show his class. They had the choice of a witch cupcake or a "dirt" cupcake.

For trick or treating we had Jareds parents over, my brother Robby & Zachary over, my other brother Brian, Lisa, Nate & Ty, and my Dad showed up for a minute. Matt & Teena decided to stay home and trick or treat in their neighborhood and my Mom had to work so she couldn't make it. (We missed you Mom, Dave and Matt, Teena, Bryce & Evie! )

These are pics of the boys before school. They were unknown phantoms...oooh, scary. (You see behind the boys there is an archway and then a doorway and then another doorway? Well, that is our closet and that is how the neighbor boy walked in our house the other day and saw Jared standing there naked...... I dont know if it should be....but it was pretty dang funny! )

This is Josh and Jared's Dad. Can you tell who is who? :)

The kids (& Jared) before trick or treating. The boys' black costumes blend in with each other. I cant tell if I have both kids in this pic or if I cut off Joshy's head.

This is what our trick or treaters got to see when they came to our door for candy. They had to get their loot from these good lookin' men. (In looking at this picture it makes me wonder if they are smiling for the camera under their masks? If they are that would be so funny! I am so easily amused. You did know those were masks right?!? )

There were only a few kids who were too scared to come up and get candy and I dont blame them!

That was a quick run down of our halloween and Thanksgiving.! As mentioned above, I hope that you all had a happy halloween and great thanksgiving!

Now, for everyone who always tells me I need to "update my blog" (Mom, Katie, Anjie....) Enjoy! I hope that I can get Joshy's birthday pics up before the end of the year! :)

Have a great day!

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving. I was a little nervous as we were cooking a turkey, with a new recipe (we brined it), for 24 hungry people. The turkey turned out okay. Unfortunately, I forgot to take during and after photos but this was our house - clean before the storm!
Most of the carpet in our house was covered with plastic.

We borrowed the tables and chairs from Dylans church. Thanks! They made our dinner a succes.