Girls Christmas dance recital

The girls had their Christmas recital on Saturday. They did so good! It was Kyndee's first recital and she was so excited. I'm so proud of them!

IT"S A.......

Boy! We are adding a boy to our family.

More pictures from the rodeo

All the cousins.

Our little Cowgirl

We went to Pheonix a few weeks ago to see family. While we were there, we went to a rodeo and Cadence got a chance to do the mutton bustin with her cousins. She had a lot of fun even though she only stayed on for about 3 seconds. She said she wants to try it again next year.

The little lost turtle

A couple of months ago, Cody came home from work and told me he had bought something. He said to me "Don't be mad ok". So I am thinking oh boy what did he get now. LOL. He goes to the truck and gets out an aquarium with 2 turtles. He tells me that he stopped at Petco and found these turtles. Someone had just dropped them off at Petco one day and so they were really cheap and he just couldn't pass up this GREAT deal! I am thinking Oh boy, more animals for ME to take care of. Do we not have enough animals? A dog, a cat, fish, chickens, ducks, and now turtles. Anyone want a pet? Just pick one! LOL.
Anyhow the girls share a room and just had to have them in their room. So about 5 days ago we noticed one of the turtles was missing. Of course no one would fess up. Seriously, how do you lose a turtle that is in an enclosed aquarium? So I made the girls clean up their room the other day. I refused to help only supervise because I just knew we were going to find a dead turtle. I know I am terrible. Well, we never found it which I was thankful for but still wondering where it could have gone. A few hours later, Cody went in their room and hears a weird clunking noise. (The bedrooms have wood floors). He starts looking around and finds under Cadences bed the turtle walking around. I couldn't believe it was alive. Ahh the joys of kids and pets! That's how we keep things exciting at our house. LOL!

What I've done today

-I woke up

-Got myself and the girls ready

-Took Cadence to school

-Came home, did some laundry

-Ate breakfast

-Got the mail

-Went to my parents house

-Ate lunch

-Went to the Dr. and listened to baby Cottens heartbeat for the first time!


Yep, that's right Kyndee is not going to be the baby anymore. We are expecting baby Cotten April 29th. I am 10 weeks along. We are so excited to have another little one on the way. And it was so exciting to go hear the heartbeat today. It helped me to know that everything is ok.

Kindergarten

Yesterday I went to help in Cadence's kindergarten class. I love going to see how things work, and how the teacher does things, and how Cadence interacts in the class. It's also fun getting to know the kids in Cadence's class. Yesterday, I went out with the kids to recess to help and I noticed that Cadence and one of the boys in her class were holding hands. My first thought was No, she is too young for that. So later when we were coming home we had this conversation.

Me, Cadence Is that kid your boyfriend?

Cadence, No

Me, Then why were you holding hands?

Cadence, (shrugs her shoulders) well, he likes me.

Me, Well don't let him kiss you!!! Your Dad will be going after him, even if he is only 5. LOL.


Of course this boy is one of the most roudy boys in the class. I had a panic moment last night as I thought about how it's going to be when she is a teenager. I don't want my girls to grow up. I can't believe that in a few weeks Cadence is going to be 6.

Good News

I am so so happy to have my hubby back home. He just got home on Thursday after being gone for a month. I am so glad to have him back. I just hope he can stay home for a little while. I'm so thankful for such awesome family and friends. Thanks to all those who were there for me and listened to me complain while he was gone. It's such a good feeling to have our family back together again.

The Stump Gulch Fire

This is what Cody has been working on. He is in Montana. This fire broke out Saturday sometime and burned about 10,000 acres. They were trying to protect several houses. He kept telling me he was getting smoked out. Now I know why. Cody said their crew was on the news. These pictures were all I could find. As far as I know they were able to save all of the houses. The structure you see on fire is an outstation. from what I heard that was the only building lost.

1st day of Kindergarten

She really was excited to go to school even though she doesn't look like it. She has been in school for almost 1 week. I got to help in her class today, and the kids are so cute! I love being able to help out and see how things work. Her teacher is awesome! Next I will get a picture of Kyndee going to preschool.

Two cookbooks I'm loving right now.

This one has so many good egg recipes in it. My sister-in-law Melanie bought it for me. And I love it. It also has lots of good info on the chickens and fresh eggs. This one I picked up because it said it was to help get your kids to eat better. I think it's a cool concept although not for everyone. This author purees her veggies and adds it into her meals to get her kids eating better. Although I think my kids eat pretty good, they can always use more veggies.

What's happening around here

Summer is almost over so here are some things my kiddos are loving. They absolutely love our chickens. Some of them are named and some are not. The kids just pick them up and carry them all over. I know for most people it's not a normal thing but for us and our house, I'm am usually yelling get the chickens and ducks out of the house. Yes, we got 3 ducks about 2 months ago. The more the merrier right? Maybe. I never though I would say this, but I do like having the chickens for the eggs. I love getting fresh eggs. And the kids think it's so much fun to see the different color of eggs we get. We get brown, bluish/greenish, and white eggs now. We do have a chicken coop, but some of the chickens started laying the eggs on the lawn. One day I was walking all over the grass trying to find eggs. I thought to myself Wow, it's like an easter egg hunt everyday!

Here are the roosters, I think they are pretty cool looking. I always thought they only crowed in the morning, Oh no, they crow all day long. Anyone want them? Seriously!

These ones are Rosa (white one) and Tiny. The kids named them. Tinys not so tiny anymore.

Kyndee was helping the chicken walk. LOL. Apparently she didn't think it was doing a good enough job. I guess it needed some help. The sad thing is the chicken lets her.

The kids start school this week, which they are really excited about. I can't believe that Cadence is going to kindergarten. She got to meet her teacher a few days ago and I know that she will just love her. Kyndee got to go check out her preschool and see her teacher. She already knows her cause it's Cadence's old teacher.

Cody had to leave for Montana and has been gone for a week. He could be gone for a month. I'm not really looking forward to that. He has been doing project work and on fires. Man I miss that guy! I've decided they need to come up with a rent-a-husband kind of thing for those of us that have husbands that work out of town. I just need someone to do some stuff around the house, do some yard work, and fix my broken car.

The trainer that I was working with for the biggest loser challege decided to do another competition. I am not doing the comp again, but I am still working out with all of them. I love it. Pam kicks my butt, but I feel amazing. I never thought I would want to run, but a couple of weeks ago I ran 3 miles which I had never done before. My next goal is 4 miles. I am thinking about training for a half marathon. I'm not sure yet. I really never thought I would say that. We'll see how it goes.

Anyways, that's what is going on with our family.

Summer time

One of Cadence's favorite things to do is play games on the computer.

Kyndee is so excited for dance. She asks me everyday when she gets to go.

Just chillin

She is thinking when is my Daddy coming home.

swimming

We went swimming with my friend Allison a few days ago. Cadence loved it, but Kyndee not so much. She just sat on the edge of the pool most of the time and put her feet in. Does Cadence look relaxed enough? She is too funny.

before and after pictures

Here are my before and after pictures. I wasn't going to post them because I am embarrased how fat I actually let myself get. But I was told I should post them to show how much progress I have made. I feel so much better and healthier and stonger. Our last challenge was to run 2 miles without stopping. I didn't think I could do it. I couldn't even run 1 mile before that day. Well I did it. I ran the whole 2 miles without stopping and I even sprinted at the end. I still have 7 more pounds until I hit my goal weight but I know that I can do it. My trainer Pam is awesome. In 8 weeks 8 girls lost 180 pounds. How amazing is that. I came in second place and only lost by 1 percent. It is a bummer but I am still proud of myself. I ended up losing 23 pounds in 8 weeks. Pam (the trainer) is starting up another competition in August. If anyone is interested let me know and I will get you her number.

I have lost 6 inches off my waist, 5 inches off my hips, 1 inch off my calves, and 2 inches off my arms.

Happy Birthday Cody!

Today is Cody's birthday! Happy Birthday honey, I love you! So I wanted to write 31 things that I love about this guy, since he turned 31 today.

1. He is a wonderful Dad!
2. He is a very hard worker.
3. He knows how to make me laugh.
4. He can always seem to get me in a good mood.
5. He is easy going.
6. He is an awesome husband.
7. When he needs to get something done, he drops everything to do it right then.
8. He loves animals.
9. He is always willing to help someone in need.
10. He is very caring.
11. He is a fun person and always keeps things interesting.
12. He is very supportive.
13. He puts up with me. LOL.
14. He will talk to me on the phone for hours when he is out of town working.
15. He likes to watch movies with me.
16. He is not affraid to ask for advise from others.
17. He is not affraid to ask for directions if we get lost.
18. He is not affraid to buy me tampons or pads.
19. He is practical.
20. He always looks for the best deals when we buy something.
21. One of his favorite stores is D.I.
22. He is a firefighter.
23. He is always friendly to everyone.
24. He stays up late with me at night.
25. He like to watch Jay Lenos headlines.
26. He watches chick flicks with me (even though he always says they are gay).
27. He is good at solving problems and coming up with solutions.
28. He works very hard to give our family what we need.
29. He appreciates the small things in life.
30. He is the most handsome guy I know.
31. He is responsible.

I absolutely love spending time with this guy. I am so thankful that he is my husband.

A little bit crazy!

I thought summer was suppose to be easy going, and relaxing. Well ours has been anything but that. It's been a little crazy around here. First, Cadence played T-ball, which she loved and I loved going to watch her games. Then I went to a family reunion of course, and girls camp (although I was only there for 1 day), and we had an all day activity with the youth at Warm Springs (which is a little before Vegas), and we have youth conference coming up, and I am suppose to head up to my cousins house in Central Utah on Thursday with my Mom and sister. Cadence starts a program at the elementary tomorrow for 2 weeks to help her with her letters and numbers to better prepare her for Kindergarten. Oh and I started a biggest loser program about 5 weeks ago. I am working out with 10 other women including my sister and we have a personal trainer. We have to work out with her at least 3 times a week. I love my trainer but she is tough! But the good news is I have lost 15 pounds as of last week. We weigh in every Monday. It's so exciting to see results although sometimes I seriously want to die. The first few days after working out were hard I didn't want to go up stairs or even sit down (from all the darn lunges we had to do). Oh besides working out 3 times a week with her we have to work out 3 times a week on our own and of course I am on a diet. At first, I really wondered what the heck I got myself into but now I am really glad I have done it. I have 3 weeks left to go with the program. Here are some pictures of the kids. In a couple of weeks I will post pictures. I have already gone down a couple of pants sizes. Wahoo! Cody has been gone more with work, I guess fire season is here. He just left for the Grand Canyon today. Please help me stay sain! I think I am going to need a girls night out soon!

Have you ever found one of these in your backyard?

It was a little scary at first but then Cody decided to hold it and even got Cadence to hold it. He saw it a few days earlier but couldn't catch it. Then, I found it in our chicken coop. Cody looked it up on the internet before holding it and found it is a California King snake. They are not poisonous. The snake was very tame and we wondered if it was someones pet. Cody wanted to keep it as a pet, but I am not a snake fan.

Cody tried to get Kyndee to hold it but she didn't want anything to do with it. However she did want to show off some of our chickens.