Time to experience life

October

2011-11-02T13:08:00.001-07:00

This is kyles first soccer game. One of the two I was able to go to because of work.

This is Kyle singing at the Marvin and Jessie assembly they do at the school. Here he is singing about being service kids. I had to take time off to come and see it. He also won a goodie bag from LINS because they pulled his name out of a box. Rachel won one as well.

This is Kyles last game. I had to take time off work to go and see it. Jenny and Justin came down to hang out and see Kyle play. We had fun together hanging out and enjoying some soccer. Kyle did good but also Ray ended up coaching because the coach's wife did not want to so she asked Ray to. The last picture is of Kyle and Hunter (Kyle's best friend) They were not on the same team and was totally bumbed because of it. They gave everyone a medal for playing. Kyle had to take his medal the next day to show and tell. He loves that thing.

These were taken for the Halloween carnival last Wednesday. The pig guy is Jess Finlinson, he is a pig, his wife Karri was a pig, His daugther Kylie was a pig, and Hunter was the big bad wolf, their daughter Megan didn't want to be a pig so she ended up being Snow White. The kids had fun at the carnival. I helped Karri out with the raffle so I had to stay at the booth all night which wasn't too bad because I had someone to talk to. This was our first halloween carnival. The kids had fun.

Lastly, Halloween. We went over to Karri and Jess's for Hunter's birthday party then we went trick or treating together. The kids had fun and we made the men walk door to door with the kids while Karri and I stayed in the truck, it was nice and warm in the truck. We would drive them to the houses they couldn't walk to. The kids had fun but they were really tired. Their feet hurt and by the end they were dead tired. The kids fell asleep that night. We had left our candy on the porch with a sign that said take one. But I forgot to turn the porch light on so we didn't have very many people come.

Well that is October. I forgot to mention that we wen to conference at the beginning of the month but I forgot my camera to take any pictures.

October went by really fast. I am looking forward to what November brings.

WEIGHT LOSS

2011-10-25T12:59:00.000-07:00

I know it has been along time since I updated my blog. Like over a year. Things have changed around here, all of them good. The one thing that has changed that I am excited about is I have lost 11 pounds so far on my diet. I am excited and needed to share.

UGH!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-10-19T07:09:00.000-07:00

Well it is a good thing I am leaving Utah for awhile because when I took Rachel to the bus stop this is what I saw:

This was a horrible sight. Disneyland here I come. (By the way we bought a new camera for the trip, because the one we had decided to stop working and all the pictures of gardener village didn't work right. These pictures turned out good huh?)

SCHOOL IS ALMOST OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-04-22T21:40:00.000-07:00

After months of waiting and anticipating this day I am pleased to announce I am on my last packet for my school and I will be done. Hallelujah. I can't wait till I finish and my life can officially begin again. I haven't been able to watch one of our movies in a long time or really do much of anything with out the regret of needing to study lurking in the back of my mind. Hopefully I will be all done in a week. Fingers crossed.

Valentine's Day

2010-02-17T09:17:00.000-08:00

For Valentine's Day we decided to head down to St George, we dropped the kids off at Lanita's house and off we went. We went to a matinee showing of When In Rome, it was funny, I really liked it, except for some parts. After the movie we decided it was too early to eat dinner (5:00) so we went to target and there I bought Ray his gift, I gave him Chuck Season 1. Then we decided to go to dinner. We got to Red Lobster around 5:30 and waited for an hour to get to our table, I didn't think we would wait that long because for one we were a party of two, and second there wasn't alot of people waiting at the restaurant. It wasn't until close to 5:30 when people started trickling in when I realized they had all decided to leave and come back so they didn't have to just sit and wait. Next year that's what we will do.
We got our food pretty fast and our waiter was good to considering there was a lot of people there. After dinner we went to walmart to get our kids some snacks for church and some other things we needed. Then we went to Best Buy because I wanted Chuck season 2 and no where had it except there, and then we headed home. It was a fun day, and I loved spending time with Ray.

What a week

2009-12-15T19:35:00.000-08:00

This week has been a crazy one. Well I have decided to go back to school. I will go to school to become a medical transcriptionist. I am waiting for some more information to come my way before deciding which online school I want to enroll in.
Then Last night I had a startling thing happen.
Megan began to scream bloody murder, so I told her to come to me. I gave her a kiss on the head and I felt something wet. I look down and her head is covered in blood. I began to panic, one because she has blood all over her and two because I am home by myself. So I call Lanita to have her come and help me access the situation, I was so panicy I needed some calming. She came over and helped me clean her up so we could determine if she needed stitches or not. Luckily she didn't but man that gash bled alot.

Today she is okay just some bruising on her head and this little wound. Could my week get any more eventful? The things we go through raising our kids.

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE?

2009-09-01T17:59:00.000-07:00

Recent events have caused me to wonder what's going to happen in the next year. What is Obama, all of his advisors, and every member in the political office going to do to us. I watched Glenn Becks show all last week because it was a special five day program he entitled, REASONABLE QUESTIONS FOR UNREASONABLE TIMES. I was curious what that meant. During his programs he gave a list of questions we needed to ask our representatives and what they were going to do about them. I was apalled at the information Glenn was providing. Obama has surrounded himself with people who are known communist radicals. Representatives has passed bills or are going to pass bills to take away our rights to bear arms, rights that protect us from illegal search and seizures, and also our first ammendment right to free speach; to name a few. What is going to be next. Pretty soon they are going to take away our right to practice the religion we want to.

Glenn Beck opened my eyes to see what is happening to our country that was founded on the belief of Freedom, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Slowly I have seen members of the Government slowly take away our belief. I started reading Glenns new book Common Sense and found in it proof of government not following the constitution. A document they swore to uphold and to defend. I discovered that the Government we have now and have had in the past is not the kind of Government the Founding Fathers had in mind for America. Because I wanted to learn more about the government we are supposed to have. I started reading The 5,000 Year Leap, The Miracle The Miracle That Changed The World. In it I discovered some aweful news. I discovered that the Government we should have is not being taught in political science classes across the country, I found the opposite to be true. The college professors are teaching the kind of government we have now, that the constitution has no basis because it is an outdated document. This is shocking to me. How can that happen and I discovered it was the fact the people wasn't aware it was happening. The people of this country let it happen, didn't question it.
I am just starting my journey down a road I hope will help me understand what I can do to stop the Government from taking things away I hold dear. It wont be long till they start taking our families away from us for some outrageous reason or another. I want all the corruption to stop.

Having said this I am taking Glenn Becks Campaign seriously I am going to do everything in my power to help stop the corruption in our Government. I only wish I could be there when the March On Washington takes place on September 12. Sadly I cannot, funds don't allow.

Are you going to help in the fight for our freedom? if so there is a document I plan on sending to my representatives and ask if you are going to do the same? It is entitled In or Out 2010. The document lists five things every representative needs to ponder before passing anymore bills or whatever. If they aren't up to the challenge the documents urges us to vote them out in 2010. That's what in or out stands for. (I tried to upload the document but I don't know how. If you want the document its on Glenns website, wwww.glennbeck.com.)

My (Linsey's) Beliefs:
I believe in a place where my children can grow up knowing they are in a freedom based country. I believe that all Americans have rights that cannot be taken away from them. I believe in a Heavenly Father who loves us and wants the best for us which is why he has chosen this land as the promised land. I believe that Heavenly Father wanted us to have free land so he helped the Founding Fathers write a document that would change the world forever. I believe in a prophet who leads and guides us. I believe in the Book Of Mormon. I believe in Families. And finally I believe in a government who looks out for the citizens best interest and who also believes in upholding the constitution.
I am no longer burying my head in the sand and thinking things are going to get better. I am tires of elected officials going back on their word. I am no longer saying to myself let someone else do it. I don't want my children telling me later in life, "Why didn't you do something when you had the chance." THE TIME IS NOW TO GET INVOLVED BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. NO MORE.

All I ask Now is what do you believe?

The Waiting Game

2009-07-07T08:52:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me know I hate to wait for things to happen or places to go.
For the past 3-4 months I have been waiting for Rays new job opportunity to happen so he could have a better job and work the hours that are ideal for our little family. I can't take it anymore. I found out we may have to wait till December to have his new job. I am going out of my mind. I have been patient long enough and it is killing me. I think I will kill myself before he gets this job (not really, but I said it for dramatic effect). All I have left to say is WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Disneyland: Where dreams come true!!!!!!! (2)

2009-05-15T20:51:00.000-07:00

The second day was just as good as the first. We rode the teacups again, splash mountain, big thunder mountain railroad and some others Megan loved her snacks while waiting for the others to get off splash mountain.

Rachel and kyle went to go meet Winnie the Pooh and Tiger too.

Rachel is in heaven. She loved the spinning. We rode the ride alot and she loved every minute of it.

After we rode the teacups we went and got our picture taken in front of the castle. I don't have the picture for that one, after the picture we went to the princess fantasy faire to meet the princesses. The last time we came to Disneyland we didn't get to meet the princesses so I wanted to meet them this time. The line was horrible. We waited and hour and a half to meet them. Ray took them else where every once in awhile to let them run around ray bought them popcorn to keep them occupied then they came back and stood in line with me. Kyle decided to take a nap instead of standing there. He looked really relaxed.

Finally we met the princesses. Rachel didn't have the reaction I had hoped. I think it was because she was shocked to see them in person. Cinderella asked her if Ursula stole her voice like she did her friend Ariel and then told that she hoped her voice didn't get stolen too. Isn't that cute?

I think Rachel really did enjoy meeting them deep down in her subconcious. After she met the princesses we took her to the gift shop to buy something, she ended up buying a sleeping beauty shirt, and she wears it all the time.
After we met up with everyone in California Adventure to watch the parade. My camera died so I didn't get pictures till the next day. The kids enjoyed the parade, and I enjoyed the parade. It is my favorite parade. The kids danced along to the music and had a good time. During the parade Rachel had an accident so we waited till the parade was over and went back to the hotel to change her clothes. Then went back to the park to meet up with everyone. Then we went and ate dinner at the Pizza Port. By then the kids were tired and fell asleep before they could eat their dinner. We didn't even try to get the kids to watch the parade, they freaked out right when the sun started going down. The whole vacation we didn't watch the fireworks.

The next day we rode splash mountain again rachel loved splash mountain, she smiled the whole time. I thought she would freak out the first time she rode it but she didn't and she didn't this time either. Big thunder mountain railroad was another hit. She loved the roller coaster and how fast it went to. Later in the day Ray and I decided that the vacation wouldn't be complete if Rachel didn't get to meet Tinkerbell and her friends. So we waited in line and not as long as the line we waited in for the princesses. The wait was only 45 minutes so we called abby and mom and told them they had to come to the tinkerbell ride. So Bailee and Rachel and kyle met Silvermist, Iridessa, and Tinkerbell. Rachel was a little better when she met the fairies. She actually smiled.

After pixie hollow we went to eat lunch at the new orleans restaurant. The food was really yummy. I tried something I have never had before which was ratatouille. It was really good. I was surprised. The kids were so good waiting, they had fun playing with the pirate hates. Megan was mom's buddy again and neither one of them didn't care.
After lunch we headed to splash mountain. Rachel's new favorite. She loved the ride so much we had to buy a picture of her going on it when it was just us in our own log. If you go early you get your own log. This time we rode with Abby and Matt. I bet Rachel could ride this one all day long along with the teacups.

After splash mountain we decided to go to California Adventure and do some of the rides there. We rode on toy story, Screamin, and the other one that't like the big shot in vegas. I loved the rides there. The last time we came here as a family I was pregnant with megan so i had to sit out on all the really cool rides. this time I was not going to let that happen again. So we rode the rides. It was a blast. Then it was time for the parade. I actually have pictures.

Rachel loved this parade and loved the music. I could watch this parade all day and not get sick of it.

After the parade we went back to Disneyland. I had to get a picture of the mickey balloons and the celebrate invitation.
We ate dinner at the mexican restaurant by big thunder mountain railroad, and the food there was really good as well. After we ate we went on big thunder mountain railroad again and I waited with the Kyle and megan while Ray and Rachel went on Splash Mountain for the last time. It was a little chilly so I was lucky that I bought myself a jacket the previous night because I forgot to bring one and Rachel's smelled like pee so she has a new jacket as well. The ride ended up closing so they came back and we all split up to go back to the hotels and get some rest. Ray, Rachel, me, Kyle, megan, and Jenny's family went to tomarrowland to ride space mountain. I stayed with the kids while they rode the ride. Picture this, me alone with 5 kids. Kyle ended up waking up and crying. Kyle said he had to go pee and said it in between cries I was stuck with 5 kids and no one to stay and watch the kids. So I look in the crowd to find a kind person to stay with the others while I took Kyle to the potty. I found someone to stay with them and I ran with Kyle in my arms to the restroom. He made it just in time. I hurry back to sit with the kids and I thanked the girl who ended up staying with them and she told me it was no problem. I am grateful to the girl who helped me out. If she had said no I think I would have started crying right then and there. It would have been a big scene. Anyway they finally come back and I replayed the entire experience. They apologized for taking so long and we headed to do some shopping. I went a little crazy with the souvenires, but hey the kids are worth every dime. We go back to the hotel and watch a movie (it was free because the hotel gives you a pizza and movie night.) The movie we ended up watching was bride wars. It was funny and I fell asleep fast.

The next day we had to pack up and head home. We ate breakfast at Ihop, and then got on the freeway and headed towards Las Vegas. When we woke up that morning Rachel asked me if we were going to Disneyland. I painfully had to tell her no. She loved being there and seeing all the disney characters and just having fun. I had fun, it made me feel like a little kid. I remember telling Jenny that being at Disneyland makes your voice go an octave higher. I felt giddy and happy all the time. It was a good vacation and I am glad we went. My kids bug me about going back, Rachel drew me pictures of the tea cups and the alice ride. She told me we were going in three weeks:) I just smiled and told her no. We are definately going again it is just a matter of when. I am glad Sheridy and her family was able to share the magic with us. Her being there made the vacation even better. It was alot of fun, and I am glad for the memories we made there.

Disneyland: Where dreams come true!!!!!

2009-05-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

This is my tribute to Disneyland. Our family had fun, and the kids have been bugging me to go back. We may have to, sooner than I had originally planned, but here is our wonderful vacation.

On our way to stay at stateline we decided we should stop in Vegas to let the kids watch the Bellagio watershow. I enjoyed it but our kids however did not. They yelled and screamed, and told me it was scary and that they wanted to go home. (For future reference our kids don't like watershows, maybe when they get older, but not right now.) Megan even had a come apart which is very unusual for her.

We made it to Buffalo Bills on Wednesday night planning to have a good rest so we could start out our drive the next day, but some people forgot to tell me about the beds at the hotel. Rachel and Kyle slept fine, Megan didn't sleep well. She ended up sleeping on the floor and she hated every minute of it. I woke up the next morning tired because I didn't sleep very well, because of Megan and the beds were very uncomfortable. We headed to Disneyland and we ended up getting lost a couple of times. The first time was because I told Ray to get off of the wrong exit and we had to drive down a street for a very long ways trying to find an on ramp. We found the on ramp and the second time was I told Ray a different exit to take thinking it would take us right to the hotel and it didn't. Ray told me I am not to navigate ever again or I should just follow the directions we printed off. Anyway we get to our hotel and immediately the kids want to go swimming. Mom came over and hung out with us for a little bit while the kids went swimming. It was a little chilly so we didn't spend much time in the pool. Megan hated the water she did not like to swim. Rachel loved the water. Kyle was our little dare devil. He had taken off his floaties and innertube and decided he would just jump in the water. Luckily Ray was there to catch him. He kept jumping into the pool without anything on. He loved it. Of course he didn't think he could drown so he kept doing it and one time was wasn't watching and it scared me half to death. Luckily Ray turned around just in time to catch him. We go to our room and hung out for a little while before heading to eat dinner at McDonald's. After dinner we headed to downtown disney to do a little looking around and then we headed back to the hotel to get them ready for bed. They needed baths because on the way Rachel decided she would use her new markers and draw on everybody including herself, so the kids needed a bath desperately.

The next morning we woke the kids up because we were going into the park. (By the way the beds at the marriot were heavenly. I slept really good.) Rachel was excited to go ride the teacups and all the other rides. She started getting dressed immediately, she didn't waste any time getting ready. I go to wake up Kyle and he looks at me and says no! tomarrow, then throws the covers back over himself what a cutie:) We finally get kyle out of bed and dressed. Then we headed towards Disneyland. Rachel is definately excited as you can see, Kyle is just along for the ride, he doesn't care.

And Megan is just so smilely and happy to be there. This is my favorite picture. I love it when she scrunches her nose up and smiles. It is so darn cute.

We get into the park and ride the Peter Pan ride and Mr. Toads wild ride. Rachel hated them both I might add. I don't know why they aren't scary maybe it is because they are in the dark. I don't know. We rode the matterhorn next and Rachel is anxious to go on it. Rachel really surprised me by saying she wanted to ride with aunt Abby which is good, (because that means she is finally getting comfortable with everyone.) As you can see she had to carry pluto with her everywhere.

Kyle ended up riding with Ray and I. He enjoyed himself. He didn't scream at all. Rachel even liked the ride as well. She was giggly and smiley the whole time. (That's what abby told me anyway.) Megan had to sit this one out. She's too little to go on it.

Next we rode Dumbo. They loved Dumbo Kyle rode with Ray and Megan and I rode together.

Alice in Wonderland came next and to this day Rachel tells me that we are going to go back and ride the Alice ride again. She loved it. Kyle was a little scared of the ride and cried. Megan cried for a little bit, but then she gave up and just dealt with it. What a good little baby.

Rachel's favorite ride came next. Before we went to Disneyland all she talked about was how she was going to ride on the teacups. Well her wish came true, she got to ride the teacups.

The whole time she was laughing and giggling. She really loves the teacups. She still talks about the teacups. She loves those things.

We headed towards california adventure, I think we did toy story mania but I am not sure. We headed towards Playhouse Disney but ended up missing the show so we had to wait till the next showing and ended up meeting Rays favorite character and of course we had to get his picture taken with him. Megan ended up falling asleep. She had a busy day and couldn't hold on any longer. We went to playhouse disney and megan loved it especially because she was with her second mommy. Kyle just tolerated it and I couldn't get any pictures of Rachel it was too dark.

We went to eat at Taste Pilots grill which is really good food. It is right up there with In and Out burger, and I am usually not a burger fan, but these burgers were exceptional. We ordered Rachel some onion rings and she ate them all. She loves onion rings which is really weird. Anyway, after lunch we went to soarin and we ended up stayin in the park and riding the rides in the bugs land part of the park. Then we met up with everyone for the parade, and I think we rode the rides in fantasyland, snow white and pinocchio. Rachel didn't freak out like I thought she would, Kyle tolerated it as usual, and megan grinned and bared it as usual.

Kyle got his picture taken with mater and lightning mcqueen, while the others went on soarin. (before we all split up and did our own things till the parade.)

The parade wasn't that great. I didn't like how it wasn't a straight through type of thing, that would have made it better. anyway the kids liked it, and of course after the parade I had to get a picture of the castle lit up at night as we headed towards toon town to meet mickey. Kyle ended up falling asleep so he didn't get to meet him. Rachel loved meeting mickey.

The first day was a fun one. The kids had fun being in the happiest place on earth and I had fun being with the family. The second day would be just as good.

The Shoe Experience

2009-04-14T17:40:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I bought Rachel a pair of Tinkerbell Jelly Shoes to wear at Disneyland. I purchase said shoes thinking they will fit my daughter because she wore a size 9 shoe. We get back from shopping and I tell Rachel I had bought her some new shoes to wear to Disneyland. I put them on her and she loved them. A little while later she tells me her feet is hot. I look at her feet and the shoes are making indentations on her toes, ankles, and the top of her feet. I looked at her shocked because the shoes were too small. I could have sworn they were the right size. I tell her they don't fit her and she starts getting sad, she loved those shoes. So I tell her we will get her another pair, and we gave the other pair to Bailee to wear to Disneyland.
Rachel, Bailee, Me, and Mom head back up to the Disney Store to buy Rachel the right size of shoes. On the way Rachel starts getting a fever and feel asleep before we arrived at the mall. I had to wake her up, (which is never a good thing) so she could try on the shoes to make sure I had the right pair. She was cranky the whole time we were there. We found the right size and bought them for her. Even though she was cranky she was happy she got her shoes back.
On a side note on the way up we saw a huge accident on the other side of the freeway and had decided to take the other way home because we thought the freeway would take too long.
Anyway, we leave the mall at 5:15 and start heading towards provo avoiding the freeway as much as possible. We finally make it to the light to turn on to head towards highway 89. There ended up being two more automobile problems on the way to the highway. We finally make it to the highway and start heading towards Spanish Fork. We finally make it to Spanish Fork and got on the freeway. To go from Orem to Spanish Fork tookus an hour and a half, and we pull in to Nephi around 7:00 -7:30 sometime around there. Round trip up and back took us 3 hrs.
Oh and on the way home Rachel cried non stop.
Oh the things we do to make our kids happy.

Easter in Newcastle

2009-04-13T16:08:00.000-07:00

We spent Saturday in Joseph (which is 10 minutes away from Richfield.) It was Ray's Grandma's birthday and she wanted everyone there. So we ate lunch and had some cake. After we ate we had to take family pictures, then we headed home. Before we went to Joseph we went to the Heritage Hills Easter Egg hunt. The kids had fun and Rachel decided she didn't want to find eggs so she picked up all the candy.

All the kids got a big haul. Kyle just picked up the eggs and no candy, mom had to make Kyle pick up the candy to not just the eggs.
Sunday was a stressful day, Ray and I had to talk in church on Easter. That was good for us because it made us study the savior and his sacrifice. After church we had a Easter Egg hunt and rolled eggs down the hill.

Nate's kids and Leann's kids all enjoyed rolling eggs down the hill despite the fact that before we left the Adults didn't think they would like it so well and thought it was weird. Anyway, I think this will be a tradition that everyone can get behind, because no matter who you are, rolling eggs down a hill is alot of fun. We ended up staying at the reservoir for a couple hours so you know they had fun.
Easter is fun for everyone. You get to color eggs and have candy, but you also get to learn of the savior and have a deeper understanding and resolve to turn to him more and let his sacrifice take its place in our lives, it is great to be reminded what Easter really means.

Ugh!!!!!

2009-04-03T16:22:00.000-07:00

Today is April 3 and it is snowing in Newcastle. Isn't that disgusting. The weather is supposed to be nice. The sun shinning, birds chirping ,but instead I woke up to dark clouds and the wind blowing(the wind always blows here but it is still the principle of the thing) A little while later, when I had to pick up Rachel off the bus the snow starting coming and didn't stop till later in the afternoon. It is now 5:25 and the snow is coming.

Disneyland where are you. I don't think I can wait 2 1/2 weeks, I think I will go insane.
Please Help.

My Little Preschooler

2009-01-12T09:26:00.000-08:00

This year is Rachel's first year in preschool. I am quite impressed with all the activities the kids get to do. For instance Rachel got to go to the pumpkin patch with her grandma(because she is a preschool aid.) I wasn't asked to go. Although I should have asked if they needed my help. Anyway. They also had a thanksgiving dinner and program for the parents:

Doesn't she look like she is having fun. This is at the dinner.

This is the program they put on for the parents

Her whole class dressed up as pilgrims and sang a couple songs to us. I was so shocked because Rachel actually sang the songs. One of the songs she still remembers and still sings when the mood strikes is going on a turkey hunt. It is so cute.

Another fun thing they did was their Christmas program. The whole school prepared a couple songs and sang them for the parents. The Preschoolers sang two songs, I can't remember what they are. Rachel dressed up in her christmas dress and of course she had to pose for a picture, it's tradition especially in front of the fireplace. (Just like we did when we were younger.)

My pictures are blurry, anyway she sang these songs also. It was so cute to see all the preschoolers sing their songs. It made me cry I have to admit, I have inherited my mom's emotional tendencies, and there is nothing wrong with that. My little girl is growing up so much.

The next day at school they had a christmas party for the entire preschool, including the three year olds. Rachel came home with quite the haul. Santa came to visit them as well and brought them a surprise, Parents wasn't allowed to go to the party. I think they should have though. We need to take pictures.

Rachel has enjoyed going to school. She has made some friends, and learned alot. What a big girl.

The Infamous Mother-Daughter tea party.

2008-10-29T09:34:00.000-07:00

All of you have heard Rachel talk about a tea party she went to. Well it was the Mother-Daughter tea party that started all the talk. It was back in June or July. It is a little late but I thought you should know why she liked it so much.

It was the opprtunity for Rachel and I to spend sometime together alone without the other two. She dressed up in her favorite dress. Wore dress up shoes, and we headed off to the party.

She was so happy when we got there because everything was decorated with flowers and things. On the tables there was little tea cups and pots. It was very cute. We ate lunch which was sandwiches and a slushy punch.

After we ate we heard speakers talk about their mothers and being a mother themselves. Then we went to get our picture taken. While we waited for the pictures to print we made picture frames for them to go in. Rachel painted ours and helped me put foam letters on them. She had a lot of fun. It was just me and her which doesn't happen very often.

Ever since this day she has talked about going to a tea party at the church. She really enjoyed herself. I guess this has to become an annual thing. Me and her enjoying a tea party together.

The Baby In My LIfe

2008-10-27T20:00:00.000-07:00

Megan is the best baby in the world
She always has a smile on.
She just adores Rachel and Kyle
No matter what they do to her.

She is so smiley. She is learning to crawl now, my life will never be the same. She gets up on her hands and toes and pushes herself up like a stinkbug, and then she lunges forward. She is developing quite the personality. I can't wait to see where it will take her.

She has learned a new trick today. She can almost come to sitting position from laying on the floor. She is growing up so fast. Yesterday we discovered that whenever she sees Rachel she starts squealing, and cooing. It is so cute. She loves Rachel so much. She gets very excited, her little arms and legs start wiggling.

My life would be incomplete without megan she brings me so much joy and laughter, it is hard to imagine life without her.

Dedicated To My Baby Boy

2008-10-24T18:25:00.000-07:00

I have this boy in my life, he is 2 1/2. He fills my life with so much joy, he is always smiling and he is always doing the cutest things. He has a love for an animal I never knew he would love. He loves horses or in his words hee-hee's. His face lights up whenever he sees one.

One day when I was at my mom's house I couldn't find Kyle anywhere. I searched all over, it wasn't until I looked behind the fence, I found him standing on the green panel starring at the horses with his head in his hands. He looked so cute. It was like a kid in a candy shop. He was in awe.

Tyler wanted to know where his buddy went so he too climbed on the fence. They could have been there for hours and they would still be entertained.

Look how happy a little boy can get just by watching horses.

I never would have guessed that one of my kids would love horses. Everytime we see a horse around town or somewhere else, he gets so excited and screams and yells. We went to a horse parade in Cedar City during the summer. It was like a kid a disneyland. He waved and clapped, he was in heaven. To this day both rachel and kyle still ask to go to the horse parade. Who would have thought? I sure didn't.

And So It Begins

2008-09-02T09:46:00.000-07:00

Today is Rachel's first day of Preschool. I had to wake her up which is never good to do to Rachel. she turns into a bear. I thought she would be mad the whole time. Luckily it was only for a little while. This picture she told me to go away. She didn't want to wear her backpack. (It was 7:30)

I finally got a smile out of her, I guess I should have gotten out of the way.

Waiting for the bus to come. It was cold this morning so I had to put a coat on her so she would stay warm. To pass the time we made up songs about waiting for the bus to come. Rachel liked it alot.

Yeah!!! The bus is finally here. My baby girl is so grown up. I had to lift her onto the bus because she was too short to get on herself. Rachel was scared, but she did not throw a fit about leaving me, like she usually does. She really is growing up.

The bus drove away, luckily I didn't cry. However, I did tear up a bit. This morning has been lonely without her. I felt like that mom on the commercial about sending her daughter off to school and how you can't tell everyone how special she is. Anyway that's how I felt about Rachel. Ray and I both have been nervous about her first day of school. Only time will tell how she did the clock is counting down. We will know in 3o min. how she did. AND SO IT BEGINS.

Sun Burns

2008-08-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

I have decided that living in a desert, with no trees around can create some problems. This being one of them:

The heat is intense and the two kids that love to be outside turns into painted warriors. I guess there are some advantages but I have no idea what they are. Oh well take it in stride. We will just have to be sure that we have plenty of sunscreen.

It's Been Too Long

2008-07-20T21:34:00.000-07:00

This is the first nightmare before manhood...
Kyle decided if he is going to play with all the girls his chances improve when he dresses up like a fairy... His sister sure appreciated the company. Now Ray is so lucky to have three sweet girls.

Rachel loved the Mother-Daughter Tea Party and asks to have another one everyday. Linsey tried to do one at the house but Rachel said they have to go to the church again to do it. But even after that she still insists on having one everyday...

Kyle knows what he likes and then goes at it with all his might, even without the milk.

Megan is usually very ecstatic when her older sister and brother play with her but she wasn't sure how to handle this one. But she knew when mom started yelling that she got the bad end of the deal. :(

Continued 'til later.......

What a stressful project

2008-06-18T08:23:00.000-07:00

The day started out good. I decided to paint Kyle's room. I got more than I bargained for:

I don't have any pictures of the awful streaks that ended up because of the red. I was so stressed out. I thought that it would look that way forever. I should have taken pictures so you would know how bad it was. Anyway, I did about 3 coats of red and the streaks were still there. I decided to sleep on it and figure something out in the morning. Well the next morning I went into Kyle's room hoping for some improvement to magically be there, but there was none to be found. I talked it over with Ray and we decided to buy a darker red. We rushed over to Home Depot, our home away from home, to buy the much needed paint. When we got home I started the necessary repainting. To my astonishment it turned out a whole lot better:

Wow the pictures don't look very good. Anyway, with that stress over I could now start on the blue on the bottom part of the wall. The blue went on better, but I still needed to do 2 coats. I was relieved the blue turned out. I was so stressed that it would be the same problem as the red turned out to be. But it looks good:

The finished product turned out to be what I had pictured:

The boy really liked his room, I took pictures of him bouncing on his bed, but they turned out bad. Well after the stressful three days I learned that I needed to do a tinted primer first, that would have been helpful to know before I started painting, and then do the red color. The lesson learned was no matter how much you want to paint your room a certain color, maybe even red, make sure you know what you are doing first before you start painting, otherwise it could end up a very stressful project. Just take a page out of my book. I have decided that I am never doing red again. I don't need the added stress.

Some yard

2008-05-28T11:45:00.000-07:00

We now have trees!!!!! Yeah... If they don't blow away.

And of course here is the beginning of our wildlife house....

Hopefully the grass will soon come next.

Six Years

2008-05-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

Here is the story of our Anniversary... A night to remember, our first night. We stayed at the Casa Blanca in Mesquite. We saw Ironman the first night to save the romantic comedy "Maid of Honor" for the actual anniversary day. Linsey loved Ironman... even more than Ray. This pic is taken from the gazebo in front where we were going to make out but people kept coming there too... I think for the same reason.

The next day we get up and go have breakfat at the great Denny's a block away. Then we didn't know what to do.... So we ended up experiencing something new and saw the Hoover Dam. Not as Fun as we thought.

And since going back through Vegas was the faster way back we went that way and of course had to check out the Belagio... the garden room was gorgeous with butterflies and flowers and, well you know how the water show is.....

The batteries died....
After that Linsey ate at her most favorite place in the world, Olive Garden, and we went back to Misquite and watched Maid of Honor and felt like we had seen it a hundred times.... Because we had with all the other movies just like it.

Just Like Christmas for Kyle

2008-05-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

The night before his birthday no one was stirring, not even a mouse. All were asleep except Ray who prepared the great day....

Rachel wakes up around 7 AM. Linsey tells her to go back to bed. As we here her going potty, Megan starts crying. Rachel runs to her and says, "Wow". Linsey tells her that all this is for Kyles birthday and she needs to go back to bed. Linsey also returns to bed when all of a sudden you
here softly, "Kyle it's your birhday, come on." One minute later we here two happy giggling laughs...

Linsey and Ray spring out of bed afraid the presents have now been open without them. But no... the presents were still there and the balloons were played with all day....

When the song and cake came for a yummy breakfast treat. Before the song was over Rachel leaned foreward and did the job of blowing out the candles. So we lit them again and with the help of his dad, Kyle blew out the candles...

And Megan sat back and enjoyed it all....

Project Rachel's Room

2008-05-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

Because of the stinkin' cold I am inside making things better. Here is the slave work my husband thinks I need to do. But really I wanted to. This one took a lot of thought and amazing design.... by me.

Here is the one that makes doing such projects hard... but at least someone is happy....

And here it is... tada. I am amazing..

Visitors

2008-04-28T22:56:00.000-07:00

This weekend was Great!!! Thanks to Justin and Jenny and Tyler and Zoey. We very much enjoyed their company and help. Linsey's procedure went well... just a little pain but nothing that Valume, Oxycodin, IBProfin, and Lortab couldn't fix when taken all at once.

Anyway a great day at the best park in St. George. It was hot but not hot enough for any of the kids to get in the water. But Kyle did find balloons from someone else's party.

Then we all enjoyed delicious steaks and flew kites at home. Rachel let hers go and luckily a small tree caught it and kept it a float for easy recovery.

The ride home from St. George was a little long but the kids kept us entertained...

Tiger Morning

2008-04-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

In the morning after breakfast cereal, we tell Rachel to go get dressed. As we are doing things in our bedroom, Rachel runs in with her shirt on her head and says "roar, I'm a lion, roar". And then we all start laughing. Now it happens about everyday and yes, we still laugh. It is a great day with a little laughter provided by a sweetie.

Wild tiger with a nice mane....

Fountain

2008-04-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

I recently recieved on email that had pictures of the top 15 fountains in the world. The Bellagio was only placed at number 14....

The fountain in Barcelona was placed at number 3..... very nice....

The number one fountain definately is the best. You never forget when you see this fountain...

The Hunt

2008-04-10T08:30:00.001-07:00

Finally the boy found something other than buggers and fingernails to eat... candy. Little legs moving as fast as they can to the next viewable egg and he only crashed once. He now says "egg" very well but can't understand why you can't pop it open and get more candy.