Coffey buzz

New eye wear for some.

2010-11-14T15:38:00.001-08:00

I forgot to pass on some important news. The kids had an appointment the last couple of weeks with the eye doctor. Paige upgraded her glasses to something a little more grown up and started to try out contacts. Parker had to get glasses due to the fact he was having a very hard time seeing about everything. He couldn't see too much in school and at home he was six inches away from the TV all the time. He is very proud of his new glasses and has been very good about wearing them and taking good care of them as well. He actually was excited about getting them and was very fun to watch as he tried on several pair before he chose his favorites.

I am still getting used to the fact he is wearing glasses, but I think he is very cute and very smart looking. Just a new look for both Paige and Parker.

What's new with us.

2010-11-14T14:54:00.000-08:00

Here is October and November's post all in one. We all were able to enjoy halloween on Saturday, Oct. 30. We went to the trunk or treat our ward hosts every yea. The kids always bring home too much candy. I always worry about Madison and the abundance of candy she gets, but we seem to manage and make it all disappear within a week or two. This year the kids were very imaginitive with their costumes. Meghan was a puppet and dismissed her strings at the last minute and went as a doll. Paige was a gypsey, Madison was Athena from Percy Jackson movie and Parker went as a Power Ranger. All was fun and now they are making plans for next year.

Before we enjoyed the Halloween trunk or treat, we as a family took a short trip up to St. George to take family pictures at the Jacob Hamlin home. The week before our youth from our ward took a trip up to St. George and visited several sites. Meghan thought the Jacob Hamblin home was the perfect setting for our family pictures this year. Here are a few of the pictures. I just can't decide which one I like the best.

Overall, we are staying busy. Everyone is doing well in school. Jim is getting the hang of his new classes, I have only FIVE classes left after this semester is over, and Meghan is still practicing her driving skills and trying to get all the hours in so she can schedule her driving test for her license. We look forward to having Grandma Coffey down for Thanksgiving and take a breather from school for the Christmas holiday. That is a short review of what we have been up to. More exciting posts to come.

FRESH STRAWBERRIES and a HUGE CANTALOPE

2010-09-03T17:48:00.000-07:00

I went out to the garden today and found a handful of strawberries. I was so excited because the snails or some other bugs didn't get them before we did. Our strawberry patch is growing beautifully thanks to Jim for using miracle grow on them. I just LOVE growing home grown fruits and veggie because everything tastes better than the store bought ones. YUM!

After finding the strawberries, I then began looking at the rest of the garden which seems to be finished growing except this green, round squash looking thing. We have watched this plant grow all summer and the leaves looked like a cantalope, but then it got so big I just thought it was some sort of winter squash. I picked it because it looked over ripe and thought I might just look at it to see what color of squash it might be. When I cut it open my nose told me it was a cantalope and my eyes couldn't believe how big it got. We brought it in, cut it up, and chilled it for a while then we set it on the dinner table and enjoyed it. It was so big I cut a bowl up for our neighbor to share. Okay, I can truely say miracle grow does it's job.

Survival of the first day of school

2010-09-01T12:04:00.000-07:00

We all have survived our first day of school. Jim was a bit nervous for his master's classes. Meghan has been on cloud nine because she is finally with kids from middle school (or should I say 8th grade which has been her MOST FAVORITE GRADE). Paige is just in her element of being a social bug at Lied Middle School, and Madison is just a bit nervous about forgetting her new teacher's name on the first day of school. Parker woke up early and couldn't wait to get to school. "No first day of school tears for my mom, I am the 4th child and she is excited to send me to school", thought Parker . He wasn't all too excited to take pictures to document the memorible event. He did think I would stay outside the classroom door for two and half hours so he was a bit confused when he had to walk to the playground to be picked up.

MOM!! No more pictures. That is enough!! I want to go learn. On his second day of school he proved to his teacher that counting is easy. He had a TEST to see if he could count to 10 and he went up to 72 when the teacher stopped him for another student. He wanted to see how far he could count but he does have to leave room for improvement.

Madison and Parker were so eager to go to school. I wish there was a special bottle to capture all the excitement and release the excitment back on them in January when school is getting to be just school and just part of the daily routine. We shall see how long this excitement lasts. I survived all my classes as well last week. I started a week before everyone so I had a head start of everyone. I will finish before everyone too. Now that we all are back in school, we get to all have study time and quiet time. YEA!!!!! We shall see how long that lasts.

2010-08-23T12:45:00.000-07:00

We have one week of summer left and we have done some exciting things last week as we wrap- up the summer . I took the kids up to Mount Charleston to a hike we took with our neighbors last fall, but never found the real trail head. I was determined to find it and complete the hike for Mary Jane Falls. I almost missed the switchbacks because it is not clearly marked, but we were pointed in the correct direction from a friendly hiker close by. It was a great hike. A little harder than I expected but the kids did great. I owe my THANKS to Meghan and Chad for helping me carry Parker at times when his little legs just hurt with pain. Following are some pictures we took at the top enjoying the waterfalls. Everybody got a little wet from the falls, but Meghan decided to drench herself in the water.

At the top of the falls we climbed up into this little cave so to speak. Meghan didn't like the tight closeness of the cave but she was patient so I could get a picture with everyone.

Last week we also celebrated Madison's 9th birthday. She loved the apron I made her and was so excited to take a couple of friends over to her uncle's home to use his COOL POOL. Thanks uncle Steven for the use of the COOL POOL.

We bought a bunch of noodles to play in the pool and afterwards Madison gave each of her guests a noodle to take home as a reminder of the awesome fun they all had. We shall see how interesting this Fall is with my family. I am enrolled in my second yearof my Master's at UNLV, Jim has decided to start his Masters this fall, and all the kids even Parker will be in school. I have decided that we are an "Education Family" this fall as all of us will be in school learning new things. It should be very interesting how all of it will come together. Stay tuned!! Hopefully, Iwill be more organized to post something about our family each week.

Happy 9th Birthday Madison

2010-08-18T09:35:00.001-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADISON!! I sure have enjoyed the last NINE years with you. Hope you have a wonderful day with all your friends. Love you much.

Our week out of the heat.

2010-08-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

Our week out of the heat was very, very fun this year. We started out at Bryce Canyon and camped out for one day then we traveled to Durango, Colorado where we always have a week long of work and fun.

Smores: Yes, our family loves to make smores. We made them all the time while we were at Grandma Sheila's and at Bryce Canyon. Yummy treat.

Our first stop on our week out of the heat was Bryce Canyon. We camped out and then went and explored Bryce Canyon from bottom to the top. We really enjoyed seeing the sights and spending time as a family.

This year on the little farm we were able to make an abundance of applesauce. We ended up with 26 pints of applesauce, 13 quarts of apple juice, 2 batches of apple/apricot fruit leather (fruit roll-ups the old fashion way) and 4 batches of apple/cinnamon.

Mowing the fields and the lawn was another little project we all enjoyed doing. In fact, it was so popular that we had to make sure everyone got a turn.

While we were at Grandma Sheila's we also had many little projects to do. Jim built a flowerbed for my Mom and did all the hard work of leveling the stones and getting them in place. Paige repainted an old milk cabinet from my Great Grandmother, Mama Nartha Priestwich and turned it into a cabinet to hold Mama Nartha's old china that has been in storage for twenty years.

We had a great time at the farm and the time always goes too fast. If you want to see all the photos we took on the "Week out of the heat" go to Meghan, Jim, or mine facebook pages to see the full album.

Way to go Madison

2010-07-31T17:44:00.000-07:00

Madison had her all-star swim meet today. She did super great. She qualified in the 25M butterfly and the 25M backstroke. She surprised us in the butterfly by getting 2nd place overall and it was very, very close. Her time and the 1st place time was separated by .10 of a second. Very close. She did so well and we are very proud of her. She was 6th overall in the backstroke. She improved so much this year.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

2010-07-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, I haven't posted since Paige's birthday and that was a while. I am trying to figure out why nothing fits anymore. I guess there has been a lot of updates that none of the backgrounds I like fit my blog anymore. I am in the process of figuring it out. Like always I have good intentions to write but have been busy the last little while with school, work, and dealing with Jim's unemployment that now has gone on for almost 5 months. School will be done Aug. 4 and I will have a good 25 days of break from my Master's program. We as a family are planning to visit my mom in Durango for a week and then when we get home we can get serious about school for all of us. YES, all six of us are going back to school. Jim and I will be working on our Master's and then everyone else in their respective grades, and Parker will start Kindergarden. Hopefully, I will figure out everything in the coming months for all to enjoy the updates of the COFFEYBUZZ.

Happy 13th Birthday Paige.

2010-05-05T22:12:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 13th Birthday Paige!! I am glad you are my daughter. This is one of my favorite pictures of you when you realized you LOVED italian dressing. You sat down in the kitchen and began drinking right out of the bottle. Paige still loves italian dressing to this day. You have grown into a beautiful young lady. I love you lots. May you have many more wonderful birthdays to share with us.

Wow! Where have I been?

2010-04-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

Well, it sure has been a while since I posted something. Many wonder where I have been. Well, to tell you the truth I have a lot of time working on my Practicum hours for my master's program in education counseling this semester. On the days I wasn't putting in hours for my practicum, I was probably studying or working as a guest teacher her in Clark country school district. Then as school finished up I began putting in more hours as a guest teacher to earn extra money because Jim still hasn't found another job. OH yes, Jim lost his job around March 15 because he was no longer a good match for the company he was employed with. Needless to say, It has been crazy but we are managing and I am working almost everyday to make up for the short fall in money. We as a family are doing well. Jim has done amazing things here at home since I am not at home much. He plays with Parker, carpools for the kids, and still has time to put in a couple of job applications on top of it. Thanks Jim for doing so much!! Hope that updates you for a while. I will try to write more often but can't promise much since I am trying to work everyday and prepare for a cruise with my Mom and sister the week of May 15. Until later!! Have a great day. ...

Happy Birthday Parker

2010-02-08T11:44:00.000-08:00

Parker is 5 years old today. WOW!! How time does fly. He is so excited about his birthday and so excited to invite friends over to play. Happy Birthday. I hope you have a great day.

A tribute to my Dad

2009-09-27T17:10:00.000-07:00

Loren Emil Walter Aug 11, 1940-Sept 19, 2009
Life time Durango resident Loren Emil Walter passed away at his home after an extended illness with lymphoma, on Saturday September 19, 2009.

Loren was born to Charles and Carrie Walter in Durango on August 11, 1940. He graduated from Durango High School in 1959.

After graduation he enlisted in the United States Air Force, and was stationed in Maine, USA and Tripoli, Libya in Africa. He served on the Air Force Bases as a Military police officer, and played football for the Air Force in Tripoli in his spare time.

After his tour of duty in the Air Force he returned to Durango and went to work with his father, Charles Walter, owner of the E & W Conoco Station at 19th and Main Ave.

Loren was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on July 2, 1964. He married Sheila Moss on August 14, 1964. They were sealed in the Manti, Utah temple on August 14, 1965. They made their home in Durango for the next 45 years.

Loren worked with his father from 1964 to 1974 at the E & W Conoco. When his father retired in 1974 Loren became the owner and managed the station until 1982 when his lease was cancelled. From 1982 to 1989 Loren owned and operated the 8th street Shell station. He then went to work for Neilson Construction Co. for a short time as an oiler. He then worked as a mechanic and oiler for Jerry Lucas at Melco Construction. In the fall of 2002 he went to work for Bobby Rathjen at Rathjen Construction until his retirement in June of 2008.

Loren was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saint, and served as a Sunday School President, In the Stake Sunday School Presidency, Executive Secretary, Counselor in the Bishopric, High Counselor, and on the Church cleaning committee.

Loren loved the out doors and was an avid hunter and fisherman. Fly fishing was his passion He taught his children and grandchildren to fish. Loren was not one to sit still. He took pride in caring for his home, yard and garden. He became involved with his children during their years in 4-H and would help them with their animal projects. He was also a great support in their athletic endeavors. He loved to hear what and how his grandchildren were doing. He loved being with his children and taught them many life long skills.

Loren is survived by his wife of 45 years , Sheila Walter of Durango; his children Neysa Rummler (Kevin) of Cypress CA Nicholas Loren Walter (Stephanie) of Corona, CA; Keysha Stutz (Doug) of Rexburg ID; and Kendra Coffey (Jim) of North Las Vegas, NV. Brothers Richard Walter of Dolores, Co; Denny Walter of Sonora, CA; Larry Walter of Durango, Co; sisters Paula Fuller of Boise, ID; Dorothy Smith of San Luis Obispo, CA; Caroline Mortan of Phoenix, AZ; 17 grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews and in-laws.

There will be a viewing at Hood Mortuary in his honor on Thursday September 24, 2009 at 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Funeral services will take place on Friday September 25th 2009 at 11:00am at L.D.S. Church, 2 Hill top Circle in Durango Colo.
Interment will be held the same day following the funeral service at Green Mount Cemetery.

I LOVE YOU DAD!

2009-09-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

Today, I pay tribute to my loving Dad. I will treasure the memories we created and will always remember those lessons so tenderly taught. We will miss you but know we will see you again. Love you much. We will meet again soon.

Madison's Baptism

2009-09-13T14:20:00.001-07:00

Madison's baptism day: September 5, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. at the North Las Vegas Stake Center located at 50 E. Azure Avenue. There were 10 kids to be baptized that day in our stake. It was a very busy, but memoriable day for Madison. Her Dad, Jim, did the baptism and confirmation. We did miss Grandpa Loren, Grandma Sheila, and Grandma Moss due to Grandpa being sick. Our prayers go out to Grandpa Loren for a speedy recovery. We love you much.

Madison's friends from her primary class and neighbor friend too. From left to right, Cole (in purple), Maggie Allen, Madison, Joseph Porter (also got baptised that day), and Ben Zohner. Thanks to all who came to support Madison in her baptism. Thanks for the love and support.

Happy 8th Birthday Madison

2009-08-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to you!!! Today we went to get Madison's ears pierced and she was so brave. She didn't even shed a tear. She picked out these beautiful white diasy shaped earrings that will match her dress when she gets baptised on Sept. 5.

Before the piercing guns....

During the process.... She was very good and didn't even flinch. Way to go. You look beautiful.

Pictures from Durango

2009-08-07T14:12:00.001-07:00

When things get quiet around the house I remember to check on Madison and Parker. When I found them, Madison had dressed up Parker in the dog's scraves and coat. They had used every single item that was in the bag in the closet. I must say a picture is still worth a thousand words. I try to remember these cute moments when they are so wild around the house.
One activity that everyone wanted to do was riding a horse. Paige has been wanting to do this everytime we go to Durango. This year, my parents neighbors agreed to let my kids ride his mild horse Taylor. After many years, I still remember how to ride a horse. My mom says it is like riding a bike, once you have learned you never forget.

Meghan was not so sure about riding a horse. She got on went around the field and got off. She didn't need another turn.

Paige loved riding the horse. Twice wasn't enough. She wanted to make the horse run but couldn't get Taylor to do more than a gallop.

Parker and Madison enjoyed riding the horses too.

The real reason we go to Durango every year about the same time is to help pick raspberries. We made raspberry jam and tri-berry jam this year. I can't remember how many batches we made but we came home with 36 jars of jam (raspberry and tri-berry made with raspberries, strawberries and blackberries), and 22 pints of frozen raspberries. We should have a year's supply at least.

Paige learning how the whole processes works. She even passed off a 10 hour project for personal progress.

Parker and Madison loved to help smash the blackberries through the stainer. Blackberry seeds are much bigger than raspberry seeds so straining them would give you a smoother jam in the end.

The outside firepit was a HUGE success. Last year my mom had my nephew build a porch like area in the oak brush just off the side of the house. We had a lot of fun building fires and making smores to eat. Parker loved to fuel the fire and many times it got pretty big that I was watching the tops of the trees. We love the farm and all we can do on it to escape from life for several days. It was so peaceful to watch the fire and just not worry about anything. Life is pretty simple.

Parker was in charge (with supervision) to keep the fire going after all smores where cooked. We sat for a couple of hours and enjoyed it. Later, we all found we were eaten by misquitoes. A large pond was right over the fence from the firepit.

My family with my parents at the Bar-D. It has always been a fun place to go since I was a little kid. The beautiful red rocks and scenery is just as I remember too.... BEAUTIFUL and BREATH TAKING.

The last night we were there we went to the BAR-D. The BAR-D has been a family tradition ever since I can remember. You have a chuckwagon dinner with entertainment. Well, I think Parker was bored so here are the pictures we got of the evening. Never let a four year old be in charge of the camera.

Visiting the farm in Durango

2009-07-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

We made it to Durango on Saturday night and was quickly put to work. My parents spend all day picking raspberries while we were driving to Durango and when we arrived the counter was full of raspberries. So after dinner, we made two batches of jam. After driving 9 1/2 hours and making two batches jam, I slept very well. Work began again on Monday when we picked more raspberries. We picked and picked and then made four batches of jam and froze 27 pints of raspberries. Tuesday was more a play day. Parker and Madison were ready to go swimming at the rec center and climb the rock wall. We played a good four hours which made everyone nice and tired. Wednesday, another picking day. We woke up early since it is nice and cool (about 75 degrees). We picked 2 1/2 hours and ending up with 26 pints of raspberries. I asked my Mom how many pints of raspberries they have picked since the 4th of July and the running total is 200 pints to date. My Dad keeps saying this is a bumper crop the most they have picked in years.
We try to keep the excitement limited but yesterday we had a day of excitement. Parker started off by slipping on the gravel road while walking West and face planted in the gravel. Just a few scraps and a fat lip. Madison got stung by a baby wasp while we were playing at the school's playground that I attended as a kid, Jim's flight was delayed in Denver so had to stay over night since all flights were cancelled for the evening due to servere thunderstorms, and finally West decided to play with a skunk at 10:30 in the evening making the whole house to stink. Today, I hope will be not so exciting.

I just love it when visitors come to town.

2009-06-28T18:38:00.001-07:00

Last week, June 20-27, 2009 we had a very special visitor. Ariana Baggaley came to visit us from Roy, Utah. Ari was the very first friend Paige had. They met when they were 18 months old. Her family moved in just up the street from us in Tooele. They were very good friends for four years. When it was time for us to move to Las Vegas, I thought it was important to help Paige keep their friendship a live. Thanks to modern day technology they are able to keep in touch. Paige really wanted to share Las Vegas with her very first friend so we invited her down for one entire week. It was a very busy week. We tried to do something everyday to show her the good sites we do have here in Las Vegas. First on the agenda was to take both of Paige's very good friends to the Mall to go birthday shopping since both Ari and Amity have birthdays in June. It was a lot of fun taking three girls to do some fun shopping. Below is the picture of Ari and Amity wearing their necklaces Paige bought for them.

Tuesday we were able to go down to the Ethel M's chocolate factory and walk through the cactus gardens.

Yummy chocolate samples!!! Can we have two?

After touring the cactus gardens, Paige wanted to show Ari the Bellagio gardens. These gardens change every season of the year. Going to the Bellagio is one of our family favorites because it is always so amazing what they can do with flowers and organic material.

Of course, you can't go down to the Bellagio without also seeing the amazing fountains. I could sit and watch the water all night if my family would let me but we only stay for three shows. The water is in sync with music and it flows perfectly with the beat of the music.

Ari is waiting patiently for the next show with the Bellagio behind her.

Wednesday I took the girls and Parker to play in our parks here in Las Vegas. Of course, our parks are just not any parks. Most all come equipt with water features for the kids to play in. Since we can get pretty HOT down here in Vegas it is nice to see parks to help keep the kids cool. This park we went to is in Centennial Hills right next to the new library. It is right next to the "Butterfly" park, but well hidden so it is not usually very crowded (until now since I have told everyone about it).

Wednesday night was young women and young men's youth activity for our church. They went ice blocking and got very dirty. I was not there so picture are not available of the very dirty kids sliding down hills on blocks of ice. It did sound like they had a lot of fun though.

Thursday, was a day of swimming over at my brother-in-law's home in Summerlin. Pictures below are Steven's pool we went to. He does have a very beautiful backyard to enjoy.

I didn't get pictures of Ari and Paige swimming because I forgot my camera, but here is Paige jumping off the rock cliff the week before. My brother-in-law's pool is cool!!

On Friday, we went to Red Rock Canyon and took the hike on the Children's discovery trail. We were going to take another hike, but I missed the turn and the girls didn't want to endure the

13-mile loop twice so we just went on the Discovery trial. It was fun but the temptures starting getting warm so we took off down town to go to the M&M store on the strip.

We finished up the week by taking a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon early morning Saturday. We got up at 4:30am and left the house by 5:15 am. We drove down to Boulder City where the helicopter terminal was located. We had a 7:00am take-off time. It was pretty neat to fly over Lake Mead and fly over the Grand Canyon.

We had so much fun!!!!!! Let's do it again sometime. Thanks Ari for coming down and spending time with our family.

Summer activities

2009-06-24T17:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, I really have been bad about keeping up the blog page. I thought I could sit down and update it weekly but I have not. In fact, I have just finished downloading ALOT of pictures from my camera and have found I have left out ALOT on the blog. So here are the pictures of Meghan and me repelling at Red Rock canyon for her 4th year hiking acitivity. What fun we had. There weren't very many girls that came so those that did come had many turns repelling down the rocks. It was so fun it brought back many memories when I was in high school.

New look for a new year

2009-05-14T16:41:00.001-07:00

Meghan wanted a new haircut on her birthday, so after school we took her and got the new look. Here is her hair before the haircut.

....and here is the new look after.
Looks good!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGHAN

2009-05-14T12:59:00.000-07:00

WOW!! How time does fly. I woke up this morning really early to wish Meghan a happy birthday and can't really believe she is 15 years old. Thanks so much for being such a great child and teaching me a long the way how to be a better parent. I Love you so much Meghan. I hope you had a great birthday.

Happy Birthday Paige.

2009-05-06T15:54:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to you Paige. Yesterday, May 5, Paige celebrated her 12th birthday. I can't believe it has been 12 years. She was only 6 lbs. 8 oz. 19in. long when she came to our family.

Now she is growing up way too fast and she will be going to her first Young Womens activity tonight. She is way too excited for this next step in her life. My biggest question is, "Why do my kids grow up sooo fast?"

Thanks Paige, for being the great kid that you are. I hope your day yesterday was as terrific as it could get. Love you lots!!!

Spring Break activities

2009-04-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

We began our week by celebrating our friends' 20th anniversary. Tami and Steve Parisot came down from Utah and enjoyed a night out on the town with us. The benefits of being locals is that we got some great deals. We started off the night with reservations for the TOP OF THE WORLD restaurant located on top of the stratosphere (107 stories up). While the tower doesn't turn, the restaurant does (one revolution every hour and 20 minutes) and there isn't a bad seat in the place. It was an amazing view and as our reservation was for 7pm when the sun was setting, we were able to see the city go from daylight to dark and see all the city & strip lights turn on. It took about one hour and thirty minutes to have dinner so we were able to make one complete rotation and see the whole city in every direction. As the food is very pricey, we'd recommend that anyone wanting to enjoy the view just pay to go up and then sit in their observation lounge. You'll get the same thing we did for a whole lot less.'

After dinner, we had show tickets for Le Reve located at the Wynn. Tickets were 2 for 1 and the show wasn't until 9:30 pm, but with dinner being some distance away and us taking a wrong turn along the way, we just made it. We sat 1/2 way up, and the "stage" was a pool of water, so we were just out of the "splash" zone. Loaded with acrobatics, dancing, special lighting, and of course swimming, there were no dull moments. Of course, no pictures could be taken during the show but the after shots were beautiful.

On Tuesday, Jim took the day off and we headed to the adventure dome to play all day. Thanks to Jim's free tickets for giving blood and the buy one get one free tickets from the Las Vegas entertainment book we paid for a total of TWO TICKETS.

Since Madison was not quite tall enough for the BIG rides, she and Parker had to get the junior tickets. Needless to say, Madsion was very disappointed. She wanted to go on the sling shot ride the most. Because she couldn't go on the big rides, Madison and Parker got to rock climb and bounce on the trampoline at the adventure dome. Madison LOVES TO ROCK CLIMB. I think that is her sport. Everytime she gets and opportunity, she takes it and does amazing things. She was able to get to the very top of the climb and ring the bell. All other kids her size were giving up/falling off after just 5-10 feet up.

Parker getting ready for his big jump. It was so fun watching him try to make the trampoline work with being strapped into the harness.

Finally, before heading back to work, Jim took Meghan & Paige to see: "Escape to Witch Mountain". Fun movie with good special effects, and they even tried to tie in some of the story line/characters from the original movie, but you can do so much more in today's movies than you could 30 years ago, so they did. We finished up the week with taking Meghan to the oral surgeon for a consultation for her wisdom teeth. She will have to get out all 4 teeth this summer after school is over. After that, we headed over to Jason's Deli for a great lunch. I ended the day by taking the kids to a park and letting them play for about one hour. We finished our spring break activities and the kids slept in a little bit before we prepared for Easter activites. More on that later. Needless to say, I think we got a lot of spring breaking done and I don't think the kids will want to go back to school on Monday.

I'm a REBEL

2009-03-20T07:14:00.000-07:00

I am officially a student at UNLV. I got my acceptance letter yesterday in the mail. I have been accepted into the graduate program of Counselor Education. I will be starting in August for the Fall semester. Ready or not, I am going to be a student once more. I feel very accomplished since this program is highly competitive and they chose me to join their program.

Getting more behind....

2009-02-25T19:45:00.000-08:00

Well, I have failed in keeping my blog up to date during this new year. My goal was to post weekly, but I have failed to keep that goal. I do't think it is getting any better since I have accepted a long term sub job at Madison's school, EVA M WOLFE for about 4 weeks. I am a bit nervous! I haven't worked full time at an outside the home job for about 14 1/2 years. So far, I have enjoyed being in the classroom. I just feel for Parker. He is struggling , but I keep telling him it is just for one month. I don't think he can grasp that concept. Every thing in our home is great. I am beginning to appreciate the time I can spend with my familyin the evening since we are all away during the day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PARKER

2009-02-08T17:35:00.000-08:00

Four years ago we welcomed our baby boy into our home. He has proven to be a bundle of joy and fun for all of us to enjoy. We are so thankful for him and love having him in our home.

Whats been going on?

2009-02-07T19:51:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been a couple of weeks since I have posted anything to the family blog. I really don't have any excuses at all except that I have been busy like the rest of the world. We had a busy month in January and February is looking even busier. To start out January, I decided that ALL the kids would participate in something outside of school. Needless to say, I have been a cab-driver getting Meghan to Hollywood kids, Paige to basketball practise and games, Madison to piano lessons and Parker to soccer. So my calendar is very full but I can't blame anyone but myself.

We were able to enjoy a visit from Grandma Coffey January 19-26. It was a great week. I helped her scrapbook her Alaska trip. We celebrated her birthday. Parker, Grandma and I went to the park and feed the ducks and geese. Parker also took some time to swing on the swings too. Grandma took Parker and I to Nancy's Quilt shop to look around for quiliting stuff. We miss regular visits that we were able to have when we lived closer. THANKS GRANDMA for spending a whole week with us and letting us make wonderful memories with you.

The ducks and geese up at the park are sooooo tame that they were eating out of our hands.

Parker loves to swing and swing and swing and swing. The day we went to the park was a little cold because the wind was blowing, but that didn't stop Parker from swinging in SHORTS in the middle of January. I don't think Madison or Parker believe in pants at all. They both seem to just LOVE their shorts no matter the weather.

Soccer is once a week for 45 minutes. Parker seems to enjoy running around the gym more than hitting the ball with his feet. He also LOVES to pose for the camera when I am trying to take pictures of him playing soccer. So far these are the only good pictures I have of him at soccer. Only one picture that actually proves he is in soccer. Paige has also been busy with her basketball practises and games as well. She practises two times a week and has a games every Saturday for six weeks. She always wanted to try basketball so we finally got her signed up. It is a lot of hard work, but she has improved a lot since the very first day. She plays in every game too. She has accomplished a lot and we are very proud of her.

Paige is #2 on the court.

Meghan has been busy with her group at Hollywood kids. This is a theater group who performed Aladdin and Meghan did all the lights and sound for ALL the shows. With rehearsals and performances she was at the theater almost everyday for 4-6 hours at a time for almost one month. We stopped counting the hours. It was A LOT but she really enjoyed it and made some great friends too. It was all worth it.

Madison and Paige with Jafar after the production and Parker just loved the Genie. Parker went up the the Genie after the show and he was so kind to get a picture with Parker. Parker gave him a HIGH-FIVE to congratulate him on his performace. They all did such a great job. Meghan will continue with the group Applause for the next production.
So, I think that wraps up the month of January. We shall be just as busy in February with Parker's 4th birthday, my birthday, and more rehearsal at applause, piano lessons and basketball for Paige. I guess my new motto is, "the busier the better."

Where did 2008 go?

2009-01-13T14:12:00.000-08:00

With January almost half way over, I have been pondering where in the world 2008 went. My Grandma always told me the older you get the faster time passes. I would always shake my head and say, "Oh right, Grandma." I believe her now. I can't believe we are 2009. I can't believe I have a 14 year old half way done with her first year of high school. I can't believe that my baby boy is almost 4. I could sit here all day and probably think of a lot more things I can't believe has happened to me but like Dr. Seuss says, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." I am greatful for everything that has happened in my life. I am grateful for the husband and kids. They are truely a blessing to me. They make me a better person.

Thanks family!!! You are the best.

Christmas Day

2009-01-02T12:28:00.000-08:00

This has been a very busy Christmas season. We were able to host my sister's family from Rexburg, ID twice in two days. They came to Las Vegas on December 22 and stayed for an evening. They then left Ryan, their youngest with us and departed to San Diego to watch the Boise State Bowl game. BSU lost!!!! So sad was there family when they came back on Christmas eve. We had a great time playing games and just waiting for SANTA to come. We did our own version of the Christmas story found in Luke 2.

We had 15 people for Christmas day activities which was fun and exciting. After all the fun of opening gifts from one another, we got busy fixing Christmas dinner. It was a lot of fun to have my sister's family with us on Christmas day. In the evening we went to our favorite site which was the Belliago fountains and gardens. The fountains were not working due to the wind and the gardens were packed shoulder to shoulder. I guess going on Christmas evening was not so wise. We enjoyed the sights and each other's company.

Parker smiling big under the giant snowman.

Madison with her counsin Stephen and Spencer.

Smile big for the camera.
Wishing everyone the best as we start a NEW YEAR!!!!

More fun snow pictures from Las Vegas

2008-12-19T08:26:00.000-08:00

Catching snowflakes in their mouths. Yea!!!! It is snowing!!!!

Madison and Cole (neighbor friend) playing out in the snow on Wednesday, Dec. 17. Notice how she is dressed. Light jacket, capris, no sock with shoes. She is truely a Las Vegas girl. I don't think she would have survived if we still lived in Utah.

2008-12-17T23:16:00.000-08:00

Paige outside of the rainbow Library on Monday Dec. 15 with snow covering the ground.

Snowing at my house on Wednesday, December 17. More snow pictures to come when I get them from my neighbor. Madison and her friend Cole played out in the snow. I was at Target with Meghan, Paige and Parker so I missed out on taking the pictures. I will get them posted when I get the email.

What color is your hair?

2008-12-17T15:02:00.001-08:00

I took this quiz today that I found on a friend's blog, and here are my results.

Your Hair Should Be Blonde

You are outgoing, light hearted, and a ton of fun.

You don't take life too seriously, and you do your best to charm everyone you meet.

You are very energetic. People tend to underestimate you, but you can get a lot done.

You do tend to be a bit sensitive. If someone has a bad opinion of you, it truly hurts.

You are cunning and clever. You are smart, but you aren't "book smart" or academic.

Some people may think you're superficial, but they're not seeing the whole picture.

What Color Hair Should You Have?

North Las Vegas Stake Christmas Fireside

2008-12-14T20:52:00.000-08:00

Tonight was our Stake's Christmas fireside in which Meghan and I were honored to participate in the bell choir. Two and half months ago, we were invited to play in the bell choir. The requirements for the bell choir was to know how to read music, count music, be able to follow music, and be committed 100%. That meant no missing practises if you could help it. "How hard can it be to ring one or two bells when your note popped up," was my thought at first. After the first practise, I had very different thoughts. It was harder than I could imagine. The second practise we were given a solo piece that included mallets, plucking,and marts. My bell choir vocabulary grew over night and I began to play bells in my dreams as well. Meghan did very well being the youngest of the bell choir. She held her own and even had a couple of solos that just included her bells and chimes. Meghan played the C5 bells which was middle C, C# B5 bells which included B and B flat. She played the same notes on the chimes too. I was given C6 bells and D6 bells. These are an octove above middle C. I played the same in chimes also. The songs that we accompanied the choir and orchestra were "Away in the Manger", "Joy to the World", and "I saw three ships". We also played our bell solo "Steppin' up with Rudolph" which we split between some of the orchestra members. We played on Saturday night while orchestra members played on Sunday night. I am so glad I was able to participate. It was an experience that I will never forget. I hope in the future, I will be able to participate again. It was well worth the hard practise and dedication we had to have to perform in such a short time. Jim was very proud of us as he supported us both nights. The first night he was chasing Parker and trying to keep him in his seat, but on Sunday he was able to listen to the whole preformance since we left Paige home to babysit Parker and Madison. Thanks Paige for your help we appreciated it.

Happy 40TH Birthday

2008-12-09T09:25:00.001-08:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

HOPE YOU HAVE A FANTASTIC DAY!!!!!! LOVE YOU LOTS!!!

Day after Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T20:12:00.001-08:00

Decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving has alway been our family tradition. Jim began the process by putting up the lights on the house last Saturday when we were experiencing wonderful weather here in Las Vegas. He added a couple of extras this year, including lights for the bushes and lit-garland around the windows. He was prepared so that the night of Thanksgiving our Christmas lights were ready to go as soon as the sun went down (light sensors -- yea! no more unplugging the lights in our pajamas when we go to bed). Once the excitement has started at our home you just can't stop it. Madsion was so eager to get all the Christmas decorations up that she cleaned my pot shelves in my kitchen and hallways. Paige also helped with this huge task and it was done in no time and ready to get all the decorations down out of the attic and in the right spots. Madison was the one who got Dad going on putting up the tree and beginning to place decorations. Parker and Paige also helped with the fun task of getting ALL the ornaments on the tree (finally pre-lit so stringing 10 lines doesn't take all day) in just the right places. Meghan just sat back in her teenage glory and kept saying, "IT ISN'T EVEN DECEMBER YET." She did finally come around when we turned on the radio and they were playing holiday music. Needless to say, it took the better part of Friday, but we got all the Christmas decorations up, the train around the tree, the stockings hung, nativity in place, and the advent calendar ready to count us down to CHRISTMAS. It is only 26 days away. We even went and picked up up a few gifts on Black Friday which we never really do. We have a good start to our holiday season and hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving and a great start to the Christmas season. Thanks to our friends the ALLENS who invited us to Thanksgiving dinner so we would not have to eat alone. We weren't able to go to our family's, so they opened their already busy home to us as well. THANKS. We enjoyed ourselves a lot.

Mt. Charleston in November

2008-11-11T22:35:00.000-08:00

With the last two days off from school, my neighbor and I decided to take the kids (eight of them) to Mt. Charleston for a hike and enjoy cooler weather on top of it. We knew it would be about 20 degrees cooler so we prepared. We had gloves, sweatshirts, hats, food and water. We hiked for two hours up the Mary Jane Falls area but didn't get to the top to experience the cave, but we found snow to play in. It might not have been tons but it was a little that satisfied the need to play in. Take a look at our COOL pictures.

Parker climbing a tree...

Paige & her BFF Amity sitting on a log...

Meghan "posing" with Luke Celeste...

Madison staying warm in the mountains w/ gloves & scarf...

"Look, we found snow",they kept saying. They even brought a snowball down off the mountain to keep in Luke's freezer.

Japanese Brain Test

2008-11-01T19:56:00.000-07:00

This test will tell you if your brain is as old as your body. The site doesn't know your age, but it will tell you the age of your brain power.
The website is at the bottom. Once you get there you won't be able to read the Japanese instructions, so follow these instructions
1. Touch 'start'
2. The numbers 3 then 2 then 1 will pop up on the screen. Immediately following number 1, several numbers will flash on the screen for barely one second.
3. Memorize the numbers' position on the screen, then click the circles from the SMALLEST NUMBER TO THE BIGGEST NUMBER.
4. At the end of game, the computer will tell you in years, how old your brain is.
Sounds complicated but it's really easy. Think fast.
Http://flashfabrica.com/f_learning/brain/brain.HTML

Halloween Day and Night

2008-11-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

We were pretty busy Halloween day. The kids didn't have school due to NEVADA DAY (commemorates the admission of the state of Nevada into the union on October 31, 1864). So we went and picked up Meghan's friend, Emily, who just move back to Las Vegas. I needed to take the kids yearly pictures, so I decided to take the kids to the Bellagio and take a look at the gardens. It is pretty awesome. We usually go during Chritmas so it was a treat to see what they did for fall. Check out all the cool pictures I took. If you haven't ever seen the gardens at the Bellagio, it is worth the trip.

While we were there with awesome backgrounds for pictures, I took these pictures of the kids. I think they turned out great and I didn't have to pay an arm and a leg for professional packages. I am so glad my college education can be used for the benefit of my kids and my pocket book.

Here is what all the kids looked like Halloween night. They all looked great!!!!

OUCH!

2008-10-28T14:28:00.001-07:00

I am sure everyone has slammed their finger in a door a least once. Well, today was my day to do that. I was annoyed at my dog for wanting to be in the house all the time today. He was scratching at the screen door way too much. So I walked over and opened the door and told him to stop and very firmly shut the sliding glass door on my pointer finger of my left hand. OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was brought to tears, and I suddenly felt like I needed my mommy.

Primary Program

2008-10-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

Today was our annual primary program that the kids put on in sacrament meeting. Both Paige and Madison participated and did very well. Madison worked really hard to learn her part and be able to say it without help. She did great!!! Today's program was Paige's last since she will be turning 12 in May. She is excited to see next year's program from the congratation. Parker will be able to join the primary kids next year since he will be a Sunbeam. He is excited to join in next year to sing. He is definately ready to move into primary. I believe nursery is getting a bit boring for him. It is so fun to see all the kids that were in nursery last year get up and present a part in sacrament meeting in front of so many people. Everyone did an exceptional job with sing, play instruments, and saying their part. The spirit is always so strong when the children testify of their Savior.

Fun Recipe

2008-10-16T20:31:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday we were happy to have the Child's children in our home while Lindsay and Chris worked on their house around the corner. Madison and Parker were so happy to have time with friends they haven't seen in a while. They played with anything and everything. They played school and even got out the moonsand and playdough. It was about time for Hannah and Liv to go and Hannah asks, "Why I haven't you gotten the Kool-aid Playdough recipe to my mom?" Well here it is for anyone who wants a fun afternoon with your kids. Thank you Neysa, my sister, who shared this with me years ago.

Kool-aid Playdough
1 1/4 C. Flour
1/4 C. Salt
1/2 T. Cream of Tarter
1 Pkg unsweetened Kool-Aid
1 1/2 T. Oil
1 C. boiling water

Boil the water with the oil and Kool-aid. Add the salt and dissolve throughly. Add the Flour, Cream of Tarter and kneed til it is like dough. Have fun!!!!

Church was exhausting today

2008-10-12T16:31:00.000-07:00

Jim and I have been serving in the nursery now for one year. Today was just hard. Since last week was General Conference, we didn't have any of the kids last week. Today, we had kids crying for mom and dad and not wanting to sing or do their activity. Thank goodness for the snack room. I think we got some quiet time to teach them a 2 minute lesson on prayer. By the time I got home I had to go take a nap myself.

Bubbles everywhere

2008-10-06T11:59:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you allow children to clean up in the new jetted tub with shampoo near by? BUBBLES EVERYWHERE!!!!!!

This will be the last time they get to experience such a huge bubble bath. It took several hours for all the bubbles to go down the drain. You just have to love these little children. I just laughed inside to see only heads above the bubbles.

How many of you are there?

2008-09-21T22:33:00.001-07:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
8
people with my name in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

This is fun give it a try.

Mom is BORING

2008-09-11T12:25:00.001-07:00

The other day, Parker came up to me and told me he was bored of me. I was shocked and then sad. He then continues and tells me that he wants to go to school like his sisters. So I guess he can be bored with me until I find a preschool that doesn't cost an arm and a leg here in Las Vegas. Until then.... I better find some other activities for him so he isn't so BORED!!

Getting in the groove

2008-09-08T08:43:00.000-07:00

Now that school is underway and all the kids will have open houses for each school soon, I am beginning to get the full picture of how busy I will be this school year. However, I am hoping to still find some down time to do things I like to do such as scrapbooking (I only can hope).

First week of school

2008-08-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

Well, the first week of school is almost over and I am tired. Meghan is out the door in the morning by 5:40am to go to Seminary that starts at 6:00am. I then take Paige to school about 7:40am and pick up her very bbf and head up to Leid MS. I then come home and get Madison ready and out the door by 8:40am and get her to school just a bit early so she can play on the playground with her friends before the morning opening starts at 8:55am. Parker and I then come home and do errands, or think about a NAP. Just kidding. I am doing pretty good. I am just tring to set up a couple more carpools so I can subsitute teach a couple days a week and know that all my children are taken care of. No pictures of the first day of school because Meghan wasn't nearly awake for one and of course she is in HS now so Mom can't do any fun things like that. But as I recall, I haven't done that for three years with her. Teenage years have hit and Mom is only popular if she can have a cell phone. Paige was just as excited as she could be but the almost teenager still didn't like the idea of picures on the first day of school and by the time I took Madison, I just completely forgot. Life is much more busy with three kids at three different schools. I am sure I will manage but these past days have gone super quick with all the driving I am doing to and from schools.

Extreme Makeover - Bathroom Edition

2008-08-21T21:32:00.000-07:00

Hi all...

Kendra's coaching me (Jim) on this. Funny, I'm on the computer all day, but she and Meghan are the ones who are operating in the 21st century when it comes to technology. Anyway, I wanted to post a couple of pictures showing what I working on while everyone was away in Colorado.

Earlier this year, we noticed some tiles in the shower beginning to push out from the wall and an ever growing loss of grout. In order to tear out the tile and fix the problem, we'd have to sacrifice the use of the 2nd bathroom for at least a week, probably 2. When Kendra began planning her trip and my vacation time not enough to join them, I decided to use my solitary time to fix our problem.

Well, once the tile came off, I found lots of mold, which required structural demolition. Also, our sinks were breaking and showing rust in the bowls. Of course, the new tile didn't match the tile our counter top was covered with, and the old tub just didn't look right with all the new stuff...you probably have guessed that one thing led to another and when it was all done with, the tile was replaced, the sinks and countertop was replaced, and the tub was replaced. To bring it up to today's designs, we also removed the old '80s looking mirror and bar-light over the vanity and replaced with something more stylish (the light fixture cost only $5). Since more was done than originally planned and because of some poor measuring on my part, we encountered some delays and my 2 week project turned into 3 1/2. I'm very happy with it, however. The shower is bigger and now has a light over it so it doesn't feel like you're in the dark, the tub is deeper with jacuzzi jets, the counter no longer has grout to constantly clean, and everything that was bad before has been repaired. I sure pays to work for a General Contractor some times. Kendra picked out a fantastic looking tile, too.

Happy Birthday Madison

2008-08-21T21:23:00.001-07:00

Madison had her 7th Birthday on Monday and all she wanted to do was invite friends and play with them at a park that had a water feature. The park she choose was smaller and wasn't crowded at all. We actually had the whole park basically to ourselves. They played in the water and played games for about one hour then we went back to the house and made paper crowns, had cake, and opened presents. She had a BLAST! Life is so simple when she is happy with friends.

Apples, Apples, and more apples.

2008-08-11T10:15:00.000-07:00

We picked 25 gallons of apples and that made a lot. I thinks this is the total count of production for the two weeks I was in Durango. We made three pies and one apple crisp. I brought home over 36 jars of jam (raspberry, strawberry and apricot), 12 quart jars of apple juice, 8 round tables of fruit leather (roll-ups), 18 pints of frozen raspberries. My dad's raspberry patch was doing very well this year. By the time we left, we had picked around 120 pints of raspberries. TONS! I also helped my mom freeze raspberries for my siblings in California, and my nephew froze some for his family in Rexburg. We also made jam for my brother. It was a busy two weeks and I think I forgot how much work I used to do in the summer when I was growing up.

More Farm Pictures

2008-08-11T09:56:00.000-07:00

Here we are making applesauce and fruit leather (roll-ups). We didn't roll them up. We spread the applesauce on a round table on black plastic and let the sun do the work. We did 10 tables of fruit leather, five apple and five apple/apricot. We got home on Saturday night around 6 p.m and that night I was exhausted . Driving 10 hours and the work we did the last two weeks I slept very well in my own bed. We did do some fun things too. The kids played badminton, played at the Durango rec center, played at two awesome parks in Durango, went to the Durango fair and saw pigs, cows, sheep, goats, rabbits, chickens, duck, and turkeys. We also enjoyed Grandma Sheila's new patio with a new firepit.

More of Farm life

2008-08-04T16:39:00.000-07:00

We have more farm stories to share. The other day we made apple pies, apple juice and apple sauce to make fruit roll-ups. I had the pictures but didn't bring my camera to the library that has the internet connection. I will post those later this week because we are going to do more apple juice, apple sauce and apple pie filling on Wednesday. I think the kids are getting sick of all the work we have to do on the farm. This morning they asked what was on the schedule and I said nothing unless you want to do more apple sauce to make fruit rollups with. They declined and wanted to go to the park. So we went after lunch. The park was good for a while until they got bored but the Animas River (which runs through Durango) was only 20 feet way. It was hot and so Parker, Madison and Paige went and put their feet in. Not one minute later, Parker was jumping into the river with a big splash and is know soaking wet to his neck. Madison sat down in the river on her knees and so she is soaking wet too. Of course the camera is at my mom's house. They did have fun but when the wind blew they were freezing wet with mountain river water on them. It was an adventure today. My computer A/C adapter died so I had to go buy another or life without the laptop would be just horrible on the way home on Saturday. Meghan spent four hours at the public library getting caught up on here emailing, posting and talking with friends. Meghan is the one who has been away from real-life technology for almost three weeks (who can blame the teenager from going through technology withdrawl).
We are having fun, but still a lot of work to do on the farm to help my parents. Stay tuned in for more pictures of FARM LIFE to come later.

Farm living is BUSY

2008-07-31T14:51:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a couple of days and we are staying busy. We have load and placed 54 rolls of sod for grandma, picked another 22 pints since Monday and made more jam and froze more too. I forgot how hard it is to mow the lawn. Meghan switched on/off with me and we got the HUGE lawn done in two hours. I have found sometime to scrapbook. I have done 10 pages too. So over all, our little retreat to Durango, Co. has been productive. We are having a good time too. Meghan has been to the library so she could catch up with friends and I could post these blogs. West (our dog) killed a chicken last night. I would post the pictures but they are a little bloody and disgusting.

Days at grandma's

2008-07-29T11:43:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a very busy day on the farm. We got up and picked raspberries for 2 hours. We picked, and picked, and picked raspberries. When we were done we had 30 pints of raspberries. We made 3 batches of jam and froze 15 pints. Needless to say, we were tired at the end of the day.

Les Miserables at Tuacahn

2008-07-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

Jim and I went to St. George on a date last night and saw LES MISERABLES and it was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!! We have also saw GUYS AND DOLLS several years ago and it was awesome as well. I love going and seeing the great things they do at Tuacahn.

We bought our tickets in March or April and were in the 7th row back and in the very center. Great seats!!!!! We actually tried to get more friends from our ward to go with us, but with it being a Thursday we had only one other couple go with us. The production was done so well. The actors all had great voices. I just loved how well the whole play was done. They used real fireworks in the gun battle because of the outside theater and after the show we enjoyed a little firework show as well. I highly recommend this show and theater to anyone who loves to watch plays. For more information go to www.tuacahn.org. I am glad we were able to go.

Kids grow up

2008-07-22T08:15:00.000-07:00

Meghan left yesterday for an EFY conferance up at Provo, UT. She was acting like it wasn't a big deal but when she got to Salt Lake City airport and found her cousin Julie, she was excited. Of course, I couldn't have witnessed it because I was still here in Las Vegas, but I got a report from Julie's grandma that they were so excited and just being typical teenage girls. I know she will have a great experience. I just can't believe I have a 14 year old daughter. It just seems like yesterday I was her age and experience fun, life changing things for the first time. Life does pass quickly.

Adding playlist

2008-07-16T13:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am getting a little bit more knowledge with this blogging thing. I finally got a playlist on my blog site. These are songs that get me dancing or just some of my favorites from when I was growing up. Yes in the 80's and 90's. Yes, I do have disney songs on my playlist. These are some of my favorites. I am still adding since it does take time but feel free to look and listen. ENJOY>

Story of bunkbeds

2008-07-13T16:25:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I sold Parker's toddler bed on Craig's list very quickly. Parker was sleeping on Madison's bed while the neighbor lent us an air mattress that Madison slept on. Jim and I then went out in search of bunkbeds. I went to garage sales, furniture stores and finally we went to a store liquiadation and found some pretty inexpensive bunkbeds. The only negative things about this bunkbed set was it was a bleach, white pine color. So Madison and I set out to make them a better color. It was fun staining the bunkbeds. Madison had stain all over herself and the back patio. Jim helped and soon the project was done. This is what it looked like.

Bunkbeds for Madison and Parker

2008-07-13T16:16:00.000-07:00

Finished Project

2008-07-13T16:07:00.000-07:00

What do you do for fun?

2008-06-22T15:42:00.000-07:00

What do you do in the summer time when the temperatures are above 100 degress? Well, Parker and Madison try on my knee hi nylons after doing a load of laundry.

Parker's swimming lessons

2008-06-22T15:09:00.000-07:00

Parker just finished his first session of swimming lessons and I think he is part fish. Although he has always loved the water and would just jump in no matter who was watching him. Some of the new things he learned was to dive for objects at the bottom of the swallow end pool. His teacher, Ms. Brandi, is awesome in teaching confindence in the water and just doing amazing things in just one week. We might just have a swimmer on our hands.

I am learning

2008-06-19T12:36:00.000-07:00

Blogging is still so new to me but I am learning new things. I had two friends tell me about making my blog spot more enjoyable through downloading backgrounds. It is fun. I might be changing it more often. It is sad though when Meghan is wanting to take over shaping my blog into hers. She is smarter than I am when it comes to the computer. I now know how my mom feels when your children start surpassing you in smartness in the electronic department. I am being to understand when Meghan says time on the computer pass too quickly, and two hours isn't enough time to do anything on the computer.

Family Picture at Lagoon

2008-06-12T15:15:00.001-07:00

Family Vacation 2008

2008-06-12T14:54:00.000-07:00

We took a short, little vacation after school got out. Jim wanted to go up to Idaho Falls to see his mom for a few days and I wanted to visit my sister in Rexburg. On our way there we spent one day at LAGOON in Farmington, UT. We had a blast. The weather was a bit cool but warmed up by noon on last Saturday, and the kids just went from ride to ride. We had to divide up so Meghan and Paige could ride all the rides they wanted to but we always had a meeting time to switch and redivide. IT WAS JUST GREAT. Parker loved the rides, Madison couldn't get enough of the rides, Meghan was very happy just to have the opportunity to have a great time and Paige wasn't really done when we had to go. I just loved watching and seeing the kids have a time of their life. This trip will be one to alway remember.

School is out summer starts

2008-06-02T11:05:00.000-07:00

I just don't know where May went. It is June 2 and I have reviewed all that went on in May for our family. Two birthdays, one anniversary (16 years) and endless awards ceremonies for all three girls. It was just plain busy and I am looking forward to the end of this week when we as a family get to go to Utah and Idaho. We are taking our government stimilus money and playing at Lagoon for a day and then spending 4-5 days in Idaho Falls to visit grandma. It will be nice not to have to get up, get kids ready for school, and run around to errands like I do most of my weeks. We all need a break from all the routine of things. Summer is going to be busy with girls camp, efy, and making a visit to Durango for an visit to grandma and grandpa so we are ready to jump in and have a fun summer. Visit often because I am going to be better at posting things on the blog spot. Have a great day.

Phantom of the Opera

2008-05-19T08:19:00.000-07:00

Meghan and I went to Phantom of the Opera on Saturday and it was TERRIFIC!!!!!! Meghan was excited to see it and we had great seats right under the giant chandeler. I asked her to rate her day and she gave it 10 out of 10. This was a great performance and I was glad to share it with her. It was a day I hoped made many memories as she celebrated her 14th birthday.

Phantom of the Opera

2008-05-15T21:30:00.000-07:00

Meghan wanted just a couple of things for her Birthday. She wanted the 3rd book in Stephanie Myers "TWILIGHT SERIES", She got Eragon and Eldest book. The other BIG thing was she got was PHANTOM OF THE OPERA TICKETS!!!! Casually, a couple of weeks ago, Meghan just said out of the blue she would like to see Phantom of the opera. I started to look into it, and to make a long story short, got tickets at a discount. SO, Saturday, Meghan and I are going to see Phantom of the Opera. I think I might be just as excited as Meghan is.

Happy Birthday Meghan

2008-05-15T21:25:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Paige!!!!!!!

2008-05-06T21:35:00.000-07:00

Paige turned 11 years old yesterday. She had a great day. All she wanted was spend it with her friend and have steak for dinner. We spent the evening with her friend's family and enjoyed a wonderful evening. She also received Heelys which she was wanting for many, many months. It was a great day for Paige.

Loosing more teeth.

2008-05-06T21:30:00.000-07:00

Madison lost yet another tooth while eating corn on the cob last night at dinner. She is sooooo proud of the holes in her smile.

I did it. 5K done and done well.

2008-05-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, May 3, 2008, I ran the 5K for the race for the cure. I ran with some friends and Paige walked the mile with her friend and mom. I finished the 5K in 30min. 30 sec. That is pretty good for me since I haven't ran a 5K in some 18 years since high school. I will still keep on running and looking to do the diabetes run later in the summer to early fall.

Busy weekend!!

2008-05-06T21:22:00.000-07:00

It's MONDAY

2008-04-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

Can anyone tell me how to get a 3 year old to just sleep in his own bed? Parker believes mom's and dad's bed is the best. Well, as I think about it 3/4 of my kids think that my bed is the best. Parker and I went to look at bunkbeds on Friday thinking that will help him sleep in his own bed. I am now convinced I need to learn the art of garage sales, craig's list and so on. I could believe the prices of bunkbeds. Parker told me he would sleep in a bunkbed because he just doesn't like HIS bed. I will scream if I go buy a bunkbed and still find him in my bed. I just need to sleep through the night without my three year old coming in and telling me that he likes mom's bed. Keep you posted because I am now looking for nice/new like bunkbeds anywhere but the store.

National Scrapbook Day

2008-04-22T14:21:00.001-07:00

This past weekend, I held my National Scrapbook day event for Creative Memories. This was the nineth one I have held. I can't believe I have been a consultant for 9 years. The company's goal was to get done one million pages during all National Scrapbook Day events. I am happy to say, my customers finished 80 pages in 7 hours. I had 6 people come and one of my down line. On average we did 10 pages per person. That was pretty good.

Running toward 5K goal.

2008-04-13T19:14:00.000-07:00

For the past month, I have been working on getting in shape to run the Run for the Cure on May 3, 2008. I have a friend that was trying to get a group of us to do it. I committed to her and have been pretty good at running 30 minutes a day on the treadmill. I feel good when I do run. I have more energy and I have noticed some of my clothes getting loose around the middle. YEA!!!! I will have to keep this blog up to date and see if I survive the 5K. I haven't ran a 5K since high school cross country.

New haircut

2008-04-06T21:41:00.001-07:00

Look what happens when the kids are preoccupied with the T.V and Dad is attending the Priesthood session of Conferance. I made sure the kids were settled and then off to Super Cuts I went. I actually had a bad haircut a several months ago so I had the hair dresser to fix it and this is what she came up with. I like it and am really excited about it. The girls thought it was too short and Jim did notice when he returned from his meeting. I guess I will have to grow it out again because Madison said I didn't look like "MOM" any more.

Down right dirty

2008-03-21T12:52:00.000-07:00

Parker has given new meaning to down right dirty. We planted our little garden and had to get new dirt and compost so this year our garden will do better and Parker just had to help. He was so dirty, it took days to get him clean.

Sleeping so sound.

2008-03-01T22:24:00.000-08:00

Why is it that kids and sleeps where ever they land. They sleep so peacefully and still it is amazing. They are so fun to watch and savor the moment.

Loving and teaching

2008-03-01T22:13:00.000-08:00

I love seeing my kids actually get along and teach one another things they like to do.

Spring is here

2008-03-01T22:07:00.001-08:00

My almond tree in the backyard has "POPPED" in blossoms this week. Madison counted three on Monday and by Wednesday the whole tree was covered in blossoms. It is great!!!! Weather is warming and we are thinking about what to plant in our very small garden.

REBOUND

2008-02-19T13:32:00.000-08:00

It seems that everyone is starting to rebound a little from last weeks uproar of events. Parker is feeling himself by beating on all his OLDER sisters. His favorite thing to do is hit almost everyone. Madison takes the brunt of his force and Meghan urges him to do more. Paige would just rather stay to herself unless so is plasterin Parker with about 100 kisses. Jim is still feeling some effects of the ordeal. Still light headed when he pushes himself too much. Other than that life proceeds and we will tackle the next things that is thrown our way. I was joking with my mom that maybe I should go back to school and get a medical degree. I think in some cases it would ease the mind when I would know the terms and conditions that has plaqued my family the last 2 years. I might even consider a degree in nutrition since three family members need somewhat a different diet than normal people. Well, at least we are all together again and things are looking up.

Crazy week

2008-02-17T19:54:00.000-08:00

Last week was definately a wild one. Let's see where to start. Well after I got home from SLC from a Creative memories meeting Jim got sick. He thought he was fine so off to church we went on Sunday morning. Not even half way through the meeting Jim gets up and leaves due to not feeling himself. He makes it into the bathroom thinking he needs to throw up and he passes out instead. He hit is head the the tile floor resulting in a HUGE bump on his head. One of the other men heard the loud bang and tapped on the door to see if he needs help. Well, Jim bearly responded so the men found a key to the bathroom and found Jim on his feet by not very stable. In the mean time, they help him to the coach and go get me. He is pale/gray when I see him and I am thinking he looks almost dead. I bring him home and let him rest. By Monday he is not feeling so well either so off to the Hospital we go. Jim spends til Wednesday afternoon in the hospital trying to figure out what is wrong. We are still waiting for many results but Jim was diagosed with colities which is inflamed large intestine. He is doing better today, but just a very interesting week last week.

Love my Husband

2008-02-10T19:18:00.001-08:00

This weekend was a busy one especially for my husband. I had a creative memories convention up in Salt Lake City. I left my family for 36 hours with him, and he did such a great job running all four kids everywhere. I think he pushed himself too much because on today, he was very, very, very, sick. He will be okay but he puts his heart into everything and goes 150 miles per hour when I'm not here. He is a great man.

2008-02-01T09:52:00.000-08:00

I hope they call me on a mission.

2008-02-01T09:49:00.000-08:00

Madison loves to dress up too. One Sunday while waiting to go to 1:00 pm church, she went into my closet and found my black dress and then used a saftey pin to make it fit. She asked me to make a name tag so she could go on a mission.

All dressed up.

2008-02-01T09:27:00.000-08:00

Parker usually is a very good boy. Only when he gets bored then you better watch out. Last week when I was with a friend visiting over what new things we will do with our acitivities days girls, it became very quiet. My friend and I went into the bedroom and check on her two kids and Parker. Well, Parker had changed clothes and was wearing Hayley clothes. We just laughed then told him to give back her clothes.

Playing in the snow

2008-01-05T15:26:00.000-08:00

New Year in Rexburg

2008-01-05T14:35:00.000-08:00

We were able to go up to Rexburg and visit the open house of the temple and it was beautiful. My kids were also able to refresh their memory how cold snow is. Parker was able to see snow for the first time in his life since he was born down here in Las Vegas. I hope all had a wonderful New year.