July...rapidly passing

So July is here...and it seems to be flying just as quickly as May and June did. I cannot believe that summer is half over!!! My last blog was quite a large one, but I only made it to the middle of June. So maybe, just maybe, I will be able to finish and get it posted!

Daeson came out of his room one day to show me his underwear head. He is so funny. He said, "Mom, tate a pitture." June 26, 2008

This is a little fuzzy, but Tevan is geting into everything. He is getting to be quite the busy body. In this picture he is trying to get the dog that sings "Only You." He loves that dog...but Daeson doesn't always like to share it.

June 26, 2008

Tevan is so funny, I love when he makes this particular face...so cute. He breathes
in and out while making this face.

What a sweet boy!!

June 27, 2008

Tevan has recently discovered the bouncy
horse...HE LOVES IT!!!





It is so hard to keep him off!!

Daeson gets a little jealous with the horse. But, sharing is hard to do sometimes. He does pretty good though.

June 28, 2008

We had a spontanious BBQ today. It was a lot of fun. Troy's family came and my cousin Katie. The kids played in the water and the adults

sat around and talked...very relaxing. And do you know what the best part was??? Ididn't stress out at all! That in itself is a good thing :).

Tevie found some bubbles...the adventerous type.

KLa and her girllies, and Grandma Grover below. Grandma had a shocker today when Daeson put the running hose down her back. I felt sooo bad for Grandma, but it was soooo funny!!! It was hard to punish him...but he needs not to do it to Grandmas.

Poor Tevan...He's gonna be bigger than Daeson one day...paybacks.

Playing catch up

Okay, so I am a LITTLE behind on some of the things that happened over the last few weeks. So, this BLOG is going to have a few pictures in it with brief explanations of the event. I missed a few, so here we go:

June 5, 2008

Here are a couple of Tevan's firsts: milk and cheese. He wasn't sure about the milk, but he LOVED the cheese.

Daeson is my little helper. He loves to water the flowers with his duck watering can. He is so proud of it.

Mother's Day, May 11, 2008. This was supposed to be a great family shot...Tevan looks happy. :) Actually, I think it turned out okay.

Daeson learned how to cross his eyes today. I think it is hillarious!!

May 25, 2008
This is my super-cute niece, Brooke. Jesse and Carlie's daughter. She and Daeson LOVE to play...they just don't get to very often. I think we probably see them about 6-8 times a year. The sad thing is that they just live 45 minutes from us...I KNOW!!!!

Happy #30 Justin!!! YOU ARE SOOOO OLD! This is my brother. I really don't think that 30 is old...I'm rapidly approaching it myself!!!

Daeson got two cakes this year...this is his actual Birthday day cake. I cheated and bought it from WinCo. But, it was DELICIOUS and he was thrilled it was Spiderman!!

May 28, 2008




May 29, 2008

We bought Daeson a gumball machine for his birthday. He is so excited when Troy has change in his pocket so he can have a "DUMBALL".

May 31, 2008

Kayla and girls, Richard, Peggy, the boys and I, Heidi and Kaden and a friend went to the Tautphus Park Zoo. We had a good time and the kids LOVED it. This is my mother-in-law, Peggy, my nieces, Adalyn and Mieley, and Daeson by the monkeys.




Daeson and Tevan with the lion.

Daeson and Tevan had fun in the giant swing. There is a new park by the zoo. I just found out about it. It is such a great park. There was so much for the kids to do.

June 10, 2008

Tevan loves that he can stand up next to furniture and "cruise". He also loves to play with anything he can get his hands on. These just happen to be my shoes. He loves to put things up on tables, chairs, etc. and then take them off again. What a cutie pie!!!

June 11, 2008: Do I really have a child old enough for a big-boy-bike? Daeson suprised us both that he could hop on and ride. This is his first time and Troy and I were SHOCKED! He is growing up so quickly and I am so proud of him!!!

Daeson loves books. We try to read several each night. After we read to him, we tell a story and then sing a song. Then he is off to dreamland. It, sadly, is sometimes the only one-on-one time I get with him. We seem to keep pretty busy through the day!!!

June 15, 2008

RUB-A-DUB-DUB: June 13, 2008. This is Ryker, my nephew, Adalyn, my niece, and my big boy Daeson. We were happy Ryker could be here with us...what a treat. The kids LOVE bathing together.

June 14, 2008: THE BIG FIVE-OOHHHH BIRTHDAY PARTAY!

This is my parent's fiftieth birthday party. My mom turned 50 on the 13th and my dad on the 28th...I am so sure they are just ecstatic I am posting this!!! Ha-Ha! You can post it when I turn 50. These are some of our friends from 100 years ago...or about 30. Rick and Teresa Jackman and Karen and Lyle Scow. They are very good friends and I am happy they came...as was everyone else.



Here are some more long-time friends and some family. I cannot see very well in the picutre, but Cheryl, Jaden, Ron and Lindy, Darrold and Viginia, Grandma Lish, Chad Ridlesbacher and Kalene Larson, and Ernie ans Sue Moser...really long time friends.





This is family...let's see: Mitzi, Shalese, Shawntel, Shailee, Miki, Tucker,Eli, Dee, Shade, Hailey, Jess, me, Tevan, Carlie, Troy, Grandma Smith, Brookie, Katie, and Daeson. I didn't get everyone, but almost.

I asked Mom if she knew something was going on, she said they suspected something, but not this! This is them walking in. I told them it was Tevan's birthday party. I hope they enjoyed it...we sure did.



It's chow time...yummy food was brought. We had a TON of everything. Too much...I ate potato salad and cake for a week!!! But, it was sure great!

Family picture time...Hailey and Justin, Jandy, Tevan, Troy, Daeosn, Jaden, Brooke, Carlie and Jess.




Brookie and Daeson had a lot of fun playing on the stage. I know there were some who didn't like it, but it kept them occupied and happy. They weren't doing anything wrong, so I didn't care. To each their own.

It was adorable...thanks for the picture, Hailey!! Daeson was doing such a great job sharing with Tevan. What a good big brother!!!!





The birthday king and queen...We love you both very much!!!

No middle man...

Tonight was one of the greatest nights I have had in a while. I was able to clean the Idaho Falls Temple with some other members of our stake. I was really neat. We scrubbed lockers, dusted furniture and put rooms back together. After we were all done, we got a tour of the temple. We got to go underground and in the work shop areas. I met really nice people and we had some laughs. It was hard work, but the cleaning manager told us before we started that "when ye are in the service of our fellow beings, ye are in the service of our Lord." ( I don't have a ref, but it is from the scriptures.) Then she said, "There is no middle man. You are here serving the Lord Himself. This is His house and you are serving him directly." I thought that was really neat. The time went by really fast. We were there at 6 and finished at 9:30 pm. I had a lot of fun and it was a great opportunity to serve.

It has been a LOOOOOONG time since I have been to the temple and a TON of things have changed. It is so beautiful...not that it wasn't before, it's just all new now. It is so wonderful that we have a house of worship. It is so wonderful that we can serve our Lord in EVERY capacity...one no greater than the other. He doesn't care if we clean the toilets in the church house, or if we are "just a visiting teacher". All of His work is very important. We are so lucky to be able to accept the things He asks of us and it is so great that we can serve Him in so many ways.

Oh, and by the way, I am very supportive of the visiting teaching program. It is sometimes harder to give our time to visit the sisters and really feel their needs than to do other things we are asked. I don't mean to slander the VT program with the afformentioned statement. :) GO VT!!!

Movie Mahem

WALL E was the movies we went to see at 4:55 pm today. Yes, that is the movie we went to see but saw none. The reasons? A three year old and a one year old. I thought Daeson would be good having sat through Kung Foo Panda...the whole thing. However, today was not the case. He was AWFUL!! He ran up and down the ramp...even managing to escape Troy and I and running out the door. Not to mention the billion trips to the bathroom!! Tevan? Not much better. I took treats, waters, we bought popcorn...but all efforts were in vain. Nothing worked and I ended up leaving the movie theater early. Troy stayed with Daeson and I came home with Tevan. What a WASTE of money that movie was. I didn't even get to see the end...the best part in my mind. But, oh well. I guess if my kids were miserable, I should be too, right? For all of you wondering if you should go...sure. What I saw of it was really cute. Kind of a cute little love story. Or, if you have small children, maybe wait until it comes out on video. Save yourselves some money. My question is this: Why do they put 30 minutes of previews in kid's movies? That is 30 minutes my children would have seen the movie instead of getting restless towards the end of the movie. ???

ROCKBAND JUNKIE!!

For Father's Day, Troy got a Wii. I was hesitand because we have and XBox (for 5 years) and it doesn't get played very much. In fact, we have 32 games and they just sit...wasted money. But, the other day Troy brought home Rockband. We have now played the Wii almost as much as the XBox. I LOVE ROCKBAND!! Troy and I stay up late on the nights he doesn't have to go to work early and rock out. Troy is on the guitar and I on the drums. I played it so much that my arms are sore and I have a little blister under my ring. I never thought of myself as a rocker...but I am lovin' me some Rockband. If you haven't tried it, I suggest you come on over. We are in need of a singer as Troy and I are not the best in the world. But, seriously...you are more than welcome to come jam with us!!!!

Happy Birthday, Tevan!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Tevan!! We are so happy you are in our little family!! I cannot believe that you are one already...time flies! You have had a rough little life and I am so proud that you have made it thru all your surgeries and sickness. You mean the world to me, and I love you so, so much! You add excitement and laughter to our family. Daeson and Daddy love you, too.

I was quite pleased with the way the party went. Grandma Grover (Troy's dad's mom), Peggy, Kayla, Adalyn, Mieley, Heidi, Brad, Barbara, Austin, Cameron, Brother Gallup, Mahana, Troy, Daeson, Tevan and I were all there. Thank you to all of you who made it. We went to the new playground behind Funland at Tautphus Park. It is a great play area and it had a shelter we were able to use for the party. After the kids played, we ate cake and opened presents. I had a great time making his cake. I was sorely disappointed that the clowns melted in the heat. Bummer. It is a good thing I took pictures of the cake on the way there. We stopped at Jack in the Box for the kids a small lunch and actually won tickets to Taste of Idaho from Z103. They just happened to be giving away tickets in front of Smith's. It was a special treat for Troy and I. We have wanted to go, but tickets are $25 each. It was so nice to be able to go. Our cute little neighbor girl watched the boys. Troy and I hopped on the bike and went. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was great. They had a live band and a ton of people. It was a great day. I felt bad leaving Tevan on his birthday, but I think he might understand. :)

This is one of the four clowns. I had a great time making them. But already he was starting to sag.

Here is a side view of the cake. It had four clowns and four circus animals: seal, elephant, lion, and bear. Tevan was so excited when he saw it. He tried to grab it and squealed for joy. That made me feel good.

Tevan did not like getting his hands dirty or sticky. He hardly ate any of the cake. I was hoping for a real mess, but he just got a little messy on his hands and face. It was still cute and HE is so funny to watch all the expressions.

This is one of the cool toys at the park. Tevan sat on it and Grandma Blue turned him round and round. He loved it!! The turf was too hot for him to crawl on, so I am glad he had a toy that would work for him.

Tevan got so many great gifts, Thanks everyone!! He didn't quite get the open the present part, but he had a lot of good helpers. We got everyone a ride ticket. Troy and Tevan rode the Ferris Wheel with Daeson and Austin. Brother Gallup and Mahana rode the octopus, Cameron, Tevan, and I rode the train. Daeson, Mahana, and I rode the octopus; Adalyn and Mieley rode the carousel horses. We had fun, I hope the kids did too. Here is Troy and Tevie.

Austin and Daeson did really good on the Ferris Wheel. I personally hate the Ferris Wheel, and I was scared Daeson would bail. But, they did really great.

Tevan and I had fun on the train. Everyone was standing by the gate, waiving. Everytime we went around, he watched them and smiled. As soon as we were no longer facing them, he would start waiving. I am not sure what he was waiving at, or if it just took that long to get it processing...it was adorable!!!

The octopus was a love hate ride for me. And yes, for all of you wondering, those are tears. I really cried on the ride because I was laughing so hard...and crying because I hated it. It was fun though and I would do it again.

Our fun day ar Riot Zone

Troy took us to the Riot Zone Tuesday. We had a good time and it was nice to play with the kids. Here are some of our shots. I didn't get very many, but I did get a few. After the Riot Zone, he took us to eat at Stockman's Rest. by Rigby. It was tasty and I was very impressed with the kid's menu.

Daeson had so much fun on the giant slide, until he got a massive rug burn on his elbow. Then it was time quit.

We also had fun with the gladiator ring. Daeson could barely lift the sticks...they were pretty big for a little guy.

Tevan liked the blow up toys, too. I pulled him out when he started putting strange objects in his mouth. I think the leaves and the buds from the trees blew in to it. Yuck!

I think he might be the next Tiger Woods. Maybe not. He did have fun though. We all golfed...I only golfed for a while because Tevan was getting pretty impatient. So I did nine holes. Next time I go golfing, it willbe without my children. But, Daeson and Troy had fun.

Thanks, Troy for a fun afternoon!! It was great!!!

It's official...

Okay, so tonight it is official. I am weaning Tevan. He is not liking it much...he is screaming in his crib. I don't know what else to do. He will be one on Thursday, but I am completely out of milk. This cow is dry. HMPH. Well, I hope he comes out of it okay. He is so devastated right now and my neighbors probably think I am beating him or something (the window is opened). Augh! Wish me luck!!!

Happy Father's Day...a little late

Happy Father's Day!! I know I am a couple days late, but better
late than never!!! :) I just wanted to let my husband, dad and grandfather know how important they are to me.

First, I will start with Troy. He is a good man and I am so thankful for all that he does for me. He often is up around 3 am, goes to work and a lot of times ends his day around 9 pm after which he helps me get the kids to bed. He is a great dad and my children love him. He always make us feel special, and I appreciate all he does for us...I love you, babe.

Second, I would like to tell my dad how thankful I am for him. He worked hard for my family growing up and I know it wasn't easy. I know I wasn't an easy child to raise...DRAMA DRAMA, but he was patient with my and allowed me to make my own mistakes. He is very good with my kids and they love him so much. I can probably count the number of times I told my Dad that I love him, but I really do love my dad. He was there when I had Daeson, but not able to be there with Tevan. I was so sad he wasn't there. I love you, Dad.

Third, my grandfather. He is a good man and I am so glad my children have an opportunity to know him. He is healthy and I think he will be around for a while. Whenever we go to their house, he goes downstairs to find the toys for Daeson. He plays with the boys and takes them outside. He is a very kind and patient man...he is a very HARD worker, too. He has been an example to all of us. Love you, Grandpa!!

Happy Birthday, Grandma Tom!!!!

Happy Birthday, Grandma Tom!!! Daeson named my grandma "Grandma Tom" when he was about 1 1/2 yrs old because she has a cat named Tom. Grandma is a big part of our lives. We love to go visit her and see her as much as we can. We love our Gram!!! We hope she has a good 75th birthday, we wish we could have been there.

Be careful what you wish for...

Be careful what you wish for, it might come true. If you read the last part of my latest blog, I wrote that I wanted released from my calling. I am not even sure why I typed that, but I just got off on a tangent. I got a phone call this morning about 9:30 am from the Exec. Sec. telling me the Bishop wanted to talk to me. So I went in and after visiting for a minute, he issued me a release. Maybe last night HE was preping me for today. I am not sure. But, my name had been submitted for another calling...I cannot say what it is as it was not issued, I was just interviewed for it. I am not sure what to think. My mind is unsure of what is going on around me. I am barely staying afloat and I know that another calling...especially of that magnitude...would be very time consuming and put additional stress on my family. Troy voiced his opinion (I later went in for another meeting with Troy...like an interview for him) and the Bishop decided maybe he should hold off on the calling. He said he would be in touch and that Heavenly Father loves us very much.
I kinda knew earlier what he was going to talk to me about, and I have not had a feeling one way or another all day. However, in RS today a quote really stood out to me and it brought me to tears. It read, "No matter what may come upon you, round up your shoulders and bear it, and always sustain and defend the interests of the Church and Kingdom of God." Was that really talking to me? I don't know. But it still stands in my mind. Yes it is true that I am barely staying afloat and I have a lot on my plate right now, but I want to do what the Lord wants me to do. I have a very good friend who lives in Rexburg, she has two children and she has been called as RS Pres. She is amazing to me and I look up to her with much admiration. I don't know how she stays so calm and collected, but she does and she has the happiest disposition. ???????? I know the Lord loves me and He knows what is best for me. I just have to figure that out and decide to be happy. Prioritize...that is what I need. And FlyLady!!! :) We will see what happens, until then I won't hold my breath...

Partied out

Today was the big party day. It started out chaotic and ended in the same. I got up this morning to make two sheet cakes and finish the BBQ beef. Then I had to get two kids fed and ready to go. Troy ended up finishing early today, so he was here and able to help me a bit. I tried to find something to wear, but nothing looked good. Troy decided to take me shopping for some sandals and a new pair of capris. We found some darling sandals and some cute capris...and it only took one store!!! That is a first. I told Troy I wanted to get him a couple of different things for Father's Day, but he had to pick which one. I told him I wanted to get him a Wii or a season golf pass. He decided the Wii would be more fun, but we couldn't find one. Bummer. But, we should be able to find on next week. I think we are all excited about that. We never played our XBox, but I LOVE the tennis on the Wii...and there is a fun cow riding game Daeson likes. So, after looking but not finding a Wii, we finished errands and I frantically loaded the van. Katie, my cousin, rode with us to my mom and dad's partay.

We had a good turn out. For my mom's sake, I will try to name everyone who came. Max and Jan Shaffer, Dannette Shaffer, Ernie and Sue Moser, Dee, Eli, Tucker, Miki, Kip, Mitzi, Shailee, Shade, Shawntel, Shalese, Shad, Grandma Smith, Grandma and Grandpa Lish, Lindy, Ron, Aunt Virginia, Darrold, Cheryl, Lyle and Karen Scow, Rick and Teresa Jackman, Chad Rindlesbacher, Kalene Larson, Justin and Hailey, Jesse, Carlie, and Brooke, Jaden, Troy, Daeson, Tevan, myself, Bruce Bowers and girls...I hope I didn't forget anyone. We really had a great time; however, there were twenty-five more who RSVPed and didn't come. We had a ton of left over food!!! I think my parents had a good time at their fiftieth birthday suprise party. My brothers did a great job helping. We suprised them with a cruise. Yup, my parents are going to Cabo SanLucas and Ensanada in November for four days. I am happy to have them as my parents. We love you both!!

After cleaning up the church, I loaded things once again in the van, drove to IF (going as fast as I dare), unloaded the van from that party and loaded it again for the bridal shower. I am so glad Katie was here to help me. Troy was asleep in the back and was not about to wake up to help. I was irritated that I had to get everything done myself and as a result, I had to turn around twice and come back to the house for things forgotten. But, we made it to Rexburg via Ririe a half hour late. I missed most of the shower. But, they waited to do the presents until I arrived. She got a lot of great things. I also got to meet my soon-to-be-brother-in-law, Brad. He seems like a good guy.

We got everything put away, made more messes, cleaned up, made more messes...the cycle never ever ends. My kids have not been in bed before 11 pm the last three nights and they are just wiped out. Troy, of course, went to bed as soon as we got home. I unloaded and vacuumed the van (pretzels and chips make a terrible mess). The boys are sleeping and I am trying to decide if I should wait until tomorrow to clean, or if I should do it now. I am so tempted to wait. My eyelids are getting heavy. I know I should probably get it done tonight because tomorrow is Sunday, but Ithink I will wait.

I have a ton of stuff left on my to-do list and I hope that next week I can get it all done. My list seems to get longer and LONGER. Do you ever have the days where you just don't want to be home because it is easier to be away than to look at the messes and get discouraged? I promised myself that I am jumping back on the FlyLady wagon and start Monday. She is good for me and I slack way too much. So, maybe tomorrow I will just relax and let things slide one more day. I am so tempted to hire someone to do the little things that I never get to. Just once it would be nice to have someone else do the cleaning. I am just wiped out...tired of doing too many things. I would like to be released from my calling because I have done it for three years and it takes up a ton of time, but I will continue doing it. I must not have it right yet. And it keeps me going to church on those days that it seems like an unbearable task to sit thru 3 hours of church by myself. It is getting harded now that Tevan is active. He wiggles and does not want to sot still during Sac mtg, and then in SS he usually falls asleep...RS he is up again and wanting to play and jabber. Troy says church is my free time...but I am not seeing the freedom of chasing two small kids around for three hours. I think it is just his excuse not to come. Maybe one day Troy will be active...I am not holding my breath by any means, but MAYBE one day. It would sure make my life easier!!! There are times that I question why I am putting myself thru all of this, but I know that it is the true church. I know that my Savior loves me and died for me upon the cross. I am not perfect and I will be the first to admit that...but I can sure try to do the right things. I love my Savior and my Heavenly Father and I know they love me. It gives me hope to know that one day I might be able to live with them. What a great day that would be.

Well, I am headed off to bed to get some sleep...much needed sleep. I will have to load pictures tomorrow and put them on. I got some good ones. Good night and sleep well my friends!!