UPDATE

I have been a NAUGHTY blogger lately. I have missed many important life details so I will try filling myself in on just a few.

• Carson got his cast off this week - Yippee
  • Cooper got 2 new teeth - this makes 6 - Ouch
  • Cooper got a painful ear infection - Thank goodness for antibiotics. There is a sweet old lady who makes these bears and donates them to the hospital. This is Coopers cute little bear from the sweet little lady.
  
  
  • Boys got hair cuts - thanks Nic
  
  
  • Jaxon leaving the shops - sad, but we understand
  
  
  • Heather had lunch with Rexburg running buddies - I MISS YOU ALL!
  
  
  • Brian SO, SO, SO busy with EVERYTHING - someday it will slow down.
  
  
  • Heather CRAVING ICE - I will fill you in tomorrow

PINE WOOD MADNESS

This past Saturday was Carson's first official pine wood derby. He worked for days with Brian trying to build the perfect FAST car. They did some cutting, sanding, painting, and weighing to make sure that his car would FLY. Kelton along side Carson also built a car. He did his own sanding, painting and also weighing so that he could race his little car along side his big brother. We didn't think Kelton would be able to race, but when they got there they said they thought it would be great if he did. The first round of racing Kelton's car blew all 24 racers away. Apparently his little car that he built all by himself was one of the fastest there to start. The next few races were a little different. Carson ended up with 3 place over all and Kelton had some engine/wheel troubles after the first race. Brian said that everyone had a great time. I wish I could have been there, but the hospital doesn't seem to close their doors.......LIKE....EVER!

I LOOKED OUT THE WINDOW

I looked out the window and what did I see.........three big moose staring right at me.

Pretty dang sweet to see wolves, moose, bears, elk, dear, and mountain lions out my back door. Maybe that is why I haven't been running lately. My bike trainer is going to have to do for a while.

LET IT SNOW

SNO-NINJA AT WORK
So it has been snowing non stop for the past 3 days. We have about 4 feet of snow outside our home. I went to knock the snow off the dish satellite and had to swim in the snow to get to my destination. Not use to all of this SNOW! The SNO-NINJA (my husband) is getting a little wore out. He wakes up at 5:00am with bells on and plows until dark. WHAT A MAN! I sit at home cheering him on, feeding him Mac & Cheese, and massaging his feet. Well, I wouldn't go that far as to touch feet, but I think about massaging his feet. Thinking about something is sometimes better than doing....right? It is still snowing outside. Wow, no sleep for the SNO-NINJA tonight.

The boys have been enjoying the snow. They build forts, sled down the hills, and cross country ski. The other day they were out and it looked like they were skiing on top of the world. The clouds were absolutely AMAZING. Have you ever heard of "I have fallen and I can't get up." Kelton had fallen and truly could not get up even with Carsons help.

Carson goes in tomorrow to get his hard cast off......HOPEFULLY! Our family is DYING to go to the mountain and snowboard. We don't want to rush the healing process, but come on......it's time!

Monday night I got tickets to go through the Temple open house. I was able to get 10 so whoever wanted to go could. It was a great night. ABSOLUTLEY BEAUTIFUL! I was so thrilled that Carson and Kelton could see our Heavenly Father's Home. Those who were able to attend were;
Mom Berta, Daddy Bob, Brian, Carson, Kelton, Cooper, Grandma Alice, Tyler, Nicole, Griff, and Katrina. What a wonderful feeling to have family there and know that we will ALL be together forever someday.

CARSON TAKING A BREAK FROM SLEDDING

COOPER SAYING NO TO MOM

HAPPY NEW YEAR

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! What are your new years resolutions? Have you made any yet? Well, this is the first year since I was born that I am NOT making a diet resolution. Yup, no more.... I'm going to lose 20 pounds by my birthday. No more...I need to be a size 8 by July. No more....Washboard abs by summer. NO MORE, NO MORE! I REFUSE. I have changed my thinking and here are a few of my thoughts.




2008 new years resolutions.

• I will help 1 person in need each week.
• I will be a happy and fun mother....no matter what.
• I will be a good wife by saying and doing good things.
• I will eat healthy foods.
• I will do my best at whatever event I enter.
• I WILL LOVE MYSELF FOR WHO I AM!

Every new year, we make resolutions. It feels like getting a new start on life. We're full of hope and anticipation. But, year after year, the same thing happens. Within a few weeks, it's all gone the enthusiasm, the hope... Once again, the new year resolution has fizzled out. And we feel deflated, sad and guilty: we broke our promises to ourselves.

Research shows that half of the people who make good resolutions at new year have given up on them by the end of June. It doesn't matter what their new year resolution was -- to diet, to lose weight, to exercise, to sleep better, to work better... whatever...
Now, that was the "glass is half empty" perspective. The "glass is half full" perspective is that half of the people succeed. Which half do you want to be in?

I WILL SUCCEED this year! I am feeling ALIVE and ready for the world. COME ON BABY.....bring it!

WHITE CHRISTMAS

Today we woke up to a beautiful fresh blanket of white fluffy powder. How beautiful it was to see the mountains covered in snow on Christmas morning. We received about 8" of fresh powder and LOVE every inch we get. Christmas Eve was snowy as well. Brian missed Christmas Eve dinner due to the storms that hit our neighborhood. As you all know Bri has a new job of plowing the roads up here in the winter time. We purchased a snow removal business from one of the neighbors before they up and moved back east. I think he truly enjoys being outside and getting paid. I do feel bad that he was unable to be with us on Christmas Eve for dinner. We know how hard he is working for our family at this time. Thanks Bri for all you do.

Christmas morning was awesome. The boys both woke up to a great big WOW! Santa brought Kelton his 5 piece drum set, Carson got his MMR pellet gun, and Cooper got his Cloey phone. Carson and Kelton got their dad a CHAIN SAW. Now what man wouldn't want a chain saw for a gift. I think after chopping down that huge Christmas tree by hand Bri realized what his little heart was truly desiring. We had a great time hanging out together just relaxing. I was lucky enough to get some nice running shoes. Thanks for all the great gifts family and friends. We had a wonderful Christmas.

We caught Coop eating on a fake apple off of the Christmas tree. We took it away and his mouth was all red and yucky. About a few hours later he started getting SICK. I thought the poor kid had been poisened by an apple just like in the story Snow White. He was throwing up, and rootin out the wrong end all night long. He had a temperature and looked like death had warmed over . I think he just got a taste of the serious flu bug. Poor little guy. Not a fun way to end Christmas day.

EWE'S FLUFFY

ME IN ABOUT 6 MONTHS - oh yah baby....who is fluffy now?

Alright, Cooper is almost 10 months old and today I realized that he is no longer a baby. I can't use the excuse "I JUST HAD A BABY!" to justify my fluffy parts. I was in cooking dinner and my cute little guy comes up to me and says mom are you having another baby? I looked over at him and I asked why. He was tapping and rubbing his belly at me so innocently. Why do children have to be so completely honest and truthful. It's not like he was trying to hurt my feelings but he truly wanted to know if I was FREAKING pregnant.

So now I am motivated! No more chocolate fudge, cocoa motion, chocolate chip cookies, carmel corn, and candy bars for lets see.......EVER! I am motivated to finally get rid of this extra junk in the trunk. I was complaining to Brian that I have no clothes to wear. Actually, I do have clothes to wear - lots and lots of clothes that don't fit my fluffiness. I will let you know how the weekly weigh in goes. You will get to learn all about my fluff until it turns to rock iron steel.

When I was pregnant you had to weigh in on the scale at the doctors office. They had a sign that read......Ewe's not fat, Ewe's fluffy! Wow, they think they are so STINKING FUNNY. FLUFFY.....blah, blah, blah, blah.

OH CHRISTMAS TREE

Our family got to go on a great Christmas tree adventure this year to find the perfect tree. A few miles from our home is the National Forest so we decided to cut one down instead of doing the tree farm thing. What an adventure it was. The Williams family hunted, and hunted through 10" of fresh powder until we found THE perfect bright green tree. Cooper and I headed back to the truck to warm his little frigid face. Brian and the boys were off to cut down our Christmas tree the old fashion way....with a hand saw! After sawing it 2 different times they drug it up a hillside that was as steep as the north side of Mt. Everest. Yup, by the time their heads peaked over the mountain Brian was about ready to pass out. He looked like he had just road 200 miles on his road bike. As soon as he got back to the truck the door flew open and he grabbed a RED BULL and guzzled it down. I was laughing just a little because the tree was HUGE! Well, we through it in the back of the truck and snowplowed our way back home. I LOVE going on fun adventures and today.......was a fun adventure.

GOT MILK?

Kelton woke up today wanting cereal for breakfast. I was running a little short on milk so I secretly added some water to the milk. I poured out the cereal and milk and handed it to him, than I walked into the other room. All of a sudden I hear this loud "this milk tastes funny, I think there is water in it." I walked into the kitchen and looked at him funny "why would it have water in it?" He just couldn't figure out why his milk tasted like water. He ate all of his cereal up and kept giving me the dirty eye. "Mom, you really should buy some new milk. I think they put water in that one." SO FUNNY! Brian and I just kept cracking up over it all day long.

SURGERY SUCCESS

Carson had his surgery on his thumb today. It was a total success. He has 2 pins holding it in place, but will get those out in a few weeks. He is doing AMAZING. I am so proud of how brave he was during this whole ordeal. He truly did great. I didn't once hear him complain of anything. He didn't get to eat anything until about 3:00p.m. but he knew exactly what he wanted when the time came for him to eat. The nurse came in and Carson said he would like 2 chicken strips, fries...."make those curly", and a LARGE Oreo milkshake. Wow, he deserves every bit of sugar and grease he can get today. Thanks Brian, Dad, and Officer H. on the blessing you gave Carson. It truly helped!

Carson has just finished his fries (curly) and has a oreo mustache from his yummy shake.

BROKEN THUMB-SURGERY

This picture was taken right after he busted his finger.

Good thing I didn't pull it back in place. I thought it was just dislocated.

Carson is headed to surgery tomorrow. They have to pin his little thumb together so it can set. I will let you know how things go

GOOD DAY GETS BETTER

This morning I woke up to a feeling of YUCK! Not a sick type of YUCK, but just YUCK! You know sometimes you just feel greasy, stinky, FAT, and down right DEPRESSED. Yup, that is how I felt rolling out of bed this morning. I think it had something to do with being stuck indoors for the past week, not showering, eating out of control, and taking care of my sick little bug.

Brian, of course was in a great mood and asked what I needed to be happy today. I told him I just needed to get out for a little bit. I pulled on my running shoes and buttoned up my coat and headed out the door for a short jog. IT WAS TOTALLY FREEZING outside, but I just kept thinking of my buddy Jennica who is not afraid of anything. .....including -30 degree weather. I ran my few little miles, and came back home to try and thaw out my frigid body. Exercise to me is my PROZAC. I tell you what if I don't exercise I'm a MEAN "BITCH" MONSTER. (Pardon the language)Brian bought some sheet rock for the shop and worked on it for a portion of the day. He took the boys downtown to buy them some sleds, and headed to the hills for a fun afternoon of sledding. It was fun to see them playing in the fresh, fluffy snow.

I got a call from Griffin saying that him, Katrina, mom, and dad were headed up for a visit. I was thrilled to hear that we were having company come since it is a little out of the way for most people. We had great conversation, and got to go to Trails Inn for some yummy food. Thanks for the visit!
I can't believe it is almost Christmas time again. I just LOVE this time of year. This next Saturday we are going out hunting for our BIG Christmas tree. Brian says it has to touch our ceiling. The problem is....our ceiling is about 25 feet high. I don't think we will be able to fit that big of tree in through the door. We might have to do some trimming. I will keep you updated on the Christmas tree hunt.

GRANDPA, WHERE ARE YOU?

My mom posted on her blog a cute picture of my Grandpa Ward. I miss him so much and just LOVE thinking about his example in my life. He taught me so many AMAZING things.

• LOVE unconditionally
• Money is like toilet paper - only need it in REAL emergencies
• Watching people can teach you a lot about yourself
• Treat your spouse like GOLD
• Always greet each other with a special word "Beautiful", "Sweetheart"!
• When he would answer the phone he would say that he heard you calling

One of my favorite things later on in his life was to go and exercise his fragile body. We did our leg lifts and band stretches and had time to chat about the happenings of day to day events. This was a special time where I was able to bond with such an amazing individual. I miss that!
I still wonder how things work after we leave this world. I know he is here often checking in on us making sure we are living as he did. Oh grandpa, where are you?

SICK LITTLE COOP

MY HAPPY COOP
Little Cooper has had a fever of 102 for the past 2 days. I took him into the clinic here in Ashton to get looked at and they said he has tonsillitis. My poor little bug. He just wants to be held and loved ALL day long. He is still trying to be a good little trooper no matter how sick he is.

MY SICK LITTLE COOP Brian (Sno-Ninja) has been out plowing since 5:30am this morning. I think he is so stoked to be out playing in the snow. Thank heavens for the 6" of snow we got last night! We TRULY needed it for our sledding hill.

I HAVE NOT DIED....JUST VANISHED

I will be writing soon about the happeinings of the past couple weeks.

WHO THE HECK ARE YOU?

I picked the boys up after school today only to find Carson with this strange kid attached to his arm. He said he was coming home with us to play for the day. I thought for a moment and said to myself "heck no your not....who the heck are you?" but I didn't and in my motherly voice said sounds good. I brought the boys home and they headed straight to the artillery room looking for their bb guns. They grabbed them and walked out the door without saying a word. Where in the crap are they going I thought to myself.....and who the heck is that kid? I noticed they were heading into the canyon down from our home. It was like they were heading to WAR! All three of them with their little bb guns sticking in the air. I thought it seemed a bit strange so I packed Coop up and threw him in my backpack and headed out the door. Yup, I was going to spy on these boys to see what was going down. I made my way down the rocky path only to find this strange boy aiming his gun at a little cute bird. Watch this he said in a cynical voice. He pumped his gun up and SHOT. Holy poop crap he killed that little bird. I have always told my kids that they EAT what they kill. I don't think they would like to eat CROW for dinner. Well, I walked up on these little guys and scared the bejebees right out of them. We had a great talk about respecting animals.....even CROWS and headed back on our way home. As I walked in the door this little guy told me that he brought all of his sleeping clothes to spend the night. I thought to myself....Who the heck are you? but in my nice motherly voice said- Alright. Well, they seemed to have a great day together but I am still wondering who the heck this child is who I have never met nor heard of in my life. I am hoping I don't show up on the news tomorrow night for kidnapping a boy named ?????

SNOWBOARDING

I just love this picture of my little dudes at the mountain. Kelton just turned 4 in this picture and carson was 6. I am so excited to head up to the hills with them this year. Any volunteers to sit little Coop while we go? There are lots of poopy diapers and happy smiles in it for you. Carson and Kelton told me that they would like to do some competitions this year. I thought that sounded pretty dang fun so I think Brian and I will compete in the MASTERS division. Well, PRAY FOR SNOW!

SLEEP

So I have been a little sleep deprived lately with Cooper getting his new top chompers. He has just been miserable and making my beauty REM sleep not so pretty. My eyes are a RED and puffy, my head has this dull throbbing pain that radiates ALL friggin day, and my mind is just not working right. Did you know......

• A new baby typically results in 400-750 hours lost sleep for parents in the first year.


• Anything less than five minutes to fall asleep at night means you’re sleep deprived. The ideal is between 10 and 15 minutes, meaning you’re still tired enough to sleep deeply, but not so exhausted you feel sleepy by day.

According to the Department of Behavioral Biology at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, sleep deprivation impairs alertness, cognitive performance, and mood. Sleep deprivation also causes a general feeling of malaise and headaches. Sometimes these headaches are dull and persistent and may last all day. At other times, there may be sharp pains that shoot up from the base of the skull to the temples and even to the forehead. Whichever headache strikes, it is a warning signal telling you that you need more sleep!

I will tell you right now that I LOVE sleep. I love my puffy pillow, my new bed, and my blankets that cover my body. Oh how I love sleep. So when my alarm goes off at 5:30am to go exercise I can truly say that I don't LOVE to get up. I just wish I could THROW that thing at the wall and watch it shatter into a zillion pieces. Well, happy to say that last night I did catch up on some Zs. My headache is slowly dwindling and my eyes no longer look like I am high on some kind of serious drugs. I was happy to wake up to a well rested baby, and a hubby who is so truly supportive and AMAZING. I LOVE SLEEP, and I LOVE MY LIFE.

WHERE DREAMS COME TRUE

(collage done by mommy berta...so cute!)
As most of you know me and the boys had the opportunity to go to California with Bob and Roberta this past weekend. Bob was heading down with the high school band for competition. They would be performing at Disneyland and Riverside. I invited myself and the boys to tag along on their romantic trip. It was a last minute decision to take the boys out of school for 5 days and DRIVE down to "the happiest place on earth".....DISNEYLAND! Mom and dad rented a van, shared their room, and happily stood in line with little Coop while Carson, Kelton and I rode the rides. I had a hard time with the fact that I was leaving my hubby home to WORK all week while we went to play, but I quickly got over it. We had a great time. Carson, Kelton , and Coop all had first time experiences.

• First time spending 12 hours in a car. (Thanks Ash for the long drive tips)


• First time going to the beach - Newport was beautiful


• First time finding shells in the sand


• First time in SERIOUS traffic


• First time going to Disneyland


• First time riding any type of amusement ride

We truly had a great time and it is something that the boys will always remember. Thanks for letting us hook up with you and drive to the place where dreams come true.....DISNEYLAND.

Special thanks to Tyler and Nicole, Grandma Alice, Bob and Berta, and Bri for pitching in dough so that we could enjoy this special trip.

Early Halloween

We celebrated Halloween this year a little bit earlier than the rest of the world. The Saturday before Halloween Harriman state park has a great party for children. They decorate all of the cabins in fun, scary decor and let the children come and go trick or treating around the cabins. It is a fun, safe party for the kids. They also got to enjoy a hay ride through the spooky forest. We had a great time with Brian before we headed out on our trip to California. Cooper dressed up as a pirate, Kelton was a dead football player, and Carson was a scary zombie. Boooooooo!