GREATFUL FOR

I have decided to start my day off with something that I am grateful for. Each new morning I will be grateful for something that God has created. Many days go by where I don't appreciate the little things in life, and I don't realize all that I truly have. So today is a new day and I am starting it off with......

GRATEFUL- I am TRULY grateful for my legs. How I love my legs! I love everything about them. I embrace my spider veins, LARGE calves, protruding knees, and white, white, white legs. How would it be to not be able to go for my morning run and evening walks? What would it be like to only see the bottom of the mountain and not be able to climb to the top? Each day I wake up, get dressed, and WALK all day long not even thinking about my legs. I absolutely LOVE having legs. Even though they are definitely not perfect SEXY, HOT model legs......I LOVE HAVING THEM! So be grateful for your legs. Embrace your varicose veins, the hair that constantly grows out of them and don't let a day go by without saying "I LOVE MY LEGS".

FAMILY REUNION

Over the weekend we had a BLAST at the William's family reunion at Grande Targhee. We headed to Targhee on FRIDAY to meet up with the gang.
First on the agenda.....swimming! The kids could pretty much swim in the Olympics by now from all the swimming they got in. After the swim we headed over for some intense disc golf. This sport was made for people with really good shoulder function, and that would not be me. I tried throwing one of those and swear it took my whole arm with it. I didn't last long at the game of disc golf. Branson, Brian, and Ken are quite the professionals!

SATURDAY was another amazing day. First things first......SWIMMING! All the boys including our little Coopster headed to the pool. This was Coopers first day of REAL swimming. He looked like he was enjoying himself whizzing in the pool. What else do kids do when they hit the water?

CLIMBING- Carson, Kelton and Landon headed for the climbing wall to show off their muscles. Man those kids are tough! After climbing, we headed back to the pool. They were wearing me out just watching them play so hard. RED BULL TIME!
As evening set in we headed to Driggs for some delicious pizza. Oh, how I love good pizza. Charlotte had purchased some tickets to a Harry Potter party which didn't even start until midnight. They are party animals!

SUNDAY- More swimming........more swimming. Time to hit the ski lift to the top of the mountain to see the amazing views of the Tetons. Oh, how I love the mountains. I love the beauty and peace you feel while you are around them.Rob and Charlotte thank you so much for making the effort to have a FAMILY reunion every year. This is what we look forward to each new year. Also, thank you for sharing your son (Brian) with us. We love him more than you will ever know. Thanks again for everything! WE HAD A BLAST!A Family is like a circle the connection never ends and even if at times it breaks in time it always mends

a family is like the stars somehow there always there families are those who help
who support and always care A Family is like a book the endings never clear
but through the pages of the book their love is always near
A family is many things with endless words that show who they are and what they do
and how they teach you so you know but don’t be weary if it's broken
or if through time its been so worn families are like that-
they're split up and always torn but even if this happens your family will always be
they help define just who you are and will be apart of you eternally

13 YEARS?

picture taken after really LONG day with the kids- don't look too close at the spit up on my shirt- I am feeling really tall in this picture for some reason. I think it is because Brian has his leg wrapped around my body - you nasty man you.

Holy CRAP it's our Anniversary today. It has been 13 years since the big wedding day, and my how things have changed. The first few years of marriage you plan for the anniversary months in advance. You decide what you will be purchasing or making that will blow each other's socks off. A few more years pass and those months of planning turn into the day before. A few more years go by, and HELL you just forget about it all together. This is how the big anniversary week went.

The day before yesterday we realized that yup, this is the month that we were truly married. Last year the night before the big day I could at least run to town and grab something that says "wow, I do love you." Now that I live in Ashton I am limited to shopping at the grocery store or gas station.

I woke up this morning to a baby that needed fed, changed, and scrubbed of nastyness. Brian was pretty much unnoticeable on the other side of the KING bed, except for the flatulents that were coming out of his rear end. Hee, hee, hee. Who invented these dang beds anyway?.....someone who doesn't want any action I guess. I walked downstairs and saw these yummy treats with a sweet card from my HUBBY. I started to cry because I realized that this was the first time in 13 years that I have never had my gift sitting on the counter waiting to be opened. Next, it was a mad rush to make the 9:00am church session. After church we ran home and attended to every need and want of the kids.
I felt that it was time to purchase the big anniversary gift. I headed to the grocery store and made the big purchase of 12 pack pepsi, 1 slice cheese cake, and a funny card. Wow, am I pathetic or what? Throughout the day we hung out and attended to every need and want of the kids. After that we hung out and attended to every need and want of the other kid. Oh, did I say attend to every need and want of the kids. YUP, we did! But you know what? It was a great day. I realized that even though we don't get to be alone in Maui on our Anniversay this year, we do get to be together. And the even greater thing about being together.... is that we get to be together FOREVER. That is why I am truly happy! What more could anyone ask for.
Well, alright I will take a date with my hubby at least once a year.

BOYS WILL BE BOYS

A week has already come and gone and what have I accomplished? Not a thing! On the 4th I got a mother's favorite infection "MASTITIS". They should just call it "hate to be a women" infection. I went to the E.R. and got some delish drugs. That laid me up for a few days until I received the other wonderful women infection "I WANT TO DIE" infection. Every women knows what I am talking about. Things are looking up now, and that's a good thing.
The other day we went up into the canyon to practice our gun skills because you never know when that grizzly will come to visit. Brian taught the 3 little hulaguns how to shoot (Carson, Kelton, Landon). They had fun picking their noses, peeing on stink bugs, and getting totally filthy.....DIRTY.....it's what boys do. Today Brian is out playing in his skid steer. He is helping with some work down on fisherman's drive. I think he might even make some money. How happy he would be to sit and play in a tonka truck with air conditioning ......and make MONEY. What male figure wouldn't want to do that. I will fill you in on how things go.

BROKEN HEART

It was great to have visitors last night. Grandma, Dad, Mom, and Whitney came up for a visit. I forced them into the woods for a short hike where they were attacked by millions of mosquitoes. We returned back home for some delicious watermelon, and conversation. It was fun to have them here! Anyone else who wants to stop by.....we would love it.

Today I attended a funeral for one of my good friends little girl- Lillian Orr. She was two years old and was hit by a car. It was truly sad. Dr. Reynolds gave such an amazing talk. It broke my heart to sit and listen to the words that were spoken. I learned a lot from this tragic experience. Sometimes I wonder why things like this happen to such great people. Why are children at such a young age taken from their parents? They read this peom at the funeral and I liked the message. Live life to it's fullest because you never know when one of us will return back home.

My Dearest Family

Some things I'd like to say but first of all to let you know
that I arrived okay. I'm writing this from Heaven
where I dwell with God above where there's no more tears or sadness
there is just eternal love. Please do not be unhappy
just because I'm out of sight remember that I'm with you
every morning, noon and night. That day I had to leave you
when my life on Earth was through, God picked me up and hugged me
and He said I welcome you. It's good to have you back again,
you were missed while you were gone, as for your dearest family
they'll be here later on. I need you here so badly
as part of My big plan, there's so much that we have to do
to help our mortal man. Then God gave me a list of things
He wished for me to do, and foremost on that list of mine
is to watch and care for you. And I will be beside you
every day and week and year, and when you're sad,
I'm standing there to wipe away the tear.
And when you lie in bed at night, the days chores put to flight,
God and I are closest to you in the middle of the night.
When you think of my life on Earth and all those loving years,
because you're only human they are bound to bring you tears.
But do not be afraid to cry, it does relieve the pain,
remember there would be no flowers, unless there was some rain.
I wish that I could tell you of all that God has planned,
but if I were to tell you, you wouldn't understand.
But one thing is for certain, though my life on Earth is o'er.
I am closer to you now than I ever was before.
And to my very many friends, trust God knows what is best.
I'm still not far away from you, I'm just beyond the crest.
There are rocky roads ahead of you, and many hills to climb,
but together we can do it taking one day at a time.
It was always my philosophy and I'd like it for you too
that as you give unto the World so the World will give to you.
If you can help somebody who is in sorrow or in pain,
then you can say to God at night my day was not in vain.
And now I am contented that my life it was worthwhile,
knowing as I passed along the way I made somebody smile.
So if you meet somebody who is down and feeling low,
just lend a hand to pick him up as on your way you go.
When you are walking down the street
and you've got me on your mind, I'm walking in your footsteps
only half a step behind. And when you feel the gentle breeze
or the wind upon your face, that's me giving you a great big hug
or just a soft embrace. And when it's time for you to go
from that body to be free, remember you're not going
you are coming here to me, And I will always love you
from that land way up above. Will be in touch again soon.
p.s. God sends his love.

Author Unknown

MUD FOOTBALL

I have learned over the years that kids are CREATIVE! They come up with ideas that I would never dream of. Yesterday was one of those days. We decided to go swimming to beat the heat, and after we got home I think the boys thought they were too clean so they decided to get DIRTY! Carson came up with this fun idea of mud football. Being such an AWESOME mom I said "ya dude that sounds fun." But behind my breath I was swearing and saying how much I didn't want to clean up their filth.

After the water sat in the dirt for about 15 minutes they had a great mud puddle. How excited they were to get DIRTY. The game went on for hours. They were not even hungry when they got done because they had eaten so much MUD. The sun started to set and they were still going strong. You should have seen them......they were like little boys with their first dose of sugar. Carson kept saying that he had mud pies building up between his butt cheeks and private areas. They were hilarious! After the cold hose down NAKED they ran to the showers to get their cheeks clean. Brain was nice enough to clean up their mess. What a great dad they have!

NEW BUSINESS VENTURE

If Brian already doesn't have enough going on in his life he is taken on 1 more business. I am so excited for him! Before we moved to Ashton, Brian said he thought it would be fun to get a junk truck with a plow and plow the roads during the winter. During the remodel Brian met this great guy named Mike Vecchio who plowed him out many times. Mike and his family are moving to Indiana and just on a whim decided to sell their business. We had NO intentions of buying the business from him, but it just worked out and fell into our hands. One day we had the thought and the next day we decided to do it. It happened just like that! We will miss the Vecchio family. They have truly been AWESOME!
We finally got our permit to build the shop. Wow, that only took 6 months for the permit. Hopefully it won't take that long to build it. We all seem super duper happy these days. We just miss seeing all of you.

TERRIFIC TUESDAY

FUN ADVENTURES WITH LINCOLN
Today we visited the busy town of Rexburg! Man, were things hopping around that town.

• Cooper had his vaccinations today which was sooooo sad. His poor little chubby legs got beat up with 3 shots.
• Carson had a great experience with the hair scissors today......don't ask, but thanks Nic.
• Kelton had a very interesting Cortney Boice moment in his pants today. Because this is my journal I will explain. We were entering the town of Rexburg and Brian had just dropped me and the boys off to borrow Roberta's car. Momma Berta was in Idaho Falls shopping so we entered the home like quiet little thief's. When all of the sudden from out of the blue was a large explosion. One like you have never heard before. It went like this (prepare yourself)...........Burp, Hickup, Blast out!!!! And when I say blast out I mean OUT! It was definitely a Cortney moment. Cort, you are so famous around these parts......hee, hee, hee. After hosing him off and stripping him down they went to soak in grandpas hot tub. Dad, you might not want to drink the hot tube water tonight. The funny thing is that he feels just fine. It is going around our family......do you think it is the water in Asthon?
• Brian spent his day working on his new snow removal business. He thinks it is going to be fun waking up at 4:00am plowing people out of their homes. Actually, I think he will just LOVE it. I am excited for him.

It was a busy, but fun day today. We love being alive and hope that many of you will come visit us in the little town of Asthon. Hope to see you soon.

Do you ever wonder where the day goes? It seems that times just flies by. Cooper pooped and grunted his way through his 4 month birthday today. Carson and Kelton serenaded their way through happy birthday. They also included their little buddy Oli in the song since we never got a chance to sing to him yesterday. Happy birthday Oli....we love you!

I worked the weekend at the hospital and while I was gone Brian taught the boys the art of fly tying. It is pretty hilarious to watch the boys tie these crazy looking flies. They sit at their tying area for hours on end to see who can make the best looking fly. Here are some fun pics of their special flies that they tied.

Kelton lost his other front tooth today. He has been working on that one for months. Carson came up to Brian and asked him if the tooth fairy was for real because Carson found a stash of baby teeth in Brian's drawer....Whoops!

The boys went on a run with me around the little loop. Man they are fast. How can those little legs carry them so swiftly. Only if I could run like that!

Goodnight, I am exhausted!

MIDNIGHT

The boys have named their new little terror kitten MIDNIGHT. This cat has some serious mental issues it needs to deal with. You look at it wrong and your wrists will be slit down to the main artery. I like that in a cat......VISCOUS! The boys are possing with Midnight right before she strikes them to the ground in pain. Yup, good kitty!

FREAK OUT

Today we spent the day in Rexburg running errands and hanging out with family and friends. We picked up a new addition to the family today. Carson and Kelton got a kitty. I'm hoping for a mouse killer, wolf chaser, rattle snake warner, and bear terrorizer. If that cat can do all of those things, I think we will get along great.

Brian took Charles (Sled Shed employee) fishing tonight. Me and the boys were the shuttle service. On our way back home we drove by some strange people who were yelling and waving their hands at me. I just waved to them and looked ahead....... I ran right over a 12 foot rattle snake. Well maybe it wasn't 12 feet, maybe it was 18 ft. I got out of the truck and said a couple unpleasant words as I watched the nasty thing slither off into the bushes. So now I am pretty sick to my stomach, disgusted with life, and ready to move back to the quiet town of Rexburg. This is two rattle snakes in a weeks period. I don't know if I am tough enough to live here. "I want my mommy."

So I am dealing with the snakes, stressing about not having enough birth control pills for the week, and now I am home living in an OVEN. It was 88 degrees today in my house. These big windows have its positives and negatives. So right now I guess I could say that I am a PMS B_T_H! Sorry for the language, but I am a little nasty right now.

Off to put the kidos to bed and lather in my own personal sweat bath.

CARSON'S PRIZE FISH

Carson caught this fish yesterday while fishing with the boys. His dad was kinda jealous! "It's way bigger than dads!"

DELISH

Look at this exciting moment! My first garden has produced some delicious radishes. If I liked radishes they would be even more delicious. Look at how red, cute, and little they are. Oh I feel like a champion. We put them in a yummy salad that we ate for dinner. I can't tell you how ecstatic I will be when those carrots pop their little heads out.

The boys went fishing in the boat last night and Carson caught a honker with his pole. Kelton also reeled in his very first fish. They have been fishing 3 times within the week. This is more fishing than we have done in the past 9 years. While the boys were fishing Cooper and I went for a walk up the monster hill. I met a fun family that was out in their front yard. Hoping they will come by our home for a visit. We are LOVING it here! So much to do as a family!
Just got home from the Ashton pool. Man is it hot out side 90 degrees and about 120 degrees inside. I think you could fry an egg on my hardwood floors. That little pool is sure fun for the kids. Now they are all outside squirting Brian with the hose.....hee, hee I think I will go throw a few water balloons at them.

BIG HUNK

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Today was such a great day. Brian has been sick the past couple of days but woke up feeling much better. The boys woke up early to help cook Bri some delicious blueberry muffins and juice. They wrote him the greatest card. Carson writes "dad thank you for tacking us to school eavry day. and gowing mowtin bicking sometimes I very appreciate you. very very much."
Kelton writes "thank you dad for tacking me fishing." And Coop even signs his name. The even picked out some gifts for him at Cal Ranch.

We went to our new ward today. I thought I was attending a funeral for a person who lived to be 110. There was definitely some serious gray hair going on. We met some fun people there and hoping these old wonderful people will fill me with KNOWLEDGE.

We took Brian to Trails Inn after church. What a delicious meal they brewed up for us.

We came home and hung out as a family. Brian started building a computer desk, and the rest of us tried helping......I think he re screwed all of the screws we tried to put in.

Father, I tried calling you many times today to wish you Happy Father's Day. You must have been so busy with all of your Father's Day gifts and pampering. Happy day to you!

Rob Williams, thank you also for being such an amazing and fun father also. You have been great. Happy day to you!
At about 8:00pm we headed down to the river. We all have been practicing our fly fishing skills. Carson is getting pretty AWESOME. Me on the other hand.......I need some serious practice. We had a fun time and YUP, I caught a monster. Don't let them fool you by it's size. It was truly a prize fish keeper.

To all of the father's out there today......HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

FRIEND FRIDAY

We had such a great day today with some AWESOME friends from Rexburg. My bestest buddy Jennica, and her family came up to visit us in Ashton. We started off with some delicious lunch. We BBQ'd up some yummy hamburgers and we off to feed the fish.

We drove to a beautiful place up by Island park called Big Springs. Here you can feed these HUGE fish pretty much anything you would like. I bet they would have eaten one of our yummy hamburgers. After the kids put their feet in the water and spent their life savings on fish food we headed back home to Ashton.
We grabbed the kids swim suits and headed down to the pool. What a fun spot! It is a small pool with lots of character and NICE people. Cooper and I had fun watching all the kidos play. It is sure nice to have great friends.Brian spent the day running around doing something called work. He worked on the permit for the shop and went to Idaho Falls to buy supplies. We LOVE Friday's.

MICE, AND SNAKES, AND BUGS - OH MY!

Today I am at work again and looking forward to a few days off. I am hoping to cut back to 1-2 days a week. Insurance....can't live without it......but can barely afford it. This is the main reason I am working right now.

In Asthon there are some fun mountain bike trails just out our front door. The only problem is that some of the trails are so overgrown. The family ventured out to cut down old trees, clean the path of large rocks, and try to make it rideable. Cooper even joined in on the fun! Soon, we will have a fun loop that the whole fam can ride.

We went to the local outdoor pool IN ASHTON the other day (Rexburg needs to get with the times). The kids had fun, but were a little shy because they did not know anyone. I met some great people there and had a good time chatting with them in my turtle neck and long black pants. When does that baby fat disappear? We asked our neighbor Caleb if he would like to join us. He gladly accepted and was thrilled to have the company. He is an only child and stays home by himself all summer long. We have invited him over many times for lunch and just to hang. He was telling me about a monster rattlesnake that he found in his back yard rock pile. It totally freaked me out! I went straight out to the yard and cut all of the weeds with the mower and weed wacker. All but 4.5 acres left to go. I am also investing in about 30 cats to calm the rodent population so the snakes stay away from my yard. Max is such a great guard dog though......yah right, he runs away with his tail between his legs when he sees a stink bug. Did I tell you that Max impregnated the neighbors dog? The neighbors left there dog home for the weekend with nobody to watch after her. Of course the dog was in heat. She came prancing through our yard with her pink spike collar and Max was all over that brown beauty. Now he won't have a thing to do with her. Is this a male thing, or what? Glad to be back blogging....so much to say.

IT'S ABOUT TIME

(PHOTO BY LINCOLN HIRRLINGER) THE WAY I LIKE IT! HEADLESS
Wow, I finally have internet at the house. What would we do without it? I also lost my cord in the move to upload photos from my camera. There is so much to tell you about. I guess I will just start with today. I started working at the hospital again and actually it is not so bad. Brian has been "multi-purpose man" around here. He has been Mr. mom, Mr. businessman, Mr. contractor, and Mr. ultimate husband. I sure do love him! He has worked so hard so our family could live in such a wonderful place.

Carson just turned 9 on June 10th. He had such a wonderful birthday with so many great friends. We decided to have a friend party this year with his friends from Rexburg because we knew it would probably be the last. He has met so many wonderful kids at school.....he will miss them. CARSON WITH HIS NEW BIRTHDAY BIKE!

Mom I am going to use your words to explain the fun day.
(By Momma Berta)
Let me 'esplane' ('explain' to the non-Spanish population) this party-thing to you! The boys hand-painted their 'football' jerseys (new white shirts) with the number of their choice and their name. They choose teams, went for the huddle and they were off entertaining themselves for at least an hour. When they got too hot, off came the jerseys and they were on to the next activity - waterslide down the front yard - with a lot of gooey Dawn dish soap to help them along.

They went from boiling to freezing in a short amount of time - but this, by far, was their favorite activity. Now, when the sub-zero water temperature was just too much -then aired out on the trampoline then onto the next- cupcake decorating. Oh no, not just ordinary cake decorating! Mommy Heather had them frost their own cupcakes with a knife held in their mouth. The first one to frost, decorate and top it all off with a candle . . .was the winner! Present opening was next and the grand finale was a ride home in Uncle Grif's bus! (After everyone was delivered home safe and sound, the family went to Gringos and thus you see Carson - he got "sombrero'ed". The FUNNY thing was, Carson snuck out of the restaurant right when the waitresses came to SING to him and Brian had to carry him back to the table to get his fried ice cream and an 'embarrassing moment' . . .we all dread it, Carson!

Carson had a GREAT birthday party - his 'official' birthday is actually tomorrow. I feel so fortunate to be with the kids on their birthdays. I know they have other Grandmas and Grandpas that would LOVE to be here with them too.
(Thanks mom for making my journal entries so easy.....I just copy yours)

BUGS

Last week we took the boys down to the river to do a little fishing. Right now the salmon flies are hatching and they are everywhere. It is pretty amazing because people from all over the world come here for the salmon hatch. I guess the fly fishing is world class when the salmon flies are on. Here are some fun pictures of the boys and the bugs.

GET WELL SOON

Last Saturday Brian received a call from his Aunt Marianne saying that his grandpa Politano had just had a small stroke. He was having a hard time with the news because he thinks so much of his grandpa Malcolm. We don't get to see much of him, but we think of him everyday. He is a business owner just like Brian. They have many of the same qualities regarding business and life. I truly wish that we lived closer so that all of us could enjoy being with grandpa. Carson and Kelton say prayers for him at night. Cooper even does a little goo goo for him during the prayer along with a little tooter. Cooper was named after Grandpa Politano. Grandpa, we hope you are feeling better.....and we will see you soon! We love you and think about you often.