Alaska 2009!

WARNING!!! PICTURE OVERLOAD!

In June of 2009 our Family took a Cruise to Alaska. My parents had been gone for 2 years on a mission so upon their return (may 2009) we went on a trip with them, their 6 children and our Spouses. No small children allowed. It was so much fun. Here are some pictures of that trip.

This is the Girls (missing Ida) at Butchart Gardens. Jason wants to Build a fountain like that in our yard. Well maybe when we get our dream house he can do that!

Bear Hugging!

A Not so Friendly Bear!


This is Craigdoroch Castle in Victoria, BC. It was built in the 1800's and is very very cool inside. I could live there!!!!

Butchart Gardens was an amazing place. There were probably hundreds of thousands of flowers there. I think we took so many pictures there that my sisters camera refused to work any more. If you are ever in Washington go see it. Beautiful!!!!


Jason was Rock climbing on the Ship! 200 feet above the water! and What a hottie he is too!!!

We had My sister take some formal pictures of all of us on the cruise. There were two formal evenings that we had dinner and went dancing. It was so fun to dress up and party the night away!

Here are all the Girls!

And the whole Family!

it was a wonderful Trip that we will remember for ever! I have always wanted to go on a cruise and who better to go with then your own family!

Dreams!!!!

ok so I have no pictures but maybe I can find some to add to this.

I have lots and lots of dreams, most of them may seem worldly but it is the intangibles behind them that I want the most!

Owning an SUV

Hybrid camping trailer

Sapphire ring for Spencer

No Debt

To actually decorate my house

New bedroom set

New BABY

A weekend away with my hubby

Going back to Australia

Taking Jason to New Zealand

Biking down Haleakala in Hawaii with Jason

Doing a BIG 12 days of Christmas for someone who needs it.

Lasik and laser hair removal ( totally worldly, sorry)

Taking Tolson to Disney land

Letting Jason buy the Truck of his dreams

A full CutCo set of knives

Nice New pots and pans

A huge walk-in Pantry

Many Many more......

These are just some of the fun things I would love to have or do. It may seem silly to post them all here for the world to see but here they are. I have been thinking a lot about them lately and how to accomplish some of them. I do not want them all at once and don't worry I won't go into huge debt to get them. (one of them is to get out of debt!!!!) I hope that sometimes you stop and thing about your dreams.

If you don't have something great to look forward to, then its hard to see past today!

Love/Hate relationships

Ok so now that all that is over with..... I am moving on. I really have a lot to do but not very much motivation to do it. Jason heard back from the border Patrol last week and they said it will probably be another several months until his Background clearance is done so not to hold our breath. I am LOVING that he will still be here for several months but I am HATING that we still have to wait for long. Other then that I have to get ready for a yard sale in two weeks(LOVE the money, HATE getting ready), clean my house (HATE) so I can decorate for Thanksgiving and then Christmas (LOVE), Work on my Christmas sewing projects (yes I said sewing), we have another craft fair coming up,(LOVE) and I decided that I am going to run a 5K with Amber and Allison in December. I DO NOT enjoy running (HATE) but I am doing it to support Amber (cuz I think she is amazing(LOVE)) and cuz I need to lose some weight and get fit (HATE). I do much better at exercising if I have something I am working towards so here I go! Running! other then that I am just grumpy today cuz I had to do the budget for the month (HATE) and there are lots of unplanned expenses this month that I have to figure out where they will come from. UGH! I have a love hate relationship with money (don't we all) SO there you go with all my loves and Hates today. I don't really like the word Hate but sometimes it is just fitting.

Well I LOVE you all and HATE that I don't hear from you more. I hope that with the holidays coming up we can all catch up and at least try to keep in touch. Now I am going to turn on some fun fast music and hope to get some things done around here.

Bummer!

I had no better title then that sorry. So it has been a very bummer weekend. WE spent Most of Saturday in the ER waiting to hear something we already knew. WE got there at about 9:30am and were in our own room by 10:15. Unfortunately we were next to a kid that was in their for being very very drunk and he was very vocal and not very nice. The nurse didn't take any crap from him and was very tough. We were laughing most of the time. well after blood tests, an exam, and sonogram they told us that they could not find a heart beat and that I was having a miscarriage. This did not come as a shock to us because I had been having signs of that for a few days (which is why we went in the first place). I had cried most of my tears in the days before so I was ready. I don't understand why these things happen but they do and they did. I am very glad that I have learned a long time ago that I am NOT in charge but I am glad I know who is. I really have felt the spirit comforting me and reassuring me that everything will be ok. On Friday when I was pretty sure what was going on I was just sooo mad. I kept thinking "it's not supposed to be this hard" I still think that but now I know that Its not up to me anyway and maybe there are things I need to learn so maybe it is supposed to be hard.

Anyway I am just rambling but I just needed to put some of my feelings down in writing. I also wanted to say thank you to the good friends and Family that I have around me to help me and support me in the good and bad times. You guys are the best!!!!!

Today I am grateful for:

My wonderful husband
My cute little boy
my health
my home
my faith in the Lord and in His plan for me and my family.

Potty Training Time!!!!

Ok so On Wednesday I started the official Potty training. It has been three days and so far is going pretty good. So many people said that it was sooo hard and yes it is but I guess I expected it to be a lot harder and so it hasn't been to bad. ( kinds like the glucose test when you are pregnant) anyway he is doing really well and doesn't want to put his pulls up on at night even cuz he likes his big boy underwear. He only had two accidents on Thursday and so far today (granted its only 10am) no accidents today. As you can see in the picture I covered the couches with towels and the floor with a blanket. Yes there is a lot of Orange in this picture. Tolson has decided that he likes to pick out his own clothes so i let him and I guess at least I can be glad they are in the same color scheme. oh well so there is the latest update on Tolson and the potty training. I hope that it keeps going well and that I will soon have a fully potty trained little boy. Wish me luck!!!!

Cooking club ( for lack of a better title)

Ok so a few weeks ago I got together with some friends and we learned how to make Gnocchi (I think that's how you spell it) It was soooo fun. Allison taught us how to do it and then we all tried it. I of course am not in any of the pictures (tee hee) and I am sorry girls that they are so blurry. I have to tell you though I went to the Dr later that day and was weighed and was like 6 lbs heavier then I normally am and yes I blame the yummy food. Here are some fun pictures of the day.

Jessica showing off her crazy mad skills in the kitchen.

Emily cutting the noodles the whole time saying "Is this right, are you sure, really is this right it seems like it should be harder."


Amber - see if you can make it in my mouth!!!!!


I think Emily was the winner for the messiest hands. We had a lot of fun hanging out and learning a new dish. Thanks Allison for the new skills and the yummy food. I still have to try this on my own so Jason can have some and I can see if I can really do it.

COOKIES!!!!!!

Ok so I have been wanting to make these cookies for several weeks but have never gotten to it. They are the Land-O-Lakes chewy chocolate chip cookies, and can I just say YUMMY! so I decided to share this great recipe with you all. I know you are thinking they are just chocolate chip cookies but they have a lot more butter and sugar in them then most and they are chewy and yummy! So here you go!

CHEWY JUMBO CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE

4 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups real butter, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 Tbs vanilla

1 12 oz package of chocolate chips (2 cups)

Preheat oven to 375. Combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt in a bowl. Set aside, Combine butter and sugars and beat at medium, scraping sides, until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. Continue beating, scrapping bowl, until well mixed. Gradually add flour at a low speed until well mixed. Stir in chips. Drop by the 1/4 cupfuls, 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-14 min. Let stand on the sheet for 2 min then put them on a cooling rack. mmmmmmmm!!! My cousin that gave this recipe to me swears by parchment paper and says it makes all the difference but I have never tried it. Enjoy!!!