I am Zaltana...

NEW POST

2011-07-05T13:29:00.001-07:00

It's been one year - so here's a new pic! :-)

From Our Trip to Zion.

Green is Gone!

2010-07-05T18:04:00.000-07:00

Finally, that "all green" room is gone! Now we have a delicious mocha chocolate living room! I love it!

I'm Impatient.....

2010-06-16T12:20:00.001-07:00

(I borrowed this from my friend's blog...it also describes me so well, I just had to share...)
~W~

I don't know who originally wrote this, so I can't really give the proper credit to the right person, but whoever you are, we could be friends, because you get me - thanks for putting this down into words I can share. (my own commentary added just because!!)
**********************************************************
I'm impatient (oh yes, yes I am)
and a little insecure (especially under my brave outer shell)
I make mistakes (oh so many mistakes, I have stopped trying to count)
I'm out of control (if you knew what really goes through my head sometimes, you might think i was a little crazy)
and sometimes a little hard to handle (especially if you mess with someone I love and care about)

But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you absolutely don't deserve me at my best.
(the last statement is truth, pure truth!)
**********************************************************

Newbold Reflections

2010-03-26T20:04:00.001-07:00

Lost Generation Palindrome....

2010-01-31T14:26:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

2010-01-05T10:10:00.000-08:00

Cute Kids!

Fun Christmas time Pictures....

Making Gingerbread Houses @ Sienna's School...

Sienna's Gingerbread House

Gunnar's Gingerbread House

The School Play...

In the Christmas musical, Sienna was the best Mrs. Santa Clause ever!

It was so fun to watch her perform!

Christmas Village Lights!

He's got the whole world in his hands!

FINALLY CHRISTMAS EVE!!
Gunnar got to sit on Santa's lap!

"Have you been a good boy?"

Then it was Sienna's turn.

"Have you Been a good girl?"

WOO HOO! Christmas Morning finally arrived!!

"Soooooo....Do you like my scarf???"

Cute Girl!

Sweet kids!

Hey! Nice Helmet!

"Here's a present for you mommy!"

What is that hanging upside down on the tree?!?!

"Is that what I think it is?!?!"

A little "Wii Tennis" is always fun!

The aftermath!

In all the excitement, we actually forgot about the beautiful plant Sienna picked out for Nolan. He wanted a plant for his desk at work, and Sienna picked this one out. Because it needed sunlight and water, we couldn't wrap it. So we put it on top of the fridge, and then forgot it was there until late in the evening Christmas night. Oops!
Oh well...better late than never, right?

Clones?

2009-12-03T14:34:00.000-08:00

It's scary how much Gunnar is Nolan's clone!! I love Both my guys - they are both just adorable!!

My Funny Boy!

2009-11-27T16:44:00.001-08:00

Gunnar is so funny! And I know that a lot of my posts begin this way...but it is so true!

Today Nolan and I have been working on painting the kitchen (yes it is taking a really long time to complete these blasted renovations!) Anyway, earlier this afternoon, Sienna and Gunnar helped us tidy up and as a reward, they were allowed to watch a movie. It ended a short while ago, and Nolan began to heat up some pizza for their dinner. When it came out of the microwave, it was pretty hot, so they had to wait a few minutes for it to cool down. Gunnar piped up and asked (now keep in mind, this was one long sentence) "Hey Mom, can I watch another movie while my pizza cools down...?...say 'Sure'!"
The fact that he says "Sure" like "Shoi" made it all the more funny!

I love my funny little boy!

Another Trip to The ER

2009-11-16T13:10:00.000-08:00

Well this was actually a trip to the Clinic - but in an emergency situation.

Sienna was doing her homework, and Gunnar was not so much helping her as bugging her. He (in true little brother fashion) Jumped out from beside the couch with his vampire teeth in and growled at her! She was sitting on the couch and she jumped backwards. Evidently there was a sharpened pencil sticking out from between the sofa cushions, and it stabbed her in the back!!
She began screaming ... not in the "my little brother is annoying me" way ... but in that way that you KNOW something is definitely wrong.

I ran into the room and found out what had happened. I grabbed my keys and tried to comfort her and tell her we were going to go to the Emergency Clinic and get it taken care of. She kept crying "Mommy it hurts, it hurts!" I wanted to cry too.

My neighbor from across the street was outside when we came out and offered to take care of Gunnar so Sienna and I could go. I graciously accepted and we were on our way. Little Sienna had to sit in her booster seat leaning forward so as not to further irritate the affected area.

When we got there, they ushered us back relatively quickly and began to set up for the pencil lead removal procedure. They began with the topical numbing solution and when that took effect, the doctor started poking and prodding with tweezers. But nothing was coming out. After many minutes and many tries, the doctor could not find anything and said he thought the pencil tip had maybe stabbed her, but had not actually stayed stuck in her back.

From there, we decided to do a procedure kind of like a mole removal to get rid of the big, dark black mark on her pale skin. We were moved to another room where the more intricate work could be done. The doctor injected some Lido-cane via syringe for deeper numbing, then began to cut. As he was cutting, the scalpel went "scraaaaaatch"! What was that?!

Apparently, the tip HAD completely broken off and was almost 1/4 of an inch below her skin's surface!! Yikes!

The doctor removed it and stitched up Sienna's little back with three stitches.

About a week later, after seeing no signs of infection, and having done it many times in the past (when I was an MA), I removed her stitches at home.

I obviously don't want it to happen again, and hope it does not...but between both of my kids, this is the 3rd trip to an ER in 2 years!! I wonder what next time might bring????

Fly Smackin'

2009-11-10T13:15:00.000-08:00

I love taking pictures of my kids, and here is a particularly funny one I got of Gunnar. He was running around the house swatting over and over again, trying madly to kill an annoying fly buzzing around.

After he finally smacked it he looked at me any triumphantly said, " I smacked da fly with da fly smacker!"

Sienna-isms

2009-11-04T10:15:00.000-08:00

I just love my adorable little girl! She is so fun to talk to and I love how she expresses herself. It is very fun to see the world through her beautiful brilliant blue eyes!

A few weeks ago, we were doing some extra credit homework in her school notebook. The problem was to find rhyming words for one given word, which was was "pen". I told that "den" was one word...then had to explain to what a den was. Then I asked her what another name for a female chicken was. She correctly answered, "hen".
My next idea was to find the plural form of "man". So I asked her what another word was for grown up boys. And she said questioningly, "daddys?" I told her she was sort of correct, but what about a different way to say a whole bunch of daddys all together. She thought for a moment then said in an impish little voice, "Meat?"
I started laughing so hard I could barely breathe. She began her contagious giggle and finally realized what was so funny!!

Another time, we were again doing homework, this time working on spelling words. We got to one particular word that she didn't know. The word was "wool". She asked me what it was and I said, "Wool is the fur that comes from sheep. You can make warm sweaters out of it, or blankets. Have you ever heard of a woolly sheep?"
She perked up and said confidently, "Oh yeah! Is that kind of like the 'Woolly Ghost'?"
I burst out laughing and she began her contagious giggle, but couldn't understand why I was laughing so hard. Between breaths I finally got it out that who she was referring to was the "Holy Ghost"!!

I love you Sienna!! You are my pride and joy!!

Maybe someday, in a perfect world, we could all squish our fruits together...

2009-10-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't it be great to see this performance in real life?

The Art of Eavesdropping...

2009-10-17T23:02:00.000-07:00

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.cmt.com/video/" target="_blank"&amp;amp;gt;Tom Mabe: Eavesdropping&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

Tom Mabe: Eavesdropping

The Train Ride From Hell...

2009-09-20T13:28:00.000-07:00

In April of 2008, UTA opened the long awaited Front Runner Commuter Train running between Ogden and Salt Lake City. For the first week, they let people ride for free just to try it out. When my kids found out, they got so excited that we could actually ride on a train to go visit Grandma & Grandpa Tooke. So we planned a trip.

We arrived in plenty of time to catch the Ogden to Salt Lake Train and waited on the platform along with a lot of others waiting to try the new train. The excitement levels of my children was bubbling to almost overflowing by the time they finally opened the doors and we all scrambled inside to find a seat.

Sienna & Gunnar found total exhilaration in simply being on the train, watching the people and traffic pass by out the window. Stop after stop, mile after mile, the ride down was truly exciting, but fairly uneventful. An hour after beginning our journey, we arrived in Salt Lake, transferred to the TRAX line......and continued on to the south end of the valley where Grandma "Leene" picked us up.
We had lunch at her house, where we met up with Auntie Holly and little Hannah. Later, we decided to check out the awesome deals at Kid 2 Kid. I found it easy to fill 2 huge bags full of clothes and shoes for my kids.

"Well, I have more to carry now," I thought to myself. "Just a couple more bags to carry home... but it's no big deal..."
Or so I thought...

Afternoon soon turned to evening and our desire to stay and visit took over. Consequently, we missed catching the appropriate Sandy to Salt Lake TRAX line, but my mom & dad agreed to take us all the way downtown to the Front Runner Train station. At about 7:30 pm, we all piled out of the minivan, ran across the platform to the awaiting train, then turned to waive "goodbye" to Grandma & Grandpa.

As soon as entered the train, I froze for a second or two and looked around in bewilderment. It was jam-packed full of people! I thought maybe there were seats up on the upper level, but sadly there were not. We headed back to the lower level hoping to find some kind person willing to let my kids sit down. I could handle standing up for a while until a seat opened up, but my 5 year old daughter and 2 1/2 year old son most likely could not. Unfortunately and apparently, chivalry is dead! Not one person offered up his or her seat to my obviously tired and small children!! For my kids sake, I tried to stay upbeat about it, after all, maybe after another stop or two, a seat would open up.

After the second stop northbound from Salt Lake, an announcement came over the loudspeaker informing us that there was a fire near the track up ahead and the train would be returning to Salt Lake! I panicked a little and said out loud, "I don't want to go back to Salt Lake! I want to go home!" I grabbed my kids, my Kid 2 Kid bags and the backpack I had been carrying all day (full of trip provisions - like fruit snacks, granola bars, coloring books, small toys - you know child provisions for a long trip) and we ran out of the train onto the platform to try and figure out what to do next. Sienna began to cry because she wanted to ride the train home again and didn't understand why I was suddenly forcing her off of it.

A gentleman who worked for UTA was on the platform so we asked him what we should do. He mentioned that there was a shuttle in the parking lot transferring people to the next train station north of fire. So I grabbed my kids hands and we ran off towards the parking lot. As soon as we arrived, I called Nolan to tell him what was going on and talk to him about maybe picking us up if the train did not happen to continue on past the fire afflicted area.
Ok, now we had a plan!

However, the moment I hung up with Nolan, the UTA employee informed us that the fire had now been contained and the train was going to continue northbound toward Ogden. My heart jumped up into my throat as I grabbed the kids and my bags and ran across the parking lot, back to the platform. I did not want to miss that train! We ran inside and to our delight, found there were 2 empty seats. I put Sienna & Gunnar in one and took the other for myself. Just as I was settling in, an announcement came over the speakers telling us that this particular train would in fact be returning to Salt Lake, but the other train on the opposite side of the platform would be heading north. Immediately, I again grabbed the kids and my bags and darted out the train doors to run across the platform and get onto what I prayed was the correct train!!

Upon entering, we looked quickly for empty seats and were delighted to find three this time! I sat down, again, got the kids settled, again, then glanced to the family across the isle.
"Excuse me. I just want to make sure I heard correctly. This train IS the one going to North Ogden, right?"
The kind stranger replied, "Yes, we just checked with the employee over there and she confirmed that this train is going north."

I sat sat back and breathed a sigh of relief. Thank heaven it was over!
Or so I thought!

As more and more people piled onto the northbound train, we offered up one of our seats and I put Gunnar on my lap. After all, I was not about to be as inconsiderate as others were to us at the beginning of our journey. We began trading stories with the families seated all around us and tried to relax while waiting to resume our trip.

After about 30 more minutes of waiting, and 6 or 7 announcement confirmations that this was indeed the northbound train, the conductor finally said that we were on our way. The train started up and we headed out.

The following two stops went on without incident, so I called Nolan to tell him not to worry, and that we should be arriving at the Ogden park and ride within about 20 minutes. We hung up and Sienna promptly told me she had to go potty. We were nowhere near a bathroom so I told her to just think of something else and it would only be a few minutes more before we got off the train. She nodded in agreement and went on with her coloring book.

At the next stop, the train pulled up tho the platform, let people off and the doors closed. Then nothing.....nothing.....nothing. Concerned, we all looked around at each other and began to ask, "What is going on?" "Why aren't we moving?"

Then came the dreaded "ding" of the loudspeaker and the conductor began the explanation. Because of the fire that had impeded progression of the earlier train, another train could not continue its southbound route and now both trains were directionally headed towards each other!! We needed to wait at this stop until the other train could be backed up and moved onto a side track, out of our way, before we could continue forward.

My heart sank. I looked at Sienna and knew what she'd say before she even opened her mouth. She had to go potty. The restroom was located in the next car over, and I had Gunnar and my bags to worry about. Not to mention, if we left, our hard earned seats would surely be taken when we returned. I pleaded with Sienna to see if she could hold it. But when she looked at me, I knew it was time.

Across the aisle, the very sweet mother we'd been chatting with along the way, heard me explain the situation to Sienna and understood my predicament. She compassionately offered to watch my bags, and her teenage son (who'd been playing with Gunnar and telling him football stories) offered to take care of my son in my absence. Now normally, I wouldn't think of leaving my belongings and especially my son with strangers, but quite honestly, by this point, we were practically friends. We had been on the same trains together for nearly 2 hours!! The mother knew that I was still apprehensive about the whole thing, so generously offered me her credit card and drivers license as an insurance and promise to take care of my son and my things. I nearly wept as I smiled my relieved "Thank You" to her.

Sienna and I crowded our way through the cars and eventually found the bathroom. I was a little horrified when I opened the doors and saw the terrible mess inside. There were paper towels strewn about all over the floor and counter top, the toilet paper was gone, and it smelled awful! We had to just go in and get it over with.

I locked the door and after Sienna was ready, I lifted her up and held her in the air over the toilet. It was difficult, but we made it through!! Thankfully, there was soap, so we cleaned up and shook our hands dry.

When we returned to our seats, I was delighted to see that it all was as it should be. Everyone and everything was safe! I exchanged the credit card and drivers license for my son, and we took our seats to wait.

And wait ... and wait ... and wait!
FINALLY! Forty-five minutes after we pulled into the station, we got word that we would be pulling out again. I had called Nolan again to explain (or try to explain) what was going on now.
Feeling very fatigued, I looked at my phone to see what time it was. 10:30pm. Wow! Had it really been THREE hours since we'd been dropped off in Salt Lake?!?! A 55 - 60 minute car trip...and it had been 3 hours! And we still had 2 stops to go!!

I never found out the reason why, but for the remainder of the trip, although these trains are supposed to go speeds up to 80 MPH, this one only maxed out at about 30 to 40 MPH. But at least we were moving.

At very long last, we reached our final destination of the Ogden Platform and park & ride. We said farewell to our new friends and gathered up our belongings. At a snail's pace, we trudged to the parking lot towards the truck. I lifted each child in turn to their seats and got them buckled up. Whew! What a trip!! I decided to call Nolan again to tell him we had made it. I reached into my pocket and was horrified to find that my cell phone was not there! I looked through my bags, but no phone was there.

I screamed out loud and began cursing the Train from Hell! Sienna began to cry and Gunnar was terrified at his mother's ghastly behavior. I turned my angry glare at the train, turned back to the kids and told them to sit quietly, not to make a sound and that I would be right back. Sienna was very confused and frightened, so I calmed my voice and quickly explained to her that I had to run back to the train to find my phone. She calmed down a little.

I locked the truck doors and ran like hell back to the evil train. When I got within ears reach, I shouted that my phone was on the train and screamed for them not to leave! I was told that the train would not be leaving for another 10 minutes, so I had plenty of time to search. But I needed to hurry back to my kids in the parking lot.

I ran to my seat, and thankfully found my phone wedged in between the seat and the armrest. I grabbed it, stuffed it in my pocket, and ran like hell (again) back to my kids in the truck. I unlocked the doors, unbuckled the kids and we all hugged and cried in relief that our ordeal was finally over. I called Nolan and told him we'd be home in 5 minutes.

Exhausted, physically and emotionally drained, I puled into the driveway at 11:18pm. I got out, looked to the sky and thanked God that we had made it. After all, there is definitely no place like home!

By the way, it was nearly a full ten months later before I rode on the Front Runner Commuter Train again. And I am sincerely grateful to report that absolutely nothing of any interest happened on that second trip!

Some Summer Fun!

2009-08-31T09:05:00.000-07:00

Summer is nearing an end, and I thought I'd post a few pictures of one of our adventures from the past few months.

In June, my sisters, Holly & Melanie, and all our kids got together for a swimming party at the Grandma & Grandpa Tooke's. It wasn't necessarily a cool day - and it really wasn't terribly warm either. But we had been planning the get together for a while so we went ahead with the party anyway.

Isaac was too small for the big kid's pool, so he splashed around in his own little pool.
Cute little Hannah insisted that she was not cold, but I think we all knew otherwise. She was afraid we would make her get out of the pool if she admitted she was cold.Isaac loved to pose for the camera!

Ta Da!!

I just love snuggling with this little guy!
After a little while, all the kids got chilled so they decided to ride bikes for a bit to warm up.My little Gunnar-Man mastering the art of scooter-ing!Big Boy on a little bike!(Not pictured: Miles McCafferty. Being only 4 months old at the time, he did not participate in the festivities.)

Craigslist ...

2009-06-19T16:56:00.001-07:00

With all the buying & selling & shopping I've been doing on KSL and Craigslist lately, I really found this song quite amusing.
Hope you all do too!!

Gunnar-ism

2009-06-05T23:41:00.000-07:00

This evening, we attended my niece's dance recital. On the way there, Gunnar was chattering away with his usual round of "Why" questions.
"Mom, why is the grass green?"
"Dad, why is that light red?"
"Mom, why is that car blue?"
"Dad, why did we stop?"
Nolan and I just shook our heads and smiled. Then I decided to ask him something. I turned to him and asked, "Gunnar, why do you have legs?" We were expecting an answer sort of like..."so I can walk...".
Instead, he came up with, "So I can keep my feet on!"
We love you Gunnar! Stay cute!!

Katie & Daddy Duet

2009-06-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

This is my friend Katrina's husband (Danny) and daughter (Katie) singing a duet.
Sooooooooooo cute!!!

Wow! Talk about "Chatty Cathy"

2009-06-01T07:41:00.000-07:00

Boom Boom Boom!!

2009-05-30T13:53:00.000-07:00

Lovin' this song!! Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtGlHPFCH8A

Spring Photo Shoot

2009-05-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

~~ IT'S A BIG ONE ~~
I am sharing the pictures from a very fun spring photo shoot we did in my parents back yard. It was a lot of work, especially with the kids, but it was so worth it in the end!
Check it out!

GQ Gunnar

What a handsome young man!!

Gretta is silly!

I think the kids are already tiring of this!

Darling Sienna! What a princess!!

Thank Heaven for little girls!!

Grandpa Paul is trying to get the kids to smile...

Much to Aunt Holly's amusement,
Uncle Michel & Aunt Melanie join in!

Ready ... Set ... Go for a ride!

Goofy Great Grandpa Reid!!

We all love this boy!

Ooohhhh ... babies are soooooooooo adorable!

Quietly observing the antics.

Something struck their funny bones!

Maybe it was this?!?!

We know, we know!
:)
You worked SOOOOOO HARD!!!
:)
Thank you!

Wow! What an exhausting day!

Recent Photos

2009-05-19T09:23:00.001-07:00

New (to us) Truck. 2003 Dodge Dakota.
Hannah & Holly Hoola-hooping!

Silly Auntie Holly!!

Cute little sleepy Gunnar man.
Sienna joined Girl Scouts and I am a volunteer mom for the troop.

Painting flower pots

Making Peanut Butter Bird Feeders

Green Acres Elementary had a Kindergarten Easter Egg Hunt and Party.

There were so many fun games to play!

Easter Morning...

"We hunted for our Easter Baskets...

...And we found lots of prizes"

Another Egg Hunt @ Jace & Becca's

"A hunting we will go..."

One egg got caught in the dryer vent!

"See - more goodies!"

Parker is telling Nana something important!

Finally on Flickr

2009-05-15T21:42:00.001-07:00

I know it has taken me a very long time...but I am finally updating my photos on Flickr!!
Family And Friends ... please sign in and enjoy!
:)

http://www.flickr.com/

Academic Honors!

2009-04-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

My beautiful little girl has received a certificate for her outstanding achievements in Academics! I am so proud of her and am honored to be her mother!

I love you my little angel!!

Little Toy Gun

2009-02-20T12:22:00.001-08:00

This is currently my favorite song. I really like the "old west movie" video too.
Little Toy Gun - honeyhoney

Just For Fun...

2009-01-25T11:47:00.000-08:00

I saw this tag and thought it would be fun....

Rules:
Use the first letter of your name to answer. They have to be real places, things, names...nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person who tagged you had the same first initial. You cannot use your name for the boy/girl name question.

What is your name? Wendy
4 Letter word: Whip
Vehicle: WRX
TV Show: Wonder Years
Song: Watcha Want?
City: Winchestertonfieldville
Boy name: William
Girl name: Winona
Occupation: Welder
Something people wear: Waistcoat
Food: Watermelon
Something found in a bathroom: Water
Reason for being late: Wreck
Something you shout: Whatever!

Tag 3 people: Melanie, Holly, & anyone else who wants to do it :)

Great Job!!

2009-01-23T14:06:00.000-08:00

I am so proud of my adorable husband!
He has been studying hard for a while now for a required certification test for is career. Well, he took the test today and received a score of 900 points...out of a possible 900 points!!
Way to go Babe!!

The kids sat on Santa's Lap....

2009-01-22T21:14:00.000-08:00

I know it's a while after Christmas...but as always, I am playing blogger catchup!

We took the kids to sit on Santa's lap.
Gunnar sang "All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth" and Santa laughed and told him he'd made his day!!
Santa asked Sienna if she'd been a good girl, and she looked at me out of the corner of her eye first (as if checking for my approval).

When I smiled and nodded to her, she perked up and said, "I've been a very good girl and I have been nice to my little brother."

Christmas Afternoon....

2009-01-19T19:35:00.001-08:00

We went to my parents house on Christmas Day and ended up getting snowed in. It was a lot of fun to be able to spend all that time together.

Cute little Hannah Banana is such a sweetheart! I just love her smile and her cute personality.
And by the way...I am totally jealous of her gorgeous curls!
Gretta and Hannah are good friends....
Michel and Nolan manned the cameras - capturing all the festivities :)

"We are sexy manly men!"

Sienna, being the great helper she is, assisted Gretta in learning how to use her new skates.
My little Sienna bean is so cute - see how she is soooooo fashionable in her new Christmas hair ribbon!!
This day was the first time we met little Isaac! He is so stinkin' cute - I just wanted to snuggle with him the whole day!
Aunt Holly got some cuddle time too (practicing to hold her own baby boy - due any day now!)
And of course...EVERYTHING must go in Isaac's mouth for some taste testing!! Such a cutie!
He was very excited to open his gifts...
Hey! Who turned out the lights?!?!
Among other things, Gunnar was excited to get TWO brand new pairs of pants!! Without realizing it, Grandma Eileen and Grandpa Paul had bought him the exact same pants that Uncle Michel & Auntie Melanie had.
As Grandpa Paul worked on his present, Grandma Eileen gave Sienna a big "Thank You" hug for her gift.

Melanie and Kevin sharing a laugh

My super awesome superhero husband ... "Bug-Man!"
Later on Michel's "Rock Band 2" was busted out ....
And here is my Super Awesome Superstar Husband rockin' the guitar!
And here is super cute Grandma Eileen wailing on the drums! Go mom!!

We are so fortunate to have Michel and Melanie living here for the next few months! They drove across the country from New Hampshire, and arrived on Christmas Day. It was very apparent how tired Melanie was when we were downstairs talking later that night (around midnight). Either she was in mid-sentence or I was, when her head sank down and she fell asleep. It was only for a few seconds though, then she woke up and laughed when she'd realized what had happened.

We Carved Pumpkins

2008-11-01T21:22:00.000-07:00

Halloween came around again and of course we needed to carve pumpkins. So Grandpa & Grandma & the McCaffertys came up and we had a pumpkin carving fiasco.

Grandma Leene and Grandpa Paul are so silly!!

Sienna insisted on carving hers all by herself. So we only helped her with the guts, then handed her the safe cutting tool and off she went.

She is so artistic and creative!

Ta Da! Here are the finished products.

Another example of Sienna's talent.... Do you recognize the house and monster? - other than the fact of course that the color scheme is a bit different.
Gunnar is proudly displaying our evening's work.
And here are Gunnar's (left) and Sienna's (right) pumpkins all finished. Gunnar carved his the week before at the Newbolds....
and this week, Gunnar drew an awesome bicycle on this ghost pumpkin (which we grew in our garden)...

He did this by himself! :)

Black Island Farm Corn "Maize"

2008-10-30T11:20:00.000-07:00

The weekend before Halloween, we went to the Black Island Farm Corn "Maize". We took Sienna's friend Kayla with us, giving her mom Leesa (my best friend) a much needed day off from everything. She needed the rest...and it was so much fun to have Kayla come along with us.

When we got there, we first went through this area where they sell all of their produce,
then found a huge expansive area set up like a playground! It was very cool.
There was a jack-o-lantern bouncy house,
some big slides,
Check out these videos...

Gunnar & Daddy in the big tube slide

Sienna in the tube slide

Kayla in the big tube slide

...and some small slides too.
There was a pumpkin launching pad, a small tractor ride for the kids,
Check out the video...

and a little area with a teeter totter and some big tires to climb on.
We got very lost in the phase 3 section
and the kids were worried we wouldn't make it out.
Check out the video...

We re-assured them that we would and they calmed down a little.

After we exited the maze, we took the kids on a "Hay" Ride (really just a big tractor ride)
out to the pumpkin patch, where we all got to get off the trailer and go pick out a pumpkin - one for each of us!
When we found our perfect pumpkin, we were supposed to stand by it and raise our hand until the farmer came along to cut and de-thorn the stem.

Gunnar caught onto this concept very well!

We wore the kids out...
...which really made for a pleasant ride home.
Gunnar was so wiped out, he couldn't even wake up for pizza when we got home.
What a great day! It was so much fun and we are excited for next fall so we can go again!

Sienna's First Day of Kindergarten

2008-09-18T16:27:00.000-07:00

We officially have a Kindergartner! I can't believe that my little baby girl is in Elementary school now.

Here she is (on Tuesday September 2nd, 2008) with her Homework assignment for the first day (ya know - kinda like when you go to college - haha) The assignment was "What I did over my summer break". So we went through our pictures and she chose ones she wanted for a collage, then I printed them and she helped me put them together on a poster board.

"What I did over my summer break was...
Swimming in lakes and pools, Camping,
Boating, Hiking
and at the end of the summer
being a Real Cheerleader at
a real High School football game!"
(see Sienna's blog for details)

She hung her coat and backpack up on her hook and was ready for the day.

She is so cute - when it came time to go into her classroom, she turned to me and said, "~K~ Mom ... Love you - bye!" and ran off. I actually had to call her back to me to give me a hug and kiss goodbye. It is great that she is so independent and ready to spread her wings, but it was a little hard to have her be THAT comfortable.
After roll was taken, the kids sat around the piano and did "The Rhythms". This is where the teacher, Mrs. Jensen, plays a variety of songs on the piano and then they all engage in playful activities.
Then after reciting The Pledge of Allegiance, the kids were ready to begin whatever projects were lined up for that day.

Wonderful Little Americans!

~~It has been a couple of weeks now and Sienna is already excelling in her school work. She loves her class so much and her dad and I are very proud of her! She has such a great time that she actually has a hard time on the weekends when she can't go to school. We hope that this passion for school sticks with her - through junior high, high school and college.

One Day At a Time...

2008-09-12T21:44:00.000-07:00

My Friend, Matthew Bolton...

2008-08-15T15:00:00.000-07:00

FYI to the readers...this is a long post...a tribute to my friend...but worth the time to read. It has been hard to write about, but here is the result of my labor of love.

June 30th, 2008.
The day our lives changed forever...

I was sitting down at my computer in the afternoon balancing my checkbook, reading my e-mail and thinking I should do at least one blog post for June. I opened up my account and signed in. Just then my phone rang - it was my best friend Leesa Bolton. I answered the phone with a cheery voice, but knew immediately that something was very wrong. I can remember with such clarity the events of that afternoon.
Leesa told me she had some bad news.
"There was an accident at Matthew's work today and....."
For a few moments, all she could do was sob. My heart began racing and pounding up into my throat as I knew what she was about to say, but so badly did NOT want to hear it. I went down the hall to my daughter's room where I could be alone.
"Wendy...Matthew died today."
I couldn't breathe...or speak...or even think. I have never had anyone close to me die so suddenly before, and could not fully grasp these words being said to me...

My Friend Matthew Bolton...
Born: July 19th, 1977
Died: June 30th, 2008

I met Matthew a little over eight years ago. I had only just met Leesa a few months previous. We were taking a phlebotomy course together and ended up both working at the same hospital. We became friends very quickly. Just a few weeks into our friendship, she told me I just HAD to meet this great guy she had recently met and was dating.

Some of my first impressions of Matt were definitely lasting ones. He was kind, sweet, funny, and and just plain fun to hang out with. Matthew always had a big (sometimes goofy) smile ready and a great story to tell.

It was not hard to be friends with him. But then again, he was friends with everyone. Not once during our 8 year friendship did I ever hear him speak an unkind word about anyone. It fills me with peace and gladness to know that he knew life was indeed way too short to waste any time or energy on thinking ugly thoughts.

Soon after meeting they knew they belonged together, so Matthew asked for Leesa's hand in marriage. So on August 4th, 2001, Matthew and Leesa became husband and wife.

It was such a wonderful day filled with family, friends, laughter and fun!

You can just hear Matthew saying, "Haaaaaaa haaaaa!" as he

lovingly shoves the cake into his new bride's mouth.

Sweet Leesa was much more kind with his piece.

Matt had a son from a previous relationship that he fought tooth and nail to get custody of. When Christian was about 6 months old, he was taken from his father (by his birth mother), taken to various unknown destinations, and exposed to very unstable, unhealthy circumstances. Matthew did not know how or where to find his son until years later. He finally did find out where he was and that he had been exposed to these bad situations. At that point, there was no question about it! Matthew needed to gain full custody of his little boy! When it came to getting this custody, and providing a better life for him, Matthew and his family stopped at nothing. They got the best lawyers and proceeded with every step necessary to make sure his family would be completed.

Matthew and Christian sharing their very first Christmas together.

The total completion came about a year after he and Leesa got custody of Christian. The birth of their little girl, Kayla, completed the family.

Kayla was her daddy's little angel.

For some reason, Kayla thought this bath was just hilarious!

When she was an infant, I recall many evenings when I would be visiting, and Leesa would get completely and totally frustrated that she could not get Kayla to settle down and go to sleep. Throwing her hands up in despair she'd turn to Matthew. He would take his little bundle, hold her close and gently talk to her while rocking slowly back and forth. He had the magic touch. Within just a few minutes, Kayla would be peacefully sleeping in her daddy's arms.

Here is a Daddy daughter fishing date they shared
together at a pond in Las Vegas.

After Christian came to live with Matt and Leesa, they started on their adventures together. The Bolton family loves to camp, fish and spend time playing outdoors.

Plus, Matthew was an avid motorcycle enthusiast -
- especially with KTM motorcycles. Actually anything with the KTM symbol and/or colors (black & orange) on it, Matthew had to have. Even his sunglasses were orange.
Matthew and his son went on many biking trips together...

...with a few of Matt's closest friends.

If any part of the motorcycle ever broke, he took it upon himself to fix it. There would be NO repair man coming to lay his hands on Matthew's bike. No way!

There would be no repair man coming to fix anything that broke. Matthew was very handy around the house. From fixing the bikes, to repairing the air conditioning unit and sprinkling system, to even stitching up a hole in one of Leesa's bras. That's right! Matt was bored on one of his days off and decided that Leesa's bra she'd been complaining about needed to be fixed. The wire had come out one of the sides - and that would just not do. So he grabbed the sewing kit, and off he went...sewing up the material around the wire and fixing the bra. When she came in the door from work, Leesa was quite shocked to see him sitting on the couch doing this chore.

When Leesa and Matt moved into their first house together, as Leesa was inside working on her share of the boxes, Matthew was working on unpacking and organizing his beloved garage. Leesa came out for a break and to see how it was going. She noticed a slew of crates lying about with miscellaneous motorcycle parts heaped up inside them. When asked "What on earth are all of those?!" His joyful, enthusiastic response was simply, "It's my bike!"
He had all the various parts strewn about, but in his mind, it was a beautiful (and whole) Honda 480 motorcycle. He succeeded, of course, in putting this great bike together and found much joy in working on it through the years.

Starting up that bad boy!!

My friend, Matthew Bolton was a kind, wonderful loving man. He treated Leesa with the utmost love & respect and always did everything in his power to please her.

He was most recently working 2 jobs to save enough money to be able to join the rest of his extended family on a vacation that had been planned for months. He wanted to make sure that his little clan got to go too.

He wanted nothing more than to be a good dad & husband, and a caring family man. And he was! Family was the most important thing to Matthew. I loved visiting with them, hearing about the most recent camping trip (one of which we were lucky enough to be involved in)...

...or the motorcycle ride he and his friends had taken last weekend...

...or even just about dinner last Sunday night with his family and friends. The Bolton's knew the importance of being together...laughing, joking, sharing fond memories.

Kayla was obviously ecstatic as Matthew blew out the candles at his 30th Birthday party!

This world definitely has some adjusting to do without the presence of this fantastic man. We could all use someone like Matthew in our lives. And if there are any of you out there who do have a guy like Matt in your lives, go up to him, give him a big hug and tell him he is loved and appreciated. For that is what all of us who knew Matthew Bolton would love to do ... just one more time.

Matthew, we love you and miss you tremendously!

Bible in a Minute...

2008-08-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

This if for anyone (and everyone) who says they don't have time for Bible study!

Bible In A Minute - barats and bereta

What all the buzz is about...

2008-08-11T14:14:00.000-07:00

Gunnar has been sweating a lot this summer. Especially since about mid July. He'd had the cutest little mop top hairdo (which I loved) for quite a while, but he would just sweat all day long. To try and cool him down a bit, I would put him under the A.C. in the hallway for as long as he could stand being there, but then about 5 minutes later, his hair would be wet again. Here he is being Supee-man (Superman) and Sienna is being Supee-girl!
So one evening last week, I decided he was getting his hair cut. When Nolan got home, we bathed him, washed his long locks for the last time, and took him out to the driveway. He actually stood pretty still while Nolan shaved his head. We used an electric shaver with a length guard attached.Isn't he just so cute?Everybody who has seen it so far says he looks older...and I agree. He has been a lot cooler ever since. His head is not covered in sweat now, and he even seems more energetic!For all the fans of his longer hair, (Melanie, I know you are one of them!) don't worry. We will be growing it back out this winter - when he can actually use the extra warmth.
:)

Newbold Family Campout

2008-08-05T16:10:00.000-07:00

July 31st through August 3rd, our family got together for our first Bob & Margie Newbold Family Reunion. We all went camping at a great little spot in the Uinta Mountains in the Smith & Moorehouse Reservoir area.
We got in kinda late on the evening of the 31st, so we just set up camp, ate dinner and went to bed. The next day, right after breakfast, Sienna was ready for the adventures to begin. So she and Gunnar and I went on a little walk that ended up being quite a hike up into the hills. I told her we had to turn around and get Daddy, because he'd want to go on this hike too. Plus I was wearing flip flops and needed better shoes. Shortly after arriving back at camp, the Bosworths and the other Newbolds (Jace & Rebecca) arrived. Unfortunately, Kiley and Dianne were not able to attend due to the recent arrival of their adorable first born child. Isn't he just precious? After everyone got all set up, Nolan and I took our kids back to the hiking trail. It is so great that our children love to hike and enjoy being out in nature as much as we do.My Little Angel...always ready with an adorable pose for the camera. Ta-Da!Showing off her trail running skills...Cute little Gunnar enjoyed looking with Daddy over the edge of the bridge into the rushing water below. He also discovered that he is quite good at jumping off of boulders!And..Boom!!That night, we had fire roasted hot dogs and chips for dinner, followed by toasted sticky marshmallows and smores for dessert. Mmmmmmmmmm.Nana wanted to cook a mallow, but was very careful not to get too close to the fire.
All of the cousins played so well together. It was really great to have them all together like this.
top row in back: Lilly & Alex
middle section: Nick, Sienna, Belle & Sam
and out in front: Gunnar & KateOf course they all wanted the silly photo too.The next day (Saturday) everyone wanted to go down to the lake and try some fishing. Unfortunately, I could not go as I was suffering from a severe migraine headache. I told Nolan to take lots of photos so I could at least see what happened down there. There was apparently a lot of mud and the kids (especially Nick) couldn't resist it. When everyone got back, I was still feeling under the weather, but it was too hot to go lie down in a tent. So I stayed in the shade and rested in a lounge chair as much as possible. While resting, I was approached by Nick and Annabelle clad in only underwear, and the proceeded to tell me of their mud slinging fun!For the kids, Marisa had planned a fun arts and crafts project of painting rocks. Since I was not feeling well and all the other grown ups were engaged in helping the kids paint the rocks and not each other, there were no photos taken of the event. But here are the finished products (from my kids anyway).

(photo coming soon)

That night Jace & Becca left, and the rest of us had a wonderful cold vegetable pasta salad the Bosworths made for dinner.

Nana & Papa's dog, Sadie, was such a good little doggie. She is such a sweetheart!
By Sunday morning, our time in the mountains had come to an end. I found Sienna and Gunnar sitting on a nearby stump looking quite sullen. When I asked what was wrong, Sienna replied, "Mom, I am just having such a hard time saying goodbye to the mountains. I just want to stay and stay."I told her, "You know, you remind me of another little girl who always had a hard time going home after a fun vacation."
"Who was that?"
"Me" I told her.
"So, what did you do?", she asked.
"Well, I just had to learn that even though vacations are so much fun, they do eventually come to an end. And if we don't go home, we can't come back again for another trip."
She thought about it for a moment or two, then she smiled, got up, blew kisses to the trees and said, "Ok mountains. I love you! I'll see you next time!"What a cutie pie!
We finished packing up and bid farewell until next time to this gorgeous landscape.In the future, I will enjoy having some place like this for a summer home!

Can't wait to come back!

Flight of the ("Footloose") Conchord Guy...

2008-08-04T16:36:00.000-07:00

I ran across this video clip and just had to share it....
soooooooooooo FUNNY!!

Kids Riding Their Bikes

2008-05-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

In the evening of Monday May 19th, 2008, Sienna rode on her bike without training wheels and did it by herself for the very first time!! We are so proud of her, and she is so very pleased with herself too. She started just like anyone else...with her daddy running behind her holding onto the back of the seat. Then he eventually let go and off she went. Of course, as soon as she realized that he was no longer holding on, she panicked and stopped riding. By the end of the evening, she was really getting the hang of it though, and not freaking out so much when Nolan let go. Some of the pictures are a bit blurry, but that's because I was walking with them trying to get a shot...but you can tell what is going on anyway - even with the blurs.

Here she is receiving some initial instructions...
A little help from Daddy..And they're off!Congratulations my little angel!!
(be sure to check out her blog too as this event is posted in her own words on that site)

Of course, Gunnar participated, too. He has been trying to learn to pedal on his bike instead of just pushing along and then dragging his feet. He did it a little bit on this day, but still needs to practice.
He's working so hard...
Good job buddy!

Our new bikes

2008-05-19T07:06:00.000-07:00

We got mountain bikes!! They have been so nice! We got them last Saturday (May 10th), and have been riding 4 times so far!! It is awesome...and one helluva workout too! I feel so great by the time we really get going, and even better later when we get home. And I can't remember the last time I worked up such a sweat! Especially while having so much fun - fun exercise is the way to go man! It is also such a stress reliever! A couple of times, I was stressed out because the kids had been fighting all day or something, then it seemed to take forever to finally get going. Well after we were about 10 - 15 minutes into it, I really felt a calming relaxation come over me and started to smile. Then by the time we arrived back home, I felt just wonderful! The rest of the day and evening was totally fine and I could handle anything! Plus I think getting out for the ride helps get the kids in a more amiable mood too.

We got a trailer to tote the kids in and they love it! We picked it up on our way to visit the grandparents and the kids wanted to "test ride" it before their first real ride (which was the next day).
They ask every day if we are going for a ride. It is funny too...we will be going up a long hill or something and need to stop and catch our breaths. Well when we stop, Sienna keeps piping up and asking, "How come we stopped? Let's get going." Or Nolan will ask me if I am ready to get going again, and she'll respond with, "Ya I'm ready - c'mon let's go!' She is so funny!
I am so excited to continue our bike rides and can't wait to get better at it myself. I want to be able to go long distances too, and ride some dirt trails - even wide dirt or gravel roads with the kids in tow.

We have been wanting to get a new elliptical (our other one sorta broke and unfortunately is not really worth what is would cost to fix it), but after riding a few times, we think we will just get an indoor trainer for the bikes and use that on rainy days and this upcoming winter.

Nolan is going to start commuting to work on his bike...he is just working up to it right now. He has to go almost thirteen miles one way. So far he has made it about eight (just around here). By next week, we think he'll be able to start commuting, and hopefully make it on the bike at least 3 or 4 times during each week. He got a few little extras for his bike like this rack for putting a lunch pack and another pack for clothing etc. It sits over the back wheel and keeps the pack away from the spokes - plus Nolan won't have to have added weight on his back.
Commuting will be fantastic exercise for him and and our wonderful little way to "stick it" to the oil companies. Now, I know they won't go bankrupt because we won't be purchasing as much gas, but at least I can rest easy knowing that we aren't contributing even more to the awful oil/gas situation. Plus what a great bonus it will be for our own pocketbook! With how lazy and into big vehicles Americans have become, it would be nice if more able bodied people would jump on board (a bicycle or even a motorized scooter or something) and do themselves a favor (health-wise and money-wise) while helping to reduce emissions, and other pollutants too.

Ok, there's me on my soapbox for the day...
Good Day and Good Health to you all!

I am still alive...

2008-03-17T14:14:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody! I know it has been a while since my last post, but I am still here and alive! There have been many times I have thought of something I wanted to write about, but was running out the door, or I had just come home from work, absolutely exhausted.

The absolute exhaustion comes from the fact that I have had mono these past few months. Since about a month after we moved here, I have been totally run down and just plain pooped. I kept getting sick too. From fevers to sinus infections to an extremely sore throat. It felt like I was swallowing shards of glass. I finally went to the doctor at that point desperate for some relief. Well, they did blood work and prescribed some prescription strength suckers called tetra-cane suckers. They are much more powerful that halls drops or anything over the counter, and they work fantastically. A few days later the test results came back and I was officially diagnosed with mono.

I have been resting a whole bunch and am finally feeling better. I can get all the way through most days without feeling like I need a nap. So anyway - on to one of the reasons for this post....THE SNOW!!

First came a little bit of snow...

then... Let it snow... Let it snow... Let it snow...

We ended up with quite a bit of snow here in Northern Utah this winter.
In general, Utah has been kind of lacking in the snow department for the last few years. I worked at Snowbasin last year too, and the snow just sucked! This year though...wow! What a difference! Snowbasin has the 3rd highest mid mountain depth this year - where as last year we were way down on the list. This season, we are only outdone by Snowbird and Alta...and they always get the most snow because they are always hit by all the lake effect snow the Cottonwood Canyons get.

I have become quite good at driving through snowstorms and on days I had the energy to get out and do it, I have received a couple good workouts from shoveling hundreds of pounds of snow from my driveway.

These next photos were at the peak of the snow totals...

The bump to the right of the little house is actually a picnic table engulfed by the snow. And toward the back on the right is a Little Tykes play tower with a slide coming off of it. (the top of the slide is at the top of the snow level.) Skiing has been phenomenal too. Admittedly, I have not been nearly as much as I have wanted to. Partly due to moving and unpacking - then the Holidays, then the whole mono thing...and my family has had some bouts with illnesses this winter, too. But we have made it up to the slopes a few times, and it has been great!

Michel and Melanie came out for a visit too, and Nolan, Michel and I went skiing. Unfortunately Melanie could not come because of how far along she is in her pregnancy. It was great fun though - even when Michel almost killed me (j/k) by dragging my to a double black diamond slope! To his defense, he did not know it was as steep as it was until we got there, and it was partly due to us making a wrong turn higher on the trail. He did save me though and was really great in getting me across the gorge. We traversed across the whole thing, and then he actually had to pull me up a short ridge on the other side to get back to the regular trail.
This slope is actually a lot steeper and wider than it looks here. This is the view from the lift, and I was NOT about to go back to the actual area for a better picture. The area we traversed is in the middle of the two ridges seen here (the area in shadow). Scary!
That night, everybody else came up and we went out to eat at Javier's Mexican Restaurant. It is kind of a tradition with our family. In the past we have gone to one by a dog food factory in the ghetto. Great food - weird neighborhood. But this time, we went to one in a converted Motel coffee shop in a better neighborhood. Still great food! And it was so fun to be able to spend that kind of quality time together.
Sienna was so proud of her artwork.....After dinner it was back to our home for some good hanging out time. The little cousins are so cute together! They love to play.A few days later, I was at work and Michel and his dad came up to ski. I was able to get off early and join them for the rest of the afternoon. That day was filled with fast groomers, small jumps, and intermediate slopes only - no more double black diamonds for me! It was great being able to spend a little more time (and skiing too) before he had to return home.
A few days after that, Melanie and Gretta came up for a sleepover. That was loads of fun. We sat down and started chatting around 10 pm. Melanie and I had so much catching up to do that we stayed up until 4:30 in the morning! I could not believe it! I can't even remember the last time I stayed up that late! The next day we just sorted through some of my son's clothes he had grown out of, and Mel chose some to take home with her for her new arrival.

We miss you Michel and Melanie - and little Gru!

Well, the snow has calmed down- melted completely from our yards actually. And the lovely warmth of springtime is in the air. I love winter, but with the abundance of winter driving I have had to do this winter, I am so ready for spring! A long spring would be very nice. I just hope summer takes its sweet time arriving. It gets too hot too fast!

Winter Fun!!

2007-12-30T14:58:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Snow at Snowbasin!Looking at the gorgeous mountains from my bedroom window...
Winter is so fun! We are a family that likes to be outside no matter what time of year. I have taught my kids (and will continue to teach them) that just because it is cold outside, doesn't mean we have to be stuck indoors until spring. We are not animals that are supposed to hibernate. And honestly, if you don't get out and see what winter has to offer, you are missing so much of nature's beauty that is ours for the taking! Just bundle up and go for it!
Here are some of our fun winter times....

Sienna just LOVES to ski! And she is very good at it too. This was only her 2nd day skiing, and this photo is at at the end of that day, on the slopes leading down from the advanced beginner lift (the Becker Lift)! No more bunny hill for this little skier!!
I am not sure what he was doing with the old dish scrubber - but he made it into some kind of snow toy and had fun!
Mmmmmm...yummy snow ball
Angels making snow angels
Front yard fun!!

Our new home in North Ogden

2007-11-27T14:53:00.000-08:00

Finally! Here are some photos of our new abode!
View of the mountains from the front yard...
Coming in the front door...
The upstairs living room...
The dining room....
The deck...
The back yard...The wood building in the corner is actually a little playhouse for the kids. We have a small wooden bookshelf and a plastic kitchen setup in there.
The back yard again...and our little Tuff Shed
more backyard...
The kitchen...we will be replacing the ugly brown carpet and icky yellow lenolium with slate tile or wood laminate sometime very soon! And the plan is to actually complete a full renovation on the kitchen and dining room within the next few years.
the upstairs bathroom...which is also due for a renovation within the next few years.
Gunnar's room - (YES we will be painting it "boy colors" in the spring!)

The Master Bedroom....
our closet...we can pull the drapes closed when we want it to look nicer. If you'll notice, the curtain rod is bent; a gift from Gunnar to us during our first week here. He was trying to close the curtains and pulled down way too hard on them, causing the rod to bend.
heading downstairs...
to Sienna's room. Which she is soooooooo excited about. She tells anyone and everyone who comes to our house (including the Questar Gas and Satellite TV installation guys) to come check out her very own cool new room!
She is terribly proud of it! And just like a grown up, she hangs up all her own clothes now.
Here is the food storage and.....
weight room....
The downstairs bathroom (which Sienna refers to as HER bathroom that we are welcome to borrow from her from time to time)
My big laundry room - notice the cool closet rod (above the washer and dryer) for those things that are not to go into the dryer...
The downstairs Family room / Computer Room.
And last but definitely not least...the big mess of all the stuff we have left to go through, find places for, maybe throw out, and just plain organize. This room will be great when it is done. This mess is concealing an entertainment bar, perfect for get-togethers and such.
Well there it is. We are so proud to be home owners and are very grateful to live here. It is a great house and has a lot of equity potential too. Plus the neighborhood is fantastic. We have already had the welcome wagon drop by a few times to welcome us. And it is safe and quiet and we are so pleased to call it home!!

Christmas with a capital "C"

2007-11-17T18:39:00.000-08:00

My dad shared this video with me and I think it is great! Freedom of religion is a very important part of this country, RIGHT?!

Afternoon at the Instacare

2007-11-14T18:26:00.000-08:00

So this morning my wonderful mother came up to my house to watch and play with my kids so I could get some things unpacked and some chores done around the house. First of all, a couple days ago, Nolan began installing our R.O. (reverse osmosis) water filtration system under the kitchen sink. Well when he got to a certain point, he clamped down on one pipe in particular and it just buckled under the pressure. It was an old metal pipe and apparently it was pretty rusted and rotted out. So he went to Home Depot to get things to fix it, but problem after problem continued to arise. In total there ended up being about 5 or 6 trips made to the Home Depot. Because of the delay, I was not able to use my kitchen sink for about a day and a half. Well, with 2 kids and, at the very least, three meals and three snacks during the day, by this morning there was a HUGE mess to clean up.
So I tackled that while my mom took the kids on a walk and to a local playground. Time just flew by and before I knew it, they were back and my mom informed me that she had already been here for three and a half hours and it was getting close to the time she needed to leave. I couldn't believe it! All I had accomplished was the enormous kitchen mess. Oh well. At least it was done and I could put Gunnar down for his nap and put a movie on for Sienna and then I could try to start unpacking boxes....Or so I thought!
About 5 minutes after my mom left, I heard a huge THUD followed immediately by Sienna screaming very intensely. Sienna has the tendency to sometimes whine and "fake" cry when she bumps into stuff of gets mildly hurt. But this sounded more intense. I was trying not to panic, and I gave her a hug and asked her what happened. She continued shrieking and said she hurt her head on the wall downstairs. I said everything would be fine and let me just look at it so I can kiss it better. I looked at her head and my heart sank! I saw an enormous gash in the back of her head about half way down. The cut was about and inch long and very deep. There was blood pouring out of it and dripping down her shirt. I ran her into the bathroom and put her head into the tub. I told her we needed to wash it off a little so I could look at it better. Well when I looked at it better, my heart began racing. It looked terrible.
I grabbed a towel and put it on her head and told her to keep pressure on it. I grabbed my purse and Gunnar and told Sienna we needed to go right now. She asked me where we were going and I told her we needed to go to the hospital so a doctor could help fix her head. Instead of a hospital we actually ended up at the I.H.C. Instacare right up the street from us. They took us right back and got going on the procedures. Things calmed down a little at that point, but Gunnar was extremely ornery and tired. He kept whining and telling me he wanted to go home and go to bed. I wanted it too. The nurse was really nice and got some big Legos for him to play with.
Sienna was so brave throughout the whole ordeal. They numbed the area with a topical gel first and then waited for it take effect before administering the local anesthetic through the needle. It took two nurses and myself to hold her down while the doctor did this part. Poor little girl! Tears sprang to my eyes as my little baby girl pleaded for us to stop. We kept explaining to her that it was almost over and to hold really still so we didn't have to start over. Finally the pain subsided and she relaxed. When the doctor began putting the stitches in, she asked him if he was putting a ponytail in her hair, because that is what it felt like. That made me smile. The total tally of stitches came to a grand total of SEVEN!
Finally all was done and I treated my little angel to some chicken nuggets and ice cream. (Gunnar got some ice cream too for trying to be patient even though he was sooo tired!) She kept telling everyone we saw (at the drive through and such) that she hit her head and it bled all over the place and that she had to get stitches. Plus, as per the doctor's orders, she got to spend the entire afternoon lying down and watching all her favorite movies. When we got home, she actually bumped the back of her head while turning around. I told her she needed to watch very carefully where her head was going for the next few days.
I know this turned out to be not so serious, but I had never dealt with this before. This was my very first emergency trip for stitches or emergency care for one of my kids. I am so grateful that this did not end up being worse.

Home sweet home

2007-11-13T15:00:00.001-08:00

Well we are all moved in to our new home now! Well, all of our boxes are technically inside the house, but only about half of them are actually unpacked. It is definitely an adjustment for us (me especially) to be living in such a disorganized way. I am by no means the worlds most organized person anyway, so having even less organization is a bit stressful. Currently, I don't know exactly where my camera's hardware is for uploading photos to my computer, so I don't know when more photos will be posted here. Soon, I hope.
I would like to say a big huge thanks to everyone who helped us on our moving day. It was a great relief to have that much help and support.
By the way, Nolan is feeling much better now. He actually has not had any adverse side effects at all from the surgery.
Well, there is more to unpack, and it is getting close to dinner time too.
Thanks for tuning in....

What has happened lately...

2007-10-29T21:23:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let you all know what has happened lately.

Nolan has been suffering with gall stones for about 6 weeks now, and he had been trying various alternative healing methods to release or dissolve the stones. These were not successful, however, so we thought this may in fact have to end in a surgery. Over a week ago, last Friday night, (October 19th) Nolan had a severe gall bladder attack and decided to see a surgeon about it. Unfortunately, the only days the surgeon could schedule surgeries is on Wednesdays, and they couldn't fit him in for a consultation until the next Friday (which was this past Friday - October 26th). They also told him if the pain got too bad, that they could maybe squeeze him in. Well, on Tuesday & Wednesday (the 23rd & 24th) Nolan was still in pain, but it had subsided enough that he thought maybe it would get better. But on Wednesday evening, the pain returned with a vengeance. He called first thing Thursday and got in for the consultation. The surgeon (Dr. Whipple) set up an appointment for the following Wednesday, but told him (Nolan) that if the pain got too bad, he could go into the ER and have it taken out sooner. He (the doctor) also said he didn't think that (with the high number of recent attacks) Nolan would even make it to Wednesday anyway.

Saturday afternoon arrived (October 27th) and Nolan called me when I was at work and told me he was having yet another attack that was so bad, he was ready to go have the surgery. I left work, we arranged for the kids to go to my parents house for a few days, and we headed off to the Emergency Room.

The inept, incompetent ER doctor on Saturday night did nothing more that to give Nolan a shot of morphine and perform a few measly blood tests, to which he concluded that there was nothing wrong with Nolan and we should just go home and wait until Wednesday for the surgery we had previously scheduled with Dr. Whipple. This release was also decided after Nolan was given the morphine at the hospital, and he (Nolan) had consequently said that he wasn't in too much pain anymore - because of the morphine (duh!) Dr. Dipstick (ER doc) then released him. I put up a fight at that point, but was told that most ER surgeons wouldn't perform ELECTIVE surgeries on Sundays. We were told we were welcome to stay the night and talk to the on-call surgeon the next morning (because he was currently in an emergency surgery), but again, it probably wouldn't do any good, because, like I said, ER docs don't do ELECTIVE surgeries on Sundays. I still could not understand why they kept calling this serious (much needed by this point) surgery, elective. It is not like we were getting a nose job or cheek implants or something!! By this time, Nolan had been in almost constant pain for EIGHT days!! Well, very reluctantly (and very agitated by now), we went home. After talking with my dad (an RN) about all of it, we knew something more had to be done. We could not just ignore it and it would go away. But we were so tired and frustrated, we didn't know what to do.

Sunday morning at 3 a.m., Nolan was awakened by extreme pain and could not control it with Lortab pills or heating pads on the affected area. Later, when I awoke Sunday morning, I knew what I had to do. I immediately looked up his phone number online, and called Dr. Whipple at his home to explain my concerns. We should not have been released from the hospital Saturday night, and I felt that something needed to happen now to resolve this problem! I came to find out that Dr. Dorko (the ER doc) had called Dr. Whipple the previous night and LIED to him and told him that Nolan was not in pain, did not have any infection, and was comfortable enough to go home.

Anyway, Dr. Whipple was on call at Ogden Regional Medical Center this weekend, but made special arrangements to come to McKay Dee Hospital to perform this much needed surgery. We are very grateful to him for rearranging his schedule and taking the time to take PROPER care of my husband.

After a 32 hour stay, Nolan is home from the hospital now. The surgery was successful and so far the recovery is moving along well. His gall bladder ended up being very inflamed, extremely infected and full of pus. The surgeon who performed the surgery, Dr. Whipple, mentioned quite a few times that it was a VERY good thing I am such a persistent person and that I was so pushy with getting this surgery underway. If it had gone any longer, it could have turned into a much worse infection, or the gall bladder could have even possibly ruptured.

We are so grateful that Nolan is home now, that he will be O.K., and all of this is finally over. We are also so grateful that we were inspired enough to listen to our "gut" feelings (spiritually and physically) and persist in this situation. I urge all of you to do the same. Do NOT ever take anything for granted. And just because a doctor tells you something is one way or another, don't just go along along with it blindly. I could not be happier that we didn't just go along.

.Good Health and Happiness to you all!!

A small, interesting post script...
At 4 p.m. this afternoon, we were scheduled to close on the purchase of our new home. Well, since Nolan was not released from the hospital until 6:30 p.m., the title company representative was nice enough come to the hospital, and we finalized our paper work while Nolan was in his hospital bed.
Now on with the actual move... :)

For anyone watching...

2007-10-23T11:59:00.000-07:00

I know I am a total slacker on blogging. Recently, all of my time is taken by packing, cleaning, working, and of course all the regular "motherhood" duties.
My kids and I did have an opportunity to go hiking recently at Snowbasin Resort (before all the wonderful snow fell). Here are some of my favorites from that day.

Gunnar kept complaining that he was in the baby backpack, and insisted that wanted to hike by himself. He kept saying, "Onna waak, mama. Onna do it." (I wanna walk, mama. Wanna do it).

Sienna was always so far ahead, it was difficult to get a good shot of her. She is such a good little hiker!
Some beautiful fall colors!

I have way more photos of autumn Snowbasin pictures too, but those will have to be posted later.

Stay tuned for more - later - probably around mid-November or so. We will be moved in and settled (hopefully) by then.
Thanks to anyone and everyone for tuning in...

The "Mom Song"

2007-10-15T11:01:00.000-07:00

This is a MUST SEE!! - only takes 3 minutes!!

We got a house!

2007-10-05T10:18:00.001-07:00

As previously mentioned, we have been house shopping lately. I really did not want it to be a long drawn out process, so I got organized, met a Realtor, and we looked at about 25 houses in 3 days. We found one in particular in North Ogden that we kept coming back to. We ended up really loving it and decided to make an offer. They accepted our offer and we are now on our way to being homeowners!! Yesterday we had our home inspection and it went really well. The house is about 40 years old, but has been VERY well taken care of. The only problems found were things you would expect to see in a 40 year old house...like small cracks in the driveway, and the railing spacing is just a bit too wide for today's current code. But all in all it passed and we are ready to move forward! The house is 2050 square feet, (4 bedrooms, 2 full baths, 2 living rooms, dining room, kitchen, covered deck) and is a split entry 2 level home, on 1/4 acre lot. It has 2 large storage sheds and 1 small shed on the property too. It is located about 2 blocks from the Elementary school (which is rated 2nd best in the district) The house is currently occupied so they are packing and we are packing. The closing date is set for October 30th, and moving day is November 3rd. I will post pictures when I can get them. The photos that were online are no longer available.
Well I had better get packing! Toodles!

My Husband and me

2007-10-05T09:27:00.000-07:00

What is his name? Nolan Bob
How long have you been together? 11 years! -holy crap!

How long did you date? 3 years

How old is he? 32 - he'll be 33 in December

Who eats more? It is pretty even...we both eat small meals more often during the day

Who said I love you first? He did

Who is taller? Nolan - by exactly 1 inch

Who sings better? We're pretty even on that one ... both have good ensemble voices, but solos are iffy

Who is smarter? Nolan [his level of genius is sometimes hard to take though :)]

Whose temper is worse? mine, but Nolan has definitely had his moments!

Who does the laundry? Me

Who does the dishes? Me mostly, but now that he is out of school, we are TRYING to even it out.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me

Who pays the bills? Me,

Who mows the lawn? Mostly Nolan, but usually when he starts, I come outside and take a few turns.
Who cooks dinner? Me mostly, but Nolan is a much better cook. He cooks for me on the weekends when I am at work, and those are always the really great dinners. He has actually taught me most of what I know...about cooking!

Who drives when you are together? Mostly Nolan, and he doesn't like it either. I've told him that it's just standard fare as a husband, and he doesn't agree.

Who is more stubborn? Nolan - but he'll probably try to say it is me and that is just not true! It's not...it's not...it's NOT!

Who is the first to admit when they're wrong? Me

Whose parents do you see the most? Probably mine by just a little bit. However, it is pretty even since both families live in Salt Lake.

Who kissed who first? Nolan kissed me.

Who asked who out? Nolan asked me.

Who proposed? Nolan proposed to me (down on one knee) in a boat out in the middle of Bear Lake, during the sunset of July 19th 1998.

Who is more sensitive? Probably me, but it really depends on the topic

Who has more friends? I think I do - he is friends with spouses of my friends too though so it kinda evens it out.

Who has more siblings? It is even - he has 2 brothers and 1 sister, and I have 3 sisters.

Who wears the pants in the family? We both wear pants :) (Nice save, whoever I stole that from!)

Now, who to tag? Holly & Nolan...since they are the only other people I have links with!

Poison Concert

2007-09-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

On August 18th we were fortunate enough to attend the "Poison" concert - for free. Our next door neighbor, Steve, who is also my boss now, has been friends with Bobby Dall (the bass player for "Poison") for years. He asked us this past spring if we would be interested in going to the concert with them in August. We said "yes" and he got us some passes. They were fantastic seats, too. We were about 8 rows back, dead center!

I have always liked Poison's music. I was never a die-hard super fan, or anything, but do I like their music and find myself singing along whenever a song of theirs come on the radio. We did see some die-hard super fans and very interesting characters, like the ones in the following photos...

I couldn't seem to get this guy from the front, but you get the idea!

Some of the women we saw were just comical. They looked like they would be more at home in a lingerie magazine than at a concert. If you ask me, they were pretty pathetic actually. I mean come on! Enjoy the music, but dress normally while enjoying the music!

I was expecting to have a good time that night, but had no idea it would turn out and great as it did. The 80's rock band, "Ratt" opened for "Poison".

"Ratt" was one of Nolan's favorite bands in the 80's so that was quite a treat for him. By the time they finished, the energy level of the crowd was already building. When "Poison" stepped out on stage and began their performance, the crowd was going wild and the energy levels were through the roof! I was actually surprised at how many of the songs I knew and how excited I was to be there at this particular time. I spent the entire time jumping up and down and screaming the songs - as if I was a giddy teenager in the mid 1980's. At one point, some Untied States Marines showed up on stage and "Poison" paid tribute to them. The marines sang along for one of the songs...it was pretty cool.

I was so pumped after the show. Our little group of Steve's friends waited off to the side afterwards to be escorted in to meet Bobby Dall. It was exciting to actually have the chance to meet such a rock legend. We both (Nolan and I) got his autograph and our picture taken with him.
I am glad we had this very fun opportunity.

New found respect

2007-09-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned, I have gone back to work. Even thought it is only part time, I am away from the house enough now that Nolan has really had to step up and start getting even more things done around the house. He is really trying hard and doing a good job so far. My first weekend at work was Labor Day weekend, and since it was a very busy weekend at the resort, I agreed to work all four days. Plus Nolan has been off work for a few weeks and wasn't going to start his new job until Wednesday of that week, so we got to have one more day off together. So I went off to work and he stayed home with the kids and became a "Mr. Mom" of sorts.
Nolan is great at taking care of the kids, but needs some work on getting house chores done. I am not perfect by any means either, but while he was in school, I took care of everything for the house so he could concentrate on his studies. Now we are trying to rearrange things so that the load is more evenly spread out.
Our kids are quite a handful right now. My daughter who will be 5 next week, has so much to say and is very energetic. So much so that sometimes she goes too far and will end up accidentally hurting Gunnar when she is just trying to play with him. She is constantly talking and loves to tell stories and dance and run and jump and twirl - well you get the idea. We are actually considering enrolling her in a tumbling class so she can expend some of this incredible energy. Gunnar is a very rambunctious 2 year old who loves to climb on everything and get into anything he can get his little hands on. He likes to run and jump and scream and holler (etc.) when Sienna does too, and that can get a little hectic. Plus he is always hungry, so it seems like we are always making him food and cleaning him up.
So back to Labor Day weekend...I had been at work and Nolan was taking care of the kids and home. Nolan has done this before - like last year when I was working, he has the kids all day on Saturdays. Also when I go to run errands by myself or am at my Yoga class or something, but he has not been totally in charge of it all for 4 days in a row before. When I got home Monday night, He came up to me and gave me a huge hug and kiss and said, "I love you! You are so awesome! How do you do this all of the time?!"
I smiled and replied, "So you are saying you have a new found respect for me?"
His reply, "Totally!" (another kiss) "Oh! And I cannot wait to go back to work!" (followed by a huge smile).

New post! New post!

2007-09-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

My view - on my way home from work.....

I have been working lately. I started a new job at a familiar resort. Last winter I worked on the lift crew at Snowbasin, in Huntsville, UT. It was a lot of fun and just fantastic to be able to take advantage of the ski benefits. Since I was only part time, I had to pay an whopping $10.00 to ski, and so did my husband, Nolan. My kids, because they are under 6 years old, ski for free not matter whether or not I am an employee. I had a good time last year, but this year, I wanted a change. I was planning on asking the ticket manager (who happens to be my next door neighbor and friend) if I could work on his staff this year. Well I was outside a few weeks ago hanging my laundry out to dry, and he came up to the fence and out of the blue said, "Hey do you want a job?" Of course I said, "yes". He the said, "Okay, you're hired. Can you start Labor Day weekend?" I started working on the ticket staff and am having a great time! I have already met more of my fellow resort co-workers in the 6 days I have been at work this year, than I did the entire season last year. I like learning more about the resort and its inner workings, too. I also have a beautiful drive to and from work. The leaves are starting to turn and I am excited to see the colors in full bloom in a few weeks. I have been driving on the "Old Snowbasin Road" which is a lot less crowded and much more picturesque. It is closed in the winter so I am taking advantage of it now. When I get some "fall color bloom" photos I will post them too, but the pictures in this post is what the view looks like now. Still very scenic. This is looking towards the resort

.

Sienna started Pre-school at Children's Classic Pre-School and Daycare, and Gunnar will be joining the same school in November. She attends only 2 days a week and so far, Sienna loves it! Gunnar will love it too. I know this because every time we drop off Sienna, he pulls away from me because he wants to stay there and "pway, Nie-Nah" (play with Sienna). We have to wait until November for Gunnar to enroll because it is such a great school, there is a waiting list, and the classes for kids his age are all currently full. It had been a long while since the kids had haircuts, so in honor of Sienna starting her new school (and Gunnar really wanting to start school too) we took a trip to the (oh so elegant) salon, Dollar Cuts! Gunnar and Sienna love having their hair cut and they are so cute when sitting up like big kids in the big chairs.

There is so much more going on right now, too. Nolan started his new job at Hill Air Force Base and is really enjoying that. It has a promising future for us, too. We are going to be house shopping soon. Now with these new jobs underway, it is time to get out of renting and join the homeowners. Hopefully it can happen in a timely manner. I am also working on some of my personal photo scrapbook projects right now too. I will try to get caught up and keep up on regular posts.

Thanks for tuning in!

Paint Jam

2007-08-17T10:14:00.000-07:00

Truly Amazing....watch n see....it is very cool.

Silly Sienna & Goofy Gunnar

2007-08-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

My kids love listening to books on audio CDs as they are going to bed. Tonight, I was asking my daughter which story she would like to hear. I said, "Do you want 'The Mystery Envelope', 'The Monster in the Closet', or 'The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid'?"

She responded by telling me very adamantly, "Mom! It is not 'The Monster in the Closet'! It is 'Junie B. Jones has a Monster UNDER HER BED!' ... by Barbara Park ... read for you by Lana Quintal."

I looked at her and laughed. "How do you know all that?"

"Because mom, I am a smart girl!"

She is definitely smart. I pushed play on the CD and sure enough the voice on it said, "'Junie B. Jones has a Monster Under Her Bed!' ... by Barbara Park ... read for you by Lana Quintal."

As I was laughing, I looked out of the kids' room and saw that Nolan could barely contain himself as he laughed with me at our little girl's funny comments. Sienna joined in and then of course, Gunnar, never wanting to miss a beat, laughed right along with the rest of us, even though he didn't know what we were laughing at. (By the way, this happens quite often when something funny happens. Gunnar loves to laugh every chance he gets ... and sometimes it is a forced laugh ... which makes the whole situation even more funny!)

I am so thankful for my cute little family!

Picture post

2007-08-05T22:11:00.000-07:00

Since I have only posted old photos, I thought I would post some more recent pictures of my adorable children. Here is from when my little man was 5 months old and his big sister was 3 whole years old!

This next one is from when Sienna was 3 1/2 years old & Gunnar had just turned 1 year old.

And here are some from Gunnar at 18 months and Sienna at 4 years.

These below are the most recent, done this past spring. Gunnar was almost 2 and Sienna was 4 1/2.

I am such a proud mama! And of course, I think my kids are the cutest!

My Cute Little Man!

2007-08-05T21:25:00.001-07:00

I am fortunate enough to be blessed with a daughter (seen in posts below and above) as well as a wonderful son, Gunnar. (His newborn picture is to the left) Like my little girl, he is growing up so fast, I can hardly keep up. I have been working on fixing and enhancing my pictures recently, and in doing so I frequently come across pictures from when my kids were tiny. Baby Gunnar still looks like Gunnar, but so different from today. I am really glad that I take so many pictures because without them, I don't think I would remember nearly as many things that have happened in years past. Even just remembering what my kiddies looked like would be more difficult.
Gunnar is learning to talk now, and the way he communicates is sometimes so funny! It probably does not come across the same way in a blog post as it does in real life...oh well. One thing that is funny is that he can actually tell on his sister now. In times past when she would take a toy or something, he would just scream or cry and it was up to Nolan and me to figure out what was wrong. Well now when similar things happen he will pipe up and say "Nie-nah (sienna) tow (toy)" or "Nie-nah, owee". We ran errands recently and on the way home, I asked the kids if they wanted homemade chicken nuggets for dinner and Gunnar started bouncing up and down in his seat and practically shrieked "Nungnet nungnet! dih dih (dinner dinner)!" and started laughing. We all laughed too...it was pretty cute how excited he got at the thought.
He is also good at saying please and thank you ("pwee" & "tih coo") when asking for or receiving things. Although we have used hand gestures (and quite honestly a lot of guessing) it is nice to be able to have some form of verbal communication with him now.
He loves his sister (even when they bicker) and they spend a lot of time together playing and dancing around. He has recently started really mimicking Sienna in what she says or how she is dancing, or if she screams then he feels the need to also. Needless to say, it often gets very loud at our house. Fun, but loud! Sienna has been taking swimming lessons this summer, and of course, Gunnar wants to dive right in and play with his sister in the pool. When we would all go, I could not get him interested in playing with toy cars out on the patio or anything...he wanted to swim. So, sadly for him, he does not go to the pool anymore with us. I have to leave him home with his dad, or with a sitter. I think he will be very good when it comes time for him to take the lessons.

Photos from yester-year

2007-08-03T20:34:00.000-07:00

I was looking through my photos on my computer and found some fun ones from when Sienna was just about 9 months old. I thought these would be fun to use for my first picture post. It is always fun to take a trip down memory lane, and these pictures definitely do that! I can't believe how much my little girl has grown up! Some of these are when she was just learning to walk - taking her first steps, playing with her best friend at the time, Tasha, playing in the tub, and just being my sweet little baby girl. I am so lucky to have her! I am also very blessed with my adorable son, Gunnar. He is so active and into EVERYTHING!! He keeps my on my toes and keeps life very interesting. But this post is about young little Sienna.
I will post a "Gunnar post" later.

My first post

2007-08-02T12:32:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone! I am starting my blog now. I am just starting to learn all about how to do this, so it may start out slow. But I am going to try to keep up on this and share our activities and adventures with you! Look for more posts soon!