Is This Breaking The Sabbath Day Holy?

When we got home from church Aaron said it was time to plow the drive-ways. What? I say, not on the Holy Sabbath!

Aaron didn't listen and next thing I know the kids-except Brayd of course, he hung with me and helped cooked dinner- are getting on all their "snow stuff"-yes, each of my kids now owns gloves, heavy coat, snow boots and snow pants! I never thought it would happen, but it did.

Apparently where it snows it is O.K. to ride 4-wheelers on the Holy Sabbath.

Here is proof that he was doing service. This is the single lady's house across the road that Aaron helped out. Gosh that was so nice of him to sacrifice like that:)

I guess when it snows you gotta take care of it. It was nice to have Aaron entertaining the monkeys while I cooked delicious Parmesan Chicken, from scratch might I add?

Life is Good and it's fun to have new experiences that we won't forget!

Brayd and Ossie

All I have to say is Poor Ossie Baby! This little pup gets tortured by Brayd. He has never bit him and maybe yelped at him once. Which was the time that he was holding him like a wheel-barrow. With his leg that got ran over. At times I walk in a room and Brayd is laying on top of Ossie like he is some kind of cozy rug.

On this day Brayd was helping Ossie Baby get his favorite toy.

Apparently Brayd never let Ossie really have the toy because I later caught this picture.

This picture doesn't really have anything to do with anything but I like it!

Here are all my babies eating their dinners. The first shift of dinner. The second comes when the adults get home. It's amazing how they actually eat when I cook. Burley may have turned over a new leaf for me. I like it!

COLD, COLD, WET DAY!

"THE SUN DID NOT SHINE,

IT WAS TOO WET TO PLAY.

SO WE SAT IN THE HOUSE ALL THAT COLD, COLD, WET DAY.........

Does this picture remind anyone else of

"THE CAT IN THE HAT"?

I LOVE THESE BOYS!!

Spahetti Squash Anyone?

Just in case anyone didn't know this....I love vegetables!! Beans, brussel(or Russell as my kids would call them) sprouts, peas, onions, red and green peppers, sprouts just to name a few. I love them all!

Back in the day when we would have FHE with friends in St. George my sweet friend Melissa brought over some deliciousness. I didn't really know what it was but I'm a pretty willing girl. By this I mean willing to try pretty much anything-I might be my dad!

This is what she brought over....

It was most delicious!!!

THANK YOU MELISSA!!

So, while I was wandering around Albertsons I thought I should grab some and check it out. I went home, looked up how to cook it on the internet and cooked it!

OH yeah, it was good!

Madi and I tried about three different ways to eat it. We decided that frying it up in Spray Butter is THE BEST!

I will admit that I like weird stuff so I'm not going to tell anyone they should try it....But, it's healthy and yummy to me!!

Maybe Idaho has gotten the best of me:)

We Never Knew.....

As we were resting after our Sunday meal-yes, I do make a big lunch every Sunday. Aaron saw that the piano was dusty so he wiped it down. Just as he was finishing Madi walked down the stairs and Aaron says,

"Madison, you are going to learn that your dad is REALLY good at the piano!"

Aaron then proceeded to teach Madison one of the 3 songs he knows. It even has 5 versus.

Here they are in action.

I love this.

It's a duet.

I think they are so cute! Madi will remember this always and it will be such a special thing that her dad taught her a song.

Yes, I miss St. George.

Yes, I am very happy that we have a forever family that will be together forever!

I don't need anything else.

I love these people I couldn't be a happier person.

What more could I want for?

As I am finishing this post Madison has the whole thing memorized and is ready to put the whole thing together with her dad.

We have no idea what the song is but it's cute!

Update....

It is now about 1 hour later and Madi is teaching Aaron how to play songs out of her simplified Hymn book. She even has her instruction book out that she got from her piano teacher in St. George-Thank You Heather! Notes that she does not know she will look up. So Cute!!

Madi's first piano student.

Her Dad!

Saturday Is A Special Day!

Aaron spends Saturday working so we try the best we can to entertain ourselves....

This is what we came up with this time......

Brayden likes treats-as do most kids.

I thought this picture was especially cute because Brayden's face had been dirty then a stray tear escaped so he had a streak of clean down his face.

Along with the twinkie on his face.

MONKEY!

I normally don't put pictures of myself up because I am most always the one behind the camera. This time Brayd was. He is really in to taking pictures lately. All I can say is it's a good thing I can erase most.

Porter and Ryan find themselves in the garage quite often. Our garage is quite big so it is nice for the kids to be able to ride their bikes and not freeze from the temperature outside. I do think our blood has thickened up a bit but it's still a little chilly. Yes, Aaron may be getting a little soft by letting the kids ride their bikes with the vehicles in the garage.

The story behind this picture is....While the boys were in the garage being boys Madi came in and wanted me to do something with her. Well, I was a little busy making cornbread for the Elders Quorum party and making preparations for dinner on Sunday. So, I told her to go get the laptop. She of course was happy about this and ran upstairs to get it. I helped her get on some learning games. After her being on the computer and me working in the kitchen for a couple of minutes Madi says to me...

"Mom, I like this. You working in the kitchen and me on the computer."

I love that she said that because some of my favorite memories growing up were my mom cooking and me doing homework across the counter from her.

Wow, where does the time go?

Aaron made it home and I thought they looked so cute together doing the math game together.

Porter's Haircut

There must be something about Burley and haircuts. The only time Aaron has ever given our boys haircuts is when we have been here. I guess we don't just drive around much and stop to get it done.

So, Aaron took it upon himself. We bought some clippers and came home to get it done. Besides the many "steps" Aaron gave him it didn't turn out too bad. It would have been great if it were still the '80's! Porter was happy with it and that's all that really matters!

Good Job Baby! I'm glad you can do ANYTHING!!!

Random Acts of Porter

The randomness of Our Family is......

Madi being sick and Porter walking around taking pictures......

As you can tell Madison was NOT happy about this picture taking process!

Ryan was so happy to show us how he can jump on one foot.....

Brayd tried too.... I'm pretty sure he ended up falling on his face.

Ready, Set......POSE!

He is such a cute man!!!

He for sure keeps us laughing. Between him and Porter there really isn't a dull moment around this place.

I don't have any pictures of Porter because he is the one taking the pictures so maybe next time I will get grab the camera and take a picture of my monkey man Porter!

For Fun in Burley

When we want to have a good night out we head to Twin Falls. The city is 35 miles away but the best I know how to compare it to is like Hurricane and St. George. I have been very good at making dinner every night since we have gotten here. So, this night I decided it was time to "Go Out". We took the kids and had a good time. The kids and I picked up Aaron from work at closing time which is 6 o'clock. When we first arrived in Twin we got gas and checked out some t.v.'s at Costco. The kids love Costco because of their carts so this is what

we look like when we walk around Costco.....

Yes, all the old ladies about have hear-attacks but we haven't had any accidents yet.....

After we had our fill of Costco we went to get some dinner. We ended up at Cafe' Rio for the kids and I. Aaron had some BBQ next door. As we left dinner we decided that we are VERY out of practice at taking our kids to dinner. It was a little stressful but we made it and I am reminded of why it is a good thing to feed my kids while Aaron is still at work.

After our tummy's were full we needed to do a little shopping. We decided to check out Old Navy and got some sweet deals. I bought pants for Madison for 6 bucks and about 5 different shirts for Ry for 2.50. Our best buy was a pair of jammy pants for Brayd that cost 1.74. Yep, we are all about bargains these days!

Our night ended with some delicious ice cream from Dairy Queen. I should have taken more pictures but I got the most important one. Then we headed back to Burley.

As I was talking to Aaron on the way home I was telling him some of the things I have learned in this short month of living away from most of my family and not making friends yet. I have realized that you just have to live in the moment. I can't wish this time in my life away, we are making good memories and growing closer as a family. There have been many times in my life that I have just wished the time away and now I look back and wonder how Porter got to be 6? The grass is not greener on the other side. It took some time, but in my old age I am now finally realizing this. I make more time to do what is important. I play the piano with Madison. I don't yell at Porter nearly as much. I play legos and puzzles with Ryan. I take the time to teach Brayden to recognize the letters of the alphabet, which he knows about half at this time. I have played more games with my babies in this last month than I have in my whole life. Our favorite game is Monopoly Jr. I have made dinner for my family and I enjoy doing it. The kids seem to get along well and I think they are starting to tolerate each other better. We of course still have our issues but we are learning to be more patient and happy:). I believe Aaron is taking advantage of this time also. He plays with the kids almost every night after he gets home. The kids love to play "sardines" with him. Brayden is the best hider with him. We have taken to swinging our babies in their blankets every night before they go to bed at 7:30. Aaron is always throwing the kids on the couches. My favorite is we will just be sitting there quietly just talking with the kids and Aaron all of a sudden runs out of the room and shuts the door. That means he is hiding and the kids better run fast to find him!

Maybe to some this is just stuff that is "normal" thing for them. For us maybe we are a little slow but I am very thankful for the opportunity we have had to move to Burley and become a closer family. I just hope that WHEN we make it back to St. George it will stick and we can keep learning as we go.

Our Kitchen Table....

So.....here's the story.

When we moved up here the store was obviously struggling-that is why we are here. We didn't know exactly what to do for a kitchen table. We didn't want to move ours from St. George but we didn't really want to spend the money on one either. So, we bought stools from Wal-Mart. They work great except for when it is time to eat all together.

So, for Christmas the kids got this table.....

And so you see our kitchen table.

I went to help at Porter's class and when I came home Aaron was enjoying his breakfast with the kids.

Madison was sick when I went to help at Porter's class that is why she is in this picture also.

Sunday At Our Home

The Holy Sabbath is a little different around here these days. When we were in St. George we would get together with my family every week. Well, that obviously doesn't happen anymore. As I was making dinner after church I peeked in to see this...

All of my babies singing along with Russ and Nicole. Russ is very cute to play the guitar and let my kids with their beautiful voices sing along with him.

Thanks Russ!!

Later we decided it was time to bust out a game. Monopoly Jr. is a fun one so we all played as a family.

These times are the best! We are very happy to be able to spend some good times together and that the kids are big enough to enjoy the games with us.

Sunday's have actually been pretty relaxing and not too boring for us all.

My Creative Man, Ry!

After we get Madison and Porter off to school in the morning Ry, Brayd and I have about 3 hours to play and learn before it is time to take Daddy lunch. Well, this morning Ry made this "man with a skateboard" out of Legos.

With just a little help from me he created this guy. I was impressed with his building abilities!