Christmas Trees

Every year we go to Vernal to cut down Christmas trees. This year was THE BEST YET!! Although the snow can be fun it was great not to have hardly any this year. It made it much easier to get around, find a tree and stay warm. The kids had so much fun together. They were laughing the whole day and didn't need very much help with anything which made my day pretty relaxing.

Look how cute these little monsters are!



You'll quickly notice there are "guns" in lots of the pictures. The kids found sticks that looked like guns and had a blast pretending to be soldiers. Our family laughs because from a VERY young age they started turning all sorts of things into guns without any prompting from their dads. This picture (below) cracks me up because it shows off the kids personalities. Serious, serious, silly, cute.



Kaden was in charge of lining up and marching the soldiers. The kids loved following him.



Following Grandpa into the forest.



Posing by our tree. Again, serious, cute, serious. Ha ha. I love how Megan has her hand on her hip and her leg out. She is such a girl :) and I LOVE her! The boys are guarding the tree and doing a great job, don't you think?



Cutting down our tree:



The boys drug our tree all the way to the car by themselves! Wow. This is another benifit to not having snow.





I dressed my kids up extra warm so they would stay happy longer. Three hats might have been pushing it but she was warm!







Aunt Stacy, Megan helped pick your tree. Here it is.



Megan loves her grandpa. He is so good to her.







After we got the trees we went to each of the Vernal grandmas. Grandma Oaks was doing the best I have seen her in a long time so we got to have a great visit with her. The kids were adorable talking to her and giving her hugs. I love watching my kids give her hugs.

Grandma Pope and Emil are doing great too. We stayed at their house a little longer than planned but the kids had a blast! They must have asked 15 times when we were going there. Keith's uncle Wayne stopped by and I know all of the adult boys were excited to see him. It was a great visit.

Boys

I love watching kids play. Their laughter makes me so happy. This picture was taken at their great uncle David Oaks house.

Rats

I woke up early to get a black friday deal on Amazon.com and even though I clicked on it the second it was available, I didn't get it. Oh well.

Balloon Fashion

Megan's cute cousin started putting those tiny little hair bands all over her little Disney dolls. I should have thought to take a picture of them because it's such a funny look. It looks like the dolls have leg warmers and weird ropes all over their heads. Megan took her idea and did the same thing for a while until she found a bag of water balloons. Here is the new creation both girls think is so cool. Four year olds have such great fashion sense don't they?





We found these dresses for only $2.50 at Old Navy the other week. I bought two so the girls could be twins at school. They had so much fun dressing the same and had a GREAT day together. Megan was mad in this picture for who knows what reason. Fortuntately that was our only tantrum of the day and they have both been perfect otherwise.



Luke spilled mustard all over my carpet. I saw it happening and just couldn't stop it. Sigh. I don't think it's coming out. Does anyone have a magic solution?

Christmas Trees

It's almost time for our annual trip to Vernal for Christmas trees. I hope all of my brother and sister-in-laws are coming :) Well, except Stacy and Kurt who are hopefully having a great time on their own this week.

I can't believe...

...I'm blogging about Twilight. I never thought I would but the movie was so good! I liked the book but I didn't really love it enough to read on. I think I will now. Part of the reason I'm sure I had so much fun at the movie was because of the group I went with. We had a blast together. My friend Amy (and awesome work partner) got this all started and opened it up to anyone who wanted to go from my message board. She is the one in the very front. She is amazing! I'm a big Amy fan :)

When we were getting everyone together afterwards for a picture, my mom made a funny face and said "pictures?" I laughed and reminded her that we are all scrapbookers.



It was a great night. I really need to get out with the girls more often. My friend Erin came for dinner but not the movie. It's too bad we didn't get her in the picture.

Fall

Well, the leaves are almost all off of our trees. We have three big trees in our backyard so we get to rake a lot of leaves each year. I love taking pictures of the kids in the leaves though.





Unfortunately, this little girl seems to cry over everything lately. I remember her crying over something last December and while she was crying I made a comment to my uncle that I couldn't wait for her to outgrow this phase. He and his wife laughed and said it only got worse as they got older. Sigh... Megan is proving them right. She is so emotional about things and doesn't understand how to control her emotions. In the past couple months it has been really obvious to me that I need to work on her behavior. It's going to be a long road but she is worth it. I just hope she doesn't do this at other people's houses to often.



BTW - taking pictures of her screaming made her even madder, but since there was no reason for her to be crying in the first place I wasn't very sympathetic.

So Easy

My friend pointed me to this site. It's SO EASY to send a message to the troops this way (thanks Xerox). It only takes less than a minute and they don't ask for any personal information other than your name and state. Go do it :)

For Jill

Looking at my SIL Jill's blog today I decided I HAD to do a collage with some of the funny pictures I've found on her blog. Does this look like a family that knows how to have fun together or what? The thing I think is the funniest is that all of these pictures are from totally different days and months.



Jill, this would make a cute scrapbook page. I think you should make one.

Great Neighbors

A couple of my neighbors gave me this a couple days ago. My picture isn't the best because it kind of looks like an orange... but it's really a pumpkin. I think it's such a cute idea.

Then last night two of my neighbors helped me with a project in my front yard. One helped me for TWO hours and the other helped me for an hour. Both are about 40 years older than me and one of them seemed to really over-do it helping me (he has had health problems). I need to check on him today. They are both SOOOOOO NICE!

Another neighbor helped us for an entire day a couple Saturdays ago (the pictures are down a few posts).

We have no reason to need so much help. We just have nice neighbors and they are excited to help us with our project or simply just like to help.

Last year I was shoveling the driveway of a neighbor down the road and while I did some other neighbors shoveled mine!!! I had no idea they were doing that. It was such a nice surprise and totally made me laugh. It's amazing how when you do nice things for others, others want to give back to you.

Inspiring

My friend Torm put this up on her blog recently. I think it is a fascinating glimpse into the life of someone with Alzheimer's. I especially love the picture above. It's a note written by a 98 year old man with Alzheimer's. Very inspiring.

The Tetons

Picture by Trey Ratcliff (an incredibly fascinating photographer with a very unique style)

The Grand Teton National Park is by far my favorite place on this earth. I love the feeling I have when I'm there. Life feels so good in and around these mountains. I spent two summers working there and I miss it terribly. I'm so grateful for my parents supporting my decision to move there the day after I graduated from high school. My dad was a river guide on the Snake River when he was younger so he understood what a neat opportunity it was for me to work there.

I went to the Tetons every year when I was young. Maybe even every year since I was a baby. Unfortunately, this has slowed down tremendously since I got married. I've only been once every 2-3 years in the past 11 years.

Some of my favorite memories of this area are:

Canoeing on the lakes and river with my family.
Hiking to Hidden Falls and Taggart Lake with my family.
Night hikes with friends.
Long hikes (12-26 miles) with friends over mountain passes.
Swimming in the lakes and river.
Jumping off the small bridge into the river at Oxbow bend.
Food fights :)
Shopping in Jackson Hole.
Relaxing in the hot pots with friends at night in the cold.
Dancing on the side of the road with friends.
Moose outside my door.
Going to church in the lodge where I worked.
Crying with the girls.
Ice Cream in the grille.
Playing cards in the lobby by the fire.
Laughing at people who didn't know what the "white stuff" was on the mountains.
Meeting new people.
Experiencing new things.
Camping under the stars with friends.
Being with my grandparents.
Whitewater rafts.
Seeing a bear for the first time.

I could go on and on...

Eggnog

Sugary raw eggs. No thank you.

New Products!

I'm REALLY excited about these new products in my store. They were created by Alisha Shaw and Brooke Kemp and I can't wait to create these myself!!!

Thank You Veterans!

My heart goes out to all of the veterans in our country and in other countries who have fought for good. This week I have talked to three different veterans about war. Two of them fought in our current war. It's so interesting to learn from their perspective. They have a passion and a commitment to a good cause. I honestly don't know that I could have served my country the way they did. I know I would never want to. The veterans I talked to this week feel strongly the people in Afghanistan need us. It's so interesting to hear what they saw. I'm trying to understand what is really happening over there but it is overwhelming to me. I trust however, that our government wants to do what is right. There are many different theories on how to do the right thing. I hope the people that make the decisions will make the best choices. Again, I'm so thankful for all of those who have fought for our country and for the benefit of other cultures.

About 10 years ago, I became fascinated with WWII history, specifically with the Holocaust and other war crimes such as the Bataan Death March. I have a very hard time talking about anything that has to do with pain, so I'm not sure why I could read so much on the subject, but I did read a lot. For a couple years I spent a great deal of my free time reading about this history. Most of all, I think I was fascinated with the people that overcame the incredible challenges they were faced with. I am amazed with the people that could stay close to God in such horrible times, and I am so grateful for the lessons they teach me on adversity. I'm also equally fascinated with the POWs from the Vietnam war. Gerald Coffee is my hero in every way. He is amazing.

I think this memorial (below) is a powerful artistic reminder of what happened in Germany, not so long ago. I can not imagine how many more would have been killed if it weren't for our wonderful WWII veterans.

I didn't take this picture. I'm not sure who did. I feel bad not giving credit to the photographer but I want to post it anyway.

I have so much I could say. I'll end again, thanking our veterans. I can not imagine what our country would be like with out you.

Cool Picture

Here is another awesome picture from MSNBC.com

Exciting Stuff

Awww.... I just love seeing my husband work like a slave :) Keith is working with our neighbors to dig out an area between our houses. We are both going to add RV parking there. It's going to make such a big difference for us! I'm so excited. We have such incredible neighbors. We are so lucky to live where we do. The next door neighbor is great to work with on this project and another neighbor spent the entire day plus part of another day helping us. We are very lucky to live where we do.

My Kids Are Brilliant

I really think my kids are brilliant and super cute. I love them so much!!!! However, please remember each time I say this I assume everyone thinks this way of their own kids. I'm not putting down other kids... I just can't help but love my kids the most.

I thought this was so adorable. Megan created it and I knew I wanted to save a picture to show her later.

It Is Time For Unity

Well, my vote is in. I'm nervous about some of what I voted for though.

Judges - I didn't study who the good and bad judges were this time so I didn't vote for any of them. I feel bad about that. I thought a "no vote" was a automatically made a yes but it didn't look like that when I finished. I'll have to find that out. I think this is an important thing to vote for so I really do feel bad I didn't study this.

Propositions - The big propositions in our area are about renewing the zoo and Tracy Aviary. This was a tough vote for me. I could see both sides but I did end up voting yes to renew these things because I think they are great for our community and I hate seeing the animals in some of those terrible cages. I felt like closing my eyes and pushing any button.

President - I voted for McCain. Even this decision was not 100% for me though because I don't have complete confidence in him. However, I personally do think a lot of the things he stands for are really good and I do feel secure that he is the best choice we have right now. I especially like his commitment to using our country's natural resources and I do think Paulin will be an asset for that.

When it comes to republican verses democratic views I am definitely a republican. My opinions are conservative and I have a strong belief in personal responsibility, and corporate entrepreneurship. However, I commit to supporting whatever president is elected. I'm not suggesting it's good to sit back and let whatever happen, happen. I am suggesting that it's not appropriate to complain if you aren't willing to do the work to make a change. Even if you are willing to make a change there are some things that will be out of our control. We've got to make the best of what is happening and find unity in our country.

I'm sick of all of the political jokes. I think they are damaging. It's ridiculous that each party seems to view the other party as pond scum. Ultimately, I think we all want the same things. We just have different opinions on what the best way to get there is. The rumor e-mails going around about the presidential candidates kill me too. How do so many people believe the stuff that gets e-mailed to them? Anyone can start an e-mail.

As long as I'm rambling on and on...
Last night I let my little boy watch a biography of John McCain with me. I used it as a way to discuss the reasons I was voting for McCain. I was also interested in letting Luke learn about McCain's POW experience. I want Luke to understand how much harder other people's problems are. It ended up being a really bad thing showing the biography to Luke. First it showed McCain smoking and drinking at an early age. Luke gasped and said, "he did drugs?" He just had drug awareness week at school and they talked about how cigarettes are a drug. Although I don't want Luke to ever think smoking is acceptable for him, I also want to teach him that people that smoke aren't bad. So we talked about that for a while but Luke was not impressed our president wasn't smart enough to stay away from cigarettes. Drug awareness week made a big impact on Luke. Then, later the biography talked about how McCain cheated on his wife after he got home from the war. I knew that but was coming so I should have turned it off before that but I thought it was going to keep talking about the war a little longer. I quickly turned the TV off. Geez.

Luke was still really bothered by the smoking thing and was trying really hard to understand why I was voting for McCain and said, "I think I get it now. You are voting for him because you think he deserves something good after being in that prison." I explained that wasn't the reason and talked to him about a couple of the real reasons. I think in the end he understood, but I agree it would be a lot easier to vote for a candidate that made better personal choices in his life. I have learned my lesson on how to teach a child about politics. No more biographies, or at least until I approve of them first.

New Store

Today we launched a new (different) store on my website. I'm really excited about it. We are going to add all sorts of really cool things to it in the next couple weeks. I can't wait to share.

Also, today we opened registration for the Digital Scrapbook Memories Retreat next May. I am having a blast shopping for all the fun things I get to give away at that retreat. I can hardly wait!

Style

These are some pictures of my dad's from about 1973. It baffles my mind that this was ever in style. It's so funny to me. I remember thinking in the late 80's how disgusting the 70's styles were, but now I look back and I definitely think the same of the 80's. Geez. I used to think bright neon stretch pants were really cool. The 90's didn't seem so horrible but I laugh at the oversized shirts and rolled up jeans I used to wear. Style is just so funny to me. It is amazing to me that we all conform to it. Kind of makes me feel like a cow following the rest of the herd.

More Pictures

Halloween was so much fun for our family. My kids are the PERFECT age. It's sad to think I'll only get a couple more years with them at this perfect halloween age. I can tell Christmas is going to be amazing too. Aaaah! It's so exciting.

Last night was an extra warm Halloween with near record breaking temperatures. That made trick-or-treating even more fun. Keith took the kids out and I invited my Grandpa Park over to watch a movie and answer the door. It was fun. It was so strange to see people come around without coats and jackets. When the kids got home they dumped all of their candy on the floor. Keith pointed out that he thought that was really cool because they were so excited. I agree.

Here are a couple more pictures from Angie's party the other day. I don't have time to post more right now but it was a lot of fun taking pictures this weekend.

One hilarious thing that I heard at Angie's party was Luke telling his friend that he has lots of pets. When I heard that my ears perked up and I heard him say, "We have lots of sea monkeys and a grasshopper in our front yard named Hopper". Ha ha. I'm so glad he is satisfied with his pets because he is not getting anymore. The grasshopper in our front yard is pretty cool. Luke even caught him one day.



This is Angie and Bruce's porch. Aren't they amazing?



Meg and her cute cousins.



Luke in his school parade. He was so excited for his costume this year. Oh, Jill, I keep forgeting to tell you. I saw Kaden in the parade and tried to catch his attention several times until I realized he could hear me, he was just ignoring me. Apparently it's not cool to say hi to your aunt when you are with all your friends. Man, it kills me. He is just too young to think I'm not cool isn't he? Or shouldn't he?