Happy Birthday, Mom

Hope you have a great day! Thanks for all you do for us and for all of your support. You have always been there for me and I truly appreciate it.

Father's Day Fun

We took the kids fishing and tubing for Father's Day. It hailed on us for a few minutes, but then it cleared up and got downright HOT! This is Mikayla holding the boat at the dock so we could load the tube. She is so good to pose for me when I ask her to.

Typically when we take the kids fishing, Gary spends 95% of his time putting worms on and taking fish off; he rarely gets to fish himself...that's what good daddies do!

Treven got the only fish of the day: a big ol' sucker fish. He was excited anyway, but rather disappointed that we were not eating his fish!!

Mikayla was quite the showoff on the tube. When she was on with Treven, Gary was going really slow because Treven was scared to death to get thrown off. She would get on her knees and stand up just daring Gary to go faster!

Chelsey and Treven got everything started. Poor Treven wanted to be on the tube so badly, but he is terrified of the water. He was still nervous even with the life jacket! Gary had to be really careful with him-if he accidentally knocked him into the water, Treven would never get back on.

Last Weekend at Annie's

It was really heart wrenching for us to decide to close Annie's. I won't miss working long hours or any of the drama that accompanies owning a bar, but I will sure miss all of the people. We have made so many wonderful friends and I will miss every last one of them. Here are a few of the friends we have made over the last 3 1/2 years. Harvey is one of my favorites. He is full of stories and each one of them is funnier than the last. I don't know if any of them are true, but it's a kick to hear them. He always had me laughing.

Doug and Donna. They are both so perfect for each other. Although I still think they need one more kid...maybe a little girl!

Cass and Amber. What can I say about these two? They were so great to step in and help us out when we needed to be somewhere important and couldn't find a bartender. Fooz ball, guys???

Doug and Heather...a sort of new couple in Albion. Super fun couple!

Kay and Desirae...they have been there since the beginning night. Desirae worked for the previous owner and I tried to get her to work for us, but she was pregnant with her son. It was fun to have them on the other side of the counter, though. Desirae throws fabulous bridal showers, too!

All the boys on the fooz ball table. We bought the table the first month we were open and it got its use! It was quite the competition most nights!!!

Barb, Chris, Gary, and I. Four of a kind, that's for sure!!!

Our neighbors and friends, Lee and Woody. They used to own Woody's cafe in Burley and boy can they cook! They take such good care of us and we just can't show pictures from Annie's without them.

Furrby and Robert. I've always said that if it wasn't for Gary, Furrby would be my next boyfriend. He's such a cutie! (Never mind that he's 10 years younger than me!) LOL...seriously, he's become such a great friend to us and we'll miss him. He walked around all night and had people sign his shirt. Way cool!

Barb and Frankie. Barb came here from Chicago a few years ago and has become a great friend. She's a lot of fun to have in the bar because she doesn't take anything from anyone. I know she always had my back. Frankie is fairly new to Annie's, but we were a lot alike, especially when it came to giving advice to Barb...same page all the time!

Two of my favorite locals, Todd and Greg. Both were on our pool team and both are tons of fun to be around. Greg can tell you who sings most any song. Not the name of the band...the singer! He is super smart. Todd is an amazing pool player. I'm not sure where he ended up this year, but last year he finished third or fourth in the whold league!

Paul and Lettye actually met at Annies. They are such a fun couple, always up for anything.

This is Andy. He is one pool shootin' guy. He was on our pool team this year and he rocks!

Blake and Gary. Blake is well over 6 feet tall and Gary is only 5 foot 10 or so. It's really funny to see them together. By the way, Blake, I am still stopping for Cocoa Puffs on our way to get wood this year...hope your milk isn't expired!!

Scottie and a friend of his. I think her name is Tarra, but I am not positive. I have met Scottie many times, but it was the first time I had met her. They were so much fun to be around. Very happy people!

My good friend, Kathy. Everytime I try to take a picture of her, she does something silly. She has a heart of gold, though and I just love her!

Muddy Buddy

I was out weeding the flowerbeds Tuesday when Mikayla brought Ellie out after her nap. I sat her in the grass beside me and next thing I know, I was looking at the swamp thing! She had decided that eating dirt was good for the complexion or something! She was trying to wipe it off her tongue, but there was more going in than coming out. I had Mikayla get the camera and she got some great shots!

My Garden Girl

Retreat Challenge #2

The challenge for 4 Girls and a Dream this time was to make a page using just the basics (cardstock and a pen). It was a little tricky for me because I like to use all of the extra "stuff", but I think it turned out okay. The pictures were from Treven's 6th birthday and without all of the doo-dads, I was able to use more pictures.

Update

We had a really busy week last week. Our wonderful friend and neighbor, Lee had a mild stroke last Tuesday. She was taken to the hospital by ambulance at 5:00 in the morning the previous week and they sent her home two hours later saying she had a urinary tract infection. She just never felt better, though. Gary came home Tuesday night and said he passed Lee and her husband, Woody heading down the hill with their flashers going. Instant sick feeling in the stomach! I stewed and stewed about it and then Woody called and wanted us to check on something at their house so I was able to talk to him a bit. Said she couldn't move her hand so they thought they better go in. (Lee had a pretty bad stroke about 5 years ago so it's nothing they wanted to mess with.) When they got to the hospital, they kept her overnight for observation, but the cat scan showed no second stroke. Well, she had one that night in the hospital. Kathy and I went to see her on Wednesday and she was in good spirits, but quite bored. Her mind is still very sharp, but she has a bit of trouble getting the thoughts in her mind out of her mouth. She gets confused on words and sometimes can't remember quite what she's trying to say. With therapy, this should all be corrected. They kept her a few more days, much to Treven's dismay, but they let her come home Saturday. The kids were so excited to see her home. They have been so worried about her. Even Treven prayed that night she went in. He has asked every day since when she is coming home and is she ok. He was relieved to finally see her. Ellie had to sit on her lap and lay her head down on her chest. I think even she knew something was wrong.

The rest of the week, we spent preparing for Gary's family reunion. We were awfully packed into my poor Yukon. We took two coolers (one for food and one for drinks), 4 sleeping bags, 2 air mattresses, 2 extra comforters, 5 pillows, a tent, an extra box with dry food and snacks, 1 bag per person with clothes and swimsuits, etc, 1 big diaper bag, my camera, my purse, 2 adults, and 4 kids all in one car...not an easy task! Oh yeah, we also strapped 5 lawn chairs to the top of the car. It was nice to tent the whole thing because I didn't have to worry about cleaning anything, but it would have been to have a place when it dumped rain on us. Luckily, I was in Gary's parents trailer cutting up fruit for fruit-ka-bobs when it hit. We crowded 10 people or so in it, but we were crowded. Gary's poor dad was outside cooking dutch oven and he didn't want to leave it so he grabbed a jacket and an umbrella and went right back outside. Keven stayed outside with an umbrella, too. Gary and Treven sat in the car until it was over and all the girls were inside the trailer with me helping cut fruit so we stayed dry. The canopy over the top of our tent blew up, so we had some water-soaked blankets. Later that day, Gary's uncle's stepdaughter was in the pool and had a seizure. That was really scary. His cousin's wife saw it so they had her out of the pool quickly, but it could have been a different story very easily. Later that night while we were in the pool with the kids, one of his cousins came in and said that another cousin's son (about Treven's age) had been bitten by a dog from another camp. There was an RN there and she looked at it and said it needed stitches, but because it was a bite, they wouldn't stitch it anyway. She fixed him up as best as she could. He was off and playing frisbee with the other boys that night. All in all, we had a good time. It was really nice to get away and not worry about work or laundry or anything else. I took my camera, but didn't get a single picture. Life works that way sometimes- too busy living and enjoying instead of documenting everything! Have a great week and I will have some pictures for you tomorrow!

Card a Day #31

This is the last of the card a days. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have. Todays card uses more stickers from the dollar store. I just cut around the lizards and put them on the foam squares so they pop off the card. The little saying also came on the sticker sheet. I have really had fun making and showing these cards. Maybe I will do the card a day again in the fall, but for now, I am out of cards!!!

Card a Day #30

Todays card is for a new baby girl or maybe even a young girl. The bear is from a sheet of stickers that I bought at the dollar store and had never used. The ribbon come from the drawer of ribbon pieces. I love the pink background paper-it's so soft and pretty.

Hope everyone's week is starting out well. I am making a trip to town for groceries and fathers day fixin's. I'm also getting some zucchini plants for the garden. We are going to a family reunion Friday, Saturday, and Sunday so I also have to get my list ready for that...it's going to be a busy week!

The Faces of Ellie

This is Ellie when she is being sweet and loving.

This is her new "face". She makes this face when she is in trouble, when she wants something, when she eats something sour, and sometimes just because. It is the funniest thing I have ever seen! The picture isn't as cute as the real thing. She raises her little eyebrows as high as they can go, opens her big blue eyes really wide, and stretches her lips as wide as they will go. Stinkin' funny, I tell you. Chelsey has been trying to get a good picture of "the face" for over a week with no luck. She doesn't do it long enough to get a good picture of it!

And this is the worst face of all. The "I'm not getting my way and you guys are going to pay for it" face. We were watching Treven's baseball game and she wanted down to play in the dirt and rocks. No such luck today. It used to be really hard to not give in to that pouty lip and loud wailing, but it's getting easier day by day!

Card a Day #29

Todays card is the most simple one yet. I cut out a preprinted embellishment that I have had forever and attached it to a base. DONE! It looks way more complicated than it was!!!

Card a Day #28

My card for today is a neutral one again. It can be used for most any occassion. The flower is a sticker left from another layout and I found the ribbon in a drawer.

Challenge met

I was reading Stephanie Howell's blog this morning and she has a post about women that blog that make their lives look perfect. I guess there is somewhat of a debate about. She posted some things about her and her life that were not perfect and challenged her readers to do the same. So here goes:

1. Anyone who knows me well knows that my biggest pet peeve is people who don't take care of their kids. Women who take their kids into public places with dirty faces and bed head drive me crazy. Secretly, though, Chelsey almost ruined me on that. It was impossible to keep her hands and face clean. I would pull her out of the tub and by the time I drained the water, she was into something and had a filthy face. Since then, I have relaxed my rules a bit. If you show up at my house, chances are Ellie will have something on her face-most likely she pulled something out of the garbage and ate it. I do still try to have her clean when we go to town.

2. I love to cook, but sometimes I don't have the energy to do it. I don't know if I have fluctuating hormones or what, but there are days that I literally have to drag myself out of bed. If the kids didn't need food, I probably would never cook for myself.

3. I would not say that I am a materialistic person, but sometimes I struggle with greed and wanting more. I want a bigger, newer home even though I absolutely love my home. I want a new car even though my Yukon has served us so well for the past 7 years and is paid for. I want to stay home with my kids, but I also want some of my own "mad money". I want to go on nice vacations, but I know they will never happen. I would also call myself a cluttery person. My house is not messy, but there is too much stuff and not enough storage places.

4. I am not affectionate enough with my kids, husband, or other people in my life. I start out really well when the kids are little. It's easy to hug and kiss them. Then they grow up a bit and it feels really weird to hug and kiss on them. Then they grow more and it embarrasses them when you tell them you love them so I just kind of quit doing it as often as I should. I know that my kids know I love them and would do anything for them, but I also know I should tell them more.

5. My house is not as clean as I like it. With 5 kids and a husband I really shouldn't expect perfection, but there is so much more that I should be doing. There are usually at least a few dishes in the sink and garbage that needs taken out. There are always full laundry hampers and there is probably some kind of leftovers in my fridge growing mold. I've learned to live with this, but when people come over, all I think about is the things that haven't been done.

Well, there you have it. All of the secret things about me that I am not so proud of. My life is so not perfect. I am very blessed and I live a good life, but it is not perfect. I think that's the point of self evaluation, though. Identify your weak areas and fix them. No one else can make you happy, you have to make yourself happy! Life is about learning and growing and using your current circumstances to help you make your future better.

Card a Day #27

Todays card could very well be attached to the strawberry container I posted yesterday. I really love the sky blue and red color combo-it screams SUMMER!

Card a Day #26

Today's card was really simple, but it's cool! I used some pirate paper left from a Halloween layout I did for Treven. I distressed both the top and the bottom of the striped paper and adhered it to the card. Then I added the strip of pirate heads and swords. Last I added three gold brads to jazz it up. AAARRRGGGHHH!

Retreat Challenge #1

Retreat time is coming up again and we have started listing challenges! Each of the challenges will have something to do with our retreat theme. The first challenge was to list a tip/technique. We will be doing something fun with all of the tips a little later so I'm hoping that a lot of the ladies will submit theirs. My tip was to reuse strawberry containers (vamped up of course!) and turn them into boxes for homemade treats. I cut a piece of scrap paper to fit the top of the lid, then I added the flower front, then some kind of treat (fudge, caramel popcorn, etc) goes inside, then it all gets tied up with a big bow. Really fun and really cheap. My second tip was to stop comparing your artistic abilities with others. I look at other peoples pages and mine just never seem to compare. I have learned, though, that it's ok. My kids are happy with what I put together and the pictures and story have a home in their books forever- not in a shoebox or stuffed under the bed. It has taken so much pressure off me to figure this out and I enjoy scrapbooking so much more now. Which is the point, really-to enjoy the hobby!!!

The last of the graduation pics

Braquel and I. Gary forced us to take a picture (I'm usually the one behind the camera for a reason!) I am so proud of my daughter. She has always been such a good kid and I know that she will make good decisions, but I sure miss her already. She has only been moved out for a week, but there is such a void in our home without her. She has always been so easy to get along with and she's always been so good to help me out with things that needed done. She really was my wing man. It kills me that she doesn't need us as much as we need her. I guess that means we have done a good job raising her as an independent young lady...it still stinks, though!

Grandpa and Grandma Jones. They have always been so supportive of the kids. Even Grandpa shows up at church or school when they have programs they are participating in. Braquel is their first granddaughter and they have always spoiled her!

Grandma and Grandpa Wood. Braquel is only the second in a long line of grandkids to graduate! Mom has always been close to Kell since we practically lived at her house on nights when Gary was working at Simplots.

Keven got to escort Braquel down the aisle as they walked in with their class. They got to sit next to each other, too.

Braquel with her grammy aka my grandma Stapelman. I'm not sure where the numbers are now, but about 4 years ago, she had 106 kids, grandkids, great grandkids, and great-great grandkids! I know there a several more since then, though!

It was so awesome that dad and Alta could be here to support Braquel. I know it's not easy getting the time off and driving the 6 hours to get here, but we are so glad that you did. Thanks for all the sausages for the BBQ, too!

Graduation Pics #3 & 4

Braquel and Keven. We are so proud of the both of them for finishing. I know that there were rough moments for both of them, but they hung in there and didn't quit...success!

Braquel coming off the stage. She was really mad at me because I wasn't right at the end of the stage for pictures, but we were so crammed in the bleachers and I didn't feel right stepping over everyone to get a few pictures. Between mom and I, I'm sure we got enough good pics that it will be alright!

Graduation Pics #1 & 2

The proud daddy and his little girl that has all grown up! It seems like just a few short years ago that he held this tiny baby in his arms and was taking care of her by himself while I finished school. They have always had a special connection because he was able to spend so much time with her when she was little.

The very happy graduate! She was all smiles that night. We had so many family and friends that came to support her! All three sets of grandparents were there (my dad and Alta even made the trip from Pendleton!), my grandma was there, Uncle Glenn and Aunt Sheila came, and the Deluna kids all came...we were quite a bunch! We sat with all of Keven's family, too so between all of us, we domianted the section on bleachers!