Home on the Range

Halloween & California

2011-11-20T16:37:00.000-08:00

The Zombie Prom Queen & The Genie

getting ready to trick or treat with cousins!

We were lucky enough to get a trip to Disneyland courtesy of Grandma as an early Christmas present! We went to California in November with Aunt Jacklyn, cousins Jayden and Jaxon. The weather was nice and we had a really fun time although we were exhausted at the end of the trip, I can't remember ever walking so much! We spent 2 days at Disney and 1 day at Universal Studios Hollywood. Disney was all decorated for Christmas and it even snowed at the end of the fireworks show thanks to Tinkerbell. Very cool! It was a great trip, thanks Mom!

Tris, Jayden, Jacklyn, Taryn

(and some guy in the background)

Do you like Miles' mouse ears?!? : )

A little drizzly and chilly at Universal but

still a lot of fun!

That there Clark is an RV....

2011-10-03T12:45:00.000-07:00

In Jackson Hole at Town Square

Coulter Bay with an amazing view of the Tetons

The only bear we saw on the trip....

Don King Days in Sheridan

Can you say Cousin Eddie? We have become RV owners, the last thing we thought we would ever be but turns out it's been fun! We bought our new ride in August and have been able to go out a few times before summer was over. We went to Don King Days up in Sheridan for a Steer Roping.... it's a roping, polo match, and wild bronc contest all done on the grass Polo Field with no fences. It was different than anything we've ever been to but it was beautiful up there and we enjoyed hanging out on the grass field in the perfect weather. Although Miles didn't have his best roping days ever, we had a really fun weekend and loved having our own place to stay right there.

Then last week I had to go to a conference in Jackson Hole, so Miles pulled the girls out of school for a few days and picked me up in Jackson and we went home through Yellowstone. We couldn't believe how great the weather was for the last week of August, it was gorgeous. The trip was fun although we didn't see much wildlife, lots of Buffalo and a moose. We stayed at Coulter Bay in Teton Park our first night then spent the next day seeing all of of the sights and then spent our last night at Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone. We are loving the RV, I even drove part of the way and did pretty good!

As I mentioned, the girls are back in school, Taryn started High School and Tristen started Junior High, boy do I feel old. Things are going well so far and we've all adjusted to the school routine again. The last neat thing to mention is that we had the priveledge of having the apostle Elder Russell M. Nelson come to Gillette 2 weeks ago for our Stake Conference. What an amazing opportunity to be able to have an apostle here and to hear him speak, he was great. I feel really blessed in my life!

We're Still Here....

2011-07-31T16:37:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Yellowstone... not!

Off for a fun day at Lagoon

With cousins Jayden and Jaxon at Lagoon

Taryn 's 15th Birthday

Taryn and her pal Lena, and her new haircut...

my favorite cowboy....

The official pic... too bad his heeler didn't catch...

It has been forever since I've made a post, I don't know if I even have a good excuse, guess it's just pure laziness. Just thought I'd do an update about our summer so far. "Summer" started out crazy, Miles and I decided to go to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary on Memorial Day weekend. It seemed like a great idea and I booked us a really neat place to stay at in Jackson. So, we headed over to Cody, WY, spent the night and got up to head up through the east entrance of Yellowstone. We left Cody in beautiful weather but a half an hour later when we arrived at the entrance, we were greeted with a huge snowstorm and a foot of fresh snow on the ground. So... long story short, we didn't make it to Jackson due to the roads being closed and we ended up back in Gillette that night. Not the best trip we've ever had but we had fun anyway and I'm glad Miles and I have enjoyed the last 6 years together.

In June, the girls and I headed to Utah for Strawberry Days in Pleasant Grove, and for some fun at Lagoon. We had a great time and then I returned home and left the girls in Utah to spend some time at their Dads. They were gone for almost a month and we missed them a ton, life was very boring at home with them gone! They came home for about 10 days for girls camp and then headed back to Utah for a few more weeks. I can't wait until they come home! This has definitely been one of the hardest things I've had to go through is having the girls gone for so long. In the short time the girls were home, we celebrated Taryn's 15th birthday... wow! I can't believe my girl is almost grown up! She also had a very bad bike wreck on our gravel road after church one Sunday and we spent a few hours in the ER after that getting all the road rash taken care of. She didn't want pictures taken (imagine that) but she took a pretty good beating. I was proud of how tough she was and she even headed off to girls camp in a lot of pain. They took good care of her up there and she is healing up nicely. Everyone keeps telling her that scars make great conversation starters so I guess that's a positive spin on that one (??)

Lastly, since the girls were gone, I decided to hit the rodeo trail with Miles to Cheyenne Frontier Days. I don't usually travel with him much because of work, church, life, etc.. but I felt like it was important for me to go on this trip. We were gone for 4 days camping and living out of the horse trailer, and experiencing all of the stuff that goes along with Frontier Days. I had a good time hanging out and being there for Miles. I was exhausted when we came home, but glad I went.

Hopefully we'll have more good things to post when the girls get home in a few weeks!

Winter Fun

2011-03-19T18:53:00.000-07:00

The Gillette 1st Ward gang

Tris is the one on the left, she makes me laugh

with buddy Korlynn

We're still here, I've just been to busy or lazy to blog... just wanted to post a few pics of what we've been up to. We've been skiing several times this winter, we've been going to Meadowlark up in the Big Horn Mountains. It's this small but awesome little resort, so laid back and fun and it's been a great place for the girls to really improve their skiing this winter. Taryn has become a very good, she likes to go places that I'm too chicken to go to anymore. I'm soooo happy to have such good skiing buddies! The only downside to skiing is that it's a 2 hour drive to get to a ski resort and we're going broke going so much but I don't care, we have a blast. Next weekend will probably be our last for the year so we're hoping for a great spring day!

Taryn went to the Regency Ball last month, it's a church dance for our whole stake (which covers around 150 miles I might add)... the kids learn a bunch of dances and then they have this big fun dance at the college here. All of non-member kids were calling it the "Mormon Prom". It turned out to be an awesome evening, 4 hours of dancing, fun, and food. This is not normally Taryn's type of thing she likes to do but Grandma made her a new dress and she liked that and getting to be all dressed up and she had a lot of fun with her friends. She said she can't wait until next year.

Other than that, we are all busy around here, between school and church it seems like we never quit running. The weather is starting to get nicer and Taryn and Miles have been able to ride their horses a little the last few weeks so that's nice. Can't wait until winter is GONE!!

The Ho Ho Holidays....

2011-01-02T16:43:00.000-08:00

Tristen is only smiling because I made her, she

really wanted to cry!

Tris, Grandma, & Taryn

How lucky is this?? Someone's a Jazz fan....

Jaclyn, Jaydon, & Tris

Jaydon & Tristen

Taryn's new haircut

Here are a few snapshots of our Christmas this year... the girls got new skis for Christmas this year so we decided we should try them out on the good Utah snow! So we travelled to Grandmas house the week before Christmas to celebrate with our family there and do a little skiing. We enjoyed spending time with my family but the ski trip was a little sketchy.... It snowed the entire time we were down there and the day we went skiing was no different, I couldn't believe how much snow there was. We went to Sundance in Provo Canyon and there was 4 feet of fresh snow and it was still snowing, great for an "expert" (haha) skier like myself but a little tricky for the girls. Poor Tris took about an hour to get down our first run, we're blaming it on the new skis and all of the fresh powder. She was miserable and soaking wet and spent the rest of the day in the lodge sipping hot chocolate and hanging out, I don't think she minded it. Taryn went on quite a few runs by herself and just kept getting up after each fall... again, we're blaming it on the powder! Tris has decided that she doesn't like Utah skiing, it's no good, she prefers the outstanding skiing we have here in Wyoming and South Dakota ???

Miles and I headed back to Utah on Wednesday before Christmas, we left SLC early to beat the bad weather and ended up getting stuck on I-80 in Echo Canyon for over 3 hours due to a bad truck wreck. It made for a reaallllyy long day... We had a quiet Christmas at home by ourselves and the girls came home Sunday night after Christmas. We spent New Years Eve stuck at home due to another bad snowstorm and below 0 temps. We cooked a delish Prime Rib dinner and had fun hanging out just the four of us. Now it's back to the grind tomorrow, work, school and seminary. Can't wait until 5 am tomorrow! NOT!

November

2010-11-26T18:18:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile, life has been crazy busy around here since school started. Taryn started seminary this year and she and Miles leave the house everday at

6 am. We're proud of her for getting up and having a good attitdue every day and not complaining. That's a big deal for a 14 year old. The girls are busy with school and church activities, seems like we never have any free time.

Tristen celebrated her long awaited 12th birthday last week, I've never seen a girl so excited to be 12 so she can start going to mutual. We had a little party for her at the house and she got some fun gifts. Can't believe that the girl that entered this world at 1 pound 13 ounces is now my big 12 year old. I am thankful to be her Mom and for the fun she brings to our family.

We were supposed to go to Salt Lake for Thanksgiving but bad weather changed our plans and we ended up staying home having a quiet Thanksgiving dinner at home. The girls played out in the snow until they were exhausted that afternoon. We put up our Christmas Tree today, we bagged the fake tree this year and got a real one, the house smells amazing. Wonder how long it will take us to kill it....

Family pics... 70 degree day in November....

warm weather won't last for long...

Thanksgiving Day... brrr... freezing...

Trying out new birthday make-up

Cousin Hannah

Baby Cousin Heidi

Birthday Cake for Breakfast

Circuit Finals Rodeo

2010-09-05T14:18:00.003-07:00

The fairgrounds in Deadwood were awesome,

it was a beautfiul evening

Miles' favorite cheerleader

Miles made it to the Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo, it was in Deadwood, SD last night. It was one of the best ropings I've ever been to, the mountains were beautiful, the weather was perfect and they ran it quickly, the whole thing was done in 2 hours. He didn't have a perfect evening but we didn't walk away empty handed either. His 3rd steer kicked a leg out which cost him a trip to the National Circuit Finals so that was pretty disappointing for him. But, there's always next year, right? I have been so busy this summer I've only been able to go to a few rodeos with him so it was nice to be able to go to this one. One more big rodeo in Pendleton, OR next week and then I think we're done for awhile. Whew!

What's New

2010-08-10T18:59:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pics of the girls with their buddy Kylee at the water park in Rapid City last week. We took a day to go school shopping and play, the girls had a great time. Unfortunately, not long after this, Kylee fell out of a tree and broke both of her wrists and is now sporting casts on both arms. Poor Kylee, guess no more swimming this summer?!? We hope she gets feeling better soon!

The girls also got their back to school haircuts today, they both wanted to be drastic and had a lot cut off. Tris can't stop flipping her head around and admiring her new do...

And finally, Miles is home at last.... feels like he's been gone most of the last month, he's been everywhere from Cheyenne to Colorado to Texas. He did great at Steamboat and just got a new horse so we're hoping things get better and better! It's been over 5 years and I still can't believe I'm married to a rodeo cowboy, I think I got the nicest one out there though!

Birthdays...

2010-07-20T19:36:00.000-07:00

My co-workers wanted to "celebrate" my birthday

as well, at least Miles sent me some nice flowers

that offset the dreaded black!

Jaxon, Taryn, Jayden, Tris and John

We just stuffed our faces at the Brazilian Grill...

The awesome cake Taryn made

6:00 am and she's smiling!

Just getting ready to leave for Trek...

Taryn and I celebrated our birthdays last week, Taryn turned 14 and I turned the dreaded "40". I think Taryn enjoyed her birthday more than I did mine... Taryn baked me an amazing cake as a surprise, it doesn't look as good as it did in real life and tasted awesome, she did a great job. Then we headed down to Utah for a quick trip to pick up my car that John had been fixing from the hail damage. He did a great job too, thanks John! We went to dinner with friends at the Gateway on Friday evening and then spent Saturday around Salt Lake and had a BBQ at John's house that evening for Taryn's birthday. It was a crazy but fun weekend.

I also forgot to mention that Taryn went on the Pioneer Trek at Martin's Cove last week, she had an amazing experience, hiked more than 30 miles while pulling a handcart and wearing pioneer clothes. I was worried about her the whole 3 days she was gone but she had a great time and I'm sure it was a huge testimony builder. Can't believe I've been a Mom for 14 years now, thanks for letting me be your Mom Taryn.... love you!

Fourth of July

2010-07-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

The girls and I went to Devils Tower with some friends on July 3rd, the weather was perfect, 70 degrees and it was a beautiful day. We had a picnic and then hiked around the Tower and finished the afternoon off with ice cream at the Trading Post. We had a really enjoyable day together. We woke up 4th of July morning to pouring rain and cold... we even caved in and turned the furnace on for awhile. We went to church and the weather was looking a little better when we got home. We went to the Zabel's house later to BBQ and watch the fireworks, although we froze watching them because it never had warmed up much. Miles sat in the car with the heated seats on because he was being a wuss!! Still had fun though because we had great company and good food. Tris made and decorated 4th of July cherry cupcakes that she was very proud of and they were gobbled up. After waking up to another not so warm July day this morning, I am seriously debating putting our boat up for sale because I'm wondering if it's ever going to get used. Anyone want a boat?!? Happy 4th of July!!

Road Trip to Laramie

2010-05-09T17:47:00.000-07:00

We had the opportunity to go see Carissa graduate from the University of Wyoming this weeekend so we made a fun little trip out of it. On Friday we travelled to Cheyenne and went to the State Capitol (where Tristen walked right in and asked if she could meet with the Governor.... too bad he wasn't there!) and then the Wyoming State Museum. We got to do a little shopping at the mall and big dinner at Red Lobster. Saturday morning we headed over to Laramie to go to Carissa's graduation, we are so proud of her. It was a great opportunity for the girls to see one of their cousins graduate from college and hope it will inspire them to have a desire to go to college one day themselves. And to cap off the exciting weekend in Laramie, Ang got to leave with a special little souveneir.... a speeding ticket courtesy of the Wyoming Highway Patrol... for going 75 in the middle of nowhere, Happy Mothers Day.... We love you Carissa!

Is it Spring yet?? Maybe....

2010-04-11T18:06:00.000-07:00

We got a taste of some beautiful weather this weekend after some terrible weather earlier in the week. Typical Wyoming, huge snowstorm one day, beautiful the next. The girls were able to get their horse Dolly and take her out for a ride yesterday. Check out poor Dolly, she looks like a wooly mammoth, especially her legs... and that was after brushing her down for an hour. She came to Wyoming from California a few years ago and apparently she's still having a rough time with the transition, poor old thing. Taryn rode Miles' new horse Chumley and did really well on him, she's getting to be a pretty good rider.

Miles just had his dream arena built and it was finished last week, much bigger than the old one and he's dying to try it out. Looks like the weather will be good so he can get some enjoyment out of it soon. And, we just got the boat out of the shop and she's just sitting there ready to go.... that's just wishful thinking on my part, probably still a good 6-8 weeks away from that. But definitely nicer to look at the boat than piles of snow. We're ready for summer around here!!

Thank you cookie lovers!

2010-03-19T17:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who bought girl scout cookies from Tristen, she managed to sell cookies from Gillette, to Laramie, to Utah, to Iraq. Not bad! In the process of selling cookies I have learned it is a much more work for the Mom than the girl scout so I'm glad it's over but we are enjoying our cookies, hope all of you are too!

Taryn got her braces on today, I didn't realize how crooked her teeth were until they attached metal to them, holy cow, they're bad! I can't wait to see the results somewhere down the road. She is sore but hasn't complained nearly as much as Tristen did, even though she has 3 times the metal in her mouth.

Our month has been challenging, we've had a few unexpected bumps in the road but the Lord has blessed us and everything keeps getting taken care of. I am still overwhelmed by my church calling some days but I'm starting to get into the swing of things and feel like it's going better. I think when I figured out things would never be perfect and I couldn't fix everyone's problems I was able to relax a little bit. All I can do is try my best to encourage and help and keep doing what I know I'm supposed to do. Work has been a huge stress the last few months but I feel like I'll survive that too, I've learned so much this year. Miles and I have decided if we just keep doing the right thing we'll be blessed and be able to get through whatever is thrown our way. Easier said than done some days but it has worked for us so far...

We're almost to our 5th anniversary, can't believe how fast it's gone! I feel so lucky to have had Miles come into our family, he keeps us all laughing and he's a great stepdad and husband. I couldn't ask for anyone better.... not even Brad Pitt! : )

Yeah Baby.....

2010-02-15T13:58:00.000-08:00

It's braces time for Tris! She entertained everyone in the orthodontists office this morning as they put her braces on, she was full of colorful comments and couldn't stop admiring her new look. However, here we are a few hours later and she's pretty miserable, the pain has set in and she's not quite as excited. I'm sure the pain will be gone in a day or so and happy bouncy Tris will be back. Watch out boys, she's a cutie!

Tristen's big day... and more

2010-01-30T09:51:00.001-08:00

Tristen had to give a report on the state of Texas this week, she had worked hard on it for months and did a great job. The only thing that tripped her up was when her teacher asked her if Texas had a humid climate, she said "yes, because it's so dry there"... oh well, can't be an expert on everything... the other 5th graders were mostly excited to hear the Beyonce is from Texas, I don't think much else mattered.... ah, to be in 5th grade again when life is so simple...

She also had her orchestra program that night and did a great job there as well, she looked very pretty and played great!

We also went skiing again last week, it was a perfect day, sunny, warm, and no wind. We never even had to put our coats on. The girls are really improving this year and we're having a lot of fun together!

Sick Day.... Spa Day

2010-01-11T17:54:00.000-08:00

The girls have both been sick for a few days and still were on the mend this morning so I let them stay home. They were pretty mopey in the morning but had perked up by afternoon and were really bored. They decided to set up shop in my bathroom and have a "spa". Notice how much Tristen is enjoying sitting on the toilet reading "The Friend"... you'll also see she's brought along her new purse, she's decided she needs a purse for all of her money and stuff (her version of money is Wal-Mart gift cards and her stuff is 10 tubes of lip gloss - what a girl! ) They spent a good 2 hours in there "exfoliating and polishing" as they put it... I didn't get anything.... hmmm, jipped. And miraculously my bathroom survived and they cleaned up after themselves. Funny thing... less than 10 minutes after their fun spa afternoon they were back to tormenting each other and making each other miserable. Gotta love it... I think....

Ski Day & more....

2010-01-09T14:17:00.000-08:00

We went skiing at Terry Peak in South Dakota last week, they had just had a huge snowstorm so we had lots of fresh snow and it was a beautiful sunny day. The girls did really well although Tristen still has an issue with just barreling down the hill without a care in the world, she makes me nervous! We are going to work on skiing "in control" next time we go, hopefully soon!

The school year will be half over next week, I can hardly believe it, it has really flown by this year. Hard to believe that Taryn is half way through junior high.

Miles is leaving for Texas tomorrow, he'll be gone for a week to go to a rodeo. We'll miss him but hope he does well.

Tristen got a haircut today, cut about 3 inches off of her hair, she's pretty excited about the new "do" and asked me to post a picture so here it is!

It's Beginning to look alot like Christmas

2009-12-13T16:16:00.001-08:00

We are trying to get our ducks in a row for Christmas. The tree has been up and decorated for weeks but that's about as far as we got. Yesterday we did some shopping and baking and the girls decorated gingerbread cookies, they're very "interesting".... We've got the snow and the freezing cold temperatures so we're all set for Santa to come.

On another note, I got called to be the Relief Society President in our ward, talk about a shocker. I feel completely overwhelmed and humbled and inadequate for the job. However I've got great counselors and a great secretary so I'm sure they'll get me through it. I am hoping I can manage my time a lot better and that I can keep my sanity with all that I'm sure is to come. People keep assuring me that I can do it and our family will be blessed for this, I sure hope so!!! : ) Wish me luck!

Happy Birthday Tristen!

2009-11-21T19:54:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my baby is 11 years old!! I am grateful everyday for my little girl that arrived in the world 4 months before she was supposed to at just under 2 pounds. I was scared to death to bring her home when she finally left the hospital at 6 months old because I didn't know what her future would hold with such a rough start. And here we are 11 years later with the happiest, cutest girl around. And I should also mention she got an award for being the "Hardest Working 5th Grader" in her class and played the violin at her first orchestra concert this week.

We celebrated her birthday at the Ice Arena with some of her friends and family. Cousin Sheena made her an awesome Chocolate Carmel cake that was yummmmy and cousin Hannah helped her blow out the candles. She got lots of presents and had a great time.

A big thank you to all the people who have always been there for Tris - you know who you are! We love you!

(you'll notice a clown in the background... no I was not the cool Mom who got a clown for the party, the other parents having a party at the same time we cooler than us... but you'll also notice that Miles was in full "party" mode! )

Yeah, My Mom Wears Combat Boots!

2009-11-07T18:43:00.000-08:00

Just want to give a "shout out" to my Mom who is serving in Iraq and loving every minute of it, right Mom? She has been gone for about 3 months now and is currently in a fairly remote area, she is Marge in Charge of her medical unit. According to her, it's between 120 and 130 degrees most of the time and pretty deserty. Sounds like the food and accomodations are a little bleak too but she's making the best of it. Miles' veterinarian / friend from Gillette is serving over there as well and they just happened to cross paths today, she said it was like a little taste of home. Miles ran into his wife this afternoon and told her that they had run into each other and she teared up, it's hard to have family so far away. We miss you Mom and are proud of you and hope the food gets better soon!

Woo Hoo Tristen!

2009-10-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

Tristen had crazy hair day at school today but is sure that means 70's day as well so she threw a whole outfit together. She looks like little bite sized Jimi Hendrix (she had no clue who that was!) She was a cheerleader in her school music program last week and did a great job, nailed her 2 lines! Gotta love it!

Family Pictures

2009-10-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

Clark Sanders from our ward took our family pictures last Saturday and we thought he did an awesome job despite it being us... ha ha... we took them in a barn across the road from our home and we couldn't have asked for better weather, especially after the snow we've had lately. I can't believe how grown up the girls are getting, almost as tall as Mom, yikes! Here'a few of our favorite ones, I couldn't narrow it down so I guess there's more than a few.... Thanks Clark!

Winter is here.....

2009-10-10T13:01:00.000-07:00

We got about 8 inches of heavy wet snow last Sunday, thought that maybe it was a freak fall snowstorm but there is still snow on the ground and we're supposed to get another 4-6" tomorrow. Autumn in Wyoming is typically pretty short but this feels like we went from summer to winter overnight, the leaves were just starting to turn and now they're covered in snow. I woke up this morning to a herd of antelope munching on my front lawn for breakfast, I think they weren't ready for winter either!

On a happier note, Chelsey brought Hannah and Hayden over for the day for the girls to babysit, we had lots of fun coloring and playing. The girls did a great job babysitting. I'm happy we can return the favor to Chels because she babysit Taryn and Tristen for me all the time when they were younger.... we hope we can return the favor for Carissa someday too!

Rudy??

2009-09-13T07:49:00.000-07:00

"Get your foam fingers here!"

We went to Laramie for the Wyo-Texas football game. Carissa was generous enough to give Miles her student ticket so that he good get in to the game since it was impossible to get a ticket. So the girls and Carissa and I spent a fun afternoon hanging out having lunch and shopping. We went to the Brown and Gold store and Tristen got right into the spirit of football as you can see.... Carissa pointed out she looked just like Rudy... from the movie of the same name... we couldn't stop laughing.... Rudy, Rudy, Rudy!

Tristen also announced her new career path, she's going to grow up and sell foam fingers at football games... I don't think there's as much money and success in it as she's envisioning...

Thanks Quint and Carissa for entertaining us, we had a fun time!

First Day of School and New Dogs

2009-09-01T18:08:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of school, Taryn is in 8th grade and Tristen is in 5th. They both had a great day and everything seemed to go well. They are far more interested in the new addition (possibly additions) to our household. Miles had some friends that were moving and couldn't take their dogs so they are now at our house. Jake is the Corgi and he's a cool little outside dog. Sage is the mini Aussie and she likes to be in the house quite a bit which will probably not agree with our psycho cat. We would love to keep Sage because she's an awesome dog too but if we could find her a home where she could be inside and get lots of love we would send her there.... any takers?? The two of them have always been together though (even had a litter of 13 pups together if you can imagine what they must have looked like???) so we hate to separate them but it would probably work out better for us if we do. The girls are having a blast with them though - our poor rabbit is about to have a nervous breakdown because they are constantly camped out at her cage with their mouths watering over a tasty meal. Guess we've got to find her a new home too....

Ridin'....

2009-08-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

It's the last Saturday before school starts. Our boat is out of commission for the rest of the summer so we spent today just kickin' around the house. I spent the morning killing grasshoppers - yay!!! and the girls rode in the afternoon. It was perfect weather, not too hot and not windy, a great day.

Homeless girl

2009-08-19T19:17:00.000-07:00

The girls are getting really bored during the day as we're getting near the end of summer. Before I went to work yesterday I told them to play "dress-up" and then take pictures to show me when I got home. I thought they would dress up like princess or witches, but no, Tristen decided to dress up like a homeless person. I have no idea where she came up with that one or where she's really ever seen a whole lot of homeless people, there's not many here in Gillette... but I couldn't stop laughing when I saw the pictures.

Welcome Home Kitty....

2009-08-13T19:16:00.000-07:00

After 2 days of Tristen crying and having a nervous breakdown over the cat, I found her under the deck this morning. She seemed pretty traumatized and wouldn't come out, it took the whole family to lift the deck up tonight and get her out. I'm really curious where and what she's seen the last 2 days... hmmmm.... Tristen got really sick today, running a 103 fever, I can't help but wonder if it was the stress of the last 2 days, let's hope she's feeling better tomorrow because we are exctied to go decorate the church for Tyler's wedding!

Grasshoppers and our "kitty"....

2009-08-12T17:07:00.000-07:00

We are being invaded by grasshoppers, they started out gradually a few weeks ago and now our yard and house are being overtaken by thousands of them (I'm not kidding!) They are feasting on my new trees and have done some major damage to all of my shrubs and my flowers are all but history. I can barely even stand to walk outside because they swarm all around you with every step you take, it's disgusting. So much for bbq'ing or relaxing outside on a cool summer night. I got some special grasshopper killer but I don't think it's working or else they're just multiplying as fast as they're dying. I can't believe I'm saying this but I can't wait for the first freeze so they all die!!

On a sad note, our cat has been missing for 2 days now, Tristen is devastated and has searched everywhere for her. We are all hoping nothing bad happened to her and she's just taken a little vacation from us and will come home soon.

Our little orchestra

2009-08-08T16:54:00.001-07:00

Taryn started playing the cello last year and she ended up really enjoying it so we got her a cello for her 13th birthday. Bonus - they sent a free violin with the cello! So, Tristen has decided she wants to learn the violin and Taryn has been showing her the basics. We contacted the school and they will start her in the orchestra this fall. She's pretty excited! Tristen also finished summer school this week, she was happy and sad that it was over, she enjoyed her teacher and her friends and will miss them. We can't believe that school is just a few more weekends away, it has gone so fast this year!

Good Luck Cowboy!

2009-07-31T19:40:00.001-07:00

Miles is off to Texas to rope this weekend, he's at an invitational roping with some of the best steer ropers around, we hope he does great!

Our trip to Utah....

2009-07-20T09:54:00.000-07:00

We spent a few days in Utah last week. We went to Lagoon one day, lots of fun but really hot that day too. The girls went to the Oquirrh Mtn Temple open house and This is the Place Pioneer Village where they made lots of crafts and got and old fashioned picture taken. I got to catch up with some old pals from high school which was really fun. Taryn and I celebrated our birthdays and had a barbecue at Grandmas. Taryn got a new cello for her birthday and I got a new car, yee ha! A fun but busy trip, we're all glad to be back home.

Poor Miles got trampled by a horse Wednesday morning right before we left, he's lucky he wasn't hurt worse than he was. He was pretty banged up and sore, didn't know if he was going to be able to make it to Frontier Days. I felt horrible leaving him but he said he'd be fine and I'm sure his Mom took good care of him. He went and competed at Frontier Days Friday and Saturday and said he had a good time.

Happy Tuesday!

2009-07-14T19:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the beautiful early birthday flowers Miles, I loved them!

I am headed off to Utah for the week and Miles is headed off to Frontier Days in Cheyenne. Good luck cowboy!!

Youth Conference

2009-07-12T17:51:00.000-07:00

Taryn got to participate in Youth Conference a few weeks ago, the youth of our Stake put on the production of "Savior of the World" and Taryn got to be in the choir. They have been practicing this play since January and the kids all seemed a little burned out on it but it turned out really well and Taryn did a good job with her part. We were proud of her because singing really isn't something she enjoys. Way to go!

Welcome to our page!

2009-07-12T17:02:00.000-07:00

So this is my attempt at blogging, my Mom is leaving for Afghanistan with the Army shortly so I figured this would be a good way for her to see what's going on at home while she is gone. Miles is not a huge fan of our lives plastered on the internet but I'm sure our audience will be small so I'm sure he'll get over it.

We are enjoying our summer so far... here's a few pictures from our trip to Albuquerque, NM in May and our first weekend at the lake. Miles has been been rodeoing, he is giving team roping a break and has been steer roping and has done really well. The girls have just been hanging out at home tormenting each other. Tristen starts summer school tomorrow and Taryn goes to girls camp soon so they are happy to have some different things to do. I am just excited to have most of next week off for vacation time, I'm heading to Utah to visit and celebrate Taryn's 13th birthday at Lagoon, should be fun. Miles will be competing at the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo while we are gone, we will miss him but hope he does great!