.Magalogo.

the very hungry caterpillar

2011-09-26T16:19:00.001-06:00

Everyone is always asking me what I actually do at my job. I'm a technician, yes, I work on the pipeline with all the guys. It's not my favorite place to be in this world-but it pays the bills and puts food on the table. Here's just a little preview of a few of the things I have worked on this past year. Due to all of the snow and moisture this year, we had a few areas that we were dealing with landslides. We watch these very closely because too much of a shift could put too much stress on the pipe, causing it to burst or leak. In one area we had to dig up the lines and install strain guages to monitor the land movement. It only ended up being about a week long project, but it's always neat to see the pipe dug up and actually see with your eyes what is in the ground. Makes me have a whole different level of respect for the pipe. The two 36" lines :

On the last day up there , I found this little furry friend. If you know me very well at all . . . you know that this guy was NOT my friend. But it was the biggest and furriest caterpillar I had ever seen. And I was in a way, fascinated by him... just as long as he kept his distance from me!

This was at our most recent engine change out . . . a few weeks ago. We had an emergency engine exchange at Coyote and because of all the construction and equipment going on there, we were unable to get the new engine into the building on the semi. So . . . we had a crane put it into the back of a dump truck and backed it in. Someone was thinking!

You can see the old tubine sitting in the background . . .

girls night out

2011-09-22T14:00:00.002-06:00

Darren has been finishing up massage school this month, and has had the car. So the girls and I have been left to fend for ourselves. Since we had no car, we didn't venture too far from the house. I told Jaz that if she helped me clean the house up, then I'd take her to the Demolition (crashing car) Derby. Although it was a ways to walk, I was secretly hoping that she would help me so that we could go. Seriously, who doesn't love a good demo derby??
So we got the house cleaned up, had lunch with Darren's family and maybe even snuck a nap in before it was time to go. Then I got a call from work about thirty minutes before we were supposed to leave, saying that they needed me to do the "9/11 security check." Seriously-I could not miss it because i promised Jaz that I would take her! So I dashed up there and dashed home as quick as I could. Needless to say, we still made it before the derby had officially started. We found ourselves some decent front row seats where the girls could move around a little bit, Jaz up and down the fence and Nautika in the dirt. Then it started raining. We stuck it out till the final rounds when it really started pouring. We went very unprepared-as I usually do, so we didnt have an umbrella or even a decent coat. I was just picturing us walking home soaking wet...which didn't sound like much fun to me. So we headed home. Of course it quit raining, but it was okay because we made it home just as it got dark. While we missed Daddy Mermaid, it was great to have some 'girl' time. I love those little monkeys!!

two little indians

2011-09-08T15:43:00.011-06:00

So I have been pretty bad at blogging lately . . . well at least I haven't done it nearly as much as I wish I did. But I recently misplaced *i hope i didn't lose it!! * an sd card that had some great pictures on it. It made me vow to keep the blog updated so if I do by any chance, happen to misplace another one, I won't lose seven hundred something pictures. Here's what we did this past weekend. Well, some of it. I got put on graveyards starting Monday night, so we didn't venture to far, since I was convinced that I would have to sleep the entire Monday to ever keep my eyes open for twelve hours on Monday night.

We ventured over to Fort Bridger to hit up the annual Labor Day shindig, aka Rendezvous. Every year, I ask myself why I wasted my time and money going in that place. I guess it's the people watching. If you happen to enjoy people watching, that is the place to go! Jaz is obsessed with Sacajewea at the moment, so she loved seeing the 'real' Indians. And the girls played dress up for a day with Indian headbands-they were adorable. It was actually kind of nice to just get out of the house with nothing that we really HAD to do and just enjoy the day.

This girl is happy if she's going somewhere in the stroller, she just loves to be outside. Never seen a kid so content to be in the stroller. She sure didn't get that from her sister ;)

Watching the Indian Dancers. This guy (below) was great. The dance he did was called the Chicken Dance. And he danced around like a chicken. It was quite entertaining. Makes me wish I knew more about my culture.

My two little Indians! <3

We ran into my Aunt Patsy, actually she chased us down, while we were there. Here's her two adorable little boys with the girls. They have the prettiest blue eyes. The one on the left is about a month younger than baby N. And he's soo much bigger than her. She's my itty bitty.

Jaz waiting for the candy cannon. Doesn't she look thrilled ? !

Monday, I figured we could go to the town's pancake breakfast and the parade, then I'd go home and crash for the rest of the day. Well, we made it to the breakfast and the parade, but crashing after you've just had six hours of sleep is not as easy as it seems it should be. So needless to say, the rest of the day was pretty much wasted. But here's some highlights of the day. . .

This is great! I love it! This photo was not staged, I snapped it at the perfect time. Look at him eating...you'd think he hadn't eaten in days. CLASSIC. (He'll kill me if he knows I posted this)

Tried to get Jaz in action . . . but she wasn't about to shove an entire pancake in her mouth for the camera.

Baby N picking up candy. She was so funny. She kept picking it up, and she had about two pieces in each hand (they were full) and she kept trying to pick up more, and then of course, she'd drop it all and pick it back up again and go find more. Cracked me up!

Look at all that candy!!

08.29.11

2011-09-07T15:57:00.005-06:00

She's getting to be such a big girl! I don't know where the past five years has went, but now she's off to school. It was tough leaving her there. She said that she had a good first day except that she didn't get to ride the school bus. I hope that I have taught her well, and she remembers what's right. Love that little girl!

2011-06-03T21:48:00.001-06:00

I had training in Casper the first week of May. Darren didn't want to stay home alone with the kids, so we all went. What a week! Baby N got conjunctivitis the first day there, and while we were shopping at Target, Jaz got sick and threw up in the store. When we made it back to the hotel, I noticed she had hives all over her body. Poor kiddos! Darren got sick as well. Amongst all the sickness, we did manage to make it to Poor Boyz steak house, which is always a treat! And the dinosaur museum at the college and the pool a time or two. Needless to say, we were so happy to go home!

Memorial Day

2011-06-02T21:01:00.002-06:00

It started out as a drag.

I hate to be soo pessemistic, but waking up to snow on the 30th of May on a three-day weekend, just wasn't was I was hoping for. But on the brighter side, I am not complaining too much, at least it wasn't a tornado or flood! We went to Salt Lake to hit up Costco. I guess Costco celebrates Memorial Day as well because they were closed. Big.Fat.Bummer. Because our cupboards were bare (and still are)!

So we decided to go visit Grandma & Grandpa P. They were gone to lunch. We hit up the cemetary while waiting for them and took some flowers to my sweet twin sisters' grave. I love going to the cemetary on Memorial Day. It's so beautiful and peaceful. I was actually hoping to catch Grandma & Gramps in time to go with them to the cemetaries, but we missed out this year. Maybe next. We did catch up with Grams and Gramps later and had a great time visiting with them. They told me stories about their parents and took us for a little tour around Pleasant Grove. We checked out the 36" pipe that runs right down the middle of the road that runs into the canal to hopefully prevent flooding from all the snow and rain this year. It was quite the operation!! And we drove by the house my Gramps was born in (my Great, Great Grandmas house) and the house they lived in when they were first married. I love doing things like that with them, it's memories that I will forever cherish.

And we spent a few hours with my Mom and Mesa. A few too many hours, I am paying for it now. . .

sleepy head

2011-05-31T12:42:00.002-06:00

there's nothing more classic than a baby sleeping in the high chair-love it!

2011-05-27T08:00:00.001-06:00

As promised a month ago... Easter pictures!

Preschool Graduation

2011-05-25T07:57:00.001-06:00

It's true- they do grow up too fast. My baby had her first walk to Pomp and Circumstance. Hopefully she'll have many more to come! We're so very proud of her, she's learned so much in preschool and is so excited to go to "kittengarden!"

P.S. If I can ever figure out how to get the videos from my phone to the blog, i'll post em!

Happy Easter

2011-04-25T13:43:00.004-06:00

I hope you all had a Happy Easter, as did we. We got to spend some quality time with Grandpa & Grandma P. & my mom & little brother. Pictures to come . . .

a day {or two} at the park

2011-04-23T16:52:00.001-06:00

I've been taking some classes in Clifton, Idaho. And have had about a class a month for the past 5 months. If you know anything at all about Clifton-you will know that it is small. Very small. And not close to anything. So, on my time out of class, we have made many visits to the local parks. This one we found at a school. I think it is probably a one-of-a-kind. It was a little chilly, and baby N just ate rocks {and my lens cap} the entire time. But nonetheless, it was nice to get out and get some fresh air.

Love these guys!

2011-04-16T15:52:00.000-06:00

We finally got some family pictures. Jamie does a phoenominal job. If you need photos, give her a ring, you won't be disappointed. The girls look great, Darren looks great. Only problem, I seriously need to lose all this fattieness! I look like a blimp! I have been working on it, but apparently , I need to work harder. Much harder. My goal is to get family pictures a year from now and not be a flubbery mess. Here's some of my faves.

NINE.

2011-04-15T16:00:00.000-06:00

MONTHS. Already?! Geeze , time really does fly! Can't believe my baby is growing so quickly. She's such a delight though. Well until recently, when four teeth on the top of her mouth decided to make their debut. Needless to say, it's been a long few weeks and it's looking like it will be a few more long weeks. The joys of teething! Darren took her to her nine month check-up on Tuesday, so I don't have exact stats, but he said she was a whopping sixteen pounds (I'm guessing give or take a few ounces). She's still not crawling, but she's a 'Master' scooter & climber! Darren caught her on top of her dinosaur ball toy the other day hanging on for dear life. She bit her sister for the first time this week as well. Poor Jaz, looks like someone gave her a black eye. I'm sure there's plenty more of that to come. We are still working on sign language with her, but still no response from her. . . I'm hoping SOON :) As it makes life soo much easier when they can communicate! She does wave. That's about it though. Just can't get enough of her cute little face!!!

Moab

2011-04-14T15:31:00.008-06:00

We don't have any tv channels at our house, just Netflix. So when General Conference weekend rolled around, we decided to jet to Moab for the weekend and catch-up on Conference when we got back via the internet. It was a very short & sweet weekend indeed. Arrived in Moab late (eight-ish) Friday night, and left after a horrendous wind storm Sunday morning. We did manage to get a small hike in and some ice cream :) Long drive for such a short stay. But it is so beautiful there, and it was great to get out and get some fresh air {and sun} after a very long winter!

how much is too much?

2011-04-13T17:47:00.002-06:00

it doesn't look like much in the picture, but that fence is 6 feet plus at least 2 feet of barbed wire on top. . . so eight feet in some places. it was just too much most days to push that big heavy gate through five feet of snow, so i took the easy way out and walked over the top. good thing i didn't sink ;) in my opinion, that's way too much snow for the begining of april!

2011-04-09T11:19:00.000-06:00

Another picture of my lovely mother! And my Uncle Frank I do believe {She'd be furious if she knew I was posting these old skool pics of her! Shhh!}

Happy Friday!

2011-04-08T10:43:00.003-06:00

"Branch out in small ways, from your usual schedule, your old habits. Buy a different brand of wine or explore a new area of your town. See what new favorites you can discover. "

~Samarra John

"A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while, he knows something."

~Wilson Mizner

Two great quotes to start the weekend off right. No big plans here, . . . mostly housework , enjoying my babies and my hubby and trying to STAY WARM! What about you?

The catching up game. . .

2011-03-29T12:50:00.006-06:00

I know I have been quite the slacker on my photo's of the week for the past few weeks. . . please forgive me. I promise I have a legitimate excuse (althought I am not going to waste your time sharing it). I'm going to try playing a little catch-up :)

SO...here is last weeks photo :

I believe this was taken in 1988-my brothers and me.

2011-03-17T20:29:00.006-06:00

What better way to start the day than with green eggs and green ham {or bacon;)}?

HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY!

I'm so lucky to be able to call these sweet people my family! It just doesn't get any better than that....well a day off work and spending the day with them would have been nice, but at least I get to come home to their sweet hugs and kisses.

They had quite the day> presents from the leprechauns, green eggs and bacon (i forgot the ham!), story time at the library. . . lucky kiddos they are!

*****************************************************

Jazzy Mermaid also lost her first tooth today! It was/still is bittersweet! She's been so excited about this loose tooth and we've been checking and wiggling it everyday for months! Shortly after I got home from work, I got called back out. She called me and told me "Guess what??" I was so sad to have missed that moment with my little sweetie, she is growing up way too fast. By the way, she lost the tooth {literally} and has nothing but a note to put under her pillow tonight. Hopefully the tooth fairy will 'understand'. :)

{Baby N} 8 Months!

2011-03-11T12:05:00.006-07:00

It's a great day to blog! Actually, I really should be outside enjoying the 'little bit' of nice weather we are having at the moment. But I feel ohh so bad for not posting on my sweet baby for every month! All the new things she's learning and sweet person she's becoming, and I'm NOT DOCUMENTING it! I really need to get with it! So, yesterday she turned EIGHT MONTHS! I can't believe she'll be one in only a few short months! Where does the time go! It really does fly by, especially when most of it is spent at work.

{A little about Nautika at eight months}

~She loves playing in the bathtub

~She isn't quite crawling yet, but she's got scooting MASTERED! And she's working on pulling herself up.

~Still fits into A LOT of her 3-6month clothes. {She's sooo petite! I love it!}

~She squeals...like a little pig when she wants something.

~Her sister is her best friend.

~She babbles something that sounds like "Hi, Dad." Darren is convinced that she's doing it on purpose...me, not so much.

~We have been working on sign language. So far all she does is wave. But I'm convinced she'll catch on. There's nothing sweeter than a little muteless child saying please or thank you in sign language, I LOVE IT!

~She's such a good sleeper. . . she sleeps all night in her Moses basket. When she sleeps with me, it's a different story.
~At night when I lay her down for bed, she cries until Jaz kisses her goodnight. {I love this sister love, sooo sweet!}

~She has 2 teeth.

~Her hair is a nightmare, lol! It gets so knotted up, and nearly impossible to comb. We call her Nautihead. Darren thinks we should just give her dreads. .

~She really is a sweet sweet baby. I love her to pieces. We've been so blessed to have her sweet spirit in our home.

Who'da Thought?

2011-03-11T11:58:00.003-07:00

That Dr Martens would make a 'Sheena' boot? Well, they did! And if I had skinnier legs-they'd really be mine. But I don't, so I'll be content with admiring them from my computer... and post it all over my blog :) Not really, but I thought that I'd at least document it. Sometimes it's good to get a random kine post!
So here they are, the

{SHEENA BOOTS}!

PINK + PLAID!

SOMEONE REALLY KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING WHEN THEY DESIGNED THESE!

Photo of the Week

2011-03-05T22:52:00.003-07:00

Starting this babe out early on potty training!

{this is what happens when daddy catches you trying to go 'potty' in the tub!}

Awe...isn't he such a cutie?!

2011-02-26T09:45:00.003-07:00

Even his older sister can't deny that those big eyes and curly hair are almost the cutest thing ever! This is Sheldon when he was probably two or three. Eating one of Grandpa Jack's home grown tomatoes right out of the garden...YUMMY! :)

Walk like an Egyptian

2011-02-21T13:41:00.008-07:00

Saturday night, after we left Grandma & Grandpa's house, we headed to Draper. Darren suggested we 'go out'. Haha! Since that doesn't happen too much anymore, and it would help me out with what I had already planned, I accepted. Little did he know what was in store for him! ;) We dropped the kiddos off with my sister, and sat in the car for a while trying to decide what to do. So finally I blindfolded Darren with a pair of sweats that were in my bag, and away we went. I told him-"If you're not going to make a plan- I'm going to suprise you!" I love suprises! Our first stop-Ross. We never go wrong when we stop at Ross...unless of course we go hog wild and we spend too much money {which has happened a few times:)}! That is our ONLY problem with that store. So, I came up with a limit of $10 each. Darren found a fabulous hat (red, green, yellow) that he HAD to have. It was a little trickier for me to find something so wonderful. But like I said, we never go wrong when we go there, and I found a hot pink ROXY purse to add to my collection! Whoo hoo! I love getting new bags! We were both happy. Back to the car and back-on went the blindfold. Darren suggested a movie, and he also suggested I take off the blindfold, but that was a NO WAY. I told him a movie sounded great, only he had to wear the blindfold, and NO PEEKING! It took about 20 minutes to reach our final destination. And I have never heard him whine so much in my life as he did with that blindfold on {he hates suprises}. When we got to the parking garage, he tried taking off the blindfold. No way. So i carefully guided him through the garage and up the stairs into the lobby, where a chocolate chip cookie was waiting for him. I checked us in, and then took him up two sets of stairs and when he finally got to take off his blindfold this is where he was : In Ancient Egypt.

I secretly booked us a room at the Anniversary Inn for his birthday. And he had NO idea. It was GREAT! As much as we love our kids, sometimes we need a little break from them! It was so relaxing to kick back and watch a movie and eat junk food {yes, more junk food} lol without having to worry about dinner, laundry, crying babies or thirsty kids !

Here's a few more shots of the room . . . {stolen from the anniversary inn website}

I hope that my hubby had a great birthday. . . (well birthday weekend) . . . and I just want him to know how much I love him! He is the best! :)

Here we are with the infamous King Tut! (In the bathroom, haha!)

Weekend of the Birthdays

2011-02-21T13:20:00.002-07:00

Saturday was Grandma Joyce's 80th birthday, and today, is Darren's birthday. . . so needless to say, we were partying all weekend long, and are still partying! Just the way we like it :)
On Saturday, Grandma & Grandpa treated us all to lunch at The Golden Corral. After we all ate to satiety .... and then some, we went to their house and Grandma had all kinds of games for us to play. She likes to ask questions about the States, and whoever answers correctly wins the quarter from that state. We then played a game, similar to the dating game, where we had to answer questions about our partners. And last but not least answer questions about statistics from the year she was born, 1931! Of course we all failed that one miserably, haha! But it was fun to spend some time with them. Aunt Kaye, Linley and baby Korben suprised Grandma and showed up unexpectedly. It totally made her day! :) Nautika and Korben played together, and Korben has officially outgrown Nautika, weighing in at a whoppin' 18lbs. I think she's still around 15lbs. She's my little Mini me.
I really don't like to read or write long blog posts, so I'm making this short & sweet. I have pictures in my camera of the festivities. But my camera is at home. So I will post the photos later!

Photo of the Week

2011-02-19T12:56:00.005-07:00

Frankie...Krakow Poland 2000

My great uncle, Frank Gallardo.

Adios, Facebook!

2011-02-14T08:16:00.003-07:00

I seriously have a love -hate relationship with Facebook. I love being in touch with so many people, but I feel that I really should be focusing on what's really important in my life, and Facebook is not it.

I spend way too much time on the computer. Precious time that I should be spending with my family. I have made up my mind that Facebook needs to go. I have been debating this for quite a while, and I came across a post this morning from Aimee at HomeSpunThreads that confirmed my decision...

"Who needs facebook? If the friends I have on there don't feel like they can pick up the phone and have a conversation with me, then maybe it's okay that I don't know what's going on in their life. No one really cares that I am cooking the best dinner ever or that I my kid said something cute. It might be entertaining for a minute but really, does it matter?"

"Quite frankly, I just got sick of it today. Today, it gave me a head ache and I had started trying to act like I wasn't on facebook when my husband was around...it was to the point it was shameful. I have said for way to long that all this social networking is the devils playground. For people that use it to make money, it is consuming their time at home that they should be spending with their families. For people that use it as a hobby or something for boredom...I have to ask? Isn't there ANYTHING you'd rather do??? The devil uses the "typo" you made on someones comment to seem like something other than what you meant, causes arguments and hurt feelings. Enough is enough!"

I couldn't have said it better myself. Thank you, Aimee. The Devil's playground-I love that, because it is sooo true. There have been so many hurt feelings because of things I have posted or others have posted and it's just not worth it. My family is more important. So it is now time to move on with my life and enjoy what matters most in life-my family!

Photo of the week

2011-02-12T12:50:00.002-07:00

Although i never had the chance to know either of these men, this photo has got to be one of my favorites:

My great great uncle and my great grandfather. (Circa 1919) Sonora Mexico

2011 CHALLENGE

2011-02-08T09:03:00.000-07:00

Darren and I signed up via Facebook for a Biggest Loser Challenge. We both have some serious weight to lose {baby weight for me, and food weight for him}! And for some reason, being fat just isn't enough to keep us motivated. So I signed us up. Here's how it works:

Each participant has a $25 entry fee.

Before full body pictures and a picture of your feet on the scale are sent to Mandy, the organizer of this challenge.

Challenge will last 12 weeks.

At the end of the 12 weeks an after picture with your feet on the scale are sent to Mandy, and the top three winners will win the money!

....So, if a couple hundred dollars {and losing lots of flubbery bubbery fat} isn't enough to get us up off our butts and get motivated, I don't think anything will.

We have started with a workout program, Insanity. And honestly, I think I'm a big wimp, and completely out of shape! :( We turned it on last night and I think I lasted maybe fifteen minutes, if that. So now we have a tough decision-Billy Blanks Taebo Bootcamp or continue with Insanity, and hope we see improvements and don't die along the way. Which will it be?

Here's our beginning weights:

Darren:

Me:

I plan to post our weights each week. Not for anyone other than us...but hopefully it will help! :)

Wish us luck, I think we are going to need it! ;)

2011-02-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Dayna and Sally. They are going to tie the knot next Saturday. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to take their engagement pictures. . . yes, my first real session. Well not really real, but kinda real. It's always good to have someone to practice on besides your own kids, because they get sick of it really quick! Then you just end up with a bunch of pictures of mad kids. Even though I was major bummed that my new lens didn't make it in time and it was soo bloody cold out there...so we were in 'quick' mode. ;) But I had the opportunity to work on my 'skillz'. And I majorly messed up by not putting the camera in RAW before shooting, but with trial and error, it's just a lesson learned , right?! Here are some of my faves:

Photos.

2011-02-05T12:29:00.002-07:00

They all have a story to tell. If there's one thing that I really really enjoy, it would have to be looking at pictures. Especially old ones. I recently connected with my great uncle Brad Gallardo on Facebook and he has a great photo album "Geneology". It's so intriguing to me, I want to keep all the photos. :) Rather than posting all of the photos at once and making a picture overload, I have decided to post one per week. I am going to try for one every Saturday. And not only use his photos, this has inspired me to dig deeper, and find photos that I know my Mom and many others have stored away in boxes on shelves and have been nearly forgotten. Drum roll please.... This weeks photo is:

My Grandpa, Seferino Gallardo. (Circa 1974)

Don't you just love all that hair?! How could you not?!

And just for kicks and giggles, here's a more recent one of him. I'm sure he'll appreciate the comparison. ;)

This is so fun! I can hardly wait to see what will come next Saturday!

we could all use a little more love

2011-02-04T23:59:00.000-07:00

I had the day off yesterday because of the funeral, and I cannot even express how awesome it was to be home at a decent hour with nothing to really worry about. So, baby Nautika took a nap...a long one! And Jaz and I played around with the Silhouette and made these fun decals to decorate for Valentines day. She love love Loves to decorate for holidays....me on the other hand...well not so much. I guess it's just the cleaning it up afterwards and the hassle that it always seems to be. But not these...we'll just peel em off and toss em'. Simple as that! We had fun, and she's so funny, she always wants to use the outline of the stickers too! I love that little girl to pieces and I'm glad that we got to spend a little time together doing something that she loves to do! Please excuse the bad photos...they were just quick shots taken with my phone to document. :)

Photo of the Week

2011-02-04T13:03:00.003-07:00

This one's a real classic! Family Reunion in Cali.

(L to R)

My mom, Great Aunt Antoinette, Aunt Kim, John Alcaraz, manda, Uncle Shawn,

Tribute to Grandma Louise

2011-02-04T08:02:00.005-07:00

Darren's Grandma Walker passed last Saturday. We attended her funeral yesterday. It was such a wonderful service. She had a lot of people who loved her and looked up to her. I wish that I had gotten to know her better. It was so hard to see Grandpa Walker tell her goodbye.
Here is the obituary from the paper:

Edith Louise (Bluemel) Walker: April 3, 1931 — Jan. 29, 2011

Edith Louise (Bluemel) Walker of Lyman and Syracuse, Utah passed away on Jan. 29 in Layton, Utah at the age of 79. She was born April 3, 1931 in Lyman to Albert LeVaughn and Elizabeth Bird Bluemel. She was raised in Lyman and married Ronald Clyde Walker on Oct. 18, 1948. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple. Preceded in death by her parents, brothers Reed and Max Bluemel; and one grandchild, she leaves a hole in the lives of all who knew her. She is survived by her loving husband of 62 years and six children: Ronald L. (Sandy), Garth (Ellen), Mark (Nikki), LouAnn (Samasoni) Magalogo, Clair (Patty), and Neal (Sallee), 37 grandchildren and 49 great-grandchildren and many extended family members. She was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. She worked side by side with her husband and children on the ranch and supported her family in all that they did. She leaves a legacy of love, patience, and kindness to everyone. She never had an unkind word to say about anyone nor did she complain about the ailments that she endured. She was an avid reader and loved a great Western movie. She loved the beauties of nature and going for rides with her family in any season of the year. Louise was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in many responsibilities over the years. She served with her husband in the Palmyra New York Mission at church historical sites. For the past 13 years, Louise and Ronald have spent their time between Syracuse, Utah and the family ranch in the Bridger Valley. They have had the opportunity of serving in the Ogden Utah Temple and making many lasting friendships in northern Utah. A viewing will be held in Syracuse Utah at 3400 W. 700 S. on Tuesday, Feb. 1 from 6-8 p.m. On Wednesday, Feb. 2, a viewing will be held at the Lyman Stake Center from 6-8 p.m. and then again on Thursday at 10 a.m. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, Feb. 3 at the Lyman Stake Center at ll a.m.

Let us all remember to take the time out of our busy lives to spend time and cherish the loved ones we have; for life here on this earth is short and we never know when they will be taken from us. We love you Grandma Walker.

2011-01-17T14:59:00.002-07:00

Dear Blog-
I promise I haven't forgotten completely about you. Just been busy with kids, work, holidays and just life in general. I however am compiling a large amount of photos on my sd card for you, so when I do make it back with some time to edit and catch up on the past few months, there will be lots to show and tell :) Until next time . . .

XOXOXOXO

Suprise!

2010-11-05T14:24:00.000-06:00

The lady who is doing the alterations on my wedding dress lives right across the street from Grandma and Grandpa. I had to drop it off and we stopped by their house for a little visit. They suprised Jaz with this:

{Pizza if you can't tell}

and this:

and an adorable zebra print tutu outfit and some flowers for Jazzy's hair. {I'll get a picture of her in it when she doesn't look like such a little ragmuffin!} :)

We had a short but sweet visit with them. Baby Nautika snuggled right up to {Great} Grandma, but wasn't too sure about {Great} Grandpa. They are so sweet and we love them so much!

We are cherishing every moment with them, cause they are the best! :)

Happy Halloween

2010-11-03T13:52:00.000-06:00

....from the scariest kiddos on the block! :)

An alligator, dinosaur, and a dragon! BOO!

GOT MILK?

2010-10-07T09:32:00.001-06:00

Ha-ha! Jaz does. She did this while eating some strawberry shortcake with homemade cream. She was pretty proud of herself, and the more I laughed at her, the bigger her mustache got. Love that little girl!!

Reality Hits. Hard.

2010-09-27T11:20:00.000-06:00

Or at least it did this morning. Back to work. The moment I have been dreading for the past 12 weeks. I have a great job and great people to work with, but I just love my little sweeties sooo much! Leaving them this morning was one of the hardest things I think I've ever done. Being home has made me realize and see how much of their lives I really do miss out on by being a working Mom---and I hate it! They just grow so fast and I want to be there with them to enjoy and experience every moment of it! Obviously, I won't be doing that ... for a while anyways. But I do hope and pray, that someday, I can stay home with them. But for now, it's back to work!

P.S. Hopefully, now, I can at least catch up on my blogging!

Baby Smiles.

2010-09-26T09:52:00.000-06:00

I just love them! And fortunately, we have had a lot of them in our house lately! :D

2010-09-25T09:37:00.000-06:00

Ready to go antelope hunting, and looking cute as ever in those carhartts {that are just like Mama's work one's} !

A day at Lagoon!

2010-09-19T00:50:00.000-06:00

It was an early morning...

Measuring up....

Jaz is a BIG GIRL this year!

She even got to ride the bumper cars! The Crew.

Summersault races...

The ride home...

What a fun day! :)

Summertime Picnic

2010-09-15T15:48:00.000-06:00

{daddy mermaid will kill me if he finds out I posted this picture, . . . but love it too much and I can't resist!}

I can't believe that I will be going back to work in only a few more days :( We have been trying to spend as much quality time together as possible. Quality is what counts, not quantity--I have to remind myself this everyday because I can't imagine NOT spending every moment with my kiddos.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles!

2010-08-18T15:00:00.000-06:00

...and our trip to Cali! We decided to go to Los Gallardo's celebration this year...only we decided to go a little to late. Airfares were outrageous for the three of us to fly round-trip. That's what happens when you decide to fly a week in advance. They like more advance notice. :) So we, or I, decided that it would be fun to take the train. Um....what was I smoking?? 17 hours with a four-year old+a one month old+two adults cramped up in a 4'x3'(if we were lucky) space=fun?! Not to mention, no baggage check, so add 4 bags+a car seat+stroller to all of that and see if you come up with fun. I didn't. When we arrived at the train station in Salt Lake, the train was supposed to leave in about 15 minutes, and we still had to get all of our luggage and tickets and everything together...so we were a little bit panicked. We finally got it all together and made our way to the ticket counter only to find out that our train was running about three hours late, that's right folks, THREE HOURS!! So our train should be arriving around 2:00am-ish. There was NO WAY I was going to sit outside on the sidewalk with the kids and all our luggage for three hours. We packed everything back in the car and off to Grandma's we went. Only they weren't home, they had already made their way to Cali. So, we just crashed for a few hours. When we made it back to the train station, it was seriously a BIG ordeal getting all of the people on the train, there were about 150 people getting on in Salt Lake (that seems like a lot for a Wed. night). And if you've ever ridden the train, you know they like to separate the passengers by destination. So we walk about a mile to the car going to Emeryville, Ca and I stop outside the car while Daddy Mermaid loads the bags one by one onto the train, and the stroller, and finally the car seat. All set, right? WRONG! Where was Jazzy Mermaid? She took off and we could not find her anywhere. Talk about panicking! We were up and down the aisles in the cars looking for her, and no sign of her. We finally ended up reporting her lost to one of the Amtrak workers, and someone had said he'd seen her, and he took us right to her. She was so innocent when she said she was saving us some seats. Poor thing. I was hysteric, when you can't find your child, only the worst things imaginable run through your head. I was SO relieved to find her safe. From that moment up until we got off the train 17 hours later, things went pretty smoothly. We took lots of naps, held the baby, and stuffed our faces with junk food.

But let me tell you, I was soo happy to get off that train! The train's route goes from Chicago, Ill to Emeryville, Ca, and it takes like 3 or 4 days. Just try to imagine the sewage situation haha! In 90+ degrees ... ick! That train was soo stinky. On the other hand though, we saw some truely AMAZING scenery! My favorites were the sunsetting over a lake and a huge field of sunflowers near Sacramento. I wish that I would have gotten a picture...they were beautiful, but by that time, I was exhausted and just ready to get to our destination.

So, we arrived late Thursday night in Emeryville, CA. and missed the connecting train to San Jose {due to our LATE LATE train}. So we ended up taking a taxi to the San Jose train station where my mom picked us up.

The rest of the story will be continued. . .

Fireworks for the 24th!

2010-07-25T13:51:00.000-06:00

And a parade and barbeque, too! I took the girls to the parade in Lyman. Jaz loved it! And got SOOO much candy! And we went to a barbeque at the Lyman park. The girls wore their festive outfits that I got them{I so wish I had gotten a picture, they looked so adorable!} :) Later that night, we broke out the firework stash! Jazzy Mermaid and Daddy Mermaid just had too much fun lighting off the fireworks. Nautika and I watched from inside the garage. I was pretty freaked out that they were going to start someone's house on fire or better yet the firework would tip over and come shooting at me and the baby. Geeze...I'm getting old!

We heart sleepovers!

2010-07-24T13:46:00.000-06:00

Daddy Mermaid has been working out of town this week, so we heavily indulged in sleepovers! Jaz even read her sister a story about ocean fish {which she LOVES!}

We love you, Baby Nautika!

2010-07-17T12:00:00.000-06:00

This post is mostly for Nautika. It's extremely picture rich! But all photos that I'm sure she'll grow to cherish.

Crashed out in the wee hours of the morning, after a long night at the hospital waiting for her new baby to arrive.

Thanks, babe...for this next picture. {That was said in total sarcasm}

Thirty something hours later. . .

Our brand new baby girl!

We had lots of visitors in the hospital . . .

And more when we got home!

Great-Grandpa Phillips

Great-Grandma Phillips

Auntie Emerly

Our Sweet Baby

2010-07-16T16:33:00.000-06:00

GIRL! And we are all so excited! We had a Dr. appointment on Thursday afternoon, and Karen said I was still only 2cm dialated and 60% effaced. Needless to say, we went home disappointed. We were hoping for a little more progress from the previous weeks.

I woke up that night around 12:30 having contractions, but they were just random...not on a timed schedule. So I tossed and turned until about 4:00, then took a bath. Around 10:00 I sent Jaz outside to play, and I crashed hard on the couch for about two hours. Throughout the day, I alternated between taking baths and taking naps. The naps were great...for about 50 minutes...until I was rudely awakened by contractions.

Darren's dad came over late that night to check on us, and convinced me that we needed to go to the hospital. So we packed our things into the car, and away we went. We arrived at McKay Dee around 2am. When they checked me in I was dialated to an 8 and almost 100% effaced. I held out on the epidural until I absolutely could take it no more. I was at a 9.5, and I believe I could have made it if I hadn't been in labor for so long. So around 5am I opted for the epidural, and shortly after, Karen broke my water. They had some concerns because the baby was not dropping into the birth canal. So every half hour they rolled me over onto my side. Right and left, right and left . . . for hours. If she didn't drop, they were going to have to do a c-section. Please .... baby... just drop! Well, she did...finally. I pushed a few times to get her down the birth canal, and then getting her out took only about 4 minutes. Our sweet baby arrived at 10:52am. She weighed in at 7lbs 2oz and 19.25inches long. Lots of brown hair and just such a sweet little baby! What a blessing she is to our family!
Jazzy Mermaid was such a trooper throughout the whole thing! She stayed up with Grandpa at the hospital and watched movies all night...till she could hardly stand it anymore. She came in the room to see me and immediately crashed on the couch. She slept through the birth process, thank goodness, and woke up to a new baby sister.

4th of July Weekend.

2010-07-05T14:23:00.000-06:00

It's early October, and I am trying to clean up my camera cards and catch up on my blog, but I am trying to publish the posts in order. So....4th of July weekend, my little sister and brother came to hang with us for the weekend because my mom was working. I was due to have the baby ANY day, and was more miserable than ever. But we still tried to have some fun. Darren's family had a family reunion on Friday and Saturday in the mountains. We made it out there Friday evening for dinner, and then went back up Saturday morning for breakfast and played some games. We made our way back to Evanston around noon, and my brother and sister arrived shorly thereafter. We went to the park where they had a candy cannon, bouncy toys, games, and food. Darren and I took over the bingo games while the kids bounced around to their hearts content. That night, we went to the good ol' rodeo {we usually go to several every summer, and Jaz just loves them, but it just wasn't happening this year}. 10 months pregnant+climbing bleachers+sitting on bleachers+lots of people...um, no thanks. But I can say that it was fun. Jazzy Mermaid did the chicken chase. She was so close, but I think that she was just scared to actually touch the chicken {although she won't admit to it!}. And Mesa did the calf chase {I think that's what it was, lol!}.

I don't remember where we went, but we went somewhere, and accidentally left the back door open. When we came back, someone was waiting in the house for us:

...and left us several "white gifts" scattered throughout the room-just the thing to make a pregnant woman happy.

Mom came Sunday night to watch the City firework show. However, if you've ever been in Evanston on the Fourth of July, you know that there is no need to watch the City firework show. We went to the ball fields with our chairs and blankets and our supply of fireworks to shoot off while waiting for the show to begin. The only way I can describe it . . . is it's what I imagine being in a war zone feels like. Fireworks EVERYWHERE! {And that I must say, is an UNDERSTATEMENT}. We couldn't differentiate the city's fireworks from everyone else's. I have never seen so many fireworks in my life! But we did have a great time shooting off ours and watching everyone else's. Evanston, definately has the greatest firework show on earth...something that everyone should experience at least once in their life! :D

just kickin' back enjoying the show. . .

The infamous faga ofe! This thing is scary, but definatly very COOL! It's one of those things that you have to see it to believe it.

{Here it is under construction. . . that's all I can say, I was told not to give away any secrets lol!}

.MOAB.

2010-06-15T15:52:00.000-06:00

There's a lot of pictures....but what else am I going to do with them?! I promise not to post ALL OF THEM :)
My Grandma has been here visiting from California, so, at the last minute, we decided to take her on a special adventure>>>MOAB! It started out great, when I decided that I knew more than the Garmin...and added a nice 2-3 extra hours to our trip. So we arrived late late Friday night(almost Saturday morning). It rained nearly the entire way there, luckily all of Darren, Jaz and my stuff was packed away safely in the car. Mom and everyone else didn't get so lucky. Their clothes, sleeping bags and everything else was drenched! Saturday, we saw some petroglyphs, did some climbing, motorcycle riding, and visited Arches National Park. We got caught in a rain/hail storm while riding the motorcycles. When it quit raining, there were waterfalls everywhere! They were amazing! We got to the hotel late Saturday night and the kids got to swim for a little while. We got rained out of our BBQ, and ended up ordering pizza.
Sunday, we packed up and headed out for another adventure. We found a place to ride the bikes and BBQ {finally:)}. All in all, it was a pretty laid back trip...which was nice. We had fun and got to relax!

we love summer!

2010-06-15T15:32:00.001-06:00

There's nothing better than a nice hot day, playing in the water and having a barbecue!

week01

2010-06-15T15:23:00.000-06:00

I was so excited to get my new camera... however, shortly after it arrived, I became very disappointed when many of the pictures I took were out of focus. I have started an online course-12 weeks to better photos. Rather than starting an entire new blog, I am going to post the weekly assignments here. So here's week 1. Aperture.

My very own Hells Angel!

2010-06-05T13:46:00.000-06:00

Isn't she such a cutie?! Thanks to her new stamp set and Mesa's motorcycle, she thinks she's a Hells Angel. And I guess I can probably partly thank myself, I mean what parent tells their 4 year old about Hells Angels?

Weekend with Grandma!

2010-06-03T13:23:00.000-06:00

We had nothing special planned for Memorial Day weekend--except to hopefully enjoy some nice weather (which we did!). My brother and sister went camping at Flaming Gorge for the weekend, and Mom stayed home because she had to work. So we packed our bags and headed for the big city. Jaz helped Grandma plant her garden and dig holes for some shrubs. She's getting to be such a big girl!

She even got a special ride on Mesa's new motorcycle!

And I played with my new camera (hence the out of focus pictures, I'm still learning!) We spent Sunday at the park. Jaz played all day and I got a nice sunburn. We then had a nice little barbeque when we got back to the house...after all, what is Memorial Day without a barbecue? It was great for all of us to get to have an all girl's weekend (although it would have been nice to have some guys there to do the grilling ;)).

Now, it's back to work. It is going to be/already is a busy month. We started pigging yesterday, and are going to be doing it off and on for pretty much the next year! I'm ready for some time off. Just counting the days till July 5.

CANNOT WAIT!

2010-05-19T12:58:00.000-06:00

...for this to come in the mail!

7-10 days can seem like an eternity! :D

.Tolu, You naughty dog!.

2010-04-29T09:33:00.000-06:00

I'm pretty sure I'm the worst pet owner ever! I mean.. I think I'm on my 5th dog (since I was 18)and not because I killed them, but because I just can't handle them... I can't keep a fish alive to save my life. Geesh! I think I need to improve my pet ownership skills immensely! This week Tolu ran away and got picked up by the dog catcher. Luckily, it did not cost too much to get him out. But that silly dog will listen to Jaz before he will listen to me. I can't get him to do anything. Seems like he is barking, destroying things, and running away constantly. What am I doing wrong? I just want a good family dog ... like everyone else's. I've considered obedience training, but only as a last resort. I know there are other ways around this besides spending a large amount of money. Any suggestions?

.3.day.vacay.

2010-03-05T10:17:00.000-07:00

Monday night, after work, we drove to Rifle, Colorado. I had some training there this week. Sugar Mermaid and Daddy Mermaid came with. . . as three days in a hotel without my Jazzy is way too long! Besides, you can't beat staying in hotel for three days and having the swimming pool all to yourself! That's exactly what they did. SWIM . SWIM . AND MORE SWIMMING . Jaz keeps asking me if she can have her mermaid tail yet :) She learned to pick up diving sticks in the deep end (5 feet) and she also swam the LENGTH of the pool all by herself!!! We also like to do cheer stunts in the pool ;)
Tuesday night, we took a little drive up to Rifle Falls. It was chilly, but beautiful. I must say that the pictures just don't do it any justice, and I can only imagine how wonderful it must look in the summer when everything is green! We took a little hike and explored some caves. "Cages" in Jazzy terms. We also saw about 100 head of elk grazing on the snow covered golf course. And almost hit a deer. Now we're home, and I'm so happy it's nearly the weekend and I get to have MY bed back!

a.blast.from.the.past.

2010-02-23T13:20:00.001-07:00

....since i've been so bad about updating! It's been nuts around here. That's my excuse. I started taking some classes this semester to hopefully finish up my prereqs for nursing school and am scheduled to take the TEAS test in March. So basically work and school have consumed my life. It will be worth it in the end though...that's what I keep telling myself anyways. As 3+ tests a week is no bowl of cherries. Luckily, for me, Darren and Jaz keep each other entertained. Jaz has been going to swimming lessons twice a week, and I must say she love, love, LOVES it! And Darren loves it too...time at the rec center...can't beat that! It's that time of year again though, that we are anxiously awaiting summmer! It's been weighing on my mind now nearly everyday-camping, fishing, vacations, going to the park, running through the sprinkler, the smell of freshly cut grass and barbeques.... the list could go on and on, but I'm sure you get the picture. I sure hope spring gets here soon! Until then, we will continue to sip hot cocoa and cuddle up in our blankets by the tv (not the fireplace, unfortunately).
Daddy Mermaid turned the big 25 on Sunday. I took him to eat at The Pie. It was his first time, but I don't think his last. We had a great time-cajun sausage + artichoke hearts on pizza =YUMMMY!! Darren, Jaz and I....well, mostly Darren ate nearly the entire pizza (if you've ever eaten at the Pie, then you know, eating an entire pizza is NUTS!) Going for a COW ride . . . BESTIES<3 Our homemade strawberry pie, which i must add was AMAZING! I will share the recipe one of these days. Enjoying Winter, before it outstayed it's welcome. Christmas Morning! The Zebra Horse...the best present ever! A shot from The Nutcracker :) I will post a video as soon as I have time/patience to upload one.
Sugar Mermaid turned the big 4 this year!!!!(well, technically last year, 2009. I must remeber how far behind I am on blogging!) She's so big that she even made her own cake :) a pink mermaid for her birthday...how fitting!

.tick.or.treat!

2009-11-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

We spent Halloween at Mom's house. I figured it would be much warmer for trick or treating. . . and besides that Jaz had been at Grandma's while I was on call all week, so it worked out well. I'm most positive that Jaz had to be the cutest pink flamingo ever!!

Who wouldn't love Darren's attempt at Snow White? :)

.She's.a.beauty.

2009-11-02T08:19:00.000-07:00

isn't she?

I finally got my new car. I think I got impatient. . . that's why I ended up with a Dodge. Not saying there is anything wrong with that , but I must admit I have a slight addiction to German cars, so I'm going through some "minor" withdrawls. Not to say that I don't love my new car though:) Just gonna take some getting used to. And I am positive that buying premium gas and $70 oil changes will take absolutely no getting used to. Jaz loves it. When she woke up on Sunday morning I took her for a little ride around the block , and she said "Can we go home now?" She wanted to go home so she could ride in the car. She's too young to be falling in love with cars... I guess it runs in the family.

.i.love.the.weekends.

2009-10-20T10:55:00.000-06:00

and being able to spend time with Jazzy.

I have been getting ear infections like you wouldn't believe and they are making me beyond miserable...I just really dispise going to the doctor for any reason. So...the plan was to stay home and get some much needed sleep and maybe do some laundry or clean the house, maybe a movie and a bowl of hot soup. Didn't happen. None of it. I just couldn't bring myself to sit home and do a whole lot of nothing when I had the chance to do something FUN with Jaz! We ended up at the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point. They had more of those big blow up toys than one could ever hope for...and yes, I did play on them:) We picked out some pumpkins from the pumpkin patch, and bought enough homemade bread (for only $1/loaf) to last till the end of time! We wrapped up the day at Teppanyaki's.

.goin'.on.a.deer.hunt.

2009-10-12T09:41:00.000-06:00

It was Jazlyn's first year to go deer hunting. . . and my first year hunting on my own, without my favorite daddy, who usually takes care of everything. I really missed hunting with him and hope and pray that someday things will be better between us and we can hunt together again.

It was quite the adventure...opening day we got up there just as the sun came over the hill...only to find out I had the wrong ammo. What else could we do but run back into town and grab the right ones?! I borrowed the rifle, and it never was sighted in before we went hunting, and needless to say, I learned the hard way how critical that can be when I missed four of the biggest bucks I had ever seen. We also saw a moose and a coyote (that i should have shot). We came home empty handed (with the exception of one jack rabbit), and we had fun (which is what's important) but I did learn a lot of "hunting lessons" and will be way better prepared for next year's hunt...I can hardly wait!

Hunting is not all about shooting a deer. . . its about eating cookies and picking flowers....just ask Jaz...

.today.

2009-10-09T16:16:00.000-06:00

This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be... gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind...let it be something good. ~Unknown

.My.Daily.Inspiration.

2009-10-08T10:11:00.000-06:00

Take chances...a lot of them. Because honestly, no matter where you end up- and with who, it always ends up just the way it should be. Your mistakes make you who you are... you learn and grow with each choice you make. Everything is... worth it. Say how you feel- always. Be you, and be okay with it. ~Unknown

.Quote.of.the.Day.

2009-10-05T20:40:00.000-06:00

Maybe some people just aren't meant to be in our lives forever. Maybe some people are just passing through. It's like some people just come through our lives to bring us something: a gift, a blessing, a lesson we need to learn, and that's why they're here... you'll have that gift forever. ♥

.a.day.on.the.farm.

2009-09-29T00:59:00.000-06:00

We went to Wheeler Farm this weekend. We had a great time. We took a little walk down a riverside path and ended up at a big concrete wall that we had to cross the water on....scary! We fed the ducks, milked the cow, and tested out the two-seater outhouse:) Jaz told me last night that she wanted to go to Miss Sandra's (the babysitter) and tell her that she milked the cow with the big nee-nees. I am sure she will follow through with that today.

.Da.Bugoon.

2009-09-21T08:46:00.001-06:00

I took Jaz to Lagoon a few weekends ago. I thought she would love it. Unfortunately, I was the parent who was fighting with my child that was screaming, crying and kicking everytime i tried to put her on a ride...even the kiddie ones. She was terrified. What was I thinking? I knew that my kid wouldn't even touch a swing, what ever possesed me to believe she would actually like Lagoon?

Well...what could I do? I forced her to go on every ride i possibly could, and luckily, by the end of the day, she was having so much fun, she didn't want to go home. The next day she woke me up and asked if we could go back Da Bugoon. Priceless.

.Doesn't.Get.Much.Better.Than.This.

2009-09-17T18:00:00.000-06:00

My cell phone rang at 5:49am yesterday morning. Ugh. If you know anything about me, you know that I am not a morning person! And who was it? Work, of course. I could tell by the ringtone before I even opened my eyes. What do they want now? As if I don't already give them enough of my time? I reluctantly answered it and ended up having to go to work at such an awful hour to be awake, let alone, work! So what is good about going to work at 6 am after you were so rudely awakened from your deep sleep? This is the only thing that I could come up with as I cleared the top of the hill on Painter Reservoir Road and approached the meter station:

...and I must admit, every minute of lost sleep, was totally worth it!

.Enjoying.Every.Last.Bit.

2009-09-17T09:49:00.000-06:00

Jaz and I went fishing with Chet on Labor Day weekend, (well, I fished, Jaz played in the mud:)) and we had a grand time. It was a beautiful sunny day with minimal wind and we had the place all to ourselves; it doesen't get much better than that... not to mention we had all the junk food you can imagine, and we even caught a fish!

I have been trying to save up my money for a new car. So we have been trying to stay low-key the past few weekends (in the money department, anyways!). We decided to check out the demolition derby in Evanston on Saturday night.

I hadn't been to one in years! We had a lot of fun, not only was the derby itself entertaining, the people watching was GREAT! Jaz got a free tee-shirt, and we had a delicious dinner of fall-off-the-bone bbq ribs waiting for us at home. It just doesn't get much better than this. We will definately be looking forward to going again next year.

This was our favorite, the breast cancer car! :)

.More.Words.From.The.Wise.

2009-09-14T20:55:00.000-06:00

I found another one today on my facebook ventures. . . something that I think applies to me a lot.

There are things that we never want to let go of, people we never want to
leave behind. But keep in mind that letting go isn't the end of the world,
it's the beginning of a new life.
~Anonymous

.Words.to.live.by.

2009-09-10T11:55:00.000-06:00

I just came across this quote, and thought it was worth sharing:

"Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain." ~Author Unknown

Livin'.it.up!

2009-09-01T10:45:00.000-06:00

Well, it's September and unfortunately summer is coming to an end. Needless to say, a lot has happened over the past month. Here are a few pictures to prove it. . . enjoy!

Airshow at the Evanston Airport.

A week of slumber parties with Uncle Mesa's Dog, Nell.

Dressed up as a mermaid at Uncle Shawn's Mardi Gras Party.

The petting zoo at the Sweetwater County Fair.

Rockin' out at the Shinedown Concert.

Tractor Pulls at the Uinta Coutny Fair.

A little clip from Pete's Dragon...

a.day.at.bear.lake.

2009-07-23T10:06:00.000-06:00

We headed out ot Bear Lake on Saturday, despite the heat, sunburns and crowds of people we had a great day. Here's a few pics ...

water.wheeling.

2009-07-12T20:26:00.000-06:00

Jazzy had a fabulous time at Grandma's last week, but I am soo happy to have her home. . . it's just not the same without her in the house! We had so much fun this weekend! We went to a birthday party on Saturday and rode horses later on. Jaz had a blast, it started to rain shortly after we got there, so our ride was cut short.

We also took a ride out to Woodruff Reservoir. We took some floaties and the four wheeler. Darren came up with this grand idea of riding in the water, that consumed pretty much the entire day. . . and I must admit it was fun! Here's a little taste of our fun. . . minus Jaz falling off

in the end.

mmm.MMMM!!!

2009-07-08T20:55:00.000-06:00

We just finished up a wonderful dinner, steak and homemade garlic potatoes...yum yum! The steak, however was enormous !! It was delicious, but between the two of us we only ate 2/3 of it. Here it is :

a.wonderful.fourth.of.july.

2009-07-06T17:26:00.000-06:00

Darren and I took a few days off of work so we got a really long weekend! We went with my Mom and went camping on Darren's Grandpa's land. We had it all to ourselves, it was so peaceful and quiet. We rode the four wheeler, fished, swam in the reservoir, laid out in the sun, barbecued, made sand castles, did fireworks and more! The weather was great too, despite all the flood and rain warnings we were getting.

Jazlyn went to Mom's house on Saturday when they left. Darren and I didn't know what to do without her, so we packed up our stuff and went to the fireworks in Lyman before heading home. We spent Sunday at Sulfur Creek Reservoir. I got fried! I think I'm redder than a lobster , and in oh so much pain ( my own fault though )...seems like i never learn that baby oil + all day in the sun are not a good mix :)

Gimme.Your.Stuff.

2009-06-30T08:44:00.000-06:00

So I am trying to get started on my 101 list...and I'm going to make this post so I can get started on #49... three cultural exchanges. So here's the deal, gimmeyourstuff.blogspot.com is a way of introducting things to people who are looking for something unusual from all over the world, in exchange for something they're looking from your part of the world.
I live in Wyoming and am pretty close to Utah, I can get you things here that you may not be able to find in other States... let me know what you have in mind and I will be happy to look for it! Fireworks are a big thing here...tonz of awesome fireworks. :) Food, clothes, magazines, music, movies, or anything really. Just let me know.
I am looking for unique stuff that I will not be able to find here in the States, here's some ideas, but it's definately not limited to these: foods, items for a little girl (3 years), clothing, shoes, magazines, or anything fun that you can think of! Let me know and we can chat about it and see what we can come up with! Thanks for looking, and I look forward to hearing from you soon!!!

OOOKKKKAAAAAAYY!

2009-06-23T10:45:00.000-06:00

just had to post this picture, it cracks me up! reminds me of lil jon . . .

...all she needs is some golds in her mouth :)

bits.n.pieces.

2009-06-23T09:29:00.000-06:00

It seems like it's been forever since I have posted anything. We have been sick!! Thought it was swine flu, but the Dr. said strep throat. So we are just trying to get healthy so we can have some FUN! So I have quite a few updates since last time . . . we got the room painted...FINALLY :) and i absolutely love it! It's so much more welcoming now. We went camping with Mom and everyone. I think that this was Jazlyn's first time. She loved it, and I think her favorite part was sleeping in sleeping bags. She thought it was so funny and just giggled all night. Unfortunately, it rained a lot of the time, and we found out the hard way that our tent is leaky. Hopefully we will have better luck with the weather next time. . . or we will get a new tent! :)
My Grandmas came to visit from California. I was on-call that week so we didn't get to spend much time with them. However, in a way, I lucked out because I had some training for work in Salt Lake that week for a few days and so I did get to spend some time with them. Five generations :)

Jaz competed in the Little Miss Wyoming Pageant on June 12-13. Wow, what a long weekend it turned out to be. Competitions all day Friday and Saturday with awards on Sunday. We were so happy to go home! She did really well with the talent, and I can't understand why she didn't win...but it's good experience for her. She didn't do as well with her modeling as she did in the regional pageant, but that's okay. She did well overall. She made it into the semi-finalist round. She also won Miss Photogenic so she didn't go home empty-handed ;)

day.zero.

2009-06-04T15:36:00.000-06:00

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of effort on your part).

http://www.dayzeroproject.com/

You will find my list on the side of my blog. I have decided to participate in this, in hopes that I will be a happier, stronger and better person at the end of the 1001 days. I invite you all to make your own lists and participate with me. I have created some which are more challenging than others, but I had to keep this not only challenging, but fun as well. I will keep you updated on the blog as to how my progress is going. I will also check items off as I complete them! I still need to finish my list, so my plan is to officially start this on Monday, June 08.

.time.for.house.projects.

2009-05-09T12:54:00.000-06:00

Not a whole lot happened this week. Work pretty much kept me busy. . . I think I am going to try and get the sunroom painted before the day is over. That white is so blah!

I can't stand it anymore. I think a sunroom should be bright , colorful and welcoming. . . especially since it is the entrance to the house. So that, along with cleaning are my projects for the day.

We straightened Jazlyn's hair last night for fun.

It's amazing how long it really is. She liked wearing her hair in a

"work ponytail," like Momma's.

.a.lil.bit.of.this.&.a.lil.bit.of.that.

2009-05-03T21:31:00.000-06:00

Well, needless to say, it has been a very busy and tiring week in our home. Jaz had her last gymnastics practice, we have been doing fundraisers like crazy for the pageant, and physical therapy has literally kicked my butt!

We have been selling ads for the program books to businesses. Which really has turned out to be pretty decent, but we are still in need of more mulah! So we are planning a luau. Probably the last weekend in May if everything goes as planned. It should be a lot of fun. Just for a little sneak preview: We are planning on raffling off several items, dancers, a live band and of couse great food! We hope that everyone can make it.

They made me run this week! 8 minutes on the treadmill at therapy. It was so great, i can't even begin to express how amazing it felt! Silly, I know....as for most of you, running is no big deal. But it really has been a great accomplishment for me...aside from re-learning how to walk, I haven't been able to run in years. For now, I am only allowed to do it in a "controlled setting" i.e. a treadmill :) but it's definitely a start.

Jazlyn had her last week of gymnastics for the season. They had a "recital," and showed all the parents the progress that they have made over the last four months. She did absolutely great! I really wish I would have recorded her on her first day....just for fun to see her improvements... next season for sure! She has loved every minute of it. Her favorite event is the bars. Here are a few clips from the recital. Enjoy!

.cutest.tot.in.evanston.

2009-04-28T14:54:00.000-06:00

Jaz participated in a Little Miss Wyoming Preliminary Pageant this Saturday. She did so great! She modeled, did her interview and performed her talent all by herself, I am so proud of her!

Her talent was a hit! Everyone loved it.

She won the talent division & also overall for her age group . . . so she is the new 2009 Regional Tot Miss Wyoming :) We plan on attending State Competition in June. We are really excited for this, and are already doing fundraisers and getting ready for it!

.Giving.In.

2009-04-23T13:52:00.000-06:00

....and joining the blogging world. I'm feeling so left out :) Not really, but I thought it would be fun to get a blog started and let everyone know what we are up to!

and p.s. i don't really know what i am doing, this is turning out to be more difficult than i thought, so be patient with me.