Has it been a month?

So everyone keeps telling me I need to give you all an update on whats going on with us. Sorry I have been out for so long, its been a long month! We are doing well, and have been very busy lately. Still haven't sold the house, but we're okay with that. Here's a picture of Natalie's Halloween costume that my sister and I made her. She wanted to be a mermaid so here's our attempt!



Natalie and I went on vacation without Shaun. We went to visit my sister in Oklahoma, and had a great time. We went to a animal rescue place in Tulsa where we were able to touch some amazing animals. Natalie was able to pet and feed a zebra, a kangaroo, an aligator (not feed it of course!), a deer, and some different types of snakes. She loved to kangaroo, and he was so friendly he was eating out of her hand!! It was on of the best experiences that Natalie and I have had together and she's such an animal lover she never wanted to leave. They also had some lions, tigers, and other wild cats there which you were able to feed raw chicken to through a chain link fence. It was amazing!! Very cool experience! There were some monkeys on leashes that we were able to get up close to, and a lynx on a leash that we were able to see.
While we were in Oklahoma we went to the Little Sahara there and road dune buggies and 4-wheelers on the dunes. It was awesome. Our 2 year old is now convinced she needs a 4-wheeler, and would spend the rest of her life in the desert if she could. She went on some dune buggie rides, and was even able to do some small jumps off the dunes with the person driving her. She was laughing and smiling the whole time!!
We're back now from vacation and back to real life. I've been busy with the primary program, which is now done thank goodness! Here's some pictures of our adventures over the last month. We also went horseback riding with some friends here in town, and that was a great experience as well. Thanks Misty!!!

Start Spreading the News!

Well, there is some big news coming from our house these days, we have put our house up for sale. We are moving to Boise as soon as our house sells! It's been great out here in Mountain Home, but we have decided the drive is just too far for Shaun and we would like to be closer to BSU so he can finish his education. It took us a while to decide if it was the right thing, but we feel we need to be back in Boise so the house is on the market. Anyone interested in a house in Mt. Home with 5 acres. Anyone, anyone? Anyhow, in the mean time it is life as usual. We aren't going to get to excited about moving right now, because the market is so slow right now. It could take a while!
Natalie has been loving her dance classes. She has been the only kid that has not cried once or come out of the room during class. I'm so proud of her!! She does all of the steps the teacher tells her to and loves it!! She gets a bit disapointed because with a lot of the kids crying and coming in and out of the room they don't teach enough for her liking. She comes out and I ask her how it was. She say, "good, but I didn't learn point step or turns or kick step." These are all dance steps we do together at home when we make up our own little dances, yes you heard me right, we make up dances together! So she wants to learn more and they just aren't moving fast enough. But its been fun anyways!

Life in the not so Mt. Home

Well, apparently I have become quite boring, because I have had absolutely nothing to blog about. Between my new calling and life I have been running around busy and have no idea what I have accomplished! Last night we signed Natalie up for dance class. She is so excited she just keeps saying, when do I get to go to dance class, today or tomorrow. OF course they don't start until next week but to her next week might as well be next year, because she has no concept of time! She put on her leotard last night and did some dances for us, which was quite fun but of course I forgot to get any pictures of it. That figures.
We have had some interesting things happen to us in the past few weeks. All of our money was stolen from our account and our credit cards were filled with fraudulent charges. WE found out it all came from paypal and luckily we were able to get everything straightened out and our money back. But not without at least 6 or 7 fees from companies that were trying to get our money out of our account that was EMPTY!!! Hopefully I can get all of them straighted out, but these things take time. So be careful with paypal people and do not link it to your bank account. I learned my lesson the hard way. If your credit cards are attached check your accounts frequently just in case!! WEll thats all for now from the great state of confusion. All that my brain can handle anyhow.

We're still here!

So I have been so bad at posting lately. Life has been quite hectic. I'm not sure what I've been doing, but its something really important I'm sure. So Natalie has been quite hilarious this week and tonight she was really cracking me up! I was preparing a lesson for sharing time, I'll get back to that later, and Natalie says, Come here guys, I need you. So we go back to the back room where she likes to pretend her house is (apparently she is in need of her own house, caus this house isn't big enough for the three of us!) We get back there and we're like, whats going on? She goes, "look at my river" which is apparently in the hallway which we were unaware of. So we're like, that is so cool, does it have any fish in it. She says "no, it doesn't have fish, is has shark in it dad" Oh excuse us, shark, who would have known. Then she proceeds to make her father swim down the river in the shark infested waters. Luckily he came out alive, but I can't say the same for her Barbie who was downstream. She has had some very hilarious things to say these past few weeks, such as, "What, Mickey is over, I can't believe it. You've got to be freakin kidding me", along with "Mom Dante (our dog) has a funny face. The white is all over and crazy. He's all jacked up" or "It's okay if you want to go to town mom. Its just over there, I'll drive you in my convertible car" Yes, I'm sure she is getting these things from me,well except the convertible car (I only wish!) and no I am not proud of it!

So back to my sharing time lesson. The reason why I am preparing a sharing time lesson is because I am the newest Primary President of our ward. Yes folks, you heard me right, me, Primary President. I'm not going to lie to you, I am scared to death! But, I am very excited as well! It will be an experience like none I have had before. I pray I can be a wonderful leader for all the great children in our ward. It will be quite the growing experience for me I'm sure! AS you can see from the above quotations from my adorable 2 year old, I am in need of some spiritual growth, so the Lord has big plans for me! I hope I can learn and grown and take some important lessons away from this experience!!! I think the hardest part of the job thus far is teaching sharing time! I think I'm scared of little children. When I developed this fear I do not know, but wow I haven't been that frightened in some time!

Family pictures

So the other night we decided that we were going to get our family pictures done. My friend Misty was going to take Natalies pictures for me, so we made it a family event. Of course Shaun was against it, complained the whole time getting ready, you know how men are!! Natalie would not let me fix her hair because well she's two and thats what she does!! So I am trying to get these two together, don't have any time to fix myself up, so we of course all leave the house grumpy. Luckily when we got there and she started taking NAtalie's pictures we all started to get into and have a little fun. Misty did a great job and I was pleased with the way they turned out. If anyone is interested in getting their pictures done let me know. She just started doing pictures for people as a hobby, and she is very reasonably priced and gives you a disk with all your proofs so you can do your own printing wherever you want. Anyways, here are some of the pics!

Our 4th of July!

Well we are back home, and we had a great vacation this last week. We couldn't have had a better holiday with all of our family together. My sister and her husband were in town and we had a great visit with them. Natalie loves her auntie suzie more than anyone in this world, so it was a fun week of visiting. Susan is almost as crazy as Natalie and definetly louder, so they get along like 2 peas in a pod!


We had a great time setting off fireworks on the 3rd before my sister left, and on the 4th Shaun Natalie and I sat in our back yard and watched the fireworks being set off in town. It was a great view while we sat at our fire pit and roasted marshmellows and didn't have to fight the crowds! So here are some pictures from our big 4th bash. Shaun got some great pictures of our puny fireworks, but Natalie loved them so it was worth it!She loved the sparklers,and had a great time helping Suzie make shapes in the air!





I am also so greatful to have spent some time with my sister! It was great to see her, and we have a great time together. I miss her already!



So I also had to add these pictures of Natty with her squishy face on, and her giving me a squishy face. She thinks its hilarious, and she looks adorable doing it!

Showering is overrated!

So it's not that I'm against showering, because believe me I like to get one in every once in a while, but once you have kids its way overrated. So its not that at this point Natalie isn't old enough to entertain herself while I shower, its just that I am unable to shower on my own now. I miss the days when she would be napping in her crib and I was having a lovely shower, all by my little ol' self enjoying the moment. Now I try and SNEAK into my room and quickly get into the bathroom before she notices I'm gone, or else it turns into this mornings string of events. I walk in the room quiet as a mouse and suddenly from behind I hear, "what you doing mama?" I say, "nothing, what are you doing?" "are you gonna shower mama:?" a small voice says. "Umm, yeah, why don't you go watch Dora, I'll turn it on!!!" This is sure to distract her. "No I'm dirty, I'm gonna shower with you"
"I don't think you need to shower with me, don't you want to watch Dora and take a bath afterwards" short pause... "No mama I wanna shower with you. Please (cute little grin that will melt your heart)" So here I am once again having to shower with a two year old. My own fault I know cause I have a really hard time telling her no and listening to her scream outside the door while I shower. I figure its better to let her in than to deal with that. So I say, "why don't you go potty before you get in so you won't have to go" Natalie says "No I don't need to go potty"
We commence to the shower. We are in there for less than one minute, I am doing my power shower so we can just get out when what does she say "Mama I need to go potty." WHAT DID YOU SAY!!! I JUST asked you, and you said no. Can you hold it. Of course she can't hold it. So we are now covered in soap getting out of the shower to go potty. After freezing to death we are now back in the shower. "I don't like the water in my eyes (whine, whine, whine) I don't want soap on me, I don't want to get clean" Finally its over, I wrap her in a towel and I proceed to get dressed and ready. "Do you look fat mama" says the little voice coming out beneith the towel. YES, just what I wanted to hear out of the mouth of a two year old!! What do I say, yes I feel fat, but I have to tell her no, and quit saying I'm fat so she won't be the only 2 year old in the world who thinks she's fat! AHHHHHH!! Must I shower anymore!

Changes

So I have been thinking about things a lot lately. I know thats a stretch but sometimes it has to be done. I have been thinking about how quickly things change in your life and about how quickly things come and go. I guess I have started to realize why my belief in the Lord is so important because of how much things change. I don't know if that makes any sense, but He never changes and I guess that gives me stability. This week my sister will be here visiting, which I cannot wait! For those of you that don't know she has Chronic Myloid Lukemia and has been living with it for 5 years now. She was diagnosed about 6 months before my father passed away of brain cancer. It has been a crazy 5 years in my life with my father passing away, Susan getting sick and Shaun and I having our first child. What a whirlwind huh? We will be spreading my dads ashes FINALLY this weekend and I think it has finally hit me that life isn't going to be the same, Natalie isn't going to know her grandpa, my sister will probably never be well; but despite all of these things everything is going to be okay. I have been inwardly emotional these last few weeks thinking about my father and finally putting him to rest. Our relationship was crazy and very rocky, but for the most part there was more love than anything. I don't think I realized until recently that I have needed to just forgive and just love him, and even though he isn't here to say it to I say thank you for all of the wonderful things in my life that you gave me. I know he is in heaven and can hear me and I know he is proud of me and the path I am on today. So this week will be an emotional cleansing experience and an enlightenment for me to move forward and to grasp the happiness that is in front of me right now! I know Natalie has already met him in heaven because she acts way too much like him! She is just as smart as he was, and just as hot tempered as her grandpa!! I hope I can teach her all of the great things that he taught me so she can have wonderful thoughts of the man she never met but means so much in her life! So I tell myself before I go this weekend, enjoy life, and embrace todays journey, let go of yesterdays, but keep it in your heart so it touches your life every day!


So as I talk about change some things never change, and thats great friends! I got to see some wonderful friends that I haven't seen for a long while! It's great when you move and grow that you have some true friends you can still hang on to and always have a special connection with them. One of our old friend Carrie who moved to Colorado was passing through and we all got together with our combined 8 children (I only supplied 1!) and had a great time for a day! I can't wait to see them again! And Tammy, send me the pictures would ya!

I'm also greatful I got to spend some quality time with my great friend Dacia. No matter how long it's been since we've seen eachother, I always feel like we've never been apart! I got to spend a day with her before she took off to her new life in California, and I am so greatful for that time we spent together. I know no matter where we are in this world we will always be kindred spirits!! Good luck Dacia on your new journey I hope it leads you to a lifetime of happiness!!

So my last comment on changes, (I know this is getting long I will shut up at some point) my darling little girl my how she is growing! Sometimes I wonder how it goes so fast and how she can change so much from day to day. I'm not sure which one of us is more strong willed, but she by far has more energy so she ends up winning the battles. But just so you know, I am winning the war!! I am not quite sure how a 15 year old spirit is trapped in my 2 year olds body, but I am sure that she is far to young to act the way she does. If she's not rolling her eyes at me she is sighing at me or making some snide comment such as "what are you even talking about" or "If you don't stop mom I'm going to give you a spanking and send you to time out" And believe me this is not an exageration, she says those exact words to me! So I guess I end this post saying, I wish somedays she would stop changing so fast, and other days I think when will she change again so this drama will end! But no matter what comes next, it will be better than the last!!

New Puppy

Natalie recently got a new puppy which she names Dante. She is in love with him, except when he is biting on her clothing or jumping in her face. She loves him so much but it seems every day ends in her crying because Dante was mean and he hurt her and she is so angry!! Then she grabs him around the neck and says, oh Dante I love you! They are quite the funny pair.