A Few Trips

So I have been galavanting around the country lately. Went to Mexico the first of October which was the best time ever. The weather was extremely hot but thats OK. I've decided that I would much rather be hot than cold. Especially after the snow fall today... and freezing tempertures. Had a great visit with my parents and my sis. Laughed alot, crafted layed in the sun and got to learn quite a bit of the language there. It came to my advantage alot!
This last week Paul and I went to ND to visit Colt and Brooke. Paul set Colton apart as an Elder and we attened church in their little branch. Well it used to be a branch but in 9 months they have grown from 30 to 300 people. Crazy... Testimony meeting was inspirational. A steady line of people the whole time and we finished 15 min. late. The people are wonderful, humble and so thankful to be members. It was a great experience. The weather is turning alittle cold there but they're having a mild fall. Not too many trees there, alot of flat land. But it was fun to see places I've never been.

What's That Little Popping Sound?

Well... It's these lovely little ladies.

I found the most delish recipe for marinara sauce and it is stinkin' good. I have always wanted to can my own but never had attempted. This morning at 4am my little eyes bugged right open and I was done lying in that bed so up and at em. I did get done 4 loads of laundry before 7am. And in the meantime found a wonderful recipe and thought thats what I'm doing today. So I got a bucket of just picked tomatoes from my sweet friend Michelle and came right home and started in. One, 5 gallon small size tomatoes did all this. And I love that little popping sound. Sometimes it's as quick as you take the jar right out of the pot. Music to my ears. It was an all day project but with Lifetime movies to keep you entertained it went by quick. If I was to trade for this most delicious condiment, which can be used for pizza sauce or spaghetti it would be at least 4 doz. fresh eggs. Just saying to anyone who might want to barter... I also love going into my pantry and seeing these bad boys sitting there too. Pickled Beets and Bread and Butter Pickles. The best ever if I say so myself. Both of these bring back memories from my grandma canning and sending them home with us when we would visit her in Utah. She was a funny ole woman. Always wore a big house coat and smoked Virgina Slims menthol. She was something. Loved her I did.

It's been a good day. My feet hurt and I'm tired. And I love looking at my jars.

Kenzi's Trip

Kenzi is back from Peru and had a wonderful time. She has lots of stories and experiences that will last her a lifetime. A friend named Adam went with them on their journies and took most of their pictures so what I have is very few. She got bored with my camera right off the get go and Adam has more professional looking shots. So I'll share with you a few and when I get more I'll post.
This is Cam's dad, Steve, her traveling companion. They kept everything in their little safe in their hotel room.
The only shot of Kenzi in a picture. Standing in front of an old cool house. She loved the blue and the old wooden door.Laundry DayKenzi and Cam

These Muggy Hot Days

The last few days have reminded me of when we first moved to Rupert. 1993, Kenzi was 2, Colton was 3 and Ez 7. We actually moved on the 4th of July and I remember watching the fireworks going off as we pulled into town. The kids thought they were just for them! The weather then, all summer was very much like it has been, hot and muggy. Big thunder and lighting storms all summer long. Those big craklin' thunder bolts. They were pretty exciting.
As I lived in Rupert I remember going to any store trying to find flowers so I could plant in my pots and to my surprise there was not a flower to be found. I couldn't believe that everything was already gone AND they wouldn't be getting anymore. WHAT?! I had never heard of such a thing. It's only the end if July! Being from Cali. you bought flowers all year round and planted all year. That was the first of many dissappointments. Not just the fact that my husband had moved me to Hell... sorry if thats offensive, but I honestly felt that and we were living with his parents which I'm sure they were not happy about either. It took a few months until we bought a 2 bedroom little house in Rupert cleaned it up, remodeled and moved in. Finally alittle home. 3 kids in one bedroom. That was fun. :)
How things have changed... Kenzi is 20, Colton, 23 and Ez, 27. Everyone living on their own and happy. Our electric bill has actually gone from $300 down to $66. Last month to be exact. Now that's accomplishment! I'm estatic about that one!
We've been married 28 years and Paul's the Bish. for 1 year now. WOW thats crazy. The weather has brought back some long ago memories and tore at my heart strings.
Life is good.

Anne of Green Gables

I went to Boise last night to watch my great niece star in a little play at the Boise Little Theater. "Anne of Green Gables". She was wonderful and without her it would not have been any fun. She knew her lines perfectly and was so full of everything! She is really going to go far with her acting. She loves it and you can tell. She had 3 of her great aunts there and her great grandma. We had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and had a fun evening. Way to go Madeline!What a fun filled evening. It's great to have family...
The star with Great Auntie Karla
Aunt Emily, Madeline's mom, Annie and Madeline

Alittle Bit Sad

OK. Do you see the time that this posting is going down? You know your attached to your little kittens alittle too much when you feel sad when the first one leaves the family. You know its going to a very loving home and a sweet little girl who is going to love that little kitten. And then you freak thinking "did I give that baby away too soon?" So you get up in the middle of the night and google " when do you give away baby kittens" and you find out that your ok, most people start giving them away at 8 weeks, which that lil baby will be on Friday. WOW, I have got to snap out of it!

SAWTOOTH RELAY
I finally got to go for my first walk this morning since the relay. It felt really good and I finally think my leg is healed. Yay! For those of you who don't know the Monday before the relay I pulled my calf on my left leg leaving me barely to walk. Such a huge disappointment. But I ended up walking my legs. The relay was a really exciting event for me to be involved in. I still can't believe I did it
We loaded the sub and made our way for Stanley. Which by the way was only a overnighter but we had enough food and clothes we could have probably gone for a week easily.
This was the best part. Naming our own legs to run. People knew who we were! See #10.

We got pretty creative I think.

Here we are in Stanley unloading all that stuff. Of course we brought our own dinner and we were excited about that!
This is the gang at the starting line at 1am in the morning. It was a party and we were right in the middle of it. So fun.
Here's Erin coming in from her 2nd leg. Such a trooper. I love that girl.

Jacque running up the summit. She's got alot of guts.

Elise getting geared up for her leg. She was hilarious the whole trip. I can't even begin to tell you how much fun her and I had laughing all the time.

Here's Britanni running at just about 5am. It was cold and starting to get light. That was awesome in itself.
Renee starting her journey down the backside of Galena Summit

Here I go bringing in the last leg. I was so excited and nervous hoping my leg would be ok and get me into the finish. I was praying the whole time. I put wrap on both my legs, they were killing me by the end. I made it and we all crossed the finish line together.
This was on my top 5 things I have ever done in my life. So far...
And here we are. "The Housewives of Heyburn"
PS... Cheers!

My Babies Are Growing!

Gettin' Ready to Pounce

This is the one I'm gonna keep

I can't believe how cute these kittys are. They are already 5 weeks old. I've been getting them out of their box for play time (I have to say I'm not that patient with it... the "bish" is better at it than me, he likes to really play with them string and all...) They are exploring and socializing with each other. They are cute! Sometimes they hunch their backs like they're going to attack, they hiss at each other, bat their cute little paws and pounce. They are so cute. I have two farmed out, I'm keeping that little black one with the orange on her face. I have fallen in love with her. Don't have a name yet, "Pookie" maybe...they are fun and cute and I'm enjoying having them around. The mama cat is really a good mama and she takes very good care of them. She still loves me to talk to her. She's spoiled now for sure...

They're Here!

Look at those babies... with their little bums...

6 adorable kittens born Friday morning starting at 7am. She came into the house to get her usual morning cream but ran straight under the bed. When I checked for her, her stomach was heaving up and down really hard. I pretty much knew right away that she was in labor. Got her in her box filled with blankets and 15 min. later the first one was born. Within the hour she had three. By noon three more. Whew! She was tired and so was I. Number three and four she didn't take to right away, so I was the one rubbing them clean and getting them to "root" with the mama. Call me the "feline mid-wife"! She took care of them really well for 24 hrs. Sat. morning she was out of the box and didn't want to go back. She didn't feel well you could just tell, Who really would after delivering six babaies? After about three hours Kenzi and I were worried about the babies being hungry. We checked the internet and it said if she didn't go back to the box on her own, put her in and praise her. Well that worked. We talked and talked to that cat, told her she was a good mommy kitty and so on. She loved all the attention and now she hasn't left the box for two days. I take her her food and cream and those babies and her are happy as clams. They are getting bigger and they are cute and tiny. We will keep probably two and one more has been claimed. We will let them go at 8 weeks. So Friday May 13th may be unlucky for some but for this mama, it was all good.

My Kitty's Prego

Here she is in all her glory. Boom Boom's gonna be a mama. I don't know how far along she is but she gets bigger and bigger every day. We usually spay our animals as soon as we can but not this one waited alittle too long. Keep you updated.

Look at that fat belly.

My Sister Said...

When are you going to update your blog? She reads all my friends and says that I'm falling behind. Which I am. So here goes.
We had a great Easter. All the kids came home and we ate of course and everyone had Easter baskets of course. It was a horrible, windy day but a great day for flying kites. The boys all got a kite in their baskets!

Kenzi got Cam's kite stuck in the tree so he's climbing up to get it.

Ez and Laisa dinking around. It was so windy it blew everybody away.

Kenzi and Cam trying to fly their kite.
We played games all day and sat around the fire and watched movies. It was a fun day to re-connect with everyone.
Brooke and Colton are doing great in ND. Surviving the below freezing conditions but temperatures are climbing... Kenzi is still working and going to school learning great stuff to cook, love it when she comes home always has great receipes and Ez is now finance manager in St. George AND he came home tanner than me! What? It's true. He froze the whole time here. Poor boy. It was a fun weekend.
They all felt like they were posing for prom. They're hammin' it up. Arn't they all cute?

My lil darlins...

Lazy Day

We All Have Our Moments

One of things I love about blogging is that it gives me a chance to write down thoughts or "journal" that I wouldn't usually do. I guess I blog for a couple of reasons:
1. To get things off my mind
2. To let others know what's going on in my family
3. It's a creative outlet
4. Helps me stay savvy on the computer, which I am not good at...
I have decided that I'm definitely ready for spring and I want the sun to stay out! I really feel better in warmer weather and it keeps me motivated to keep exercising.
I know that we all have our trials and at times we sometimes feel like we're the only ones who have struggles and everything seems like it's uphill ALL THE TIME!...
I found this you tube today and everything that I was on my pitty potty about seemed to have disappeared after I saw this. What a cute woman and lots of inspiration.
http://www.youtube.com/mormon#p/u/8/lgmAOhAR_aQ
( don't know why my links don't highlight anymore... Anyone know?) Anyhooo... Kenzi was home for the weekend and we baked of course, she made a Starbucks pound cake, all the ingriedients measured in at a whopping pound! A pound of butter a pound of sugar, etc. A total of 9,000 calories, thats right no typo, aaahhh! But it was yummy, sent most of it home with her. She has great stories from work and is loving going to school learning how to cook and bake. She's hilarious. Brooke and Colton are trying to stay warm and Ez is burning up at 70 degree weather. He's lovin' life there in SG. I think everyone will be home for Easter and that I'm looking forward too.
This is where I used to hang out in high school and take my kids when they were little babies. Avila Beach. Many great memories. This is what I'm missing. Hope to get there before next fall...

We Are the "Housewives of Heyburn"

Isn't this the funnest picture ever? We are gearing up and getting ready for the biggest race of our lifetimes. Well at least my lifetime... LOL. 60 miles. We start at the elementary school in Stanley travel over Galena Summit and end up in Sun Valley. These are dedicated women who love life, their families, who are health conscience and want to make a difference.

We met with our fab photographer Emily on Friday afternoon during a pretty big snow storm. She had this great idea to go out to the dock. Paul trucked the cool chair out thru the backyard to the dock and if you notice no footprints in front of us. She had him walk on the side of the dock, put the chair in the middle and we carefully walked as to make the snow look perfect without any tracks. So cool.

Erin, Jackie, Britanni, Myself, Elise and Renee.
I love these women. I almost can't type because of tears in my eyes. They are inspiring and I just love em! We are the "Housewives of Heyburn!"

My New Motto to the Right

In the picture to the right... Ginger, Karla, and Kim. :)
It could be our logo on our shirts for the relay. I love it.

Some Thoughts on Martha

I just received my new Living magazine aka Martha Stewart. I used to be a huge fan of hers and follow everything she did on TV to all the cook books I could read. I followed her for about 10 years, then I lost interest as other cooks became popular and the cooking channel started. She really was a break thru for the home chef and had so many great ideas that I wanted to do everything she did! As I was reading the magazine which BTW... I don't even know how I started getting the magazine again because I don't even remember getting the subscription, it took me back quite a few years ago. When I was 26, Ez was 3 years old. I started reading Martha's cook books. Thats really where I found my love and passion for cooking. I would read and buy all her books and look at the pictures for hours. I studied all the recipes till I almost had them memorized. I looked at the pictures and wanted to create all the beautiful things she was creating with food. Of course some of the stuff she was cooking and baking were extravagant. But I was bound and determined to make it anyway.
I decided that I wanted to have a Christmas party and invite 10 couples over. Mind you I had never attempted this before, but how hard could it be? Fix alittle food, have your friends over and no big deal. I made my menu, did the shopping and cleaned the house. I started early in the morning. Turkey Teterzinni, puff pastry with a creamy filling, I don't remember all the items I had but I can tell you thinking back it was way too much food and way too many items to prepare in just one day. I had no idea what I had got myself into. I called my brothers girlfriend and asked if she could come over and help me because I was running out of time and still had way too many dishes to prepare. We were preparing hot dishes, cold dishes, dips, sauces, hordevours, desserts you name it I think it was on my menu. Holy cow! We pulled it off and got everything ready just as people started to arrive. I remember laying everything out and it filled a whole dining table and two buffet servers all loaded with food. Of course it was beautiful and delicious. Everyone was blown away with the amount of food I had made. I was too. But that was just the beginning of my passion of creating and experimenting with food. It's my way to show love, comfort and compassion for everyone. It helps me be creative. As I'm cooking I "love" my food. I nourish it with fresh herbs and seasonings. Then when I'm done and serve it or give it away, people know it came from my heart and made with passion. I love to cook and I love to eat!
So that's my experience with Martha. I like to see from time to time what she's doing and experimenting with. I can really take or leave her. She kinds bugs me because she interrupts her guests that she has on her show so much she doesn't let them talk ever! Watch her you'll see what I mean. So there's my deal with Martha...

Don't Cha Know!

It's official! Brooke and Colton have moved to North Dakota... This is them Saturday morning before they left Idaho. They arrived there this afternoon. I can't believe it. I cried when they left and then every time I talked to them to check on where they were during their drive. They traveled some pretty bad weather, icy roads, blowing snow and just plane cold. Colton is now an official CDL, Haz Mat driver. I can't imagine him driving a BIG truck but he's going to. Brooke's dad bought some trucks and Colton's is one of his drivers. He will be driving in the oil fields in North Dakota for about a year. They can bank some good money, pay off some school loans and give them a good bumper for their little future.
He'll be hauling water in and out of the oil fields which have to be heated with propane so that's a little nerve racking. Brooke is going to be a hired cook for the drivers 2 to 3 nights a week. They've rented alittle house from the Episcopalian church there in Dickinson. The people there have a cute little accent, don't cha know... and they are excited about this new adventure in their lives. Last week the temperture was -45 degrees. Holy cow, can you imagine how cold that is? You have to be prepared when you go out. I hope to fly out soon to help them settle in and teach her how to bake bread and cinnamon rolls. My sweet kids are venturing out and it's a blast.

"Housewives of Heyburn"

Well... Here we go. I've made a commitment to run in a 60 mile relay in June. I know crazy. But I am doing it with 5 of the most fabulous women I know. We are the "Housewives of Heyburn" Thats our team name. Isn't that great? We'll give those New York and Beverly Hill's wives something to really talk about! Ha! Here's the link of the relay if you want to check it out. http://www.sawtoothrelay.com/sawtooth/home.cfm
I will be running or in my case walking 2 different legs of about 5 miles twice. That's right 5 miles, 2 times! AAAHHH! Did I mention that they're all in their in their 30's? I've started doing alittle training and I will be getting into it more as the weeks go on. I will keep you updated and hopefully get some pictures so you can meet my teammates and get to know them. (did I mention they're 30 something?) I'm pretty excited about this little adventure in my life. Being 50 doesn't mean I'm dead thats for sure. Wish me luck and any advice for this occasion is truly welcome.

The Month of December Re-Capped...

Brooke and Colton spent Christmas eve with her family and came to our house on Christmas day for a few hours. They opened presents and just hung out. It was a great day.


Spending time with Kenzi is really alot of fun. It's great cause when she comes home she takes over the kitchen. It looks like a train wreck when she's done but the food is fab and she even teaches me a few new things. It's really fun having her home. She's simply a delight to have around.

Ez came home for New Year's and spent the weekend. I was sick with a bad sinus cold but we found time to visit and hang out. He's working hard in St. George and loving the weather there. He was freezing the whole time he was here. He always had his hat on and coat. Poor boy. He just needs to stay there because he cannot adjust to the really freezing conditions here... Really it has been down to 0 degrees. It's crazy.

On New Years Day my MM cooked a turkey in the deep fryer he got for Christmas. It was an interesting learning experience for him and Kenzi, his assistant... everytime I looked out the window all they were doing was laughing and carrying on...

They had to maintain the temperture of the oil at 350 degrees, the turkey cooked for about 25 minutes. It was pretty moist inside and pretty good.

"The Cooks"

Cameron and Kenzi. Can't keep them apart... Cam was with his family over the Christmas holiday but with us on New Years. We like having him around, he's a great guy.
All in all things were quiet and simple this year. We enjoyed each other's company and felt good about the things we accomplished this holiday season. The ward party was a huge success, served 220 people for dinner and made 45 dinner boxes to go to people in the community. The new year find us with goals to help better ourselves mentally, spiritually and physically. My motto as always, I love my family and my life...