Snow Day!

We had a blizzard yesterday! I wouldn't have known how bad it was, but stupid me decided to load the kids up and run to the store for a few groceries since how we have been gone for a week. I don't know if I've ever done anything stupider - it was BAD! I was either cussing at myself or praying the whole way to the store. Sweet Dusty kept reasurring me that maybe I really was doing the right thing by bying food. The only reason I went is because I had heard it would get worse and last several days. We have plenty of food at home, just not things like milk that expire while you're out for a week. Turns out, I was out through the worst of it all! Next time we'll go without the milk. In some spots in our yard we could still see the grass, in other spots there was about three feet of snow, so I don't know how much we ended up with. It warmed up today and the wind stopped so we went out to play. The snow has melted a lot, and it is very wet outside - just what we need to green up our grass. Anyway, because of the blizzard, Chris's work sent everyone home at noon yesterday, and cancelled work for today! Yay for a snow day!

Hayden had so much fun! He usually doesn't last very long in the snow, but today was an exception.


I think that Dusty wiped out every time!

The sun was too bright for me to keep my eyes open for a picture.

Even Chris got in on the fun!

Dusty got this 'snowball' halfway from the school to our house.

Spring Break '09

I decided we should go to Utah during Spring Break. We haven't been for 5 months and if not now, then we probably wouldn't make it until the summer. We had plans to leave Friday morning, but on Thursday Chris had a work emergency and had to fly out to North Dakota. So I had a decision to make, and I decided that the kids and I would still go. Dusty woke me up at 5:40 and asked, "So are we going to go to Garland early or NOT?" So early we went! Two little stops, 570 miles, and just over 8 hours later, we reached our destination. Thank goodness my precious cargo travels well since I was on my own. I don't know why, but my kids have always been good travelers - my mom says her kids were AWFUL in the car! Those darn kids! Anyway, Chris was able to join us on Saturday - he flew in to Salt Lake where his dad picked him up and delivered him (and not his bags - AGAIN!) to my parents house. The weather was feeling warm-like and my parents decided that the best thing to do was cook hamburgers on the grill and make homemade ice cream - YUMM! Chris and his dad arrived just in time! When I was little me and my siblings had ice cream duty, but I guess we have been replaced by MANY helpers.

It sure was yummy, thanks mom and dad and little helpers!

One of the things I have been so anxious to do since I had the baby is get her picture taken with her Great Grandma Scott. So here is a picture of Lula Belle Scott and Kyrie Belle Scott. We love you Grandma and it was so good to see you. I had every intention of getting a picture of her with my grandparents too. We did get a visit, but sorry we didn't make it back over for a picture. With both my family and Chris's family to see we have a lot to do when we are up there.
We did get to go over to Gma and Gpa Scotts house for dinner on Sunday, and we got a good visit in with Gma and Gpa Salvesen on Tuesday afternoon. Lots and lots of grandparents, my kids are so lucky!


And it just so happened to be Tina's birthday while we were there. I visit her grave for just a little minute every time I'm up there, usually on our way out. What happened to the warm weather? It was so cold that the kids didn't want to get out of the car.

This picture is old, but I love it! I love the back of her headstone with her boys handprints. And I love the way my boys are so thoughtful about their aunt. She was always so cute with kids, and the kids love her so much! After the cemetary we headed back to the house for some Pizza Plus Pizza and breadsticks (the best there is!), followed by some Happy Birthday cupcakes.

Kyrie looks so big in this picture! Then you look below....

And she is so tiny! Four babies born in '08 and all girls! Avery is 6 months, Joye and Taylor both about 10 months and Kyrie is 3 months old. Give her just a little time though and she'll be caught up with the others. What fun!


Sara and Rylee got to spend the night with the boys on Monday night. They had a blast. Here is Hayden and Rylee - true love! They get along so well. Rylee is the best kind of friend there is. She is so polite and considerate. I heard her say several times things like, "I'll wait for you Hayden" and "You can go first". She is such a sweetie.

Sara came down to see them dancing and said "It looks like they're getting married. But I already have 5 and 5 and 2" (boyfriends). I asked how many she is going to marry and she said "UM, probably 4 - or maybe 2". Funny kids!

So we had a great time! It was so good to go back home. The kids had a blast like always. They rode scooters, had a ride in Grandpa's jeep, saw snake tracks??? and just ran around. There was plenty for them to keep busy. I'm greatful that everyone that could went to my parents house so that we could all be together. I don't think any of the kids will ever forget all of the fun times they share. Thank you mom and dad for all you do. I see how hard you try to play with all of the kids, and all of the cooking and cleaning and work and play that goes into a weekend like this, it's quite a production! It gets chaotic - now 14 grandkids in 6 years! But it's something that will never be forgotten!

So we had some nice weather, the kids even got sunburned on Saturday. Then as we head home, we run into this:

Cold, icy, windy, slushy, snowy weather. For a minute we couldn't even see if we were on the road, but we didn't dare completely stop because someone else might have rear-ended us. Dusty kept telling us to just look at the GPS and that will tell us where to go! If only it was that easy.

We stopped for some Taco Time food in Rock Springs, WY for lunch and Hayden must have had an allergic reaction or something - he started getting covered with green dots! The ride home seemed longer than the ride there - like always. Again, I am greatful for great travelers! This was Kyrie's first road trip and she did well also, but she was sure glad to get out of that carseat when we got home.

Birthday Wishes!

Here's a shout-out to my little sister, Tina! She would be 23 years old today.

HaPpY BirThday to you, HaPpY BiRrthday to you, We love and we miss you, HaPpY BirthDay to you! Hope life in Heaven is treating you well.

St. Patty's Day

I couldn't ever catch her smile. I took several pictures of her, and she would smile AFTER each one, she must have liked either the flash or the sound of the camera.

Cute Kids! I was hoping that the kids green shirts would help our lawn look green. Not much luck! The grass has turned white, and out here they turn off the system to the watering systems and won't turn it back on until May! The kids go out and play and come back in covered in dead, dry grass. I finally agree with my Grandpa Palmer when he says, "you're going to ruin the lawn". We have had to ban the boys from riding their motorized John Deer truck on our lawn until it greens up some because it is tearing it up. I noticed at the school, the ground is becoming completely bare in spots from all the kids running out it - Weird - especially when the grass was still green in December! Hopefully we'll have GREEN grass soon!

Well, we started out our day with green eggs and toast and Yes, green-orange juice. However I would not recommend green-orange juice, the food coloring does change the flavor (the boys didn't notice though). Then we were out the door for school.

Dusty had a homework assignment to make a Leprechaun trap for school. It was due last Friday to see if they could catch any of those naughty little leprechauns. He came up with a nice little trap. Then over the weekend him and Hayden made another trap.

This one was bound to catch a leprechaun! It start with a paper bag, then a cardboard tube, then into a Banquet pot pie box, then and egg carton and finally into the humidifier box. It's all decorated, with an enticing rainbow and green feather. They woke up this morning and we were sure we caught one. We found a plate of Saint Patrick's Day cookies and a card that read: "NICE TRY! YOU CAN'T CATCH ME! BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR, LARRY THE LEPRECHAUN" Good thing, I don't know what we would do with a leprechaun, I don't even know how to take care of one. Dusty was so excited and said, "Well, at least we know that one was here. I should've stayed awake all night to catch him so I could wish for a puppy." Funny thing is when he looked inside the card again, there is a picture of a leprechaun-dog. When the boys were getting dressed, Hayden said he really knew one had been here because Hayden's underware was in Dusty's dresser and the leprechaun must be tricking us! (Maybe I just need to hire someone else to do the laundry).

The boys had a fun day at school, but no leprechauns were caught. However, Lucky the Leprechaun had been to Dusty's class and left him a chocolate and a big mess of glitter and confetti for the class to clean up.

Unexpected Visit

Have you ever had one of those unexpected visits? Sometimes the unexpected is beneficial, because no matter how hard I prepare and work on cleaning etc, I feel that I never got it all done. So when someone shows up at my door unexpectedly, it saves from the stress, and saves me time! Well I had a drop-by inspector come to my house on Sunday. Why is this inspector working on Sundays anyway?

He went straight to my kitchen and opened every drawer and cupboard, the fridge and freezer. While he was inspecting, I kept hearing him say, "check, check, check"! He minded his own business, thankfully since I was also trying to prepare a meal for my family.

Then he laid the results on the countertop. At the very end of the report you can see I failed, it says, "You did not pass". I questioned why and he said that I had placed the Cool Whip in the fridge instead of the freezer, and I also had a fruit going yucky. Whew! It could've been a lot worse! When I worked at Subway these inspectors came once a month, sometimes we knew when they were coming, and other times they came unexpectedly. So if this is the case, all I can do is try harder for next time.

Homesick

I have learned that people either really love Vernal, Utah or really hate it. I am one of those that REALLY loves Vernal. And I miss it!! Yes, I would say that I'm homesick. I love all the friendly people, I love the country, I love that the mountains are so close. I miss all the familiar faces. I miss all of the fun events - Vernal has the best Easter Egg hunt ever! I miss storytime at the library, I miss the summer school lunch program for the kids, I miss Hayden's preschool and teachers, I even miss the kids bus drivers! I miss putting my kids on the bus in my pajamas. I miss the baby cows on the other side of our fence. I miss mowing the lawn!!! I miss our large yard with a trampoline and a big dirt pile for the kids to play on. I miss riding the 4-wheeler around the block and up and down the street over and over again. I miss all the cobble rocks that I spent hours gathering and placing just where I wanted them. I miss the spontaneous picnics in the mountains. I miss neighbors waving as they go by! I miss Ellie and other people from our 2 wards - I miss having an organized primary. I miss the Dickson twins being our kids babysitters. I miss my windows! I miss the huge, beautiful flowers along the streets. I miss being closer to family. I miss the work "family" from my husbands employment. I miss the people. I even miss Ranger (and I don't even like dogs!) There are so many little things in life that we take for granted and we don't know how good it is until it's gone. When I first moved to Vernal, it seemed so weird to me, but it only took about 2 weeks for me to LOVE it. I loved it when I lived there, and I still love it today. Vernal will always be one of my favorite places, Vernal was home to me... I miss Vernal!

HAYDEN * HAYDEN * HAYDEN

Hayden is so funny! I got him off the bus last Thursday and the bus driver told me that they had a few problems coming home. Hayden and another boy were fighting and she stopped the bus to separate them and then Hayden threw a fit, crying for mom and dad. Poor Angela didn't know what to do! She said she's never seen it before, that Hayden has always been so cute and so sweet. I had a little talk with her and apoligized and then we headed home. When we got home I talked to Hayden about it and he said that the other boy was on him and wouldn't get off and Hayden thought he was going to die! Then he said the teacher (bus driver) was mad at him and that's why he got so upset. I told him he can't act that way on the bus and that he needed to tell the bus driver "SORRY". And he said he's not going to school anymore, that he is going to stay home and be a man and do what mans do! I asked him what he would do at home, and he again responded - what mans do! He is going to be like a man and go to work with dad like mans do. I told him, "you know acting like that on the bus isn't acting like a man", and he said "I know, it's like a kid and I'm not a kid anymore. I'm just going to be like a man forever!"

And last week we went to Chuck E Cheese for dinner/family home evening. When we headed out to the truck Hayden told me that when he gets really big like dad, he is going to go to Chuck E Cheese and play all the games he wants to. I asked, "Well, didn't you get to play all the games you wanted to tonight?" And he said, "No, when I get big I'm going to." He then told us that he's going to Chuck E Cheese ALL BY HIMSELF when he gets big. I can just see it - Hayden leaving his family behind while he goes to Chuck E Cheese.