Driving on a blanket of snow

This is what it looked like in Heber today way up in the mountains. I found this picture on the Internet, but this is what it looked like as we drove up to a cabin to clean it. Good thing we have a 4 wheel drive or we could not have made it. We drove on a road to the cabin that had not been plowed at all and I was the first one to drive on it. It was about a foot deep and we drove through it just fine. My sister Joni and I were pretty nervous but we ended up laughing and loving it. It was so beautiful this morning and I found this picture that looked like how we saw it. White, soft, untouched, and beautiful. Now we just need spring to get here and stay. This is all the winter I can take. Where is the sunshine and warmth?

Parker's soccer cake, and gifts

Parker's 16th birthday!

These are Parker's new soccer shoes for his birthday. He got them about 2 weeks ago so it was an early present. Soccer shoes cost ALOT! Especially when he needs some that will last since he plays alot.

This is #2 soccer cake I made in a week. Parker loves soccer and he wanted a soccer cake just like Zac's. Everyone wanted a piece of the soccer ball and it actually fed everyone. Now there is just a big hole in the middle of the cake. I went to his weight training class with a big poster and a big bag of treats and all the soccer guys sang happy birthday to him. Then at soccer practice someone, they don't know who brought lots of cupcakes. They are not sure if they were for Parkers birthday, but they all ate them anyway. Parker said it might have been from the cheerleaders. He has a few fans. Ha Ha!

Happy 16th Birtday Parker!!!! Now you can DATE, and drive in May when you get your licence This is a poster I made him cause he loves candy. It says...

When you were born the doctor took extra care (gum) of you. Although he did have to give you a shot in your heel to check your blood and it gave you DOTS. You were such a cute baby(baby ruth). What cute little fingers( butterfinger) you had. As you got older the girls started to notice that your were not a Nerd(nerds candy) and that you were a 100 grand(candy bar). All the babes(sugar babies) were after you but you had plenty(Good & Plenty) of soccer to keep you busy. You had many crunches(crunch candy bar) to do at recess(reese's candy bar). When you get your licence you will be a lifesaver(lifesaver jelly beans), but dont roll(rolo candy bar) the car and get your licence twixed(twix candy bar) away. Happy Birthday Parker!

The soccer cake

Happy Birthday Zac!! Zac's birthday was March 20th and he turned 9. He wanted a soccer cake so I made him a soccer ball on a green field. I'm not a professional, but it was fun and the ball actually turned out nice and round. It was fun, and when it was time to cut the cake, everyone wanted a piece of the ball so there ended up being a big hole in the middle of the green field. He loves soccer, but ended up getting a basketball and basketball shoes for his birthday. He wants to try out all kinds of sports. We took him out to eat and he was so excited he got to order from the adults menu instead of the kids. He even warned everyone not to eat his left overs because he wanted to eat them for lunch the next day. He should have duck taped it closed because someone took a few bites he said and he was not very happy. Over all he thanked me for everything and said he had a great birthday. Oh, and I also embarrassed him at school by bringing him a balloon and treats for his class and we all sang to him. He loved everything. Zac and his birthday cake. He finally smiled after 3 pictures.

A better view of the not so professional cake, but fun to make. Zac did the goal post and his name.

The Red Rope

I really wish I could feel like the top red rope right now, but I don't think I will for a long time. I feel like the bottom one right now and have for a whole week. Getting a new calling is very scary especially the one I just got. Young Womans President. Yikes! I am really excited and I just love the Young Woman in our ward. They are amazing! I love going to camp and seeing how strong of testimonies they have. I am really excited for this, but I am soooo scared. I have no idea what I am doing. A friend told me to just talk to them and love them and everything will be fine. I am trying to keep that my goal.

Oh NO! Not again....SPIDERS!!!!!!!!

It happened AGAIN! I was working with my sister and it had been a long day. While we were working, my sister said she saw something fly in the corner of her eye and heard a swooping noise. We freaked out! I don’t know if it was our imagination or not, but we kept hearing that noise and feeling like there was a bat flying around. We never saw it, but felt it. I said to her.. "Oh great, now I will probably have a spider dream tonight." Well..... I DID! And it was the worst one yet. It was 3:00 in the morning and I was dreaming Andy and I were opening up this box. It was kinda an Indiana Jones type of setting. Okay, so we open this box and I start to open this white letter size envelope and all the sudden all these fat 1 inch spiders start crawling out very fast and going all over the bed. They were really fat and transparent, and very freaky. I jump up on my knees screaming and pulling the sheets and I look up still asleep and see Andy yelling and on his knees wondering what he is doing. It kinda scared me and looked like he was coming after me so I scream louder, he was actually trying to get me to wake up, then I wake up and jump off the bed and realize I had a scary spider dream. I turn on all the lights and search the bed, and then I end up back in bed laughing uncontrollably while watching for spiders. Every time I think about us kneeling on the bed screaming and yelling at 3 in the morning I cant stop laughing. Our kids did not hear a thing, except Mic heard us laughing. Andy was up for a while after that hearing noises and having a bad feeling. The next morning we found a mouse in the kitchen stuck to a mouse sticky trap. The noise Andy was hearing was probably the mouse trying to get away. WHY do I have these scary spider dreams? I’m afraid to go to sleep every night. HELP!

What is wrong with this picture?

I just had to post this picture, and got a good laugh at it. This was at walmart. Isn't clearance supposed to mean a lower price? Now that's a deal! Ha Ha!

Dinner, Breakfast, Chocolate chip cookies, and a clean kitchen all in one morning!

This morning was a good morning. I got up and made lasagna for dinner since I wont be home to make it later, and so my family does not have to worry about making dinner. I put it in the fridge so all they have to do is stick it in the oven and dinner is ready. I also made french toast for everyone for breakfast, and while that was cooking I made chocolate chip cookies to say thank you to a few people. I cleaned the whole kitchen while the cookies baked, folded laundry, sewed Haley's skirt and sewed Zac's church pants, and now I have to wait to shower for church because all the hot water is gone, so I decided to update my blog. I have not cooked for weeks and it felt good. I actually went grocery shopping last night and felt out of place. I could not remember where stuff was and I had no clue what to buy. It's been nice to have a few min, usually at midnight to check every ones blogs. I have not been able to comment alot, but just reading your blogs helped me relax and get ready for the next day. Thanks for blogging.

Is there no end in sight?

Can I just RUN away! I seriously need a break. I miss grocery shopping which I have not done in a month. I miss cooking even tho I don't know how to cook. I miss going to SEP's with the kids. I miss doing the laundry and cleaning my house, yes I even miss cleaning the bathrooms. I miss taking Parker driving so he can get his hours in...okay maybe I don't miss that.. it's too scary! I miss going to Parkers games. I miss being home when Zac and Reilly get home. I miss reading a book without falling asleep or watching a full tv show without falling asleep. I miss so many things right now and it turns out I might be able to do some of these things and work the same hours! Andy was doing all these things and taking down Christmas lights but has hurt his foot and then the other foot. Arg! Okay he might be able to do some things. There is that saying. Mom's can do it all. I guess that is my test right now. Hopefully I will survive. I do get to go to Haley's BB game today tho and hopefully I won't have to work so much today. I do look forward to going to the Draper Temple open house which we are doing as a family on Monday at 3. I can't wait.

My nephews Josh and Ben who I miss so much

Today it has been 2 years since my nephew Josh passed away, He is the one in the hat and it's been a little over a year(Jan 25th) that my other nephew Ben passed away. They are brothers and the most awesome brothers you will ever see. They both had cancer. They both had Down Syndrome. I love these guys so much and I really miss them alot. They always made you laugh so hard. They were full of so much love for everyone and anything. I think about them so much, and I'm so glad I have so many great memories of them. They were a huge example of how we all should be, so giving, so loving, so Christlike, so kind, so happy, so involved, and so much more. My kids miss them alot and always talk about the times that Josh would chase them around the house, usually in his underwear and scare them with his big "BOO". Whenever you would ask "Are you happy?" to Ben he would do a cute expression and laugh and nod his head. I just love them so much and miss them and I feel honored that they are my nephews.

Want some brownies???

Want some? So do I. My friend Carole put cookies on hers and I stole her idea. Hope you don't mind. I don't have time to post anything big, working way too much, so I decided to post this to share with all of you. These brownies look so good. Maybe looking at treats instead of eating them will help me. Maybe if I look at a treat long enough I will feel like I ate it. I'm addicted to treats!!!! Where is the veg's? Treats sound so much better. I wish it was warm outside so I could run 49 miles to run all these off. Hope I did not tempt anyone. Ha Ha!

A Million Dollars!!!

This is my Grandma at the hospital with all her stuffed animals we got her. Here is a picture of all my sisters and Mom and our wonderful Grandma. Today we went to see her and brought her all those bears and some flowers. We had such a fun visit and laughed alot. She is doing alot better, but still has a few months of recovering to do. When we were about ready to leave we asked her if we could bring her anything back later like a treat or something, and she thought for a min then said.."I can think of something right now... A million dollars" We all burst out laughing. We really thought she would says some kind a treat. She is so funny even when she is in pain. She also talked about the "cremated" hamburger they brought her with no tomatoes. She always says some funny phrase to make us laugh. We have a whole list of her sayings and we laugh when we say them. I just love her to pieces. She keeps everyone laughing.
This is our second visit and we brought her a card with play money inside saying it was a million dollars. She was in alot of pain and seeing that play money made her smile. She thought it was so funny. It's been good to be down here in St. George to visit her. I think it has lifted her spirits and made her feel better. We are going to see her again tomorrow and bring some meals to put in her freezer for when she gets home. I wonder what other crazy funny thing she will say tomorrow. I just love her so much. It's been hard to see her in pain. She is 85, but she acts so much younger and is so spunky.

A break from my 3 jobs! YEAH!

This is my Grandma who lives in St. George and she fell 2 sundays ago walking into church and she broke 3 ribs and is still in the hospital. My mom and all my sisters are going down this Sat and Sunday to help her and make up meals for her to put in her freezer, and clean her house. She is the best Grandma in the world! I just love her to pieces. She is in her 80's and she is spunky and funny. This fall has really set her back and I hope this visit will be good for her and boost her spirits, plus I need a break from all my jobs. I feel really guilty going to St. George without my family cause that's the place we used to go, and we have not been on a family vacation in like 2 or 3 years. We can't all aford to go, so I decided to just go cause my Mom and sisters are going too. I'm just looking forward to seeing her and visiting with her and helping her get well and make things easier for her. I just love her so much. I hope sometime soon we can go as a family to visit her because she misses all the kids.

I'm still here, just working ALOT!

Work, work, work, that's all I have been doing EVERY day. One day I worked 18 hours at 3 jobs! The other days have been about 10 hours. I started at 5:30 am and ended at 12 midnight. I am grateful for the work and it came at the best time, when we need it. I am tired and I am looking forward to just sitting down to read today or SLEEP. This is a short post and I probably won't be able to post for awhile, but I'm still here. I have not had time to look at all of yours and comment on them, so sorry. I will soon. Love ya all.

Snowman fun!!!!!!!

After school I was shoveling snow on our driveway and Parker came home and grabbed a shovel and started helping me without being asked. WHAT! Then I asked him to build me a snowman and he said he would. I finished the driveway then I decided to join him in building a snowman which I have not done with him since he was a kid. I had to take pictures. We had so much fun! Building our snowman. Now we have 3 in our yard. Parker tried to make a hat out of snow.

These are 2 other snow mans that I asked Reilly and Zac to build and I saw them as we were driving off to ward Temple night. I had to get pictures.

Snowman builders. They looked so cute from our front window.

Got PIE anyone?

Does anyone want a piece of PIE?(Persuadeth, Inviteth, Enticeth) It's really good.

I'm so glad my older sister put this on her blog and I wanted to share it with all of you because I think it's a good thing if there is a balance in all we do. So here it is....

From my sister, Shelley Owens blog:

In defense of my family, friends, and the whole blog-writing community, I have to share what we talked about in my Sunday School class that I taught last Sunday.Our discussion was on Moroni 7 where Mormon talks about the way to judge whether something is of God or of the devil.

"But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God" (Moroni 7:13).

"For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge: for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God" (Moroni 7:16).

"But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him" (Moroni 7:17).

We discussed an easy acronym to remember how to judge: PIE (Persuadeth, Inviteth, Enticeth). I asked one of the kids if his playing the cello invites him to think of Christ, and he said yes, definitely. We talked about how to judge music, books, DVDs. We talked about the ways we spend our time and how there needs to be a balance. Sometimes, even if something is good, it could lead us down the wrong path if we spend so much time doing it that we neglect our other responsibilities.

So then I brought up blogging. My co-teacher immediately jumped on it and said, "Now, what is a blog, really?" We all told her that a blog is like a journal online, a place for you to record and share your thoughts. She said, "What a complete waste of time!

"I told her that I wanted to share my family's and my experience with blogging that I promised would change her view. I started off by asking, "Does blogging persuade, invite, and entice me to think of Christ? Yes it does, and I'll tell you why.

"I then proceeded to explain how blogging has changed our family, how it has brought us closer together as a family. I told about the "Let Him In" challenge and how touched I have been as I have read my sisters' blogs and their experiences with letting Christ into their lives during the Christmas season. I told of the Gratitude posts and how it made everyone more grateful for their blessings. Did writing and reading those posts help us to think more of Christ? Yes. Did it ever entice us to not believe in Christ or to deny him or to not serve him? No.

I also explained how it has made me feel closer to my sisters and mom. Before blogging (BB), first of all, I hardly knew anything that was going on in the family, much less knew anyone's deep spiritual feelings. I felt sort of disconnected to the family, being the only one up here and everyone else down there. After blogging (AB), I feel a special closeness to everyone and am really getting to know my family in a more personal way.

Is this blogging technology from God? Yes.
Does it encourage families to be closer? Yes.
Does it persuade us to believe in Christ? Yes.
Does it invite us to do good? Yes.
Does it entice us to love God and serve him? Yes.

And there you have it--PIE!

So I just wanted to thank all of you who have risked putting your feelings out there online, for your words that have inspired me, for all of your kind words in your comments, and most especially for your love. Keep on blogging! PIE! From SHELLEY(my awesome sister).

My sister Shelley wrote this in such perfect words I just had to copy and paste it because I loved it and wanted to share it with you. I hope you don't mind I did this Shelley.

She also reminded us that blogging can be bad if we neglect other important things in our lives like reading the scriptures too. Doing all these post about "Let Him In" and the "Gratitude" post has brought me closer to all of you and I think of Christ more and how to "Let Him In". I feel I am a stronger person and my testimony has been straightened because of reading all these post from others and making my own.

Another post about a word will be coming up to so watch for that.

People sometimes say that blogging is bad because anyone can read your blog. Complete strangers and you don't know who they are... well if we have good things on our blog then I think it's good to share it with strangers because who knows, it could change their life forever for the good. I ditto what my sister says... Keep on blogging! PIE! Love all you guys

The COOLEST blanket ever!!!!!!!!!

This is the best Christmas gift we got from our kids this year. They spent like 2 hours in Haley's room one night and would not let us in. Haley had her Dad take her to the fabric store(She did not tell him what it was for) and get the material and then they tied it and Parker had the idea to stitch their names and Merry Christmas and the year in it. I totally love it! It's so cool! I love the colors too. I was wondering why Haley asked what my favorite colors were. I said blue, red and green. It made me feel good that they put so much time into this and it's so personable. I love our kids, they are AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

Okay, I waited till today to put a new post on my blog because I realized that in 2008 it says I did 49 posts. That's my favorite number I say all the time and so I just had to keep it that way. I know thats silly, but who cares right? Well, I took down my Christmas things today and now my front room is so clean and looks bigger. I'm glad this new year is here and I can have a fresh start. I have not really thought of any goals, but one and that is loose some weight and stop eating so much chocolate! I have eaten too much lately. I have not eaten any yet, so I'm off to a good start. Yeah! Oh wait, I did have a piece of a brownie at 12:30 last night. Oops! Well, Happy New Year everyone!

Frosty the snowman!

I really need some more snowman in my yard. Come on! I know alot of you out there like to build snowmen, so come on over and build me more. We could all have a snowman party. This is Haley's first snowman she built with her friends and then they knocked it down.

Here is Haley's 2nd snowman after a day. She calls it her athletic snowman. It's stretching right now and she put a shovel to it's head to hold him up. I guess he did too many sit ups. Here is Haley's 2nd snowman. Haley said when it snows next she is going to make 3 kid snowmans. I'm counting on your word and I have it in writing for everyone to see. Snow, snow, snow. Everyone pray for snow!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Tallest snowman!

Day 25 MERRY CHRISTMAS! Okay Haley get busy! I have been wanting a snowman in our front yard this past week and Haley and her friends built me one, not quite this tall, and then they knocked it down. I was very sad, so I told Haley she has to make me another one. I hope everyone is having a nice Christmas today. Love all you guys, and if you have some extra time and love to play in the snow and build snowman's you can come over and build me one. I have lots of snow. Ha Ha! Oh and Haley is turning into a blog woman now. Check out her blog. It's called "The Amazing Haley" It's listed on my blog list

Day 19 The First Noel

Day 19 Calming music I missed a few days, okay almost a whole week. It has been a very busy week. As I was helping clean up after our Christmas Ward party tonight. I heard a faint, but clear song being played on the piano by a child in our ward. He was sitting at the piano by himself playing "The First Noel" with his right hand. I walked up to listen to him and he saw me come over so he stopped. I asked him if he would continue and play it again for me. I was very proud of him and told him it sounded so good that I wanted to hear it again. He started playing it again after he found the right key to start on. It took him a few tries and he finally got it. This child I have had in my primary class and at first would barely talk to me and do anything I asked him to do, but I have always felt impressed to continue trying and through the years he talks to me now and I feel closer to him. It was so nice to have him play the song again when I asked him tonight. I thought the song sounded nice while hearing paper crinkle, chairs folded and put away, sweeping, tables being put away, talking, laughing and running. The song stood out so clear and brought Christmas cheer. I think with all the chaos and noise we experience sometimes it's nice to feel music to calm things. I think the Savior is in our lives more than we think He is. He is there to calm things with music, love, friends, family and so much more.

Day 13 Blessed Are the Children

Day 13
Bitter are the tears of a child: Sweeten them.
Deep are the thoughts of a child: Quiet them.
Sharp is the grief of a child: Take it from him.
Soft is the heart of a child: Do not harden it.

Pamela Glenconner

It has been a week since I got released from being a second counselor in the Primary Presidency, but it was not official until today. I thought I was going to be okay with it, but every time I thought of the children I would get tears in my eyes. I was okay until I had to leave them and go to Relief Society, then I was having a hard time focusing on the lesson because thoughts of the children would come into my mind. As I sat there all I really wanted to do was go back to be with the children. Then at home, the primary president who I served with came over and brought me the coolest book. It's called "Blessed Are the Children"(the picture of this post is on the front cover of this book) That is the perfect book and I cried reading it. When I gave her a hug we both started crying and tried to cover it up. I think we will all miss the Primary. I loved serving with Susan Bradford and Jamie Boconegra and Renae Belliston. We became very good friends and now are friends forever. We laughed and cried and just felt loved. You guys are awesome and I could not have done my calling without all of you. I also got letters from a class that I read when I got home and they all said "thank you, you are nice, we will miss you. I will miss them. I think it might take a few sunday's to get used to. I'm just emotional today and I already miss the Primary. Children are amazing! The reason I choose this poem from the book I received today from Susan is because that's how we as leaders came into the primary. We wanted to show the Children love, to let them know they are loved and that we love them, just as the Savior shows us. I think Children are the closest to our Savior and that's where I want to be. I think I might try and sneak in Primary once in awhile. I will definately sub for any class. Primary is an awesome place to be.