Girls just wanna have fun!

Lets try this again

2009-11-20T03:08:00.000-08:00

This is where all of my long lost blogging time has gone. This "little" side business that we started to give us some extra cash has consumed every "little" bit of spare time that I used to have. There is a lot of time, labor and money that goes into a start up and we are almost done with this phase. We are up and running. Printing shirts. Embroidering hats. Entering bills. Balancing statements. Yeah, we're totally legit.

In the mean time...
Life goes on.

We had SO much fun this Halloween! Taylor had to work but we put on quite the show all on our own.

Go ahead. Count the kids around that table. Wait... I should have said

sit down

first, then count. I still have pumpkin seeds. go figure. :-)

Mason and I worked hard on this Iron Man pumpkin and I was pretty impressed with how well he turned out.

Mason was proud too

I really have to tell the whole story behind Dylons costume.

The day of Halloween, he decides that he wants to go trick-or-treating. Obviously, not gonna find much at the stores for a costume at this point.

He decides that he is going to be a Spartan Warrior. You all know that am not AT ALL crafty. Don't sew, couldn't if I tried. We're gonna have to improvise.

So at the Wal-Mart we pick up some tighty-whiteys, brown fabric dye, brown ribbon, a red blanket and some facial paint.

VOILA!

Spartan Warrior

It was SOOOO funny! The looks on peoples faces. Priceless!

Faith was Dorothy

Mallory was a Vampire

Olivia was Strawberry Shortcake

I really enjoyed dressing up with the girls this year. It made trick-or-treating that much more fun.

Break

2009-10-03T01:09:00.001-07:00

Here it is in writing...

I am officially taking a break from the blog. I know you all have figured it out and have given me a hard time about it, but now its official.

I have WAY too much going on in life right now. All of the kids are in school (except Livie of course), I'm trying to get the final few things done around the house that I've put off since moving in, Faith is on the swim team, holiday season is fast approaching and last but not least... our business.

Taylor and I have started our own silk screening, embroidery and promotional products company and it has been a big undertaking. There are a lot of things that go into a startup and we have had our hands full. Please do us a favor and help us get the word out. We are up and running! Check out our website at thinkinkandthread.com

Thanks for all of your support and hopefully it won't be long before I start filling the screens of my blog again.

Until then...

TTFN

Yellowstone

2009-08-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

I've been a bad blogger lately. Sadly, I just don't have the time and this falls way down on the priority list. Summertime is a busy time. Busy with trips, work, kids, chores and fun! no time to blog. Here is a condensed version of our Yellowstone trip in June. We made the 2 day drive and camped for 4 in the park. It was beautiful and there was enough wildlife to go around.On the way down we stayed in Twin Falls for a night. In the morning we went to check out Shoshone Falls. Crazy Pretty! Well worth it if you're in Twin.

The 3 musketeers

Mason, Ethan and Mallory

These 3 had a great time together. We really miss having Ethan around.

Old Faithful

See... they really do love each other.

This picture pretty much sums up what the kids thought about all of the hot springs. I don't know how many times I heard,

"Eeew! It stinks like rotten eggs."

It didn't take long before the kids were sick of hot springs and geysers alike.

I think the name of this one was Fairy Falls. It was so pretty how it could give off such a colorful steam.

I think I was threatening children to smile in this picture. Can ya tell?

"Momma Meese"

The wildlife was definitely the best part of this park. We had so much fun trying to be the first one to spot an animal.

This adorable little black bear was one of our finds. We were so proud that we were the first ones to find him. It was PERFECT timing.

His name,

Edward the birthday bear (it was Taylors birthday and he was the one who found him)

Mal and Caden at the little Grand Canyon

Me and my love

This little buffalo was just meandering down the street. He had just checked out Taylors truck (the blue dodge) and now he was coming to greet us.

Anniversary Trip

2009-07-09T22:05:00.000-07:00

1 year has come and gone and so much has happened. I often look back at my older posts and it always puts a smile on my face to see just how much we have grown together, as couple and as a family.

This post is about us as a couple

The beginning of June was our 1st anniversary and it just so happened that we had 2 days off of work and without kids. This means....

ROAD TRIP!

So we hopped in the car, and what better way to travel than in eco-friendly Honda hybrid, and headed for Santa Clara.

We were off to GREAT AMERICA

We had a fun morning at the park riding the rides, hanging out,

just the 2 of us,

and 700 Jr. High kids,

all waiting in line together...

LOVELY

No really, it was fun. We can have fun anywhere.

The best part was THISTHE DROP TOWER
I was excited, Taylor was apprehensive to say the least. But he did it. On the way up he was WAY nervous, and after it was over he agreed that it was super fun and not bad at all.

After we had had our fill of unchaperoned adolescents we decided to jump in the car and head over to Santa Cruz for lunch and a walk on the beach.

We stopped at this delicious little Mexican restaurant right on the water
Taylor had his signature drink...
Guinness

and I had a very tasty Margarita. or two?
Lunch was great but the company was better.

After lunch we walked down the beach and tried to soak up as much of the ocean sights and smells as we could. I absolutely LOVE the ocean and I'm glad Taylor does too.

We walked to this little overlook and stopped to watch all of the surfers trying to catch the waves as they rolled in.

I really enjoyed watching this adorable little boy out there surfing with the big guys, watching and doing his own thing. Picking his waves. Paddling in and out. Sitting on his board. Waiting patiently. It was so cute. I could have watched him all day.

And as quick as it came
it was over
and
time to go home.
~

Well Taylor,

Here's to another great year
~

and to being independently WEALTHY!! $$
HAHA!
~

I love you

On the Road AGAIN

2009-06-25T21:40:00.000-07:00

The Pre-Disneyland Drive

those are pretty happy faces for 6am

So the real reason why we made the trip to Disneyland on such short notice is because Taylor's aunt was in town from Alaska. Her son lives in LA so we figured we would all go to visit and make a vacation out of it.

I'm still so glad that little miss Olivia takes the occasional nap. If it weren't for Cherie's help, it would have been a very difficult drive. Thanks again Cherie!

We made a stop in Bishop on the way down. It was a perfect place to let everyone out to stretch their legs a bit. We had a nice lunch and of course we played with our food. you'll see below

This is proof that chewing with your mouth open is VERY unattractive!!

I'm pretty sure that Dylon and I set the record for

longest distance-open mouth-no hand-grape catch.

Nicely done!

Faith came in 2nd. Hasn't quite mastered the skill yet.
Nothing a few years and a couple hundred grapes won't fix

No she's not laughing hysterically, this is Cherie's attempt at the grape catch.

I was impressed. :o)

Then its back in the car to finish out the drive. 4 movies later and what seemed like

FOREVER ...

AND EVER...

we made it to Taylor's cousin, Stider and his fiance Tara's house.

It was really nice to mean more of Taylor's family. They have all been so nice and welcoming. Strider and Tara are expecting their 1st baby ~ a little girl YAY!~ in September.

Hopefully we will go back down to visit after she arrives.

Strider, Tara and Cherie

Since Cherie lives in Alaska, its not often that they can get together. It was a nice reunion and well worth the trip.

What a good lookin' group of guys!!

Must run in the family.

Disneyland

2009-06-23T16:06:00.000-07:00

We made a quick trip to Disneyland and by quick I mean

1 day to drive

1 day to play

1 day to drive back home

That one day was a 14hr day of pure Disneyland BLISS

We only had 4 children for this little excursion

but 4 was plenty

Waiting for the Bugs Life 3D show

Taylor and the girls riding the Raisin box

The spinny Lady Bug... so much fun

Dylon was my roller coaster buddy. We went on as many rides as we could. It was difficult simply because the park was so busy and the lines were ridiculous. Taylor was such a good sport and watched the other girls while we went on our rides.

Here they are in Sleeping Beauty's castle. It was pretty funny that Taylor has been to Disneyland plenty of times and has NEVER been inside the castle.
Welcome to a new life full of little girls.

We had some technical difficulties on the Pinocchio ride and had to get out of our cart and walk the rest of the way out. Can't say that's ever happened to me before.

I had so much fun with these guys! Dylon was a total trooper and hung with a bunch of girls without a single complaint. Thanks Dyl.

Faith did really well for just having broken her arm 5 days before.

Mallory was all smiles ALL day. It was her 1st Disneyland trip and one she'll never forget.

Taylor had just bought her this sweatshirt and I'm pretty sure the excitement is written all over her face.

This was my FAVORITE part of the day! A 3 hr nap.... PERFECT!

After the 3hr nap...

an uncontrollable bundle of sugar high energy

*ITS A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL*

Its a SMALL,

SMALL world

see now its stuck in your head

It was a great trip for everyone. We'll go again for sure, next time with the BOYS.

Never Enough Time

2009-06-21T00:07:00.000-07:00

No Blog at Work Means Fewer Posts

That is where I was able to do most of my blogging and now the big corporate bullies said NO MORE. I'm not sure how I am going to make the time to post like I have in the past but I'll try.

I have a hard time just keeping up with a house, kids, work, boyfriend, friends, family etc. I'm not sure how some of you post as often as you do, but I'm totally jealous and will try to be a better blogger.

We have been busy this summer, don't get me wrong. Just because my blog is blank doesn't mean we are just hangin around the house. No, No. Taylor and I went on an anniversary trip to Santa Cruz and Great America, then we took the girls on a trip to Disneyland, we've been riding quads, and we leave next week for Yellowstone, no rest around here. I can't find my camera right at this moment, but when I do I'll make some posts and share our adventures.

Thanks for checking in though :o)

Memphis in May

2009-05-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

I made my annual trip to visit my sister and her family in Memphis Tennessee. She has been there for about 2yrs now and is finally adjusting to the move. I don't blame her though. Its a whole different world there.

Every May the city of Memphis puts on a month long celebration with a lot of VERY cool events. Last year we went for the International Rib Cook Off, this year is was the Beale Street Music Festival. My dad and my oldest sister, Marla came along to visit Denise for the 1st time.

I was SO excited about Beale Street Music Fest because its a huge outdoor park with 3 different stages going at the same time with great headline acts! We saw Jacks Mannequin, Katy Perry, Steve Miller Band and my fav... All American Rejects! They were SO GOOD!

Dad, Denise and I hanging out watchin the shows

It was really nice to spend some QT with my sisters.

Its very rare that we get the chance to spend any time together.

Thats the mighty Miss-is-sip in the background

Dad always has a good time if there's music involved

The best part of my trip was getting to cuddle and soak up my niece and nephew who are growing up WAY too fast! Ethan is 5 and Taralynn is 2. I miss these two terribly. They are the best kids anyone could ask for, and dang cute too!
When you're in the south it would practically be a crime if you didn't stop for some world famous BBQ!

Delicious!

As kids I used to make fun of my sister and call her "Mother Nature" because she thought she was ruler of all animals. She was always much more interested in the 4-H thing than me and she still is. She has a regular little funny farm in TN. Its not like working part time as an OR nurse, raising 2 kids, taking care of 4 acres and house with a husband who travels all the time is enough. No, she wants all the animals she can have.

She has chickens, sheep, ducks, dogs, a miniature horse and a cat. I think.

She loves it.

Her husband, Pete took advantage of having my dad there to help fix the riding lawn mower. I think it was some kind of bonding.

I had so much fun when we did the crawfish boil last time that Denise and Pete decided to do it again. The kids love to play with these little "mud bugs"

How can you not LOVE these faces

They look DISGUSTING! but taste so GOOD!

My dad was so disappointed that his daughters could be so GROSS.

Yep, we are your children.

We also took a trip to Graceland. Yes the home of Elvis. If you aren't a die hard Elvis fan, DONT GO! It was so tacky!

I just thought this was a cute pic of Pete and his baby girl

Here is the Jungle Room

so GROSS. Green shag carpet EVERYWHERE!

This was the main entrance piano room. The only decent room in the house.

Last but not least...

On the final night of our trip we had an unexpected visitor.

Somewhere between the hours of 1am and 5am my sisters house was broken into while we slept. They managed to steal my sisters TV, her wallet

and

MY PURSE!!

Thats right, every piece of identification and personal information- GONE!!

BASTARDS!!

Oh well, at least no one was hurt and yes I was able to fly home. Just a little extra security at the airport.

Until next year,

SO LONG MEMPHIS!

Paint'n

2009-05-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

So I guess the biggest news lately is that I finally got the keys to my new house. It was so nice to finally have the house that I've been waiting SO patiently for. This was only the beginning of a long, painful process. We, (that is Taylor and I) still had a TON of WORK to do.

The entire interior of the house needed to be repainted

In case you don't know, THIS IS A HUGE JOB!!

Don't ever do it

Luckily, Taylor has a sprayer and has painted several houses,

so he knew what he was doing. (Although he swears he's never doing it again)

Here is a before picture of the front room

We were in a hurry to get as much done as we could before I left for Memphis to see my sister. This meant LONG hours for everyone involved

but, hey at least there was pizza

Eating pizza on the ledge because he can...

for now

I owe Taylor a HUGE thank you for putting countless hours at the house prepping, painting and fixing things. He worked SO HARD to make sure that we all got into the house as soon as possible and it looks AMAZING!! Thanks for being such a great guy. We love you and appreciate all of the sweet things you've done for us. I couldn't have done this without you.

THANKS HONEY!
15hrs later, just in that 1 day...
This picture just screams...

"WHY IN THE HELL DID I OPEN MY BIG MOUTH AND OFFER TO PAINT THIS HOUSE?"

A quick update:

The house is painted, carpets are clean and we are moved in. The girls started their new school and have adjusted very well. They start the new school year in July and have met some new friends.

I'm still working in Fallon.

No plans to change jobs yet.

I still have alot of work to do at the house. I have to finish the play room and try to organize the garage. All in do time. I'll post pics soon.

Matt and Cynthia's visit

2009-05-24T22:02:00.000-07:00

My oldest brother Matt and his wife Cynthia came to Nevada for a visit. They were married in September of '07 in Springfield, IL. The girls and I flew out for their wedding but I haven't seen them since. It was so nice to spend some time together and visit. It was Cynthia's first time out west and the first time meeting this side of his family. She's a great addition to the fam!

Here is Matt with my mom's parents, Nana and Grandad

My mom was glad to see them and very grateful that they would make the trip out to see us. Matt was just accepted into CRNA school so this was his last chance to get away for some time. It was neat to see the joy just radiating off of my mom when Matt was around. You tell that she is VERY proud of him and rightfully so.

We stopped by Robbie's house so they could meet Rob's wife and kids.

Its nice to be shorter than somebody for a change. We are definitely a tall bunch.

We all went to dinner at Ichibans Japanese Steakhouse in Reno to celebrate the occasion. I forget just how much I LOVE THIS PLACE!! The food is terrific, the show is entertaining and the company was fabulous.

A quick pic of Taylor and I at dinner. I just love this guy :o)

This picture just cracks me up! Like she has any clue what she's looking at.

She thinks she's SO BIG.

Dylon was the only one brave enough (and the only who had room) to eat the tempura ice cream that's TO DIE FOR!!!

Matt and Cynthia with their Saki shots.

We are sure gonna miss you guys!

Easter

2009-05-23T22:55:00.000-07:00

So I'm gonna make this short and sweet since I'm SO far behind on my posts...

My sweet little baby did the egg decorating this year and what a great job she did

:o)

Here is a quick little snapshot of the Carey grand kids at Grandma's before the

GREAT EASTER EGG HUNT OF 2009

Pre-Hunt at Nonnie's house

Here are Robbie's kids from left: Alan, Anthony & Alyssa (you already know my kids)

It must be nice to have like 3 hunts in 1 day

That's a busy bunny...

THE TREASURE HUNT

Every Easter the girls forgo the traditional Easter baskets, and in lieu get to have a treasure hunt. Its a fun little tradition that we've had for the past 4 or 5 years. I make about 5 different clues leading them to small loots then finally to the real treasure.

The girls found one of the clues (with the help of my mom's dog Oakie)

And the TREASURE is...

An extra guitar for Guitar Hero

plus the loot along the way

It was a GrEaT Easter

Survey Time

2009-04-18T01:20:00.000-07:00

This ones just for you Em

~Honestly, how many people do you have feelings for? More than I can count

~Honestly, whats running through your mind? That I need to brush my teeth again. I do that alot at work

~Honestly, have you done something bad today? not that I know of

~What happened at 10? a.m.? I was in the middle of some serious R.E.M

~Do you know how to play poker? roughly and surely not confidently

~Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you? Nope. Mine is one in a MILLION

~Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of killer bees? What a horrible question. Bees?

~Has someone annoyed you today? Yeah, the tweeker patient of mine. CRAZY BI*CH!

~Whats new? Hopefully a new house in the very near future. YAY!!

~Have you ever asked a boy for advice? everyday. He's a smart boy.

~Where was the last place you went besides your house? I don't technically have a house... but I guess I'd have to say my dads. I sleep there during the day

~Do you feel comfortable with answering personal questions? Bring it.

~Did your night suck last night? I was working... that answer your question?

~Been out side longer than 30 mins today? unfortunately not

~Are you closer with your siblings or cousins? I'm very close with both. I'm a lucky girl

~Will you kiss anyone tonight? thankfully YES!!

~Would you rather it be sunny or rainy? I like both, but lately, sunny.

~Last text was from who? Some HOT firefighter

~What are you doing tomorrow? Hangin with my man and my boys

~Could you go the rest of your life without drinking alcohol? If I had to, ya, but I love my wine.

~What is your favorite thing to shop for? stuff for the girls

~Would you rather own a snake or a rabbit? snakes freak me the hell out!! I've owned rabbits.

~Which celebrity can you not stand? I don't pay that much attention to care.

~Who knows you better than you know yourself? My mom. She's all over it.

~Is there someone you wouldn't mind kissing right now? I would love to have him here to kiss

~This time last year, were you single? Yep

~How are you feeling right now? Poor

~Do you believe in perfect? hardly... if it is it won't stay that way for long

~Are you satisfied with what you currently have in life? I'm tickled pink

~Whats something you really want right now? 7:00am to roll around

~Hows your heart right now? healthy and happy. I'm totally in love

~Have you chewed gum after someone else already had? sure have

~Are you ever a freak about cleanliness or organization? Not a FREAK but I like it

~Last thing you ate? jerky

~Did you ever waste too much time on a certain boy or girl? I suppose, but I learned alot

~Do you think that you’re a good person? through and through

~What made your day? kissing all 3 of my little girlie's

~When was the last time you cried? a couple days ago. On Taylors shoulder cuz I was stressed

~Do you have a job? Fortunately yes

~What were you doing before filling out this survey? a newborn hearing screen

~How late did you stay up last night? 8am

~What are you going to do this weekend? Spend some QT with my boys

~Do you miss anybody? my sister, boyfriend and friends I don't see enough

~First thing you wash in the shower? my hair

~What color is your favorite hoodie? navy blue. Go Wolf Pack

~Do you plan outfits? rarely

~How are you feeling RIGHT now? tired. TGImyFriday

~Whats the closest thing to you that's red? a sharps container

~Do you say aim or a-i-m? I don't even get this question

~Tell me about the last dream you remember having? Not sure but I remember random HS friends being in it

~Did you meet anybody new today? who could forget my new friend the TWEEKER down the hall

~What are you craving right now? Hot Cocoa

~Can you handle the truth? Most of the time even though I sometimes don't want to hear it

~What are you wearing? Socks and a smile :o)

Weekend Fun

2009-04-16T00:25:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to have Taylor and the boys come out to Fallon for the girs' first softball games. Its not often that we all get together in my hometown and it was sure nice to spend a warm sunny weekend day together.

Mason and Mallory

Livie cheering her sisters on

Dylon, Mal and Caden (who is pulling off a pretty good 'popeye')

Just a cute pic

6 kids + 1 trampoline = 6 tired kids + 2 happy parents

Opening Ceremonies

2009-04-15T11:46:00.000-07:00

A good little CHEESER

A great little FIELDER

A not so happy SPECTATOR

A terrific all-around PLAYER

LET'S PLAY BALL

HEAVEN

2009-04-10T03:15:00.000-07:00

We took date night to the next level

The beginning of our perfect day and a half started off with a nice drive to David Walley's Hot Springs in picturesque Genoa NV. Followed by spending the afternoon in a HUGE, beautiful suite complete with private jacuzzi, sauna and fireplace.

Oh, and don't forget the 3,

you heard right,

bottles of wine

Yeah, we had no need to go anywhere :o)
~
After deciding that we were adequately pruned from our jacuzzi and that we'd had plenty to drink... we headed to the local Basque restaurant in Gardnerville for dinner. delicious.

Waterlogged, full of fine food and buzzed from the wine,

we crashed for the night

The next morning we woke up only to head down the spa at the resort for an hour long massage for us both then out to the natural hot springs for some R&R.

Here we are post date night:

completely relaxed and very much in love

and not ready to go home...

Batting Cages

2009-04-09T00:03:00.000-07:00

Pre-Season Batting Practice

Taylor and I took the girls to the batting cages so they could get the pre-season jitters out of the way. This is Mallory's first year with the pitching machine, so this was a well needed practice.

Not as needed as the delicious corn dog to sustain my little ball player.

Taylor had to get out there to see if he still has it ...

he does.

Faith is definitely looking forward to the start of her softball season. This is her favorite time of year

Well,

Hopefully this settles the case of the pre-season softball jitters.

If not, it was a fun day anyway.

Yes, I really did it

2009-03-30T22:10:00.000-07:00

I have wanted a tattoo for a very long time

What do I want?

Where do I want it?

Would I really like it?

All very legitimate questions that made me wait until the day that I was sure.

Then...

That day came.

Courtesy of Joleen actually scheduling the appointment :0)

So, I underwent the most annoying 3 hours of my life.

Note that I didn't say the most painful, because it by far was not!

I've had children!

The end result was exactly what I had in mind.

Just

BIGGER

And a good friend to share it with.
Thanks Joleen!

Me too!

2009-03-17T21:23:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention that I had my hair cut too! I really need to stop trying to grow it out.

It looks SO much better short :0)

Sorry about the HORRIBLE self-shot picture.

Those never turn out good. Oh Well, whacha-gonna-do?

Hair Cuts for All

2009-03-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

It was time I took all 3 of my little girls in to go see Shannon for a little trim. Each of them with their nasty little split ends, walked in looking a little scraggly and left with beautiful, healthy heads of hair.
Shannon has been doing my hair since I was 15 (sorry to date things like that Shan...) and obviously all of the girls feel very comfortable with her having the scissors. So long as its not me, they're ok.

My little goldie locks was such a BIG girl

Faith was dying for some SIDE bangs.

I thought those were out...?

Who am I to say?

Anyway, she looks good with them and now we're done with this little go-round at the salon.

Keep your fingers crossed...

2009-03-03T21:23:00.000-08:00

So this is the house that I put an offer on in Reno. Its a beautiful 5 bed 3 bath home in Spanish Springs. What makes it so perfect and different from everything else thats on the market right now is that it is on just under .5 an acre and it backs right up to BLM land. That means the girls can take off on their quads and go riding right from our house.

This house is a short sale, so its a LONG process. It could be another 2 months before I hear whether they have accepted my offer or not. Then another 30 days til close of escrow.

I'm holding out hope that this will work, cuz it just seems like a perfect fit for my family.

Thats My Girl

2009-03-03T20:56:00.000-08:00

Mallory is in her 2nd year of wrestling

She is standing here with her cousin Alyssa at a tournament

Yeah, my sweet little girl (who is a little scrapper at heart) is out there with all of the boys in a stinky sweaty gym, learning the moves to take them down,

One by One

If you're wondering, NO I didn't start this, nor was I excited when she started last year. She has a friend who wrestled and she thought it was something she wanted to try. At first I was upset and didn't want my baby out there being so physical and competitive with the boys. Its a very difficult sport and even harder when you see these kids come off the mat crying.

Last year was a great year. She won all of her matches but one. This year has been more difficult since she has moved up a weight class and is wrestling kids with a little more experience. I'm not sure if she is going to do it again next year, but I'm very proud of her for getting out there and being so tough.

Mallory is watching matches with her Uncle Robbie before she goes out there herself

Say, CHEESE!!!

Go gettum baby!

She looks awfully sweet, but she's very serious on the mat

We have a few more meets but we should finish up the season by the end of this month.

GOOD LUCK MAL!

Back in Business

2009-03-01T12:32:00.000-08:00

I finally have a computer now. WooHoo!

My very first laptop, with which I'm very much in love.

I'm gonna try to post about once a day. I have a lot of things to catch up on but my Internet is patchy at best so when I have a good connection I'll post something.

So lets start where we left off. I believe we were in Rome. What a fantastic trip that was. It was a great way to get our feet wet in Europe. We were there for about 9 days and had a great time walking the city and seeing the sights. There was plenty to see, but I'm content knowing that
I've seen everything that I wanted to see in Rome.

Obviously we took a ton of pictures and would love to show them all, but since that's not possible on a blog, I'll run through the highlights of our trip and show you a glimpse of what we saw.

Here was our home in Rome for 9 days, The Hotel Bolivar. We couldn't have asked to be placed in a better location. This cute little place was right in the heart of downtown Rome. We were able to walk to every part of the city from our hotel. We could have taken the bus but not wanting to miss out on the day-to-day part of the Roman life, we walked everywhere.

I really wish I would have taken some pics of our room because it was unlike any American hotel I've ever seen. It was TINY! At first it was cute and made us feel SO European. By about day 5 it wasn't so cute, it was cramped, claustrophobic and uncomfortable! At any rate we did really well for living out of a closet sized room for that long. There is no way to spend time "together" like staying in close quarters like that.

And yes, we enjoyed every minute together. :)

On the first day we walked to the Colosseum. It was a big ticket item for us so was rightfully the first thing we wanted to see.

While it was truly awesome to be there and try to imagine it in action, it was exactly what it looks like in all of the photos and movies. Its definitely an engineering marvel though. Its so hard to imagine how all of these great things were built back then and have been strong enough to last through the centuries.

This is Palatine hill. It sits just above the Roman forum and next to the Colosseum. Another gathering place for political and social life, it also was the home of Cesar Augustus.

We definitely used our opportunity to enjoy our time in such a romantic setting. Its a rare occasion when we get to be alone, but like all parents we desperately need that connection. Being in a foreign country we were put in a lot of potentially very stressful situations, but we compliment each other so well that everything just seemed to work. Lord knows I would have been completely lost without his sense of direction and I could understand the people and their broken English much better than he did. So, we did amazingly well.

These are just a couple of my favorite pictures. These little golden photo ops were everywhere

This is the view from looking down at a part of the Roman Forum. I can't express how overwhelmingly big everything is.

The Pantheon

The Pantheon was originally used as a temple to worship all of the Roman gods but is now a basilica or Roman Catholic church. Its known for its dome that is used in so much artwork and engineering.

The Trevi Fountain

My favorite hot spot in Rome. Tossing a coin into the Trevi fountain is supposed to give you good luck and a return trip to Rome. By far the HOTTEST sculpture in Rome. I certainly didn't mind walking by this statue a few times.

This one of my favorite pictures of Taylor. He was so patient with me, he let me wander and look around until my little heart was content.

This was a very common car in Rome. These little smart cars were the way to go in a city where parking is next to impossible. The streets are all tiny cobblestone alleys. If you didn't have a smart car, you'd better have a scooter.

So this is the end of Rome post #1. I'll have a few more to share in the near future. If you ever get the chance to go,

GO!

Sorry

2009-02-11T01:35:00.000-08:00

SO HERE IS MY STORY

I have no home

I have no computer

Therefor, I have no blog

I have so much to say

So many pictures to post

And no way to do it

So much has happened

Rome

Mallory is wrestling

My mom had surgery

I put an offer on a house in Reno

Had a night out with my BFF

And much more

Oh Well

Hopefully, I will have laptop soon

Keep your fingers crossed

And keep checkin in

VIVA ROMA

2009-01-24T09:27:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that we made it to Rome safely and have been having the time of our lives!

The plane ride over wasn't bad at all for an overnight 20.5hr trip. We had a stop in Germany and I'll admit that once I heard the language barrier, I was a little frightened. It really hasn't been bad here in Rome though. Most everyone speaks a little broken English and getting around has been fairly easy. I've had a really hard time establishing my sense of direction and its a good thing I have Taylor because who knows where I would have ended up by now.

The first day here we made a whirlwind trip around most of the city by foot. Hitting the Colosseum, Roman forum, Palatine hill, the Pantheon, Trevi fountain, the Spanish steps, Victor Emanuel monument and at least half a dozen churches on the way. Pretty sure we walked at least 10-12miles that day.

Day #2 was spent at a little slower pace and we strolled through the smaller streets and alleys to the far north part of the city. Soaking in the different culture, sights and sounds. I'll have plenty of pictures, stories and descriptions later.

Day #3 was a day at the Vatican. This was a fantastic day where I just tried to grasp the reality that I was standing in the Sistine Chapel under the ceiling that Michelangelo himself had painted so long ago. The was the main ticket item for me, but I really enjoyed my trip to the Vatican and St. Peters Basilica and can't wait to share more later.

Day #4 (today) A train ride to the city of Pompei. Remember the stories we read in school- Mt. Vesuvius erupted and a giant cloud of hot ash fell upon the ancient Roman city, preserving it until its discovery and excavation. Well, I had no idea just how big this city was. We walked our fare share of miles today and I know that we missed a lot of the city. Pretty amazing though that so much of it still stands.

Well, thats the quick version of our trip so far. We've been struggling a little with the time change and have been going to bed around 7pm and waking around 4am. Taylor is asleep right now and I'm trying to stay awake a little longer so maybe I can sleep past 4. We'll see.

We come home on the 27th and I'll try to have pics up as soon as possible.

Not My Gumdrop Buttons!

2009-01-08T20:48:00.000-08:00

I know this is a little late, but I'm still doing Christmas catch up. The girls built this little jewel of a GINGERBREAD house and it actually made it through the holidays.

I ended up doing the WINDOWS but the girls did the rest on their own.

Faith ran the ICING bag and Mallory was in charge of the CANDY.
Olivia was the clean up crew, eating all of the fallout and left over shingles. :o)

San Fransisco Part 2

2009-01-02T00:29:00.000-08:00

On the 2nd day of our trip we went to the city park and spent the day in the aquarium/planetarium.

My little Mallory was very hands on and interested in everything. I'm pretty sure that she would have stayed if we'd have let her. She was so intrigued by the star fish and urchins. It was neat to see her so involved.

Olivia was just EVERYWHERE! There was so much to see and she was hard to keep an eye on.

Faith and Dylon were kind of off on their own, taking pictures of everthing they saw and touching everything they could.

My mom's ankle appointment went well and now she is scheduled to have her ankle fused at the end of January. Its going to be a long recovery but she is really looking forward to the pain relief after she recovers.

Grandad had a great time as well. I have very fond memories of going to San Fransisco with him and I was glad that my kids now have these memories also.

Mallory really enjoyed pal'n around with Taylor

Look at these 3 cute little butts :o)

Like always, I enjoyed spending time with Taylor. He grew up in the bay area so it was neat to have him show me around a little bit and hear the stories of him growing up. From the sounds of it, that little wild child makes me seem like an angel! HAHA! Just kidding babe!

Who doesn't love the Golden Gate Bridge?

San Francisco Part 1

2009-01-01T22:03:00.001-08:00

We had a great trip to San Francisco in the beginning of December. The primary reason was to take my mom to a Dr. appt to have an ankle replacement. But we had a lot of fun just doing some basic sight seeing while we were there. In all there were 8 of us... Mom, Grandad (my moms dad), Taylor, myself, Faith, Mallory, Olivia and Dylon (Taylors oldest)

These are some of the pics that we took when the kids and I were just wandering around Jack London Square.

We were just goofin off, so I challenged the kids to a cartwheel contest, long jump contest, and sprint. Then I had to show off a bit.
I lost all but the cartwheel contest. And let me say, Dylon can jump a long way!

Hey what can I say, we'd just finished a long drive and all of the other adults were gone.

I really enjoyed Jack London Square.
I'd never been before and the kids and I had a blast just runnin around and burning off some excess energy.

The next day we went to the aquarium and planetarium at park in San Fran. I'll post those pics next.

What a good lookin group of kids

O Christmas Tree...

2009-01-01T21:34:00.000-08:00

Ok, So here is where I play my LITTLE game of catch up. I've finally uploaded the pics from my camera and I'm bored at work

So let the GAMES BEGIN!

I really enjoy Christmas but mostly, I enjoy decorating for Christmas. The girls were great helpers and couldn't wait to decorate the tree this year.

If you couldn't tell,

This is SERIOUS business!

The girls wanted it just right. (hence, the intense concentration on their little faces)

Faith was the Master of Ceremonies this year and rearranged all of the ornaments after her sisters went to bed, trying to perfect the tree just so.

Nicely done girls!

ABC Tag

2008-12-31T06:10:00.000-08:00

A- Attached or Single: Attached (and happily so)
B- Best Friend: Joleen, Em, Candy
C- Cake or Pie: Cake (cheesecake specifically)
D- Day of Choice: Not at work...
E- Essential Item: Lotion
F-Favorite Color: Red
G- Gummy Bears or Worms: Gummy Worms
H- Hometown: Fallon, NV
I- Favorite Indulgence: Dessert- Cheesecake
J-January or July: July, I LOVE the summer
K- Kids: 3 crazy beautiful girls
L- Life isn't complete without: My WONDERFUL friends, family, and boyfriend.
M-Marriage date: NEVER!!!! ahaha... been there, done that.
N- Number of Brothers and Sisters: 2 sisters, 2 brothers
O- Oranges or Apples: Apples, pink lady's are my fav!
P- Phobias and Fears: Snakes!!! Eeww! Eeww! Eeww!
Q-Quirk: Bored at work=stealing other peoples phones and taking random pics of myself and applying them as wallpapers, etc.
R- Reason to smile: Anytime my kids giggle at the same time and I don't know why.
S- Season of Choice: SUMMER!!
T- Tag 4 people: Joleen, Aubrey, Alisha, Tracy S.
U- Unknown Fact about me: unknown for very good reasons
V-Vegetable: Green beans and Spargus. hehe.
W- Worst Habit: Not saying things when I should sometimes.
X- X-ray or Ultra Sound: Have had both
Y-Yogurt or Yo-Yo: I'm so sick of yogurt
Z- Zodiac Sign: Virgo

SOLD

2008-12-30T01:13:00.001-08:00

Thats right! I can't really believe it myself.

I had my house on the market for just a little over 30 days and now we have to be out by January 16th. Left with a wide range of emotions and not much time to pack, its sure to be a busy and exciting new year for us.

We will be without a home for at least 30 days but we'll be staying with family here until I can finalize a home in Reno.

So there it is... thats some of my BIG news. Still more posts to come.

Hope everyone is recovering from Christmas and getting ready for the New Year!

We're goin' to ROME

2008-12-25T19:41:00.000-08:00

First, I know I haven't posted in awhile and I have a lot of catching up to do. I haven't made the time to sit down at my computer and download pics from my camera. But when I do, I'll play catch up. I have lots of news.

Second,

Remember when I won that race in Vegas? Well, the whole time I was racing I had some great motivation. Taylor had said that if I won that we would go on a trip somewhere. That somewhere ended up being ROME!!

I'm so excited! ok... and a little overwhelmed. I have never been to Europe or had to experience a language barrier. Not to mention, Rome has SOO much to see. Regardless, it will be an adventure of a lifetime.

You know what they say, "When in Rome..."

One Hell of a Weekend

2008-12-03T09:03:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday dad and I drove all the way to Vegas only to find 2 days of rain waiting for us. no racing. just waiting. It gave dad plenty of time to "fix" all the little things he's never taken the time to fix. I had the time to practice my reaction times on our practice tree (those are the lights that are used to start a drag race). It was ok though because we had a good weather forecast for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Come on sunshine!

Did I mention that it was COLD at night! Being the die hard racers that we are, we sat in the stands on Friday night after we had both lost just to see how the days finals would turn out. No big wins yet but we still had 2 more days of racing. Keep your fingers crossed.

Saturday rolls around and the weather is beautiful!! 70 degrees, no wind, perfect racing weather. I spent the whole day either waiting in my car to run or standing by my dads car for his runs. I was entered in 2 classes and my dad was in the 3rd class. My car fits 2 categories so I could race in both the Sportsman and Pro classes. This meant I had a busy weekend but thats what I was there for.

Saturday night:

16 hours of racing later I had made it to the finals in Sportsman and was able to bring the WIN home!! I was so excited! I don't race much at all anymore and it was so neat to show up to such a big race and win one of my classes.

This meant that I could finally have a drink and boy, did I want to CELEBRATE!

Sunday night:

14 hours of racing later I won the BIG one! Bigger trophy, Bigger check!

This was a weekend that I'll never forget.

Oh So Thankful

2008-11-26T04:11:00.000-08:00

Here is a little list of (and I do mean little because there are SO many) things that I am THANKFUL for this holiday season.

1. My very healthy, very sweet, very beautiful girls

My girls are my world all wrapped up in perfectly huggable packages. I couldn't have asked for more thoughtful and loving children. They brighten my day with their pretty little smiles and make me laugh til my cheeks hurt with their innocent fun and great sense of humor. They keep me grounded yet push me to excel in every area of my life just by calling me Mom.

2. My family and all of their unconditional love

1st of all there is my Mom. She is the grounds by which all others are measured. I have so much to learn from such a successful business women and so much to live up to from such a lovely mother. She has the ability to gently lift me up and point me in the right direction when I feel that I've lost my way. Never condemning or judging just patient and full of unconditional love.

Dad, you've been there by my side. You too always pointing me down the right path. You are the best teacher of life's lessons and have a way of always making things seem so simple (not worth getting all worked up about...right?). Although I don't always choose the smoothest road you stay with me to help ease the ride along the way.

My sweet older sister, Denise. (Oh, this is where I start to tear up...seriously!) You were my guardian angel in disguise. You protected me, nurtured me, taught me and LOVED me. Looking back I see how you selflessly threw yourself in front of me always trying to save me from any harm. You are a rock. So secure and strong. I miss you more than you know and wish that I had not taken advantage of your presence for all those years, for I would give anything to have you back.

3. My love

Taylor, My life has been so blessed and happy since you've joined me in it. I had wondered for so many years if happiness like ours really existed. You have taught me how to love again, how to open my heart and accept your love in return. Knowing that I have you by my side has given me the confidence to expand my life outside of my previous boundaries. You've helped me to grow much more than you know. I'm thankful to have such an incredible man in my life who, despite an overwhelming amount of demands pulling you in every direction, always takes the time to make me feel special.

4. My friends

You know who you are. True friends are one of life's rarest gifts and because of this I feel very wealthy. I have a great support network of people who love me for who I am (quirks and all). Never having to feel alone, you listen to my stories both good and bad, giving me advice and perspective. I try to let you know how much you mean to me but I always feel like its never enough. You do so many things for me, often unexpected but always appreciated. Thank you for being you and all that you do.

As anyone can see, I'm a very lucky girl

I'm thankful for all that I have

Annie...

2008-11-26T03:56:00.000-08:00

Annie Oakley that is...

We took Candy's little 9mm out for some target practice the other day. I don't usually promote handguns in homes of small children, but there is something to be said for protecting yourself too.

Candy had never shot it before but is now well versed and comfortable with handling her little GAT!! haha

I sure hope no one is planning on going for a walk on the other side of that hill.

Not a bad shot for 30ft out.

FYI- Its really not a good idea for anyone to stop by our house unexpected after dark. It could be a really bad thing.

For Sale

2008-11-26T03:41:00.001-08:00

As most of you know

I've decided to put my house up for sale in hopes of moving to Reno when it sells

I really wish that I could pick it up and transplant it to Reno. I had this house built 2 years ago and I love everything about it.

We are on an acre just 3 miles from town but are still very secluded with few neighbors and lots of BLM land just behind us that make for perfect quad riding.

But sadly we are going to have to leave our pretty home to start over in a new one and thats exciting too.

So if you know of anyone looking to buy in this little town,

I'm kinda partial to this one and its a really good deal. Its listed through Berney Realty.

Can you smell it?

2008-11-21T05:29:00.000-08:00

Its the smell of Thanksgiving

No...not the smell of turkey and stuffing fresh out of the oven OR homemade pumpkin pie. SILLY!

Its the smell of burnt rubber, raw fuel and exhaust all mixed together to create one sweet aroma. That my friends is the smell of Thanksgiving for me.

Dad and I are headed to Vegas for a big race on Wednesday morning and I can't wait to get there. We haven't raced since May and I'm jones'n to hit the track!

Watch Out Boys

just another excuse...

2008-11-20T04:50:00.000-08:00

to get out of town!

Candy and I made the trip to Apple Hill over the weekend for a quick little get away.

So FUN!

We took the scenic route on the way there (by the way, if you're in a hurry or prone to car sickness avoid hwy49). It was a really beautiful drive though.

Candy is slowly trying to make me GREEN in any way possible. Organics, recycling, you name it and she's trying it. I have been pretty open minded for a little country girl who grew up thinking recycling was just another way people tried to make $$ (whats all this saving the earth business?)
I tried new fruit on this trip... Asian Pears and Persimmons.

In case you didn't know,
Asian Pears are DELICIOUS!

1st Cousins
Can you see the resemblance?

Oh well, it was worth a try. We really are related :)

Promise!

It made so much more sense at the time.
We were at a brewery, what can I say?

Now that is a BIG pumpkin. All 1153lbs of it.

We topped the trip off with dinner in Folsom.
MMmmm... the best raspberry Mojito EVER!

Then we stopped by the fire station before our drive home to see my HOT firefighter boyfriend and check out where he works.

Goin for a Hike

2008-11-11T21:24:00.000-08:00

We used this Veterans day to go for a hike out at Grimes Point. I'm ashamed to say this, but I've never really done the Grimes Point thing. I must have been sick for that field trip in 4th grade.

So, Mallory and Olivia, Candy, my Aunt Theresa, Lauren (Candy's niece) and myself all went to hike up the trails and check out the Petroglyphs (not to be confused with hieroglyphs-which are in Egypt). You're welcome for the clarification. :)

SO Cute!

In case you were wondering, we didn't loose Faith, she just decided to spend the day with a friend instead of hiking. Mallory really enjoyed being the big kid for the hike.

Mallory stayed way ahead of the pack having a great time climbing the rocks along the way.

WE MADE IT!

Be afraid...be VERY afraid.

I can play too. Just makin sure I still have some skillz.

Bye Bye Beagle

2008-11-10T18:57:00.001-08:00

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR ALL POTENTIAL DOG OWNERS

Beagles are quite possibly the most evil dogs ever created

Don't be deceived by the cute face and big floppy ears, underneath all the cuteness is a evil little creature waiting to escape

And when she does she will maul your furniture, eat your child's toys and spread garbage throughout your home (but mainly under the child's bed).

So, Needless to say

Lucy, my evil little beagle found a new home today. Hopefully this one will last. The last people I tried to give her to could only tolerate her for about 5 hours before calling to give her back.

Do yourself a favor

get a BIG dog with small ears

Just for Sara

2008-11-07T05:15:00.000-08:00

She wanted to know whats in my purse...

SO I'M GOIN IN

Wallet (not much $$ though)
Gum
Car keys
Chapstick
Watch... make that 3 watches ??
Gum wrapper
Perfume (mmmm...)
Antibacterial Hand Gel
I take that back, a ridiculous amount of gum wrappers
Reciepts
Bottle of Benadryl (actually contains motrin, benadryl and vicodin) cuz ya just never know
Ratatouille Game Boy Game
Bobby Pins and a Hair clip
Pink little girls hair tie
Loose Keys (not sure what they're to)
Passport
Change...probably at least $20 worth...this is why purse weighs 10lbs
Cards ie. Costco, RN license, NHRA membership, Coffee cards etc.

Well that about does it.

Sara, Thanks for making me go through this black hole of a purse and getting rid of all those gum wrappers.

See this was a very productive TAG and I encourage all of you girls to post the same and finally go through your purse.

TAG...I'm IT.

2008-11-05T23:24:00.000-08:00

This is the "5 things" tag. Answer the questions and then tag 5 of your favorite bloggers to do the same.

5 restaurants you like:
1. Pizza Barn
2. Olive Garden
3. Outback

4. PF Changs
5. Sushi Pier

5 things you did yesterday:
1. Took a shower (Pheeeww)
2. Surprised my boyfriend with an unexpected visit
3. Laundry
4. Voted, not sure it matters though... :(
5. Looked for a new house. YAY!!

5 of your worst pet peeves:
1. My satanic dog (does that count?)
2. People who have kids and don't take care of them.
3. People who don't pay attention to other cars while their driving (get out of the way if you can!!)
4.Dishonesty

5. people with annoying voices. (Gosh that was funny EM!)

5 things you love:
1. My BEAUTIFUL girls

2. Taylor
3. My family
4. The mixed smell of rubber, fuel and exhaust
5. Christmas

5 things you will do tomorrow:
1. SLEEP!!!
2. Get up
3. Go to work
4. Guess I'll shower again too :)

5. Did I say go to work already? I have no life.

5 PEOPLE I TAG

Joleen, Sara, Aubrey, Traci & Jamie

Happy Haunting

2008-11-01T00:13:00.000-07:00

Another great year of Halloween fun has come and gone.

I was able to take the girls trick-or-treating this year (I usually have to work) and after a rocky start, we had a great time.

Olivia wasn't feeling so well and wanted nothing to do with her costume. I'm pretty sure this picture speaks volumes for itself.

Do they even make sad witches?

Faith stepped out of the princess role this year and tried the scary vampire look. I'm not going to lie, it was really nice not to have to spray anyone with glitter this year.

Mallory was a Indian warrior. The tomahawk was a little over the top but she dug it. She did make a cute little squaw.

Pre-trick-or-treating (no smile on Livie yet)

The girls had a blast running through the streets and Olivia quickly caught on and decided that this was pretty fun after all. We gathered our masses of candy and went to a family Halloween party. Too much food. Too much candy.

Papa Alan and his girls

Till next year...

Pidow Poop

2008-10-31T23:48:00.000-07:00

Olivia: Mom. MOM!
Me: What sweetie?

Olivia: I nee a ban-aid!
Me: Why? What happened?

Olivia: A PIDOW(spider) POOP ON ME!!!!!!!!!

After examining her finger I find nothing. You just never know with this girl though. I wouldn't be surprised if she was poking a spider and either killed it (getting bug guts...poop on her finger) or if she really did get bit. There is no denying that she is MY daughter.

Punkin Patch

2008-10-31T23:01:00.000-07:00

My cousin Candy and I took the girls to the pumpkin patch a couple weeks ago (yeah, I haven't made a post in awhile). We had a great time checking out the petting zoo. Livie was fascinated with the chickens. We fed the goats and rode the cow train. I just love Lattin farms in the fall!

What happened to that PIG?
Somebody pull your tail?

Headin out to the patch, compliments of a hay ride.

Love my sweet SWEET

Mallory

Olivia was more amused by the bugs crawling all over, rather than the pumpkins themselves.

At the end of the day it was Faith who found the perfect pumpkin.

Oh ,and note to self:

Park closer next time. Its a long walk with 3 kids and 5 pumpkins. Uugghhh!!

How Different We Are

2008-10-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

There are times when I am placed in a situation and I am forced to realize how different we all are as individuals.

We as people are molded first by our parents, learning right from wrong and perfecting the golden rule. We learn from the world around us. Each given different experiences to create the person that the rest of the world will see.

Relationships both good and bad are hugely responsible in shaping our preferences, communication skills and needs. Some of us are sensitive needing more physical affection and enduring words to lift our confidence. Some of us are strong and need little emotion to carry on most of our relationships. Some are used to having lengthy discussions to make sure that communication is thorough. Some are happy to think that less is more.

No one is right or holds more truth than the other, we are all just different.

We should really embrace the differences between us instead of finding them as fault in others. Surely we can all stand to learn a thing or two from each other.

For my EM

2008-10-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

Today was a tough day. A day that I will remember forever.

As most of you know my best friend, Emily Harrison's mom passed away on the 13th. Today, the Harrison family held her service and said their last goodbyes. I have been so worried about how I should be there for my friend and help her through such a hard time. I've felt at such a loss as to how to do this. I've never lost anyone close to me. She has just lost her mom, unimaginable, what do I say, what do I do?

While I was at her service I was consumed by how incredibly strong Emily is and has been through these last few months. She has endured more than a daughter should ever have to endure. And while she did, she would never complain or make her mom feel like a burden. Emily always carried on with a smile on her face, taking care of the woman who had for so long taken care of her.

I was faced with a few challenging questions of my own. Could I be as strong and as capable as my friend now sitting in front of me? Could I stand in front of an audience giving my final words about my mother and maintain my composure as well as she did? I don't really know the answers to these questions but I do know the feeling of awe and astonishment that I felt as I watched my friend today.

Emily

You are an amazing person to whom I will always look up to and will always cherish your friendship. There is no way to describe how impressed I am by you in so many ways. No matter the reason, you have a way of looking at challenges as just that, something to overcome. You are truly incredible.

I did cry today. I cried when I saw the hurt in your eyes and there was no way that I could fix it for you. I wanted to wrap you up in my arms and take all the pain, anger and sadness away, but I couldn't and I'm sorry. All that I can do is be there to pick you up, dry your eyes, make you smile and carry on. And forever and ever, I will be there to do just that and more.

ALASKA

2008-10-12T11:33:00.000-07:00

So here is the reason, or the excuse I should say, as to why I made the trip to Alaska. I was asked to go to the Fairbanks hospital which is a part of Banner, (same company who owns the hospital that I work at) to help the staff with their new L&D computer charting system. I jumped on the opportunity at a paid trip to Alaska since I've always wanted to go but have never been.

So here it is, this is Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. I think they deliver around 1,000 babies a year which is twice as many as we do here in Fallon. They definitely got their moneys worth out of me. I was whooped when it was time to leave. The staff was great though, everyone tried really hard to keep their heads up during such a difficult transition.

Here are 3 of my favorite nurses that I got to know during my stay. I really enjoyed all of the nurses there. They all helped me plan the vacation part of my trip.

During our flight over Collene and I had a 5hour layover in Seattle so we decided to head out to Pikes Place Public Market. It was so pretty with all of the flowers everywhere and tons of crafts to cruise around and check out.

Taylor flew into Anchorage as soon as I was done at the hospital and we were off to start our vacation. We stopped just outside of Anchorage on our way to the Kenai peninsula to walk up a trail. The leaves were all turning color and falling, making for some great picture taking.

We headed straight to Seward which is a pretty little town right on the coast of the peninsula. There wasn't a whole lot of activities to do since tourist season had just finished. I wasn't aware that the state of Alaska kinda goes into hibernation when the tourists leave. It was ok though, because we didn't have to fight with crowds, we had no real agenda and plenty of time to relax and soak up the beautiful scenery.

Without much to do, we had plenty of quiet time and I really enjoyed the alone time that I was able to spend with Taylor. We have such a good time together. Never an awkward silence or forced conversation, we're just always on the same page. I love it!

We did stumble upon a cruise that was still operating and took us on a 2.5hr tour across Resurrection bay. It was our only sunny day during the entire Alaska trip and even so, it was still pretty dang cold out on that boat.
Both Taylor and I really wanted to see some wildlife and better yet, a glacier while we were there. The cruise took us close enough to this glacier for some pics and also gave us a glimpse at the sea lions.
After the boat ride we walked down to the Sealife Center in Seward. The king crab kinda signifies Alaska to me (Yeah, I'm a big fan of "Deadliest Catch") so thats why this crab gets the spotlight :)

On the 3rd day of our trip we decided to head down to the tip of peninsula to a little town called Homer. There is a little piece of land that extends out into the ocean called the Homer Spit that has plenty of shops and restaurants (I would imagine its pretty busy in the summer). Sadly it was pretty much deserted and after a 4hr drive down slick Alaskan roads I would have to say that it was kind of a let down. Taylor and I were also a little disappointed as we stumbled into a restaurant advertising Fish and Chips, only to find that it was an oriental restaurant with a rainbow of items on their menu, very little of which was Chinese. I should have known better when I realized the window said, "Fish and Chip" and their logo was a big yellow SMILEY FACE :)

Here is a pretty little spot just off the road as we were leaving Homer.

The road conditions made for some intense driving but that didn't stop us. We spent 10hrs in the car this day. Its a good thing Taylor is a good driver.

IT was a great trip and I would like to go back some day during the summer months to do some fishing next time. Alaska is definitely a beautiful state.

Oh yeah, and just for the record

I didn't get to see a moose :(

The Weirdness that is ME

2008-10-12T10:50:00.000-07:00

So....I was tagged to do this:
List on your blog 6 weird or odd things about you...tag at least 5 people to do the same on their blog.

1. I work night shift. Haha, just kidding... kinda. I do however feel like this deviates me from normal functioning society. I can now sleep at anytime of the day or night and I never wake up feeling rested. I find it extremely difficult to wake up in the mornings and I feel sorry for my alarm clock and the verbal abuse that it receives each time it does me the favor of getting me out of bed on time.

2. I have a really hard time letting other people drive or actually, I have a really hard time being a passenger. I find myself analyzing their driving and I get really tense. It must be a control issue.

3. I have to pour the cream into the cup before the coffee. It bugs me when I do it in the reverse order because then I have to dirty a spoon to stir the cream in. Not a big deal...right? YES IT IS!!!!

4. I'm a girl who loves to race cars, or anything with a motor really. I have a passion for classic cars. My dream car that I will own someday is a 67 Shelby Cobra. No, not the mustang cobra. I love to shoot guns and kill the occasional jack rabbit. My favorite is going out skeet shooting with my dad. I grew up raising livestock with the intention of sending them to the slaughter house to make $$. I own a 4-wheeler and will make sure that my girls always have a 4-wheeler to ride also. I love to fly in small airplanes and hope to have my private pilots license someday. I like to go fishing and have no problem gutting and cleaning the fish I catch, but hate to put the worm on the hook. Sometimes I think my parents raised me to be a boy. Just kidding, but all in all I'm weird and not your typical girl.

5. I like public speaking and interviews. Its a fun little adrenaline rush. Now that is weird.

6. I think #4 is long enough to count for this one too. I'm having a hard time thinking of something else now.

I will cease this tagging now, since most of you have all been tagged already. Its been fun reading about all of your little quirks also. If you haven't been tagged yet and want to join the fun: This is for you.

FlashBack to the 80's

2008-09-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

Welcome to 1985

The 80's party went off without a hitch. It was sooo much fun to see everyone dressed up, and I must say that all of the girls did a great job with their outfits. No offense guys, but all you had to do was throw on a mullet and you're good.

Its easy to have fun at a party when you're surrounded by good people, and we nothing but close friends and family to get down with all night. The music was great too! Who would've thought that it would be so much fun to dance to the music we grew up with.

Yeah, I tried to pull off the Jane Fonda look.

Nice LEGS babe!!

Here is most of the Carey clan that made it to the party. I laughed so hard that I cried when I saw my older sister Marla, (in the black leather jacket) because she is 10yrs older than me and I clearly remeber her looking just like this.

I actually got my dad to wear a mullet and hammer pants. It was soo FUNNY!!

This was during a game called flip cup. It was girls vs boys and the object is to start at one end of the table with each person having a half cup of beer in front of them. The 1st girl and guy drink their beer and put their empty cup upside down on the edge of the table then flip the cup one full revolution until it lands upside down again on the table. Once you do this the next person on your team can do the same, 1st team done wins. Unfortunately the boys won, but the girls had a healthy lead for most of the game. IT WAS HILARIOUS!!

Those are some long ol' legs Joleen!

You know you're done when you're authentic 80's jean cut-offs give up on you.

We finally called it a night around 2am and then yes, we went out to the bar without changing our clothes. Its a good thing we live in Fallon :)

Any Ideas?

2008-09-20T04:23:00.000-07:00

For all of you children of the 80's

I'm throwing an 80's party with the help of my dad and Joleen on the 27th of September and I'm in desperate need of affordable decorating ideas.

Here's the scenario...

We are throwing this party for really no good reason at all, besides the fact that I thought it would be fun to get as many people together from our little town and just cut loose for a night.

We are going to have a DJ playing all 80's music for some dancing, a few kegs and a margarita machine.

80's attire is mandatory

Its an all ages above 21 party

It will be at the airport hanger

Starting at 9:00pm

Here's the problem...

The hanger is WAY too big to decorate well

I'm poor (OK, maybe not but I don't want to spend much $$ on the decorations)

I lack creativity overall

The Solution...
I know blogspot is filled with very creative girls and I was hoping I could get some ideas from as many people as I could. Maybe somethings to throw on tables or up on the walls?
Anything...?

Happy Birthday to ME!

2008-09-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

It was my 27th birthday on the 9th and it was by far the best birthday that I've ever had!!

Taylor gave me a heads up some time ago that we were going somewhere for my birthday, but that I wouldn't know where we were going or what we would be doing until my actual birthday.

So, on the morning of the 9th we boarded a plane headed for Phoenix. I knew this wasn't our final destination but I still had no idea where we were going to end up. Taylor is really good at keeping me in the dark.

After a short layover in Phoenix he handed me my boarding pass for the next flight.

ALBUQUERQUE??????

Isn't that in New Mexico????

What in the hell is in Albuquerque? Are you sure you have the right girl?

I was now officially confused and to be honest, a little worried. After some reassuring that this was something that I said I wanted to do, and a couple of deep breathes, we were in Albuquerque.

Confused? Anxious? Nervous?

All of the above.

We get the rental car and head for the hotel. Now I feel better. I still have no idea, but I feel better.

Once we were in our room I finally get to find out what's really going on. Taylor hands me a card and inside are 2 tickets to see

MAROON 5!!!

Really?! Oh my Gosh!!!

Now the tears come, everything clicks and I couldn't believe that my boyfriend would go so far out of his way to bring us to New Mexico on my birthday to see my absolute favorite band play for one night. I have no doubt that I have the best guy in world laying right next to me.

We get dressed and head out for the night. Thai food was my choice for dinner. MMmmm. So good!

Yes, my hair is still purple and green from Burning Man!

He is so freakin adorable!!

The concert was at the Journal Pavilion in Albuquerque. We had great seats at a sold out concert. BTW, in case you were wondering, I'm on cloud 9 at this point in the night!

The Counting Crows opened up the show. Not as good as I had expected but that didn't matter because Maroon 5 was absolutely AMAZING!!

Every single song was great! Not to mention, I know every song by heart and I was more excited with each song they played.

Taylor and I sang and danced through the whole thing. It was perfect.

Don't forget to pause my music on the right so you can hear the concert.

When we got back to our room, we had a little surprise waiting for us.

The next morning we slept in until almost 11 then went out for some sight seeing in downtown Albuquerque before our plane left.

Taylor, You are the love of my life and I can't begin to Thank You enough for making my 27th birthday the best birthday EVER!!

Burning Man 2008

2008-09-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

I'm going to start this post by saying that I've decided that there is no way to describe to other people about what Burning Man is, what its about, or why people go. I'll do my best still knowing that it won't do the experience any justice, but here it goes.

This was my first time going to Burning Man and I couldn't have been in better hands. I was pretty nervous not knowing what to expect, what to bring, or if I could handle being out there for 5 days. Taylor has been going almost every year since '01, so he knew. He has worked the event several times as a paramedic so I knew he would take good care of me. Nerves settled, we were on our way.

We left on Wednesday evening and on our way out we had to stop for a pee break. At this stop there was the funniest sculpture of "Donkey" from Shrek. Since we were already in the mood for havin some fun we jumped up for a quick picture.

Puttin on our mean faces. I guess the bug glasses don't look mean, but we do :)

Our first morning out on the playa.

After going out the previous night and dancing the night away, we woke up (drenched in sweat and dirt...yum), took a shower and headed out for some sight seeing.

By special request from our kids we had to take some pictures of the GIANT hummer. No, it wasn't functional, but it was huge. Mostly made of metal beams and plywood, it served no purpose but was really cool to look at. We climbed up on top to get a better view of the layout.

This was what looked like, the biggest jungle gym I've ever seen. At the very top there was a chair for one person only. People were climbing up and waiting to take turns to sit on the throne. It looked incredible at night. It was lit up in every color so you could see it for miles.

The Temple

This was straight out across from "the man" all by itself. Its a temple that was made from scrap pieces or metal and wood and other miscellaneous pieces material. From my understanding everyone who visited it could either write something or leave something that would be burned on Sunday night. You were supposed to do this to help heal something from the past or let go of whatever it is that you were holding onto. Everyone found this to be a very spiritual place to be. Definitely peaceful.

Here you can see how intricate all of the pieces of the temple are.

This was the view from the top of the temple looking directly out at "the man"

Here Taylor was writing his piece to go up in the burn.

The Tower of Babylon
This, unlike everything else out there that was made of wood, was made completely of metal. Just as it looks, its a tower of stairs and platforms in the middle of the desert. The fact that someone would have to completely construct and take this back down was AMAZING. It was sooo tall. We climbed up several different times because the view was so incredible.

Here is a view of about 1/4 of the city from the top of the tower.

THE MAN

After a day of walking and climbing we decided not to climb up the man, but as you can see its not just a stick sculpture made of wood. I was impressed at how detailed all of the sculpture was.

GOing OUT
This was my favorite part of Burning Man. Every night everyone would get dressed up however they wanted (usually less was more) and we would go out dancing and partying all night long. I have NEVER been to clubs or parties that were that big, in my entire life! It was amazing! The music was so good that it seemed to pick you up and move you with it. I like to dance anyway, but this was the most fun I've ever had.

It looks like snowflakes in front of the camera but its really just small dust particles picked up by the lens. I'm not gonna lie, it was really dirty out there but no one seemed to care.

The Bubbles

Another one of my favorites. Taylor and I went for a walk one evening to watch the sunset. We walked out onto the middle of the playa to sit alone and enjoy the serenity of the evening. Just after the sun went behind the mountains, we turned around to watch the prettiest thing I've ever seen. There were about 20 huge bubbles all choreographed to music that would light up and seemed to dance in the desert. I could have stayed there all night wrapped up in Taylors arms watching the dancing bubbles.

They were actually made of latex and felt just like over sized balloons.

Before we left, we went back so I could have a picture of one of the "bubbles"

This was the attire for one of the nights that we went out to party in the city. I had decorated my outfit with fake rose petals and after all of the time that I put into that outfit, I was glad to see that it turned out really well. The fur coats were a life saver out there. It was a long walk across the playa and after a night of dancing and it would've been a dang cold walk without a coat.

Playing with the boys...

A beautiful sunset from on top of the trailer.

Spending some QT with my boyfriend

It was a great way to get away from all of the responsibility that real life has to offer. We were able to be alone without our kids, or a house to clean or chores to do. We were inseparable from the time we left til the time we came home and we loved every minute of it. I feel so blessed to have such a great guy in my life.

The Dust Storm

On Saturday the entire city was a complete white-out from the dust storm that lasted for almost the whole day. Not wanting to miss out on an experience, we suited up in our hazmat suits, goggles and masks and took off across the playa. Thank goodness for our friend with the GPS system who was the only reason why we found our way to the temple and back because the visibility was down to about 20 ft. It was insane but we had so much fun!

The Burn

A great way to top off the trip. Saturday night everyone gathers around "the man" to watch him burn. Try to imagine almost 50,000 people all lit up with glow sticks (so that you don't get hit by an Art Car while crossing the playa at night) dancing to the music from the couple hundred different art cars. Its a truly indescribable experience. The fireworks went off and from several different explosions the man caught on fire. It burns in a huge flame until it finally topples to the ground.

The Exodus

We left on Sunday morning at around 11am. We sat in line for 4 hours waiting to get onto the road that takes you out back towards Gerlach. That is a lot of people!

Am I going to go again next year?

ABSOLUTELY!!!

1st Day of School

2008-08-26T21:33:00.000-07:00

It was the 1st day of school today for Faith and Mallory. Believe it or not, Faith is in the 4th grade this year and Mallory is now a 1st grader. They both go to West End Elementary school so that helps with the running around.

You can't go to school on the first day without being properly "dolled-up". Nonnie was there to help out with this years preperation.

After a small case of the jitters, Mallory was ready to tackle her 1st day of school also. She has a lot of friends in her class this year so that will help this little social butterfly like school just that much more. You can tell that she's excited to be going to school all day like the BIG kids.

Faith is getting so BIG. Today was one of those days where you just sit back and wonder, "What happened to my little baby? And, where did the time go?"

She sure is turning into a beautiful little girl with a heart of gold and a great head on her shoulders. She makes me so proud.

Here's to another great school year in the making

Wet 'n Wild

2008-08-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

The hospital sponsored a day at the water park in Reno. I was able to take the girls and our friend Maysie. The 2 oldest girls took off and went down every ride that their height would allow.

The little 2 spent the day in the kiddie pool which was fine by me.

Kade's Birthday

2008-08-15T01:23:00.001-07:00

Kade LeProvost turned 5 a couple of weeks ago and had his birthday party at the Fernley Family Fun Center. It was a great party and all of the cousins had a blast playing together.

Faith and Kade

Wyatt and Mallory

Like Father, Like Son

After the party the girls wanted to try a game of bowling. All I can say is, Thank goodness for bumpers!

Rub-a-dub-Dub

2008-08-14T20:46:00.000-07:00

Mallory and Olivia were in the bathtub the other night havin fun makin a mess as usual, when I decided to grab my camera and play around with the black and white/sepia settings. Here are a few of the pictures that we took.

Slacker

2008-08-12T02:42:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I plan on doing several posts as soon as I find the time to sit down at my computer at home. We have been pretty busy lately and I will catch up when I can find the time. I've enjoyed keeping up on everyone elses page in the mean time.
A quick note though... You might have noticed the ticker in the right-hand corner for Burning Man. Taylor and I will be spending 5 days out in the Black Rock desert for the event. I've never been but have always wanted to go and he's been going for quite a few years now, so he's gonna show me the ropes. I'm SOOO excited. I'm having a blast coming up with different costumes and outfits. I will definitely post some pics!

A little too much Billy Ray

2008-07-30T16:10:00.000-07:00

Well... this kinda says it all.

When Faith heard that Billy Ray Cyrus was going to have a concert close to Fallon she was so excited and just HAD to go. Why, you might ask? Because he's Miley's dad of course!

Taylor and I took Faith to the concert so that she could have her special day. It was so cute. She had a great time (once she got over her initial let down of the set up not being quite what she had pictured. She was disappointed that she couldn't be up front and center).

She spent the majority of the concert on either my shoulders or Taylors. She really did look cute sitting up there with her little straw cowboy hat on, waving her arms in the air. At one point a lady came up to her and gave her some glow sticks because "she's so cute, she just looks like she needs these". Next, another (fairly intoxicated) lady came up and gave Faith an "official" Billy Ray concert t-shirt, again because "she's just sooo cute".

I'm a retard and forgot my camera in the car, but you can see from this picture alone that she really did have a GREAT time.

We spent the rest of the weekend out at Pyramid Lake for our 1st camping trip of the year.

Its a good thing that Buddy was so tolerant of Olivia's showering of affection

Just a cute picture!

Mason and Olivia were perfecting their HANG LOOSE!

She's a NATURAL!

2008-07-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

Faith tried wakeboarding for the 1st time on Saturday and she popped right up. She did really well and by the end of her 1st run, she was HOOKED! I was SO proud of her.

Olivia had her 1st ride on the tube. She wasn't scared at all (come to think of it, she isn't scared of anything). She loved it! You could tell that she thought she was one of the BIG kids.

Mallory's favorite thing to do at the lake is to drive the boat. She's not as in to the water as her sisters, so this is more her style. She did start jumping off the boat to go swimming this time, so maybe that's a start. She does make a cute captain though.

Then there's Lucy! This is our 9 month old Beagle who is now a certified "Boat Dog." I have been feeling guilty for leaving her at home alone while we go play, so she got to go this time. I must say that I was really impressed. She did great on the boat. I wish I was able to get a picture of her big 'ole ears floppin in the wind as she looked over the bow of the boat. It was so cute.

Yes, this is a picture of a BAT and let me tell you why.

At about 2:30am on Saturday morning (not that it really matters because we hadn't slept yet anyway, thanks to Faith's already sleepless night), Taylor was awoken by Faith saying, "The cat caught a really weird bug." So he gets out of bed to check out the situation. When he turned on the light, it startled the cat enough that it lost its "bug" which turned out to be a little bat that was now flying around the room appearently uninjured by the cat. Well, its not like we can exactly turn off the lights tell the kids to go back to sleep, but how do you catch a bat? With a basket of course!

After plenty of pictures and all but 2 children awake, OOOHH'ing and AAAHHH'ing at the "cute" little bat. We finally caught the bat in a basket and set him free.

Now that is definitely BLOG-worthy.

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

2008-07-17T22:38:00.001-07:00

Here you go Joleen.
Believe it or not that is Demi Moore on the far right. Who would've thought?
Petra is so HOT! That made me feel good :)

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

An OLymPiaN To WatCh

2008-07-17T20:45:00.000-07:00

I have obviously always followed national gymnastics and I'm really excited to watch the upcoming Bejing Olympics in August. Shawn Johnson will be the girl to keep your eye on. She is an absolutely phenomenal all-around gymnast who will be the back bone for the womens team in Bejing.

Shawn Johnson

You can click on her name to read about her Olympic trials performance

Faith's Slide Show

2008-07-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

Mallory's Slide Show

2008-07-16T13:12:00.000-07:00

Olivia's Slide Show

2008-07-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

Memory Tag

2008-07-14T22:23:00.000-07:00

Tag! Here's the drill (This one's kind of interesting...)

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, copy and paste these instructions into your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

So Good...

2008-07-11T21:26:00.000-07:00

Every mom deserves a day like today.

It was one of those rare days without my kids, so I drove to Reno to spend it with Taylor. It was one of the most relaxing, enjoyable days I've ever had. He was so sweet and scheduled appointments for both of us to get a massage. As soon as I got there, we went straight to the day spa for our 1 hour massage. It was absolutely divine. Follow that up with a nap and seriously, could you ask for anything more?

As a parent you always put everyone's needs above your own, but I really think an hour of indulgence is something all of us deserve. (Thanks again babe)

4th of July Fun

2008-07-07T11:27:00.000-07:00

The girls were havin some fun with their sparklers. I'm not really sure what Faith was doing though :)

We spent the 4th out at the hanger with my dad, AKA "Papa". There was plenty of good food and fun. We had a great BBQ before watching the fireworks from Rattlesnake. Papa took everyone for a ride in the airplane. It was the 1st time in a small plane for Taylor, Caden and Mason. I was so impressed! Everyone did really well and the boys were smiling the whole time. Taylor even flew the plane for a little bit.

A pilot is only as good as his ground crew

I was so proud of Caden and Mason. They were great little co-pilots while their dad had ground school 101.

Taylor, Mason & Livie

Even Grandma Carey was up for some fun. What a cool grandma!

Olivia was waving G'bye to her papa as he took off for another plane ride. She just loves to fly!

Memphis in May

2008-07-03T00:02:00.000-07:00

I know this is a little late, but I really wanted to share my trip to Tennessee to visit my older sister Denise and her fam. We went to celebrate Denise's 30th birthday.

During our visit the big Memphis in May festival was going on. This is the largest rib contest in the world. We walked through a ton of booths, ate way too much, and took a paddle boat down the Mississippi river. You can see how pretty it looked at night.

It was so great to see Denise. I can't tell you how much I miss having her here. She is doing really well now that she's all settled in. She's a surgical nurse at one of the hospitals in Memphis and still keeps up being a full time mom. Not to mention their slew of animals that she takes care of, including but not limited to: chickens, dogs, cats, fish, a bird, cows, horses and a donkey(I think). Wow. I'm in awe but not envious. :)

They really do have a beautiful home. I wasn't ready to come back when I had to leave. Everything is so green there. Oh, but don't forget to watch out for the fire ants! The south has some nasty little creatures.

The best part of my trip was spending time with my neice and nephew, Ethan and Teralynn. It was so much fun to hang out with them. They are getting so big. Ethan and I had a blast together. We had crawfish races, went to the park, played T-ball, rode bikes, cuddled, played soccer, you name it we did it. I'm not sure who was more tired at the end of the day, but we both slept good ;)

Ethan taking his little sister for ride on his quad. SO CUTE!!

A trip to the south wouldn't be complete without a crawfish boil. To my suprise, they actually tasted pretty good.

Birthday Boy

2008-07-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

Taylor celebrated his birthday this last Saturday, and what a great day it was! We started it off by going out to Pyramid Lake for a day of wakeboarding, just the two of us. Both of us had pretty lofty goals (Taylor wanted to land and Tantrum or a Back roll, and I just wanted to clear the wake and land successfully) and at the end of the day we ended up with nothing more than some great crashes and 800mg of Motrin for the aches and pains. It was sooo much fun though!

When we made it back to town we were both starving, so we went out for some Sushi! Yum!! I was so proud of myself, those of you who know me know that I've always been kind of a sissy about seafood. Taylor had me go out on a limb and try real sushi this time. I ate and actually really liked raw salmon and raw yellow tail tuna. The real kicker was that my favorite of the evening was Eel! It was so good! I actually ordered seconds.

Lakin' it

2008-06-28T04:44:00.000-07:00

The girls and I had a great time at the lake enjoying the water, sun and some great company. The girls got to go out on the tube (Mallory was a little more cautious than Faith), while I had my first wakeboarding runs of the year.

My boyfriend, Taylor and his 2 boys took us out on their boat, and Joleen and her son Taylor joined us for the fun. I just love the water!!

my GiRLs!

2008-06-27T06:22:00.001-07:00

Here we go...my first post. My friend is making me do this but I'll be addicted soon I'm sure! These are my three sweet girls, Faith, Mal, and Livie. We have a lot of fun around here so enjoy our crazy page!