The lights at Temple Square

I haven't seen the lights on Temple Square for years, so it was time to go! We took the train down town with our friends, Kim, Tony, Joe, and Zoe Brown. Kim is a HUGE fan of Christmas lights. This was our second excursion for "light seeing"!

Livy and Zoe - already BFFs!

Aunt Ellyse

Can I just say how awesome my sister, Ellyse is? (And her husband who sent her out to us for Thanksgiving) She helped me cook Thanksgiving dinner, do Christmas shopping on Black Friday, helped me take the kids to see "Tangled", and put up my Christmas decorations.

And on top of all that, she bought the kids their own little Christmas trees for their rooms. This is the most awesome idea! Who didn't want their own tree in their room when they were little? The kids LOVED decorating them. In one of the pictures, Livy is trying to put her arm around her tree!








This last picture is Aunt Ellyse's remedy for kids make-up. They would watch her get ready every morning and constantly ask, "what you doing?" To which Ellyse would reply, "putting on my make-up." She decided they needed their own "make-up" so she went and bought them little bags, brushes, plastic containers, and for Bridger, a shaving kit. It keeps them entertained all morning when I'm getting ready or needing to get something done.

THANK YOU AUNT ELLYSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thangsgiving 2010

We had a nice dinner at my house. I only cooked an 8 pound turkey. That is the smallest I have ever made. It was so moist and delicious!

My mom

Ellyse


Spencer and Hagir

A couple days after Thanksgiving, we went with the whole Turley clan to see "Tangled". I loved it, but I didn't share any popcorn with my kids. Look close at the pictures and you will see why!

First big snow of 2010!

The week of Thanksgiving we got this huge snow storm. It was on Sunday and I was determined that we were going to enjoy it! We bundled up and went out and played for about an hour. Then, the tears came about cold finger and bugery noses! We had a blast!

Fall Family Pictures 2010

The kids did ok, but as you can see from some of the pictures, they had their moments!

Halloween 2010

If you know the kids, you'll not be surprised by their Halloween costumes for this year.

I couldn't get Bridger to smile because all he wanted to do was ROAR like a dinosaur!

Road Trip

This Fall, we took a trip back to South Dakota. If you are unaware of why we would choose South Dakota, it's because that is where Chad's family is from. His Grandma and Grandpa on his mother's side raised their family in Sturgis. Chad's proud claim to the state was that he was born in Deadwood, where some famous cowboys died or robbed somebody or something like that!

First, we made a detour through the beautiful state of Wyoming and stayed with some cousins in Worland. It was actually very fun. These cousins (the Russells) used to live in Idaho when Chad and I were first married. We made many a road trip to visit eachother.

They have horses and in particular, a sheklan (sp?) pony. I thought my kids would love this for sure! Here they are happy behind the fence with Grandma. Not a care in the world.



Then mean ol' mom makes 'em get on the dang pony and take a picture!

It did get better...
Then, off to Sturgis! We make sure to plan our trips out to Sturgis around the bike rally. As Celia says, "It's like dropping in to visit hell for a week!" I don't know how it is during the rally, but it's a beautiful place to visit if you've never gone. The Black Hills are beautiful!

These last two pics are of the kids at a little fall festival in Rapid City. It was a fun trip and I couldn't have done it without Cheryl!

1st ride on Trax

The twins' first ride on UTA Trax. Grandma Turley and I took them to Temple Square, their first time there too.


Livy loved looking outside at everything we passed.

Bridger was pretty unsure about the whole thing. I mean, why do we need to even leave our hosue? What's the point of all this adventure? It just freaks me out!

Then, the insecurity wore off and made room for the real emotion: fatigue.

Fourth of July fun!

Here are a few photos from our fourth of July:

Colton showing off his muscles!

Look how beautiful the mountains are!

All of the little kids had just about enough of the party before the fireworks started.

Classic Dinkus

Shoes and Bridger

I came into my room sometime this summer after putting the kids to bed and this is what I found:
Those just happen to be Bridger's flip flops next to mine.

Tonight, I asked him to take his tennis shoes out of the living room and put them in his closet. He walked into the living room and saw my shoes sitting behind the rocking chair. He said "Mom, will you please put your shoes in your closet? Okay?" I am happy to report that I was immediately obedient to his request!

Colorado

We always go to Colorado over Memorial Day weekend, but this time we also celebrated my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. We always have fun, but this time we came together to celebrate our family. It was so much fun!

My Grandpa giving a speech.

All of the great-grandkids singing "I Am A Child of God"

My Sister's Baptism

I have missed posting some of the important things that have happened this year. I blame it on my crappy computer and crappy internet. Now, thanks to my father-in-law, I have a good computer, but have not had time to get it up and running. What's a girl to do?

Anyways, I wanted to post the pictures and some of the awesome events that surrounded my oldest sister's (Ellyse) baptism. She is the last of all of my siblings to be baptized. As most of you know, Ellyse was with me during Chad's last week and last breaths of life. I can't imagine what that would have been like without her. I spoke to her on the phone while Chad was still in the hospital. I don't even remember why I said it, but I just said "Get on a plane now." It is not a request I have ever made of her and I'm so glad she was obedient! During her stay, we talked a few times about the church and she went to sacrament meeting with me each Sunday. It was really really really really really REALLY hard to let her go home.

We continued our conversations about church, but they soon evolved to the gospel and to our Savior. Then, the bishop challenged each member of our ward to pray for a missionary experience. Each time I prayed I felt that there was already someone in my life ready and willing. And there was! I kept encouraging Ellyse to pray to know what she should do, that Heavenly Father loves all of His children and will answer our prayers. We looked up her ward and she went to church. Then she went again, but before she went, I told her to find the missionaries. She did just that and on their first meeting (ono a Monday), they extended an invitation for baptism (that Friday). She called me crying and I thought "oh no! They already scared her away!" Then she told me that she was crying because she knew I couldn't be there if they did it that Friday. I told her I had saved some money so I could be there for her.

I took the babies to the Matina's, my awsome Kaysville homies, and hopped on a plane to Texas just a few days later.

Ellyse was baptized by Elder Park, who is actually from Holladay, UT. It is one of my treasured experiences.

The missionary work didn't stop there. Since Ellyse's baptism, my oldest nephew, Tyler, has been baptized. He is now enjoyin early morning seminary and being the president of the Teachers Quorum.

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!?

Bridger almost lost his life (again) this weekend. I've decided he has a thing about hanging on things. If you are not sure what I am referencing, read my post "This Scared Me to Death". So, on Saturday, we are just hanging out at home enjoying our newly finished front room when Bridger says "Oh, Mom!" And I look over to see one of my cabinet doors in his hands! Yes, one of my cabinet doors from my not even 3 months old cabinets in the front room. Apparently, he had been opening the two doors that are together, stepping just inside, then putting the doors under his armpits. This positioning allowed him to hang from the doors. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!? It took all I had to not end his life right there. He spent 20+ minutes in time out because I wasn't sure he would live if I let him out. He must have known too, because that is one of the few times he stayed in time out with no arguments.

I called the cabinet shop and had to leave a message. The guy called me this morning laughing and asked "So, what happened?" I think my message must have been something like "My crazy, out-of-control 2 year old boy ripped a door off the cabinets. Can you please, please, please fix it?"

I am not ready for destructive children and all of the costs included.

Finally Finished!!!!!

For most of the year, I have been working on a project to "remodel" my front room. It may not look like I did much, but the whole feel of my house is different.

This first picture is to give you an idea of what the wall with the fireplace looked like. So it's the best I have for a "before" picture.

And now . . .

New gas fireplace (with remote control!), custom bookshelves and matching mantel, canned lights, some ceiling fans (I put a new one in the kitchen too), art work, throw pillows, and curtains. Voila!

I officially finished it today because I had a carpet guy come and stretch the carpet to the bookshelves, so everything is now done.

I thought as a thank you, I would post some information as to who I used and where I bought a few things:

Fireplace: Hearth and Home - they have locations north and south in the valley, were the most resonably priced and had a great selection.

Bookshelves: A-1 Kitchens and Tops - AMAZING is all I have to say. Solid, hardwood material. Beautifully stained and painted. They beat the price on everyone. Even the cheap stuff at Home Depot would have cost an additional $800 and no matching mantel and I couldn't get exactly what I wanted. When I get to remodel my kitchen, I'm going with these guys!

Wiring for sound and lights: Lance Beard - he just started his own company, but has been doing this stuff for years (10+). Did you notice any cables from my TV to my equipment? All Lance. He was always on time, effecient, and cleaned up after each work day.

All the frew frew (?): My new favorite home decor store is Home Goods in Brickyard Plaza. That's were I got the piece above the piano and the pictures. Great deal and always find unusual stuff that I never knew I was looking for. Also, found great throw pillows at Walmart - who would've thunk?

Carpet work: The Carpet Fixer - they were great! They were able to come just a few days after I called. They offer a "bid and do". Meaning they'll come and bid each thing you want done right on the spot and then you can choose what you would have them do. They were very efficient and the carpet looks great!

A big THANK YOU to my friend, Erin, who tolerates my lack of decorating skill and is always up for a challenge.

New Family Photos

It's always an adventure to do family pictures and you never know if you're going to get anything decent. These are my favorite 3 pics. Bridger always struggles to find his smile for the camera. He saves it for when we're not looking (through the camera). But beautiful kids none the less!