Manti Temple

On Saturday, March 27th, 2010 I received my endowments at the Manti Temple. It was such a beautiful day and I was so excited to be there. What a spiritual experience to be a part of and one that I will never forget.
I was surrounded by many family and friends and although there were some who were not able to make it I felt them by my side every step of the way.
There have been so many people who have guided me and been such great examples to me in my life that when the time came for me to make this decision that it was easy and I know that this is where I needed to be.
I love my husband and my children for their support in all that I do. Each one in their own way has been a pillar of strength and I have been so blessed to have such a wonderful, loving family.

I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father and the blessings he has given to me and the blessings which are in store for me.

The Manti Temple

What a special day for me!!!

Jonas, me, Heather and Matt

My Kiddos!!

My Fam Damily!

Enough Already!!

We just keep getting the snow and it doesn't look like it will stop anytime soon!!! HELP!!! We are supposed to get another 10" on Saturday!!

I have gone through 2 snow shovels, 1 snow blower and 1 husband................well okay the snow blower works if I have enough strength to pull the cord and I have a warranty on the husband that is good for at least another 27 plus years or 100,000 miles (of snow removal) which ever comes first!!!

There is so much snow in my yard right now that my cat just came up on my deck to poop!!! I hope Bart don't step in it!!

It's a good thing I still have a sense of humor or things may get ugly around here!! Poor Bart!!!!

The Storm of 2010

It started snowing on Friday, February 5th and hasn't stopped! The first storm that passed through dumped over 2 feet of snow between Friday and Saturday. It knocked out our power for two days...............TWO days. It's a good thing that Bart is prepared for our family!!! A few years back he purchased a huge generator that would be able to power our new additions furnace, water heater, t.v. and lights. He ran an extension cord through to the kitchen refrigerator and then another down to the freezer in the basement. We have a gas fire place in our small family room that helped heat it, the kitchen and even helped keep the upstairs bedrooms warm. It's a good thing Bart is always thinking ahead.
On Saturday Heather, Garrett, Corban and Jayce came over to our house to stay warm and have power. Before Bart hooked up the generator (with Garrett's help) I decided to make Pasta Figoli soup out on the barbecue grill...............if you think that was easy think again!! It was a fun experience and we had enough soup to last us for at least two weeks!!
Once the guys got us up and running with partial power Corban finally could play the WII. It was so much fun to have everyone over here!! The boys played with their Viper power wheels in the family room, (it's a good thing the family room is big) played WII, and watched videos. We even played red light, green light and FREEZE tag!!! Everyone got to take a hot shower since it was hooked up to the generator as well!! Yeah, we weren't stinky!!
Sunday morning we plugged in the electric griddle to an outlet and we had scrambled eggs and pancakes!! I almost felt guilty for having partial power when there were and still are lots of families without power...............almost.
Corban did run a fever of 130 degrees (this is what he told Jonas) it was actually 103 but it was only for overnight. We were lucky because it would have been really hard to get him to the doctors because the roads were so bad.
Once we got the generator going we needed to get extra gas to keep it going so we braved the tretrous roads to the gas station only to find that the gas station was running out of gas. We got as much gas as we could, filled the generator and made another 2 trips. On the last trip the gas station was out of gas and we had to find one across the river. We were able to get some there but they ran out of gas too. There was no gas available in a 30 mile radius from us so we were hoping that the power would come back soon!
Late Sunday evening the power finally came back on and it was HEAVEN! We are still keeping everything close by because it is still snowing here and the forecast is saying we will have snow everyday for another week!! BLAH!!!
Bart had to go out of town Monday afternoon (drive of course). While he was gone the water was at a slow trickle. The water tanks need power to pump water to fill them and since there was no power for a few days the tanks emptied and had to catch up. Tuesday morning we had pressure and so I hurried and did laundry and cleaned house just in case!!
I feel like we are living on the edge............just wondering when the next storm will knock out power and water!! Hawaii or the Bahamas sounds so nice right now!!!
We have learned a lot from this storm and we hope we don't have to go through it again!! We understand why the church tells us that we need to be prepared for anything. Food and water storage is very important!! It's also important to have a husband who thinks ahead and plans for power as well!!! Thanks Bart for taking such great care of your family!!
I'm so grateful that Jonas and Matt were in Utah (staying warm in their homes) but I am also grateful that Heather, Garrett and the boys were here with us. Knowing that they were safe and were able to come to our house to stay warm and have food and shelter was one less worry for us. Samantha was at her parents house and we were able to keep in touch with her but her parents were without power longer then us, so when the roads were somewhat plowed Sam went back to her apartment at WVU.
I really am looking forward to summer!!! Warm weather, blue skies, stars at night and Bart in his swimming suit!!!!

This is our deck on Saturday morning. More snow was on its way
The trees were really weighted down with all the snow.

We measured just before Bart started shoveling and we measured 20-22 inches
of snow!!! Still there was more to come!!

Looks pretty................but COLD, COLD, COLD!!!

Looks like we won't be playing basketball anytime soon!!

The best part of the storm was..................We had Corban and Jayce at our house for three days straight!! I just love those little guys and even in the worst of storms they have a way of making you laugh and feel warm!!! I got lots of hugs and kisses and they were the BEST!!!!

Christmas Day 2009

Christmas day was so much fun for us. We started out by going to Heather & Garrett's house to watch the little boys as they opened up their "Santa loot". Emery (the cat) scared Santa and he dropped his bag at their house. The bag was filled with all sorts of toys for the two best little boys. They opened their gifts and played and then opened more and played more and opened..........well you get the picture. As they were winding down to the last few presents Corban found a great BIG one. He was so excited because it was so big and he asked me "Ramma who's it from?" As I was reading him the tag "To: Corban From: Mommy and Daddy he began opening it saying "this is the best day ever!! I've ALWAYS wanted a big present from my Mom and Dad..........I just hope it's not clothes!" Well..................yep you guessed it...............it was clothes!! The best day ever quickly turned into the "worst day ever"!! Heather explained to him that Santa told her that HE was bringing toys so her and Daddy should give the boys clothes. Needless to say Corban ran out of the room, dashed up the stairs and retrieved the gun that Aunt Sue and Aunt Val had sent him (thanks Sue and Val for saving the day!)

We then came back to our house to open more gifts and as the saying goes "What Santa doesn't bring me Grandma & Grandpa will!!"

Corban & Jayce check out their new ride! A new Viper just like Grandpa's! Check out the custom paint job (just like Grandpa's)
Grandpa gives the boys driving tips

Jayce gets ready to blast off

Corban tries to find which present he wants to open first

Heather & Garrett smiling because they don't have to clean up all the wrapping paper

Sam & Matt open up their gifts

Jayce needs to take a rest and what better place then on Uncle Jonas! I don't think I saw Jonas without one of the boys attached to him while he was home!

Our little astronauts

I just love these two little boys----they are out of this world!!!

Coban in full astronaut gear

Jayce is so excited to try on the helmet. His smile says it all!!

Jayce loves his vacuum! I wish it really worked because he loves to vacuum, now if we could work on him putting the pots and pans back in the cupboard after he plays with them!

Corban show off his Dr. glasses from his doctor kit.

We had such a wonderful Christmas watching the excitement in Corban and Jayce's face as they opened their presents, spending time with our family and making wonderful memories!! I am so looking forward to Christmas 2010!!!

Holiday Games and Fun

Corban loves his hot chocolate!!
Heather reads from a Christmas book to Corban.

Jonas and Corban playing WII. Corban loved playing with his "big brother Jonas"!!

Jayce shows Jonas how you are supposed to eat crayons. The red color tastes the best!

Corban played hide -n- seek in the Christmas presents. He loved crawling through all the packages!

A Few Days Before Christmas

With just a few days until Christmas and still lots to be done

We all got together to have lots of holiday FUN!

Me and Sam went to pick up Matt from the airport and Sam decided that the best present she could give Matt was to embarass him in front of alot of people at the airport.........so she wrapped herself up and we waited and waited and waited..........
Although Matt wanted to just keep walking he decided to unwrap his gift there in the airport and SURPRISE it was Sam!! People were taking pictures of them on their cell phones and cameras so if you see them on You Tube you now know why!

Sam and Heather could not wait any longer to eat the Godiva Chocolates. Question is, which one should they eat??.........I think they took bites out of most of them!

We went to a live nativity at the church by our house. Every year since we have lived here we have tried to go. It really is a nice way to get into the Christmas spirit and they do such a beautiful display with music. Corban loves looking at the live animals the best!

Heathers neighbor played Joseph and his girlfriend was Mary. There is about seven different scenes and each one is so beautiful. Their costumes are wonderful and to make this night even more special it was snowing and everything looked so pretty. Yes, they do this event outside and even when the weather is COLD.

Corban loves decorating the Gingerbread House but this year we decided to decorate him too!

Corban and Jayce add on the finishing touches to the house. I think they ate as much candy as they put on!

Every year Bart and the boys (mostly Bart) design a new display to add to our yard. This was last years tree (it was so pretty I just had to show it again)

This is the "Christmas Rocket" that the guys made this year. Everyone helped out (even Garrett's brother Keenan). Our neighbors wait in anticipation to see what we are doing every year.

This is the "Hyita Polar Express". Bart and the boys made this when we lived in Washington and is a favorite by me. The wheels have motion lights on them so it really looks like it is moving. It really makes our yard look so festive!! I can't wait to see what they add next year!

Our Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

(click on picture & letter to make larger)