Nov 26th-Dec 2nd Terry's weekend to Wendover

Nov 26th - Monday usually FHE but tonight it was date night. I think the whole family could tell I needed a date night with just Terry and I for a few hours. So we went shopping and I tell you I haven't decided if I LOVE or HATE Costco. It seems like every time I go in there for just one thing that one thing ends up being over $100. Tonight it ended up being $600.00 and we didn't even get our major purchase that we will get tomorrow for $450.00!

Nov. 27th - Tuesday I have to say I am going to miss my preschool days next year. Hopefully I can become a wonderful horse teacher and I can find joy in teaching children about horses because I love to see these kids progress. After preschool I went down to the farm and helped my mom and dad lay some fencing. I just love working along side these 2 wonderful people. Don't you worry, mom took me to pick up my truck and it wasn't just 2,000 it was 2,677.55 with tax, shipping and labor!

I came home and hear Treg asking Terry "Dad someday will you teach me how to make games and programs on the computer?" Terry says "Sure how about today." Tregs eyes got bigger then I have ever seen them go before and he says "REALLY???" so they proceed over to the computer and Terry shows him a "Try it now" program and he was reading programming instructions for the next 2 hours. He was glued, it took everything in him to look away for this photo.... Crazy boy! Terry says to me... "Don't worry he will love this and maybe someday he will make us a million dollars!"

Nov. 28th - Wednesday I sent the kids off to school... Matia was dressed up as a pilgrim and Treg was just Treg. Then I hustled down to the farm. Shoveled sawdust with dad to empty his dump truck then off to Delta to buy some alfalfa cubes for our sweet Miss Holly Kay! $900 later we had a dump truck full of cubes and we were headed North on I-15. I tell you what this farming life is not cheap. I think I am needing to board some horses to help pay for it. Love this life on the go!

When Terry got home we ate as quick as we could then headed to the farm to unload the cubes. We had hopes to just dump it in the wash stall but it was super tricky to get a straight shot and then we couldn't lift it the whole way up because of the ceiling so we had to shovel most of it out of the dump truck. It was painful, long, hard, and dusty. But with Terry and I both shoveling it only took us one hour of constant shoveling. The kids were mucking stalls and of course they made a fun game out of it.

Nov. 29th - Thursday After preschool I took my mom and dad lunch down at the farm. We had a goal to get the horses out in the outside corals, and I needed to shovel back the cubes to put up a wall to protect them from water. So just like my dad says working side by side with another really makes those moments memorable. When Terry got home we went shopping up at the new outlet mall by Cabela's it was amazing. But most of all I just had fun being on a date with my man.

Nov. 30th - Friday I have been excited to go on yet another date with Terry tonight. It was his LanDesk Christmas Party at Thanksgiving Point so we rode over with Terry's friends Greg Westbrook and his wife. It was a nice relaxing night out with a hilarious comedian Jason Hewlett. Oh my goodness I have not laughed so hard for so long. It was nice to just let go of all my worries and just have a good time. Thanks Terry for taking me to your party I had a great time.

Dec. 1st - Saturday When the mouse is away the mice will play. Terry got to go to a concert with his buds out at Wendover... Soooo me and the kids had some good ol fun just hanging out. I took them to Mr. E's and Krispy Kremes because they get free stuff with good grades and since all of them got straight A's we just had to go celebrate. Then we came back to have a movie night. I am so proud of my kids for working so hard in school to get these kinds of grades. Way to go kiddos

Terry had fun with they boys. They went to see Rodney Carrington and stayed at the Nuggett. I am sure he would have rather been with me ;) but sometimes he needs to be away to remember how great he has it at home and how well I really take care of his OCD mind. Love you baby and we missed you as well but glad you had fun. They didn't even take one photo for little ol' me at home.

Dec. 2nd - Sunday We had a great time sleeping in, reading the newspaper, then later cleaning the house before Terry came home. Then we left the kids home and went to the farm to work some more on the house. I know surprising but we have to get this electrical done before we can do anything else. This is what it is looking like today.

Nov 19-25 Thanksgiving Weekend

Nov 19th - My truck has been telling me for a week now that it is time to change the oil... So Terry and I decided today was the day that we would do that. So I made dinner and bought an oil filter and fuel filter and made sure we had the oil so when he got home we would head down to the farm and we would have everything to complete our mission. Ya know once you have certain comforts in life like a nice garage to change oil in its hard to go back to not having those comforts. But we made a date night out of it and enjoyed each others company in the cold dirty stall barn which is super great for horses but not so great to do mechanic work in. Man I love my boy!

Nov 20th - So my truck has been kicking out of gear when it goes from 1st to 2nd... Not a good sign so we took it into Gears Transmission today before we went to work and sure enough it is going to cost us $2000.00 to fix it. OUCH that just really hurts when we are trying to rebuild a house, start a horse ranch, and buy Christmas gifts all at the same time. Makes me so very sad :( but we gotta have our truck and Terry just doesn't have the time or the shop to do it in right now so suck it up and pay the bill!

Nov 21st - I love it when the kids are out of school! Today we just had a good time being together. Terry played in a football competition at work so the kids and I went up to watch him play. He was a tough blocker and great team player who showed an amazing amount of great sportsmanship. They won their first game and then won the championship in the second game. I loved the kids being able to watch their dad play but I sure hope that was his last game. I was just so worried the whole game that he was going to get hurt.

After the game I took the kids shopping and to lunch for a bit then we dropped off Bowdee at Terry's work so they could go hunting. They went up Mill D and hiked up to where they wanted to watch for deer. Bowdee built a little campfire to keep them warm and then when Terry got up to start hiking down to the car he felt the pain. It was in his ankle he had hurt it in the game and it just really hit him at the top of the mountain. He had Bowdee carry his bow down the mountain and they just took it super slow and easy and made it down. When he got home we put ice on it elevated his ankle and gave him anti-inflammatories.

Nov 22nd - Happy Thanksgiving what a great day to be thankful. This year I am thankful for my sweet husband having the drive within him to make this dream of ours possible. He is such a hard worker, he's so talented, a man with such a sensitive giant that lives inside of him. I am also thankful for my sweet parents who have also made this dream possible. I am so excited for when we will be able to live in our little white farm house and simplify this crazy life a little.

So this Thanksgiving is different then any other we have had. We spent the day working down at the farm framing and sheet rock Bowdee's room. We got quite a bit done but there is just still so much to do. Then at 5:00 we came home and made our own quick Thanksgiving dinner. You see my mom and dad went down to Cedar City to enjoy dinner with Kathy's family so that left us alone for the holiday. It was a nice quiet simple dinner. Nut we sure missed being with our family on Thanksgiving.

Nov 23rd - Black Friday Shopping so the kids have noticed so many ads about black friday shopping they kept asking me what it was and what it was like. So I told them I would take them out for a bit in the morning. We first hit Big 5 and it was quite, then Hobby Lobby and it was great, then Lowe's and it was fine, then we went to Smith's because I wanted to show them the hot chocolate and donuts it was busier there so the kids got a little taste of the craziness then we hit Kohl's and I showed them how the line winds around the whole store. It was fun to watch them at their first black friday experience. LOVE MY KIDS

We headed to the farm to help Terry a little more and we ran out of sheet rock. So we dropped the kids off at home and went to Home Dept you should have seen Terry he was white as a ghost scared to death of shopping on Black Friday. We ended up buying all the cabinets for the kitchen and bathroom then the sheet rock that we needed all for the bargain price of $2,800. So you add that with the 2,000 for the truck and it turned out to be a pretty expensive weekend.

Nov 24th - I bet you can't guess where we spent the day... Yep working on the farm, but today my friend Tonja came down with her 5 kids. They rode Miss Holly Kay, played with the kittens, rode the four wheelers, cleaned stalls, and just played their hearts out all day long. Tonja helped me finish screwing in the sheet rock which was a great big help. Then finally at about 4:30 we headed home to clean up and go to Post-Thanksgiving Dinner at my mom and dads.

What a wonderful time we had. My mom got out the china and had all her grandma and mothers special crystal out for us to use. Then we all sat down for a perfect Thanksgiving dinner. The only thing that would have made it better would be if our whole family could have been there. But we laughed talked and chatted about the wonderful things that is going on in our lives right now. Bowdee is thankful for family, friends and wheels. Matia is thankful for horses, family and pie. Treg is thankful for family, friends, and dogs. Terry is thankful for a healthy family, friends, and great family. And I am thankful for my talented husband, my kids, and dreams.

Nov 25th - Today was a mom's tired day... I could have just slept in until 10 for some reason but I rolled out of bed and headed to the farm with my ever hard working husband. We went down to build somewhere to store alfalfa cubes that we are planning to get this week. They will stay good forever as long as they stay dry and since it is going to be about 1,000 we figured we better make sure they will be safe. We decided to use the wash stall since we won't be using that much in the near future.

Then we grabbed the poles, chairs and fishing bait. Came home rounded up the kids and off we went to Strawberry for a little relaxation. It proved to be just that the fishing was so slow that we only got one bite and no fish which means a lot of relaxing time. The views were gorgeous and I ended up taking a nap in the car because it was so cold outside. We came home and fell asleep to Harry Potter. It was a day that we needed a day to just doing about nothing.

Nov 12-18th Miss Holly Kay & Sawyer Brown w/ Girls

Nov 12 - Today was a great day and I say that because I felt like I accomplished alot! I woke up early primed the bathroom, got the kids to school, met with Condie Construction for our road to the farm house they are working on, found Terry's boots in our mess of unorganized boxes, fed the animals, came back to the house painted bathroom ceiling, visited a horse farm w/ mom and dad to get some advice, took Terry his boots so he could go hunting, went to IFA, picked up kids, painted bathroom walls, made dinner, and watched Terry hook up the bathroom toilet and sink! I love days like that! I am sure I will sleep well tonight!

Nov 13 - OOPS! So right after preschool I sat down at the computer to update the preschool blog. I had a sudden urge to just check out the livestock and pets on ksl but resisted that urge for about 3 seconds. When all of a sudden I don't know how but it was up on my screen and just 5 minutes before was posted a Beautiful White Well Broke Mare. I clicked on it because the price was not listed and read the ad, this is what it said...

"Mystery has been used for English and Western lessons at a riding school, but we are cutting back on horses and she needs a new home. She is a 22 year old papered grey Quarter Horse. She loves trail rides and would be great for anyone on the trail even as a confidence builder or first time horse. She loads great and is easy to work with. She is calm and cool, crosses water, follows, leads, or stays in the middle. She has done a little of everything. She has no bad habits and is an easy keeper. She gets along well with other horses. She has no special requirements and travels well barefoot. She is up to date on all shots, worming, teeth, and hoof care. Easy to work around an has been used for beginning riders.Very sweet horse, She is on the smaller side at about 15 hands. Give me a call for more information." Here is the clincher "FREE TO GOOD HOME"

After reading that and knowing that we would be able to give sweet Mystery a GREAT home how could I not "Just Call". Well that call turned into an appointment to immediately "Just go look at her". All the way there I told my mom and dad "Ok if she is not just absolutely perfect we are not saying we will take her" They agreed and when it came down to it we all agreed we just couldn't feel good about ourselves if we didn't take her so we told Summer yes we would love to give her a home!

Now the tricky part was telling Terry who had just very firmly told me just 2 days ago when Bowdee's "Little Lady" goat died that we were not to get any live animals until we were living at the farm. But Terry took it like a man. I told him I had fallen in love and he asked "what kind of horse is it and how much did it cost me?" Then I told him all about it then added at the end that if he didn't want to keep it for our family that was ok because my dad wanted to keep her if we didn't. So there you have it he told me how lucky I was that it was for the right price and she was so pretty. But his one stipulation was that we were NOT going to wait until Christmas like I had planned. We were going to give her to the kids right away.

Nov 14th - This was the day to go pick up our horse. I was so excited I could barely sleep the night before. I got up and got my chores done and then went down to the farm and started putting up Christmas Trees with lights on them and decorating her stall. Then Mom, Dad and I drove to Provo to pick up our horse. She loaded in the trailer perfectly and they gave us her papers and instructions and away we went. We stopped by all a dollar for some ribbon and decorations.

Went back to the farm and brushed her and put ribbons in her mane and tail with a holly wreath wrapped around her neck and a big red bow on her chest with a jingle bell. She was so pretty luckily Terry came home just at the right time. Picked up the kids and brought them down to the farm. They walked in the barn, right after giving grandpa and grandma big hugs they all rushed over to see what the Christmas lights were about. Matia was first with the biggest smile on her face that I have ever seen asking "and who is this?"

We saddled her up and took her in the arena. Matia was the first to ride her. She asked if she could lope her and I asked her just to walk her for now. Then Bowdee took a turn he didn't seem like he enjoyed it too much. Then Treg and he was alright with it but would rather me lead her then him just ride her. Of course Matia just had to ride her again and this time she took her into a trot. Mystery wanted to go faster but she kept her at a trot. When I asked what they wanted to name her they all agreed with Matia that Holly was a perfect name. So I added the Miss and Kay to make Miss Holly Kay since her paper name is Miss Boston Kay. And that was our magical night! Thanks Terry, Mom, Dad and Summer for making this all possible.

Nov 15th - Tonight I went to see the new Breaking Dawn part 2 movie with Ang and Tonya my sweet friends. We first went for ice cream and then to the movie. The movie was good although there was a little twist in there that really surprised all of us. But most of all it was just fun to get out and mingle with some fun ladies and relax during the movie. I sure hope these girls know how much I enjoy their friendship.

Nov 16th - Today is a day I have been waiting for since May when I bought 5 tickets to Sawyer Brown. I was so excited to go watch a SUPER GREAT concert with Tonja, Holly, Kami and Emilee. However, Kami and Emilee were not able to go so it was just Tonja, Holly and I. We of course had a great time and it has been since July that I have seen them so it was nice to catch up on each others lives. Sawyer Brown was simply perfect and it was a great concert. After the concert we went dancing at the Rainbow which you know how I feel about dancing!

Nov 17th - We only had one night at the hotel so we woke up went and gambled our free money at the Red Garter came out $30.00 richer and drove back to Tonja's house to spend just one more night. We went shopping and out to eat and then we just decided to get a RedBox and chill to a movie. This is always nice for me because I have been so busy lately that it was nice to just slow down for a bit. Like Tonja has on her wall, "Sit Long, Talk Much and Laugh often!" That is alot of what we do when we are together. Love you girls!

Nov 18th - While I was gone on my weekend away Terry and the kids have been working their guts out on the farm. They got the pantry framed, fencing moved to back yard, and Bowdee's closet cut out. Terry and I are really going to try hard to bust our butts this next week and get as much as we can done while he has time off for Thanksgiving. So that just maybe we might be close by Christmas. We would really like to be able to move in by then, although I am afraid it just won't happen. Thanks for all the work you did while I was playing, I love you babe!

Nov 5-11 Matia's 1st Dance this year

Nov 5th - Have you ever had a day where you just wanted it to end? Well I don't know why but today was one of those days. It seemed like everything I tried to do just couldn't go right. My kids and my husband can always sense when I am having one of those days and they seem to do everything in their power to make it better for me. But after our salmon dinner I vegged out to the Eagles football game and Terry finished the tile. Can you believe it all the tile in this house is completely laid not grouted yet but laid! I guess I just got to have a little more faith, less expectations of myself,

Nov 6th - Today we voted! What a privilege it is to have the ability to go and vote on who we think should have the voice of this country, state and county. I have never been a politician or even politically interested. That is just who I am, but I do value the power of voting and I do my best to vote for the politician I feel like has the best interest of this country in mind. The one that I feel will make this world a better place for our children. I also loved the fact that my kids were dying to go vote with us and there was NO line!

Nov 7th - Today first thing after getting the kids to school I went down to the farm. I ended up staying there almost all day helping my dad with sawdust, boarding up hay barn, help mom with Christmas gifts, merit badge requirements for friends, finding Bobby the cat a new home at the farm, vaccinating Bowdee's goats, blowing leaves of the roofs and cleaning gutters, painting rust on barn, winterizing the well and pipes. It was a good day, busy, happy and good!

Nov 8th - The day to catch up all the laundry. So Terry got the washer and dryer finished enough that we get to start doing laundry again. And since we boxed up 3/4 of our clothes we were getting down there to almost nothing. I can't tell you how THANKFUL I am to have a working washer and dryer in my own home! Just looking at this photo makes me SMILE! Never thought I would say I was so excited to do laundry! I guess I should also be thankful for sweet Terry who works so hard to make all this possible!

Tonight was Bowdee's end of season football party. It is sad to see it over again but I am sure he will be back at it in 9 short months. It feels so nice to not have any sports except dance right now. We need the break especially when we are doing so much everywhere else. Bowdee along with 5 other boys was awarded the Ironman Award for never missing a practice or game. Way to be consistent, and dependable!

Nov 10th Saturday - Today was great it was Matia's first dance performance with the Dance Academy in Lehi. It is a beginners competitive team and I was so nervous to do her hair and makeup. She was nervous to dance because she had only practiced 2 months. So together we were a bundle of nerves. Off to the South Expo Christmas Gift Show and WOW Matia did amazing. Her teachers all rave about how fun and expressive she is to watch.

After her dance and after we stopped by to buy a raccoon trap and get a snack from dads work we headed to the farm to try and get some framing done on Bowdee's room. We got a wall up and the other wall built but we ran out of the right size of 2x4s so we called it a night and went home to watch a Utes game with Troy and Kyle. It was fun to have them over but I always worry we are too loud now that we have REALLY close neighbors. It was a good day, just wish we could get more done.

Nov 11th - Such a sad day when we got to the farm Bowdee went to feed the goats, Matia headed to check on Bobby Fluffkins McKoy the 3rd (Bowdee's kitten) and Treg fed and checked on the chickens. When Bowdee came back in tears to announce his sweet pregnant nanny goat "Little Lady" was dead. My heart just came crashing down because I remember as a child having pets die and it breaks your heart. We don't know what happened and "Buddy" was crying so we put him in a stall for the night. And Bowdee kept Little Ladys Horns. SO SAD! Bowdee your such a tough kid with such a sweet heart, I am so sorry!

With all the sadness we finished framing his room and started venting on the kitchen. Then we went to visit my sweet Aunt Dixie and Uncle Jim. It was so good to sit and talk with them. When I talk to Dixie somehow I remember my grandparents and remember happy thoughts. Then we came home and Terry finished texturing the bathroom, fixed and then hooked up the dishwasher... Have I mentioned how much I love my Terry, every woman should have a Terry!

Oct 29th - Nov 4th Halloween Week

Oct 29th Monday - Today I spent the whole day in the basement organizing our new living space. It is fun to have the opportunity to live in the basement before we move. It is so rewarding after all that work we have put into finishing this place to get to enjoy it. Then I took a load to di, went to the farm to feed animals, grocery store then back home to cook my family their favorite meal "Fried Chicken" while Terry put up sheet rock in the bathroom.

Oct 30th Tuesday - Man I will sure miss teaching preschool, I love this day when we have our party and all my little friends come dressed up and ready to share treats with their friends. Of course I was a witch again, some may say that is not really dressing up for me... And truth be told that may be more correct then they think. Matia had her dance Halloween party and she just looked so cute in her black cat costume!

Luckily we had enough time to carve pumpkins! The kids did them all by themselves... Don't they look fab!

Oct 31st HAPPY HALLOWEEN - What a fun day filled with the kids Halloween parade at school, picking up Halloween Pizzas for dinner, then back to the school for Tregs Halloween party, pick up the Jr. High boys, then back home to make sure all the costumes are not missing any pieces.

Then of course we have to have time to enjoy our annual Jack-O-lantern Pizza and touch up our makeup, find our trick or treat bags, call our friends to make plans.

Then off they go a Trick or Treating. Probably Bowdee's last year, we figure next year on the farm we will throw a great big Halloween party for those that don't want to trick or treat, but this year we just can't. I am just so thankful that my kids have good friends to go with that I can trust them with. Terry had to work late so he didn't even get to see them before they left. I had a sore throat and have absolutely no energy to go even if the kids did want me to go with them. Since Tia and Treg deemed this the year they would trick or treat alone, I was left to my own misery. It was kinda sad to see them go off and leave me behind. Don't get me wrong I am glad to be raising such independent children who are trustable but kinda sad they don't need me much anymore. They did say there was a headless horseman out there that I wish I could have seen. But Kami came over to keep me company so I wouldn't get too lonely until Terry came home. So it was a fun safe Halloween night which was topped off by a marvelous waffle delivered by our sweet Mark Harris... Man we are going to miss our neighbors like him.

Nov. 1st Thursday - Wow, today I was suppose to take my friend to lunch for her birthday but we were both so sick that we stopped by for a milk shake then went home for a nap before our children got home from school. I can't tell you the last time I took a nap and I was out for almost 3 hours. Luckily I woke up just in time to go get Bowdee from school. Then it was off to piano lessons, making dinner, cleaning the house, homework, dance, and sheet rocking the basement bathroom some more when Terry got home.

Nov. 2nd Friday - Finally it is Friday! Not that we are going to get much of a break this weekend. We hope to get the washer and dryer hooked up and the bathroom sheet rocked and mudded so we can finish that and then finally get working on the farm house. I enjoyed a yummy lunch with my sweet Angela & Tonya, I just don't get to see these ladies enough. After lunch we went on a field trip to the farm to show them what I have gotten myself into.

Nov. 3rd Saturday - We woke up early to my sweet sister in law calling to invite Bowdee to go the the Utes game with her dad at 11:00. When Bowdee woke up and I told him he was so excited he could barely focus on getting his chores done so he could go. But he did it and he went and man they had a great time. He said it was so cool that he could barely stand it! Dunn made a new NCAA record of 4-100 yard kick off returns during this game. Wolfman (aka John White IV) one of Bowdee's favorite players had a great game, along with all the other team members for a 49-6 victory over Washington.

I wasn't feeling well so while Terry worked on the tile I watched part of the game. Late Emilee and Kye came over to watch it with us and man I just love being with these people. Poor Terry hates it when I don't feel well because then he doesn't have his wing man to help him out which makes him more productive. So he got the 1st coat of mudding done yesterday and then the self-leveling flooring on so we can tile tomorrow.

Sunday morning Terry woke up and jumped right onto laying the tile and I made a mean french toast breakfast. By 12:00 the tile was laid and we were on our way to the farm to get some work done there. We put the kids to work doing miscellaneous things here and there, I was cleaning the garage, Terry started working on framing Bowdee's bedroom when Kyle called to see if he could give us 3 more workers.

So he dropped off his girls then Troy showed up with his 3 girls so we had 12 extra hands to work. And not one of them complained. We had them driving the 4 wheelers through the fields pulling big rocks out of the dirt. Then hauling stuff from the garage to the hay barn. Man I love to see these kids working. Now I realized why my dad and mom loved watching us work as a kid.

Of course I remember after getting all my chores done playing on the farm was so fun because there was a million things to choose from. Well these 9 kids chose to rake then jump into a pile of a million leaves! So ya I love to see our cousins playing so well and having a good time just as much as I like to watch them work together. We finally got all the door locks changed and door jams fixed! We are making progress slowly but surely!

6:42pm with daylight savings the sunsets pretty quickly these days. So we called it a night hit Wendy's on the way home for a super healthy dinner of chicken sandwiches, potatoes and chili then to the basement to watch "We bought a zoo" together. Then to turn it off brush our teeth and put this weekend to bed. Ready for another week of homework, piano, chores, and happy memories! Thanks for the beautiful photo Bowdee.