New Toys!!

We Got a New TRUCK!! Actually we did quite a few weeks ago, but since I have not blogged in a month I have to start some where. We love it and so do the girls. It has satellite TV so they watch TV all of the time. Which is nice for us because going to town has gotten so quite lately!!!

Nats First trip to the Dentist!!

Nat had her first trip to the dentist today and what better way to do that then in STYLE!!! She had a great first visit and got tons of "cool stuff"! She even gets to have her name in the paper for not having any cavities, Woo Hoo! It was not all good news though.....She has an extra tooth. Weird I think but the dentist said it is rather common. What does this mean? Well she will have to have the extra permanent one removed because it has turned the front permanent one completely sideways, awesome. So surgery and braces is a promise for her in the future :( Alyssa got a way with a couple of cavities :( and Marcy has a cavity and an appointment with the orthodontist in a couple weeks. She no longer has any baby teeth, one more sign our babies are growing up. Great I am old!

Watch...A ...Cow?

When Nat decides to take a brake from watching the fish, who does she put in charge? None other than her trusted BFF, Manford. Thank goodness he does what she says. Update on the fish....We are down to one :(

How Great Is It.....

That Grandma can read the girls a story from 1000 miles away?!!! Grandma Dixie got the girls this book for Christmas and recorded herself reading it. Nat LOVES it!!! She even talks back to it once in a while! So cute. Thanks Mom!

The Rat Pack + Three

So..... We got some new pets!!! Nat has been begging and being the softy that daddy is, because he don't have to take care of them, he said YES!!! The pet of choice? Fish! We are only allowed to have Birds or Fish in our apartment and Thankfully the girls were good with fish. So they each picked out a gold fish that they liked, and we got four extra that we called the rat pack. Alyssa named her fish spike I think....she was still on the fence.

Marcy named hers Fish Stix. All the girls chipped in and helped daddy get the tank ready for their new pets.

Nat named her fish Freddy! And she is fascinated she loves to watch them and she keeps them company all the time.... Lucky fish!!!!

So this morning the rat pack was no more :( I guess that is what we get for naming our fish after dead people, you know Karma!! Thankfully the most important ones survived, so far and if we have any problems it is comforting to know that replacements are 28 cents and 1/2 mile away!!!

See What?

Guess What Alyssa Saw Today??? EVERYTHING!!!! She got glasses and looks pretty cute, if I do say so my self!! She came home from school a couple of months ago saying that she couldn't see and we didn't know what to think and decided to talk to her teacher about it. She said she would keep an eye on her and let us know. A few weeks later she called and said we better rule it out. So we took her to the eye doctor and sure enough she needed them. She loves that she can see to so she likes to wear them, poor girl! We let her walk around blind!!!! When she put them on I asked how everything looked and she said" like it is in 3D" !! Love her!

What was that?!?!?!

Have you ever wondered what would happen to your car if you hit a Pheasant going, lets just say, 60+ mph? Well being the good person that I am I tested that out for you and the results.....catastrophic :(! Nice ugly hole in the grill. The bird was actually stuck in it and we had to pull it out. Had I not been so furious about it flying into the car I would have taken a picture of it in there.

Brand New shinny one that Beau put in for me!! Thanks babe!! Looks good!

Spring Break?

I am pretty sure the girls are out of school for four days for SPRING BREAK....... I guess somebody didn't get the memo!!!! North Dakota is Awesome!!! Sarcasm I think so!!!!

Monster Truck Rally...North Dakota Style

Last night we took the girls to the Monster truck show down....It was exactly what you would expect for North Dakota...need I say more. The best part, the people watching of course. Marcy and Alyssa getting their picture with the lady that drove the pink monster truck. It was their favorite, imagine that. She was really great with them and they thought they were so cool!!!

Nat rockin' her ball cap and ear plugs!! She looked so cute. She loved every minute of the show and she literally cheered and waved for the pink one!!

Hey GRANDPA we are COWGIRLS...huh!!!!!

During the last few days of February we made a trip back to Utah to visit. We really had a great time seeing every one and doing a couple of fun activities. The drive was miserable, as always, but we are so lucky that the girls travel as good as they do!! I think I get tired of it faster than they do. On the way down we hit a pheasant and it put a hole in the front grill, STUPID bird.....pictures to come. When we finally got there after driving all night, grandpa made us breakfast and we slept most of the day. Jordan watched the girls while we went to dinner. They made a huge tent, watched movies and played video games. They were in heaven and Nat was so happy to have her Jordan back!! At dinner we got a chance to see all of our great friends it was so fun and we have not laughed that hard since we were home last :)! The next day we had a great visit with Grandma Elaine and bye bye grandma and grandma Dixie came over for a visit, it was so great!! The girls swam and had a sleepover with their grandmas and had a blast!! They also got a chance to see and sleepover with their BFF's, while Beau and I went to the NRA banquet. We had a great time and won a ton of stuff. A gun, a picture, a spotting scope and a couple other small things. We got to meet some new people, Captain Awesome and his wife ;) they were a ton of fun and had another night full of laughs! I had lunch with my girlfriend, which was way overdue!!! We also got the chance to spend some quality time at the 10-E ranch. It was so great. Blinn took all us girls to do the chores, although we kept him company in the warm truck while the boys did all the work. The girls loved the animals and Nat was so excited to pet the horses, even though they were a little scary. Visiting the horse!!!

The girls posing by the farm truck after we did chores. While riding around Natalie kept saying "hey grandpa we are cowgirls..huh?!?! It was so cute. We can't thank everyone enough for taking us in, feeding us, traveling to meet us, working around our schedule, and just being great. We are so thankful for all of you and miss you all everyday!!!

Where for art thou Gnomeo!!!

We took the girls to see Gnomeo and Juliette. It was a pretty cute show, the girls really loved it!!! As you can tell by the "hot" glasses the girls are sporting it was in 3D. This is the second 3D movie that we have seen, but Nat did a lot better this time. Last time she would not wear the glasses for nothing!! Her's were"stupid" she said. I love family night at the movie!!!

Remember When.....

We had to make home made boxes for Valentines Day?? Since my girls have been in School they have not had to do that. Until this year. Marcy had to make one and we actually had a lot of fun doing it together! I covered it and she decorated it... so cute!!!

Saturday Night Sleepovers

A New tradition that we have since living here in North Dakota is Saturday night sleepovers. The girls will all sleep in one room and watch movie til 10 at night, which is late for them! This is Alyssa and Natalie crammed into Natalie's tent.

This is the view from the outside with the door down :)

I love how close the girls are right now. It is so fun to hear them laughing at each other and talking all hours of the night. They are so so lucky to have each other!!! I hope that they stay as close as they are right now, even though I am sure they will have rough periods in life eventually!!

Back to Work!

Marcy and Natalie washed my car for me and the only one who got wet was me....go figure!! Guess that is what I get for letting them control the water :) They actually did a really good job and we had a lot of fun....Thanks girls!!!

Check out my new wheels!!!

Thanks to Grandma Leslie, who sent the girls some money for Christmas, Natalie finally got the BIG GIRL bike she has had her eye on. And look a basket for Manford!!! She loves it!!!

Delicious Rewards

Marcy and Alyssa are doing so well in school this year. Beau and I are so proud that they are trying hard and being so responsible about their school work. For the second term in a row they both have outstanding grades and both got some amazing news recently. Marcy scored the highest score in her class for reading on her MAPS test and is reading at a 6th grade level. Her teacher moved her up to the gifted and talented class and she is so excited!! I almost cried, because she is so proud of herself!!! I love when they feel a sense of accomplishment. Alyssa went from below grade level at the beginning of the year to above grade level in Math. To reward them for trying so hard and doing so well we let them decide what they wanted to do. They choose Cold Stone, Girls after my own heart!!!! We love them so much!!

Meet Manford

This is Manford. Natalie's stuffed cow!! We recently had a little Drama concerning him I thought you would all enjoy. We were on our way to pick up Marcy and Alyssa from school and Nat asked if she could bring Manford along for the ride? I said sure, so we headed out the door. While going down the stairs of the apartment she asked me so hold it for her. So I put him in my purse and we hurried to the car so we would not be late. When we were sitting in front of the school she asked if she could hold him. I went to get him out of my purse.....but NO MANFORD!!! She was so mad at me!!! As soon as her sisters got in the car she was frantically telling them how I dropped him in the snow and that she is so so upset. After we all got a good laugh, because it was kind of funny, we ran home and Marcy looked everywhere. He was no where!! We did not find him til I got out of the car. He had some how fallen out of my purse and was shut in my car door. I DRUG him to the school and back!!! She was so disgusted that he was dirty and that I was so irresponsible, Yikes!! She couldn't wait to tell Beau and after telling him the story she said " if mom ever drops him in the snow again, we are going to spank her with my belt with the hearts on it!!!!

Dennis made her a trailer so she could haul Manford around. Yep that is duck tape :)!!! By the way...she forgave me!!!

11 years or is it 20?

On the 7th of January Beau and I celebrated our 11th Anniversary!!! When I ask him if he can believe how fast it has gone by he just says" it feels like 20" NICE!!! In all seriousness we have to be two of the luckiest married people out there. I doubt that after 11 years of marriage, there too many couples that are as happy as we are. We have lived a ton of life in the last decade +1. Had three of the most amazingly beautiful girls, been on numerous trips and adventures, and kept laughing while doing it!!! Is life perfect? Of course it isn't, but we are constantly learning about each other and working on our marriage. And I can honestly say I still wake up feeling more grateful and more in love than the day before. Here is to many more years to come, Love you!!

Welcome 2011!!!

It being New Years day I have been thinking about all of the things that I would like to see happen over the next year. I also have a lot of personal goal, all of which I may never accomplish, that I will have to just keep working on on a daily basis. Here are a few of the things that I have in mind......
1. I want to make a bigger effort to make my self healthy. I want to exercise more, eat better, and really focus on healing some of the broken things that I have been hanging onto. It has only taken me 25 years or so, but I am finally ready to move on somehow.
2. I really want to make a big effort to repair some relationships, which I think are worth saving. I also have come to a point in my life where are some people and some relationships that I don't want in my life. Sometimes the choice is made and I just have to deal with it the best I can. But I do have a choice how that person effects me, and I choose to not give them the satisfaction of another thought. Nice, Mean, or any other.
3. I am going to try my hardest to stay away from Drama!! I started this one last year and I have really enjoyed being on the outside, even if I am excluded from things.
4. I also want to take more pictures of the girls and be better about blogging.
5. I want to always remember that it is important to keep up with family and friends and not to let the distance and business of life get in the way.
So here is to 2011, I pray it will be a good one.....I have a feeling it is going to be!!!!

Christmas Vacation

The Girls had just over a week this year for Christmas Vacation and we had a ball hanging out together. Here are some of the things we did.... We went Bowling, with the money that grandma gave us, and had a great time!!!

The girls got a kick out of wearing the "hot" shoes for the first time!!!

Marc and Alyssa roller bladed their little wheels off!! Nat mostly got in the way but did take time to ride her bike a little!!

We put this 3oo piece puzzle together. We went and saw Tangled the move in 3d. Nat was not impressed with the glasses. We watched a ton of movies at home, read books and played with every new thing and are sad that this vacation is coming to and end. I really, for the most part, really enjoy having them here with me!!

Christmas 2010

This Christmas was really strange for us. We were struggling with the fact that we were so far away from family and friends. Plus not being able to do all the the traditions that we love doing every year. So we did the best we could to make the most of it for us and for the girls.

We were so thankful, happy and surprised to have Blinn and Heather visit us a few days before Christmas. They are the first grandparents to make it up here to the frozen tundra and the girls were beyond excited to show them around. It also helped Beau and I to get out of the slump we were settling into. So Thank you both again for everything. The Crappy is waiting for us, BINGO!!!

I must also say a big thanks to all of our loved ones who went out of their way and sent gifts to us way up here. I know that is so expensive to send things and you will never know how much it means to all of us not to be forgotten. Not the gifts necessarily just the knowledge that you thought about us was really touching. The gifts were great to.

Christmas Eve we started something new. I made a ham and scalloped potatoes and we invited all the guys from work to eat with us. They all have families that are somewhere else and we were more than glad to have their company. After we ate and the guys went home, The girls got to open their Christmas eve gifts. I always get them new jammies and this year Grandma Dixie sent them a book with her recorded voice reading it. They loved it!!! After they were in their new jammies we watched Christmas Vacation and the girls laughed so hard. It was really a great night.

Christmas day was so fun!! The girls were beyond excited, although it was Beau's excitement that got us up at 4 am!! They got everything they asked for and so much more. Marcy and Alyssa finally got the roller blades and ipods that they have been dreaming about. Nat got a tents that she can play in. She even opened her presents in there, hence the picture. It was really starting to pile up in there. It turned out to be great even though it was not what we were used to.

Our favorite Christmas tradition!

Ever since the first Christmas that Beau and I were married he has hid gifts on the tree. It started out as a gift for me usually jewelry, and ever since Marcy was old enough to look has hidden gifts for the girls. It is by far one of their favorite things about Christmas and they literally start looking as soon as the tree goes up. They all found their gifts on Christmas Eve and loved them as usual. Nat needed a little help, Ok a lot of help but she did find it eventually.

Has anyone seen my Window???

This is the gingerbread house that Alyssa made at school. She talked about it for days and could not wait to bring it home. The day she finally got it home she wanted to show it to Beau but he was working so she asked me to put it up, where no one would touch it until he got home. So I did, But every time I turned around she was saying something was missing. I was getting so upset with Marcy because she was the only one who could reach it. She kept denying that it was her but I insisted that it was. Come to find out...Alyssa walks past and says "now the window is missing". I said Marcy where is the window? Nat says "I ate it"!! Come to find out she was moving a stool to reach it. What a turd!!