9.01.2011
Birthday Boy!
8.31.2011
364 Days
That's how long this little man has been making our world better!
We adore his content and happy nature.
Tomorrow we shall celebrate the big ONE... (Stay tuned)!
Tomorrow we shall celebrate the big ONE... (Stay tuned)!
8.24.2011
Summer's End...
...came WAY too fast for us! Today was memorable... made me pause to realize how quickly life passes by. My beautiful children just keep growing... up (literally). While I welcome the return to routine, I regret losing the freedom of sweet summertime, and a bustling houseful of kids.
Jesse was sad to see the big kids go... but he still has Daisy...
and Landon!
While the big kids went back to school... Jesse schooled me at SORRY!
12.07.2010
Let it Snow!
It doesn't snow very often here, so when it does... we drop everything, pull on the bibs and hit it hard! We woke up to a Winter Wonderland last Sunday and even though there was only an inch and a half, we could not resist! Thank goodness for late church.Lucky for us, there are kid-friendly hills right in front of our house!
Sledding in style!
My angel... in the snow.
The Big Bad Boys
Going, Going... Gone!!!
The kids LOVED it!! We'll be wishing for more!
10.25.2010
What a Blessing
Being part of a large family occasionally calls for a "marathon" of events. Since getting 10 siblings (et. al.) together isn't easy, ONE event usually brings on many! This mid-October weekend was no exception. We enjoyed 3 days of family-filled festivities as we celebrated LOVE ("baby" sisters wedding), SEASONS (haunted holiday), and LIFE (grandchild #22).
A Frightful night-Full of fun!
The Annual Fishing Pond (for the under-aged); Soup, Salad, & Bread; Rice Crispies & Pumpkin Cake; Twinkling lights; Granny's backyard; Simply Delightful!
$100 Pot for "Best Dressed". Winners= Shrek & Family- NICE!
Little Man of the Hour.
There's nothing like a new baby! With each child, my love inexplicably grows. I'm beginning to realize that it's not so much what they might learn from me, rather... I am continually learning from them! The greater the challenge, the more worth-my-while! I feel so very blessed!!!
A Frightful night-Full of fun!
The Annual Fishing Pond (for the under-aged); Soup, Salad, & Bread; Rice Crispies & Pumpkin Cake; Twinkling lights; Granny's backyard; Simply Delightful!
$100 Pot for "Best Dressed". Winners= Shrek & Family- NICE!
Little Man of the Hour.
There's nothing like a new baby! With each child, my love inexplicably grows. I'm beginning to realize that it's not so much what they might learn from me, rather... I am continually learning from them! The greater the challenge, the more worth-my-while! I feel so very blessed!!!
9.28.2010
Kindness and Quilts
I feel SO VERY fortunate! Lately, many of our friends and family members have come, literally "out of the woodworks" to help us with this transition by bringing food, checking-in, hanging-out and giving... so many creative, cute, fun, thoughtful gifts! I truly am blessed to be surrounded by wonderful people! It's funny cuz, one of my sister's has commented- on many occastions- how amazed she is at my friends- in this little valley and beyond. I'm truly surrounded by GREAT people! Thank you all- for all you do and have done.
HOW SWEET IT IS TO BE LOVED BY YOU!
Super amazing handcrafted quilt by Brigit- My Fav!!!!
The banana bread was just as great!
Oh yes- Jeremy is domestic! Love the mitts!
The morning Gramps "Saved the Day".
Jesse was thrilled to "Pay geo trains in da base mut".
Granny came to my rescue- thanks for the nap, clean sheets, and delicious food!!!
9.06.2010
Scrumptiousness
Good things come in small packages! I am really enjoying this little guy- I especially love the way he squeeks, stretches and smells. I simply cannot get enough of him!!!
8.31.2010
Just One More Day
I Can't believe the time has come! I'm super excited- this is better than Christmas!
4.15.2010
Sean and Kate plus.... 5
So maybe our title doesn't quite have the same ring as the infamous TLC show which aired for a few years and flopped! Happily- we are nothing like them! And Happily we announce we have another one on the way.
Due September 1Oth. It's another boy! So Jesse will have a roommate, Mikelle remains the princess of the house, and D&J can teach him the ropes. Seems simple enough, he'll need Dirt, Trucks and Food (a lot of it) to be happy- I think we can handle that. Boys are a blast!
Due September 1Oth. It's another boy! So Jesse will have a roommate, Mikelle remains the princess of the house, and D&J can teach him the ropes. Seems simple enough, he'll need Dirt, Trucks and Food (a lot of it) to be happy- I think we can handle that. Boys are a blast!
4.13.2010
FUN at the CLARK COUNTY FAIR
For about six months, we've been looking forward to, thinking about and preparing for the Clark County Fair. Duston & Sean selected a steer in September and since then we've been feeding, fitting and training him. We took our trailer down and became fair rats for Four-Fun-Filled Days! Here are a few memories from the unforgettable experience:
DAY 1: Duston competed in Jr. Market Beef Judging- where his steer was judged. Duston and Buddy both did well and looked great in the arena! He placed 5th in his class. Nice Job #629!
Fans included: Grandpa & Grandma; Uncle Derek, Aunt Megan, Stewart, JayLeigh & Maycie; Tory, Emilee, Ally & Jake; and all of us!
After the contest ended, we enjoyed the festivities of the fair- watching the hypnotist show, checking out the small animal pavilion, eating Hawaiian BBQ (which looked much better than it tasted) and letting the kids be silly with their new toys- purchased at bargain prices from one of the fair-booths. We topped off the day at the carnival- riding EVERY ride as many times as we could- since it wasn't very busy. We stayed until closing!
DAY 2: Duston competed in Showmanship- where his skills with the animal were judged. He had to answer questions from the judge and position Buddy's feet. He did a really GREAT job as a first-year, I was so proud watching him handle it all!!
Fans included: Grandpa & Grandma; Granny; Uncle Joe, Aunt Ash, Jordan & Jada; Uncle Drew, Aunt Loke, McKayla & Tyler; Aunt Emily, Taylor, Brinlee & Hannah; Aunt Jess & Hadley; Aunt Cass & Aunt Claire; and all of us. 
We enjoyed lunch at MaggieAnns- Margaret Ann, the head cook, went to High School with my mom. They were cheerleaders together. We grew up with her kids, so it was fun to see many of them there. Plus the food was delish! 
At the small animal pavilion, the kids were able to make their own stick horses and race the barrels and Jerett had a lesson in roping. They also got to see lots of baby animals- piglets, kids, chicks, bunnies, etc. The exhibit even had a camel, monkey, armadillo, and snakes. Jesse especially liked the roosters- and mastered his cock-a-doodle-doo!
DAY 3: In the morning, there was an awards assembly. The A-H 4H Club had several members who received awards, so we went to support them. Clayton even had the grand champion pig!
That afternoon was the auction. When all was said and done Duston commented that, "There were other people bidding on my steer, but grandpa wouldn't let them have it!" He was thrilled that his grandparents were so excited to support him and purchase Buddy. Now we can enjoy him for dinner!
DAY 4: Since the crowds weren't bad and our work with Buddy was done, we went to see some exhibits. The kids loved the old tractors, and were able to make rope with one kind farmer.
We'd never been in to see the displays before, but it was really cool. Jerett found the Legos, Mikelle found the preserves and Jesse found a ceramic train. Check out the super awesome ET costume someone made- it won the blue ribbon!
We had one last bite to eat- Jerett & Jake had been wanting a big pretzel all week. Then we went to see Ally's pig, Twix, for one last time. Jesse really liked the pigs. 
After that- the fun was over, so we loaded up and headed home. All in all, we had a good experience. We learned a lot and came away with memories we'll cherish forever!!
DAY 1: Duston competed in Jr. Market Beef Judging- where his steer was judged. Duston and Buddy both did well and looked great in the arena! He placed 5th in his class. Nice Job #629!
Fans included: Grandpa & Grandma; Uncle Derek, Aunt Megan, Stewart, JayLeigh & Maycie; Tory, Emilee, Ally & Jake; and all of us!
After the contest ended, we enjoyed the festivities of the fair- watching the hypnotist show, checking out the small animal pavilion, eating Hawaiian BBQ (which looked much better than it tasted) and letting the kids be silly with their new toys- purchased at bargain prices from one of the fair-booths. We topped off the day at the carnival- riding EVERY ride as many times as we could- since it wasn't very busy. We stayed until closing!
DAY 2: Duston competed in Showmanship- where his skills with the animal were judged. He had to answer questions from the judge and position Buddy's feet. He did a really GREAT job as a first-year, I was so proud watching him handle it all!!
Fans included: Grandpa & Grandma; Granny; Uncle Joe, Aunt Ash, Jordan & Jada; Uncle Drew, Aunt Loke, McKayla & Tyler; Aunt Emily, Taylor, Brinlee & Hannah; Aunt Jess & Hadley; Aunt Cass & Aunt Claire; and all of us. 
We enjoyed lunch at MaggieAnns- Margaret Ann, the head cook, went to High School with my mom. They were cheerleaders together. We grew up with her kids, so it was fun to see many of them there. Plus the food was delish! 
At the small animal pavilion, the kids were able to make their own stick horses and race the barrels and Jerett had a lesson in roping. They also got to see lots of baby animals- piglets, kids, chicks, bunnies, etc. The exhibit even had a camel, monkey, armadillo, and snakes. Jesse especially liked the roosters- and mastered his cock-a-doodle-doo!
DAY 3: In the morning, there was an awards assembly. The A-H 4H Club had several members who received awards, so we went to support them. Clayton even had the grand champion pig!
That afternoon was the auction. When all was said and done Duston commented that, "There were other people bidding on my steer, but grandpa wouldn't let them have it!" He was thrilled that his grandparents were so excited to support him and purchase Buddy. Now we can enjoy him for dinner!
DAY 4: Since the crowds weren't bad and our work with Buddy was done, we went to see some exhibits. The kids loved the old tractors, and were able to make rope with one kind farmer.
We'd never been in to see the displays before, but it was really cool. Jerett found the Legos, Mikelle found the preserves and Jesse found a ceramic train. Check out the super awesome ET costume someone made- it won the blue ribbon!
We had one last bite to eat- Jerett & Jake had been wanting a big pretzel all week. Then we went to see Ally's pig, Twix, for one last time. Jesse really liked the pigs. 
After that- the fun was over, so we loaded up and headed home. All in all, we had a good experience. We learned a lot and came away with memories we'll cherish forever!!
4.12.2010
The Story of BUDDY the Steer
For Duston's 4H Record Book, we put together these scrapbook pages about this year's project. I helped with the photos and layout and he came up with the story. ENJOY!!!
Chapter One: There once was a fine young steer, who lived on the Stewart Ranch. On the day that I saw him, I knew he was the one, to make my first market beef project a lot of fun!
Chapter Two: At Christmastime, I was walking my steer and he got excited, so I said, "Whoa Buddy!" And I thought of the movie Elf. From then on my steer was known as Buddy. I think he even looks a bit like Will Ferrell.
Chapter Three: Each day I took care of Buddy. As time has gone, Buddy has learned the show moves. Both Buddy and I are nervous, but pretty much he is rad, so I think he will do fine.
Chapter Four: Learning to take care of Buddy has been AWESOME! I'm excited to show him off at the fair.
(Pictures Shown) October, January, April. The End
Chapter One: There once was a fine young steer, who lived on the Stewart Ranch. On the day that I saw him, I knew he was the one, to make my first market beef project a lot of fun!
Chapter Two: At Christmastime, I was walking my steer and he got excited, so I said, "Whoa Buddy!" And I thought of the movie Elf. From then on my steer was known as Buddy. I think he even looks a bit like Will Ferrell.Chapter Three: Each day I took care of Buddy. As time has gone, Buddy has learned the show moves. Both Buddy and I are nervous, but pretty much he is rad, so I think he will do fine.
Chapter Four: Learning to take care of Buddy has been AWESOME! I'm excited to show him off at the fair.
(Pictures Shown) October, January, April. The End
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