Sit tall in the saddle

What we've been up too

2012-01-30T13:10:00.000-08:00

Can I just say that I live in the most beautiful place in the whole world! This past week we have really enjoyed our surrounding and each other....and we only had to drive 20 minutes from our house.
Our first adventure was up to Joes Valley one day after Kade got home from school. We loaded up our sled and our snow clothes and headed out for a hike up to the coolest waterfall ever.

On our way the boys thoroughly enjoyed the snow. They rolled in it, the threw it, they ate it....they LOVED it.

While on our hike we came upon this fun little hole in the rock, so the boys had to pose with their heads sticking out.

Finally the end result of our hike. Amazing isn't it.

Our next adventure was out to the desert to check the cows. This adventure was definitely exciting because we got stuck! This is something that we are very used to in our family. Kyle seems to get us in a pickle quite a bit. This time, we had to have Kyle's cousin Kash come and pull us out.

It took Kash about a hour and a half to get to us. Kade was determined to dig us out while we waited for Kash.

As you can kind of see, the back tires are not touching the ground at all. Even though we only saw 3 cows and spent most of the day stuck, we had a good time and made a fun memory with our boys.

Happy New Year

2012-01-07T15:29:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Can you believe that it is 2012? Weird! We had a great time ringing in the new year by going sledding around Buckhorn Reservoir. The kids had a blast getting pulled around and dumped off the sled.

We had a nice camp fire that Kade help make

After a few hours of sledding, we all headed over to Groggs for dinner.

And then off to the bowling alley

Superman is quite the little bowler!

The next day Kyle took us all ice fishing up to Willow Lake. We ended up getting skunked, but it was a nice ride and it made for some cute pictures of my boys!

Hanging in the ice fishing tent

I can't wait to see what 2012 brings!

Christmas and more

2011-12-30T06:47:00.001-08:00

Christmas came and went super fast this year, but we still enjoyed every minute. We were able to visit with Santa several times this year. The first time was at the Castle Dale town party. Here are the boys with Santa.

Our quick picture with Santa...Jess didn't even cry.

Around the first part of December we ventured high into the mountains to find some snow for sledding. Jess LOVED it can't you tell.

I don't know if you can see it very well, but the day before picture was taken, Tyce crashed on his bike and tore up his entire face. Poor thing!

Now for Christmas. My mom always throws a way fun party to kick on the Christmas season. It is always so much fun and is always jam packed with activities. This year we played survivor and we started off at the farm with a shooting contest. Tyce and Kade were pretty good little shooters.

After the adults shot their clay pigeons, we took the party up to the elementary school for some more fun games and a super funny talent show. Here is Jess just being his dang cute self.

Kade and Kelsey participating in the three legged race

Doesn't Kyle look like a stud!

After playing at the elementary, we headed to my moms for yummy food and presents. My mom gave us all "The Pass of All Passes". What a cool present!!

Christmas Eve:

For Christmas eve, we started the day at Grandma Reid's for a caroling party and then we headed out to Buckhorn Reservoir for my Grandma Hansen's party. The kids had a ball being pulled around the reservoir behind the 4-wheelers (and I had a ball trying to dump them off the sled). It was the perfect day for sure.

Here we are caroling for my Grandma Reid's party

Our last stop on Christmas Eve was at Kyle's mom's house to re-enact the nativity. Kade made a wonderful donkey!

Here are the kids waiting patiently to open their Christmas jammies

All the grandkids on Kyle's side.

Christmas morning was priceless! I just love the look on my kids faces when they see what Santa brought for them. Here is Kade with a few of his presents.

Tyce was SO excited that Santa brought a batman cave! He started clapping when he saw it.

Jess was excited too. He loved his bouncing moo cow and train the most!

Tyce got this little 4-wheeler from Santa and he had so much fun hauling Jess around the yard.

We had such a merry Christmas and we were sad to see it end so fast. We hope that you all had as much fun as we did! Happy new year!

Happy Birthday Tyce!

2011-12-06T08:56:00.001-08:00

My little Superhero turned 4 and we celebrated his birthday with a super fun bowling party. Tyce was so excited about his birthday and that he was now a BIG 4 year old. Tyce had to have a superhero birthday this year so I made him this superman/batman cake.

The party was a HUGE success! We ate pizza, bowled, and then walked out of the bowling alley to the Helper Light Parade. Tyce couldn't believe that there was a parade just for his birthday :) Kyle and I decided to get him some costumes for his birthday this year because he wears a costume EVERYDAY (he even wears a cape to church). He was so pumped to see a transformer, green lantern, spiderman, buzz lightyear, and Robin costume. He hasn't wore clothes since.

I can't believe that Tyce is already 4 years old. He has made life hilarious and exciting. Each day he makes me crazy mad and extremely happy. He is a sweetheart with a one of a kind personality and I just love this boy! Happy Birthday Superman!

Oh Christmas Tree...

2011-12-06T08:38:00.001-08:00

We always go and cut our tree down the day after Thanksgiving, and this year was no different. This year we went up Cottonwood Canyon and found this beauty :)! Kade and Kyle went on quite the hike to find this tree and Kade was sure proud of it.

Decorating the tree was so fun. The kids really got into it and had fun putting on all of the decorations....all except Jess, he had more fun tearing them apart.

The tree turned out perfect...lets just hope it stays green until Christmas!

Cute Cowboys!

2011-11-07T08:17:00.000-08:00

My cute little cowboys had their awards dinner for participating in the Castle Country Playday horse shows. They were so excited to receive their prizes....and so cute too. Here are the kids who participated:

Kade and Wade thought they were pretty cool!

Here is Kade receiving his prizes. He got a cowboy hat, boots, belt buckle, spurs, pants, and a truck and trailer toy.

Tyce got boots, a hat, spurs, belt buckle, belt, and pants.

This weekend during the FREEZING COLD weather, we pushed our cows down on the desert. Everyone came to help and it turned out being a great day. When you get down into Redds Canyon, you have to cross the river several times and it was quite high. On one crossing, the horses had quite the leap to get out onto the bank. Well, lets just say that Colton's horse didn't make it up the bank and dumped Colton into the water. He was super brave even though I think he really wanted to cry. He froze the whole way back, but was a trooper.

Jasa and Kelsey

Kade and Kyle on 2 of our new horses: Breezy and MC

It was a great day and my favorite thing to do. I can't wait until all my boys are riding and helping their mom and dad get the cows on the desert.....My dad is defiantly proud of his grandkids!

Happy Haunting!!

2011-11-03T14:50:00.000-07:00

It seemed like Halloween lasted FOREVER this year....but we had a lot of fun.

Here we all are trick or treating at my Grandma Hansen's. Yep...I am the one the wig and mustache....I look GOOD!

Tyce was so excited to wear his Superman Costume to preschool this year....especially when another superman showed up to the party too.
This is the best picture I got with all three boys. They were pretty spooky!
Kade had to be SCARY this year

Tyce was superman (again) but with a brand new costume. His costume from last year was in pieces because he wore it everyday for the past year. I am not sure if he will ever grow out of the superhero thing! He even has to wear his Superman Cape to church...silly boy!

Kade took this of himself....I think it turned out pretty freaky!

Grandma Laurie making her witches brew at Ashlie's carving party

Tyce loved getting the "guts" out of the pumpkin

Kade carved his pumpkin all by himself this year. It turned out great!

We also had a WAY fun party at Jasa's. We played games, ate good food, frosted cookies, told spooky stories, and dressed up like mummies!

The kids also got to parade at the Elementary school. Here are Kade, Chase, and Superman....I mean Tyce!

My little bat was so cute this year. There is nothing spooky about this cutie pie!

Grandma Hansen's 80th Birthday

2011-10-16T14:31:00.001-07:00

This Saturday we celebrated Grandma Hansen's 80th birthday out on Cedar Mountain. The weather was perfect and the food was delicious....we were just missing 1 thing.....Grandpa. Even though we were missing someone super special, the day was really fun. After we ate a great meal, we celebrated by dancing and enjoying every one's company.

Grandma Hansen and Mom Here is a quick pic of just my mom's grandkids....pretty cute bunch!

Mom dancing with the grand girls
Kade and Kelsey

Everyone doing what we do best!!

Grandma Jo and Jess (that's right...minus the feeding tube! Hooooooray!)

My Grandma Hansen is seriously the greatest lady I have ever met. She is tough and strong and she works her butt off. She has managed to raise a fabulous family who stick together through thick and thin and has NEVER missed a thing that me or my kids have done. She is one special lady and I love her to pieces. Happy 80th grandma!

Having Fun!!

2011-09-29T11:10:00.000-07:00

Finally, the last parade of the year (thank goodness)! Peach days was actually a lot of fun this year. We first hit the parade and then the kids all got their faces painted. After the parade we ate lunch at the golf course and then hit the horse races for some intense betting! Kade won quite a few quarters....he is a lucky little fella! After the horse races it was the derby which is always fun.

We also took an interesting ride out to Mussentuchit Sand Dunes. Once we finally made it out there it was worth the chaos. The kids could have played out there all day and I loved just hanging out and visiting while eating yummy treats!

Elmo will never be the same

2011-09-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

This past week has been such a hard week for my family. My Grandpa Hansen passed away on Sept. 20th up at Utah Valley hospital. My Grandpa had not felt the best for a few days and so when grandpa went to take his blood pressure there wasn't one. She got him over to the hospital and they too could not get a blood pressure so they sent him by ambulance to Utah Valley. It didn't take long once he got there to leave this earth holding my Grandma's hand.

My grandpa was supposed to live forever. He was one of the greatest men that I knew and he loved us kids so much! He knew exactly what was going on in our lives at all times and he was always involved. A few days before my grandpa passed away my grandpa had headed down the street to visit with a bunch of his friends and when he got back to said "You should see all them old sons a bitches.....they're gonna die any day"!

Grandpa was such a story teller. He would sit on his front porch all day and visit with everyone that passed telling all of them quite the stories. He had the best laugh and boy did he love his life.
I don't think I knew two people who were more in love than my grandma and grandpa. When he passed my grandma was so sad and said "he's never been anywhere without me" and it was true. They did everything together for the past 58 years and they enjoyed every minute of it.

The graveside was so fitting for my grandpa. A little while back he had my mom sign a notarized paper that she would not have him a funeral so we had him a little graveyard service. It was the BEST "funeral I have ever been too and I will never forget the wonderful things that people said about him.

I will miss him so much and so will my kids. During the family prayer Kade just started sobbing...it broke my heart. He loved my grandpa and it was so hard for him to say goodbye.

It is going to be so hard to pull up to his house and not see him sitting in his chair.

Grandpa, I promise to think of you whenever I tear into a Hershey's chocolate bar and I promise to head to mesquite any chance I get to look for that quarter you lost 50 years ago in that damn slot machine. I love you and I will miss you so much!

My Grandpa served in the Korean War...What a Handsome Danish Man!
Here is a pic of him and my grandpa. Rough bunch huh!

My grandpa and his best bud/brother Aron. They are back together in heaven enjoying a nice warm cup of coffee!

Back to School

2011-09-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

I am not sure who was more excited for Kade to start Kindergarten me or Kade. I couldn't wait for him to go because he was SO ready. This year he is in Mrs. Norton's class (we hear she's pretty special) with both his cousins Kelsey and Chase. I told Kade that he had to call Jasa Mrs. Norton and so far she said that he has done pretty good.

Here are Kade and Kelsey the morning of their first day of Kindergarten

Tyce also started school this year. This is his first year of preschool and he too was really excited. He has been waiting his turn for school for such a long time and was pumped when it was time to go. He was acting like such a nerd for his first day picture, but he was still cute!

Here he is at Ms. Sandra's after his little open house. He such a silly boy!

For Labor Day weekend we took off to Fish Lake for the day. The weather was perfect and it was nice to just go our for a drive. There were a ton of people there so the fishing wasn't that great....but the hamburger for lunch was awesome.

Here are a few of the kids playing on the docks

Kade and his best pal fishing

Jess was just glad to be outside.

Tyce can't sit still for two seconds so he spent most of his time splashing through the water with Chase.

One of the most fun things we have done this summer is our little horse shows. Kade and Tyce have done so well on their horses this year and I couldn't be more proud. Kade is riding all by himself and is fearless.

Here he is at the arena practicing before the show

Jess LOVES the horses! He calls them moo cows but he gets so excited everyday when we go and feed them. He is a pretty cute cowboy!

Happy Birthday Jess....gotta love spending it in the hospital!

2011-08-23T14:20:00.001-07:00

I know....how could a baby this adorable have anything wrong with him! Well after months and months we finally figured out the the continuous pneumonia and coughing is because he aspirates almost everything he eats...crazy huh! This past Thursday Jess had a swallow study done and they feed him super thick pudding and watched as it went down on x-ray. Well lets just say not very much of the pudding went to his stomach, most of it went straight to his lungs. Primary Children's immediately admitted us and placed a feeding tube. Yesterday we took him back to Primary Children's for a bronchi scope, a laryngeal scope, and a gelfoam injection. He is doing pretty well today if he would just stop pulling the feeding tube out. The tube has to stay in for the next two weeks and then we will do another swallow study to see if the gelfoam injection helped. Staying at Primary Children's makes you feel so blessed to have such a healthy and happy baby.

Jess was admitted to Primary Children's on his birthday (which I was afraid of) so we made sure to celebrate a few days earlier. We had Jess a swimming party in our backyard and it was so fun. Here is the big 1 year old with his octopus cake.

Kade on the racing slip and slide
and the water slide

Jess preferred the kiddy pool

Tyce liked the treats

Opening presents

Best of all.....aspirating his birthday cake!

While we were at the hospital with Jess, my awesome mom and sisters took Kade and Tyce camping with them. After Jess was discharged, we were able to go and spend the day as well. Here are the kids coming back from a hike up Horse Canyon.

Shooting their bow's

Jess was glad to be out of the hospital and enjoying the fresh air

Kade has been really working on "beefiing" up his muscles. He does his exercises everyday to get them strong...it is pretty hilarious. Anyway, he decided it was time to show them off to everyone so Tyce joined in.

The kids also had fun shooting BB guns. I am not too sure about that.

A few weeks ago was the Emery County Fair. I wasn't super impressed this year, but here were a few highlights.

The bungee jump was pretty cool

Scales and Tails came and did a little show. The reptiles were awesome!

Kade loved the snakes...and yes that is a HUGE anaconda in the background.

This summer has been super hard with Jess being sick. I am just so thankful for my mom and sisters for all of their help with my kids. I don't know what I would have done without them.

Joes Valley,Rodeo, Grandpa's B-day, Riding Bikes

2011-08-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

My Grandpa Hansen is seriously one of the greatest people I know and I just love him to death. He is so much fun to be around and he adores my boys. For my grandpa's 83rd birthday we had a little get together at my moms and it turned out great. Almost everyone was there so we all got together for a big family photo. Here are all of my Grandpa Hansen's grandkids. Pretty fun crowd!

While us adults enjoyed a yummy dinner, the kids had a ball swimming in the pool and racing on the slip and slide. Jess didn't love the water, but loved the attention he was getting. Isn't he so dang cute?

Kade and Tyce having a little race

My boys are quite the little bike riders. Kade rides his bike EVERYWHERE. He is so good on it and he impresses me everyday. There other day we went up to the bike jumps for a little fun.

About 3 months ago Tyce decided on his own to ditch the training wheels. He got on his bike and took off without any help. May I remind you that he is 3 and now rides the bike tracks and does tricks at the elementary on his bike. He is so awesome!

Going to the rodeo means so much more to me than just a few hours of entertainment. The rodeo is magical to me. It brings back so many memories of my dad up in that announcers stand or imagining him riding one of those crazy mean bulls.... it makes me smile. My dad was home at the rodeo and that is kind of the way I feel.

Here are me and my cowboys at the Desertview Pro Rodeo

Playing in the water is a must for my boys. Today we drove by this river and had to go and jump in. We didn't have much time so are are so going back tomorrow for a full on dip.

This is a cute picture of Kade, Abby, and Tyce when we went to Joes Valley to play around. It was such a cool little tree...and it made a cute pic.

Fun in the Sun

2011-07-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

We are definitely having a busy and fun summer. We have not spent a single day at home....and each day involves getting soaked at some point.
Here we are at Huntington Lake where the kids took a dip and then spent the rest of the afternoon catching crawdads.

Swimming out to the docks

Tyce....my little daredevil
My sweet little man Jess and Jamie
Kade thought that catching crawdads was great. We were catching like 4 at a time and Kade loved grabbing them and sticking them in the bucket.

Tyce loved helping get them out of the water with the net....he took his job serious.

After catching an entire bucket full, the kids dumped them all on the docks and watched them fall off into the water.

We have also been on some fun fishing trips. Kade is really a good fisherman and he actually puts his own worm on the hook.

Tyce just likes having fun while fishing. He likes to get wet, throw rocks, and run around like a crazy person....he cracks me up!

We took a little 4-wheeler ride up Ferron Mtn the other day and there were so many pretty wildflowers. I tried really hard to get a good picture of my cute boys by sitting in the flowers....and this is the best I could get.

Little Jess eating some jerky on our ride. He is such a trooper.

I swear I have the cutest little boys in the whole world. The have some much fun with each other and are always pretty easy going. I love hanging out with these cuties.

4th of July = Primary Childrens

2011-07-09T19:18:00.000-07:00

Well our 4th of July weekend didn't really turn out the way I had planned, but that's life isn't it?

Jess has been struggling to breath for a really long time.......long before our first stay at the hospital in May----so I decided to take him BACK to the pediatrician to try again. Well once again he sent us to the hospital to get a chest X-ray (literally our 10th x-ray in 2 months) and like all the x-rays is showed a small collapse in the upper lob of his lung. Dr. Madsen then decided that it was time to get things figured out and sent us immediately to Primary Children's hospital. When we got their they admitted us and started monitoring his oxygen level. The first night that we were there he was on 3 liters of oxygen....which is quite a bit. After 5 days of being at the hospital and being treated for asthma, his oxygen started doing a lot better. They sent us home and in a few weeks we have to go back and get a scope done of his lung to see what is going on. I hope that in a few weeks we can finally nip this little problem in the butt!!

Even though he was struggling to breath he was the happiest and cutest little baby ever!!

While Jess and I camped out at the hospital, Kyle took my boys camping with my family. He said that they had a blast and stayed extra busy. On Monday, the 4th, I was able to come home for a day and take Kade and Tyce to the parade. We had fun gathering all of the candy, but Tyce was an emotional wreck the entire day. He was having a really hard time with me being gone. I felt so bad having to leave him again when the parade was over.

Here the boys are waiting for the parade to start

They had some fun things to do at the park after the parade like riding this really awesome train

And probably the best part of the day was when Tyce got to buy this way cool superman toy. He loves superman....he actually dresses in his superman costume on EVERYDAY (he actually has it on right now).

Because Jess and I missed the fireworks on the 4th, Kyle had us a little firework show at the house. The kids had a blast with the sparklers and afterwords we cooked s'mores over the stove (my first time cooking s'mores not on a fire).

Tyce isn't a huge fan on fireworks so he climbed up on the camper shell in the garage and zonked out.

Today since everything has settled down a bit, we rode to Mill Meadows to go fishing. Jasa, Jared, their kids, and my mom all came. We had a really good time and the kids actually caught a few nice fish.

After Mill Meadows we drove over to this little lake to try our luck. We didn't catch any fish here but it sure was pretty.

silly boys!

Even though things didn't go as planned, everything still worked out! I just love my little family.
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4 years ago today my dad passed away. I miss him everyday and wish so much that my kids knew him. He was so much fun to be around and never missed a thing that I did. He worked hard and he taught us so much. I miss riding my horse with him and I miss his gigantic smile. What a special person he was what a lucky girl to have had such an amazing dad...I just wish that it would have lasted more than 25 years. I love you dad!

Weekend Getaway

2011-06-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we took a trip down to St. George for a fun little weekend getaway. The first stop on our trip was to the Tuachann to see "The Little Mermaid". The play was okay but nothing compared to Tarzan last year. By the time it was over all three of my boys were sound asleep.

The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast, and then took a little dip in the hotel pool. Next we went to the Fiesta fun center and we rode bumper boats, go carts, and we played in the arcade. Kade and I had a blast squirting Kyle and Tyce.

Jess is just cute huh!

After the Fiesta Fun center we went to "Cars 2" at the 3D theater. My boys have been waiting so long to see it and Kade loved every minute of it. After the movie we decided to head down to Mesquite to stay another night. When we got their the boys just had to go bowling.

And it was so hot so we took another dip in the hotel pool

It was so nice to getaway for a little while. We have been really busy with farming and cows and since we got them on the mtn a little getaway was just what we needed. Here we are a few days earlier up on East Mountain fixin fence before the cows went up.

After fixing fence we headed down to the arena for the annual Castle Dale Days kids rodeo. This year Kade decided to do a little Muttin Bustin. I was so proud of my little cowboy for being so tough. Here he is getting ready.

This is just a silly picture of Kade. He went upstairs, spiked his hair up, put on some shades, and then walked around the house like this:

What We Have Been Up Too.....

2011-06-10T16:26:00.000-07:00

I know that summer just started, but man we have been busy!
While Jess and I were in the hospital Kyle branded calves. He had so many people come and help him.....and he got the job done. No one took any pictures so I was glad that we had this little straggler so that I could help brand at least one calf.
We started our little 4-H club last week and for our first activity we rode our bikes to the swimming pool, had a picnic, and then went swimming. Here are all of the kids ready to head out!

Cooling off in the pool

We went on a little camping trip up Huntington Canyon and it was nice to get out and enjoy the mountains.

The kids had a ball playing in their "club"

For the past two weeks Kade and Tyce have been in swimming lessons. Kade has done so well and could swim across the entire length of the pool after just a few days of lessons. Tyce loved it at first and we super fearless until a lengthy swim scared him pretty bad. After that it was kind of hard to get him to swim for every long....but he did really well when he would actually get in a try.

Kade swimming with his teacher cheering him on

Tyce jumping off the diving board....he loved that!

Kade in flight

Finally we attended 4-H camp and once again I wasn't impressed.....but Kade loved it and was front and center for every presentation. Here they are listening about different types of bugs.

Tyce liked looking at the bugs too. He's funny!

The coolest part about camp was the little bug catchers that they made.....you would put your tube near a bug and suck it up throw the straw. Kade caught a few aunts and was thrilled.

So our summer has started out with a bang. He can't wait for more fun activities!

Kade's Preschool Graduation

2011-05-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

I will have to admit that I have the most handsome preschool graduate in the whole world. Kade graduated from Kiddy Korner Preschool and he has really had a ton of fun with his teachers Ms. Sandra and Ms. Karla. For their graduation they had a little program where they sang songs and said a little part. Kade did so good. He knew his part perfect and he sang all the songs. He was so handsome out there and he looked so grown up. I am so excited for him to go to Kindergarten because he is so ready!

Such a handsome little guy

Kade and his best pal Kelsey

These too really are quite the pals....they have so much fun together and I hope that they always look out for one another.

This week we have also been in the hospital with Jess. He has had a cough forever and we finally figured out that it was not only pneumonia but RSV, Influenza A, and Influenza B. Our pediatrician (who was also my pediatrician) said that in all of his years of being a Dr. he has never seen a kid with all 4 things at one time. We spent five days in the hospital and are now home trying to still get rid of the pneumonia.

Here he is at the hospital when we first arrived. He looks pretty cute for being such a sicky huh!

Jess never had a fever and was never cranky. He actually thought that it was pretty cool in the hospital with all the attention.

He is now home and is feeling much better. He really missed wrestling with his brothers and got right to it when we walked in the door.

Now that Kade is done with school, and Jess is out of the hospital, we can now start enjoying our summer. I have planted my flowers and I can't wait for them to grow. I am excited for the many camping trips and four wheeler rides we will take. I am excited for my kids to be out of the house playing all day long in the pool......but most of all I am grateful to be the mom to such cute little boys. I am so lucky!!

Dance Review, Soccer, and Swimming

2011-05-08T16:56:00.003-07:00

I signed Kade and Tyce up in a little boys hip hop class in January and they have LOVED it. Well this Friday was their final show and they were SO dang cute. I was so proud of my handsome little fellas.
Kade has been also busy with soccer. He is such a good little player even though he is the smallest one on the team.

Finally, with it being warm outside, I have let the boys swim in Kade's new little swimming pool. Kade was cracking me up with his goggles and roo's.......who needs a swim suit anyways!!

My little Jess is getting so big. He is crawling around now and is loving being able to explore. He is the cutest little guy ever and I can't get enough of his cute little sun burnt cheeks!

Happy Birthday Kade

2011-05-02T18:21:00.000-07:00

Kade is 5 years old.....are you serious? Kade is such a cool kid! He is so easy going and loves to do about everything. He is the star of his soccer team, the highlight of his hip hop class, the smartest in his preschool class, and by far the cutest little wrestler.

Kade wanted to have a Monster Truck birthday party this year and we had so much fun putting it all together. The kids made their own monster trucks and had a ball racing around our backyard on the very cool track. We had a monster truck pinata and of course a way fun treasure hunt. It was so much fun, it just would have been nice if it wasn't so cold.

Also this weekend we took the kids to a playday kids rodeo. It was so fun to see my kids racing around the barrels and riding through the poles. They thought they were pretty dang cool riding Blondie in their very own rodeo.

Who is that sexy mama leading that good lookin' pony? Oh yeah, it's me!!

The boys were SO excited to get their ribbons. It was such a fun day!

Jess is such a little trooper. He has to come along to all of our events.......most of the time is tuckers him right out!

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T14:22:00.000-07:00

I am sure that I have mentioned this before, but Easter is by far my FAVORITE holiday. I love Easter because:

You get to paint Easter Eggs. I love painting Easter Eggs. I always boil a ton so that there is enough for me to color some too. The boys also had a blast painting their eggs. Kade made his into monsters and Tyce was thrilled with his superman egg.

The Easter Egg Hunt's this year were also fun. The first one we went to was at the local grocery store (can I just say AWESOME!!!). The kids all came home with bug juice, string cheese, donuts, rubber band bracelets, soda's, and tons of other fun things. It was a hit. The next one was at the city park. We got to take our picture with EB himself.....the hunt was well.....ok.

Chase, Kade, and Tyce ready for the BIG hunt

On Thursday we headed out on the desert for our annual Easter camping trip. In all my 28 years, I have never not camped for Easter. The best part about camping is that my kids play and play and play until they are exhausted. Here are Kyle and Tyce gearing up for a 4-wheeler ride.

Jess was also a great sport. He is a great little camper (a very handsome one as well).

Tyce

We played a really fun game of baseball. Kade is becoming quite the little athlete (he gets it from his mom...... J/K)

The Easter Bunny always finds us out on the desert and this year he brought Kade and Tyce a basket full of fun things like this little paintball gun.

The EB also did a great job hiding their eggs, here we are at 7:00am looking for them.

Jess did a great job hunting for eggs too

Here are my cute little boys posing with their Easter baskets. They were so excited. Tyce said that he saw the Easter Bunny come into our trailer and leave treats (he is always full of stories).

For our ride this Easter, we drove down to "The Jump". Each year we take a drive somewhere cool....thankgoodness it wasn't the dinosaur quarry again.

Our next camping adventure was another Easter Egg hunt. When we were all through finding eggs, Tyce sat himself down in this little spot and "had a picnic". We weren't even close to camp, but he wasn't about to move from his special little spot. He cracks me up. (EB did not give him those shades, it was a treasure that he found on his hunt)

Finally, it is also our tradition to "roll our Easter Eggs".....well or throw them, but it's all the same. By the time we were all done rolling eggs, the hill was all sorts of fun colors.

I am sad that Easter went by so fast. I already wish that we were back out camping! Happy Easter everyone!

Our Awesome Vacation

2011-04-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to take my boys to Disneyland for such a long time and we finally did it! We decided to fly to California first of all because Tyce LOVES airplanes and has never actually been on one.....well lets just say it wasn't his favorite part of the vacation......he HATED it. Anyway, we flew into San Diego, rented a car, and started our trip at the Maritime Museum:

Kade and Tyce loved the submarines and the pirate ships

After the museum, we checked into our hotel and then headed to the beach. The boys loved playing in the sand and running in the waves....until they got really cold.

Kade sporting his roo's on the beach

Our next stop was Sea World. We spent two days there and the kid loved it. Their favorite part was the sharks. We had to go and see them quite a few times.

We ended our little trip with a few days at Disneyland. We all thought that the buzz lightyear ride was the coolest. Tyce wasn't much of a thrill seeker, so Kade and I had to ride a lot of the rides without Tyce and dad. Here they are in toon town.

We left Jess at home with Grandma Jo. We missed him so much and we were so happy to finally get home to give him kisses. Here are the mickey ears we bought for him. He is so cute isn't he!!!

Now that we are home and getting back into the swing of things we are getting ready for Easter and Kade's birthday.

Wrestling and Lovin the Outdoors

2011-04-02T14:46:00.000-07:00

Can I just tell you that I have the cutest little wrestlers in the WHOLE world! Kade and Tyce have been wrestling for the past month now and I have had a blast watching them. Kade does so good and never gives up. He always looks up to the audience to make sure that we are all watching him take down his opponent. Tyce cracks us all up. He gets out there ready to wrestle and then he starts running.....it is so funny because usually the person that he is supposed to wrestle starts chasing him and it becomes quite the game. Last Thursday was their last big tournament where they got their hoodies and their medals. They thought they were pretty neat stuff with those medals......well I thought they were pretty neat myself.

Here they are getting ready for their big match

This is what Tyce spent his time doing.....well that and running around and doing cartwheels Look at my tough little Kaders Receiving their medals

We have also been spending A LOT of time outdoors....usually out on the desert to check on the cows. Here is Jess loving being outside. He is such a cute baby and is always so happy. This little man melts my heart every time I look at him.

Two of a kind aren't they?

On one of our trips out to the desert, we fixed a fence around the covert by the water trough. By the time we were done fixing fence, Kade and Tyce were soaked from playing in the water trough.

Best buds

This Saturday we took the four wheelers and rode out to cupcake rock to carve Jess and Bodee's names in the family rock. The weather was perfect, and the ride was a blast. Jess did really well on his first 4-wheeler ride.

I just hope that this warm weather sticks around so that we can continue to enjoy the outdoors. I have really enjoyed seeing all of our baby calves and can't wait for our next adventure.

Aloha

2011-03-06T08:43:00.000-08:00

What a vacation! Hawaii was definitely the vacation of a lifetime which I will always remember. My mom took me and my sisters for a week and what an adventure we had.

It all started in Las Vegas where we stopped at Hooters to kill a few hours before our flight to Honolulu. They had this promotion going on where you signed up for their rewards and they gave you $100 to spend in a special machine. Well long story short, Jamie ended up winning $209 so she bought us some really expensive cheesecake and we were on our way. Here she is with her winnings....it was pretty funny!

We took a red eye flight to Honolulu so we got there at about 6:00 am. Our first stop was Pearl Harbor which was pretty neat, but kind of blah.....definitely not the highlight of our Hawaii trip.

Across the bay is where the USS Arizona sank and where the memorial sits.
On the memorial

After exploring Pearl Harbor, we found some much needed breakfast and then we headed to Hanauma Bay to try out our snorkeling skills. We had SO much fun checking out the sea turtles and the gigantic fish in the bay. One thing we learned real fast is that you shouldn't laugh while snorkeling because your masks fills with water (it happened to us A LOT).

Yep, we snorkeled down there!!!

We were some SEXY snorkelers!!!

After snorkeling we went to Waikiki beach to our hotel, showered, and then headed back to the beach. Here we are posing in front of some pretty green stuff.

Waikiki Beach

We also took a drive down the North Shore. The beach was so pretty and we were able to stumble across this cool little blow hole.
One of my favorite parts of our trip was our snorkeling tour out of Ko Olina. Our captain was hilarious and made our trip so awesome. As we started out in the ocean, we ran into a few whales. February is the best time to see whales because they come to Hawaii to mate and give birth, then they go back to Alaska. Anyway, we got really close to these two whales and it was AWESOME. You have to remember that humpback whales are the size of a school bus......our boat was 1/4 that size.

After watching the whales for a bit, we were finally able to get out into the ocean and do some snorkeling. The water was so clear and we were able to see some really awesome things.

Here we are feeding the fish

After a few minutes of being out in the water, our captain hurried us back onto the boat because he had found the dolphins. He said that it had been a while since anyone had been able to swim with them, but he thought we would give it a try. He gave a strict instructions to not move once we "ninja pencil dived" into the water (while the boat was moving). We all followed his instructions perfectly and were able to swim with the dolphins. It was amazing!

This picture is my favorite.

We are all looking like HOTTIES! We belong on the beaches of Hawaii don't we?

When we got back to the harbor, our captain took us to see this Pirates of the Caribbean ship. It used to the be black pearl, but in the new movie, it was called something different. It was really cool and the detail was crazy!!

After getting off our snorkeling tour, we jumped through the outside shower and headed to the Polynesian Cultural Center with our hair soaked. It was pretty cool. Here is a sexy Polynesian climbing a coconut tree.

Yeah....we're funny!

So every time we had to pose here they wanted us to make the "hang loose" sign. Well my mom could not do it......it was hilarious. She finally gave up and just didn't even try in our pics.

Luau

The next morning we woke up and went to the swap meet and then headed to the airport to fly to Maui. When we got there we attempted Hana Drive. The drive was insane, but the scenery was beautiful. Here we are in some bamboo.

The waterfall we hiked to

Hawaii was just pretty EVERYWHERE!

You can REALLY swing from these vines, I didn't try, but Jamie and Jasa did

We also went and saw the Iao Needle. It was really pretty there as well.We spent one day down in Lahiana where we toured front street and went on a whale watching excursion. I didn't get very many pictures because I was to amazed at what I as seeing. We saw a whale that was ticked off splashing his tail like mad, we saw a few whales actually breech (come clear out of the water) and we saw three whales fighting for a female (blood and all), you wouldn't believe the amount of whales we saw. It was so cool.

The next morning we left at 4:00am to go and see the sunset on the Haleakala crater. It was beautiful. We drove from sea level to 10,000 feet to see the most amazing view. I am no photographer so my pictures don't give it justice.

Another one of my favorite parts about the trip was ziplining through the rain forest. We had a really funny instructor for this tour too, so we had a blast. We went down 5 ziplines, each getting steeper as we went. It was so much fun and we laughed the entire time.

Our trip was amazing. I am forever thankful to my mom for taking us on such a fun getaway. Kyle did so well with the boys and it was so good to see them after a week. This was definitely a vacation of a lifetime and I was so lucky to spend it with my very best friends.

Valentines Day Larsen Style

2011-02-16T13:02:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day was really fun this year. It started out like any usual valentines day like the heart shaped pancakes for breakfast and the exchange of cute little valentines, but the best part about valentines day this year was our little picnic out on the desert.

It was such a nice day that we decided to take a hot dog (of course) out on the desert and have a little picnic and to also check on the cows. The cows are starting to calve and we already had one little calf freeze to death so we needed to get out their and check to make sure all our ladies were okay.

Here is Kade posing with his robot valentines box. He had so much fun making him and picking out just the right accessories.

Tyce didn't care too much about his robot so I did most of the work. That's okay, he thought it looked pretty cool.

Our little picnic on the desert

My Valentine

Here are a few of the cows we saw, no calves though....maybe soon!

Happy Anniversary

2011-02-09T03:06:00.000-08:00

On Feb.15th, Kyle and I will have been married for 8 years. It doesn't seem like that long, but at the same time....I don't remember life without Kyle.

Kyle has a really weird work schedule, so because he doesn't have a weekend off for awhile, we celebrated our anniversary this past weekend. We had SO much fun just being with each other without any kids. We went to the Cheesecake Factory in Salt Lake and of course AA Calisters. We made our way up north shopping along the way and ended up in Brigham City for a yummy dinner at Maddox. We stayed in Brigham city and then the next day we spent a few hours at Smith and Edwards (which is the greatest store ever) and then we came home. It sounds really plain and simple, but it is just what we needed.....a day away from dirty diapers, dirty laundry, dirty dishes, and Tyce peeing everywhere BUT the potty.

Kyle, I love you so much! You are the best guy in the whole world and I am very lucky to have you in my life. You are the best dad ever and my best friend. I love spending time with you and I am thankful everyday for our eternal marriage. LOVE YOU BABE!!

Getting Out of the House

2011-01-29T14:30:00.000-08:00

Today was the perfect day for a ride out to the Buckhorn Panel for a picnic. On our way, we stopped at the dinosaur track in the rock.

Tyce, Tylee, Kelsey, Kade and Abby standing by the footprint. Their shadows are covering it so you can't really see it in the picture.

Grandma Jo and Jess. He loved being outside.
Checking out the pictographs at the Buckhorn Panel

And of course a hotdog roast for lunch. Hotdog's are a staple food at our house. Everywhere we go we take our hotdogs, chips, and Pepsi's for a fabulous lunch. This is Tyce's 3rd or 4th one!!

The best part about our little ride is that all of this amazing scenery and fun is only a 20 minute ride.....gotta love EC!

2011-01-18T09:54:00.000-08:00

Jess is 5 months old today and I just can't get enough of this cutie-pie! Jess is the happiest baby ever and he just loves his mama. He also loves to laugh when Kyle is tickling his neck, and he cracks up at Kade and Tyce. He is so sweet and I just think he is pretty dang cool.

Yesterday I decided to try some rice cereal and he loved it. He is such a good littler eater...but I bet you couldn't tell because he is SO slender :)

I am such a blessed mom to have the cutest little boys on the planet!

Where did he come from?

2011-01-09T18:37:00.000-08:00

Tyce cracks me up! Everything he does is hilarious. Tonight he walked downstairs in this get-up and I couldn't resist taking his picture. I just love this kid!!

Tyce started primary on Sunday and he is the youngest kid there. On our ride home from church today I asked him what he learned in primary and he said "that we can eat treats!" I'm glad that he is learning something I guess!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T09:28:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that Christmas is already over.....it seems like every year it goes by quicker and quicker. Christmas was SO much fun this year. My boys loved every minute of it and were so cute to watch Christmas morning. We went to A LOT of parties and had a blast at each one. Here they go in order:

Kade had a little preschool party and Santa came. I brought Tyce with me to the party and here he is with Santa.

We also visited with Santa at our ward party. Here is Kade with Santa and Mrs. Claus
My mom's party was once again a BLAST. This year we had it at the Jr. High in Ferron where we played "Minute to Win it". This is Kyle winning the pedometer game.

Tyce thought he was pretty cool with this pair of panty hose on his head for a fun game

After a talent show, dinner, and "minute to win it" we went up to Jodi's classroom to open presents.

Grandma Jo gave all of the kids these wiggle riders and they were in HEAVEN! They had so much fun riding down the ramp at the Jr. High on racing around the halls. They were definitely a hit!

The next set of parties was on Christmas Eve. We started out at Grandma Reid's for caroling and donuts. We were quite the singers on our wagon. The party was short and sweet and just right.

Jess and I riding the wagon

After Grandma Reid's party, we headed to Cleveland to go ice blocking for Grandma Hansen's party. We had so much fun making trains and crashing down the hill. Here is Kyle and Jess hanging out at the top of the hill:

CRASH!!

After ice blocking we went to the Elmo town hall for dinner and games. As soon as we were done with the Hansen party, we loaded back in the car and headed to Ferron for a little Larsen party. The kids opened up their PJ's and us adults played another little white elephant game.

Kade and Tyce in their new PJ's

Christmas morning was the best. I had to wake up the boys so they were a little sleepy but way excited.

Jess just LOVED his toys.....he just played and played and played with them :)

Tyce got these Buzz lightyear wings and he thinks that he is pretty awesome when we wears them. He just wishes that they really made him fly.

Kade got a DS and forgot about the rest of his presents. He hasn't put it down since Christmas morning. We are going to have to put a time limit on this little device soon. Here is Kade with all of his presents.

Tyce's favorite present was his motorcycle bike. He rode it all over the house and down to Jasa's. While riding in the house he insisted that he wear Kade's new Iron Man helmet. It was hilarious to watch him ride around with it on. At one point he was riding his bike with his helmet and the buzz lightyear wings....it was awesome.

Christmas in now over and I am spending most of the day cleaning it up. This was definitely a Christmas to remember. Thanks everyone for making it so much fun!

2010-12-11T18:01:00.000-08:00

Tyce has been anxiously awaiting this day for quite sometime.....an airplane birthday party at the wave pool in Price. He was so excited about his airplane birthday cake, his balloons, and all of his really fun presents that he could hardly stand it. Kade was also really excited. He didn't know why we had to wait so long to give Tyce his presents.

Here is Tyce with his cake and balloons.....oh and we couldn't leave out the party hats!

CHEESE!!!

Here is Kade playing in the water...he was loving it! He is pretty sure that we will need to have his next birthday party here as well.

Tyce with the girls: Kelsey, Tylee, and Abby

Gotcha!

Riding the waves

Opening his presents. He got some fun motorcycles, a cool superman shirt (which he had to wear as soon as we got home and is wearing it now to bed), a cool truck that hauls motorcycles, a dinosaur, a bucking bull, a basketball hoop, a really fun croquet game, money, and of course an airplane.

Jess slept through the entire party. I really wanted him to wake up so that he could get out and swim...but he just snoozed the entire time. When we got home and he woke up, I thought I better get a picture of him in some pilot glasses to prove that he was really at the party. Isn't he a hunk!

Tyce's birthday really isn't until the 18th, but we have to work around Kyle's work schedule and so we had the party today. I can't believe that he is turning 3. My little man Tyce is 3? Where has all the time gone?

Here are some things I love about Tyce:

1. Tyce has the cutest little smile.....missing tooth and all. When he smiles and scrunches up his nose, it makes you HAVE to smile back (even though he just wrote with permanent marker all over the walls).

2. Tyce is the most easy going kid ever. It doesn't matter where we go, or what we do, Tyce is cool with it. He keeps himself entertained all day long. He doesn't need anyone to figure things out for him....he has it under control.

3. He wants to be just like his dad. Kyle and Tyce are BEST BUDS and literally do EVERYTHING together. Tyce loves his dad and misses him so much when he is at work.

4. Tyce keeps me on my toes. He is always going in a hundred different directions (usually making a terrible mess) he makes me exhausted. I often find him jumping off things, riding things, swinging things, hitting things, dumping out things, and breaking things. Someday he will listen to me....I know it :)

5. He has NO FEAR. I know that I am going to be spending a lot of time in the ER with this boy. He is way to brave and never complains when he gets hurt.

I could go on and on about my wild little Tyce. I just love him to pieces and wish that he could stay little forever. Happy Birthday buster.....I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Castle Dale Christmas Party

2010-12-10T09:49:00.000-08:00

We just love our town's little Christmas party. The kids had a ball riding the hay wagon and caroling behind Uncle Lee's team and wagon. They also got to visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus, eat free dinner and play on the bouncer toys. What a great night "out on the town"!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2010-11-28T08:47:00.000-08:00

I just love a good tradition....and having Thanksgiving dinner with all of the Hansen's is one of my favorites. This year, because we are getting to be quite the large family, we had the dinner at the Elmo town hall. We had a yummy dinner and then while the boys went out to grandpa's farm to shoot skeet, us girls played games and the kids decorated Christmas mugs. It was a day full of laughs and good conversation. That night after the Hansen's, we went over to Ferron to Kyle's mom and dad's to make our Christmas Stockings. All in all, Thanksgiving day was great.

Here is everyone at the Elmo Town Hall

Jess just enjoying all the company

Tyce worked SO hard on his little Christmas mug

The next day after shopping all night, we all went up my Mary's Lake to cut down our Christmas tree. Along the way the kids played in the snow and were pulled behind the truck with the sled. They all had SO much fun.

Wade, Kade, and Chase

Kade and his beautiful snow angel

Best Buds: Kelsey, Kade, and Chase

Tyce decided to start a snowball fight, but the snow didn't stick

After driving around for quite sometime, Kyle spotted this bush...I mean beauty :)

As soon as we got back from our Christmas Tree hunt, Grandma Jo had dinner and gingerbread houses to make. The kids thought that they were great!!

Kade working hard

Tyce was pretty proud

Finally on Saturday morning we woke up and decorated our tree. It turned out really great. My kids would not get dressed....they hung out in their roo's all day.

The final product!

Now we can look forward to Tyce's birthday and Christmas

The Cow Business

2010-11-14T06:54:00.000-08:00

It was such a great day on Saturday when everyone showed up to help us move cows from Redd's Canyon to the Fullers Bottom Trough. The weather was perfect for the little ride and we all had so much fun riding the horses and eating our hot dogs. This is the life!!!

Here are the riders

I stayed behind to watch over this little cutie! We were the drivers.

Roasting our hot dogs

Dad and Jess

It's that time of year.....

2010-11-11T13:27:00.000-08:00

When the first of November comes along it means that it is time to bring the cows (who have caused stress at the farm) to get down to the desert to range for the winter. Kyle and I sent our kids to Jasa's and we saddled up and headed out from the farm. The weather was cold, but about 1/2 hour into the trek it started snowing. By the time we got the cows down to the desert and into Redd's Canyon we were wet and frozen to the core.

Although it was miserably cold and Roxy was being SUCH a bitty, it was the best day ever. I just love my life as a rancher and I love that every time I ride my horse I think of the great times I had with my dad.

Now on Saturday we will have recruits to push the cows to the Fuller's Bottom trough.....can't wait!! I love my life!

Head um up and move um out!

Sweet Little Guy

2010-11-03T19:54:00.000-07:00

Jess is 11 weeks old and I just can't get enough of his cuteness! I love to kiss his little cheeks and my heart just melts when he smiles. I love this little guy so much!!! I am truly the luckiest mom in the world to have such sweet little boys!

Wow!!! Who is that HOTTIE holding my baby? Is it Grandma Jo 30 years younger?
Stop taking my picture and give me some milk!!!

Preschool Parade---Town Party----Carving Fun

2010-10-29T09:57:00.000-07:00

Kade had his Halloween party at preschool the other day. For their party they had a little parade. The kids thought that they were the coolest things ever and I just had to dress Tyce up and send him along.

Here is batman, I mean Kade, with his class

Parading down main street in Orangeville. Batman and Superman are the cutest!!
We also went to our towns annual Halloween party. It was fun, we ate yummy stew and the kids got to pick out their own pumpkin.

Grandma Jo and spiderman (Jess)

Finally we went to the annual Larsen pumpkin carving party at Ashlie's. Grandma Laurie made her witches brew and we ate yummy dinner and treats. We had a lot of fun carving our pumpkins and they turned out pretty great.

We are now ready to Trick or Treat!!!

It's ours...

2010-10-22T08:15:00.000-07:00

The farm officially belongs to Kyle and I and I couldn't be happier. I love the farm and all of the work that comes with it. I know that there will be tough times, but I am excited that my boys will be able to learn the value of hard work, the same value I learned growing up on the farm. Each day when we are at the farm feeding the cows or horses, I smile because it brings me so close to my dad. The farm will always be grandpa Jay's and each time I am there I am reminded of a great memory of him. I hope that we make him proud!
The calves have been sold (for a great price by the way) and all the cows are off the mountain. We had 100% calf crop and now we just need to preg check, trich test the bull, buy 12 more cows, a swather, and finally in 2 weeks....push the cows out to the desert. Fun Fun Fun!

2010-10-17T13:34:00.000-07:00

Today we had Jess's blessing and it was so great. Kyle gave Jess a really nice blessing and the luncheon was perfect.

Isn't he the cutest little guy EVER!

My boys

We had the lunch at the park. I was a little nervous because we woke up to a cloudy day but it turned out to be perfect.

Jess and Grandpa Larsen

Tarzan

2010-10-15T20:01:00.000-07:00

Can I just say "AMAZING"!!! Grandma Jo took us all to the Tuacahn to watch Tarzan and it was so awesome. There were gorilla's flying above our heads and Tarzan was all over the place. The set was great and the kids absolutely loved it. It was by far the best play I have see at the Tuacahn. After Tarzan we stayed the night and spent the next day just playing with all the cousins. We always have such a great time together even if it is a little chaotic! Thanks Grandma Jo (mom) for the great trip!

Here are the kids posing outside the theater. Yep, we even got Colton to St. George.

Kade just loves Devin. I am sure that he drives him nuts, but Devin is such a good sport and he lets Kade hang out with him.

Here is Jess at the play......sound asleep!

After the play, Kade ran over to Turk and gave him a big hug. He did a really good job so we had to get our picture with him.

We had such a great time. I just love hanging out with my sisters and their super cute kiddos!

Ice Blocking!!!

2010-10-09T17:11:00.001-07:00

A great way to spend a Saturday.......

You know your a farmer when.......

2010-10-07T10:08:00.000-07:00

......you have to plan a your vacation around the purchase of farm equipment. For the past few days we have been making our way to Idaho to purchase a baler. Along the way, I thought that it would be fun to make a little vacation of it.

Our first stop was Hollywood Connections. The kids loved the bumper cars the most they could have rode them the entire time.

Jess just spent most of the trip in the stroller. He was such a good baby the entire time. The Bumper Cars

As we continued on our journey, we HAD to make a stop at the Cheesecake Factory (YUM) and the Hill AFB Aerospace museum. Tyce LOVES airplanes so he was pretty much in heaven.

Chucky Cheese was a must for lunch (this was our first Chucky Cheese experience)

and then we headed to Tremonton where we stayed and again swam in the motel. Its funny how swimming in the motel is sometimes that most fun part of a trip.

The water was freezing, so Jess didn't particularly love it
We finally made it to BFE Idaho and purchased this John Deer Baler. It took 3 1/2 hours to load it on the trailer, but I think it will be worth it.

I love the farm life, sometimes it gives you an excuse to drive all the way to a different state to buy a really expensive piece of equipment that probably won't work when we go to bale hay next spring :)!

6 Weeks

2010-09-30T07:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Jess turned 6 weeks old. I can't believe how fast he is growing although he is the smallest baby I have ever raised. He is such a sweet little baby and he just loves all the attention he gets from his brothers :)! We love him so much and can't imagine life without him.

Life is short

2010-09-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

We have had quite the past few days......nothing I would wish on anyone! Jodi and Russ headed to Price for a date so my mom took her kids down to the farm to look for deer. When it was time to leave, the kids jumped in the back of the truck but Colton stopped to pick up a bug near the front tire. My mom had no idea that he hadn't jumped in with the other kiddos and ran over him. Luckily Devin had his cell phone and my mom was able to call 911. The ambulance took Colton to Castleview and then they life flighted him to Primary Children's.

Needless to say, Colton is doing good. He has broken BOTH of his femurs (but not on the growth plate). They inserted two rods in each leg and are confident that he will heal really well. His spine is okay and the CT scan looked great. He is such a awesome kid who has a BIG future in front of him. Even thought football and basketball are out of the question this year......baseball will be calling and Colton will be kicking butt and taking names.

As far as my mom goes, she is having a hard time. I just want to let her know that I love her so much and that their is not a better mom or grandma in the entire world. I have never met such a fun and outgoing person in my life. She loves her grandkids so much and they think the world of her. She is one tough cookie and has been to hell and back the past few years. She is my rock and my hero and will always be.

I love you both. I know that it is going to be a long recovery. We have been through a lot together so we can make it through this.

Stop...Drop...and Roll!

2010-09-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

Today Kade had a preschool field trip to the fire station and Tyce and I tagged along. The fireman taught the kids about fire safety and he gave them a hat and a coloring book. Next all of the kids got to go and spray the fire hose, which was the best part of all. The kids were all so cute, especially Kade and Tyce.

1st Day of Preschool

2010-09-10T20:05:00.000-07:00

Wahoo.....Kade finally started Preschool. We have both been looking forward to this day for a while because Kade has been so bored at home. His open house was on Wednesday and Kade ran through the door and said "Lightning McQueen coming through". It was really funny. He is getting so big and so independent. I am not sure if I am ready for him to grow up so fast.

Here he is ready to head out

This year Kelsey gets to go with him to preschool and since they are best buds, Kade is pumped!
Kade and Miss Sandra

Kade and Miss Karla

One Last HOORAH!

2010-09-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

On Friday we took off for our last camping trip of the season. The trip was definitely bitter sweet because I love to camp and am not sure that I want fall to come.
The boys had a ball playing with their cousins and I never once had to entertain them. Jess also did really well for his first camping trip even though he spent most of his time in the trailer.

Here is Jess in the truck ready to head up the mountain

We went on a little hike with the kids down to Mammoth Reservoir. Here they are posing for my picture.
Tyce couldn't help himself when he saw this mud. He had to jump in.

Kader Potater

Kade and Kelsey

Here are me and Jess enjoying the few minutes he got to be outside

This is how Tyce looked the entire time we camped. I can't keep that boy clean!

My cute little pal Jess hanging in the trailer

10 days old

2010-08-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

Jess is now 10 days old and is doing great! He is the best baby ever. We went to the cardiologist on Tuesday and the ECHO showed a small hole in the muscle of his heart which should just grow in as he gets bigger.

We all just think that he is the greatest thing on earth and are so happy that he is perfectly healthy!

Here is a picture of Jess and Bodee (Bodee is 5 months old) what a difference a few months makes huh!

The BIG Hunt

2010-08-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

Last night Kyle got Kade all dressed up to go hunting with him at the farm. I knew that Kyle was just getting Kade out of the house, what I didn't expect is a phone call saying that they actually shot one.

Now what is SO SO SO cool about them shooting a deer is 1) it was opening day, 2) Kade was actually with Kyle and was able to see his dad shoot and then they had to track the blood (way cool for Kade), and 3) Kyle shot the deer with a re-curve bow. Most people shoot their deer with a compound bow......not Kyle. He was determined to use a tradition bow this year and so he was pumped when he actually succeeded. A traditional bow is just like it sounds. A piece of wood with a string.....that's it.

I am so proud of my mighty hunters.

Ready for the big hunt. Face paint and all!

The prize.....a small 3x4 buck. Not too bad for the farm!

Jess Kent Larsen

2010-08-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

Now that we are finally home and getting things situated, I thought sit down and show you all how cute my little cowboy is and fill you in on the "delivery story".

I had a routine appointment with my OB on Tuesday the 17th. So after Kyle got off of work we headed to Payson. The Doc checked me and I was dilated to a 2 so he sent me on my way with an date for induction...the 25th. Well as soon as I got back out to the truck I started having some intense contractions every 4 minutes. The contractions continued through dinner so I told Kyle that I just needed to go walk around for a minute before we headed back down the canyon. The closest place was Home Depot so we walked down the isles. I was miserable, but I didn't dare go back to the Dr. I told Kyle that we should just head home and that the contractions would just go away. When we pulled into Price I told Kyle that we probably should head back to Payson. Kyle stopped at the gas station, filled up and then we headed back through the canyon. When I got to the hospital (at about 11:30am), my contractions were about every 3 minutes. After watching me for about an hour, the nurse said that I needed to stay and have my baby. I got my epidural at about 3:30am and at 7:00am the Dr. broke my water. Jess was born quickly after at 7:58am with only 1 small 5 second push.

He has had a few minor problems since he has been born. He failed his hearing screen (which they said is common) and he has a heart murmur. Today we had an EKG done and he will have to see a cardiologist next week. Other than that he is perfect.

My cute little cowboy

All tuckered out

Yeah....we finally get to go home!

My friend Lindsay stopped by when we got home and gave the boys these WAY cute shirts. The baby got one too that says "little brother" (a pic will be coming soon with them all in their shirts). Thanks Lindsay!

Kade loves him already! He is going to be a great helper.....Tyce, I'm not so sure!
SO cute!

Here he is getting his EKG. He was such a good little sport today!

I am so excited that he is finally here. I can't image life without him already. I am the luckiest mom in the world to have 3 of the cutest little boys ever!

Oh...funny story: So my mom watch Kade and Tyce while we were at the hospital. Anyway, the neighbor lady asked Tyce if he got a new baby brother and Tyce said "yeah we got him at the fair". Funny kid!

He's Here!

2010-08-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

This morning we welcomed our new little cowboy to the world and he is ADORABLE. He was born at 7:58am and he weighed in at 7lbs 15oz (which I thought was quite large for being 2 1/2 weeks early). He was 20 in long and he has lots of blond hair. Now if we only had a name!

When I get home from the hospital, I will fill you all in on a name and details!

a nice little ride....

2010-08-12T19:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday after work, Kyle took the boys on a little horse ride at the farm. They looked so cute and had so much fun....I just couldn't resist taking pictures.

Splash Park

2010-08-11T12:39:00.001-07:00

Today we took the kiddo's to the splash park in Huntington and the kids absolutely LOVED it. This is the first time that I have been to the park where it actually worked so we were way excited. I will definitely be bringing my kids back soon.

Emery County Fair

2010-08-06T20:38:00.000-07:00

We really had a lot of fun at the fair this year. I actually can't believe that it has come and gone so fast. Here are some of the things that we did.

First we attended the Desertview Pro Rodeo. It was as great as usual except we were missing the clown. I thought it was odd to have a rodeo without a clown, but it wasn't until later that I found out that on his way here, the clown received a DUI and was put in jail....funny huh!

My cute family

We also spent a lot of time at the fair. The boys showed off their 4-H exhibits to grandma and dad, Kade got his face painted, and they both had a blast on the carnival rides. We watched the magic show, played on the bouncy toys, and we laughed at the Hypno Hick.

A really cool event was the dutch oven cook off. Kyle decided to enter and he ended up winning the whole thing. He won $50.00 and a new dutch oven cooking set. We were really proud of him.

The parade was also a hit. Kade again loaded up on the treats and Tyce just sat and ate them.

Best pals

Kade and his hero: Devin

Finally, during the fair this year was my 10 year high school reunion. It was held at the aquatics center so Kyle swam with the boys while I visited with friends. There wasn't a great turnout, but it was still fun seeing everyone.

Me and by BFF Heather

Kyle was so great to get in the pool with the kids. I wasn't about to put a swimming suit on at this point in my pregnancy....especially in front of my high school friends.

The fair is over and now the next big event is coming soon......BABY #3 in 2 1/2 weeks. Yeah!

4 More Weeks

2010-07-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

The babies room. It turned out really great!

If everything goes as planned, I only have 4 more weeks until I get to meet my new baby. This pregnancy has just flown by and it really hasn't set in that in just one short month, I will be the mom to 3 little boys.

Will our new little man have Kade's sparkle in his eye or maybe Tyce's contagious smile. Will he have angel kisses or that crazy hair of Tyce's that won't lay flat on his head. There is so much to look forward to this next month and I just can't wait to finally kiss my cute little cowboy.

Now if I only had a name. Any idea's?

Happy Birthday Grandpa Hansen

2010-07-25T07:46:00.001-07:00

My Grandpa Hansen is one of the greatest guys in the whole world. I just love and admire him so much. This Friday we celebrated his 82nd birthday at my aunt Lori's house and it was a blast! We played baseball, horseshoes, and just have a great time hanging out with each other.

The Boys playing horse shoes

Grandpa and Grandma with 2 of the cutest little boys I have ever seen!

A few of the greats

Here we are....all of my grandpa Hansen's grandkids (just missing Buck) Having a little baseball game in the front yard

Everyone just hanging out

Grandpa and Ty

A few of the girls and Hans

Every time we get together with the Hansen's I can't help but think how lucky I am to have such a great family. I hope that as we continue to grow, that we will still get together as often as we do. I think the world of these people!

What a Stud!

2010-07-15T18:04:00.000-07:00

Kade has been riding around all day today without his training wheels. As soon as Kyle and I convinced him to take them off (we had to give him $1.00) he took off without a hitch. Kade has been riding around all day today thinking that he is quite the stud ( I would have to agree).

Tyce has also really started to like riding bikes. Just this past week he has really got the hang of it. He is so cute and is getting so big. I just love my tough little boys!

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud

2010-07-11T19:45:00.000-07:00

Boys will be boys right? Actually, I am also a huge fan of mud puddles so when I found my boys in this one, I couldn't get mad. One of our sprinklers had broke and we were unaware until the we found the boys having the best time ever in this mud hole.

We have also been on several fishing trips this summer since Kyle has been home with us everyday. On our latest trip was at Willow lake and we caught a load of fish. The kids were having so much fun reeling in the fish, and when Kyle started catching some huge Tigers, he got just as excited as the boys.

3 years ago.....and we will NEVER forget

2010-07-08T16:52:00.000-07:00

July 9th isn't my favorite day. 3 years ago today I watched my dad pass away at the young age of 54. As I think back on that awful week of my life, I can't help but be mad because my dad can't be here with us, but at the same time, I know that he is still watching over us (and all of our babies still in heaven). I am sure that he is loving hanging with Butch Cassidy and his old man and riding Chino, but I miss him SO SO much.

Here are some memories that I want my kids to know about the greatest man on earth:

He was TOUGH. My dad was a bull rider, a bronc rider and he ran his farm all by himself at like age 12. He taught all of us girls to work hard too. We spent most weekends on our horses moving cows in the heat of the summer of dead of winter. He made sure that we were awake and ready to go when the sun came up and sometimes that meant scarfing our cereal on the way to the truck.

My dad was SO much fun to be around. Wherever we went, we had a good time. My dad was always the first one to jump in the river when we would swim at hidden holes with his Levi's on and everything. When I was really young during Hee Haw my dad would get us all up out of our chairs and we would dance to the music. Whenever we were driving in the truck, dad would crank up tunes like "There's a Tear in my Beer" or "Don't be Cruel" and we would all dance and sing as loud as we could.

At my dad's funeral we had a few cousins sing the song "Cowboy rides Away", the lyrics go a little like this:

"And my heart is sinking like the setting sun,

Setting on the the things I wish I'd done.

Oh the last goodbye's the hardest one to say,

This is where the cowboy rides away.

I think about these lyrics all of the time and how my heart sinks every time I think of my dad. I miss him SO much. There was so much left unsaid and undone and that last goodbye was so hard to say. I love you dad, I miss you. Please take care of my little cowboy in heaven. We can't wait to meet him.

I will always remember you. Janyanny!

Celebrate!

2010-07-06T13:37:00.001-07:00

This year we celebrated the 4th of July with a bang! We started our celebration at the Huntington Heritage Day parade. The kids had tons of fun and they LOADED up on candy. Tyce was out to get as much as possible. We spent an hour or so at the park where the kids played on the bouncy toys and swings and then we headed up North for the Stadium of Fire. Tyce loved these swings. He didn't want to get off!

We met up at the Brick Oven for pizza and then we made the hike to the stadium for all of the action. It was a really great show even though I was miserable being pregnant and all. Carrie Underwood put on a great performance and the fireworks were amazing.

Tyce and his favorite pal....dad!

The dancers!

I promise Carrie Underwood is down there somewhere!

The next morning we woke up and headed up Huntington Canyon for a nice camping trip. The weather was a little bit colder than I would have liked, but it was nice to be up in the mountains. We fished and played for 3 days and it was SO SO relaxing. I really needed it since I felt like I was hit by a truck after stadium of fire.

Grandma Jo and the kiddos

Fishing at Boulger Reservoir

Cheese!

Playing baseball at camp

Now we are back home awaiting our next adventure. We have sure had a great summer so far!

A Little Bit of Summer

2010-06-28T08:15:00.000-07:00

We have had such a busy summer so far that I haven't had any time to get some projects done around the house. Here are a few things that have kept us busy:

1. 4-H Camp:
This year is was held at Huntington Lake and even though I thought that it wasn't the best camp ever, Kade LOVED it.

Kade and Tyce waiting for some instructions

Here is Kade and his group learning about fires and tying knots. Kade was front and center.

The kids learned how to pack someone who had possibly broken their leg so they spent the entire camp practicing.

2. Castle Dale Days Kids Rodeo:
Kade was so excited for the big kids rodeo this year. He wore his chaps and boots and was ready for some rodeo action. Tyce thought it was pretty great too.

Here are the boys getting ready for the stick horse race.

Tyce had fun enjoying the snow cones and popcorn

Kade and Kyle hanging out.

My handsome cowboy Kade. We pumped Kade up to ride a sheep during the Muttin Bustin, but Kade chickened out in the end.

3. Hanging Out with Cousins:

Kyle and I had to bring a few cows to the auction in Salina and we thought the Kade and Tyce would have SO much more fun playing at Jamie's with Chase than sitting there at the auction. When we pulled in to pick them up, this is how they looked.

We have really had the BEST summer ever. Kyle has taken us on SEVERAL fishing trips and mountain rides and we are so glad that he has been home to hang out with us this summer.

T-ball and Puppies

2010-06-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

The boys finally got their new puppy the other day. He is so cute and so far hasn't been too bad. The boys named him Batman and they can't get enough of him (we hope he survives Tyce).

We are in our last week of T-ball and it has been a hoot watching Kade play. He is one of the youngest on the team, but he holds his own. I have been the assistant coach and have loved every minute of it. Go Pirates!

Fishing

2010-06-04T08:26:00.001-07:00

Last night we went on a little fishing trip to Milsite. Although we got skunked, he had a fun time hanging with Kory's family, roasting hotdogs, and playing with the worms that we didn't need for catching fish.

What a weekend!

2010-05-31T17:22:00.001-07:00

We had such a fun busy weekend. It all started with a schools out party in St. George. We played laser tag, swam at the motel, and then played at the Sand Hollow State Park.

Kade thought that Laser tag was pretty cool....Tyce HATED it.

Sand Hollow

Blurrrrrrr

Next we branded our calves. Everyone showed up to help and we were so thankful, we couldn't have done it without them.

Kade wanted to be in charge of the ear tags, but he got tired of that quick and just went and played by the canal with his cousins.

Grandpa Jay's little buckaroo's.

He would have been proud of their hard work.

Now that Memorial weekend is over, summer officially starts. I have some fun activities planned and I can't wait to get them started.

PHS Graduation

2010-05-25T12:38:00.000-07:00

Last night was Pinnacle's 2nd high school graduation. It was a really nice ceremony and like always, watching the students graduate was kind of hard for me. They all looked so grown up and I will truly miss them.

Here are the greatest teachers at PHS: Mrs. Jeppson, Coach Kay, Mrs. Larsen, Mrs. Steele and Ms. Sawyer.

The Graduating Class of 2010. We had 53 graduates this year!

Me and one of my all time fav students: Julianne. I have taught Jules every year since she was in the 6th grade and I am going to miss her so much!
It is weird to think that I will not be going back to school next year. I have been at Pinnacle for 7 years so it is my second home. Also, I will really miss most of the students (trust me, I will do my best to forget some annoying 7th graders). I worry that they are going to forget about Mrs. Larsen, but I will never forget them. GO PANTHERS!

Kyle's Surgery

2010-05-15T09:00:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Kyle had his back operated on and he is doing really well. He had a ruptured disk which was cutting off a few of the nerves to his legs. The Dr. went in and took out 80% of the disk and then make a better pathway for the nerve. While in there, the Dr. found a few more problems so while trying to fix those, he poked the spinal sack. Because this happened, Kyle had to lay flat on his back for 6 hours....and it was A LONG 6 hours. We were at the surgical center for about 11 hours is all, and then we were able to come home.

Kyle is doing pretty good, he is really sore and can't really get around much, but at least we are on the road to recovery.

Parites, Parties, oh...and more Parties!

2010-05-07T10:31:00.001-07:00

Friday was my birthday and the night before I had scrapbook club. When I got home I was welcomed with a birthday cake that Kyle and my boys had made for me. This wasn't just any cake......it was specially prepared just for me. Kyle had baked it in a round cake pan, and had used real icing and fondant to decorate it (the boys "helped" I am sure). It was seriously the BEST birthday present EVER. Friday night was Kade's gymnastics show. He had just got his cast off on wednesday so I was a little nervous about how he would do, but he was SO SO SO cute. Him and Kelsey were the only ones out of their class that showed up for the BIG performance and they put on quite the show.
The next day we all spent out at Huntington Lake. We celebrated Tylee's 6th birthday there and then just hung out while the kiddos played. Jamie and Jasa both brought their boats, but me and my kids were wore out before we had a chance to take a spin.

That night my mom had cake and ice cream for my birthday while we sat around and chatted at my moms. It was a perfect birthday for the BIG 28.

Sunday was Bodee's baby blessing. He looked SO cute in his little tux, we are so glad to have him in our family....he is a sweetie. We then moved our party to the park where Jasa had dinner. It was a really nice day and the kids had a blast playing soccer.

As I look back on this past weekend. I just can't help but feel so gratful for the things in my life. I am so blessed to be able to be the mom to such sweet little boys and the wife is a great man. I am surrounded by mothers who are such great examples to me like my sisters, my grandma, and especially my own mother. To me a mom is the best experience ever....truly a blessing.

Happy Birthday Kade

2010-05-01T16:54:00.000-07:00

Today was Kade's 4th birthday and what a fun day it was. Kade had all of his cousins, grandma's, and Aunt and uncles over for a Superhero Birthday Bash. The party was really fun (thank goodness the weather cooperated so we could have it outside) and Kade got some really fun presents.

Here are some pictures of the fun event:

Kade and his superhero birthday cake

Before the party started, Kade wanted everyone to sign his cast
All of the kids looking for the "kryptonite" in the sand box
Getting rid of the evil villiains with water balloons

Pin Spiderman on the evil villiains Kade was so excited to open his presents!

Blowing out the candles was a little difficult with the wind, but here is our attempt

It still hasn't really hit me that my little Kader Potater is 4. He is growing up so fast and I am not sure if I like that. Kade is such a sweetheart and has blessed my life in so many ways. I can't image a day going by without seeing those cute little freckles on his face or that big cheesy smile. I love you so much Kade. You are the best kid EVER and I can't wait to see what this next years adventures hold for you (hopefully NO stitches or broken bones). LOVE YOU, MOM!

Spring=Work

2010-04-28T18:54:00.000-07:00

You can definitely tell that it is spring time because we have done nothing but work! With Kyle having surgery in a couple of weeks, our "to do" list has gotta quite large.

Here is what we have been working on:

#1. Getting the pipe laid out at the farm.
With water coming next week, we have been extra busy getting the pipe laid out and ready for irrigating. Kyle and I work really well together....we have quite the system.
Kade and Tyce LOVE it when we move pipe because that means that they get to ride it as I move it with the 4-wheeler. It is really funny watching them get bucked off the pipe.

#2. Plowing and laying off the field.
This is more of Kyle's job, so while he worked on the tractor, me and the kids looked for worms, played on the rope, played on the tire swing, and had a hotdog roast.
AND....
#3. Putting in a new fence at our house.
I have wanted a new vinyl fence at my house since I moved there. This year we finally had the money to put one in. Putting in a fence is A LOT of work. We have spent hours and hours on this fence. Again, Kyle and I had a great system but it was always nice to have some help. Thanks to EVERYONE who came over to help!! We REALLY appreciate it.

I am sure tomorrow awaits with more work! Gotta love spring!

Another trip to the ER

2010-04-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

I am now officially paying the employee's at Castleview Hospital their salaries. We had to take another trip to the emergency room the other night....this time for Tyce. While hanging out in the truck, he managed to fall/jump off the back seat and slice his head open on the rail that moves your seat up and back. He had to have it stitched and stapled back together 3 stitches and 5 staples.

Althought the first thing he said when he woke up was "mom....I broke my head" he acts like there is not a care in the world. He is still out and about playing like a crazy man. I wish that I was that tough!

Here they are putting his head back together

He was really mad (and tired) after it was all said and done. But he was really brave.

Our new Larsen family goal is to stay out of the hospital for the next few months (not including Kyle's back surgery in the next few weeks). Wish us luck!

We're having a..........

2010-04-21T10:03:00.001-07:00

BOY! Yep another boy. I was for sure that this baby was a girl, but sure enough the ultrasound proved me wrong. We are so excited and Kade and Tyce can't wait to meet their new baby brother.

It's Broken?

2010-04-07T18:58:00.000-07:00

Yep....Kade broke his leg. I guess that the stitches he had a few months ago just weren't enough for this kid.

On Monday Kade went to Tylee and Kelsey's to play and while playing the shoe game on the tramp, he tripped on his boot and cracked his tibia. He now has a cast from the top of his thigh all the way to his toes. I hope we all survive the next three weeks!

Easter 2010

2010-04-05T12:11:00.001-07:00

What a great Easter!

Easter is definitely my FAVORITE holiday and here is why:

I love painting Easter Eggs and so did Kade and Tyce. Kade needed all of his eggs to look very manly...NO PINK! And Tyce just liked to plot them in the dye to see the splash. They turned out great!

I have camped for Easter every year of my entire life, so why break tradition. This year we camped out by the dinosaur quarry is a great spot. The kids played and played all day long. This is a picture of Kade holding a lizards tale that they boys had cut off. They thought that is was SO cool.

We also have a little Egg hunt out on the desert. Here is Kade looking in the rocks for some eggs.

The kids had to have their very own camp fire this year. So they built it up in the rocks all by themselves.

The Easter bunny made a stop by our trailer this year and the kids loaded up with goodies. Tyce loved his monster truck the best.

Kade got some killer new shades and some new baseball equipment for T-ball.

The Easter bunny also hid the boys' Easter eggs, so here we are bright and early searching for all of our eggs.

The weather was perfect for flying our new kites. The wind blew and blew.

Here is Tylee and Kade trying out Kade's new baseball bat

After we find all of our Easter Eggs, we took them over to a hill to roll (or throw) them. The kids loved watching their eggs splatter down the rocks.

Finally we made a stop at the dinosaur quarry (wahoo....not really).

We also had a great time riding our 4-wheelers. Next year maybe Kade will be riding his very own motorcycle.....we'll see.

Even thought is was a little cold, we still had a great Easter. I always hate packing up and coming home because I hate for it to end. Happy Easter everyone....I hope that you had as much fun as we did!

Our desert adventure...

2010-03-21T16:35:00.001-07:00

Today after church we rode down to the desert to the let kids play. They had a ball and we enjoyed hanging out in the sunshine. Today's ride got me so excited for Easter. I can't wait to go camping. Hello Spring!

Happy Birthday Dad

2010-03-18T06:59:00.000-07:00

Today would have been my dad's 57th birthday. If he were still here I would be teasing him about being SO OLD! I really miss my dad SO much and all of the fun times that we had together. Happy Birthday old man. I love you!

Welcome Baby Bodee

2010-03-14T08:03:00.000-07:00

Jasa welcomed her new baby boy on Thursday March 11th. He is SO SO tiny, but is adorable. He weighed 6lbs and 2oz and is as healthy as can be. They named him Bodee Jared Norton. Hopefully she will be able to come home today because we can't wait to kiss his little cheeks.

Tylee was SO excited. She couldn't wait to get to the hospital to hold her new baby brother

Kelsey wasn't so sure about the whole deal.

Congrats Jasa and Jared.

My Little Cowboys

2010-03-10T16:01:00.000-08:00

Because we had to have our cows home for a few weeks this winter, we had to go and buy some hay. While we were out at this man's farm I took a few pictures of my cute cowboys.

Kade thought that the baby calves were so fun. There were 37 bummer calves and we got to watch them get feed. We had a cow calve the other day.....it's so exciting seeing brand new babies!

Kyle had to load all of the hay himself because I am SO SO SO allergic. Thanks babe...He even loaded all the hay with a herniated disk. He is such a hard worker!

Tyce just loved hanging out. He is just happy as can be when he gets to hang out with his dad. They are quite the pals.

Announcing.....

2010-02-18T13:31:00.001-08:00

Yep, we are having baby #3. I am 12 weeks along and have felt yucky the entire time (which is a good sign that I might not miscarry). Kade is sure that it is a boy and his name will be Spikey (we'll have to see about that one). The baby is due at the end of August and we are so excited.

Really....7 Years?

2010-02-14T15:52:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow will mark me and Kyle's 7th anniversary. I can't believe how fast time has flown by. Kyle is such a great husband and dad, I truly couldn't ask for better. He is the hardest worker that I know, and he is always so happy go lucky. Kyle never lets us just sit around, he constantly has us doing something whether its working at the farm, or going for a ride on the mountain. I am so lucky to be his wife, and I can't wait for another 7 years.

For our anniversary we went to the hunting expo in SLC...yippee (sarcastic) and Smith and Edwards (yep, the country boy store which might be the greatest store EVER). Then Kyle took me to Maddox in Brigham City for a delicious dinner (best in a long time) and then we stayed in Logan, where we "met" and fell in love (ahh). It was nice to get away from our two terrors....even if it wasn't the most romantic getaway.

I love you babe. Thanks for putting up with me for the past 7 years!

Church + Brick= Emergency Room

2010-01-31T12:11:00.000-08:00

We had quite the eventful church today. Kyle had to work, so it was just me and the boys. During sacrament Kade decided that he really needed to go to the bathroom, so I picked up Tyce and we headed out of the chapel. As soon as we got to the hall, Kade took off running to the bathroom. He turned the corner and started screaming, when I got to him he was covered in blood. I started to literally freak out, calling out for help, but no one came. Blood was now covering us both as I tried to put pressure on the slice down his forehead. I started running for the door with Kade in my arms, because no one was coming to help. Right when I got to the door, an angel walked through....my sister Jasa. She grabbed Kade from my arms and I grabbed Tyce and we headed to Price to the emergency room. Kyle was not far behind us, and I was glad he got out of work so quick.

Kade ended up getting about 15 stitches in his head and throughout the whole process, he was so brave. He never cried, and he thought that he was pretty cool there at the hospital.

I don't know what I would have done if Jasa hadn't been 1/2 hour late for church. She was our hero today!

Here is Kade getting ready for the stitches

The cut down his head was about 2 inches long and really deep. You could see all of the blood vessels....gross!

This is Kade happy to be home. He was quite the trooper! Next time, he will watch where he is running and not run straight into the corner of the brick wall.

Oh the life of a farmer!

2010-01-25T08:24:00.000-08:00

Can I just tell you that I am SO tired of all the snow. Because of the snow, Kyle had to go down to the desert every day this week to gather the cows. It has been a long time since we have had to bring cows home due to snow. You see, we pretty much graze our cows 365 days a year, so the hay that we put up feeds the horses and bull through the winter and it leaves just enough to feed the cows when they are home between the desert and mountain. When they come home in the middle of winter, that means we have to buy hay! Yuck!

Kyle said that while pushing the cows home, their bellies were dragging in the snow. Poor things! Hopefully the snow will melt soon so that the cows can get back to the desert and throw some healthy calves.

Yesterday after the guys had pushed the cows across the desert (it took them three days in the snow), me and my boys rode down to pick them up. Kade had a ball playing in the deep snow and Tyce was so excited to see his daddy pushing those cows up the hill. It was so funny, as soon as Tyce saw the cows he started yelling "YAW YAW". He is going to make a great cowboy someday.

We are still out about 5 head, so we will have to make another ride soon, but hey that's THE LIFE OF A FARMER!

Look at those medals!

2010-01-23T19:05:00.000-08:00

Today Kade competed in his first gymnastics meet. He did such a good job and was the cutest little boy out there. His first event was the trampoline which he ROCKED at. Next was the double mini which he also did really well on. He won 2 medals and man he was proud. It was a really great day and I am glad that he was such a great sport. GO KADERS!

Receiving his medals

Waiting for the double mini....no worries! I got this!
The Trampoline

Ice Fishing

2010-01-17T07:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we all took off to Millsite to do a little ice fishing. The weather wasn't too cold and even though NONE of us caught any fish, we have fun visiting while the kids played on the ice.

After fishing we went to see my uncle Ben. A few weeks ago while at work in the mine, he slipped and the shield cut all his toes off on his left foot. Anyway, despite what has happened to him, he is in really good spirits. I think that it is going to be a long road to recovery, so we wish him the best.

Monster Trucks...here we come!

2010-01-10T17:28:00.000-08:00

Kyle and I took the kids to the monster truck rally this Saturday and it was a blast. The monster trucks were SO huge (and loud). The best was when they started the free style part of the show where they jumped over cars and buses. The first truck that came out went to jump the cars, but ended up tipping backwards....it was awesome!! Kyle told me during intermission that he had always wanted to go to a Monster truck show, but never got to. I am so glad that we got to fulfil his childhood dream he he he!

Tyce would not wear his earplugs so Kyle had to hold his hands over Tyce's ears the entire time.

Pretty sweet huh! Oh, did I mention that it's alright to be a redneck?

Gotta love a nice ride

2010-01-07T20:35:00.000-08:00

A few days ago Kyle and I were able to ditch the kids and go for a well needed horse ride. We were told that a few of our cows were spotted down in Phino's cabin when they are supposed to be at Fuller's Bottom. So we saddled up and headed out to the desert in zero degree weather to round them up.

It was so cold, but at the same time it was so nice to be out enjoying winter. The desert is so pretty in the winter and you can't experience it unless you are on your horse (or I guess on foot....but my dad always said a piss poor ride is better than a walk any day).

About a month ago we bought new horse trailer. It is a 2004 hotshot and we LOVE it. We needed a new horse trailer in the worst way (remember when we had 2 cows legs go through the floor of our last trailer 10 minutes after we have just bought them? Yeah, it wasn't pretty when we got to the farm and we had cows with no legs). Needless to say, this trailer was only used 2 times and the rest of the time it was used for storage. It is like brand new. You can see it behind that hottie on that black stallion.

Me and Blondie

The cows ended up not being ours, but the ride ended being pretty much perfect.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T15:45:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! This year we went over to Richfield to celebrate New Years at Jamie's House.

We started off our night with dinner at the Chinese Restaurant (yum yum).

Then we went bowling

Next we ended the night at Jamie's where the kids played and played and so did us adults. We partied until about 1:30 am and then we hit the sack.

The next morning we woke up and the boys took the kids sledding around Jamie's yard and then it was time to come home.

It was such a great year. It defiantly went by too fast. I can't wait to see what 2010 holds for our family. We are excited to start our adventure.