Horsley5

Update on the Enormous Dog

2010-03-17T09:52:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to show the growth on Koda - this is ridiculous! She will be 4 months on the 19th.

We Have To have Hinges

2010-03-16T16:44:00.000-07:00

Not only was this song funny, but Hyrum also sang a song to the tune of Latter-Day Prophets that went, "Saturday Prophets are red, yellow and blue." Cameron asked, "Is that the Seventh Day Adventist version?"

Dog Lazy Days

2010-01-19T18:32:00.000-08:00

I know I have been a blogging slacker for a really long time and it can only be blamed on being lazy, but when I went to download pics tonight and the camera says, "download all new? 104" - That's really pathetic.

First is the new dog. I am not overly excited about this. I don't really like new puppies, I would so much rather get an older, housebroken, non-chewing, non-digging dog. But this was Cam's choice and he picked another Aussie that is crossed with a Great Pyrenees. She's kinda large. I'm a little nervous of her size and that the Great Pyr is not a very social dog. Well, those are my thoughts and now I get to post the pics for my family that are all looking for pics of Koda to match her large description. Oh - she was born the day before Thanksgiving. That makes 8 weeks tomorrow and the seat of the couch sits at 7.5 inches.

Next, we are potty training . . ok, it's really is a joint effort between me, Paige and Hyrum. The kids have been great about the whole thing. They also get some M&M's every time they sit with Hannah while she sits. I told Cam that he gets a half day with Hannah on his days off and he just grunted - we'll see. So far - mixed reviews - 1st day: great with only one accident in the undies. today - horrible with going better towards the end of the day. It's hard though because I've never done a kid who was still taking naps. She is finally into a big kid bed, but I am doing diapers during the nap. Any suggestions for this? PS - I DESPISE POTTY TRAINING!!!!!

Last - here are the evidence pics for Cam's choice of snack 3 mins before we are due to leave for church:

You are correct if you guessed Ding Dongs. What was he thinking???? I told him we have carrot sticks in the fridge if they need a snack. Not to mention - in their Christmas dresses! Needless to say - he got to sit by them in Church while they bounced around in the pew.

Oh - and by the way - I did not send out Christmas cards this year, again, just becuase I am so incredibly lazy. But, I did love all of yours - so thanks for thinking of us and I haven't given up on the idea just yet. I did send out Valentines cards one year. I needed to say this just to relieve some guilt.

Echo Location

2010-01-03T19:30:00.000-08:00

Have you heard about Echo Location? It's where an animal sends out a noise that helps them identify where things or other animals are. I'm sure it works great - at least my kids think so. I have noticed over these past two weeks of vacation that my kids repeatedly call out "Mom!", I respond and then wait for what they have to say. Then nothing. I am calling it Echo Location. I think they do it just to see if I am:

1. Still alive
2. Where I am in the house/ car (why?)
3. If I'm listening to their every beckon call
4. Am willing to still respond

I think this incredibly annoying and personally not able to tune them out like my husband does. But now that I have the name for it - I find it a little funny. Am I the only one?

Catch Up Time

2009-10-25T14:05:00.000-07:00

I have been really terrible about blogging lately and have decided to just play catch up all in one post. Here's what we've been to lately.
Getting wood for the winter . . .
Daddy letting Hannah do his hair
I don't know if you can see this, but this is graffiti in our house. It was done by Paige and says, "I love you Hyrum. From Paige." I can't bring myself to clean it up. We had a very mild lecture about not writing on objects, only on paper. She wrote it in three places. I kinda want to trace it in sharpie so they will remember when they're 12/15.
This is Hannah's friend Mesa. They are a year apart, but love to play together. Every once in awhile I hear Mesa asking Hannah, "What? What did you say?" - She repeats it several times trying to understand Hannah's baby talk. It makes me giggle.
Paige took Hannah on a little ride the other day and also rode by herself for a 5 mile ride. I drove by to check of her a couple of times, but she did perfect.
The kids put on Cam's boxing and MMA gloves to goof off for awhile. Umm, please no comments about General Conference being on in the background :)

Hannah finally turned 2!! She got a puzzle and a barbie for her B-day and was very happy about both of them. We are still trying to teach her to tell people that she's 2 and not 5, sometimes it works.

That's about it for now, sorry I have zero ambition about blogging right now. I still love to read about everyone else though!

Total Cuteness!!

2009-09-16T13:40:00.001-07:00

Did You Know That Cameron Hates Snakes?

2009-09-07T20:04:00.001-07:00

Well, being from the land where nothing but the teenagers are harmless, I grew up loving snakes and my parents were always kind enough to let us bring animals home. Cameron's side of the family hates them. I don't find that hard to believe because just about every wild animal here bites, stings or stinks. His father hates them worse and his father before them would rather vacate a house than go after one. On my way home from a hike behind my house I found a harmless baby racer snake. It would try to bite, but had no teeth and was only 1/4" around and 8 inches long. I thought the kids would love and brought it home. Well, the kids did love it and played with it all day long. Hyrum even thanked Heavenly Father for letting "Slither" in our family. I didn't think about telling Cam that we had the thing downstairs in an old fish tank with a grasshopper waiting to be munched - it was too late and I was too tired. The next day was Sunday and Cam comes in to wake me up and starts to tell me about Hyrum crying and rambling on about some snake and how he lost it. I finally snapped out of it at that sentence and asked if he let it go. I sprint down the hall to ask Hyrum with Cam yelling my full name (he always calls me by my maiden name when I've done something wrong). Sure enough, Hyrum had accidentally let the snake go when he got up before the crack of dawn to hold the snake before Paige could take it away. To make matters worse, Paige decided that she should release the grasshopper as well so at least Slither could have something to eat - did I mention that I put it in our bottomless pit of a basement? Brilliant Melinda . . . So I don't even know if it's still down there, the kids have tried to look without luck, but at least we won't have any mice sneaking in for awhile. Needless to say - no Horsley man would go in the basement during our Sunday family dinner.

Hannah Can Escape

2009-08-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately for me, Hannah has learned to get in and out of her crib without another sibling's help. So the training begins to teach her to stay in bed because that's where she's supposed to sleep, not just because she was trapped. I have a feeling that she took her nap on the floor of her room yesterday because I found her blanket there when she woke up an hour early. Ok Cam - I am ready for the other bedroom to be finished :)

Handart Trek 2009

2009-08-03T10:21:00.000-07:00

What an amazing experience we had over the 24th of July! We were asked to be a Ma and Pa for Youth Conference this year. We had 8 kids in our family and did 12 miles the first day, 13 miles the second, and about 4 miles the last. The last day we marched out of camp and into the 24th parade in Lund. Needless to say the blisters on my feet prevented me from walking too fast. I still have one toenail that is really purple and still might fall off. But the overall experience was well worth the heat, exhaustion, and soreness. I loved getting know our kids and they were so amazing! They all worked really hard and had great attitudes!

We experienced all kinds of trials along the way, some were expected by the leaders, others were not. Handcarts broke down, people suffered from heat exhaustion, and some had their feet run over by a cart. We were also robbed by "bandits", had mail brought in by the Pony Express, and had all the men and boys taken away to march in the Mormon Battalion.

I was able to finally get an idea of what the pioneers went through. I always knew it must have been extremely difficult, but most accounts from journals say how much it was worth it. What those Saints did to be able to worship without persecution and have the faith to follow the Prophet is truly inspiring. I have a new, very personal respect for them.

Paige's First Gymkhana

2009-08-02T16:28:00.000-07:00

Paige competed in her first Gymkhana this year and she had a blast! We weren't there to root her on (I'll explain in the next post), but both sets of grandparents were there to help and support - thank goodness!

She did a total of five events including barrels, poles, tire race, balloon race, and the water race, three of which she had never seen until the day she arrived. Impressive! She worked really hard practicing and loved every minute of it. She didn't win anything due to all the professional kids that make this rodeo part of their circuit, but we were all soooo proud of how hard she tried.

Here's she's keeping her eye on the next barrel.

She's holding a cup of water that she had to bring back to the finish line with her.

This is the first side of pole bending.

We are really glad she had such a fun time with such a great horse. Great job Sis!!

One of the coolest things I've ever done . . .

2009-07-19T15:25:00.000-07:00

Cameron has a cousin who works for Las Vegas Metro Police Air Support. We have tried several times to do a ride along with him and it's never worked out until a couple of weeks ago. We were going to be busy during our anniversary, so went the week before and also we able to go to the temple and do sealings the next morning. We had a total blast over two days and thank goodness for Cams' sister, Jenny for taking the kids, it was a complete getaway!! Ray and Ruth are always the most gracious people and we had some down time too to do crafts :) , get in the hot tub and BBQ. It was a fantastic time!

I had never been on a helicopter before and it was one of the coolest things I've ever done. The doors were off and with just a seat belt we went out for two hours and flew all over the valley.

He took us up by the Temple and we had an amazing view from there . . .

and then clear over to Red Rock.

It was sooo fun and a lot like a 2 hour roller coaster ride. The pilots also responded to 3 calls which was also pretty exciting (more for Cam). They took us right over the strip and we could even see the dolphins swimming at the back pool of the Mirage. (Click on the pic for a closer look)

We were eye level with the Stratosphere.

What an amazing experience! I would totally do it again!

Fourth of July

2009-07-11T14:29:00.000-07:00

We had another fantastic Fourth of July with a picnic in the mountains. It's also Cams' Mom's birthday, so it was her choice to 4 wheel up one of the canyons behind us. All the wildflowers were in bloom, the grass was tall and it was nice and cool up there. Even Cam's grandpa, Lynn, went - and he's 92! He drove the entire way by himself - it was awesome! The kids loved the entire trip, but mostly the picnic complete with fried chicken, potato salad and cookies - yummy! Brumbie had to go and she ran most of the 10 mile trip, so sometimes we made her ride on top of the coolers in the back of the ranger - she was pretty tired by the time we got home. This has been a such a fun summer!

This is the head of Sawmill Canyon where we started.

Here's Neva, Paige and Hannah being led by Brumbie.

Our family at the picnic site.

Grandpa and Hannah had a great time, except for when Hannah tried to kick him off the rock :)

School Field Trip

2009-06-15T12:59:00.000-07:00

I know that I'm late posting about this, but it was so crazy at the end of the school year that I didn't have time to put this up. The Elementary raised enough money to go down to Las Vegas and first go roller skating. That was a lot of fun - man, it's been awhile since I've had roller skates on. I remember how much I loved it as a kid. Hyrum wanted to try it so bad, but just couldn't get it down. Paige picked it up pretty well for her first time. Hyrum isn't in school yet, but since I was a chaparone and followed behind the bus in my own car, I snuck him in and he was really good.

After roller skating, we went to the Mandalay Bay Shark Reef and had a guided tour. The kids loved it! Hyrum really loved the giant lizards. Then they were able to pet the stingrays. Paige really loved that part.

Here is Paige's class in front of one of the aquariums. This is the Kindergarten and 1st grade (minus one).

If you can believe it - this is the entire Elementary - all six grades. They are a really great bunch of kids!

I had a great time being with my kids and doing something different from our regular routine. Thanks to Cam for keeping Hannah so I could go!

Hyrum Jay Horsley

2009-05-31T16:32:00.000-07:00

I have felt so incredibly guilty about posting a spotlight for Paige and then never getting around to Hyrum. I don't feel right about posting anything else until this is done. I love him so much and he's so good to always be waiting on Mom.

Hyrum was my big baby. When he was born his head got stuck, then his shoulders, then the cord was wrapped around his neck, belly and then again like a sash. He had to be on oxygen for a couple of days before he could be released. The scale at the hospital at the time of his birth was broken, but when we left 3 days later, he weighed in at 8 lbs 14 oz. He's also the only baby I carried close to my due date, he was born the day before. He was born completely blond and in the pics below doesn't look very big at all - but that's not how it felt!!

He was such a mellow little guy and just sat there taking everything in. His sister immediately claimed him as her own and they have been like glue ever since. She wanted him everywhere she was and insisted on feeding him every chance she got. He looks up to her and will try things for her that he won't try for us.

He's always been the humor. Quiet, but hilarious. He's a lot like his Dad, he doesn't talk a lot and rarely in front of strangers, but it seems like his goal in life is to get us to laugh. He loves to scare people, wrestle with his Dad, ride horses, and loves being on a tractor, backhoe, etc.

Oh, and is completely obsessed with dirt. The dirtier the better. Wintertime is hard for Hyrum because he loves to be outside. His favorite thing is to push his little Tonka dumptruck all around the yard. He has tracks all over yard (he is not walking by the way - running the entire time) and is usually making some sort of machine noises for emphasis. We have 10 acres, so needless to say the kid is a little on the skinny side.

I think Hyrum' best quality is his heart. He is always coming up and giving me a sqeeze and telling me he loves me. He is mindful of his sisters and loves to cuddle with them (when he wants). As of lately, he's becoming a good helper and tries to set a good example for his sis's. He loves to help me in the kitchen and is pretty good. He loves his sisters even if he doesn't dote all over them. He is careful with Hannah and is sure to include her - if she can keep up. Look - he's even sharing his beloved tractors = big deal!!

For the most part Hyrum is happy and easy going. He doesn't have to be right in the thick of it and is sometimes just happy to hang out just outside of the action and observe.

I love my little man and am very grateful that Heavenly Father sent him to us. He makes us all smile everyday.

Lazy Days

2009-05-06T15:36:00.000-07:00

Sometimes Paige asks me what we do all day and asks if we're having fun while she's at school. I try to make it sound boring, but every once in awhile we ditch all our chores and just enjoy the day. We've had some really great weather this last week and can't help but to enjoy it.

The kids love our lawn, I mean dandelion field.

They love to play in the mud - a little too much.

The swings are so exciting Hannah is exploding through her nose!

With everything growing so quickly, I've been tying up the horse to eat down some of the weeds. The kids can't help but to want to sit on her for awhile.

Laura Paige Horsley

2009-04-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

This post is to spotlight Paige. She is such a great kid and it was her birthday April 17th so I thought I would talk about some of the reasons I am so proud of her.

Well, this is how it all began having Paige in my life, no, I'm kidding. My friend thought it would be funny to take pics of me throwing up, but the laugh came back to haunt her when she got pregnant 3 months later!

Paige has always been smiley. Even when she was really little. She has always been cute and very caring.
Paige was born with a cyst on her right middle finger. It never bothered her, but it grew pretty rapidly, so he orthopedic surgeon thought it would be best to take it out. She was 11 months old when we went ahead with the surgery. Well, he said he got about 90% of it out, but then it filled right back up with scar tissue. It looks like it did before she had the surgery, but it hasn't grown. She was such a trooper through the whole thing. As the nurses were wheeling her away in the porta-crib, I started to cry. Paige on the other hand wasn't even paying any attention to me and says "whee" as she's being rolled away. That's pretty much how she is - happy with almost any situation and makes the best of it. Now we call it her "fat finger". We later checked with other pediatric specialists, but they said it was a cosmetic situation and were afraid that her body would react pretty much the same way and just fill up with more scar tissue. Meanwhile, she was a total crack up with that cast for 3 weeks. She just lugged it around, never slowing down.
I didn't know it at the time, but Paige was about the easiest baby anyone could ever have. People told me that all the time, but I didn't know any different. She was really happy and didn't complain much. She was so cute and there wasn't a place we could take her without people stopping us to oogle at her beautiful blue eyes. People were amazed at how grown up she sounded and how polite she was. In Lund at the time, there was only one other kid her age, so she mostly hung out with adults. From the time she was 2 weeks old, people would stop by and just pack a bag and take her with them - sometimes over night. Mostly they were the young women in the ward where I was assigned and Paige loved them all.
Paige has always been pretty athletic. She was on a horse by 6 months riding in a pack saddle with daddy's belt tied around her. This picture is of her fishing at 3. She caught this fish all by herself. She loves fishing - either in a boat or on shore. She loves to ride her horse, bike, 4 wheeler, anything - just as long as it's outside.

She also loves to read and is not a procrastinator, often asking me if she can just keep doing her homework, instead of eating dinner or watching tv. Paige taught me to be a mom. I didn't know what I was doing. I hadn't babysat in 10 years. Paige told me when she was ready for solid foods or walking, even reading. I know it sounds crazy, but I know the Lord sent her to me as my training tool for the rest. She has always been very patient with me, especially when I'm not. I had this little midget as my buddy for 3 years before her brother came along. Cam was always doing something, so it was always just me and her.

Paige has always been a great sister. I count this as one of her greatest attributes. I think back half fondly of one of the many times that Hyrum fell down outside as a toddler and started to cry, asking for his "seester". I would ask if he wanted a hug and he would tell me "no I just want seester". As I was looking for pictures for Hyrum's spotlight, I noticed that the first 10 pictures of him as a baby are of Paige holding and feeding him. She has looked after him since we brought him home. She taught him how to cast a fishing line when Cam and I were too frustrated to continue. She taught him to share and think of others. When I see Hyrum helping Hannah I know it's because of her kindness to him. She has been great with Hannah too. There have been more mornings than I would like to admit where she has taken Hannah out of her crib, changed her diaper, fixed her cereal and turned on the tv or started reading her a book. (these crazy children sometimes wake up as early as 5:00!) She never woke me up, just quietly went about trying to help. She's always trying to help. She started doing all the outside chores at 3 because she insisted. That includes feeding and watering 4 horses, a dog and multiple cats. She's always willing to help - anyone. She loves to do dishes for anyone who will let her. I think she one of the greatest blessings I have ever been given and I love her very much!

Paige's Birthday Party And More Family . . .

2009-04-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

Starting at the top: Hyrum, Paige, Olivia, Karlie, Khloe, baby Ben, Hannah, Abigail and Collette

Hyrum's special frosting mustache - such messy fun!

A few days after my parents left our house my sister and her family came out to visit. It was a lot of fun to have the cousins back together - it's been 4 years since they came out here. While they were here it was Paige's birthday and we decided to go ahead with the party - hey what's a few more kids, right? My sister had the great idea to have the kids frost cupcakes for Paige's party and that was a big hit. Mostly for the 1 year olds! Hilarious! They just went in face first.

The next activity was Paige's suggestion - hide a bunch of old horseshoes. We did and the kids seemed to love it. It's always the simple things that make them so happy. Here's everyone searching and the final result:

On to the final phase: the unicorn pinata. This pinata was made by angels just for Paige - that's the only way I can explain it. We were walking out the door to take Ariane down to Vegas when Paige tells me that she has to have a unicorn pinata - or else she'll die!! I was as shocked as the next person over the fact that unicorn pinatas have life preserving capabilities, but I told her I would look (knowing full well I have never seen one in Wal-Mart). But my daughter had full faith and there it was at the store with a ray of light beaming down on it from heaven. The only one there and of course it cost more than any of the others (the extra light bill?). Anyway - the kids also loved this part because it spews candy when ever someone finally beats it hard enough. Because nothing says fun, fun, fun like blunt force trauma to an inanimate pony. Aren't we supposed to be avoiding this kind of violence? One day a year can't be so bad, right? It's tradition after all.

After the party finally wound down, the missionaries came by for dinner - Cam made about 10 lbs of pizza and finally the day was done. Busy, but fantastic! I will be spotlighting Paige and Hyrum here in a couple of days when I can catch my breath. The day my Sis left, the day was finally nice enough to let the kids go for a ride on the horse. They were so cute and seemed to enjoy the short rides around the yard. The guys watched the babies,

while Laura did the packing and the older kids took turns on the horse. I was sooo glad that my Sis's fam could come out and celebrate with us. We had a blast!

A week with family

2009-04-19T15:20:00.000-07:00

Man - I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted! But the nagging coming from my mother has finally caught up with me and I am attempting a return to regular posting. My parents came out during my Dad's spring break and brought a cousin from Germany to visit. The last time Ariane came, it was December and it was miserable outside. This time she wanted to see Vegas and spend a little time in Lund. We took her on a 4 wheeler ride,

and horse ride and then down to Vegas to see the tourist spots. We stayed with Cam's cousin down in Vegas and they were soooo great to us. Fortunately for us, we convinced their daughter Brittany to be our tour guide. She took us to see the lions at the MGM,

and the chocolate factory at the Bellagio,

Ariane later blogged that she wasn't as thrilled by the lights and traffic as most people are. But she was glad that she did it all. My parents kept the kids while the three of us went to Vegas - which was like a little vacation! My parents and my kids seemed to really enjoy the week together. It was a really great week for all of us.

A Tag From Christianne

2009-03-07T13:20:00.000-08:00

Here's Neva with 3 day old Hannah.

It's funny how things come back around to you. I was recently tagged to open the fourth file in my pictures and choose the fourth picture from it and talk about it. I was making my bed this morning and the realization of a blessing came into my mind. It was November of 2006 and I was continually being prompted to get pregnant. I kept putting it off because I didn't want to get pregnant so soon and I hate being pregnant. But it just kept coming. So I finally gave in and prayed about it. It was an undeniable yes and I had some concerns. I was really worried about having babies less than 3 years apart (I know that sounds crazy, but babies really stress me out), I was worried about gaining even more weight and I was really, really worried about having a baby right before the winter. I had timed my last two so they would be past RSV season. I expressed all these concerns to my Heavenly Father and He reassured me that all would be taken care of if I would have the faith to get pregnant right away. I told Cameron about it and he was of course more than ready and gave me a "I told ya so" and we got pregnant the next month.

So I am making my bed this morning and for some reason flashed back on this conversation with the Lord and stopped to think about how those concerns turned out. Having Hannah less than 3 years after Hyrum wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Hyrum potty trained easily and Paige helped a lot with Hannah. First fear - solved. I did get HUGE after Hannah, but then started running for the first time in my life and am now smaller than I was after Hyrum (but still not back to "normal"). Second fear - solved. Sickness - While everyone around us kept getting sick, we just never really did. I realized this morning that besides having to be on oxygen for the first two weeks of her life, Hannah has been the healthiest baby we've had. Paige had RSV before she was one. Hyrum had continual ear infections and had to have tubes put in before 18 months. Hannah has never been to the Doctor for anything besides her shots (which I didn't even start until after a year). Third fear - solved. Wow, imagine that - the Lord blessing me with more than I could even imagine and ask for! I guess I should trust Him a little more. So thank you Christianne for this tag - it made me think about more than just the picture!

Attack of the Stroller

2009-03-02T19:28:00.000-08:00

Some people might think this is all we do, it's not, but it is all the kids want to do. Except Hannah, notice her in the middle of everything reading a book (with her legs crossed - this is her trademark). I swear this is all she wants to do all day and brings me at least 10 books a day to read to her. Now, notice Hyrum's face while he's picking up the stroller to attack Cam with. Also, notice his underwear that are not only showing, but on backwards as well. He'll hate me for this someday. There are so many things in this video for me to find humor with. Of course, they are my kids - hee. . .hee . . hee

Who says men can't multitask?

What is wrong with me lately?

2009-03-01T18:56:00.001-08:00

Ok - don't answer that, but the last 24 hours have taken a toll on me. I am always a klutz - but I have had to laugh at myself lately. Yesterday I went to jump out of the truck to check the horse water, like I've done a million times and landed on my left foot, rolled the ankle and ended up flat on my back looking back up at the truck. I didn't even know what happened. At least it was just the little kids watching (I hope) - but then I still had to hobble around to fill the trough. Then, today at church, I went to chase Hannah up some stairs and fell up the stairs! Now, that just takes talent I don't care who you are!

Hannah's Animal Noises

2009-02-17T11:53:00.000-08:00

I know I look like total crap in this video, but what can I say? I have been home locked in my house for a week with a sinus infection and sick kids, hence why Hannah's voice sounds terrible - she's been one of the sick kids. But this was so cute that Cam told me that I was being dumb if I didn't post it just because how terrible I look. Also, I had Paige doing the video again, so sorry if it's a little shaky. I want to mention that Hannah is 16 months old and to explain the horse sound - well, since we have horses my kids have never said the typical sound for a horse - they just say what they hear which is fine with me :)

Here's some comic relief for those who enjoy slapstick . .

2009-02-16T15:23:00.000-08:00

Paige Celebrates School Spirit Week

2009-02-05T19:39:00.000-08:00

Here's just a couple of the days that she joined in on.

This was pick a decade day. I, of course, chose the 80's. She thought I was pretty cool after learning that I lived through it. Then she couldn't figure out why in the world I would peg my pants. For the life of me, I can't either.

Notice the double layered scrunched up socks, knot tied shirt and pony tail off to the side. WHY IN THE WORLD IS THIS COMING BACK?

This was crazy hair day. I just stuck it up in a ton of rubber bands. She thought it was great.

Happy Birthday Cameron!

2009-02-05T18:56:00.000-08:00

I know I'm a little late with this, but I want to wish Cam a happy birthday and let him know how much I love him. He hit the big 35 this year. Let's see if I can name 35 great things about him:

1. He picked me - how much more great can he get?
2. He has gorgeous blue eyes.
3. He looks hot in wranglers.
4. He looks really hot in a broken-in cowboy hat :)
5. He's considerate of my feelings.
6. He always asks what I want to do.
7. He loves ice cream as much as I do!
8. He's extra sweet when I'm pregnant.
9. He's great with the kids.
10. He always gets up with the kids in the morning on his days off.
11. He always makes breakfast on his days off.
12. He loves my Grandma as much as I do.
13. He's respectful to his elders.
14. He's respectful to authority.
15. He doesn't gossip.
16. He's one of the hardest workers I have ever seen.
17. I call him my ox because I swear he's as strong as one.
18. He's a good speller.
19. He has good handwriting for a guy :)
20. He's super handy!
21. He can build just about anything out of wood.
22. He has always told me I deserve to buy whatever I want for myself.
23. He looks really, really hot in his volunteer fireman's uniform.
24. He's kinda naive in an innocent sort of way- which I love.
25. He's also really smart - even book smart.
26. He's good at math - I cannot do math.
27. He good with a computer.
28. He plays the guitar.
29. He has a good voice.
30. His Dad is his best friend (next to me he says).
31. He think my folks are great.
32. He actually thinks my whole family is great - of course there's only 7 of us!
33. He loves his job.
34. He's willing to compromise (and listen to me!).
35. He's really good with horses and can calm down about every horse I have ever seen him with - even with all the colts he breaks for other people.

Man - that was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I could easily list a ton more. For his birthday weekend we went to Idaho to see the blessing of his brother's baby. That kid is cute!! It was a lot of fun and he even bought himself a big screen TV. He has been working almost non-stop for a month and took some overtime and treated himself. (He sooo deserves it!)

This is him installing it. He's pretty excited!

It was great to spend so much time with his brother and his wife (thanks again Amy and Aaron for letting us come!) - they are a lot of fun. The kids all loved it too.

Here's Hannah trying not to touch the baby, but really wanting to.

This is Oliver - he's hilarious.

We all went in and got him an ice cream cake from DQ and some hilarious presents. His mom did an entire album composed of all his mission stuff. It must have taken hours and hours - pictures and letters he wrote home and from his mission president. I know he was really excited about that.

I have to share a funny story that is so typical Horsley - his parents sent him a jar of horse poop while he was on his mission to remind him of the ranch. I guess his companion wasn't so appreciative!

Well, happy birthday again cute boy - I love ya!

Funny things this week

2009-01-25T17:44:00.000-08:00

I have to relate some funny things that happened this week.

1. Opening the washer to switch the laundry and finding my Crocs that Hannah put in there when I wasn't looking.

2. Hyrum said, "Mom, can you be my big helper? so I would feed him dinner.

3. Hyrum continually singing Linkin Park songs (I run on the treadmill to some).

4. Pictures we took today:

Paige the chimp

My cyclops son

Paige has some junk in the trunk

Hyrum without a head

(Turn away if you are squeamish)
5. An old companion remembering a funny story from my mission with me. This member lady answered the door and shook our hands as we came in. Then she tells us that she was late coming to the door because she was inserting a suppository. Then my horror as I realized her hands were dry when I shook them - Ahhhhhh!

The Difference In Brothers And Sisters

2009-01-19T09:53:00.000-08:00

Sisters have a great bond. (Refer to my sister's blog) This starts very early - very spiritual and on a deep level. However, brothers also have a special bond, it's just different. It usually involves laughing, wrestling and overall harassment. But when Hannah and Paige want to really play hard then they go to Hyrum. No one can make the girls laugh like their brother. I have never heard them laugh as hard as they do with Hyrum. In these pictures Hannah was convinced she was goes to sit in Hyrum's lap, no matter what he thought. She backs up and plops into people's lap - her aim was good until Hyrum would move at the last minute.

But the girls have a kinship and Hannah looks up to Paige like no one else. She tries to mimic her and be a big kid just like her. Paige is patient and takes the time to show Hannah things and read to her. I love watching my kids interact - I'm learning so much!

This picture is just because Hannah is so stinking cute with her little pudgy hands!

Our White Winter

2009-01-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

For the first time since we've been married, the snow has actually stayed for longer than a week. I love it and as you can see, we've all been enjoying it. Here's me pretending to snowboard down the side of the hill behind our house. We had to 4wheel up the hill and as hard as it was to get up, it wasn't very steep going down. I'm obviously not going very fast if the dog can keep up.

Here's Kaylonnie, Paige, Hyrum and Jace on the back of the sleigh.

Hyrum always has to sit with Grandpa.

Poor Bonnie and Penny only get used twice a year. Once for a sleigh ride and once during the 24th of July parade to pull a wagon!

Thanks to Britt and Wade for the rides! It's a good life if you can snow-machine in your frontyard!

The kids love to sled down the driveway.

Paige has figured out how to snowboard on the sled. She has even done this behind a 4wheeler.

Anyone Interested?

2009-01-03T19:10:00.000-08:00

When I had Hannah I gained a lot of weight. No really, a lot of weight. Six weeks after my c-section, I started walking on the treadmill again and trying to get back to normal. Well, it didn't work. After a couple months I realized having babies over 30 wasn't going to allow my body to just bounce back with little effort anymore. I decided to kick it into high gear and get some shape back. It worked really well. I lost an extra 30 lbs on top of what I had lost previously. I am ready to do it again. (not 30 lbs, more like 15-20) I have had a lot of people ask how I did it ( it only took about 2 months). I have gained a little back over the holidays and want to do it again. If anyone is interested just leave a comment. The rules aren't complicated, just strict. But I am only going to do this for 6 weeks. If some want to go longer, that's great. I might too, we'll see. This is really all about wanting something so bad, you are desperate. I am not saying "follow me, follow me!!", but if you want some support and to lose some weight then do it with me. So, if you're interested these are the rules:

1. No sugar! I know this sounds crazy - but nothing. Not in yogurt, cereal, or even salty snacks (it's in some of them!). Remember - it's only for 6 weeks! Natural sugars are great like in dairy and fruit.

2. No eating past 6:30. This is really hard for some. If you have to skip dinner and just have some kind of snack at 6:30 - so be it. But stick with this rule.

3. 10 minutes of exercise everyday but Sunday. This will differ according to how much you are used to right now. It might be walking, running, biking, or whatever. Just as long as it's 10 minutes of constant exercise. If you want to do more, then do it! It's really not that much, but it has to be at least 5 days a week.

4. Do not exceed 1300 calories a day for a woman/ 2000 for a man. This is done by having approx. 200 calorie meals/ snacks about 4-5 times a day (about every 3 hours) and then a regular meal somewhere in there. Mine is usually dinner, but sometimes it's lunch. This is where the mental part of this diet comes in. You just have to get used to not always feeling full and not always having something in your mouth. (That's a hard one for me) Portion control! Calories can be really hard to count - just try to eat about a 1/2 cup of whatever you want. It doesn't have to be just protein. I eat a lot of yogurt.

This will feel like torture for the first week, and then you will get used to it. I just want to be healthy again and have enough energy to keep up with my kids. I don't want to be fat anymore. I don't want to be the size I was at 20 - just a healthy somewhere in between.

Oh, I don't do weigh-ins. That's up to you. But do write down everything you eat - it makes it easier to count calories and if/ how much you cheat.

I am starting January 15th. That should be enough time to get all the sugar out of my house!

Lots of love,
Mindy

For All Of Us Stay-At-Home Moms!!

2008-12-27T21:27:00.000-08:00

I had to steal this from my friend Candice's blog - I hope these make someone else laugh like it did me!

A Small Glimpse Into Hannah's Day

2008-12-16T18:35:00.000-08:00

All these pictures were taken today. Even though it wasn't a busy day, toddlers are always busy.

She wants to go outside and play sooo bad, just like the big kids.

She threw her raisins into the washer . . and then she high centered.

As I've mentioned before, Hannah loves to climb. She has figured out that if she uses presents, she can reach the ornaments even higher than the ones she ripped off yesterday. Like most families with little kids, our tree is not decorated with glass ornaments the last 2 1/2 feet from the bottom. Now she is helping to remove them even further up. What a little helper. Couldn't she just pick up toys?

Hannah Howling

2008-12-11T19:59:00.000-08:00

For weeks we have been trying to get a video of Hannah howling like a coyote, but every time we turn on the camera she stops. Tonight she finally did it. This has been something that has been cracking us up for weeks, but few people ever get to see it. My favorite part is the way she puckers her lips while she's howling . .. or the way she cracks herself up after.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-30T14:24:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and has much to be grateful for. I know I do! I have a Savior who died for me and loves me - faults and all. I have a GREAT family who loves me and takes great care of me. Plus I get to live in a small town in a nice home with horses. We even welcomed a new nephew to the mix this week! Congrats Aaron and Amy and new baby Owen. We enjoyed a great meal together with lots of family and had a great time. "Uncle" Matt even arranged a firetruck ride for all the little kids. They loved it of course and Hyrum insisted on his spot in the front with Uncle Matt.

Here's Amanda and Stacy - it was so great to catch up with both of them.

Cameron just couldn't bother putting down his pie for a picture.

Family Home Evening?

2008-11-29T14:51:00.000-08:00

The kids love to wrestle with Cam as their "activity" after the lesson during FHE. Well, this week FHE was held kind of late and Cameron decided that the kids needed to be worn out before bed. So, during the closing song, which was "Do As I'm Doing", Cameron told the kids to run around the house until they couldn't run anymore. In the meantime, to make things interesting, he tripped them as they ran by each time. It became very entertaining for us. Terrible I know, but that's just our humor. This is mostly for my sister and Grandma who I inherited this horrible sense of humor from.

Brumbie gets a prize

2008-11-24T18:56:00.000-08:00

We had an interesting experience last Saturday when we were on a family horse ride. Cameron saw the dog chasing a jack rabbit up a hill when she caught one right in front of us! She bit it in the hind end and then chased it into a bush and got it down. She killed it so fast that we were pretty amazed. I don't want this to be too gory for anyone, but around here, jack rabbits are like mice - no one wants them around and they are mean little things. I would post the pictures, but I think some people might protest. So, if you want to see what happened after, you can choose to watch the video.

Trip To Salt Lake

2008-10-28T04:34:00.000-07:00

We went into Salt Lake last weekend for a 1 year appointment for Hannah. We ended up taking all three kids, which we usually don't because it's a lot slower with all of them. It actually ended up being a total blast. We got all of our shopping done and even visited with some old friends. The kids loved the trip. Poor kids - I really deprive them of some of the luxuries of the city. One is a mall. I never go and they've never been. They rode a merry-go-round and played in a play area. They thought it was great. So did I. Even eating out was a new experience as well and they loved it. Poor little country bumpkins!

One friend I visited was my nurse, Sherrie. She was my nurse after I had Hannah. Hannah was an emergency c-section and three weeks early. I think labor is always a little scary no matter which way the baby comes out, but this made me pretty nervous. Hannah even ended up in the NICU with oxygen on all the time. It was lonely sometimes because we ended kind of trapped in Utah when we weren't expecting it. We had come in for an appointment and a case lot shopping sale. I wasn't expecting a new baby. We had Hyrum with us (who was 2) who was quickly shuffled up to Cameron's sister's house in Salt Lake. Cameron was running back and forth to a motel and his sisters. Then my mom flew in and kind of saved the day for Cam and Hyrum. Sherrie was an angel sent from heaven. When no other nurse could remember my name, she was sneaking me goodies and spending some of her free time chatting with me. Sherrie kept me company and calmed my fears. You can always tell a nurse who has a few kids - they are more relateable and nurturing. I just felt bonded to her. Well, this weekend I was able to see her again and show her the little angel that we brought home last year. I started crying when I first saw her and can't really say why. It just brought back all of my thankfullness that I wasn't able to express at the time. So, thank you Sherrie for everything you did for me and thanks to all those great nurses who give so much without ever knowing how much you've really done. You cannot realize how much you are appreciated!!

Let The Terrorizing Begin!

2008-10-27T16:22:00.000-07:00

Hannah has officially reached the age where she is going through the house and tearing it up just because she can. The morning we left for Salt Lake this is what I found as I went into my bathroom. First, half of the toilet paper was unrolled. Then, I found her binkie (that she's not even supposed to have outside of the crib) floating in the toilet. Nice, Hannah.

2008-10-25T18:45:00.000-07:00

Random facts - I am completely random when I talk. I think they call it A.D.D.. But anyway - thanks Nici for this one it has really made me think.

1. I am always worried that I'm not a good enough mom. I'm always thinking of ways to interact with my kids and make them think. But I never feel like I'm doing enough.

2. Cozumel with my sister - most beautiful place I have ever been to and such a funny trip. Remember the crashed moped?

3. I secretly want to live in Driggs Idaho. I was once offered a job in a snowboard shop and I wanted to drop out of college so bad and just snowboard for a living.

4. After eight years of marriage, I still think about Cam at least 3 times a day while he's at work.

5. For me, cleaning relieves stress.

6. I have been out of college for more than 10 years and still have nightmares about being late for/ failing classes. Sometimes I still wake up in the morning and am soooo glad that I don't have to go to school.

7. I love serving in the church. Whether it's visiting teaching, when I was stake YW's president or teaching Primary - I just love it.

I tag Laura, Kiki (you had better do this!), Vilate, Stephanie, Christiann, Gayla, Jenica.

2008-10-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

Look at this dirty kid! All just from playing outside . . .

We call Hannah "Hanny Goat" for a lot of reasons, mostly because she will climb anything. She's constantly weaving over and under the kitchen chairs. We also call her that because she's around a lot of little kids that can't say her name and call her Hanny. The hair in this picture is great - it's leftover from pigtails during church. Now she really looks like a "Hanny Goat" - complete with horns.

Here's Hyrum the morning of pre-school. He was so excited and so far, is still loving it! His shirt says, "what happens at Grandma's, stays at Grandma's" - I love it.

Goofy faces just make me giggle. My kids don't make normal faces very often - this is mostly what I get.

A Tag From Candice

2008-10-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

What I was doing 10 years ago...
1. Well, as of Nov 17th - coming home from my mission in Eugene Oregon.
2. Knocking on doors.
3. Sharing the Book of Mormon
4. Stressed about if I did enough on my mission
5. Living with Gayla Eliason (now Mead)
6. Getting ready to come home.
7. Worrying about what to do next.

5 things on my to-do list today...
1. Clean the kids' bathroom (yucky toilet training toddlers)
2. Run on the treadmill
3. Make dinner
4. Wash Hannah's and my bedding
5. Visit some friends

5 of my favorite snacks...
1. Ice cream!
2. anything chocolate (now you know why I needed to go on a diet!)
3. fresh fruit
4. Popcorn
5. Wheat thins/ triscuts

5 Jobs I've had...
1. Vet tech
2. Waitress
3. Marine World
4. Microsoft
5. Testing center at Ricks College

5 things I would do with a million dollars...
1. Get a new house - with rooms bigger than these!
2. Pay off our parents' homes/ cars
3. Help Cam get started in a real horse business
4. Have a nice yard - complete with an in-ground pool
5. Secretly give money to those struggling (wouldn't
that be fun) and of course donate

5 things that made me laugh this week...
1. Hearing Hyrum tell me about fire safety in pre-school
2. Watching Hyrum and Parker decorate Halloween cookies - mostly just eating the frosting and sprinkles
3. Hearing Hyrum tell my dad that he "just didn't want to talk about it." (re: getting in trouble)
4. Uploading videos of my kids onto You Tube for my folks
5. Watching Cam wrestle with the kids - he's starting to meet his match with the 3 of them at once.

5 people I tag, to answer these same questions....
1. Laura
2. Andrea
3. Emma
4. Lacy
5. Leigh
6. Whoever else want to join the fun.

2008-10-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

Hannah has found tomatoes! She loves them and when I put her at the kitchen table and turned around for a moment - she stole one and started eating like an apple. Later I discovered that it wasn't just one tomato, but there was another one that she took a few bites out of before gently placing back in the bowl.

One Liners

2008-10-14T16:49:00.000-07:00

I love all the funny material that 3 and 4 four old's can give parents. Paige was hilarious, but fortunately Hyrum is giving us plenty. Today Hyrum had pre-school and they had a fire safety talk. A fireman came with a truck and ran the siren - he was very excited!! He loves riding in the truck with his Dad around town (who's a volunteer fireman). He came home with coloring sheets telling him to "Stop, Drop, and Roll". I asked him as we walked into the house, "So Hyrum, what do you do when your clothes catch on fire?". He quickly responded, "I put on my mask!". I had to laugh - I think he's spent way too much time down at the fire shed. Thanks Dad!

Eating and Sleeping

2008-10-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

These are basic necessities, right? I think so, in fact I probably do more than I should of both. My children on the other hand refuse to do either. What is wrong with them? The only reason any of them ever eat is because I sit them down and force them to eat. Now, some people might think I'm crazy and should just let them eat when they get hungry. But you don't understand - they won't! They never tell me that they're hungry and if they go too long without food then they become the exorcist children and their little heads spin around and fire comes out of their mouths. Ok, so that's an exaggeration. For those who know me, I cannot go without food for very long either and I get really agitated. So they come by this honestly. But I WANT to eat. Paige went through this when she was 2,3,4 and 5, but now she's getting better. I thought it was a freak thing and just her. But no, it's Hyrum too. He hates eating. I babysat some other kids the other day and they ate all day long. Hyrum? Not even a little interested. I thought that since the other kids were eating he would want to too. At EVERY meal I have to remind him every few minutes to take a bite of his food and that he can't get down until he finishes. I don't serve large portions and it shouldn't take him long, but more times than not, he is there for 45 minutes to an hour. Sometimes I even break down and help him eat. Pathetic I know - he's 3 1/2! But unless I make sure they are all eating in 3 hour increments and having something healthy they will have a complete meltdown. Paige is really coming out of it now - thank goodness. Even Hannah won't eat at times. These kids are already really skinny and shouldn't be missing meals, I on the other hand should be missing more.

Sleep. I love sleep. I love sleeping. My children seem to think it leads to disease. They never wake up past 7:00, but that's a miracle. Usually it's more like 5:30 or 6:00. It doesn't matter what time they go to bed. People have tried to tell me that I put them to bed too early. But it doesn't matter. I can put them to bed at 9:00 for a week straight and they still wake up at the same time. So for my sanity, I put them to bed at 7:30. This gives me 2 hours to myself to get caught up and watch a show before I go to bed at 9:30. I would love to stay up late sometimes and do something fun, but I have to get up with the kids. Sometimes I can bribe Cameron into getting up with them, but most of the time he's already gone or was working until 1:00 am the night before.

Why can't my children just want to eat and sleep?!?! This is my lot in life and I am getting used to it, but I just needed to vent for a minute.

Hannah Turns 1!

2008-10-07T14:15:00.000-07:00

On Sunday September 28th we had some family and friends over for a little cake and to sing Happy Birthday to Hannah. Boy, did she love the cake! I don't let my kids have any sugar before one, so this was a new experience for her. She ended up licking her hands and licking the crumbs off of her high chair tray.

4wheeling on Ward Mountain

2008-10-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is Ward Mountain. It's around 12,000 ft. up. The fall colors were starting to turn and we wanted a family trip before they were gone.

This is the canyon we chose to ride down into and picnic. It was beautiful!

We wanted to take Hannah along so badly that we decided to tie her onto the wheeler with her carseat and she ended up sleeping a good portion of the time. She loved it and was very comfy. Cameron is showing off his new love - Oreo Cakesters.

What a great trip - now I'm going to want to do it every year. The best part was just getting away as a family with no distractions!

Just Catching up

2008-10-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

I call this one "even cowboys have to take naps"

Isn't Paige the best sister? She is so great with Hannah!

This was Paige's idea of a "super baby" - complete with cape.

The Week of August 18th

2008-08-29T11:47:00.000-07:00

We had a lot happen this week. My folks came out to visit for a couple of days and it was great! It was really nice to see them and to get all the food storage done. The kids loved having Papa to wrestle with for four days straight.

Then Cam, my Dad, Hyrum, and Paige all went to shoot for little while one day. Hyrum decided he was going to take and shoot his pretend shotgun, but he still had to wear the real ear muffs.

We also went out to our friend's the Jensen's to see their new baby Alpaca. He was sooo cute and soft. The kids thought it was great fun to play there for awhile.

Hannah discovered she loves truck books just like Hyrum. I thought this picture was funny because she is holding the book upside down. But she just looks so darn big!

Paige's First Day of 1st Grade

2008-08-28T11:38:00.001-07:00

(Here she is in front of the school that was built in 2002)
August 25th was our first day of school here and Paige was really excited to start as a full-time student this year. She has been working hard all summer on keeping up with reading and math and is loving been back with all her friends. It's just really weird to have her gone all day long! We only have a four day school week here so they go from 7:30 am to 3:36 pm. So far we have transitioned great and haven't been late yet - maybe there's hope!

My Quest to Start My Food Storage Supply

2008-08-28T11:07:00.000-07:00

I know I am really, really behind in food storage, but I have always been really scared of starting. Some of it was where to start, how to afford it and in the beginning, where to put it. Now that we have a basement, I have the place to put it, but I didn't know where to begin. I started doing research last month as the push to get this going was getting stronger and stronger. Provident Living didn't give me any specifics and 3rd party websites are all about dehydrated and freeze-dried foods (and are really expensive). I did, however find a site on lds.about.com that gave me a food storage calculator and I went from there. Then about the middle of August I made a call to Macey's Foods for another reason and found out that they were having a bulk foods sale the next week. I made a quick trip in with the truck and made my Mom and Grandma go with me. What a productive trip!! As you can see I got a good portion of what was on the list from the calculator. They didn't have everything I needed, but what I did get has made me feel like a load has been lifted. As for the way to afford it, we took half of our gov kickback check. I used about 2/3 at this sale and next month will buy some canned foods from Macey's case lot sale. The rest will go towards a wheat grinder. (If anyone has suggestion for a grinder - please comment!) For some reason Cameron thinks we need one now that we have 315 lbs. of wheat. Macey's might not have the best deal, but it was the best I have seen - especially for around here!

(Just don't look at the messy basement!)

While my folks were here - they helped us put up the 3 boxes of peaches and 3 boxes of pears they brought out for us. We ended up putting up 51 quarts of pears and 32 quarts of peaches. That has also added to our food storage considerably! I feel so much better!

Even More Random Pictures

2008-08-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

This is Peaches. She is Paige's horse, but she's usually who I'm riding with Hyrum. This was after an hour and a half ride - they just can't get enough.

Hannah is playing peek-a-boo with Cam.

This is Hannah's first hairdo - because Cameron insisted!

Here's Uncle Matt walking Hannah - she just has the best look on her face.

Here's a great shot of Hyrum riding double with me the other night.

Pictures From My Birthday

2008-08-17T19:31:00.000-07:00

Can you believe I was selected to be a juror on my birthday? Well, it was an inmate trial and I have a hard time being impartial with Cameron doing what he does for a job, so I got out of it. After I got out, Cameron took me to lunch and then we ran some errands without the kids, then home. I have to say I have the best friends in all the world! My friend Charis brought me a German chocolate cake and the sweetest card, Connie and Brittany brought me dinner (yes! No cooking!) and I also got a card from a great friend, Emily. Later that night my in-laws came over and made me a chocolate pudding cake (thanks Neva!) and we just hung out for awhile. These are some of the pictures that I took with my kids - I actually had make-up on for a change. It was a great day. Then . . . to top it all off . . . Cameron did hunny-do's all weekend!!!!

2008-08-10T16:01:00.000-07:00

We were able to go for another ride last night and it was the most perfect night! It was a lot of fun and it's a great time to be together as a family. In fact, it's possibly our favorite activity to do together. Hyrum is really starting to get into it this year.

Hyrum has a funny way of hanging on to me. He likes to stick his hands under my butt and uses my weight to keep him firmly in place. It feels really weird and I try to get him to hang onto my waist, but he always starts out this way.

I love this shot of Cam and Paige on Tahoe.

This is a short video of our ride and me attempting to video at the same time.

The Many Faces of Hannah

2008-08-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

Hannah Playing Patty Cake

2008-08-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

We were in the backyard last night enjoying the great weather and I finally videoed Hannah "rolling it". She's just such a doll!

8 Years!

2008-07-26T17:19:00.001-07:00

Even though I'm really late writing about this, July 15th was our anniversary. Being the romantic Cameron is, he invited me to go with him to his FBI hostage negotiation class in Vegas. It turned out great because his mom was kind enough to take all three of our kids so we could go kidless! I didn't see Cameron that much, but we did go out to dinner and a movie . . with his friend that was taking the class with him. It actually was a lot of fun and overall a very relaxing trip. So romantic isn't Cameron's forte, but being a great husband and dad is. I am grateful for him in my life and he still has my heart.

This is when we first walked out of the temple and is still my favorite picture.

This was in front of the Oakland Temple.

And this was dancing at our reception.

I really wanted to capture what our family and friends were like when we would all get together. We always barbecued and it was always really laid back. And that was what I wanted for my reception. My Uncle Rick and Ted did the barbecuing for us and it was yummy!

This picture was taken while we were at the temple being sealed. My neighbor kid backed into my truck that we were supposed to drive home to Nevada in. Cameron's brother Aaron was trying to lighten the mood by writing "just married" in the dent - how sweet :0)

Here's Cam with my sis Laura and my cousin Kami.

Here's me with Cam's brother Aaron and Cam's best friend Scott.

Another great shot of my parents and Cam's parents.

Here's the crew that came to the temple.

Thanks again for all our family and friends (especially my mom!) who worked so hard to make the day so special - it truly was the happiest day (I don't count the birthdays of my kids as the happiest because I'm always too tired!) Thanks again to Mack and Linda for the photography - just gorgeous!

More Random Pictures

2008-07-25T22:38:00.000-07:00

I just took this picture the other day of Paige and her horse Peaches and her dog Brumbie. They were riding in the round corral and I am so proud of how well she's doing.

Paige took this picture of her and Hannah playing - I love it.

Here's Hyrum and his friend John. They love playing together and I love the look on Hyrum's face! It pretty much sums up their friendship.

This is Hannah's new thing: carrying things in her mouth without hands. She'll even carry things all around the house like this while she crawls.

The Horny Toad

2008-07-23T22:25:00.000-07:00

This is the cake topper to our 4th of July wheeler trip. Please notice that the lizard never does touch Hyrum, but his reaction makes you think it bites his hand off. I really love the end where Paige kisses the lizard because she loves him!

P.S.For everyone outside of the desert, a horny toad is actually know as the horned lizard, so please don't look for a horny toad on the internet - it doesn't exist. These are little facts that I have found living here in Lund.

The 4th of July

2008-07-23T11:54:00.001-07:00

For the 4th of July/ Neva's birthday we went for a 36 mile 4wheeler ride. It was a great ride that everybody enjoyed. We picnicked at the top of the mountain and stopped at several places along the way. Even though it was a lot cooler on the mountain, I managed to get really sunburned on my arms - not thinking sunscreen for me (apparently only the kids need it?).

Continuation of 4th of July

2008-07-23T11:12:00.000-07:00

This is me drinking out of a spring near the top of the mountain. The water is sooo cold and yummy. We all had to get a drink.

Here's Hyrum - usually people use this spring to fill troughs further down to water their animals as the move them over the mountain.

This is Paige shooting Grandpa's pellet gun.

Hyrum shot as fast as Grandpa could cock the gun.

Paige is standing in front of a mine shaft that as been in Cameron's Dad's family for generations.

Horsley Family Reunion

2008-07-23T10:17:00.000-07:00

This year we stayed close to Lund and went to a 4H camp and got to stay in cinder block cabins. It was much cooler than a tent and much quieter. There was a warm spring in the camp and that was where we were most of the time. It was great to see some of the family again.

Hannah cracking up at Hyrum

2008-06-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

I love hearing Hannah laughing like this and Hyrum seems to be the only one who can get her to laugh this hard - and he's not even doing anything. Thank goodness for goofy brothers.

Hannah Progresses In Her Crawling

2008-06-23T12:58:00.000-07:00

This is just to show grandparents that Hannah is getting better at her crawling.

Our Trip To Las Vegas

2008-06-21T11:46:00.000-07:00

These are pictures of our vacation to Vegas. We stayed with our friends Scott and Meghan and the kids just about lived in their pool. We had such a great time playing and shopping down there - it was re-energizing! We even got to go to the Temple! What a relaxing time - so thanks so much to the Richardson's for having us again!This is our vampire child who just lost her other front tooth.

This is Chasen about to cannonball into the pool.

This is Tarren diving off the spa - he looks in perfect form for a belly flop, but he ended up doing a cannonball as well.

2008-06-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

The kids really worked on their swimming skills and we found that Hyrum is totally fearless!

Hannah was rocking to sleep in her floaty and looked so cute - like a little angel.

It was great to spend some down time with the kids.

Hyrum would not take a normal picture - as usual.

Here's a picture that Paige took of Hannah in the car on the way to Vegas.

Cams Biggest Big Mouth Bass Ever!

2008-06-21T10:19:00.000-07:00

Cameron was sooo proud of this fish! It's too bad he couldn't mount it - not enough time because we left for vacation the next day. It's not huge by regular standards, but for the little lake close to our house - it's a really good size. Paige caught quite a few herself and was very happy with her "keepers". We didn't take a picture of her because she was so tired she went straight off to bed.

Just some pics

2008-06-08T16:44:00.001-07:00

I haven't included a picture of our entire family since I set up this blog, so when my mom sent this one to me from when we were in Cali, I figured I had to put it on.
This picture is when I combined two containers of syrup and Hyrum thought he might get a little more out of the empty one. Such a boy. Paige and I thought it was hilarious!

Hyrum and Hannah Playing

2008-06-05T14:31:00.000-07:00

Watch Hyrum's not-so-subtle cues for Hannah to play correctly. Again, this is mostly just because my mom is always begging for more blogs.

Hyrum Makes Hannah Laugh

2008-06-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

This is mostly for the family to be able to see the kids again. But notice the ironic song playing in the background as Hyrum beats our heater to death.

Hannah crawls forward!

2008-06-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

Finally the girl starts to crawl forward! It's not much, but at least she's getting the concept. The head tilt at the end is something she has done for awhile, but every time we try to get it on camera - she won't do it! She will copy us as long as no one is trying to document it. Notice she starts smiling about it before I even say anything. It always makes us laugh.

It's official - Paige is growing up!

2008-06-01T13:34:00.000-07:00

Paige's New Haircut

2008-05-12T12:37:00.000-07:00

Paige has been wanting her haircut for quite awhile now, but was a little nervous about Daddy's reaction. Finally Cameron gave in and we hacked it off last week. She loves it! It is much easier to take care of and now there's no more braiding for mom for awhile. When she first cut off her bangs she wanted to know if I could "glue them back on". So this time she knew it was permanent this time.

Paige Tries Her Hand As A Camerawoman

2008-05-04T16:57:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot about this video. Paige took the camera one morning before we were awake (like 5:45am!) and shot this video of Hannah sucking on her lip. It was a funny phase that Hannah has come out of now, but I'm kinda glad she took it because I never did. The cinematography isn't too great, but not too bad for a 5 year old who has never been allowed to touch the camera before. She did get a lecture about it, but I'm not going to tell her that I'm actually glad she took it. Listen to her explaining the situation - hilarious! I heard something about "an action" and an "owww" right at the end. Cameron really enjoys the parting shot.

Our Trip To California

2008-05-04T14:45:00.000-07:00

I know this blog is out of sequence because we got back on April 26th, but I am slow at getting all the pictures onto the computer and organized. We went out for the kids' birthdays and for Cameron to go bass fishing. All in all it was a great trip and everybody stayed busy and happy. I even took Cameron down to my hometown and showed him my old high school and grade school. Well, Fairfield is even more ghetto than ever, but at least he has seen it. He kept asking if he needed to load the Glock, but I assured him it wasn't that bad, but I think he was kinda nervous at times. But the best part was when he took me on a shopping trip and promised not to complain the entire time . . .and he didn't! I haven't done that since before we were married. Don't get me wrong, Cam's a fantastic husband, just not a patient shopper.

The kids loved the plane ride (especially Hyrum - he was invited to see inside the cockpit). Paige had just been on one last month, but it was still exciting to her.

My Mom organized a scavenger hunt for the kids to find their presents and while Paige loved it, Hyrum was more interested in just running around.
The birthday party was great and my Mom had some of our old family friends come up and spend the day. DeAnne is one of my other mothers and these are a few of her grandkids holding Hannah. Julianna, Kira (I know I'm not spelling that right) and Breanna. The girls were great with Hannah and she loved all the attention. That was one of my favorite parts about the whole week.
Paige and Hyrum were really excited about their cake and blowing out candles. Don't they look happy?
Cameron loves to fish, but it just wasn't warm enough for bass to get too excited. That part was a little depressing for him, but his friend Terry acted as a guide on three different lakes in three days. He really liked seeing the different places, but was really surprised by the amount of water in California. I keep trying to tell him that it's Nevada that's really dry.
This is one of my new favorite pictures. My grandma "Dabby" and Hannah really hit it off and made a connection right away. Hannah just loved being with her. Usually Hannah doesn't like being held a lot, but with Dabby she was really content.

Thanks to my parents for a great week and to Terry for all his hard work and taking such good care of Cameron. I am glad we don't live there though - Cameron would never be home!

Hannah Tries To Crawl

2008-05-03T13:56:00.000-07:00

Hannah doesn't like to be on her belly much and since she can roll over so easily, most of the time she chooses not to be. I thought this was strange, but exciting that at least she's making some sort of progress, even if it is backwards. You will have to watch closely, but she does scoot just a little. I love to listen to her complain about it the entire time, but in the end she is like, "Oh, my hand." Happy 7 month B-day Hannah!

Cameron's accident for the year

2008-04-13T14:36:00.001-07:00

It seems that once a year Cameron seems to make into the emergency room. We are trying to keep our insurance company in business. Here's the story . . .on Thursdays, Cameron goes to the old high school gym to play basketball with other alumni. Apparently, things were going well until he went in for a rebound and when he stepped down his ankle rolled to the outside. It swelled up pretty well and my first instinct was to take a picture to document it. I don't think I showed the empathy like he was looking for. So, now he's off work for awhile. On the other hand, we're leaving for California next Saturday and Cameron's supposed to go fishing on Clear Lake for the first time. He says that if he has to lay on the deck of the boat and cast from there, he will still be happy.

Potty Training

2008-04-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

We have begun the potty training process. It really didn't go so well at first, but it has improved greatly in the last week or so. Hyrum does well at home, but not so well when traveling to other places or even outside. This video is a sample of how Hyrum acted most of the time when I would have him go. I have been bribing him with all sorts of things like chocolate chips or chocolate milk or gum. I am one who believes bribery works, and works well. His attitude has changed for the most part and he doesn't fight me as much as he used to, but occasionally he will run the other way. Wish us luck and if anyone has tips for boys - let me know!

2008-03-29T13:31:00.000-07:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family history - Family reunion

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

My sister Laura showed me this site at myheritage.com where you can take a picture of yourself and your husband and your child to see who the child looks the most like. I was really surprised. I thought Hyrum looked just like Cam and that Paige looked just like me. I guess time will tell if I am right or if the computer is!

Then you can also see which celebrity you look the most like. Try it out!

Feeding Hannah Bananas

2008-03-29T13:03:00.000-07:00

I get the impression that Hannah doesn't like bananas. I thought this was hilarious because her reaction was consistent every time. She does, however, love sweet potatoes and enjoys squash and greens beans. Notice how I have to time the spoon just right to get it in there in time. Listen to Hyrum in the background begging to eat the baby food for her. I had given him one bite and he ended up eating the rest of the jar. Paige thought it was disgusting.

Our strange little Hyrum

2008-03-28T18:25:00.001-07:00

Hyrum is an interesting child. This is his taquito. He was eating this for lunch one day and then Cameron noticed that he had found some thumb tacks (I don't know where he got them) and decided to decorate it instead of eating it. Cameron left it on the table so that I could see it when I got home. That was really nice of him, wasn't it?

Meet Chica . . .

2008-03-28T18:09:00.000-07:00

This is our new puppy, Chica. We still have Brumby, but there was a guy in town who had these and Cameron couldn't resist. She's is really smart and really fun. She's been great with the kids so far. We once owned the brother to Chica's mom and he was the most perfect dog ever. Both of Chica's parents are cow dogs and she's mostly border collie/blue heeler, but her markings are all australian shepherd.

My New Dryer! The excitement never ends!

2008-03-14T08:01:00.001-07:00

I know this can't top the last blog (I'm glad Paige could entertain Laura so well), but I did promise that I would give an update about my dryer. Here's my new one! I love it! It's super quiet and I can stash all my laundry baskets, baby bathtub and soaps on top. Ah, the simple things that make me happy nowadays . . so thanks to Cameron for my long awaited dryer!

Paige trys her hand as a hairdresser . . .

2008-03-13T19:03:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to work out at the high school weight room and when I came home I had an interesting surprise waiting for me. I opened my bedroom door and met Paige with a hand over her forehead. She said, "Mom I need to tell you something." I said ok, and then she took her hand off of her forehead and this is what I found. I hear a lot of kids go through this - but to this extreme? I figure it should take a good 3 - 4 months to grow back out. She said she didn't want bangs anymore. I tried to explain this was not the course to take, but I don't think the concept really sunk in. She asked why I was taking a picture and I told her it was so she could look back and laugh when she gets older. I hope she laughs as hard as I did!

2008-03-11T16:46:00.000-07:00

These are just a couple of funny pictures I have taken in the last little while. This picture is me just goofing off with the kids. Do you realize how hard it is to get three kids to stop rolling around long enough to take a picture? Not easy, believe me. Hannah turned 5 months on March 28th - here she is in 9-12 month clothing. Now I know for some of you, that isn't really unusual, but for my kids it's crazy.
Ok - this might look like child abuse, but I swear I walked away for like one minute and when I came back in, this is what I found. Paige had taken her dress-up tutu and put it on Hannah's head. I think she looks a little like an Anne Geddes picture. What do you think?

Paige wanted one more hug from Hannah before bed and I loved how they looked so I snapped a picture really fast and now it's one of my favorites.

2008-03-11T16:35:00.001-07:00

So I am really behind in my blogging. It has been kind of crazy around here lately. Cameron's new schedule is really unpredictable and he has been working right through a lot of his days off. He even worked 22 1/2 hours in one day on his day off last week. When he is off, is usually when I get the chance to catch up.

I get a lot of questions about Lund. People want to know what it looks like and how I manage to stay sane in such a small town. Fortunately, there are quite a few stay-at-home moms around here and we like to get together a couple of times a week. For a town of only about 400 people, there are about 12 young families right here in town. I have decided to post some pictures of Lund, one of which is an aerial photo - I hope you can find it in there somewhere.
The big mountains with the snow on them are about 10,000 ft up. In front of them there is a circle of hills. The town is right in front of those, built along the highway. We are about 5,600 ft above sea level.

This is a picture of our house when the kids were out sledding in the front yard last month.

We still have a lot of work to do on it and when we get the front yard finished this summer I will post another picture. Right now, I am glad that the snow is covering up how ugly it is.

Boulder, Colorado!

2008-02-24T17:44:00.000-08:00

This is all about the trip I just took with Paige to my sister's house in Colorado to just get away and let the cousins have some time together. We had a fantastic time. Since I consider this blog my "journal" - here's the day by day highlights of what happened.

The day after we got to Colorado we made Valentines cookies together. It went something like this: dip the knife in the frosting, spread it on the cookie, lick the rest off, dip the knife in the frosting, spread it on the cookie . . . and on and on. It was also Laura's birthday and her neighbor sent her a tiara and earrings to wear, which Abigail later wore to the mall.

Thursday we all went to an outdoor mall in downtown Boulder. The kids played and walked and just had a good time being together outside. Here are Paige and Abigail playing in a kids play area. If you look close you can see Collette down in the bottom right corner maybe eating the rocks? No - just playing in the sand.

Friday was an interesting experience for Paige (as was most of this trip). She went to a mall for the first time in her memory (except for once when she was 1 1/2). The girls were pooped long before these seasoned veterans (thanks Mom!), so they stopped to watch tv in a store and looked so darn cute as they cheesed it for the camera!

We did a lot of running around to different places, not all of which did I take pictures. We did however make to Outback Steakhouse on Saturday night - which is my favorite. It was hilarious watching the kids run everywhere. My kids never get to go anywhere, so again Paige looked a little like a deer in the headlights.

Paige loved that Outback gave out free coloring books, so she went to town while everyone else chatted. Of course, Abigail is always on the ready for that camera - looking good!

On Monday we decided to go to the city pool and let the girls play. It was a great place complete with fountains, slides and toys. I think this short trip was one of Paige's favorite experiences. They had to wait for some people to come out before they could get their turn, so they were trying to be patient.

On our last day Paige and I went to Google. My sister's husband, Joel works there. We went to have lunch with him. It was a lot of fun with some really great food! We did not however have the time to climb on the climbing wall, play pool, ping pong, the Wii or get a massage. What a great place to work!

This is Paige on our way home. She was sad to leave, but also really happy to go home and see her "Bubba" (Hyrum). She was ready for some serious wrestling with her brother and Dad.

This was a much needed vacation for Paige and (especially) me. Laura and I got a lot of time to talk and giggle and watch stupid movies together. It has been too long since we have done anything like that and I hope we can all get together again soon. So thank you Laura for having us and to Joel for putting up with us :) But most of all, thanks to my sweetheart, Cameron, for taking the two babies for a week so we could go. You're the best!

What a great week!!!

Saturday Sleigh Ride

2008-02-07T19:49:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday morning I finally convinced my husband and father in law to get the sleigh out and hitch up the team (it only took me 4 weeks!) In their defense, it is a lot of work! But they finally did and we had the best time! They threw on a couple of hay bales and some blankets and off we went. I love the snow and it has finally snowed enough that the sleigh could go all over town. It has been too long since we've had it out - and it had a lot of wear that needed some repairing before it could go, so I guess it's a really good thing I married into a very handy family. We rode around for only a couple of hours, but that was more than enough to wear out Bonnie (on the left) and Penny (right). I love having a family that is so knowledgeable about horses and an old way of life. So here's another great reason to live in Lund!

20 Ways To Tell You're In Lund

2008-02-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

As an outsider, I have noticed some things that make Lund different from other towns - here are 20 of them:
1. You don't have a fence
2. Your Cabela's magazine sits next to your Ensign
3. You ride a 4 wheeler to school/ work
4. Playdates include riding horses in the yard
5. Your family can't make it home for Christmas, but can come for the "Rabbit Hunt" on New Year's Day
6. People don't recognize you by your truck, but your dog
7. You pull a truck hood behind a 4 wheeler and call it sledding
8. Your entire Bishopric wears cowboy boots and announcements from the pulpit include comments about community brandings and hay being put up
9. You don't have a stoplight
10. You don't even know where the keys to your house are
11. Playing in the irrigation ditch in the summer counts as swimming
12. Shopping includes driving more than 3 hours each way
13. You can shoot off your back porch
14. Your 2 year old knows the difference between a combine and a trackhoe
15. You own a trampoline and your dog jumps with the kids
16. You have at least 5 guns and one is always in the truck
17. Your 4 year old has outside chores and can catch their own horse
18. Your kids go to the same school for K-12
19. You own a "farm truck" that is probably not registered, is never washed, and always has a chain, a shovel and horse shoes in the bed.
20. You can't imagine living anywhere else!

Brad Paisley

2008-01-27T19:03:00.000-08:00

Cameron's birthday is just around the corner and I thought I would surprise him with Brad Paisley tickets. We finally got to go last Thursday night and had a total blast. He put on a great show (especially for a country concert). I have figured out that I am really getting old and not only do I not enjoy concerts like I used to, but I don't even go to the same kind of concerts that I used to. I have seen some amazing shows in the past like Lollapalooza (a couple times), The Steve Miller Band, The Grateful Dead, Pearl Jam and a bunch more. Country concerts are just not the same. Every one is sitting down and there are kids everywhere. I really like it, but my first country concert was Chris Ledoux - he put on amazing shows! Another huge difference I noticed was that we used to use lighters during slow songs -now they use cellphones! I really am getting old! Here's a couple pictures from the show.

Scripture Study

2008-01-27T15:36:00.000-08:00

This is Hyrum ready to go to church. I think he looks just like a mini missionary! We were just about to walk out the door when he ran back to get "his" (they are really Paige's) scriptures. He loves to have them with him as he's wandering around the house. Now his blanket and scriptures are his best friends. (He sleeps with both!)

I think my children have become obsessed with scripture study. We are trying to do it more regularly and Paige and Hyrum are in love with it. They are always reminding us to have it and when we aren't doing it, then they will. It's really cute because they just make stuff up as they go. For Hyrum it's usually something like "and it came to pass" and then just a bunch of nonsense followed by "and then they fight". I think he will like the wars in the Book of Mormon when he gets older. Paige recites the stories she's learned with a lot of detail. When we read together as a family, Hyrum usually holds them upside down, but he will say the words we read to him for his turn. Paige is starting to read in school and is getting pretty good, but she is really learning a lot from our family study time. She has even made a goal to be reading at a first grade level by the end of the year. I know reading the scriptures together will help that to happen.

This is the song Hyrum made up about scripture study. I know it's hard to understand him, but he is saying "scripture study" over and over again.

Listen to my beautiful dryer

2008-01-21T19:34:00.000-08:00

When Cameron and I bought this house 3 1/2 years ago we were given a washer and dryer from someone Cam knew at work. Well, the washer didn't come with a lid, so we decided to buy a new one and have loved it ever since. Cam wanted to buy the dryer too, but we couldn't afford it at the time and decided we would buy it the next year. That year came and went as did a couple more. Our current dryer has always worked, so I couldn't justify buying a new one until this one died. Well , the day has come! Judging by the "singing" my dryer is currently doing , I don't think it will be long before it blows up. I have been trying all night to buy a new one online (so many complications with Sears!) and their system is down and the sale ends tonight. I want to buy the match to our front loader because it is stackable and able to fit under a counter. Cameron won't even let me run it while he's here because the whining is soooo loud! I will update this as soon as I get the new one. . . .

Pictures of kids

2008-01-04T11:26:00.000-08:00

We were trying to get the kids to cooperate.

Redneck Workout!

2008-01-04T10:46:00.000-08:00

Cameron seems to think that this takes the place of working out in a gym.

Chocolate milk please!

2008-01-04T10:29:00.000-08:00

My Mom came out when I had Hannah to help for quite awhile. While she was here she managed to get Hyrum addicted to chocolate milk. She was always offering it to him and since he has a small obsession with chocolate (like when we caught him at 6:00am with a 5lb bag of chocolate chips between his legs eating handfuls at a time. When we asked him what he was doing he quickly answered "chocolate chips!"). He continues to beg for his chocolate milk after every meal and every time I ask him what he wants to eat. Well, we were in Salt Lake City last weekend with Cam's entire family and went to a fast food drive-thru on our way out. I rolled down the window and the guy asked us what we would like to order and all of a sudden I hear Hyrum roll down his back window and yells out "chocolate milk" and then rolls it back up! Cameron and I start laughing and so I ask Hyrum what he wants. Then he rolls his window back down and yells out "chicken nuggets and chocolate milk". We were laughing so hard we could hardly complete our order. It's pretty obvious which pregnancy I craved chocolate the most. I don't think Hyrum has a chance. I joke that I think Hyrum would eat horse manure if it was dipped in chocolate.

How cute am I?

2007-11-26T12:58:00.001-08:00

Here's Hannah with that cute dimple and big smile.

2007-11-21T12:53:00.000-08:00

We just think Paige is sooo pretty!

Hannah Speaks!

2007-11-21T12:50:00.000-08:00

Here's Hannah talking to Paige. She's only 6 1/2 weeks old!

Paige's Presentation

2007-11-21T12:29:00.000-08:00

This was a presentation that the school put on for Veteran's Day. Paige was explaining the picture she drew for it.

Pepsi Exploding

2007-11-10T12:07:00.000-08:00

Listen carefully to the echo afterward - this was late at night and it sounded just like a gunshot . I sure am glad there are no cops in town!

Paige Tripping

2007-11-10T11:56:00.000-08:00

I guess playing Blind Man's Bluff wasn't such a good idea :)

Horsley5's pumpkin fun

2007-11-04T18:53:00.001-08:00

This is our first try - here's our pumpkin fun!