Update on the Enormous Dog

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

We Have To have Hinges

Dog Lazy Days

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

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

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!!

Did You Know That Cameron Hates Snakes?

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

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

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

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 . . .

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

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

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!