5 days and counting......

Only 5 more days and I start Nail Tech school. I am soooo excited for Dec. 8th to get here!!! :) Kids are doing good right now and we are trudging along. That's it for this post. :)

"After All These Years"

On Dec. 2nd it will be 20 years since Kyle and I first met. It's incredibly hard to believe that this much time has gone by already. It feels like yesterday sometimes and other times it feels like we've always been with each other and I don't remember being without him. We met Dec. 2nd, 1988 and became engaged 2 1/2 weeks later on Dec. 20th, 1988. We married 6 months later on June 30th, 1989. There have been times when I have wanted a divorce, but I have learned through some really hard times, that I REALLY LOVE HIM and those hard times are when we grow the most, and when we discover that, it's because we love each other that we work through it and grow closer together. I'm glad I've learned how to work out the rough times b/c I have a real GEM, he's the BEST thing that has EVER happened to me, and b/c of that..... we have 3 beautiful children who are a reflection of our love. "After All These Years" is the new Journey song. If you have a minute, listen to it on my playlist. I encourage everyone who reads this to take a minute and think about all the GOOD things about the one YOU love.... :)

Life.....

I'm still at D.I., but I get to start Nail tech school Dec. 8th finally! I can't wait! We went to Kyle's niece's wedding Halloween weekend and decided to drive to Rock Springs, WY to see if we could see ourselves living there if Kyle took a job with Haliburton. It was much more urban then we had expected. I told kyle we needed to make the trip during winter when it's -50F. THAT would be the test....only problem is I don't want to try to drive there in the winter. :) Not much else going on right now.....just.........Life.

KARSTON'S 15th B-day!!!

Karston finally turned 15 on the 9th of Sept. For his b-day he had asked for a punching bag with gloves. We went to Wally world and got one for him. It is now hanging in the garage where he can "release" ALL of his frustrations. He wanted a snickers cake from Alberstons so that's the cake we had. Here's a pic with the cake.

WORKING....uuugghhh!

So, I haven't posted for a while. I started working at Deseret Industries the day after Labor Day (Sept. 2nd.) DI is making money and they're not supposed to b/c they are a non-profit org. So they have a scholarship program that will pay up to $3k toward schooling. I want to get my nail tech license and I have to work 30-90 days to prove my work ethics to them and then they will pay some or all of my schooling. So...I'm working 40hrs/wk to get my schooling paid for. I'm a cashier/merchandiser. Nothing major but it is exhausting on Saturdays when I'm head cashier. Hope to be in school ASAP!! and that's my update.

First year @ High School...already...really..?????

All morning long Karston kept whining "I don't want to go to school". I can't believe he's starting at CHS this year....where did the time go? Funny thing is...when he got home all he could say was "High School ROCKS!!" "Can I just say that High School ROOOOOOOCKS!!" My sweet little boy who was always helping others, constantly saying "look at me mom", and just enjoying life....has officially turned into a High Schooler. I hope he has a GREAT year and continues to think that High School ROOOCKS!!! This is a pic from when he got home from school.

Last year @ Elementary

This is it ...the last year I'll have one in elementary school. It's a little nostalgic....and hard to see that my "baby" is starting her last year of attendance at Andrus Elementary. Here's a pic of her on her way to school yesterday Monday Aug. 25th, 2008. Nothing lasts forever I guess. Hard to believe it's come sooooo fast.

EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT THEM....

I have finally entered some new posts...enjoy....:)

"Back to School Olympics WOW 104.3"

On Aug. 16th Kyle competed in the Back to School Olympics held by WOW 104.3 Country. He had qualified earlier that week and was going to win a $1000 shopping spree at the outlet malls. Unfortunately he wasn't the fastest and was beat by 16 seconds. It was fun to be there and try though. He had to spell out a word with blocks, do a hopscotch, bowl, and finally push a shopping cart around an obstacle course to the finish line. He was contestant #4 and did it 46.86 seconds, not bad at all. It was fun to watch!!! :)

R FAMILY VACATION

Ok for our family "vacation" we hooked up with my brother-in-law and his wife. (Maurice & Tammy) We decided to go camping in the Tetons about 50 minutes from their home. We had borrowed my mother-in-laws' grizzly (4wheeler) and Reese brought his 4wheeler and motorcycle (400). When we got to our camp sight (clearing in the forest REAL camping-no toilets or showers!) and Reese asked where the key to his 4wheeler was, we discovered it had been left at his home :( . So, we had the grizzly and motorcycle for the weekend. It was a lot of fun. I had borrowed my sisters air mattress for the trip and filled it up around 8pm, by 1am I woke up to being flat on the ground. arrgghh. I got up and blew the bed up again b-cuz I WAS NOT going to sleep on the ground. This process woke up the kids who couldn't get back to sleep b-cuz they could hear "something" breathing just outside the tent by their heads. I switched Karston spots and became KaDences "squeeze" victim. She was so afraid that she was literally squeezing me all night. It rained during the night with a lot of wind. The next morning there was fresh "droppings" all around our camp site. Most likely the cows that were up there grazing. All in all we made the best of it and had fun. Here are some pics of the kids hangin' out and setting up the tents. Also, I got some pics of Kyle on the grizzly with his brother and by himself on the 400.

FAMILY VACATION

So here we are on our way home after all that. The kids were a little silly and giggly that night.

BOONDOCKS!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!

So at the end of July my uncle Ron & aunt LoAnn came through Boise. Their kids wanted to hang with mine, so we took Marleice and Richmond to Boondocks. The kids had a great time riding Go-Carts and playing games. Here's some pics of the kids riding the go-carts. I wasn't able to get pics of Richmond & KaDence on their individual go-carts, but I got them riding with their siblings. :)

more BOONDOCKS!!!

So here are a few more pics. KaDence and Richmond went on the water bumpers boats. Us having dinner inside (the BEST cheese pizza, my kids love it!). KaDence & Richmond talking about a toy they had. Notice how Karston is giving Marleice "pointers" in the batting cages. They had a great time and got to know each other better. We REALLY want to go to Georgia next summer and hang out with them. :)

"High Adventure"

So, I know it's been a while since I posted. Back in July around the 12th Kyle & Karston went to High Adventure. They camped for 3 days. The 2nd day they rode 14 miles in to where a plane had crashed in 1946 (I think) in the middle of winter. The men on the plane survived, but it's to hard to get in and get the plane out so they've left it in and have a plaque that tells the story of this plane. So on the way out it was a pretty steep ride for the bikes and Kyle & Karston both crashed on their bikes. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of their road rash. :( The 3rd day they went to one of the leaders cabin that's not too far away and went water skiing. They had a GREAT time, but were happy to be home after the third day. (P.S. no showers for 3 days, pppeewww when they got home :) )

INDEPENDENCE DAY!!! HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

This is my most favorite holiday!! I love all the flags of Red, White, & Blue!! There's just that feeling of celebration of the most fun!!! Happy 4th everyone!!!! :) :)

FINALLY!!! Double Digits!!!

KaDence celebrated her 10th b-day July 3rd. She was so excited to finally be "double digits". She had asked for an Ipod nano for her b-day and said she didn't need a party. I thought "that works for me"! Karlene had bought balloons the night before for me and I put them in her room after she went to bed. When she woke up there were pink and turquoise (her favorite colors) in her room. It was a great day and when she opened her present she was very excited at what she received....the nano Ipod. Here are some pics from her dinner and cake. HAPPY B-DAY KD WE LOVE YOU!!!!! :) :)

Happy 41st B-day Kyle!!!! :)

So it's Kyle's 41st B-day today! He is such a GREAT guy. Anyone who does not know this wonderful, fantastic, funny man is missing out on one of life's greatest treasures. Here are some random pics of my AWESOME, HANDSOME husband. He's also the most SUPERB dad!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLE, WE LOVE YOU!

" Happy 19th Anniversary "

Well, June 30th came and went (my anniversary) with Kyle getting up at 6am and leaving to work, me receiving a phone call at 10pm and midnight rolling around with Kyle walking through the door and no "happy anniversary". A little pissed to say the least, threw a temper tantrum, realized acting like a child and feeling STUPID! July 1st wake up Kyle says be ready to go out at 4pm - a little confused, but Okay! 4pm rolls around all ready, 5pm rolls around Kyle all ready. He took me out to dinner at the RAM, GREAT food! Then we get into the truck and he tells me to close my eyes. Okay I do so. He asks me if I know where I am, I said, "NO should I?" " Nope, just want to make sure you don't know where you are because it's a surprise!" I started to get car sick from all his winding turns and told him I NEEDED to open my eyes. " No!" So I covered my eyes but had them open. The car finally stopped and Kyle got me out and walked with me a short distance and then told me to open my eyes. "Do you know where you are?" "No." " The Anniversary Inn!" I was shocked that he had pulled off a surprise getaway! We had the "Fire & Ice" room. (I thought that was kind of appropriate) It was SOOOOOOO nice!!! Apologies ALL night for the temper tantrum I threw!! I was so happy that he had surprised me, he's never done that for our anniversary. What a fantastic night!! I really do love him!!! Thank you honey for a much needed night of romance and surprise!!! (Sorry no pics, didn't have a clue about the evening.)

" GRADUATION 2008 "

IT FINALLY ARRIVED!!! The day Karlene has been working towards for the last 12 years..... GRADUATION 2008!!!!!!!! Here are some pics. Karlene with her grad cake. Karlene during the ceremony, and Karlene with Karston, Karlene with KaDence, and Karlene with Kamila. I think she is excited to be done with high school. She looks happy anyway.....:)

" Hip-Hop" Dance Performance

So last Wednesday KaDence had her dance performance. She was really nervous about performing in front of everyone. She and Kelsey (the other girl in her class) danced GREAT! (even though they forgot the routine half way through) I got some pictures of them. KaDence is the one in the blue shorts.

"Twilight"

Okay, for those who have not visited Stephenie Meyer's website (stepheniemeyer.com), you need to. They have a link ( and if I were more computer savvy I would give it to you, but I"m not) to MTV.com that is airing the first completed scene from the movie. It's GREAT! Happy viewing!!! :)

More MEXICO

So the house we were staying at was right on the beach. I decided to go out and take a picture of it from the ocean. (Dad's in the picture.) It is a traditional "mexican" home on the beach. It was built back in the 50's and is just a little bungalow with a "mother's quarters" behind it. We stayed in the "mother's quarters" and I LOVED IT! I also took some photos of Guyabitos Bay. Guyabitos is about 5 miles from Los Ayala and it is where the street markets are at. I did some shopping here and some sight seeing. We found a bread store here that produces the best bread I've ever tasted. There are a lot of small restaurants on the beach and they serve some of the best tasting fish also.It was a lot of fun to walk around and see the "motels" they have. A LOT of Canadians "winter" here. They have a bunch of buildings that are BRIGHT colors. Our last morning in Los Ayala I woke up early and took some pictures of the ocean at sunrise. I thought they turned out beautiful! You can see a very light fog and mist just as the sun was about to break. It was breath taking to see.