sisters...

today i went to breakfast with my two sisters. we went to mi mi's cafe in provo. we had fun visiting and just being together (and i guess the food was good, too). who would have ever thunk that your sisters really would turn out to be some of your very best friends? (not me... especially when ginny and i had to share a room when we were young!) and, even though there is a pretty good age difference between each of us (i'm almost old enough to be marci's mother) we get along great and enjoy each other's company. thanks ginny and marci for a great day! we need to do it more often!!

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

it snowed at least 7 to 8 inches today, of heavy wet snow. when i tried to pull in our driveway tonight after work, i got stuck. i had to try to back up and then gun it, to even get part way in. after about 4 or 5 tries, i finally made it into the garage. (this was after donnie boy, told me NOT to drive over the snow, before he could get home and get it plowed off the driveway... just what in the world did he want me to do, since i got home about 1/2 hour before him ? men! (one job i refuse to learn ~ snow blowing the driveway!!! :-) anyway... i just had to take a few pictures, because growing up, we never saw a "white christmas" except in the movies... (then it was black and white!). and really i was very excited to know that we were going to have a white christmas this year!

may your days be merry and bright, and may ALL your christmases be white!
merry christmas everyone!!!

"the most wonderful time of the month"

My daughter got this from her friend and i thought it was worth sharing.

sung sarcastically to "the most wonderful time of the year"

it's the most wonderful time... of the month.
when the kids won't stop yelling
and everyone's telling you be of good cheer
it's the most wonderful time... of the month.

it's the crap-crapiest season of all
with no peace for my hubby, i'm bloated and chubby
my "friend" comes to call
it's the crap-crappiest season of all.

there'll be husbands for roasting
blog fodder for posting
and carry a purse where you go.

there'll be advil and kotex
chocolate and no sex
and if i start crying you'll know...
it's that most wonderful time... of the month.

there'll be much tantrum throwing
and friends will be knowing
that "aunt flo" is near

it's the most wonderful time....
it's the most wonderful time...
it's the most wonderful time... of the month!

so...we're stingy and spoiled !

yep... these are our six grand kids. we are lucky in that all of them live not more than 1/2 hour from us. four of them have been gone to california for the past week, and we (papa don and i) don't like it at all! yes, they need to go see the other sides of their families sometimes, but even though we don't see them every single day when they are home, at least we know they are close! kendyl and ryker made it home late last night and siona and isley will be on their way home tomorrow morning ~ i'm just like an old mother hen gathering up her brood (aren't i?)... but i'll be happy when they are all home. even though it is total chaos when they are all here, i wouldn't have it any other way! this was our futile attempt at having a "family" portrait taken for christmas cards. we actually had 2 pictures that turned out 'not quite as bad' as the rest and we used the other one for our christmas card, only because the whole family was in it. (thanks, ginny, for coming over and taking the pictures, even though you thought that you were leaving your chaos to come over to total bliss. yeah... right!) hunter and ryker are always just happy to be here, and after the knock down drag out between kendyl and siona about who was going to stand by kamryn (yes, kamryn has 2 sides, but they both wanted to stand on the SAME side!) we finally talked them into standing on both sides and haley had to make a total fool out of her self to get smiles:-) but it worked! look at what cute little angels they all look like (and of course they are). why in the world, can't we have grand kids first?

why we have kids when we're young...

first of all, how could you ever dicipline, spank, or even get mad at this little princess, who is 3 going on 23 ? we had to run to provo and on the way back decided to stop at ''parker's'' to get a bite to eat. when i asked her what she wanted to eat, this is what i got..."well.. um.. i don't think i should get anything, because i think my family already has plans.? and just before they came over thursday morning i had cleaned the toilets and left the cleaner in them. she had gone into the bathroom and in a few minutes yelled at me and said '' gramma, i know what color blue and yellow make... green! i said "what?" and she again said "blue and yellow make green!" i said " now, how do you know that?" and she said "just look!" and did you know that "bambi" on dvd is the same movie as "bambi" on video? this little "princess" was adamant that they had to be different. and wouldn't give up until we had watched both. amazing !!! they really are the same!

tiffany bought chet tickets to the 'nfr' in vegas for their anniversary, and i volunteered to take the kids. now tell me... how in the world could you get mad at this cute little bugger? (i had to still the picture from tiffany's blog, cuz i was too busy chasing ryker to even think about taking a picture). can you see it in his eyes? he is all boy and so mischievous. when he would throw his food, kendyl would tell me "gramma, when he throws his food like that, my mom always spanks his hands. you need to spank him!" there is nooo way! i was trying to bind a quilt for don for christmas and as i was sewing all of the sudden something would come flying threw the air and hit me in the head, and then i'd hear this little giggle. so, so cute! i know i disciplined my kids when they were that age, but now i'm more 'mature' and can just sit back and enjoy.

another reason why you have kids when you're young, is because of 'gravity'. as you become older it settles more and it's alot harder to get up and down like we use to. so any kind of extra activity completely wears you out! it was fun to have them for a few days, and we totally enjoyed spoiling them, but we were also, awfully glad that chet and tiff arrived home safely last night! thanks, chet and tiff for letting us take them and hope they aren't too spoiled !

a charly brown christmas...

it was christmas eve 1968, and there was NO christmas tree at the 'winters'' home in tempe, az. that year, grandpa and grandma dodge, my uncle mike and aunt arvilla and their baby, shantele had come from utah to spend christmas with us. mike couldn't believe that it was christmas eve, we had six young kids and NO tree. so he grabbed dad and off they went to hunt for a tree. after a few hours of hunting, they found one that they had to pay a whoppin' $2.00 for. needless to say... it was a charly brown christmas tree. but never the less, it was a christmas tree and we were all excited about it (it was alot better than NO christmas tree at all!). as we strung the lights and hung the ornaments, the doorbell rang. there was no one at the door, but there on our front porch, was a huge box, full of all the trimmings for a wonderful christmas dinner (along with a few other things). did i say... that things were a little tight at our house that year, (and we all knew it!) ?

christmas morning we woke up, not really expecting anything to be under the tree from 'santa', but to our surprize... we each got a pair of home made p.j.'s (the best there is!) and we each received one other thing. for me ~ a blue alarm clock radio! it was rockin'! my younger brother steve, got a statue of a horse that was about 12" high. he was so thrilled with it, that he just knelt down by it and cried. (he had been eye balling it down at the corner drug store for the past few months). i remember feeling sooo grateful that we hadn't been forgotten that year. i don't remember anything that anyone else got that year, but the best gift of all was having grandpa and grandma there with us.

i can look back all those years ago, and appreciate more the 'secret santa' that delivered a special box that christmas eve, to a family in need.

merry christmas charly brown !!

childhood memories...

ray, tree, irene, dad, mom

keith, brent, jacki (me), kent, jeff, steve

ginny,alan, kyle

kathleen

one of my fondest memories of christmas when i was young, was going to cut down our christmas tree with the 'ray and irene cattani' family. where we went, i'm not sure, but, we would all pile into the car and drive like what seemed for hours, before we could get out and hike around looking for the perfect tree. and... when i said perfect, i mean ~ it had to be perfect, or dad wouldn't even look at it. i remember one year, he thought that we had the perfect tree only to get it home to see that one branch was missing from the place dad thought it should be. sooo... he cut a branch from the bottom of the tree, drilled a hole in the trunk of the tree and ' walla!' the perfect tree!

gratitude .....

i just finished reading this book. amazing! is all that i can think to say.

it's makes me sad to think that there is stuff like this going on the world today. but, what an amazing story of faith in god! it goes to show that if we have faith in god and do our part, anything is possible. so as this is a day of 'THANKSGIVING', i am sooo grateful to live in a country where we have sooo many freedoms and that i don't have to go thru stuff like this woman went thru, (you'll have to read the book to know, there is more than i could ever explain). i am grateful for my family ~ all of them! i am grateful for the gospel of jesus christ. for the "book of mormon" (which i also just finished), and for the priviledge of having the priesthood in our home. and more so, for having a husband who is worthy to exercise that priesthood. i am grateful to live in this land of freedom, and that we are able to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us. i am grateful for good friends (you are all such great examples to me). i have sooo much to be grateful for and i hope that i show my gratitude by my actions.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING !

something to blog about !

yeah... donnie does spoil me sometimes (most of the time)! and look what i made ! imagine this... i came home from work at 5:30p.m., had visiting teachers, made this dinner braid and bread, and we ate before 8:00 (that would be p.m. also ~ not a.m.) not tooo shabby, ehhhh?

crazy! crazy!

okay... so last night i was inspired and i 'think' i want to start making homemade bread again! i know that some of you think i'm crazy (that doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out!), but if you would have been to our enrichment last night you might be crazy, too! one hour!!! that is all it takes to make this bread recipe! that is from start to finish! and... you can make like a million different things with it. one BIG problem... i need to get someone to put a bug in donnie's ear, that if he wants homemade bread, jacki needs either a 'bosch' or a 'kitchen aid'. think he'll go for that? i know it's not as exciting as a welder or a saw, or a saw table... but maybe i'd use it more;-) at least just as much!

take the time to be grateful !

so , as i have been looking thru magazines, and then the other day after the snow, i have started getting excited about decorating for christmas. i've been to 'roberts' a few times and have been gathering different new things to decorate with. well... this morning, kamryn came down stairs and when she seen the 'stuff' all gathered up in a pile in the corner of the family room, this is the lecture i got...
"it's fall! and everyone is starting to put up christmas stuff. don't you think we should be 'grateful' first!" this is from a 5 yr old. and yes, kamryn, we should take the time to be grateful, because we do have alot to be grateful for! thanks for reminding me.

quote for the day

"remember to love your family and your neighbor without condition - then life will become the joy it should be."

happy birthday hunter !

today is hunter's # 3 birthday.
donnie and i take the grandkids out to dinner ( where ever they choose, and shopping for their birthdays (starting when they turn 3). hunter has wanted 'papa and damma' to buy him noculars since july (when siona got hers). so wednesday night we took hunter to cabella's (papa's favorite store in the world!, so he doesn't mind shopping, there). so after we picked up the 'camo noculars' and ate dinner, we had to stop and feed the fish.

here is papa and hunter feeding the fish

and...

papa and hunter - twinneres!
happy birthday buddy !

happy? halloween...

kamryn, siona, hunter, george, ryker, and kendyl

(the only pic i got with all of them together, isn't g cute?)

i guess when you are young and don't have to be the one to worry about costumes, etc, it could be fun or happy or whatever else you could be. anyway, i grew up in arizona and what i remember about halloween was 'trick or treating' around the neighborhoods and getting a ton of candy - i mean like full paper grocery sacks full ! (with 6 kids, that ended up to be a whole grundle of sugar). i don't really remember the costumes, except for one year, i dressed up as a mexican, with a big sombrero hat and a serape (cape) and i had a big mustache painted on my face (not quite like the one my brother 'steve' was sportin' at callie's wedding), but none the less it was a big mexican mustache. other than that, the halloween i remember most, was the year we lived in american fork on halloween. i remember it was dang cold (maybe it wasn't, but to us from the good ol' hot az, it was)! i don't remember what i dressed up as, but i remember that we didn't go 'trick or treating', instead, we went to 'greenwood elementary' school for a halloween fair. the halls and rooms were all decorated. we done our 'trick or treating' at each classroom. they had a cake walk and a fish pond... and i remember a really scary witch that had a big pot of steaming brew.
my kids now, put so much time and effort into the costumes for their kids - princess dresses, frog outfits, chickens, sully (from monsters inc.), etc. it's fun NOW to see the grand kids dressed up and excited that it's halloween.

today, we gathered up all the kids and went to see george at 'the home depot' and then over to the clinic to show off the cutest grand kids in the world, then to papi's, to visit with him (or not!, most of the time he sleeps while we're there) then home to finish the chili. all of the kids came over for chili, soup and stones (as kamryn put it). other than our own grand kids, we had a big ZERO when it came to 'trick or treaters'. but the best thing about any holiday, is that we get to enjoy the whole family!

gramma, ryker, siona, isley, kendyl, kamryn, and hunter

(i totally stole this pic from tiffany's blog - thanks tif! i had to

steal it, because isley was in it, too.)

H A P P Y H A L L O W E E N !

so, so sad....

yep, it's empty!

we pulled the trailers home from the mountain last weekend. that means, weekends at home (working, yuk!).

last friday, don and i went down to the trailer for the last time (we thought) for this year. we spent the night, donnie got up early and went down to manti to meet cheyne. they went deer hunting for a few hours. i was able to sleep in, get up and cut a few quilt blocks out, while watching a few seasons of "everybody loves raymond". when don got back, he took a nap and i went down to visit the godwin clan. after he woke up, we got the trailer ready for travel, turned the log seats at the fire pit over, took the swing down, anyway you get the picture....then all of the sudden it hit don ~ he didn't have the clips he needed for the fifth wheel, so we hooked up to chet and tiff's trailer and pulled it home instead.

then sunday after church, we went and picked up kamryn and hunter and took them back down to fairview with us to pick up our trailer. of course, we had to put the swing back up for a while.

don't ya just love that smile!

the kids love the swing (as long as someone 'big' is down there to push them in it).

so until next year... goodbye fairview :-(

i've been tagged twice!

okay so here is from mels tagging me;

10 things that bug me:-(

1. walking across the floor in bare feet and having to peel grime off your feet that you got from the floor.


2. mom's who have coats on in the middle of winter, carrying a baby with NO coat, blanket, or socks!


3. dirty dishes.
4. getting into an un-made bed at night.
5. whinny grownups! (i have been dealing with them all day today).
   
6. papers on the counter tops! (after 34 years, donnie has still not figured that one out!)


7. being late.


8. having to unpick something that i have been sewing ( i'd rather start over).


9. shoes! (i'd rather not wear them)


10. having unfinished projects.

10 things that make me smile ;-)

1. going anywhere with don (doesn't matter if it's going out to irrigate, i just love being with him!).


2. my grand babies! (i love my kids, too, they're the reason i have grand babies).


3. listening to my kids talk about what naughty things that their kids have done ( what goes around comes around!).


4. finishing a project.


5. having a clean house - even if it's just for a day, until the kids come around again. (but i'd rather have the kids here than have a clean house!)


6. primary sacrament meetings.


7. "everybody loves raymond" (don't you just love marie?, she is such a wench!)


8. when the grandkids "light" up when they see papa and gramma.


9. christmas music


10. a fresh new hair cut when it turns out like i want it to.
    

i tag julie, loni, charma, megan, and callie.

now for julie's tag... this is a long one... thanks julie!

8 things I am passionate about:

1. donnie

2. my kids

3. my grand kids

4. the gospel

5. going to the trailer with donnie

6. going out (anywhere)

7. chips and salsa

8. fishing on the kenai river in alaska

8 words/phrases I often use:

1. "love ya"

2. "yeah... right!"

3. "american fork clinic, this is jacki"

4. "can i throw these papers away?"

5. "sorrrry!"

6. " i love you the best and the most!"

7. "don... shhhh. the baby is trying to sleep"

8. "um... no, i haven't entered that in the check book YET."

8 things I want to do before I die:

1. see 'cheyner' get married!

2. be financially stable

3. retire! retire! retire!

4. watch my grand kids grow up

5. go back to alaska

6. go on another cruise

7. be healthy!

8. finish every room in my house (including decorating the way i want)

8 things I've learned in the past

1. don't say things that you will regret later.

2. families are important

3. you don't have to love what some one is doing, you just have to love them.

4. everyone on this earth is a child of god, therefore they are special!

5. if you've done your very best, then that's good enough.

6. just because you still have checks, does not mean you still have money.

7. if i enter my purchases in the check book, it makes donnie happy!

8. you get what you get and you don't throw a fit!

8 things I currently want/need?

1. money

2. more money

3. no aches and pains!

4. a week off (actually, i would rather just quit!)

5. a happy husband ;-)

6. an organized fruit room

7. all of my kids to be happy

8. kisses and hugs from the grand kids

8 places i want to see/visit:

1. alaska

2. arizona

3. yellowstone

4. montana (i've heard that it is beautiful)

5. nauvoo

6. tour "the church of jesus christ of latter day saints" history sites

7. maybe... my feet!

8. anywhere!!!! i love to travel!

8 favorite restaurants:

1. chin wah

2. pollo loco

3. red lobster

4. parker's (have to stay loyal to the family)

5. winger's

6. brick oven

7. mcgrath's fish house

8. chet's (smoked ribs) (can there be a bigger HINT?)

8 TV shows I like to watch:

1. everybody loves raymond

2. american idol (only the auditions)

3. HGTV - anything!

4. channel 5 news

5. i really hate tv!

6. i really hate tv

7. i really hate tv

8. did i say... that i really hate the tv?

8 people i tag:

1. mel
2. marci
3. haley
4. nikki
5. charma
6. megan
7. callie
8. loni

Have fun!

35 years ago...

donnie and i met just after i turned 17. he likes to tell people that we graduated the same year ~ he from 'high school' and me from 'primary' ~ which happens to be true.

first of all... let me tell you... i was never going to get married! in the family i came from, almost everyone had been married, divorced, married again, and divorced again. (why in the world, would any one want to get married, and live like that ?! :( he would always come in to the 'lehi cafe' where me and some of my friends worked, with his cousin 'fred' or his 'uncle ralph'. one day he happened to come in by himself, flirting (actually with my friend, rhonda southwick), he was saying that his truck was really dirty and really wished someone would help him wash it. well rhonda wasn't giving him much attention, and i reaalllly needed a ride home that day, so i told him that for a ride home, i would help him. so he took me home (he was quite insulted that i sat clear over next to the "other" door.) i helped him wash his truck and what can i say... "he fell in love with ME!"

a couple of days later asked me to go to the 'lehi roundup' with him. my friend, 'nancy raisor' was here from az. we lined her up with 'fred' (who was riding in the 'slack') well... we got tired of waiting for fred to get finished, so nancy went with us on our "first" official date. we spent that summer visiting rodeo's around the state, riding horses up american fork canyon and camping with his friends and family.

more and more as i was around his family, i was amazed at the way his dad treated his mom (they actually liked each other!) i wasn't familiar with that kind of love. then i noticed... that donnie treated me the same way... i liked it! after that, ( he says, that i asked him, but we know better) on october 12, 1973, he proposed. he had taken my high school ring and had it sized and had my ring made, ( i loved it because HE picked it out especially for me!). we were down stairs at his house waiting for his mom to call us up for dinner (immature, i know... i should have been up helping her). anyway he gave me my ring and asked me to marry him, just about the time mom called down that dinner was ready. they happened to be remodeling their kitchen at the time and had no lights yet, so we ate by candlelight ~ how romantic! just me, don and his whole fam damily! we got married march 1, 1974.

and ... we have lived happily ever after! Love ya to pieces 'donnie boy' !

quote for the day

Inside me lives a skinny woman crying to get out. But I can
Usually shut her up with cookies. (Unknown)

this is how i feel today! have a great one!

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domestic donnie

so... donnie is the domestic one around our house.

he planted his little salsa garden, picked the produce in the drenching rain. then he bottled 16 pints of spagetti sauce and 21 pints plus 3 quarts of HIS salsa. (HIS because...he started with a recipe, but i know that he added his own special touch to it!) ohhhh, and i forgot to tell you ~ he cleaned up all of his mess, too!

now... if i could just get him to clean the toilets!

introducing...

isley fetineiai sauvao

october 6, 2008

7lbs 9 oz

21 inches

born about 7:30 pm

mom and baby doing great!

proud daddy!

gramma j, siona (big sisiter!) and baby isley

papa don, siona and isley

we are all glad that she's here ~ finally ~

it was a super long day.

thanks dr. hoggard for sticking around all day!

the 6th on the 6th

today is october 6th, and right now i am at the hospital with george and mel in labor and delivery. they are bringing us grandchild #6! how lucky are we? i don't know about this being in the room, with my own daughter going through this. i'd rather be going through it myself! dr hoggard came in about 1:40 p.m. and broke her water... said everything looked great... left to go back to the office... then all of the sudden, the nurse was telling me to push the blue button on the wall, the one that said 'staff assistance'... so i pushed the blue button and then realized that it said 'code blue' (i was really suppose to push the red button). then all h#@^* broke loose! there were nurses flying around here like no buddy's business! they paged the doctor to get back here and prepared mel to go in for a c-section. but by the time he got back, things were going well again. the baby's heart beat had gone down to 50 when it was suppose to be up around 120, and the nurse wasn't for taking any chances ~ we love her! sooo dr hoggard is going to wait around a while and see how things are progressing before he heads back to american fork to the clinic. thank goodness for modern technology!
here he is again, they are going to put in a pressure catheder in. he checked her again and said the baby is posterior "again".
they didn't have any of this stuff back in the olden days. mel has more monitors on her than 'carters' has pills!
more update and hopefully pictures later!

sweet little angels????

look at these faces... sweet, huh?!

let me tell you a little story ~

these two either love each other to death or they are fighting, like cats and dogs ~ i think that's what they call a "love - hate" relationship.

anyway... last week we went muzzle loader deer hunting with chet, tiff and their kids, and jeremy and loni wattleworth and their kids. we took siona with us to give g & m a break (mel's baby is due soon and she was in great need of this break!) we took NO toys ~ so they had nothing to fight over... right? W R O N G ! they fought over the flippin' sticks (we ended up finding sticks that matched so they would both be happy :) well... we had promised g & m a phone call every day, so one night, donnie took both siona and kendyl with him, on the 4 wheeler, to the "phone booth" to make the call. while he was talking to mel, siona let out a blood~curdling scream! donnie asked "what the heck is going on?" (and of course, kendyl was crying, too). after he got kendyl settled down so she could talk, she finally said " i stoled her star". don held out his hand and kindly said, "okay, give it to me" kendyl then points up to the sky and says, "it's that one, way up there!" they were fighting over the stinkin' stars in the sky!

reminds me of back in the good ol' days when we would go camping with dale, brenda and janalee. we didn't have any kids yet, so we always took mls marci, with us. marci and jan fought over everything, so we quit taking any toys, then they fought over the rocks and sticks. we finally got tired of them fighting, and put each one of them up on a different horse and left them there for as long as we could (probably not, but it seemed like hours.).

i wonder if we put kendyl and siona on different 4-wheelers, if they would still find something they could fight over? someday they will look back on this and find humor in it, i'm sure!

but...boy i sure do love 'em!

happy birthday donnie mack !

chet, don and cheyne on the antelope hunt last week

today is donnie mack's birthday. i won't tell you how many this is for him, but for all of you mathematicians, he WAS born in 1950.

some things about don for those who don't know him. he is very smart ! ask him... he can tell you anything. and most of the time he is right. he loves his family. he loves being a grandpa known as

"papa". he thinks the 'staples' of life are #1) his dreyers fruit bars, #2) diet pepsi, and

#3) rice krispie treats (if i send him to the grocery store, this is what he comes home with). he loves to go shopping IF it's at 'home depot' or 'cabella's'. he loves to hunt and camp ! (thinks he has to live up to his last name, and i'm afraid he's past it to his boys.) he is honest in his dealings ! if he tells you he will do something you can know that it's going to be done and done the best he can do! (maybe that's prideful, but that's how he is, if his name is going to be put with it, it better be done right!). he likes to do almost anything if it involves his kids or/and grand kids. (he told mel, when she asked if he was going to come to the hospital when she delivers her baby... i wasn't there when you conceived, why should i be there when she's born?) oh yeah... did i mention that he should have been a comedian? he is the BIGGEST tease i have ever known. it took me a while to get use to his teasing, now i can just shut it out. he has a testimony of the gospel of jesus christ and loves his heavenly father. he is a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DONNIE ! I LOVE YOU !

happy fall y'all!

don got home from antelope hunting friday night and we had some guy coming to hook up 'direct tv' (for the 2nd time) saturday morning. saturday morning when the tv guy got here, they had sent him with the wrong order - once again. so don and i decided to bag everything else, and run (well, we actually drove) down to fairview to watch the b.y.u. football game with craig and ladawn... and also so we could bring 'ol yeller' (my four wheeler) home to sale! YEAH!!! the drive down was so relaxing and beautiful! especially when we started up the mountain. i was sooo mad, cuz i left my camera home this time, but ladawn did have hers. so after b.y.u. humiliated u.c.l.a. (58-0), ladawn and i went around and took a few pictures of the autumn leaves. when we go back down in another week and a half for the muzzle loader hunt, the leaves will all be gone from the maple trees. who knows, there could be snow down there by then. so goodbye summer and hello to fall and all of the fun that comes with this beautiful season!

the millioin dollar question!

what do a white down comforter

"dreyer's fruit bars"

the middle of the night

and

popsicle sticks hidden in my bed


have in common?

let me relate a little story to you and maybe you will figure it out on your own.

...one morning, as i was making our bed, i threw all of the blankets off onto the floor ~ (i do this every morning!) ~ then i straightened the sheets all nice and neat, and when it came time for the comforter, i noticed something red on the carpet. what?? it kind of looked like a strawberry? i didn't have my glasses on (so it could have been anything for all i knew!), so i wasn't sure. i went over, picked it up, looked... looked again, smelled it ~ yep! it was a strawberry! where did it come from? puzzled, i took care of the mess and then continued to make the bed. i pulled the comforter up onto the bed... AND now i am NOT a "happy homemaker"!

more strawberries! all over my WHITE down comforter! but wait! there's more... a popsicle stick was right in the middle of the strawberries. these strawberries were at one time, a frozen fruit bar! okay... donnie has this little ritual that he goes thru EVERY night (at least once, sometimes more) he gets up, goes to the freezer, collects a "dreyer's fruit bar" (or 2... or 3), then comes back into bed to eat them. well... this time, he actually fell asleep eating his "dreyer's strawberry fruit bar" and it melted all over my comforter! YES! and it has happened more than once ~ and to add insult to injury ~ every time i make the bed, still to this very day, i find popsicle sticks stuck between the box springs and mattress or on the inside of the bed frame.~~~

sooo now, do you have the answer? if you have guessed...............

"DONNIE"

you are absolutely positively right!

wyoming antelope hunt

tonight the boys left to go to wyoming, antelope hunting. they are going for 3 maybe 4 days. there was 4 of them, with all of their gear, going in one truck. one would think, "no problem!" not when you go with donnie!

he thinks he has to take everything, but the kitchen sink! get the picture? yup! when my guys go hunting, it's nothing but the best! you know the queen sized over stuffed airbed, tv, vcr, (well it gets dark early and they need some kind of entertainment). first of all, they put cheyner's shell on the back of donnie's truck, so that they could load it up with all of their gear and not have to worry about it getting wet. you should have seen them trying to fit everything in the back of the that truck.

everything was smashed in there as tight as they could possibly get it. needless to say they didn't have room for all of the luxuries they are use to their dad taking. and they even decided that maybe they didn't need that 10 gallons of drinking water after all, took it out and dumped it, then tried to shove another bag into it's place. after they slammed the window of the shell shut, donnie remembered that they hadn't loaded his gun in yet, and he hadn't loaded his 'freshly starched fresh from the cleaners, shirts. so they started loading things into the cab of the truck, too. hopefully the sides of the shell don't split open as they are driving down the freeway.

(and donnie wanted me to go with him. what was he going to do? tye me to the top of the truck like they did with aunt edna in chevy chase's movie, national lampoons vacation.)

donnie, chet, cheyne and zack

happy and ready to go!

thad's peak

i'm just getting to writing about this experience, because my arms finally don't hurt anymore from going up over 'thad's peak' last weekend.

so... last monday was labor day, and we had spent the weekend down at the trailer with siona (the first 2 nights), chet, tiff and their kids, jeremy and loni wattlesworth, and their 2 boys. saturday after breakfast (about noon), chet and jeremy took off with siona to the b.y.u. football game. don and i went with craig and ladawn for a four wheeler ride. we decided to go over the mountain to see joseph and marilyn (l's sister) at their cabin in fairview lakes. you see, they have cut in a new emergency escape road from skyline mountain out to the skyline drive road. no problem... right? but when we got up to the road entrance, the gate was closed with a big sign that said "anyone caught trespassing would be fined $500.00". so craig and don decided that we shouldn't go on that road and instead, go up over 'thads peak'. craig headed up first, i followed, with ladawn behind me and don bringing up the rear. okaayyy, for those of you who have no idea what 'thad's peak' is like... just think of a going down (or in this case, UP) a toilet bowl. there is actually a place called "the shute". it is steep and scary!

a few years back, ladawn and i swore that we would NEVER, ever go over the mountain on this trail again. well... so here we are going straight up the trail, powder dirt, rocks, BIG rocks, roots sticking out all over the trail, me on my 400 polaris that isn't jetted right for that altitude, and ohhhh sh(&#$)*#&)@(*($_@)(**_+++! 'old yeller' gave up! now craig is all the way up the trial and ladawn and don are behind me. i am holding on for dear life! my knuckles are white from gripping the handlebars so tight. i knew that i was going over backwards, my butt cheeks were sqooze so tight to the seat, that it wasn't going anywhere without me on it! ladawn pulled up behind me, and now, she has to stop on this gosh awful steep hill,too. then don comes up behind her. he has to get off of his machine, hike up and give me a push. then after i got up the shute, i have to decide between 2 different trails, one going more straight up or the other going around the side hill. neither is a great choice! anyway i took the side hill and met ladawn coming up the other trail. both of us ~ not happy campers! we decided then and there, that $500.00 is alot cheaper that $10,000.00 in hospital bills or being DEAD. we decided then, that we WILL take the chance coming back! and we did..............

the next day i couldn't figure out WHY i was so sore. (it didn't take me long to figure it out, and yes, the guys are still teasing us, asking if don and craig made us hike over 'thads peak'!) i know craig is our stake president and all, but this is one place i will NEVER follow him (or anyone else!) again!

this is my story....

...and i'm stickin' to it!

does anyone else in this world have a hard time with sleep?

i try to go to bed at a decent hour and try to be consistent, like the experts tell you to do, but i am always so tired in the morning, and i have a hard time getting out of bed.

i think i have figured it out though... i could be wrong (this is a hard thing for me to admit, so help me with this one. please!)

i have come to the conclusion that i am a very light sleeper! we mostly go to bed at the same time, but 'donnie boy' is up 2 or 3 times in the night. he has to have his midnight treat. sometimes it's rice krispie treats, but most of the time its his favorite ~ dryers fruit bars. sometimes i might not hear him get up, but i always hear the crackling of the wrappers - clear from the kitchen, and then he brings them back into bed with him ~ (that's a whole nother story, i'll have to tell later!).

he has been working long, long hours the past little bit, and he has to be at work pretty early, so his alarm is set for 4:15 A.M. ( i didn't even know there were two 4:15's in one day?) and... the alarm clock is on my side of the bed. (d-u-m-b!, i know, but if it's on his side of the bed, i have to wake him up anyway, and tell him that it is ringing). so, at 4:15 A.M. the first alarm goes off, i roll over and wake him up. at 4:24 A.M. the alarm goes off again. again, i try to wake him. at 4:33 A.M his alarm goes off a-g-a-i-n! ... get the picture ~ every 9 minutes. so by the time he pulls himself out of bed, i'm wide awake! and that's way to early to get out of bed - don't you think?! by the time my alarm goes off at 6:10 a.m. i am way too tired to do anything except roll over and hit the snooze!

and bless his heart... being the thoughtful guy he is... the other morning, he woke up before his alarm went off, so he got up and got ready to go - he was sooo quiet. i didn't have to work that day, and he didn't want his alarm to wake me up after he left, but he didn't know how to turn it off, so he "quietly" woke me up to ask me how to turn it off ~ bless his heart!

I NEED SOME SLEEP!!!

flashback friday

so today as i was channel surfing ( sometimes when don is not home, i do that, but don't tell him). anyway i was amazed at what they call cartoons these days. What happened to the good ol' cartoons like 'casper the friendly ghost', 'the flinstones', 'huckleberry hound', 'mickey mouse', and 'yogi bear'. kids these days have no idea what a "REAL" cartoon is, and that makes me sad.

these cartoons were such a big part of my life. saturday morning cartoons were the best! we could watch them all day, and mom didn't have to worry about what we were seeing on t.v. they were on after school and i even remember watching 'huckleberry hound' and 'quick draw mcgraw' at night. other favorites were, 'tweety bird', 'porky pig', 'popeye and olive oil' (why do you think kids liked spinach so much... because they wanted to be strong like popeye!) 'roadrunner' and 'tom and jerry". am i really dating myself, or does anyone else remember when we were able to watch "REAL" cartoons.

skool daze

school started monday. do i miss those days? umm... NO! but i do wish i would have loved school more, back in the good ol' days. maybe the fact that we changed schools more than most kids changed underwear, made it worse. 1st grade i started school in phoenix, az. at baltz elementary. i actually got to go the whole year there. 2nd grade was the destroyer ! i started at baltz elementary, moved to utah and went to p.g. central for a few weeks, then moved to a.f. and went to greenwood elementary for a few months. we then moved back to phoenix and again went to baltz elementary for a month or so and then moved to tempe and went to rural school. ~ so i actually went to 5 schools that year. 3rd and 4th grade we stayed at rural school. 5th grade we went to a new school, same house, just new school - evans elementary. summer before 6th grade, we moved across town and so i started 6th grade at gilliland jr. high (a major upset!). part way through the year, we moved back into the rural school area, so we switched again. 7th and 8th grade i went to mckemy jr. high in tempe. after that, we moved to utah and i went to lehi high school for 4 whole years!

moving so much, i always felt like i was in the fog. never knew quite what was going on. ( but look at how cute i was in the 2nd grade!)(:

can someone get me some cheese to go with this w - h - i - n - e ?

busy, busy, busy!

no more right of way. yep ~ school started this morning, and if i don't get out of my driveway by 7:50 am, i have to wait until at least 8:10 am. it is absolutely impossible to get out between those times. buses, trucks, suburbans, minivans, big cars, little cars, whatever happens to be going down the street, will not slow down ~ not even one little ioda, to let me out! as if they had the right of way... guess i'm going to have to get my butt out of bed a little earlier from now on!

View from an Empty Nest

"Candlelight dinners, late-night chats, wild sex. Sounds like young love? Better----it's what happens after the kids leave." joe kita

(notice this quote was made by a person of the male gender, probably in one of his delirious daydreaming moments!)

I found this quote in a book at work and after I stopped laughing, I showed it to quite a few of my co-workers, all of whom are "empty nesters" ~ and... after they picked themselves up off from the floor (from laughing), we came up with our own version (more accurate, of course!) of this quote. Are you ready???

"First of all... Empty Nest ? Now how in the sam hills does anyone really think that that happens? It multiplies - like rabbits! No such thing as a "Empty Nest"!

Candlelight dinners would be, looking in the jockey box of the truck with the flashlight, trying to scrounge up any extra change as we go thru the drive thru at Del Taco or Arby's.

late-night chats... would be with myself. I talk to myself all night long. I wish I could tell myself to shut up so I could get some sleep! (I guess as long as I don't answer myself, I'll be ok.:) And for the...

wild sex, I've got my bee bee gun ready. Those neighbors cats have been at it every night the last few weeks. Sick it's just sick ! and for our husbands... well, that's only in their dreams!