Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend. First we went to the Olsen house for dinner. Then we went to my parents for dinner. We were stuffed. We always go and get our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. We officially have the ugliest tree but also the best. Our kids pick out the tree and decorate it. Sometimes it is hard not to fix it but the kids love it and thats what is is all about. This year after we had it all decorated it fell over. We put it back up and a couple hours later it fell over again. We put up a tree over 10 feet this year so I think our stand was to small. Sheril saved the day and brought us over a new stand and it hasn't fallen again yet - we're keeping our fingers crossed. Dusty had the flu yesterday but was still a trooper and put up the tree 3 times and helped decorated it. We had triple the fun and the kids got to decorate the tree 3 times - they were happy :)...

Ridge pulled down every ornament he could reach. The bottom 3 feet no longer have any decorations!

Rayce was getting frustrated because Ridge was pulling off all of the ornaments. He figured out to get a chair so Ridge couldn't reach them anymore.

Can you tell where Wayke put all of his ornaments? It was so cute. By the end there was about 12 all on the same branch.

We had another great year decorating the tree. We love our tradition to go and get the tree from the mountains. We definatley do it for our kids. It isn't always the cutest tree but it always has memories.

10 things I am thankful for!

I read on Jessica's and Heather's blogs 10 things they are thankful for. I think it is very important to realize the things we are thankful for. Sometimes it gets so easy to complain but I believe there is always something to be thankful for.

1: The Gospel - I am so thankful for the knowledge of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Also, to know that my family is a forever family and I will be able to live with them throughout eternity. I am grateful for the atonement and that I can repent daily for the things that I have done wrong.

2: Dusty - He is the greatest guy in the world. He is so good to our kids and would do anything for them or me. He is a man of integrity and honor. He is very gentle and loving and kind and considerate. He not only treats me and our kids good, he treat everyone around him with the same respect. It doesn't matter if he is having a bad day or things might not be going as well as he would like nobody would ever know it. He sill puts other peoples feelings first no matter how he is feeling. He has so many Christ-Like attributes. I can't say enough good about Dusty. He is the greatest dad and husband!

3: Rayce - My first born baby has brought so much joy to our home. He is so loving and caring. When I am having a bad day he is the first to walk up and give me and hug and say "I love you." He has a very gentle heart and wears his feeling out on his sleeves. He is a very fast learner. Just this week he has started reading and can read almost all 2, 3, or 4 letter words. We are so proud of him.

4: Wayke - My second baby that I thought we would never have. Most know that we were told we might not have any more kids. I was thrilled the day I found out I was pregnant with Wayke. He is such a lovable kid. When we are at the grocery store or in public he is the first one everyone notices. His big brown eyes and dark skin attract people and then his cute personality brings them in more. He is a people person and attracts the eye of everyone around him.

5: Ridge - My baby that I hope stays little forever. He is so fun and his personality is growing each day. He is very mild tempered and is the biggest mamma's boy. If I am having a bad day or frustrated I can hold Ridge and his sweet spirit always lightens my mood. He follows me around the house all day long. You can always find Ridge on my feet or hip!

6: Friends - I have many true friends that I can count on. Many will call me just to find out how my day is going. I can call them when I need to vent or just have adult conversation. I am so thankful for my friends and all they do for me.

7: Christmas - This is my very favorite time of year. I love all the celebrating and time we spend together as a family. We do many family traditions from getting the tree to shopping for presents. My boys make Christmas even more fun. I love seeing their eyes light up as we talk about Jesus and his birthday.

8: Family - I am very thankful for my family and Dusty's family. My mom does so much for me and my kids. I love each member of our family. Staci, my sister, and my Aunt Nancy are two of my favorite people in this world. They are always there to listen to me talk and are constantly checking up to see how I am doing. They remember our conversations and that means so much to me.

9: Home - It is so nice to have a place to call home. Where we can escape all of our troubles and be together as a family. When we are all at home I feel safe and secure. Our home is a safe haven for our family.

10: Health - I am so thankful for my health. There was a time that I wasn't able to get up and move around and I hurt so bad I would have rather died. I prayed and promised that if I ever felt good again I would never take my health for granted. I am so thankful for a healthy body.

I could list many more but I will stop at 10. I love Thanksgiving and Christmas and am thankful for the time I get to spend together with my 3 children and husband.

Rumors?

Sometimes rumors are vicious and sometimes rumors are funny. Well, I have to share a funny rumor. I hope "my friend" doesn't mind. Last night I was talking to her and she was telling me about a rumor she had heard about me. One of her friends asked her if it was true that I make my children diet and exercise. Well, it might be disappointing, but the answer is no. I myself don't believe in diets - I am pretty much anti-diets so of course I wouldn't make my children diet. And exercise, I guess if you call taking them riding their bikes or playing tag or racing around the house exercise, then yes - I try to get my kids to exercise daily :) Just wanted to clear that up! I thought it was funny that someone would even think that. They obviously haven't seen how chubby my kids are or the pounds of chocolate we have in my house. Also, the fact that when Rayce was 2 he only drank chocolate milk and nothing else for almost 1 1/2 years.



And the movie Twilight - LOVED IT! It is probably one of the biggest chick flicks I have ever seen and it was SO GOOD! (There was absolutely nothing "manly" in it.) I know, vampire, blah blah blah - but it was good! Highly recommend the books and the movie - 2 BIG thumbs up! I can't wait to go see it next week again and maybe again and maybe again...

INTERESTING THOUGHTS

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.****

My confession:**I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up,bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.**

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto.In fact, I kind of like it It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a crche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.**

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.**

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.**

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny,it's intended to get you thinking.**

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'**

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.**

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.**

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.**

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out.I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'**

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd,crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.* *

Are you laughing yet?**

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.**

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.*

6 RANDOM THOUGHTS

I was tagged by Staci at http://trentandstaci.blogspot.com/

Here are the rules:
1. link to the person who tagged you.
2. post the rules on your blog.
3. write six random things about yourself.
4. tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. let the tagger know when your entry is up.

ONE: There are 3 things I do everyday of my life: exercise, clean house, and play games with my kids. Other then that, I do not know what I am doing day to day. I only plan one day at a time. When I go to bed at night I think about what I need to do the next day and that is the only day I really think about.

TWO: When I go on a trip I NEVER pack until 1 hour before I leave. I have to be dressed and ready before I will pack any of my bags. I make a list of things I might forget but I REFUSE to pack. It just bugs me to have half of my stuff packed and piles everywhere of things I need to take. I just like to do it all at once!

THREE: I hate to read. If it is a short magazine article I would read through it but I avoid "adult" (meaning big) books at all cost. I read to my children everyday but don't understand how people can read a book to relax. I would rather scrub toilets. (But I have to say I haven't read a "real" book since high school and that was ten years ago so maybe I would enjoy it now?) I do listen to a lot of books on my Ipod. I love murder mysteries and the Twilight series - but I haven't read one page.

FOUR: My two favorite things to do are exercise and clean my house. I feel like both of them give immediate gratification and I will stay up into the early morning hours doing either of them. But I hate to do both of them when I can't concentrate and enjoy myself. That is why I do them while my children sleep!

FIVE: I love to be around people but I also have to have my space. Once I have been with people for a while I need some alone time. I will stay home for a couple of days and not see anyone. But then, I am back out there enjoying my time with friends and family. I usually am the worst after Christmas. After all of the parties and gatherings and people (which I LOVE) I usually have to have some alone time in January. But I also can't go to many days without being around people or I go stir crazy. There is a fine line between two much alone time and not enough.

SIX: I do not like toys out all over the house. I have been called the toy police because I will only let my kids have a certain number of toys out at once. It may sound sad I know but I do have a reason. I still have 1 sometime 2 kids getting up in the middle of the night. Have you ever been walking around the house at night and stubbed your toe? I'm already mad that I'm up and then that really lights my fuse to run into a toy. To save the whole house from a yelling mom - it's easier to be a toy police

I tag:

http://mckennakids.blogspot.com
http://ssweightandkids.blogspot.com
http://amostaylor.blogspot.com
http://horrocksclan.blogspot.com
http://ronnieandjess.blogpsot.com
http://binghamcountry.blogspot.com

Scary Days

When Wayke was in the hospital in February they told us that he had asthma and it had gone away but he would probably fight it later in his life. He has never had a problem with it again until recently. A couple of nights ago about midnight Wayke started coughing really hard. He hadn't been coughing at all and so Dusty went in to check on him. He was sitting up in his bed coughing and couldn't catch his breath. He asked for water and Dusty brought him into our room and gave him water. We all laid back down and he started coughing really hard again and was having a VERY hard time breathing. He was trying to inhale and you could hear him trying to get air. Dusty and I shot out of bed and watched him. He was struggling so hard to breath and would cry when he had enough air. We didn't know what was wrong and were trying to decide to go to the ER or call Mark (who is a nurse). When he had enough air he asked again for a drink of water. We gave him one and he was still really struggling hard to breath. The sound of him trying to get enough air still is echoing through my head. It was one of the worst sounds I have ever heard. He was struggling so hard to breath and we were helpless. After he had his drink of water and seemed to be getting enough air. He laid back down and fell asleep. Moments later he did the exact same thing again - started struggling for air and trying to cry. We did the same thing again and gave him a drink of water and it helped him catch his breath and again, he fell asleep. Dusty gave him a blessing while he slept. Wayke never coughed one more time through the night and was perfectly healthy the next day. (With the exception of a runny nose!) I made a few phone calls the next day to see if we should take him to the doctor. We found out he had an asthma attack. It was the worst sound I have ever heard listening to my child trying to catch his breath and he couldn't do it. We have now bought a nebulizer so we will be better prepared. I would like to say it will never happen again but I think I would just be wishful thinking.

Happy Birthday Ridge!

My baby boy turned 1 on Wednesday. I can't believe it has already been a year. He has been such a blessing in our home. He has an easy going personality and has been a very calm baby. Here are some facts about Ridge for his birthday.

*Ridge loves loves loves his mom - for sure his favorite. As long as mom is close, he's alright!

*He loves to play with his brothers. He follows them around all day and tries to wrestle with them. He isn't really sure about Wayke because he usually hurts him and plays pretty rough.

*Ridge weighs 25lbs.

*Ridge has 8 teeth, 4 on top and 4 on bottom.

*He started "choosing" walking over crawling last week. He still stumbles and falls but he always gets back up.

*Ridge is a climber. We have to always have an eye on him because he tries to crawl out of the bathtub or onto the bar stools. He usually ends up hurting himself.

*Ridge LOVES the stairs. If there are stairs you can't get him off of them. He still doesn't have respect for them like he should even though he has been to the bottom the fast way a couple of times!

*Ridge DOES NOT sleep through the night. He usually gets up 2 times for a bottle.

For Ridge's birthday we went to Madagascar 2 in Vernal with the Swain's and Harding's. We had dinner and cake and ice cream at Katie's before the movie. Then, on Thursday night we had the Cook family up for pie and ice cream. Ridge opened his presents - but mainly wanted to climb on them. On Sunday we are having dinner and cake with the Olsen Family

Happy Birthday Ridge.

Life is moving fast!

I can't hardly believe that it is November - and almost half way through it. I did break down last weekend and bought 2 Christmas presents that I swore I wasn't going to start buying until Dec 1. I went and did a triathlon with Kim Labrum (bike) and Tanisha Freston (swim) last weekend in Provo. We took 1st place in the women's teams. Kim is awesome on her bike - average speed of 23.4 miles an hour for 10 miles. Tanisha beat all of the team swimmers - including men. I had my best 3.1 mile run since high school. I averaged 7:41 minute miles. I know all of this is boring to most!

My baby turns 1 on Wednesday and it breaks my heart. He has been walking for a while but has really started taking off this past week. He is growing up way to fast (except at night, I still can't wait until he sleeps through it). His personality is growing more each day. The boys wrestle around on the floor and he loves to join in. He usually ends up crying because they are still a little rough for him.

Today was "Christmas at the Olsen's". When Dusty and I first got married he told me the day you ship (sell) calves is almost as good as Christmas. He actually can't sleep the night before. He gets up really early to get everything ready. He talks and talks and talks about the magical day for months in advance. Then, after all is said and done he is completley exhausted. So I would agree, it is just like Christmas! He had Kevin, Ronnie and Brent come and help him sort off his calves then we spent the rest of the day at the Sales Barn.

I have been slacking and I never posted a picture of Rayce's pre-school program. All of the parents came and they sang and came trick-or-treating. It was so fun to see him. This picture is of Rayce and his teacher. She is so increadible. Rayce just loves her and is so excited to go to school.

It isn't very often you see Wayke being nice to Ridge. He is usually trying to wrestle him or carry him. Ridge wasn't sure if he wanted Wayke so close. Hopefully, they'll all be best friends when their older. (The sooner the better!)

Race or Rayce or Race?

Last night we were watching TV about the Presidential Elections. They kept saying "it was a tough race" or "it is his race". They used the word race about 50 million times. Every news station mentioned RACE. After a while my "Rayce" looked back at me and said, "Mom, are they all talking about me?"

I'M FAMOUS

Ok, so not really! My cousin, Jason, put an article in their local newspaper and is trying to win $50.00 gas card. The person who gets the most views wins - so go visit this website! (Don't look at anyone elses articles or they get "views" too!)

http://www.yourcachevalley.com/2008/11/02/why-would-anyone-in-their-right-mind-play-bunco

Halloween & 10 K

A friend of mine told me that I leave town more than anyone she knows. Well, I have decided she might be right. We just returned from California and we went to Ogden/Logan this weekend. We went trick or treating with Nicole and her boys on Saturday night. Nancy came with us and the kids. On Saturday morning I went to Logan to run 6.2 miles (10k). Dusty and Nancy came up and brought the boys. My cousin Jason also ran 3.1 miles (5K). I had my personal best time of 49:24. I averaged a 7:58 minute mile. Which is the fastest I have ever run. I have to thank Staci for this. I always ran a 9-10 minute mile and thought I couldn't go any faster. In July I ran a half marathon with her and she kept me running hard the whole time. I think we averaged about a 8:13 minute mile (And that was for 13.1 miles!) I realized I was capable of running faster than I had been. So thanks Staci for making me run harder!

Anyway.... I took 3rd place in my age group and 16 out of 75 women. It was one of my best races and the most fun. It was a really enjoyable 6.2 miles :)

Then we went back to Nancy's house for the afternoon. Around 5:00 her family all came for dinner for Dave's birthday. I had asked Nancy to ask them all if they wanted to play Bunco. We planned a game night and had so much fun. Of course I forgot my camera :(

A BIG THANKS TO NANCY AND HER FAMILY.

We always have so much fun when we go out. Dusty even went with us this time - I think the last time he saw most of them was over 3 years ago. I usually see all of them every couple of months - - - because I love to go up and visit them! I can't wait until my next trip :)