Sorry it's taken so long update!!!

I have been a slacker blogger lately! So here is a rundown of the last couple of months! AKA our Christmas card to all of you!

September: I quit my job at Panhandle State Bank and started staying home with Tenley! Definitely not the easiest thing I have ever done, but I love my daughter and I love staying home with her. She is the greatest gift ever and the sweetest little girl! Met my friend Krissi..... she is AMAZING! I started canning with her, making homemade bread, and having fun with her and her family. Great friend to hang out with and great example to me. I also kept going to Zumba, but not as regularly as before. I got released as Primary Chorister and called as Relief Society Teacher, and Lyle got released as Ward Mission Leader and called as Teachers Quorum Advisor. So my Zumba class on Wednesday night was no longer possible. That's ok though. I was starting to get  anxious about certifying in October and wanted to get all the practice in as I could!

October: Certified as a Zumba instructor! Thanks so much to Mom and Dad for watching Tenley for me while Lyle worked and I was gone to Spokane all day. So much fun, and I am so happy that I did it, but now it was real and I had to find a place to teach and get all my insurance and stuff done. Oh, a little overwhelming, but definitely happy! Halloween was so much fun! We had a great holiday party and Tenley was the CUTEST Tigger ever! We love her so much. Tenley started climbing on chairs and not learning how to get down. She is super cute and I love her tons. Still hard to be a stay at home mom, and still adjusting to new life, but loving every minute of it!

November: Thanksgiving with the Vaniman family. Super exciting. We had a great holiday dinner and enjoyed the family and friends. Scoured ads for the day after thanksgiving sales to find Lyle's present. Went down to Coeur d'Alene to go shopping and went out with Dad while Mom watched Tenley. Had a great day with Mom and Dad and Tenley and came home. Started my Zumba classes at the Elementary School and have overcome my fear of trying to be perfect. It's WAY more fun teaching when you can mess up a little bit! I LOVE teaching Zumba and I wouldn't trade it for the world! I love my class and the ladies that come. I am having such a BLAST!

December (So Far): Dinner parties, Zumba Classes, and working out with Krissi on a regular basis. She is my saving grace. I love her SO Much. I honestly don't know what I would do without her. Not much snow so far, but Tenley is falling off chairs, laughing, learning new words and facial features. Enjoying this Holiday season by listening to Christmas Music and trying to learn new Zumba moves! Sang for my Ward Christmas Party and forgot to go to the end (oops!)! It was pretty funny. People didn't know whether to clap or not! So Funny! I was in charge for the music for our Relief Society dinner and no mess ups there! Everything went well and it was so much fun! I started a new diet of low carbs and sugars, and it has been going great! I am exercising Monday-Friday and feel great! I am excited for Christmas and being together with the great family that I have. I love you all and I hope you all have a great holiday season!

What we have been up to

So this summer has been full of fun surprises! First off, I started doing Zumba classes, and I have fallen in love. I seriously can't go a week without going to a class. So now I have decided that since I love it so much, I am going to become a Certified Zumba Instructor! I am super excited! My current Zumba instructor let me try some samples of "Shakeology". A meal replacement supplement that is supposed to be really good for you. I have to say that it wasn't my cup of tea, but Tenley sure enjoyed it!

I couldnt' help but laugh at her green moustache! Such a cutie!

We have also been traveling a lot this summer, and I think our cat is feeling neglected.

Poor thing has to get attention when she can! My favorite part is that she licks Tenley's face if there is any milk left on it! So funny!

Lyle has been "fixing" his shop. We are going to add a storage room onto his shop and keep our stuff there, and hopefully add a deep freezer for our food storage stuff. Then since we are going to do that, we are going to expand our bathroom to include the water heater and water pump into the house so that they don't freeze during the winter. I am so amazed at all Lyle can do! He is an amazing dad and an amazing person. We love him lots!

Not much else has been going on. I am leaving my job at the bank to be home with Tenley and I am really excited. I can't wait to be a full-time mom! I will miss all the amazing people that I work with. Life has it's challenges and it's surprises, but I am so grateful for a family that is always there and encourages you to do the right thing all the time. I feel so blessed!

Family Reunion!

So this past week we had a Family Reunion down in Hayden. (Yes, Hayden though it may be north to the rest of my family is down for me :) It was so much fun! I am a horrible person at taking pictures, so the pictures below are of the first night, Monday, when we had an unbirthday Party for everyone! Tenley walks around the house with her wand wacking it on everything she can, (even the dog!). Tuesday we made a treck up to Sandpoint and beyond to see my house and had dinner at MickDuffs.... AMAZING! That place always holds a special place in my heart and I never leave angry! It's just SOOO Good! Wednesday they family went to the beach while I went to Zumba, and we had a great time together. Thursday we did the Mudgie and Millie trail (AKA eating frozen yogurt and skipping across the street to take pictures with the statue), and Friday was Silverwood! Saturday was our last day together and we did a fun Trash Can Dinner with EVERYONE! It was delicious! Sunday was when Trevor, Tamar and the kids left super early and Lindsay, Riley and Kids left in the afternoon. Lyle and I went back to Sandpoint, and have been recovering ever since! JK! It was so much fun and I miss my family tons already! Payson was the saddest of all, asking his mom if they could leave on sunday instead of Wednesday so that they didn't have to be in Coeur d'Alene all by themselves, and a few hundred tears were shed by all when everyone was leaving. I am sure we will be together again... hopefully it won't take us five years next time! Enjoy the pictures!



Kyle's first sip of Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper! He was in LOVE!



I didn't know Marshmallows could be so messy! Leave it to Abby to get it everywhere!

Miss Emma Sue! She enjoyed her marshmallows as well! They were the HUGE Campfire ones! Amazing!

Unbirthday Party with Tenley and her cousin Ava.

Picture #2 and Tenley likes her bag better than looking at the Camera.

I finally got them both to look at the camera, too bad neither of them are smiling!

We had a great time with everyone! We are always having fun around the Sandpoint Cabin, asking Lyle if I got all the poop off my bum! Our family is colorful and amazing! I will miss you all!

Family Time

So this coming week will be family time and I just wanted to give you a little taste of what is to come.... so here are the pictures of all the cousins on Saturday. We had so much fun lounging around the house and playing with cousins. Zach is such a cutie and I can't believe how big Payson and Ashlyn have gotten. Our family has really grown! I could help but sit back and think that this is how Mom and Dad must have felt getting together with their families for the first time. Weird... but super cool! Everyone is all grown up!

Fourth of July Fun!

So I have been working so much and Lyle and I have barely seen eachother that this weeked we decided there was too much to do at home, so we sat at home, cleaned, and took naps! :) I was sad to miss out on an amazing family bbq and an amazing baby shower, but we were going to CDA on monday and needed to be at our church this sunday because they were going to give me a new calling as I had previously been released! We had fun mowing the lawn and playing outside since the weather has finally turned warm! I was so stinking excited I think I even wore shorts! Tenley was way excited to play on the lawn. We took a stroll outside on our property and had a great time just being together. Then Sunday we did get new callings. I am now a Relief Society Teacher and Lyle is the Teacher's quorum advisor. We are pretty excited! I only have to teach once a month! Then we went down to CDA on the fourth and watched the A-17(?)'s fly by (they are the ones that blow up tankers and bunkers) and the parade downtown. We ditched a little early to avoid traffic and went back to the house, enjoyed some nap time and ice cream making, and then we went to a bbq at Uncle Dennis and Aunt Kelli's house. It was super fun to see so much family again! Then we decided to head home early so that we could wake up for work the next day! No fireworks for us, but we had a great day with family... here are pictures to prove it!

Tenley and Daddy. He did such a good job mowing our weeds!

yes... that is a cheerio stuck to her face...

I think her hair might be curly.....

My Mowhawk Baby! All Natural!

We have to work on which side you eat an otter pop out of!

Her First Otter Pop.



Tenley in her new hat and with Grandma and Do-Do( That's what Tenley called Grandpa!)



Tenley and Lyle playing outside on our excursion!

July Already???

Sorry I haven't been blogging lately or putting up much pictures. I have been working like a maniac (ok, maybe not really, but I have been working a lot lately). I am looking forward to the holiday weekend! Tenley has gotten another bottom tooth, so now you can really tell that she lost her two teeth down there! She is still cute though! Being a mom and working so much has been really hard on me lately, but I have found a new hobby that makes me feel so much better... ZUMBA!!!! I have lost nine pounds in one month doing Zumba and it makes me feel so good! I go for an hour about four times a week and I love having the mental break that I have deperately needed for so long! Lyle has been an amazing husband through out all of this. I am now working five days a week from 8-5, and four hours of Zumba a week. He is fine with crock pot dinners and dishes never getting fully done, laundry that might be a week late, but a skinnier and happier wife, so I think it's worth it! I will go back down to working four days a week in about a week or two and I am super excited. I miss my Tenley a lot and I know she misses me too. Whenever I come home she is super clingy and just wants to be held. I can't complain though. She is still the best baby ever. (Don't believe me??? Ask Tamar or my Mom. They both know how amazing a baby Tenley is!). I am actually looking forward to starting school becuase I know that I will have more time with Tenley. I won't be in class as much as I am at work, but I know I will have homework to do as well, but she is a trooper and I just love her. Our lives are busy but the lord blesses us everyday with little miracles. I just got released as Primary Chorister and I am super sad. I will miss those primary kids, but it was nice to have a Sunday off and go visit Mom, Dad and the Ironman athletes passing by our house! Life is good and no complaints here. One Month until everyone comes to visit and I can't wait to see you all so soon! YAY for Family Reunions!!!

Macaroni Salad Recipe

So here is the "recipe" for Macaroni Salad as told by Kathy "Cox" Green:

Boil and drain the macaroni.  You don't need to worry too much about proportions, so just cook as much as you want/need.

Dice some mild cheddar cheese-- pretty fine unless you love cheese. 

Dice dill pickles

Dice sweet onions or mild green onions.  Dad loved fat Walla Walla's.

Chop some celery.

Mix mayonnaise, salt and pepper (I think Mom used MSG too, but we don't want Tenley to get cancer!)

Toss these ingredients together until everything is thinly coated with mayo.  You can always add a little more, and season a little more if you need to.

Dad loved this salad with canned crab meat too, if you happen to have some on hand.

If you haven't heard about Grandma Cox's Macaroni Salad, you are missing out. It is the BEST macaroni salad on the face of the planet! I did cook this for Tenley's first birthday party, and I am sure it will be a family favorite as I perfect the proportions. I was told that this needed olives.. and I promptly told that person that Grandma never had Olives in her Macaroni Salad! (The Nerve... OLIVES???) Then I was told that it needed some hard boiled egg. I guess Kathy forgot to add that to the recipe. I hope your family enjoys this as much as we did. I can't make it as good as Grandma, but I can sure relive the happiness that I felt EVERY TIME I ate this amazing food! Thanks for the great memories Grandma Cox!

Frist Birthday Party and other fun Pictures

So we had a bar-b-que this weekend for Tenley's first birthday which is coming up on Thursday. We had a lot of family there and it was such a nice day it was nice to get outside! I can't believe that she is going to be one already! My how time flies! I can't believe that last year I was about ready to pop!

Tenley is seriously the best baby ever. Her sitter even commented the other day and said, "If there was a baby easier than Tenley, the baby would be in a coma!" She is just so happy. She only ever gets mad if you take the TV remote away from her! I have enjoyed this first year with her so much and I am looking forward to many more years with her!

I am so lucky to be Tenley's mom. I am so glad that Heavenly Father trusts me enough to take care of her. I know I am going to learn so much from her! I just hope I can teach her a little something too! She is so smart! You can literally see the wheels in her head turning as she tries to figure out what you are doing! She can snap her fingers (and it makes a noise). She is great at sharing things, (as long as you give it back to her), and she always wakes up happy! I seriously couldn't have asked for a better baby! Here's to hoping the next one (whenever that might be) is as easy as this one! Enjoy the pictures!

I just love her to pieces!!! I also took a video of her.. so here it is! She absolutely LOVED eating the cake! It was pretty funny!

Lost in the 50's

So Panhandle State Bank has it's anniversary every year the same weekend as Lost in the 50's. This big car show in Sandpoint. Seriously, people from all over the world come to show their cars. It's amazing. So in honor of lost in the 50's Mom made Tenley and I poodle skirts! Here are some awesome pictures! (ok.. I don't look so cute, but that's cause I was feeling sick, slept in, had to be at work at nine, woke up at 8:30 and I live a half hour from work. It was an amazing morning!)

 She is a little cutie! There will be more pictures to come, but these are the teasers for the skirts! Super Cute! Thanks so much Mom!

Easter

Easter Saturday was awesome. My mom came up to help us dye easter eggs and set up easter baskets. We had a great time! Thanks for spending the day with us mom! Then we woke up on Sunday, went to Stake Conference and came home where I cooked Ham, Potatoes and corn for dinner. It was pretty dang good! I also got inspired by Tamar and made an apple crisp for dessert! We had a great easter and got ready to go back to work on Monday. Thanks for all the great memories! Here are some pictures!

and since it was Easter she had her first taste of Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches. Lyle had to hold her arms down so she wouldn't grab it from Grandma!

Tenley helping me wrap Lyle's easter gift.

Tenley in her new leggings and sunday shoes from the Easter Bunny!

Tenley finding her first Easter egg!

Even the dog was worn out after all the celebrations! It was a great easter and we had a great time with family!