Our Holidays!

The past week has come and gone. I can't believe that it has been 1 week since we got in the car and drove all night to arrive for the holidays. Christmas was very exciting on both sides of the family. We went and visited family and have just been relaxing and enjoying the holiday season. We were at my parents for Christmas morning and day and had such a fun time. Angie & Adam, Amber & Spence, and all the kids were there too. All the kids were so excited to see what Santa had brought them. They all got what they wanted. Mattie got an IPOD, Sophie got zhu-zhu pets, Eli got a batman toy and cars, Brock got real football pads, Hayley got a real live puppy, Jordan got a computer, and Chandler got an airplane. They were all very excited. I was able to pick out a green apple kitchenaid mixer and Justin got him some brand new chinks. We were both very excited about them.

We were able to have Christmas again on Saturday with April, Matt and their kids. My parents got all the kids ornaments that had legs that wiggled and made it sound like a bell. I got Matt and snuggie for the name-drawing gift, and I just think that it looks so funny. My parents got Justin and I a movie, a Wii game and then a Wii Fit Plus. I can't wait to use it!!

All in all, we had a very good week. We are heading home in the morning and we are both sad and happy to leave. We are both ready to be home, but it is going to be hard to leave. We aren't sure when the next time we will be home is. Our lives are going to get busy now that the holidays are over. Hunting and fishing season are open in the spring and we would love to have visitors!! We've got the room!

Happy Ho Ho!!!

I can't believe that it is already Christmas. I feel like I haven't enjoyed the holiday season and it's almost over! I am excited to say that in less than 24 hours, we will be in wonderful Southern Idaho. Justin and I are both very excited to see everybody and enjoy the holidays with the ones we love. We can't believe that it has been almost 1 year since we moved up here. We've lived up here for the majority of our marriage. It's just crazy! Our Christmas presents are almost all bought. We just have to stop in Pocatello and pick up a few more things! I can't believe that I am going to brave Wal-Mart 2 days before Christmas!! YIKES! I guess I have to do what I gotta do. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Changes!!

I'm just excited to say that I'm going to get my hair-cut today. I'm not really sure how I'm going to get it cut, but obviously something really cute! Can't wait to see it and show it off over Christmas!!

Let It Snow!!

So it has been snowing up here since Saturday morning. It started snowing and we just had a little bit of snow and by the time 4 o'clock rolled around, we had a good few inches. I'm just really upset because it's not snowman making snow! Anyway, we headed to our friends in Kamiah to go bowling on Saturday night and we just stayed there to go to church. Well, at 7:30 their phone rang and church had been cancelled. Justin was yelling "SNOW DAY!" because he was so excited. We just hung out there and then drove home. We had to shovel our sidewalks and then we were checking on the horses and they looked so cold! It made me so sad. I wanted to invite them into my house to have some hot chocolate and warm up a little bit. It is still snowing and hasn't stopped all day. I'm a little worried about driving home, but luckily I have the truck and it has brand new tires on it!

As for the bad news, we got home last night and my fish had died!! It almost made it a year in my possession! It was sad and I made Justin flush him. I didn't want to look at him! I think I might have a funeral for him and get him a headstone! Poor Master!!

Articles of Faith of Mormon Culture!

1. We believe in SUVs and minivans, as the form of transportation, and in knee length shorts, which are always nice, and in multilevel marking.

2. We believe that church ball players should be punished for their own fouls, and not for unsportsmanlike aggression.

3. We believe that through bread crumbs, cheese, creamy soups, and rice all casseroles can be saved through obedience to ward cookbooks and creativity in the mixing bowl.

4. We believe the first layers and ingredients of the Dip are: first, beans; second, cheese; third, chopped tomatoes; fourth, the gift of sour cream; fifth, olives; sixth, salsa; seventh, guacamole, that is, if you have it.

5. We believe that Mormons should have a distinguished or a cute name; that it is appropriate to name a child after a church leader or historical figure including ancestors; that alternative spellings and French prefixes only add to a name, and that when referring to the names of General Authorities, middle initials should be a part thereof.

6. We believe in the small wall decor that exists in many Mormon homes, namely, framed family proclamations, vinyl lettering, inspirational word signs, family photos, pictures of temples and Jesus, and so forth.

7. We believe in the gift of the re-gift, church books, crafts, family photos, baked goods, emergency supply kits, and so forth.

8. We believe in sparkling grape juice so long as it is nonalcoholic; we also believe in bringing root beer and sprite to ward parties.

9. We believe in all that we have scrapbooked, all that we will now scrapbook, and we believe that we will yet scrapbook many great and important things pertaining to our family, friends, pet and vacations.

10. We believe in literal mixing of ketchup and mayo and in the generous application of ranch dressing; that CBAs (church-based acronyms) will be used to describe YM/YW, PEC, the Y, NCMO, and CTR; that Mitt Romney will get Mormons to vote for him any time he runs; and, that Mormons will enjoy reading Twilight and The Work and the Glory.

11. We claim the privilege of trying to identify common acquaintances with any visitor at church, and allow all other people at church the same privilege, and let them name drop the names of Famous and General Authorities how, where, or what they may.

12. We believe in being subject to scoutmasters, pampered chef hostesses, and the writers of the U.S. News and World Report Rankings of professional schools, and in obeying, honoring, and sustaining Glenn Beck.

13. We believe in being above average, good at crafts, optimistic, and being fifteen minutes late everywhere we go. Indeed, we may say that we follow BYU football. We believe rumors about famous people joining the church, we hope to meet the three Nephites, we have endured many pyramid schemes, and hope to be able to endure all pyramid schemes. If there is anything cheap, free, sold in bulk, or given away when somebody is moving, we seek after these things.

O CHRISTMAS TREE, O CHRISTMAS TREE!!!!

I finally got my christmas tree up. We actually went and cut it down Saturday morning. I'm a little confused as of what to do, because I've never had a real tree. All I know is that I have to keep it watered. Anyway, I think it turned out super cute. I went to Wal-Mart and got a few more ornaments and ribbon for it. I wasn't able to put all of the ornanments on it because they were to heavy. That's ok. Tell me that you think.....

It is hard to see it all, but in case you can't tell, it's lime green! That's right!!!! Super Cute!!

Then I had to take a picture of this plate for my grandma. I still love it enough to put it up with my decorations!!

Random Pics

One day I was in the kitchen wrapping jerky to put it in the freezer. Justin thought it was really funny to put this silver bowl on my head and see how long it would stay on there. I wasn't going to put the pictures on my blog, but he said that a while back I put crazy pictures of him up, so here you go.......

And here is a picture of me and my new horse, Vicky! I have yet to ride her, but I'm sure that next spring and summer, i'll get my fair share.....

Week Full of Surprises!!

This past week has been full of surprises. It all started last Tuesday when my dad called me and let me know about his new church calling to be the bishop of the Downey 2nd ward. I was really sad that I wasn't going to be able to be there on Sunday when he got set apart. I knew that deep down it would be ok if I wasn't there, as long as I was there to support him throughout his calling. Wednesday after work, Justin and I were picking up leaves in our yard when we decided to go for a short ride and got talking about the Thanksgiving weekend. I told him (probably for the 3rd time) that I didn't have to work on Friday but I was getting paid for it. He decided to send me down to my family and surprise them for Thanksgiving and then I would be there for my dad on Sunday. Well, Thursday morning at 2:30 AM I started on the road to Downey. In the meantime, I was so excited, mainly because I was going to surprise all of my family. They all thought that I was staying home and going to some of our friends house. At about 12:15 I pulled into Downey. I didn't want to park my car in front of my parents house because I wanted to knock on the door and surprise them. I ended up parking down the road a little bit and walking to their house. I knocked on the door and I could hear all the kids inside the house screaming and having a good time. It took a long time for anybody to come to the door, but when somebody did, it was my mom! "HAPPY TURKEY DAY!" I yelled when she opened the door. If anybody has watched Extreme Makeover:Home Edition, my mom looked just like the people do when they see the house for the first time. She was speechless!! My sisters all just sat there in amazement! All of the kids were so happy and so was I. My dad was asleep on his bed and so I ran back there to surprise him. He just had this crazy look in his eye like he was still dreaming. It was so fun.

The rest of the weekend was good. We went to "The Forgotten Carols" in Idaho Falls on Friday night and it was amazing. I don't even remember how many times I've seen it, but it gets better every year. Saturday we just cleaned the house because all of my dads family was coming over for dinner on Sunday. Sunday after my dad had been set-apart as Bishop, we all went and ate then then I drove home. It was a short weekend full of adventure. The house was crazy and full of giggles all at the same time.

Happy Turkey Day Eve Everyone!

As I sit here at work, my mind keeps running through all of the things that I have been given in my life. Yes, not all of the things I received were what I wanted, but it always worked out. If I asked Heavenly Father for something and I didn't get the answer I wanted, I was always upset, until I realized that he knows what is better for me. "What I Need" is a song by Michael McLean and I can't help but think of it as I think of all the blessings I have been given. Here are the lyrics so you can read them and hopefully reflect on all the blessings you have been give because you "need" them:

"What I Need"

All I ever wanted

All I ever dreamed of

Everything I hoped

And all the things I prayed for

Couldn't hold a candle

To what I've been given

I've been given what I need

A mansion on a hill

Or love like in the movies

Perfect little dreams

Where no one has a problem

Instead of all those things

I thought I really wanted

I've been given what I need

Even when I didn't understand

When I thought you had no heart

Thank you for rejecting my demands

And always giving me the better part

Thanksgiving!

As I sit here nearing this wonderful Thanksgiving, I can't help but think about what I'm thankful for. Family, friends, a job, food, heat, clothes, music, and the list goes on and on. I think of all the people in the world that have to do without during these cold months. I think of all the small children in Madagascar that Justin helped and when we sent them old, worn out clothes of mine last year, how grateful they were. Just listening to them talk to Justin and express their gratitude was unbelievable. I couldn't understand them, but I could hear the joy in their voices.

I am so gratfeul that Justin and I have the opportunity to live up in Nezperce/Orofino and for the blessings that it has brought to our lives. The only hard thing is missing out on all of these fun times with our families; Thanksgiving, the annual Armstrong Christmas Party, even the small get togethers on the weekends. I'm missing out on all of the annual traditions that our families have every year. Amber's famous layered JELL-O (which she better make for Christmas too =), eating turkey until we are all about to pop, watching the parade with mom and dad, sometimes even plowing snow all day with dad! These are the times that make it hard for me to be away. We are such close-knits families and thinking of all the fun times they are going to embark on makes me wish I didn't live so far away.

It seems like everybody I talk to has somewhere to go, people to see, and then I think of how it will probably just be Justin and I. All of our friends are going out of town. I guess that I will have to make a turkey and the trimmings for Justin and I. Maybe we can feed some to the horses so they feel involved! I guess this way that if I ruin it, I won't have to feel so bad about it!

"Knee"dles & Scopes

Surgery day was yesterday and all went well. The nurse told us that we had to be there at 7:00 a.m. and so we left our house at 5 to make the drive. Well, when we got there, the nurse at check-in told us we were early and we in fact didn't have to be there until 8:30. Luckily, Wal-Mart is right below the surgery center on the hill, and so we went and walked around. We went in looking for a break light for the truck, and walked out with 3 bags of stuff. I gave in to Justin and bought him a hunting game for the Wii since I knew he would be bored watching TV all day. We went back up to the surgery center and we didn't wait long before they came and got him.

In the meantime, I didn't want to just sit there and stress, so I went to Winco and did some grocery shopping. I figured that I better take advantage of Winco since I have to drive 2 hours to get to it! It was really nice because it wasn't packed and all the shelves were stocked. What was even more crazy was that I was back up at the surgery center by 9:30! I don't think I've ever had my grocery shopping done that early!

It wasn't long before the doctor came and got me and explained to me the outcome. It was a little bit worse then what we thought. He said that once he found the tear, he also found a dime-size piece of arthritis and he thinks that's what was causing the pain. He shaved it away, fixed the tear, and then discovered a small crack on the femur! CRAZY! He said there is nothing he can do about it now, but to just watch it and not to be to rough on that knee for 1 year. Justin has to go back on the 30th to get the stitches out and they will then fit him for a specialized brace designed especially for him. He only has to wear it when he is playing sports, exercising, etc. He has to wear it for a year and then he will be free and clear.

Justin was really excited when he asked the doctor if he could ride buckin' horses next summer and the doctor told him it would be fine! This darned knee is the reason he didn't do too much riding this past year.

He had a good day when we got home yesterday and a good night. He just gets frustrated because he doesn't like to sit and he didn't sleep too good because he had to keep it elevated! He also has the tights on and can't take them off until Sunday morning and is using crutches until Sunday morning. He is going to get a bath tonight and it's going to be interesting because he can't take the tights off or get the bandage wet!

So far, he's not milking it! The nurses told him to not be "tough" and to take the pain pills. I told him that I don't want the pain to get the best of him! They prescribe pain pills for a reason. He said that it is aching more today and I told him that it will be more sore today then yesterday because the numbing is gone!

As for now, that is our lives. Nothing too exciting. I'm just trying to be Susie Homemaker and Bob the Cowboy all at the same time! It's very difficult to feed the horses when they are eating it faster than you can get it spread out!

Sickness & Surgeries!

This week has been crazy and crazy. I have been going to the chiropractor lately and been trying to fix my back again. I was doing well until one night it was raining and I was feeding the horses and I fell on the mud. But not to worry, like any other human being, I DIDN'T drop the hay. I just fell and hurt my back instead of trying to catch myself. I have to go and get x-rays on Monday to see if the lift that I have been wearing is working. Hopefully!!

When I went to bed Monday night, all of a sudden my stomach started hurting. I was hoping that maybe I was just tired and that it would go away. To my dismay, that didn't happen. I woke up at 3 am with my stomach cramping. I ended up watching TV and couldn't fall asleep because my stomach hurt so badly. I stayed on the couch all day Tuesday and most of the day on Wednesday. I really felt like somebody had tried to kill me.

Thursday, we had to go to Pullman to have a doctor look at Justin's knee. Well, come to find out, he has a torn meniscus and a cist is growing on it. He is going in on Wednesday to have it scoped and fixed. Then he is going to be out of commission for about 4 weeks. He'll be on crutches for a few days, but after that, it's just going to be swollen and stiff. I told him that he's not allowed to play "tough" with this one. If we are going to get it fixed, I want him to take care of it so we don't have to keep having the same surgery.

Yippa-de-do-da-day!!

So, I'm not sure exactly sure who reads my blog, but I update it anyway just to keep myself informed!

Football is officially over!! YAY!! The last game was on Friday and they won. They ended up going 4-5 which isn't too bad for the team. I guess they won more games this year then they have the past 4 years!! That's right! 4!They didn't make it into play-offs which is a bummer, but what can you do about it?? I'm just excited that I can actually have my husband back. Maybe we can get our lives back together now that I don't have to share him with about 15 other boys! After the game on Friday all the coaches and their wives went to the bar in Ferdinand to eat dinner. Justin and I were the only ones that didn't drink, and everybody kept looking at us. They all sort of giggled when Justin asked for water! We got to the bar at 7 and didn't leave until 11:30. For all you bar-flies out there, I don't know how you do it! I didn't even have any alcoholic beverages and I was exhausted and ready for bed. I can't even imagine having kids and drinking! That's enough to make your head spin.

We didn't do anything fun or exciting for Halloween. We stayed home and I cleaned the house and Justin worked with horses. Then we watched a movie. Everybody up here is so spread out that there were trunk 'r' treats everywhere. Yesterday after church, Justin went and helped some of our neighbors move cows. He took Chill because he wasn't sure what the other horses would do around cows. He said that Chill was like a kid in a candy shop. Ready to go and not wanting to stop.

I'm happy to say that I'm getting a new calling!!! No more nursery for me! I'm going to be the Laurel Advisor and I'm pretty excited about it. We have some way fun girls in our ward and I'm way happy to be able to work with them!!

C'mon people!! Seriously!!

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Fall or Halloween??

To say that I am excited about Halloween would be ummmm………………a lie!! I may be completely unlike the rest of the country, but I like to be my own person. I am not a big admirer of Halloween! I don’t enjoy dressing up, I don’t enjoy the scary-scary of it all, I don’t enjoy haunted houses, & I don’t enjoy the screaming and jumping! I do like the corn mazes at the beginning, but then when I get stuck in the wretched thing, I come to the realization that I don’t like them either! The only thing that I like is the candy! Especially these delightful treats…These are not just regular Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups! They are, as Dora would say; yum, yum, yum, delicioso!! I can’t tell you how much I enjoy these delightfully amazing treats! I’m pretty sure that I could eat them all the time. They also have trees at Christmas that they come out with! I would highly encourage everyone to try them at least once.
Now you know why my blog isn’t halloweeny or spooky or scary. I’d rather just celebrate fall and do away with Halloween. Sorry for all you Halloween lovers!

Crazy Talk!!

Where has the time gone? It seems like I just barely updated. I guess it doesn’t matter because nobody reads these anyway. It’s more just for me so I can look back at all the fun times we had. Last weekend we made an impromptu trip to Boise with some of our friends to watch their son play football. They had a game against Aberdeen and so they played at a meeting point. We left Friday night at about 7 and made the 4 hour drive. With the time change, we ended up getting there at about midnight. We stayed at a really nice hotel for a really good price. They had the softest beds! I slept like a baby! We got up Saturday morning and went to breakfast and then the game. It started at 1:30 and it was a beautiful day. The sun was out, the wind wasn’t blowing…beautiful! After the game we made to make a not-so-quick stop at Cabela’s. We all wandered around in there for a while and then I had the genius idea to get stuff to make jerky. We went into Cabela’s looking only for a hitch for the back of the truck and came out with a meat grinder and a jerky maker!! I’m excited though. If only Justin would shoot something =) We then went and ate at Goodwood!! It was delicious. We were stuffed all the way home!

I’m excited to say that I’m getting a horse of my very own!! The lady that Justin has been breaking horses for has an old mare that is going to waste in their field. She said that she didn’t want to give her to somebody who wasn’t going to use her, and so she asked if we wanted her! FREE!?!?! Of course we want her! She’s 20 years old and on her way out the back door, but I bet I will have some fun on her. Justin said that she is bred really well. A horse is a horse to me. I don’t really care how they are bred. As long as they have 4 legs and don’t buck me off, I’m good to go!

A to Z--All About Me

A to Z - All About Me

A: Addiction: Pepsi

B: Breakfast: Swedish Pancakes

C: Chocolate or Chips: Chips

D: Dessert or Appetizers: Appetizers-I'm always too full by the time dessert rolls around!

E: Essential Items: Cell Phone, Chap stick, Sunglasses

F: Favorite Color: Lime Green

G: Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms: Gummy Worms-Bears make my teeth hurt

H: Hometown: Downey

I: Indulgence: Salt & Vinegar Chips

J: January or July: January-Who doesn't like hot chocolate and curling up in a blanket?!

K: Kids: None!

L: Life isn't complete without: Family-They are our biggest support

M: Most exciting memory: Getting engaged. Even though Justin had the ugly sweater on!

N: Number of Brothers and Sisters: 3 sisters

O: Oranges or Apples: Oranges, although I hate peeling them

P: Phobias or Fears: Fear is drowning

Q: Quote: "He who laughs last, thinks slowest!"

R: Reading: Love it, especially with a really good book!!

S: Summer or Spring: Spring, love the flowers, love the colors, LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!

T: Toughest Day: So far, moving to Nezperce and telling my family good-bye!

U: Unknown Fact About Me: Everybody already knows everything

V: Vacation I want to go on: Any type of cruise

W: Walking or Running: Walking0-Never enjoyed running, probably never will

X: X-Ray or Ultrasound: Depends on what they're looking for. Never had a "good" ultrasound, say for a baby!

Y: Your favorite food: Pretty much anything Italian

Z: Zoo or Bowling: Not a big bowling fan. Would rather spend the money to see the animals!

Us in a Chestnut!

This past week has been crazy busy for both Justin and I. Alvin, Wes, Mindy, Emily, Katie, and Trevor are all coming up tomorrow and staying for a few days. It would be nice to say that they are coming to see us, but they are really just coming to go hunting! Anyway, when you hardly ever get visitors, it takes a lot of planning. I'm not use to cooking for this many people, let alone, where are they all going to sleep?? Last week I made Justin help me plan a menu so I could go grocery shopping. Here is how the week played out:

SATURDAY: Justin let me splurge and I got to go to the new GINORMOUS Wal-Mart in Clarkston for groceries. I was there for almost 2 hours just taking it all in and, of course, spending lots of money.

SUNDAY: We had a HUGE wind storm that lasted all day. We had so much that we were going to get done during conference sessions, but we couldn't do any of it. Anyway, we have an extremely large chestnut tree right next to the house. It is so pretty and in the spring when it was blossoming, it was the prettiest thing ever. Then the bad stuff happens, the blossoms turn into these baseball sized bright green poky balls! They have spikes on them that hurt super bad. In the fall, the balls fall off the tree, rot, and out comes a chestnut. Needless to say, thanks to the windstorm, there were hundreds of them all over the lawn!

MONDAY: Get home from work and rake up the chestnuts so that I can mow the lawn. I wanted to get one more good mow in, even though the yard looks like a field. I wanted to cut down the weeds, pick up all the pine cones, etc. So I spent 1 hour raking up chestnuts into 6 heaping piles!

TUESDAY: Get home from work and have Justin fix the lawn mower so it will suck up the clippings into the bags. In the meantime, I got the privilege of scooping up all the chestnuts into a bucket and dumping them in the field. Finally got the lawn mower going and mowed a little piece of grass (dirt)

WEDNESDAY: Got home and it looked like it was going to rain! NO!!! I have to mow the lawn! I wasn't going to let it get me down and so I started anyway. It ended up not raining. I didn't think that grass was that long, but I had to empty the bags a lot! That's right, there are 2 bags on the lawn mower and I emptied them probably 7-8 times. I was mowing until 7 and it's dark then. Justin so graciously turn all the outside lights on so I could see. He's so thoughtful.

THURSDAY: Going to Kamiah to get more groceries. The last minute things like fresh meat and more milk. I also had to get the oil changed in my car. I'm only 500 miles over!! That's good for me!

FRIDAY: I get to stay home and clean because those guys are leaving at 3:30 in the morning and so they will be here at a fairly reasonable hour! I'm excited and just hope all goes well and that they all get animals!

P.S. I'm starting to think that nobody reads my blog because I never have any comments any more!! :(

COMBINE DEMOLITION DERBY!

This past week was the Lewis County Fair. It's a pretty big deal. They don't do too much with the animals, but they do have the Combine Demolition Derby and the Lawn Mower Races! Let me tell you, they are the funniest things! I do have to say that I felt a little red-neck sitting there and watching them. All of the events were on Sunday and lasted about 4 hours. I'm pretty sure that the population of Nezperce at least tripled! There were people everywhere. Justin was in charge of the camera and got some awesome pictures....There is a lot of pictures because I had to show all the damage and good stuff.

Yes, his back rims are off the ground!!

Does anybody know how hard it is to get a combine wheel to come off??

Getting ready for the final heat!

Look really closely at the header and you will see that there are chains holding it up!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUSTIN!!

I just want to wish my wonderful husband a Happy Birthday today!! He is so great and has been extremely busy the past few months. No matter how tired he is, he always manages to not get grouchy with me (something that is hard for me to do)! Thanks for all you do Justin!! I LOVE YOU!!!

Grandma Matthews

I can't believe that is has been 1 year since my Grandma Matthews passed away. She was a genuine lady who was always willing to help. I have so many great memories of her and will always remember the funny things that she said. I was able to be by her side when she took her last breath and it was the most calming experience I have ever felt. Her funeral was amazing. I was able to play the prelude and postlude music for the funeral, and through the amazing power of Heavenly Father, I was able to (almost) perfect a song in just a few short days. She was such a great mother, grandmother, sister, and friend and she is truly missed! We love and miss you Grandma!!

This was one of the last pictures taken of her. Isn't she beautiful?!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM & DAD!!

I just wanted to say “Happy Anniversary” to my parents. They are the greatest people ever. They have been so supportive of me my entire life. They would also encourage me to go for my dreams. When I wanted to be a dancer, they were there for me every step of the way. They have also been great help to Justin and I. They helped move us up to Nezperce on the first day of the year. I’m sure that it's not how they wanted to spend their New Year. They had to drive through some awful weather to get everything up here safely. My mom is always so great and is always sending “happy days!” The other day, I was opening some medicine from her, and there was a Madagascar 2 sticker in with it. She said that she didn’t have enough time to write a note, so she threw in a sticker to let me know she was thinking of me!! Thanks for all you do mom and dad!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Our Labor Day!

Why is it that whenever you don’t want to get sick, the opposite happens? Or whenever you don’t want something to get injured, it always does? Well, that is how our life has been the past few days. We were really excited to have a 3-day weekend to get some things done. I was heading to Lewiston on Saturday to get my hair cut and go to Wal-Mart! (By the way, the opened a SUPER CENTER in Clarkston and it is amazing!) Anyway, I was getting my hair done, relaxing, enjoying myself. I didn’t hear my phone make any noises because it was in my purse and I didn’t want to be disturbed! When I was done with my hair, I was looking for some new church pants for Justin! (By the way, does anybody know where I can get 38 or 40 in length? It seems that the “Big & Tall” section is for BIG people only. Justin doesn’t need 50x 30! He needs LONG!! I don’t think that they exist!) Anyway, I was grabbing my phone to call him and opened up a text message with this on it…

I know pretty gruesome, sorry!! It’s one or our horses that has a gigantic cut on its leg. In a frantic, I hurried and called Justin to find out what was going on? He was on the way to a vet who graciously agreed to see him in his time of need! The vet cut the piece of dead skin off and told us to keep it out of the sun and no flies!! He gave us some heavy duty fly repellent (it looks like the sunscreen we had to put on Freckles nose) to put on it. We have to wash it twice a day. We had to make a pen in a barn for him so it wouldn’t get sunburned! It gets stiff when he’s in there, but as soon as he starts walking on it, it gets better. He’s been trying to trot on it, and it’s quite funny because he has a nice limp to go with it. The vet said that the scar should be small.

As for me, I believe that my body is trying to fight off a sickness! I have been sneezing like crazy, had a constant head-ache, and been really achy! NO I’M NOT PREGNANT!! I’m sure that’s what some of you are thinking! You can only keep hoping! Justin is going strong with football. They had a home game on Friday. They didn’t do so hot. I guess that they called mercy rule in the 3rd quarter! Sorry boys! Other than that, we had a good Labor Day weekend. Hunting season is starting to open up and bear opened last week. We have been going on horse rides trying to find one. Thankfully, we have good, strong, neighbor boys that will go and help Justin pull the bear out of the canyon if he does get one. The canyon is so steep, that if you should shoot anything, it will rumble and tumble all the way to the bottom!!

Funny Pictures!

I was looking at our wedding pictures, and came across some funny pictures. These are of my sisters giving Justin advice. The girls sure thought it was funny. Justin's expression is hilairious!

GGGOOOO EAGLES!!

Tonight is Justin's 1st football game! It's very ironic that he played for the Eagles, and is now the coach of the Eagles too. I even think the colors are the same. Anyway, I'm super excited for him. Last night he told me that since it was game night, he either got to watch "Cool Hand Luke" or play Madden on the Wii. I said that since he is just a coach and not a player, then neither!! Aren't I nice!? I'm not going to the game tonight, but I'm probably go to the one next week. I've never seen 8 man play before, so that will be an interesting experience!

GOOD LUCK LEWIS COUNTY EAGLES!!

The happenings of....US!!

Do you ever feel like you are constantly stuck in the slums? I do! That’s how I have been feeling a lot lately. I can’t decide if I’m ready for the weather to start changing or what. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE summer! But I also like it when the leaves start to change colors, the crispness in the air, and when I get to start wearing my winter clothes. Those are the best days. I’m sure that in a few months, I’ll be complaining about winter and how I want it to be summer and how I’m ready to put my winter clothes away and start wearing my summer clothes, but isn’t that what we’re supposed to do?

Our days are getting shorter by the minute. Justin and I usually go on a horse ride at night and it seems to get darker a little bit earlier every day. That is the one thing that I do not like about winter…it getting dark SO early. I don’t like it when I leave for work in the dark and drive home in the dark.

Work has been going good for both of us. I’m busy most days and so the time goes by pretty fast. Justin has been bored lately. Everybody is out in the fields working and so not as many farmers are coming into the office. Other than that, we are just keeping on.

Our horses are our babies and they are doing great. Chill is my greatest friend. I love to ride him. He just knows what he’s doing and I’m just along for the ride. Charlie is just…Charlie! It’s as simple as that. He hasn’t been getting as much attention because Justin is working on another horse that he is breaking. I volunteered to ride him, but we don’t have another bit for him, so oh dang! Bobby, the horse that Justin is breaking, is doing awesome. I rode her for the first time the other night and I feel like I’m riding a pony when I’m one her. She’s so small compared to Chill. She sure does know how to cover ground though!

The other day, Justin and I were driving home from work. We came around a corner and there was this big thing in the road! I wasn’t sure what it was. It looked like a dog, or better yet, a wolf. As we moved closer, it got up and guess what it was?! A baby bear! I don’t know where its mom was, but I wanted to take it home with me. It was so cute. Justin wanted to run it over, but luckily, it ran down the mountain.

That’s about our life in a nut-shell!! We haven’t been doing too many exciting things lately. We miss everyone back home and hope that school is going good for all the little ones!

OuR cRaZy LiVeS!!!

So, the past few weeks have been really crazy. Justin and I were able to go down and see our families at the end of July. We were down there for 9 days and we got a lot of visiting in. We left our house at 4:30 in the morning because we wanted to get there at a good time. We drove through Missoula and had a really scenic drive. When we finally got to Pocatello, we realized that we were having some issues with the truck. After looking at it, they realized that there was a hose that was leaking. We were able to get that fixed and without too much money down the drain, the truck was up and running. Justin had some training in Idaho Falls and so he was gone for a few days. During those days, I was able to go to Boise for Bailee's baptism. We were also able to go to Lucky Peak and go boating with April and Matt. We had a blast. Eli even rode the tube with me! I tried skiing and I failed! I think that I'll just stick to tubing.

When we finally arrived home after a long vacation and a LONG time driving, we saw how dry everything was. Our yard and pasture were brown and it made me sick. We can't water our lawn with the hose because our pump shuts off after running the hose for 15 minutes. Luckily, it has rained a couple of times and so it's starting to green up a little bit.

Justin is helping coach football for the Nezperce High School. They only have 8 man, but he's liking it. His schedule is getting a little crazy. They just started practice on Monday and it's from 6-8 in the morning. So he gets up and goes to work from 5-6, goes to practice, goes back to work until 5 and then comes home and rides horses. He's really busy. Luckily, when I went to my parents house, I was able to borrow Angie's saddle, so now I can ride with him and I don't have to ride bare-back! I really enjoy going on rides with Justin and sometimes I think that he likes me going with him too!:)

I'm just so thankful that we have the opportunities that we do have. Justin and I have an awesome house to live in, awesome friends, and great family. I'm so thankful that I have the opportunity of living up here. It's been really difficult at times, but I'm really learning to love it. I'm so glad that Justin and I both have the jobs that we do. Sometimes we both want to pull our our hair, but we don't! We just take everything in stride!

The Zoo!

Our house is nestled at the edge of a canyon. A very large canyon. Most canyons consist of animals. Well, when your house is at the edge and animals roam the canyon, they occasionally come close to home. Why do I need to go to the zoo when I can just look out my window and see all sorts of animals? Almost every day, we see animals in our yard. We have a large wild rose bush out in the pasture, and we have a ton of quail that live in it. These are the animals from the Allen Zoo:

This is a turkey that came running to our house one night. He is one of the smaller ones that we've seen around.

This animal is very hard to see. If you look at the center of the picture, there is a black dot. What is it?? A Bear! We have many bears in our canyon. I'm telling you, who needs the zoo?!

Here is our little quail babies. They are so cute all running around. They are very scared of us, so we can't make any fast movements if we are watching them. Even when we are in the house!

I took this picture from my kitchen window. Deer are always coming up into the pasture with the horses. Most of them aren't too scared of us. They just sit there and look at us.

Well, now nobody needs to go to the zoo. They can just keep looking at these pictures. We also have snakes, but I'm too scared of them to get close enough to take pictures. I just have Justin kill or chase them away!!

I'M A SLACKER!!

Ok, so I know that I'm a slacker, but I can't help it. It has been a couple of crazy months. From going to McCall for Memorial Day, to getting a new job, & girls camp. I feel like I have just been running. So to begin; obviously we went to McCall over Memorial Day weekend. The whole family went and we had a blast. Then shortly after, I started a new job at State Farm Insurance in Orofino. A lady in our ward also works there, and she is the one that told me about it. Last week I headed to Girls Camp. I was our ward camp director and it was so fun. Instead of keeping everyone in their own ward (which I'm used to doing), they split the girls up by levels. I had 12 girls in my cabin, and not one of them was from my ward. It was really fun to get to know different girls though. This weekend has been going great. Yesterday, Justin rode in the Winchester Rodeo (that's all I'm going to say about that one :( , then we went to our Bishop's house for fireworks. We went to the lake today and had trouble with the boat, but we still had a great time with our friends. Right now, we are just hanging out in Kamiah with our friends, and later we might go and ride their horses. We haven't decided yet. Hope all is well with everyone and hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend!! We miss you and hope to see you all soon!

PIECES OF THE PUZZLE

This is a new book and I would highly recommend reading it. Why? Because Carrie Wahl is from Nezperce!! Actually, I work with her at the day care. They just got this book published and have already had some radio interviews. She let me borrow a copy and I can't put it down. If anyone gets a chance, please read it and let me know how you like it!

Early Morning Phone Calls!!!

Have you ever been in a deep sleep and all of a sudden the phone rings?? Has that ever happened at 4 in the morning? Well it happened to us last night. We were both soundly sleeping and at 4, the phone decides to ring. When you get a phone call in the middle of the night, you always think the worst! I don't care who you are. Well, I jump up to get the phone and my eyes were fuzzy and I couldn't see the caller ID. I answer it and a few seconds later there is a "Hello!" I knew exactly who it was because the voice sounded like they were from India. DARN TELEMARKETERS!! Don't they know that people are sleeping at 4 in the morning? Needless to say, my heart was still thumping when I went back to bed. I was just a little upset!

Justin's CRAZY Hair!!

So last weekend, Justin decided he was going to be funny with his hair. It was super long and so he decided to try a new style. I was cleaning up the kitchen and he was taking a shower. Next thing I know, he comes out and his hair is sticking up all crazy. It was super funny. I went and put some hair-spray on it so it would stay. It stayed until he put his hat on, but we had to push the hat on. Here are some of his modeling poses! Let me know what you think....

RECAP!!

So, since we have moved, we have not had any access to the internet. It's really frustrating! I was going to update my blog when I was at Amber's, but her computer was being crazy! Justin & I are doing good. Justin's job is going good. I'm working at the day-care in Nezperce and it is fun but challenging. Here are a few things that have happened to us in the past 2 months:

1. Abbey went to the chiropractor and found out she has one leg shorter than the other
2. Justin & I took a trip to Boise to see April & Matt and my parents. While we were there we attended the Horse Expo
3. Justin played on the Basketball team for our ward
4. Justin went to training in Moscow
5. Abbey went to Downey for a few days
6. Abbey got her hair chopped off (If anybody has seen Amber, my hair looks liker hers!)
7. Justin buys him a gun
8. While in Downey, Abbey got sick and is still getting over it

Well, that's about all the fun that we have had since we moved. We are loving our house. There is so much space and I don't know what to do with it all. I don't have enough stuff to fill it all up. We have an extra bed, so anybody that wants to come visit us, you are more than welcome!!

We Are Alive!

EVERYONE: WE ARE ALIVE!! People were beginning to wonder if somebody had taken us away. No, we have just been in the process of moving. We moved everything last Wednesday & I didn't have to work on Thursday of Friday so I got to stay home and put everything away. We don't yet have Internet at our house and we are getting a phone today. I'm really excited. Our house is a ways out there and so a phone will be nice. Well, just letting everyone know that we are still living!

Change of Plans!!

Well, we have had a change of plans in our living situation. We went and looked at a house to rent on Friday, and we loved it. We called the guy that showed it to us, went and got the keys, and moved stuff in on Saturday. Justin hunted down a few guys from the ward to come and help, and they are going to come on Wednesday to finish. I have to spend the rest of the day packing up the few things that we have, and we will be moved. I'm super excited about the house. It's 14 miles out of town. It's in the middle of a field and our closest neighbors are 1 mile away. Pretty much what we are looking for. The rent is extremely reasonable for the house. It has 3 bedrooms and a huge kitchen. Here are some pictures. I'll post more later!

Part of the Kitchen. It has a dishwasher and I can't wait!

Yes, it has 2 ovens!! I'm super excited. Lots of cookies!!

The killer floor in the kitchen!! It's very fashionable!!

The front room. It's pretty big!

The bathroom!