Girl Scout Beach

We spent the day at Girl Scout Beach. I can post this now, because it has been a week, and the scare has kind of gone away. We went snorkeling, when all of the sudden it started to get really windy. We decided to turn around. We swam and swam and swam. It was the kind of swimming where you swam a foot and got pushed back 3 feet. It was getting scary. Long story short... We all got back to the beach fine. We were all really tired and had sore muscles for a few days. This is a picture of Sam after the FOREVER swim. I think that I'll hang out at the pool on windy days......

Rock Climbing Pool?

Our pool got a new attraction this last week. They installed a rock climbing wall. It was a lot of fun. It was also very hard to climb up that wall when it is wet and slippery! The kids loved it, and played FOREVER! They had pretty sore muscles that night.

Happy Birthday Scott!!

Happy birthday to the best husband, father, and friend! We think that you are awesome!

Dolphins In The Bay!!!

Saturday, we rented a boat. There is a little island in the bay, that has really great seashells. We spent a few hours there, and then headed for home. On the way back to the main boat dock, a dolphin was PLAYING in the wake of the boat. Apparently there are 3 dolphins that live in the bay, and they are very friendly. It was so amazing to see. They are absolutely incredible animals!
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THE PRINCESS BRIDE???

If you have ever watched "The Princess Bride", you know what a R.O.U.S. is. It stands for Rodents Of Unusual Size. We have them here, only we call them Banana Rats. They come out at night. They are about as big as a large cat. They only eat grass and various plants. They love popcorn! We go to an outdoor movie theater, and they will come up to you and eat the popcorn off the ground. (We TRY not to drop any) They are EVERYWHERE!
I must be perfectly honest....They kind of FREAK me out, but on the other hand....They are kind of cute. I wouldn't want one as a pet or anything.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

My Mom is awesome! She is just COOL...always has been... from her hair, to her car, to the way she treats everyone. She is the best example to us all. I am so happy that I was raised by her. I hope that I can be even half as good as she was and is. Not only is she a great Mom, but she is an AWESOME Grandma and friend. We love you Grandma Sherie! Have a great BIRTHDAY!!

THE BEAST

Our van was not able to make the journey with us. When we got here, we had a huge variety of large vehicles to choose from. Our criteria was that it had to sit us all, and it had to run. We lucked out! For only $800 we are now the owners of "THE BEAST" I love this van. I don't ever worry about the kids spilling anything. I don't ever have to vacuum it out. (A hose works wonders) Everyday is an adventure, about 2 weeks ago the trunk doors broke, so we had to buy a bungi chord, to keep them closed. Last week the passenger side door stopped opening, so we now just climb in the back or drivers side. As long as one door works, we are good. It is the kind of car that keeps us on our toes! And it's VERY patriotic!!! We love the USA!!!

Good Morning!

This morning I sent Elijah outside to sweep off the patio. He came running into the house, and quickly shut the screen door. He was being chased by our neighborhood Iguana. We have named him IGGY. These iguana's are all over the base. They are protected, so if you intentionally hurt one, you get a pretty little $10,000 fine. Iggy sat at our back door for about a half an hour. He was not happy with us, but he did let us take his picture. YES, they do bite!!!

Beach vs. Pool

The pool is one of our favorite places to play. It is very clean, free, and you don't get sand down your suit! Elijah and Alivia have accomplished the great feat of jumping off the "High Dive"

SUNBURN

We spent the day at the beach with friends. We put sunscreen on in the morning, but I think it must have worn off. We are all burnt. Poor Alivia got it the worst. She is practically glowing a bright red color.

The Little Mermaid

Musoula Children's Theater was in town this last week. Alivia tried out and got the part of "The Town Crier". She did such a great job. We had a week of her being very busy, and when we did see her she was usually singing, or eating. The play was so fun to watch. Way to go, LIV!!!

Cuban Cigars

January 30 was Cuban/American Friendship Day. I bet you didn't know that! We had a big celebration. There was dancing, eating, singing, and fresh rolled Cuban Cigars. I asked the kind man rolling this cigar if I could take his picture. He said that I could. After he was finished, he held up the cigar and said in English (I think) "I made for you." How could I refuse? I don't think I will smoke it. I am hoping it will hold up in a shadow box. Anyone have any ideas?

"Look At That Face!"

Elijah totally gets serious, when it comes to snorkeling. I don't know too many 6 year olds, that can snorkel for hours and hours. He LOVES it!

The things you find!!

We went snorkeling today, after work and school. It was a spur of the moment thing. We just wanted to get out of the house. Samuel is turning out to be a great animal finder. We were snorkeling for about 20 minutes, when Sam yells, "Look what I found!" He lifts up this beautiful starfish. It was amazing! We had such a great time. I have decided that "I love the ocean!"

Sea Turtles!

We increased the population of Sea Turtles. Samuel found a nest of about 40 baby sea turtles. They were digging out of their nest, and going AWAY from the ocean. So we did the only thing we could do. We picked them up and put them in the ocean. It was the coolest thing ever. It was amazing to watch these tiny little turtles swim out into the HUGE ocean. I just know they are going to beat the odds and grow to be gigantic, happy turtles.

Blogger Trouble

We are having trouble downloading pictures. Please be patient! We HOPEFULLY will figure it out soon. We love and miss you all.

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

I had a great birthday. On our way, to our new home.... We got to stay with Amy and her family, for a few days. We went to the beach, and had a blast! It was the first time that our kids played in the ocean (That they can remember)

Thanksgiving!!

We had a great Thanksgiving. I was a little worried about it, with Scott not being with us, we missed him a ton, but had a really great time.
We drove to St. George the first day, then up to Angie's in Brianhead. Everyone (except Amy's Family) came there for Thanksgiving dinner. We visited, had one of the funniest Talent Shows, I had EVER seen. I didn't know we were all so talented. Allie tried to snowboard. (The snow was not good) The kids played in the snow for hours and hours. It was overall, A REALLY REALLY great trip. Thanks Haderlie's for being such great hosts!

Green Machine

We are a little behind in the blogging thing. It has been a busy couple of months. Elijah turned 6 in November. He got a Green Machine for his birthday. Everyone keeps asking him..."What is a Green Machine?" It's like a Big Wheel, but you control it by levers, that turn the two wheel in the back of the machine. It is really AWESOME! He loves it! We also had a birthday party for him at Chuck E. Cheeses'. 5 of his friends from school and church came. They had a great time! I can't believe how old he is getting. He is such a good boy. Always full of surprises, and he fills our lives with laughter. We love you Lij!

NO MORE CANDY !

About one month ago, I found a brown bag shoved way in the back of one of my cupboards. I opened it to find last year's Halloween candy! oh yeah! Just in time! We just do not seem to eat our Halloween candy. I heard on the radio that the day after Halloween, this dentist in town, buys halloween candy for $1.00 a pound. I ran it by my kids and so Saturday morning, we loaded into the van and sold our candy. We had approximately 20 lbs of candy. That is a whole lot of candy. The dentist packs all that candy up and sends it to the troops in Iraq. He was telling us that the troops then keep it in their pockets and give it to the kids in Iraq. How cool is that? I think that we have started a new tradition!

Scary Eyes!

Check out those eyes. Allie and I both ordered Vampire Red contact lens off a great website. If you want the info, let me know!

"Trunk or Treat!"

Last night was our ward's "Trunk or Treat" It was a lot of fun! We don't believe in being anything cute and fluffy. We like the scary stuff. Sam was an exception this year. He just had his cast changed, and didn't feel like dressing up before Halloween. He said that he was dressed as a Muggle. I guess that works. Can't wait to dress up on Friday too. Happy Halloween!!!

HERE WE COME!!!

If you haven't heard the news, you will right now! We are moving to the tropical paradise that Scott has been living on for almost a year now. I know, it was a shocker for us too. Scott called on Monday to tell me that they do not have a Chaplain to replace him, and that they wanted him to stay another year. Part of that deal is that we get to move over there with him! The final OK came on Thursday. All of a sudden, I am running around crazy! I'm cleaning, renting our house out, paying a fortune for passports, and everything else involved with a move. We are so excited! A little scared, but excited. We are not sure of the exact date yet, but we'll keep you all posted. I will miss friends and family a ton, but it IS only one year. Right?

"HAIL" the rain !!

Today we had one of the worst rain storms, I have seen, in the 4 years that we have lived here. It was very pretty, but I don't think that we would be able to handle much more rain, or hail. I think that we would have a FEW flooding problems.

Poop Protection!

Sam was in charge of cleaning up dog poop today. He was taking his sweet time gearing himself up for the job!